Love Never Fails

especially on Leap Year! And before I share the layout I created, I wanted to post a real example of how love never fails. Two people I truly admire more than anyone, my grandparents.

These are my grandparents (picture taken 4 yrs. ago), who 64 years ago today on Leap Year, ELOPED, crossed the state line into Mississippi and got married by the Justice of the Peace. My grandmother was just 16. And in her words "we had to hurry home to make sure we made it back for Sunday night church"! LOL! Her parents didn't know she was even married until 4 weeks later when my great grandmother accidentally found their marriage license while cleaning Grandmother's room! For their 60th anniversary we had a big write-up put in their local (small country) paper because as she says "those people said we'd never make it." But they did! This Leap Year day marks their 64th anniversary, and I couldn't be more proud or love them more!

And for a little less exciting story, I chose to play along with this month's Lily Bee sketch. Of course the way my week has shaped up, I didn't get to share it with them on time. BUT I get to share it with you. :)

"Love never fails"

using the January My Scrapbook Nook kit (sold out)

Yep, that's my baby McClain. A grand total of one week old. Sigh...I miss those days. But then again, I like my sleep. :) This page was more for me than one to go in his album. It's a little too girly for his book, but I like it. And he's also proof that love never fails. ;)

And so yeah, that's all I've got this crazy Leap Year day.

TONS to do on my "to do" list as tomorrow is Sarah Kate's birthday. Lots of family, lots of projects still to be made, some shopping for presents, and much much more.

Happy Leap Year, everyone!

Up for grabs!

*A scheduled post that didn't post itself

I FINALLY got some quiet time to myself this weekend, and of course I chose to scrap for part of that time. It was sooo nice to finally have the creative motivation + the time to DO something with it! So I pulled out my March Grab Bag from My Scrapbook Nook, and boy is it purdy! In fact, this may be one of my all-time favorite mini-kits. I love it that much! I had a blast playing with the girly papers, trims, and flowery rub-ons.

"Baby Doll love"

Yellow mini-alphas from my stash (past kit add-on)

Ahh yes, Sarah Kate and her baby doll. She's such a proud mother. Quite often I'll find her with a baby or a stuffed animal up her shirt "in her tummy". According to her, she currently has 10 kids and is expecting another one soon! heeee! That girl just cracks me up!

"Contagious"

Again, mini alphas from my stash

This is still one of my favorite 2011 pictures of Caroline. She wasn't cooperating for a little photoshoot, and my dad said something that totally cracked her up. And when she started laughing we ALL started laughing. She's got one of those contagious laughs.

"You're in my Thoughts"

And then THIS one, is a card I need to make quite a few more of. I'm now down to the scraps of my Grab Bag, but I have several friends who are in need of a card like this. Oh, and btw, the inside continues the statement "and in my prayers". I just forgot to take a pic of the inside with its sentiment and additional flower. The sentiment is actually an SRM Sticker from my stash and so is the misted doily. But the rest is using the March Grab Bag.


And in case you've forgotten, the Grab Bag is FREE for all new subscribers and only $10 for existing subbers. Also FREE for new subscribers is the Crate Paper Valentine mini-kit. Now THAT's a deal! Go get yours today, because they're both up for grabs!

Happy Monday!

Year-o-graphy

This week I decided to play with a little bit of Simple Stories' Year-o-graphy collection. It's an awesome kraft paper based collection that features the months of the year, the seasons, and lots of "family" type sayings. It also comes with cuuute Bingo cards, journaling cards, borders, 4x6 transparencies and more! Here are a couple of my projects.

"This is Life"

Yes, I've scrapped this picture before but I really like it. For one, it's the ONLY picture of all 5 of us since McClain was born. But I also love the colors in it, and they worked PERFECTLY with this collection. I was also inspired by a February doily-themed blog post by Stephanie Howell, so I decided to pull out my long lost doilies and play.

"Love U" card

This is a mini card featuring one of the monthly Bingo cards from the collection. I layered it with another jounaling card that I'd cut out the heart and the saying. I added a sticker, a wooden button (which I can't get enough of lately) and some faux stitching. Now if only I'd made it in time for Valentines Day. LOL! Oh well, at least I'll be prepared for next year!

Happy Saturday, friends!

Guess what's here?!

This month's My Scrapbook Nook kit includes the gorgeous papers from My Mind's Eye Sweet Caroline line (Dolled Up), and of course I love it. With a name like that, how can I not??!! It's so so pretty and has totally given me a bad case of Spring Fever. Well, that and the 70 degree weather we had a couple of days ago.

Oh, and do you need a little bit extra of the My Minds Eye goodness? No problem! Here's this month's grab bag, from MME Sweet Caroline's "Howdy Doody" collection

Pam's started a new deal called a grab bag each month. It comes FREE for new subscribers and is only $10 extra for regular subscribers. It doesn't get much better than that! SO, go grab yourself a kit!

And I'll be back very soon with a project or two.

Cards a Bella

"Well it's about time!" you may say. And you'd be right. Sorry. I fell off the bloggin' wagon this week. It's just been one of those crazy weeks. But all is well now, and it's FRIDAY!!! yay! :D

Sooo, here are some cards I shared this week on the Bella Blvd. blog. It's actually Challenge Week with Shannon Tidwell as our Special Guest Designer. Be sure to hop on over to the Bella Blog to check out the challenges, be inspired, and even be in the running for some prizes. ;)

And now, my cards for this week. :D I combined the "Baby Girl" collection with "Spring Flings and Easter Things" and these are the results.

"Congrats"

"Bliss"

because everyone needs a little sunshine in their day, right? Right! I had fun making this one, and I'm sure you'll see something like it again.

AND before I go, the winner of the Lily Bee "Head over Heels" paper pack is:

LG said... Hi sweetie! Valentines Day for me is spending extra special moment with my family.First we had lunch, then coffee, then playground :) It was fun!

Congrats LG!!!

And Happy Friday everybody!

(Not so) Wordless Wednesday on Thursday

Because that's the way we roll 'round here. :D

Pink.
It had to be pink.

And I don't know who's more excited that
she's playing...her, me, or my dad.
It may very well be Dad.

Let the season begin!

:D

Starting

quote found on Facebook

Okay, so here's the deal. As I briefly made mention in the post below, lately I've been working my tail off in the gym. Running 2 miles each day. And on the odd days (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) I've also been doing weights for my arms. Yesterday with a little extra added incentive of a Ryan Reynolds interview on TV, I did 3 miles! And ya know what? I didn't die. I thought I might there for a minute. But I didn't.

This is big for me for several reasons but mainly because I HATE to run. HATE it. I grew up playing sports and running was always the punishment for something we'd done wrong. Suicides, sprints, laps, endurance runs...even something we at Vestavia called Alpines which were a combination of running uphill behind the stadium bleachers to the top, then completing 3 "stadiums", and THEN a lap around the track. All which equaled "one", and we'd do something crazy like 4 or 6. Yeah, I hated running. It was punishment.

And I'll admit, running is still something I don't look forward to. I've learned how tough mentally I am (or not). But something I've also learned a little about is runner's high. The endorphins that are released as a result of exercise and the "rush" that comes along with it. So while I still really don't like, I won't use hate, to run, I'm learning that I like the after effects.

And the results aren't so bad either. Week 1 was a weight loss of 4 lbs. We'll see what Week 2 has in store for me on Wednesday when I weigh in.

So don't laugh, but like the poster up there point outs, I'm starting. I may be dead last in anything I decide to run in, but I'm starting. I'll get there. And hopefully it won't kill me.

Crocheted flowers

They're some of the new embellishments that Bella Blvd. just debuted at CHA. I was lucky enough to be sent a couple of packages, and I couldn't stop using them! In fact, and think I used ALL of the ones they sent me. Here are a couple. Take a peek.

"Worth Every Pound"

Okay, so I'll admit that I see this card and laugh now. BECAUSE when I used it, I thought the sentiment meant something along the lines that that chubby (aka fat) baby was worth all the pushing or what have you. But then I as I started thinking about it, I thought, "hmm...no I think it means that he's worth every pound the Mom gained." SO in essence this is a card that calling the mom fat. LOL! Ooops! Totally didn't mean to do that, or say that. It wasn't meant for any one in particular anyway since it had to go to CHA, but still. I see it now and laugh! :D But aren't those flower CA-UTE?! Even for a boy!

"Oh Baby"

Yes, I made 2 CHA layouts entitled "Oh baby!" Another whooops! And yes, that's my big fat pregnant belly for all the world to see. But if you really want to know the truth, I miss being pregnant. NOOOOO, we're not having any more. But I was the crazy lady that loved it. And secretly, yes, I miss it. Who wouldn't miss the eating whatever you want whenever you want? Oh wait. That's why I'm working my tail of in the gym now. Nevermind.

Happy Wednesday!

Weekend randomness

This weekend we got several things accomplished. One was that we got to go to our first (hopefully of many) Winter Carnival's at CCS. The other "big" accomplishment is that we bunked the girls' beds, and they L.O.V.E. it! Here are some shots.

First, how 'bout some Carnival shots.

petting the bunnies.
little man was scared to touch them
but still very intrigued.

Pie throwing. She missed his
face, but confirmed that she's got
a good arm (IMO).

The "Girly" room
where she got her nails and make-up
done, AND they added some
perfume to her wrists.
She. was. beaming.

And some spin art. I'd forgotten
how much fun it is to watch it
spin! Oh yeah, and she liked it too. ;)

*******

BUNKED.
One's very very happy,
while the other is VERY proud.
They love it!
(And we do too.)

Oh Baby!

Baby girl that is! Today's the day we get to show our work with the latest Bella Blvd. release, the "Baby Girl" collection. I love love love the bright colors and patterns of this line, and it was so much fun creating with it. Here's just a sample of what I made.

"Oh Baby"

That was Sarah Kate at 5 or so months. Look at that BALD head! And I used to defend her saying it had peach fuzz. hee! Boy was I wrong! lol!

And then this is my favorite card that I made with the Baby Girl collection. I used some wooden buttons from Bella's Button Market too.


Once again, if you'd like to see more fabulous projects using the Baby Girl line, then check out today's Bella Blvd. blog post.