amory's first day of kinder...i can't believe it

the day has arrived…amory’s 1st day of school. i can’t believe 5 years have passed since i held him in my arms as a new born baby…with sweet smelling breath and the softest skin known to mankind. there he was completely helpless…only needing to be loved, fed and changed. i did everything for him. he only needed me and his family. and now here he is, moving outside of our quiet (well to be honest sometimes not so quiet) bubble. i’ve almost seen his every moment and been there for every part up until now. and now it is time to let go and share him with the others. well…i’m not very good at sharing, so this is very hard for me, heartbreaking in fact. i did manage to get through drop off and even the ride home with a smile holding my face up, but now thinking about it and writing about it…makes me realize that life as we’ve know it for the past 5 years is over and a new phase is starting.
we didn’t get there as early as planned this morning, so photos were a little rushed. plus once he saw his friends all he wanted to do was sit by them and hang out. he’s already got a little posse that he calls his friends. so cute i might add. you should see them together. so i know he is in the right place. it’s just that a part of me wishes my arms could be the right place forever.

with the teachers leading an adios…the parents all waved with feigned smiles and took the trek down to their cars and drove off without their kindergarteners…for the first time of the rest of their lives. we were the last out to our car…reluctant to take that walk down and say goodbye. it was just an empty street and us driving away…counting down the hours till i get to pick my baby up. four hours to go…still counting.

beautiful kisses

here are my august rusty pickle projects. hope you enjoy looking:)

besame mucho

One day after school my son said “mommy, you have to come see the secret garden!” It was amazing a quiet little hide away filled with sweet smelling plants, flowers and trees. It was here that me and my dear hubby stole a kiss while my little guy (who is 5 years old) pointed the camera upwards and too this moment in time and put it on film. I couldn’t believe it when I saw it. I hope that he keeps this picture of his mommy and daddy forever. And I hope that the feeling of each others arms and lips stays forever beautiful.

Patterned paper, chipboard, alpha stickers, overlay, rub-on and brown ribbon-rusty pickle
Tag and distress ink- tim holtz
Paint- delta ceramcoat
Other- stickles, staples, glimmer mist, thread and “you’ve captured my heart ribbon”.

exploring is your nature

I find it absolutely amazing how children find everything in nothing. They are explorers by nature and it always makes me smile when my son discovers the smallest things with such awe and wonder. Things that as adults we have forgotten how amazing they really are.

Patterned paper, tags, chipboard arrows, ribbon, alpha stickers, card stock coupons and buttons- rusty pickle
Cardstock- prism
Stamps- maya road
Tiny alpha stickers and paint- making memories
Ink- archival ink and color box
Other- staples

life is beautiful

Every week we meet with a group of friends and share laughter and stories and food and fun. We decided over the next couple of months to share more intimate stories with each other. So for now we a sharing our “spiritual journeys” (it means different things to all of us). So to help me tell my story I made this mini album. And as I shared my story I put the puzzle pieces together. When I was done telling my story the puzzle was complete. Well at least up until this point in my life.

Chipboard album, patterned paper, buttons, rub-ons, ribbon and alpha stickers- rusty pickle
Flowers- prima
Number stickers- making memories
Other- stickles and brads.

august sketch

here is becky's fab sketch for august. i hope it inspires you to scrap. if it does...hop on over to the rusty pickle and enter this month's contest.

"grab the sunnies and the towels and let's head to the beach! Here is this months sketch for you!"here is my take on this months sketch:)

"if each grain of sand contained a wish i'd give them all to you"

"We challenge you to use action shots taken down the beach or at the park if there is no beach! We also want you to mix and match the Pickle, so use at least two different collections!
For your info:
use your choice of at least two different collections of Rusty Pickle patterned paper
project must contain 80% of Rusty Pickle product
One entry per person
please post a link in the comments and email your entry to rustypickleblog@gmail.com putting August Sketch as your subject
entires are due by 25 August 2009 12:00 midnight PST
The chefs will vote on the winner and they will receive a fantastic prize pack from Rusty Pickle".

so get scrappin and have fun!

new release!

the day started off with a tow truck and no school for my little guy…but it got way better once i saw the new rusty pickle releases. this is super exciting!!!!!! the very first new release in my chefdom! i can’t wait to get a hold of these papers and create, create, create! so enjoy having a peep and try and wait patiently to get a hold of some for yourselves:)

birthday bash

thriller



p.s. for a more up close and personal look...click on any of the images above. it will take you to the rusty pickle web site and you can look at the individual lines.

did you know i'm a pickle?

yes…i’m as thrilled as a pickle! i am so happy to be a rusty pickle chef. after two weeks of racing and three publications i am now a full fledged pickle girl! super exciting! thanks to everyone who helped me along the way. thanks to my family who put up with a very messy house (still to be cleaned…btw), fed themselves and well, were super encouraging. thanks to my sis…who stayed up late…well actually all night to keep me company. thanks to my nieces and nephews who only got to see me for a couple of days, but still let me get my work done. thanks to all the pickle girls and amazing racers for the support along the way (especially at the end when i needed to get my three pubs). thanks to my friends for all the encouraging words! and of course thanks to rusty pickle for the opportunity. you all ROCK! so make sure you stop by the rusty pickle blog to see my name as a chef…and if you want to see my publications..check out ready, set, create. not sure which issue they will be in…but go ahead and subscribe anyway! thanks again!!!!!!!!!

american girl b-day party...final stop on the amazing race!

for this last leg I created an “american girl” birthday party for my little maelee rose. i know she won’t be 4 until next march…but let’s just say the amazing race gave me an opportunity to get an early start. and i’m sure she’ll still be into the American girl dolls. i looooooooove party planning. so this was an absolute blast (no pun intended). i hope you enjoy looking!

the whole shabang!

banner



centerpiece that has take home goodies inside the pieces of cake. the small top tier is for the dolls and the bottom tier is for the girls.







inside the "cake pieces" is a decorated crayon box and a mini book for the guests to take home.

invitation



party hats for girls and dolls!



as a thank you and a craft the girls can make their own little american girls...of course the pieces are already cut for them...they just have to choose which pieces they want.





matching pin wheels for girls and dolls.

and of course my reason for the party! love ya maelee!

amazing race stop #6

the clue read:
i watch the world pass me by
a pen in my hand to doodle as I lie
it wiggles and squiggles, never a line
flowers and stars designed in a Scrapbook and Doodle time.

so off to scrapbook doodle i went...

the assignment was to make a fabric bound recipe album. the first thing that came to mind was a recipe book for love or something along those lines. but i felt as though i should keep it “simple” this time. there were a lot of pages in this album. i wanted it to stand up on the counter so i made a cover for it that was supported by a triangle cs base. the album includes the favorite recipes of my favorite women…or at least some of them…there were to many great people that i’ll have to make another one for. iI’ll catch you on the next one ladies if i missed you this time:)