scrapologie

Lemonade Days

 

My baby girl just spent the last ten days with my husband's parents in Nashville (the longest I have ever been apart from her), and I missed hearing the pitter patter of her little feet and her endless questions about everything under the sun. My husband brought her back home today and I was overjoyed to see her again and cuddle and smooch her. As much as I know that time with the grandparents is good for her (and also for them) -- I found myself in a complete blue funk after she left. This doesn't bode well for the day when she will eventually leave home for good. I always thought that I was someone who had plenty of interests and activities that would keep me happily busy in retirement and when I am an empty nester, but the last ten days has proven that I am lost without my little girl. She will turn six next week and in the midst of planning her birthday party, buying presents and the general excitement of the day, I know that a part of me inside hurts on every birthday - because every step ahead is a step closer to her growing and eventually leaving childhood behind forever -- something I am not ready to deal with. Sigh.

While she was gone, I did get over to Archiver's and spied the new Lemonade and June Bug collections from Basic Grey. Both collections are gorgeous. I was able to whip up this card to share with you (I thought it would actually make a sweet Valentine card). The chipboard pieces are from the Lemonade collection, the patterned paper is from the June Bug collection (it's a B-side). The little hearts are wee magnets bought during a prior valentine's season at the Target dollar spot. The stamp is from Northwoods Rubber (available at Archivers). The glittery pink heart is from Melissa Frances.

Another busy week ahead. Don't forget to check out JBS Studio Inspiration Blog for some peeks at the upcoming July Kit - which is completely luscious, btw! The reveal will be on the 1st so be sure to check it out - the colors in the kit are just amazing. Have a great Monday!

Summer Strawberries

Sorry I have been MIA. I have lots to share. I have been busy with DT projects for Jenni Bowlin and Melissa Frances, and some other projects on the side as well.

First off - the winner of the drawing for the card I mentioned a few posts ago is Sharon - her's her post:

Sharon A. Kyser said...

Happy Birthday to ALL of you! Love those cards. I make several cards each month to give to our church to use and I enjoy the process! Stop by I see the three giveaways that I have going until June 7th.
Again, Happy BD!
Sharon A. Kyser
saf47@yahoo.com
SharDon Exclusives.blogspot.com

Congrats Sharon! Email me your address and I will ship your card to you!

I have been really digging strawberries from all the lovely fruit card inspiration on Melissa's blog. I found a huge strawberry die at my LSS and used it to cut a window and make some berry sweet cards! Instead of using the diecut, I decided to use the negative space and backed the window with patterned paper, sewing around the edges and adding some embellies. The sentiment stamps are from Papertrey Ink. I have been loving Melissa's work with the stamps from Papertrey Ink and couldn't resist ordering a few along with some inkpads. I used the Perfect Match Hybrid Ink in Vintage Cream and the Mega Mixed Messages Stamp Set.

 

 

 

 

Here's something else that's been keeping me a little busy! Say hello to Murphy. That's his favorite spot - the air vent because it's a cool spot in the house.  He's almost doubled in size in a month and he's doing great with the housetraining. He's absolutely lovable. Off to Cleveland for work tomorrow. Catch ya later!

 

 

The Love of A Child

 

Despite the morning rush, which often includes me in a harried and impatient state, participating in the daily circus of getting everyone off to school and work, God sends me little messages to humble me; to remind me to be patient. To be loving. To be kind. To see the world through the eyes of a child. I was in the shower when Bob and Alekha left for school and work. And yes, I had done my usual share of corralling, harping, and threatening to get everyone moving out the door. This morning was no different than any other.

Many mornings Alekha comes to me and asks me to write her a note that she will carry around with her during the day, a reminder of how much I love her which she will proudly share with her other little girlfriends, (whose own mommies do their fair share of note writing as well). This morning I received this sweet, simple, selfless gift from my child; she asked for nothing in return. A note scribbled in crayon on the back of a used sheet of stickers, left on the kitchen counter for me to see in hopes that it would bring a smile to my face and warm my heart. In fact, it brought tears to my eyes. Children are the closest thing to God we will ever know.

If I Had My Child to Raise Over Again, by Diane Loomans

If I had my child to raise all over again,
I'd finger-paint more, and point the fingers less.
I would do less correcting and more connecting.
I'd take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.

I would care to know less and know to care more.
I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.
I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.
I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars.

I'd do more hugging and less tugging.
I'd build self-esteem first, and the house later.
I would be firm less often, and affirm much more.
I'd teach less about the love of power, And more about the power of love.

 

Here is a quick card I created last night. The damask stamp is from Melissa Frances, as is the morning glory soap label. Flowers are from Making Memories, and the scalloped notebook sheet is also from Making Memories. Lots of ink and stitching. Rubon from Melissa Frances. More to share later this evening! Enjoy the rest of your day!

 

Blowing bubbles...

We've had a sudden cold spell accompanied by rain and thunderstorms, bah! So I've been at home dreaming of warm summer nights, running barefoot through the grass, blowing bubbles and catching fireflies in glass jars. I know those lemonade days are not too far away -- I can hardly wait for summer to get here!

Here are a few recent cards I created for Melissa Frances and a gift set for Alekha's kindergarten teacher:

The first card features Melissa Frances patterned paper. The onesie, crown and Little Princess phrase are all from Melissa Frances' Celebrate Baby stamp set, I also added a sticker from Melissa Frances Designer Stickers and an MF rubon. I also added MF crocheted trim, some bling, flowers and Tim Holtz ink (Vintage Photo).

This card features lovely floral images from Melissa Frances' Summer Breeze stamp set, plus more Melissa Frances patterned papers. I added May Arts polka dotted ribbon, a paper flower from Making Memories, and a chipboard butterfly from K & Co. Lots and lots of ink - I like to use Versa Magic Multi Surface Chalk Ink. It goes on so pretty - I layered some colors right onto the stamp to give the flowers a bit more color and dimension. When you layer color, always apply your light color to the stamp first, then dab on the darker color around the edges and in spots.

Another tip for you stampers --- I love to apply ink with a foam brush. I pick them up by the bagful when they go on sale at Michaels. I have lots of other tools to apply ink but the foam seems to work the best for me. I just rub the foam across the stamp pad, test a small portion, then apply it directly to the paper.

This last project was made with Imaginisce Teacher's Pet papers and embellishments. I made a card, altered notepad and a treat holder for Alekha's kindergarten teacher, a parting gift to thank her for her work this year. Alekha wrote a message on the inside of the card and got to give it to her teacher. I bought the yellow M&Ms at Michael's and filled it in altered blister packaging from an EK Success punch also purchased at Michael'sOn the notepad, I did add the gorgeous lime lace trim from my Jenni Bowlin Studio June kit, along with the lime scalloped border also from the same kit. The "One in a million" sentiment is also a Melissa Frances rubon.

 

That's it for today... I'm off to bed, good night, or good morning, depending on where you are!

Jenni Bowlin Studio June Kit Projects

Doris gave us the green light to go ahead and share our June kit projects (the entire DT gallery should be uploaded today). Here is my contribution from this month's main kit. This was such a fun, summery kit. The key lime and tangerine are a perfect color combination to kick off the month of June. My favorite kit item was the orange glass glitter and the gorgeous german scrap butterflies -- so lovely!! Detail shots and full descriptions will be posted in the gallery later today.

And these are my contributions from the June Project Kit; I ended up getting a ton of mileage out of the project kit! Jenni's mini bingo cards and the red medallion trim were fantastic:

Here's a vintage summery image to kick off the month of June, more summer images to come!

Inspiration Board - La Famille, Seven Gypsies Style

I finished this project some days ago and wanted to share. Ever since I picked up these Seven Gypsies tags, and these too, I wanted to do this project. The designs on the tags are so gorgeous that I wanted to be able to display them so you could view them in one seeing without having to look at them separately. The solution was to lay them out on an inspiration board.

I used an art board from Michael's, similar to this one, that came pre-gessoed. I then adhered Seven Gypsies patterned paper from the Notting Hill Collection to the board. My project took two 12x12 sheets. Then the fun part! Start out by laying out all your tags on the board in the order you want. Then start adding embellies, Sarah Lugg style, and once you have everything looking the way you want, assemble the tags individually doing whatever is necessary to secure each embellishment to its tag. Finally, lightly draw out pencil lines and line up the tags spaced apart equally and then adhere them to the artboard. I loved the little hinge corners that Seven Gypsies makes that I put on the corners of the project. Gives a truly professional look. You can do this with any type of tag, or cover the tags in other patterned papers. I really loved embellishing each of the tags - it's a great way to showcase those special embellies you've been saving. My project was family themed. Each tag has meaning to me for some aspect of my family and the hopes and dreams I have for them. You could certainly add family photos to the tags; I chose to keep mine sort of abstract - the family theme is implied but the deeper meaning of each tag is personal and known just to me. I will hang this in my studio for inspiration. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vintage Roses and Moonlight by the Sea

Hello dear friends! Sorry I have been so absent. Today is my birthday, and I am 41 years *young* ;)! I had to take the day off work for some pampering -  I spent the morning at the salon and got a new haircut, then took a little shopping excursion and had lunch at my favorite restaurant. My loved ones will be taking me out for dinner and dessert and I am looking forward to time with the family! At 41, I am truly happy and blessed. I'll try not to subject you too much to my inner reflecting - birthdays are when I tend to get sentimental and philosophical, by turns, lol!

Thank you for coming back day after day, even though I don't always show! It's high time to dust off the old blog. Lots of good things happening, and some upheaval too. I will post pics of Murphy, our new puppy soon. It's been hard to get him to sit still long enough to snap the pic, lol! He is absolutely adorable though, I promise to post pics soon!

I am going through a lot of personal changes right now -- the company I work for is restructuring and I have been interviewing internally for another position while I continue to work in the current position, and traveling for work like a gypsy, to boot. In addition, I've been swamped with design projects so am trying to keep my head above water.

Alekha graduated from kindergarten last week and that has been bittersweet for me. I read on Melissa's blog that she is going through the same thing with her little one and her post just resonated with me. I felt as though I could have written it! My one and only baby is growing up and I have a sense of panic on the one hand - that time is passing us by too quickly -- and on the other hand, a desire to grab her and spirit her away to Never Never Land where we'll never grow up and can play at tea parties and "school" and all the other Mommy-Daughter moments we share, forever. Would that childhood could last forever.

I've also been busy on the creative end. I find that no matter how busy I get, I have to reserve time to create. Art is my sanity. These cards were made with Basic Grey's new Wisteria collection - the colors remind me of the seaside, moonlight and vintage roses. It's a breathtaking collection. The rubons and trim are from Melissa Frances. I am giving away the second card (Do what you love...) as a thank you, to one reader. Just post a comment here - how about for fun, telling me what you'd love for your birthday, and I will pick a winner next Friday.

 

This second card features a rubon from K&Company, the rest of the product is Basic Grey except for the mini blue pearls (Kaisercraft) and the gold pearl (K & Co.) The trim might be from Making Memories, I'm not sure.

Also, the Jenni Bowlin Studio June kit is debuting soon. Make sure you get over to the inspiration blog -- Doris is hosting daily prize giveaways in honor of Jenni's big reveal June 1st - the new site will be called Mercantile, and each monthly kit beginning with June will have an exclusive patterned paper available only to kit club members. There are plenty of sneak peeks posted of the gorgeous summery June kit. The top secret gallery is filled with gorgeous work from the DT already and I'll post a peek or two soon, so be sure to check it out June 1st!

So excited....

Bobby and I decided yesterday, after giving it much thought, that we were ready to welcome another bundle of fur into our home. Our first dog was a rescue dog - a lovely red golden retriever who came from the rescue to our home and died in my arms three years later. She developed cancer and it was the hardest thing I have ever had to do - putting her down. That was about six months after Alekha was born. I missed her but stayed busy with caring for a new baby and then running my business. I felt the time wasn't right to get another dog. Recently though I have been having doggie dreams mixed in with some baby dreams and I figure it's a sign - my doggie mommy instinct is kicking in again. Bobby knew a coworker who had adopted a Goldendoodle and (a cross between a golden retriever and a poodle for those who don't know) and she told him that they still had a male puppy available. He moved pretty swiftly in calling them and putting the puppy on hold. He'll be delivered to us tomorrow, I am so excited! And even better, it's a surprise for Alekha who has been pleading for a dog. Here are a few things in the meantime to share with you... a few quick card projects. I'll be posting doggie pics over the weekend!

 

 

And  some JBS projects. This one was made by outlining a paint palette (smallish sized) on chipboard, cutting that out, and covering with paper and embellies.

 

And one last card:

 

A reluctant little model

It's getting tougher and tougher to get this one to let me take her photo. I am having to resort to cookie bribery (like Keisha with her girls!) This is her look of barely concealed exasperation after only four or five shots! Sigh. You SEE why it's hard for me to routinely get new pics for scrapping. I am going to have to be a bit more creative about getting her picture.

I have a few card projects to share today. The first one features all Melissa Frances paper, Melissa Frances transfers, Melissa Frances sticker and the flourish chipboard is also an MF Product.  Ribbon from May Arts, flowers from my stash and a brad from Making Memories, plus a fair sprinkling of glitter from Martha Stewart.

I know fall is months away but I couldn't help but do up a couple of quick Halloween cards. The first card features mostly Melissa Frances product. The clouds are a Quickutz diecut. I used my Fiskars border punch to imitate a fence in the background. The tree and moon chipboard are both Melissa Frances products, as is all the patterned paper. The ribbon is from May Arts and the sticker is also from Melissa Frances.

This second one features all Jenni Bowlin product, excepting the orange dot paper which is from My Mind's Eye and the mini alpha stickers from Making Memories. The hat is fashioned from one of Jenni's mini scalloped chipboard banner panels.

More to come tomorrow. I'll leave you with this sweet vintage image. It's almost FRIDAY, hurrah!

Jenni Bowlin Studios May Kit Projects

I have been missing from Blogland, but needed a bit of a break which was a good thing because it gave me some time to get caught up on much needed attention around the house. Hope you had a nice Mother's Day. The weather was perfect and I was served breakfast in bed by my sweeties- two slices of toast with butter and jam (Alekha so proudly presented it to me with a lovely hand drawn card) and a cup of hot tea made by her Daddy. I'll be back to posting vintage images soon, but in the meantime,
Jenni Bowlin released a brand new patterned paper collection called Front Porch this month and they were my absolute favorite thing about this kit -- the colors were so wonderful and the papers so easy to create with. Jenni also added some amazing new talent to the design team - Amanda Johnson, Lisa Dickinson and Keisha Campbell, so the gallery is utterly stunning this month. Go look! Here are my contributions:

This one was inspired by Keisha, I love her use of vellum on her layouts:

I used the project kit to create this fun birthday banner with these luscious new bingo cards!