smile - We Were Here...

Before we went to the beach this year, I did the obligatory shopping

for swimsuits and sunscreen and beach toys and beach chairs and

sunglasses and coolers and nightlight travel bulbs AND a bunch

of stuff that we did not need at all...However, in all that search I did

buy Shawn a Fedora, that I thought was cool, that he could

totally pull off because, let's face it, he's Italian, swarthy and confident

enough to do so...I hit a home run, he loved it and it was unexpected!

He totally wanted to wear it, HOWEVER, so did everyone else...

The kids wanted their own swarthy turn, heehee, and of course,

as a hat lover, I had to have it too...Ironically, Shawn didn't wear it as

much as he wanted to, but it was THE definite necessary accessory!

In between forgetting sunglasses and goggles & sandwich baggies for iPhones,

(yep, learned from unfortunate friends' accidents) we never forgot the Fedora...

I had these photos, which I thought were great, but the Scrapbook

Circle Challenge for doing a LO based on 'Dressing Up' was perfect!

I had saved this tag from the inside of one of my favorite sweaters

b/c I loved the name, "Love Stitches" & thought I would use it some

day on a layout...perfect!  Helps justify all the hoarding of things

that might seem, or are, useless, until needed!!  SEE, I really did use it!

Anyway, here is my LO for their challenge using the July Scrapbook Circle Kit!

I have done more layouts with this kit than any previous, however,

they have all been with the same color palette of turquoise, white, yellow

and sand colors...couldn't get enough.  So, this was an exercise in making

me somehow, stay away from using my colors favorites right now and do

the challenge, it was easier than I thought it could be...!

you ( & I am a busy bee! )

Layout done for the Lily Bee July Sketch Challenge found here:

http://lilybee.typepad.com/blog/2012/07/monday-sketch-challenge-with-ursula.html

I have multiple copies of this photo, framed and loose. 

It is one of my all time favorites of Samuel, and true to form,
I didn't take it.  Sam's Mother's Day Out teacher took it of

him on the last day right after their little Spring Program.

That was the sweetest little argyle sweater and matching blue

seersucker shorts...he looked like a little model for kids clothes,

or miniature golfers, heehee.

Anyway, I LOVE Lily Bee's collections...Polka dots and graphics

are what I am most attracted to in patterned papers, so I

wanted to keep it simple and use the black and white photo

to show the pretty colors and patterns of the paper. 

Ironically all these colors are the colors in Sam's sweater.

I think the index card is really supposed to be used upside

down from the way I have it, as a "no" as in "#" but maybe

that is up from interpretation...at least that is the way I took it!

make a wish!

I printed out these photos but never could decide whether I

liked the combination or wanted to do individual photos...

I found this title on the Silhouette website and decided

it would be perfect with the Indie Chic and Nostalgia

collections from My Mind's Eye.  I actually had them

all set aside for this layout when I decided to use it for the

July Sketch that Keri Babbitt did for MME. 

I love her style and the sketch was awesome!

Here is the link to that post:

http://mymindseye.typepad.com/blog/2012/07/sketch-time.html

Poor Sofia, her birthday lands right in the middle of

Spring Break and I still haven't learned my lesson for

planning early or late.  We had sent out invites for a

rocker girl party, started buying supplies and making plans

& the only people who could come were our cousins & 1 friend.

Sadly, it wasn't quite the party Fia had in mind...

sooooo we decided to postpone a big party for a year,

(at least a week early!) & we bribed her with a trip to ToysRUs,

dinner at her favorite restaurant (i.e. cheese dip) and the

biggest cupcake she could find from Whole Foods...

bribery works, and I am so not above it!

The three things I am obsessed with right now are title

and shapes using the negative from the Silhouette or punch,

banners, and stitching on my sewing machine...

I think I got a little carried away with the stitching on this layout

but it is such a great way to finish off the edge or combine

two elements to me, I can't help myself! 

Used them all here!  Yay!



Seriously?

I have been using this color palate for a while so when it

came up as one of the CHA Challenges on 2P's,

it was pretty easy to find what I wanted to use...

I have so many photos over the last 5 years of Sam's eyelashes.

They are crazy long and dark and I am so envious...

Sometimes they are the only that saves me from getting

really mad at him when he does something wrong...

which is a lot lately, good thing he's cute!

Most of the products came from the Scrapbook Circle July kit.



mirror mirror

When I saw the Scrap Fit Challenge colors, they looked retro

to me, combined with the colors from the Scrapbook Circle kit,

the woodgrain and cardstock, etc. and the MME die cut of the word "retro"

I knew this would be the perfect photos...

Here is the link to the Scrap Fit Challenge:

http://scrapfit.blogspot.com/2012/07/workout-72-color-inspiration.html

I have had these photos for years and only found them while

moving my craft room around...My mother-in-law is all

about recreating pictures of family members in similar poses.

Sofia was playing with this doctor kit at their house and she

remembered  this photo she had taken of Shawn 35 YEARS ago. 

She took the photo of Sofia with the old photo in mind, but didn't realize

that they were so eerily similar until after she found the old original

picture.  She is definitely her Daddy's girl, even their expressions are close...

kinda crazy.

I cut the woodgrain paper, from Echo Park's "So Happy Together"

Collection and rolled back the edges to make it look like these pictures

were hiding underneath...don't think I quite got that point

across but maybe next time! 

but Mom...

I had these photos from a few years ago but still remember

the whining that ensued on our departure...

We gave this "Harley" big wheel to our godson but it

was our son that wouldn't get off of it.  

We used to try preparing the kids for the fact that eventually

the party would end and we would have to leave. 

Sometimes that seemed to help plant the idea and give the kiddos

time to prepare.  Other times, i.e. usually, it just didn't matter,

there was a screaming kid under my arm as we left the

party, playdate, park, etc.

I used a sketch from Scrapbook Circle's July Sketch, as well

as their July kit, Sunshine Day, which is my favorite to date!

Here is their sketch: 

 http://www.scrapbookcircle.com/2012/07/sketch-challenge-july



the gathering...so it begins...

Our trips to the beach always bring back some stowaway sand,

some tan lines {for the kids anyway}, and lots and lots of sea shells.

A couple years ago, you could hardly walk on the beach without

stepping on a shell...last year there were hardly any to be found.

This summer there were more but mostly little small ones.

This layout was made almost completely from the

July Scrapbook Circle Kit + a few things from previous kits.

I love the July kit, lots of the colors I can't get enough of,

some wood grain, and lots of Studio Calico...yummy.

I used the Silhouette to cut a little pouch out of vellum for

some of our gathered shells. 

Regardless, we have more than I know what to do with...

I think it might call for a trip to Hobby Lobby for some

crafty supplies and glue for a shell project.