wanna win some stuff?

Like this?

or these...yes, those are fabric and they do make my heart pitter patter:)

or maybe you would prefer these?

or these? Or maybe you would just like to have your pick:) Kaitlin is doing a fantastic giveaway on Ali Edwards' blog for a $30 gift certificate. For another chance to win, make sure you like Ormolu on facebook and tell Kaitlin what your favorite new item is (you will probably just love it all, like me!). Then you can have your pick at some of the new goodies in the shop (some pictured above). Good luck!

scrappy thursday

I think it may be because summer is ending for us soon (just the lazy days, not the weather, ha!), but I have been in the mood to scrap summer pictures. I played with American Crafts margarita line, which is super bright, but you know I don't shy away from color;)

Do these pictures look familiar?! Here are some close ups:

I love this picture of A here, you can see her new window where her 2nd tooth fell out:) I also *really* love those butterflies (Shel!).

And finally we have my last project for Echo Park:

This one was my favorite of the bunch:)

And an Echo Park layout I made for fun, using Little Boy (I told ya I was going to use that collection to the max)!

I created this layout with the Pebbles Inc Floral Lane line:

Don't they look so little here?

and a card using Floral Lane:

and a card using Jillibean Soup Dutch Mustard Soup:

That's all for now:) Thanks so much for looking! What have you been creating lately?

wordless wednesday: photobooth

week in the life: Monday

I can't figure out how to upload the photos from my phone, so Shaun will have to help me with that:) 

1. playing with his "tracks" first thing    2. making granola for breakfast    3. K asking for a juice box (which happens whenever I am in the kitchen!)    4. A wakes up and watches Martha Speaks    

5. puzzles    6. oatmeal for him, granola+yogurt+honey for Aislynn and I    7. juice boxes    8. we go to the library and drop stuff off at Good Will, grab smoothies and come home to eat lunch    9. dirty dishes, time for Mommy to clean them up    10. nap time    11. A takes advantage of nap time and plays with K's trains    12. coffee+blog/message board/internet hopping    13. S on his phone    14. A eats a snack...pb sandwich and a salad    15. making dinner    16. A+S grilling    17. dinner, pork tenderloin+rice+broccoli    18. kids throwing fits and hiding under their covers    19. after bedtime stories    20. picasa repeated a picture to make the collage:)

I still have my regular ten on tuesday post below;)

ten on tuesday

1. So week in the life started yesterday, I did good with pictures...but oh, what a day. There was a period around dinner when us+the kids were super grumpy...and then there were 2 kid meltdowns when it was time to clean up and start getting ready for bed. Well, I guess the point is to catch real life;)

2. We have been cooking quite a bit lately and I tried a new recipe and THESE are amazing. Make them, trust me, you will not regret it:)

3. Last night we made an old favorite which we haven't made in over awhile. I used fresh ginger in the sauce this time...make this too, it is insanely good:)

4. This is for dinner tonight. I'll make sure to give you the update...I am hoping it is great so I can add another meatless dish into my arsenal.

5. In the summer, I go through phases when I don't feel like cooking at all and then when I just want to cook with the fresh yummy ingredients that summer has to offer:)

6. My last project is up on the Echo Park blog, and this one was my favorite of the bunch:) I had so much fun with the Fresh Face opportunity and really hope I can get to work with EP in the future:)

7. There is a design team call at My Scrapbook Nook! Check out all the details HERE. I am of course going for it again, so keep your fingers crossed for me;)

8. Also, for the first time at the Nook, they are offering a focus class, check it out HERE. It is all about journaling, and it looks like lots of fun:)
9. I took the kids to see the new Winnie the Pooh movie over the weekend and it was super cute:)

10. Oh, and I will let you know when they are up in the shop, but we got a peek of the new Ormolu goodies and I really really think you are going to LOVE them. I cannot wait to get my hands on them:) Kaitlin did an amazing job with this release!!

photo friday

It has been a few weeks since I have shared any photos, so here is what we have been up to lately:

 play-dough

Aislynn made a little bed for Kieran from the laundry basket and was pretending he was her baby:)

If someone left him on my front porch, I would definitely keep him;)

When my Mom and James (and Aunt "Bwin") were here for the weekend before the 4th, A read the bedtime stories to everyone:)

The only picture I got on the 4th...

milk shake's from Shake's

It's really a good thing we don't live too close...we would definitely be going there lots:)

a picnic with Elmo

I have taken the kids here (Deer Lake State Park) before by myself, but we didn't walk all the way down to the lake. Shaun came with us, so we trekked down to where the lake was. One of the things that makes 30-A quite unique are these coastal lakes. Sometimes they are open to the gulf, but it looks like Deer Lake had been closed off for awhile. They are a mix of salt and fresh water, so there are all kinds of fish/rays/crabs in them. We like going to the beach access points that have lakes by them because they are perfect spots for the kids to play. There are no waves and they are shallow and calm. Also, this time of year there is lots of sea weed in the gulf, yuck:(

I actually handed over the camera to Shaun;)

Isn't it pretty? We pretty much had the whole beach to ourselves too:)

We made a drip castle city:) Drip castles are when you take a big scoop of wet sand in your hands and let it drip through your fingers in a big hill:)

As you can see in the background, A and Shaun had a water fight.

A had brought along one of her My Little Ponies, so apparently Scootaloo was made queen;)

yoga:)

 It was rainy for quite a few days in a row, so we had to think up things to do in the house...like build forts.

and paint:) Aislynn said this was an abstract painting:)

According to Aislynn, they were playing "scientists" :)

and Miss A showing me all kinds of fancy jumps;)

Other things we have been up too: going to visit Aunt Brynne and Sean's new place, Papa watching the kids so that Shaun and I could go see Harry Potter, baking cookies, more homemade popsicles, and Aislynn lost her second tooth...pictures coming soon of her new smile:)

In 2 weeks, we will be going to kindergarten orientation, eek?! Is the summer really almost over? Next week I am doing Week in the Life, so see ya'll Monday:)

Have a wonderful weekend!

scrappy thursday

Time to share some of what I have been creating, which isn't really much! Last week it was raining a ton, and we have had much nicer weather, so we've been going to the pool a lot more. 

I did do a couple more projects with the July kit from My Scrapbook Nook:

Shaun took these pictures with his phone while we were grocery shopping one night. I have been wanting to scrap this story of what K calls A for awhile now, and I thought these were the perfect pictures, so cute!

I made this card using the 7/18 card sketch and the July Kit.

Here is my card that was on the Echo Park blog Tuesday:

The banners were completely inspired by that cute "Make a Wish" sticker. 

Finally, I have a layout to share that was on the Ormolu blog Monday:

This is one of my favorite pages I have done in a long time:) I love the grid and I haven't done many 8.5x11 lately, so it was nice to do that size:) And Kaitlin's products are so yummy:) I used the treehugger buttons embellishments, flora embellishments, vignette circle tags, 2-day hooray flappers, vignette dots n spots, and the 2-day hooray cut sheet.

That's all for now:) Hope everyone is staying cool in this heat!!

ten on tuesday

1. I changed up the blog look a bit, but I'm not feeling it. I like the banner, but I don't know I think I like it better the other way...thoughts?
2. There is a great giveaway on the Ormolu blog that will help you in your Week in the Life project, plus a peek at my album and how I put it together is up over there:)
3. Make sure you check out yesterday's blog post too for how some of us creative team members used various number products;)
4. It's Tuesday, so I have another project up on the Echo Park blog.
5. It's sneaky sneak time at My Scrapbook Nook and this will give you a hint: think the blue, orange, red, and green color story. *really* excited about this kit:)
6. All of the add-ons at My Scrapbook Nook are on sale for 40% off (including next month's!), the coupon code is: 40%. Have fun shopping!!
7. I made this for dinner last night and I highly recommend it, thanks Shel!
8. Mangoes are on sale this week, I am thinking I need to make this.
9. I know a little boy who would LOVE this:)
10. Yesterday, while Kieran napped, Shaun was still at home, so A and I headed to the pool. We had so much fun swimming together for almost 2 hours and when we were done, Aislynn hugged me and said "thanks for the happiest day." :)   We really need to make sure she gets more one on one time with us!

scrappy thursday

I have a few projects to share with you today. The first 2 are projects using the July kit from My Scrapbook Nook and were made for card challenges. The first one was for this week's sketch challenge:

 The next one was made for the July Color Challenge:

I have 2 Echo Park projects to share with you:

and this was my layout that was on their blog Tuesday, head over there to see the supply list/instructions to put it together:)

detail shots:

Here is a page I made using the Pebbles Happy Go Lucky line:

This is one of my favorite pages I have made lately, the orange makes me happy+I love these pictures from this day:)

While I had these papers on my desk (the dining room table, ha!), I came up with this card:

I got these little nesting hat boxes as a set of 3 on clearance for $1.79 at Michaels, so A and I decorated them. I need to take a picture of hers, it was cute:) I used the Floral Lane line from Pebbles.

P.S. Candi-you totally inspired me to make one of those flowers:)

I *really* love the texture the paper has in this line:)

and while I had these papers out, I created another card (love doing that btw, it is great to build up your card stash!)...

I've got some more card challenges to tackle with my July Nook kit and I hope to put together a mini with the binder clip that came in the kit, as well as one or two more layout. What have you been making lately?!