Happy Halloween!

You may have seen this floating around Facebook or Pinterest...

It is so me...and maybe some of you can identify!  I have all these plans of things I want to do and make....and then the next thing I know we are at the day of the event and I've done NADA!  Nothing!!!  LOL!!!  I didn't even buy a pumpkin!  Of course, I don't have children here and I will be gone this evening to celebrate with my grandchildren and eat their candy when they've gone to bed.

I have pretty much given all of my decorations to my kids so I don't even set anything out anymore.  Sad.  Not really.

Anyway, I did make a couple of treat boxes for the little tots that I filled with just a few little things.  Their mother doesn't like them to have a lot of candy.  So sad...  LOL!

Here are the little boxes...all done with the Silhouette Cameo and designs by Cali Arroyo.  Cute.

 Fast and easy....and cute!

That's it for today...hope you all have a fun and safe Halloween!

Happy Crafting!

What's Brewing?

I've been a bit behind on my card making because I have spent soooo much time working on Project Life but that's ok.  Crafting is crafting...whether it's done digitally or with paper and scissors.  Anyway, it was fun to get into my craft room and actually drag out that paper trimmer.

I made a couple of cards with the Simon Says Stamp Card Kit for October.  I know I have gone on and on about these kits but I just love them.  The price is great and they are generally packed with goodies.  And I love the challenge of being presented with a box of stuff and using my own ideas to come up with something.  These kits are different from most card kits in that they are simply a box of coordinating supplies...you will get an idea sheet...but it's not a kit that tells you to take paper A and glue it to paper B and stick embellishment C on it.  I like that...although sometimes I do like the take paper A and glue it to paper B approach.

Anyway...here is the fun kit for October which can be purchased HERE:

The stamp set is coffee or tea themed...to cute!

Here is the card I made for using a card by Shari Carroll as inspiration.  Her design...my choice of papers...
:)
The kit came with a little metal die for the cup.  I love it!  I hope Simon Says Stamp continues to include their dies in the kits!  Do you hear me, Simon Says Stamp???  ;)

I am sending this to an elderly aunt who is having a birthday soon.  She loves her coffee so I thought she'd enjoy the card and a note from me.

And that's it for today...

Happy Crafting and Keep Creating!

Project Life, 2014: Week 17 Wedding

Week 17 was a huge week for us as it included April 26 which was the day my son got married to his wonderful and beautiful fiance', D'Ann.
I decided to do an extra two page layout with some of the fabulous photos of the wedding.  This is just a snippet of the day...I plan to do a regular wedding album at some point, too.

But this two page layout will go in my Project Life book for 2014.

Here is the layout:

For the Project Life Pros out there this probably looks like a different template.  Well, it is.  It came with the Just Jaimee Storyteller kit for April.  And yes, the cards and elements are from that kit, as well.  The templates actually came with a white background but I wanted them to be consistent with the gray that is on the Becky Higgins templates so I just changed it out.  Yay for digital.

Here is a closer look at the left side:

And here is a look at the right:

Besides putting the date in and what the event was I left off other journaling.  I journaled so much last week it wore me out.  Just kidding...but I just didn't want a lot of writing to distract or detract from the photos.  

So that is that.  

I'm happy with the way it turned out...

And a happy crafting day to you all!

Project Life, 2014: Week 16

Another beautiful fall day today.  I will be heading out shortly for a little hiking.  I seriously could live with this type of weather all year long!  I don't need it much warmer and I certainly don't want it much colder!!! 

I finished up Week 16 using Traci Reed's April kit.  I do like the colors of this kit a lot...such pretty spring colors.  I know...I really need to be doing FALL stuff! 

Completing Project Life this year has been a challenge since I didn't start working on layouts until half of the dadgummed year had past by!  And of course I didn't take good notes or get my photos well organized.  But it is getting done!  I am looking at ways to be better organized for 2015.  Traci Reed has a PL organizer that I'm looking at...might be worth it,  you know?  You can see her system HERE.

But for now I plod along in a totally disorganized manner! LOL!

Here is the 2 week layout for Week 16

I used Ali Edwards' Hand Drawn Numbers Brush for the "week" and "sixteen" on my week card in the upper left. 
Here is a better view of the left side:

The white frame over David's picture in the middle is from Katie Pertiet and is called Thicker Inked Photo Borders No 1.  I reduced the opacity a bit so that you get that slightly transparent look.
I used Tracy Larsen and Lily Pad templates for the photos.  The large template is a Becky Higgins original, of course.
Here is the right side:

And lookie...I did some journaling.  I am a true believer in the adage that "a picture is worth a thousand words" and believe in letting photos speak for themselves but sometimes you just gotta be a bit wordy!
The bottom left "LOVE this" was a Katie Pertiet .png file from the same set mentioned above and I just recolored it to match my layout a bit better.

And that's it for today....on to week 17.  Or maybe I'll jump ahead and work on Week 40! LOL!

Happy Crafting and enjoy the day!

Project Life, 2014: Week 15

Hello everyone and Happy Fall!
I live in metro Atlanta and the leaves are changing, there is a crispness in the air and the sky has been the most gorgeous shade of blue.
I love the Fall but I don't know that I always enjoy it enough as I am already dreading the winter.  I don't do well in the cold.  From having lived in the south for the past umpteen plus years...well, my blood is thin! LOL!  I had thought about making a trip to Massachusetts in November and then I did a reality check. WHAT WAS I THINKING??? Go south when it gets cold...not north! LOL!

Anyway, I did complete week 15 of my Project Life this past week and here is the 2 page spread using the Just Jaimee April Storyteller kit with some various templates from Tracy Larsen and the Lily Pad (several which were tweaked so I could get them EXACTLY the way I wanted:

And here is the left side:

And the right:

I got several cute photos of Wade this week which were fun to include.  And I love yet another photo of Taylor in her too small puppy costume.  :)

Happy Birthday!

And whose birthday is today you ask? Well, it happens to be the birthday of my very special daughter in law, D'Ann. She's the cute young lady who married my son last April. Remember?

So, I made her a card and we will all be meeting up for dinner tonight.

I used papers by Alison Kreft (Echo Park) called Everyday Eclectic. I thought the double sided papers worked perfectly.  The cardstock base is from Stampin' Up. The card was cut with a design by Lori Whitlock with my Silhouette Cameo. Simple, easy and fun!

It has more dimension than showing in the above photo so here is another view of the side:

It was so easy that as I was cutting it I made extras for a duplicate card.

The sentiment was done with stamps from Penny Black. 

And that's it for today...time to get ready for our feast tonight!

Happy Crafting and Happy Birthday!

Project Life, 2014: Week 14

I really haven't done much paper crafting lately and I really need to get into my room and make some cards.  I did make a sympathy card yesterday but didn't even bother to take a picture of it as it is my "go to" card and you've probably already seen it before!

So I spent my evening with laptop in lap watching a bit of tv and working on my Project Life layout for week 14.  And I got it done! 

I used Traci Reed's April kit and I love the colors.  So up my alley!

Here is the 2 page spread:

I love all the snippets of color.

Here is a closer up of the left side:

I love the little photo of Wade in the top left.  Happy little boy!  The children had a busy week...baseball, horsebackriding, playing on the playground, and washing my dog! LOL!

Here is the right side:

The bottom middle photo is so funny.  Not a good picture but that's Taylor crammed into my dog's crate.  She likes to "play puppy" and what you can't see is that she has her puppy costume on! Funny girl!

And that's it for today.  After a full day of rain yesterday the sun is shining today and I am off to enjoy this wonderful Autumn weather!

Happy Crafting and Keep Creating!

Project Life, 2014: Week 13

I posted my "extra" pages for Week 13 the other day which was my trip to the Washington, D.C. area.  So now I am back to the "regular" photos for Week 13. 

During that week my friends hosted a wedding shower for my son and his bride to be.  And my daughter took her kids to a children's museum.  That gave me plenty of pictures for my 2 page layout.  I like that!  Lots of photos to choose from!

Here is the 2 page spread:

I used the True Story kit by Traci Reed.   
I love red, blue and kraft colors together.  And I love the way this turned out.

Here is the left side:

I used some various templates from Lily Pad, Tracy Larsen and Katie Pertiet.  I love the templates and I think they really add an element to a layout but they can be time consuming to use! Layer, layer, layer! LOL!  I didn't get the greatest shots at the shower but by doing the little 6 photo collage in the top right you get to see some of the guest and I could include a lot of photos in a small space.
The three grandkids came so I wanted to make sure I included them, as well. 

Here is the right side:

I absolutely love the sweet photo of a daddy's love in the top left.  Kind of bittersweet to look back and see how much Wade has grown since then. 
The kids had a great week...and my dog did, too!  She got to spend a little time away from home while I was in Washington and got treated like a princess!  She loves the kids and they love her!

And that's it for today.

Happy Crafting and Keep Creating!

Project Life: Week 13 Washington

Going back in time to Week 13 which covers late March.  During that time I flew to Washington, D.C. for a few days to attend a retirement ceremony for a very good friend, do a bit of roaming around and lastly to visit a friend near Baltimore.  I packed quite a bit in just a few days so decided I wanted to do a separate layout for this week...instead of incorporating it into my regular week's layouts.  Got it?

So here it is:

 I used the Expedition digital kit by Sarah Hurley.

Here is a closer up view of the left side:

I flew in and went straight to Arlington National Cemetery where my parents are buried.  This was the first time I as able to return since my mother passed away in 2008...and I finally got to see the new headstone.  My mother was cremated and her urn was placed in my father's grave site.  They share a headstone which is common at ANC...his information is on the front of the headstone and hers is on the back.  Interesting, huh?

I also walked around the National Mall as the sun was setting and got some lovely photos of some of the monuments and memorials but only included a few in my layout.

And lastly...woohoo...there is a picture of my friend, Dottie, and me.  She lives near Baltimore and I drove up to her home.  We had a great visit, a great lunch and she gave me a tour of her area which was gorgeous...despite some icky rain! 

Here is the right side with photos from my friend's retirement ceremony.  I met Ken when I was 15 years old and a sophomore at Frankfurt American High School in Frankfurt, Germany.  He was a very wise and wonderful senior at the time. Brilliant man. He went to Johns Hopkins University, Georgetown University and went to medical school at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. I am so proud he is my friend. We have kept in touch for over 40 years...and when I learned he was retiring from over 30 years in the United States Air Force as an MD I knew that I would attend his retirement ceremony.  Wouldn't have missed it!

That's Ken and me in the top left photo.

Best wishes, Ken, in your retirement.  (Although about a week later he went back to work for the government! LOL...his retirement lasted only a few days!)

And to the rest of you...Happy Crafting and Keep Creating!

Project Life, 2014: Week 36

Back to some Project "Lifing"!  This covers the time period into the first week in September.  I can't believe we are already truly into the Fall season.  How can the year have raced by so quickly?  Because life is good, right?!

Here is a look at the two page spread side by side and how it will look when I get it printed out!

 I used the September Storyteller kit from Just Jamie for this week's stuff.

Here is a closer look at the left side.  Isn't Wade cute!  My, my, my....11 months at this point!  And walking a bit!  I made my Week card with one of the cards in the kit and then added some of the included alphas and a few elements to spiff it up a bit.

The kit is really cute with a back to school type theme...perfect for September although my little squirts are not in school.  That doesn't mean they don't engage in a lot of learning opportunities, though!

And here is the right side:

I even made my own layout this week!  LOL...a friend and I went to a festival and did a Selfie! :)
No portrait perfect pictures but this does represent a snippet into our lives this week and that is what it is all about, right?

Happy Crafting and Keep Creating!

Wade is One!

It's hard to believe but our little Wadie-Boy is ONE today!

Here is what he looked like a year ago although if you want to get technical this was taken the day before he was born.

Below is what he looked like before going to the hospital.  This was taken at my house at about 5pm.  My daughter dropped off David and Taylor for me to watch them and get them to their other grandparents so I, too, could get to the hospital to take photos.

Amanda and the rest of her crew were supposed to meet us for dinner but at some point she texted me and said they were going to come over for a while but would probably not do dinner.  I thought...well, ok.  And then she texted me "Wash your hair" which was code for "I'm probably in labor"!  LOL...I had told her that as soon as she thought she might be in labor to tell me to wash my hair so that I'd have good looking hair for those first important pictures.  I like to think ahead! LOL!

She planned to hang here for a while but when they got here she felt like she probably needed to get closer to the hospital.  So they left here shortly after the above photo was taken.

At at 10:22 pm Wade was here!

Here he is a few minutes after he came into the world.

Here I am holding him...so sweet!

And now we are a year later... *sniff*. It's gone by way too fast...

Such a sweet boy.  I sure love those babies!

So we will celebrate this day today with cake and a candle.  I will see them a bit later and we will open presents and enjoy our little guy.

I made him a card on my Silhouette with card by Snapdragon Snippets from the Silhouette store.

It was a lot of fun to make...

The ladder has two brads hinging it together so you can raise and lower it.

I made a huge mess with Glitter but did manage to get more than just myself covered.  I did get the 1 covered which I cut out several times to give a bit more dimension to it.

I used Stampin' Up Heat and Stick Embossing powder and some Stampin' Up gold glitter.

I also made a card with a sheet of Echo Park paper and my We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board.  As you can see I die cut Wade's name.

And that's it for today.  Happy 1st Birthday, WADE! 
And best wishes for a wonderfully crafty day to the rest of you!