1 Brave Soul

One of the most amazing sights to see in Mazatlan is the cliff diver. Keep in mind the cliff, while not extremely high, is positioned amongst a tremendous number of rocks. So much so that the diver must become somewhat of a meteoroligist - determining the direction of the wind and paying attention to the incoming of the tide. Once he completes the dive, he must swim like the dickens to reach the shore against the current.

That's why I've dubbed the cliff diver of Mazatlan: ONE BRAVE SOUL

Friends

Part of the blessing of this trip was being able to go with friends. The kids all played together very nicely which let the adults relax as well. After watching the cliff divers, we bought hats from a street vendor for the kids. They all looked adorable in their new Mazatlan hats.

Malecon

The malecon is basically a walkway by the ocean. The mlaecon stretches through a good portion of Mazatlan. We walked up the malecon the first full day we were there. We saw a boat dubbed "Carla" and then this man entertained us for a while. He had fish in his hand and held it out for the seagulls to come swooping by until one of them pulled the fish out of his hands. Of course that is when he suggested a donation for entertaining him, but I have to say it was worth it. He kept going and going until we got a good picture.

Mazatlan, Mexico

Last March we went to Mazatlan, Mexico. I came home all excited about doing the album. Of course, I'm still working on it, but here is part of the title page.

We stayed at the El Cid El Moro Tower which was very nice.

The primary mode of transportation in Mazatlan is pulmonia, which basically looks like a golf cart.

Purse Invitations

My DD is turning 7 in October. Wow! My baby! We're going to have a Rock-n-Roll makeover at Justice for Girls. So I wanted a fun unique invitation. I used Okielady's cut file for a purse card and created a fun girlish invitation. I didn't have time to decorate it all up, but I still think it turned out cute.

The end of summer

It's been a LONG time since I've posted. The summer has been extremely busy for me....work, work, work and no play. I started a page-a-day scrapbook challenge with some of my scrapbooking friends around here. 47 pages due by the start of school. Oops. I'm only done with 7. Time to kick it into gear.

Now my biggest fear is going downstairs.....I did the St. Jude Champaign to Peoria run this weekend. Ran 17 miles without training enough. My legs are IN PAIN. So going downstairs will not be easy, but once I get down there I am staying to get at least 4 or 5 pages done. That is the goal.

Hope you are well......time to scrap!

Thanks for the Memories

To close out the album I wanted to convey our appreciation to my in-laws who take us all to WDW every 3 years. They put a lot of time, energy and vacation points into our trip and it creates such wonderful memories for the entire family. The kids get to spend time with their cousins. We get to spend time with each other when we are so busy in our everyday lives. If I had to do it again, I would use different paper for this title. I don't care for the end result. It's ok, but nothing fantastic. (Cut file)

The BIG One

When we arrived at the Boardwalk, my DH registered each of the girls for a fishing trip on the lake at our hotel. Well, the next day we received a call from the activity center saying our middle DD had won the fishing trip. So daddy, papa, and the kids all loaded up for a few hours of fishing at WDW. I made this title and accents from the Dreams Come True and Ocean of Words cartridges. The colors and title turned out wonderfully.

Pretty as a Princess

Our trip to WDW was just Magical. Not only do we get to do fun things, but we get to do them as a family. In today's hectic world, it's nice to slow down and get to create memories together. One day as we walked through the parks we had a sudden downpour and the weather cooled off for the afternoon. Of course, me, prepared as always, had nothing with me as for as jackets for the girls. So my SIL and I bought them matching pink sweatshirts at a shop on Main Street. As we were waiting for a show to begin, I snapped this picture of the 4 girls together in their pink sweatshirts. SO the title on this page just seemed perfect. 4 beautiful little girls looking "Pretty As A Princess". (Cut file)

Create Joy

2003 was the year my girls discovered the "big rides" at WDW. I had to sit out with my 2-year old while my DH took the 2 older girls to ride Splash Mountain. I love this picture of my daughter as she gets of Splash Mountain. You can almost see the adrenaline running through her little body as the excitement bursts out of her head in the form of a smile. It was definitely contagious. So for this page I went to my Cricut Cheat Sheet to see how the Cricut could help me with this page. I found a title on Beyond Birthdays which says "Create Joy". However, I didn't have that cartridge in my arsenal.

SO I had to make my own title. I used Alphalicious and Joys of the Season. I wanted the title to simply overrun the page and draw attention to it........especially the laughter on my daughter's face as she came off of the ride.

Dreams Come True

I didn't do anything special to this title. It's on the Dreams Come True cartridge. I just cut it out, but it went prefectly with the pictures from the "A Dream Comes True Parade" on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom.

The parade was a dream come true for the kids. As they stopped directly in front of us, they pulled the kids out of the crowds into the middle of the parade. They lined up with the brooms from Mickey and the Sorcerer in Fantasmic and got to be a part of the bucket brigade. Something so simple brings such joy to the parents and the children at WDW.

It's A Small World

From the first time we went to WDW, my FIL declared that his least favorite ride was "It's A Small World."

He didn't want to hear that same verse sung over and over again in 35 different languages. He basically said he would refuse to go. But I was sure he would go once the grandkids came along and he did. It's become a family tradition to load up all of the grandkids and get in the tiny little boat and float around watching all of the kaleidoscope of colors as animatronics dance and sing to the famous song.

The title is Plantin Schoolbook welded together with the globe from Locker Talk in purple, green and gold.

Minnie Flip Book

At Chef Mickey's, my young nephew, Grant, who wasn't even a year yet fell in love with a beautiful character named Minnie. I had so many awesome pictures of Grant staring at Minnie, but they were all so similar that I didn't want to put them all on one page. So I made a flip book similar to a Word book. On the inside of the book, I put one picture on each page to create a "minnie" book of Grant's pictures.

Playhouse Disney

One of the MUST DO events for my young nephew was to attend the Playhouse DISNEY. Bear in the Big Blue House was one of his favorite characters. I googled Playhouse Disney and found the colors and format of the logo and created this title using Mickey Font and Accent Essentials. The show was fun with Bear, Stanley, and others. The kids got to dance and sing to some of their favorite songs.

Happy Birthday

While at Chef Mickey's, we celebrated November birthdays for my FIL, BIL and niece. Goofy brought them each a cupcake loaded with icing. They looked scrumptious. I used the HAPPY BIRTHDAY title from the Celebrations cartridge. I used CDS to weld the title to a cup cake. I cut Happy Bday out 3 different times in 3 different colors and them cut each letter apart and taped them together. I thought it turned out cute and colorful.

Time 4 Fun

When we went to Chef Mickey's for lunch, the kids had a blast. After eating and visiting with the characters, Goofy came around and got all of the kids wound up by having them swing their napkins in the air over the heads to the music. The kids thought it was the best thing because they could just let loose and mom and dad weren't going to stop them. I found the title "Time 4 Fun" on the Cuttin Up cartridge and used the figure of Mickey charging from the Mickey & Friends cartridge. It looks as if Mickey is leading the fun.

The Magic of Disney

You can't talk about Disney and not talk about those Magical Moments. Disney has a way of always making you feel special. Whether it's when you visit a character, such as Stitch, and he plays with your daughter's beautiful curly blonde hair or you watch your 2-year old win a "Year of a Million Dreams" prize, or watching "A Dream come True Parade" as it comes down Main Street with Grandma and Papa. Disney is Magical. I love to watch my girls as they greet Cinderella, Aurora and Mulan walking through MGM. Meeting Buzz and Jesse or getting mad when Donald has to go inside for a few minutes and your daughter cries because she didn't get his signatured.

The experience, the memories. Disney has it all. The cut file for Magical Moments which uses Jasmine and Mickey Font can be found here.

Title Page

The title page for the WDW album was inspired by one I found on the Cricut MB. A big picture of Mickey and CDS and I was all set. The CUT file can be found here. A simple but easy title page to start off the mood for the album.

My DH & I are Disney lovers. We first went to Disney as a couple in 1993 the summer before we were married. I really thought we were going to WDW to help my sister entertain her kids. I knew we'd have a good time, but being there as adults I fell in love with the magic of Disney. The parks are clean. The employees are polite and clean looking people. We spent most of the time with my 2 older nephews and had a blast riding the thrill rides, even though there are not very many.

We went again in 1994 for our belated honeymoon. We weren't able to go on a honeymoon in 1993 because we moved to another state. This time we went with my in-laws and I was in my first trimester of my first pregnancy. We went to Disney in December naively thinking we would still be able to wear shorts all week. NOT TRUE. By the end of the week, I had a terrible cold and almost passed out waiting in a ride line. The Disney staff insisted that my DH roll me out of the park in a wheelchair. How embarrassing.

My in-laws joined the Disney Vacation Club shortly after that trip. We went to Disney in as a family in 1999, 2000 and 2003. Our next trip - as ADULTS ONLY - is this fall for my 40th birthday. We're going to enjoy the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot. Our next family trip to WDW is scheduled for November 2009. Can you tell we are true fans?

FINAL: Chef Mickey

Next to the What a Bunch of Characters title, this is probably my favorite. I just love the way it turned out. Fun, classy, but definitely Disney! The red, black and white with the classic Mickey signature. I was just so happy with it. The cut file can be found here. Nothing fancy, but something that makes me smile.

FINAL: Luau

Luau at the Polynesion anyone? It was great time and I'm happy with the title I used on the page. The bright colors remind me of the tropics. The CUT file can be found here.

FINAL: Are we THERE yet?

I created this title and loved it. The kids at the airport waiting anxiously for the airplane to arrive and take them to WDW. I still love it, but wish I would have used dfferent colors? Now that I am finished I wish I had used different colors. I used tan and light blue because it went with the background paper I selected, but really the title should have been done in black, red and royal blue for the airplane, but here it is anyway. A link to the CUT file is further down the blog!

MADE IT!!!

By the grace of the LORD I was able to finish my MIL's WDW album in time for Mother's Day...even though I had a sinus infection and wanted to spend the entire weekend in bed. Here's the completed "WHAT A BUNCH OF CHARACTERS" title. I thought it turned out great. The CUT file can be found here.

Putting this puppy together took some patience which I really didn't have on Saturday. The characters are only 2" tall and some of the pieces are pretty small. Every time I put something into my Xyron I was afraid it would slip into the seam of the machine and I'd never see it again. The eyes and hands are pretty small...let alone the cuffs on Donald's jacket and Mickey's necktie. I used black for the base of the welded figure. I used red for the letters, but when I put the mat for the faces and clothes through the Cricut I had to take a picture. It was like a rainbow. The best part about the CDS. You can see how your paper should be laid out on the mat before you even put it in the machine. It made the cuts much quicker. Here's a copy of my rainbow mat.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is around the corner and I am scrambling to get my MIL's WDW album done. I haven't felt the best this week. I'm starting to wonder if I have a sinus infection. I will be scrappin, scrappin, scrappin today and hopefully posting some pictures as I complete pages.

I had someone else ask me about using the puzzle pieces from Printing 101. I did a simple page for my daughter when she was on the swim team last year - at the ripe old age of 5. The page is simple, but I was in power layout mode and things had to be simple to get pages done. I need to do my journaling yet, but since I'm working on this WDW album I won't have time until its done.

So here are some pics from my puzzle piece page.

A Bunch of Characters

While sitting my eldest DD's volleyball tournament, I decided to make good use of my time. I created a few page titles I knew I would eventually use, but haven't sorted out which pictures to use with it yet. One is "What a Bunch of Characters".

At this point, I plan to use it with pictures of the kids with the Disney Characters. The problem is that we have SOOOO many of the character pictures. I may have to use this title on a flip out page, or possibly just break the character pictures down into some type of groups.

LUAU at the Polynesian

Another special night on our '03 WDW trip was the night we attended the Luau at the Polynesian. The show was fantastic and the food delicious. Unfortunately, my middle DD wasn't feeling well that night. We later discovered that she has seasonal allergies, but my DH and I split bathroom duty with her and we each missed a good portion of the show. However, watching my youngest DD who was 2 at the time dance to the music still warms my heart.

The title is simple enough done in tropical bright colors of raspberry, orange and gold.

Chef Mickey

During our WDW 2003 trip, the entire family (all 14 of us back then) attended Chef Mickey. Oh what a fun time we had. Buffet. Napkin swinging. Characters. Special memories of my nephew loving Minnie or my youngest DD who was fascinated with the characters' noses. All of these fine memories needed to be captured to reflect the fun and family memories we created on this fantastic trip to WDW.

A special page for Chef Mickeys with a title created using Mickey & Friends and Mickey Font. Here is a screen shot of part of the title. I did it in a black base, red shadow and white lettering. The CUT file can be found here.

Are We There Yet?

I am working on my MIL's Disney album right now. I am doing a Power Layout. So completed pages will have to be posted later.

Some of my favorite pictures include sitting at the airport waiting for the plane to arrive. The excitement in kids' faces is just so sweet. So I made a title for the airport pictures with Plantin Schoolbook, Mickey Font and Mickey & Friends.

As I said, I'll post the final title later. Here is a screen shot of what it looks like and a link to the cut file here.

So much time....

I spent the day yesterday trying to scrapbook. Well, I started out after the kids went to school. I needed to make 2 birthday cards for my dual birthday party my middle DD was attending and a 40th birthday card for a friend who was turning 40 on Friday. Between a friend stopping by to see our house (newly built, but we've been in it for a year) and a meeting I had to attend at lunch, I didn't start scrapbooking until 2 pm. And then...to top it off....I gave the cards away before I took a picture.

I used the Lily birthday card from Shortcuts Sharingblog. For my 40-yo friend, I made a card with 29 again? on the edge. Kind of cute, but I need more embellishments. I haven't indulged in that part of scrapbooking very much. Being a Creative Memories consultant, I have a hard time adding all of these additional things to my scrapbook pages, but I can definitely see adding them to cards and other projects.

Welcome to Chirp Creations

Well, believe it or not, I am addicted. Totally addicted. My wonderful sister bought me a Cricut for my birthday last year. It sat and sat. I was adjusting to going back to work and I didn't have time to scrapbook. Then I used it a few times with my one and only cartridge...George. George...last name Clooney? Anyway - George was fun, but I was curious about what else is out there.

I went to a weekend crop with some friends. We all brought out cartridges. It was so much fun using all of the cartridges without spending all of the money. When I came home, I did some googling and found www.cricut.com and a few yahoo groups....and now 13 more cartridges and CDS later...I am a cricut fool.I am currently working on my MIL's Disney album from our 2003 trip to WDW. A friend of mine says she doesn't use her cricut very much. OMG - you have got to be kidding. I've used it on every page I've created since that weekend crop.

So, I'm hoping to inspire some people to use their cricut. Heck, maybe I'll even learn something. I have lots of scrapbooking to do. Another WDW trip in '06. Niagara Falls '06. Colonial Williamsburg '07. Mazatlan '08. Plus with 3 beautiful daughters, I have a lot of scrapping to do.

So- welcome to Chirp Creations. Hope to see you soon!