Well I want to thank you all for the encouraging words! I will let you know how it goes today.

Ill be gone ALL day, and am tired just thinking about it! LOL! Should be fun. I definitely see a Pina Colada in my future.

Well this is a quick post cause I am ready for bed!

I have a sneak peek for you today! It is a set from C.C. Designs girls-Layla & Virgina. It will be released on June 4th! CHECK THE ATS BLOG! Each day, up to the release there will be a peek and a giveway!!!

 Ahoy There!

I love when these girls have their arms up! Its screams super star to me.

I knew I wanted to do something star themed but NOT red, white & blue like expected.

I loved this paper by Piggy Tales. I think its so cute. The glitter stars are a glitter mat stack by DCWV. I used my star punch for them, then a star ghost shape.

I like the ribbon wrapped around this way-so fun.

Now for the sketch CLICK TO ENLARGE

The circles can represent whatever you want! Just have fun with it and feel free to change it up a bit!! I am so into tilting things again. I get bored with everything being all symmetrical.

Now remember this is a CHALLENGE!! So you may be stumped at first, but give it a try and I am sure you will have fun.

OK I’m out! Thanks again for poppin in.

Later-

 Dog Tag

Hip Hip Hooray! It’s Friday!

No Vanilla Bean Chiller big girl drink for me tonight! LOL! I have to be bright eyed (ok that never happens until coffee #2 at least) and ready to go for tomorrow. I have everything set to go for my classes tomorrow! I think I actually got it ALL together! I’m getting very anxious, and when I am excited I talk a LOT. So I hope I can shut up long enough to crank out the awesome projects we have planned.

I am already planning my next 3 card classes!! One is going to be different BLING techniques!! I’m excited to get started on that one, and one will be cards using acetate in different ways (LOVE acetate!!) and the next, I may do cards with punches.  I am thinking of doing Friday evenings at 7pm. Think GIRLS NIGHT OUT!! Plus with summer here not many people want to be inside on a Saturday. PLUS I don’t want to miss Noah’s T-ball games too often. Anyway, that is more up to Michelle and YOU people out there who may be ready to sign up. So you will have to let me know. No worries I think I will do some Saturday’s at 10am if she can fit me in.

OK I am sorry, I’m going on and on and feel like I should be asking What about YOU? How are you, what are you doing this weekend? Feel free to chime in 😀

Onto the Blogger’s Challenge. Make sure you check out some of the talent. Today’s challenge is Animals.

Well I had an idea of what I was going to do………….then that changed when I went to Old Navy to buy the kids some summer stuff. Well at checkout was this ADORABLE coral color corduroy dog collar! Well I had to get my fur-baby something!! So I got it, and took it home.

Well I go to remove the tag, and I thought WOW! I LOVE this tag! I can’t throw it away!! I have to use it. Then I said- I know I have a stamp like that German Shepard! So I run down to stamp land, and find my MFT Gone to the Dogs! Sure enough! I do. But I didn’t want to use that image. After some thinking I used the bull dog. I think its cute. Whole new meaning to DOG TAG isn’t it!! See this really shows how inspiration really is EVERYWHERE!

The bone tag is Friends Furever. I have to say how much I adore that simple image! I really love it, and would have bought the entire set JUST for that image. Heck the entire set was only $9! You can’t get many wood mounted images at that price! Thank goodness the entire set is adorable!!!! Love that boy/dog! LOVE IT!

I punched the paw prints (EK Success) and placed some patterned paper under it.

Now to share about my fur baby! It has been a while since you saw Daisy. If you are new here-Daisy is a Cockapoo. She is now almost 9 months old! She is full grown, and I took her to the vet yesterday for her flea/tick stuff and she weighed and WHOPPING 14lbs. She is a ball love. I really can’t imagine that we DIDN’T have a dog for this long. I can’t believe I let a dog sleep with us! My kids don’t even do that.

She is definitely a CHEWER though. They say thats the cocker spaniel. The rungs of my wood chairs look like chew toys. NOT COOL.

If we leave her home alone too long she will retrieve someones shoes and bit them farewell! She knows how to open gates, and can jump so high! She gets really spoiled because I am home ALL day, everyday, so when no one is around to pay attention to her, she gets mad.

Since we got the pee smell out from the carpets during the  earlier puppy days , no more piddles! Unless someone comes over. She just pees everywhere with excitement. Its the strangest thing.

A couple weeks ago I came out of the shower, and my bed hadn’t been made yet cause Daisy was still sleeping.

THIS IS WHAT I FOUND-NOTE: Objects in photo are much larger than they appear!!

In case you are wondering WHAT you are looking at-THAT is a HOLE she chewed into on my Memory Foam layer on our mattress! We had a memory foam overlay.

She ripped through the sheets, and went to town. Now we have a King Size bed, so that memory foam layer  is NOT cheap. I had to call Jay at work so he had time to calm down. She really needed to look REALLY cute when he walked through the door.  She was SOOO happy to see him he couldn’t be that mad. Who else gets that excited when you come home from work?

Well, I took her to a new groomer. And she cut her down all even. Poor Daisy looked SO HOT with all her fur. It was so long and curly. I would brush her but you couldn’t even tell! LOL! I guess that is the POODLE part.

Anyway-here she is sporting her new look.

How could that sweet innocnet face do all that naughty stuff! Must be the cats!

 She is so soft!! Oh and smells SO GOOD!! I was VERY happy with this new groomer. I already booked her next appointment for 8 weeks from now.

I know in 2 weeks she will just look SOOOO cute as it grows in a little. The groomer put the bandanna on her. I thought it was adorable! AND Purple! Hello!! Love it!

I bought her the cutest little tie on summer “dress”. She use to let me dress her up. Yeah! Now she did everything she could to rip it off before I could get a cute photo :C Oh well. Can’t blame her I guess.

Anyway, that is it for today. I have some projects to prep. All my blogger friends I am sorry I have no paid anyone a visit in SO long. Next week should be better. I rarely get out into blog land as it is.

Well thanks for visiting me here.

 Come back tomorrow for the Saturday Sketch. Oh and pray I don’t BOMB tomorrow! LOL!

Lauren

TICK TOCK….TICK TOCK….. 

The good thing about being 30 is you are generally in good company. Before you know it your friends will be turning the big 3-0 as well, if not before you.

I have several friends hitting this milestone. YEAH! I’m not alone.

Turning 30 has really pushed me into pushing myself further, and wanting more from life. In a good way. More like making the MOST of life I guess you could say. One of those changes-We found a house we REALLY want to buy. Now comes the dilemma and the possibility of selling our home. BIG STEPS!!!! The market is NOT a sellers market so I have no idea how this will all work out, or if its even possible. Jason has a meeting with our bankers to see where we stand with it all! I believe everything happens for a reason, and if it’s meant to be, it will be. So time will tell. Anyway-I don’t need to get into all that right now. Long story. Just pray we make the right decision and if we do go to sell, it goes FAST!

BACK TO 30 stuff.

One of our good friends Sean, just had his 30th b-day. There was a big surprise BBQ for him. So I had NOTHING done for him and had 45 minutes to pull it all together.

So this was my creation-done in a half hour, including photographing!

I recently got this scrappin kit from my friend Paulette. It was the PERFECT colors for a GUY card. Since I needed a quickie card I used the large sticker as my focal point.

Now notice the “3” and the “0” I used the stickers in the set, and put them on chip board. I used my Red Tag Alpha (cuttlebug) and cut the numbers. Now the “3” has a “0” in the pattern, and the “0” has a “3”. Just a neat little touch I thought.

I used the Papertrey Ink Wedding Day for the month and year. Then Birthday Basics for the sentiment 😀

The rest is ALL stickers. Crazy but I liked it.

We got him a gift card to Best Buy. It came in a CD case (which I contemplated keeping that part! LOL!). I needed packaging to go with my card, and the card was whipped out, so I created a CD pocket to put it in, to match. It was a fast & easy alternative

He seemed to like it all. Mission accomplished with time to spare!! YEAH!

Well I am off to start prepping for my classes on Saturday! There are still spots in 2 of them, so if you can join us, call Michelle!!

Have a great Thursday. I’ll be back tomorrow with a Blogger’s challenge!

 Basket of Violets

RUN!!! ATS has The Paper Garden book back in stock HERE!!!! 

You can read my review HERE!!

Details on the card-below. But first I thought I’d share a total MOM moment.

It’s Wednesday already! Finally a week that flies by!

Noah has been sick with croup. He started over the weekend (Monday) and was fine after getting his Pulmo-cort nebulizer. He went to school yesterday no problem. Well today when it was time to get up, he acted SO SICK, and  groggy. His voice sounded awful. So, I called the school and kept him home. I SWEAR no sooner did the bus drive of with Alexa, he hopped-literally, out of bed, then down the stairs, and looked just fine.

I told him to get dressed and I would drive him to school. He then proceeded to the couch with a blanket.

Down in stamp land, now around 9:30-too far into school, since he comes home at 11am- I suddenly hear THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

I come up stairs to find Noah bouncing up & down throughout the house. Are you kidding me? Now if you don’t have boys then you don’t understand the jumping for no apparent reason. Its just what they do.

Don’t kids have that natural instinct to know that if you are going to STAY HOME, act sick at least for a little while longer? Here is a little conversation:

me-Why are you jumping around the house?

Noah-Um, I don’t know. I like jumping.

me-we don’t jump all over the house.

He then said Hey! Can I go play outside?

me-Um, NO! you are home SICK ………………remember?

Noah-Oh, yeah. How about later when I am all better?

me-NO!

Noah-Can I play XBOX?

 me- no XBOX either!

Noah-Oh! Man! Why no XBOX?

me-When we stay home we don’t play video games. We stay on the couch.

Noah-Why?

me- BECAUSE WE ARE SICK!

Noah-Maybe I’ll be all better to go to school tomorrow

me-SHOCKING!

Gotta love kids.

That was my morning.

Anyway-back to the card. The day of Alexa’s LAST Chemo, my PSF Laura sent me a beautiful plant of Violets (they are actually still alive!! yeah, I didn’t kill them yet). Thanks Laura

Here is the plant!

I decided I should create a thank you card like the planter! So I got out my BASKET stamp, and my little flower punch-the small Sakura flower, and created a basket of  little violet’s! I used 2 different shades of the violet collection from core-dinations  for the flowers, then I just used a Souffle pen for the yellow centers.

The large square are the scallop Nestabilities. Ribbon is the satin in Lavendar Moon

I made the tag with a Sizzix die, and stamped a sentiment from Mixed Messages. That is a perfect set!

I think the card is just SO PRETTY!! I am just loving making my own flowers. It makes my entire creation hand made. Plus it is so much fun.

Well I hope you like the basket card. I really love that particular stamp, especially for these flowers.

Laura this card will be in your mailbox as soon as I get to the PO!

OK back to stamping. I hope you also get some MYTIME in 😀

Till tomorrow

Pink Cat is coming out with a new set!!!

This sweet little owl is featured on one of our new stamps plates that will be released on Thursday June 12th.

Can I get HOOO!! HOOO!! WAIT TILL YOU SEE IT!!!

DONT ENTER YOUR NAME HERE!!! KEEP READING!!!!

Now YOU get a chance to name it! I think it should be Hooty! That was my original thought. Now its YOUR turn! Try to pick a unisex name that would work for both a male and female owl.
Everyone who leaves a comment will be entered into a draw to win one set of the new owl stamps. This contest will end on Wednesday June 11th at midnight EST and the winner will be announced on Thursday June 12th during the new release day.

GO HERE!

Well if you wandered where I was today, I have been busy stamping! This is a super busy time of the month for me as the NEW! Releases begin to get ready for samples to get DONE. I have a lot to do this week, and my FIRST class at The Paper Tree is this weekend. EEEKKK!! No way near ready for that. I better get on the ball. I have to pick up all the supplies. Then a cutting and prepping I go.

Plus-The eye candy has to get made sometime right? I definitely have no magic wand.

It was either blog, or stamp. Well, since I had not gotten ANY stamp time in about a WEEK (that is a rare thing for me) I had to choose STAMP! Once I got warmed up, there was NO stopping-except get the kids fed, wahsed, dressed, snacks packed, run around and drop off, then to do some mommy stuff with the kids when they get home, clean, and get Daisy groomed, make cards while I also make phone calls to a zillion people about insurance and other NON-FUN things-all in a day’s work. Then there is photographing and editing. BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH-right!

I also wanted to share, I have some Pink Cat samples featured HERE! Along with a mini questionaire that Mandy had me fill out. Thanks Mandy!!

I have been SO inspired in my week long hiatus. My brain is on overload! In fact, so inspired it’s my card theme for today!

 INSPIRED!

 inspired
verb 

1. (past of, inspire)

adjective 

1. Having excellence through inspiration.

The actor’s performance of Hamlet’s soliloquy left the audience dumbfounded.

1. Filled with inspiration or motivated.

The artist was to paint a true masterpiece.

He was to learn to fly.

inspired
verb 

1. (past of, inspire)

adjective 

1. Having excellence through inspiration.

The actor’s performance of Hamlet’s soliloquy left the audience dumbfounded.

1. Filled with inspiration or motivated.

The artist was to paint a true masterpiece.

He was to learn to fly.

You KNOW I had to throw the defintion of inspired in there didn’t you?

The butterfly & sentiment are from Unity Stamps-Beautiful Butterflies. I so enjoy this set.

I used a new technique I stumbled upon at the Paper Tree last week. I saw a sample, and said “What do I need, to be able to do that?” Then ca-ching! I took it all home. I love anything that involves glitter, and acetate is like one of my favorite things to use. Add a butterfly and I am one HAPPY girl.

 Art Glitter Glue’s

You stamp on a window sheet, using black StazOn, then apply the Art Glitter glue on the back,  sprinkle on the BLING!! Let dry-and DONE! It also works on fabric!! The glue dries clear so you all you see is the glitter! Its GORGEOUS!!! You are going to get so sick of seeing it here! LOL! I’m in LOVE!! I made a bunch of release samples for multiple companies using this technique. I actually HAD to STOP myself. You should get the fancy adapter to allow yourself to work in small areas with detail, and get a professional look.

So this technique inspired so many of my other cards. I can’t wait to share them all soon!

Pretty cool huh?

Now for more inspiration.

If you shop at Michaels, you may have seen these SUPER pretty fabric covered storage boxes. I just fell in love with them. They are pink or blue, with brown-HEAVEN!!!

Well I was SO inspired by the boxes that I decided to re-create one! Only mine is not a huge storage box, and the top flips open, not comes off.

 Side view

The store one- the ties stay on, and are a decoration. Mine you unite to open the box. This box is about 2 inches deep, by 4 inches and like 5 inches across?? Sorry I forgot to measure it.

I decided to use Sweet Blush cardstock, and chocolate craft ink for this cover. The stamp is the gorgeous-Tea Time Toile. Which I JUST learned that I missed a holiday sale from Unity-BUMMER!!!! The ribbon is by Martha Stewart

I wanted to highlight one of the images in the bkgd, so I layered it over the image on my box top.

So pretty and classic.

I made this in 10 minutes!!! Can you believe how quick that was? That included designing HOW my box would be 😀

Well thank you,  as always for checking in, and the many of you who pondered my existence since I last wrote.. I have not ventured out online or into blog land in a week as well, and feel SOOOO out of the loop!!

Maybe tomorrow. I still have a lot to do before I can catch up.

Till then!!

Lauren

May of you have asked me numerous questions about the book-The Paper Garden.

Please check out my review —->HERE<—–over at the Craft Critique! It may answer your questions, or give you any extra info in case you are on the “fence” and needed a giant PUSH! LOL!

I took today off to get some much needed family time 😀

I am hoping to get some MYTIME tomorrow and create, since not much has been done all week given Alexa’s scare, and my awful cold.

I have things done, but STILL need to photograph them too!! I know, I know-I need to just do it.

Enjoy the long weekend!

YEAH! My favorite day of the week-Saturday is here! Time to celebrate with a Sketch 😀

 All about the presents

I just LOVE that sentiment from Its My Birthday! Isn’t that the truth? When you are a kid, that is just the BEST part about turning another year older. Lots of presents!! When you get older, all you want is to not have the age on your driver’s license go past a certain number.

I did this card last month, but failed to post it here. I wanted it to be a sketch, then I forgot about it, and well you know the story. No matter its here now!!

I hope you enjoy! I am sure NO ONE is even out there reading with the holiday weekend! I almost didn’t post! But I couldn’t let the sketch day pass. Its my OCD!

So celebrate! Please take the time to share something you should be celebrating or grateful for. I am thankful to all the men/women out there serving our country!! Fighting to keep us safe, and defend our freedom Then to the families who are sacrificing their time with them so they can do that for us. I also pray for each one’s SAFE return home-SOON!!!

I also know after this week I am just so thankful for the HEALTH of my family and children. I really don’t know what I would do without them. I am one blessed person.

I have a super full weekend, that I am looking forward to. Hope you all stay healthy, happy & safe!

Till tomorrow.

Sorry this is so late. I wasn’t even going to post. Then I was just sitting here doing nothing! A very RARE occurrence at my house.

My body is screaming at me to SLOW DOWN! I feel awful. I have a head cold, and am plain ole exhausted. This usually happens once I get to “calm down” from the storm. But here I am. I can’t just sit and do nothing! LOL! I hope I can sleep in tomorrow. Alexa had school so I had to get up and get her ready. Yes, I’m definitely sleeping in tomorrow! That means Ill probably get up at 8am! I’m so used to getting up at 6:15 that I have a hard time sleeping past that. Then my brain gets going and I need to get up and start moving. I get a lot of my ideas during this time. CRAZY! I have 2 30th b-day cards to get done, and a ton of thank yous to still get out.

This time of the month is hard for me to post because I create so much, but can’t share any of it!! Release time is coming!!

Well you may know that one of the designers for Papertrey Ink–Candice Aguilar, is getting married! A very big time in a woman’s life! The PTI girls all got together to each create a special Wedding card for her, and Nichole is putting together a Marriage Advice album, that each of us also participated in!

My best personal adive to ANY couple-you need to continue to date each other! Be it just movies on the couch one or twice a week, or dinner out. It is vital to any relationship to keep that spark there! Especially when you add kids to the mix! You may not get “out” of the house, but it is SO important to take as much time as you can, be it 2 hours or more, each week, for each-other. Otherwise time passes and you look at the other person and wonder where “it” all went! Once your children grow you may be so empty and move on. That is not good, and not healthy! If you can get a sitter (we NEVER can) then there is no guilt in maintaining your relationship. Kids who have parents that have a happy & healthy relationship, grow up to to better in that area too! Im not saying I grew up with parents who were in a perfect relationship. It was quite the opposite. But I realized how important all of the “dating” really is.  Plus communication is really key. Try to use these times to focus on positive stuff, so it doesn’t become a “let’s attack all the things you did wrong this week” session. No one is going to view “date night” in a positive way if that is the vibe, and that is the conversation each time. Try to reslove that stuff, if you have any, before the date.  Remember-you don’t want to become strangers living under the same roof. YOU have control of your happiness-so get happy! If you put in your 100% then thats all anyone can ask for.

 WOW! I even give marriage/relationship advice! LOL! Sorry I went WAY off on that portion of the post. I do hope you find it helpful 😀 I know it has really kept Jay and I happy and like we are still “dating”. Especially when you have a child with a serious, life threatening condition. We were told this would make us, or break us. It’s very hard to get through some of this stuff, let alone worry about staying bonded to each other. Jay and I were very committed to doing what was neccessary to get through this in one piece-TOGETHER!!

OK there is a point-I swear!

Since Candice designed Honey Bees, I thought I should make her Wedding card with it.

 Bee Happy

That is what it says inside-Bee Happy

The IDEA of bees for a wedding card was CUTE, but getting it to be ELEGANT proved to be otherwise. I cannot even tell you how many designs got TRASHED! I finally settled on this, which in the end I loved.

Simple, and the gold embossed bees make it elegant. I think Wedding cards should be very clean and simple. I don’t know WHY, I just do.

Candice is a very clean & simple person, who loves black and white-or so I am told!

So I felt a splash of Lemon Tart was perfect. You cannot have bees without a splash of yellow!

I used the Bridal Confetti flowers from Michaels, and colored them with Copic markers to make the bees seem like they were falling in love over the flower. I know I get too in depth with my ideas. That is also why I chose the heart nestabilities-think LOVE!

I then needed a subtle bkgd for the layer, so I always turn to embossed vellum cardstock! I used my Stylized Flowers folder for this one. Add some wide sheer organdy ribbon you got ELGANT BEES!

So that is all for me. I’m off to my “date time” with my hubby.

I REALLY hope I am inspired to stamp. I still have yet to photograph my projects that I DO have to share! Tisk! Tisk!!

Till tomorrow

Make a Smilebox slideshow

I am exhausted! Who would think having 5 kids at the Farm would be so tiring. I had my three and watched 2 others. I have to say they behaved so well.

I had a couple of teary moments. Just thankful for my kids and all I have. Sometimes little things they do get me all choked up. Like the unsolicited I love yous or a kiss. Sometimes just a look. I see them, and know this time will pass so fast. It has already. I want to LIVE in each moment, each day and absorb these faces, hugs, kisses and memories forever. Memories are made of the moments we live today.

I figured you may like to see it. It was VERY windy and cold. I thought it was going to rain but it held off.

I am happy to report Alexa cleaned out last night, and it was ALL brown! YEAH! She had a fabulous day and looks great! It was a huge deal that she was able to walk through the entire park! In know that is normal to so many of you, but for us, Alexa normally can’t walk that much. We are a week past chemo and I did see a big difference in her endurance and energy levels. Plus for her to not complain of pain is a big deal too. Her chemo made her bones just ache. I never realized how much she complained/ached till it stopped. She was running and just so happy. I got my “normal” family day afterall!! Thankfully we don’t get many “pity” looks anymore since she walks better and her hair is getting fuller.  Let me just tell you if you see a kid with cancer or any other problem, PLEASE don’t give that LOOK or STARE!! We see it, we just usually try to ignore it,  and we know what you are thinking. I’m not saying that to be rude, just be aware if you do it. No one wants the “LOOK”. You may only get what I mean if YOU have gotten the “LOOK”. Just look at us, or them like anyone else. I hope that makes sense.

We came home and everyone took a nap-for about 3 hours!! All except Alexa, who stayed up to play Groovy Girls!

Thank you so very much for the prayers and support! I so believe it worked!  I did use lot’s of bribery to get her to drink that stuff, and tomorrow I need to go buy the doll she saw in the store that talks and moves.

I do have creations to share but as you know I am drained! LOL! They have not been photographed at all. Hopefully tomorrow. Rest is necessary first! My hubby pointed out my spelling in my Alexa post for “Houston” we have take off, was spelled Huston. OH well! Im sorry but I was too stressed to be doing a great spell check!

Jason has tomorrow & Monday off! Vanilla Bean Chiller (with TGIFridays Mudslide mixer) here I come! Its well deserved this week!

Again thank you! If I could reach through the screen and give you all a BIG HUG, I so would.

Enjoy the night!