The holiday is over

We really didn't do anything special. We mainly hung out at home enjoying the pool and lovely weather here on the East Coast. We left the house on the 4th to go to the Township Fireworks display. While waiting for fireworks to start the kids had a good pickup game of soccer with friends and teammates...they played until it got dark, then we sat and enjoyed the display.

On the 5th we headed up to PA for a family picnic another fabulous day to sit outside and enjoy each others company. The kids had a great time playing with the cousins.

I did play with my camera a bit this weekend...I really want to learn to use it better. Here's a few shots I took with the camera set on aperture priority mode. (Someday I'll actually find the time to take a class :wink:)



Okay a flower...it stands still while I focus!
Love these purple flowers that grow in our koi pond.



My baby girl...I see a lot of me in this one.



The boy enjoying a freezer pop.



Playing by the pool.

Today it was back to reality, the island is packed full of people, work was crazy busy...which actually made the day go by super fast.

When I arrived home this was waiting for me....



So much goodness in this kit! Even better than I remembered from putting it together in January at CHA. ( I also got some of the new Fancy Pants Kraft Kuts paper in this box!)
Back to the kit... I already have a layout planned and a home decor item in mind(for my new scrapbook room)!

Speaking of the decorating... Becca's room is now all painted (still one final coat of trim to do), windows washed, and new carpet is ordered. We also ordered new carpet for the upstairs hall and I picked out an engineered hardwood flooring for my room.

Here's what I picked...



It's a nice dark walnut color. Hopefully it will be installed by the end of the month.

Okay now I think I'll sit back and finish watching the ball game...it's currently 16-1 Phillies (top of the 7th) Go Phils!

We are half way thru the year...

can you believe it? Speaking of halfway...Jamie is running a half-off sale over at Coordinates Collections today and tomorrow. In the store there is a special half off section---some fun stuff!
I just placed an order to get shipped with my August kit. Can't wait for it to get here.

So yes it is the 1st of the month so that means I can finally reveal my projects. I've posted them all in my gallery over at CC but here's a look at 2 of them.

First the 2 pager:



A laoyout I did about how the kids love the pool at Disney's Boardwalk Resort.Fancy Pants Summer Soiree papers & journaling sheet, Cosmo Cricket Snorkel papers & chipboard accent (submarine), KI Memories "glitter letters" & border stickers, and some Jillibean Soup alphas.

And now here's another fun one:



DS climbing a rock wall for the first time. A nice mix of papers from the kit and of course I had to add in a few journaling sprouts from Jillibean Soup:wink:

Speaking of the "soup" have you checked out their blog??? They are beginning to show sneeks of the summer releases at CHA. So sad I will not be there, but seriously Orlando at the end of July??? (The heat & humidity can be bad enough here in NJ) I'll stick with Anaheim in January. I've been keeping my eyes open for new stuff for upcoming kits...it will be hard trying to do it over the computer instead of being there with Lisa's great story boards hanging in our room.

Well that's about all I've got for now.

P.S. Nora if you are reading this it was my "me" layout and a Fancy Pants layout (mainly pink in color with pictures of DD on it) I did it from a class I took at CHA 2 years ago...let me know if they turn up.

one more little peek...

Did I mention that I ordered the Pattern Paper add-on that goes with the "Oceanside" kit???
Well I did and in it there is a "sheer" from KI Memories. Well this little peek is using that sheer as a base.



You really can't see it here (sorry :wink:) but this is the first that I've worked with one. I love the thickness. They are a bit heavier in weight than a regular transparency so they make a much better base for your page. This layout is a 6 x12 transparent layout that I placed a picture on each side. (Since I use 12x12 3 ring binders for albums it's easy to vary my page sizes, I love a variety). I also used some of the chipboard pieces from the Cosmo Cricket chipboard add-on and yes that is one of the Fancy Pants papers...I altered it. Those "dots" were originally orange, but I needed blue. A little marker with blue "Stickles" added to the top solved my problem.

By the way Lisa has finally gotten the full kit videos up (a little computer problem delayed the process. If you haven't checked them out yet; you should here.

where is the month going???

It's been another blur of a week...

So many things happening I'm just mentally exhausted and have had a hard time feeling enthusiastic about much, but I feel as if I'm coming out of my funk. I think a lot of it has to do with this horrible weather...lots of cool temps and rain. bleh!

Just got home from here...



My boy is off on his own at Boy Scout camp for a whole week. He's been away before but never this long. Luckily it wasn't raining today, but the campsite was quite muddy. (Glad I'm not spending a week there :wink:)



Here he is racing by his lean-to (it appears to be a glorified wood shed if you ask me) so sorry the picture is a bit blurry...it was a whirlwind of activity. He's staying in this "lean-to" with 4 close friends. I'm sure they will have loads of fun this week. Fingers-crossed that they will have some sunny days.

So this past week I did get some scrapping done...2 more layouts with the fabulous "oceanside" kit. Pre CHA-W09 I saw peeks of the Cosmo Cricket Snorkle & Fancy Pants Summer Soiree and decided they were my must haves (well after seeing stuff in person at CHA alot more joined that list) and I'm SO happy that both lines are in this kit!!!! Then there is some sparkly ribbon from Prima that is just too beautiful to use, but I do have an idea for it...maybe tonite :wink:

Anyway I did another 2pager!!! I really don't understand...2 months in a row now. Prior to this I could probably count the number of 2 page spreads that I've done on one hand. I guess I'm on to something new, so I'll just go with it. Here's a little peek...



It's been hard to find good light with all this crummy weather.

On other scrappy news I was sadden to receive an email from Angela that the Scrapbook Cafe will be closing next weekend. I'm off on Friday so I think I'll drive up to collect my stuff. So sad.

P.S. On the decorating front...Fritz is all settled into his new room and on the way home today we stopped at the Home Depot and picked out paint for Becca's room (Bubblegum pink...go figure!)

Another full week

This week I had 3 nights of this....







Yes, it was dance recital week here at our house. 1 dress rehearsal and 2 nights of performing. On the last performance night I was backstage corralling dancers, making sure they were in the proper costumes, helping change, and lining up to go downstairs to the stage. What a night! Anyway dance is now done until the fall. Only 4 more half days of school and summer vacation will be here.


Nothing creative to share tonight,
but really hoping I get a chance to create this weekend.

Time for an update...

It's been almost a week since my last post...sorry! Just busy with life.

Anyway this was on the porch when I got home on Thursday...


This is the Fabulous "Oceanside" kit available for pre-order now over at Coordinates Collections.
Loads of fun stuff from Cosmo Cricket (snorkel), Fancy Pants (summer soiree), KI Memories, and Jillibean Soup to drop a few names :wink:. Check the CC message board after June 15th to see the full kit highlighted in video. I also picked up the pattern paper add-on, some sparkly KI alphas, and orange Jillibean Sprouts...one color I didn't have yet gasp!

So last night I printed out some pictures and early this morning while Becca was still sleeping (the boys are away on a camping trip with a group from scouts) I completed my first layout.
Here's a little peek...



You get some "dotted swiss" cardstock from Bazzill in the kit...my first time using it and I LOVE it! And yes I used sprouts again...I can't get enough! The stars and dot stickers are found on the Jillibean Soup alphas...tucked between the letters. I hardly ever use the shapes that come in my alphas, so I decided to give it a whirl.

I did finish the trim in Fritz's "new" room...so hopefully when everyone gets home tomorrow we can get him moved in.

That's all for now.

June reveal

Can you believe it's June 1st already???

Well the 1st of the month is always reveal day over at Coordinates Collections. I've uploaded my projects to my gallery, posted the monthly contest info & GDT info on the message board, and of course I shopped to pick up some addons for the July kit that is headed my way this week.

So here's a couple of this months projects (the rest are over in the CC gallery)

This one is my favorite...



I love the bright colors paired with the kraft & white. I loved the big dark circles on the pattern paper by Jillibean Soup, but it was just a bit much on the whole layout. Instead I opted for a small strip cut to hold my title and then cut out 3 of the circles, trimmed the paper down and flipped it over to use the solid reverse side. I glued the cut circles down in the bottom left; added a piece of American Crafts pattern paper that cut a scallop edge; an American Crafts "teen" remarks journaling sticker was cut out to make a frame for my picture, some journaling "sprouts" of course :wink:, AC chipboard pieces, and some white penwork.

Now here's my 2 page spread....



This is the layout I used those cut embellished butterflies on as accents.

Then one more...



I have an old box of pictures that my Dad gave to me a few years ago and every once in a while I dip into that when I'm scrapping. These are pictures of me doing the May Pole dance in 3rd grade. The school I attended always had a May Fair the 1st weekend in May and the 3rd grade girls always performed this dance.

Side note...still working on the painting, have trim still to do. Hopefully I can get Fritz moved into his new room on Sunday.