The lazy days of summer

Whoever penned "the lazy days of summer" clearly did not have children!  I mean really.  All of you ladies out there with kids at home for the summer know it is anything other than lazy!  I rank this time of the year right up there with the Christmas crazies.  You know what I mean.

I think I spend more time during the summer driving people places or trying to get them into doctor's offices than any other time of the year.  My husband does not understand why I won't cancel the doctor's appointment so we can go to the beachhouse.  I know he doesn't understand when I tell him that I have waited 3 months for this appointment and cancelling will cost us moola and major time!   Ah, oh well.  The joy of motherhood.

We spent last week with my son completing orientation for COLLEGE!  Man do I feel old!  I took all the kiddos so they could see family while I got oriented for college.  I mean, while my son got oriented for college.  Yeah.  You read that right.  There was just as much stuff for the parents as the students!  My favorite part?  The part where the university carefully explains, like 50 times, that no matter how much money you are giving them, how much money you are giving your child to go to the university and live, or how much money you are now in debt to the university that the said university will not be able to talk to you regarding any part of your child's college life!  Period.  End of story.  Oh and by the way there is this little form called a FERPA that IF your child signs (not you) then the university can answer your questions.  Got that?  Yeah.  Basically, the hubby and I will continue to fund the son's life (ie, college) and the university will not tell us anything unless the son decides he wants them to.  OH MAN!!!!  That was a tough one to swallow!  I heard a bunch of shouting and arguing over that one!  Many, many parents and students seriously had meltdowns about that one.  My silver lining?  The fact that my son happily completed the form, looked at me and said "why wouldn't I want you to know what I'm doing here?".  Oh, how I love that child!  I will say it again.....I am so lucky to have good kids!

I enjoyed my time with all my kiddos this past week.  It is amazing what kind of things get discussed when you are trapped in the car with no phone signal for hours at a time!  Oh, quality time!  I feel very connected right now!  Back to reality......this week will be crazy.  I have some of the kids back to school next week so it is crunch time to get everything ready for them.

Scrapbooking?  I do have a class this Saturday.  It is my Inspired by Pinterest class and I will teach how to make several different kinds of pendants using scrapbooking materials.

These are some of them.  I especially like the top one.  I made it months ago, inspired by pinterest of course, and just love it.  If you are in the area, call the shop and come to the class!  It will be loads of fun.  Go to Scrapp n' Savvy website to register.

Ok.  I have to run.  There are children that have to be places!!  Really?  Aaagh.....school starts in a week!  Enjoy your day.

And the rain came down, down, down

For the last few days the Winnie the Pooh song "and the rain came down, down, down" has been humming through my head.  It has rained a phenomenal amount at my house.  I think last Thursday alone we had almost 12 inches.  That day made national news.  We have had drought conditions and fires this last year but it seems like this is now completely turned and we are flooded!  I'm not complaining.  I LOVE the rain.  I do feel bad for those who got flooded though.

Our new home sits kinda close to a small meandering creek.  Very rarely does the water level even move!  At the time we chose our lot we decided that even though the lots that back to the retention ponds are lovely (with all that green space and the "no one behind us" feature) there may at some time be enough water to fill them.  I just did not want to worry about that!  Boy am I happy about that choice!

These are pics of the said retention ponds.  I was standing at the top in what would have been our backyard.  As you can see they are full!  I can't even begin to tell you how deep they are....maybe 15 feet.  They are huge though.  What you can't see in this pic is that the little sleepy creek is just behind that line of trees.  By Friday morning the water had risen more and that sleepy little creek had become one with our ponds!  The trees looked like they were growing from water!  All around us roads were closed due to high water.  Water that was 12 inches deep and sometimes deeper.  And the rain continued.

The kids and I had a great time looking at all the water in the ponds.  Oh, and the bullfrogs.  Tons and tons of bullfrogs.  Our neighborhood pool became the bullfrog spa retreat!  They were swimming, lounging, and singing away!  It has taken several days for the water to recede.  Thankfully I think most of the flooding in other areas has also gone down but the clean up is left.

So, what is one to do when it rains all day for several days?  I have read 2 books (wonderful!!!), watched numerous movies, and crafted!  Last week I won a blog hop from Clear Scraps and received a wonderful packet full of Clear Scrap albums, cards, inks from Tsukineko, stamps from Stampendous (it was a co-blog hop with Stampendous), and a bunch of other treasures from Stampendous.  So, I pulled out some stuff and this is what I made:

I must have Christmas on my mind.  I had some of the Bo Bunny Snowfall collection left from last Christmas.  And I won the mixable 8 x 8 album from Clear Scraps.  This was sooooo much fun.  I love working with acrylic and this little album had 3 pages of it!  I wanted to be able to see the next pages through the acrylic so I keep it simple.  I used opaque white ink and stamped snowflakes all over the cover, added some sparkle, trimmed the edge with sparkle, and let it all dry.  Then I added a vellum mini envelope and tags, and of course embellished it all.  

I am also showing you my "clothesline" tags.  I made tags of all sizes and attached them to the page to crete a clothesline look.  There is a ton of pic and journaling space here.  And lastly, I added an envelope that I embellished.  I cut the flap off and made a new one of some scrap material I had.  Love the soft look of it.  I like to put envelopes in my albums so I can through extra pics in.  The back cover is acrylic so I adhered the glittered paper to the back.  Made a nice effect of seeing the glitter from the top.

This was so much fun to make.  I love the colors of this paper and the album is a great size.  Check out the Stampendous blog.  There are some great inspiration pieces there.  And if you haven't seen the new Clear Scrap stuff go to their website.  The new clear cards are adorable!

Well, children are getting up; wanting to eat.  It's that whole summer thing again!  I'll leave with this:  what do you like to do when it rains?  Let me know.........

Christmas in July

Christmas.  It's only 6 months away!  I know people who have already completed their Christmas shopping for this year.  Really?!?!  I was one of those people.  I had my shopping completed by Thanksgiving.  I always had some presents that I purchased on the after Christmas sales.  Then I got married, and had children, and became broke!  TeeHee.

I am a planner by nature.  I like to know what I can expect so I can have backup plans.  Christmas is a BIG deal.  It is by far my favorite holiday and I like things to be in place!  Fast forward 20 years from the time when I was that organized.  I now have children, 5 of them.  Oh, and I have a hubby who likes to do all the shopping on Christmas Eve.  Yeah.  Don't like that so much.  So, I try to do what I can before Christmas arrives.

Enter Christmas in July.  Christmas cards to make.  Cookie recipes to gather.  Lists begin.

Are you that person who likes to craft Christmas in July too?  Well, I thought I would share a few of my Christmas class ideas with you today.  First up is a glass snowman.  I saw something similar on pinterest in a miniature version.

I made the big one first and he's about 15 inches tall.  There are loads of details.  Then I got the snow bug and made a family for him with a variety of bottles that I had hanging around (old jelly jar, spaghetti jar, etc....).  I really love my snowmen!

And secondly I want to share the cover of a mini album I made.  It is made from a raw canvas mini album and has canvas pockets in it.  Loads of room in it for pictures.  I used the Authentique new vintage Christmas papers called Festive for the inside, a Tim Holtz hitch on the cover, and some other wonderful detailed embellishments throughout.

Let me know:  are you a Christmas in July person?  or a Christmas Eve person?

Have a wonderful day!

What's on your desk?

Hello all.  Sorry it has been a bit since the last post.  Summer seems so busy!  It has been hard to find the time to scrap, create, blog, etc...  When I do find the time I sometimes feel guilty because I'm not spending time with my kiddos.

I have been able to work on some new things though.  Of course it was Scrapp n' Savvy 's quarterly sampler last weekend.  It was amazing as usual. You must follow the link and see the project.  Inspiration city!  Also, as usual, I had to have my projects completed for the next quarter.  This time I am teaching 2 different classes each month:  my regular project class and an Inspired by Pinterest class.  Being summertime, you never know what your classes will do.  Some of them are full but others are empty.  Who knows.  Maybe there will be some interest before the class date.  There are so many wonderful classes this quarter and I think people had a lot of choices to make.  I will be putting some pics of the projects up this week.

I have also been working on some other ideas that have been rolling around for a while.  I am working on a Harry Potter album for my daughter.  It will hold all the DVD's and more.  Pics will be forthcoming on that one!  Also, I am working on the Prom album for oldest son and  a "places" album. The places album will have photos of places that we have been.  It will mostly contain pics of scenery not people.  Here are a few:

 Wintertime in Colorado

 Hawaii

 Outside Rio

Galveston

There are so many scenery pictures and sometimes I don't like them in the albums with the kids.  So I thought this would be a great way to capture the memories of the places we visited and loved.

Well, kids are still sleeping (teenagers, that's all they do!) so I am going to go do some scrapping without the guilt!  Leave a comment:  what are you working on?

A little bit of love goes a long way

I have always said that "a little bit of love goes a long way" but had never really lived it.  Until yesterday. Then, like a ton of bricks, I got slammed into the true, living embodiment of what "a little bit of love goes a long way" means.

We spent the last 10 days at the beach.  Lovely.  Wonderful rotating friends and family filled 10 days!  Anyway, as usual the fun had to end and we cleaned the house and got ready to leave.  The big kid left with his girlfriend (is that actually possible?  I mean he is only a little guy.  Oh, yeah, I forgot.  He's 18  :(  ) and the hubby and one child left to run an errand on the way home.  That left me with 3 lovely kiddos, 3 cats, a dog, and a bunny.  Oh, and ALL the stuff to take home!  Needless to say my bus of a car was totally full.

Now, the trip home should only be 1 1/2 hours at the time of day we were travelling.  It usually is a movie and a few minutes of "how long til we get home mom?".  But, as things go, yesterday will be held in my memory of worst trips EVER!  Amazingly, the other trip that I hold in that category involves the same living creatures!

 After an hour of arguing between the kids about what movie was playing, how much leg room (or how little and really?, it's a huge car), or that the cats were meowing too much things seemed relatively quiet.  So, the picture is this:  I am driving.  Passenger seat has 3 cats in separate kennels and the loving, sweet dog who smells on the floorboard in front.  Middle back seat has a child on each side and a bunny in a kennel in the center.  Far back seat has my little guy and a bunch of stuff around him.  And of course, the back is packed to the point that I have a tunnel in the middle to see out the back window.  Kids FINALLY settle down and I am in the driving zone.  Suddenly one of the kids says he smells something.  That simple sentence can strike FEAR in any mother but let's add to that that we are in a ghetto part of the town!  Quickly we realize that one of the cats has had an explosion of sorts.  Not good.  I have to pull off as there is NO possible way that I am driving with that next to me for another hour.

Pulled off.  Gathered bag, paper towels, baby wipes, and courage.  Did not think this through obviously.  Opened the kennel door and the cat makes a desperate attempt to GET OUT of the kennel. Yeah.  So now the offending problem is all over the inside of the kennel, the cat, ME, MY SEAT, the son who tried to help, the console of the car, well, you get the picture.  And it was a horrible picture!  I quickly cleaned kennel as best I could.  Bagged the evidence and shoved cat back into kennel.  Had just enough baby wipes (that is funny, because I don't think there are enough baby wipes for that kind of problem!) to clean up.  Dear son saw trash can and we dropped the toxic waste in it and made our get away.

I will never again complain about driving home sandy, cleaning the bathroom, or driving by the chemical plants!  After driving like an idiot for another hour we got close to home.  I called the hubby and let him know "we were coming in hot!"  Open the door, get out of the way, say nothing, open a bottle of good wine, and unload the car.  Just stay away from the front seat.  He did just that (minus the wine); car was unloaded, seat covers removed and placed in washer awaiting my clothes and my son's clothes (precaution).  I then had the wonderful pleasure of BATHING A CAT!  This has never been a top 1000 on my list of to do's but it had to be done.  She was surprisingly good.  I think the fact that the entire household was watching and laughing distracted her.  The big kid took her afterward and dried her off, cooing at her the whole time (much to the horror of the girlfriend who does not like cats).

Then I had a nice steam bath and started laundry.

I really understand "a little bit of love goes a long way" now.  I have just a little bit of love left for that cat right now.  And it will get her a long way.  While this was an awful thing for me, I wonder how bad it was for the cat.  It must have been rather stressful for her too.  And thinking back to my worst trips ever....the last one on record, 5 some years ago, also involved this same cat.  In the same car.  But with all 5 kids, my parents, their dog, and more stuff than there should have been.  It was worse.  Way worse.  I lost a t-shirt in that one!  Somehow I still love that cat.  Amazing isn't it?

Go live.  A little bit of love does go a long way.  See if you can find that out today.  I don't however, recommend travelling with a cat to find that out!

A little break

Summertime. Just love it! We have spent the last week at the beach and it has been heaven. Wonderful rain storms, perfect fishing days, peaceful breezes. Just what we needed to rejuvenate! I did make a run into town the other day to fulfill some obligations I had at Scrapp n' Savvy. I had totally dropped the ball and did not complete my weekly layout. Major oops on my part. However, it was great to go home and be able to complete all my projects for the next quarter without any interruptions. This brings me to my thoughts for today. I am so excited about my projects! I can hardly wait to teach them! I thought I would give you a sneak peak but I have no photos for you. You must use your imaginations. I will teach two different classes each month this time. There will be. A project class like what I have been teaching and an inspired by pinterest class. So, let me give you some things to peak your interest. July is Christmas in July month so think snow, cold, crisp, cute, decor, mini album, canvas. August and September will hold visions of vintage, beach, new products, pendants, suitcase. Use your imagination! This Friday and Saturday will be the Scrapp n, Savvy Sampler. It is an extremely cute project. Worth every penny and more. I will post pics of my projects starting Friday. Check back then. Now, back to the beach!!!

Summer, dear summer

Oh, it's that time again.  Summer.  I just love summer.  I could do with a little less heat and humidity, but I still love summer.  I love having my kids home.  I love the freedom of the schedule (or lack thereof).  I love having more time in the day because we stay up longer (no rush for bed because there is no rush to get up at 6am).  I love exploring with my kids and trying new things.  The list just goes on and on.  This summer is a bit different than most for me.  My teenagers have jobs this summer.  Yes, jobs!  Wow, now I really feel old.  Kids having jobs though will absolutely change the dynamics of what we do.  I have already planned a trip for my two little ones that will not include the bigger kids.  Feels strange.  I am looking forward to loads of fun pictures though.  I need them to put in the cute albums I have planned!

Back to the scrapping happiness!  This past weekend I helped out at Scrapp n' Savvy while the wonderfully talented Karen Burniston demonstrated her new Sizzix die cuts.  She has the most amazing pop up die cuts!  I thoroughly enjoyed watching and listening to her demo these wonderful dies!  I learned quite a few tips and tricks.  Her new pop ups will be available this month from Sizzix.  I have attached a video below of one of the pop ups she has.  This is the card she gave to everyone as a take home.

So easy.  So cute.  So many possibilities.  I love that the sizzlits fit perfectly on the pop up dies.  And also that the movers and shakers fit the pop up die base.  If you want to see more you can visit the Sizzix website or search for Karen on YouTube.  Want to buy a set of the dies?  Go to Scrapp n' Savvy and you can purchase a set (the link is to the store website)!  I can hardly wait until my set arrives.

The sampler at Scrapp n' Savvy is at the end of June and I am busily making my projects for the next quarter.  So close to being done.....  I have really enjoyed making these projects this time.  I think I like what the projects are!  What are they you ask?  Well, there are of course mini albums (a vintage beach suitcase mini that is oh so cute and a vintage Christmas canvas mini that I love!), some home decor (think snowman, but not out of something traditional, and cute; a desk photo clip album), and just some other miscellaneous things (pendants, ornaments, etc...).  Once the sampler is closer I will post a few pics.  The snowman is already in the store and is getting quite a few responses (he and his little family are really cute).

Short post today.  I have lots to do to finish up my projects and I want to get an early startt!  Check out Karen's video.  It really is cool.  I hope you get inspired today but if you don't then maybe you will inspire someone else.  Blessings.