Celebrating Kashton's 1st Birthday

Kashton turned 1 year old on March 5th but we celebrated Sunday so Daddy could be there. This picture was taken on his birthday.











Birthday banner in place.

Confetti and balls for table decorations. Kashton loves balls!

Brightly decorated cake and cookie with colorful plates and napkins.

Opening presents.

















Friends and family sing Happy Birthday!

Having a taste of the frosting.

Lisa, a friend of Mommy's helps you lick the frosting off the candle!

Yummy cake!

Kashton loves his present from Mommy, Daddy, Savtah and Granddad!

Playing "peek a boo" with Savtah!

Card I made for Kashton. I used scraps left from a layout I made using Carta Bella collection Rough & Tumble. Simple yet I liked how it turned out.




Have a good one!

Crafting with a Friend

Scrapbooking, cardmaking, or any type of crafting is fun but it is even more fun when you can do it with a friend who enjoys it too! Since I started scrapbooking I have acquired many new and wonderful friends! I acquired another one just a few weeks ago. We had met through the store then began to communicate through blogs and Facebook. I don't recall exactly how it got started but our conversation ended with making a date to come craft at my house! I was so excited!

Tuesday was our day. We made plans to meet at my house around 1pm. I thought that would give me time to get home and get a table setup for her before she arrived. Well, I was a little later leaving the office than I intended and she pulled up in front of my house just as I got home! No problem! That just meant we could start sooner! All's good!

Based on a extremely sweet status update she put on her facebook wall she enjoyed the afternoon as much as I did! We spent time getting better acquainted sharing some of our history with one another. We shared funny moments and some somber moments. Most of all we created! I think I must have talked more than she did as she completed 7 page layouts while I only manage 2! It really wasn't so much about the layouts anyway!

Meet Cassandra! Beautiful name for a beautiful young talented woman! Here's her page in progress. She also makes beautiful cards. You can see more of her work here.

Here is the layout I did.

Cassandra gave me the idea for putting the letters for the title on the twine and tying a bow. Thanks for the great tip Cassandra! If these pictures look familiar its because they are! I've blogged about them and scrapbooked them once before. Remember I am making pages for Remi to have a book too. I absolutely LOVE the Carta Bella Giddy Up collection. This is the girl line. This was Remi's first ride.

Here's a closer look of the left side.

A closer look of the right side.

The girls look so tiny on that big ole' horse! They had so much fun that day they were singing as I was leading Clyde. They were singing "itsy bitsy spider"! 

If you'd like to watch and listen to the video you can do that here.

Look who joined us in my craft room.

She's got her little crafting apron on too!

I'm going to link my layout to Cat's Creations for WOW Wednesday. Leave me a comment for a chance to win a yummy crafting prize! Go check out Cassandra and others who link up to WOW Wednesday. I promise you will be inspired! Better yet, why don't you link up your craft project and inspire all of us!

Cassandra and I had such a good time that we scheduled another "playdate" that hopefully will give us more time to be creative and enjoy one another's company!

Have a good one!

Left Overs - Carta Bella "Paris Girl"

Last Saturday I worked at the store.Although we had  several customers shopping that day and several ladies cropping I managed to have a little time to create as well. I needed a "birthday" card and some "thank you" cards. I ended up making 4 cards in all and started a 2 page layout that I finished at home later. You can see the layout here.

The DP is Carta Bella "Paris Girl". These were scraps from a two page layout I made with this line. The sentiment is Hero Arts "Fancy Basics" stamp set. Love these over-sized sentiments. I stamped with Tim Holtz Distressed ink "Picked Raspberry".

The sentiment on this card is from the same stamp set as above.

This last card I made out of the scraps left over from the scraps!

This idea of using scraps is not original to me. I got the idea from Operation Write Home.  I didn't do it exactly like the tutorial but it worked.

I'm hoping to work on a two page layout this weekend using papers from Fancy Pants collection "Childish".

I am entering these cards in "Wow Wednesday" over at Cat's Creations Blog. Leave me a comment, head over to Cat's Blog and leave a comment then visit those who have linked up and leave them comments. Cat's Creations will pick a random commenter for a fabulous prize. The more comments you leave the more chances to win and who doesn't like to win?!

Have a good one!

Born to Wear Boots

That is the title I gave the two page layout I created using the new Carta Bella "Giddy Up" Collection. They have boy and girl colors and Cat's Creations has them both. I am linking this to WOW Wednesday at Cat's Creations.

You can click on the picture to see it larger. This is my granddaughter Kennedy who is 3 and my horse Clyde.

Close up of the left side. I used sketch #146 from Sketch Inspiration sketch book volume 1.

Close up of the right side. I used sketch #235 from Sketch Inspiration sketch book volume 2.

For a better look and to get all you need to make this layout go to Cat's Creations!

Have a good one!

VCMP Challenges 1 and 2

It seems like every time Operation Write Home (OWH) has a Virtual Card Making Party (VCMP) I'm busy and can't participate until its over! Thankfully they have people like me in mind and leave their submissions open for a few more days. I have until February 25th but I also have a retreat! I do plan to make some cards but my main goal is to get some scrapbook pages done!

The first challenge of OWH VCMP is to make cards using Zig Zag elements (or more properly known as Chevrons). You can use stamps, scissors, rulers, or even paper. I chose to use paper.

The chevron or zigzag paper is Carta Bella "Paris Girl" I had left from a couple of page layouts I made to display at the store (Cat's Creations). The stamp is from Unity. For some interest and dimension I used liquid pearls on the sheep for the wool.

I hadn't done it intentionally but I realized that this card also meets the criteria for the second challenge which is  is to make a card that features a critter of some sort. Puppies, birds, turtles etc. The theme is All Creatures Great and Small; Cards for Kids. I also needed a card to send to Remi so I made more than one. Although a bit plain I was pleased with how it turned out.

I also managed to get a layout done last Saturday during the crop after things settled down at the store!

This is the left side of a 2 page layout. I used papers from the new Teresa Collins Collection "He Said She Said" for pictures from Vanessa's baby shower. The little banner across the invitation was a photo of an actual banner that was made for the shower with Kashton's name. I cut it out and hung it like a banner on the invitation. The baby shower theme was "mustache bash".

I thought it was really cool how there was a 12x12 paper of all different styles of mustaches! It worked perfectly! Vanessa had a mustache painted on a single nail and mustache earrings! Pretty cute. I plan to use some more of this paper for the shower pics I have. If you want a closer look just click on the photo. Or better yet go to the store and see the layout for yourself!


It's WOW Wednesday at Cat's Creations Blog. Be sure to check out the blogs linked at Cat's to see all the creativity of our customers! Leave a comment if you visit. We all liked to be encouraged. For a little incentive Cat's is offering blog candy to a random commenter so the more comments you leave the greater your change to win!

Before you go...I thought I would also take time to tell you about Valentine's Day. Thursday is my day to work at the store and Doyle was on duty at the fire station so I wasn't expecting anything. I was however going to my daughter's to spend the night as it was her first in the new house alone. Hubby had to go back on rotation to his job in Ok.

I went to her house that morning to drop off Kaidence. I gave Kennedy and Vanessa their Valentine's I had got for them. This is what I gave to Kennedy and also sent to Remi.

Kennedy's favorite thing was the lip gloss! I was in such a hurry that I didn't take time to get pictures! I was rather agitated with myself over that!

My first surprise of the day was Kennedy coming to see me at the store after "Mother's Day Out".

Then I got an even bigger surprise!

Hubby came to see me AND brought me something! I was so surprised that when Cathy asked for my phone to take a picture I was in a daze! She asked me 3 times before it registered what she wanted to do! This is what was inside.

Can you say YUMMY?!


Well, that wraps it up for me. I still have LOTS to do to get ready to leave Thursday for the retreat! I can hardly believe I got this done!

Have a good one!

The Reveal

Remember the sneak peeks I gave last week of a project I made as a gift? Well, the gift has been delivered and recognition of receipt received. It was a hit! I'll have to admit there was just a twinge of uncertainty of how it might be received but here the picture is worth a thousand words!

This is my Aunt Sandy, my mother's younger sister. Her birthday was December 22nd. Thanks Auntie for getting photos for me otherwise this post wouldn't haven been possible! See...I realized after I mailed it that I didn't get complete pics of the box...just partials for the teasers I used in last weeks blog! Goofy me!

This is what the box looked like before I altered it. I purchased it from Cat's Creations along with all the other products I used.

I used the Carta Bella "Beautiful Moments" Collections line. The handles are "Antique Metal Door Pulls" by Graphic 45. 

 Here is another view of the box

. Here's a view of the inside of the box before it was altered.

Inside of the box after alteration revealing handmade cards made of the same paper line inside.

Cards I made to go in the card box.

 I include a mixture of birthday, Thinking of You, Thank You, Anniversary and sympathy.

I kept the cards pretty simple in that I used mostly paper. No ribbons or other embellishments.

 This paper line makes beautiful cards don't you think?

Hopefully you made it this far to find out it's WOW Wednesday over at Cat's Creations. Leave me a comment and you have a chance to win blog candy. Cat's always has great prizes. Check out some other talented folks who link up to Cat's Blog. You might even be one of those talented people. If so link up your work to Cat's so we can see your handy work.

I'm so late today as my family celebrated Christmas today. Hoping to blog about that at a later time. Thanks for taking time to look! Have a good one!