live . craft . learn

he is everything to me

i made this two weeks ago for the man. a little simple thank you. he's always there. always supportive. i couldn't have picked a better man if i was shopping for him at tar-jey. in fact i know i wouldn't have. which is why i am even more thankful that one night, exactly 9 years ago today, he walked up to me and whispered a sweet sentence into my ear. from that moment on i was his. i had no choice. i was his.

the skies here are full of brown smoke & residue from all of the nearby wine country fires. so the littles and i are hiding out inside as i'm quite worried that it will make ben's asthma flare. when we woke up this morning and headed to maddies' speech lesson it seemed that it was better, but the heat is making it worse. so sad to know that so much of this beautiful county, and the ones near us are burning.

also, for those of you who asked about my book... gigi finally started posting the directions on her blog. such a simple & amazingly brilliant idea. make sure you go see how it's done.

happy wednesday.
xo

*smiles*

saturday at pmp was amazing. seriously! i taught two classes to a room filled with some of the most amazing women ever. it was relaxed and carefree and when the classes were all over i sat down and laughed and cropped until almost midnight-thirty. of course i had a hell of a late night drive back home {1.5 hours} but i would {& will!} do it again....

half of the girls in the process of making ...

this is a peek at the vintage embellishment bar i had available during my mini book class. the girls could go up and choose whatever extra little bits of vintage embellishments they wanted to add to make the project reflect them and their story.

some of the goods in the mini book kit. lovely jbs, maya road and lots of vintage bits.

i realized i took exactly 8 pictures and only of one side of the room. what's with that?? lol

this is my sweet friend marie's hands playing with the vintage filled goodie bag i gave everyone who signed up for both classes. she had surgery a few weeks ago and i was SO happy to see her... and hear her little chirping hiccups.

i've got just a couple kits from both classes still left and thought i'd offer them up here before they go into my etsy shop. never mind they're here now, it's probably easier this way. :)

also, i know some of you have pictures with me from the sis event and i would adore a copy. if you do, can you please email them to me? kl[at!]k8tykat[dot!]com. thank you!

happy monday!
xo

oh and ps : i saw miss suzy cropping too. but shhh... don't tell anyone. it'll be our little secret. ;)

because this is what it's all about ...

a day spent frolicking outside with my two littles. splashing in fountains. feeling the warm sun upon our faces. laughing. giggling. being together. i lost sight of that a while ago, but thankfully, i have found it again.

tomorrow i'm heading to pmp for a day filled teaching two workshops, scrapping with friends and definitely more laughter. yes. it will be just what the doctor ordered.

happy friday! happy weekend!
xo

it was just perfect

yesterday was a perfect day. the kiddos and i stayed in our jammies for "lazy friday" as maddie bean has started calling them. something i'm really appreciating right now, these friday mornings when we're all here, me, ben, maddie. i'm usually scrapping or doing chores or we're playing games. this will be our last year like this, next year it'll be and my little boyfriend while the girl is in school, and although i am looking forward to having him to myself for a bit, i'm going to miss our pony loving girl. sigh. it happens too fast, this growing up thing.

in the afternoon the kiddos headed off to nonnas and then i had the house to myself. *sigh x2*. seriously, i covet those hours i get, covet them. i headed over to sistv and played in angie's round robin. SO MUCH FUN! seriously, i don't think i've had this much fun scrapping in months.

and of course the hambly dt call was finally announced and i am so honored to be the dt coordinator. i adore allison, she's become such an amazing friend and she is so talented. and the product is just luscious and being such a supporter of all things handmade it just makes me so proud to be part of such an amazing company.

we're taking the littles to see kung-fu panda this afternoon... cannot wait!

happy saturday!
xoxo

the things she says

* "i can do it myself"
* "when i'm in kindergarten i can __________________ "
* "i only cried a tiny bit" {when getting her shots yesterday}
* "you don't have to watch me mommy, i can do it"
* "can i wash the dishes... mop the floor ... laundry ... dust ... ???"
* "will bubba miss me next year when i'm at school"
* "i can say 's' now mama, isn't that great?"
* "i can take a bath by myself now mommy, you can go do something else" {not quite yet ...}

she's come along way, my baby girl. she's not a baby anymore, i have to keep telling myself that. i see this pic and i can recall how she smelled as a baby. my endless nights worrying about how her palate would effect her future. the way i feel because she always wants to hold my hand in public. how she hugs all of her friends when she sees them and when she says goodbye. how i love sneaking around a corner and listening to her play ponies, all those sweet little voices she uses. her sensitive heart. how her doctor/hospital anxiety has subsided and disappeared this past year, no more stress, worry or screaming at checkups. she's not a baby anymore...

i'm so proud of her.
my girl.
my sweetness.
my maddie bean.

xoxo

vi scrapper

so a few months ago vibeke contacted me and asked if i was interested in doing an interview for the amazing norwegian scrap magazine vi scrapper. of course i said yes, after i closed my mouth from the shock. and although i know the answers i answered i can't read the article, but i hear from mari that a translation is coming... right??!? ;D

i sent in about 10 layouts and they used all of my favorites, including two that i created for october afternoon for winter cha. see... there's becky & becca & gi & me hanging out in omaha on silver bella weekend.

and my two littles. maddies layout "i would" was created for my mmm submission last year. it still hurts a little knowing i don't have that layout, but at least it's here, and that makes me happy.

and my favorite cup of coffe, a soy flat latte.

thanks vibeke. it was a pleasure doing this!

*sigh*

i love norway.
xoxo

happy birthday sistv!!

i went from making 3 layouts to apply to be a sistv fashionista to designing these beauties which i am SO proud of. who would have thought all this year with sistv has brought me. teaching in norway {hi girls!! i miss you SO much!!}, teaching at suzy's, october afternoon dt, a passion for sniffing vanilla infused papers, incredible friends near & far & in between, a creative outlet i adore and over 10,000 sisters who are incredibly talented, funny and supportive.

so... to celebrate sistv's 1 year birthday i'm giving away a paper pack of my pemberley collection + some vintage yumminess to go along with it. just a leave a comment by midnight friday pst and i'll pick a winner saturday morning.

happy birthday sistv!!!
xoxo

missing

these two. last week they decided to step down as fashionistas and although my heart broke a little, because i wouldn't see them participating in fgirl things anymore, i understand. sometimes you know when it's time to move on. time to bring focus back to yourself. time to concentrate on family and the reason why we scrap in the first place. things i've been thinking about for a while now as well...

but i want them to know, truly know, how blessed i feel because i know them. how priceless these photos from last summer are to me. and although i understand, although i know i will still chat & "see" them online, i will miss their little fgirl stars. they are originals. in heart and spirit and i will always remember and hold that dear.

i love you kiki & chellers.
always!

xo

inspiration found

it's amazing, it truly is, to sit {well... actually i stand} and create with papers that i designed {more here}. i knew it would be exciting. i knew it would make me happy. but i didn't realize how full my heart would be when i saw others create with them... i feel so blessed.

cortney


becky


kristina


marie

and yes, i stole all these pics right from the amazing gallery at sistv. but i don't think they'll mind.

also, i know i'm super late but i'll be contacting my destash winner via email this afternoon. due to the nature of the reason why i decided to do this, to support those who might not be able to afford supplies right now, i've decided to do it this way instead of announcing it here. i'm sure you all understand and i hope you'll think about doing a destash rak now and again as well.

and thanks to emily for the idea, it has made my heart happy knowing i'll be helping someone create art.

and, and ... make sure you come back tomorrow. i have some exciting news to announce about a creative team i just joined. it is going to push me to be real and honest, which is exactly what i've been craving.

happy friday!
xo

buy a donkey

from {v}vilna