Just The Scraps

Hello long lost friends- and an announcment!

2011-02-06T21:08:00.000-08:00

Hello hello! Where have you been? oh wait... its me that hasnt been around... oops. sorry!! Well, Im BACK! and I have an announcement! I am posting, along with 7 other SUPER talented ladies, on a brand new craft blog called Cricut World. Its all cricut, all the time! Lots of projects- from lay outs to cards to home decor and more! ANYTHING you can think of that you could put a cricut cut on- itll be on this awesome blog. So head on over, check out the talent, and leave some love!

My first post there is up now. Its a layout, and I'll give you a little hint...

Wanna see more? Run over to Cricut World and check it out!

"Last New Post March 29, 2010"

2010-05-07T10:45:00.000-07:00

Ouch! What a slacker I am! oh well- going to make up for it now! I didn't do a lot in April- but im have been on a roll since the 1st of May! 4 layouts, 2 moms day cards, 2 teach appreciation cards, and 2 mini albums to go with the mom's day cards! WOO HOO! All here in one small spot for you to enjoy :)

Beach Buds- DCWV Tahiti Beach patterned paper and the Fiskars Boundary Waters punch. The tag is from a swap last summer. I really love that I have pictures (Thanks Jazzmine) of the first time Dallas and Gavin met. They are so cute together and really enjoy playing.

Park It- DCWV Songbird patterned paper. Sizzix cut title. EK Success Notebook edge punch. The shadow on the letters is colored vellum.

Mr. Mom- the circles are all cut from Plantin Schoolbook and the title is Pooh Font. The edge punch is fiskars effervescence. (I think thats what its called). The stamp is just one I had laying around.

Carefree Dude- I got this collection of Autumn Leaves "Super Star" papers, ribbon, and rub-ons form Tuesday Morning for like $3. I thought it was cute and I would use some of it eventually. Then when I pulled these pics out of the stack to scrap- I knew they were the perfect papers!!! Love how this turned out. Its very rare I dont use my cricut, and I never use rub-ons- so this was totally outside my creative box!

Teacher Appreciation Cards- I got the idea for these cards from TeriBeri's blog back in August. I just filed the info away and was thrilled when I remembered it this week when I need to make them!

Mom's Day cards- I got the idea for these cards from the recent Paper Craft's magazine. They used a fabric flower- but since I am fabric impaired- I went with this AWESOME layered flower that I got the svg file for from www.myscrapchick.com. I love it! The cards are very similar, the second one has a slightly larger flower and different accents on the tag. One if for my mom and the other my step-mom.

Mini Albums- the directions for these came from www.eighteen25.blogspot.com and are SO super cute! they are 4"x4" finished and accordion out to fit 7 pictures. It would be super easy to add more paper to accomodate more pics if you wanted to. I put pictures from the baby's birthday party in them and included them with the mother's day cards.

Wanna see some new stuff?

2010-03-29T14:31:00.000-07:00

Its been 2 months since I posted on this blog- good thing I have some new stuff to put up! I havent been super busy in the crafting department- but I have a thing or 2 to share... A few Valentine's cards, a card to a wonderful friend, a mini album (but just the cover- sorry!) and a LO or two...

Mini-Album- The cover of a dog themed mini-album I made for a dear friend as a Happy Craft Month gift. (for those who dont know- March is National Craft Month! Celebrate by making something for a friend. :) They will love it!). I got this mini album idea from a blog (Sorry if it was yours! I cant remember where I saw it now!). The base is a simple file folder. Open it up flat and score and fold the bottom 4", to create a pocket. Accordion fold the file to create 4 sections. I put 2 LARGE tags in each section to use for photos and/or journaling. The ribbons sticking out the top are through the holes on the tags, and the ribbon tied in front, is UNDER the paper on the back cover so it doesnt slide off.

My Son-Shines- This LO was for a challenge on Pages In Time. I dont go there often but a good friend is in the deign team there so I check it out from time to time. They had a scrap-lift challenge last month and I signed up! We were put in groups of 4, the first person did a LO of anything she chose. Then the following week- I had to do a lift of the LO. Then the next person lifted mine, and so on. Kinda like that game telephone, but for lay outs! This is the first time I have scrapped current pictures! lol. My brain cant seem to get wrapped around scrapping anything but chronologically, however, when I got the idea for the LO- I *knew* which pictures I wanted to use! Now the LO sits in my scrap room with no home... Waiting for the day it gets one! HA!

Thunder Over the Valley- the most recent in the Pea's scrapbook. His very first airshow. See how excited he was? haha! I lifted the LO design from a Creating Keepsakes magazine I had laying around (what's new huh?) and I really like the way it turned out! The scallop reminded me of the clouds (hence the cloud paper) and I love the look of the journaling strips. The cute little planes are from Stand and Salute (Thank Mickey for making a decision for me!) and the black one on the far left is from Going Places. The cloud cuts are from Everyday Paper Dolls. I found tons of clouds I could have used- but these seemed to fit best. Its hard to see because of the lighting, but the yellow strip at the bottom- under the striped paper- is dry embossed with the cuttle bug "dotted swiss" folder. It just gave it a little extra. :)

Cafe Card- I had a small package to send to my wonderful friend, Val, recently. I got this stamp set a while back and had only used it once before. The package was from several girl friends- so I though this super cute "Whos That Girl?" set fit perfectly. I lifted the card design from one I found in the gallery at SplitCoastStampers.com. I use them for ALL my stamp-lifting needs!! Such talented ladies over there, and teh gallery is super easy to search if you have a specific stamp you are wanting to use.

Valentines Cards- As usual I lifted these card ideas! (I cant seem to make anything on my own lately. I dont know what the deal is) The card with the large heart was Tuki's card design that she used for all the Night Owl cards she sent out. The other 2 ideas I got from Paper Crafts magazine- love that mag for card designs!! These cards were gifts for 3 of my good friends here in town. We try to have a little celebration dinner/play group with us and the kids for each holiday.

On a ROLLLLLLLL!

2010-01-27T13:33:00.000-08:00

Last week was a great week for scrapping! I was SO tired of looking at the pictures I had left from the bunch I had printed in early DECEMBER- it actually got me motivated and I got them done!

I used Hannah Montana for the title and date on this one. In DS I welded the title, then the shadow. I really like how it turned out. The striped paper is from the DCWV Nana's kids stack. Im kind of tired of the paper I bought so long ago and am trying to use it up. The brads I got on clearance at Micheal's at the end of fall and are not DCWV, but ended up matching the lighter orange on the paper perfectly!

This layout was a lot of fun! I love these pictures of picking peaches at Avila Barn. We always have such a great time there. Although none of the peaches we got we GIANT, I loved the way the title worked on here. I used Don Juan and DS for "Gavin" and "Giant". The rest of the title was cut with SCAL and a font I already had on my computer. I dont remember which cartridge the peach is from, but the leaf is home accents. I embossed the peach stem with copper embossing powder. The tree is cut from Everyday Paper Dolls and embossed with the D'vine Swirls cuttlebug folder.

Gavin's first fishing trip!! I didnt go, it was a guy thing. :) But of course- the guy didn't take the camera, so he shot this pic with his phone. At least we have SOMETHING from that day! The title was cut with Pooh Font, the fishing pole is from Everyday Paper Dolls (have I ever mention HOW much I love that cart?), and the fish is from Camp Out. The punch is EK Success and I got the sketch from a CK magazine that was sitting on my desk. I *think* it was the November issue.

Gavin's first (of 3) major facial injuries in 2008. He fell in the entryway of our old house and landed on his mouth. He knocked his tooth loose and had to go to the dentist for X-rays (first dental trip). Being the mom that I am- I HAD to take pictures! What good is an injury if you don't take pics???? I used Cuttin' Up for the title and I cut it 3 times- 2 layers of chipboard and one of CS, just for some dimension.

Finally got them finished!

2010-01-05T09:40:00.000-08:00

I started these layouts probably 2 weeks ago... and am just getting them finished and posted!

I got to use the Hannah Montana Cartridge I go for Christmas on this one! The word "Guitar", the guitar itself, the music staff frame, and all the notes are cut from Hannah. I love the way it turned out! I used white paper for the frams and the guitar, then sprayed it will silver maya mist to give it some sparkle. the words "my" and "hero" were cut using SCAL. I stickled the whole title with Black diamond Stickles. I had journaling written in teh square under the envie- then ran out of room. So I made the envelope and printed the comeplete journaling on the computer and tucked it in side.

This is Grady's 3 months layout- I used Winter Woodland for the title font and Home Accents for the flourishes. I cut the envie (that has the journaling inside) from Wild Card. I used the White signo pen and an ultra fine sharpie for the doodling on the envelope and flourishes.

Clear Stamp Storage

2010-01-02T15:36:00.000-08:00

I have been using a large gift box I got from Target to throw all my stamps in, for several months. The recent addition of yet more stamps has made it impossible to fit the lid on the box... Time to move on! I did some research over on the Cricut message board and found several methods people are using and are happy with. For my room- I decided that binders and page protectors would be the way to go.

Of course I LOVE the Tim Holtz stamp binder- but the pages are the same size and the binders are $20/each with only 3 pages in them. So I chose to use a plain binder from the office supply store and page protectors of various sizes.

I ended up with full sheet page protectors, base ball card pages, 2 disk CD holder pages, and ones that hold 2- 4x6 photos. Heres what the pages look like now that they are filled with my stamps!

baseball card size

4x6 photo size

CD holder pages

Full sheet page protectors. I put the stamps in here on a sheet of transperancy so make it easier to pull them out of the page and to keep them in place.

Now I realized I need a larger binder! I bought the 1 1/2" size thinking it would be enough. I have the reciept so I am going to take it back and get the 2" size this evening.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-02T15:22:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to all my scrappy friends!!!

I have big things planned this year in my life- both scrapping and otherwise.I have started a new blog (in addition to this one- not instead of!) to help keep track and hold myself accountable for the things I wish to accomplish. Come check it out and follow me and my family as we begin organizing our life for a better way of living. http://www.theflickfour.blogspot.com/.

Todays post over on the other blog is an organization project I did finished today. BUT- its a SCRAPPY organization project, so I will make a post here as well :)

Hope to see you all on my other blog along with this one! Heres to a happy, healthy, PRODUCTIVE new year for all of us!

LOs from a recent crop

2009-12-21T09:42:00.000-08:00

WOOHOO! I got to go to an all day (and most of the night) crop this last weekend. Had a great time and got very little done. You would think after almost 14 hours I would be able to get more than a few pages completed. ;) Its just so hard to shut my mouth and actually work! lol

I used Stand and Salute for the frame, Graffically Speaking for the stars, and Lyrical Letters for the year. The bingo card is Jenny Bowlin, and I Stickled on the year.

Another one with Stand and Salute (for 4th of July), Graffically Speaking for the flag and the star, and the Bingo Card by Jenny Bowlin. I used Plantin Schoolbook for the year and Stickles on a few things. This is Grady's only picture from his first 4th of July! (thanks Calley!)

This page was super simple, I actually did it yesterday morning and not at the crop the night before. I used all papers from a very cute Reminisce pad I was given as a gift (thanks Mickey!). Inked the edges of everything, including the background paper. The vines and leaves are actually stickers that came with the paper. I just needed a little something to keep the background from being SO green. The title was cut with Lyrical Letters and so was the date.

Grady's 2 month page- I am trying and trying to really get "into" his baby book and Im haing a hard time. I really enjoy doing kid LOs, but have a hard time with htis baby business. But Ill get it done!! The title was cut with Don Juan and I used Mini Monograms for the scallops and circles.

Teacher Christmas Cards

2009-12-21T09:35:00.000-08:00

Now that I posted the teachers Thanksgiving cards- its time for the Christmas cards! Gavin's last day of school was last Wednesday, so while he was there and the baby was sleeping- I whipped up these cards for the wonderful teachers!

The original idea is from Christmas With The Cricut. An AMAZING blog with some rediculously talented people creating things!! For the specific post I was inspired by: http://cricutchristmas.blogspot.com/2009/11/week-17-simple-card-monday-with-video.html

I used the card feature on the Winter Woodlands cart, some green glitter that I have in my stash, and the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder.

oops!

2009-12-21T09:21:00.000-08:00

I just realized I never shared the super easy, super fast cards I made for Gavin's teachers at Thanksgiving!

I used the Turkey from Doodlecharms ( I think, I dont remember now...) The banner is from Stand and Salute, and the cool word paper was in the Target dollar bin right before Tday! Oh- and the punch inside is Martha Stewart. I scored with that one- I paid $1.49 for it when they were clearancing the fall stuff!! (the bottom right is normal in real life- but since there are 3 Gavin's at his school, our last name was on it)

Jingle Bells!

2009-12-16T20:04:00.001-08:00

Its that time of year again! Christmas is only 9 days away!!! I cant even believe it... Almost everything is done. The pressies are bought (and mostly wrapped.) I have one last trip to home depot to make and I am finished!

In the spirit of the season- the lovely ladies on my Cricut's Creating group over on sb.com , chose to do a Secret Santa exchange. It was great fun and had a low $20 limit, so all were able to participate! I got some lovely gifts form my Secret Santa :) and was thrilled with what I found to send to my recipient. I am especially proud of the card I made for her. I got the inspiration from a card on the cricut.com message board, and Gigi helped me put the finishing touches on it. The card was made in design studio and used the Christmas Cheer cart, almost exclusively. The holy leaves are Bazzill, I believe.And the skittles were some that Gigi had at her house. It was the first time either of us used Fun Flock (santa's beard) and we both LOVED it!!

Another Crop!

2009-11-02T11:17:00.000-08:00

I have done nothing in the last 3 weeks since I went to the crop- BUT I was lucky enough to get to go to a crop yesterday and ended up getting 2 pages done!

Not much cricut on this one- only the green bracket. The "Together" is a rub-on. The little letter stickers were white- I inked them with Peeled Paint distress ink, and the same color on the green paper and the LO corners. The rest of the papers are inked in creamy brown casts eye chalk ink. (one of my very fave colors). The patterned papers are all Little Yellow Bicycle travelor collection.
A fun page!! The papers are both from American Crafts Travel collection. The title is Cricut Zooballoo. The arrow is a brad from Around the Block.

One Last One

2009-10-16T09:04:00.000-07:00

Heres one last LO from this week. I finished it yesterday with Gigi's help. Its a totaly new technique for me- got the idea over on scrapbook.com, and I LOVE it!! I had Costco's photo lab blow the picture up to a 12x12- then scrapped right on the pic!

The title is Plantin Schoolbook and Lyrical Letters. I used DS to weld an arrow from Graphically Speaking to the bracket from PS. I used the computer to do the little bit of journaling and cut the strips after I printed it.

and now the crop LOs!

2009-10-16T08:50:00.000-07:00

Last weekend 5 of my wonderful cricut.com friends came from out of town (and state!) to visit Gigi and I... what FUN we had!!! Lots of talking, laughing, and eating. Believe it or not we even managed to scrap! lol. I got to go to my very first away from home crop on Sat. It was 14 hours of fun with my friends!!!
Love the grumpy face on Pea in this picture! I used Lyrical Letters for the title, and Jasmin for the photo corners. The punch on the left side of the striped paper is the EK Success notebook punch.
Sweet little Pea all bundled up! I used All Mixed Up for the title, Stretch Your Imagination for the lady bugs, and A Child's Year for the photo mat on the large photo. The heart on the small pic is from Plantin School book.
LOVE the bright coors on this one!!! Jasmin and Plantin Schoolbook for the title, I used PS for the journaling flower also. The flower stems are from Walk In My Garden. the flowers themselves are Bazzill chipboard that I sprayed with Maya Mist. This was a fun page- I got to use the super cute cuts on A Child Year for one of the first times. The fire truck and the journaling mat are both from that cart. The title is the font from Wild Card and Printing Press. It was my first time using Printing Press also, and I love it!
Lots of Everyday Paper Dolls on this one again- I am really liking that cart! All the police gear is from there- the badge, the cuffs, and the police car. The title is Pooh Font.

So many things...

2009-10-16T08:43:00.000-07:00

Once again I have slacked on the LO posting. the good news- I have TONS to post!!! I have one from a couple weeks ago, then many from a crop I go tto go to when all my cricut.com friends were in town, and even one I have done since they left!

Heres the one from a couple weeks ago-

"Going Home"- I love this picture of little Pea all snug in his seat for his trip home from the hospital. I used Lyrical Letters and Pooh Font for the title. The house is cut from Don Juan. the road, tree, and car are all from the new Everyday Paper Dolls. (LOVE that cart!!). I journaled all around the edge of the paper- I just couldnt see a spot to put a journaling block.

more Pea :)

2009-09-22T13:20:00.001-07:00

Moving right along on the Pea's first album! heres the most recent LOs.--

Heres a pic of Pea with his Dad before we left the hospital. I used PSE to make the background black and white, and left the baby and the hubby in color. Just to make them stand out a bot more. All the papers on this LO are from DCWV Nana's Nursery. The title is cut from Cuttin' Up. I used New Arrival for all the little baby "things" and Storybook for the journaling space.

This was a fun LO. I like making little scenes on my pages sometimes. For the title I used Lyrical Letters and Pooh Font. The house if from Don Juan. The tree, car, and road are all from the brand new Everyday Paper Dolls cartridge. LOVE IT!

WIN COSMO CRICKET!

2009-09-14T08:53:00.000-07:00

Hello friend! A lovely MB member on scrapbook.com enlightened me to this AMAZING cosmo cricket giveaway!! Check it out and sign up!

www.sketchythursdays.blogspot.com

The Friendship Book

2009-09-09T14:28:00.000-07:00

My oldest son started pre-school for the first time this year. Recently he brought home homework- FOR ME! His teacher has started a friendship book. An 8 1/2x11 scrapbook with a page for each student. They take turns taking the book home for their parent to create their page and put it in the book. The plan being that within a few months, the book will be complete and they can learn all about their classmates and enjoy looking at all the pictures.

Here is the page I created about Gavin. (I welded the pic of the front and the pic of the back into one picture to make it easier) To the right of the main picture is his ast name and on the back side has his birthday, but i blurred them out. It doesnt look weird like that in real life. :).... Lyrical Letters for the title and Jazzmine for the photo corner.

another for the Pea

2009-09-09T14:25:00.000-07:00

Heres the most recent LO for my little Pea's book. Not getting as far, as fast as I was hoping--- but at least Im going somewhere!

I dont remember where I got this die cut paper.... but I love it for this page! For the title I used my brand new Winter Woodland cart for "New" and New Arrival for the "Love". The rest of the elements are just bits and pieces I had in the stash...

BLOG CANDY!!!

2009-09-02T20:46:00.000-07:00

The AMAZINGLY talented Kathy Orta is giving away some fabulous blog candy! Go visit her blog and subscribe to it (theres a subscribe box on the top left side) to be entered in her drawing! Then go visit her blog often for some inspiration!

http://www.paperphenomenon.blogspot.com/

Good Luck!!!

my little Pea is finally getting a baby book!!

2009-08-30T11:56:00.001-07:00

I have this OCD thing about scrapping chronologically. I dont know why- but I just cant scrap a picture(s) out of order. So it has taken me this long- almost a YEAR- to get caught up enough on Gavins to be scrapping April of 2008. FINALLY. Since I am now to the point in time where my baby wa sborn- he is finally getting his very own book! The last LO I posted was the for Gavin's book. His first big brother LO. And here FINALLY is the first page of Grady's book---

He has been called Pea from the day he was born. It started because we called his brother "Punkin Head" after he came out, because he had such a big round head. When Grady was born he had the same round head- just tiny. So I made the comment- "Hes a little Pea Head compared to Gavin" and it stuck. He has been Pea ever since! *I used New Arrival for the pea pod and calligraphy for the title. All the pp is MS and DCWV Nana's Nursery*

BIG bro

2009-08-26T19:45:00.000-07:00

I am FINALLY starting to scrap my baby! Its taken a year, but I have caught up enough to be at my second sons birth :) Here is Gavins very first big brother page!

Jasmine and Plantin Schoolbook for the title. The little pea pod is from New Arrival. Its so super cute if you know my little one because he has been called Pea from his very first day!

2 for 2!

2009-08-23T20:47:00.000-07:00

woo hoo! 2 days in the weekend, and 2 LOs completed! Im so proud of myself! and I am off to print more pics as soon as I post today's acomplishment :)

This LO was inspired by Stephanie Garbett's "All About Me" page (on scrapbook.com). Thanks Stephanie! I used pooh font for the title, and stretch your imagination for the tree. All the patterned papers are from the Nana's Kids stack. AND! I got to use some of the punchinella I just got. I love that stuff!!!

Easter 2008

2009-08-22T12:02:00.000-07:00

A lovely friend on scrapbook.com challenged our group to stop all the things they "had" to do- and scrap. So I did! (I didnt need to be told more than once- thats for sure!) Heres my end result--

I used Lyrical Letters and Mickey Font for the title. The sun is from Don Juan. The grass on the bottom is the upside down cut from my Martha Stewart Icicle edge punch (that I *had* to have last holiday season and never used.)

3 LOs for your viewing pleasure

2009-08-21T14:00:00.000-07:00

I managed to get 3 LOs done in the last week and a half or so...

I really love the way this turned out! I lifted the LO from Gumpsgirl on scrapbook.com but, for once, I like the way mine turned out better! (I usually love the oringinal more). I used Lyrical Letters for the title. New Marth punches for the loops, an old martha punch for the scallops. Paper Doll Dress Up for the bowls, spoons, and turkey. :) lots of inking on the shapes. Thank goodness for cat's eye inks!

I almost didnt put this in the book. I actually reprinted the picture and start a new LO, going in a whole different direction. But Gigi came over and conviced me it was good. So I added the journaling I wanted to add on the back of the page and stuck it in its page protector. *Don Juan for the title, and indie art for the big gear*

This page was the simplest page I have ever done, I think. I cut the title from Don Juan and Plantin Schoolbook. The large arrow is from Going Places. Then I doodled a bit to match the arrows that were on the paper. Voila!

Gift Bags

2009-08-18T09:36:00.000-07:00

The boys and I attended a birthday party on Sat. The party was for a brother and sister, whos dad works with my DH. Their birthdays arent really close together, but Addies party was disrupted by a crazy work schedual (because of a fire) so this was the make-up day for her. It had a pirate/princess theme~ so I created these gift bags for the occasion!

All the cuts on both bags are from Paper Doll dress Up- EXCEPT the names and the waves on the ship. "Aiden" and the waves are cut from Life Is A Beach and "Addie" is cut from Storybook. The crowns on the princess and the frog, and the pirates hook are cut from metallic paper.

My slacker self has returned...

2009-08-18T09:26:00.000-07:00

I was just parusing through some posts on the cricut.com message board and looking at some blogs when suddenly it dawned one me- I havent update my blog in a while! oops!! I know I promised to be better, so here I am, renewing the promise and trying again! Heres the latest in LOs...

I got the inspiration for this LO from a CK magazine (June, I think). I love how it turned out! In case you cant see it- I journaled around the pics and doodled all around the edge of the background paper. The title is cut from Opposites Attract and the tree is from WIld Card. The primas were just in my jars.

Love these pics of Gavin all kicked back in the hcair watching TV. Cracks me up- hes just like a little man with his drink and snack. All he is missing is the REMOTE! Hence, the title of this LO :) The patterened paper is Fancy Pants "Summer Soiree". Its double sided, so one piece did my whole LO! The stars are cut from Plantin Schoolbook. the title is part Lyrical Letters and part Mickey Font. The alphas for his name at the bottom are, I think, MM.

This kid is beyond addicted to his binkies!! The background paper is from last years K&Co Valentine pad. The flourishes and the heart are from Home Decor. The title is Mickey Font and Stone Script. (Hard to tell in this pic, but the "love" is cut out of metalic paper) The circle is from Plantin Schoolbook. The eyelets are OTC and American Crafts. The heart brad was in my stash from a Valentine swap last year.

My mojo has returned!

2009-07-26T14:58:00.000-07:00

I finally felt like scrapping- and my mojo made an appearance! We are getting back into our routine from being back and forth to Fresno in the last 2 weeks- and DH gave me several semi-kid free hours today to play. I had a lot of fun chatting on the comuter and scrapping in my jammies :)

This LO I actually snuck in between Fresno visits last week. Its Gavin in his police gear he got for his 2nd Brithday. I used PS for the title. The arrow is chipboard covered in CS. Not a super exciting LO, but I was having a really hard time with it so I was just happy to be done!

This is one from today- I used a sketch from Beggahuna on scrapbook.com. (thank god for sketches from people far more talented than I!!). I got to play with my new cart- Don Juan (thanks again Suzy!!) for the title. All the paper is cosmo cricket's "get happy" line. LOVE cosmo cricket. I used PS and the center point feature to cut the pics into circles. DS to make the frames for them. The large background square and circle were also cut with PS and DS.

The second from today- several carts on this one. Lyrical Letters for the "whats with the" and Don Juan for "bucket?". graffically Speaking for the arrow (streched with DS). Home Accents for the bracket thingys along the bottom of the pics. And DS with the same bracket thingys stretched to shadow the red ones. I also used Grafically Speaking for the roladex card that I journaled on. and a white gelly roll pen for the journaling.

Its been a week...

2009-07-14T15:44:00.001-07:00

So its been a week since I posted last. I was doing really well, and getting a lot of LOs done. This week I hit a block. I am working on some tags for a swap (those will be posted soon) and one day I realy felt like scrapping- I printed a couple pics, got out some paper, and then---- NOTHING. I couldnt get any ideas flowing at all. I tried several different things and it never came together. So I put it all away for a later date. If you din my mojo somewhere- please send it back this direction!

A new book is born :)

2009-07-07T13:08:00.000-07:00

Here are the first 2 LOs for Gavin's 2 year old book. Im so excited I am FINALLY starting this. There are lots of FUN FUN FUN pics for me to scrap during this time. :)

The title on this is Pooh Font, the pirate flag and the ships are from Paper Doll Dress Up. The waves are from the new Life Is A Beach cart. All around the outside edge there are random pirate words, and the journaling is on the mat for the picture.

The "2007" is Lyrical Letters on Loop Dee Loo. I used Paper Doll Dress Up again for the tree, and Stretch Your Imagination for the present and the holly. I stickled a bunch of stuff on this LO, havent done that in a while!!

Disney Cuts

2009-07-06T09:47:00.000-07:00

After a recent trip to Disneyland, I started planning LOs in my head. (even though it will be months before I do them, since I cant seem to scrap "out of order") I begged 2 good friends to borrow cartridges from them so I could cut all the "guys" to go with the autographs Gavin got. I was able to borrow Tinkerbell (Thanks Mickey!!) as well as Mickey and Friends and Happily Ever After (Thanks Gigi!!)

Let me tell you- Tinkbell is BY FAR the hardest of the cuts to assemble. There were several things I was unable to cut because they kept ripping the paper. I tried EVERYTHING, thick paper, thin paper, fast speed, slow speed, more pressure, less pressure- nothing worked. So I decided to be happy with the little fairies and say "Oh Well" to having their names and some flowers cut... Other than that, they were pretty easy and a lot of fun!

The End of Book 2

2009-07-06T09:39:00.000-07:00

My plan has been to do a book a year for each kid. Im so far behind I havent started Grady's book yet, but these 2 LOs are the last 2 in Gavin's second book. Im catching up!! Only a year and a half left to scrap. lol...

On this one I used Pooh Font for the title, Storybook on "fancy" for the G on the white star (but cut a couple flourishes off so it was so much), Grafically Speaking for the strip of stars at the bottom of the pic, and a Martha Stewart punch for the zig-zag on the left. The journaling is just a quick letter to Gavin about how big he is getting and what a great year it was.

Happy 2nd Bday! This is the very last LO in Gavin's second book!!! The "2" is from Plantin Schoolbook, the title is using Mickey Font. The tags I also used Plantin Schoolbook, but manipulated them a bit on DS to fit my pics. The "2" word jumbles are from grafically Speaking.

Im here again with more LOs!!

2009-06-24T11:57:00.000-07:00

2 more recent LOs... Enjoy!!

I used the new Lyrical Letters cartrdige for ALL the wording on this LO (except the "makes me" that I printed from the computer) I LOVE this cart!! SO many different fonts on it! I used Plantin Schoolbook for the bracket and the circle around the smaller picture. I cut the tab on the hidden journaling by hand since I dont have a cart with one on it.

All the paper on this LO is from last years DCWV halloween stack. The title and year were cut from Pooh Font. The circles from Plantin Schoolbook (again)

2 more

2009-06-21T09:08:00.001-07:00

Im really making an effort to keep this blog updated!! Heres another post for the week! YAY! These are the 2 LOs I completed this week.

This is a picture I took of a good friends DD when we went to the Lavander farm earlier this week. I never get to do girly LOs, so I was inspired to give it a shot when I saw this adorable picture. I gave it to my friend as a gift to put in her DDs scrapbook. She LOVED it. I am pleased with how it came out and even more pleased with how happy it made her. The title is "Best Girl" because thats what I always call her. Shes the only girl we hang out with on a regular basis- making her my "Best Girl." I used a sketch from Q-Diggity on scrapbook.com. She has great sketches on her gallery! If youre stuck- go check it out!!

The title is cut from Lyrical Letters and Hello Kitty Font. The flourishes and butterflys are from Home Accents. The scalloped square is from mini monograms. I used turquoise stickles on the "best" and the butterflys. The flowers are primas and I put rhinstones in the centers for a bit more bling.

I lifted this LO from BethanyKartchner on scrapbook.com. I was parusing through the gallery and came across it- I immediatly LOVED the bright colors she used and was totaly inspired by all her doodling. I have never doodled more than some dots on a title or around a photomat before... so this was nerve wracking! I thought for sure I would screw it up so bad I would have to start all over. Turns out- I love it! and had a GREAT time doing it!! The title is cut from pooh font on marker and marker shadow. The circles are from plantin schoolbook, the swirlys are from Mickey and friends. I used a black ZIG pen for all the doodles. Oh! and I inked the edges of all the paper pieces, including the background.

I almost forgot!!

2009-06-20T17:44:00.000-07:00

I recently completed my items for a Vegas themed swap. I was in 2 groups. I did inchies for one group and tags for another. I cant wait to get all the items from this swap!!!

The card suits and the dice are all from Indie Art. The Vegas sign I got online and printed on photo paper then hand cut. I used my Crop-A-Dial to put eyelets in the tag holes and some ribbon I had from Michaels. Oh- the paper on the tag was really bright so I tones it down with my "Antique Linen" distress ink pad and the foam blender.

and a card...

2009-06-20T17:42:00.000-07:00

Here is a card I did recently for a friends wedding. I had a very hard time with this and think it turned out a bit plain. I sent it anyway figuring it was better to send something than nothing at all. *sigh* Ill do better next time.

The flourish in the corner if from Home Accents. The picture I got somewhere online and printed it on textured manilla colored card stock. The flowers are prima.

Slackin' Again...

2009-06-20T17:31:00.003-07:00

I really am a slacker about getting htings posted here in a timely fashion... Im going to make an effort to be better. Heres some recent LOs...

The title on this one is both Mickey Font ("air show") and Stone Script ("santa maria") The planes are from New Arrival and the "tails" are flourishes cut from Home Accents.

Love this- the background paper was originally just a plain manilla color. I used "Antique Linen" distress ink from Tim Holtz and teh foam blender tool to ink the edges of the whole thing. I also inked the journaling card. The title is Calligraphy ("Just") and Cuttin' Up ("chillin"). The stars were cut using Plantin Schoolbook. All the patterned paper is cut from one sheet in K&Co's Cut N' Paste pad.

The colored paper is all from the new Basic Gray line "Marrakech". Loved the bright colors if these papers. I used a pices of chocolate colored Bazzill as the background. The title is cut in regular and shadow from George and Basic Shapes. The circle is cut from Plantin Schoolbook. The photo corners were in my Night Owl christmas stocking. The brads I got from another lovely Night Owl in a RAK.

2 new LOs

2009-05-28T09:31:00.000-07:00

Heres 2 new LOs that I completed this week :)

The squares are from Plantin Schoolbook, "jr" is from Wild Card, and "deputy" is from mini monograms-
The heart on this LO is from Zooballoo, the title is cut from Cuttin' Up, the bones from Mickey & Friends, and the hydrant is from Grafically Speaking. Oh- and the black florish thingy is from Home Accents.

Thanks for looking!

Another day, another vote!

2009-05-28T09:25:00.000-07:00

Its that time again- to vote for Siobhan and help her win this fabulous scrappy desk!!

Go here to vote for her- http://theoriginalscrapbox.com/craftbox_giveaway/showContestant.php?id=307

and here to check out all the cool products that The Original Scrapbox has- http://theoriginalscrapbox.com/catalog/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=32&Itemid=10

The voting continues~

2009-05-27T15:13:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who has voted for my wonderful friend Siobhan! If you dont know whats going on, The Original Scrapbox website is sponcering a contest to win this amazing desk-

Click htis link to vote for her!! http://theoriginalscrapbox.com/craftbox_giveaway/showContestant.php?id=307

and go here to check out the website- http://www.theoriginalscrapbox.com/catalog/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=32&Itemid=10

Still time to vote!!

2009-05-26T18:18:00.000-07:00

Heres a friendly reminder to vote for Siobhan!! and check out the cool desk she could win!

Go here to vote-- http://theoriginalscrapbox.com/craftbox_giveaway/showContestant.php?id=307

Thanks for all the support!!

Please Vote!

2009-05-25T09:20:00.000-07:00

Hi all! Im here again asking for you to vote for my friends Siobhan!! She entered a contest on the Original Scrapbox website to win this awesome desk-

She needs YOUR votes to help her do it! Please go here-

http://theoriginalscrapbox.com/craftbox_giveaway/showContestant.php?id=307

to view her project and vote!! and remember- you can vote once a day!! thank you!!

The LOs.

2009-05-24T13:44:00.001-07:00

Here are the LOs that I have done since being in my new scraproom. I get much more done, now that Im not sharing a space with the baby!!

I used PS on roly poly for "cereal" and Stone Script for "killer" (welded in DS). The florish is from HA and the journaling block is from SB.

The font on this LO is Mickey Font that I stretched in DS to make it taller and thiner. The arrow is chipboard from Bazzill, sprayed with Maya Mist and a thin top coat of glimmer mist. I inked the edges of the letter to make them pop a bit more.

The title font is OA and the word embellies are from GS. I used glossy accents on them also. The sun is the "POW" cut from Indie Art on blackout mode. I cut a circle from George and put it in the middle. The circle has glossy accents and the rays have orange stickles.

This whole LO is doen with my new Cosmo Cricket Jack's World paper pack. I inked the edges of the wording and the pics with a distress ink pad. The truck is cut from Mickey and Friends. and the stars are stickers that came with the paper.
The background of this LO started out white. I cut clouds from GS on blackout and used them as a stencil for blue Maya Mist. The title is cut from the Caligraphy cart on "Martimony" mode. The moon is GS, and the journaling cloud is a blackout of the "dream" cloud- both cut from HA.

Wow- its been a while!

2009-05-24T13:30:00.000-07:00

I just realized how long it has been since I posted any projects! The scraproom isnt done, but I have it at least set up so I can play. Here are the cards and swaps I have done since moving (i will put the LOs in a seperate post)---

A wonderful Night Owl friend held a contest to give away a cart she had gotten doubles of by mistake. I was the lucky winner of her extra WIld Card cart!! I was SO excited! Here is the card I made her from the cart as a thank you for the generous RAK-

My great Night Owl buddies have decided to do a monthly mini swap. Nothing big- just to use supplies we have and have an excuse to play. :) I am hostessing the May swap and have decided on Summer Time themed inchies as the project. Heres the ones I did-

Mothers Day was not too long ago. I, of course, made a card for mom. I scraplifted from the Paper Crafts magazine. Used Plantin Schoolbook for "mom" and the heart. The florishes and journaling lines are stamps from 7Gypsies and Fancy Pants. The patterned paper and cardstock are from a CTMH kit I had.

This card if for my wonderful MIL. No cricut on it, but I had a lot of fun. The tickets are Tim Holtz. The flowers are from a big jar of singles flowers at the LSS. The patterned paper is K&Co. The scalop is a marth stewart punch. The ribbon is also Martha. Lots of inking with a distress ink pad. The flower center is a brad I found in my stash.

Siobhan Needs YOUR Votes!

2009-05-24T13:22:00.001-07:00

My wonderful friend Siobhan is in a contest for an amazing scrapdesk! You can vote once a day and if you leave a comment on her blog- she gets even MORE votes!! Please help her out!

Go here to vote (the most important part!!) http://theoriginalscrapbox.com/craftbox_giveaway/showContestant.php?id=307

Go here to check out the desk- http://www.theoriginalscrapbox.com/catalog/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=32&Itemid=10

And to comment on her blog, go here- http://dreamofscrappin.blogspot.com/

THANKS!!!!

My Scraproom

2009-04-18T16:33:00.000-07:00

We finally closed on the new house a few weeks ago, and my wonderful DH has made it a point to work on my scraproom first!! The painting is now done! We have to move onto other rooms now, but at least it has a good start :)

BEFORE PAINT:AFTER PAINT:

2 New LOs

2009-04-18T16:29:00.000-07:00

By the grace of God, I had some time this week and was able to get 2 LOs done :)

The title on this one is a cute from New Arrival. The bubbles on the corners of the pic are from Grafically Speaking. The boat is also from New Arrival. I inked the edges of the patterened papers with a blue catseye chalk ink. The papers are from a MS stack I got at WM.

The title and vines are from Zooballo. I used New Arrival for the monkey, and Paper Doll Dress Up for the plant. The patterned paper is from the DCWV Animal Crackers stack.

My Easter Basket

2009-04-10T11:05:00.001-07:00

My Easter buddy went FAR above and beyond on my easter basket! Primas, and inks, and stickles, and CB folders, and paper, and ribbon-- the list goes on and on and on! I LOVE IT ALL!!! Thank you Tuki!!

Finally!

2009-04-10T10:57:00.000-07:00

Hooray! I can FINALLY post the project I made for my Easter bast swap buddy! She it at her MILs for Easter and a bday celebration for her DD- so we opened our baskets last night. (a day early) She LOVES the wordbooks I made for her DDs!! Im SO SO happy!! The pictures of the inside pages are all from Chloe's book, but are very similar to Lily's- just a different color-

LOs from April

2009-04-09T20:36:00.000-07:00

This is from my DHs swearing, right before his police academy graduation. Its pretty simple, I was kind of at a loss as far as embellies for these pictures. It was such an amazing day! I used PS for the title and subtitle, and I scanned the badge patch and printed it on photo paper. It has great depth and detail despite being a picture! DH even asked me "did you take that off my shirt?" (Like I would really cut a badge off his uniform shirt for a LO... well, I guess you just never know!)
This LO is for the actual academy graduation day. It was a super fun day, but I got few pictures because I was busy chasing Gavin around. :) The title is Mickey Font, the police car embellie is a jolees sticker (although I had to alter it- I colored in the "police" that used to be in white on the black stripe down the side of the car and added a sheriffs star). The badge at the bottom is the same one I used on the previous LO, just shrunk to fit.

I had a good time today working on this LO. I made the title several days ago with Cuttin' Up and DS. The grass is from PS and the tree is from Wild Card (thank you Gigi for the use of your cart) The buttons are just misc. from various places. Oh- and the grasshopper/cricket and the catapiller are both from SYI.

SO excited!!

2009-04-04T10:47:00.000-07:00

Only a few more days till we get to open our easter baskets from the swap I am in... Cant wait!!

But the MOST exciting news is that we just bought our first house!! And one of the BEST parts is that I will have my very own craft room!! I am beside myself with excitement! I keep calling it the "office" so DH is included- but he calls it my craft room! I have such an amazing DH! I will post before, during, and after pics once we get going on it :)

Easter basket swap

2009-03-31T12:56:00.000-07:00

I am so excited! I can *almost* share the project I did for the Easter Basket Swap I participated in... the box went postal today, so by next week I will be able to post my creations. I hope my swap buddy enjoys them as much as I enjoyed making them!!! I cant wait!!

Happy Birthday Micaela!

2009-03-15T19:35:00.000-07:00

Our neighbor turned 13 this week and I made her a birthday card using the Indie Art cartridge. The guitar and wings are pop dotted for dimention. The letters are cut from George. The patterned paper is DCWV all dressed up. The wings were cut from metalic foil board from Ms.

Time For The Bubbly!

2009-03-15T18:56:00.000-07:00

A cricut mb friend recently sent me a sample of some hair stuff we had been talking about. It was so incredibly nice and very unexpected- and an EXCELANT reason to use my new stamps and make her a thank you card!!

The stamp set is My Favorite Things "Time For The Bubbly", The pink patterned paper (both the card back round and the "wall paper" on the stamp) is MS from a pad I got at WM. Its hard to see in the picture but I used baby blue stickles on the bubbles in the bath tub. I used plain ol' crayola pencils to color the floor and the lady's legs. The rug and mirror trip are colored with Bic Mark It pens. The mirror is metalic foil board from Ms.

GAVIN wordbook

2009-03-15T18:51:00.000-07:00

This is my first attempt at a wordbook. It isnt embelished at all but its covered with paper and bound with binder rings. I designed it in DS and used giftboxes for a base. I didnt use a deep cut blade, just cut it on multicut (2x) with the cricut. The paper is all K&Co. The Hopscotch Boy pad. (I dont love lighting in the picture, but its the best I could get.) I will post it again, page by page, when I get around to embelishing it.

Thank You Aunt Nikki

2009-03-15T18:43:00.000-07:00

Here is a Thank You card for my Aunt. She was kind enough to invite us all out to the Air Guard when we were visiting in AZ in January. She got Gavin in to see the fire trucks and DH was able to shoot in their FATS simulator. We had a wonderful time but Gavin had the best time BY FAR!

I printed a pic I took of Gavin and my aunt in black and white then embossed it with the CB "thank you" folder. The buttons are a MS punch that I added Glossy Accents to. The ribbon is just cheap from Ms.

Some Cards

2009-03-15T18:31:00.000-07:00

Here are some cards I made in January. My moms birthday and my step-moms birthday both fall at the begining of February. This is probably the first year I have ever gotten cards out on time to them!

Mom's Birthday- scraplifted the idea from a SU idea CD that someone gave me. The flowers are prima with a lovelt metalic purple brad in the middle. Both patterned papers are DCWV pocket full of posies. The stem and leaf and the Happy Birthday stamps are CTMH. The CS was just what I had.

Step-mom's Birthday-- Scraplifted this idea from Paper Crafts Magazine. Theirs was a bag front and was for Valentines day. I adapted it to fit my needs and this is what I came up with. The present is a cricut cut and is embossed with my CB. I sanded it to let some of the white show through. The Happy Birthday stamp is CTMH and the cake underneith is Imaginisce. The cut that they are on are cricut, from the SB cartridge. The black and white patterned paper isDCWV All Dressed Up, the pink patterend paper is from the K&Co valentines pad.

More Layouts

2009-03-15T18:22:00.000-07:00

More Layouts for Gavin's book. I totaly scraplifted the sketches from a magazine. I *think* it was the December CK, but im not sure.

Toys OUT, Monkey IN-- the red letters are foam alphabet stickers that I got in the Target dollar bins way back around 4th of July last year. No idea where the polkadot paper came from... I think it was given to me. The scallop was cut on the cricut from PS (i think). and the OUT and IN we printed from my computer using microsoft word.

Balancing Act-- In the sketch the squares on the right of the page were circles, and the zig zag was a scallop. It was all too round for me after the last LO, so I changed it up!! The zig zag is a MS punch, so it the checker board pattern on the journaling paper. The red and blue squares were cut with cricut, the lettering is also cricut- I used Mickey Font. The striped paper I bought at Target ages ago.

Long time, no see!

2009-03-15T18:14:00.001-07:00

wow! I just realized how neglectful of my blog I have been. Its been over 2 months since I posted last... I have done a lot in those 2 months- Mostly cards. A paint can. and a few LOs. Ill post some pictures now so you can see what I have been up to!

Helping Hands LO- I didnt have a cartidge with handprints on it, so I traced Gavin's hands to use. In retrospect, Im very glad I did! I wouldnt trade those being his little hands for anything now! The camo paper was some that DH had purchased a long time ago for some pages in his Marine Corps album (that he never did). The stamp in the corner is from the Christmas Stocking swap I did with my night Owl friends on the cricut board. The bronze embossing powder (which I love!) came from the same stocking.

Woo Hoo! 2 More Layouts!

2009-01-05T18:06:00.000-08:00

I am so impressed with myself- I have managed to get 4 LOs done this year- and its only the 5th!! I am now half way done with Gavin's second book... That puts me a mear 1 1/2 years behind on my kids!

The first LO used Calligraphy and Mickey Font for the title. I used DS to put horns and a tail on the "naughty" (I used the parenthasies from George and the arrow from GS). The cut under the title is from Storybook. The paper is the new valentine K&Co pad. The punch along the edge of the journaling is the Mini Scalloped Hearts from MS and the hearts along the bottom are the scalloped heart punch from MS.

The title on this LO is storybook as well as the flourish in the upper corner and by the journaling. The scalloped circle the journaling is on is also from Storybook. The base paper is some I got on clearance at Ms, the green is Bazzill Bling, the other is just scraps I had laying around. Oh- and skittles on the flourish in the top corner.

Another card

2009-01-01T20:14:00.000-08:00

I have to say I am amazed at myself and the cards I have made lately. I am a self-proclaimed "non-cardmaker", but this is the second one in about a week. (I even agreed to do a Valentines Day card swap with my Night Owl friends.)

Here it is- a belated birthday card for a good friend. I cant take much credit for this one- it came straight from a card kit from CTMH. I just followed the directions! That aside- I am very happy with the way it turned out :)

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T20:02:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to all! I had a lovely uneventful new years eve at home with the hubby and kids. Then today I took the boys to a great park with my cousin and her little girl. It was gorgeous weather and Gavin had a blast playing with his cousin. :) I was even able to get some scrappin' done this afternoon when we got home. Great ending to a great day!

I was able to get 2 LOs done. The first I used Zoobaloo for the title, GS for the hydrant, paper that has been in my stash forever, and a page sketch from the CK website's archives.

The second LO I used epoxy stickers from Creative Imaginations (that I got for Christmas from DH) for all but the word "baby". "baby" is cut from CU on shorty mode. The paper was a gift from my lovely friend Tuki on the cricut mb. I would be lost paperwise with out her! I used another CK page sketch also- this one is from the January issue.

Hope Christmas was Wonderful!

2008-12-28T11:31:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! We spent Chrstmas eve at my In-laws. Gavin had a blast playing with his cousins. Christmas day was spent hanging at home playing with our new toys!! It was wonderful, relaxing, hang with the family time. I even managed to get 2 pages scrapped! They arent great pictures, but I am very happy with the way the pages turned out.

On the "Ride" page, the red paper is from DCWV's Old World Stack, the other paper is just open stock from Michaels. The boots are cut from PDDU. The letters are chipboard covered in CS then sanded and inked.

The "Absolutly Fearless" page is open stock paper from Beverly's. The title is cut from my brand new GS cart that I got for Christmas. (LOVE IT!!), star eyelets from Michaels and Orange Peel stickles on the cut under the picture (also from GS)

Stocking Swap Thank You

2008-12-28T11:05:00.000-08:00

I was involved in a Christmas Stocking Swap with my night owl buddies on the cricut message board. My partner was amazingly generous and I received a ton of wonderful goodies!! Of course she deserved a Thank You card, so I tried my hand at making one (I have said before Im new to the whole card business) and I am very happy with the way it turned out!

A Card to the East Coast

2008-12-22T19:26:00.000-08:00

I recently send a pile of pictures to some very good friends on the east coast. I didnt want them to go alone, so I made a quick card to send. I dont *love* it, but its alright. Thought I would share anyway-- The paper is from the DCWV Christmas Stack and "winter" is cut from SYI. Of course it needed some glitter- so I stickled with star dust stickles.

recipe swap- part 2

2008-12-09T09:59:00.000-08:00

I couldn't figure out how to load 2 pictures in one post and keep my text in line- so here is the angel page I did for the nite owls recipe swap.

Nite Owls Recipe Swap

2008-12-09T09:40:00.000-08:00

Its been a while since I have updated my blog... But since no one knows about it, I guess it doesnt matter much! lol. We have been very busy with Thanksgiving, Gavin's birthday, then his party... It goes on and on. But now that I have a few free moments- I wanted to post pics of the recipes for a swap I just did on the cricut message board with my wonderful nite owl friends. I am very happy with the way the first page turned out. The second was a last minute angel for someone who flaked on us- and its just ok. Sorry for the poor quality pics. My good camera is out sick and the old one had to fill in.

2008-10-23T23:11:00.000-07:00

I thought it only appropriate that the very first project I put on my very first blog- be my very first card! After several failed atempts at making a card, I finally completed one! I am very happy with how it came out and am looking forward to the next one!

I used just some generic CS I had, a MS border punch, AE for the large flower (it is 2 cuts layered together), ribbon from WM, and skittles that my wonderful MB friends sent to me :)

Hi!

2008-10-22T13:19:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my blog! I hope it will become a place for me to post layouts, cards, and other creations to share with my fellow message board members. My goal is for each project to be better than the last. And maybe, just maybe, I will one day be as inspiring to someone as all the MB members are to me! Thanks for looking!