My Life Upside Down

Frosted Designs...

2012-02-23T22:52:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone! First of all I would like to say a huge congratulations and warm welcome to the new design team members!!! Frosted Designs is a fun and friendly place to be....a family really. I hope you...as my readers....are enjoying the challenges presented and play along. Its truly a wonderful place to be.

I don't know about you but for me Friday sure does seem to come around fast and its time for another Fabulous Friday Frosted Designs challenge. The challenge this week is to "Shape it Up". Use at least 3 geometric shapes on your project or layout. I ended up with a couple of different shapes on my layout.

Just a few snapshots from our summer holiday trip.

I had these wee chipboard frames and pieces that I painted and added patterned paper to. They added just the right touch of accent to my page. I've also added a few chipboard circles and pearls.

Thanks for stopping by to check out my project. I hope you'll play along with this week's challenge. Make sure you link up your projects to the Frosted Designs blog for the chance to win a great prize and so I can check them out.

Happy Crafting!! :)

Frosted Designs...

2012-02-16T23:10:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone! First I want to say how thrilled I am to be staying on with Frosted Designs for another term. I'm losing track but I do believe this is 3 terms now. I am loving our little FD family. Its such a great place to design for and work with other very talented designers. The newest team has just been announced and I am so happy to be designing along side of my best friend Lynne and my sister-in-law Michelle. They are so talented!!! Its going to be fun to work with them. There are other new and returning designers that have heaps of talent too. Make sure you stop by the blog to check them out.

Its time for another Fabulous Friday Challenge at Frosted Designs. The challenge this week is "brads/eyelets". Any way, any how just use brads and/or eyelets on your project. I used a few wee white brads from my stash and made this simple card.

I wanted to be able to give my card away so I cut the prongs off the brads and adhered them with glossy accents. That way the inside of my card is still nice and smooth.

I hope you'll join us for the "brad/eyelet" challenge. Make sure you link up your projects to the Frosted Designs blog for the chance to win a prize and so I can check them out.

Happy Crafting!! :)

Challenge Me Happy...

2012-02-15T22:59:00.000-08:00

Today I did a layout just for fun. Well, and for a challenge. :) The challenge over at Challenge Me Happy is to make a layout with "10 years ago" as the base of your layout. I had these photos of Ian that I just love even if his beautiful smile isn't showing.

I thought they were perfect for this challenge as Ian is 10 1/2 in these pictures.

My journaling reads.....

10 years ago......"I had a smiling 6 month old. Now these are the faces I get. Still love you with all my heart. Bring back the smile."

Thanks for stopping by to take a look! Off to create something else. :)

Scrapbookers Anonymous ABC challenge...

2012-02-15T11:51:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone! First of all I'd like to say thank you to all my new followers! It has been very exciting for me to see my follower number climb the last few days. I'm so honored that somewhere along the way YOU have seen what you liked or read and want to keep up with me and my work. I really appreciate that. I also appreciate all your sweet comments. I read each one. :) Thank you!

Its time for the mid-month ABC challenge Scrapbookers Anonymous. We are up to the letter G. For my layout I have used Graphic 45 and Glimmer mist.

I hope you'll dig in your stash and find your "G's". Make sure you check out the Design team's projects. Some pretty great G's out there. :) Don't forget to link your project up to the blog for the chance to win a prize and so I can check them out.

Happy Crafting!! :)

Frosted Designs Love is in the Air Blog Hop...

2012-02-09T22:25:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone!

I hope you are enjoying the blog hop so far. If you have not come from Frosted Designs then hop on over there and start from the beginning. If you have come from Joanne's blog then you are on the right track. :)

For this blog hop, each designer will have a word or two that you need to collect and email them to mailto:danica4us@yahoo.com for a chance to win the prize. You can check out the prize on the Frosted Designs blog.

I just love this photo of my youngest Aden. He has such a fun personality. We had taken a day trip to Central Otago (about 2 hours from Dunedin where we live) to pick cherries. He and I picked waaaay too many but it was so much fun finding just the perfect ripe ones. And he did plenty of eating along the way too.

I hope you'll join in on the blog hopping fun! Just make sure you use "love" in your project somewhere. Your next stop is Angela's blog. Hop on over there and check out her project. Don't forget to collect your word or words along the way. My words are........

"Valentine's Day."

Here is the list of Designer's blogs.......

Don't forget you can always hop back to Frosted Designs blog or back here to my blog if you get lost along the way. Hope you'll join our fun! Make sure you link up your projects to the Frosted Designs blog for a chance to win the prize and so I can check them out!

Happy Crafting!! :)

Frosted Designs Show Me Sunday...

2012-02-04T23:06:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone! Today for Frosted Designs Show Me Sunday I have a fun project to share with you. I've always liked the printed masking tape you can buy in the scrapbook stores but since that tape is hard to come by here in New Zealand I thought why not try making my own.

I started with a few basic supplies....masking tape, a stamp, and an ink pad. In this photo is also the box I used to make my project and acrylic paint to paint it.

Start by lining your masking tape on a surface you can peel off when you are done stamping. I used my nonstick mat but a page protector would work well too. If you make more strips than you need, you can store them on the page proetctor until you want them for a project.

Next, ink your stamp and stamp on the masking tape. I found the "Dew Drop" inks to not smear as the distress ink did. The best choice would be a Stayz On ink or something like that.

I painted my box with acrylic paint so no brown would be showing through the tape. I also painted the inside of my box to give it a more finished look.

After the paint had dried, I began to wrap the box with the stapmed masking tape until the whole box was covered including the edges of the lid. I decided not to cover the whole lid since I was going to decorate the top of it.

I chose to cover my box with 3 different colours of ink that I applied with a foam applicator.

Last I used some flowers that coordinated with the ink colours and decorated the top. Now I have a box that could be used as a gift box or to keep something special in.

I hope this has given you inspiration for a simple yet lovely project.
Happy Crafting!

Scrapbookers Anonymous...

2012-02-01T10:56:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone! While I'd like to say "can you believe its Februray already"....I'm really saying YAY Its February already!!! Here in NZ, that means the boys have started a new school year and routine is coming back into our house. Ahhhhhhh......I can feel it now......

But since it is February, there is a new challenge up at Scrapbookers Anonymous. This month's challenge is "hearts and stitching". It doesn't matter what you make or how you incorporate your hearts and stitching...just make sure those two things are on your project! A couple weeks ago I just needed to get my hands messy and play. I love scrapping photos of my boy onto layouts but I had been having the feeling of needeing to just play. As I was creating, I realized that if I incorporated some stitching that I was also completing an assignment. :) So I did.

I got my inspiration from this pin on Pinterest. My best friend first Lynne pinned it and I really loved it. I kept the hearts but made the canvas's my own.

I used 4 mini canvas's and did each one as its own artwork. The letter stickers were a tan colour and I painted them teal with acrylic paint. Mists, paints, stamps, buttons, lace....were all a part of what I used.

I painted my background canvas and then stamped it with my script stamp and attached the doilies. Thanks to my best friend Lynne for helping me with her sewing machine to do the stitching on the background canvas. She has always done stitching on her layouts and while I admired it, I was a bit scared of it. When she buys her new one, I'm buying hers! And I'm pretty excited about that. I can feel a new addiction coming on. :) Thanks for being my inspiration Lynne!! :)

Here are some close ups of my stitching. The thread is white but the colour of the canvas seemed to change the colour of the thread. I was a bit nervous starting with it....even asked Lynne to leave the room! lol...but soon got the hang of it and as I said, I think it will be a new addiction. :)

I hope you'll play along with the Scrapbookers Anonymous February challenge. Make sure you link up your project to the blog for the chance to win a prize and so I can check them out.

Happy Crafting!! :)

Something more...

2012-01-31T22:48:00.000-08:00

When I started this blog, it was just as much about my life here in New Zealand as it was scrapbooking. I am going to strive to get back into that. I love having a place to post my scrapping creations and my design team projects but I want to share some of life here too.

So let's start.......this week marks my boys starting a new school year. I have to say I was really glad that school is back in session. I love my boys but have really been in need of routine. And school is part of that.

Ian....my heart breaker. 10.5...year 7 (6th grade)

Aron...voted nicest boy by the girls in his class.....12...year 8 (7th grade)

Aden....my baby...8...year 4 (3rd grade)

I'm looking forward to sharing more of life with you blog friends.

Frosted Designs...

2012-01-27T00:17:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone! Its time for another Fabulous Friday Challenge over at Frosted Designs. This time around the challenge is a recipe one. Here's the recipe....

3 Pattern Papers
2 Buttons
1 Word Title

I had pictures of Ian that I really wanted to use for this challenge. I had my papers picked, my buttons, and even my one word title. That's as far as it got. :) I was just stuck with it so I decided to go out of my comfort zone and make a card instead! lol.....not my usual choice of projects. But in the end I was really happy with my card and glad I switched projects. And no.....my layout is not finished. Yet. It will come together one day. :)

I used pattern paper that is from a Basic Grey Christmas range. I was really happy that I could use them in a non-traditional way. My buttons are in my title and the flower one in the upper corner. I think this recipe challenge is a great one and will probably use it again myself. Maybe I'll make another card! :)

I hope you'll link up your projects at Frosted Designs for the chance to win a great prize and so I can check it out.

Happy Crafting!! :)

Frosted Designs Blog Hop...

2012-01-25T23:15:00.001-08:00

Mark your calendars and get ready to have some fun!!!

2012-01-18T13:17:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone!!! Frosted Designs is having a Design team call!! I can't
believeI've been on this amazing team for a year now and will be on
for another term. :) I love this group of talented crafters!
Would you like to be a part of our "family"??

This is from Barb...our fearless leader. :)

"I want to start out by saying that we have the most amazing group
of ladies here that make up our design team! Each and every one
is special and has become part of our Frosted Designs family!
We have several designers that will be staying on with us for another term
(YAY!), but we also have some that need to step down.
They will be missed but the good news for you is....

now you can apply to be part of our team!"

We are looking for papercrafters of all kinds!

If you make scrapbook layouts, cards, altered art items,

home decor items or like mixed media.... we want you!!

One of the best things about Frosted Designs (in my opinion)

is that we celebrate all kinds of crafters!

We are not just a scrapbooking blog or a card blog.

We want to let everyone share their skills and with 3 challenges

going on all the time, there is something for everyone! We would

like to fill some positions on all three of our teams. Let me tell

you more about each one....

Fabulous Friday Teams: We have two teams of ladies that make

up our Fabulous Friday teams. The focus of this team is to use up

supplies you already have laying around the house that may have

been neglected and forgotten about. For this team, you should be

willing to do any of the following: scrapbook layouts, cards, altered

art, home decor and mixed media items!

Sketch Along Tuesday Layout Team: This team makes scrapbook

layouts that are inspired by the sketches we give them.

Sketch Along Tuesday Card Team: This team makes cards that are

inspired by the sketches we give them.

No matter which team you prefer, the requirments for all of our

designers remain the same....
1. Be willing to commit to a six month term. Your term would start the

beginning of March and go until the end of August.
2. Create a project every other week for your assigned team.
3. Share a step by step tutorial 2 times during your 6 month term.

(This can be with photos or video)
4. You will be required to comment on some of the projects that are

entered into our challenge each week.
5. Keep an active blog that is updated frequently.
6. Post our challenge and your project on your blog on reveal day

and link back to the Frosted Designs blog.

To apply to be part of this team, you will need to....

*Share with us a little information about yourself and why you want

to be on the Frosted Designs Design Team.
*Provide a link to your blog.
*Provide a link to an online gallery if you have one.
*Tell us if you are on any other design teams and what your

commitments are for those teams.

Never been on a design team before? No worries!

No experience necessary!
*Share 3 of your favorite projects that you think best represents

your style.

If you are applying for one of the sketch teams, please do one project

based on one of our sketches and let us know which sketch you used.

You can find previous sketches in the tabs at the top.
* Tell us which of the three teams you are applying for. If you would like

to apply for more than one team, that's great...

Just let us know which ones!

Email your design team application to barb.craft@att.net!

We are accepting applications until February 10th and will

contact the new design team members by February 17th.

Good luck!

Scrapbookers Anonymous...ABC Challenge...

2012-01-15T23:55:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone!

The ABC challenge over at Scrapbookers Anonymous this month is the letter "F". As I looked through my stash of supplies I was suprised to discover only one lonely pack of journal spots from Fancy Pants. And they happened to be Christmas and snowy. lol...that wasn't going to be much help for my summery Christmas photos. So I decided to use them in a different way and hid (or cut off) as much of the snowy/Christmas parts as possible.

I based my layout of a fabric canvas 12x12 sheet. I wanted to highlight my photo so I made a frame. It is just chipboard covered with modling paste and then misted. I really liked the way it turned out. I used some clear tape with my label maker for my journaling. It reads "love these kids....sandy bottoms and all". Overall, I was pretty happy with the way it turned out.

I hope you'll dig in your stash for "F" products and join our challenge! Make sure you link up your projects to the Scrapbookers Anonymous blog for a chance to win a great prize and so I can check them out.
Happy Crafting!! :)

Frosted Designs...

2012-01-13T00:00:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone! Its Friday! Time for another Fabulous Friday Challenge over at Frosted Designs. The challenge this week is "Paint". I used red and white paint splattered for my background. My youngest son Aden got a box from his best friend in the States. The look of joy on his face was so awesome! He loved not only what was inside the box but a box just for HIM. :)

I hope you'll join our paint challenge. Make sure you link up your project to the Frosted Designs blog for the chance to win a great prize and so I can check them out.
Happy Crafting! :)

Frosted Designs...

2012-01-05T23:20:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone!!

Its time for another Fabulous Friday Challenge over at Frosted Designs. The challenge this time around is "cardstock only"...No patterned paper this time around!! I used white cardstock and glimmer mist for this layout. I put my sticker letters on before I misted my page and then removed them when the mist was dry. A couple paper flowers and lace and it was complete.

This is Charlotte. She is my best friend's daughter. Every time she sees me she runs with arms open wide, a huge smile and "ALydia!!!!".....yes, she is the only one allowed to call me ALydia. ;) She makes me smile EVERY time. Yep...I just love this girl.

I hope you'll take the cardstock only challenge. Make sure you link up your project to the Frosted Designs blog for the chance to win a great prize and so I can check them out. Can't wait to see what you come up with.
Happy Crafting!! :)

Scrapbookers Anonymous....

2012-01-02T13:28:00.000-08:00

Happy January Everyone! A new year, a new month, and a new challenge over at Scrapbookers Anonymous. This month's challenge is "ink, mist, paint, and masking". You don't have to use all three mediums with your mask but use at least one of them.

I have had these decorative suitcases for ages and decided they needed a face lift.

I used pages from an old book, masks, and glimmer mists. I love the way they turned out.

I hope you'll dig in your stash to play along with the new challenge. Make sure you link up your project for a chance to win a prize and so I can check them out!
Happy Crafting! :)

Frosted Designs Project...

2011-12-31T17:32:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone! Lydia here with a fun home project for you. I have had a blank wall in my kitchen for almost a year and finally found came up with an idea for that blank space. I found this frame at our school's fair. Now....I didn't care for the leopard picture but knew the frame would be perfect for what I was thinking.

The first thing I did was to take the print out of the frame. I attached chicken wire to the frame with a staple gun. After the wire was attached, I spray painted the whole thing.

I found these frames at a second hand shop for $1 and knew they would be perfect for the inside of the big frame.

After a coat of spray paint, they were ready to be hung with thin hobby wire.

My best friend Lynne, gave me these glass tubes for my project. They are perfect because they already had a hole in the back to be wired on. I was wanting something that could be attached easily and yet be changed out if I wanted. Thanks, Lynne....love them!!

(With the tubes being clear glass, it is really hard to photograph them well.)

I added just a wee bit of water and fresh flowers from my garden. I can change out the flowers or add wee shells or something in the tubes as I feel like it.

I love the end product!!!

So for just a few dollars, I have a great piece of art to display on my wall.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look! While you're here, check out the current challenges and chances to win great prizes.

Happy Crafting! :)

Lydia

Frosted Designs...

2011-12-30T02:30:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone!! I can't believe its been two weeks since I posted anything! That tells me summer holiday break is in full swing. :) The boys are home 24/7....or more correctly...I'm out at a park or beach with them and friends for most of those waking hours. I'm finding myself scrapping at night to stay caught up. Like tonight..... :)

Frosted Designs has another great Fabulous Friday challenge. This time around it is "something new". A new product or a new technique. I thought this was quite appropriate for the new year that is just about to begin. I'm looking forward to more new challenges in 2012.

My sister-in-law Michelle sent me some paper clay that I had been wanting to try and thought this would be the perfect challenge. I found a button in my stash with good texture and pressed the clay into it. I tried to make them fairly flat but they curled up some when they dried, making them challenging but still fun to work with. I painted them with acrylic paints and then glued them on my layout. You could put a clear coat of sealer or mod podge on them to make them shiny and more finshed looking.

Make sure you check out the other designer's projects on the Frosted Designs blog. They are amazing! I hope you'll try something new for this challenge. Make sure you link it up on the blog for the chance to win a great prize and so I can check them out!

Happy Crafting!! :)

Frosted Designs...

2011-12-16T12:00:00.000-08:00

Frosted Designs has another Fabulous Friday Challenge up. This time around its "Ribbon". I have held onto this velvet ribbon for ages. Just love it and didn't want to use it up. :) But it seemed right for this project. I took this picture right before my parents got on a plane to go back to Iowa. That was 7 months ago. I really wasn't sure what to title this page but every time I looked at it, I saw love. My love for them, their love for me, loved having them here.....It just seemed to be a fitting title.

I'm looking forward to the day I get to see them in person again. Only 5 months to go.....

Hope you will join us at Frosted Designs for the ribbon challenge. Also check out the sketch challenge and card sketch challenge. Lots of fun challenges going on over there and cool prizes to be won. Make sure you link up your project for a chance to win a prize and so I can check it out!

Happy Crafting!

Frosted Designs...

2011-12-02T03:14:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone! This week's Fabulous Friday challenge at Frosted Designs is "music/song". I wanted to use these photos of Ian getting a guitar for his 10th birthday. I found this guitar on a necklace at a jewerly store for $2 and thought it would be a perfect embellishment for this page. When Ian found out he was getting a guitar for his birthday, he could hardly contain his excitement. I love the smile on his face.

Make sure you link your project to the Frosted Designs blog for the chance to win a prize and so I can check it out.
Happy Crafting!!

Scrapbookers Anonymous...

2011-12-01T11:33:00.000-08:00

I can hardly believe that its December already!! My youngest son Aden, has been counting down for many days now as his birthday is on the 11th. Each morning he tells me how many days till the big day. :) I have to admit......when it was my birthday month I did the same thing....only in my mind. lol....

December means a new monthly challenge at Scrapbookers Anonymous. The challenge this month is "Glitter, Tags and Holiday Themed". Any way, any how. I decided to use library book tags and glittered die cuts. I had not scrapped pictures from Christmas 2010 and thought I should before I had pictures of Christmas 2011 waiting as well. Last Christmas was an emotional one for me as it was our first one here in New Zealand. Not only was I adjusting to the thought of a summer Christmas, we are thousands of miles away from our family. I am so thankful for Skype that brought Grandma, Grandpa, aunts, uncles, and cousins into our home. We even played our traditional bingo on Skype. Made trading presents a wee bit hard though. :) I wanted to use those photos and make a mini book about some of our old and now new Christmas traditions.

Decorating the tree has been a family event since the boys were old enough to handle the ornaments carefully. Well, Dad doesn't help but the boys always get excited to put it up. Christmas is in summer here in New Zealand so bare feet and short sleeves were perfect.

The boys were so excited to run down the stairs with their stockings. First year to have stairs to run down and no winter pjs. :)

Slip n Slide on Christmas day??? Sounds like an awesome new tradition!!

Christmas crackers.....cardboard poppers with trinkets inside.....will become a part of our Christmas traditions. Inside are these tissue paper crowns, a lovely fashion accessory.

We loved playing Bingo with our family back in Iowa. It was great to enjoy that tradition even though it did make me feel a bit lonely knowing they were all together.

Bingo presents, cans of soda, and Mom's lace table cloth. All means Christmas....

The boys were more than excited to open presents from family while that family watched on Skype. Shorts and tshirts as the day was WARM. No snow here!

Skyping with Grandma and Grandpa Gilmore with Great Grandma Hoschouer in the background. Have I mentioned I love technology???

Making sugar cookies has been one of my traditions from when I was a little girl. I love that my boys look forward to it every year. Its one of my favourite traditions!

Going to the beach with new body boards. Fun to get summer themed presents and be able to use them right away!

I hope you'll dig in your stash for glitter and tags. Make sure you upload your project to Scrapbookers Anonymous for a chance to win a cool prize and so I can check them out!
Happy Crafting! :)

Frosted Designs...

2011-11-25T00:44:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone! Its time for another Fabulous Friday Challenge at Frosted Designs. This time around the challenge is "Metal". I have had this tin lunch box around for a very long time so I thought I would give some alcohol ink a try. I really had no idea what I was doing but it seemed to work out well in the end. The word "blessing" is metal as well.

To be honest, I'm really not sure what I will do with the box. I do think it would make a nice gift box for someone for just about any special occasion. I will enjoy the box until the right person/occasion comes along. :)
Make sure you link up your project up to Frosted Designs for the chance to win a prize and so I can check them out!
Happy Crafting!! :)

Frosted Designs...

2011-11-18T01:26:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone! Its time for another Fabulous Friday Challenge over at Frosted Designs. This week's challenge is "Die Cuts". The die cuts can be either ones you make yourself or ones from your favourite manufacturer. For my project I used my cuttlebug die cuts.

I just love this picture of Aden. Those eyes get me every time. They are so full of life, mischief, love....they really are the windows to his soul.

Make sure you upload your die cut project to the Frosted Designs blog for a chance to win a prize and so I can check them out!
Happy Crafting!!

Scrapbookers Anonymous...ABC Challenge...

2011-11-15T11:27:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone! Just a quick card for you today. Time for the letter "D" challenge over at Scrapbookers Anonymous. I had a really hard time with this one! (Not to mention life is super busy right now.) Anyway.....I used DCWV for the base of my card and added a simple misted doiley. Quick and easy.

Make sure you link up your "D" project for the chance to win a prize and so I can check them out!
Happy Crafting!

Frosted Designs...

2011-11-04T03:01:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! This week's Fabulous Friday challenge at Frosted Designs is "Family". I decided to use photos from my parents visit in May. We took a trip south through the Catlins, which is in New Zealand's southern scenic route. This area of New Zealand is about 5 hours worth of driving with many places to stop and see beautiful scencery, waterfalls, and wildlife. Its such a beautiful, raw part of New Zealand. We are truly blessed to live in such a wonderful place and call it home.

On this particular day, it was my Dad's birthday. He had said that for his present he just wanted to see wildlife. Well, see wildlife we did! The first beach we stopped at had two large sea lions on it. One male and one female. My dad was thrilled! We walked down to see them and take some pictures. I definately get my photography gene from my dad but I must have got my good sense gene from my mom. :) I kept reminding my dad that these were wild animals and that we were in their home. My dad.....love him to pieces.....he kept getting closer and closer to those sea lions. I have not seen my dad's photos yet but I am pretty sure he got some amazing shots.

I am glad that I got my photography gene from my dad. My mom used to say to us as kids "if you ever get lost, just tell them your dad is the one with the big black nose (his camera)." I think my boys could say the same about me. :) In this case, I'm thinking a bigger lense for my camera is a better idea than getting as close as I can to a wild animal!! :) But I sure do love my dad and am thankful for his photography gene.

I'd love to see your Family projects. Make sure you link them up to Frosted Designs for a chance to win a prize and so I can check them out.
Happy Crafting!! :)

Scrapbookers Anonymous...

2011-11-01T15:14:00.000-07:00

Wow....how did we get to November already?! Its time for another new challenge over at Scrapbookers Anonymous. This month's challenge is to use (at least) 7 different kinds of ribbon on your layout. I really had a hard time with this challenge. Not for my lack of ribbon....because....well, I have a few more than 7 kinds. :) In the end, I was really, really happy with the way my layout turned out.

This is Charlotte. She is the daughter of my best friend here in New Zealand. I just love Charlotte to pieces. She is my favourite 5 year old girl! :) I absolutely love this photo of her. She is just as wild and loud as my boys and yet she is also just as soft and sweet.

I used lace and pom pom trim along with some ribbons from my stash. I folded some thin ribbon to add a little more oomph to it.

I want to say a huge thank you to my sister-in-law Michelle for so many goodies on this page. She (and my brother) sent me a BIG box of scrapping goodies for my birthday! It was so fun to dig into them and of course I wanted to create straight away. I LOVE these prima alphas she sent. *swoon* I must find some more of them. They are already my favourites.

I hope you will dig in your ribbon stash and play along with us at Scrapbookers Anonymous. Make sure you link up your project for a chance to win a prize and so I can check them out. Now off to play with my new goodies.....

Happy Crafting! :)

Frosted Designs...

2011-10-28T02:57:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone! Time for another Fabulous Friday challenge at Frosted Designs. This time around the challenge is "Food/Candy". I took the liberty of using my favourite drink for this challenge.

New Zealand is the land of coffee. Ok, maybe I've dubbed it the land of coffee but there seem to be just as many coffe shops as there are sheep! :) Which is a great thing if you love coffee. Well, I happen to not love coffee....not only not love but not even like coffee. Grabbing a coffee with a friend is very much a social outing here. I felt socially ackward not having a hot coffee in my hands (and I'm really not a tea drinker either!). I have found a hot drink that I just love. Chai latte has become my friend.....yum!

A chai latte is a cinnamon/spicy milky drink. My husband says its like drinking a Christmas candle. :)

I hope you'll join us at Frosted Designs for this weeks challenge. Make sure you link up your project for a change to win a prize and so I can check it out.
Happy Crafting! :)

Frosted Designs...

2011-10-21T01:41:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone! This week's Fabulous Friday challenge over at Frosted Designs is a color challenge. You can find the inspiration photo here.

I used 3 of the 4 colours on my layout. That purple was a hard one for me! :)

Any time Aron falls down, he hops up quick and says "I'm ok!" And then takes the time to see if he really is. Cracks me up every time!

I hope you'll play along with us at Frosted Designs. Make sure you link up your project for a chance to win a great prize and so I can check them out.

Happy Crafting! :)

Scrapbookers Anonymous...ABC challenge...

2011-10-15T16:10:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!! Its time for the "C" challenge over at Scrapbookers Anonymous. For this challenge, I used Cosmo Cricket's Early Bird collection. I have always loved this line and well.....have a couple sets of it. :) So perfect for not only this challenge but for Scrapbookers Anonymous....where we are encouraged to use up our stash!! :)

This is a chipboard mini album that I used to record my mom teaching my boys how to make my favorite cake. Its called spice chiffon which is like an angel food cake with spices like cinnamon and nutmeg in it. Yum! The boys were quite keen to help my mom make this cake. I decided it was a perfect opportunity to record this memory. After the cake was baked, the boys declared it "the world's best cake" so I decided to use that as my title for my album.

I had these wee bottles and thought they would be just the right accent for this book. They are filled with cinnamon, flour, and sugar. I used glossy accents to glue the corks on and baker's twine to tie them on.

Each page shows steps to making the cake. I love having photos of my mom teaching them. They were so careful to measure everything out just right and do what my mom had to say. It was fun to see them learning from her. I love this collection and its "old" time kitchen gadgets. It just seemed perfect for this memory.

The last page is a picture of my mom's recipe book. I really wanted to include it with all the smudges of cake batter on it. Its been around for as long as I can remember. With my birthday in just a few weeks, my boys and I will be making this cake soon. And I'll be having thoughts of my mom teaching my boys.

Thanks for stopping by to have a look. I hope you will dig in your stash for "C" products. Make sure you upload them to Scrapbookers Anonymous for a chance to win a prize and so I can check them out.

Happy Crafting! :)

Frosted Designs...

2011-10-06T23:27:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone! This week's challenge at Frosted Designs is a recipe challenge. Your project must contain at least 4 of the following.....

1. The color yellow
2. Ribbon or Lace
3. Chipboard
4. Flowers
5. Misting or inks
6. Buttons
7. Stickers
8. Rub ons

I was in the middle of a massive clear out/clean up of my scrap room when I came across a notebook in my things. I really didn't care for the design on the front so I decided to give it a make over. I started with a sheet of patterned paper and used antique linen distress ink to give it a little more colour. I used glimmer mist on my doiley and the riboon. I was drying my ribbon with my heat gun and noticed it bunching up. What a stroke of luck! I love the look. :) Add in some flowers, buttons, and my title and my notebook was fresh and new.

I hope you'll take the recipe challenge! Make sure you link up your projects to Frosted Designs for a chance to win a prize and so I can check them out.

Happy Crafting! :)

Scrapbookers Anonymous...

2011-10-01T23:59:00.000-07:00

Wow....October already!!! Its an exciting month for us here in Dunedin. Not only is it my birthday month, friends visiting from the States, AND we will have our first preview service for the church we are starting here.....which by the way is on the 30th...MY birthday!! :) We have been working toward this day for a couple years now....exciting stuff. Ok.....I get a little excited about this month. :)

October also means another challenge over at Scrapbookers Anonymous. This month's challenge is "die cuts". This could mean dusting off that die cutting machine....or maybe your's doesn't have dust on it!!! Or it could be using die cuts made from a manufacturer. Either works for this challenge. I used the Cuttlebug for this challenge. I wanted to keep it fairly simple so I dry brushed a few different colours of paint on my cardstock and then added my photo and embellishments. Easy peasy..... :)

I hope you'll pull out your machines or find your die cuts and play along with us. Make sure you link up your project to Scrapbookers Anonymous for a chance to win a prize and so I can check them out.

Happy Crafting! :)

Frost Designs...

2011-09-29T22:17:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone! Its a beautiful Friday here in Dunedin. The Gals at Frosted Designs have another Fabulous Friday challenge for you. The challenge this time around is "fussy cutting". I have cute doilies out of a patterned paper and used them on my layout.

This is another one of my favorite photos of Ian. I just love his natural smile which isn't always easy to capture. I thought "simply delight in happiness" was fitting for this photo.

I hope you'll get out your scissors and get to cutting! Make sure you upload your project to Frosted Designs for a chance to win a prize and so I can check it out.

Happy Friday!! :)

Frosted Designs...

2011-09-22T22:54:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone! This week's Fabulous Friday Challenge at Frosted Designs is "ransom note/different fonts". If you are anything like me, you have a variety of alphabets in your stash to choose from. :) I just love my alphas!

I am making a chipboard book of various photos and this one of the pages. This photo is of Aden, my youngest. I just love his natural smile. I'll post more of my book as it comes together.

I hope you'll play along with us at Frosted Designs. Make sure you link up your project for a chance to win a prize and so I can check it out. :)

Frosted Designs...

2011-09-15T23:43:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone! This week's Fabulous Friday Challenge at Frosted Designs is to use your "punches". I decided to do another butterfly project. You might remember this post here where I used my butterfly punch to make some home decor. I have been helping my friend Lynne make some cool framed art for her daughter's room. (She is going to have the coolest wall of art!!) I thought this was a good time to make a monochromatic piece of butterfly art.

Once again I used a paint chip strip for the butterflies and then attached them with glue dots in the middles so they would "fly" off the page.

Make sure you link up your project to Frosted Designs for a chance to win a cool prize and so I can check them out!
Happy Crafting!

Scrapbookers Anonymous ABC challenge...

2011-09-15T12:43:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! I hope you're enjoying the challenges over at Scrapbookers Anonymous. Its time for another letter challenge and this month its "B". So did in your stash and find those "B" products....there are so many out there!!

I have used Basic Grey paper, bling, and the letters are beads. This is my beautiful niece. She is getting so grown up!! I'm so proud of her.....I do wish she wasn't growing up quite so much while we are in New Zealand....but I suppose that's what "kids" are suppose to do. Well, I love you Maisie!! Keep growing beautiful inside and out. :)

I hope you'll dig in your stash and find you "B" products. Make sure you link up your project for a chance to win a prize and so I can check out your projects.
Happy Crafting! :)

Frosted Designs...

2011-09-09T01:58:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone! This week's Fabulous Friday Challenge at Frosted Designs is "tickets, envelopes, and/or postage stamps". Anything goes with this challenge. I used an envelope for some hidden journaling and the ticket side of my Graphic 45 paper, our sponsor this week.

I love these photos of Aden. I was watching him on the beach through my camera when he came closer and closer. I love this impish streak in Aden. No matter how old he is, I wanted to remind him to always be himself.

I love this Graphic 45 striped paper and the opposite side is the Pairs "postage stamps". I'm thinking I need some more of this paper. :)

I wanted to keep this layout really simple so I only used a few buttons, some twine, and a few word stickers along with the paper "stamps".

I hope you'll play along with us this week at Frosted Designs. Make sure you link up your projects for a chance to win a great prize and so I can check them out. I can't wait to see what you come up with!
Happy Friday!! :)

Scrapbookers Anonymous...Mini stash challenge...

2011-09-08T12:35:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! The Gals at Scrapbookers Anonymous are spending the month celebrating their 1 year anniversary with a whole assortment of Mini Stash challenges and prizes to be won. The regular challenges will still be running with a chance to win fabulous prizes.

My mini stash challenge is to use game pieces on your layout or project. I have always collected random bits and pieces to use on my layouts and projects. Most of these game pieces came to my stash from my sister-in-law Michelle. On this layout, I used Scrabble tiles for my title, a bingo number for the center of the flower, playing cards, and a random card from a game.

I hope you'll dig in your stash and see what you can come up with for this mini stash, game pieces. Make sure you link up your project to Scrapbookers Anonymous for the chance to win a prize and so I can check out your project. You'll have until October 7th to do so.
Happy Crafting! :)

Frosted Designs...

2011-09-02T04:24:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone! Its Friday!! Frosted Designs Fabulous Friday challenge this week is to use "flourishes" on your layout or project. Kaiser is the sponsor for this week and I absolutely love their products. My layout is 90% made from their products. See....I told you I love them! :) They have great wooden flourishes, like the lock, and then the bling flourishes...well, I love them even more.

I just love these photos of Aron. As I looked at them, I could just see the way he has gone from being a boy to growing into a young man. Not only is he almost as tall as me (which secretly I love), but his maturity level has grown so much lately. I am really proud of the young man he is becoming.

I hope you will play along with us this week! Make sure you link up your projects to Frosted Designs for a chance to win a prize and so I can check them out.
Happy Friday! :)

Scrapbookers Anonymous...

2011-09-01T14:04:00.000-07:00

Wow....how can it be September already?? A new month means a new challenge at Scrapbookers Anonymous. The challenge for September is "chipboard". Anything chipboard goes so dig in your stash and see what you can come up with!

I used a number of chipboard items on my layout. The wee tags were sent to me by my good friend Stephanie (thank YOU!). I held onto them knowing just the right project would come around for them. I've also used chipboard letters for Ian's name and the "someday" tag is chipboard as well.

I decided to use the chipboard tags for my journaling. I am always taking picturess of my boys and for the most part they are willing to stop or pose for a photo. I love the look on Ian's face as it says "Come on, Mum....." I'm going to keep taking pictures so I hope they stay willing for a bit longer.

I hope you will dig in your stash and find your chipboard. Make sure you link up your creation to the Scrapbookers Anonymous blog so I can check them out. Happy Crafting! :)

Frosted Designs...

2011-08-25T22:39:00.000-07:00

Its Friday!! Time for another Fabulous Friday challenge at Frosted Designs. The challenge this time is "book pages/notebook/ledger paper". I've enjoyed using parts of old books or songbooks for my projects from time to time. I only have a wee bit of guilt as my mom is a librarian! :) (Sorry Mom...)

I love this photo of Ian on the flying fox. The flying fox is quite popular at parks here in New Zealand. Its similar to a zipline but with a seat. They are so much fun to "fly" on. I used pages from a dictionary to higlight words that make me think of the flying fox or Ian such as fly, play, fun, boy...to name a few. I used the baker's twine to circle those words to make sure they were noticed.

I hope you'll play along with us this week. Make sure you upload your projects to Frosted Designs for a chance to win a prize and so I can check them out.
Happy Crafting! :)

Frosted Designs...

2011-08-18T22:50:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday Everyone! Its time for another Fabulous Friday Challenge over at Frosted Designs. I hope you are loving their challenges just as much as I am. This time around the challenge is to make a project with "clocks". Make sure you check out the FD blog as there are many great projects from my fellow designers there.

I decided to use these photos of Ian taken just before his 10th birthday. He was in a great mood that day and really was my wee model. I was so pleased to get so many good shots of him with natural smiles, nothing forced that day. *Love* that one of him looking sideways at me smiling. That's my Ian. :)

I used some rub on clocks and then a wee metal clock on my flower. I thought the clocks were perfect to reflect this "time" that I have caputured here. My baby is growing up way too fast. Sigh....

I want to say congrats to all the new Design Team members and thank you to the Gals for keeping me on the team! I love designing for Frosted Designs!! Hope to see you playing along with our challenges.

Make sure you link up your clock projects to the Frosted Designs blog so I can check them out. Can't wait to see what you come up with!
Happy Friday!!

Scrapbookers Anonymous...ABC challenge...

2011-08-15T13:09:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!

The gals over at Scrapbookers Anonymous have come up with another way to use your stash. Not only will there be a monthly challege to use something up (and make a card with your scraps) but there will now be a new "ABC" challenge to dig in your stash even further!!

Here is the challenge...straight from the SA blog.

"Our main challenge will still be posted each month of the 1st, but we had this fun idea of doing an A to Z challenge. After thinking how we could incorporate this into what we do, we decided to post two challenge prompts each month. The A to Z challenge will go live on the 15th of the month.

You may be wondering, where will the cards be posted??? Well, we have that covered. =) You can still post a card that you made with your scraps, but the DT card inspiration will be posted along with their layouts. That way you can see how they use those scraps and see the association with the layouts.

What does all this mean to you??? 3 different ways to be entered into the MONTHLY PRIZE DRAWING. You will have till the end of the month to get all your submissions in. We will still randomly draw a winner each month and have our Faves posted.

We hope you will find the extra prompt fun and another way to dig into that stash of yours.

Here is a wrap up of our posting calendar:

1st - Main Challenge Prompt
15th - A to Z Challenge Prompt
Cards can be submitted at any time throughout the month.

We'll also be adding a rules tab for the blog which should cover any questions. And we'll go into more detail about the A to Z challenge on the 15th! But it's not too complicated, just about digging into even more shtash!!!"

There you go! Another way to use your stash and win a prize. The first challenge is the letter "A". After looking through my stash, I realized that the only "A" product I had was Thickers by American Craft. I did cheat a wee bit and used photos of my son Aden as well. Does that count??? :)

Thanks to my dear friend Lynne for taking these photos of Aden. She knew I would love them and I do. :) Make sure you link up your "A" challenge to the Scrapbookers Anonymous blog for a chance to win and so I can check them out!
Happy Crafting!!

Frosted Designs...

2011-08-12T01:17:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday Everyone! Frosted Designs has another great challenge up for the Fabulous Friday Challenge. This time its all about "animals". We had a dog and two cats before moving to New Zealand but currently the only animals I have are my 3 boys. :) I decided to do a project about our dog Copper. Copper was a Christmas present to our boys one year after they had begged and begged for a dog. Unfortunately, Copper got hit by a car and died about 6 months before we left Indiana. We have fond memories of Copper and Aden still talks of him often.

The book is chipboard that I have covered with patterned paper and added favorite photos and embellishments.

The embellishments are fairly flat so the book can actually close. :)

I've even included a wee file folder note to Copper. We still love and miss that dog.

Thanks for stopping by! I can't wait to see what you come up with for this week's "animal" challenge. Make sure you link it to the Frosted Designs blog so I can check it out. Happy Crafting!

Just another peek...

2011-08-09T14:21:00.000-07:00

I've been working on my project again. I am loving the way its coming together and it is almost complete. Then I can show you the whole thing. :)

I hope to get back at it soon. I've got another idea just waiting to get out. :)

Scrapbookers Anonymous...

2011-08-01T13:14:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone! Does anyone else feel like this year is just zooming by....or is it just me??? Since it is August already, its time for a new challenge at Scrapbookers Anonymous. The challenge this month is to create a project using "journaling tags". I loved this challenge as journal tags are one of my favorite things. I had several thoughts in mind and this is what I decided on. Good thing is I have plenty more to make something else! :)

I just loved this set of tags. Thanks to my friend Even the bird, butterfly, and the "never forget" are from journal tags.

The card I made this time around is from a different set of journal tags. I really like the "today" sentiment as it could be used for many occasions.

You really need to check out the layouts on the Scrapbookers Anonymous blog. The girls have really outdone themselves!! Such cool layouts. Hope you'll dig through your stash and make something with your journal tags. Make sure you upload them to Scrapbookers Anonymous for a chance to win a great prize and so I can check them out! Keep watching the SA blog for a new challengs. Its going to be a good one!!! :)

Frosted Designs...

2011-07-28T23:30:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!

This past two weeks of school holiday has just flow by! I am ready for the boys to be back in school for some normal routines, including some time in my scrap room!! :) But it is Friday and time for another challenge over at Frosted Designs. The challenge this time around is "circles".

Quite awhile ago, my sister-in-law Michelle gave me this record book. I warned her it would take me awhile to use it because I wanted it to be just perfect. When I saw this challenge, I knew this was the time to make my project.

This book holds 12 records size 45. I found the records at a local charity barn for 3/$1.00. I was pretty happy about that. I had given this project much thought and decided that I would use one record for each month of the year.

You may know that our family moved to New Zealand just over a year ago. I had always lived in the midwest United States. All my years there, Christmas meant snow and 4th of July meant fireworks, hot days, and BBQs. Since New Zealand is in the Southern Hemisphere, there have been a lot of changes in the seasons and even holidays for us. Christmas is during the summer and 4th of July is just another day.

So on one side of the record, I decided I would tell about an event or season in the United States and on the other side I would tell about the difference here in New Zealand. I have put my journaling directly on the record and used the sleeve as my "page" for embellishing. To keep my project consistant, I am using masks and glimmer mist on each sleeve along with a few embellishments.

I used white paint watered down to give the front of the book a white washed feeling. I thought about covering up the "records" part but decided that I really liked it and it was ok to leave.

On the inside cover, I typed up a journal spot to explain what the book was about. I did the same white wash paint to cover up the writing. The original owner of the book had listed the records they had in it. January in the States means snow and cold so I used a light glimmer mist to keep the page "cool".

These are the second pages of the book. Since January in New Zealand means summer, I wanted to make sure this page felt warm. The opposite side is February in the States. Cold and more cold.

All my journaling will be typed out and then glued onto the record. When space allows, I will put a bit of embellishments on each record as well.

(Since this book is a work in progress, I will post the completed project when its finished.)

Make sure you link up your "circle" project to Frosted Designs for a chance to win a prize and so I can check them out! Can't wait to see what you come up with!

Snow day...

2011-07-24T14:44:00.000-07:00

This is the last week of school holiday before another term starts and the boys thought yesterday's snow was a perfect start to the week. We have been told how unusual this snow is for Dunedin. Not only to get so much...several inches...but for it to stay around for more than a few hours. Being from the midwest where we are used to very snowy winters and the snow staying long past its welcome, this snow brought much delight to the boys. They began playing in it as soon as the flakes started hitting the ground and spent many hours throwing snowballs, making snowmen, and having fun with friends.

As I sit here writing this, its still snowing. Crazy thing is that by tomorrow it will probably all be gone. So we will enjoy it while it lasts! :)

Frosted Designs...

2011-07-22T02:00:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone! Another Friday has come around and its time for the Fabulous Friday Challenge at Frosted Designs. Its time to dig in your button stash and see what you can make with them. I don't know about you but I have just a "few" buttons. :) I decied to dig into my vintage stash that my sister-in-law Michelle gave me.

One autumn day, we took a hike in these woods and this shot just said that there were fairies living in these woods. It was just a little magical. The boys were willing to pose for a few photos but then the magic of the woods distracted them.

When you have your project finished make sure you upload it to Frosted Designs for a chance to win a great prize and so I can check it out! Happy Crafting! :)

School Holidays...

2011-07-20T14:36:00.000-07:00

This past week has been week 1 of school holidays. School here in New Zealand runs in 4 term segaments, about 9-10 weeks long with a 6 week summer break. Between each term is a 2 week holiday. This past term (term 2) was 11 weeks long so the boys were more than ready for a 2 week break.

We started the break by making a weekend trip to Christchurch, our first NZ home. Well, let me rephrase that....Bryce and I made the trip while the boys all stayed with friends here in Dunedin. They were thrilled to be with friends and not have to make a 4 hour trip. (Funny how we used to make a 9 hour trip to Grandma's house and now 4 hours is just about too much!) We made the trip because Bryce was preaching at ReChurch, the Chch church plant of our organization and to catch up with friends.

Saturday morning, Bryce and I took my original beach walk. I was hoping for a brilliant red and orange sunrise but insead was a grey/blue sunrise. Beautiful in itself....

During our six months in Chch, I had a lot of emotional days missing family and friends...being in a new country, adjusting to a different culture, different accent, and having few friends. I would walk to this beach and this was my wishing bench, wishing that I could have someone I love sit on it with me. I'm happy to say that while I will still miss my family and friends, I am happy and feel so much at home in Dunedin. This is where I'm suppose to be.

You may recall that Chch has had a series of devastating earthquakes beginning with the big 7.1 in September. It is a moment we will never forget. Since then there have been thousands of aftershocks and several other big quakes, with the latest one being June 13th. While I only took these pictures of the beach with my camera, my heart captured so many more. The roads are terribly bumpy (munted as they say in NZ), there are port-a-loos/potty, and water tanks in many neighborhoods, and silt and sand everywhere. My heart breaks for Christchurch. Its a city that has been beaten with these earthquakes and although it is tired, it is not broken. Christchurch is rebuilding. It is recovering. It will just take time.

So many emotions rolled into just a weekend......

We have enjoyed having the boys home and doing special things with them. Friends over to play, sleepovers, hikes, and day trips. We are thankful to live so close to many spectacular sites, hiking spots, and beaches. Nothing like having a day of fun on a mountain or beach and then sleeping in your own bed. :) God had truly blessed us.

Mt. Cargill to the Organ Pipes hike....

Not only are we blessed with a beautiful country, we are even more blessed with special friends. Friends that we love spending time with.

This photo cracks me up!! That Charli Girl....

And even though its winter, its not too cold.....for the kids.....to be barefoot on the beach. :)

Special friends.....I am truly blessed.

I'm so thankful there are a few more days left this week and all next week to have the boys home! More fun days planned. This makes me happy. :)

Scrapbookers Anonymous...

2011-07-17T16:50:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the late post but we spend the weekend in Christchurch with no internet. And no boys but that's another post. :) I hope you've seen the challenge over at Scrapbookers Anonymous to make a project with your hard to use color. Its not too late to get it submitted for a great prize! I made up a couple cards with a two of my hard to use colors.

Hope you are enjoying the challenge this time around. Next month there will be something new going on over at Scrapbookers Anonymous. Make sure you keep checking back!! Its going to be good!!!

Frosted Designs...

2011-07-15T12:40:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!! There is a new challenge at Frosted Designs this week. "Quote that" is the challenge. I decided to quote myself for this project.

I tell my boys....all 3 of them.....all the time that "you" are my favorite. :) And they know it. Now they have begun quoting me. "You know...since I'm your favorite....." I love it!

I cut paper into 1 inch squares for my flowers. I laid them on my page with the backside of it up and sprayed the squares to get the background effect. The mist made the edges of the paper curl when it dried so I used those to make the flowers. I was pretty happy with the end result and will be doing this again.

Thanks for stopping by! Make sure you upload your "Ouote That" project to Frosted Designs so you are in for the prize drawing and so I can check them out!

Happy Friday!!!

Today...

2011-07-13T16:00:00.000-07:00

Wow.....the last few weeks have been so busy! I've hardly had time to do anything in my scrap room except for some design team projects. Two days ago, winter came to Dunedin. Snow swirled around for much of the afternoon and the wind howled! The boys were quite excited when they came home from school. Its too warm here for the snow to stay around but just seeing it made them happy. I took advantage of the snow and played in my scrap room. I've been working on a project that is making me very happy. When its completed, I'll share it all but for now here's another peek of it.

I was quite inspired to make this page and love the way it turned out. I know its not a very good peek but I want to save the whole project to share in its completion. I'm so excited about it and thinking about my next one. Love it!

I have a wee boy home with an ear infection today. Poor thing. While he's resting on the couch and the laundry is drying in front of the heat pump, I'm going to play in my scrap room. Sounds like a good day to me! :)

Frosted Designs Birthday Blog Hop...

2011-07-07T23:12:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! There is a lot of fun going on at Frosted Designs this week! Not only is there a new Fabulous Friday Challenge but we are also having a First Birthday Ice Cream on the Beach Blog Hop!

First the challenge......this time around your challenge is to create a layout, card or project with this scrapbooking recipe...."Ribbon/fancy trim, charm, pearls/rhinestones". Make sure you link up your projects so I can check them out and so you are in for a chance to win a fabulous prize!

I chose to make a layout with these pictures of my boys on the beach. It was late afternoon and the sun had dipped down over the hills creating such pretty colors in the sky. Now, June here in New Zealand is winter but to my boys the beach is most enjoyable when you can get in the water. It doesn't seem to bother them that the air temperature was only 58*, making the water MUCH colder than that due to NZ only being 1900 miles from Antartica! Brrr....brrrr....brrrr... No matter the season, they love the ocean!

Now, onto the blog hop!! Its been a year since Barb, Diana, and Debbie took over the Frosted Designs Blog so its a Birthday Blog Hop!

Happy One Year Gals!!!

In honor of this birthday, they have put together a Designer blog hop. Each designer has answered a scrapbooking question on their blog. To be elegible for a prize, hop to each blog, gather the answer, and then email them to

danica4us@yahoo.com

Simple as that! In this post, you will find a link to all the Gals participating with the hop. And a couple links to the Frosted Designs blog, just in case you get lost along the way! :) You should have just arrived from Amanda and are now headed to Ann's blog. Don't forget to gather your answers! :)

Here is my question and my answer to it.

***What's the longest you've gone without scrapping?***

The longest I have been without scrapping is when we moved from Kansas to New Zealand. We flew here on June 1, 2010 and our container with all our belongings didn't arrive until July 7th. Just over a month without scrapbooking!! It just about did me in. :) Now I scrapbook at least every other day, if not do something every day. It might be organize or rearrange in my scrap room or work on a project.

Now onto the blogs!! Happy Hopping!

Frosted Designs
1. Barb
2. Diana
3. Lori
4. Andrea
5. Kissina
6. Barb O.
7. Krisitin
8.Erin
9. Amanda
10. Lydia (You are Here!)
11. Ann
12. Angela
13. Eli
14. Melissa
15. Karin
16. Debbie Bakk
17. Jessica
18. Libbeti
Frosted Designs

Make sure you link up your project for this week's challenge to the Frosted Designs blog and gather all your answers. You have until July 11th to gather and email your answers to Diana. Winners will be posted on July 12th on the Frosted Designs blog. Good luck!!!

Scrapbookers Anonymous...

2011-07-02T13:18:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! July is upon us now and so the Gals at Scrapbookers Anonymous have a new challenge for you. This month the challenge is to use "your hard to use color". When I saw this challenge I thought "Ok.....that should be easy-ish. I'll just look through my stash and find out what color I don't use often and thus have the most of." Well, easier said than done. In the past few months, I have done a major clean out of my stash. Including getting rid of those colors that I have a hard time using. With a little digging I did find this pink/mauve color. (It photographed much lighter than it really is.) I had these tags and such sitting on my desk for quite awhile trying to work with this color. Not easy at all! :) But here is my finished project.....

I placed letter stickers for my title and for the doily as a mask before I misted. My title "You complete Me" didn't stand out as much as I wanted so I traced around the letters with black pen. My journaling is about how Aden has completed our family. I wasn't sure about having a third baby and now I couldn't imagine my life without him.

I hope you'll dig through your stash and make a project with your hard to use color. Make sure you link it up to Scrapbookers Anonymous so I can check them out. Happy Scrapping!

Frosted Designs...

2011-06-30T23:57:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone! I'm beginning to think that there is more than one Friday in a week. It sure seems to come around fast! :) But since it is Friday, Frosted Designs has a new challenge for you. The challenge this time around is to use a vintage photo on your project or layout. When we moved to New Zealand, I didn't bring any with me so I asked my mom to send me some. Well, this ash cloud from the volcano in Chili has delayed the mail getting to New Zealand. Its been three weeks since my mom mailed the letter with the photos and I still haven't seen them. Thankfully my friend Lynne gave me a couple photos to work with. (Thanks Michelle for the photo email too!)

Out for Publication!!!!!!!

My friend Jess gave me this beautiful, handmade doily. I just love it and it was perfect for this layout. It was hard to photograph but I used it as a mask in the upper right hand corner before securing it where it is.

Well, wouldn't you know....I received the photos from my mom! I thought I'd also post this layout with photos of my grandma and her sister. I'm so glad to have a piece of my history. Aren't they beautiful? So stylish.

Out for Publication!!!!!!!!

I hope you have some vintage photos that you can use on your project or layout. Make sure you link them up to Frosted Designs so I can check them out. Have a great week and I'll see you next Friday!

Frosted Designs...

2011-06-23T23:06:00.000-07:00

Its FRIDAY!! That means another Fabulous Friday challenge at Frosted Designs. This time around the challenge is to use black, white, and one other color on a project or layout. I really enjoyed this challenge. I had a plan in mind and set out to accomplish that look. Well....it proved to be a bit more challenging that I anticipated! But in the end, I love the result. These boys of mine totally have my heart. I just love them so.

Its hard to tell in a photograph but I misted the black cardstock with pearl glimmer mist. It gives it such a nice sparkle without distracting from my photos or other elements.

Don't forget to link up your projects to Frosted Designs. I'd love to check them out. Hope you have a Fabulous Friday! I've got friends coming for scrap night at my house and I can't wait! Time to get my fingers inky....or painty! :)

Challenge Me Happy and a little something fun...

2011-06-21T01:53:00.000-07:00

I've found a new inspiration site called Challenge Me Happy. This is their first challenge and I can't wait to see more. They provided a really cool picture for inspiration. You can check it out on their blog.

This is what I came up with. I really liked the colours and the feeling of this photo. Kind of has an antique feeling about it, even thought its not really old. I thought this photo of the boys was just the right one to use.

I am a very tiday house keeper but sometimes a girl just needs to do a bit of deep cleaning. :) After my cleaning, I got down to playing in my scrap room. I needed those painty fingers just as much as I needed a deep cleaned house. I think its funny that in my scrap room I have two eight foot tables and yet I work in a space smaller than my 24" wide mat. :)

At this moment, I was enjoying my morning tea break of carrots and hummus and a hot drink all while doing a bit of facebooking. :) Multi-tasking....that's what I'm about!

This is a peek of what I was working on. I'm not quite ready to share the whole thing yet, but I will when its finished. Oh yes, I'm loving that bubble wrap rainbow! :)

Ok, I can't quite figure out why my text looks normal on here and then shows up tiny! Hope that's fixed by next time. :)

Frosted Designs and Monster Creations...

2011-06-17T22:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I shared just a teaser of my album I made for Frosted Designs journal tag challenge this week. My album is one being featured on their blog so I wanted to share the rest of it with you.

I was given the 6x6 album from Monster Creations to play with and this is what it looked like when I received it. I really wanted to do something a little different with this album. I started by painting it brown. I love the way it took the paint! It almost looked like a woodgrain stamp. (I forgot to take a picture of it painted before I started playing with it. I was too excited!)

I used these journal cards from K&Co. Some of them I used just as they were and some I cut and used titles off of. I've had these cards for awhile and they were just perfect for the photos I wanted to use. There were plenty of cards for my project, to share with friends, and I still have some left. And let me just say $4.12 for 44 journal cards?? What a bargin! :) I paired them with tags, papers, and brads from Basic Grey's Marjolaine set and flowers and buttons that I had in my stash.

I chose pictures from a Saturday hike our family took to Tunel Beach, about 10 minutes from where we live. Its one of our favourite spots here in Dunedin and the views are spectacular. Here is my album....

I really liked the way I could use this album folded up as a book or spread out like this to display more of the pages.

This is what the back of it looks like.

Thanks so much to Monster Creations for this album! Make sure you check out their website to see the other styles they offer. Such a great selection! Don't forget about the special Frosted Designs discount they have right now.

"Any one who emails me personally at amy@mymonstercreations.com and mentions Frosted Designs will get 50% off your entire order and FREE shipping for USA. Out of country residents will be a 10.00 shipping charge."

Also remember to link up your creations to Frosted Designs using journal tags. (To qualify for this week's prize you do not have to do a mini album, just use journal tags on your layout, card, or project.)

Frosted Designs...

2011-06-17T03:21:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! Its time for another Fabulous Friday Challenge at Frosted Designs. The challenge this time around is to use journal tags on your project or layout. Amy, owner of Monster Creations has generously provided not only this week's prize but mini albums for us design team girls to play with. Thanks so much Amy!! I really enjoyed playing with my album. For now I'll just show you a peak of it and stop back by tomorrow to see the whole thing. :)

See you tomorrow!!

Oh before I leave you.....Amy has a great deal for YOU!

Any one who emails me personally at amy@mymonstercreations.com and mentions Frosted Designs will get 50% off your entire order and FREE shipping for USA. Out of country residents will be a 10.00 shipping charge.

How sweet is that! So head on over to Monster Creations and check them out! I know you'll be happy you did. :)

Scrapbookers Anonymous...

2011-06-16T14:16:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post today before heading out for my day. Scrapbookers Anonymous is still running their challenge this month to use at least 3 papers from a mini stack of paper. Also if you make a card with your scraps, you get another entry into the drawing for a great prize. Here is my card....

I used the same weaving pattern that I had used on my layout and another sheet of paper on the inside of my card. Make sure you link up your creations! I'd love to check them out.

Happy Scrapping! :)

The past few days...and some scrapping...

2011-06-14T21:56:00.000-07:00

Late Sunday afternoon Bryce...my husband left for Auckland at the top end of the north island for work. (Dunedin is toward the bottom end of the south island.) So I've been doing the single mum stuff for the past few days. Boy, am I ever glad I don't have to do that all the time. And for those that do, I applaud you. Its a tough job. Not only have I done the normal duties of being a mum....laundry, cooking, grocery shopping, cleaning, running boys to and from school, mowing the yard, but I've had to take our van in for some maintenance. Nothing major but a few stops that Bryce would normally take care of. Yesterday was a beautiful day so it made my running around a little easier.

Love it when I can hang washing out on a winter's day! The sun felt so good and the clothes got dry the same day!! :)

And a winter's garden.....so pretty and nice to have colour in the yard. Nothing like our midwest winters that are brown and barren. I mean, I mowed the yard yesterday! I didn't ever do that in Indiana during winter. :)

Today it has felt much more like winter. Rainy and chilly. So this is a picture from my kitchen window. My Dad made me these salt and pepper grinders and brought them when they visited last month. I love them so. (You may notice, no screens. NZ doesn't really have bugs so when we open the house, we really open the house. So nice!)

Oddly enough, there was a faint rainbow in the sunrise this morning. Before it started raining. Beautiful but strange. This is from the back of the house....

And here is the sunrise from the front...

Now onto something scrappy....Since all my work was done (for now as a mum's work is never really done) I played in my scrap room today. Sketchy Thursdays had a great 3 photo sketch this week. I pulled out these photos of Aden licking the beaters after we mixed up some chocolate pudding. Mmmm.....I did have to laugh remembering that he also asked if he could lick them the next time I made mashed potatoes. :D That boy loves his mashed potatoes!

A few close ups...

I love that photo with his eyes closed. And it wasn't a snap while he was blinking. He really had his eyes closed enjoying that pudding so much. :)

I also worked on the sketch over at Pencil Lines. They too had a 3 photo sketch. I chose photos of Ian this time. I took these a few months before he turned 10. He looks so much younger to me but look at those blue eyes. They really are that blue. I just love them. Well, I love the whole boy but those eyes...

I don't typically do hidden journaling but for this page I have a note in the brown envelope just for Ian. My boys are growing up too quick. :( I do love the young men they are becoming though.

Tonight Bryce will be home. And we are all happy about that. But for now, I have tea (dinner) to fix and Aron (11) has a school disco tonight. He is so excited. I asked if I could come along with my camera. I about fell off my chair laughing at the look he gave me. And a strong "NO" came with that look! lol....I'll settle for a pre-disco picture at home. :)

Something just for fun...

2011-06-13T16:49:00.000-07:00

I have and always will love scrapbooking but lately I've really wanted to try something different. My sister-in-law Michelle does some amazing art journaling and I've always admired her creations and wanted to try it myself. But I'll admit I was scared to try.

So my good friend Lynne and I decided we would try making a mixed media project of our own. One afternoon we sat down and watched quite a few different video tutorials. We especially liked the "She art" by Christy Tomlinson. (I didn't attempt a girl for my first project but in the near future I'll be making one.) I really wasn't sure that I would be able to make a mixed media art canvas and it not look like a 5 year old had done it. (no offense to any 5 year olds out there!) And if you know me, I like to create with a plan in mind. So trying something that I really didn't have a plan for and really didn't know what it would end up looking like really did scared me. But thankfully I had Lynne by my side encouraging me on. Thanks Girlfriend! :)

Here is my finished project.....

This canvas has a heap of layers on it. Paper, gesso, modeling paste, mists, paint, and so much more!

I used bubble wrap, stencils, and a few odd bits to make the texture on my canvas.

This is my other canvas I made.

For this one I used old dictionary pages to cover the canvas. I loved the camera in the bottom corner so I highlighted it with a heart. I really should post this one yet as I want to write something on it. But I'm not sure what yet and I was really excited to share it.

Another project I did recently just for fun was make this mini album. My good friend Stephanie sent me a paper pack by Echo Park and I wanted to play with it. I didn't put photos in it because I'm not sure what I'm doing with this album yet.

This album is actually acrylic. Its hard to tell in the photos though. One side I covered with paper and one side I left the acrylic showing and embellished on top of it. I am still loving my DT assignments and challenges, but it was nice just to make for....well, just for making! Thanks Stephanie for my box of fun! :) I'll be back with some other projects before too long. See you then!

Frosted Designs Show me Sunday...

2011-06-11T23:12:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! Lydia here for Frosted Designs Show Me Sunday tutorial. This week I have a butterfly home decor project for you. I saw a piece of art like this somewhere but never could remember where so I decided to make my own. (and because I can't remember, I can't give credit to the original creator) This project only took me a couple hours from start to finish.

To make your butterfly project only requires a few supplies. A butterfly punch, paint samples, glue, 1 sheet of 8x10 white cardstock, a rub-on, and a frame.

I decided to go with a rainbow theme for my butterflies but this project would be just as stunning with a monochromatic color scheme. First step is to punch and punch and punch butterflies. I had a heap leftover, perfect for another project.

Next is to decide where you would like your butterflies placed. I chose to make mine into a flying, arching rainbow of sorts. I drew my pattern out on a paper first and then used it as my template to place my butterflies. I glued down my butterflies in just their middles so it would look like they were actually flying off the page.

When I had my basic pattern filled in, I added butterflies to the outside edges so I could widen my arch just a touch. I decided where I wanted the rub-on and rubbed it on.

The finishing touch is putting it in the frame. I used the glass behind my paper with my butter flies so it would give it more stability and also let the butterflies "fly" without being smashed. If you wanted to, you could spray a little glimmer mist on them to give them a little shine as the paint chips are quite flat.

Here is the end result.

Its a simple yet beautiful piece of art. I think I'll be making another one soon. I'd love to see your projects as well. Thanks for stopping by Frosted Designs. Have a crafty week! :)

Frosted Designs...

2011-06-09T23:20:00.000-07:00

Friday?? How did it get to be Friday already?? This week has been a really quick and short week for me. Not much time for scrapbooking! But some how it is Friday so that means another Fabulous Friday Challenge over at Frosted Designs.

This time around the challenge is stitching. And you don't have to have a sewing machine to play along! It can be hand stitching or even faux stitching. I've always loved the look of stitching on a layout or card and wanted to give it a go my self. One of these days I'll do some machine stitching on my projects but for this layout I did a little...and with a rushed week, I mean a little.....hand stitching. I used some baker's twine to put a few stitches on a few of my strips of paper. (and just a side note, the Route 66 tag was cut from a pair of jeans! Love it!)

I totally love these pictures of Ian. Especially his gum boots and wrist full of silly bands. He is such a charmer and my heart stands no chance against him. I just love him so.

I hope you'll try your hand at some stitching on your project. Make sure you link it up to Frosted Designs so I can check it out. Happy Friday Everyone! :)

Long weekend=scrapping time for me...

2011-06-05T20:59:00.000-07:00

Queen's birthday weekend means a long weekend for all of us. The boys have had friends over to play, sleepovers, and just an extra day off of school to take it easy. That means some extra scrap time for me. :) I've been checking up on my challenge blogs and even found a few new ones to play along with.

One of the new sites is Challenge Me Happy. Its a brand new site that will hold two challenges each month. I'm really excited to play along with them! Come on over and check them out. They also have a facebook fan page.

This layout I made for the challenge over at These are a Few of My Favorite Things. This time around it was favourite toy. I used these pictures of Aden and his favourite animals. Well, his favourites that day! He has so many that he loves. He had asked me to take some pictures of these animals because they all had the same fur and felt the same. I had Aden do a wee bit of journaling for me on this page. :) (the background of this one is really brown....not purplish like it looks)

I also got a layout done for Kraft it Up's monthly challenge. I really enjoy this site and its always a long month waiting for the next challenge. This month will be no exception. :) This time around the challenge was to use at least 3 photos as a timeline and journaling. I love these pictures of Aron jumping the skateboard. He wasn't sure he could do it. We had him jump beside it (instead of over it) and then I showed him on the camera that he could clearly do it, he was hooked! Jump after jump after jump. I love his face on the left end photo. That says it all. :)

Up next is a layout for Scrap the Boys. Not a new site but a new one for me that I'll play along with. Would you believe that I used to scrapbook and never play along with challenges or use sketches???? Probably not seeing how this post is all about that but there was a time that I did just that. At this point in time, I figure a layout done is a layout done. And if I can win a prize along the way, well....I'll take that too. :)

Anyway........this challenge was a colour one. Red, aqua, yellow, and white. Sounds easy enough right?? I was really happy to have this paper set that I won from Scrapbookers Anonymous and it was just perfect for this challenge.

One day the boys and I were walking home from school and we were noticing our shadows. If they took just a few steps ahead of me, their shadows were as tall as mine. I know that before too long, that is how it will be without them having to step forward. They are growing up so big, so fast but I guess that is what they are suppose to do.

My last layout is for Stuff 2 Scrap. This is a new online challenge that I will enjoy playing along with. This time around the colours are lime green, turquois, and ballet blue. Well, I'm not sure what ballet blue is but I think I have it close enough. The challenge also included 5 buttons and chipboard. Check, check, and check! My chipboard is the surfboards I glittered in the required colours. I'll be back to this site again. The colours are much brighter in real life than they show in this picture.

Its been a good and fun long weekend. We just got back from an amazing hike. We are so blessed to live in such a beautiful place.

This is Sandfly bay. Boy does the sand ever fly here!!! We watched this big sea lion come up out of the water and this mum with its pup was a real treat. We saw a total of 10 sea lions on this beach. We drove about 15 minutes to get here and then walked/ran down a HUGE sandhill to the beach. It was stunning.....and windy!!! Such a cool thing to be so close to home. *happy sigh....* Its been a great weekend. Hope yours has been just as great. :)

Frosted Designs...

2011-06-02T23:07:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone! Did you know that June 8th is Best Friends Day? What a better way to celebrate friends than a challenge over at Frosted Designs all about friends!

This is Cam. Cam is one of Aden's best friends here in Dunedin. They would have a play date ever afternoon if we would let them! Maybe that's because he's Lynne's son and I'd have a play date every day with her if I could. :) Anyway.....they love to be together and lego is their favorite thing to play. Even when enjoying an ice cream cone, the lego men had to come along.

I thought it was quite cute of Aden to donate this lego man.....or half of a lego man.....for my layout. Its perfect for this page and I love it!

Make sure you link up your Friends project to Frosted Designs so I can check them out. Happy Best Friend's Day!!! :)

Scrapbookers Anonymous...

2011-06-01T13:16:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! Its hard to believe its June already! But since it is, its time for a new challenge at Scrapbookers Anonymous. This month, the challenge is to dig out those 6x6 or 8x8 mini stacks (decks) that you have and use at least 3 sheets from one on your layout.

I have several of these mini stacks so for this layout I used paper from Basic Grey's "Wander". I used 3 different papers to make my weaved section and then used another to cut the tag for my title. All the little accents...like the stop sign, speed limit signs, and such....are a 5th page. I cut them out from the page to act as embellishments.

This layout is about us on the hunt for little blue penguins, the rarest penguins in the world. We had paid to visit a sanctuary of sort and they lived in these wee burrows. During the day, we could find chicks in the burrows but you had to get down to the ground to see them. I just loved this picture of my boys taking a look. Of course, I had to get in the same position to get my picture of the penguin!! :) Glad I had the camera!!

While I had my papers and tags out, I decided to make up a mini album. I bought a kit from my local scrap store, Scrapbook Paradise. Included in the kit was the mini deck, a chipboard album, 1 sheet of alphabets, a package of ribbons, a package of brads, and the tags that go along with the Wander papers. I thought this was the perfect time to use them since I was designing for Scrapbookers Anonymous. I mean, I play along with them because I'm using up my stash, right? :)

Here are just some of the inside pages....

I pulled out a container of buttons and about used up that set too! It was so fun to get just in the groove and create. I used more of the cut out "tags/embellishments". I'm planning to add pictures from my parent's recent visit in this album. When I finished it, I realized that all my photo spots go the same way. I guess I'll be looking for vertical photos!! :)

The last page has a tag on it where I can list some of our favorite spots or memories.

I'm really happy the Gals at Scrapbookers Anonymous gave us this challenge. I'm excited to get out my other mini decks and do something with them as well. Oh, and I've got a card made with my scraps I'll share with you later on in the month! Make sure you link up your projects for a chance to win a fantastic prize! I'd love to check them out.

Happy Crafting!! :)

One year...

2011-06-01T03:05:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe that today is our one year anniversary for moving to New Zealand. Honestly....I never thought I would move out of the United States but God had other ideas.

Over this last year, I have laughed till my sides hurt, cried more tears than I can count, been through a major earthquake, experienced new sights, foods, and seasons in months that just don't seem to make sense. :) I mean....winter in June and July????

I am so thankful for the family and friends we have in the States that are supporting us. We couldn't do this without them by our sides. I am also so thankful for the new friends we have made here. We have many good friends in Christchurch...our first New Zealand home. And even more great friends here in Dunedin. Dunedin has become home. And I LOVE it here. I will always miss our family and friends.....along with Hobby Lobby, Michael's, and Archiver's!!! :) But here is where my heart is now. And for that I'm thankful.

This is us June 1, 2010.....

This is us today, June 1, 2011. A real quick...."oh yeah! I wanted a picture of us today!" :) Oh and my fringe (bangs) are now down to my chin!!

Our boys June 1, 2010....Just look at my babies!!!

And just a few weeks ago....Wow......who are those big boys??? And all that hair??? Oh my....Aron is almost as tall as me. :( And that makes him SO happy!

Bryce brought us home this wonderful banana chocolate cake. Oh my.....it was so yummy!! Thankfully, cakes like this eaten for a special occasion.....like having moved to another country a year ago.....do not have Weight Watcher points in them. :) Ok....so maybe it does. I did share some with our friends and the boys cannot wait until after school to have another piece. :)

I thought it would be fun for you to learn a little Kiwi lingo that we now use daily and its normal for us. :)

keen.....inclined to
quite....instead of very
give it a go.....have a turn
gutted...sorely disappointed
garage....said like carriage but with a g
rubbish....trash
bench...kitchen counter
jersey....jacket or sweater
lovely.....just what it is
fizz....soda pop
petrol....fuel
trolly....shopping cart
ice block...popsicle
chips....french fries
ring....call on the phone
pop over....stop in
heap....lots
massive....huge

I feel like we've learned so much this past year. And yet there is so much more to learn. I'm so excited for what our next year will hold. I know God has some amazing things in store for us. Here's to the next year!!!

Frosted Designs...

2011-05-30T23:00:00.000-07:00

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...

2011-05-30T19:18:00.000-07:00

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...

2011-05-27T01:02:00.000-07:00

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...

2011-05-24T18:30:00.000-07:00

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...

2011-05-23T17:35:00.000-07:00

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???

2011-05-22T03:15:00.000-07:00

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...

2011-05-21T16:58:00.000-07:00

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...

2011-05-19T23:56:00.000-07:00

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...

2011-05-18T18:42:00.000-07:00

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...

2011-05-15T16:05:00.000-07:00

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...

2011-05-14T02:54:00.000-07:00

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...

2011-05-13T13:50:00.000-07:00

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...

2011-05-11T17:30:00.000-07:00

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...

2011-05-11T01:17:00.000-07:00

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!

Sketchy Thursdays...

2011-05-03T02:26:00.000-07:00

I can't believe its been almost a week since my parents arrived. We've kept busy with some sight seeing around town and a some of our normal daily/weekly routines like grocery shopping and school for the boys. We are leaving tomorrow for a 2 day trip on the Southern Scenic Route. It should be a great trip. We are just hoping it doesn't rain too much since it seems to have settled back in.

I had a chance to finish up this layout the other day while my mom was scrapbooking with me. Its nice to have her sitting across from me. Sketchy Thursdays had a great sketch this week and I was excited to get this layout together. I took these photos a few months ago on our picnic tea at Tunnel Beach. As I was watching the sun set and my boys enjoying it and it struck me I live here. New Zealand is so beautiful and we are so blessed to be able to live here and enjoy it as we work. I hope I never get used to living here.

I'll be back soon with more pages and of some of our trip. Happy Today! :)

Scrapbookers Anonymous...

2011-05-01T14:10:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! This is my first post for Scrapbookers Anonymous! This month's challenge is to dig out your stamps and use them to make at least one patterned paper and 3 embellishments. Well, I've never claimed to be a stamper so this one was a good one for me!

You've seen this layout before as my submission for the design team call. With my parents visiting, I was thankful that they allowed us to use our submissions as this month's challenge project. I am planning on challenging myself to make another layout with my stamps this month as well.

Not only are they challenging you to pull out your stamps, the girls at Scrapbookers Anonymous have a new challenge to add each month. Make a card with your leftovers! Boy, do they know how to challege me. First stamps and now cards! I'm even less of a card maker but I'm going to give it my best shot each month. Before too long, I should have a pile of cards and maybe improve my card making skills. :) So here is my stamping card for this challenge. Just a real simple one but one that could be used for a birthday, anniversary, or just an encouragement.

I'm super excited to be designing for Scrapbookers Anonymous! Head on over to their site, pull out your stamps, and link up your creation. I can't wait to see it! Oh, and did I mention they are going to start picking 3 favorites each month to get a special recognition??? What are you waiting for?? Get stamping! :)
Happy May Everyone!

Scrapbookers Anonymous Design Team...

2011-04-29T01:22:00.000-07:00

Just waned to share some of my fellow design team's blogs for Scrapbookers Anonymous. Check them out for great inspiration!

New Team....

Elisabetta Colavero http://scrap-colors.blogspot.com/

Anne Pennington http://raggedyannie1.wordpress.com/

Julie Tucker-Wolek http://thetuckerwolekclan.blogspot.com/

Frank Garcia http://www.magicscrapbook.blogspot.com/

Julie Jeavons (Julie J doesn't have a blog yet... but here are some of her albums) https://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.1793663614005.98928.1612112877&l=1558b46331

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.1190505055418.29901.1612112877&l=d7ec4dc6c7

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.1818378711867.100202.1612112877&l=d3520b39a7

Existing team...

Lynnda Hosni

Yara Freytes

Check out their blogs and stay tuned for challenges and inspiration! So excited to be working with this great group!

Frosted Designs...

2011-04-28T22:58:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday Everyone! The challenge this week at Frosted Designs is polka dots or stripes. I decided to go with the polka dots for this layout. I used a dot screen and glimmer mist to make my background. That along with some journal cards, scrabble tiles, and my new label maker made this layout just right for me.

Ian is my middle boy. He has a real sweet personality and a tender heart. I had a converstaion with him not too long ago that kind of started this layout. His brothers (older and younger) have a special bond and sometimes I feel that Ian is on the outside of it. I loved this picture of him and really wanted to document these thoughts.

I hope you'll stop over to Frosted Designs and play along with us this week. I can't wait to see what you come up with! Happy Friday!!

Today and Pencil Lines...

2011-04-28T04:05:00.000-07:00

Today was so....well, pretty much perfect. My parents arrived from the States this morning and we spent a day reuniting. We moved to New Zealand 11 months ago and it has been that long since we've seen my parents in person. Skype is wonderful but a hug from my mom.....I'm not sure I can put into words how special and awesome that was. Now don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the hug from my dad just as much but there is a special bond between a girl and her momma.

The boys kind of forgot that they weren't suppose to go past that security point. Thankful they didn't get stopped by security!

We visited the ocean and picked up shells. I remember those first days here and the excitement of finding shells and seeing the NZ ocean for the first time. I was glad that the weather was so perfect. More fun and pictures tomorrow.

I love this picture of Aron. He has always loved water and the ocean is no exception. I started this layout for a challenge somewhere. Not sure where it was so instead I have another memory in a layout.

This layout however is the sketch this week at Pencil Lines. And because its a favorite memory about a favorite food, I'm going to enter it over at What is your fave thing. As I was becoming familiar with my new teammates at Scrapbookers Anonymous I found this blog challenge. I'm excited to have another place to play along with.

This is my Grandma's carmel corn. Thankfully she is still living and makes it for special occasions. I am so glad she taught me how to make it.

Last but not least......

My dear, sweet friend Lynne left this yummy cake on our back doorstep as a welcome suprise for my parents. Despite it being night time, I had to take a picture of it before we cut into it. Such a sweet thing to do! It was so yum and enjoyed by all. Just like the card says....it sure did make us smile! Thanks so much Lynne!

Scrapbookers Anonymous...

2011-04-28T00:20:00.000-07:00

Remember when I said I was going to enter a layout for the design team call at Scrapbookers Anonymous?

Well........I made it!!!!! I'm going to be designing for Scrapbookers Anonymous! I love that this is a "use your stash" challenge site. I'm sure all scrapbookers have a stash that could be used up. :) I am so excited to be designing with a great group of talented scrapbookers!!! Stay tuned for upcoming challenges!

Recent projects...

2011-04-26T21:41:00.000-07:00

I've been working on finishing up some projects around here. Some that are gifts, some that are ones that just never got finished. Here's a look at what I've been up to.

First up is a frame I made for my Mom. I can post it now because she is on an airplane as we speak to come HERE! :)

I am not a card maker! But I was pretty happy with the way this one turned out.

Love this layout! Its been sitting on my table for weeks trying to get it just right. I'm so happy with the end result! Love these photos of my boys in the sunrise. The title reads....I see beauty when I see you.

This frame is for a friend that recently got married but I thought it photographed better with a picture in it! :)

I've had this book for ages!! So I thought it was time to add the finishing touches and get it posted. Love mini albums!!

And these two layouts I just really like so I wanted to share them.

I made this little note board to catch all those lists I have! Or it might end up holding a favorite photo or two.

Thanks for stopping by! I am working on a layout now as I'm killing time till bed. Its gonna be hard to sleep tonight. The excitement of my parents coming tomorrow is about all we can stand. :)

Scrapbook challenges...

2011-04-23T19:28:00.000-07:00

As the boys have been on holiday from school, we've had lots of play dates, sleepovers, and lazy days at home. In between getting snacks for hungry boys, vacuuming, and getting the laundry done I've been scrapping. Oh, and taking plenty of pictures for new pages! :)

I've recently found a site called Kraft It Up! thanks to my good friend Lynne. How did I not know there was a place for kraft challenges??? Kraft is my go to paper for my layouts. I actually have to make myself not use it sometimes. Thankfully my mom is bringing me some more kraft paper when they visit this week!!!

This month's challenge is a recipe challenge. How ironic that I chose to use pictures of my favorite cake for this challenge? Spice Chiffon....mmmmmm....imagine a cinnamon, clove, nutmeg angel food cake. Yum! My mom would make this cake for my birthday and now I make it for my boys. Well, who am I kidding....I make it for me! :)

On to the challenge
1 piece of kraft cardstock or kraft patterned paper
2 photos smaller than 4x6
3 different alphas
4 different patterned paper
5 embellishments (love that little cat cookie cutter!)

Check! You can bet that I'll be playing along with the challenges at Kraft It Up from now on. So glad to have an "excuse" to use my kraft! :)

Next up is the sketch challenge at Design Dollies. These pictures catch two of my boys in a rare moment. Ian and Aden can get along with each other but tend to get on each other's nerves quite often. When I saw them pouring over a lego catalogue together, I knew I had to capture it.

Well, that's it for today. I'm working on a layout as I write this. Hope to get it done soon! Oh, and finish up a project for my mom. Only 3 days until they are here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Easter...

2011-04-23T18:53:00.000-07:00

Today we....

Went to church...

Had an egg hunt....

Saw pretty flowers...

Had a scavenger hunt to find Easter baskets...

Found them and excited boys...

Painted eggs for our egg tree tradition...

The real reason for today...

Happy Easter!! Hope your day is a blessed one!!!

This picture....

2011-04-23T00:37:00.000-07:00

Says it all........

its school holidays,

Easter is tomorrow,

and

Grandma and Grandpa come in 4 days!!

All things to be thankful for!

Happy Easter Everyone!!

Frosted Designs...

2011-04-22T00:17:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone! Here in New Zealand autumn is in full swing but for this Friday's challenge at Frosted Designs I was thinking spring! The challenge is birds and butterflies which seemed perfect for a spring project. My American brain still hasn't adjusted to Autumn in April. :)

I decided I was going to make them into a banner of sorts. Something that I could hang up when it was spring and welcome it in. I started with these chipboard birds from Maya Road. Actually, this is the backside of them because I forgot to take a picture before I started. :)

I wanted to have something between the birds so I dug out these wee spools to use.

I put them into a plastic bag and used some glimmer mist to change the color of them. That is a great trick for lace, ribbon or other embellishments.

And for me it was ok if the ends were not quite perfectly covered because they were not going to be seen. I cut some thin strips of paper to cover them with. Unfortunately I didn't take any other pictures of my work in progress as I was intent in getting it together. I added a patterned paper wing, buttons, bling, fussy cut butterflies, and some other bits. Here is the finished project and some close ups.

It started out as one long banner but was really hard to get a good photograph of so I made it into two. Now I can have two to hang in my scrap room!

Here are the spools covered with paper and a flower added in the middle.

Head on over to Frosted Designs and check out the Birds and Butterflies challenge this week. I can't wait to see what you come up with! And even though its Autumn here, the weather has been very spring like. Loving that!! Happy Spring....or Autumn....to you all!

Frosted Designs...

2011-04-19T02:34:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone! This week's sketch at Frosted Designs is a really good one. I couldn't wait to get started on it. I've had these pictures of my boys in one of our favorite forest playgrounds for months now and just couldn't figure out how to use them. Nothing seemed right until I saw this sketch. I was so glad to get them down in a layout.

The tag is from a piece of clothing that I've had for ages. I've just always loved the birds and flowers on it and thought it was perfect for this page.

My sister-in-law sent me these bingo tiles, flowers, and the coolest label maker. I couldn't wait to play with them! I was pleased that they complimented my photos so well.

Thanks for coming by to take a look. I hope you'll stop by the Frosted Designs site and play along with this sketch. I'm pretty sure it will show up in my layouts again! :)