little gi

i got some aussie love!!!

check out aussie scrap source !!!  do you guys recognize anyone in that blog???

yup...that is me....& that is tater tot!!  i'm so excited!  i mean i've "enchanted" someone!!!  how cool is that?!

& make sure you take in all of the rest of the eye candy they offer on that site...beautiful, gorgeous, inspiring art! 

& then there is the TimTams....

lee sent me the best package filled to the brim w/ the BEST chocolate i've ever tasted! even mike is hooked!  these aussies know how to make some killer chocolate! 

lee also hooked me up with some fantastic white pens that they don't sell here in the U.S.  & let me tell you....they rock!  no more skipping!!!  i've been skipping w/ joy!!  so cool!  LOVE YOU LEE!!!  get ready for some more of my "cool handwriting"! lolol!!  & in WHITE pen! lol!!

happy thursday!!!  gi

flexing the flowers...

oh this is getting to be fun!! 

patty's flex challenge for this week was flowers... (& if you haven't seen her creation yet for this week....run, don't walk to her blog...so gorgeous!  she is such an amazing artist.)  but i love flowers!  looking through my gallery a bit ago i noticed that i use quite a bit of heidi swapp blooms in my projects (i'm sure y'all have noticed! lololol!!)  but i LOVE them!  i can't get enough of them...they really brighten up just about anything & the texture the lend to the project is fantastic.  so.....it shouldn't suprise you that some HS blooms grace my project for this week ;) 

with the arrival of spring here i was super excited to use some sweet spring colors like the robin's egg blue...the celery green...the punchy pink.  i even brought out the walnut ink from it's cage to dye my shipping tags.   i love the effect it gave & can't wait to start dyeing some other things.  so cool!

here is the rest of the book...i've put the entire thing up over on the side bar too for your viewing pleasure!

   

i got the inspiration for this little book from a little mini project i saw out on a site last august (i wish i could remember where so i could give proper credit!)   the artist had used the shipping tags dyed dark dark brown w/ bright fuchia & orange to do a little summer album.  it was all tied together with some striped green twill....oh it was so yummy!  & i'm so glad it was shared for inspiration & so glad i filed away that amazing creation so i could do my own take. 

& i'm so very, very glad that patty is doing this challenge so i can actually get off my behind & create!  i am really loving this creative energy...so invigorating! i had been busy with other things all week but finally  sat down last night @ 11 pm to create....i got immediately drawn in & i stayed up till @ 1 am just having the best time.  when i went to bed i was so excited & happy with what i had done.  that is what this is all about!!  it is not "being behind" or & being "caught up"  it is having fun with this amazing hobby.  creating art and playing and just exploring your own vision.  i *heart* scrapping!!!

& one of the fringe benefits is that i'm getting to meet such wonderful artists from all over the world.  thank you all so much for your sweet comments @ my work...your encouragement & your friendship!  i am so blessed to have you all in my life!!  LOVE YOU ALL!!!!! 

happy wednesday!!!!  xoxoxoxoxoxo!!!

g 

deck of me...week 11

week 11 of emily's challenge was your initial....

well, my initial is pretty much how everyone calls me.  it's always been that way & it totally fits me.  when i was little i wanted my name to be charlene or darlene...can you believe that?  i used to pretend all the time with my barbies.  charlene & darlene....how funny is that!!!!! 

but i'm g....that's me!  & even though i spend most days in jeans & a t-shirt chasing a bunch of little kennedy people around cleaning up their big messes...nothing glamourous in the least....but this little g's got lots of sparkly inside!!  (and now thanks to this card....lots of glitter everywhere! :)

shine baby....just shine!!!! 

happy monday! g

the saltwater crocodile...by kelly

kelly had her big science fair on friday night.  she was so excited!  her project was the saltwater crocodile....of course!  she quizzed herself all week to make sure she knew all the cool facts about crocs and tried to squeeze in as many episodes of the crocodile hunter diaries so it would all be fresh in her mind...lololol!!  but she really did such a great job.  she drew 3 of her favorite things @ crocs and then wrote her facts (notice the hearts on the crocs?  that is because mates LOVE each other..so cute!!!)  then mike drew a life sized male crocodile head & the kids all colored it.   we had 16 feet of kraft paper with the foot markings on it.  kids kept coming back to see how big it was...it is really eye opening to see how big those animals are.  but her exhibit really looked so great.  she did have a few people ask her some questions, it was so cute to see her so proud that she knew all the answers.  & we were so proud of her!  our little animal girl....so cool!!

(& yes...someone DID do the bobby brady exploding volcano....i guess it is sort of a must have at these things....lololol!!)

happy monday! g

everything is totally & completely white!

just when we thought spring had sprung...we got @ a foot of snow on friday into saturday.  so of course on saturday afternoon we set out & built a 5 foot snowmommy (ryan's idea!  i swear!...i know..he's a mama's boy! lol!!)...she's keeping warm w/ my orange fleece scarf & we made her a snowball skirt....her eyes are a little sunken now...quite appropriate! ;)

then on sunday mike took the kids out on the back hill for sleigh riding....but the resourceful little buggers figured out that the surface was slick, almost icy....so rather than drag a sled up & down, they just threw themselves down the hill & rode on their snowsuits....mike must have taken 500 pictures (thank god for the 2 GB card!)...& there are plenty of crash pics.  mike finally dug a landing strip so they would stop flying into the little fence.

good times....being a kid...playing....i'm enjoying every last little teeny bit...

i love how ryan & kelly are holding hands...too freakin' cute!  they are big into telling each other...hey ry, you know you are my very best friend.  yeah kel-wee, you're my best friend too.  and kate...and i guess you have noticed the tater's absence in these pics....she's not too fond of the snow...

so happy first day of spring! 

g

flex 4...

patty's challenge this week was to scrap w/ your scraps....such a great one since my scraps enter the black hole of oblivion once they in fact become scraps....if you haven't figured it out yet...i'm a tad unorganized when it comes to my scrap stash...it is everywhere...i don't have a "studio" or even another room....or even a desk for that matter...i scrap at my kitchen table...right in the center of all of the action...& as you know, i live w/ a bunch of little people....so needless to say, my scraps often get lost...i've gotta find a system....because it was fun workin' with those scraps!!!

for the design i was inspired by kelli crowe ...i *heart* kelli crowe...

i used a scrap of scenic route for the background...it doesn't measure 8 x 11 or 12 x 12... & i kinda like it that way...it is sorta in the 10 X 11 range or something....& i pulled out all my faves from recent projects...so of course, there is polka dots!  & then i sorta went crazy w/ my american crafts glitter pen...oh yeah...& my new bff...cat's eye chalk ink

can't wait to see what patty has in store for us all tomorrow!!

happy tuesday!

g

deck of me....week 10...

week 10 of em's challenge...make a note to yourself....& this couldn't have come at a better time...as you can see...my note is to SLOW DOWN...ENJOY!!  i need to not always want to rush on to the next thing...

for instance:

• i need to enjoy the craziness of my kids...not wish them bigger & calmer & not as needy...it all goes so fast & i need to relish this precious time...even though it is a heck of a lot of work for mommy!  gotta keep remembering...these days may be long...but the years are short
• i need to slow down & take my time and enjoy creating....take the time to experiment...stop rushing in order to get it done & enjoy the process....wait for the paint to dry...
• chill out in the mornings....stop running around the house like a crazy person because we are going to miss the bus...if we miss it...oh well....the universe will go on if i have to drive kelly to school...it is only down the road, after all...
• enjoy the crazy spring weather....enjoy today's snow...it is so beautiful!  there will be plenty of time for tulips and sunny days...but the beauty of snow on the arbor vitae branches is so fleeting....the quietness of snow gets broken too quickly....
• enjoy kate trying to navigate the stairs even though it takes eons to get into the house....put down the bloody grocery bags & soak her toddlerhood in...she will be running up those steps in no time & i will totally forget what it was like when she had to brace herself w/ her little chubby hands on every step...
• encourage ryan to explore....even if it means that getting into the truck can take more than 45 seconds...that woodpecker at our birdfeeder might not be there tomorrow...

so i'm going to look at this & remind myself....don't rush...stop & smell the roses, g!  life is not a race....ENJOY!!

happy friday!  g

almost flexed up.....

here is my flex 3 all hot off the presses...i did it last night since mike was stuck at work AGAIN...got myself all glittered up & inked...totally fun....especially since i had the kiddos in bed by 7:20....they were zonked from all the fresh air & sliding & little bike riding (post full of sunny pics to follow post haste....don't fret! & yes...i did say sunny! lol!!)....so little g got to have her little quiet g time w/ a cup of mango peach tea & lots of glitter....as i said...totally fun....

my old is the picture...it is from 2000 back when tuck was a sprite young pup, out cruising the streets of the city.. & the cardstock (bought ages ago before i became obsessed w/ patterned paper) & those photo corners found in my stash...i remember getting all giggly at them 3 years ago....& i'm still giggly...they're cool!

my new is the tinkering ink (big circles) and sassafrass lass (little green polka dot)

my sparkly is well...duh!...the sparkly blue glittery TRUE....have i mentioned that i am now in glitter love???

and my blue is the inked edges everywhere & the blue sparkly sparkes

& the picture is of my bestest dog ever, Tucker....he was my wedding present from my husband 10 1/2 years ago & he has been through it all with us....we all totally adore him (even though he has a habit of whining that drives me crazy...but i'm sure if you talked to him you'd get an earful of my nuttiness that drives him bonkers too! lol!!)....it is the only dog or any pet animal for that matter, that ryan and kate like...they run screaming for the hills at the sight of the tiniest kitten or pug....you'd never know they had a 75 pound boxer roaming their home the way these 2 freak out....

so go hug your pet!  & have a happy thursday!!  g

presenting.....

g.....

ta..da...da...ta..da!!!!!

i've put the entire mini book over on the side bar...i LOVED this project & got so much inspiration from so many....from elwira's cardboard mini book, from petrina's amazing use of red, from janine's genuine journaling, from n'gaire's self confident and gutsy artistic style....to name just a few.  this is my take on patty's flex your creative mind challenge #2  which was to pick a letter....i know you all saw something coming down the pike with a big ol' G on it...so i went with it....& tried to see what "g" is about right now....a little snapshot of me, here & now...what weighs on my mind... this sort of self reflection was really wonderful (& really scary! lol!), but i learned so much and i hope to be able to put more of me in my art from now on....

happy tuesday!  g

deck of me...week 9...just a little late...

week 9 from emily is inspiration found....

i find inspiration everywhere...it is like an explosion of wonderful goodness....i'm finding so much inspiration from all corners of the world through the computer lately...& meeting such inspiraional people (& fun people to boot!)....there is soooo much wonderful stuff out there it is endless...& i've been caught "oooohhhing & ahhhhing" at the computer screen on more than one occasion!

i also get so much inspiration from the world around me and in me....from my faith and my thoughts...from my husband & kids, from my friends....from the beautiful country i live in...right now so close to exploding into spring...from the music i love to listen to & sing along with in the car at the top of my lungs...there is soooo much good...& i am sooooo grateful....

so here is my card this week....

i wanted it to look like a pretty explosion because that is soooo how my head feels sometimes....so thank you all for your inspiration....& KEEP IT COMING!!!

happy monday everyone!  gi