wednesday . . .

Hello!!!! Hope everyone is doing well out there - life is busy, busy, as usual!!! I am excited to share with you that I was asked to guest design for Work In Progress kits this month. I have admired Trish's kits for a long time now - way back to the days of 52 Sketches 52 Weeks when she was a sponsor for us :) She has a wonderfully talented group of designers working with her & her kits are simply gorgeous. This month's was no different . . .

So far I have worked on 2 layouts . . . the first, "Grammy Love" features some recent pics of Ryan with my mother - love these . . .

A quick close-up on the title work - love these Making Memories alphas from the kit!!!

The other layout I worked on "Enjoying Fall" features these adorable banner die-cuts from the kit . . .

A quick close-up on the banner - the cream alphas are actually die-cut from some of the packaging & the die-cut banners were covered with a bit of patterned paper from the kit - LOVED the mix of papers here!!!!

I will be back to share more from this fab kit in the next week or two. Be sure to head over to the Work In Progress blog - it is FULL of inspiration - definitely one of my daily reads!!!

Have you been over to the Blue Moon Blog today??? My most recent layout was posted today - a fun mix of all sorts of new patterned papers!!!

Papers: Pink Paislee Old School , Jenni Bowlin Family Tree, Basic Grey Wander

Alphas: Pink Paislee Cushies in Cocoa

Others: Pink Paislee Canvas Border Stickers , Jillibean Soup Pasta Fagoli Stickers , Maya Road Kraft Ticket

The pics look like polaroids but it is really just in the way I cut them from the photo paper - sneaky, sneaky, sneaky!!!

Before I go - I want to show you an AWESOME tool I found yesterday . . . it is called a Punch All Over the Page by Martha Stewart. Check it out . . .

The punch I bought was the pinking circle & I was able to use my 40% off coupon - I can't wait to use this on a layout!!!

Have a fab rest of the week!!! Be back Friday to share my work for My Creative Scrapbook!!!

ttyl - julie :)

monday . . .

Seriously - too much to share!!!!!!

Let's start with the pics from the past week :)

Yum - pumpkin cookie lollipops . . .

Little fall dreamers . . .

Love this one . . . just playing with the leaves, hugging his new puppy from Grammy :)

Taking Max for a spin - yes this bike is too small now - but he still likes to ride it.

Getting some baby practice with cousin Julia . . .

Spending time together at Fall Fun day . . .

Hayride fun . . .

Walking monsters :)

Your monster feet . . .

Precious . . . love this one of the 2 of you . . .

Fun times at the Baltimore Zoo Boo . . .

What would a holiday be without cupcakes ?????

Dress-up party at Grammy's - my 2 brothers had great costumes . . .

Being silly at Grammy's . . .

Big time cutie - spaghetti & meatballs??? Love this!!!

Here I am - in all my bloated glory :) How cute is my mom???

Off to trick or treat!!!

Hope you all had a fabulous Halloween!!!!

I have been working on lots of scrappy projects & am excited to be able to share some of them today!!! First up are a few projects from Blue Moon Scrapbooking . . .

A mini album using the K & Company Spooktacular line . . .

And also, this altered frame. The flowers are are hand-rolled & then I added a layer of Ranger stickles around the edges. I really love the effect after they had dried!!!! The poem is one I have showcased before - but I was excited to create a frame with it just for me that matched my scraproom :)

A quick close-up of the flowers . . .

And a close-up on the poem . . .

The owner of Blue Moon Scrapbooking created a great tutorial on making these rolled flowers with the added Stickles HERE. Enjoy!!!

Be back tomorrow with some more work to share :)

ttyl - julie :)

saturday . . .

What are you doing late night Saturday??? Probably sleeping as you should be :) I am blogging - finally - I don't know why it has been taking me a week to find time to post these days. I was on such a roll!!! What have I been doing these days . . .

helping this little man grow . . .

oh & these little feet too (just so cute I had to share!!) . . .

oh & yes - I have been growing quite a bit myself (finally a pregnancy pic - all almost 28 weeks of me - talk about a belly people - I mean seriously!!!) . . .

The baby update - well the sonogram showed the little man is growing pretty large - 3 lbs already which you'd typically see at 30/31 weeks - the current measurements from the sonogram show this little guy is measuring 17 days ahead of schedule . . . my due date has still not been changed though - each time I go in he is measuring more & more ahead so this should be interesting . . . it makes me feel like I have no idea when this little man is actually coming . . .

Ryan & I have been enjoying preparing for the upcoming holiday . . .

getting hands dirty in pumpkins . . .

being silly . . .

making these adorable spider candy holders . . .

So many fun things to do at Halloween!!! I'm hoping to try these Jack 'o Lantern Cookie Lollipops out with him tomorrow . . .

Speaking of Halloween . . . I created this fun Halloween centerpiece decor for my weekly assignment over at Blue Moon Scrapbooking :)

The tree was from Joann's - an unfinished wood alterable that I painted black & then covered in patterned paper & die-cuts from K & Company's Spooktacular line. I actually purchased one for Ryan too & he painted his & covered it in die-cuts as well . . . a fun activity we both were able to work on together!!!

If you are looking for a little sketch inspiration . . . check out the 2-pager I have posted this week over at The Scrap Room . . .

Oh & the prize - one of every paper from each of the following BoBunny collections . . .

Check out all the details HERE on their blog - you have until Monday night to turn in your layouts so get crackin'!!!!

I did do a little "non-assignment" scrapping the other day - Doodlebug was having a contest on their Facebook page & the prize was one of everything from their new Christmas, Bon Appetite, and Welcome Home lines & guess what the winning layout was . . .

I LOVED this adorable Spooky Town paper & knew it would be perfect for Ryan's first Halloween pics!!! Seriously - the cutest brads ever in this line!!!!

ttyl - julie :)

saturday . . .

I have spent so many wasted hours trying to decide about the crib/bedroom furniture for the baby room - I don't know why - it is ridiculous really. I think I am simply not a decisive person . . . I was going to wait until tomorrow to blog - but instead opted to quit staring at the furniture websites & actually try & accomplish something tonight :) We have had such a busy week - trying to get lots of baby arrival planning done - shopping for this & that - organizing the room (which I have barely started) - I can't believe we have only 13 weeks left (maybe even less . . . we'll see!!!) I go to the doctor's on Tuesday & am anxious to see this little one's growth :) I feel like he is having a party in there some days - just bouncing around & kicking & turning. Looking forward to actually "seeing" him on the screen :)

I did splurge today & buy this . . .

It is a Vera Bradley tote that I plan on using for a diaper bag - she actually sells specific sized bags that are considered "diaper bags" but they are more expensive than this & smaller - so I opted for this one. I love the print & since I will be using it on a daily basis, I'm dividing the cost by the number of days I'd be using it & in the end it is quite a steal per day :) LOL!!!

Ryan & I went to a fall festival at Homestead Gardens today - here's a pic of the handsome little devil, growing up so fast . . .

and here he is again - yes he is dancing - my silly guy . . .

Even though we have plenty of pumpkins he always seems to find just one more to bring home :)

I was telling my mom the other day what a unique experience parenthood is - one minute you can be overflowing with how perfect the moment is, how on top of the world you feel from one little thing your child said or did. However two seconds later a child can do or say something in the throws of a tantrum that is so hurtful , so emotionally draining. The yo-yoing can be exhausting - especially now being pregnant . . . what a journey of patience parenting is isn't it?? I hit a bit of a scrappy slump this week - my focus was on the baby (rightfully so) and trying to get organized in that realm of my life. No worries though - I do have a few scrappy projects to share . . .

First up is my Magpie Club sketch & layout!!! Here is the sketch for October . . .

And here is the layout I came up with . . .

Love these Lily Bee rub-ons . . . perfect for the title

More Lily Bee rub-ons used to cover this tag & fab Lily Bee papers punched & layered to create this leaf embellie - a quick pen outline on each really helped to make them "pop"!!

Be sure to head on over the the Magpie Club blog - Tara is running this challenge through the end of November as she will be skipping the November kit due to the upcoming arrival of a new little one :) Hope you can play along!!

I also had a chance to play with some of my Blue Moon design goodies - lots of fun Dear Lizzy Enchanted & My Minds Eye Lost & Found on this . . .

Love these Dear Lizzy tickets & the Jenni Bowlin vellum butterflies!!! Yes, I broke out my machine & did some stitching - I feel in love with it all over again :) It was the perfect touch for this "soft" layout. See those stamped blocks - they are actually just the edge of one of my Tim Holtz Distress Ink pads - love the look of this block border!!

Hope all is well with everyone & thank you so much for the comments you leave - I read every one & they really make my day!!!! Have a fab Sunday - be back to share more soon :)

ttyl - julie :)