Layout Catch-up!

Hello, and Happy Tuesday to you all! I hope you are enjoying you summer vacation so far. We've had several days of sun and warm weather and I have been loving it! Tried to get out as much as possible. Even today, it was 70* even though you couldn't see the sun through the clouds. By this evening it was sprinkling, but it was still very warm and left the air smelling fresh and clean.

Ok, well, it's been a while since I've shared any of my layouts with you, so let me just get caught up. Be forewarned, this may be a long post, lol. I hope you enjoy!

Last time I shared, I left you with a beautiful kit by Sherwood Studio called "Catharsis". I LOVED working with that kit! It is so unique. I just knew what I was going to do with it and it all just seemed to fall into place. (I love when that happens!) Here is my page, "Art Therapy":

Credits:

Kit - 'Catharsis' by Sherwood Studio.

Template by Mye DeLeon (GP May Cluster Your Heart Out Challenge).

Font - Special Elite.

Now, orange is definitely not one of my favorite colors, but I really love how this next page turned out. I had this super cute pic of my kitty, "Sophie", that I wanted to scrap and when I came upon the May Indulgence Challenge over at Brownie Scraps I knew it would be perfect for my photo. (The challenge is to use every piece of the mini kit that they provide. Go check it out sometime! It's a fun one.) I tried a new-to-me technique on this page: cutting out a shape. I cut the section out of the white paper so that you can read the word "moments" from the page behind it. I see this technique so much around digiworld and I love the look! I'll definitely be trying this one again. And here is my page, "Sophie":

Credits:

Kit - 'Moments of Sunshine' by Jacabean Designs (Brownie Scraps May Indulgence Challenge).

Template by Crisdam Designs (Gotta Pixel Temp Challenge 11-2010).

Font - DJB_SWEETROBIN.

I absolutely LOVE the photos in my next page! This is my niece, Natalie. She is so adorable!! I just love her to pieces! And boy does she know how to have fun! Just try not to smile when you look at her ;)

These photos were taken a couple weeks ago when we had a party for my oldest niece, Tisha, who graduated from High School! (SUPER proud of her!!) Here is "Backyard Swingin'":

You smiled, didn't you? ;)

Credits:

Kit - 'Think Spring' SHCO Collab.

Template - 'Building Blocks Singles No. 5' by Tracie Stroud.

Alpha - 'Kinda Sketchy {Black}' by Ellie Lash.

Font - Boring Showers and Problem Secretary.

Summer is upon us, in full swing, and there are so many things we would like to do. I doubt we'll be able to do as much as we'd like to, but the kids and I had fun writing up a list of some ideas. A coupe days later I came across a challenge over at Ginger Scraps asking you to scrap a Summer Bucket List! What perfect timing! So here is what I came up with, "Summer Bucket List 2011":

Kit - 'Summer Day' collab by Ellie Lash and Sunny Day Scraps.

Template by Ramona the pest for the SO June Member Spotlight Challenge.

Fonts - Boris Black Boxx and CK Buddies.

Last weekend Hubby and I refurbished my old desk and made it into the desk I've been wanting for so long. I never seem to have enough room on my desk to be able to use my computer and also be crafty. I knew what I wanted, but I've never been able to find it and never had the money to buy it anyway, lol. Well, I guess I'll let my layout tell the rest of the story. Here is "Desk Remodel":

I entered this page in several different challenges: The June Font Challenge at Brownie Scraps, using Pea Nicki; Scrap Orchard's "What the Font" challenge, using Sea Dreams; and the June Sugar Swap Challenge over at Ginger Scraps. This is the page, by Emma (Hobbes130), that I lifted:

Credits for my page:

Kit - MScraps iNSD 2011 Blog Train Freebie:

Deca Designs - flower, butterfly, ribbon, lace, lined paper, light green paper; Erica Zwart - green patterned paper; Designs by Heather T - frame; ListGirl Designs - flowered paper; Ruth Melody Designs - glitter; Tracy Ann Little - pink paper, string; Yoshiko Designs - heart brad; Designs by Sweet Mesquite - green stitches; Pink Reptile Designs - pink ricrac; MandyMade - brown stitching.

Alpha - 'Sisters' by Ramona the Pest.

Fonts - Pea Nicki & Sea Dreams.

This last one had funny timing also. As usual, Zach had me cracking up over something he had said, but this time I had actually taken the time to write it down. (I always wish I had done that more often as the kids have grown up so fast.) The next day I found the June 6th "Everyday Magic Challenge" over at Scrap Matters. The challenge was to scrap a conversation! Perfect!! Here is "No Beat":

He is my dancin' fool! And my comic relief <3

Credits:

Kit - 'Work It Out' by Ellie Lash.

Musical elements - 'Birds of a Feather' by Ellie Lash.

Template by Blue Scraps for Brownie Scraps June Semi-Homemade Challenge.

Font - Pea Noodle's Girlfriends.

Now, before I go I thought I'd share a quick update on my life with Grandma. We have along over-due appointment tomorrow with a Neurologist. I'm praying he will finally have some answers for us. Her Primary Physician hasn't been much help at all. He has no patience with Grandma. He asks her questions and then talks over her and doesn't listen to what she has to say. I get so frustrated! He has had several tests ran, but never has any answers for us. He has mentioned once that we may be seeing the beginning affects of Parkinson's, but he's not sure. We had a CT Scan ran on the 16th. They found no tumors or signs of a stroke, but there is a lot of atrophy. Her muscles are showing signs of atrophy as well. She is not able to stand straight up anymore, it's almost like she walks in a sitting position, knees and hips bent. She barely has the strength to walk to the bathroom or to her room. I can't walk her anymore as she pulls so hard on me, and our weights are to close to the same that I'm not able to hold her up. Charles walks her so she gets some excercise, but I have her sit in her walker and I push her around the house ;) You gotta do what you can, right? Get creative! Anyway, I'll elt you know how the appointment oges tomorrow. Please say a prayer for her! Things are getting quite over-whelming for all of us here.

One day at a time.....

Show 'N Tell

Hello! Happy Friday to you!! The last 2 days here have been absolutely beautiful! The temps have been about 75 degrees, and I could really get used to this! I even broke out the shorts, flip-flops and, of course, my signature fuchsia pink toenail polish ;) That screams summer to me, so bring it on!!

My kids only have 2 weeks and 2 1/2 days of school left, so Summer has to be coming soon, right? I hope the weather continues to cooperate.

So, I have 2 pages I want to share today. I haven't been spending as much time scrapping as I would've liked to lately. I've even had the time to do it (shock!) But every time I get online I end up surfing all my favorite scrapping and crafty blogs and websites! I get so many ideas running through my head that I'd like to try that I end up overwhelming myself and then getting nothing done in the end! LOL Well I take  that back.. I did get these done ;)

This first page is another one done with a kit by Sherwood Studio. The kit is so beautiful! As soon as I saw it I knew exactly what photos I wanted to use. I had just noticed, a few days before, all the pretty little Blue Bonnets (I think that's what they are :P) growing up along side of our gravel driveway by the fence. I was impressed by their beauty and their persistence to grow even though there is no soft soil or grass there. Here is my page: Spring Flowers

Kit - 'Garden Fairies' by Sherwood Studio.

Template by Designs by Camijo.

Fonts - Berylium and Beautiful.

My second page was done for the "Show Me the Mini" challenge over at Gotta Pixel. As soon as I saw the beautiful little mini kit put together by Trixie Scraps, I knew I had to join in. And since it's May, the month of Mother's Day, the challenge was devoted to a page of our Mom's. So it was my pleasure to make this page for my Mom :) I hope she likes it too! Here's my page: My Mother

Kit - "My Lovely Mother" by Trixie Scraps (Gotta Pixel May Show Me The Mini Challenge)

Template by Marni Designs (Brownie Scraps May Template Challenge)

Font - Digs My Heart

I have one more new kit by Sherwood Studio that I need to work with. It's called "Catharsis" and you can find it at TDC. Take a look at it. It is absolutely gorgeous! And I can't wait to dig my digital fingers into it! :) 

So, I'll be back to share my page when I get it done. 

Thanks for visiting me again! I appreciate all the sweet comments I get from all my friends, whether Real Life friends or Computer friends. You all make me smile! :D Enjoy your weekend!

An update and a new page

So, I finally ended up taking Buddy in to see the Vet this evening. I was really scared, because I was afraid they were going to tell me he had cancer or something horrible like that. Well, Praise God, it's not that bad. He has messed up a disc in his spine between his front shoulder blades which has been causing all his stiffness and pain. Spine injuries are typical in Doxies just because of their body shape, but we've been blessed all this time without any troubles, so it wasn't something I was even thinking about. I didn't think 'back' I was thinking 'neck' because that's were all the trouble seemed to be coming from. SO, he got an injection of Dexamethasone, a steroid/anti-inflammatory, and came home with a prescription of prednisone,  and Tramadol (a pretty powerful pain killer). Poor guy!! They also want us to kennel rest him for 7-10 days! Now, when I first got him back home I thought, "He's not going to need to be kenneled at least for a couple days. He's in so much pain he's not really even moving around much." HA! That injection worked wonders! He is his old self again already, within just a few hours! I'm so glad to see him feeling better, but now I'm wondering how on earth I'm suppose to keep the poor guy still! He feels so good, it's like he's rejoicing! lol He's not used to being kenneled, so he's going to HATE that! I've just been keeping him my lap and he'll sleep with me tonight and we'll see how it all goes. I'm just SO happy he's going to be ok! And thank you for your prayers :)

Back to scrappin' :)
I did the Cookie Cutter (template) Challenge at Ginger Scraps. I put my own spin on the template a little bit and here is my page: "Windows to the Past"

Kit - 'April Grab Bag - Grandma's Cottage' by PhotoCowGirl.

Template Freebie by Kathy Winters Designs.

As we've been cleaning out Grandma and Grandpa's old house we have come across some of the most amazing things! In this photo are some of the old antique camera's Grandpa has held onto. He also has two very old movie projectors (a Kodak and a Bell & Howell), with LOTS of family movie reels, and a slide projector (we haven't found any slides yet....). There is also an old gas run Coleman Iron (Model 4A). It has been so much fun going through this stuff! It's like finding hidden treasures! Someday we are going to go into an Antique shop just to see what they have to say. All of the items are worth more to us sentimentally than monetarily, but it would just be interesting what else we can find out, ie. how old some of these things are. You'll have to stay tuned for photos of some of the other things as I scrap them!

Have a wonderful Thursday! And God bless...