I am at the library giving you a little update. Still no internet... but the computer is slowly on it's way back to good health.
Friday night, the Tooth Fairy visited! Adrianna's tooth has been frightfully loose since before school started. I was *supposed* to have called the dentist to schedule an extraction of the stubborn baby tooth, which was barely hanging on by a thread... but with Adrianna having her ILI (influenza like illness) and such, there just hadn't been time. Anyway... she was brushing her teeth and suddenly a yell came from the bathroom. By the time I got there, blood was all over. (I don't remember bleeding when my teeth fell out... but that was a long, long time ago!) She was thrilled! ... and the Tooth Fairy brought her $5, so that was nice too!
much love,
erin
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
My MInd's Eye - September Projects
We got sets of My Mind's Eye - Ooh La La line of paper for our projects this month. It comes with a page of die cuts. My goal was to try to use all of them... because, really, if you save them to use later they will just sit there collecting dust. I got one 1-page layout and five 2-page layouts plus 2 cards out of the kit... and I still have a few good-sized scraps left. Not bad!
I just LOVE the MME papers. I almost bought a set similar to this one in pinks and turquoises, but I resisted! Good for me! :) Here's are the pages I made... almost exactly in reverse order:
First off, here is my little sunshine! I recolored the flowers with several shades of Glimmer Mist. Green flowers got green and blue mist, gray flowers got khaki mist and yellow and rust flowers got yellow mist. In real life they have a nice subtle sparkle. I also misted the ribbon (from the packaging of a bulb forcing kit) and the Heidi Swapp title letters with the Simply Khaki Glimmer Mist. This is my favorite color. It just knocks down the brightness of items and makes them look a little bit aged... but still sparkly. Love it! The die cut brackets were from the kit, but the color was too blue-gray... so I ran them through the Xyron upside down, covered it with Martha's Aquamarine Glitter, and then a coat of Glossy Accents to prevent anything from moving. The bling here is the new Basic Gray Bling It On... they are a nice gray/platinum shade... but some of them did not want to release from the backer, ended up separating from the glue, and ended up in the trash. I have better luck with the Kaisercraft ones personally. Oh, and yes, the ribbon was a pain to hand baste... and pain to gather... and a really huge pain to glue down. But it looks nice, right?
Here are my two crazies! ... or is it crazys? Either way, they sure are hams for the camera. I wanted to use this older set of thickers... but the black was too much. So I grabbed some black cardstock scraps and added the torn edge to one side and the straight edge to the other. Talk about stretching the paper to make the most of it! The little labels are some super inexpensive ones from 7 Gypsies that came in a little booklet. Of course I sprayed them with some of the Simply Khaki Glimmer Mist since they were too white. What will I do when that bottle runs out?! The shiny dots are just Glossy Accents applied over top of the patterned paper. Simple and eye-catching!
This one is my favorite this month! The dotted paper made me think of the paper on the inside covers of children's book... which made me look for photos of Adrianna reading... and I found Lyle. She didn't like the book that much... only a single read for this one... but the green croc on the cover inspired the page. I rumpled the notebook print paper and inked the edges green to help it stand out from the cream backed dot paper. I accidentally ripped the top edge... so I had to rip a little more to make it look right. Then it needed something else, so the hanging tags were born. I love the framed title and the stitching finishes it off.
I just LOVE the MME papers. I almost bought a set similar to this one in pinks and turquoises, but I resisted! Good for me! :) Here's are the pages I made... almost exactly in reverse order:
First off, here is my little sunshine! I recolored the flowers with several shades of Glimmer Mist. Green flowers got green and blue mist, gray flowers got khaki mist and yellow and rust flowers got yellow mist. In real life they have a nice subtle sparkle. I also misted the ribbon (from the packaging of a bulb forcing kit) and the Heidi Swapp title letters with the Simply Khaki Glimmer Mist. This is my favorite color. It just knocks down the brightness of items and makes them look a little bit aged... but still sparkly. Love it! The die cut brackets were from the kit, but the color was too blue-gray... so I ran them through the Xyron upside down, covered it with Martha's Aquamarine Glitter, and then a coat of Glossy Accents to prevent anything from moving. The bling here is the new Basic Gray Bling It On... they are a nice gray/platinum shade... but some of them did not want to release from the backer, ended up separating from the glue, and ended up in the trash. I have better luck with the Kaisercraft ones personally. Oh, and yes, the ribbon was a pain to hand baste... and pain to gather... and a really huge pain to glue down. But it looks nice, right?
The yellow wall at the Taca Cabana inspired this layout. I just *love* the happy shade of yellow... and the food too! :) I used one of the vinyl rubons from Scrapworks over a die cut tag for the small and demure "Family" title. I colored the tag with a Heidi Swapp colored pencil to help it stand out... although in this pic it's hard to tell... perhaps I should go over it one more time!
Here are my two crazies! ... or is it crazys? Either way, they sure are hams for the camera. I wanted to use this older set of thickers... but the black was too much. So I grabbed some black cardstock scraps and added the torn edge to one side and the straight edge to the other. Talk about stretching the paper to make the most of it! The little labels are some super inexpensive ones from 7 Gypsies that came in a little booklet. Of course I sprayed them with some of the Simply Khaki Glimmer Mist since they were too white. What will I do when that bottle runs out?! The shiny dots are just Glossy Accents applied over top of the patterned paper. Simple and eye-catching!
This one is my favorite this month! The dotted paper made me think of the paper on the inside covers of children's book... which made me look for photos of Adrianna reading... and I found Lyle. She didn't like the book that much... only a single read for this one... but the green croc on the cover inspired the page. I rumpled the notebook print paper and inked the edges green to help it stand out from the cream backed dot paper. I accidentally ripped the top edge... so I had to rip a little more to make it look right. Then it needed something else, so the hanging tags were born. I love the framed title and the stitching finishes it off.
Here's a simple romantic page. The title is hand drawn, cut from velvet paper and chalked a bit to help the colors match. I love the gray-blue accents here with the pop of yellow. Very striking to show off our little girl forcing a kiss on Papi at a wedding. I can't remember the date... but I do remember that this was the weekend before the lice episiode... and that was so traumatic that everything else was forgotten! (sorry if you're feeling itchy now!)
Last but not least, here was my first creation of the month. We have to make at least one 2-page layout... and it's always a struggle for me. This is the first time that I used my HP Photosmart D7560 (Yes, I do love it!) to print the photos just for scrapping. I used a few of the die cuts... the photo corner is really a half-frame ... and I love this green honeycomb paper. It is fresh, fun, and modern looking. I paired it with some of the Whitewash Co'ordinations paper. The title is a stamped die cut in a label holder paired with some really, really old Lil Davis chipboard letters. The square letters have sat in my stash forever waiting for the perfect colored layout and this was it. Really, it would be totally easy to recreate these... all you need is some scraps of chipboard, ink or paint, alphabet stamps, and glossy accents to seal it and give it that professional, store-bought look. The journaling is a quote from Laura Ingalls Wilder from a Mary Englebreit card I've been holding onto for 9 years. I knew it would come in handy! :)
much love,
Last but not least, here was my first creation of the month. We have to make at least one 2-page layout... and it's always a struggle for me. This is the first time that I used my HP Photosmart D7560 (Yes, I do love it!) to print the photos just for scrapping. I used a few of the die cuts... the photo corner is really a half-frame ... and I love this green honeycomb paper. It is fresh, fun, and modern looking. I paired it with some of the Whitewash Co'ordinations paper. The title is a stamped die cut in a label holder paired with some really, really old Lil Davis chipboard letters. The square letters have sat in my stash forever waiting for the perfect colored layout and this was it. Really, it would be totally easy to recreate these... all you need is some scraps of chipboard, ink or paint, alphabet stamps, and glossy accents to seal it and give it that professional, store-bought look. The journaling is a quote from Laura Ingalls Wilder from a Mary Englebreit card I've been holding onto for 9 years. I knew it would come in handy! :)
much love,
erin
School, pool, and a pooper
School is in session and we are definitely the parents of a 1st grader. We are watching iCarly daily and I had to remember when the special new episode ("I think they kissed"... I really wanted to see what happened) was coming on yesterday so that Adrianna and I could watch it together. I've been sucked in... I know, it's sad. I'm a little old for it, but it's still fun to have something to sit and watch together and both be entertained. :)
Here is our big little girl on her first day of school:
Adrianna is still in love with out bunny Honeybun. (Aren't they cute?) She is getting bigger by the day and is quite a poop machine! Hopefully the litter training will start to work. I thought we were making progress, but when I cleaned her cage she's using the box as well as every corner... even where her dish and hay are. I think she's going to train us to move her food to the middle instead of us training her to go in the right place! We'll see who wins!
Here is our big little girl on her first day of school:
During the Labor Day holiday weekend, we went to Atlantis Water Park in Bull Run Regional Park and had a great time. The weather was fabulous... not hot and not chilly... and I'm sure that helped. The park really impressed me. It's not huge, but it had everything we needed and it wasn't too crowded. They had several different pool areas of different depths with small slides, a couple of bigger slides, a water play area, a sand digging area, and a baby pool that Adrianna said was just perfect! I liked it way better than the other area water parks we've visited. We'll definitely go back next year!
Adrianna is still in love with out bunny Honeybun. (Aren't they cute?) She is getting bigger by the day and is quite a poop machine! Hopefully the litter training will start to work. I thought we were making progress, but when I cleaned her cage she's using the box as well as every corner... even where her dish and hay are. I think she's going to train us to move her food to the middle instead of us training her to go in the right place! We'll see who wins!
much love,
erin
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Welcome Honeybun!
Adrianna's been asking for a bunny since last year's trip to the fair. When the babysitter's son got a bunny this summer, the pleading really begin in earnest. Someone even took to fixing her bed everyday to prove that she was big enough to have a pet. (I loved that part!)
So, we went to the fair right at the beginning to be sure to have a shot at getting one. As luck would have it... we got there too early and nobody seemed to be selling their bunnies. Uh-oh! Houston, we have a problem. Little girl desperate for a bunny to call her own and no bunnies available.
After making several rounds of barns, rides, games, bunnies, barns, rides, games, bunnies... finally some smaller ones appeared in some of the empty cages and for sale signs with them! Adrianna first choice was for an all white bunny with pink eyes... not my favorite at all.... so I asked if we could check out some of the other white bunnies with spots. It would be easier to tell them apart and get just the right one, after all. She picked out this little one, the smallest of the four in the cage, and named it Honeybun (awwww!). I love how she (the "she" part is just a wild guess) looks like she has elaborate eye makeup on. Perhaps she's a mysterious, exotic bunny... or just ready to party! Her beauty mark is SO Marilyn!
Honeybun is adapting well and Adrianna has a new friend to watch tv with. I'm staying up late as I have all the sheets in the washer and/or dryer since someone had a bit of an accident on them and only the flannels are clean. Gotta find that litterbox training info online! :)
Here are some Fair shots from last Saturday.... Adrianna on her favorite ride - the carousel, having fun on the bumper cars with Papi, and posing with me on some spinning ride. Luckily between the two of us, Adrianna has someone to ride almost anything with... Sergio for the roller coasters and ferris wheel, and me for the scrambler and tilt-o-whirl. She does the swings by herself... and even puts her hands in the air! :)
much love,
So, we went to the fair right at the beginning to be sure to have a shot at getting one. As luck would have it... we got there too early and nobody seemed to be selling their bunnies. Uh-oh! Houston, we have a problem. Little girl desperate for a bunny to call her own and no bunnies available.
After making several rounds of barns, rides, games, bunnies, barns, rides, games, bunnies... finally some smaller ones appeared in some of the empty cages and for sale signs with them! Adrianna first choice was for an all white bunny with pink eyes... not my favorite at all.... so I asked if we could check out some of the other white bunnies with spots. It would be easier to tell them apart and get just the right one, after all. She picked out this little one, the smallest of the four in the cage, and named it Honeybun (awwww!). I love how she (the "she" part is just a wild guess) looks like she has elaborate eye makeup on. Perhaps she's a mysterious, exotic bunny... or just ready to party! Her beauty mark is SO Marilyn!
Honeybun is adapting well and Adrianna has a new friend to watch tv with. I'm staying up late as I have all the sheets in the washer and/or dryer since someone had a bit of an accident on them and only the flannels are clean. Gotta find that litterbox training info online! :)
Here are some Fair shots from last Saturday.... Adrianna on her favorite ride - the carousel, having fun on the bumper cars with Papi, and posing with me on some spinning ride. Luckily between the two of us, Adrianna has someone to ride almost anything with... Sergio for the roller coasters and ferris wheel, and me for the scrambler and tilt-o-whirl. She does the swings by herself... and even puts her hands in the air! :)
much love,
erin
Saturday, August 8, 2009
August DT Pages and Projects
Well... since it's the 8th... it's about time that I post my August projects here. I already posted my favorite, but there's more to share! :)
For my 2 page layout this month I really wanted to focus on the orange patterned paper. I love orange! The colors looked great with the photos from the pumpkin patch a couple of years ago. The letters are from KI Memories and were printed to match some paper I've had for ages. I ran some cardstock through my Xyron to cover them. It took some effort to trim, but it's a great way to recyle patterned letters!
I made an extra 1 page layout featuring a friendly butterfly... actually he's on my knee in the photo! He didn't want to leave me alone! I like the serene color scheme here... lots of cream with green and pops of turquoise. Lovely!
Here are my cards. First a circular Hi card made from one of the die cut frames...
and then a simple patchwork card with a Basic Grey rubon. This Nestabilities die is my favorite... and this bracket shape makes every card look special!
thanks for stopping by!
erin
Sunday, August 2, 2009
True Love - Circa 1949
I am so tired and must get to bed. It was a busy birthday partying weekend. Overall, quite successful... and busy... and tiring. :)
I can't let the weekend end without posting my newest favorite layout. A special thanks goes out to my Shel-bell for scanning the photo and sending it to me. You rawk! :)
I love this photo of Grandma and Grandpa and it took me almost a week to get the layout to be what I saw in my head. I hope that I did it justice. We aren't sure of the year... the photo came from a friend of theirs and nothing is written on it to give us a clue. We *think* it's from before my mother was born... and Grandma's obviously not expecting in the photo. :) We decided to date it "circa 1949" just to be safe. The journaling says "Grandma just adored her Alfred. He felt the same way about her."
Supplies: Lily Bee paper, Bo Bunny chipboard swirls, Kaisercraft pearls, a little die-cut from Recollections (their last Easter line), title is American Crafts Thickers and Making Memories tiny letters, lace from Fancy Pants, velvet ribbon is May Arts, and the white pen (and my horrible handwriting) is Signo Uniball. The buttons are from Grandma's own button jar.
thanks for stopping by,
erin
I can't let the weekend end without posting my newest favorite layout. A special thanks goes out to my Shel-bell for scanning the photo and sending it to me. You rawk! :)
I love this photo of Grandma and Grandpa and it took me almost a week to get the layout to be what I saw in my head. I hope that I did it justice. We aren't sure of the year... the photo came from a friend of theirs and nothing is written on it to give us a clue. We *think* it's from before my mother was born... and Grandma's obviously not expecting in the photo. :) We decided to date it "circa 1949" just to be safe. The journaling says "Grandma just adored her Alfred. He felt the same way about her."
Supplies: Lily Bee paper, Bo Bunny chipboard swirls, Kaisercraft pearls, a little die-cut from Recollections (their last Easter line), title is American Crafts Thickers and Making Memories tiny letters, lace from Fancy Pants, velvet ribbon is May Arts, and the white pen (and my horrible handwriting) is Signo Uniball. The buttons are from Grandma's own button jar.
thanks for stopping by,
erin
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Peaches and Pages
Last weekend we went to Hartland Orchard to pick peaches and blueberries. It was a beautiful day and we got a ton of fruit. Now I'm looking for a good peach freezer jam recipe! :)
I'm working on my August class for ScrapbooksPlus. I'm a little nervous about it, but I'm sure it will go just fine. It's a clear layout set of three pages. The first two are on a 12x12 clear base and the third is on regular paper. When you put them together they layer into a beautiful combination.
I recently finished the last 1st birthday layout for Adrianna with July's Design Team kit. Now I just need to do the other four years!
When I was in Houston last I snapped these photos of the house numbers painted on the curbs. I thought they were pretty cool and we had a great time looking for new designs for my photo collection. Of course, this was on our accidental 2-hour walk where we probably walked five miles... so we had to do something to keep it interesting!
much love,
erin
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