Easiest Headband. Ever.

The upside to having the kids be able to wear "real" clothes to school instead of uniforms is that I get to make new hair accessories for Courtney. {or me!}

Bling the Heat!

Y'all know I have a little love affair going with my Silhouette, right? Well, if its possible, I adore it even more. Here is my first attempt at the Silhouette rhinestones and heat transfer material. It couldn't be easier!
This heat transfer is FUZZY--seriously yummy!!!
Karen & I couldn't keep our hands off it:)
All you need is the rhinestone kit, a roll of heat transfer material, your Silhouette & an iron.

Oh my gosh. She is the definition of SASSITUDE!

Back on the Scrapwagon

I think I'm back...we'll see.
I even joined a Silhouette group on Flickr as motivation to keep posting layouts.

Empty Plates

Here's how the conversation went:

Darren: So why are we giving empty plates away as gifts this year? Shouldn't they have cookies on them or something?

Natalie: They're not plates, they're chargers. It's meant to be a decoration--I put vinyl on them.

Darren: {Holding up battery charger} This is a charger. A Charger is a car made by Dodge. That is a plate.

Natalie: {rolling eyes} OK, while you're standing there, hand me another plate.

Darren: Ha!

Darren: {Handing embellished vinyl charger to the Bishop} Here you go. Merry Christmas. Enjoy your plate of. . . vinyl.
I thought they were brilliant! Maybe not.
{The red ones had bright white vinyl on them-- the pic makes it look ivory}

Bling It On...

You KNOW how much I love my Silhouette, right? The brilliant minds @ Quickutz have now released rhinestone templates & all the sparkly goodness that goes along with bling.

Can't wait to try this out!

I'm Opening a Scrapbook Store!

So I've been waiting years for someone to open a fabulous scrapbooking store in the 'Copa. After months of research, I found a company that will allow me to order & sell my favorite scrapbook brands as an independent consultant.

{Basic Grey, Bo Bunny Press, Doodlebug Design, Cosmo Cricket, Pink Paislee, Making Memories, Rusty Pickle, Fancy Pants Designs, 7 Gypsies, Petaloo, American Crafts, Tim Holtz, Prima-- the list goes on!} I'm SO excited to get this up and running. I have a catalog with the products and you're welcome to come to my home and take a look. I'll order the products, and the next week we can have a crop night with all your new goods! {Just like going to the scrapbook store, but without the drive:} Call me if you're interested.

As Promised...

Pics of baby Courtney. I could have sworn I had a CD of pics from her 1st photo shoot {by Natalie Wright, the Magnificent} but I guess I don't. Courtney @ 5 months {what did parents do before binkees?}
One hour old
Kennebunkport, Maine {this girl ALWAYS had her little pink tongue out}

Sweet newborn babe and puffy post-delivery Momma:)

Paper Beware...

I've been on a quest to find the perfect paper trimmer for years. I've been using the old Fiskars grey & orange one for too long! My friend bought this intimidating, industrial size thing, and I laughed... until I tried it. LOVE it! Making Memories 12 x 12 trimmer. I waited for a 50% coupon {since it is a little pricey}, but it has a self-sharpening blade, so totally worth the investment. {No blade refills!}

Hey, Cupcake!

I found this fabulously tall cupcake pan @ Michaels & couldn't wait to try it out. I felt so domestic spending half the day baking in the kitchen {but didn't fix dinner for my family, believe it or not--Taco Bell takeout to the rescue!} It just so happens that two of my friends had birthdays this week. Tried out a new cake recipe from Bakerella. Love her!
What giant cupcake would be complete without a fun card to go with it? {And a tall glass of milk!}

Boy Pages

While Darren was in Seattle, I got 15 scrapbook pages done! It's amazing what you can get accomplished when you don't have to fix dinner:) I need to retake these pictures. It was a little dark outside. Sorry. I scraplifted this from a sketch in Creating Keepsakes.
I loved that title so much, that I carried it over for this Easter page.
Been hoarding this Rusty Pickle paper for a year...

All right. So I had to slip a pink page in. Seriously, I am using Page Maps like crazy lately.

I Heart Page Maps!

I haven't posted anything scrappy in awhile, so here are a few of my latest girly layouts: I really love working with vellum {Silhouette cuts it beautifully} but I have the hardest time adhering it. Any suggestions? I attempted staples on this one.
Just some leftover Basic Grey scraps. Lovin' this QK tree branch.
My friend Karen introduced me to http://www.pagemaps.com/ and I LOVE it. Becky Fleck has darling sketches that are SO my style. Great for inspiration!
Now off to do some BOY pages:)

Thank You, Teachers!

End of the year gifts... we have been so blessed with awesome teachers this year!

Mother's Day Mini Album

I've been burning the midnight oil trying to complete this little project. I wanted to make something special for our Mothers this year.The papers are mostly Jenny Bowlin Studio, the folders & embellies cut by the Silhouette. The idea was to create little pockets with love notes from each person in our family, telling why we love our Mother {or Grandmother}. This is my Mom's book, opening with a quote from President Hinckley. {Of course Mom Roos' book has a pic of her with the kids}

Our family. Inside the library pocket is a note from moi.
Alexander's pic & note {I got ambitious and embossed this one.}
Miss Courtney
Her folder opens to reveal her note

Yes, even Darren had to write a note... concealed in the envelope:) It was a fun project to do! Karen came over and zuttered the binding for me. Thanks, girl!

Scrap-A-Thon

We had a fun crop night Friday. I never get as much accomplished as I'd like, but it is fun talking and having a night out {or in}, anyway! Here are a few I finished this weekend: Alexander & my cousin, James. They are 10 days apart and Grandma made them matching jammies. They lived in Boston for a year, so we got aquainted with their family when we lived in Maine. They are doing a military tour in Italy right now.
I bought these stickers many years ago, with this layout in mind. I got them @ AC Moore, my favorite craft store in Portland, Maine. It was pretty much our only scrapbook resource {that and Wal-Mart!}. I haven't used a sticker in ages...
This was our 2nd 4th of July in Boston. We got to watch the fireworks from MIT tower, and it was incredible! That's Courtney's little bald head.

This one is a bit purplicious for my taste, but stitching the title and accents made me feel like a domestic goddess:)

Simple. I took these pics outside where the sun was shining. I'm sure my neighbors think I'm crazy-- especially while I was chasing one layout that blew away:)

I'm In the Mood...

To scrapbook! I'm on a roll... this Friday- craft/crop night @ my house. Put your kids to bed early and come over! Give me a holla if you plan to come. I'll make BYU brownies... It must be a little overcast today-- I took these pics outside and they turned out a little dark. Not much entertained Courtney when she was a baby, but she found these beads while we were decorating the tree and was happy!
OK, let me explain. I rarely use scrap pages from a class {don't ask me why} but I had to use this one! In my OCD-ness, I was compelled to make another page to match it, but didn't have the same exact paper. It looked a lot better late last night. In the light of day, they TOTALLY don't match! Ugh.

Thanks

Thank you, blogging friends, wherever you may be:) I have wondered if all scrapbooking will someday go digital. It looks so much easier, and there are SO many darling kits & templates out there.

My style combines a bit of technology and a bit of the old-fashioned. I do most of my journaling on the computer {the perfectionist in me can't handle my own writing or crooked stamping}, & I guess my Silhouette is a digital cutter, too. I love the kinesthetic feel of paper, texture and embellishments, though--it's theraputic to me.

Spaghetti in Primary

I thought once my kiddos were in school, I'd have all this creative free time. Granted, I do spend close to 2 hours transporting kids to and from school {I pick up and drop off 4 times a day} but a lot of my creative time is spent doing my church calling {Jr./Sr./Nursery chorister}. It is a lot of {crazy} fun, and I love it. Yesterday, I told the kiddos if they sang really well, that a visitor would come. I pulled out Nettie, who loves her some spaghetti! I tied pieces of yellow, white & blue yarn together, and then as the kids sang, I pulled the yarn from behind so it looked like she was eating spaghetti. Whichever color she was eating determined who sang {boys=blue, girls=yellow, everyone=white}.

I'm telling you, the Sr. Primary boys have NEVER sang so fantastic. It gave me goosebumps!

{Nettie was created by the Silhouette:}

Making Music

Both my babies have been fascinated with the piano. It is so fun to see them stretch way up on their tiptoes and make beautiful sounds with their deliciously chubby little hands! I was practicing for a performance and Courtney was, of course, making it a duet. Darren captured the moment. I wanted the page to be vintage yet simple to match our old 1907 piano.

It's a... Lamp!

I used these lamps in my kids' nursery, and loved them. However, I need more light in my scrapbook room, the kids don't need them anymore, so...Viola! I finally found my brown pom-poms and went to town. {The room is casting a shadow--there's only one row of poms}
I'm such a match-y person, I sometimes drive myself crazy. Table and chairs, you're next! {And maybe I'll spray paint my sewing machine and my computer while I'm at it--it's a sickness!:}

Love is in the Air...

...or hanging above the window, at least! This is a little crafty project I did today. The minute I saw these QK banner shapes, I knew they were destined to adorn my window.
You can't see the detail very well, but I stitched the heck out of them & then glammed them up with some Valentine shapes, stickles, and of course, bling. I used my favorite font, {of the week} Mr. Giggles. Thanks, Miss K!