Last team picture

I went Saturday and hung out with a great group of scrappy friends. After not seeing them for nearly 2 years, it was great seeing them! Sometimes being a mom and wife keeps us so busy we forget we need friend time too! Being with the SOTTS (sisters of the traveling scraps) again reminded me how much I love each and every one of them!

Emily was busy with her band ensemble group this evening. They played at the 4 - H banquet. They have been playing together for 3 years now. Over the years, they have become good friends.

Scrapping the team picture from Tyler's senior year made me reflect back on friendships. A few of these  boys have played ball together for years. They have built up a great friendship.  I have a friendship with the SOTTS built over years and Emily has a friendship with the ensemble group built over years. These friendships are built because of a common interest in something.

Moral of the story is to put yourself out there and be a part of something. That is where the best friendships are built. When you have a common interest in something it takes away some of the social anxiety a lot of us have. You already have something to talk about.

This is the last team picture for baseball I have to scrap for Tyler. Boo!!!! 14 years of sports sure flew by!

I used one of the sketches in this months Create magazine put out by Create Scrappers. They put out a monthly digital magazine and for FREE. You can't beat that!

For the added little details that make the layout, I did some hand stitching and stenciled a banner using Gesso. I then used a silver sharpie to color the Gesso'd banner.

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!

Page Breakdown part 3.

Yay!!!! Finally had a little time to add the finish touches. This is the part that pulls the page together.

As mentioned in my first post I used 3 different challenges for my inspiration.

1. http://123getscrappy.blogspot.com. I used the middle row of the tic tac toe board. "Polka Dots" inspired the Circles and embossed stamped circles behind the picture. "Pumpkin" inspired the color. Used pop dots under the butterfly. I would have used them under the journaling strips but I didn't have any thin enough. 123getscrappy is also looking for a 2015 design team! I have yet to cross that off my scrappy bucket list, so I will humbly apply. You never know! Follow the link if you would like to submit your projects as well!

2. http://scrap-challenge-yourself.blogspot.com The affirmation on my page is about our Family. Often times our family is the ones we treat the worst. Not because we intend to, they just get the brunt of all frustrations. We can all use a reminder to do all the things stated here.

3. http://color-me-scrappy.blogspot.com I used the sketch and color scheme for layout and color inspiration. This sketch has a lot of possibilities!!

When adding the details,  To pull the page together, stitched a frame around the entire page. Added a fabric border misted with brown ink under the bottom of the picture.

I inked some chocolate ink over the stenciled gesso circles to tone them down a bit. Then doodled a circle around them.Added the piece of left over pattern paper. Amazing all the pattern paper came from one 4 x 6 piece.

I still wasn't entirely happy with the circle areas, just felt to bold.  I wanted something light and airy that didn't totally cover them up, but toned them down as well. I quickly cut some circles from Tulle layered them up and voila! Pretty little tulle flowers. Love that you can buy a nice size roll for $1 at Dollar Tree! Cheap and fun, right up my alley!

I really enjoyed working with these challenges! Great thing about challenges is they push you out of your comfort zone while inspiring you at the same time. Win, Win!

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Saturday! It is a pajama kind of day here in the Highland house. Tyler and his Girlfriend have plans tonight, Emily is going to a friends, Zane is hunting, then going to a buddies for steak and male bonding. I will be embracing the quiet alone time!

Senior Year title page.

Since Tyler graduated 6 months ago, I really need to get moving on his Senior year album. I really don't like scrapping school pages. However, the mom in me feels the need to do it. I think I get bored with the same color combinations.

I used a sketch I found on Pinterest from myscrapsandmore.com for inspiration.

I went through my scrap bin and grabbed the first 4 pieces of pattern paper that I liked. I really tried not to put to much thought into paper selection. Title is cut from Cricut Library Fonts cartridge (current fave).

To keep the page quick. I didn't stitch the twine around, just ran it corner to corner. The blue cardstock circle I traced out of a bowl, left the trace lines for added interest. Then used a stamp for the faux stitching around the picture.

Somehow I have to whip up a handmade journal by mid-weak. Pretty excited to donate it for a silent auction item for a St. Judes fundraiser. It always feels so good to give.

Creative Scrappers Sketch #229

As soon as I spotted this sketch, I knew I wanted to use some spray ink. 

 I have had this pattern paper for a while.  Unfortunately, I don't remember who makes it.  Pink Paislee or Fancy Pants Maybe????

I started by cutting out a doily shape from the CTMH Artiste cartridge.  Then mixed up a little Cotton Candy shimmer spray using the Create - A - Shade Pearl paint and re-inker.  Love having 40 shades of shimmer spray at my fingertips without needing to buy bottles of each color.  

After spraying the background paper, there just wasn't enough contrast for my liking, so I outlined the details and sponged a little Cashmere ink on to add a little color contrast.  

I also felt the title banner needed a little texture, so I pulled out a SU embossing folder that reminded me of the plaid pattern paper.  

We couldn't have blank square openings, so quickly stamped some accents to fill them in.  

This was a great sketch to work with.  Love the movement across the page from corner to corner. 

You can find the Creative Scrappers sketch site HERE

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!

Fish On, ScrapFIT sketch challenge

Yay!  I finally finished the page I have been working on.  This was a fun family outing a couple weeks ago.  Emily was so surprised when she caught a fish.  She decided that the fishing thing isn't so bad after all.

My page was inspired by this sketch challenge over on the ScrapFIT blog .

Papers are from The Paper Loft Hooked on Fishing Line.  To bring attention to the little fish I added some stitched circles around the little guy.  Of course I had to use the AP cartridge for the journaling label.  I don't know how I  scrapped before this cartridge.  I hardly ever use my spellbinders anymore.

I added a little fishing line to my homemade wooden dowel fishing pole with a hook constructed from the spiral wire from a notebook.  Notice Murphy in the background.  He really wanted to have a little fish snack.

Posterboard was my goto alpha for this one.  This is one of my favorite alpha set.  The letters are nice and chunky to give them presence on the page and super easy to handcut because of their size and sharp edges.  Nearly every layer was outlined with my trusty black sharpy to give separation to the layers.

Off to enjoy the day at a cookout and beach with the family!  The temperature is supposed to hit 90 today.  Since we don't have AC, it is the perfect day to head to the lake.

Have a happy Sunday!!!

A very productive day

We had a very productive today in the Highland house today.   Emily and her friend spent a good part of the day working on a display board about Slave Trade for a school project.   I have been thinking a lot lately about how I don't seem to photograph the little details of our day to day lives anymore.  These are the things that make up who we are. 

Emily's hands the way they are, this day, this moment in time.  

I managed to revamp my crafty corner, and finish putting together 40 cards I had leftover from various home party projects.   Woo Hoo!  Granted I started them Friday evening and all the pieces were cut.  All I had to do was stamp and assemble. 

But wait there's more!  After everyone headed to bed, the insomniac in me made a pot of coffee and finished the page I posted a couple days ago.  You know, the "thought process" one. 

I added some flowers stamped with the Hooray Bouquet set, lace trim and the "Ivy" name block.  I really didn't know what else to add and didn't have any "carrots" laying around to go with the story.  

 

How's this for a carrot top? Hijacked this picture from facebook today of Hazel.  Love it!

Holy Scrap Mess!

I sat down to tidy up my little crafty corner and stumbled upon a little bit of inspiration.  A few weeks ago I was cutting a bunch of 1/2" circles on the Cricut.  The negative piece was so cool looking!  I found it last night and was totally inspired to create this.

 

The design  was inspired by a sketch by Karan Gerber on the Sketchabilities blog HERE .  I used so many products for this page, hence the name of the title for today.  There are stamp sets and ink pads covering my work area.  I will spare you a picture :).

I started with this.........

 Notice the head shadow?  That would be me.  Taking pictures at 1 in the morning is a bit tricky.   To mix the paint I used about a nickel size amount of Create - A - Shade  pearl paint and 8-10 drops of Black Re - Inker.  

I used a sponge to spread the paint using the negative piece as a stencil.  This is my first time doing such a thing and love it!!! I am still trying to figure out how to get all the paint out from under my fingernails.  (Should have used a bigger sponge).

To make the flower, I stamped the script stamp from the Universal Backgrounds set to make a "pattern paper".  Then punched 2 - 2" scallop circles and 1- 1 1/4 inch circle from the piece. 

Cut about 1/2 inch at each scallop, then cute the smaller circle so you have a "pie" but be sure and leave the center intact.  Sponge on some ink and layer them up.  You then fluff the petals, some going up, some going down.  Super quick and easy!

Supplies Used (all CTMH unless stated otherwise)

Pattern Paper : Bo Bunny , CTMH retired Sweetheart

Cardstock: Black, Vanilla Cream, Sky Blue, White

Ink: Crystal Blue, Grey Wool, Black, Baby Pink, New England Ivy

Stamp Sets: A Typeface, Stitched Together, Universal Backgrounds, Florentine WOTG set

Embellishments: Retired Shimmer Brads, A Garden Color Ready wooden shapes, Banners DE, Mixed Shapes DE, Neutral Bakers Twine

Cutting Tools: 2" Scallop circle punch,  1 1/4" Circle Punch, Quickutz alphabet / Cuttlebug

Other: Create - A - Shade Paint, Black Re - Inker, Black Sharpie

Off to the store to get the supplies for some Zuppa Toscana soup for dinner.  I stumbled upon the recipe on Pinterest and am so excited to try it.  Zane isn't a big fan of soup, so hopefully he likes it!  If not, I suppose he will have cereal :).

Mixing the old with the new

This layout showcases one of my favorite pictures of  "the bestie crew".   I used sketch #198 from the Creative Scrappers blog. If you can't read the text on the picture it says "You have been blinded by Brenden's what he calls abs... and we call ribs :)".  This is a little tidbit of Emily's photo editing.  I nearly spit my coffee out when I seen her little journaling added while browsing pictures on the computers.  These 4! What a hoot!

I combined some new Footloose papers with some old Miracle, then threw in a little Typeset.

A quick update on Tyler's wisdom teeth extraction.  He did well and was able to return to school after 2 days.  He was quite entertaining while his "conscious sedation" wore off.  He kept saying "Hey" then follow up with something like "you know what's funny, Emily had to go to school today" or "Hey, is it ok if I swallow".  Then there was the yell from the kitchen that he missed his mouth.  I go to check and he was covered in Gatorade.  Yup, totally , missed it!  He asked me the same things over and over, and was quite confused how he got from one place to another.  He couldn't figure out how to buckle his seatbelt or eat applesauce.  Of course, he remembers none of this.  I should have recorded him, kind of like this person did.



Have a good night and happy crafting!

Dotty For You

I was finally able to play with the Dotty For You papers that will be available to you on April 17th.  You can find all the details under the specials tab.

For my page I used a sketch from sketcheswithatwist.blogspot.com.   I recently stumbled upon this blog, and since I am all into banners lately, it was perfect!

I used one of the sunbursts from the March SOTM set to stamp a border around the page.  There are 5 different sunbursts in the set and can see using them a lot for this.

The butterflies and the 3 labels were cut out of a couple of the Dotty For You papers.  The Journaling block is from a retired Mayberry Stickease set.  Am always happy to use up a little retired stash :).

Products used, all CTMH unless stated otherwise. 
Paper: Dotty For You  B & T , Sweet Leaf and Smoothie Cardstock
Ink: Black
Border: Cut from the AP Cartridge
Embellishments: Colonial White Designer Brads, Neutral Bakers Twine, vintage lace (unknown brand)
Stamp Sets: Bohemian Alphabet (E1019) , and April SOTM


This picture sums up our day today.

My nephew Daniel is in Afghanistan right now on his second deployment to serve our country.  Before he left, he drew Zane a map to his mushroom spot.  We drove nearly 2 hours to find it, then strolled around the woods seeing what we could find.  We only found 5 mushrooms, NOT GOOD!  I took several pictures, but this one is one of my fav's.

We did learn a couple things.
1. I should not lead us out of the woods.  Tyler, Emily, and I started heading back to the car.  A few minutes later we heard Zane yelling that we were going in the wrong direction!  It's a good thing he noticed before we were out of ear shot. 
2. Tyler really needs to work on his braking and accelerating while driving.  He tends to be a little heavy on the pedals.

That's all for today, have a Happy Easter!!!

The Bestie Crew

If you are familiar with my blog,  then you have seen pictures of this crew before.  Of course our kiddos, then there is our "other" kids.  These 4 have been friends for 11 years now.  They met at daycare when Kylee and Emily were just a year old, and over the years have formed such a strong wonderful friendship.  They love one another like siblings and also disagree like siblings.  They debate one another, support one another, and tattle on one another. 

Oh how I love them!  The pictures are from a weekend shopping excursion we went on before school started.  I used papers from the CTMH Cruisin' line and a sketch from the My Little Sketch Book blog.  Liz has such great sketches to play around with.

For the banner I used a section from the new mini banner in the spring / summer idea book and covered it with pattern paper.  The title is Cricut cut from the Black Letter cartridge. Then of course, had to had a little stitching detail to pull it all together.  I used a stamp from the simple stitches set to stamp a frame around the edges. 

So, what a day today was.  Today was the first Baseball game of the year for Tyler.  Tyler plays starter Left outfield and bats 3rd or 5th.  He did very well today, made contact with the ball 2 out of 3 times up to bat and made good plays in the field.  No runs, but we are just getting started.  Can you believe I forgot my camera!  It was so cold, I don't think my fingers could have operated it anyways.  I was sure my fingers and toes would break if I moved them.  Silly me, went straight from work and only had a sweater over my scrubs.  Good thing my wonderful hubby gave up his warm coat for me to wear.  Reminded me of high school football games, wearing his "varsity" jacket.  Made me feel all "cool" again!  HaHa!

A note that there are still parents that are raising perfect little gentlemen out there!  This kid in Emily's class is so polite, I have to call his mom and tell her.  You know, in case she doesn't already know.  Today his mom gave Emily a ride home from Track practice, I watched him get out of the car and open Emily's door to let her out.  Mind you, when I took Emily, him and 2 other kids to the movies, he did the same thing.  He held the doors for me, then tried to give me money for popcorn since "I paid for gas".  How cute is that!  A 12 year old actually offering to give me money!  I really need to send Tyler to his house for some of that training, because he is not nearly that much of a gentlemen.  Note to self.... "Work on that".

 Tyler has to have all 4 of his wisdom teeth removed by the oral surgeon on Monday.  That should be an interesting day.  Is it wrong to be a little excited about the scrapbook page from the ordeal?  I suppose it is, but I was taught to always look at the positives in a situation. Tyler likely won't appreciate it if I take a camera with me,  I may have to sneak a picture with my phone.

A portion of the day was spent going broke.  That is what happens when you have teenagers. Here is how the day went financially....

Me:  "Honey, we have to have $750 cash down when we go to the surgeon Monday"
Emily: "Mom, don't forget I need money for track pictures and $35 for the field trip tomorrow"
Tyler: "Mom, my baseball cleats are to tight, I am going to need a new pair"
Zane: " Honey, I took the lawn mower to the shop today, not sure what's wrong with it"
Zane: " I signed us up to bring food for 3 of the baseball games"
Tyler: "Mom, you forgot to get body wash when you bought groceries yesterday, oh and I need money for class dues"
Emily: "Oh yeah, I need money for a track shirt too. I don't remember when that is due though"

Point of story, if your kids are toddlers, start saving now!  Today, I am really wishing I would have won the millions. LOL!

Ok, I have rambled enough today.  Sorry, I start typing and can't stop.  I hope you enjoyed my page today.  I best get to work at the crafting table, my "to post" pile is getting a little low.

Oh how I wish......

Every time I pull out older pictures of  Tyler and Emily, I really wish they were small again.  Gone are the days that they do crazy things like this.  They are entertaining in a different way as teenagers, like always needing new shoes for various sports, bringing all their friends over to raid the refrigerator, and sulking when they have to clean their room. 

I think I used a sketch for inspiration, but can't seem to locate it.  So if it's yours, let me know and I will give your proper credit. 

Supplies used - all CTMH unless indicated otherwise

 Victory Paper, Hexagon Quikutz die, SU embossing folder, AP cartridge for photo corners, unknown brand floss and alphabet stickers.

Since the Nieces and Nephews are producing offspring, we have these little munchkins to entertain us with their silly antics. 

It appears that Roman has a little obsession with his belly button.  

His facial expressions remind me so much of his dad when he was this age.  I am secretly hoping he is just as mischievous too!  Like the time he clipped the frogs on the clothesline so they would stop hopping away :)

Instagram inspired.......

What a horrible no good week!
This week that was just bad from the get go. We didn't have computers for the two days at work... What was supposed to be a smooth transition from one update to another, just plain wasn't. Which led to the rest of the week playing catch up. What a relief to walk out the door Friday evening.

If only I could play with paper as my "real" job instead of my "fun" job. As a wise Dr. I work with would say..... "If wishes were fishes, we would all have our poles in the water". Love it!

After all the frustrations of the day, the reports and files I needed to work on at home just weren't happening. Instead I pulled out my challenge folder and went to work with a little creative escape.

I am totally in love with the instagram photos that smart phones offer, really makes me want to update my android to a newer version. The instagram photos inspired the edge treatment on my creation today.

This page started with a sketch on the rock paper scrapbook blog. I recently stumbled upon her blog and am looking forward to more challenges Ashley has to offer. You can find her blog at www.rockpaperscrapbook.blogspot.com

Here's the sketch....

My Take...

Papers are from the CTMH victory line. I sponged ink around the edges to get the "instagram" effect around the page. Then stamped a border stamp from the Victory WOTG stamp set with White Daisy ink around the edges of the page.

Stamp sets used....
Vintage Type

Victory WOTG stamp set.....

Embellishments used........
Round Durable Studs and Foundry Number Plates

Now, off to do the paperwork and reports that need to be done for the "play" job.

Baseball Layout

With Tyler graduating in just over 2 years, I REALLY need to get to work on his school albums. When I found this sketch challenge on the get picky blog , I instantly thought "BASEBALL". Love when that happens :).

The original sketch......

My take.....

For the background I used a retired piece of pattern paper from the Sweetheart collection. I used a 5 x 7 photo collage, added a little fake stitching, and cricut letters from the Street Sign cartridge. A super easy and quick page.

Another one checked off the to - do list.

We have had a pretty mild weekend at the Highland house. Well, if you count 3 extra 12 year old girls here for the better part of the weekend mild. HA! Only 2 words to describe that situation..... Loud and Giggly! Which would be why Tyler quickly found a friend to spend the night with. As soon as he heard Emily was having 3 friends over, he was quick to act on getting away from the giggling girls. Can't say that I blame him :)

You can find the get picky blog at www.getpicky.blogspot.com . For some reason, I cannot seem to figure out how to put a darn link on here. If someone could tell me, I would surely appreciate it!

Blog Post Winner!!!

As promised, I had Emily pick a random number for the $31 in Free CTMH products. She chose #17. The 17th comment posted during February was......

OLENA on February 9th. Congratulations Olena, email me at angiehighland@gmail.com and let me know what you would like! You can browse the products online at www.angiehighland.ctmh.com

Here is another page I made during my scrappy weekend this past weekend. I used sketch #197 from The Creative Scrappers blog over on the left. This one also fits into the color challenge on the creating keepsakes site. The challenge was to use Red, White, and Brown. I would have never chose this color combination, but absolutely love the results!!!

I must say, I love the technology of phones nowadays. Silly me, I forgot my camera when we were visiting family over Christmas. This picture was taken with my phone. I think it turned out pretty good, especially since it was printed in 5 x 7.

These papers from the Pebbles Fresh Goods line are so addicting, I love the Kraft background. All of the other supplies are CTMH. The Heart and Label are the Irresistibles Persnickety Journaling Spots. They have the coolest resist on them. They start out white, sponge on some ink in whatever color you choose and the pattern shows through. FUN!! Here is a little picture of them before inking.

Sorry, the picture is a little wonky (is that a word?).

The only stamping on this one is the faux stitching with the Stitched Together stamp set (C1459). Much easier than pulling out a sewing machine.

Today is the beginning of spring break. Emily is already making plans for each day. I have a feeling the food bill will easily triple this week. She has 6 friends coming over tomorrow for a hiking adventure. Normally it is still quite cold during spring break here in Michigan. We are about 40 degrees above average this week. Crazy!!!

I had better run and start packing for tomorrows crop / workshop night at Scrapbook 101. Looking forward to catching up with everyone!

Finally a page

Thank you for being patient while I had to take a break from the blog. I haven't forgot about the blog candy for February and will be drawing a winner tomorrow. I am going to have Emily help me make the drawing slips and do the drawing. She likes to do the drawings for me and I am happy to have her help.

I finally was able to squeeze in a little scrappy time this past weekend. Of course, I printed off a slew of challenges to take with me and went to work. I did manage to make a dent in the pile, but have several more on my to do list for this weekend. Yay! It looks like I finally have a nice little pile of artwork to share with you over the next few days.

This page of sweet little Hazel was inspired by the Imaginisce sketch contest over on the page maps blog. If you have never checked out the page maps blog, it is surely worth your time. www.pagemaps.com is the place to go.

I used papers from the Close To My Heart Lucy line. Love the pinks and greens in this set. Perfect for girl or Easter pages.

The doily and border were cut with the AP cartridge then edged with a little stickle bling. The stamped doily image and the quote in the bottom right hand corner are from the Beautiful Friendship set (B1400).

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your evening :).

I'm Back!

Thank you for being patient while I was under the weather. The past few days have been very busy. It's no wonder the upper respiratory crud going around got the best of me. I won't bore you with to many details but here is what we have been up to.

Thursday 2/9... Massage after work, came home a walking zombie, went to bed.
Friday 2/10... Up at 3 am to prepare for the Rock The Block workshop at Scrapbook 101. Arrived back home at 2am.
Saturday 2/10... Up at 7, drove 2 1/2 hours to Cadillac during a snow storm for Ivy's birthday party. Mom had terrible asthma attack, so began the trek back home after just 1 hour and 15 minutes. Spent the evening hanging with the family around the house.
Sunday 2/12... Started sorting tax paperwork at 10am, stopped at 11pm.
Monday 2/13... Filed our taxes and a co-workers, went grocery shopping, spent more precious time with my hubby and kiddos while they kicked my butt playing Life.
Tuesday 2/14... Took a sick day with massive headache, exhaustion, and head congestion. Not the ideal way to spend Valentines day.

Wednesday 2/15.... I'm back!!! Yay! So happy to be feeling better and back to blogging. I truly missed my little posts each day and hope to jump right back in with the daily posts.

Here is the page I did tonight using the latest sketch from My Little Sketchbook for inspiration.

I used papers from the CTMH Footloose paper line. They scream beach and water! With spring around the corner, we are ready for some beach days. I thought they worked well for these adorable pictures of Elli in the bathtub. They will be here visiting in just a couple weeks! Whoop Whoop!

For this fun little Seahorse, I stamped him in Creme Brulee ink then sponged a little Lagoon and New England Ivy on the stamp to get the different colors. Very cool effect!

Uh Oh! Looks like I lost an asterisk somewhere. Murphy the wonder dog lays under my desk when I am working, he's likely wearing it.

One of the things I like most about white core paper is the sanding abilities. I wanted to be sure my little letters stood out, so I sanded a little area for them.

Stamp sets used.....

Chocolate Alphabet Large (E1010) for the "eek" in the title.

A Typeface (A1117) for "the grown ups are at it again". I love this little set for word blocks like on today's page. Draw a little frame around them for a little extra pizazz!

The stamp set that is exclusive to the Footloose WOTG kig (G1036).

I need to add the journaling, but haven't decided on what to say. Maybe tomorrow :).

Thanks for stopping by and being patient during my little blog vacation.