Chillin layout

And again I am back with a layout inspired by Sassy Lil' Sketches. This one is from the March 21st sketch, found here.

everything is from MME, except the AC Thickers. :)

Be back soon with some cards. :)

Pretty in Green layout and a card- SLS inspired

Good Morning! :) It's a bit cool here, it was snowing when I woke up, but that has quickly turned to rain now that we have warmed up a bit. I am sitting here drinking coffee and listening to the birds sing their beautiful morning melodies. This is one of the things I always miss in the Winter, and yet never seem to realize until the Spring. Their songs make my heart happy and that is a beautiful way to start any day. :)

Here is a layout and a card I created using the March 14 sketches over at the Sassy Li'l Sketches (and Sassy Li'l Card Sketches) blog. I know I have said it before, and will probably continue to say it, but I just adore these sketches. I am working on some more now, I am a week "behind", two sketches back, but I find that they are such a great guide, especially when you are just moving things around on paper looking for that aha! moment that doesn't come.

layout sketch here.

supplies:

CS: Bazzill; PP and chipboard accents: Crate Paper, AC Thickers, Pink Paislee stickers, white paint and black pen

card sketch here.

supplies: card: Bazzill; PP: Basic Grey; chipboard: MM and K&Co.; ribbon, sticker: DCWV and bling

I hope to be back tomorrow with some more projects to share.
Have a beautiful day!

Meghan swearing in layout and update on Ashlyn

Finally got around to scrapping these pics of Meghan officially swearing in to the Navy. She's been in about 8 months now. lol Even sadder is that I have yet to get to Kara's, which was 13 months ago. I really need to get on that!

supplies: I dug into my stash for a lot of the patterned paper on this one.

cs: Bazzill

pp: MME, Jenni Bowlin Studio, and Fancy Pants Designs

stickers: AC Thickers and LYB

Last week was a busy week for Ashlyn and I. She had 5 scheduled Dr. appointments. One of those being skin allergy testing. Ever since she had a violent reaction to peanut butter back in early January, her little body has gone haywire. We now know that she is officially allergic to peanuts, almonds, and navy beans. We were also advised that she just stay away from other nuts as well, just in case.

She wasn't having a very good week pain wise, and that really presented itself late Thursday night. I will not go into detail, however she has had some weird things going on with her GI tract. She had an x-ray done Friday and the results showed that there was some "other gastrointestinal findings" which could mean anything. Of course this was the 11th hour on Friday, and her regular Dr. she has weekly appt's with is on vacation for the next two weeks, so tomrorow when I go in to have her weight checked will be interesting. I am sure there are some orders for more testing, and a visit with the GI dr. is sure to be included. And I was looking forward to a quiet week with only 3 appointments. *sigh* I am tired. I am worn out from this. I know Ashlyn's patience is worn out as well. She is snappy and irritable and has no livliness. I am hopeful for some answers soon, but as time as proven, I will not be surprised to be left patiently waiting. It just breaks my heart to see her suffering, because that is what it is. Constant pain and tears and just curled up in a ball because that is the only way she get a managable level of comfort. I wish I could take it all away from her. Right this moment.

Have a beautiful day and a wonderful week!

a layout and a card inspired by sketches

Once again, I was inspired by the sketches over at Sassy Lil' Sketches for this card and layout. 

Here is my card:
(link to sketch)

The patterned paper is all My Minds Eye and I used a darling sticker from the stickerz collection at EAD Designs. It's been awhile since I have used one and I had forgotten how great and cute they are!

My layout took a path of it's own, but it is still based off the sketch. Those darn butterflies were calling me. It might be a little much, but the girls love it and that's what truly matters. :)
(sketch link)

I used MME paper and stickers for most of it (LOVE their new collections!) and Pink Pasislee for the background. I also used some Maya Road Mist.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a beautiful day.

Kara, the USS Barry and Libya

You have probably seen the images on TV of the first strikes against Libya. Well, our daughter, Kara, is aboard the USS Barry, which has been one of the iconic images you might have seen. Here it is:

It's an amazing photo, and I have to be honest here. When my parents called me to tell me that the USS Barry was being shown on TV after they fired the first missle on Libya, my first reaction was to be excited. My girl is on that ship! The pride came first- quick and easy. I think my mom was shocked at my initial reaction. To me the thrill of the moment overcame all other emotions. It was the closest I have been to "seeing" my girl in a long time, and to see the ship on television makes her seem not so far away. Like I could just reach out and touch her.
It was only minutes later that the reality of the situation set in. Oh my gosh! My GIRL is there. On that ship. That just fired that missle. At Libya. She could have been one to have been on duty and have had to turn the key. What does this mean?! Is she OK. Not physically, but emotionally. I was worried about her state of mind, after all, my reaction was so vivid and I am not even physcially there. I could only imagine that she was experiencing some extremely mixed emotions. So the first thing I did was send her a quick email. I was relieved to have heard from her earlier this afternoon with this reply:

"Yeah, im fine. I watched them all launch last night. I have pictures and video. Its weird, because we were sitting there cheering it on and what not, but look at what we are really doing? You know? It was so weird. Exciting and at the same time terrifying. I cried here and there, not like bawling, but my eyes were watering at some points. Its scary. But so exciting. I don't know? But im fine."

I am sure this is going to affect her. I, myself, have broken into tears off and on. I am worried about her. And I am proud of her. She is doing her job. A very important job. She has never had to experience anything like this. I cannot even begin to imagine what it's like. As a mother, my heart aches for her. I want her to be home where she will be safe, and I can give her a huge hug, like I am sure she is in great need of. I almost feel guilty of enjoying the little things that she is not able to. She is living a big moment in history that will forever change life over there. She is a part of something huge. My GIRL is a part of this. I hope I am not trying to sound as if I am glorifying this tragic situation, because I am not. But as a mother I am proud and happy and excited about this experience for her.  I am also fearful, and sad, and terribly worried for her and her safety. If you are the praying type, please say a prayer for all the service members over in the Mediterranean Sea. It's going to be a long haul and they need all the support they can get.

I will leave this with a photo of my sweet girl- or should I say my beautiful young woman.

one set of photos, two very different layouts

I really like these photos of Ashlyn in her Halloween costume. They are fun and full of personality, yet at the same time show how pretty she is. So what is a scrapper to do? Of course you've gotta scrap them all! I also had two different ideas on how I wanted to create the "perfect" layout and so I ran with both of them.

Here is pretty traditional "me" style. I used a mix of papers from Crate Paper, MME and Echo Park.

And I wanted to create something a little more edgy to play off the fun in these pics, so I pulled out the white cardstock, glimmer mist and circle punches and went to town. I think this is my new favorite!

I used some paper scraps from Scenic Route, Pink Paislee, Echo Park, and Crate Paper.

I think I may have to do this more often. It's fun to mix it up, so to speak, and get extra creative. :)

Have a beautiful day!

Butterfly Crafts- March sketch challenge reveal

The March sketch reveal at Butterfly Crafts is up. Head on over there to check out the beautiful layouts the team members created and to give the sketch a try. :)

My layout features supplies from Best Creations. The warm and subtle colors were perfect for this pretty picture of Emily in her Halloween costume. The colors are so pretty irl.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful day!