Simple Stories and a snake...

Hi there everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend (for those of us in the US). We certainly did. It was a whirlwind of lake fun, Mom's 60th birthday, and lots of family. Oh, and grilling too. Lots of grilling.

I've got a new layout and card to share today that just screams summertime. I used the "100 Days of Summer" line from Simple Stories, and I absolutely love it! It's warm, cheery, and makes me want to go sit by a pool all summer long! Here's the layout with LAST year's pictures (we didn't get to go tubing this weekend. But the girls and I DID have an encounter of swimming with a "snake". More on that in a bit.)

"Sweet Summertime Memories"

Supplies used: everything is Simple Stories except the blue strips of pp on the top and bottom (MME), buttons (from my stash), and adhesive (Glue Arts and American Crafts)

And just because I couldn't stop crafting last night (too many days away from the table I guess), I made this card too. It also features 100 Days of Summer.

"Relax & enjoy the day"

Twine, button, and cardstock from my stash.

And now the "snake" story....

The girls and I had just gotten in the water, barely adjusted to the freezing cold temps and were all three sitting on a raft. Caroline was facing out towards the lake, and I was looking back the other way towards the house. Then it went something like this:

C: Mama, there's something in the water.

me: It's just waves. (I tend blow off or make light of everything)

C: No mama, it's moving.

So I turn to see a head, a SNAKE'S head peering up from the water, about 15 ft. away from us.

Trying to stay calm I say, "Girls, go swim to the ladder." No one moves (we're all staring at the snake).

Again with a little more urgency I say, "Girls...GO swim to the ladder."

And then it turns its head and looks at us. I scream, "GO. TO. THE LADDER!!!" and heave them both off the raft toward the ladder.

My step-dad happen to be down there with us (admiring Grandad's new boat), and so I scream, "Jim??!! SNAAAAAKE!!!" As I watch it duck its head below the water. I BOLT to the ladder.

Panic. Sheer panic.

I beat the girls there (obviously. I can swim faster), grab the back of SK's jacket and throw her up on the dock, the turn and grab C's jacket hoisting her up behind me. We all flop on the dock panting and scared out of our minds.

We look around and there's nothing. No snake. No wake. Nothing.

Jim said he didn't see anything thing, and is chuckling to himself at our (my) ridiculousness, I mean situation.

***

Now that we've had time to think about it, we've determined that it wasn't a snake. Here are several reasons why we think that, none of which I could've rationalized at the time.

1. The "snake" was still. Real snakes wriggle (?) or slither (?) through the water. They have to stay in motion and don't tread water.
2. Where our dock is located is WAY too deep and thus the water WAY too cold for snakes.
3. Snakes generally stay close to shore. We were out about 75ft at least.
4. And the big give away is that snakes don't duck under water. They stay on top of it. They don't dive down below the surface.

But ya know what does? Turtles. Same head. Can stay stationary. Can swim out away from shore. And can duck down beneath the water and stay there for long periods of time.

It was a turtle.

But when your eye level with a turtle, no shell in sight, it most definitely looks like a snake. ;)

Sneaky sneaky

I have a layout up on the Cricut blog today. Here's a sneak peek.

You can see the full project here. Go check it out!

@ 10 months

Buddy Boy was turned 10 months old way back on the 15th, and I still need to post about it. I can't believe that we're almost to the one year mark! July will be here before I know it! This little guy with his bright blue eyes has stolen our hearts and been such an easy baby to raise. So thankful for him! :)


He's a curious little booger. Good thing his sister is too, so I'm used to it (mostly). Here's what he's up to or in to at 10 months.

• LOVES to eat, wants to have everything that we're eating, and says, "na na na na na" when rather demandingly he wants more while pounding his tray. I can only wonder if he's trying to say "snack".
• FINALLY has teeth! Yes, more than one and they're not the norm. He's got his upper left snaggletooth and bottom left. His top front left is coming in. It's such an odd combination that it's kinda funny to look at.
• Says "mama" more than "dada" but usually squeals more than anything.
• loves loves LOVES the dog. And Bentley is so good with him, so gentle. They make a good pair
• One of my favorite things is that he bear crawls across our sisel rug and when he's on grass. I think it's hilarious. He crawls normally everywhere else, but that bear crawl with that little butt up in the air totally makes me laugh. :) I need to get a picture of it!
• Also loves the tub. We have to lay down towels so that the floor doesn't get all wet, because the moment he's set in the tub he's splashing. Feverishly splashing. He loves it so! (And he's not happy when the girls get a bath and he doesn't. And he makes sure we know it!)
  

That's all I've got for now. Hope you have a great Memorial Day weekend!

Wordless Wednesday: park edition part II

Friends, watermelon, jogging strollers, and an ice cold creek. What better way to beat the heat! :)

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Echo Park love

Oh Echo Park, how do I love thee? You debuted last summer and I haven't been able to catch my breath ever since!

You come out with the most amazing paper lines that I MUST have and you come out with them every. single. month (contrary to industry standard). It's craziness I tell ya! I've got Echo Park fever! lol!

And now you've gone and done the one thing I've had my heart set on from the very beginning--a design team call. Not only that, but again bucking the system, you're only choosing ONE designer. One! Sigh...at least the call is ongoing. Crossing my fingers, my toes, and anything else I can cross! And now I'm covering my eyes and peeking through my fingers and submitting my first (of many) submissions...EEK!

Starting with one from an earlier collection:

"Things I love about You"
supplies: Echo Park "Life is Good" patterned paper, stickers, die-cuts, My Mind's Eye kraft journaling spots, American Crafts 3D foam adhesive and pen, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist, buttons

And then here's one using "Little Boy"
called "Tag Along"

Supplies: This one's 100% Echo Park minus the American Crafts 3D foam adhesive and pen

That airplane paper just stopped me in my tracks. There's just so much I love about it! So of course I used it kind of as a theme since the photo is of Mac strapped up in his car seat. To "ground" the title, I chose to make a hand drawn banner. (wink)

And when Halloween rolled around, I found this wooden jack-o-lantern for $1 at Michaels. Right away I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it! Cover it with Echo Park paper of course! :D

Before:

After:

Supplies: Wooden sign from Michaels, Echo Park paper stickers, journaling spot; miscellaneous ribbon from my stash

And there you have it. The first round of "Ode to Echo Park". Whether I get chosen or not, I'm sure to keep posting more Echo Park projects. There's just too many that need to be shared and more that are yet to be made!

Winner, winner!

My winner for the $150 Cricut.com credit is Amy E!!

Amy E said...

I'm a new follower of both blogs now! I also posted a quick article about the new Cricut blog. Thanks for the chance to win a great prize!!

amyis300(at)hotmail.com
scrapthissavethat.blogspot.com


Wooohoo! Congrats Amy! Please email me your Cricut.com account email at DeannaMisner AT Gmail DOT com, and we'll get you set up!

A flash forward moment

***Scroll down to enter the $150 Cricut.com giveaway***

Oh good grief! Do you ever take a picture and flash forward to about 10 yrs. in your head?

All of a sudden your kid looks so grown up?

THESE photos do it to me. This little one, my Little Bit, isn't so little anymore. Sheesh! And in 10 years she's either going to brighten our lives like never before, have us holding our sides from laughing so hard or she's gonna have us dangling at the ends of our rope. Honestly I suspect it'll probably be a combination of all three. Gracious!

Sweet, angelic one minute...


a little sassy frassy spunky monkey the next.


All posed on her own mind you. I didn't prompt these at all. I only obliged by taking her picture. (wink wink.)

My favorite SK story this week was when I trimmed her hair. She's four. FOUR. And has never had a real haircut, not counting the self-inflicted shearing she gave herself last summer. It's finally grown out to the point that I can start trying to even it up. While trimming said hair she dramatically exclaimed, "Your cutting my REAL hair! That's. My. Hair!" as she fingered the ends that had fallen. And I had to bite my lip not to reply sarcastically, "What did you think you were cutting last summer? Your FAKE hair?!" Goodness! Sometimes I have to wonder...

But regardless I love her with all my heart. And bless this middle child, sometimes I DO think I'm at the end of my rope. I have to do an attitude check and remember what it took to get her here. Sometimes I have to take several checks. But I love her. I do. Sweet, silly, sass and all!

The Official Cricut Blog launch!!!

Provo Craft is proud to announce the Official Cricut Blog sponsored by the Cricut Circle and we want you to be a part of the celebration!

The Official Cricut Blog will introduce artists and crafters to the benefits of the Cricut Circle. It will showcase inspiring projects designed by the Cricut Circle Design Team and provide a central location to receive announcements, promotions and updates on everything Cricut, directly from Provo Craft.

The Official Cricut Blog sponsored by the Cricut Circle will feature the following:

- Inspirational projects using your favorite Cricut machines. The Imagine, Expression, Cricut Cake, Cuttlebug, Yudu and more.
- Hello Thursday Cartridge announcements.
- Educational videos and tutorials directly from Provo Craft.
- Occasional sneak peeks into the exclusive Cricut Circle Community.
- Access to the latest Cricut.com deals.
- And much, much more!

So what’s a celebration without a prize???

The Cricut Circle has so generously offered one of you a chance to win a
$150 credit to Cricut.com!
Here’s what you have to do to qualify for this amazing prize:

***To help spread the word about the Official Cricut Blog, grab the ‘blinkie’ below and post it on your webpage, blog, facebook wall, etc. with a link to www.cricutblog.org . Then, be sure to become a follower of both the Official Cricut Blog and my blog!***

Once you’ve done both of those things, leave me a comment letting me know.

Circle Members… I want to reiterate that this new blog will not take away from all of the awesome perks and exclusivity that we Circle members have access to. No worries, y’all!

We are so excited to share this great news with you and we look forward to having you join in on the fun!

ETA: You have until Midnight on Sunday, May 22nd, 2011. I will announce the winner here on my blog on Monday. Have fun and GOOD LUCK!

Who knew?

For years now (and I mean years) I've always claimed that I wasn't a cardmaker. I never really liked making them, so the ones that I was forced to make for DT assignments and such were just that. Forced. So who knew that over the course of one weekend I'd make not one, not two OR three, but FOUR cards that I actually like? Who knew? Certainly not me! But I have the virtual crop over at My Scrapbook Nook to thank for it.

Four. and I actually LIKE them. :)

Focus on buttons challenge: "Hello Sunshine"

products used: Provo Craft cardstock, Simple Stories die cut, SRM sticker sentiment, and some random buttons. I know that a lot of them are Basic Grey. (Yellow pp mfr. unknown, received as a RAK in the mail)

Use 4 different stamps challenge,
"A Merry Little Christmas"

products used: Cosmo Cricket patterned paper, American Crafts Dear Lizzy stamps and foam adhesive, Clearsnap (red and green) and SEI ink (gray)

And I now have an even GREATER respect for stampers! Whew! That one was h-a-r-d for me. I repeated the background stamp, stamped and cut 2 holly leaves, and the sentiment. That card may be the most painstaking card I've ever made. So if you find it in your mailbox come Christmas time, DO NOT throw it away! hehehe! :) Better yet, I may just keep it myself. ;)

Create a shaped card: "For You"

Products used: Bazzill cardstock, Pebbles Inc. patterned paper (that looks yellow but is actually green like the sprinkles), Stickles, Pink Paislee twine, Martha Stewart tag punch, Cricut Expression and Birthday Bash cartridge

And if the last challenge was hard, then this one made up for it by being easy. My Cricut just whipped that card right out, and I just embellished it. Easy peasy. I love my Cricut! :)

Back to Nature challenge: use materials
that could be found in nature
along with a neutral color palette.

Products used: American Crafts cardstock, Crate Paper sticker, Wilton doily, sandpaper, and raffia

Ahem. For a certain couple that got married last month that still hasn't received a card (or gift) from us. Hanging my head in shame.....

And now I know that I CAN in fact make a card (or cards) that I like! Thanks for the challenges and inspiration Nook DT girls!!!

Unscripted Moment

I love this picture of my Dad and Sarah Kate. They're totally caught up in the moment, and I love that I was able to capture it with my camera. The only part of it that was somewhat suggested was that I said, "Hey Sarah Kate how 'bout you go swing with Bob Bob?" Everything else was up to them. I love the emotion on both their faces.

"Unscripted Moment"

Products used: from Noel Mignon's "Mary Ellen" kit: Pink Paislee and Girls Paperie patterned paper, Jenny Bowlin label stamps, wooden buttons, Pink Paislee ephemera, kraft tags. Not included in the kit: Glimmer Mists, Basic Grey doily stickers, SRM "beautiful" sticker, American Crafts cardstock, Girls Paperie alpha stickers (used to create mask), Cricut Expression, Billionaire cartridge

If I can talk "shop" for just a second, this layout turned out a lot like on of Maggie Holmes' layouts. And while she's one of my scrap crushes, I did not intend to copy or lift any one layout of hers. But I will give her credit for inspiring me since she always does. ;) I love her design style and the techniques she uses!

Happy Thursday everyone!