Summertime Artwork

This first layout is of Addie and Gracie when they were 4 I think. I just love this photo! It spells out "Summertime" to me. Nothing says summertime to me more than sweaty kids and cool treats! I believe this was Memorial Day at Deron and Sandy's house.

My favorite technique in this layout is covering the title and the vines with liquid glass. If you click on the photo, you may be able to see it better.

CTMH products used: Liquid Glass, Building Block Alphabet, Magic Moments Level 2, Unforgettable Level 2, Fancy Cuts Botanicals.

This Play Day layout was taken when Joel was 4. We had one last play day at the Shawnee North Pool before school started. He looks so young!

This layout design and color scheme was totally scrap-lifted from Jeanette Lynton's blog. Every Monday, she posts "Color Me Monday" color challenges. The colors in this challenge one were Ocean, Crystal Blue, Black, and Heavenly Blue. I am so pleased with how the colors came together for this layout.

CTMH products used: Notebook Level 2, Heavenly Blue Cardstock, Ocean Cardstock, Heavenly Blue Ribbon Rounds (on sale right now!), Misc Craft Buttons, All-Out Adventure Rub Ons, Dimensional Elements Borders.

Fresh Blueberry Muffins

My actual photo!

Hy-vee is having a sale on blueberries-- $0.88/container. I love the rich bluish-purple color of blueberries, but don't really care for the taste. There's just not much there. Unless you bake with them! Mmmmmm! So I searched Allrecipes.com for a highly-rated blueberry muffin recipe. The highest one involved a crumb topping, which I don't care for. The next highest one is Called Blueberry Cream Muffins. I made them almost just the like the recipe called for. First, I cut the recipe in half. Then, instead of sour cream in the recipe, I used 2 oz. softened cream cheese and about 1/2 cup of milk. I just didn't have the sour cream.

Since Steven's on the South Beach Diet, I considered making it with whole wheat flour and Wal-Mart's version of Splenda, but I just didn't have the heart to ruin this recipe!

They turned out AMAZING. I love the tart, yet sweet taste of baked blueberries. Plus, they look absolutely perfect if I do say so myself! This recipe is a keeper!

My Piggy Bank

I made this after deciding that I am going to Convention next year. I figure I'll have to save about $1000 for everything (including the bundles I'm sure I'll want). For a stay-at-home mom who spend all her commission on CTMH stuff, it'll be tough, but I'm going to do it!

I adhered the paper to my box with double-sided tape. I'm sure Bonding Memories Glue could be used but I figured my kids would be messing with it, so I wanted to MAKE sure it stuck.

Supplies used: Zippidee Level 2, Fancy Fuzz, Black Hemp, Dimensional Element Stars, Clear buttons.

Remember that you can click on each image to see it bigger.

Garage Sale Items

Just wanted to post about my garage sale items I've listed. Click on the green tab above that says "Garage Sale" or click here. To order these items, you will need to email me directly.

July 4th

This is pretty much the only good photo I got from our July 4th festivities. It rained all day on the 3rd and the 4th. We barely squeezed in enough time to shoot fireworks. Joel had $30 to spend and Addie and Silas had $10 each. They asked every half hour until Dad finally said yes, we'll shoot. Amazingly, we had a few leftovers to save for next year.

I just don't get in to the whole fireworks thing. I don't really like the typical July 4th heat and  being outside all day, with kids that stress me out... You get the picture. So this year's was a GREAT holiday for me! The kids got to shoot their fireworks and hang out with their cousins, but we didn't get to go to the parade. Still, Wamego, KS has the BEST fireworks display I've ever seen and we did get to enjoy that. 

Hopefully, next year will be better for everyone else (and more than likely, worse for me).