It's Been Awhile...

But, believe it or not, I'm still around :).

School is crazy busy. Kids are crazy busy. Hubby is crazy busy... Well, you get the point!

Yes, I'm still working. This year is fifth grade. I've got a really great group of kids that are super sweet and very eager to learn. Each year brings different personalities and different strengths and struggles, but we figure it out and make great things happen! I've also become a lab visitation classroom for my school district in literacy. Basically, that means other teachers come to my room to observe me teach reading and writing so they might get ideas on how to add, change, or improve their teaching in their own classrooms. It's definitely keeping me busy, but it's been a great learning and reflecting process for me:)

In addition to teaching full-time, I've also become a licensed Zumba instructor. Each week I teach 3 of my own classes at a local dance studio, and I also just started subbing at our local YMCAs. As crazy as it sounds, I'm hoping to add 1 or 2 classes of my own at the Y too! It has totally become a passion of mine, and sharing that love with others who are looking to get or keep themselves healthy has made that passion deeper.

Crafty has been put to the side a bit lately, but I think I'm finally ok with that. I know that I have many things that are important to me, and I just can't beat myself up over not being able to get to all of it. sometimes you just have to let things go. Now, I'm not giving up my scrapping and whatnot, but I've decided to let inspiration be my guide instead of deadlines and submissions. What I once thought was keeping me scrapping, I found out was actually hindering it.

Here's a bit of what we've been up to the past few months...

First day of school

Soccer stars!

Quite the Halloween pair :)

My sweet birthday boy!

Swimming party

Oh, Christmas Tree! The annual trek to find the perfect one :)

Since I am officially on winter break as of today, I type this in my PJs. I think it may finally be time for a shower though-just in time to potentially go get sweaty! I think a Zumba class might be calling my name! Thanks so much for stopping by to see if I'm around. Say hi, leave some love, let me know where you came from so I can do the same! 

Much love to you all,

C-: 

Summertime and ... Mid-60s??

Well, by looking at the weather around my parts, you wouldn't know it was summertime, but the fact that we all (well, almost all) were able to sleep in the last two days tells me for sure summer is here! So happy to do the things I've been longing to do for what seems like months. Crazy thing is, that list is starting to feel like it might take longer to tackle than the school year itself! Oh well, we can choose what we want to do, and work hard to not be bothered by things we didn't get to. :)

My latest creation is up on the Punky Sprouts blog. I tried to post it when it went up last Thursday, but something was going on with our internet. Then the next several days were somewhat of a blur. You know how that goes... This month we are spotlighting the new denim embellishments. They went beautifully with the Pink Paislee Indigo Bleu I got with our last product swap.

 These pics of J look so funny! He's always had such a great sense of humor, but this was extra silly as he was just figuring out the whole "funny face" thing. You might notice the faces don't look quite natural!

I also love using the Punky Stems, especially when I have a project (and the time) to do some stitching as well.

Lastly, I used the Punky Petals (in denim) and some Punky Seeds to finish it off.

Hope you'll check out the Punky Blog to see the other fabulous creations from the team. Shelly also has a new page up where you can purchase Punky Sprouts product directly. I know many of you out there have been trying to get your hands on some of this yumminess, so here's your chance!

So, now that I've updated my blog, I'm needing to take care of a few other scrappy-related details before moving on to other things this week. Not sure how much time that will take, but hey, at least I have the time! I'm planning on staying out of my classroom for at least a month, and if I can manage it, maybe not go in til August! (We'll see how that all works out!)

Thanks for stopping by!
<3 C

Punky Challenge!

Have you been to the Punky Sprouts blog yet this month? You need to get over there because this month's challenge is up, and it is brought to you by ME, of course! You'll need to go over there to take a peek at the actual challenge, but you could win some wonderful goodies! 

Here's my sample for the challenge:

Patterned paper: WeRMemory Keepers, (from May PersonalScrapper.com kit)

Alphas: American Crafts

From Punky Sprouts: Punky Playground, Parchment Blossoms, Lil' Lacey Blossoms

I am SO happy with this layout! If you have ever scrapped with me then you know what a S-L-O-W scrapper I am. I mean, really slow! I sit and start get myself all worked up about whether or not the shades match exactly, and silly stuff like that... This time, I put everything aside, I mean, truly everything. and just scrapped. What a freeing feeling!

I also just love this pic of my girly. I think this was just after a soccer game this past spring out at the school field by our house. After games, both J and A love to go play on the toys for a bit. So fun to just watch them hang out!

I have another Punky layout I'll post in a few days, but it showcases the new denim embellishments paired width more Pink Paislee. GORGEOUS!  

Also, Erica is having an amazing celebration over at PersonalScrapper.com. This month she sent out her 100th kit! No other company has made it to such an incredible milestone! You really do need to go check out her kits, because they are really the best around! Fabulous, current product for a steal of a price! She has a challenge every day on the forum too. Hope you can come join us for it!

Thanks for stopping by!

<3 C

A Little Fun with Some Pink Paislee!

Hey all! There are many things that I absolutely love about Punky Sprouts. The albums are SO much fun and they inspire me to get out of my little 12x12 box with every project. But the design team perks are even better! Now, of course, the first one is the fact that they keep me scrapping (there have been a few times where I've thought I may never scrap again), but I L-O-V-E the product swaps! This month, we were once again completely spoiled by getting to use new lines from Pink Paislee! Check out what I created...

For my mini, I chose to start with the brand new Soul Sprout album and matched it with the Prairie Hill line.

I absolutely adore the colors in this line! There's something about the richness of the orange, blue and browns.  Here on the cover, I also used some Punky embellishments. The new parchment blossoms are SO much fun. I took this one and punched it in my scallop punch (I think die-cuts are supposed to work much better, so I'll be sure to try that next time). They take spray mists incredibly well too. This one in sprayed in Lindy's Red Hot Poker Orange. I also used a Punky canvas stem as an accent. I will also be able to use stamps on this for a title.

Many of the Punky albums come with their own tags to use as accents or pages, so how perfect was it that the Prairie Hill line also has tags in the embellishments. A little ink and some Punky lil' Twiney added a perfect touch.

 This little page is probably my favorite in the Soul Sprout. Such a little page (maybe 3 or 4 inches) but it's just so stinking cute!

I really liked leaving much of the chipboard exposed in this album. It just goes so well with the colors of the Prairie Hill.

Here's a close-up of the exposed corrugated cardboard. LOVE doing this! So much awesome texture with such little work. Just score a line with a craft knife, then gently pull off the top layer. You can make it as clean or rough as you choose.This also takes ink very well.

This fun little flower is a combination of a Lil' Lacey Bloom and a Punky canvas stem. Topped with a bit of Prairie Hill chipboard embellie makes it a perfect flower.

This page is a do-it-yourself pocket. Just trim the pocket to fit, then adhere on the edges only. This little tag is the one  that comes with the album. I added just a hint of paper so it can be used for journaling.

The Punky canvas is also the perfect medium for taking mists, inks and paints. I just spritzed this one a bit to give it a bit of color.

I free-handed these little banner pieces. Easy tip--cut out a square, then snip straight up the middle to the desired length of the "tails". Lastly, snip from the corners up to the end of the line you previously cut. 

This page will be perfect for a final journal spot! The grid paper is the perfect final page for it :). I simply added another chipboard embellie for a great whimsical feel to an otherwise, rather clean album.

 Be sure to check out both the Punky Sprouts and Pink Paislee blogs for more inspiration from incredibly talented designers. You might even find a giveaway or two along the way!

Thanks for taking a peek!
<3 C

Robin's Nest Mini

Hey all! Had some fun recently doing a product exchange with Robin's Nest. Before we got these papers, I knew there were many animal prints. Lynn had asked each of the Punky Design Team to pick one color to add to our projects as a "pop," so I went with red. (I figured I had quite a bit, and it was the first color that came to mind.) When the papers came, I was instantly drawn to the glittery castle paper and knew right away what I would do instead! Take a peek!

Suddenly, my once animal-print album turned into a beautiful album of all things princess for darling Miss A. :) 

The album is a Trunk Punky which normally opens gatefold style, but I choose to change it up a bit and bind it this way. LOVE how versatile all the albums are!

 Here's a little peek inside.



Love this page with the new Lil' Lacey Bloom on the canvas page. I stitched the ribbon first, before I adhered it the the page so the stitching wouldn't show on the next page.

Here I added some sparkly paint on top of the black paint on the acrylic page.

This would be the page with the glittery castles that inspired the whole album :).

I've been waiting to use these gorgeous glittery stars from Prima for ages! I think they work perfectly!

And finishing up with another fun acrylic page framed in red.

Now to add the pictures of the girly in all things princess-y--CAN-NOT wait! She was asking the whole time if it was done so she could have her album!

If you aren't already, be sure to go to the Punky Sprouts Facebook page and like them. Shelly is having contests all month long!

A Little Bit of Punky with a Side of Soup

Jilllibean,  that is :). Do you know that Jillibean Soup makes my heart swoon?? Well, it totally and completely does! So much, in fact, that it got me over a serious case of scrapper's block. Man, I haven't had the block this bad in, well, I'm not sure how long... The last page I made was the Authentique layout back in November. I started a layout (with said favorite JBS) over winter break, but I just wasn't feeling it. So, it sat.... and sat.... and sat... Finally the deadline for my latest Punky Sprouts project came up, and I sat on it... and sat on it... and, well, you get the picture. I've come to realize that I scrap pics first and foremost. If I don't have pics, it totally doesn't matter what amazing new product I have. Those pics have got to come first. And I just didn't have the pics to inspire an entire album. So, I finally decided to make a cute little banner. Once I had a plan (and was able to not worry about the pictures to put with an album) everything else came super easily:). Thanks God, 'cause I was worried I may NEVER scrap again. Like, was making plans for how to get rid of my stuff and convert the scrap studio back into a guest room!
So, here is my adorable little banner...

This one is made from a Teenie Beanie album. I used the canvas page to make some extra embellies so I could keep with a symmetrical look.

and a couple of close-ups of some of the flowers....

Lil' Paper Blossom folded and misted on top of a machine stitched Lil' Stem

Lil' Stem hand stitched into a flower

and the cork banner...

Punky Cork

The main picture didn't turn out very spectacularly (is that a real word?). It was dark by  the time I had everything all wrapped up and ready to get any pics. Even in Photoshop, I still couldn't get the color to come out very well.

I also finally finished up the layout I started almost a month ago. I still need to grab a pic of it and post it up here soon. I realized that I did that one because of a Scrapbook Trends call for beach layouts. Funny that it didn't even end up being one I submitted (fingers crossed, 'cause I sent it about 6 others!)

Thanks for stopping by my little ole' blog. It's been 3 years now. I always have good intentions of being around here more, but life sometimes gets in the way of documenting life, I suppose:).

<3 c