Graduation Party!

I am back after a wonderful weekend celebrating my daughter's high school graduation.  Here is a quick inside peek of the celebration...

 And now, let me show you the REAL star of the day...

My sister and her family brought their newest member of the family along with them.  My super-sweet little French Bulldog niece, Hazel, sure stole the show!  :)

I promise to be back this week with details and more pics, but this momma of the graduate is TIRED and the window replacement guys come tomorrow!  :)

Graduation Rehearsal: Senior Year

I'm tiptoeing into this one...

Yesterday was the last day.  Mandatory school is a thing of the past for baby #1.  Seems like only yesterday that we were singing about getting a letter with Blue's Clues before this crazy thing called school even entered the picture!

In my Artbooking mini-album we have come to senior year.  Words cannot describe.

Vellum is such a great accent to add a delicate, feminine touch to these pages.  Sparkles with vellum is even better!  I used the School Years My Acrylix to stamp the year on this one in White Daisy Pigment Ink.

I  do so love this Keyboard Uppercase Alphabet My Acrylix from Close to My Heart.  It is one of those, "I don't have to be too careful to line these up" sets.  :)  It worked perfectly alongside one of my faves in the Ariana Complements chipboard shapes.

The very last page is this darling envelope.  I decided to add the rest of the wallet-sized pics that didn't have a place in this album.

Tomorrow is the big day...ready or not!  My heart will never be quite ready, but my girl is certainly running to cross the finish line...

Crazy May Continues with Confirmation

Welcome back to my little corner of the blog world!  I have a super-easy card today to give you a little inspiration.

The May crazies are crazier than usual this year when you throw in my niece's confirmation last week.  It is tricky to find a card for this kind of occasion without a visit to some specialty store...UNLESS you have some wonderful cardmaking supplies handy!  ;)

I used one of my all time favorite bible verses from Verve Stamps as the sentiment and possibly my favorite pattern paper from the Close to My Heart Ariana Paper Packet...

The grey CS is also included in the Ariana packet.  I stamped the verse and edged all the pattern paper in Slate ink that matched nicely.

See the embossed pattern in the background?  I used my Sizzix Big Shot machine and Damask Embossing Folder on a sheet of packaging from a frame I bought, lol.  I even used it in the layers of the die cut flower from MCT!  LOVE how that worked out!

Shop 24/7 for these super deals and amazing stamps and scrapbook products on my CTMH website!

Countdown to Graduation Continues...

Four days and counting...

I am almost ready for this HUGE moment.  ALMOST.  And I am not just talking about the party.  Actually, I am not sure a mom can possibly EVER be ready for her firstborn to graduate from high school!  I'm slowing things down a bit here to revisit almost 18 years of pictures in my Artbooking mini-album made with the beautiful papers in the Ariana Paper Packet.

Up today are the first three years of high school.  She might not like these first two school pics, but I love to see the progression from year to year, so I didn't leave any out!  It's totally my prerogative as the mom.  :)

I love the way this page came together.  The name of each school year is stamped from the School Years My Acrylix in White Daisy pigment ink onto vellum flags.  If you love vellum like I do, then check out the sweet Free to Be Me paper packet available this month from Close to My Heart!  It comes with two different vellum prints--gold polka-dots and feathers!  I swoon just thinking about it!  ;)  Back to the mini...

This awesome title element is taken from the Overlay key on the Artbooking cartridge.  Here is what it looked like before I trimmed it up...

I accented each of the fishtails with the Sparkles Chevron Shapes.  I admit I was a bit scissors happy with these embellishments.  A real cut-up.  Should I stop now?  ;)

LOVE the Junior year picture sooooo much!  :)

 Glitter paper, CHECK!  :)  Oh, and let me tell you...texting is BIG-time around here, lol.

I cut part of a Sparkles Flourish for this one--shocking, eh?  This is absolutely the perfect Complement to use,"Be who you are and no one else."  Words she has definitely embodied over the years.  *sniff*  Oh man, here we go again with the tears...see you tomorrow!   

You're the Best Masculine Birthday Card!

One of the reasons for my case of the May Crazies is a flurry of birthdays.  My brother-in-law is a self-employed home improvement guru, so I knew JUST what I was going to do for his card when I found the You're the Best My Acrylix stamp set from Close to My Heart.

These tool images are PERFECT for a random stamped background!  I used Chocolate Exclusive Ink on Kraft for this one...

These hinges are a long retired CTMH product that I found in my stash.  I love how they angled themselves when I added some baker's twine across the back! 

The wood grain pattern in the Timberline Paper Packet was an instant favorite.  I used the "happy" and "day" from a sentiment in You're the Best to fashion a birthday sentiment with the amazing Framework Alphabet. 

What elements do YOU like to include in a masculine card?

Counting Down to Graduation with Ariana and Artbooking

Hi everyone!  I hope you all had a wonderful day yesterday celebrating a special mother in your life.  Time to turn things over to celebrating a fabulous daughter in my life this week!  My oldest is graduating, and it totally sneaked up on me...

Reminiscing is something that I can easily do with this sweet mini-album I made with my Cricut Artbooking Cartridge on my Expression Machine.  Here are a few more looks inside!

I don't think the Polaroid trend will ever leave my pages...I just love the look!  This particular cut is a great way to use the Close to My Heart Glitter Paper.  Again, one of my go-to products, I just love how these Marquee White Enamel Shapes POP off the Outdoor Denim CS.

I completely adore this combination of stripes and floral in the Ariana Paper Packet!

The beautiful patterns and blooms are wonderful to use in conjunction with vellum and sparkles to make it even more feminine.  I added these Bitty Sparkles to the chipboard flower from the Ariana Complements--see what a difference just a little bit of embellishment can make?  The tiny little bows in the Ariana Assortment are also perfect!

Simple pages in mini-albums are a quick way to add photos without taking a big chunk of time out of your scrapping.  I used just a bit of Silver Shimmer Trim and an Artbooking cut to dress this one up.

I just love this trio from Junior High! 

I made more simple embellishments using patterned papers, Enamel Shapes, and Shimmer Trim.  :) 

Why does it seem like time is flying JUST as fast as the pages in this album are turning?  I will show you more later this week!  :)

More Stitched Flowers for Mother's Day!

What can I say...I just could not stop myself!  Once I started cranking out these gorgeous flowers, the ideas came fast.  Here are two more Mother's Day creations I have to show you!

I used my FAVORITE paper packet for this one...Ariana!  That beautiful floral print was BEGGING me to make these flowers with it. 

I used two different My Acrylix stamp sets:  Holiday Tags for the sentiment, and Perfect Fit Mom for the little accent around the flowers...

I had some gorgeous Teresa Collins sequins and Rosewood Accents to add for the flower centers.  Can you see the amazing, deep color of the glitter paper I used?  This is a dark brown/bronze and it plays sooooo nicely with Ariana! 

One mom down, and one to go!   I used more elements from the Rosewood Accents Mini-Medley Collection...

Perfect Fit Mom again, too...

 Loving that stitched label die for these sentiments!  Thanks, Emma!  :)

I am linking this up with the MCT Designer's Challenge, so go check it out!

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!!!  BIG HUGS to you all!  :)