Improvements....

Do you know what I love about scrapping and designing? The fact that I am always learning new things and improving. I hesitate to rescrap a photo I have already done before but sometimes you just have to. I did this LO back a while ago.



It's alright but nothing great. When I saw Franziska's gorgeous Grace kit I decided maybe it was time to redo this photo since it is a favorite of mine. I also did some work on the photo itself. Thanks to Lynda.com I am learning a TON about retouching my photos. I would like to show you the improvements.

First, the original photo as my mother took it.

And then the improvements I made .... the leaves actually have color again!

And with a little help from a great kit... the new and improved LO...

Full Credits

You can get this beautiful kit at SBG.

Amazing, isn't it?

Are you the type of scrapper who's layouts all seem to look the same? I'm amazed sometimes at how different each page I do can be. I did 4 LO's this week (I know...I'm shocked too!) and I was uploading them and thinking about how they all have such a different feel.

Credits

Credits

Credits

Credits

Making good use of some sick time!

Wow have I been sick this week. I truly thought I had pneumonia at one point. I was wrong thankfully but I sure was miserable. Thanks to my great doctor I am feeling much better (though still not good) now that I got an inhaler and some other prescriptions.

Anyway, my point is that I didn't have any energy to do anything around the house and I couldn't concentrate enough to design at all. So I tried to do a few layouts and I actually managed a few cute ones. So I figured I may as well show them off.

The first was using a kit that I got in a grab bag a while back and loved but never had the right picture for...until now :)

Template by Sya's Blueprints
Kit from Sweet Digi Scraps Grab Bag - Flowers a Go-Go
Alpha is from mglScraps Somewhere Else

The next was for the current "Scrappers Choice" Challenge at SUN.

Bountiful kit by Sherri Tierney
Bountiful Alpha
Bountiful Solids
Beaded Alpha and string from Britt-ish Designs Grab Bag
Date Slider is from Ellie Lash Barely Slidin By

And this one was just because this is cute is just WAY too cute not to scrap with!!!

Everything from Studio Flergs Awesome new Fairytale kit!

Seriously! Check this out! Is this awesome or what? (And BTW...visit Flergs blog for the girl dragon as a freebie!)

I'm trying...

I'm trying to be a better blogger again. So far so good. Life was crazy but I think I'm back on track now. In fact, I made it to not one ... but TWO speed scraps yesterday! Yay, me! Two layouts in just a few hours. And one of them I love and the other I really like too :)

Here is the one I did at the SUN speed scrap hosted by none other than ME! *L*

Click for Credits

And this one I did at the ScrapMatters Speed Scrap hosted by my fellow Wonder Girl Jen.

Click for Credits

And with all the chaos I haven't even been telling you about all the cool things going on at SUN! Check out these awesome kits that were released.


And if you have never bought a SUN Collab then now is the time to start. These Collab kits are HUGE and always awesome. This months Collab is absolutely stunning!!! The preview, as gorgeous as it is, doesn't even come close to doing it justice! Click the preview to get a better look at this awesome kit...there are NINE detailed previews in the shop so you know what you are getting!

What's better to cheer a person up?

It's been a rough week in my house and it's had me feeling a little down. So I decided to cheer myself up. And there is no better way to find a cheap giggle than with a few LOLCats!! So I thought I would share a few that amused me and maybe I can amuse you too.


moar funny pictures


moar funny pictures


moar funny pictures


moar funny pictures


moar funny pictures


moar funny pictures


moar funny pictures

And BTW...I made it to the speed scrap again this week. That's 3 weeks in a row! They really are fun!! Here is what I did.

Fun times at Sunshine Studio Scraps

The Sunshine Gang had there Grand Opening this weekend and despite a few setbacks, like explosions, nope...not even kidding, it has been a blast. What was supposed to be just the first of the month has turned into a 3 day event *L*. The Challenges were extended through Tuesday evening and the Scavenger Hunt for the newest Collab with not only the Sunshine Gang but Scrap Orchard too had to be moved to Wednesday in the hopes that SO will be back up and running. I had set the money that my MIL gave me for Mother's Day aside for the store opening and I'm glad I did. I had also won a gift certificate to Polka Dot Plum's portion of the store in a challenge. I ended up with 6 kits, a paper pack, and a CU texture pack yesterday. And then it was driving me nuts that I decided not to buy What Dreams May Come and I went back and got that this morning too *L*. So anyway, here are a few of the layouts I got done thanks to these new kits and all the awesome challenges.

The first is just for fun. The resident prankster over there is Monica from mgl scraps. So they decided to let us make her an angel for the day. Here was my entry.

Paper from Strawberry Buttercreme - Polka Dot Plum
Glitter Alpha from Flergs

And this was from the Scraplift Challenge. I scraplifted Crystals Silly Boy.

Background Paper, curled ribbon, and letter a - Deacon Closet - Flergs
Frame is mine - Dani's Delusions
Flowers from petit moineaux
Stitches from Monicas portion of Walking on Sunshine
Paperstrips from Polka Dot Plum's Fern Gully except the blue strip from Ellie's Adam kit.
F and L - both from Easter Collab
M - Amy Rockwell - back in black
I -Festival by Shabby Princess
Y - doodle alpha from Julie. It is.

And here's my favorite....from the Wordart Challenge

Paper and Elements from Lliella's (Allie's) Candy Picnic Kit.
Some actions used from the Walking on Sunshine kit.
Font for "tree writing" is Journal

I LOVE that kit. And the sister kit Moonica and Friends is equally as awesome if not even more so!

On a roll....

Well, I'm trying to get some therapeutic scrapping time in before next week gets chaotic again and I think it's working. I managed to get 2 more of Hummie's challenges done yesterday and I have 2 in the beginning stages for challenges at Sunshine Studios. I still can't seem to get my butt in gear to finish the elements for the May Designer Challenge but look for it soon.

Here's what I accomplished yesterday. I'll warn you now...I'm on a template kick to keep me movin' along *L* The first is for the underpainting filter challenge. It's a very cool technique, you should check it out.

Template d20 side B -Andrea Gold
Papers from DZines by Teri Hanson -Sugar Kissed
Arrow and stitches from Miss Vivi's - Home Sweet Home
Tag from Flergs Denim Blues Kit
Fonts - Pea Ashley and Tempus Sans ITC

The next I was inspired to do when I went to Kim B's blog yesterday and spotted this freebie template. I thought it was so cute and it went so well with a challenge I remembered Hummie posting. This was a hard picture to scrap for me...I LOVE it too much *L*. It's one of my favorites. I take A LOT of pictures and this one always stands out in my mind as one I cherish. So thank you to Hummie and KimB for the inspiration to scrap it.

Template by KimB of DSO
Scalloped edge template from Ana Mara Designs
Papers and all elements except ribbons from KimB's Old Festive Cheer Add-on kit
Title Font is Porcelain
Tab Fonts are (top to bottom) Pristina, Script MT Bold, Segoe Print, Vladmir Script, Aon Cari Celtic.

Now I'm going off subject for a moment. Why? Because it's my blog and I can, so there *LOL* How AWESOME was it when David Cook won American Idol????? Yup, I cried with him. I think I might be in love. Here's a question though....in the beginning I thought he was kind of ...well, odd looking! *L* How is it that by the end I was drooling? Is it purely a matter of growing a scratchy beard and getting a MUCH better haircut...or is it his personality that made him attractive? Who knows. But if you missed it the other night please check out this video. David Cook Rocks!

Challenges and Texas Toast

Well, I am trying to get my house back together so I haven't had a whole lot of scrapping time. I did, however, manage to get a challenge done at Hummie's that grabbed my attention. She is doing a whole gradient theme at the moment and the latest technique challenge is a simple gradient mask. I would have had a hard time scrapping these pictures but the challenge inspired me to do a layout that I am very happy with. Oh, and by the way ... Hummie is Queen for the Day at DST today so stop in and say hi.

The frame is from Angel Wings N Things - Dirty Boy
The pin is from Heavenly Designs - Paper Bag
The font is Qlassic Bold

I visited Hummie's blog earlier today and she was talking about Texas Toast. Now there was post where this was brought up yesterday. I have to admit ... I thought it was very odd that Texas toast was mentioned in connection with maple syrup. In fact, I was mildly repulsed *LOL* You see, when someone mentions Texas Toast to me I think of this ...
See? I was thinking that Garlic and Maple syrup are not the best combo. From reading Hummie's post it seems that what she calls Texas Toast, I call French Toast *L*. So, Hummie, now I can answer the question posted on your blog...

How do I make my Texas Toast? I take it from the box and throw it in the oven for a few minutes. *L*

As for how I make my French Toast .... I crack a few eggs, a splash of milk, add a generous splash of vanilla extract and a couple shakes of ground cinnamon and then I quickly dip both sides of my bread in it (not too long though...I hate when it stays soggy in the middle) and then I grill it up. If I'm feeling fancy or want to give the kids an extra treat I may sprinkle it with a little confectioners sugar.

So there you go :)

I just needed to scrap.

I needed to unwind and just sit and scrap something. I couldn't even bring myself to do a challenge, I just needed to let something flow. So here is what I came up with. It's another peice of my daughter's first year scrapbook. Every time I think I'm almost done with her first year I find another event I haven't done yet. These pictures are of her on her first Easter with my Grandmother who passed away a few years ago.

Template 4 by Choukette
Papers are by Betsy Tuma - Spring Thing
Tag is by Kristmess (Kristina Messier) - Merry Kristmess Kit
Flower Doodle by Bunny Cates

I also took time tonight to make that BBQ invitation for my Grandmother. I made a few but I keep coming back to this one. It's the first one I made and I think I'm drawn back to it because of it's simplicity. What do you think? Too simple?

Green Paper is from WetFish Designs
Grill and utensils from Chari Class' Doodle Doodles - BBQ
Date Marker and Strip are from Britt-ish Designs
Alpha is from A Work in Progress - Dandelion Dreams

A few challenge layouts and a few new pictures.

Despite feeling a little out of sorts still after my long weekend, I managed to do two challenges in the past few days. The first was one I found at Hummie's World, though it was actually an away challenge from scrapbook-bytes called Creative Ways to use Your Stash. The point of the challenge was to use a photo prong to hold down a fold in a paper or on a photo.

So here is that one...

Photo Prong from Color Line Designs Birthday Collab
Paper and Bracket elements from Amy Teets Sunporch Kit.
Frame is from Ellie's Autumn by Lynn.
Fonts are Snap ITC, Tunga, and Pea Heather.

And I did another challenge at Sunshine Studio Scraps too. That place is just chock full of awesome designers I tell ya. And they are all so friendly! Their 8th Challenge was a font challenge, but with a twist. We weren't assigned a specific font. We all had to use at least two of our favorite fonts in a layout. The point was to maybe introduce people to new fonts they hadn't seen yet. I picked BlackJack which Hummie had done a challenge with and I have been in love with ever since. It's great for titles and journaling both. I also used Pea Alesa, since I love just about ALL of the Pea fonts.

Everything is from the Challenge 7 Freebie Kit Splish Splash from Ellie and Shauna
Fonts are BlackJack and Pea Alesa

And I wanted to share a few more pictures from my weekend. I keep going through them and I just can't stop laughing! So here is a picture of my husband to make you laugh too, you know the poor guy that works 4 jobs and never gets to enjoy himself. He made up for it big time this weekend! Can you tell?
Oh, yeah...that's mine. *LMBO* But to be fair I should post a picture of what I looked like around the same time that night....
Yup, I'm looking a little rough! *L* Talk about droopy eyes! And here is one of my favorite "caught on camera" moments. The groom came back to the table to find one of his best friends in his seat chattin' up his new wife.
Ok...now for a more serious picture and then I'll stop posting. (for now :: HeHe::) Ever have one of those moments that really reminds you what drew you to your husband in the first place? My husband can drive me nuts, but this moment at the wedding reminded me why I love him. Both the bride and groom have lost their Dads. When the wedding party did the first dance one of the bride's uncle's stepped up to dance with the mother of the bride. The mother of the groom was left standing by herself on the side. My husband looked at me and said "That's not right!" and went up and took her hand and danced with her. I just thought it was the sweetest thing and darn it if I didn't cry! But I held off long enough to get a picture *LOL*

Teacher Appreciation Week

Did you know that this week is National Teacher Appreciation Week? Having several teachers in my family I know just how under-appreciated (not to mention underpaid) these important people are. It's not too late to send a little something into school with your child just to say thank you to their teacher. My daughter's school is having a luncheon for the teachers and staff and I volunteered to bake some dessert. As I was baking it I was thinking how I should share the recipe since I have never once taken this one someplace and not been asked for the recipe multiple times.

Does it look yummy? It is! In fact, it's so yummy that as I was cutting them and packing them up for the school....I snitched one (Shhh, don't tell the teachers...they'll never know *L*)

Anyway...here's the recipe. Oh, and did I mention they are SUPER easy too?

Cream Cheese Bars
2 8 oz pckgs cream cheese, softened
1 cp white sugar
1 egg yolk
1 teasp vanilla
2 8 oz pckgs refrigerated crescent rolls
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teasp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350
Lightly grease a 9X13 pan.
In medium bowl, cream together cream cheese and 1 cp sugar until smooth.
Stir in egg yolk and vanilla
Unwrap one package of crescent rolls, and spread in pan pinching seams together lightly.
Pour and spread cream cheese mix over the crescent rolls.
Unwrap next pckg of crescent rolls and spread on top of cream cheese pinching seams together.
Combine remaining sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the top.
Bake for 30 - 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the top begins to brown.
Cool and cut into bars.

I also have a bunch of layouts I've done recently and keep forgetting to post. I'll just add a few today so you aren't stuck looking at 20 of them all at once *L*

Here is one that I just finished for the Sunshine Girls Challenge.

Background paper and bracket from Flergs Denim Blues Kit.
Black And White alpha from Seebies Freebies
Blue Alpha from Jessies scrap Shak - Baby's First Haircut kit.
Font is Pea Beth

And, thanks to one of Britt from Britt-ish Designs' NSD Challenges, I finally did a Disney layout. I'm afraid to screw them up so they sit there just asking to be scrapped *L*

Her Royal Highness and Who needs a fairy godmother kits by Britt-ish Designs.
Glitter style by Flergs.
Fonts - Pristina and Edwardian Script

Oh, and last, but certainly not least...have you seen the new Designer Color Challenge at Hummie's? I'm working on my new kit, are you? Here's the color palette. Click it to go to the Challenge thread.

I couldn't wait until tomorrow to post this

Even though I already posted today I just had to add this! I was reading my usual blogs this morning and when I came to Kim B's I found an offer I just couldn't resist! To celebrate her first anniversary at DSO she is having a huge 60% off sale. Now, you may know already that I pretty much only scrap with freebies due to serious budget restraints but I have wanted Kims Unda Da Sea kit since she revealed it! So I checked and it was only $2.80!! Oh, yeah...I scooped it up. By the time I was done I had bought 6 items and only spent $16. Not bad at all seeing as there were 5 commercial items and a full kit! Anyway, I wanted to post today because the sale is today only. And I have already had fun with the kit I wanted. Seriously, how cute are her little sea creatures??
Here is the linked preview for Kim's adorable kit...

Oh yeah...have I got plans for that lobster *LOL*

It was a fun weekend but I'm glad it's over.

This weekend I learned what it would be like if I had 3 kids and a dog instead of just my two kids. And do you know what conclusion I came to? I'm quite happy with just my two kids *L* Don't get me wrong, for the most part we had a blast...but it's exhausting. I ended up puppy-sitting for my sister. Her dog, Einstein, is a rambunctious puppy. It was actually fun at first, he rode around in the car with us, he came to the ice cream place with us, he resisted the strong urge to jump all over the kids and lick the skin off their face. He even slept by my feet...until a noise in the house scared him and he crawled up to lay upside down ON my pillow and snore in my ear. But it was so cute that I just laid there and giggled for the last hour before the kids woke up. You can not imagine how loud this little dog can snore! Well, apparently he decided he liked my house and was comfortable there...because he decided to "mark" my daughters bed!! And as I was cleaning up that mess ... he went in the livingroom and marked MY COUCH!! Are you serious? Didn't I just get rid of this problem? So he got put in the kennel for just over an hour, and then I felt bad and let him out. STUPID! He jumped up on the couch and did it again! Now 4 of my 6 cushions have been "Einsteined"! Ugh! What a mess. I couldn't wait for him to go home. But after another 2 hour timeout in the kennel he came up and behaved himself. Of course, I wouldn't even let him out of my sight for a millisecond! (by the way, in case you are wondering...the thing on his eye is called cherry eye (I think) and it gets taken care of next month) As I mentioned, I also had a third child this weekend. One of my daughters BFF's spent the night Saturday. The girls are so darn cute during sleepovers. Even if they were up until midnight and seriously irritable the next day. Notice that my son found a way to worm himself in there too.
I took my new little gang outside to play in the beautiful weather we finally got and I decided to take my camera and practice some action shots before Tee-ball starts. I got some really fun shots and got much better at taking action shots by the end.

I'll stop now, I just wanted to share them with you because I think they are so fun. I love the way the last one came out, I just wish I could see their faces :( These are all unedited, they will be so much better when I do a little cropping. I didn't want to leave them outside long enough to go get the long range lens *L*

One last thing..I'm still trying to get my daughters first year scrapped and I managed to find time last night to do another layout. I am so happy with this one so I wanted to share it.

All papers and elements from a beautiful kit by "designs by vicki" called Pompey. I did recolor the swirls.

The fonts are Windsong and Vademecum.