Random Ramblings...

Cookie (The Elf on the Shelf) Update

2011-12-08T15:53:00.000-08:00

Here is what Cookie has been up to these past few days....

Day 7: Today we woke up to a note that read.."A candy cane for you, a candy cane for me...he rest you'll find on the Christmas tree."

Day 8: Cookie made a snow angel in the flour on the cookie sheet.

Day 9: Cookie left a note explaining why he was sitting next to a new (replacement) ornament

the note says: Good morning, Natalie. I am in your tree with a special gift from Santa. I told Santa that your Christmas tree fell over and the Santa ornament broke. He worked his magic and here I am with a new one for you and your mom. I love you!
**What Cookie didn't mention is that the cats knocked the tree over**

Day 10: Cookie made elf sized donuts!

Day 11: Today we found Cookie on the couch eating popcorn while watching The Polar Express!

Cookie...our Elf on the Shelf

2011-12-05T22:00:00.000-08:00

We adopted an Elf on the Shelf which Natalie names, Cookie. Here are Cookie's adventures up to this point...

Day 1: Cookie poured a bowl of cereal for Natalie and was waiting in the refrigerator with milk that he made his favorite color.

Day 2: Cookie was sitting on the love plaque which is part of a wall display in the living room.

Day 3: Cookie was caught in the candy jar! He must have eaten a few peppermint kisses by the evidence on the counter.

Day 4: Cookie was hanging by the pendulum of the clock

Day 5: Cookie is admiring a picture that Natalie colored for him.

Day 6: Cookie left a note in the bathroom using toothpaste.

Pinterest projects

2011-12-04T17:35:00.000-08:00

I will admit that I absolutely LOVE Pinterest! I have come across so many adorable craft projects, recipes, DIY projects and home decor ideas...just to name a VERY few! Here are a few projects that I saw on pinterest and decided to make my own.
First is the wreath that I found stunning. It was so darn easy to make, too.
I followed the directions from this blog to make it.

Here is my finished project. I wanted mine to look just like the one on the blog because I loved the black, white and pink color combo. I plan on making more in a variety of colors.

Over Thanksgiving break, I was feeling very crafty. Natalie made these adorable gumball machines all by herself. She loved painting everything! I am not a fan of painting, so she was enjoying it! We made them out of clay pots and the clay saucer. I figured out that you should get the saucer that would fit to a very small clay pot so that it fits on the glass bowl nice and snug. I bought pom poms for the gumballs.

Thankful for....

2011-12-03T20:19:00.000-08:00

I decided to make these adorable turkeys with my class. They were so easy, adorable and thoughtful. The body of the turkey is simply a toilet paper roll (or paper towel roll cut to size) My plan was to paint them brown, but the brown paint was more gold which I loved even more. The body is a small paper plate painted yellow. I had each child trace and cut five feathers and they were to write things they were thankful for. I love that everything about this project is from scraps or recycles. All the construction paper was from the scrap bin and the body is obviously recycled from a toilet paper roll. Very simple yet fun project.

Halloween 2011

2011-12-03T13:47:00.000-08:00

I have not been very reliable when it comes to blogging.

I'll back up to Halloween. Natalie decided to be a pirate this year. I LOVE Pirates of the Caribbean so this costume choice made momma happy! I had so much fun making her peacock costume last year that I wanted to make her pirate costume this year.I did another tutu in burgundy, gold and black. I also made her pirate shirt. I just bought a black t shirt and cut out a "girly" skull and cross-bone design from felt. I used fabric glue to attach it to the black shirt. I used some leftover tulle to put a bow on the skull.I found some cute black and white striped arm warmers and we used those and her pirate socks. They were long enough to cover up the hole in her black leggings-bonus-one last use out of those leggings before I threw them away. I got the skull and cross-bone necklace and pirate hat from Halloween City.

Halloween on my mind....

2011-08-22T18:15:00.000-07:00

I already have Halloween costume ideas on my mind. Last year Natalie was a peacock. I knew I wanted to make something. I had a bazillion peacock feathers from my aunt and wanted to put them to use. Natalie was so excited with the idea! She even won "most creative costume" at the mall. This year, Natalie has already told me about 10 different ideas in the last week...anything from a pink cowgirl to a ghost with a mustache. I love the tutu skirt from last year, and want to incorporate that into this years costume. She seems most excited about being a pink cowgirl, so I think I need to start thinking about that!
This is last years costume

Mother's Day Card

2011-07-16T06:36:00.000-07:00

I was cruising around the internet looking for fun craft ideas when I came across THIS blog and picture. I knew immediately that I wanted to make it, but Valentine's Day had just passed and I wanted to make this NOW! So, it hit me, I could do this for a Mother's Day project with my fourth graders. Instead of lollipops, we'd insert a flower. It would be simple and inexpensive, but so sweet at the same time. I took a picture of each student with their arm reaching towards me. I let the kids choose black/white or color print (edited at home in Picasa before uploading to Walgreens) and then printed those for about 10 cents each at Walgreens. I bought 2 rolls of crepe paper for the flowers. I followed THIS flower tutorial, which was easy for the kids to do. I modeled how to make it for the kids and then left the tutorial on the Promethian Board for a reference. I had a station set up in the back of the room for the "finishing touches." We hot glued the flower to a green pipe cleaner stem. I used a hole puncher to punch 2 holes for the stem to slide in. The kids tied a bow around the stem and that was it.
This is the finished product.

Owl project

2011-07-15T16:27:00.000-07:00

I find a ton of awesome pine cones in my yard every year. I pick them up knowing I'll find a cool project for them. I came across a cool owl pine cone project and made it with my fourth graders one day after a bird man visit. I thought it might be too "young" for them but they LOVED it!
I gave each child one pine cone. They dabbed the pine cone with liquid glue. Each student had about 3 cotton balls that they pulled apart and "stuffed" on the glue drops and in the pine cone. Using the tip of a pencil helped push the cotton ball into the pine cone better. After the "body" was full of cotton, cut out 2 yellow circles and 2 smaller black circles for the eyes. Fold a piece of orange paper in half and cut a triangle for the mouth. All done! Some kids got creative and added wizard hats. It was very fun!

One of the "wizard" owls

Warm Hearts, Cool Hands Project

2011-07-14T16:35:00.000-07:00

I was looking for cool projects for kids when I came across this page. I had my fourth grade students trace their hands and then make the "rings" around their hand with a hand made protractor. I have also seen a template that has the rings and then the kids just trace their hands. Go HERE and you'll see the template for the rings. When this kids were done, they did a writing project about someone who warms their heart and why. They loved this project and we had many compliments since they were displayed on the bulletin board in the hallway.

I love how each one is "their" hand and work. Their and right handed kids, left handed kids, kids who chose to use colored pencils, crayons and even glitter crayons.

Back to blogging?? First thing...a few school crafts

2011-07-14T14:36:00.000-07:00

I guess I am going to start blogging again. I've had a desire to share some of my crafty stuff and just every day life with words, not just photos on facebook. So, the first things I wanted to share were some school crafts.
Right before Christmas, I volunteered in Natalie's classroom to make these Santa's belly ornaments. It literally cost me about $5 is supplies and I helped make enough for the entire class of kids...about 25. The supplies I used were...
red ornaments that I bought at the Target $1 spot (8 ornaments in a tube for $1)
black felt
gold pipe cleaner
I precut the black "belts". I had the kids spread modge podge on the belt and then wrap it around the middle. I snipped a piece of gold pipe cleaner and had the kids shape it into a belt buckle. There were all sorts of buckle shapes, but that's what made it a first grade project and "their" own project. It's not my ornament so I didn't want to shape the buckle. I learned to hot glue the buckle onto the ornament. I wrote each child's name on a piece of tape with the year and put it on the back of the ornament. Here is the finished product.

and here is a picture of all the ornaments. I love how each one is so different.

Taking a break....

2009-12-12T05:26:00.000-08:00

Well, for all of you who know my via scrapbooking, this will come as a bit of a surprise. I have decided to resign from all of my design teams. I am shocked at myself! I just made the Treasured Scrapbooking and Color Me Daisy Design teams. These are 2 teams of have wanted to be on for about a year. I love everything about these 2 sites. But, my life has taken a turn that I didn't expect. A good change!!!! I have been guest teaching full time since about day 6 of school this year. I am currently in a long term spot for first grade and LOVE it. My scrapbooking obsession has taken a backseat to my obsession with teaching. I LOVE coming up with creative ways to teach he curriculum. I am always thinking about what to teach, tools to support the curriculum and projects we can do on the side. That is my new creative outlet...in addition to decorating the classroom, hallway bulletin board AND coming up with crafts for the kids. I have thoroughly enjoyed being on design teams. Love it, love it, love it! But, I have noticed that my heart has not been into scrapping like it once was. My layouts are not "wowing' me anymore. I think it is time I take a break and simplify my life a little. I am thinking of doing memory books from Walgreen's every once in a while instead. That way I am still documenting life's little moments, because that will never stop in me!
I will still use my blog to post pics of what we have been doing. You just won't see many layouts. I will still scrap, but it will be because I WANT to, not because I HAVE to meet a deadline.
If you want to keep up with me....post a comment on my blog. Or, I think a bunch of my online friends are on my Facebook friend's list. If not, friend me!
Take care!
Jennifer

Heart Smiles.....

2009-12-02T14:48:00.000-08:00

My friend Abbie makes these ADORABLE hats! Well, Natalie received her hat in the mail on Monday and we have been in love ever since. It's so stinkin' cute and so stylin'! Here are some pictures I took of her in it! You can find Abbie's Etsy store by clicking on this sentence! Check her out!

Happy Turkey Day!

2009-11-26T06:48:00.000-08:00

Blog neglected

2009-11-25T18:31:00.001-08:00

It seems that I have been neglecting my blog lately. I have been busy guest teaching and just started a long term spot as a first grade teacher. I am loving it! This isn't going to be the most detailed post...but it's something. All scrappy related. :)
I created this layout for Pink Ninjas. The DT of Pink Ninjas and Candy Shoppe Designs switched for a challenge. The theme for the challenge at Pink Ninjas was to scrap your alter ego, use a pink title and paint. I really am a boring person. I don't have an "alter ego" but I thought this picture of Natalie was perfect for the challenge. Sooo, I did a layout about Natalie and her batman shirt.

I added stickles to the open space in the batman felt ribbon. I have had this felt ribbon forever. It felt great to use up some of my stash!

I added pink bling to form a circle

and black bling to accent the title

ALSO.....
Creative Scrappers posted the latest sketch on Sunday. I really enjoyed this sketch. It's clean and linear.

I used the November kit from The Shaker Box to make this layout. It was packed with lots of My Little Yellow Bicycle goodies. I also made this frame

and here is a close up of the pumpkin

Happy Sunday...today's Creative Scrappers Sketch reveal....

2009-10-25T06:11:00.000-07:00

Here is today's Creative Scrappers sketch reveal! You can see what all the other design team members did with the sketch by going here.
Here is the sketch

And here is what I did with it

I love this picture of Natalie with our 11 year old shih tzu Daisy. Daisy has to be THE best dog EVER. She is so sweet, loyal and smart.
and a close up of the orange glittery stars

Thanks for stopping by!

Doing the happy Scrappy Dance

2009-10-21T18:34:00.000-07:00

I am soooo excited to have made the design team for the kit club Color Me Daisy!

Watch your language!

2009-10-17T11:01:00.000-07:00

LOL! Did that catch your attention. The challenge at Candy Shoppe Designs proves that this blog is not just any ordinary blog! You can find all the details on this challenge by going here.

Here is my layout. This is all about when I thought my dryer was broken. I was hanging my clothes to dry until my Dad could come take a look at it. Well, he took it all apart and was confused because the dryer was getting power on his meter. Well, he looks up and tells me to flip the dial....the dial the goes from AIR FLUFF to HEAT! Yes, it was never broken, I just had forgotten I set the dryer to AiR FLUFF! Well, as my brother puts it....I pulled a Jennifer. Talk about embarrassing!! Just another story for the book of funny things I do.!!

Here is a close up of the ribbon

The WINNER of this challenge will be voted for by the Lollipop Girls of C.S.D. and announced on the blog on Wednesday, October 28, 2009. The WINNER will win a 309 Piece Collection Kit by Sassafras Lass called "Starry Night" from the Life is Beautiful Line.

Our Wonderful SPONSOR for this Challenge is Jill Coody, owner of Memorable Seasons. Be sure to check them out for all your latest needs when it comes to capturing the seasons of life. Sign up for her Newsletter to keep up with all the sales and promotions she's got going on, participate on her Forums and join in the fun challenges she hosts on the Memorable Seasons BLOG for even more fun. You'll be SO glad you did!

Happy Scrappy News

2009-10-16T07:04:00.000-07:00

I am on the Design Team for the sketch site Creative Scrappers!!

Sketch Sunday

2009-10-11T06:29:00.000-07:00

Today is the reveal of Sketch 73 at Creative Scrappers

Here is what this week's sketch looks like, created by LG

And this is my interpretation of it.

Thanks!
Have a great Sunday!

Proud Mom!

2009-10-05T16:23:00.000-07:00

I had a very proud Mom moment on Saturday. Natalie scored her first goal in soccer!! I am so proud of her. It was such a rainy, chilly day and she really did an outstanding job playing. This is the same girl that walked off the field crying the first week because she thought she was bad at soccer. Unfortunately, I think the weather weakened her immune system because she woke up Sunday with a 102 temp. She took today off from school and is doing much better.
Here is my worn out girl walking back to the car in the wet, chilly weather

We went to Micky D's to do some celebrating

Ta ta for now....I am so proud of Natalie that I feel this deserves it's own blog post. :)

Fashionably Geek Challenge at Candy Shoppe Designs

2009-10-01T05:16:00.000-07:00

The Fashionably Geek Challenge is posted on Candy Shoppe Designs!

Here is the layout I did.
We had to use a black background, white title, plaid and an apple. My apple is on the cover of the Twilight book. I had to do a layout about these books. I started reading the Twilight book this Summer and was completely hooked! I actually read it to prove that you don't get hooked...well, that didn't happen. I had the next 2 books on reserve a the library but went and bought them because I couldnt' wait that long until it was my turn. LOL. Would you believe I am reading Breaking Dawn right now and have not finished it!? I have had it for about 2 months, too. I think I don't want my Twilight series to end. Anywho, here is my layout and some close ups. I wanted to use a lot of luxurious items on my layout to replicate the lifestyle of the vampires in the book...pearls, bling and velvet.

Fashionably Geek Challenge
Due Date: Midnight (est) Monday, October 10, 2009
Oh! You didn't know that "Geek" was the new "Black?" Well, now you know! Let's rock this Challenge in the name of all geeks!
Rules are simple.....

-The base of your Paper Creation should be BLACK. It doesn't have to be all black or even plain black, but black. With that said, you don't have to create a layout. It can be any kind of Paper Creation (a layout, a card, a mini album, an altered item, etc.).
-The title/journaling on your Paper Creation (should you choose to add one) should be WHITE.
-You must include a PLAID, CHECKERED or ARGYLE PRINT and
-You must include an APPLE. It doesn't matter how many.
Already created a Paper Creation that fits into these rules? Awesome! Go ahead and enter it into the Challenge! They don't need to be new.

We are doing away with the POINT SYSTEM and instead strictly going by the voting from the Lollipop Girls from now on. So, do your best job and Good Luck! The Winner will be announced on 14 October.

Emily Nelson, Owner and Designer of E.A.D. Designs is our Fashionably Geek Challenge Sponsor. E.A.D. Designs is a family owned and operated business. Emily Nelson started E.A.D. Designs in 2002 and in a few short years it has grown into one of the largest retailers/wholesalers for Vinyl Lettering and Wall Art. With a passion for Crafts & Design, Emily was able to stay at the top of her game with the newest and hottest trends and this year she launched a Scrapbooking Vinyl Rub-On Line.

She has donated a sample of some of her Vinyl Rub-On Sets (Family Words, Time Well Spent, Vintage and What a Hoot) and they will go to 1 LUCKY Sweetheart of C.S.D. after the Challenge is over. The Vinyl is acid-free so they are perfect for your Scrapbooking Projects and the great thing about them is that they won't rub off!

Scrappy Fun!

2009-09-27T00:56:00.000-07:00

Last Monday I was so lucky to meet one of my online scrappy friends. Kim and I met each other from a "few" different sites we both hang out at. She mentioned that she was going to be in MI for her sister's wedding. I asked here where, and come to find out it was 40 minutes from where I live. Kim is SO nice!! She drove to my little town where we had lunch and chatted for such a long time.

Another great thing in my scrappy world is that I am joining the last 3 sketches for Creative Scrappers. I am so excited to be back, they truly have some of the most inspiring sketches around. Here is this week's sketch.

And here is my interpretation of it
Some'bunny' new to love

Homecoming!

2009-09-26T12:59:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was the big Homecoming Parade. We usually just line up and watch the parade. This year we went to the school first. The school was putting on a hot dog sale..hot dogs were $1. We then walked up to town to watch the parade. I forgot to bring something for Natalie to put her candy in, but my purse worked quite well. LOL. I checked the University Den for hair stuff since the University of Michigan and Mattawan both have blue and gold for school colors. There was barely anything so I just made her ponytail holders. Here's Natalie showing her school spirit.

Here's to a great week....

2009-09-19T15:50:00.000-07:00

This was Natalie's first full week of school. I am so proud of her because on Thursday and Friday she walked to her bus all by herself at dismissal. Go figure, her bus is one of the very last ones which is at the opposite end of both schools. She was so proud so I treated her to a Bug Juice. :) I was able to sub 2 1/2 days already and was so excited to see her at school when she came in at the afternoon. Gosh, if feels so good to be back in the classroom. Picture Day was on Wednesday. Natalie looked so cute, but of course she had a monster of a mosquito bite right between her eyes. The mosquitoes have been really bad lately and she really swelled up from them. When she was 2 she had one right by her eye which swelled to the point her eye swelled shut. It was horrible. I have seen so many kids with tons of bites and tennis ball sized swells. I wouldn't mind one good freeze at night to kill the mosquitoes off, and then warm right back up again.

On Monday I got a call from my SIL and she told me that they knew of someone giving away a bunny. Jenny and Brad didn't want it because they just got a bunny for Katie last month. Apparently my BIL met someone in the pet store who was looking for a home for their bunny with all it's home goodies for FREE. If they couldn't find a home they were going to shoot it!! EEEEK!!! So my BIL called the poeple and even went an d picked it up for us. Natalie's been wanting one for quite some time and I thought it would be a good little pet for her. He's such a little cutie and really friendly. We put a litter box in his cage and he already does his business in that.

We had our second soccer game today! Boy, did my girls do AWESOME!! We won by a score of 9+ to 0. I wasn't keeping score but my Dad quit counting at 9. I am pretty proud because I feel like I taught them some things at practice and they used those skills at the game today. Here is a picture of Natalie and I after our game last week.

And Natalie. I love these uniforms because they are reversible. When we are the home team we play with the green side, the away team we wear the silver side. All the kids have the same uniform which makes for easy uniform orders when adding a new player to the team at the last second.

And I already scrapped a layout about it. I stitched the black lines on the soccer ball and the white movement of the ball.

And here are 2 more layouts I have done using my Treasured Scrapbooking Kit for my Guest Design Team spot. I have SO much more stuff left that I could scrap a ton more.

Natalie's friends do have faces, **insert giggle**

Oh, and you may have noticed that I need to approve comments now. So sad that I must do this, but I actually had a spam comment. Ugh!

Guess that's all for now, have a great rest of your weekend!

Candy Shoppe Designs Sweet 16

2009-09-16T00:01:00.000-07:00

Candy Shoppe Designs is looking for any way to celebrate...and what better than a Sweet 16 blog hop. Today is the 16th day Candy Shoppe has been up and running and things have been a blast already!!

If you have stopped by my blog for the Sweet 16 challenge...then here are your simple instructions. Each DT member has simple instructions posted one her blog for you to create an amazing layout. It's sort of like a blind layout challenge via a blog hop...I LOVE these!

The 6th SIMPLE STEP for you is to layer your chosen photo (with an edge) over the cut piece of patterned paper that you did on STEP 3.

Add my simple instructions to your layout and go back to the CSD blog to post something new you have learned about me.

Here are the RULES for the Sweet 16 Blog Hop challenge
Rules:
1. You must complete the Blog Hop in the order listed. Please do not skip over anyone. If you find that there is a dead end somewhere through the Hop please wait a little bit as we are all on separate time zones.
2. After each Lollipop Girl's Blog you visit you will be directed back here to C.S.D. to check-in. CHECK-IN by leaving a COMMENT under this post letting us all know 1 thing you have learned about that particular Lollipop Girl you just visited that you never knew beforehand. Also, let us know how you are coming along with your layout and anything else you'd like to share.
3. You MUST follow the SIMPLE STEP that each Lollipop Girl lays out for you. In the end of it all you should have a completed layout with YOUR interpretation of the SIMPLE STEPS we gave you.
4. You MUST enter the layout you completed during the Blog Hop into the Challenge for the Lollipop Guild Kit Blog Candy. You may create as many layouts as you'd like by doing the Blog Hop over again for extra chances at winning.

Here is the layout I created following the instructions given

I used
Bazill cardstock
PP is Basic Grey
Pearls, flowers and ribbon-unknown

A few random facts about me...
I love watching Ghost Hunters and any "real" paranormal shows
I returned to college when I was 27 and graduated with Honors when I was 32.
If I were still married, today would have been my 9th Anniversary
I can't stand meat in my spaghetti

The school journey has begun!

2009-09-09T11:47:00.000-07:00

School is back in session! Yesterday was the first day of school. All of the kids went back except Kindergartners. We had a half our time block in which we went to Natalie's room, gathered some information, found her locker and most importantly...got her name tag with school bus information. This is the 3rd time we've been to school in preparation for the school year, and let me just say that I think it's a GREAT idea! Natalie was really happy to see another girl from Kiddie U in her room, and Meaghan seemed just as excited.
Here she is entering the school

Here we are together

Here she is in front of the office entrance of the school. It seems like yesterday I was entering these doors every single day as an elementary student. Now I will enter them as a Mom AND guest teacher.

Today was the official day Kindergartners rode the bus to school. Even though Natalie's been excited, I was concerned she'd really cry. We got down to the Kiddie U bus stop about 45 minutes early. We took some photos and then I saw all the kids that were in preschool come out of the building. It's so hard to believe that these kids are in Kindergarten. All of the kids who are catching the bus at the Kiddie U bus stop joined the line. This one little boy was crying so hard and holding his Dad's leg. I was about losing it then. I thought Natalie might get upset but she didn't. She did great up until the bus pulled up. She started to get nervous and grabbed my pants and shed a few tears. The little girl in front of her also started to cry. Both girls got on the bus with the help of Johanna (the owner of Kiddie U--she is AWESOME) Next thing I know, Natalie's waving out the window at me with all smiles. I drove to school to watch her get off the bus. Wasn't sure if this was a good idea but I did it anyway. The principal escorts each child off the bus and hands them over to another school adult. They then guide the children to their teacher's line. Each child had a color coordinated name tag that matched their teacher's sign. Natalie got off the bus full of smiles. She told me, "I knew I'd see you down here!" I took a couple more pics and then left. She did GREAT!! I saw a friend who has twin boys entering Kindergarten also. We both left, teary eyed and reflecting on the past 5 years....they truly do go by way too fast!
Here are some pics of today

Waiting for the bus

The iCarly backpack

Me and my girl

Her bus arriving at school....principal is on greeting the children before escorting them off. He is an AMAZING principal!!

Natalie once she got off the bus...all smiles

So, our journey has begun. I can't believe it! I am thrilled that today went well and can't wait to hear how her day went. One more hour until her bus arrives!

Challenge and Treasured Hunt layout

2009-09-02T08:13:00.000-07:00

The first challenge is posted on Candy Shoppe Designs...go check it out and play along!

Here is the card I made to go with the challenge

I made it through another week on the Treasured Hunt contest at Treasured Scrapbooking. It's down to 7 now! This is the layout I did this past week.
Requirements were:
one photo
recycled item
stitching
at least 3 leaves
and journaling with "I'm not willing to"

Candy Shoppe Designs DT and TS GDT!

2009-09-01T01:11:00.000-07:00

Yay! I can finally announce that I made the design team for Candy Shoppe Designs!
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click on the icon to check out this cool blog and to see who the other Lollipop girls are!
Candy Shoppe Designs is a cool challenge blog with challenges (of course) and prizes. Sign up and become a follower (Sweetheart)! Our first challenge was to create and All about me layout. I rarely do these but I am glad I did. Since my fun alternate name for the blog is Orange Passion, my layout was suppose to reflect that. I used orange of course, but I also used blue which is on the opposite side of the color wheel as orange. I also jotted down things I am "passionate" about.
Me, Myself and I

Here is a close up of the butterfly. I cut two different sized butterflies from the Jillibean Soup papers. I adhered one flat to the paper and stapled the smaller one on top of it and folded it to give dimension. I then slid the two pins under the staple for the antennae.

The goodies I used were
Bazill Cardstock
Patterend paper: Sassafras Lass and Jillibean Soup
Alpahs: American Crafts
Bingo Card: Jenni Bowlin

I am also sooo stoked that today is the official day that I am a Guest Design team member for Treasured Scrapbooking!! First of all, I got the kit in lickity split time. That always impresses me! Secondly, it is JAM packed with patterned papers AND cardstock! BONUS! For my reveal today I had to have one layout and a sketch completed. I have so much more to work with but this is what I have done for today's reveal!!

And here is my sketch

Treasured Scrapbooking

2009-08-26T10:59:00.000-07:00

I am proud and excited to announce that I get to be a Guest Design Team Member for Treasured Scrapbooking during the month of September. I have already received my kit (lightning speed shipping)and I can't wait to get creating. It's jam packed with goodies.

I made it through to the next round for the Treasured Hunt. Here is my Week 3 layout. The requirements were to create a one page layout with ric rac, paint, at least one handmade flower, 1 or 2 photos and a journaling prompt that must include "I'd rather"
Here is what I did

Everything on this layout was basically scraps. The background was some cardboard from a paper collection and I only cut down one of the Jillibean Soup papers (red/white polka dot), the rest were "scraps"
I painted the edge of the cardboards

My ric rac. Actually teh whole color scheme of this layout depended on my ric rac...I only had this light blue, pink and shimmery white.

and my one handmade flower. I LOVE making these accordian flowers

Thanks for stopping by!

Meet the Principal/Transportation day!

2009-08-25T14:45:00.000-07:00

Well, our transition to Kindergarten has begun! Today was Meet the Principal/Transportation day! Natalie has admitted to me that she is nervous, but I think after today she feels a little bit better. We arrived at 9am. Mr. Wheaton introduced himself and he showed the kids the first of many procedures they will be learning over the next few weeks. It was all about active listening today while he read them a book about starting Kindergarten. Afterward, we left to go take a bus ride. Before we got on the bus, Natalie gave Mr. Wheaton the picture she colored last night. I thought it was so sweet of her to do that! Natalie loved the bus ride. To think that 29 years ago I took the same exact bus ride with my Mom.
This is Natalie with Mr. Wheaton. He really is a WONDERFUL Principal for these little ones! I LOVE how this picture turned out, too! EXACTLY how I had envisioned it!

After our school fun, we went to the library and picked up Natalie's winning picture from the library. I "think" I posted that she had won FIRST PLACE in the coloring contest at the library. We got the call the day she had her tonsils out/tubes in. Here she is with her picture in the library

And here is just the picture

Up all night..sleep all day...NOT.

2009-08-22T04:15:00.000-07:00

Last night I stayed up pretty late doing some scrapbooking. Natalie went with her Dad last night so I figured I could sleep in this morning if I wanted to. In the matter of fact, it seems that whenever I stay up late, I get up early. Well, I was up early this morning and it was because of this guy....

I feel compelled to blog about this cat. He is an indoor/outdoor cat. Natalie and Leo share the same exact birthday...5-22-04. This cat is beyond affectionate and let's Natalie do anything to him. She carries him all over the place and sat on him when she was a baby. He acted like Natalie's mother when she was a baby. The second he'd hear her wake up or cry he'd go running to her. One time he woke up out of a dead sleep, moseyed over to her room with his eyes half open...just like a real tired Mom does. LOL He does his business outdoors and lounges on the deck. He's like a loyal lab, when we are in the yard he follows us everywhere and he greets people at the front door. But, he is also a brat cat! During the day when he wants to go out it's obvious, he just meows. If I don't get the clue or purposely ignore him, he'll get in my face or start terrorizing the dogs by slapping them on their behind. At night, he knocks on my window to go out. So, I get up and let him out. When he wants in, he does the same thing, knocks on my window. The past few nights he's been wanting in and out more than usual, he goes in spurts with this but the timing is like clockwork. Sometimes I trick him and act like I'm getting up to let him out only so he'll leave my room, then I close the door and go back to bed. Well, this morning he decided to knock on the door and meow. Am I a crazy cat lady? NO! We never had a cat growing up at home, my parents don't like them....but they LOVE Leo. That tells you what a cool cat he is!

I was actually up late last night doing a scrapbook layout about Leo. Simply Obsessed is having a crop right now and this was for one of the challenges. I used a July sketch from So Sketchy! I love Ally's sketches!

X marks the Crop at Treasured Scrapbooking

2009-08-20T18:03:00.000-07:00

Last week the DT hosted a pirate themed crop called "X marks the crop." The challenge were so much fun. I created 3 layouts, wish I had the time and mojo to do more, though.
I did this for Aymee's "Drink Up Me Hearties, Yo Ho! I chose to use the drink Lemonade which required us to use yellow with red/white patterned paper
Lollipop

This one was for the "Walk the Plank" challenge. We were suppose to do something out of our comfort zone. For me, I have a hard time using noticeable patterned paper as my background

I did this layout for the Pirate move challenge. I used the movie Treasure Island
In the movie, Jim Hawkins discovers a treasure map & embarks on a journey to find the treasure, but pirates have plans to take the treasure for themselves.
Create a page with a map, the word "treasure" and some gold.
"Trash 2 treasure"

Thanks for stopping by!

Treasured Hunt...Weeks one and two

2009-08-19T17:44:00.000-07:00

I am participating in the Treasured Hunt again this year at Treasured Scrapbooking. The Treasured Hunt is an elimination type challenge with different requirements each week. Don't quote me on it, but I think it started off with about 42 entries with 31 moving on to Week 1, and 22 moved on to week 2. At this point, I think about 16 are moving on to Week 3. Here is what I have for one and two. I have moved on to week 3 and need to make a layout for that, I'll share that in a week.

Week one we had to create a layout following these requirements
-One page layout, no digital
- at least one circle (3 inches or bigger)
- torn paper
- only ONE photo
- journaling....and the journaling must include "I wish someone had told me that..." It can be as long or as short as you like but must include those words.

This is the layout I created
You are my Sunshine

My 3 inch circle and torn paper are the sun

My journaling says: Journaling around the border reads:
I wish someone had told me that motherhood was not a scary thing as I was always concerned about. The funny thing is everyone did tell me, I just had to figure it out on my own. Now I know motherhood is the most joyous experience ever! I am over the moon in love with this girl! She brighten every single day of my life!

I made it on to the second week and this is what the requirements were....
- at least 3 pictures
- 4 different patterned papers (no more, no less)
- 2 colors of cardstock (no more, no less)
- at least one arrow
- buttons or beads
- must have journaling that includes..."If I were honest with myself...". It can be as long or as short as you like but must include those words.
- must be an original design - no sketches please!

To be honest, this is one of my favorite layouts. I am happy with the design, my blueberry buttons and the story behind these photos means so much to me. It was just a fun day and layout

I used these 4 patterns of paper

and I used buttons to make "blueberries" The leaves are one of the patterned papers

This is what the journaling says: Natalie and I were so excited for the blueberry pie eating contest at the blueberry Fest. The day finally arrived and Natalie's age group was the first one to go. It was a bit overwhelming the number of people who were there! The pies were ready and what happened next surprised me, but IF I WERE HONEST WITH MYSELF, I would not have been shocked that one bite was all Natalie took out of her pie. Did I really think she'd dive in and get her face covered in blueberries?! August 2009

That's all for now, I'll have a post of my X marks the crop layouts tomorrow. Have a great night!

Simply Obsessed Birthday Blog Hop

2009-08-16T15:06:00.000-07:00

Simply Obsessed is turning 2! Come on over and join their "Greatest Crop on Earth"
In honor of Simply Obsesessed turning 2, I have posted a birthday Layout I made from Natalie's 5th Birthday this past May.

Now that you have visited my blog, you need to go to Chelsea's (clang16)

Who wants to crop?!

2009-08-08T14:55:00.000-07:00

Treasured Scrapbooking is have an "X marks the crop" starting Aug 10 until the 16th. It's a Pirate themed crop and I am so excited to see the challenges.

Simply Obsessed is having a birthday crop from 17-24

The Shaker Box is have a Summer Sizzlin' crop on Aug 21, 22, 23

Mark your calendars! Hope to see you there!

2009-08-07T20:28:00.000-07:00

Natalie has been pretty much back to normal after having her surgery two weeks ago. Yesterday was her 2 week follow up and the DR said everything looks good. The first thing Natalie wanted to know was if she could eat crunchy food...he gave her the go ahead on that, too! She was thrilled. I tool her to Build A Bear to celebrate. She picked out the Hannah Montana bear with matching outfit. Natalie's not a fan of the show but she loves the music. I love this picture of her registering her bear on the computer. I love how she has her legs crossed. LOL

And here she is totally hamming it up for the camera with her new bear.

We left the mall and met my Dad at Taco Bell for lunch. Natalie has wanted a volcano taco since the day after her surgery. She took one bite and opted for the regular taco in our volcano box. She did come home and ate the volcano taco later.

We came home and made these adorable school bus cookies

and then went to the elementary and enjoyed some time on the playground

Today was the big blueberry pie eating contest at the Blueberry Festival in South Haven. Natalie has been so excited for this. But, when time came to go up and do it she froze and got scared. I can see how it was so overwhelming. First of all, people were packed like sardines at the pie eating site. The children entered from one end and exited on the other. I had THE HARDEST time walking from where Natalie entered to over where she was going to eat her pie. I know I was nervous of losing her and I know she probably felt the same way. She only took one bite of her pie. Later she told me she didn't like it, but also admitted she was scared. Natalie is not one to roam off and lose touch of where I am or her Dad, so being in the position she was must have been overwhelming for her.
Here she is taking her ONE bite..she told me later she didn't like it (but I am not suppose to tell anyone....always so concerned about hurting someones feelings)

AFterward

Me and my girl

And finally....we got a little bit of rain today! We are in dire need of some rain. Natalie and I each have this umbrella and we just love it!

Hope you have a great weekend!

The Shaker Box Aug kit and School shopping

2009-08-02T09:33:00.000-07:00

The Shaker Box has some amazing kits! I got to work with My Little Yellow Bicycle and Making Memories. I have 3 layouts completed and the mini album is in the works. Here are my layouts.
This one was the very first one I completed and I am really happy with the outcome. It's not traditional beach papers or title and that's what I love about it. The title really sums up the weekend we had at the beach.
"Happiness is not the destination, it's the journey"

"Our staycation"
This second one is all about our "staycation." I found this ginormous tent at a garage sale for $5...the dimensions are 10x14 and probably at least 6feet tall.

close up of the title

I also made a sketch to go along with this layout

"Giddy up and go....Petewilly"
Petewilly was the name of the horse. The owner told us that when she got him she got another horse at the same time, one name was Pete and the other Willy. They couldn't remember who was who so they just call them both Petewilly.
This last one is of Natalie riding the pony at the fair. Natalie is not a daredevil so riding the pony alone is quite an achievement for her. Actually, she did all sorts of "daring" things that day at the fair...like riding roller coasters!

We started school shopping already. Natalie told me she wanted a Princess backpack which suited her well. Well, I was in Target with my Mom and found this iCarly backpack and told Natalie about it. She was SO excited and REALLY wanted it...so she earned it and is in love with it. This is perfect since iCarly is her favorite show.

And then I bought this outfit for her....shortsleeve 2fer sweater with matching skirt....looks SO much cuter in person and ON!! I love it!

She's already been wearing her clothes and playing school in them. I was thinking this would make for a great first day of school outfit, but am leaning towards her white capris and tank...since they won't be doing anything dirty on that first day. LOL! Actually, I don't care if she gets dirty, Zout gets out all the stains! She seems excited for school but the closer it gets the more nervous I am getting. It's funny because I substitute in all those Kindergarten classrooms and know how capable the kindergartners are, but Natalie in MINE! She's so responsible so I know she'll do great, but I am still nervous.

Random ramblings..

2009-07-30T06:03:00.000-07:00

I planned on doing a blog post yesterday but our area lost internet connection!

It was already a week ago today that Natalie had her second set of tubes put in and tonsils taken out. The first few days were rough! I think the recovery for this has been far worse than when she broke her arm! She was quite grumpy while taking the Tylenol with codeine. This is the 3rd day of having a semi-happy Natalie back! I brought her to the park yesterday and we're heading out for frozen yogurt this afternoon. Her request for today is chocolate cupcakes WITHOUT frosting! Cupcakes are in the oven as I type and she's licking the bowl of batter.

I wanted to share a couple pictures from when we went to Olive Garden with my Mom and Grandma. The second we sat down in the booth, Natalie immediately saw the dessert menu and this dessert was all she could think about. It was VERY delicious!!

At the beginning of summer Natalie told me she wanted to go camping. I have never been out camping in a tent besides the backyard. I've been in a motor home or travel trailer...but never a tent. So, I thought about looking for a tent when I came across this one at a garage sale for $5! It's 10x14 and 6 feet high. Natalie has LOVED "camping" in the backyard!

The other day we bopped in at Family Dollar to get TP and bleach. While checking out we saw these ginormous lollipops! Natalie wanted one while we were in Shipshewana but I refused to pay $4 for it...so this one was only a dollar!

And finally, I was awarded this blog award from Pinky(Cristal). I am going to try being better about posting these blog awards..I always mean to and get sidetracked and forget.

This award is called the "Eye Like Your Style" from Janis at Pause, Dream, Enjoy. This beautiful award was created by her daughter.

The rules are easy....
1) by accepting this award you recognize that the giver "likes your style."
2)you agree to proudly display this award on your blog and post a link back to the giver.
3)you will share this award with those whose styles you like...because there are so many wonderful blogs out there!

I chose
1. Deanna M
2. Jennifer Y
3. Michelle
4. Helen (Love her tutorials!!)
5. Shannan

That's all for now..

Weekend update...

2009-07-25T06:36:00.000-07:00

I meant to update this earlier but we have been busy with having fun up until Natalie's surgery Thursday morning. So, here's a recap of what we've done in the past week.

Saturday we went to Woofstock in Kalamazoo. We met up with my cousin for a little while. It was another cute dog festival and we saw lots of cute dogs. Would you believe I did not take one photo!? We didn't want to hang out too long because we wanted to meet my Dad in Paw Paw for the car show. Here are some photos from that
this was my favorite....orange and a Camaro

Natalie by her favorite car model

My Dad had a car exactly like this one when my parents got married. Same color and everything. It was a total blast from the past for him.

Had to take a picture of The Back to the Future car...88mph!!

Natalie has told me that she wants a Corvette. It has to be one that has an open roof, so convertible or glass top...and she wants yellow, white or red. She has her Daddy's taste when it comes to cars!!

My wonderful friend Ashley came up to visit this past week. She moved to Florida last summer for a teaching job. We ate lunch at Olive Garden, shopped at Target and then watched the Twilight DVD at my house. It was so nice to just hang out. Here we are at Olive Garden

On Tuesday I took Natalie to the Van Buren County Fair. She fed the animals

Check out the hairdo on this llama

I bought her one of the bracelets so she could have unlimited use of the rides in the Midway. She rode each one about 5 times! She LOVED it!! She kept telling me she was having so much fun!

I love the look on her face in this one...so Natalie...cautious!

She even worked her way up to the rollercoaster! As you can see, Tuesday was not a busy day for the fair. Wednesday was kids day so I am guessing a lot of people went that day. We went on Tuesday since the weather forecast for Wed was possible rain...which of course it did not do.

Her prize from a game

She rode the pony all alone

This guy was making balloon animals and was so talented! He was hilarious, too!

And here she is with her balloon kitty

We had a long day at the fair but it was SO much fun!

Mon Ame Memories July kit

2009-07-19T10:30:00.000-07:00

I received my Mon Ame Memories July kit the other day and was thrilled to use it an my monthly crop last night. The kit has a cute travel theme to it, but as you'll see from my layouts they don't have to be travel themed. I also created a sketch for today's Make a wish challenge at Mon Ame Memories.
This is the sketch I created. You can join us at MAM here in the forum for this challenge.

I used the July kit to make this layout

I'll be back wiht more layouts from the kit....I just need to add a couple finishing touches.

Have a great Sunday!

Blueberry Pickin'

2009-07-08T17:28:00.001-07:00

Well, today was a first for Natalie and ME. We went and picked blueberries! I found this cute new place and decided to go there. It was only $1 a pound to pick the berries and we got 2.5 pounds. We had a really good time. Natalie LOVES blueberries so she was already digging into them on the way home. This place is opening a bakery some time next week so it would be nice to go back and check out their baked goods and get some more blueberries. Here are some pics I took while we were out there.

She just couldn't resist!

I had an urge to do some scrapping this evening...well, I saw a challenge on Label Tulip for their birthday party which immediately made me think of 2 photos from Natalie's bday.....which would work perfectly for the sketch challenge this week at The Shaker Box (sketch is provided by Got Sketch #78) I love it when things start turning in my head like that! SOOOOO......here it is...I have rediscovered my love for stitching on a layout.

The Shaker Box July kit is available

2009-07-07T15:09:00.000-07:00

The July kit from the Shaker Box is available! I loved workigng with this kit. I kicked out 5 layouts and 2 cards within such a short amount of time. It's full of My Little Shoebox and Crate Paper. There is also the cutest little owl mini album included.
Check it out

Here are two layouts I created with the kit
"Your Happy Gilmore swing"

Fun filled weekend...sorta

2009-07-06T06:08:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone had a great fourth! We went to the parade in Schoolcraft. It is one of the biggest in the area but I think this may be our last year. We may venture out to other parades in the future. We did not have the best experience. It was filled with lots of business advertising of people in a truck and people following with business cards. Kinda got boring, quick. The worst part was how adults were so crazy over penny candy. We were seated next to a lady who appeared very patriotic...she was spraying the girls' hair red and blue. They all had American flags to wave during the parade, too. Well, the Mom then told us that it was her daughter's 9th birthday. We wished the (unenthusiastic) girl a Happy Birthday! Well, whether or not it was her birthday, the Mom used that to their advantage. We started to wonder part way though the parade. She got out a huge sign that said, "Today is my 9th birthday!" I heard her tell a friend that last time they used the sign the people in the parade kept giving them extra candy. Sure enough, the parade begins and every time someone with candy came along they were standing and waving the sign. They all rotated who held the sign...Mom was out in the street, too. The littlest girl got mad because the brother wasn't "holding" the sign, he had it leaned against the wagon. That is when Mom got up and started waving the sign. These kids were running up and down the street grabbing as much candy as possible. You should have seen the Dad when he was a float passing out lunch bags with popcorn. You would have thought they were handing out $100 bills they was he was encouraging the kids. I was a bit disgusted. Last year we sat by people who were all making sure all the kids were getting candy. We were passing candy back to kids who weren't along the parade route. It was very friendly last year. There was a sense of community and SHARING!! These people were all about getting as much as possible. Very much an ALL ABOUT ME attitude. Of course, my Dad had a few comments to yell out at Natalie which hopefully made these people think. Ironically, at the last second some people my Dad knew sat by us with their 5 year old son. He was such a sweet boy and was trying to give candy to Natalie when the parade was all done. I saw a lot of people shaking their heads at the all about candy family. I have to wonder if these people and the kids even know what the parade is all about, or do they just think it's a way to get free penny candy? On top of it, there were adults lining the streets grabbing candy, too. Someone threw candy and a tootsie roll landed in the cup holder of my Dad's chair, an old man came up and grabbed it out! My Dad was speechless. I have to wonder if people show up to celebrate America and our brave military people, or to get free penny candy.
I did get a couple pictures of Natalie. This one is of her waiting for the parade

I love this one! She is watching the parade in this one....notice the green gum? LOL

Natalie has informed me that she wants a Corvette. She doesn't care what color, although she mentioned white, yellow and orange, BUT it must be a convertible. I am sure a glass top would be fine, too. LOL. I had to get a picture of her watching the Corvettes along the parade route.

We didn't got to any fireworks, but we watched the neighbors in my parents' neighborhood light them off. They have a bunch of neighbors who light off the good ones so we enjoyed them. We got home and had neighbors lighting them off here, too. Natalie enjoyed her sparklers, too.

Happy Birthday America!

2009-07-03T20:54:00.000-07:00

Mon Ame Memories Make a Wish Crop

2009-07-01T06:44:00.000-07:00

Mon Ame Memories is turning one and we're having a month long crop!

Weekend at Lake Michigan!

2009-06-30T19:35:00.000-07:00

Natalie has been wanting to go to the beach the second she thought it was Summer. I decided we would go on Saturday. We had such a great time. The water was calm and the beach became packed over the day. I put sunscreen on us both every single hour but I still got burned on the extreme sides of my back...places that I can't reach and didn't think to mention to Natalie. My parents joined us around 3pm and we ended up staying an additional 2 more hours. My Mom called the following day to see how I was feeling becasue she was concerned I may be burned and uncomfortable. I told her I felt find. Well, that opened the door, she wanted to go back to the Lake since my Dad was showing some houses. Sunday there were some pretty good waves. I thought the water was a bit warmer, too. We had a GREAT time both days. Natalie loves to go in the lake and then roll around in the sand! We kept calling her the sandman and some people next to us were calling her Sandy. She laughed when they said it but shared with me later that she really didn't like being called Sandy. LOL Here are some pics from our fun weekend!

Look at all that sand!

I had to stage a pic of Natalie on the way up the stairs to the car. I love this view of the beach and the pier

Some favorite scrappy goodies

2009-06-30T06:06:00.000-07:00

Cosmo Cricket is having a design team call and I thought I would give it a go! You miss 100% of the shots you never make, right?! I saw that quote at school one day and thought it was so inspirational in trying to do things in life! Here are a couple of my favorite projects using Cosmo Cricket
I love how this layout turned out! First of all, the funny subject...Natalie insisted I take a picture of her with this orange in her mouth. I also love how bright and cheerful this layout is! The picture, mix of patterns and the fan flower just make me happy when I see this layout.

Here is a close up of the fan flower

I also like how this layout turned out....the clean lines really put the focus on my favorite flip flops

This layout is another simple one which I added some bling and cutout flowers from the Early bird line. I like how I captured my daughter moving!

Here are just a couple layouts and projects that are just faves....not Cosmo Cricket products but I like them

And I love this bird home decor

I like how this layout came together, too....I like the house and the tree with the clouds in the sky.

So, there ya have it! Good luck to all trying out!

It's a scorcher!

2009-06-26T16:49:00.000-07:00

Whew! Summer arrived in full force here in Michigan....hot, humid and hazy! I have had th air on and you know it's hot if I have the air on. Yesterday I wanted to visit with my Mom, since I am so low on cell minutes we just drove the 3 miles to their house and hung out. Natalie used the shark slip and slide they got her last summer. She was scared to death of it last year and was the complete opposite yesterday! She had a blast! Ah, to be a kid again! Mom had us stay for dinner....steak on the grill and key lime pie for dessert. Yummy! You would be shocked at all the steak Natalie ate....as much, if not more, than my DAD! She also ate a ton of veggies, too. Here are some fun pics from her slip and slide

Here is another layout I made using the Mon Ame Memories June kit! I also used sketch 54 from Creative Scrappers! I love the vibrant colors in the kit. The Cosmo Cricket Early Bird is just adorable. I really love how it turned out....they funny thing is Natalie insisted I take a photo of her.

I am still waiting for New Moon to be returned to the library....there are 2 books that have been overdue for a week...c'mon people, there are some of us who want to read it! LOL!

Candy Shoppe Designs challenge toot and more scrappy stuff!

2009-06-24T11:01:00.000-07:00

I am so excited! I submitted my application to be a Lollipop Girl at Candy Shoppe Design. It's an upcoming new blog that will host challenges and inspire all of us scrapbookers. Lynetter felt that the challenge I had submitted would fit perfectly as a pre-opening challenge! I am so excited and honored she asked. Go to the blog and check it out! Sign up to be a follower and post a comment to this post and let her know I (Jennifer French) sent ya!

Here is the first challenge!

Here is the pre-opening challenge
You are to take this sketch provided by Jennifer and base your creation from it. You may take away from it, add to it, flip it, the choice is yours. Just as long as it's obvious that you got your inspiration from it. You are allowed to make ANY paper creation of your choosing whether it be a scrapbook layout, card, altered item, etc. The choice is yours!

2. You must include an item that is "something old" (6 months or older), "something new", "something borrowed" (the sketch, which is provided), and "something blue."

3. You must share the ingredients of your sweet layout AND a short description. Here's JUST an example of how this can be done:
Cardstock Paper: Bazzill Basics
Patterned Paper: Cosmo Cricket, Jenni Bowlin
Embellishments: Flowers-Prima Marketing, Chipboard-Tim Holtz, Brads-Making Memories
Pen: Signo Uni-ball
Other: Unknown
Short Description-My son, Isaiah, is always the center of attention. We can go to a playground and all the parents have their eyes on him. He keeps me on my toes with all the dangerous and daring stunts he does or "tricks" as he calls them.

*When posting your layout on your blog/gallery you should include a working link to C.S.D.

Here's some Eye Candy for you....Jennifer created this scrapbook layout based on the rules for this Challenge and this is what she came up with. (Less the Ingredients and short Description).
Here is the layout that fits this challenge

More scrappy news.....here are 2 layouts I have created with the June Mon Ame Memories kit...I love the Cosmo Cricket papers in this kit. The are so yummy and summery! I have more left in the kit so check back for more! I also did these layouts for the Schools Out for Summer crop at Treasured Scrapbooking.
for this first one I used sketch 24 by 52 sketches 52 weeks

and this one is based upon a sketch created by Aymee Gandy

And finally, I did this layout using the Becky Fleck sketch posted on her challenge blog

Misc. stuff....

2009-06-22T11:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I received a nice reply to my blog. She indicated that she followed my blog and liked reading it. Her kind comments were quite touching. I also received a blog award from her. I like to know who is reading my blog so please say hello. :)

Ok, so I am sure I am last to the party, but I finally read Twilight. I told myself I was going to read more and I wanted to know what all the hype was all about. Honestly, I NEVER thought I would like the book and just figured everyone was saying it was good because of all the hype....well, now I know....and now I am dying to read New Moon! Looks like another week before it is returned to the library, too! Ugh!

Yesterday was Father's Day and it also happened to be my parents' 34th wedding anniversary. We all went to South Haven for Harborfest and really enjoyed the sunshine, booths and the beach. Here are some photos of the day
Natalie had her face painted and I thought it turned out darling! I see a layout very soon about these pics!

side view

Natalie tried the dunk tank. A local church was raising money and they had the dunk tank....3 throws for $1 and if you didn't hit the bull's eye with any of the 3 chances then you got to go up and hit it with your hand. Natalie hit the bull's eye with her ball but since it was a soft hit she went and touched it with her hand. She loved it!

This is my mom and Dad with Natalie on the pier

Natalie loved playing on the beach. We're gonna have to head out there soon and just bask in the sun and enjoy the water

Finally, we finished the afternoon with some Ice Cream at Sherman's

A day in Shipshewana

2009-06-17T17:04:00.000-07:00

This morning my Dad called and invited Natalie and me to go to Shipshewana with him and my Mom. If you're not familiar with Shipshewana, it's an Amish area with lots of great food and shops. Cars share the roads with horses and buggies. When we arrived it was lunch time so we at at The Blue Gate. Natalie discovered how much she loves Apple Butter while we were there! She even put it on her cheeseburger! Anywho, I found this quote on a wall hanging and just love it!

After The Blue Gate we went through the local shops, bought some pretzels and candy.
While we were in the Mearcantile building Natalie rode the carousel...it was really neat because it looked like a vintage carousel in amazing condition

We took a carriage tour around town. Natalie chose this carriage and horse to be our guide...the horses name is Eva. Of course Natalie pointed out that Eva is just like Eva on WallE

Natalie absolutely LOVED the ride. Her face was beaming the entire time. It was really nice to just sit back and enjoy the ride. This is Natalie with my Dad before the tour

Natalie's loved the ride!

A nice girl offered to take a family photo of all of us in front of The Blue Gate Restaurant.

I had Dad take a pic of me and Natalie, also. I don't get enough photos taken WITH her.

Finally, on the way home we stopped at the Cheese Factory. This place makes the cheese right at the facility and you can see it being made. You can also taste little samples of all the cheese. I bought some vegetable cheese, muenster cheese, horseradish cheese and swiss cheese. I also picked up some apple butter and peanut butter spread. We were so lucky with our timing. When we arrived hardly anyone was in the Cheese Factory but as we were getting ready to check out FOUR charter buses arrived and people flooded the place.

The drive to and from Shipshewana is about an hour. Natalie was unbelievable on the way home. She was being so silly and could not stop laughing. I mean, was there some sort of Silly cheese at the Cheese Factory?! Maybe it's just my 5 year old girl, but the words poop, pee and fart make her laugh hysterically. She was being silly and kept saying these words. I told her if I heard her say poop, pee or fart one more time she was going to be in trouble. She said "Ok, what words can't I say?" So, I repeated myself....only to have her laughing hysterically....YES, I was tricked by a 5 year old! She just wanted to hear my say those words again!

Simply Obsessed June kit reveal

2009-06-09T18:58:00.000-07:00

Oh, this month's June kit from Simply Obsessed was just gorgeous! It's packed with yummy Jenni Bowlin "Farmer's Wife" and Graphic 45. What a perfect combination!! Here are some layouts I created with the kit
The Jenni Bowlin Farmer's Wife papers and embellishments worked perfectly with my cow pictures from the fair.
"Mooments"

This layout is titled "Finally 5" Natalie couldn't wait to turn 5!

Here is a close up of the butterflies

and a close up of the fan flower

Finally, I think this is my new favorite layout.
"Laugh out Loud"

a close up of the flower

The Shaker Box June kit

2009-06-02T18:03:00.000-07:00

I am very fortunate to be designing for The Shaker Box this summer. I received my kit and was in love with it! It is packed with Cosmo Cricket's Everafter! How perfect for the wedding month of June. Now, the kit is not exclusive to wedding or romance, as you'll see from my layouts.
Here is what I created
Me and Natalie on Mother's Day

Signing "I love you"

Hug me, squeeze me, Love me
Natalie and our cat Leo...their love for one another is mutual!

and a couple cards

Happy 5th Birthday, Natalie!

2009-05-22T03:00:00.000-07:00

Today is my sweet baby girl's 5th Birthday! It was 5 years ago today that my life changed for the absolute best. I never knew it was possible to love someone so much, and to have that love grow every single day. I have been blessed with such a sweet daughter. Happy Birthday, Natalie!

Love a happy ending...the story of Tammy and Graduation

2009-05-17T05:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Natalie's first day of swim class. Afterward, we got some breakfast and ran some errands. We got home and I was talking to my SIL for quite a while when I walked into my bedroom, looked out my window and saw a dog in my backyard....in my FENCED in backyard! I was shocked. I walked out and called at it and quickly discovered it was elderly....she never looked at me the entire time I was calling or whistling. I called the vet office thinking they could scan her for a microchip. I told them I found a dog in my backyard when the vet tech cut me off and asked if it was an old beagle with Florida tags. I was so thrilled! Yes she was!....I was thinking someone must have called and reported their dog missing. The vet tech told me to come on down and they'll scan her....which had me a little confused.
When I got to the vet office the ladies told me that a man had stopped in their office, told them that he and another lady had found a beagle roaming along the road. The decided to put it in someone's backyard....and then he left. The vet office had no idea where this dog was to even help find an owner. The ladies scanned the beagle for a microchip without luck. I brought the dog home and decided I would call Polk County, Florida since that is where the dog's rabies vaccination was from. I was going to wait until Monday since I figured the office was closed on Saturday. In the mean time, I decided to give the dog a bath since she was so muddy and wet. I decided to get on the internet anyhow and found a phone number for Polk County Animal Control. I called it....they were open! I asked the lady, Mary, if I gave her the numbers on the dog license if she could find the owners. She sure could! So I gave the numbers to her and she said the owners were from Lakeland, FL. She asked if the dog looked about 15 (Oh yes!) and her name was Tammy. She told me she'd call them and call me right back. Now, I live up in Michigan so I figured someone was visiting their family or back here for the Summer. Mary calls me back only to tell me the phone number had been disconnected. Ugh! Another road block! She then told me to hold on and came back with the owners name and address. My first plan was to see if there was anyone in this area with the same last name because maybe the owners were visiting relatives. Plan B would be to send a letter down to Florida. I looked in my phone book only to find an exact match for the owner's name AND they lived in the subdivision behind me. I called the number and a lady answered the phone. I told her I found her dog and I could bring her back home. It was so exciting! The owner was a 94 year old woman and she was worried sick about her dog. She told me that she was so afraid that was the end of her dog. I told her that I called Polk County in florida and Mary was the one who was able to give me a name to reunite them. The 94 year old lady told me that they no longer live in Florida. She was more than grateful for her dog's safe return and I was SO thrilled to have reunited them!
This is 15 year old Tammy.

After delivering Tammy to her owner, we had to hurry and come home to finish getting ready for Natalie's Preschool Graduation Celebration. Natalie kept telling me I was going to cry....she was right. I did a little bit. It was such a wonderful show. They had the Butterfly room perform and then took those kids backstage to put on caps. Later, they came out as their names were called to grab a "diploma" and then all stood in line. All the kids looked adorable! I took a ton of pics but all of them have other kids from KiddieU in them so I won't post those....I took this one when we got home.

Bad blogger!

2009-05-15T17:56:00.000-07:00

I have been such a bad blogger lately....Anywho, here is a quick update. Natalie starts swim lessons in the morning and she has her preschool graduation celebration in the afternoon. I am so excited about both. I am hoping the weather is warmer that what is being predicted because I REALLY want Natalie to wear this cute dress. It's indoor so I am sure she'll be fine.
My parents got his ridiculously adorable and SMALL puppy! She is a pekingese/chihuahua mix and weighs a whopping 12 ounces. Natalie wants to carry her everywhere! Here she is giving Missy lots of love.

I officially have 14 days left until Summer vacation. I am SO disappointed! I LOVE these 4th graders and will miss them tremendously! I cannot believe how fast this time has gone by and how much they have taught me. I hope they can say the same about me. We have had so many good times, from our field trip to Lansing to making Metamorphic rock pancakes and we still have so much to look forward to....field day, painting ceiling tiles and ice cream day at the park. I can guarantee I will cry on my last day with them...but I am OK with that!

Have a great weekend!

Over the Rainbow crop at Coordinates Collections

2009-05-08T14:58:00.000-07:00

I am hosting a crop at Coordinates Collections and it is going on RIGHT NOW!! Get on your ruby red slippers and come on over. All challenges surround the Wizard of Oz. I hope you'll join!

Simply Obsessed Reveal

2009-05-06T03:32:00.000-07:00

I was beyond excited to work with this kit from Simply Obsessed! I love Pink Paislee and I knew this collection would work wonderfully with my pictures.
"Baby Billy Goat"

"Happy Girl"

I used the cardboard packaging that my kit came in as a background on this layout.
"Hold me"

A few cards

May reveal at Scrapbook Heaven

2009-05-01T18:36:00.000-07:00

Today is reveal day at Scrapbook Heaven. My kit was filled with lots of MME Bloom and Grow.
These first two layouts I used a sketch from Creative Scrappers.

Life is good

2009-04-26T18:57:00.000-07:00

It seems I have been busy lately...a good busy. Last Tuesday was our class field trip to our state Capitol. I had to bring Natalie to a DR appt for another ear infection on Wednesday, and Thursday was a Kindergarten meeting for parents. This weekend we had loads of fun. I took Natalie to the free Spring matinee at Kalamazoo 10 to see Hotel For Dogs. After the movie, we headed out to my Aunt Kathy's farm and checked out all the animals. Such a great time of year because of all the new babies. There were 1 week old kittens and 3 week old goats. The goats are so friendly that we can pick them up and snuggle with them just like a puppy. Natalie loved every second of it! She fell in love with the kittens (of course) and the goat. She LOVED that goat. It has been bottle fed since birth since the mother rejected it so this goat tends to think it's more human that goat. It was just SO cute to see Natalie and this goat.
These were taken on our Saturday visit.

These were taken today...the brown goat was Natalie's "buddy"

Something great about being a kid is appreciating everything in nature. As an adult, dandelions in my yard are a nuisance. But to Natalie, they are free flowers for Mom. Natalie was so excited to see all the flowers that appeared in Mommy's yard this weekend. She must have picked me a hundred dandelions this weekend. They don't last long but it's the thought that counts!

Scrappy Sunday

2009-04-19T16:00:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe I have already completed one week of school since Spring Break! It's been busy around here...a good busy, though.

I went to my monthly crop last night and was able to start and later finish a few layouts. I worked on a few things from my Mon Ame Memories kit. Here they are. Lots of MME Bloom and Grow. Yum-o!

I also did some layouts just because...I like how the bright colors on the papers compliment the pictures. Natalie was so careful when coloring eggs this year. I love that bunny headband, too!

And this layout I made with some Jillibean Soup papers. The pictures are from last Spring when me, Natalie and my Mom went to this pond in Portage. There were literally tons of frogs and a bazillion tadpoles of varying sizes in it. It was so cool.

This weeks Product of the Week is up on Coordinates Collections.

Mon Ame Memories sketch crop

2009-04-14T15:23:00.001-07:00

Sketch on Friday, April 17th from 6-10EST at Mon Ame Memories

Happy Easter!

2009-04-11T15:51:00.000-07:00

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter! We've had a great couple weeks getting ready for Easter, coloring eggs and hunting for eggs at a couple different hunts. yesterday, Natalie and I colored eggs. The only part of the coloring that I did was add the dye tablet to some water/vinegar. Natalie was so proud and happy to carefully add an egg to each color. She did such an outstanding job! Oh, and my Grandma gave Natalie some bunny ears that Natalie insisted on wearing all day. I thought she looked just adorable in it, especially with the egg coloring pictures.

The colors were so vibrant on these eggs. I just loved this lime green!

And here she is with them all

And a little piece of Easter scrappiness...I made this layout for a Treasured Scrapbooking challenge. The challenge was to use a rainbow on the layout. I also used an Inspired Blueprints sketch for this layout.

Hip Hop class...Days 1 and 2

2009-04-08T05:30:00.001-07:00

Natalie is doing a Hip Hop Spring Camp for four days this week. The first day I stayed the entire time, but Tuesday we agreed I could leave. She is really enjoying herself in this class! Here are videos from Monday and Tuesday

Here is Tuesday's video

Simply Obsessed April reveal

2009-04-06T04:32:00.000-07:00

I really loved the soft colors in this month's kit at Simply Obsessed. I had so much fun creating with it!
The calming colors worked perfect for this "Nap time" layout.

The brown and blue colors in this kit made it even more versatile. This layout is of my daughter and a Great Dane we met at an Easter egg hunt.
"Eye 2 Eye"

I love how the pinks in the kit worked with this picture of my daughter and a pink marshmallow peep.
"Pink Marshmallow Peep"

And finally, I made this piece of home decor using some chipboard pieces that I already had and covered them with papers from the awesome April kit. I used the wing rubons on a neutral color that was also included in the kit and then cut the wings out. I added ribbon and flowers from my stash and some twigs from the backyard.

Here is a close up of the female bird. I love how the pearl flowers worked as eyes.

Easter egg hunt...

2009-03-29T06:32:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was the annual Easter egg hunt at the Portage Celery Flats. I am so glad the weather was cooperative so we could enjoy the activities this year...last year we had too much snow! Natalie was very excited to go and had her place scoped out so she could grab some sour candy she saw. She grabbed that first and anything after that was just a bonus!

The sour candy she REALLY wanted!

Here she is with her loot...already with some candy in her mouth.

Her candy "bling"

While we were emptying the eggs we met this GIANT Great Dane. Now, I understand that Great Dane's are huge...but this one seemed particularly big. Natalie got her picture taken with him, too. He was such a gentle giant...the owner said this is about as active as he gets. LOL

After the hunt I was ready for some lunch...Natalie voted for Sonic so I checked to see how busy it was...perfect timing! It wasn't busy at all (until we left)

Natalie wanted her picture taken of the pickle the slipped off the burger but not into her mouth

Sunday Scrapbooking

2009-03-22T17:35:00.000-07:00

It sure feels like Spring around here! Saturday was my monthly crop and I felt like I accomplished a lot and LIKED what I created. I feel like I've been in a slump with my projects lately.
So, I participated in Treasured Scrapbooking's Women in History crop this weekend.
This was the very first layout I completed at the crop this weekend. The layout is based from a sketch by Inspired Blueprints

This layout was for the Amelia Earhart challenge and I also used a sketch from The Scrappiest blog

Finally, this layout was based on Helen Keller. The challenge was to create a "blind" layout. We had to follow the directions without seeing an example. One of the neatest challenges I have ever done!

This week's POW is up at Coordinates Collections...Jillibean Soup's Minestrone Collection

The Shaker Box

2009-03-18T06:22:00.000-07:00

I forgot to mention that I tried out for The Shaker Box's DT coordinator positon and got it! I'll be designing and coordinating with the June, July and August kits. I am really excited and can already tell you that there is some amazing stuff in the June kit! Check out the site...lots of friendly ladies and inspiration.

Scrappy stuff Sunday

2009-03-15T10:34:00.000-07:00

Well, every Sunday I should start posting my scrap related stuff...so, here goes.
Today is Creative Scrappers Sketch#43 reveal. You can see the sketch and what everyone did on the blog
This is my layout

I wanted this layout to have red, black, green and purple, like the joker. The picture is of Natalie after she licked the red velvet cake batter from the bowl. I thought it was so funny how she looked the like the Joker...so I grabbed my camera and snapped some photos.
These are the latest layouts and door hanging I created using the Mon Ame Memories March Kit. Lots of Basic grey Marrakech

Every Sunday I feature a Product of the Week at Coordinates Collections. This week was SEI's Bridgeport Collection. You can check it out in the forum here

Bath and Body made me so happy today....

2009-03-08T12:43:00.000-07:00

I went to get my haircut today and had a few extra minutes before Yun was ready. I walked over to Bath and Body only to fall in love with their new scent..Nectarine Mint! So fresh and yummy!
I did get some soaps. While I was checking out I saw they had some umbrellas on sale for 1/2 off. The umbrella just seemed perfect for me when I saw it was orange, I love orange. When I looked at it more I discovered that the underside of the umbrella looks like blue sky with white clouds! I've wanted an umbrella like that for quite a while.
This is what the umbrella looks like...it's called optimism.

Spring Training and a sketch LO

2009-03-02T05:25:00.000-08:00

Today is the opening day for Simply Obsessed's Spring Training Crop! There will be challenges every Mon, Wed and Fri....more details in the forum. Come join! It will be loads of fun and there are PRIZES!!

Yesterday was sketch 41 reveal at Creative Scrappers. You can also see what the GDT member and the DT members did with teh sketch on the blog.

Here is my layout. I rotated the sketch and added a couple more circles throughout the layout for balance.

Disney on Ice!

2009-03-01T14:28:00.001-08:00

On Saturday, Natalie and I went with a friend of mine and her 3 daughters to see Disney on Ice. It was truly an awesome show! Natalie loved every single second of it. Natalie couldn't wait to see the Princesses. I LOVED the "It's a Small World" show. It followed with an amazing light parade! I will post pics, but they look SO much better in real life.
This was the beginning of the show.

Finding Nemo

The Princesses

The next four are "It's a Small World"

This is a picture of the light parade.

Natalie and her Minnie Mouse ears

All of the characters came out for one final wave at the end of the show and skated around the ice arena.

The finale

Scrappy update

2009-02-25T16:22:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday was my monthly crop. I completed 2 layouts...one I'll share today and the other on Sunday with the new sketch reveal at Creative Scrappers. I had a great time as usual but was not looking forward to my drive home. All night long it was snowing like crazy. I never went over 30 the whole way home. The roads had never been plowed and were covered in thick snow.
Here is the one layout I completed...this is Natalie and her new Webkinz that she named Princess Scout. This was a non kit layout...first one in quite a while. Actually, I did 2 that night!!

I forgot to post 2 layouts i have completed with the Feb kit from Mon Ame Memories. Love all the Jenni Bowlin packed in this kit! Mon Ame had a DT call going on right now also...you have until Friday to get your apps in if you're interested!

Quck update

2009-02-18T18:01:00.000-08:00

Things have been going well. I was offered a long term guest teacher position for a fourth grade class. It'll start around Spring break and last until the last day of school. I am thrilled to see what this journey will teach me!
Well, Natalie is now taking care of her first Webkinz. She picked out a Golden Retriever and named her Princess Scout. I thought that was such a cute and cool name. We have been working hard on taking care or her. There are so many cute, fun, interactive and educational games on Webkinz.com. Natalie already has a princess themed room started, complete with a beutiful bed and coach TV.

Natalie has been wanting a pair of Sketcher shoes. She told me she saw a commercial for them and wanted a pair. So, Jack ordered some the other day and they arrived at the house today. Natalie was so excited! They are super cute!

One more thing...every Sunday a new sketch is revealed at Creative Scrappers. Here is the layout I created with this weeks sketch. You can also check out what others did with the sketch at the blog

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T05:46:00.000-08:00

Natalie and I really celebrated the big LOVE day yesterday. Her preschool party was yesterday and Jack wanted Natalie to stay with him last night...so we did our heart pancake breakfast yesterday morning, also. Which reminds me, what is the secret to getting those pancakes to stay in a heart shape? I think I had too much batter becausu I would wait to let the bottom get firm, then lifted the heart cookie cutter....but the batter would run over. Anywho, she still had heart shaped eggs and bacon...her favorites.
So, I got Natalie dressed in her adorable Valentine's day outfit and brought her to preschool for her party. Here she is...if you've ever noticed, Natalie almost ALWAYS has a a skirt on. We have compromised and she came up with the idea to alternate between pants and skirts. Not every pant day turns into a pant day, but I am just happy she's wearing some of her cute pants more often. With it being so cold, she must wear leggings with her skirts, which she had a dozen different patterns. I love that she is so girly like this!

Here are the treats we passed out to her preschool friends. I didn't want to do a store bought card and sucker, so we made these marshmallows (Thanks Deanna for posting on your blog) I cut tags from my cricut and stole another idea from AbbieT (Another thank you) I put a tick tac toe board on each tag showing hearts winning...the saying said, "Love always wins" Love Natalie.

Natalie also cut out a heart shape for her BFF Adam. I've noticed a lot of other boys are wanting to give her hugs when she leaves, too...but she kinda resists them, but Adam ALWAYS gets a big hug. Way to be committed, girl! Just kidding! LOL

Simply Obsessed Feb kit

2009-02-10T08:33:00.001-08:00

Here are my creations using the Simply Obsessed February kit.

Scrapbook Heaven Feb kit

2009-02-02T05:29:00.000-08:00

The kit from Scrapbook Heaven is jam packed with embellies...unique and fun ones at that. Here are 4 projects I created with the kit and I have so much left that I could easily make more.

I also used a sketch from Creative Scrappers for this layout

Sunday is snow fun!

2009-02-01T12:55:00.000-08:00

Finally, the temps have warmed above freezing! It feels so "warm" that people around here are going to be putting the tops down on their cars and opeing windows! Not really, but it a lot better than negative temps and teens. Temps made it to the mid 30's today. With the warmer temps the snow is finally wet enough to pack and make a snowman. Natalie and I went out and made two snowmen and then I built a snow "castle" for her. Whew! That's a lot of work moving all that snow around, but well worth it! As always, we had to color our snowmen and fort. The way we make everything colored is by mixing food coloring water in a spray bottle and then spray our snow. It's fun to write in the snow also...great for days when the snow isn't good for packing.

Yes, it's actually sunny out today also...Natalie's eyes are squinted it's so bright out. Seems ever brighter when it's been cloudy for a month.

Natalie's snow castle

Busy, busy, busy...

2009-01-29T19:02:00.000-08:00

Things have been quite busy lately. I have been fortunate to be in the same classroom subbing for the past 2 weeks. Such a wonderful group of Kindergarteners! Last week was my monthly crop and I finished a couple layouts using my Scrapbook Heaven kit. As soon as the reveal is announced, I can post pics. Last weekend we also went to a sledding party at church. Here is a pic of Natalie at the top of the hill. It was a very big hill that her and I went down..but becasue the snow is fluffy the sled moved at a perfect rate.

This pic is in front of our Target. Natalie always wants me to take a picture of her in this circle. I was so glad my Mom joined in the picutre, too.

And, this is just a cute one of Natalie with her Hello Kitty earmuffs.

This weekend is a perfect time for crops! Simply Obsessed is having a Super Bowl crop filled with games and challenges.

Mon Ame Memories is also hosting a crop this weekend. Not only that, but there is a design team call going on.

I do have some exciting scrappy news...can't give all the details yet but I'll give you a hint...it's a GDT opportunity.

Week of mourning.

2009-01-22T14:20:00.000-08:00

Well, this has been a week of mourning. Jack's Grandpa Schlaack passed away on Tuesday morning after battling cancer for the past couple years. I can remember the very first time I met him back in 1997. He talked to me like he had knowm me my whole life. He had the most wonderful laugh and loved to talk about their travels. I will always think of him whenever I see or hear of Murfreesboro, TN. He told us that whenever they drove to FL. they would always stop there for the night to rest before they started in on the next day of driving. He had the kindest heart and a warm voice and heart. He married Grandma Schlaack after her first husband passed away in a tractor accident...leaving behind 3 teenage children and Grandma. Grandpa was the only Grandpa all the grandkids knew since he came into the picture shortly before grandkids came along. Jack had told me so many wonderful stories about Grandpa Schlaack, how he's play with them and the trips to FL. while they were kids. Even after Jack and I divorced, I still stayed in touch with them. I am so prould to have a shelf that he made Jack and I for our wedding. He worked at a place that made pianos,after the place closed he was able to use some of the wood there and made things wit it. The shelf was one of those things, truly gorgeous! He was such a talented craftsman. You will be missed!

Another piece of sad news from the scrapping community. I woke up this morning to see on Kim's facebook page that she was grieving her friend, Janice. The only Janice I could think of was Janice Nielson, so I popped in at SJ to see if the horrible news was true. Unfortunately, it was. I was so shocked and immediately my eyes filled with tears. Janice was the most loving person. I can remember PMing her so many times about scrapbooking and she gave me so many tips and offered so much to me that I was not aware of. She just PM'd me recently to tell me a funny story about how a kit almost got thrown away. It was the little things like that in which I admired about her. She always saw the glass as half full. She always left the most uplifting and postivie comments on layouts. Her love for her family was so evident in her scrapbook layouts. I am so thankful for this day of technology. I would have never "known" Janice if it weren't for the internet. I never heard her voice or saw her physically, but I truly adored this woman just by hanging out with her on the boards. I will miss you so much, Janice.

-11 degrees F!

2009-01-16T19:23:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it is -11F right now! That is actual temp...it "feels" like -25! It's hard to believe it will be about 100 degrees warmer in 6 months! This is about that time of year when I start complaining about the cold temps and wish I lived in Florida. But, I'm not gonna do it! I am just going to appreciate the four seasons here in Michigan.

I have some scrapbook layouts to share from the latest Scrapbook Heaven kit.
I used a sketch from Creative Scrappers for this layout

Mix it up!

2009-01-13T04:32:00.000-08:00

I did this layout using a sketch from the Mix it Up blog..it is also a layout I did towards a DT I am trying out for. For the Mix it Up challenge, we had to use "beginning" in our layout. I titled this layout, The beginning of a green thumb. The journaling is about how Natalie loves to help in the garden!

Christmas Program...finally and car update

2009-01-10T18:51:00.000-08:00

Natalie's Preschool Christmas program was held on Thursday. I would say if it would have been on Friday it would have been rescheduled again after all the snow we got on Friday! The program started off with a great slideshow of the infants and 1 year old. The two year olds started the singing part of the program...very entertaining! They were so darn cute and funny. The 3 years olds were just as entertaining. Natalie's 4 year old class did a great job singing and doing their body movements. Natalie decided to hang out with her friends at the program which was kinda neat and different. I am so use to sitting by her all the time that it was unusual to have her sitting with her friends. Unusual, yet happy at the same time. I am so glad she is developing friendships and has the confidence to go on her own like that. Natalie and her friend Hailey were haning out a lot...along with Meredith and Troy. Such a cute bunch of kids. The program ended with a very nice skit about the journey Mary and Joseph made and then the arrival of baby Jesus.
Here is a pic of Natalie before the program. Gotta love the big cheesy smile

This is Natalie and her absolute favorite teacher, Miss Sarah. Natalie is so excited when it is a Miss Sarah day. I love that Natalie loves Miss Sarah so much...it tells me that Sarah is a great person and I am glad she is teaching Natalie!

Car update....
I got the call on Tuesday that the damage to my car was $1,500! It's still being repaired, the estimated completion date in Monday. Bummer! I really don't want to give back this rental...it's a brand new Chevy Impala with 890 miles on it. Well, I have done a lot of scrapping today and am off to do some more!

Scrapbook Heaven Crop

2009-01-06T06:52:00.000-08:00

"If you're like most of us, you've probably got lots of scrapbooking supplies; so much that they're probably overflowing in your scrap space! PLUS, with all the new supplies received for Christmas, let's just say that we NEED to be using up our stash. Join us on January 11th as we kick off a three-week game of "Use Your Stash" BINGO, right here at Scrapbook Heaven! Each week we'll post a new BINGO card filled with a variety of scrappy supplies. Use up as many items as you can, and you're well on your way to winning the grand prize! Get your BINGO chips ready!

Also, for the month of January I created a "round" challenge. Here is my example.

Simply Obsessed reveal

2009-01-05T13:36:00.000-08:00

Here are my creations I made using the January Kit from Simply Obsessed. I had a lot of fun creatin these layouts...perfect for all the snow filled days here in Michigan...well, at least back in December. It's been green for about 2 weeks now. Yay!

Bowling!

2009-01-03T11:06:00.000-08:00

I took Natalie bowling for her first time yesterday. I was shocked at how busy the place was! We had to wait about 25 minutes to get a lane, but it was worth every single second. I didn't think that would be very nice of me to take Natalie to the bowling alley and then leave because it was busy. She was SO excited to bowl! First of all, I just have to say that Airway Lanes has really done an awesome remodel. The whole exterior and interior of the building is awesome now! There is also a lot of other cool things to do outside and inside now...miniature golf, laser tage, Quiznos, etc....so, we'll be heading back to do some of the other things. Natalie did a great job "rolling" the ball down the lane. She scored a 55! I am thinking I should have put the bumpers up for myself since I only got a 77...BUT I did let Natalie bowl in my place but only 3 times. Basically, I just stink at bowling! LOL I usually only get a 120 anyhow.
It's so hard to get good pics indoors but I think you get the idea. Here is Natalie with her blue bowling ball....she alternated between the 5lb blue ball and 8 lb pink ball.

I love this girly looking roll...I can see her wrists and fingers flexed

She would patiently watch the ball go all the way down and hit the pins. You can see in this pic that I cut quite a bit of her hair. I can't get over how much thicker and healthier it feels.

and this was the typical cheer afterwards! Yes, she does have hands! She just hates having the ends rolled because it'll leave wrinkles.

Crunch!

2008-12-31T12:48:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I pulled my car out and parked it in the turnaround part of the driveway so that Natalie could drive her Jeep. A couple hours later, Jack came and picked her up. Now, I NEVER leave my car in the driveway, but I did this time. Well, Natalie and I were waving and blowing kisses; Jack forgot my car was there and backed right into it! He was barely even moving but it still caused a bit of damage. I will say that he sits up so much higher in his truck and he is so use to me not having the car in the driveway so I'll give him that (today that is...I wasn't too happy about it yesterday) Well, his insurance covers it all and the car goes in on Tuesday to get fixed. I'll get a rental car, too. I am sure that the rental car will make me want a newer car even more. So, I thought that this would be a good time to tell Jack that I scratched the brand new floor in the living room....Nah! The scratch is barely noticable but it is long and I KNOW Jack will see it right away so I have "conveniently" had something there anytime he comes over. This Christmas tree tote is going to have to go in the basement sooner or later...but it's doing such a good job covering up the scratch. I guess that I can always remind him about my car! LOL

Wonderful Christmas!

2008-12-27T17:42:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas! We went to Christmas Eve Mass...this was the busiest I have ever seen in my life. We were actually sitting in the side hallway watching Mass on the TV. We hung out at my parents' house for a few before we came home and crashed in bed at about 8:30! We opened gifts up around 6am. I couldn't wait another second for Natalie to open everythng! Natalie is so excited about all of her gifts! The ONE thing she wanted was her Little Mommy Gotta Go Doll. Santa was kind enough to get it for her. This doll has so many phrases and of course the best part....she goes potty in the toilet. But the good part for me is that there is no water and no mess. Natalie and I were laughing so hard today while playing with this doll...she says the funniest things.

My Mom got Natalie one a doll and horse from Target...kinda reminds me of American Girl dolls.

We also have a Fur real monkey in the house now, too.

My brother got Natalie her own camera.

I was so glad when I heard this because she loves to use mine. Well, now I know who Natalie feels about me always having my camera in her face. She has been taking pictures of me nonstop. She is having a BLAST with it though...that's the important thing! So, these are just a few of Natalie new things and hopefully she'll be enjoying it all for quite a while.
My parents absolutley LOVED the snapfish 81/2x11 photo album I made for them. It was filled with pictures of when they took Natalie to Mackinaw Island in August. I recieved some beautiful clothes and jewelry just to mention a few things. Honestly, the best part was watching Natalie's excitement and also seeing how happy the album made my parents. You can't put a price tag on happiness! Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T04:00:00.000-08:00

Christmas Party

2008-12-23T16:08:00.000-08:00

Natalie's preschool Christmas party was today. Even though she didn't go to school we still go and I help out. The kids made cards, candy cane reindeer, had a jingle bell toss and painted in snow. I had a blast helping out! I got the cutest picture of Natalie and Adam...her "boy" friend. They are best buds and really help each other out. Natalie has had a hard time going back to school after a long summer off with me. So, they have grown by helping each other!
Well, over the last month the kids have been making gifts for parents. Today, we brought home the gift bag. I saw there was a recipe book. At first I was disappointed becasue I thought all the families contributed a recipe to the book and that I didn't. I opened it up to find it was recipes as interpreted by the kids. This recipe book is so darn cute!

Here are a couple examples of what the kids had to say
Pizza by Natalie
Directions:Order from the pizza place a pepperoni pizza snd some breadsticks.
I will eat one piece of pizza and two breatdsticks.
Mom will eat one piece of pizza and one breadstick.

Pizza by Adam
Directions: Call the pizza man and ask for just cheese.
Drink root beer with your pizza. (Mom likes salad, too)

Pizza by Ryan
Directions: Order it and Dad goes to Pizza Hut to get it, and Mom goes to Burger King to get me a toy.

Mac and Cheese by Ryan
Ingredients:
Noodles (cuz we ran out)
Directions:
Put it in the oven, you don't need cheese.
When it takes so long, it is done.

Pumkpin Pie by Hailey
Ingredients: Find pie in desset section at store.
Directions: Mix together
Put in oven for 50 cents
Eat while hot-with whipped cream
Buy more stuff

These are just a few examples. Arent' they just adorable!

Early Winter Break!

2008-12-20T06:36:00.000-08:00

I had a feeling we would get dumped with snow on Friday! I saw that the schools had planned their holiday parties for Thursday, and they did this weeks in advance. I thought it was a great idea, just in case there was a snow day on Thursday then the party could be on Friday. Well, we got dumped with a ton of heavy snow and sleet over Thursday night. No school for any of the kids in this part of the state. I don't have a "school" age child, but I sub and Natalie goes to preschool. Even Natalie's preschool was closed. Such a bummer! With the Mattawan SChools being closed, that meant no Kiddie U Christmas Program! I have been looking forward to Natalie's preschool program all month. I even bought her a necklace, bracelet, earrings and new hair bows that I was going to give her before her program. I am sure that Kiddie U will come up with an alternative, but I am not good at waiting. I wanted to give Natalie all that stuff Sunday when I bought it!LOL. So, we went outside and I shoveled a path in the backyard so the dogs can go potty. I have an amazing friend that plows my driveway so he came over in the afternoon and did that. Seriously, Craig is such a great friend. The first time he plowed the driveway I had no clue who did it. Jack and I finally figured it out and Craig has been plowing it ever since, that's been 6 or 7 years ago! I thought he may quit plowing my driveway when Jack and I separated since he was more of a friend of Jacks. Nope, he continued. And, he doesn't charge a penny. He just asks if he can store the plow in the garage over the summer! Of course! I have more than enough room and it's the least I can do for a friend like him!

December fun

2008-12-13T13:45:00.001-08:00

Well, we have been having some fun lately. Last Saturday we made our Rudolph and Santa cookies. I should have done one on Saturday and the other on Sunday becasue by the time we finished the Rudolph cookies and started Santa, Natalie had enough. But, she did keep telling me that hse only wanted to make Rudolph. She did help make 1/2 a dozen or so of the Santa cookies. I frosted the cookes and then Natalie put on the antlers for Rudolph, eyes and nose for both, and Santa's beard. It was so fun to make them!

On Wedensday I didn't have to sub so Natalie asked to go sledding. I thought that was such a good idea. We headed over to my Mom and Dad's. The snow was perfect for sledding. It wasn't deep or thick so it was easy to get the sled moving down the hill. Natalie was laughing and having so much fun!
Getting ready to go!

While we were sledding, we saw deer tracks all over their yard...you can see the tracks around this tree where the deer were trying to eat the berries. Then the tracks head off to and around back to the open field.

I have also excited to announce that I have made the Creative Scrappers DT. I really like this site and they have so much inspiration and awesome sketches.

Simply Obsessed reveal

2008-12-12T16:51:00.000-08:00

I have been so busy and tired the past couple days that I almost forgot to post my layouts from my December kit for Simply Obsessed. I love the colors and decorative edges on the papers.

Scrapbook Heaven's December kit reveal

2008-12-10T05:55:00.000-08:00

Today is reveal day at Scrapbook Heaven. I really loved working with this kit. I literally got it on a Saturday afternoon and had four layouts done by the time I went to bed that night. It was so fun to work with! Here is what I did with the Snow Angels kit.

You can see what other DT members did with their kits by clicking here. Each DT member has their own thread for reveal. There are 2 kits available!

Crazy cold!!! Brr!

2008-12-05T19:00:00.000-08:00

It is crazy cold already! It is currently 14 degrees but it feels like 1 below! My Mom and Dad watched Natalie tonight while we finished working on the living room. When I walked outside to get her I felt the coldest blast of air. It feels more like the middle of February around here. This is going to be one very long winter if it stays this cold. I was thinking today about how there are people that have never seen snow before. I remember one time at Universal Studios an older man stuck up conversation with us. He asked us where we were from and then he asked how we get the snow moved around and if it is difficult. He was from Louisiana and had never seen snow before. I guess it could be compaired to people who have never seen a palm tree. I'm such a dork when traveling South and always have to point out the first Palm tree that I see...I have been known to take a picture of it, too. LOL

Well, Tomorrow is the Christmas parade in Paw Paw...not sure if we'll go or not. I really want to but I don't feel like becoming a human icicle either. LOL.

Black Friday & our turkey cookies

2008-11-28T08:28:00.000-08:00

Not for me. I have never found that the sales were anything I just "HAD" to go out and get. If there was anything, I found that it was on sale for the same price a week or so later.
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at my Mom and Dad's house with the family. AFter dinner we played Wii fit for a while. Just makes me want one even more. I could really lose some pounds with that thing and have FUN doing it!

We made the cutest little Turkey cookies to bring over that I want to share. Natalie was in charge of putting on the mini chocolate chip eyes and candy corn feathers.

Well, off to put up the tree and finish decorating.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T04:24:00.000-08:00

Have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving!

Snowman fun!

2008-11-25T16:03:00.000-08:00

I knew when I got up today that the snow was just wet and heavy enough to make a snowman. We were planning on making it after Natalie's preschool's Thanksgiving Feast...but a little change of plans when the battery on my car died. Thankfully Dad to the rescue! Anywho, we made this cute snowman. I learned from last year not to make it too big. I couldn't even lift the center snowball last year...I had to roll it up a piece of wood to get it on the bottom part of the snowman. Ok, back to today...we always spray our snowman with some food coloring and Natalie chose blue today. I think it turned out pretty cute!

How do you like that "carrot" nose..it's actually a piece of orange sidewalk chalk. LOL...gotta improvise when you don't have carrots.

I happen to catch this one of Natalie being silly in the driveway

Breakfast with Santa

2008-11-23T15:41:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning we went to the Mall and had breakfast with Santa. We got two pancakes from McDonalds and an orange drink. Santa was about 45 minutes late, but I explained to Natalie that he must have been tired from his long trip from the North Pole and overslept. She was ok with that. When Santa arrived Natalie was so excited and over come with emotion that she started to cry. She was very shy at first and would hardly speak to Santa the first time she sat on his lap. The second time she talked to him and sat on his lap and smiled.

This is her eating her breakfast

And here she is with Santa

She got this cute reindeer antler hat and stickers from Build a bear. She decided to put the stickers all over her shirt. LOL

Gotta love Michigan weather and birthday wishes

2008-11-21T07:04:00.000-08:00

Usually I hate snow, but for some reason I have enjoyed it so far. It's only November so I guess I should see how I feel in February. Two weeks ago it was sunny and 70 degress. A week ago Natalie was playing in a big pile of leaves and needed a light jacket. It was about 50 then. Here are some pics. She had a blast!

And this is what she was playing in on Monday!

Gotta love the first snow of the season! I had a feeling my Tuesday morning commute would be interesting. There were two cars in the ditch in front of my house Monday night and the snow was expected to continue. Eveyone forgets how to drive and traffic was backed up for miles in every direction. It took me 45 minutes to get to school on Tuesday when it's usually a 7 minute drive. Apparently a semi got stuck on the main overpass which meant that everyone headed from the one side of town to the other was stuck waiting in traffic. It doesn't help when their is a slight incline to get up and over the bridge. That means lots of spinning tires and very few cars getting through the light. I ended up driving down some back roads after 15 minutes of waiting, but I still couldn't go faster than 20-25mph. I can honesly say that going down French road was one of the scariest driving experiences I have ever encountered. It was a sheet of ice. We are getting dumped on again today.

I finally finished my cookine sheet advent calendar. Between painting the living room, cleaning the house from drywall dust, and reorganizing my scrap room I haven't been scrapping as much. But, I did get this little thing done and I love it. I bought my cookie sheet at the dollar store and used up all sorts of misc. chipboard pieces and numbers. Got to use up some of that Figgy Pudding paper I bought last year, too.

And, today is my brother's 30th Birthday! Welcome to the 30 something club, Joe!!