Sunshiny Days

18 Month Update + Victoria Zoo

2012-01-23T21:38:00.010-06:00

Hello folks!! Another month has come and gone and my - what a busy one it has been. We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas surrounded by a house full of family. It was so much fun watching Charlotte open up her gifts. She would slowly tear the paper off and get more and more excited with each new peek. By the time the gift was totally unwrapped, she could barely contain herself and would start dancing around asking us to open up the new toy. Took forever for her to finally get through everything! She's still fascinated with Christmas and asks where the decorations are every time we walk into Target or Hobby Lobby :) Our precious little girl turned 18 months early this week so I thought I would give y'all a bit of an update.

- Is absolutely obsessed with cooking. She runs around the house screaming "I Cook" and proceeds to empty the pantry and pull out every tupperware bowl we own. My mom and I are currently scanning Pinterest and making her a ton of felt food. I'll share pics of our first project soon!

- I know I say this every month, but her vocabulary has exploded once again. It just amazes us how quickly she picks things up and fully understands what they mean and when to use them. Her newest words include: stop (says this when you ask her what a red light means), rock (the motion), where is, please (peas), go, hide, letters, outside (ow-side), coffee (cough), moustache (stache - she got a Mr. Potato head for Christmas), eat, lunch (unch), circle, cat, again (gan), gas, barn, clothes (cose), run, and race. She also puts "I" in front of verbs and "a" in front of nouns. Ross and I have already started spelling out things to each other.

- Learned to count - somewhat. We were driving home one morning and all of the sudden heard Charlotte counting. Turned around and she was counting her toes! She says 2 and then counts from 5-10 perfectly. It makes me beam every time she does it.

- Can pick out a lot of different letters. We were at the Dr. office the other day and she looked up and said X pointing to the Exit sign. I also got her to repeat the alphabet after me on the way home from the Waco zoo a few weeks ago. It was sooooo cute. My favorite is when she says Q - coo.

- Started singing Ei-Ei-O when you sing Old McDonald. She still loves to sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and Wheels on the Bus too.

- Mastered using a fork. She wants a grown-up fork for each and every meal and she's quite good at using it. She even uses a fork to poke and eat her Cheerios!

- Has a strong arm :) When you ask her where her strong arm is, she holds up her right arm and flexes it while giving you a little tough face.

- Became a football fan. After observing DaddyO'(grandpa) and Uncle Martin watch a football game, she picked up on one of their habits. Every time she sees a game on T.V. she gets very serious and starts yelling Go-Goo-Goooooo at the screen.

- Gained 3 new teeth. Yep, fun month - not. Teething is tough! This month Charlotte got 3 canine teeth all at once. She kept begging for crushed ice while they were coming in and chewing on everything in sight!

- Became the world's best leg hugger. She loves to run up and wrap herself around you leg and squeeze it. It pretty much makes you melt each and every single time!

- Developed fear. We took her to the airport to watch the planes landing on the runway and she LOVED it. She would yell woosh and wave hi to them as they came by. We took her there hoping to cure her of her airplane fear. Apparently, she loves them close up and crazy loud, but if she hears them flying high in the sky she runs to you and wants a hug until it passes. She also HATES printers. Not sure why, but she goes crazy when the printer is working. She runs to it screaming noooooo and proceeds to rip the paper out of the machine. DRA-MA!

Is obsessed with hiding. It was become our new family game before our bed routine every night. Charlotte screams "hide" and proceeds to hide in the exact same place every single time - the corner of the dining room. Ross and I then scramble to hide and she runs out to find us. I love hearing her yell out Mommy .... Poppi as she searching. Then the look of sheer joy when she sees us is the best sight in the world.

Ross had some vacations days last week so we packed up and headed down to visit my parents in Victoria. While there, we enjoyed our first ever picnic lunch and then took Charlotte to the Victoria zoo. It was a neat experience because that was the zoo that Ross and I grew up visiting as kids ourselves. It's changed a lot since those days. Back then it only included native Texas animals, but now it also has a variety of monkeys and wild cats. Charlotte got most excited when she saw the petting zoo. She immediately started screaming "Barn" and ran to the fence. We weren't sure how she would react to the animals, but she loved them. She petted a sheep and her face lit up and she squealed with delight. She kept running back to the barn every chance she got for one last view.

After the zoo, we drove over and visited the duck pond. Ross and I use to meet there after school during our courting days :) Charlotte loved seeing the ducks, but had a different idea when it came to feeding them. We kept giving her bread to feed to them and she kept popping each and every piece in her mouth. You would think we never feed her at the rate she was going. It gave us a good chuckle.

We are enjoying exploring new things now that the days are starting to get a tad warmer. Can't wait to see what another month brings our way. Thanks for checking in!

Cameron Zoo

2012-01-09T15:15:00.008-06:00

Last Saturday, we took Charlotte to the Cameron Zoo in Waco. Ross and I have always loved visiting this zoo so we were super excited to experience it as a family of three now. We kept asking Charlotte if she wanted to go see the animals at the zoo and she kept responding by mooing like a cow ;) We went on a sunny, but cool day so all of the animals were out and VERY active. The first exhibit you see when you walk in, is the howler monkeys. Charlotte would have been perfectly content watching them all day. They were chasing each other, swinging on the ropes, climbing in the tree and just putting on a great show for all of the spectators.

We also spent a great deal of time watching the tigers. They have always been snoozing during our past visits, but were on the playful prowl this time. They paced back and forth the perimeter eyeing each other and the crowd. Several times, they stopped to tackle and growl at one another. That sound will make you freeze in your tracks!!! I can't even begin to imagine what it must feel like to hear that sound in the wild.

Charlotte had fun exploring all of the special kid nooks throughout the zoo. She loved crawling in a little cave to view the alligators from underwater and swinging ropes in the monkey exhibit. However, we couldn't pry her away from the otters. They have a glass slide that goes right through the exhibit. While you slide through, you can see the otters swimming around you and even crawling all over the slide.

My favorite exhibit was the orangutans. I've never seen one up close and they were all out exploring their area and enjoying the nice weather. We watched one climb to the very top of the cage and fiddle with a big stick until it finally figured out how to pull it through the hole. Another walked right up to us and sat down to play with the grass. Their eyes are full of so much emotion and it's so funny watching them slowly walk as their shaggy hair draps around them. We stayed a little over two hours at the zoo and really had a wonderful afternoon together. We are thinking about visiting a different zoo next week so I'll take pictures if we do!! Enjoy your weekend.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-19T15:47:00.005-06:00

Merry Christmas!!! We wish each and every one of you a joyous holiday!!!! We can't wait to let Charlotte open her gifts. It has been so much fun this month watching her get excited about everything. She's obsessed with looking at all of the lights at night and still enjoys yelling out "mas" every time she sees something Christmasy. She just so happens to turn 17 months old this Christmas Eve so I thought I'd share a quick update. This month Charlotte:

- has had a verbal explosion. She repeats everything, but has learned so many new words. Some of her newest ones are: light, book, read, hat, bowl, go, hello (whenever she hears a phone ring), awwww ( every time she gives you a hug), star, cold, bye, and heart. The best phrase she picked up lately is "oh man". Makes us giggle. She says it when she drops something, trips or finds trash on the floor. She also started saying "ready, set, go go".

- Has developed the sweetest girlie giggle ever. When she gets excited or finds something hilarious, she starts laughing and then covers her mouth with her hands and continues to giggle and squeal with delight. It makes me melt each and every time!

- has developed a love for hiking. We took one hike down to see some fossilized dinosaur tracks. Ross carried her in a pack on his back and she enjoyed the view. We also hiked out to see an old log cabin. The trail was paved most of the way and ran along a trickling stream. Charlotte had a blast running along the path, kicking rocks, and picking up an assortment of leaves and sticks. She loves being outside.

- never grows tired of stomping or twirling! She loves to stand between you and another person, holding hands and stomping down the sidewalk. Of course she instructs you by saying "stomp, stomp, stomp" the entire time. She also twirls around the house when we listen to music. She can go quite awhile before making herself dizzy ;)

- is still obsessed with cleaning and brushing her teeth. Everyday when I pull the broom out, she runs behind me chasing it and picking up trash to place in the dust bin. She also still makes sure that every door/cabinet is fully closed. She begs us numerous times a day for her tooth brush! It's a tad obsessive!

- should become the next spokesperson for Apple!!! She is an iPad/iPhone user. She knows how to slide the icons to open devices, swish through pages looking for apps or listening to music. It's quite impressive. She has a folder full of apps that she enjoys playing. She sits there saying "ummm" while trying to decide which one to open. One of her favorites is called Toddler Shapes. It gives you 5 different shapes and asks you to find a certain one on each page. So far she can identify a circle, square, rectangle, triangle, heart, diamond, star, pentagon and hexagon.

We can't believe our baby girl has grown and changed so much in such a short time. Can't wait to see what another month brings our way. Thanks for checking in on us. Enjoy time with your family and friends over the holidays!!!!!!

Gingerbread Play-dough

2011-12-19T15:45:00.002-06:00

Is everyone enjoying the final countdown until Christmas?? I have been baking up a storm and assembling tins full of cookies to pass out to our friends and neighbors. I took a short break this afternoon to cook something a little different. Gingerbread Play-dough! I found the recipe through Pinterest a few weeks ago and immediately saved it. I thought it would be a cute gift for Charlotte to give to some of her buddies. The recipe is super easy to whip together. Took me less than 5 minutes. It's soft, smells incredible and best of all Charlotte loves squishing it ;) I found tiny tins at Hobby Lobby that perfectly hold one batch. I also bought some gingerbread cookie cutters and will attach them with a homemade tag to the handle. Click here for the link to the original post if you would like to give it a try. Happy holidays!!!

Sticker Magnets

2011-12-04T09:17:00.000-06:00

I have finally started using some of the ideas I've found on Pinterest to make a few things for Charlotte. The first one is how to make your own sticker magnets. Click here for the link to the original idea. It's super easy. Just wait for your local craft store to put the stickers on sale and go stock up. I prefer to use the Doodlebug brand because their stickers are a tad thicker and several designs come on one sheet. You then place your stickers on magnetic sheets and simply cut them out. Be sure to leave a little edge around each piece to help protect the stickers. Charlotte loves playing with them. She currently places them on our dishwasher. It's cheap entertainment.

For now, I store each set in those little hinged tins with a clear top. I had a box full of them from my crafting days. I also bought a large metal box at Michael's that we can eventually tote around with us so she can play with them in the car. Would be perfect for a long trip. The next project I'm currently working on is A Box-0'-Princesses. Call me crazy, but I thought it was a cute idea. They've got a boy version too!!! It's going to take time to complete, but I'll share when it's finished!

16 Month Update

2011-12-01T09:09:00.007-06:00

A few days late with my update, sorry. We had a packed house for the holiday. Charlotte turned 16 months on Thanksgiving. She had a blast visiting with family, playing with her cousin and hugging my brother's dog - oh and eating the food ;) She loved the smoked turkey, dressing and green bean casserole. This past month has been an explosion of learning and exploring. Her personality is starting to shine and we are having so much fun introducing her to new experiences.

At 16 months Charlotte:

- Is talking up a storm. She repeats everything and surprises us daily with new words. The newest words she has added to her vocabulary are: sit, bike (bice), remote (mote), orange, yellow, moon, help, up, right here, toes, nose, noodle, dance, and my favorite - Christmas (mas). She can also identify the letters C & O as well as the shape of a circle and star.

- loves to help. I open the dishwasher and she comes running yelling heeeelp. She wants to be the one to unload it. She's still obsessed with laundry. She follows me into the laundry room and has to put each piece of clothing in herself, then she wants to push the buttons to start the machines. She loves fluffing laundry too.

- is obsessed with trains and pumps her arm when she sees one. Is also obsessed with balls. Kicking, rolling, throwing - she does it all and constantly wants you to play with her. She even holds them above her head saying 1,2,3 before throwing and chasing after them. She also just learned to color which makes this crafty mama super excited.

- loves to pretend. She has perfected pretend sleeping and it's the cutest thing ever. She lays down on a pillow, doesn't close her eyes, but looks to one corner and then pretends to snore until you tell her to wake up. She also loves to pretend to cook or serve you tea. I taught her cheers so we do a lot of clinking plastic cups and sipping faux drinks around here ;)

- has learned to introduce herself. She holds out her hand for you to shake and will keep doing it until you say - hi Charlotte nice to meet you!

Overall, it's been a busy month and we are loving every minute of it. We are definitely looking forward to Christmas and seeing her reactions to everything. Happy holidays and thanks for checking in on us!!

2011-11-18T15:08:00.003-06:00

Happy Friday everyone! Are y'all prepping up for turkey day next week? It's our favorite holiday and we are definitely looking forward to it this year. We can't wait to see Charlotte's reaction to all of the yummy food. Kid eats everything - well almost, she hates bananas. We are getting ready to do all of our shopping this weekend. We are planning on smoking 4 turkeys and feeding a crew of family members. Doesn't hurt to have plenty of leftovers either :)

So I have a question for ya. Are any of you addicted to Pinterest as much as I am? I just discovered it about a month ago and I'm hooked. If you're not familiar with it, it's a site where you can pin pictures/links to things you find on the internet. Think bookmarks, but with pictures. Perfect for me since I'm a visual person and I bookmark things and then completely forget about them. You can also browse categories for things other people have pinned. I originally got on there to get some decorating ideas for the house, but I've found so many neat things to pin. DIY crafts, recipes, helpful cleaning tips and holiday decor. However, my favorite thing to hunt for is kid's craft or games. I've found soooooo many great ideas. Can't wait to try them out with C one day. If you're on there, look me up and if you're not go sign up! Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

First Trip to the Zoo

2011-11-11T08:22:00.009-06:00

First off, happy Veteran's day!!! We are very grateful for those that have served both past and present to honor and protect our country. Thank you for your bravery, dedication and numerous sacrifices. Charlotte was thrilled to see lots of flags flying high today. She's obsessed with pointing out each and every flag she can spot!

We took a road trip to Houston last weekend. We attended a wedding on Saturday. Can I tell you how much fun it is to get my precious daughter totally dressed up for special occasions. She got many, many compliments and looked quite darling if I do say so myself. Seeing her and Ross dressed up and cuddling pretty much made my heart explode! We are going to have to work on wearing tights though. She kept taking her shoes off in the car and trying to rip her tights off like she does with her socks. What can I say - she likes to be barefoot like her mama.

Sunday we took Charlotte to the Houston zoo. Ross and I could barely contain our excitement. Since the moment Charlotte was born, we've talked about taking her to the zoo. It's something that we've always enjoyed doing together and I have to tell you - it's a totally dIfferent experience seeing it through the eyes of your child. She loved pointing out all of the animals and making their sounds to us. There were two exhibits that totally made her eyes light up. The first one was the giraffes. She was in awe over their height and proximity. We ate at a cafe where you sat outside right next to where they were feeding the giraffes lettuce leaves. She giggled at their long black tongues and waved everytime one came walking by the patio.

The second was the world of primates! We were excited to see such a variety of monkeys. The zoos in our area don't have many at all and they are so much fun to watch. Charlotte really loved watching them swing around and play together. We spent a long time watching the chimpanzees. There were two, right by the glass, using sticks to place in a hole and pull termites out to nibble on. It was neat seeing them so up close. The funniest and definitely oddest were these tiny monkeys called Tamarin. They would follow you as you walked by and study you as much as we studied them. We had a great visit. I would definitely go back again and recommend it to others. It's surrounded by a wonderful park that we enjoyed strolling through and it's located nearby several interesting looking museums. Have you been to the zoo recently? What was your favorite exhibit??

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T20:39:00.005-05:00

Happy Halloween!!!! Did you're munchkins have fun trick-or-treating?? Charlotte dressed up as Tinkerbell this year. She got a lot of compliments :) I have to admit she looked pretty darn sweet walking around in her costume.

We weren't sure what her reaction would be to seeing all of the kiddos dressed up, but she absolutely loved it and had a blast. She helped pass out candy and clapped as everyone walked away.

She even got her first taste of candy. We were quite popular since we were passing out ring pops. We let Charlotte have a few licks of one. She wasn't too sure about it at first, but her smile kept getting bigger and bigger with each lick. Mario seemed to be the most popular costume in our neighborhood. We also saw a lot of pirates and vampires. Hope everyone had a fun night!!!

Happy Chaos

2011-10-29T11:50:00.007-05:00

I know it has been a few months since I posted an update. We've been busy little bees settling into our new place as well as chasing a full blown toddler. Charlotte recently turned 15 months and is bouncing all over the place. Here are some recent achievements:

- We've been going through teething hell lately ;) C has been working on getting her first molars in. 4 in fact. All at once!!! Fun times people - not! God bless Popsicles. Her favorite is pureed peach. She will even go over to the freezer and open it trying to hunt for them. I've also made watermelon and pineapple/banana/coconut milk blend. Speaking of teeth, my kid is obsessed with brushing her new pearly whites. She will stand at the bathroom counter, on her tippy toes, pointing up and saying brush.

- Knows a ton of animal sounds. She has become a great entertainer at parties with people sitting around asking her what does a ___ say? The newest ones she has added to her list are: elephant ( she even flips her arm over her head), alligator, squirrel, owl, lion, horse, donkey, snake, pig, fish (makes fishy lips), mouse, crow (caw while flapping her "wings"), monkey, seal (she will clap her hands together), chicken and crab. She also loves motorcycles and revs her fist when she sees them, dump trucks (room), fire trucks (makes a siren sound), airplanes and buses.

- Is talking up a storm and repeating everything!!!! Her newest words are: straw, sock, shoe, pretty, cool, no, ice, house, pop (for Poppi), book, mess, brush and toast. She is constantly babbling in her own language too.

- She figured out walking right after her birthday and that immediately turned into running and climbing. She's a quick little monkey and it doesn't help that she's so tall. She swings her long leg up on something and proceeds to crawl on top of everything possible.

- Ross and I have started geocaching. It's a fun thing for us to do together and it has really taught us the way around our new area. It has also introduced us to a ton of new parks and C loves parks. She gets excited to swing, wants to go down the tallest slides possible and just loves exploring new areas. We've even taken her out on a few hikes that were quite peaceful and relaxing.

We've just been keeping busy and embracing the happy chaos. I'll try and get on here to post more often. I'm constantly putting pics on Twitter or Instagram so feel free to check there in the meantime. Hope y'all have a great weekend. We are looking forward to Halloween on Monday!

12 Month Update

2011-07-30T09:01:00.008-05:00

Sorry for the delay posting this month's update. It has been a busy, hectic month. We got moved into our new house and then encountered a few hiccups. Couldn't get Internet/cable for 19 days, had a raccoon living above Charlotte's room - damaging our home for 2 weeks, irrigation lines were severed killing our new landscape and 2 days before we were to sign on off on our old house - the buyer's loan got rebuked and our home went back onto the market. Thats just to name a few challenges.Thankfully our old house is under contract again, but talk about stress!!! Dealing with all of that while trying to unpack has been draining. I'm so happy Charlotte was by my side, being a clown and making me laugh constantly. I'm still trying to come to terms with the fact that I have a one year old. Let me catch you up. At 12 months Charlotte .......

This is her reaction when you ask her how old she is!

- is still a great eater. She's usually the first to start and the last one to finish a meal. She still makes a "nomnomnom" noise while she eats. She's mainly on solid foods now. I've enjoyed feeding her what we eat. The new foods she tried out this month were: tomatoes, pinto beans, edamame, grapes, and cherries ( don't fret, she just gets the inside flesh on those last two). Her favs are beans, peas, smoked turkey, watermelon and meatloaf. I've nursed her exclusively these past 12 months, but will start weening her now. Can't believe I lasted that long!!!

- has become quite the little mimic. She repeats words, sounds and actions constantly. When asked, she knows how to blow and say shhhh with her finger on her nose. If you ask her if something is yuck, she'll mumble and stick her tongue out repeatedly. If something stinks, she'll wrinkle her nose and wave her hand in the air while sniffing. She can now tell you what a cow, dog, cat and monkey says. My fav is a dog. Instead of saying woof, woof, she pants!!!! Her newest words are baby and "wooooooow". It's said just like that too. She really exaggerates
when she says it.

- is still obsessed with pointing out body parts - especially belly buttons. She can now locate her: ears, eyes, nose, hair,teeth, belly button, feet and toes. My darling husband also taught her to locate her tongue. You ask her "taco tongue" and she sticks her tongue out before attempting to fold it together like a taco.

- continues to love reading. We read Little Blue Truck and Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You at least 8 times a day. Charlotte is constantly crawling in our laps and asking us to sing The Itsy Bitsy Spider. She twists her little fingers together inches from your face until you begin singing.

- is still my social butterfly. She continues to wave to everyone we pass when we're out and about. I love seeing everyone's reactions when they notice her. I believe she brightens up a lot of people's days. She is also my little cuddle bug. She snuggled up next to you while reading, loves blowing and giving kisses and always passes out hugs - either to us or to her toys!

- has already mastered climbing the stairs. She gets excited when we open the gate and let her climb up to the play area. She often sticks her hand between the railing - waving and giggling as we head up. She is a great little pretender. She has a little tea set that she'll pour up and offer to you. I love watching her play.

- is obsessed with her Little Tikes Cozy Coupe!! We got her one for her birthday and she crawls in it begging to be pushed around the house a few times daily. I gotta admit, it's quite cute!

We celebrated Charlotte's first birthday last Sunday. We had a house full of family and friends. We enjoyed a fajita cookout and had fun watching the birthday girl. The theme was Look Whooo's Turning One. I think she needs to wear a tutu every day now. She looked so cute crawling around in it. I made her a huge cupcake carrot cake. She took a few nibbles, but mostly just had fun playing with the icing.

It has been a fantastic 12 months. I'm going to miss my tiny, little baby girl, but I'm so looking forward to watching her become an active toddler. She has truly brought so much joy to our lives. Thank you for all of your sweet comments this year and for following along with our updates.

11 Month Update

2011-06-24T09:00:00.001-05:00

Did I just write that? Geez, this past month has flown by in a whirlwind. We have been crazy busy and on the constant go, but I'll get to that in a bit. Let's talk about Charlotte. That's really my favorite subject to talk about anyways!!!! At 11 months.......

- she now has a total of 8 teeth. Who knew that little toothy grins could make you melt so much! Charlotte loves eating regular food now. Her absolute favorite is homemade spaetzle that her Tante Babsi cooks to perfection, black beans or watermelon. My kid goes nuts over watermelon!!!! She not shy when she tastes something she likes. She will sit there going "yummmmmmmmm" while shoveling food in her mouth. It reminds us of that scene from What About Bob. She's also a pro at guzzling water from a sippy cup. We often get lots of giggles when people see her do this because she throws her head back, points the sippy cup straight up towards the ceiling and chugs away. You'd think she had been parched for days. She recently learned how to take sips of water from my glass. She loves the ice cold water and gets this look of pride at accomplishing something so grown up.

- she is soooo smart. When asked, "how old are you going to be?", she coyly holds up one little index finger. We've been amazed at how much she's comprehending and piecing together these days.

- she is starting to play pretend. She has a tiny kitchen that she plays with daily and she's constantly bringing us spoons and cups to slurp out of before requesting them back so she can do the same. She also loves pretending to talk on the phone.

- she has learned to communicate better with us. This has been a fabulous development. She fully understands how to sign for "more" or "all done" , she shakes her head for "yes" , and she points at items that she wants.

- Charlotte has learned to dance. And boy does she dance!!! In the car, at the store, while playing with musical toys or my personal favorite - while watching So You Think You Can Dance. As soon as she hears a tune she likes, she started bouncing up and down, back and forth, bobbing her head, clapping and giggling all at the same time. I found a Toddler music station on our TV so we listen to it and dance in the afternoons.

- is an avid bird watcher!!! She is completely enamored with birds. She stands on the couch or bangs on the back window just waiting for one to land in our backyard and then squeals with delight and begs you to take her outside for a closer look. She also loves to wave and say hi to the dogs being walked around the neighborhood.

- is moving around like the wind. One moment you see her and the next you just hear her hands and legs scooting down the hall out of sight. She stands up and scurries along the edges of objects as well. And just yesterday I caught her standing all on her own for almost a minute. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw her completely stable and in control of her balance. It won't be long before those first steps start happening!

As you can see in that last picture, Charlotte is perched against a box. Boxes litter our house at the moment! On June 1, we placed our house on the market. It sold in 4 days. We immediately started house hunting and will actually be moving on July 1. It's been a crazy busy month, but Charlotte has been such a trooper!!! We've dragged her all over the place, messed up her schedule numerous times and given her a new playground made out of boxes to explore. She loves the boxes and loves helping me pack. For every 1 item I pack up, she pulls 3 items out. It has been a slow process, but at least she's entertained. We're looking forward to moving to our new place and slowly getting adjusted and settled in. Thanks for checking up on us. Can't believe my little sugarplum will be 1 next month!!!!

10 Month Update

2011-05-24T09:00:00.000-05:00

Another month has come and flown by so quickly. My sweet Charlotte is growing and learning new things constantly. It has definitely been a fun few weeks. I love watching her discover new things. Her personality is definitely blossoming. She's energetic, curious, social and a comedian. She always entertains everyone and keeps us laughing.

At 10 months, Charlotte ....

- is slowly getting away from pureed foods and trying out solids. We love watching her pick up tiny pieces of food. She's very meticulous about it. This month she has tried real: kernels of brown rice, green beans, potatoes, pears, apples, pasta, peas, grated cheese and watermelon. She has loved it all. She's also nuts about yogurt - either vanilla or blueberry flavored. Good thing we are moving to solids because this month brought two more teeth; giving her a total of six. We believe #7 is just below the surface, but she refuses to let us get a good look.

- still loves being outdoors. We hung up a swing in the backyard and use it daily. She also tried out her swimming pool on Mother's day. She enjoyed splashing around and playing in it. I know we will use it lots this summer.

- continues to love books. Our new favorite is Where's the Green Sheep by Mem Fox. When the book asks that question, it's just a blank page so I started flipping my hand over as if asking a question. Well little Miss picked up on that and does the same gesture when she hears the word "where". It's quite cute and instantly made us realize that she's watching our every move!!!

- is crawling all over the house. You put her down and she scurries off eager to explore. She's pulling up on anything she can get her tiny little hands on and she's not scared to let go and fall back when she's ready to move on. This new developments has given me heart palpitations and many new gray hairs!!! She's just now starting to hold on and take a few steps around the edge of things. People always gasp at her height when they see her standing. She towers over the coffee table and can now stand up and reach the top of our dining room table. Craziness!!!!

- is babbling like crazy. She loves to mimic your noises and has started saying "Bye". If we ask her what a sheep says, she will reply with a short and super sweet " Ba". It's quite cute.

- still loves singing "head, shoulders, knees and toes". She's starting to learn some of her body parts too. She will point to her head and grab her ears when asked where they are.

- has learned to play. She loves: stacking toys and knocking them down, having us hide objects for her to find, playing peek-a-boo at any given chance, or just playing with us in general. I love when she finds something that we've done hilarious and bust out with a girlie squeal or a full body chuckle. She has the most infectious laugh.

She's simply just a joy and absolute delight to have around. I can't believe we have a ten month old!!! Thanks for checking in on us!!!

Deep in the Heart of Texas

2011-05-16T11:54:00.003-05:00

Deep in the Heart of Texas, originally uploaded by orosky17.

The theme this week over on i heart faces is May flowers! I love flowers and I especially love taking pictures of flowers. Being from Texas, I immediately thought of wildflowers. The moment Charlotte was born I had visions of taking pictures of her in this field of bluebonnets and indian paintbrushes. I bought the perfect outfit and anxiously awaited for Spring to arrive. And then it happened. We've had very little rain meaning no fields of gorgeous wildflowers. I'm still bummed about this fact, but I've started dreaming of next Spring. My sweet baby girl will be a toddler by then. I can't wait to watch her run through this field and play in the flowers.

If you click on the photo, it willl take you to my Flickr stream where you can view more pictures of this field.

Soft & Sweet

2011-04-30T10:08:00.003-05:00

The theme over on i heart faces today is soft and sweet. It's no surprise who the sweetie in our house is! A couple days ago, I played with Charlotte on a blanket in the backyard. We were kicking a ball back and forth, studying blades of grass and watching the wind make the trees dance. I had my camera out snapping pictures, when she decided to crawl over and start " tickling" me. I was moving the camera out of the way getting ready for her attack and my finger pressed the button. This photo was a complete accident and I love how it turned out! The light was bright and soft and she was extremely close. What is more sweet than the innocence in a child's eyes? I love my little ray of sunshine!!! For those of you who follow her updates, we had our 9 month check-up on Friday. All is well!!!! MissC is now 29.75" long and weighs 22lbs 3oz.

First Easter

2011-04-26T09:52:00.007-05:00

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter. I just wanted to share a few photos from our celebration. We spent the day at my inlaws's house. We played with Charlotte all day, had a fabulous BBQ and just relaxed. It was the perfect way to enjoy her first Easter.

Charlotte immediately spyed her little Easter nest and was eager to crawl over and check it out. Those eggs are like little maracas. She has been carrying them around ever since. She looked so sweet in her little dress, but it was interfering with her mobility and she's all about crawling and exploring these days. Needless to say we had an outfit change after lunch. Her little amber beads are from Inspired by Finn and actually help with her teething. They look awfully cute though and she has no clue she's even wearing them.

As I mentioned we had a great lunch. The guys made BBQ chicken using the Neely's homemade sauce. My MIL made a delicious saffron rice as well as a fruit salad. I brought along a carrot salad, apple coleslaw and we topped everything off with my favorite carrot cake! The only cake that I like. It was a great day! Wishing everyone a wonderful week.

9 Month Update

2011-04-23T10:22:00.013-05:00

Happy Easter!!!! Not only is it Charlotte's first Easter, but she just so happens to be turning 9 months old today. She has really changed this past month. She's more playful and we are starting to catch glimpses of her infectious personality. We've accomplished several new milestones that we wanted to share with you.

As you can see, she has perfected her balance and sits up like a pro. The moment she started doing that playtime became a whole new experience. It changed once again this week when she figured out how to crawl!!! She started out crawling sideways like a crab, but has finally straightened out. Now she shuffles along the floor moving from room to room. We are having fun watching her explore new things. She still loves to read books and can now turn the pages for you. She enjoys pulling a pile of books out and looking at them herself. Her new favorite toy is a ball. We have several of them in the house and she squeals with delight rolling them back and forth with us. She also sits up, grabs a ball and places it at her feet to kick across the room. Ross is extra proud of this feat since he played soccer all his life.

This month brought along 2 more teeth giving her a total of 4 teeth now. We love her little toothy grins. I'm still making all of her food and we enjoy trying out new flavors and combos. This month she has added the following foods to her diet: blueberries, zucchini, chicken, turkey, mango, squash, cauliflower and corn. The only one she didn't care for were the mangos. Her favorite is still peas followed by carrots or corn. She has mastered the art of drinking water out of a sippy cup and is working on eating solid foods. She has become a Puff addict and we recently started giving her bites of steamed zucchini or pears. She loves when I add cinnamon to her fruits or oatmeal.

I'm often stopped when we are out shopping by people commenting on how much she babbles to me. I'm constantly talking or pointing things out to her and when I'm not, I just copy her sounds. She now says mama (maaw-maa), hi (ha), Nala, uh-oh ( uhoo) and ball. I can ask her to turn the lights out when we leave a room and she will immediately turn and mess with the switch. When I ask her where her tongue is she will stick hers out and curl it over her top lip. She recently started doing the sign for more when she wants another bite of food. I can ask for a kiss and she will either purse her lips up like a little fish or attack me with a huge wet lick. She still loves clapping her hands and playing peek-a-boo under the blankets.

Charlotte is still an outside girl. We continue to blow lots of bubbles off the back porch, stroll around the neighborhood, play with the neighbor kids and point out every bird that comes nearby. She loves animals and listening to us make animal sounds. Just yesterday we took her to the duck pond. She thought the ducks were hysterical. Especially when Ross got surrounded by them while passing out bread. We then let her test out the swings for the very first time. She could have swung all day. She loved it and would rock back and forth when it started to slow down. Do you notice anything funny in that last photo? Check out the butterfly!! It landed on her swing and went along for the ride. All in all we are having fun in this new active stage. Thanks again for checking in on us. We wish all of you a wonderful Easter celebration!!!!

8 Month Update

2011-03-24T09:55:00.003-05:00

Another month has come and gone (way too quickly) leaving me with a bouncing 8 month old today!! Charlotte has changed so much these past few weeks. Her personality is definitely starting to surface. We've quickly learned that our lives are going to be filled with constant laughter. She loves to giggle and is definitely a little clown. She's super animated and makes many different, funny noises and facial expressions. The picture above shows her most common grin. She's still scrunching up her face and smiling when she's full of delight. She attracts a lot of attention this way when we are out and about. That and the fact that she has learned to wave and immediately starts flapping her arm before I can pull her out of the car. She has also learned to clap. I love watching her little hands do this. Sometimes they meet in unison and sometimes she ends up slapping her wrists.

As you can see, this month has been full of tasting new foods. It's no secret that Ross and I consider ourselves foodies. We love cooking and trying out new flavors ourselves. Charlotte is always in the kitchen with us. She watches us cook and I always let her touch and smell the food and spices that we are using. This month she tried pears, bananas, carrots, oatmeal, green beans and sweet potatoes. Her top favorite is still peas followed closely by carrots. I'm still making all of her food from scratch and I'm excited to introduce her to more flavors now that her options have expanded. I just got done making blueberries and a mixture of apples & pears with a bit of cinnamon. Just last week her top tooth popped through giving her 3 teeth so far. She wasn't quite sure what to make of this new development and spent days rubbing her tongue across her teeth and even started grinding them against one another. So happy that habit stopped (shudder)!! Her hair has recently really started to fill out as well. She has definitely been rockin' some major cow licks lately which just make me grin. My favorite moments are when she nuzzles against me and let's me play with her hair.

Charlotte is definitely a curious, active, liitle girl. I spend every waking moment trying to come up with new ways to entertain her. Now that Spring has arrived we have been spending oodles of time outdoors. We blow bubbles, we watch the neighborhood kids play, we point out the birds and squirrels, we lay in the yard watching the wind blow through the trees, we take long walks discussing every new thing we see and greeting anyone who walks past us. We love being outside. Her new favorite thing to do is sit in the yard and pick up leaves or blades of grass. She studies each one before dropping it and analyzing a new one. She loves to read and look at books. We have many story times throughout the day. We've started going to the library regularly to check out a few books and even a couple videos. Her first word was mama closely followed by hi. I think she has been working on uh-oh too. We haven't mastered the art of crawling yet, but we are close. She gets up on all fours rocking back and forth, but then flops over and rolls across the room giggling. She loves standing up and even used my leg to pull herself up yesterday. I have to admit it freaked me out a bit. My little baby is slowly slipping away and leaving me with a precious toddler. However I'm really looking forward to this interactive stage. Thanks for stopping by and checking in on Our little Panda. Wishing y'all a sunshiny day!!!

Head, shoulders, knees & Toes

2011-02-28T10:42:00.004-06:00

Your ears, your eyes, your mouth, your nose.
Head, shoulders, knees and toes.
Knees and toes.

We've been singing this to Charlotte since we brought her home from the hospital. She squeals with delight as we sing and point to all of the different parts. The challenge this week over on i heart faces is to post a picture of a person, but it can't include their face!! The first photo that popped into mind was this one. It was taken 2.5 weeks after she was born. I loved her slender, newborn feet along with her curled toes, peely skin and even a prick spot where they drew blood. Baby feet are so soft and scrumptious. It's hard to believe that my tiny 5 pound 7 ounce panda has morphed 7 months later into this bouncing, healthy girl whose in the 98th percentile for height. Every now and then, I miss cuddling with that tender baby bundle. However, I'm loving this new stage she has entered. She's a blast to hang out with and has such a fun personality. Always ready to play, explore and giggle!!!!

7 Month Update

2011-02-22T13:25:00.011-06:00

My sweet baby girl is 7 months old - ack, make time stop!!!! She growing up so fast and she's so tall. A little over 28" -a few more inches and she will be half of my height. She even outgrew her carseat already. Remember that tiny baby in preemie clothes that I brought home 7 short months ago? Crazy!!! It has been a busy few weeks and Charlotte has accomplished so many new things. First up, she's started sitting in a high chair and eating her first foods. So far she's had avocado, butternut squash, applesauce and peas. I'm having so much fun making her baby food from scratch and she has loved all of it so far. We've also been learning to drink water out of a sippy cup. She enjoys riding in her stroller. She either sits forward grinning at everyone we pass or kicks her feet up on the tray and relaxes. It's quite cute either way. We still love going outside daily and have recently started blowing bubbles off the back porch. She loves watching them float in the air as long as they don't come anywhere near her, lol. Her personality is starting to come out. She loves to giggle and jabber constantly. She definitely recognizes me and Ross and will reach out for us. She has also started kissing. Either making kissing sounds if you do it to her or grabbing our face and leaving a huge slobbery kiss somewhere in the vicinity of our mouths. She recently started wrinkling her nose up when she smiles and it just about the cutest thing I've ever seen.

Thanks for all of the well wishes for Ross this past month. His surgery went well, but it has been a longer recovery than we expected. It has been a month now and his incision is just now closing up. His eardrum was sucessfully repaired and he is slowly getting a tiny bit of hearing back. Charlotte and I had a bit of a rough few weeks as well. I came down with a respiratory infection and she got her first cold. Let's just say we are hoping for a much better, healthier month!

Phone Photo Challenge

2011-02-21T09:28:00.005-06:00

Did you see the new challenge posted today over on i heart faces?? It's to upload a photo that you have taken with your phone. No problem!!!! I'm always snapping pictures with my iPhone to send to Charlotte's grandparents or to post over on Twitter. I had a tough time deciding which photo to pick, but I finally decided to go with this one. It was taken on Sunday on our back porch. We had just bought Charlotte a couple hats at Target to help protect her from the sun on our daily walks. This was her first time trying it on. As you can see, she immediately found the straps and had to give them a taste. Everything gets a lick these days!!!!

6 Month Update

2011-01-23T15:57:00.003-06:00

Oh my goodness, how can I have a 6 month old already? I LOVE my little goober!!! She makes us giggle each and every day. This month she has really worked on and mastered the art of sitting up and falling over, LOL. It took her about a week to learn how to steady herself and now all she wants to do is sit up and wobble. My favorite part is when I let her sit on our bed and she slowly looks up at me with the biggest grin in the whole wide world. She's so proud of herself and her smile definitely melts my heart. She also loves to roll and I mean roll all over the place. She rolls until she gets stuck under some furniture and we turn her around and off she goes again. In the last week, she has been working on pulling her knees up under her, but then she just ends up scooting on her belly like an inch worm. It won't be long before she crawling and then I really won't be able to catch her. If you look closely at the bottom picture, you can see her two little teeth. They make her grin that much cuter!!!

We definitely have a tall girl on our hands. She's in 6 month tops, but 9 month pants!!!! Let me tell you - she didn't get that height from me :) Since she's so tall and sitting up, we had to move her to a new bathtub already. We got her this little inflatable duck tub and it's quiet entertaining to watch her in it. The moment she spots it filled with water she starts kicking her legs. She LOVES splashing and licking the water droplets off of her face. We definitely have a little ham on our hands and she truly makes us laugh each and every day!

Just a quick update on us. I went in for a Cat-Scan last Friday and I'm happy to report that I'm kidney stone free. WooHoo! Huge relief. I was a tad nervous waiting for the results. Now Ross is the one dealing with some medical stuff. Monday morning (24th) we're waking up very very early and heading to the hospital. Ross has had a lot of problems with his ears and started noticing some hearing loss recently. We ended up going in to see a specialist a few weeks ago and found out that he has a perforated ear drum along with a condition called Cholesteatoma. So he is undergoing surgery this morning to repair everything. Fingers crossed that all goes well and that he has a quick recovery!!! I'm sure Charlotte will do her best to keep him smiling this week!!! Thanks so much for checking in on us this month. Enjoy your day.

Best Face Photo of 2010

2011-01-03T12:44:00.003-06:00

The challenge this week over on i heart faces is to share our favorite face photo that was taken in 2010. I knew immediately which picture I wanted to enter. Charlotte is five months old now and has definitely become my favorite little model. I snap photos of her daily! She's our little monkey girl and we can't help falling more and more in love with her every single moment.

My Top 10 Cards of 2010

2010-12-28T11:32:00.016-06:00

Suzi, better known as Mrs. Weyremaster, has organized a blog hop to end the year with. All you have to do to join in, is create a post linking all of your favorite creations in 2010. I've missed making cards these past few months so I thought it would be fun to take a look back over the year and post my faves. Visit Suzi's post for all of the details!! Here we go:

Maybe it's the fact that it's chilly willy today and I'm dreaming of warm, tropical weather, but this is my fist pick. I loved the colors in this card and the layout was fantastic.Original post.

This card was so much fun to make. The colors screamed Easter and you know how much I love to pop images up - this one was perfect for that! Original post.

I became obsessed over this Basic Grey paper this year. It was definitely one of my favorite packs from them. Original post

This card is so girlie and sweet. I love cutting out images and popping them up too. Original post.

Told ya I love this paper pack! I also became obsessed with this grass punch!!! Original post.

Another fabulous layout. I heart layers... tons and tons of layers!!! Original post.

Are y'all sick of this image yet? I know I used it over and over and over again for weeks, but it was perfect for Thank You cards since we didn't find out what our little panda bear was going to be. Plus it was perfect for paper piecing and I love paper piecing! Original post.

This was the other paper pack that I became obsessed with - More Mimi from TAC. Original post.

I did a lot of work for Whipper Snapper this year. I had a blast being a featured designer and showcases Anna Wight's cling mount sets! Original post.

I fell in love with Lili of the Valley images this year (thanks Tammi). I loved the colors on this card because they are not my typical color palette. Original post.

However, this has by far been my best creation of 2010! She has kept me on my toes these last five months and I love spending every moment with her. Can't wait for her to get old enough so we can color together!!!! Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to check out the blog hop.

5 Month Update

2010-12-24T08:00:00.000-06:00

Wow, another month has come and gone bringing us new milestones and developments. Charlotte has achieved so much these past few weeks. She has mastered rolling over from her tummy to her back. We can barely put her down before she starts flipping over. The moment she lands on her back she searches for us with a huge grin on her face clearly proud of her accomplishments. We clap like crazy, smother her in kisses and start the process all over again. We introduced her to rice cereal a couple weeks ago. I know it seems early, but after talking to her Dr. we decided it was time. She started watching us eat and would chew every time we took a bite of food. One day, I pulled out one of her spoons just to see her reaction. She instantly opened her mouth. We are making our own rice cereal. Its so cute watching Charlotte get excited as she observes me preparing it. By the time it's done, she is more than ready and eagerly awaits the first bites. We have many pictures of her covered in sticky cereal particles already. One of the main gifts we got our active little girl for Christmas, is the Fisher Price Rainforet Jumperoo! It is beyond cute and contains several toys that she loves fiddling with. However, the best part is watching her bounce. The moment her feet touch the ground she starts constantly springing. Charlotte has also found her voice. She started doing this very girlie, high pitched squeal when we play. It's cute and at the same time shocking that someone so tiny can be so incredibly loud. She has also mastered the wonderful art of blowing raspberries. I'm so proud - especially when someone stops us in the store to comment on how cute she is and my lovely daughter proceeds to spit in their face.

We've also had some rough days. Our baby girl has been fussy, clingy, chewing on everything in sight and back to waking me up every 2-3 hours at night for the past 2 1/2 weeks. All of that combined with the drooling that I've mentioned in prior posts has finally produced teeth. Yep, just the other day she woke up with 1 tooth breaking through the gums and the beginnings of the other one starting to follow. She can now officially say that she got her two front teeth for Christmas ;) Weve started introducing sign language to her. The only one that's she has picked up on is dog. Every time she sees Nala, she bangs her hand against her leg with so much enthusiasm that she ends up slapping anyone whos carrying her. We are exhausted beyond belief, but truly enjoying every precious minute with her. Its so neat watching your child discover new things. I can't wait to see what she learns next.

Thanks for continuing to check in on us. We wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas and a fantastic New Year!

Our Little Monkey

2010-12-09T09:28:00.006-06:00

Just wanted to share the photo I took for our holiday cards this year! This fits Charlotte's personality perfectly. She's such a little goober and is constantly doing things that make us laugh already. she loves to giggle and clown around. I snapped several fabulous pictures of her in her monkey hat, but this was our favorite. She's constantly giving us that little smirk when we are acting silly. We are definitely smitten with our little girl! I ordered the hat off of Etsy from a fabulous shop called Luckeymade. The customer service was spectacular!!! I got to choose my own colors and she had it shipped out by the end of the week. The price was also fantastic compared to similar shops!!!! Go check it out. Happy holidays!!!!!

4 Month Update

2010-11-30T16:17:00.001-06:00

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!! Charlotte actually turned 4 months on the 24th, but we were too busy cooking and cleaning to post a quick update. We enjoyed the holiday at our house and ended up having 23 family members here. The guys smoked 4 turkeys and the gals prepared numerous side dishes and desserts. We had fun eating and chatting all day long!! Charlotte has been doing great and growing like a weed. We go to the pediatrician on Friday and I can't wait to see her weight and height gain. I'm raising a giant. Well a giant compared to me. I'm only 5"2' so she looks very long draped across my body. Plus she wiggles non-stop - unless we are outside. It's a fabulous workout.

I love spending the day with my sweet baby girl. She has the most infectious smile and cutest laugh. She's still drooling and chewing on everything in sight. Her favorite teether is Sophie the Giraffe. We are still working on the whole rolling over idea. She can get on her side, but then has no clue what to do with her bottom arm. She's getting close though! She still loves going outside. I've started wearing her in the Baby K'Tan wrap and taking a walk in the afternoons. She would stay out there all day if she could. She also loves sitting in her Bumbo chair. She helps me cook and often curls her toes on the edges of the bowls as she sucks her thumb and watches as we mix things up. The bottom picture is from this morning. I put her in the Bumbo while I do my makeup and she always sits there chattering and watching me. However, today she finally found herself in the mirror and was just beside herself with joy at seeing another baby. We are really looking forward to decorating for Christmas and seeing her reaction to the twinkling lights. Thanks for checking in on us. Enjoy your day.

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T10:10:00.003-05:00

Happy Halloween!!!! We took Charlotte to the pumpkin patch earlier this week. She loves being outside and she enjoyed watching everyone walk around. We had fun snapping photos of her and picking out a few pumpkins to bring home. We found these cute tiny pumpkins and it was perfect for our little princess. Although, we had to keep her from licking it. Told y'all the bubbles are overtaking our house!!!!

We are staying in tonight and looking forward to passing out candy to all the neighborhood kids. Can't wait to see what the favorite costumes are this year. What are your kiddos dressing up as??? Hope y'all have a fun evening and sneak a few sweet treats for yourself!!!

3 Months

2010-10-24T09:33:00.006-05:00

My sweet baby girl is 3 months old today! We have really noticed a change in her the past few weeks. She is getting to that stage where she is more alert and attentive. She has recently noticed her hands and is constantly staring at them and stuffing them in her mouth. She can also grasp toys and loves swatting at the ones that hang from her car seat or activity mat. If you look closely at the picture above, you will see what else has started - bubbles! She blows bubbles all day long and drools like crazy. It's very likely that if you are holding her, then you will get hit by a drool droplet!

As you can see the hair on the top of her head is finally filling in and catching up to the hair she was born with in the back. I've already purchased a few clips and she keeps them in pretty good! She definitely recognizes us now and chatters up a storm if we mimic her noises. Her smiles and laughs are infectious! Another new development is sitting up. She has excellent control of her head now and prefers to sit up if you are holding her. We put her in the Bumbo chair last night and she loved it. She still loves to be outside so every morning we sit on the porch and every evening we walk down to get the mail. She is fascinated with the wind blowing through the trees. I can't believe another month has come and gone. Can't wait to see what she learns next!!!! Thanks for stopping by

Roadtrip

2010-10-12T13:39:00.003-05:00

Over the weekend, we went on our very first road trip. Charlotte was a pro traveler!!! She slept 3.5 hours waking up as soon as we took the exit for our destination. On Sunday, we attended a wedding in Galveston. It was fun dressing Charlotte up and introducing her to more family members. Ross had fun snapping photos all day long. This is one of my favorites that he captured. I feel so blessed with such a beautiful family and this little girl makes me smile all day long!!!

My Favorite Face + a Winner

2010-09-30T20:53:00.010-05:00

Love That Shot has an extra special Link-Up this week that includes a wonderful prize from Florabella Actions and Textures! It's also judged by the fabulous founders of I Heart Faces - Angie & Amy. The challenge is easy: take a picture of your favorite face. Well, we all know who my new favorite face is - my sweet Charlotte. She makes a ton of different, funny faces constantly. She's a very expressive little lady. She also moves constantly so most of the pictures I have of her include blurry arms and legs flying all over the place ;) However, the other night she was working on holding her head up while Ross held her and I was so excited to finally capture this serious look as she was deep in concentration. My baby girl is growing up and accomplishing new things all the time. She had her 2 month check-up on Tuesday. Are you ready for this .... She weighs 12.7 now and is 23" long. We almost fell over. Remember that little peanut that dropped down to 5.7 when we brought her home. Mama is getting a great workout these days. I couldn't resist sharing this picture as well. Check out those kissable cheeks!!! I love being a mom.

Thank you to those that entered my blog candy. The winner is Sharon who chose Hanging By A Star - which seems to be a popular new favorite! Sharon contact me (email is in my profile) with you addy and let me know if you want a cling or wood mounted stamp. Be sure to check out the new Whipper Snapper cling sets: Happy Haunting, The Witch Is In, , Bee-lieve In A Cure , Think Pink .

New Whipper Snapper stamps + Blog Candy!

2010-09-24T09:14:00.003-05:00

F.Y.I. - the new Whipper Snapper Fall/Winter 2010 collection is in. Get your credit cards ready because there are so many cute new images!!! Some of my favorite everyday images include: Hambilina, Kahlua and Kit. I also love the new Military Boy & Military Girl!!!! As always, there are a ton of new Christmas images including many snowmen and some adorable elves like Elissa. I have decided to offer up some blog candy to thank my regular visitors and commentors for constantly putting a smile on my face. Your comments truly brighten my day and I appreciate each and every one of them! You have to have left a comment on my blog in the past 6 months to be eligible to enter!!! Simply check out the new images and let me know which ones pop out at you!!! Be sure to tell me your absolute favorite because that is the stamp you will win if selected!! You can choose if want a wood or cling mounted stamp! A winner will be announced on October 1st. Have fun browsing!!!!

2 Months

2010-09-23T19:06:00.004-05:00

Another month has flown by. Charlotte turns 2 months old today and my how she has changed in the last few weeks. She is sporting a double chin these days and some mighty adorable arm and leg rolls. She is very alert and has recently started cooing and smiling up a storm. It's quite cute and makes us melt instantly. I think we have a talker on our hands. She loves for you to copy her sounds - she chatters right back at you. She's also very strong! She holds her head up pretty good and will try to pull up if you hold on to her little hands when she is laying down. She can't wait to get moving.

Charlotte LOVES getting in her car seat and going for a ride. She immediately calms down and most often falls asleep before we get out of the neighborhood. Her fuzz on the top of her head is slowly coming in finally. She is still sporting the old man hairdo at the moment. It's very long in the back and she has some pretty nice comb overs on the top! No matter what we do it sticks straight up all around. Her new favorite place to lounge is cradled in her daddy's arms. He slowly walks her around the house and she slowly drifts off to sleep until she is a limp noodle.

Regardless to say we are very smitten with our little girl. She makes us laugh and smile all day long. Momma is doing good. I got my kidney stone analysis back and they were caused by a high level of uric acid in my body. I was told that they have been there for a long time and to lower my red meat intake - which I haven't eaten red meat in 8 years :) so I'm on some meds for now to hopefully inhibit more from developing in the future. I go back in January for another cat scan and follow up. Ross has been working from home 90% of the week so that has been nice. We get to see him throughout the day. He is set up in the office so that is why I don't get online too often anymore. I would rather spend my time with Charlotte at the moment anyways. Everyone says that these days go by so quickly so I'm trying to soak them all in while I can. One day I will get back to stamping and creating, but until them I'm visiting blogs and getting lots and lots of ideas! Thanks for stopping by. Wishing everyone a sunshiny day!!!

i Heart Faces: Smirk

2010-09-20T20:11:00.002-05:00

The photo challenge theme this week over on i Heart Faces is Smirk. I couldn't resist playing along, especially since I have a little model to snap photos of these days :) This picture was actually taken on August 25th so my little peanut was just a month old here. Wait until you see her now, she already looks so different. I'll be posting a 2 month update in a few days. This photo cracks me up though. Charlotte really does love taking a bath. She splashes the entire time she is in the water. I just so happen to snap a ton of pictures that night and caught this face that she made when we washed her face off. Babies are so funny. I could take pictures of her faces all day long!!

1 Month Old

2010-08-24T13:28:00.002-05:00

Can you believe that my baby girl is a month old already?? I can't! I feel like I missed many parts of her first month with everything that has gone on these past few weeks. Charlotte has made it all better though. She makes us smile all day long and we are already so in love with her. It has been neat watching her change already. She has clearly gained some weight. We smooch on her chubby cheeks and tiny baby rolls constantly. Her hair is a wild mess. It sticks up all over the place :) She is starting to be more alert at times throughout the day and she is starting to focus on stuff. She loves to cuddle and be held close, but when she is awake watch out. She is a mover! She is constantly kicking and picking her head up to look around. She LOVES her bath and kicks the water the entire time she is in there. It's hard not to sit here and stare at her all day long. I'm happy to report that my kidney stones are a thing of the past - thank goodness! I'm still taking it easy, resting lots and letting my body heal. Over the weekend we finally were able to start getting into a routine and I must say it's going good so far. I must apologize greatly for not responding to many of you who have sent beautiful cards, gifts, emails or who have called to check on us. We truly appreciate it all and now that I'm finally getting better, I will get back to you soon - I promise! Thanks for all of the sweet comments, prayers and thoughts that you have sent our way this past month. They truly touched our hearts and were greatly felt!

Large Feet

2010-08-14T18:06:00.003-05:00

Last Thursday, Love That Shot started a new weekly feature called Link-Up. All you do is post your favorite photo from the week along with a little tip. I'm a few days late playing, but that's just how my new life is these days :) Of course, my photo is going to be one of Charlotte. I could snap pictures of her all day long. I love baby feet. They are so incredibly soft and sweet. We've gotten a lot of comments about Charlotte's feet. She might be a tiny baby, but she has extremely long legs & arms and then you see her feet! They are long, slender and her tiny toes curl just like mamas. I snapped this photo while she was napping on the couch Thursday. My tip is don't hesitate to zoom in and focus on tiny parts. They sometimes make the sweetest photos. I love the tiny creases on the bottom of her foot, the leftover spot from where the Dr. took blood and even the bit of peeling skin on her leg. Picture was processed using the Chamomile Photo Veil.

Quick update on me - surgery yesterday went well. Kidney stones were removed successfully. Just been resting up a lot today. I go back in on Wednesday to have the final stent taken out, then I have a follow up on the 26th where I should get the results telling us what caused the stones to develop. Thank you for all of the prayers and well wishes! They have truly brightened my day!!!!

2 Week Update

2010-08-09T19:00:00.004-05:00

Hey folks, remember me?? I wanted to take a moment to thank each and every one of you who left sweet comments about the arrival of our precious little girl. We are definitely head over heels in love with her. I've gotten a lot of concerned emails asking for updates so I thought I would pop on and explain what's been going on these last 2 weeks. We've had a bit of a rocky start with several obstacles along the way. Let me explain:

Charlotte started loosing weight when we brought her home. She dropped down to 5 lbs. 7 oz. So we've been focused on getting her to eat and gain weight for the past 16 days! We had a small set back during feeding time that involved coughing and an oversupply of food, but we've got that under control now. I never in a million years thought we would have such a teeny tiny baby. We had to go out and buy preemie clothes and diapers and even those were too loose. After about a week, I started having problems of my own. I went to take a shower and got stung by a red wasp twice on my toe. My foot was red and swollen for days! A few days after that, I started having severe back pain and actually ended up in the ER last Wednesday. After several test, we found out that I have massive kidney stones. I was rushed into surgery where they inserted a stent to help drain the fluid for now. What are the odds of that? It was a scary and emotional day. All of the staff was extremely friendly and nice though. I guess I got a lot of sympathy votes going through that with an 11 day old baby and a body that was still trying to heal from delivery. At the moment, we are resting and taking it easy. I go back in this Friday for another surgery where they will remove the stones and hopefully have me back to normal. It's been frustrating dealing with everything and wondering when the pain is all going to stop. I just keeping telling myself that it will all get better one day.

Charlotte is perfect. We had our 2 week check up today and we were greatly relieved to see that she has gained weight. One less thing to worry about! She is now 6 lbs. 9.5 oz. She is such a good and content baby too! She only cries when she is wet. She hates having her hands swaddled. She wants them loose so she can rest them on her face or punch the air with her fist while she sleeps. She's full of personality already and makes the funniest faces. She had definitely been the best medicine I could have these last few days. Ross has been amazing not only helping me out, but jumping right into fatherhood. I'm definitely blessed to have him by my side. So that should catch you up for now. Told ya it's been a hectic 2 weeks. Dinner is ready so I'm going to run and eat while the little peanut is still sleeping. Thanks again for checking up on us!!!!!

The Panda Baby has Arrived!

2010-07-24T21:18:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone, Ross O' here, our beautiful baby panda has finally arrived. After being admitted at 2pm yesterday, our 6 lbs 2 oz 19 inch baby girl entered the world at 3:09PM today. Here is a picture of Charlotte Ryann after her first bath. She is so adorable, I instantly cried at first sight of her. Kim is doing well also, I'm so proud of her for being able to go through such an amazing ordeal. I'm sure many more pictures will be coming shortly, but I wanted to keep everyone posted, and thank you for all the thoughts and prayers.

Rosie Posie Birthday Wishes

2010-07-16T08:00:00.000-05:00

Did y'all see the SFYTT this week? It's a fabulous layout and if you link a card, you are automatically entered into an uber fantastic giveaway! I couldn't resist playing along. I pulled out this Rosie Posie image from Lili of the Valley. She just makes my heart melt. The way she is standing and her funky clothes - it's just way too cute. I covered her funky tutu skirt and the flowers with Stardust Stickles so it's extra sparkly. The ribbon was tied around a package of baby wash cloths so I just re-used it :) Can't let good polka dot grosgrain go to waste ya know! Ross took off today so we are going to try our best to get some stuff done around here this weekend. First on our list is washing all the baby clothes and installing the car seat! We will see how long it takes for my poor ankles to swell up to the size of grapefruits. Hope y'all have a wonderful weekend!

Stamps: Rosie Posie (Lili of the Valley), Sunday Stroll (TAC)
Paper: DCWV Latte matstack, Perfect Plum
Copics: E00, 11, 21, 53, 55, 57, R20, YG00, 91, 93, 95, 97, C1, 3, B91, 93, 97, V01, 12, 15
Other: Stardust Stickles, scallop scissors, square Nestie, EK Success heart punch, Basic Grey Wisteria brads, circle punch

Coloring Grass

2010-07-14T13:41:00.003-05:00

Hi folks! Thanks for all the well wishes over our carpet install. It went smoothly. It looks and feels sooooo good! Moving everything out of 3 rooms was actually a nesting mother's dream come true. We were able to clean everything from top to bottom before putting it back in place. I've been working on organizing everything in the nursery now. Not much longer. Went to the Dr. Monday and I'm 1 cm. dilated!! That snapped us into action to get last minute things wrapped up. Takes me a bit longer to create stuff these days, but I've been working on this card for a couple days now. Anna told me about this new blog called Color my Copic. I highly suggest checking it out. It's full of wonderful tips from color combos to different techniques. I saw this tutorial for Coloring Grass and decided to give it a try. Gotta admit, I love how it turned out. Gives the bottom of your image a little extra something. I started off by following Sketch Challenge 287, but I added an extra panel across the center. It's hard to see in the photo, but I dotted the center of the flowers with a Sharpie Poster-Paint pen to help them stand out a bit more. Just wanted to take a moment to point you over to Jodi's blog. It's packed full of inspiration and pictures of Edward ;) she's celebrating her birthday in a very generous way by offering you the chance to win 1 of 5 amazing sets of blog candy. You have until the 31st to enter. Thanks for stopping by!!!

Stamps: Willow with Flower Basket (Whiff of Joy), Dear Friend (TAC)
Paper: DCWV Cafe Mediterranean, Soft Suede, So Saffron
Copics: E00, 11, 21, 51, 53, 55, 57, R08, 20, G14, 17, 24, 28, Y21, 26, 32, B000, 00, C1
Other: Sharpie Poster-Paint pen, Scallop scissors, Twill from Taylored Expressions, glitter brads

Toby with Roses

2010-07-09T15:51:00.002-05:00

Look who found some mojo and created a card today. I had to do something to take my mind off of things, LOL. We are having carpet replaced in 3 of our rooms tomorrow: dining, master and nursery. I'm anxious to get it over and done with. It's our last big project to complete before we prepare for the arrival of our little Panda. I've been telling my belly for the past couple weeks that it can't make any big plans until we get the carpet in. So far it has kept up its end of the bargain :) However, this means we have to move everything out of those 3 rooms before the installers get here in the morning. Fun! I'm feeling pretty useless as I watch Ross and our nephew haul stuff around. I'm use to jumping in and lending a hand so it's kinda driving me nuts to sit back and watch. I'm looking forward to getting everything back in it's place though. Then we can start putting up baby stuff: changing table, playyard, etc. and getting ready for the big day!!! Anyhoo, on to the card. This is another Wild Rose Studio image that I picked up from All That Scraps. Don't you just want to squeeze him? I covered all of the roses with Stardust Stickles because honestly who wouldn't love a bouquet of sparkly roses? I also raised his little flappy ears with dimensionals. Check it out - I used a corner rounder! I always forget until it's too late to pull that sucker out and round some corners so I was mighty proud of myself for doing so today! I followed Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge 118 for the layout! Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!!!!

Stamps: Toby with Roses (Wild Rose Studio), Sweet Expressions (Whipper Snapper)
Paper: More Mimi (TAC), Soft Suede
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Rich Cocoa
Copics: E51, 53, 55, 57, R81, 83, 85, 39, 20, RV32, 34, YGoo, 03, G20, 21, BG10
Other: corner rounder, dimensional, Stardust Stickles, EK Success Scallop Diamond punch, metallic brads, buttons from my stash, Mimi ribbon (TAC), white Scrapper's Floss

2010-07-07T11:36:00.004-05:00

Been awhile since I posted last. Sorry about that!! No worries, everything is good and I'm still cooking a baby :) Just been super busy getting last minute things ready for our little bundle of joy before it decides to make it's grand entrance. A little over 3 weeks left to go! My belly is now the size of a watermelon. I posted a bump pic over on Twitter the other day ----> Also been spending more time relaxing and keeping my feet propped up because they keep swelling in this humid Texas weather. Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend. We went out to my inlaw's house. A bunch of Ross' family were in town, so we enjoyed some yummy food, lots of chatter and of course some gorgeous fireworks. I was in charge of taking fruit so that's what the above picture is. I decided to stick with a patriotic theme and just skewered up some blueberries, bananas and strawberries.

Okay, on to the card. Just another quick little thank you card using the Dress Up Sweet Pea set from Pink Cat Studio (Anna, can you tell that I've gotten good use out of this set??). I followed this SFYTT that I had saved from Jen's blog. The clothes are paper pieced on and the bottle is raised with a dimensional. Thanks for stopping by today. Enjoy the rest of your afternoon!

Stamps: Dress Up Sweet Pea (Pink Cat Studio), Baby on Board (Whipper Snapper)
Paper: BG Kioshi, Kraft, So Saffron
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Rich Cocoa
Copics: E00, 11, 21, 53, 55, 57, R20
Other: Janome Sew Mini, square Nestie, buttons, EK Success Scallop Diamond punch, dimensional, white Scrapper's Floss

The Big Kahuna

2010-06-29T15:48:00.001-05:00

Aloha. I've had this adorable Whipper Snapper image sitting on my desk for a few weeks waiting to be inked up for summer. Is he not the cutest? I know I've said it a thousand times before, but I love the mice images from Whipper Snapper. They just make me smile and they are so fun to color!! This one is called The Big Kahuna and he is so ready to chill on the beach and ride the big waves. I went over all of the yellow parts of the image with Yellow Stickles. The little cloud and sentiment are also raised with a dimensional. I finally got around to playing with Sketch Challenge 282! It's another great layout that comes together quickly!!! Thanks for stopping by. Hope you are enjoying some sunshine in your neck of the woods.

Stamps: The Big Kahuna & Sweet Expressions (Whipper Snapper)
Paper: Elegant Eggplant, Hip Hop (TAC)
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa & Tuxedo Black
Copics: YG00, 03, 13, 17 V12, 15, 17, BG10, B02, 04, C1, 3, 5, Y21, 26, 35, RV11, E51, 53, 55, 57, 29
Other: dimensional, Yellow Stickles, ribbon, Word Window punch, metallic brads

Knitted Panda

2010-06-28T11:23:00.002-05:00

I don't have a card to share with you today, but I do have something crafty to show y'all. I've mentioned my SIL Barbara (aka Babsi) before on here. She is a very talented knitter and I just had to share with you the extra special gift she brought over for us the other day. It's a little knitted Panda bear! How cute it that?? We love it. Especially the little smirk on it's face and the details on the patches around it's eyes. It will make a cute decoration in our nursery and a special keepsake for our baby to cherish throughout the years from it's Tante Babsi! Can y'all believe that I'm in the final countdown already. Had a quick check-up this morning and all is well. Baby was bouncing all over the place while the Dr. was trying to listen to the heartbeat :) I start going in for weekly appointments now. Won't be long!!!

SC286 with Spring Emma

2010-06-25T12:11:00.002-05:00

Did you happen to check out this week's sketch challenge over on SCS? It was a simple layout so I had no excuse to not give it a try. Plus it was a great way for me to use up some of my beloved Basic Grey Lemonade scraps! After coloring Emma, I carefully cut her out and raised her with a dimensional. I also added some sparkles her shirt by going over the flower with Stardust Stickles. The flowers were made using the Martha Stewart Hydrangea punch! Thanks for stopping by and happy Friday. Wishing each and every one of you a wonderful, relaxing weekend!!

Stamps: Spring Emma (C.C. Designs), Sweet Expressions (Whipper Snapper)
Paper: Basic Grey Lemonade, Soft Suede
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa
Copics: E00, 11, 21, 08, 19, 53, 55, 57, BG01, 10, 13, R20, RV32, 34
Other: rectangle Nesties, Stardust Stickles, dimensional, Word Window punch, Memory Box pearls, Martha Stewart Hydrangea punch, ribbon

Millie

2010-06-23T09:00:00.000-05:00

How sweet is this little bear image? It's called Millie with Pot and she is made by Wild Rose Studio. I thought she would be perfect for several different occasions so she hopped in my cart the last time I was shopping at All That Scraps :) Her little bow is cut out and raised with a dimensional. I also cut out 3 of the flowers. glued them just in the center and curled the edges to make her bouquet stand out more. I finished the image off by adding a bunch of sparkles with Stardust Stickles. I followed Mojo 144 for the layout. Love that little tab idea!! Hope you're having a good week so far!

Stamps: Millie with Pot (Wild Rose Studio), TAC sentiment
Paper: My Mind's Eye, Soft Suede
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa & Tuxedo Black
Copics: E51, 53, 55, 57, C1, R20, 85, RV32, 34, YG00, 91, 93, 95, BG10, 72
Other: square Nestie, dimensional, Scallop scissors, Labels 1 Nestie, Olive polytwill, Stardust Stickles

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-20T08:00:00.001-05:00

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful dads out there!!! I'm so looking forward to seeing Ross become a dad in just a few short weeks. We've been married for almost 8 years now and I can't wait to see him in this new role. If you follow me on Twitter, then you will have seen how excited he is over this baby. We have a stuffed Panda that we bought several months ago. He carries it around the house, has tried it on with the sling and has even pushed it around in the stroller. Excited is probably a huge understatement!!! I just know that he's going to make a wonderful dad!! I wanted to make him a special Father's Day card this year and this image was just too perfect (thanks again Shannon!!). I followed Friday Sketchers #107 for the layout. I paired the image with this bear hugs sentiment from TAC because we obviously refer to the baby as our little Panda and Ross is constantly rubbing, kissing, talking and squeezing my belly. Makes me melt each and every time. I'm off to make some Roasted Banana Cinnamon Rolls for the proud Poppi to be. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your day!!!

Stamps: Miracle From Above (H&M Stamps), Little Things (TAC)
Paper: Basic Grey Archaic, Chocolate Chip
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Rich Cocoa
Copics: E00, 11, 21, 42, 44, 51, 27, 29, YG91, 93, C1, Y17, YR18, 14, B91, 93, 95
Other: EK Success Dotted Wave punch, Chocolate grosgrain, piercer, Sharpie Poster-Paint pen, brads

Banana Pudding

2010-06-18T09:00:00.000-05:00

Jennifer this post if for you. I'm sorry to have kept a pregnant woman waiting for a recipe, LOL. Let me know if you try it out. So I mentioned the other day that Ross asked for Banana Pudding (we don't pronounce that G at the end :) for his birthday treat this year. I had never made banana pudding, but I knew I wanted to try and make one from scratch to make it extra special. So, I set out looking for a good recipe and I stumbled across this one called Southern Banana Pudding over on Tasty Kitchen. LOVE that site!! Go ahead, I'll wait while you save it. I will forever use this recipe now. It was soooo crazy easy and super tasty. It was my first time making custard as well and it turned out perfectly - not to mention it made the house smell fantastic. The only thing I added was 1 extra banana because we like bananas. As you can see, the layers set up picture perfect and the birthday boy and pregnant mama devoured every last bite! I was happy that I finally got to eat a dessert. It wasn't too sweet at all, so Panda gave it a stamp of approval. This makes a wonderful summer treat so give it a try and be prepared to impress a crowd!

May the holes in your net ...

2010-06-17T09:00:00.000-05:00

Looks like I've been on a guy card kick lately! This cute fishing image is from Whipper Snapper and is called Not Exactly Monday. I know the sentiment it hard to read in the photo. It says, "May the holes in your net be no larger than the fish in it". The little fish is cut out and raised with a dimensional. I also covered him in Glossy Accents. I followed Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge 115 for the layout. Thanks for stopping by and for leaving all of the sweet comments about our chubby cheeked little Panda!

Stamps: Not Exactly Monday & Hooked on Fishing (Whipper Snapper)
Paper: Basic Grey Archaic, Soft Suede
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa
Copics: E08, 51, 53, 55, 57, YG91, 93, 95, 97, Y17, YR14, B91, 93, 95, C1
Other: circle Nestie, piercer, dimensional, Glossy Accents, brads, Sharpie Poster-Paint pen

33w2d Ultrasound

2010-06-15T11:29:00.003-05:00

As I mentioned yesterday, we went in for an ultrasound and check-up. This is the best picture that we got. Check out those cheeks and it looks like baby has my nose. Panda is and always has been a squirming, active little baby. My belly is constantly twitching, moving and doing what we refer to as the tidal wave - where Panda fully extends stretching out my belly and then releases causing it to shift like crazy. Yes, we watch and laugh at it often :) Anyhoo, little stinker was playing yesterday and wouldn't stay still for long. At first, it was kicking it's legs in the air and moving around, then it started hiding behind the placenta so we couldn't see the face, then towards the end it fell asleep with both arms covering it's face. They say an active baby is a healthy baby so I guess we can't complain. Plus we roughly have 6 weeks and 3 days til we meet face to face and I'm sure we will be staring at it constantly then. Check-up went great. My blood pressure was down which was a huge relief because it was a bit spiked last time. I go back in 2 weeks and then start going in for weekly appts. - EEK! Now if I can just manage to stay cool in this hot, humid Texas weather all will be good :) Also wanted to thank everyone for wishing Ross a happy birthday yesterday! I read him all of your messages. He wanted Banana Pudding so I made one from scratch yesterday. YUM - I'll have to share a pic and recipe with you later this week. It turned out perfectly!

Roasting Mellos Bear

2010-06-14T10:57:00.003-05:00

Happy Flag Day!!! Did you know that it was Flag Day :) It's highly celebrated around here since my husband and nephew both have a birthday today!!! This is the card that I put together for Ross. It just seemed like the perfect image to use for him since he loves to be outside, he loves to hike and he is definitely about to become a papa bear!! I covered the fire with Glossy Glaze to give it some shine. Ross always points out and comments on cards that I add that to and sure enough that's the first thing he mentioned when he opened it this morning! I followed this sketch that I found over on Amy's blog - I just moved the brads around to better fit my image! Hope y'all have a nice day. We have an ultrasound scheduled for this afternoon. Can't wait to see Panda again - it's been awhile. Ross keeps saying that it's the perfect present for him today :) I'll be sure to share some pics with y'all tomorrow!

Stamps: Singing Cowboy, Roasting Mellows Bear (Whipper Snapper)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Bo Bunny - Pet Shop Stripe, Pumpkin Pie
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa
Copics: E31, 33, 35, 37, 29, 51, 53, 55, 57, YG13, 17, 67, B23, 32, 45, Y38, YR04, 14, 18, R20
Other: ribbon from Michael's, Glossy Accents, brads, Sharpie Poster-Paint pen

A Real Party Animal

2010-06-11T08:00:00.000-05:00

I've had such a blast playing with Anna's new cling sets this week. This cute little dog is from the Party Animal set. I love his expression! He's perfect for guy cards too! I paired him with this Basic Grey Offbeat paper and followed Sketch Challenge 284 for the layout. His hat, the top of the cupcake and the present are all raised with dimensionals. I also covered the top of the cupcake with Glossy Glaze to give the icing a shiny look. I hope you've enjoyed my samples this week. I'm sure you'll see more in the future. Until then, don't forget to check out what the other featured designers came up with. Happy Friday. Enjoy your weekend!!

Stamps: Party Animal (Whipper Snapper)
Paper: white, Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze, Basic Grey Offbeat
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Rich Cocoa
Copics: E51, 53, 55, 31, 33, 35, R20, 27, 29, YG00, 91, 93, 95, BG10, 72, YR12, 14
Other: oval Nesties, dimensionals, Glossy Accents, Chocolate Taffeta, circle Nestie, brads, Sharpie Poster-Paint pen

Got Cake?

2010-06-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

I'm back with another Party Animal sample using Anna Wight's new Whipper Snapper cling set. This image just makes me smile. I added lots of dimension to this card to help make the animals pop. Anna's images are always so easy to cut out and work with! I think I'll be using this sentiment a lot as well. It's the perfect little saying and just the right size. I always tend to reach for this Cosmo Cricket paper when I'm doing farm cards. I just love the muted colors. I followed Sketch Challenge 281 for the layout. It's simple, but perfect for those tall, skinny images!! Don't forget you can check out all of the Whipper Snapper samples in the Featured Designer Gallery on SCS. It's a great place to pick up lots of inspiration! Thanks for stopping by.

Stamps: Party Animal (Whipper Snapper)
Paper: Earth Love (Cosmo Cricket), So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, white
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Rich Cocoa
Copics: E00, 11, 13, 21, 31, 33, 35, 37, Y11, 21, 26, G20, 21, 24
Other: dimensionals, oval punch, Chocolate grosgrain, brads

How Egg-citing!

2010-06-09T08:00:00.001-05:00

I hope that y'all are enjoying all of the samples for the newest Whipper Snapper release. I know I have had a blast putting them all together. I just couldn't resist using the Sunnyside Up set again and inking up this little girl. She is just so darn sweet and fun to color! This time I paired her with a basket full of eggs. The set has 4 different options of what can be placed inside the basket: eggs, chickens, apples or flowers. I chose eggs so I could use this uber cute sentiment! I cut them out and raised them with a dimensional, then added some Glossy Accents to give the eggs a little shine. I followed this SFYTT that I found over on Jen's blog at the end of last month. Such a great layout! Thanks for stopping by and happy Wednesday!

Stamps: Sunnyside Up (Whipper Snapper)
Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Kraft, Ocean Tides (PTI), Cosmo Cricket - Early Bird Sunrise
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Rich Cocoa Copics: E00, 11, 21, 42, 31, 33, 35, 37, 51, 53, 55, R20, 24, 27, Y11, 21, 26, YG00, 91, 93, 95, BG72, 93
Other: circle Nesties, Glossy Accents, Chocolate grosgrain, Janome Sew Mini, brads

Missed Your Birthday . . .

2010-06-08T08:00:00.001-05:00

So what do y'all think about the new Whipper Snapper sets that were released yesterday? Super cute, right? I've had a blast playing with them and coming up with samples. This is one of the cards I made using the Party Animal set. I used 4 different stamps from the set to again create a fun little scene. Doesn't she looked really bummed, but ever so cute, about missing a birthday? I did a little paper piecing on this image. The dress, balloon and bows were paper pieced on - the rest was colored in with Copics. I raised the top of the present and the balloon with dimensionals, then I attached a piece of brown Scrapper's Floss to the balloon to give her something to hold on to! Thanks for stopping by - enjoy your day!

Stamps: Party Animal
Paper: Basic Grey Kioshi, Chocolate Chip, white
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Rich Cocoa
Copics: E31, 33, 35, 37, 51, 53, 55, R81, 83, 85, V04, 12, Y11, 21, 26, YG00, 91, 93, 95
Other: dimensional, EK Success Scallop Diamond punch, pearls, brown Scrapper's Floss, Chocolate Chip grosgrain

Introducing Sunnyside Up & Party Animal

2010-06-07T08:00:00.001-05:00

Time for another Whipper Snapper cling set release! It's pretty obvious that I love the uber cute images from Whipper Snapper. This includes the fabulous sets illustrated by the ever so talented Anna Wight. Today she released 2 new sets: Sunnyside Up and Party Animal.

I'll be sharing my samples throughout the week. The first card I made, was using the Sunnyside Up set. How cute is that name?? Better yet, how cute are the images?? That little girl just makes me smile. I keep calling her Dorothy - it has to be because of the blue dress. I actually used 4 stamps from the set. That's what I love about Anna's designs, you can use them individually or pull out those masking skills and easily whip together a little scene. I followed Mojo 139 for the layout!

Click on the images for a larger view:

I'll be back tomorrow with a sample using Party Animal. Until then be sure to check out what the other May/June Featured Designers came up with:

Danielle Lounds: SCS Gallery & Blog

Jeanne Streiff: SCS Gallery & Blog

Leigh O'Brien: SCS Gallery & Blog

Shannan Teubner: SCS Gallery & Blog

and Anna Wight: SCS Gallery & Blog

Stamps: Sunnyside Up
Paper: Basic Grey Marrakech, Chocolate Chip, Basic Grey Kraft pad, white
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Rich Cocoa
Copics: E00, 11, 21, 31, 33, 35, 37, 51, 53, 55, R08, 20, Y11, 21, 26, YR65, BG10, 72, B00, YG00, 91, 93, 95
Other: Shaprie Poster-Paint pen, Labels 1 Nestie, Basic Grey Marrakech button & brads, Michael's ribbon, brown Scrapper's Floss

Hey there, Sunshine!

2010-06-02T08:54:00.002-05:00

Are y'all enjoying some sunshine today?? It has been blazing here in Texas already with the temps slowly creeping towards triple digits (should be 100˚ by the weekend). Not the best setting for a gal in the middle of her third trimester, but I'm hanging in there. I did manage to put together a quick little note card this morning. I followed AmyR's latest Friday Sketch - I just love her layouts! They are always unique and full of a variety of shapes. I was inspired by all of the pools opening up for the summer around here, so I pulled out this adorable Lily image. She is carefully cut out and raised with dimensionals. I added a few sparkles to her towel and snorkel with Stardust Stickles, then I covered the lens of her goggles with Glossy Accents to give it that wet, glass look. Thanks for stopping by. Hope you're staying cool!!

Stamps: Lily at the Beach (Pink Cat Studio), A Verve sentiment
Paper: white, Hip Hop (TAC)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Copics: E00, 11, 21, B00, YG00, 03, 13, 17, V12, 15, 17, Y21, 26, 35, R20
Other: Stardust Stickles, oval Nesties, dimensional, Glossy Accents, Labels 1 Nestie, Hero Arts Gems, ribbon, Sharpie Poster-Paint pen

Memorial Day Weekend

2010-05-29T09:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Memorial Day weekend!!! Do you have any special plans?? Today we are having a cookout over at my brother's house. Both sides of our families are in town (parents and siblings with their families - about 24 people). With my niece still visiting from Germany it's the perfect time to get everyone together for some good food and lots of chatting. Should be fun! I just wanted to share a couple things with you real quick. Panda is doing great. Thanks to everyone who has checked up on me lately! We are in the final stretch with around 8 weeks left to go. Still feeling great as long as I can keep my feet from swelling in this 90˚ + heat. I keep joking that I'm going to have to start sleeping in the freezer section at the local grocery store :) Baby moves around often. I love watching my belly thump and twitch. It always brings a smile to my face! My latest craving has been watermelon. In fact, I've craved it my entire pregnancy and now that it's in season, I can't get enough. As in we have bought 3 this month!

Look what I picked in our backyard the other day! Dewberries and they are HUGE this year. When I think of May, I always think of going out and picking dewberries. They are just like blackberries, only they grow wild all over Texas and they are big. Ross is already dreaming about Cobbler. Speaking of cooking, have I found a recipe for you. Thursday night I tried Picky Palate's BBQ Shredded Chicken and Caramelized Red Onion Ranch Spaghetti. I'm drooling just thinking about it. You MUST save and try this recipe. It was sooooo super easy and the flavors are amazing. The BBQ chicken is perfect with the Ranch pasta. Ross raved about it and we both enjoyed leftovers the next day. It was just as good, if not better, the second time around! That's it from me. Enjoy your holiday weekend!!!

Weekly Wednesday Challenge

2010-05-28T14:47:00.003-05:00

I promise I don't have my days mixed up :) Just been busy and slowly working on this card when I could the last few days. Did y'all know that All The Scraps has a Weekly Wednesday Challenge blog? I just stumbled across it and found this fabulous sketch. I had to give it a try!! I shrunk the sketch down to a regular sized card since it fit my image better. I pulled out this adorable C.C. Designs Swiss Pixie (thanks Anna) and had a blast coloring her up. These Spring stamps have quickly become some of my favs. I added a little sparkle to her wings with Stardust Stickles. The flowers were made using the Martha Stewart Hydrangea punch. Happy Friday. I know everyone is looking forward to the long weekend!!

Stamps: Swiss Kerchief Birgitta (C.C. Designs), TAC sentiment
Paper: River Rock, Chocolate Chip, Basic Grey Infuse, white
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa
Copics: Eoo, 11, 21, 31, 33, 35, 37, 51, R20, RV32, 34, YG00, 91, 93, 95, 97
Other: dimensional, pink pearls, Chocolate grosgrain, EK Success Dotted Wave punch, Martha Stewart Hydrangea punch, Oval punch, Stardust Stickles

Sweet baby Riley!

2010-05-26T09:00:00.000-05:00

No, Riley is not a name we have picked out nor do we know what we are having. Just wanted to clarify that first :) I've mentioned before that we know 5 people who are expecting at the moment so I went ahead and made a couple of these cards the other day thinking that at least one of them is bound to have a boy. I was right, a friend had an U/S the other day and got the good news that they can start shopping for blue now! So excited for them. This seems to be my go to paper for baby boys. I just love the muted Earthy tones and I couldn't help but pull out little Riley. This image just makes me smile and I love paper piecing his little diaper on. I followed Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge 111 for the layout. Perfect for a quick, little notecard. Enjoy your day!

Stamps: Baby Riley, Baby on Board (Whipper Snapper)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, white, Basic Grey Archaic
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa & Tuxedo Black
Copics: E31, 33, 35, 37, R20
Other: dimensional, circle Nestie, word window punch, corner rounder, scallop scissors, Basic Grey Granola buttons, white Scrapper's Floss

Squeaky Baker

2010-05-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

I can't believe this is the first time that I've inked up this stamp. How cute is it?? I love the little baker's expression and of course the towering pile of sweet treats. I really had fun coloring it up. To achieve my "mouse" look, I combined the following Copics in this order: E51, highlight with E53, blend with E51, add highlights along the edges with C3 & C5, blend entire image with C1 and finally go back over it all again with E51. It gives it a nice dirty tone that it perfect for sweet little rodents, LOL. The plate of treats was begging to be cut out and raised with a dimensional. I then added a few sparkles with Stardust Stickles. I followed Mojo 140 for the layout! Hope you're having a wonderful day!

Stamps: Squeaky Baker (Whipper Snapper), A Muse sentiment
Paper: Kraft, white, Basic Grey Kioshi
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Rich Cocoa
Copics: E31, 51, 53, 42, 44, 47, C1, 3, 5, Y11, 21, 26, V01, 12, 15, G20, 21, 24, RV11
Other: Labels 1 Nestie, dimensional, Stardust Stickles, Basic Grey button, white taffeta

Grad Anya

2010-05-21T09:00:00.001-05:00

Ross' cousin is graduating from High School in about 2 weeks. When we received the invite, I immediately knew that I wanted to use this Anya image from The Greeting Room. I pulled the color palette directly from the invite. The sentiment comes from the Baby on Board cling set by Whipper Snapper. It's the perfect size and font! Happy Friday. My niece from Germany is flying into town tomorrow. We are so super excited to see her. It has been a few years since she was here last!! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Stamps: Grad Anya (The Greeting Farm), Baby on Board (Whipper Snapper)
Paper: Basic Grey Ambrosia, Neenah white, Black
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Copics: E00, 11, 21, 19, 31 ,33, 35, 37, R20, 24, 27, 29, C3, C5, C7
Other: scallop scissors, black grosgrain, silver brads, Sharpie Poster-Paint pen

happy happy birthday to YOU!

2010-05-19T09:00:00.000-05:00

Do you follow the Friday Sketchers blog? They posted this fantastic layout last Friday and I'm so happy that I finally got a chance to play along. Check out all of those layers and shapes!! I couldn't resist pulling out this sweet Belles 'n Whistles image (thank you Tammi) and More Mimi paper again to create another card. The two just pair so perfectly together! The card is pretty straight forward. I added a few highlights to the center of the flowers on her hat with a Sharpie Poster-Paint pen. Just that one little touch really made them pop out more. Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Cupcake (Belles 'n Whistles), Sunday Stroll (TAC)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, More Mimi (TAC)
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa
Copics: E00, 11, 21, 33, 35, 37, 51, 53, 55, RV32, 34, R39, 59, 81, 83, 85, G20, 21, YG00, 03
Other: circle Coluzzle, EK Success Scallop Diamond punch, Mimi ribbon (TAC), paper piercer, pearls, Sharpie Poster-Paint pen

Aloha SCS#279

2010-05-15T09:00:00.000-05:00

Aloha!! This little island beauty popped into my head the other night. It has been awhile since I inked her up. She just makes me smile though and is perfect for summer! I carefully cut her out and raised her with dimensionals. Her outfit and flower were paper pieced on. I made a second flower, cut it out and glued it just in the center so the edges would have some dimension. The brad in the middle is covered with glitter. I followed SC279 for the layout. A simple, but good one - just the way I like! Hope you are enjoying a fantastic weekend!

Stamps: HG Sing (The Greeting Farm), A Muse sentiment
Paper: My Mind's Eye, Soft Suede, white
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Rich Cocoa
Copics: E00, 11, 21, 31, 33, 35, R20, Y11, 15, 17
Other: glitter brad, dimensional, spiral clip, Oval punch, Ocean Tides Twill (PTI), pearls

little sweet pea

2010-05-13T13:54:00.002-05:00

This is the last design (for now) that I came up with for thank you cards. I really love how all of them turned out. Anna, thanks again for the set!!! I've definitely put it to good use. For this card, I followed Sketch Challenge 277. The little baby is cut out and raised with a dimensional. The clothing and accessories are paper pieced on - this paper was so perfect for paper piecing little outfits together!! I picked the little sweet pea sentiment from the Baby on Board set. The decorations at the shower had a sweet pea theme so it was perfect to use on the thank you cards. I hope you've enjoyed all of my samples! It's cute seeing them all lined up on my desk. Now to fill them out and pop them in the mail. Enjoy your day and happy stamping.

Stamps: Dress Up Sweet Pea (Pink Cat Studio), Baby on Board (Whipper Snapper)
Paper: Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Sage Shadow, My Mind's Eye
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Rich Cocoa
Copics: E00. 11, 21, 31, 33, 35
Other: dimensional, rectangle Nesties, Word Window punch, Martha Stewart ribbon, American Krafts button, Dew Drops, Herringbone Cuttlebug folder

SWEET baby

2010-05-12T18:06:00.002-05:00

Guess what, another baby card :) I only have 1 more sample to go before I finish up my thank you cards for the baby shower - I create a couple from each design. I just get so tired of creating the same thing over and over again. Even though I've used the same stamps and papers, I've changed it up a bit by choosing different layouts. I love this paper for baby cards - especially since I needed something gender neutral. Again, the outfit and accessories are paper pieced on the baby. The little bottle is raised with a dimensional as well as the sentiment (another stamp from the Baby on Board set). For this card, I followed Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #112. Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Dress Up Sweet Pea (Pink Cat Studio), Baby on Board (Whipper Snapper)
Paper: Kraft, Chocolate Chip, My Mind's Eye
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Rich Cocoa
Copics: E00, 11, 21, 31, 33, 35
Other: dimensional, circle Nesties, Word Window punch, Martha Stewart ribbon, Dew Drops, Herringbone Cuttlebug folder

oh, BABY!

2010-05-11T16:52:00.003-05:00

I told y'all I would be using this set to make lots of thank you cards. I hope you don't get tired of seeing samples with it. I know I don't get tired of using it!! The little baby is just too darn cute and I love paper piecing it's little outfit on. The rattle is popped up with a dimensional. I used the Herringbone Cuttlebug folder on the circle piece. I loved the texture it gave the card and I thought it looked like the baby was laying on the floor. I followed Jen's recent SFYTT. Isn't it a fabulous layout? Be sure to play along this week because there is a sweet prize up for grabs!! The sentiment comes from Anna Wight's Baby on Board cling set. It's the ultimate sentiment set for baby cards. I've used it tons lately!! Looking at this card now, I wish I would have added a stitch around the yellow background. Oh well, too late :) Hope you're having a good week. LOST is tonight - hope I don't cry during the episode like I did last week!

Stamps: Dress Up Sweet Pea (Pink Cat Studio), Baby on Board (Whipper Snapper)
Paper: Sage Shadow, Chocolate Chip, Kraft, My Mind's Eye
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Rich Cocoa
Copics: E00, 11, 21, 31, 33, 35, R20
Other: dimensional, Herringbone Cuttlebug folder, circle Nesties, oval punch, Martha Stewart ribbon, Dew Drops

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T09:00:00.001-05:00

Wishing all you moms a fabulous Mother's Day celebration!!! We'll see if Panda lets me sleep past 6 today :) This is the card that I made for my mom. I LOVE how it turned out. I used this cute Willow image from Whiff of Joy. I wanted to give her clothing an antique look so I colored a base coat using E42 under everything. I think that might be my new favorite color. It turned out perfectly! The fabulous layout comes from this sketch that I found over on Jen's blog. I'm saving this one for sure! I love the layers! We are going to spend the afternoon with my parents and my brother's family before heading back home. Hope you enjoy your day!!!

Stamps: Willow with Sunhat (Whiff of Joy), Dear Friend (TAC)
Paper: Soft Suede, white, My Mind's Eye, Wild Wasabi
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa
Copics: E00, 11, 21, 31, 33, 35, 37, 42, R32, 35, 37, 20, YG63, BG10, 72
Other: EK Success Scallop Diamond punch, Martha Stewart ribbon, Bazzill paper flowers, pearls, EK Success Rock Fern punch

Mommy to Be

2010-05-08T09:27:00.000-05:00

I wanted to take a moment to thank Shannon for sending me this set (check out her blog - she makes some seriously ca-ute creations)!! I'm going to put it to great use over the next few months. I just love the sweet simple images in this set. They are perfect for paper piecing too! I have 3 friends who are currently expecting and due later this year. So excited for all of them!!! With it being Mother's Day weekend, I decided to break it in and make a card for a special someone who has waited a very long time to become a mommy. I thought this image would be perfect for her. I paper pieced the shirt and skirt on. Isn't that paper perfect for a twill skirt? I followed Mojo 137 for the layout. It's definitely a keeper. I love how the little squares turned out. They were cut and embossed using Nesties so they look like little blocks stacked on top of one another. I stuck the safety pin in with the ribbon just to give it that extra little baby look. Thanks for stopping by!!

Stamps: Miracle from Above (H&M stamps), Baby on Board (Whipper Snapper)
Paper: So Saffron, white, Basic Grey Kioshi, Kraft
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Rich Cocoa
Copics: E00, 11, 21, 31, 33, 35, R20, Y21, 26, G20, 21
Other: square Nestie, paper piercer, oval punch, brads, dimensional, Kraft Taffeta, safety pin

Congrats Changito Grad!

2010-05-05T11:06:00.004-05:00

Is everyone ready for the hectic month of May? There's always so many activities and events to attend during this month - graduation being one of those. This Saturday we will be going to my nephew Walker's high school graduation. I'm so happy for him and we are looking forward to his ceremony. That means I had to make a guy card - eek! I pulled out Changito Grad, colored him in and paper pieced his hat and diploma on. His little tail reminded me of the spiral clips that come in the Hodgepodge Hardware kit - I found that in the bottom of the closet too last month :) I thought it was the perfect way to add just a touch of ribbon to a masculine card. I followed this sketch that I found over on Jen's blog. Thanks for stopping by today and happy Cinco de Mayo!!!

Stamps: Changito Grad (Stampendous), Tag Tidbits (TAC)
Paper: Kraft, white, Basic Grey Granola
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Rich Cocoa
Copics: E31, 33, 35, 51, 53, 55
Other: spiral clip & brads from Hodgepodge Hardware kit, brown Taffeta, oval punch, dimensionals

Sweet Pea Packages

2010-04-30T09:20:00.000-05:00

This is another thank you card I made using the ever so cute Dress Up Sweet Pea set from Pink Cat Studio. As you can see, I made this card at the same time I made the one I posted yesterday. I had just enough paper for this card so I thought I better just go ahead and use it up while it was out. These images are so super easy to paper piece and cut out - gotta love that!!! I followed Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #95 for the layout. I love the little scallop piece. For some reason, I never think to flip my scallops up. Happy Friday. Enjoy your weekend!!

Stamps: Dress Up Sweet Pea (Pink Cat Studio), Baby on Board (Whipper Snapper)
Paper: Kraft, white, the Cafe Mediterranean (DCWV)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Rich Cocoa
Copics: E00, 11, 21, R20
Other: rectangle Nestie, dimensional, brads from my stash, EK Success Scallop Diamond punch, Kraft Taffeta

Sweet Pea Delivery

2010-04-29T09:03:00.003-05:00

Anna recently sent me this adorable set from Pink Cat Studio called Dress Up Sweet Pea. I was beyond ecstatic when I opened the package because I had been searching for a baby set to make cards with and just hadn't found the right one yet. This one is perfect because I can dress the baby up and accessorize it a ton of different way. Plus I just love the little "panda" hat! Be prepared to see LOTS of cards made with this set. Saturday, Ross' aunt is throwing us a baby shower! We are excited and definitely looking forward to seeing a bunch of his family. I thought I better get started making a few thank you cards. This is one of the designs that I came up with. All I had to do was color the baby in and then paper piece all of the clothing on. The little bottle is raised with a dimensional. I followed this sketch that I found over on Jen's blog (I just omitted the heart piece). Thanks for stopping by today!!

Stamps: Dress Up Sweet Pea (Pink Cat Studio), Baby on Board (Whipper Snapper)
Paper: Kraft, white, the Cafe Mediterranean matstack (DCWV)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Rich Cocoa
Copics: E00, 11, 21, 31, 33, R20
Other: circle Nesties, dimensional, dew drops, Kraft Taffeta, Spring Moss button (PTI), paper piercer, Sharpie Poster-Paint pen

Mistletoe

2010-04-28T09:00:00.000-05:00

Mistletoe in April - I promise the pregnant lady hasn't lost her mind over here :) Mistletoe is the name of this super adorable image from Sugar Nellie. The original image actually has some mistletoe hanging above their heads, but I wanted to change it into an anniversary card. I thought the little couple were too cute squeezing on one another. Our anniversary isn't until August, but I thought I better plan ahead knowing that as soon as a little someone arrives I will be a little preoccupied that month! Now I'll just have to remember where I put it! This card is actually for the Sugar Bowl 34 challenge. As soon as I saw the challenge was a Tiets' sketch, I immediately saved it. I LOVE her layouts - so many fabulous layers!!! I tried coloring hair a little differently here - not too shabby right? I like how the guy's hair turned out. The image was carefully cut out and raised with dimensionals. An extra theme for this challenge was punches. We were asked to use a punch that we've been hoarding. I picked this heart punch from EK Success. I haven't used it in ages, but it fit the sketch and card perfectly! Thanks for stopping by today!!

Stamps: Mistletoe (Sugar Nellie), TAC sentiment
Paper: Basic Grey Infuse, Kraft, Chocolate Chip
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa
Copics: Eoo, 11, 21, 31, 33, 35, 37, 44, 47, 49, R08, 20, 24, 27, B93, 95, 97, YG00, 91, 93, 95, 97
Other: chocolate Taffeta, EK Success heart punch, dimensional, brads

Izzie has a Daisy

2010-04-27T10:38:00.002-05:00

Just a quick note card to share with y'all today. Debbie sent me this super sweet Stamping Bella image - thanks sweetie. I love Izzie's little outfit and her super curly hair! After coloring her in with Copics, I added some grass using a Micron pen. Sentiment reads, "May all your weeds be WILDFLOWERS". It comes from the Sweet Expressions cling set by Whipper Snapper. The layout is from Amy R's Friday sketch #79. Wishing you a wonderful day!!!!

Stamps: Izzie has a Daisy (Stamping Bella), Sweet Expressions (Whipper Snapper)
Paper: Black, white, Basic Grey Urban Prairie
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Copics: E00, 11, 21, 31, 33, 35, 37, BG10, 72, B02, 04, R20, 81, 83, 85, Y21, 26, 32, YG03, 11, 13
Other: Micron Pure Green pen, oval Nesties, ribbon from Michael's, brads

Beary Big Hugs to You!

2010-04-23T10:22:00.002-05:00

Happy Friday!!! Is everyone ready for the weekend?? I have a quick card to share with you today. I couldn't resist making another card with this cute Belles 'n Whistles image. It just makes me smile! After coloring it, I added some highlights with my Sharpie Poster-Paint pen and I covered the heart on the bear's cheek with Glossy Accents. I followed Sketch Challenge 276 for the layout. It's a good one to keep handy! I paired it with this Basic Grey paper that I found in the bottom of my closet when I cleaned it out last month. See - it was worth all of that hard work! Sentiment is raised with a dimensional. Panda says hi - it's kicking like crazy as I type this up :) Hope you enjoy your day. Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Beary Big Hugs (Belles 'n Whistles), Tag Tidbits (TAC)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Vanilla, Basic Grey Infuse
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa
Copics: E00, 11, 21, 26, 32, R20, RV11, 32, 34, YG00, 91, 93, 95
Other: Sharpie Poster-Paint pen, Glossy Accents, Angelee ribbon (TAC), brads, circle Nestie, dimensional

Oreo & Friends

2010-04-21T10:12:00.003-05:00

Tammi issued a challenge quite some time ago and I finally accepted it. After she made this fabulously, stunning card, she asked me to use the paper and try out the Copic combos. I had to find my paper first and then she made ... I mean enabled me to purchase some new Copics :) This paper is a retired pack from TAC. It's called Genevieve and I've been hoarding it since I got it. I LOVE the deep, bold colors. Everyone knows Tammi is a rockstar when it comes to coloring with Copics, so I was really excited to try her combos out and of course I loved them. That violet combo is my fav!!! I even added a few colors of my own. To up the challenge just a bit more, I used a super cute image that she sent my way. It's from Whipper Snapper and called Oreo & Friends. It just makes me smile! The layout comes from this old sketch that I had saved from Jen's blog. Tammi, thanks for challenging me!!!! Hope everyone has a wonderful Wednesday.

Stamps: Oreo & Friends, Sweet Expressions (both from Whipper Snapper)
Paper: Genevieve (TAC), Kraft, white
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Copics: B04, BG10, 72, V01, 12, 15, 17, RV17, 34, E51, 53, G21, 40, 82, 94, 99, YG91
Other: circle Nestie, Stardust Stickles, brads and ribbon from my stash

Blaze

2010-04-20T09:00:00.000-05:00

Meet Blaze! One of the many fabulous images that was recently released from Whipper Snapper. He reminds me of the circus. In fact, he could very possibly be Bonzo's best friend!! I decided to stick with that theme and pulled out the Basic Grey Lime Rickey pack to select some playful papers. For the layout, I followed Amy's Friday sketch challenge. Another great one and perfect for using up some scraps! I went over the band on Blaze's hat with Lime Stickles. Hope you are having a happy day!

Stamps: Blaze & Sweet Expressions (Whipper Snapper)
Paper: Basic Grey Lime Rickey, white, Blue Bazzill
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa
Copics: E31, 33, 35, 37, 51, 53, 55, B00, Y17, 38, YR04, 14, R08, 27, 29, 39, YG00, 03, 13, 17
Other: square Nesties, Basic Grey Lemonade button, white Scrapper's Floss, Lime Stickles, ribbon from Michael's

Favorite New Recipes

2010-04-17T13:34:00.002-05:00

When someone asks me what I collect, I immediately say recipes! I know that sounds funny, but I love cooking. It relaxes me!! I have binders full of recipes because I love finding new ones to test out. I know I haven't shared anything in this section for a few months so I thought I would catch you up on some of our favorite new finds. Sit back and be prepared to save some of these links!!

I've been hooked on tomatoes this pregnancy. Raw or cooked, I don't care, but I need them weekly! Which totally baffles everyone because I was never a big tomato fan!! We love Giada's Pasta Ponza recipe. It's absolute perfection. So we when saw her post a recipe for Pasta alla Formiana, we knew we had to try it out and we were not disappointed. Super simple, but the flavors are out of this world. The pasta cooks perfectly and the leftover taste terrific the next day!!!

Spinach Balls. Say what? Yep, you heard right. You must try these!!!! Think meatballs, but without the meat. They bake up super fast and the flavor is spectacular. Perfect way to quickly turn that plain old spaghetti into something spectacular!

I've shared before that we mysteriously have exactly 3 overripe bananas that appear on the counter every so often. We all know that leads to baking something delicious and did I find the perfect new recipe. Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bread. Go ahead, let that sink in for a minute. The smell as it is baking combined with the moist taste. Sigh! It's banana bread at its finest. It wasn't sweet at all, but then again I only used about 1/3 c. of chocolate chips since someone won't let me partake in sweets anymore (it's okay, I love my Panda). Be sure to check out other recipes from Multiply Delicious - she has shared some fantastic ones!

Edamame Dip. Need I say more? We love edamame, so when I stumbled across this recipe I knew we had to give it a try. I can't even begin to describe the flavors - it's totally addicting! We enjoyed it for a few days too. We served it with whole wheat pita chips from Sprouts and these fantastic Veggie Spring Rolls. Super easy to make and everything taste so fresh. I might have to make this meal again soon - I do have all the ingredients for it!

Blueberries. Another thing I've been hooked on lately. First it was blueberry muffins. I tried this recipe and they came out perfectly!!! However, last week I stumbled across this recipe for Blueberry Crisp Bars. I has finally conquered my blueberry craving - at least for now. I LOVE these bars. Crazy easy to make and the best part was - they weren't sweet at all - making them a perfect little treat. They are better chilled!

Get cookin' and if you happen to find a new recipe be sure to send it my way!!

Swiss Pixie Note

2010-04-15T12:26:00.002-05:00

I can't stop using these sweet Swiss Pixie images! They are just so perfect for Spring!!! I pulled out my favorite Imaginisce paper and followed Mojo Monday #134 for the layout. The image was cut out and raised with a dimensional. I went over the ruffles on her dress and the center of the flower with Stardust Stickles. It matches the sparkles in the background paper. Check out the crocheted flower. It's one that my mom made for me to use on my card. It's the perfect little touch. Hope you're having a wonderful Thursday!

Stamps: Swiss Pixies Spring Kit (C.C. Designs), Sweet Expressions (Whipper Snapper)
Paper: Kraft, Close to Cocoa, Imaginisce - Fairest of them All
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa
Copics: E00, 11, 21, Y11, 21, 26, R20, G20, YG11, RV32, 34
Other: Stardust Stickles, scallop scissors, rectangle Nestie, crocheted flower, Basic Grey Bittersweet brad, Kraft Taffeta, Martha Stewart Fence punch, Word Window punch

Spring Emma

2010-04-14T14:11:00.002-05:00

I pulled out another C.C. Designs image today called Spring Emma (thanks Anna!). After coloring her in, I cut her out and popped her up with some dimensionals. I also covered the little flower on her shirt with Stardust Stickles. What girl doesn't love a little sparkle? I followed Amy's Friday Sketch #8 for the layout. It's a repeat of an oldie, but goodie! I picked up this beautiful Basic Grey Kioshi paper last time I was in Archiver's. It's soooooo very perfect for Spring!

Completely off topic, but do you have a theme song? I listen to a variety of music and truly believe that it can calm you. One song keeps popping up a lot lately - Bob Marley's Three Little Birds. The main lyrics say, "Don't worry about a thing, cause every little thing is gonna be alright". I'm trying my best to remind myself of that at the moment. It's tough trying to not be anxious - especially when you are pregnant. We are going through a lot of changes quickly and at times it can definitely be overwhelming. My body is changing daily, my house is torn up as we make some repairs - move stuff around - and box a few things up and if that's not enough, we are still noodling with the idea of putting our house on the market. You know - just thought we would tackle it all in 2010, but as my belly gets larger and I start counting down the days - the anxiety hits me hard! When that happens, I play this song, sway with my belly and somehow it helps calm me down. I also found a Bible verse in Matthew 6:34 that says, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of it's own". So don't be anxious because every little thing is truly going to be alright and it will work out the way it's suppose too. Just wanted to share that with y'all. Hope you're having a wonderful day!!!

Stamps: Spring Emma (C.C. Designs), Sundary Stroll (TAC)
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa
Paper: Spring Moss (PTI), Kraft, Basic Grey Kioshi
Copics: E00, 11, 21, Y11, 15, 17, R20, RV10, 32, 34, V01, 12, 15, 17
Other: Stardust Stickles, Oval Nesties, Corner Rounder punch, dimensional, Spring Moss Twill (PTI), pearls

Texas Wildflowers

2010-04-12T13:40:00.002-05:00

IMG_3643 copy, originally uploaded by orosky17.

As promised in my last post, I got some pictures of the Texas Bluebonnets (our state flower) that are in full abundance this year. Yesterday afternoon, I made Ross take a break from finishing up the bathroom so we could sneak off to the local park. There is one field in the park that is covered in wildflowers. On one side it is just Bluebonnets and on the other it's a mixture of Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrushes. If I wasn't pregnant, I would have trotted through the field like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz when she stumbles across the poppy field, but instead we took our time and meandered through the blooms. I wish you were able to smell this picture. The blooms gave off the lightest floral scent that just made you smile. There were a bunch of families out snapping photos of their kids, their dogs and even some horse back riders - gotta love Texas! I took several photos so if you want to check them out click here. If you have never been on Flickr before, once you click on the photo, up at the top you can click on All Sizes to view a larger photo.

I love Spring!

2010-04-09T18:38:00.002-05:00

IMG_3619 copy, originally uploaded by orosky17.

We have been enjoying a wonderful Spring so far. It's my favorite time of year. So far the weather has been gorgeous. It's been in the 70's and there has been a wonderful breeze all week long. Everything is also beginning to bud out. Ross worked out in the yard this evening and came in with a handful of roses. I love our rose bush!!! It's a Belinda's Dream and the best thing is we hardly do anything to it. Just trim it up every now and then, but it provides us with beautiful, sweet smelling blooms until Fall. Our bush is covered in huge flowers like this one and tons of tiny little buds. Now I just need to make some time to take some bluebonnet photos. They are stunning this year due to all of the rain we've received. All along our highways, you see thick clusters of blue flowers. It makes me smile. Hope you are enjoying your Spring!! This photo was processed using the Pixie Kisses Photo Veil from Open Scrapbook.

Cherry Emma

2010-04-08T12:07:00.002-05:00

Decided to use another C.C. Design image that Anna sent my way (thanks Dude). They are just so darn cute!! I paired it with Amy's Friday Sketch which is another great layout and look another oval!!! I know I used this cherry paper on Amy's last sketch, but I just couldn't resist pulling it out again. Plus it matched her shirt perfectly! Emma was cut out and raised with dimensionals. I followed Tammi & Debbie's lead and added a little bow to her hair. The oval was cut out with Nesties. I then used the Martha Stewart grass punch to create a little lawn. Another sweet little card!!! Hope y'all are having a sunshiny day. Ross is off today and tomorrow. He has been working on repainting our bathroom, but just came to a good stopping point so we are off to grab some lunch and swing by the baby store. Enjoy your day!!!

Stamps: Cherry Emma (C.C. Designs), Sweet Expressions (Whipper Snapper)
Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip, Basic Grey Lemonade
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa
Copics: E00, 11, 21, 31, 33, 35, 37, 51, BG11, 13, 15, R20, 39, 81, 83, 85
Other: oval Nesties, dimensional, Sharpie Poster-Paint pen, ribbon from my stash, Martha Stewart Grass punch, Word Window punch, Basic Grey Bittersweet brads

Dear Swiss Pixie

2010-04-06T09:00:00.001-05:00

I recently received some major happy mail from my dear friend Anna and I couldn't wait to use one of the darling Swiss Pixie images that she sent my way. The little Pixie was cut out and raised with dimensionals. I covered her wings with Angel Wings Shimmerz too - giving them a nice little sparkle. This is one of the Basic Grey paper pack that I found tucked away in the bottom of my closet last week. So happy I rediscovered it because the colors are so perfect for Spring. I decided to use up some scraps from it and follow the Mojo Monday 133 sketch. Such a great layout and it forced me to use an oval - which for some reason I don't do too often. To make my faux ribbon behind the image, I cut a strip of paper and then just clipped one end with a square punch. Thanks for stopping by!!!

Stamps: Swiss Pixie (C.C. Designs), Dear Friend (TAC)
Paper: Basic Grey Two Scoops, Enchanted Evening (PTI), white
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa
Copics: E00, 11, 21, 42, 44, 47, R20, 22, B91, 97, G21, 24, C1, blender
Other: oval Nesties, square punch, dimensional, Earth Elements brads, Angel Wings Shimmerz

Ella Lollipop

2010-04-01T11:52:00.002-05:00

Debbie just sent me this adorable little Stamping Bella image and I couldn't resist using it right away!!! I love her little polka dot outfit and huge bow! I once again used the My Mind's Eye paper pack. It has been one of my favs lately - especially this combo. I also followed Sketch Challenge 274 for the layout. I just flipped it around so I could use this image. Simple, sweet, but oh so cute. Thanks again Debbie!! Hope everyone is enjoying their day. It's a bright, sunny and slightly humid one here today. Panda update: Baby has been kicking and moving around a lot lately. I've even seen my belly thump a few times. Such a strange, yet totally wonderful sight!

Stamps: Ella Lollipop (Stamping Bella), Dear Friend (TAC)
Paper: Kiwi Kiss, white, My Mind's Eye
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa
Copics: E00, 11, 21, 44, 47, 51, R20, 85, RV32, 34, BG10, 72, C1, blender, YG00, 91, 93, 95
Other: Sharpie Poster-Paint pen, Olive polytwill, Basic Grey Porcelain button, white Scrapper's Floss, pearls

So Sweet!

2010-03-30T09:00:00.000-05:00

I was so excited to see Amy R post a sketch last Friday. I've always loved her layouts!! While Ross was repainting our bathroom last night, I decided to retreat to the office and stamp. This sweet Tilda was sent to me by Debbie (thanks sweetie). She is raised with a dimensional and I covered her lollipop with Glossy Accents. I've been hooked on using this Basic Grey Lemonade paper lately. It's one of my favorite packs from them! While I was moving things around in the office yesterday, I found some misplaced Basic Grey pads that I had forgotten about. See it pays off to clean up your closet - who knew! Thanks for stopping by!!!

Stamps: 60's Tilda (Magnolia), Hey You (TAC)
Paper: Kiwi Kiss, White, Basic Grey Lemonade, More Mimi (TAC), Chocolate Chip
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa
Copics: E00, 11, 21, 31, 33, 35, 37, 51, R20, 39, 81, 83, 85, YG00, 91, 93, 95
Other: circle Nestie, word window punch, Glossy Accent, scallop scissors, brads, dimensional, Mimi ribbon (TAC)

Summer Ice Cream

2010-03-27T09:00:00.000-05:00

Since all of my stamps are scattered all over the place at the moment, I've been using images that people have sent me throughout the years. I love going through that box - especially when I find sweet images like this one from Sugar Nellie. I'm hoping that by summer this baby will let me eat ice cream. It still doesn't like anything sugary!!! We will see how long that last in a couple years :) I loved coloring this image. I added a few highlights to the center of the flowers with a Sharpie Poster-Paint pen. I also went over the melted chocolate on the ice cream with Glossy Accents. Everything else is pretty straight forward. Enjoy your weekend and if you happen to get ice cream, have a bite for me!!

Stamps: Summer Ice Cream (Sugar Nellie), Sweet Expressions (Whipper Snapper)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, white, More Mimi (TAC)
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa
Copics: YG00, 11, 13, R39, 59, 81, 83, 85 E00, 11, 21, 33, 335, 37, 51, 53, 55
Other: scallop scissors, More Mimi ribbon (TAC), Sharpie Poster-Paint pen, Glossy Accents, brads

Manga Girl

2010-03-25T13:43:00.002-05:00

We are in the process of moving all of my stamp stuff to another room. I highly advise against this action!! It's very overwhelming seeing everything scattered all over the place. Plus it's alarming to see just how many supplies I have accumulated over the years. I decided to take a little break from organizing and make a card amongst the clutter!

This is for the Sugar Bowl Challenge #32. We were suppose to pick any sketch that has ever been issued since the challenge began. I decided to go with Challenge #8 which used one of Tiets fabulous sketches. I love her layouts - they are always made up of many layers! Perfect way to use up those little scraps from your favorite paper pack and make more room in your closet ;) Not only is this a great sketch, but it was the first ever Sugar Bowl Challenge that I ever participated in (here's my original card). I was in a playful mood today, so I pulled out this uber cute little Manga Girl from Sugar Nellie and made her very colorful. I added a few highlights with a Sharpie Poster-Paint pen and some pearls to her bows.

Talk about great T.V. this week! First 24 and Castle had huge cliffhangers, then I'm still trying to process what all went down in LOST and finally I was a bit surprised by what happened during Tribal Council on Survivor last night. Russell is such a weasel and I love it!! Hope you're having a wonderful week so far!!!

Stamps: Manga Girl (Sugar Nellie), Sweet Expressions (Whipper Snapper)
Paper: Scarlet Jewel (PTI), Soft Sky, Basic Grey Lemonade
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa
Copics: E00, 11, 21, 31, 33, 35, 37, YG00, 03, 13, R20, 37, 39, 59, 81, 83, 85, BG10, 11, 13
Other: Memory Box pearls, paper piercer, ribbon from my stash, Basic Grey Lemonade buttons, white Scrapper's Floss

Small Packages

2010-03-23T09:27:00.003-05:00

Here is the other quick Thank You card that I put together. I followed Mojo 131 for the layout. It has been awhile since I have made a 3.5 x 6 card and I really like using that size! I didn't know what to put inside the panels at first until I spotted the little images in the Baby on Board set. This is the first time, in a very long time, that I haven't colored anything as well. Instead, I stamped the booties, onesies and diaper pins on white, then paper pieced all of the images on. Sounds like a lot of work, but it was easy to cut out the images quickly. I also pulled out the Ribbon Tag Nestie and put it to good use. I need to remember to use that more often! Thanks for stopping by!!!!

Stamps: Baby on Board (Whipper Snapper)
Paper: Kraft, white, So Saffron, Cafe Mediterranean (DCWV)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Rich Cocoa
Other: Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder, button brads, Ribbon Tag Nestie, Kraft Taffeta

Baby Gifts Galore

2010-03-20T09:00:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week, we received 2 fabulous baby gifts: a glider and a Beaba baby food maker! You know what that means - I need to whip up some thank you cards! I've had this adorable Whipper Snapper stamp sitting on the edge of my desk for awhile now, so I was happy to finally ink it up. It's called Baby Gifts Galore. I ordered it shortly after I found out we were expecting knowing that it would come in useful :) The image was super fun to color up. I paper pieced the buggy bottom on, raised the canopy with a dimensional and then added touches of sparkles all over the image using Stardust Stickles. I sewed around the So Saffron piece with my Janome Sew Mini. Baby cards always look sweet with a little sewing! The sentiment is also from Whipper Snapper and comes from the Baby On Board cling set. Isn't the layout cute? It comes from the Friday Sketchers - be sure to pop over there and play along! Hope you're enjoying you weekend!!!

Stamps: Baby Gifts Galore & Baby on Board (Whipper Snapper)
Paper: So Saffron, white, Kraft, Cafe Mediterranean (DCWV)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Rich Cocoa
Copics: Y21, 38, YR04, 12, 14, 31, E08, 53, 55, YG00, 91, 93, 95
Other: dimensional, Stardust Stickles, Janome Sew Mini, Kraft Taffeta, EK Success Scallop Diamond punch, button brads
FYI: The oranges really do match in real life, the glitter just made it appear darker in the photo :)

Top O' the Chesterfield

2010-03-17T12:08:00.002-05:00

Before I get to my card, I have a special request to put out there. Do you ever have a stamp in mind and just can't seem to remember where the heck you saw it or who made it? That was me for the past few days. I searched and searched for a image of a dad holding a baby and I was super excited when I finally found it. It's from a set called Miracle from Above by H&M Stamps. Unfortunately, my bubble was burst when I discovered that the company is no longer in business. I've looked for it everywhere and posted on SCS about it, but have not had any nibbles yet. So I thought my last resort would be to ask here. If you have this set or know of someone who does, can you please contact me. I would love to make a certain someone a Father's Day card with it this year!!!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!! Are you wearing green?? I saw Chesterfield sitting on the edge of my desk this morn' and decided to get inspired by the Irish. I turned on my Riverdance CD and got to work! I just picked up this Basic Grey Origins paper the other day so it was easy pulling a color palette from it. Chesterfield's little face was cut out and raised with a dimensional. I also covered the spots on his shell and the center of the flower with Stardust Stickles. The sentiment comes from the Sweet Expression Cling set. Did y'all see that Whipper Snapper just released a ton of super adorable images?? Check them our here. Hope you have a fabulous day!!!!

Stamps: Chesterfield & Sweet Expressions (Whipper Snapper)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, white, So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Basic Grey Origins
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Rich Cocoa
Copics: E31, 33, 35, 37, G20, 21, 24, 28, R20, BG10, Y21, 38, YR31
Other: dimensional, Stardust Stickles, Sharpie Poster-Paint pen, Word Window punch, Queen & Co. brads, ribbon from Michael's, EK Success Dotted Wave punch

Ruffles Birdwatching

2010-03-15T09:00:00.001-05:00

I was digging around in my box of images that have sweetly been sent my way over the years when I stumbled across this one - Ruffles Birdwatching by Stampavie. Debbie sent it to me quite some time ago, but I immediately snatched it up to put to good use. It's perfect for a Spring card with those little chicks and the daffodils. Ruffles is a cutie too. I had fun coloring this image. I added some Stardust Stickles to the middle of each daffodil. The paper is the Cafe Mediterranean matstack from DCWV. The blue background has some embossing on it that adds a great texture. I followed Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #104. I love the layout - especially that main panel. Hope you're having a good Monday so far!!!!

Stamps: Ruffles Birdwatching (Stampavie), Wordsworth sentiment
Paper: So Saffron, white, Cafe Mediterranean matstack (DCWV)
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa
Copics: blender, B91, YR12, 31, YG00, 91, 93, 95, Y21, 38, E08, 19, 51, 53, 55
Other: Stardust Stickles, rectangle Nestie, Matha Stewart Hydrangea punch, pearls, scallop scissors, paper piercer, twill from Taylored Expressions

Happy Easter Bunny

2010-03-12T09:00:00.000-06:00

I have a bunch of old sketch challenges that I have saved from back in December when I wasn't crafting too much. I decided to finally put this Mojo Monday sketch to good use. I really love the layout - especially the layered circles! I've been in an Easter mood lately so I pulled out a TAC set called Some Bunny. I love this sweet little dressed up bunny. Her bow is cut out and raised with dimensionals. I also went over the patches with Stardust Stickles to give her a little sparkle. It matches the dark flowers on the pattern paper that have a nice shimmer to them. The fence is a Martha Stewart punch. I lightly sponged it with Close to Cocoa ink to make it stand out just a tad. The Barely Banana circle is embossed with the Herringbone Cuttlebug folder. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the texture that it adds. Do you own Copic marker E51 yet? If not, get it!! It's one of my most used colors now. Not only is it a soft beige, but if your colors are too dark, just go over it with E51. I did that with the pinks and blues on this image and it lightened it up and gave it a slight antique look. Happy Friday! I hope you enjoy your weekend and happy Spring Break to those of you who have kiddos off next week!!!

Stamps: Some Bunny & Trendy Greetings (TAC)
Paper: Spring Moss (PTI), Sage Shadow, Barely Banana, American Crafts
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Rich Cocoa, Close to Cocoa
Copics: E51, 53, 55, BG72, RV32
Other: circle Nesties, dimensional, Stardust Stickles, Martha Stewart fence punch, Spring Moss Twill (PTI), Herringbone Cuttlebug folder, buttons, white Scrapper's floss, sponge

Happy Spring

2010-03-10T11:10:00.003-06:00

Thank you for all of the sweet comments about our little Panda yesterday! We feel so blessed and get more and more excited each and every day! It's been a long time since I've used this adorable image, but it's so perfect for Spring. Debbie used this set a few times lately so she inspired me to pull out Miss Anya and ink her up (thank you sweetie). I cut out the flowers and layered them with dimensionals so it looks like she has more flowers in her basket. I also covered them in Glossy Accents (thank you to those that helped me find this product a few weeks back - it works perfectly). I added a tiny little pearl to the middle of her bow as well. I know I've used this paper combo a bunch lately, but I love it! Plus the polka dots matched her little dress. I don't know if you can see it, but I added some stitching around the pink panel. I'm so ready for Spring. We are starting to see signs of it around here. The trees are starting to bud out and the Carolina Jasmine bush by our garage is covered in little yellow blooms. It's been warming up too. The past 2 days it has been in the 70's. Hope you are seeing some touches of Spring in your neck of the woods!!! Thanks for stopping by.

Stamps: Miss Anya (The Greeting Farm), Trendy Greetings (TAC)
Paper: Kiwi Kiss, white, My Mind's Eye
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Copics: E00, 11, 21, Y11, 15, 17, YG00, 91, 93, 95, R20, 85, R32, 34, BG10, 72, C1
Other: Sharpie Poster-Paint pen, dimensionals, Glossy Accents, light blue mini pearl, PTI button, white Scrapper's Floss, Old Olive grosgrain, scallop scissors

19 Week Check-up

2010-03-09T11:02:00.004-06:00

What a wonderful way to start the day. First, I wake up to find that my "Egg"stra Special Delivery card was selected as one of the Top Crops this week!!! Then we went to the doctor and got to see our baby this morning :) As of today, I'm 19 weeks 3 days pregnant! We had an Ultrasound at 9 this morning. Baby looked great. It was amazing watching the technician measure everything. She checked the different parts of the brain, the heart chambers, the stomach, kidneys, leg bones, etc. Panda is healthy and right on track. It weighed in at 9 ounces which just mesmerizes me because you can see so many details already. When we first started the U/S, it was sucking on it's left hand for quite some time. The first picture shows the profile shot of it doing that. The bottom pic is a 3-D image of the baby. It shows the baby's face. It decided to fall asleep at that time. It stopped sucking on it's hand and ended up resting it across the left side of the face. So sweet. That is exactly how I sleep!!! I always have my left hand curled up on my cheek.

After our U/S, we had a quick check-up with the Dr. She's very excited that we are keeping it a surprise. She said she always looks forward to announcing it in the delivery room. I'm feeling great!! I've only gained 2 pounds so far, but don't let that fool you. I lost weight during my first trimester and I definitely have a bump now. I've started feeling the baby move a little bit - especially when I lay down. My latest craving was a muffin top. Yes, just the top of a muffin! Ross came home last Friday to ask what was for dinner and I replied that I didn't care, but that I was baking blueberry muffins and we would have one as soon as they came out of the oven, LOL. We went last week and started some registries at Buy Buy Baby (LOVE that store), Babies-R-Us and Target. We had a blast picking out stuff. That's about it. Just wanted to update everyone and let y'all know that we are moving right along. Hope you have a fabulous day!!!

Cherish the Moment

2010-03-05T13:46:00.003-06:00

Happy Friday! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. I know that we are looking forward to it! I have a quick card to share with you today. This is a Whipper Snapper image called Cherish the Moment. I just love all of the little lamb stamps that were included in the last release. They are all super sweet and easy to color! I went over the bell with a Sakura Stardust pen to give it a little shimmer. The grass is from a Martha Stewart punch. I also sponged the background with Bashful Blue and added a little Basic Grey button to the fleece. I followed Sketch Challenge 270 for the layout. It's perfect for using up little scraps of paper and creating that quilted look! Thanks for stopping by.

Stamps: Cherish the Moment, Sweet Expressions
Paper: Kiwi Kiss, white, Cafe Mediterranean (DCWV matstack)
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, Bashful Blue
Copics: E29, 31, 33, 35, 37, 51, 53, 55, BG18, R20, YR12, 14, blender
Other: Sakura Stardust pen, sponge, brown Scrapper's Floss, Basic Grey Granola button, Martha Stewart grass punch, EK Success Scallop Diamond punch, Pumpkin grosgrain

"Egg"stra Special Delivery

2010-03-04T09:00:00.000-06:00

Before I get to the card, just wanted to let y'all know that I've been making a few changes to my blog. I started Tuesday by changing the layout from 2 to 3 columns so I could spread all of my side stuff out and organize it better. Now I just have to figure out how to do the blog header. Anyone have any tips?? I would greatly appreciate them. For instance - how do I know how big to make it?? Thanks in advance if you can offer any advice!

Ok, now for stamping stuff. I pulled out this uber cute image from Whipper Snapper called An Easter Delivery. It just makes me smile and it's super fun to color up! I cut out and raised the little bunny's head with a dimensional. Easter isn't complete without a little glitter, so I added some touches of sparkle with Stardust Stickles. I followed Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #102 for the layout. Hope you are starting to get some Spring Fever. Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: An Easter Delivery & Eggstra Special sentiment (Whipper Snapper)
Paper: Kiwi Kiss, white, My Mind's Eye
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Copics: C1, BG10, 72, YG00, 91, 93, 95, E31, 33, 35, 37, 51, 53, 55, Y11, 15, 17, R20, 85, RV32, 34
Other: dimensional, square Nestie, Stardust Stickles, Sharpie Poster-Paint pen, metal swirl, Old Olive polytwill, Queen & Co. brads

Bunnies in Love

2010-03-02T14:10:00.002-06:00

Sorry I've been MIA for a bit. I seem to have misplaced my mojo for awhile. Ross was away on business for the past two weeks. He was in Dallas for 4 days and then Salt Lake City for 5. My mom ended up coming into town a few days last week to keep me company. We had fun shopping around and giggling. I was catching up on google reader this morning and got inspired by all of the fabulous Spring/Easter cards that have been posted lately. So I pulled out this sweet Lili of the Valley image called Bunnies in Love (thanks Tammi) and forced myself to go hunting for my mojo. It's a fairly simple and straight forward card, but at least it got me stamping again. The sentiment is from a TAC set called Some Bunny and it reads: some bunny Loves you! I followed Sketch Challenge 269 for the layout! Hope you're having a fabulous week and enjoying a little sunshine.

Stamps: Bunnies in Love (Lili of the Valley), Some Bunny (TAC)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, white, More Mimi (TAC)
Copics: YG00, G20, 21, 24, R20, 37, 59, 81, 83, 85, E31, 33, 35, 37, 51, 53, 55
Other: rectangle Nestie, scallop scissors, More Mimi ribbon (TAC), Hydrangea Dew Drops

Rosie Posy

2010-02-24T09:00:00.001-06:00

I started working on this card yesterday, but it took me many hours because I kept getting up to watch the snow :) This is another Lili of the Valley image called Rosy Posy. How cute is she? I love her stance and clothes! The sentiment comes from a TAC set called Sunday Stroll. Check it out Anki featured two of my cards over on the Belles 'n Whistles blog. Such a wonderful surprise! Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Rosie Posy (Lili of the Valley), Sunday Stroll (TAC)
Paper: Kiwi Kiss, white, My Mind's Eye
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Copics: YG00, 91, 93, 95, C1, BG10, 72, E00, 11, 21, 31, 33, 35, 37, R20, 85, RV32, 34
Other: Sharpie Poster-Paint pen, American Crafts button, white Scrapper's Floss, Olive polytwill, pearls

Snow Day

2010-02-23T19:00:00.005-06:00

Vanilla Twilight - Soft Light @ 50%

If you follow me on Twitter, then you know what we woke up to today - SNOW! It snowed/sleeted until 6 P.M. today. That's very unusual for our area. It normally snows, barely sticks and melts off within an hour. We actually got some big, fluffy flakes and about 2-3" of accumulation.

History - Soft Light @ 89%

I made a cute site let me tell you. Picture a pregnant woman running around taking pictures. Now picture a pregnant woman, wearing her husband's Dr. Pepper flannel PJs, a white ski jacket, turqoise galoshes and striped ski hat. Yes, I went there and I'm so thankful none of my neighbors were home :) What can I say - we don't have snow clothes. Heck it was 72˚ on Sunday!!

Honey Crisp - Soft Light @ 63%

This is our rosemary bush in our herb garden. I love how the snow collected within the small needles. All photos were edited using Open Scrapbook's new Photo Veils!! I'm off to sit by the fire, cuddle with Nala and watch some Olympics. Hope you're staying warm in your neck of the woods!