Splendid

serendipity

My Serendipity layout.  I picked a word out of the dictionary, copied the page, highlighted and circled the word, then added a bunch of junk around it and the picture...

I was sick Friday and part of the day yesterday, so I laid around and embroidered this on an old towel...

a Kurt Halsey design, well, kind of, I hand drew it because it wouldn't transfer, so it does look a little different.  Then I hand cut felt hearts and blanket stitched around the edges.  I do feel much better today though, thanks for asking...

and more of Rachel D's summer journal project, slowly but surely...

Then the girls tried on their new raincoats since it was sprinkling a bit here. McKaylah in a jacket inspired from the book The English Roses .  

Ava's new smart rainy, Fairylicious, of course...and her new rainboots to boot...

I love this new dress Ava got for her b-day from my mom off an etsy seller. She loves it, too.

Have a great weekend...

Happy birthday Pixie

My little Pixie had her "ladybug" birthday party today.  We had it at our beloved Beachcombers and even though the weather was overcast and not very warm, the kids and adults alike had a nice time playing outside and grazing on the nosh spread on the grass. We had pizza and salad from a local pizzeria for dinner and we finished it off with cupcakes decorated by the girls earlier this morning at home.  Ava loved all her gifts, but even more the attention showered unto her by her admirers.

I was just saying last night to an old friend whom I've recently reconnected with from back home, that I can't believe Ava is 5 and I have an 8 year old, too! They're growing up so fast, I've got to remember to slow down a bit and hug them more everyday.  I love those two little munchkin-butts so much, they make me so proud all the time! I'm truly blessed with my family. Sniff...

looking at her new bug friend

her ladybug cupcakes

Ruby, Ava's BF

 mom and birthday girl

the birthday bunch; Vivvy, Ava's other BF to her right.

opening presents

a new bag of shells, one of Ava's favorite things. I mean, she really is shell crazy.  She loves, loves, loves them! Wrapped in a vintage cloth napkin, ohhhh, what a treat!

Happy birthday little one!

Camp Out

We went camping this weekend in the Poconos mountains at Ricketts-Glen State Park.  What a beautiful place!  We had a campsite right on the lake and watching the girls play in the water and later the sunsets, was so relaxing.  We also hiked a few miles up to a small waterfall and through a spectacular part of the forest. The girls swore there were Forest Spirits all around.  Trees creaked, along the path we saw a variety of lovely wild mushrooms, nooks and crannies in the earth or a rock that looked like it could be a gnome or fairy fort and we even saw a leaf floating up in the air. I thought maybe it was caught in a draft or suspended by a spider web, but it wasn't.  It floated up and down, dancing on nothing.  It was kind of trippy. 

I love hiking and we decided that no matter what, next summer we would do a hiking/backpacking trip. Preferably one of those kind where you hike a few miles a day to a cabin/outpost, sleep and eat there, then continue on to another cabin another x amount of miles away. (If anyone knows of one, please let me know. ) It was all beautiful, minus getting rained on at 4 in the morning since we wanted to sleep out under the stars.  Our mosquito netting of a roof was no match for the torrential downpour in the dark, bleak hours, Dave and I had to struggle to get the waterproof top over the tent, those are the things I DO NOT like about camping.  And super dirty feet.

Pixie testing out the water

swimming in the lake   yeah, that's Pa Ingall's big rig...so?

Ma Ingall's making open fire popcorn, that's how we do it in the wilderness...

Pa Ingall's making us s'mores

posing for a picture along the hike

peeking over a cliff

what is that? Oh, my daughter in flip-flops and a bathrobe, hiking through the forest?  I laughed because it reminded me of that old movie Private Benjamin with Goldie Hawn where she goes to boot camp and arrives with her Louis Vuitton bags.  McKaylah loves comfort, that's for sure...

  here was a neat little spot with an uprooted  tree.  Someone has set up a fire pit inside and sitting stumps.

the magically floating leaf

the smaller waterfall

'shroom

little miss hiker

Private Benjamin needed to take a rest (where's the nearest Starbucks? Like OMG!)

Sunset...and good night...

Scrap Mojo

I have never done a Scrap Mojo challenge, so last night at 11 I found this as I was getting ready to "retire" to bed, and suddenly had to do it. The challenge stated you had to use glitter somewhere in the layout and any title show from School House Rock(remember those?  Oh, I loved them!) and when I saw "Three Ring Government," I couldn't help myself....I saw the Dumbo book lying in the book box by my feet, I saw very circus-y colors and clowns. It came together in like 12 minutes.  Even the face I found over what became the symbolic Republican elephant was so simple to find just the right size.  Okay, if you like Republicans (hi mom...), lighten up, it's just a joke...

Lovin' these online scrappy classes!

I signed up for Ashley Wren's Sistv class a couple weeks ago and did I think about 7 of her assignments (okay, not assignments as they weren't graded or mandatory) and this week I'm doing Red Velvet Art Rachel Denbow's Journal class. I'm loving her tips and journal tutorials.  Now if I could find a few hours a day to just scrapbook and craft....darn family and laundry...

Here's what I have so far.  A summer journal is my theme.  I'm using an October Afternoon journal book.

 this is one of Rachel's techniques, using a checkerboard like design (she painted them, I added this paper) with the pink and white hearts for what I love in summer, the other page (only 3 things, ;) optimistic, positive me ) with the Summer Bummers.

this is a simple one using a single color background and then monochromatic colors.  Rachel painted hers, I used a black marker for the outline and then painted the inside bubbles and loops of the letters.

these are my designs

I have a few more pages, I just need to get the pictures printed.  Later this week hopefully I'll have them...

Then this one was just for fun this morning...I LOVE Ann Taintor, she's so awesome! I think I'll do a monthly tribute to her and these fabulous old ads (even though she cleverly adds her own commentary-genius!!!) 

oh, and this was a project from Ashley's Sistv class, I forget the concept, but it used her cute cards in the layout. I doodled on each of them though..

McKaylah made a softie pillow in like 4 minutes for one of her best bud's Gryphon.  This is her garden monster since they're both real" herby" and junior naturalists. 

Then anyone who knows us knows we are a little matryoshka crazy here.  We collect them, and have  plates, necklaces, clothing (you get the idea) with them on it.  My granny had a few when I was young and they've always reminded me of her (along with hobnail and milk-glass, gnomes, aprons, glass milk bottles, old farm-style tablecloths, and big rainboots for some reason).  Anyone who knows me knows I was really close with her and I miss her so much.  But I know she would have howled when she saw her two little girls (and she did howl when she laughed). The girls dressed up in old aprons and looked like  little matryoshkas.  I almost peed my pants.  The pictures are actually blurry because I was laughing so hard. 

 

   

Animal House

These are the two latest layouts I did (Thursday night).  Strangely they both have to do with animals. 

"Oh Deer"

From Danielle JQ and her very cute kits, "Oh deer."

"Zoo Party" for McKaylah's b-day party we had a couple weeks ago.  The Philadelphia Zoo brought 4 animals to our house, did face painting, a game and craft.

Here's one I did a couple days ago for Ashley Wren's Sistv class, "Unpredictable Requests. "

"Puzzled" in which we had to use a crossword puzzle in a lo.

Here's a chipboard card (or ATC) I made for my very extra special friend Annette's birthday yesterday.  I put it inside this slightly embellished felt pouch.  I also added a cute necklace from Urban Outfitters inside...

  

I was limited on what I could do since I just grabbed a handful of scrapbook supplies and headed to  Beachcombers.  I wanted to embroider something pretty, but alas, it was not meant to be...

What was meant to be was a fun girl's night out to celebrate Annette.  Here's some pictures...

Erin, Ana, moi, Sarah and Annette.  We went to watch our hooping teacher Marlanah at a bar in downtown P-town. It was a benefit for PAWS, to help homeless animals. The bar smelled like a pet store though ( a sure sign I'm getting older, I used to never mind that offending odor, a mix of old urine and stale beer...but now, um, yeah, not diggin' it...) 

 Marlanah's glowing hoop-very cool!

Even Sarah got into it---

However, due to the small enclosed space of this bar and it's unusual fragrance gaining momentum, we headed to Old City to a bar called the Khyber, well...I am paying for it today...I am getting too old...

Cococricket and the chocolate factory

We went to Hershey this last weekend.  We've been to the amusement park before, but this time we did the chocolate factory tour.  Fitting since one of McKaylah's favorite books is Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The girls loved it.  What kid wouldn't love it?  You are surrounded by mountains of chocolate!  It was actually pretty interesting to see how a large factory works.  The tour was very informative and we learned a lot.

  

The assembly line at Kiss Works.  The kids all get to use a conveyor belt and push knobs to fill packages of chocolate kisses. 

Factory worker Cricket

Factory workers in progress

I couldn't take very many good pictures since many of the chocolate machines and demos were behind glass, but here's a chocolate paste roller

production line of Kit Kat's

Hello Diabetes!

This was around noon, look at how many Hershey products had been made already!  

Then we went to the Park.  It's interesting how as the girls get older they will try out new rides the previous year they were to frightened to.

Hershey s'mores

The Sidewinder roller-coaster.  I was the only one that went on it...I do apologize for that monstrosity on my hubby's face, apparently it was a joke with some friends.  I'm not laughing, but I'm sure it was a real gut-buster with them...

there's me on the sidewinder!

even at Hershey Park Coco is a Naturalist!

Dave and McKaylah are heading up to the big water slide.  Ava was the only one prepared for water rides...

Doesn't this look like the board game "Mouse trap"?

we played lots of games

"This ride stinks!"

ciao!

The Ins and Outs

Here's my latest layouts this week.  The first one, "1234" is from a Ashley Wren Sistv class I'm taking. Those are my hand-prints. Of course I had to add the lines of my hands (for the gypsy lover in me) and then the lyrics to Feist's 1234 song.  For those of you who don't know the words to the song, she leaves out numbers 7 and 8 - I do have those fingers, don't worry...

"hoop" is from the hoola hooping dance class my girlfriends and I took a few weeks ago.

This one was also for Ashley Wren's SisTv class. We had to use a receipt in a layout.  Here's mine from Barnes and Noble. 

notice the receipt- ha! ha!!!

Then this one was supposed to be like a middle school collage, cutting out words that went with the picture.  Fast and easy, but fun to peruse through the magazines like we did in 8th grade. Rather therapeutic, really.  

I have 2 others I'm working on from the class this weekend, too. 

When we weren't inside this week, we were outdoors (shocking, if you're not indoors, you're out? Hummmmm???).  It hasn't been as humid this week and we're loving it!  We went hiking up in Fort Washington State Park one day (not too far from us really) (and only to to find a tick in Ava's head a day later, followed by Lyme Disease paranoia once the site of the bite became super inflamed...oh, east coast and the ticks here...joy...let me tell you, asking a 4 year old to get a blood test, not fun...) and to our lovely Beachcombers Swim Club a few times as well.  I love sitting under the big oak trees there, reading.  Summer seems like it's the only time I can get a few books in. This last month (not including August of course) I read The Mermaid Chair (excellent), Garden Spells (excellent) and the Sugar Queen (also very good). Today I'm reading Midwives and after Law of Similars. 

I recommend all you nature lovers to check out this website, The Children and Nature Network has some really great information about clubs that are forming all over to get families out into nature, hiking, exploring, unstructured playtime (I'm a HUGE believer in unstructured play!) Hooked on Nature is another good one for information regarding getting kids outside into forests and wild areas.  Just wear some tick repellent (stinkin' east coast ticks...) Oh, and Ava's test came back negative, thank goodness! Whew!

Well, bye...