dorks

Yes, we are dorks. Photobooths tend to do that to ya.

This is a post where I gush about how I couldn't have survived Spark, being pregnant with 2 little kiddos, with out this boy!! He honestly saved me. He especially was great at Noah's and let us boss him around to do all the manly man stuff. I'm sure he saw it as a great chance to show off his muscles.

Sure, we have our moments and thank goodness he's very patient with me & my inherent Greek spice. But there isn't a day that passes where I stop & think how quite lucky I am to share this crazy life with him. hand in hand...

PS How many guys do you know that would willingly MC a childrens talent show for their church? Exactly. He's a rare breed, this boy, & I love him so.

We had the Smile Now photobooth at Spark again this year + a candy bar. Which means we had TWO candy bars. (I promise at night I dream of the fabulous snack room Amy put together! She was our caterer extraordinaire--say that 5 times fast.)

This is currently my inspiration easel in my studio. Usually I take everything apart when I'm done but this one is perfect to simply add some journaling then pop into my scrapbook.

Eclectic bits from catalogs/magazines, scrabble game piece, book paper, fabric flower.

Dear Lizzy tapes

Elle Studio Journaling card

Studio Calico sticker

Sassafras trim

Butterfly punch

more Spark

For both Spark no.1 & no.2 our decor was recycled paper, magazines & random stuff we collected. The above flowers turned out so rad. They are water bottles that we cut, melted with an embossing gun and spray painted! We had them hanging in the front entry way and in the trees in the garden area.

On Friday night, we had an array of show & tellers where Sparkettes made jewelry, canvases, mini books etc etc. It was so great to finally meet Miss Ruby Sue aka Lori. She's the one who designs beautiful fabric necklaces (like the one that was in my profile pic) & other fabulous headbands. She taught us a neat technique to make a ruffle headband.

Here's one of Lori's beauties below. She always spoils me. ;)

Sitting on the grass, under the stars, listening to Mindy Gledhill was by far my favorite part of the event! She not only sang but inspired us with her own life experiences which added even more meaning to her lovely lyrics.

She's the type of girl that you'd want to just hang out with and become bffs... actually, during our little private concert it did feel like we were just hanging out with Mindy!

Thanks so much!!

Once again, the brilliant Jefra wows us with her beautiful photos! Love that girl! Thanks for sharing your sparky talent with us!

The perfect touch of inspiration and color were posters hung around our venue. They were designed by Rhonna & printed by Persnickety Prints. They specialize in printing not only gorgeous photos but digital scrapbook layouts too. So, all you digi girls should check them out!

spark no 2

Spark is over again and it was more then we even imagined it would be! The ladies who came are what made it so wonderful! One of the days we put pictures of each of them in jars and they could find their picture then mix and mingle & get to know other Sparkettes.

That morning when all the jars were out it was quite moving and inspiring to see why we were there and why we planned Spark. For each of them.

We had a lot of fun decorating the main hall. You can see where the junk games banners were used now.

Blowing up balloons that are bigger than you are is quite the challenge but definitely worth it!

We were giddy watching Rhonna chalk up the outside of Noah's with her fabulous doodles!!

Needless to say, I'm so so tired. Thanks to my mom who watched the girls AND did all my laundry!!

The sweet potato in my tummy is giving me little nudges & kicks saying sit down momma. So, today I am going to do just that... after I take back some decor to the fabulous Abode & hit the grocery store & chase after Q & A. Then I will. xo

Happy Monday!

Spark bullet points

My head is swirling with things to-do. That's why I can only think in bullet points.

• The pink boxes are all filled with paper l♥ve.
• Love the random stash of stuff Margie gave me to make banners for Spark! She threw in punched book paper, playing cards, tickets, monopoly money & bits of fabric & vintage lace. Our junque games garland!

• Can't wait to hear our unplugged Spark concert with Mindy Gledhill!

• Looking forward to hiding these Golden Tickets around Spark so when the sparkettes find them they win some fabulous prizes.

• lots to do...! xo

pink milk & pink boxes

Started off Labor Day right with some pink milk and a plan.

Unfortunately, I don't see much resting from our labors in that plan today.

There's definitely too much to do. Including putting on a Buzz Light year jet-pack and saving the world.

I know this glazed over look all too well. She's putting together a plan... What will she do next?

If she doesn't save the world at least just a sister in distress.

(my sister sewed and painted 20 of those Buzz jet-packs for my nephew's birthday party. She's pretty awesome!)

Oh, and the plan also includes filling up all my Spark class kit boxes. Towers of pink cake boxes have taken over and surprisingly the kids haven't even bothered to destroy them. Probably because they know that evil zurg mommy would appear if they are even touched.

happy labor day!

sprinkles on top

Sometimes crafts and sweets go hand-in-hand... okay, all the time.

Especially sweets with sprinkles on top.

Especially when I've had a rather... interesting... day.

Especially when you deserve a reward with out the guilt.

Especially when such sweets include pink frosting & a tea cup of milk.

Especially when you've got a long list ahead of you to check off.

Especially when you have someone to share them with.

A few hours later a conversation with this darling went like this:

"Eat your dinner please."

"I don't like this dinner momma... but, I do like pink cookies."

We are full steam ahead for Spark. Our teachers have designed really spark*y classes!

Here's a peak at the mini class I'll be teaching.

I adore the House of 3 banner tags & I used lots of fun Sassafras papers.

Which if you noticed in my last blog post I love their Indie Girl Collection.

Also, Shimmerz has some snazzy colors we'll be spritzing on our projects to make paper flowers and to add a little sparkle.

Spotted lots of Dear Lizzy Enchanted & Dear Lizzy Christmas at 2 peas as well.

silly squeeze

Silly squeeze is a layout about my q-bear who doesn't just give you a hug-she squeezes you as tight as she possibly can. I enjoyed designing with Studio Calico's kit this month. It's quite pretty and I adore the colors!

Besides the awesome kit I had to throw in some of my new Dear Lizzy Enchanted tapes because it was a perfect fit & I was excited to try it out. (It's the green floral tape under the blue ribbon above & the pink and blue tape below. Loving it already.)

Here she is again, this time being a sneaky, little girl at my brother's wedding. Stealing a lick from the cakes. She is at that curious I-want-to-get-into-everything stage.

As soon as Avery decided there are more fun things to do than make a mess, Quincey decided it's the coolest thing since pb&j sandwiches.

I was pretty sneaky myself and added some of the new Dear Lizzy Enchanted paper to the center heart & some thickers. Love this Back 40 Studio Calico kit because it they make it so easy for you! You can sit down with the perfectly picked products right at your fingertips.

Lone Star

I taught at a store in Texas over the weekend. It was such a quick trip but really fun. Thanks Misty for the picture with some of the students. These ladies were a treat and I loved getting to know many of them.

The trip started out kinda crazy. I guess Houston didn't like me very much and everything was going wrong. Including, spending a good amount of time on the carpet by a power outlet with my phone at thrifty car rental. But I proved myself by bringing the perfect PJs for the occasion and I could tell by the belgium waffles the next morning that Houston decided I wasn't so bad. We are now great buddies.

Charming

enchanted [ɪnˈtʃɑːntɪd] adj

1. under a spell; bewitched; magical

2. utterly delighted or captivated; fascinated; charmed

photo by Jefra Starr Linn

Enchanted was such a fun line to design with American Crafts. Now it's waiting time until it arrives and into our finger tips... I said 'our' because I'm sure you are excited too! Until then, here's a screen shot of the catalog.

Take a close look at the name of the paper on the right... Collin said it was one of the proudest moments in his life & then a lone tear fell down his cheek. haha. kidding. But what a cute coincidence to be side by side, even if it is just paper.

closer everyday

A peek at some of the Spark decor spread around Rhonna's house. She's amazed me at what she's put together. Don't you love the bright, circusey vibe this year? (and don't you like when I make up my own words?) My favorite are the burlap swag bags... thanks to Anna for making those! Can't wait!

Warm welcome my newest blog sponsors: The Rusted Chain

and Scrapbook Circle (Scrapbook kits & fresh ideas)

piles around the house

Piles of made-with-love kits finished up for my online class. Incredible how we are sending these all over the world including Greece, Malaysia, Portugal, New Zealand, Canada, Singapore, Greece, Germany, Australia & England. How fun!

Designed packaging with some of my favorite paper: Girls Paperie

Most used punch: Classic butterfly

Piles of books that she's busy reading to her stuffed friends.

Shares a cute look for the camera while she's busy exploring & piling up some mess for momma to clean up.

A please-dip-in-milk-first pile of pregnant cravings.

Piles of to-dos as we countdown to Spark!

Happy happy Monday!

this weekend...

This weekend we'll be busy gathering rose petals in our painting tin just to throw them in the air and pick them up again. And again. And again.

Or dancing around the living room with Avery to my new favorite album by Mindy Gledhill (who will be at Spark!)

Or laughing at my silly girls who love each other one second & the next second I'm prying them apart.

Or eating frozen Junior Mints and diecutting like crazy for my online class kits. (Almost ready to send out.)

Or I would love to scrapbook with my Studio Calico kit I got in the mail today. (It's SO cute!!)

At some point, I'll lay down & listen to Collin play the piano & sing 'run' while the baby in my tummy does somersaults and kicks like she's the next karate kid.

Any fun plans? Have a delightful weekend!

PS putting together a Shades of Summer update. Please email me your picture if you've had the sunglasses to shadesofsummer@gmail.com. Thanks. And please keep them moving along...!

wedding details

This picture gave me chills. I wanted to capture their intense connection. Their love. The safety they feel being together even with dark clouds surrounding them. How the only thing that matters is each other. Their love is vibrant. Tangible. Peaceful. (thoughts via Collin's blog)

Wanted to share some more pictures of Allison's and KC's wedding because it's all about the details.

The guestbook was a vintage typewriter.

We made these mini pins. One with a picture and one with their names & date.

Handmade soaps tied with fabric for the favors stacked in a drawer & like you saw previously we had lots of fun with Allison's handmade felt mustaches.

The jars of lemonade were refreshing.

Bundt cakes on vintage plate pedestals.

Turned out very vintage-whimsical.

Avery peeking through another cute element in the back yard... sneaking to a swing set-of course.

Photos by my hottie

There are still some spots in my online class but it's filling up quick.

Sorry the class kits are sold out but you can still take the class. Email me to be on a wait list.