Turning 41, Some Peeks, and a Little Trip :)

Um, yeah, it's my birthday today.
Last year I turned the big 40 which I spent doing jury duty and ending the day with a huge headache.
Not the best way to turn 40.

But this year, no jury duty, hopefully no headache, and happy to be spending part of the day with family. Mike's side today, and then going to be seeing some of my side tomorrow.
So what started as really doing nothing at all, is actually going to be a fun kind of celebration  weekend :)

Next, I definitely want to share a few more project peeks. These are for Scrapbooking from the Inside Out kit club. The theme this month is Communication, and for my first kit with them, I actually had more ideas than I needed. I have a lot to say when it comes to communication :) Especially since we have a great Pinterest board for the kit this month which you can find here!
I actually completed five layouts total this month, but am only sharing three today...

here is one...

this is two...

and finally three.
I'm a little nervous about my first reveal over there, but really enjoyed working with the kit this month!
The full reveal for the SFTIO kit is on July 1st. And Issue 11 for Crafting Ireland is out on July 5th. So will have lots to share in the upcoming week. Including a post with fourth of July tags on the Craft Your Nest blog :)

And now that my design team work is done for July, I plan on working on the Ireland album some more and the Instagram mini. And yes, I promise to share what I create from both. I know a few asked in the comments on my last post if I would :)

As for the "little trip" part of my title, we took a short drive down to where Mike's current job is located. It is a four hour drive, so not as long as when we went to visit him in Canada, but for some reason, it felt like it!  We did have fun visiting him for two days, and enjoyed seeing him in person at night instead of just chatting through the computer. Although the funny thing is, the only photos I took were in the hotel room :)

Playing with Legos together...

And a nap after swimming for a few hours in the afternoon. This little girl does not take naps anymore, but she crashed for at least an hour and a half. Evan and I spent the time having a little "Temple Run" marathon on the ipad. A ridiculous game that he has me addicted to now :)

 Plus a pretty intense sunset out our hotel window. We had a gorgeous view from our room.

When Mike came back from the job site both nights, we ate dinner and then swam some more.
And is was hot there, but is even hotter back here! Tomorrow is supposed to be 106 degrees not counting the heat index! In fact, the next few days are over 100 degrees! Kind of crazy.

Now going to relax and enjoy my birthday. I hope everyone has a great weekend!!! :)

Craft Your Nest!

I am taking a break from What's on Your Workspace Wednesday (or WOYWW as we like to call it) because I have a lot going on today! Just way, way too much.

But I do want to share that I have a post up on the Craft Your Nest blog with a card I had originally made for what was I thought going to be my American Crafts design team application.
I have come to the realization though that even though AC is *the number one* manufacturer team I would really love to be on, it is just not something I would feel comfortable taking on right now.
And I am saying that on the very slim chance that I would even make the team!
But I if you don't try, you never know right? And that is what I said about the Crafting Ireland team and Scrapbooking From the Inside Out. And you know how that turned out :)
So really, you never do know!

But I know I am at my limit for design team work.
And I know I said I would keep trying out for the American Crafts team until I made it ;) :)
But right now, between current design team work, a summer full of activity, and a husband traveling so frequently, I just had to tell myself no. It was really, really hard though :)

I was also working on this little Instagram mini as part of my application, and I will definitely share more with you at a later date when it's closer to completion.

But like I said, my card is on the CYN blog today. And while you are there, you may want to check out two of Dawn's recent posts which include a video of her craft space, and a cool Father's Day word art project she created with her kids :)
Plus Cheryl has a really great fussy cutting challenge that inspired me!

Have a great Wednesday!! :)

Just a Little Peek!

I have the tiniest of peeks for my first layout appearing in Crafting Ireland.

I will also have a Summer Card set featured as well. Can't wait to see if both projects end up in the magazine of if one is possibly going to just be featured on their blog. Either way, my first projects for them are done!

And I just had to smile the other day. While I was taking photos of my projects, Erin was scrapbooking her own way!

Yep! That is Erin in her bed with reading light on...

and her little sticker drawer pulled out of the container from downstairs. Crafting in bed.

I mean really, who hasn't thought this was a good idea :)
See you Wednesday! :)

This is a Test.

This is only a test to see if I can get the schedule function to work properly on my blog :)

My Older Scrapbooking Days! :)

After doing the post on Monday using two of my older "daddy" layouts, I thought it would be fun to go back and share a few more older layouts that I have never posted to this blog before :)

Like this one of Evan, my ten year old son, eating his first bowl of cereal. I don't think I actually made this in 2002, but it was right around the time American Crafts first released their Thickers which has been several years.

Here is a layout with Evan once again and more paper tearing here. I went through a huge paper tearing phase for a while. Did anyone else have an excessive love of paper tearing :)

Ohhh, this is a pretty old one, since it's Evan's ultrasound photos. Now I know I did this one in 2002. It has the Creative Memory page and metal rim tag :)

And I was so proud of this one (and actually still am) made around the same time which is also on an old Creative Memory page.  It's Mike trying to listen to Evan's heartbeat when I was pregnant. Love the old, old Basic Grey. I'm pretty sure it was one of their first lines!

And then Erin was born, and my style had definitely changed. I was doing a lot of stamping with mini letter stamps during that period.

Oh, and I just found this one! I have always loved this one. Evan and his favorite snack of graham crackers with milk. Or "crackers and dip" as he liked to call them. It was his little nightly ritual before bed. Something he still does, but with cereal and milk now.

This was fun for me today! And as always it reminds me that I scrapbook to save memories, and to tell stories. Because even back then, like in the Crackers and Dip and the Snugli layouts, I was documenting everyday life. :)

As for current projects, in the past week I have completed four layouts, four cards and am working on a mini album and another layout. I will have some peeks next week and then will be able to share them starting July 1st since they are all for design team work.
Hope you have a great weekend!

WOYWW and Craft Your Nest!

Three weeks in a row for What's on Your Workspace Wednesday! I think it's because I missed the fantastic three year celebration Julia had and now I don't want to miss anything fun! Plus, so many wonderful crafters post there and since I am still relatively new to WOYWW I am loving slowly getting to know them. A lot of people participate every week. Well, over 100. But I am starting to recognize and look for some familiar names :)

I thought I would give you a glimpse of my space at night since I usually post daytime photos :) I had to cover up my project a little bit, but you can get a peek there. My space is a little messier this week for me, but I have a feeling it is still not messy enough for some (lol). I am just not a messy, messy scrapper. Which is ironic because being a preschool teacher for so many years, we did a lot of messy projects. But me myself, I like a nice clean workspace to create :)

And since it's Wednesday, I also have a post up with a new favorite layout some of you may have seen already at the challenge blog Craft Your Nest. So if you are up for a little scrapbook challenge, you may want to check it out! :)

Hope you all have a lovely Wednesday! 

Father's Day!

We did not take one single photo yesterday for Father's Day. Shocking I know! But thought I would share two older layouts.

One of the first I made of Mike with Evan when he first became a dad ten years ago :)

And here is one from when Erin was born almost five years ago.  :)

And a few of my favorite photos of Mike from this past year.

Hanging out in Toronto before going to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Always willing to scoop up Erin and hold her even after coming back from a run and being completely tired.

Always willing to pose for a family photo. Last July at our annual brunch.

Making sure that the kids can not only talk to him, but see him as well when he's gone for days at a time for work! And let me just say, it really makes a difference!

Willing to stay up late building a gigantic Hogwarts castle for Evan's Trunk or Treat at school, plus wearing the Dumbledore costume!

I have said it before and I will say it again.
Mike, you are a great dad. And we are so lucky to have you! xxoo

True Friends

So I have actually been kind of excited to share this layout.
I found the quote on Pinterest one day and it completely rang true to me.
And then when the topic of the June kit from Scrapbooking From the Inside Out was Truth, I knew that I wanted to use that quote.
In my lifetime, I have been really lucky in the friend department. I have been lucky to find several women that I really connect with. Three of those women are in this layout.

The Journaling:
This quote reminded me of a night about a year ago when I received a not so nice email from someone I had once considered a friend.
Thankfully I was in the car with three of my best friends coming home from a fun night of celebrating my birthday.
I had pulled out my phone to check the time and saw that I had a new email. After reading it, I showed the message to my friends. They immediately reassured me that it wasn't worth thinking about or reading. They knew this former friend was wrong in so many ways.
But the truth is, I know I am not perfect. I am human after all. And I know there are moments in my life when I  could have handled situations better.
But what I have also discovered through these women, my friends, is the meaning of true friendship. A true friend will accept you flaws and all. A true friend won't try to bully, manipulate or control you. A true friend will stick by you through the good as well as the bad.
These women are true friends! They are my village and I am a part of theirs. And they encourage me to be the best friend I can be.
We are raising our children together. Supporting each other in any way we possibly can. And I am and will always be so, so grateful for the gift of their friendship!


I think the journaling really expresses how I view friendship now. And along with these women I am grateful for the other wonderful women in my life. And we are alike in ways, but so different in many others. What my friends have also taught me is that it is ok to be different. It is ok to have a different opinion. And in that way we balance each other out! Life really is better with friends :)

WOYW and Craft Your Nest Wednesday

Hello, Everyone! I made it for What's On Your Workspace Wednesday two weeks in a row! A bunch of us link up to Julia's blog, The Stamping Ground to be inspired and take a peek at each others craft spaces :)
And here is a peek at my workspace this week.

So as you can see I have two pink vario tab adhesives on my desk. Although one is mine (which if you click on the photo and look closer, you can see Erin's sweet four year old handwritten MOM) and then there is one marked Erin. I just had to buy her one because she kept using  mine up. And let's just say she was pretty proud to have one all to herself!
I also have the July kit for Scrapbooking From the Inside Out, because I had just finished my first layout for the month.
Also sitting up by the green wire basket, is an Amy Tangerine Daybook, some of her stamps and washi tape as well. I am planning on putting together a little mini album with that as soon as all of my design team commitments are complete.
So my space is a little bit messier than last week :)
I also want to share the sunset from out the west windows of my scrap office tonight...

It sure took my breath away :)

In addition to WOYWW, today is also the day I usually post to the Craft Your Nest blog.
In honor of Father's Day this upcoming Sunday, I have a post about some Daddy layouts :)
Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!

The World Looks Different from a Bicycle :)

I have never been much of a bike rider.
It's a confidence thing.
But that is slowly changing :)
Mike, Evan and Erin all have bikes.
And they have taken the occasional ride together, without me because I didn't have a bike.
But that changed on Mother's Day...

Let me present to you my new bike.
And it's this really cool, retro mint green color.
I love it!
I have ridden it a few times myself to gain some confidence, but we have also gone on one Sunday morning family ride.

Last Friday, while Erin was at the pool with a friend, Evan and I took an hour long bike ride together in the park. And let me tell you, it was fun! He is so much faster than me, but I like that he will loop around so I can catch up :)
And I like just following him and letting him lead.

Here we are after the ride. I took this photo with my camera phone. Although for future reference, I need to remember to take my sunglasses off before taking a self portrait. The reflection of my arms in the glasses looks a little weird to me :) But still we had fun :) And we plan on going again this week while Erin is at her little Zoo camp with a friend.

I have to say, it's such a great feeling to go flying along on my bike.
But some of the hills are tough and then I feel as if I am working hard.
I am also learning a lot more about changing gears!
And because for me, everything leads back to scrapbooking inspiration...

 I found this on Pinterest. It was pinned by someone from this site here. I think it is a good quote to go along with my new bicycle :)

Do you have a bike? Are you a bike rider? :)

Let's Just Say...

this pretty much fits me right now. At least the nights Mike is out of town for work. And right now, that is a lot.
Although I did go to bed before midnight on Tuesday :) But I am starting to feel the consequences of not enough sleep. Brings me back to the days when Erin and Evan were just babies.

I'm not totally sure why I can't get myself to bed at a decent hour when Mike is gone. But I think that I really need to make more of an effort. Definitely before midnight, right?

Anyway, now that it has been on the stands for a while, I want to share the two layouts I had published in the June 2012 issue of Scrapbook Etc. magazine. These are the last that I will have in this particular magazine now that they will no longer be in business. Another great scrap mag gone :(


I have actually never shared this first layout on my blog.

The call was for an article on childhood layouts. I had created this one a two years ago, but submitted on the chance that it would work. And it did :)
*ETA - I am linking up my "She's a Toddler" layout over at Paper Issues for their current "Sew Cute, You Keep Me in Stitches" issue. :)

I did share this second layout on my blog sometime last year.

I sent it in for the childhood call as well. So lots of fun to have two layouts in one issue :)

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend and I will *see* you on Monday :)

WOYWW and A Challenge Layout for Craft Your Nest!

I seem to be linking up with Julia's blog What's on Your Workspace Wednesday at  every other Wednesday :)
This past weekend, I gave my scrap space a thorough cleaning. It feels good to have a nice, clean and organized space to create in again!
So this week I thought I would give you a few more shots of my space instead of the same counter space where my work mat lays.

My work space is a renovated sun porch off one of the bedrooms. So there are windows on three walls. This is the east wall where my paper trimmer sits.

This is the usual shot you see, but nice and clean, right?

Here is my north facing wall. This counter space is usually piled with projects.

And the west side counter is where my computer and printer sit. I love having those windows facing west because I have seen some spectacular sunsets :)
So like I said, everything is nice and clean. Or it was :)
I just finished a layout that if you have made it this far, I would like to share with you.

I have a post up on the Craft Your Nest blog today about this layout with a challenge. It is actually based on a sketch I saw on the October Afternoon blog.
Ha! And I just noticed that the dot is missing from my "i" in this photo. I better find another one to stick on there.
Also, Dawn is looking for another Chickadee or two for the design team over there. It is a great design team to be on. Only one blog post per week with inspiration or a challenge. So very low maintenance, but fun :)

As for summer so far, we have been taking it easy but still getting things done! I am actually feeling pretty on top of my game right now. Crossing lots of things off my to do lists, but still spending time with the kids. And actually had two extra little ones today babysitting for friends. But I am finding that having Evan home is actually helping a lot :)

Have a great Wednesday!

It's June! And that is the Truth! :)

Seriously, how is it possible that June is here already?!
But so happy that summer has officially started for us.
School is out for almost three months and we have planned a lot of fun, but relaxing things to do.
Lots of play dates with friends :)

I have been seeing a few people around the internet share a Summer Manifesto thought I would share a few of the things I want to accomplish.
So here is my top twelve list for Summer 2012 with a layout to start us off that I made last summer :)

1.) Go swimming at the pool.
2.) Have a backyard BBQ with all of our neighbors.
3.) Take an overnight road trip with my friend Kelly and all of the kids :)
4.) Go for family bike rides at least once a week
5.) Have a "field trip" day every week where we visit some place fun around town.
6.) Play with the kids (what they want to play) at least once a day
7.) Have over night slumber parties with cousins and friends
8.) Go to the drive in movie at least once (something I loved to do as a kid!)
9.) Use our Six Flags season pass at least once a week!
10.) Take a road trip to visit our new cousin/nephew just born three days ago :)
11.) Go to at least one all day crop per month.
12.) Relax, relax, relax!

Also hoping to get lots of time this summer to create layouts and projects.
And since it is June, I can finally share the new kit available over at Scrapbooking From the Inside Out.

It is the Truth kit. This kit has lots of great product in here from My Mind's Eye, Authentique, Lily Bee, Pink Paislee, Teresa Collins and more! I love the blue and yellow color scheme.

I will not officially be designing until the July kit, but am definitely going to be working on some of the challenges for June. And the Pinterest inspiration board is up as well here, which is definitely worth checking out :)
Hope you have a great Monday!