Weekend Guests!

Kirsten and her three made our house 9 this weekend! We had a fun time! Grace, Paige and Devan played with Jackson, Dylan and Madeleine!


A trio of Princesses! Paige is the one over on left looking slightly concerned. Concerned might not be the right word, but she is certainly thinking about something!


Meet Grace!





Meet Devan and Kirsten!





Dylan was Devan's new best friend. He loved hanging with the little guy!





As you can see Devan is just one of the guys, already hanging out watching TV playing video games.

Blast from the Past

This is supposed to make me more organized!


In my bug to get organized and unclutter my life, I cleaned the kids side of the basement, which led to the fact I needed a cabinet with doors to put away games and toys with many pieces. That led to the idea of emptying one of my Large Rubbermaid cabinets in the basement that stored papercraft supplies that never made it upstairs to my Studio when I relocated from the basement over a year ago. In my new mind set of releasing my clutter and unused stuff I unloaded the cabinet and sorted through the treasures. Among the finds, I was able to gift supplies to Dylan's first grade teacher and found my unfinished Disney Scrapbook from our 2003 trip to the Happiest Place on Earth. Looking at the Scrapbook I had completed 4 pages 5 years ago and the rest was just waiting to be finished.

So I brought the supplies up from the basement and actually located the pictures I had printed off in my "waiting to be scrapped" case. Yes, I am just as behind as everyone else!

I must say the thing that struck me the most was over the past five years I have become a much better photographer. I still have a lot to learn but five years ago I was taking those pictures that our parents took when we were kids. Way off in the distance you see the family you recognize next to some landmark. Many of pictures were blurry and poorly framed. I still have the pictures on my snapfish albums (they are pre-digital, back in the day when you actually sent in the film), unfortunately, I tried to reprint some of them to 5x7 and learned that without the negative they really don't look very nice. Sooo, I am working with the 4x6 prints from 5 years ago with my funny eye for photography, rather than try to come up with the negatives from the boxes of negatives in the storage room. Here is my work so far.....

This is one of the pages I finished in 2003, I did add some journaling to it.



This is the second page from 2003, I added some journaling but not much else.

This layout uses the Simply Scrappin Kit from Stampin' Up Summer Days, plus a Goofy Sticker, no, not a goofy sticker, a sticker of Goofy, silly! I actually used my circle cutter on this layout too! I am such a straight edge girl that is HUGE!

This is another layout from the Simply Scrappin' Kit Summer Days, plus the Chip and Dale stickers.

I did this layout last night, note the small family and large lion in the picture.





This layout is from 2003, I added journaling and will add a title as soon as I have access to a Cricut this week.




I did this layout last night after I made a run to Joanne's. (Funny story: I told my husband, "I am going to run to Joanne's I 'll be back in an hour" and he says "Who" and I say "Joanne's" and he says "Who" and this goes on until I finally catch on and say " You know Joanne's the craft store like Michael's" and he says "I never heard of it" and I think we have been married going on 12 years, where have you been!) Anyway I ran to Joanne's to pick up some Disney themed paper and accents.

This layout I did last night, it too needs a title and will have one when I get my hands on the cricut this week.

This was a 2003 Layout that I added Journaling to, just to finish it off.

Mid-week Catch Up

I hope you are all doing well, I have been down with a sore throat that is not strep. I went for the test yesterday and it is just a sore throat, it was so sore it hurt when I sneezed and drank cold liquids. I am still hurting today but feeling a little of that Stacey spunk coming back. I have sorted two Stampin' Up! orders that arrived here yesterday, picked up the house, toasted the last of the Barbie waffles for Madeleine (Eggos with pictures on them, what a racket!), watched the Little Mermaid and have started the Barbie Fairy movie no less than 3 times, started laundry and am headed to the basement to make a room worthy for Kirsten and her crew to sleep in, they are coming to visit for the weekend.


I am also hoping to create a card for the Wednesday Splitcoaststampers Card Sketch Challenge, I printed off the sketch, that's step one. I have been busy creating but can't post my stuff yet. I am entering a contest that required me to submit 5 cards, 3 scrapbook pages and two non-card 3D items. I sent my stuff off and am crossing my fingers, my toes & whatever else I can! Wish me luck and luck and a little more luck! I really, really, really want to win! You know that Ego of mine really, really, really wants to win!

Princess of the Easter Parade

The foot in the air is Maddie's new pose. She wouldn't pose for me any other way.

The Hunt was On!

That tricky Easter Bunny!



I hope these eggs don't smell funny!




Maddie posing with her Princess Egg checking for her next find.





We had a TALL bunny hiding eggs!

How lucky are we!

This is a picture of a beautiful shelf that my father in law, otherwise known as Grandpa,custom built to house our Pinewood Derby Trophies! We have seven trophies to date and the shelf was made to hold ten total. We have the cars on there now too. Grandpa drove it over from his house an hour away and hung this up yesterday in the boys room to give our winnings a place to be shown off!



and.....
while he was here, Grandpa helped out in the stamp room. I saw in a Stampin' Success Magazine the idea to store your punches on the bars originally created to hang utensils in the kitchen. After a search of 5 stores I found what I was looking for and Grandpa helped hang them up perfectly. These bars also had accessories to attach to them like the shelf and the circle container that now holds markers and more. My stamp studio looks great with this new touch!

Tart & Tangy

Note Card Box, the first view is the front of the box closed. The Second view is the lid lifted off the box with the cards inside.

Note Cards for inside box I can't take credit for this project, it is a tutorial I put together this morning using the Tart and Tangy stamp Set and the Summer Picnic Designer Paper from the Occasions Mini. I have to say it was easy and fun and just look at how stinkin cute this is! I made it myself!

You crack me up more!

These are my Easter Cards, I would like to say they are my Spring cards, but the cold rainy weather we are having really doesn't feel anything like Spring! I made them last night while I was watching One Tree Hill. I am such a teenager and addicted to this show! I used the DSP pad that is a Level One Hostess Option on these cards. They are in Apricot Appeal and Bashful Blue. I used the slot punch to make the scallop edge. I saw a version of the card on splitcoaststampers and copied and slightly edited & added, to make it my own. I, of course, had to add the glitter, I seem to find the need to add it to everything these days!

Oldie but Goodie

This is a notecard folder that I made awhile back. It uses the now retired Sunflower Stamp Set and the retired colors of Marigold Morning and Thyme Green. I am going to gift this project so I thought I would it share it with you all. Many of you have seen it in my stamp studio but for those who may have missed it here it is! The note folder is made from one sheet of 81/2 x 11 cardstock and contains 5 note cards that are simple yet elegant with 5 stamped envelopes.

An Irish Prayer from Margi

An Irish Prayer

May God give you...
For every storm, a rainbow,
For every tear, a smile,
For every care, a promise,
And a blessing in each trial.
For every problem life sends,
A faithful friend to share,
For every sigh, a sweet song,
And an answer for each prayer.

Top of the Mornin to ya!

Hope your day brings you the luck of the Irish and More!


May love and laughter light your days and warm your heart and home;
May good and faithful friends be yours whenever you roam-
May peace and plenty bless your world with joy that long endures;
May all life's passing seasons bring the best to you and yours.
-Old Irish Blessing

I am going to be spending the day picking up my house after the weekend and working on my entries for a papercraft contest I am going to enter, if I can find the table in my Stamp Studio. The room is a mess. I also will be attempting my hand at a Corned Beef (no cabbage). I bought my Corned Beef from the butcher this year and not from the sealed package in the case. I made the brine from a recipe from the Food Network and I am going to try to cook it in the oven instead of in my slow cooker. I am really going out of the box for my Irish St. Patrick's Day dinner. I will let you know how it goes, I know you are all wanting to know about my dinner.

Have a great day!

Here Comes the Bride

This card was created by Suzi Patterson, the picture doesn't do it justice, I have a shadow on it, but it really is a beautiful card for a wedding shower done in the bride's colors.

Splitcoast Challenge Card

This is for the Week's Wednesday Challenge Card Sketch. I am never very good with circles but am pleased with this effort. It uses the Designer Series paper and the Always Stamp Set. Did you notice the build a brad in the corner. I love those.

Final Version Club Projects

After some minor adjustments these are the final three projects I presented to my Stamp Club members for the month of March.

Maddie and her Big Girl Bed

At last my soon to be four year old is out of her crib. I officially took it down today. I thought I would have drama, from me not Madeleine, but I took it in stride. The last of my little ducks is on her way to grown-up furniture. Now, not so fast, it's only a toddler bed, one of these beds that fits a crib mattress, it was all I could handle in the way of redecorating right now. How cute does she look? Sooo Sooo Cute. I was teaching a Stamp Club when she went to bed in it for the first time last night so Mike took the pictures.