Bye-Bye June...

Yes, it is the last day of June! Can you believe it? Me either! So, since July is tomorrow, I thought I better get crackin' on that list that I posted earlier this month. One of the things on that list was to get a handle on the stacks... and I mean stacks of layouts that I have sitting on my desk. 

How many do you think there are? Leave a guess here, and I will send the closest person a little prize! :] Honestly, at this point, I don't even know how many are here. 

But, when I was sorting through these, I found a few layouts that I honestly just love. This first one is a layout of my nephew a few years ago. It features some paper from Imaginisce. I took these pictures on his brother's first birthday party, and as you can see, he kinda stole the show. 

The title I cut out of some coordinating patterned paper, using an outline stamp as a guide. Then I added glossy accents to give it a "watery" feel. I really liked how it turned out. 

This next one features one of my favorite all time lines from Cosmo Cricket, Cogsmo. You can see the fabric that will be coming out soon a few posts below. I love this line. It screams little boy to me. 

Matteo had just started to play with cars and trucks when I took these pictures. It seems so funny now that he didn't have any hair. It seems that once I cut it, it won't quit growing! 

One thing that I love about Cosmo Cricket is that they have so many great chipboard pieces that can be layered to add dimension to your pages. I don't know how great this shot is, but this little robot has several layers to him. Isn't he so cute?

This next one was a sketch that Syliva did, when she used to have a store. She was amazingly talented. This one is Doodlebug designs paper. The color's were wonderful for the pool. I love this layout because it was Matteo's first day at swim lessons. He loved it so much, but boy oh boy has he changed. He was so timid and unsure of his abilities. Look at how sweet he is... aha. 

The stitching on the bottom was done by hand and I added a few little fish to pull it all together. See here. 

This layout was completed not too long ago, but obviously hasn't made it to an album yet. It was in the stack! (Now it is in an album.. yeah!) I got this idea from a layout that was in a magazine, by the lovely Lisa Truesdell, a.k.a. gluestic girl.  I loved how she folded the paper back to show both sides. 

And I loved the little felt flowers by American Crafts. I don't use flowers that much, so I was happy to be able to use these!

This layout was one that I did a while ago too. I used mostly Scenic Route for this layout. This was Matteo's first trip to the river... although, we didn't go anywhere near it! We did have a picnic in the park and enjoyed some great people watching. The river here is so fantastic and always draws a crowd when the weather is warm. I loved that Matteo left his glasses on all day. He now actually demands them when the sun it too bright. 

I cut these arrows out of paper to bring the eye around the page. I thing it worked pretty well. 

 Then for the title, I just used some stamps and a bit of colored pencil to make then pop. Not to hard at all. 

And for the last one today... I love this paper. I think I have used this line several times already. It is super cute! Again it is by Cosmo Cricket. It is their Jack's World line, but in my mind it is Matteo's World ;] This was right before we cut his hair for the first time. 

It was his first time on the "big boy" swings. So I thought this title was fitting... 

And yes, he did fall off!  Mom was just trying to get a good picture! Poor kid. 

So, that is my stack. Check that off the list! Yeah! Now how many more things do I have that are on that list! Yikes! Don't forget to leave a comment with your guess, I promise to send something fun! 

And as always, Thanks for stopping by. 

Checking...

So, I once again am having some issues with blogging and using my computer correctly. I have now learned that it is ME! I have no idea about all this computer stuff. I just want to turn it on and have it work. Kinda like the car, put the key in, turn it, and away you go... right. So here I am going to post just a cute picture of the little one to test this out... 

Okay, it probably doesn't look any different on the reader end, but Sharie just made my life soooo much easier! (And you get to see how cute my little one is in a tree :) Thank you so much! It worked! Thank you so much Sharie! 

No catchy title today...

So, not much is happening today that gives me a fun and catchy title use, so that becomes the title. heehee... Dad went to play Soccer this morning, but we (or I) decided to stay home as it is so stinking hot here. We are supposed to be 98 degrees today. I am missing our Spring, mainly because we didn't really have one this year. We went from rain, rain, rain to hot as H@*# in a week. And we don't get rain here! This is Nevada Ms. Mother Nature! Oh well, Summer is here and going strong now.

So here is a layout that I did a while back, but I don't think that I ever posted it. I love these pictures of Matteo. I think they are actually from last year about this time. This is when his love for balls began. They make him so happy. It really doesn't matter if they are Soccer, Tennis, Basket, or Baseballs, he loves them. He is really into Baseball right now. We are going to a game later on, which he will love. He has been talking about it since the last game (about 2 weeks ago). He keeps saying, "Baseball game morrow". So stinking cute. Anyway, here is the layout.



Here is a close up of the title. I used a pen to give the Thickers a little personality.


And then I mirrored the "dot-dash" look around the scallops from the Thickers.


On another note, we have been doing a ton of yard work lately, and Matteo is quite the little helper. Here is a second layout showing him "helping" Daddy.


I love this stamp. It is such a fun way to document the little things that we... (I) so easily forget at the milestones in his life.


And a quick shot at the title. I love these Ali Edwards stamps. They are great ways to add a little "hand written" touch to a title.


Well that's all for today. Maybe I will finish this layout that I am working on and show it tomorrow. And I will try to get a cute shot of the boys at the game tonight. As always, Thanks for stopping by.

Ahhh Summer...

I can't believe that June is over! I feel like I am just getting the hang of this Summer thing with a two year old! Ha, I don't think I will ever get the hang of a 2 year old. Who am I kidding? Anyway, it is really beginning to feel like Summer around here. We have had so much rain this past month, that it just hasn't felt like Summer yet. Oh, and I mean a TON of rain. We broke our record for the most rain that was set back in 1912, and this is Nevada... you know, the desert. We don't get rain here. I do have to say that my plants are very happy though. :]

So in celebration of 90 degree Summer days, we broke out the Popsicles! Matteo was loving it. My favorite part was the little man with nothing but his jean shorts on. So super cute. Here is one of my favorites.


Also, we have spent some time down at Grandma Goonies house this Summer. They have a great orchard with tons of fruit in it. We were able to pick some of the cherries, and Matteo was in heaven. Isn't he the cutest?



Can you tell that I love him without his shirt in just jeans?

And here's a layout with some of the Popsicle pictures. I used the Snorkel line from Cosmo Cricket. The colors are amazing.



Well that's all for today. Have a great Friday, and Thanks for stopping by.

A fabulous find...

I know I haven't been around in a bit, I have been working on my list from before. Oh, and I added something new to the list. I am taking a quilting class. I have made quilts in the past, but I want to learn how to do it the "right" way. Unfortunately, I have been told there is a "right" way," so my Eclectic style doesn't work so much for quilts. hee hee. Oh well. 

I have been surfing through some of my favorite blogs lately and I found this....

New List...

Okay, so I am a list girl. I make lists for everything, except the grocery store (which of course makes no sense what-so-ever!) Anyway, now that Summer is here, I have a ton of things that I want to do. So I thought that a great way to get them done would be to make a list. Here are a few things that I want to get done this Summer. 

1. Begin taking Matteo to Toddler Story time at the local library. (We have gone before, and he loved it.)

2. Finish the back-yard. Once it stops raining. We are almost at the 100 year record around here. I think it was set back in 1912 for 12 consecutive days of measurable precipitation. 

3. Take a Photoshop class. I finally have the program, but I have no idea how to use it! :(

4. Walk more

5. Along with #4... loose the last bit of baby weight that keeps hanging on.

6. Finish organizing my scrap space. It is crazy, I got a good jump on it, and then I just stopped. I think I got so busy, that it just got sidelined. 

7. Read more. I enjoy this so much, but it too takes time. 

8. Scrap more. 

9. Take a photography class. The girls at Studio Calico have been talking about a few lately, so I might have to sign up for one of those. 

10. Spend more time with the hubby. It seems like life just gets so busy sometimes that there just isn't enough time and before you know it, it's midnight! 

11. Get the garden in the ground. Right now I have a pot garden. It works, but I want it in the ground. 

12. Clean my car! I mean really clean my car. It is a disaster! It needs to be cleaned on the inside and the outside. Can you say "yuck"?

13. Cook more at home. I don't do this nearly enough. Sometimes it just seems pointless because my DH is always working and it is just me and Matteo. 

14. Get my stack of layouts in albums. I think I must have 30 layouts in a stack on the side of my desk. They are in desperate need of a page protector. 

15. Go camping. We did this last year when Matteo had just turned 1, and he loved it. It is such a fun and inexpensive way to spend some "quality" time together. 

So, just a few things to get me started. What do you have planned for this Summer? Anyone have any suggestions for my list? I would love to hear some. Let me know. 

And as always, Thanks for stopping by. 

June... Ack!

Unbelievable! I always remember people saying that when you get older, the time goes faster, but seriously! It seems more like my week only has 3 days in it... The other 4 just disappeared. I need to get a handle on this here. The only good thing is that school is almost out for the summer. Yeah! Although, I will be seeing kids for ESY (summer school). This year it is only for 4 weeks though. I wasn't going to do it this year, but we are going to Disneyland in July, and every little bit will help. I think it will be worth it. 

We have been working in our yard and trying to get it all together. Matteo has been helping me, as we are trying to have a garden this year. We have been trying to get tons of veggies and fruit growing. So far, it looks like we will have... cucumbers, tomatoes (cherry, Roma, early girl, and yellow), pumpkins, yellow squash, bell peppers (red, green, and yellow), strawberries, broccoli, cauliflower, basil, chives, oregano, parsley, watermelon, honeydew, and the celery is still keeping me guessing. Not sure if it is coming up or not. Wow, that really is a lot. (laugh)Oh yeah, we also have an apple tree. Makes yummy apple pies! Hopefully, we will be able to share with some local food banks and shelters. 

Here are a few pictures of my little helper getting things going. 

He loved this. 

I will have some pictures to show our garden in the next few weeks. We are working really hard at getting the sprinklers up and running so, it will stay alive once it's all in the garden. Thank you honey! :] 

Well, it's off to bed for me. My new love a.k.a. World Without End by Ken Follett is calling me. Just started it yesterday, but just like The Pillars of the Earth, it has me line, hook, and sinker! Here is a cute picture of Matteo reading his favorite book ("Mickey Book"). Actually, anything "Mickey" is a favorite right now.  Isn't he just the cutest! 

Well, thanks for stopping by. Have a great night!