Wednesday, May 20, 2009

My Favorite Designer

A couple weeks ago Beth decided to stop selling her digital scrapbook designs. I am bummed because she is so talented, and I have loved everything she made. Lucky me that we are face-to-face friends too so I can still be blessed by her creativity and friendship. A few months ago she and Mary came over and made amazing and yummy chocolate butterfly cupcakes. Lucky me!

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Thanks Beth for introducing me to Digital Scrapbooking and for being my friend!

Monday, April 13, 2009

Hoppy Easter!

We had a great Easter weekend together.

2009-04-11 07-43-50 On Saturday we enjoyed the "Easter Bunny" traditions- baskets with yummy chocolate candies and dying Easter eggs. I found really helpful egg dippers this year. They look like two spoons hooked together like scissors and decorated like a bunny. It made putting in the eggs and getting them out MUCH easier. The decorated eggs didn't last long. Our boys promptly started making them into "egg boats." Deviled eggs with a toothpick mast and cheese sail. David and Andrew enjoyed making them more than eating them though, so they kept trying to give them away as "samples."

 

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On Sunday, we enjoyed celebrating the true meaning of Easter. We talked about our Savior's last week on Earth. We had an egg hunt with objects inside the eggs that represent events from that week. I am always impressed when we do this how calm and attentive they are! I was so lucky to go to Israel a few years ago. When I was there, I bought a crown of thorns and a replica model of the Garden Tomb. I love to share these with them and show them pictures. It was a very special experience to be at the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem.

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I watched this new video with Andrew, and got to spend time with him preparing a talk he was giving in Primary. This talk stood out to me during General Conference. I love how heart felt his testimony is and the beautiful way he explains our Savior's sacrifice for us.

What a difference a Decade makes!

Andrew ten copy 

My oldest is now ten!! It's amazing to think back on all that's happened in the last ten years, yet it seems like it has gone so fast! He's ten already!!

 

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He is now tall enough to drive race cars. He's proudly showing off his drivers license- he'll be 16 all too soon!

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Egg-periment

Before I got busy with Spring Break, I made another Digital Scrapbook page using Beth's new kit Joanne's Eggs. Everything I used is from the kit and I used a free template from here which made it super fast.

Austin-eggs_web

My page doesn't even scratch the surface of the kit. I just saw the eggs and the splat and knew I had to scrap this memory!!! Aren't 18-month olds so fun!

The kit is amazingly unique. Not the typical Easter kit. It showcases her mom's pysanky art. The eggs are AMAZING! I missed an opportunity to go to a class taught by Beth's mom to make an egg... I'm kicking myself now. They are beautiful! At least now I have them in digital format- I can still create with them. LOL!

Here's some pages that Julia made that beautifully show off the eggs.

 

Julia_JoannesEggs2_72_55_500x_100k_thumbJulia_JoannesEggs1_72_53_500x_100k_thumb 

http://digital-scrapbooking.org/shop/joannes-eggs-p-2236.html

http://digital-scrapbooking.org/shop/joannes-eggstra-eggs-p-2237.html

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Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Things I Wish I'd Known Sooner

I read this book by Jaroldeen Edwards.  She shares highlights and insights of being a mom of twelve children. I liked the tidbits I got out of it- and they don't relate only to moms.

She told about a business trip she went on with her husband  to Barbados. She expected paradise. But the flight was long and by the time they got there- all she saw was the airport, then a taxi with no great views out the window. Then they got to the hotel- and it was not as glamorous as she expected. Her cottage was small and dark. She says she was frustrated, tired, and disillusioned. "Nothing was as I had dreamed it would be. Nothing made sense. Where was I?Supposedly somewhere on an island in the middle of an ocean- but at that point I was not sure either the island or the ocean really existed, and I was certainly in doubt about the whole "tropical paradise" thing!"  But then the bellman swept open their floor to ceiling shutters "and there right before us, where only darkness had existed, was the huge, splendid tropical sun sun... All that glory not fifteen steps away! I just could not see it in the darkness. The glory had been there all the time, and I had not known it. I had not been facing darkness, but a window onto eternity. I was just a  breath from all I had dreamed and I had not even guessed it. Light made all the difference."

I like this perspective- I don't know all that is ahead of me, I'm not aware of all that is happening around me, but there is a plan for me and a beautiful forever ahead- even if I don't know all the details.

 

This was another of my favorite quotes: "If we spend our life wishing away the mess, the noise, the obligations, they will be gone- but so will the children! This fact is true of every moment of life. If we do not see its joys, if we do not make the most of it, it will pass- and so will all of its opportunities."

I'm so thankful to be a mom and for all the joys that come with it! I'll take the dirty walls, laundry, noise (though yesterday I seriously wore ear plugs so it wasn't quite so loud!), messes, etc for the privilege to be a mom!

This quote sums it up for me- "I never thought that you should be rewarded for the greatest privilege of life (motherhood)."  May Coker- mother of the year)

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Addicted to Scrapbooking

I just got back from the CK Scrapbook Convention. It was so much fun that I am not ready to sleep! It was great to rejuvenate and learn and enjoy and see so many creative things and people! I got lots of freebies this year-I always love that!

I went with my friend Caroline- and we were crazy. At the crop they had a contest to see who could make up the best song about the Cricut. 6 finalists would sing and one would win a Cricut! I've used a friend's so I know it has lots of neat options... Caroline and I both were finalists (and sang silly songs in front of more than 500 people!). AND Caroline WON!!! 

Here's my song:

To the tune of "I've Got Rhythm"

It's got letters, it's got shapes. It's got pictures. Who could ask for anything more!

It's got a library of cartridges. Shapes and fonts- Who could ask for anything more!

Cartridges like George and Jasmine- Calligraphy, and San Serifs.Disney too and Makin' The Grade. Possibilities are endless.

It's the Cricut, personal electronic Cutter. I want it! Who could ask for anything more!

(silly- I know!)

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I have been a little addicted to Digital Scrapbooking this month too. I love the possibilities and the way it stretches me creatively.

Here's a page I made this month:

Talent-Show_web

I love how many pictures I can resize and put onto one Digital page. Maybe I went a little overboard with 28 pics... but I wanted it to be one spread. For our family reunion we had a talent night together- I learned a lot about everyone that I didn't know!

I got the neat swirls and from a digital freebie given to me for participating in an online challenge. I just had to scraplift a page and I was given this cool page kit designed by Beth.

You have all of March to play in the challenge to get this kit for free. See the swirls!!

The yellow paper I used came from another freebie from this month- and I didn't have to do anything to get this one! Beth is giving it away free on her blog.

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I also made this page yesterday. Also pictures from the reunion of a nature walk near my house.

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I used Beth's brand new digital kit Natural Moods.

There still so much left in the kit to experiment with. You're amazing Beth!!

 

O'kay...can you tell I'm addicted! Maybe now I can sleep since I've told someone (everyone wise is already asleep here!)

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Picture Tag

So- I was tagged by Beth. I didn't think I'd actually do it, but decided to just peek and see.

Here are the rules:

•Go to your photo folder in your computer
•Go to the 6th folder of photos
•Go to the sixth picture
•Put the picture on your blog and a description of it

I figured it would be some random, old, yucky photo... but it was cute, so I'll post.

2001 03 26 andrews 2 bday

It's from the year 2001. My oldest son's 2nd Birthday. That is his birthday cake...

Gone are the days of his obsession with trains. Now it's Star Wars and Pokemon.

 

I guess I chose to ignore the last 2 rules:

•Invite six friends to join the challenge
•Link them in your blog.

 

If you want to do it, just comment and post it on your blog. It was actually kinda interesting.