Lauren and the goats!

*This is my SECOND post for today... please scroll down to see my Frosted Design layout for this weeks challenge.... Thanks!

It's Friday and Practical Scrappers has a new sketch up for you!! Isn't it great?! These pictures are of Lauren from a visit to the zoo in the summer of '06. They have an area back in the farm area where you can feed and brush the goats. It took Lauren quite a while to warm up to these overly aggressive creatures! In the process of letting her get comfortable with them, I snapped all kinds of pictures of the various colorful expressions she had going!! The second photo is the one I like the best... she always used that face when she was unsure about something and was gettting ready to loudly complain about!! It cracks me up!! LOL!!

The papers are from We R Memory Keepers Over the Rainbow stack. The journaling flower was cut using Mini Monograms and the little flowers are Prima with some stickles and gems added!! (You know me and my bling!! Gotta have it!!) The top of the paper was done using a Martha Stewart punch and then I added in some brads in a rainbow of colors!! I added in some misc. ribbon and buttons... pop dotted the heart and there you have it!! Thank you for stopping by today.... now get off the computer and do your own LO with this sketch!! LOL!!

Barb  :)

Grandma

Can we just take a minute and yell... "YIPEE!! FRIDAY IS FINALLY HERE!!" Don't some weeks just seem longer than others?!! This is one of those weeks for me!! But the good news is.... there is a new challenge at Frosted Designs! This week it is a color challenge... brown, aqua, and lime green!! So... get out your scrappy goodies, make something fab, and link it up over at Frosted Designs!! We love to see everyone's creations!! And, check out what my design sisters created for you... you won't be disappointed!!!

This is a picture of my grandmother... isn't she just precious?!! I love this photo of her! I found the papers (Colorbok - Woodhaven) and knew they would work great for the LO I had in mind!! Most of the embellishments are from K&Co. The flowers are Prima, some of which I chalked a bit with light brown and added a pearl center. Pearls are from Recollections. Key is Making Memories. Cricut carts used are Mini Monograms, Mother's Day & Storybook!! I stamped the cute little pocket/envelope with an Autumn Leaves Stampology. I wrapped a ribbon around it and added a pin that I had from my Paper Poppy March kit! The title "Grandma" was cut using the Mother's Day cart. I painted the flowers with Smooch Pearl paint and added some details with my Souffle pens. On the tag I tucked in, I wrote down some information about my grandmother that I want my children to know someday; things like her full name, married names (she was married twice), birthday, where she lived, school she attended... you know - stuff you never think to ask but wish you knew!!

Thanks for stopping by and taking a closer look at my LO... It means so much to me that with so many blogs out there,  you would take the time to stop and visit mine for a bit!! I have the bestest bloggy friends out there!!
Barb :)

Once Upon A Time

First of all... want to share some good news... my LO "How Wonderful Life Is" won an award over at Scrap It With A Song! It was in the top 5!! Yeah!! Now I have a new little award to add to my sidebar!! Yipee!! It's always fun to see that someone else likes what you create!! Thanks to the wonderful team over there that left me such nice comments!!

Now... there are just so many challenges out there... and I really do want to play along with all of them!! This darn full time job is really getting in the way!! 6 more weeks... !! LOL!! So... I have figured out that I can combine a few challenges and play with a few of these challenge blogs all at one time!! Look at me! I can be a problem solver!! LOL!!

These pictures were taken when my baby girl was 2 years old. My husband's niece insisted that Lauren was going to be in her wedding.. I personally thought she must be crazy... there was no way we were going to be able to get her to walk down the aisle, drop petals, and smile all the way!! But guess what... she was amazing!! The only thing we over looked was her love of being on a stage... she tried to climb right up on it!! But it did manage to add some humor and relax everyone so it was all good!!!

I started with the sketch over at Stuck On U Sketches!! The sketch is from BeggaHuna and I knew it was going to work perfectly for these pictures which also went so well with the challenge over at Scrap It With A Song. This week they have a song from the Disney movie Sleeping Beauty. When I started the LO, I had planned to use the line "I walked with you once upon a time" but when Lauren came in and saw the LO, she insisted that she only wanted it to say "Once Upon A Time!" Now... if you know Lauren (being the baby of 4 children) you would know that she typically gets her way... and this was no different!! She has always been into princesses and she certainly felt like one the day this photo was taken! So I figured, why not let her give it the title!! So.... those words are in the song so it still qualifies for the challenge!!

I used a lot of different products on this one:

Flowers were Prima and some misc. silk ones I had laying around. I sprayed some of the silk flowers and leaves with Glimmer Mist to give them a little sparkle! It looks great in person but doesn't show up so well in the photos! I also added some Smooch pearl accents to some of the lighter flowers. I added some Prima flourishes, some bead leaves (Xyron) and some left over ribbon I had laying around! I LOVE the way this corner of the LO turned out!! 

The main background paper is from the DCWV Mariposa stack. If you haven't seen this stack yet, check it out... it has some gorgeous papers in it. When I couldn't find the coordinating papers I liked, I made my own!! I stamped the large circle and the paper behind the torn spots and used Tim Holtz Distress Powder in milled Lavender to heat emboss. I used Autumn Leaves Stampology stamps for the stamping. The picture below shows it a little better! The butterfly is also Prima.

I used the Storybook Cricut cart for the title and Mini Monograms for the large circle. I thought it would also be fun to join the challenge at The Pink Elephant! This week they have a recipe challenge  to use chipboard and paint on a LO. The frame around Lauren is a chipboard frame left over from an SEI kit. The photo corners were also from that same kit. These I painted and then covered with Glossy Accents. Now... people who know me know that I am not always the most patient person. So, instead of letting the glossy accents dry on its own, I had the great idea to dry it with my embossing heater!! Now... if you have used one of these before you realize how hot it gets... soooooo before long I look at these cute little photo corners and notice how the glossy stuff is bubbling up... you know, like it is boiling!! Well now they were no longer smooth... but have no fear!! I still had my stamps out so I stamped the image into the photo corners! And guess what.... I LOVE it!! You can't completely see the image but it did give it some pretty cool texture!! I love it when a mistake turns out great!! And finally, this also works for a challenge over at Wee Memories... which is to use flowers!! Certainly  have that covered!! Lots of flowers here!

And this photo is just because I think Lauren is totally adoarble!!! Thanks for sticking with me and my long explanation to this project!! I love how it turned out... hopefully you do too! I would love to hear from you!! Barb :)

San Juan

Happy Friday everyone!! Hope your week has been wonderful and that you have had the same great weather we have!! I am always in a much better mood when I can see the sun!! LOL!!! So... with it being Friday and all... we have a new challenge over at Frosted Designs!!! Don't you just love a new challenge?! This weeks challenge is to mask something. You can use whatever you want on this one.... there are so many possibilities!! I personally decided to use my Tattered Angels glimmer mist products.... Here is what I did....

I took a piece of cardstock and layed my Glimmer Mist Screen where I wanted it. I sprayed my paper with 2 colors of Glimmer mist (Coffee shop and Key Lime) As soon as I was done spraying (while the ink was still wet) I picked up the screen and flipped it over onto another part of the paper. That way the ink that was on the screen didn't go to waste because it was used to add a little detail on another part of the cardstock. Now... being the brilliant person I am, I didn't think to take pictures as I went... so the pictures I am showing you are ones I used on some scrap paper so you could get the idea!! (So.. ignore that fact that it is completely different colors than my LO!!)

While that was drying, I started piecing together the other parts on my LO.... The picture is of my family (well part of the family... the part that still lives at home!!) in San Juan on one of our island days during our Spring Break cruise!! There was an old fort there that we did a tour of... it was so amazing... and it was also a great backdrop for a ton of pictures!! Don't worry... you will be seeing plenty of them in future LOs because I am crazy about them!! The title was made by cutting out the letters 6 times on cardstock and glueing them all together. And... in honor of earth day... I used a tag from a shirt I had bought! I thought the tag was fabulous for this page and the way I tucked it behind the picture, you can't even tell it has the store/product info on it!! I guess that's my version of recycling!!

Supplies used:

Papers: Me & My Big Ideas (Coastal Venice), K & Co.

Glimmer Mist: Coffee Shop, Key Lime

Glimmer Mist Screen: Garden Blossom

Metal Embellies & Ribbon: Spare Parts

Distressed Stickles: Fired Brick

Cricut Cart: Don Juan

Thanks for taking the time to stop by and take a look! I love hearing all the kind comments that you leave! Be sure to stop over at Frosted Designs to see what my amazing design sisters created for you this week!! As always, there is a great variety of ideas and a ton of inspiration!! Have a fabulous weekend!!

All you need is love!

*This is my second post of the day.... I know! Can you believe it!?! I never get 2 done in a single day!!

Have to tell you... when I saw that title... had to use it for this pix!! I was trying so hard to get a nice picture of Matt and Lauren when we were in San Juan and they just wouldn't cooperate!!! Here we are... beautiful location, gorgeous day... and there they are... pushing and shoving!!! I couldn't get them to stop!! So... this was the best I could get... but truly, this is probaby the most accurate picture of them and their relationship right now!! The sketch is from Sketchy Thursdays!! The papers are from We R Memory Keepers. Flower are Prima!  Thanks for taking a look!

Barb :)

How Wonderful Life Is

I am so blessed in so many ways... but most importantly is my amazing husband!! He works so hard for our family and is so supportive of everything I do. Most of you know that he has pretty much been living in Dallas since last fall and commuting home every weekend to be with the family. He has an amazing amout of pressure in his new job (what new job doesn't?!!) and yet he is constantly asking me how I am doing... making sure I am not overwhelmed and that things at home are going okay while he is away. He is doing the countdown with me on how many more days of work I actually have and has told me that I never have to work again if that is what I choose!! How sweet is that?!! I am looking forward to taking some time to settle the family and get caught up on a lot of my scrapbooking. IF I get bored (that is a big IF!) I might consider working again... we will just have to see how that plays out!! But ... the reason I am going on and on about my man is because I did the LO of him!! There is a new blog called Scrap It With a Song! It has the lyrics of a song that you are to use in a project somehow/somewhere.... I personally think it is going to be great fun!! As soon as I saw/heard the lyrics for this weeks song, I immediately thought of a picture of my husband I had taken with my cell phone when we were at an event in Chicago one weekend. I combined that with the sketch over at Stuck On U Sketches....and .... the creative juices started flowing. This is what I came up with.....

Funny story... I finished this last night and when I got home from work today, it was gone!! My MIL came over to visit my husband and he gave it to her!!

The papers and embellishments all came from this fabby mega kit I ordered from Paper Poppy Kit Company. (The only thing I added was white cardstock and black ribbon) Alphra puts together the most amazing kits with embellishments and I have really had a lot of fun with them the last 2 months. Go check them out and order a May kit... I am sure it will be just as amazing!!! The challenge over there right now is a recipe challenge: Use black and white, a music symbol, and song lyrics in the title. So... I will be submitting this for that challenge as well as:

Scrap It With a Song: Elton John Song

Practical Scrappers: Ribbon/Floss/Thread

Stuck On U Sketches: Sketch

Creative Belli Blog: Die Cuts

Thanks for looking at my LO... and for taking the time to leave those super sweet comments that just make my day!! Enjoy the rest of your week!!

Barb :)

Good News!!!!!!!!!!

I am just sooooo excited to let you all know that I have just joined the Practical Scrappers Design Team!! Wooo Hooo!! It is a wonderful challenge blog that encourages you to use the items you already have!! And boy do I have plenty that need to be used!! (Either that or my husband is going to need to build me a bigger office!!)  I am so honored to be part of this team of extrememly talented ladies!! Besides....  it will keep me scrappin' on a schedule!! My first LO will be displayed the first week of May!! If you haven't checked out Practical Scrappers, hop on over, take a look and welcome all the other new design team members!!  Have a fabulous week! 

Barb :)

Crafting Queen award

I can't believe I have been out of the loop for the past two weeks and totally missed this amazing award!! The Fabulous Queen Sassy Lady ... after searching far in wide in her royal kingdom of crafting...has bestowed this royal award to me!!! Little ole me!! And to make it even more exciting... I am one of the first four she picked to receive this delightful honor!!!! Wow!!

Before awarding this award myself... you need to read what Queen Sassy Lady wrote because it was just way to clever....

Now it is my royal decree as Queen SassyLady to Crown other Royal Crafting Queens..... I have searched the kingdoms far and wide for worthy ladies and gentlemen that share the desire to pass their crafting love and skills to all the subjects in the kingdom without royal fees or taxes and have found these worthy subjects...

To take up your crown the new Queen must link their blog to the sender of this blog and any future Queens they crown. . If you've been crowned, please send an email to Queen Cindy at me at Cre8tveLdy@aol.com and Queen SassyLady at shesasassylady@hotmail.com, along with your web or blog address and the website of whoever crowned you, so you can be listed as a Royal Blogger. (If you need the "King" version of the award, let Queen Cindy know and she will email it to you.)


I hope you will proudly display this award on your site, and I thank you for being such a benevolent Queen or King who is so generous to your loyal subjects!

Queen Sassy Lady... I am humbled and honored to accept this award!! In return, I have searched the entire blogging kingdom and found a loyal subject worthy of this crown... and I would like to award this crown to...

Kim from the kingdom of Memories in Thyme....

Now Queen Kim.... In order to accept this award, you must be willing to....

To take up your crown the new Queen must link their blog to the sender of this blog and any future Queens they crown. . If you've been crowned, please send an email to Queen Cindy at me at Cre8tveLdy@aol.com and Queen SassyLady at shesasassylady@hotmail.com, along with your web or blog address and the website of whoever crowned you, so you can be listed as a Royal Blogger. (If you need the "King" version of the award, let Queen Cindy know and she will email it to you.)

Thank you again Queen Sassy Lady... I am truly honored!! I will continue to work hard to make the blogging kingdom a better place for all the loyal subjects who visit my humble little kingdom!!!

Girls Club

Hello everyone! I am glad to be back from vacation.... I think! It has been one very crazy week and I apologize that I have not been visiting any blogs for the past two weeks. My family went on a cruise over spring break and got back Sunday around midnight and then I just jumped right into life! I had a parent conference first thing (7:30) Monday morning and then spent the evening unpacking, doing laundry and all that comes with getting back! Tuseday was work, then a furniture delivery, followed by a trip to the grocery so that I could take in lunch for the staff at my school (everyone takes one day a year) so I was up until after one cooking and baking and then off to work Wednesday. After work I had to run out and buy my daughter a comforter for her room and then spent then entire evening putting the room together so that it would be ready for her birthday party Friday. Thursday it was off to work again followed by an evening of making decorations and putting together treat bags. In between I tried to clean my house that had about 5 inches of dust everywhere!! I know... I am beginning to sound a little whiny but I wanted you all to know that I really have been incredibly busy and can't wait to stop by and see all the great things you all have been up to!!

Now.. on to the real reason for today's post.... It's FRIDAY... and time for another Frosted Designs challenge!! This week you are challenged to use a tree in a card, layout or project! This was a great challenge for me because I wanted to do something I don't normally do, and that was to create a "scene"... The hard part of this for me was that I kept trying to add in more things. I found that the more I added, the less I liked it... sooo... I took it back to simple. The tree layers were pop dotted and then I cut out some extra circles/flowers to pop dot on top of that! I liked the dimension it gave. The base of the tree was heat embossed for the lines. I included a cute little bird in the tree but passed on the bugs and  butterflies I had originally planned on using. The fence and clouds were put through my cuttlebug to add a little texture. Lauren wrote the words "Girls Club" on the sign herself!! Isnt' it great when your kids can help with their LOs?! I chalked the clouds and fence and then added all the bling I thought I could get away with for this type of page!! I used stickles in several different colors and added a few rhinestones!! Remember... Lauren loves bling!! These picture were taken about two years ago when her older sister, Kristin, was playing in a tennis match. Lauren took her new American Girl twins (Zoe and Chloe) with her to the match, and of course, she had to dress like them!! She had so much fun hanging out and climbing in the tree!!

Now it's your turn!! Try making a project with a tree and then show us your work!! Link up your designs at  Frosted Designs! We would all like to see what you have done!! And while you are there, check out all the amazing things my design sisters have done!!

Supplies used:

Paper: K & Co. DCVW, My Minds Eye

Cricut: Home Decor, Paper Doll Dress Up, Stand & Salute

Stickles: Fruit Punch, Star Dust, Lime Green, Yellow, Cotton Candy

Cuttlebug

And fianlly... say a small prayer for me today... I have ELEVEN 8 year olds spending the night!! It sounded like a good idea when we were planning the party....  :) 

My Dream...

Hello everyone! I have missed you! I am still on vacation, but I wanted to show you what I made for this weeks challenge at Frosted Designs. The challenge this week is to use the word "DREAM" in your card/layout/project.

This picture is of my daughter Lauren doing what she does pretty much every day... designing!! She is completely obsessed! When she isn't designing in a sketchbook, she is designing with real fabrics for her dolls! She loves fabrics, colors and lots of bling!! I wanted to make sure I captured her ambitions and I wanted to include some of her sketches in the LO. It made the LO itself a little more challenging but I am really glad the sketches are part of it!! Now... I can't stay long to chat... I have to get back to my vacation!! I have missed all of you and can't wait to check in on everyone to see what all is new!! In the mean time, head over to Frosted Designs and check out what the rest of the team created!! Have a fabulous weekend!

Barb :)

Girls Rock!

Hello everyone! Happy Friday to all of you!! I am super happy because this is the start of my spring break! It is also time for a new challenge at Frosted Designs!! This week our challenge is to use hot pink, bright green and black in a card, layout or project. How fun are those colors?! And the timing could not have been more perfect because I spent the week working on my daughter's birthday invitations that are that color scheme!! I love it when things work out!! So... for the first time ever, I am not posting a layout... I am posting a card!! What is this world coming to!! Now remember, this isn't a card I made once... I made it 9 times!!! Therefore, the design had to be something that was fairly easy to reproduce. Her theme is Party Like a Rock Star!! Isn't that fun?! Here is the front of the invitation....

And then it came time to do the inside... I am not the most creative writer, especially if I am under a time crunch, soooooo.... I called my baby sister who is amazing at these things! Here is what she was able to whip out in about 5 minutes... typed and emailed to me too!!

In case you can't read it, it says.... Party Like a Rock Star. This is your VIP invite to the hottest party in town as we celebrate Lauren's 8th Birthday. Join us at the Craft Concert Hall for Girls Rock Spring Tour 2010 and get ready to rock out on Friday, April 16. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. (We plan to party all night so the fun won't end until 11 a.m. the next day!) Secure your reservation by April 12 by calling Barb Craft, production manager, at ______ or by emailing ________. Don't miss out on the fun!

Seriously... how super creative is that?!! Now I am feeling the pressure to put on an amazing party... the expectations will be so high after that invitation!! So... all you party planners... feel free to send any new, fun, creative ideas my way!! I will welcome them all!! Now jump on over to Frosted Designs and see what my design sisters created for you!! Amazing... as always!!

Supplies used:
Cricut: Hannah Montana, Indie Art
Ranger embossing powder
Glimmer Mist - bubble gum
Corner Punch
Recollections gems

Because we are on spring break this week, I will be taking a break from the computer! Enjoy your week and I will catch up with you next weekend!!  Barb :)

Precious

Okay... go ahead and tell me... Is this just the most precious picture or what?!! So.. perfect title?!! I love this picture of Lauren. It was taken a few years ago and I have to say, she was all about the photo shoot that day! She seriously should be a model because the girl can work a camera!! You should have heard the photographer and his assistant cracking up at how she was always ready with the next pose! This was probably the hardest photo to get because we had to get her to look AWAY from the camera!!  LOL!! Gotta love her!

So... the sketch for this LO comes from the fabulous ladies over at Stuck On U Sketches!! The sketch is from Aymee Gandy. There were so many possibilities with this one... but I love what I was able to do!! I originally had a great big flower where the butterfly was but it seemed to take over the page... so I replaced it with the butterfly which was a softer, more delicate look... I think it looks better with this photo!

My papers are from SEI... the butterfly, flourishes and flowers are Prima...from my good friend Fern's blog candy!... The key is SEI... the clock is Making Memories. The only cricut on this one is the title... Gypsy Font... I cut it out 4 times and glued the layers together to give it a little more dimension... ribbon is from my stash and the pearls are Recollections.

Thank you for stopping over and leaving such nice words!! I love hearing from all of you!  Barb :)

A Sunshine Award!!

Well, I am a little late getting this posted, but a few days ago, the lovely and talented Fern passed on this amazing Sunshine Award to me!! How sweet is she?!! Fern has such amazing talent... if you haven't visited her blog, you need to skip right on over there and check it out!! Her LOs are always amazing!!! The girl knows how to embellish and loves bling almost as much as I do!! Almost!!

Now... I get the priviledge of passing this award on to 12 new people. So.... here is who I would like to share a little sunshine with....

Kaye - Kay's Crafty Place
Sheila - She's a Sassy Lady
Pat - A Scrappin Nana
Jamie - Bits of Paper
Linda - Linda' Crafty Creations
Beatriz - Amazing Grace
Kim - Memories in Thyme
Debbie - Love Life's Little Pleasures
Brenda - Bug-Bitten Disney Fanatic
Crystal - Crystal's Crafty Creations
Debbie - Debbie's Scrappin Corner
Scrappinlil - Scrappinlils Creative Side


Thanks again Fern... I am so happy to have you as a blog buddy!! You are so inspirational and thoughtful!!