Queen of the Crop

Stationery card

2011-12-07T16:51:00.001-05:00

2012 Wishes New Year's Card

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Texas Update

2011-11-27T21:35:00.002-05:00

Hi friends! I hope that you had a fabulous Thanksgiving...eatting until full, & enjoying family & friends. I know that we have had our fill of turkey! We spent Thanksgiving with my husband family & extended family, then today, we spent it with my family. Very nice. I am so thankful to have spent Thanksgiving with my family(ies) this year, as next year we will probably be a unit of 4.... Just Tony, Emma, Audra, & I.

Which brings me to our Texas update. It seems that things are moving rather quickly now. We have exactly one month left here in PA. The movers are coming December 21-22-23rd, to pack up the house & take our belongings to TX. We will stay with my parents through the Christmas holiday, then on December 27th, we will be boarding a plane & taking off to our new home. My parents will be joining us soon after we arrive (they will be makeing the 2.5 day trek by car to meet up with us there!).

The past month has been a whirlwind. It seems that every moment we are planning, & coordinating, & making sure that everything is in line. Utilities here & there, setting up the schools for both girls, & the big one....going through all of our "junk" that has been accumulated over the past 10+ years & getting rid of what we don't need to be taking with us. It is exhausting!! Over the next several weeks, Tony will be traveling too, so I am going it alone. It is never dull here!

Our current house has not sold yet. We had some serious lookers this past week, & they were really interested, but no offer has come, yet. We are still hoping & praying that something comes our way soon.

So, that is it in a nut shell. I will keep you posted as things get closer....but I have been absent in blogging because of how busy we've been. It seems like I have lost 6 months of my life....it has been in limbo since June!

Hope you are all well. I look forward to being settled & back to blogging & chatting & back in touch with everyone! Take care & talk soon!

Chicas Getting Crafty -Cheers

2011-10-17T09:00:00.001-04:00

Hola, chicas! How are you this fine day? In honor of Dessert Month we were asked to create a layout around our favorite treat, for Chicas Getting Crafty. Well, I am pushing my limits here, as the photos in this layout were taken at an ice cream shop in Avalon, NJ. Ice cream being my all time favorite sweet treat! Now, I know you don't see ice cream anywhere in the photos, but please take my word for it...it is definately an ice cream shop.

These men are my father, my husband, & my sisters fiance. The keyboard player is a comedian/singer & is really good friends with my father. They grew up together. Well, whenever my dad goes to see him play a gig, he pulls my dad up on stage to sing a song. This time, Tommy (the keyboard player) told my dad to pick any 2 guys from the audience to come up with him. Of course he pulled Tony & Noah up with him. Noah (my future brother-in-law) was refusing to go up, but eventually he did & they sang the Three Stooges song. It was hysterical! And on top of it, my girls thought that Paw-paw, Daddy, & Uncle Noah were rock stars!!! Honestly, it is at an ice-cream shop!

Thanks for looking!
Have a fabulous day!

Chicas Getting Crafty Halloween Colors

2011-10-10T09:00:00.002-04:00

Hi friends! Today I bring to you a layout with orange, black & purple for Chicas Getting Crafty. This layout was part of Scraptacular's page design class, but I tweaked it & made it my own.

This picture is of my daughter Emma (the short one) at her birthday party with her 2 best friends in the world. They have known each other since they were 4 months old & have been the best of friends since. Jack is a neighbor & we joke that they are going to be married some day. But when these 3 get together, they have the greatest time & play so nicely together!

Thanks for looking today.

Chicas Getting Crafty Digi-Stamp

2011-10-04T10:30:00.003-04:00

Good day, everyone! I have to be honest with you. I am very stamp-challenged! And this month, when I was told we need to work with a "digi-stamp" at Chicas Getting Crafty....whoa! That is way out of my comfort zone. But, I thought to myself, "This can't be so hard, right?." So, I printed out my stamp, & sat down with my girls, who were coloring, & created this card for my "lil monsters" this Halloween. My biggest issue is that I don't have the mediums to fill in the stamp. I used colored pencils & chalk pencils to come up with this card:

I hope you enjoyed my creation.
Thanks for looking & have a fabulous day!

P.S. Update on the move: We are stuck in the fact that the bank doesn't want us to carry duel mortgages, even though there will be a guaranteed buy out from the relo company. The relocation company has stepped in with the bank to try to get that waived, & we have reapplied for a new mortgage through a different lender. If things don't work out, we may be moving on the 22nd of this month. If they work out the way we want (& the relocation company wants) we will close on the new house on the 22nd, then stay here til the holidays. Stand by for the outcome......

Tiny Update

2011-10-01T19:16:00.004-04:00

Hi everyone. Everything on the house is status quo. We are waiting to hear when exactly our move date will be. We may be outta here as early as October 22nd, but we aren't sure yet. We are running into a snafu w/ the bank as far as closing on our house before closing on the new house, so we are awaiting answers from the relocation company. In the relocation policy it does state that we can carry duel mortgages for up to 90 days & the relo company would pay the lesser of the two, but the mortgage company didn't seem to get that memo. We are anxiously awaiting & I will certainly keep you posted.

You will continue to see crafty posts popping up on my blog, but they were created back in July/August. I can assure you that all of my craft supplies are in bins, in storage, in my basement. Very very sad. My craft table is folded & put away. Even all of the girls craft supplies are tucked away. They are now limited to coloring books & crayons. They are chomping at the bit as much as I am. However, my mojo isn't flowing these days anyway....but when I am in my new house, in my new craft room, I am sure it won't take long before I am cutting, & tape running, & embellishing like I was before. I have many months of catching up to do!!

I hope you are doing well. Enjoy the weekend & I will keep you updated on the move when I hear more info.

Thanks for your support!

Chicas Getting Crafty September 29 Sketch

2011-09-29T15:00:00.001-04:00

Hi & happy end of the month. Can you believe that we are nearing October?! This year is just flying by. For those of you that have been following my blurbs of our relocation, I will post soon to let you know exactly what, when, where it is all happening. But for now.......
Didn't I tell you that there were 5 great sketches this month at Chicas Getting Crafty! Each one was so much fun to work with! I hope that you have used them for your projects & had as much fun with them as I did. Here is my take on this weeks sketch:

This picture is of my husband & my girls on a miniature golf night with our church. I was away, so he had dressed them, hadn't combed their hair, Emma's socks are pulled up high, but that doesn't change who they are, & how much he loves them! They are the light of his life! They adore him & he loves them right back!

Thanks for looking. Again, if you use this, or any of the sketches, please share with us over at Chicas Getting Crafty, your take. We would love to see it!

Have a great day!!
~Anneliese

Our New Texas House

2011-09-27T11:11:00.002-04:00

Hello there family & friends. I know that many of you have been asking how we are doing with the relocation to Texas. It is a big move & very emotional. One day I am excited, the next day I am weeping & rethinking our decision. It is a very stressful time for us. Our current house is on the market. We have had an open house, appraisers coming in & out, & we are just waiting for someone to fall in love with it as much as we did when we bought it. If you know of anyone interested in a great house in a great location in Exeter PA, please send them our way.

Last week, Tony & I went to Houston to scout out the area & search for our new home. It was a very tough week! We looked at over 50 houses in various areas. We started out north of Houston in the Spring area, then headed North-west to Cypress, then we ended in Katy. On that third day we knew we had decided that we really wanted to be in the Katy area. Tony & I were not seeing eye to eye on anything. Where I was looking at old homes w/ charm & character, he saw "work, work, work, work". He liked the shiny newer homes that were turn key. On our 4th & final day to look at houses, we looked at year 2000 & newer homes, when we found an inventory home in a newer development. It was the very last house that we saw & was scheduled to see. We walked into it feeling deflated & were knowing we had to make a decision & possibly settle on something that wasn't exactly what we needed/wanted. We at least had it narrowed down to 2. We walked into this last house & Tony fell silent. Then he was like a little kit & started running from room to room, to outside, to the front, then upstairs, & down. We both knew that we had walked into our future home!!!

It was the last David Weekley home on the lot, it had been built & completed, but never lived in. It sits on about 1/3 acre corner lot, 5 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, 3 car garage (enough room for those Barbie jeeps!!). Dining, living, kitchen, breakfast area, & game room. It is exactly what we need, plus a few of our wants. Best part is that one of the 5 bedrooms will be my dedicated office/scrap room! My own craft space!! Can you believe it? Since it was a builder home, it has upgrades galore!! We were at the right place at the right time & we literally got a steal! The builders agent let it slip what it was originally listed for & what we got it for is no where near that. The best part, at the end of our street is the common area where there is a playground, pool, club house, gym, stocked pond with catch & release fishing! There is also a brand new elementary school being built in the development that will open August 2012, so both girls will be going there next year.

Settlement on the new house is October 22nd. Wow that is coming up fast!! This house is not sold yet, so we will stay here until it is or until the relocation company buys us out, which ever comes first. We are kinda hoping that we will get to be here for Christmas, then move over the break. That way we can celebrate w/ our families, then Emma can start new in the new year.

I will certainly keep you posted as things progress & change. Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts & prayers. We really appreciate them! Let's hope the whole move goes smoothly with no hicups!

Chicas Getting Crafty September 22 Sketch & Scrap Challenge

2011-09-22T15:00:00.002-04:00

Good afternoon, there is another wonderful sketch posted today at Chicas Getting Crafty. If you haven't already, you should hurry on over there to check it out.

This sketch was so much fun to use! As soon as I saw it, I knew exactly what paper I was going to use, & what pictures. I used the scraps from the April Scraptacular kit. That was such a fun kit & I knew that I had the perfect scraps to use. I rounded the corners of the stips of scraps, used left over stickers, then I found a fun tag that I had used half of. The other half fit perfectly here. I had tiny strips of ribbon that found a good home on this page. I threw all of my scraps together, & this is what I came up with:


These pictures are of my youngest, Audra, when she was about a year & a half. We 
had gotten this slide from freecycle & Audra adored it. She would go up & down, up 
& down, up & down. This would last for for a long time. But it kept her busy & she 
loved it. 

Thanks for looking. I hope that you stop back again real soon.
Have a fabulous day.
~Anneliese~

(post pre-scheduled.  currently in Houston house hunting.)

Chicas Getting Crafty September 15 Sketch

2011-09-15T15:00:00.001-04:00

Hi there & welcome back. Over at Chicas Getting Crafty there is another wonderful sketch!! Which means that it's a great day for me, how about you? I am thrilled to share with you my take on another wonderful sketch. When I first saw this sketch, I immediately thought of my husband. He always asks if I am going to put anything in that "empty space". I, personally, LOVE the white space & really enjoy doing layouts with it. Like this one:


This layout is of my oldest, Emma.  She has the biggest, most beautiful eyes that I have ever seen.
She has eyelashes that grown women pay for!  She often says to me, "Mommy, I look different.  My
eyes are so big."  I just tell her, that it is perfectly ok to be different, those eyes are so big &
beautiful, & that the boys will get lost in them some day.

I am so glad that you stopped to visit me today.  Please share with us your take on the sketch, over
at  Chicas Getting Crafty should you chose to use it.  We love seeing everyone else's creations!!

Have a wonderful day!
~Anneliese~

(our house is officially for sale.  anyone interested in a beautiful house, on a cul-de-sac, in Exeter,
PA).

Chicas Getting Crafty Patriotic Challenge

2011-09-14T09:00:00.001-04:00

Hi there! I hope that you are doing well, this fine day!

For this layout, I was inspired by the patriotic-ness of our country in honor of 9/11. I did not have any patriotic papers, so this truly was a challenge for me. I used my scraps to make this layout (I was on a roll from the other challenges this month), which was fun. I pulled from this bin & that pile & random items (like the tag that has a bird under the star). I put it all together & this is what I came up with:

The pictures are of my mother-in-law, on the Fourth of July, playing with sparklers (she is still a kid at heart!). The little picture is of me & Emma. Emma wasn't quite sure what to make of them, so I had to help her until she got the hang of it.

God Bless the USA!!

Thanks for looking today. & be sure to stop by Chicas Getting Crafty to see my full post & what my fellow DT members are creating this week.

Have a great day.
~Anneliese~

(post pres-scheduled.  diligently working on house to put on market.)

Move to Texas

2011-09-11T09:22:00.002-04:00

Just a lil update on our move to TX. As you may or may not know, Tony has been offered quite a job with his company, but the catch is that it is located in Houston, TX. By taking this job, it opens several doors for advancement within the company in the near future. It was a long time coming, & it is finally here. Our house here in PA is being put on the market this week, & Tony & I will be going to Houston to house hunt next week. We have 4 days to find the house of our dreams! I will keep you posted on that as well.

With that being said, all of my scrappy supplies are packed up & in storage (boo hoo!!), because you know how cluttered & messy our scrappy areas can get! Our sitting room needs to be staged as a sitting room, not as a hoarding scrappers room. lol. All of the post that you will see on my blog in September, October, November that are crafty related have been created previously & scheduled to be posted. All of my DT duties are on hold until we are settled in our new house.

Along with prepping our house to go on the market, school & preschool has started, soccer is in full swing, & dance starts this week. Let's just say that the past several months have been a big blurr for me. I have major insomnia, headaches all the time, & the tears flow freely quite often. There are only so many excuses to tell the girls why I am crying AGAIN! They have been troopers through all of this. They know that we are moving, & are excited to get a new house, but they don't grasp the concept of us moving across the country. What do you expect at ages 4 & 6.

Ok, friends. I just wanted to give you an update on what is happening here. & again, all my crafty posts have been created previously & my posts have been pre-scheduled. I hope you are all doing well. I feel very disconnected from the outside world. I promise to be more communicative once settled in the new digs.

Take care & have a fantastic day!

Chicas Getting Crafty September 8th Sketch

2011-09-08T15:00:00.001-04:00

Hello there!! It is so nice that you stopped by today. Over at Chicas Getting Craftythere is another fabulous sketch. Woo Hoo!! Love it!

My take on the sketch is of my daughter Audra, when she was about 18 monthes, & her first experience on the beach. She wasn't quite sure what to make of it. She would sit in the sand, then stand up. Sit & watch the water, then dig her toes in the sand. It was quite funny. You can see it in her face that she didn't really know what to do.

  

Thank you for looking.  I hope that you enjoyed the sketch & my take on it.  Please
 stop back again more fun & inspiration! I love having you.

Have a great day!!
~Anneliese~

(the month of September posts are pre-scheduled.  We are busy packing, & house
hunting, & preparing for our big move from PA to TX.  Details on that to follow.).

Chicas Getting Crafty September 1 Sketch

2011-09-01T08:00:00.001-04:00

Have been over the the Chicas Getting Crafty blog today? Have you seen the fabulous sketch posted? Isn't it wonderful? And guess what? You are lucky this month because there are 5 weeks in September, therefore there will be 5 sketches here at Chicas Getting Crafty! All of them are out-of-this-world!!

Here is my take on this weeks sketch. I used the title "Imagine" because my girls are so very close, & I can't imagine one being without the other. They are the best of friends, & really enjoy each other. Well, they are only 4 & 6, so I'm sure as they get older things will change a bit. These pictures are from our vacation this summer. We went to see Lucy the Elephant in Margate NJ (www.lucytheelephant.org). Emma (my oldest), did not want to go in at all. She was pouting & just kept saying she didn't want to go in (as you can tell in the very first picture). Audra, just took her by the hand, & said something to her, & it changed her mood completely & she went right in. That's what sisters are for!!

Thanks for looking today! I hope that you were inspired by the sketch. If you do a layout using the sketch, please share over at Chicas Getting Crafty so that we can Ohhh & Ahhh over it!

Have a wonderful day!!
~Anneliese~

Nuts About Sketches, sketch #176

2011-08-29T08:00:00.002-04:00

Hello hello hello. Monday is here, & I am a little sad to say that this will be my last sketch on the DT for Nuts About Sketches. New team starts with the next sketch. And although I will surely miss being on the team, I will continue to pull her sketches weekly & use them.

Here is what I created w/ the latest sketch:

There is a dairy farm a few miles from our house. At that dairy farm is a little restaurant , as well as a little petting zoo. At that zoo they have farm animals as well as rare & unusual animals. The best part is that it is totally free! The kids love going there & seeing the animals, as the pictures show. Always a fun time.

Thanks for looking, & thanks Shawn for allowing me to be on your DT for the past year.

Nuts About Sketches: Sketch #175

2011-08-22T08:00:00.002-04:00

You got it! Monday morning, Monday Nuts About Sketches sketch. My term is almost up with her, so this is one of the last ones that you will see. I am sure that I will continue to do the sketches, but just not as her DT member. But with out further ado, here is what I created with her latest sketch:

As I've been scrapping, I seem to have a lot of photos of my father, but not so many of my mother. I will definitely need to do something about that moving forward. But here is my father with baby Audra. He just loves his grand kids as you can tell by the look in his eyes.

Thanks for stopping by. See you soon.

Chicas Getting Crafty August 11th Sketch Reveal

2011-08-18T15:00:00.001-04:00

Oh my goodness! Have you seen the sketches that the girls are creating at Chicas Getting Crafty lately? They are awesome! I was one of the lucky ones to design with Kimmy's sketches this month, so I would like to share with you what I have created.

These are pictures of Emma (yes, I know, I haven't forgotten about Audra!), & our dog Charley. We were so worried that Charley wouldn't take to Emma, but he immediately became her protector the day we brought her home. Here, Emma is 7 months old, & just starting to move around. He would sit & watch her every move. She loved it when he was near, & learned to pull up by using his back to steady herself.

Supplies used:
Almost everything I used was from the Basic Grey Euphoria line: paper, buttons, letters, brads, chipboard.
Karen Foster Design green Scrappers Floss
Colorbox chalk ink- lavender & blue

Thanks for the wonderful sketch, Kimmy, & thank you all for stopping by to look, & don't forget to check out Chicas Getting Crafty! Have a great day & see you back here soon!

~Anneliese~

Nuts About Sketches - Sketch #174

2011-08-15T08:00:00.002-04:00

Hello there! How are you this fine Monday in August. August! Holy smokes, where has this summer gone??

Thanks to Shawn, I was able to create another fun layout using one of her sketches for Nuts About Sketches. Here is what I came up with:

These are fun pictures of Easter 2010. We had gone to church with my parents, then went back to their house for an egg hunt, & a wonderful, traditional, Easter ham dinner. Fun fun fun.

Thanks for looking, hope to see you back soon.

Chicas Getting Crafty Wedding Challenge

2011-08-10T08:00:00.001-04:00

When Peachy Laura from Chicas Getting Crafty asked us to chose a part of a wedding to scrap about, the first thing that popped into my mind was the cake, so I blurted that out right away. Then I thought, how am I going to scrap a wedding cake??! I have never scrapped any of our wedding photos, then I thought that I would flub it & scrap one of the kids birthday cakes(shhh, don't tell Laura!). As I was flipping through photos, I found the perfect "wedding cake" pictures! My parents, on their 40th wedding anniversary, renewed their vows & had a huge celebration, much like a wedding. They had gotten married in Germany & only a handful of people attended, so they went all out this time, & had the big traditional "wedding" for the renewal. The cake was no exception! Here are the photos of the cake, them cutting, & feeding each other. Still as in love, & 1000x more, as the day they were married.


Supplies used:
Foof-a-la patterned paper
Bazzil Basics paper just the edge card stock strips
SEI chalk ink - red grape
Quick Quotes powder puff ink - bloody mary
Inkadinkadoo swirl stamp
Pink Paisley Bayberry Cottage cork buttons
American Crafts Thickers - Shoebox glitter white
Random: cardstock, flowers, & brads


Thank you for letting me share my parents love story with you, & for stopping by
today. I surely hope you continue to visit me, & over at Chicas Getting Crafty,
for inspiration!! Have a fabulous day!


~Anneliese~

Nuts About Sketches - Sketch #173

2011-08-09T00:22:00.001-04:00

Oh my! I had thought I had set this up to post while I was on my cruise, but I still had it set as a draft! I hope I didn't disappoint you!

Anyway, this gives me the opportunity to tell you that Tony & I had a wonderful time on our cruise! It was so nice to get away, just the two of us, & reconnect a bit. With all of his travel for work, the impending move on our minds, it was nice to push all of that aside & just enjoy each other with out any distractions. We got massages, pedicures, drank an awful lot! & just had a wonderful time. Since we cruised to Canada, it was a lot colder than what we thought, but over all it was so much fun, & well deserved & needed.

The kids return tomorrow, so back to life we go.

Onto the craft stuff. Of course this is a Nuts About Sketches take on a sketch, it is Monday (well, now Tuesday) after all.

The picture is of the girls this past Easter. The sun was in their eyes so they kinda look like they've been crying, or that they are mad, but in all honesty they WERE mad because I was delaying them going inside to look for their Easter baskets!

As I mentioned, tomorrow is back to normal life....laundry, kiddos, cooking, cleaning, the works. I will just have to relive my moments on the cruise when I scrapbook about it! Stay tuned for those photos/layouts. ;o)

Have a great day & see you back here soon.

Chicas Getting Crafty August 4 Sketch Reveal

2011-08-04T15:00:00.001-04:00

Hello friends! We have some new sketch designers in town! And what wonderful sketches they are coming up with over at Chicas Getting Crafty . I was able to work with Kimmy's sketch & love it! It left a lot of room for the imagination! I also used the monochromatic theme that they have going this month. I used mostly green, as green is, & has always been, my favorite color. I hope you enjoy what I have done with it.


The pictures are of Emma, my oldest, when she was 10 months old, & learning to feed
herself.  She would sit there forever, but would be so proud of herself that she
was able to eat on her own.  Not sure how much she would get in her belly in those
days, but she gave it every effort she could.


Supplies used:
Nikki Silvis Flaming Butterfly patterned paper
Nikki Silvis Dan the Record Man patterned paper
American Crafts Thickers - Felt black
Colorbox chalk ink - Dark Moss
Random: cardstock


Thank you for stopping by.  I hope to see you back here in the days to come.
There is lots of inspiration at CGC as well, so be sure to stop there daily
(and here too of course)!


Have a good one.
~Anneliese~

From Here to Scrapternity July Reveal

2011-08-03T00:14:00.001-04:00

Good morning! It is a happy day for me! In about an hour or two, my girls will be with my parents, & Tony & I are going on a long awaited cruise to celebrate our 10 year anniversary (which was in March). It is just a 4 night cruise, but we are so looking forward to it! Just the two of us, phones left at home, & just enjoying some time along, together.

On another note, I don't think that I have mentioned to you that the Grassi's have made a very big important decission. Tony has accepted a job/promotion in Houston, so by the end of the year, we will be relocating to TX. Big news, right?? This is a very wise career move for him. Once there, the sky is the limit & I am pretty sure that he will climb the corporate ladder quickly. (he has already been promise another promotion w/in the year after we get there!!). Please keep us in your prayers as we begin this very difficult, yet exciting journey.

On another note, my sister got engaged!!! Isn't that fabulous! I am so happy for her & Noah!! You can tell just by listening to her, & watching her, that she is truly in love & has found her perrfect match! Congratulations, seestor!! I am so thrilled & excited for you!!

Now, onto the crafty stuff. We had a super busy July, so I haven't had much scrappy time, besides the Hamburg Hideaway, but this past Friday I did go to the CK Convention. I went by myself this year, so I decided to pick up a few classes. I took the Embellish It!! class & really really enjoyed it! It was fabulous. I did 4 layouts & learned 12 techniques! The hour flew by! Then I had taken another class, & was so disappointed. The entire class was spent talking about their product & pushing sales. We were supposed to do 4 double page layouts & 2 cards. I walked out of there with the kit in had as it was handed to me....in pieces! So dissappointing. After I return from my cruise, I will be sending an email to CK. That is how strongly I feel about it. After the convention, I went to a crop at my fave lss, Scraptacular. I was able to get in some scrappy time & finally get my From Here 2 Scrapternity creations done. With that being said, here is what I created with my supplies for July from FH2S:

I used one of the new techniques that I learnd at the convention (in the good class). I fussy cut flowers from pp & then s lit in between the petals to the center. Then I pinched the petals of the flowers up, to create a dimensional look. Voila!

The pictures are of me & the girls, & their friends last summer when we went to Sonic for an outdoor movie.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This layout is of my sister & I in April of this year at Emma's b-day party. We don't have very many pictures of us together, so my friend had taken this shot. She will make a beautiful bride, won't she?

Thank you for stopping by today! I am signing off until we get back. I have a few posts scheduled while we are gone, so please stop back to say hello.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Nuts About Sketches, sketch #172

2011-08-01T08:00:00.002-04:00

Happy happy Monday! And by now, you certainly know that with Monday comes a new sketch by Shawn at Nuts About Sketches.

These pictures are of Emma & her 2nd Christmas. We had gone to my parents house to celebrate Christmas, & she was all over the place. She was just as content to climb on & sit on the packages as she was opening them. It was a fun day & the best part was that it was spent with family. (Audra was there, but still in my belly....).

Thanks for looking. See you back soon.

Oooo!

2011-07-29T08:26:00.002-04:00

Oh! It looks like I need to update my blog! My design has either expired, moved, or they want money. lol. I am off to the CK Convention today to check out all the goodies to craft some more, so when I have a free moment, I will definately fix that. Sorry for the inconvenience in the mean time. Have a good day!

Let's Get Peachy July 28th Sketch Reveal

2011-07-29T08:00:00.000-04:00

Hi & welcome back. I are so glad that you stopped by today, & hope that you find the my take on the newest Let's Get Peachy sketch inspirational.

As you know, I love love love sketches, & this one is no excpetion. It was fun, & easy, & was perfect for my ice cream pictures that I had in mind.

This is of my youngest, Audra, at the community pool. She loves ice-cream (just like her mommy!!), & thinks we have to get it every time we go. We try to keep the snacks at the pool to a minimum, so when we do get ice cream, it is special. She loved this ice cream & ate every last bite, as you can tell all over her hands & her face!

Supplies used:
The fantastic April kit from Scraptacular:

Echo Park Paper Co. - Playground by Heart: Capture the Flag, Rubberball/splash, Heads Up Seven Up, Simon Says Border Stripes.
Basic Grey - Woolie Sticker.
Mrs. Grossman's - Sticker by the yard: yellow.
American Crafts Thickers - Sunset.
Ranger Stickles - Star Dust.
Jillibean Soup - Bean Stalks brown twine.

I hope that you have enjoyed my take on the beautiful sketch, & maybe it has inspired you to create with it.

Have a fantastic day & we look forward to seeing you again soon!

Double Page Layout for Let's Get Peachy

2011-07-28T08:00:00.000-04:00

Here is another project that I did as an "extra" for Let's Get Peachy, this month. The base layout is from a page design class at Scraptacular, & of course I added my own touches & made the layout my own.

These picture are of Emma, buried in the sand in Sea Isle City, NJ this year. She got buried by my sister & her boyfriend, & Emma just hung out there for at least a half an hour. I was just snapping pictures of her in her various states, & I thought they were so much fun, I had to put them on a layout.

Thank you for stopping by today. Be sure to check out Let's Get Peachy as well as Scraptacular for lots of goodies.

Cards from Scraps for Let's Get Peachy

2011-07-27T08:00:00.001-04:00

Laura had asked me to do a few extra posts for July for Let's Get Peachy, & I was happy to oblige. When I went to the Hamburg Hideaway last weekend, I used a kit right down to the scraps. I am one of those people that has a hard time throwing away my scraps, so I used them to make these cards:

The scraps were the perfect size, & made the cutest cards. Don't you think?

Thank you for stopping by today. This was posted over at Let's Get Peachy on Monday, July 25th, so you can head over there to see it, & while there, check out all the other fun stuff that my fellow design team members have created.

Have a great day!

Nuts About Sketches #171

2011-07-25T08:00:00.003-04:00

Happy Monday! Today marks another post at Nuts About Sketches. I was able to work with this great sketch again, & come up with this layout:

These pictures are of Emma when she was 20 months old. We always go to Schlegel's tree farm & cut down our own tree. Emma was running through all the trees, & would always stop at the newly planted ones (the ones that were her size). She was so cute. This family tradition continues & now Audra has just as much fun helping to pick out the family trees.

Thank you for stopping by today. I hope you have a wonderful week.

Nuts About Sketches #170

2011-07-18T08:00:00.003-04:00

Happy Monday! And with Monday we all know by now, we have the latest Nuts About Sketches reveal. It was another wonderful 2 page sketch, & it was a lot of fun to work with.

This was such a fun day. Every year my parents get the girls catterpillars in the spring. We watch them get bigger & bigger then turn into cacoons. Once they come out & become butterflies, we enjoy them for a few weeks, then let them go in the back yard. This particular year (2010) the girls had so much fun with them. One landed on Emma's belly & one landed on Audra's finger. Pretty cool!

Thank you for looking today. Remember to stop by Nuts About Sketches to see Shawn's great new sketch & all the gals takes on it.

Have a great week!

One More from FH2S June Supplies

2011-07-16T08:00:00.002-04:00

While you are reading this, I am crafting my fingers to the bone. I am on a scrappy retreat at the Hamburg Hideaway with some great friends! Lots of scrapping, talking, music, movies, eatting.... I am sure that I am having a blast!

I had some scraps left over from my FH2S supplies for June, & I decided to see if I could create something from them. There was a sketch posted at FH2S for May that worked perfectly. Here is what I came up with:

This is Emma at 16 months old with my dad, her Paw-paw. She is the apple of his eye, & has him wrapped around her little finger (& still does today). They are buds.

Thank you for stopping today.
Have a fantastic day & stop back soon to see what I've been up to this weekend.

Let's Get Peachy July 14th Sketch Reveal

2011-07-14T09:00:00.002-04:00

Well, hello there!!!  How are you this fine day in July!  Keeping cool, I hope, &
enjoying the summer.

I happened to get lucky again & create with another gorgeous sketch by Deb, at Let's
Get Peachy. I had this paper in my stash for a while now, & thought it would be
perfect for this sketch.  The pictures are of my daughter, Emma, at age 10 months. 
I do believe they were taken by a friend who was at our house for a get together. 
Emma just stared at the camera, heck, she was used to from me.  It was almost like
she was posing.  She was really teething at the time, so there was always something
in her mouth. But those eyes, they just get me every time (& still do!!).





Supplies used:
Nikki Sivils - Flaming Butterfly patterned paper line
Karen Foster Design - Green scrappers floss
Foam alpha stickers (from the $1 bin at Target)
Basic Gren - brads
My Little Shoebox - White alpha stickers
Ranger Stickles - Crystal

Thanks for looking. I hope you try something with Deb's sketch, & if you do, please
link it up at Let's Get Peachy we can all oohh & aaahh over it.  Have a great day!
~Anneliese~

Scraptacular July Reveals

2011-07-12T08:00:00.004-04:00

Good morning! Are you staying cool in this crazy hot weather that we are having? It is in excess of 90 degrees here, that is crazy! I see a lot of pool time in my future!

Today I want to share with you what I've created with Scraptacular's July kit. It had such fun papers & embellishments, & was so much fun to work with. I hope that you enjoy my creations:

This layout is of my 2 daughters & my cousins kiddos enjoying my Aunt & Uncle's pool. It is a summer tradition to spend as much time as we can there & with them, & we get a picture of the kids in that same swing every year. It is fun to see how much they grow from year to year.
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This is a picture of me & my favorite girls in the world. Emma & Audra. It was taken at Emma's 6th b-day party, this year. My hair is now super short, so it is funny to see this picture. But at least I am in one, right?!
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Just a random b-day card that I made w/ some of the scraps from the kit.
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And THIS picture, is of my peanut Audra! When she was 3 years old, she loved her red socks, & would put them on "all by herself" & then pull them up to her knees. If you tried to pull them down, she would pull them right back up. She never did this with any other pair of socks, only the red ones. She cracks me up!
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There you have it. I hope that you liked what I've done with the kit from Scraptacular. If you haven't gotten your yet, head on over there now & order yours today!

Have a great day! Stay cool!

Nuts About Sketches #169

2011-07-11T08:00:00.002-04:00

Happy Monday! Today we have another NAS sketch reveal. This was a fun sketch to create with. See:

A few weeks ago I had done a lo of the girls playing in the rain. This shot was taken on that day. This was Emma watching the rain come down & not quite sure what to do. She looks deep in thought, & I thought the picture was so cute. It portrays a true side of Emma, unsure & skeptical of new things. But oh so cute!!!

Thanks & have a good one.

Let's Get Peachy July 7th Sketch Reveal

2011-07-10T15:00:00.000-04:00

Hello my Peachy friends! How are you? Thank you for taking the time to mosey on through today. I had the opportunity to work with another fantastic sketch here at Let's Get Peachy, & I used the Anti Boredom twist to it.

This layout is of my sweet baby girl, Emma, when she was 9 months old. My husband & I were always amazed at how much of a mess this teeny tiny lil girl could make! Who knew that as they get bigger, the messes get bigger too! Oh well.

Supplies used:
Basic Grey - Fusion: Exposure, Fusion Tags; Micro Mini Letter Stickers, black.
Color Box chalk ink - Lavender
K&Company - velum
American Crafts Thickers: Subway foam letters, black.
My Lil Shoebox - Mini Alpha Stickers, yellow.
Ranger Liquid Pearls: Lavender Lace, Lemon Yellow.
Random ribbon.

Thanks for stopping by today. I look forward to seeing you back here again soon!

Let's Get Peachy July Recipe Challenge

2011-07-08T10:13:00.000-04:00

Howdy folks!  How are you this fine day?  I wanted to share with you my take on
this months challenge at Let's Get Peachy.  As you know, it is a recipe challenge,
& we were supposed to pick at least 4 of the 10 items to use on our layouts.
I tried my darndest to get all 10 items, but I fell short of just two. So close!!!
I "blinged" my letters w/ stickles, used "twine" on my "buttons", I am an inker
anyway, so I "inked" everything that I could, I "distressed" the bottom part paper,
I used a border "punch", I used ric-rak as my "ribbon", & I "tore" a journaling
sheet out of my book (does that count??).  So, there you have it....what I used
in my recipe.




This picture is of my oldest daughter, Emma, when she was 6 months old. She rarely
slept for me (part of being a preemie, I think), so when she did, I would let her
sleep anytime, anywhere, & it was always so peaceful, which I captured in this
picture! Honestly, she still looks just like this when she sleeps, but with hair.
lol.

Supplies used:
Basic Grey - Fusion: Tangerine, Criss Cross, Chartruse, Grape Fizz, & Love Me Tender.
Fiskars border punch.
Making Memories - {note}worthy journal book, Addie.
Jillibean Soup: Bean Stalks brown twine; corrigated star.
Pink Paisley - Enchanged Alpha Stickers.
Ranger Stickles - Crystal
Color Box chalk ink - chestnut.
Random - buttons, ribbon/ric rak.

Thanks for looking today!  I surely hope you have enjoyed my layout, &
what all the other very talented ladies share with you over at Let's
Get Peachy!

Have a fabulous day!

From Here to Scrapternity Scraplift Progression

2011-07-06T08:22:00.000-04:00

Hi! Thanks for stopping by today. I wanted to share with you something that we did over at From Here 2 Scrapternity. My fellow IT member, Susie, suggested that we do a progressive scraplift. We start with a layout, send to someone, they scraplift it, then send that one to the next person, & so on & so forth. Every person has about 5 days to complete their layout before sending to the next person. Here is what I created with my part of the scraplift, using supplies from Scraptacular's June kit.

This picture was taken from a spectacular playground in Sea Isle City, NJ in 2010. It was such a pretty view & picture that I had to do something with it. It is overlooking the bay, & the sun was setting. The picture that I took of the picture to post here really doesn't do it any justice.

To view the full progression of scraplifts, please visit FH2S, & look in the "Scrappy Chat" section, & "Telephone Scraplift #1" thread. What everyone did is amazing!

Have a great day!

Nuts About Sketches #168

2011-07-04T08:00:00.002-04:00

It's Monday & of course that means a new reveal for NAS!! This was another really fun sketch to work with. This is what I've done with it:

I get emails all the time to apply to host "house parties". For this one, I love coffee & use coffee mate daily, love to cook, love friends, & I was fortunate enough to get picked to host the party. This meant I got a TON of free creamer! I did all sorts of fun things with it. Made tiramisu, a cheesecake, a mocha something or other, & then the drinks, oh the wonderful drinks!! The best was the PBJ hot chocolate! Yum-o! The kids played & the adults had great conversation.

Thanks for stopping today. I hope you enjoyed my lo!
Have a good one.

Let's Get Peachy Sketch Reveal (June 30)

2011-06-30T15:00:00.001-04:00

Hello!!  How are you?  I am so glad that you are visiting me today.  I know
that I am great, I have my toes dug in the sand, at the beach, on vacation!
I hope that you are having as much fun as I am....Speaking of fun, have you seen
Deb's June 30th sketch over at Let's Get Peachy?  Holy Smokes!  I think this was
my favorite one so far!


I created this layout of my oldest daughter, who was 3 in this picture (she is now
6).  She follows in my footsteps, & loves crafts!  So, it really was no surprise
when I stepped away for a few minutes & came back to find her all covered in marker.
She used herself as the canvas!  Of course my first instinct was to grab the camera.
Does that make me a bad mommy?  lol.

The supplies that I used are:
Stamping Up paper 2007
Accent Essentials Cricut Cartridge
Jenni Bowlin Butterflies
Stickles - Star Dust
Liquid Pears - White Opal, Baby Blue, & Lemmon Yellow
Random: twine & staples

Thanks for looking!  I hope you enjoy your day!

Nuts About Sketches #167

2011-06-27T08:24:00.001-04:00

Today, as you are reading this, I am in Sea Isle City, NJ. Maybe I am sleeping, maybe I am sitting on the beach with my toes in the sand. Or maybe I at the zoo, or Storybook Land. Who knows, however, I am on vacation! Yay!

Even though I am on vacation, that doesn't stop Shawn from posting new sketches at Nuts About Sketches.... as it is Monday. This sketch was so much fun to work with, & the supplies in the Scraptacular June kit were perfect for this sketch. I loved working w/ the supplies & the sketch. And here is what I came up with:

When my father found out that Emma loved his boat, he would take her out every time she went for a sleep over. He even got her her own fishing rod (Dora I do believe). In these pictures, she did catch a sunny, & you can see her reaction.

Thanks for looking today.
Have a great week.

From Here 2 Scrapternity June Reveals.

2011-06-25T09:00:00.001-04:00

Hello friends! I hope that you are having a fantastic day! This weekend there is a great crop going on at From Here 2 Scrapternity. You should head over there right now & check it out. I used my supplies for June to create 2 challenges. A recipe challenge for a layout, & a card challenge. Here is what I have created using my supplies:

This layout is of my girls with my parents on their boat. They love fishing with Nana & Paw-paw, & have such a great time on the water & boat.
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I created this card for Tony's cousin's son who made his first communion in May. I really like how the cross turned out. In the thank you note, he even thanked me for the "handmade" card. Josh is 8.

Today, we are on our way to the beach! I am so looking forward to spending time w/ the family & just hanging out & relaxing. My favorite part is watching the girls have a ball. I have posts set up while we are away, so I hope you keep stopping back.

Thanks for looking today & have a great week!! (& don't forget to head over to FH2S for fun , inspiration, & prizes.)

From Here to Scrapternity May Reveals

2011-06-23T09:23:00.001-04:00

Yes, I know, I did it again. We are almost at the end of June, & I am just sharing with you my FH2S May reveals. I have had them done since the end of May, posted them at FH2S, but almost forgot to post them here. Pam sent me Basic Grey, my fave, to use, & it was fun. This first layout you've seen already as it was a NAS sketch, but the rest will be new to you.

Thanks for looking! Stay tuned for more posts in the days to come. Maybe even my June IT designs for FH2S will make it in June! lol.

Have a good one!

Nuts About Sketches #166

2011-06-20T08:31:00.003-04:00

Hi there! Today Shawn has put out sketch number 166 at Nuts About Sketches. Of course it was another fabulous one! They just keep getting better & better. So, here is what I've done w/ it:

I just love these pictures & this sketch was perfect for it. It was a beautiful day in June & we all piled into the car to go to the pool. As soon as we got to the top of the street, it started to rain, so we turned around, w/ 2 disappointed lil girls, & came home. After the storm was over, the sun came out & was shining again. We got back into the car, & got out of the development & half way to the pool. Guess what? It started to pour again! With both girls now crying, when we got out of the car, I took their cover ups off & told them to "go". They looked at me strangely, but eventually they ran around like crazy people, & had the time of their lives! Jumping & splashing & running & just having so much fun!

I hope that you enjoyed these pics as much as I do.
Thanks for looking today & hope to see you soon.

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P.S. Happy Birthday to my sweet sweet sister, Dawn! Happy Birthday, Seestor!!!

Let's Get Peachy Sketch Reveal (June 16)

2011-06-18T09:03:00.000-04:00

Oh happy day!  Yes, it is!  I was able to work with another fan-tabulous sketch
from Deb at Let's Get Peachy!  Love it love it love it!!  & I am sure that you will too!

I am always hearing that I scrap my oldest daughter, & rarely my youngest....Well,
I do have 2 years more photos of her, but that's beside the point....When I saw
this sketch, I knew exactly what pictures to use.  This layout is about my youngest
daughter, who was 5 months old in these photos.  She was always such a happy baby,
& nothing really phased her.  Here, she is sitting in her bumbo, watching a bunch
of us swim.  She was so content to just sit & watch...such a cutie patootey!

The supplies that I used are:
Stamping up paper 2006
Graphically Speaking Cricut Cartridge
Creative Memories Circle punch
Color Box ink - brown
Cinnamon Stickles
Random: flowers & brads

Thank you for checking out my blog & what I did for Let's Get Peachy today!
I look forward to seeing you  back again soon!

Have a great day!!

Nuts About Sketches #165

2011-06-13T08:20:00.001-04:00

Here we are, another fabulous Monday in June! Love summer & everything that comes with it. In fact, today, is the first Monday that Emma doesn't have school, & I do believe that it is the last day that I have the boys. Yes, today starts the Grassi summer!

Shawn revealed another new sketch at Nuts About Sketches today, & I used Scraptacular's June kit supplies to create this:

It seems that I have way more pages of Emma than I do of Audra, so I need to catch up a little bit. This is just some pics of Audra, as cute as can be, when she was just 3 months old. She was always a happy, easy baby....until she hit one. lol. But she is now 4, & won't stop talking....She is still way too cute though! My lil peanut!

Hope you have a lovely summer & do lots of fun things!
See you soon.

Let's Get Peachy Sketch Reveal

2011-06-10T08:00:00.001-04:00

Hello!  Thanks for stopping by today!  I was able to work with Deb's fantastic
June 9th Sketch at Let's Get Peachy, & it was so much fun!  For those of you
that know me, know that I adore sketches, & this one was no exception.



I did a layout of one of my oldest & dearest friends, Angela, & her family.
The picture is from 2006, but the thought behind the layout doesn't change.
We met when we were about 5, & have remained friends for all of these years.  We
went to camp together, high school together, cheered together, got into some trouble
together (as teenagers do! ask my dad!!), & then we got married the same year, &
had children the same year as well!  Talk about friends! Now our kids are friends
too. She is one of those friends that is always there for you, no matter what.



On this layout I used:
Quick Quotes Jokers Wild paper
Tim Holts distressing tool
SEI chalk ink - ruby
Color Box ink - black
American Craft Thickers, Honey, Black
October Afternoon Mini Market Stickers - Ledger
Random: lace, brads, textured card stock, & staples



I hope that you enjoyed what I have created, & I hope that you have a fabulous day!
See you soon! ;o)

Let's Get Peachy Power of a Smile

2011-06-09T09:06:00.001-04:00

Hi!  The challenge this month at Let's Get Peachy was to create a layout about the
Power of a Smile.  Well, I took it literally & created a layout with that as my
title.


This is my youngest daughter Audra (yes, another layout of her & not Emma, yay!),
when she was 9 months old.  Her first year, all she did was smile.  The happiest
baby you ever did see!  Her smile was contagious & made everyone around her smile
as well.  In fact, she is now 4, & she still is a happy-go-lucky, smiley kid!
Love her!

The supplies I used are:
Quick Quotes- Sophia Collection
American Crafts Thickers - Vera Vinyl White
Tim Holtz Distresser
Maya Road Birds mini sheer
Heidi Swap bling
Random: ribbon, slide

Thanks for looking today. Hope to see you back real soon!

Nuts About Sketches #164

2011-06-06T08:17:00.001-04:00

Happy Monday! With Mondays, you should now know what comes with them.....of course! Another new Nuts About Sketches sketch & reveal. So, here is what I've created with this weeks sketch, using Scraptacular's June kit supplies:

These pictures make me chuckle a little bit. I was just taking random pics because the day before we had gone to the Philadelphia Zoo, & of all things, lost our camera. I can't live w/o my camera, so we bought a new one immediately! This was the next day & I was just playing around with it & taking pictures left & right. Here the girls were enjoying the sand box & the weather was awesome!

Thanks for looking today. I hope that you enjoyed my creation.
Have a great day & see you soon.

From Here to Scrapternity April Reveals

2011-06-03T09:21:00.000-04:00

I know I know I know!! April reveals in June! There are 2 reasons that I am doing this. 1) I didn't get the April From Here 2 Scrapternity supplies until May. 2) I was sick a lot in May, therefore I was behind on everything. I really really loved these supplies! The colors, the flexibility. Everything was awesome.

Now, some of these layouts you have seen already because I used them for some NAS sketches, but I hope that you enjoy them again, & like the ones that you haven't seen.

I hope that you liked my creations & that you stop back again soon.
Have a great day!

Nuts About Sketches #163

2011-06-01T08:00:00.001-04:00

Whew! Things have been quite crazy in the Grassi household over the past few weeks. I was sick for about 3 weeks straight, & finally broke down & went to the doc. As it turned out, I had an infection in my throat, ears, & sinuses. Ugh! No wonder I wasn't feeling hot! With being sick, I didn't have time to scrap because all my spare time was spent sleeping! Plus, in the midst of me being sick, we went to Wildwood, NJ. Tony had a football clinic there, & the girls & I tagged along. We had a fantastic time! Pool, beach, boardwalk. My fave was watching the girls have so much fun! I did get worse before I got better (thanks to the trip), but, I do feel better now, the weather is sunny, & I am in summer mode. The pool opened this past weekend & we were there every day! Love it! Now we just need Emma to be finished school (8 more days), & to not watch the boys anymore. Then we will kick it into high summer mode!!

On a different note, the new Nuts About Sketches sketch was revealed on Monday, & no disappointment there, again. Another beautiful sketch! I happened to use the supplies that Pam sent me for May for From Here 2 Scrapternity inspiration team, so I double dipped.

The pictures are of my oldest, Emma, in 2007. We have flowers that come up in our landscaping, & she was always so intrigued by them. In fact, she still is to this day! It makes me sad to see these pictures. It seems so long ago!

Thanks for looking today. I hope that you are all are doing well & I hope that you stop back again real soon!

Have a fabulous day!

Let's Get Peachy Sketch Reveal

2011-05-26T09:00:00.000-04:00

Hello there!
Over at Let's Get Peachy, Groovy Deb has shared with us a beautiful sketch. I was lucky enough to be able to work with it, & simply adored it! It is clean & crisp, & left a lot up to your imagination. Here is what I came up with:

This picture is of my youngest, Audra, at Emma's (my oldests) soccer game. She is 3 in this photo & so wishes she was 5 so that she could play soccer, and do everything else, like her big sister does. Audra is my silly, happy-go-lucky, funny one, & this picture captures her in one of her moments. Oh, how I LOVE my lil Monkey!

The supplies that I used are: Close to My Heart paper (from 2007), American Crafts Poolside Vinyl Thickers, & various random other things.

Thanks for looking today! If you have haven't already, please visit Let's Get Peachy for a lot of fun & inspiration!

Nuts About Sketches #162

2011-05-23T09:00:00.004-04:00

Howdy! Since it's Monday, what do you think I am going to post today? You got it! Today is a new reveal for Nuts About Sketches. So, don't forget to go check it out. Here is what I created with her next amazing sketch:

I don't think this picture needs any words. Emma was 2, Audra was 5 months old. They were smitten with each other from the start.

I used more of the supplies for my IT at From Here 2 Scrapternity for April.

Thanks for stopping by! See you soon!

Nuts About Sketches #161

2011-05-16T09:00:00.004-04:00

Hi there! Today is another reveal over at Nuts About Sketches. As usual, this sketch will not disappoint, & it is a double page to boot. Here is my take on her sketch:

This was Emma's "graduation" from preschool. It was a spring show/program, filled with songs. Emma did not sing one single word, but she did dance, & pose, & wave, & act silly. Then they each got a certificate for their "graduation". I certainly cried! One, because I am an emotional person anyway, two, because the show was so stinkin cute, three, because my lil 3 lb baby was now 5 & starting kindergarten.

Btw, I used my supplies for my IT for April for From Here 2 Scrapternity. She got them to me a little late, so I am using them as I can. ;o)

I hope you enjoyed my lo & I also hope you come back to visit again soon.
Have a good one.

Emma's Birthday Cake

2011-05-14T09:00:00.001-04:00

Now, it has been 2 weeks since Emma's fabulous Art Bus/Rapunzel birthday party. I have teased you with the idea of my best cake ever. So, here is the cake that took me 3 days to make! I totally cake bossed it & used the rice krispy treats for the tower, & the fondant (that I swear I will never work with again!!) for the stones & the grass. What do you think:

At one point, while working with the fondant, Audra came in to ask me a question. I abruptly yelled at her to leave me alone, not talk to me, & I will deal with what ever it is later. I heard her walk into the toy room & say to Emma, "Emma, don't talk to Mommy right now. She is really mad about something." It was funny.

I know it's not scrapping or crafting, but it is creative, so I thought I would share with you.

Enjoy your day!

Let's Get Peachy Sketch Reveal

2011-05-12T09:00:00.002-04:00

Good morning! Today is my very first reveal for the Peachy Kat team for Let's Get Peachy!! Yay!!! Groovy Deb does fantastic sketches (& we all know how I feel about sketches!), & this one was no exception! Love it, loved working with it, & am pleased with the results. (my dh even said to me, after I was caught looking at my lo for the 50th time, "Are you looking at it again??"). So, here is my very first sketch reveal for the Peachy Kats:

The pictures are of my youngest daughter, Audra, when she was 3 months old. We had taken her to get her pictures professionally done & these are just a few of them. They worked perfectly with this sketch. Looking at them make me a tad bit sad because she is now 4. Where does the time go?!

The supplies I used are:
Quick Quotes Abby Collection paper
DCWV cardstock
Color Box Chestnut chalk ink
Karen Fosters Scrappers Floss
Dear Lizzy/American Crafts Thickers - Glitter Letter Sparkling
Dear Lizzy/American Crafts Thickers - Glitter Letter White Shoebox
& random tag, chipboard flowers, & pearls.

Thanks for looking today! I hope that you enjoyed my take on the sketch. Stop in over at Let's Get Peachy often to check out the wonderful projects of the very talented Peachy Kat team!
Have a fabulous day!!

Emma's Birthday Party

2011-05-11T09:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Sunday! I know that Emma's party was almost two weeks ago, but with all the happenings this past week, I wasn't able to share with you all the fun that we had! Emma opted to have the Art Bus come to the house, & she invited her girlfriends from school, & a few of her closest boy friends/cousins.

She was so very excited when that bus pulled up in front of the house! The first thing that they did was put Emma's hand print on the roof of the bus:

Then she had chosen the birdhouse to decorate with all of her friends. They each got to pick which one they wanted to paint:

Then they got down & dirty & painted them & had a great time!

Emma deep in thought & concentration:

& here is Audra, my youngest daughter, who couldn't keep the paint off of her face:

And last but not least, all of the party guests after finishing up their projects:

I had gotten a few phone calls from parents saying how much fun the kids all had. Hey, what can I say, the kid has a crafty side.... Hmmm, I wonder where she gets that from? lol.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope that you enjoyed my lil personal story of the Art Bus. Be sure to check back later this week when I share with you my 3 day cake creation! My best cake yet.

Have a fabulous day!

Let's Get Peachy Blog Hop Winner Announced

2011-05-10T09:00:00.003-04:00

Good morning! Thank you for checking back to find out who my winner for the First Ever Let's Get Peachy Blog Hop is! If you left me some love, & became a follower of my blog, you were entered into a random draw for a small rak from me. So, by using random.org, the winner is:

TeenaBugg38

Congratulations!!

Please email me at: amgrassi@verizon.net with your name & address so that I can get your scrappy goody out to you asap.

For a complete list of all the winners from the blog hop, please go to Let's Get Peachy.

Have a great day!

Nuts About Sketches #160

2011-05-09T21:00:00.001-04:00

Thanks for stopping back today.
Today Shawn at Nuts About Sketches has posted sketch #160, & it was another awesome one. I really enjoyed working with it. Here is what I created with it:

This pictures are of my oldest daughter when she was about 18 months old. We were painting the toy room in primary colors, & she liked banging on the paint cans as drums. But what I didn't get pictures of, was after the room was painted, Emma happened to spill an entire can of paint on the carpet in the toy room, stepped in it, then walked through the dining room & kitchen! Needless to say, we had to get the carpet replaced in both the toy room & the dining room.

Thanks for looking. If you participated in the Let's Get Peachy blog hop, be sure to stop back tomorrow to see if you were a winner.

Have a great day!

Let's Get Peachy 1st Ever Blog Hop!

2011-05-07T00:01:00.006-04:00

Welcome to LGP's First Ever Blog Hop!

We're celebrating National Scrapbooking Day at "Let's Get Peachy"! To kick off our celebration of design team reveals, challenges and fun, our Peachy Kat's have created some special projects and posted them on our blogs. All of us are looking forward to your visit and hope that our projects both delight and inspire you!

For my project, I got inspiration from a coupon book that I received in the mail from Target. It just struck me as the perfect size for a gift card holder, so I used it as an template:

And this is what I came up with as my gift card holder:

Here are another layout that I've created in honor of National Scrapbooking Day:

I am offering a small RAK (to be determined) to one lucky hopper (U.S. only). All you have to do is leave me a comment in this post & become a follower of my blog. On May 10th I will announce my winner here, so be sure to check back to see if it is you.

Here is ANOTHER chance to win! Please visit all 13 blogs on our Celebrate National Scrapbooking Day Blog Hop itinerary, and be sure to leave a comment/follow each one. After you have visited all 13 Peachy Kats, go back here to Let's get Peachy and leave a 2nd post to let us know you have completed the hop. One lucky winner's name will be drawn at random to receive a fun blog hop prize. Also if the Peachy Kats decide to do their own challenge for the individual hop posts, those winners will be listed on that Kat's blog. The hop runs from May 7th til May 9th, so get your entries in! All entries must be completed & posted by 8pm on May 9th, & the winners will be announced on May 10th. (don't worry...all the winners will be announced on the Let's Get Peachy blog on the 10th).

The grand prize is being offered by Crafty Scraps of Stuff. You might want to check them out sometime, as it filled with wonderful crafty items!

This is your Blog Hop itinerary. If you stumbled across the hop in the middle, please be sure to go back & start from the beginning at Let's Get Peachy (Laura), to be sure that you don't miss a thing. The links will direct you along the way to each of the other stops on the blog hop. If you get lost, you may refer to the links here:

1. Let's Get Peachy: Peachy Laura (Start here)
2. Peachy Kat- Daphne
3. Peachy Kat- Tammy G
4. Peachy Kat- Becky
5. Peachy Kat- Groovy Deb
6. Peachy Kat- Kristin
7. Peachy Kat- Sarah
8. Peachy Kat-Liese <<<===== YOU ARE HERE
9. Peachy Kat- Lisa
10. Peachy Kat- Tammy K.
11. Peachy Kat- Cindy
12. Peachy Kat- Cherrie
13. Back to LGP (Finish here)

And now our very talented Peachy Kat Lisa is anxiously awaiting you. Please hop on over to see what she has in store for you!

Thank you for stopping by today & thank you for participating in our hop! I hope that you are having fun, & good luck for the prizes!!!

Nuts About Sketches Birthday Celebration: Day 7

2011-05-06T09:00:00.001-04:00

Hi & welcome to the last day of the Nuts About Sketches Birthday Bash. Today Shawn posted day 7, so the 7th sketch of the week. She didn't disappoint, as it is another awesome one. Remember you have until the 10th to upload your creations on the NAS blog to be entered for a fantastic prize! So, don't wait, hurry on over. With it being Nataional Scrapbook day this weekend, maybe you'll get the chance to use Shawn's sketches. No matter, I hope that you enjoy her sketches & like what I have created with them. Like this for #7:

This was kind of a hard layout to do. Tony & I had some really good friends (Rob was my friend from high school). We did a lot together. Rob had this "dream" of opening up a Christian book store, geared towards the younger generations (teen - 30s). We really fed into that dream, so much so that we invested in the store to become co-owners. Well, Rob's dream was put into place, but the store was not run to the best that it could be. He wanted it his way & didn't like other suggestions, etc (it was his dream, & he knew how he wanted it). Well, the store had a good go if it, but had to close it's doors after 2 years. This resulted in bankruptcy for the store (& Rob & Cheryl), a divorce for Rob & Cheryl, the loss of a lot of money for us, & a loss of good friends. .... Like I said, a very hard layout to create.

I used supplies from the May Scraptacular kit.

On a more positive note, we are heading into National Scrapbook day weekend. I am cropping tonight & tomorrow at Scraptacular, so I am really looking forward to that. Also, starting at midnight tonight, the Let's Get Peachy blog hop starts, & tomorrow From Here to Scrapternity has a mini crop, so please be sure to stop by both for loads of fun & activities.

Thanks for looking! Have a fantastic weekend!!

Nuts About Sketches Birthday Celebration: Day 6

2011-05-05T09:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome back to my humble blog. I am so glad that you stopped by today! It is not too late to join in on the birthday bash over at Nuts About Sketches! Today is day 6 of the fabulous birthday celebration sketches that Shawn is creating & posting, so head on over there to check them all out. She is also offering a grand prize for any entries, so be sure to enter asap!

Here is what I created with today's sketch:

This is of my funny daughter, who at the time was 13 months old. She was sizing up those curtains, & before I knew it, she just disappeared. We couldn't find her anywhere.....despite the lil toes sticking out underneath. What a cutie she was, & definitely still is. She still pulls these kind of things at age 4, too!

Thanks for looking, be sure to stop back tomorrow for more goodies that I'll post.

Wait wait wait....... While you are here, with this weekend being National Scrapbook day, there is an awful lot happening in the scrappy world! The Let's Get Peachy blog hop, as well as a mini crop at From Here 2 Scrapternity, so don't forget to check them out.

Have a great day!!

Nuts About Sketches Birthday Celebration: Day 5

2011-05-04T09:00:00.001-04:00

Hola! Welcome back!
Today we are entering into Day 5 of the Nuts About Sketches b-day bash. Shawn has given us another fabulous sketch, & there are still more to come. What creativity she has in creating her sketches! Here is what I came up with for today's sketch:

This is of Emma in 2007 (she was 2) in the baby pool on our deck. She loved that thing! She could spend hours in it. These pictures just prove that fact. I love the picture of her diaper. Oops, we had forgotten to put on a swimmy diaper & the regular one filled up fast! But she had fun none-the-less.
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I created this layout with the supplies from the fantastic Scraptacular kit for May. If you haven't already, you should head on over there & check out the kits. She out does her self each & every month.

Thanks for stopping by today, & I hope to see you back again soon.
ttfn

Nuts About Sketches Birthday Celebration: Day 4

2011-05-03T08:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Tuesday!
Today the B-day party celebration continues at NAS. Today she posted the 4th sketch of the week & here is what I created:

These pictures are of us. My 2 daughters, & dh, & me in Ocean City, Md on the boardwalk. We stole a little bit of time away from my parents, & spent the night on the boardwalk w/ the girls. We had so much fun, just watching the kites, eating ice cream, & just doing whatever tickled our fancy.

Thanks for looking today. Have a happy Tuesday!

Nuts About Sketches Birthday Celebration: Day 3

2011-05-02T17:00:00.002-04:00

Happy Monday!
Today you get double the fun with me, again. Shawn posted her regular Monday NAS sketch this morning, as well as a new Birthday Celebration sketch. My regular sketch creation I shared with you earlier today, so here is day 3 of the celebration. I used the May Scraptacular kit to create with, so if you like what you see, head over to Scraptacular for your own kit today.

Thanks for stopping by again today. I hope you return tomorrow for more goodies!

Nuts About Sketches #159

2011-05-02T09:00:00.004-04:00

Well, hello there. Do you think that I am on a serious blogging roll here? Wow! I am posting every day, & sometimes 2x a day! That is a record for me! Wow! I hope that you are enjoying my creations as much as I enjoy making them.

We are now on day 3 of the Nuts About Sketches Birthday Bash, so be sure to stop back later on today to see what I've created for that, but most importantly, please head over to Nuts About Sketches to see the great prize that Shawn is offering & what all the other gals are creating w/ the gorgeous sketches.

However, today is the normal day for her sketch reveals, so this is what I've created with her sketch #159:

Before kids, I had a water garden on our deck. An old barrel, w/ rocks, & water lilies, & ornamental water grass, & all kinds of plants, as well as fish, frogs, & snails. Loved it!! Emma did too her first year. She explored it, & was quite fascinated by it. She would touch all the grass, & put her fingers in the water, but most of all, she just loved that frog "spitter".

As I am typing up this post, I realized that I spelled "fascinated" wrong on my layout. I missed the C! Ugh! Oh well. I will fix it for my book, but I won't get to take another picture of it. What a schmuck I can be.
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On another note, the supplies I used to create this layout came from the gorgeous May kit from Scraptacular. You won't want to miss it. It is great, as usual!!

Thank you for stopping by today. I will be posting about the b-day bash later on, & more tomorrow, so come on back!

Have a fantastic week!

Nuts About Sketches Birthday Celebration: Day 2

2011-05-01T17:00:00.002-04:00

Hi there! Happy Sunday!
I am totally double dipping on this as it is the Nuts About Sketches, Day 2 Birthday Celebration. Shawn has posted another fantastic sketch, so head on over there to check it out. But the reason why I say that I am double dipping is that today Beth, from Scraptacular, has released her May kit. So, I used the supplies from the May kit. So be sure to head on over to Scraptacular to pick up yours today!

Here is what I created w/ the fantastic sketch & wonderful supplies!

We are in recovery mode from the parties yesterday. I hope to get some scrappy time in, & then sit & relax.

Thanks for stopping by today! Have a wonderful week!

Let's Get Peachy Upcoming Blog Hop

2011-05-01T09:00:00.002-04:00

Since it is now official that I am a Peachy Kat, it is time for me to let you know the good news!

Let's Get Peachy & I wanna invite you to Hop with us from Kat blog to Kat Blog for National Scrapbooking day! We will be having all kinds of different inspirational creations for you to look at May 7th-9th!

LGP's VERY FIRST BLOG HOP!!!!

So set your calendars and get ready to be inspired and join us in our challenge to you to enter your creation for a great Prize from a very special sponsor!

Stay tuned for more about our Blog Hop, you don't want to miss it!

Spread the news, May 7th-9th, over at LGP!!

See you then!

Peachy Anneliese

Nuts About Sketches Birthday Celebration: Day 1

2011-04-30T17:00:00.002-04:00

Happy Birthday Nuts About Sketches!!!

Today kicks off the start of the week long birthday celebration, & each day Shawn will post a new sketch at NAS, & let me tell you something.... I have seen those sketches! You are gonna love them!!

Here is my creation with the first lovely sketch:

As you read this, the first party (kids) is over, & the 2nd (family) party is underway. I am sure that I am running around like a chicken w/ my head cut off, but it is a great day, I'm sure.

Thanks for stopping by today, & see you tomorrow.

Let's Get Peachy Design Team News

2011-04-30T09:00:00.003-04:00

Yippee & Yahoo!!! I have made the Let's Get Peachy design team as a Peachy Kat! What a fun group of ladies, & such great challenges & inspiration! They have selected me to be a Sketchy Kat, because of my love of sketches, & I am happy to oblige. The announcement was made on Thursday, so feel free to stop by & check them out!

They had asked me for a Book of Me lo, so this is what I provided, & that is on their blog today.

This layout was done on what my perfect "me day" would be like. Since I am a SAHM, babysit for 2 little boys in addition to my own children, then work nights from home, all the while my husband travels all the time, my perfect me day would start off with a LARGE coffee (caramel macchiato to be exact) from Starbucks! I would curl up with a good book for awhile, hopefully a real page turner that would suck me in & make me feel like I am there. When I have had enough of reading, I would go to my scrap room, & scrap my heart out! Get my creative mojo flowing & just create create create! And during all of this....did you hear that?.....No? Me either, because the day would be peaceful with no screaming or fighting or "MOMMY!" yelling kids.

The very next day, I would hug & kiss my girls, because of course I missed them, however I would be refreshed & relaxed & be able to give them all of me, once again.
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Now, today is my oldests b-day party, so wish me luck w/ many kiddos running around, & family members later on. However, I must say that she is taking after her ole Mommy! For her party she chose to have the Art Bus, which is an old converted school bus, gutted, & used for crafting! Gotta love it!

Thanks for stopping by today! See you again real soon!

Nuts About Sketches Birthday Celebration

2011-04-26T09:00:00.000-04:00

Hello & happy Tuesday!

I just wanted to give all you Nuts a heads up on what's going to be going on the last week in April to celebrate Nuts About Sketches 3rd birthday.

Shawn will be posting one brand new sketch per day, most of them being single page sketches, starting on April 30th, until May 6th.

For those who participate, Shawn will be putting your name in a hat for each completed sketch for a drawing to win a scrapbook kit :)

You will have until the Saturday, May 7th to complete each sketch.

For more details, be sure to stop by Nuts About Sketches!

I hope to see you there & participating!

Have a wonderful day!

Nuts About Sketches #158

2011-04-25T09:00:00.000-04:00

It's Monday! So guess what time it is? Time to reveal my next take on Shawn's fabulous Nuts About Sketches sketch #158. And here it is:

This was the first time that the girls had Rita's water ice. Obviously they loved it! and I don't need to tell you that they got it EVERYWHERE!!!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you stop back again soon!
Have a great week!

From Here to Scrapternity April Crop cont'd

2011-04-22T09:00:00.001-04:00

Happy Friday!!!

Today I would like to share with you a special lo that was done for the From Here 2 Scrapternity Crop last weekend. The challenge was to create a lo as to why you continue to come to FH2S, & why it is special to you.

I created this lo using all the words that I could think of to describe FH2S. I then looked up the definitions & wrote them along side of the word. My #10 says: "Best Place to Be" FROM HERE 2 SCRAPTERNITY!
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Today the kids are off from school, it is Emma's b-day (my lil baby is 6 today!), it is Earth Day, & Good Friday. A very big day!

I hope that you have a fabulous weekend, & enjoy every moment of it, & take a moment or two to stop & think about what Easter is all about. Not just bunnies, & candy, & egg hunts, but the true meaning of Easter. How Jesus died for OUR sins. The greatest sacrifice ever.

Happy Easter!!!

From Here to Scrapternity April Crop cont'd

2011-04-21T09:00:00.002-04:00

Hello!!! How are you today? I hope that you are enjoying your week.

Today, I am going to share with you more of my creations from this past weekends crop at From Here to Scrapternity. I hope that you enjoy them.

This was created for the sketch challenge, but the twist was that it needed to be a birthday theme:

This was Audra's 3rd birthday party in 2010. She was obsessed with the Wiggles so we had a Wiggley Party.
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This challenge was the #5. You just had to use the number 5 somewhere on your layout:

This picture of Audra just cracks me up!! I had to use it for something! (it was at the Philadelphia Zoo). I used the 5 as "5 Things that I Love About You" & listed them in random journaling boxes around the lo.
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This challenge was to have a balloon bouquet on your lo. I totally scraplifted the example that they had in the challenge, but I really like the outcome:

This was obviously Emma's 5th b-day party, in 2010.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you enjoyed my creations. Stop on back tomorrow for some more from the crop.

Have a blessed day!

From Here to Scrapternity April Crop cont'd

2011-04-20T09:00:00.002-04:00

Good morning!
I am going to continue sharing with you my creations from the From Here 2 Scrapternity crop, I hope that you enjoy them.

This one was created for the "Power of 5" challenge. I had pick 5 scrappy items from a list, then use 5 different items of my pick. I used: 5 different paper, 5 different flowers, 5 different brads, 5 different pictures, & 5 different colors. And came up with this:

The picture is of Emma & Audra & their friends Paige & Abigail. They were over to play, & when it was time to leave, they all took off running in the cul-de-sac, in their bare feet & jumping in puddles. They were having a ball!!
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This lo was created for a "cake" challenge. A picture of a beautiful cake was posted & we needed to use it as inspiration. I used the colors from the cake. After I started this lo, it kinda took on a life of its own! Not sure if I like it, but I like what it is about:

It is about when my MIL came to stay with us for Easter weekend, & of course we just had to paint eggs.
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This lo was created for the "goodie bag" challenge. We had to pick items that we would want in our goodie bags, & then the next day they posted what the "goodies" represented. My items turned into: circles, inking, chipboard, handwritten journaling, stickers, bling, & glitter. Here is what I did w/ my goodies:

This picture is of Emma after her preschool "graduation". I wanted to get some pics of her, & she was being super cute & I just started taking pictures randomly. This one turned out nice.

There you have my creations for today. I hope that you enjoyed them & I also hope that you stop back tomorrow for some more layouts.

Enjoy your day!

From Here 2 Scrapternity April Crop

2011-04-19T09:00:00.002-04:00

If you didn't know, there is an online crop going on right now at From Here 2 Scrapternity to celebrate their 5th birthday! It ends tonight, but you still have until 11:59pm pst to upload your challenges. There are 10 fantastic challenges, & I have said this before, but the talent, & the ladies there, are out of this world! It is certainly a great place to hang out!

Since I did complete all of the challenges this time, I am going to share with you what I've created in bits & pieces. I will start off w/ the challenge that I posted. My challenge, since it is a Birthday Bash party, was to make 3 different cards. They could be any subject, but you had to do a minimum of 3, & they all had to be different. Here is what I posted as my examples:

And since I am posting cards, there was a recipe challenge that could be either a card or layout, & I opted to go w/ the card:

Thanks for looking today. I will be posting my other creations this week, I hope that you stop by & check them out.

Have a great day & see you soon!

Nuts About Sketches #157

2011-04-18T09:00:00.001-04:00

Happy Monday morning!! Today I present to you my take on Shawn's fabulous Nuts About Sketches sketch #157:

This was a fun day for Emma & I, hence the title being "Mommy & Emma's Day of Fun". We went to her preschool for the first time to meet with her teacher. It was a week or so before school started for her (3 year old class), so I decided to make a day of it. We had gone to the school to meet the teacher, then stayed & played on the playground a bit. Afterwards we went shopping for sneakers & a backpack. Since it was a busy day, we got hungry so we went to Friendly's for lunch. And if that wasn't enough, we ended the day at the library. It was a fun day, she was a trooper through it all!

Thanks for looking today! I hope you enjoyed my layout, & if you haven't done so already, please stop by NAS to say hello & check out the other ladies great work, & Shawn's amazing sketches.

Have a great day!

Nuts About Sketches #156

2011-04-11T09:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Monday!
There is another fabulous sketch over at Nuts About Sketches this morning! This was a very very fun sketch to work with & one of my faves of Shawn's so far. It was clean & crisp & for lack of better words, just plain ole fun!

Here is what I created with it:

This lo shows Emma's love of plastic tubs! For some reason she just loved them, & would sit in them, put them on her head, & anything that she could think of a use for them (besides storing things in!). In this instance, she emptied out everything in it, & sat in it to do puzzles. Very creative, I must say.

Thanks for looking!
Have a great day!

November From Here to Scrapternity March Reveal

2011-04-07T09:00:00.000-04:00

Not only do I have my March reveal for my From Here 2 Scrapternity items to share with you today, but guess what guess what guess what!!!! Pam has asked me to stay on the Inspirational Team for another 6 months!! Yippee & yahoo!!! I love it over there, & I didn't even think twice about saying yes! So, yay! If you haven't already, head on over there to check out all the fun & inspiration. There are monthly challenges, as well as monthly crops, & just a lot of great people! People who I know consider to be GREAT friends. So, thanks again, Pam for keeping me on the IT!!

I already posted one of my creations with the supplies for the March crop. (see previous post), so the other 3 layouts that I have created are here:

Emma just chilling out at my parents for one of her "sleepovers".
Created for the sketch challenge during the March Crop.
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This is of Audra & her Mommy & Me teacher, Mrs. Barwis (if you hadn't guessed). She LOVED Mrs. Barwis, & still talks about her today. The pic was taken at the end of year picnic.

Lo created for the monthly March sketch challenge.
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This lo is of my girls this past Christmas. From my in-laws they got a humongous box filled with dress up clothes of all kinds! So, on Christmas day they put on a fashion show for us, complete with me as MC. It last at least half an hour, if not longer! they had a blast!
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Also, FH2S is turning 5, so April 15-18 come join us for a Birthday Crop Celebration! It will be loaded with fun & prizes & games. So, come on over & have a blast with us. Hope to see you there!

Thanks for looking!
Have a splendid day!

Nuts About Sketches #155

2011-04-05T09:00:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was the reveal for the next marvelous sketch by Shawn at Nuts About Sketches. I had the hardest time taking a pic of this lo, so I did a do-over this morning. If you are looking at her blog, yuck. This one, much better but still not the greatest. (so very sorry about that Shawn!!).

So, with out further ado, here is my reveal for NAS #155:

This lo is of our last time at Gymboree. There was a group of us that met when our oldests were just a few months old. We stayed together in the same classes, & even did the "family" classes when we all had our 2nd kids. We did play dates, & were a really tight group. This was our last class because our oldests were starting preschool the following week. Most of them different preschools. Although the group has split due to schools & locations, I have met some of my very best friends there, & hope to remain friends for years to come.

Thanks for looking today, I hope that you stop by again soon!
Have a good one.

Nuts About Sketches #154

2011-03-28T07:56:00.003-04:00

Good morning! It is a very sunny day here, & I hope all the kids are good to make this a great day! But they are already acting up & taking toys from one another, so we shall see!

Today Shawn reveals her sketch #154 at Nuts About Sketches. As usual, it was an awesome sketch & very fun to work with! Here is my take on it:

This is of Audra at about 1 year old. She got into the lazy susan (something Emma had never done), & can you imagine my surprise when I walked around the corner & found this! She was so proud of herself & continued to do it day after day!

Thanks for looking today. I hope that you enjoyed my take on Shawn's sketch. Have a fabulous day/week, & hope you stop back soon!

Nuts About Sketches #153

2011-03-21T07:39:00.000-04:00

Yay! Another fabulous sketch from Shawn . Here is my take on her next sketch, #153:

These photos are from a trip to the Lehigh Valley Zoo. My sister had the day off, so we decided to pick her up & go to the Zoo. It is a small zoo, that is just one big circle. It is open & never crowded. This was the first time that we had gone where the girls would remember & appreciate the animals. We had the best time this day! Laughing, & running, & watching all the animals. We packed a picnic lunch & had lunch by the penguins, played on the playground & just had a wonderful time! So much so, that we joined the zoo, as members. That year, we went to the Lehigh Valley Zoo 6 more times, & went to the Elmwood Park Zoo (which reciprocates the membership) 4 times. We definitely got our moneys worth!!!

I hope you enjoyed my layout, & hope to see you back soon!
Have a great week!

From Here 2 Scrapternity March Crop!

2011-03-17T19:34:00.004-04:00

The From Here 2 Scrapternity monthly crop is starting today, & I am so looking forward to it. I say this each & every month, but it is an awesome crop! The challenges are fun, the prizes are awesome, & the group of ladies is the best! If you have some time this weekend, join me over there for the fun & games.

This month, Pam asked the members of the forum to come up with the challenges, so this will be quite interesting. I can't wait to see what all the ladies have in store for us. The challenge that I am hosting is:

Lucky Recipe:
Please choose at least 5 of the following items to create your layout!

vellum
mesh
chipboard
3 flowers
2 tags
faux stitched
bling
border punch

& here is my example of my challenge, using the supplies from FH2S for March.

(Every year a pair of ducks comes to visit us. I wouldn't say they are tame, but they do let us get pretty close. The male always protects the female, & they set up a nest nearby. They swim in our stream, & it is always fun to watch for them each year.)

Again, I hope that you will join us for some fun over the weekend. You have until Monday 11:59pm PST to upload your completed challenges. I will be sure to share with you my creations from the weekend.

Happy Friday!!!

Nuts About Sketches #152

2011-03-14T12:59:00.003-04:00

Happy Monday! Today was the reveal for Nuts About Sketches sketch #152. & here is my take on the sketch:

This is Emma at 13 months. We had her picture taken professionally, & we were so happy with them. She was such a good girl & sat still, & was the perfect subject! See for yourself. Looking at these pictures make me sad because she will be 6 years old next month! Where did the time go???

Thanks for looking & hope to see you back visiting soon!

Nuts About Sketches #151

2011-03-07T09:00:00.001-05:00

Hey hey hey!!!
Guess what!...Shawn has accepted me back onto the Nuts About Sketches Design Team! I will be continuing on with her until August 2011! As you know, she has amazing sketches that are so versetile, & I am so happy that I am remaining on her team! Yahoo!

With that being said, here is my next lo using sketch #151:

This lo is of my parents vow renewal. In 2008, they were married for 40 years! They are still very much in love, & stronger than ever. Since they did not have a big wedding the first go around, they wanted to recommit their love to one another by renewing their vows in front of all of their family & friends. They did so on their actual 40th wedding anniversary date! You may have seen some other los that I have done re: this day, & there may be a few more coming up in the weeks to come, but it just makes me happy knowing that they are still in love & going strong. Tony & I are married 10 years this month, so it gives us something to look up to, & we can only hope that we will be that happy & in love when we reach 40 years of marriage.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you enjoyed my lo & hope that you will be back again soon! Have a great week!

Sassy Lil' Sketches Challenge

2011-03-06T09:17:00.000-05:00

I recently came across the Sassy Lil' Sketches site, & really enjoy the sketches that they post weekly. There are layout sketches & also card sketches, & they post them weekly for you to complete & then are entered into a monthly prize drawing. Since I enjoyed the sketches so much, I threw my hat into the ring this month & created with a few of the sketches. Wish me luck on the prize drawing!

February 7th card sketch:

February 7th layout sketch:

February 14th layout sketch:

February 14th card sketch:

I plan on getting to the other sketches of February, but didn't get any scrappy time for them to be eligible for the drawing. But I will definately be using them regardless.

Thanks for looking! Have a great day!

Scraptacular Blog Hop RAK Winner

2011-03-04T09:00:00.000-05:00

It surely is about time, wouldn't you say?! I am truly sorry for the delay in posting my winner. Time totally got away from me, & with the Scraptacular website going down, I kinda forgot. But neither here nor there, I have chosen a winner by random draw, and the winner is:

~gail~mooselovingmamabear

Please email me at amgrassi@verizon.net with your address so that I can send you a RAK.

Thanks for hopping, & again, so very sorry for the delay!
Have a great day.

FH2S February IT Reveal

2011-03-02T09:00:00.000-05:00

We are now into March & I wanted to share with you my IT reveals for From Here 2 Scrapternity for February. Linda sent me some wonderful supplies to work with, & I had a ball using them. I honestly thought I had created more with them, but I can't seem to remember what else I did.... Chalk it up to Mommy brain. lol. Anyway, here are my creations. I hope you enjoy them.

Created using the Ad Challenge at From Here 2 Scrapternity:

Created using the sketch challenge at From Here 2 Scrapternity:

Created for a sketch challenge at allyscrapsblog:

Created for the Journaling Challenge at From Here 2 Scrapternity:

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you are having a great week & I look forward to seeing you again real soon.

Nuts About Sketches #148 -149 -150

2011-02-28T10:00:00.002-05:00

It is with a sad heart to say that this will be my last reveal for Nuts About Sketches. My term ends today. I will continue to use her sketches each week, & I will post as often as I can, but my actual term is over.

All layouts created I used Scraptacular's February kit.

#148

#149

#150
Thank you, Shawn, for the terrific, fun sketches! Thank you for allowing me to be on your creative team, & I can't wait to see what you come up in the months to come!

Scraptacular February Reveals: Continued

2011-02-26T10:00:00.000-05:00

And now to bring you the 2nd half of my designs using the incredible February Spectacular kit. I told you that you could get a ton out of the kits! I think I have a few more things that I will be creating w/ the kit & if I do, I will be sure to share with you. Here ya go (again, some of these were featured during the Valentine's day blog hop, so I'm sorry for the repeats):

I use NAS sketch #149 for this layout:

I used NAS #150 for this lo:
And there you have it. I had such fun designing w/ this kit. Be sure to go check out the website. I'm sure she has some left over for your scrapping pleasure.

Nuts About Sketches #145 -146 -147

2011-02-24T10:00:00.001-05:00

Ok, friends, we are winding down to the tail end of my term with Nuts About Sketches. There is only one more reveal, on Monday, February 28, & I will reveal my last 3 layouts. I am really sad because her sketches are awesome, & I really enjoy designing for her. Who knows, maybe I will be able to maker her dt again someday.

For now, here are 3 more los for NAS:

#145

#146
#147

Thanks for stopping by. I look forward to seeing you soon.

Nuts About Sketches #142-143-144

2011-02-23T10:00:00.000-05:00

Here are the next 3 layouts that I have created with the fabulous Nuts About Sketches sketches:

#142 - using the January Scraptacular kit:
#143
#144

Thanks for peeking in today. Hope you are doing well & would love for you to come back & see me sometime.

From Here 2 Scrapternity January IT Reveal

2011-02-22T10:00:00.000-05:00

I just love it over at From Here 2 Scrapternity. Everyone is super nice & it is always so much fun. Being part of the Inspirational Team, I get a wonderful supply of goodies to work with each month. January was no exception. It seemed like the more scraps I created w/ the kit, the more I came up with. It was the never ending supply of goodies! Again, some of the layouts I did using Nuts About Sketches sketches, so I will indicate which ones, & you may see them pop up in another post. fyi.

As I am writing this entry, I realized I did so much w/ this kit, that I am going to spread it out into two posts. Stay tuned for the rest:

Thanks for looking. Stop back again real soon.

Scraptacular February Reveals

2011-02-21T10:00:00.001-05:00

I know....this post is at the end of February & I am just now sharing with you the actual designs of the February kit from Scraptacular. But at least you got to join in on the blog hop & see some of the creations then, right? And I must say, at least I posted these in the correct month & not 2 months later like I have been! Right? lol. In fact, I used this kit right down to scraps, then used the scraps.....As usual, her kits are out of this world! I love em, & really look forward to them each & every month!

Since I was able to create so much with this kit, I will break it down into 2 posts, so stay tuned for the rest:

This lo (which I also showed you during the blog hop) was created using the Scraptacular February sketch of the month by Liz Chidster:

Lo created using NAS sketch #148:

Stay tuned for the rest of my creations using this kit in the days to come.
Thanks for checking in!

Scraptacular January Reveal

2011-02-20T10:00:00.005-05:00

Although the kit was incredible, as usual, I ran out of time, & wasn't able to create as much as I usually do with her kits. But the Scraptacular kit did allow me to turn out some cute layouts. Let's see if you agree:

Layout created using Nuts About Sketches #142 sketch:

This card was made from the packaging that the Prima flowers came in. I thought it was so pretty that I just couldn't let it go to waste.
I hope you enjoyed them. I look forward to seeing you again soon....

From Here 2 Scrapternity January IT Reveal: Continued

2011-02-19T10:00:00.000-05:00

Hello! Hope you are having a great day!
Here are the rest of my reveals from January's From Here 2 Scrapternity supplies:

I used NAS #145 sketch for this layout:

I used NAS #147 sketch for this lo:

And of course I used the scraps to make the cards. And to think, I used to be intimidated to make cards.

Thanks for looking!

Welcome to Scraptacular's Valentine's Day Blog Hop

2011-02-14T09:00:00.005-05:00

Welcome to the Scraptacular Valentine's Day Blog Hop!! I am so glad you are hopping with us, the Design Team, on this very "LOVE"ly day!

I am your 6th stop on the hop, but make sure that you follow the hop all the way through. If you got here in the middle, please make sure to start at Scraptacular's blog so that you do not miss a single thing!! There is so much to see, and maybe a prize or two along the way. You have until the end of the week to hop to each of our blogs and come play along with us for a chance to win the GRAND prize below!

The blog hop is full of inspiration and some of it based on this beautiful February Scraptacular Sketch created by Liz Chidester.....

This is my creation using the lovely sketch & the supplies from the fabulous February kit.

Here is your hopping order:

Scraptacular Blog
Lisa
Liz
Julie
Ilene
Anneliese <=====you are here

Tiffany
Beth
Amy

After you have visited all of the blogs, & left everyone a comment, be sure to finish on the message board for a chance to win the BEAUTIFUL February kit! Just look at it...

However, you can still purchase one in the store or online here, and use it to scrap all of your lovely photos from this month.

AND if you play along with us, there is a bonus drawing for ANOTHER February kit! Who doesn't love TWO chances to win??

Before you leave, I would like to show you a few other of my creations using the wonderful February kit.

This fun little project was so easy & fun to make. I got the frames in the dollar bin at Target. I used my Cricut to cut out many different hearts using the scraps from the kit. I used 4 hearts to create each 3D heart for the picture. I folded them in half & glued them all together, adhered them to the paper, put back in the frame, & voila! Simple & easy heart picture.

And there is just one more thing that I would like to share with you before you get hopping along. I created these Valentine's for my daughters class. I took a picture of her standing outside with her hand up and then uploaded the picture to Photobucket & edited it using the "stickers" & "text" features. I then had them printed at Target. When I got them home, I punched holes with my crop-a-dile & inserted lollipops, & it looks like Audra is handing her friends the treat.

What do you think??

If you leave me a comment & follow my blog, you will be entered to win a small RAK, by random draw, from me! I hope to see many of your beautiful designs with the sketch, & see you on the message board!

Here is your next stop. Tiffany is anxiously awaiting you!

Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you come back to visit again real soon!

(p.s. Be sure to check out the online crop this weekend at From Here to Scrapternity. A non-store, friendly site, with lots of fun & games. See the blinkie in the upper corner of my blog for details.)

Nuts About Sketches #139-140-141

2011-02-11T10:00:00.000-05:00

Are you impressed? I am truly on a roll! I hope to be caught up by the end of February. But the thing is, I really need to be consistent after that, right? Hopefully my grove is back.

Without further ado, here are my next installments of NAS:

#139

#140

#141

Thanks for looking!

Scraptacular December Layout Reveals

2011-02-09T10:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome back!
Please find today the layouts that I created using the December Scraptacular kit. There are quite a few of them. I told you that you could do a lot with her fabulous kits!!

This lo created using Nuts About Sketches sketc #137:

See....lots of layouts. Take care, & see you soon!

Coffee-Mate Free Flavor Friday Party

2011-02-08T10:03:00.003-05:00

Last Friday, February 4th, was Coffee-Mate's Free Flavor Party. They had a big event nation wide, to celebrate Coffee-Mate products, & their Cafe Collection. They were giving away coupons worth free bottles of creamer, & they asked people to host parties feature their products. I was one of the lucky people selected to host a party (I would hope so, I am addicted & use most of their 25 flavors on a daily basis!)! Coffee-Mate was kind enough to send me coupons to use to get the creamer, they also sent individual powder creamer, & individual Nescafe coffee, napkins, cups, & a few very fun games!

I had invited some friends & family to join in on the fun. Although Tony thought I was crazy for putting so much effort into using the creamers in different recipes (yes, it can be use for other things besides just creamer in coffee), he was amazed at how much fun everyone had.

With different creamers & the nescafe coffee that they sent me, I made Mocha Shortbread, tiramisu, & Vanilla-Carmel cheesecake, not to mention the hot drinks & frozen drinks I made (like PBJ hot chocolate, & a concoction that we used with vanilla ice cream, ice, italian sweet cream creamer, & some alcohol....yumm-o!).

Every had such a good time, talking & hanging, & trying out the different items, that we never got to play the games that they sent, but good conversation & good friends, it was well worth the effort to have the party!

Here are just a few of the pictures from the party:

I hope that you were able to score some coupons on Free Flavor Friday. You may still be able to if you head over to facebook & "like" Coffee-Mate & get some. If not, sit tight, they often have coupons & special offers. Also, check out all the great recipes that you can use coffee-mate in on their website (you may be able to get a few coupons there also).

Thanks for stopping by today. I know this post wasn't about crafting, but it was about a great time & some more of my fave things. Coffee-mate, food, & friends!

Nuts About Sketches #136-137-138

2011-02-07T10:00:00.000-05:00

Here are my next Nuts About Sketches sketches. I have used the sketches in some of my dt work, so you may be seeing them again, or will see them again in a different post. But the sketches are so awesome I need to share them elsewhere, right?

#136

#137 - using the December Scraptacular kit (you will see again in my next post)

#138 - using supplies from Pam for FH2S for November (see previous post).

I hope you like them & I look forward to having you visit again soon!

Scraptacular December Card Reveals

2011-02-05T10:00:00.001-05:00

I was one of the lucky designers to design with Scraptacular's December kit. Beth's kits are always stuffed full of goodies & they go super far! I always use them right down to scraps! & then I use the scraps. The scraps I used to make these cards:

Thanks for looking again today. Stop back in a few days for more of my creations.
Hope you are enjoying your weekend!