A peek at the new....

Nikki Sivils line debuting at CHA!!! One of the perks of the desgin team gig is that Nikki let's us see the new lines first....and she is sharing this one today!! LOVE,LOVE,LOVE the summer feel of this one. Can't wait to use it!!! You can check it out here Nikki Sivils Scrapbooker

I will leave you with this fun photo of how i spent most of my Sunday....i needed this!!

Something Simple this week....

Just a few treats from the bakery this week....

TIme to Scrap.....

I finally found a little time to scrapbook! Life seems to be moving very fast right now. I have just quit my job of 12 years and am finishing up my last few weeks of that. Looking for a partime job and starting a new business. This week seems to be a little quieter, and i am enjoying it!!

I got my box of Design Team product from Nikki Sivils and have had it sitting on my table for 2 weeks. I opened it up and was thrilled with all the things inside. Her collections are so fun!! I used her Elle's Day out collection and Bella Blue and Oscar Too collection.

The first LO is daisy and i on Mother's day a fun picture that Taylor snapped when we were loading up to go to the flower lot. The Bella Blue and Oscar Too Collection was great for this. The colors and the design screamed Spring!! Even though mother's day this year was cold and rainy.

The Second LO is a picture that Kate had taken awhile back of Miss Daisy...i just wanted a simple LO that focused on the picture. THe nice soft colors of the Elle's Day Out collection were perfect.

Thanks for looking!

Happy Mother's Day!!

I had a fantastic Mother's day. Slept in a bit, woke up to breakfast prepared by my boys, french toast (my favorite). Spent the morning with Kate and mom and all the kids picking out flowers. Ate lunch out with them and then came home and planted my hanging baskets. I love spring and getting my summer flowers ready for the deck. In a few weeks they will be spilling over the edges of their baskets and i will enjoy them so much. I also got a nap in today, something i rarely do, but it felt really good. Hope everyone enjoyed their day as much as i did!!

Farmer's Market

Last night was the start of the farmer's market in Republic. It was a beautiful night and the market was alot more crowded than i had anticipated for the first night. Lots of garden plants being sold and several large meat vendors were there. Taylor and i got there about 5 and set up our table and started selling cupcakes right away...i wasn't sure what to expect, but most people wanted just an assorted box of cupcakes. They went fast!! We were sold out by 7. Next week we will take new flavors and a few more of each just to make sure everyone gets a chance to try them. It was really alot of fun and it turns out Taylor is a great salesman...i knew he was a talker and a charmer and both of those qualities worked to our advantae last night. Thanks to all of you who stopped by and i hope to see you again next week!!!

Nikki Sivils Design Team

To apply for Nikki's Design team i had to submitt a LO using her products I used the Willow Bee Collection. This was an old picture of the boys, but one i really love.

She also asked that we make a project other than a LO using her product. I made this cute cupcake sign using one of her chipbard pieces and My Sweet Cherry Pie line of paper.


And the last thing we had to submit was a LO about ourself. I have only recently started scrapping about myself and i am enjoying it. I think it is really important for my boys and later my grandchildren to know about ME. I also have learned that it is important to tell the full story through my scrapping, not just the happy parts.

Random....

Last weekend i flew to Washington DC to see my Dad. About 3 weeks ago his partner, Linda, for the last 15 years past away. My parents were married for 30 years and when they got a divorce it was a surprise to my brother, sister and I and was not accepted very well. We are a tight group and having something disrupt that was difficult. I have always been very close to my Dad and that relationship was tested during the years that followed the divorce. I felt very torn about maintaining my relationship with Dad, i felt a little like i was betraying my Mom by continuing a relationship with him and definately if i had a relationship with Linda. What i finally decided was that i would take whatever relationship i could have with my Dad, not knowing what he was doing and my children not knowing him at all was not an option for me. It's not perfect, no relationship is, but it works for us. I grew to appreciate that Linda made my Dad happy and that he loved her. It made it much easier to accept her. I learned something about my dad that i didn't know during the last month of Linda's life. He was responsible for taking care of her every need while she was home. He did it. He did it with patience, and tender care and genuine love. I never saw this side of him. I am sorry for the circumstance that allowed me to see it, but i am also grateful for the opportunity to see a part of this man that i didn't know was there.

I didn't fly alone. Linda's daughter Carie flew out with me. I have spent time with Carie before, but not alone and not for a long period of time. We got to know each other and we are very similar in personality. We have become good friends and it is a friendship that i look forward to nurturing and letting it grow. Daddy's closest friend from here went out as well and that was a welcome distraction to the task at hand of cleaning out Linda's things and getting Dad in a position to move. Linda's Daughter, Tiffany, came in from Denver. Together we were able to get things cleaned out, packed up, sorted through and donated. It was a job. Tears were shed, memories were shared and some closure was achieved. I am looking forward to my Dad moving closer to home. He will never move back to Springfield, but he plans to move within driving distance. I want my children to be able to know him better and at least have the opportunity to develop a relationship with him.

SO Excited!!!

I am so excited to share that i have been choosen to be a part of Nikki Sivils design team!!! Nikki called me on Thursday to share the news. I was driving to St Louis to fly to DC to see my Dad and it totally caught me off guard and made my day. Can't wait to get started. Check out Nikki's blog and all the talent that her design team has to offer. If you are local you can purchase her products at Scrapbook Generation.

It's Allabout the Princess....

I have had the cover for this mini done for about 3 weeks and hadn't had time to put it all together...last night i sat down and did it and i love it!! The album is by Nikki Sivils and so is the PP. She makes these great mini paper pads that are the perfect size for her albums, makes trimming easy and there isn't so much waste.

I painted my toesnails this morning....looking forward to flip flop weather!! ALmost 80 today, YEAH!

Some Layouts....

The weather outside is awful....what happened to Spring? The wind has blown so hard the past two days. I am ready for the promised warm weather of this week!!! Yucky weather does mean a good excuse to stay in and bake and scrapbook. Yesterday I made fried pies, blueberry and cherry, really GOOD!! Taylor could barely wait for them to cool before eating another. Last night i made cherry limeade cupcakes. I thought they were a little too "limey" but the taste testers said they were perfect. I will post pictures as soon as Kate gets some taken.

Farmer's Market starts Thursday night in Republic, so I am trying to get my table setup figured out and decide what i am going to bake to take and how much i should take the first night. I don't anticipate it being very busy until the produce starts to come on. I am excited to see how it all goes!!

Here are a few LO's. I love the All American Girl LO. I couldn't get it turned around but i posted it anyway, it's one of my favorite right now. Reese is so fun to scrap. I also love the one of Papa's hand and Reese's little hand, I have had that picture on my desk forever trying to figure out what to do with it. I wanted the focus to stay on the picture, but to tell the story. The one of the little girl in the black and white photo is me when i was about 5.

Have a great day....and think hard about Spring, if we all do maybe it will get here faster!!!!

Spring

It was really nice today. The sun was shinning and i had the back door open. Warm weather is on it's way. I can't wait!!!

Cupcakes!

A new adventure...most of you that know me know that i have always wanted to have my own bakery. I love to be in the kitchen and baking things to share with family and friends. Why not turn that love into a business. Starting small and from my house i have been selling my baked goodies, eventually i hope it turns into more, but for now i am having a great time. The boys are loving being the taste testers for my gourmet cupcakes. I am sharing a few pictures of some of the flavors i have made so far. Katie too the pictures and did an amazing job as usual.

Tonight Katie and I had a little photo shoot with Princess Daisy....she did great and i just love the pictures, here are a few. She is actually smiling in one of them.

Just a few new pages to share. i have been into distressing everything lately. I love the look! I also love the jeweled swirls made by prima. These pages are using paper from Crate Paper, i made them for the designers challenge at Scrapbook Generation. Each month we all get the same paper and some embellishments and then meet back the next month to see what we all came up with. It's always fun to see how different everyone's projects are, even though we all use the same products.

I am SO ready for spring, well let's be honest, i am ready for summer!