two cards to share today

My Scraps & More is hosting a fun challenge/contest called Got Talent II. There are still plenty of challenges to come, but this week and next week will be catch up weeks for the challenges that have been posted thus far. I decided that this was a great time to jump in and have managed to complete several of the challenges and am hoping to be fully caught up by the end of the weekend (we'll see how that goes. lol)

Unfortunately, the camera I use to photograph my projects isn't functioning correctly, so I only havethr ee projects to share that I photographed earlier in the week before mr. camera decided it didn't want to work. *sigh*

Today I will share two cards:

this was created for mini-challenge #1: create a card using some old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. I "borrowed" sketch #52 from cardabilities.

this card was created for mini-challenge #5 which was to use a vintage office image. I used another great cardabilities sketch, #54.

I'll be back soon to share some more projects. Have a wonderful weekend! :)

Ashlyn's new teddy Memorable Seasons LSS #7

I had a productive scrappy day today, I created two layouts and two cards. It's been months since I have had a scrappy day this productive.

I will share a layout that I created for challenge #7 for the Memorable Seasons Last Scrapper Standing (LSS) contest. You can check out the challenge here.

supplies:

cardstock: Recollections

pp: Bo Bunny, Fancy Pants Designs, Crate Paper, and Lily Bee

embellies: flower- Prima; correguated heart- Jillibean Soup; stickers- Daisy D's, Fancy Pants Designs, and Making Memories

DMC floss; Americana paint; tulle

ready... set... throw Scrap~N~Sketch #11

Hi! :) I have a layout I created using another great sketch from Scrap ~N~ Sketch today. This is for sketch #11.

ready... set... throw:

supplies: cs- Recollections; pp- Simple Stories, Crate Paper and October Afternoon; embellies: Jillibean Soup, Prima, Simple Stories, October Afternoon, and The Twinery; ink

Thanks for stopping by! Have a beautiful day. :)

down under CMS #7 and a proud momma moment

I finally had a chance to finish the newest color challenge at Color Me Scrappy. It has taken me all week to complete this layout. It has been "one of those weeks". lol

Here is my layout for challenge #7: I wanted it to have a lot of layers and distressing and have some movement:

and a detail shot:

supplies:

cs: Recollections; pp: Little Yellow Bicycle (splash), Echo Park, My Minds Eye, Grant Studios, American Crafts, AC Dear Lizzy; stickers: Basic Grey and Prima; embellies: LYB and The Twinery; paint

Here is the YUMMY color inspiration:

Thanks CMS for yet ANOTHER fantastic challenge!

I have some fantastic proud momma news!!!

My oldest dd, Kara, who is in the Navy called me early yesterday morning to tell me that she had just found out that she was going to receive an award along with 4 others from her ship. She received the Navy Achievement Medal, which is pretty darn amazing, especially someone who has only served for about 3 years. The other 4 who rec'd this are all "old-timers" (her words- especially since she is the youngest and only female in her rate on her ship).

(I copied and pasted the following from the link above- it's what she had to demonstrate to earn this medal)

Professional achievement that merit the NA must:

(a) Clearly exceed that which is normally required or expected, considering the individual's grade or rate, training, and experience, and
(b) Be an important contribution of benefit to the United States and the Naval Service.

Leadership Achievement that merit the NA must:
(a) Be noteworthy
(b) Be sustained so as to demonstrate a high state of development or, if for a specific achievement, be of such merit as to earn singular recognition for the act, and
(c) Reflect most creditably on the efforts of the individual toward the accomplishment of the unit mission.

I wish I could have flown across the country to give her a big hug and tell her in person how extremely proud of her I am!!!

hail to the mighty waterfall and updates

This layout was created for Memorable Seasons using the wonderful Macho Nacho Soup collection from Jillibean Soup. I created it for the Member of the Month spotlight and used a card from the chosen member as my inspiration.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ashlyn had a gastric emptying study done on Friday. The tech pushed triple the amount of formula she would have on an hour down her ng tube to fill her stomach, and then he pulled the tube which was challenging for her- we really thought she was going to bring it back up, but she really focued and managed to keep it down. *whew* She had to lie under this x-ray/CT scanner for over an hour, which was not easy for her but she did well. She watched 'The Lion King' and managed to make it through without falling apart.

The test did show that she has a slight delay with the amount of time it takes for her stomach to empty, but nothing that will require the need of medication. Thank goodness, because she takes 14 pills a day as is. She's just going to have to live with it and eat less more often. Which is pretty much what we have been doing by running her tube feeds 24/7.

She's going to have a few more tests done this Summer to see why she cannot grow without tube feeding as well as if it is the Crohns that is causing her body to not absorb nutrients from food. We are really hoping to start re-feeding her again, which is a HUGE process. People think that it is as easy as just giving her food, but it is so much more involved. She's allergic to peanuts/nuts, peas, and white beans (there are a lot of products that are made on a line that uses nuts, so we have to read lables religously). Then there's the whole avoiding milk because she is lactose intolerant, and cannot even handle traces of milk product in her food. Oh, then there is the fact that she needs to eat a low-residue diet which is quite strict. We have to count calories meticulously and log everything she eats/drinks, and will still have to continue to suppliment the majority of her calories via tube feeds. This will take months... and we have to make sure she doesn't gain or drop weight too quickly because that is deadly for her as well. We've done it before and I can't even count the number of times I have left the grocery store in tears because it is all so overwhelming to me. I tell you, if I could have someone just to prepare her meals for me I would be in heaven! That would be a huge blessing. But that is not going to happen (can you imagine the cost??!!)

And wouldn't you know it, our refrigerator decided to die. Seriously? Had it happened in the cool of winter I would not have been so stressed, but it just had to do it when we have had nothing but high 90's. The food I had to throw away- yikes! It makes me sick. Thankfully I found one today that was super cheap and will be delivered tomorrow. It's the barest of the barest bone models, but it is so not a good time for this to happen and it is just going to have to do for now. I cannot beleive the prices on some of the models out there! They sure were pretty though....

Thanks for stopping by! :) Many blessings to you.

twiglers- Sketch~N~Scrap #10

My second blog post today. :) I came across another fabulous sketch site called Sketch ~ N ~ Scrap! I really like the different sketches and so I decided to give one a try.

Here is the sketch, sketch #10: (I stretched it out to create a 2-page layout as you can see.)

closer views:

right side:

left side:

I used the beautiful Summer Fresh Collection from Simple Stories to create this layout.

Thanks for the great inspiration from the sketch! :)

July SWAT

Here is my take on the July challenge for Sketches With A Twist. As you'll see, I really made this one my own. lol The twist this month is to add doodling.

here's the awesome sketch:

I took the sketch and turned it sideways and omitted the banner as well as strip by the photos.

I used a mix of product here: MME, Jillibean SoupFancy Pants Designs, Pink Paislee, Studio Calico and The Twinery. To get the look around the semi-circles, I painted the area white and then did some doodling atop. I then adhered the pp. That is why it is imperfect, but that's the look I was going for.

You'll need to go check out the blog to see the gorgeous work the other design team girls created! AND we have a wonderful new sketch desginer as well as two new fabulous DT girls. :)

My July kit from Memorable Seasons

Hi! This month for Memorable Seasons I got to work with papers from the fun Macho Nacho Soup collection from Jillibean Soup:

I also purchased some Studio Calico Abroad papers to use along with the kit items I was sent.

Here is a card and two layouts:

I hand cut the little ties from the pp and combined them to make the flower.

(I used a sheet of the Studio Calico for the background)

(the yellow/white striped pp as well as the grey paper under the title are from Studio Calico, bue flowers are LYB)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Before I sign off, I have decided not to extend my term as a design team member for Memorable Seasons. This is the last month of my six-month term. I have enjoyed my time, and the ladies on the board are amazing! If you are looking for a smallish, yet loving and embracing online scrappy community, Memorable Seasons is a wonderful place- I encourage you to check it it.

I am taking off for a few days to enjoy the 4th of July at Lake Chelan with my girls. To my American friends, have a safe and fun 4th! :)