4 1/2 hours....

UNTIL I LEAVE FOR GIRLS' WEEKEND!!!!! WOOHOO!

I am coming home at night to feed Ainsley and sleep, so it isn't a complete vacation, but it will be nice to get out for a bit. I am already missing my kiddos! :) I am so grateful that my wonderful hubby is willing to let me go do this. I'm very scared what the house will look like when I get back. I am expecting it to either be completely trashed or for him to have thrown everything IN the trash! :) We'll see!

Thanks, Tommy!!!!

sad digiscrap news! {Jenna Nelson} is retiring!

Jenna at ScrapDish

This reminds me... I need to get her Nest Egg Alpha & her
Vintage Hymnal Numbers & her

Scrapper's Remedy Kit & her

thermometers!

High Fructose Corn Syrup

Have you seen the Juicy Juice commercial with the kids in a play and the kids are all fruits and talk about growing on trees and then there's the kid who says "I'm high fructose corn syrup. And I've been chemically altered...."

I opened my kitchen cabinets on Monday and this is what I found... Lovely.

Everything on the middle and bottom shelves was coated with corn syrup. Everything is sticky. The lid of my soynut butter jar was covered in about 1/4 inch of corn syrup. Guess how I found that out??? Yep, went to pick the jar up by the lid and stuck my hand right in it. Apparently, my plastic jar of corn syrup leaked. Have no idea how. It wasn't upside down. Just leaning a bit to the side, but since the jar was almost empty, there is no way it could have gotten out up by the lid. There aren't any visible cracks in the bottle either. So, this one is a mystery folks!
And Hannah can't reach it, even standing on a stool!

spring flowers craft

Hannah was begging and crying to do a craft earlier today, so I found this website that showed how to make Handprint Lilies. It was pretty easy to do and Hannah did everything except the hand tracing and cutting all by herself.

Hannah was wrapping the finger petals around pen to make them curl.

Hannah was smelling the flower to see if they smelled like REAL flowers. nope. But I am tempted to spray them with something! :)

This is the finished product, complete with crystal bud vase!

Want to do this project? The instructions are here...
We used green, white & yellow construction paper, a bendy-straw for each flower, tape, 3 -4 inches of pipe cleaner for each flower, tape. I only had white pipe cleaners. I wish that I had brown ones for the stamen so that they would look more real. So, I tried to color the tips of the pipecleaners brown with a dry erase marker. Didn't work so well. Hannah has tiny hands so our lilies are skinny. If you have kids with bigger or thicker hands, it would be cute, too! I think the marbled construction paper would be cool for this project, too, but we don't have any.

Woohoo!

You should now be able to click on sidebar links on my blog and have them open in a new window... haven't figured out how to do this with links actually in posts yet! Well, unless I want to code each link individually. I have mentioned this site before, but I am going to plug it again...

Tips for New Bloggers

Layout with Krystal Hartley's designs

these photos are from a couple of weeks ago when hannah decided to color her own fingernails. and she did it again tonight. they were green tonight. lovely. i should be grateful that she hasn't tried to color ainsley YET... right, angie?
credits:
all products by krystal hartley
Be True Free Kit
Sweet Floral Free Kit
Gladness Freebie
stitches from Love Is Free Kit
Little Black Alpha
at FaithSisters, PurplePaperFlowers

Polaroid My Memories Suite

Okay, I am up way too late! The regular scrapbooking infomercials are over and it's time for digital scrapbooking infomercials! So, for those of you who want to do digital scrapbooking, but don't want to learn a lot about new programs and just want the pages done, this is a good option. The pages aren't extremely detailed, but they work and they allow you to get your memories preserved. That's the whole point!

My Memories Suite

The cool thing about this is that if you decide you want to switch to another program later, you can use all the files for this program with other photo editing software. The files are all in .png & .jpg format. Other simple digiscrap programs like Creative Memories can only be used with their files. This one is a bit more versatile. And you can add your videos and music. If I were just getting started and hadn't ever digiscrapped and wasn't extremely interested in using scrapbooking as an artistic outlet, I would probably use a program like this one. That's my plug...

Layout with Misty Cato's products... part 4

these are pictures of Ainsley from last month. the left page was a free quickpage at Misty Cato's site for a while.
credits:
misty cato's
twilight romance
black sticker alpha
at scrapbook-elements

Layout with Misty Cato's products... part 3

this is me & my adorable hubby way back in December. he's a hottie! all these years and i still love him. who woulda thought it?!
credits:
Misty Cato's
You & Me kit
Wood Stained Frames
at Scrapbook-Elements

LO with Misty Cato's designs ... part 2

this is ainsley in her blessing gown... no, we still haven't done that. we really need to and soon. she is actually starting to grow! i'm not sure that i like that sepia burn on the photo so i may take that off. but look at those blue eyes! love 'em!
credits:
Misty Cato's
You & Me
snap from Weathered Decor
at scrapbook-elements
pscs2
fonts: porcelain

LO with Misty Cato's designs

these are pictures from may 2007. my babies were so teeny tiny!
credits:
Misty Cato's
Calming Influence
Cut Canvas Phrases
Garden Blends
Moments Together
Ocean View Kit
Summer's End
at Scrapbook-Elements

layout with LAURA BURGER'S products

credits:
laura burger's
under the big top
stitches by newlife dreams
at eclecticdigitaldesigns and treasurestoscrap

Do you remember these???

We went to the City Library downtown earlier today and were browsing through the HUGE children's section of the library and found the Mr. Men and Little Miss series books. We checked out a few of them and Hannah loves them! They were my favorite books as a kid and I had completely forgotten about them! They are on my wish-list of books to add to our library. I get such a kick out of them. You can actually buy them in gift sets on Amazon. They are in little tiny paperback books so they are actually pretty affordable. I am thinking they might make a good birthday present for Hannah this summer. She doesn't need more toys. I am always up for adding good books to our library. Am I the only one who remembers these things?

Girls Weekend...

... starts in less than 96 hours! WOOHOO!

I am going to scrapbook for 48 hours!!!!! Okay, not quite. But as close as possible!

Layout with Misty Cato's products

these are pictures from october of 2007.
credits:
Misty Cato's
Shabby Sunroom
Denim Mats
Burlap Beauties
Summer's End
Calming Influence
Moments Together

all at Scrapbook-Elements

voluntary tagging!

a. four places I go over and over
1. smith's (grocery store)
2. walmart
3. the pediatrician's office
4. the bathroom... I never leave the house anymore! :)

b. four people that e-mail me regularly
1. mary
2. chrissy
3. thomas
4. kimmie

c. four of my favorite foods
1. tacos
2. fried rice (made with couscous instead of rice)
3. STEAK
4. COKE

d. four places i would rather be right now...
1. sleeping
2. at my momma's house
3. someplace warm... i'm cold right now!
4. scrapping with the girls!

e. four movies i could watch over and over
1. pride & prejudice
2. Walk the Line
3. Steel Magnolias
4. Friends... I know it's a tv show, but we watch the DVDs over and over and over

people I am tagging.........whoever wants to play!

Ruthie's birthday present

This is the little mini-album that I made my mom for her birthday. It is 2.5"x3.5". I did 1 page for each family, 1 page for the kids in each family, 1 page for Shelbsters & 1 page of Mom & Dad. I didn't have any pictures of Amber or any recent ones of Thomas with the girls, so neither of them are in the album. Sorry guys! I'll be sure to include you in the next version. I plan to update this album pretty frequently as the kids get older. We can't have Grandma Ruthie sporting old pictures of the babies now can we??? I used the pages of Ashley's family because I think those are my favorite pages! :) I love that picture of Zoey. This is actually Hannah's copy of the album. So, if any of my sisters want a copy of this for their kiddos, send me an email and I'll send you the files and instructions. It's super easy! These are just vertical ID badge holders that are tied together with ribbon. I mean, it's a very difficult gift to make someone and it takes hours and hours to put together... Sorry, Momma, I can't lie. It was really easy to put together once the layouts were finished. :) Love ya! And Happy Belated Birthday!

layout with Misty Cato's Tangy Treat

these are pictures of ainsley eating ice cream for the first time last month... soy ice cream. This is my scrapbook page (actually a 2 page spread) that the free quickpage on Misty's blog is based on. This kit is sooo cute!
credits:
Misty Cato's
Tangy Treat
snap from weathered decor
staple from moments together
at Scrapbook-Elements

Layout with Krystal Hartley's designs

this is ainsley enjoying her twizzler a couple of weeks ago.
credits:
krystal hartley's
scents of the season paper pack
alpha from the sweetest thing kit
flower stamp from cupcake freebie
at faithsisters and purplepaperflowers

fonts: vaguely repulsive, highland perk

Layout with Natalie Bird's products

these pictures are from last month when ainsley first started doing her little mowgli walk.
credits:
Natalie Bird's
Frames Pack
Tattered Tags
Terra Cotta Daydream
Together Forever
Photo Dials
Purple Passion
Mint Tea
Funky Hearts
Word Tags
Ultimate Element Collection
It's Love
at DesignsInDigital, ElementalScraps

Layout with Tracey Monette's products

this layout is created from photos I took of the girls at the zoo last week. it was COLD and started snowing right about the time we left. we had a good time, though. thanks, jessica & parker for taking us!
credits:
products by Tracey Monette of Clever Monkey Graphics
Chocolate Snack Pack Paper Pack
Gold Frames
Snowstorm Elements
Handwritten
Eccentric Valentine
at Scrapbook-Elements
alpha by audra little at scrapdish

Layout for ADSR3

the assignment was to create a layout using their template, my favorite color (red/pink), my favorite scrapping subject (my girls!), and three of the same element (stamped heart). This is my interpretation of the assignment.
credits:
Krystal Hartley's
Sweetest Thing Paper Pack, some recolored
Tweetie Birds
Little Black Alpha
Be True Free Kit
at FaithSisters, PurplePaperFlowers & PolkaDotPotato
Amber Clegg's Ribbon Bin: Velvet
Amanda Kay's colorful Rubberbands
Template by Chrisy Haig, for ADSR3
font: highland perk

Fun Email... Southern Friends vs Friends

Now, not all of you may know that except that for the time I have lived in Utah (about 5 years total) I always lived south of the Mason Dixon line... and about 8 years of that time was in Mississippi, Tennessee or Kentucky. So, I consider myself a southerner, I just don't have an accent. So, read and enjoy. Thanks, Becky, for forwarding this to me.

FRIENDS" VS. "SOUTHERN" FRIENDS

FRIENDS: Never ask for food.

SOUTHERN FRIENDS: Always bring the food. And lots of it.

FRIENDS: Will say "hello".

SOUTHERN FRIENDS: Will give you a big hug and a kiss. More than one.

FRIENDS: Call your parents Mr. and Mrs.

SOUTHERN FRIENDS: Call your parents Mom and Dad, and often.

FRIENDS: Have never seen you cry.

SOUTHERN FRIENDS: Cry with you. And for you.

FRIENDS: Will eat at your dinner table and leave.

SOUTHERN FRIENDS: Will spend hours there, talking, laughing, and just being together. Then do the dishes before leaving.

FRIENDS: Know a few things about you.

SOUTHERN FRIENDS: Could write a book with direct quotes from you. And most of the time know you better than you do yourself.

FRIENDS: Will leave you behind if that's what the crowd is doing. SOUTHERN FRIENDS: Will kick the whole crowds' back-ends that left you. Then walk beside you in the front of the crowd.

FRIENDS: Would knock on your door.

SOUTHERN FRIENDS: Walk right in and say, "Are you home?" If you are not home they will wait.

FRIENDS: Are for a while.

SOUTHREN FRIENDS: Are for life. And then some.

FRIENDS: Might ignore this.

SOUTHERN FRIENDS: Will forward this to all their Southern Friends Without hesitation

Quickpage using Misty Cato's Tangy Treat

This is a free quickpage that I designed using Misty Cato's Tangy Treat kit. The page is 12x12. Jump over to Misty's blog and download the page for FREE!

STOP DIGITAL PIRACY!!!

I absolutely 100% do not support digital piracy. I know that 95% of my readers aren't digital scrapbookers, you are my family members. But for the few of you who are digital scrapbookers, please know that I will not support digital piracy. I do not condone file sharing. I will NOT purchase supplies from designers I know are pirates. That's it. That's all I have to say about that.

Cabin Pictures February 2008

Hannah shoveling snow off the front porch.

There was so much snow up there! It was shocking! This is view out the back kitchen door. Apparently all the snow from the back of the roof slid off (missing Grandpa Cardall by about 5 minutes).

This is the front view of the cabin. The porch is about three steps up from the ground... The steps were completely covered.

Here is Ainsley ready to go out in the snow! Bad mommy that I am, I forgot her gloves! So, I just bundled her up inside my coat.

This is the view from the back window of the cabin. The building back there is the new shed for the snowmobiles and the firewood and stuff. And under all that snow is a sandbox with toys, a swingset & slide and lots of other stuff. Can you see how those tiny little trees are holding up that snow? Amazing!

This is the view of the river from the bridge by the front gate.

Here is a picture of Tommy & I on the snowmobile! Thanks, Ryan, for letting us use your snowmobile!

Here is Hannah making a snow angel. She didn't want to sled or build a snowman, she wanted to make snow angels. It was SO COLD that she couldn't stand being outside more than about 20 minutes. Then she wanted to go inside and drink "hot chocolate that's really warm, not hot."

Here is a picture I took of my niece, Ashlyn, on the front porch of the cabin. Ash is Chrissy's daughter. The kids were playing with the tubes and the lighting was AMAZING! And of course, Hannah refused to come over so I could get a picture of her. And Ainsley was zipped up inside my coat.

And here is my amazing lighting picture of Carter. Isn't he a cutie??? He's Chrissy's son. Chrissy, your kids are so dang photogenic! I'll upload the pictures and send you a link tomorrow hopefully. And seriously, those pictures are totally un-edited. I really wish that Hannah would have let me take pictures of her.

We are going to the zoo tomorrow so I am hoping to get some good photos of the girls. We are supposed to have good weather and good lighting! We'll see!

Do you like this *FREE* quickpage?

This is a QuickPage that I designed for Misty Cato. You can head over to her blog and grab it for free! She has great Photoshop tutorials on her site as well. She is an amazingly talented and generous designer! There are always tons of freebies and samples on her blog along with great information and previews of her designs. They're amazing designs by the way! Anyway that is my plug for the day!

have you seen these?

These are clear acrylic albums and they are SO CUTE! I wonder how I could adapt one to digital. I could print on transparencies... Hmmmm, something to think about. Aren't they cute!

Okay, I am off to get my kids dressed and we are going out for a while. We're meeting Daddy for lunch and then heading down to Draper to run errands b/c it's safer than where we live! :) I have to return the vacuum to Wal-Mart still, return some RedBox movies, pick up some pictures for a super special secret project I am working on. I can post photos of it next week! And I am going to go to Hobby Lobby just because I want to. They are having a sale on throw pillows and I am hoping hoping HOPING that they have pillows already made so I don't have to sew any. Alright, really going now... have a good day!

Adding Blog Customization...

to my list of services! If you are interested, please take a look at my website.
Blog Customization by Designs by Meredith

Happy Valentine's Day

From us to you!!!
Our cute little girls in their twin sweaters from Grandma Ruthie! Aren't they pretty girls???

LO with SaraAmarie's designs

credits:
SaraAmarie's
Peachy Sweet from the SSD Quarterly Assortment
Basically Neutral Paper Pack
Feel the Shimmer Alpha
all at sweet shoppe designs
****
fabric template by leora sanford

just a little update...

We were all sick over the weekend and the beginning of the week. But it seems like we are all feeling much better. Whatever we had, it was exactly one week long for each of us. Ainsley has a runny nose. Hannah still has a cough, but they both seem to be doing much better.

I was hoping to do some fun stuff for Thomas and the girls for Valentine's Day, but we got a snowstorm tonight that was a lot worse than predicted. So, I wasn't able to go to the store. I am hoping to go tomorrow morning. We got a new vacuum after Christmas. It broke last week so we took it back to Wal-Mart and exchanged it for a new one. So, I opened the new one and was getting ready to put it together and the entire top is cracked! What the heck is that? I have to take it back. We are having a big turkey dinner tomorrow, since we didn't have a traditional turkey for Christmas this year. And we can take leftovers to the cabin with us. Yea, turkey plait! Yep, we are going to the cabin this weekend! Woohoo! We can't wait! I have to backup some DVDs to take up there with us. I am always afraid that we are going to leave one up there and then not be able to get it until the next month. That would make for one heck of a late charge!

Ainsley has been standing alone more and more. She is going to walk very soon. I guess that she is almost 10 months, so it's about time. It just makes me sad. She has four teeth already and is getting three more. And her favorite chew toy??? a pumice stone! she found one and has been chewing on it. gross! i keep taking it away and she keeps finding it and eating it. ew.

Okay, well, I am going to go start the dough for orange rolls. I hope they work!

LO to share

this is a layout about some of my favorite parts of my house. we live on the side of the duplex on the right side of the photo. it's super cute! we love it.
credits:
Christine Smith's
Plain Brown Wrapper
O Funk Frames
Warmly Yours
stitching from Oh Baby
Vintage Valentine
Glitter Flowers
Ribbon Bits
Ribbon Hearts
Free Flowers

Twizzler's Candy...

makes mouths happy!

{tAxES!}

I just filed my federal taxes for last year. I am very happy to report that we are getting a refund! No surprise there. I used TurboTax online and I loved it! They walked me through the steps one-by-one. I highly recommend it! But we don't have mortgages or investments or other real-life adult stuff. :) Good luck!

my little beautician

Yesterday, Hannah came in the family room with her hands behind her back and said that she didn't have a "secret" but she had a surprise for me. I asked her what the surprise was and she told me that I couldn't get mad at her because surprises are good things.

oh. my. goodness. Is that nailpolish??? Did she paint her own nails? Where did she? How did she? ugh... Bracing myself to find nail polish EVERYWHERE! And Hannah says, "Don't worry Mom. It's just marker." Where did she? How did she? Scroll down...



at least it's dry erase marker! because the only other markers we have in the house are sharpies! :)

and of course, I had to grab the camera to document this. she is such a cute girl!

some pictures

my cutie girls the other day when we were all actually healthy

i LOVE this picture. this is how ainsley woke up the other day! it was too funny!

poor little sick hannah!

this is my little ainslers STANDING UP all alone this morning! eek!