Lovely

I have wanted to scrap this photo for quite awhile.......

I took this picture when Maleia was about seven weeks old--we were waiting by the bleachers for Little League Opening Ceremonies to start and I remember thinking about how hard it was just to get my son, new baby, and myself to the park at eight (or nine?) in the morning.  My days of traveling light were over!!  LOL.

Kept this lo super simple and used some pretty paper from the Lawn Party kit from Studio Calico. 

Have a great weekend!!

Sassafras

When I saw the reveal of Sunshine Broadcast I was SO EXCITED.  And yesterday I was finally able to use it!! 

This lo is based off of Sassafras' June sketch.  I used pictures that I recently took of Maleia on a beach trip.  As usual, the lo was really easy to put together with all of the goodies that Sassafras supplies. The hard part was actually taking the pictures--this girl is constantly on the go and has taken to not looking at me if I have my camera :-)

I tried out a new flower making technique also (lower left corner--see the star) that was up on October Afternoon's blog yesterday.  Easy to make, but next time I need to be a little bit more careful (and maybe more patient) laying the hearts out--flower came out sort of wonky! 

All-Stars

There is a reason I don't bake cookies---I eat them!  I just finished a cup of milk and three chocolate chip cookies and it isn't even lunch time yet!  Aack!! Oh well, they were yummy!  Enough with the mini-confessional.....

Here is a lo I did featuring my son and his cousin Bailey:

I actually did this for last week's Sunday Sketch over at Studio Calico and used their June kit, Paper Moon.  Had super fun making it--I love it when I get to use stars! 

This lo is pretty special to me.  These two kiddos are only months apart and this picture really captures how close they are.  Seeing the two of the them side by side in their baseball/softball gear is great.  It makes me sort of sad though, because it is a reminder of how grown up they are getting.....

Happy First Day of Summer!!

Play With Me

I have been a member of the Paper Posies kit club for one year now and I have to say that I love all of the girls there--ALMOST as much as I love the kits!  LOL! 

This lo, made using the June kit from Paper Posies, features my two kiddos playing around in the backyard on Hayden's old little bike--how he is able to actually sit on it and peddle around amazes me because I have tried it and it hurts!! 

I titled this lo "Play With Me" for two reasons:  First, Maleia just adores her brother and loves to play with him; Second, Hayden was an only child for nine years and when Maleia came along he had that playmate he had been wanting for years!  I never tire of watching the two of them play together.

A Discovery of Witches

This past weekend we headed to San Clemente for a mini-beach break.  I really enjoy going to the beach with my family; playing in the sun, sand, and surf is one of our favorite past times.  HOWEVER, my absolute favorite thing about going out of town is that I get to read---usually uninterupted--on the way there and back!  Baby sleeps, son plays DS, and hubby drives.  All I have to do is make sure hubby doesn't miss an exit.  That's it.  The rest of the time I get to read!!  Woo hoo!

I have been working on A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness for a while and it has been KILLING me!  Not because it was awful, but because I LOVED it so much and there wasn't much time to read it!!  So this beach adventure was the perfect time to put this book to rest....

This book has all of my favorite elements:  darkness, intrigue, action, suspense, romance, magic, a great cast of characters, and witches, vampires, and daemons!  (Okay, so maybe daemons aren't really my fave, but they work in this novel.) ADOW also reads a bit like a Dan Brown novel--specifically the Robert Langdon series.  I say this because the book offers a look back at history, it's players and relics.  Of course, it's all fictional, but it's great! 

Lucky for me, ADOW is the FIRST in a TRILOGY!!  Yeah!  (I suspected this as I was getting way too much unexplained information as the pages were ticking down.)  But unlike the Twilight series (yes, I jumped on that bandwagon and am firmly camped with Team Jacob) which I read AFTER all the books had been published, I am going to have to wait until next year for the second book :-( 

Have a happy day and really hope you check this book out!!

Sketchabilities

You have no idea HOW excited I am to announce this, but I made the design team for Sketchabilities!!!!

The term is from July through September, so look for my first reveal on July 15th!!  Honestly, I am going to have so much fun doing this!



A Scrappy Lift

Jen Jockish is one of my fave artists--her work constantly inspires me.  So, when Two Peas announced announced that their weekly challenge was to scraplift a project I decided to participate by lifting her lo "Funny Face." 

I stuck really close to her lo, but used different embellies and papers of course.  This was a really fun page to create and it came together really fast. 

By the way, as I was working on this I took a close look at Maleia's face and realized her little nose was red--what kind of mother am I to let her nose sunburn??  The rest of her face looks good and she wears a hat in the sun.....oh well, will just have to apply an extra layer on her cute little nose from now on!

Soup Spotting

Woo hoo!  I made Jillibean's Soup Spotting for this week!  I was super excited when I got the e-mail yesterday! My friends at Paper Posies had suggested that I submit it and I thought I'd give it a go!  Thanks girls!! (I made the lo with Paper Posies' May kit) Things like this just simply make my day :-). 

My name is Michelle and I am a hoarder....

I'll admit it, I buy more supplies than I use.  I cannot resist the allure and seductiveness of a new line of paper products.  It is an obsession.  One that I have to monitor with constant viligance :-)  But, with that said, I think I have taken hoarding to a new level with a October Afternoon.  I LOVE their papers and everytime I order product something of theirs always sneaks into my cart. LOL.

This next lo makes use of some of my OA stash!

I used three different patterned papers and all of them are from a different OA line--Modern Homemaker, Seaside, and 5 & Dime.  THIS is the reason I hoard OA--their lines are so versatile--they work with each so well.  And just so you know, I just ordered more of these papers!  What if I run out?!

On the more technical side, I based this lo off of a sketch from Creative Scrappers.  I stuck really close to the sketch, only adjusting my title and journaling because my title was insanely long!  Hope you like!

Mad Dash for Some Sunshine.....

Okay, enough with the June Gloom.  I want some sunshine and some warmth!  LOL.  I have had two layouts finished that I wanted to take pics of, but we haven't had any sun :-(  Lucky me though, 'cause finally the clouds parted and I was able to dash outside (in my jammies)and snap some shots!

Oh, the places Maleia will go!!  Dr. Seuss inspired this lo
(check out the title). My daughter seems to always be in motion and I hoped to capture that here.

Going to the park is a regular thing for my family and when we are there I follow my daughter around the entire park.  I will admit I have ulterior motives for going to the park, (which may include waring a certain busy little girl out so she will have a nice,long nap) but I really enjoy watching her explore. It seems as if everytime we go, she is doing bigger, more complex things. Of course, that's when she isn't chasing blackbirds and crows!