Pieces of Me

it has been a while since I was last here.

2011-06-02T06:03:00.000-07:00

these are just some photos that I took with my phone.

29 days of giving....

2011-03-14T03:04:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine was talking about this book she read. A story of a woman who was ill with MS. She was distressed, sick and all that. One of her pastors told her about this tradition from Africa, 29 gifts. Please keep in mind that I am shortening this story by a lot. Here is the link if you want the entire story. http://www.29gifts.org/ You can check out the book at your local library. It was very inspiring.

All this came about for lent. When my friend was talking about this story, it was like God talking right to me. This is for you, Melissa. Really? Well, to tell the truth I am not surprised.

So for lent, I am doing the 29 days of giving....but stretching it to last 40 days. Not everyday, but close.

The first day, I wrote a note to my Daughter's teacher. Just a note, nothing special. Well, it was to her. I had no idea of the impact that little note had for her. how cool.

The second day, I gave a dress that no longer fit Gigi to a friend. Knowing that she will love the dress as much as we did, makes me happy.

Today, I am going to get all the morning stuff done, so my husband can sleep in. He thinks I take advantage of him.

So this is what I have been up too.
Thanks for reading.

My last project for GCD Studios as their spotlight girl.

2010-09-30T06:02:00.000-07:00

Here is my final project for my spotlight month with GCD Studios. I used Melody Ross's chipboard album, with her homespun line of papers and embellishments. I added the stamps of the girl and my doodling with smooches and pens. i have not filled with with photos yet, but I love it none the less. This album was fun to make.

Now I must run and start the day. As always, I have a ton of things to do before the kids get home from school.

Just a quick post showing off a mini i made...

2010-09-29T10:12:00.000-07:00

This is just mini I made using photos that I love, but didn't know what else to do with them. I alreadly made several 12x12 layouts with similar photos.

I used all GCD Studio papers. Most of the embellishments are from different GCD Studio lines...(again not all) The stamps are by Heidi Swapp.

Thanks for taking a minute to look. Wednesday's are busy so, this is all the time I had for today.

xo
Missy

The last week in September!

2010-09-27T11:45:00.001-07:00

Where did this month go?

Today I am just trying to get everything in order before I start working (for the first time in 10 years).

Here is a layout, using all GCD Studio products... It's difficult to believe that my daughter ( in the photo she is 4 months old) is about to turn 6. Harrison of course is now 9 1/2 years old.

Well, that is it for today. Sorry that it is not exciting.... It is just everyday life.

Sweet Baby Gigi

2010-09-24T07:44:00.000-07:00

Here is a layout I made about my little girl. Aside from the music sheet and mist, everything is from GCD Studio's. I can not believe that with in a few short weeks, she will be 6. How time flies.

Have a Happy weekend everyone.

xo
Missy

Just a quick post before the busy day begins.

2010-09-23T03:19:00.001-07:00

Busy just does not express well enough my day. (Which explains why I am up at this ungodly hour...a little calm before the chaos breaks in.)

I have a 7:30 am appointment, then a nice meeting at Church all morning. Then I am running over to another appointment. I will have a few quite hours in the afternoon to do house work, and then another appointment at 3:45. After which I will run home and make dinner and rush my daughter off to cheer leading.
Ok...maybe it is not as crazy as I think. I am starting a little seasonal job next week, so I am trying to squeeze everything into now.

I am so excited about my job. It is my first one in over 10 years.

So, during my quite time this morning, I thought I would share another layout with yall. This is of my youngest son. We were walking in the woods (I don't hike.lol) after our bout tour at the Lost River Cave. Jackson just had to see if he could get inside.

On this layout I used Canta Collections paper at the base. I spritzed it with spray ink. I framed the photos with paper from Paris Nights collection. I used embellishments from Melody Ross's collections.

have a Happy Thursday.
xo
Missy

Art day!

2010-09-21T06:39:00.000-07:00

Today is an art day for me. But first I want to share this layout with you. It's a photo I took of my daughter the day she was trying on her dance recital costume. She looked so pretty in the sun light.

When I decided to make this layout, the Paris paper from Paris Nights GCD Studio collection just seemed to fit. I misted the paper with pink ink spray and added other papers for a layered looked from the same line. I also used some of Melody Ross's line of recipe cards and embellishments to finish the page.

It is an art day for me. I have no where to be for once. No rushing around in the late afternoon to get dinner on the table so we can rush off to other commitments. It is such a wonderful feeling. So I am ignoring all the things that should be and really need to be done around the house today and instead I am going to be creating. My daughters Birthday is coming up soon and I am making her invites...

xo
Missy

Blue Hair.

2010-09-20T04:29:00.000-07:00

The colors did not translate well...they are much bluer than green in real life. Don't you hate it when that happens? I will try later to fix it with a new photo. But in case I don't have time, you can see this one.

This is my oldest son. He grew his hair out for locks of love that year. Once school was out for the summer, we let him die his hair for his reward in reaching his goal. I think he looks so cool.

Everything on this layout is from GCD Studio products. (minus the paint, pen and stitching.)

xo
Missy

A weekend post. Really?

2010-09-19T15:55:00.000-07:00

Hi and happy weekend. I am wishing we had another day left of the weekend, but it is what it is.
Jackson was not feeling well, so we only did what we needed to do and nothing more. So we went shoe shopping, as all three kids needed new shoes. After that, the boys stayed at home and viewed some movies and Gigi and I went to a play date. That was so fun.
Today we just played and rested and played.

Here is another layout that I made for my GCD Studio spotlight. This is about about my youngest son's baptism. I used paris nights paper and letter stickers, some scraps from cassette collections paper. I accented the photo and paper with some rub-ons that have been in my stash for some time now. The journaling reads: Jackson's Baptism. Jackson with his Godparents at our church.
I just cannot get over that this photo was taken over 4 years ago. How fast they grow.

Hope you all have a wonderful Monday....

xo
Missy

pretty in pink

2010-09-17T09:55:00.001-07:00

Hello there. I has been just a few days since I last posted....Life just got in the way a little bit.

Here is a layout that I made about Gigi. She was posing for me in her ballerina costume for the dance recital last spring. I used paris nights paper, with a little bit of a music sheet that I had laying around. I used Paris Nights glitter stickers for my title, and some Melody Ross embellishments. I finished off the layout with some glimmer mist, butterflies and a stamp.

The journaling....
Gigi Spring 2010 Here you are wearing your pink dance recital costume. Even at the age of 5, you are a lovely young lady. You danced to Hey Diddle Diddle, the Cat and the Fiddle. You were fabulous on stage. We can't wait to see what you do next. (This looks way cuter in person.)

xo
Missy

Run Into the Light

2010-09-15T06:11:00.001-07:00

Running. That is my life right now. I rush around, getting the kids ready for school. Run around getting things done, the cleaning, the errands and more. Then I rush over to volunteer at the school and it never ends. This is the reason for not posting yesterday.

So here this this layout, and I thought it was fitting with my life. I used some Melody Ross papers mixed with Canta papers. I made little tags so you can see the second side. I made cute little flower embellishments out of the GCD Studio paper scraps that I had laying around.
This is my Youngest, running and playing in Grandma's back yard last spring. I simply love the light that happens in the evening and the haze and mists you get. I wish I could be running and playing like this, instead of the running and rushing around I have to do as a responsible adult. What do you wish for?
Have a wonderful day. I must now continue my rushing...lol.

xo
Missy

Winter

2010-09-13T05:28:00.000-07:00

Last year it snowed. Several times. Now to some of you, this is not a big deal. To me it is not a big deal, having grown up in the North and having lived in Detroit for a year. However, living in the South, it is big. We don't usually get snow. Last season, we had three big snows. A huge deal. So I have tons of snow photos, for the total of 6 days we had snow. Why? My kids have always lived in the South and this was the first time for the two younger ones to remember snow.

Anyway, here is a layout I made about winter, my daughter and the snow. There is no journaling, as I think the photo says it all.

I used some paper from the Canta line, Paris Nights line, Cosette Collection, and some Melody Ross embellishments (all by GCD Studios).
Happy Monday!
xo
Missy

Simply Perfect

2010-09-10T10:46:00.001-07:00

Today is Friday. The end of the week. I have been trying post to my blog everyday of the month (excluding weekends) for September. And everyday I am trying to include some of my work, all of which included GCD Studio products. On this layout, the foundation of the layout is paper from their Canta Line. This line blends so well with so many things and colors and is just fun to use.

This layout in about my son Jackson jumping during his 3rd Birthday Party. As I said, I used GCD Studio paper for the foundation. The little scraps from Cosmo Cricket, which were placed to hide where I had cut into the foundation paper for another project. The Frame is paper by pink paisley. The mask and paints are by Tim Holtz and Ranger. I did the stitching with my ssewing machine and the rub-on is from a friend.
Hope you all have a fun weekend.
xo
Missy

1st day .....

2010-09-09T05:28:00.000-07:00

It's me again. here is another layout about my family. We always take first day photos on the steps. The kids always have Papa (our word for daddy) in the photos with them. This was a sad and rejoicing time for me. This was the first time that ALL three kids were going to school full time.

The journaling reads: The 1st day of school. We always take photos with Papa on the front porch. Harrison age 9. 4th grade

Gigi: age 5 Kindergarten
Jackson: age 4 Pre-K

All the papers, (except the foundation) are from the paris Nights collection. That is such a great paper pack. I didn't have many embellishments from GCD Studios...so I made a mask and painted circles on my layout.
Wishing you all a blessed day.
xo
Missy.

Moodiness

2010-09-08T07:50:00.000-07:00

Hi y'all! Here is another layout I have made for my gig as spotlight girl, this month. I used paper from a Melody Ross collection. (I just love her style.) I used some accents from Canta collection, and embellishments from the homespun collection.
The rest is from my stash.

This is my son Jackson.
Journaling: Jackson age 3
having a moment at the park. He was mad about something. August 11 2009.

In other news....I am exciting to say that I have a job. It is only seasonal, but full time. I will be working in the call center for Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Monastery Gift Shop. I think that will be a fun time. My first time working in 10 years.
Hope y'all are having a great week. Don't you just love short weeks?

xo
Missy

Blue

2010-09-07T10:43:00.000-07:00

Here is another layout I made for my spotlight girl gig. I used a mix og GCD studio papers. The base is from the Melody Ross line. I used some of the Casette Collection and Canta Collection as accents. The title is blue sparkle stickers by GCD Studios.

I made a circle mask and misted the foundation of my layout.

The journaling reads: My baby and his blue dog having a rest. 6-13-2009.

Silly.

2010-09-03T06:11:00.000-07:00

Hi Y'all! I hope you are all going to have a great time this weekend. We will be celebrating with friends all weekend, so my next post will be Tuesday.

For this layout, which is about the boys being silly, I used Paris Nights paper as the foundation. I used a yellow mist with circle masks to accent the photo. I love how this collection works so well for masculine layouts as well as feminine ones.

I also love how easy GCD studios products blend with the rest of my stash.

The journaling reads: The boys being silly at dinner. 7-24-2009.

Wishing you all a great weekend...

xoxo
Missy

Riding lessons...

2010-09-02T08:46:00.000-07:00

My oldest two kids, have been interested in riding for a while. This summer we started lessons. Both of them are loving the lessons, which is so great.

Here is a layout about Gigi and her riding lesson. I used Casette Collection paper by GCD studio. and some other things from ym stash. I just love how easy it is to mix and match GCD studio products with other products by GCD Studios and also how easy it is to mix them with other items from other manufacturers.

This is Gigi leading Trigger, the horse.

September 1st.! Spotlight Girl! GCD Studios!

2010-09-01T07:13:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that I haven't blogged all summer. Wow! That season just flew by without a care in the world. My kids are all in school and have been since August 16th. On one hand it has been great, I get my chores and errands done quickly, but on the other hand, I miss my kids.

So here we are, it's September already. Earlier in the year I was chosen as a spotlight girl for GCD studios... That means that they pick up my posts about them and their products and post them on their facebook page. That is so cool. I have made a lot of layouts and a couple of mini books that I am going to share with you this month.

My first layout is Freak-O. My 5 year old daughter's friend used this term to describe boys. I thought it was perfect to apply it here with this photo of my son Harrison. The journaling states: Harrison age 8. Sometimes I do call him a freak. It's the blue hair and the silly face. Summer 2009.

I used the casette collection of papers, a little of paris nights paper collection, and an embellishment from the Melody Ross collections. I did use a few other items from my stash to complete the page.

I cut the casette collection into strips and woven them together. Next I adhered it to a solid white piece of card stock. I used one of my favorite stamps and stamped all over the foundation of my layout. I added my photo, journaling and title treatment to complete the page.

Thanks for having a look at my work.

xoxo
Missy

Little Mermaids

2010-05-31T04:49:00.000-07:00

I am the worst about keeping up with my blog. I have been busy lately. The end of school, dance, soccer, Jackson's 4th Birthday party and more. I just finished editing 129 soccer photos for Gigi's team. Here are a few.

Wishing you all a great summer.
xo
Missy

A photo to share......

2010-04-14T09:04:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I last posted. My daughter had a sleepover last night. Yes, on a school night. The girls were so busy, they flat out refused for me to take any photos. This morning, they allowed 5. (Because that is their age, they informed me.) Of those 5. I got one good shot. I changed it to black and white.

Soccer for my youngest...

2010-03-17T19:42:00.001-07:00

I thought I would share a couple of photos of Jackson at soccer. He is in the 3year old program. And yes, that is Gigi right in there with him.

One photo, two takes.

2010-03-14T20:58:00.000-07:00

It's been a while....

2010-03-14T09:15:00.000-07:00

Since I last posted anything.
First, I want to say that I was chosen as a Spot light Girl for GCD Studios. This is exciting news for me.

Second, here are two new layouts from me. I just completed Karen Russell's photography workshop, so I was not so focused on layouts for the last 10 weeks.
So here they are.

Is it wrong?

2010-02-24T19:00:00.000-08:00

Is it wrong to tell Gigi she can get out of her punishment early, if she lets me shoot her? These are from today. I was focusing on the light.

Dance...Finally the costumes are here!

2010-02-22T20:16:00.001-08:00

Bike riding...

2010-02-21T18:38:00.001-08:00

This is my oldest. I love this photo, because it feels like a dream. I can hardly believe he is almost 9.

Just a Sunday

2010-02-21T18:02:00.000-08:00

Today we hung out at the house. Took the kids out for a while and then played outside. This is how the day started.

Snow

2010-02-12T16:09:00.001-08:00

It's been awhile since I last post...

2010-01-31T06:45:00.000-08:00

A lot has been going on since I last posted. I am taking Karen Russell's photography class. That has taken up a lot of my time. I am really beginning to understand how my camera works and what settings I need for different lighting situations.

Yesterday Gigi and I were scrapping all afternoon. She made cards and I worked on making Valentines Decorations. It was fun. Here are a couple of photos of her making cards.

I applied to a Design Team Call over at My Scrapbook Nook. The list will be posted today for the semi finalists. Then there will be a 2 week meet and greet and see how you fit in before the final cut is made. I am hopeful, but I there is a lot of talent out there, so I am keeping it real too. LOL

I also have been trying to walk 5 miles, 4 times a week. Some weeks I am more successful with this than others. Last week, I walked only 10 miles. The week before, 7. I think I am going to go today, and get it over with.

I have also been scrapping a lot. Here is my latest page that I made. It's one of my favs.

Can I take your order?

2010-01-17T10:18:00.001-08:00

This is Gigi. She dressed up as a 1950's dinner waitress for preschool. Preschool was celebrating the 50th day of school. I am trying to make my photos into art that tells a story rather than just another photo. I did do some editing for this result. My goal is to take a photo like this without any or very little editing . Regardless, she is a cutie and her personality works well with my style.

With my first post of 2010, I share some fabulous news!

2010-01-01T11:23:00.000-08:00

I entered Tim Holtz contest for the 12 tags of Christmas. All you had to do is complete the 12 tags....to be inspired by his work and email photos of them to him. Then he randomly choose one winner and then decided to choose 15 choice artists.

Boy was I suprised to see my name among the 15.

Tim Holtz is a Rock Star and I adore him! Can't wait to see what he does next.
http://www.timholtz.typepad.com/ click here to see my work. It is under melissa brown.

Jackson's first ride on the school bus.

2009-12-09T18:36:00.001-08:00

Hi. As some of you know, my little boy started at the special needs preschool for speech, last week. Today, was his first time riding the school bus and boy was he excited. The bus wasn't sure what time they would be arriving, so we ended up hanging out in the drive for an hour. I became bored and started taking photos....I took a ton of photos, but I will spare you and only share three that at terrible....

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the bus turns onto our street.

There is my big boy. I photo shopped out the county name, even though most of you know where we live.

Here is is getting ready to get off the bus.

There he is, being silly as ever, happy he got to ride the bus.

Tags 2 and 3...for Tim Holtz.....

2009-12-05T12:55:00.001-08:00

First.. I am making these into mini albums to give this Christmas. This one is from day 2. I used a different frame stamp and I used walnut stain distress embossing powder. I didn't have a cool metal flower, so I dipped a white prima fabric flower into copper perfect pearls mixed with water.

These next two are from day tree. Make a plaid background. The trees are my favorite. Thanks for looking.

Missy

Tim Holtz.12 tags of Christmas....

2009-12-02T07:52:00.000-08:00

Hi. This is my take on the first tag that was posted yesterday.

I made it into the cover of a mini album. The stickles I used was not green, but the clear crystal stickles...it was reflecting something green....

Oh and of course it looks better in real life.

Something to show...Finally!

2009-11-17T09:07:00.000-08:00

This is a single spine album, which is made out of my Studio Calico Box.

check out my sewing....

Supplies..

PP=all is g,c,d studios, Canta line... except for one paper Darcey Multi Circles (Anna Griffin)

The rest is just a bunch of different stuff from
American Crafts

Smooch

KI Memories

Prima

Claudine Hellmuth
Ranger
Studio Calico

7 gypsies

Jack-O-Lanterns

2009-10-30T18:27:00.001-07:00

I was playing around with the setting on the cameragot this result. I am posting it because I like it and it seems Haloweeny to me. hee!

Jackson wanted a Scary Pumpkin. Gigi wanted a smiley face. Harrison created his pumpkins face and carved it himself. Can you tell which Jack-O-Lantern belongs to which kid?

The gig one is Harrison's, It turned out really cool and he is proud. LOL The middle one is Gigi's. She insisted on the toothy grin. And the last one belongs to Jack. This is what we did tonight. With the crazy week, we waited until tonight to buy our pumpkins. Everyone was sold out, except for Corn Dawgs.

Happy Halloween.

A cool giveaway at Lilibee...go check it out.

2009-10-30T02:20:00.000-07:00

http://lilibeescrap.blogspot.com/2009/10/new-giveaway-and-new-project-kitnouveau.html

Lilibee is a really cool site that provides easy projects with step by step instructions. She also offers give aways from time to time like this cool one here. Of course, I am hoping to win this.

I will be back with more later, I promise. I haven't scrapped all week, so nothing is finished to show. Hoping to change that soon.
Have a happy Friday, everyone.

xo
Missy

Dress as a Character Day....

2009-10-23T08:29:00.000-07:00

Gigi chose to go as "Gigi" from the Gigi, God's Little Princess, books.

She is so in her element right now.

Homecoming

2009-10-22T19:49:00.000-07:00

Gigi was in the Homecoming parade. How cute is she? They dressed up the kids as spacemen.

Saturday!

2009-10-17T14:37:00.000-07:00

Today was a big day. For Gigi's 5th Birthday, which was last Wednesday, we gave her two presents. A new Barbie Bike. She was using Harrison's old one for a long time and we thought it was time she had her own. She loves it. It is pink and everything. The second gift was getting her ears pierced, which we did today. She picked out the cutest pink rhinestone flower earrings. She did cry but not for very long.
After that we went to the shoe store and she found the perfect Hanna Montana boots for her Halloween costume. Then we went to osh Gosh to pick up a couple things for the boys....All this and driving time waas completed in under 2 hours.

My article is up!

2009-10-01T12:01:00.000-07:00

Wow! I can't believe it is already October. I almost forgot I had an article coming out this week. Just click on the title if you would like to see it.

I have been so busy, it seems like forever since I scrapped. (It really has only been two weeks). Hopefully next week will slow down and I will have some time to myself.

It's raining here...all week...it suits the week

2009-09-17T13:58:00.000-07:00

Our week started out with sickies and colds and rain. All of that has lasted most of the week. On Wednesday, Harrison needed to see the doctor, but he is fine. Jackson needed to see the ENT and he is fine. Thank goodness for all of that. Wednesday evening I taught my first religious class at church. It was scrary, but the class went well.

Since it has been raining all week, I managed to create a couple of projects. Here they are....

These are Birthday Invitations for Gigi's Birthday party. Aren't they the cutest?

A New Post and New Project...

2009-09-11T14:43:00.000-07:00

I am trying really hard to post here often. The kids all all in school as of this week. I am driving not really going anywhere. At least this is only for less than a year. I do have photos of the first day of school, but I need to process those. For today I have something fun to share with yall. I made this cute little book for my friend. I love it and almost don't want to give it to her. Anyway here it is. And then I am off. It is Friday night and I am tired. Thanks for looking and have a great weekend.

xoxo

Missy

It's been awhile...

2009-09-07T19:25:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I posted anything here. I joined facebook, and then found a game called farmville. So a lot of my computer time is spent farming these days. Dorky. I know this, but it has grabbed and sucked me in. LOL It has not been awhile since I last created anything. In fact I do something creative most days. My latest project is this little album. It was a lot of fun to make. I used product from Tattered Angles, Jeni Bowlin, Maya Road, Making Memories, 7 gypies, Cosmo Criket, Tim Hotlz, and American Crafts and more. This album is about my youngest son's 3rd birthday. There are 18 pages to this book. If you would like to see them, they are posted at 2peas and at Studio Calico.

I like this photo, so I posted it. That's the railing on my front porch.

Another thing I have have been up to is making ATC (Artist Trading Cards). This is the first card that I have ever made. (I made it yesterday night). I didn't think I would like making these cards, but it was fun. A nice break from the big pages that I have been making for years. It was fun and I plan on making more. Maybe I will even trade them one day. LOL

I am so excited. This week marks the beginning of preschool for my two younger children. One begins tomorrow and the other on Wednesday. I am sad this week has finally come, but at the same time, I have been really looking forward to it. More time for me! Yay....

Have a great week everyone!

Missy

A new hair cut! LOL He no longer looks like a baby!

2009-08-24T13:49:00.000-07:00

My boy. He is 3 and he is a handful.

ick.....and a new layout

2009-08-19T12:43:00.000-07:00

ICK? Well the weather is gross outside. You know...Hot, sticky, overcast, rainy, sunny...the kind of summer day that mother nature can't make up her mind about. These are the kinds of days that affect me the most, with allergies and headaches. I just feel ick. Plus it didn't help that my youngest and I were up almost all night. Makes for the most unproductive day ever. Other things are making it an icky day too, but nothin that I can't handle.

I created a layout last night. It turned out ok..not my favoirte...but everyone else seems to love it, so I will share it here. It has a lot of paint on it.

On that note, I am off to work on my journal. Have a nice day, what's left of it.

Icebox pie.

2009-08-17T09:25:00.001-07:00

This is a mini album that I made for my Sister and Brother in law. They were married this past July. I used a Maya Road chipboard album with some prima, making memories, smooches, ranger products..I just love how this turned out. The background is a pop can that I embossed and used alcohol ink on. The front and back is my favorite. I didn't bother posting the rest here, but if you want to see the pages, just look in my 2 peas gallery or Studio Calico gallery. I choose blue as there was a lot and I mean a lot of blue in the photo..not that it was the color of the wedding.

Moving on...the title. Here is my icebox pie. It looks good right? It is. I ended making two yesterday. The first was ended up in the trash. I had one little boy...age 3...names not to be mentioned, but beings with a J....he was busy trying toget my attention..saying mommy over and over, grabbing my leg and more. He does this when I am tryig to do something, like try a new recipe. In all this craziness, I grabbed baking soda instead of cornstarch the first time around and well....that was one of the most disgusting things I ever put in my mouth. Ick. Here is what the second one turned out to look like. Just thought I would share.

A nice tasty treat!

Sunday.....is it already over?

2009-08-09T15:08:00.001-07:00

Boy did that go by fast. We went to church, early. Then the grocery store and we were home by 9:20am. I spent a lot of time in my scrap room. That does not always happen, so it was nice. I made one layout, but got to play for a long while. I sewed on my layout...and I tried something new. I used a pop can.

I cut off the ends and cut it open. On the colored side (this was a sprite can) I sanded it. Used alcohol ink...watermelon,citrus,sail boat blue. Then I embossed the metal with swiss dots by cuttlebug. Sanded some more. I applied perfect pearls to some of the dots and finally used a die cut to cut out the flowers. I used the cuttlebug, because I was not sure if my die cut machines, the slice and the circut could actually cut metal. (OnceI tried to cut grungeboard and that turned out badly. So when in doubt don't use the machines, I learned the hard way.)

Ok....I got off the subject a little....

Here is the layout.

A post without photos....trust me....you don't need them.

2009-08-07T08:53:00.000-07:00

I am not a writer. Sometimes I wish I was. I wish that I could tell a story as colorful as the way some of you do. Well, I can't. Here is what my day is like with my 3 year old. First I was cleaning the bathroom, and my DD who is 4, was helping me. She was drying, the sinks, shower, cabinets and so on. Jackson, the 3 year old, wanted a rag too. I gave him one without thinking about it, as we were done with the batheroom and everything was put away. After a time I started smelling this really strong medicine smell. Of course I started looking for the source and I found it all right. Jackson, was standing in the shower naked(I will get to that in a minute) with the rag. He was "helping Mommy"....He had dumped half a bottle of selsun blue on the shower floor scrubbed it in really well. He apparently was not sure what to do after that, so he was standing there staring at the mess.

Shortly after that, he was walking around the house wearing Gigi's dress up barbie shoes. It was just a funny sight, watching him click across the kitchen floor.

So you are probably wondering why he is naked. I am trying and failing terribly with this whole potty training business. He has the pee down....but he prefers to poo in is pants. ICK! I was so frustrated I took away his clothes (only when we are home.) Of course he poos in the potty when he is naked. I am sure you all really want to here about this, but this is my life at the moment...this is my least favorite thing about motherhood.

The not so funny thing is that I discovered that he used the barbie house potty to pee in. My husband just found this to be very funny and I just don't see it that way. Sure it is a tiny potty and it makes the flushing sound when you flush...but ick.

THe other day he told me, "no talk, no potty, no boy boy, Me BABY!" Ack Ack Ack!! HOw am I supposed to deal with that?

If you have any helpful ideas on how to complete the potty training....by all means tell me. My other two were so easy...I took away the diapers and after a couple of days they were good to go.

Documenting our vacation...

2009-08-04T15:13:00.000-07:00

This Summer I drove to Chicago with my three kids. My Husband had to work so he stayed at home. I took photos, tons of photos everyday, except the second day. We were all tired of being in the car. After we returned home, I decided to make an album, (I will have to post the cover in the next post) and fill it with pages from our trip. The album turned out to be 12 x10. I was limited to the size box I had available at the time. So I cut my pages to that size, scrap the front and back, put in grommets so I can pop them into my album. I guess I should say the ablum has three rings to hold the pages. I don't have any page protectors...I am not terribly worried about that. Ha! Most of my pages are just in one big stack. That would be a whole post of it's own.

So here are the first three pages of my album. The third one, I made today. I wish you all could see them in real life, I could not get the camera to capture the look..I hope you know what I mean. Thanks for reading and looking. If you click on the photos, they will open up bigger in another window.

A little bag...

2009-08-02T11:16:00.001-07:00

I made this little bag and filled it with scrappy goodness for a friend. I know she doesn't read my blog....so I can post it here....Of course this is the back, the front looks really cool...but I got tired of taking photos...LOL

I used my circut to make the bag.

Just some photos....

2009-07-31T13:34:00.000-07:00

I played with CS3 last night. I have been wanting to do this technique for a while now and I finally figured it out. It's the textured background with the subject in the foreground.

I also have sort of figured out how to make my own rough frame....

These are photos from our third day of summer vacation that we took to this June.

First Day of School and a bit of creativeness

2009-07-30T06:02:00.001-07:00

Every year Since Kindergarten, I have taken a photo of these two on the stoop on the first day of school. This year is not different. Today, Harrison (my baby), begins 3rd grade. Now how did that happen? and yes it is the 30th of July. This year he starts the school year with a few bangs and cuts left over from his bike crash last Saturday.... he in on the mend.

Now this brings me to the creativity part of the post. In my last post I posted about our journals. Well...it has been about a week. I have some photos of that I want to share. Harrison is doing this with me, but he took his to school today, so I couldn't photograph it.

These are just a few of my favoirte pages. We are really having a lot of fun using this journal.

I hope you are all a great day. I am off to the park with the little ones...They still have another month of Summer.

Missy

Look what arrived today!

2009-07-24T18:59:00.000-07:00

I have not been blogging lately. We are just enjoying what is left of our summer. My oldest returns to school next Thursday. Yep...You read that right. July 30th. So we are trying our best to get as much summer in as we can, which is why I don't post every often.

Anyhoo, back to my title. I have been waiting for these journals to arrive. We ordered them last week and they are here. By we, I mean, me and Harrison. We are going to be using, reading and wrecking these together. He is is just as excited as I am. I also had fun playing around with my photos so I had to share...which explains why there are three...

Visiting Kentucky

2009-07-19T08:35:00.000-07:00

So here we are in Kentucky. We arrived Friday morning...(3am est) and have been here all weekend. We came up for my BIL's wedding. I have lots of photos.(lots for a short wedding, the song a cousin sang was longer than the entire ceremony..) Anyway....we are going out shopping at Uncle Lee's in a moment. The kids are staying at a cousin's house so we have a little time withou them.

ANyway, I thought I would leave you with a photo of the Bride and Groom....

Kathy and Dewanye

July 18, 2009

My first photo with my new camera.....

2009-07-04T05:50:00.000-07:00

This is the first photo I took with the telephoto lens. I was standing on the deck by the backdoor and took a photo of my bench (that we never use) in the back of the backyard. It is not bad for a first photo. I really like how it focuses on the seeded weeds.

Another photo with my new lens.

2009-06-13T19:42:00.001-07:00

Here are just a couple more photos that I took with my new lens. 50mm.

2009-06-13T08:45:00.000-07:00

The Criminal

2009-06-13T07:56:00.000-07:00

I have a wonderful lemon tree. It lives inside in the winter and outside in the summer. I just love this not so little plant. It has produced lemons for me, but in the last two years nothing. Remembering to water it on a regular bases is probably the reason for lack of fruit. This summer, I have been taking care of it. My little plant has flowered and was beginning to produce lemons, one was already the size of a big strawberry. These lemons are sweet and make the best lemon tarts.

So you probably noticed that I said "was". You are probably wondering why this post is called, "The Criminal".

Jackson became quite upset when I did not look pleased with him. So he ran to his bed to lay down. He does this when he knows I am very disappointed with him. (It was a great excuss to use my new lens though.)

Today is my 10th Anniversary. This post has nothing to do with that. I just wanted to announce it.

2009-06-12T06:04:00.000-07:00

This is a project that I have been working on all week. All of it is from the last couple of Studio Calico kits with a little bit of my stash added. Thanks for looking. This was a lot of fun to make. I am giving this to Jenn O. I hope she likes it. (a little gift to have when her stamps arrive, very late.)

Harrison's Sleep Over.

2009-06-09T05:36:00.000-07:00

Some of these photos are not the best. I wish I had a better handle on my camera. I am forever using the manual with not the greatest results. Oh well. Here are some photos from the weekend. It was a sleepover swim party. When the boys arrived (most of them had never been to our house before) he and Connor (the boy with the gun) told everyone the German Bathtub was the pool! LOL This is Connor acting silly.

The water Balloon war that ended in 2 minutes. So much for spending hours filling up those balloons.

The war is over. See the bucket head? LOL Boys!

In the pool after it rained.

Swimming the next day with the snorkel.

Eating Lunch on the deck. I think the boys were getting tired by this point.

Passions For Crafts

2009-05-22T16:28:00.000-07:00

a blog that I came across as I look at a blog...well, you know how it goes...So check out her blog for a chance to win some great goodies in a RAK!!!!!
http://passionforcrafts.blogspot.com/

It's Monday....

2009-05-18T08:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Harrison made his First Communion. I don't have any photos to share yet.

On Saturday, his team came in Second for the season. This is fabulous! In the fall they were in last place.

Yesterday was also Jackson's party. He had two friends at his party, but he had such a great time it didn't matter. My good friend and neighbor took photos of the day. Check them out here....http://flickr.com/gp/mnicolem/pTS881 And yes it rained.

And last here is a layout that I made over the weekend.

The journaling reads: My Mom and Dad bought this tricycle for my sister and I. I rode miles on this bike. When Harrison was 2 Mom gave the trike to us. He rode it for miles and miles. Then Gigi and now you, Jackson, love to ride this thing. You love riding mostly going fast down the driveway. April 23, 2009

Today is a low key day. We had a little man who was ill last night. Probably too much cake and junk food. He seems happy today and we are just watching a lot of movies, keeping it low key. Plus it is cold out today.

Missy

It has been a while since I last blogged..

2009-05-13T17:20:00.000-07:00

Where do I start? First The fever flu raged through our house like a bat out of .....well you know. Of course that hit each child one at a time and then I got it too.

On May 3rd. My son was supposed to receive his first holy communion. We had to reschedule as he was fighting the flu. We were disappointed.... we still had his party as my parents came into town for his celebration.

By Thursday he was better and we planned on Sunday evening mass again. We get to church. He made it half way through mass and we had to leave. He had a stomach bug.

I threw out my back the weekend my parents were visiting. I am now going to PT to strengthen my muscles, to prevent that from happening again.

My youngest turned 3 on the 6th

Preschool ended today with a wonderful program.

Harrison has soccer all afternoon on Saturday, then a BP to attend. On Sunday, he will be receiving his first communion, again. (hopefully). Then we come home to have a birthday party for Jackson.

I need to remember to breath. I do have photos to share, but that will have to be in another post on another day. In the mean time, I posted a couple layouts that I have recently made.

Hope you all are having a great week!

Missy

2009-04-26T06:15:00.000-07:00

This is one of the uglier layouts that I have made in a while. However it is done so I am good. LOL I tried making my own lace paper..It did not go as planned. I created my own pp. I used to much black ink so I don't like it. I did use 3 layers of glimmer mist and the paper looks pretty, but I had a difficult time capturing that aspect of the layout in the photo.

Big news in our house!

2009-04-17T10:30:00.001-07:00

My youngest son....my baby, Jackson is potty trained. This is a bittersweet milestone for me. Jeff thinks I am nuts, but it means there are no more babies in my house. I know this is also a good thing and I have been dreaming about this moment for a very long time. I guess I thought it wouldn't come this quickly. Never the less, I am fully embracing this and celebrating the fact that there are no more diapers in my future. I documented this moment in a layout below. THanks for looking. I just wanted to share.
xo
Missy

GCD Studios didn't call me....

2009-03-31T13:41:00.000-07:00

But I am still new at this. They were the 2nd DT I have ever tried out for.
They are having a party on their BLog next week, weh nthey anounce their new team. You should check it out as they are giving away a lot of prizes.

One day it will be my turn to get a call.

Missy

GCD Studios....

2009-03-30T08:25:00.000-07:00

So I submitted an entry to GCD Studios design team call. I wasn't going to say anything...as there is a slim chance I will be picked, 471 people entered this call...so the competition is tough. I am still hoping and in the least I am looking forward to seeing who the new team is.

With that said.... check out GCD Studios blog as they will be having some give aways as they prepare for the new team. I hope you all win something. How fun will that be?

On another note.... Here is a layout I made this weekend. It is my new favorite.

Missy

Just a mini....

2009-03-29T15:30:00.000-07:00

This is a mini album I made this weekend. I blew alcohol ink across the tags with canned air. I will have more to showw late. (I only finished 7 layouts.) One of my friends finished 71 pages. Oh well, I have a great time. I wish it wasn't over yet!

Where has the time gone?

2009-03-26T10:52:00.001-07:00

I can't believe how fast this month has gone by. It seems like yesterday that I was posting about our one day of snow and now it is the end of March. I have been busy this month helping out at preschool, getting my youngest screened by babies can't wait, preparing for my oldest son's 8th birthday, and a bunch of other things that I won't bore you about.

On St. Patty's day, Harrison colored his hair green. I think he looks cute.

On the 24th of March Harrison Turned 8! Happy birthday sweetie!

I have also been scrapping a lot this month. I posted two of my favorites. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I do.

I will have more to show you next week. I am going on a scrapbook retreat this weekend. We leave in the morning. I am off to pack. Have a good weekend everyone.

SNOW!!!!

2009-03-01T14:29:00.000-08:00

Our power is about to go....so this post is what it is. We have snow. We have a snow day!!

This is huge, as we live in GA and hardly ever see this much snow.

Scrapbooking.com Magazine

2009-03-01T08:17:00.001-08:00

I have a little toot...well three little toots.
Click on title to get to the magazine.
You will see my work. Thanks for checking it out.

Missy

Jillibean Soup

2009-02-28T15:49:00.000-08:00

This is a new company that I found recently. I haven't seen the product in the stores yet...but it looks super cool. So go check them out. just click the title if this post.

My new favorite layout....

2009-02-27T04:31:00.001-08:00

Friday Favs!

2009-02-27T04:23:00.000-08:00

Hi. This is my first Friday Favs post.

1. My new paraffin dip. I love that thing.

2. This fact that it is Friday, no obligations tonight.

3. My first cup of coffee in the morning.

4. Osh Gosh has their jeans on sale for $10 this weekend.

5. The cookies I made with my kids yesterday.

A winter storm of Hail......

2009-02-21T08:29:00.000-08:00

Last Wednesday we had one of those really bad winter storms. Tornadoes touched down on a city near by. We spent some time in the basement, the kids were scared with the high winds. The first two photos are what we saw looking out our basement door. That is our neighbors front yard. I lightened the second photo so you can see it a little better. That is not snow, (we live in the south and rarely get snow.) it is hail.

This is the hail on the pool cover and deck. My poor kids thought it was snow and had to play in it for a minute. It was too cold for them so they were done before I could snap a photo.

Look at how big the pieces of hail were. I love storms, but I am glad that one is over and that we didn't have any damage from it.

New Layouts!

2009-02-19T11:45:00.000-08:00

I have been scrapping like crazy this week. I have almost used up my entire Studio Calico Kit, Fortune Cookie. So Far I have made 7 layouts with the kit.

This first layout, Early Bird is one of my favorites (ok, they are all my favorites...)I painted the Jenni Bowlin paper and added chipboard accents. I allso used journal spots as accents and I journaled on one of them. Journaling reads: " One morning Jackson woke me up at 5am so he could eat his pop tart breakfast. Feb, 2009

Before..On this layout....its about the day Harrison had his hair cut off. He grow it long to donate. I traced the chipboard flowers at the top of the layout. On the seconf paper, I dry embossed it with the cuttlebug music sheet folder. I put some glitter on the Maya Road chipboard bird wings, and used some Karen Russell rub-ons. I used the stamp packaging from the Studio Calico stamp to use as a journal spot.

Memoires in the tub: I used a running stitch to gather the ribbon. I used pop dots to adhere it to the page. I used gesso (the white paint and then journaled on it.) The Journaling reads: It was a game of hide-n-seek. Jeff hid in the bath tub. The kids took so long to find him (it was the very last place they looked!) that he grabbed a pillow for comfort and waited. The kids finally looked in the bathtub. Apparently they thought Jeff had a great idea, as they joined him. For a long time all I heard was giggles. When I finally went to see what they were up to, this is the scene I found. All four of them were stuffed into that little tub all completely happy! Who would have known the bathtub was fun without the water! Feb, 17, 2009

everyday moments: This is one of my favourites too. I printed two photos and torn one. I glued it to the first photo with pop dots. I cut out circles and cut them in half. I heat embossed the edges of the circles (it is hard to see that in the photo). I colored in Karen Russell's black rub-ons with marker. I journaled around the circles to keep the layout flowing. The journaling reads: Gigi, Harrison adn Jackson hanging out on a Sunday afternoon, while Papa and I cleaned the house. February 15, 2009

Rocker Hair: This is a layout about how Gigi's hair became rocker hair. She cut her own hair and this was the only way to fix it...More than sever inches had to be cut off. She looks so cute!

Ballerina: Gigi in damce class. My friend took this photo for me and it was not the greatest, but it was the only one I had. So I cropped it and altered in in Photoshop CS3. The paper is Making Memories and the matte is Making Memories packaging from some of there stickers, the flowers and ribbon are by cloud nine designs, and the Alphas are thickers.
Cowboy: Here is my little stunt man. Isn't he cute? The flowers that up down the side of the ribbon are cut in half. He loves to ride the Zebra.

Thanks for looking and reading.

Missy

Note Cards

2009-02-12T05:38:00.001-08:00

So I thought it would be nice to have a little gift for the preschool teachers (6 in all). Ha....easy and quick.....not really. I made a set of four note cards for each teacher.

I used memories mist and prima paper.

Studio Calico

2009-02-10T18:13:00.000-08:00

I am so excited. I just ordered a sub for Studio Calico.
Now I have to wait for the first kit to arrive. I just had to share my excitement.
As I have loved their kits for a very long time. Yay! Happy mail is on it's way to me!
That is it for now.
Missy

the 2 of Us

2009-02-09T17:22:00.001-08:00

This is my newest layout. I made a mask with the cricut, taped it to white cardstock and sprayed glimmer mist. Once the glimmer mist was dry I mod podged the mask and then removed it from the cardstock. I made the photo mat and sprayed it with glimmer mist, added my photo and attached it to my layout. I had left over scrolls in SEI paper from another project and stuck those on. I added a little of this and that and here is my layout. All the paper (except the CS and SEI) is by prima. This was a really fun page to make.

Be My Valentine...

2009-02-08T15:26:00.000-08:00

Hi. I made this Valentine's Mini Album which is inspired by Ali Edwards and her mini album.

I used my Slice to cut the scallops. I used a Quaker Oats box for the chipboard. I cut and peeled the packaging label off and painted them pink with MM strawberry and cream paint. I used packaging from Tim Holtz grungeboard for the clear pages. I embossed those with the cuttlebug. The plastic embossed really well. I recommend you try it if you have one. I also used prima flowers, KI memeories chipboard stickers and softies, K and Company Heart stickers, Stickles, staz on ink, a stamp from A's and Chatterbox ribbon. This is for Harrison's

teacher, who is expecting a baby this summer.

Project 52....#3 Dream Catcher

2009-02-05T09:24:00.000-08:00

Here is my latest...Remember your heart

I was very inspired by Dena's project..Her message to her daughter, the transparenies and the color. My idea "remember your heart" came to me from a sweet little girl in my community (church, neighborhood, preschool)who just lost her fight to brain cancer. She made me think to remember to hold the things dearest to my heart tight and to live life for each day.
The Heart is for God, The flowers is for my DH and the three butterflies are for my kids. On the backs of the butterflies I worte..

Butterfly to the left: Family,Friends, Love, Live
Butterfly in the center: God, heart, Love, LifeButterfly on the right: Me, Art, Create, Life, color.

Supplies:

Fancy Pants plastic packaging from a clear mini album kit
Cricut: Storybook cart
Gold Leaf pen
Alcohol Ink
American Crafts Ribbon (old old old stuff)
Making Memories letter stickers
Prima Flowers
Prima Butterflies
Making Memories Brads
Glimmer Mist

Rocker Hair!

2009-02-04T11:01:00.000-08:00

Gigi's new look. She decided to cut her own hair after Harrison came home with no hair. So seven inches later, here is Gigi with her new "Rocker Hair" as she calls it. This photo to the left is what she looked like before. I don't have a photo of her after she cut her hair...only after we had it styled at the salon. She took a chunk out of the right side, made bangs, and took a chunk out of the back.
The new style suits her perfectly. She's my rocker!

The hair is gone!

2009-02-02T08:38:00.003-08:00

My son, Harrison is 7 years old. He has been growing his hair out for almost a year now to donate it. On Saturday he had it cut. Of course I took photos. Some of them are not great, but I like them all the same. So here are some before and afters. In the first photo he was mad at me. He did n't want his photo taken. Oh Well. It is what it is.

He grew his hair, in honor of my dear friend, Allison, who lost her fight to cancer.

Project 52, project #2 "Be Unique"

2009-01-31T08:31:00.000-08:00

I was inspired by this weeks project. The glimmer mist is what inspired me and how Jeni covered the mirror. I thought I could do something with a glass jar. The glimmer mist didn't work so well, but I did use it on the ribbon. I use alcohol ink to cover the jar.

A little bird told me........

2009-01-27T06:49:00.000-08:00

So I created this blog a while ago. I have been meaning to work on it. My sister keeps encouraging me to blog. So here I am...making the time. My kids are bouncing off the walls. That's ok really. We will do some art in a little while.

So I will leave you with a little project I made yesterday. My friend gave me these huge paper clips. As she handed them to me, she said, "I know you will figure out something to do with these!" Well I did. I made a bookmark.

I cut out two cute little bird(the robin on the cricut storybook cart).
I used a scrap of prima paper.
I outlined the birds with black marker.
Added mini brads from Queen and Company.
Sprayed them with glimmer mist.
I applied some Zip Dry and poured glitter on the glue.
I glued 2 buttons to each side of the paperclip.
I glued my two-sided bird to the buttons.
And you have a very cute bird bookmark.

Thanks for sharing my first real post.
Missy

Grosgrain: Marie-Thérèse Gown GIVEAWAY!!!!

2008-10-22T03:12:00.000-07:00

Grosgrain: Marie-Thérèse Gown GIVEAWAY!!!!

A Huge giveaway! Check it out...

2008-10-22T03:01:00.000-07:00

Ok. I have started a bolg a while ago and then life got busy. I have been thinking about this for a while and I will dress up my blog as I go along. I am more inspired to blog more as I just ran into this Today's creative Blog and give-away. I have to have this wonderful costume, but I think every little girl needs one, so sign-up to win!

I have a few moments before the family wakes up, so I am going to go work on my Aunt's 50th wedding album. shhh it's a surpirse.

My first Post.....

2008-08-02T13:50:00.000-07:00

This is my first blog post eveh.

Of course I will post more in my second post and start showing my layouts.