Halloween Mini Kit

This is a Halloween mini kit that I got from Sammye Jo, over at 62Cards. She sells this mini album kit (along with several other super cute kits) in her Etsy shop. I loved all the papers and embellishments in the kit and have a ton left over. I plan to save it all and add a new page each year. The only items I added to this were letter stickers from my stash, black ink, and foam adhesive. Everything else was included in the kit. Click here to get yours!

COVER:

Page 1, 2005:

A little Mr. Incredible and a purple Octopus

Page 2:

All the loot... they were in heaven!

Page 3, 2006:

A Robin, and a green and purple polka dot Frog

Page 4, 2007 (with our newest addition who hated Halloween)

A Prince, a Gypsy, and a Giraffe

Page 5, 2008:

A Batman, a Cinderella, and a Cowboy

Thank you, Sammye Jo, I had a ball putting this album together and can't wait to add to it each year as a wonderful keepsake of our past Halloweens as a family. Enjoy!

Craft Time

Happy Sunday! I got to go to a Stampin' Up! demo today and we made these two cards:

After I took the picture of this card, I added black Stickles to the little mask. It really looks cute now! On the inside, there is a little envelope to stash a fun size pack of Skittles, M&M's, etc. I loved these Halloween stamps so much that I ordered the set.

I like this one, but I don't love it... it reminds me of a sympathy card for some reason.
Today was Mac's first flag football game. He had a blast and did so great! We were really proud of him, and he looked super cute in that uniform and helmet.

The first full week of school completely wore me out. I was a serious taxi driver. I hope this week is better and we (I) become more adjusted and organized. Look how cute and happy my little ones were on each of their first days:

Mac, 6, 1st Grade:
Anna, 4, Pre-School:Elan, 2, Parents Day Out

And tomorrow, I have a super cute, not scary, mini Halloween album to share! I hope you love it as much as I do! ;)

Oh, Baby!

Two new babies have been born this week:

My bestest friend, Erin and her husband, Danny, welcomed their first child early Friday morning. They had a BOY and named him Daniel Reid. Such a sweet name, I love it!

Stephen's sister, Laura and her husband, Brandt, welcomed their second GIRL on Thursday. They named her Blake Jillane- I think... as of yesterday... they were having some name difficulties! :) Congratulations! I can't wait to meet, greet and hold!

And speaking of babies, I did some custom birth announcements for a good friend this week. This is her fourth little one and this is what we came up with:

I stamped all the polka dots in lime on white cardstock, then printed the announcement on vellum. The striped ribbon is from Michael's.

This is a picture of Max that I took to go under the vellum as part of the announcement:

Sweet as honey, huh? And tomorrow, I get to have craft time with some good friends at a Stampin' Up party! I'm really excited! But for now, I am off to bed... last night I stayed up way past my bed time working on a fab Halloween mini album that I will share tomorrow!

Card for a Challenge

Hello everybody! Here is a card I made for the Caardvarks challenge. The challenge was to make a card using the sponsors colors, hot pink, black and white. This is an awful picture, but the black is glossy cardstock. Lots of fun textures! This is a little gift I put together for a friend who did me a little favor. I thought they turned out cute! ;)

Okay, that's it for today... it's been super busy!

Summer Memories

A friend, neighbor, and fellow blogger has tagged me to comment on some of my favorite memories. You can check out her blog A Place To Dwell for lots of awesome reads! Here goes:

Favorite Summer Movie – You may laugh at this, but I’d have to say "Dazed and Confused." Set in the summer of 1976, it focuses on a group of high school kids who are about to be seniors and some who are about to be freshmen. It’s hilarious. (I totally stole this from JMW and her blog. But I have the exact same movie memory and I remember seeing this flick with my closest friends while we were in high school... good times!)
Favorite Summer Cocktail – Absolute Mandarin Vodka with a splash of tonic and an orange wedge.
Favorite Summer Song – "American Girl" by Tom Petty
Favorite Summer Outfit – A sundress and cute flips!
Favorite Summer Reading – Novels by James Patterson- he always hooks me right in the beginning.
Favorite Summer Moment – Lazy days at the pool eating lunch poolside and our annual family trip to Hilton Head every summer in June.

What's your favorite summer memory? I make new ones every year!

A Card and Photos to Share...

Hello there! I sent all three of my little chickens off to school today, which meant I had 3 hours all to myself! Three hours seemed more like 3 minutes. I did get some work done though, and a few things cleared off my desk.

As I was checking blog challenges this morning, it dawned on me that I forgot to post my card for the Die Cuts R Us Challenge: a color challenge- turquoise, brown and white or ivory. So, here's my card that I forgot to post last Friday:

Lastly, I would like to show you some really cute photos. This is Douglas in Wrigley's water bowl. I don't know how he got in there, but he sure had a hard time getting out! Wrigley just sat and watched... he is such a good dog!
Wrigley smiled when Douglas landed safely on the carpet, out of his water dish!

Thanks for visiting and have a great Tuesday!

KY State Fair

When I was a kid, my mom and grandmother would pack us up and take us to the fair every year. I remember a lot about our trips to the fair, but one of my most favorite memories is Freddy Farm Bureau. He was this huge talking farmer that was at the front entrance. All the kids would gather around him and he would talk to us! I mean Freddy was awesome- he would comment on our outfits and ask us questions and tell us to have fun at the fair! So, here he is, he hasn't changed or aged a bit! The animals were our favorite! Here are the kids, annoyed that I'm taking another picture, in front of a giant chicken. They were handing out straw farm hats, so they each had one of those too!

Fair food! Yummy! Only the fair can hand you a ball of deep fried grease with powdered sugar and somehow taste so delicious!

Petting a cow, one of many animals Anna had her hands on...

Anna fell in love with this Lionhead rabbit. It was for sale, so I think she will be getting this for her birthday in October. My little animal lover...

So, the KY State Fair was a success! We had a ball and will return next year!

I'm a Winner!

Woo-Hoo! My "Rock Star" layout (you can view it a few posts down) won the Top 3 Scoops at Pile It On! You can also see my brag blinkie on the right hand column! ;)

I am participating in a swap that is put on by a crafty girl in Australia. All participants need to make 20 "Vintage Girl Embellishments", all the same, no larger than 3"x3". So, I thought long and hard about what to make and this is what I came up with:

And, Anna's version... (she loves to craft with me and she preferred the opposite side of the dot paper, and she found some blue metallic pearls on my desk that she just had to have...)

I will be sending my swap items off tomorrow and in return, I'll be getting back 20 different ones! Can't wait! Tomorrow, a card for a challenge and some cute pics of the KY State Fair!

My Children...I am blessed...

Stephen and I have some friends that just added a baby girl to their family. Sadly, the baby was born with a bad heart. She has already gone through one surgery with another scheduled for Tuesday. This was a complete shock to all the family and all their friends. Please say a special prayer that this sweet, baby girl gets stronger and makes it through with flying colors on Tuesday.
When things like this happen, it hits close to home. You sit back and watch your own children and thank God that they are healthy and happy. You stop and enjoy the little things. I tend to slow down and be more patient and listen more tentatively to my children. I try to remember that every day is a gift. I am so blessed... my husband and children are my everything and right now, I am thanking God that we are here, together, under one roof.

"My Best Creation Is My Children"

I love this layout because it's me with my children. I never had many pictures of me with the kids, but this past May, that changed. I handed over my camera for people to take pictures of us together- regardless of what I looked like. I am so happy I started doing that. Now, I can say, "remember when we were at so and so and did that? That was super fun!" And so on... think about it. You'll be happy to have the photos in years to come.
My lucky grand total of 3...

My baby grows up...

OVERNIGHT. That's right, my sweet baby, Elan, who is 2 1/2 woke up yesterday and says, "Mom, MOM! I want to wear underwear! Football players wear underwear!" Well... uh... OK! So we put the big boy underwear on and the rest is history. That sweet, smart child kept those undies dry the entire day- NOT ONE ACCIDENT. Then yesterday afternoon, he says, "Here mom. (handing me his pappy and blankie) I don't want these. I'm big now. I'm potty trained!" Well, sniff, sniff, ok.

And at this moment, he is still dry as a chip in his big boy underwear, and blankie is under a chair and pappy is on the kitchen floor. What happened here? He'll be off on his motorcycle going to college soon... boo-hoo-hoo...

And this is what I miss...

This is one of my favorite LO's. It's Elan at 10 weeks old. I loved this LO so much that I submitted it for publishing a while back. (Still no word on that part ;) Anyway, Elan was a very hard baby- cried all the time and never slept. So, I feel like I missed his infancy. I was so busy being stressed, depressed and upset that time just passed by. Enjoy your infants while you can... they will be potty training themselves soon...

My Layout for a Few Challenges!

Greetings! This is a layout I made for three challenges this week:
The Pink Elephant- "Summer Theme" (this may not look very summery to you, but to me, this is what goes on at our house during the summer months. Outdoor concerts on our deck, complete with singing and instruments!)
Pile It On- "All Boy"
Without further ado, "Rock Star" featuring my little buddy, Mac.
Stamp, Scrap & Doodle Saturdays- "All Boy"



**Thanks to all who signed up to participate in the "Pay It Forward" project. If RaeChelle, 1CardCreator, and Lori would please email me their address at Profumo@Bellsouth.net I would appreciate it! Can't wait to send you ladies some crafty goodness!**

School has begun...

Mac started his first day of 1st grade today. He was so excited that he woke last night (sleep walking) at 10:30 p.m. and started getting ready: went potty, put his P.J.'s in the hamper, started putting on his uniform, etc. I stopped him and tucked him back in and this morning, he had zero recollection of doing any of it! Mac has a habit of sleep walking, it's kind a funny!

Anyway this is a LO I did of his first day last year, when he started kindergarten. He grew up a lot over the summer...

For all you moms out there that sent their kids off to school for their first day today, join me in doing a little jig... when you're done, do a something creative!

Meet Douglas

We have inherited a new pet... Douglas the turtle.

He's very pleased to meet you! Anna is in heaven with a pet all her own. She digs out in the garden for fresh worms for him to eat everyday, takes him for walks outside, makes him "nests" and today, I found poor Douglas in the back of one of Elan's big dump trucks, going for a ride. I think Douglas is happy here, and likes his new best friend.Welcome to the family, Douglas! Even Wrigley likes you.

The "Pay It Forward" project still has one spot left. If you are interested, or want to read more, click here.

And for tomorrow: a card, a layout, and my sweet Mac goes to his first day of 1st grade.

Triathlete Triumph!

This weekend, I went with my family to Evansville, Indiana. I had the pleasure of watching my brother, nephew, and uncle participate in a triathlon. All three of them did awesome! It was so exciting and thrilling and I am so proud of the three of them for finishing with smiles of achievement on their faces!

Three Champions... my brother, Nate, nephew, Tyler, and Uncle Terry

The first leg... Swimming

Tyler, running out of the swim (I would be crawling)
Nate, drying off, getting ready for the bike ride. All the while he's smiling and talking to us, "The swim was great! It was a little crowded and muddy, but the water felt fine!" (I would be saying, "ick, this water is nasty!")

Gearing up for the bike ride. If someone told me I had to ride 19 miles up hill, I would laugh at them! (And if they were serious, I might start to cry.)

And the finish... Nate pushed it into high gear at the finish line, laughing and smiling!

Seriously? I'd be barfin', but look at this face... pure "I DID IT and I FEEL GREAT!"
My niece, Kendall, she was so proud of her daddy. She even had a tissue to wipe off all the sweat on Nate's face. I know in her mind, she is thinking... "My HERO."

Congratulations, guys! You did so awesome and I am so proud of all of you! You are my hero too!

Pay It Forward

The subject of "pay it forward" has come up quite frequently lately. I love the whole idea of paying it forward and usually the stories I hear are inspiring and uplifting. Then, this past week, I came across Regina's blog, Scrap Creations who had a post about "paying it forward." Regina has a wonderful idea to incorporate paying it forward, crafting, sharing and inspiring. Here are the details...

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me, especially for you. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make but I hope you will.

2- What I create will be just for you.

3-They say I have a year to get it to you. But I promise it will NOT take that long.

4- You have no clue what it's going to be. It’s a surprise to both of us at this point.

The catch? You must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog.

So the first five people who post, and are willing to pass it along, will get a handmade gift in the mail from me. When you get it, make sure you post a pic on your blog!

I hope you'll play along and pay it forward with me! Happy Sunday and happy crafting!

*Photo of my family taken by my sis-in-law, Lara, in Hilton Head Is., S.C., June 9th, 2009

Vintage Girl Embellishment Swap

Howdy! The Scrap The Girls blog is having a "Vintage Girl Embellishment swap; These could be anything, flowers, stars, tags, hearts, circles. Anything you have handmade to embellish a scrapbook page. Only catch is it has to be vintage themed. By this I mean shabby looking. Think lace, soft pinks/creams/whites/bold colours mixed with pale neutrals, old book paper, distressed edges, brown inked, buttons, sewing, pearls. Anything vintage.
Size – No bigger than 3x3 inch."

If you are interested in participating, click here. Hurry! Sign ups end this Saturday, August 15!

Card for a Challenge + News

Good afternoon!

Here's a card I made for two challenges this week:

The Pink Elephant- Color Challenge: brown, turquois, and neutral

Die Cuts R Us- Layers

Supplies:

Kraft paper, K&Co. polka dot paper, ivory cardstock, oval punch, scallop punch, corner rounder, felt (heart), brown ink, edge distresser, jewelry tag, small gold brad, foam adhesive, ribbon, and hemp twine.

Small tag says "thank you" and the cut out tag says, "your kindness touches my heart"

Yesterday, we went to the Newport Aquarium. We went with my brother, Nate, and his family, and also some other family friends of ours. The kids had a ball, but the funniest part of the whole trip was when we went in to feed the Lorikeets. We tried like mad to get them to land on the kids so they could feed them and those birds were being stubborn! Low and behold, three of them, yes three, landed on Nate! One on his shoulder, back and head. Thank heavens I had my camera ready! Nate and I laughed until I was almost crying. At the same time, two landed on my niece, Kendall. She is at the left in the photo. So funny!

And lastly, this card won the top five at The Pink Elephant this week!


So, top five is a big deal when there is over a hundred entries, but I want to WIN. Maybe next week!