My Time to Sketch Challenge....#35

It's time for Lauren's Sketch Challenge! This week I kind of veered off course....but stuck with some of the layout. I encourage others to do this too....not to "not follow the rules", but use your creativity and get a little inspiration and go with it. I bought a shirt at Gymboree for my little Ava girl the other day and I loved it and thought it would make the perfect card. This is what I came up with. Instead of rectangles I have layered circles.....it's pretty close!!

This post is pretty late....long story, but I didn't get to bed until almost 2:00....that's another story for another day though. Today I did want to mention my disappointment in a very large and reputable stamp company that I have worked for for over 6 years now.....Stampin' Up! They came out with a news "flash" or should I say a requirement of all demonstrators to sign a new agreement that basically in my view takes away our right to free speech. They want us to sign their new agreement stating that we basically have to be exclusive to SU and that we can't use other products and promote them via links to other blogs or companies nor tell about our product via our own blogs, e-mail, twitter, facebook, etc! We also couldn't be on any design teams....i.e. Lauren's My Time Challenges....! Isn't this crazy! To me they are walking on territory that they never should have. I have my own blog, sponsored by Google.....didn't know that they were any way affiliated with Stampin' UP!, but I guess I was wrong. I can't even post here on my own blog about other products because that would steer others toward the competition.

Can you tell I'm a little miffed by their decision?? It's like saying you can only put your kids in Carter's clothing and you can't mix and match because that is just "wrong" or working at Wal-Mart and telling you that you can't shop at Target because that is supporting the competition. I had the upline of my upline and on up send out an e-mail stating that she totally understands where they are coming from and when she hears of her customers going to places like Archivers, she just cringes. I guess some of us live in this shallow little place thinking that SU is the only company out there, but in fact there are a ton of great designers and other companies that offer a great product and I like to dabble in all of them. So as for me, I will be a SU demo until the end of the month and then I'm tossing in the towel. I don't wish anyone to have a bad business, but I hope that the results from this decission effect them in a way that they can understand that they are very wrong on this account and steered off in a very bad direction.

ENOUGH about that. Most of you probably didn't even know that I sold SU......so that is what makes this even more crazy!! Today is Saturday and it looks like it is going to be a nice day outside. I have a gift to make for a friend of mine's little girl tomorrow so I'll need to get busy on that soon. I've been washing baby clothes for our little Kale....so I'm getting ready for his arrival a little at a time. Hope all of you have a great day and be sure to go get some more inspiration from the other gals too!

Lauren Alicia Dana Jen Kendra Kristen Lisa MacKenzie Maria Odette Tamara Tracey Pam

Needing Sleep!

Yes.....it's 4:20 in the am and I'm awake.....been up since 2:00! I've tried getting up an eating something because my stomach was upset, tried watching some tv and Ava woke up, went back to bed and just layed there.....I still have over 2 months to go too! I've been sleeping pretty good lately, so I shouldn't complain. Any advice from any moms that have been uncomfortable during your pregnancies too??

Ava and I had a good time on our trip to Michigan. Here are a few pictures to share of Ava on the beach. It literally rained nearly the entire time we were there. We did finally sneak about an hour on the beach on Friday afternoon. Ava had a ball playing with her sand toys and running to and from the waves.

We got to eat at a very good place for lunch on Thursday that served homemade crepes. I had a crepe with spinach, eggs, and goat cheese. It was so good. They served them with a salad that was equally as good. Ava got to have some ham and scrambled eggs so she was a happy camper too. Then there was this Swedish bakery just down the road from the cottage and oh my.....everything was just delicious from there. We ate from there twice and I brought home some extras too!

I haven't been home to stamp....I need to. I'm working today, but then will hopefully have time this week to get a few things done. I did make a frame for a friend of mine's daughter who is turning 6. I didn't stamp anything on it.....and I don't even have a picture of it to share....I'll have to get one this weekend at her birthday party! Hope all of you are still getting some zzzzz's. I'm going to head to the couch and attempt to get at least an hour more of sleep before morning!!!

Zineas......in full bloom!

Zineas are one of my favorite flowers. I have had a large patch of them for several years now, but I must say they are especially pretty this year. I love how they are a variety of colors and bloom for so long with very little maintenance. Ava girl just got some new fall clothes and I thought her shirt went so well with the zinea patch. She wasn't really wanting her picture taken, but I did capture a few shots. So take this as a little inspiration piece for your next card or scrapbook page....wouldn't it be so pretty!

I'm trying to wrap up some things around the house here this morning before we take off. I've been sleeping so good lately, but all good things must come to an end right!!! I've only been up since about 5, so that isn't too bad. Hopefully the weather will be nice sleeping weather up in Michigan. I'm sure I'll have pictures to share. Have a great week!

A Long Overdue Thank You!

I've had good intentions for quite a while now and finally sat down tonight and made a thank you. Most of you know Lauren Meader through the crafting world, but she is more than just a creative crafter. She is a very nice person and very thoughtful. She went above and beyond to do things for me while I've been going through the loss of our son. I have appreciated everything, from her kind words on the phone, sweet e-mails, her wonderful care package, the build-a-bear horse for my daughter, my personalized bracelet....the cards, and the unbelievable stamp set Weiman Wranglers to honor my Ethan. She's just a wonderful person that I can't thank enough. This card is for you Lauren.....I'm hoping to add a little package with it too! I have a "TON" more thank yous to do so that's on my list! Hopefully I'll get more finished in the days to come!

I'll be MIA for a little while too. I'm heading up north to Michigan with a friend of mine to her parent's cottage on the beach. Ava and I can't wait. The weather is supposed to be wonderful too! I'll be missing from the stamping world, but I'm hoping to have some fun time with my little girl. Hope everyone has a great week!

Here's a little closeup of the flowers I added on the bow. I made a leaf out of cardstock and dobbed the edges of it with dark chocolate ink.

BERRY Best Teacher!

This week we were to make a template with a "Back to School" theme. I decided to go the non-traditional route.....no apples, letters, bright colors, etc! I love pink and thought of the sentiment last night that would be perfect. So I got up this morning and luckily enough I didn't wake up until after 6:30! That is a first in a long time so I took advantage of sleeping in.....(my explanation for my late post!) What I wanted to put on the inside were those little candy strawberries, but of course I don't have any so you will just have to pretend. I used Lauren's new Template "Fold n-Go"......LOVE IT! It is so darn cute and very, very easy to assemble. I used the smaller version that comes with the package....all for $5!

I stamped the larger strawberry from one of my favorite PTI sets, Green Thumb. Then I added the strawberries on the tag from Vintage Picnic. I colored in my BERRY with my copics and added a little ribbon to finish my project! I really like how it turned out!

Go check out the other gals creations and be sure to link yours up to Mr. Linky on Lauren's Blog. Lauren is picking 5 lucky projects each week called the "My Time to Shine"!

Have a great weekend!

Lauren Alicia Dana Jen Kendra Kristen Lisa MacKenzie Maria Odette Tamara Tracey Pam

My boy and School!

Today my little Ethan would have been starting kindergarten! Ethan loved school and was so excited about starting kindergarten. I think I was just as excited as he was. He loved everything about school, getting ready in the morning, riding the bus, playing, listening to stories, crafts, snack time....you name it Ethan had a great time. I'm so glad he got to go to preschool last year and experience everything.

Here's Ethan riding around on one of the trikes that they had during gym time. He loved to just ride around in circles! Ethan loved to ride on his bike and that was one thing that never ever seemed to bother his legs so he thoroughly enjoyed it. Look at how much fun he is having!Ethan loved the building blocks too. I was a big fan as well so I always helped the kids build things. We had these same blocks at home, but doing things at school is always so much more fun! Ethan was always so proud of the things he did at school!

Notice Ethan's paper hat. They had made these during a day that Ethan was at the hospital so he got to wear his this day. He's playing with legos.....oh my how this kid loved legos. I was usually sitting right next to him building something. He loved to build things with wheels and he could spend hours just playing with his lego sets at home too. The teacher kept the legos out for a long time, I think because Ethan had so much fun playing with then. She knew our situation too so if Ethan wanted to do something, then more than likely he got to do it! He was a special kid to everyone!

Ethan loved to play with the cars and tractors and I played with the kids a lot and we built roadways out of building blocks. The kids loved this. Here is Ethan running his car down one of the roads.

School was celebrating birthdays in the summer this past May and Ethan got to celebrate his August birthday. He was very excited and he called up Grandma on the way to the hospital and asked her if she would make him a cowboy/horse cake for school. He loved it. It was his favorite too, chocolate!Ethan loved to swing and was always excited to go outside and play!

I love this picture of Ethan. It captures his wonderful smile. He was painting and was having a ball. Ethan loved to paint. Arts and crafts was one of his favorite things to do. After naps we would always have some sort of craft and sometimes he got to do something special if Ava girl was still asleep!
I could go on and on and put picture after picture on here. Ethan would have had so much fun in kindergarten. He was so smart and loving that I'm sure his teacher would have instantly fell in love with his personality. Here's to you Ethan......hope you are having a great day up in heaven starting kindergarten!

Saturday Color Challenge

So it's in the wee hours of the morning here in the midwest, but I couldn't sleep and I hadn't made my card for today so I thought I would give it a whirl! This isn't my favorite color combo in the world so that was my first challenge of the morning, then what stamp set to use?? I just got this cute little princess set from SU last month and it was still unassembled in the box. I got it to use for my daughter's 2nd birthday party scrapbook. I added a lot of sparkle and bling. We have a couple of little girls birthday parties coming up so this will be perfect for that. I love the little wand with the star and I like what the rhinestones add for the tierra. Be sure to stop by and see what all the other gals created too! Lauren Dana Dawn Jennifer Kendra MacKenzieMaria Odette Tamara Tracey Kristin , Pam (Kristin & Pam...sorry, I just noticed that I didn't have you 2 on my list of blogs....I didn't mean to forget you!)

I may have came up with something different had I started earlier, but that is just how life goes. Last night we had a nice dinner with my husband's brother and his girlfriend. Ava girl was wound tight and provided endless entertainment through the evening.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend in store. I think my husband might be working on our barn trim today......that will be great to have that project finished. So that leaves Ava and I to find something fun to do. I have tomatoes now, more than I can eat, but not really enough to justify the canning mess so we might try to figure out something to do with our tomato stash.....homemade salsa sounds yummy to me!

Yesterday we met finally with a monument company to pick out something for Ethan. I tell you what, I think this lady had a pretty fun job as far as being able to use your photography/graphic art skills, but I just don't know if I could have a job where I was surrounded by headstones all day long. I think it is really going to look neat when we have it finalized. It's so hard trying to decide what pictures to use.....I have sooo many. I think what we have picked out Ethan would really like. To make it very personable, we are having a vase made that will be a replica of Ethan's boots. They will be made out of granite and should look just like his little boots that he always wore and was so proud of. Won't that be such a cool addition to his headstone. Of course the back is going to be a scrapbook type collage of pictures of Ethan. It will turn out just perfect I'm sure. We wanted something in place before winter sets in here so I think the timing will work out well. It's definitely never something you want to have to go through, but I think we keep trying to make these little steps one thing at a time and it does help.