Friday

Happy Friday!

My last day of school.  I thought it would never arrive.  This year I just completed my 23rd year in teaching, and I have to say it has been my most difficult.  I am VERY thankful that I have some time to regroup, and refocus.  I  love what I do  more than anything but WOW do I need a break!

On to other things now!! This is the last day of my 2 page layout week and I have to say I saved my favorite for last.  For this layout I used my photos of Jack playing in the sprinkler last summer.  Running in the sprinkler was his favorite thing to do at night and I LOVED seeing him so happy!  I thought the Bella Blvd. Sunshine and Happiness was the perfect collection for these photos.

supplies
cardstock- bazzill
paper- bella blvd.
die cuts- silhouette

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.  I will be back on Monday with a new project.  See you then!  Have a wonderful and crafty day!
-mp

Wednesday Mai Kai

Happy Wednesday!
 

Today I am continuing with my 2 page layout week.  Today's layout features Graphic 45.  I am normally not a Graphic 45 fan (I think their paper is totally cool- I just have to admit- I don't know how to use it! LOL!) however a kit became available at Simply and the paper was totally perfect for my photos from the Mai Kai, a restaurant in Fort Lauderdale,  Florida.  We had so much fun at the show and dinner.  The boys had so much fun!

 

supplies

cardstock- bazzill

pattern paper- Graphic 45

twine- the twinery

I hope everyone has a great day!  I will be back later this week with another 2 page layout!  See you then!

Have a wonderful and crafty week!

-mp

Tuesday Dinosaurs

Happy Tuesday!

Did  you have a wonderful long weekend?  We did here!  Had a bunch of fun at the last crop at Simply Scrapbooks, and then on Saturday we went to Columbus to go shopping at Cord Scrapbook Studio.  We had a blast!!  I had so much fun!! Everyone at Cord is so awesome!  I can't wait to teach my class at the end of June.  Sunday was a great family day- the pool- hanging out- adventure golf!  Just fun!  Then on Monday we really just relaxed!

This week on the blog I am going to feature 2 page layouts all week.  I have a bunch from Simply that I have done so I am going to highlight them all week!  For those of you that love 2 pagers I hope you enjoy!  I find 2 pagers to be a bit challenging.  I do enjoy making them depending on the number of pictures that I have and also the paper.  So let's get to it!

One of the things that I love about Michael's is that you can always find fun activities for the kids.  In their sale bin awhile back they had some dinosaur eggs.  Jack loves to do these types of activities and then I saw this adorable paper from Bazzill and I knew I had to make a layout!  Jack loved cracking the egg and finding the little baby dino inside!

supplies
paper- bazzill
washi tape- bazzill
die cuts and stickers- bazzill
cardstock- bazzill
tools- Silhouette

Thanks for stopping by!  I will be back tomorrow with a new project. See you then!  Have a wonderful and crafty day!
-mp

One I Didn't Like on Thursday

Happy Thursday

Have you every scrapped a layout and completely HATED it?  This is how I feel about this layout!LOL!  I always start off with a sketch that I make and it looked great on paper- the concept was good and I like the paper that I picked out.  It is the Celebration line from Authentique.  But something happened when I put it all together.  I mean the layout is o.k. but I am not wild about it.

What do you do when the layout doesn't come out like you thought?  Since this is a layout just for me and my family I plan on doing NOTHING!  I mean all my layouts can't be awesome - right?  Do you redo your layouts if you don't like them?  I never have and with other commitments I don't think I am?  I just wanted to see what everyone else does I guess.

supplies
cardstock- bazzill
paper- Authentique
stickers- Authentique

Thanks so much for stopping by today.   I will be back tomorrow with a new project.  See you then! Have a wonderful and crafty day!
-mp

Thursday Outside!

Happy Thursday,

I think I am having withdrawals from crafting.  I have not been able to create all week.  I also need to clean my scraproom.  I had finished a project on Sunday but I finished it late and I didn't have time to clean up my room before I had to put the kids to bed etc.  So it is still a MESS! This is sooo not like me.  Hopefully tonight I can clean my room so that I can at least just BE in my room. 

We had a VERY mild winter this year.  In February we usually have temperatures in the 20's and lots of snow but his year we had temperatures in the 50's so we went outside to play whenever we could.  These are pictures of Michael on one of these days.  He LOVES to be outside.  He is just so happy!  I love his smile!  For this layout I used the new line Child's Play by Moxxie.  This line was just perfect for these pictures.  I love the colors in this line!

cardstock- bazzill
paper- Moxxie Child's Play
stickers- Moxxie
die cuts- Silhouette

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I will be back tomorrow with another project.  See you then!  Have a wonderful and crafty day!
-mp

Monday Butterflies

Happy Monday!

Did you have a nice weekend?  I sure did.  It was very busy but on Saturday we went to a family party and it was so great being with family!  Sunday I was able to get some work done!  Got to love this!  I am working on some upcoming classes that I will be teaching this summer.  I have a bunch of ideas I just need the time to get them all planned and ready to go.

This is a layout that I did for the store using Basic Grey Picadilly.  It was just perfect for my photos of the boys that I took when we went to a butterfly exhibit last summer.  We had a bunch of fun.  This Picadilly collection was just so beautiful.  For this layout I used banner strips.  I have to say I am still totally addicted to banners.  I love them!

Supplies

cardstock- bazzill

paper- basic grey picadilly

stickers- basic grey

tools- silhouette, ms circle maker, sewing machine

dies- paper trey ink

felt- paper trey ink

I want to say thanks to everyone for taking the time to write such kind comments on my blog! You are all so wonderful and supportive! I truly appreciate it!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I will be back tomorrow with another project.  Have a wonderful and crafty day!

-mp

Tuesday- double page at B&B

Happy Tuesday,

Do you prefer one or two page layouts?  I have discussed this before here, but I prefer one page layouts because they are easier for me to do.  I do many 2 page layouts for Simply Scrapbooks, and sometimes I just have a bunch of photos that I would like to use.  

Here is a 2 page layout I did using the April Kit from Burlap and Buttercups.  Last summer I went on a scrapbooking weekend with a friend.  We went to  Crop a Doodle Do in Indiana.  It was a scrapbook and spa retreat on a old Farm.  It was a lot of fun!  The food was awesome and Becky our hostess was so sweet and kind!  Have you ever been on a scrapbooking retreat? Did you like it?

Supplies

April kit from Burlap and Buttercups

paper- lily bee, mme

cardstock- bazzill

flowers- little yellow bicycle

gems- sorry I totally forget

die cut- mme

tools- border punch

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I will be

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I will be back tomorrw with a card from Start to Finish.  See you then!

Have a wonderful and crafty day!

-mp

Wednesday Bowling!

Happy Wednesday!
Well, I got NOTHING done yesterday scrapping with the ladies! I talked the entire time!  I had fun though and that is all that matters!  When I picked up the boys from school we went to the park and had a ball!! I love great weather and this is supposed to be our last for the next couple of days.

Today on my list of things to do is work on another batch of photos and back them up and organized them.  I also have a pedicure and then I need to do some scrapping!! With not getting anything accomplished yesterday I am very behind!!

Over Christmas break we took the boys bowling.  We had such a great time.  Simply Scrapbooks recently got in a new shipment from Moxxie and I snagged the Bowling kit.  This line was just perfect for my pictures.  Are you getting tired of all my 2 page layouts?  For Simply the owner only wants 2 page layouts for store displays.   So I have a ton of them.  I personally prefer to do one page layouts but I am not picky at all.  I always have such a hard time photographing 2 pagers- they always seem to be lopsided.  Sorry!

supplies
cardstock- bazzill
paper and stickers- Moxxie

I hope everyone has a great day.  I will be back tomorrow with another project!  Have a wonderful and crafty day!
-mp

Tuesday LYB

Hi
Just popping in to share this 2 page layout that I did awhile back.  I am cleaning out and going through all my photos.  I am trying to organize my photos (and boy, do I have a lot of them).  It is one of my goals over my Spring break.  So far I have made a very decent start at backing up part of my photos and organizing them into folders.  I have started when I got my first digital camera 7 years ago.  I have a lot of work, but I am determined to get it done!

This is a layout of Jack's soccer team last year.  I can't believe it is sign up time already.

supplies

cardstock- bazzill

digital collage- kerri bradford

title- silhouette

everything else- little yellow bicycle

I am off to scrap with my girlfriends today.  I can't wait! I am going to start on a mini album.  So excited!  Have a great day and thanks for stopping by! Have a crafty day!

-mp

Monday in May

Happy Monday,
Did you all have a great weekend?  We did but for my taste it was just a bit too busy!  We went to Lego Fest and I have never seen so many Legos in all my life.  The boys had a great time.  We then had a a date night which was very nice.  I love date nights with the hubby.  Sunday was just trying to do everything that I usually do on Saturdays and Sundays.  No reall crafting going on.  The temperatures are going down a bit this week so hopefully I will get some in this week!!

I don't scrap chronologically anymore, and I don't put an real pressure on myself to get things scrapped, but I don't like being a year behind.  Does that make sense.  So I kind of been  playing catch up just a bit.  Here is one of my favorite layouts of all times and I think this is one of my favorite collections from Jillibean Soup. 

Each May the town that I am from has a little festival and we take the boys every year.  It is so much fun.  These are the photos from That Day in May 2011.

Supplies

paper- jilllibean soup

diecuts and stickers- jillibean soup

cardstock- bazzill

twine- the twinery

stamps- ali edwards

ink- jenni bowlin

misc- paper crimper, tiny attacher, fiskars border punch, sewing machine

I hope everyone has a great day.  I will be back tomorrow with another project.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful and crafty day!

-mp

Thursday My Snowmen

Happy Thursday!

Still no craftying going on in my house.  I have been totally addicted to reading.  I hope to finish The Hunger Games today.  I bought it on Tuesday and will finish it today.  Awesome read!!!!

I know it is Spring but I have been going through all my layouts and am finding a TON that I did for the store that I have not posted here.  Sometimes I totally forget about some layouts and this is one of them.  We really didn't have an major snow this year but we did get a light dusting.  The boys went crazy and went outside for about 2 hours running around.  Here is a double page featuring the Echo Park Winter collection. 

Sorry for the lopsided photo!

Supplies

cardstock- bazzill

paper, stickers- echo park

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I will be back tomorrow with a look at my Project Life.  Have a wonderful and crafty day!!

-mp

A Jillibean Thursday

Happy Thursday!
Well I made it through yesterday and hopefully today afterschool is a bit calmer!! I am looking forward to getting back to craftying.  I got my first DT kit from Cord Scrapbook Studio and I have to say I am so excited to get to work!  If you haven't visited their site before or their blog check it out.  Their online store is stocked with all the latest and greatest products and their blog is chuck full of great scrapping information!  Anyhoo-- I am excited! Hopefully on Saturday I will be able to get some scrapping in!

My favorite line this year for Valentine's day was Hearty Barley from Jillibean Soup.  This kraft line is just perfect because it is so versatile.  For this layout I used my favorite photos of my 3 favorite guys and made a layout using this awesome line.  It is hard to tell from this view but I cut out some of the hearts and layered them and pop dotted them on the cooridinating heart.  This gave that area some dimension.  Loved how it turned out!

supplies

cardstock- bazzill

paper- jillibean soup

mist- mister huey

gems- no idea!

misc. silhouette, border punch

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I am going to switch gears here and update a bit with my Project Life!  Hope everyone has a wonderful and crafty day and I will see you tomorrow!

-mp



Valentine's Week- friday

Happy Friday!!
Oh I love Fridays!!!
Do you have any fun plans for the weekend?  We really don't.  The boys need haircuts, I need to pick up some work at the store and make some displays and then I just want to rest.

This is a layout that I did using the Heart paper from Crate paper.  I wanted to use traditional Valentine's paper on a non Valentine's day layout.  I like to make an easy layout that shows the things I love at this moment.  Right now my loves are 1)still my iphone, 2)my pandora bracelet from my hubby, 3)my new tom tom gps from my hubby- spend about 1 1/2 hours driving everyday and this is awesome!, 4)my nook, 5)modern family- my favorite show, and finally 6) my new cameo (well it is old now)

supplies

cardstock- bazzill

paper- crate paper

stickers- crate paper

title- silhouette

twine- the twinery

tools-sewing machine, circle punch, silhouette

thanks so much for stopping by today.  I will be back on Monday with a new project.  I hope you have a wonderful and crafty weekend!

-mp

SuperStar Tuesday

Happy Tuesday!
How is your week going so far?  Mine is ok!  Do you ever have the crafty urge but you have NO time to get in your craft room?  That is happening to me right now.  I have so many projects running around in my mind but I haven't had time to create.  I hate it when that happens.

This is a layout I did for the store, and I forgot about it until I was organizing my craft room and photo storage.  These area pictures of my oldest playing soccer this past spring.  Bella Blvd came out with the perfect sports line.  I really loved working with the papers.

supplies

cardstock- bazzill

paper- bella blvd.

stickers-bella blvd

misc.  signo white gel pen, silhouette

I hope everyone has a great day today!  Thanks so much for stopping by and I will see you tomorrow with a new card.

Have a crafty day!

-mp

A Very Jillibean Christmas

Hi and Happy Friday,

Just popping in today to say hi!  Today the 4 of us are going on an adventure to IKEA!  I am going to get another expedit bookcase and another alex storage unit!  I think my craft room will then be done!!!My goal for 2012 is to be better organized at all times!!  What is on your agenda for today?

This was a layout I did for the store month's ago.  I found the picture when I was cleaning this week.  I love the Jillibean paper collection.  So cute and so Fun!  It feels good to be done with 2010 completely! I hate being a year behind in my scrapping.  I am trying to get at least only 6 months behind.  When I was a year I was freaking out just a bit., but I always figure I have a  lifetime to scrap all my photos (fingers crossed-right?)

supplies
cardstock- bazzill
Everything else- Jillibean Soup

Have a great day! Thanks so much for stopping by!
Have a crafty day!!
-mp

A Pocket layout on Monday

Happy Tuesday,
I hope everyone had a wonderful and merry Christmas.  I know I did and I enjoyed spending some time with my family.  I was a busy girl yesterday because I took down all my decorations and scrubed the house clean.  I am so glad the house is back to normal.  You would never know that Christmas was just 2 days away. 

What do you do with all of your kid's art work and school papers?  I keep them all and then go through them all and keep just a couple per year, but these papers were adding up and I needed to put them someplace.  So I came up with making a pocket layout to keep Michael's preschool papers.

For this layout/pocket keeper, I used Nikki Sivils School is Cool line.  I LOVE this line.  It is just too cute and just perfect for this project.  For the left side I made just a normal layout with pictures that I had taken of Michael in his classroom. For the right side I made pocket with the paper and sewed around the edges to really hold the pocket.

Here is a look at the inside of the right side.  It has a nice opening and can store many papers.  I then embellished the pocket with the adorable die cuts and then I scanned his art work and made photos of them and added those as well.

Here is a look at the pocket with some of his art work so far from this school year.  I asked him to pick out his favorites and he picked these out.  On the back of each project I put the date on them.

I really LOVED how this turned out.  I am going to make another one for Jack and his kidergarten papers. 

Supplies

Everything is Nikki Sivils

misc.- sewing machine, ek success border punch

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I will be back tomorrow with a new card for Wednesday.  I will see you then.

Have a crafty day!

-mp

Thursday layout

Happy Thursday!
Is everyone getting excited for Christmas?  3 more days!  I can't wait! I think I am more excited than the kids right now!  Both boys are going to school today-Jack's Explorer class is going to go ice skating.  He is a bit nervous because he has never been and Michael is going to make Christmas cookies.  They are both so excited.  So with them busy I am going to do errands all day like-eyebrow wax, hair cut, grocery store and other fun things! Busy day ahead! 

I hope that in the afternoon the boys and I can go downstairs and I can get some crafting in. It is supposed to rain again all day today so I know they will want to go down. I have a new kit from the store that I need to get done.  Yikes I haven't even started it!

The December kit at Burlap and Buttercups is filled with wonderful yummy goodies!  Here is a 2 page layout I designed for the kits.  It features the Simple Stories paper and embellishments.  I also used the silver Thickers and Maya Road rub ons.  These pictures were taken at our local Christmas festival.  We always have so much fun!  I took so many pictures that I knew I wanted to include a bunch and this design did the trick.  Nice and easy and it looks good too!

Supplies

The December kit at Burlap and Buttercups

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I will be back tomorrow with a winter project.  See you all then!

Have a crafty day!

-mp

Tuesday Layout

I don't know about you but I am so glad Monday is over and we are moving on with the week.  I am hoping that things calm down now.  The last 2 weeks have been crazy.  I had my birthday, Jeff had his 4 days later and then 3 days later Jack had his (and he had 3 parties)!  So now we are set till late November for the next birthday. 

One of the kits that I received from the store was a kit by Webster's Pages.  Now this is not my style of paper--don't get me wrong--I know lots and lots of people love it and it is very popular but for me it is just not my style.  I do love; however, stepping outside my comfort zone to try something new and experiment with new types of paper.  So here is my effort.

Celebrate Life

These are some pictures of my birthday.  I was so happy to get some new scrappy things: a new border punch, a couple of circle punches (i have started a collection), some Imaginisce fall items, and I got my Nook fixed.  I love my Nook and it was having some problems with the new software updates.  My hubby took it and got it fixed without me knowing about it.  I was so happy and now it is working just fine!  I love my Nook!  My hubby did an awesome job!!!

Supplies
cardstock-bazzill
Everything else is Webster's Pages

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Tomorrow is Wednesday Card day and I will show you the companion card to this layout!  See ya then!  Don't forget to go to Monday's post to enter the giveaway!
-mp

Oh yeah Friday

Hello Everyone,

Thanks for all the well wishes about my move. I have worked like a dog and at least now my room is at the new school.  Next week will be unpacking and decorating the room plus making lesson plans for the new class.  5 days left-I think I can do it.

While I was at Crop A Doodle Do I completed this layout for my lss.  These are pictures from our vacation at Lion Country Safari.

I thought the paper was perfect for the pictures.

Supplies
cardstock-bazzill
paper- Best Creations
brads-doodlebug

Today I am taking the boys down to Cincinnati to go to the Lego Store.  I said I would take them during the summer and wow we only have a couple of days left to we are going to spend a couple of hours there.  Then we are going to lunch somewhere--if I know my boys then they will want to go to McDonald's.  McDonald's is a special treat place for them so they always like it--me on the other hand would like some place different but it is their day.

Any plans for the weekend?  We really do not.  It is awesome. Plus we are supposed to have great weather.

Thanks for stopping by and I will see you back on Monday!
-mp

Echo Park Fresh Face Challenge

Hey Everyone,

Echo Park is having a monthly challenge to be their "Fresh Face". As you know I LOVE Echo Park and I wanted to enter their challenge.  As some of you know I teach a monthly sketch layout class at my local scrapbook store Simply Scrapbooks and this month I made a kit with 3 layouts and 2 cards using the Summertime paper collection and I thought I would share these projects.

Summer Days

In this layout I made a two pager.  I started out with making a 9 inch circle as the mat to put my pictures.  I then added various strips of pattern paper .  I love adding and layering many different papers to add color and dimension to the projects.  I then went to my journaling card sheet and stickers to add embellishments.

I did add some dots and stripes paper to create a border around my ice cream sheet.  I love how the dots and stripes can coordinate with the other lines. 

Summertime

This is another two pager.  I cut my paper into 4 squares (6x6) and then I made a border using my border punches.  I did this on the top and bottom.  To add embellishments I once again went to the handy dandy sticker sheet.  I LOVE clouds and had to had my sun and clouds on the sheet.  As a little bit of fun I also took the saying stickers and pop dotted them onto the pop dotted sun and clouds. I love to add dimension to my layouts without a lot of bulk so therefore I love pop dots.

This line is just perfect for scrapping our trip to Kings Island.  The boys had such a wonderful time.

The Grass is always greener with you.

This layout is one of my favorites because it has a photo of my son taking a walk with my mom.  Priceless!

One of the things that I love to do is save every little scrap of paper.  I consider myself to be a frugal scrapper and I like to get the most of my paper.  By saving the scraps I can create cards and layouts.   I teach my students that you can make an entire layout using scraps and this layout demonstrates that.

For this layout I cut various papers into rectangular shapes and just layered them on top of each other.  I kind of created a quilt of paper.  After arranging them I went to my sticker sheet and added the clouds and sayings.  I went to my journaling card sheet and found a fantastic journaling tag.  I love the little bird that matched the bird on my title.

Quick and Easy Cards

In my kit for my students I like to show them how to make quick and easy cards that use the scraps of your projects.  Here are 2 that we made in class using the scraps and the left over stickers from the sticker sheet.

As you can see my style of scrapping is clean and simple, but I like to have fun with my layouts.  I hope these projects demonstrate my style.

It would be a total honor to be the guest designer over at Echo Park.  I so love the collections.  The products are so versatile, and the paper is totally yummy!  Thanks so much for having this fantastic opportunity. 

I hope everyone has a great day!  I will be back tomorrow with another project.  Thanks for stopping by!

mp