Rainy day in Georgia

  I have been working absolutely ridiculous hours for months now so that leaves very little time to play in my craft cave. I got home from work at 9:30 this morning and declared a me day until 5:00 when I go back to work ugh....... So decided to actually  work on a challenge or two......  maybe. we will see......
   This is a Halloween card to satisfy my 52 week card at SNC my awesome yahoo group. I will be sending this to Olivia with goodies soon.
   I used the sketch at Stick it Down and had some fun with digital paper. Ruth a friend from the SNC group did a layout last week using lots of digi papers. It really got me thinking about how little I do with that resource. So this morning I decided to play. I started out with a sentiment in MTC and then layered digi papers to fit the sketch. I know I am slow getting to the party but it was such fun to get to see what the card would look like with different papers without ever cutting or printing so I did not waste as much as I often do. I so enjoyed making this card this way I look forward to trying this method on a layout!

 Here is the sketch.....

And here is my take.....

The papers are all from the Halloween collection at SheryKDesigns
 The twine and the banners are Recollections... thank you Rhoda
The candy corn are Jolees boutique


Thank you Ruth for the inspiration!
Hope you all have a wonderful day and have a few moments to be creative in some way!
Brenda

Practical Scrappers July Blog Hop

  Thank you so much for stopping by hope you found your way here from Kristys blog.. I hope you are enjoying seeing all the creative uses for things we have hoarded.
  This is a true dig out the stash layout. I am in a yahoo group that was doing a Christmas in July card challenge. I decided not to participate thinking that I really did not have enough Christmas papers to do it and not wanting to buy more right now. So when this challenge was given I dug out my Christmas papers and what was I thinking!!!!. I have a ton of tired old papers. And a good dose of embellies too.
So I dug up this picture and decided to do something with it. This was in 1995 and I love that the facial expressions truly fit each of my children. The girls did and do adore their big brother who at the time could have cared less.LOL
 I used the July week 1  sketch from Colorful Creations

The papers are all from an old recollection stack that I bought my first year scrapping.The chipboard snowflakes and the flowers came from Michaels grab bags 2 years ago. Hmmm now that I have all this stuff drug out I might make a card or 2!
  I have not done a blog hop in forever so I would love to give away a little treat. Just leave me a comment so that I can find you and I will use random,org Sunday evening to pick a winner..... Please shipping in the US only.

  Thank you so much for stopping by and head on over to Majkens blog to see her wonderful creation!
Brenda
   

My sweet Zade

  Adrienne posts a picture of Zade every morning on facebook. I so look forward to seeing his precious smile each and every morning. I am so very thankful for the technology that allows me this happy moment.
  This particular morning found Zade hanging out on the beach. Now is he not too adorable in his big boy hat!!!!! This picture has laid on my desk for a week but alas no time and even less motivation were a big  problem......
I am in a 52 week layout challenge in my yahoo group... and this is the first time that Friday morning rolled around and I did not have something to show for it..... so decided to get rocking and create something. LOL. Loved this sketch from Memory Nest and thought it would be a quick one.

    I am sad to say that I probably only have one more layout from my hoarded Martha Stewart Playful Blue collection. I have had it for several years and still love the fresh colors so much.... I am sad to see it all used up. Here is my super quick layout.... can not remember the last time I pulled out the stickers.

Thanks for taking the time to let me share my life.
I hope for you many smiles today.
Brenda

Weird Animals

  Today I share the rare 2 pager! This is a the June 24th sketch at Stick it Down. I immediately went to VBS pictures. There are sooooo many to scrap. I think the lady that was doing the photography this year was under Neals spell as there are TONS of great ones of him. So without further a do
The sketch

And here is my take.

I am experimenting with different ways to add some texture to my layouts. I did heat embossing with UTEE and Stampin Ups Gorgeous Grunge stamp set, then water colored over it. I have so much to learn but am determined to continue to scrap even if my results are not what I wanted..... I will get there if I keep at it (or at least close lol) and I know I will become discouraged if I do not use some of the experiments along the way.
Thanks you for stopping by and I hope you have an amazing day!
Brenda

New addiction

  Next to box cards I think this is my new fav thing to do..... and this is so much quicker. Adrienne asked me if I would make a onsie for Zade to give  Ben on fathers day. With a quick google search for a piece of bacon and MTC  print and cut voila.

With 2 baby boys in the family I need to stock up on onsies!
Thanks for dropping in.
Brenda

Took a Mental Health Day

  This past week was beyond hectic. Luckily, I knew it would be so planned accordingly... the grands were here a lot and I was working a lot so subsequently my house is a WRECK! I got home from work at 11 this morning intending to clean some but decided instead that a little playing was the order of the day. So hours later I have a layout and a still messy house and  a very messy craft cave ..... now it is time to cook dinner and make even another mess. UGH!!
   I used this sketch # 84 from My Scraps and More

I was determined to add texture to my page. I see all these awesome layouts and they all have texture in common so I am on a quest to learn how to do it and make it work.

I made my own texture paste and tinted it brown. I tried cutting a template but it was not turning out the way I wanted so ended up using my Heidi Swapp stencil.

I used MTCand a google image for the tree trunk cuts.
The title is also Heidi Swapp epoxy.

I added Stampin up rub ons to some wood banners and also the Birds of a Feather papers are Stampin up..... and once again the gorgeous grunge stamp set.
  Thank you so very much for stopping by and watching me try to use texture paste lol the adventure continues.
Hope today your blessings are many!
Brenda!

Woodland Animal Baby Shower

   Adrienne gave Bens cousin Amanda a baby shower and I helped......Shechose a Woodland Animal theme and it was adorable. I took as many pictures as I could though in true us fashion there were a few hiccups at set up time.  Here is a quick rundown of this simple but adorable shower theme.

Can it get any simpler than pine cone food card holders!

pine cone cheese ball...

Adrienne soaked the tomatoes in balsamic vinegar, added to the stem of string cheese and spread pesto on the platter. It was adorable and a huge hit!

I designed a woodland scene and then used print and cut to cut it out and apply to the 2 buckets for trail mix and "sticks" ...pretzel sticks.

I think these were my favorites I just thought they were adorable.Hersheys kiss, mini nutter butter cookie and a peanut butter chip.

Yummy birds nest with jelly bean eggs. They were sooooo cute! I just realized that I did not photograph the Black Forest cupcakes they were absolutely decadent.
It is wonderful as a mother to see my creative daughter put together such a wonderful event. She has a great eye for detail and she makes it look easy!

It is hard to see in this picture so added another shot of the animal letters.

You can see a couple of the animals on the diaper cake. I made one for each end of the banner.and 5 for the diaper cake. They are all from files at Miss Kate Cuttables. They were beyond precious.
  I continued the theme for the card and also made her month stickers using the woodland theme. Here are the first 6 months. Sorry for the washed out picture...one of these days I am going to take a photography class so that I can make a decent blog post pic.....

   Well there you have it a relatively simple shower that is super cute. There is so much you could add to this that could be used in a nursery. We are helping with another one with the same theme in a few weeks and she is going to have a nursery so I am looking forward to expanding the theme.
Thanks for stopping by have an amazing day.
Brenda

An Awesome Day

  I have been wanting to document this day since it happened. It was just an ordinary Wednesday but it was a truly wonderful day. Stuck on U Sketches Project Life challenge was to use the color yellow.... I could not pass that up as it is my favorite color. I have been thinking this would be perfect for this day since I had so many pictures I wanted to include, but time has not been my friend...ugh..... I decided this morning with 18 hours left to post that NOW was the time. I gave myself an hour (did not make the challenge but close) to get it done so that I could get on with the day. (yep another busy one)
Here is my page

Thank you so much for stopping by.
I hope you find some time today to create.
Brenda

Welcome Aboard

    This post both makes me happy and a little bit sad too. Adrienne and I gave Amanda her one and only baby shower. Adrienne put her heart and soul into it and it was wonderful! That is the happy part. the sad part is due to total chaos from a snafu with the room reservation I have NO pictures. I was told that some were taken by others but none have been sent to me.... so I am going to post a few of the decorations  as documentation for Amanda. These are not great pictures as I had all intentions of taking pictures at the shower...... Baby Trip is going to have a nautical nursery so Adrienne had a blast with that theme.
We will start with the card. I am slightly addicted to box cards.....

This is a mirror we found at Hobby Lobby and jazzed it up a bit for his room. I love how it turned out.

Next is the bait shop. So wish there were pictures from the shower as it was adorable all put together. And talk about a big hit! I had no idea that gummies were going to create so much excitement!

Here are the banners really crummy picture, they are laying on my bedroom floor. At the shower we hung them on a window overlooking the pool and it was so cute.

  I made 2 lighthouses and they were wonderful will definitely use the file from SVGcuts again!

and last but certainly not least the cake pops and cupcakes!

Thank you for joining in the shower fun.... I oh so wish I could share pictures of the happy couple enjoying their day. But a truly fun time was had by all and that is really what matter.
Have a wonderful day and take a momment to count your blessings.
Brenda

My Superhero

  This is going to be a little long and a bit more personal than usual so feel free to skip through this part. I am a member of an awesome yahoo group Scrappin-N-Chattin. There are monthly challenges that help keep me scrapping and lots of love and encouragement too! One of the challenges this month is a photo inspiration that says Super Dad. Jeff is a Super Dad in my eyes. When he came out of his comma 7 1/2 years ago we had no idea what his life would look like. We have been so truly blessed that it has been a wonderful life  full of challenges but oh so many blessings. He never complains despite many issues and has not even missed a single day of work! He continues to help his children and love on his grandchildren even when he is just totally exhausted. He sacrifices his time energy and resources to help not only his family but others. He is sad that it has diminished his golf game though..... Saturday night we were driving home from a baby shower for our youngest daughter (I know super exciting!) and we were discussing some of the big events that have happened since he was sick and I felt that it should be documented. We are so absolutely amazed at how much he has experienced since that time.
   Now to the silly picture. I had made month ties for Adrienne when Zade was born. He happened to be 2 months old on Jeff's 60th birthday. When Adrienne posted the picture of Zade on facebook Ben said you should make a big one for Jeff..... well say no more I did just that. And when Jeff got home Adrienne and crew were here so I got Ben to take a couple of pictures of the 2 together with their ties on. Ben posted one of the pictures on facebook and the next morning my cousin informed me that the picture had been feature on acid hub.... how funny is that!
 Well here is the sketch I followed from Boys Rule

I am also going to enter this at Scrap N Play The third challenge is a tic tac toe challenge 

I used fiber-twine, floral patterned paper and a punch-stars.

I am going to either it also for the Creative Cutting Challenge the current challenge is anything goes.. Woohoo right up my alley. 

For this layout I created the background and cut it also the tie is a diecut and so is the "family" in the title....have I mentioned that I LOVE MTC!

And finally here is my layout.

Thank you so much for taking a moment to share in my life. I am honored to share my many blssings with you.
Brenda

Band of Brothers

 Another My Scraps and More Sketch.. this is #81

  Really liked doing this one it was great fun to work with and I liked my final layout!(always a bonus!)The older boys were coming back from a week with their Dad. They spent the night in a hotel, a big treat for the little guys, and loved on each other the whole time. They really missed baby Zade while they were gone!
Had a rough time getting a picture but here is is.

 Have a wonderful day!
Brenda

Sweet sweet face

  I am loving the newer ultrasounds! I feel like I am getting to know precious Trip already. It really makes me heart happy to see his little face!
  I used sketch #79 from My Scraps and More for this one.

And here is my take.

 Thanks for stopping by to visit.... Hope you have a wonderful day!
Brenda

Lord of The Rings

  I saw this on Pinterest and decided that it would be a perfect to add to the gift for Amanda:s baby shower. Jeff aka Grandpa has been a Tolkien fan forever so he thinks they are awesome. Of course Adrienne  wanted one for Zade when I showed it to her....  (I have to bounce things off her just in case I am out in left field again....happens more and more often with each passing year )
The font is Aniron from Dafont and I used basic shapes from my MTC program to create the rings! I can not wait to get a picture of them with the cousins in them!

Thanks for stopping by..... Hope your day is packed full of smiles!
Brenda

FLOWERS challenge

  The second challenge at Scap & Play is a word challenge. I really enjoy these because I have to think outside the box a little  and really pay attention to my supplies.  My son and his family recently lost their precious family pet after 17 years. My DIL is having a very rough time coming to terms with it, I made this and framed it for her in memory of Scarlet.

Here goes....
F----flowers
L----Lime twist is the paper collection from MME
O-----orange flowers
W----wooden alphabet
E------epoxy sickers
R----rhinestones
S----Scarlet the title


 Thank you for stopping by.
I hope that you have an amazing Memorial Day, Please take a moment to remember those that paid the price for our freedom.
Brenda

Jeff's Birthday

  Jeff just turned 60 and though life seems to be in fast play I could not let it pass without a celebration. All the family was here and a few close friends that can deal with our chaos! This is the first time that all the cousins got to meet Zade. What a fun day but few pictures as it was sooooo crazy. This is Olivia holding Zade for the first time. This is for the sketch challenge at Colorful Creations.
The sketch

My take

Thank you for spending your time with me.
Have a truly wonderful day....take time to enjoy the little things!
Brenda

Scrap and Play First Challenge

  I love Tammis scrappy style so was very excited when she decided to start the Scrap and Play challenge blog. May 1st was her first sketch challenge. I got my layout done immediately....blogging took a bit longer ugh...my life just seems to go so fast sometimes.This was a day when I took my precious grandsons to the park. I had wanted to go some place "special" but the weather was iffy so we went to a small local park where I often walk. They had a blast and loved everything. Was really awesome to get to see my routine boring walking trail through the eyes of children. How often have a walked by this big sand hill and seen nothing extraordinary..they saw a great adventure. I am blessed to have my family with me so much but leaves little time for playing with paper! LOL
Without further rambling here is the sketch. 

I am in a yahoo group Scrappin and Chattin that does monthly challenges. One of the challenges this month was to use bokeh paper that was a new one for me but I really love the paper that I found. I love the subtleness  and can't wait to work with it again. So here is my take.

Thank you for stopping by. I hope your day is bursting with new discoveries!
Brenda