First Day, First Grade...

School started today...a day of mixed emotions for me. My Tate is now officially a 1st grader! I know he will do amazing and make us proud...we love him so much! But now I don't have as much noise in the afternoons...keeping the boys from fighting, listening to "Mom! He took the toy I wanted to play with!", "Mom! Miles hit me!"...it's going to be a little quieter, although Miles will still keep me on my toes, I have no doubt! First day pictures are a must...I couldn't choose just 1 or 2 favorites, so you will get several...Miles wasn't being very cooperative for a good shot of the both of them, but the pictures are true to the boys they captured...and I like that :)













And, in honor of the first day of school...how about a school layout? I finally got the first day of Kindergarten scrapped last night...a little behind, I know. (Although, I still havn't even done pre-school yet either!) I just love these fun papers from Imaginisce. And the little canvas stickers are fun!



I also went to CKC in Tulsa last weekend...Creating Keepsakes Convention for you non-scrappers...yes, us crazy scrapbookers even have our own conventions! There are lots of classes offered, which I don't generally take...I go for the shopping, which I have to say was a bit disappointing this year. There was one booth that REALLY saved it for me...I was walking around, not finding much to spend my money on when I turned a corner...and there was a big sign sticking up from behind another booth...the words written on it were "Studio Calico." Bestill my heart!...this was new! One of my favorite manufacturers had a booth?? So I made a beeline and new the bulk of my money would be gone. They had some amazing sales and even had the brand new lines there! I picked up a bit of everything...kicking myself now though for not buying some of the new Mister Huey's though...but here was my SC haul:



And here is the rest of what I bought...nothing compared the amounts of stuff purchased in previous years, but I've gotten a bit more picky in recent years and I'm sure my wallet (and hubby) appreciate that! I'm a bit obsessed with label stickers lately, so I found quite a few that I had been looking for!



In a few days I'll post another project (non scrappy) that I've been working on and hopefully more layouts as well! Have a fantastic week!

Summer Days...

Here in Kansas, we've had a pretty hot and dry summer. Lots of temps at 100+...makes me not want to be outside at all and I sure can't keep the boys out in it either. It makes for some pretty bored kids! The last couple of weeks have been loads better though...we even had some 70-80 degree weather and I took full advantage of it! The boys and I have spent a lot of afternoons outside playing and I've even retired my dryer for the clothes line. The smell of clothes dried on the line makes me happy!



I even had a little "helper"--if you call throwing out the clothes I've folded and put in the basket "helping"...but I guess you have to start somewhere!



I've also been doing more scrapbooking the last few weeks! Hooray for being crafty! And tomorrow I'm headed to CKC Tulsa for some scrapbook shopping...hoping they have some of the new stuff that just came out!

Here's a layout I did for the store using the super adorable October Afternoon Rocket Age line.





And another one for the store using the Splash collection by Echo Park...clean graphic designs...love their stuff!





Been working on some other crafty projects! Will share those and my CKC finds soon! Have a great week!

It's Been a While...

So, I have been toying with the idea of getting back into blogging, and after a few days of playing with my blog design and updating a few things, I have decided to go for it. I thought about deleting my previous posts or just starting a new blog all together, but I rather enjoyed going back and reading what I'd written 2+ years ago...so I will just pick up where I left off.

Since my last blog post we've added a new member to our family, so you will see lots of layouts and pictures of my boys...they've grown a lot...especially Tate. Going back through my old posts makes me realize just how big he's gotten...no longer my little boy, but now my handsome young man!

Anyhow, expect some crafty-ness and picture posts soon! I have a lot to share! :)

Ode to Cosmo Cricket

Because I LOOOOVE their stuff! (and the DT call might have a tad to do with it too! ;)) I have been a fan of CC from the very beginning and I've used SO much of their stuff over the years. So, in this post I have compiled just a few (ha!) of my very favorite things. The first 2 are brand spanking new and the rest are just some of my favorite layouts and projects! Thanks for taking a peek! :)

(I do love how so much of Cosmo's lines mesh well with other manufacturer's...it's so versatile!)






(The rest of the album can be seen on the post below!)
















Have a fantabulous week!

Heat Wave!

Wow, here in the central US the temps have been upper 90's, low 100's with the heat index well into the 100's! It's been plain hot and miserable! So we've been trying to spend a little time indoors when it's the worst and in the evenings, Tate likes to go out and play in his pool. I even got in with him last weekend and got sunburnt...still feeling that one!

I have a few fun things to share...the first is a Father's Day mini album that I made for Brian from Tate. I used some new Cosmo Cricket papers and they are SO fun for boys (and dads!). I made the actual album myself with some 4x6 chipboard pieces and a Bind-It-All (I borrowed the stores, but I NEED one for myself!)




















And a few layouts just for fun :)








Summer around here always means the rodeo is near. 4th of July weekend is the Elk County Rodeo and Tate is gearing up for some more mutton bustin' this year. He's super excited and says he wants to ride both nights this year, so we'll see! Nana and Rusty are getting him geared up--literally! Take a peek at the fun accessory they sent him a couple weeks ago!









He LOVES those chaps and I think he looks absolutely handsome in them! It will be fun for sure and there will be lots of family to come watch this year! I hope everyone else is having a great summer as well! I'll post back when I can! :)

Do You Have Little Girls?

Then I have to share my friend Teresa's new hair bow blog with you! It sure makes me want a little girl! She does awesome work! :) Brat Pack Bows Stop by and give her a holler!

As for me, I actually have LOTS of layouts to share, but they are all up at the store and I need to scan them! I actually scrapped during National Scrapbook Weekend. It was fun to hang out with the girls...I don't get to do that as often anymore with this "real" job lol.

I had a great Mother's Day weekend last weekend....My mom and Rusty came and hung out on Saturday and we cooked steaks on the grill. They brought Tate Yahtzee (did I spell that right?) and we've had to play it at least once a day ever since. He's actually really good at it! I got some money from Tate and Brian so I could buy more scrapbook stuff...just what I need! And it's already spent! hehe

We've also gotten a Wii since I last posted and that's been tons of fun! My favorite is the bowling...Tate loves Mario Cart...and well, Brian just plays what Tate wants to play and I think he enjoys it (even if he's not all that into video games!). I was able to get the Wii Fit with the package I scored off of Ebay, but it's still sitting in it's box, waiting for me to get some time to try it out...hopefully this weekend sometime. I want to have some time to see how it all works before I try to get myself in a routine with it.

I hope everyone's had a nice spring so far...it would be better here without the constant rain...I need some sunshine! Have a great week! :)

Some New Edits

With some help of the great photogs over at 2 Peas, I decided to redo a few of the edits from yesterday...I think I like these much better...they are lighter and I took some of the yellow/blue color casts away that I had not noticed at the time. Fresh eyes always help!