Destination California -- 2nd Stop: Indianapolis, Indiana

 Wow! We had a 10 hour drive today and are very tired. We are now in Indianapolis, Indiana our second stop. 

Staying in a real Pullman train car.  Very cool! Joshua is loving it! :) 

Yes our hotel room is actually in the train! The trains are actually in the hotel! Crazy but true! We are also surrounded by lots of white ghost-like statues. I decided to join them and sneak a ride on the train.  Whoops, I hear the conductor calling  "all aboard" now so gtg ttyl :)

Destination California -- 1st Stop: Pennsylvania -- Hershey Park

We had a blast today at Hershey Park!  Joshua was SO EXCITED to see all of the big machines making the yummy chocolates! We were given a sample of some at the end of the ride which was my favorite part!
We all loved the slow yet oh so refreshing float down the shallow waters of the Intercoastal Waterway ride. We got soaked! 

Joshua also loved the carrousel, his yellow hot air balloon ride and the train ride on the Gulch railroad.  He even got to play the drums of one of the marching band members!
Well, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow with a 10 hour drive. Setting our sites on Indiana. Stay tuned...

Destination California -- 1st Stop: Pennsylvania -- Historic Strasburg

We left home today with our sites set on sunny California! Our first stop was the Historic Strasburg Inn in Pennsylvania.  This stop was special to us because this is where my parents celebrated their honeymoon over 37 years ago.  It was nice to go there and see the same sites my parents saw and even eat at the same restaurant they ate at.  It was very cool!  Even Joshua had a blast learning how to swim in the hotel pool! 

Tomorrow we go to Hershey Park and I can't wait! I am looking forward to tasting every piece of chocolate that they have to offer! :)

Mix & Mingle Showcase

My sister Lisa recently celebrated her birthday.  She absolutely loved the cute little picture showcase I made her using the My Creations Mix & Mingle (X1334) Album. The album comes with 3 clear and 3 white chipboard pages and enough jump rings to link the pages together in the order of your choosing.  All of the pages are 4 x 4 so it is a snap to decorate and it is the perfect size to use as a small display piece.

To create her album I chose to use 2 of the chipboard pages and 1 clear page (now I have 3 pages left to make one for me!). Taking center stage in this display showcase is this cute photo I took of my sister and her new puppy Tessa. This photo went perfect with the colors in the new Mayberry paper pack (X7136B). To decorate the pages I used the Irresistibles Eclectic Chipboard Die Cut alphabet letters(Z1395) to write Lisa's name on one side of the album and added a few Irresistibles Villa Chipboard Die Cut shapes (Z1390) on the other. I also added some Glitz Glitter Gel (Z1313) and Opaques Mocha Adhesive Gems (Z1333) to glam it up a bit. How do you like my big handmade paper flower in the upper right corner? So pretty, right?! Just like my sister!!! Love you Lisa!!! :)    

Display Album using Sophia

My great Aunt Joyce recently celebrated her 85th birthday with a party given by her family.  Even though she asked for no gifts, I could not resist making her a My Creations Display Album (Z1054) to showcase all of her beautiful pictures.  The album has chipboard covers and 12  6x6 page protectors. It looks like this (right) before it is decorated.

I love the colors of Hollyhock and Pear together in the Sophia paper pack (X7131B) and the new Pink Collections ribbon (Z1384) is a perfect match! Here is what the finished album looks like:

Here is a close up of her initials JB on the big Just Blooms Paper Flower daisy (Z1266). The letters are from the Eclectic Alphabet Irresistibles (Z1395) and I colored both the letters and daisy with Pear. The letters have a resist pattern on them that resists the ink color.  The resist adds a lot of texture to the letters, don't you agree?  I also used a few Summer Posies (Z822) and Pink Sparkles (Z1326) scattered throughout for some added bling.  Did you notice my custom Sophia brad in the center of the flower? It was made using the i-top Brad Maker (love this tool!).  

I used a Foundry Bookplate (Z1147) to highlight the Celebrate the Occasion stamp to which I added some Glitz Glitter gel (Z1313) and more pink sparkles.  It isn't often I get to do a "girly" layout since I have a son so when I get the chance I take full advantage!  ;) 

I kept the back very simple, just adding a Made with Love (D1387) stamp and another small flower.  Tied a bunch of coordinating organdy ribbons to the top to finish it off.  How cute is that! :)

End of the School Year

Today was my son Joshua's last day of Pre-K-3. The class had a party and Joshua gave each of his teachers a small handmade gift. Joshua enjoyed Pre-K-3 this year and is especially happy to know that he will have his two favorite teachers again next year in the 4 year old program.

I made Miss Michele a box of goodies using this clear partitioned storage container (KRUS jar with lid) from IKEA.

It has a clip on lid and I just love them so much I am going to go buy more!

I decorated the outside in one of our retired but totally appropriate CTMH paper packs called School Zone and used our beautiful Just Blooms Paper Flowers (Z1266) and new FanFare Level 2 Assortment brads (Z1400). I also used the retired organza ribbon that I just love and the new Red (ZZ1369), Blue (Z1371) and Green buttons (Z1372) with Colonial White Waxy Flax (Z1081) to look like thread. I wanted to stay with the primary colors and this paper and embellishments worked out perfect! This is the finished outside:

I filled the container with some necessary items that every teacher must have! Here is a pic of the inside.

For the teacher's assistant Miss Maureen I made a customized My Creations Journal (Z1268) using the same School Zone paper pack and the coordinating My Stickese. I added some organza ribbon to the sides and some buttons on the top.
Here is the finished journal:

Both of these projects came together pretty quickly and that was good because I am also hard at work on the "roomie gifts" for Convention which is in a few weeks. I am leaving on June 27th and so those need to get done before I leave! For now I will leave you with this tip:

Did you know that you can ink the Bliss Level 2 Assortment metal flowers!!! HINT HINT!!!

And also Did you know that purple hair is very cool!!! (I am definitely getting into the Jasmine spirit!!!!)

34 Days to Convention!!! :)