His First Day Of School....

I just can't believe 6 years has come and gone so fast. When Parker was born I thought school seemed so far away, now I can't believe it's here. Everyone says it's the hardest to send the first child... I hope they are right! Being a stay at home mom, it's so hard to imagine Parker being away all day 5 days a week. Montana does all day kindergarten now. He was so excited! He had his outfit all laid out the last night and he actually took time to fix his hair this morning. He said goodbye to his brother and sister about 20 times. "Bye Concon (aka Connor), you won't see me very much now. I love you!" "Bye Mado (aka Maddie) will you miss me cause I'm going to be gone a long time?" It was cracking us up! We didn't realize we were sending him away for so long!:) I kept reminding him you'll be back this afternoon hon, but he was so excited I think he would have packed a sleeping bag and stayed there if we'd have let him! :) We took him to his class, met his teacher, and he said "OK Mom, you can go." I however, was not as nearly as cool and calm as he was. I fought tears, while I convinced him I'd just stay a few more minutes for some pictures. I'm SO PROUD of him! I watched other kids cling to their parents, cry, and try to escape as my Parker walked over and started chatting with another boy... and even though it hurt like crazy, I am so glad he is a confident kid ready to take on the world (aka kindergarten). I wore my big dark sunglasses and tried not to think about what was going on as I headed off to the parents meeting. I'm pretty proud of myself, as long as no one asked how I was I held it together. Of course now that I'm home... :) well that's another story. For all you other first timers out there today, my heart is with you!
Hugs,
Renee

Happy Scrapper!

I have been such a happy scrapper lately! I've been doing more scrapbooking the last month or two and then I have done in quite a while. It's so nice just to sit down and work on my photos! I'm always doing so much crafting for the shop or for other people, it's been so nice to work on projects for my family!! ...and nice to use up some of those supplies I've been continuing to buy...

This is a layout I did for the Creative Chaos Team. Jenn is so amazing, I just love her jotters!!
I cut one of the jotters in half and layered it behind a photo on each page. You can do so much with journaling cards...they are AWESOME!
I also stitched on a fun ruffled border out of pink and white striped fabric. Just "crumple" it up as you stitch it to the paper to create a shabby ruffled strip.

Have a great day!

We just love the Fair!

Last week was Fair week here in Missoula. It is definitely a summer favorite in my family! The kids LOVE to look at all the animal exhibits. They are convinced we should have a farm with sheep, pigs, horses, and chickens. Now after the fair this year they've added ducks, goats, and rabbits to the list. Pigs and chickens seem to be the absolute favorites though. This is a layout I did a week or two ago from some old fair photos I hadn't scrapped yet. I had it sitting out in my living room and everyday my youngest son (2) would walk over to it and say "pig, me go! pig, me hand!" (aka "I want to go see the pigs" "I want to hold a pig in my hand") He was so excited about the fair it was the first thing he asked about in the morning. A week has gone by now and he still says "Mama, me go pig" when he wakes up. It's so cute!
I made the flower accent from punched circles that I inked, distressed and layered with a cute star brad. So easy and a great use for scraps!
I used one of my "Quote It" Mini Journaling Cards from my shop. Go here to check them out!

I'll have some more fair layouts and photo ideas to share from this year. I hope to be scrapping them soon since my goal is to keep 2009 current!

Have a great day! Oh... I put some supplies up in the shop yesterday, cute stamps, stickers, etc. Be sure to check them out!

Back from Vacation

Hey there! Well I'm back from a terrific vacation. I love the ocean, and well lets face it, you don't see a whole lot of it when you live in Montana. :) So our trip to the Oregon coast was a real treat for my family. We stayed right on the beach in a big house with my husbands family. We played in the sand, saw a ton of sea lions (which are about as plentiful as deer are around here), explored tidal pools, sand boarded (like snow boarding only on sand), went crabbing and dug for clams, laughed a lot, stayed up way to late, and cooked massive amounts of seafood. It was wonderful, and I wish I it lasted longer. Anyway... onto a fun layout Miss Jami made using some of my journaling spots from my shop.
I just love the colors, stitching details, and smudgy brown paint. She used journaling cards from the 100% Travel set, the Butterfly List set, and the Out West set. Go here to get some for yourself!
Look how she distressed a border around the edge of her photos, so cute! Thanks Jami!!

I'll be in and out this week trying to get everything back in place from our trip, answering emails, and mailing out orders. Have a great day!

On Vacation!

Hi there! I'm headed to the Oregon coast for a much needed vacation! I will be gone until the first part of August. I know I haven't been blogging or in my shop lately, but I will be back in the groove when I come back....and YEAH!! my new computer should be here by the time we get home!! Hubby and I are so tired of this one crashing and moving at a snail pace were about ready to through it in the lake in our back yard. :( So be ready for some big news for the shop and some fun things for the blog to start happening in August and September. Be sure to take time and enjoy rest of your July, summer is just flying by! I know we plan on soaking up every bit of fun and family time we can!

UGGHHH!!!

We have had computer trouble! I haven't been able to use the computer for several days now, so frustrating!! Especially since I do the books for our businesses and wooo, it really piles up quick! Anyway, I hope everyone had a lovely holiday weekend, we had a great time. As soon as I get everything caught up I'll have some new goodies to share with you and a giveaway too! Oh, and don't forget to take advantage of the July special in my shop, go here to check it out! Have a great day!

Shop Talk

Just thought I'd tell you lovely ladies all about this months special in my shop! You will receive a free set of Journaling Cards with any purchase of $10.00 or more! Go here to start shopping!

I'm adding a few new things this week, but I have been working on LOTS of new stuff. There will be lots of new things to look forward to in August!
Have a great day!