making the grade

I love Scrap Within Reach's Elliot line! The alphabet soup pattern, with the numbers along the bottom, were perfect for this page. I also mixed in the notebook paper pattern from We R Memory Keepers Grandma's Kitchen collection, to fit the theme of the page, and used a journaling stamp to put the lines on some of the title letters to match the "lined paper" look. Check out the Allyscraps forum for the current scrappy challenge and a chance to win a $10 gift certificate!

Journaling:
At first I wasn’t really paying attention to what the boys were doing, until I happened to hear Ryan say “ok Tyler, here you go – take this math quiz I wrote for you.” After Tyler was finished, Ryan set about the task of grading it. First he located his “grading pen” – a green pen, just like the one that I use to grade my students’ work! I guess the apple doesn’t fall very far from the tree. He then carefully reviewed the problems, explaining the ones that were wrong and praising Tyler for the ones that were correct. You must have teaching in your blood, sweetheart. You are a natural!

friends & fun at the pumpkin patch

The rich colors of We R Memory Keepers Grandma's Kitchen were just perfect for these pictures from last fall of Tyler's class trip to the pumpkin patch! The sketch for this page is the current Sketch Challenge - check it out for a chance to win a $10 gift certificate at Allyscraps!

Journaling:
It’s a highlight of the fall – the school trip to the pumpkin patch at Kerber’s Dairy farm. The whole kindergarten and preschool class has a blast! First a tractor-driven hay ride winds through the farm and takes you out to the pumpkin field, where you get to pick a pumpkin. Then it’s back in the wagon to return to the dairy, where everyone enjoys an ice cream cone. Kerber’s has the very yummiest ice cream! I was not able to chaperone the trip this time, but Daddy was lucky enough to go along and enjoy the fun.

indisputable proof

I thought the fun, summery, water-themed patterns of Fancy Pants Summer Soiree were perfect for this picture of Ryan and I, just after getting drenched in a water ride last summer at a local amusement park! My sketch for this page can be found in the Allyscraps Gallery.

Journaling:
Kennywood – love it. Getting soaked right down to my socks and having to walk around the amusement park that way for the rest of the evening – not so crazy about it. But when you asked to ride the Pittsburg Plunge, I couldn’t say no. You never used to be so bold when it came to riding some of the bigger rides, but in the last couple of years you’ve become much more willing to try new adventures. So I wasn’t about to say no. You loved it, and it was worth having soggy hair and being sopping wet for the next couple of hours to see how thrilled you were by the ride, and how proud you were that you rode it.

your very own prehistoric park

This was my page for the Allyscraps April DT reveal, using the bonus 2-pager sketch! I used the Studio 8 Dinosaur Land line. I mixed & matched and painted some different raw chipboard alphas I had for the title work.


Journaling:
You are definitely two dinosaur-loving boys! Both of you were able to identify the various dinosaur species (and pronounce their names!) by around 4 years old. One day, after being secluded together in Ryan’s room for quite some time, you came to me with great excitement and said “Mom, come look what we did on the train table!!” You had carefully arranged various books as “partitions”, and created a prehistoric paradise for several of your dinosaurs – complete with a schematic drawing of what animals are located in each exhibit! I love seeing you engage in this kind of creative play – no electronics required!
June 30, 2008

I was the featured Bella Blvd. Guest Artista this week!

I was so honored to have been asked by Bella Blvd. to be a Guest Bella Artista! Their product lines are so bright and fun and I had a great time working with them! I was featured on their blog this past week. Here are the pages that I created with their goodies!

My Adorable Boy

I added the “Party Hearty” paper from Sweet Celebration – the perfect complement to Swing into Spring for these sweet pictures of my little guy! I hand-cut the folksy hearts, to match the ones on the paper, from the "Candy Buttons "paper. I varied the font color on certain words in the journaling to match the colors on the page.



Hunting Easter Eggs

My "Designer's Challenge" was to use small photos. I knew that I wanted to include several pictures from our Easter egg hunt last year on this page, so it was a perfect topic for this challenge and the Swing Into Spring product line. I used a variety of photo sizes, with the focal point photo a bit larger and the other pictures each 2.5” or 3” high. I really liked the color and the pretty pattern on “April Showers”, but since my page doesn’t have anything to do with rain, I turned the paper upside down (I think it sort of looks like balloons!). I also used a circle punch to punch circles from Candy Buttons for the scalloped border at the bottom.



Bright Lights in the Big City

My oldest son and I recently went with friends to see the musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in downtown Pittsburgh, and the colors in Pack Your Bags were perfect to go with the photos. Even the ticket stubs matched!

mommy I love you infinity

Tyler said this to me one day out of the blue... I immediately wrote it down and knew it would become a page! Loved the My Mind's Eye Bloom & Grow collection for my sweet guy. I cut the infinity symbol from scrap chipboard with my Pazzles, and painted it and the chipboard letters and word.

Journaling:
Tyler to mommy, straight from the heart. I love you infinity too, my baby. ♥ mommy
2-27-09

Scrap Within Reach - My 2 Boys minibook!

I am so honored to have been asked to work with the April Kit from Scrap Within Reach as their Guest Designer! This kit features their "Cottage" collection with it's beautiful blues and greens, and lots of coordinating embellishments!

I created my custom "My 2 boys" minibook by cutting the base of the pages from scrap chipboard, using my Pazzles Inspiration and a cutting file that I created myself (I ♥ my Pazzles!). After painting the outer edges of each page (and the back cover), I covered each page with paper or cardstock from the kit. Then I went about embellishing and adding photos of my two adorable boys! I converted all of the photos to b&w except for the 3 color photos on the “tag page” that I inserted near the end (created from the two large tags in the kit). Those I left in color for an unexpected “pop”, and since that photo just happened to match the colors in the kit so wonderfully! Other than stamps and ink and the ribbons tied to the binder rings, everything is from the kit.

behind the plate

I completely LOVE this Industrial Park line from Scrap Within Reach! Great, distressed patterns, perfect for boy pages. I've had these pics for a while of Ryan playing as catcher in Little League a couple of years ago, and thought these papers worked perfectly!

You can find the sketch for this page in the Allyscraps Gallery!

Journaling:
Clearly, the catcher’s equipment was made for someone a bit bigger than you. You could barely stand up wearing the shin guards, chest protector, and everything else. But that didn’t stop you from doing your best to get to the ball and throw it back every time.

planting seeds

This is my page for the Allyscraps March Design Team reveal, featuring the theme "spring"! You can check out all of the girls' pages on the Allyscraps blog!

I have to confess, I didn't really see this Pebbles Inc Downtown line as a classic choice for a "spring" themed page when I got it. But then I noticed all of the blue in the boys' and dh's clothes, the orange shirt on Tyler, and thought that the orange/yellow/brown color combo was just perfect for the photos as well as the topic of "planting seeds"! I love how the page turned out.

Journaling:
Well, it was a nice idea. After collecting a number of “whirlygigs” – the little helicopter-like pods that fall from the silver maple tree and hold seeds – we thought it would be fun to plant a few. Ryan and Tyler worked with Daddy to fill a pot with soil, find a few perfect seeds, and carefully nestle them down into the dirt. After some water and strategic placement in the not-too-direct sunlight, we waited and watched for a seedling to grow. But alas, our horticultural experiment was not a success. After several weeks, we accepted that no tree was going to materialize. Still, it was a good bonding and learning experience, one that I suspect we will try again.

first day tradition

It's really no surprise that I ADORE this My Minds Eye Penny Lane collection! I love pretty much everything that MME makes! These pics are from our first day of school traditional stop at DQ.

My sketch for this page is the current sketch challenge in the Allyscraps forum - be sure to check it out for a chance to win the April $10 gift certificate challenge prize!

Journaling:
The 1st day of school always means a trip to Dairy Queen! We started the tradition two years ago when Ryan started kindergarten, and now it is a yearly event. Vanilla with chocolate dip for Ryan & chocolate with rainbow sprinkles for Tyler. What a fun celebration to look forward to!

a look back in time

I don't really do heritage pages, but this Graphic 45 collection truly inspired me to pull out some boxes of old photos. I love this picture of my mom from when she was just a teenager.

This is also my page for the latest scrappy challenge at the Allyscraps board! Be sure to check it out for an entry into the drawing for a $10 gift certificate to the store!

Journaling:

Looking at this picture of Mom in her teen years is like taking a peek back in time. When this was taken, she was younger than the students who I now teach are. She looks so happy and pretty, and so carefree. I imagine that she enjoyed her teen job as a soda jerk, and took great pride in doing it well and taking good care of her customers. That's how she approached everything that she did.circa mid-1950's

so happy to have each other

I thought this new 3 Bugs Snips & Snails was cute when I saw it online, but it truly doesn't do it justice! What a GREAT boy line! And the papers are all double-sided, so if the themey-er patterns don't work for ya there is a gorgeous versatile pattern on the other side! I skipped any formal journaling on this one, as I think the photo combined with the sticker, bingo card and stamps says the story just fine.

This page goes with my March 13 Sketch Challenge at Allyscraps! Be sure to check it out for a bonus 2-page variation for the sketch! :) Complete the sketch challenge for an entry into the March gift certificate prize drawing!

so proud of our grad

I LOVE these Prima boy papers! Perfect for these pictures of my little guy's preschool graduation last year. Also used: Making Memories tiny alpha, Pink Paislee alpha stickers, and Jenni Bowlin mini calendar.

Journaling:

Your preschool graduation was such a proud day! You and your class performed a wonderful program. Then it was time for hugs & saying goodbye for the summer to your friends, like Maria, Joey, and of course, Mrs. Wasko.

no fear

I love this Cosmo Cricket Snorkel - what a fun line! This is also for Dana's "use a shaped paper" challenge on the Allyscraps forum. I used my Pazzles Inspiration to cut the eyelet-scalloped edge from the yellow, and also to cut the diecut paper shaped journaling block (using a print-and-cut technique).

Journaling:
It doesn’t seem like it was that long ago that you were timid about letting go of the side of the pool – even if the water wasn’t very deep. And now here you are, suddenly fearless, jumping off the diving board like it was nothing at a friends’ pool party. When you first asked me if you could go off the diving board, I was nervous, but thought you would probably reconsider once you got up there. You sure taught me how wrong I was!

forever us

I wasn't sure how I was going to use this Fancy Pants Splendid from Allyscraps since I don't scrap girlie pages. But I just LOVE how this page turned out! This is truly a versatile collection, and soooo pretty! I used my Pazzles Inspiration to cut the "forever" and the mat behind it with the cut-out hearts.

The sketch for this page is the current sketch challenge on the Allyscraps forum - be sure to check it out! Complete a page before the deadline and earn an entry into the March drawing for a gift certificate to the store. And if you're new to the site, be sure to check out the membership drive for the easiest-ever $10 gift certificate!

Journaling:
Just us, being silly and goofy. Sometimes your silliness cracks me up and at other times it’s just annoying, which I know makes it even more fun for you. But that’s ok, because it’s part of what makes us fit together so well. So we’ll just keep on being goofy together… being forever us.