What is a Baby Anyway?

Happy Monday morning everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I have another Pebbles Seen and Noted layout to share today, this time about Spencer and his reaction when Claire was born. For those unfamiliar with Spencer you should know that he is autistic and non-verbal. It is often hard to explain abstract things to him so I don't believe he really understood what was going on while I was pregnant. The whirlwind surrounding Claire's birth was a bit surprising for him, but it didn't take long before he became another of Claire's biggest fans. After he figured out that she was going to be sticking around he quickly started wanting to hold her and is constantly giving her kisses. It really is sweet to see his love for her.

Other than the Pebbles papers, this layout also has lots of Queen and Companies Washi Tape and some title work done with my Cricut and Sure Cuts A Lot. I wrote the "baby" part of my title in Inkscape and then cut it out from red paper. The rest of the title was done with the font typewriter.

The journaling reads: "Spencer you didn’t really understand much of what went on when Claire was born. You were patient during all the changes and seemed to be trying hard to understand what this new little baby meant. I found you one day sitting on the arm of the couch staring down at Claire in her swing. You sat there for quite awhile and watched her. It was just as if you were taking a moment to study her and figure out what she was. You must have figured it out because not long afterwards you started giving her kisses all the time and including her when you said your prayers. You now seem genuinely happy to have her as part of our family. Fall 2012"

Thanks for stopping by today!

Two Months Old

Good morning! I hope you had a great extended weekend. Ours was a 4 day weekend and we had a great time making the most of it and the great weather we have been having! Today I have a layout about Claire when she was two months old to share. I can't believe how tiny she was and how much she has changed in the four months since then!

I used the Pebbles seen and noted collection again as I love it so much!

The journaling reads: "Claire at two months you: Weigh in at about 9 lbs, still wear newborn clothes and finally started wearing size 1 diapers. I still pump and bottle feed you so that you will gain weight better. You sleep very well at night now, often giving me a 7 hour stretch of sleep. You started smiling at about 7 weeks old and now we are all constantly making silly faces to try and get you to smile at us. You recently laughed out loud in your sleep; it was the cutest thing ever! You love to look at bright objects and to be held upright. Your head is finally big enough that you can now wear more of your hair bands. You love the swing and take a lot of your naps in it. You are a noisy sleeper so we moved you to your own room and crib and now we both sleep much better at night. We never did get much use out of the bassinet like we did with your brothers. I did go back to nursing you at night only. You are growing long and now your toes frequently stick out of the ends of the blankets I swaddle you in. Still as bald as can be, but are finally starting to grow eyelashes. Everyone just loves to hold you! "

Additionally I used some Queen and Company pearls and buttons, Lilly Bee and Echo Park letter stickers, and lots of machine stitching.

Thanks for stopping by!

Little Witch

Well I know it's not Halloween time, but I'm finally getting around to scrapbooking these photos from last fall. I just love Halloween and usually I scrapbook them really fast, but this year I had to wait for this super cute Tricks and Treats line from Pebbles to come back in stock. It was worth the wait!

I made the flowers from the decorative strips on the bottoms of the papers (I love that Pebbles, AC, Etc. papers have these) by cutting them into 4" strips and then folding them inward to the center and stacking them together. Basic Grey Buttons are in the middle of each.

The title was done with my Cricut and the font on the Baby Steps Cartridge--another one of my favorite Cricut fonts. I stretched the words to be a little bit taller in Cricut Craft Room before cutting them. I also cut out the witch hat with my Cricut and the Mini Monsters Cartridge. 

The journaling reads: "For your first Halloween Claire you were the most adorable little witch! I got the idea to have you go as a witch from this hat I purchased many years ago when I was taking photos of newborns. Even through I stopped photographing newborns I held on to this hat just in case I ever needed it. And I am so glad that I did! It was a perfect fit for you and inspired the rest of your super cute outfit. You certainly brought lots of smiles to many people in this outfit! --Halloween 2012 "

Thanks for visiting today!

Teacups

So CHA winter, the Craft and Hobby Association's winter trade show wrapped up yesterday and I had the pleasure of designing samples for the Queen and Company booth again this year. Their booth was beautiful and amazing this show just like their new product launches! Queen and Company came out with several different new products as well as some new takes on their classic products. I had the chance to play with their Magic line and create some Disney themed pages. Here is one that was in their booth showcasing all new Magic and Candy Shop products as well as one of their new "Skinny Mini" Washi tapes.

Here is a little look at their booth fro the show. 

Wendy added lots of fun and beautiful new products this show--and they come is so many different colors! These Pearl and Twinkle Blossoms are my favorite! So pretty! 

Lots and lots of new tapes as well. These from the summer collection are my favorites!

 Also some beautiful new party supplies!

 One of the other layouts I designed will be made into layout kits and classes. Here is a little peek at it:

 You can see more of the new products and more photos of projects made with them on the Queen and Co blog here.

Have a great day!

She Spits

Oh boy does she! Before Claire was born I always thought there couldn't be a baby out there who spit up more than Blake. I thought he was the king of baby spit up. Claire however, beats him hands down! We always have to have extra blankets around to catch it. Thankfully, it seems to be subsiding lately as she learns to sit up and eat a few solids. Hopefully soon it will be nothing but a memory and my poor carpet can get a good deep clean and catch a break for awhile. Until then I'll just keep doing lots of extra loads of laundry and be glad that so far she drools less than Blake.

The papers here are from the October Afternoon Cakewalk collection. The title was cut out with my Cricut and the Birthday Bash cartridge and then I ran the title through my crimper to give it some texture. There is also a felt cupcake and some buttons by Pebbles, stickers by SRM, and Baker's Twine by Queen and Company. I used a toothbrush and some white paint to splatter paint in a couple of places. I also used one of my new punches--a cupcake one by Fiskars. 

The journaling reads: "Well the title pretty much says it all! You Claire are a very spitty baby! You have been from the very beginning, but thankfully, it doesn’t seem to bother you. 

However, it has about doubled the amount of laundry I do and polka dotted the carpet! We love you anyhow Miss Claire and we know that this stage won’t last much longer. Dec 2012"

Thanks for visiting today!

She's Just So Cute!

Back! So sorry for the long break. Somehow this often seems to happen during the holidays. There is just so much going on plus we often get sick around this time of year (this year I even managed to throw my back out for the first and hopefully last time--it was miserable). Anyhow a few things went on the back burner--things like folded laundry,  a perfectly clean house, and blogging.

Today however, I'm back at it with a whole stack of layouts that need to be shown. My goal is  to post a layout nearly everyday for the next little while to help me catch up.

First up is this layout about Blake and his love for little Claire--even when she spits up on him.

The papers here are from one of my all time favorite lines, Pebbles Seen and Noted.  I cut my title with my Cricut. The red is actually something I created in Inkscape and then used Sure Cuts A Lot software to cut out. The hexagons are one of my favorite Creative Memories punches.

The journaling reads: "One day I asked you Blake what you liked about having a baby sister. You said it was a lot of fun and that she was “just so cute!” You also said it was a lot of fun when she smiled at you. At the end of the interview she spit up as you were holding her and I laughed as I listened to you yell “Gross! Gross! Gross!” I'm so glad that you love her even though she spits on you! November 2012"

Thanks for coming back to visit me today! Have a great Monday!

Time For Presents

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you had a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving. We certainly did! We spent the holiday relaxing with my parents and then headed out to Six Flags to make some good use of our season passes. I finally got to actually ride some rides (pregnancy prevented this on earlier trips this year) and we had a great time towards the end of they day riding the same roller coaster over and over again. After the fourth time we started to go and Spencer made it clear he wasn't quite done yet. For a kid who doesn't speak he certain can communicate a lot with a simple dark look! Grandma took pity on him (not hard to do considering how much she likes roller coasters) and back we went for a fifth time. Gotta love that boy! He certainly knows how to have fun!

Today I have another Scrapbook.com layout to share. This time I used some of the very fun Bella Blvd "Birthday Boy" collection to scrapbook a few photos from Blake's 8th birthday.

I cut part of my title using my Cricut and the font on the Wild Card Cartridge.

This cupcake and present were simply cut out from patterned paper and added to my layout with pop dots.

I actually pulled out some paint and a toothbrush to fling some paint onto my Queen and Co. washi tape.  I practically never do "messy" techniques on my layouts but this worked out so well I may do again in the future. Much cheaper and easier to customize the colors than with mists too. 

The journaling reads: "You are a huge Lego fan Blake, and because of that all you wanted for your 8th birthday was Lego related things. I had a lot of fun picking out Lego sets, a Lego book, and a Lego computer game for you. Based on your enthusiastic reaction to each item as you opened it, I’d say you loved them all!"

Thanks for stopping by!

Dreams You Didn't Even Know You Had

Good Monday morning to all of you! Today I have another scrapbook.com layout to share with you. I did this layout about the surprise of having a daughter after having three sons. Even today, four months after she was born, I still sometimes find myself surprised by a splash of pink in the laundry or when spotting her pink toys out of the corner of my eye. I also still have to catch myself from calling her a him--or "little buddy" instead of "little miss." We have been in 100% boy mode for so long it is still a shock that we have this precious little girl as part of our family now. Here is the layout:

I did the title for this layout on my Cricut using fonts from the Wild Card, Art Deco, Plantin SchoolBook, Simply Sweet, Country Life, Robotz, and Paper Lace cartridges.

The papers used for this layout are from October Afternoon's Woodlands collection. The brads are by Pebbles, the pearls by Queen and Company. The Bunting is a punch by Stampin' Up.

The journaling reads: "After having three boys I was quite content. I loved being a mom to just boys with all my heart. I had always thought having a daughter would be nice, but was content with waiting for granddaughters. And then we were surprised to find out that we were having another--and then we shockingly found out that it was a girl! And that was when I found out that you Claire, were a dream I didn't even know I had, but am so happy came true!"

Thanks for visiting today!

Getting To Know You

Sorry for the break between posts. We have been sick and super busy which is never a good combination, but thankfully seems to be about over. Today I have a recent layout I did for Scrapbook.com to share. These photos were taking in the hospital just after Claire was born. Marc and I were able to spend the day just marveling at our new daughter and getting to know her. 

 The papers used here are from very cute "The Sweetest Thing" line by My Mind's Eye. I just loved the colors and patterns of this line. So pretty! The title is something I cut with my Cricut. I made the title and subtitle in Cricut Craft Room using fonts on the Baby steps and Birthday Bash cartridges; I added a little texture to the title with my Cuttlebug. 

The little animals are also cut with my Cricut using the Creative Memories Stork's Delivery and Live Simply Cartridges. This little giraffe is one of my all time favorite cuts--I just think it is so cute!

The Journaling reads: "The day after you were born Claire, your dad and I were still in the hospital alone with you. It was wonderful to have so much time with just the three of us to see and get to know you a little. We tried to decide who your features came from, we marveled at your tiny fingers and toes, and we took hundreds of photos of you. I'm so glad we had this special day to welcome you into our family. 7/12"

Thanks for visiting today!

October Bella Blvd Newsletter and a Halloween Card

So, sooooooo busy lately! That means not much blogging going on even though I've been doing plenty of creating. Hopefully I'll catch up on showing what I've been up to here very soon but today I just wanted to quickly share a peek at the October Bella Blvd newsletter. I have a little something in there this month :)

Plus I want to wish you all a happy Halloween with a little Queen and Company card.

Lots of their super fun Washi Tape here as well as some of their baker'a twine, sticker, and brads. The candy corn embossing was done with my Cuttlebug.

Have a great Tuesday everyone and to those of you dealing with Sandy, my prayers are with you, stay safe!

Webster's Pages Guest Designer

Hi everyone! I recently had the super fun opportunity to do be the October guest designer for Webster's Pages! They sent me two of their beautiful lines and let me make whatever I wanted with them. I designed two layouts and three cards with the wonderful box of products they sent me.  

Here is a peek at two of the Halloween cards I made with their awesome Once Upon A Halloween line plus a little bit of Queen and Company Washi tape and baker's twine..

I added a bit of texture with my Cuttlebug.

The monsters are cut from black vinyl and are from LetteringDelights.com

You can go to their website here or over to their blog to see my other projects and read my descriptions of how they were made. Thanks so much to Webster's Pages for having me guest design this month! It was a wonderful experience!

Thanks for stopping by!