WARNING...a long one!

Wow...it has been a week since I blogged! Shame on me {too many obligations and just not enough time}.
Lots of photos to share. Enjoy!

Cards blog recently challenged to create Easter cards. I thought this was inspirational and fun...{Love this set of paper from K&Company)
This card is perfect for Easter or a sweet girl birthday...

I didn't get it finished in time to enter, but this layout was inspired by a recent sketch from Studio Calico...

I am one of the baptismal shepherds at our church and what we do is send little flyers to our new little members who have been baptised. My "lil lamb" is turning one tomorrow (no fooling)! Happy Birthday Chase! It's fun to make boy theme cards, I don't have that opportunity in our home!

And now some photos I love!

Last Friday Mikayla had a birthday celebration at Ozzy's for a classmate. Alexis was having a blast playing with the toy phone....she was talking a mile a minute and the arms were moving all around! I even had to get my cell phone out and talk to her...it was fun.

I made Mikayla stop for 30 seconds to get a photo...she was having a blast climbing all over with her friends.

Two Sunday's ago the cherub choir had their debut in church. This is a group of 4 to 7 year olds (five of them right now). I really thought I was in perfect position for the perfect shot....it didn't really work out that way as you can see. Mikayla is right aside of the piano so you can only see the top of her head...

So we had some posing outside afterwards...

As you can see little Miss Alexis was not full of smiles....

I think Mikayla was more excited about wearing her beautiful dress then she was about singing. She is such a princess in the dress!

After the first Wednesday service in Lent, Casey disappeared and went to talk to the Music director, Gloria. Casey wanted to sing a solo in church {we have no idea where she gets this from}. Gloria thought it was a great idea and they practice for a few weeks and Casey sang her solo on the last Lent service. She really enjoyed it, so I think she'll be doing solos in church more regular.

I had some fun taking some soccer photos at Casey's game on Saturday.

This was my favorite of the day...love the action in this shot! She looks like a pro!

This past Sunday our church held their Easter egg hunt for the kids. Unfortunately, we only had Alexis and Mikayla with us this week.

Alexis' group only had a small amount of kids, so they all had loads of eggs.

The story behind the laugh....Kiara {one of the teenagers} was trying to tell Alexis to look under the bush to get the prize egg {see the orange egg just above her right hand, under the bush}. Alexis had no idea what Kiara was trying to tell her, she just kept laughing and looking over at Kiara. It was so funny!

I'm not one of those crazy mom's who leads my kid right to the prize egg {that is really a pet peeve of mine, I can't believe some parents think it's that big of a deal!} We didn't have any crazy mom's at this hunt, thank goodness.

Another favorite....

Morgan ended up finding that orange prize egg under the bush, but she already had a prize egg so she got to share with a friend. Morgan shared it with Alexis (too sweet)!

And then it was off to watch Mikayla's group. She had a few more kids in her group and they were in a much bigger area. It was tough to get nice photos of her because half the time she was running in the opposite direction from me.

Alexis was having fun playing with Mommy's sunglasses....I don't know where she got the idea to use the sunglasses as a headband {HaHa}....love this smile, she's so precious!

The good and the not so good....

Do you have those layouts that as you are creating them you really, really like them? You are happy with the final product and your excited to have it finished and post it or slide it into your album? This happened last night....I used this sketch design from Designdollies.blogspot.com (a new challenge site I just found out about and think I'm going to love {thanks Sarah})...


These pictures just crack me up and I think the layout is cheery and fun! I usually don't get paint out cause I'm too lazy to clean it up, but I've been reaching for it more and more lately. I love how the clouds turned out....it was exactly how I pictured them. So, I was very happy with this creation....

But other times.....I have good "visions" on what I want the layout to look like, but as I start it, its not looking how I really wanted it and I'm just not as excited about it. That's the feeling on this layout...its OK, but definitely not my favorite. It still records a memory so its a keeper, but not entering it in any beauty contests. lol

The latest challenge at EBTKS...
Since it is soon Easter time, I thought I'd go with an Easter card...I'm having fun lately with the pinwheel creations, I think they are fun.

Sketchy Thursdays challenge and more....

This is the latest sketch from Sketchy Thursdays....
I didn't follow this sketch as closely as I normally do, but I had fun working with the crackling paint medium.

And a recipe challenge on its Scraptacular forum.... its always a challenge to do a 2 page layout with so many photos!

I received my Pink Paisless goodies this weekend! (We had a double delivery of goodness on Saturday...Mikayla received her Crayola goodies too!) I can't wait to try these out...

And look at all the tape!....

St. Patty's Day Birthday Card

I know, I know, I'm a day late on posting this....but...since I had to post the challenge yesterday I didn't want to do a double post. So, I just figured I'd share today.

My father-in-law was "lucky" to be born on March 17th! I created this fun card for him....
and the inside....

I hope he liked it!

Sketchy Thursdays Challenge and cards...

This weeks sketch at Sketchy Thursdays...
And my creation...

I do have to add some journaling to it...but I just couldn't find the right words {yet}.

Here is a card I made for a crafter who is going through the challenge of fighting cancer right now. I hope that the outpouring of cards will bring her some delight on a tough day. Bonnie, you are in my prayers.

The challenge of making a card for a man....this is tough for me. I try to imagine what they would think about the card....do they appreciate a handmade card?...I'm sure some do...especially those that have crafting wife's :)

Last evening, we wanted to go to the park, but sort of ran out of time. Mikayla and I enjoyed a little time outside. I was having fun snapping some shots....she's so fun!

A busy weekend results in....

Before I get into the weekend review, I must congratulate my talented six year old. Mikayla won the challenge on Happy Inspirational blog. I really wish she would not have been the only entry. Ha Ha...but she earned it, she did a great job!

We heard news that a friendly church member had to undergo surgery today. She is in our prayers and I made a card to let her know she was on our mind and we wish her a speedy recovery.
And I finished up three "letters" in my journal. Here is the cover again (just to catch you all up to speed)....

C....I am a Christian and....

I am Creative... ( I thought they were both important characters to me, so I used two)

and a side by side view

D...disciplinarian (I couldn't match much "art" to this word...so I know it's a little plain)

This one is a stronghold for me personally, I struggle with my envy of others almost every day. Why do I compare myself to others all the time?

For Christmas, Alexis and Mikayla received T-shirts that they could color. I finally made time for them. It was very hard to let Alexis cut loose on her shirt...as you can see I did color over it all for her.

Alexis said Ariel had boo-boos (that's the red on her arms). And did you take notice that I colored the fish backwards? He is supposed to be yellow with blue stripes, and I didn't notice till after I was done. Ha-Ha!

And Mikayla was solo on hers...

Grandma's Birthday, class, and fun...

I have to confess...I have been so overwhelmed with our schedule at home recently and I forgot about my Grandma's birthday. Shame on me! On Wednesday I went to the market to pick up soup and as soon as I wrote the date on the check it dawned on me....it's Grandma's birthday! I feel terrible that my card is going to be a little late (she is always so delighted to see a handmade card). I know she'll still love it.

When I was deciding how to create her card I knew it had to be bright and colorful. Grandma hates dark colors, especially black. She loves colors! (That's such an awesome quality about her!) I recently seen a tutorial on this flower and thought it was cute.....

Then a fun bird on the inside...

And some colorful rub-ons for the envelope. In the past I would stamp on the envelope, but I really like the rubon's for the envelope. I'll have to remember that for next time.

I'd like to add more teaching experience to my crafting resume. So I created this picture frame for a class project at our local ACMoore (Temple). If you are interested, the class is Tuesday March 30th from 6 to 8. You have to register at the store.

And to brighten my day.... This picture cracks me up! What is with that face, LOL! Oh, I love her so much!