What a weekend!!

Wow, seriously. What a weekend! We had a great time on our camping trip, it was quite the adventure. We pulled into San Marcos Campground Wednesday early afternoon. It rained the whole way there, but the rain stopped a bit before we arrived at the campground. At the last minute, Craig had scored a site with RV hookups and before the trip was over we would be SO glad he did. Here's the trailer all set up. This was my first camping trip with the trailer!

It was fairly easy to set up and Craig plugged everything in to see if it was all working. Yes, it was! Notice the black clouds overhead?

We should have known we were in for trouble!! Did some hiking and exploring the campground then headed back for dinner. Just as Craig started BBQing...the rain hit. And it started pouring. And pouring and raining. Geez...it was ALOT of rain!! We spent the rest of the evening in the trailer and I was amazed how much it rained. The kids thought it was great fun, coloring by lantern-light.

Craig also had the foresight to bring his laptop and the kids watched movies after dinner because we had a hookup. It was nice because we weren't going anywhere. The next morning...still raining! We discovered the saturation point for the canvas on the trailer and the breech point was right above my and Craig's heads!! We woke up to soaked pillows and some dripping, but only on our side. The kids were high and dry!! Look at this rain!

When the rain stopped mid morning, we headed OUT!! We walked the trail under the freeway and through the puddles and to the beach. The kids loved puddle stomping!

We also had to cross over the train tracks to get to the beach, which the kids thought was so funny.

The beach was absolutely gorgeous. The sky was SO blue and the clouds were so pretty. I could not stop taking photos. And sun + rain = rainbows!!

We also found about 15 lobster and crab molts. I don't know if the storm brought them all up from the kelp beds, but we found a couple of full molts. They looked exactly like lobsters...but nothing was inside!


We had a great time that morning at the beach. The kids loved playing and running and screaming and yelling...all things they could not do in the trailer! Here are a few of my favorite photos from the morning.



The rest of the weekend was spent hiking, sampling beers at Pizza Port brew pub (not far from the campsite..hee hee hee), playing at the beach and hanging out around camp. it was really really cold at night and were thankful we brought a little space heater. If you've made it through all these photos, thanks! I hope you had a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Just wanted to wish all my blogging friends Happy Thanksgiving! We will be celebrating with family, at the beach and hopefully it won't be raining. Because we will be camping...rain or shine! Plan on doing alot of eating and hiking and tidepooling and beachcombing and smores making this weekend. I am a wee bit bummed that I will miss out on going shopping on black Friday because I love to do that. I don't know why, it's just kinda fun. So have a great holiday and catch you all later!!

What a week!!!

Wow, being sick all week really takes alot out of a girl. I'm even missing my Twilight movie party tonight. I just don't think anybody wants to sit in a crowded theater next to the girl who's hacking up a lung. Just call me typhoid Mary. So sad i'm missing my Edward right now, but he'll be there for me when I am ready. Not much else going on. We had Kevin's soccer party this week and it was insane. I think every soccer team had their party at Lamppost pizza on the same night. Insane, I tell you. But I did make the cutest soccer ball cupcakes for his team. And guess what...I forgot to take photos!! But this is what they sorta looked like...the soccer balls...

That's about it! I've been working on christmas gifts and cards and other Christmas goodies. But I can't share anything yet! But I will share this, our advent calendar. 25 little folded origami boxes. I made these last year and the kids have been asking when are we getting out our little boxes?? Craig and I will have to fill them up and then we'll put them out. The kids are excited!!


Have a great weekend everybody!

Yes, another sick day.

Okay...i'm officially sick of being sick. I've been sick for 2 weeks and it really bites. Thought I was kicking it last week but it came back Friday with a vengence. It was hot and windy all weekend and that didn't help my throat. Two soccer games, a soccer party and running errands Saturday left me pooped!! Then a birthday party yesterday (which in it's defense was pretty darn fun AND they had a cooler of beer for the adults...double score!! beer and sudafed...well, you know what I mean) left me spent! No sleep due to coughing and sore throat just zaps the energy out of me. And nobody at work (especially your office mate) wants you sitting at work coughing up a lung all day. So...home is where I am. Thanks for listening to me bitch about it.

I've been working on lots of Christmas goodies lately. Gifts and cards and all sorts of stuff. Already ordered our Christmas cards (Thanks Tiffany!!) from a really cool site called Pear Tree Greetings. You can get recycled photo cards and also recycled envelopes. You gotta love that, plus they have some really cute card designs. Check it out if you are making photo cards this year.

And Jennifer McGuire posted a video of her scrap room on her blog. You must go check it out and then i'll let you know when she is letting me move in. Hee Hee!! Just an amazing space, how fun does that look!!! My scrappy friend Beth got me hooked on her blog and now it's one that I check every day. Love all her stamping techniques and cards she creates. When I grow up, I want to make cards just like her.

That's about it for today! Just waiting for the cold medicine to kick in so I can go nap. Hope you're all having a great Monday!! I'll leave you with some pics of my kids on their scooters, man they LOVE those things!! They also love to ride together on one scooter...and I wonder where my grey hair is coming from???

Got Christmas Cards?

Do you ever want to make your own Christmas cards but feel intimidated or feel you won't have enough time? Well, here's your chance to make great Christmas cards this year and take the guess work out of the design...Color Me Daisy's Christmas card kit!! You will get everything you need to make 12 cards of 3 different sizes. All for only $16, that's pretty cool!! A cute snowman stamp is included in the kit. Also included are step-by-step instructions to make your cards, designed by myself and Daisy Girl Raechelle. This kit takes all the guesswork out of what supplies to use as well as giving you detailed instructions to make your cards...or make your own unique designs. Here are my designs and check out Raechelle's blog to see her cards!







Hope you are all having a great weekend. We have some major wildfires burning right now. It's was super windy and in the 90's yesterday and that was recipe for disaster. Keep the fire victims in your thoughts and also all the firefighters who are out there right now fighting these fires. My GF's husband has been out for 48 hours straight with no end in sight. Thoughts of no wind and cooler weather going out!!

Last Soccer Games

So today is the last soccer game of the season! They seemed to have fun this season and they are both already asking to play baseball/softball in the spring. It's windy and smokey from the Santa Barbara fires this morning, but the show must go on!

Here's a quick layout I did the other night. I finally opened my pack of Offbeat papers from Basic Grey and didn't know where to start! LOVE all the colors in this pack, so perfect for so many things. I also used grungeboard for the second time. I know i'm slow to jump on the grungeboard wagon. I painted the swirl and then inked it with a 'desert sand' ink pad. I know there is alot more I can do with grungeboard, just need to find the time to play!!



Thanks for stopping by, have a great weekend!!

Yes, another mini album!

I've been really into making mini albums. I love that I can sit down and pretty much finish up a mini in a night or two. Color Me Daisy's November kit, Feelin' Fall, came with this super cute Maya Road tabbed album. It included all the pages plus plenty of small chipboard embellies in just the right size!! I pulled out my jazz blue Glimmer Mist and went to town on the chipboard. This album came together really quickly, almost everything (except the prima flowers) is from the November kit.






I loved pulling out my Glimmer Mist again. I had to unclog the sprayer and stained my finger pretty good, but got it working! I will have to remember to use that mist more, it's really pretty and fun. Maybe I will ask for the Bind-it-all for Christmas after all...

Thanks for stopping by!!! Only 8 more days until this....!!!!!

Daisy Blog Hop-Transparencies!!

Hi everyone! I hope you are stopping by for the Color Me Daisy Blog Hop!! I decided to make a mini transparency album for my project. Super easy way to use up your scraps and make a great mini album that would be a perfect stocking stuffer. Here's what you need...

1. transparencies (got mine at office depot)
2. stamps
3. Stazon ink
4. patterned paper or cardstock of your choice (I'm using the Feelin' Fall November CMD kit for my paper)
5. matching embellies
6. ribbon or twine



First step, cut your transparencies into 4x6 size. You can have as many pages as you want for your album, I used 4 for mine. I have my pages in the tall orientation. Stamp along the edges of your pages with Stazon ink. Any stamps, any color ink. Stamping can be a bit slippery, so be careful when lifting up your stamp. If it smears, you can wipe it off immediately and then stamp again. Here are 3 of my pages.



Add your photos. I used wallet sized photos, matted them and attached with tombo adhesive. Then turn the page over and add another piece of patterned paper or cardstock in the same spot. Don't cover up the stamping on the edges!



Cut a piece of paper as your cover. Make it tall enough to cover the whole book, but don't cover up all the transparencies and stamped edges. Fold your paper, add the pages, then punch holes. I used my cropodile. Tie together with ribbon or twine.



Embellish the front cover as you wish! I also added some buttons to the inside pages. You end up with a mini album that would be a great stocking stuffer, or grandparent brag book. The perfect size for grandma's purse!!







There you have it! A simple way to use transparencies to make a unique mini album. And really, anything goes. You can make the pages inside any size you want and add as many pages as you like. Go check out the Color Me Daisy site and see who else is participating in the blog hop. Then hop on over to see their projects! I can't wait to hop there myself!!

Daisy Blog Hop!!!

You are not going to want to miss this...our first ever Daisy Blog Hop at Color Me Daisy! It happens tomorrow, Friday November 7th. All the daisy girls will be posting projects using transparencies. You never know what we will come up with, you will want to hop from blog to blog to see great tutorials and eye candy. Don't forget to leave a comment, all people who leave a comment get a chance at winning a great prize from Color Me Daisy.

The best part? You get to participate TOO!! Post something on your blog dealing with transparencies and we'll hop on over to your blog to check out the eye candy and leave some love! So get your creative juices flowing and post something creative on your blog...tomorrow!!

Sign in to the Color Me Daisy message board so we know to hop on over to your blog. And make sure you check out everybody else's blog, and who knows? You might win a great CMD prize!! See you tomorrow!!

Color Me Daisy November Reveal!!

Wow, Michelle did it again. She put together a wonderful November kit...Feelin' Fall. Beautiful paper from October Afternoon, MME, Fancy Pants, Bazzill, Thickers, ribbon, sheer journaling blocks, rubons, and more! Check it out!

This kit was so much fun to work with, the October Afternoon and Fancy Pants papers went together so well!!





There is also a stamp set by My Mind's Eye, Laundry Line. SO cute! I used one of the stamps as a flower stem on one of my thank you cards. These colors are some of my favorites, browns, blues, oranges. Just about any kind of photo would work with this kit!!

The Kit also comes with a mini chipboard album from Maya Road which includes matching chipboard embellies. Such a GREAT little album to work with, i'll be posting my completed mini soon!!! While you are waiting, check out Color Me Daisy and get your kit before they are gone!!