Nov. 2020 CKCB Challenge #1

Today, I am sharing my first layout of the month using my CKCB November Kit. This layout was completed using the parameters that Master Forger Lisa gave us for Challenge #1:

Challenge #1 – Getting Fussy! (GD Sarah, Cindy, Leslie, Tara, Tina )

There are several papers in the inspiration kit which just scream out to me for some fussy cutting and it's one of my favourite things to do! It's therapeutic and never takes as long as you think and the results are always pretty! It can be a perfect way to use brighter or bolder designs or add some individual embellishments to your kit. It really is one of my top five techniques. So I'm challenging you to fussy cut something from your kit and use it on a project!

I had put the perfect piece of floral patterned paper in my kit just for this challenge!  Fussy cutting those flowers was the very first thing that I did with my kit after photographing it!!  I used them to create a layout featuring my youngest daughter, Emily, on her birthday in 2012. 

I also layered patterned paper and cardstock to make my background plus added some hand stitching to the white cardstock and the blue dotted patterned paper. This layout went together super quick, despite the hand stitching because I had pre-cut those flowers. I used a few of the label die cuts from the packs in my kit for journaling and some puffy word stickers as well.  

Thank you for stopping by my blog today!  I hope this finds you well and happily crafting!

 

July 2020 CKCB Kit-Challenge #2

This month, Master Forger Clair has taken over the reins at the blog and has given us a beautiful kit to curate as well as a couple of challenges to play with.  I was tasked with Challenge #2:

You can choose to take this literally, and scrapbook about the 'adventures' you have had in your own back yards; or you can take it a little more loosely and talk about the local adventures that you've in your local area. While we're not able to travel as widely as we normally can, it's nice to focus on the fun to be found closer to home.

I actually did two layouts for this challenge.  The first one is just so so but meets the challenge in a more direct way.  I scrapped some photos of my family making S'mores in our backyard.  It's a two page layout that features lots of product from my Color Add-On Kit as well as some neutrals. 

One of my goals this month is to use up those large block letters from my kit.  They've actually appeared in several CKCB kits over the past couple of years.  There was only one letter of each and I hate that!  LOL!  I chose a grid design for this two page layout. 

If you came to my blog from the CKCB, then the above layout is not the one that you viewed for this challenge.  I did a second layout which I truly love.  I played with my stencils, inks, spray, paints, etc and created a layout of my youngest child "tolerating" a photo session in our backyard.  This poor girl has sat still and posed for me as I learned how to use the manual functions on my Nikon DSLR. 

Lots of details added to this layout.  I even broke out my sewing machine.  I decided I hated that lower right corner of my layout, so I tore off that corner and added a scrap of the neutral patterned paper from a previous layout and I used my sewing machine to tack it down fully.  Then I decided it needed a line in the upper left hand corner as well.  LOL!! 

You can see my gel medium and stencil work a little bit more in this photo. 

The extra line of stitching that I added.  ;) 

So, this brings me count from my July kit up to ELEVEN layouts!  Thank you for stopping by my blog today!  I hope that this beautiful Saturday finds you well rested and ready to take on next week!! 

Mamarazzi Monday: AWWWW

How could you say no to this?

In case you need to see it closer….

It’s been a long few days of late nights, early mornings…trying to catch the free breakfast in the hotel. They’ve taken their toll on little Diva.

Are you part of the Mamarazzi? If so, JOIN US.

These babies LOVE their daddy…

Welcome to this week’s Mamarazzi Monday!

(Pat isn’t saying “ew no kisses, I promise…)

(daddy says “stop taking pictures” more often than the kids)

“Smile, daddy!” Here, I’ll help you out, daddy since you are incapable of smiling it seems. LOL

Are you part of the Mamarazzi??? If so, join us for Mamarazzi Monday’s here.

More of the school stuff….

After that day at the pond, the boys had to learn to use the new microscope purchased for this school year.  We had SO much fun finding the bacterium!!!!


I’m totally going to miss having them here.  I have been homeschooling since 2000, when we pulled Tyler out of public school at the end of first grade.  This has been an enjoyable time of my life, one I was looking forward to seeing through to completion.  However, that isn’t what is going to happen.  I can only pray and hope that this is what Tyler needs.  I ask that each of you pray with me.
Seth and Emily made Eagle Lapbooks during this first unit of the year.  That was great fun.


On Friday of this past week, Seth and Emily did their first chemistry experiment.  We are making crystals.  I currently have 7 petry dishes on my window ledge growing crystals. They are really excited about them.  we got the stuff to complete the experiment from Home Science Tools online. 
Tomorrow we start a new unit…we’ll be talking quite a bit about the Temple that Jesus knew.  We are *supposed* to build a model of it but I bought books and a DVD instead.  It was next to impossible to get the items needed to make it here without spending an arm and a leg for postage. 
Hope to chat soon….

Trains and more trains….

We have a train lover in our home.  It all started with Thomas The Tank Engine.  Now he’s into all trains.  Last weekend, Pat discovered that there was a historical thing going on at the old Baumholder Railhead behind his office!  A real live Steam Engine came and it was scheduled to return a few hours later.


We rushed back to the railhead with the little ones and Courtney at 6:50 p.m. Sumday to see the steam engine up close and personal, but unfortunately it broke and they brought this one instead.

I wouldn’t know a THING about the little ones sticking their tongues out at the photographer…nope, not me….batting my innocent little eyes.



Emily was just now looking at these pictures with me and said, “I was FREAKING OUT”.  Indeed she was.  She wasn’t thrilled being in front of that train on the tracks.  It was running.  LOL

Seth, on the other hand, was TICKLED to be that close to the train!

So you can see how old and dilapidated this railhead is…..

Seth watching the train coming…

The two of them posing by one of the passenger cars.


And JUST for the purely sweetness factor…

Games September 19

This season, we are BUSY on Saturdays with three games!  Last weekend, the Garret’s game was in Ramstein….so it was pretty close to home.  That makes life easy because dh got called in on a case and was gone.  thankfully another mom was able to get Garret to the game on time since I could NOT be with Seth and Emily at their soccer games AND drive to Ramstein too.  LOL

Emily’s coach getting The DREAM Team into position. 



Emily and one of the dad’s on the team! 


End of game tunnel to run the players through….Emily is trying to figure what on earth those crazy adults are doing.  ;)

I didn’t get ANY pictures of Seth’s game. 
Garret’s game….

He didn’t get much playing time last weekend, but here’s some pix from the game.



There were a TON of injuries this game….at least FOUR pretty bad ones requiring a stretcher.  YIKES.  Our team won the game 28-20.

Wanna Play Some FOOTball?

Yeah, me either!  LOL….
Garret’s first football game was this past weekend in Mannheim.  His team lost but played a great game (not that I’d know that from my own knowledge because I so don’t understand the game but I’ll learn as we go).
Garret in his practice jersey

Yes he IS that skinny…no, I don’t starve him.  He eats his weight in food daily (ROTF).
Garret’s game jersey is #22 for this game (he traded another team mate jersey’s so this coming weekend’s game will be played with another #.




Um…yeah, I think that’s enough pictures for now!  LOL

How about soccer???  OK…how about some cute kids playing soccer? 
Seth’s on the right side of this picture looking down.




Miss Pouty

Coach talking to her and another player….giving them their jobs.


 
OK….I need to get moving.  There’s Mount Washmore on my bed and in the baskets all over the house.  It’s Friday Night Movie Night and I hope to enjoy a movie with my wonderful hubby and kids later. 
NOTE…if you are in one of the above pictures and don’t want the image on my blog, let me know and I’ll remove it.  Please note, that my blog is private and only shared with people I trust.

Tiny Talk Tuesday

I don’t normally participate in these but I had a couple to share today.  Enjoy….
When we lived in Missouri, we would often go visit Meme and Papa.  Instead of telling the littles where we were going, when asked I would respond with “We are going Crazy”.  Seth began to think anytime I said this I meant we were going to visit Meme and Papa. 
Today during school, I was reading a MO Dept of Conservation flyer on bald eagles and mentioned that eagles nested XXXXXXX, which is where Papa and Meme live.  And Seth says, “So that’s where Crazy is.  I love going to Crazy.”  ROTFLOL


One day last week, I was talking to Emily about Tyler and his girlfriend, Stephenie.  Emily pipes up with this, “And they were holding hands!!!  It’s just soooooooo cuuuuuutttttte.”  I started laughing and she said, defensively, “but it’s cute when Seth and I hold hands!”.  LOL

Back to school….