June Polka Dot Whimsy projects...

The June kit from Polka Dot Whimsy was fabulous this month! The colors were so "me" and the patterns easy to use and mix together.

When I saw the paper from Simple Stories with numbers 1-26 running down the edge, an idea quickly came to mind for a page...I decided to list the things I love about Kevin. However, since my kit was missing the sheet of large alphabet stickers, I had to get creative with my title work. The kit included a card that said "10 things I love about you" so I added to that to total up to 26!I used some of the mini alphabets by My Mind's Eye that were included in the kit to mix in with my journaling. And, of course the kit had great "doo dahs" this month that I added here and there to accent floral elements on the papers. Not having large alphas really forced me to get creative. You know how I love my alphas! I was going to hold my kit until I received the alphas, but when I didn't get a reply from the club owner, I just got to work. I used "Fun" at the top of one of the bingo cards on the Simple Stories papers for part of my "Kitchen Fun" title. I accented my page with buttons and trim. I fell in love with the birthday hat patterned paper by My Mind's Eye and had just the photos to use with it from Kevin's birthday.I layered a couple of patterns on top of the red cardstock, inked the edges of the hat paper and jornaling card red and topped them with my photos. Since the mini alphas in the kit didn't match the papers here, I let the journaling card double as my title. I cut some hats out of leftover paper and layered them with pop dots to add some dimension.The ribbon is from the May PDW kit.

I have to admit that I am NOT a fan of My Mind's Eye's floral papers. I just never have been able to fall in love with them like others do. I used some of this floral paper for cards (I'll share them later), but decided to work the scrap in on a layout. With the green base, I ended up with a layout I am happy with. I did break down and use alphas from my stash though...

I peeled a strip of pink tape off the tag from the kit and replaced it with a couple strips of trim then used it for my journaling card.

I misted the naked chipboard flowers in the kit with Mr. Huey Mists. I layered some trim between them and topped them with a "doo dah" from the kit. My final two layouts turned out to be my favorites.

I mised the grey dot base with Mr. Huey mist and then topped it with strips of scraps. LOVE these colors together! Thanks for the "documented" journaling card, I didn't need to stress about not having large alphas for a title. I pulled a couple strips of trim to separate the patterns and did some hand stitching, too.

For my final layout, I decided to "cheat" again with the title and use the heading of another journaling card - "My favorite things about summer." I asked Kevin to complete the card with his top 10 and then I finished the layout with scraps. Again, I used Mr. Huey mists (three colors) on my base paper. The grey twine is from a recent purchase - it's my new favorite color!

I also added some tiny Tim Holtz staples to hold down the strips of paper and the film strip ribbon. And there you have my June projects - well, part of them. I finished SIX cards, too. Stay tuned for them.

Happy Scrappin'!

April Showers...

Ok...so it's June. We did have a little rain today. Then I was reminded that I had a couple of layouts saved as a blog draft. Oops...I'll share them with you now.

I used the April Studio Calico kit(s) for these projects. I thought the Studio Calico paper with umbrellas was perfect for telling about our WET, WET, WET month of April. I also loved the American Crafts' raindrop paper. The wood alphas from Pink Paislee were my favorite alpha from the kit.

Then I used some of the FUN colored papers and embellishments to go with my colorful photos from last spring break. We went to Lynn's Paradise Cafe in Louisville. It was great for photo ops and the boys had so much fun. (I love the food there!)

The Cosmo Cricket chipboard alphas fit in great with the photos - quite eclectic. I used a Pink Paislee hot air balloon adhered with pop dots over top a Pink Paislee card with the same hot air balloon.

Plus, I was able to work in some flowers (Basic Grey canvas flowers) in on this non-feminine layout. Thanks for looking!

The Webelo...The Champ...

With the end of school comes an "end" in Cub Scouts. However, it's actually more of a beginning as we celebrate Crossover. Kevin crossed over from being a Bear to a Webelo. Grammar junkie me has to laugh at the meaning of Webelo. It's stands for "We Be Loyal Scouts." (That just kills me!)

Still, it was a special moment seeing Tom switch out Kevin's neckerchief for the new plaid one he will proudly wear as he earns the requirements for Webelo. He will be a Webelo his last two years of Cub Scouts before he crosses over into Boy Scouts. I am proud of our new Webelo!In other great Kevin news...Kevin's baseball team (finally) won the "opening weekend tournament" that started in mid-April. We just finished it last weekend - on June 5! We swept the tournament.The boys are also on their way to an undefeated season. Go Braves!

In other Wheeler boy news...my guys both got contacts this week. It's quite a change seeing Kevin especially without his glasses since he wore his ALL THE TIME! They sure are growing up...

In Amy news, I am sure enjoying my summer break with my guys!

I'm An Athlete...

Ok, so I'm really NOT an athlete, but I do have two very athletic boys. I also really enjoyed using the new "I'm An Athlete" paper line by SEI that I picked up with my design team credits at Scrappin' {Sports} Stuff.

Although at first, I found some of the patterns a bit too "theme-y" for my taste, I absolutely loved working with this line and also found the paper VERY easy to use.

For my first layout, I cropped a full page of basketball court down to a more manageable half page. Then, I focused on the top for the my photo, title and most of my journaling. Obviously, this layout tells the story of Blake's broken wrist that came as a result of a basketball injury. On this page, I used three different sheets of patterned paper, die cuts, border strips and a foam sticker from the line. I added a mixture of American Crafts alphas I had on hand.

For my second layout, I worked Kevin's formal team photos in with a full page baseball diamond pattern.

This layout was super simple! I just used two sheets of patterned paper, a die cut card for journaling, a foam baseball sticker and Thickers from my stash for the title.

Be sure to stop by Scrappin' {Sports} Stuff for all your sports-themed scrapbook supplies!

Project time...

School is finally out and I think everyone in our house was ready for a break. The end of the year rush also brought a few project assignments for Blake.

He had a huge social studies assignment that consisted of a series of tasks/projects to earn points. Blake LOVES social studies and was able to work through his list of assignments (classwork) quickly. He made 100+ on the assignment and thinks he was the first in his class to complete his work.

In Math, Blake had an assignment to design a house. Luckily he wasn't graded on the actual plans. Or computer generated photo of his house.

The home was 20,000+ square feet. It was a single story home with ONE bedroom and ONE bathroom (inside the bedroom only), but it did have an indoor pool. The home was also lacking a closet in the bedroom (Blake said you could use drawers) and a dining room (he'll eat in his kitchen...).

As for the photo of the home, he couldn't figure out how to do the background and it appeared that his house was floating in the clouds. No grass. No landscaping. Still, he earned 100% on his assignment because he was able to figure up the size of the house and mulitply it by cost per ft. Then he estimated how much his mortgage would be and based on a formula also listed jobs with salaries that would allow him to afford the home.

I thought Blake's science fair project just might kick his butt. He had to come up with a hypothesis and either prove or disprove it. Luckily he gave me roses for Mother's Day. He was impressed that they came with flower food. And from that, his idea was born - Does flower food keep roses fresher longer?

He had four groups to study daily until the roses died. It took 8 days. He had groups of flowers in water only; with cut stems in water; with flower food in the water; and with cut stems and flower food in the water. He thought the cut stems with flower food would live the longest. Actually the flowers in water with cut stems did.
I helped Blake use my Cricut to cut out his title letters and then helped him upload his photos to be printed, but he conducted the experiment all by himself, took excellent notes, and made his poster himself. Out of 125+ students, he earned 3rd place in the science fair and a $25 gift certificate to Barnes & Noble. Oh, and a 100% for his grade.

Although 6th grade wasn't the best year Blake ever had in school, he did finish up on a high note. His final report card was for all As. Yay!

We are so proud of this kid!

Memorial Day Weekend...

I'm a little late in uploading my photos from Memorial Day weekend, but still wanted to share them. Surprisingly, we didn't have any baseball games scheduled. Kevin's travel team did have a scrimmage that Friday night, but for the most part we were just able to enjoy the weekend doing nothing.

"Nothing" included a water gun fight. Tom ended up being the biggest kid in the battle!

And the cookout that Sunday night included some time with Reese.

Luckily she's gotten used to posing for me and my camera. She even posed in Kevin's mohawk wig that he wore to pump himself up for the water gun fight.Tom flew out last Monday for a business trip, so it was just me and the boys at the ballpark Monday night for Kevin's make up game. They won! They've won all of their games actually. I hope they keep it up. There are only two more weeks in the regular season. That thought makes me sad.

I hope to get more photos uploaded soon so I can share some of Kevin's news. It's really good.

A Mini for Reese...

When I printed my Easter photos, I ordered copies to give my sister photos of Reese. Once they arrived, I decided to hold on to the photos to make a mini album for Reese. When the May kit from Polka Dot Whimsy arrived, I thought it was perfect for my mini.

Everything in the album came from my kit. I simply pulled a Prima album cover from my stash. Using Modge Podge, I covered both the inside and outside covers with patterned paper. I layered Pink Paislee border strips (adhering the top layer with pop dots for dimension) to make my title border.

For my inside pages, I selected my favorite patterned paper and placed them so coordinating pages would open together. I then staggered the page edges. Some edges are simply punched while others are finished with border stickers. The inside cover has an envelope with a tag. I wrote a special note to Reese on the tag. (Love that girl!)

Reese was too cute coming up a "hill" in the yard while hunting for eggs!

I get more comments on those two little lady bugs on this page than on anything else in the album. Michelle always included the coolest little "doo dahs" in every PDW kit. This shot of my sister and her husband with Reese was their only family shot from the day. I'm so glad I captured it. This fall they will become a family of four.

Here's another priceless photo of Reese with my mom's dog. Too cute!

At the back of the album, I included a couple sheets of note paper included with the kit. This will allow my sister to journal some of her memories from Easter for Reese.

Although my heart belongs to 12x12 layouts for my boys, it sure was fun to make this little mini for my niece!