A Kiss on the Chic

Be still and know that I am God.

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."
Deuteronomy 31:6

It's been a tough week and I know this verse gives me courage and hope it does for everyone today.  I can't seem to stop thinking of the girls at school today, even though the boy is not longer at school.  We found this out yesterday and are happy about that but I know the girls are having a hard time with lots of questions and upset kids.  I pray that out of this very difficult situation they have been put in, they will come out with STRENGTH, MORAL CHARACTER and KNOWLEDGE that will help them in their adult lives when they are on their own. 

I was up pretty late last night and made this mini journal/album for my daughter's friend.  I hope she likes it:

 

It's just a 4x4 album I made by cutting chipboard to that size and covering each piece with paper from the "Travel in Time" kit.

 

Then I cut some Clear Scraps acrylic to the same size and put an acrylic page in front of each chipboard covered page.

The inside cover had a little "cork" page that she can put a picture on or something else.   Then each acrylic page has a rub-on saying and some of the vintage trim from the May kit.  She can write some notes on the chipboard page behind this or put pictures of her friends.

Next page... "Believe in His Promise"

Next pages..."The Greatest Love"

Last page: "Answered prayers".

back cover.  All the items are from the May Travel in Time kit except the rub-ons. 

This little "mini album" is actually part of the May online class.  I show you how to work with Canvas and many different ways and this one I show you how to cover chipboard to make your OWN album!! 

Well, I'm working on my INSPIRED class still and have an appt. this afternoon at the APPLE STORE!!  woohoo, my 1st "one-to-one" class!!  I'm so Excited to start using my Christmas present! lol... I've been so crazy busy but today I'm switching over from a PC to a MAC!  Wish me luck...

Oh, I may be offline for a day, trying to get email switched over.  If you need to email me, just know I may not respond right away!

AND... if you're headed to the Scrapbook Expo in Del Mar tomorrow, come by and see me!  I'll be the one doing the Make-n-Take for Melody Ross' new Chip Art Tools!!  Can't wait to have some FUN tomorrow!!

Hugs,

Laura
  
 
 

 

Love, Tuesday...

Today I REALLY love these May kits!  And I'm having so much FUN looking at all the goodies in them!  I had my dear friend Cindy come over today and her daughter and while two of us were painting TONS of Maya Road Kraft Envelopes for this:

My class at INSPIRED...

The other two were bagging up the kits so I can mail them out!!

I still have to get the Travel Kit bagged up, but we'll try to get that done tomorrow.  I'm not sure if I can get the kits mailed out this week though.  I have a TON of things going on (some things I've talked about last week...)  and I've been asked to teach a Make-n-Take at the Del Mar Expo on Friday!  I'm thinking I'm going to say YES and just enjoy the day at the Expo playing with Melody Ross'  Chip Art & Tools!  

I have a few kits and some embellishments left ladies, so you still  have time before I mail all these kits out to do some shopping if you haven't already!  I'll try to update the TWO Pages later tonight so you know exactly what's available as of today.

Oh, I wanted to mention to check out the GCD Studio's blog !  They have some GREAT inspiration over there!  You should see some of the designs there team is coming up with and one of them is our very own Emeline!!!  Also, Heidi said she's going to post one more time with some of my designs, so go see some more eye candy over there, it will surely give you some inspiration for Aprils kit!!

Well, better get all this paint off of me before I start making dinner...

take care,

Laura 

Oh dear... I'm so bad at remembering RAKS!!!

The Winner of the May kit Reveal RAK is:

DINA K!!!

I'd say send me your address... but I already know it! lol :)-   I think you've bought about every kit I've ever made!!!  Congrats girlie!!!

Happy Monday!

What a FUN night last night!

The kits went like hotcakes and I only have ONE left of the "Portrait of Home" kits!  So make sure you grab that one ASAP if you want it!!

I think I have about 7 or 8 "Travel in Time" kits left so you can grab one of those too!  I'm actually thinking about using that kit for my travel journal.  I might try to come up with something before I leave  like last time.  Remember this journal from last years trip to Europe:

This was the from the July Travel kit last year!  What's so weird is I found one of these kits not that long ago in the "kit room".  I could have sworn I sold out??  I still have it and was thinking about keeping it, but it's so strange that I have one left??

Anyways, might be fun to use the Travel kit or maybe a combo of both kits for my journal...

So I wanted to share some more GREAT designs from the Design Team!!!  

Stacye DeWid just emailed me something she's working on and I though I would share!  She's still working on it but gave me some peeks:

A beautiful cover to an album.   So pretty and I see LOTS of Glimmer Mist on things... gotta LOVE that!!

I'll be sharing more of Stayce's work all this month!

Here's another layout from Melanie:

I LOVE all the little circle "bubbles" and how she handsticked around them!  Melanie always ROCKS the kits!!

I'll share more throughout this week so come back for more inspiration!

I'll also be trying my hand at the kits this week if I get a few moments to spare...  I'm going to also try to get these kits out by Friday and have a LOT of work to get that done!  So many orders from you ladies!!  But I'm not complaining... I'm so THANKFUL that you all want to come back time and again and buy my kits!

Which brings me to something I've been thinking about lately...

I want to make my kits more MEANINGFUL ...  I don't want it to just be a really great kit or just a bunch of "products" you get from me.  I know I've tried hard to search for VINTAGE finds and uniques things for the kits.  I think I've done that and will continue to do that...  But I want them to be though provoking...  I've thought about this over the last few weeks and am trying to figure out what that all means, but I think I'm getting tired of just creating to create... I want things to be CREATED for a reason!  For something that MEANS something to my family.  So I will continue to think about this while I'm away this Summer.  I want to come back with a fresh perspective and ideas on how to make this kit club more MEANINGFUL.

This really "hit me" today when I was talking to one Kit Club lady and she told me she bought my "Portrait of Home" kit for her daughter b/c she just bought her first home and she was going to make something to document that for her!  WOW... that really touched me!!  It's not just because that brings me SO MUCH JOY to know my kits are being used in such touching ways... But that is what I want to INSPIRE each time I make a kit!  So... just thinking out loud, but it's all good...

I'll leave you with a couple pictures from this past week.  The younger girls had some school activities that were FUN for them, so I documented that with some pictures.  of course...

Last week was "bubble games" (secret code for SAT's) and the last day they had "Hawaiian day"!  Isabella had quite an eye for dressing herself, ;)-  and this is what she came up with!

She was "posing" for the picture, so I told her to say "I LOVE CANDY"... that smile says it all!  hehehe... Boy I see Victoria in her sooo much.  Like Lance said, I only need to make one album and they can both share it b/c they are exactly alike in looks and mannerisms!

Rebecca had a "Sock Hop" on Friday night at school.  At first she didn't want to go, then she did and I didn't want to go! lol... So she talked me into dropping her off and picking her up.  I know, she's 11 now... But it's hard for me to let go and feel they are SAFE!   So, went through all the rules, made sure she had her phone charged, gave her exact instructions... and dropped her off!  YIKES, that's the 1st time I've done that with her and I didn't like it much!  Am I just being a over protective mom??  I know most kids her age are probably dropped off at the mall for hours!  She did fine and she's really the "responsible" kid anyways but mom didn't like it much...

O.k. going to ogle your kits while I package them up for you!! ;)-

Hugs,

Laura
 
 
 Oh, I'll announce the RAK winner tomorrow on the Love, Tuesday post!!  So get your comment posted down below!
 

Wow, they are going FAST!!!

You ladies ROCK and make me feel so GREAT about what I do every month!! 

Here's just a little of what the Design Team has been doing this month:

Melanie S. had the Travel in Time kit and I LOVE what she did with this circle paper from Pink Paislee!!

Here's another layout from Melanie!  Is this the cutest??!!  Oh my stars, I LOVE her little guy in the go cart!!!  and the little banners from Girl Paperie and the canvas banners from Canvas Corp... LOVE IT!!!

and Norma obviously had the "Portrait of Home" kit because she INSPIRED IT!!!  We'll have to get her to make something with the tags that started this whole kit going!!!  But this layout is stunning and she's such a cutie in the picture!!! ;)

Well, I'll keep some of their work a surprise and share all week!   Plus we'll have more layouts from our Guest Designer, Stayce DeWid real soon too!

Have fun shopping and are you checking out the May Add-on Page??

   

They're LIVE!!!

Have FUN and don't forgot to comment on the post below to win the RAK!!!

AND, remember there are TWO PAGES to look through of goodies...

May Kits!

and

May Add-ons!!

So much goodness I put it on 2 pages!!

Enjoy,

Laura

30 minutes to go!!

We are back from the beach and I'm almost ready to go with the kits!  My dear hubby had an urge to go down by the beach so we took a quick drive for lunch at Il Fornaio in Del Mar! Unfortunately, it was 80 degrees when we left our house and it was a cool and UN-sunny 63 degrees at the beach.  So much for walking on the beach with the girls...

But we had a great lunch/early dinner and I'm excited to be back in time for our 7pm REVEAL!!

I have one bit of bad news... my email is down!!  My dh took a look at it and has called his computer guy at work but for now, I don't think I'll be able to get your emails through [email protected] so please email me at:

[email protected] for any questions!!!

Remember there are going to be TWO PAGES of May kits and add-ons so on the left hand side <----- of this blog post at 7pm you will see:

May Kits! 

and

May Add-ons

Click on BOTH of these to order what you want!!

I'm also going to be doing a RAK that will be a some great goodies, so make sure you leave a comment on THIS post and tell me what you're MOST excited for in these May kits!!

I'll leave you with a few highlights from our day in Del Mar:

in heaven...

in goof ball land...

in princess land...

in giggle land (except for our poser Victoria ;)

in girly land...

in heaven...

gotta run... see you in a few minutes!!

Laura
 
   
 
 

It's late, but I'm doing the HAPPY DANCE...

I just got home from my mom & dads and it's been a long day but look what was on my doorstep:

Oh, I am SOOO doing the "Happy Dance" right now!!!  Webster's Pages on my front door... can't get much better than that!!  It's bad lighting but look at those "frills" and the "sparklers" and the fabric ribbon... Oh MY!!  Can't WAIT for REVEAL night tomorrow!!

Get some sleep ladies, you might be up LATE tomorrow night!!!

Hugs,

Laura 

I had a chance to CREATE last night!!

Just a quick pop in here to say I got a chance to PLAY last night and here's what I came up with:

This is with the "Portrait of Home" kit and some of the add-ons like the BRAND NEW Heidi Swapp Glimmer Mist in Cosmo!  Love that color!!

Also the BRAND NEW Tattered Angels/Heidi Swapp "Crepe Ribbon" which you are going to WANT!  This stuff is AMAZING as you heat it up with the embossing gun (or blowdryer) it crinkles up and you can add Glimmer Mist to it or all the new paint products from TA (not quite out yet, which is a bummer)

The lovely tags our Norma Kennedy made for me!!  She is so talented!!  She used several different colors of Glimmer Mist in a bowl and crinkled the tags, dipped them in the bowl and then added the chandelier and script stamp!  LOVE THESE and they are actually what originally INSPIRED this kit!!  {{HUGS}} to Norma!

You can also see a little peak of the Pink Paislee Artisan Elements that I sprayed some Glimmer Mist on as well and a Prima Felt embellishement that I cut up (used part of it on my  May Online Class DD Camera Bag) and put little pictures behind to peek out..

And the Teresa Collins HOME line that I cut out and made into a dimensional frame/title by folding the paper and adding some Pearl Paint and lots of Glimmer Misted flowers, burlap heart and vintage music paper flower I made with a vintage button in the middle.

So much FUN!

Well I hope your excited for the REVEAL, I know I am!!  I'm working hard to make deadline!!  We might be going to Palm Springs for lunch after church to meet up with the grandparents for a while.  I think that's cutting it pretty close though so will have to see how much I can get done today before we decide...

Have a GREAT Saturday everyone!

Remember, REVEAL of the May Kits is tomorrow night, Sunday the 25th at 7PM, PST!! 

Hugs,

Laura

Getting ready for Sunday!

First let me say THANK YOU to all you wonderful ladies who "have my back"...  The thoughts and prayers from all of YOU make me and my daughter feel much loved and protected!  She is at school today and so is her best friend and we are just continually praying for safety.  Some things have happened since yesterday and I think this may be "front page news" at school today even though the girls didn't talk about it at all!  They were fearful of what might happen because of this, so continuing to pray for them would be MUCH appreciated!

I am trying to get some work done in the mean time and working hard to get the kits up for Sunday's REVEAL!  This is definately a blessing to have something so exciting to focus on right now!  These TWO kits for MAY are just STUNNING!!  Did you see the ad at www.scrapscene.com ?  It's only for the HOME kit, but it talks about BOTH Main kits in the ad!  Make sure you go over there and leave a comment.  Angi is a doll over at scrapscene and I know she works hard too!  OH, the picture over at scrapscene does NOT include all the Webster's Pages Life's Portrait that will be in the kit so check out that link to see all the yumminess!!  I'm hoping to recieve that box by tomorrow and get an updated picture with the complete kit!!

The girls are working hard on getting some layouts for us and I will share those on REVEAL night!  Here's a few SNEAKS though from Melanie and Norma:

Here's a sneak from Melanie with the "Travel in Time" kit!  I LOVE how these colors are so great for boys/girls/travel/summer  and you name it!!  My kits are usually pretty "girly" so this one is FAB for those of you with all boys too!

Here's a SNEAK from Norma!  She is using the "Portrait of Home" kit and it's just GORGEOUS!!!

and here's 1 more SNEAK from Melanie S.  and YES those canvas banners are included in the kit!  They are GREAT and work really well with Glimmer Mist!!  I have about 6 new colors of Glimmer Mist that will be in the add-on section!

Speaking of Add-ons... I have a TON.  I mean more then I've EVER had before!!  I guess I went a little crazy and wanted to get everything that was available from CHA!  So I am going to have TWO pages on my blog with May items.  One will be called "May kits" and one with be called "May Add-ons"!  Make sure you check BOTH pages for the items you want to purchase!!

Remember, this is my LAST month of kits for a while!  I'm taking the entire Summer off so if you want something, get it NOW!!

Here's just a FEW items that are in the Add-on section:

Oh yeah baby!!  These things are HOT OFF THE PRESS people!!  And they are devine!  I am going to try and play with these over the weekend with some of the new colors of Glimmer Mist!  I'm thinking this one:

 which is Cosmo's and one of Heidi Swapps new colors!! 

and I HAVE to have some Prima goodness right?!!

O.k. ladies. I had my heart faint over these when I saw them at CHA.   They don't look like much here, but you WILL want them!  They are crepe "ribbon" , I'd say paper, but they are from Heidi Swapp and when you take the heat emossing gun they crinkle into such wonderful little beauties, it makes my heart sing!!  AND, throw some Glimmer Mist on them and I'm singing in the Clouds!! ;)-  Ya, I'm keeping some of these babies!!  They literally JUST came in to TA and we have them!! woohoo!!

O.k. fell in LOVE with this at CHA too and HAD to have it!  It's about 12' x 6" I think?  And its printed canvas with chipboard pages inside!  Now you know me, I may add a little bit more inside like some Clear Scraps acrylic, maybe even some Pocket pages??  or cover some of the chipboard pages in canvas??  I don't know but I think this may be my travel journal for Europe 2010!! 

Well, I could go on about 25 more times, but I have to get some work done before the kiddo's get home.  I'm so sorry your scrapbooking budget is going to be shot just at my Sunday Reveal alone!!  lol...  Maybe you can justify spending that much b/c you won't be buying any kits from me from June until September??  (just trying to help ya here ;)-

OH... I almost forgot to mention who the MAY Guest Designer is!!!

 

Stayce DeWid

She is so talented, I can't WAIT to see what she comes up with!  Stayce works with Tattered Angels, Prima Marketing, Creative Imaginations and I'm sure I'm missing some more!  So everyone make sure you give Stayce a warm welcome this month!

If I get some time to play this weekend, I'll share what I created on Sunday too. 

Sunday night is the HUGE REVEAL at 7pm PST!  Don't be late as these kits always sell out and they are such beauties this month, I'm sure they will again!

Tell all your friends to check them out!  I will also be doing a RAK on Sunday Night during the REVEAL so everyone will want to join in the FUN!

Hugs to all,

Laura
 
  
 

My "Be Brave Tree"

I've taken a few days off for some personal reasons and decided to take today to finish something I started last weekend with Isabella.  We were playing with some scrapbooking supplies and she wanted to make flowers.  While we were making this she told me "mom, we haven't played with scrapbook kits in a while and I miss that"...  "I'm going to make a really cute "kit" mom" {{heart melting}}

So she thinks when I'm scrapbooking it's a "kit"!  I find that funny and honest from a 5 year old who see's her mommy making "kits" ALL THE TIME! lol... 

So, today I finished OUR "flower pot" even though I'm calling it a "Be Brave Tree"

I've used the April kit's Melody Ross "Homespun Chic" line and some Clear Scraps acrylic flowers and just played with Isabella and came up with this!

Here's a close-up of some of it:

This may go up on the GCD Studios Blog next week but I felt it important to put it up here, now...

It's on my counter in the kitchen/family room to remind us to be BRAVE.  We are dealing with something VERY serious right now and that is the reason for taking a few days off.  I don't want to get into too much detail but a boy at school is threatening one of our daughters and her best friend in a most dangerous way.  The school is taking it VERY seriously now that I "persuaded" them to and I'm hopeful that things will be safe soon.   We can NOT take this lightly in these days of Columbine and guys like John Gardner who have no regard for life and even threatened he would kill someone when he was in school.  Please listen to what kids are saying and take it ALL seriously.  I ask for your prayers for protection of our girls, our families and the school. And parents, be BRAVE and stand up when things don't seem right!  Don't worry about upsetting anyone or making "too big a deal" about something; these are our children and we need to protect them at any cost.

Yesterday was such an emotional day and I just couldn't do anything.  I normally have sooo much to do every day I don't stop.  I don't sit down, I don't watch tv, I'm on the go constantly!  But I was so exhausted emotionally I guess that I went and laid down on my bed and ended up staying there for 3 hours!  I couldn't sleep, but I couldn't get up.  It was so weird but I guess my body was telling me to just STOP for a bit.  I did get up and get ready after that and felt much more "brave" afterwards and was sooo happy to get some boxes on my doorstep to cheer me up!!

Tattered Angels and Girl Paperie, THANK YOU for sending some {love} yesterday!!  I needed it...

So, want to see what was in the boxes??

SURE you do!

BRAND NEW   Heidi Swapp Tattered Angels goodies!!  Oh man, I wish EVERYTHING was ready but I'm still excited that I got some of the Crepe Ribbon (which you are GOING TO WANT) and the Cutouts too!  I also got some NEW Glimmer Mist colors and the NEW Glimmer Chips in the TRAVEL theme!!!  Oh man, can't WAIT to play with this stuff!  And wait until you hear who the Guest Designer is this month!!!  She is a talented lady for sure!

Oh, make sure you head over the Heidi's blog with the link above.  She's doing GIVEAWAYS everyday this week!!!

So the second box is:

Margie's Girl Paperie in her travel theme!!  Oh this stuff is FAB ladies!  Again, not everything is available yet but I did get the ever so wonderful brads and the CHARMS!!!  So I'm excited about this line.  I can't believe I've used both her lines in the last two months of kits but it's just WAY TOO FAB to miss out on it!!  I told you I feel in LOVE with this new company at CHA and I about passed out when I walked by the booth the day we were all setting up for the trade show!  I then went back and asked Margie if I could interview her for my CHA Diary and had so much FUN meeting her:

and talking with her about "life".  I think you can still see the webisode on Cropped still.  In fact, if you go to that link, you'll see the NEW video we did on Saturday for our MAY Online CLASS!

My daughter Victoria joined me on this class and we are making some GREAT canvas bags!   The class will show you not only how to make the bags, but about 7 different techniques you can do on canvas and it's a GREAT informative and FUN class!  Make sure you sign up soon!!  This will be my last Online Class for a few months while I take the Summer off!!  So check out the video with my daughter, even to just get a little chuckle out of it (ya, talking to you Ty ;)-

Well, thank you ladies for letting me share my life with you.   YOU all have been my #1 reason for continuing the journey in "blog land".  I LOVE this art form we're in but I {LOVE} this little "family" we are creating more!! And sometimes, well most of the time,  it's a GREAT journey but sometimes we all face trials and this one just needed to be shared as well.  I know we're not the only ones facing this.  If any of you have words of wisdom or encouragement, I'm sure my daughter and her best friend and myself would greatly appreciate it!

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Phillipians 4:13

Have a wonderful day!

Hugs,

Laura

   

  
 

Taking a few days off...

Be back on Friday with some SNEAKS from the May Kits and the REVEAL on Sunday night at 7PM PST!

Laura

Friday's RAK Winner...

Boy, I almost forgot!  I've been busy all day playing with CANVAS!  Tomorrow we are filming for May's Online class and I've been getting ready and coming up with some GREAT techniques for this class that I can't WAIT to share with you!

But I know you all want to know who won this weeks RAK...

So, the WINNER is:

Rebecca Clingan!!!

Congrats Rebecca, just email me your address and I will send that out when the May kits are REVEALED!!!

Speaking of May Kits, I have decided to REVEAL the May Kits on:

Sunday, April 25 at 7PM PST!!

This is only about a WEEK away so make sure you put this down on your calendar and get ready for a CRAZY night of SHOPPING!!  I have 2 KITS this month and some FAB ad-ons so be sure to be here right at 7PM on April 25th!!  If you are a regular kit club "shopper" and you will be out of town that night or unable to be here, just email me and we can work something out...

Have a GREAT weekend ladies!  I'm SUPER excited to share all my CANVAS fun with you so make sure you sign up for the May Online Class soon!  You can sign up Here 

Hugs,

Laura 

Happy Birthday!!

My one and only NIECE is turning 1 today!!  We are SO happy for her and her mommy and daddy!  They are such a TERRIFIC family and we were so blessed to be able to share some time with them last week!  We are sad we can't make Ella's birthday party this weekend and I even shed a few tears when I opened up the party invitation, but alas... we just live to far from eachother and what little time we get to spend together is a precious GIFT!!

SO, can you believe this little one...

that I remember introducing you to a year ago, has grown up

into this little girl!!??  How can time go by so FAST!  This was at my mom's house last week.  We decided to throw her a little birthday party while she was here in California and we gave her a little cake to have FUN with!  She wasn't sure what to do at first, but then she got the hang of it and boy did she like it!  Ty and Dawn don't give her sweets of any kind so this didn't taste good at first...  But then she liked it and boy, she didn't want to part with it! lol...

We had SOOO much fun with you Ella last week!  WE LOVE YOU and WISH you a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!  xoxo

and a  Happy "BIRTH" day to you Dawn!!  Remember what you were doing a year ago?  lol...

Well back to scrapbooking...

I have failed at showing you more designs from our talented Guest Designer, Heidi Sonboul so now is as good a time as any!!

This is a layout of one of her sisters and she used some more of the wonderful chipart and tools from Melody Ross  that I'm really going to have to buy very soon!

and here's another layout she did of her son and her dad!  I had asked her to try and and work some of the "boy" colors in this kit so people could see the versatility of my kits... Well, she just ROCKED it!!  I LOVE the huge picture and the title on top of it!!  

 

and another layouts!!  I think these are her nieces and her sister.  I love the serene colors of this layout.  Especially since this kit was so very colorful and yet, you really can get SOOO many looks out of it!  Thank you to Heidi for making such great examples for us!  I am going to try and go onto my website and update the March and April Gallery with all the DT work.  I know that's another thing I've been lax on lately... 

Oh, don't forget to check out the GCD Studios Blog for more GREAT examples with these Melody Ross products!  AND, I'm the Guest Designer for THEM, so you'll see some of my work over there!  woohoo!  In fact, I have 3 more layouts from this kit that I'm emailing Heidi today and you'll probably see on their blog next week!  Want to see a sneaky peak of just one??

  

oh, what the heck... here's some sneaks of the other 2:

FUN times!!  I'm going to see if I have time to work on this:

The Melody Ross Album kit!  I think I have 1 or 2 left by the way... It's a FABULOUS album and I just need to think of a theme before I start... Any ideas??

I'm not sure if I showed you this yet?  I'm loosing my mind so just ignore me if you've seen this already??

I think this was one of the things I couldn't show you yet... so you probably haven't seen it.  I made this with a Clear Scraps album and the new Dear Lizzy line by Elizabeth Kartchner. 

Here's a close-up of the cover...

 

I can show it now because it's not going to be a Clear Scraps class.  To get the "grass" at the bottom, I took some   Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink and dabbed a little on a 1" section at the bottom.  Then I took some EK Success paint pen and drew some "grass" over the inked area.  To make the tree, I cut out some cork paper for the tree trunk and then used the Sizzix to cut the top of the tree and again, used the Alcohol Ink.  I dabbed several times to get the darkness I wanted and the painted the edges with the paint pen and glue the 2 layers together!  I used all kinds of "Dear Lizzy" chipboard embellishments and layered the pages with papers, embellishments and wording to give it a "see-thru" look.

Well, I'm off to go spend some time PLAYING with Canvas!! 

Yes, the May online class with be a TECHNIQUE driven class that is working with CANVAS! I'm going to show you TONS of ideas!  I think I have about 7 - 10 techniques we will show you and this will be something you can do on ANY canvas!  We started off planning this Online Class with the Donna Downy Canvas Camera Bag.  But I wanted to make sure this class was something ANYONE could enjoy and do on a DD small camera bag, a DD large camera bag, a canvas album, a canvas apron... you get the point.. ANYTHING canvas!  So that's what were doing.  And guess you is joining me on my May Online Class??

  


 Yup, my daugher!  We figured since May is the month for Mother's Day, why not come up with something FUN that YOU can do with your kids!!  I know as we have teenagers it gets harder to find things  that they want to do with you, right??  Well, this class will be something you can do together with your kids and I think even the teenagers in your life will enjoy!  How many kids now days are into Facebook and photography and editing their pictures with www.picnik.com ?  I know my daughter is a budding photography as I've shown you before...

Well, how about we get our kids involved in this class with us!! So you will see what she creates with canvas and even some recycled things!!  And you'll see what I make and learn some GREAT techniques in the process!!  So come join the FUN!!  I think the link will be up in about an hour at:

http://www.virtueradionetwork.com/Cropped.htm

My April Online Class goes live at the same time and then you'll be able to sign up for the May Class!

One note:  The May Online Class will NOT have a class kit.  I thought about this a lot and decided to skip a kit and really have you ladies dig into your stash at home and use what you already have!  Now you may need to go purchase something canvas and we'll show you were to purchase a Donna Downy canvas item or other canvas albums out there, but the embellishments and recycled materials, I want you to find in your stash! 

We all know TAX TIME is HERE... ugh... and we are all on budgets these days, so lets see what we can make with our HUGS stash of stuff!  (I know you have a stash, don't kid yourself ;)-

So The Online Class Fee and a canvas item (if you don't already have one) will be all you need!!  Now I will have some flowers and items you may want to purchase for this class the night of my May Kit REVEAL, so you can get some things that night if you feel you need some pretty things! lol...

O.k. I'm off to go check out www.scrapbook.com and see if they have posted my "webisode" yet!  If you've seen it or do see it, let me know!!  I'm nervous and excited to check it out!!

Have a GREAT day everyone!

Hugs to all,

Laura

P.S.  Don't forget to leave a comment on this Monday's post for a chance to win a RAK of goodies from the May kits!!!

 

 

Love, Tuesday...

Well, I'm not sure how much I "love" this day... I've been working on my taxes ALL DAY (and yesterday)!  I know now that I could never be accused of being a "savy business women" b/c I really am terrible at keeping my business records!  Oh my, I'm sooo much better at the CREATIVE side of things!

But I'm done now, keeping my fingers crossed that I did it right, and moving forward!

Today, I thought I would share some SNEAKS of the May kits!!

So, to get YOUR creative juices flowing, here is the 1st SNEAK:

Oh, these colors together just make me HAPPY!  My FAV color is Red and the colors in all these goodies look GREAT together!  There's more coming (think Girl Paperie) and this kit is going to be PERFECT for your Summer pictures!!

Now, this next kit is so YUMMY, I just want to swim in all it's prettiness... (you know you've thought the same before ;)-

I know it's a SNEAK and it looks like a TON of things already, BUT, there is LOTS more to this kit!  There's things you can't see and things still arriving and I'm telling you, this kit is going to "Blow Your MIND"!!  I know this kit will sell out FAST, so be ready to get one if you LOVE IT!! 

I'm thinking on putting the kits up on April 25th.  That's the last Sunday of THIS month and I'd like to do them a little early again because I don't want to be stressing out right before I have to leave for INSPIRED. 

I will decide on the date by Friday and announce the REVEAL date when I announce the RAK winner.  So make sure you leave your comment on my last post here.  You will be entered to WIN a "grab bag" of goodies from BOTH of these kits above!!!

Oh, I'm getting excited about these kits and can't WAIT to play with them!!  I also have some GREAT ad-ons this month and thought I'd show you just a few:

O.k. how can you not WANT this album??  I fell in LOVE with it at CHA and I'm still drooling over it!  This Pink Paislee album is just ONE of the great items from PP that will be an ad-on this month!!

Here's a few more:

YES, they are HERE and ready to be played with!!  I have some of the frames in the kit, but these will be an ad-on!  Oh I can't wait to play with Tattered Angels paints and mists on these!! (yes, TA will be a part of the kit too!!)

These albums are the ones that their rub-ons fit perfectly on!  It's AMAZING on these and you really have a blank canvas to play with!  Check out the PP link above to their blog for some GREAT inspiration!

And don't forget some of my Etsy finds!!  These are so UNBELIEVABLE!!  My dear friend  Angela Harris , who happens to be in some Sommerset Magazine almost every month, has made these for us and they are so amazing with this kit!  They are handstamped on heavy, vintage book paper that looks like French or Italian script??  But there are several different images and ALL are just stunning!!  Thanks Angela!  She also made the little chalkboard tags I showed you last month and another tag I just had her do for us at the last minute b/c it just looked too PERFECT to pass up!! 

O.k. I hope I have created some EXCITEMENT for ya!  These kits are going to ROCK this month and good thing... because they will be my last for quite a while!  Make sure you're here on REVEAL night!!

Have a GREAT night ladies...

Laura  
 
 

 

Happy Monday, I'm back!

Wow, I can't believe how one week can go by so fast!  It's been almost a week since I last posted?  I think that's the longest I've been gone from the blog in FOREVER!

So much has been going on this last week I don't know where to begin?   It has been filled with such highs and lows, I'm still recovering...

I'll start with the GOOD though!  Easter was such a blessing, we had it at my mom & dad's and about 30 family members were there!  My brother and Dawn and Ella were able to come and visit and we just had a BLAST!  I really LOVE my extended family and to see all the little ones come together and get to know eachother, it just doesn't get better then that!

So here's LOTS of pictures to share:

Here's our whole family.  We don't usually get dad in the picture but we wanted a whole family photo this time!

Here's little miss Isabella posing again... You think she likes her picture taken??  hehehe... This is grandmas cross she always puts out at Easter.  Notice the birdhouse behind her?  My dad made that!  He was so good at wood-working and LOVED his hobby.  (I have one of these two, just not set up yet..)

Then all the "grammies" wanted a group photo of all the grandkids.  Try that one some time! lol...  So this is PART of them, we were still waiting for a few more...

You see the 1st picture isn't too bad... Well, then we added a couple more "short people" (my friend Sally Lynn calls her kids this and I think it's so funny ;)- and the FUN started... I have about 10 more pictures of this, but I think you can imagine the FUN...

We ended with a few straglers... lol  Victoria was SO loving all the little ones around.  She just adores her little cousins!

  


 Then we organized an Easter Egg Hunt!  Trying to round all the kids up and keep them in the house... not easy! (a few got away...)

Then we let them loose! 

And here they go!  The little ones are EXCITED, but I don't know if they know what they are supposed to do...

Well, he does!  I think he SCORED the 1st egg of the day!

and his little sister got the hang of it quick...

Now Isabella's an old pro at it! lol...  She's my last "egg hunter"..boo-hoo...  The older girls didn't want to participate!  fancy that?? hehehe  (they sure wanted to snag candy out of Isabella's basket though!)

Then there was Ella.  Her 1st Easter!!  She wasn't really into the egg hunt, in fact daddy had her on his lap for most of it...  Then we got her involved and mommy had to show her the "ropes"...

"Look, there's an Easter Egg... go get it!"

"I don't know what it is, but O.k. mommy, I'll check it out"...

"This thing doesn't do it for me... "

"Hey daddy, what I do with these???"

"Well, I'll just sit her and look cute and maybe someone will show me..." lol...

Oh, that was fun!  Our little Ella was such a JOY to be with!  She is ALMOST walking and her 1st Birthday is THURSDAY!!  Wow, it seems like she was just a newbie!  We SOOO wish we lived closer to them so we could visit more often! 

Ty and Dawn actually came out because of my brothers friends wedding that Ty officated at.  We were just glad there were here for Easter and we also celerbrated Ella's birthday!  We came back and hung out with them on Tuesday (and I have a TON more pictures but I'll share those a later time).  We had fun just hanging out for the day with them and the girls LOVE playing with little Ella!  Rebecca is such a GREAT little baby helper and I know she was REALLY upset after we left.  So hard to be so far from our loved ones...

Ty and Dawn left on Wednesday and I guess had quite a terrible plane ride home and then Ty got sick when he got home.  And with Ella getting Croup while in California, I don't think they'll be coming back any time soon...  

Then my mom & dad got sick (we think it's all something they ate) and on Thursday my dad went to the Emergency room!  His health has been failing for the last few years, but it's really showing lately.  He's been making way to many trips to the hospital and it's been hard on my mom trying to take care of him and take him to all his doctors appointments.  The doctors were even surprised that she has been the only care-taker for him up till now.  He is recovering right now at a Nursing home (which is REALLY hard on my mom) and hopefully will be home on Tuesday.  They are looking at other options for in-home care but it's been a hard week for all of us to come to terms with dad maybe not being here for too much longer.

It's one of the reasons why I've had to re-think some decisions or plans for this year.  I've been struggling with one in particular...

CHA Summer is SO MUCH FUN and I've been excited about going for a while now.  CHA is so CREATIVE and INSPIRING and I just LOVE IT!  But it's only a couple weeks after we get back from Europe, it's right in the middle of the Summer, when the girls have things they want to do.  Victoria needs to get her license and needs some driving time.  And I just felt like I needed to be home more this Summer for my mom.  But I WANTED to go so bad...  (do I sound like a baby yet?)  I know you've had these decisions where you WANTED to do something so bad...but you had so many other things making you stress out about it...  But when you make the RIGHT decision, you just feel so much better?

Well, that's what happened after I emailed the two people I was supposed to teach for at CHA Summer, and they both emailed me back and said "NO PROBLEM"... we understand!!  Whew... that is a weight off my shoulders, I tell you!  I still feel sad that I can't be there with all my friends... and I can't teach at CHA, and I can't see all the CREATIVE ideas in one room... and I won't be able to do the CHA Diary,...But I know this is the right decision and I'll be fine.  You'll see me at CHA Winter for sure!!

Wow, this is getting to be a "book" again...

A few more things to share and then you can stop reading... (if you haven't already ;)-

Remember that "webisode" that I did while I was in Arizona with www.scrapbook.com ?  Well, they emailed to say they will be airing it on April 15th!!  I'm SUPER excited and I hope (fingers & toes crossed) that it turns out o.k...  But you will be able to see it THIS THURSDAY on their website, so I hope you go check it out!!
 
 

I had so much fun filming it with them and they are SUPER nice and professional there, (notice their camera room) so I'm excited to share my project with everyone this Thursday!!

Another project I had FUN doing is the April Online Class!

I think TODAY is the LAST DAY TO SIGN UP!!!  So if you haven't signed up, go here so sign up TODAY!  I think I have a few more class kits left too!  And Judith from Cropped Online is coming to my house this Saturday to film the MAY Online class!!  This one is going to be a HUGE class and you are NOT going to want to miss it!  We'll have all the details for the May class coming soon...  It will be my LAST class for a few months, so make sure you sign up for that one too!  I'm taking a couple months off from the Online classes b/c of our Europe trip, but will be back in the Fall with more!

And lastly for now... the MAY KITS! 

As I've said before, these May kits are also going to be the last for a while.  I'm taking the Summer off again, so make SURE you get one of the May kits before they are gone because I won't have any more for quite some time!!  You'll need to get your "A Kiss on the Chic" kits stocked up so you'll have them over the Summer to play with! ;)-   They will ALSO be the last for a couple design team ladies...

I'm sad to say goodbye to Emeline Seet and Norma Kennedy!  They are both leaving the Design Team and really have picked the perfect time to do so.  I HATE to see them go, but they both have VERY busy lives and have both decided to slow down on some of the things they are doing.  I TOTALLY understand that and wish I could actually DO that too! lol... I know I told you back last year I was going to SLOW DOWN on the kit club and get back to basics...  I'm still trying to do that and I think over the Summer break, I will be able to do that.

So say goodbye to Norma and Emeline when you get a chance.  They are still DEAR friends and I know they will check in here now and then to see what we are up to!  Melanie is staying on for now, even though I KNOW she is crazy busy too!  Did you hear she got on the Creative Imaginations DT?  She has just EXPLODED the last year with creative juices!!  I'm not going to replace Norma and Emeline for now.  Like I said, it's a perfect time for the ladies to make an exit because May is my last kits for a while.  When I get back from Summer break, I will re-evaluate what I want to do about a Design Team.  Who knows... maybe some of you will get a chance to come on board!!  A design team call might be FUN again!

Oh, just a reminder... One of the May kits was INSPIRED by our dear NORMA, so I'm sure she is going to ROCK that kit for us!! 

I will be having 2 MAIN kits for May and I thought I would share a few SNEAKS!!! 

But alas... that will have to wait until TOMORROW!

( I'm seriously not trying to be mean... I went to take the pictures of the kits and my battery is dead... and Victoria's battery is dead!  So I'm charging them now and I'll share the SNEAKS on my Love, Tuesday post.)

To make it up to you, I thought I'd do another RAK!!!

The last RAK I did was for an ad-on from Aprils kits, so this time I think I'll do a RAK for a "grab bag" from BOTH of May's kits!!

Just leave a comment on THIS post and tell me what your Summer plans are!  I LOVE to hear what everyone is doing, so that will be FUN for all of us to share!  I'll announce the WINNER of the RAK on this FRIDAY!!

Good luck and have an AWESOME day!

Hugs,

Laura

 
 

  

 

Love, Tuesday...

I'm taking the day off to spend it with this little girl:

We had such a good time with all the family on Easter Sunday!  We had about 30 people at my moms and it was so GREAT to see all the little cousins playing and finding Easter eggs!

I have TONS of pictures to show you, and probably LOTS more from today, but I'll share one of just our family at my moms:

Yes Cindy, we've had WAY TOO MANY pictures taken on this swing at my moms... lol... 

Hope you all had a WONDERFUL Easter and are enjoying some time off with the family!

Hugs to all,

Laura

 

2 more boxes have arrived...

Two more boxes just came and I'm just giddy about them!  Do you see who they are from??

Pink Paislee!!

I know the April kits are just arriving but I can hardly stand to wait until May for next months kits!!  And, since May's kits will be my last for quite some time, I am going ALL OUT on these!!

Take a look a what is just at the TOP of these boxes...(I will keep some things a suspense...)

Canvas albums!!  Artisan Elements!!  Ribbon Pleats!!  Flip Notes!!! Cork Buttons!!!  Oh my... I feel I may have to keep all these to myself... ;)-

No.... not really.  But I will have some time to play with these for a while!!

Sweet dreams ladies...

Laura
  

We have LIFE because of Christ!

Happy Good Friday!

I have often wondered why we call today "Good Friday"

I mean I know that it is a GREAT day, it is THE day because this day marks the day that Jesus suffered and died for our sins!  But I also know what he had to SUFFER and it brings me to tears to think of what he did for US, for ME, for EVER SINGLE person that has ever lived and will ever live! 

So I started looking on Google (don't you just love that information is at our finger tips for ANYTHING at all!?)  I found this at www.associatedcontent.com :

Although innocent of all sin, Jesus suffered the most horrible and disgraceful punishment know at the time of his death, crucifixtion.  This form of death was reserved for only themost lowly of man.  His agonizing death provided that we shall all be forgiven of our sins and have eternal life!

John 3:16,17
(16) For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (17) For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

Have you seen the this short clip set to music from the Passion of Christ:

Please know this is not for tender eyes!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZbTvuyj5Os 

or this video:

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I've heard they have a PG-13 version of this movie.  I think the two older girls are old enough to see this and we all NEED to see this movie.   O.K...  I just did some research on this and I've heard that The Passion - Recut is the movie they re-edited and took out 5 minutes of the most graffic violence.  It is now sold under the name The Passion of the Christ - Definitive Edition.  It's sold here .  The movie was filmed in Italy and I was looking on google and even though this isn't related to the movie,  I found this image of the Colosseum in Rome where each year, they do a "Way of the Cross" procession in rememberence of Good Friday:

here's another:

This is interesting to me for several reasons, but I won't go into that.  I do remember when we were in Rome and went inside the Colosseum we were struck by this:

 

Lance took this picture from above in one of the many hallways, but you can see the image of the CROSS is actually the walkway over the labyrinth of passageways and holding areas where they kept the animals and CHRISTIANS that were about to die a very gruesome death...  I remember this place was very sobering to me and we even cried through this tour thinking of the torture these people went through and the cost of "entertainment"?? 

Here we are (back in 2002) inside the colosseum listening to the English version of the tour on those "phones".

They have a cross inside the Colosseum in rememberence of those who died here.  The girls were little but still understood what happened here and wanted their pictures taken by the cross.

And to lighten the mood, here's one of us in front of the Colosseum before we went inside.  Notice Rebecca is singing...

She was singing "That's Amore" by Dean Martin!  Don't they look so small??  I can't believe we traveled the WORLD when they were just 4(Rebecca was actually 3 when we left) and 8 years old! 

What an amazing adventure we went on!

Well, before I go I wanted to share a couple more things...

I don't know if I can put 2 YouTube video's on the same post, but this one is so moving I have to show it!  This video is of an INCREDIBLE father and his relationship with his son.  It is such a beautiful reflection of what our Heavenly father has done for us:

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if this doesn't work, go check it out here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJMbk9dtpdY

You can find out all about this story on Team Hoyt 

So getting back to GOOD Friday... today I am feeling sooo many different emotions... 

 

But I will REJOICE in all of them,

and my prayer is that you will too.

I will leave you with a poem by Elizabeth C. Clephane

Beneath the Cross

Elizabeth Cecilia Clephane

BENEATH the Cross of Jesus, I fain would take my stand, The shadow of a mighty rock Within a weary land; A home within the wilderness, A rest upon the way, From the burnng of the noontide heat, And the burden of the day. Upon the Cross of Jesus, Mine eye at times can see The very dying form of One Who suffered there for me. And from my smitten heart, with tears, Two wonders I confess, -- The wonder of His glorious love, And my own worthlessness. I take, O Cross, thy shadow For my abiding-place; I ask no other sunshine than The sunshine of His face: Content to let the world go by, To know no gain nor loss, My sinful self my only shame, My glory all, the Cross.

 

Happy GOOD Friday!

 

Hugs, Laura

 

NOTE:  I can't seem to get the video's to work, just click on the links if you want to see them.

Easter Hat Parade!!

First, Happy April 1st!!  And no April's Fool from me today... Just a lot of FUN pictures!  Sound good??

So, I can't remember any of my other girls doing this, but today Isabella had an Easter Hat PARADE through her school!  It was soooo ADORABLE and I got to be the official "scrapbook mom" and take all the pictures!  So, 300 pictures later, here are just 8 of my FAV's...

The hats all on their desks before they started the parade...  You can see Isabella's in the middle of the picture. It's the pink one with NOT much on it...  I gave her LOTS to "embellish" her hat with but this is what she wanted!  (that's hard for a creative momma, but I withheld my opinion ;)-  Some of these kids/parents went ALL OUT and it was so much fun to see all the creative ideas!!

It was a little chilly, so she kept her sweater on...  No rain today though like they've been telling us for the last week!

Off they go done one of the hallways.  They went into EVERY classroom, did a little circle around the class, came back out and repeated it... through the WHOLE SCHOOL!  It was so cute to see all the kids be so proud of there hats and say "Happy Easter" and wave just like they were in a parade!

 Check out the smiley face hat!  He's such a cute little boy in Isabella's class and he was so proud of his hat, he wanted me to take a picture of it and show him! 

going outside into the other classrooms...

 

No rain in site... just what we were praying for during our PARADE...

 

Back in class and a still "chirpy"... lol...

The cross was made the day before with a flower from every kid at school.  They talked about the Easter story in chapel and each kid got to go up to the cross and they put a flower in it!   LOVE IT!

So that was fun and now we are officially on Easter Break!

And look what I got when I got home...

3 BOXES!!  Nothing like a FUN mail day...

Want to see a SNEAKY PEAKY??

sure you do!

BOX #1:

PRIMA!!  Yeah... take a look at those pretty flowers! 

BOX#2 is Product Performers and they have ALL KINDS of goodies!  You can't see all of it, but this is a SNEAK at the May Kits for sure!!

Box#3 was just some papers for the Online Class and some brads for May, nothing special...

So I was telling you that I would show you some GREAT designs from our Guest Designer this month,  Heidi Sonboul and boy, she doesn't disapoint for sure!  This girlie has SOME TALENT!!

Take a look at some of what she created with my April "Ladies of Spring" kit:

Isn't this adorable!!  This is one of her nieces.  Check out the Chip Art she added to the layout!  This is also a new product from   GCD STUDIOS and  Melody Ross !

here's a close-up:

Now ladies, it's hard to find this new product from Melody Ross but Heidi told me you can get it here on Home Shopping Network and it's a GREAT deal!  I'm not sure how long they will have it up there, so grab it NOW if you want it!  I know Melanie S. bought this and we'll have to have her show us what she's done with it!!  I played with is at CHA during the little make-n-take they had and it was so much fun and really brought out the CREATIVE juices in me! hehehe...

Here's another thing she created with this new tool and kit:

 Isn't this so CREATIVE!!

Here's a close-up:

O.k. I'll show you more of her designs next week!  For now, do me a favor and go check out the GCD Blog ! 

Guess what... I'm the Guest Designer for GCD for April!!  I'm SOOOO Excited!  This is my 1st Guest Design job!! Yup, you'd think I'd have done this before but no... and I'm GIDDY with excitement about this!  I plan to CREATE all month but go check out what Heidi put up today, you will CRACK UP!!  Seriously, Heidi had me about peeing in my pants this morning... 

Well, I hope all of you have a GREAT Easter with your families!  

I'm going to mail out all the new orders I got over the last day or 2 and then I'm taking a little break so I can spend this Easter Break with my family.  I know a lot of you may have family that is traveling to visit you just like us, so let's all keep them in our prayers for safe travels!  We are SO excited to see Ty and Dawn and baby Ella!!  The girls are all wrapping presents and writing cards for her and you KNOW I'll be taking a TON of pictures to share with you too!

 Hugs to all,

Laura