Author: Raptor Mama

I take pictures of Kate every year with these cardboard letters that spell out DAD.  Then I print them off as 5x7s and put them in a triptych frame from Ikea.  At least that’s the plan.  Let’s not talk about the fact that last year’s pictures are still on my computer, m’kay?

Usually I try to find a fun location, these under a bridge being my favorite, but since the babies can’t sit up yet I figured we were limited to the grass.  Since my mom has a much nicer yard than me, I was planning on taking them there, but I kept putting them off.  First it was just too wet.  Have I mentioned that I contemplated building an ark in June?  Then my mom was out of town.  Then…  well, you get the idea.  Finally I woke up one morning and realized that these pictures weren’t going to take themselves!  And for that matter, our grass might not lush, but it’s green and this year that’s good enough.  😉

I tried to get a shot of all 3 kids, but Kate acted like laying in the grass was tantamount to laying on a bed of nails, so those shots didn’t turn out so well.  I think this one of her up against the fence is pretty cute though.  And it gives a bit of contrast to the pictures of the babies.

I initially wanted a pic of all 3 kids, and then either one of each baby or 2 of the babies together, but Kate was super offended by that idea.  lol.  Next year, maybe I’ll do DADDY so I can include more pictures. 😉

 

Like I said on Wednesday, I decided to split our trip to the splash pad in to 2 layouts largely because the light was so pretty where the babies were sleeping and I was having too much fun with my camera.  🙂

Why yes, I have started moving the twins in to their 0-3 month clothes and yes, they are enormous on them.  But their matching newborn onesies are mostly long sleeve and it’s too hot for that if we’re going to be outside.  Besides, the whales are freaking adorable.  🙂

Let me know what you think!  🙂

 

I ::heart:: rainbows.  I was looking through my older October Afternoon B sides to mix and match with my new OA Poolside papers and realized that I was halfway to a rainbow based on what I had already pulled out.  Then I dug through my washi tape and the idea for this layout was born.

I freaking love it.  It’s in my top ten favorite layouts for sure.

It all started with the blue stars on the orange paper.  It was the first scrap I came across while I was originally experimenting with the texture medium and stencils and after it dried I realized that it actually looked pretty cool.  Most of the stars got covered up with the layering, but I like just seeing them peek out.

On Friday I’ll have a layout up with the twins hanging on their blanket this same day at the splash pad.  Originally they were all meant to be on the same layout, but I decided to go ahead and split them because I wanted to tell 2 different stories.

 

 

My name is RaptorMama and I’m (newly) addicted to mixed media scrapbooking.  My new box of goodies included some stencils (more coming tomorrow!  They were backordered.) and I’ve had a blast playing with them.  Here’s my first layout.

I’m also currently loving the gold glitter paper (I punched all of the hearts out of the center of that mat before adhering my photo) and the mini doilies.  I didn’t realize when I ordered them, but they come in a pack of 75!  I’m totally getting some more colors the next time I place an order.  🙂

Aside from taking a while to dry, the stencil was actually pretty easy to use.  I can’t wait to experiment with it some more!

 

 

I love summer layouts. 🙂  I always end up with a ton of layouts for the summer months. In 2014, I ended up with 17 layouts in June and 15 in July.  September (admittedly a slow month even for me) will probably end up with only 3 or 4.  Partly because I love playing with my waterproof camera, and partly because I always love the summer lines.

I love these pics of Kate and my Dad.  🙂  I played around with some stamping on this layout and I think I like it.

 

Looks like Xander has eared himself a referral to ECI.  Mia was having Occupational Therapy today (she’s doing amazing by the way) and I asked her therapist (who I love) to take a look at Xander because I was worried about him having torticollis (basically tight neck muscles.)  This can result in the dreaded flat head and helmet.  I’m glad I asked because, sure enough, he does.  I got the ball rolling today to get him referred.  Incidentally, I <3 ECI.  What a great program.  They come out to our house to do the therapy and it’s ridiculously cheap.

And here’s a quick, simple layout.  I have a ton of these smaller chipboard frames (I always seem to use the 4×4 ones up first) so I decided to go crazy and use a bunch on one layout.  I used TurboCollage to put 6 2×2 pics onto one 4×6 canvas and printed it on my selphy.

I like that it allowed me to use a lot of pictures on one layout while still leaving some room for a little bit of embellishment.

I’m still chipping away at last summer, in fact I finished July this morning!  Here’s a layout from Kate’s dance camp recital.

I’m loving the gold!  I was anti-gold for so long that I have amassed quite the selection of embellies, most of them from various Crate Paper collections.  I also made liberal use of my gold stickles.  So fun!

 I really like how this little cluster turned out.

 

I had too much fun with this layout.  🙂

I’m loving the vertical lines of embellishments.  Super easy and super fun.  Plus, I get to use up lots of older product that I still like, like these Prima flowers!  I still love these.  Honestly, I wish they still made them.  I’m actually in danger of running out of a few colors.  🙂

I put a dot of stickles in the middle since I didn’t want to deal with the mini brads.  Then I threw on some wood veneers, and some more DIY epoxy flairs.  I also did a bit of stamping on this layout, both for the flairs and across the washi tape at the bottom.  Overall I’m pleased with this layout.  🙂

 

 

I’ve been watching some kill-a-kit videos and it’s inspiring me to try to use stuff up instead of hoarding it.  It’s also really making me want to subscribe to a kit, but that’s not in the budget. Plus, I probably have enough supplies to start my own kit club.  lol.

I’ve almost used up all of these 4th of July papers!  And I went wild and used the whole package of Jolee’s embellishments.  🙂  I might actually need to buy new 4th of July paper for next year.  lol.

I actually completed all of my June goals!  It’s a Christmas miracle!  🙂  Now for some July ones.

1. Finish those dang felt letters!  I’ve actually been working on this one and it’s now at the top of my priority list.
2. Scrap July 2014.  This is my last month with a lot of layouts.
3. Scrap August 2014.  Medium number of layouts.  I got pregnant this month, went back to work, and Raptor started kindergarten.  The pickings are slim for scrapping starting with September so catching up will move quicker.
4. Work on 2015 Project Life.  I want to get at least 6 layouts done so I can make some progress towards catching up.
5. Take DAD pics.  Yes I know I’m terribly behind as these were meant for Father’s Day.  I wonder how long I can use the infant twin excuse?
6. Actually print this year’s (and last year’s!) DAD pics.  Since I’ll be ordering oversized prints anyway, I want to go ahead and order the 8x8s for Kate’s school book too.
7. Clean my bedroom.  Y’all.  I don’t even know where to begin.  lol.
8. Do some recent layouts.  I want to journal some in the moment while I remember this stuff.
9. Trash bag a day.  We want to move within the next 3 years before Mia starts preschool.  (Raptor is at an awesome charter school and we’ll keep her there, but Mia will need to start public preschool when she turns 3 and we’d like to be zoned for a better school before that happens.)  Before we can even think about listing our house we need to do some major decluttering!  And even if it’s years before we list, I figure we might as well start now.
10. Blog!  Keep up with the Monday/ Wednesday/ Friday posting.

It was decided that Xander’s surgery couldn’t wait so he had it on Friday.  Xander wasn’t thrilled about being denied his breakfast, but he actually handled it better than I thought he would.  (And if I’m being honest, he handled it better than I handled our 4:30 AM wake up time so we could be at the hospital by 5:45.)  They let me feed him in the recovery room and he chowed down!  Initially they told us that he would have to stay overnight for observation after the surgery, just because teeny babies and general anesthesia don’t always mix well, but they were actually able to do the surgery with a spinal instead of a general and we got to go home later that afternoon.  Yay!  I have no idea how they kept him calm enough to do that, but we were pretty thrilled.  He seems to be feeling loads better post surgery.  I was a little nervous about managing his pain since all he can have is Tylonal, but honestly he’s been super happy all weekend.  I guess having your intestines put back in the right spot will really improve your outlook on life.  🙂  Of course there’s never a dull moment around here and right now Kate is sick.  We actually had to cancel her birthday party.  Poor thing.

If you made it through all of that, here’s your crafty reward.  Another layout from last July done with the treasure map papers.  Note to self: must order more before it’s all gone!

In related news, I finally got a tiny attacher!  Y’all, it was worth every penny.  Don’t let anyone try to convince you that a regular stapler will do just as well because IT WON’T!  The tiny attacher is just so cute and awesome and, well, tiny.  🙂  It also staples through wood veneers and my DIY epoxy flair badges.  In other words, it’s perfect.

This layout was a medium on the time consuming scale.  I’m wanting to kick it up a notch so that I can finish July 2014 before we get to July 2015.  I’m writing this on Sunday which means I have 2 days to complete 7 layouts.  HAHAHAHAHAHA.  If nothing else, I got the pictures printed this morning so that’s something.  I’ll try to write a new goals post for Wednesday so stay tuned!