Totally Unrelated & Full of Possibilities

So this is the newest addition to our family....my son and daughter-in-law got a new puppy! Isn't she beautiful! Her name is Maya. We are in love! Look at those blue eyes!! Wow
Next up is the graduation party for my youngest son. So much has been going on so quickly around here. It has been crazy busy and so much fun!

Tried to pull things out to represent his high school years...makes me realize again what an awesome kid he is. This fall when he heads to ASU is going to be so difficult. We are excited for all the possibilities that are ahead of him but boy not having him at home will be rough. Trying to stay focused on the good stuff ahead for him! :)



Here he is posing with his brothers diploma...yup...they ran out at the ceremony. Pretty funny actually. We just picked up his the next day so not a big deal.
So now our wall is complete with 3 graduation photos! Wow...that is just hard to believe! Where did the time go??
OK...just had to throw this one in too! These are my friends from high school. Are they not gorgeous! Inside and Out!!! What wonderful friends I have been blessed with. We have all kept in touch through the years and I cherish their friendships. We are still some crazy girls...
Kris was here from Wyoming so a bunch of us got together and celebrated. We even had a slumber party and stayed up until 3:30 am! Haven't done that in a while..haha.
So lastly I want to share a quote that I received from my friend Jean this week. It was in a scrapbook that she put together (which is beautiful I might add). I think it is a great motto to live by!

Cherish Yesterday
Dream Tomorrow
Live Like Crazy Today!!!

Donna Downey visits Paper Vineyard!

Donna Downey came to Paper Vineyard this weekend to teach 3 classes. We all were so excited for her to be here! This is Adriana (the owner) with Donna.



This is from the Friday night class...."Simply IrRESISTible". The ladies loved the class. There were so many techniques learned that night! I am sure they are thrilled they signed up for the class. Donna also brought along her assistant from California- Rebecca. She was a huge help throughout the classes. Thanks Rebecca for coming to PV!


Donna had such a vibrant personality! Everyone loved her! She was funny, enthusiastic and super talented!!!


Saturday morning was the "Elegant Garden" class. Beautiful layouts came out of that class.
Then in the afternoon we were packed with a full class for the "Fabric Scrapbook". It was amazing! Donna was so informative and really kept the class moving. It was great!!! Everyone LOVED it!!! There was so much to learn and it was done in such a wonderful setting of encouragement from Donna. There were ladies definitely tapping into their "inner artist". :)




All in all it was a wonderful weekend and we are anxious for Donna to come back again! She was an amazing teacher! Thanks to her family for sharing her with us for the weekend!

Back into the Swing of Things Again

After being consumed by wedding prep (which I absolutely loved!) I am back at designing classes for Paper Vineyard again. Adriana was so gracious to let me slack off for a bit.
So here is a sneak peek at a new class that will be taught at PV on June 26th. There are still a few more goodies to add but so far, so good. Hope you like it!

Party Girl

It is party time again!! And you know how much I love a party! This time it was in celebration of all 3 of my boy's birthdays. Since they are all growing up way too quickly for my liking I decided to go a little old school. You can't tell here but those are little planes and robots on the cupcake papers, the tables had retro candy on them and I even made the boys wear cute little glasses while they opened their "little boy" cards. Weird...I know, but they all went along with it. I admit I am having trouble facing the fact that they will all be out of the house very soon. :(

Here are the girls!!! :)

Mom & Dad (dad is 92 and we were so glad that he was able to come to the party!)

Christine & Logan

My Aunt & Uncle (sorry about the eyes U. Frank)

Our good friends the Davenports

My Aunt Carol, John, U. Frank & Papa Wish...oh and Tiny!

My brother & neice


And me with my boys!

There was plenty of food and fun!

Then afterwards I found them all watching videos from when the boys were little. Warmed my heart! What a great day!

Thanks for sharing!

Collage Fun!

Class at Mystic Paper today was amazing! Claudine Hellmuth taught her Collage Discovery Workshop. We dove right in to working on our backgrounds. Different techniques were taught and we were encouraged try everything. And lots of it...

We learned peeling paper backgrounds, petroleum jelly peeling paint techniques and transfer methods. I loved it!

She even took time out to pose for photos and sign her book.

Below is one of the collages that I did. It is a work in progress (I got brave and put it on here anyway.) I have already changed it a bit from when this photo was taken but you get the idea. I plan on adding lots more to it. This had the collage beneath and the peeled paint technique on top.

This is another background that I started. Again, not finished but moving along. There is a contact paper transfer on here and the peeling paper technique was used.

And lastly the bird collage. The peeling paper technique was used on this also. I have more to add to all of these but the process was so much fun. And I came home covered in paint! I always say it's not a good class unless you get a little messy!!

Rehearsal

The rehearsal dinner was held at a little Italian restaurant close by. The kids had gone there for lunch during their senior year in high school...so all the wedding party had fond memories of the place. And being the crazy person that I am I just couldn't resist decorating the restaurant too! Luckily the people there told me to go for it and let me do whatever I wanted. wahoo! So...since sunflowers were her wedding flower that is where I started. It was lots of fun making the little favors and of course the giant pom poms that hung from the ceiling. It all came together pretty well. I am sure I could have done more but this worked. And the kids were surprised. They loved it....so that was all that mattered.

The favors were a little corny but hey...if you can't be mushy at a wedding...

I am very happy with the end result. Plus the added bonus-everyone could take them home and plant the flowers and have a tangible memory of the event. Pretty cool!
So the wedding festivities were off to a great start. Amazing that the day had finally arrived after so much preparation. Wahoo!!!

(I promise to add more wedding shots soon!)

Where Do I Begin?

Where do I begin to tell the story of all that has gone on in the last month or so? I am still floating on a cloud! The wedding was held here in our yard and it came together so beautifully! Lots of time and preparation were put into this event....and I enjoyed every minute of it! There are a ton of details to share and I will, a bit at a time. :)
For now just know that there was good reason I was absent from my blog for so long.....a very good reason!! Joy and happiness definitely filled that magical day! The kids are beaming still....and all of it warms my heart!