Sweet Sue...

For weeks I stalked the Noel Mignon site enjoying all the previews of her upcoming kit, Sweet Sue. I fell in love with the blue/green color scheme and had to make it mine. The kit shipped from California on Friday and was in my hands on Monday. Now, that is service!Since I had been (im)patiently waiting for the release of Mockingjay, the final book in the Hunger Games trilogy, I knew if I was going to use this kit any time soon, I better get started. Mockingjay was going to be released on Tuesday. So, I stayed up late on Monday and created this layout: "2 little pigs."In addition to items in the kit, I added an October Afternoon "pig" card that came in a set I had added to my kit order. I thought it was fitting to use with this photo of my boys chowing down on ribs. Since we were on our mini vacation in this photo, I thought the cars paper by Making Memories was also appropriate.

That same night, I started a baseball layout. Yes, BASEBALL! When I realized one of my cards included in the kit had an "18" on it, I knew I had to work a baseball layout in somewhere. :)

However, I didn't finish the layout until Sunday. I used a rare "one-photo-tells-it-all" photo from Kevin's last tournament of the summer. He made a play that he said was one of the best moments in his life. It deserved a page all its own. I let the LONG title tell the story.
I added a few items from my stash for this one: a Sassafrass Lass chipboard 3, new mini tickets from Maya Road, and a cute "Oliver" clip from Basic Grey. Everything else was in the Sweet Sue kit. I've been all out of sorts this week and after staring at my scrap space for too long, decided to look online for some inspiration. I came across a layout by Jana Eubank that I decided to lift - "Pouring on the Charm." I scrapped photos of Kevin having lunch while we were on vacation. Since I used the WRMK stitched cardstock for my base, I opted to skip Janna's stitched circle.I stuck pretty close to her layout, but did make a few changes. In addition to items in the kit, I also added some items from her previous kits and a new chipboard alpha by Cosmo Cricket. I have to admit when I saw the birds in the kit previews, I debated not getting this kit. I'm just not a bird person. But, when the kit arrived, I instantly had an idea for the bird accent - LOVE birds. I had snapped these shots of Blake and his current crush this summer. The ruled paper gave me the space to tell the whole story. I've been almost life-long friends with this girls' mom.

I even added some butterflies. (I'm not exactly a butterfly person either!)

I still have a ton of product from this kit, but you know what they say:

So many scrap supplies...so little time...

Have a great week!

Some days you can use a little cheering up...

Last Thursday was that day for me. I received some news that I've been expecting for quite some time now, but that I still wasn't really prepared for. Instead of driving home to see the boys play in their fall league baseball game, I opted to spend some time with my sister in Louisville.

I don't get to spend much time with Kaitlin. I wish I could see her more. We had a lot of fun together and a great meal, too. We did a lot laughing. I NEEDED that!

And, I came home with this little beauty...Yes, I love her...my yellow Lucky. (I'm hoping she'll bring me luck like my green one did!)Still in a bit of shock over Thursday's news, I was overwhelmed to receive this gift from a new, dear friend. It's amazing how God sends certain people into our lives just when we need them. This little "trunk" was filled with a beautiful set of tea cups and saucers, tea, towels, candles, a chocolate cookbook (which Kevin has already read from cover to cover!), CHOCOLATE body & hair wash (!!!), a photo frame and a sweetly wrapped little black box...

The necklace in the box is probably my favorite item. This woman SO "gets" me!

I continued my cheering up phase this weekend by taking Mom on a little day trip to Bardstown with Kevin. We had a fun day of food and shopping. (Tom and Blake had to work a local festival with Boy Scouts.)

Today was family day and I even worked in some scrapping time, too. (Check back tomorrow to see my work.)

I hope you have a wonderful week. Take time to tell your friends and loved ones how much you appreciate them.

Boardwalk fun...

So many products (and photos!), so little time...

When I first saw the new "Boardwalk" line by Little Yellow Bicycle, I was in love. BUT, we didnt' have a trip planned to a beach this year. Then we made plans to attend Great Wolf Lodge, an indoor water park just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio this summer.

I placed my order for most of the Boardwalk line with my design team credit at Scrappin' {Sports} Stuff. Plus, I realized I could use it for some pool shots, too. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVED everything that arrived in my package earlier this month.

I haven't had much time to scrap lately, but I was able to finish one layout using these products and I just fell in love with the final result. I think it might have a lot to do with that adorable 5x7 face included though. :) For this layout, I was able to use a few of my favorite patterns and mix them in with a die cut paper, canvas borders and even an epoxy sticker. Oh, and what layout is complete without Thickers? Perfect for a title - right?

I have so many photos pulled to pair up with this line that I just might have to order some more of it. Stay tuned to see what else comes along with Boardwalk...

Happy scrappin'!

I scrap to remember...

I want to remember Tom's 41st birthday. I want to remember the huge smile on his face when he saw the cake the boys decorated all by themselves. I want to remember that priceless hug he gave them. I want to remember the crazy way he pours milk over his bowl of chocolate cake.To document these memories, I pulled out some of my favorite Jenni Bowlin Studio products. I love the finished layout. I think it's my new favorite.

I want to remember the summer of 2010. I want to remember my favorites of this time. I want to remember that I got hooked on a couple of triologies. I want to remember that this was the summer I became addicted to costume jewelry. I want to remember my taste in music. I need to remember that this was when my migraines returned and it was the hottest summer on record.This layout was completed for a challenge on the Noel Mignon message board. I used the Noel Mignon "Playdate" kit and a few extras to complete it, too.

I want to remember our mini vacation to Great Wolf Lodge this summer. I was to remember spending time with Tom. I want to remember sitting by the pool. (I wish I was there right now.)For this layout, I used scraps from another Noel Mignon kit, "Sunkissed." The products I used actually weren't my favorites by themselves, but together and along with these photos, I was able to create a layout I'm happy with.

I want to remember the DELICIOUS meal I had at Great Wolf Lodge. It was a simple soup & sandwich combo, but with homemade chips. And it was all so DIVINE. Yum!I want to remember how thrilled Blake was with his Buffalo burger at the same restaurant and how cute he looked when we finally talked him into wearing Kevin's wolf ears.I (might?) want to remember the anxiety I get when I ride in a car now. It's a new anxiety. I don't like it. I wish it would go away, but it's become a part of me. So, I should document it. All three of the above layouts use the same Fancy Pants "Like Father, Like Son" line that I picked up at Scrappin' {Sports} Stuff.

I want to remember Kevin's end of the season party after his final season of Rookie League baseball. I still get a little emotional thinking about it. Goodbye pitching machine.Everything on this layout used scraps I had from my Scrappin' {Sports} Stuff design team package of Pink Paislee's "Starlight" line.

Now, go scrap something you want to remember!
;)

Block Party, anyone?

Earlier this month, I received my design team package from Scrappin' {Sports} Stuff. I was thrilled with my Bo Bunny "Block Party" supplies. I have to admit, that I'm not always a fan of their lines, but these patterns are great! My plans from the moment I saw them online were to use them for sports pages - what else?!?With school starting back in addition to a nasty string of migraines hitting me all at once, my scrap time has been a bit limited. Still, I carved out a little time to create.

As soon as I saw this "starburst" patterned paper, I knew I had to scrap Kevin's baseball season. I especially had to document the first time that Tom was Kevin's head coach. This layout isn't one of my favorites design-wise, but I really like the story that I've documented.My second layout using Block Party is a layout based on a sketch by the fabulous Allison Davis. It's always so easy to take her sketches and adapt them to the number and sizes of photos you have on hand. For this layout, I chose photos of Kevin in a pitching cage at the Louisville Bats minor league baseball game in May. Kevin attended a birthday party there. The cool thing about this layout is that I took the photos on the top row. The photos on the bottom row were taken by the birthday boy's dad from the other end of the cage. Pretty cool, huh? I still have several supplies left over from this line and countless sports photo that would make it. You'll be seeing this line again soon!

Happy scrappin'!

Overnighter with Reese

My sister and her husband went away overnight to celebrate his birthday on Friday, so that meant I got to keep the baby!My guys were gone Friday night to fall league baseball practice, so I had her all to myself for a few hours. She showed me her new tricks. Once the boys were home, they goofed around with her for a bit and even tried Blake's new life jacket on her. It was pretty funny.Blake left early Saturday morning for his camping/canoe trip. That left me and Kevin to entertain Miss Reese. She enjoyed her breakfast of toast and jelly. She's a mess!My sister had left the leftover mini cupcakes from the birthday with us. It was appropriate to have them on Saturday since Reese turned 11 months on the 21st. Kevin and I sang to her. After all the sweets, it was time to brush her teeth. She LOVES brushing her teeth!We had a lot of fun.

I was sad to see her go on Saturday afternoon.

An Undefeated, All-Star Summer...

We returned home from Bowling Green today with hardware from Kevin's SIXTH tournament win in a row this summer. The 8 year-old All-Star team went UNDEFEATED. It was pretty sweet!

(The large trophy was the "team" trophy.)

It was a bit bittersweet today watching our younger son play his last (ever) Rookie League game. Goodbye pitching machine. It's been a fun three years.

This weekend gave us a few memorable moments: Kevin tagged a slider out at home for a 3rd out. He said it was his best day ever aside from going to Great Wolf Lodge earlier this summer. Kevin was also the final run that determined the championship game this evening.Kevin has a nice selection of trophies and one medal that he's brought home this summer.

Fall league baseball starts this week. Bring on the pitching mound!

Crazy, but true...

School started for us last Wednesday.

I now have a 3rd grader and...a middle-schooler! Can you believe Blake is in the 6th grade?

Man, they grow up fast!

It's 8/9/10...

Happy 41st birthday to my best friend. I don't know what I'd do without you, Tom.

FIVE in a row...

Last weekend Kevin's all-star team traveled about 20 miles to play in a Round-Robin tournament. They played two teams on Saturday and two on Sunday. I woke up Sunday morning with a terrible migraine and was in bed for the day.

Tom came through for me and took some good shots of Kevin playing. I love this one of him on base. He has this habit of hitting his helmet as he waits for the next batter to move him around the bases. And, the team went undefeated AGAIN. :) Kevin likes bringing home the hardware.

We had this weekend off to rest. :)