Florida, New Orleans, and some pages I made alog the way!!!

We have been on vacation since last Wednesday.  I think the kids are getting homesick.  I think the hubby misses them, too.  He didn't get to come with us because he didn't have any vacation time left.  I will be glad to get home and go back to work, though!!!!!  I really enjoyed getting away, relaxing on the beach, seeing some very interesting sights, and just having fun.  We got to tour the USS Alabama in Mobile, watch the sun set from the beach, eat at restaurants that I cannot name here on my blog, see things that I cannot mention on my blog, and we walked so many miles in New Orleans!!!  I will have pictures soon!!!  I also was able to get a page or two completed while riding down the road. 

This is a page I was able to do between Destin and New Orleans.  I took some great pictures of the beach when we were in Destin.  I loved how the water is so blue-green and the sand is so white.  I loved listening to the waves crashing on the beach.  It was great.  The kit I used for this page is called beach House and it is from Sus Designs.  You can pick up this kit here.  There are also many other great kits to pick up in her store.

Here are a few pictures from our vacation so far:

This is a bird I took a picture of in Biloxi, MS, on our way to Destin.  I was probably 5 feet from it when I took the picture.  Makes for a beautiful picture.

They have turned the light back on at the end of the tunnel.  Not really, but this is the light at the end of the tunnel coming out of Mobile going to Destin.

The battleship, USS Alabama.  We stopped and toured the ship.  It was hot outside, but not too bad inside.  We went to at least 4 different levels with at least one more to go down.  Very interesting if you have never been and are in the area.

My children, Ashley, Tim, and Justin, standing in front of one of the propellers used for this ship.

The view from our hotel in Destin.  It was a beautiful sight!!!  Very relaxing, too!!!

I took Tim to play golf at Baytowne.  He played the 18 hole course while I drove the golf cart.  Our tee time was at 7am.  It was early, but we had fun!!

Yes, those are alligators.  They are at Fudpuckers in Destin.  They had to have had at least 50 of them.  They were all fairly small, but I still didn't stick my hand down in there!!!  The kids did have their picture made with one.

In the dining room we sat in at Fudpuckers, they had a lot of cases full of different beer cans.  This is just one of the pictures that I took.

Sunset on the beach looking east.  It was really nice.

The underside of a stingray at Gulf World Marine Park in Panama City Beach.  It is worth the money!!!  The kids had a great time.

The penguins at Gulf World.

A really spoiled sea turtle at Gulf World.  They said they got him when he was still a baby--about the size of a golf ball.  The turtle is really cool!

These flamingos are really cool!!!  They are in an area where there is no fence or cage.  I wanted to take them home with me!!!

One of the dolphins during the dolphin show.  It was a lot of fun and very interesting.  The kids really enjoyed it a lot!!!

We made it to New Orleans!!!  We walked over to Canal Street from out hotel to catch the streetcar.  A lot of walking!!!!

So, for now, I am going to finish!  We are going to go to Bubba Gump for dinner and the kids are acting like they are starving to death.  Trust me, they really aren't!!!!!

~hugs, mel

New Pages and Vacation Coming Up!!!

Wow!!  I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted.  I have been really busy the last couple of weeks with work, getting ready for vacation, and entertaining the kids while they are out of school.  Oh, and throw in a whole lot of cleaning the house while trying to keep two little tornadoes from destroying it!!!  I feel like I need to go back to work so I can get a break!!  Anyway, the kids are out of school for the summer.  I go back to work tonight for the next 6 nights and then it is off to sunny Florida for some rest!!!  I think I will become a beach bum while I am there!!  Now, to get caught up on some things.  I have three new pages that I have created using three different kits.  The first one is called Enchantment and it is by Heartfelt Perfections.  This is a wonderful kit for anything love related.  It has a great mix of reds and whites with some eclectic elements thrown in the mix!!  I used a couple of pictures of my twins when they were babies for this page.

You can find this kit in her store HERE.  You can also find it in tagger size if that is your preference.

Next is a page I did a couple of weeks ago.  I got busy and forgot to post it.  So, I am doing that now!!!  It is called Boy Street and it is by Butterfly Dsign.  I have been looking for a kit like this for a while.  It works great for those pictures of boys or men!!  It has a great mix of grunge and industrial elements with just the right amount of feminine elements to make this kit perfect!!!  I had the joy of getting to work with this one before it came out.  A very big thank you to Butterfly Dsign for letting me work with this!!!  Also, with the end of school, vacation planning, cleaning house, and working, I can't remember if I sent this to her or not.  If not, I really do apologize.  Some days I didn't know if I was coming or going!!!

You can find it in her shop HERE.

And for my last page, I made it using a kit from Heartfelt Perfections called Nature's World.  I have a lot of different pictures of my kids over the years.  Some of the better ones of my son Tim are from when we went to the Buffalo River.  In case you are not from the area, the Buffalo River is a river that works it way through northern Arkansas.  What makes it so very special is that it is great for canoeing.  It is not very deep.  The water at all points is so very clear you can see right to the bottom.  It is surrounded in several places by tall cliffs.  It is so very peaceful and a very welcome change from the craziness of the city!!!  It is so far in the middle of nowhere that you can't even get cell phone reception!!!  That made for a great day on the river!!

You can grab this one at Heartfelt Perfections' shop HERE.

Next time I post, it will probably be from Florida.  I plan on getting up to see the sun rise and sitting on the beach to watch it set!!!  I will have those pictures plus many others from our trip.  For now, I must get some sleep so I can get through the next 6 nights!!!

~hugs, mel

Be Bold and Live Life!!!

I had the chance once again to work with a kit from Designs By Krista.  Let me just say that this is the perfect kit for your masculine pages!!!  But on the flip side, the flowers add just the right feminine touch!!!  The patterned papers in this kit are bod and wonderful!!!  I had these pictures of my kids playing in the fountain at one of our local parks.  They were living life to the fullest that day!!!

You can pick this kit up in her store.  Here is the preview for Be Bold.  Click on the preview to go to the store!

I am working on some other new things and will post as soon as I can!!!  You won't want to miss it!!!

~hugs, mel

Snagged a Wonderful Freebie and a New Kit Coming From Butterfly Dsigns!!!

I am catching up on some scrapping this morning before I go to bed for the day!!!  Working nights is killing me, but it is paying the bills!!!  So, I am not going to complain too much!!  I was looking at some of the shops that Butterfly Dsigns sells in and found this great freebie kit today.  I am so excited because it is a beach themed kit.  Not only will it work for our Florida vacation pictures, it will also work very well for our Vacation Bible School theme!!!  You can grab it at Digiscrapbooking.ch Boutique.  This is one of my favorite stores!!!  You can click the preview to take you to the store.

These are some of my favorite beach colors!!!!  Makes me wish we were already on the beach now!!!



Next, I am working with a new kit from Butterfly Dsign.  You can find her work at the same store where I snagged the great freebie.  She is an amazing designer!!  Her new kit is something that will be really great for boys, especially teen boys.  It has a grunge feel to it with some industrial touches to it!!!  The elements and the papers are really great!!!  I have to admit that it was a little outside of my normal box, but I embraced the change went for it!!!  I will post a preview of the kit and the page I made using the kit once it hits the stores!!!!  All I can say is that those of you with teen boys, you will definitely want to snag this one!!!!  For now, I must go to bed before I end up falling asleep here at my desk.  One more night of work then my 7 days off.  So, for my Friday---TGIF!!!!

~hugs, mel

A Freebie For You!!

I love taking pictures of flowers.  I took these pictures of the roses here.  I decided to extract them and make a photo rose and a "painted" rose.  They are free for you if you would like them.  I welcome any comments and suggestions.  I would also love to see what you do with them.  Thank you for downloading them!!!!

You should be able to click the preview to download.

~hugs, mel

New Kit--Birds of a Feather!

I am sitting here this morning catching up on some much needed scrap time!!!  I am using a new kit by Scrappy Cocoa called Birds of a Feather.  This is another one of those kits that has many different uses!!!  It is a great kit to use for family pictures, those "in love" pictures, or anything else you feel like scrapping!!!  Seeing how the pictures I used are from 2008, I am only 3 years behind in scrapping!!!  I have many of Ashley outside in the flowers.  She is a very outgoing little girl and has such a wonderful personality!!  When I saw this kit, I knew it was made for her!!!  Here is my page I have done with it so far:

The font is by Miss Tiina Fonts and is called Memory.  You can grab some great fonts from her and they are free!!!  Click on her name to go to her site.

Now, for a preview of the kit I used:

You can grab it at Digital Scrapbooking Studio for $4.00 right now.  As you can see, there are a lot of fun and vintage elements that makes this a great kit for anything family!!!  Click on preview to go to her store!!!  Thank you for looking and hope you are enjoying your spring so far!!!!

~hugs, mel

It's A Great Summer Day!!!

I am really loving these one kit calls!!!  I love promoting the new kits from various digital designers but without having to commit over a long period of time!!!  I have a hard time with that!!!  The most recent kit I have been able to play with is called Summer Day.  It is a great summer themed kit.  I especially love the colors in this one!!!  It goes with so much.  The little summer elements are so cute!!  I can't wait until summer comes, now!!!  So, not to keep you all waiting any longer, here is my reveal for this kit!

The top picture is of my little girl and one of her cousins.  The bottom picture is of my son.  Ashley and Justin are twins!  We went to Indiana last summer to visit some family and these pictures were taken at our "family day" at one of the parks there in Auburn, IN.

Here is the kit.  Click on the image to take you to the store where you can purchase it!

Thank you so much to Ellie Lash and Sunny Day Scraps for this collab and the opportunity to get to use it and show it off for you!!  Stop by the store at Sunflower Scraps Boutique to pick up this fun kit for all your summer pictures!!!

~hugs, mel