WendyW Scraps!

Template Challenge @ Scrap Orchard

2012-01-24T21:10:00.000-08:00

I'm hosting Liz's Template Challenge at Scrap Orchard this month! I love hosting template challenges because I am a total template junkie! Come join in the fun here in the forums!

Here's the template we are working with...

And my page I scrapped using the template and the January Mega @ ScrapOrchard.

I have been editing photos like crazy and actually printed some! GASP! They turned out amazing and I am so excited to have them. I don't know why it took me so long to print them! I'll share some of those later...but here is one of my favorites.

Aren't they precious! I just love these girls! I love my boy too, but he doesn't really let me take his picture anymore. Until next time! God bless!

Captivated Visions New Release & a freebie!

2012-01-21T12:30:00.000-08:00

Hey all! Well, I'm happy to report that I got a full night's sleep! A rare thing these days! I want to share with you a new release from Captivated Visions at Scrap Orchard called "A Way of Life".

I really felt inspired by this kit, as the WORD that God has given me this entire year has been Philipians 4:6-7:

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Here is a tiny freebie....the wordart from my page...

Just click the image to download. Let me know if you like it!

Short & Sweet

2012-01-20T20:11:00.000-08:00

You ever have one of those days where you HAVE to have a coffee? Well, that happened to me yesterday because I was out in Canby where my favorite coffee shop is...The Human Bean. I just cannot resist their Coconut Almond Mocha!! It is sooooooo good! But boy did I regret it last night when I couldn't sleep a wink....I was up ALL night. I guess I should have had a decaf, but for some reason this is a lesson I seem to forget and once in a great while break my rule and have to pay for it dearly with lack of sleep!

So...long story short...I'm going to post and run. I want to share with you the latest kit from Irene Alexeeva, Where The Heart Is.

Here is my page...just LOVE these kiddos!

I also used a template from this great collab from Fiddle Dee Dee Designs & Little Green Frog Designs.

That's all for now...I'm off to catch some zzz's! I will bring you that freebie I promised tomorrow!

Love Lives Here

2012-01-19T21:26:00.000-08:00

It's been a tough year...Actually, it's been a bit longer than that now but the experience has yet to end. When things get difficult it is my kids that keep me going and the strength from Christ that allows me to endure. It's been such a joy to watch my baby girls blossom into little ladies. Their friendship is stronger than ever. I love to listen to them play together and feel confident when I drop them off at school that they've got each other to lean on. For their birthday I got them little silver necklaces with pink rhinestone encrusted tiaras and a heart that says "BFF". They love them and tell everyone now that they are best friends forever. It's easy to capture how much they love each other on camera....here is a page that shows that love is truly here between these two sisters.

I used this beautiful new kit from Heavens Gate Designs...CRUSH

Along with a template by Busy Bee Designs....I rotated it.

I'll be back tomorrow to post a couple of new layouts....and a tiny freebie! I've been a bit under the weather the past couple of weeks, but it means more scrapping time. Guess it's true there is a silver lining in every cloud!

Busy New Year and a Freebie Template

2012-01-11T20:53:00.000-08:00

The beginning of the year is always so busy for our family. It starts with Christmas...and kind of flows on through February. Christmas is barely over and then we've got the girls birthday! And then a month later is Aiden's. I will post and share some pics from their bday party a bit later when I get my computer issues sorted out and can upload them.

I am hosting the Member Spotlight Challenge over at Scrap Orchard this month! I made a free template based on a layout by my4boys. Be sure to hop over to the forums, HERE and download this template! It will only be available through the end of January.

Here is the layout I created from it. I was so inspired by MLE Card's new pink bundle at Scrap Orchard. The girls nursery was themed Pink Poodles in Paris....and their first Halloween Costumes were poodles. I smiled the WHOLE time I was scrapping this. I can't believe my babies are 5!

This is the beautiful new collection I used....

I have to admit, the holidays and birthdays have zapped my creative energy. Not to mention this divorce thing hanging over my head. I just had a court date last monday, which really didn't get us anywhere. Just more emotional turmoil.... Gotta find my big girl panties and carry on!

We Decked the Halls

2011-12-31T17:06:00.000-08:00

Well, anyone that knows me...or my girls knows that when we get decked up....we go ALL out! I have to say this was one of the easiest years to get Christmas photos, probably because the girls want to be beauty pageant contestants. Again...anyone that knows me...knows that I would make the WORST pageant mom ever, lol! But the girls love to get dressed up and decked out! Here is the first of many pages, I'm sure...with the 2011 Christmas photo shoot.

Credits:

Magical Christmas by Jady Day Studio and Flergs @ Scrap Orchard

Zebra Paper from Summer Fun at the Zoo by Jady Day Studio @ Scrap Orchard

Black Paper from Everyday Stuffs by Captivated Visions @ Scrap Orchard

Celebrate Templates by Scrapping with Liz @ Scrap Orchard

Aren't they precious??? Don't worry...I got several handsome shots of Aiden too! This page features products from Scrap Orchard:

And the credit goes to....

2011-12-23T16:46:00.000-08:00

Well, already I've fallen behind in posting on my blog! But I still want to share with you who created the fabulous templates that helped me with the new design. It made it so simple to do...she even includes a photo tutorial to help you install after you've customized your design! I HIGHLY recommend them. Yes...I am on the creative team at Scrap Orchard, but this wasn't an assignment, it was completely voluntary! Thank you, Liz for helping me keep LAST years new year resolution....even if it's the last day of the year! You can find Liz's templates here:

Revamping and Reviving the Blog!

2011-12-18T00:03:00.000-08:00

Ok...so I pretty much abandoned my blog for a couple of years. My new year resolution last year was to update the look and have it reflect a bit more of "me". Well....it didn't happen, so I am getting a jump on it this year!

It's still under construction...but I really like it so far! Laurie Ann of Heaven's Gate Designs created a kit a few months ago that just screamed "Wendy!" called Safari Chic. I'm using that kit, along with a few other tidbits from Laurie Ann to design my blog. Thank you, Laurie Ann...this is my favorite kit so far!

And a SPECIAL thank you to Liz from Scrap Orchard! She will be releasing these fabulous blogwear templates that made redesigning and personalizing my blog a BREEZE! I'll be sure to post the preview and a link when they are released!

Well, this is really just a test post....I've got to finish up all my tabs, buttons, gadgets and whatzits!

It's a Blog Train!!! Gypsy Couture's Grab Bag and More!

2009-04-29T21:00:00.000-07:00

I'm participating in my first ever blog train! The girls of Gypsy Couture's CT have been busy making Quickpages using her goodies from the Grab Bag at The Digi Chick! This GB is jammed full!!! And a steal for only $3....trust me!!! You can find the Grab Bag here.
Here is the page that I scrapped with it....using just one of the fabulous kits hidden inside. And I have been chosen as layout of the week at The Digi Chick! Yay!!!

And I've converted it into a Quickpage....minus my gorgeous little girls, of course, lol! Here is my part of the blog train!

There are so many other gorgeous QP's so be sure to visit all the girls! I know Lisa has a special treat for you...so if you haven't been there yet, be sure to go! And she has a giftie for those who sign up for her new newletter too! Here are the links to the rest of the girls and our fabulous homebase...Gypsy Couture!

Gypsy Couture
Sharon
Dani
Ashley
Charne
Laine
Don't forget to grab that bag!!!

Kiss of Spring

2009-04-22T23:57:00.000-07:00

Gypsy Couture is re-releasing Kiss of Spring today at The Digi Chick! I was actually so glad, because for some reason I didn't scrap with it before. I love the vines!!! And new to TDC too is her Hang Tag Alpha, it's soooo fun!

Here is my page that I scrapped with it.

And if you like my page....you can download it here.Enjoy!

I just forget!

2009-04-21T14:23:00.000-07:00

I get so into scrapping that I forget to post on my blog! I have a bout a dozen pages I've done in the last week! I'll have to pick my favs! First some Kasia layouts....The girls love to play in their kitchen that they got for Christmas. Matthias thinks if we got rid of all their other toys they wouldn't even notice, lol! But I don't think that is true. I went a little crazy at the Disney Store....and got them these adorable dresses with tutus and cute little princess pots & pans. Ava is totally into princess stuff...it seems to be her favorite word!

Then Kasia came out with her Sweet Garden Collection...there are two kits and a set of cute alphas! I did a page with Ava and a page with Bella.
I've been addicted to Kitty Designs at Oscraps too...and she keeps releasing new kits! I just can't seem to get enough of her! Here are a few Kitty Layouts...
And one more.....when we were in Cozumel, we laid the girls in a hammock....and it made for the sweetest photos! Bella got so relaxed she actually fell asleep! We had to take Ava out because she was upset that Bella fell asleep....she kept elbowing her. Anyway...when I saw this "Best of Friends" collab by Holly Designs and Edeline Marta....I knew I needed it to scrap these photos. My Two Peas....in a pod.
Wow...I really need to remember to start posting layouts here as soon as I'm done! I'll be back at least by Thursday with another freebie from Gypsy Couture designs.

New Release from Gypsy Couture & a CT call

2009-04-08T23:41:00.000-07:00

Here is the latest release from Gypsy Couture!

And....if you like my page, I've converted it into a QP just for YOU! I've included the title wordart as a separate bonus too!

Be sure to check out Lisa's blog too....hint hint...she has another goodie for you.

Gypsy Couture is having a Creative Team call! We're looking for several people to join us! Here is all the info you need to apply!

New Copycat Challenge @ Oscaps

2009-04-07T17:18:00.000-07:00

Well, after a long hiatus....at last the Copycat Challenge is back at Oscraps! I really enjoy hosting this challenge, but I got all confused and ended up taking two months off instead of just March. We didn't want any other challenges to distract from Oscraps 3rd Bday celebration. So it's going again and I'm so excited! Here's a link to the challenge....and my layout I did with the template!

The template is free! So follow the links an play along!

In a Funk

2009-04-06T19:18:00.000-07:00

I've been in a funk for about a week now...it all started with the software that I use to organize my scrapping stuff with went haywire and dumped over 1400 folders into one! with no subfolders! I'm sure it was user error...but it would have been nice for some error message to pop up and say, "are you sure you want to do this?"...cuz I definitely would have said no. It took me almost a week, working non-stop to manually re-file everything, and I still have a random folder of stuff that designers didn't label properly. If a paper is labeled "paper1" and gets moved from the folder...it's impossible to know who designed it and what kit it came from! Ok...rant over.

I do have some layouts to share with you that I did before all of this happened...I just couldn't post until release dates and then forgot...

I think I've talked about our trip to the park when my mom stayed with us. It was really a fun day...and I got this picture of the girls walking on the sidewalk together.
I had a lot of fun scrapping it with this new kit by Joanne Brisbois. She's being featured at Digishoptalk for the month of April! This kit is a free download to all gold and diamond members of DST.

The next is a gorgeous kit by Kasia....released last Friday, called Twilight. Doesn't have anything to do with the book series...lol! But it it very quirky and fun. As soon as I saw the large flower I envisioned one of my girls sitting there.

And I've saved the best for last. Kitty Chen has grouped together some of the most fabulous designers in the industry to create a wonderful collab for charity. All the proceeds from this kit will be donated to a friend of Kitty's whose son has been diagnosed as PDD-NOS and cannot afford therapies. You can read more at Kitty Chen's Blog.
That's my sharing for today....I'll be back Thursday with a freebie from Gypsy Couture!

I'm on a roll!

2009-03-29T23:37:00.000-07:00

Well, I've gotten a lovely spurt of creative mojo! I've been scrapping like crazy! I can't share them all yet...since some of the kits haven't been released yet....but here are a few that I did this weekend. Laurie Ann of Heaven's Gates Design was a guest designer at SPD this month, so I got the pleasure of working with her kits! She's been a favorite of mine for quite some time now...and I had so much fun!

My mom and I took the kids for a walk this past week and I snapped a bunch of fun photos. This is one of my favorites of Bella in her Tinkerbell hoodie. The green inspired this layout...

Click Image for Full Credits

And here is one of Aiden when he was about 18 months old. I used Laurie's Big Dreams & Pocket Treasures Kit.

And the last layout I have to share is my favorite... I used an unlikely photo...that normally I would never scrap, and turned it into a page from a fairytale! Here is what the original photo looked like:
I extracted her from the photo and flipped her so that she looked like she was reaching for the handle of the carriage. I also altered the carriage to put her Frog Prince inside, lol! This was such a fun layout to make!

Well, I have more to share soon! And I had a "photoshoot" with the girls today. They weren't exactly cooperative...but I got some cute shots. Enjoy the start to your week!

Obsessed with Parisan Kits

2009-03-25T14:12:00.001-07:00

I admit it...I'm completely obsessed with Parisian Themed Scrapkits! I just love them! The only photos I have left are my photos from our trip to Paris in 2006. I need to make a whole book of them...but for now I just have a bunch of random pages, lol!

Aiden is actually sitting on the side steps of Basilique du Sacre Coeur, which mean Church of the Sacred Heart, in this photo. It was January and sooooo cold!

We're standing in front of the Eiffel Tower in this shot...it was so much fun to be out with Aiden. He was only 21 months, but said, "Merci" everywhere we went! I can't even get the girls to say thank you in English!!!

I anwered a one kit call from Sylvie of Digiscrap.ch and got the pleasure of scrapping with this kit!

And my favorite Paris layout so far...I didn't even use pictures from Paris! Ava & Bella's room is themed, "Pink Poodles in Paris". All of their bedding and room decor is pink, white and black and has poodles and little french sayings all over it. Their first Halloween they were dressed up as Pink Poodles. I created this page with a new collab from Catherine Designs and Bisontine to hang up in their room! I'm so pleased with how it turned out!
Here is a link and preview of the kit I used....it is amazing!

That's all for now! I guess I'm ready to go back to Paris!

New Releases from Gypsy Couture and a Freebie!

2009-03-19T14:48:00.001-07:00

Lisa's been busy! She has two new releases this week! The first is at Plain Digital Wrapper called, "Midnight in the Garden". I love the fantasy feel too it....so I turned my little girls into fairies!
And another fabulous kit at The Digi Chick! My little Bella just loves books! We took some pictures of her reading her coloring book...just too cute! And this kit was just perfect for my little bookworm!

Last, but not least...here is a freebie for ya! I hope you like it...leave me a message if you do!

Click on the image to download

That's it from me today! Have a good one!

What a cute boy

2009-03-19T14:01:00.000-07:00

I recently had to reconfigure my laptop because I got a nasty virus. Well, in doing so I found so many old photos that need to be scrapped....and reminds me what an absolutely adorable little boy Aiden was! Oh, he's still adorable....but he was just edible at 2! This was from our family photoshoot in 2005.

Isn't the kit I used perfect? It's Woodland Retreat by Catherine Designs @ A5. I just love her designs! I just love remembering these days as I scrap them! The last few layouts I've done have really evoked a lot of pleasant memories!

A Train Trip in the City

2009-03-19T13:52:00.001-07:00

One of my absolute favorite memories was when we had a 3 day layover in Paris on the way home from Lebanon. Aiden loved trying the new food and hearing the different languages, he was so amazing for 22 months! He even got over excited one day and ran into the elevator by himself! He rode up with it where people had called the elevator...and then rode it back down. Yes...it freaked me out...but the memory of his smiling little face when he came out makes my heart warm even now! On the day we took the Metro he loved it! And as the day faded into night, the lights of Paris started twinkling out the windows of the train. Aiden would get so excited and point out the window screaming "City! City!". I scrapped this memory...in kind of a non-traditional way with a recent release from Kasia Designs.

The past few weeks...

2009-03-13T22:10:00.000-07:00

So the past few weeks have been pretty rough. First, I landed up in the ER one morning with the worst abdominal pain I've ever had in my life! Turns out my Gall Bladder was full of stones...so they gave me pain and anti-nausea meds and sent me home to wait for the surgeon to call and set up an appointment. By the time my appointment rolled around almost a week later I had a terrible cold or the flu! So I had to wait another week to recover from from the cold before I could have surgery to remove my Gall Bladder. My surgery was on March 5th (a week ago Thursday). And since then it's been slow going....

And of course I've fallen behind in a lot of my CT work, I began to feel overwhelmed. So I decided to cut back a bit and stepped down from the site CT at Funky Playground Designs. Tough decision, but hopefully it will allow me to dedicate more time to my other scrapping commitments. Oh...on that same note....one of my favorite designers that I CT for, JenU has decided to longer have a creative team. This TOTALLY bummed me out....I was so excited to be a part of her team....

But I have been busy scrapping....I'll share a few of my favorite layouts from the past couple months...until I get caught up, lol!

I'm hosting the Gherkin Hues Challenge at Shabby Pickle Designs for the month of March. The challenge is to scrap a monochromatic layout in green. It was kind of fun to scrap a photo of one of my baby girls in a layout other than pink! lol!

That's my tiny baby Bella sleeping on the moon! She hadn't even left the hospital yet!

I scrapped an older picture of Aiden playing in the creek out at Eagle Fern Park. He didn't care how cold the water was, and it was the first outing with my Cannon.

And I used this awesome collab kit, Garden Friends by Gypsy Couture Designs & JanaM at The Digi Chick.

Here are a couple of layouts with goodies from Oscraps....click on layouts for full credits.

I finally uploaded the family pictures that our friend, Mike Cumings took. He did a great job! I love this candid one...there is no way all five of us could look at the camera at the same time.

And the last layout I'll share with you now is one of my favorites I've done in a while. I think it's because I remember taking these photos of the girls...and buying those adorable dresses. And Ava sat there so perfectly...like a little doll.

It's with this New Release form Gypsy Couture:

That's pretty much what I've been up to! I'll be back again tomorrow!

My Poor Neglected Blog

2009-02-12T14:39:00.000-08:00

Well, so much for keeping my blog updated....I have a folder FULL of layouts to share. I haven't really been feeling all that great since my outing with the girls and my mom two weeks ago. I'm still recovering from Aiden's 5th birthday party from last weekend. He had such a great time...I still haven't uploaded the photos from my camera....once I do, I'll share them with you! Wait until you see the cake and the goodie bags! I have to admit...it was pretty awesome! I can only take credit for the goodies and decorations, though...my dad did the rockin' cake!

My girl Lisa....aka Gypsy Couture has started selling at The Digi Chick! I'm so excited for her! I have two new layouts to share with kits that are premiering today!

I'm so proud of this layout...It's the first time that I ever made a perspective layout from scratch (usually the perspective flooring is part of a kit and pre-made). What I love most about this layout is that Matthias and I never really had a ballroom moment like this, lol! Not that I'm complaining...but the original photo was taken during our wedding on Makena Beach in Maui!

And my second layout is of the girls again....I must be missing babies....they were soooo tiny! And they are such little girls now...most of the "baby" is all gone....

If you like this page...you can pick up the Quick Page by clicking on the image.
That's all for now....I'll have to slowly start posting my pages from the past two weeks, lol! Leave me some love if you like the QP~

New Releases from FPD

2009-01-26T12:46:00.000-08:00

It's a sunny day today! So my mom has hopped in her car to come spend some time with us. I got up and got the girls looking cute, but then didn't have the energy to get myself looking cute. Such is life.

Anyway...I scrapped two layouts this weekend with new releases from Funky Playground Designs. The first is of the girls at their birthday party...neither look very happy.....
And the second layout is of Ava when she was only 6 weeks old. I didn't have my better camera back then...and couldn't figure out how to pose my little tiny babies...so the pictures were rather awkward.

I think we're going to try to go to the new place up the street that is a cafe for both Parents & kids. I've been wanting to go there forever! That's all for now!

ADSR Layouts

2009-01-25T18:22:00.000-08:00

We're still racing! Sometimes it's hard when you don't feel like scrapping, or when the challenge isn't inspiring. Then it really becomes a challenge....But we are still scrapping and having fun!

Challenge #5 was to scrap a page using three different frames but no photos. I decided to make a valentine type page to print out for Matthias for V-day (I love you, baby...if you ever read my blog, lol!). I used the incredible designs of Lori Davison and her latest collab with Kitty Chen, Blooming Sweetheart at Oscraps. What an awesome collaboration! Here's my page...
Cynthia made an amazing page with shadow boxes. She put a little work of art into each box! I could look at it for hours and see something different every time! It's awesome!

Challenge #6 was a "road block" for only one partner to scrap. I scrapped this time...I was suppose to take a page from my partner's gallery flip it either horizontally or vertically and then rotate it 45 degrees, and use that to scrap my page. Oh, I also was suppose to use the exact number of items that my partner did on the original layout. This is Cynthia's original page:
And this was my first attempt....I liked it a lot...
But then I realized that I had rotated it 90 degrees, so I had scrapped the challenge wrong. So I had to re-do it. Here is the corrected version, which I don't quite like as much as the first.

I've got more layouts to show tomorrow....it's new release day at the Funky Playground. See you then!

Once Upon a Time

2009-01-24T17:56:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favorite layouts that I've done in a long time. It took me hours! I just love this new kit by Kasia, called Whimsical Poetry. And for a limited time she is giving away QP's with the purchase of the kit!

I really like how my layout turned out...It originally was a photo of the kids in a wagon at the pumpkin patch. But with the magic of digital scrapbooking, they are in a whimsical fantasy land.

Another Gallery Stand Out!

2009-01-23T23:55:00.000-08:00

It always feel good when someone picks your layout as a favorite and puts it in the "Gallery Stand Out" thread at DST. I scrapped this fun layout of the girls with Krystal Hartley's new kit, "Beautiful World". It's on sale at Scrap Orchard for the first week...and she's selling that fabulous alpha separate, so if you just want to pick up the alpha you can.
And she has a coordinating freebie on her blog that includes my word art from my page!
It's such a fun kit! I've got more layouts to share...but it will have to wait...I'm too tired. I'll be back tomorrow with more!

Yesterday's Layouts....

2009-01-23T18:09:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post to show you layouts I did for yesterday....featuring products from Funky Playground Designs. The first is Ava from last January.

The second is also of Ava from last October in Mexico.

That's all for now! I'm busy scrapping!

Love Me Do & a Freebie!

2009-01-21T09:57:00.001-08:00

I've had that song stuck in my head ever since I downloaded this kit, lol! I love the earthy colors in this one! And it's on sale for only $3 at Plain Digital Wrapper today!
Here is my page...Ava was cuddling with Mommy for once! Okay, okay...I had cheese and crackers to entice her...but still, I love any moment I can steal affection from this child since she is such a daddy's girl.
And if you like this page....you can have it for free! Just click on the image to download.

That's all for now! Enjoy! And drop me a line if you can!

ADSR Layouts

2009-01-20T16:50:00.000-08:00

We're having such a good time with the race challenges. Challenge #3 was to create a layout together. Our page is of Emma, Cynthia's daughter. She is pretty much the same age as the girls, except that she is much more advanced. She draws and paints!
The third challenge was to create an "artsy" or "altered layout. Cynthia went with the artsy....and I went with the altered.

The journaling on mine reads:

"Life would be so different if I didn't have my very own court jester. Since the first day I met him, he has made me laugh and made me smile. It's not that life is perfect...it's that he adds humor to everything. Some of our best memories are us just being silly! I remember the first time my parents met Matthias...I told my mother he makes me laugh. He is the love of my life. He is the one that makes all the pieces of the puzzle fit into place.

Live....Laugh....Love...."

Challenge #4 was to re-do the first page we posted to any particular gallery. We couldn't add any photos or other words, or take away....it had to have the same title, words & photos as our previous layout.

Cynthia's original page:
And her re-do

My original layout:
And my re-do....I put it into more traditional wedding colors.
I'll be back tomorrow with a new release from Gypsy Couture and a freebie!

Gallery Standout!

2009-01-19T14:53:00.001-08:00

Oh, I'm so excited! A layout that I finished last night got special recognition at Digishoptalk (that is like homebase for digital scrapbookers). It's a picture of Ava giving Daddy a kiss at their birthday party. This year we didn't have a huge party...it was just immediate family and some friend who we consider family. This was just a sweet moment of Daddy and his little princess.
I used this adorable kit from Kasia. She's a guest at The Lily Pad this month.
I'll be back later to share our ADSR layouts!

This is harder than I thought...

2009-01-18T21:46:00.000-08:00

It's hard to keep up with a blog! I have a hard enough time posting my pages everywhere...by the time I'm done, I'm too tired to come post them here. But I love the idea of having a place I can share a little what's behind the layouts I'm making.

Jen U came out with this GORGEOUS Valentine's Day kit. I just love the roses with the baby's breathe!

Of course I had to scrap me & my sweetheart. Don't we look young? lol!
Tomorrow I'll share Cynthia & my layouts we completed for the 3rd week of the ADSR (I guess I'll post week 2 as well, since I forgot). I'm off to read a book...I've been doing a lot of that lately.

Kasia's latest release and a tiny freebie!

2009-01-16T02:19:00.000-08:00

I have a tiny freebie for you today....I made some word art to go on my layout I made with the latest release from Kasia Designs.
If you like the word art on my layout...you can download it here or click on the image below.
Enjoy! I'd love to hear from you, so leave me a comment!

Copycat Challenge @ Oscraps

2009-01-15T19:31:00.000-08:00

Twice a month I host a challenge at Oscraps. I pick a layout from the gallery there, and make a template from the page. Then I give the template away for free and people use the template to "copy" the chosen page. It's quite fun! And I love hosting it. Here is the challenge for January 15th....if you click on the image it will take you to the challenge (and the download link).
And here is my page...using Kitty Chen's new collab with Vinnie Pearce "Wishes & Dreams".

More tomorrow!

More layouts...

2009-01-15T13:57:00.000-08:00

Rough day today....but I have a few layouts to share. I love this outfit that Oma Linda bought the girls....I hope it still fits next summer, because the only time they got to where them was for these photos. As you can see...they were difficult during our little photo shoot, not sure why I've been having such a hard time getting them to take pictures.

Kasia Designs is a guest at The Lily Pad this month. I used her new goodies and some other pieces from their Febraury BYOC collection.
With Valentine's Day coming up....digital designers are all shifting to love-themed kits. Krystal Hartley is releasing this adorable kit for just a $1 today only!
And this is the layout I made with it...with a recent photo of Matthias and I at the girls' bday party.
I didn't sleep well last night, which always means a rough day to follow. In the past, these were great days to scrap...but recently I've been zapped of all creativity, struggling to finish pages.

I'll be back tomorrow with a new page from Kasia Designs and a little tiny freebie from me!

New Layouts

2009-01-14T13:38:00.001-08:00

Ack! I've already been neglecting my blog! And I have so many new pages to show you! We celebrated the girls' birthday last Sunday with a small party...just immediate family and a few close friends. It was hard on me, but when I saw the girls glowing in their princess dresses...I decided it was worth it. Matthias bought the girls fancy dresses back in August...and the girls had been admiring them since then. Ava started jumping up and down when she saw me take it out of their closet. She loves getting all dressed up.

Auntie Tyree bought the girls some fluffy princess slippers...they are so cute! But they have about an inch platform sole, and made it difficult to walk. Ava didn't care. She wouldn't let us take them off...she freaked when we tried! Here's a pic of the slippers....

Here is a layout I did with the newest photos of the girls. Ava refuses to smile for the camera...you'd think it would be the opposite since she's such a diva, but no...she turns her head or scowls.

I used the latest new release from Holliewood Studios, Hoot Do You Love? Isn't it cute?

I was really feeling nostalgic about the girls turning two...and scrapped another page from their birthday...their original birthday, lol!

Kasia's been designing like crazy....this kit was released last Friday!

While I was feeling nostalgic....I scrapped a page from our Wedding. Matthias and I had to argue a bit over how many years we've been married....six going on seven! Hasn't felt like it's been that long, and yet I feel like I can't remember life without him!

Another new kit by Kasia!

whew....long post today! That's what I get for not posting in a while...I manage to at least scrap one page a day, so they add up! Here's a page with Bella on Christmas Day opening her tea set...

This kit is on sale for 25% off at Oscraps.

Aiden is always wanting to see the pages I made of him. I drug myself out of bed when we got snow so I could take pictures of the kids. Aiden loved playing out in the snow and seems happy I have pictures of it. He didn't quite understand the "artistic" viewpoint of my layout though...he asked why the big picture wasn't in color, lol!

I still can't believe I made it onto Jen U's creative team! That is my most recent team I joined. I love all of her designs! The kit I used is called "Knocking on Winter's Door". It's a collab with Phuong Ton and is available at ScrapbookGraphics.

I'll try to update my blog daily from now on, lol! It's hard to catch up all in one day!

Anybody reading this? Anybody out there? Leave me a line!

A couple of challenge layouts

2009-01-08T13:15:00.000-08:00

I've been scrapping! Sometimes when I'm running low on creative mojo, I participate in challenges to jumpstart my creativity. I've been feeling particularly yucky the past week...and not surprisingly I've felt totally drained of all creativity. Here are a few challenge layouts I've done....

For the Scraplift challenge at Shabby Pickle, we were asked to scraplift Jazzmin (a designer at SP). What is a scraplift? Well...it's basically where you copy someones page....whether you copy the layout of the page or the theme, or even just the colors. Here is the page I chose to lift:
And here is my page:

The next challenge is a challenge at After Five Designs, and we were asked to use this template on our page:
And here is the page I made:

I'm still not feeling overly inspired...but I was pleased with how these layouts turned out.

Oh! I almost forgot! Today is Dollar Day at Funky Playground Designs. They put new products on sale for just a buck! I used this kit by Laura Bratcher.
And here is my layout...

Not much more going on...Aiden returned to school this week, so he's happy. The girls are sick again, or are teething....either way their noses are running and they are sleeping a lot. I'm hoping they'll get feeling better....we're planning on throwing them a birthday party this Sunday! I'll be back tomorrow with more layouts!

Amazing Digi Scrapping Race & a Freebie!

2009-01-07T14:18:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited to be playing in the Amazing Digi Scrapping Race this year with my dear friend, Cynthia! It's a race that is sponsored by Natural Designs in Scrapbooking. It is sponsored by many other scrapbooking websites that provide "stops" for us. Each stop has a challenge and we win prizes for each challenge we complete. Here are our layouts for challenge #1.

Cynthia's layout:

And my layout:

My layout is scrapped with a new release from Gypsy Couture Designs! I just love the peacock feather! It's on sale today for 40% off!

I have converted my layout into a quickpage...so feel free to grab it if you'd like. It's my very first freebie on my blog! Just click on the image to download. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

Enjoy!!! I'll be back tomorrow with more layouts!

My Babies are Two!!!

2009-01-06T18:59:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe that my twin baby girls turned two today! It seems like just yesterday I was in the hospital waiting their arrival. I know any parent of twins will tell you that first year is the hardest...I just don't know where the time went! I felt like a zombie most of the first year of their lives and the second, I feel like passed in the blink of an eye!

They are both growing so tall...there isn't much baby left! We have two adorable little girls! They are so much fun and keep us very busy. Although the Dr. was concerned with their verbal skills....they communicate rather well. They talk to each other all the time in their own special language. They will turn to us and speak the same gibberish and wonder why we can't understand them.

My favorite time during the day is after they wake up from their naps and giggle and talk between the two of them. Sometimes I will just stand outside their door and listen...it's so funny! But as soon as you walk in, the activities stop...leaving you to wonder what they were up to.

Anyway...in honor of their birthday I'll post this page I made a few months ago. It was taken in the hospital the night before our babies arrived. Click images to see full credits.

And here are my babies the day we took them home...

That's all for today. Tomorrow I'll share some more layouts and I even have a freebie to give away!

It's looking better....

2009-01-05T11:03:00.000-08:00

Woo Hoo! It's looking more like a blog! I just love the graphics designed by my girl, Krystal Hartley. They are on sale today at Funky Playground Designs.

There are also a few more new releases today...here's a layout that I made with a some of them...

Ugghh...this is harder than I thought....I can't link all the images and stuff I used....lol! So you'll have to be satisfied just looking at my new layout!

Blog is still under construction, and I'm still learning.....so be patient with me, k?

New Year's Resolution

2009-01-04T17:13:00.000-08:00

Well, it's already the 4th of January...I suppose I should start thinking about accomplishing some of my New Year's Resolutions. I won't bore you with all of them....but one of them was to start and maintain a blog.

My life these days is not that exciting due to my illness, but I do scrapbook a lot. I've been enjoying taking photos of my adorable children and scrapping pages, and a blog is an ideal spot to share those with my friends and family.

I hope to jazz it up soon with some custom graphics...but for now I'm just happy to have my own little bit of cyber space.

Yay! I made it through my very first blog post!