Creative Scrappers Sketch #140 using Cosmo Cricket

Good morning! I came across this CUTE sketch last week! It just so happened that Amy at Birds of a Feather had challenge us to take 5 pictures of what winter means to us then scrap them! I had missed my chance at getting snow picture. But came up with 5 others. Perfect timing as its a twofer...I got to complete two different challenges with one layout! :-)

I just LOVE my Cosmo Cricket! Jolly By Golly was perfect for this layout! :-)

Tip: NEVER EVER try to match cardstock with poor lighting at night. In the morning you will regret it! ;-) I used some of the fun rub-ons on the pictures and to add a little something to the title.

Why oh why did this turn sideways? Anywho....I pleated a strip of paper then sewed it down. I also did some faux paper pleating, love the looks of it. I couldn't find just the right colored numbers, so I sanded these Pink Paislee ones down and used distressing ink on them.

5 things that mean winter to me:

1. Fun hats! I am very fortunate to have a super talented mom. She made both my kids hats that they LOVE! (although the one shown she bought).

2. Photo opportunities, like Maddy taking all her clothes off down to her diaper and putting on Peytons boots!

3. Icy cold weather. I tried to catch the car thermometer reading 'ice' but didn't catch it in time. 4. I LOVE my slippers and where them ALL the time when I'm at home! The ones in the picture are my favorites.

5. We seem to get more snuggle time and couch time in.

The last time we were at my moms it all of a sudden got eerily quiet. I went to check to see what the Little Miss was doing and she was reading Mema's book! :-) She was quietly talking as she turned the pages! Haha!

Mema has this LadyBug game. Peyton LOVES it! He could play it for hours and if he can't find anyone to play with him, he plays by himself! :-)

Thanks for stopping by!

February Cosmo Cricket Scrapbook.com Challenge

Happy Sunday! I hope you all are having a great weekend! I just got the February Cosmo Cricket Challenge up at Scrapbook.com. I'd love it if you would hop over and play along! Cosmo Cricket sends out one of there famous Cosmo Cricket Pizza boxes with goodies in it to the winner!

This month I decided to do a sketch challenge! Jill Sarginson created the great sketch!

She created it based off of one of my layouts. But you know what? This is my second layout using this sketch! :-0
This is my adorable nephew when he was just a few days old! Oh, I could just squeeze him and pat him. haha! Its funny how much they change as he looks nothing like this now!
I've been wanting to try these stars for a while, so I finally did! I had lots of fun layering and stitching. Although my machine gave me some problems and I ended up hand stitching.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you come and play along with the challenge!

The Paper Variety Challenge

I couldn't believe it when I saw the Paper Variety's challenge this week! I had seen a wall hanging with that quote on it and LOVED it! My moms birthday is tomorrow and I needed to make her a card. Although its not a birthday quote or a mom quote, I felt it appropriate for my mom!

I used some old MME from my stash.
The scallops were a pain, and I have to say, I don't think I'll do them again.

Oh, before I forget, I used a card sketch from PageMaps. My super talented friend Karen (who could easily be confused as my twin as we have so much in common) posted the sketch from Page Maps and a card using the sketch yesterday at Birds of a Feather.

Thanks for stopping by!

My Baby is 2!!!

I can't believe my precious beautiful baby girl is 2! 2 people....she's 2! We decided to celebrate her birthday on Sunday. We had it at Charlie's, our local FAVORITE place to go out! There were oh so kind to open up early for us! :-) This way we didn't have to worry about the kids bothering other customers and could spread out! Maddy liked her cake and was quite content feeding herself for quite a while! She didn't dig into with her fingers either!

Of course, I was so busy I forgot to take pictures. Next year I WILL ask someone else too, I WILL. Although I say that every year and ALWAYS forget.
Maddy LOVED opening her gifts and was quite entertaining to watch. She enjoyed opening the cards and reading the, although half of them were upside down and we had no clue what she said. But she did open them, jabber something then hand it to me!

Here are a few things about Maddy right now that I want to remember:

• Has the cutest run ever! She shakes her hips and her short little legs go as fast as she can make them go. Her curls bouncy too!
• Has the most beautiful curls, I sure hope her hair stays this curly forever!
  
• She can sing bits of her ABC's, but often combines it with Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
• Is full of life....and mischief! She has so much personality and is constantly making us laugh.
• Still loves her crib, which makes this momma SUPER happy! :-)
• Says 'scuse you' when she really means 'excuse me'. That can lead to embarrassing situations in public. haha!
• If someone yells 'ouch' or is crying she'll take her night night (her blanky) and put it on them saying 'you okay?'.
• Is very attached to her night-night (her blanket my mom got while she was in the NICU) and her Kitty (a dolphin we bought for her over the summer at the coast). We don't go anywhere without Kitty.
• She LOVES to put on her shoes and hats. She often chooses her ruby red sparkling Dorothy slipper shoes.
• Is already sassing, and I mean all out sassing. She definitely gives you her two cents worth when she has an opinion. Just last night I heard her yell 'NO, don't do dat' in her sleep. lol... She'll stamp her foot and yell 'NO WAY' and then get a mischievous smile on her face. Another favorite saying is 'DON'T DO DAT'!
• Is a little momma/caregiver. If Chris lays on the couch, she'll go get her night night and kitty and lay them on him. If you give her a wipee she will go clean something. :-)

We stayed the whole weekend at my parents house as Saturday was my Grandpas Memorial Service. As I was stripping the bed to wash the sheets, I noticed my mom's little antique desk. I have been wanting to get a nice photo shoot for Maddy, but just can't justify the expense of it. Ya know, the really cutsie photos, the ones that look like pictures you'd see in books or magazines. It was too cold to go outside, but I am trying to come up with a spot to put the cute antique desk and get some photos of her.

She got into posing, it was quite cute...

And this is Chris's favorite! haha!

I was going to do a year in review with pictures, but just haven't had the time. Maybe in the next week or too I will....okay, I probably won't, but its a good thought! haha!

Thanks for stopping by! Come back soon...

Cosmo Cricket Earth Love Layout

I was itching to get some 'me' time in last week. It took a lot of trying but I did get a few minutes here and there. It took me all dang week to get a layout done! :-( But I did get one done! :-)

Maddy LOVED these necklaces. She'd get excited when she found one and put it on herself! There was a couple weeks where both kids didn't leave the house without them on!
I used a couple lines from Cosmo Cricket on this one, Lil' Man, Togetherness and Pixie-licious chipboard, the 'You're Beautiful' strip is from the Pixie-licious line and the papers are from the Earth Love line!

Meet Kitty:

Chris bought Kitty for Maddy while on a trip to the Oregon Coast this summer. From the moment she woke up and saw it, she wouldn't let go of it! Not sure why she called it Kitty, but she did and the there was no changing her mind! ;-) So Kitty it is! It goes grocery shopping, it takes Buddy (Peyton) to school....it goes EVERYWHERE!

How cute is this?
Yep, Maddy LOVES her Papa so much! On this day she was quite attached to him. I tried to sit down next to them and was pushed away! :-0

Thanks so much for stopping by!

She cracks me up!

First off, I apologize for the bad picture. Amy over at Birds of a Feather challenged us to use paint and no ink on a layout! :-0 Yeah, no ink! This was definitely a challenge for me! My super talented friend Karen created this fabulous layout not to long ago and I knew I wanted to lift it (okay, I kinda copied it more than lifted...but I loved it so much I couldn't help it... :-) ....).

I just LOVED this line by Scenic Route that Helen sent me a few months ago! I couldn't part with the scraps and was able to use them on this layout!

Maddy just cracks me up! In the layout above she had just got into putting on Peyton's shoes all by herself and wearing them. Notice another trend...no pants. For some reason she'd pull off her pants before trying to put shoes one! haha!

Here are pictures from this week:
Yep, a trip to the bathroom and this is what I come out too....she took off her shirt and pants and put on her brothers boots! :-0
Here she is cleaning! She was SO excited I gave her a wipee she ran upstairs and started cleaning the entertainment center for me!
She was quite thorough too!
Yep...this one really gets me! She came running out from her room yelling "boots...boots!!!!" I am not sure how she got them on as they are 2 sizes too small, but she did. Notice the no pants and shirt pulled up high too!
Lol....see...she cracks me up! Here she is yelling 'gedddyup horzey' and laughing and bouncing!

I hope you have a fabulous weekend! I also hope I make it through mine! Its going to be a busy one!

Maddy's 1st Birthday layout, Giveaway, Winner

I am LOVING Birds of a Feather. Its such a fabulous site! Amy is as sweet as can be and creates fantastic kits. One thing I really like about them, she puts two of a lot of the double sided papers in the kit! :-) Anyhow, this is my take on the January Sketch Challenge:

I'm not overly sure I like this layout. lol...I really wanted to use the large ladybug as it was the invitation I made for her 1st birthday. I think its just too big and the wrong color of red. lol...

I've mentioned this new site that I LOVE. I mean, its topping my fave blog list at the moment. Its Sketch Support. Well, the ever so talented Jill is on the DT there and has a fabulous giveaway posted on her blog! Hurry and go check it out. Its a sketch book jam packed full of fabulous sketches! :-)

Now onto my giveaway.......the winner by random drawing is........MARA! I'll contact you soon!

I gotta share these pictures. They crack me up. I read on some blog, a fellow scrapper was having troubles with her daughter stripping in her crib. This led to many middle of the night issues of wetting the bed, being cold, etc. So she put her footed pj's on backwards. I LOVED this idea. See, the little miss....is quite independent. She can change her clothes for the most part on her own. I don't know why, but she likes to take her pj's off. Then her diaper...then she wets the bed....and we keep our house cooler....and its just a pain in our rear. The result...Chris waits for her to go to sleep and then goes in and puts her pj's back on! Lol....So this is my solution:

Notice anything missing on the front?
Yep, its on the back.....heehee! She doesn't see to mind at all either! :-)

New Sketch Site & Journaling Challenge

**Don't forget to check out my giveaway here**

Over at Birds of a Feather, Amy challenged us to journal about a resolution we've made this year. I normally don't make them, I'm not a big fan of them at New Years time. Although I do try to do them through out the year as I see things that need to change. I've been trying to do this one for a while, but so glad for Amy's challenge to push me to scrap about it.

A close up of the journaling so I don't have to retype it all! :-)

Kids grow up to fast, I know in a blink of an eye, Peyton won't be asking me to sit on my lap and hold him, he won't be asking me too play games with him, he won't be telling me 'your beautiful Mommy and I love you' (doesn't that just melt your heart...he does that on a regular basis all on his own). I want to enjoy every second of it! Same with Maddy, she has been quite clingy lately and wants you to hold her a lot. It can be frustrating when your trying to get something done. Its hard for me to let it go and just hold her, but I'm working on that really hard!

I came across this new site and am ABSOLUTELY LOVING it! Yep, y'all gotta check it out! Its called Sketch Support. Every week they have a different sketch. One week is a one page sketch, one week a two page sketch, one week a card sketch and one week a free for all sketch. Then each day of the week they post DT's takes on those sketches. They have one talented DT too! DEFINITELY worth the time to check it out, so much inspiration their!

Christmas Recap & Pictures

Better late than never, right?

We spent Christmas Eve at my in-laws. I was really curious how Maddy would respond to everything. She got into opening packages. She'd rip one open, set it aside and rip the next one open! Haha! Then she'd go after everyone elses gifts! haha!

She was VERY excited about my new slippers!
Peyton wanted to play with everything RIGHT NOW! His attention span was a bit short too, playing with a new toy for 2 minutes before wanting to open another one!
I posted this one cause of the roll in Maddy's hand. She called these hamburgers (they kind looked like a small hamburger bun). The little stinker kept sneaking into the kitchen and getting one, eating half of it and ditching it! She had at least 5 of them! Then when we finally moved the basket to where she couldn't get to it, she found the bag of rolls and took one out of there! Haha!
We had a lot of fun spending time with family Christmas Eve and even managed to squeeze a card game in.

We stayed the night at my parents house and spent Christmas day with my family. Christmas morning both kids woke up about the same time! Peyton was super excited to see what Santa brought him! He went through all of his stocking.
Maddy on the other hand...found a piece a chocolate and was done. All she wanted was to eat it! haha!
Peyton was SUPER excited about the watch Santa brought him, I think he wore its straight for 2 weeks only taking it off to take a bath and if we remembered at night.
One of my super sweet friends Milie sent the kiddos these gifts. They had a BLAST with them! This mat is really cool, it folds and zips on all four sides and turns into a box to hold the dinosaurs!
Maddy got a Snugle Kin. This is the cutest thing ever! It makes adorable noises. When you put the bottle in its mouth it makes sucking noises, when you lay it back it coos, when you tilt it up it makes yawning noises like it just woke up. Cute I tell ya! :-)
Isn't my nephew adorable? He is such a happy baby! Put him on the ground on his back and he is pretty darn good at opening gifts using his hands and kicking it with his feet! :-)
My poor mom had back surgery the Tuesday before Christmas, so this is how she had to enjoy all the going-ons!
My mom found this adorable hat on a trip to Washington. Its the cutest dang thing!
We had a DELICIOUS meal Christmas day (prime rib baby...can't go wrong there)!

Once again no posed photos, not many good photos and no group shots!

Those Lips Layout and GIVEAWAY!!!

First off I wanted to share a layout I recently created! I used some American Crafts papers a good friend had given me and scraplifted the oh-so-talented Mara!

This layout was for a challenge over at Birds of a Feather. If you haven't check out that site and store yet, you should! Amy puts together some fabulous kits. She also has great challenges and a friendly message board! Pardon the date in the picture, I broke my camera and had to use my old one. It takes cruddy pictures and doesn't always work, so I just went with it to save myself frustration!
Love the layered flowers....still! ;-) I used my cuttle bug for the flourish and Martha Steward punch for the butterflies.

I haven't done a give-away in quite a while. I recently purged and re-organized my scrap space after adding a shelf. I thought I'd share some of my goodies with one of you. Journaling spots....A bunch of ribbon, some felt, buttons, prima flowers, Making Memories acetate flowers, My Minds Eye journaling spots, die cuts, sheers (or whatever you call them), a almost new package of Heidi Swapp journaling spots and some other goodies. I'll fit as much as I can in a small flat rate box!

So here are the rules:

• Please leave a comment.
• Make sure I can contact you, either through a message board we are both on, leaving your e-mail or making sure your e-mail is attached to your blog comments. :-)

Thats its! haha! Super simple huh? I'd love it if you posted it on your blog, but you don't have too. I'd love it if you were a follower, but you don't have too. I'll be drawing the winner sometime at the end of the week.