The (paper) Trail Makers Challenge Blog

I wanted to share a new challenge blog with all of you -- The (paper) Trail Makers Challenge Blog! Its first challenge will go live on August 1st but in the meantime there is an amazing giveaway! All you have to do is become a follower of the blog and leave a comment saying that I, anazelia, sent you and you will be in the running for a box of amazing goodies (so far I know there is Fancy Pants paper, stickles, and smooch spritz in there!) http://www.trailmakers.blogspot.com/

Scrap it with a song reveal- i hope your dreams

So the song this week at Scrap it With a Song is "Somewhere over the rainbow." Now I used a line from the original song, but the challenge this week is for the Kathryn McPhee. Now, the lyrics for the two are almost the same, but for this week's challenge I used a line from the original song. Now, I will be honest and didn't really realize I did that, but it appears I am not the only one on the DT that did that.

For some reason this song reminds of a Disney Princess movie. I think it is the whole dreams and wishing upon a star. Or maybe Disney uses that song somewhere. In my old age, my memory is going, LOL. Anyway, this picture of Bella was taken in June. It was a Saturday morning, and Jon and Gracie had gone to run errands and Bella stayed home with me. We were watching a "girl movie" (PC term for Chick Flick) and I guess she got bored. So she dressed up in a Princess dress and went over to the kids side and started peacefully playing. I immediately got my camera and started snapping away.

This week is being sponsored again by the adorable Sew Many Cards!!!


They have offered up to the winner of this week's challenge FIVE digi images from their shop. I can't wait to see what you all create :) You will have until Sunday, August 1st at noon (CDT) to link up your creation to the main blog. I can't wait to see what you all do with this song.

just a reminder

You have until the end of the month, less than a week to play along with us at XOXO. It is a scraplift blog and there are 25 pages to choose from. . And the winner gets a kit from Lucky Girl Crafts. So check it out and play along if you haven't already.

L.O.V.E - scrap it with a song reveal

Sorry for the delay in posting this weeks reveal. Life has gone crazy. We have a chimney chute ash thingy (yes, that IS the technical name of it) that fills up with water when we get a crazy rain. But we have chimney swifts living in our chimney and they are protected birds under the Endangered Migratory bird act. So we can't do anything about the birds. Sigh. I normally wouldn't mind the birds, it is kind of fun to hear them chirping away, but with the rain . . .

Anyway, I digress. This post is not about birds and chimneys and rain, it is about my reveal at Scrap it With a Song. SO the song this is is "L.O.V.E." I love this Christmas morning photo of me and Gracie. (And FYI, I actually did a little photoshopping to it. My shirt under the pj top had a big hole in it that you could see, so I played around with picasa and fixed it. I was VERY excited about it.)

I wrote the lyrics on the chipboard alphas.

So if you want to play along, please do so. Remember to link up your direct blog post to the main board. Our sponsor this week is once again our DT member, Angela, aka Toucan Scraps. She designs digital scrapbooking and craft printable kits. Her products include digi-paper packs, pdf printable scrap kits, digital scrapbooking kits, quickpages and ready to print gift boxes. Angela sells in 3 stores, and today she is offering the winner of this challenge a pack of 6 digi papers (8 x 8 inches) from her store at I Did It Creations (the winner can choose).

Hanging out- Nuts About Sketches Reveal

Here is my other reveal this week. It is another park page from my visit to my parents house last month. And again it uses the Apple Jack line from Sassafrass Lass. That line is just too perfect for kids pages. So here is the sketch from Shawn

And here is my page,

As you can see, my yougest Gracie, has NO FEAR. She scares the wits outta of me. But honestly, not sure if this is PC to say, but I am in a mood, I have resigned myself that at some point she will have a broken something. LOL

Have a good week and you probably won't be seeing anything new from me until reveals on Monday as I am back to my DT work.

So Happy Together= Scrap it with a Song Reveal

This weeks song at Scrap it With a Song, is "So Happy Together." I just love this song. It is fun and sweet and fun. LOL. I had lots of ideas for this song, but the lyrics reminded me of my parents. They have been happily married since 1967.

I have always thought they are the best and worst example for my sister, brother and I. They are so in love and have been together forever. But they make it look so easy. As I am sure most of us know marriage is not easy and it takes work. Yet, watching them growing up, they made it look effortless.

Anyway, here is the page.

PPs and elements are Fancy Pants. ZVA bling. Little Yellow Bicycle doily.

So if you want to play along we would love to have you. The winner this week gets $25 gift certificate to

Just remember to link up your project to the main site.

bella at 4

Here is a page I did the other day. I used a sketch from Pages in Time and a kit from the Scrap-Room (well minus the bling, and flower.) I thought I was doing a challenge for Dixie Pieces, but upon completion of the page, I realized I used the wrong color cardstock. Oops.

Anyway, this is my daughter on her 4th birthday. We have a tradition that the birthday person gets to pick whatever he/she wants for dinner. She picked Chinese food. Good choice. My mother in law had been her, but went to visit some family in MD, so it was just the four of us. Perfect. But on the way to pick up dinner (we first picked up Jon and then stopped by to drop off something to a friend of mine who had just had a small medical procedure done that day) she and her sister both fell asleep in the car. So we get our food and go home. Wake both kids up and have dinner. So . . . by the time it was time for cake, she was a bit grouchy. LOL.

While we were eating dinner, I asked her some questions so that I could get a list of her favorite things while she was 3. Love that she can do that now. So here is the page

Thanks for looking.

35 bringing fun back

Well today is my birthday. I am 35. I know it is silly, but I have had a really hard time with this birthday. I was so happy to finally turn 30, but 35, sheesh. I think it has to do with what was happening when I was turning 30. Now I look back and compare what was going on five years ago and what is going on now. Don't get me wrong, I love my life. I am happy being a stay at home mom and I have a wonderful husband, and a great house- needs work, yes, but great none-the-less. I just feel like I have something somewhere. And I have lately realized what I have lost.

FUN. I have lost fun.

Don't get me wrong, cleaning the house, changing diapers, picking up toys, doing endless laundry, and things like that have their place. They are the chores of life, right? But they can be devoid of fun. So I have decide that this year of my life I am going to bring fun back. Yep, you heard me right. I am going to somehow bring fun back into my life. And here is the page I made to commemorate this event.

Two challenges for this. First the sketch is Sketchy Thursday's. I changed it up a bit, but . . . and second Dixie Pieces has a challenge to celebrate yourself as the birthday girl.


PP and floral border are Webesters Pages. Lace is May Arts. Pearls are Queen and Co. Bling is Zva and rub on is Basic Grey.

xoxo challenge- I love you 18

Well it is time again for another XOXO girls challenge. Remember this is a scraplift challenge, and there are 25 xoxo girls, so one of them should inspire you. And you can enter as many times as you want. This month the winner will receive a prize package from Lucky Girl Crafts. For official rules and details check the main blog.

So here is my page,

So, this is a page I have wanted to do for a while. Not necessarily with this photo, but with this title. I took the picture SO I could do the page, but I may do it again, with a better picture. AND I actaully went back and changed two things about this page, but never re-took the picture and posted it for the challenge. OOPS. I fixed the stitching and the "love" on the heart.

Anyway, about this page. My oldest, Bella, is very affectionate. We are always saying "I love you" in this house. And she stated asking me how much I love her. So I will say I love you a billion. And being the sweety that she is, she will say, "well I love you 18." Or some other number. She doesn't realize how much 18 is or its relationship to a billion. But she is learning her number and she knows 18 is higher than say 7.
And it doesn't matter, really 18 or a billion, I just love her more than words can say or numbers can judge.

our honeymoon- Candy Shoppe Designs and ACOT

Here is a just for fun page I did. (I have decided that since this is my birthday week, that I am going to take time off and play again at my scrapping.)

So two challenges for this one- First Candy Shoppe Designs has a "less is more" challenge going on. So basically the challenge is to create using anything but flower, bling, and patterned paper. No problem. ACOT has a challenge to scrap a memorable vacation. Well I choose my honeymoon. It was FANTASTIC. Granted it didn't get off to a good start- missed the plane, had to spend a night in Charleston WV. (secretly a good thing since I was way to hung over to fly and then take a bus through Jamaica.)

So this is what I came up with,

The edges are all bazzill edges that are inked with glimmer mist. With the circle one I then went back over it with a blending tool and alcohol ink. For the heart I used glimmer mist and alochol ink on a blending tool and then dadded. I used crackle paint on the back ground- and then brushed it with alchol ink- the sliver stuff. Then I used distress ink to dabbed on the edges of the paint.

Anyway, the challenge at CSD is due today but there are three more. And the prize is being hosted by Ann, a virtual friend of mine, who is a Memory Works consultant.

sassy lil' sketches July Guest Spot

I am the July Guest Designer for Sassy Lil' Sketches and I am so pleased to have been chosen, that I will forgive them for spelling my name incorrectly ;) I had so much fun with the sketch they sent me. (so did Gracie, who decided to "help" me by getting a marker and scribbling all over the bottom of the page forcing me to figure out how to cover it up, so . . . ) Anyway, I really wanted to do a page about our first real Christmas tree. Before this year we always had a fake one. But since we were in a new house (our kitchen had just been completed 10 days before Christmas) we wanted to have a real tree. And man what a difference a real tree is. The sketch that the Sassy Ladies sent me was prefect for my pictures.

So here is the sketch

And here is my page. I turned the pieces of pp on the side.

And stop by Sassy Lil' Sketches and try your hand at the sketch. They have some great sponsors this month.

Monday Reveals

Good morning everyone. I hope you all had a great holiday weekend (well for those of you in the US anyway.) This is our first 4th in the new house and we were quite happy that we had a view of two fabulous firework displays from our front yard. To the right we could see the national firework display and to the left the Washington Country Club display. In years past at our old house their was a view of the Washington Monument and so our neighborhood had a big block party. But it was crowded and it was hard to really see things with all the people there. And we couldn't see it from our house. Now we are a bit closer, the view not quite as good- no Washington Monument- but we could see the display and there was no crowds. Not bad, IMO.

Anyway on to my reveals. In the spirit of the 4th, Scrap it with a Song, has chosen "America, the Beautiful" as its song. Even if you are not an American, the lyrics are full of powerful images and colors to choose from. I chose to go the patriotic route and use some pictures from last year's 4th. My mother in law always gets the girls coordinating outfits in red, white and blue. I am not big on dressing my children alike, but . . . whatcha going to do? So . . . here it is

This week's winner will get a goodie bag from Nikki Silvis. So, if you want to play do so. You have until Sunday July 11th at noon, CDT to play.

Oh and Scrap it with a Song, is having a DT call. If you are interested check out this link.


Now on to Nuts About Sketches. Here is this weeks sketch

Such a wonderful two pager. I took a lot of photos of this awesome park near my parents house while we were visiting a few weeks ago. It is the same park that I grew up playing in, except there are a ton of new playthings to play on. I mean it is SO nice. So nice, that my girls are still asking to go to "granddads park." Unfortunately granddads park is a 6 hour car trip, so we won't be going any time soon. So here it is,

Have a good week everyone. I am going to try to play a bit and get some new pages posted this week. It is my birthday week, so I will get some me-time in. (I will be 35 on Friday, eek!)

In my purse redo

Well after looking at my page and looking at it I decided I needed to do something else too it.  I guess I was just too happy about actually being able to scrap that I jumped the gun a bit.  So I added a few elements to it.  And here it is

All I did was add the touch of blue, some queen and co pearls and some brads.  But I think it makes it pop a bit more. 

Have a happy 4th everyone.

YAY Me- I got to scrap

Well my mother in law is here- Bella will be 4 tomorrow- so she took them shopping so I have a day off. Well sort of, LOL. And I woke up really early and looked for some challenges (non- team work wahoo) to do. Journaling Junkies has a what's in your purse challenge. I have seen these before, but never got into it. But lately I have been thinking about all the stuff I carry in my purse and in the description of the challenge they say, "I have discovered that what we carry around in our bags is very indicative pf the stage of life we're in at this moment." And I find that statement so so so true. So here it is, see below for journaling.

My journaling is around the edges and it says, "I am not a purse person. In fact when I was childless I prided myself on not being one of "those" girls. Now with two children and a thousand things to do I am forced to carry a purse. On any given day I have a variety of things in my purse, but I always have ."


The arrows and journal spots are the pointing at


- wallet, phone, headphones and snacks
- sunscreen for the girls
- a camera for the girls (well really for me to take pictures of the girls)
- a notebook for lists, sketches, notes, etc.
- coupons and receipts

Almost all elements on this are from the July kit at Dixie Pieces. pp is October Afternoon and Cosmo Cricket. Rub-ons are luxe designs. Alphas are Cosmo Cricket. Brads are Basic Grey. Pleated ribbon is Pink Paislee.