Halloween Boo Book

I've been wanting to make one of these collective mini albums for each of the kids to showcase all their costumes and finally did it. Here's my project for TSR's crop this weekend.



The bat and title was inspired by this card created by Sarah Hodgkinson.






And i'm still finishing up on the book for Micah but here's the cover page so far

Fashion Fab

I've been busy working away on some projects this week. Tune back in on Friday to see the results of what I creating for the scrap-room's first Mod Squad/Design Team Crop. Be sure to head on over to the message board and play along with all the challenges going on, it's bound to be a great time to get your creative juices flowing! It's going on all weekend long and my project, a Halloween mini album, is slotted for Friday night at 11pm central time.



I still have a pile of layouts I worked on a few weeks ago just laying on the floor in my scrap studio that still needs photos added. My printer at home is failing me...the quality is not the same so I had to do a large upload to Sam's club yesterday.



And speaking of photos, I got the opportunity to tag along on a professional photoshoot with Teresa Reed last weekend. She was taking pictures of 3 little kids and initially they were not in the mood to get their pictures taken at all! and I can sooooo relate. It was fun to watch her work her magic, she was so generous with her time in helping me learn how she meters for light. I brought along my camera and she showed me what settings she used, we had the same lens but my photos did not turn out anywhere near as good. I have no intentions of becoming a full time photographer, it's a whole lot tougher than it looks. But I would love to learn all the tricks of the trade to improve my own photos.


We have our own family photos scheduled for this Saturday with Jacque Inc. They were running a groupon special so I couldn't pass up on the $20 deal, no sitting fee and 3-4x6 prints. We're going downtown and I'm very excited about it. I've been debating on what to dress the kids in for quite some time. Isn't it everytime you're looking for a specific outfit, you can never find it but then when you're not in the shopping mode you see all these cute things at the store?




GAP had a 45% sale a week ago so I purchased a few things for the kids. I loved their Bleecker collection and got the boys some basic black/grey shirts. Micah wanted this one when I showed him the site but I wasn't so keen in him wearing a skull sweater for our family photo.





And I got this dress for myself...thinking it'll be great for xmas, and at 45% off...even better!



And speaking of fashion, I love the outfits Lisa is wearing, the 4th photo looks just my style. I love the Anthropologie boots in the 2nd one, but I can't spend that much for a pair.

And here Kelley does a comparison on clothing, love her Skimp or Splurge choices. Really like this shirt dress from Forever 21 paired with those shoes and accessories. I just don't have the sexy legs to pull it off though.





Thanks for stopping by!

Tooth Fairy & Pixie Dust

This morning I took both Kenzie and Micah to the dentist. We just made a switch to a new one because I didn't like the way our previous dentist handled the billings and it seemed they wanted us to come back every 3 months for unnecessary work. When I called to make the appt, I mentioned that I just noticed last week that two of Makenzie's permenant teeth have already come in thru her gums. And since her baby teeth haven't fallen out yet, they are pushing in towards her mouth and she's been complaining of aches. Her teeth are just a little bit loose but not enough to go stringing them to a doorknob and trying the ole' yank em out business.

Anyways..back to my telephone call...the receptionist said I could come in to have the doc look at her but they couldn't gaurantee the extraction could be done the same day since we are new patients and have to fill out all that paperwork.

Well, the doctor recommended these baby teeth go bye bye and here is one Happy Little Girl!!! She's been waiting for the tooth fairy for over a year now. ( She dresses herself and does her own hair in the morning each day for school...i think mommy needs to help her)


Micah was in there for a 2nd opinon on his front teeth. Unfortuneately, we'll be bringing him back for some additional work. On the ride back to school Micah asked her, "Sister...can you please tell the tooth fairy to leave one present for you and one for me too?!?" And she says...Micah, you have to wait til yours fall out, i've been waiting for this day for a long time.

And this evening she was dancing all around and asking me if I thought the tooth fairy would remember to come tonight. She had her teeth sealed in a little tiny chest the dentist gave her but she kept opening it up and looking at it. Once again her little brother tried..., Sister he says....can you put one under my pillow too so the tooth fairy will come see me?

LOL...i love when little kids still BELIEVE.

But the tooth fairy was not prepared to make her rounds so soon and had to stay up late to leave this on the dresser drawer for the special girl. Inside the star box was a $5 bill wrapped in blue tulle and a fairy dress ornament. Kenzie woke up at 6:30am and immediately looked under her pillow!

The tooth fairy also left this note for her. There was a trail of glitter (Fairy Pixie Dust) from her bedroom window leading to the dresser too...she was super excited and woke me up early to read her note for her.

City Park

My recipe page this month is using American Crafts City Park line. A great mix of colors for any everyday layout. The circles were cut out from the sheet of Courtland Gardens. You can't see it very well here but the centers are filled with glitter. If you have the old coluzzle tool, they are the perfect size to cut all these circles. Photos were taken on Mother's day this year.

Retreat Recap

Every day after school, Kenzie pulls her school uniform jumper off and plays in the yard with her siblings and cousins. Grandpa has this metal wagon that the kids love to play in. They all hop in and she pulls them down the dirt driveway to the mailbox.

My friend Heidi from MN knitted me these cozy pair of fingerless mittens. I LOVE them! So warm and fitting and I'll be able to take pictures wearing them this fall/winter. It was a prize for one of her scrap challenges. I've been admiring her knitting/crocheting skills for a long time so imagine my surprise when I won my very own handmade piece. Thanks friend!

Enjoying my frappachino as I waited in the airport in either Detroit or Memphis. I had two connecting flights...it was a looooong flight home.

And now for a little Recap of my wonderful weekend spent at the Hamburg Hideaway in PA. I met up with 7 other girlfriends that I've known for over 2 years..some as long as 5 years. We met thru an on-line scrapbooking kit club, TSR and have just bonded since then. It was an amazing weekend and these ladies were incredibly fun, talented, and sweet!

This was the room I stayed in which fit 6 comfortably. It was like stepping into a little girl's room with the cute flower print comforters and white iron bed headpiece.

PA is a lot like Kansas, just with a bit more hills and curves and trees. I picked up my own rental car since I missed my 6am flight and was the last to arrive. Thank goodness for my Sprint gps on my phone though...those backwood roads could be tricky driving along at night when you are on new territory!

And here we are, a buch of good looking gals if I don't say so myself. Flying in from all over the place, KY, NY, OR, MN, PA, and KS.

Deep in concentration as I'm working on my 2011 calendar. Thanks to Pam for all the great pictures she took.

We're a tight group, hugs are welcomed. The majority of us own an slr too so no shortage of photos.

Oh my, we had some hilarious conversations and when someone starts the belly laughs, it's hard to control yourself.

I had such a wonderful time and can't wait for our next retreat.

And being gone just 3 days made me miss and look forward to my regular scheduled programing with these silly beans

October Reveal

Just returning from a wonderful weekend spent in PA meeting up with 7 amazing scrapbookers from across the states. It was so nice to finally meet these ladies that I've communicated with over the years. Haven't had a chance to download the pictures yet but they will be coming.

Here's my layouts for TSR's October kits. Tammy chose nothing but the best again.

I tend to create layouts with mostly 1-2 photos because it's easier to show off the beautiful paper and embellishments. But in this one, I wanted to add lots of photos from my trip to NY and the border strips from the Crate line made it easy to finish off the page. Central park was amazing, I would love to take a stroll there during the different seasons of the year. Nothing like it in my part of the world.


Bella Boulevard - Love the mix of fall papers from this line. The DT did a fabulous job, even I want to lift from their ideas :) This was based on a sketch from Julie Bonner.

This photo was taken last year in September on our trip to California. My parents and aunt were just sitting outside our hotel room chatting and holding the kids. I don't think you can ever take too many photos with your family.

And Who doesn't have gobs and gobs of birthday photos?

This will be included in the pack of cards I'm making for Kenzie's teacher for her xmas gift.

On a funny note: This morning as I'm driving my 5year old to school, she asks me "Mommy how old are you?" And I tell her, honey, you asked me that yesterday and you know how old I am. So she thinks about it for a minute and says, Thirty-three?

that's like GRANDMA old!