Random Sweetness

2012-03-07T09:13:00.000-05:00

Happy Wednesday!! Today I wanted to share with you a project I made using the March kit and add-on from The Paper Bakery! Let me just say this kit is nothing less than absolutely fabulous! Every month, I am blown away by these amazing kits, and this month was no exception!

A few weeks back, a friend of my on facebook had posted about a local ministry in here area. They were calling all scrappers to help out with some donations of altered journals. This ministry takes these journals along with other supplies, and puts together little gift baskets for parents who have children in the NICU. I loved the idea of helping these families, in any way I could. So I organized a meeting with some of the women in my church, and we had a wonderful night of crafting and fellowship, all the while being able to help possibly bring just a little bit of sunshine to the lives of these families.

I had some journals left over, and I thought that I would use the March kit and add-on, to finish up the remainder so send out to these families.

I have a few more to finish off, then off these go to hopefully bring a little sunshine into the lives of these families.

The full reveal for the March kits is coming up on the 15th, so make sure you head over to The Paper Bakery and sign up for the newsletter for a chance at some more peaks and inspiration! Also if you love this kit as much as I do, and I know you will, head over and sign up for a sub! You will not be disappointed, because these will go FAST!!

Have a great day, and take time to create something you love!

A Good Day

2012-03-02T10:05:00.000-05:00

Ah! Finally Friday is here! This has just been one of those weeks, and I am soooo ready for the weekend! The hubby and I are going out of town for a date night, which happens very, very rarely! So we are excited to spend some time out, and the girls are super excited to spend the night at Mamaw and Papaw's.

I thought today I would share with you my final project using the February add-on "Grandma's Attic" from The Paper Bakery. I love this kit! Every month Sarah out does herself!

I will be back soon to share some sneaks from the AMAZING March kits from The Paper Bakery!!

There is also still time to play along in the sketch challenge, go here for all the details! Play along for your chance to win a fabulous prize!

Have a great weekend, and take time to create something you love!

Sketch Inspiration and The Paper Bakery

2012-02-28T07:27:00.000-05:00

For those of you that love sketches, I thought I would share that The Paper Bakery is the sponsor this week over at Sketch Inspiration!

Here is the example layout I made based off of the sketch:

I used the February add-on "Grandma's Attic" on this layout, which is still available, here, along with a few goodies from my stash.

Make sure you head over to Sketch Inspiration, and check out all the details, and play along for your chance at a gift certificate to The Paper Bakery shop!

Have a great day, and create something you love!

A Day for a Daydream

2012-02-22T10:25:00.000-05:00

Hello friends! :) Today I am going to share with you the card I made based off of the February card sketch over at The Paper Bakery. Our sketch designer, Grace, always come up with the most fabulous sketches! This time around she gave us a fun card sketch to play around with.

How cute, right? I am going to note here, that I am not a cardmaker, at all, but I really loved this sketch, so I decided to give it a go, and of course put my own little spin on it. Here is my card:

I actually kinda like the way this one turned out, maybe I won't count out cardmaking after all! I used the fabulous February add-on kit "Grandma's Attic" on this card. You can check out the shop and all the goodies we offer here!

You have until March 2nd to play along with our sketch challenge! Hope you take the time to play along for the chance at an awesome prize! All the details are here!

Hope everyone has a happy Wednesday, and take time to create something you love!

February Sketch Challenge

2012-02-20T16:08:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday friends! :) Just hopping on here real quick to share the new sketch that went up today at The Paper Bakery! Grace has come up with an adorable card sketch for us this time around! Here is the sketch:

So cute! I will be sharing my card later on this week!

You have two weeks to play along, cards ( or layouts) aren't due until March 4th. So pull out your Paper Bakery kits if you have them, if not, them any supplies from your stash will work, and get crafty! Link up with Mr. Linky for your chance at a fun prize! :)

Have a great week, and take time to create something you love!

Enjoy Everyday

2012-02-15T10:46:00.001-05:00

Happy Wednesday! :) How was your Valentines Day? We didn't do very much in the way of gifts, but we did have a nice night out, just me and the hubby. I talked him into going and see The Vow, wonderful movie, not exactly what I expected, but a great movie nonetheless.

Today I wanted to share a layout I made with the new February add-on from The Paper Bakery, "Grandma's Attic" which went live today, along with the "Home Grown" project kit! I am telling you, you want to run over and scoop these ones up. Sarah put fabulous kits together, and the always go fast! Here is a peek at what you can expect from these kits!

Home Grown Project Kit

Grandm's Attic Add-On Kit

Here is the layout I am sharing today, and you can see that the colors, patterns, and tones are very different from the layout I shared here, that is what I love about these kits.

She puts so much thought and time into them, and it you can tell by all the different types of projects you can put together. Lots of October Afternoon goodies in this kit, along with the wonderful vintage and hand made items that Sarah always includes.

Thanks for stopping by today, and take time to create something you love! If you have a new project, link it up in the comments, I would love to see! :)

Party Pooper

2012-02-10T13:32:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday!! :) Is everyone all geared up are ready for the weekend? Anyone have any early Valentine's Day plans? We are attending a "Date Night Challenge" at our church this weekend, and I am hoping to convince the hubby to take me to see "The Vow"...it looks like a tear jerker for sure, so might have some trouble with that one. Lol!

Today I just wanted to share a layout I made with the upcoming February Add-On kit, "Grandma's Attic" from The Paper Bakery, let me just tell you, this kit is fabulous!! Lots of yummy October Afternoon, Farmhouse and Sidewalks, and all the fun little handmade and vintage goodies that Sarah finds. Its gorgeous!

This layout is deceiving, you look at the picture and all the soft colors and embellishments, and you would probably never guess that this picture only made it on to a layout because it perfectly shows the moods of my little ladies that day that their aunt got married.

My sister-in-law got married at the college that her and her fiancee met at, the hotel we stayed at wasn't very far from the auditorium, and the girls had been couped up in the room all day, so I thought we would walk over. Get them a chance to get outside some, and wear down some of that energy they had been saving all day. BIG MISTAKE! lol! I forgot to take into account the huge fountain we would have to walk past, and lets face it, what, at the time 2 and 4 year old, can resist the lure of playing in a huge ole' water fountain? Needless to say, they were not happy with me when I told them no, and even less happy when I grab the camera to snap a picture. One giving me the mad face, and the other can't even tear her eyes away from that fountain! lol. Thankfully, they quickly forgave me! :)

I am so happy with the way this layout turned out, I am actually really pleased with all of my projects from this GORGEOUS kit! I will be back to share more soon, and make sure you head over to The Paper Bakery , this kit will be revealed on the 15th, but Sarah puts together such fabulous kits, that they usually sell out immediately!

Have a great weekend, and take time to create something you love! :)

2012-02-03T19:00:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Scrap-Friendzy's "Get Your Game On" blog hop!!You should be coming here from Tracey's blog, if not head on over to the Scrap-Friendzy Blog, and start from the beginning!

Everyone has football on the brain this weekend, getting ready for the big Superbowl game on Sunday, and we do too.... but not football like you're thinking- for this Blog Hop, we will be using football to give us some scrappy inspiration!

Our Blog Hop runs from now until midnight (cst) February 5th. But, like everything we do at Scrap-Friendzy- this is NOT just a regular Blog Hop. We're gonna throw in a little extra fun with a
Touchdown Challenge!

At every stop on the hop, you will be given a special "ingredient" from each DT Member. Your Challenge is to take any 6 of the "ingredients" and complete any ONE project of your choice for a touchdown!!!! When you score a touchdown, you will be entered into a drawing for our Blog Hop Grand Prize! If you're feeling confident and think you can make that extra point, don't kick your project.... just use 7 of the ingredients and your name will go into the drawing twice!!!! Simply upload your project in the Gallery at SF and link it to the "Get Your Game on" blog hop thread in the forum to be eligible for the Grand Prize AND earn 25 bonus Friendz Pointz in the month of February just for playing in the game!!

Now, I am going to be honest, I had a HARD time with this one. I don't watch football, at all, I even had to google to see who was playing. So after some help from the ladies on the DT, and a couple of failed attempts at a couple different layout ideas, I have this one to share...It is a older layout that I have tweaked some to go more with my current style. I don't normally do that, but I wasn't happy with this album from the beginning, its 8.5x11, which I have a very hard time scrapping with.

For my "football" theme, I chose the team colors...I have red, white, and blue, white a little bit of pink added in for good measure. :)

( Not the best picture, I apologize, I can't even photography this size well for some reason! lol)

Now, since I don't really follow football, I couldn't think of an element for you to use on your layout that would correlate with that, so I chose one of my favorite go-to embellishments...buttons!

I used some chipboard buttons on my layout, but any type of button you prefer will count! :)

Can't wait to see what you create. Remember to link your LO up to this thread in the forum after you have collected all your ingredients and chosen your 6 or 7 to use.

I am also offering a RAK...all you have to do is become a follower and leave me a comment, or leave me a comment letting me know that you already are one, and I will randomly select someone to receive some goodies!

Next up on the blog hop is Tracy!

Have a blessed weekend, and create something you love!

Sneak Peek!!

2012-02-01T09:54:00.000-05:00

Today I am sharing a sneak peek for the February kit from The Paper Bakery! Sarah has done it again, and put together an absolutely gorgeous kit!! I can't wait for you all to see!! :)

Today, I am going to share with you a little peak at one of the projects I made with the add-on kit. I am finally starting to embrace card making, and I know its these fabulous kits that are helping me hurdle that block! :)

I also wanted to share with you something that I hope to play along with this month, and thought perhaps some of you would like to also. I think this is a fabulous idea to help you get in those daily pictures and, at least for me, take photos of things that you would never even think of.

I found this courtesy of fatmumslim.com, you can find more information about this challenge here! I hope to share my photos here on the blog, maybe that will help hold me accountable for getting on here and posting more often! If you play along I would love it you link up in the comments so I can follow along with you!

I hope you all have a great Wednesday, and take time to create something you love!!

Sew Cute Pin Cushions!!

2012-01-25T14:06:00.000-05:00

Hi all!! Hope this week has been treating you well!! So sorry I have been MIA the last week, the flu bug hit my house HARD! I think everyone is finally on the upswing though!

I just wanted to pop in today and let you all know that I have a tutorial up on The Paper Bakery blog sharing how I made these cute little mason jar sewing kit/pin cushions!

Head on over and check it out! Bear with me on it, lol, its my first picture tutorial!

Also while you are there, make sure you check out the shop! Sarah is having a big sale to make way for all the fun new goodies she will getting after CHA this week! Which I can't wait to see what she picks up...wish I was going along! I am pretty excited about a few different collections...loving Studio Calico, My Mind's Eye, Simple Stories, and few others. What are your fav releases??

I'm off for one more dose of meds and hopefully a nice long nap, if the girls allow it! lol!

Have a great day and create something you love!

2012-01-18T08:00:00.003-05:00

Happy Wednesday!! :)
I'm here to share another layout I made with the fabulous "Sew Charming" add-on from The Paper Bakery!!

When I started this layout I knew I wanted the negative space from the hearts I punch for my "E & K" layout, from there I thought it would be fun to just frame up a few other elements around it, I also wanted to use that fabulous distressed cardstock that came in the kit.
So I put it all together and decide I need some misting, but after the misting I was not happy at all with the way it looked against the cardstock. I still loved the colors together and the idea that was in my head. So, I simply angle cut around the frames, and adhered it to this Lilly Bee text paper, and viola! I had the look I was going for!!

Now as you get to know me, and my layouts, you will see that I pretty much mist on every single one, I'm not sure why, but the layout just doesn't feel complete to me without it. So even though I had just had to rearrange my layout from a misting accident, I decided to go for it again, and use the mist that came with the add-on. Now if you look very closely at my layout, you will notice that there are both some brown splats and some blue ones. These are both from the same mist!! I had forgot to shake the mist bottle after I mixed it, so I still had lots of the blue powder not combined....but you know what, I loved the looked!

So two accidents on my part, turned into a layout that I love even more than the original I had in my mind! Never get discouraged when those little things occur, just turn them into happy accidents and create something you love from them! :)

Ideas for Scrapbookers

2012-01-17T07:48:00.000-05:00

I had the opportunity to play along with Ideas for Scrapbookers and create a layout to go along with Heather's sketch and template #9.
Here sketch made way for lots of photos, but those of you who know me, know that I am usually a one photo scrapper, so I made the sketch work for my style! Here is the sketch that Heather designed:

So many possibilities for this sketch, which is clearly shown by the different layouts made by the contributors. Here is the layout I made to go along with the sketch, I used the Button Box Kit from Scraptastic Club, where I am guest designing this month.

Thanks so much to Heather for having me play along, and make sure you head over to the Ideas for Scrapbookers blog and see the other inspiring layouts! :)

Have a blessed day and take time to create something you love!

Life is Sweet

2012-01-16T09:54:00.000-05:00

Its the 15th of the month, so that means that both the "Life is Sweet" project kit and the "Sew Charming" add-on are available at The Paper Bakery!!! There are just a few of these amazing kits left, so make sure you head on over and get your subscription started TODAY!! Here are some pics of these amazing kits!!

Life Is Sweet Project Kit

Sew Charming Add-On Kit

There are so many goodies in both of these kits! Head on over to The Paper Bakery to get the full supply list and to start your subscription TODAY!!

I will be back later on to share some more of the projects I made with the FABULOUS add-on kits "Sew Charming"!!

Have a blessed day and create something you love!

Sketchy Thursdays...and an announcement

2012-01-12T08:33:00.000-05:00

One of the first challenge blogs that I found and quickly grew to love was Sketchy Thursdays. I was inspired every week by the fabulous sketches and the amazing work of the design team. I remember my excitement when I would get chosen as a Fav for the week, and how extremely shocked and honored I was when chosen to be a part of their team. Through this blog I forged friendships with wonderful ladies, that I probably would never had the opportunity to know otherwise. I am so sad to say that this will be my last layout for Sketchy Thursdays. The wonderful ladies, Diana, Heidi, and Julie have decided that its time, and while I am very saddened by their decision, I understand that the work that must go into keeping up with a blog like Sketchy Thursdays must get overwhelming at times. So I wish them the best of luck in whatever their next steps in this crafty world are, and want them to know that they can't get rid of my that easy, lol, I will continue to follow these ladies for their amazing friendship and the inspiration they always give! Make sure you head over to the blog and read the official announcement.
Here is the fabulous sketch that we are working with this week:

Love it, as usual, and know I will go back to this one again and again! Here is the layout I made to go along with the sketch. I used the fabulous Button Box kit from Scraptastic Club, where I am guest designing this month!

I hope you take time to head over to Sketchy Thursdays, and play along this week!

Have a blessed day and create something you love

First Blog Post!!

2012-01-11T08:00:00.000-05:00

My first blog post went up today over at The Paper Bakery!! I am so excited to be a part of this team, and hope that you all head over there and check out my post and get to know some of the other ladies on the design team. LOTS of inspiration over there, and some fabulous kits! With the launch of the new site, the January mini album kit, "Life Is Sweet" is already SOLD OUT!!! These kits are amazing, and if you love the original, I definitely recommend a subscription! Every month is something fun and new! :) There are still a few of the January add-on kits "Sew Charming" available. The add-on is what I used to make this layout:

This kit is seriously ADORABLE!! So make sure you head over to The Paper Bakery and check it out!! :)

My Heart

2012-01-07T19:51:00.000-05:00

Happy Saturday!! I hope this weekend is turning out to be a fabulous one for everyone! My has been hectic, but still a good one! I even got some crafty time in!! WOOHOO!! :)
This month I have the awesome honor of being the guest designer over at Scraptastic Club, the kits are fabulous, and the design team is equally amazing!
I got to work with the Button Box kit and add-on, and let me just say FABULOUS!! October Afternoon, My Mind's Eye, Studio Calico, doesn't get much better than this kit!
Here is a page I put together using the Button Box kit and add-on:

( I apologize for the not so great picture, it got dark before I had a chance to get a better one! :/)

This kit is just fabulous, and it worked so perfect with this photo of my ladies! :)

I hope you all have time this weekend to create something you love, and make sure you take the time to pop on over and check out Scraptastic Club lots of inspiration and fun challenges every Thursday!

Have a blessed weekend!!

Sweet new website for the Paper Bakery!!!

2012-01-06T12:56:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday!! :)
A few weeks ago I announced that I had been asked to be a part of the design team for The Paper Bakery, an amazing kit club! Well, there is an equally awesome new website for them up now, you should definitely head over and check it out here!

Lots of inspiration, and some amazing sneak peeks of the new kit are up!! They always go super fast, so head over and check it out, trust me, you won't be sorry you did!!
I am going to share a few sneaks of some of my projects that I made with the January add-on kit, Sew Charming. Its such a fun and cute kit!! Here are my sneaks:

I am so excited about this kit, I have made 3 projects so far that I love, and not one of them is even a layout...I have stepped way out of my comfort zone, and I think that is exactly what a good kit is supposed to do. Inspire you to create something that you love, and Sarah puts together amazing kits that do just that! I hope you take the time to hop over, and check out all of the wonderful goodness that The Paper Bakery has to offer!

Have a blessed weekend and take time to create! :)

Top 11 of 2011

2011-12-30T20:55:00.000-05:00

Its almost that time..time to say good bye to another year and welcome in the new one. So many things happened in my life this past year, some amazing, some not so amazing, but I wouldn't change one of them for anything. They have helped bring me to a wonderful place in my life...I am so excited to start the new year with my sweet family, and see what God has in store for us!!
As I was thinking back over the past year, it also made me open up the scrapbooks, and look and reflect back on not only the experiences, but how my love for this wonderful hobby has grown, and how I have changed in my style.
I thought it would be fun to do a top 11 of 2011...so below you will find my favorite layouts and projects from this past year, in no particular order because I couldn't decide! :p

I want to thank each and every one of you for taking the time to visit my blog and share in my and my families stories..and also share your love for this hobby with me. Many of you have became friends throughout this past year, and I am very grateful for each and everyone of you!

Have a happy new year! :)

Long time no post

2011-12-29T08:38:00.000-05:00

Does anyone else feel like this month has flown by at super speed, and that hardly any of the things you wanted to get accomplished this month got done? I really hope I am not alone in this! I had so many plans for this month, both crafty and otherwise, and I don't know that one of them actually came together all the way for me. My hubby says that I worry too much about the plan, and I know he's right, but sometimes I just wish it would go according to my play one day! lol :)

With all of that being said, we had a fabulous month...we were crazy some days with all the running around we had to do, but other days, we did nothing but lay around in our pajamas all day long! :) I hope that the holidays and the time leading up to them were fabulous for you all and that you got time to just sit back and enjoy a little, I did this year, probably for the first year in a long time...and I loved it! Maybe Derek is right when he says I need to let my plans go...don't tell him I said that though! hehe :)

Anyways, I did finally get some time to sit down and get crafty and I have a layout to share with you today that goes along with the new Sketchy Thursdays sketch. I definitely switched this up quite a bit and made it mine. Here is my layout:

I love this picture of my sweet girl :) I am pretty happy with this layout...I feel like there is something missing, not sure what though...any suggestions?? Would love to hear them! :)

Here is the sketch for this week, another fabulous one! :)

Hop on over to Sketchy Thursdays to get all the details, and I hope that you get time to play along! Have fun with this one and make something you love! :)

Be back soon with some more craftiness, I promise! I am going to really try and step it back up after the first of the year...more posting, more projects, and I always love a good giveaway or two! :)

One more thing before I go...I am debating on Project Life for 2012...would love if you all would post any thoughts or advice from your own experiences!

Have a blessed weekend! :)

Exciting News!!!

2011-12-10T17:38:00.000-05:00

Happy Saturday!! :)

I hope you are all having a fantastic weekend! I just got home from work early, so mine is definitely getting better! :)

I just wanted to pop in and share some exciting news! I am very honored to have been selected as a new member of The Paper Bakery design team!! Amazing kits, and there is always so much inspiration on the blog...very excited to be a part of this team! Make sure you head over and check it out!!

Have a blessed weekend, and make time to create something you love!

Life Documented

2011-12-08T09:00:00.000-05:00

Every year I try and make my mom a calendar for Christmas. She is not a scrapper, so I like to make her a full size calendar that she can turn into a scrapbook at the end of the year. I am getting a pretty late start this year, so hoping I get it finished by Christmas! Eeek...that is not very far away! Yikes, I better get busy!!!
For the calendar this year, I am using the Year-O-Graphy line by Simple Stories...I think this is a beautiful line, and it is actually making this a fairly easy project for me.

When I saw this weeks Sketchy Thursdays sketch, I thought it would be super cute as the cover page for my calendar! I actually really love this sketch, and will probably mix it up a bit and use it on a few other pages throughout my calendar.

Here is the sketch for this week:

Very fun sketch with so many possibilities!! Make sure you head on over to Sketchy Thursdays and see the amazing inspiration that the design team has for you this week, and get all the detail to play along for you chance at a fabulous prize!!

Have a great week, be blessed, and create something you love! :)

Handmade Holiday Blog Hop WINNER****

2011-12-05T10:55:00.000-05:00

Thank you so much to everyone that stopped by and left such sweet comments! I think this was a fabulous blog hop, and I now have TONS of crafty ideas for the holiday!! :)

The winner of my envelope mini album is.....Stacia!!!

Congrats Stacia! I have your info, so I will get this mailed out to you asap! Hope you enjoy it! :)

I'll be back later this week with some new projects to share!

Handmade Holiday Blog Hop!!!

2011-12-02T00:00:00.000-05:00

I'm back!!! :) I know its been awhile, I have found myself super busy, and hardly having time to breathe, let alone get crafty. However, I do have a few fun projects I hope to share with you over the next couple of weeks...starting with this little mini I made as my project for the Handmade Holiday Blog Hop!

Every couple of months some of the ladies from Club Ck get together and do a fun blog hop...Amanda ( not me, but a pretty awesome Amanda nonetheless ;)) is our fearless organizer, and she does a fabulous job..so if you didn't get to my blog from Melissa's then make sure you head over to Amanda's blog and start from the beginning.

For my project, I thought it would be fun to make a little envelope mini album...this is actually a Little Yellow Bicycle kit that I picked up at my LSS, but it comes together to make a very fun and cute little album...you could use this to give as a gift, to fill with a specific event from the holiday season, or as a fun spot for some notes and journaling from the season...you could even take it apart and add it to your December Daily or whatever holiday project you might have going.

Here is my album, and it is using the Wonder & Wishes collection by Little Yellow Bicycle.

I think this is just the cutest little thing! :) AND since I am already in the holiday spirit, I would like to GIVE one of you this very album...all the hard work is already done, you can just add pictures and enjoy! :) Keep for yourself or give as a gift ( I promise I won't get mad! lol)

So if you would like a chance at this mini, just become a follower of my blog and let me know, also let tell me some of your plans for this holiday season! ( If you are already a follower, leave a comment letting me know, you will be included in the drawing as well!) I will randomly select a winner on Monday Dec 5th.

Hope you all have a very blessed holiday season, and get inspired as you hop along with us this weekend! :)

The next stop on the hop is Mandi!

Best Day EVER!!!

2011-11-17T07:56:00.001-05:00

Here is my page for this weeks Sketchy Thursday sketch. Loved this one, love them all really! :)

I am really happy with this layout, and it game together so super fast!

Over the summer we took our girls out in the boat for a couple times, and the first time we went out Miss K kept saying this is the best day ever...so awesome Mommy! :) Gotta love that kind of enthusiasm! :)

Hope you get a chance to play along with Sketchy Thursdays this week! Head on over and check out the fabulous sketch, and a chance at a great prize!!

***This weeks sketch will be up for two weeks since we are taking off for the holiday, and our sponsor was generous enough to offer up 2 prizes!! So you have two weeks to get your layout finished up and linked, and then you get a chance at 1 of 2 prizes!!***

Have a blessed day and create something you love!

Little Yellow Bicycle Cycling Team Project

2011-11-10T07:57:00.000-05:00

A few months back Little Yellow Bicycle had a call out for Cycling Team members...a monthly rotating team who gets to work with amazing product for a very generous and amazing company. I was honored to be chosen as a part of their Head of the Class Cycling Team.
My project went up on their blog TODAY!! :)

Here is my project and a little info:

My oldest daughter will be going off to kindergarten next year, and I wanted to make something bright and fun to store all of her papers and drawings in...I loved the fun patterns and colors of the HC collection for this project.

For full product list and a little how-to please head on over to the Little Yellow Bicycle Blog.

I want to give a shout out to all of the other fabulously talented ladies that were on the Cycling Team with me, and a big congrats to the new ladies that will stepping up with the collections. Also a BIG HUGE THANK YOU to LYB for this amazing opportunity!

Have a blessed day, and be inspired! :)

So Cute...So Stinkin Cute

2011-11-03T09:00:00.000-04:00

Its Thursday, so you know what that means...a fabulous new sketch is up at Sketchy Thursdays!
Here is my layout based on this weeks sketch:

This little stinker...she had some fun one day while we were out shopping with the new make up Mamaw bought her...I couldn't help but laugh, she was so proud of herself. :)

Here is the sketch for this week:

Very fun and versatile sketch! As you can see, I switched it up quite a bit, but you can definitely still see some elements from the sketch, and there are so many possibilities with this sketch! I know I will use it again and again.

Hope you take the time to head over and join in this week for a chance at our fabulous prize!

Grateful

2011-11-01T00:01:00.001-04:00

This month really reminds you of the blessings you have, all the things you should be grateful for...so when I recieved the inspiration photo and quote for this month, I knew immediately what I wanted to do!

Tessa from Precocious Paper is hosting an month long event "Attitude of Gratitude", basically journaling, scrapping, blogging, whatever method you chosse, but just doing something to express what you are grateful for, the blessings in your life. I thought it would be wonderful to play along, and a wonderful journal that can be there for my girls when they get older, to read about things that were/are important to me, maybe help them to get to know the women I am today.

So I paired my PPD photo along with Tessa's project, and made a Gratful journal. I used a Fancy Pants brag book, and hope to fill it with lots of journaling, some photos, and mini layouts. Here is the fabulous photo for this month.

Here is the cover of my journal..I was inspired by the inspirational quote, the plates, and the deep fall colors.

( my attempt at staging my project..not sure I completely pulled it off. LOL)

I hope that you take the time to join in with both challenges this month! :)

The ladies at the PPD have lots of fun prizes lined up this month, so make sure you play along and link up your project by the 15th of this month for a chance to win...and also don't forget to show your favorite designer how grateful you are for them, by heading back to the PPD after you finish the hop and voting! :)

Thanks for stopping by, now you are off to be inspired by the talented Debby.

Favorite Things

2011-10-27T09:00:00.000-04:00

My three favorite people in the whole world! :) I love this photo of Derek and the girls, and when I saw this weeks sketch, I knew it was perfect for the photo, I have been wanting to scrap it since I took it, but it never seemed to fit anywhere, every time I tried scrapping it it just wasn't right...does that ever happen to you? I find it happens alot, I get my heart set on a certain photo and a certain layout, and by the time I am finished its nothing like I thought :) This one though, once I got it going, came together so easily and exactly like I wanted! :)

Lots of Authentiques Uncommon on this layout...I love the colors in that collection...I threw in a little Studio Calico Classic Calico wood grain to "man it up" a little. :)

Here is the fabulous sketch that was the start of this layout:

Make sure you head on over to Sketchy Thursdays, and not only get inspired, but play along for your chance at a FABULOUS prize from The Paper Bakery! They are a fabulous kit club, I have tons of kits from them, and Sarah is such a sweetie! So you definitely want to get your chance in for this great prize...and look at that sketch! Who wouldn't be inspired?

Oh, and make sure you head this way Saturday! My post on the Little Yellow Bicycle Blog will be live!! My first post as a member of the Cycling Team!!! I still can't believe it!

New Sketchy Thursdays Reveal!!

2011-10-20T09:00:00.002-04:00

Its Thursday, which means a new sketch is up over at Sketchy Thursdays!
This weeks sketch is another fabulous one!! :)

So many possibilities with this sketch! All that area for journaling, white space, anything and everything you can think of could come from this sketch.

Here is my take:

I decided to measure out some different angles strips instead of the torn edges. I really like the way this one came together...the only part I'm really not happy with is the journaling. I had thoughts of writing this wonderful letter, and then I get to that point and my mind goes blank, I can't find a spot where I like the journaling, it just turned into a big mess...so I just kept it short and sweet. Still not 100% happy with the placement, but you'll have that I suppose. :)

Hope you all get a chance to play along this week!! Head on over to Sketchy Thursdays to get all of the details and play along for this weeks fabulous prize! :)

Sketchy Thursdays

2011-10-06T09:00:00.005-04:00

It's Thursday, which means a new sketch is up over at Sketchy Thursdays, and it also means this is my first layout as a design team member! I am still kinda shocked that I am a part of this team with all of the other amazingly talented ladies. :)

Here is the fun sketch for this week:

Here is my take:

I want to say thanks to the talented Jen Jockisch for the title inspiration...she recently had a layout up at the Crate Paper blog, and sisterhood was her title, the minute I saw it I knew I wanted to use it for these photos. :)

I switched the sketch up just a little bit, which just shows how very versatile this sketch is...hope you find time to join in this week!! Head over to Sketchy Thursdays and see what the rest of the design team created, and join in for your chance at this weeks fabulous prize!!

PolkaDot Door Blog Hop

2011-09-30T23:59:00.001-04:00

I was extremely honored when I was asked to be a part of the blog hop this month along with all of the other extremely talented ladies at PolkaDot Door. For those of you who haven't heard of PDD, they are a wonderful challenge blog who every month give you an inspiration photo and you create something that you love by what inspires you...you get the chance to hop along and learn about some new amazingly talented ladies, and play along for some fabulous prizes.

I am not going to lie, when I saw the image for this month, I was stumped, for quite awhile. I sat and stared at this photo, I asked friends, I even asked my hubby....and wouldn't you know it, he was the one who finally helped me find my inspiration. Talk about a shocker!! LOL!

First I will show you the photo for this month, and then I will try and explain what inspired me, because I can almost guarantee you won't be able to tell from my layout. ;)

Here is the photo for this month:

Very adorable photo, I was just super stumped...I was taking it way to literal, and was really struggling with it....so when I showed the hubby, the first thing that he noticed was the "sibling rivalry" in the photo....of course his solution was use pics of the girls arguing...at this point I was desperate, so I started going through photos to find that I didn't have any of them not getting along, not playing around and just being the buds that they are...so I got to thinking, and they really don't fight much, they are best friends, soooo....I decided to scrap that. The fact that right now there aren't those kind of issues, but that I know one day it will happen, I just hope they get past whatever it is to stay as close as they are now.

Then once I decided not to be as literal, I started looking at the photo in a different way...I was then inspired by the pops of red against the light blue, the patterns of the outfits and how they contrasted so beautiful, the sprinkling of the little gold and green circles along the floor,...and I was inspired...I knew exactly what I was going to do.

The reds are photographing really off on here, but super cloudy day, and I am still learning PSE. :)

Now please hop along and see what all of the other fabulous ladies have created:

Lindsay

DeeDee
Amanda (You are here)

Polkadot Door Designs

This month's prize sponsors are:

Berry71Bleu is giving away a $20 shop certificate to the Challenge winner.

UmWow Studio is giving away a prize package to the blog hop winner.

Scrappy Doodads is giving away a complete kit to the featured designer!

Thanks so much for hopping by my blog, I hope you are inspired to create something you love. I hope you take the time to not only visit all of the other ladies, but play along yourself! Make sure to link your creations up at the PolkaDot Door!!

I'm still here :)

2011-09-28T11:37:00.000-04:00

Hi all! :) I know its be awhile, but I promise you I am still here! :) I have so much going on right now with projects to get done and the kiddos, I swear I need a few more hours each day and then I *might* get everything done that needs done! :) I'm sure you can all relate! :)

I thought I would hop on and share a new layout.

These are some pics from last year that I hadn't got around to scrapping yet....I can't believe how much the girls have changed in just a year...I am really not prepared for how fast they are growing up!

Had some fun layering and playing around on this layout! I am really happy with the way it turned out....I had to add in a banner, of course :), but I tried to kinda change it up a little.

I used Crate Paper's Farmhouse almost exclusively on this layout...I love all of their new lines...just got the Random collection in this week, finally! Hoping to get some scrappy time SOON!!

Heading out to the Pumpkin Patch this weekend, so hopefully all those new photos will inspire me to get crafty!! :)

What projects are you working on these days??

Holy Moly!!!

2011-09-21T23:49:00.000-04:00

I am so honored and excited to share that I am one of the newest members of the Sketchy Thursdays Design Team!!! Someone seriously needs to pinch me!!! :) You all know that I LOVE the sketches and inspiration that I find over at ST every week, I am so excited to be a part of that team, and maybe inspire someone just as much as those ladies always inspire me!! I also want to tell all of the other ladies, including Melissa Johnson ( who is a very talented "peep" that I have come to know from Club Ck) that will be on the team with me! Also be on the lookout for an AMAZING guest designer for the month of October, Ms Ashley Horton!

I also want to share that I am going to be one of the members of the new Cycling Team that Little Yellow Bicycle has started. I get to work with the amazing Head of the Class collection! Be on the lookout here and at the LYB blog to see not only mine, but all of the other talented ladies who will be guest designing!!

Hold onto your seats, I am going to be in crafty overdrive!! ;)

Scrappy Weekend!!

2011-09-19T08:53:00.000-04:00

This was a very busy weekend for me, my LSS held a weekend long retreat...I had so much fun!! Its the first one I have been to, and I went with such high expectations of getting so much done, next year I will know better!! LOL! I met some amazing ladies, and we definitely talked and laughed much for that we scrapped. I did however, manage to get a few layouts in....and came home with lots of inspiration!
First up is my layout based on this week's sketch from Sketchy Thursdays. When I first saw the sketch I was a little intimidated, kinda out of the norm for me,but the sponsor of the retreat this weekend was Authentique, so one of our challenges was to make a layout using their products, I immediately knew what I wanted to do.

I knew these photos of my silly ladies would be perfect for the Uncommon line from Authentique, and this week Sketchy Thursdays not only had an amazing sketch, but the teamed up with Scrapfit to give us the theme of "friendship" to work with, and you can tell by looking at these two that they are definitely best buds! :)

My next layout is for the first challenge I am hosting over at Scrap-Friendzy. Our theme this month is Design Star, so I gave an inspiration photo for the ladies to work with:

I just loved everything about is room! The colors , the mix matched goodies, and mainly the fun placement of the frames and the word "read"

Here is my layout based off of the photo, using the fun Summer Days collection by Simple Stories.

Lots of fun challenges over at Scrap-Friendzy, and the ladies are all super sweet. Would love to have some of you hop over and play along!! :)

Off to work now, and its going to be quite the day...I get the lovely job of restocking and unpacking everything from the retreat this weekend!

Authentique Feature and Giveaway

2011-09-16T14:43:00.001-04:00

Hey everybody!!
Just popping in for a quick post today, as I am busy getting ready to head off on my weekend scrappy
retreat!! :)

Just wanted to let everyone know that Practical Scrappers is doing a feature this week on Authentique! I have a couple layouts being featured, so head over and check them out! Also enter the giveaway for a fun Authentique prize package!! :)

Have a blessed weekend!!! :)

A Hot Mess

2011-09-14T09:19:00.001-04:00

My youngest, poor thing, has a small issue with her jeans ( well, really anything she wears on the bottom that isn't stretchy), see she is the cutest little thing ever, but unfortunately, the poor thing inherited her Mama's booty, lol, so the jeans don't want to stay up on it. I couldn't resist snapping some pictures of her little booty on a recent trip to the park, and of course they had to make their way onto a layout. :)

I tell you this much, I wish it looked as cute on me, as it does on here! LOL!

I used the 9.8 sketch from Sketchy Thursdays on this one..when I saw it I knew it was perfect for these photos.

Had fun with this one! :)
Supply list:
Happy Days by Echo Park
Hot Dog Mister Hueys
Bluegrass Mister Hueys
Polka Dot Brad: Design by Diana

Off to a retreat that my LSS is having this weekend...3 days of uninterrupted scrapping!! Can't wait!!! :)

Blog Your Heart

2011-09-14T08:20:00.000-04:00

I don't usually share alot of personal on here, other than the stories behind projects and layouts, but I am going to switch it up a little today. :) While visiting my favorite blogs this morning I stumbled across Stephanie Howell's blog, which is honestly one of my favorites. She constantly inspires me with her beautiful projects, and also on a regular basis makes me laugh out loud or cry depending on her post for that day. She issued a challenge today, for her readers to step out and blog straight from there heart, so here goes. :)

1. I am in love. I have been married for just over 8 years, and I still get butterflies everytime he kisses that spot on my neck, everytime he is with the girls and I see what an amazing father is he, everyday when he comes home from work, pretty much everytime I see him.

2. I am very emotional lately. I find myself randomly crying over very random things. Not sure the reason behind this, and not sure if its a bad thing. I feel much less stress, and this is SO nice!

3. I am struggling some with my faith, no I shouldn't say it like that, I am not doubting Him, I am doubting myself, and am not giving Him the time I should to work on building my relationship with Him back up. Starting a new Bible study tomorrow, its with other moms, during the day so the kiddos can play. VERY excited about this, and feel its what I need to help get me back on track.

4. The girls are growing up so fast. I can't believe that in a year Emma will be in kindergarten and Katlyn will be heading off to preschool. They are amazing little ladies. I am so blessed to have been given the WONDERFUL job of being their mother. They teach me everyday about life, love, and God...so much more than I feel I could ever teach them. Some days I feel like they were given to me, not for what I might be able to do for them, but what they would do for me.

I am going to leave you with an image I found on Pinterest recently...it sums up how I am feeling lately. I used to think I had to be that "perfect" mom, my family had to be that "perfect" family, our house had to look "perfect" all the time, I found this and realized that I was spending WAY TOO MUCH time worrying about everything being "perfect" that I was missing out on everything right in from of me.

Life is wonderful, and ever more so once you remember and live it as the beautiful thing it is.

I hope this isn't just a jumbled mess, it was very, I want to say liberating for me, I didn't put alot of "thought" into this, I honestly just typed what came to my heart ( and then spell checked and checked the grammar, which is probably still wrong, all the while praying it made sense) ;)

I hope you decide to join in on Stephanie's challenge, and if you do, please link back to me as well as her. :)

My Beautiful Girl

2011-09-08T17:54:00.001-04:00

I have had these photos for awhile, and for some reason never got around to scrapping them. I stumbled across them again here recently, and I was just struck instantly by the little lady. She is growing up so fast, I feel like I blink and miss so much. Next year she will go off to school, and then I know time will really start to fly.

Ahh! Look at her, my beautiful girl :)

Authentique has started having challenges on their blog, and I decided to play along and use their sketch for these photos.

There is still time to play along, the details can all be found here. This sketch is fabulous, hope you all get time to play along.

Here is my supply list for this layout, if you want to go and grab some of this yumminess! :)

From the Uncommon Collection: Gifted & Unique

Blissful Collection: Fold-over Solids, Prosperity, Felicity, Icons, Excerpts

Other products: wooden butterflies ( unknown) ,buttons ( MME & Crate Paper), ribbon (unknown)

I am slowly getting back into the swing of things, plan on seeing much for on the blog again here in the next few weeks.

Also still be on the lookout for the giveaway coming soon!!

Have a blessed weekend!!

Busy Busy Busy

2011-09-04T23:54:00.000-04:00

Hi all!! :) Sorry I have been kinda MIA lately...things have been super busy with me starting to work part time, Emma getting ready to start school back up, the holiday, and much more that I won't bore you with.

So, with all this going on, the first thing that got pushed aside is of course scrappy time. :( I need to have that time, at least a few hours a week, it helps me unwind. Hoping to get back in the swing of things in the next couple of weeks, after we get all of these new schedules down.
I don't have anything new to share, so I am going to share a layout I made last month for a challenge over at Club Ck...

Boy do I love these too...this is so them. Little Miss Emma so prim and proper...and then Wild Thing Katlyn there with here. LOL! :)

Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday weekend, and hope to be back next week with some new layouts to share! :)

Happy Days

2011-08-30T16:24:00.000-04:00

I am totally in love with the Happy Days collection by Echo Park! I love the bright colors, the vintage kind of feel, the patterns, really just everything about it! So when they posted their Facebook Challenge, I knew I had to play along. I had alot of fun with this layout, I couldn't stop adding to it!! I'm not sure what is with me lately on that front, but I am definitely changing up my style! Here is the layout I made for the challenge.

Sorry for the somewhat blurry photo...I am fighting a horrible sinus infection..and apparently I was swaying on my feet a little there.

I am really happy with this layout..its something different for me....and while the colors don't necessarily "match" my photo, I think that together they all work really well together and play off of each other.

September is going to be a busy month for me! My LSS was in need of help, so I am going to start working there part time, I haven't worked in over 4 years, so very nervous about starting that back up, and how the girls are going to do. So far they are perfectly fine, but those of you with kiddos know how quickly that can change. Also I start my term on the design team at Scrap-Friendzy in September, and I will be hosting my first challenge later in the month!
We are doing something extra fun for September! For every challenge you complete by Sunday of the week it was posted, you are entered for a RAK! That is FOUR chances at some scrappy goodies...along with the chance at a prize from your Friendz points. You all should definitely come by and check it out here!!
I am also considering applying for a couple other design teams, so fingers crossed there!

What are you all up to as we head back into the school year, into fall??

Hope you all have a blessed week!!

Exciting News!!!

2011-08-26T09:44:00.001-04:00

Happy Friday Everyone!! :) I am just popping in real quick to share some very exciting news!! I have been asked to be on the design team over at Scrap-Friendzy!

Its a great forum and kit club...they host weekly challenges and the atmosphere is fantastic!! I hope some of you will stop by and check it and play along!!

Have a blessed week!! :)

WINNER WINNER!!!!!

2011-08-22T01:11:00.000-04:00

First off I would like to tell you all thank you so much for stopping by and taking the time to comment during the Blog Hop. I loved reading each and every comment. :)

Now on to the good stuff! :) The winner of my giveaway is:

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 21 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Comment # 21 which was CAROLEB!!!

Congrats Carol!! :) If you will email me your info I will get your prize out to you asap! :)

Again thank you all for hopping my way, and there is still plenty of time to play along in the sketch challenge yourself! All you have to do is create a layout based on the sketch given, and once you are done head over to Amanda's blog lovejoypaper.com and add it to Mr. Linky!

Have a blessed week! Hopefully will be back to share some more projects this week! :)

Thanks for Hoppin by!! :)

2011-08-18T23:00:00.004-04:00

Hello Hoppers!! Welcome to my humble little blog, if you didn't come here from Kathy's blog, please return to Amanda's blog so that you can hop along in order.

If you follow along with me, you know I love sketches! I find they take some of the harder aspects, photo placement is a BIG one for me, out of the design process, and let you focus more on telling your story and getting exactly the look you want.

Amanda gave us this fun sketch to work with:

I played around with it some, but I still think that you can very much see the sketch in my layout.

I really wanted to use the pictures that a friend had taken of my youngest and myself, so I switched up the orientation a bit, and made it work for what I needed. That's what I love about sketches, and this one has so many possibilities, I know I will use it again!

Thanks again for hopping my way this weekend, I have a giveaway! :) Sorry no picture, but its a good one, trust me!! :) So if you would like to be entered please become a follower and leave me a comment letting me know you did...if you are already a follower, leave me a comment letting me know that too!! :) I will be out of town all weekend, so my giveaway will be open until Monday morning!! :)

Please go to Laura's blog to continue!!

If you would like to be entered for the prize for the entire hop, then make a layout of your own based on the sketch, and once you have finished, return to Amanda's blog and add your link!

Thanks again for hopping by! Have a blessed weekend!!

~Amanda

The Most Wonderful Story

2011-08-18T17:12:00.001-04:00

A few months back, a friend of mine who was just starting out with her photography business asked to take some pics of our little family. Of course I said yes, any excuse to get Derek and the girls together for some pictures I just on. It had been quite awhile since we had had our family pictures taken, so I was determined to get some good ones. The day wasn't going well for that at all, it was sprinkling off and on, it was very chilly, and the girls were not having any part of it, I think because they knew we were going to the pumpkin patch once we finished.
So Derek, being the amazing husband and father that he is, was trying so hard to keep the girls happy so that we could get our pictures....and me being the frustrated mommy and wife that I am was getting so aggravated at him and the girls because all they wanted to do was play. I left upset and disappointed sure that their were going to be no good pictures.
Then she brings me the pictures and this is what I get:

Talk about amazing ( at least in my opinion) photos! These are so true to my daughter and husband. Tickles, kisses, and spinning...they do all of these all the time. I love these photos and the story behind them ( hence the title) :)

I did my journaling in yellow, cause while I wanted to tell the story behind these pictures, I still wanted the main focus to be on the pictures, and I felt that any other color would compete too much with the softer background and elements.

I also kept the majority of the layout very simple, since I had such a large cluster of embellishments in the top right corner. The inspiration behind that came from this beauty here:

I love the inspiration at Polkadot Door Design, I am usually just a silent follower, but this inspired me so much that I had to play along this time. They extended their deadline until the 25th, so if this photo inspires you , head over and get all the info and play along! :)

Just a few quick notes:

Blog Hop tomorrow!! Be here!! :)

Be on the lookout next week for a fun new blog design!! Melissa Elsner from The Profound Brunette is busily working on my new design this weekend! I have loved all the little peeks, can't wait to see it all put together!

Last, but certainly not least Leeanne over at Artful Delight Kit Club is just a few people away from having 400 followers!! When she hits that number she is going to have a giveaway! Trust me you want to head over there and check it out! Her kits are AMAZING!! :)

Wedding this weekend, so I will be out of blogging land, but I hope you all enjoy this post, and the blog hop this weekend. I will select a winner from the hope Monday when we get back to town.

Thanks so much for stopping by and looking at my work, you all are such a blessing and I love reading your comments!

Have a blessed weekend!!

~Amanda

Imagination

2011-08-16T16:12:00.000-04:00

My girls have the best imaginations, I don't remember playing and pretending and just enjoying life when I was younger as they do. I feel alot of this comes from their absolute love for books. These girls love reading and looking at pictures in any and every book they can find. AND I LOVE IT!!! :) I am so thankful that they have this desire to learn and grow and imagine. I hope they keep it forever! :)

When they posted the Guest Design Team challenge over at Sketchy Thursdays and I saw the sketch, and that the theme needed to have something to do with reading, I knew exactly what I wanted the layout to be about, our messy book shelves and random piles of books throughout the house. My mom would die if she saw my house sometimes, lol, but I don't care. I love walking down the hallway and seeing the girls laying there with a pile of books "reading" them to each other. Anyways, lol, I used those pics for my layout...the piles and the mess, and I put them together with some Cosmo Cricket and Basic Grey, and came up with this beauty, that I must say I am pretty proud of...it's really pretty simple, but the colors and patterns are so far out there for me that I feel like I accomplished something major. LOL!

I have some stamping, some embossing, some misting, die cutting, I went a little crazy on this one, but I love it! :)

You have til Saturday to enter the GDT challenge! Go check it out...also check out the design team call they are having...I'm seriously debating!! :)

Remember, blog hop this weekend!!! :)

Have a blessed day!!

~ Amanda

Scrappy Happy Day!! :)

2011-08-15T16:10:00.001-04:00

Today was a very productive day for me!! I finished 3, yes 3, layouts!! :) The girls were having so much fun playing with their new zuzu pet babies, that they weren't interested in me at all. That doesn't happen very often, lol, so I took advantage of it! :)

I loved the Sketchy Thursdays sketch this week, so I had to play along there. I changed it up a little bit, and only used one photo instead of the three they had...I am so happy with the way this one turned out!

I also wanted to play along with the sketch challenge over at Artful Delight. I switched this sketch up a little bit also. I had lots of fun on this one playing with my new Happy Days collection by Echo Park!! :)

Sorry the picture quality on these two isn't that great. Its a cloudy day here, and I couldn't get a good picture for anything by the window. So took them outside, and then I couldn't get them to line up straight, and the colors are still a tad off, but you get the idea. :)

Hope everyone has a blessed week! We are off to the park to enjoy a little more freedom before Miss E heads back to preschool! :)

Don't forget the blog hop is this weekend!! :) Hope you can all hop on by! ;)

~ Amanda

My Little Princess

2011-08-11T08:03:00.001-04:00

In December, both of my girls celebrate their birthdays, this year they wanted to have one big party together. After lots of discussing, cause this is serious business you know, lol, they decided to have a Princess Tea Party. It was alot of fun for both of them and their little friends. Everyone came dressed as a princess, we made crowns, sat down and drank out of our tea cups, we even had tea pot cakes..they loved it! I was exhausted! LOL!
Of course I have gobs of pictures that I love, but I picked out some of my absolute favorites and put them into this fun little mini album. I die cut all the little tea cups on Silhouette (love that thing!) and then just went to town with trims, gems, banners, anything fun girly and sparkly! :)

This is very picture heavy, but I really wanted to share a photo of every page! :) ( You can click on the photos to make them larger :))

I used mainly Pebbles, Inc. and American Crafts on this. The stamps are Lawn Fawn, and there are some trims and stickers through in there from various manufacturers.

This album is for Miss E...she loves it! :) I am asked daily, though, where Katlyn's is, so I better get busy on that! :)

This mini is one of the featured albums over at Practical Scrappers today. Make sure you head over and check out all of the other amazing albums! I know I now have some super cute ideas!! :)

What makes a bad day better...

2011-08-10T15:49:00.001-04:00

A little bit of scrappy time, of course. :) I have had one of those days today, the ones where there aren't really any "big" things going wrong, but the ones where there are so many little ones and each and every one just rubs you the wrong way. Please tell me I am not the only one that has these days!

Thankfully I had two beautiful little ladies that just make it all better. :) So after a little cuddle time with them, they laid down for a nap, and I decided that the house could be cleaned tomorrow. :)

On the fourth, we took a little day trip to a local mill and spent the day, just walking around enjoying. I happened to snap this lovely little shot of my husband and Miss E.

I kept this one pretty simple, I wanted the focus on that photo. This is so them. She is daddy's little girl. :)

I used the most recent sketch from Sketchy Thursdays.

I don't know what I would do without them! lol! It seems like the only scrapping I get done any more is my weekly layout for them. :) I am also going to link this up for Amy Heller's "Scrap Your Scraps Summer Challenge" :)
Hope everyone is having a great week! I am off to a pool party, hopefully the day keeps going up from here! :)

Be blessed!!

~Amanda

Christmas in...August??

2011-08-03T12:46:00.000-04:00

I was going through the pics on my computer yesterday, seeing what needed to be moved where, and I came across the ones of my oldest at her preschool Christmas party. The quality is absolutely horrible, but I don't even notice, all I can focus on is that smile. Pure happiness!! She was so excited that Santa was coming, and it was the first party she had had a school. So I decided that it was time to get them on a page.

I tried to kinda step out of my comfort zone on this one. I thought these Jenni Bowlin papers were fun for this page. Even though they aren't Christmas themes, I thought the red and black went nicely with the photos. I threw in a little Crate Paper, Girl's Paperie...which I think all coordinates nicely together. I am actually really happy with the way this layout turned out...its kinda busy, which isn't my norm at all, but I love it. :)

I used the 7.28 sketch from Sketchy Thursdays and I am also entering this in the workout at ScrapFit "Put a Banner on it"

I would also like to share this layout I did awhile page using a PageMaps sketch. I can't seem to find the sketch that I used, but I got it off of the SCT Blog.

I just noticed that this is crooked...hmm...hopefully its just the photo and not the actual layout! LOL!

I am so in love with the color combo right now!

The papers are all from MME, alphas Studio Calico.

Hope everybody has a very blessed Wednesday!

~Amanda

SC Giveaway!!

2011-08-02T09:49:00.000-04:00

Hi all!! Hope you are having a terrific Tuesday! ;) Just wanted to pop on real quick and share that Kim Watson is giving away a Studio Calico Boardwalk kit!! Head on over to her blog and check it out!! Also make sure you check out the SC gallery for this kit...Kim is the guest designer and she ROCKED it! Along with the whole SC team!

~Amanda

YourScrapbookStash Scraplift!

2011-08-01T17:23:00.000-04:00

YourScrapbookStash.com is having a scraplift contest this week. We were to choose one layout from a member of the DT's July gallery. This store has some serious talent on their DT!! I had a really hard time deciding which layout to lift!! Until I stumbled across Jennie McGarvey's layout, which you can see here, I knew it was the one! It was perfect for these photos I had laying around of Miss E from her first "real" haircut.

Here is my take on Jennie's layout. I didn't really change anything, I love it the way it was. :)

Lots of MME on here...I love that Fine & Dandy collection! Also mixed in a little Echo Park and Nikki Sivils.

I really love the design of this layout....I can see myself definitely using this one again!

If you want to play along with the challenge, they have extended the deadline to this Friday, August 5th! You can get the details here.

Oh! AND I made it to 50 friends!! I said I would have a giveaway when I hit that mark...I am thinking I might mix it up a little bit and make it a challenge though....hmmmm...more to come on that later this week!! ;)

Hope everyone has a blessed week!!

~Amanda

Blog Hop Winner!!

2011-07-31T02:34:00.001-04:00

First off, thank you so much to everyone who took the time out to visit and hear my story of God is working in my life. I am so thankful for each and everyone of you!

Using my trusty little Random.org widget, I selected a winner......ASHLEY HORTON!!!!

Ashley Horton said...Thanks for sharing your story Amanda!! It is always amazing to see how God works! July 30, 2011 9:58 AM

Congratulations! Praise God from whom all blessings flow....even scrappy ones! :)

Ashley, I will get your package sent on its way soon!!

Again thanks to everyone!! Have a blessed week!!

~Amanda

God's Promises Faith Blog Hop!!

2011-07-29T00:30:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the God's Promises Faith Blog Hop. If you arrived here from Candy's blog you are in the right place. If you just arrived at my blog, you should go to Paper Tree House Studio (www.mypapertreehouse.blogspot.com) in order to start at the beginning. Every month a group of brave women get together to showcase the Glory of God. This month we want to showcase His faithfulness during trying times, so kick back, relax and let the Lord touch your heart with His Truth!

Did you know that there are 1260 promises in the Bible? I did not count them myself, but am blown away by the fact that each and every promise the Lord gives, He is faithful to fulfill. It is pretty easy to believe this when times are easy and abundance surrounds our lives, but is that the same when trouble hits?

The Bible says that our hearts are deceitful above all things and then it adds WHO CAN TRUST IT? Have you ever considered that maybe the reason why we don't trust God is because we spend more time looking at how big the waves in our lives have become and forget that God created the entire UNIVERSE with just His breath... Think about it, the Lord spoke the ENTIRE World into existence... the only thing created that was made with His hands was man and woman. That is why He says that if He provides for the birds and the plants, how much more to His children? You are precious to the Lord and He will not fail you, even when it feels He might.

In this hop you will read the stories of women like you that have faced trouble and probably even lacked the faith to believe in the miracle the Lord performed at the very end! Our prayer is that you would open your heart to the Truth found in these promises and that you would even share with us what God has done in your life. Your victory may become our hope... :)

During the hop you will find many chances to win prizes! All you have to do to be considered for one of those prizes is leave a comment and become a follower of the blogs you will hop through. For the Grand Prizes , make sure to leave a comment, become a follower, and "LIKE" Paper Tree House on Facebook. This will allow you to find out about future hops we will be having.

Here are the brave women that dared to share their stories:

Paper Tree House - http://mypapertreehouse.blogspot.com

Nana - www.youniquereflections.blogspot.com

Tammy - http://www.fromme2upapercrafting.blogspot.com/

Susan - http://susanascorner.blogspot.com/

Jennifer E. - www.createoften.blogspot.com

Candy - http://www.sweetstamper.com/

Amanda - http://asjmade.blogspot.com/

Wendy - http://wendyscrappings.blogspot.com/

Nicole - http://scrapmethis.blogspot.com

Jessie - www.scrapbookingmiami.blogspot.com

Diane - http://dianemarra.typepad.com/

Vicki - http://mawmawsthoughts.blogspot.com/

Lynne Kirsch --- http://slasewcraftiness.blogspot.com/

Carolyn Phillips - http://messmuddleandfun.blogspot.com/

ScrappyZeni Pradel --- www.scrappyzeni.blogspot.com

Grand Prizes:

Stamping Things: The Topper Ink Pad Holder (http://www.stampinthings.com/stamp-pad-holder.html)

Paper Tree House Studio: Exclusive PDF file tutorial for Mini-Book Taught at CHA.

K Andrew Stamps: Stamp Set

Tombow: Grand Adhesive Set

God's Fulfilled Promise in my life:

I really struggled with what story to share here. I feel that God has fulfilled so many promises in my life, many that I am sure I am not ever aware have been fulfilled. Finally I decided to focus on the promise of Forgiveness and the promise of New Life. For me, the go hand in hand.

I spent my whole life not really feeling like I had a purpose, not really having any type of relationship with God, I went to church on the holidays, I went to religion class when my mom made me, and I only prayed when I wanted something....the saddest thing about all of that is that I had no idea that I was living my life wrong, simply because I was just living it for me.

I got mixed up in some behavior that was sending me on the path of destruction...yet still I didn't turn to God. Thankfully he knew what I needed, and I met my husband. I no longer felt the need to look for love, I had it right there in front of me! Yet still, I didn't thank God, and I still had no closer relationship with him.

A few years later, we found out that we were going to experience our own little miracle. We were going to have a baby!! :) Things started to feel different, I wanted to go to church, I wanted to learn more about the Bible and about my Lord and Savior, I wanted to grow in my faith. We started going to church, a church where we were not welcomed, so it very quickly soured our little family on our walk of faith and learning, so we stopped going.

Then one day we were talking with some friends, and they asked us to go to their church with them. We did, walked in the doors that first day, and we knew we were right where we were supposed to be! The next month they started membership classes, so we signed up! On the day of our first class, we found out we were expecting another little miracle! :) I instantly took that as confirmation for God that this was our spot, where we were supposed to be.

I am blessed daily by God, and he has given so much more than I deserve. When I wasn't yet ready to take the steps to give it to Him, when I was scared to give that trust and faith a chance, He began working in my life to make me see it and find it in people around me. He knew that all the sadness and bad choices didn't help bring me to Him, so he gave me love and happiness. He gave me a wonderful, wonderful husband who I love so much more than I can even express, two beautiful little girls, who teach me daily about the wonder and glory of His love and forgiveness. I sought Him during the happiest times in my life, and Praise the Lord I found Him!

As I struggled with what to share for this, which as I read back now, I see that it is more of my faith journey that I shared, but what better promise do we have? Than that of new life, of seeking and finding....But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.Deuteronomy 4:29
Here are some other scriptures that helped inspire me through this post.
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his son, purifies us from all. 1 John 1:7

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Psalm 32:8

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone the new has come.
2 Corinthians 5:17

Here is a layout I created for this blog hop...I look at this picture and I feel everything I talked about forgiveness, new life, new chances, love...and so much more. God is so good!

Thank you so much for visiting my blog, and allowing me to share part of my story with you. I pray that God is working in your life! I would like to offer a little RAK for you! To be entered, please just become a follower and leave a comment (if you are already a follower, please just leave me a comment telling me you are) and I will randomly select someone to win a a fun prize pack I have put together :)

Thanks for hopping through this faith hop. Know that we are praying for you and really hope your eyes are opened to the Truth about the Lord's Faithfulness! :)

Now you are off to Wendy's blog, to hear about God's promises of fulfillment in her life.

Love in Christ,

Amanda

Kerri Bradford Giveaway!!

2011-07-21T10:08:00.000-04:00

Hey all!! :) Hope everyone is having a fantastic week so far! :) I just wanted to hop on and share that Kerri Bradford Studio is offering an AMAZING giveaway on facebook!! She is offering a $50 credit to her store to 3, YES 3!!, people!! She has some amazing things on her online store that I have been dying to get and try out on my Silhouette!! So head on over and "like" her facebook page, and make sure and tell her I sent ya!! :)

Childhood Memories

2011-07-18T14:37:00.000-04:00

I have very few memories from when I was little of being outdoors, just having fun and being a kid. We lived in town, and right on the highway, so outside play didn't get to happen too often, and when it did it was in a very small area.

So, I love the my girls have tons of space to run around, play, explore, and hide. This picture is one of many from a very fun filled day with the kiddos. Hide and seek, very much a favorite around here, was the game of the day...and it made for some very happy girls who didn't mind letting Mommy snap a few pictures! :)

This was one of my favorite photos of Miss E from that day...I thought about adding more photos, but decided they weren't necessary...you can see it all in that smile! :)

Boy do I love that little lady! :)

I used sketch 7.14 from Sketchy Thursday on this one.

Another great sketch from the ladies again this week, and still time to play along!! :)

Hope everyone has a blessed week!! :)

~ Amanda

Sweet Secrets

2011-07-15T09:39:00.005-04:00

Happy Friday all!! :) I thought I would get on here and share a layout! :)

I used a sketch from Creating Keepsakes for this one, and I love the way it turned out!! There is a design team challenge over at Pumpkin Spice, which is an AMAZING online store I recently discovered! Seriously their products are all the go-to's at much, much better prices!! Their motto is" Memories are Priceless, budgets are not!" How true and perfect!! Anyway, back to the challenge, it was to use 2 or more of the paper line options they gave us. Here is my layout:

I absolutely love these photos of the girlies! These were taken by a dear friend of mine, we were trying so hard to get some "poses" and the girls wanted nothing to do with it, they were just playing and having fun...and those are the best photos from that day! In fact, I love these so much, that there is another layout in the works so that they can both have one in their album! :)

On this layout I used a pretty good mixture of some of my favorites (which thankfully were also some of our options for the challenge!) There is lots of Crate Paper and my favorite stamps Stella &Rose doilies by MME! Love those! For the challenge we were supposed to list our favorite manufacturers, and those of you that see my layouts know I LOVE Crate Paper, MME, and American Crafts. I would have to say those are my 3 go-to's for most things, though I am trying to branch out a little and try some new stuff! What are your favorite manufacturers, your go-to product??

I am also linking this up to Paper Issues for the "Sweet" challenge. I can't think of anything sweeter than the secrets these two are sharing! :)

We are getting closer to 50 ~~followers~~ friends! Don't forget when I hit that there will be a giveaway!!!

Also a reminder for the 2 Blog Hops coming up!! One the last weekend of July and the other in August! I will post more details again next week!

Thanks for stopping on by today! I hope you all have a very blessed weekend!

~Hugs~

Amanda

Cruisin'

2011-07-11T15:36:00.000-04:00

Oh, the sweet fall days, cruisin around with the t-tops out of the old Camaro, just enjoying the beautiful life. That's what I think of when I see these pics of the little one, riding around in her Papaw's old car.
She had so much fun that day (both of them did actually, so expect another layout with Miss E)! Just enjoying life...why can't days always be that sweet and simple??

I am really love Country Drive by Echo Park! I have used it on two totally different layouts now, but I think it worked perfect for both of them!!!

I used the 7.7 sketch from Sketchy Thursdays on this one, with a little tweaking to make it my own! :)

I am also linking this layout to Paper Issues since their theme this week is "Life is Sweet" :)

Hope you all have a blessed week...its super miserably hot here this week, so hoping to find inside activities to keep the girlies happy, and maybe some extra scrappy time for me too!!

Hope you all have time to create something you love! :)

All Star!!

2011-07-08T12:37:00.000-04:00

My oldest played T-ball this year for the first time. She was so excited when it started, especially when she found out her uniforms were pink. LOL! She had alot of fun, but I feel she is going to end up being too girly for these type of sports! Example: One of their games, she gets dirty, in the middle of the game, walks over to her coach, and makes him dust off her pants and mitt. Miss Princess!! LOL!

So when I went to scrap these photos, I didn't want to do a "traditional" baseball layout...hence all the pink and girliness! LOL!

Whoops! Look like I took my picture a little crooked! One of these days I WILL get the hang of it! :) Promise!! :)

Hope everyone has a blessed weekend!! We are heading out of town tomorrow to see some friends that we haven't seen in years!! Pretty excited!! :)

Blessings! :)

Ahhh Relaxin'

2011-07-05T16:03:00.000-04:00

My youngest is a water baby, through and through! Bath tub, pool, hose, it doesn't matter what, lol, she is all over it. My favorite thing that she does is every time she is in the bath or a pool, she lays back in it and sprawls all out, and just says, "Ahhh...relaxin'"! Its too cute!! LOL!

So I used the WWU #9 from ScrapFit, a sketch from Sassy Lil Sketches ( July 28, 2010) and came up with this layout that I am pretty much in love with!!

Stepped out of the comfort zone a little on this one...and its my first layout using my brand new Silhouette!! I used it to create the background mask!

Here is my little water nymph relaxin in her pool....

I seriously love those Mister Huey mists from Studio Calico...going to need every color of those! LOL!

Hope everyone has a blessed week! I am off to make my hubby an anniversary dinner...8 wonderful years together today! :)

HUGE GIVEAWAY!!!

2011-07-04T21:17:00.000-04:00

Over at the Purple Pumpkin!! To celebrate their first birthday they are offering up some amazing prize vouchers! They will be giving away FOUR!! vouchers ranging in amount from $50-$10!!

Head over to the Purple Pumpkin and check out their GORGEOUS products and enter yourself in to win some goodies!!!

Have a blessed day!!

2011-07-02T08:27:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to hop on today and share something that I am so blessed to be able to be a part of later this month!!

What can we trust in and have faith in more than the promises that God has for us. His love is unconditional and knows no boundaries! I hope that you will all join in as myself and some other very talented crafters share our stories and use our craft to give the glory where it belongs, to our Father in Heaven!

Have a very blessed holiday weekend! Will see you all next with some new projects!! :)

That Crinkle

2011-07-01T13:11:00.001-04:00

My youngest has the completely infectious smile. You see it and you just instantly smile back, I'm not sure what it is about it...but its irresistible. I especially love the way she always crinkles her little nose up...so of course a layout of said crinkle must go in her album.

I combined the One Hour Challenge at Club CK to stitch on your layout with this sketch from Frosted Designs...

This is the layout that I came up with using my yummy new Fine and Dandy by MME!! I couldn't believe how hard it was to find this collection!!!

See what I mean!!! Look at that smile!! Doesn't it just make you happy??

Hope you all have a blessed holiday weekend!!

Blessing

2011-06-29T15:21:00.000-04:00

Challenge #2 over at Scrapping Everyday Miracles was to look at the everyday blessings in your life. I have been trying to do some layouts of my husband and myself..I want our girls to see that while they are HUGE blessings in both of our lives, that we are blessed to have one another also. These photos are the first photos he and I have had taken of just us since our wedding...I wanted to get them down on a layout...but I wasn't sure what I wanted me journaling to say. Insert the second part of the challenge at SEM...we were given a quote to use on our project of choice:

How blessings brighten as they take their flight.-Young

This just seemed perfect to me. My husband and I got married very young, I was right out of high school and he was just finishing college...no one thought we would make, and there were definitely some tough times...but our love just grew and became something even more wonderful than I imagined when we were first married. He is a huge part of the who I am today...I wouldn't be the woman I am without him! He helped me to spread my wings! I am so blessed to say that we will be celebrating 8 years of marriage next week...and I love him so much more than I did then! :)

So here is the layout that I created...

I also used the fabulous 6.23 sketch from Sketchy Thursdays on this one...so glad I was able to play along again this week. Here is the sketch...

Hope you all have a happy and blessed holiday weekend! Big news coming next week...I will be participating in 2 exciting blog hops in August...more details to come!! :)

Asking for some Votes!!!

2011-06-27T11:38:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone!! If you have facebook, I am sure you have seen the Facebook challenges that American Crafts has been hosting lately. I decided to enter a mini I had made into this weeks challenge "Flair Challenge"

If I could get those of you who have Facebook to go and vote for me I would be sooo grateful!! The winner will recieve the full collection of their choice along with $50 worth of AC cardstock!

Here is my project...

Just click on the photo for the link! To vote just like American Crafts (if you don't already) and then like my project!! Thanks so much!!!

Have a blessed week!! :)

The Best of Me

2011-06-24T12:54:00.000-04:00

A little while back I posted about ideas for scrapping about myself on the Club Ck message board, which by the way, if you aren't a member of you should be, those ladies over there are absolutely wonderful! Every week they have a one hour challenge, and when I saw what the one hour challenge was for this week, I knew right away what I wanted to scrap.

This layout doesn't have a picture of me, in fact, the picture I used has been handled so much, the colors don't really go with the layout, its from my old camera so its pretty grainy, but I took it with me when I went on a retreat and truly gave my life to Christ, so I knew I wanted to use it because it was such a profound moment for me, and I recieved the spirit while praying over it, at least the first time for me in private, I had felt the spirit before, but always in group prayer. This layout is not really about that moment, but what I felt God was telling me at the moment.

This layout is very special to me, and I hope that when my girls and husband read this they truly realize how special they are to me, and that without them, I wouldn't be any where near the person I am today.

I am also submitting this for a challenge at Scrapping Everyday Miracles, which is a wonderful faith based challenge blog...you should definitely check it out as well!!

Hope everyone has a blessed week!!

School Time!!

2011-06-17T16:48:00.000-04:00

My oldest, Emma, just recently finished up her first year of preschool. She had so much fun, and I was amazed at how much she learned in a year!! Half of the stuff she came home and told me, I remember learning about in kindergarten!!

These were the "professional" school pics that were taken, and while they are cute pics (seriously, look at the girl! :)) I just had no motivation to scrap them. Then I stumbled across ScrapFit, and wouldn't you know, their challenge was for a school themed project, so I partnered that along with the challenge at the Paper Variety to use mixed alphas in your title, and suddenly inspiration hit!

So with out further ado, here is the layout I created...

Definitely not my normal style, but I love it! :)

Thanks for stoppin by and checking out my humble little blog...I greatly appreciate each and everyone of you! I am almost to 50 ~~followers~~ friends, and I can't believe it!!! Be prepared, once I hit that 50 mark their will be a giveaway!! :)

Hope you all have a blessed weekend!! :)

Tattoo??

2011-06-14T16:22:00.000-04:00

I remember this day so clearly in my mind. We were sitting in the living room, not really doing anything. I leave the room to go get something, walk back in and see my little girl covered in marker...literally from head to toe!! She thought it was hilarious, and was very proud of herself, lol, and try as I might, I couldn't do anything but laugh.
So, of course these had to make their way onto a layout.

I used the 6.9 sketch from Sketchy Thursday...with a little bit of tweaks to fit my photos.

I feel like maybe it needs something else, but was afraid if I added anything it would take some of the focus off of the photos, so it is what it is. :)

There is still time to play along this week...head on over to Sketchy Thursdays and check out all the details! :)

Have a blessed week!! :)

All Natural

2011-06-10T18:09:00.000-04:00

I recently found a new (to me anyway) sketch blog...Creative Scrappers. They have amazing sketches!! I decided to play along this week. This is the sketch they have up Sketch # 159...

I loved the sketch and thought it would be perfect for this picture I had of my oldest, Emma. It was one of those that was supposed to be getting her in the action of playing, and she looks at me and flashes me the sweetest smile...made me even happier than a picture of her on the monkey bars would have. :) Here is the layout I made...

Is that not the sweetest smile ever?? :)

Hope you all have a blessed weekend! :)

American Honey

2011-06-07T17:08:00.000-04:00

They posted the July Guest Design Team Challenge over at Sketchy Thursdays this week. Usually I don't play along with that sketch....they have so many talented participants every week, and I just don't know that I am up to that level...but this month not only did they give a great sketch, but they gave some inspiration photos as well.

There were 3 inspiration photos given, but I only chose these 2 to use for my layout.

Here is the layout I created....

At first glance, it definitely doesn't look like it goes with the inspiration photos...but if you look closely you will see that lil' miss is eating a push pop...that counts, right??

Then for the patriotic treats photo my title comes in. Emma absolutely loves the song "American Honey" by Lady Antebellum. I used the verse that is her favorite as part of my journaling...

She grew up on the side of the road

Where the church bells ring

And strong love grows

She grew up good

She grew up slow

Like American Honey

She loves this because she feels that it is about her, since we live on the side of the road, there is an old church up the road with a church bell, and since she is still growing up. Ah, gotta love the reasoning of a 4 year old. :)

So when I not only loved this sketch

but also had those wonderful photos for inspiration, I knew I had to scrap something about that song. Its one of those little everyday memories that I don't want to forget ( I say everyday because she makes me play it pretty much every single time we are in the car, lol)

Thanks for dropping by today :) There is still plenty of time to get over to Sketchy Thursdays and give this month's guest design challenge a shot!! If I can do it you can!! ;)

Have a blessed day!! :)

Love Child

2011-06-06T16:02:00.000-04:00

My oldest daughter, Emma, is seriously the sweetest thing in the world. If she sees someone hurting, she hurts, tears come almost as easy to her as her smiles do. So when I caught this pic of her I loved it cuz its so her...sweet smile, peace sign held up, I'm not sure what we were doing outside this day, but I am positive she was either picking flowers, or picking up trash....she is in love with the world and gets very upset when people "don't keep it beautiful" as she says.

I created this layout and I really struggled with the journaling, I couldn't find the words to express the peace and sweetness and love that I know this girl has. I will definitely add in some more hidden journaling, if I can put those feelings to paper. Here is the layout that I created...

I tried to kinda step out of my comfort zone a little, as far as the products I chose goes. I have had quite a few of these laying around for a few months now, with no idea what to use them on. I thought they went really well with the vibe of this photo.

I used the 6.2 sketch from Sketchy Thursdays on this. Here is the sketch...

There is still time to play along...just go here for all the details!

Have a blessed week!! :)

WINNER WINNER!!!!!

2011-06-04T23:36:00.001-04:00

First off I just want to say thank you to everyone that took the time to stop by my blog and check things out! You all left such sweet comments...it made my day reading them all :)

I used random.org to select the winner of the gift certificate to Design by Diana and it chose comment #5 which was...

Lauram

Congrats Laura!!! Please email me by Tuesday at amandajohnson705 (at) gmail (dot) com and I will give you instructions on how to claim your prize!!

Hope everyone has a blessed week!!! :)

Sketch It To Me Blog Hop

2011-06-03T00:23:00.003-04:00

Welcome to the Sketch It To Me Blog Hop! If you have been hopping along with us you have seen some fantastic layouts and projects by some very talented ladies. If you haven't been, you can go to Amanda's blog to start off at the beginning:.

So as I am sure you have figured out, this blog hop is all about the sketch!! We were given a wonderful sketch by Ms. Amanda and asked to make a layout and card from the sketch. Here is the sketch she created for us

Here is the layout I made...

I switched it up a little bit to work with the photos I wanted to use. The journaling tickets are to cover up a mistake, but I actually really like the way they look on there.Used quite a mixture of products here, a little Echo Park, American Crafts, Crate Paper, KI Memories, My Mind's Eye...just a hodge podge of everything. :)

I also made a card from the sketch. I am not a card maker, at all!! So I kept it very clean and simple (maybe too simple) I used for my inspiration the little cluster at the left hand corner.

Here is my card...

Sorry for the crooked picture...I forgot to get a picture, so was trying to rush and get one taken and posted.

Everyone who leaves a comment here today is automatically entered to win the RAK that Amanda put together for you...lots of MME yumminess!! :)

If you become a follower and leave me a comment telling me you are, if you were already a follower leave me a comment too, then you will also be entered to win here!!

I have been showing you sneak peeks for awhile now, so you know there is major goodies to be had!! I am giving away a $20 gift certificate to Design by Diana.

A gorgeous shop on Etsy that is owned and operated by the amazing Diana Fisher, a lot of you know her as the founder of Sketchy Thursdays, Scrapbook Circle design team...I could go on and on about the talent this sweet lady has!

You should definitely go check out her blog especially since Diana, being the sweetie that she is, has a little something special for all you hoppers that head over her way!!

Now, on to the next blog of Ms. Laura to see her amazing take on this sketch!!

Have a blessed weekend!! :)

Sugar and Spice

2011-06-01T17:30:00.000-04:00

Two posts in one day!! Oh my! I'm usually lucky to get in two in one week!!!

The girls were very kind to me today and gave me lots of scrappy time. I was able to get this layout done, using a sketch from The Sampler! Here is the sketch...

Definitely not my usual style, but I had found this border bunch a few months back, and had been trying to figure out a layout to use it on. When I saw this sketch I knew it would be perfect!!!

Here is my layout...

I love this photo of my girls. You will be seeing it again soon. I made them each a layout using it for their album, just can't post the other one quite yet! :)

This layout came together really easy for me once I got started. All Crate Paper here, a mix of Emma's Shoppe and Toy Box, except for those wood veneer butterflies from Studio Calico. Oh I love those things!! I need to find more ASAP!!!

One more reminder...the blog hop starts Friday!!! Don't forget! :)

Blessings! :)

Mud Pies

2011-06-01T13:44:00.000-04:00

Easter Sunday, my girls are in their cute little spring outfits ( they got to pick their own this year) All I want is a few sweet little pictures of my angels....what do they want to do?? Make mud pies!

I got a few pics in of them doing this, not as many as I would have liked, they were messy with that stuff!!

I just have to laugh when I think back to them that day...normally Miss Emma wants nothing to do with anything that gets her dirty, but she was quite the little trooper, digging right in with her sister.

Here is the layout I made with the few pictures that turned out ok...

I used the 5.26 sketch from Sketchy Thursdays...

I struggled big time with this layout. I just couldn't get it to work for anything. I'm still not completely happy with it, but it was one of those where I had to just put it away. The girls loved it, and that's really all that matters!

Don't forget the blog hop this weekend!!! You will get to see some wonderful layouts from some amazingly talented ladies...and I have a fun giveaway planned...and maybe an extra little surprise added in there! In case you missed it last week...here is another sneak of my amazing giveaway.

Make sure you stop by...you won't want to miss it!! Trust me!! :)

Sweet Peach Crop Shop Sketch Challenge

2011-05-27T15:08:00.000-04:00

Hi all! :) I'm back again with a layout I did for the sketch challenge over at Sweet Peach Crop Shop! They are a great kit club that I found here in the past month, and they have a monthly sketch challenge, they also have a weekly challenge they do called "Try It Thursday."

Here is the layout I created...

My picture is not the greatest, sorry!! Its actually the picture that is off center and not the layout LOL :) I used all Crate Paper here, except for the memories sticker and corrugated flowers at the top.

Here is the sketch they gave us this month...

There is still time to play along if you wanna hop on over!!!

Hope everyone has a great holiday weekend!! Don't forget the Blog Hop is next week!!!!

Lawn Fawn is AWESOME!!!

2011-05-27T14:46:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to stop in here and give a quick shout out to Lawn Fawn! I was asked to make some shower invites for my sister in law, and wanted to buy their Happily Ever After stamp set, but was a little worried it wouldn't get here with enough time for me to get them finished and sent out. So I posted on their Facebook wall asking about shipping, they not only responded with in a few hours, which is awesome in itself in my opinion, but they told me if I got it ordered within the hour they could ship it out today!! So I did, and have already received my shipping notice!! How awesome is that!! I will definitely be doing more business there, all you stampers out there should check them out if you haven't already!!!

Update on Katlyn

2011-05-26T17:35:00.000-04:00

Hi all!! :) Just wanted to pop in and give an update on Katlyn. First off thank you so much to those that were sending prayers up for her. Unfortunately, her surgery ended up being rescheduled. We got to the hospital and she had a little congestion ( which has magically already cleared up) that concerned them. They were worried about added possible complications after the surgery, such as pneumonia and increased chances of infection. So we were sent home and will be trying it again in 2 weeks...again I thank you all for your prayers!

Blessings

Sketch Thursdays 5.19

2011-05-24T13:06:00.001-04:00

I had these pictures laying around of my youngest daughter. They were nothing special, in one her eyes are closed, in the other there is something (marker, I believe) on her face. Yet I had to scrap them! They were random pics I took of her one day while we were hanging out while big sis was at preschool. We love those days were we get those few hours just the 2 of us. So while the pics weren't perfect by any means, they had to go into her album.

I kept this layout pretty simple. I used cardstock (*gasp*) for the background, I very, very rarely ever use cardstock. Here is my layout....

I used this sketch from Sketchy Thursdays for inspiration. I loved the simplicity of it, went perfect with the feeling I wanted for this layout!

I will probably be MIA for awhile. Miss Katlyn is going in for some minor surgery tomorrow, so we are gonna take the rest of the week/weekend to relax and just chill out here at home. I would be so grateful if I could get you all to add her to your prayers...I would love for her to be surrounded in prayer tomorrow. Thank you in advance! :)

Also don't forget to come back by June 3-4. We will be having the blog hop, and I have an amazing giveaway planned for you from a sweetie I "met" here recently through the blog world. Here is a sneak peak at what I will be giving away...

Trust me...you aren't gonna wanna miss this!! :)

Have a blessed week!!

NSD Crop

2011-05-22T17:28:00.000-04:00

This weekend my LSS finally had their NSD All Day Crop. Thankfully Derek was off work so I got to go and spend some time scrapping! I didn't get near as much done as I wanted to, spent too much time gossiping and catching up with a few of the lovely ladies I have met through other classes and crops. It was such a fun day!! :)

One project I did get finished up was a layout for the Frosted Designs Sketch Along Tuesdays challenge. Here is the great sketch they had for us this week...

Here is the layout that I created...

Lots of Crate Paper here...I am so in love with Emma's Shoppe :) I also finally got to use some of my new stamps! I used "Ordinary Days" by Ali Edwards on this one! :)

Don't forget, the June Sketch It To Me Blog Hop is coming up soon!!! I will have an AMAZING giveaway!! So make sure you stop by!!

Have a blessed week :)

Sketch Support Layouts

2011-05-13T16:12:00.002-04:00

Sketch Support is having a Creative Team Call going on...they posted 4 different sketches and you were to complete 3 of the 4 and send them in....I have so far completed 2 so I have one more to go...then I have to decide if I will actually have the guts to send them in. Here are the two LOs I have completed so far...

I am absolutely in love with the first layout :) Not too sure about the title placement on the second, but still pretty happy with it.

Have any of you ever tried out for a Design Team?? Any advice or words of encouragement?? I would definitely appreciate any that you want to share!!

Have a great weekend!!!

Blowin Bubbles

2011-05-10T13:07:00.000-04:00

My youngest has been trying so hard to master blowing a bubble with her gum. Its so funny to watch her! I have no doubt though that she will have it down pat before too long.

I won a collection from Crate Paper when the did their CHA giveaways, with the Emma Shoppe Collection Kit they also sent these chipboard stickers, which are super cute, but I honestly wasn't sure what I would ever do with them. Then I took these pics, and I knew that gumball machine was perfect!!

Sorry for the picture quality...pretty cloudy here. I am really happy with this LO. Even though my Slice gave me major fits while trying to cut out the title!

I used the 5.5 sketch from Sketchy Thursdays for this...

Off to get the kiddos lunch finished up and done for nap. Weather permitting we have another tball game tonight, and out to eat for Derek's birthday!

Hope everyone has a blessed Tuesday!! :)

Sketchy Thursdays and NSD Challenges

2011-05-09T13:18:00.000-04:00

Hi all!! Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend!! I know I did :) I got to spend the entire weekend with my small family, and the weather was finally nice!! We spent alot of time outside..so I didn't get much of the scrapping done that I wanted. There were so many fun challenges that I wanted to do, and since my time was limited, I combined alot of them on this LO. I used this awesome sketch by Diana Fisher at Sketchy Thursdays for Scrapbook Circle. LOVE this sketch, as usual, LOL!

I used this sketch along with some of the challenges from TwoPeas and Studio Calice for NSD day, and came up with this LO....

I am rally happy with the way it turned out!! Lots of American Crafts, Jillibean Soup, and some Studio Calico stamps. Also used my Sew Easy, that I have had for months, for the first time on this one. I'm not sure about it...I had trouble keeping the lines straight, anybody have any tips?? Please leave me a comment if you do!!

Before I go I have to also share this pic...

While I was trying to get a photo of the LO, Katlyn kept leaning over saying "It's me, it's me!!" LOL!

I "might" be back later with another project, depends on how well the girlies cooperate. LOL

Just for Me Layout!!!

2011-05-06T16:50:00.000-04:00

Here lately I have been so into doing sketches and being all these challenges that I haven't had been able to just scrap how I want. I love doing those challenges and having that inspiration, but sometimes I find that I get so caught up in what I'm "supposed" to be doing for the challenge that I don't enjoy it like I should. So today I had a little free time, so I sat down to scrap...and this is the layout that came from it, good or bad, it is 100% me :)

I am really happy with way this turned out!! I was also happy that I could step away from all those rules and sketches and still make something that I love and that I think is beautiful!

This collage is pictures of my husband and youngest daughter playing at the park one day while Miss Emma was at preschool. Katlyn was so excited to not only be out at the park playing, but to have Daddy all to herself. There are lots of odd shadows going on in this photos from the equipment they were playing on, but I couldn't resist that joy that you can see all over her face.

I hope everyone gets a chance to get some scrapping in tomorrow!! I am hoping to do a little, but the hubby is off work,so he will either keep the girls occupied for me, or he will aggravate me more than they do. LOL

Sketchy Thursdays

2011-05-03T12:17:00.001-04:00

Two posts in one day!! Wow!! LOL!
I saw this sketch over at Sketchy Thursdays and loved, as usual, so had to get a LO in quick while the girls were making cards :)

Here is my take on the sketch. I changed it around a little, and tried my hand a making a little scene, not sure if I am 100% happy with it, but I think it looks pretty good.

I used pretty much only Crate Paper on this, I did through in a little Jillibean Soup. Thanks for stopping by, again, LOL...oh and make sure you go over to Scrapping Everyday Miracles and check them out!!! They will be opening challenges soon, and are hosting an awesome giveaway!!

Have a blessed day!! :)

Scrapping Everyday Miracles

2011-05-03T09:33:00.000-04:00

Scrapping Everyday Miracles is an inspiration challenge blog... they want to encourage you to look at what God is doing in your life and scrap about it. He has blessed us with such wonderful talents and should glorify Him with them....

I am so looking forward to their first challenge!! They are hosting a giveaway right now to get the word out, head on over, check them out, and become a new follower!! Don't forget to enter the giveaway!!!

Scrapping Everyday Miracles

Sweet Peach Crop Shop Anniversary Challenge

2011-04-27T16:17:00.000-04:00

Hi all!!! Sorry been so MIA lately, alot going on around here on the home front. The hubby was out of town last night for work, so of course I couldn't sleep, so I spent a little bit of time working on some projects. Didn't get near as much done as I would like, stormy weather had me very jumpy.

One LO that I did finish up was one for the Anniversary Challenge over at Sweet Peach Crop Shop. They are a great kit club and they host lots of fun challenges. This is their one year anniversary, so they have had all kinds of fun ones this month...there is still time to play along here if you hurry!

I did this LO for their 4th Sketch Challenge for the month. Here is the sketch...

Love that banner!! I have been all about banners lately! Here is my take on their sketch...

I kept it very simple and stayed very true to the sketch, and I am really happy with it! Hopefully I will be able to get back on track with my posting here soon!!

Happy Humpday!!!

MME Blog Challenge

2011-04-21T21:15:00.000-04:00

I happily stumbled across the My Mind's Eye blog a few weeks ago and was excited when I saw this challenge they had going. Its a sketch challenge, which I am really beginning to love! This is the sketch they gave to work with...

I moved the sketch around a bit, swapped out two photos for one, and came up with this LO...

I had a happy accident of printing the photo out on kraft cardstock...totally not planned, but I ended up loving it and it really helped me to put this LO together in my mind.

Another part of the challenge was to use the theme April Showers...I did this with the quote on my tag...it is actually one part of a larger quote, and I just realized I forgot to tell who said it on my LO, oops, anyhow, the full quote is...

"Nothing is more beautiful than the love that has weathered the storms of life. The love of the young for the young, that is the beginning of life. But the love of the old for the old, that is the beginning of things longer." - Jerome K. Jerome. I found this at http://www.quotesdaddy.com/ they had some pretty cool quotes on there! For my LO I just used the first line "Nothing is more beautiful than the love that has weathered the storms of life." I have had some stuff going on lately, and it has just helped me to realize how important those that we love are, and to learn to lean on and trust others. I just felt it went really well with this picture. I hope its close enough to April Showers to qualify LOL!

Boy, I sure did ramble alot tonight, but anyways win or lose I am really happy with this LO and the meaning behind it.

Don't forget I am doing a giveaway if anyone guess correctly what the Ugly Papers were in my previous post...I was gonna end it on Friday, but haven't had ANY guesses yet!!?? Come on guys, lol, who doesn't love some scrappy mail??

I'm off now to go watch Yogi Bear with the kiddos...Talk to ya soon!!! =)

Ugly Paper

2011-04-19T19:38:00.000-04:00

I was part of another challenge over at Club CK...this one was an Ugly Paper challenge. How it works was each person picked the ulgiest paper in their stash, cut it into 6 4x6 pieces, sent them out, and then they were all mixed up and everyone was sent back 6 random 4x6 pieces. There was quite a variety of papers sent in...it was funny to see what some people thought was ugly!

Here is the LO I created...

Can you guys guess which ones were the ugly papers?? I am gonna have a little giveaway!! The first person to guess all the papers will get a fun little prize pack sent out to them!! Here's a hint...there are only 5 of the 6 papers on here :) Happy guessing!!!

2011-04-15T15:07:00.000-04:00

I'm back again, lol, and with another Frosted Design LO even!! This one I did to go along with their Sketch Along Tuesdays 4.5 sketch. Here is the sketch they gave us this week...

I changed it around quite a bit..though I still think you can kinda see the sketch in it. Here is my LO based on this sketch...

I played around a little bit here, using different fonts and colors for my title. Tried to have a little fun with it...but I wanted to keep it pretty simple and focus on the photo and the little film strip I made. The film strip itself is a die cut from a class I took forever ago at my LSS..I think it might be a Tim Holtz die..not sure though...and to fill it I just cut out some pictures that my girls had laying around from those little trading card packs you can buy to fill it in....I wanted to focus on that as it was my daughters first time going to the movie theater and she absolutely loved it and the movie :)

There is still time for you to get in with your own sketch for this weeks challenge...hope you all get time to get crafty this weekend!! :)

Frosted Designs Fabulous Friday Challenge

2011-04-15T07:46:00.000-04:00

I was so excited when I was asked to be a guest designer for Frosted Designs!! They are a great challenge site who offer two challenges/week. They have their Sketch Along Tuesday, and their sketches are always fantastic!! Then they have their Fabulous Friday Challenge, which for this week is making a card/layout using handmade/homemade embellishments. Here is the LO I made for my GD spot using a handmade embellishment...

I struggled with this one a bit...for some reason I just couldn't get any of my ideas to work. This is actually the 2nd LO that I did. LOL! I am very happy with the finished LO though, hope you all like it as well :)

Make sure you head over to Frosted Designs and check out their challenge and all the amazing inspiration from their design team! And get in on the challenge!!!

Have a blessed weekend!! :)

Should be in bed...

2011-04-13T01:37:00.000-04:00

I should definetly be in bed, especially since Ms. Emma has preschool tomorrow so we will have to be getting up early, but here I am insomnia kickin in big time tonight. So...I thought I would get on here and share this photo I snuck in and took of the girls the other night. Ahhh it just melts my heart...

Is that not just pure sweetness?? Oh how I love them!! This photo will of course be scrapped, and soon hopefully!! I am having trouble thinking of a title though...I always struggle with titles and it kills me because I think the right title can make the LO sometimes. Any suggestions?? I would love to hear them!!!

Well...I guess I should go try and get a little sleep in....I am going to try and get a new LO posted tomorrow or Thursday, but if I don't make sure you all drop in on Friday!!! Big day for me!!! ;)

Have a blessed Wednesday!!

Winner!! WInner!!

2011-04-11T09:15:00.000-04:00

Thanks so much to all the sweet comments everyone left!! And for becoming a follower!! =) My friend loved her little gift! Yay!!!

The randomly chosen winner is....Candice!!!! I sent you a msg here on Blogger to get your info!! Please contact me by Wednesday!

Happy Monday!! I am off to create =)

Spring Blog Hop!!!!

2011-04-07T23:59:00.002-04:00

Welcome to the Spring Blog Hop!!!

If you didn't arrive here from Shannon's blog, then please go back to http://www.lovejoypaper.com/ (Amanda's blog) and go through the hop!!

I am so excited as this is my VERY FIRST blog hop!!! I am so excited and honored to be a part of this with some amazingly talented women!!

For my project I decided to make a cute little gift for one of my BFF's who has been having a kinda hard time lately. It was really hard for me, as I am really not used to doing much other than LOs,but I had so much fun with this!! I even got the hubby to help out and give me some good advice as I was working on it.

Anyways, enough rambling, here's my project...

I apologize for the picture quality...I am the queen of procrastination and just finished this up about a half hour before I was supposed to post it...which did not leave me with much natural light!

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I have a nice little prize to giveaway to a random winner!! To be put in the drawing all you have to do is become a follower and leave a comment!! Those of you that are already followers leave me a comment and you will be included in the drawing too!!

Now you are off to Briana's blog to see what Spring project she has in store for you!!

Amanda

2011-04-07T08:45:00.000-04:00

No projects today...I am busy getting things ready for 2 exciting events happening soon!! :)

One I am here to tell you about right now!!!

Make sure you come "hop" on by at some point in time April 8-10!!

I am going to be a part of my very first Blog Hop!!!

Sooooo excited!!

I joined up with some of the awesome ladies I have
gotten to know through Club Ck and we are going to bring you a beautiful Spring filled Blog Hop!

So make sure you stop on by....there will be a GIVEAWAY!!!!

Sketchy Thursdays 3.31 Sketch

2011-04-05T11:41:00.001-04:00

I LOVE this sketch!! Of course, I always like the sketches over at Sketchy Thursdays! I haven't been able to play along for awhile, I haven't really been able to do much scrapping at all lately...but things have finally started to slow down around here, so hopefully I will be able to get things caught up!

Anyways...here is my layout based on the sketch for this week...

I'm not sure why that one strip of patterned paper is looking green?? Its the same paper I matted the photo with....hmmmm, oh well, lol, I am still really happy with the layout!!!

If you don't already, make sure you go and check out Sketchy Thursdays there is still time to get in on this weeks challenge!!

Have a blessed day!! =)

Chinese Whispers

2011-04-03T17:07:00.000-04:00

This month I was a part of the Chinese Whispers Challenge over at Club Ck. I remembered this game as telephone from when I was younger! How it works is very simple, I was the first this round, so I was sent a sketch, from that sketch I made a LO and sent it on to our hostess and the person next in line after me, that person made a LO and sent it on, and so on until we were all through our group. It was so much fun to see everyones different takes on it! This is just one of the many fun challenges offered over at Club CK! If you aren't already a member over there, I hope you think about heading over and joining! I am so glad I did!! The other peeps over there are great! Its nice to have so many who are interesting in this wonderful hobby as I am, they are great about giving awesome feedback, challenging you, and getting to know eachother!!

So, anyways, LOL, here is the LO that I did for the March round of Chinese Whispers...

I created this LO based on this sketch...

I loved this sketch!! I will definetly be using it again :)

Hope you are having a blessed Sunday! :)

First Year Mini Album

2011-04-01T15:50:00.000-04:00

A few months back I made a mini album for a baby shower gift. It was the first time I had ever made and gave something to anyone other than family. So image how excited I was when she not only loved it, but asked me to make another one for a friend of hers who was also getting ready to have a baby!!

For some reason I really struggled with this. I'm not sure why...but I finally finished and I am pretty happy with the final project. If I had more time I'm sure I could pick at it and find things to change, but it has to be delivered tomorrow so....here is the finished project!! Any comments and suggestions would be welcome!!

Sorry for the long post! Still getting the hang of all this stuff :)

2011-03-28T18:20:00.003-04:00

Banner Mania!!!

2011-03-22T11:47:00.001-04:00

Everywhere you look lately there are banners, banners, and more banners!! I personally love them!! The challenge over at Frosted Designs and the issue challenge at Club Ck this week were both to incorporate banners on a layout...I have had this idea rolling around in my mind for awhile and thought this was the perfect time to give it a try!! I am really getting into layering and clusters too!! Here is the layout I made for both challengs...

I used lots of Crate Paper's Neighborhood collection on here, and Studio Calico's veneer butterflies...I LOVE those!! I am going to have to order more soon!!! Also used up some old embellishments on here...trying to get my stash cleaned out!!!

Have a fantastic Tuesday!!! =)

Amanda

Stylish Blogger Award

2011-03-21T10:11:00.001-04:00

I am so honored to have recieved the stylish blogger award from Shannon http://scrappingandtraveling.blogspot.com/

Thanks so much =)

Here are a few rules when a blog receives this award:

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award.
2. Share 8 things about yourself.
3. Give the award to 8 bloggers that you have recently discovered.
4. Contact those bloggers and tell them about their award

So, here are 8 things about myself:

1. I am so thankful to be a mommy to 2 beautiful little girls....they make everyday a little brighter.

2. I am madly in love with my husband

3. I love to scrapbook...and am getting into sewing and trying my hand at home decor also.

4. I am a Christian!

4. I love taking pictures, though I seem to always either forget my camer or the battery is dead.

5. I love country music..especially Jason Aldean!!

6. My favorite color is purple, though it is the color I use least in my crafting.

7. I have 2 dogs, 3 rabbits, and 20 chickens.

8. According to my youngest daughter, I am the best ever!! Oh if only she still feels that way when she is a teenager! LOL!

I have just recently been lucky enough to beomome familiar with some new blogs...so here are my choices for this award...

Andrea http://andrea-preciousmemories.blogspot.com/

Cassie http://allsmilesandsunshine.blogspot.com/

Kelly http://key2me1.blogspot.com/

Erika http://mynewlittlespottobe.blogspot.com/

Beth http://positivelypassionateabout.blogspot.com/

Jennifer http://scrapdrawer.blogspot.com/

Heather http://craftyscrapbooker.blogspot.com/

Ashley http://ashleyspaperdoll.blogspot.com/