I'm getting my groove back...

Alright, the post-vacation blues are gone and we are into full summer mode. I couldn't help but notice summer was here since we just went through a heat wave. But we're staying cool with the A/C and lots of swimming. Staying inside has inspired me to scrap (of course) and today, I'm going to share a little secret of mine. I scrap backwards. Meaning, I often make the layouts then later I find pictures for them. Most of these LO turn out to be some of my favorites. I know its weird but many days, the passion for creating is stronger than making something worthy for my photos.

Here's two layouts I made for our *future* 4th of July photos:

This one I made in anticipation of my new neice that will be born in August. I just know she'll be as beautiful as this layout.
I made this layout because I'm still in love with this paperline. Its from We R Memory Keepers and is over a year old but I love the colors.Here's a close up of this flower I made for it. I used 4 layers of paper punched out with my scalloped circle punch.And here's yet another one from the new Pink Paislee line. I think this one will work nicely for a Back to School picture. But of course, I did make a couple new layouts with pictures. This first one is hysterical. These pictures were taken when my friend Laurie and I were "three-sheets-to-the wind" and laughing so hard we cried. Ah... Good Times! This makes me laugh because in our drunken state, we honestly thought we were flashing the camera. Ha!

I made this layout for the store in May but just got it back so I thought I'd share.

And tomorrow morning registration for the Scrapbook Expo begins. Oh joy!

Ok, enough of the scrap crap!
Cheeers!
Christy

Maddie's Debut

Last Sunday Madeleine had her first dance recital. Although tap dancing wasn't her favorite activity, she had so much fun dressing up in the adorable costume. Their show was done to "Do the Conga" by Gloria Estefan. They were simply adorable!

My girl has been in front of a camera entirely too much. Look at the way she posed for these photos! I did NOT set these up!

Ouch!

I had to fill up today. OUCH! I know we're all feeling this pain so I thought you could relate. Here's to hoping these prices are a memory soon!

Well, it seems that my creativity is still on vacation.

Well, it seems that my creativity is still on vacation. I am in a major rut right now. When I go to my scrap room, everything I make seems to be missing something. I'm just not really inspired right now. I hate this phase. Its a mandatory phase for everyone but this time its been hard because I had design team assignments due at the store. Unfotunately, the assignments were done only half-heartedly. I'll be going to a crop tomorrow night and hopefully my creativity comes with me.

One new source of inspiration has been my mother in law. Its not really a scrapbooking inspiration but more of a life-lessons type of inspiration. Beth was just here to watch the kids while Brentt and I went on vacation. When I went to the airport, I hardly recognized her (it was just 9 months ago when I saw her). Her hair was longer, she'd lost some weight, her braces were off and she had this... glow. That's when I was sure, she is in love. Not to go into too many details but a few years ago, she was in a dark place in her life. She took a risk, ventured out on her own, and rebuilt her life. She found her independence, her strength, and herself. Then, she found Bill. Her new love is such a good man and there's no doubt he is head-over-heals in love with her. They're getting married next May and we're so happy for both of them. They are an inspiration and she has taught me that only YOU are in charge of your own destiny and that happiness is always a choice. Here's a layout I just did with them. The paper was not really my choice but I made do with what I had to work with. Don't they look so very happy?

And here's the other layout I did for the store. This layout required you to have 6 photos on a 12 by 12 layout using 80% store product. Since I had a ton of princess pictures from Disneyland it seemed like a good challenge. But like I said, it seems to be missing something...


And yes, I know the dots were crooked when I took the pics. Oops! Here's the photo-fall I created to keep all the pictures as 4 x 6. There was just too much detail in the shots to make them smaller. And, as usual, my journaling is hidden underneath.
This weekend is a busy one.... a graduation, Adoption Center Picnic, cropping, Father's Day, and Madeleine's first dance recital. Have a great one!

Holy long post about our short vacation!

We're back from our kid-free Caribbean vacation and only one word can describe it...amazing! But since I am a girl with a lot of words, I can't leave it at that. It was a great vacation and since I haven't had more than a 2 minute conversation with anyone since I returned, I'll tell you about it here:

Day 1: We did a day-long snorkeling trip off of Puerto Rico. We went with some co-workers/friends and took a sailboat and docked off of 2 different islands: Palomino and Palominitos. The water was about 82 degrees, clear, and aqua blue. We saw dozens of fish, coral, sea urchins, and even a sea turtle.

Here's a picture of Brentt helping lift the sail:

And here's a picture of the group on the boat.
Drinks were free-flowing so we were feeling good by this point!

Day 2 : Salsa Dancing, a lazy (hung-over) afternoon on the beach, and a nice dinner. Here's where we spent most of our stay-- the Wyndam Rio Mar Beach Resort:And here are some of the locals:

I love this picture of Brentt and I before we went down for dinner.

Day 3: While Brentt was in a business meeting, I went hiking in the El Yunque Rainforest, the only rainforest in the US Nat'l Parks system. With a guide I saw so many creatures that are great at camouflaging themselves. Like this walking stick:

And this grasshopper was cool. My camera had a really hard job focusing on this guy.

Day 4: Brentt and I went back to the rainforest because he wanted to hike through it too.

La Mina Falls, El Yunque Rainforest

On the evening of day 4 (Saturday) we did a Kayak tour of the Bio-Bay in Laguna Grande. This was the best thing we did in all of Puerto Rico! Unfortunately, I didn't take my camera because we were in the water the whole time. This is a tour that you do at night. We kayaked through the bay, into a mangrove-covered canal that led to a big lagoon. Since we scheduled this on an evening of a new moon, it was completely dark until.... you touch the water in the lagoon. The lagoon is full of micro-organisms that glow green when touched. Everytime you paddle, the water that moves glows a turquise-like green. These micro-organisms are very similar to fireflies. The greatest thing was when you'd see a fish darting through the water--they looked just like giant shooting stars.

Day 5: We went to and stayed in Old San Juan and did the regular tourist thing. Old San Juan was a walled city with 2 main fortresses. Much of the old wall and buildings still exist. We visited the Spanish fortress Castillo de San Felipe del Morro, built in 1589"

And we also visited La Fortaleza:

Here are a few pictures I took in Old San Juan

And the next day was a full day of travel home. Even though it was a great vacation, I was ready to come home. I was just starting to miss the kids and my liver was starting to hurt from this rum-infused vacation. In case you were wondering... Beth and the kids did wonderfully while we were gone. Besides Beth being sick, I think she enjoyed watching the kids. It couldn't have been too bad because she volunteered to do it again! (CRAZY!) Now, I'm looking forward to scrapbooking the whole vacation!

Cheers!
Christy