An Apple for You

I actually found time to do a challenge. Yes, today is the last day, but I did it! I used this sketch as the inspiration for Paige's teacher's thank you card for giving her a great year of kindergarten. Paige got truly lucky to get her as a teacher. The image is from All That Scraps and the papers are Cosmo Cricket, along with some good ol' kraft paper. And I sewed on the card too, woo-hoo!

And here is Paige with her teacher, Ms. Gilbert. It was taken last night at the school's Open House. I have to be honest, I choked up when we arrived. I was reminded of that first day of school, dropping her off. Now the school year ends in two weeks. It has gone by so fast. It didn't help that on her desk was a note Paige had written, "I am special because my mom and dad love me." Arrow straight through my heart.

NYC Mini-Album

My mini-book is finally finished. We went to New York City for Spring Break and while we were there, I tried to document as much as I could, so that we can relive how much we actually did (which was a lot!). Once again, I used Simple Stories - Destinations for this project. I love mini-books because they are short and sweet. However, what I don't like is they are a lot of work, you can't fit enough pictures, and I still plan to scrapbook the trip for each of the kids' scrapbooks which makes it even more work. So, not sure if it's all worth it in the end. 

Mother's Day

The Simple Stories "Fabulous" line was perfect for my Mother's Day cards. I'm so blessed to have the best mom in the world and a wonderful, sweet mother-in-law. My next purchase is going to be their "Summer Fresh" stuff which is perfect for scrapping our summer bbqs and days at the beach. They should pay me for endorsing their products! ;) My next plan is to catch up on the kids' scrapbooks (a la project life style). Paige's kindergarten years is almost over, I truly can't believe how fast it went and I want to make sure I capture as many memories as I can.

A Simple Thank You

I simply cannot get enough of the Simple Stories papers. They are so cute! I made this card for my dear friend on the East Coast that opened her home to us while we were there. It was so sweet of her and her husband to let us bombard them like that. Our kids had so much fun playing together and we had a great time catching up. So, thank you Amy and Anil! 

Pillowcase Dress

Hanna Andersson is selling these dresses for $28. Granted, their fabric choices are bold and beautiful, but seriously, $28? When I saw this pattern by Simplicity for pretty much the exact same dress, I decided to go for it. Especially when on the pattern, it says "It's So Easy". I went to Joann's, my second home next to any crafting store and found this bold, red pattern that I thought Paige would like. After reading and rereading the directions on the pattern, with the assistance of my mother-in-law at times, I finally was able to piece it together. I forgot how confusing these sewing instructions can be sometimes. I made my client happy once again and got good practice in for Paige's Rapunzel dress that we will be making for Halloween this year. Thus the reason her hair is getting so long!

Celebrate.

I recently discovered a great line of papers from Simple Stories. I love the coordinating paper and the ease of which to use for scrapbooking and cardmaking. I used the balloon stamps from Stampin' Up to create this card. I also sewed on a card for the first time! 

Sew Happy

I can't even remember how long it's been since I have been wanting my own sewing machine. I must have been a good girl this year, because Santa finally brought me one. The days of borrowing everyone else's is over, yay! My first project was to make a simple skirt for Paige. I choose Valentine fabric and searched the web for a pattern that I thought would be easy to follow. I found one at The Long Thread, a great website for those re-entering the world of sewing after a long hiatus. Although, I struggled with the basting and gathering part, I think it came out pretty good. And the fact that the client was happy made my day.

Happy New Year!

2012 has arrived and while most kids have gone back to school, we have a few more days left to enjoy our beautiful weather. The kids and I went to the park today to meet some friends from Paige's class. I took advantage of the time to grab some quick photos. Paige lost her top tooth last night, so I had to capture her in all her toothless glory.