Why I Save SOOOO Much Stuff --

So again I say, Boy layouts are much tougher than girl layouts - at least for me. I want to do fun without crossing the line to girly and now that he is "older" I don't want it too baby-ish either. This layout sorta evolved (you know how that is - no idea really but then it sorta morphs into something good).
I had NO plan for a pocket when I first started (I feel like every school layout has those - enough already) however, when I found this writing of his that coincided with the dates of the photos - I couldn't leave it out. We try to get them to write as often as possible. Mason is excellent at writing and as he gets older it only gets more descriptive. If you read this you see he is very matter of fact on this page about what had happened. Apparently I had been trying to drive home the point of "you are responsible for your own actions" and this is how it translated in his mind - misspelled words and all. I love how matter of fact (logical) he is!

I journaled above and below what he had written instead of where it is visible on the page. Some pages the journaling gets lost.

I still can get away with buttons (I think) so I added one here in the middle of the cardstock sticker for dimension/texture.

Here I used a brad again for texture - orange is NOT a girl color!

It sure is fun finding little treasures like this which is exactly why I save so much stuff - one day I think he will treasure it as much as I do - or at least his wife and children will for sure!

What are you up to today - would sure love to hear it! I am going to try to make a belated gift that will now most likely turn into an early Valentine's present. Decorate for Valentines and some other misc. stuff. Enjoy the new week.

Products: Brad/Buttons - Paper Studio

Paper - Basic Grey

Cardstock stickers/alpha - Echo Park

My tribute to Mother's Day ~

So with Mother's Day come and gone it's alot easier to have perspective. With my own mother, a mother-in-law, two sister's in laws, and myself - it proves to be a busy day. This year we ate Sunday lunch with the in-laws at Outback (sorry for not having photos!) Then we ate dinner with my family at O'Charley's. Although it was late I think it was worth it not to give anybody "sloppy seconds" on such an important day.

Here is the card for my mother. I know that no matter how old a mother is she is never "just a mother". She is a friend, a guide, and even an occasional child-care giver! She deserves so much more than I could give her.


She wanted updated photos of the kids so I put together a cardstock bragbook ( I could say I threw it together because it came together ridiculously fast! - THANK GOODNESS!)



I stricly used Basic Grey's Lime Rickey line - love all that paper and with it being a kids album it worked out great - simple but great.


On the back I placed the time range the photos were in since I didn't want a pic there since it would be scratched up most likely.

Here are all the lovely ladies at dinner.

Here is another item I worked on this week (thus not much personal scrap time) I made these birthday invitations for a friend - shark themed party - kinda proud even though again - simple.

Here is a sneak of the Field Day post to come - her face tells so much about who she is - NEVER SAY QUIT!!!

Happy Thursday!

For a LONG time ....

I have been thinking of doing a layout like this. One about me, where I am right now. I have always felt a bit overwhelmed (wanting "perfection") but decided to just do it. So last week, I started putting it together. I had been making my "list" of who/what I am for a few months and just kept adding to it as things came to mind. I am loving the Picasso 3 program and am hoping this will help me do more of the layouts like I want since I can edit/print much easier than with former programs. Also, love the "Soft Gloss" paper that David purchased.

Maybe this will inspire you to do yours today! We'll never have this time again, we'll never be the same person we are right now, EVER again. Put it on paper for those future generations - even if you aren't a scrapper - write it down somewhere - for their sakes!

This paper is Basic Grey and the alpha is American Crafts fabric thickers. I loved the bird but he didn't show up well so I mounted him on the pink. This pic isn't perfect but the sun was so bright - but I'm not complaining about that!

I did this double layer butterfly that kinda pops up - new for me and I know when I put it in a book it's going to go flat but it's cute for the pic!

Hope you have a great day and thanks for reading :)

Elle's Studio Late Nite Card Challenge!

I have a friend who is having a Birthday real soon and thought this might work out well for her Birthday - kinda modern with a touch of bling (the white dots are sparkly) Enjoy and the Blog Hop all day has been fun - hope I win something!