finished with my 1st printer's tray

I've seen so many gorgeous printer's trays out there & thought I am not talented enough to tackle one of those.  But when I saw the 7Gypsies trays at Michael's, I could not resist.  I grabbed a couple & brought them home, contemplated over what I was going to do with them & eventually my first attempt came out like this:

It came together pretty easily.  Of course a lot of it had to do with the fabulous products I used.  I started off with this gorgeous paper line by Echo Park.  It is called Be Mine & I love every single piece that is in that collection.  I think I must use a Martha Stewart punch somewhere on every project.  I love her punches & used a few on this project.  I also used dies from several companies including Sizzix, Spellbinders, Cuttlebug, & old school Quikutz.  I added a couple of embellies from Teresa Collins Crush Line & a little bit of Heidi Swapp.  Some ribbon, some bling, a few buttons & I'm done  :)

I made this project to display some of the photos of hubby with my girls when they were younger.  It seems he was always taking one or the other to a father/daughter dance.  I guess it is a little girl-ie, but when your a daddy to 2 girls, there is a lot of girliness in our lives.

catching up on some class projects

I have been taking some classes with Stash to Treasure & wanted to share some of my projects.   These are some layouts from a class taught by Jamie Dougherty a while back. 

Sugar & Spice
Some of the techniques included masking, misting, & overlapping colors.  I am really liking all the butterfly clusters.


White Pick Up Truck
In this LO I broke out the sewing machine & tore up some paper.  I also threw on some non-traditional embellies; an old tag from my daughter's jeans, & pulled out the gears from a Glue Glider refill.


Peace, Love, & High School
I love my sewing machine & got to use it again in this LO, printed on craft cardstock & canvas material- so much texture


Girls In Pink Dresses
The following LO included techniques with painting/masking, embossing stamped images, & misting.  I {{{heart}}} the pink & black combo.


Stand By Me
Lots of techniques incorporated on this LO.  Jamie showed us how to make a custom shadow box.  I embossed the gold tiles & even used household bleach to add another layer of dimension.


See The Beauty
It was fun getting messy with gesso.  Used my Sizzix dies to create my own letters & broke out some Martha Stewart punches.


It was fun working/playing with these techniques.  I got to try some things I wouldn't normally, but was still able to add my own style. 

on the soccer field

Due to scheduling conflicts, I have not been able to attend too many of BP's games this spring.  But when I'm there, I've always got my camera  :)  Even though the mom in me worries about her getting hurt, I have to admit I love to watch her play hard & feel good about herself.

Surrounded by Lake Forest, my girl is taking one for the team.


plotting a strategy


final score:  us: 2  them:  1

Yes, that's her, breaking away from the pack.

reviewing NSD festivities

Last weekend my friend Erica hosted a fabulous National Scrapbook Day crop.  It was actually National Scrapbook Weekend for us.  On Friday most of us met up at the hotel & went out to dinner.  Despite the long wait, my dinner was super yummy.  I took my camera, but didn't have a memory card  :(  So bummed, I missed a lot of good photo ops.  I did manage to get some good ones the rest of the weekend!

candy bar



















on a pizza run


group of troublemakers ? ? ?


she's all that!


fearless leader


partner in crime


croppin' cutie


raise your glass


Elaine is super sweet & hi-larious!


This girl does not take a bad picture.  My camera loooooves Cori  :)


Oh, and there were prizes galore - tons of giveaways.  My friend, Echo, won this Slice.  Yayyyy!!!!!


It was great to be with such a fun group! 

happy???

thought for today . . .

sharing some cha inspiration

Each booth was over the top amazing!  Moustaches were everywhere. 

Pennants & banners added to the happy, festive atmosphere.  Cupcakes, still popular. 

Printer's trays & shadowboxes were prominantly displayed in many booths. 

Inspiration came from: Donna Downey, Girl's Paperie, Tim Holtz, Nikki Sivils, Fancy Pants,

Crate Paper, Pink Paislee, House of 3, October Afternoon, Epiphany Crafts & more!