sunday . . .

The past week & a half in pics . . .

Time with cousins . . .

First hand-holding/playdate . . .

Cutie pie . . .

Early St.Patrick's Day celebrating . . .

My little Leprechaun . . .

Renovations at the beach house underway . . .

Now, on to some scrappy . . .

I have had lots of fun playing with the new Jillibean Soup lines - I am a HUGE fan of this company & have all of their collections - way back to their beginning lines!!! Their new birthday-themed line, Spotted Owl Soup, is adorable & such a perfect color scheme for my little man :)

I am totally in love with their new 12 x 12 diecut sheets & their 12 x 12 cardstocker sticker sheets. Oh & of course their alphas - I think I have 12 packages of the corrugated ones - love 'em!!!! Here's a close-up of some of these fab embellies & my title work . . .

I also decided to use some of the new Dutch Mustard Soup & Blossom Soup to dress up this wood tree. It was definitely a bit time consuming to work through this project between the hand-cutting for the tree & hand-cutting of all the leaves but I really enjoyed it :)

Here is a quick close-up . . . yes, I stitched on the green leaves - crazy, right??

This will look perfect in my scraproom with my green walls :)

My second assignment for BlueMoon Scrapbooking was up on the blog this week. My March kit had a handful of the new Graphic 45 & Websters Pages papers. I think these companies produce such gorgeous products but I always feel as if I struggle a bit when working with them - just a bit different from my regular style. I really liked how this layout turned out though - I used the papers in small doses & really liked the effect . . .

A quick close-up on the journaling . . .

And the title work . . .

Don't forget - BlueMoon is hosting a sketch challenge right now - use the provided sketch & post your layout in their gallery for a chance at winning $40 to spend in the BlueMoon store - seriously awesome people - get to it - all the details are here :)

Also - if you haven't yet heard - Pretty Little Studio is revealing a new collection called April Showers . . . check out the sneak . . .

Head on over to the blog & leave a comment to be in the running for an 8 x 8 pack of these new papers!!!

Before I go I wanted to answer a quick question asked by Barb in regards to my faux stitching on some of pages - it is super easy - first I draw straight lines around the object to be "sewn" leaving gaps here & there. I draw these free hand & don't worry if they are not perfect but feel free to use a ruler if you'd like.

Then I go back and draw zig-zags where the gaps are - it's that simple - promise :)

By the way - my FAVORITE pen to use is the Pigma Micron from Sakura - you can find it online or at Michael's - I have them in all different sizes but my favorite to use is 03.

Hope that helps Barb!!!

Alright - hopping off to finish up some scrapping :)

ttyl - julie :)

wednesday . . .

It's that time again!!!! Welcome to the Samantha Walker Creative Team March Blog Hop!!! If you just left Guiseppa's blog to head over here, you are right on track :) If not, head on over to Samantha's blog to begin the hop. Leave a comment there & on each creative team member's blog to have a chance at winning a prize package of goodies from Samantha's Cowboy collection!!!

I decided to try out using some of Samantha's NEW gorgeous fabrics from her Enchanted Garden line. She has coordinating papers & embellishments as well - I didn't have these to play with yet so I stuck to some subtle background papers from Creative Imaginations & Scenic Route to help me be able to really showcase these fabulous fabrics!!!

To create the fabric design on the page, I cut numerous circles form the fabrics & overlapped them in rows. To make the fabric easier to work with on my page, I first treated it with Aleene's Stiffen Quik . The fabric became stiff enough that I was actually able to punch the circles out with a circle punch. Beware though, if the fabric is not stiff enough it will get stuck in your punch - which can be quite a mess :) To finish off my circle design, I stitched across the rows.

I'm super excited to try this again with more fabric & some of my other punches!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by - head on over to Jennifer's blog to see her gorgeous creation featuring Samantha Walker products!!!

tuesday . . .

Okay - not the best pics of me (still carrying half of this baby weight people!!!), but I love that they are pics I all of us - being silly - I rarely get family pics so I couldn't resist sharing :) Hanging in over here - Nicholas is doing well - growing, growing, growing - he is super long & we have already started into the 9 month clothes (just a reminder - he isn't even 2 months yet - ahhhhh!!!). Ryan is good - definitely growing up too fast though. The things he says these days make me feel like I am back teaching in my middle school classroom sometimes :) Doing quite a bit of scrapping myself & have lots to share in the upcoming weeks :) For today . . .

a fun little altered project for Pretty Little Studio - I found these wood garden picks at Michael's & couldn't wait to cover them with some bright, cheery paper. The Scrumdidlyumptious line from PLS was perfect!!! Check them out . . .

Here is a quick close-up - I think I have finally mastered the accordion flower - of course only to find Sizzix dies at my local scrapbook store that could practically do all the work for me :)

Make sure to head on over the Pretty Little Studio shop - the new collection Hopscotch has been revealed & it is CUTE, CUTE, CUTE!!!! Here is a peek at this adorable collection . . .

Melissa is currently running a special on shipping . . .

Also - you still have until the 10th to comment for a chance at the BIG Hopscotch collection giveaway - check it out HERE :)

Oh & a new sketch challenge!!! I provided this month's sketch for Blue Moon Scrapbooking . . .

And here's my take on it - full of American Craft's Hello Sunshine goodness . . .

A quick close-up on the border - I am super proud I was able to step out of my comfort zone & do some stamping. I fell in love with the American Crafts stamp set provided in my DT kit - I always tell Ryan he is my sunshine so this stamp was just perfect!!!

Oh and guess what - the prize for one lucky winner . . . $40 to spend at the Blue Moon Scrapbooking store!!!!! Check out all the details HERE :)

Before I go - just wanted to leave you with a song from this AMAZING artist . . . so talented :)

Thank you for all your comments - I love reading them (not to mention some of you have been giving me great ideas & advice on my new mommy of 2 life) :)

Couldn't leave without a few pics of the little one :)

Hope all of you are well & be back soon with more . . .

ttyl - julie :)

thursday . . .

the good . . . the bad . . . and the ugly . . .

THE GOOD

* Nicholas has started smiling - I mean the real kind - not the smiles that slip out because of gas or while he's dreaming - but the kind where I tickled him or gave a funny face & he smiles so sweetly at me - makes my heart melt & keeps me sane during the other 95 % of the time when he looks like this . . .

aka . . . grumpy old man

* Ryan is in LOVE with his little brother - I mean can't get enough of him, always wants to be around him kind of love . . . not to mention he is a MASTER at getting that kid to take a pacifier when he's crying (which is super helpful to mommy)

* I've shed half my pregnancy weight, although the whole was ALOT (seriously - ALOT) so I still have a long way to go . . .

* Amazingly I have still been able to scrap - usually the 10PM - 2AM time frame - but a dose of scrappy time is always a good thing in my book :)

THE BAD . . . THE UGLY . . .

* Nicholas is a fussy one - like really fussy - usually the worst is from 3 or 4PM until 7 or 8PM - alot of screaming & crying & nothing seems to really calm him down but the bath - unfortunately giving a 4 hour bath doesn't work so . . . we work through the fussy :)

* My house looks like a bomb went off - I can never keep up these days - the laundry, the dishes, the mess Ryan makes as I tend to Nicholas - it is overwhelming at times but I know eventually it will all get done . . .

* I never feel good about my "mommy day" - I only feel as if I have survived it. Not that every day with Ryan before baby made me feel like a rockstar mommy - absolutely not - but these days I feel pulled in both directions & never feel like either is totally happy with me. There are times Ryan says things that break my heart because he wants more of me than I can give right now, and there are times I listen to Nicholas cry out for me as I try to tend to Ryan & it breaks my heart as well. I keep telling myself that my mother had 5 of us & we never, ever felt unloved - so I plug away - creating imaginary birthday parties with Ryan & his stuffed animals, changing diapers & giving bottles to Nicholas, preparing breakfasts & lunches & dinners for Ryan, try to make Nicholas smile with silly faces & tickles, reading Ryan stories & snuggling, telling them both as much as possible I love them.

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My mom always asks me if I am tired or says "you must be tired" - and yes I am - luckily I have been one who never slept much so I'm used to it. I've always capped out at 5 or 6 hours, never was a late sleeper on weekends, never really took naps . . . so that 10 to 2 time, yes well I could be sleeping and sometimes I do but often I scrap. Why some of you may ask . . . because in those late hours, when the house is quiet & I can think . . . I mean really think . . . I choose to spend that me time reminding myself why all this chaos of my day is worth it . . . every second of it . . . as I create pages that treasure all the wonderful moments that I sometimes forget about amidst the crazy of my day. It makes me happy . . . it helps me remember . . . it allows me start the next day with a smile in my heart :)

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On to some sharing . . .

SEI is running another sketch challenge this month on their blog & as a bonus, one lucky person who particpates & links their layout up at the link party the end of this month will win a $25 gift certificate to shopsei.com where you can pick out your own prize - how AWESOME is that???

Here is the sketch . . .

And here is my take on it using the gorgeous "With All My Heart" collection . . .

A close-up of the title work - love these cardstock stickers & how they look layered up behind the title . . .

Oh & the heart die-cuts - so many fun options on the 12 x 12 sheet & piled up they make the perfect corner accent!!!

I also created another layout with this collection . . . tugs at my heartstrings because this is a pic from the day Nicholas was born . . .

The heart sequence on this page was so fun to do - a bit time consuming but super easy. I used a Sizzix sizzlit die to cut the scalloped hearts. They come out in two pieces - the scalloped frame & inner heart. I glued down the frames & then glued just the center of the inner hearts down. Some quick stitching down the center of each column & then some folding of each heart inward created a fun series of heart embellishments. A super inexpensive way to add some fun elements to a page!!

I am still playing with all the fabulous little goodies sent to me by Melissa over at Pretty Little Studio - if you haven't yet checked out her adorable products be sure to HERE!!! I loved the vintage boy flashcards she has created & wanted to use them on a page of Ryan working hard at practicing his letters . . .

I think I am in love with the 8 x 8 notebook lined die-cut & that cute red bookprint paper I used at the top for the scalloped border!!!

By the way - a new collection is coming out called Hopscotch & it is perfect for the upcoming Spring/Easter season . . . check out the sneaks . . .

Just leave a comment on the Pretty Little Studio blog for a chance at winning an 8" x 8" paper pack of the new collection!!!

Alright . . . off to finish up a few things before my bedtime . . . lots more to share . . . just not yet :)

Oh a just throwing in a few extra pics of the new little man before I go . . .

Hope all is well with everyone & be back soon!!

ttyl - julie :)

tuesday . . .

Currently typing as I hold baby asleep in one hand & playing Thomas MegaBlocks with Ryan with the other. The typing is happening intermittingly :) I did this entire post last night after a 3 o'clock feeding but somehow never posted it and did not save it as a draft so I have to start over :) Happy belated Valentine's Day!!! Mine was really nice - early morning celebration at Ryan's school, lunch at Grammy & Grandpa's, and then coming home to roses & love notes all around the house from hubby :) A great day for sure!!!!

What has been keeping me from blogland????? We had quite the week as both little ones were/are sick . . . Ryan with a double ear infection & sinus infection - yuck - yuck - yuck!!! The little man - well - one thing after the next. It began with a bad case of thrush that led to really bad diaper rash, while at the doctor's we discovered he had an intolerance to milk so we switched him to soy formula which he became VERY constipated on & just plain miserable. We then switched to Nutramagin only to then have him diagnosed with acid reflux - ahhh!!!! Finally, we are feeling a bit better with some medication :) Hope to get back to normal soon!!!

Sharing some pics from the week . . .

Turning one month old . . .

Finding time just for mommy & Ryan while enjoying the world of experiments :)

And I promised some more scrappy projects to be revealed . . . but before I do . . . BIG NEWS to share!!!! I am so honored to have been invited to join the design team for Pretty Little Studio . . .

Pretty Little Studio is a fabulous manufacturer that creates adorable papers, flashcards, journaling tags, bunting flags, and more with a whimsical, vintage flair - you will LOVE them!!!!! Check out their store HERE and their inspiring blog HERE.

I had so much fun playing with the goodies the owner, Melissa, sent me - here is a layout I came up with featuring a mix of papers & embellishments from 4 of their collections - Be My Valentine, Apple Cider, Scrumdidlyumptious, and Storybook . . .

Close-up of the title work . . . a fun mix of Pretty Little Studio journaling tags, vintage flashcard, and number tag :)

Another close-up showcasing some more adorable journaling tags & date label by Pretty Little Studio & the punched heart border . . .

I will have more projects featuring Pretty Little Studio goodies to share with you this month so keep checking in!!!

The new page kits are up for March at A Page 4 All Seasons . . . here is what I came up with for the She Said club using the fun Family Traditions collections from We R Memory Keepers . . .

Close-up of the left side . . .

And close-up of the right side . . .

If you are interested in purchasing the She Said monthly page club - check out all the details HERE.

And one more layout before I go . . . I just bought all the new Jillibean Soup releases and couldn't resist playing a bit when they arrived :) This layout features the new Dutch Mustard Soup collection . . .

A close-up on the punched/stitched hearts . . .

And one more on the title work - LOVE the new alpha font & of course their corrugated alphas!!!

Hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day!!!! Be back soon :)

ttyl - julie :)

wednesday . . .

I'm back . . . with some scrappy . . . lots to share throughout this week but TODAY it is all about the monthly Samantha Walker blog hop!!!! If you have been hopping along you should have just arrived from Jennifer Beason's blog. Today I have this fun layout featuring Samantha's Cowboy Collection designed for Creative Imaginations. Check out the layout of my little cowboy :)

A quick close up of the title work showcases the awesome rub-ons & cardstock stickers in the collection. I also added some fun, whimsical machine stitching around the border of the layout :)

Another close-up of the journaling & more of those FAB cardstock stickers!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by - leave a comment on my blog to enter for a chance to win a fabric bundle from Samantha's Enchanted Garden line . . . or Cowboy 2 collection with Riley Blake Designs. Now, head on over to Guiseppa's blog to see some more AWESOME Samantha Walker goodies in action :)