Thanks so Much for all the Birds of a Feather Blog Hop Participation! And the Winner is.....

Good (Early) Morning! Today at noon is the start of the XoXo Blog Hop, so I hope that you will all join us for that. Let me tell you, I've had a sneak peek at the other ladies' layouts/projects and all you Blog Hoppers are in for a treat! 

Anyway, before that happens, I want to go ahead and get a spot for the winner of the Birds of a Feather Blog Hop winner. I haven't picked my winner, yet, but hope to do it later today. So, look for an update to this post later this afternoon or early evening. 

Okay, now please wish me luck. I have to go on a field trip with my 8th grade class, and since they are a trying group....it should be an interesting day! Have a great Thursday!
**Okay, I used the un-scientific method of asking Mr. Kaleb to help me pick a winner. I asked him to pick a number between 1 and 19, and he went with 7. This means that Jenelle is the winner! Congrats, Jenelle!!! Please send me your email info and I will get your GC info out to you! Thanks so much to everyone that visited my blog during the hop and played along with us!

It's a Birdie Blog Hop!

Happy Friday and Welcome to the Birds of a Feather Birthday Blog Hop! Hopefully, you have been directed here from Ms. Krissy's blog. If, you are just visiting (and weren't directed here from Krissy's blog), please join us for the complete Blog Hop. All you have to do is start Here, and visit each of the girls. Please note, at each blog you will find a special BOAF badge with a word. If you visit each of the blogs (in order) and write down the words from each of the badges, you will complete a special birthday message. That message could help you win an AWESOME Bella Blvd prize package provided by Birds of a Feather Kit Co.!!!

Since Amy is celebrating the first birthday of Birds of a Feather Kit Co. we were asked to use a Birds of a Feather kit (current or past) and create a Birthday Themed project. I decided that I wanted to use the yummy July kit (full of lots of Cosmo Cricket and October Afternoon) to create this layout for Kaleb Michael. Since Kal's birthday is in June, these pictures were perfect with the summer-themed kit. I started with the October Afternoon background paper, found in the paper add-on kit (I LOVE lined ledger type papers) and then built the page around it, using a Sketchy Thursday sketch as guidance. I decided to ink all of the elements using my black Dew Drop, to help give everything a little extra pop. The journaling was done straight on the background paper (See? Just one reason I LOVE ledger paper!!) and I used the OA journaling tag and mini alphas to create my title. Because the mini alphas were a little large for my tag and what I wanted to say, I simply trimmed them down to the perfect size.

And a couple of close ups. I love to layer my elements, and these OA tags are perfect for just that, along with the Kaisercraft flowers (yep...I love to use flowers on all my pages, even ones for my boys).

And here is the title tag. I love using alphas on my layouts, and these OA alphas were the perfect size for what I needed.

Finally, since this is part of the Birds of a Feather Kit Co. birthday celebration, I've got a present for one lucky person who comments on this post: a $10 gift card to A Cherry on Top! Since we are cropping all weekend long, and since the challenges are due by the 12th, I will post my blog winner around the 13th. You do not have to be a follower of my blog, but if you like what you see, I'd love for you to stick around and become a follower.

All of the Birds of a Feather Kit Co. crop challenges and games can be found in the forum. The grand prize is going to be a kit of your choice! To add to the fun, the boutique will be having a BIG sale this weekend, too!

If you've made your way through the blog hop, you'll want to keep going so that you can be entered to win a prize package of Bella Blvd products, valued at $50! You'll need this word to add to your collection for the mystery quote:

Now, you'll want to hop on over to Karen's Blog to continue with the celebration. Enjoy the rest of the crop, and I sure hope you will join us over at the forums for a weekend full of scrapping, games and fun!

Happy Tuesday! We are super busy tonight, but I wanted to take a minute to share a couple of my current layouts.

This first layout was for the September Birds of a Feather Kit Co. Photography challenge. We were challenged to scrap a layout about our town and what it is famous for. Anyway, I took this picture of one of the signs found throughout our town. I then used the September Scrapbook Circle kit. I had so much fun just playing with the fun papers and alphas on this one.

This next layout was created for the October Birds of a Feather Kit Co. color challenge. The colors we were asked to use were a perfect match to the October Birds of a Feather kit, so I used it to create this layout. I also used a sketch from Sketchy Thursday. Again, I had tons of fun playing with this one!

Okay, time to head off to soccer practice and Zack's soccer game. If the high school boys' team wins tonight, they will be the SCOL champs for the third year in a row! I'm super excited/nervous, especially since Zack is only a freshman.

Have a wonderful rest of the day!

Good Sunday Evening!

I just checked in over at Scrapbook Circle Kit Club, and was thrilled to see the new October kit reveled! When I saw the kit, I was reminded of crisp clear autumn mornings and flea market Saturdays.

Check out this month's kit:

Included Patterned Paper

Pebbles Fresh Goods Simple Joys
Pebbles Fresh Goods Window Display
Lilly Bee Memorandum 9 to 5
Jillibean Homemade 6 Bean Barley Pearls
Fancy Pants School Days No.2 Pencils
Lily Bee Memorandum Whiteboard
Lily Bee Memorandum Time clock
Crate Farmhouse Cross Stich
Crate Random Textile

Included Embellishments

Pebbles Fresh Goods Embossed Masking Tape Stickers
Studio Calico Scrap Pad
2 Elle’s Studio Today Tags
(styles will vary)
Pink Paislee Sawdust Wood Alphabet
Shabby Chic Crafts Chevron Journaling Tag
(colors will vary)
Elle’s Studio Red Pennants Embellishment Page
Aqua Twine
Scrapbook Circle Printable

See? I told you it was a yummy kit! I can't wait to get my hands on this kit!

Well, time to get things ready for the upcoming week. Why does it seem like the weekends just fly by me? At least I have a crop to look forward to this coming weekend ;)

Okay, I just had to share what I did this weekend. I went shopping and picked up a few things for Mr. Toby. Along with some mini tennis balls and chew sticks, I picked up this:

Okay, I always swore that I would NEVER have a little dog....and I would NEVER have an animal that I dressed up...but to be honest, Toby gets so cold in the morning, so I wanted to get something that help keep him a little warm. And, since I'm all into being honest...I had to go with the skull sweater because, well because it was just so darn cute :)

Okay...off to do a little more scrapping. I can't wait to share some of my new creations with you. I am going to be doing two blog hops this month, so there will be lots and lots of excitement going on this month :)

Happy Saturday and Welcome to October! Can I just say that I totally love the fall season and I love everything about this time of year :D

Since it's the first of the month, that also means that today is the reveal of the October XOXO newest challenge. This month was so fun because we were challenged to grab inspiration from Instagr.am Now, I'd never heard of this App, and since I don't have an IPhone, was totally in the dark about what it all meant. However, once I started searching online, I was able to find lots of inspiration from the tint of the pictures. And, that led to my layout. I pulled out some cardboard from a past Birds of a Feather kit, tore it, spritzed it with white paint and threw on some mist. Then, I grabbed my stash of Sassafras Lass papers and embellies and went to town. I love how everything came together for this particular challenge.

Now, here are the rules if you want to play along with us over at the True XOXO Girl challenge blog:

The idea is to find inspiration, or scraplift, any of these layouts. Color, design, subject or wording - you may find inspiration in any or all of these. Enter as many times as you like.

• Show your layout on your blog, and link its specific post in the comments section. -or-
• Put your layout in your favorite gallery if you don't have a blog, post in comments. -or-
• or Mister Linky is working below - yay!!

We'd love to know what inspired you, if you have time to write a little about that.

Layouts are due Oct. 31st, midnight your time.
The team will vote on their favorite and the winner will be announced November 5th.
Winner will be our November guest design team member; she will be invited to hang with us in our super secret True XoXo design team Facebook group during November, find out how XoXo designers get their inspiration and will have a layout posted for December blog entry.))
Winners are eligible once every three months.

Happy Tuesday!

I just wanted to remind you guys of the September True XOXO Lipstick Chick challenge. There are still a few days (three, to be exact) to pick a favorite layout and lift. And remember, the October challenge will be up and live on October 1!

Also, the design team is working on a Blog Hop for October. The gloves are off behind the scenes as the girls challenge each other. All challenges and layouts will be posted at the start of the blog hop, OcToBeR 10th, so stay tuned!!

Good Morning, All!
I'm sitting here with Mr. Toby on my lap, and decided it was time to share some more pictures of this little cutie. He's been with us only two and a half weeks, but he has quickly wiggled his way into all of our hearts.

(See? Just look at that face!)

(And those EARS! Can't forget those super cute ears!)

One of his favorite things to do....sleep, and sleep just about anywhere that someone will hold him/baby him :)

Have a GREAT Thursday!

Happy Hump Day!!
I have to admit, we've been super busy the past few weeks, and that has made the weeks just fly by me! I really can't believe that it's already Wednesday! And do you know the best part? I have a soccer free weekend coming up, which means LOTS of scrappy time (especially since the weather man says that it's going to be cool and rainy all weekend - perfect scrappy weather :D )

So, I am just checking in because I want to share the latest kit from Birds of a Feather Kit Co. When I saw this kit yesterday morning, I was thrilled! It just screams fall, apples, back-to-school and pumpkin patches, to me! I love this time of year, and this kit is going to be PERFECT for all of my autumn pictures.

So, without further ado....here is the September Birds of a Feather Kit:


Now, if the kit isn't yummy enough, here is a look at the extras that you can buy:

There are Two Embellishment Kits (LOVE them both)

And then there is the extra patterned paper:

So, if you love the kit and extras as much as I do, just hop on over to Birds of a Feather Kit Co. and pick one up!

Have an awesome Wednesday :)

Happy Tuesday Evening!
We had a busy night, tonight, with Kal having practice at 7pm and Zack having a soccer game at 7pm. We got everyone where they needed to be without a hitch, and the boys' high school team pulled off another shut out victory!! Woohoo!!

Anyway, I decided to share some of my newest creations with everyone, since I just love how they turned out! I've discovered a LOVE for Simple Stories papers/lines, and *think* that I may need to order some more of their lines....especially Elementary (now to find some place that isn't sold out of that particular line!)

So, this first layout was created for the sketch challenge over at Birds of a Feather Kit Co. I used the Baby Steps line from Simple Stories (which I actually bought for a whole other subject) and had to use these super darling pictures of our new family member, Toby.

This next layout was created for the September Crop challenge over at From Here 2 Scrapternity. Again, I used more of the Baby Steps line and pictures of Toby. The sketch comes from Sketch Savvy, another new sketch site to me (and anyone who knows me, knows how much I LOVE sketches).
Okay...time to go and get everyone in bed and see if I can stir up some mojo to maybe start another layout. I'd love to work on the current sketch over at Sketchy Thursdays.
Have a wonderful week!

It's late (for me, anyway) on a Sunday night, and I am watching football and enjoying the quiet of the house. Everyone is asleep and I have a few moments to relax and prepare for the upcoming week. Our fair break is over and that means that everyone heads back to school tomorrow. I have to admit...it will be nice to get back into a routine, and hopefully get the new puppy into a routine, too.

I did manage to get some scrapping done with week, and wanted to share before heading to bed.

This first layout was created for the September sketch challenge over at From Here 2 Scrapternity. This month's sketch is from a new favorite sketch site of mine, Sketchy Thursdays, and I decided to stretch the sketch over two pages. The pictures I picked were of Zack's very first varsity soccer goal. I was thrilled to get the pictures, especially since he's only a freshman (and let's face it, I've never been able to get a shot of him making a goal).
Close up of the Left Side:
Close up of the Right Side:

This next layout was create using the current Sketchy Thursdays GDT Challenge and the September Birds of a Feather Journaling challenge. I was really challenged with the colors, and pulled lots of different paper lines for this one.
Here is what we were asked to use as inspiration (btw...I just love the idea of the votive candles in the apples, in a wooden bowl!):

And here is the layout I created. I did a layout about my sanctuary...my scrappy desk.
This last layout is for the September Stash Challenge over at Birds of a Feather. I had SO much fun with this layout! We had to use our stash of alphas, and let me tell you...I have a TON of alphas. I used a Scrapbook Circle kit (I am in LOVE with Simple Stories) and had lots of fun playing with the title treatment. This layout was also inspired by a Sketchy Thursday sketch. This is a picture of the three kids on the first day of school.
Okay, I am off to finish watching the Cowboys vs. Jets (go Cowboys!!) and do a little shopping. I have my eye on some more Simple Stories products ;)
I hope you have a wonderful upcoming week!

Good afternoon, All!
I just wanted to stop in and share some pictures with everyone. Several weeks ago, a friend brought this darling little puppy to a soccer game. I fell in love with him on sight, but Jon was having NOTHING to do with him. Well, I kept on him and kept on him and finally wore him down. I told him that this little guy could be my anniversary, Christmas and birthday present, all in one :D

So, here is the newest member of our household, Toby! He is a Yorkie, but was the runt of the litter. Currently, he is just one pound four ounces, and won't grow to be much bigger.

This next picture is of Toby in Zack's soccer bag. He jumped in there all by himself. I have a feeling that he's used to these bags ;)

And this last picture is of him sitting on Zack's back. For some reason, he likes to crawl up there and rest. Of course, Zack doesn't really mind, either.

Can you tell that I'm going to have lots of puppy pictures to scrap?
Have a great Wednesday :D

Happy September!
We have survived the first 12 days of school and are currently on our Labor Day/County Fair break. Add to that some awesome fall-like weather and I'm loving life!

Today I have two layouts to share. The first one is my September DT layout for XOXO. The current Birds of a Feather kit was PERFECT for the challenge we were given, and I was eager to use all that yummy Echo Park Victoria's Garden goodness :D I also used a Sketchy Tuesday sketch for this layout. The pictures are of Miss Taylor that I took on the first day of school 2010.
So, head on over to the XOXO blog and see all the wonderful inspiration for this month. While you're there, check out all the awesome new changes to the blog and challenges.


This next layout is my first September challenge for Birds of a Feather. This challenge was the color one and the minute I saw it I knew it was perfect for the Echo Park "Splash" line. To create the layout I used inspiration from a layout over at Scrapbook.com (PamFSU29). I actually loved playing with this grid design :) I used lots of random pictures of the family in the pool.
Okay, off to do a little laundry, cleaning and hopefully, some more scrapping!
Have a wonderful Wednesday!

It's another lazy Sunday at the Harper household. I woke up with a nasty headache, so have laid low most of the day. However, I did manage to get a layout finished. I love working with Basic Grey...somehow it always just comes together for me :)

First off, here is today's layout. I used more of the August Birds of a Feather kit for this one, adding some Recollections flowers and Out of Print chipboard that I purchased to go with the kit. This layout was created for the Photography challenge over at Birds of a Feather.
This is a picture of Miss Taylor with a yorkie puppy called Tim. Let me tell you...I would LOVE to have this little man as part of our family! Too bad I can't convince husband.....

This next layout was created for a scraplift challenge over at Birds of a Feather. We had to pick another board member to lift, and I went with this beautiful layout by Kayla:

I loved the sun burst design of patterned paper in the background, and couldn't wait to give it a try. So, I pulled out my stash of Basic Grey and went to town. I have to admit, it's one of my current favs.

Okay, off to rest some more and hoping this headache goes away real soon. Have a blessed Sunday and wonderful upcoming week!

Good Saturday Morning!
I started back to school on the 15th, so things have been pretty crazy around here. Add to that Zack starting his season with the boys' high school soccer team and Kal and Tay starting soccer, and it's been a total whirlwind.

However, I woke up to a soccer-free weekend and decided that it was time to catch up on the blog, scrapping and in the house.

Since I started back to school, that means that the kids did, too. I can't believe how fast they are growing up on me!

Here is Zack....our freshman (and yes, that was so hard to type!)

Here is Kaleb, our fifth grader.


Here is Miss Taylor Quinn...our third grader.


And Finally, all three of them, together.


Okay, I'm off to do some much needed cleaning. Being gone all week sure takes a toll on the housework. Hopefully I will be able to share some new layouts later this weekend!
Have a wonderful Saturday!

TGIF, Everyone!
I have a ton of stuff on my to do list today, but before I jump in with both feet I wanted to post a couple of my current layouts.

This first layout was created for the color challenge over at Birds of a Feather. The color combo was PERFECT for the August Birds of a Feather kit...which I'm totally in love with, by the way.
I've wanted to do a layout using this Jeremy Camp song for a while, and somehow it all came together for this challenge.
This next layout was for the August Sketch challenge over at Birds of a Feather. Here is the sketch that we used:
Here is my layout. I loved using this fun 100 Days of Summer line from Simple Stories. This is a picture of Miss Taylor taken back in 2004. She was running through the Slip & Slide with her brothers....and LOVING IT!

This last layout wasn't created for any special challenge. One day, Taylor and I were headed to Walmart and she was looking for shapes in the clouds. Then, out of the blue, she started talking about how clouds are created. I love how she looks at the world! I did used the August Birds of a Feather kit for this layout. I did add the white lined paper from my stash and the journaling block. Everything else came in the kit.
Okay, time to get off and work on some stuff for school. Hopefully I get back to scrapping later tonight! Have a wonderful Friday :)