Layout of the Week Valentine Party Invitation

Hi there! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! I promise to post a photo of our cupcake-covered boy soon! He had a great birthday, thanks for all the good wishes!

I'm busy working on some invitation for the scrapbook store today. Here's a photo. This one was my sample. I did end up making the type bold so it was easier to see on the final invites. I just thought you might want to use it as inspiration for a Valentine card or two. The background paper is from LUXE's Trinket collection. I chose 4 different papers from this collection and made invites from each one. I think it's fine to use a variety of paper for your invites. Don't worry about them not all being the same. The recipients usually don't compare their invites anyway, but even if they did, I think they'd love the variety. And using a few different papers keeps it interesting for those of us doing the creating. I tend to get bored making 50 of the exact same invites.

Here are the details, if you want to copy them. The background paper is 4" x 5 1/4". I mounted a 4" x 1" black strip to the background paper with glue stick. I did lay the vellum next to each sheet before gluing the strip down, just to be sure I was adhering it in the correct spot. The vellum overlay is cut 3 3/4" x 5". I used Microsoft Publisher to design the vellum overlay. I created the overlays on an 8 1/2" x 11" page. I created a text box 3 3/4" x 5" with margins of 1/4" in the box. I centered the text both vertically & horizontally and used the font Gaston (the extended version). I thought Gaston looked great with the black lines of the Trinket papers. I copied and pasted the text box three times, so I had a total of four boxes on my page. I printed the pages on my ink jet printer. I cut all my papers on a large Fiskars rotary blade cutter. It makes a nice clean cut without the "fuzzy" edges you can get from smaller cutters.

I laid my vellum on top of my background paper with black strip attached. I placed 2 1/2" pieces of dark pink ribbon and black sparkly ribbon over the hole. Next, I used a Making Memories paper piercing tool to create a hole directly in the center of the black strip. For the final touch, I placed a heart shaped brad in the hole. I loved the shape of some bronze brads I found in the bulk embellishment section of the store. But the color wasn't my favorite, so I took a cardboard box and pushed all the brads I needed into it in rows. Then I sprayed them all black with a satin finish black spray paint. For just a little extra effort, I had perfectly matching embellishments.

To hold everything in place, I used a couple of mini-glue dots under the vellum. I didn't want my vellum & ribbon to spin around the brad.

I used black envelopes for these invites. A silver pen was perfect for writing the recipients' names and return address.

I hope you try this technique for creating your next invitations. It's a simple, cost-effective way to create something very personal for your friends & family. Stop by your local scrapbook store to find the perfect papers, ribbon and any advice you need. If you're in the Portland area, stop by Whimzee's Scrapbook Studio, we'd love to help you find everything you need for your next event. Check out our blog for more creative ideas.

Layout of the Week Happy 1st Birthday Our Little Jakey

Wow, I really can't believe he turns ONE today! Such a cute boy. This photo was from last August. This year has really flown by. Now we're watching him, just waiting for him to take off walking. He took one step a couple days ago. He'll stand on his own and take just one step before getting down & crawling where he wants to go. So look out, any day, we'll be chasing him everywhere!

Happy Birthday Sweet Jake! Even though you should't be celebrating until late tonight....considering you were born at 11:37pm! I guess it's ok if you have your cake a little earlier in the day than that!

I'll be sure to take tons of messy cupcake photos, so check back soon!

Wordless Wednesday

He turns ONE on Saturday....YES, I will shed a tear....or 10!

My First Award

I was presented an award this week by Annette from Under the Loupe. Annette lives in Australia and is a designer of some of the most beautiful jewelry I've seen. Be sure to check out her blog when you get a chance!

The rules for the award are:

1. Put the award up on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded it to you.
3. Nominate at least seven other blogs.
4. Add links to these blogs on your blog.
5. Leave a message for your nominee on their blog.

I have selected my favorite blogs that I regularly read to receive this award:

1. Ann Again...And Again
2. MA Info
3. Julie from the Cool Mom Guide
4. Sometimes Lucid
5. A Latte in the Morning
6. Sunday Scrappin'
7. On the Other Side of the World

Wordless Wednesday

Because we all have dreams...

Celebrate Inauguration Day!

One of my favorite blogs, Ann Again...and Again, just posted her new obamicon. Here's mine! It's fun to upload your photo, your kids' photos, your pet's photo...as many as you like. They're a great way to celebrate Inauguration Day!

I made ones for Jake, Delaney & Dave too! They're a hoot!

I love the pomp & circumstance in Washington, DC and I can't wait watch it all on Tuesday.

Click this link to make your own, then write & let me see your obamicons!

Layout of the Week Big Sister...Little Brother...

I put this layout together using the Vita Bella collection from Little Yellow Bicycle. I love how well it matches the shirt Delaney was wearing to have her 2nd grade school pictures taken this day. I took the photos of her & Jake after she came home from school that day. Big sister and little brother, I love these pictures. I used 3 12 x 12 sheets to create this look. I cut the foiled page in half and placed each half over half of the other two pages. The green frames were created from the backside of a paper from this collection. I used foiled and fabric stickers with love & family sayings to complete the layout. The fabric stickers are tags and I added American Craft ribbon to each tag. I used an 8 x 8, a 5 x 7 and wallet size photos printed in a lustre finish from Costco for this layout. I was a little crooked in my picture taking, but I think you "get the picture".

Moments like these, frozen in time, are my favorite things to scrapbook. With close to 7 years between my kids, I am very well aware that the baby stage goes by so quickly. I leave my camera out on the table in the nook, so it's right where I can grab it to snap photos of Jake & Delaney every day, if I want. I used to have it on the nesting end table. But Jake tipped the little one over on himself yesterday and he clears off the big one every chance he gets. So I'm down to one end table with nothing on it. Every time I have to tell him, "NO!" and move him back to his toys, I take a deep breath and remember that I will miss this stage in 7 years. It even brings tears to my eyes just to type this. I try to live in the moment and soak up all of his "baby-ness" that I can everyday. Thank goodness he's a good cuddler, because Mommy wouldn't have it any other way!

When the snow began...

Now that the snow in Portland has been gone for a couple weeks, it's almost impossible to believe these pictures are for real. We woke up on a Sunday morning to discover it was snowing hard. It continued to snow all day long. We drove to our friends' house to pick Delaney up from a sleep over with her best friend and watched the kids sled down the street. After we returned home, we went sledding in the church driveway across the street. Delaney went all over the front yard making snow angels and Dave walked across the street to take this picture of our house. Look closely, you can see how hard it's snowing! We were very surprised when the weather forecast said the snow would be with us for a while. Our schools ended up being canceled all week, which made for a 3 week long Christmas break. It's nice that Dave is working at home now, so the four of us hung out at home together.


Just a few days into the "Arctic Blast," as the news people called it, the sun came out. Delaney & I headed into our backyard to build snowmen. It was so cold and dry, that the snow wouldn't stick together enough for snowmen. So we decided to go back across the street to sled. I took this picture at the end of our yard. The pond was a bit frozen and got more frozen as the cold lingered on for 10 more days after this. I'm sure everyone who lives where it snows and ponds freeze over every year think this is no big deal. But in the Portland area, we NEVER see anything like the storm we had in December. It cracked us up to look out at the Canadian Geese who winter in our pond and see them walking through drifts of snow on top of the pond.

During the time we were "snowed in," Jake got 4 teeth in one week! It was a tough week for him, but it was nice that we were more or less trapped. We did chain up our SUV and were able to get out to check out movies from the store up the street. But in our area, the roads aren't plowed or sanded until you get to the main roads, so it's better to stay at home than end up in a crash with someone who doesn't think they need chains. I do think we're weather wimps around here, but as long as I have the option to stay home, it's fine with me! Maybe next year Santa will bring more plows to Portland and then we'll have to join all those other places where snow doesn't close down whole cities. But until then, we'll hang out at home sledding and making hot chocolate!

Merry Christmas!

Portland has finally emerged from "Arctic Blast 2008," as the local news station called it. We're back to having green grass! After two weeks of snow & ice and being stuck in the house with the family, it's nice to know we can jump in the car with out chains and go where we want.

We did manage to venture out a few times in all that snow. During the second weekend, we bundled up & headed to the mall. There was a driving snow storm going on, but the place was packed. An ice storm was expected, so everyone was trying to cram all their Christmas shopping into one day. That made it a great day to see Santa. His line was very short, so we made it quickly to him. Delaney loved visiting Santa and takes special care to write him a nice letter every year. She had a little chat with Santa as he read her letter and even complimented her on her drawing of her & Jake on his lap. She's such a thoughtful girl, she brought Jake's newest doggie to keep him company in case he got scared on Santa's lap. And she brought along her Baby Jessie. Baby Jessie is very special, my parents brought her to Delaney the day she was born. And this past year, our 12 year old Chocolate Lab, Jessie, died, so Delaney wanted to be sure that Santa knew about her.

Jake was in awe of the whole process, from Santa's workshop area to Santa himself. We were very happy to get a picture of both kids without Jake crying. It turned out to be a fun experience. I'm not sure next time will be so much fun though. When Delaney visited Santa for the second time, she was 22 months old. She screamed and cried, only stopping when Dave & I stepped in to be in the picture with her. I felt bad for Santa and was disappointed, until I thought about it for a while. We always want our children to stay away from strange old men, but then we take them to Santa, who looks pretty strange to a baby and then leave them together for a picture, and for some reason we're disappointed when they scream & cry. After that I thought twice about letting someone she might be uncomfortable with hold her. So I'm sure next year's picture with Santa will be a family affair, and that's fine, just this time, I'll dress for the event....instead of being in my sweats like last time!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! Ours was somewhat spread out this year, but it turned out great. It was so much fun to have another baby in the house this year. We loved watching him celebrate his first Christmas...there's nothing like a baby pulling off all the bows & trying to eat them. And it was especially fun to see Delaney help him open his gifts and then show him how to play with each toy. Thanks Santa!

Find some inspiration with CJane's Blog

I want to share one of my favorite blogs with my readers. C Jane is a mom from Utah who has experienced tragedy in her family this year. Her sister and brother-in-law were badly injured in the crash of a small plane in August. She is caring for their 4 small children, in addition to her own baby, while they continue on the long road to recovery. She posts updates on her sister and brother-in-law, while promoting a charity in their honor on her blog. I love reading her stories about her baby and hearing of the exploits of a mom who has taken on so much in support of her family. Her posts are both funny and inspirational. My prayers are with her and her family. I hope you click on over to her site for a little inspiration too!

A beautiful day to find a tree

Saturday was beautiful here!

We started out bundled up in coats, gloves & hats, but then as it got warmer, we were able to take off a few layers. I took tons of pictures of the kids, hoping to get some (or even one) good enough for a Christmas card. In the end, I got a lot of good pictures. Of course, they're my kids and I think they're the cutest kids on earth...just like every parent does.

Looking for a tree was fun! We wandered around the farm, looking for just the right tree, pretty tall (about 9 ft or a little more) and skinny at the bottom (or skinnier than most), but also nice & full. Boy, I'm hard to please! We needed a skinny tree this year, because we decided to put it in the dining room and people will still have to sit at the table to eat, at Christmas dinner anyway. This is my way of babyproofing, putting the tree as far from the living room as possible and hoping we can catch Jake crawling toward it before pulls it over on himself. So far so good, but we've got three more weeks to go. I keep my trees up until New Year's. I just love Christmas and its decorations, and I try to stretch it out as long as possible.

Thank goodness we picked Saturday to get our tree. It poured down rain on Sunday! And we were the lucky ones, inside putting on the lights & decorations. Laney loves decorating the tree, so she unpacked all the decorations from their boxes & wrapping, while Dave & I put on the lights. One of her favorite traditions is putting the angel on the top of the tree before we start putting up the decorations. Dave always holds her up while I take her picture. This year, the tree was so tall, Dave had to put her on his shoulders and climb up on the step ladder so she could get the angel to her rightful place. I got the shot! A cute picture of Laney gently placing the angel atop the tree.

Now I've got to print my pictures so I can start on some fun Christmas layouts. I'm not quite sure which paper collection I'll choose. I need to look at the pictures first. Maybe next week, I can look through the store & see what inspires me. I'll share it here when I'm finished.

Oh, I just had to share this one! Laney is such a great big sister, always so patient with Jake. She never yells at him or complains when he hits, pinches or pulls her hair. She certainly tries hard to avoid all those things though. With all the pictures I took, it's hard to believe this is the only one like this!

Jake says, "Thanks for putting up with me sis! I love you!"

Where has the time gone???

I found myself wondering today...what happened to that little baby who couldn't sit up much less cruise all around the living room ripping everything off my coffee table and throwing it to the floor. Where is that beautiful, spotless cranium?

In less than a week, my house has been destroyed by a small monster with bruises all over his head!

OK, he still is the cutest little boy on Earth! I just need to find a way to slow that Earth down a bit, it's spinning out of control and my baby is disappearing...only to be replaced by a BOY!

Things are changing everyday around here! I just don't know what I'll do when he decides to "explore" the Christmas tree we're getting tomorrow.

But for now, I'm happy he's sleeping! I did finally post my Acrylic Album class on my scrapbook store blog, http://www.whimzeesgirlsonline.blogspot.com , so check it out when you get a chance.