Sunday, April 17, 2011

Sweet & Sassy Girls

The girls and I had a Mommy/Daughter Date courtesy of Jessica's Brownie Troop. All I knew going into this was to go to a particular address (a 45 minute drive, give or take). I mistakenly thought it was a deal that included both moms and daughters, but when we got there, I quickly realized this was a place strictly for the younger girls. *Ü* The place is called Sweet & Sassy and must be a wanna-be fashionista's paradise. hee, hee. The girls got glammed up and put on a little fashion show.

 The girls were ushered to a back room where they put on a fancy dress of their choosing. They also got to select a nail polish. Here my girls are waiting for whatever will happen next...

 The girls started out sitting next to each other and then before I knew it, they were on opposite sides of the stage. LOL I got to do a lot of rushing back and forth to get pictures.

 Nails, first. Then hair!


 You may or may not be able to tell here, but after they Aqua Netted and teased the heck out of the hair, they sprayed on GLITTER! Then they added a glittery star.
 I could NOT resist taking this shot of a brother who was drug into the place. I'm sure it was the very last place HE wanted to be. 
(I think he's actually watching a video that was playing on a tv...but seriously, isn't this the funniest look, and oh so typical of a boy in a very girly place?)
 Jessica's turn!
 Here comes the glitter!
I don't think she minded a bit! 
 I think Miss Amy is pretty happy, too.

And the fashion show! Watch out Project Runway. 
***
The girls also got to dance to a couple of songs and form a human knot that they had to work together to get out of without letting go of each others' hands. (they earned a patch for their vests by doing this) 
Such a girly day, but both girls had a blast.

They were going to Olive Garden for lunch, but it was getting late, so we opted to leave and pick up lunch at Wendy's before making the trek back home.

I noticed that they had areas for hair cuts, and getting nails and pedicures done (like the big girls do). As we were leaving there was a party of girls who were just about to start with that. They got to don some pretty cute robes. There were areas for making your own lotion and even lip gloss. Oh my...kind of like Build A Bear, but for girls.

Guess who wants to go back?
*Ü*

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you enjoyed sharing this fun time with us.
Now I gotta get back to cross-stitching.
Hee, hee!
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Wednesday, April 13, 2011

My Cute Alligator

Hi There!

Long time no see, right? I know...I've not been blogging and while still reading blogs, not always commenting. Nothing is wrong, just not doing much papercrafting these days. I figured I'd better pop in and say hey, just in case anyone was wondering.

Last night, Jessica's grade level did their musical play, A Froggy Day in Lindentown for the parents. It was adorable. It was about a bully and how the critters got the bully to stop being a bully. The songs were very sweet and the kids looked great. I took pictures and a few of them came out okay. I edited out the other kids pretty much.




Jessica had a speaking part and remembered her lines well. She also spoke very clearly so you could understand what she was saying. Yay! The kids were all different animals and the nurse for the school made each of them headbands to wear. They looked great. Anyway, it was fun to watch. Thanks for indulging my proud mama moment.

One of the reasons I've not been papercrafting is because I've started a few new counted cross stitch projects. I used to do a lot of cross stitching in years past, but I kind of dropped it after my mom passed away. She and I used to stitch together or we were planning our next projects together. It was hard to do after she was gone. But, as time has gone on I've done projects here and there (I recently made a birth record for Kathi's granddaughter) and I'm rediscovering how much I enjoy it. I think my mom would be happy to see me pick it up in earnest again (especially since I seem to have lost my mojo for crochet/knitting for the time being). 

So, anyway, Amy's teacher is going to have a baby over summer break and Jessica's teacher is going to get married and those events are ripe for fun stitching projects. I've been looking and looking for something to make for each of them and not having a whole lot of luck finding something I like. Well, I came upon my box of cross stitch patterns in our shed and went through them. Yay! I found projects I think would be great for these events. But, school's out next month! So, that means, if I want to get these done, I've got to stitch, stitch, stitch every spare minute I've got. And papercrafting has to take a back seat for the time being.

Here's what I've gotten done so far for Amy's teacher. It's called Recipe for a Happy Child.  I started this project last Thursday. And I found an 11 x 14 frame at the thrift store that I hope to use for it. That should give you an idea of the size of this one.  Most of the main stitching is done on the bottom half, which is what I'm working on now. Once I get that done, the words/lettering shouldn't take too long. And the project(s) I have in mind for Jessica's teacher aren't quite as large, so I'm hoping I haven't bitten off more than I can chew. I'm also waiting on another teacher to find out her "colors" so I know which will work best for her project. Wish me luck!

So, if you don't see me around much for the next month or so, I hope you'll be patient. I don't think that anyone would be all that interested in progress photos. If there's something I just have to share, I'll pop in and let you know.

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you are having a good week!
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Sunday, April 3, 2011

Spring Happy Birthday Card

Hello!

I had some time to play in my craft spot yesterday and decided to case a card I'd seen on the Scrapping Cookie blog last Sunday. This card. I loved the colors she used and it was pretty straightforward to recreate, well, mostly.

I used DCWV's Cotton Bloom stack and some Coordinations cardstock. Joann's had a special last weekend 5 sheets for a dollar and I decided to see if I could replace similar colors with some that I'm running low on in my stash. I'm not running low on this color, which reminds me a little of Autumn Terracotta (CTMH), but I felt like this was a better solid to go with the colors in Cotton Bloom. The dark orange color is the smooth version of Coordinations and the lighter orange is their canvas textured. I think the smooth stuff is a smidge thin, but it works decently. I think my blade for my trimmer needs to be replaced though.

I really like how this card turned out. Thanks to my inspiration card. Love the crafty folks who generously share their creations!

I used the Create A Critter cartridge for the cutouts. And that's where my mostly straightforward comment comes into play. There are days when you craft that everything goes smoothly and your project comes together easily. All's right in your crafty world. And then there are days like yesterday for me. I have a pretty new blade in the Cricut and a pretty new mat as well (both new within the last week or so). But, for some reason, the machine was cutting like I didn't. Grrrrr. My paper was shifting on the mat, the blade was dragging a little and pulling the paper at the corners. It even cut through one of the flowers! But, I muddled through and got a good cut on the flowers.

I should have stopped while I was ahead at that point and called it a day, but I had another card idea I wanted to create. And it just wasn't going well. More paper shifting, more messy cutting. And more frustration building for me. So, I quit. I cleaned up (which is somewhat of a feat, as when I'm frustrated, I usually just leave in a huff). There were other things I could have worked on, but in the mood I was in, more projects would have ended up in the trash can, so it was better to just stop. Isn't it funny how sometimes the crafty mojo just up and leaves on a whim? LOL

We'll see if I get a chance to try again sometime today. But, in the end, I really like the card I was able to eek out and hope you do too.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope the crafty mojo works in your favor!
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