Just a little heads up!!! Giveaway!!

Just wanted to give you all a heads up! I will be having a fun giveaway on Tuesday Aug, 2nd!! Please stop by for your chance to win! Hint... I will be giving away my favorite punch and some other goodies!!!

A make-n- take- take 2!

This is my second attempt at this book. I made my first one for my son, (I will post that soon) at the scrap book expo in Puyallup earlier this month, I had such a fun time I made a second  mini album with my niece the other day. She is the same age as my son, they go to the same school, and hang out with the same kids. Her younger brother is a grade behind them and my oldest daughter a grade ahead. They are all truly blessed to have each other. This June, was graduation for the 8th graders, she and my son are almost freshman, so I decided to make her something special to remember her 8th grade year... she liked it so much she is going to make one every year with me, one for my son and one for my oldest daughter too! The template, or design of the book, I got from a make and take at the Puyallup Expo, from  The Scrap Yard Chicks .They were there, and having such a great time, I stood in line to take their little Slam Book demo make and take. I also got my picture taken with Darcie, here wer are... excuse the bad hair day, I was running a little late that day. (Sorry Shannon!)<-Click there to see Shannons new blog!! Good stuff!

 boy did she put up with a lot from me, I hadn't eaten all day or had anything to drink so by the time I sat down I had a little brain fog!!  This book starts with 5 pieces of paper, and you go from there.... There are 2 pocket pages for pullouts, and one page for tags or other items. The rest are just regular pages...If you stop by their blog you will see how it was done at the show, This was my second book, so I made a few different choices. All right enough of the blabbing I will get on with the project

This is the cover of the book, I used the bind it all, and a chip board number and smootched it with some green shiny smooch~!

These pages are pretty basic. This is Zabrina, and a picture of her and my son.
I am going to just load up the pictures and give you a list of what I used at the end!

This double layout is her favorite pages, the pictures don't really do them justice. They are so pretty, and oh so covered with Stickles and flowers!

The other two page layout is just to cute! Love the pictures on these pages too! the pocket page has a tag behind the photo on the pull out page! The last page is a picture of her school mascot. Good bye 8th grade!

The paper I used was An SEI pad called Madeline, I used a few punches, tons of Diamond Stickle, pearls, bling,   a few paper doilies from grandma's house, Flowers, flowers and more flowers, - we actually ran out! The ATG gun, zig pen, I top brad maker, ribbon, and the bind it all. I think that's it... And It was all from my stash!!! Woo HOO for that!

Just a quick little post

I have given my blog a little free make over from shabby blogs, I even made myself a header, and a new blog button! I just wanted to tell you all the back story of the button... My mom was one of 7 kids, stuck in the middle, of older girls and some rowdy boys. They grew up on a dairy farm in a Dutch farming community. The picture I am using for my button is my mom and her older brother. I just love it. It hangs in my home along with a few others I cherish of extended family. Please feel free to use the button on your blog, in fact I would be super happy eeek!! But please do not copy the photo for use. Thanks for understanding! Happy Crafting!!!
kacee

Thanks! You Float My Boat!

My oldest daughter is turning 16 in a week or so and a few wonderful family members are giving her a 16th birthday present to remember. She is getting to go from Washington state (yuck rain cold summer) and fly to a resort in Texas for 10 days with her Aunt and Uncle! She is truly blessed with some wonderful extended family that planned the entire trip out, they are doing this huge thing for her because they love her. And think she deserves something special. She is away for the month right now, but will be back soon and asked if I could get started making thank you cards for the family members who have paid for the flight, and who are giving her spending money so she can have the time of her life. Of course I told her I would get right on it, and reached for my stamps! I always go to them first for inspiration, the set I used is called Splash-tastic Summer by Kristal over at Getting Cricky I thought a nice guy card would do great for her "Pop". So I headed to Stampadoodle, my local scrap store. And played on the Accu cutting machine, most scrap stores have these for customer use, I wanted to make a shaped card, and I thought I would tell you or show you how I did it, so even if you don't have an electronic cutter yourself, you can make card like this too.

First, I picked out the die and the paper, folded the paper in half so when it cut I would get 2 images, the trick is to leave a little space on the side with no paper, this will act as the fold of your card. Then I laid it on the tray and cut it.

Next you do the other colors you may want, I chose to have each sail a different color, and the hull of the boat black, so I cut that out last, I used a thick chipboard so the card can stand up a little better.

Then you take the light colored sail and cut it in half, decide what side your card is open on, you will need to add the sail to the side that has the fold, to make sure it is covered and you cant tell. Also at this point cut the top flag off.

then cut out some clouds.....

Ink your boat up and add the blue sail, the black hull, and the cloud. Stamp the cloud with your saying, and glue it to the back.

Then I do some doodles, just what ever you want to add, I also added Thanks to the inside of the card.

There you have it! A shape card with out an electric die cutter, and that stands up!! I love a shape card that stands. I think they are so cute! Hope you enjoy my photo tutorial, I know it was long, sorry for that. Have a super crafty week!!

4th of July mini

My oldest daughter had a pair of jeans that she just loved, she wore out the knees holes in her back pockets, and just  had grungy cuffs. She wouldn't toss them out, so she cut them to shorts for the summer, well they finally bit the dust this 4th. So I decided to make a mini album of the 4th and incorporate her jeans, this was the last time she got to wear them. So here is her mini!

I love this pocket page, Its the back pocket of her jeans, tucked inside is a note made with stamps from Kandrews, you can find them here   I used her stamps all over this book, on the jeans, embossing on the back page and as descriptions for pictures. They really fit well in this book. And stamped really well! OK, on to more pages!!!

So a quick list of what I used:
We R memory Keepers Yankee Doodles pad
recollections card stock
assorted ribbon,
old pair of jeans as embellishments,: star on cover, 2 stars on binding, frame on picture and some trim on a page.
I Top brad maker to make flowers on pocket of jeans
Kandrews stamps
Some chip board
Bind it all
spellbinders and a corner rounder

Christmas in July!

I wanted to thank Giselle for all the hard work in getting every one together for Christmas in July! I had a really fun time getting away from all my summer scrapping just for a minute to think about Christmas. I chose to make a list, each day of the hop is something new, so make sure you stop by cross my heart paper crafts and check out what every one has made!
This project is cricut-less, I just cut every thing by hand old school. I used :
one 12x12 red and one 12x12 white.
corner rounder
black pen
adhesive- craft glue, pop dots, and ATG gun
Stickles
paper cutter, and scissors
Last year I saw a card to Santa that said" Dear Santa", and it opened to his beard. It was only a regular card, so I thought I would tweek it to make it fit for my list idea. I have a spot for all 4 of my kids, you lift Santa's beard up and there is the list for my youngest two. This was really easy to make and I'm sure that it would be a great project for your own kids to make.

a little altered frame

My scrap space is black white with a touch of plum, so I decided to alter an old frame to match, I used DCWV Black Currant stack, rolled some flowers, and punched some butterflies out with a MS punch, pinched them together, to give them some dimension and Mod Podge the paper to the frame. I love the new look!

Make and Take

I was lucky enough to get to go the the Puyallup Scrapbook expo with some great company and had a GREAT time! It was my first time and I am hooked! So looking forward to the next one. I Loved the make and takes, and the giveaways were really fun too! I was a lucky winner twice!!  The first Make and Take  I will tell you about was with a great gal named Sabrina from the Rubber Cafe'she  taught us some cool stamping tricks!. Thanks Sabrina,  we had a great time.  And thanks for the tips! Its always fun to get out of your box and try new things, here is my project.

Can you see the glitter? Love that stuff! I think I need to pick some up, kicking my self for not getting it while I was there!
Have a happy scrappy day!!!

Iyla

 I have been going through some personal issues that have brought up some very emotional things in my life. I normally do not post such personal struggles, but this is so heavy on my heart, I'm going to use my blog for an outlet today.... In my home I have a sign by my front door. It reads" Live Simply~ Love Generously~ Care Deeply~ Speak Kindly~ Leave the rest to God." I really try to live by this. Its simple and easy to remember, not that hard to do, but sometimes, I struggle with just giving it all to God. I know that I am where I am for a reason and a purpose, and if I have trials along the way, they will make me stronger. That  every one has anxiety of some sort, its all how you make it through it that. Just let it go give it to God, and pray. So that is what I have been doing, and It has brought up some issues I never talk about...I am going to tell you about one of them.  Some of you know about the loss of Devon, Taylor and Harleigh. But I've never mentioned my baby. My Iyla who is 23 mo. old. She was a child who would not have been born if we hadn't lost the 3 Yes there is a reason for everything... A child God wanted me to have. She was a perfect baby, a baby in my own image, my coloring, my temperament. My number 4. A brown eyed, brown hair beauty in a family of blonds with blue eyes. She was made to stand out. So smart, she was talking, yes talking. At her 6 mo check up she said "HI" to her Dr. when he walked into the room. He was blown away in 20 years he said he had never had a baby say hi to him.. She would also say "Hi , read this,  mom, dad,  book, bubba, baba" and a few others.. My earliest talker. It was quite the site to see a tiny little one talking to you. Telling my husband "HI DA!!"! When he opened the door from a long day of work!  And putting 2 words together no less!! A-mazing  I knew she would be an early walker. Her siblings walked between 10 and 11mo. All of them. But this wonder  and amazement in how advanced she was all came to an end just a short time after she turned 6 mo.  She started acting strange. She would shake, go stiff, and bend in half at her tummy (if she was sitting). Her eyes would glaze over and out her little  arms would fly to the sides of her body. She held out in her hands tight little fists would clench and her head would bob, when it was over, her head would flop down. As a mother of many. I knew this was not right. Everything in me screamed this was not normal. I took her to the Dr the first time, and they didn't know for sure what it was, I was told to call if she had more.... She did have more. And more, and more. The last day she had them, I lost count. They were happening right after another. in clusters that would last hours. My tiny girl so tired, I took her to bed with me and recorded her "spells" for the Dr. The tape was seen by her pediatrician, who then said the symptoms and tape look like infantile seizures, she is the right age to start them. Lets make sure...  so he sent me to  a neurologist who referred her to Children's Hospital, 2 hours away for a few days of observation.... but, that would have to wait for her referral from her insurance. So I prayed, my family prayed, by the time of her appointment, once we got the referral, and the stay scheduled,  her seizures had peeked and   had been decreasing.  She was now having them less and less each day! Then, they slowly went away, hour by hour, less and less. In the month it took to make the apt, and get her to Children's they were so mild they could no longer be called infantile seizures, just some type of seizure activity. The stress of my child's illness, and the uncertainty of her future with this disorder was all to overwhelming. I was working part time, and my mother would watch her for me or my husband on his days off. I started noticing she wasn't talking any more when my best friend called to ask about her and what new words she could say. I said none.... She has  lost her speech. She doesn't laugh like she used to, she wont look at me. My friend assured me I was just stressed out, she was fine, she" heard her talking a few weeks ago on the phone". The guilt of not being able to afford to just stay home with her to  help her achieve her gifts again, to get her to every playgroup, child screening, and program I could find really made me feel so guilty. I didn't want to go to work, I wanted to work with my child. To help her overcome this. The guilt was overwhelming. A year later, I know the seizures have changed Iyla, she is a great kid, I just don't know what they have done to her brain yet, her development is apparently delayed by comparison to her projected growth, but she is slowly and steadily making marked improvement. With a lot of work, and some help with developmental screenings, she could be just fine..I pray every day  that I can put this anxiety aside for the sake of my other children, that Iyla will grow up to be a very happy beautiful girl with God in her heart. This changed my baby forever. She will never be the same child I put to bed at 6mo..She is making steady progress, people that don't know of her delays may not notice, but I know. I know she is not talking like she was. We don't know how this is going to impact her future, or what is to come for us, we just push on, keep working, pray and thank God that it isn't as bad as it could be. After all she is walking, talking a little, and pushing on too.   So my message I guess is simple,  please be aware of this disorder. Google it, watch the videos. Be aware if you know some one with a tiny baby tell them about it.... some symptoms start off very small and may not be noticed. I had not heard of it prior to my child's episodes. It is something that will forever change your baby.  There is a long road ahead of us. Be grateful for your children, be grateful that the little quirk s/he has will pass with age, or that they can tell you what they want. Be grateful that putting your child to bed tonight, that your child can tell you s/he loves you. If they don't talk yet, be thankful that you KNOW that you will hear that someday.  If there is the music pounding from their bedroom door that  is to loud, be greatful they can hear it, that they understand and can remember the words to the song..That they know and understand who you are, and that you know they love you. Be greatful for the little things. the smiles, the unrequested hug, and  be blessed by watching them grow.

Lazy Days

When I think of the lazy days of summer I think of laying at the beach or by the pool, but not to long ago, when it was just my older kids we camped-alot. We had a little white camper that looked a lot  like this one. We had some really great family memories in that little camper, and camped every chance we got. Sadly when I moved I didn't have space for her, so my Uncle took her to his farm for farm hands who needed a place to stay. I am really thankful for the memories I share with my children, of the summers we shared as a family. Fishing, camping and playing in the great Pacific North West. The pictures and memories  we have of this time are priceless, and the kids often talk about the time my son Carter fell into a pond on a trout farm. Carter leaned over the side of the pond to see it just packed FULL of fish, it was feeding time so he wanted to get a closer look, the next thing we see is his little blond head bobbing in the pond!  His dad scooped him out  with super speed,  but the stink on him lasted for days!!! He was so scared that little guy. I think I will send this to my boy, with a pair of swim trunks, and flip flops I picked up for him. Love you Bubba! Hope you are having a wonderful summer!!

About the card: The paper is from My Mind's Eye called Surf's Up! The red white and teal are Recollections. A little ATG and ink on the edges, I used Kristal's stamp from her new line, The set is called Splash-tastic Summer, you can find them here.

Peachy Keen Challenge PATTERNS

For this challenge I had to use some pattern paper, I used some Bo Bunny pink stripes and Bo Bunny pink dots, the cupcake paper is Recollections called Cupcake. I used some spellbinders nestabilities, and a Peachy Keen face from the PK-640 Princess Face Assortment (I think this is my go to set). I layered it all up with some pop dots to give it some dimension, inked all the pink, and used Kristal's stamp  from Getting Cricky called Amazing You.

Peachy keen sketch challenge

I made this little card for the Peachy Keen sketch challenge over at peachy keen's blog They are always fun to do and get me making cards for my friend who lives in a group care home on the other side of the state. So with this card I had to follow the sketch they wanted, but I added my own colors, a PK face from PK-640 Princess face assortment stamps and a cute little stamped saying from K Andrews from over at Getting Cricky. It is from one of her newest sets called Splash-tastic Summer.  I added a little action wobble to the back of the little bucket, and tied the shovel to it with some twine. Love this little card. Its just so happy!

a little crafting fun!

Im packing up to head to a all day crop!~ (at my local paper store). Hope to get alot done today, play with my ecraft and show the girls this new pretty crafting tool! I just signed up over at Peachy Keen's new forum. It seems pretty cool only got to play for a minute. But I will be on there for sure! There is a link on the right side of my blog- go check it out! Have a fun safe crafty day!!! Please leave your blog address so I can come over and visit!

Buckets of Fun!!!

Yesterday was  a beautiful day here in my neck of the woods. The sun was out and loved by many today, especially those who took their friends and family to the beach! For those of the beach goers who forgot to bring sunscreen, sunburns showed bringing  beautiful fire red to many arms and little faces. Emma my 3 year old has milky white skin, a true Dutch baby who loves to be out on nice days but who doesn't take to the first heat of summer very well, I opted out of the bathing suit today, and put on a little sundress. Not exactly the shot I was going for to pull together this layout, but for her sake the best bet! Ive thrown in a few extra pics for my grandma at the bottom of the post- love you Grandma! This is what I'm scrappin now!
About the layout: I used We R Memory Keepers Yankee Doodles collection
DCVW tan paper for the sand in 2 different colors
Tim Holtz Distressed ink -tea dye for the sand texture
Stampin' up Basic Black ink for the sentiment
Kristal Andrews stamps from getting cricky for the saying "Buckets of Fun"
you can find it in her newest stamp set called Splash-tastic Summer!
Just got these stamps and LOVE them, AND the fact that they don't get "lost" on my layouts! That's huge, I'm a layout scrappin kinda girl!!! I'm entering it in her Sunday challenge you can find it here at her blog gettingcricky.