Sharing From The Heart Blog Hop

Good morning, and welcome to the Sharing From The Heart blog hop. If you have arrived here from Jody's wonderful blog, then you are on the right track. This month for our projects we could choose to use the stamp of the month, Christmas cards, or New Years. I've chosen to share a few Christmas cards with you today. For the first two I used the Believe workshop on the go from the current catalog.
Supplies used: Believe workshop on the go, holiday red, black, goldrush ink, blender pen, red/pink embroidery floss asst. - all CTMH, and border punch - Fiskars, sketch from the deconstructed sketch.

Supplies: Believe workshop on the go, holiday red, black, and goldrush ink, blender pen - CTMH, ribbon and gems, sketch from the deconstructed sketch.

For the last card I used the Christmas Cheer D1494 stamp set and the Mistletoe Level 2 and creative basics paper.


Supplies - Mistletoe Level 2 paper pack, Mistletoe creative basics paper, Christmas Cheer D1494 stamp set, cranberry and black ink, brads - CTMH, border punch - EK Success, sketch from Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge.

I hope you've enjoyed my cards today and thanks for stopping by! Now head on over to Deb's blog to see what she has created for you today.

Sharing From The Heart Blog Hop

Good morning and welcome to the Sharing From the Heart blog hop. If you have arrived here from Kristine's blog, then you are on the right track. I chose to use the November stamp of month set for my card today. This is a really fun stamp set to work with and can be used for so many things. I am sure it will be showing up on more and more of my projects. It's just a fun way to add the date!
Thanks for stopping by and now hop on over to Wendy's blog to see what she has created for this months hop!

Recipe:

Cardstock - Topiary, White Daisy
Believe Level 2 paper pack
Ink - Black, Holiday Red, Goldrush, Grey Wool
Blender pen
Stamps - November Stamp of the Month S1111
Believe WOTG - C1484
Black Gems
Sketch - Nov. Sketch For You To Try

Isn't it ironic?!

Okay, seriously bad blogger here! I mean it's been almost 3 months since I've blogged?! Really? Where does the time go? I keep meaning to get on here, but it always gets pushed back until I have more time...and guess what - that hasn't happened. There's lots to be talking about, so I guess I'll take the next little bit to get caught back up - so here goes...




The end of September we received a letter from the school letting us know that Shane had received an advanced test score in at least one category on his MAP -A test that they had done last spring, and that he and all the other students who received an advanced score would be recognized at the October school board meeting. I have to say that we were a little surprised to find out that he scored advanced in none other than communication arts. We thought it a little ironic that a child with autism - which is a communications disorder - scored advanced in communication arts. Now I know that there is a difference here, but still a little ironic, right?
We are so proud of Shane and all that he is doing. He is growing up and learning to do more and more things on his own. Way to go, Shane!

Sharing From the Heart blog hop

Welcome to the Sharing From The Heart blog hop! If you came here from Michelle Powell's blog, you are on the right path. For August we had a choice of new product, August stamp of the month, or school. I chose to use new product with the hopes of getting more done, but with my daughter's wedding this weekend, I just ran out of time!
I chose to use the beautiful elemental paper and the lace stamp from the Sweet Moments stamp set for this birthday card for my sister.

Recipe:
Elemental paper pack
CS: kraft, pacifica, colonial white
Ink: Pacifica
SS: Sweet Moments, Friendship alphabet -small
and Homestead alphabet - retired
Card recipe - Medallion from Wishes
chipboard 2 - unknown

Since Lori Miller is feeling a bit under the weather, go ahead on hop on over to Lela's blog and look at beautiful creation. Thank you so much for stopping by and enjoy the rest of the hop!

The Big Day

Well, today is the big day - our little girl is getting married! We have known this day was coming for a while now, but time just seems to fly by. This is the reason I haven't gotten much done this summer, other than wedding stuff and the reason that I haven't posted in a while - there is just so much to do in planning a wedding and everything else just takes second place. It has been a fun process and a stressful one, too, but I wouldn't trade anything for the hours that Abby and I have spent planning out the details, making decorations, and just preparing for this big day in her life. It has all been worth it, and in the end we get a wonderful new member to the family. Shawn is a wonderful young man with a beautiful heart and we could not have asked for anyone better. I wish for them to have a long and happy life together, filled with beautiful memories! Congratulations you two and we love you!

I wish I had a pet...

supplies used - 3 Bugs in a Rug patterned paper, Close To My Heart polka dot alphabet and cranberry ink.

Yes, I know, I skipped #6, but it was one of the sketches that I haven't gotten around to working on yet - and it's a 2 page layout - usually my favorite to make!

This first layout is for sketch # 7. These are pictures of Matthew in kindergarten - this fall he will be in the 8th grade! My how time has flown. The story behind these photos - the kids were off for parent/teacher conferences and Matthew had been outside playing. He came across a wooly worm and decided he would like to keep it for a pet. At first I thought the poor little wooly worm hadn't made - since it was rolled up in a ball and not moving (turns out it must have been a defense thing as he went crawling away after Matthew let him go). I told Matthew that I didn't think wooly worms made very good pets. He reluctantly let him down and told me, "I wish I had a pet..." Too cute!

Layout #8

supplies used - patterned paper by Pebbles, Inc. and Recollections, brads by Making Memories, alphabet stickers from Provo Craft.

This next layout is not my favorite by any means and I keep debating on whether or not I want to go back and redo, but it's done and I can live with it, even if I think it looks plain, so I'll leave it alone - for now!
For Shane's birthday breakfast he wanted a pancake. I decided to put a candle in it and sing Happy Birthday - since it was a form of a cake and since he loves to blow out the candles. He thought it was pretty darn cool and I think we may have started a new birthday tradition!

Layout for sketch #5

This is my layout for sketch #5 over at Inspired to Scrap. I think that this page may just be my favorite of the pages I have done so far. I love these pictures of my boys from the summer of '08. Once again these photos were laying in my "photos to scrap" pile, and I just hadn't done anything with them yet. I also dug down in my stash of patterned paper and used a piece of Karen Foster paper from 2002! Why do I hoard papers?!

supplies used: patterned paper from Fancy Pants and Karen Foster Designs, Cosmo Cricket alphas, and Fiskars border punch.

I still have a few more layouts to share, and I'm hoping to finish a couple of layouts that I have started before the deadline tonight. I won't get all 17 sketches done (there were 2 bonus sketches), but I do have half of them done which is really good for me!

Until next time...

Sketch 3 and 4 from Inspried to Scrap

This is the layout that I made for sketch 3 over at Inspired to Scrap. I had a ton of pictures from this spring when we got the slip n slide out for the first time. Matthew loves the slip n slide and could play on it all afternoon if we would just let him!
The journaling says:
Matthew demonstrating his mad skills on the slip n slide. Feet first, head first, on his back, ending in a pose - he can do it all!

supplies used: Echo Park patterned papers, Thickers alphabet.

This next layout is for sketch #4. I've been going through my older pictures lately and I'm finding a lot that I haven't scrapped yet that I really love. So what better time to get them done than now. These pictures are of Shane and his Daddy playing back in 2004! Goodness how time flies!



supplies used: Carolees Creations patterned paper, EK Success alphabet and border punch.

Thanks for looking and I'll be back a little later.

Inspired to Scrap sketch class

Inspired to Scrap has been having a sketch class all month long. A new sketch is posted every other day for a total of 15 new sketches to work with. I haven't kept up the way that I should have, but I have gotten a few done and thought that I would share some today.

This is the layout I made for sketch #1:

supplies used: Crate Paper, Martha Stewart border punch, Doodlebug rub-ons, and Thickers.

I've had these pictures of Shane in my pile of photos waiting to be scrapped for a while now. When Stacey posted the sketch I thought these photos would work perfectly for it.
The journaling says: Shane + water = FUN! When the water is on, Shane is in control of the hose. He waters everything in sight - the flowers, the grass, the trees, the animals, the deck, himself - you get the idea! And you'd better watch out because if you get anywhere in his range, you'll be his new favorite target!
I'm really surprised I didn't get soaked taking this picture since he had the hose aimed right at me when I took it!


Here is my layout for sketch #2:


supplies used: Recollections paper, Pebbles, Inc. paper, EK Success border punch, Doodlebug alphas.

These are pictures of Shane opening up his presents on his birthday this year. I loved the fact that this sketch has 6 photo spots and the row of 4 on the bottom was perfect for a sequence of photos.
The journaling says: Shane loves to watch his movies on his portable dvd player. When his old player quit working right before his birthday, we decided to surprise him with a new one. A new player and a couple of new movies made him a happy, birthday boy!

I have a few more pages to share and a couple of pages that I need to finish up.
I will be back soon.

Summertime!

Summer has finally arrived at our house! There's no more school, the pool is filled up and the kids are already putting it to good use. I don't know how they can stand it - the water is so cold, but with temps in the 90's it won't take long for it to warm up.

Aahhh! We love summer!

Graduation card

Supplies used: Scenic Route and Doodlebug papers, You and Me stamp set and cranberry ink from Close To My Heart.

This is the card that I made for my nephew's graduation tonight. Once again I've known that this day was coming all year long and yet I wait until the last minute to get in and get a card made! This card is based on one that I saw from the talented Amy Moore. I used up some scraps out of my scrap box and the fun You and Me stamp set from the You and Me kit from CTMH. I went with the red, white, and black color scheme since that is his school colors and I really like the way that this turned out.

Mother's Day cards

Supplies used: Colonial White cardstock, Mayberry Level 2 paper pack, colonial white waxy flax, buttons and olive ink from Close To My Heart, EK Success alphabet stamps, scalloped circle punch, and trim.

Supplies used: Colonial White and Twilight cardstock, colonial white waxy flax, button, and Twilight ink from Close To My Heart, patterned paper from October Afternoon,EK Success alphabet stamps, scalloped circle punch and trim.

I thought I would share the Mother's Day cards I made this year for my mom and Scott's mom. I used one of the ideas for a 6x6 card from the Close To My Heart "Wishes" idea book. This was my first time trying the 6x6 size and I really like the way that they turned out.

I'm a winner!

I found out yesterday that I was one of the lucky winners of the Walking on Sunshine crop over at Inspired To Scrap! I was so excited! I didn't get to play along nearly as much as I wanted to, in fact I only got one layout done - which meant only one entry - but it must have been my lucky day because my name was pulled out of 100 entries! Lucky me, lucky me! Here is the layout that I did get done - it was for Carol's Mother's Day challenge - you had to scrap about an important woman in your life and I chose to do a layout about my sister, Jenny. I truly do not know what I would do without her! The title is a little hard to see, but it says, She is more than my sister, she is my best friend.

Supplies used - Kraft, outdoor denim, colonial white cardstock and colonial white waxy flax from Close To My Heart, patterned paper by October Afternoon, Cosmo Cricket alphas, Doodlebug alphas, border punch from EK Success, buttons from Making Memories, and a sketch from Pagemaps.

Walking on Sunshine Crop at Inspired to Scrap

There's a fun crop going on all week long over at Inspired to Scrap. There's lots of fun challenges and games and these really fun prizes to be won! Also check out the May challenges - they are awesome!

January Birthdays layout

Items used: cardstock, Fanfare Level 2 paper pack, pennant alphabet, and ink all from Close To My Heart, based on a sketch from Inspired to Scrap.

Jenny had the party for the January birthdays at her house on January 29. Dad was celebrating birthday #72, Justin #18, Matthew #13, and Shane #11. When she made the cake, she made it half chocolate, half white. Then when she iced it she did it so that you could have chocolate on chocolate, chocolate on white, white on chocolate, or white on white. That way everyone could have it just the way they wanted it!

New challenges at Inspired to Scrap

The new challenges for the month of April are up over at Inspired to Scrap. There are some really fun ones this month. This is the layout I did for Carol's challenge #2, which was to place your title on a curve and use a big round shape on your layout. I also based this off of one of the awesome sketches from their last class. I used October Afternoon papers, cardstock and the heart stamp are from Close to my heart, some Thickers and alphabet stamps from EK Success.

I loved this picture of Abby giving Matthew a hug. We were on our way to Mom and Dad's house for the ornament exchange back on November 24. I think Abby was hugging him just to bug him a little, but it still made me happy!

I'm back

It has been a long, long time since I have been on. Hopefully that has changed. We have finally joined the world of high speed internet, so maybe blogging won't be such a time consuming ordeal. If you've ever had dial up you know what I mean. I just got tired of waiting for an hour for 1 picture to upload. So hopefully I can keep a little more up to date on things.