Sunday, September 30, 2012

7 Months - Handle with Care Layout

Happy Evening! I have just finished up a couple of layouts based on inspiration from some lovely blog challenges.  The first uses a sketch from "Let's Capture These Sketches".  Here is my layout:


And here is the sketch #151 that I used:

My second layout is the sister to the fist layout and is based on sketch #311 from Scrapbook Challenges.
Here is my layout:



And here is the sketch:
 I rotated it, which worked perfect for the right side of my layout. 

Here are a few closeup photos:





Materials Used: Paper - MME, Paper Studio, & Creative Imaginations; flowers - Making Memories & Prima; journaling block - Making Memories; 7 - Tim Holtz Grungeboard; bling - Basic Grey, Prima, Glitz Design, & Want2Scrap; Rub-ons - Basic Grey; stamps - CTMH Love Life; ink - CTMH; quickutz - Washington; brads - MME; stickers - Creative Imaginations.

Thanks for visiting. I hope you find inspiration to play along with the great blog challenges listed above!

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Scrapping Everyday Miracles Blog Hop and Layout "Cute"

Scrapping Everyday Miracles is hosting "A New Chapter" blog hop. I must say that I hopped through and loved all of the projects and their stories were extermely inspiring. I decided to play along by creating a layout that represents a new chapter in my life.  My darling baby!

Here is my layout:

Our lives have changed significantly in the past couple of months. My husband lost his job after almost 12 years (so if anyone is looking to hire a great architect/project manager I know of a great one!). Unfortunately we had purchased a new home not two months prior and have not yet sold the townhouse (so if anyone is looking to purchase a townhome in a great area in Dallas I konw a great one!). So I am now the sole breadwinner and not at all in the place I had planned to be when our little girl turned 1!  Daddy is now staying home with Maddie, which presents its own little issues and I am left with little sleep and less patience. I am a firm believer in God's path and while we may in a valley at the moment, I am determined to continue walking with Him. I have faith in the path God has chosen for us and am taking one day at a time. Today, I am thankful for this fabulous blessing we call Maddie! She brings sunshine to even the cloudiest of days. We are so blessed that she is happy and healthy. She is preparing to walk, and I'm sure that will open a whole NEW chapter in our lives. 

Thank you to "Scrapping Everyday Miracles" for the inspiration! I encourage everyone to join along!

Here are a couple of close ups!


Materials Used:  paper - WeRMemory Keepers (sewn cardstock); journaling block - LYB (Snugglebug); quickutz - uptown girl alphabet, fasteners, & corners; 3D sticker - LYB (Snugglebug); date stickers - LYB fabric stickers & EK Success Bookworks; word stickers - K&Company; title "cute" - target; popdots - Forever in Time.

Thanks so much for visiting! I hope your weekend is spectacular!

Friday, September 28, 2012

Beautiful Smile - Maddie at 8 Months

I loved the Let's Scrap sketch this week and immediately was inspired to create a layout. I saw a couple other challenges that intriqued me, so I incorporated those as well. Here is my layout of my baby girl at 8 months.  She has such a beautiful smile, hence the title.


I used the Let's Scrap sketch 9-26-12 by Julie Bonner.


I used the Color Room Palette #130.  I started with all of the monochromatic colors; but I lost the whitewash a bit as I used a bit of brown. 


Finally, I'm playing along with the Paper Girls Challenge #16 - Baby!  How perfect is that? I hope I've inspired you to create something this weekend!

Here are a couple of close up photos of my layout:




Materials Used: papers - SEI (chick-a-dee) and Tres Jolie; butterflies - jenni bowlin; title - KI Memories (Happy Words White - Scribbles); flowers - Prima (Sweet taffy pink); 8 - Tim Holtz Grungeboard; clock - BoBunny trinkets (timepiece); stamps - CTMH playful lowercase; ink - CTMH; pin - CTMH pretty pins; brads - MME (Lush Pink); stickers - Me&MyBigIdeas (soft spoken - She's Cute as Can Be); ribbon - hobby lobby.

Thanks so much for visiting me! Little comments from my blogging friends make my day!

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Never Lose Your Sense of Wonder - New Layout

Happy Thursday! Tomorrow is almost the weekend, yeah! I completed another layout today with Maddie's 9 month pictures. Here is my layout:


I used this week's sketch #314 from Scrapbook Challenges.  Here is the double page version of the sketch:
I stitched a lot on this page and I love the pictures of Maddie reaching for the bubbles. She is such a serious little baby, but so inquisitive.

Here are a couple of close ups:



Materials Used: paper - CTMH, Imaginisce, 3BugsInARug, Little Yellow Bicycle, unknown; Stitching - DMC floss and Bazzil Stitches; journaling note - K&Company; flower - AwesomeAlbums.com; letters - Quickutz Finale & Lucy; Stickles - Icicle & Waterfall.

Thanks for visiting!  

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Maddie's 1st Birthday

Happy Hump Day! I thought it was time I finally posted the pics from Maddie's 1st birthday. I think I went a bit overboard, but if you know me then you know that is the only way I know how. I found a ton of ideas on Pintrest that I loved and set out to recreate a Baby Bites Garden Party.  It took four of us almost two days to bake everything and a couple of weeks to gather and plan; but it turned out wonderfully. I know Maddie won't remember this event, but I hope the photos and videos will show her how much we love her.

On to the pictures: 
Here was the dessert table.

Lots of "mini" desserts. 

Cake pops: lemon chiffon and strawberry cream. We used green flower foam with plastic green grass in the container to help the pops stand up.

Cotton Candy Corn: this was super easy to make. Just pop some popcorn, mix it with some almond bark and add some festive sprinkles. It was yummy too! The cupcake jars we found at Hobby Lobby.

Lemon Chiffon Baskets: for this we used Paula Deen's Lemon Cake recipe baked in the Kraft Ripple Cups from Garnish. After they were baked, we cut into the top, filled with a dollop of lemon curd and topped with whipped cream and a lemon wedge. We also tied a bit of twine around each for an added bit of charm.

Brownie Berry Trifles: The little plastic containers were purchased from Party City. We used a Ghirardelli Brownie Mix baked and then cut into bit sized pieces. We then layered chocolate mousse (made by mixing chocolate pudding and a tub of cool whip), and topped with a couple of raspberries. These were really good and really simple.

Mini Cherry Cheesecakes: These were also quite simple. We used a box of no-bake cheesecake and a can of cherry pie filling. We layered them in jars from Hobby Lobby and used a rubber band to attach the little wooden spoons. The spoons were purchased from Garnish. I stamped the text on them and used a hot glue gun to adhere the rosettes.

Candy Coated Rice Krispies: We cut these into heart shapes and drizzled candy coating over. The bucket was mod podged with scrap paper.

Candy Jars: The apothocary jars were purchased from save-on-crafts and filled with cinnamon sticks, pixi sticks, pink butter mints, and choclate filled puff strawberries.

Maddie's cake was a mini 6" strawberry cream with strawberry frosting. We used the extra for mini cupcakes and cakepops.

There4 was also mini sugar cookies on green dyed coconut, chocolate covered strawberries and chocolate covered pretzels.

We did have some non-sugared fare as well:

Veggie Cups with Ranch Dressing in the bottom:


Fruit cups

Orzo with Garden Veggies and Pasta salad


Apricot Chicken Salad and Terragon Chicken Salad cut into flower shapes.


Beverages were mini water bottles and Old Fashioned Lemonade. Paper straws are from The Party Fairy.

We also had littl take home favors that were little spades and rakes with garden animals on the end and bug catcher kits for the more daring.


And it wouldn't be a complete post without a picture of our little birthday girl!


Surprisingly, Maddie wasn't into the sugar at all. She barely touched her cake....and that was just to dump it on me! LOL. She dug into the fruit and veggie orzo though!

Here were the invitations - I made 30!

And here is the birthday banner I made:




I want to send a HUGE heart felt THANK YOU to the three people that helped us make the day so special. Miriam - I absolutely couldn't have done all that baking and preparing without you! Angie - what can I say, having you and Kayla there to help, laugh and play was absolutely perfect! And finally, my mom: who searched the internet and stores for weeks helping me to accumulate everything and even sewing the table cloths. You three really helped make it all possible and relatively stress free!

We love you Maddie!

Thanks for VISITING!

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Maddie at 10 Months in the Tub

I completed another layout today! This is a single page layout of Maddie in a bathtub. She love the bath right now and we can't keep her out of it. She is a little fish. Here is my layout:


I used Scrapbook Challenges Sketch-313. Here is the sketch:


Here are a couple of detailed photos:


Materials Used: Paper - Provo Craft (baby Girl Bath Time); stickers - Sandylion essentials(tube time); journaling block - unknown; ribbon - unknown; Thickers - American Craft (Subwy); border punch - Martha Stewart (bubbles).

Thanks for visiting!

Maddie 9 Months - Let's Scrap Sketch

Good Afternoon!

I am really trying to get back into the scrappy spirit. I did another two page layout last night.  That's two days in a row! After my 7 month dry spell, I am pretty happy! This layout is of Maddie's 9 month pictures. I used Let's Scrap sketch 7-11-12.

Here is my layout!
Here is the sketch I used:
I know this page looks simple, but it still took me 3 hours to complete. I obviously have not sped up my process.

I am also playing along with the Paper Girls Challenge - "Baby". Perfect right?

Here are a couple of close up pictures:


Materials Used: paper - Three bus in a rug (Chloe); Pebbles (HappygoLucky - Tickled Pink); flowers - heidi grace; 9 - Jim Holtz (Idea-ology); alpha sliders - spare parts; letter stickers - Jo Ann Craft Essentials (Birthday Bubble Alpha).

Thanks for visiting, hope to post again soon!  :)