More of my layouts...3 BIRDS, of course!

Pages that missed getting posted back in March...ooops!!

SOOO far behind, but will work on doing better!

    I guess I'm like a lot of SAHMs.....trying to entertain Wesley all summer & ignoring several other things, both responsibilities (like laundry argh!) & play time for myself (scrapping & posting my projects).
    Here are the pages that I've created so far, as part of Wesley's Tball album.  This was the first year he has played any team sport, and being a scrapping mom, I literally have hundreds of pics.  It doesn't help that I love to catch the action shots of other kids as well!

  When 3 BIRDS launched the ESTATE COLLECTION, I knew I could use some of the yellow embellishments for his team album!  I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Victorian feel of this collection!!!!  Although I'm crazy for this style of design, even in my studio, I hoped to be able to incorporate some of the items based on their color.  I usually scrap by theme and color, therefore I also organize my products in this way.

Expression 2 launch & 3 Birds are on my mind...

  As part of the launch of the Cricut Expression 2 Anniversary Edition on HSN, some sites have been given the opportunity to GIVE AWAY new machines!  AWESOME!
 http://www.everydaycricut.com/    will be hosting an E2 ustream tonight...several things already going on today as well.
      I would LOVE  to get this new machine into my little scrapping wings (I'm a 3 Birds Chickadee from NW MICHIGAN)!  My only concerns are the typical gliches that always occur with a new product launch, and then the possibility of not being able to use this new machine with MTC or SCAL.
  My hands are shaking, I'm sooo excited!  I already ordered all 3 of the new 3 Birds products several days ago, and am chomping at the bit to see Donna's demos...always great! 
  Hope you are scrappin' and craftin'...stay warm and dry!

It's been a while....& the recent loss of a loved one:::

  It's been a month since I sat down to blog... a lot has happened, including but not limited to: a happy surprise purchase for our son, WAY TOO MUCH SNOW AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN, and the loss of a loved one.
  In order of occurrence, after us getting the idea to buy a quad or something for our son, my hubby changed it to a dirt bike, and a brand new one...his first NEW RIDE (not a pass-me-up or -down)!
  After having 80 degree weather a couple of weeks ago, we have received SNOW 3 times, some of it a nasty, miserable, and dangerous mix with ice.  This week we are still having temps dipping down to 28, and highs in the 40s....very rough on all of us with Arthritic conditions or Fibromyalgia!
  We found out late Friday night that my Uncle Walt was in the hospital, given 7-10 days life expectancy due to his cancer, which I didn't know about!  We were planning to go down to see him on Sunday if I felt better (being totally miserable on Saturday due to the weather), but Sunday morning we received the disappointing call that he had already passed away late Saturday night, just 24 hours after we found out about his condition:(
  I will be going to the visitation on Wednesday, weather permitting, as I found out this afternoon that we are expected to get an ice storm late Tuesday night and into Wednesday....things just aren't working out for me on that situation.  If I'm able to go, my stepmom will be travelling with me, as we are the only onces from our immediate family to be available to go due to work schedules, etc.
  So far I have been on the phone or email most of the day, re-notifying our family members of the current status of everything for Uncle Walt's funeral: ordering flowers, picking up Ruth, etc.
  Hopefully I will get a chance to post some pics of Wesley's bike and layouts.   
  Gentle (Fibro) hugs to everyone....stay warm & dry!

Preparing for a 3 Birds weekend...& more layouts!

    Here are several more of the layouts that I have completed with my 3 Birds kits.  These kits help me get sooo much more completed, it's amazing.

I love my little Christmas/Santa Chickadee, but I think I prefer the layout without it.  I'll have to find another home for my Santa birdy.  Of course, it's actually MRS. CLAUS CHICKADEE, complete with her false beard and REAL BLING!

  

More of what I've been up to in this cold weather...

I've been getting A LOT of scrapbooking done within the past month or so!  I've been able to do it because I've been limiting my options for choices.  With my 3 Birds products, I have sooo much to choose from!  Also the coordination of their colors from one kit to another helps me avoid the frustration of not knowing if the colors coordinate.

     These 3 pages were completed sooo quickly &
easily by choosing all my items from the Opposites Attract Fall & Winter kit.  I LOVE the way the colors worked so well with the shades of our many leaves, but still allow my photos to pop.

       Please be patient with my frustration of attempting
to learn to post my layout pages correctly....I still can't get it to allow me to post 3 items/columns wide, even though I have increased the width of my blog page.
      Any, Grandma came to visit last March and I was able to match the punched/lace border of the journaling circle with my Marth Steart punch!
I also managed to stamp a matching bracketed journaling spot from a 3 Birds stamp kit.
    Next, I tried to really bling-up my mother's day page below....I am trying to use more products to obtain the clustered and layered effects that I have been loving on projects created by others. 
    I have also found myself drawn more and more to the color pink, rather than mostly purple and white...
   Thanks for checking in with me.

 

...and we all settled down for a long winter's nap (last night after fighting the blizzard)

   I went to bed to find our son Wesley cuddled up in the middle of our bed...our cat Rusty too, who moved down onto the floor among extra pillows when I got into bed.  An hour later, still awake, I realized I had another opportunity for themed pics!

Our 3 yr old Tomcat, Rusty

Dakota, guarding the stairs to our bedrooms

Smoke, in her usual spot lately

 

Awww....such a cutie!

My (belated) Bday Crop & (almost) clean studio...

    My birthday crop wasn't held until January 29th this year & between getting permission to post some pics & digging out around here, I'm just getting around to posting some of my pictures.

    Two of my local scrapping friends, including my 1st & BEST scramping friend Dawn (that's scrapbooking AND stamping for those of you not familiar to our crafts), came to spend some time with me. 

  Dawn brought me this AWESOME adhesive gun!!!!!! plus refills, stamps & rub-ons!

Dawn even brought gifts for Wesley...bath paints!  I've been thinking about getting some of these for him....she read my mind.

    Michael & Wesley were just leaving for GR (Grand Rapids) to go sledding with his family as my girlfriends arrived.  Because my GOOD camera (my digi Rebel) is in need of work & Michael took the CoolPix with them, I was without my camera...."feeling naked" as I usually say upon these rare occasions!

     I apologize for the remaining clutter & in-progress demolitioned state of my studio.  The area beside my former "cutting station" cabinetry used to be part of our utility room's storage space.  When we moved here, Michael built shelving units to house all of our boxes of "stuff" until we finished unpacking the household items, and then stored our ever-growing collection of Christmas decor.  The floor and walls of the utility room were not finished when we moved in, so the new square footage of my studio needs the floors to be brought to level with the existing floors, and one exterior wall needs to be brought flush with the wall behind my former cutting station. 

    We have the new walls framed in, but currently they are curtained off until we spend the money on drywall & paint.  I am planning to complete the sw wall with white wainscoting below & a shade of dusty lavender above, similar to the color of my curtains that hang there now (I robbed them from another portion of my studio & our bedroom).

    Hopefully this summer we will scrape down the textured walls so I can do the remaining wainscoting & painting, as well as add insulating flooring.  I can't wait to rip out the orange carpeting that is on the stairway & office/mini-store area of my studio!

   

 My former cutting station, now my Cricut station, plus storage for all my additional cutting & embossing supplies.  

 Tables for guest scrampers, the first of which Wesley now claims as his own!

 

 

     Anyway, this is the cleanest my studio has been since we ripped out the walls, and even though it is still decorated for my belated birthday crop, this gives you an idea of what I'm working on.  I'll also include some pics of the layouts I've been working on, as well as other layouts I've done with my 3 Birds products. 

Last Christmas

Last Bday's layout pg 1-2

Last Bday's layout pg 2-3

3 Birds paper

Last winter

Stamp Rack

Okay, I'm REALLY frustrated with this program not letting me put things in the correct order!  One last time & I'm gonna post it....

My 3 Birds main display