a summers day

my sister took this photo last year of her and my kiddos at the park. it was just one of those shots that needed to be told on it's own. it reminds me of the comaraderie that goes on between all of them. a blessing to my heart indeed.

all supplies are from the june work in progress kit (july's gallery will post this week). i punched and trimmed elements from the patterned papers for the bottom. i punched a half circle out of the top of the photo (ala ali e) to add the embossed flower from we r memory keepers.

most times i find telling a story from a season past makes for a better story. my approach is not to always scrap the 'now' photos. that's not a hard fast rule for me, it's just what i find happens very often. how about you?

have a lovely monday!
~j

finally friday

today i am playing around a little with card making. for me card making is the cornerstone of my scrappy-art. it's part of the live-create-share theme that has been in my mind for awhile now.

this particular card was an answer to the challenge over at two peas for the finally friday videos that kristina werner does every week. now her card is indeed FABULOUS. mine is very rough, but proves that our attempts are not always perfect. her challenge was to use black and white and another color. o.k...so i had no black and white paper. instead i downloaded the hero arts friendship definition digital stamp, and simply made it work. (+the brush was a freebie!)
i love the sketch of her card, and want to utilize it again with a bit more freedom of color and form. i'll let you know what i come up with.

the kiddos and i are off on a little day trip. it's hot here in the rockies...how about where you are?

~j

ode to the big crack

good morning friends...i am making an attempt to 'come back' here to my blog world. it has been a whirlwind of a time around here. we have been moving rooms, painting rooms, buying furniture...more on those things later, however.

the above layout was part of the june wip gallery. the little story behind it is comical to me. while we were on our family trip to the grand canyon, my son still had a poem due for a literature class when we returned. his inspiration came to him visiting the beautiful places we found ourselves in. so on the road trip, literally, he composed his poem, and i added it to this layout so as to always have his humor with me in years to come.

thanks for stopping by...hoping to be here more often...missing my faithful commenters.

~j

60+ fun days of summer

go to a water park
better yet, host a water gun fight in the back yard
make sno-cones
have a picnic
make fun picnic ware
start a nature journal
visit the zoo
make homemade ice cream

(create a new summer flavor)
throw a block party
make sidewalk chalk art
learn how to hula-hoop
hike a new trail
create root beer floats
find a park you have never visited
have a neighborhood scavenger hunt
go geo-caching
build a fire pit of an evening
have a tea party with friends and tell stories
visit your local botanical garden
create a watermelon basket
go for a bike ride
concoct your own homemade smoothies
create a mixed media summer poster
go on a boat ride
smore's over a campfire
watch a fire works display
volunteer to help a neighbor
visit a local historic site
grill breakfast
throw a block party
make festive patio decorations
visit a water fall
plant pumpkins for the fall
create an ice cream sundae bar and have a summer party
play croquet
make a banner
dance in the sprinklers
eat outdoors as often as possible
make homemade lemonade
make a years worth of birthday cards and file them away by month
go fly a kite
watch an outdoor movie
play in the rain
make a list of local places you have yet to visit, and visit them
read
create a list of books to read
create a list for books you HAVE read this summer
join a library or book store reading program
try a new recipe on the grill
go swimming
take an evening walk with a flashlight
camp out in the backyard
make a fresh strawberry pie
scrapbook a road trip
organize papers and art projects into a scrapbook from the school year
paint festive t-shirts
make up carnival games and have a backyard carnival
journal the summer
create a diorama of your vacation
freeze juice pops for a fruity, icy treat
check out martha's 60 summer ideas for kids
and lastly...
make up your own list of things to do this summer.

(posted today at WIP)

thank you card love

simple little thank you card i put together for my shower gift thank you's.



love that embossing folder by sizzix. i can't resist polka dots very much.
i punched the bazzill green with a scallop punch. used part of a digital stamp from ali e for the sentiment. and the very pretty brown stripe ribbon is from stampin up, and was wrapped around one of the shower packages. loved uprecycling that one, as my friend alexandra would say. and a staple attaches it to the card.
yeah for simple!

~j

highlights of a baby shower

my sweet friend, denise, hosted my baby shower. being the fabulous stampin up coordinator that she is, the party included many creative touches. the diaper cake is still up in my dining room. everyone simply adores it. i think i am not going to like having to actually make use of it.


brown, green and orange were the colors. and these whimsical animals only added to the theme.

and it's just not a shower without a few games. like guess how many jelly beans. hello again mr. turtle.

she made the most indulgent table of a chocolate fountain and many dunkable treats.


my oldest daughter accompanied me that evening. she was thrilled to be apart of the event. and is simply tickled pink (or should that be blue?) about this little guy being apart of our lives.

my ladies. my friend, sister, mamma, daughter...and little o' me...

~j

happy sketch

This sketch is one of my go to ways of highlighting a season. Having several kiddos, and trying to keep up with their books, I am happy to do a one pager that empasizes a season like summer. They love seeing it all in one place as well.
(posted on two peas today)

~j

the story of today

this one is eleven today.
sigh...
a pre-teen girl officially lives in our ranks.
so many changes.
alot of fun and laughs.
alot of 'who are you?"

she is a great, great big sister.

she is a wonderful help to me.

she keeps her brother on his toes.

she is that sparkle in her daddy's eye.

she is everything she is suppose to be.

happy birthday, avery!

gallery revealed

June's Work In Progress is revealed today.

Here are my contributions::

There are a few more to share...later...

~j