Ruth Ellen's Blog

For the Love of Sketches

2011-07-11T18:16:00.000-07:00

I used this week's sketch from For the Love of Sketches to create this layout. This is a fabulous new sketch site started by a very talented scrapy friend of mine!!

The product is from the July Treasure Box Club kit.

Thanks for stopping by!

Quickutz Club July Cards

2011-07-11T08:42:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the cards we made in the July Quickutz Club Meeting at Scrapbook Mania this past weekend. The die we featured was a Cottage Cutz 4x4 Spring Doile. Lots of great possibilities with this die!!

Loved seeing everyone on Saturday!

Happy Scrapping!

Saying goodbye to soccer

2011-05-14T16:03:00.000-07:00

We can now say we made it through another season of soccer. Both girls really enjoyed playing this Spring and I am so glad we chose soccer over softball. We were lucky to have some fun families on each team which always makes it even more fun for both the girls and for me!

Only two more weeks of school left! I can't believe summer is almost here! I am really looking forward to some lazy days....

Since my other commitments are slowly winding down, I am finding some time to scrap!! Here is my Project 12 layout from July 2010. Only two more to go now until I am finished with 2010!! This album is going to be so fun to have and I can't wait for the day when I can post my completed album!! Woohoo!!

I used the May 2011 Treasure Box Club Kit to create my July 2010 layout. This kit is full of American Crafts goodies so you know I loved it right away!! Pretty much everything I used on the layout came from the kit which is why I love these kits!! Makes scrapping so easy and fun!!

Thanks for looking and have a great rest of the weekend!

Fun Easter card

2011-04-03T17:00:00.000-07:00

I received some new Cottage Cutz dies in the mail this week, so of course I couldn't wait to start playing!! I used glitter cardstock to cut out the Ornate Spring wreath. I really like the extra shimmer and texture you get from glitter cardstock. The papers are old We R Memory Keepers but they are new to me so they were fun to use for this card. Otherwise, I just kept the card pretty simple with the focus really being on the die cut shape.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Spring Break Mini Album

2011-03-23T17:00:00.000-07:00

I am so excited about this project because I am actually scrapping recent photos!! This is certainly a new thing for me and I have to say I could really get used to it. LOL!

I created this mini album to document our Spring Break time at the lake. The girls absolutely LOVE the lake. They would move there I think if I would let them. They had a great time fishing, taking pontoon boat rides, hiking in the woods, playing kick the can, and just pretty much getting to do whatever they wanted!! Who could ask for more!

I used the March Treasure Box Club kit to complete this album. Love my TBC kits!!!

First 2011 Disney Layout!!

2011-03-13T17:48:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to share with you my first Disney layout from our most recent trip to the happiest place on earth. I recently purchased a couple of new sketch books specifically to get me going with my Disney layouts. I scrap a lot of single pages for my regular albums, but when it comes to my Disney albums, I like for my layouts to be double-pagers. Sometimes, I have a hard time planning out a two page layout so I have found that I enjoy the creative process much more if I can kick start my scrapping with a double-page sketch.

For this layout, I have used the new Bo Bunny Blast Off Line from Scrapbook Express. I thought these papers would be perfect to highlight our pictures from the Space Ranger Spin!

Laughter has returned to my house!!

2011-02-05T11:24:00.000-08:00

My sweet AK laughed last night for the first time since Monday!! Music to my ears! I think she has finally turned the corner with the worst case of Strep I have ever seen. She still has a nasty cough, but hopefully things are starting to improve! She is even feeling well enough to fight with her sister! ;)

Since everyone is feeling better (finally) I was able to get some scrapping done this morning and last night. I finished another 2010 Project 12 layout. I am trying to stay motivated to finish because I am getting so close. Just 3 more to go!!

This is my June layout using the December Treasure Box Club Kit.

Hopefully, one of my next posts will have all 12 of my 2010 Project Layouts completed! What a feat that will be! I need to hurry up and finish so I don't get behind for 2011!

Day 5 of Strep

2011-02-04T16:30:00.000-08:00

My poor, sweet AK is still down with Strep. I have never seen her this sick. This week has been really long for both of us. However, I think I can see the light coming on at the end of the tunnel. She has been fever free for almost 24 hours now which is HUGE!!!! She is still coughing and bless her heart when she gets an "attack" it is so hard on her. Crossing my fingers that we are finally heading in the wellness direction.

In the meantime, I was able to sneak in my scraproom off and on the last few days and I created this layout using the new We R Memory Keepers Be My Valentine collection. I LOVE these papers!! Such bright, pretty colors and there is even flocking on some of the papers which is so soft and pretty.

These pictures are of my sweet little AK when she was 3. What a little cutie!!

You can get these cute papers at Scrapbook Express while they last!!

It's Strep!!!!!

2011-02-02T13:38:00.000-08:00

After a trip to the pediatrician, I now know that my poor sweet AK has Strep throat! She already had Strep diagnosed last December and based on her current symptoms, she may very well have had Strep over Christmas when I thought she had the flu. I just can't believe it! I have never had a Winter like this with both girls being so sick SO often! When are we going to catch a break!

Here's a little card I made awhile back but never had a chance to post here.

Don't you just love that turquoise mesh ribbon!! You can't tell from the picture, but it is shimmery, too!! Ooo la la!!

Project 12 - December Layout

2011-01-17T14:19:00.000-08:00

I have LOVED Project 12 - 2010!! I haven't completed all of my 2010 months but I am determined to do it! This project has been such a fun way to document the year and I can't wait to look back over these yearly albums!

Here is my December 2010 Project 12 layout. I used my awesome January Treasure Box Club kit to complete this layout.

Thanks for looking! Hope you are having a great MLK Day! We have had beautiful weather both today and yesterday which I guess is payback for all of the snow and ice from this past week! Certainly has been nice to get outdoors for a change without having to bundle up!!

Quickutz and More Club Meeting

2011-01-15T18:55:00.000-08:00

I taught a layout class today for the Quickutz and More club at Scrapbook Mania. Here is the layout I created for the class. The club die that we were working with this month is the Mini Tree Cottage Cutz die from the Scrapping Cottage.

Mom and Me Crop

2011-01-15T18:31:00.000-08:00

OK, I have decided one of my New Year's Goals this year should be to update my blog more often! I was doing pretty good for awhile there but then just sort of let it drop to the side. Well, no more!!

I went to my very first scrapbooking crop today which was actually a Mom and Me crop. I took AK and she had a ball!! She selected a circle album to complete and I had already picked out 10 pictures from baby to now for her to use to make an "All about Me" album. She had so much fun picking out papers but by far the biggest highlight was digging through the huge stash of stickers and die cuts to use to embellish her album pages. I can definitely see us becoming regulars at this event!!

Back to School

2010-10-10T09:02:00.000-07:00

I have been scrapping away with school themed pages for the last several weeks. I decided to join the online Got Sketch Ultimate School Album class where you can create an entire school album starting from preschool and going all the way to 12th grade and a graduation page at the end. I don't know what has been more fun, scrapping the pages or going through the older pictures of AK when she younger.

However, over the weekend, I received my October Treasure Box Club kit which also happens to be school themed. I am so in the school scrapping mood that this kit couldn't have come at a better time for me! I couldn't wait to start playing so I immediately set out to create a page using my new goodies. The colors in this kit were PERFECT for the colors in my picture of AK with her new 2nd Grade teacher so I started working. I also used the Cottage Cutz Hoot Owl and perched him on top of the chipboard abc letters. What school-themed page couldn't use a wise old owl!

Thanks for stopping by today!

2010-08-01T18:55:00.000-07:00

I just got a call from Grey and he has finally made it to his hotel room in NYC. His first order of business - meet new boss and other cohorts down in the hotel bar for drinks. Is this really a business trip??!!

The girls finagled themselves a sleep-time-over with Grandmother and Granddaddy so believe it or not, I have the whole house to myself!! This is unheard of! I don't quite know what to do with myself - NOT! I know, I should be scrapping the night away, but instead I put on my PJ's and crawled into bed to watch whatever I want for as long as I want without the first interruption. I'm telling you one thing, this kind of me time is good for the soul to be sure! Hopefully after my R&R tonight, I will be recharged for some scrappy time tomorrow :)

I want to plan some fun and special girl-time things for us to do this week while Daddy is gone plus we only have two more weeks of summer so I want them to be great!!

2010-07-31T08:27:00.000-07:00

I know my postings have few and far between this summer, but that is just summer for you! I can't believe we only have two more weeks before school starts! As sad as I am that summer is drawing to a close, it is also so exciting to think what this new school year has in store for us. I know the girls are anxious to get back with their friends and they each have some great activities in which they are involved in addition to school so I am sure we will be as busy as always!

I am slowly but surely working on my Project 12 layouts. It's funny that I thought "Oh one layout a month, I can do that!" and here it is almost August and I have finished Jan and now March. However, I have the pictures selected for all the other months which I think is a major hurdle. My hope is that now when I have some free time (yeah right) to do a little me scrapping, I can pull out a month and just get started.

For my March 2010 Project 12 layout, I used the July TBC kit.

Happy Birthday!!!

2010-07-18T06:25:00.000-07:00

Today is my sweet baby girl's 8th birthday!!! Happy Birthday AK!!! Mommy loves you very much!

Catch of the Day!

2010-07-11T17:27:00.000-07:00

I received my July Treasure Box Club Kit in the mail this weekend and I just couldn't wait to play! I love the teal colors running throughout the papers. They look so pretty paired with the browns. This outdoorsy, wildlife pattern is the perfect base for some lake pictures. AK caught this huge Gar fish on her over night jugs. There is nothing the girls love more at the lake than fishing with Granddaddy!!!

Cute as a Bug :)

2010-06-07T08:36:00.000-07:00

I was working on a layout that I needed to incorporate the Cottage Cutz Ladybug Die so I started digging through papers and pictures. I knew ME had been a ladybug for Halloween one year so the pictures were easy to find. Then, as I was helping AK with one of her projects, I found this old ladybug paper in "her stash" (which comes from my super old stash!). Look how cute it is!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T18:05:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful Easter we had today! Probably one of the best ever! The Easter Vigil service last night was just wonderful. I love going to this service on Saturday night before Easter because it really gets you in the mood for the true meaning of Easter and you aren't having to "compete" with the Easter bunny. Then we had a yummy Easter lunch at Mother and Dad's house with Charlie and Whitney. We definitely need to put that menu down in the books! One of the best sweet potato casserole EVER!! Plus Whitney made a scrumptious carrot cake - the perfect Easter dinner dessert! I the girls were more interested in the Easter egg hunting at M&D's than the meal. Even Uncle Charlie got to play egg hunting! Good practice for the soon-to-be father!!

Too much going on this weekend to get any crafting done, but hopefully I did get some pictures to use in upcoming layouts! Here is a layout I finished up last week of egg decorating in years past:
I used some new papers from Adornit. The pinks and greens were just too perfect with AK's princess dress and green apron. The die cut is the Cottage Cutz Egg Carton and Chicks shape. This one is a bit complicated to put together but a lot of fun, too! Kind of like decorating your own Easter eggs without all the mess.

AK's Boo-Boo :(

2010-03-30T20:32:00.000-07:00

Poor AK had her first real sports injury tonight in her pre-game warm up. She was in the batting cage and according to her, the ball "curved" at the last minute and she caught her thumb between the ball and good hard swing. I don't think I have ever seen a smashed finger look that bad! Poor little thing. She was so brave but I know it hurt so badly.

Fortunately, Brian T was on site to look at it for me and give me some suggestions as to how to drain the blood from behind her nail. However, about 30 minutes later, he had Ashley call me to say if we wanted to come over, that he had a tool at home and he would do it for me. So sweet!!!! We went right over and in just a couple of seconds, it was over and AK never felt a thing! I told her that now her thumb is like a little ghost with two "eyes" in it. She was so brave during the whole night. I don't think I have ever seen a child or adult handle a situation like that as well as she did. She is my hero.

It's Daffodil Time!

2010-03-12T20:00:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite, if not the favorite thing about our yard, is the Daffodil crop that comes up each year around the bird bath in the back yard. And I am not the only one who loves them. The girls absolutely ADORE picking daffodils each year and that has been true from the time they were little. So, I wanted to be sure to get some good pictures of our daffodil harvesting this season.

Here is a layout I created using some pictures I quickly snapped the other day before school started. I used the March 2010 Treasure Box Kit to create this page. The fabulous Daffodil embellishment was created using the Daffodils Cottage Cutz die. This one was definitely a must have for me!

Are we in a parallel universe?!

2010-03-02T06:45:00.000-08:00

I live in Alabama for a reason...not to have 6 months of Winter!!! I am so tired of being cold!! And not just a little cold. It has been absolutely FREEZING!!! I would like to think that since we have had such a miserable Winter that we should get a nice, mild Summer as a reward, but you know that is not going to happen!

In the meantime, cold days outside make for great scrapping time inside :) I have been making some cards using the cute Cottage Cutz Dies from the Valentines release.

2010-02-26T18:26:00.000-08:00

I am so tired of this cold Winter weather!! So, what better than a a Spring layout to shake those doldrums. This layout was created using the September 2009 Treasure Box Kit. The fabulous butterfly embellishment is the Cottage Cutz Butterfly shape. Love this shape!! SO versatile and makes a great accent to any outdoor or other Spring-inspired projects!!

Done!!!

2010-02-23T22:42:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post because I am so proud of my little project this evening! It has taken me about 3 hours, but I have organized all of my Disney 2010 photos and placed them chronologically in the cute Disney album I bought from the Resort gift shop. Yeah me!

Where have I been??

2010-02-21T06:30:00.001-08:00

In Disney World - that's where!! We took the girls to Disney World at the beginning of February so between getting ready for Disney, going to Disney, and then recovering from Disney, there hasn't been much time for the blog.

Disney was of course fabulous! How can you not have fun in Disney World?!! The girls really loved it and were just the perfect ages this time (7&5). ME could ride everything but Space Mountain this time. I was amazed that the all time favorite ride this time was Thunder Mountain!! The girls absolutely loved it! Apparently, I have a couple of daredevils on my hands :)

February has continued to be very cold here although we did get a little break from the Arctic Winter this weekend. Yesterday, we had a gorgeous Saturday with blue sky and highs in the lower 60's. We had the girls outside all day and they loved it!

I have actually been fairly productive the last couple of days so I will post a couple of things I have been working on this week. Thanks for looking!

This first layout was completed using the February Treasure Box Club kit. This month's kit features Graphic 45's Proper Gentleman Collection and then of course Tracy always adds some fabulous embellishments to go along with the papers.

The second layout showcases the Cottage Cutz Bakery Shoppe Die from The Scrapping Cottage. This die comes from the Valentines Release which is full of yummy treats perfect for any occasion!

What a week!

2010-01-29T14:53:00.001-08:00

One thing is for sure - we really packed in the activities this week! Lots going on but the highlight of the week is by far the Circus! We went last night and the girls absolutely loved it! We started off by being able to go down on the main floor for the pre-show activities. The girls got a great seat on one of the big wooden boxes and were able to sit there the whole time for a front row seat. Anna Kate even got to participate which, as you know, is right up her alley! Funny thing is...I think at least one them thought we had seen the circus when the shows were over! But they were just mesmerized during the actual circus performances and looked for every little detail. Really, I haven't enjoyed the circus this much in a long time. Seeing them so genuinely excited and just in awe of the whole thing is what really made it so much fun for me!

I got very little scrapping time this week, but here is a layout to show. I actually completed most of it over last weekend and then glued it down a little at a time during the week. I have been trying to make an effort to go to some older files to pull my pictures for scrapping. These pictures are from May of 2005 and show AK as a budding fisherwoman!

Time Flies

2010-01-21T16:05:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how fast January is moving! It is time to start planning Summer activities for the girls. Seems so strange to even be thinking that way as cold as it has been the last few weeks, but camps start filling up before you know it!

Here is a layout I created using the January TBC kit. I am loving these Thickers Tracy has been putting in the kits recently. They look fantastic and make creating your titles so easy!! I have been trying to dig down into some of my older folders to find pictures to use for my layouts. Not that I have the goal of "being caught up" but it might be nice to have more layouts of the girls when they were younger. These pictures are from April 2007 and are classic AK!!

Warm thoughts for these cold days!

2010-01-10T08:42:00.000-08:00

OMGosh I am so tired of these below freezing temperatures!! It is just way too cold here! There is a reason I live in Alabama. We have to suffer through sweltering heat in the summer so we shouldn't have to endure Arctic temps in the Winter!! ;)

I know it has been awhile since my last post but holidays can do that to you. Here is a layout using the Fishing Set from the newest Cottage Cutz Camping and Outdoors release from the Scrapping Cottage. I used my Copic markers to color all of the individual die shapes this time in order to try to achieve the right effects. I have enjoyed working with the Copic markers and may even break down to take a class soon :)

You can click on the image for a close up view of the layout. Be sure to see where I added the string through the loops in the pole so that I could hang my fish!

Rock Star

2009-12-28T18:55:00.000-08:00

Here is a layout I created using the fabulous Teen line from American Crafts. I LOVE this line!! I think it so bright and fun and certainly not just for teens :)

Christmas Card Pictures

2009-12-15T14:39:00.000-08:00

I really enjoy sending and receiving Christmas Cards but it is always so hard getting that perfect Christmas card picture. I don't know why I stress so much about it! Some of the pictures I have received on cards this year have very interesting :)

The best thing about taking pictures for my Christmas cards is that I end up with lots of good pictures for scrapbooking! Here is a layout I made using the December TBC kit and one of the outdoor pictures. It is so cute cropped that I may end up using it on the Christmas card afterall!!

Layout from our Snow

2009-12-10T08:20:00.001-08:00

Here is a layout I made today with a picture from our December snow day fun! As you can see, we didn't have a lot of snow to work with, but the girls still had a good time playing in it! And the trees and houses really looked beautiful covered in the snow.

Short post today - lots to do and no time to do it!!

Snow Day Fun!!

2009-12-06T04:10:00.001-08:00

I know I have been neglecting my blog! November just seemed to crash right into December and I am still trying to catch my breath! I have done some scrapping since my past post but I haven't had a chance to get those uploaded so I thought I would post a couple of pictures from our Snow adventures yesterday. We woke up Saturday morning to a lovely blanket of snow on the ground. Of course the girls could hardly wait to get out in it so I bundled them up as quickly as possible and out we went. They had a great time playing even though we struggled to get enough snow together for a snowman. But we did so the girls were pleased. I tried to explain to them how very unusual snow is in December but they wouldn't hear it! They are fully expecting a white Christmas now!! :)

Pile O' Leaves

2009-11-25T06:09:00.001-08:00

I have been neglecting the blog, I know! Shame on me :)

I do have a layout to share today. I used Basic Grey Indian Summer papers from the November TBC kit. The leaves are a mini CottageCutz die as are the bag of leaves and rake.

I just love these CottageCutz dies!! I can't get enough of them!! I wish I could afford to buy each release because they are just so darn cute!!!

Well, we have big plans for Chuckie Cheese today since both girls are out of school. Then Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow at Mother and Dad's. Should be a fun holiday weekend!! I am looking forward to it.

Friday the 13th!!!

2009-11-13T14:49:00.001-08:00

I do not really consider myself a superstitious person, but I can't help but get that weird feeling the moment I realize it is a Friday the 13th! So funny! However, today has gone by very smoothly.

Well, after almost 2 hours of hard core house cleaning, I now have a relatively clean house to enjoy for the rest of the evening. You know, it only takes a day maybe two where I am out of the house all day and unable to do maintenance on the house and then BAM - disaster house!!! It never ceases to amaze me how quickly my house can go from nice and clean to total disarray. However, I have now been able to return it to a presentable state which is such a nice way to begin the weekend!

Did a little scrapping this week that I can share. This is a layout from October 2005 of the girls at the Pumpkin Patch. They had this great photo op set up, but as is normal for children 10 mos old and 3.5, I could never get a picture with everyone looking at me. So you just have to go with what you can get sometimes. The papers and trim are all from the May Treasure Box Club kit. The adorable Scarecrow is from the Autumn Cottage Cutz release. Love this guy!! I mounted him on a Popsicle stick that I just happened to have laying around on my scrapbook table. You just never know when creativity is going to strike!

Weekend of Basketball and Scrapping!

2009-11-09T14:11:00.000-08:00

We had our first basketball practices over the weekend. Anna Kate had a ball! She tries so hard and listens so intently to her coach, but basketball has more skills to fine tune than soccer for sure. But Mommy has started practicing with her so hopefully in the next week or so, we can get her up to speed. This team has 1st and 2nd grade girls on it, so it is more noticeable which ones have played and which ones have not.

Despite our relatively busy weekend, I did manage to get some scrapping time! I pulled out my new November Treasure Box Club monthly kit and started playing! I finished a 2 page layout and then I was having so much fun with this new kit, that I actually managed to finish a second layout! Pretty scrappy if I do say so myself!

This kit is full of bright, fun papers with no particular theme limiting its use. So this was the perfect opportunity to pull out some fun pictures and just scrap away! Uncle Charlie seems to have come up a lot in the weekend's scrapping - who knew?!

School Days Mini Album

2009-11-05T17:40:00.000-08:00

OK, OK, I know I should be posting Halloween layouts from the weekend, but since when am I ever that current?! Instead, I have a fun little mini album to post today.

I have been wanting to make a School Days mini album for Anna Kate ever since she started kindergarten last year. But of course my list of mini albums that I want to make is incredibly long and growing everyday! However, the new Quickutz Santa's Workshop Gift Set is the perfect thing to get your mojo flowing to make some fun mini albums.

I was concerned that the albums would be too small to be useful, but I have been pleasantly surprised! The Peppermint Album (which is the largest one) is 3.75" x 5.5"! Now that is a great size mini album!

I used Imaginisce papers to create my School Days mini album along with several school-themed Quickutz shapes. Each school year has a two-page spread where I can include two different first day pictures as well as a little bit of journaling. Each year, I plan to add the teacher's name plus a quote from the first day of school. I think this will be so fun to look through over the years to see how much AK has changed. Plus, the one quote will be fun, too. And the best part is - the album is already completed. All I have to do each year is put in the pictures and add the journaling! How is easy is that!!

Happy Halloween!!

2009-10-31T19:11:00.000-07:00

I can't remember when we have had a busier Halloween!! Both girls had a birthday party to go today. Then we went to a carnival after that which left just barely enough time to come home, eat supper, and then get back into costume for Trick-or-Treating!

Look at my cute trick-or-treaters...

Binders Keepers is live!!!

2009-10-29T19:05:00.000-07:00

My own business, Binders Keepers is live. I worked at my first craft show today. It was the Heart and Hand Show at St. Stephens. I thought I did pretty well for my first show. It was a long day, but I actually really enjoyed it! I have so many ideas for how to improve my booth not to mention what other types of items I would like to have on hand to sell. I also heard of several other shows going on around so I may try to get in on those as well.

Please check out my website - Binders Keepers - and tell me what you think!!

Empty House

2009-10-26T09:20:00.000-07:00

Well, all my little patients are finally well and back at school today. AK is only going for half a day, but luckily with the 1st grade schedule, all of her important work is done by lunch.

I have decided to enter a craft fair on Thursday to try and promote my new home business - Binders Keepers Personal Scrapbooking Service. Hopefully, I can get some new clients and maybe sell a little product, too. In the meantime, I have at least three weeks worth of work and only three days to do it so I need to get scrapping!!

2009-10-22T18:50:00.000-07:00

I have traded one sick child for another one now. ME went back to school today, but AK has been home since yesterday. She definitely seems to have a much worse case than ME. My poor little girls.

Since I have had little patients home with me this week, I have not had any time for scrapping. I took a little time this morning to make this Halloween card using the Raven die from the Halloween Cottage Cutz release at the Scrapping Cottage. Such cute dies in this release!!

Day 3

2009-10-20T12:16:00.000-07:00

Well, ME and I are still home today. With the advent of her cough that showed up late yesterday afternoon and got much worse after she went to bed, I am really leaning more towards thinking we may have ended up with the Swine flu instead of just a fever virus. Not that this new diagnosis changes much, except maybe how long I'll have to keep her home. At least she feels pretty good most of the day. We have been very busy today playing Littlest Pet Shop, My Little Ponies, Polly Pockets, and Prince and Princess - with a lot of ice cream mixed in between. I keep hoping she will fall asleep and take a little nap, but everytime I leave her laying down on the couch.....a few minutes later, I hear her in there talking and playing so I go back in there with her. Needless to say, I am not getting any scrapping done! I need to start working on my post for Scrapping Cottage for Thursday. Hopefully, I can get something going tonight after the girls go to sleep.

An "Itch" Layout!

2009-10-16T04:18:00.000-07:00

When AK was just 2 years old, she called witches, "itches". It was absolutely hysterical and we all so enjoyed it! Fall 2004 was the year of the "itch" in our house. AK just started preschool and even though she had LOVED it when she went during the summer, when Fall session started back, she cried every morning when it was time to go. Poor Mother was the one who had to take her because I was teaching a class on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. So Mother started collecting little treats for her to find in her car seat when it was time to go to school. AK's favorite were the "itches" so Mother started buying up little witches everywhere. Each school morning she would come into class with her new little witch. So when it came time for looking for Halloween costumes that year, what else could we get her but a fancy witch costume!! We called her a Glitter Witch!

2009-10-13T19:49:00.000-07:00

It is amazing how much more scrapping I can get done when I am not constantly interrupted! Since we had another dreary, rainy day today, I stayed in this morning and got some scrapping done. I was able to complete this layout in just one day! These pictures are from Thanksgiving 2006. The girls has these cute matching turkey dresses to wear. I thought pictures of them standing in the leaves would be great for Fall layouts. Of course, they weren't really in the mood for posing so I just had to take what I could get. I used the Treasure Box Club October kit to create this layout. The October kit is definitely one of my favorites!! The colors are just phenomenal! I am really enjoying working with this one!

Disney Bound!

2009-10-12T19:54:00.000-07:00

Well, we made the decision to take the girls to Disney World again this February. I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when we tell them. My plan is to wrap something up Disney-related and let them unwrap it for Christmas. The girls were 3 and 5 the first time we went. This trip they will be 5 and 7 which I think is going to be ideal. They are still young enough to believe but old enough to be able to last through the long but exciting days. Of course now I have to really get busy and finish up my Disney Scrapbook from our first trip!!!

2009-10-10T19:38:00.000-07:00

Well, Anna Kate scored 3 goals in her soccer game today!! She was so excited! Now, we don't actually keep score in this league, but Anna Kate always knows her score. She has really had such fun playing soccer this Fall, that I decided to ask her if she wanted to play basketball. She jumped at the chance. So we are going to be moving from soccer to basketball. I have to admit that I am more excited about basketball because that is more my thing. I hope we have as nice a group of parents as we have had on the soccer team.

One fish, two fish, red fish, HUGE fish!

2009-10-08T20:04:00.000-07:00

This is my first layout using the October Kit from the Treasure Box Club. I am so in love with the colors in this month's kit!!! They are absolutely gorgeous!! Perfect for Fall pictures of any kind, but also great for lots of other themes. This fishing picture was taken last March during the girls' Spring Break. You can tell from the picture that ME was a bit apprehensive about standing too close to this "ginormous" catfish!!

I'm going to be published!!!!!!

2009-10-07T19:41:00.000-07:00

That's right - I just received an email tonight that "Stamping, Stationary, and Scrapbooking" has requested three cards that I submitted for publication in the 1st Quarter issue due out January 2010. I am so excited I can hardly stand it!!! I have always dreamed of one day being "published" in a scrapbooking magazine, but I never really thought it would come true! What is so funny though, is that it is my cards that were requested - not my layouts. This is funny because I do many more layouts that I do cards, but hey, I am still going to be published!!!

Be sure to rush to the Hobby Lobby nearest you in January to pick up a copy of
"Stamping, Stationary, and Scrapbooking" magazine and so you can see my cards for yourself!!!

Disney Layout

2009-09-28T20:12:00.000-07:00

I used some of the fabulous Cottage Cutz Halloween dies to accent this two-page layout from the Haunted Mansion at Disney World. The candlabra was so perfect!!! I just had to use it! I was able to find some great pictures on the internet that were taken inside the ride so I included them on this layout, too. I love the Haunted Mansion ride, but the girls definitely had some concerns ;)

2009-09-21T16:45:00.000-07:00

Halloween is my favorite time of the year!! I LOVE all the cute decorations that come out and each year I think they just can't get any cuter, but they always do. I also LOVE all the new lines of Halloween papers that are released, too. I always want every single Halloween paper line that comes out. Now granted, I do love patterned papers, but the Halloween releases are my biggest weakness!

The haunted tree house embellishment was created using the fabulous tree house Cottage Cutz die from The Scrapping Cottage. The title combines Diesel Grand and Sugar Sweet alphas from Quickutz. I actually painted the little ghost with glow-in-the-dark paint and it really does work!

Another Disney Layout

2009-09-11T16:40:00.000-07:00

I have been trying hard the past few months to work in some Disney layouts whenever I have the chance. I certainly have enough pictures to choose from! I have bought some of the Pebbles, Inc. pages to use in a D-ring album and I plan to include both full sized layouts and pages of just pictures as well. This way, I will have all of my pictures and the stories behind them all in one album. Now I just need to get the album. The Pebbles, Inc pages are uniquely sized (which I didn't realize) and so I think I am going to end up having to get a Pebbles, Inc album if I want them to look just right.

Here is my latest Disney themed layout. I have been dying to use the QK Exclusive Tea Set from Scrapping Cottage on a layout for the Teacups ride and I finally found some paper I liked and that complimented the odd combination of colors in the pictures. I love how the stacked cups turned out and I think the Mad Hatter looks really cute standing on top :)

I have a First Grader!

2009-09-03T21:20:00.000-07:00

I don't know how this happened, but Anna Kate started first grade this year!! I couldn't have a 1st grader! Not my baby girl! This year, Anna Kate picked out a very special new big girl packback from PBK. She wanted to get it monogrammed so she picked out the color she wanted and the font she wanted. She was so excited for school to start that she could hardly stand it!

Here is a layout I made using some AC papers and other embellies from the Sept TBC kit.

Lake Fun!!

2009-07-17T20:01:00.000-07:00

I brought the girls to the lake today. They just love it here! I am convinced they would move here if given the opportunity. However, since they both fell asleep shortly after we left, they are having a hard time going to sleep tonight. Plus Anna Kate is so excited about her birthday she can hardly stand it!! I think she gets more excited about her birthday than she does about Christmas!

2009-07-03T16:52:00.000-07:00

My parents took the girls to the lake with them yesterday so I had all day Friday to myself. My scrapping mojo has been rather low lately so I thought a new and different project might get things moving again. So I started working on divider cards for my Recipe Carousel. I am using a kit from The Treasure Box Club containing fabulous papers and embellishments perfect for using on any recipe type project. I got these two cards completed this afternoon. I had so much fun working on such a smaller sized project. You are able to complete them so much quicker!

2009-07-02T17:06:00.000-07:00

I just love this picture of my oldest dd looking over her shoulder. She is such a performer and loves to pose for the camera. I trained her from birth! I used some more papers from the Graphic 45 Fashionista line for this layout. I also used the Quickutz Nutmeg font for my title. That is probably one of my favorite fonts from Quickutz! I just love the chunkiness of the letters combined with the fun swirls and dots on the ends of some of the letters.

My little fashionistas!

2009-06-27T17:01:00.000-07:00

Playing with some Graphic 45 today. I love the warm rich colors in these papers. The accents along the strip below the pictures are American Crafts Fabric Covered chipboard pieces!! They are really fun! I just picked a couple of random pictures of the girls to put onto this layout. I have any number of pictures to choose from that would fit this title!!

Home Sweet Home

2009-06-18T15:29:00.000-07:00

I couldn't wait to get these new house dies from the June Quickutz release so that I could scrap pictures of our first house. When dh and I got married, he moved into my townhouse with me. We had been looking for houses casually for about a year and then I found this one and I just loved it! We were so lucky to get it and lived there for six years. I brought both of my baby girls home to this house and there were a lot of "firsts" here. I put the numbers onto the Quickutz mailbox to show our house number.

Garden Girl

2009-06-17T18:37:00.000-07:00

I created this layout using papers from the KI Memories Bloom collection. I also added some glitter rub-ons from the collection as well. I really broke out the Quickutz dies for this project! For awhile now, I have been admiring another scrapper who has an amazing talent for combining lots of different Quickutz dies together onto one layout. I decided I wanted to try some of her techniques on this layout. I have to say it was fun pulling out so many dies and using them all together. It does take a lot more time, but I love playing with my Quickutz so I just considered it a labor of love :)

"Anna" Montana

2009-06-10T19:32:00.001-07:00

I have had this Hannah Montana paper forever and I have been dying to use it to scrap some of the photos from Anna Kate's Hannah Montana birthday party last year. I also used various sizes of the Quickutz Nesting Stars cut out of DCWV glitter cardstock to embellish the layout. The stars are so perfect for the Pop Star theme! I wanted the look of the Spotlight font but I needed a much smaller size so I used the Quickutz Merry font from the 2007 Holiday Gift Set and added stickles onto the letters.

The picture is of Anna Kate dressed up with her Hannah Montana wig on and a Hannah Montana t-shirt to greet the other girls as they arrived. Isn't the wig just too funny! Each girl got to pick her own Hannah Montana shirt to wear during the party and to take home with her as part of her favor. It was a great party and hopefully I will get a chance to scrap party pics later on.

Week of Scrapping!

2009-06-08T16:02:00.000-07:00

After being at the beach all last week, I am way over due for some quality scrapping time! Vacation Bible School couldn't have come at a better time. The girls are thoroughly enjoying themselves from 9-12 while I come home to a nice, quiet house and scrap away. Of course my list of home projects is a mile long, but I just can't help but to take advantage of this rare scrapping opportunity.

Here is a layout I started before we left for the beach but completed today. I used the QK Champagne Bottle and Glasses from the May release plus the little hearts at the top are from the Rev Love Birds die also from the May release as well as the Scalloped Nesting ovals. The font for the title is QK Nutmeg. I love this alpha!! I used silver vellum for the champagne glasses and ran the cuts through my Xyron so you wouldn't see any adhesive. I also used gold paper for the top of the champagne bottle and added a little chalking to give it a more realistic look. I just had to make "pink" champagne for this girlie layout, too.

These pictures are from my SIL's Bridesmaids luncheon. We had Thai food at Surin 280 for something fun and different. And of course, we added Mimosa's for some extra fun!

ShopDiscover Experience

2009-06-06T05:15:00.000-07:00

Discover Card was the very first credit card I ever had. I continue to enjoy the perks of being a Discover Card member. I recently began taking advantage of Discover Card's ShopDiscover Program and learned how easy it is to gain even more cash back rewards plus enjoy a quick and easy shopping experience right from the comfort of my own home. The list of stores available in the ShopDiscover program is enormous - there is truly something for everyone. I have more fun just looking through the list of all the stores available for me to shop. They are well-known reliable stores that I shop from anyway. And now Discover pays me to continue shopping at my favorite spots.

I even took advantage of a 10% cash back offer with Shutterfly!! You just can't beat that! As a mother of two children, I am constantly behind the camera snapping pictures as fast as I can. These are precious memories to me and when I order prints, I want good quality prints for a reasonable price so I sent my pictures to Shutterfly. I also ordered one of their hardback photo books that you can create online. Then because of Discover's ShopDiscover program, I got 10% cash back when I paid with Discover.

In these tough economic times, I am pinching pennies everywhere I can and Discover really understands that and is working with its customers to provide the best opportunities possible! I am writing this blog post as a part of a great promotion from Discover Card to try to better understand their customers ShopDiscover experiences. Thanks Discover!!

Star light, star bright...

2009-04-01T18:20:00.000-07:00

I had walked into Anna Kate's bathroom to place a nightgown into the hamper and I overheard her talking out loud so of course I stopped to listen. She was talking into the mirror on her beside table and making a wish upon a star that she would have real live friends inside her mirror that she talk to whenever she wanted. She went on and on with this wish. I even heard her recite the star light, star bright poem and then add the wish again after she was done. It just never ceases to amaze me the things that go on in her head. I feel so lucky to have stumbled upon this entire conversation. Who knows how many times she has laid in bed and made wishes that I don't know about. It made me a little sad to realize that I really probably don't know everything she thinks and feels even though I wanted to believe I did. My special girl is starting to grow up little by little each day.

Back to our regularly scheduled life!

2009-03-23T17:14:00.001-07:00

Well, we are starting to get to our regular routines starting with Anna Kate going back to school today and Mary Ellen starting back to gymnastics. I was also up and going early since Mondays are my carpool days. At least I get my days over with pretty early in the week! Plus it forces me to get up and get going on Mondays when all I really want to do is stay in bed just a little bit longer!

Anna Kate got to switch tables in her classroom today and it was student choice. She was so excited! She said she chose Table 1 because she hasn't been there yet and then Campbell, Molly, Peyton, and John Christian all chose Table 1 after her. Sounds like it is going to be a really fun table for her to finish out the year. She ans Molly have been at the same table together the whole year.

Bowling anyone?

2009-03-18T18:25:00.000-07:00

Today's Spring Break activity was bowling. Granddaddy met us up at the bowling alley where Anna Kate and Mary Ellen both had a fabulous time. They played 8 games total and Mary Ellen beat Anna Kate in one game and Anna Kate scored 100 in another! Oh she was so excited!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

2009-03-17T20:05:00.000-07:00

I just love St. Patrick's Day. Not really sure why that is, but I really do! I love looking for St. Patty's outfits for both of the girls although I normally have such a hard time finding them something. I got several hair accessories and socks from Target this year in the dollar bins as well as a cute shirt for Anna Kate. Mary Ellen had claimed Anna Kate's old shirt awhile back so she was more than happy to put it on today. However, she was NOT being very cooperative when it came to taking pictures. I have a feeling I may end up dressing them back up another day so I can get a better picture of the two of them. But for now, this one will have to do,
We have spent the whole day just relaxing and recovering from our Atlanta trip. I took the girls out to the park this afternoon because it was so pretty, but really I think they would have been happier just staying home.

We're back!!

2009-03-16T19:59:00.000-07:00

Well, we made it back from Atlanta, or "Lanta" as Mary Ellen calls it. Too funny! OMGosh Whitney and I are exhausted and so are the girls. Anna Kate was asleep less than 10 minutes after leaving the aquarium. I laid both of their seats back for the ride home and out they went. Anna Kate slept all the way to Anniston and she would have slept longer but the road got really loud and she kept stirring and just couldn't really get back to sleep. Mary Ellen woke up about 30 minutes outside of Birmingham so it was really perfect. The drive home was sooooooo long! It rained the whole way home and was super foggy on top of that. It is nice to be home, though. The girls had a fabulous time and are ready to go back! Next time we go, I think we will skip the GA Aquarium. It was neat, but SOOOOOOO expensive. I think they really liked the Children's Museum just as much if not more than the Aquarium.

Atlanta Bound!!

2009-03-15T06:54:00.000-07:00

Well, we are packing up to head to Atlanta for a fun-filled mini vacation. Whitney is going with me to help with the girls although I don't think she really knows what she is getting herself into! Originally, we had hoped to go to Six Flags today, but the rain has just not let up :(. So, instead we are planning to spend the day at the Imagine It Children's Museum before we check into the Grand Hyatt for the evening. The girls are so excited!! Anna Kate could hardly get to sleep last night.

Rainy Saturday

2009-03-14T17:09:00.000-07:00

Our Spring Break is starting off very wet. Anna Kate really wanted to go golfing today but it is just too wet. So she begged to go to the scrapbook store and of course I caved. I mean, it doesn't take much to talk me into going to the scrapbook store! Plus there is a McDonald's right across the street with an indoor playground that the girls love so it is the perfect way to feed them and let them run out some energy so we can then go over to the scrapbook store.

Whitney and I have spent a lot of time today planning our Atlanta trip tomorrow. We rolled the dice with Hotwire and got a room at the Grand Hyatt. Super nice! No indoor pool, but we got such a great deal on the hotel I am still glad we did it this way.

Out on the town

2009-03-13T21:32:00.000-07:00

Well sort of :) Grey and I met Charlie and Whitney for dinner and drinks at the new neighborhood pub in Cahaba Heights. They still have some issues to work through but it is going to be a good place I hope. It will be nice to have another place to go out that is convenient.

The girls are having a sleep time over with G&G tonight so that means no one coming into my room tonight trying to get in the bed with Mommy! And perhaps I can even sleep a little later, too!

Fun Scrappy Day!

2009-03-07T16:45:00.000-08:00

Today was our Quickutz Club meeting at my local scrapbook store - Scrapbook Mania. We meet once every other month and I so look forward to it! I just love getting away and being around so many scrappers who all love Quickutz! The woman who runs our meetings is so creative and it is always fun to see what cute project she has come up with for us to make. I am in charge of the card portion of the class. This month we worked with the cute new Chocolate Bunny die. He is so cute!! Here is the card I created for this month's meeting.

Girls Night In!

2009-03-06T16:39:00.000-08:00

Well, sort of - it is just me and the girls tonight. Grey has a "work party" to go to. Yeah, right! So I'm sure that will mean pizza for supper which is OK with Mommy! Then I have a "cake movie" saved on the DVR for us to watch. Anna Kate loves the Food Network Challenge shows where they create the elaborate cakes. We have seen several shows with a Disney theme and she loves them! She even recognizes chefs who have competed before and she can tell you what their last project was and whether or not they won. It is really quite impressive.

Mother and Dad have gone to the mountians for the weekend with their neighbors. They bought a cabin up there so they are just going up for a couple of days. Unfortunately, it is supposed to be in the 70's here this weekend and they are leaving to go up into the mountains! Not very good planning!

Wow what a snow!!!

2009-03-01T19:20:00.000-08:00

Did we get some snow or what!! I can't remember the last time we had that much snow! Had to have been at least 4 inches which for us is amazing! The girls had a ball. Anna Kate was so excited on Saturday night that we might get snow that she woke up this morning at 5 a.m. to check and sure enough there was some on the ground for her to see. Well, she was so excited she just couldn't ever get back to sleep so finally around 5:45 we got up. I think we were suited up and outside playing by 6:30. we built multiple snowmen - well, snow girls according to Anna Kate. Our biggest one was actually a snow princess because she had a Hannah Montana scarf and a crown on her head. We were kind of hurting for snowman face parts but the girls didn't seem too concerned.

What was also unique was that the majority of the snow fell during the day so we got see it build up. It was "pouring snow" as Anna Kate said :). Granddaddy walked up the hill to come and play and then later in the morning, Uncle Charlie and Aunt Whitney walked up from their house, too. Then we had a big snowball fight in the circle. After that we walked down to Grandmother and Granddaddy's house while Uncle Charlie pulled the girls on the sled. Mother and Dad were nice enough to fix us a nice hot lunch of spaghetti. Sure did taste good!

Here are a couple more pictures from the day:

This is Grey taking credit for the first snowman of the day that I actually built with the girls.

Here are the girls getting onto the sled so that Uncle Charlie can pull them down to Mother and Dad's house. Look at all that snow!!

Snow is coming!!!

2009-02-28T20:18:00.000-08:00

Woohoo!! The weather service is predicting 2-4 inches of snow tonight!! The girls are so excited! Anna Kate said she wants to check the window as soon as she wakes up to see if it is white. Oh, I would just love for them to wake up and see a blanket of snow. What a treat that would be!

Well, the girls and I spent the morning making chocolate bunnies - not real ones, but chocolate bunny cut-outs with my Quickutz die. They saw me cutting one and wanted one, too. Next thing I know, there are bunnies everywhere!! Anna Kate begged me to take her to the scrapbook store so she could bring in her bunnies to sell like Mommy does. SO cute!! She came home with a new 12x12 album and was so excited to get right back to scrapping. She even brought it down to my parents' house this evening when we all went down for supper.

Fun day!

2009-02-24T17:34:00.000-08:00

I have had so much fun today playing with all my new Quickutz dies!! So far I have only completed a couple of cards but there will be more to follow. I think just working with the Spring shapes and papers has really gotten me excited for Spring. Anna Kate keeps asking everyday if Winter is over, bless her heart. Mommy is ready for Winter to be over, too! Here are my first two cards using the new Feb QK release.

Scrappy fun!

2009-02-21T10:16:00.000-08:00

I haven't been able to do much scrapping this week but yesterday I was finally able to sneak a little time here and there to work on a new layout. I just happened to lay this picture of Mary Ellen and my SIL Whitney onto the piece of Noteworthy paper from MM and it looked so great together! I couldn't wait to do a layout! I used a sketch from Pagemaps (love those!!) as my inspiration.

Great Deal!!!

2009-02-17T09:20:00.000-08:00

I just took advantage of Quickutz great deal on their new silhouette design monthly subscriptions. Half off!! I have been thinking about it all weekend and this morning I finally caved in and went for it. I am so excited to get these designs now I can hardly stand it! There have been so many cute designs released this past year that I have held off buying because of the cost and now I can get them all!! Basically, I have to download at least 8 designs a month to get my money's worth out of the deal but I plan to get a head start on that later tonight when I can start looking through the design gallery and downloading away. I am hoping that this way I can also end up saving money by being able to download digital designs of current releases without having to buy the metal dies themselves. I just can't wait to start picking out some shapes!

Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T18:07:00.001-08:00

We are spending the long holiday weekend at the lake. I had a hard time explaining to the girls that it wasn't summer at the lake all year round. Mary Ellen kept wanting to get the little pool out since the lake was too cold to swim in! Poor little thing. However, they have been having a ball!! Fishing, boat rides, suprises from Grandmother - what's not to love about the lake! And then Charlie and Whitney came down today with their dogs Rory and Margeaux and OMGosh the girls have had so much playing with them and taking them for walks on the leashes. Anna Kate even got out her clubs and was hitting some balls in the yard today. I bet they sleep good tonight! I certainly hope so!

Valentine Party day

2009-02-12T16:13:00.000-08:00

Both girls had their Valentine's Parties at school today so they both came home with a box full of candy. Mary Ellen came right in and wanted to get to set up her purple tent in her room so she could go through her Valentine's box all by herself! She looked cute in her Valentines outfit. Anna Kate was having spirit day at CBS so she had to wear school sportswear instead of her cute Valentines dress so I guess I'll save hers for later.

Wonderful Wednesday

2009-02-11T20:40:00.000-08:00

Wednesday continue to be my favorite days! Both my sweet girlies go to school on Wed's and I have no regularly scheduled activities while they are gone. However, today was out monthly Garden Club meeting which I wasn't particularly looking forward to but it ended being awesome!! It was all about organizing and I came away with some great ideas and solutions to common clutter problems -especially papers that pile up! I can't wait to get my "Action File" system set up and operational! Oh how I would love to have my whole house organized and have a place for everything and everything in its place! But, at least I can start with this action file and go from there!

Mild Monday

2009-02-09T18:13:00.000-08:00

We had another beautiful day here today. I think the temps even got into the 70's at one point. Mary Ellen and I spent the afternoon picking daffodils in the backyard and playing fetch with Hershey. That was after gymnastics and our now weekly trip to "Chick-fi-lake". That was Mary Ellen calls it now. I think she has lake on the brain!! That is all she talks about now is wanting to go on vacation to Disney World, the beach or the lake. I think she realizes that the lake is her best bet because the other two are too far away.

I was able to spend just a little bit of time in my scraproom today. I cut out 12 chicks and got one pieced together but all the others are still sitting in their piles. I sort of lost my mo. Hopefully I can piece them together tomorrow because they are taking up my entire work space so I need to get them put together and bagged up to sell. I also started working on a card that is a total scraplift from a card on the Quickutz site but I just loved the card so I wanted to make one up for me. I'll post a picture tomorrow when I get it finished up.

We worked on the girls' Valentines this afternoon. Mary Ellen's are finished and ready to go. Tomorrow, Anna Kate is going to finish decorating her shoe box and we'll check off her Valentines to make sure we've made one for everyone in the class.

Spring in February

2009-02-07T19:13:00.001-08:00

What a beautiful day we had here in Birmingham today! Temps in the high 60's and blue skies to match. It was so nice to be able to get outside and enjoy it when we have had so many freezing cold and dreary days the past couple of weeks. The girls had so much fun outside almost all day until Anna Kate was about to collapse. Then the girls and I cuddled on the couch and watched a movie and giggled while Grey took a nap. I could really get used to these kind of days!

Bowling Fun

2009-02-06T21:25:00.000-08:00

Tonight we went bowling with some friends and had a wonderful time! We had no idea the children would enjoy this so much. The two kindergarteners bowled 4 games each while the little sisters enjoyed cheering them on and playing in the fan. They are ready to go back next Friday!

Mystery Reader

2009-02-06T14:30:00.000-08:00

Today was my assigned day to come to Anna Kate's class and be the mystery reader. Each week, a parent comes to the class to read a book and the children are given clues to guess who is coming. I was sort of dreading it at first because I really had a lot of other stuff I needed to do but once I got there and saw how excited the children were it was all worth it. I really had a good time and Anna Kate was so thrilled to see me. I am so lucky to be able to come to the school anytime I want right now.

Scrapping machine

2009-02-05T07:33:00.000-08:00

I stayed up until 12:30 scrapping last night but I finished two layouts that were due. I am pretty happy with how they turned out. I was given some papers from the American Crafts Teen Line to work with in February. I love the bright colors in these papers. Of course, what layout would be complete without a little Quickutz!