Julie's Creative Therapy

Already August

2010-08-12T23:55:00.000-04:00

First day of campMichael and Bryce Marah and Bryce

No excuses, just too busy. I'm now working a part time job as a therapeutic mentor to mostly young kids. Lot's of details, too much to share here, but I love it. I'm still creating of course. Just a few products I've done lately and of course pics of the fab 5 and my handsome nephew and godchild, Michael.

I'm Back

2010-06-01T22:18:00.001-04:00

Ok, I was not here the whole month May. I have been beyond busy, probably the busiest I've been since being a mother. Too long for all the details, but I did just come back from 5 days in my favorite city. The little one's had a great time, I didn't hog all the siteseeing time for myself! Here's some pics from our trip and even a family photo.

We took the Staten Island ferry over to the city. The girls love this part.

South Street Seaport, under the Brooklyn Bridge. One of my favorite places!

An actual family pic with me in it!

I'm still not used to the towers being gone, still so sad...........

Finally rebuilding at Ground Zero

The firehouse at Ground Zero.

There's just something about Times Square I never get tired of............

Only in the Village..........

We went to a cookout on Sunday at a friends house in Brooklyn. Wanted to take this wall home with me, too cute!

thanks for letting me share my memories. I've got a couple of classes coming up at the Crop Shop so I'll be showing those pics this week. Hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend!! J

New Tim Paper!!

2010-04-25T23:49:00.001-04:00

I don't think I've ever been so excited about a paper line like this. Ok, maybe when Basic Grey does it's releases I get very excited but Tim Holtz's new paper line "Lost and Found" is definitely up there. Thanks again to Sherry at Got Art? I was able to find out where to get this goodie. Check out how gorgeous it is.
I'm already getting that feeling that I want to save it for something special, but I don't want it to be collecting dust 6 months from now because I was too afraid to use it!! hee hee, I don't think that will happen with this one. I've been holding back on pics witht the kids for almost two weeks. I'll put some more pics out this week including a project I'm doing for a class in June. I may even have a "Lost and Found" project done. Have a beautiful week!

More Projects

2010-04-08T21:30:00.001-04:00

This is a project I made out of an altered cigar box. I purchased the box from my friend Sherry over at Got Art? She has an amazing blog, so much talent to see and great music!! You won't be disappointed.

This box was created for my Design Team submission at The Crop Shop. If you're in the area, please check out this amazing store. Dee has so many new products in and there is so much to see including some amazing classes coming up. Right now I'm teaching two of them. See my previous posts for pictures. Regarding my project, there's also a pic of the outside of the box. I really enjoy altering projects. I think the black and white picture really pulls it together.

Beautiful Spring Day!!

2010-04-03T22:50:00.001-04:00

What an awesome day we had. My friend Sarah lives on the south shore in Abington and every year her family hides up to 2,000 eggs filled with goodies in their yard and invite a bunch of families. The girls and Bryce had such a good time plus Marah got to spend time with her best friend, Chauntel. I also made a trip to the Crop Shop to pick up supplies for three classes I'll be teaching. The first is an altered, acrylic Mother's Day album, see picture above. The 2nd one is a kid's class and the third class is the canvas I showed you on my last post using Tim Holtz masks and metal embellishments. I'm really looking forward to teaching. If you live in the area, check out the Crop Shop's blog and see all the classes coming up. I'm on the design team with some very talented women! Oh, almost forgot to mention, three of my projects were published in the April/May issue of the online magazine Ready, Set Create. It's a great magazine full of unique and beautiful projects and the magazine itself has been around for about 7 years. Check it out!

Irish Step

2010-03-30T14:43:00.000-04:00

I spent Sunday morning and afternoon at an Irish Step feis (fesh) for two of my girls, Marah and Marissa. It's a competition between all the dancers within certain age groups. This was a first for me and the girls. They did so incredible and won awards as well. It's a lot of work, not sure when they'll compete again but I'm looking forward to the recital in June. Also, a couple of pics of projects I'm submitting for the design team where I'm currently on the dt at The Crop Shop. We all had to resubmit again if we wanted to remain, in addition there will probably be new talent on the team as well. I love creating, it's my "therapy"!

Thursday night

2010-03-18T23:38:00.000-04:00

Well, we just got back from the Cape. We spent the day down at my Aunt Barbara's and went to the park for about 3 hours. What a gorgeous day it was. Spring is almost here! Yesterday we also went to the park up the hill from our house. My favorite pics are above. I love the one of Bryce just sitting and watching the guys play basketball. He actually sat there for a good 5 minutes and watched. What a boy!

Spring is Coming!!!

2010-03-10T15:12:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite pictures of my grandfather when he was younger. I did this project for The Crop Shop where I'm on the design team. The paper I used is from Kaisercraft and the best part was using the new product, Flower Soft. It adheres with a liquid glue and it looks great as a small accent or covering a larger area such as the bird and the leaves in this shadow box. Click on The Crop Shop link to see all the great products that just came into the store!!

In addition, the picture below is a class project I'm teaching on Saturday, March 20th from 1-3pm at The Crop Shop in Rockland, MA. We'll be using a Kaisercraft chipboard album which you'll alter with ink, paper, ribbon, Flower Soft and your own pictures. What a great say to start spring, creating a new project for yourself or someone else!

Snowy Day

2010-02-16T10:16:00.000-05:00

Another all day snow day. Just wanted to share a couple of projects I made for the Crop Shop for display. In the first project I used Flower Flock for the first time. It works with a glue and you just sprinkle it where you want it. It comes in lots of colors.

February

2010-02-11T19:07:00.001-05:00

My little guy has his first black eye. We haven't seen one of those since Marah was two! He's wearing his new hat from Aruba Nanni and Papa got for him when they went last week.

Of course he continues to get lot's of attention from his sisters. Today he looked so cute sitting in his little play yard eating his snack with his spiderman slippers. Of course I had to add this beautiful pic of my two oldest beauty queens. I love this picture of them. It's hard to believe they ever argue when you look at it , huh?!! I finally did a couple of projects for the Crop Shop today while Bryce was sleeping. I'll have pics tomorrow of them.

Muscles

2010-01-15T09:33:00.000-05:00

It's starting already! He's only 20 months old and already trying to get those muscles! Ok, I know they're pink but they do the same job! We went down the Cape to my aunt Barbara's house to drop off Madison for her three day hiatus from us. Some me time for her. Bryce loves Barbara, can you tell?!!

He usually only does this with his daddy!

Monday

2010-01-11T20:14:00.001-05:00

The start of another week. I took the girls to their Irish Step class today. I'm trying to find a way to post a video on my site. Hopefully I'll figure it out soon. A real bummer for me was when I deleted over 3,000 pic from the computer last week. I thought I was cleaning out pic files that didn't need to be on my Windows Media Player page because they kept showing up on my mp3. Little did I know that those files are linked to my Adobe Photoshop and I can't open the Photoshop pics without them being a blur. Aren't there supposed to be rules for this? So frustrating........... On the exciting side, my brother in law Michael has opened up his etsy store. He has made and designed an incredible item called The Communicandle. Please check out his store and see these beautiful sculptures. I have the link at the top of my page here but I hope to get a picture soon so you can see how incredible these sculptures really are.

Last Day of the Year..............

2009-12-31T14:27:00.000-05:00

Whew!! It's the last day of the year. Tonight we'll be home with the little one's, being cozy and sipping hot chocolate. I think back to my younger years when we would bounce around to different bars to see where we'd end up by midnight. Boy,time flies!! I'm just grateful that I am so blessed with a wonderful husband and 5 healthy, precious children. I have no complaints. This year I will focus more on my blessings and be grateful to the Lord for all that I have been blessed with. I pray you and yours have a wonderful new year..........

Christmas is over...............

2009-12-28T22:39:00.001-05:00

Christmas is finally over,I don't think I could have spent another penny. This year I really messed up, I've been so busy and didn't do my usual shopping online for everything and not going near a mall. I ended up going to stores the few days leading up to Christmas. I'm just glad it's over. The 5 blessings were happy!!
Below is a picture from Pam Garrison's site. Her work is absolutely beautiful and I"ve always loved the colors she uses. She is worth putting on your favorite sites!! I've been a little slow with my own work, I'll have something soon.

One of my favorite bloggers.........

2009-12-23T08:12:00.000-05:00

As you know, I do a lot of blog hopping, there are so many incredible, interesting, worthwhile blogs to read and take in and this morning as the little guy was throwing his cereal on the floor, I went to one of my absolute favorite bloggers, Pam Carriker. Below is a picture of her work in one of her many gorgeous art journals along with a pic of my favorite magazine, Artful Blogging. Pam will be featured in a four page layout in the winter issue. She is so inspiring and she also offers classes to show her techniques. I'm deciding which one or two to take in the new year, after I pick all this cereal up!!!

December

2009-12-15T14:56:00.001-05:00

Lot's of things happening her, probably too much for my own good! Getting ready for Christmas, I've only gotten one present so far, so this weekend I'll finish up! A few pics of the little one's and at some point I need to share some of my favorite blogs. I've been blog hopping like crazy but have felt a bit out of it to keep up on my own blog! make sense?! Hope you're all enjoying this Christmas season. One more thing, I just got the new book "kirtsy takes a bow" . You have to check out this book! It's a celebration of women's favorites online.

Where I've Been

2009-11-13T22:21:00.006-05:00

Lately I've just been overwhelmed. Not in a bad way although sometimes I'm a bit frustrated, but in a way that makes me realize this is where I am in life. I can only step back and look at the many blessings God has put in my life. I haven't been able to create lately since my studio is in disarray as I try to clean it out and sell some items on ebay. I have such a desire to create and I just finished reading the current issues of Artful Blogging and Somerset Studio. So inspiring, makes me realize what I'm missing.

Of course I always make time for my camera so I've included a few pics of the family!! My Bryce is getting so big, here he is this past week at 18mos. He loves to splash. Also, Marah has a new dancing partner next door! Marah and Marissa (on the left) started Irish Step classes in September with two friends, Faith and Grace. It's so incredible to watch them and I can't believe how much they have to remember but they do, every week. I'll be back!

I Think Winter is Coming...........

2009-11-03T16:39:00.003-05:00

I'd have to say this is probably the coldest day since Summer ended but of course I still had on my flip flops. Maybe I'll wait until the snow falls! Just a pic of a project I did on canvas called, "Faith on Canvas"

My 14th Wedding Anniversary

2009-10-28T22:14:00.005-04:00

I've been out of the loop since the 5th, way beyond busy. To celebrate our anniversary, Michael and I went out to an authentic Mexican restaurant while my mom watched all 5 kids. After we went to Starbucks for ambiance and my favorite venti white chocolate mocha. Then we took a ride through the city, my favorite thing. Here are some pics from the talent show this past Saturday night at our church. Marah and Madison are in the first picture with their friend Grace, and Marissa and Malana are in the second person picture with their friend, Faith. The bottom pic is just of Marah and my little Bryce. They're all getting so big.

Monday, Gorgeous Fall Day

2009-10-05T15:45:00.006-04:00

Just wanted to post some projects I've been working on. The Fall Frame is a project I'm teaching this month at The Crop Shop in Rockland. The rest are some canvas prints. I'm all over the place these days. I check out so many blogs that I love on a daily basis. There's so many styles I like. I'm considering opening up my Etsy store soon, but I need to do a few more projects.

Sunday

2009-10-04T10:10:00.003-04:00

Just wanted to share of picture of the girls we took last weekend at the Arnold Arboretum. It was a gorgeous Fall day as you can see. They love to pose. I'll have more pics tomorrow on some new projects as well as a Fall frame project http://thecropshop.typepad.com that I'm teaching at The Crop Shop this month!

M.I.A.

2009-09-19T16:45:00.003-04:00

I don't think 've been busier in my life than right now. We started homeschooling on the 14th. I have my four daughters this year in addition to the little guy who's been hanging out with Daddy a lot. We have a new curriculum that's very structured with quizzes at least twice a week. I I haven't I haven't been in my studio much but today I took a class in Newton at the New Art Center with Jennifer Lee from Artizen Coaching and Leah Piken from Creative Everyday. What a freeing experience it was for us artists. The class was called Creative Play and boy did we play, it was a way of releasing all stress and really focusing on the artist in us.
Jennifer and Leah were so encouraging and there were so many wonderful women to experience this with. I met Margaret who is an incredible art journaler, she doesn't give herself enough credit! She's also very knowledgeable about all those artists retreats so we'll definitely be staying in touch. I was so "in my element" .
We did collages and I ended up doing 6 mini one's I'll share later. Check out these wonderful sites if your stuck creatively or just need to find your muse!

Ancestry

2009-09-07T21:04:00.004-04:00

You know, I've been on this mission the past couple of years to find ancestors in the Philipine Islands. My grandfather, pictured above in my art journal, was born there and came to the U.S. when he was in his 20's. Anyway, I love this picture of him, although I never got the chance to meet him, I look at the important role he played in our lives and how he still does today. If it weren't for him and the Lord's miracle of life, I wouldn't be here and neither would my children. I hope to find out more info in the near future so that I can possibly find relatives who may still live there or somewhere here in the U.S. I'm hoping to open my Etsy store soon, just working on a few more projects! Hope you all had a great weekend!

Monday

2009-08-31T19:23:00.007-04:00

Just wanted to share a project on canvas that I created last week, also a page from my art journal and a cute pic of three of my four stylin' daughters. Not sure why Marah missed this one!!

I'm loving art journaling and canvas work more and more. Hope you had a great weekend. Today was one of those perfect summer days. Warm and breezy, a little sun. I even got an hour of "me time." I'm startinig an online journaling class at Land of Lost Luggage. Julie Prichard is such a talented artist and teacher. Can't wait to start. You should check it out!

Saturday's Funeral

2009-08-29T16:08:00.010-04:00

Well, even thought the funeral procession has left Boston, just wanted to share a few pics of the organizing last night when we walked by Mission Church. My girls are in a few of these photos. Michael also took some photos today but couldn't get anywhere near the church, bummer.

I was really hoping to see Bush in person. Yes, I'm a Republican, and a Bush fan. I think Obama is a great person but I don't agree with his policies (abortion, stem cell,etc) That's all I'll say about politics.

Of course it was neat to see Obama in the front row of Mission Church with Joe Biden, and Jimmy Carter. Clinton was behind Obama as well as Hillary and Bush and Laura. They were chatting up a storm, Bush and Hillary had a few words for each other as well.

Quite different from the debates last year! It was really incredible to see Jack Nicholson and Arnold Shwarzeneger (don't know if I spelled it right) stroll into the church.

The last picture is of our friend, Mark, who is a Mass. State Trooper and personal security and driver for the governor. We always love to see Mark. Well, the end of a once in a life time chance to be as close to the last living Presidents' of our Nation. Did I mention it's pouring here today!

Five U.S. Presidents in Boston this Saturday

2009-08-27T15:17:00.009-04:00

I'm sure most of you have heard by now about the passing of Sen. Ted Kennedy, well it so happens that his funeral service will be held at Mission Church which is right down the hill from me. Obama is doing the eulogy and both younger Bush and senior Bush , Carter and Clinton are coming as well. I went down this morning and passed by this afternoon to see the chaos begin.

They're still letting people drive by in front of the church but it's amazing how many clean up and construction crews are repairing lights, painting light poles and they actually put down new cement sidewalks in front of the church. I guess having a President come is what it takes to get things cleaned up.

Boston Police are all over the place, news crews are setting up their satellites. Tomorrow I'm hoping to have more pics of the progress happening. I'll probably have to walk down with the girls.

Saturday morning is the service and it's also college moving day here in Boston. There are numerous side streets and all the streets around Mission Hill will be banned for parking so there will just be moving trucks. Total chaos. Just what the Secret Service called for lot's of big trucks parked near the President. Have a great day!

Super Goggle Boy

2009-08-25T21:47:00.005-04:00

This is what happens when you have four sisters! I'm still giggling. I wish I knew how to post a video, the little guy was doing squat dancing, his sisters were rolling on the floor laughing!!!

I know it's been awhile since I posted some creative things. Been a bit busy with family activities so I will be posting some art journaling pages I created over the past few days. Bear with me! Thanks, J

Another Hot and Humid Day.............

2009-08-20T11:08:00.004-04:00

So, we get all this rain in July, a couple of dry, sunny days and now it's been hot and humid high 80's, for the past few days. Thank God for AC's. Mine are blasting daily. I could never live in Arizona, I'd never go out!

I never post pics of my wonderful hubby. Here he is with the little guy at the park last week. I love seeing them smile at each other. Sometimes Bryce even growls at his daddy!

I don't know if I told you I purchased a Nikon Cool Pix digital camera but these pictures were taken with it. I love doing close ups of flowers. Isn't that pic beautiful. I could never have gotten such a clear, vivid pic with my older Cannon digital. Hope you're cool! Thanks for letting me share.

Saturday

2009-08-15T10:04:00.004-04:00

Of course another week's gone by. This one was a bit busy, the girls went to bible camp in Cambridge all week from 9 to 3pm. That meant "vacation" for me since it was just Michael, and I and the little guy. The house was so quiet, but the girls' had an incredible time and made lot's of friends. They're already talking about going next summer. I took this picture their first day.

I've been doing lot's of art journaling this week, I'll be showing more pages later, I still need to catch up on my scrapbooking, I'm 7 months behind. The weather was gorgeous yesterday, sunny, breezy and dry, no humidity. Hope today's the same! Enjoy your day!

Friday Again

2009-08-07T12:38:00.007-04:00

I don't know where the time goes! I can't believe a week's gone by already. First off I just wanted to share that my husband Michael and I started "going out" today 24 years ago. We'll be married 14 years this October. I love him even more than I did back then which seems amazing because I just completely adored him.

He still gives me butterflies when he comes home from being out and even sometimes when he enters the room. He is an amazing, wonderful, giving, sensitive loving husband and a wonderful father to our five children. I'm so blessed.......

Just wanted to share a couple of layouts and a journaling page. My very first done last month. I have more pages to share and I'll be using my new camera to take pics of those. I'm loving the art journaling thing. I'll have some links this weekend to some of my favorite art journaling websites. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Feels Like a Monday.................

2009-07-31T23:21:00.005-04:00

For some strange reason, today feels like Monday, I have to keep reminding myself it's Friday. The little one's and I spent two days down the Cape at my aunt Barbara's. She has so much energy! We went out to lunch spent two hours at the park, the first day. The second day we went to this place where you feed fish and then we went to the Children's Museum of Cape Cod for three hours. Barbara's always ready to take them to the park after that! Whew!

They always have such a great time and so do I. It's been a bit humid here for the past week or so, which I can't stand. (give me dry heat!!) Just wanted to share some layouts and a project. The two layouts of course are of Bryce for his first year album. The Art project was done with Tattered Angels glimmer mist and their stencils as well. I put on some gems, ribbon and inchies and now it's ready to hang on the wall. Have a great weekend!

Collage Project

2009-07-25T08:42:00.006-04:00

Ok, I'm posting one of my favorite projects I finished last week. It's a collage on canvas, one of my new favorite creative things to do. I used Tattered Angels glimmer mist for the background on the bottom . I also love using little house clip art which you see on the top. This weekend I plan to work on my art journaling. One of my biggest inspirations is Kelly Kilmer. She's out in LA and does lot's of traveling.Check out her blog for some true inspiration!! I'm looking forward to meeting her next month when she comes to do classes for two days at The Stamp Act. You can see details of her classes her, it's incredible what she does. It's already warm and humid here today. Maybe a good day to stay in and let the girls play barbies with the AC blasting!!

Cleaning out The Clutter!

2009-07-22T14:17:00.006-04:00

Another kind of blah day. Cloudy.... Just wanted to post a few more layouts and such. I've decided to cut down on the amount of different projects I like to do. I know we artists like to dabble in a bit of everything but I find that it's overwhelming me not to mention cluttering up my studio. So, I'll be selling most of my stamps and inks, some of my scrapbooking paper which is way too much for me. My focus is going to stay pretty much on scrapbooking, altered projects and art journaling. Do you ever get tired of being disorganized? I have way too much stuff, so , it's time for it to go.

The three layout are of Bryce since I'm working on his first year album. I'm strongly considering going digital for some of the yearly albums I do. Still trying to look into it. Have a great day!

Lot's of stuff

2009-07-20T20:22:00.007-04:00

I felt so good today catching up on some crafts. I also took lots of pictures of my layouts I did at the crop last weekend for Bryce's first year. I did some art journaling and some Tattered Angels projects too. Anyone love the Tattered Angels projects?!

I'm still deciding on a camera, would love to hear your thoughts about your recommendations. The first pic is of Bryce at 2 months old. Love those cheeks! The second pic is a page from my art journal, a bit of acrylics, Copic markers, Gesso,etc.

The last two layouts are of the girls two weeks ago. I used the Tattered Angels sprays in Ivy for the background and the last layout is Bryce this past March.

Sometimes I feel a bit overwhelmed with so many ideas, I just want to do it all. I'm going to a great book binding class, this Friday night at the Crop Shop in Rockland, and Saturday morn at 10am, I'm teaching a two page 12x12 Summer scrapbook layout. Check it out! ( click on crop shop in rockland)

House is Sold!

2009-07-17T14:47:00.004-04:00

The house is sold, we just got back from the closing. What a relief! So now that my stress level has decreased I can get back to creating some projects. I started art journaling about 4 months ago. I've been a bit shy about sharing pages, you know the old, I've seen better on other blogs.
Now I've gotten familiar with a lot of different mediums so now I know what other journalists are talking about. I'm still an avid scrapper and I love altering projects.
Tomorrow I'll be sharing a few projects in the meantime has anyone bought a new camera lately? I've seen so many blogs where others are talking about the new SLR's. I have no idea what it means but I went online and saw that they are expensive. Definitely out of my budget.
My neighbor next door just bought a new Nikon with 15x zoom and 10 pixels, etc. Can anyone recommend a camera they have and what you love about it? I appreciate any and all comments! See you tomorrow!

HOUSE CLOSING: TOMORROW

2009-07-16T11:29:00.007-04:00

Finally, we are closing on our home in Rockland tomorrow. It's been so long and draining that I'm not even cheery about it, just relieved. I went to an all day crop last Sat. with my friend Amy and I was able to do 7 months of Bryce's first year album. My goal is to finish the last 5 months of his 1st year within two weeks. We had a gorgeous sunny day yesterday so we went to the park behind our house. Just some pics of my 5. Enjoy your day!

Canvas art

2009-07-11T00:22:00.002-04:00

Today's project was done by a wonderful blogging friend and artist, Sherry Goodloe from California.

Sherry is doing a tribute series on canvas of Michael Jackson. This was her first one which I bought without a second thought. Go check out Sherry's work. She's so talented, so creative and has a very inspirational blog with wonderful music. She also has an etsy store with more of these MJ tribute series canvases along with some other great items. http://gotart4u.blogspot.com/

Moving Forward

2009-07-08T23:48:00.002-04:00

OK, so I don't have a project to show today but I was tired of looking at dead bees on my blog as the current post. The bees are gone, and we are having the walls repaired and sealed tomorrow. My scrapbook budget gets smaller and smaller................ Maybe finally that house will sell! More tomorrow. Thanks for letting me share

July 4th and BEES!

2009-07-04T22:39:00.010-04:00

What a 4th of July this has been. Michael and the girls are up street at the highest point of Mission Hill watching the fireworks in downtown Boston. I would rather have a root canal than be down at the Esplanade "touching me and touching Neil Diamond" as he sings Sweet Caroline.

I can hear the fireworks now, they seem to get later and later each year. If I seem annoyed it's because I am. As most of you know we moved to Boston a year ago to take care of my uncle who was dying of cancer, it was a blessing to be here and still is even though he passed away two weeks after we moved in, I wouldn't change being here for him for anything else. Anyway, we have had our house in Rockland on the market since last September, did I mention Michael's mom came to live with us? She has early alzheimer's and then he was laid off and then this year, 4 months ago, his brother who has MS also came to live with us.

Moving forward to yesterday, we went down to check on the house in Rockland, which is still not sold although we're in the midst of a short sale. After today, I don't think we'll ever sell it. We went into the house and went upstairs and saw hundreds of dead honey bees on the carpet and in the corner of one of the bedrooms. There were also many that were on the windows, still alive. Can you say "Amityville Horror" that's the first thing I thought of! When we went outside, sure enough there was a huge congregation of bees flying around under the eve of the roof right at that spot where the room is. They had actually gotten into the house from the outside.

Well it's a good thing I love to research the internet. Michael called the contractor we use and he has a friend who's an exterminator who said he'd be out Monday. After doing my research last night and having a husband who listens to my opinion, I realized we needed to call a beekeeper since the there was a big chance we had bees in the wall as well as HONEYCOMB! As you can see from the pics, I found a couple nearby who are beekeepers, I learned so much from them today, they also brought their cute 6 yr old son , Aiden who's a little, beekeeper, he's in the first picture. They went in and wow we didn't realize that at least 30,000 bees were behind the walls and yes they found honeycomb.They sliced off all the honeycomb and put it in their hive boxes they brought and the bees went in as well. Not all of them though, there's more! These pictures only show part of the wall where they found the first 30,000. When we left them to finish the job at 5pm, they were going back in to take down more of the wall on the inside because bees were behind the slats and the shingles of the house. He pulled off a couple of shingles and the bees came flying out, so at this point I have no idea of the extent of the damage or how many thousands of bees were taken out. Bill, the husband said we would need to have construction done not only on the inside but on the outside. If they couldn't suck out the bees with the vacuum from behind the slats (because you don't want to kill honey bees!) they were going to have to cut out some of the slats, etc. You get the picture.

Did you ever have one of those days where you think, what else can go wrong? Well, Michael and I have been having months like that! W remain faithful and know that the Lord is blessing us everyday. We have 5 healthy , beautiful children , a roof over our head, clothes on our back. I keep praying to keep the focus on those blessings because I know these obstacles will pass. Just wanted to share my struggles with someone today! Thanks for letting me share!

Her Soldier is Home From the War

2009-07-03T21:06:00.009-04:00

Please click on this link for Stephanie Howell's Blog. http://stephaniehowell.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/07/and-just-like-that-hes-back-where-he-belongs.html
She is a wonderful and very talented girl who has shared not only her talent with us the past year but also the journey of her husband Jimmy who is a Captain in the Army and just returned home last night from his mission. He and his soldiers were in Time magazine a couple of times, highlighting the war and on a sad note, he also lost 8 of his men. He was honored for an award at the Pentagon in the Spring and Stephanie was able to attend with him. We've laughed and cried with this family as they shared their journey apart from one another, but Jimmy's journey is over and he's home for good. They are truly blessed which you can see from these pictures. Thanks for letting me share.

Canvas Art

2009-06-29T19:08:00.002-04:00

Just a bit of canvas art of Bryce a few months ago. I think this is Heidi Swapp paper, I love this paper!!! I painted the chipboard with acrylics and put some gems on as well. The canvas size is 4x6. I'll probably end up hanging these on the wall somewhere in my studio, which I just switched with the girls' playroom. I'll have pics of it in a few days when I'm organized which is never, so please don't hold your breath!! Seriously though I will post pics this week. thanks for letting me share.

Big Announcement!

2009-06-27T20:14:00.002-04:00

At 7:30pm tonight, Bryce took his first steps to me!!! So exciting!! I just saw an old friend today at Marah's softball picnic and was saying how Bryce still isn't walking, and she sad "well, why should he, he's got all these sisters doing everything for him"!! A moment to remember

Bryce's Chair

2009-06-23T23:23:00.002-04:00

The Fed Ex man brought Bryce his new little chair for his play yard. Of course this becomes a huge event for the girls and they want a picture taken with him in his new "man" chair. So cute.

Rainy Monday

2009-06-22T19:48:00.004-04:00

Another rainy day, is it really June? This weather is so wierd. Anyway, I had a birthday party for Madison and Malana at my parent's house. Their birthdays are this week. I had a lot of fun doing their cakes and cupcakes. Although my hand was killing me! The cake is supposed to be a flower but you can't really tell from the picture. My Dad is a Cleveland Browns fan so for Father's Day, I made him a roombox. It took me about a year to collect everything and put it together. I had people from all over the country making miniature items for me. I'd love to make another one, they're a lot of fun. More this week!

I'm Back

2009-06-08T10:29:00.005-04:00

I know I've been MIA for awhile. Been a bit busy with finishing up homeschooling and still trying to sell our house on the south shore. Anyway, just wanted to share a project I did at The Crop Shop in Rockland, where I'm on the DT. A wonderful group of ladies took my class, they did a great job and I had a lot of fun teaching. Today's a busy paperwork day as I prepare the girls sample work for the Boston School Dept for this homeschooling year. Looking forward to slower paced days ahead, if that's possible!!

Saturday night in the city

2009-05-21T22:00:00.007-04:00

Last Saturday, we took the little one's in town, which is about five minutes from our house, to the Boston Public Gardens and Boston Common. You know spring is here when the tulips are in full bloom in the Public Gardens. Bryce was content just looking around. The girls always make it a point to sit on the "Make Way For Ducklings" ducks. I love the city! Please bear with me, haven't been in a creative mode lately. Trying to find my muse. Thanks for letting me share!!

I do exist!!

2009-05-09T22:28:00.004-04:00

Ok, I finally had one of my little one's take a picture of me. I'm always the one taking pics and I couldn't let Bryce's first birthday go by without having a picture taken of us together. I also did a couple of photo/memory boxes for someone who needed one for a relative's birthday. I know it's been a couple of weeks since I've posted any projects. sorry! I continue to blog hop to all of your wonderful sites. Enjoy! The second one's a bit blurry as you can see!

Bryce is 1 !!

2009-05-02T14:04:00.003-04:00

Today is my little guy's birthday. I can't believe it's been a year. Where does the time go? He has been such a blessing in our lives and we love watching him grow and learn new things. His sister's think he is the best! He is such a pumpkin and we're so grateful for this precious baby. Marah was helping him get use to his new riding toy this morning. Malana let him relax on her and drink his bottle. Malana is usually the first to let me know if Bryce is "alone" meaning someone is not within a five foot radius of him. She's too funny. His new thing the past couple of weeks is playing with his hair when he's tired or drinking a bottle. He also likes to scream which is something the girls didn't do on a regular basis when they were his age. Thanks for letting me share.

Thursday

2009-04-23T10:11:00.007-04:00

Well, we went down the Cape to my aunt's for two days! We went out to eat and yesterday took the girls and Bryce for four hours to the Children's museum. They played, did crafts and saw a puppet show. Barbara of course packed all the snacks and drinks! She's amazing. I didn't get much sleep, I think I'm use to all the noise of the city and the Cape is so quiet. Then we got home last night and Daddy took us all to the circus! They had so much fun! I got to sleep in a bit today. Supposed to be 80 degrees this weekend. Thanks for letting me share! More this weekend! Julie

Beautiful Sunday!

2009-04-19T10:41:00.008-04:00

It's Sunday, another beautiful day. Poor Bryce has had a fever off and on since Friday night so he and I will be staying home from church today. This teething thing has really got him wiped out. Lot's of Tylenol and plenty of hugs and kisses. We've had a very busy weekend between softball practice, seeing my nephew's baseball game, going to the park, the library, etc. The first picture is of 130 wedding favors I made for a friend at church, using the SU pillow box diecut, they're filled with candy. They came out really nice and she picked out a beautiful scripture verse for the back of them. A picture of Bryce in his crib yesterday, a new position for him with his arms curled up under him. Another picture of my handsome 16 yr. old nephew pitching in Friday night's varsity game. He's such a great kid! The girls' are his little fan club.

2009-04-16T22:13:00.003-04:00

I've been into inchies for awhile and I got this fabric from an awesome site called two creative studios. I then colored it in with my Copics. I think I'll find some kind of vintage frame for it. Anyone else love Copics?I've got a few things done for projects for classes I'm teaching at The Crop Shop in the coming months. Also, I did a couple of items that I'm going to submit for publishing which I haven't done in awhile. Hope you're having a great week and thanks for visiting!

Tuesday

2009-04-14T19:32:00.002-04:00

Hope you all had a nice Easter. We did and of course a pic of the little one's is always nice. Bryce has been a bit grumpy the past few days, I think there's more teeth coming in. The poor little thing, I hate to see him in pain. I'll have some more pictures this week of some creations. I'm thinking of a few ideas as well for upcoming classes I'm teaching at The Crop Shop. Thanks for visiting!!

No excuse

2009-04-12T00:12:00.003-04:00

I don't have a good excuse for not blogging in almost a week, just feeling a bit overwhelmed these days. Trying to role with the trials of life and still be grateful for all the blessings I have. I haven't been relaxed enought to create this week although I've blog hopped quite a bit, that's definitely easier. I hope you'll check back in a few days when I'm feeling my creative self again, Thanks!!

Monday post

2009-04-06T21:38:00.002-04:00

Just a little creation I did a few weeks ago of Bryce on Canvas. I used 2 4x6 canvas panels and painted them with acrylic. I altered them with Heidi Grace paper and embellishments. I'll be hanging them on the wall. I really like working on canvas. I have a few other ideas I'll be sharing over the next couple of weeks.

No ENERGY.........................

2009-04-04T11:49:00.003-04:00

Saturday morning, feeling a bit lazy today. Can't stand when I don't feel like doing anything or I just don't have the energy to. I do plan on creating a couple of things today to post. Bryce is napping, Marah's at choir practice, it's kind of quiet around here. Hope all of you are having a fun, relaxing weekend. Maybe I need a nap!! More later.....

Wednesday

2009-04-01T11:56:00.003-04:00

Goodmorning Everyone
I just got back from the gym, has anyone been to a Curves? It's a 30 minute circuit training and so awesome to do. You can burn about 400-500 calories in that 30 minutes. I always feel better after.
Well, my little guy is still hanging on to this virus. He was throwing up again last night, sorry for the details, I hate to see him not feeling good. It's just taking a bit for this virus to leave him. I can hear him growling now at his sisters as they eat their snacks!!
I'm excited, I've been asked to be a member of the Inspiration Team blog. This is a blog where as a member you get to post a pic or site that you feel is very inspiring and write about it. I always check it out to see what I'm missing! There is so much talent out there and you can bet I'll have lot's to post especially about my blogging friends. I'll be asking you first if you'll allow me to post a pic or info about your site and of course you'll get all the credit. Can't wait! Hope everyone's having a great week. I've got a bonding date with my Madison. Everyone get's a turn. Today we'll probably go to the bookstore and get some hot chocolate and just talk. It's so important to talk with your little one's if you have them. They need to feel special from the time they are little, they are truly a blessing.

My Bryce

2009-03-29T10:33:00.003-04:00

I've been out of the loop for a few days, taking care of my littlest one. Bryce has that virus that's going around. He's been throwing up , thankfully it stopped yesterday after two days, and he still has a slight fever. The poor little guy was in his diaper all day yesterday. No sense in getting him dressed since he was still throwing. Of course I couldn't resist taking pictures of him. He just wants me to hold him and to sleep which I love.

Twilight Fans?

2009-03-23T22:39:00.003-04:00

Any "Twilight" fans out there? I did the above layout for my sister, Michelle. As much as I love Twilight, she's definitely the bigger fan. I used Basic Grey paper which I thought was perfect for this layout. I found a few Twilight stickers from Border's Bookstore and found the other pics online. I then used guesso to adhere it to a 12x12 wood background I found at Dick blick's. She loved it.

In addition I had to show off my 16 yr old nephew, Michael. He turned 16 last Friday the 20th. Yes, I remember the day he was born. He is such a great kid and he's also a great cousin to my four little princesses. They're all over him and he always takes the time to play with them, when he's around, and show them how to "shoot hoops" or hit a baseball. We love you Michael! Cool cake huh? That 's him in his paintball gear!

Canvas Project

2009-03-20T17:04:00.003-04:00

Here's a project I did on canvas with a picture of Bryce "kissing" Marissa. I actually sprayed the canvas with tattered angels mist in ivy. Then I altered it with Basic Grey paper and stickers and chipboard. I used pop dots to make the large flower 3D. I love altering canvas and lately I've been changing my pics to black and white. Hope you like!

It's Friday!!

2009-03-20T08:32:00.004-04:00

This week flew by. We had a great time down the Cape with my aunt. The girls and Bryce played and played both days. For two days her beautiful condo looked like a daycare center with all the toys but she doesn't mind. Every meal was given to them in the livingroom so they could watch their favorite shows. (they don't get to watch TV while they eat meals at home so this is a treat) Very relaxing time........... New pics of Bryce from the Cape. The second one is a view looking down on him crawling in Barbara's kitchen. The first one, he's playing with a slipper which I took away before he put it in his mouth. Can't seem to get a good pic of those two front teeth!

Design Team Call

2009-03-17T22:32:00.002-04:00

Hi Everyone,
It's been a couple of days for me but I have been doing my share of bloghopping. Especially on my SCS Group #7 blogs. What a wonderful bunch of talented women you are, and I truly appreciate all the comments you leave on my site. How blessed we are! I'll be taking a hiatus just for a couple of days. My aunt Barbara invited the five little one's and myself down to the Cape at her condo for a couple of days. She truly enjoys having us around and we love visiting her. Can't wait!! I'll be back on Friday with more projects!
Just an FYI for all my readers and please spread the word if you think of anyone who may be interested.
I'm on the DT for The Crop Shop, in Rockland, Massachusetts. Below is the announcement made a couple of days ago on their blog. There are openings for more DT members. If you think you have what it takes to make a great team member, then why not apply!

Design Team Call
DESIGN TEAM CALL
MARCH 11, 2009
Calling all designers, The Crop Shop is putting together their 2009 Design Team. Our Creative Mission is to provide our customers with inspiration and new techniques they can use in their own scrapbooks, cards and altered items. Our goal is to put together a unique, creative team that can enhance all types of products and integrate them into layouts, altered items and more.

What you receive as a Team Member
A. Each team member will receive product each month for 2 projects, one layout and one altered item for display in the store and on our blog.

B. Each month you will be required to make one blog post with one of your designs and give a brief overview of that project complete with a list of product used to create it.
The blog posts will be discussed prior to the actual post.

C. You will receive 20% all your personal products during your Design Team term.

D. The Design Team commitment is for 6 months. That is 6 months of creative play.

E. Your picture and a bio will be displayed on our blog and website along with your
blog address if you have one.

F. You can also take any class that is offered in the store for ½ the amount of the class.
We supply the class product for you; you just pay for the instructor.

G. You will receive all updates on all new products coming out as we get them, and have
The opportunity to pre-order product that we are getting into the store.

Submission Requirements
A. You will be required to submit 5 projects to include the following: All submissions must have photos on them. All submissions will be returned to you after the final decision is made.

1. One double page 12 x 12 layout
2. Two cards - any occasion you choose
3. One altered book
4. One altered project
5. One project of your choice

B. Bio/questionnaire to be completed and sent back with your projects.

All submissions are due by April 15, 2009, submissions can be emailed to colleen@thecropshop.net
mailed to us, or drop them off at the store.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email colleen@thecropshop.net or call Colleen at 781-792-2767.
Thanking you advance for your submission.
Dee & Colleen
The Crop Shop
1-781-792-2767

Sunday

2009-03-15T10:54:00.005-04:00

I can't believe it's been a week since I posted. It's been a bit overwhelming for me this week especially on a personal level but I'm back. I have a couple of pics to share. The first is a Creative Imaginations BE purse that I've altered with Basic Grey's Porcelain line. Isn't this paper gorgeous?!! It also has a selection of chipboard and stickers. I removed the sticky part of the big flower with baby powder and adhered it to the front with pop dots for that 3D effect. Hope you can see that.

The second pic is of the tree rub-on from SU's Decorative Elements. I love it! It only took me about 25 minutes to put the whole thing up. It's the first thing you see when you walk in my livingroom. You can actually purchase one for yourself by going to my SU website, just click the shop online button on the right side of my blog!

Hope everyone's having a great weekend. Yesterday, my two sisters, Michelle and Jenn came over. Jenn has little Damara who is 17mos. Along with my 5, it was a very busy but fun day. We all had dinner and talked into the week hours of the night. Can I just say that I am very blessed to have two sisters. I encourage my own girls that they may have their little sibling rivalry now over barbie's and other silly things, but they have each other and as they get older they will appreciate that fact, and it is a blessing. I will always encourage them to love and respect one another. They are my blessings along with my little Bryce who had two teeth come in this week and he's got an awful cold. He's getting lot's and lot's of extra attention from everyone, which is usually the attention he always get's!! More later..........

New Picture

2009-03-08T17:57:00.005-04:00

I finally figured out what I was doing wrong regarding my watermark on pics. They wouldn't upload because I didn't save them in the right file (jpg.) I'm feeling less annoyed because of this.
This picture is a project I got from Lauren at My Creations My Time My Stampendence. Lauren has beautiful creations. She's on the DT for Papertrey Ink and she creates templates called Timeless Templates. This picture shows a project from the Perfect Matchbox template. These templates are released monthly. She also does wonderful videos. She works very hard on her blog and she's also a real person who shares the good and the bad. Don't be surprised if you get hooked the first time!Hope you had a great weekend. The clocks were turned ahead 1 hr. today so it's wierd that it's 6pm and still light out. Spring is coming!!

Julie

First Tooth

2009-03-07T22:05:00.002-05:00

My little Bryce has his first tooth! I'm so excited for him. I went to an all day crop with a couple of good friends and neighbors. When I came home, the girls said how cranky Bryce was. My poor little guy was very teary and he wouldn't let me put him down even after he was fed. I've been checking his little gums for the past couple of weeks just to see if anything was there. Tonight, there was, at first he wouldn't let me touch his mouth then I looked in an saw the tip of a new tooth on the bottom right of his mouth. I wish I could get a picture of it to show you, only a mother could understand! Just wanted to share my little news. I did complete my 2008 family album minus the journaling which I'll finish this week. So excited, I love to get caught up! Hope you're having a great weekend! More tomorrow............

More Projects

2009-03-04T18:28:00.008-05:00

Well, I've been blog hopping for the past thirty minutes, if projects were food I'd be drooling right now! It still amazes me the ideas that people have and the projects they come up with. It's such an inspiration to me. Just wanted to share a couple of things I worked on this weekend. The first is just a 4x4 canvas that I painted with acrylic paint. I used some digital inchie birds and colored the backgrounds a bit with Copic markers. The chipboard is from Basic Grey.

Remember I did a layout last week of two of my little one's and couldn't remember the paper? Well, the second pic is of a paper mache holder for my brushes. I used this paper again, it's from Stemma. The green paper is from SU as well as the chocolate brown ribbon. Just felt like creating a few miscellaneous items. We just came back from a playdate at my friend Amy's house and I have no idea what to make for dinner. Any ideas?!!!!!! More tomorrow!

Julie ( I lost my siggy, don't know how to get it back for this post)

Finally, Some Pictures!

2009-03-03T16:06:00.008-05:00

I'm having a problem today uploading my watermarked pictures so I'm going to upload them without the watermark. Problem solved!! The first is a card stamped with Papertrey Inks stamps and colored in with Prisma pencils and Copic markers. The second one was colored with Copic Markers. I used the techniques I learned at the certification class. When you're shadowing, you use three markers within the same color family. I don't have a lot of markers yet so using what I had I was able to do the pot with three markers from the brown family and did the flowers with two markers within the red violet color family. Hope I don't confuse you! I'm looking forward to showing you all the other mediums you can use with these markers.

Get Certified as a Copic Designer in Massachusetts

2009-03-02T13:09:00.003-05:00

I wanted to let everyone know who is in the New England area that Sally Lynn, from Copic Marker's, will be teaching another Copic Certification class in Massachusetts at The Crop Shop in Rockland, on May 17, 2009.
Owner, Dee Pierce, wanted to give more people a chance to become certified especially since classes are only offered a few at a time in each state. I think there were only three classes offered in Massachusetts this year including The Crop Shop. So, if you want to be certified with Copic's, check out The Crop Shop's Blog and get all the details so you can sign up today. There is a very limited amount of space so don't delay.
As you know from my post yesterday, I just took the class yesterday in Topsfield, MA and became certified.
I already own a few Copic Markers and after taking the class I learned these are the only markers I'll ever need. They even have glitter one's as well. The Copic Marker is becoming so popular that you will see references everywhere regarding how wonderful it is to work with in the papercraft industry. Scrapbooker's and cardmaker's etc. are using them and the classes have been sold out across the U.S. These markers have been popular in Japan for over 20 years for fine artists.
I wonder what took so long for this industry to find them?! Once you learn about them and use them, the possibilities are endless. I've also heard that Copic will be releasing the new pastel collection in May, can't wait to see those colors! I'll be back later to share more!!

I'm a Certified Copic Designer

2009-03-01T18:10:00.003-05:00

I've had a really busy week and I won't have anything creative to share for a couple of days. As you can see from my title today, I completed Copic's certification class today! Yeah!

It was incredible and I learned so much from instructor Sally Lynn. She's an awesome teacher and made the class so much fun. I'm no longer afraid of airbrushing. The Copic compressor might be my next purchase! hee hee, maybe not but somewhere in the future I can definitely see airbrushing as part of my tools. So, I'll be on Copic's website as an official designer I'll also have a link from my blog. If you haven't tried Copic yet, you have no idea how a marker can change everything you create!! Thanks for letting me share.

I also had to share a picture from a website I found today called Clutterbugstudio.com. Is this organizer incredible? I can see it on my scrapbook table just waiting for it to be filled up. There's some adorable vintage looking organizers on this site and the prices are pretty reasonable. More tomorrow, have a great night.

Black and White

2009-02-26T23:52:00.005-05:00

This is a picture I took last week at Marissa's birthday. It's Madison, Marah and their friend, Charlize. I just love how soft their features look in this picture. I'm still a bit busy this week trying to do some projects but I've made time to blog hop on your incredible sites. So inspiring!!More tomorrow.

Check Out This Site

2009-02-24T16:31:00.009-05:00

I just had to share this with all of you, especially those who love fabric. Heather Bailey is a designer and has an online store not only with gorgeous fabric but she now has a line of scrapboook paper, embellishments, inks and stamps. This picture is right from her site. It's incredible! I had to get a couple of items which I'll share with you later in the week after I create something. Can you imagine how this line will look on your cards and other items. Check out her website when you can!

Tuesday

2009-02-24T14:07:00.004-05:00

Here's a layout of my Marissa and Bryce. The girls just love having their picture taken with him. I don't do a lot with buttons but I think this lo called for it. I have a lot of projects I need to complete for my DT so I'll be busy the next few days, but still updating and checking out all your blogs. Thanks for looking!

Supplies: SU embellishments (flowers)
Buttons: Imagainisce
Rub on: My Minds's Eye
Paper: not sure, I'll get back to you on that one!

2009-02-22T22:58:00.002-05:00

So, my newly redesigned blog is ready for show. Hope you like it. Michelle from Laycock Designs did everything for me including my siggy with the cute butterfly. Michelle was such a pleasure to work with. If you're thinking of updating your blog with a new look, click on the Laycock Design link at the bottom of this page. So inexpensive too! More tomorrow. Did I mention it's snowing AGAIN!!!!

Saturday

2009-02-21T13:54:00.006-05:00

Right now I only have Bryce with me. My dad took the four girls in in town to lunch and then he's taking them to a play at the Boston Children's Theater. They were so excited. Then afterwards they'll be at my parent's until this evening when we pick them up, after we go to a function. Bryce will be with my older sister this evening as well. We're blessed to have family that's close by when we need them and just for the girl's to experience having family around them. I am very grateful for that. I have so many friends who have lost one or both parents or just don't live in the same state as family. I can't imagine how hard that must be.
My word for the day: GRATITUDE

Marissa's Birthday

2009-02-20T02:34:00.001-05:00

Feeling a bit selfish that I mentioned Marissa's birthday on Monday however I never paid tribute to her on her actual birthday on Wednesday. Here are a few pics of my little princess on her special day. Can I add that she counted down to her birthday for the past two weeks. Every day she would say "10 days mom, 5 days mom" etc. She is my smallest one even though she is third in line. I only gained 12 lbs. with her during my pregnancy. She is the shyest but will speak up when she wants something. She is most affectionate with me which is pretty special to me. She is a beautiful little girl who is also so sweet and caring with other children. Get her in a room with her three sisters and she will stand her ground when she doesn't want to share. She can also be feisty when it comes to sharing her barbies which happens a lot lately with all my girls. I am blessed to have my Marissa. She turned six on Wednesday.

Tuesday

2009-02-17T11:07:00.000-05:00

Just in case you're wondering, Malana never had a piece of blueberry pie. She kept insisting that I take out the blueberries. I told her I wasn't going to waste a piece of pie by doing that! She got over it...
Yesterday we spent the day down the Cape at my aunt's. Of course she waited on us hand and foot. The girls had all their meals and their treats. Marissa wasn't able to come since my dad was taking her to the American Girl Doll store to pick out a new doll for her birthday which is tomorrow. She also went to lunch. My little one's are very blessed.
Has anyone jumped on the bandwagon with the wall decor from SU. I only have a couple that you can see in the pictures. I'm waiting for my big tree to come this week for my livingroom. I'll show you that when it's up. Also, my blog is still going to be redesigned. I sent back a draft last week to the designer, she's amazing and it's being finished up. Can't wait to show you when it's up.

Evening time....

2009-02-13T19:25:00.000-05:00

Friday night, and Malana who's 4yrs. going on 35yr.old, just informed me that she'd like some pie that I'm making but not with the blue things. Hee hee, I'm giggling. If you haven't guessed, I'm making blueberry pie. I'm trying to figure out how she's going to eat it without the blue things. Maybe just the crust!! Just wanted to show another card. I'm thinking I need to have more bling on my cards, chipboard, etc. Maybe starting next week! Supplies for card, SU's Raspberry Tart paper, Deja Views rub-ons and Prima flowers.

Friday Already!

2009-02-13T07:51:00.000-05:00

This week has flown by, I'm a bit tired today but maybe I'll get a nap later! Wanted to share another card from the Stampin' Up paper pack "Summer Home". I also used the stamp set "God's Blessings". We had friends over for dinner last night with their three kids, we seem to be entertaining a lot lately. I really enjoy it! Have a great weekend!

Wordle

2009-02-10T09:01:00.000-05:00

Sounds kind of wierd but this site called wordle.net is where I found the font for this layout. It's incredible. Click on create when you get there and you can put in any words you want then change colors, fonts and layout like putting the words horizontal, vertical or a mixture of both. Check it out. This is also one of my favorite picture's of my Malana Sophia. She's too funny!I used Stampin' Up's Summer Home paper, borders and stickers.

New Pics Today

2009-02-09T09:52:00.001-05:00

It's about time, I know, I feel it myself. Last night I was able to do 5 cards and a layout. I won't show them all today but I'm excited about the first one.I used my Nestabilities diecut for the first time. After seeing how easy it was and yes I used it with my Cuttlebug machine, no problem, I'll need to get other shapes. I used Stampin' Up's new Raspberry Tart paper for that one and the second card was done with SU's Summer Home paper and stickers. SU's Pocket Silhouettes verse and Kaiser gems. I'll have different versions of cards this week using both sets of paper.

Saturday morning

2009-02-07T06:40:00.000-05:00

When you have a chance, check out this site Stampin' Pretty. Mary is such an inspiration, her work is beautiful and she has such a warm personality that really comes through on her blog. Make sure you also check out her creative space, I have no idea how she keeps it neat although if you watch her video, you'll probably see why. Now I'm going down to my space to declutter!! Yes it's 6:45 on Sat. morn!

Friday Already?!!!

2009-02-06T20:42:00.000-05:00

For some reason today, I kept thinking it was Monday. Isn't that wierd? The girls just went next door to watch an historical movie for kids with their little friends next door. It's such a blessing to have not only wonderful neighbors, but neighbors who are good friends. We take turns with the girls' playtime with each other. Bryce just went into bed, so after looking at my blog, and realizing I hadn't updated it since Tuesday, I felt guilty. It comes with the territory I guess. I'm working on Bryce's first year album and I did the layout above using a transparent overlay. I don't use them too much but I loved the colors with this one. It's so wierd after four girls, using supplies with blues and green's and no pinks! Bryce swallowed miconium during delivery last May, and had to spend 11 days in the NICU. This was taken Sunday, Mother's DAY, also the 10th day for him in the hospital. The girls were meeting their little brother for the first time. I was so happy for them, they were so sad when he couldn't come home right away. They have been making up for lost time ever since. He is loved so much.

New SU paper!

2009-02-03T18:09:00.000-05:00

Well, this afternoon I was able to create a card using SU stamps Ink and new paper called Parisian Breeze. So elegant. I'll do a few more tonight. For some reason, when I get new products I don't like to use them right away, almost like saving it for the right time. Of course the right time never comes and it ends up sitting in my stash. I'm also trying to update my slide show and I'll be sending in my choices for color, font etc to the person designing my new blogg header. Can't wait to show you. More tomorrow! (p.s. IT'S STILL SNOWING................)

More for Monday

2009-02-02T18:57:00.000-05:00

Bryce said "momma" just now as he sat in his chair eating his cheerios. I get so excited when the little one's say that for the first time. Actually, yesterday morning was his very first time yelling it out. I screamed!! He's actually been saying da da for the past couple of weeks. Michael deserves that since the girls always said momma first. I just had a little giggle, I downloaded my pics from my camera in the middle of my post so I could share a picture of Bryce. That's when I noticed it "ok, who took the picture of the UPS truck?!!" They all came running and giggling, I was giggling too, ok I know they get used to seeing it a couple of times a week. I think the UPS guy is starting to remember all those "M" names!!

2009-02-02T13:33:00.000-05:00

Hi Again, yes I'm still a little tired from being up a few times last night but I have more to share. Here's the link for my mini album and box I created and which was published in Scrapbook Magazine online. I just got a few new stamps and paper from SU so I'll be playing with them later! Hope you like my mini box....

Early Monday Morn!!

2009-02-02T00:56:00.000-05:00

I just got up to check on the girls,which happens about three times a night, you know, just to make sure they haven't thrown the covers off!! Anyway, I usually check my e-mail as well no matter what time it is. I noticed an e-mail from Lenna Andrews over at Creative Swaps. Here's a link to my work on her blog http://creativeswaps.blogspot.com/search/label/Julie%20Jacobs .It's an ATC swap featuring Alice In Wonderland. Check out CreativeSwaps.com, when you have the urge to be inspired and share your work! It's a great site. Thanks Lenna!

Sunday

2009-02-01T21:51:00.000-05:00

After church this morning I actually came home and took a 3 hr nap with Bryce! I was able to get about 5 projects done. The card above was done using the K & Co. Sweet Berry line. I'm submitting my other projects for a couple of design teams so I'll need to hold off on showing them but since I have so much energy now, I'll be doing some more tonight. We're not football fans so the TV hasn't been on at all, the girls are playing before bedtime, I can hear some singing so they're probably putting on some kind of "show". More tomorrow!

Saturday

2009-01-31T15:15:00.000-05:00

Well, I've done some decluttering and was able to get this card done. I just got this stamp and another one involving cupcakes, from Impression Obsessions. I love their stamps. I colored everything in with Copic markers and used a couple of SU stamps and ribbon. The snow is still frozen on the ground and we're off to pick up Malana from her little friend Carolyn's tea party birthday. So cute!! More later...

Friday

2009-01-30T19:44:00.000-05:00

Ok, ok I know I've taken too long a break, not intentional of course, just life. However I'm in the midst of redesigning and updating my blog banner among other things. I found an awesome designer to do it, I'll share her business when I confirm everything. I've been catching up with others blogs too and it's amazing how many people went to CHA and how many awesome new products are coming out. I'll be sharing a few of my favorites. Maya Road products are one of my top 5. I'll be creating this weekend right after I clear out the clutter in my scrap studio. Can't wait!!

Tuesday

2009-01-27T10:35:00.000-05:00

I'm back after a four day break from blogging which I really didn't mean to do. I spent all day yesterday down the Cape at my aunt Barbara's house with the girls. We are waited on all day by her. The girl's are treated like little princess's and she won't let me do anything! The pic above shows them lying on her bed watching the Disney Channel as they await their next meal!!Marah and Malana will be staying over until Wed, although with ANOTHER STORM COMING maybe they'll be there until Thursday. It's such a blessing to have my aunt, she is someone who puts the wind in my sails, do you know anyone like that!! She enjoys having the girls stay over, and when the weather is nice, she has them out all day at the beach, library, children's museum,park, etc. So much energy!!! I'll try to post later with another project. Keep warm!!!

Friday

2009-01-24T00:23:00.000-05:00

Finally, something to show. I did these two cards last night for a couple of challenges over at SCS. The blue one was for a challenge in my blogger group. We had to create a Valentine's Day card without using pink, red or white. The second one is for a weekly Saturday card sketch challenge. I used my new Papertrey Ink First Fruits paper collection. THey are such a great company with very classy products. I'll have more projects over the next couple of weeks using their items. Today is my sister Michelle's ### birthday. She doesn't look her age!! Had cake and ice cream. Of course the girls argued over who was getting a flower with their piece of cake. Just when I think there couldn't possibly be another thing to argue over!! Goodnight

My Bryce

2009-01-22T12:48:00.000-05:00

Here's a layout I just did as a DT member for The Crop Shop in Rockland. My little Bryce in black and white. I think you need 3D glasses for this one! You can almost touch his hand. I'm working again today on a couple of card challenges so I'll be back later!

Hi Wednesday!

2009-01-21T11:37:00.000-05:00

I'm having a bit of a meltdown but not really, just a little frustrated as I wait for the computer guy from Comcast to come and set up my new computer for a home network. I can't upload any pics right now. I was hoping to share a couple of layouts and inchies that I've created. For now I can only share words. Did you get a chance to watch the inauguration yesterday? I finally watched the swearing in around 11pm on a news program. I was sad to see Bush leave, I've always felt that because of him, we've been kept safe from terrorism since 9/11. He had the world's hardest job and you can't keep everyone happy.
We had more snow the past couple of days, Bryce is now eating Ritz crackers and lot's of other table foods. He's also napping right now so I've got a bit of me time. I've got to catch up on a card challenge from my Group#7 blogger group, the women are so talented in this group. IT just inspires me to keep going. There's so many new products out and I want it all and need to stay on budget at the same time. Is that possible?!!! I'll be back after the computer guy comes!

Snowing Again!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-01-18T13:31:00.000-05:00

This is just way too much snow for me. The girls love it, they're next door at the neighbors house, playing away! You can have it. I prefer my flip flops,(wearing them now) and t-shirt! Oh , and pants too!!! Lot's of new products from CHA. Anybody have a favorite product just released? Please share!!

A card

2009-01-17T13:27:00.000-05:00

Here's a card I created yesterday using SU stamps and cardstock and Prima flowers with a little bit of ribbon. The girls are sledding next door and Bryce is napping so I've got a little me time to keep going!

Saturday

2009-01-17T11:33:00.001-05:00

This week has probably been one of the busiest I've had in a long time. I was able to get a few projects done and I'll be creating a few cards this weekend. I had to do a layout for my DT project for The Crop Shop for the Pink Paislee line. So I decided to change my favorite Maddie pic to black and white. I'll have another project for the DT later to show. If you have a chance, check out Pagemaps.com. An incredible site to get those creative juices flowing if you are having a scrapping block and can't seem to make up your mind about a layout. So many ideas!

Freezing today, warm inside!

2009-01-14T11:59:00.000-05:00

Well, I finally have something to show today. A layout of my Madison. I love this picture of her. She's 7 and just this past summer started losing all her baby teeth! Six since August! I'll have another card later, waiting for the Stickles to dry!!

Tuesday Already?!

2009-01-13T09:37:00.000-05:00

I've been a lot busier than I thought I would be this week. Haven't had time to create but I will be today. Just a pic of Bryce eating Zwieback toast for the first time. The girls were so excited but boy, those things are messy.
I'm excited because my application just got accepted for the Certification class for Copic Markers in Topsfield on March 1st. For any of you who use Copic, you know how amazing they are for coloring but also for shading and bringing dimension to your projects. It'll be great to show others how to use these amazing pens. I've got a lot of projects to do this week especially for The Crop Shop where I'm on the design team, I'll be back!

Friday

2009-01-09T14:39:00.001-05:00

Here's a birthday card I created with paper I found in my stash from Brenda Walton's dollhouse line. I also used an SU stamp (forgot the name of stamp)and colored it with copic markers. Tonight I'm going scrapping for about 4 hours with a good friend of mine. I'm hoping to finish up my 2008 family album. I've added a lot of incredible blog links on the right side. Check them out when you have a chance. There are an incredible amount of talented people out there who love to create, including the inspiring women from the SCS blog team #7.

2009-01-08T10:21:00.000-05:00

Happy Thursday! I saw the following list over at my friend Alice Golden's blog. I find it very inspring and fun! So, if you choose to, copy and paste it to your blog and let me know how your list looks! Highlight in bold anything you've already done.
1.Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain (Mt.Monadnock,6th grade)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (Aku Aku,in Cambridge 92")
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (it took 3 hours)
18. Grown your own vegetables (tomatoes)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort (Blizzard of 78")
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person34.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (just didn't realize it at the time LOL)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job (when I was 15yrs old)
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle (not a speeding one)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House (My favorite, President Reagan, was right upstairs getting ready to get on his helicoptor for a mtng, so exciting!)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox (Got them on my 15th birthday!)
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous! ( I met Prince in the Public Gardens in 1985 when he did a concert in Boston, wouldn't give me an autograph!)
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby (five!)
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

More Projects

2009-01-07T19:44:00.001-05:00

Today was a great day to create. I actually did 5 loads of laundry along with a total of three cards! These two cards were stamped with the SU Season of Friendship Stamps. I love the whole tree and bird thing. I used SU Mellow Moss ink and Adirondack's Espresso ink for the card with the pink ribbon. I used Adirondack again for the lavender card and Lovely Lilac ink for the flowers. I'm sending both of these cards to friends. Thanks for looking! I'll have a third card posted tomorrow with a totally different paper line. Goodnight!