meeting hunter

I love these sweet photos from March 2007. My cousin's son was about a month old. Mom & I went to visit for a couple of hours but ended up staying most of the day. My younger brother joined all of us later for little Hunter's first restaurant outing.


I was inspired by Janet's Honor Choir layout - loved all those straight lines and the clean look.

Supplies: Bazzill cardstock (Capers); Die Cuts with a View adhesive backed cardstock; miscellaneous white & light green cardstock; QuicKutz heart and Metro & Studio fonts; Cloud 9 Designs patterned paper; Scenic Route label sticker; Micron pen.

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Photo Tag

I was tagged by Sandra, Jill and Monica.

The tag how-to...

1. Go to the photos folder on your computer.
2. Go to the seventh folder of photos.
3. Go to the seventh photo.
4. Put the seventh photo on your blog along with a description.
5. Invite seven friends to join.
   

I'm a little folder obsessed with my photo organization so I had to repeat step 2 twice which led me to photos from our 2006 trip to Biltmore in Asheville, NC. I took this photo while on the rooftop tour. I loved the look of the aged copper (click to enlarge). The gorgeous patina of the metal was striking against the slate gray roof and deep blue sky. Notice the Vanderbilt family initial.


I'm tagging Laura, Lori, Pat, Colleen, Theresa, Janet and Linda.

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The Crib

We've been trying to decide on a crib for weeks and decided to go look at another store today. Trent & I were both drawn to the same one. A beautiful, wood crib with fixed sides. It converts into a toddler bed and eventually full size bed. The front side is lower than some of the other fixed side cribs we've seen allowing me to easily reach into it.


Lucky for us, it was on sale, in stock and fit into our CR-V so we were able to bring it home and set it up today. Next we need to find a mattress. My sister has already bought the bedding for us. And then it will be ready for Baby. :) In the meantime, we've lined it with aluminum foil to keep the cats from trying to get into it.

Thanks, Mom!!!

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Stampin' Up Party

I had a great time yesterday attending a Stampin' Up party. My neighbor's mother is a demonstrator and always has the cutest cards for us to create. These are the three I made:

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thank you

I was surprised to come home from my prenatal water aerobics class last night with a good bit of energy. Usually I feel ready to head straight to bed. Instead, I spent a little time at my scrapping desk creating one more card for this month's A Year In Cards class at Two Peas:


Supplies: Die Cuts with a View card; miscellaneous white cardstock; StazOn black stamp pad; Heidi Swapp stamp; Fiskars threading water punch; Target $spot ribbon; Prima flowers; Making Memories brads.

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Thursday Thirteen #3: Random Pregnancy Tidbits

Today marks 25 weeks so I thought I would share 13 random thoughts related to my pregnancy:

1. The bump has officially been around for 5 weeks.
   
2. I really dislike sleeping on my side. I've been a back sleeper for years and am struggling to find a comfortable position on my side.
   
3. I think Chester is trying to train me for baby duty. Recently he has literally cried in the middle of the night for no apparent reason. One night I got up, went to the bathroom and returned to find him snuggled into "his" bassinet - a basket full of clean clothes sitting at the foot of our bed. Totally fine. No need to wake me. Like I said, I think he's trying to prepare me. Crazy cat.
   
4. I absolutely love my prenatal water aerobics class. The current session ends next Thursday, but I signed up for the spring session so will continue taking it weekly until I'm 35 weeks.
   
5. My appetite has begun to increase. I can finally eat a full meal again except at breakfast. For some reason that particular meal (perhaps the empty stomach from overnight?) is still a struggle.
   
6. I'm in love with Ziploc Twist 'n Loc containers. The 2 cup size perfectly holds my daily cantaloupe snack. I'm no longer craving it in the "I must have it right this second" way that I did in January, but still enjoying it.
   
7. My other cravings include anything chocolate and Cheetos. Thankfully, I've been able to keep those two at bay a bit while letting myself indulge in as much cantaloupe as I desire.
   
8. I still have no appetite for ham or bacon. And learned the hard way that soft shell crabs make me queasy as well.
9. I weigh myself weekly and was concerned when the scale kept going down during the first trimester. The OB did not seem worried and the scale has slowly begun to creep up.
   
10. Baby has been kicking me daily for the last 5 weeks. We even have a routine - morning, after lunch and at bedtime he'll happily play for me. :)
    
11. I've told Trent numerous times that some of the kicks are strong enough it feels as though my belly literally moves. Monday night we both watched as little Baby accomplished just that.
12. One of Baby's favorite spots to kick is my belly button - OUCH! I've gently nudged him away from there a couple of times.
13. We still haven't decided upon a name. Good thing we have a couple more months. ;)
    

Thursday Thirteen Participants

1. TheRubyCanary 2. Fidget @ finding yourself despite yourself

3. Lydia @ On The Verge 4. Laura

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What a Treat...

to discover my Ladies Night layout featured in the latest Two Peas newsletter! It completely caught me by surprise. :)


And... as if that wasn't enough, I received a package today for Pat's giveaway last week at her blog, A Scrappin' Nana. Such yummy goodies! I can't wait to begin to play. Thanks, Pat!

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the Evidence

While home during a snow day in January, Trent & I overheard a bit of chasing and hissing. Cali appeared a few minutes later with a chunk of white fur hanging from her mouth. I couldn't help but laugh (and take a photo of the evidence). No questioning who won this battle. Chester was found and checked over shortly after - no bald spots and purring as usual so he was a-ok.


Supplies: Bazzill cardstock; KI Memories patterned paper; StazOn ink pad; Basic Grey chipboard arrow; Signo Uniball white pen; American Crafts rub-on letters; misc. cardstock; Another Typewriter font; staple; EK Success border & corner punches. Inspired by Sketch This: 82.

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Celebrate card

A quick little card I put together last night based on one of the sketches for this month's A Year In Cards class at Two Peas:


Supplies: Die Cuts with a View card; KI Memories patterned paper; American Crafts ribbon; Jolee's sticker; Making Memories metal clip; Studio G stamp; StazOn ink pad.

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Ladies Night

Here's the completed page from Friday's Sneak Peek:


I scrapped my Project 365 photo from the Ladies Night dinner this month. The colors in the sign & awning inspired my paper color selection. I based the design idea on the sketch on page 84 of the Scrapbooks Etc April 2009 issue and the Two Peas weekly challenge to create a cluster.

Supplies: Archiver's cardstock; American Crafts patterned paper; KI Memories lace paper; My Mind's Eye flower die cut; Maya Road chipboard figure; Making Memories brad & chipboard 'L'; Imagination Project coaster; Micron black pen; Prima flower; Autumn Leaves button; Heidi Swapp chipboard letters; white paint.

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PhotoHunt: Yellow

I took this photo last summer while in the Wee-R-Sweetz candy shop at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach, SC. Their taffy is our favorite. Trent & I make a point to stop in and pick our own bag anytime we are in the area. If you time your visit just right, you'll find an employee at the Kiss Wrap machine to the right of this who might toss you a piece to try. :)


Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt Participants

1. Cindy O 2. Mrs. Mecomber 3. Brita

4. Mudhooks 5. Daisy 6. PowersTwinB

7. gorgeous nelly 8. Suzy 9. tokenhippygirl

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Layout Sneak Peek

A little sneak of the latest page I've been working on:


Hopefully I'll have a little time this afternoon to work on it - perhaps even finish it. Just need to figure out what the "something" is that it's currently missing...

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Yoga Cat

Trent had his first softball practice after work yesterday. I decided to take that "me" time to workout using my prenatal yoga dvd. Chester did a few floor exercises while I was working on squats:

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Gathered Ribbon card

I was in the mood last night to create a spring card. Trying to mentally picture warmer weather, I suppose. And decided to try one of the cards for this month's A Year In Cards class at Two Peas. Here's my attempt at the gathered ribbon card:


Supplies: Die Cuts with a View card; Imagination Project patterned paper; American Crafts patterned paper & ribbon; staples; Miss Elizabeth's foam letter stickers; Fiskars threading water punch.

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NCSU Basketball Experience

In January, Trent won a NC State Basketball Experience prize pack. I wanted to include a lot of photos in the layout, but not spend the time cropping them all by hand. Instead I used a free template from Scrapbooks Etc to begin arranging them digitally in Photoshop. I edited the template to get the look I wanted. Printed it out at 8x8 and then finished the page using my traditional supplies.


Supplies: Archiver's black cardstock; Bazzill red & white cardstock; EK Success corner punch (with guard removed to create scallop border); Making Memories letter stickers & snaps; Berylium font; QuicKutz tab die; Sassafrass Lass patterned paper; blacks stamp ink; ticket from game; Scrapbooks Etc Quick Collage Template 111.

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Fantasy Man

The latest circle journal is Linda's "Who's Your Secret Fantasy?" When we started our group last fall, I made a list of everyone's theme and have struggled with this one ever since I first heard it. I can't really say I have a fantasy man. Yesterday, I had to complete my pages as it's time to mail the circle journals again and while trying to decide what to do, I glanced up at the wall at a graphic collage my college friend, Kim, made years ago of Cal Ripken, Jr. Hence the inspiration for my page. A good choice as I find his commitment to his team, his family and his community inspiring.


Supplies: Paper Company cardstock; Scenic Route & October Afternoon patterned papers; Making Memories grommet, rub-on, brad, and spiral journaling paper; Basic Grey chipboard letters; 7gypsies photo turn; Micron black pen.

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Nursery Painted

Yesterday morning we cleared out most of the room that will become the nursery to prepare for painting. For a better visual, the 3-d model I shared in my post Making Room gives a overview of the entire room. I was standing approximately where the 3-d model figure is when taking this photo:

We wanted a nice neutral color on the walls so we chose to use Freshaire's Smooth Driftwood:
I love this paint company - the paints have no VOCs which mean practically no smell. They clean up with water (no icky paint thinner!) and the cans are recyclable. Better for the environment and better for us.

Here's a small sneak peek from this morning:
Unfortunately, it's a cloudy, rainy day so I can't get good lighting right now. The ceiling is still white so you can see a slight contrast there with the new wall color and from the white sheers in the window. The curtains are energy saving and light blocking panels from Target. The room faces west so we're hoping that these will help block out a little of the heat during the summer as well as keeping the room a bit darker.

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PhotoHunt: Four

For this week's PhotoHunt, I dug back in our photos to our trip to Asheville, NC, in February 2006. This is the north entrance to the Grove Arcade. Notice the four hearts flanking the name.

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Love of Cats

For my childhood scrapbook album, I was inspired by Diana's Challenge at Scrappin' Mojo to scrap "a childhood memory of one or more of your grandparents". My paternal grandmother loved cats and fed all the strays that came to visit. The photo I scrapped was taken of me playing with a few of her strays in April 1990. I'm sure this is where my love of cats began. :)


Supplies: Archiver's & The Paper Company cardstock; Cosmo Cricket & KI Memories patterned papers; StazOn ink pad; Martha Stewart Crafts sepia pen; Heidi Swapp ghost heart; Making Memories & American Crafts letter stickers. Layout design based on sketch from page 83 of the Scrapbooks Etc April 2009 issue.

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Goodies

Blogging has introduced me to so many interesting and wonderful people. One of those people is Gabrielle (check out her blog With This Life...I Will Live) who so sweetly sent me a package of goodies. It arrived yesterday and just in time for another shift in weather (yesterday's high was 79, today expected 53 and tomorrow 39! Yikes). She included 2 maternity tops that have longer sleeves than most I've bought. Knowing I'll be a bit, um, rounder in the warmer months, I've been shopping for short sleeve tops. That was ok until these last couple of weeks when I realized my long sleeve shirts won't quite cover the belly now. Oops! Needless to say, I am very appreciative of the gift. Thank you, Gabrielle!! :)

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sixty3

I was inspired last night by Sketch This: 81 and Jan's Mystery Challenge at Scrappin' Mojo to finally scrap a photo I took of Trent with his grandparents in November:


Supplies: October Afternoon patterned paper; K&Company tag; Micron black pen; Making Memories definition & brad; black stamp ink; miscellaneous scrap cardstock & patterned paper; Basic Grey chipboard letters; Provo Craft chipboard number.

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Ladies Night Out

Last night was the monthly Ladies Night Out with the group from church. It's always a fun time of catching up. This month we ate at the Flying Biscuit Cafe which was perfect for my recent "breakfast for dinner" cravings. :)

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Hello card

Trent & I have put together a care package to send to our neighbor who is serving overseas right now. I made this card to include:


Supplies: Die Cuts with a View card; miscellaneous cardstock; Making Memories felt letter stickers; American Crafts letter stickers & patterned paper.

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Saturday with Family

My mom & brother are visiting my sister for the weekend. She lives about an hour & a half from us so Trent & I drove over to spend the day. While we girls went out shopping, the boys went to see Watchmen.

With Mom & Mary before going out to dinner:

Relaxing with Christopher & Trent last night:

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NC State Bib

One of my coworkers brought this nice gift to me yesterday for the baby - a bib his wife handmade using fabric for our alma mater:

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NC State / UVa Basketball

Another page for our 2008 album - we had the opportunity to attend a college basketball game with my mother & stepfather. For the Calendar Girls challenge, I included our game tickets.


Supplies: Bazzill cardstock; October Afternoon patterned paper; miscellaneous white cardstock & staples; Micron black pen; black stamp pad; EK Success border punch.

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Small Space Organization {Entry / Mudroom}

I love seeing photos of the mudrooms in houses - beautiful, well organized spaces. In our little home, the only entry is our front door. The foyer area is small which limited options, but we managed to create a little bit of a mudroom space without a cluttered look.

Front door with key rack and bench:

Directly across from the front door are the coat closet (door handle on the left) and the secretary (a wonderful catch place for my purse & other extras):

The bi-fold doors in the background house our laundry closet.

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canes hockey

I'm working on filling in missing events from our 2008 album. The photo below was taken during a Carolina Hurricanes hockey game in March last year. The design idea was inspired by Two Peas February Super Sketches class.


Supplies: Bazzill cardstock; Die Cuts with a View adhesive backed cardstock; QuicKutz Studio & Metro fonts; Signo Uniball white pen; American Crafts patterned paper; Basic Grey chipboard photo corners; Martha Stewart Crafts date tabs.

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Rob and Catherine

Photos from my cousin's wedding last May:


Supplies: miscellaneous black cardstock; Signo Uniball silver ink pen; American Crafts patterned paper & silver rub-on letters; Prima flowers; Making Memories brads, metal rim tag & metal clip; miscellaneous paper lace; Doodlebug Designs rub-on black letters. Inspired by the Simple Schemes sketch in the Jan/Feb 09 issue of Simple Scrapbooks.

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Making Room

Over the weekend we began clearing out and rearranging in our guestroom. It will become our guestroom/nursery in the coming months. Using Google SketchUp, I created a 3-D model to play around with various furniture arrangements:

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