Rita Oliverio

How Long??

 
Time is flying.  I can't believe it has been a month since my last post.  Between chauffeuring Nick and Logan to school, swimming lessons, story time and all of the other daily tasks that need to be done, I barely have a chance to sit down.  Life has gotten very busy this year!

A few pics and some layouts from the past month.

 

 
 

There is so much more to share, but I'm tired and the "m" key is not working on my keyboard, lol.  I had to copy and paste every single "m" into this post.  I am getting caught up on my monthly "A Year of You" layouts and will post those soon!

 
 

Refreshed.

Well, a little bit at least. 

After a busy, chaotic week, we had a slow, lazy weekend.  It was much needed. 

We had a mini-celebration for Ashley Friday night.  We always do a small family party on the actual day, but Tony was teaching Thursday night so we had to wait until Friday.

She loved her princess cake!  Tony and I had picked out some fun bath toys for her together, but she found them before I got them wrapped!  Tony went to the Disney store and picked out some Mickey and Minnie presents for her and she was in heaven!

 

 

 

 

 

I just cannot believe how grown-up she is!

 

Sunday I got some scrapping time in!  I really should have cleaned and organized, but I couldn't resist.  Tony went into the office for half a day with the kids and left me here in complete peace and quiet.  It was nice, but a little strange, too.

 

 

Both were made with the August Studio Calico kit.  On the second layout, I used a technique that I saw on this fabulous layout by Amy Christine.  She put the Bazzill dotted swiss cardstock underneath another piece of paper and sanded it to make the polka-dot effect come through.  How fun is that??

Tonight I'm headed out to my MOPS book club.  I didn't read the book, but I'm looking forward to catching up with everyone.  I can tell I'm starting to get used to our new schedule since it's almost time for dinner and I'm not ready to pass out yet, lol.

Exhausted.

That pretty much sums up my week.  We're on our fourth day of fourth grade with Nick.  Tony has two night classes under his belt.  Logan started pre-school yesterday and little miss Ashley turned two!  That makes for one exhausted mama.  Seriously, I was in bed at 8:30 last night. 

Highlights of our week in pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, Nick and Logan are wearing the same shirt.  Nick really wanted Logan to have matching school shirts.  They started on different days, but both wanted to match.  I thought that was pretty cute.

Ashley loved Logan's pre-school and didn't want to leave!  She had to wear her Elmo backpack so she could be just like her big brother.  Her birthday is just past the school cut-off so she can't attend the 2 's class this year, but I will definitely have to enroll her next year.  In the meantime, I have some special mama and baby girl time planned for when Logan is in school.

Besides shamelessly posting pictures of my kids, I also wanted to let everyone know that Kraft Girl Kits is having a fabulous sale this weekend.  From now until Sunday, September 13th, buy the June, July, August or September kit and get the November or December kit for only $5!  There are lots of great kits to choose from, and this is really a great deal.  Check out the KGK blog for more information!

This year is full of firsts for us as a family and I'm looking forward to getting into our new routine and getting past this exhausted stage so I can make it up past 8:30 and have a little free time!

Kraft Girl Kit Reveal

 

I had so much fun working with this kit!  It is loaded with papers from October Afternoon, Jenni Bowlin, Cosmo Cricket, American Crafts and Jillibean Soup.  Pam has spoiled us once again by including not one, but two different Jenni Bowlin alphas to play with!

And here is what I did with the kit:

 

This is one of my favorite layouts!  I used the Jillibean Soup alpha paper to create a grid design.  I left the initials of the kids' names and used my Stampin' Up scalloped circle punch to punch out the rest to display pictures, patterned paper and journaling. 

 

 

Has anyone read Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka?  That book describes Nicholas to a "T", and was the basis for this layout.  My journaling is hidden and pulls out from behind the picture.  He is "more" in every sense of the word and tests me as a parent at every turn.  This book is a positive and uplifting resource that lets me know it's okay, and these qualities he has will make him a leader and not a follower we just have to survive the ride, lol.

 

Logan absolutely fell in love with this sailor hat when we were on vacation!  I used my EK Success diamond lace punch for the scalloped borders.

 

I was feeling the need to do a more distressed, wrinkly layout and this is the result :)  Don't you love those vintage flashcards??  I used this one to document the date.

And here are my two projects:

 

 

I am in LOVE with this project!  I used the JB chipboard stars to make a display piece for the kids' school projects and artwork.  It will hang in our dining room/kitchen area and I will post a pic when the whole mom/family/organization center is complete :)

The magnets are for a chalkboard that is also going to hang by my project holder, but I discovered photographing a chalkboard is quite the challenge :) 

I hope these layouts and projects inspire you and show how very versatile this kit is!  You can check out the rest of the design team's creations here and pick up the kit here!  I will post about the September happening for Kraft Girl Kits over the next few days...right now I have three hungry kiddos I need to feed and get off to swimming lessons! 

A few more sneaks...

 

 

 

Check back tomorrow for the full Kraft Girl Kit reveal and all of my projects!  I created four layouts and two projects and still have some goodies left over!

September Sneaks

I have a few sneaks to share from the September Kraft Girl kit. 

 

 

 

Lots of bold patterns and vibrant colors in this kit!  It is very versatile too...I've been working on some of our late summer photos that coordinate perfectly! 

Last Saturday I met up with a few Studio Calico girls to scrap.  I had a great time and even managed to get a page done!

 

The photos aren't great quality...I snapped them as Ashley woke up because I wanted to record her morning routine.  I saw a T-shirt with this argyle design at Target and that was the basis for this page.  Target is such a fun place to go for inspiration, and shopping, lol. 

I'll leave you with a recent picture of Ashley.

 

My little artist in training :)  She was painting and made a huge mess and then went in the bathroom to "scrubby scrubby."  Tony put her hair in these puffy little pigtails and she was so cute!

August Rush

We are right in the middle of the crazy, busy rush trying to get ready to go back to school.  We still have a few weeks, but there is so much to do!  Nick is going into the 4th grade and Logan is starting pre-school.  This will be my first year with two in school!  I have a feeling I will be spending a lot of time in the car acting as a chauffeur, lol. And just to throw a monkey-wrench in the mix Tony is going to be teaching some classes at the IBEW/NECA training center.  They are night and weekend classes so it means more time away from home, but it is such a great opportunity for him!

Here are a few pics from a birthday party we attended this weekend:

 

 

 

Check out that static electricity on Ashley's hair!

 

Logan had the winning hit on the pinata...he was so excited, and a little stunned!

And a quick layout to share that is even about me:

 

I used the August Studio Calico kit and added some MM Vintage Findings buttons. 

The perfect way to end the summer?  A crop with some of the Studio Calico girls this coming weekend.  I am so excited!  Who would have thought there were some fellow scrappers right in our area?  I will be spending the rest of this week printing up some pics and getting my stuff ready for some much needed "me" time.

Playing Catch Up

Life is busy.  And good.  Last weekend we took a mini-vacation to the beach.  Here are a few of my favorite pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The weather was perfect.  Windy enough for kite-flying and warm enough to play in the water.  It was Ashley's first visit to the beach, and the boys have only been a handful of times.  They are already asking to go back!  We live close enough we may try to squeeze in a day trip before school starts.

We are on day 4 of swimming lessons, and Nick loves it!  He's doing great.  He has spent a lot of time in the water so he's really comfortable, but this is his first time taking lessons.

 

I signed him up for another session so we are spending lots of time at the pool.

And here's a layout I finished yesterday:

 

 

 

I cannot believe how fast Miss Ashley is growing!

Made with the July Studio Calico kit and add-ons.  Love the new EK success diamond lace punch!!  Hoping to squeeze in a little creative time this evening :)

Back to Reality

I have a few pictures to share from when we dropped Nick off at camp last week.

 

 

 

These were three of my favorites, and frankly, the only positive part of the whole experience was this great back-drop for photos, lol.  I could write a novel about my disappointment with the entire BSA organization but some things are better left unsaid. 

Moving on...

I have another layout to share with the August Kraft Girl Kit.  It is based on the August sketch, which you can see here.

 

This is the fifth layout I've completed with the kit!  This sketch is so great because I could use up all of my little scraps of patterned paper I couldn't part with.

One of the fun things I did with this layout is I printed my picture on Bazzill white textured cardstock.  I know this isn't a new idea, but I haven't tried it before.  I love the result, and it worked perfectly for this picture because the focus on Ashley's face was a little soft due to her movement and it gives the photo a dreamy feel.  Plus it saved me a trip to town :)  I also used several different border punches to play up the patterned paper strips.

It's hard to see in these photos, but I raised the photo with pop-dots and some of the paper strips to give it extra dimension.

The sketch contest is open until August 31st!

Are you ready??

August Kraft Girl Kits are live today!  This is one kit you won't want to miss!  It includes tons of fabulous products from Sassafras, Jenni Bowlin, Hambly, Crate Paper, Maya Road, American Crafts, Pink Paislee and Prima!  The mix of stuff Pam put together for this kit is divine, and it is truly the mixing and matching that made it so easy and fun to work with.

Now that you have seen the kit in all its loveliness, how would you like a chance to win one??  Kraft Girl Kits will be sponsoring 52 Weeks 52 Sketches the week of August 9th.  Just play along with the fabulous sketch the week of August 9th for your chance to win!

Kraft Girl Kits also has its own brand new Flickr group so you can post and share your kit layouts.  Check out the link here and I can't wait to see what you create with this amazing kit!

We will also have our monthly sketch contest so be sure to check the KGK site and blog in the coming week for more details!

Just a reminder, the November and December 2008 kits are 50% off and the March 2009 kit is 25% off.  These kits are a great deal and you can purchase them here.

Here are my projects for this month:

 

This Prima packaging was too cute to throw away!  I covered the top half with Crate patterned paper to cover up the marketing information and now have a cute little project to hang in my home.  It would be perfect on the handle/knob of a dresser or cabinet.  Since I have lots of little fingers at home, it is currently hanging in my scraproom.

 

Love this Prima paper!!  I really want another sheet, and that is rare for me.  I used my Martha Steward scalloped circle punch for the scalloped border on the left side, and also used the circle cut-outs as a guide to cut out a scalloped pattern on the Hambly rub-ons.

 

Loved these fun tags from ormolu on Etsy!  I'm hoarding one for a future layout, but this one seemed perfect for these pictures of Logan making wishes.  Aren't those tickets from Janesays on Etsy adorable too?  I'm also hoarding one of those, lol.

 

I used the Fiskars upper-crest punch around the border of the Crate polka-dot paper.  This is a personal layout that I've had in my head and wanted to get down on paper.  I know my kids don't "get" why scrapping is important to me now, but I hope someday they will appreciate having this insight into what I was thinking and feeling.

Journaling reads:  It's easy to lose sight of what's important when life is chaotic.  I hope my words will serve as a reminder of just how truly blessed I feel to have my family.

 

As soon as I saw this Prima bird paper, I knew I wanted to tie in Ashley's love of singing.  I used the Sassafras paper whimsies as a template to cut out their shapes, backed them with the Jenni Bowlin music paper and stitched around them for added definition. 

Hope you enjoy these projects, and be sure to check out the rest of the design team's creations!