Frosted Designs...

Hello Everyone!  Its time for another great sketch from Frosted Designs for Sketch Along Tuesdays.  I had this picture of my boys laying on my scrap table and it just struck me how awesome I think they are.  Every time I look at them, I just couldn't imagine my life without them.  I wanted to write down some of those feelings I have for them and this photo....just a random day at the botanical gardens....seemed like the perfect one to use.

The journaling reads.....
*that I am so proud of them?
*that I love you with all my heart?
*that I would do anything for them?
*that my heart swells with love every time I look at them?
*that they mean everything to me?

The last line says..."I sure hope they do."  After I had written it, I wished I would have changed it to..."I know they do."  My boys know.  They know that I love them with all my heart and would do anything for them because I tell them that.  They are so special.

I hope this sketch is just the one you've been waiting for.  Make sure you link up your layout to Frosted Designs.  I can't wait to check them out!

Happy Crafting!!  :)

Sketchy Thursdays...

Yesterday I had the chance to play with my friend Lynne.  We had such a fun afternoon, scrapping, chatting and being entertained by Charli, her 4 year old daughter.  I had about 3 thoughts on the Sketchy Thursdays challenge and finally settled on these pictures of Aden and a baby mouse.

One afternoon the boys came running up to the house asking me to come outside and see what they had.  Now...as a mother of 3 boys, I was suspicious as to what was in Aden's cupped hands.  I did stop and ask if it was something that was going to jump out at me.  I've learned from past experience that anything from frogs to bugs could be in those hands!!  :)  This time is was a baby mouse.  I thought "awww.....how cute".  And got the camera to take some pictures.  After just a few minutes, those "awww....." thoughts turned to "ewww....its still a MOUSE."  That would be the time I told them to let it go.   That was a few weeks ago and they still talk about that day.   I still shudder at the thought of it crawling all over their hands!!  Ewww......

Oh, and just for fun...this is my favorite snack right now.  Mmmmm....carrots and hummus!  And to think, if Lynne hadn't brought some over once, I might not have ever tried hummus.  I was only trying it to be polite and now its a favorite!!  LOL...thanks Lynne!!  :)

Frosted Designs...

Hi Everyone!  Its Friday again and Frosted Designs has another great Fabulous Friday challenge.  This time its "BBQ/Picnic/Outdoor Games".  I had some favorite photos of some of our outdoor adventures so I decided to use them to make a mini album.  You may remember about a month ago when I said I had a great blue jean project to share with you.  Well, this is the time!  :)  I have to say I'm really proud of this project and will be making others like it.

I have been saving jean pockets from my boy's outgrown jeans for quite some time.  I just love them and knew that some day I'd have just the perfect project for them.  Well, that day is now!  I started by glueing two pockets (from the same pair) together with fabric glue.  I used different sizes of pockets for this project.  Next I punched a hole in them with my Crop-a-dile for my rings to hold it together.  I looked through my chipboard stickers and found a few random sheets that I decided to use for this project.  I glued them on with fabric glue so they wouldn't be falling off as its handled.

Each pocket holds a photo of an outdoor activity.  I have journaled on the back of each one about where it was, what we were doing, or why I love it.  If my boys were younger and looking at it, I would figure out a way that they could stay attached to the pocket and not get lost.  My boys are old enough to know to put it back after looking so all the pictures just slip in and out.

Here are all of the pictures I used for this album.

And some details...

I really liked that some of the pockets had embroidered parts from the jean company or a tag on them.  I wanted to make sure that part still showed.  I also used a loop from a pair of carpenter jeans for an added detail.

I hope you'll play along with us at Frosted Designs this week.  I can't wait to see what you make.  Now...off to find some jeans that are wearing out!  I have some pockets to cut off.  :)

Sketchy Thursdays...

I really thought this week's Sketchy Thursdays sketch was an interesting one.  I had a thought immediately upon seeing it.  It was getting that thought down on paper that became the tricky thing.  :)  But I am fairly happy with the end result.

I love this picture of this sunflower.  There was a field of them about 45 minutes outside of Dunedin.  We were traveling back from Christchurch when we first saw them.  I am so thankful to have a husband that will pull over so I can get out and take some photos.  I could have spend so much time in this field.  They were just beautiful.  I also love this photo because it reminds me of my best friend Kim.  She loves sunflowers.  I love and miss her very much.  This one is for you Kim!

Dream come true...

Ian has been interested in guitars for a very long time now and its something we've wanted to continue to grow in him.  This kid has so many guitar shirts its crazy!  One day I'm going to make a quilt out of all those shirts.  Anyway....for his birthday he had been asking for a guitar or money to put toward one.  We came up with a plan to make that happen.  After my WW meeting, I got Ian out of school for the rest of the day.  You should have seen the look of suprise on his face when I showed up.  I told him we wanted to take him to lunch.  A shake from Burger King was a good start to celebrating a birthday.  And it was even the BIG one!

After doing a couple of errand things, we said we had one more stop to make.  Little did Ian know that it was at a music store called the Rock Shop.  As we walked in and told the guy behind the counter that we were there to look at guitars, Ian's eyes kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger.  As did his smile.  :)

This is the face of a boy who has just realized that he is getting a guitar for his 10th birthday.  He couldn't stop smiling.  And frankly, neither could I.  :)  We showed Ian his options....and the $3999 electric base WASN'T one.....and it took him all of 3 seconds to chose his guitar.  He knew that it was the right one.

So for this birthday, we chose to make an investment.  An investment in Ian's future as a great guitarist.  One that we know he can fulfill.  He already spends time in his room practicing the cords he's learning.  (guitar lessons provided by a friend of ours)  I'm so proud of him.

One of my favorite moments of the day was when Ian said to me...."Mom......(yes, he slipped back into MOM)....you made my dream come true.  Thank you."  You're welcome Ian.  Thank YOU for making my dream come true.  I love you!

How did we get to 10 already???

Today my middle baby turned 10.  How in the world has he been with us for 10 years already???  It just doesn't seem like it could be.  I'm sure the next 10 will fly by just as fast.  But let's not talk about that today...  A couple weeks ago I took some pictures of Ian.  Here are some of my favorites.   And yes, I can't wait to scrap them.  :)

Happy Birthday, Ian!  I am so blessed to have you in my life.  I love you!

Scrapbookers Anonymous...

Have you been over to Scrapbookers Anonymous lately?  There is still time to get your entry in for this month's challenge.....stamping!  Use your stamps to make patterned paper and 3 embellishments.  Then use your scraps to make a card.  Here is my card.  Make sure you link your's up so I can check out your creation!  

Off to celebrate Ian's 10th birthday.  I'll be back later with a birthday post.  Wow...how did he get to be 10 already???  

Frosted Designs...

Happy Friday Everyone!!  Frosted Designs has a new challenge up for their Fabulous Friday challenge.  This time around its to make a project/layout/card with the theme "Armed forces/Patriotic".  When I saw this challenge I had to put my thinking cap on.  Since moving to New Zealand, we haven't celebrated Armed Forces Day (May 21) or Memorial Day (May 30).  I thought back to last 4th of July, our first American holiday here and decided to make a layout with those pictures and a little American twist.

 
Here it was just another day.  There were no parades, no fireworks, no warm weather, and no BBQs.  Actually it was a little depressing knowing our friends and family back "home" were celebrating American's freedom.  So we did something we have never done on the 4th of July.  We went to snow.  Yep.  Snow!!  We drove about 45 minutes to an hour and found snow.  It was so cold!  As it should be with snow and winter.  :)  I'm really glad I captured our first different 4th of July.  This year, we are planning another trip to the snow!

So, whether you celebrate Memorial Day, 4th of July or not, I hope you can join us in our "Armed forces/Patriotic" challenge.  Head on over to Frosted Designs and check out the amazing projects made by my teammates.  They are stunning!  Make sure you link up your project so I can check it out!  Thanks for stopping by.  And Happy TODAY!!!  :)

Getting back to normal...

Since my parents left on Monday....was that just 3 days ago????......I've been trying to get back to nomal daily life.  Its been a bit of a challenge since I've felt like a balloon that just lost all its air.  Having my parents here was wonderful, seeing them leave was painful, and not knowing when we'll be togehter again is just plain hard.

The easy part of getting back to normal life was getting the boys to school each day, caring for them when they came home, doing the laundry and house cleaning.  The hard part was going to the grocery store where I had just been with my Mom before they left, wishing they were here for tea, and the quiet of the house.  Not like they are noisy people but having extras in the house just makes for more noise, more converstation.  It was really hard for me to sit at my scrap table and not have my Mom across from me.  Even as I write this, I miss having her here.

So this first layout was a "just get it done" and move on.  I had been thinking on the sketch for Sketchy Thursdays and had pictures in mind but not really a plan.  So this is what I ended up with.

It all started simple enough.  "Mum....can I make some biscuits and use your sifter?"  And then he turned into the mad baker!  I mean, look at that face!  I love these photos.  And this is so Aron!  This page is a little flat from what I've been playing with but I'm glad to have it finished.

This next layout came together a little easier.  I'm actually going to enter it into 3 different challenges.  I usually don't like to do that but I'm running a little behind on my scrapping this month.  Over at Scrap Jacked the challenge this time around is to scrap lift one of their designers.  I've not played along with this site before but thought it would be fun to give it a go.  So I chose Mandy's layout to scrap lift.

I'm also going to enter this into These are a few of my Favorite Things challenge to use your favorite photos.  Our 9 year old son Ian took these pictures.  When he gets the camera, he becomes a little paparazzi snapping away as fast as he can before I take it back.  He is a boy after my own heart!  :)  The last challenge I'm entering this one in is for ScrapFit's "stand by your man" challenge.  I could use just about any page for this challenge as its to incorporate a man in your life.  I have plenty of pages with my "men" in them.  :)  Overall, I was pretty happy with the way this one turned out.  I thought it fitting to make my grey "flowers" out of scraps from one of Bryce's t-shirt.  And yes, he knew I had cut it up.  :)

My last layout for today is going to be entered into White With 1's challenge for this month.  This time around it was orange and scallops.  I just love this picture of Ian.  When we visited the Botanical Gardens in Christchurch, he said he would help point out pretty flowers for me to take photographs of.  Of all the photos I took that day, this one is my favorite.  I totally would not have scrapped this picture this way so I'm glad to have found this challenge.

Well, that's all for today.  I'm glad to have gotten my scrapping mojo back.  Time for a bit of a clean up and then start another project.  And Mom.....when you read this, I totally wish you were sitting across from me.  Love you.  :)

Have a happy day Everyone!

Today...

I have two layouts to share with you.  Kraft It Up's challenge this month is to use no patterned paper on your page.  I like these challenges because they really make me think outside of my patterned paper box.  :)  For this page I misted the background with my favorite chicken wire wooden screen and then used a bunch of tags from the Making Memories Just chillin' line.  Even the orange strip with white stars on the left side was a ( ) tag.

The boy's favorite part of getting their hair cut is the color spray the hairdresser puts in when she is done.  Aden looked so awesome with his orange and white and mowhawk.  Sweet as....

This next layout I made for a color challenge over at Design Dollies but didn't get it finished in time.  I was pretty happy with the way it turned out though.

Aden just cracks me up.  He is "mr. Personality".  I hope he keeps this humor for the rest of his life.

And just like that 3 weeks is gone.  My paretns are on a plane starting their journey back home.  I miss them so much already.  Love you so much!  So thankful we have the memories we've made.  I'll be scrapping them soon.

Scrapbook night and Pencil Lines...

Last night was girl's scrapbook night here at my house.  I was so happy when 6 of my friends turned up, so 8 all together counting my mom and myself.  We had such a fun time.  I was glad for the time to get a couple layouts finished up.

This one is for Pencil Lines weekly sketch challenge.  I had been hanging onto these pictures of Aden and Aron for just the right layout.  I love the way it turned out.

Aron and Aden have this bond that is so precious.  I know I've scrapbooked about it before but it just amazes me to see it over and over again in my pictures.  Simple and sweet.  That's my boys.

I can't believe its almost been 3 weeks since my parents arrived.  Tomorrow is our last day with them.  :( We have seen some amazing things and shared many memories.  Memories which I will be scrapping, when my emotions allow.

Back with a couple more layouts soon!

Frosted Designs...

Happy Friday Everyone!  Frosted Designs has a new challenge up for you today.  This time around its ribbons and twine.  I have a simple and easy to make card for you.  I have never claimed to be a card maker so believe me when I say this was easy.  It took me about 15 minutes to put it together too.  That is after I found my ribbon!  :)

White cardstock, ribbon, glue dots, butterflies, and a stamped sentiment.  See?  I told you it was simple and easy!  I hope you'll join us at Frosted Designs for this challege.  I'll be watching to see what you come up with!  :)  Have a great weekend!

Sketchy Thursdays...

This morning my mom and I have spent time in my scrapbook room.  Its been nice to have her here with me.  I've been able to finish up a couple layouts including this one for Sketchy Thursdays.  Just getting it submitted in time!  :)

I love these pictures of Aron at the skate park.  It occured to me when it was all done that he was on his scooter and not skatboard!  Well, I like skater boy better than scooter boy anyway.  :)

Another week gone by...shown in pictures...

Wow......I can hardly believe that another week has gone by.  Anybody else feel like time has sped up???  In just 4 short days my parents will be heading back to the States.  Well, let's not think about that right now....Instead I'll show you some of what we've been up to.

Seeing sea lions on the beach.  I did not dare to get quite so close.  My Dad thought it was a great birthday present.

One of our stops at Nugget point in the Catlins....NZ's Southern Scenic Route.

A true New Zealand road block.  Loved seeing this and capturing it!

 Yellow eyed penguins....the world's rarest.  We saw four on this beach.  Soooo cool!!!

Playing around with our self timer at this beautiful waterfall.

We stayed in this house after a long day of seeing wildlife, scenery, and driving.  It was nice to celebrate my Dad's birthday with him here.

Bluff, NZ....end of the road.  Literally!  

Player of the day and a super muddy field!!  Aron was quite proud of this dirty uniform.  And I was quite proud that my bleach job made his shorts white again.  Seriously....who chooses white for boy's soccer????  (it may seem random to have soccer pictures in the middle of trip pictures but we were gone for a few days and then back home for a day of school, Weight Watchers for me, and soccer/rugby for the boys.  Then back on the road!)

Moeraki Boulders....so cool.  Just looks like big marbles on the beach.

Earthquake damage in Christchurch...our first NZ home.

But it was a beautiful, warm day there.  This is the pier and kites on the beach.

 Brown fur seals in Kaikoura.....2 hours north of where we lived in Christchurch.  6 hours north of Dunedin.  There is a waterfall 20 mins north of Kaikoura where seal pups play while their mothers hunt at sea.  We saw well over 100 there!  It was SO cool!!

The batch....holiday home....we stayed in.  Cozy and close to the beach!  We saw some really cool starfish in the tide pools.  Which the people that we borrowed the batch from said they've never seen before.  We felt quite lucky to see them.

Well, this has been our week in pictures.  We have a few things left on our list of "want to do's".  Including some scrapbooking with my mom.  :)  Its been so good to have them here!  Back soon with some layouts!