Pretty Paper Blog

Parker,
You cried today because Marley ruined your watermelon plant.  You cried because you had to say goodbye to it.  You cried like you did when we had to take the snails back to Grandma’s house because Dad thought that they should be in their original environment. 
You don’t like goodbyes.  You have a connection to life that is so unique and beautiful.  Your thoughtfulness and insight astounds me.  I long to see things the way you do, through your eyes.  You are so special to me, dear to my heart the way no other is.  You are my boy and I love you like crazy. 
I know that sometimes I get frustrated when you get so emotional; like I did when Mr. Ted E. Bones lost a few ribs and his femur.  You cried and asked if you could at least keep his skull to remember him by.  Of course you can, don’t you see that you’ve melted my heart?  You’ve turned me into goo?  Even though I’ve promised you a new Mr. Ted E. Bones you still love your old one.  You still feel connected to him, to everything around you.
It’s not just the watermelon plant and the snail or even Mr. Ted E. Bones, you have a connection to LIFE.  You remind me on a daily basis to love life, just by being you.
Thank you for being you son.  I love you.
Love, Mom 

My husband is going to a wedding this weekend.  It’s the wedding of his boss, Earl.  Earl’s name does not fit him, which is worthy of it’s own post.  Let’s just say that the Dixie Chick’s version of “Earl” does not apply.  This Earl is handsome, very stylish and very smart. 

Anyhoo, I have created a little mini album for Earl and his soon to be wife, Meegan.  I used my beloved Graphic 45 Baby 2 Bride paper.

It’s always a little tricky working with Clear Albums - but definitely fun!

Here’s how my little wedding album turned out.  The book actually says “Love” on the cover but you can barely see it:

And here are some (OK, a lot) of the Little Details:

Finally!  Ladies and Gentlemen, our ONE and ONLY Sunflower has bloomed! 

My sweet children planted at least 24 sprouts in the backyard.  We ended up with one, uno!  One solo little (getting bigger) sunflower.  But. Let. Me. Tell. You.  My kids are so excited about this ONE sunflower!  It’s amazing the sense of accomplishment they feel.  This beautiful flower started from a lowly seed.  A seed that they planted. They watched it grow and they are amazed.

Now for my Sunflower:

Izabelle is my flower!  I love her hair.  I know.  It’s probably ridiculous to take a photo of a simple braid but it is beautiful to me.  The fact that she let  me braid her hair is even more beautiful. 

Have a SUNNY day!

-Christie

Another little project I made for ETSY.   I’ve had a couple of people buy up a bunch of my projects (a good thing) so I have been frantically trying to come up with some new ideas/mini books for my store.  

It’s all good, right?  I am having fun with these projects and am amazed at how much I can get accomplished while the kids are in school….so this is what freedom feels like.  Ahhhhh…

Again with the “My Minds Eye” paper.  And yes, I am a little obsessed with birds lately.  I think they’re so beautiful.

OK,  the title of this blog is  actually called Pretty Paper Blog.  AND scrapbooking is my favorite hobby.  So, I figured it’s probably about time I posted photos of projects I’ve been working on. 

The following photos are the “little details”  from one of the mini albums I made to sell on Etsy.  I used the 29th Street Market Paper from My Minds Eye. 

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Join in the fun with CANDID CARRIE!

My husband ALWAYS puts on a “silly” face for the camera.  It’s very rare to get a nice smile out of the guy.  I happen to think my man is VERY handsome, so I am some-what disappointed when I review my photos and see this:

Or this:

What I want to see is this:

only a little less blurry.

I’m so inspired by this new Halloween paper!  I know, I know…Halloween is still awhile off but I couldn’t help myself!  I came up with this little diddy last Saturday night while cropping at Paradise Scrapbook Boutique (LOVE it there)!

Check it out:

What do you think?

I can’t believe that Summer Vacation is over.  Insane!  It barely seems as though we had a summer, especially with the smoke veil we were under for the first couple of months…staying indoors is not what summer is about, right? 

We did have some fun though, and the sleeping in thing was quite nice!

This morning we were up bright and early…Parker’s bus left at 7:15 and then Izabelle had to be at school by ten minutes to eight.  They were both so excited to go back to school. 

Parker starts 5th grade this year and Izabelle started 3rd grade.  I’ll never get used to how fast my little ones grow.  In fact, they’re not little at all anymore!  Izabelle has grown completely out the the “little girls section”  when we went shopping and Parker is in the largest size in the Boys section…soon he’ll be off to the men’s section…sheesh! 

I miss them already…but am happy to say that I do enjoy having a normal schedule again.

Summer is almost over…we simply had  to get away somewhere at least semi-special with the kids.  My husband and I gave them the choice, they could go to Marine World (they’ve been a few times and love it there) or San Francisco to visit the Exploratorium then go to the Rain Forest Cafe for dinner.  The kids chose San Francisco, I was more than pleased! 

We had a blast at the Exploratorium.  It’s a really fun Museum!  You get to touch EVERYTHING.  So cool.

I took about 200 photos…here are some of the highlights. 

The Giant Sized Pin Art Square to play wth.  Izabelle tried to do her whole face but it didn’t quite work…instead she was able to get a hand in for the photo… 

Here’s one of Parker’s hand in the Pin Art:

A home-made tornado?

Giant Bubbles:

Fun with Gravity…(My husband looks pretty happy).

It was a day full of smiles.

After you’ve visited here, get on over HERE to Candid Carrie’s site!  Carrie hosts this fabulously fun Friday Foto Finish!

Here is a photo of my little brother Adam (I know, I know…he’s not so little anymore) with he adorable daughter Kayla.  It’s so wonderful to watch him be “Dad” - he’s just so good at it!

Here’s Adam getting some Kayla smooches!

Adam and his new Yacht! (Not really.)

Adam’s gorgeous wife Vanessa.

Another adorable shot of Kayla.   I am the lucky aunt that gets to watch this cutey every Thursday.  She is so much fun!