Family | Digital Layout

When I look through my scrapbook pages (both digital and traditional), I see a lot of white. And kraft. And black. Plus grungy fonts, primary colors, and hardly any pink. A majority of my layouts feature pictures of Mark, Evan, and Jack... and they definitely do not like pink. 

But pink happens to be one of my favorite colors. I adore pink flowers (especially tulips), pink pajamas bottoms, my Flamingo Pink Fiestaware, and the pink purse I bought at Target a few months ago. After today, I can add this layout to my "favorite pink things" list. 

I used Celeste Knight's Honeysuckle kit along with a photo of my mom, great-aunt, and cousin. This photo was taken in my parent's backyard last summer. I really wanted my layout to convey femininity, love, and family, so I converted the photo to black & white, and used some beautiful elements and papers from the Honeysuckle kit to embellish my layout. My favorite element from this layout is the gorgeous floral patterned paper directly behind the photo. I don't always mat my photos (and especially not on patterned paper), but it works here. To keep with the feminine theme, I added flower stickers, gold washi, pink paint splatters, and two white doilies, delicately tucked under the photo. 

Was this layout completely outside of my comfort zone? Yes. Absolutely yes. But do I love it? Another yes! Sometimes pushing myself to try new things, new color combos, or new techniques can push me creatively, and I usually like the results. 

I have a huge stack of photos sitting on my desk right now, and most of them feature a little boy or two, so no more pink. It's back to "little boy" layouts, neutral colors, and my favorite typewriter font. 

Summer Vacation 2011

The kids and I returned home yesterday from a week in Washington State to visit family and friends. We are all exhausted, but our trip home was worth every yawn from the boys.

The boys and I met Cousin Zach and Aunt Abby at the park for a play date last Wednesday. I couldn't believe how big Zach has gotten! And he is such a cutie, too. Evan loved racing around the park with his cousin. Evan still talks about going to the park with his "big cousin Zach."

On our last full day in WA, the boys and I met up with some dear friends of ours at a park in Auburn. I haven't seen Karen or the kids in over 18 months, and I was delighted to spend a few hours with them. Evan claimed he doesn't remember Aidan and Ethan, but they hit it off right away. Look at those smiles! Seeing them made me miss Pullman... they were a big part of our life while Mark was in school.

Jack and Jocelyn are exactly 5 weeks apart. I just can't get enough of her cuteness. :-)

Jack wanted to swing, but the infant/toddler swing was being used by Jocelyn. He insisted on trying the big boy swing, and he did great holding on. He scared me half to death, but he didn't fall off. He kept saying "whoa!" and laughing. Goofy boy.

Evan wants to do everything Grandpa does, including golf in the front yard. I'm not sure why he has such a grumpy face? Maybe he's tired of Mommy taking pictures of him.

Monday we took a trip to the Seattle Aquarium. We met Cindy, Ray, and their daughter and grandson for a few hours. I knew the temperature would be cooler in Seattle, but I was not prepared for 62 degrees and pouring down rain. The kids were real troopers and I only heard a small amount of whining when we were walking through the rain.

Evan took a great picture of Abby, my Mom, and me, but it's on her camera. Hopefully she will send me that picture so I can post it here (hint, hint Abby!). But I do love this photo of Abby, Grandma, and the boys. Evan couldn't be happier than when he gets to spend time with Abby and Grandma.

Isn't this sea anemone cool looking? Such a pretty green.

This little boy is a big fan of his Auntie Abby, too.

My parents treated us to a night at Great Wolf Lodge last Saturday night. Evan and Grandpa hung out in the wave pool for almost 3 hours, while Jack and I wandered around the toddler/pre-school area. I wasn't expecting the water park to be so loud, but it was a fun two days.

Miss Kaitlyn celebrated her 6th birthday last week, and we were lucky enough to be in town to celebrate with her. Happy Birthday Kaitlyn!

Friday night I cooked a big dinner for some family friends. The boys were less interested in the Ranch Style Chicken I cooked, and more interested in playing in the backyard.

At the Puyallup Library:

What could be better than curling up on the couch with Grandma? Playing Angry Birds, of course! Evan is addicted to the game, and he has installed 5 or 6 versions onto my iPod. If I had a nickel for every time Evan asked to play Angry Birds, I would be a very rich woman.

We also had a lovely BBQ with Mark's parents, lunch at the Olive Garden with Uncle Tom (and my Dad), a mini play date with Evan's girlfriend, Jayden, and a quick trip to the South Hill Mall. I can't believe all that we did in 9 days!

Have a wonderful Friday, friends.

New Karla Dudley Designs release tomorrow :-)

Karla Dudley has a new kit coming out tomorrow, Welcome Spring, and last week she released Template .007. I combined the two to create a layout about our trip to the beach in February:

{All supplies are Karla Dudley Designs: Supplies- Cardstock: Cardstock Essentials No. 3. Patterned Paper: Welcome Spring. "BEACH: brushes: Digi Essentials No. 6. Staples: Digi Essentials. "feb" brush: Digi Essentials No. 10. Heart tag: Tweet. Decorative stitching: Welcome Spring. "sunshine" and "the things we do together" brushes: Welcome Spring. Vellum tags: Welcome Spring. "Love" epoxy tag: Welcome Spring. Font: Georgia}

After editing these photos I definitely think we need to take another family trip to the beach. I am already spoiled by all the nice weather! My family hasn't seen a full day of sun in almost 9 months (hi Mom and Dad!), and I get to walk to my car in shorts, a t-shirt, and flip flops every morning when I take Ev to school. Doesn't seem fair, does it? I feel bad for all my friends and family in Washington... I don't think they have had a day above 60 degrees! It is going to be 84 degrees here, today :-)

Erin.

Thank You

(One of my favorite photos from last week)

Soon after Mark and I moved to Florida, my Mom and Abby called and asked if they could visit us in February. Of course we said yes, and last week they flew into Orlando for their first ever visit to the Sunshine state.

We were busy during their four day stay: going to the beach, the zoo, and traveling up to Port Canaveral for the Discovery shuttle launch.

I have 600+ photos to edit from their stay, but this one is very special to me. Evan is going to be 5 next month, and I am so thankful Abby snapped this picture of me and my first born.

Mark and I were reflecting on our five years as parents just last night, and we came to a consensus: we have darn cute kids. But as I look through my photos, I don't have many pictures of me and my kids. Mostly Mark, Evan, and Jack.

When my kids (and other family members) look through our scrapbooks I want them to see that I was a part of our kids' lives, not just behind the camera.

So one of my goals this year is to be in front of the camera as much as possible.

Thank you, Abby & Mom, for spending time with us. We love you :-)

The Graduate.

Karla Dudley has two new products available in her shop today (here and here). I love the Sunkissed kit... perfect for summer layouts. I used the kit to create a layout about my sister & parents on her graduation day:


[All Supplies are Karla Dudley Designs. White cardstock: Sunkissed. Patterned paper: Sunkissed. Flower sticker: Sunkissed. Metal rimmed tag: Sunkissed. Jewel brad: Sunkissed. Staple: Digi Essentials . Tag: Sunkissed. "a" brush: Digi Essentials No. 5. "GRADUATE" brush: Digi Essentials No. 5. Fonts: Amalie & Georgia. Layout size: 11x8.5 inches.]

Isn't she just the cutest thing you have ever seen? And my parents look so happy. It was a wonderful day for all of us. And I couldn't believe it when I saw my mom for the first time. She has lost over 30 pounds since New Years and looks amazing!! Mark and I are so, so proud of her.

Have a wonderful Thursday, friends!

xoxo,
Erin.

Quick Photo Share

I am slowing going through all the photos I took on our trip, and this is one of my favorites. It's not very often my parents are cooperative enough to pose for me!


(Left to Right: Uncle Tom, Deanna, Abby, & Mike.)

Have a wonderful weekend!

xoxo,
Erin.

The First Half of April:

I can't believe it is already April 16th! Our family visits are over, and it's time for us to return to our normal schedule. I know the boys miss Grandma and Grandpa, and Uncle Tom, though. Evan keeps asking when they are coming back... poor guy! I don't think he understands just how far we are from Washington.

We are definitely going to buy a globe in the near future for the kids. I am hoping a globe will help them understand where we are compared to the rest of our family.

I wanted to share some of the photos I took during those visits (and a couple from Easter, too):


Oh, how Evan loves his new quad. I think he has ridden it almost everyday this past week. He loves, loves, loves it! Look for a layout for Karla Dudley Designs on the 19th about Evan's new quad!


On Tuesday we went to the Newport Aquarium with Uncle Tom. Evan and Jack loved it! I really liked the jelly fish & the sharks. One of the exhibits allowed visitors to touch a shark & I did it! Their skin is really leathery and tough, but soft at the same time. Evan said he didn't want the sharks to bite his fingers because he likes his fingers, so he didn't want to touch them. I was okay with that!


This is probably my 2nd favorite photo of our aquarium trip (my favorite photo is of Uncle Tom and Jack). I love the jelly fish!


My favorite Aquarium photo.


Jack got an early birthday present last weekend from Grandma & Grandpa. He is the perfect size for this little blue buggy.






Mark was given amazing tickets to a Cincinnati Reds game the week my parents were in town, so my Dad, Mark, Evan, and I got to go to the game. The seats were behind home plate on the 100 level, and we were definitely spoiled! Evan enjoyed the game, but did get a little antsy toward the end. We stayed through the 7th inning (and missed the walk-off home run in the bottom of the 9th by the Reds), but it was a great experience. This was Evan's first MLB game, and our first Reds game.






We also visited Sharon Woods in Sharonville, Ohio. It was a perfectly beautiful day and the park was great for Evan & Jack. Evan got this crazy idea to walk across the stream, which landed him in the water, but he loved every second of it.






This was Jack's first time riding in a swing. He wasn't so sure about it at first, but eventually started smiling and giggling.






It was also Jack's first time on a slide. He LOVED it! My mom would hold onto him all the way down and he would smile and clap.


Yes, I dressed the boys in matching shirts on Easter. They looked so, so, so cute! And I love how sparkly their blue eyes look in this photo. I do love that they both got my blue eyes... it's probably the only thing they got from me!





Wow... that is a lot of photos. Thanks for looking if you've stuck with me for this long! And THANK YOU Mom, Dad, and Uncle Tom for visiting us. We had so much fun during our time together, and we can't wait to see you in May!

Have a blessed weekend, friends.

xoxo, Erin.

Up & Running with Photoshop

I loved taking Jessica Sprague's free class back in July so I signed up for her beginner digital scrapbooking class: Up & Running with Photoshop. I think I am probably past the "beginner" stage of digi scrapbooking, but each teacher uses different steps & commands and I like learning new ways to do things in PSE.

Lesson One's Bonus Assignment was to make this quickpage with a black & white photo:

This is one of my favorite photos from our trip to the beach. Evan is still talking about running on the beach & going in the cold, cold water!

We have a little more unpacking to do before I feel like we will be settled in. Then I am going to tackle my studio... I think a serious clean-out is in order!

Happy Wednesday, friends.

Goodbye Puyallup, Hello Pullman.

After a fantastic summer in Puyallup we arrived home to Pullman yesterday, ready to start our final semester as a college family. Evan was so excited to see his toys when we got home... he played for hours last night and this morning, touching everything he had missed over the summer.

Here are some photos from our final week in Puyallup:

I hope to have Jack's 3 month post up in the next couple of days, along with some projects I have been working on. It's been a busy couple of days as we get re-adjusted to life in Pullman & not having extra hands to help with the babies.

I am so happy to be home.