Dreaming of Monday's Past....

Here's what I was doing last Monday....

An early morning walk on this gorgeous beach... what could be better?


Then later in the day, a little exercise, how about 400 steps?

We climbed this, Currituck Light House in North Carolina:


Up, up, up....


are these ever gonna end???


ahhh, yes, finally at the top...


I sure did burn off that seafood buffet!

I just had to take a photo of the potty with room for 2 (how weird is that? sitting cheek to cheek by your hubby? I think not) ...


Yes, there is plexiglass covering the entrance... as if anyone would actually use it... would they???

OK, now for some scrappiness... I can't show you the dad layout just yet, because it hasn't posted on the Ally Scraps blog, but, I did make a cute card with some scraps left over from my Gigi layout.



Have to post something scrappy, because after all, it is a scrappy blog. ;)

Take care, and scrap ya later!

P.S.
The above image of the dress form was a Friday Freebie that I cut out on my Silhoutte Digital Craft Cutter. If you want the SVG files, go here.

Remote...

Hello! I'm updating my blog via a remote location, that I will disclose later! ;)

I'm having a blast, aside from being homesick from my computer! This computer that I'm using is soooo old that I cannot upload my pretty pictures that I have to show you... however, I can show you a sneak peek of what I created for my guest dt for Ally Scraps...

I used Pink Paislee paper. I loved this paper. It's sort of patriotic, but I used it for a masculine layout.

Here is the sneak....


Oh, what the heck... here's another....


Well, we are off to get some lunch and buy some souvenir T-shirts!!!

Have a great day!

Fabulous Friday!!

Wow, it is gorgeous here in western Pennsylvania! Perfect weather. The humidity finally subsided, and we have clear blue skies! Too bad I have sooo much work to do inside today.

I finished up my vintage package design for Creative Charms, and now I'm working on some more packaging for NEW bling products! They have some great stuff coming out for their fall and winter lines. I can't wait to get the actual products in my hand to play with!!

Speaking of products... have you seen Girls Paperie? This is the first time I have ever used their products, and wow! So gorgeous!

Everything you see below is available at the Ally Scraps store.

Here's my layout that I did. I used 1950's photos of my husband's mom. This paper was perfect for a vintage feel:



I used deco scissors on the photo, yes, the photo! I wanted the pictures to have a wavy edge like some of the photos from that time period.

A couple of close ups:


Above - I added a Maya Road envelope and a Jenni Bowlin button. Those are also available at the Ally Scraps online store.



My adventures in cutting felt... I added a cream felt cut flower under one of the Girls Paperie's flower. While experimenting with felt, I have come to find that spraying it with one of the popular mists doesn't really work... however, if you spray enough and squish it into the fibers it will eventually take the color... and you will also have blue smurf fingers!

And lastly, which just might be my favorite embellie, is this butterfly that I cut out using my Slice and the packaging from the Girls Paperie flowers. Their packaging in so cute! I also inked the edges with some pink.



If you want more details on my layout, there are step by step instructions on the Ally Scraps blog. I also used a great sketch by Debbie Gaydos and Dana Gennaro. They have tons of sketches if you are stuck. I used the sketch as a jumping off point, but made some changes... sometimes that's all you need is a good starting point.

That's about it for now. I'm off to work on some package designs for Creative Charms... shopping for my dad, and it's Father's Day this weekend, so don't forget dad. Since my mom passed away I do all his grocery shopping. My dad has never used a debit card! Can you believe it? He's so old fashioned. We usually visit awhile after shopping. My kids like to play in the creek by his house, that's where I spent all my time in the summer as a kid, catching cray fish and minnows. Beware of the water snakes though....{shiver}... hate those things!

Happy Friday!!

Buzz, buzz...

I'm busy as a bee!

So many fun things going on that I haven't sat down to scrap! I have one layout I need to finish up, that I hope to post tomorrow... oh and a card.

But, I can show you some cool photos!

First up, my nieces graduation was last Monday. I still can't believe she graduated! I mean, it just seems like yesterday she was a little tot!

Here she is turning around to find us... we were in the front row! Great seats!


Here she is getting her diploma, I almost missed this shot because I was too busy whistling and shouting!



Classic - tossing of the hats!



I was so glad that it was held outside so that we could attend.

This past weekend we went to the Pittsburgh Arts Festival. Wow, so much has changed since the last time I've been there.

Here's just a cool shot of Emma's legs as we were walking to catch the subway...



I might have over processed that photo, just a touch!

And here are two shots of PPG.

First the building (one part, it's like a castle)



In the court yard of the "castle" were 3 dinosaurs. You know how cities have their little statues, Pittsburgh has dinosaurs because of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

This was my favorite dino, and so iconic of Pittsburgh, the Heinz Ketchup Triceratops!



So far, summer has been a blast!! OK, so the first "official" day of summer hasn't started yet, but that's OK, it feels like summer!

Have a great day!!

The Curious Case of the Missing “E’s”

Last night we were playing Scrabble with the kids. After 2 games, we decided to see if we had all the Scrabble tiles. We have 2 Scrabble games, and after counting the tiles for both, we discovered we were missing several "E's" (and one B). While playing we did notice some canine teeth marks in several letters! (Mystery solved, apparently they've been digested by one large brown hound!)

We combined the letters to have one complete set. We just need to remember that the tiles in the velvet bag have the correct number of letters.

The letter "E" has been a stinker for me since starting to scrapbook. When you buy letter stickers, like the AC Thickers, there are never enough E's. They need to take a clue from the Scrabble tiles and have at least 10 E's!



Speaking of E's... have you seen the new paper company Echo Park? Well, I just happen to have some Echo Park paper from Ally Scraps! And it's super cute! It's design is by Crystal Wilkerson. You might recall that I do some digital scrapbooking for Crystal, so I was super excited when I found out she's designing for them.

Here's the layout I did for my guest blog spot on Ally Scraps using the Echo Park Sweet Summertime paper.



This line is so much fun! I used the sticker sheet for these pin wheels, then I just added a gem accent to add some sparkle.



Another cute element from the sticker sheet. This time I used a button for an accent.



OH, if you're interested in step by step instructions on how I put together this layout, visit this Ally Scrap blog post to see the instructions. It really came together very quickly.

Summertime is officially here at my house! The kids' last day of school was yesterday. I thought I was going to get to sleep in this morning. Instead, I was rudely awakened at 6:30 am by the sound of the toilet lid being dropped by my son.... ahhhh, summer! ;)

Have a great day!

CHA Creative Charms Sneak Peek

Happy Monday!

And, indeed it is! I sure hope it doesn't rain any more! Tonight is my niece's graduation, and if it doesn't rain, it will be held outside, so I can go! I'm going to go early and take some photos of her in her cap and gown. I still can't believe she is graduating! (I'm gettin' old!)

As promised, here is the layout that I did for Creative Charms. It was one of those fun layouts to work on. I love how these flowers turned out... for instructions on creating the flower, hop on over to the Creative Charms blog, I blogged the instructions there!

This pink kit isn't available yet. It is for Breast Cancer Awareness month, in October. When they asked me to do a project for Breast Cancer Awareness, well, you know, I was all over that!



And why YES, I did use my Slice on it!! Love my Slice!!

Isn't my daughter ADORABLE?!? Gosh, she's gonna be 14... I AM gettin' old!

If you are wondering how you can get your hot little hands on some Creative Charms products, check your local scrapbook store, or online. A Cherry On Top and Scrapbook.com both have their products in stock. I also spotted them on the Life Preserves Kit club website.

Have a creative day!!

Going Topless....

Yep, I've been going topless lately... and apparently, it's all the rage!

I admit it, I've flipped my wig, literally! Yep, tossed it aside and I'm letting my natural, very, very, VERY short locks see the light of day.

It has been abnormally HOT these past few days, 85°+... and girls, let me tell ya, wearing something akin to a dead cat on your head really makes you sweat. I don't like to sweat. So, off with her wig!

But, as you will see below, it's really in vogue to have a super short pixie cut... and, although I wouldn't have chosen this hairdo on purpose, I'm actually stylin'!

Just check out these celebs with fabulous pixie cuts:


Of course to pull off this look, it helps to be gorgeous and have stunning bone structure.

My hair is still shorter than all of the above... it's more like this:


If I looked like Natalie Portman and had great big doe eyes, I'd be rockin' this look, but, I don't, and I'm a bit older, and well, probably have about 40 pounds on her! I usually wear a cute pink Nike hat when I go topless!

I promise, I will show you a photo of me with my "new" hair... but, let's wait until my locks are as long as the photos in the first picture. Seriously tho, after being a skin head all winter long, any hair is great hair! LOL!



I have LOTS of assignments in the works. Here's a sneak peak of one for Creative Charms.



In honor of breast cancer awareness month in October, Creative Charms has put together a special "pink" kit. Love it! I'll have the whole thing up for you on Monday, on my blog as well as Creative Charms blog. Don't forget to stop over there, they have some fabulous layouts being posted by the new design team. Summer Fullerton (a Making Memories Master) posted a cute way to use the shimmer flowers. Check it out.

Have a great day! and don't forget to feel your boobies!