Sorting & Packing!

I am finally posting a layout that I started before Christmas and finished a couple of weeks ago.  We spent Christmas & New Year's with the girls' & family, spending almost three weeks.....thought maybe we were wearing out our welcome!  Ron & I had discussed coming home for a few days, paying bills, and then going back when baby arrived.  Well, the day we were thinking of leaving, baby decided it was time!

Our grandson, Grayson Douglas, was born on January 6 at 11:52 am....mom & baby are doing good.  I stayed for a week to help with Grayson and am very anxious to be there for good.  

 I have been getting ready for my partial move to Wichita.  I say "partial" for the fact that Ron will be staying here until our house sells and will continue to substitute teach and work for the lawn service for another season.  He will probably visit all of us every two or three weeks until the lawn care service gets busy for the summer.  Their season starts in March and last until late November, sometimes December.

I have been sorting my scrap supplies, sorting books (mine & hubbies), going through Christmas/Halloween decorations, sorting clothes, etc.....this is hard work!  I am trying to go through the whole house in case we finally get the house sold while I am gone.

Ron and I took down a load this past week and we are ready to leave tomorrow morning with the last load for now.   I certainly have missed having my scrap supplies and will be very ready to get them out again.  Since I couldn't scrap yesterday with all of the cold weather and snow, I printed photos to scrap later!   

Although this move was something that Ron and I discussed and prayed about for quite some time...it is going to be hard on both of us.  The hardest part of my move is being apart of each other after 42 years of marriage....yes, it was his choice to stay, but I will miss him dearly!  I pray that it won't be for very long!  I am thinking we will have to plan "Date Nights" on the weekends he is in Wichita.  

Hope to get back to blogging more often after my move!  Wishing everyone a blessed week!

Exciting News!

I have been a little slow at posting to my blog lately, but have some exciting news to share today...I am now officially retired as of Friday, December 20, 2013!  Retirement is a big life change but something that Ron & I have been discussing for several months.  Ron took early retirement three years ago after 38 years of faithful dedication to his students, fellow teachers, and administrators.  I know there are times he misses the enter action with students & teachers alike, but loves his new job outside.  

My youngest daughter & her husband are expecting their second baby, a boy, any time now and I am moving to be his full time nanny.  I am very happy about my decision to move and share my happiness with my husband, two daughters, son in law, and granddaughter.  Our family has been trying to get us to move closer for a couple of years.......with baby coming, now is the perfect time for a big change in our lives!

We have our home for sale and have a young married couple wanting a larger home, ready to buy!  The only hold up is the fact that they have to sell their house first!  I pray that this process goes fast since we probably won't buy another home until selling ours, leaving us waiting.  Ron & I have been with our daughter & her family since December 20....our older daughter also lives close, which makes it very nice for everyone!  I will be moving in with Rachelle until we sell/buy a home.  She isn't married and offered to let us stay until things are settled......praying that it is soon.  I love my girls but feeling like we need our own space.  We have looked at homes in the area, found one that we like.......but, just waiting!!!  

I scrapped the layout of Ava several weeks ago and never posted to my blog.  I am hoping to spend more time scrapping in 2014......layouts of Ava and her brother!

God Bless you in the New Year!

Monthly Crop

I attended my monthly crop on Saturday, finishing 3 layouts to add to Ava's albums.  We had a good group in attendance....3 paper scrappers, 1 digital scrapper, 1 making bows for her 13 month old daughter, and a couple of ladies that stopped by the church to visit.  All of the ladies that attend our crops have young children and use this time to catch up on their scrapping or craft items while their husbands stay at home with the children.  It was a good day to be inside since the weather was very cold & wet.

My first layout is a lift from one of my favorite scrappers, Ashley Horton.  When I am in a slump in my scrapping, I know I can go to Ashley's site Ashley Horton Designs and find awesome sketches, design, & inspiration.   Ashley scrapped her layout as a Guest Designer with Crazy Monday Scrapbook Kits.  I really like the clean look, layering, and colorful photos on this layout.  

Layout by Ashley Horton @ www.ashleyhortondesigns.com. 

 The photos for all three layouts were taken in July of 2011....seems like such a long time ago.  So very glad that I am a scrapper and can relive our family time while scrapping these precious photos.

Products used on first two layouts-We R Memory Keepers, Sassafras, misc paper scraps, washi tape, misc rub ons, K & Co. & Jillibean die cuts,  Sew Easy twine, and misc brads & other products.

 I scrapped the second layout using the same paper so that the layout on the opposing side would coordinate....I scrap mostly two pagers and can't seem to get the two page concept out of my brain!  I know, kind of silly, but it works for me!  It also helps that I can use the scraps to scrap the second page. 

Cute little monkey's.   

My last layout is also a lift from Ashley Horton.  The photos of Ava reminded me of a layout that Ashley has scrapped of her son and his stuffed dog, more great inspiration from a very talented scrapper.  

Layout by Ashley Horton @ www.ashleyhortondesigns.com.

I took the photos one evening while Ava and I were playing.  Especially love the middle photo, looks like she is scolding her dog, and then gives him a big hug.  So cute.

I want to say Thank You to Ashley for agreeing to let me post her layouts to my blog.  If you have never visited her blog, be sure and stop by for a visit.  You won't be disappointed!  
Wishing everyone a safe and Happy Thanksgiving with family & friends.  God Bless.

Goofy Glasses!

So happy to be making progress on layouts of my darling granddaughter, Ava.  This past Saturday & Sunday I had the chance to scrap with a roomful of quilters, what a fun day!  My older sister, Risa, was in town to quilt and visit with her quilting friends on Saturday.  She only lives 45 minutes from me but since we both work full time it is sometimes hard to get together.  When I found out that she would be in town, I invited myself to scrap while the other ladies quilted.....saw some gorgeous quilts!  I know most of the ladies that attended the quilting bee, a couple were past sewing teachers of mine from my days in 4-H and Girls Scouts, and it didn't take long to get to know the other ladies.  It was a great day of scrapping/quilting, visiting, and eating!  I was even invited back for their next quilting day. 

I started my newest layout on Saturday and finally took the time to get a photo today before dark, added the journaling later, and have already added it to Ava's album.  The sketch for my layout is from Scrapbook Generation's Sketch Fusion with Simple Stories.  The  book has 24 Sketches and 24 Color Samples....great inspiration for those times when the mojo just isn't the best!  

Supplies for this layout were a mixture of Basic Grey, LYB, Bo Bunny, Designer Paper, MME, & Simple Stories.

I followed fairly close to the sketch only adding few more hexagons under the far left photo and added the elements in the upper right corner.  The photos bring back an evening of fun & laughter for us all!   

Wishing everyone a great week.   

Ava's First Year....finished!

I have officially finished Ava's first year, sure did take me long enough!  The fact that I am too picky & a very slow scrapper didn't help.  So happy to be finished and ready for more!   

This first layout was Ava's first experience at opening presents on Christmas morning....such fun!  No doubt, the adults had more fun on Christmas morning helping Ava open her presents than she did.  She seemed a little unsure of all of the excitement.  I started both layouts at my yearly crop in Park City the end of September, finishing the title & journaling at home.  

The photos for the second Christmas layout were taken on Christmas Eve before attending church services.  Sure seems like a long time ago!  

I scrapped the second layout using the "Say Cheese" collection by Simple Stories and added one other pp that I picked up at the crop.  I love this collection and plan to use it on several layouts for Ava and her baby brother which is due in January, or sooner.  

The title is a K & Co. sparkly rub-on.

My last layout was scrapped for a weekly challenge on a scrap website.  It is from a kit by Scrapbook Generations, my first, and love how easy it was to finish a two pager!  After posting my layout for the challenge, a fellow scrapping called it to my attention that I had misspelled Sprinkler......so embarrassing.  I still haven't taken a new photo of the layout with the correct spelling but wanted to go ahead and post to my blog.  I actually torn some of the paper while removing the title and need to do a little repair work!  

I love the soft colors in this kit and have four more kits waiting.  I can see why so many scrappers like using the kits from SG, great papers & easy to follow instructions.  

Thanks for stopping by my blog.

Getting Closer

I realized yesterday that after finishing Ava's first birthday layout a couple of weeks ago, I had forgotten to post it to my blog.  Well, here it is.....love this paper from K & Co called Confetti.  The perfect paper for Ava's birthday photos! 

I love to scrap two pagers with lots of photos.....and, there were more that I could have scrapped but decided to save them for later.  

The bright colors of the  K & Co paper made it easy to add the bright title and border.  The title was cut using the Cuttin' Up font from Cricut....still haven't been brave enough to hook up my Cameo Silhouette!!!  I fussy cut the slits in the green circle under the 1st banner, love how it turned out!  

I have actually finished Ava's first Christmas, two more two page layouts, and will post them as soon as I take the photos.  Also, finished my first kit from Scrapbook Generations....such fun colors in the kit with easy to follow instructions.  I bought five kits and am looking forward to finding photos to scrap the other four.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!  

Wild & Scrappy Weekend!

This past Friday, Saturday, & Sunday I attended my second Crop*A*Ganza with the ladies from Scrap Funattic of Andover, Kansas.  They hold the Crop*A*Ganza twice a year, spring & fall, at the Best Western in Park City, Kansas.  

I left at 6:00 am Thursday on the bus, arriving in Wichita at 11:00 MT, 12:00 CT.  The time changes at the county line and was announced by the driver to anyone listening.  I do believe most everyone was asleep when the driver made this announcement and the numerous other announcements that followed during the five hour bus drive.  I don't really mind riding the bus to Wichita for an extra long weekend.  It sure makes it easy to ride down on the bus and then Ron will come down the next day.  My son-in-law, Heath, was waiting at the bus terminal when I arrived.....so sweet of him.  

The theme for the Crop*A*Ganza this year was Duck Dynasty.  The registration table, photo booth, name decals, etc were decorated with ducks & camo and the girls were wearing their Redneck gear, painted faces, and were in need of clean shave.  Here is a photo of two of the Redneck ladies that was sent out prior to the event.

I had the opportunity to meet a lot of wonderful scrappers, finish several layouts, play games, take classes, eat great food that was provided through out the three day event.....and, I was the winner of the Grand Prize drawing!!!  I am now the proud owner of a Silhouette Cameo!!!  I have been debating about buying one, I can now mark it off my list of wanted scrap supplies.  Along with winning the Cameo, I will be given a free lesson on using my newest play toy!  

A big Thank You to the ladies from Scrap Funattic!  I need to get busy and make a few finishing touches on my layouts and get them posted......I am now officially finished with Ava's First Year Albums!