Welcome to the Family

Monday again???  The weekends sure do fly by around here, especially now that the two younger boys have started their baseball seasons.  We had lovely weather though and the seeds are starting to sprout out in the vegetable garden so it's all good.

 

Here's a layout I'd love to share with you.  This young man was a big part of our family for the year that he lived with us.  He is now preparing to start a family of his own...we are so excited for him.

 

Supplies used: Alphabet stickers – Cosmo Cricket (chipboard), Echo Park Paper Co., and October Afternoon; Brads – Basic Grey and My Mind’s Eye; Cardstock – The Paper Co.; Journaling card – Glitz Designs; Patterned paper – My Mind’s Eye; Pen – Pentel Energel; Stickers – Echo Park Paper Co. and October Afternoon

This layout was inspired by Shimelle Laine using 6x6 paper pad blocking. 

 

Hope your day is off to an amazing start.  Be blessed!



 

So I'm a little slow to get this updated with all that's been going on in our little world but you can follow my blog with Bloglovin by clicking on the link.

 

What have we been up to?  Oh a little of this...

and a little of this...

and lots of these...

 

My hubby and I were in Kauai for a 2nd honeymoon and had such a great time.  It's amazing how an entire week of just the two of us can refresh.  My amazing parents came out to watch the little boys for us.  They had a blast with their grandparents while we were gone and we knew they were in great hands so we could relax and not worry.

 

We've also started baseball season around here which means we're busy, busy, busy!  With hubby assistant coaching one team and head coaching the other, we're pretty much at the baseball fields all the time.

 

School is coming to a close for all the boys too.  The oldest is finishing up his first year of college (seriously...how did that happen?) and the younger two are finishing up another year of elementary school.  The weather has been lovely and I'm dreaming of days at the park and the pool.  Our garden has been planted so bring on the sun!

 

I'll have more crafty projects to share soon - until then...Aloha!

 

I hope you all had a lovely Mother's Day, either being celebrated as a mom or celebrating your own mom.  I know I did.  Our two youngest boys were baptized and that was an amazing gift...this sappy mom could not stop the tears from flowing!

 

Here's a recent layout I completed.

Supplies used:  Alphabet stickers – American Crafts Thickers (Jewelry Box) and Fancy Pants; Cardstock – Bazzill (Avalanche) and Neenah (Solar White); Die cuts – RAK fro Lisa Nazario-Gregory at http://what-a-beautiful-mess.blogspot.com/; Enamel dots – My Mind’s Eye and Teresa Collins; Ink – ColorBox Fluid Chalk (Ocean), ColorBox Pigment (Cyan), Distress Ink (Frayed Burlap), Jenni Bowlin (Cough Syrup & Lemon Drops) and VersaMagic (Tea Leaves); Journaling card – My Mind’s Eye; Patterned paper – Basic Grey, Crate Paper and Echo Park Paper Co.; Stickers – October Afternoon; Washi tape – Echo Park Paper Co.

The cute little cog die cuts were items I won in a RAK from Lisa Nazario-Gregory they arrived in my mailbox as plain kraft colored chipboard but they are super easily colored with any type of ink pad.  I love them so much and am sad that I've now used up all of the cute little cogs.  They match perfectly with the Echo Park washi tape.

 

The weather looks like it may finally be taking a turn towards Spring around here.  Highs are expected in the 80's today - yippee!  I hope Spring has sprung in your corner of the world and you are enjoying all the beauty it has to offer.

Lego Love

Boy #2 and boy #3 are slightly obsessed with Legos.  They love to build projects and then have their pictures taken with said project.  I particularly like these photos of boy #2 and his monster truck creation.  He was so proud of what he had done that I couldn't resist.

Supplies used: Alphas – Cosmo Cricket (Licorice); Ink – ColorBox Fluid Chalk Ink (Charcoal) and ColorBox Pigment Ink (Royal Blue); Journaling cards – Echo Park Paper Co. and Studio Calico; Patterned paper – Crate Paper, Echo Park Paper Co., October Afternoon and Sassafras; Stickers – Cosmo Cricket, Crate Paper, Jillibean Soup, My Mind’s Eye, October Afternoon and Sassafras; Wood veneers – Studio Calico

 

This layout is a real mix of some VERY old product (the Sassafras paper and banner stickers) as well as some brand new product (the Echo Park Scoot paper and stickers).  When I can pull products together like this I can justify why I don't get rid of stuff and my scrap supplies just seem to grow and grow (wink). Or maybe it's just that I can't resist all the pretty new stuff they come out with at each CHA.  Either way...it all inspires me to create.
 

Walk With Me Daddy

I love seeing my husband walking with our boys...especially when they reach up and grab a hold of his hand.  It reminds me of how dependant they still are on us and what a huge responsibility we have as their parents.

When boy #2 was born, I found this framed poem that I gave to my husband after our he was born.  I chose to use that poem for my journaling.  I just love, love, love the message it imparts.  A gentle reminder that we have much to do as parents to these wonderful boys.

Supplies used: Alpha stickers – Basic Grey and Lilly Bee Design; Border sticker – Crate Paper; Brads – Sassafras; Cardstock – The Paper Co.; Die cut – Silhouette Cameo; Font – My Own Topher; Frame – craft supplies; Ink – Distress Ink (Frayed Burlap & Antique Linen); Jute cord – Horizon Group; Journaling tag – Recollections; Patterned paper – Basic Grey, My Mind’s Eye, Pink Paislee and Simple Stories; Sprinklers – October Afternoon ( Buttermilk & Art Box); Stamps – Lawn Fawn and Studio AE by Technique Tuesday; Tag – Basic Grey and October Afternoon; Thread – carpet thread by American Thread Co.; Wood veneer – Studio Calico

I stamped directly onto the wood veneer banners using Studio AE stamp sets - the veneers were just too plain by themselves but I didn't want to fill them in with color.  I like the subtle affect it gives.  I used my distress inks to "age" most of the products on the page and like how it softens the edges.

 

 

We had a snow day yesterday - yes, you read that right, a snow day in April!  April is actually the 2nd snowiest month here in Colorado.  But the schools called the snow day the night before the storm actually hit and we didn't end up getting nearly the amount of snow they had predicted.  Only 3.5 inches or so compared to the 11.5 inches they had predicted.  In the district's defense, it was bitter cold (like it never got above 20 degrees cold - and that was at the warmest point in the day) Brrr! 

 

The kids were happy to stay inside where it was warm and cozy but we did have to venture out at one point for my hair appointment.  They were troopers and sat patiently where I got my hair done.  Once we were back home, they were busy firing Nerf guns all around the house and playing Minecraft which left me some time to play in my craft room.

 

Supplies used: Alpha stickers – The Paper Studio; Brads – My Mind’s Eye; Cardstock – Bazzill; Ink – October Afternoon sprinklers (Brown Bag) and Smooch Spritz (Emerald & Spun Sugar); Journaling card – My Mind’s Eye; Patterned paper – Simple Stories; Pen – ZigWriter (Chocolate); Stickers – October Afternoon; Tag – Converse clothing tag; Washi tape – My Mind’s Eye

The kids are off to school this morning despite the 2.5 degree temps on the thermometer.  I'm hoping my daffodils that are already blooming can survive until things warm up later this week.  Stay warm!

4Ever Friend

Boy #2 has a friend that he's known since he was 2 1/2 years old.  His mom and I are also besties...works out quite nicely I'd say.  They are so funny and have such a good time when they are together and I wanted to make sure to capture that feeling on my layout so I chose pictures of them at their finest - adventuring up a tree and giggling at an ice cream parlor.  I love the masculine feel of this layout including the cool chipboard man.

 

Supplies used: Alphabets – Echo Park Paper Co. and Jillibean Soup; Chipboard – Maya Road; Distress Stickles – Ranger (Fired Brick); Ink – ColorBox Chalk Ink (Charcoal), StazOn (Jet Black) and Versafine (Onyx Black); Journaling Card – Crate Paper; Label sticker – Echo Park Paper Co. and Jenni Bowlin Studio; Patterned paper – Bazzill Basics, Echo Park Paper Co., Glitz Designs, Jillibean Soup and My Mind’s Eye; Pen – ZigWriter (Pure Black); Stamps – Hero Arts Clings, Lawn Fawn and Studio AE by Technique Tuesday; Stickers – Cosmo Cricket and Karen Foster Design; Tags – Crate Paper, Echo Park Paper Co. and Shabby Chic Crafts

 

I wanted to incorporate the chipboard man figure from a Maya Road mini album but it was too stark as plain chipboard.  I added the Hero Arts Watch Gears stamp and rotated the stamp so that one of the hearts was in the right location.  I then added the red Distress Stickles to that heart so it would stand out.  I also added “the blessing of” and “friends” stamps to the Shabby Chic tag to create a custom embellishment that matched the theme of my layout.