6.26.2009

july journey in progress

I finally have gotten the chance to work on my July Journey mini book that I've been talking about doing since completing my Daily December book back in, well, December, of course.

When I got my July Crazy Daisy Kit I knew the fun hints of red, white, and blue and vintage feel to the elements were perfect for this project. Although this mini will not be exclusive to the July kit, I have quite a bit going into it including the Maya Road mini star chipboard book. I decided to take it apart and incorporate it throughout my mini.

I love the substantial weight to the Crate Paper and Cosmo Cricket paper. It is perfect for pages in this album. There is also some kraft cardstock and we all know that is my favorite! I know those Prima and Jenni Bowlin rub-ons are going to make many appearances throughout this book too, along with the Maya Road sheer ticket journaling spots.

There is really no limit to what you can use! Some of my collected junk mail and envelopes will probably make an appearance in this mini too.

I also saved my beach coasters from June's kit to use in this mini so I can document my upcoming beach vacation mid-July. I will be away from home quit a bit in July but I plan to pack a small scrapbook kit to take with me so I can at least add some stuff to my book here and there and not lose sight of any moments I don't want to forget. However, if you notice I'm not posting much during that time, it's cause I've got my toes in the sand!!! :)

I have chosen a 6x6 format for my book this time around and will use book binder rings again for ease of adding and moving stuff around while I put this together.
I invite and encourage anyone else to take this Daily July Journey 09 with me. I know a couple of friends who plan to play along and I may start a Flickr group so we can share photos of the projects. Give me some feedback if you think that is a good idea.

This really is not that big of an undertaking - and the results are so worth it. I treasure all the details and memories that I documented during December of 2008. Things that I would have probably already forgotten!

Again there are no rules for this, make a book or buy a little notebook, journal, deck of playing cards, or do a full blown scrapbook album. The point is to document each day with something...I prefer photos and journaling memories, you may want to do something different.

Make it your own.

You have plenty of time before July 1st to get started or you may want to wait and put a book together after July, it is totally up to you! I just like having something to start with but it is definitely a work in progress and could change day to day.

Here is a link to Ali Edward's blog and her December Daily book, and I know I have linked this up before but here is the post with my December book. I also adore all Elise Blaha's mini books. She has a great simple approach that I admire. There are tons of inspiring people out there to draw ideas from.

I encourage you to look around and find your own style and inspiration.

6.23.2009

poetry in motion

Nothing more beautiful than watching a horse & rider in total sync.
with a performance horse, sometimes the moves can look a little mechanical, but for these two who have taught each other how to perform, it is like a beautiful dance.
That horse has more heart than any animal I've ever encountered.
I think he would do anything Alex asked him to do.
They may not always be the blue ribbon winners and not every run is perfect,
but when they are on, they are unstoppable.

6.22.2009

poster child for sunscreen

from my 3 hour mowing Saturday.
Yes, I had on a pair of Old Navy flip-flops.
How did you know?

Sunscreen People, Sunscreen!

6.21.2009

Father's Day Fun

So I have tons of photos to share at some point.
Right now though these few from Father's Day will have to do.
I could kick myself for not getting the camera back out when
Cody, Amy & Clay got there.


Dang me.


Anyway, I know how much it meant to James to have all his kids spend time with him
on Father's Day.
Brooke & Rob drove up from LR
and Cody took time out of the hayfield to just hang out.

It was a good day!

Since I was so sunburned after my 3 hour mowing yesterday minus the sunscreen (dumb I know) we found a nice shady spot in the river and plopped our chairs down for some cooling off.
Just a few shots from the trip down to the river.
and an outtake from our group shot using my handy-dandy remote.
Too bad I cannot figure out how to disguise the darn thing!
What a total dork I look like.
Happy Father's Day to all the father's.
I am thankful first to my Heavenly Father, and to my own Dad, my Stepdad, and my Husband, each for their own unique attributes.

6.19.2009

O yeah Baby!

Guess what hit my mailbox this morning?
The awesome July kit for Crazy Daisy!
Let me just tell you now that this thing is awesome!
I'm loving the patriotic feel and all the little extras!

The exciting news about July with Crazy Daisy is the guest designer for the month.
None other than the ever inspiring Donna Downey!
How flippin' cool is that???
And seriously, I cannot wait to see what she does with the awesomeness in this kit!

here are some more sneaks:

see what I mean? Awesome!

Here is another LO from June's kit:
I'm loving how this turned out!
The inspiration was that crazy flower piece under the picture. I had used the Basic Grey chipboard piece on an earlier LO so I just used the reverse part left in the sheet as a sort of stencil and placed it on a scrap piece of black cardstock laying on my table and gesso'd inside as a stencil.

The gesso seeped through in places, but I decided to just play around with it and broke out my watercolor pencils (LOVE THOSE THINGS) and colored in the leaves with red, orange and yellow. After some outlining with my Sharpie, I cut around it and, voila!

I had been eyeballing that Prima My Mommy & Me packaging from May's kit that had the felt tree branch and decided it was perfect for this LO. I loved the kraft and blue grid pattern, the birds, and the scalloped edges! Journaling right on the photo was perfect for this one with the light background.


TFL! and have a great Father's Day Weekend!

6.18.2009

OMGosh - it's a sneak

LOVE the sneak of Crazy Daisy Kit Co July kit! Cannot wait to get my hands on it!
It has a vintage worn out feel to it (right up my alley) and it hints to the upcoming holiday of Independence Day with the stars and red.

More sneaks tomorrow. Check out the Crazy Daisy blog for a really cool folded & twist fabric flower tutorial.
Ima try some of these bad boys!!

I still intend to put together a Daily July mini book along the lines of my December Daily book inspired by Ali Edwards. Anyone else want to do this along with me?

I hope to have a chance to put together my pages this weekend. I will probably use the same type of format with random page sizes and materials.

okay, I must go clean up the kitchen and get my tired self in bed.

6.17.2009

oddly quiet

here at the old kimwhitten.blogspot!
sorry bout that.
just crazy busy this week with work then VBS every night.
I do have lots to share though.
So, in the words of Arnold, "I'll be back!"

Today is my 14th wedding anniversary so Happy Anniversary James!
We had to postpone any celebration due to hectic schedules this week, but we'll do dinner out - PLUS, we have scheduled our vacation!!!!! I'm so excited to know I'll be laying on the beach in 3 weeks! I kind of like waiting till the last minute to schedule so I don't have to wait long.

I'll be back to my chatty old self later, promise!

6.14.2009

A "wacky" layout

Finally finished Sasha's Wacky Wednesday Challenge (aka WWC) over on her blog that she posted for fun. My Crazy Daisy June kit was perfect for this challenge. Part of the "rules" were to use three different patterned papers from three different manufacturers. I used some My Minds Eye, Foof-a-la, and Cosmo Cricket. Another part of the challenge was to use yellow in more than one place. I painted the Basic Grey chipboard flower yellow and added a piece of the excess canvas from the "Play" tag with some ink for the center. The rest was to do a LO on someone that inspires you and what you see in them that they do not. Another twist was to use the same photo twice and handwrite the journaling.

This was great challenge and I cannot wait to see what she comes up with this Wednesday! Come play along - it really helps get the mojo going. - WWC#1


Another quick LO from the June kit. Everything but the gesso and thread is from the kit. Have I told you just how much I adore that Cosmo Cricket Girl Friday paper? It is yummy and double sided!

More to come!

6.13.2009

it was a girl's day

What a great day we had Tuesday in LR when we took Alex to her 4H Teen Star Banquet and Ambassador interview. The interview did not take nearly as long as we thought, so we had time to go hang out with Brooke & Rob (so maybe it wasn't an exclusive girl's day!)

We met them at Macaroni Grill for some lunch and went to their house for a little while to see all the work they had put in remodel and update. I'm very proud of them for working so hard to get everything just the way they wanted.

They have listed it for sale, you can see it here. If you know anyone looking for a cute house in a great location in LR, have them check it out!

We snapped some photos in the backyard.
Mostly silly photos mind you!Here is Alex & Brooke posing as garden gnomes.
Why?
I have no clue, but I love the looks on their faces! What a great looking couple they are.
If they sell their house, they plan to move back to Florida.
I won't lie, I am very sad about that decision, but I wish them all the best in the world and if that makes them happy, then it makes me happy for them.
These are their "babies"
Roxy.
and Dixon.
Fast forward to the evening and Alex's banquet.
This is Brooke sporting her "James" nametag to get into the banquet.
I had originally registered James to come, but he was unable so Brooke came instead.
The 4H Vines Center in Ferndae is such a nice facility.
We had dinner in the dining hall then moved over to the auditorium for the awards portion.
Here is Alex receiving her Teen Star award from Dr. Darlene Millard,
Assistant Director for Youth Development.

Alex & Nancy - we owe her all the credit for helping Alex achieve this honor.
She is truly the best 4H leader.We were completely worn out after driving home after the banquet and having to get up for work the next day, but I assure you it was worth every minute.
We found out on Thursday that Alex was indeed named 4H Ambassador!
Very exciting. She had to give a speech and answer several questions from a panel of judges. In order to make the cut, she had to score at least a 90 out of 100 on the scoresheet.

6.11.2009

thursday=friday

Since I'm on 10 hour days this summer, today is my Friday.
Can I get a "whoop-whoop"?!

It's been one of those weird short yet long weeks that is unexplainable.
I do know I am tired & look forward to sleeping in tomorrow and resting up.

We had a big on Tuesday, and I will post about that later, I first wanted to post a couple of my layouts from the June Crazy Daisy Kit.

Here is a little 12x12 with Lindsay doing Alex's hair for prom.
Love those exclusive cardboard monogram letters. I had used my "I" on another LO so I used the "L" and "O" from the Thickers to make this funky "I".


This next one is a wall hanging (my first) that I made using a technique I learned from the super talented Lucy Folch over at SIStv on National Scrapbooking Day.
Remember this one?
Same technique except I didn't use glimmer mist and I made little cut-outs for my chipboard using some of the patterned paper from the kit.


Check out the Crazy Daisy Kit blog to see all the eye candy from other design team members.

Speaking of design team members, I have subscribed to each of the DT's blogs and have been completely inspired by Grace Tolman's posts! She had a nifty little series the first week of June called "be creative". I encourage you to check her out...lovely photography too!

Okay I'll be back for a huge photo post of our fun day in Little Rock on Tuesday for Alex's Ambassador interview and Teen Star banquet for 4H! I'm so proud of her for being named State Ambassador...we just found out today.

6.07.2009

weekend recap

It's been pretty well rounded, I must say!
First a couple of outtakes from the mini photoshoot with Angus.
I love his face in this first one, but what on earth am I doing?
Look closely you can see my remote.
I have to figure out how people disguise that thing.
This one is just an out and out blooper!
He is like "I'm so over this Mom!"
Friday was girl day for Mom, Alex & I. We had a little outing to Mountain Home.
Stopped by first to see Judy and Granny. Judy was sick and certainly wasn't going.
Granny was doing really well and we hoped she would come with us, but she just didn't feel up to it.


Next stop was Fred's Fish House in Mountain Home to meet up with Haley & Cindy.
It was a planned lunch for Haley's graduation and Fred's was her choice.
Good choice, too, it was delightful.

Haley's friend Cera (prounounced like Sarah - cool huh?) came with them and we enjoyed meeting her and hearing all of Haley's fun stories & antics!
She's attending college in the Fall and I am very proud of her for sticking with her plan of entering the medical field, possibly nursing.
Go Haley!

Isn't she gorgeous! Her eyes have always been stunning.
Plus she introduced me to this hilarious You Tube video quite awhile ago:
Can I have you number? Hiiiiiii-larious!

We then did our shopping for an outfit for Alex and finally had success.
I wondered for awhile though.

A really good day spent with the girls.
Everyone needs those girl days every once in awhile.

Saturday was....you guessed it.....horseshow! Hurrah!

I totally loved how the sunset looked yesterday, despite the power lines.
Did not get my camera out much oddly.
Maybe it's because I was too busy getting sunburned. OUCH.
Just a perfect day - temp in the high 70's low 80's with a great breeze.
This is a little boy, Austin, who shows with us, climbing on the fence.
I love how worn out his boots are.
BTW, he was using them for a sand and rock bucket earlier in the day!

sshhhhh, don't tell his momma!
I must say this was probably the very best show Alex has ever had in all her horseshow years. She won 4 or 5 classes and placed 2nd and 4th in the others.
The coolest thing was winning this ladies' gaited class!
Riding a gaited horse is a new venture for her and she was been driving once a week to her friend Justin's Dad's to practice on Caveman, who is
this beautiful Tennessee Walker who very much knows what he's doing!

Alex is definitely learning and improving. She looked great last night.
Sunday was spent at church and a quick drive to Batesville in search of a particular frame for one of my Country Text prints that a lady purchased from me at work, and of course my new favorite Sunday afternoon pasttime: napping.

I have not done much with my Etsy shop for Country Text since Christmas.
Why? you ask.
I really have no idea!
The biggest issue is my inability to find specific frames for the size words/names people want. I don't know if you know this, but custom framing is really expensive which kind of defeats my whole idea of actually making a profit of these things!


I do think I might put my individual prints up for sale again and see what happens.

Oh, btw, there is a challenge going on over at Crazy Daisy Kit Co. blog.
Check it out.
I did some scrapbooking with my June CDK kit over the weekend and will post those layouts soon.

6.06.2009

loving it!

The weather that is! It is just lovely today.

Quick post - off to a horseshow today. (imagine that?)


Was photographing some LO's yesterday evening and decided to grab my camera remote (thanks Karla!) and Angus and have a mini photoshoot.
Have tons of photos of Angus, but just don't have many pictures of he and I together.
This is not a simple task I can assure you! I always look like a dork and he just looks unamused!
Anyway, I must be more mindful of getting myself in some pictures every once in awhile, dorky or not!

Remember my girl, Sasha and me asking for prayer for her?
Well, it worked, and her son is doing good! Thanks!

Have a blessed weekend! get outside and soak up some sun. :)

6.02.2009

Prayer Journal

remember the Crazy Daisy felt book that I was so crazy about over the weekend?
I finished mine last night and turned it into a Prayer Journal.
I've been thinking about making a prayer journal mini book or altered book for some time and when I got this in the mail with my June kit, well, let's just say I knew what to do! ;)


I didn't take pictures of every page, but each page has a scripture about prayer as a reminder. I left it pretty open to make notes of prayer lists and praises.

Everything I used is from the June kit, except for a few pieces of patterned paper pieces that I had laying around my scrap table. I went a little sewing machine crazy on the covers, but that felt just went through like buttah!

BTW, those crazy ladies over at Crazy Daisy are having one of those "but wait, there's more..." things. If you sign up for a 3 month subscription by June 10th they are going to throw in a free bag. Very cool deal indeed! Here is the post.

There also another familiar face on their blog if you scroll down a little bit. ;)

On another note, my sassy, scrappy friend, Sasha and her family needs a little prayer. Her sweet little baby boy Elijah had to be rushed to the ER and was in ICU for awhile. He is improving, which is fantastic, but send up a little something when you say your prayers tonight/today.

Thanks, I know she appreciates it. You can read more about it on her blog- but I'm giving you a tear warning right now!