Lots of scrappy goodness :)

Me and Chon did some scrapbook shopping yesterday. We hit up Hobby Lobby for their paper sale first. They got in so many new papers...lots of new Paper Studio pads, paper collections from K&Co, American Crafts....they got in alot of new MME in their open stock...Out and About, new Wild Asparagus, Dreamy and 29th Street Market. Plus they have white grid papers by Paper Studio....got lots of that in both 12x12 and 8.5x11. We also went by Joanne's and were lucky enough to find the Studio G little ink pads as well as some of the stamps. I got some of the ink pads in some pretty, bright colors and only three of the stamp sets. Then we went by Scrapbook Heaven by Chon's house and I got some beautiful Kaisercraft journaling stamps, some Jenni Bowlin mini bingo cards and a few new papers...MM, MME, My Little Shoe Box, Creative Imaginations, and Scenic Route. Chon also brought me a package I had sent to her house from KTCrafts...some Paper Frills, some Scenic Route paper that was on clearance, and some more Doodlebug Loupy Lou stickers. I am ITCHING to get some scrapping done now. I have so many cool pics from recently and from when Miguel was on vacation that I want to scrap. Now I just need the MOJO! Maybe later after I get on the treadmill, Mikey will let me get some scrapping done!

A good weekend...well, sort of....

Elijah got dropped off pretty early on Friday because they had early release. We decided to have Gabby spend the weekend over here again too. The kids spent most of the afternoon playing video games and then after a yummy dinner of chicken with spaghetti sauce, mini penne and garlic toast..oh and chocolate cake for dessert :), we all sat down at the kitchen table to make some bracelets! Even Elijah wanted to make one! Which he gave me :) Love my baby!!
The next morning, the kids and I were ready before Miguel was so we took the bus to Crossroads because I wanted to get Gabby some beads of her own to take home because she really liked making bracelets. Miguel met us there and then we headed off to the Botanical Gardens. We were only there a couple of hours. Even though we were prepared with sunscreen and plenty of cold water, it was just TOO hot and too much to see. Plus Mikey was kind of freaking out over the butterflies which were everywhere because of the flowers and stuff. It was fun though...the kids..the older kids...had a good time...and Mikey did too..except for the butterflies. After we left, we ate at this cool little hamburger spot called "Armadillos" that Miguel took us to once before...GOOD food...LOVE the onion rings! Mmmmm...We took Lij to get his moppy hair cut at the Quarry after we ate. I didn't get a pic of him, but MAJOR improvement...he looked like a totally different kid. I don't know how he can stand all that hair in such HOT weather! Makes me sweat just looking at him!! I made a little stop at M's and grabbed this SO cool pad of MAMBI paper at 25% that I just LOVE!! They had a couple of MME pads that I liked too....I LOVE my MME, but I didn't want to overdo it! Crossroads HL put out all their new papers too..forgot to say that and they have so many new MME in their open stock! HAVE to hit up the paper sale this week even though I'm sure I have more paper than I will EVER use in my lifetime! We did our grocery shopping, then came home and after the kids bathed, we rented "Nim's Island" on MOD which was such a good movie...I loved it.

This morning, the kids woke up to video games way to early and Mikey....poor thing...had an allergic reaction to the sunscreen and his eyes were so swollen! It didn't even look like Mikey :( It didn't seem to bother him though and he didn't look at all uncomfortable...probably looked worse to me than he felt. I gave him some Benadryl and then another dose in the evening and it seems to be working. I'm going to have to see what is in that particular sunscreen because last time the kids swam in the pools, we used some on him and he was just fine. This was a new spray on one we got so maybe it was something in that. We took the kids back home when Miguel got off work. It always makes me kind of sad to leave Lij, but I know he'll be back next weekend. Gilbert says he is doing really good in school and Lij tells me he really likes the school and his teacher...and his new CRUSH! Geez, my baby is a lovesick puppy! LOL Here's some pics to share! :)

The creativity is flowing :)

It's kind of a good thing that I've picked up a second hobby because the need for creativity is a daily thing with me, but sometimes the scrappy mojo just isn't there. In those cases, I can just pick up my beads and make something and get my creative fix for the day :)

In the past couple of days, I've worked on a couple of LOs and tonight, I was able to make these two necklaces. The turquoise one, I had started a couple of days ago, but I just wasn't liking it much so I undid it and started over and ended up loving it this time. I really LOVE the chocolate brown one I made!! I mixed those beads up with some leopard print beads and I think it looks so cool! Love the pendant too! Miguel took my stuff to work with him today and sold two of my bracelets (the turquoise one I loved so much and I don't know which other). I don't know if he sold anything else when he went back to work after lunch. I am really loving this whole making jewelry and would love to keep doing it and try to make some money from it, but don't know how much bussiness I can get from just selling at Miguel's work. I'm thinking maybe Etsy? Ebay? Any thoughts and ideas would be greatly appreciated :)
So here are my two LOs. The one of Mikey I did using a sketch from Got Sketch. The one of the kids, was a lift from 2 Peas..someone named DianneH I believe. I love that one! I used a little bit of everything...and I got to use those big felt pieces I had gotten at the Dollar Tree but was going to throw away after I cut the flowers and dragonflies from them...so glad I didn't! Oh, Lij comes home tomorrow...YAY!! We are thinking of taking the kids to the Botanical Gardens on Saturday. They have a Treehouse exhibit going on and thought it would be something fun and not too expensive to do with the kids. Plus it's outdoors and no matter how hot it is, Mikey just can't get enough of the outdoors! So NOT like me! I prefer air condition...lol..as I'm sure Elijah does! It should be fun though. We'll probably grab a bite to eat after..oh, and I need to take Lij for a haircut because his head is becoming a big mop! I know he wants to grow it out or do his "own thing" with his hair, but his hair texture is weird and it won't lay flat so when it gets too long, it just sticks UP like a porcupine! LOL It doesn't look good at all. I wish I could find something that we could both agree on that would work with his hair type. I like the shorter haircuts that I've been getting for him, but I know he doesn't really...well, at least as of lately. Anyway, those are our plans. I hope everyone has a great weekend :)

The last two pics are of some cool new Paper Studio pads they had at Hobby Lobby when I went bead shopping last week. Love the colors...just what I had been wanting :)

More bracelets :)

I went to Michael's and Hobby Lobby on Saturday and got a few things. Some of those new Paper Studio paper pads at Hobby Lobby are really cool! Some have more sheets than others...the ones I got I think have 24 sheets and on sale came out to $4. Which I think is pretty good. Although I guess if you got single sheets when papers are 5 for $1, you'd probably be able to get more sheets. Anyway, I got two pads that had really pretty bright colored papers. There were some really nice ones with distress-y looking papers or papers with like fluer de lis and stuff like that, but I figured I really have more than enough of those kinds of papers. I don't seem to have a good selection of bright papers so that's what I got. I also got a few bags of beads for my new "hobby" :) But they didn't really have too many to choose from. At least not ones that I really liked. Michael's on the other hand, had TONS of beads...such pretty beads..so many different kinds and colors and shapes. I didn't look nearly as much as I wanted to because Mikey was kind of fussy, so I just grabbed a few strands that caught my eye (btw, M's had their beads on sale too). I was able to find some gorgeous turquoise beads. I was REALLY wanting to find some to mix with some silver beads...I thought they'd look really cool together..and they did! I want to go back when beads are on sale again and when I have more time to look and choose. Miguel says my bracelets are really pretty and that if I wanted him to, he would try to sell them for me at his job...I think that's really sweet of him :) Maybe I will...we'll see. Anyway, I made these bracelets Saturday night. My favorite bracelet is the one pictured second. I don't know if I want to sell that one...it's so pretty!! lol Anyway, it's late and I'm tired. Everyone is sleeping except for me, so good night and TFL :)

Another LO

I was inspired by a LO on "The Story Matters" called "Home Is Where He Is". My LO looks nothing like hers, but I loved the title and the colors so this is my own version. I still need to do the journaling, but that will probably be kind of personal so I took the pic before. I believe this puts me at #84. I don't know if I'll get any more scrapping done over the weekend. Tomorrow is Miguel's day off and we will do our grocery shopping and running around. We had plans to take the kids to movies, but Lij decided to stay at his dad's. I talked to his dad and told him that since he asked him that he could stay this weekend, but every weekend after this, he is coming home whether he wants to or not. It's not up for discussion. Since I don't see him all week, I think it's important that he comes home for the weekend for family time since it's so limited right now. So, we will probably still take Mikey to see the movie and I want to go to Hobby Lobby to look for some more beads. I "might" go by M's because there are some specific color beads I want and the last time I was there, I noticed that they have a much bigger selection that Hobby Lobby. Other than that, we will just relax at home.
Just a note to myself...this afternoon, my mom was asleep on one of the couches in the livingroom and Mikey went and lay on top of her and fell asleep. I was cleaning up in the kitchen and when I was done, I came in and found him there. They looked so comfy and peaceful...made me sleepy so I took a nap too! LOL As I was laying there looking at them before I dozed off, I felt very blessed and thankful for having my mom and Mikey and this house even if it's not our nice, new house that we had to leave behind. That was just a house...and even though I loved all the space, I was always there alone with the kids...no one to talk to and Miguel was always at work. This feels more like home to me than that house ever did :) Just want to remember that moment.

Alot going on.....

Today, I took Mikey with me to Crossroads Mall. I usually take Lij with me for some alone time w/Mommy, but since he's with his dad, it was Mikey's turn. Chon met us at Hobby Lobby at the last minute. I got a few things that were on sale...mostly stickers and this cute owl stamp :) I took Mikey to see that big fountain they have outside there and this time I remembered my camera. I got some cute pictures of him! Oh, so some of the jewerly making stuff was half off at Hobby Lobby and since my mom also makes jewerly as a hobby and I had been wanting to make some bracelets, I decided to get myself a couple of bags of beads. Well...I think I found a new addiction! LOL Aside from scrapbooking because I would NEVER, EVER give that up. I told Miguel to hold onto his wallet! LOL I really love the things I made. I was able to make a necklace and five bracelets with the two bags of beads I got and they only cost $2 each. I think that's a pretty good deal because sometimes these kinds of things can be pretty pricey! I'm heading to a different Hobby Lobby on Saturday before we take the kids to the movies to see that 3D movie "Fly Me to the Moon" (or something like that), so I'm going to look for some different beads to make some other stuff. Oh, and I'm also posting two more LOs I finished. I need to journal on the picnic one. I think that puts me at #83. TFL :)

#81...I'm on FIRE!! LOL

Me and Chon had a "cyber crop" tonight...we used our Page Maps books and picked a sketch and we both did a LO using it. I like when we do that because our LOs always turn out looking TOTALLY different. I really like the way mine came out. It seemed to just "flow" and I didn't even have to think about what to put where...the ideas just kept coming. I love that I used old and new...and lots of different brands. I love mixing manufacturers. I like the bright, fun colors on Chon's. And it looks great against the black. Just wondering if I'm not the only one who wishes they could scrap all day?? LOL When the ideas come, I just wish I could scrap the days away...no housework, no cooking...just scrapping :) Ahhh...I can dream can't I? Anyway, that's all for today...oh, Chon is STILL ahead of me...I think...she won't tell me how many she's done...it's a conspiracy! LOL TFL :)

#80

Woohooo...I'm at #80!! Did I catch you yet, sistah?? I think I did! Or did I?? I had started working on this LO last week , but was stuck on ideas for it. I seem to have a really hard time with making a LO with multiple pictures. I didn't want to use just one pic since I was using pics of Miguel and the kids at the petting zoo. Sometimes I like using more than one pic because I feel like I have just too many pages to do if I do them all with just one picture. Anyway, this was a somewhat "lift" off 2 Peas..just found it this morning. I really liked the color combo...like the black background with the bright colors. I'm pretty happy with the outcome and now..this page is done :) The other is the BOM page I had to journal on. I might try to do another later tonight. Right now, Mikey is playing his Blues Clues video game in the kitchen and my mom is napping. Not to say that my mom is the one who interrupts my scrapping..LOL I did my workout for today...2.1 miles in 32 minutes. When Miguel came home for lunch, he said that I looked like I was losing weight. Don't know that for a fact, but just hearing him say it, gives me some motivation :) That's all for now :)

#78 & #79

I did two pages yesterday...yay! The first one came together fairly easy and pretty quickly. It was a lift of my sis's "Color Me Happy" LO which I'm pretty sure she lifted from somewhere too (don't know where). I used a pic of this stuffed beanie type dog that Lij has had since he was very little. The poor thing is so dingy (I do wash him, but it just doesn't get clean!) and his stuffing is all gone, but how Elijah loves that little dog. He doesn't take it w/him everywhere like he used to when he was smaller, but he still sleep with it and I know it's because it's some kind of a security thing for him which I think is sweet :) I'll post pics of the second LO later because I still need to do the journaling. It's an 8x8 for my BOM so that one didn't take long and I "lifted" a LO from 2 Peas. I want to say it was from Jamie Water's gallery, but I could be wrong. I might have the name wrong and maybe it wasn't even her! LOL

This Saturday, we will be celebrating Lij's 10th birthday at Cracker Barell (he chose that restaurant). His dad and some of their family along with our family will be there.I'm glad we could all do this together instead of having two seperate "parties". I really want for us to all get along. I have a great relationship with Lij's dad...now...because we didn't always and I think that says alot for how far we have come because at one point, I couldn't stand to talk to him. I just need to develop some kind of a relationship with his wife which is Lij's step mom now. I know we'll get there..someday. After lunch there, we want to take Lij and maybe Gabby to Laser Quest. We went a couple of years back (without Lij) and it was tons of fun! I think the kids will love it!

On the work out front, I'm still getting on the treadmill every day. The diet....is not going so well! LOL I did excellent for the first week and then it was just too hard...I missed "real" food! LOL I let myself have something here and there because I don't want to deprive myself and then first chance I get, I'll just overdo it, but I am still sticking mostly to the no breads, sweets, ect. I don't know if I've lost any weight because Mikey broke our scale so we need to get a new one. But I do "feel" better and I do see "some" difference in the way my clothes fit. This week, I went back to running/walking instead of walking at an incline (resistance), but next week, I think I'll go back to resistance and alternate weekly. My legs were getting really sore from only walking uphill. Well, that's all for now....TFL :)

#77

New Daisy Bucket papers...loooove them...so bright and fun! I love these pics of Miguel and Mikey. This is the reason I carry my camera with me everywhere...I mean EVERYWHERE. To catch moments like this. Chon is at #79...I don't think I'll ever catch up! But it's a good motivator to keep scrapping! LOL TFL :)