ooops...almost forgot to share!

I almost forgot! I was planning to blog some of my scrapbook pages from the weekend, and then I got so caught up in this week (which seriously is one of the worse I've ever experienced...from laundry mishaps to major work issues, this week is just seriously flawed) that I forgot to even upload the photos until just now!

Anyhow, I raise my glass and offer a toast:  here's to catching up, and to a weekend jam packed with x-tra spicy Caesars (heartburn be damned!) oh wait... this week isn't actually over until after we finish counting inventory on Saturday night, oh wait.. year end on Tuesday, oh...big stock day on Wednesday...oh no wait...make and take on Thursday...ok forget it, I'll get time off Friday next, but rest assured, I'll find time for a drink in there somewhere!

On to the scrappin'!

I did several layouts last weekend. It was actually pretty cool... because the store was closed on the holiday Monday, I decided to invite a few of the girls in to have a crop and mostly hang out. I dragged all my scrap stuff into the workroom early Sunday morning and settled in for the long haul. We set up the projector and the big screen and when the store opened at noon there were already several of us cropping away, chit chat and snacks and drinks and jokes and of course, paper and glue! The girls came and went throughout the course of the next two days... I was the only steady eddie in the group. But at the end, I'd created about 10 layouts, watched four movies and several reruns of "So You Think You Can Dance" (which priemiers tonight, btw, how excited am I?). After all was said and done, it was very nearly a perfect long weekend!

So I finally bought a piece of that GCD paper from the Melody Ross Line, mostly because I am in love with these journaling prompt embellishments. I took this photo the other day with my phone because I wanted a current picture to use with this page. I am glad that the photo caught a couple of those lines around my eyes...I think it adds honesty to the story that I'm telling...I am working on the journaling, which will be hidden in the envelope due to its highly personal nature.

 Thanks Melody for making me really think about what I am doing, what I want and what I still have left to accomplish.

This sweet little darlin`is my girlfriend, Mel's daughter Emily. What a sweet baby she is, always so happy and smiley. This photo was taken the first time Em got to play near the grass, I have a whole camera card filled with funny faces that she made while she sorted out whether she liked the texture or not. I used the Prima Picks and Pallette as an inspiration for my layout and was pleasantly surprised by the results. These are obviously not colors I normally work with a lot but I think I put them together in a tolerable way and really any colors surrounding Emily will be more than pleasant! As always, there is plenty of Prima on this layout, the paper is new My Mind's Eye and a few Kaiser flowers and butterfly for good measure. here's a little shot of the clusters from close up (all taken with my phone..)

 This layout is made with some old Sassafrass paper that I've had laying around forever. I added pretty much a whole pack of Prima E-line pink flowers, a little bit of bling and a punched cardstock border. From there, the story tells itself....(please hold, while I tell the story)  This is my amazing brother in law with my niece and I have to say he's such an amazing Dad to all his kids...Olivia is crazy about him.. we all are really. Its so cool to see him in his work overalls sitting in this super Pink bedroom snuggling with his little girl.

While we're drooling over my sister's wonderful family, here's a layout that I finished with that new photo of her taken right before she performed in her first Burlesque show. I love this photo beyond words, this is only the first time I'm scrappin' it... not the last!! I used Bo Bunny's Gabrielle line (inspired by my hero, Gabrielle Pollacco) to showcase this photo because it captures that dreamy, whimsical feeling that Kathy was channeling in this photo. What a fun layout to do... I love all the layers! 

This layout was thrown together in about five minutes using the new Little Yellow Bicycle line. All the embellishments come pre-made and the only thing I had to do was trim the pink patterned paper down to match the size of the die cut paper, which I had cut in half. I inked them a bit and then stuck them both down on cardstock, added the pre stickied embellies and matted and mounted the photo. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy! 

This one took a bit more time. I took a piece of Cosmo Cricket patterned paper and fussy cut it to death. then I recreated it on a background cardstock and put the remainder of the page together. This sweet photo is of my nephew, many years ago when he had some habits that were less than pleasing to his mom (this one wasn't as bad as the "W" sit that he insisted on doing that was so bad for his little joints). Didn't seem to matter what those boys were doing though, they were always stinkin' cute while they were doing it!

This is the last layout that I'll put up in this post today. This was a really tough one to do because it was so far outside my comfort zone. I was trying to do a layout that focused less on embellishments and I'll tell you, I had a tough time leaving all that space. I did fussy cut several layers of the clock paper and made a full sheet of 12 x 12 pattern paper out of the scraps (you can't see the seams behind the pair of photos on the right page, but they are there). These photos were taken as Mack was preparing to leave home after a visit that felt too short. They highlighted to me how fast he has grown up and what kind of beautiful human he has become. So so proud of this boy! 

 I'll finish this epic post with a quick shot that I took of a card I made for the store (it actually turned out to be the make and take, which went very well and was very popular) but I had a blast making it. I love this new sticky backed cork that we've just got in from Quickcutz... its runs through the Cuttlebug on a Sizzix die like nobody's business and sticks brilliantly to the canvas, even after its saturated with the Chalkboard glimmer mist! I added a quick Tim Holtz map stamp to the background paper, a coat of crackle paint on the sentiment and some distressing around the edges and its finished!

Thanks for looking! I'll try and make time soon to post the stuff I did last week!