Thankful Thursday and a birthday!

9 years ago today, I went into premature labor at 25.5 weeks......this kid battled illness & almost died many times in the first year of his life (but ya'll already know our story) BUT with the gift of modern medicine, love, faith, hope, tears, and prayer, he is HERE:
I'm thankful (and teary for many reasons) today because he has come through 9 years of life just showing us how hard he tries at EVERYTHING, always with a smile...showing us how giving, loving and caring he always is...and for that, I won't ask for more at this time and place.  My Thing 2 is an amazing kid !!!

 HE GIVES US MORE JOY THAN HE CAN EVER IMAGINE :):)

  

Wonderful (Wordless) Wednesday!

:):)

LOTD- tag and clusters

what are you working on this week??

tags are a great way to sneak in some quick & easy journaling...and clsuters are a great way to use up that last little thing in the stash pack!

Mojo Monday!

Hope everybody had a wonderful weekend! It's MOJO MONDAY and what better way to inspire you than to invite you to follow me on PINTEREST(see button on the left)  and to show you what's been inspiring me lately!

LAND OF NOD

 

 

 

MY STRANGE BURLAP ADDICTION

 

 

 

 

 

SMASH INSPIRATION (COFFEE-GIRL)

 

UPCYCLE SOME  BOXES/TINS

Weekly roundup :) (LONG)

I have to admit, there's times when I just get too busy to blog and so this catchup is for the fam....Mother's Day was spent chillaxing and I REALLY mean chillaxing! The Queen has never been a DIYer so I finally jumped on the bandwagon.... I had spent two days prior to Mothers Day cleaning, degreasing and staining my kitchen cabinets (since our house is starting to age and I haven't won the Powerball yet), easy sewing of some new kitchen curtains (first sewing project ever since my machine was bought for sewing on paper LOL-they did come out crooked but not TOO crooked) and Thing 3's bathroom re-do...it needed some TLC (paint, curtains, etc)...so, by the time mom's day came around, I was exhausted!  I spent the day doing absolutely nothing and that included NOT getting dressed or combing hair :

cleaned my scrapbook room up a bit but not much creating!!

BEST GIFT: good to know he thinks those sweet things about me :) I'm doing something right :)

Thing 1 was at a sleepover, so Thing 2 fixed me breakfast in bed, so pancakes it was (even though I detest pancakes (and waffles too) BUT there are times when I just gotta eat em ) and I watched my favorite episodes of Property Brothers (my strange addiction to those twins).....

Then, Thing 2 and I went on our own Field Trip to Washington DC yesterday-his class was going to Orioles Park for Weather Day and I just didn't think he was gonna get too much outta being in a crowd of thousands & all the feedback noise so we did our own thing...caught the metro and went to the Air & Space Museum in DC...a more laid back and boring kinda museum but still fun for us!  The day started off cool & humid and a bit cloudy but by the time we got to the museum, it was warm & sunny!  We got to check out some cool stuff, eat lunch and walk around DC before heading back -he was excited about catching the metro too!

 

One of my favorite pics of the day:

Throwback Thursday! POTD

I actually like FLASHBACK FRIDAY, but my daughter thinks THROWBACK THURSDAY is cooler so....

my little dancer wannabee......age 3  :):)

stash busting!

In anticipation of the Heidi Sonboul goodies  (you do know she has a new blog and some new awesome collections right??) that are coming my way (say winner winner chicken dinner), I am on a stash busting mission!  So, the LOTD are all just for me along with a few challenges I posted over at Two Peas JFF (Just for fun):

weekend catchup & my May Counterfeits are up!

On this super Saturday, I was getting it done....spring cleaning &  I tackled staining my own kitchen cabinets and I gotta say, they came out pretty good!  Who knew Zep degreaser worked so well?? !! Used the whole container...but it was worth it....Then I did my own version of sewing my own kitchen curtains-that means I did not use a pattern, I simply looked at the old ones and sewed the same lines....no measuring cause that ain't my thang....I was a tad bit wonky on one side but it's good enough for now....pictures once cabinets are dry!

But, back to the Counterfeits...   Yup, I said COUNTERFEITS, with an "S"...  this month, the divas over at  the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog (CKCB) have used  Polly ScrapKits! as their inspiration !
Their March SHORELINE kit:

I was inspired by the summery/beachy feel but knew I didn't have those papers unfortunately so I made do...

My kit:   black cardstock, patterned papers, red polka dot paper, gold cardstock and gold print papers, Thickers and OA and other alphas, MME buttons, SC gems, twine, washi, Tim Holtz bag, chalkboard printables (will link back, give more detail  and credit once I start using the kit).... loved their bags and wish I had those but may make my own!

and they took it one step more and counterfeited a second Polly Scraps kit:
THEIR March mini kit:

and here's my take on it:  I may add some BG in there once I find it :)

 

I'll give out my kit details & printable links once I start using them (which hopefully will be tomorrow)!

Aleida's Challenge # 3 LOTD

I admit it - April's picture didn't happen for a number of reasons...but  I just got a chance to scrap February's photo and True XOXO revealed this yesterday so I can officially reveal it here:

 

keep getting in front of the camera-your family will appreciate you for it!

and yep, that fabulous chipboard is from WOW (Words or Whatever) and it's a good thing they don't have them here at PhotoScraps cause it would be my new hoarder fascination!

I wanted the butterflies to look metal/metallic so I just used my handy dandy tool finger, dabbed some white shimmer acrylic  paint on them, let them dry...then I stamped them haphazardly with just a  script stamp and then I added little dribs and drabs of Plaid Accents on them and sprinkled teeny amounts of fine glitter on top while still wet.....VOILA!  Metallic looking!  Loved how sturdy and think this chip is...just gorgeous and wanted to thank Tess for sponsoring the DT and giving us a chance to work with this lovely product that comes all the way from Australia!


ps-fabulous silver ribbon is courtesy of SEI (via way of my OLF Angi )

Terrific Tuesday and continuing the month of WOW

As I stated earlier this week, the wonderful DT over at Words or Whatever gifted us gals over at  True XOXO some fabulous chipboard so, on this Terrific Tuesday, It's my turn to inspire you over at the TRUE BLOG !!  Here's a sneak but for my full reveal, head on over to TRUE XOXO right now!   Challenge # 46 is to design a layout with some chipboard!

• Every layout that you link up gets a ticket for the random drawing.
• If you happen to create with a piece from WOW, you get two  tickets.

That’s it – chip it and create some WOW! Link up with our Linky party over at TRUE XOXO

butterfly normally have antennae but I accidentally maimed it !

Did I mention that there are prizes to be won?  I didn't??!!  Oops, silly me!  There are prizes to be won over at TRUE and even here (surprise RAK of the month) but you gotta enter a project to win!!  I'll be showcasing another project before month end and will reveal a prize for one lucky winner later this week.......stay tuned :):)

Happy National Scrapbooking Day!

Hope it's got something crafty in it!  There's plenty going on all around the internet-PL projects, layout inspiration and challenges and even some blog hops if you have time!

Maggie Holmes Collection (Crate Paper)

I'll be over at this chick's house playing with paper, seeing some friends I haven't seen in awhile, and having some kinda happy hour....It IS Cinco De Mayo too after all so you may as well multitask!

More WOW for ya!

Words or Whatever has been gracious enough to sponsor the XOXO Scrapbooking Challenge # 46 this month. WOW has provided every team member with some gorgeous flexible chipboard pieces AND plenty for PRIZES, too!

our first reveal was the super talented WendyC who came up with a sweet girly layout :)

yeah, that's chipboard in there baby !!  For the full reveal click {HERE}

LOTD

Happy Friday everybody...hope you are filling the weekend with crafty endeavors !

I'll be hanging out with my bff tomorrow for our annual NSD/Cinco de Mayo crop.....yay! Now, to get packed :):)

TGIF! It's a WOW Weekend!!

It's National Scrapbooking Day weekend kickoff!  I'll be busy with gal pals & sports but promise to pop in & out with NSD happenings for ya!  I do want to kickoff this fabulous Friday by talking about Words or Whatever!  As many of you know, I am a permanent guest designer over at True XOXO (I was the 2nd psuedo owner of the blog awhile back so I stay on the board as a silent member LOL) and the super awesome Tess Pretty (love the name too : :) and the whole DT at WOW have been gracious enough to sponsor XoXo Scrapbooking this month.  WOW has provided every team member with some gorgeous flexible chipboard pieces with a anything goes theme so we could create goodies to inspire you!  

All month we will show you our takes on this fabulous chipboard....one of the reasons I loved it was because it is THICK, not flimsy so it can withstand some serious misting, painting and stamping!  I'm not up YET but here's a peek:

We have unveiled the super creativity of Kimmy J and Miae and trust me, you will L-O-V-E what they's done!  Sneaks cause you gotta click on each of the pictures to get transported to the land of TRUE awesomeness....

Did I mention that we have a contest (challenge) and it involves chipboard!  If you have WOW chipboard, you get an extra ticket, but if you don't, any chip will do....not only can you win a guest design team spot with us, but there will be a random drawing at the end of the month and there will be 5  winners!     CHALLENGE #46 starts {HERE}       Have a great Friday !

CKCB love ...wow, April is ending!

I gotta say that this month zipped by super fast!  And even though I only created 6 layouts with my April Counterfeit kit, I still call that a success!  Thank you to all the newbies and newbie followers who came over to my blog from CKCB; your comments and love were greatly appreciated and I had so much fun hopping to all the projects in the Mr. Linky party...well, not all YET since you overwhelmed us with your creativity (almost 140 links!!) - I'm somewhere around # 115 or so but trust me, I will keep going...... And thank you Counterfeit Kit Challenge divas for having me as the April Guest Designer, it was SUPER FUN!

and just fyi, that they posted a Design Team call from today until May 30th...jump here for all the requirements.....it is a fantastic way to inspire others and to use your existing stash!!

CKCB April Designer= ME!

If you are here for the April Counterfeit Kit Blog kit reveal, CLICK HERE !!

TGIF-Nothing but STICKERS Challenge! CKCB

WOW-we are challenging you in a major way this month aren't we?!  A sticker challenge!  My first thought was YUK! DOUBLE YUKK!! I've always thought that stickers look cheap and cheesy BUT.....after digging in my April kit, I has these super cute Basic Grey stickers and guess what??  They are not cheap or cheesy!

Basic Grey Hey You collection stickers

 So I thought and thought and here's what I came up with...and yes, I decided that washi tape is a "kind of sticker" :):)  and yup, I used a white background {GASP}  The cool "discover " word is Heidi Swapp.

what can YOU do with JUST stickers???  Link up to our APRIL Linky Party and show us!

Counterfeit Kit Blog Hop-you showed us!

 

If you will recall, earlier this month, the Counterfeit Kit Blog unveiled their guest designer for April (ME) AND we asked you to share your kits with us!  Well, one of our challenges  was a photo challenge and to showcase YOUR awesomeness, we've put together a blog hop (sorry I am  late-no excuses!) So, if you wanna see how one kit can inspire hundreds, here ya go!

HERE'S THE ORDER OF THE HOP!  HAVE FUN, BE INSPIRED AND LEAVE SOME L-O-V-E!

Lisa H     http://lisahausmann.blogspot.com 
Leslie      http://lcsmithsaved-outofthemire.blogspot.com/

Lesley     http://ohblogitifyoucantbeatthem.blogspot.co.uk/

Rebecca http://howiburb.blogspot.com/

Lisa E      http://lisae-design.blogspot.com

Candace  http://usthreebythesea.blogspot.co.uk/

Julie        http://spendlesscraftmore.blogspot.com.au

Jennifer   www.jennifergracecreates.com

Jemma    http://just-jimjams.blogspot.co.uk/
Glinda      http://razzledscrapper.blogspot.com/