Mixing and matching my Anthology kits

     I love to mix and match kits and the Anthology by Lisa Bearnson line makes it so easy for me. Coordinating colors and coordinating products, such as the stamp sets that coordinate back to layout kits,  allow me to extend the number of projects I am able to create without searching through my stash for other products.
    

 The layout above is one of the pages that I created using elements from the Lemon Squeezy Pocket Card kit and the Rosey Posey Collection kit.  Both contain 'cards' of various sizes, with coordinating colors.  The "Me" and "You" are letter stickers from one of the kits, while the "&" is a diecut element from another kit.  Because I was not on this trip with my husband and son, I would like them to fill in the details and their favorite memories from each day and want to be sure to make this easy and fun for them.

                                                                  

Most elements on this 2-page spread are from the "Better Together" Pocket Card kit, but again, I was able to add a few pieces from the other two kits as necessary, coordinating with the colors and topics of my photos which were taken over a span of several years. 

Do YOU like to mix and match kits, collections or brands/product lines?  I'd love to hear from you!  Have a wonderful week!SCRAP ON!

TBT... some earlier kits presented by Lisa Bearnson

     This is one of my first attempts at a TBT (Throw Back Thursday) post.  And yes, I'm still learning cyber abbreviations lol.  I thought that I would share some of my previous layouts that I created utilizing kits that Lisa Bearnson presented on HSN over the past couple of years.
 
      I love how this black and white layout works so well with most of the colors in these two pages, especially Dakota's thick, beautiful black, gray and white coat, as well as some of the winter wear and sleds used during the sledding part!  On the left page and the lower right page,  I dry embossed some swirls/flourishes to help carry out the snowy weather theme.

       

       The top of these two photos is the page kit as it came.  I've been mixing and matching a lot over the past several years.  Above,  I replaced the light blue with darker blue cardstock as the base, to match some of the colors in my photos, specifically the birthday boy's winter coat... I also left out the striped borders as well. 

     This layout is somewhat a mirror/upside down reflection of the suggested layout.  The 3 photo frames are on my lower right page, theirs are on the upper left, and so on.  Again, the colors of this layout kit went well with the photos, as we had a Star Wars themed party this year!    
     The 3 layouts above documented the long and fun packed day of Wesley's sledding birthday party.  Yes, Dakota enjoyed it as well!

      When I saw the colors in this kit, along with the layout suggested, I knew it would work really well these photos!  Again, the black, gray and white draw attention to Dakota's coat, but Wesley wears a LOT of blue, which until this past year, was his favorite color.  In this case, he was wearing black, gray and red, but his mini dirt bike is blue...  I love to scrap not only by theme, but by color! 
     I love to document how Wesley & I (and yes, Dakota too) spend our summers together.  On weekends, Wesley has a lot of what I used to call "Daddy dates", and now refer to as "Guy time".  Michael works a lot of hours, especially spring through summer, including 5-6 hours on Saturdays, because it is his busy season at work.  Once he gets home on Saturday, if the weather is right, they usually take off to the State Park or other local spot for MAJOR bike rides (which I can't do lol), fly kites next to Lake Michigan, etc.  Therefore, I have several "me and my dad" and "me and my mom" mini albums.  These 12" pages will have to go into a different album.

      You will see bits and pieces of this 3 Birds "All About Fall" kit in the 2 page layout below, again mixed with another Top Pages kit!  Both kits even have chipboard.

     These are some of the pages that I completed or started during one of our local Crop For A Cure, a 12 hour crop that we have twice a year in one of our local churches.  I apologize for the glare on some of the photos above.   Hurrying to get things photographed while trying to catch up on household chores is not a good thing lol.

      This kit ended up being used on TWO different layouts already!  Immediately below you will see a two page spread that I tried to complete, covering two different days and topics, because of the colors. Ultimately, the mint green still called out to be only used on the ice cream layout because of my mint chocolate chip blizzard, and the pink/purple ended up on the separate layout about my studio pellet stove.

     

      I ended up converting my photos to b/w because of Wesley's sweater, but still wanted to use the mint embellishments.  I NEEDED (lol) to include that adorable photo of Dakota enjoying our trip to Dairy Queen, therefore it became part of a second page of that layout. 

          Wow, those covered a fair amount of time, both in the events, and the time period over which they were scrapped.  I think I may be doing this on a regular basis.  Have a wonderful TBT!

Another winter layout completed with Inspired Inc Top Page Layout kit: Part 4, Mixing & Matching w/ kits by 3 Birds, & LAKE MICHIGAN ICE.

     Last winter the Ludington area received 110"... yes, that's ONE HUNDRED TEN INCHES of snow!  This year, it seems we are getting more wind than snow, at least they are in town.  Wesley & Michael went to the State Park to take part in an evening snow shoe walk on Saturday, with the path lit by mini Coleman lanterns.  Unfortunately, there was so little snow that the snow shoe walk turned into a regular snow BOOT walk to the beach. There was a bonfire before hand, and Wesley & Michael also continued their own walk within the park later in the evening..
      Friday, they were going to head out to 'look for snow', in anticipation of the potential snow shoe walk....  they ended up going down to the beach and bringing back 3" thick pieces of beautifully clear LAKE MICHIGAN ICE.

     On their way home, Wesley told Michael "Let's see mom scrapbook THAT!"  You can BET I will.
  
     Before they left for one of their adventures, Wesley & Dakota were playing outdoors.  I asked Michael to take a few photos for me (I was in the middle of another project downstairs) because I had a layout I wanted to create.  They were still playing a few minutes later, so I took some more.....you can never have TOO many photos to scrap, right?

      I used the Winter Wonderland layout kit by Inspired Inc, using all but 2 pieces of the kit. 

      I ADDED one piece of 3 Birds Sticky Sparkly Glitter & Foil Set, part of their GRACEFUL SEASONS COLLECTION.  The foiled red "Smile" which sits beside the two 2.5 inch photos near the center of the two pages fits those photos and the mood of their activity that afternoon.  I like that the foil not only catches your eye, drawing your attention to the 2 smaller photos, but I like that the foil also helps liven up the page, since there are so many other dark colors within it.  I also layered some pieces cut from banners from an earlier 3 Birds border kit and placed them below the chipboard "winter".  I LOVE to sort through my stash and find things that match the colors in my photos. 
     I also LOVE to mix and match kits as well as collections, so to any of you who are purists in terms of using kits or working with only one company's products, I apologize.  BEWARE:  I DO THIS QUITE OFTEN... You've been warned lol.

Completing lots of layouts by utilizing Inspired Inc Top Page Layout Kits: Part 1

     It will take several postings in order for me to catch up on posting my many projects which I have attempted to post since last year's struggles with my blog, but please be patient with me.
     One of the topics that I have been trying to cover were the MANY pages that I was able to complete by utilizing the TOP PAGE LAYOUT kits, presented on HSN by Lisa Bearnson, who has created this line by working with several different product companies/manufacturers, and offering them under the name of Inspired Inc.
     I have been using kits for YEARS, especially after discovering 3 Birds on HSN.  They are one of the many companies that Lisa Bearnson (cofounder of Creating Keepsakes Magazine) has partnered with in order to create and offer some great products for us.
     Wesley's 10th birthday party last winter was one of the events/topics that I was able to document utilizing the many kits available through Inspired Inc., either through single shipments or autoship.  I opted for the Autoship program, thus I received 3 more deliveries of 10-12 two-page layout kits every few months.  The original kit was offered in the spring/summer of 2014, with the other shipments coming in June or July, September and November.
     Each follow up shipment was organized by a theme, such as Holiday Happenings which was shipped out in November.
     Some or all of these images may have appeared in earlier postings (actually begun months ago but unable to post them until later dates due to blog problems), but I want to cover the fact that I was able to complete so many projects by taking advantage of these kits    
     I don't usually go sledding with the guys, but not only did Dakota get to go (meaning additional opportunities to document her joy in participating in a snowy play date), but it was Wesley's birthday party, which I ALWAYS document.

    

     

 

     I was also able to scrap some of the activities that Dakota and I did with Wesley, either school related, Spring Break entertainment and treats, or how we spent some of our lazy, summer days together.

  Wesley's 'spring break' saw unusually cold, snowy weather, but there's ALWAYS justification for ice cream! When I saw the mint and black in this kit, I knew it would work for my photos, being the colors of my mint chocolate chip ice cream, but the other colors in the photos didn't work so well, so I simply turned my photos to b/w and wow... what a great improvement!  I used some of the stickers from another Inspired Inc kit to record the "Who, What, Where & When" in the upper right hand corner. 

     Wesley is outgrowing his battery powered dirt bike, but it still provides the occasional fun adventure!  When Wesley accompanies Dakota and I on our walks in the neighboring cemetery, I often ask him if he wants to practice his soccer dribbling and other skills, or ride his bike or dirt bike rather than just walking with us.  He often entertains himself in a manner common among kids or particularly boys, by finding a 'walking stick' or other natural items to distract himself from the fact that we are getting some fresh air and exercise.
      The 'All Hallows Eve' kit was all I needed for this year's family Halloween portraits!

Our family dressed up as Star Wars characters this year; I didn't get to go trick or treating because I had to set up for the Crop For A Cure the following day.

 For the layout below , I used the "Thankful" kit plus I added the "autumn" & leaf borders and a few individual pieces from the 3 Birds Best of Fall kit seen below.

     Rather than using this kit for a traditional Thanksgiving event, I used it to document how thankful we were to be able to borrow a neighbor's GOLF CART to pull our leaf rake, since our lawn mower is on the fritz.  Again, my photos are not all the same size, orientations or numbers, but it worked really well!

4-Wheelin' For Our Health...

    After a frustrating day yesterday, dealing with Fibro fog and the resultant mistakes on my part, as well as the dishwasher not dispensing the cleanser AGAIN, today started out on a better track.
    Until..... I decided that I needed to buck up against the negative wind chill temperatures today (it was already 9 degrees warmer this morning than yesterday morning) to take Dakota for a much needed walk.
     We had trudged through the 6-10 inches of fresh snow nearly all the way back to the furthest corner of the cemetary before I remembered that I had planned to drive over with my truck each time we got a fair amount of snow, thus keeping a walking path cleared for the two of us.  The past 2 winters we lost a lot of walking days, especially last winter, with over 110 inches of snowfall here in Ludington!
      So off we went, 4-wheelin' together again!  I would LOVE to know what Dakota was thinking each time we do this..."But mom, we were just here... walking!  Why are we driving around and around again?"
    After I had made 3 or 4 passes through the cemetary, taking alternate routes so we would have a few different paths to walk, the county plow came down the road.  I made sure each time I approached the road that there was NO traffic coming, so I would not get stuck attempting to get out onto the road after stopping for traffic.  I lucked out and the plow did not bury the driveways more than my truck would handle.

     It has now been a few days since I originally began this post.  Problems with the 2 pellet stoves, a few days apart, are now past, and we are REALLY blessed to have them, as we have had our first BLIZZARD conditions of this winter, and the new year. 
     Three days off from school, LOTS of wind, blowing snow, and MULTIPLE MULTI-CAR (30-100+) PILE UPS on US-131 as well as I-94, have created a lot of concern, worry, and headlines this week.
     Perhaps this weekend I will take the time to post some of the photos we've taken both at home and while driving home from the store in a white-out, which came up while Wesley & I were at Meijer to pick up a few things BEFORE the storm hit.

   The photos above do NOT do it justice.  Even at speeds of 30 mph we were driving beyond our visibility, so it was a headlights on, even lower speeds, white knuckle drive home.  I would NOT have gone out if I knew it was going to get this bad so quickly!

     The photo above was taken after we had received 10-12+ inches of fresh snow.  Wesley is shoveling a path for the cats so that they can jump from the deck to their cat door which comes into the living room.  As usual, Dakota was enjoying the snow storm tremendously, and I had to call her in and dry her off with the blow drier.  If she wasn't black on top, we'd never find her during the snow storms.
     The biggest snow days were Jan 8-10th so far, and with the warm weather (36+ degrees) today, Dakota and I finally ventured back to the cemetary with the truck.  What a greasy, slippery mess it was when you'd try to turn.  I was able to make a few laps though so we have more paths, and wider ones at that for our walking....until the weather changes AGAIN. 

Some of my favorite photos from this year's Christmas at home...

My Red & Silver tree... I can't believe I only used 2 colors this year!
 



May the smiles begin... hopefully!
 



Wesley has been asking for a double ended light saber for several months and apparently Santa was paying attention.  Santa also knew of his increased obsession with drawing this past year, frequently done in the evening in his lofted bed, so he brought him 2 sketch tablets, along with nice pencils and artist's erasers.

Squirrel has been sitting on top of this Cub Scout popcorn box whenever it was out in the open...she found it AGAIN.  She wouldn't get down off the top, even while Michael & Wesley were unwrapping it.

What did that large box contain?  Snowshoes for Michael and Wesley.  Running out of money, my guys' gifts came first.  I will have to go to Dunham's and find some for myself.

Wesley's first girly-poster lol, a Star Wars calendar that I suggested he use as posters in his Star Wars themed room.

My guys gave me jewelry.  An amethyst bracelet from Michael and "MOM" necklace with coordinated earrings from Wesley.  MCC moms set up a shopping day for the kids in the Upper Elementary again this year.

OK... I think he likes it!  He's been asking for a Surface Pro 3 each time the commercial came on.  I found an RCA version that we could afford.  Ever increasing school projects no longer need to be done utilizing my laptop or the slow family pc for some of the work.  Now he can also play another version of Minecraft on it rather than on my laptop.

Wesley's tablet was in a red glittered box, so guess what was in Michael's silver glitter box....



Knowing my obsession with decorating for Christmas, Wesley gave me this gorgeous 3D silver and gemmed snowflake.

Bacon flavored treat, Denta bone, and rawhide bone... Dakota is a happy girl!  My what big feet you have!
 

Some of the aftermath.  Apparently they're both happy with them because whenever I walked into the living room over the next few days, they were looking down into their tablets.  Dakota is resting after snacking on a bacon treat, dental treat and chewing on her rawhide bone that she received from Annie, canine companion of niece Kendra.

Another ugly shirt from Michael's stocking.... we let him open the first one last night, hence the horrid combination of clothing today lol.

The two big items on my wishlist were a treadmill (because Dakota and I missed a lot of walking the past 2 winters due to thick layers of snow with multiple layers of ice between them.) & railings for my studio stairwell.  I recieved ONE piece of my rails today lol.  Now I'll soon be able to have my SCRAPPY girl friends over for crafting days. I haven't had any of my local crafting friends over because of fear of them falling off the stairs.  We carry BIG bags of crafting supplies!

I scored!  I also received a treadmill!  Now Squirrel is 'supervising' its construction.



Really, mom????  Some assembly required.  TWO people at times lol  Have you noticed the HUGE TV hanging on our wall with all the wires dangling beneath it?  Wesley & I found this 'special purchase' at Wal-Mart on the evening of Black Friday.  We've been watching HD movies every since.  AVATAR is even MORE amazing on a true HD tv!
 

Supervising again.... if there is ANYTHING sitting on top of a countertop, the island, the furniture, or the floor, she finds it and decides she needs to sit there.  Of course, they always think we need their help with projects as well.

I finally get to try it out myself... ok, how do you start this thing? Get out the instructions!

I can't believe that we sent Wesley to bed last night without our traditional egg nog toast on Christmas Eve.  We'll make up for it now, ugly shirt and all.

My Christmas table. Dinner consisted of Lobster tails & shrimp for Wesley & I, and rather than a steak as I suggested for Michael, he made himself Lasagna! Do you think he made enough???  Completed with our traditional drinks of egg nog and alcohol-free St. Julian's wine.

MERRY CHRISTMAS... everyone!