New Layout - Courtney's Wedding

I pulled together a quick layout about my cousin's wedding in September and love using the Memory Pocket Monthly subscription and add on's from The Lilypad to make it easy to create while including a lot of photos! I'm so happy with how it turned out! I had lots of good photos so I ended up doing a two page layout which I need to do more often! Hope you enjoy -

New Layout: Hip Hop Recital

Meighan had so much fun last year when she took Hip Hop dance lessons at a local dance studio. One of her friends from school was also in the class! At the end of class, she participated in a huge recital that the dance studio puts on each spring. Her class did a really great dance for the recital, in the cutest outfits.

Although I covered this story to some degree in our Project Life album last year, I wanted to also tell the larger story in our scrapbook with a layout. I love how this page turned out - much more edgy than I usually am on my pages. I used a template from the January 2015 Simple Scrapper Membership Materials as well as a Story Starter from a previous month's materials.

Credits: 

Story Starter and Template from Simple Scrapper Membership

Dancing Dreamer Story Starter brushes by CD Muckosky

Currently Part 1 and 2 kits by The LilyPad designers

Tryn' Stop Me by Jennifer Barrett and Micheline Martin

Bitty Bits by Dawn by Design

New Layout: New Adventures

Meighan and Alex are taking Strings Class this year and have both chosen the violin as their instrument of choice! They were SO excited about the violin at the start of the year! It's all they could talk about! We went to a local music store and rented them their instruments! I wanted to be sure to capture this memory in our scrapbooks since it was a very exciting part of 4th grade for both of them!

I used a story starter from the January 2015 Simple Scrapper membership materials as well as a template from an earlier month's Simple Scrapper materials. I used a Paislee Press kit that was perfect for the new adventures theme of this page!

New Layout - Family Portrait

I finished up a new layout using a new Anita Designs kit that was PERFECT for this fantastic heritage family photo that I found. This photo is my mom, her brother and my grandmother. I love every single thing about this photograph! I wanted to keep it simple in order to best showcase this portrait!  There is nothing quite as cool as seeing your mom as a little girl! She was (and is) so beautiful!

New Layout: Snowboarding

Here is my newest layout using Valorie Wibbens' BYOC goodies and I'm loving the color scheme for BYOC at The Lilypad this month! So fun and refreshing!

This layout tells the story of Meighan's first experience with snowboarding. She had such a great time and was so proud of how well she did!

Announcement & Two New Layouts

I am so excited to announce that I'm on the Creative Team for The Digital Press which is a fantastic new digital scrapbooking site! I am so excited to be a part of their team and feel honored to have been selected!

Here is the announcement - so much talent on this team! I am wow'd to be a part of it! I am anrobe in digital circles so that is me - the 3rd name on the Core Creative Team list!

And, so I've been scrapping this week with new goodies from The Digital Press and I can't recommend the designs there more highly! The team is fantastic and their digital store is full of amazing products!

The first layout is one of the layouts I've been meaning to create about our making perogies at Christmas last year and the Gilded Grab Bag by Anita Designs and Karla Dudley was PERFECT for what I wanted to create. This grab bag is an amazing deal - it has a full kit, a layered template album, tons of word art and elements to make your perfect page! I am so thrilled with how this one turned out - even better than I'd hoped!

The second layout is one I've had on my list for awhile - an afternoon that Meighan and her best friend, Lilah, spent together at a local bounce place. I wanted to be sure to document this great day (and Meighan's good friend) in our scrapbook! I used a number of things for this layout - Stenciled Vol 1 by Dawn by Design, Soda Pop Paint by Dawn by Design, Stitches from Lanky Alpha by Dawn by Design, Time Spent Together kit by Digital Scrapbook Ingredients & Wishing Well Creations by Laura Passage.

That is it for now but I'll be back soon with more layouts to share!

New Layout: Caroling for Cans

Here is my newest layout using an older Simple Scrapper membership template from December 2013 and the new collab kit from The Digital Press Co. which was a steal on Cyber Monday (and is still a great price here)!

This one is all about how Meighan and Lilah joined other Girl Scouts to participate in Caroling for Cans! They had so much fun!

New Layout: Thanksgiving 2013

When we lived in Missouri, we typically didn't spend the Thanksgiving holiday with family or friends. We spent the day together, typically in pajamas, enjoying the holiday among ourselves. We sometimes stayed in pajamas all day and watched movies all day until we ate a big meal. After 4 years, we just got out of the habit of spending the holidays with family.

But, since moving back to Virginia, we are able to spend the holiday with family! The first year we stayed home since my mom and Dave were on a cruise and we didn't have any where else to be. But, last year in 2013, Dad and Nina invited us to their house and it's begun to be a bit of a tradition now (since we'll be there again this year). This layout outlines how we spent the Thanksgiving holiday and what a great time we had. I feel so lucky to have Dad, Nina and Elizabeth in my life. It's a two pager so I'll include the full spread as well as each individual page here!

Credits:

Pockets No. 8 by Valorie Wibbens

Memory Pockets Monthly - Gather (November 2013)

Cut It Out - Gather by Valorie Wibbens

Nutmeg by Valorie Wibbens

Arboretum by Sara Gleason

Layout Share: Writing Clues

I've been wanting to create a page about Alex writing clues on a worksheet this summer. Each clue tells so much about who he is and what he thinks about things! It is hilarious and gives me a sneak peek into his little world! This template comes from December 2014's Simple Scrapper membership materials.

Credits:

Sprinkles v.29 by Valorie Wibbens 

Handmade by Valorie Wibbens

(both from the November 2014 BYOC)

Template and story starter from Simple Scrapper membership materials

Layout: Christmas Magic

I'm suddenly feeling very inspired to scrapbook but haven't been feeling well enough to spend much time actually creating layouts. However, I was so inspired by this month's Simple Scrapper membership materials that I sat down tonight and created this layout that tells about the magic of last year's Christmas with my family. Just seeing all of these photos together reminded me how lucky I am to have these people in my life ... I am so fortunate to have 4 amazing parents, 1 very cool sister, 1 wonderful husband and 3 beautiful children.

Credits: Christmas Tradition, Downtown Christmas, Pocket Stuffers no. 4, 

Woodlets no. 2, and Stuffed Pockets - all by Valorie Wibbens at The LilyPadTemplate from Simple Scrapbooks Membership Materials (September 2012)Story Starter from Simple Scrapbook Membership Materials (Decmeber 2014)

New Layout: Hello 4th Grade

I pulled together this page tonight about Meighan and Alex starting 4th grade. I used a template from the template challenge over at The Lilypad which is fantastic! And I used the September 2014 Storyteller kit by Just Jaimee (also over at The Lilypad). I'm really happy with how it turned out. I still can't quite believe that I have NINE year olds who are in 4th grade. It seems like yesterday that they were born! And this means we're half way through their youth ... in 9 more years they will be 18! Time truly does fly!

New Layout - Run Club

Meighan has really loved being a part of her school's girls' run club this fall. She was also in the club in the spring of last school year. But, this year, she seems to be enjoying running more and more! She's so athletic and I think she's seeing that the results of running are helping her be able to be an even better soccer player. One of the mom's who runs with the girls sent me some photos from a recent club run and I had to use them to document how much fun Meighan is having as part of the club! She'll be running in her SECOND 5K on November 8th and she is so excited! I'm very proud of our girl! Here's the layout which uses Valorie Wibbens' new Sweater Weather kit which is fantastic!

Layout: The Best Present

When I was a little girl, my Dad made me the most amazing gift! He built a huge dollhouse with his own two hands for me - it was decorated with carpet, furniture, and curtains. There was a cool hinge on the roof that allowed me to reach the upstairs bedrooms to play. It was simply amazing! And it still, 30+ years later is my all time favorite gift ever! I remember not quite believing that my Dad loved me so much that he spent so much of his free time to make me something so beautiful and magical! It was definitely a big hit and I would smile each time I looked at it, remembering how my Dad made it for me. I think it's time to document that memory in my scrapbooks ... and one of the Story Starters from the November Simple Scrapper materials gave me the inspiration to get it all down on paper! And so here it is ...

Credits:

Template and Story Starter from the November 2014 Simple Scrapper materials

Sprinkles V11 by Valorie Wibbens

Heirloom by Paislee Press

One for the Album by One Little Bird

Generations by One Little Bird and Paislee Press

The Era Of by One Little Bird

The Love List by One Little Bird

Who I Am by One Little Bird

New Layout - Chicago

I finally got around to creating a page about my 2010 trip with Stephanie to Chicago. I think this may be the second layout I've done from that trip ... I need to get moving! This layout uses a template from the November 2014 Simple Scrapper member materials.

I loved our time in Chicago - it may be one of my favorite cities in the US (a list which includes San Francisco, New York, Philly, DC, Seattle and Portland). In retrospect, I wish I'd taken the time to go to Chicago more often when we lived in St. Louis so that I could have done more exploring. Just a few days isn't nearly enough time in Chicago! But, I have great memories of our long weekend in Chicago - getting to experience the city for the first time with my best friend was fantastic!

Credits:

Template from Simple Scrapper November 2014 Member Materials

Just Right by Valorie Wibbens

Orbits by Valorie Wibbens

Sprinkles V28 by Valorie Wibbens

Be Back Soon by Valorie Wibbens

Giggle Snort by Sara Gleason

Little Talks by One Little Bird Designs

New Layout to Share - Glasses

This is another layout using the October Simple Scrapper Materials. Back in April, Meighan was super excited to find out that she needed reading glasses ... she was the last of us without glasses and had the idea that glasses are COOL. The eye doctor said she probably could have waited another year before truly needing them but she was so excited that we went ahead and purchased them for her! And she looks amazing in them!

Credits: Never Ever Land, Sprinkles 24, 26 and 27, The Good Stuff, Photo Kisses No. 6 -

all by Valorie Wibbens & Template from October 2014 Simple Scrapper Membership Materials

New Layout to Share

This layout is about one of the consistently special places in my life - our family cottage in Reedville. It's been the one constant over the last 40 years - a place that always feels like home and family to me. Some of my best memories take place in this place. As I grow older, I've come to appreciate what a special place it is for my family. Although I primarily used photos of the beach, the cottage, etc., I did include one of my all time favorite photos taken at the cottage. It's a photo of me and my dad laying on the infamous green chaise lounge that I spent a lot of time lounging on over the years. There's something special about the photo, that I felt needed to be included in order to truly represent what the cottage means to me - FAMILY! Anyway, this uses a template and a story starter from the October 2014 Simple Scrapper membership materials and lots of goodies from Valorie Wibbens over at The Lilypad.

Back to School Open House

We headed over to the school today for the Back to School Open House and I thought I'd share a couple of photos. The kids are really excited about 4th grade ... and I'm over in a corner crying, unable to believe that my kiddos are actually NINE and starting 4th grade next week. The thing that I am happy about is how wonderful our school is ... the teachers, the administration, the families ... they are all wonderful and the kids have really found a wonderful school home at SVES.

Here are my adorable 4th graders, both with new haircuts!

Meighan was very upset to find out that she won't be in the same class with her best friend, Lilah, this year. They've been together for two years and she's really bummed to be in a different class from her this year. Meighan's teacher is Mrs. Harris for 4th grade. Although Lilah won't be with her, many of her friends will including Cecelia and Sadie who are both in the photo below with Meighan! She is such a social butterfly so she's super excited to be with her friends again all day when school starts! I suspect that 4th grade is going to be a great year for Meighan!

 Meighan and Mrs. Harris

Sadie, Meighan and Cecelia

Alex found out that he's in Ms. Ayubi's class and that his two closest friends, Josh and Jake, are both in his class. He is ecstatic! And I think Alex has had a great summer and he's maturing so much ... right before my eyes! I'm very proud of him! Here he is with Ms. Ayubi who we really like and think is a great fit for Alex!

Alex and Ms. Ayubi

And so another school year is about to start - with lots of activities and fun. Meighan's soccer season begins next weekend and Alex will start fall baseball soon. Can't wait for the chaos to start!

I should also mention that Sami has started her second year at WVU and is doing great! She's in an apartment off campus this year with some friends and seems to be really happy! One of her friends who is a photographer recently took some amazing photos of her which you can see here. Sami is such a beautiful girl - inside and out! We could not be more proud of her! Here is just a sample of the beautiful photos that Amanda took of Sami - 

So excited for all of our kiddos! Watching them grow up and into themselves is such an amazing experience!

Layout Share - Meighan's First 5K

I have a new layout to share using the September membership materials from Simple Scrapper. This is one of the templates included and it's fantastic! I've been trying to figure out the best way to document Meighan's first 5K earlier this year and as soon as I saw this template, I knew it was the right one! I love how it turned out!

Credits:

Jellybean Toes Alpha by CD Muckosky

Be Back Soon by Valorie Wibbens

Stated by Sara Gleason

Sprinkles v. 26 by Valorie Wibbens

Template from the Simple Scrapper Membership Materials for September 2014

Layout Share

Here is a just finished layout all about my friendship with Jennifer who I've known since 1988 and who has proven to be an amazing friend to me! Used a template and story starter from the September Simple Scrapper membership materials on this one!

Credits:
Template from Simple Scrapper membership (September 2014)
Layout created using Story Starter from Simple Scrapper Membership (September 2014)
Word Art by Ali Edwards
Bestie kit by Karla Dudley
We elements by Paislee Press
The When elements by Sara Gleason

New Layout: What Matters Most

Here is my most recent layout - I really wanted to celebrate this fantastic photo that my mom took of our children while we were in Alaska in May. And I just love it! I have made it the background on my phone to constantly remind myself of what truly matters most - our family!