The Life of a Scrapping Mom!

Autism Awareness

2011-08-10T09:30:00.000-07:00

Not sure how many of you know I have a nephew Bridger with Autism. I had the opportunity to do a media assignment in my English 2010 class and chose this is my subject. I did a few interviews with my sister and with Bridger - I really like the way it turned out other than you have to turn it up a bit when we are talking and the message goes by really fast - I had to keep it to 3 minutes and didn't want to cut anything out.

Finals the next 2 days! Will be super busy!
Hugs
B

Running...

2011-08-08T12:45:00.001-07:00

I'm not a runner. Never have been, never will be. But over the last few months because my husband so kindly signed me up for a few races - I was forced into it. We did Ragnar in June - I started training 3 weeks before the race (not smart for someone who had never even ran 1 mile before). My legs were each 4 miles for a total of 12 in a 30 hour time frame. I trained as best I could and got up to 3 miles before the race. Some how I endured - I had an awesome team and we had so much fun. Aside from the blister and lack of sleep I felt okay and was glad I did it.

This weekend we have another one called Epic - it runs from Logan up to Jackson Hole. Dean has done it before and says its beautiful. I'm nervous but excited because I know what to expect after my last experience. My legs are 6.5, 3, 4.8. I am up to 5 miles and am hoping I can make it to the 6.5 without dying first. I was going to do 7 on Saturday but Mason wanted to join me on the run - I couldn't say no. We didn't get out the door until 8:45 and by the time hit 2.5 miles it was dark out so we turned around and used the flash light on my phone to get home. It was fun - Mason was such a trooper and I'm so dang slow he could walk and catch up when he needed.

I've learned it's a mental thing - I still don't love it - It's a great workout - hard on the mind and the body - and hopefully I can keep it up in small doses!!

Fishing...

2011-07-26T13:21:00.000-07:00

See this old boat - it doesn't look like it would float - does it? Well when we bought an investment home in Plain City, they left this boat in their shop out back. We decided to see if it could float and over the 4th of July went camping and ventured up to the property and drove over Monte to Woodruff and put in - we made sure we had a bail bucket in the boat and the kids weren't allowed to take their life jackets off ever.

We had so much fun and most of us caught a fish - they weren't very big - but they were fun too catch. We did have to use the bail bucket because the boat was taking on water slowly - but we never sank! We did it again this last weekend and went up to upper Birch Creek - Dean had patched the holes so there wasn't nearly the water in the boat. I caught a tiger trout - we ate it for breakfast the next day and it was so yummy! I was so proud of the kids - although we did have Ethan whining quite a bit because he was tired and hungry - for the most part they did great.

These pictures are taken with my iphone - not the best - but safer than taking my big camera out there. We just relaxed the rest of the weekend - took a few hikes - Dean gave the kids motorcycle rides and we ate good food. I love spending time up there with my family - hopefully we get to a few more times before school starts.

If you can't tell I forgot how to blog - my pictures and text are everywhere - forgive me - I will figure it out!

I'm Back!!

2011-07-19T11:19:00.000-07:00

Not sure for how long, or if i can keep it up - but i've been feeling really guilty lately about not keeping this updated - for my sake - so i can keep documenting my families life. Especially now that I'm not scrapbooking anymore (sad ) - this is the only way its going to happen. So first I will start with Baylee's birthday - she turned 5 last week on the 13th and I can't believe it! She's grown up so fast, she acts more like 15 than 5, but I will keep her anyways. She is such a good girl even though we but heads quite a bit - she is so much like me - with a little extra attitude! We had a part for her and her little friends - 7 of her friends were from our old neighborhood in Plain city and 2 from here. I had so much fun decorating - I took a homework hiatus and made decorations and baked for 2 days. Not sure I will ever do it again - but it was fun getting out my scrapbook supplies that have been collecting dust and play a bit.

My grandma made this cute hat for Baylee - I love it. The doggie purse is from my mom - and don't you just love the pose!

Well - hopefully this will be the first of many - I need to update with our summer photos. I am in school this summer - have finished one class and have 2 more that go till August 12th!

lily Bee giveaway!!

2011-01-30T23:25:00.000-07:00

You need to make sure and head over to the Lily Bee Blog and sign up for the giveaways! They are giving away one of each entire collection and one lucky winner gets all 3!! So go comment on all the posts and get your name in there. Kristen came out some awesome lines this time around, Julia Stainton, one of our designers created Picket Fence. I didn't have much time to create with it, but i do have a card to share that i created with Happily Lost, then tomorrow after This and That is posted, i will post my layout and other card. So here are the three new lines! Make sure you check out what the designers created and the entire lines while over there.

So I'm having issues uploading pictures, for some reason it let me do these 3, then when i try and switch folders, it crashes firefox, it's been happening with my email too when I try and attach there! UGH. I will try and work it out, right now i've got school assignments calling my name!
Hugs
B

Fancy Pants CARDSTOCK - what??

2011-01-18T10:39:00.001-07:00

It's beautiful!! Check it out and go to this link if you want to win a pack of it! Fancy Pants teamed up with Core' dinations cardstock to create this beautiful paper!! Here is the link!

Also wanted to share a quick layout using the mid-release Love Birds. I love this picture taken with Baylee on Thanksgiving! We were to showcase the diecut papers that come in this line. Check here to see what the other girls did!

Thats it for now friends, i'm in the middle of catching up on school (went to st. george this weekend and didn't study AT ALL), and doing CHA projects! See you soon.

Hugs

Brenda

Last minute layouts.......

2010-12-31T14:25:00.000-07:00

I did my last few layouts for the year this last week while we've been enjoying Christmas break, thought i would stop in and share. We had a wonderful Christmas, it came and went sooooooo fast.We spent Christmas eve at my parents and then came home and played a few games and set up for Santa, mom didn't want to make Santa's favorite so we used Sugar Cookies that a friend had brought over that day. *Santa insisted* they were better than the ones i had made that were sitting right there too.

Ethan started coming in our room around 6:00 a.m. then after 10 minutes after that till it was 7:00. They were so excited to see what Santa had brought :)

They got motorized scooters, and Baylee got the Tangled Castle and a Crib for babies along with alot of other fun things. Then we made the trek to my parents again (and to be honest *Santa* lives there). We always look forward to see the 'stacks' of presents, and the wonderful food displayed. It has always been this way with them. My parents usually don't see eye to eye, my mom wants to stop WAY before my dad ever does, but there is no controlling him. Even as a child, when we didn't have much, no money, lived in a trailor park, there was always a wonderful Christmas. We, or the grandkids aren't 'spoiled' all year long (he is actually quite the tightwad, a trait i wish i had inherited), but come Christmas, he does it, and he loves it. So we let him...........

I feel bad i don't have more pictures. I really just sat back and enjoyed this year, not crazy with the camera at all. As a matter of fact, i didn't even pull it out once at Dean's parents. We headed over there after mine and spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying one another's company. My SIL Lori got EVERYONE together for a family photo and hopefully will get a copy of that. So all in all, it was a wonderful day!!

Here are the layouts i did. The first i did with the new line from Fancy Pants called Love Birds! SO FUN. Super girly and whimsical i think, but i like that because i have one. This is Baylee on her 4th birthday last year.

The next is one i did using Lily Bee product. Paper is from Catching Fall, Christmas Town and my all time favorite the green polka dot from Lovely. Baylee and her uncle Brad whom she totally adores taking a walk.

Okay enough talking............hope everyone has a Happy New Year!! Our Ethan is getting baptized tomorrow so it should a great day. We are excited.

hugs
B

My Wish List

2010-12-22T09:37:00.001-07:00

First i'm going to start off with Holy Crap - Christmas is in 3 days, not sure how that happened! Next I'm going to share my Studio Calico wish list. Not going to miss this opportunity :). My list is pretty long but i will keep it to a minimum - don't want to be too stingy!

Mr. Huey White, Cream or Lunch Tray
Wood Veneer Stars
Notions Flowers
Anything from the Elementary line

And for my Santa wish list, I'm not asking for much, just a healthy family, good food, and lots under the tree for the kiddos. My dad, still thinks he is Santa, and does a good job at taking care of that. I love his Christmas spirit this time of year, not just because of the gifts, but because of how he loves it so much. The traditions i did as a kid, he is still doing now. It is so fun.

I was hoping for the Iphone, but so far, Verizon hasn't gotten their crap together and it looks as though its going to be a few more months. So i'm not sure if i just get a Verizon phone or hold out - any thoughts?? Other than that i'm good. The kids lists were pretty mild this year. I am worried about one thing, Mason, my 10 year old, attached a penny to his letter to Santa, and said if he gets it back, then he will know that Santa is real, not sure what to do with that. I'm just not ready for him to not have that true Spirit of Christmas, hey, i'm 34 and i still believe, i have never asked my parents, and they never admitted anything to me, and i like it that way.
Just a few pictures to share before i go: The first few are the kids with Santa at a family Christmas party.

Baylee had a Christmas dance performance last saturday and it was so darn cute. It was about being naughty or nice, if you can't tail she has devil horns on under that Halo, and then a devil tail pinned to her bum! So cute!

And last - a picture of Ethan on his birthday, i can't believe he is 8, and doing so well. We've been so lucky with his health (knock on wood). He's such a good boy, loves to test me and push my buttons but he is so thoughtful and has a big heart!

And i didn't get a picture of Mason (was busy video recording) at his Piano recital last Sunday at Grandma Hurd's. She has been his teacher for almost 3 years. I was so proud of him. He does a great job, i'm glad someone in our family has some musical talent - besides Ethan and his paper jamz guitar :)

Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas, for now, i'm enjoying the break from school, not sure what to do with myself, i find myself checking the computer 20 times a day to make sure i don't have to do anything. I did check final grades last night and saw this. I was pretty happy. My math class is just a pass/fail and i barely passed.

Undergraduate Course work
CRN	Subject	Course	Section	Course Title	Campus	Final Grade
45600	HIST	1700	BCJ	American Civilization	Brigham City Campus	B+
45618	HIST	2210	BCJ	Introduction to Folklore	Brigham City Campus	A
45697	MATH	0900	BCU	Elements of Algebra	Brigham City Campus	P@
46951	USU	1350	BCJ	Integrated Life Science	Brigham City Campus	A

Yay!

Its almost here........

2010-12-15T14:43:00.001-07:00

I can't believe the month is almost over and I am so unprepared this year. We have had a gazillion parties, and the house is decorated, but no gifts bought, no cards sent out (not happening) and no baked yumminess. :( But oh well, tis the life of a full time college student. I have 2 finals tomorrow and 1 Friday then I'm done and will be able to have some fun. I'm over feeling sorry for myself and ready to relax and enjoy what Christmas is all about, spending time with family and enjoying the excitement of the kids.

We have an extra short tree this year because the ceilings in this home are only 8 ft. So we didn't use half of our ornaments. And i wasn't feeling creative enough to find a place for them. But i have to say i am in better spirits and have excepted the fact that i'm not on the ball, that it is okay, and we will still have a fabulous Christmas no matter what. The kids don't really notice, so that is the most important thing, don't want to put a damper on their holiday spirits. I even sat back this year and let them decorate the tree with out telling them where they can put the ornaments, it was kind of fun.

I created this box using the Lily Bee Christmas town line to put on my front end table full of candy canes.

Check out the Lily Bee Blog for more details on how i created it!

One more thing, i'm really excited that Memory Works has asked me to be involved in creating projects with some of their new product coming out for CHA - also the Elementary line which is too die for - love the grungy feel. I know your thinking where is she going to find the time. But i will! Here is the website for the Simple Stories program and how it can work.

So i will catch you later, off to run kids around to dance, piano, and a kid Christmas party at Grandma Hurds house tonight - she is so cute, every year she gets all the grandkids together and they watch a Christmas movie, eat good food and go Christmas caroling. They always look forward too it.

Hugs
B

December Daily

2010-12-09T13:16:00.000-07:00

Hey friends, if your still out there...............i've been a REALLY bad blogger. My life is just spinning in circles right now and i havn't even had the time to stop and enjoy my favorite time of the year. But i have to say I am proud that I was able to complete my December Daily album - my first ever. If your not familiar with it, go check out Ali Edwards blog for more details but pretty much, it is just a keepsake for all the fun things you do during the month. Each day is usually filled with some holiday tradition or party, it is just a matter of taking a picture each day and remembering to write down your thoughts. If your like me, the pictures won't get in until after the holidays, while others, do them weekly. I did mine for the Fancy Pants Blog which gave me that extra push to get it done. If you want instructions, check out the blog post over there :). I don't want to bore you with them all - so here are just a few. I used Fancy Pants Tradition line and I made it very simple - for someone like me with NO TIME - it is perfect!

As far as Christmas goes, we haven't had a day of rest around here, a party EVERY single night except for Dec. 2nd but i had school. None last night, and i have school tonight. Ethan is turning 8 tomorrow - so we are playing then too, just making it simple this year, taking him to see Tangled (his choice) and this crazy disgusting Chinese restaurant for ham fried rice and noodles :) - it's his birthday - right?? Then we have another party Saturday afternoon, i have one Saturday night, if i can bring myself to go, and we are celebrating Ethan's birthday on Sunday with family, and we have our annual adult Fondue night on Monday - is it sad that i just feel like it is TOO MUCH! As much as i love it - i feel overwhelmed. I'm sure school isn't helping that matter, i have 3 Finals next week to - one Wed. one Thurs. and my last one Friday, maybe then i will enjoy the holidays. I haven't even bought one gift yet, and i am usually done before the month begins. UGH, okay, the tears are welling up - it's time to change the subject!! Or maybe just end this post and come back on a happier note :)!

Hugs
Brenda

I can't help myself............

2010-11-23T18:18:00.000-07:00

if it weren't for Dean, I would have this house decorated for Christmas RIGHT NOW. We are in the middle of a blizzard, all the more reason to deck the halls...............right?? Anyway, i did get some of the bug out with those ornaments and this layout i did with Lily Bee's Christmas Town line. Such a great line, with the perfect colors. This is the kids on Christmas morning, i usually hate Christmas morning pics, but these turned out okay.

The flag stickers in all of the new collections are too die for! I seem to use them on EVERY layout. If you can't tell, the tree's are extra's i had from the Spellbinders blog hop. Thanks for all who commented by the way................holy 503 comments! I need to go check out who won the big prizes!

Can't wait for Thanksgiving this weekend, i will have to share a picture of the craft i did for Baylee's pre-school on monday, we are going to attempt making them over at my MIL's Thursday to break up the day a bit, not have kids running like crazy through the house the entire time, while the men are absolutely clueless because they are too busy watching football :). Hope everyone has a fabulous Holiday weekend. We are headed up to Soda Springs on Saturday also to cut down our tree! Can't wait.

So i registered for my classes for next semester today, i guess it wasn't to terrible if i was willing to do it again right?? I took every class online this time, probably will wait till next fall when Baylee is in Kindergarten to take them at the school. I took, Math 1010 (assuming i will pass 900 - havn't gotten my final grade yet - could be close ), English 1010, Psychology and another History class. CRAZY!!

Anyway, have a good one.

Hugs,

Brenda

Spellbinders Holiday Hoppin blog hop

2010-11-19T08:00:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone!! Glad you stopped by and hope your enjoying your hopping! Fancy Pants Designs in coordination with Spellbinders and Xyron we are showcasing some of the newest products just in time for your holiday crafting and gift giving. Lots of creative ideas are in store, as well as prizes galore! Each participating company (YEAH FANCY PANTS!) has generously donated towards the prize package listed on the Spellbinders Blog. A total of two identical prize packages, one for each day, November 18 and 19 will be given away! To enter, just leave a comment on a participating blog! Comments in the first 48 hours of the post are eligible. One commenter each day will be randomly selected as the winner. Winners will be announced on November 22, on the Spellbinders Blog!
I used the S4-284 2010 Holiday Trees, i started off doing a layout and some how ended up with these fun ornaments! I cut out 5 trees per ornament with paper from the Fancy Pants Tradition line, folded them in half and glued them together. I then sprayed them with silver Maya mist. Then traced around the edges with Ranger stickles (lime green, fruit punch).

After everything dried I used some bling to decorate each tree! I used Fancy Pants ribbon and some red wire for the tops of the trees. Before adding these, i folded the trees in half and punched a 1/8 inch hole to tie the jute through for hanging - then hot glued the bows on top!!

Go check out the rest of the blogs and make sure to leave a comment!!

Simply leave a comment on each blog to be eligible to win the Spellbinders Holiday Hoppin’ Prize Package. Check out the Spellbinders blog post w/prizes)! One winner will be chosen from all the comments on all the blogs participating today. Comments made in the first 48 hours of this post will be eligible to win. Winner’s names will be published on the Spellbinders Blog on November 22, and they will have 48 hours to reply to Spellbinders to claim the prizes.

Thank you!

Happy Birthday Mom

2010-11-18T14:39:00.001-07:00

Just a quick post to share a few pictures and tell my mom Happy Birthday, it was tuesday, I'm just a slacker. Love you so much mom and am so grateful for all that you do for our family (even though you won't come visit me in Honeyville) - i still love you. Your so beautiful, kind and looking out for your family, i can only hope to be like you one day. Hugs!!

Do you beleive my hair is getting so long, i can actually use a curling iron on it. I do have to say i hate the time it takes to blow dry it though, so we will see how long i go without chopping it again :).

Some quick fall pictures from last saturday, the kids helping dean rake the leaves and then making a big mess by jumping back in them. Then an attack from the crazy dog and his cone. We got him fixed last week, so he gets to wear this, and it hurts when he runs into you full force, we actually had tears after this attack.

One last thing, i was lucky to be involved the Spellbinders Holiday Hoppin blog hop that is going on today and tomorrow! My post will take place tomorrow right here, but if you want to check out todays inspiration start at Spellbinders blog - make sure you comment on each post for the chance to win some fabulous prizes!! They will choose a winner today AND tomorrow!!

bleep......Lily Bee....interuption

2010-11-13T19:27:00.000-07:00

are you loving all of the nothingness on my blog lately?? Sorry, i have a huge paper due in my history class and its taking over my life, but i did want to make a quick announcement for Lily Bee - you won't want to miss out!!

Go check out the Lily Bee Blog, you can order directly from there!! Be back soon!!

hugs
Brenda

**Do you believe November is almost halfway over, we've already started the Christmas music, its killing Dean, he can't handle it till after Thanksgiving, but with all the stress in my life right now, it takes me to a happy place!!

Witchy Fun

2010-10-30T09:00:00.002-07:00

I had so much fun tonight going to a Witch Wedding murder mystery with my family tonight. You had the option of dressing up or not and pretty much my whole family were the only ones dressed up - there were a few other crazies, but not many. I actually don't go all out myself, but i had fun getting ready this year. My mom actually won a contest with her costume this year at work! THis first picture is my mom and I.

Me, my mom, Grandma, Aunt Tammi, Cousin Nicole, Aunt DeAnne, Aunt Londa

Me, my dad, and mom, My dad would dress up!

Karie and her hubby Chris

THe last one is my sister, me and my mom. We got most of our stuff at Garners Village at the witch festival so we all kinda match. So much fun to step out of your comfort zone and do whatever.
Hope everyone has a Happy Halloween!! I will leave you with a fun layout i did of my niece on Halloween last year, she was the cutest angel EVER. I did this for the Lily Bee Blog, used a little something from all three of the new lines!

Hugs
Brenda

Birthday's

2010-10-24T08:41:00.000-07:00

last weekend was my grandparent's 75th birthday's!! My grandpa turned 75 on Saturday and my Grandma on Sunday. We went and visited and had a BBQ - i'm so lucky to still have both of them around and just love them to pieces!!

And i actually did a birthday layout about me. First one I've ever scrapbooked. This was last year, and i turned 34. I did it for the Fancy Pant's blog product spotlight and I used the It's your day line glitter cuts.The funny thing is, i thought it was the one i like the least (still liked it but liked the others better) and I've used it the most. The bright colors are so fun!

Today's post is short and sweet, i've got a sunday school lesson to plan - yes i did procrasinate this week! Dean and i went deer hunting this weekend so we've been gone. We have a fun Halloween party next weekend so i will be back with pictures and I also get to share projects with the new Hot Chocolate line from Fancy Pants too! So come back soon!

Hugs
Brenda

Witch Festival

2010-10-19T09:35:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it has been over 2 weeks since i last posted, the time flies these days. I have been super busy with the usual, school, kids and trying to stay on top of house work (definitely the bottom of the list :) ). I did manage to break away this last weekend for a few fun things. Friday, my sister and her kids, my mom and my crew headed to South Salt Lake to Gardner's Village for the Witch Festival. Probably wasn't the smartest of choices since it was UEA and everyone's kids were out of school and there were literally thousands of people there. Not big on huge crowds. We did manage to have some fun though the day started off on the wrong foot, my sister's little boy Bridger who is 3 and suffers from autism went missing. We stopped at one point to look at the witch that was in the creek and he must have kept walking, it was only a matter of seconds. So needless to say for the next half hour we were all panicked and running around trying to find him. Luckily a really nice lady had found him and kept him safe till we could find them, and good thing for us, there were alot of helpful mom's willing to stop what they were doing to help us. When they were united it was a tear jerker, Bridge didn't want to let go of his mommy.........so for the rest of time we just browsed a few shops and called it good. I did get a darling witch costume for Baylee and a few Witch accessories for my witch costume!

for some reason my sis isn't in any of the pics. That is my cute mom holding Karie's little guy Hudson.

I will share pics of my grandparents 75th birthday party next time. I want to leave you with a cute project i did for the Fancy Pants blog today! You can check it out there for detailed instructions on how to make it.

Also go check out the who made the Fancy Pants Design team!!! I am so excited to be able to stay on another term, they are such an awesome company to work for and i'm excited to get to know the new girls coming a board and grateful to have worked with the ones who are leaving.

Better get to the homework before i fall behind! Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Brenda

Life is Sweet...........

2010-10-01T19:59:00.002-07:00

really it is! Busy, and sometimes i don't feel like i've accomplished enough because i'm stuck behind this computer studying half the time. But it is sweet, i have great friends, great family and am so blessed! I did this layout a few days ago with some of the new Lily Bee goodness. I used paper and diecuts from Domestic Bliss and then a die cut that i cut up from the Lovely Collection. This is my cute niece Corrine, they call her Cory, and i just want to squish her! She's beautiful, and curious, and super duper sassy! click on images if you want to see them larger.

I used some fun chipboard butterflies that Maya Road send the Lily Bee girls this month as masks and sprayed the Maya mist over them.

Used the Lily Bee chipboard circles in the centers of those fabulous Sassafras flowers!

Went to a field trip for Baylee's pre-school the other day. She had a nature hunt - it was so fun, she was given the color red, and had to find anything she could that was red and then made a collage - she did a great job! I had fun watching her explore!

Another fun thing - Mason - my 9 year old, was chosen to be a part of the Gifted Pilot program for Box Elder School District. He was one of 4 fourth graders chosen to participate, i am so PROUD of him. Dean and I are just wondering where the kid got his brains, couldn't possible have been from either of us!!

Hugs
B

More house pics

2010-09-23T13:32:00.000-07:00

I still havn't taken pictures of alot of the rooms because they are not picture worthy - maybe one day. But i do have a few new ones of the kitchen and outside. This isn't a great picture because i had my big lens on and didn't want to go in and switch it.

This is our long driveway - the top rounds so you can drive all the way through.

A view of our view. These mountains are beautiful and i love that that is what i get to look at every day!

This is right out the back sliding doors of my dining area. One day i will have a cute little outdoor dining set here. There is a fountain in the trees. The back yard is very narrow - most of the yard is side yard.

Some pics of the fruit trees. We have 3 peach trees, 2 nectarine (my favorite) and 2 pear. And then a whole bunch of purple grapes that i really have no idea what to do with other than juice. They have seeds so they are not fun to eat.

There was a big metal swing set that was cemented in they left behind.

and of course the dog being as mischievous as ever. I've never loved and hated something so much in my entire life. I mean look how darn cute he is - that look just gets to me. And he can be sweet at times. But most of the time he drives me crazy - i feel like a babysitter - or i have another child. I know he only a puppy - and they say with little ones to never wish their years away - well i wish it away! Just a few of them, haha, because i know from previous experience that one day he will be the best dog ever!!

So here is my kitchen - a little cleaner this time. I still do not have one picture hung on my walls. I'm sure we will get to that after hunting season - i swear it will never end!

And my new black sectional that i ADORE! I bought random pillows at different places and love how they all fit together so well!

the black diamond one is Target, the one with blue flowers is Bed Bath and Beyond and the yellow shag is Taipan .

Here the Zebra print and yellow are Bed Bath and Beyond and the Blue zig zag my SIL Stephanie got me from target. The big floral is Target and the black velvet was my mother-in-laws about 40 years ago!!

I will stop while i'm ahead and show more later! I'm ready for this weekend. I actually get to go play. My friends have a condo this weekend about an hour away and we are just relaxing - playing games, watching chick flicks and leaving the world behind. They are crazy into French Cuisine and love cooking these amazing big fancy meals out of Julia's cookbook - i'm going to let them do that - while i do nothing. I hate cooking :) Leaving the sstress of school and a disorganized house for a few days! Yay! I will hopefully be back tomorrow to share who the new FANCY PANTS girls are going to be - i can't even stand it!!

Hugs
Brenda

Hey friends...........

2010-09-15T22:16:00.001-07:00

it's been a while hasn't it. Feeling really guilty about neglecting this place. We've just had alot going on. You can usually find me at my desk with these.

Wow - i didn't realize how much time and energy goes into this - and I had also forgotten that i am not naturally smart - that i have to work at it. That i have forgotten how to retain information and i find it going in one ear and out the other. But i enjoy it for the most part - besides my bone head math class.

The kids also started school and so far seem to enjoy it. Both of them have made a few friends and don't complain to much. I'm sure in a few more months it will seem like their 'normal'. I hope anyways.

Baylee is just going to the same Pre-School down in Ogden. We loved teacher Andrea last year so i kept her there - we do the 30 minute drive every Monday and Wednsday - i go to the gym or study while she's there so it works out well!

I have a few projects to share - yes i have scrapped a little bit!! Luckily i still get together once a month with a group of girls that i used to live by. One thursday a month. Keeps me going! I used the new It's your Day line from Fancy Pants Designs for both projects. I have had this butterfly Mason made out forever wanting to scrap it with a school picture and when i got this new line the colors were perfect!!

Also a fun birthday card

This line can really be used for way more than Birthday - check out the Fall Wreath that Ronda Palazzari created with it. SO CUTE!!

Fancy Pants is also having a Creative Team call - HELLO!! If you love their product - jump on this - you won't regret it - i LOVE designing for them. Unfortunately the call ends tonight - in like an hour - for some reason when i started this post - i thought that the deadline was tomorrow - sorry about that. But if you love them - you would have known already anyways!!

Thanks for stopping in and have a fabulous day! I'm off to study some more - have a big fat history test tomorrow!
Hugs B

still hangin on by a thread.......

2010-08-24T13:38:00.000-07:00

are you tired of hearing me complain?? Sorry ....... i'm just waiting for some normalcy here - and it is slowly but surely coming my way. School starts for the boys on Monday - never thought the day would come and feeling a little guilty for being excited. But it's true!! I have fallen short in the getting ready for school department -luckily i had a stash of glue, crayons and the necessities from last year and Old Navy.com came to the rescue for new school clothes (which still have not arrived yet). The only thing i need to get now is shoes. Phew.

Celebrated this handsome guys' birthday this weekend - and this is exactly what he did.......without me. We usually go as a couple every year for his -bday - but our friends that go with us - had a new baby a few weeks ago so the girls kinda got uninvited.

Such a great husband - grateful to have him in our lives and hope he had a fabulous time - even if he did leave us home! :) The kids bought him gifts from the dollar store and wrapped them himself and we baked a cake and celebrated when he got home Sunday night. Then last night had a BBQ - our first official get together even though i don't have a couch and when we weren't outdoors enjoying the cool weather - we were sitting on the floor in the living room enjoying eachother's company.

Did a quick card for the Lily Bee Blog a few days ago - about all i can muster right now - having creativity issues! I havn't even submitted since JUNE - wow. I"m falling behind. One thing i did notice while Dean was away - i usually don't mind him being gone because i have free rain in the scrap room and no guilt - this time - I missed him like crazy and i think its cuz i didn't want to scrapbook - at all - so i didn't have anything to keep me occupied after the kids went to bed!! Crazy..........with hunting season coming up - i better get back into it - the only problem is - I will be a full time College student and probably wont have the time!

Still can't get enough of the Hello Sunshine line...........my all time fave - but it's time to get the new goodies out and start using them.

Hope everyone has a fabulous day.......
Hugs
B

Fancy Pants Projects

2010-08-13T22:03:00.001-07:00

soooooooooo of course Fancy Pants didn't fail again this time around. They came out with 4 BEAUTIFUL lines and i loved every single one of them. Just wanted to share them with you. Go check out the new website to see all of the new product here! The first layout is of our darn cute puppy - the new line is called Happy Together - great muted colors!

The next line is called Lilac house - and i LOVE this picture of my Baylee in front of the Poppy's at my BIL's house. These colors are awesome- never thought i would LOVE purple the way i do in this line.

I cut the Poppy's out with my Silhouette. Love that thing. And the fringe - bought these scissors forever ago at the container store to cut up my checkbooks - then seen it for sale over at Studio Calico - who would of thought - so i used them here.

Next up is the Christmas line called Tradition - soooo beautiful! I LOVE these pictures of my kids in front of the tree last year - the yellow in this line brought out the tree in these photos.

And a card.......................

I think i used mist on every single project - an obsession of mine! Last but not least is the Birthday line called It's your day - could be used for any type of celebration - or any layout for that matter - fun bright colors.

I'm just searching for time to be able to use it all again - still haven't scrapped since i moved in - I went to a 'scrap night' with my friends thursday and didn't scrap - not sure what it is! Too much fun talking i guess. My head is out of the game. School for me starts in 2 weeks!! Wow - time is flying and i'm not sure i'm ready for it all.

Dean is off running this crazy race 'EPIC' - from Logan to Jackson Hole - a relay of course - but still - who does that - I mean all the power to him - i'm probably just jealous that i don't have or 'get' the time to run or excercise like that. But i hope he does well and is safe - they run all through the night - 24 hours straight - kinda crazy if you ask me!

Hugs
Brenda

Scrapbook Dreamer

2010-08-11T09:24:00.000-07:00

So last month - i was supposed the the Celebrity Guest Designer for Scrapbookdreamer.com . I didn't do a very good job! In the middle of a move and all - with no computer - i ended up scrapbooking these projects in my camping trailer and now that i finally have a computer and my editing software up and running i was able to get the projects on line. Laura has a great store over there and i loved all the product i was able to work with. My first time EVER using Scribble Scrabble and i was very impressed - love the muted colors and great texture of their paper!

I just realized after posting this - that the I in sis is missing - and i'm not retaking this picture!! TOO MUCH GOING ON!

I LOVED the Arisian elements from Pink Paislee too - my first time using them - the ink just goes on soooo well - i used the colorbox chalk inks.

Had a rough day yesterday - a week ago my Uncle Blain - my mom's little brother died. Serosis of the liver. Such a sad story because he was such a good man- just had some bad habits. He was only 46. So we spent the day at the funeral and then drove to Idaho to bury him in Portage.

the guy always had on a cowboy hat! I will miss him lots!

WEll- i have lots of unpacking to do - so i better get at it - will be back soon - still have some CHA projects to share!
Hugs
Brenda

a peek into my crazy world

2010-08-08T10:01:00.000-07:00

just to show you how i'm living still - why aren't things progressing!! I feel like i'm at a stand still - but still unpacking - anyways!! Here is my favorite part of the house - i so wish i would have saved pictures from what it looked like previously so you could see the drastic change - but i didn't. The walls were red - the cabinets oak and the counter tops Formica.

I chose this aqua color because i was inspired by Jennifer Johner's house tour on apartment therapy - loved the pop of blue - all of my decor is yellow, lime green and orange. I think it will work well - but as you can see - i don't have a stove, kitchen faucet or dishwasher installed yet. And this blue was SO BLUE the first time around- i had to have them repaint with a lighter - more aqua tone - it was scary. My laundry is still that bright blue because i didn't dare ask him to change that too. And here is my Dishwasher and Stove in the dining area - lovely right??

Seriously this is not fun - and last but not least - my scraproom - i left a HUGE room at my other house - but was grateful that the previous owner like to scrapbook too - because i at least got this - i know - very unorganized right now - but i have internet - thats all that matters - right??

A work in progress - obviously a little bit of everything going on here but me scrapbooking - its going to be a while i think!!
But at least the kids are having fun - these are pictures of them helping dean irrigate - yes we have to irrigate every thursday for 4 HOURS!! wow - but like i said - the kids love it.

And so does the doggie!!

And i love the view from my front living room - i come sit here when i don't know what to do with myself or get overwhelmed.

This wrap around porch will be fabulous one day when i have time to furnish it...............

Thanks for your patience and for checking in
Hugs
Brenda

in shambles

2010-08-03T21:19:00.000-07:00

my life I mean. For reals - won't be blogging for a bit - i finally got my computer hooked up - but we are bunking in the basement of our new house till all of the remodel is done so we can move in!! Be patient with me - i'm still here...............just going crazy!

Hugs
B

Happy Birthday Baby............

2010-07-15T09:35:00.000-07:00

I can't believe she's 4!! My baby is all grown up - i mean - she acts like she's 15 already too! She had a great birthday - got lots of fun gifts, her first big girl bike and ate yummy cake and ice cream! And the best part - she could actually blow her candles out on her own this year - i don't know if you remember last year- it taking like 10 minutes before she could blow them out- but it was funny!

I took her over to dean's cousins house and took a few cute pictures of her - she's such a poser. SHe was coming up with poses all on her own. "like this mom" she would say. or "do one while i'm doing this" - she was cracking me up.

These shoes my friend bobbie gave her are so darn cute!!

Anyways.............enough of that! Wanted to share a layout i did for the Lily Bee BLog today! I used the Hello Sunshine line - took the red out and it softened right up for this layout of my nephew Hudson - who is so darn cute- he turns one next week and has the cutest personality!!

And here is one little sneaky peaky of one of thier new lines coming out at CHA this month - its called Catching Fall - LOVE IT. The embellishments are fabulous - you will have to keep checking the blog for more sneaks! Also check out THIS POST - if your interested in being a guest designer for Lily Bee in September and winning ALL 3 of the new lines!!

Thanks for stopping by!! I have 3 days to get my assignments done so i can start packing up my scraproom!! Ack!
Hugs
B

New furry friend...........

2010-07-12T11:10:00.000-07:00

I feel SO bad i've been MIA lately and pretty much non existent in the online scrappy world - there is so much going on right now with trying to pack for the big move. Pick colors for paint and carpet, figure out what the heck i'm going to do for furniture in this new house and try to get my husband to agree on letting me refurbish some things - he says he's 'scared' of what our house will look like! Ha!

And somehow we decided a new doggy would be the perfect thing to add to the mix of things. I feel like a new mommy - like i literally have to babysit him. ACK!! It's a good thing he's so cute. For reals he will yap and yap and the minute i walk out there and sit next him - he lays down and falls asleep - like he just needs me there - which i love - just not right now. And baylee is scared to death and always has to have me walk her out there so he doesn't tackle her.

And my princess turns 4 tomorrow - i can't beleive how fast she is growing up. So crazy - so trying to plan a little get together for that - and in the midst of it all - CHA projects looming over my head. So i'm not ignoring you - just trying to get through each day without feeling overwhelmed!!

Hugs~
B

Lots to share........

2010-07-02T10:38:00.000-07:00

Soooooooooooooooooo much going on right now and sooooooooo little time- ecspecially with little rug rats home and trying to keep them busy so they don't fight! We have gone swimming the last 2 days which has been alot of fun for all of us - but i've fallen behind on all the things that NEED to be done. I havn't started packing yet- is that crazy?? I think i'm nervous - doesn't seem real yet - i told Dean i would start when we get home from camping this weekend. We have until July 27th to be out. Meanwhile i have been going crazy with decorating ideas. My main inspiration has been Jennifer Johner's house - she doesn't even know, but i've been stalking her blog for weeks and the post that went up on Apartment Therapy with pictures i have had permanantly saved to my hard drive. I LOVE the colors and decor she has in her home. So in the next month i'm going to be posting pictures and needing advice from you ladies! My first will be an UGLY green chair i we found in an old shop to an investment property - to recover or not to recover - that is the question. I'm going to take pics of it this weekend and post. My cute SIL Stephanie has an eye for this old vintage style that i'm falling for and is a big help!

Onto some scappiness - I was so excited when the mail man brought this to my front door the other day!! I don't think i can post my layouts yet - but i will share the front cover because that layout on the very top left of the cover - is MINE. So cool. This is an Idea book that the fabulous Shimelle Laine did. I have 2 inside and i think i can share them next month. I think the only place you can get this in the states is Barnes and Noble.

this picture is from her blog.

And here is a layout i did last week with Lily Bee's Hello Sunshine line.........went so well with these pictures from our Anniversary trip last year.

The color is a little off - that background really is white - not sure why it doesn't look that way. I also used my Silhouette to cut out that fun seaweed.

Had some fun with my sewing machine on the sun and the seaweed too - i love that thing.

Also - Lily Bee is having a contest for a Guest Designer spot in September - if your interested - head on over to the blog for the details - there are also some sneaks from one of the new lines coming out next month at CHA.

Speaking of CHA - i went and picked up a box from Fancy Pants yesterday that had paper from ALL 4 new lines - you guys are not going to be disappointed AT ALL - to be honest - my favorite to date - all 4 of them are fabulous - I havn't worked with them yet so i can't pick a fave -but i love them. Also go check out thier new website - they have revamped it and it looks great!

Okay - sorry for the overload of information!! **Enjoy your 4th of July holiday!!

Hugs
Brenda

Big Changes...........

2010-06-24T12:04:00.001-07:00

your looking at the newest student at Utah State University! Go Aggies!!

Yep - its true - i've registered for my first semester of college EVER. I'm 34 years old and staring from scratch. Kinda crazy i know - but i've been in the Mortgage industry for over 15 years and had always planned on returning to that when my kids were old enough and in school. I could make my own schedule and still do some from home. Well - thats not an option anymore with the economy and the route that the mortgage industry has gone - its to cut throat and the rules and guidelines are changing daily. I still have my liscense but won't be doing much with it. I'm going into secondary education - so i can still have the same schedule as my kids and get good insurance! Wish me luck.

The second change is WE ARE MOVING! We are in the process of purchasing a beautiful home in Honeyville - which is about 25 minutes north of where we live now. A much more remote area with alot more land and peace and quiet!

ALot more room for the kids to run and play and for us to spend more time as a family. I will share the inside later - before and after's. We are re-carpeting and painting and doing some new counter tops. But it's a fun home with a layout we will have to adjust too. Here at our house - everything is on one level - there - everything is split between three levels. So things will function differently - in a good way I think - we won't be on top of each other all of the time. So WoW! And if that werent enough...............

We are getting a puppy. We went and saw them last night............trying to decide between the yellow male Lab or the yellow female. We went with the intentions of getting the female - but Dean liked the personality of the male better - so in a few weeks we will be the new mama and papa's over here! Which brings me to this layout i did of Buddy - we miss him sooooooooo much and i wanted the picture to be the main focal point - i used the Lovely line by Lily Bee Designs. Here is a link to the blog post i did about the layout!

So thats it - my life is going to do a 360 in the next few months. KInda scared - kinda excited for some change and a new start!

hugs
Brenda

Father's Day.......

2010-06-21T11:57:00.000-07:00

we had a great Father's day yesterday - a busy one making the rounds but good. I have to say i think i may have the BEST DAD ever! I didn't take any pictures of him yesterday and i'm kicking myself but here are a few from Saturday. Dean took the boys to Flaming Gorge fishing for the weekend so Baylee and i headed up to the property to hang out with my mom and dad for the day on Saturday.

I can't say enough about what a great dad and Grandpa he is. We are lucky to have him. He always puts us first and is willing to do anything for us. Love you Dad!

Then there is Dean - who is amazing. I couldn't have hand picked a better father for my kids. Even though he isn't around alot because of his calling and job - when he is - he makes it count. And that is what is most important. They adore him - and i love to see they interact with him and the way thier eyes light up when he walks in the door. I took this yesterday after walking home from his parents house.

SO last weekend i decided scrapbook a layout for myself - no restrictions - no rules - no anything. This is what i came up with - this is a picture of my Grandparents before they were married. I love how in love they look!

I grabbed from my Studio Calico Kits - probably 3 different kits here. But it worked out perfect. Here is how i did the buckle if your interested. I just wrapped a piece of ribbon around the ribbon going lengthwise

Then added one of the self adhesive lace frames to it and then embellished.

Thanks for stopping by............we have big news and lots of changes going on around our house. I will come back and share tomorrow.

Hugs!
Brenda

Lily Bee and Facebook

2010-06-15T21:46:00.001-07:00

all of you Lily Bee lovers out there need to go check out their facebook page and become a fan - this is the way to do it:
We want to get to 1600 friends who LIKE Lily Bee Design in the next week on our Facebook Page SO here's the incentive for you to invite your friends. We've teamed up with Jill over at A Million Little Things and are giving away a $25.00 Gift Certificate to her store.

Simply have your friends who LIKE Lily Bee leave us your name over on the Facebook Page and you will automatically be entered to win. The more friends you send over the more chances you have to win.

Good Luck and Send your friends!

A Million little things is a great store - its where i buy all my little extra's that i don't get in a kit or from manufacturers - Jill is great to work with and for me - even though she's online - she's local for me! Got to support that!

I will leave you with a card i did last month with Lily Bee's Lovely line which i LOVE. I actually did this camping - tried to spread out on the picnic table but the wind was blowing and it kinda rushed me. I have one crazy little secret to share - that i found out by trial and error - i had my rubon's out on the table - not in the package - and with the wind blowing like that - it really effected the way they worked. They did not rub on well after that. So make sure to keep your rub ons in the package while not using - maybe you knew that!

Have a great day!

summer days...........

2010-06-09T13:42:00.000-07:00

so far - the kids are driving me crazy :) But i still love it. I'm just having a hard time getting them going and out the door and it seems like i tell them in the morning and i'm still telling them in the afternoon. And my Baylee (3) and Ethan (7) do not get along at all - so strange. So i seem to be playing the referee for those 2 starting at breakfast. But other than that - we are good.
I tried to put Ethan in charge of Baylee while we watched Mason's baseball game last night and it didn't go over well. I couldn't see the park they were playing at from where i was sitting so in the 2nd inning i decided to run over and check on them - the sight was unbearable - i was sooooooooooo embarassed. Right along this nice trail that people were walking along with thier dogs and jogging were my 2 kids, Baylee with her pants down crying because she had peed all over herself and Ethan letting it all hang out taking care of his own business - that's what happens when you put a 7 year old in charge. Instead of coming to tell mom Baylee needs to go potty - he takes her to a bush in a public park. So needless to say - they won't be leaving my sight again at the games - if i can't see the park - they can't play.
I've been going through a scrapbooking drought latley - i hate it. I think about it every single day - but havn't found the time or energy. It's a good thing i have my Design Team assignments to get me moving.........and wanting to do more. I'm doing prep work after this blog entry so as soon as the kids go down - i can get started on some projects.
Just wanted to share a few more pictures from Memorial Day - next up are my St. George pictures - need to get them uploaded. The kids love fishing on this pond my dad put in a few years ago - the fish are ginormous this year. So the kids spent alot of time there.

This is a new recipe i tried a while ago that my kids LOVED. I just grilled hamburger, put it in a whole wheat pit and topped with mozarella cheese - then sauted mushrooms and onions and put on top - CHeeseburger pockets! Yum - easy summer dinner - and of course the home made fries (baked) to go with them.

Have a great day!
B

New Fancy Pants!

2010-06-01T09:18:00.001-07:00

Sorry its been so long...........i've been a slacker this month. SO much going on - it seems like May is always our busiest month. First i will share the 2 new Fancy Pants lines- then what we've been up to for the past 2 weeks!

The first of the 2 new lines is called Wishful Thinking - check here for projects from the other Design team members. I love the soft colors in this line - the floral prints are so fun too! I used the Silhouette to cut some of the big borders - the others with patterns are Fancy Pants sticker borders.

Here is a card i made from the same line! The monogram stickers are so fun.

The next line is called Like Father like son - one of my favorite boy lines to date - love the greys in this line.

If you want to check out all the paper with each line - go here for the product catalog!!

So the 22nd of May we had the walk for Cystic Fibrosis - we had a fabulous turn out - more people than i've seen in all the years i've been going. Its a 5k walk along the riverside- its beautiful - but this year we got hailed and snowed and rained on - it was quite an adventure. But we finished and raised lots of money - not sure the total - but thanks to all of those who supported.

We've been busy with baseball EVERY NIGHT of the week but Friday. Ethan plays Monday and Wednesday and Mason plays Tue and Thurs - keeps us busy. And Baylee is gearing up for her Dance review this weekend!

This last weekend i we went camping all weekend - just got home last night. We bought a new 5th wheel - I LOVE it. It has 4 beds in the back - an actual bedroom with a door for the kids - and our queen bed is on the opposite side of the trailor. It's the perfect set up - instead of having to go in and put beds down when its time for them to go down and then tip toeing around when you come in for bed. I can't bellieve i didn't even take pictures of it. Next time. I had the flu the first part of the trip and it was pretty miserable but felt better Sunday afternoon and really enjoyed the rest of the trip. We had alot of family come up and BBQ Sunday afternoon. Yesterday - we took flowers to Buddy's grave (our lab who passed away last fall). It was really sad - its crazy how much of an effect he had on our lives and how much we still miss him.

Thanks for stopping by - hopefully i can keep up a little better - who knows - summer is so hard! Even to find the time to scrapbook- but it is my therapy - helps me relax - i even made a few cards while we were camping.

Hugs
B

Happy Anniversary!

2010-05-17T13:36:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to take a quick moment to tell my man how much I LOVE HIM - he is the best. We met almost almost 18 years ago how crazy is that - crazy since i'm only 34!! Mutual friends set us up since he had already graduated high school and i was a junior. We dated for a few years and then he left on a 2 year LDS mission - came back and we were married 6 months later!! I'm not going to say it was easy- the first 2 years were not the best - but after we had our first baby - Mason - the changes started. I can honestly say now - 13 years later - that i love him more than i ever have. He gets me - knows my struggles and trials and still loves me- and me with him. We have a great relationship and 3 wonderful kids. So here is many more years ahead!!

Not the best picture - he was squinting - but the most recent. We went to my nieces wedding up the logan temple on saturday and my SIL took this for me! Soooooooooo he gave me 10th row tickets to the Tim Mgraw concert which i can't be more excited about! My all time favorite!

I will leave you with a few pictures of my cute niece - i was so proud of her that day - she looked beautiful!

Thanks for stopping by!!

hugs
B

Cystic Fibrosis

2010-05-12T20:34:00.001-07:00

is a tough disease. Most days are good - but there are some that it's all i think about - what his future will be like - what will we do when something goes wrong. We have been so fortunate thus far to have hardly ANY problems with his CF. We just had a clinic visit a few weeks ago and got the call a few days ago that everything came back normal, blood work and x-rays were all clear, another 3 months under our belt.

I think i get in these moods when we don't get along - its when i feel the worst. He really is such a great kid - and has a fun personality but we seriously don't get along - he really really likes to push me to my limits. I think its because it shows - he knows he can get to me - and i let him. I need to try harder to be better with him - have more patience. I feel like he needs the most love and compassion - and the truth is - he gets the least. I'm hoping its a phase we are going through and we will get through it - because i hate feeling this way. Because then i get on the internet and read sad stories that make me feel even worse.

This is one of them - it's the story of a 23 year old actress who did a documentary about Cystic Fibrosis (65 red roses) - she past away in March. She had a lung transplant and her life deteriorated quickly because her body was rejecting them. She has some very inspiring stories on her blog and there are some clips from the movie.

Here is the link to her blog if your interested in reading more about her life and legacy. 65 Red Roses.

So then i have to move on to more inspiring stories - this man who is living with Cystic Fibrosis and is now 65 - WoW! How cool is that!

Paul Quinton Ph.D. is a professor of pediatrics at University of California San Diego, and a professor of biomedical sciences at University of California Riverside, where he works to advance the understanding of the chronic illness, cystic fibrosis (CF). Dr. Quinton's interest in this genetic disease stems from his own diagnosis with CF when he was 19 years old. While he is 65 years old, the median lifespan for CF is 37 years. Dr. Quinton is recognized for his work in discovering the defect in the CF gene that prevents chloride molecules from entering and exiting affected cells. His research explained why the sweat of patients with CF is abnormally salty and has helped us understand that this illness is a disease of abnormal salt movement that is associated with abnormal mucus.

And Dean's cute cousin Kara who has Cystic Fibrosis and her husband Jordan - are finally able to adopt a baby - i'm SO happy for them.

It always makes me think of Ethan's future and makes me wonder if he will find that someone who is so amazing that doesn't let this disease scare them away - who looks past the medicines and the treatments and the fact that he can't have children. These 2 are what help me get through these times. Here her blog if your interested in her stories.........Kara's Blog.

One of my very best friends who i've met through this process and has a son with CF always seems to make me feel better too - Love ya Carey!

Okay - i'm ready to get off my soapbox - if you've made it this far - thanks for listening. And if your interested in donating to a great cause and in making CF stand for cure found - our annual great strides walk is coming up a week from this Saturday on the 22nd. If you donate through that button it will go directly to Team Ethan!!

Hugs
Brenda

what Mother's Day is all about.........

2010-05-11T10:00:00.000-07:00

I hope all of you wonderful Mother's out there had a great Mother's Day!! Like i had said before - i spent the weekend in St. George with my family and my kids. It was sooooooooooooo much fun. So relaxing and the kids had a wondeful time - playing in the pool, at the park, watching movies, catching lizards, going on hikes - and lots more! I will share pictures later. Just wanted to thank my sister for allowing us to join them and for my parents and the help they were to me since dean wasn't there.

So on to Mother's Day - we got up and got packed up and were out of there by 9:30 - ready for a 6 hour drive with three kids. Baylee is not the best traveler in the first place - but she woke up not feeling well. Her tummy hurt and her throat hurt. About an hour into the drive -she tells me she needs to throw up - so i pull over - my parents are in front of me and i'm just hoping they notice that we've stopped. I get her out of the car - and we stand there for a few minutes - i tell her we have to hurry - grandpa and grandma are waiting - so she says - maybe i don't have to - i sit her in her seat - and she pukes - all over herself! Luckily she had a skirt on and it caught everything from getting all over the car. I felt so bad for her - she looked ghostly and and just didn't feel well. Needless to say - 5 hours, 2 walmart sacks, a bread bag (dumped the bread on the front seat), a ziploc bag and a Wendy's cup later - we made it home. I was not happy (I know it wasn't her fault) - but i still wasn't happy - not sure if i expected an award or fireworks or something when i got home, since i hadn't seen Dean for 9 days, and didn't get really much of any kind of praise (still expecting at this point) or sorry your Mother's Day sucked - but i pouted the rest of the night and felt sorry for myself, took it out on the kids and Dean. Then woke up the next morning getting kids ready for school and the usual - and realized - that this is what being a Mother is all about. This is what i do, referee fights, clean up throw up, comfort when in need. And i wouldn't want it any other way..........so i felt really really guilty about the way that i acted, at least i was with my kids right! And i love being a mother - even on those crappy days.

Also want my mom to know how much i LOVE her and what a great Mother and Grandmother she is. I am so lucky to have her in my life! This is mother's day last year.

Also wanted to share i quick layout i did for the Lily Bee Blog last week. LOVE how bright and fun this Hello Sunshine line is!

Banner's have been all the rage for the last little bit - and i finally decided to give it a try and love the way it turned out - so fun - i will definatley be incorporating them into my work more often.

One more bit of fun news - Go check out the Fancy Pants website and see the 2 new lines the were just released! Havn't gotten my hands on them yet - but they look fabulous!!

Hugs!
Brenda

Lily Bee + yummy cupcakes!

2010-04-30T20:38:00.000-07:00

Well tomorrow is National Scrapbook Day - i can't wait to play! Just wanted to hop on and share a few Lily Bee projects - my first with the new Chipboard and rubons - i LOVE them. The picture of this layout is not that great - but it was getting dark and the wind was blowing - i should have done it earlier today - but didn't get to it. The pictures on the layout are not that great either because they are OLD! That is actually Mason (my nine year old) when he was just barely 3 - do you believe it. So cute - and the pictures have actually been printed for that long - so i didn't reprint them or anything. But i used the Lovley line..........

I added a wood veneer from Studio Calico over top of one of the Lily Bee diecuts and sewed around the edges and added some of the new Dear Lizzy pleated ribbon around the edge.

Here is the fun bright card i made with the Hello Sunshine line.................

So tomorrow - i am headed here:

on my way to Becky's house - so i can get some of these:

to take down for our little scrapping day. I've never actually had them but she doesn't live to far from my house and i went to school with one of them - and the other is her little sister - i'm excited to try them out!

I have a few layouts i did for Studio Calico's National Scrapbook Day challenges - that i will post this weekend sometime - hope you all have a great day tomorrow.

Dean left for Powell around 6:00pm - so i'm missing him already - hope i can sleep tonight!

hugs
Brenda

8 layouts in one weekend!

2010-04-28T15:16:00.000-07:00

yay for me! I had a great weekend last weekend - we scrapped our little hearts out. We got there about 2:00 and setup - and seriously just scrapbooked until 3:00 a.m got back up at 9:00 and went at it till 10:00 that night. We even got take out this time instead of going out to eat. We watched 5 chick flicks too - while scrapping. More than anything though - it was a great time - with 3 great girls - who i'm lucky to have as friends (and family). So i thought i would pop in and share a few here - the first one i used alot of Jillibean soup - i won a fun prize pack on their blog like a month ago - Love their product - this layout is of my nephew Cord and my Ethan - who seem to like to cause trouble :)!

I have to say I LOVE the corrugated letters - the colored ones are so fun. The background paper is the new cardstock from Cosmo Cricket - i just sanded the embossed design to get the distressed look.

The next layout is using the Anthology line from Studio Calico. Great line - great colors, textures - everything! I loved it - this layout SUPER simple - but i didn't think it need much either - just kinda out of the norm for me. But i still love it - Mason is growing up so fast kinda makes me sad!

And last but not least another Studio Calico layout - Used the March kit for this layout - i'm behind a bit on kits. But i sure love opening up a new one and having all of the inspiration right there in front of me. The doilies on this layout i bought at a family reunion that one of my Grandma's sisters had crocheted. They went SO well with that paper. I added a few extra things - but mostly kit!

I just realized going through all of these layouts - that i misted EVERY layout but the Trouble Makers and another. Thats 6 out of 8 - loving that stuff! I'm not to great at it - and there never is a rhyme or reason where - but i love it. Thanks for taking a peek!

This Saturday is National Scrapbook Day - anyone scrapping???? Baylee has her very first Dance competition that morning that i'm so excited about - she looks so darn cute in her costume. I've had to hide it so she doesn't put a hole in it! But that afternoon i get to hang with some friends in Salt Lake and do some more scrapping - how lucky am I - two weekends in a row. Dean will be in Lake Powell for 8 days so i think i will need the break! So what are you doing to celebrate???

hugs!
B

Happy Birthday Dad!

2010-04-20T15:08:00.000-07:00

just wanted to do a quick post to talk about this great man! He seriously is the best dad ever - since day one he has always done so much for our family - i always feel special - and i always know that he loves me - because he tells me EVERY time i talk to him - sometimes more than once a day. His birthday was Saturday - a big 54 - and he's still going strong. Always doing what he can for us. He watches my kids all the time - without complaining - always stops by to say 'hi' - that has slowed a bit - whats up with that dad?? Just teasing! He is the best grandpa in the world too - my kids love him to pieces - so just a huge shout out to him to let him know how much i love him.

Love this picture of all the grandkids trying to help grandpa blow out his candles!!

I'm busy trying to pack for my big weekend. It's amazing how long it can take to get ready for a weekend crop - i'm trying to get kits together - put pictures with matching paper and embellies - because my experience in the past - i can spend HOURS looking through my paper trying to find the right piece - and i don't want to waste time doing that there. I'll be back once more before i leave............have a great day!!

hugs
brenda

Pink Paislee love..........

2010-04-14T12:33:00.000-07:00

I really really really love Pink Paislee - always have - i just recently picked up all of the collections and have made a few projects so far - I love all of these collections equally - usually have a fave - not this time. So the first layout is of Mason when he was doing his walkathon at school - so proud when he received a medal for doing so many laps! Used the 365 degrees collection.

I tore a page from an old book and white washed it with the blue paint. Also splatted the background with wet blue paint.

I hand cut the red flowers from one of the patterned papers and used a flip note and die cut punch out with pop dots to add dimension.

This next layout is one of my favorite pictures of Baylee taken last fall outside playing - love her little turn around and give me pose smile. The picture went perfect with the Bayberry cottage collection.

Those cute Holly Hocks (how ever you spell it) were cut out with the silhouette - i don't use it enough!

Coming up on some fun vacations the next few weeks - over the 24th i'm doing my usual scrapbook weekend up at wolfcreek - twice a year is just not enough - but i'm so glad its finally here - then the following weekend will be headed to St. George with my parents and sister and her family - can't wait.

I will leave you with a little conversation i had with Baylee the other day.

B - "Mom, did you know that people can fly"
Me - "people can't fly honey - unless the are in an airplane or something - we don't have wings"
B - "but you can just go the store and buy wings"
Me - " i don't think so sweetie"
B - "Well - i think we can fly"
then i proceeded to explain that she shouldn't try jumping off of anything or trying to fly. It was so cute though - she is so innocent and gullable right now - i just loves that she thinks anything is possible.

Hugs
Brenda

Its a girl thing - mini album

2010-04-07T14:55:00.000-07:00

So i did a mini album over the weekend for the Fancy Pants Blog - I used the new About a Girl line - which has alot of fun colors for girls. I used pretty much EVERYTHING from that collection - rub-ons, glitter cuts, ribbon, paper, stickers, brads and buttons. The mini album itself is Maya Road - i painted each individual page, sanded the edges and then sprayed each one the glimmer mist by Tattered Angels. Some of the pages are sprayed with a metalic silver that doesn't have much contrast but is beautiful IRL.I gave this to Baylee for Easter.

It was fun - and she loved it. I need to do more mini's - there are so fun for the kids to go through.

So yesterday i popped over to the Creating Keepsakes Blog - and low and behold - my layout - right there. It was featured in the March/April issue. LOVE this layout - i think maybe because of the story - and the colors - loving yellow, green now. And because i did whatever i wanted, used whatever product and just played - i did it at a weekend crop last fall.

So hope everyone has a good day - there is still snow on the ground here - so i'm not to happy!! But i'm hoping for better weather this weekend.

Hugs
B

Lily Bee givaway......

2010-04-04T20:46:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter everyone - hope everyone had a wonderful day! We did - it was so fun for the kids. The easter bunny was pretty simple this year - but the kids didn't care at all - they just enjoyed time with the family. I actually hosted brunch at my house this year and deans family came over - Deans mom did her usual Easter egg hunt - in my backyard this time - and we had lots of good breakfast foods! I made these cupcakes to take to my moms house.

A little bit of everything at our house - the kids looking for eggs - some playing basketball - and others throwing the football around - here is dean in action!

Then we went to my moms - check out the Easter Bunny she created out of dough - amazing right! It tasted as good as it looks!

Here are me and the kids - and my nephew Cord in the green. It was a great day!

So I also wanted to tell you about a contest going on over at Lily Bee Designs for the month of April! Check out that cute Lily Bee Blinkie in my sidebar - all you have to do is put that blinkie on your blog and post to the lily bee blog that you've done it - and you will be entered into a contest every week this month for a chance to win the ENTIRE Lovely collection!! Cool - right!! Go to the blog to see how to get that blinkie!

One last picture to share - only because i'm excited that it is still alive - i'm really embarrased to say i have not owned a real house plant since i was first married 13 years ago and killed a few of them. Well my girlfriends gave me this beautiful LUCKY BAMBOO for my birthday - and i LOVE it - it is so darn cute - and i am determined to keep it alive. So wish me luck with that - and i'm hoping it brings me some luck too!

Hugs
B

Happy Birthday to me..........

2010-03-31T23:01:00.000-07:00

Yep! Today is my Birthday! I'm a big fat 34! Feeling a little old. Didn't do anything exciting today - we actually had HORRIBLE weather - it was a blizzard most of the day. I was a little bummed - i was hoping for a great day and some outside fun. We had a BBQ planned with some family - still did it - but Dean had to grill in the garage - a little strange eating hamburgers and hotdogs inside - watching the snow outside. But all in all it was a great day - i was with my family - and that made it great. Dean made the yummy cake too.

I have a few Fancy Pants Projects to share with you the very last minute of the month. It's been crazy around here and i haven't had much time to scrap - that needs to change!! Anyways - if you don't remember - we teamed up with Tattered Angels this month - i have to say I LOVE MISTS - they are so fun and so versatile - its amazing what you can do with them. This first project i took the chipboard letters - punched the center out and used Candy Apple Red to cover the white so when i added the glitter - the white didn't show through. Then covered the letters with Martha Stewarts glitter (might be a new addiction of mine!). I also used a stencil down in the bottom right corner.

With the second layout i used Candy Apple Red AGAIN - must have been stuck on red - there a tons of colors to choose from though - i created a frame this time - i cut a rectangle shape from cardstock the size i wanted my frame - I temporarily adhered it to the layout and sprayed - when i removed the cardstock i had a great frame - then i stitched around it. I also used the 2 acrylic stars in the top left as stamps before adhering them - i simply sprayed the stars, turned them over and pressed firmly onto the cardsock - the perfect stamp! It leaves a beautiful distressed image.

Aren't those pictures great! They are Mason's first christmas - 8 years ago! I used the Frosted line from Fancy Pants for this layout - the red letters are from the new Winter release.

Well - thats about it for tonight - i know i owe you some Disneyland pictures too - and i will get to them hopefully over spring break - since its freezing outside and we won't be out playing.

Also wanted to explain the blinkie on the sidebar - the Great Strides walk is coming up in May and we have started our fundraising efforts - if you click on it - it will take you to my homepage at cff.org - i will post the letter here soon. Thanks for your support! My email is STILL down so i think bhurd1976@gmail.com is officially my new email address - i just hope i can eventually get it and recover my contacts - i had so many and can't remember any of them.

Hugs
Brenda

email HIJACKED

2010-03-29T12:10:00.000-07:00

hey friends - so sorry for those of you on my contact list that are getting crazy emails from me! My email has been hijacked and i can't even get in to fix it because they have changed my password - so i am not recieving ANY emails right now. Here is an alternative email address if you need anything. Sorry for the inconvenience - but Windows is not being very helpful at all because this has happened to hundreds of others. so here is other email if you need me! bhurd1976@gmail.com .

the flu...........

2010-03-22T16:25:00.002-07:00

have the flu my friends. I will be back in a few days with those Disney pictures!!

Back from Disney

2010-03-15T12:34:00.003-07:00

- i have 437 pictures to sift through and decide which ones to share - i might have to break up in a few posts. All i can say is that it was FABULOUS! We were in great company and i only got sick once - and cried once - other than that and a few fits from Ethan - everyone was happy and had a great time. We were in great company with the Nielsens and couldn't have asked for a better family to go travel with - we did the Disney Cruise with them too. So back later with pics.

- trying to keep the house spotless - we put it on the market last week - and i didn't realize how hard it was to keep CLEAN for those phone calls saying we will be there in a hour.....3 kids makes that a little hard.
ETA: we will be in the same area - a few miles away - same ward too! It may not happen - we only have 60 to sell our house - so far not luck!!

- check out the new Lily Bee Design team to the left - so happy to be rejoining to the team and so excited to get to know all of the new members. I think Lily Bee is going to do great things this year!

- I am ready to get crafty - going through withdrawels this last week but came home to my March Studio Calico Kit so packed with Spring colors - i'm getting it out tonight for sure.

- we came back to snow on Saturday night but today it looks like SPRING out - supposed to be in the sixties this week - Yay!! Which brings me to this layout that was in Creating Keepsakes first issue of Scrapbooking Tips and Tricks. How cute is Baylee - she is so little in these pics! I did this layout well over a year ago and it got requested almost a year after being submitted - crazy right!

- going to make a batch of home made chicken soup and breadsticks for dinner and have family night tonight. Dean is going to help the boys finish up their lego sets they got from Disneyland. And Baylee and I will probably play UNO - her new favorite game - we usually play it 3 or 4 times a day - and we havn't played since the trip and she's been asking every few hours - so we will do that!

Hope everyone has a fabulous day!
B

Winner winner chicken dinner.....

2010-03-05T12:32:00.000-07:00

So my 3 year old chose Casey Wright's name out of the bowl! Yay! Just email me at bhurd1976@msn.com with your addy and i will get you some goodies!!

So has anyone seen 'Dear John' yet? Went and saw it last night and LOVED it. Such great show - will be buying that one.......the only bad thing was at the end - it just ends abruptly - they don't give you much - so i felt left hanging but in a good way. Anyways - a good chick flick for sure!

Next i have a layout to share that i did a while ago - just am now getting to uploading it - i have scrapped another of these picture of Baylee before - but they are so darn cute i couldn't help my self. I used random bits and pieces from Studio Calico kits.

So i'm off to start packing so i don't get down to crunch time and kick myself for not being more organized. Have a great week next week and i'm sure i will have plenty of pictures to share when we get home!

Hugs
Brenda

where is spring??

2010-03-04T16:13:00.001-07:00

**Closed contest below- will post winner tomorrow - not to many to choose from!

we had a teeny tiny teaser yesterday with some wonderful weather - it was only about 55 - but my kids were outside FOREVER! THey loved it - and so did mommy! It was good for all of us - i can't beleive i didn't take any pictures either - but today - we are back to movies and rain. Blah! Disneyland is 4 days and counting - i can do 4 days! Hopefully by the time we get back mid march it will be somewhat spring out. Just wanted to pop in and share a few Fancy Pants things - we are partnering up with Tattered Angels this month and were able to get some yummy product to play with i used Olive on this layout....... first a layout i did for todays blog post - showcasing Road Show rub-ons - i adore this line! And these pictures are my favorite of the 3 of them - it was on her blessing day. She was so tiny - and now she's all grown up - about 5 minutes ago she said "i am so sick of you mommy" hmmm - i think her and i may spend WAY too much time together.

And did i mention that she had CHICKEN POX last week - think i forgot to mention that. I had no idea till they started to scab over......i just kept putting desitin on her poor itchy bum. That is the only place she got them and i think that is why i didn't realize what they were - even though my dad had shingles (adult version of chicken pox) the few weeks before that. Glad that's over - but i have to say it was pretty easy - and very mild. Lucky me.

The second bit of fun to share are these fun card kits that you can buy from Fancy Pants Designs. I was lucky enough to help Jodi out with these kits - i designed the cards for Rusted Sun and About a Girl - but they have them for all 4 lines. Each kit comes with the product and instructions for each card.

Thanks for stopping by - and i will be back again tomorrow with the winner and one last post before the trip!

hugs
Brenda

New Beginnings.......

2010-03-01T12:26:00.003-07:00

this month over at Lily Bee Designs its all about New Beginnings. Go check out todays post over on the Lily bee Blog. I copy and pasted what i wrote here so i didn't have to type it all up again! I got a little carried away :). I used the Audrey line for this layout because it went so well with pictures and i think still may be my favorite. And i used this Crepe Paper Ribbon by Jenni Bowlin Studios which is so fabulous, it was so easy to create the flowers, it worked really well, i just added adhesive to the back of the punched circle and gathered it around behind the circle and then added stitching. I also used the sun kissed action by Maggie Holmes for the pictures - i LOVE IT! definatley worth the purchase - i bought the combo set so i had a variety of actions to choose from. I have come to accept the fact that i SUCK at photoshop and this works so much better for me to have the leg work done and then just messing with it after i've added the action.

For me - looking through all of my pictures, i started with Spring, went to babies and i couldn't help but going back to these pictures of my nephew Bridger. After he turned one my mom and I noticed every time we were around him - he was always upset about something. He didn't talk at all, he always put his hands a certain way - pinky pointed outward, he wouldn't connect with anyone (but mommy and daddy), i had watched him a few times and was always very nervous too, because he would never make eye contact with me and couldn't communicate well. He would watch a 2 hour movie barely blinking an eye - always the SAME movie : ).

Finally my mom decided to bring up Autism to Karie (my sister). In the beginning, they didn't want to believe it, but as time went on....they tried to learn more, the became very active in changing his diet to see what things caused him to be better or worse, they put him in an early intervention pre-school and over time we have all learned to know what upsets him and what doesn't - what he can eat and what he can't. He still doesn't talk and just turned 3 in January but has made great strides, Karie and her husband do an amazing job at taking care of his needs and making his little world just the way he likes it. Sorry for the rambling - but the New Beginning for me - was looking at these pictures and seeing his smile and knowing that he just wanted to be understood!

So - i hope this month there are many new beginnings for you and your families - i have another give away - i have SOOOOOOOOO much stuff that i'm never getting around to using and if your home needs some new scrappy stuff - leave a comment about what New Beginnings means to you - and i will randomly choose someone to recieve a flat rate box chuck full of goodies. (internationals welcome but will have to help with shipping costs :( - thanks!) **If you still want to comment but don't want the goodies - just say so in your comments - i would still love to hear your interpretation of New Beginnings!

hugs
Brenda

Happy Birthday and Simple Stories update......

2010-02-23T13:22:00.000-07:00

So remember that Simple Stories album i did for Memory Works - well it was on Studio 5 a few weeks ago. Cute Amber Crowell (owner of Memory Works) went on to talk about how the system works. Here is the video or you can watch it over at Studio 5.

I was so excited to see it. You can check out my gallery of the entire album here. And make sure if you want one you email me. The kit retails for only 16.99 - i think you may have to purchase the page protectors seperate - but for an entire years album - i think its worth it. So email me at bhurd1976@msn.com if your interested in purchasing one! here are a few of my fave layouts - and just click on the link above to see the rest! They are kinda glossy looking because of the page protectors - so ignore that.

And i have to give a Big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my oldest Mason. I can't believe he turned 9 today. Wow - i kinda feel old ;). He's such an amazing kid and i can go on and on forever about how sweet, kind, thoughtful, tenderhearted and smart he is. I'm so lucky to be his mom and friend. I hope he has a fabulous birthday too! We are having family over tonight and then tomorrow he's having a friend party at Toads fun Zone. Not really to excited about it - but it is a party year - we do them every other year and i make sure they are all on the same year so we have a year off.

Hope everyone has a fabulous day - i'm off to bake a birthday cake and clean the house!!

hugs

Proud to be Artsy.........

2010-02-17T22:07:00.001-07:00

so my final layout for GCD studios - used the Homespun Chic line again. Mason took this picture of me - i was trying to get him to take a picture of the flower that i had made that is in my hair and really love the way the picture turned out - not of me personally - just the picture - kinda deep - went along well with what i was trying to portray in the layout. I handcut the flowers from the patterned paper, the fabric tag, big brads, acrylic, borders and chipboard are all GCD too.

Make you don't forget about the Design Team call - details are over on the blog!

Then i just wanted to share pictures from the Valentines dinner the kids and I made. It was kinda fun - i just made dough in my bread maker - then used a scalloped heart cookie cutter to cut out our mini pizza's and the kids and i built our own pizza's! I made a larger pizza with the left over dough. The kids had a ball and felt pretty cool that they got to create their own.

Baylee is wearing a dress because every single day she asks to wear a dress of some sort - wether its her sunday best - a sundress - or a tutu - so girly!!

Hope all is well with everyone - personally - i'm doing pretty good - been doing a little scrappin, watching some good TV and trying to wish winter away - we are need of some good weather here - but a good trip to sunny california in a few weeks is keeping us going here.

Thanks for stopping by.......
hugs
B

Love is in the air

2010-02-11T13:25:00.000-07:00

We are trying to be festive over here - the kids doing valentines, making sugar cookies and me making some Valentines cards! I created these for the Lily Bee blog post today using the new Lovely line!

This one i did for the Studio Calico blog challenge to use Ruffles on a card or layout - i gathered a piece of tulle with a tape runner onto the card, adhered a strip of paper over the center and then sewed the edges to hold it in place better. I had to trim a bit of it off so it didn't hang over the card but i like how it turned out!

On this one i used the same ribbon i tied the bow with to make the flower center - it had wire in it so it was easy to gather and make the little rosette - i stuck a brad in the center and then used the to pins to hold the flower together.

This last card i used my silhouette to cut the hearts and that cute frilly border. I really need to use it more - I LOVE IT.

I have one more card to share - this one i did with the GCD's new Homespun Chic line by Melody Ross which i adore............the cupcake and letters i cut with the silhouette!

Now a i will leave you with a few pictures from our cookie making last night - more licking the knife and eating cookies than actually frosting them - but they were yummy! horrible smiles from the boys - like get that camera away from me i'm eating.

This last one is Baylee modeling the Valentines Dress that Grandma Cole gave her. She did her own hair, put on the sunglasses and thought she was pretty darn cute!

I hope everyone has a great day and enjoys the weekend with loved ones - Dean and I decided not to go out - i'm sure we will just watch a chick flick and hang out. It seems to revolve more around the kids these days - fun dinner, treats and lots of loves!

**Make sure you go check out the Design Team Call over on the Lily Bee blog - its a great company with awesome product - so if your interested - go for it. Another term up with another great manufacturer!

my little Cheerleader

2010-02-09T11:19:00.000-07:00

sorry its been such a long time since i last posted - i was kinda sick - it was strange - just VERY tired and a dry cough - but i finally went and got on an antibtiotic and am started to feel human again. But this last weekend Baylee was able to do a little cheer camp and then on Friday night did a little dance at our Highschool Basketball teams halftime - it was sooooooooooo darn cute!!

i just had to show this back shot so you could so how curly her hair is - that is NATURAL curl. How lucky is she. She does get it from me - but mine is about gone now. it decides itself when its going to be curly. So i love love her hair - other than it gets very snarly very fast. So there is my little cheer leader - she did so good. And believe it or not - she still has that paw print tatoo on her face - she wont let me wipe it off - its looking pretty sad now though.

Onto some scrappy news - This is my last month with GCD Studios. So sad - i can't believe it has already been a year - not sure where the time went. They have been so generous and such a great company to work for - so if your interested in being on the team - check out this post - and try out! I thought i would share a layout i did using the new Homespun Chic line by Melody Ross - by far my favorite! the yellow in the background looks super light in this picture - its not that light!

Thanks for stopping by - i've got lots on my plate this month - Mason turning 9 on the 23rd, Valentines Day, Scout dinner, Relief Society retreat - overnighter - should be fun and then Disney land coming up 4 weeks from yesterday! Holy moly! Lots to do! Thanks for stopping by!

hugs
Brenda

Lily Bee Projects

2010-01-26T21:09:00.000-07:00

Okay - i know its late tomorrow - but its tomorrow. I honestly don't know what happened to my day - i felt like a taxi cab driver - im sure alot of you can relate, but goodness - i was in my car on and off all afternoon!! Dance here, basketball practice there - for both boys - at 2 different times and places. Okay enough complaining - other than i was driving in a snow storm at 7:00 a.m. this morning on our way to Primary Childrens, we made it there safe - a half hour late - but safe! Every thing went well for the most part - we don't get results from the cultures for a week or so. THey did say they thought he might have a blockage because of all the belly aches - so we did x-rays and will wait to here on that too. He was born with Meconim Illius which is a blockage caused from the Cystic Fibrosis - he had surgery to remove it. Then was hospitalized again at 7 months old for the same thing. THey say kids born with MI (which is only about 10% of the CF population) have reoccurring problems with this. Hopefully we will get good results. Other than that - he sounded good, had great PFT's which is also promising. So onto the scrappy stuff............

Here are my Lily Bee Projects:

So thanks for taking a peek. I have another busy busy day tomorrow - but will be back soon. I actually havn't scrapped a thing since i turned in my assignments but am ready to dive back in. This time - my neglected Studio Calico kits - i miss them SOOOOOOOOO much. I think i'm going on three months that i havn't used one. I always look at them wishing i had the time to play but havn't used one. So that's my goal - to make at least 3 things a month with my kits.

I'm hitting the sack early AGAIN - this will make the 3rd night i've gone to bed before 10:00 - not sure what the deal is but hopefully it ends soon.

hugs

Brenda

Fancy Pants Projects

2010-01-25T13:45:00.001-07:00

Just coming to share the projects i did with the new Fancy Pants lines. Hope you like! The first two are the the Road Show line which is my favorite. I LOVE THE COLORS and the distressing. I will share more of the Monteray mini album later. And i know you've seen this picture scrapped before - but i couldn't help but use it again.

I was really struggling inserting my text between pictures for some reason - but the Family line i scrapped our Family pictures AGAIN, different pose this time. It went so well with this line. I used alot of glitter cuts on this layout - i cut them in half so i could use them on the top and bottom of different elements on the layout.

And last but not least - the Rusted Sun line - i used these cute cute pictures of Dean's cousins little girl from our Disney cruise - the colors were perfect for this line.

So thanks for peeking and i will be back tomorrow for the rest of my Lily Bee projects! There is some amazing projects up on the blog now if you want to go check them out.

Then Memory Works has posted the rest of the images from my Simple Stories ALbum on thier blog - so go check that out!

So on a personal note - my quick trip to Reno to see Dean was amazing and very well needed. I wasn't there more than 24 hours but we had a great time. Ate good food, watched 3 movies and listened to alot of music on the 8 hour drive home. It was great spending time with him.

Tomorrow morning i'm headed down to Salt Lake for Ethan's pulmonary check up - wish us well. He's kinda been hanging on to something for quite a while now seems like for over a month he has either been sniffling, coughing or clearing his throat - but never really had a cold. Lets hope for no infections! I will report tomorrow when we get back.

Hugs
Brenda

FP Sneaks are up!

2010-01-20T12:42:00.002-07:00

The sneaks are up on the Fancy Pants blog - i've been anxious to share them. I will share projects as they are put up on the blog! They are all fabulous - my favorite is Road Show - i seriously can't get enough of it. You'll love it too - they are all fun to work with.

Today Baylee and I went on a field trip to the Airplane museum - and my camera died after just a few pictures - which weren't even good anyways because of the lighting. So no pictures to share. It's still snowy and yucky here - i'm ready for a change - i'm ready to get out of this slump that i am in. I think the kids are there with me. It seems like we struggle every day just to get to bedtime. Everyone is getting on each other's nerves, Baylee and Ethan fight like crazy - is that wierd - she is so much younger than him (3.5 years) i didn't expect it - but its really sad - when your 3 year old says (this is this morning) "Mom, Ethan smiled at me - i think he likes me today". I mean come on - that is sad. I know that she can be bossy at times but i think she feeds off of what's going on around her - so if Ethan is being mean or everything she is doing irritates him and he lets her know - she irritates him more - just to get a reaction out of him. I'm not really sure what to do - but something needs to change, we need seperate quarters in our house so they don't have to be near eachother. Thats why i need spring - that's why i need winter to end, so they can go outside and have their space.
Working with all of this new spring/summer product has been a great mood booster - the bright colors - scrapping beach and summer pictures - so fun.
Hope everyone has a fabulous day, Dean came home last night from his one day trip, packed his bag, took us to dinner at Bella's and left from there for his next trip to Reno - so we are on our own for the next few days. Wish me luck!

hugs
Brenda

Simple Stories preview....

2010-01-18T23:24:00.002-07:00

i know your still patiently waiting for some Fancy Pants previews -
they are coming i promise - but in the meantime i have some fun things
to show you! My album i did for Memory Works new line is done!
I have to say i learned alot about the way is scrapbook. I'm very un-
organized and scrapbook what i want when i want to - in no particular
order. This is the first album i've ever completed from beginning to end.
January 1st - to December 31st 2009. And i'm really happy with how
it turned out. The paper and stickers in this kit are too die for - i love the
distressing and the muted colors. So fun - and i feel like they went well
with all of my pictures - i didn't have to turn any of them black and white
to avoid chaos. So this is just the cover page and he the backside -
because it shows through the other side of the page protector.

Make sure you go check out the blog - Simple Stories. It will give you a better idea of
how the system works and how you can get your albums done fast. I will show you more
of the album when i get the pictures back!

Life is good on the Hurd home front other than Dean is out of town for work. He is in Kanab tonight, will be back tomorrow and then is leaving again for Reno. The only good thing about it is - I get to fly out Friday morning and hang out with him for a few days! Looking forward to it. So no school again here tomorrow - today was a long day - snowy, cold and no school, hopefully tomorrow we can find something to do to pass the time - i might take them to the new Alvin and the Chipmunks show........not sure yet.

**Make sure to keep checking in for more sneaks..........

hugs
Brenda

Lily Bee love.........

2010-01-14T15:44:00.003-07:00

really people - i'm not exagerating when i say this is the best yet from Lily Bee. I started yesterday afternoon and was able to do 2 layouts and a card before 10:00pm - that would be a record for me. Anyway - here are a few sneaky peeks! The bright line is Hello Sunshine - and there is a layout up on the blog by Stephanie Howell that is so darn cute using this line. THe other line (my fave) is Lovely! The browns, oranges and blues are heavenly! So here are your sneaks!!

Just pretent there is a brown chipboard button over that blue circle - i didn't have them yet. Same with layouts thats why i didn't share the whole thing - but you get the idea right? I love that houndstooth paper too!

Be back for more sneaks soon - Fancy Pants this time!!

Have a great day!

Homespun Chic

2010-01-10T09:33:00.001-07:00

I love all of the hype that goes on around CHA - its so fun to see all the new product coming out from each manufacturere - its even more fun to have your hands in it and to be creating with all of this fabulous product. GCD Studios is no exception. Melody Ross out did herself this time with Homespun CHic (it's the only collection i have right now). Do you know how many embellishments and papers are in this collection?? ALOT! I couldn't believe it when i opened my box. And when i scrapped, i didn't feel like i had to pull from here or there to complete my projects - it was all right in front of me! I created a few cards, and you can see a tiny sneak of a layout i did too!!

Let's just say, there are border strips, jewels, epoxy stickers, recipe cards, chipboard elements, glitter acrylic accents, glitter brads, buttons............the list goes on - but that is what i used in my projects!

These are just a few of my favorites - if you want to see the entire collections - check out this post and the few posts underneath it! And Check out the interview with Melody and Moxie Fab right here!! I had never been over to Moxie Fab - but i love it and will be back more!!

There is a teeny tiny sneak of Lily Bee over on this post at the blog - and Fancy Pants - there are no sneaks - but i do have everything in my hot little hands and of course they never cease to amaze me each time. I love that company - I love working for them, the friendships i've formed and the growth i've had from being a part of it. blah blah blah - i know - i just am grateful for the opportunities that i have and feel so blessed to be in this industry and friends i've made and the confidence and strength that i have gained from it. Now i better get my rear in gear - i have ALOT to do - i'm trying to finish up Simple Stories (your going to love this - not what i did - the system itself is amazing) so i can move on to the next projects.

Have a great day! I'm home with a sick kiddo - so hopefully your day will be better than mine :)

Brenda

Fancy This..........

2010-01-05T13:38:00.000-07:00

It was my turn for the blog project this week and i made this fun Cork Board to hold my favorite pictures. It seems like my pictures that i have ready to scrapbook next - or have an assigment for - always get lost - and i'm reprinting - so now - if i put them here - they will be right there ready for me to play with!! If you want instructions on how to make the board - head over to the Fancy Pants blog. I bought it at Micheals and its 12x12 in size.

So we had a great new year other than i had a cold. New years day - Dean decided to take kids sledding over at the park. We just hooked a sled up to the Terex and pulled them behind it - they loved it!!

So i have been loveing everyones Best Of 2009 blog posts. I'm thinking about doing one - but not sure what it will be - Fave layouts, Fave products, Fave moments........ we will see.

I do know that i have a goal to scrapbook MORE. It's really sad - i figured it out and have only scrapbooked 3 layouts since my surgery on November 12th - wow - thats sad. I can tell too - i don't have the umph. I havn't had the time to submit much either. That's all going to change though........the new products are all coming out - and from what i've seen - from Lily Bee, GCD, and Fancy Pants - I'm not going to have any problem with my mojo!! Its just making the time for myself again.....

So i hope all of you are making and keeping your resolutions and enjoying the new year. I have to say January and February - i really struggle with the gloomy cold - kinda get down in the dumps. Its a good thing we have Disney the first of March to give me something to look forward too - Baylee was cyring yesterday because she doesn't want to see Captain Hook - it went a little something like this......

"Mom, are we going to see Captain Hook when we go to Disneyland"

me " I'm sure we will sweetie"

Baylee " No, No, No - i don't want to see him"

me "Why"

Baylee "He is mean!"

me "no he's not sweetie"

Baylee " He was SOOO mean to Wendy mom"

me "honey, it's just a costume - there is nothing to be afraid of"

Baylee "okay "

onto her business like nothing happened. She was literally lying on the floor throwing a fit because she didn't want to see Captain Hook - this is going to be so fun - she's at the perfect age!

Have a great day!

Brenda

Simple Stories........and a Happy New Year!

2009-12-30T14:45:00.001-07:00

so many of you know that I am a consultant for Memory Works and have been for years - i havn't done much with parties but i ordered most of my goodies through them and have 3 or 4 book parties a year. Well this month they have come out with a great new system for those scrapbookers out there that don't like putting hours and hours into scrapbooking. This system helps scrapbookers put together an entire year album in very little time. You can make it more or less advanced - you can do whatever you want! Well - Memory works has asked me to help them and i just got the product yesterday and my wheels are turning - i'm soooooooooo excited to dig in and get working on my album for 2009. I will hopefully be able to share soon. Here is a link to their blog http://www.mysimplestories.com/ make sure to check it out. The colors are just amazing - and i love the distressed look. So thats my little secret! Now that its in my hot little hands i thought i could share.

I hope everyone has a fabulous New Years - Christmas came and went so fast - it was kinda sad - i've spent the day taking down Christmas (makes me wish i didn't go all out on the decorating!) But when next year comes i'm sure i'll be doing the same thing. I will post soon our Christmas pictures. I was such a fun day - our disney vacation gift was a hit - other than Baylee asks me everyday when we are going to disneyland and asks heavenly father in her prayers to be able to go to Disneyland soon. How cute is that!!

hugs!
Brenda

Fondue.....

2009-12-18T16:46:00.004-07:00

So last night was our annual Fondue party with just the adults on Deans side of the family - and it just so happens this year - for the first time ever - it was at my house. It's tradition that it is always at my mother-in-laws but they are in an inbetween home right now while they are building their new home - sooooooo it was at my house this year. Talk about pressure!! But i'm happy to say that i think it went well. It was fun getting ready and decorating for it. Here is the table - i didn't take many pictures because i was busy trying to show everyone where everything was and worrying about this and that.

Everyone in the kitchen making the fondue and munching on shrimp cocktail.
after the dinner - everyone chillen out playing the Wii!So i have a new love! It's called FABRIC - who would have thought that i had enough love to share with Scrapbooking - but its true. I love it - its almost like patterned paper to me - i just can't get enough. As for what i'm doing with the fabric - here is some of what i'm doing. These fun flowers that i took me a few weeks (not kidding) to create. More or less because i was playing with different ways to make them! I was inspired by this post from Elizabeth Kartchner. I have made a few of those flowers too and put them on a backpack for baylee for her dance shoes but i'm not quite done. Anyway - fun fun - and i think i will be playing with Fabric alot more in the future!

Here is a not so great picture of me wearing the flowers (they are pinned on). But the battery in my camera was dying so it wouldn't focus well.
And finally - here is a layout i did for the Lily Bee blog - a year in review type layout. I really really struggled with it but happy with the way it turned out - kind of fun to have this many different pictures on one layout. Make sure to head over there - there are lots of giveaways still going on!! So - i'm really feeling unprepared for Christmas this year - i really thought i was on top of things but the time has just slipped away from me - i can't beleive its next Friday - what is up with that. I'm hoping even though i have 3 parties and a dance recital in the next 4 days that our family will still make time to enjoy it and remember why we celebrate Christmas in the first place - i hope all of you are enjoying the holidays!

Hugs!!

** I have a little secret to share - and i'm just waiting for a few more details before i can 'blurt' it out - but i'm pretty excited!!

CK Blog and Lily Bee giveaways!

2009-12-14T12:33:00.006-07:00

So yesterday i popped in over at the Creating Keepsakes blog and what do you know - Brittany had mentioned my layout that appeared in the January 2010 issue! How cool is that! I used the Fancy Pants Christmas magic paper and glitter cuts - then added a few odds and ends! These are a few layouts that i did when i went away last month for the weekend scrapping. Studio Calico kits sure come in handy when you go away - makes for light packing! Can't read the journaling on this one really - but its about us having our little schedule of when we do Ethan's treatments and take meds - i'm pretty good at sticking too it because a half hour can throw you off and i have to plan it in. When we are doing things in the evening i make sure we do it before we go - but if not - its at 7:00PM and we have to do it at 7:00 or we are late for school!
Isn't this just the cutest little guy EVER! This is my nephew Hudson - Karie just had his pics taken and i couldn't help but share - he is adorable! I miss him. I think i am kinda clinging to this little dude - i've just started getting the baby bug recently and we all know i don't have the plumbing for more babies soooooooo i have to just enjoy the babies around me. On Dean's side there are 3 babies under 1 too (i'm actually a great aunt) - so they are all around me - mabye thats why i'm struggling.

I hope everyone has a fabulous day! I have lots of preparing to do this week - a party almost every night until next Tuesday - so off i go - trying to keep the Christmas Spirit without getting buried in it!

Go check out Lily Bee's blog - they are starting a 12 days of Christmas so make sure to go comment to win some great giveaways!!

hugs
B

Frosted...............

2009-12-11T11:04:00.002-07:00

that is about how i feel - it has been so darn cold here this last week - not liking it. I really don't think i could live in the East where its this cold and colder ALL WINTER. So i guess i won't complain. This weeks spotlight over at the Fancy Pants Blog are the cards and border papers from the new mid show 'Frosted' line - i mean - who would of thought that these colors would work so well together - they really do - i love the color combo! I made a few cards and i'm tellin ya - these work wonders and make it easy. I used a card and border on each of the cards. Super simple cards!

It was Ethan's birthday yesterday and and we are partied out. Wednsday he had a friend party at Toads and then last night family came over - i will have to share pictures later - just wanted to wish him a Happy Birthday - i love that kid to pieces - he tests my patience more than the other two combined but he is also my most sentimental and helpful too - so i guess its a wash. I'm just grateful to have him in our lives, life wouldn't be the same without his personality, his disease - which teaches us everyday to be grateful for our blessings.

Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas - we have 3 parties this weekend so its going to be a busy one! If anyone has any bright ideas on how we should give the kids their disney trip for Christmas - HELP ME. I'm not sure how to do it. SO far everything is pretty themed, the wrapping paper, some of the gifts, the disney games - but i need a way to tell them. I was going to put the airline tickets in thier stockings - but Jet Blue is ticketless - haha. And i don't think they would understand if i put the itinerary in there - so if you have any cute ideas of have done it before - please share!

hugs

Brenda

terrified of Santa

2009-12-08T12:37:00.004-07:00

So we know that Baylee is scared of Santa but this year she had tried to mentally prepare herself for her visit with him. For days she has been telling me that she loves Santa - drawing him pictures - trying to decide what she's going to tell him she wants for Christmas when she sits on his lap - and telling herself repeatedly that she is not going to cry this year. She had a few traumatic experiences last year, and even though she was only 2 1/2 - still remembers very cleary how she felt when seeing him. So last Saturday we had our first of many Christmas parties at my cousin Kami's house - i failed to mention to the kids that Santa was going to pay a visit just in case Baylee might try and talk herself out of sitting on his lap. So we all sat in a circle - some of the kids giddy with excitement knowing how was going to make an appearance and you could see the wheels turning just tyring to decide that one thing they were going to tell Santa they wanted. Baylee on the other hand has clueluess as to what was coming next. Dean was on video because i knew in the back of my mind what her reaction was going to be. She's singing away - and here's the "HO HO HO, Merry CHristmas" and still doesn't completely understand what is coming - until she see's his face and the rest - you'll have to watch this clip - it's priceless!!

It's literally FREEZING here today - high of 20 degrees -so Baylee and I are still in our Jammies, doing laundry, watching Christmas shows and eating sugar cookies!! Hope everyone is having a fabulous day - i will have some craftiness to share tomorrow!

hugs

Traditions

2009-12-03T13:51:00.006-07:00

Well yesterday - we broke our annual tree adventure tradition. Every year - since i've been married to Dean - his family had driven up to Soda Springs Idaho (a 2 1/2 hour drive) the day after Thanksgiving to buy permits and cut down our CHristmas trees. There is lots of sledding/snow/and hiking to find the perfect tree - it literally is an all day adventure - and the kids LOVE it. But this year had to be a little different. Dean's parents and brother and his family were moving that weekend - so we rescheduled and tried to go yesterday - by the time we were able to leave it was just too late - soooooooo we decided to go to a tree farm in Mountain Green - so we could still have the cutting down experience and the 'fresh' tree. So we ventured up there - there were hundreds of trees to choose from - but i think we found the best one there - Dean won't admit it because i chose it - but it is the best. And the kids LOVED it because there was an empty birds nest nestled on one of the branches and they are so excited to put little tiny ornaments in it! First mama (that would be me) had to go buy myself a christmas present - i got this FABULOUS Eddie Bauer coat ( i got it in black)- its down and is for temps 0-20 F and it worked - it was freezing up there - it was only 26 degrees - so this coat was perfect - now i need to wrap it up and put it under the tree!

Now onto some craftiness- this is a layout i did with GCD Studios new Christmas line called 'Christmas Sleigh' - love the bright colors! And this Christmas layout i did using the Loverly line - probably one of my faves. And the yummy jewel swirls are from ZVA. I did some gold leaf flocking on the edges and love the extra touch!
Okay - there is another giveaway over on the GCD blog - it GREAT one - i know there is alot of you out there who loves Scarlet Lime kits - well they have included some of the new Artsy Urban collection in this months kit and GCD is giving one away so go check out the blog and leave a comment for your chance to win.

Well - i'm going to be in trouble if the lights aren't on the tree when to boys get home from school - they are looking forward to decorating it tonight! Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo

what i'm grateful for........

2009-11-25T14:40:00.007-07:00

I love this time of year - the kids are giddy - the house is warm and cozy - i'm i've got the cleaning bug - organizing - dejunking - the works. With the Thanksgiving being here it kinda has given me that extra push to get it all done - the only downfall - alot of pain - i've done a little to much to soon and i'm paying for it. But i'm soooooooooo grateful for our home - for my family, my beautiful kids and wonderful supportive husband. I have the BEST parents around - I love them so much and am so grateful for the support and love i get in return from them -they are always there for me no matter what - even if there are disagreements now and then - they still love me. My sister and her family - I love my nephews to pieces - and of course my wonderful in-laws - i couldn't have married into a better family. For my friends - who put up with my absence (with dean never really around i don't get much time to do the friend thing). I'm grateful for this awesome hobby that i have to endulge in every chance i get - for the friends i have made through scrapbooking, the inspiration i get, and the memories i preserve for my family. So i hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving - i can't beleive its here - and i can't beleive that we are going to cut down our tree on friday either - I LOVE IT!

Here are a few projects i thought fit the theme today - this fun layout using Pink Paislee's Amber Road Collection which I love too - this layout is to remember how much baylee adores her daddy right now - its seriously the sweetest thing. This album was fun - i dry brushed a Basic Grey chocolate album to give it the distressed look - again used the Amber Road collection from Pink Paislee - and all of the pictures are from this Fall - pumpkin patch, feild trips to the corn maze and picking apples.

Out for publication!!

I have some more fun projects to share in a few days from the 2 new Fancy Pants collections so check back!!
Happy Thanksgiving!
P.S. make sure to head over to the GCD blog - they are doing 2 giveaways!!
Brenda

ETM Express the Moment kit club

2009-11-18T20:43:00.004-07:00

I was asked by Kim - the owner of Express the Moment to guest design for her this month. Of course I was happy to help out - i got my kit on Saturday and i think thats the fastest i've created - i wasn't able to start till Yesterday - i did both layouts within a few hours then this morning whipped out 2 cards. Everything in the kit coordinates really well and i love this line from Bo Bunny. So - go check out the website and see the kits offered there. Here is the link to the Monthly Kit Club also!

I loved these chipboard frames in the kit - so fun!
For this card - i placed one of the stickers onto a chipboard frame and just let it be the sentiment - works great!I punched out these squares and used dimensional adhesive to make the POP a bit.Kim has offered to GIVE AWAY one of these kits to my blog readers! So if your interested make sure to leave a comment - Kim is also doing a contest on her blog so head over there and comment there too for a second chance to win. I love the contest she is doing - so i'm going to do the same thing - she is calling it the "Warm Fuzzy" contest! The idea is to make sure you do something kind for someone EVERY DAY if you can. So just leave a comment about something nice you've done for someone else - make sure its been in the last few days - I will draw for a winner next week!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Brenda

Pink Paislee GDT

2009-11-13T11:57:00.004-07:00

I had the pleasure of being the guest designer this month for Pink Paislee! I was able to work with the Christmas line - i LOVED everything about it - the vintage feel, the colors, all of the fun goodies that come with it - stamps, letter stickers, punch outs - serioulsy i was in heaven. Here are the projects i created. The first one started off as like a letter to Santa type thing but bloomed into this fun wall hanging!

These pictures of Baylee in her Christmas dress went PERFECT with this line......
Then just a few cards - i'm really enjoying the card making thing more and more these days!

So recovery from my surgery seems to be a little slower this time around - i know he said there was alot of endo he had to get out - so i'm hoping in the next few days. I do have to be up and at em tomorrow because i have tickets for Disney's princess's on ice for Baylee - luckily my mom will be coming with us to too! So thanks to all of you who have sent well wishes - i'm on my way to feeling better and hopefully won't be going through that again. And thanks to those who have brought in food and taken my kids - thats been HUGE. Today i actually sat in my recliner and addressed christmas cards - woo hoo! Its coming so fast i just didn't want the time to slip away and then be wondering when i was going to be able to get around to it!

**Oh - my little scrapbooking getaway up at Wolf Creek was perfect. That is seriously my thing - i LOVE every minute of it. Lots of food, good chick flicks, good friends and all my favorite scrapook stuff around me - i couldn't have asked for more (i did miss my family - but this was for ME)! There was lots of paper sniffing, giggling, over eating and sleepless hours. Can't wait for the next one!

hugs!

Brenda

some pubs!

2009-11-04T20:32:00.003-07:00

Just thought i would share some recent pubs in this post that i've never taken the time to put in my galleries or my blog. I love this layout - more than anything i love it because it reminds me of how lucky i really am - after nights like tonight - where i'm just ornery and furstrated and all i can think about is bedtime - it didn't come fast enough- the 3rd night in a row that i've been alone - putting them all down by myself because Dean is working late. Yes i'm feeling sorry for myself - but i will get over it. This is the reason i need weekends like this weekend - a getaway with my girls - my bestest friends. 2 of them are family but i consider them AWESOME friends. And while i am gone realizing just how lucky i really am and then anxious to get home to see them again! This is was in Creating Keepsakes May 2009 issue.

This one was in Scrapbook Trends September 2009! Love this one because its from our Disney Cruise - the Castaway title is cut from one of my postcards i brought home. I'm trying to talk Deano into Disney Land in the SPring - the magic is still instilled in my kids heads - they bring up the Disney characters and all the fun experiences they had on the cruise all of the time - i want that again!! So we will see how it all plays out - if i have my way we will be putting airline tickets in thier stockings and filling them to the brim with Disney goodness! Anyone else a Disney FREAK! This one was in Scrapbook Trends August 2009! THis picture of Baylee just couldn't get any cuter - we were on a walk in the mountains near my brother and sister-in-laws house - it was perfect with the sun coming through her hair! This was in Scrapbook Trends July 2009.This is like one of the only times i've ever embossed on a layout. I did it on the buttons - i had the perfect stamp (close to my heart) that matched that star patterned paper - so i stamped it on these fabric buttons and embossed them.So i'm leaving on Friday and will be back Sunday - then I will be having Surgery AGAIN on the 10th - so it might get a little dusty around here - hopefully I will be able to update a few times. Thanks for visiting! See ya soon!

**Oh - how could i forget - Fancy Pants Designs has done it AGAIN> check out the new mid-show releases over on the FP BLOG - a winter one called Frosted and VIntage Valentine! SO FUN! Can't wait till i have my hands on them!

winner winner chicken dinner............

2009-10-30T13:56:00.004-07:00

yay - i did the random.org generator for the first time ever. Much easier than writing names down and drawing out of a hat! Here is the winner:

Search RANDOM.ORG
True Random Number Service
Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:12
Timestamp: 2009-10-30 20:52:41 UTC

I don't know how to copy and past the screen - but if you can't tell - it was poster number 12! Mara - congrats! Email me your addy and i will get this box sent off! Thanks so much to everyone who entered!! bhurd1976@msn.com

So tomorrow is Halloween and i think i've talked the kids into staying home and passing out candy! Yay - is that horrible. We have been in costume 4 times this week - we've done Trunk or Treat twice and have enough Candy for an army - soooooooo we are staying home to see what others have dressed up for Halloween!! Here are a few layouts i did for GCD Studios.

This spiderweb was cut out using my sillouhette. (LOVE IT). The white background paper and the black glitter border are from the new Artsy Urban collection by Melody Ross. I just finished up a layout I LOVE (because it has my family picture on it) with this line - can't share yet - but will soon.

Hope everyone enjoys thier weekend - i am done with assignments for the month and am going to be packing up scrapbook stuff - printing pictures and typing up my journaling for a scrappy weekend getaway next weekend. Is it crazy that it takes that long to get ready - i just want to make sure it get lots accomplished - and if i just throw things in a bag and go - that doesn't happen - i spend too much time looking through stuff and finding the perfect picture! My goal - 5 layouts - I know its not alot - but its been the most i've done up there. We watch like 7 chick flicks and eat lots of food too - can't wait!

hugs

giveaway pics and Crocheting

2009-10-28T13:52:00.004-07:00

First of all - isn't this vintage photo frame so cool. Its by Rhonna Farrer and i just bought the kit over at two peas - inspired by a layout done by Kelly Goree using the same frames. Anyways- the story behind this picture - i was asking my grandma a while back if she knew how to crochet and if she could teach me because i had just bought a 'how to' book at JoAnnes and really really want to try it - the vintage trims and flowers - love them. She said she didn't know how - but my grandpa Grant (her second husband) who had passed away DID crochet. Well yesterday - my dad came over and brought me a sack from my grandma of Grant's old Crocheting things. Needles, books, yarn.............look how old that Mcalls book is - its from the late 50's to the mid 60's. THe other one is from the 50's - the open side on the left. SO COOL. So now i'm inspired - if i can just figure it out now!!

Those of you who havn't entered the giveaway yet - you still have a few days - make sure you do it on the post below - but this is just a fraction of what will be in the box. The paper in this picture includes the entire line. 2 dream street lines and on Pink Paislee - there is more paper (American Crafts, MME.............i'm not going to tell you EVERYTHING that's going to be in there -some of it needs to be a surprise - right?). Also some exclusive stamps from Label Tulip, Scarlet Lime and Studio Calico. Ink, Ribbon, Rubons, Cardstock, Stickers, Stamps - i've gone through and the value of this box is going to be WELL over $100.00 and none of it is used - so ENTER ENTER ENTER! Here is a fun layout i did using the Audrey line for a post over at the Lily Bee BLog. Go check out a fun Mini album by Jill Sprout and a layout be Katrina.
I used Maya Mist and glimmer mist on those cardboard alphas by Jillibean Soup! Love them. The leaves were all cut out with my Sillouhette. LOVE IT>
Card was made using Audrey too! - that Coffee Stain stamp is from Studio CAlico - my fave!

Thanks for stopping by - i will be back on FRIDAY with a WINNER! So make sure you enter!

xoxo

Brenda

a giveaway-CLOSED

2009-10-26T14:04:00.003-07:00

just because i feel like being nice - and i have WAY too much stuff! I have been going through things trying to get ready for my scrap weekend away next weekend - and i have SO MUCH STUFF. Lots of duplicates too. Another thing i don't ever think about when i buy buy buy - is that i have 3 design teams that i have to do assignments for - so most of my time - is using these manufaturers product. But i still have a problem buying............its time to let go of some if it and make room for all of things that don't fit in my drawers and cupboards. I will fill a flat rate box FULL of goodies (lots of newer stuff too) if you'll just leave me a comment and tell me what your going to be for Halloween!! I'm not being to creative this year - a 'tavern lady' - bought the costume at Target! I'm kinda going more of a gypsey/pirate route with the dress. Real creative right! So what are you dressing up as?? Leave me a comment and let me know - i will do a drawing on October 30th - the day before Halloween!
We had a family Halloween party at my parents last night and one tonight with Dean's family - lots of dressing up for us the week - we have school parties and trunk or treats - so thier costumes will definatley get good use!
Here are a few layouts i did for Fancy Pants this month. The first one is with the Christmas Magic line which I LOVE! The ornament thing at the top is a glitter cut - i cut the top of this one off and adhered it to the bottom of the layout. The circle in the background is one of the circle 8x8 mixed media albums. Rubons, chipboard, stickers and buttons are all Fancy Pants too.

This one was fun - my boys racing eachother. I used the Rough and Tough line - the circles are made by using paint and a toilet paper roll. I cut the arrows from the 12 x 12 sticker sheet. The title is handcut from one of the patterned papers!!

Hope everyone has a great week filled with lots of fun Halloween parties! I will be back once more this week before i do the drawing! Thanks for stopping by - and don't forget to post for the giveaway!

xoxo

the mighty deer hunter (viewer discretion advised)

2009-10-23T08:17:00.003-07:00

I know i'm taking a chance posting these pictures - but at the moment - i'm a proud deer hunter who wanted to share! I've deer hunted since i was old enough to get my hunters safety permit. I can't remember if it was 12 or 14 back then - but my dad has hunted all of my life - so it was perfectly normal that i wanted to do the same thing - right. I've shot quite a few deer in my life - more than 10 and a cow elk - but i think this deer takes the cake for me. Thanks to my hubby who is a big deer hunter too and my dad. We had a great day on WEdnsday, riding around in Terex and doing ALOT of unecessary walking (didn't see any deer on our long hike)! But my dad shot his deer and lucky for me - this big deer stood up and i got to take a shot. My dad and Dean doing the happy dance was put a big smile on my face. And its not all just for the hunt - we do like to meat. My kids LOVE deer steaks and i love to make stews and casseroles - so its not all in vein.

So don't judge - hahaha - love me for me - even if i am i hunter. Funny thing now is - in the beginning it used to be a big long 3-4 day camping/hunting trip. Now - with kids - i get 1 day - maybe 2 days a year to do it. I'm sure my sister won't appreciate me telling you this - but my dad took her hunting last saturday and she was pumping in the truck 3 or 4 times that day - new baby at home. Its just hard for mommy's to take the time away - but its something we love and get to do with our dad so we make the time. I remember pumping in the truck a few times back in the day too.

Now i'll share something crafty to take your mind off of it. I did this layout the day of my CF crop - the only layout i did the entire 12 hours i was there. So its very simple and i pretty muched just used EVERYTHING from Basic Grey's Indian SUmmer release - which took alot of the though process out and allowed me to take less to the crop because i knew i wouldn't be doing much scrapping.

So now i'm here Baylee - who still seems to be sick - she's a very ornery negative 3 year old right now and i'm hoping its just because she's not sleeping well right now with all of the coughing because we are not getting along so well. She's very mean and has been saying alot of hurtful things, she's full of threats and goodness i dont know where my Baylee went. They say girls get this way - but i hope its not to stay because i don't deal with it well............so i've told her if she's nice - and helpful around the house i would let her scrapbook with me and that seemed to put a smile on her face so we will see how the day goes!

Have a great day!

xoxo

Pumpkin Muffins.......and some Lily Bee

2009-10-13T11:51:00.005-07:00

Remember those pumpkin muffins i told you about - wow!! They were amazing - and i will be making them lots more. Here is the blog i got the recipe from and then i will also post the recipe in case you don't want to go to that blog.

RECIPE FOR PUMPKIN MUFFINS

From Gourmet November 2006

Adapted from the American Club

Makes 1 dozen

Active time: 15 min.

Start to finish: 1 hour
INGREDIENTS:1.5 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup canned solid-pack pumpking (from a 15-oz can) (I accidentally put the entire 15 oz. can in, with no ill effects at all)

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

1 tsp pumpkin-pie spice (a combo of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and allspice)

1.25 cups plus 1 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

i put Milk Chocolate chips in after scooping out half of the batter.

Equipment: 12 foil or paper muffin liners; a muffin pan with 12 (1/2-cup) muffin cups
DIRECTIONS:Put oven rack in middle positiona nd preheat oven toe 350F. Put liners in muffin cups.
Whisk together flour and baking powder in a small bowl.
Whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs, pumpkin-pie spice, 1.25 cups sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl until smooth, then whisk in flour mixture until just combined.
Stir together cinnamon and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in another bowl.
Divide batter among muffin cups (each should be about 3/4 full), then spinkle tops with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Bake until puffed and golden brown and a wodden pick or skewer inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.
Cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes, then transfer muffins from pan to rack and cool to warm or room temperature.

Then i made homemade breadsticks.

Here is the Chicken soup - isn't that Cambells soup pot just the cutest. I got it for my wedding 12 years ago and this is maybe the 3rd time its been used - The mugs below came with it are just as cute - there are 4 different designs. And now for a Lily Bee Layout. Nicole did a skecth post on the Lily Bee Blog and i did this layout like a week ago and never emailed it to her - i had intentions of doing it last night - but my Baylee girl was up throwing up all night long - literally - all night. It was so sad. She's napping now so and no throw up today thank goodness. And i have to say how grateful i am for a husband that is willing to clean up throw up. Everytime this happens at our house - Dean is the one who cleans up the mess. It was a big one last night too - and he stayed up till 1:oo am washing sheets and comfortor while i slept in my bed with her between throwups. Ugh. Enought of that............... here is my take on the sketch - its not up on the blog yet - but will be later hopefully. This is the Vintage Poppy line.
I used my wide format printer for the journaling for the first time since i got it almost a year ago. How sad is that - I will be using it more often - i really liked the outcome. Thanks for stopping by and hopefully the yucky flu stays away from your homes!

Being a good Person

2009-10-08T14:04:00.003-07:00

My mother in law sent out Halloween invitations to our anual Halloween party and it had the cutest poem on it so i thought i would share with my friends!

Being a good person is like being a
pumpkin. God lifts you up, takes you in
and washes all the dirt off of you.
He opens you up, touches you deep inside
and scoops out all of the yucky stuff,
including the seeds of doubt, hate, greed
etc. Then He carves you a bright
smiling face and puts His light inside of
you to shine for all the world to see!

So there is my happy thought for the day. I also did this layout - kind of a tribute to buddy - i was really happy with the way it turned out. I love the wooden letters -so fun. This was one of those - i can use whatever i want on it layouts. No Design team assignments, no challenges, or submission guidlines - just whatever i wanted - it felt good. I need to scrap like that more often! If only the time would allow - right!
I'm finally feeling a little better - sound like crap because i havn't completley gotten my voice back - but better. I'm actually in a very domestic mood - wierd i know - but i'm off to bake some pumpkin muffins, make homeade chicken noodle soup and homeade breadsticks. Its only like 55 degrees here today - so i'm feeling all cozy i guess - movie on for kids. I always bake in the winter - not good for the waistline - but love the yummy smells! If the muffins turn out well i will share the recipe - never tried this one before!

Hope everyone has a fabulous day!

xoxo

its October.......

2009-10-03T22:20:00.003-07:00

first off i just wanted to say thank you for all of your love and concern for our family after Buddy died. Its still so strange - just like tonight - Dean is out of town so i went out just like i normally do when he's gone to put animals away and lock up and started walking towards the kennel only to realize he wasn't there. Dean has left everything the same - still hasn't cleaned anything out yet - but we are doing better - moving on! The kids are already asking for a puppy!

So anyways - like i said - ITS OCTOBER - and I LOVE IT. My favorite time of the year - i love the fall - the holidays - the atmosphere - all the surroundings the come with the season - ecpecially the smells...........so I did my yearly batch of salsa the other day - started at 9:00am and finished at 1:00am - yeah - you read that right - by the time it cooked down, i bottled it and processed it all - it was 1 in the morning. UGH! I'm glad its done though - and i got 34 pints out of the deal - which is alot.

Also got the hair darkened. I usually have blonde highlights in the spring/summer months and then go darker in the fall/winter. I was a little early this year - but was ready for the change. I like the way it turned out. Did some scrapbooking with my fun new Fancy Pants products - This is the new Little Sprout line and it went so perfectly with my little neice Corinne's dress. Isn't she a doll. The Kraft background is from the girl kraft line. I got a little crazy with the mists and paints - but i was fun! I also created the flower with a strip of paper, a strip from an old book page i tore out - and then i stamped the circle center with a grid stamp to give it a little texture. The Precious title is one of Fancy Pants glitter cuts.By the way - i'm lovin the floss by Karen Foster - i bought like 6 colors - it adds the perfect touch to cards and buttons like this one. Okay - this cat glitter cut has to be one of my faves. It was fun doing some halloween stuff. I used the new Trick or Treat line for these next projects. The scalloped circle is torn out of the Trick or Treat journal notebook. The title is cut out with Sillhouette. Another card using Trick or Treat from Fancy Pants. The ribbon, stickers, rubon's and patterned paper are all from the new line. The glitter letter stickers are Pink Paislee!This project was so fun - and the kids LOVE it. I bought this tree last fall and never got around to doing this - and i'm glad i waited because these papers were perfect for it. I cut the little monsters out of the patterned paper - used rubon's, chipboard and stickers to create this fun little tree (which happens to be on the top 10 list by views over at 2peas). Not voted on for faves or anything but people are looking - thats good enough - right! I was pretty excited when i went to the gallery and saw it.I put it on the end table right when you walk in the front door - the kids just think its the funnest thing. We've pretty much decorated the house - i've got a few things missing that must be in storage that i need to hunt down - but other than that we're done.

I should probably head to bed - i've got the flu - or strep - or something. I was pretty much out of commision all day yesterday - MIL and my mom took care of the kids - I couldn't move - my body hurt sooooooooooo bad, i still have the swolen glands and a sore throat but feel much better. Today is WORLD CARD MAKING DAY and i managed to do a few cards - I will post them tomorrow! Dean has gone Deer Hunting for 5 days - which means - if i feel better - there will be alot of scrappin going on here. YIPEE!

Thanks for stopping by....

Hugs

A sad day..............

2009-09-28T13:13:00.004-07:00

So we had a really sad day at our house on Saturday. This cute dog - our buddy - passed away. He was 12 1/2 - so he lived a long full life and died peacefully in his sleep. Somehow it didn't make it any easier though. We got buddy when he was 6 weeks old - 1 week before our wedding day. He actually was at our wedding - running around for a bit - till he annoyed everyone to death and then ended up in the kennel - but he was there. He has been there since the beginning........so it was really hard. He hunted alot with Dean when he was younger (wish i could find some of the puppy pictures) - then he kinda just mellowed out when we had kids. He was so good with the kids - always loving on them....he will be missed.

Buddy soaking up the attention while Ethan pets him. This was the saddest part - Everytime Dean mowed the lawn - buddy followed along, he's done this since he was little - he followed till the lawn was completley mowed - it was kina thier thing. So when dean mowed on Saturday it was really really sad. They were best buds. Baylee giving him luvs - buddy never ever jumped up or made the kids feel scared or uncomfortable.Even the cat tortured him. They slept in the same bed for along time until about 6 months ago - but became kinda senile, lost his hearing and could barely see - whe had to start putting him in the kennel because he would wander. But they were buds - olive would sit there and play with his tail - and buddy just let him do it. I love this picture - buddy had to be a part of everything - here - he couldn't get a good view of the fishing so he stuck his head between deans legs so he could see better.
He is actually asleep in this picture - too darn funny - he always slept this way. He didn't have the prettiest coat - it seems like he would finally loose all of his winter coat once it was time to grow it back again.The kids cried alot - Dean cried alot (more than i've ever seen), i cried alot. But i think we are all okay with it now. We took him up to the property on Saturday night and buried him there. The kids each drew a picture for him and gave him something special and we put thier stuff in before we buried him and then they each put a flower on top of the grave. Dean said a beautiful prayer blessing his grave - and we will be able to visit it anytime we are up there - it is a special place - a place where he had alot of memories too - wow - who would of ever thought an animal could have such a big impact on your lives - you don't realize it till they aren't in your life any longer.

On a happy note - If you havn't been over to GCD's Blog - there is SUPER big news over there. Melody Ross (from Chatterbox) - has joined forces with GCD studios and has come out with a beautiful vintage line - here is a sneaky - go check out the blog for all of the pictures - your not going to beleive how much is in this collection - tons and tons of embellishments!

thanks for stopping by...........

Brenda

Another GCD day.....

2009-09-24T14:37:00.002-07:00

remember tomorrow they are doing the $100 giveaway over on the GCD blog tomorrow. But for now i'm just going to share the rest of the Grafix/GCD projects i did. The first card i used the Grafix shrink plastic - the first time i've ever tried something like that! I cut this tree out using die cut machine - then added alchohol ink - put in the oven and whala!! It really shrinks! Kinda fun.

This is using transparancy - which everyone loves! I printed a nursery rhyme onto the transparency - Somewhere over the rainbow! Then used my die cut machinge to cut out the bracket frame!

Did the same thing on this card - cut out circle and bracket on die cut maching. I forgot to finish tracing the flower - just noticed that! Haha! So thanks for stopping by - hoped you enjoyed the blog posts this week - and don't forget to enter for the big giveaway tomorrow~

hugs

Brenda