Puzzled

My little one's love for puzzles started about when he turned 3.

October Afternoon Sasparilla papers, AC Thickers, Kaiser Craft buttons, Offrey ribbon, Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher, Stampin' up Early Espresso marker, unknown cardstock and crochet thread. It's been a while since I made accordion flowers. This time I used a hotglue gun and SU! silicon mat, which made assembly a lot easier.

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Happy World Card Making Day

I made two cards for the challenges on the Jillibean Soup blog:

From the The Card Kitchen March 2012 kit: Jillibean Soup Southern Chicken Dumpling Soup papers, stickers and die-cuts; note card; twine. Other: Martha Stewart chalk ink; Ranger liquid pearls. This card was based on sketch 1 by Kimber McGray:

For the next card I used JS Country Pumpkin Chowder papers from The Card Kitchen October 2012 kit:

Note card and May Arts orange cord also from the kit. Other JS frame and stamp; Prima crystal; Ranger embossing ink; SU! marker and embossing powder (Early Espresso); unknown cardstock. This card was based on Kimber's sketch 2:

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First Big Screen Movie

The kids were so excited to see Rango that they could hardly sit still to watch the movie or take pictures. Good thing the theater was empty except for a couple of kids. [Now why can I journal here but not on a scrapbook page?]

Echo Park All About a Boy papers (Apron Strings Second Helping); ColorBok black cardstock; SU! Whisper White cardstock; BoBunny buttons and red jewels; EK Success yellow gemstone; AC alphabet stickers; Bic marker; unknown crochet thread.

I took inspiration from the layout posted on the Apron Strings Blog (here), where white-matted photos were placed on a black strip with decorated edges.

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Family Memories

I didn't notice I used fall papers for spring pictures until I got ready to post. I do love this Simple Stories Harvest Lane collection.

Papers, pin and round brads from the Apron Strings STBB November '12 kit. Other: AC Thickers; SU! Early Espresso cardstock and marker; unknown flowers and square brads.

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Knight time

There is a medieval fair every year in our town.  The boys love dressing up:

Fancy Pants Childish Things papers, K&Co. charms, PaperTrunk alphabet stickers, Ranger Glossy Accents, Color Box chestnut chalk ink, Stampin' Up! Papillon Potpourri stamp and butterfly punches.

More Childish Things papers, SRM Sticker sentiments, Color Box charcoal chalk ink, unknown cardstock.

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Razor Sharp Kidz

Spring photos from two years ago.

These BoBunny Alora papers from the Apron Strings STBB June '12 kit practically scrapped themselves. I just added Paper Trunk alphabet stickers and Stampin' Up! chocolate marker. And lots of fussy-cutting!

This layout is based on the PageMaps sketch posted on the Apron Strings blog Back to School challenge:

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Birthday Cards

I love these Doodlebug note cards because they make the cutest cards.

Jillibean Spotted Owl Soup papers, SRM sticker sentiment, Stampin' Up! leaf die, Martha Stewart chalk ink, and Eyelet Outlet arrow brad. I think next time I'll color the stem with a brown marker.

Recollections papers and embellishments; SRM stickers.

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Back to school

These are the teacher gifts I made for the boys to take to school this year. The re-purposed ice cream containers were filled with chocolate truffles.

 I used papers and stickers from the Simple Stories - Elementary - collection.

Other: Queen & Co. pearls, Prima jewels, American Crafts charm, Tim Holtz game spinner, Ranger Glossy Accents, hemp thread, washi tape.

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Hodgepodge of SFF books

The books I read in the last few months were very different from one another.

In my search for a non-dystopia sci-fi love story, I found Ghost Planet by Sharon Lynn Fisher. It has a great premise and kept me engaged until the last page.

Another book with a unique premise and engaging writing is The Binding Stone by Lisa Gail Green. And this was the first book I bought because I loved the cover.


Ambasadora by Heidi Ruby Miller has excellent world-building with a very interesting and complex society. The violence was a bit too much for me, though.

Open Minds by Susan Kaye Quinn has a unique world and very likable characters. I'd like to read the rest of the series some day.

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde does to time-travel and alternate history what Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide did to the galaxy. It's one of those books I had to read slowly so I wouldn't miss anything.

And to round off my summer reading, I'm now halfway through the paranormal romance Cloaked in Fur by T. F. Walsh, which has an endearing female werewolf narrator.

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Gators layout

I should use my stamps more often...

BasicGrey Basics paper (background); Jillibean Soup Chicken Noodle paper (flowers) and calendar spot; American Crafts card stock and Thickers; Pebbles chipboard leaf; Stampin' Up! Raining Flowers stamps and markers (Chocolate Chip and Certainly Celery); EK Success circle punch; Martha Stewart chalk ink (yellow); Paper Trunk alphabet stickers; ColorBox dark brown chalk ink; Glossy Accents.

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