Drive By

...literally.
I just wanted to post my latest page.
We finally got rid of my beaten down minivan
and bought a new Chevy Traverse.
Can I say how much I love this car???
This page was inspired by the fact that this summer (and always)
my most important job is taxi driver.
Always open, 24/7.
"Mom? Can you take me to _______'s house?"
"Mom, I need to buy an Itunes card!"
"Mom, I have softball practice at 5:00!"
"Mom, Can we go to Dairy Queen?"
Now you know I would never say "No" to that last request,
my mama didn't raise no fool. ;)
Hope you like, Mom's New Taxi:



Have a great day!
-Jody

Sideways

Happy Monday to you all!
Hope your weekend was a good one,
we had a great time at the fair,
until the thunderstorms chased us away.
Something told us metal rides & lightening bolts
aren't the best combination.

Last night I made this in the wee hours,
it seems like the only creative time for me
is when everyone is asleep,
anyone else with me on that note?
Anyway, Megan was the recipient of the newest page.
This was from her birthday party photo shoot.
It's amazing, anyone who sees her,
cannot believe that she is only 12.
We are so in for it with this one...



Of course, mostly American Crafts products were used.
I am always drawn to them, I swear I do buy other brands,
but they seem to just sit in my drawers. Oh well.
The theme of this page is the title that is sideways.
I have done this too many times to count,
I just love the look of it.
Here was a page of Erin a couple of years ago
with the same sideways title:



I hopefully will be scrapping some more this week...
Until then, have a great day!
-Jody

3,2,1...Lift Off!

Today's page was a sketch challenge
from one of my Aussie friends blog,
her name is Nicole S.
She is a brilliant simple scrapper.
I came up with this title a couple of weeks ago
and recently took these shots of Erin
on the trampoline.
Of course, everything is made with AC products.
How cute is that bouncy pp at the bottom?



I kind of scrap-lifted myself
because I had done a 3 photo page of Erin
on the trampoline just last year.
Here is that one, titled "Motion":



Looking forward to a quieter weekend,
we'll be visiting our annual local fair.
I hope to get some great photos to scrap with.
Thanks for stopping by!
-Jody

The Dream Team

Good morning!
I can finally breathe now that I sent in my application
for the American Crafts Design Team. (a.k.a. The Dream Team)
I was really obsessing over:

1) What 2 pages to send
2) Having to make a card (never made one before)
3) Having to make a project (never made one before, part 2)

So I ended up sending in the "Solemate" page from my last post.
And I made this page titled "Yesterday"
which is about the party that we threw for Ryan over the weekend.
150+ friends and relatives, perfect weather, delicious food...
who could ask for anything more?



For the card, I just picked out the patterned paper first,
thought it looked like water splashing and took it from there:





And finally, the ever-consuming thought I had for the last month.
I have never made anything other than a scrap page.
Oh, I lied, I once put rub-ons on clear Christmas ornaments.
So I ended up making Girl/Boy bathroom signs for a friend
who is a teacher and I even made coordinating "potty passes"
made with only American Craft papers, rub-ons and thickers.
I am quite sure that this is the first project of this kind
the folks at American Crafts have ever seen. lol





This would be a dream come true to design
for a company such as American Crafts.
Wish me luck and thanks as always, for stopping by!
-Jody

When A Man (Symbol) Loves A Woman (Symbol)

Wow...that week went fast!
I have spent the better part of this week
cleaning house for the party we are throwing on Saturday.
It is looking to be a wonderful celebration for our girl Ryan,
I can't wait to take photos of all of the smiling faces of our
supportive families and friends.
Say a quick prayer for no rain...please? :)

On to scrapping...
The only page I have made this week was from a older photo
that Ryan took of herself and her boyfriend on our hammock.
I have known that I wanted to scrap this pic for a while now,
but the inspiration came from the song,
"Soulmate" by Natasha Bedingfield.
God, I love that song.
I was looking through all my American Crafts stash
and saw the shoe sticker
and the man/woman symbol rub-ons
and it just "clicked"
I am thinking this will be one of the layouts
I send for my American Crafts Design team tryout.
Do you think so?:



So that wraps up another week.
Is it just me or does the summer go by SO fast
once you have children?
It seems the older you get, the faster time flies by.
On that depressing note, lol
...I hope you have a great weekend!
-Jody

The Eyes Have It

A very welcomed Friday is upon us!
I've been crazybusy cleaning house because we are having a huge party next weekend celebrating my oldest daughter's recovery from cancer.
No one will probably even be inside my home, but does that stop me from wanting to organize every.single.drawer. in the entire place?
Ugh...I hate being a little OCD.

I scrapped late last night after printing out a photo of my middlest, Megan.
Lately, the photos I have taken of her have blown me away.
Her brown eyes are so piercing in each and every photo.
Here is proof:



Ryan's blue eyes were the focus on an earlier page:



I made this page last year for a 2Peas Profile of the Month, another of Megan's brown eyes:



Erin also has just as beautiful eyes,
I just didn't base the page on her eyes on this one:



Scrapbooking things like your children's eyes,
your baby's chubby thighs,
your little boy's spikey hair...
nothing is too silly to be remembered.

Have a great weekend :)
-Jody

Who's Your Daddy?

I hope your 4th of July weekend was enjoyable.
I worked Saturday night but had a front row seat
to fireworks on the Hudson River at the restaurant I work for.
And Sunday, we celebrated my Dad's 79th birthday one day late.
He was born on the 4th of July, he really is a Yankee Doodle Dandy,
but of course I had to put a spin on the title.:



Two years ago, I made a page for my Dad for Father's Day
that included a photo of him & my Grandma (his mother)
with a quote I think is just lovely.
My Grandma is missed by us all, she never got to meet her
great-grandchildren who she would have adored.
You'll again notice, the ever familiar white cardstock
and chipboard heart that grace so very many of my pages.:



So there you have my "Daddy" themed blogpost.
I know how very blessed I am to still
have my father here to spend holidays with.
Growing up, my Dad was a man of few words,
but never did I ever not feel loved.
I always loved to make him laugh (still do)
and now, when I create a page,
his opinion matters more to me than anyone elses.
I am so proud to be his daughter
:*)

Have a wonderful day!
-Jody

The Ink Is Black, The Page Is White

Black & white photos are my favorite to work with.
I tend to usually choose bold/graphic patterned papers to scrap with
so it's just easier to change a color photo to black & white.
I made this page for my husband for our anniversary.
Luckily, he has a sense of humor.



I hope you all have a safe and happy 4th!
-Jody

True Grid

My middlest Megan celebrated her 12th birthday
with a sleepover party
with 7 of her friends Tuesday night.
I took a solo photo of each girl
and then they put their name on their frame
using the 100s of letter stickers I own.
I could not believe how photogenic these girls were.
Here is Megans:



I thought the girls wouldn't be that into a photo shoot,
but I ended up taking over 130 photos of them
and editing them all through the night
with the girls over my shoulders commenting on them.
It was really cute and then one of them asked
if they could make a scrap page
(being they were sleeping downstairs
right next to my scrap studio
and the pull to create was just TOO much even for them. lol)
By 2:30 A.M., I called it quits.
They had a ball with all of my stuff.

Onto my newest scrap page...
I created this one for "The Love of Color" assignment
over at W.C.S.
My page had to do with my love for the color yellow.
As I wrote weeks ago, the clothing my girls wear, inspires me so.
When I saw this bathing suit at Old Navy,
I immediately started singing this song
and I knew a page was in the making even before I shelled out the $$.
I don't have photoshop (don't laugh at me!) and I wanted the layout to have a grid pattern, to use at least 8 photos:



I think I have only done a grid-like, 8+ multi-photo page once before:



I definitely step out of my comfort zone
when I attempt anything other than a single photo page.
But it does feel good afterward.
Have a great day!
-Jody