A Dry Heat

Haaayyy! How was your weekend?! Mine was super quick but it was good. Ive been kind of bummed this week because I had planned on going to the last Creative Escape in AZ but unfortunately I didnt get to go. Im so sad! Sooo I thought Id share a few pix from last year's CE that I went to. I literally have hundreds of pics and can you believe I havent scrapped a single one?! Im such a slacker scrapper! This first pic is one of my mom and I on the last day when we were about to get into our taxi. It was a very emotional morning for me cuz I didnt want to leave and the last few days were absolutely amazing! Im so thankful that my mom could be there with me, she's my best friend I dont know what Id do without her.

So I cant even tell you how many people said "wow its 112 degrees out there in AZ but dont worry its a dry heat." Note; people that say that HAVE NEVER BEEN TO ARIZONA. Seriously. So I am a total water bug, love love swimming so when I looked off my balcony and saw this;

You can bet the first thing I said was "gitchur suit on big momma we're goin swimmin." Sooo we're sitting by the pool,

and we're both wondering where everyones at...these beautiful pools, warm sunlight on our faces, why are we the only ones out here? Well, Ill tell you the reason why which we discovered in about 10 minutes.  CUZ WE'RE THE ONLY MORONS AT THE RESORT THAT WOULD FRY THEMSELVES UNDER THE SCORCHING ARIZONA SUN DURING THE HOTTEST PART OF THE DAY!! Dry heat my butt. Note to self; when you can feel your heart beat in your head, its time to get out of the sun... Sooo did we get out of the sun???...

Heck no baby! I could never show my face at home to the boys again if they knew there was a waterslide and I didnt utilize its fun potential.

So here's a few more random shots of the trip;

My mom & I made this gorgeous apron, you cant really see the detail in this pic;

Heidi Swapp & Rhonna Fharrer picked me and some other gals to read "The Top 10 Reasons How You Know Youre a Scrapbooker at CE" on their House of Three live webshow.  Mine was number 9, "when you pay for a room that you never even sleep in!" So true! I was soooo nervous Im really shy while speaking in front of people ;) Ill never forget it though. Im glad I wore my 35 dollar butterfly pj pants from Victorias Secret ha! I still cant believe I paid that much for stupid pj pants.

We got to watch a beautiful storm come over the mountains;

Here's the amazing teachers that made the event so fabulous! From left to right; Heidi, Claudine, Teresa, Pam, Maggie, Trisha, Jessica, and Margie.

They were all so amazing and it was so neat to hear each of their stories of how they got to this point. Some were so emotional and touching I felt like I cried the whole time I was there lol! It was so inspiring though. I have a ton more pics but Im going to scrap them and then Ill show them to you in the finished product k? Im gettin sleepy so have a good night and Ill talk atcha latah! Bye loves!

xoxo Rah

Come To Mama

One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats.

-Iris Murdoch

xoxo Rah

Decoupage

Hey good evening! Sorry for such a late post, I just got home from seeing The Help. Oh my word. Go see it and bring the kleenex, just sayin. So. Good. I have to get the book now! I thought Id sneak up there to see the show because the boys got to go to Wrigley tonite. Nothin cures missing your babies like a dear friend, a new flick, and a box of popcorn dripping with pure saturated fat.

Sooo anyhoo, I promised I would show you my newest project, some Christmas home decor action. Ive had this ornate frame by Kaisercraft that I love so much Ive been afraid to do anything with. (Do you ever do that? Hang onto something because you love it so much youre afraid to mess it up?) Wellll I recently recieved the new MME Lost and Found Christmas products, have you seen this collection. WOWZA! Its amazing! I knew immediately that I wanted to make some kind of home decor with it, and this would just be the perfect thing! So here's what I came up with;

Okay now I gotta tell ya, I wanted to take pics of it in my dining room which is a dark sage green color and it looks amazing against the color and thats where Im gonna hang it during Christmastime, but I didnt have a nail placed in there yet so I just hung it on a white door that already had a nail in it so i apologize. Anyway, I think it turned out pretty cute and I cant wait to add some black n white pics!

Okay, so I know I didnt like reinvent the wheel or something and Im sure youve seen projects like this before, but Im just super excited about actually getting some new products in the mail and USING them, not hoarding them... I know! What a concept!  And honestly I didnt even really have to do much because MME does such a fabulous job of designing their products that all I really had to do was hang their die cuts and chipboard pieces with random trims and stamped/inked clothes pins. How easy and fun?! I have so many more Christmas collections from other companies Im just gonna go nuts and start making lots of things like this! Another thing that Im super excited about for this project is that-now dont laugh-this is the first time ive ever decoupaged something. Ever. Im hooked. I covered the wooden frame with Mod Podge, and I used torn up little pieces of old vintage music sheets (another addiction of mine) which are extremely easy to use because they are so fragile and brittle they just peel apart from wherever you dont want them.  After youre done with that, slap some glossy Mod Podge on top of it all and voila. So if you have any decoupage tips Id love to hear them! Here's to learning a new technique peeps! Good night!

xoxo Rah

AC & Fried Chicken

Hey peeps! Its been awhile! Can you believe August is coming to an end?! I cant. This year absolutely flew and there's like 4 months til Christmas...Yep. That just happened. Autumn is coming up and thats my fave, I just lovvvve it! The boys started school Thursday, both in middle school now. Really. Its so amazing to watch them changing into little men. They make me laugh out loud every day! We went on a quick shopping trip for a few things tonight, and here are two examples of their little personalities; Instance numero 1; We were discussing ac in the schools nowadays, or lack thereof. They apparently dont have any, and I said "well I didnt have it when I was in school." Kyle says matter of factly, "Well jeez ma, that was back in the day. That was like back in the nineteens."  Ouch.  Instance numero 2; Picture yourself in Culvers drive thru frazzled and rushing cuz theres people behind you someone on the speaker sqwawkin at you and all you want is your kids order and he said he wants the chicken dinner and you say "is that the 2 piece fried chicken dinner?" and you look down at this fuzzy hair blue eyed thing that shakes his hand at you and says,"It's just so good ma. Ill tell you what it is. Its love, and goodness." How annoyed do you think the drive thru people get when you laugh out loud right into the speaker? ;) I live for these moments, so fleeting. Gone so quickly. Im enjoying every second I can with my little men, soon theyll be grown. Im thankful for every time I feel one of their little precious hands slip into mine, or their little arms wrap around me in a sweet embrace. God is so good. He just knows.  

So here's alil peek of my project Im gonna share with you tomorrow...

If youre in the mood for something Christmasy-home-decorish, youre not going to want to miss this! Have a good night and thanks for hangin out!

xoxo Rah

Happy Birthday Beeb!

Oh my goodness Brandon turned 11 today! Do you know what this means?! I have 2 boys in middle school now! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! Thats crazy! Where is time going?! We had an amazing today at the zoo. I needed to spend a day alone with them before yucky school starts, just me & them. I couldnt have picked a better day the weather was so beautiful! I thank the Lord every day for every second I get to spend with my boys. Even though every single day isnt the greatest time ever and yes we get stuck in our ruts but who doesnt right? Im really trying hard to remind myself to make each day count, that's so important. So here's a few cute random pix of my Beeb;

Im sure you'll be seeing these pics on scrapbook pages sometime :) Soo have a good night peeps and thanks for hangin out! I love you Bee! (& what are you doing up still?)

xoxo Rah

Terrific Tuesday

Good morning yall! Guess what;

Enjoy it!

xoxo Rah

Stamp Storage

Hey peeps! Just a quick post tonight! Im slowly revamping my scraproom, (and I mean slowly like, Im on a budget and I keep buying pretty paper & trinkets so I dont have money left over for storage), and awhile ago someone gave me an old dresser so I slapped a coat of minty colored paint on it stuck it in my happy place, badda bing I have a place for all of my stamps. That's my post. Look out Better Homes & Gardens. Peace Im out. :)

xoxo Rah

Baby Girl

Hello there! Did you have a good weekend? I had a wonderful weekend. Today I went to church then went golfing which was awesome cuz it was a gorgeous afternoon! Yesterday I actually spent the whole entire day in my scrap room! Can you believe that?! That just doesnt happen usually so Im pretty stoked! Ive had some baby/kid pics of my mom sitting here staring at me for some time now, so I made her a mini album with the Melissa Frances line 5th Avenue. I thought the soft colors were perfect for it, they're so beautiful! I used a few pockets and envelopes from Melissa Frances so my momma can add some more pictures and her birth announcement and whatever ephemera she has. Hope you like it!

My moms birthday is on September 25th.

This last photo is one of my faves of my mom. I think she looks so cute! Well I hope you enjoyed my little book, sorry for so many pics you know how I am :) Have a wonderful evening!

xoxo Rah