The Shady Park

Summers here are just SO STINKIN' HOT that a trip to the park is sometimes just out of the question. But, occasionally we do get days that are just sweltering and not fiery inferno hot.  On one such day, I decided that we could go play at the park, because the little man just LOVES to be outdoors, running, jumping and climbing.  After a quick pit stop at Sonic for some yummy drinks we were ready to go.  I don't know which Sam enjoyed more, the playing or the lemonade!  :)

Please forgive the wonky cardstock base, it decided to curl up on me after I sprayed it with the Color Shine.

I used papers from the October Cocoa Daisy kit for this layout.  Cosmo Cricket - Forest Trails, Studio Calico - BFF; Heidi Swapp Color Shine - Bronzer and Mustard; AC Amy Tangerine - Ready Set Go stickers; Martha Stewart Crafts - Journaling Card; OA - Fly a Kite Word Stickers; Jillibean - Today Hexies; Lawn Fawn - Smitty's ABC stamps; MM - Giggle Kids Boy Stamps; HA/SC - Be Awesome; and Stampabilities - Banner Border.

Big Announcement (at least I think so!) :)

Hi Everyone!  Just wanted to check in, post a new layout, and announce that I have been selected to join the design team at Flamingo Scraps!  

For everyone who is linking through from the Flamingo Scraps blog, my name is Alicia and I am a wife to Eddie and stay-at-home mom to a great little two year old boy named Sam.  We live in Houston, Texas, and love getting out and having adventures as a family (and I love to take pictures to preserve the memories, which gives me lots of options to scrapbook!)  

Trunk or Treat 2011

First off, sorry this has taken me so long to get posted!  I have had it finished for the most part since Sunday, but just kept picking at it for a while and then finally finished the journaling this morning.  It is one of those layouts that I just couldn't get everything where it sat right to me, but finally I decided it was good enough (for now.)  :o)
Last year for Halloween, Eddie was out of town for work, and since Sam was only 14 months old, I decided that he really was too young for trick or treating.  One of the local churches was holding a "Trunk or Treat" event, and I thought that would be the perfect solution... he still got to get into costume and do something fun, but it wouldn't run too late and would be more his speed.  I found this Halloween onesie at Old Navy and just thought he was adorable in it.  It was a comfortable costume.  :o)  They had fashioned a "ball-pit" out of a baby swimming pool and a bunch of plastic balls, and I couldn't keep him out of it!

Both pages together:

Left side:

Right side:

Like I said in the sneak peak, I am really glad I am not submitting this to anywhere that had to know who made what on the layout.  All of the patterned papers are at least six years old.  I started with two pieces of kraft cardstock that I spritzed with Heidi Swapp's Color Shine in Bronzer.  The "Happy Halloween" and "Trunk or Treat" letters were white letters that I also spritzed with the Color Shine and then dabbed off the excess with a paper towel which gave them a great textured look.  The little badges are American Crafts Flair in Eeek! (the skull) and Boo! (Jack-o-Lantern and Date) and the orange, black and white tape is Queen and Co. Trendy Tape.  

A Little Sneak...

I hope everyone is have a wonderful weekend!  The boy is feeling good again!!  Thanks to everyone who left the sweet messages wishing him well!!
Since he is up and about again, I thought I would post a sneak peek of a Halloween layout that I am working on of last Halloween's pictures.  This is going to be a two-page layout, and it's taking a little longer than usual because of that layered chevron pattern that I am putting together.  I saw it on Madeline Fox's blog and knew I would have to try it out soon.  :o)

For the most part I am liking how the layout is coming together, but am glad that I don't have to submit this to anyone, because all of the patterned papers came out of my stash, have NO identifying markers on them, and are at least six years old.  Hey, but at least I am using them.

A little time out...

Taking a moment to check in and say I'm sorry that I haven't had much time to post here this week... The little man has been sick all week and has spiked a fever around 102 pretty much every day.  I took him to the doctor yesterday and they think it's a virus, so we just have to wait it out.  All of that to say, I haven't had time to create ANYTHING!  It's a bummer, but little man comes first and he wants me to sit on the couch and watch the Incredibles and Cars.  :)

Hopefully, he gets to feeling better soon (and stops drooling on the couch cover.  :) )  Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and enjoys the great weather (we are even supposed to have good weather here in Houston for a change.)

Good Life

Here is another layout using the supplies (the Roller Rink kit and the Toe Stop add-on) I got from Studio Calico this month.  I really have gone a long way to knocking this kit out.  I only have a few (like 3-4) of papers that I haven't cut up at all.  Will be gone before I know it.

**Updated to load a better picture than I was able to take last night.**  The picture on this one isn't great, but Sam has been sick the last couple of days so I had to take the picture tonight while he was asleep, and hope for the best.  I think it turned out pretty cute, and came together pretty quickly.  Everything except for the labels came from the kit.

My Boy

I don't get to use flowers very often, since it's just me and five boys (Eddie, Sam and the three male dogs), but I thought that the colors in this paper and the pinky color of Sam's shirt would work okay.
I used the Studio Calico "Toe Stop" add-on kit for most of the elements here.  The doily item was actually cut off of another paper in the kit.  I used a little Diamond glaze on the flowers on the doily to give them a little dimension and pop.  I really like the way this one turned out.

There were so many dimensional elements to this layout, I thought this would be a good angle to show it from as well.  :)

This in no way the best picture of me ever taken (I think we had only been awake long enough to get dressed) but I really love how happy the two of us look in this one.  I perfected taking self-pictures with a point-and-shoot so long ago (I started with film) and it sure has come in handy through the years!  :)

Hello Pines

I have been a busy little Mama this week, so I have a couple more layouts to post today.  :)  Here is one I did using some of the Amy Tangerine "Ready Set Go" papers, some elements from the Creative Imaginations "Studio Basics 101" line and some of the embellishments from this month's Studio Calico main kit.  

This first day of school was so awesome, that I am glad that I got so many pictures to remember it.    They eased the kids in to the idea of school by only going half a day the first couple of days.  Sam was sort of apprehensive to us leaving at first, but never really did cry, and was happy to see us when we returned.  He really is a great and confident little boy.  :)

Up Close on the left side:

Up close on the left: 

The Bird's Nest at Discovery Green

In August, Eddie actually had a trial in town (SUCH a rarity for us.  :)) and needed to go down to the courthouse to move some things around so Sam and I went along for the ride.  After we were done with that quick errand, we decided to go check out Discovery Green and let Sam play on the playground there.  Here are some of the pictures that I took of him playing on the "Bird's Nest" which is basically a huge circle of criss-crossed straps that he had so much fun running across.  

This layout is done with this month's Studio Calico "Roller Rink" kit.  The Subway Art element is pieced together from an advertisement that I saved from a couple of years ago when I worked downtown.  I just knew I would have something to use it on eventually!  :) 

Two posts in one day??  I know!  Unheard of.  :)  Having a boy, I don't really get to use flowers very much, but I had this paper in my stash (Deja Views Mango Flower Medley) and thought it wasn't too girly and would look good with a beach picture.

My New Lovely Desk!

Just a quick update to let you know my newest find!!  I went to the church rummage sale on Friday, and found this adorable desk!  It only cost me $40 and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!!  

 When we found out that we were going to have Sam, we had to turn our office/scrap room into a nursery for him, so I have been working out of a hall closet on the dining room table, which was not ideal.  This desk still needs a little work (I really need to replace all of the hardware, I just don't think that the current stuff does the desk justice.  The roll-top is PERFECT for my needs, because I can stop mid-project if necessary (as you can see in the picture below, that's what I did last night with the Amy Tangerine stuff I was working with before bed) and roll the top down and then Sam cannot access anything and it has room for my laptop as well.  Since it's in the front room of my house, it also allows me to hide my creative mess if people come to the house.  Plus, as you can see the wall hanging in the top photo (which I made, and may have to do a post on here in the future), I already had turquoise elements to the decor in this room, (please excuse the horrible shade on the lamp - the lamp was a recent refurbish project - it use to be brassy toned - and I haven't gotten a new shade yet!) so the new lovely desk actually fit in.  :)  Organization is still a work in progress, but isn't it always?  :)

First Shoes layout

We are back in town, and I got some time last night to sit down and play with some more paper last night! I was using another older kit from Cocoa Daisy and had a lot of fun remembering my little boy when he was chubbier and still looked like a baby. :). I am posting this from my phone, so I will have to update later with products used, etc. enjoy!

A New Page (with some Older Pictures)

We have been out of town for a couple of days, but here is a page that I did right before I left last week.  I used some of an old Cocoa Daisy kit (from November 2008) plus some little things from my stash.   

The letters spelling "Friends" are actually some of those foam letters that you get from the seasonal aisle at HL and they were white but I thought that was too harsh for the page, so I rubbed them with a blending foam and Distress Ink in Walnut Stain.  I also didn't like the background paper being so bright white, so I inked the edges with the Peeled Paint distress ink and brushed the ink pad across the paper to give it some character.

Paper:  DCWV (white) Crate Paper (green) Embellishments:  Crate Paper and My Mind's Eye
Ribbon: Prima Ink: Tim Holtz

It's not my favorite layout that I've ever done, but it makes me happy enough.  It was fun to remember a good night with good friends!  With that, I am off!