Happiness is....

Happiness can mean lots of different things to lots of different people.  Happiness to me is being able to watch my children play, laugh and grow into beautiful people.  Each step that they take on their journey towards the people they will ultimately become is very precious to me. 

Some of you skeptics out there are thinking, "Why on earth do people spend hours upon countless hours, not to mention all that money, on scrapbooking?".  I'll tell you why I and many other people out their do it.  It records every step of my children's journey in life.  But it's not only the journey that I love to record, it is such a creative outlet for me personally.  I'm not an artist by any stretch of the imagination.  I can't draw and  I don't paint.  But I do love to CREATE with my hands.  I get the chance to express myself through paper, inks, paints, fabric, stamping and so much more!

I finished two layouts yesterday about my children's journey in life.  The first one titled "Lovin Life" is about my darling daughter, Holly, riding her bike without training wheels for the first time.  It's such a big step for her (and me).  It's just one more thing to remind me that she is growning up way too fast.

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Happiness

I spent a couple of hours this evening just scrapping away.  Brody was playing the Wii and Holly was putting together, none other than, a Spongebob puzzle.  I love evenings like these.  Everyone is occupied and I get a chance to play a little. 

This photo is one of my favorites from our vacation this summer.  I don't know why, it's certainly not perfect, but nonetheless, it's still my favorite.  This is actually one of the quickest layouts I've ever accomplished.  It only took a couple of hours, but I think it's my favorite to date! 

 I hope everyone has a great "crafty" weekend!

How cute is that little butt?

Holly is such an independent little girl.  She thinks that she can do anything that she sees me do.  Most of the time I indulge her.  And in this instance, it was really cute. 

I was doing laundry and she said that she wanted to do it by herself.  So I said have it.  I mean, I literally hate doing laundry anyway...lol.  So she promptly jumped on top of the washing machine and proceeded to practically crawl in it to get the clothes out.  It was adorable! 

This is one of those layouts that I couldn't just focus on one particular photo.  There is a whole series that depicts the story.  So I left one color photo that stands out against the rest of the black and white images.  After adding some serious bling and lots of adorable embellishments, I had a great respresentation of the story.  Thanks for looking!

My Mom

I've always been very close to my Mom.  Sure, when I was a teenager we had a few rounds, but they never amounted to much.  She always inspires me with her spirit and energy that she has when it comes to life and it's challenges.  So the photos that I have of her and I are very near and dear to my heart.

When I scrap them, I tend to get a little sappy and take an especially long time agonizing over every detail.  I'm a comlete perfectionist (uuhmmm...which I get from her...lol).  I truly adore every moment that I get to spend with her and I'm so happy that we share a passion in scrapbooking.  Love you Mom!

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Good Friends, Good Times

A couple of months ago, I spent an entire day scrapping with some good friends.  I know that it is kind of redundant to scrap about scrapbooking, but I can't help myself...lol!  This layout includes lots of wonderful goodies that I picked up yesterday at CKC which has completely inspired me.  I mean two layouts in one day?!  I can't believe it...lol.  That is a rare occurance.

The "clock face" was made by using a laser cut piece of cardstock that I flipped over to the back and inked with a Versa Mark ink pad and then coated it in Zing! clear embossing power.  It really made the pattern stand out.

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Together

We were very fortunate this year as a family to be able to take a small vacation over the summer.  I'm still in the long process of scrapping those photos (because I only took like 200..lol).  I just finished this one about the Field Museum in Chicago, IL.  I used various October Afternoon papers that I got at the CKC yesterday, along with many other goodies. 

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

54321...Blast Off!

So I had some downtime last night. Tony wasn't feeling well so he came home from work and went straight to bed. Holly was wiped as well and fell asleep at about 7:00. So I spent the evening scrapbooking. YEA! These are some pictures of our trip to Chicago this summer at the Museum of Science and Industry. I just love these cute little monsters from October Afternoon. I haven't had the occasion to use them yet, but I thought that this layout fit perfectly. I also found a hidden treasure in my stamps. This adorable little rocket ship is from Pink Paislee which I embellished with some of my Stickles and the new Liquid Pearls from Ranger. I was finding all sorts of treasures last night...lol. Thanks for looking! :)

Happy Monday!

I can't believe last week flew by so fast! I've really gotten behind on everything from cleaning and laundry to my favorite hobby...scrapbooking! I was actually able to accomplish a few things yesterday while the kids were outside playing (OMG it was quiet!...lol) and Tony was at the Chief's game.

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My Weekend Accomplishments

I went to an all-day crop on Saturday in Grain Valley and got a few layouts done. I had such a great time with my Mom and some great friends. I would have loved to have accomplished more, but I spent too much time flapping my gums and walking around seeing what everyone else was doing...lol. Check it out:

Some More Layouts

These are the layouts that I completed last weekend. I finally got them scanned in. I'm actually going to an all-day crop on Saturday with my Mom so I will have more next week. YEA! I'm getting caught up. I hope you guys enjoy!

I've never done so much in such a short amount of time...

I got to spend a couple of afternoons scrapbooking last week while I was on vacation. I accomplished a lot, but I still have some unfinished projects. Maybe I'll get to those this weekend. Check it out!

Holly's Dictionary

This is a layout that I've been wanting to do for quite some time. I've been compiling a small list of things that Holly says in her own special way. I'm not sure if you will be able to read the list, so here goes:

booger = burger, butter = peanut butter, choc-o-lot = chocolate, nim-n-m's = m&m's, oberalls = overalls, paper towels = toilet paper, puck = punk, sprinklers = sparklers, syr-e-up = syrup, tuckerware = tupperware, unihorn = unicorn, and ????? = aluminum

These are my favorite types of things to scrapbook, because these are usually the things that we forget about with time. This way, she will always have these special memories! :)

Merry Christmas!

This year has absolutely flown by. I can't believe it's over and I'm a year older...lol. I've been on vacation for the last week and I'm finally getting some of the stuff I wanted to do months ago accomplished. I actually got to spend the day scrapbooking with my Mom today. I got a couple of projects finished and I'm hoping to get a lot more done next week (so look for another post!).

The kids had a fabulous Christmas. Holly got a new Nintendo DS and Brody got enough Bionicles and Lego sets to keep him busy for at least the next 6 months...lol. I got Tony a new office chair and he got me a beautiful diamond necklace (Not really fair huh. I got the better end of that deal!!).

As usual there was a pretty funny story attached to this holiday. The layout posted below explains the whole thing. But the short version of the story is that Brody wanted to get Holly a new pair of shoes (which he did) for Christmas. He picked out the cutest Pair of Sketchers, but when Holly opened them up on Christmas morning, the box only had one shoe in it...lol! Tony and I laughed so hard we were crying. The look on Holly's face was priceless. The only thing she had to say was "Mommy, why is there only one?". It was pretty cute. We went back to the store yesterday and picked up the other shoe (it turned out it was the display).

I hope that everyone had a fantastic holiday and we wish you the happiest new year!!

Holly's Allergy Testing

Here is the layout that I put together to remind Holly how she felt on the day of her allergy testing she had done earlier this week. I'm really pleased with how it turned out. She is feeling much better now after having been on her meds for about a week. They are really doing the trick!

Our Golf Course

We were out doing yardwork one day and Tony got a little distracted...lol. So naturally the rest of us joined in on the fun. These moments are the ones that I love to capture. Not necessarily a holiday or special occasion, just us spending time together and enjoying a beautiful day outside.

Thanks for the classic pic Mel!

I couldn't resist scrapping this one. Mel sent me this picture the other day. Believe it or not, he wasn't even drunk when he did this...lmao!!!

The World Through Your Eyes

OK, this is the last post for tonight I swear! I have a very addictive personality if you haven't noticed...lol. I actually created this LO of Brody for a Creating Keepsakes contest based on my "Defining Moment".

Brody is such a loving, caring and energetic boy. He changed my life the day he was born. I think his eyes say it all. Who wouldn't love that face!

Not everything in life can be so cut and dry; black and white and Brody has taught me that little by little. Heck, I'm still learning!! Each and everyday is a blessing (even though there are several occassions that I would like to pull my hair out...lol). He is truly a very special little boy.

My Princess; The Free-Spirit

I completed this layout (LO) last week of Holly. This sweet photo was taken when Brody, Holly, my Mom (Betty) and I went to the KC Zoo in April of this year.

I had never tried a LO with a black background, so I really stepped out-of-my-box with this one. I was inspired by a Creating Keepsakes challenge (using a black background with pops of color). But, I'm pretty pleased with the results. All the words on the page are how I would describe my sweet princess. And of course these are her favorite colors!