A Mother is......

If you've noticed all the hallmark and flower commercials popping like crazy now, you've probably realized that Mother's day is just around the corner. Can you believe we're a day away from May? Still shocks me at how time flies!

Well at Get Sketchy this week, our theme was all about paying tribute to our dear Mothers through pretty cards. :) Here's my take on the sketch...

A Mother is

This week (GS #36) we had two sponsors- Glue dots and The Cutting Cafe. I used a digi image from Cutting cafe as my title block and also for the inside dedication.


I used a ruffled trim to create my flowers. I used a big glue dot, wrapped the ruffles around it and cut the ends. Then I poked a brad in the center. Warning: since the whole thing is being held by a glue dot, you might want to use a paper piercer to make a hole for your brad, and make sure you clean the piercer right away to get all the glue gunk out of it. *wink*

I used another digi image/sentiment from The Cutting Cafe for the inside of my card.

Come check out what the other ladies made with the fabulous sketch for this week and play along. The prizes are always great.

Till next time,
Grace

Random four (March and April editions)

If you have followed my blog for a while, you know that I attempted to start a new way of documenting the little things in my family's life with a monthly post called "random 4". I wanted to quickly list 4 things that each family member was into that month.

I was doing well for the first two months and then everything kinda fell all over the place when news of the family business closing.

I still wanted to continue this documentation so I'm cramming both March and April into one edition today. I feel that if I focus on the good things that are going one, the bad ones will seem easier to bear.

Ok so here goes....

Mitch


1. His body, mind and soul is focused on getting the shop finalized. I feel so bad for him because he is so disheartened about the whole thing.
2. He is also busy keeping up with his two callings at church (Sunday school teacher and Elder's Quorum second councilor)
3. He continues to do p90x (on those days that he has some spare time)
4. He is strong in his faith (and I admire him for that)

Grace

1. March and April came in and out like a blur to me. It was a time to reflect on my faith and ability to take courage despite of trials.
2. I am so wanting this right now. I know this is the least of my concern right now but some type of normalcy brings me hope.
3. Reading this.
4. I have packed up most of my scrapbook supplies and working with bare minimums after years of having everything out for me to play with has become a struggle. But I'm dealing with it. :)

Marcus

1. Because of everything that has transpired, Marcus no longer does Karate. I was surprised that he was not sad at all about this.
2. Is working really hard at school.
3. Has become very addicted to his Nintendo DS. Something that him and I fight about all the time.
4. He has become very talkative. During Spring break, I spent a lot of time with him and I've noticed that this boy likes to TALK! He talks about his DS game, his never ending desire to have a pet and his concerns about our move/transition.

Maddie

1. This girl is addicted to playing games online. Every time I'm on the computer, she's right there asking me if it's her turn to play. Her favorites- PBS kids, Build a bear, tinkerbell and playhouse disney.
2. She has made major strides at school. Her teacher enjoys her artwork because she really takes her time to make it perfect. She even amazed everyone at school when she knew some rainforest animals that the other kids didn't know about.
3. The sassiness continues to live on. She carries her emotions on her sleeve. Enough said!
4. Her prayers are definitely sweet to hear. I love that she takes her time and think about what she really wants to tell her Heavenly Father about. I love that the simple gospel teachings like eternal families and Christ's sacrifice for us has stuck with her.

the pictures above were all taken one Sunday morning before church. We each had our Easter outfits on.

and here's the whole gang......

It would've been perfect have it not for all the cables in the background. Note to self- do a sit down family photo next time. :)

Have a great day everyone and till next time,
Grace

Bike Parade

Tomorrow is a field trip day for my daughter's Mommy and Me preschool class. The class are going to a local park to play, feed the ducks and ride their bikes.

This reminded me of Maddie's school's bike parade last year. Here's some pictures put on a layout....

Bike Parade

I posted this page on the Clear scraps blog along with some more info on it and a few techniques I did with the acrylic frame and chipboard flowers. Head on over there today to learn more.

Oh and Clear Scraps is hosting the "easiest contest" ever this week. All you have to do is become a follower of the blog and fan in their facebook page. Click here for more info. A cool prize is up for grabs!

Have a great day everyone.

Till next time,
Grace

Crazy Daisy May sneek peek

I still can't believe that April is almost over. In my head, I feel like it's still just March and yet here we are with April almost over and May is just at the doorstep.

Speaking of May, how about a sneek peek of what Crazy Daisy has instore for their kit in May.....



nice huh?!

I can't wait to see these products in real life.

Oh and Crazy Daisy has one very inspiring (and famous) guest designer for May..... Stacy Julian........the Stacy Julian!!!! How freaking cool is that!

For more info about the kit and Stacy Julian, read here.

Thanks for stopping by.

Till next time,
Grace

got a favor....

Happy Monday everyone.

How do you guys feel about Mondays?

Is it a drag? a disappointing ending to a great weekend? or do you feel rejuvenated and ready to tackle another week?

Well for me it's always resonates "renew" and "refresh". Something about the beginning of another week brings optimism for me. It helps me know that whatever craziness the last week was, this week will be different. Hopefully a "good" different, nonetheless, different.

Anyways, got a big, huge, large favor to ask of you, my wonderful blog readers....

Over at Get Sketchy challenge blog, all the design team members got to play with some Creative Charms products. I enjoyed playing with them and you need to check out their blog. There's a bunch of inspiration to be had there. Anyways, we made cards using their products and the best part, if people like our projects enough, we can win a gift card from their store. How cool is that!

I know it's too much to ask but the way the contest runs is through voting. So that's where you, my lovely, oh so loyal blog readers come to play..... if you are so inclined to come visit the Get Sketchy blog today and vote for me (the voting is on the left top side bar). If you don't think my cards deserve the prize, you can vote on whoever you think is the best too. Don't worry I won't be mad. LOL.

So that's it. Thanks in advance and hope everyone have a great start for their week.

Till next time,
Grace

For you gift card holder

Sorry this post is coming a bit late. I usually stay home during Friday mornings to catch up on things but today my schedule is a bit different and am not able to be on the computer till mid day. Sorry about that!

Anyways here's my take on the latest Get Sketchy sketch (#35)

Just For You Gift card holder

I turned the sketch to it's side and made a gate fold type card to accommodate a special "gift" inside for my recipient.


all the DT's were to use Hot of the Press products and that's exactly what I did. I have to say it's been years since I worked with their products and I've forgotten how fun their paper prints are and the paper packets they offer are very inspiring. The one I got were the stripes and dots and it even had a sheet full of tags to cut out. That's what I used to house my sticker sentiment.


I also used the flowers from HOTP here and added buttons (from my stash) to complete the card.

So that's it for now. Make sure you play along this week.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Till next time,
Grace

linky links...

Happy Wednesday everyone!

How is everyone doing today?

Well if you ask me.... I am in the middle of packing stuff to mail; emailing; packing my house up; uploading project to be submitted and breathing. How's that for a morning task for you? Whew!

I guess life ain't fun if it's not busy, right?!

anyways, did you guys know that I write posts on three different blogs too? Check them all out (please!)

Clear Scraps

got this project up today at the Clear Scraps blog. Acrylics have a lot of possibilities with it, this card is an example of that.

Upsy Daisy Designs
PULLED OUT FOR PUBLICATION

I made three cards with a Spring themed using one of the new lines that debuted at CHA winter (See Ya Later Alligator).

Crazy Daisy kits

this is the mini that I made with my Crazy Daisy April main kit. More pictures and talk up will be found in this post.

So that's it for me right now.

Oh and thanks for all the interest in giving my scrapbook stash a new home. I love that you guys acted really fast. The two boxes was taken up in a matter of hours. Wow! I'll see if I can put together some more boxes, watch out for it. *wink*

Till next time,
Grace

My reality right now + a deal for you

Happy Monday. Right now I am typing up this blog post in the middle of my bedroom in this set up....


Over the weekend we made some major moving and packing of stuff and our house is a total mess. Now although I don't like to show my "dirty" side, I also thought that this is my reality right now and there's no reason to be ashamed about it, plus it'll be a great scrapbook page in the future. *smile*


Here's hubby taking the popcorn/acoustic off of the ceiling in my scrapbook space.


I was so sad when I had to clear this room out. I've called this my "sanctuary" for the past 4-5 years and having all my scrapbook stuff packed away still remains a shock to me.


and this is our family room. Everything had to be cleared out from the scrapbook space and all the major furnitures were moved to this room. See my poor little girl? She had to resort to sitting in a pillow to watch her show.


our home is filled with TONS of boxes. Some filled up....


and others still flattened and ready to be used.


here's some of my stuff (or what's left of it).


See these bags? These will house whatever supplies I will be using during all these transitions. Like I said before, I'm not going to stop scrapbooking because I have commitments to make, and it keeps me sane but it'll definitely be a challenge to create with just these items on hand.


and these are stuff I'm willing to part with.

****sorry but boxes have been taken********
Speaking of part with...I have filled two USPS flat rate boxes of scrapbook supplies. They are a mixture of new and old. Used and unused items. Here's a look at them....

Box 1


Box 2


****sorry but boxes have been taken********
You want them?
Well here's the deal..... I have packed and stuffed them in the flat rate boxes and they are all yours to keep. The only thing is, I don't have the extra money to ship them. But if you are willing to pay the shipping cost (roughly $11) on them, they can be yours.

As you can see, these items are worth 3x more than what your shipping cost is.

This is how it's going to run....the first two people that will email me (graceelainetolman@yahoo.com) and can give me the shipping payment through paypal will get the loots.

Oh and since I am using a USPS flat rate box, domestic only. Sorry my international friends.

that's all for me today.

Thank you for stopping by and till next time,
Grace

Make a wish

happy Friday to everyone. Things are turning up really quick around here. I'm so overwhelmed by all the decluttering I need to do to get the house ready for sale. I've been packing my scrapbook stuff these past couple of days and it just makes me feel so sad. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited for the "new adventures" that my family and I are going to have but I've had my scrapbook space for four years now and I've never had to pack them all up and work with just a few items on hand. It will definitely be a challenge for me to make pages without wanting to bust open my boxes.

On a funny note, everybody (especially my husband) always tells me that I have a TON of stuff and I always just shrug them off. I even tell my husband that I have little compared to other scrapbookers out there but when I started packing my stuff, I was amazed at how much boxes I had to use to pack them all up. And this is not even including all the ones that I'm getting rid off. Talk about reality check! Right now I have four big boxes (3ftx2ft size) filled up and then about 6-7 12x12 boxes packed up. That's just crazy!

Anyways, before I leave to do some more packing and decluttering, let me share my Get sketchy card this week.

Make a Wish

the sketch called for two hearts on each end but being the "rebel" that I am, I decided on doing a gatefold card instead.


Initially the challenge (for us DT's) was to use an image from Wags and Whiskers but at the end of the week it changed to using glitter. I made my card before the change so I apologize if it's not the same as the challenge this week. Shame on me, but I hope you still enjoy the card share here.


and here's the look of the inside of the card. I made a little belt that went around the card so it'll close and that's where I adhered the sentiment and image. Isn't that girl cute? I'm telling you digital image is slowly growing on me. I was scared at first to use them because I've never had to play with them but now after a few tries, I think they're very convenient and the printed images are really clear.

Ok so that's all for now. Hope you all have a great weekend and if you have the time, play along with the sketch this week.

till next time,
Grace

Animal Pals

I'm sure I'm not the only mom out there that has a litter of stuff animals in their home, right?! I am just so amazed at how much my kids are gravitated to their stuff toys. Sometimes they even treat them better than me. LOL. That's why I wanted to make this page.

Animal Pals

this page was made with the latest Upsy Daisy sketch and using the See Ya Later Alligator line. My kids have named all of their stuff animals so those ones that I took pictures of, I added their names on it (through photoshop) before printing them off.


I used the same stamp on my title and journaling block. I just turned the shape vertical for my journaling.


I also used letter and seal rubons on this page.

Thank you for looking and make sure you stop by the blog and try out the April sketch.

Till next time,
Grace

Crazy daisy layouts april share *photo heavy*

Hi all. Gosh where is time going nowadays? I always have the best intentions of updating my blog often but sadly I always falls short. Is it me or is time just moving way too fast?

Anyways here's my layouts using the fantastic Crazy Daisy April kit. I try to sum up the kits theme in one word but this one would probably be- soft feminine. Oooppps two words!

I love the whole vintage, soft and shabby chic feel of the kit. Lots of fun stuff in there and here's what I came up with....

Be true to you

I always like to make my first page using as much products from the kit as I can. This one is the example of that. I really loved the soft, vintage feel of the rosette flowers but I didn't quite like the cream color of them so I sprayed some glimmer mist (from my own stash) to add some depth to them.

This layout focuses on a letter to my daughter where in I want her to remember to love herself and not allow outside influence to dictate how she would feel about her self worth.


And since it's a feminine layout, I focused on using the softer toned papers and products. I also created added glimmer mist to one of the white flower and some of my canvas letter stickers.

Abalone Cove

Here I wanted my focus to be in my photos since there's a lot of them.
I did add color and pattern to the page by creating a inward scallop border all around the page. This is made easy by the double sided papers in the kit, a 1" circle punch and machine stitching.


I sprayed glimmer mist on the canvas letters again to make them pop out plus created visual triangle with the pinks sprinkled on the page.



Up in the Air

This was a fun one to make. I divided the page into two sections. One contained a feminine touch with my pictures while the other half consisted of a little more masculine feel with my son's pictures.


I added the maya road chipboard persons here. I decided to keep them in their raw state so that they'll stand out better from all the pattern in the page. I added a little butterfly punch on each one to add emphasis to the "up in the air" theme.



Eat Up!

This page is about my son's enormous appetite lately. That kid can wolf down a major amount of food.
I added colors to the plain background by adding the little yellow bicycle tabs as strips of pattern on the page.


I also added the cute ticket stubs from house of 3 here. These downloadable products are so convenient to use.
The title was inspired by an Eric Carle book that my kids love.


And finally, I created a resist misting with the doile rubons. I transferred them onto some pattern paper, cut out the shape then sprayed glimmer mist on it. Quickly wiped it with paper towel and the result- some color added to the pattern paper but the doile rubon remained white making it standout more against the background pattern paper.

Downtown Disney

Here's my two page spread for this month.


I used one of the American journaling block stickers as a base for a small collage of elements on the top right of the layout.


I wanted to incorporate the many papers in the page but thought that their designs were to "girly" for my theme so I used them in smaller doses, using most of them as my handmade Mickey silhouettes on the top of my pictures.

So there you have it. If you're still wondering how to scrapbook those spring themed photos, this kit is a must for your next scrapbook pages.

Till next time,
Grace

Party Time (get sketch #33)

Wow this week is finally over?! Where did Spring break go?

this week can be summed up in one word- REGROUP!

I'm still physically tired and stressed out but I can honestly say that my spirit is rejuvenated and I'm back on the "we can do this!" trail.

So with that being said, let me share with you a cheery, springy card that I made with the latest Get Sketchy sketch....

Party Time

There was no specific sponsor for us DT to play with so it was a nice change. I was able to rummage through my ever growing scrap pile and put this Spring themed card together.


I love all the circles in the sketch but decided on using a scroll shaped block for the card title to make it pop out more. I also used flowers here, something that's been making a comeback in all my cards. Flowers just makes everything "prettier". *smile*

Come play along with us this week.

So that's it. Have a great weekend everyone.

Till next time,
Grace

Easter Recap 2010

We're taking a little break from the projects post to recap our Easter activities.

The kids usually get the Friday before Easter off. Their school district always gives them an extra day of Spring break. The kids love it and I love it too.

And since my Saturday (before Easter) would be very busy with work, we decided to color our eggs that Friday.


As usual, we bought our eggs at Costco (the 18 pc pack) and then got a coloring kit at Target. The kit only gave us three colors/tablets and it seemed like even with vinegar, we only had one vibrant color that came out.


but as predicted, the kids didn't care (only Mom cares about such details) and loved dipping the eggs in each bowl. The kit included a little wire egg dipper but knowing the kids and how they've become very competitive with each other, I decided to just toss the dipper even before they came in the kitchen. We didn't need anymore unnecessary fights in this activity.


After they colored their eggs, they decorated it with stickers. Marcus' hands were completely covered with dye. Mitch was telling me that when he took a nap that afternoon, he laid his head on one of his hands and when he woke up, he had a big green handmark on his face. Funny!

Then on Sunday, after watching General Conference, the kids had an egg hunt at Grandma Tolman's house.

Marcus and Maddie was looking forward to this time. I can tell that Maddie is growing up because she didn't use to be this excited about the egg hunt. But I think this year she has fully understood the concept of it. Plus not to mention, that she is such a chocoholic that the idea of getting more candies is a very "good" thing.


And away he goes...There's no stopping this boy, even if Mom's right there in his tracks with the camera.


lately, Maddie has been a very good camera model. She actually looks in the camera and gives me a great shot. Love this one!

So that's it. How was your Easter?

Thanks for stopping by.

Till next time,
Grace