Monday, August 29, 2011

MSAM crop layouts

Hi! I have had a chance to play along with a few of the challenges from the My Scraps and More "Goodbye to Summer" crop that is currently going on. Here is what I have created thus far:






You still have plenty of time to join in on the fun! The challenges are due on Sept.4th for your chance to win some great prizes.
I am going to try my best to get every challenge done, but I think I may fall a bit short. Either way, it's been fun to really dig in and get creative!

Tomorrow we drive to Seattle for Ashlyn's GI appt. She hasn't been feeling well the past few days, as seems to be the cycle. I am hopeful to get some more answers to questions I have now. As we progress with this disease we are beginning to understand it, and along with that come the relevant questions, not just questioning the unknown. The Crohn's has settled in and has become a member of our family, so to speak,  as it is ever so present. It is a disease that requires much pateience, recognition, understanding, respect, and most of all flexibility. It is not going away and it will always be a part of us, so we must adapt to it first and foremost, or else it will control us, not the other way around. We still have a long road, but the day by day journeys are bearable and workable. That is how we live with this and manage it. This is what works for us now, and what propels us to continue to move forward.
Thank you again for all your support and prayers, they are a great blessing and truly appreciated. :)

I'll be back soon with some more layouts- from the crop as well as some challenges. Take care!

Friday, August 26, 2011

My projects for the MSAM crop {photo heavy}

Before I begin, I hope all you East Coasters who will suffer from Irene will be safe and have minimal damage. You are all in my thoughts and prayers.

This is the first time I have had a close loved one who will experience a hurricane, and as a mother it just breaks my heart that I cannot be there to protect Kara and hug her and assure her that everything will be OK. I am sending all my love and prayers across the country, and will be awaiting news of her safety while sitting on pins and needles.

Onto something fun now. This weekend, My Scraps and More is holding a "Goodbye to Summer" crop. Each of the design team members, as well as Tammi, the owner, or have created four fun challenges for the members. There are also some games and prizes. The crop is not limited to just the weekend- you will have all week to create and upload. I encourage you to head on over and check out all the challenges and fun!

Here are the projects I created for the crop.

supplies: pp- The Girl's Paperie, Fancy Pants Designs, Little Yellow Bicycle, and Bo Bunny; twine- The Twinery; alphas- Heidi Swapp (cb) and Doodlebug; stickers and journaling spot- Basic Grey; butons


supplies: Everything is from Echo Park Paper; Martha Stewart butterfly punch





supplies: The Paper Company CS; pp- Jillibean Soup and Fancy Pants Designs; cb- Fancy Pants; rafia, buttons, and Glue Dots


pp: Sassafras Lass and MME; sticker- EAD Designs; twine- The Twinery, bling

cs: Bazzill Bling; pp and rubons- Fancy Pants Designs; May Arts ribbon; The Twinery twine; tulle

cs: Bazzill; pp: Lily Bee and MME; The Twinery twine; rubon: Royal Langnickel

To find out more specifics about each challenge, as well as to check out the other challenges, please head on over to MSAM!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Goodbye to Summer Crop at MSAM

Looking for something fun to do this weekend? Would you like to scrap the weekend away? Then come on over to My Scraps and More and join us for our Goodbye to Summer crop! We'll have challenges and games all weekend, even prizes starting Friday and running through Sunday.


Stop by MSAM today to start in on the fun, there are some pre-crop challenges, and there are still a few days left to submit for the design team call. Looking forward to seeing you there!

Saturday, August 20, 2011

pretty girls layout

This is a layout I created for a challenge on MSAM- it was for the weekly scrap{sketch} challenge. I usually create my layout, then draw up the sketch for it, but for this layout I created the sketch first and then the layout. I really like how this layout turned out. I used the new Bo Bunny Sweet Tooth papers- love the colors in this collection! 
supplies: cs- Bazzill, pp- Bo Bunny, stickers- Doodlebug, martha stewart punch and paint

here is the sketch:

We'd love for you to come play along! In addition to daily challenges, there are other fun events- a design team call, an end of Summer crop next weekend, and more.

In non-scrappy updates- Kara went back to VA on Wednesday. I miss her so much already. It was wonderful to see her and talk to her and just be with her. She has grown so much. She has a new level of responsibility and maturity. She has done an incredible amount of living in the past year and a half that she has been in the Navy, especially the past 6 with her travels and duties. Although it was difficult  to see her go, my heart is full of joy knowing that she is happy overall; she has great friends, and enjoys her work in the Navy- at least most days. I find that comforting. I wish she were closer, I know that she will do welll. It is hard on her to be away, but we talked about it. She told me that being in the Navy is her chance to live- to see everything she can see, to learn everything she can, before she settles down. She misses home, but she doesn't want to be as close to home. It's funny how these are pretty much the same words I spoke to her almost 2 years ago, but she scoffed at them- telling me how she wanted to be stationed in WA. I told her to pick anywhere but here. She got VA. REALLY far away- in some ways too far, but knowing she will be OK, makes it a heck of a lot easier to smile a lot more in between the spontaneous bursts of tears.

Have a beautiful weekend!

Friday, August 19, 2011

Some layouts featuring Echo Park Victoria Gardens paper

This month, My Scraps and More is featuring the beautiful papers from Echo Park's Victoria Gardens collection. These are the layouts and card I created with them.





To see what the rest of the team created, you can see them here. To purchase this gorgeous collection or many other wonderful products, you can go here.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

wow, time flies when you are having fun!

I cannot beleive I haven't posted anything for weeks now- how time flies. A lot has happened in this time. Kara came home on the 8th! It's been WONDEFUL having my oldest girl home. I have missed her SO much! I love being able to hug her any time I want and to see her beautiful face as we are talking. I have enjoyed the prcious time we are spending, and I hope I am not a horrible wreck when she goes home in a few days.
We went to Lake Chelan for a few days. I am thankful that Ashlyn is feeling well enough to have been able to go. She swam quite a bit, and it was great to see her be able to be a kid for a bit.

So, I have a lot of layouts to share, but I will spread them out a bit. I'll start with this one, which is also one of my entries for the Pebbles DT call. It was also created as one of my challenges for My Scraps and More on Monday, August 1st.  I'll admit, I am getting really nervous about this one. I haven't heard anything yet and I keep on hoping that I will be one of the lucky few to be added to this amazing team. My fingers will be crossed until I find out for sure.
supplies: Bazzill cs, stickers, pp and cb flowers- Pebbles, DMC Floss

here is another I created for My Scraps and More- for the August 3rd quote challenge:
supplies: cs- Bazzill, pp, stickers, and die cuts- Jillibean Soup, ribbon- Ribbon Botique (Hobby Lobby), flowers- Petaloo

and the last one today is another challenge layout from My Scraps and More- the August 5 sketch challenge:

supplies: cs- DCWV, pp and die cuts- Fancy Pants Designs, chipboard letters- MM and Doodlebug

Thanks for stopping by! I'll be back soon with some more layouts. Have a wonderful weekend! :)