More weekend goodness

Given how busy our weekends normally are, I have a real appreciation for the weekends that aren't jammed full of activities. Yesterday, other than an early morning haircut and dance class, we had nothing on the calendar. I hit the grocery early, made a big pot of soup for lunch, and spent the rest of the afternoon scrapbooking. DH took the girls to a movie and son was out with a friend....a quiet house...just me, a cup of coffee, and a bunch of October Afternoon goodies.

Catching up on some holiday scrapping...
And a photo from Jing-Jing's visit back in August...
Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

---Aubree

Scrapping

I am sitting at home on a Friday afternoon enjoying a random day off from work that I took "just because". I have run some errands,enjoyed a quiet lunch, read a few chapters of my book, and even scrapped a bit. The house cleaning that should have been, well, that I haven't 'gotten' to and I am ok with that!

I haven't really had much a creative bug of late but when I do sit down to scrap, I find the layouts just come together so quickly. It could be because I have been sticking to simple designs and only one or two paper lines at a time....I however would like to believe that I have found my "style". It only took 5 or 6 years but maybe just maybe I will find it easier and easier to sit down and create without each layout taking hours!!




Supplies: October Afternoon Farmhouse collection, MS butterfly punch, Technique Tuesday frame, Crate paper rub-ons, Jillibean frame



Supplies: Basic Grey and Echo Park


Looking forward to another busy weekend! Off to enjoy my last few minutes of quiet!


-- Aubree

Weekend Close

Another weekend filled with kids activities has come to a close.....yesterday, youngest started a new dance class, older two were registered for baseball, basketball games were won, and another gymnastics meet was attended. It sounds like a lot but somehow it works for us, and with three kids, it is good to keep them busy.

Middle daughter has found her calling (at least for the time being) in gymnastics. It isn't because she is a fantastic gymnast...she works hard to be the best she can be...sometimes that is at the top and often it is not. She is good with that and so are we. She has found a place where she is happy --- happy to be with her gym friends, happy to work hard, and happy to be around other girls that love the gym as much as she does! After a grueling four hour practice one day, she turned to me and thanked me for "finding [her] a place where [she] really belongs." It brought tears to my eyes just to hear how happy she is. She doesn't mind in the least that she spends 16 hours a week practicing. She loves it. I certainly couldn't let that conversation or thoughts go without being memorized....

"Where You Belong"

Motivated

Sometimes all I need is a bit of a challenge to get myself motivated. I am guessing I am not alone in that....why else would we all make those New Year's Resolutions? I must say I am not going overboard with my resolutions this year -- I am striving to get a little more organized so each month of the year has been assigned a room in the house to organize. First up, my son's room. It is being painted next week so I figured that was a good place to start Wish me luck! I have no idea what might be living in that closet of his!!

I also decided this year not to have a scrapbooking goal...in years past I have challenged myself to make so many layouts that year (for 2011 it was 200 and I think I may have gotten to about 150 if I am lucky). I find that just surfing the web and participating in numerous challenges on different sites is motivating enough for me. I posted a layout already this week that I created for a challenge...that same day, I decided to play with The Color Room palette and sketch.



I just love those bright colors despite that fact that they are not my normal go to colors....and the sketch was so easy to work with! I pulled out some old, old Scenic Route papers, the kids school pixs from this fall, and got to work. This layout came together in less than 20 minutes...seriously! Super simple.

Scrap Challenge

The girls over at My Scraps and More are hosting a blog hop and scrap challenge this week. I got their email yesterday afternoon and couldn't resist playing along....

Requirements:
Chipboard
Two fonts
Twine
Buttons
Journaling block

Here is what I came up with....



Chipboard Squares and key from Maya Road
Different fonts on the title stickers and rub ons (MME and 7Gypsies)
Twine around the chipboard key and in the button centers
2 buttons on the right side
Old Pink Paislee journaling tag as a layer at the bottom of the picture

Patterned papers: MME and Crate Paper
Frames: MME (old)
MME stickers and brads
Jenni Bowlin butterfly stickers
Studio Calico mists: White, Barnwood, Bluegrass, and Orchard

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

The kids had a great time staying up and ringing in the new year with us and some friends last night. It was the first time they all made it to 12:00! They were all out cold by 12:15am and still up by 7:30 this morning.....my birthday breakfast in bed was served at 8:30. At least they gave me a little extra time to sleep in! Thanks guys, it was wonderful!!