Sweet Shoppe Blog » Sweet Gallery Standouts - 7/21

My layout “Little Swim Dude” is featured on the Sweet Shoppe Blog! 

Sweet Shoppe Blog » Sweet Gallery Standouts - 7/21

Hagar the Horrible & my Little Swim Dude (digital scrapbook layouts)

Here’s a couple layouts:

 

That’s my little guy, E. (yes, we call him “E”. In fact he will correct us if we call him by his proper name. The little stinker.)  The picture of him in the swim suit is from last summer. He was so funny walking around in that thing. He looked like a little muscle-man.

And in the second layout he’s playing with Hagar. Hagar was Allen’s when he was little. (and for some reason that Allen was a little boy is a fascinating subject for E. “Daddy when you were a wittle boy did they have …? Where was I?)  Anyway, Allen’s mom is very crafty and sewed him together. E wanted to be Hagar so he stole his clothes and little sword. Now we just need a Viking helmet! :)

My week’s been a little so-so. The kids came home and things became busy again. Swimming, cleaning house, laundry, more swimming, more laundry, grocery shopping, and all that fun stuff.  I’m glad they’re back. And we finally got the homeschooling stuff settled and know the direction we are headed in. The kids are doing the Virtual Instruction Program this fall. 

So now we’re just laying low because we have a vacation coming up. I’m starting to make plans and lists and all that stuff that I do before we leave on the trip. All the stuff that gets put off gets done right before vacation, right?

Pictures from 4th of July

I really miss my kids.  It’s been great to have some time off but today I’m ready for them to come home! The house is too quiet.  Fortunately, Allen got to work from home this week so I haven’t been totally alone. And after talking to the kids last night they are having a great time.  Lauren made 96 cookies yesterday with Grandma! That was the highlight of our phone conversation.

Allen and I have been watching season 2 of The Office.  I’m surprised at how many episodes I missed.  And I’m surprised at how many I could have missed and probably been smarter for it. ;) I think some of those episodes cause brain damage?

Speaking of brain damage, we also watched Baby Mama yesterday.  I was kinda surprised that it was an ok movie with a story line. We got a few laughs out of it so it was pretty good.

And tonight I’m going to see The Proposal with some girlfriends. I’m looking forward to getting out of the house! All my friends still had their kids this week so I’ve been just hanging out at home scrapping and watching movies. I did some planning too for homeschooling. We’re still waiting to hear on the virtual instruction program. So I still don’t know if it will be plan A or B. (I try to always have a plan b, LOL!)

Anyway, the week before 4th of July we went to the Lentz’s for dinner and a tie-dye party. We made red, white and blue shirts for the kids to wear on the fourth.  I have one too! And Allen’s looks like someone dumped red and blue paint down the side of his shirt. LOL!  Here’s a picture of the kids in their shirts at Lake Rathbun on the 4th:

The next day we went exploring on some of the paths at Lake Rathbun.  Allen would visit there when he was a kid and had some places that he wanted to show us.  It was absolutely beautiful!  We found this bridge on our walk:

Aiden brought his “telescope” (it’s an attachment to his Nerf gun) along and it came in handy for our junior explorer:

And overlooking a cliff that drops into Lake Rathbun:

That was our weekend.  Well, at least until Allen and I left the kids there with Grandma and we headed back home. They got to go swimming and fishing with Papa. I wish I could get some fishing pictures! Maybe next time!

(frames and embellishments from BellaGypsy & Connie Prince’s “The Fourth” digital scrapbook kit.)

Crafty Spiders (Digital Scrapbook Layout)

My kids are visiting their Grandparents in another state this week. And my idea of a good time is digiscrapping! :)  Which is great because I take way more photos than I could ever scrap!

These pictures are from last Halloween. I never felt like Halloween scrapping kits were right for these pictures so I tagged them as “to be scrapped” until the perfect kit came along. It finally happened! Heather Roselli created a crafting kit!

So here’s the layout:

It’s a two page spread, too! I usually print my layouts in 8x8 in. and a lot of photos on the page just looks cramped and they are too small.  So I thought a two-pager would be better for this one.

We put these spiders all over the house for Halloween. They were colorful and adorable. The kids (and Allen!) loved creating them!

(credits: Heather Roselli's Craft Desk; Darcy Baldwin's Craft with Scissors Alpha; Font is DJBcursive by Darcy Baldwin & Angie Kovacs ; Template from The Paper Iris)

Digital Layouts: 4th of July & Reading

My DH is such a kid! One of things we love about him! He’s always willing to be entertaining and fun!

This is actually from last year’s 4th of July.  I just realized that DH didn’t wear his hat this year.  We totally forgot about it. :(  But some of that was because we did fireworks at home on July 3rd and then went up to Lake Rathbun, Iowa for July 4th.  We saw a fireworks that evening put on by the neighborhood association. It was cold and rainy.  But the display was very enjoyable. I have some pictures that I’ll post later from a nature walk. Lake Rathbun really has some lovely sites and it is crowded like many other state lakes.

And this is from a few months ago.  I think the pictures are very sweet! Ethan loves anything Thomas the Tank Engine.  So he is very engrossed in his book.

If you are reading this on facebook, it comes across as a note.  Click “View Original Post” to visit my newly updated blog! I gave it a facelift!

Bird Watching

Last week the kids and I were enjoying a nice breezy day outside.  (BIG contrast to this week with the weather being 95 degrees!) We were reading stories in the front yard and listening to the birds when we noticed that a mama bird was feeding her babies in an old bird house that I have hanging on the front porch.  These poor birdies live in a shack! But they nest there each year and I’m also afraid to take the house down because I don’t want to disturb the babies. My kids loved watching the mama fly in with food and the two babies stick their heads out for more.  She did this about 5 times while we were out there.

I tried to get closer for a better picture. But the mama bird was so protective and would squawk at me from the tree if I got too close. As soon as I stepped back, she would fly in to feed the babies.  Here’s a picture:

Digital Layout: My Kids with Truman Tiger!

This was at the Science Fair at MU.

Credits: Jungle Antics by Heather Roselli, DJB BLUEPRINT by Darcy Baldwin 

This is my last blog post for today. I go from never posting to having too much to say. LOL!

card party last night & a new home for Fred Flintstone (our turtle)

Once a month I get together with a group of friends and we make greeting cards.  We all make the same six cards (with our own variations, of course!).  Nancy comes up with the designs for the cards and cuts all the little pieces out so that all we have to do is stamp and glue.  She’s incredibly talented and creative and every month I come home with six adorable cards!

So here’s what I came home with after a few hours of work, a couple beer-garitas, and some cream puffs! ;)

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And in other news, we found a turtle crossing the road a few weeks ago.  Aiden rescued him and Fred has been our new pet since then. He really loves to eat strawberries and cucumbers. But the box he was in was too small.  Allen created this nice box with lots of extra space and a place for him to swim. We have to take out some of the sand because he may climb out of the box.

Here’s a close-up of Fred:

these little quizzes crack me up!

You Are Salty

There's something about you that makes the world a better place.
You make life more colorful, more flavorful, and more vibrant.
You get along well with others. You always have something to add.
Without realizing it, people can become very addicted to you.

http://blogthings.com/whattasteareyouquiz/

From Our Blog to Yours (Sweet Shoppe Designs) Zoo Animals!

I'm challenged to blog about my favorite animal at the zoo.  It was a hard choice because I really like everything except for the bugs and reptiles. And even the reptiles can be fun to watch. But my all time favorites are the big cats! Any kind! And if they have babies even better.  Here is a cute picture of a tiger cub from my last visit to the zoo.  My friend Heidi took the picture:

What I couldn’t give up

It’s a blog starter from the sweet shoppe.

The one thing that I have tried and tried to give up is Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi.  Either one is good for me.  I like to change it up.  I used to only drink Diet Coke. But now it’s both. I can’t stand Diet Dr. Pepper or Diet Mountain Dew.  (The Diet Mountain Dew yucks came from drinking it during pregnancy, the weirdest craving EVER! and it was the caffeine free kind!) Now my preference is fully leaded soda but if I’m desperate and thirsty then decaffeinated will do.

The problem is that I want to give it up. It’s really expensive! And it isn’t good for me. I have cut back but not nearly enough!

Some layouts and just about my day….

Juno who is a designer at Elemental Scraps asked me to join her creative team! I’m very honored because I didn’t apply for a call, she just asked! Look at this pretty kit:

and this is what I did with it:

I used a template from Connie Prince.  I really like her templates for my 8x8 pages.  They really feature the photos! (I print in 8x8 so white space layouts can make the pictures appear really small.)

I’ve been scrapping again. Feels nice to have so many layouts done! Some are older layouts that I haven’t posted on this blog.

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It’s Dollar Day at ES! I picked up these items because I NEVER have enough digi stash. LOL!!!

And I purchased some stuff from Sweet Shoppe on Saturday.  They had a clearance and new releases that I couldn’t resist!

View Full Album

I went to physical therapy again today. I see two therapists.  One who is helping with strength training and then another who does adjustments. But they aren’t like pop-your-back adjustments.  It feels more like I’m being twisted into a pretzel! It is making me feel better so it is worth the pain during the pretzel twist.

And later this afternoon I’m heading out for a yoga class.  I’m hoping it will help strengthen my hip and my back.  I hate classes though because I feel so uncoordinated. And my range of motion is currently limited until I get stronger.  I’ll just stay in the back of the class. LOL!

Hopefully it won’t be too much longer before I post again! I want to post the picture of the Easter Eggs my kiddos made yesterday. They are soooo cute. And we’re going to be eating egg salad and deviled eggs all week. ;)

Easter Quiz

 

You Are an Easter Egg

You're so sweet, you don't need candy. You much prefer the taste of artificial coloring instead.

 

I am sweet. ;) But I do NEED candy. Especially those Cadbury Cream Eggs! Oh and the malted eggs and Peeps. I think a trip to the store is in order!

Easter Stash

I’ve been scrapping!  Some of it has been CT and some of it was just from stuff that’s been sitting in my stash.

*credits below 

Both of these using Heather Roselli’s Fuzzy Duck and Fuzzy Bunny:

I have so many more Easter kits in my stash! Fortunately, I have a few more years of Easter Pictures that haven’t been scrapped.

So if you are inspired, create an Easter Layout or two using some of those pastel kits in your stash.

In my next post will be some of my CT layouts. :)

 

*credits: Template Cookie Decorating by Tracy Ducar
I used Heather Roselli's Fuzzy Duck and Fuzzy Bunny Kits.
Font MissTiina's Chub
Font DJBKathyCScript by Darcy Baldwin from the 3-Peat Pack

**credits:  Heather Roselli's Fuzzy Bunny and Fuzzy Ducky (I took stuff from both kits)
Rachel Young's Spilled Sequins
Becki Kress' Alpha Beads
Bella Gypsy's Bracketeering Template
Miss Tiina Heart Button
Tag by Corina Neilsen
Font is DJBSusanB1 by Darcy Baldwin from the 3Peat Pack

My 5 favorite TV Shows

I've been challenged to blog about 5 shows that I've seen every episode. So here it goes.

1. The NEW Doctor Who. Not the ones from the 70's and 80's. Although those are available on Netflix so if I want to be really geeky, I could watch them. So I loved the 9th Doctor and thought it couldn't get any better until the 10th Doctor came along!!! And now he's leaving the show. I don't know much about the new Doctor. But here's a picture from the show.

2. HOUSE!!!! I've seen every single episode. I love that show. Although I'm not really sure why. LOL

3. 24: OK I'm not current on the past two seasons but that's because I watch this with DH and he prefers to wait for it to be out on DVD so we don't have to deal with commercials on the DVR.

4. Lost: Same as 24. I'm up-to-date on what's out on DVD.

5. Battle Star Gallactica: It's over. :( But I've seen every single episode of the show. I plan to watch the spin off that will start this fall.

Using My Stash! Valorie Brown's Kitten Play

I bought this kit a long time ago! It was in the $1 bin at Funky Playground and I'm a sucker for kitty cat kits since I have a cat! So, I purchased this one with the intention of scrapping with it right away. In fact, a few minutes after purchasing, I took a number of pictures of Libby.

So, if you are the type of challenger that needs a little more direction to get you going, go pick out an animal kit from your stash and scrap with it. If you don't need or like direction, then pick out any kit hiding on your ehd and scrap with it! ;) The idea is to just use a kit that you purchased (not for CT work) and scrap away. Post your links here and we leave each other some praise.

Here's my layout feature my sweet kitty cat, Libby:

And for this layout I used:

I also used some various commercial use ribbons and a font by Darcy Baldwin. The tab is from a freebie from Little Dreamer and the date on the Tab came out of Bella Gypsy's "Blind Date" grab bag.

So what's in your stash? I wanna see!

Coming soon!

I'm excited! Today I was organizing my stash and decided that I was going to use all the great kits that I have purchased over the past year. I've hit many Dollar Sales, Grand Opening Sales, New Release Sales, Retirement Sales. I'm sure you know exactly what I'm talking about! I saw a kit that I just had to have and now it sits amongst a sea of unused kits on my hard drive.

I would like to invite you to join me on this journey to start using up the stuff we buy. Dig up a kit you bought months ago and try to scrap with it! Feature it on your blog with the layout and link back here so we can encourage each other. :)

Right now the only prize you get for participating is a great layout from a kit that you purchased some time ago.

Sound fun?! We'll get started on Tuesday, March 17.