New Moon

oh yeah, can't wait til November!

just be me

That's the theme for a contest over at the Lily Bee Design blog...to make a mini-album with the "just be me" theme. This is the first time I've played with these papers and oh how they're so pretty :) I've been wanting to do a little album about me and this gave me the perfect little push. I think sometimes we as scrappers (and moms) forget to get out from behind the camera (or "behind the scrap desk") and do something about ourselves. This is just a simple little album that I made using the Top Note Sizzix die from Stampin' Up! (*love* that die!) as the base of the book.

{click on the images for more details}

There were a few more pages that I reserved for myself (and not to be shared with blogland) for personal reasons :)

And because I couldn't resist making a layout with these cute papers... ;)

TGIF everyone!!

day at the beach

Now this is summer vacation! Spending time in the sun, playing in the water, building sandcastles. Good fun. I took the kids to a local beach that we go to every year. We love it there. It's never too crowded and the kids can play for hours. Unfortunately, like the first time out in the sun every summer, I didn't use enough sunscreen and now I'm paying the price. Holy cow my skin is on fire!! But here's a few pics from our fun day today :)

We had a few visitors on the beach with us today... they were kinda quiet, kept to themselves

Hope you're all having a sunny day today :)

a week of dance, soccer, x-rays, graduation...

The last week of school...always a busy one.

We finished up soccer a little over a week ago. Olivia didn't play because of her knee but she stayed to cheer on her team for their last game. I wasn't sure if she was going to be able to dance at her recital last weekend because of her hurt knee. I actually took her for x-rays on Wednesday because she still wasn't straightening her leg right and she was still walking funny. I figured she had just bruised the bone (along with the big scrape) but the dr wanted it x-ray'd to be safe. Thankfully they turned out ok and by Friday she was finally feeling better.

This week we also had Ben's pre-K graduation. So sweet, it's hard to imagine my baby is going to be going into Kindergarten in just a few short months. Where does the time go???

When I compare the first day of school pics to the last day of school, I can really see how they've both grown.

And by the way God, if you're listening, this sure would be a good time to give me another baby...help take my mind off of my kids growing up too fast. You know, if you have a spare sec to answer a prayer or 2...I know there's a lot bigger prayers than mine out there...

Also this past week Olivia had her last dance class last Monday, pictures for her show and her dance performance this past Saturday. Boy did she have fun! She couldn't believe that she got to dance on such a big stage (or to put in her words "it's so HUGE!!")

She did great and I was so proud of her. Especially since she just started taking dance classes the end of February when most of the girls had been there since August.

On Memorial Day we didn't do a whole lot because of the rain that's been here in and out for several days. This was pretty much the scene at our house all morning:

G.I.Joe's & Barbies. I thought that was fitting for Memorial Day ;)I know, the picture's a bit blurry. Dang camera, still trying to figure it out. Barbie was helping out G.I.Joe cause he was hurt ;)

Then I took the kids to see Night at the Museum 2. Great movie!! I honestly didn't think it would be as good as the first one. I mean, we already know everything comes to life. How good could it be, right?? But let me tell ya, Hank Azaria as Kahmunrah was hilarious, as was Gen'l Custer. So many funny parts. My daughter said she liked it better than the first one. It's a toss up for me.

And now it's officially summer!! Let the fun begin....as soon as this rain goes away!
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Completely off the subject, I just wanted to mention that I've periodically been adding blogs to the prayers section in the column on the right. I'm not going to mention any one in particular because they are all in need of your prayers. Please, take a moment and read them. Thanks :)

Happy Memorial Day!!!

To all those that serve and their families ~ THANK YOU!!!!

Final Salute photo gallery

teacher gifts

School is officially out for summer!!! It's been a crazy week with soccer, dance and gymnastics all ending along with the last week of school. We also had my son's pre-K graduation last night which was *so* cute. I managed to make it through the night without crying (I started to tear up a little but I made it stop!)

Before I share some of the school pics, I thought I'd share the teacher gifts that I made this year. Maybe some of you who still have kids in school can find some inspiration from them :)

Here's what each of the teachers and parapro's got from the kids:

The buckets I found at Target in the dollar section (don't you LOVE that they added that section to the store???) Added some red grosgrain ribbon (Stampin' Up).

Here's what's inside:

Post-it note books made with 4x4 square coasters that I picked up here (but you could easily use chipboard). Paper is Summer Picnic (retired) from SU!. Stamp set is Tart & Tangy (perfect for teacher gifts and summer projects!!) And it's held together using my Bind-it-all.

I adhered the paper with Elmer's craft bond glue stick. I use a glue stick with projects like this to make sure the paper's not going to come off. Hobby Lobby sells it for $1.99 and it really works. When it was dry I sanded the edges (away from the paper) to give a nice finish and to keep the paper from lifting up.

Small decorated legal pads, these ones are 5x8 (12 for $6 at Staples). Unfortunately they didn't fit in the buckets. I was looking for smaller ones but couldn't find them. I got the idea for decorating them on Becky Higgins' blog recently (5/12 post). And who can't use an extra notebook?

Altered jumbo paperclips (6 for $1 at Walmart):

(they're decorated front and back)

Gift card holders:

These ones are similar to the ones in this post. I didn't have time to do stitching on each one so instead I used a staple on each side to hold the ribbon on and it helped hold the gift card closed as well (and it looks cute!).

And a little card that my kids filled out for each of their teachers:

I found some inexpensive gift bags at Walmart and put each bucket and notebook inside the gift bag. That way it was easier to transport them to school.

I also made up a few extra notebooks and post-it note books to give to the principal, asst principal & nurse (because my child visits the nurse a lot!). What was great about all of these projects is that I was able to use up all of my scraps I had leftover from this paper pack! And most of the supplies I had on hand.

That's it for now :)

Mosh Posh blog party

Ok, I mentioned Mosh Posh yesterday. And if you haven't been over to their blog yet, they're having a blog party for their 4th anniversary. You could win this:

Cool huh?? So head over there (click here) and leave a comment...and be sure to tell them that Michelle from meandmyscraps sent you!!

Mosh Posh & Jenni Bowlin

Well, I didn't get the call from MLS. Which is not surprising considering there were over 400 sumbissions and only 5 spots. Lots of great talent out there!!! Can't wait to see what these ladies come up with.

Anyhow, I was greeted with some fun mail today...my May kit from JBS came. Oh, it is pretty!!! Definitely brought a smile to my face :) And a few days ago I found out that Mosh Posh is having a June guest designer contest. So what the heck, since I'm a glutton for punishment (or should I say rejection! j/k) I thought I'd throw my hat in and see what they think. I mean, they have some really cute kits :)

So here's a few layouts I made with the JB kit and another project that some of you have seen before.

The first layout was supposed to have a "Celebration" theme. And since I'm in such a spring/summery kind of mood I thought "Celebrate Spring" would be a fun layout to do!

The butterfly punch is Martha Stewart and I added a pearl in the center of each one.

Here's another layout just for the heck of it (and cause I was loving this kit!)

I think I may have a new addiction to the Fiskars apron lace border punch. I'm seeking help. I may need a 12 step program because it seems to appear on nearly every project I do.

I also got to use a new toy on this layout. I bought this on ebay a couple months ago for just 10 bucks

My kids thought it was so neat. What can I say, they're easily impressed. They thought it was pretty neat that they could see the letters on the paper right when they typed them!

And here's my other project for the design contest, the sketch book I made recently from a Stampin' Up! board book, Shabby Chic Crafts journaling tags, Sassafras papers (love that bird!), and the Cuttlebug swiss dots embossing folder.

I also used the SU! punch to extend the patterned paper to the edge of the notebook (to get it around the wires). And I believe the little pearl flower accent was from Jenni Bowlin.

That's it for today. Mosh Posh ~ I would LOVE to get a chance to play with your June kit!!!

a quick post

Just a quick post with some layouts I finished up this week.

My Little Shoebox is having another design team call. I don't expect to hear from them but oh how nice it would be if I did!! There's a lot of great talent out there so you just never know. Someone might decide they like my stuff! And if not, I still like it and so do my kids and that's all that matters, right?? (But oh how nice would it be to be on a design team and get new goodies in the mail!! I'm just sayin'...a girl can dream, right?)

patterned papers ~ My Little Shoebox
bingo card ~ Jenni Bowlin
pink flower ~ KI Memories
rub-ons ~ Hambly, Pink Paislee

To make the white flower I used a script stamp and brown Stazon (stamped right on the flower)

patterned papers ~ Crate Paper, Studio Calico
tags ~ Jenni Bowlin, Shabby Chic Crafts
chipboard shapes,brad ~ Sassafras
thickers ~ American Crafts

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend :)

Updated ~ holy cow...just went over to the MLS blog and they've had 400 submissions for the DT call!! Man, that makes the odds darn near small (but I'm still keeping my fingers crossed!)

beach parties & farm visits

Whew, I'm tired! Yesterday Ben had "beach day" at school. The kids had SO much fun!! I made my sandcastle cake again. Not sure if the kids had any or if they saw it but Ben thought it was pretty cool. And that's all that mattered. He and Olivia helped me put the inner tubes on the bears ;) (gummy life savers & teddy grahams)

The water is blue jello and the sand is crushed Nilla wafers. I like to use Nilla wafers because the outside of the cookie is darker than the inside. So when you crush them up you get different shades of "sand"...kinda like the real thing! Now the last time I made this cake I used clear piping gel tinted blue but I liked how the jello turned out a lot better. And, it's a lot cheaper, too. Even better! I waited until it was only partially set and then spread it around, then stuck the whole thing in the fridge. I got the inner tube idea from Bakerella (of course!).

Today I took Ben to a local farm for our "mommy-Ben day". We only have 2 more of these. This fall he'll be in Kindergarten and in school all week. So there won't be any of these days left :(

We played miniature golf

Of course, some ended up in the water!

We fed some goats (and I had to put my germ issues aside for this one)

Oh how this little goat was so cute!

Oh my, he's licking! Dave, just look away.

Check out the "eewwww" face on Ben! hehe We had lots of fun.

Tomorrow is the kids last day of soccer. Olivia won't be playing cause her knee is still hurting pretty bad and a bit swollen. Not sure if she's overreacting of if she really messed it up. If it's not better by Monday we'll be going to see the dr. I'm really hoping it gets better because she has her dance performance next Saturday and I know she'll be really disappointed if she can't participate (and so will I).

I have a few layouts to share but since this post is getting way long I think I'll put them in a separate post!! Night night everyone...on the east side of the U.S. that is! The rest of y'all are probably just getting done with dinner, right??