Monday, July 8, 2013

Happy Days!

That was a tiny little holiday break there! :)
Mike was home an extra day for the 4th of July, so we have been busy with lots of fun activities.
I want to share a layout I did first though.
I had so much fun with this one because I finally opened up my new set of gelatos

and experimented a bit.

Ok, true story. This started out as a 12x12 layout. I used this photo because a lot of the colors matched the gelato set. And it's also a photo I have been wanting to scrapbook for a while. So I just started coloring and thought I would make a base for my photo after blending the colors with some water and a paintbrush. On my computer screen, the blue on the right is not showing up, but it is that pretty blue you see in the pack above.
Anyway, after I finished the page, it looked a little off to me. I showed it to my eleven year old son (the artist) and he said it looked too big. I thought about it a moment, took  a deep breath and cut it down! That took a lot of courage, because chances are, it could have completely ruined the page. But I think it actually looks better. Thanks to Evan! :)
Really like my new gelatos!
The journaling:
They have known each other since they were babies, and it is wonderful watching them all grow up together. Neighbors who are friends can't be beat! We are lucky to have such great neighbors and friends. We have celebrated so much together including birthday, and it is great that the kids get along so well. Looking forward to more happy days together!

And now for a few photos of our "happy days" the past week.
Evan loves to feed the koi fish at the Botanical Gardens. He even pets them!
Chalk drawings on the patio. My girl is looking so grown up!
Erin sparkling on the Fourth of July. We had a tiny celebration with neighbors :)
Erin and Mike make peanut butter chocolate chip cookies together.
Love the newly remodeled children's library downtown. It is so cool! Erin and I spent an hour and a half down there on Saturday.

Me and my girl waiting for fireworks to start on Saturday night. We found a new venue thanks to friends that isn't highly publicized. So we all went down there to check it out. It was worth the wait!

I will have a post on Wednesday over at Craft Your Nest, and then will be back here on Thursday.
See you then! :)

23 comments:

  1. Gosh, I love what you did with the gelatos, Mary Jo! They colors go perfectly. Such a pretty page!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your page is beautiful Mary Jo, I do love those gelato colours and the way you used them. Great photos of the family - more scrapbooking...... Hugs, Anne x

    ReplyDelete
  3. oh i love the page and those gelatos sound so fun!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wowwwwwwww! Your lo turned out amazing!! I am loving that background you created!! And loving the family photos!! Looks like a lot of perfect, happy days!!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sounds like a happy 4th! Love how your page turned out, those gelatos look like fun!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Love new having new toys to play with. The layout came out great and looks like you had a great time over the long weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oooo...beautiful page and fun pics from the week! Love your gelato background! Sigh...I should just break down and buy some.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Those gelatos look so cool! Awesome layout! I'm right there with you with the neighbors! We love ours more than anything and the kids have grown up together too, so awesome! Loving all of your holiday pics :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Love how you used the Gelatos Mary Jo, and I think the 8.5x11 works perfectly with the layout!

    ReplyDelete
  10. really sweet layout, your bravery and son's eye for art really paid off!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Pretty! Love the colors...and the photos of your kids are beautiful

    ReplyDelete
  12. Good eye your son has...but then again, he is an artist :)
    Sounds like you had a great family weekend :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Love the layout! I didn't see it before (obviously) but the cut-down look is great! Good call Evan, and good job to you for being so confident to cut it down. That would make me nervous too!

    Your weekend looks fabulous! That is awesome that Mike got to spend some extra days off at home :)

    The children's library is so cool looking!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Love your LO!
    Love the gelatos! Did you win them or buy them!
    They are so fun to use and I love how you added them to your LO!!
    Looks like an amazing time on the 4th!
    Glad Mike was able to be home a extra day and how fun you have known the neighbors for that many years! Thanks fro following me too! :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Very cool!! Love all your pics, especially the one with your daughter. So sweet!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. I love what you did with the Gelatos! Your son is so cute! Love that he gave you advice. It came out great!!

    So many fun photos!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Love the use of the gelatos! Great layout, all the colors blend so well!!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I absolutely LOVE what you've done with the gelatos!! I love seeing all of your wonderful photos, Mary Jo!!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Yay! Gelatos! Love it - and good for Evan! A designer in the making! Great pics MJ!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Fabulous layout! Love how you used the gelatos on the background and the cutting it down worked! Such a great design!!!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Love what you did with those Gelatos! They sure do compliment that photo so well - and what a fun story about your son giving you scrappy advice - he was right! Love it this size :)

    ReplyDelete