Daily December album

Here is my Daily December (25 days of Xmas) book to participate in the various boards/blogs doing this activity this year. I think it's a WONDERFUL idea and can't wait to start filling mine with all sorts of memories. I was originally going to try to be more like Ali Edwards' book but then I thought to myself that this is a wonderful opportunity to get rid of scraps that have been hanging around. I am proud to say that nothing in this book was purchased for this book. EVERYTHING was already in my stash. Don't you just love that? The products range from Stamping Sports, Maya Road, Basic Grey, Hambly, Close to My Heart, American Crafts, Fancy Pants, Stampin Up!, Making Memories, to Doodlebug and more. I can't remember them all and I don't know some others... Hope you like it! If you want to participate, here's the link to Ali's blog where the setup and background of the album exist...

Science Day - SO fun!!

Yesterday was super busy.

After a hard day at work/play, Annde and I attended the PTA meeting & event. It's always a fun night for us because we've made a little tradition out of it for the last 3 months. First, we go out to dinner at Taco Bell (Dad doesn't like to go there) and we split a kids meal (I eat her tacos & cinnamon twists while she gets the drink and toy), she eats 1-2 plain chicken soft tacos, and I get to eat some nachos. Yummy! It's not the most nutritious dinner but it's a fun Mom/Annde tradition for PTA night once per month. Annde taught me some Jerry Jim Jingle song (or what she remembers of it) while we munched. She was still hungry so I bought a quesadilla - note to self: They put sauce on it and it's not good sauce for a kidlet who isn't into spicy. Next time, I will have to remember to say, 'No Sauce!'

After that, we went back to the school and Annde played with her friends during the school meeting. I was really impressed in the PTA last night. We have a really large PTA, with over 100 members, for a school of our size (Pre-K 3 yrs, Pre-K 4 yrs, K, Head Start and a few smaller programs). We had the Head Start Outreach coordinator ask yesterday if she could invite several families that are in the process of qualifying /waiting list for Head Start. (Of course, this was immediately after we discussed cutting back on funding for programs this year because we didn't earn enough money at the one major fundraiser we did.) It was overwhelmingly approved because we understand that free programs, like Science Night, are so beneficial for children, especially ones that don't normally have access to this kind of thing because they are on a waiting list for tuition assistance. I think every parent in there said, "I can wait a few minutes more in line for my child to do this activity because I know that every child in this room is going to have a great experience." It felt like we were doing something awesome last night... and isn't that what it should be about?

So, without any more chatter, here are the pictures from Science Night. Ann Arbor's Hands On Museum came and set up 15 stations of science based activities. Here were a few of Annde's favorites:

The magnet table was a big hit. Not only did she learn about how magnets work (attract/repel), she also had fun seeing how many bells she could pick up based on the strength of different magnets. This table used colored waters (red/yellow/blue) . The kids used the squeezy bottles and the ice cube trays to make colors. Annde's really good at this so she was making colors like magenta and marigold and chartreuse instead of just doing the normal orange, green, and purple. (Thank you Blue's Clues!!) Here she's learning about chemical reactions - the old corn syrup and water trick. When she pushed on the top, she couldn't put her fingers in, but when she pointed, her hands went right in. She had fun pulling and dripping them off...

Here, she learned about whales and blubber. There was a bag that contained something with the same properties of blubber. She put one hand in it and then into the cold water. Then, she put the other hand into the water bare. She liked how one was warm and one was cold.

Here, she's playing with flashlights, color screens, and mirrors. She wasn't too interested in the refraction/reflection properties but she did like to change the flashlight's color by applying the screen.

Here, she is learning about height and length and how to measure. They used toy dinosaurs and sponges to measure. Annde was into the measuring for only the first one... then she wanted to see how high she could stack the foam circles. Tee Hee!! 15 was her "bestest".

This one was fun - he blew up a balloon and then used static electricity to attach an outside piece of tape (not the sticky side) to the balloon. It then spiralled up the string as it deflated.

So that was the fun of Science Night... Sorry about being so wordy but I wanted to explain what was in the pictures if any one of you were interested in re-creating these at home. (Plus it helps me when I got to scrap these pictures... :) )

I'll end my long blog post with a layout. This was a great page to do... I mixed 3 challenges into one because they worked together so well and you guys know me: I can't resist over embellishing a page... At Coordinates Collections, there is a challenge called 'Stuffed' in which I have to use a bunch of different things (2 colors cardstock, 10 buttons, 3 pc chipboard, 3 patterned papers, 5 flowers, 3 brads, and 2 ribbons). Also, there is a challenge at Scrapbook Doodle in which I needed to use at least 10 flowers and Color Me Daisy had a challenge to use Transparency in your layout. So, here's all three! I love this page... it's actually on my calendar this month. The paper layers are below the transparency and everything else (pics, flowers, buttons, journaling...) is on top. I've had this Pink Paislee transparency for a while and I love how it came out. This page is very "Jana"...

Here's a close up...

Well, that's all for now. I did 6 pages (mostly - still have to journal) with Stacy and Tracy that I still need to get up as well as setting up my 25 days of Christmas mini book so look for more posts this week...

A few layouts for you to see

This month was my turn as a Guest Designer for the Scrapdango Kit Club. I was lucky enough to pick between the Sugar and Spice kits and I took this one (Spice) featuring College Press:It was totally a blast to work with... the colors were perfect for fall and easy to mix with each other or other product already in my stash. I easily completed 3 layouts and 2 cards. I have a ton more product to use so I am looking forward to scrapping some more layouts. Here's the ones I did for the DT:

This first layout was done for my BFF Tracy of her boys. I regularly ask for her pictures because I love to scrap boy layouts too... This one was fun because there was a lot of doodling and layering - my signature style, eh?

This layout was done using the proofs from our Church directory pictures. I didn't end up using all of them (I saved the best ones for frames/family) but I do love these pictures and the content behind the layout. The picture in the directory is the one of us together where she is leaning on my shoulder. Originally, I was going to go with a green background but pulling the same pink as her dress really made the layout pop! It took a long time to cut all those flowers out of the background paper and doodle them but I love how it came out.

The journaling reads:
I am grateful that you aren’t afraid to get dirty. I am grateful that you are energetic. I am grateful for the creativity you express. I am grateful that you are very curious about the world. I am grateful that you are caring and kind to others. I am grateful that you like to be a good friend. I am grateful that you really love to learn new things. I am grateful that you find joy in a reading a book. I am grateful that you are healthy, happy girl. I am grateful that you are strong and independent. I am grateful that you are comfortable playing with boys or girls. I am grateful that you feel free to express your love. I am grateful that I am learning to be a better parent. Even though there might be days where we drive each other bonkers, always know… I love you… I am grateful for the joy you bring into my life… I am grateful that we have been chosen to be your parents.

Then, just to throw me out of my comfort zone, Carrie wanted some cards so... here is my humble attempts. (I am not a card maker normally but I do love these ones... the one on the right used my interpretation of the card sketch from CC for this month)

Here is my layout for the Pink Sketches team this week:

This weekend, I went to the CSI (Crop Scene Incident) event at the Zone. It was tons of fun - not so much because there were 4 free make-n-takes, but because I got to crop ALL day with my BFF Tracy and my fellow DT member Stacy. We had such a blast!!! I'll post the layouts later this week. :)

While the women were scrapbooking, Annde and Steve ended up at the circus with Tracy's hubby and boys. She has not stopped talking about it! We (on the great suggestion of Tracy) gave the kid each a disposable camera and asked them to take pictures. I can't wait to see what they thought was important to take a picture of. I'll post those when I get them back from the developer.

Well, off for now! Have a great day!

The Apple doesn't fall far...

Here, as previously promised is Annde's second scrapbook page... I think she did pretty well with very little help from Mom (other than to remind her to glue things down - she's not into gluing for some reason - and to ask her to write something on the page - I had to spell for her)...

Here are some close ups of the page... She wanted to show all the little pets in the pool with her. (I thought that was hilarious!) This shows her journaling... Pretty good handwriting for a 4 year old in my opinion...I have done a boatload of DT stuff this week but you will have to wait to see until I can post... Sorry! :) Come back on Sunday, okay?

Pink Sketches Fun!

Well, remember a while back where I showed you a bucket? I was completely stumped. A bucket... What am I going to do with a bucket...

... well, how about make a bucket to save money and eventually hold mini albums about my bucket list using my Pink Sketches 13 layout and some great Making Memories products!!

So, here it is... My Bucket List bucket.



I used the sketch on each side of the bucket and it worked well because the vertical and horizontal blocks around a large picture. (which I used lots of small pictures together). There are actually 2 of these layouts, which are joined together on one side by a title and the other side by a larger journalling block.

Here's the 360 view:


I hope you like what I did. I was hesitant at first to use this wonderful stack of Making Memories paper. It just isn't me: the floral and vintage motif. But, I LOVE it on this bucket! The colors really make the pictures "pop" for me. And, I love being able to mix 6 different patterns together and knowing they work...

On to non-scrappy stuff...

Thanks for all the well-wishes about Steve. He's better and they think they now know what's causing this: a really bad thyroid. It's not life threatening - just a royal pain to get "under control" - so I am pretty sure we are going to continue to have several "episodes" a month until the medications work to equalize his system. It also affects several other problems he has so it will take some time to get those back under control as well. He knows that he needs to start dealing with the pain better - they are 100% sure his heart is in great shape - instead of running to the emergency room every week. I cringe when I think about the bills from the last 6 week that are going to start showing up.

Also - THANK YOU TRACY! She took me to the Alan Jackson/Trace Adkins/James Otto concert last night and we had a blast!! I love Trace... his voice is so smooth and sexy. Sigh! And his songs are great too!!

And, if you haven't had enough of my life yet...

Yesterday was Dad's day at Stepanski. Here's some pics of Annde and Dad having fun...

First we did the gym, where there games and tables involving crafts, including playdough, a picture frame, and bag decoration (for all the loot!).




Then, it looked like Dad needed a shave so Annde took him to the Barber shop and liberally applied shaving cream in every area BUT his goatee before shaving him with a popsicle stick... Would you want someone with that face to have a real razor?



Then after another craft and some juice/donuts, it was off to the magic show. Annde really loved this one. I must admit, the magician was pretty good and all the kids were excited.



Well, that's the end of my babbling for the weekend. Off to get outside and rake the bazillion leaves that are all over my yard... Sigh! They're too wet to play in so I pretty sure that I wouldn't be able to get a good "Annde in the leaves" pic... Have a great weekend!!