Maisy

Hello! :) Maisy is our new kitten, she's not really all that "new" anymore as we have had her for a month, but I have been slow to post about it and to create a layout. lol

She's is a little spitfire! I have never had a cat quite like her. She is fearless. We had a fire going in our little fire pit a little over a week ago and she just ran right up to it like it was nothing- she was mesmerized by the flames and paid no attention to the heat.

She even sat underneath it, which I did not get a photo of, although my daughter Skylar did. She is going to burn through her 9 lives in no time with her spunk. heehee (no pun intended).

Here is my first Maisy layout. I am sure there will be more to come. :)

1 2 3 Get Scrappy- a new challenge blog

Hi! :) I just wanted to pop on and share the link to a new challenge blog I came across. It is called 1-2-3 Get Scrappy! and it sounds like a fun concept with a lot of room for creativity. Head on over to the blog to check it out. They are also looking for Design Team members, so this is a great opportunity to jump in and help this challenge site grow. I know I am looking forward to seeing what this is all about.

Life is Beautiful

Life is beautiful, oh yes it is, especially the moments that are remarkable. Having a child who struggles with a chronic and sometimes debilitating disease is heartbreaking, especially when they really don't have a chance to "be a kid". This photo and layout is a little bit of a testimony to that, especially now that Ashlyn is starting to experience what it is like to be healthy. Although she still has several issues to overcome, will require medical intervention to keep her healthy, and has to regain strength and stamina, for the first time in 6 years she feels well enough to want to do things that a kid her age does.

She will be 14 in less than two months, and I am thankful that she still has several years of her youth left to capture these little moments. Honestly, I didn't know these days would ever come. I have shed many tears over watching her classmates grow and do things that she was unable to do. It's a huge shift for all of us to be learning to live with a child who is learning to be healthy instead of caring for an ill child. I cherish every moment that she is able to do something even as little as staying up past 9PM or sitting in a wading pool, even going downstairs to play the x-box. They are such a blessing to me and truly what makes life beautiful.

I created this layout based on the sketch challenge for the August guest designer contest on the Artful Delight blog. It is a very different look for me- it's the most graphic layout I think I have ever created, and it was SO HARD to keep all the clean white space. lol  But I wanted to challenge myself and I love how it turned out! It might be hard to see, but I added some white stitching around the grid pattern.

 

There is still plenty of time to enter your layout or card for this contest. Just look on the sidebar for the sketches. :)

Pretty Green Eyes

Hello! Today is the first reveal on The Memory Nest from the Hummingbirds, which is the team I am on. It is the Summer Challenge and Reveal #2.

Here is my layout:

 

The color palette:

 

and the sketch to use long with the colors:

 

 

Jump on over to The Memory Nest to see the beautiful layouts from the other designers!

A Big Grin- CMS #42

It's the 15th and that means another color pallet and challenge on the Color Me Scrappy blog. Here is my take on the current challenge, #42.

 

Here is the color palette:

 

the twist this time is to use wood grain.

 

Head on over to check out what the rest of the wonderfully talents ladies on the team created. I hope you'll join in on the challenge as well. I am looking forward to seeing your pages. :)

 

 

On a side note- we are back from her infusion and for the first time in over 10 years, Ashlyn's bloodwork came back with everything in the normal range!!! WOHOO!!! I am beyond excited! I hope this is a continuing trend and that it means that her Crohn's Disease is starting to kick into a remission phase. That would be so nice. She will still be taking Remicade indefinitely, but it seems to really be working now, finally! Her body has been super slow to respond, but that seems to be her "thing". She likes to keep her doctors scratching their heads and trying to figure out their little "mystery patient" and how she "works". :)

 

 

Stotytime- Use Your Words

Hi! Today is the first reveal day on the brand new Use Your Words blog. The first challenge word is story. Here is my take on the challenge word:

 

The design team is full of talented ladies with all types of scrappy styles, there is eye candy galore and inspiration for all. I am honored to be working with these ladies.

 

  Come on over to the blog and check out their beautiful work. We'd also love to see your take on the challenge word. :)

Ashlyn has her 7th Remicade infusion at the local Children's Hospital today. She has had several rough patches during the past 10 days so I am hoping to see her feeling better by the end of the week and hoping that these rough patches are just that and not the Crohn's trying to cause more havoc. She is finally enjoying the benefits of feeling good and this momma wants that to continue for my sweet girl.

chillin

Hi! Happy 4th of July to all my American friends! I hope you are having a safe and fun holiday!

I managed to complete all four of the June sketches from the My Scraps & More Sketches blog. yay!
Here is my take on sketch #35:

I created this entire layout using my stash from many, many, many years ago. :)

two layouts using MSAM sketches

Here are two layouts I created using the wonderful sketches from the My Scraps & More Sketches blog.

This first one is using sketch #33

 

this second layout uses sketch #32

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Use Your Words- a new challenge blog

Hi! I came across a new challenge blog set to launch here in about 2 weeks. It is called Use Your Words and it sounds pretty interesting!

There is a design team call going on now. I applied and encourage you all to check it out as well!

I will have a few layouts to share tomorrow, or maybe even later today. :)

CMS challenge #41 and a design team toot!

eeek! I am so excited to be on the Color Me Scrappy design team!!! I have always enjoyed the challenges, and I am grateful to have been one of the lucky few chosen this time around. I am thrilled to be working with such talented ladies as well. I hope you'll play along with the challenges if you are not already. :)

Here is my first layout as a design team member. The color palette for Challenge #41 is just up my alley! The sketch is super fun, too. I really wanted to incorporate the star because Ashlyn is my little superstar. :) I had so much fun with this layout and am thrilled with how it turned out. It's my newest "fav". lol You can check out the challenge as well as the new and returning design team members by clicking here.