Friday Freebie: Bits & Pieces template

The last Friday of the month means it's freebie time! This month I'm sharing the template I created for the Music Class layout I shared a couple weeks ago. The template is 12x12 and features 9 layers including a second shadow option for the right hand photo to give it a slightly curled feel. It's free for personal use only. Click here to download the Bits & Pieces template Enjoy! Have you missed one of my previous digital freebies? Click...

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Toddler Sleep Training Clock

We've been blessed that Dylan has been a good sleeper since his early days of life. Before his birth, we'd heard the stories of babies that have their days and nights mixed up. I had hopes he already "knew" the difference since he was always more active in utero during the day. He barely stirred overnight unless I did and then it seemed like he was just resettling as I was. I did slightly worry after he was born in the evening - thinking he might...

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[almost] Wordless Wednesday: 12 years

Our tortoiseshell, Cali, celebrated her 12th birthday this past Saturday...

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Azalea Gardens

Dylan & I met Allison & Curtis at the WRAL Azalea Gardens in Raleigh one morning last year. The boys loved running around the paths and exploring every inch of it. Supplies: Blueprint #12 template by Gennifer Bursett; Weathered Elements by Celeste Knight; Bicycle Freebie by Sara Schmutz; Today brushes by Karla Dudley; DHD National Scrapbooking Day 2011 collab kit; In This Life kit by Karen Funk; Just the Way You Are fo...

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Tour de Fat - Durham 2012

After seeing Tour de Fat listed as a "family pick" in Friday's N&O, we set out to downtown Durham on Saturday morning to take it in. We arrived just as the last few members of the bike parade left the area which worked out fine. We located a parking spot on the opposite side of American Tobacco, strolled a bit of it and checked out some of the Tour de Fat fun around Diamond View Park while waiting for the parade to return. And, when it did, we...

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Mother's Day 2011

I made a very quick layout for last year's Mother's Day. None of the photos were especially great. Trying to get Dylan to cooperate for a picture took a lot of work and, when he finally agreed, he wanted us sitting on the ottoman in front of the TV (I can't tell you how happy I was to get photos at the arboretum this year - so much better!). Knowing that I only wanted the one photo and to crop it considerably, I looked to my folder of Quick Page...

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family - fall 2010

Making further progress on Dylan's Year Two album, these photos were from a family get together in November 2010: Supplies: d-365 Layered Layouts vol 3 by Deena Rutter; Be Unique elements and Giggles & Grins papers by Karen Funk; Picket Fences kit by Jen Allyson; Meadow papers by Celeste Knight; Just the Way You Are fo...

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Wordless Wednesday: Solo Pedaling

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Reading

Dylan loves to stop at the kids magazine area each time we visit the library. He always searches out the same Zoobooks issue on snakes and flips through it looking for all the snake photos. This particular visit, I was amused at the way he sprawled out on the bench to "read." For this week's 4 Play at Design House Digital. Supplies: School is In Session paper by Sara Schmutz; Whiteout paper by Audrey Neal; In Love brushes by Agnes Biro; Weathered...

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Father's Day Superhero

My inspiration for Father's Day this year came from all the superhero elements I had seen (scrapbooking kits, movies, pillowcases, etc). I had the general idea of getting a photo of Dylan in his Superman shirt with "Dada, you're my superhero!" It took a little coaxing to get my now opinionated child to participate. He likes to pick his own shirt and I had to work hard to convince him to wear the Superman one for at least a few minutes. He also likes...

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Father's Day 2011

Loved these photos from last Father's Day of Trent & Dylan looking at the book I made with photos of the two of them. :) Kate's The Rag Coat layout shared at Design House Digital was the perfect inspiration for helping me get them scrapped. Supplies: Back to Basics white frames by Sara Schmutz; Rocketman kit by Deena Rutter; Decorative Stitches set 1 by Agnes Biro; Daditude and Craft Jar kits by Miss Mint; In This Life kit by Karen Funk;...

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Wordless Wednesday: Color

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"Dad" card

Last year I made hybrid cards for our fathers for Father's Day: I started with a simple 5.5" x 8" rectangle and added a 5" x 7.5" mask in the center. This allowed me to easily layer two papers to create the background. I printed these onto white cardstock, cut to size and scored it at the 4" line to create the fold. Next, I opened a pennant flag element from the Give Thanks kit and added "DAD" using brushes. I printed these onto white cardstock...

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Music Class

Another page for Dylan's Year Two album - with friends at a music class last summer: Inspired by the June Scraplift Challenge at Design House Digital. Supplies: Be Unique papers by Karen Funk; Digi Essentials by Karla Dudley; DHD's iNSD 2011 blog hop collaboration kit; Just the Basics - Paint Splatters Set 1 by Erica Coombs; Another Typewriter fo...

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Balance

That simple word is a big one. And definitely part of the new motto around our home. Last month, our lives changed a bit when I accepted a part time job in retail working nights and weekends. I'm typically on the closing shift 4 days per week. The exact days change each week. It's meant the boys have dinner & bedtime without me those nights. Which, being totally honest, makes me a bit sad at times but I'm also grateful they get one-on-one...

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Exploring Together

Last summer, Dylan, his cousin & I met friends at Lake Lynn Park in north Raleigh. I'd heard of it before, but this was our first visit. We had a great time playing at the playground before following the trail to the lake. There we were surprised to find a deer coming right up to one of the decked walkways to peer at the people. Supplies: 52 Thursday Templates Template No 11 by Tiffany Tillman; Woodsong papers by Deena Rutter; Oceanside and...

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[almost] Wordless Wednesday: RailHawks Soccer

Taken Saturday night at Dylan's 3rd game in recent weeks - he has really gotten into them! He & Trent even cheered the RailHawks on to their victory against the LA Galaxy last week....

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Zoo Day

Yesterday was Trent's birthday and he took the day off work so the three of us could spend it at the NC Zoo. We were also celebrating Dylan's successes in being *almost* completely potty trained since I made the decision to start "hard core" training him last Wednesday (it's been off and on for over a year - time to get it done!). Anyhow, it was a beautiful, warm, sunny day and there weren't a lot of people which made for a fantastic visit. Here's...

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