My Fancy Pants mixed media album

I'm done! I must be the slowest person in the world when it comes to making mini albums! I don't feel like mine are ever that big or that intricate, yet they take me forever! Oh well, it's a good thing I enjoy the creative process ;-) This one, especially, was SO much fun to make! These new mixed media albums by Fancy Pants are so cool! I got to play with chipboard, acrylic and felt - fun, fun, fun! I also used the brand new paper lines - mostly Delight with a little of On a Whimsey. Used lots of other FP felt and chipboard, too.

You should be able to click on the images to see them larger (thanks to my CMK friends for helping me with this!).

The shaped acrylic page in the center here was actually from another Fancy Pants clear album I had. This view shows the page underneath with the clear page flipped up:

I tried to get a view of the acylic page by itself:

We've had quite a snow and ice-filled week! Actually, we only ended up getting a few inches of snow, but there was quite a bit of ice. So, Noah had a preschool snow day on Tuesday, and even I got off of work yesterday, which was supposed to be my long day of work. We took the kids to the big hill near our house to go sledding - it was so much fun! Afterwards, we came home and ordered pizza and made s'mores with our next door neighbors. It was a great day :-)

Hope everyone is having a great week!

CMK February Kit Reveal Layout

Sooo, as I mentioned the other day, we are doing something new at CMK starting NOW! :-) On the 25th of each month, the DT will be posting one layout from the next month's kit as a sneak of the kit. Our other three layouts will be revealed throughout the following month. So, without further ado, here is my layout I made with the February kit. This kit is goooorgeous! And Lisa seriously packs these kits - I can't believe how many awesome goodies are in it! I can't wait to play some more!

It's hard to believe Chloe was once this little... It really wasn't *that* long ago, but it feels like a lifetime ago!

We've been having a great weekend here. Tony took a few days off of work, so we've been getting in lots of family time. And Tony and I even had a double date with some friends the other night... just us adults, whoo! Hope everyone else is having a great weekend, too!

More CMK Jan. kit goodness

Hi everyone! Boy this week is flying by for me! I have a couple new layouts to drop off that I made with CMK's gooorgeous Jan. kit (and mini add-on kit).

Journaling reads: No matter where you are in our house, there is no avoiding it - signs of an "all boy" preschooler and signs of a "girly girl" toddler. Legos, star wars figures and superhero accessories are scattered throughout the house with dolls, strollers, princess castles and frilly dress-up clothes. As opposite as their interests are, Noah and Chloe couldn't be any cuter together.

Journaling (around pp): Two is an age of incredible change. It seems as though everyday you are changing more from a baby to a big girl. You are talking (and singing!) so much, playing more independently, and you're constantly impressing us with your knowledge. It's so hard for me to say goodbye to my baby, but i'm excited to see the little girl you are becoming.

Journaling (inside butterfly): As you go through life's journey, don't be afraid to spread your wings and fly. I will always be here to catch you if you fall.

I just got my Feb kit in the mail the other day, too - Lisa seriously puts together some amazing kits!! The DT is doing something new starting this month - on the 25th (Sunday), we'll have a blog hop where we all post our sneak peek layout for the next month's kit. So, check back here on Sunday, and i'll have up my layout showcasing some of next month's goodies. ;-)

Soooo, who watched LOST last night??

Sooo much fun, fancy stuff!

Have you guys been keeping an eye on the Fancy Pants blog?? Every day they have been posting a new sneak peek of what will be debuting at CHA later in the week. Awesome stuff!!

This is one new line called Summer Soiree, and below is a layout I made using the line.

Then there is the new line called On a Whimsy. If you're into fun and whimsical, then this line is definitely for you! I've had a plain mirror that I bought from Ikea just waiting to be altered, but I had never found the perfect papers for it... until now! I made the mirror for Chloe's room.

I haven't gotten to play around with the Delight paper line yet, but it's next on my list:

And then there are the mixed media albums, made up of transparent pages, felt pages and chipboard. Trust me, they are SO awesome! I am hoping to get started on one of them tonight! :-)

So, in addition to my excitement over all things Fancy, I was also very excited about the Surprise Retirement party that we threw for my parents this weekend! It went off without a hitch, and they were VERY shocked! Tony and I, along with my bro and SIL, threw the party at our house, and we had all of their closest friends there. This is a pic of my bro, SIL, dad, mom, Tony and me:

Finally, I have some pics from today to share. It finally snowed! Of course, it really didn't amount to much, but we didn't care! :-) After naptime, the kids and I headed out, and we played with some of our favorite people - the girls next door.

This picture cracks me up - you'd think Chloe and Kaylee had just seen a ghost, but no, they were just watching the salt truck salt our street :-)
Now that i've officially overstayed my welcome on your computer with this mega-long post, i'll bid farewell.

Happy Monday, friends!

The lazybutt blogger returns

I owe credit to my friend Doris for the title of this blog post since she gave me a hard time yesterday about not updating my blog and called me a lazybutt. So, thanks Doris... at least I have a title I haven't used yet! ;-)

The truth of the matter is I just haven't had much going on, lol. I've been scrapping, but a lot of it is stuff I can't share yet. I do have one layout I can share, though. It's for this month's prompt at Forward Progress. My awesome friend Sasha has now joined us with the monthly designs, too, so go check us out if you get a chance!

Journaling: It’s a simple question, really. Yet it’s one that took me awhile to figure out. I’m so used to defining my desires by my family – what I want is for my husband and my children to be happy, etc. I guess there within is my answer. I want to have my own hobbies and skills without neglecting my family. As much as I love being a mommy and wife, I need to have interests and skills beyond changing diapers and kissing boo-boos. It isn’t easy to make myself part of my priorities while still taking time to play with my kids, snuggle with tony and keep the house in order. Clearly balance is what I need. Balance is what I want.

I've been trying to jump on the Photo A Day thing. Notice I said try. We're just two weeks into the new year, and i've already missed two days... yikes! In my defense, they're both Wednesdays. Wednesdays are my long work days, and I leave super early and get home sometimes after 9pm, so I keep forgetting (and my best subjects are already asleep!). I'm not planning to scrap every week of photos - i'm just doing it for fun documentation, so I guess i'm not going to stress about missed days.

It's COLD here. Like 20 degrees, teeth chattering, lips turning blue cold. I just wish we would get some snow to at least make the cold worth it!

Hope everyone is having a great week! I promise to try not to be such a lazybutt blogger this next time around ;-)

Friday Formula

So, Lisa is having us girls on CMK's DT do something a little different this term - she'll continue to post her awesome sketch (aka Friday Formula) in the forums, and we'll all take turns posting the sketch on CMK's blog, as well as our layout we created using the sketch. So, I just posted on CMK's blog for the first time, whoo!

If you click on the link above, it will take you to the blog post with the sketch. Here is my layout that I made using the sketch about the annual Girl's Weekend me and "the girls" go on:

My layout was made entirely from CMK's January kit and the mini add-on kit. Gorgeous stuff!!

Speaking of CMK, the new Design Team was announced yesterday! So in addition to those of us who are staying on from last term (Tina Albertson, Leslie Ashe, Carrie Ferrier, Danielle Flanders and myself), Lisa has added on Charity Hassel, Leigh Penner and Sherry Steveson. I'm so excited for the new additions, and I am looking forward to this new term!

In other news, i'm anxiously awaiting a box of new Fancy Pants stuff that will be debuting at CHA, whoo! I'm SO bummed that I am not going to CHA, but i'm really hoping that I will be able to go for the first time this summer. Let's hope the stars are aligned!

I hope everyone's 2009 is starting out on the right foot! Have a great weekend, everyone!

Ringing in the New Year

Wow! I still can't believe we're onto a whole new year already. Our NYE was fun! We had dear friends of ours over who have a son the same age as Noah, so the kids had fun playing, and us adults had some dinner and drinks and played some games (Rockband being one of them - we're quickly becoming addicted ;-). Chloe went to sleep normal time, but we let Noah stay up until 2009, and he ended up going to sleep at 1am! He easily could have outlasted us, lol.

I have a few new layouts to share. This first one is a Fancy Pants layout. I uploaded it to TwoPeas on Tuesday and was excited to see that it was the featured layout that day :-)

This next layout is DT work for Create My Keepsake using the gooooorgeous January kit. This kit is seriously so pretty! Lots of Teresa Collins Crush mixed with Amy Butler. And I love the embellies and Jillibean letters in the kit!

Sooo, speaking of CMK's January kit, I am SO excited to tell you guys that I am continuing on the DT for another term. I am so grateful that I get to stay on - CMK has seriously become my online home - I love the people there and the kits are gorgeous! Lisa is making some changes to the DT, and we are shrinking down to six - four of us are staying on from the current DT, and she is adding on two more. The call ended two days ago, so I can not wait to see who will be joining us!! Good luck to those of you who entered :-)

Well, I wish you all the happiest of New Year's, and I hope 2009 is a great year for all of my blogging friends! :-)