Anniversary and fun!

Well, I never got around to posting yesterday, sorry about that.

BUT, it was my anniversary and so we were busy celebrating.  It was nice!  So you see there was a good reason for my absence.

Oh, and I made a card for my sweetie.  It was fun too!

I used one of those new kits from my sweet ladies over at Polka Dot Chicks and Soto Creations.  Its in the kit Polka Dot Chicks and Soto Creations Altered Junk Mixed-Up 21 check it out if you like birds!

Now, to show you my pages.

This one is in honor of my dad and my husband,

It tells about my memories of my dad and his always having coffee.  Funny, I never would have guessed back then that I would come to love coffee as much as I do, but that is life.

Ingredients:

Sherrie JD - graffiti page V6

Dawn Inskip: Wrecked art papers
Bisointine - mustache me
fonts: Idiot, Jane Austen & Cold Coffee

This one is in honor of my crazy dog - remember her?

Ingredients:
Tangie Baxter: AJC 2012 - Parcel 3, 12 & 19, AJC 11 parcel 6, explain it, Chipper chatter verbs, prose, Shakesphere gave us
CD Muchosky: Markerific alpha
Audrey Neal Stitches
Crow About StudioB: WOOT Words
Vicki Segall: Ransom words


And then I had some fun with those kits I showed you last time:


This one came about after my dad sent me some family pictures.  It just got me thinking a bit, especially since my grandmother passed away last month.

Ingredients:


Polka Dot Chicks and Soto Creations Altered Junk Mixed-Up 20
Polka Dot Chicks and Soto Creations Altered Junk Mixed-Up 21 
Polka Dot Chicks and Soto Creations Altered Junk Kit 2


And this one was just for fun!

It has been a while since I have been dancing, but a girl can dream right?  If you have a thing for shoes, then you should check out the Mixed Up 20 below, because it is full of vintage shoes.

Ingredients:

Polka Dot Chicks and Soto Creations {Altered Junk} Mixed up v.20

Polka Dot Chicks and Soto Creations {Altered Junk} Mini Kit 5

Polka Dot Chicks and Soto Creations {Altered Junk} Mini Kit 8

Polka Dot Chicks and Soto Creations {Altered Junk} October mini kit

Polka Dot Chicks and Soto Creations {Altered Junk} Cut Outs 2

Well, that's all for tonight - more later!  Thanks so much!

Catching Up!

Well, I have gotten behind in posting all my goodies.  I have been having so much fun creating that I forgot to share it.

Last time I said I might have to play with some of the new Altered Junk goodies - well, I did.  And to make it even better, the ladies at Polka Dot Chicks and Soto Creations came out with two new mix-ups this week.  Too cool!

But I am getting ahead of myself.

Here are the pages I made with the kits from my last post.

This is one of my favorite ones from this week.  I used a photo I had found a while back - don't you just love it - and then the Polka Dot Chicks and Soto Creations Altered Junk Mixed Up 19 over at Scrap Delicious.  There is a story that goes with this one, but I think I will save it for later.

I had some fun making some more pages with the mission possible kit.

This one was food for thought for a while, and when I saw the strong man in the Mission Possible Circus Add-On Kit, I had to give it a go.  Its simple, but means a lot to me.

This one was with the Altered Junk Mission Possible Circus Kit and the Add-On Kit.  It came out of a frustrated moment.  I hate that so many people think life is a competition.  We don't have to compete with each other for everything, we CAN co-operate.

And here is a page I made with the Altered Junk May Journaling Mini Kit.  It is such a soft kit, it made me realize how bittersweet May truly is for me.

Well, that does not catch me up (can you believe I have made even more) but it does make a dent.  I will try and post the rest in the morning.  It is just so fun to express yourself, don't you think!

Next time I will show you how much fun I had with these two kits:

{Altered Junk} Mixed up v.20

{Altered Junk} Mixed up v.21

happy times!

Life is like a 3 Ring Circus

Ok, so life has gotten a little bit crazy lately.  That is due in part to the coming of Monsoon.  The rains do somewhat limit the kids outside time, and make us schedule most of our outings when the sun is out.  But there are a handful of other things all going on at the same time and things seem to just start swirling by before you can really think about it.

So of course, when I saw this new Mission Possible Kit by my favorite ladies, Polka Dot Chicks and Soto Creations, I just had to make a page celebrating our current craziness.  And why not!  We are talking about celebrating all the aspects of life this year after all, so lets celebrate the crazy aspects as well.

Here it is:

It was a great de-stressor today for me.  After the kiddos were in bed I just sat down and played a bit. And the best part is that it all came basically together.  This is the first Mission Possible kit I have had the pleasure to play with - there are two more (Time and Travel) in the store here.

For this page I used all Polka Dot Chicks and Soto Creations
Mission Possible: Circus
Mission Possible: Circus Add-on
Mission Possible: Circus Freebie 1
Mission Possible: Circus Freebie 2

And if you like what you see, you might want to click the links because some of those freebies might still be available.

The ladies have loads of new kits out in the store right now too. Including these two that I might just have to play with a bit.

Happy day to you all!

Art Journaling Challenge with Altered Junk

You might have noticed that I talk about Altered Junk and the lovely ladies at Polka Dot Chicks and Soto Creations quite a bit.  Well, they are now hosting challenges for any folks interested in art journaling.  This month's challenge can be found on my friend Inger's blog here.  So head over there and have a look.  She has a really cool freebie for you too!

I had a lot of fun with this challenge.  I started out with one page and before too long realized I had to make two - one for me and where I am and one for my family.

Here is my page:

Ingredients:

background: 

Polka Dot Chicks and Soto Creations Paper Set 30 - Process Paper Set 1 page 5 and Dana Zarling: Urban Girl Paper Pack

extras:

Polka Dot Chicks and Soto Creations Altered Junk Halloween Paper (on lady)

Polka Dot Chicks and Soto Creations Altered Junk Cutouts 2 (lady)

Polka Dot Chicks and Soto Creations Altered Junk Challenge Freebie #1(rainbow, crown, and path)

Polka Dot Chicks and Soto Creations Altered Junk Mini Kit # 6 (goggles)

Tallula Moon Designs - Frosty Chill glitter borders

font - Pea Andrea

It celebrates the change in vision I have had this year and how I am no longer afraid to be the person God created me to be - no more pretending, no more masks, just me plain and simple (OK - so I am not so plain and simple - but you know what I mean).

This page I made with my family in mind:

Ingredients:

Polka Dot Chicks and Soto Creations Altered Junk Challenge Freebie #1 (rainbow)

Polka Dot Chicks and Soto Creations Altered Junk Messy Splats 2

Polka Dot Chicks and Soto Creations Altered Junk Mini Kit 8 (paper)

Tallula Moon Design - Frosty Chill Gliter Borders

font: Pea Breathe Easy

It is simple on purpose, and it celebrates the fact that as a family we have been through so much together, and yet, we are still here.  I had a lot of fun with photo extraction on this one.  I am telling you, each new page I do helps me to learn a little more.  This is so much fun!

Well, hope you visit Ms Inger and have a go at the challenge - it is really fun, and you get a nice prize for participating.

Happy Day!

Yeah for learning!

This week marked an important step in school for my 4 - year old.  I really make an effort to not push my kids academically before they are ready, and I see no problem in a 4 year old spending most of her time playing, so when she just does not want to do the 30 minute preschool I try to do with her each week day, I just don't fight it.  So imagine my surprise when she came to me this week with a sheet of paper filled with well-formed letters.  Sure it was the same 3 letters H - M - O in various combinations, but I have never taught her letter writing at all.

I asked her 'do you want me to teach you to write?'

Her answer 'Of course Mom!'  Yes, of course!

So the next day we started to learn how to write the letters whose sounds we have been practicing all year.  She was so proud of herself that she had to show everyone her work.  And since I am celebrating the 'little things' this year, I also had her help me make a page to celebrate this step in her academic life.

Here it is!

She wanted pink - and I thought it would be fun to use the banners to give it a party feel!

All the goodies are from the lovely ladies at Polka Dot Chicks and Soto Creations who make the Altered Junk line.  They have some great new items on the shelves over at Scrap Delicious, and it is still on sale - so go have a look.

http://www.scrapdelicious.com/shoppe/Altered-Art/

Ingredients include:

Polka Dot Chicks, and Soto Creations Altered Junk August mini kit (background paper)
Polka Dot Chicks, and Soto Creations Altered Junk July mini kit (torn border bit (bottom of page),
Polka Dot Chicks, and Soto Creations Altered Junk April(2011) mini kit (frame),
Polka Dot Chicks, and Soto Creations Altered Junk November mini kit (scallop glitter border)
Polka Dot Chicks, and Soto Creations Altered Junk September mini kit (scatter)
Polka Dot Chicks, and Soto Creations Altered Junk Kit 2 (staple)
Polka Dot Chicks, and Soto Creations Altered Junk Notebooks 1 (notebook)
Polka Dot Chicks, and Soto Creations Altered Junk Mix Up V. 10 (stitching)
Polka Dot Chicks, and Soto Creations Altered Junk Mix Up V. 12 (glitter splat)
Polka Dot Chicks, and Soto Creations Altered Junk Mixed Up banners 2 (all three banners)
Polka Dot Chicks, and Soto Creations Altered Junk Mixed Up ribbons V1 (award ribbon, side scallops)
Polka Dot Chicks, and Soto Creations Altered Junk Mixed Up Messy Splats V 2
Polka Dot Chicks, and Soto Creations Altered Junk Coins 2, 3 & 5
Polka Dot Chicks, and Soto Creations Altered Junk Hardware 6 (brad)
font: Pea Alicia Script

Constructive Distractions

Yesterday I finally pulled out the sewing machine and got busy working on those projects that have been on the back burner.  (You know, the ones I was hoping to be more motivated to do a few weeks ago!)  I got most of them done, and all of them started, but then I got distracted.  No Surprise there, but it was a constructive distraction.  I had some cards that I needed to make, 1 for a wedding, some thank yous and 1 just 'how ya doing?'  Well, the sewing machine inspired me and I finished those up.  Here are my favorites:

dream ingredients:

Polka Dot Chicks and Soto Creations Altered Junk Mix Up V. 8

fibers by LaBoom (Thai company), acrylic stamps, gel pens

enjoy ingredients:

Polka Dot Chicks and Soto Creations Altered Junk Adornments Bundle

Fibers and Brooch by LaBoom (Thai company) Paper is from the Once Upon a Time Stack in my stash (by paper studio I think), acrylic stamps and gel pen

love ingredients:

Polka Dot Chicks and Soto Creations Altered Junk Mix Up V. 10

fibers by LaBoom (Thai company)

Acrylic paint, acrylic stamps, gel pens, thread

smile ingredients:

Polka Dot Chicks and Soto Creations Altered Junk Mix Up V. 12

fibers by LaBoom (Thai company), acrylic stamps, gel pens

wish ingredients:

Polka Dot Chicks and Soto Creations Altered Junk Mix Up V. 12 &Mini Kit V. 4

fibers by LaBoom (Thai company), acrylic stamps, gel pens

They were really fun to make, and they came together quicker than I expected - I guess I was feeling inspired.  Now to make little enveloped to go with them and get them in the mail.

Oh, and by the way - Polka Dot Chicks is having a 40% off sale at Scrap Delicious right now to celebrate SD's 2nd birthday - so if you have been eyeing their goodies now is a great time to try them out.  They have some great new products out right now, and more coming in the next week!

Go see them here:

http://www.scrapdelicious.com/shoppe/Altered-Art/

Happy Weekend!

Steamy Summer Nights

OK, Summer has officially arrived in Chiang Mai.  It is HOT!  And it is not cooling down at night anymore.  Today the kids and I completely gave up on doing homeschool.  Instead we crowded into the kids room, cranked the AC up (we only have single units - thus adding to the heat issue) and thought cold thoughts.  We decided to draw pictures of things that helped us to feel cooler.  It was fun, and fairly refreshing - especially once the AC really cooled the room off.

Anyway, tonight, as I was cleaning up after the kids were in bed I went through the drawings again, and had to chuckle.  And as is wont to happen, I got an idea for a journal page.  So here you have it.  My snow dreaming page.

journaling reads:

April 25, 2012 - 10:15 and still 106 out

I get a kick out of hearing people talk about wanting to live in a tropical country.  Anyone who has lived in the tropics for any number of years can tell you though, it is NOT always paradise.  Sure the winter months are perfect.  70-80 degree weather, nice breezes, beautiful sunsets.  What is not to love about that?  But just wait around another three months.  When tropic summer comes, then you will know what hell feels like.  Blazing sun that beats down with an intensity like nothing ever felt in a temperate climate - temperatures that stay above 100 around the clock - humidity that just sits there smothering you.  The walls bake in the onslaught and the houses become ovens.  You loose weight from sweating and will try anything to cool off just for a bit.  No, you keep your dreams of the tropics and I - I will dream of fresh crisp, cool snow.

ingredients:
All the goodies are from Polka Dot Chicks and Soto Creations Altered Junk Line:
January Journaling Mini
Icy Snowflakes V. 1
Messy Splats V. 1
fonts:
pea alicia script
joy like sunshine through my windowpane

Anyways, just thought I would share how we stay cool in the HOT season.