Train Travel

My son, Christopher, has train on the brain! He loves all things train related from Lego to computer simulated trains. It all started on his second birthday when he received a Thomas the Tank Engine set from his dad and I. For the past few birthdays, Christopher opted to go on a train trip for his birthday outing and I recently created this scrapbook page to remember this year's trip. 

Where am I in this page? I'm the shoes! ;) Those my friends, are one of my favorite pair of shoes...Rocket Dogs! I think they photograph better than I do! :)

To create the nifty train and tracks, I used a couple Silhouette die cut files. The awesome arrow papers and accents are part of Bella Blvd's Sand and Surf collection. I also mixed in some thin metal arrow die cuts. And there you have it. Memories to cherish for years to come. 

Thanks for stopping by! Have a terrific Tuesday!

Happy Birthday

Hi!

I love die cuts! One of my favorite die cut tools is the Silhouette. Do you have one? Or a Cricut? How about a Big Shot? Or maybe you are like me and have several die cutting systems? ;)

I created the sentiment for this card with my trusty old Silhouette. I still have the original model and have gotten a ton of use from it!

The background embossing was done with a Quickutz folder. I raised my sentiment by using foam mounting tape and wrapped the card with a bit of Doodle Twine. I do love a bit of twine! :)

I hope you like the card and have a wonderful Wednesday!

December

Hello!

How goes it for you this morning? I received a bit of bad news. Not too bad, just a bit of a bummer. I was supposed to have the following page published in a book, but the project got postponed, indefinately. Oh well. I believe things are either meant to be or not. And now I get to share my page with you!

This page is was created to be similar to a December daily, focusing on some of the events of the month.

The calendar grid, the title and the white snowflakes are Silhouette shapes. The red snowflakes are from a My Favorite Things thin metal die. And those aqua blue felt snowflakes...old Fancy Pants.

Lots of oldies but goodies went into this page like the Prancer American Crafts Thickers, old Basic Grey brads and ancient Making Memories chip board accents.  Isn't it cool that old product can look just as awesome today?

There's our lovely tree! It will not be long before we get out our holiday decor and ornaments to deck our halls! I'm looking forward to it!

So, if you stopped by yesterday I mentioned that I was making a recipe I found on Pinterest for pulled pork sandwiches made in the slow cooker? Oh my word! They were heavenly!

Officially, the recipe is called Slow Cooker Balsamic Honey Pulled Pork Sliders from Six Sister's, but we always shorten recipe names in our house 'cause they're too darn long to remember!!! And I didn't make sliders either, I made a regular size sandwiches because we had buns for that! Anyway, the boys LOVED it and are thrilled there's enough for dinner tonight! I wouldn't doubt if one of them asks for these for their birthday! Enough said? Oh, the house smelled so so so good I almost couldn't stand it!

Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday!

Kathy :)

My Happy Place

Hello!

Hope you are enjoying your Sunday. I've been a real hermit this weekend which is a nice way to spend a weekend when the weather is foul. I've been enjoying my latest book, The Dirty Life, on farming, food and love. If you've ever dreamed of what life on the farm would be like, this book paints a realistic picture! It's all the goodness you can imagine with endless back breaking work!

I've been creating a scrapbook page this weekend too. It's about one of my new favorite ways to spend time...on Pinterest!

I've been at it again, sitting at my craft table, playing with paper and browsing Pinterest at the same time!

For this page, I printed a screen shot that shows all my bulletin boards...and me! ;)

I used a little of this and a bit of that to create this page. The pink polka dot background paper is new from My Little Shoebox and the rest is old supplies I've had around for many moons. There's paper from my scrap bin, buttons from jars and a scattering of brads. Oh, I did use some washi tape for the first time! Hey hey!

I employed my beloved Silhouette for the title and sub-title, used a couple border punches and some thin metal dies including Spellbinders . My usual arsenal of tools!

Speaking of dies, did you know that Two Peas in a Bucket is now carrying My Favorite Things thin metal dies? Indeed they are! And a lot of their stamp sets too! Woot!

Another thing I've been up to this weekend is cooking! I'm trying a new recipe that I got from Pinterest! Where else? :) It's simmering on the stove as I type this post. After I've given it a taste test I'll tell you know which recipe it is and if it's worth your time. For now, I'll share the dish I had last week for lunch.

This is so yummy and healthy! It's Quinoa Salad with Black Beans, Avocado and Cumin-Lime Dressing from Eating for England. I bought some seriously delicious tomatoes for it. They were a medley of pear and cherry tomatoes in yellow, orange, red and a deep red. Oh they were like candy! Anyway, love this salad. It will be a regular for me during warm weather.

Okay, I'm going to have check on my food...I hope it's good or who knows what will be on the menu for lunch this coming week?!?! ;)

Kathy

Rock Garden

T.G.I.F!

It's shaping up to be a glorious day! We've had such a wonderful spring this year. Throughout April and May the weather has been just lovely. Not like some years when we've skipped over spring and headed straight into summer's hot temperatures. That will happen next week when the forecast calls for 90s!

Well, I have a fun scrapbook page to share with you today. Recently our son created a project that required the use of his dumptruck. He loves to push that truck around, ever since he got it for his fifth birthday five years ago! He'll help his dad by carting away trimmings and he takes away a load of weeds for me! He decided that his dump truck needed to haul large rocks from the back yard to the front and created what looks to me like a rock garden.

This is actually a hybrid page. The papers and some of the accents are from a fabulous new digital kit at Two Peas in a Bucket called 'Discovery'

by Dianne Rigdon.

I LOVE this map paper and the numerous phrases included in this kit!

These awesome corrugated title letters are from Jillibean Soup

, the border punch is from EK Success and the gray letter stickers are American Crafts.

I used the Silhouette

to cut out these pretty butterflies and added the must have hand stitching. I love the way this page turned out...the soft colors are so pretty!

Well, I'm off to play some more with paper and glue! I hope you have a terrific weekend! Lots of graduations and fun things going on! Enjoy! :) Kathy

A Scrapbook Page, Book Recommendation & Mother's Day Flowers

Hi! I hope you had a lovely and full Mother's Day weekend!

I have a hybrid scrapbook page to share with you today!

I'm loving the digital kit I used for this page! It's a new kit at Two Peas in a Bucket called 'Touch of Spring' by Jen Martakis. I thought the kit was perfect for one of my favorite things about spring...the blooming dogwoods here in North Carolina.

The elements in Jen's kit are too darn cute! I had fun adding a little stitching to each one! I used the Silhouette

to cut my title and the film strip frame. The circles and scalloped circles were created with a couple
Spellbinders

dies.

My husband took the dogwood photo and I used it three times instead just one picture. This bloom is from the dogwood tree in our front yard.

The details include border punches, My Favorite Things heart dies, an old Quickutz file folder die cut with some Doodlebug rub-on numbers and buttons.

I'm addicted to this new crepe paper trim I found on Etsy. Just a little swatch of it here on the bottom of my page.

To change the subject completely, I have a book recommendation for you, 'The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.

"Doctors took her cells without asking. Those cells never died. They launched a medical revolution and multi-million dollar revolution. More than 20 years later her children found out. Their lives would never be the same."

My husband recently read an article about this book in Rolling Stone Magazine and thought I'd enjoy it. It's so fascinating!

To switch gears again! :) I want to share the flowers I got from my husband and son for Mother's Day. I've got a terrific couple of boys!

Aren't these tulips beautiful?

Now these Lego tulips could only be from my 10 year old! You can take each flower out of the vase! Is this the most precious Mother's Day gift?!?! My cup is overflowing! I'm one lucky mama!

Hope your Mother's Day was awesome! Thanks for stopping by today! :) Kathy

Wish for Spring

Hi!

Do you have spring fever?  I do! Big time! It's my favorite of all seasons! I love blooming daffodils, singing and nesting birds, the trees growing their leaves, the warm and longer days. I feel like I come alive along with every thing else in the spring!

Well, spring is near. Daylight savings happens the week after next, we've had some warmer days. The trees are starting to bud and I drove past a beautiful field of daffodils yesterday. Close, oh so close! I can smell it when I take a deep breath! And while I wait rather impatiently for its arrival, I made this springtime card.

How about these whimsical and colorful patterns? They feel like spring to me! They are part of a new Two Peas in a Bucket digital kit called 'Spring Breeze'by Chrissy W. Digital.

This butterfly is a layering of a Silhouettedie cut that I embossed, a hand crochet flower I purchased on Etsy and two stackable flower buttons I found at Archiver's yesterday. The buttons are made by Pebbles, Inc.and they are right up my button lovin' alley!

There's stitching on this project too! I've gotta have it! I love the look of zigzag stitching overlapping two pieces of patterned paper.

So what's the weather like in your area? Warm temps? Sunny? Snow? Cold? We're have a pretty warm day because it's a little humid and raining. We need it to water all those pretty new daffodils! :) Have a great one! :) Kathy

Anyone for a Game of Truck Huck?

Hi!

What's truck huck you ask? Just one of the creative games our son dreams up! Playing truck huck requires no special skills, but to let loose and have a great time. And you mustn't care if your neighbors think you've lost your ever lovin' mind! ;) With that said, the next time there's a fresh fallen snow get out there with your child's Tonka truck and huck it into the air! Laugh like you've never seen anything funnier as it sails overhead! Be sure to not to hit anyone and watch where it lands as it could be buried without a trace until the snow melts away!

Here's a scrapbook page I created of our son playing truck huck. I love that my husband's photo captured the truck in mid air!

I used a trio of favorite patterned papers, Little Yellow Bicycle, Studio Calicoand
My Mind's Eye. I think these papers worked perfectly with the photo.

I pulled out my stack of American Crafts Thickers and found two fonts/colors for the title. I also used a bunch of asterisks for the center of my die cut snowflakes.

The snowflakes were cut with the Silhouettedigital cutter and the circles were made with the Wizard die cutter and Spellbinders dies.

Hand stitching, border punches and a die cut circle for the journaling finish off this page.

Well, it's not snowing here in North Carolina today. The sun can't decide if its going to shine or not. It's threatening, but the clouds are trying their best to be the star of the day!  I'm routing for the sun to shine and give me energy! What's happening where you are? I've read many blog posts that talk about snow. Well, stay warm and enjoy this fine Friday! :) Kathy