Halloween

My boys are always ahead of schedule when it comes to holidays.  They pretty much know what they want for Christmas, the following year.  The same goes with costumes.  However when it comes to my crafting...I am always behind schedule...very behind.  (For the most part I am still working on the first 3 months of my 7 year old's baby book).
I saw the file Too Cute to Spook http://marjorieanndesigns.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=164_192&products_id=1558 from Marjorie Ann and it matched perfectly for what my boys want to be.  Last year my oldest told me that he wanted us to go as matching skeletons.  My second boy usually asks for a Halloween costume for Christmas (One year he asked Santa for Body Parts...I had to explain that it was Halloween Candy)  He got a vampire cape last year and that is what he wants to be this year.  The file also has a werewolf that I can use as I had a pretty fun costume a few years back.
This I believe is my very first layout I have done for pictures that have not yet been taken...probably my last as well.  It's kind of exciting to feel like I am on top of things...if only this meant I was really caught up and able to plan ahead....ha ha ha ha ha!

The title grabbed me right off so I had to use that...looking now I see I left the whites off the title eyes, I will have to go back and add them.  The skeletons are adorable and I will use them again...digitally.  There were a lot of tiny pieces, even with doing it the opposite way and subtracting the bones from the black instead of placing them all.  Also it only came with a girl skeleton, with a skirt so it was a lot harder than I anticipated to alter it to make a boy skeleton also.  I left the hat off the girl and just put on a headband instead.  I also am still struggling with my stamps coming off faded looking.  I had to retrace the whole thing with a black pen.  I am not sure if the stamps are not completely flat so it is missing the ink, or if it is the ink itself.  I actually got Stayz on black ink to try, but then heard it is very permanent, so trying to figure out if it can be used on these stamps.  Also not too set on the photo mats for this layout, but I figure it will be covered with a picture anyone so it should be fine.  Under the watermark is a Halloween journal tag. 

I also had to use the Dracula/vampire as he is adorable and matches what my other son wants to be for Halloween.  Although he is the only image I used from the set on this page, I really like how it turned out.  He was pretty easy to make although I couldn't get the tiny fangs to cut so I had to just draw them on...I do love the way he looks! 

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LSHD Fall challenge

I have been trying to get all caught up on all the pieces I thought I would have plenty of time to do on my vacation.  I think I am almost there!  Little Scraps of Heaven's challenge this time is just to do anything with a fall theme.  I of course chose to do a layout.  I used the moose with leaf chain file.  I sure have a hard time layering papers...most of the time I struggle with matching patterns together, this time I was having a hard time with angling the back papers...it just wasn't straight...lol.  I am trying to open up my talents and try new things but I seem to revert to what I know and they all seem very similar.  I know I am going to have to go outside my comfort zone and take time to practice new things if I want to grow.  I made the title using the Narnia font.

Looking at it now, I made the opposite mistake this time...I should have made the moose bigger.  Usually I go to place my pieces and they are too big.  (I make my pieces before deciding a layout...I base my layout on what will fit/work with the pieces I want to use....how do you usually do yours?)  I wasn't sure what to do besides the moose, title and photo mats.  I wanted to add something around the edges but found I barely have any fall items.  I decided to put the leaves on and the ribbon at the bottom.  I feel like he still needs something around him.  Maybe some more leaves by his feet or a piece of paper to make a ground???  We will see if I add anything before it is counted as finished. 

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Little Big heads

Scrappy Dew was doing a live broadcast to show everything you could do with their scrap factory.  While doing that they gave away the code to the little big head set.  I didn't think I wanted this set, but once I got it and looked in to it...it is so fun!  I saw the little granny file and thought it would be fun to toughen her up a bit.  I messed around with the hair to give her a good balance of tough and old, decided to go with orange with grey highlights!  I also added a pearl necklace...of course the shoes had to match the gloves!  You can see the expansion pack here: http://www.scrappydew.com/collections/scrap-factory-expansion-packs/products/scrap-factory-little-big-heads-expansion-pack
I actually already started another project with these guys...my son is going to love it!

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Malachi blocks

I had to finish off my boys names with these cute Baby alphabet blocks from Marjorie Ann Designs!  I can see me continuing to use these even if I use just the babies or just the blocks.  They are very versatile.  I used the sets A-F http://marjorieanndesigns.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=244&products_id=1469 and M-R http://marjorieanndesigns.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=244&products_id=1471

I did print and cut using a mix of the png files and pieced the svg file with the colors that I want.  I had a few issues with my machine not registering, I also have a problem with the inside pieces.  I have to only cut the edges or else it tends to trace the whites of the eyes and other inside pieces, and cut them out.  I need to fiddle around with it a bit more to see if I can cut all the pieces I want, and only the pieces I want.  I also need to figure out why my images keep getting darker when I put them in my software to add the logo...it makes it a little harder to see everything. 

While I was in working with the letters I needed for the name I saw these cute letters and thought they would be perfect for a card for my sister who is a nurse, so I made them too.  

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Road Trip

We just got to take a 2 week vacation!  We stayed in a cabin at Henry's Lake, which is about 20 miles from West Yellowstone!  It was a wonderful vacation we had a lot of fun and relaxation.  We got to go through Yellowstone a couple of times.  We saw a lot of wildlife on this trip, first time seeing bears at Yellowstone!  We saw a huge moose by our cabin, it ran out in front of us and in front of us for about a block....unfortunately I didn't get a picture of it but it was still cool.  I also saw several bald eagles that I never got a picture of.  Lots of different kind of birds, mink, moose, bears, large owl, fox, bison, chipmunks, squirrels....
The thing we didn't plan very well, is we got home 3 days before school started (which was today).  I didn't give myself enough time to get everything put back together and get prepared, I have been running around like crazy and I'm still trying to get caught up.  Pictures will follow....eventually!
I decided to make a couple of digital pages for the drive...there was a lot of driving, the older boys did pretty good, though there were a lot of questions about when will we get there, how far is it, how long....My baby didn't like all the driving, he likes to be up and moving around, but it wasn't too bad.
I used the set Road Trip from Marjorie Ann Designs http://marjorieanndesigns.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=164_192&products_id=1543 it worked perfectly for this, and there are a lot of different embellishments to choose from.
I feel bad because I can't find my original folder from where the paper came from to tell you who it is from.  It is just listed as zgl roadtrip...I will see if I can track down the artist.

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