Project 365-April Edition

Done and Done! Four Months of photos have been a part of Project 365 so far! I admit that not all of the photos were taken on the exact dates that they are posted on, but who is keeping track? Certainly not me! Happy May Day! I have another post coming around Noon Today, so please come back!

Driver's Ed

OMG! It seems like only yesterday when I was putting her in a carseat. Now she is learning how to get behind the wheel of a car without me! Today is Elizabeth's first day of Driver's Ed. Here is where I hope she pays attention (not to mention the fact that I hope I get my money's worth out of this overpriced class!). So I came up with some things for her to remember.

May she listen to the instructor where she may not listen to me.

May she always where her seatbelt.

May she NEVER EVER get behind the wheel of a car after drinking.

May she NEVER EVER get into a car with someone who has been drinking.

May she obey traffic laws at all times.

May she always call home when she is going to be late, but NOT while she is driving.

May she NEVER text while driving. Now this is the one that I worry most about. The child is a texting fool. She drives me nuts-she can't even watch a movie without texting. Or have a conversation. But I digress...

May she always be home on time, safe and sound, where I know what she is doing and who she is with.

I love you, Elizabeth. Stay safe and be a good girl. Take care of yourself. It is so hard to let go...even a little at a time.

Thankfulness

I am so thankful to a friend of my husband for taking these photos of our son (13 years ago). Without his thinking, we would not have these wonderful photos of William. It happened at a time when we didn't have much money and I didn't take many photos. I am so thankful, Bill Weaver. Thank you so much. William-you are a sweetheart whether you admit to it or not. Happy Thankful Tuesday!

Artist Trading Cards

I'm finally posting about the Artist Trading Cards! First, I absolutely LOVE the pillow box that the kit was shipped in. It's adorable! Above is the Artist Trading Card (ATC) that best defines me. The canvas and batting for the card, as well as the tiny tag were included in the kit. The rest of the stuff I dug up from my stash. I used a Martha Stewart butterfly punch for the butterfly, a Making Memories canvas flower, and a Tim Holtz trinket pin. The photo was from a contact sheet that I printed out, so it isn't the best quality, but it is small and that was what I was looking for.

This is the back of the tag. I used the zig zag stitch for the stem of the flower, and the fabric is a scrap from my stash-I think it came from JoAnn's Fabrics.

This ATC is my favorite. I used the shape of a Jenni Bowlin bird and Tim Holtz Color Wash Spray ink to get the bird outline. Then I used the reverse of the bird cutout to stamp the french script stamp over the bird. Finally, I outlined the bird with a Portfolio oil pastel. The word was typed on the computer and antiqued with Tim Holtz walnut Distress ink. The ribbon is 'by the yard' from Michael's.

This is the back of the ATC. I love the messy flower! I think the ribbon is from Walmart.

I hope you enjoy the ATCs! I actually made 5 all together, but these are my very favorites. If I was going to trade them, I would definitely use the first one. Have a great end to your weekend! Happy Sunday!

Happy Friday

So I have this painting. I have a girl's head floating in the middle of an 8x8 canvas. I can't really draw clothes, so i haven't added anything to her. I am taking off early on Friday, so I might try to thing of something then. We will see...Possibilities...

Kids Messing Around

Crazy teenagers caught on "film." I'm lucky to get any kind of a smile as opposed to some crazy look or fake smile (Elizabeth) or a blur of a shape running away from the camera (William). Happy Popcorn Day (Thursday)!

My Puppy

I love my puppy. We have had Tigger since April 5, 2003. She has become my best friend and is never far from my side. She is such a sweet puppy. And by sweet, I mean that she is sweet to me. She is definitely not sweet to most other people. And she is a little over protective sometimes. But I love her and she is an integral part of our family and keeps the other 2 puppies in line. We love you Tigger. Happy 5.5 Birthday and happy Wednesday!

New Pub Table

I just spent almost an entire hour trying to find a "before" photo to showcase the most hideous part of my kitchen. I couldn't find one. So you get to view the "after." Is it beautiful? Compared to the hideous rolling dishwasher-you bet! Looks like I now need to paint the trim around the windows. Loving it. I hung a new birdfeeder outside the window so that I can sit at the table and watch the birds. Soon I will have the hummingbird feeder out and hopefully I will be able to see the hummingbirds there as well! Bring on Spring! Happy Monday!

Year in Review-February

Edited: Apparently, I yet again posted on the wrong day. I wish you all a happy Tuesday in advance. Enjoy the post anyway! I had originally planned to use the "first flower" post for Tuesday. But I forgot to change the post options to Tuesday, so it posted on Sunday. I wanted to have a post for Tuesday, so here it is! Both digital elements are from Ali Edwards and are available here (2009 date stamp) and here (handwritten Months overlay). I hope you enjoy it! I am working on some stuff around the studio-some painting to prepare for Donna Downey's album to arrive (available here and NO-I did not order the kit with EVERYTHING in it-I did practice some restraint) and the sold out Donna Downey ATC's (photo here) which I will post next week. Happy Tuesday! Keep creating!

First Flower

My husband called me at work on Friday to tell me that I had my first flower of the year! The first tulip has risen from the depths of winter to bring forth a smattering of red to my dismal looking yard. He also told me that he took a couple of photos for me. I'm glad he did, because by the time I got home from work, the tulip had decided that it needed to close up shop. Still beautiful though! I took a few (ha ha, I never take just a few photos...) photos when I got home. I was basically laying on the ground, but I got some good shots! Happy Sunday!

Year in Review

I decided to start my "Year in Review" a little earlier than I usually do. Usually, somewhere around December 31 I start gathering photos into a folder called, "Year in Review." And there it ends....I usually have plans for a digital template to put the photos into, but it just never quite happens. So when I saw these handwritten months overlays by Ali Edwards for Designer Digitals (available here) I knew that I needed to get busy this year at least. Someday maybe I'll get to that 2007 & 2008 folder....Maybe I'll just do what I did here! Here is January and I will post February, March, and April next week.

Bullseye

I am still getting used to this having boys thing. And the things that boys are "into." I am getting used to it slowly. Like the airsoft BB gun. I have only shot a gun once or twice in my life. But my sons, especially Bryan, absolutely love the BB gun. Did it take a lot of convincing? Yes. Until I actually saw the little things. Powerful enough to shoot the arms of off a little plastic army guy. But not much else. So I guess I'm on board with it. Like it or not. And he was extremely proud of the bullseye that he got on Saturday night. And Mom is pretty proud too. Love you, Bryan. Make good choices.

Easter 2009

I created a display on the dining room table for Easter this year. I bought a bunch of tulips at Hy-Vee and a clearanced Easter Lily at Walmart for like $3.50 on Saturday morning. I think it turned out really awesome. I am so ready for Spring to come to Iowa, so the tulips really put me in a Spring mood!

Look, Mom! I made the thing with the white carnations and the yellow eggs just like in the Better Homes and Gardens magazine! Next year I think I'll use yellow food coloring for the eggs, but I love the carnations. They smell so good!

I made deviled eggs with our Easter eggs. That seems a bit sacriligious, but they tasted great!

Daddy worked all day on Saturday and Sunday, so I took a couple of shots on Sunday evening after we ate dinner.

William wasn't in the best of moods. He got a new video game on Friday, so I think he had been staying up too late playing it all weekend.

Daddy doing dishes on Friday...Day 2!!!

Sunday reading goodness! And oh it was-so much studio inspiration in this magazine.

Decorating the bunny cake? Or eating the M&Ms? You make the call.

I got a photo of Bryan with his Easter basket on Sunday. But no one else... They all slept too late...

Saturday night-Daddy taking pictures. The kids decorated Easter eggs. This year I made about 6 yellow eggs. For pure decoration only. Everyone was disappointed that I wasn't going to let them eat those eggs.

Elizabeth made a special egg. She also made one that said, "We love you , J. Cutler" but I'm not quite on board with that one yet. Hoping that you all had a great Easter weekend celebration.

Everyday Collage

I created this page to serve as the conclusion to the March 2009 Everyday section of my "Everyday" album. I chose as many of my favorite photos as I could fit on the sheet. As soon as I finished it, I uploaded it to Scrapbookpictures.com and put in my order for 12x12's of my everyday layouts so that I can put them all together. Happy Monday!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter-from all of us. Wishing you a long and restful weekend. {Okay, I have to work on Friday, and my husband has to work the weekend, but we will rest in our own way.}

Elizabeth's Confirmation

Dear Elizabeth,

I am so proud of you for making to the sacrament of Confirmation. For accepting the Holy Spirit. I know we don't always talk about things like this much at home, but I hope that someday you will look back on this day and remember it fondly as a very special day in your life. I remember mine. I remember how happy I was. How excited I was. How wonderful I felt. I hope that you felt that way too. I will pray for the Holy Spirit to protect you as you grow older and are tempted by all of the things out there that teenagers are tempted by these days. I love you and I hope that you continue in our faith.

Love,

Mommy.

Weekday Vacation

I can't think of a better way to spend a weekday than to have a mini-vacation with family. Especially family that you haven't seen since Christmas. It was awesome to have you come visit, Sarah! Thank you so much! And the margaritas were flowing.... So, let's talk about Jay Cutler, shall we? Go Bears!

I was so excited to see all of the photos that you got from my blog. I'm so excited to have a chance to share stories and photos online. It was great having everyone here. We love you guys! Can't wait til Memorial Day!

More Everyday Pages

Yay! Finally, it's the rest of the week! I decided not to include "Stuff" from my week. At least not at this time. I also have a collection of my favorite shots from the week coming later in the week. Happy Tuesday!