In the Meadow birthday

I put this card together almost a month ago over my Christmas vacation. It was for my FIL's birthday. I haven't done a sponging technique like this in a long time so it was fun to get all inky!  He is definitely a country "man" (hard to call him a boy anymore, lol) so I am sure he enjoyed it.

Enjoy!

Kristin

Project Life: what I've been up too

Have you heard about Project Life by Becky Higgins?  I've been seeing & hearing about it for a couple of years.  Previously I thought "not for me... it's one more thing and I like to *scrapbook*".  Mainly, I have looked "over the shoulder" of Mish's PL pages as she shared them on her blog.  Now, I've been scrapping for decades!  I have scrapbooks going back to junior high.  You know the ones: pictures, ticket stubs, notes passed in class, etc.  Books stuffed full of my life as a teenage girl.  I only stopped that scrapping shortly after getting married because I had a real job and husband and life and was busy!

I started it up again a couple years later, but this time I was introduced to scrapbooking as we know it today.  The traditional layouts (1 or 2 pages), a title, some journalling, embellishments (i.e. stickers!), etc.  I did this back and forth over the last 13 years.  I have multiple albums full for my kids and a couple of family albums.  But, they are just one event after another: birthday, easter, 4th of july, vacation, school, fall/halloween, thanksgiving, christmas, vacation, (and then start over)... what happened to our daily life?? I didn't really think about it.

Then, a little over a year ago I lost my mom.  She had lived with us for the previous 5 1/2 years.  My children only knew life with her in our home.  And she was gone.  I had lost my chance to document those days with her and them.

Most of my friends and even close family would never know that we are the family that might play music at dinner and the kids will get up to sing and my dh and I have even been known to dance to "Kiss the Girl" from Little Mermaid around the kitchen.  My husband  turned my mom's room into a craft room for my kids and I to craft together and spend time together in her room making good memories.  We can work on their Smash books, make cards, or watch the NYE ball drop drinking cocoa.  We have pajama day at schools, babydolls eat dinner with us, and watching a Star Wars movie for the first time is a BIG deal in our house!  That is our life.  And I want our kids to know that *this* time is a great time- we didn't just get up and go to school and wait for big events to happen.  We didn't just let life happen to us, but we captured the joy life has to offer.

I've kept up with PL weekly (I'm currently caught up on wk 4 bc all my pics went into the sleeves last night and all my journalling was done after going over my Awesome Notes app from the daily notes I keep).  It takes me 30 min a session after I email and print the photos at home. I have decided to keep it to the absolute basic.  I make cards, I still scrap for the kids, I can papercraft to my heart's content in other areas.  I won't allow PL to get overwhelming to me bc I won't set any expectations except to document our life.

I have loved this journey and am so glad I decided to do it.  It has been so worth it.  And the kids and husband love it so far.  The album sits out even now.  And they already look through it. :)

Enjoy!

Kristin

Clean and Simple Day 8

The day 8 lesson was about mirror stamping.  I learned one important lesson- detail stamps are better than solid stamps because I can't mirror stamp a solid stamp! :)

Enjoy!

Kristin

Clean and Simple Day 7

Today is the Clean & Simple class again and yet again I have skipped a day.  This time I skipped Day 6, but not for lack of effort.  I threw away 3 different elements that I was attempting to make into embellishments because I hated them all.  However, when I opened my email this morning I knew I could do this day.  PTI MS1, B&B Wishes, Cane Print IP, Scallop border die, and Echo Park paper.  I think in the picture the print of the cardstock and the pattern paper are busy but in real life the cardstock impression is more subtle.  I also put stickles on the sentiment for a bit of bling.

Enjoy!

Kristin

Clean and Simple Day 5

Today's class lesson was using techniques: watercoloring with Distress Inks.  I used PTI Iconic Images and Healing Touch Sentiments. I used clear embossing powder on regular cardstock (the Walmart brand)... I'm assuming watercolor paper would have made a more finished product.  Overall, it's a neat look.

Enjoy!

Kristin

Clean and Simple Day 4

This post is for the Clean and Simple class... day 4 (I skipped day 3... too busy now and it's better for me to skip and feel like I am keeping up!).  One stamp (in this case the background text) stamped in unique (or three different ways).  I chose to stamp it and emboss it and then mask out a shape of a stamped flower (PTI Dark Chocolate).  I have a threaded button on it as well.  The other flower is larger but the same image.  Then, just a strip of patterned paper (old My Mind's Eye) with pen stitching and sentiment is PTI B&B Wishes.

Enjoy!

Kristin

Clean & Simple Card Day 2

Even though it is the end of day 3 of class, I'm just now posting my day 2 card (that I finished 5 minutes ago!).  Alas, busy couple of days! 

This had to be a one layer card.  So, I masked off, misted, then stamped the inside with Holiday Photo Finishers, Embellishments, and Just the Ticket sets.  Mister was Maya Road and everything else is PTI.

Enjoy!

Kristin

Clean & Simple Card Day 1

I signed up for a card making class.  I've never done this before but just what I read in today's notes showed me how much I will get out of this class!  I chose the 2nd sketch (of 3) and did a monochromatic look. I used all Aqua Mist colors from PTI, Rosie Posie Stamp set as the background image on the panel, and the sentiment from Little Labels (embossed) in white with a white button.

As my own critic, I would choose a *larger* sentiment.  I feel like it is getting swallowed up by the images on the panel.  But my larger sentiments (from Think Big Fave's -PTI line) were too big... I don't have any *medium* size that I liked.... hmmm.

What do ya'll think?

Enjoy!

Kristin

8 years ago...

Eight years ago today I became a mom... wow... the joy, wonder, and craziness that is held in that word. 

Hardest job ever- and this is from a woman who has 3 degrees, has started a professional department out of nothing, then left it to start a private practice out of nothing (and worked countless hours). 

And, it is the best job ever- and this is from someone who has seen a child hear for the first time, given a woman the ability to hear her child laugh for the first time, and cried with countless patients over the years as they heard leaves rustle and birds sing again. 

I pray with both my children... "Thank you God for letting me be your mom"  And that is such a true statement.

Enjoy!

Kristin

Pink Paislee Snow Day

I *love* Pink Paislee's Snow Day line and I couldn't have been happier when they offered so many of their papers and embellishments for free online during December.  I downloaded every single one!!  I used a sketch from online (?? source- page maps- I don't know!).

Enjoy!

Kristin