Oasis

I love being by or near the water; doesn't matter what time of year it is and I don't need a special reason to visit. The ocean calms me and settles my mind. If you can relate then check out this beautiful showcase at Pictory Mag and be prepared to lose yourself in a virtual oasis...

Pictory Mag - In Deep

My friend Melanie shared a really cool link with me tonight. This has to be the most creative blog I have ever seen. It's one woman's quest to do something creative while on maternity leave. You'll love it...

Mila's Daydreams

Photo copyright ©Adele Enersen

The More Things Change...

Summer is coming along beautifully. Mandy has finished Driver's Ed and is now working on her college "short list". Allie has spent most of the summer in the pool and has declared that she is ready to go back to school now. Good grief!

We haven't been as active as we usually are; the house remodel has us grounded for a few weeks, but we're making every attempt to enjoy the comforts, as they are, of home as much as possible. It's back to school in a few weeks, but not before we make one last trip to Maine...ahhhh beautiful Maine! definitely looking forward to a fun road trip.

I want to quickly share a layout I just completed. I snapped this with my iPhone a few minutes after Mandy woke up (Allie would never let me get away with this!). I just love this photo of her holding her cute stuffed animals. The one on the the right is Spike, her dinosaur who has been her buddy since she was 4 years old! She adores Spike - and still takes him everywhere. As a matter of fact he'll be joining us next week and I have no doubt he may find his way into her college dorm bag as well. I just love this little hint of innocence in my big baby girl and pray that she will always find comfort and companionship in her animal toys!

You’ve had Spike since you were 3 years old and he

has never left your side. In this photo you are 16

years old and just woke up for school. As usual Spike

is there to greet you. Some things never change!

I know you love him just as much now as you did

back then. I love seeing you with your stuffed animals!

We interrupt this program...

To say that this blog will be updated as soon as Cris finds the USB cord for her camera, or retakes the photos with her iPhone...whichever comes first.

Now I'm off to my work out with Patrick, the trainer, run a few errands in preparation for our vacation next week, and will hopefully return in a couple of hours with an update...or in a very bad mood! LOL

Hope your Wednesday is coming along a little more smoothly than mine.

xoxo

Cris

AAAACHOOO!!! (and a little Pebbles for good luck!)

I've been wanting to blog all week...really, I have; but life got in the way and knocked me down with a serious summer cold. Sneezing, coughing, headache, fever...you name it, I've got it. At least I can breathe today - my sinus infection is better but I'm still a little out of it, (as my kids can attest to). So, until I can gather my thoughts and get my mojo going again thought I would share some layouts I did a few days ago with these super fun papers from Pebbles, Inc. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post these, but I am so in love with these products I can't help myself. This is the Treehouse Collection, and let me tell you girlfriends, this line is FUN, FUN, FUN!!! I love the bold colors and how well they all mix up together. Every single paper in this line is gorgeous -- No matter what happens with this call, I'm officially a junkie.

I used Melinda's sketch #1 from The Scrap Farm Sketches site for this first layout...

Love this photo of my big baby girl!

Journaling is all about Amanda at age 17 and reads:

- is learning to drive

- hates scary movies

- has a very active social calendar

- loves her Droid

- can do laundry like a pro

- loves to go to the mall

- still sleeps with her stuffed animals

- lives on chocolate, Starbucks and Burger King

- has a big heart and a very proud Mom

My now 14 yr-old a few years back at her 5th grade end-of-the-year party. Their teacher bought the whole class some silly string to play with and they went crazy! This layout is also meaningful to me because my daughter suffered a very bad seizure just one week before this was taken and had to be heavily medicated. Sh's fine now and is off her meds, but this represents a scary time in her sweet life.

This photo always makes me laugh, Mandy during "Spirit Week" at school this past May. She was supposed to dress in her class colors, which were black and red, so I'm not sure how the brown leggings fit in, but she wore them anyway...and check out the sneakers! So funny....

aaaaahhhh...CHOOO! Ok, I'm done...back to my regularly scheduled cold.

(enjoy your weekend!)

xoxo

Cris

Crop Weekend

Ok, so seriously..these weekends are just waaaaay too much fun! Oh my gosh! I have never laughed (and cried) so much in my life. Just love hanging with all the girls during these weekend retreats. Barb and Julie are fabulous hostesses.

This time around I discovered Trader Joe's fabulous Pink Lemonade. No sugar and tastes FABULOUS! You have to try it. I bought some to the crop and we finished it within an hour. Yes, we were a bit thirsty; unloading our cars is a very exhausting experience, especially in the oppressive heat!. Another great discovery was the wonderful "Cucumber-Orange" water the hotel made for us. They served about 3 gallons of water in a beautiful glass urn filled with cucumber and orange slices and plenty of ice; very easy and refreshing. I'm going to make a batch at home when I have a chance.

As usual, I met some new friends and reconnected with dear old ones. We all laughed, ate, and occasionally we actually worked on our scrapbooks. You can meet some of my cropping buddies through my Facebook page...come on over and introduce yourself; better yet, come join us for a weekend - we'd love to see you!

Here are a couple of layouts I managed to actually finish. This first one is of my little Cody, our very energetic Westie. He is a real handful; very fiesty and a bit crazy, but that zaniness makes him all the more lovable.

Products used: K&Co. Poppyseed collection,

American Crafts Cardstock

This is a photo of my dear, sweet Mandy. She just turned 17 when this was taken and I wanted to capture her in "everyday" mode.

Products used:

Cardstock: American Crafts

Patterned Paper: K&Co, Poppyseed Collection,

American Crafts Thickers : Glass Slipper (awesome alphas!)

Rhinestones: Michael's

This is a photo of my Allie with her cousin Kelly the morning after their first summer sleepover. They are the same age and rarely see each other during the school year so it was a treat to to have Kelly spend the weekend with us.

Products used:

Cardstock: Bazzill expresso

Patterned Paper: Bella Blvd. "Estate Sale", Girl's Paperie "Paper Doll"

Alphas: American Crafts Thickers: Delight

Ok...not bad. Three layouts completed and about ten in progress (but who's counting, LOL)...

Hope you all enjoyed your weekend as well. See you soon.

xoxo

Cris

Be Back Soon!

Just popping in to let you know I'm heading out to Connecticut for a weekend full of friends, fun and plenty of food! It's my annual summer cropping weekend with my girlfriends at Lasting Memories (hi Julie and Barb!). I'll be posting next week, that is if I get any scrapping done...I usually talk more than I crop! LOL...

See you on Monday!