Morning Walk

Cinderella's Crown

Before our trip to Disney last November, Trent & I both did a little "research." We had fun reading up on various little trivia facts about Walt Disney World. One interesting tidbit I came across was to visit Cinderella's water fountain in the Magic Kingdom; "kneel" before her; and look up to see a crown upon her head. Sounded simple enough. So we went, we looked and saw - nothing. At the time, it frustrated me a bit but as we went about our week I forgot all about it.

On Friday while reading 101 Things You Never Knew About Walt Disney World, I was reminded again of Cinderella and her crown. The author wrote that the image could only be viewed from the height of a child. Perhaps that is why I missed it? I continued reading the book and really didn't think much further on the subject.

Last night I was thumbing through our photos trying to decide which to scrap next. I paused to look at a photo I took of Cinderella's fountain at night. It's one of my favorite photos because of the colors & lighting. I've looked at it several times. Even scrapped it, but never noticed one little detail until last night - the crown. There it is clear as day. Cinderella's crown sits directly on her head. Neither Trent nor I made it out while standing directly in front it it. But yet I managed to capture it in a photo.

After this little discovery and the hidden Mickey in the photo on the Test Track layout, I'm starting to take a much closer look at all of our Disney photos to see what other magic we may have inadvertently captured.

Quiz of Lasts

Tina tagged me this morning with this list of "lasts."

1. Last music you listened to - Nickelback How You Remind Me
2. Last thing you watched on TV - Divine Design w/ Candace Olson
   
3. Last movie you saw - Horton Hears a Who
4. Last book you read - 101 Things You Never Knew About Walt Disney World
5. Last person you spoke to - Trent
   
6. Last thing you ate - Cadbury egg
   
7. Last time you laughed - this afternoon
   
8. Last place you visited - my in-laws' house
9. Last website you visited - Shutterfly
   
10. Last thing you scrapped/crafted - Test Track layout
    

I tag Shirley, Lida, Gabrielle, Linda and Aimeslee. :)

Test Track

The Test Track at Epcot is a very fun ride. Basically, you hop in a car and ride through a series of "tests." These include brake checks, 65 mile per hour turns, and "crashing" into a wall. The photo is taken right before you crash. And, even though we'd ridden this in the past, I still reacted. The expression on my face cracks me up. :)


Supplies: Scenic Route patterned paper; My Mind's Eye patterned paper; Love, Elsie embossed paper; Die Cuts with a View adhesive backed cardstock; NRN Designs letter stickers; QuicKutz Studio classic; Disney Mickey eyelet; Pussycat & Prototype Community fonts; black ink pad. Inspired by Apr 29 of dw2008.

In Progress

Tonight I've been working on another page for our Disney album. Perhaps I'll finish the album one of these days. ;) This particular page is of the Test Track ride at Epcot. It's gone in a different direction than my original thought. Going to sleep on it and see what I think tomorrow. In the meantime, here's a little sneak peek.

2ps blog challenge:
Three things you'd donate to charity right now are...
This challenge ties in perfectly with something we're already doing. Trent & I have three boxes in our guestroom that we are filling to donate to 3 different groups. The first is for Goodwill and mostly contains clothing. The second is for the local homeless shelter. I'm filling it will toiletries that I pick up during my regular CVS shopping trips. Finally, I started a third box a few weeks ago for the SPCA of Wake County using their in-kind donation wishlist as a guide. :)

Happy birthday ...

to my li'l sis, Mary! :) Hope you have a wonderful day!


Supplies: Making Memories and K&Co rub-ons; miscellaneous black cardstock; Mod Floral ribbon from Michael's.

thank you

Simple card I created to send to Amber as thanks for the apron and kitchen accessories. :)


Supplies: Bazzill cardstock; Basic Grey patterned paper; Target $ spot chipboard 'a'; American Crafts rub-ons. Inspired by 1/23 of dw2008.

Moose Apron

On Friday I received my apron from the swap Jen hosted. It's made of a beautiful brown & red fabric with Moose all over and yellow trim. Amber was so kind to make it for me and include some extra Alaskan gifts - a dish towel & oven mitt set. Love them all. :)

Anniversary {flowers} Card

Happy anniversary, Mom & Charles! :) Hope you two have a wonderful day.


Supplies: SEI patterned paper; Doodlebug Designs & Making Memories rub-ons.

Weighing In & Rub-ons in Cute Tins

This morning I took Cali to the vet for her weigh-in. During her check-up in January, she was down to 9.1 lbs. The vet had agreed to try my idea of monitoring her food more (Chester is our little resident piglet & food stealer) to see if we could get her weight back in a healthy range. I was very happy to see 10.5 lbs on the scale. :) Now to maintain it with both cats officially spoiled and expecting canned food twice a day will be the tricky part.

I spent a bit of time afterwards cleaning up in my scrap room and putting away some new supplies. I went to Big Lots yesterday in search of American Crafts products. They had a good assortment of rub-ons & ribbons. I also found some cute Making Memories products.

I've been storing small rub-on packs from Making Memories & Doodlebug Designs in my PB Kids art caddy. It's right beside my desk making them easy to grab. I wanted to keep the new AC ones out as well. Thankfully I picked up a couple metal tins from the $ spot at Target earlier this month. They fit perfectly in one on the corner of my desk.

Mini

When a pet dies, that special place in our hearts feels so empty... But we realize, as time passes, that animals have a way of teaching us about loving, about loyalty, joy, and friendship... And whatever we've shared in their presence can never really be lost. -unknown


It is with a heavy heart that I share the loss of our family cat, Mini. I can't recall the exact year she came home, but I do remember that it was on Valentine's Day. We kids (my younger sister & brother and I) could hear her cries as my mother & stepfather brought her in the house. She was a gift for my sister. I got a curling iron. Yes, a curling iron. I don't remember what Christopher got, but Mary got Mini. And, yes, Mom did hear about that from me from time to time.

Regardless, she was loved by us all. And, as the three of us slowly left home for college, Mini was still there. The last "kid" at home. Always ready to curl up in a waiting lap to be petted. She especially loved Trent's lap when he and I came to visit. And Trent would be covered in her fur afterward.

Her health hadn't been the best the past couple of years. When Mom called this afternoon she said the last few days weren't great so they took her to the vet this morning. X-rays showed a mass in her lungs and she was hurting so they made the very difficult decision.

It's slowly sunk in as the evening has gone by. Especially as I looked through photos. The hardest part will be not having her there to jump in our laps during visits. But I am grateful she is not hurting and is happily playing in Heaven. She was the sweetest, most precious little cat. And very loved by us all. She will be greatly missed.

Spring Flowers

A few of the lovely flowers blooming in our yard right now. :)

Expedition Everest

The newest roller coaster at Disney - Animal Kingdom's Expedition Everest. Trent & I couldn't wait to ride this one. So much fun. I wasn't aware that it switched directions twice. That caught my be surprise on our first ride. But I loved every minute of it.


The main photo is one I took. I found the Yeti photo online at WDWmagic.com. I had my camera safely tucked away during the ride - crazy or not, I always fear it flying out of my hand especially on roller coasters! So no Yeti shots by me.

For a personalized embellishment, I created this cancellation stamp in Photoshop using the Everest logo downloaded from Wikipedia. I've made a template of the cancellation without the logo. If you'd like to try it on a project, simply download the psd file HERE and edit the text. :)


Supplies/Credits: Graph paper from After Midnight kit at Peppermint Creative; paper clip & label from Craft Jar kit at Peppermint Creative; curled photo frame by Katie Pertiet; polaroid frame from It's About Mom kit at Two Peas; fonts: Tall Paul, Chelsea Studio, 2Peas Crate and BankGothic. Inspired by Feb 9/10 of dw2008.

Dino-Mite Birthday

Happy 30th to my brother-in-law, Zac! Hope you have a dino-mite day. :D


Supplies: Basic Grey Rock, Dino and Bunny Hill patterned papers; misc. tan & light green cardstock; fonts: Garamond & 2Peas Crate

Color of Mind

I'm working on a new Disney layout, but it's just not quite there. Missing something. Think I'll sleep on it. In the meantime, I decided to play around with a quiz from Blogthings. Not sure how much I agree with it, but the last sentence is dead on (well, minus the science part). Kind of creepy...

Your Mind is Yellow

Of all the mind types, yours is the most intellectual. You crave mental stimulation, and your thoughts tend to very complex. Your thoughts tend to be innovative and cutting edge, though many people don't understand them. You tend to spend a lot of time thinking about science, architecture, and communication.

What Color Is Your Mind?

2ps blog challenge:
With the economy is today. Have you started to cut back on your scrap shopping? If so how?
I have cut back on my scrap shopping, but not because of the economy. I'm trying to use up some of the supplies I already have.

DinoLand usa

Yesterday I went shopping with my sister which included a trip to Archiver's. On my list were the new Archaic line of patterned papers by Basic Grey for a layout of DinoLand USA at Animal Kingdom.


I wanted the journaling to mimic exhaust from the "car" I was driving into DinoLand. I used the same steps I shared in my Shaped Text post last November. Unlike creating the Mickey head text, I didn't have a photo of what I wanted. Instead I sketched out the lines on a blank piece of white paper, scanned them into Photoshop and then "traced" with the pen tool.

Supplies: Basic Grey Rock, Dino and Bunny Hill patterned papers; QuicKutz dinosaur and Studio & metro fonts; Making Memories leather frame cut into photo corners; Die Cuts with a View adhesive backed cardstock; misc. tan cardstock; fonts: Garamond, Matisse, 2Peas Crate, 2Peas Silly, and Akbar. Inspired by Apr 14 of dw2008.

Anniversary {hearts} Card

Hybrid card I created for my in-laws. I used a free digital frame by Cherie Mask from the Two Peas Pink October kit. Added my text, printed and then embellished with heart buttons.







Supplies: Die Cuts with a View card; misc. cream cardstock; Frame 1 by Cherie Mask from Two Peas Pink October kit; Two Peas fonts "happy" & "dragonfly"; Making Memories heart buttons & stitches. Inspired by Apr 2 of dw2008.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Tonight we went over to Durham for the Bulls season opener.
Absolutely perfect baseball weather as the temperature dropped into the 70s. We had an enjoyable evening with friends in spite of the disappointing loss.

For those wondering where Mickey was on the Tink layout I shared yesterday, here's a close-up shot. I punched a couple of small holes on either side of an existing hole from the {note}worthy paper's spiral bounding. :)

Tink

I had fun tonight creating a page of our "surprise visit" with Tinkerbell in the Magic Kingdom. The prompt for Apr 8 in the Autumn Leaves designing with 2008 was to "find inspiration in sketches." I used an older one by Becky Higgins. Also, inspired by another Pea, amygreg77, to add a hidden Mickey in the layout. :) Do you see it?

Supplies: Paper Salon patterned paper; Making Memories {note}worthy paper, rub-on letters & photo corner; Heidi Swapp chipboard 'T'; Autumn Leaves A Rhonna Christmas chipboard panel; Micron black pen; and Vintage Disney sticker.

Earlier today I discovered this good news at Two Peas in a Bucket:
My Lego Imagination Center layout won me the March Designing With Calendar contest. :) I was truly shocked. There's a lot of talent in the DW group. Very inspiring. It's a joy just to be a part of it. Many thanks to Two Peas & Autumn Leaves!

Homerun!

I did organize the Disney photos into their album. I did not scrap any tonight. Instead, I went with Trent to his first softball game of the season. For the 2nd year he's playing on his company's team and assisting with coaching. His first hit of the year was perfect - he brought in one batter as well as crossing the home plate himself. I was too excited and busy cheering to take a good picture. That's Trent in the blue shirt coming toward the camera after scoring. :)

Hopefully I can improve on my cheer/photo tactics as the season progresses. ;)

Disney Photos

2ps blog challenge:
What are your scrapping plans for today?
I hope to spend some time scrapping tonight after I get off work. First I have a little organization to do. I finally ordered prints on Sunday from our Disney trip last November. As I've mentioned in the past, I love good customer service. Who doesn't? Shutterfly has always sent me quality prints and I love their option to add captions to the back. Much better than having to hand write labels on 161 photos. The photos were supposed to arrive between tomorrow and Saturday, but came yesterday! Not even 48 hours after I clicked "submit" on my order. And they are all perfectly printed and labeled. Aaah. :) I plan to pluck out a few to scrap and just reorder new copies later if I want. The rest will go into one of the Pioneer photo albums.

summer of 86

A page for Trent's childhood album. Found this cute photo of him & his older brother just goofing off and having fun. One of the prompts for April in the Autumn Leaves designing with 2008 calendar was to use flowers on a boy page. I picked some Primas from my stash that closely match the 70s pattern on the couch. :)

Supplies: misc. cardstock; Prima flowers; Making Memories brads, rub-ons and TinyAlpha; Autumn Leaves journaling stamp; Creative Imaginations patterned paper; Li'l Davis rub-on letters. Inspired by Apr 10 and 26/27 of dw2008.

2ps blog challenge:
Do you have spring projects you're excited to do? If so, what are they?
My spring projects typically revolve around my yard & gardens. I'm already searching for the perfect hanging baskets for my front porch. Through trial and error, I've learned that my personal preference is ivy-leaf geraniums. They look gorgeous and handle the sun and dryness of our west facing porch.

Next on the list will be shopping for vegetables for our garden. We typically grow tomatoes, peppers, lettuces, strawberries and a variety of herbs. I love being able to step outside in the summer and pluck food for our dinners. :)

And the Winner is ...

#18:

JenMarie said...

Oooo, I'd love one of these! It'd be GREAT to actually SEE my ribbon instead of it being stored away. Thanks for the chance!

Congrats to JenMarie! :) Many thanks to everyone who stopped by and left a comment!

Mod Floral card

While running errands today, we stopped at Michael's (that 50% coupon was burning a hole in my pocket!). I paused next to the dollar section and the Pop of Color collection caught my eye. I had resisted on a previous visit but this time picked up some ribbon and acrylic stickers.

Quick card I made tonight using one of the stickers:

Supplies: Die Cuts with a View card & blue adhesive backed cardstock; misc. black cardstock; Michael's acrylic sticker; Making Memories metal rimmed tag.

And, if you are interested in the scrapping giveaway (including the Ribbon Ring), don't forget to leave me a comment on yesterday's post before 9pm Sunday. :)

Ribbon Ring

When I reorganized my scrap room last year, I devoted one drawer in my Crop In Style unit to Ribbons & Punches. I don't have a large amount of either so they fit nicely. The down side to this solution is that the drawer is getting full and I'll often forget about the ribbon while working on a project because it is out of sight.

When I received an email on April Fools' Day asking if I'd be interested in trying the Ribbon Ring, I about fell out of my chair. My second reaction was wondering who was playing a joke on me. Deciding maybe it was just my lucky day, I responded with an enthusiastic "Yes!" And today, I found a package in my mailbox from the kind folks at Ribbon Ring.

Instead of hiding in a drawer, my colorful ribbons are now hanging next to my desk where I can easily grab one for a project. The package came with a 2" binder ring, (30) ribbon tags & (30) inventory dots.

The tags are approximately 1-1/2" wide x 2" tall with 1" wide openings. As you can see from the photo on the right - (2) American Crafts ribbons easily fit side by side. I put most of the ribbon I had in my drawer onto the Ribbon Ring and still have tags available.

Threading the ribbon onto the tags was very simple. Chester had fun "helping" me with it (ie, batting at the ribbon ends as I pulled them through). Thankfully he quickly lost interest and I think my ribbons are now safe. ;)

Rather than keeping all of the fun to Chester & me, I'm going to have a giveaway. I have a box sitting here filling up with scrapping goodies for one of my lucky readers. And it will include a Ribbon Ring starter kit courtesy of Ribbon Ring. Many thanks to MB!

For your chance to win, simply leave me a comment on this post between now and 9pm ET Sunday night. Best of luck!

ETA: We have a winner! :)

Altered CD Pockets

In my Randomness post last month, I mentioned that I enjoy visiting National Parks & Historic Sites to get cancellation stamps in my Passport Book. We learned before our trip last fall that Disney has a passport book for Epcot. I almost forgot about it while there until Trent reminded me. We found one at a gift shop and, admittedly, it was more for kids, but we had a fun time visiting all eleven "countries" in the World Showcase getting cancellation stamps. (I think we amused the cast members by being the only adults doing this. LOL)

I wanted a way to include the passport in my album that allowed it to be pulled out. My first thought was a library pocket. I've looked in stores & online since the trip and have not been able to find one that is the right size. Last night in Target, I stumbled across a package of paper CD sleeves by greenroom eco. Finally a good impulse buy. ;) They are the perfect size.

I altered a red one to hold the passport and adhered it inside the front cover of the album:
Supplies: greenroom eco CD sleeve; Making Memories sticker & rub-on letters; Foof-fa-la rub-on; My Mind's Eye rub-on letters; Martha Stewart Crafts sepia pen. Inspired by Apr 23 of dw2008.

I altered a second sleeve to hold a CD with photos from the trip:Supplies: greenroom eco CD sleeve; Making Memories sticker & rub-on letters; Li'l Davis rub-on letters; miscellaneous camera die cut from stash. Inspired by Apr 18 & 23 of dw2008.

Happy :)

Dana posted a challenge on her blog today to list 10 random things that make you happy. Here's my list:

1. Trent. Even when I'm having the worst possible day he knows how to cheer me up.
   
2. The fur-kids. Every night when I walk in the door they come running. Well, ok, they want to be fed. But Cali will follow me around crying until I pick her up. Then she'll purr madly and rub her head against my cheek.
   
3. My "invisible" friends - this joke dates back at least a year. A Pea friend said her grandchild referred to her internet friends as "invisible friends." LOL :D
   
4. Scrapbooking, of course.
5. Coupons & sales. It's like a challenge to me to see how much I can save when shopping.
6. Target dollar spot. Refer to above. :) Also, tonight I got 2 more of the little metal tins for my scrapping area similar to the ones I bought last year. Thanks to Dana for the heads up!
7. Comments on my blog. Proof that I'm not just talking to myself. ;)
8. Smilies. And, yes, I'm well aware I have an addiction to them. Hence my Pea title "smiley addict."
9. Warm spring days.
10. Sharing some good news with my Mom.

Now, I challenge all my readers to make their own list. Let me know if you do, I'd love to read them. :)

Stamps & Ink Pads

I was asked today on a thread at Two Peas in a Bucket how I store my stamp ink pads. In keeping within the restraints of my small scrapping room, I try to keep my stash & tools to a minimum. So far, that means most of my stamps and all of my ink pads fit into one of the drawers in my Crop In Style unit.

I wasn't much of a stamper until I discovered acrylic stamps. I love being able to see where I'm placing the stamp and the thin profile. Much easier to store versus the larger mounted rubber stamps. The few rubber stamps I have are in a black bag by Generations. It sits on top of my other stamps since it's easy to move out of the way.

My stamp ink pads, acrylic stamp blocks, wet wipes (cleaning tip I found on Two Peas some time ago), and a few small packages of Studio G stamps from Michael's fill the right hand side of the drawer.

On the left under the rubber stamp bag are my acrylic stamps. I store a few of the Autumn Leaves stamps in their original packaging.

The rest are stored in CD cases that I labeled with my Dymo label maker.

Finally, my foam stamps are stored in Making Memories jars as mentioned in this post: Small Space Organization {Scrapping Desk}.