{Not} Safe! But Still a Proud Mom - FWF #25

Hope you're all enjoying your summer so far! Time to craft has been scarce, as we juggle lots of softball in our schedule, but I'm also trying to clean up the craft room. I'm pleased to report that I found a copy of a "Creative Spaces" magazine that I was thinking about buying -I'd already purchased it a year or two ago! That just goes to show you - I need to organize my things better!

So with a little time to get crafty today, I decided to use the card sketch from this month's "Unity {Be Inspired} Challenge" to create a birthday card.

I used the following Unity stamps: Ikat background stamp, happy birthday sentiments from the Hello Thank You kit, and a heart from the new and awesome Hashtag kit. Patterned papers are from MME.

I'm usually glued to my camera during Marika's softball games and experimented with being out in right field yesterday. I was pleased to catch her very first slide in a game - EVER. This is a big deal for a little kid who could NEVER slide, even on a "Wet and Wild" slide! Something clicked last week and she finally "got it". Unfortunately, SHE thought the third base coach was waving her in (apparently, he did not) so she went. You can see from the first picture that the catcher actually HAS the ball but Marika still did her best effort and tried to slide under the tag. Heck, she might even truly be safe - the catcher did not "tag low" but I suspect that the umpire gave given the benefit of the doubt to the other team, since Marika's team was winning (by quite a large margin: final score was 12-0). That's okay, I'm thrilled she gave it her all and actually pulled off a slide! She gets an A+++ for effort in my book! Gotta love the clouds of dust surrounding her... :)

Thanks for visiting my blog and I hope you all have a fantastic weekend with fabulous weather! Happy crafting, if you get the chance! :) Don't forget to shop at Unity for the latest awesome sale!

My Wait is Finally Over - FWF #24

 

Hello, it's Friday and time for another post to link up with Unity Stamp Co's "Friends with Flair". Don't forget to check out their sale this weekend and have you seen their new July 2014 Sentiment Kit, "Hello Thank You"? I loved the kit and thought it would be great to use with this sketch from Sketch and Scrap.

Patterned papers are from MME and stamps are from Unity (Hello Thank You).

I'm still trying to catch up on sleep (I can't sleep more than 5-6 hours/night or my back totally aches) and Marika's All Star softball tournament season has finally begun. Last weekend was their first tournament and WOW, they came out to play ball! They smashed their competition in all four games - 18-1, 10-0, 12-0, and 14-0. It's been especially exciting for us because the coach is very experienced and we don't see any "daddyball" (= major favoritism of the daughter, irregardless of her talent). Marika's being recognized/rewarded for her pitching/fielding ability, which was a far cry from Mika's experience (we were so fed up with "daddyball" in the rec league that she left for travel ball). So, even though Marika will officially be done with softball in a little over 5 weeks (*gasp*), she's going full force and seems determined to finish at the peak of her career, at the ripe old age of nine. LOL!

 

So, I've been waiting for this summer season, because the All Star uniforms really *pop*, don't they? This is my last chance to get great action shots of her playing softball... :)

 

Thanks for visiting and I hope you all have a fabulous weekend! Happy crafting!

Mika's Promotion - FWF #23

It's Friday and time for another inspiration hop at Unity Stamp Company's With "Friends With Flair". In case you're in the mood for some stamping inspiration, hope along with Unity fans who post their work with Unity stamps. You should start here, and leave comments along the way, because you may win a prize from Unity!

School finally ended for the girls yesterday and Mika had her 5th grade promotion ceremony. Now, since you're all crafters and most likely scrapbook, I know you'll appreciate documenting Mika's growth over time.

Here she is, on her first day of kindergarten, back in 2008... we have video of her return from school that day. When asked if she liked her kindergarten teacher, she nodded enthusiastically and announced, "I *love* him!" When asked why, she gleefully sang, "HE GAVE ME FOUR COOKIES!!!" 

And here she is, after the promotion ceremony yesterday, with her kindergarten teacher. She's only about 4 inches shorter than me now! What's going to happen when I scold her and she's taller? I'll have to stand on a chair or tell her to back up first!

I don't know why, but I've been feeling really tired lately (there has been a lot going on), but I did manage to scrap out a little bit of time to create this Father's Day card based on this wonderful sketch by Mojo Monday.

This will be the Father's Day card that the girls will be signing (isn't Father Peep adorable?). We finally had time to drive out to a special store today, to buy his present - I hope he likes it! We have a very busy weekend (ironically, few sports are scheduled for Mother's Day, but nothing ever gets cancelled for Father's Day - why is that???) but hopefully he can enjoy it after the day is over.

And last but not least, I am really enjoying the new camera. I still have loads to learn, but I love using the telephoto lens and trying to capture the action up close. This is my most recent favorite (click on the photo to see it large) - Mika slides amazingly well, which lends itself easily to great action shots! The action will only get better as they get older, so hopefully my photography skills will improve as well!

Thanks for visiting and I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! Don't forget to check out the awesome warehouse sale at Unity, as well as the new releases by Susan Weckesser! And there are grab bags! See you next week! :)

101 Strikeouts for Marika - Friends with Flair #22

 

 Hello, Friends with Flair peeps! Can you believe it's Friday already??? I thought I'd have all this "free" time this week, but was asked to help the school library inventory their books - so I've been holed up in there all week - but at least it's air-conditioned! It's almost last minute, but I found this wonderful sketch at Sketch 'n Scrap...

 

 

And thought it was time to start making a Father's Day card...

 

The stamp image and sentiment is from the Kit of the Month - May 2013 (Totally and Utterly Amazing) while the patterned papers are all from MME.

 

I can't wait for the school year to be over, but I also can't wait for Mika's soccer season to end (this weekend!) and Marika's regular season softball to finish (playoffs begin tomorrow, but All Star tournaments will begin next weekend). On the bright side, Marika wrapped up her regular season batting 0.800 and racked up 101 strikeouts. Here she is, throwing the strike for her 100th strikeout. So proud of her persevering - despite having a less than ideal coach - but when I asked her if she was glad she had been practicing this whole time and did she understand why it was important? She just shrugged and said, "meh". The nerve!!! So much for her "learning her lesson" about "practice makes perfect", but I am pleased to see her gaining self-confidence (despite being a peanut) and appearing mentally strong at the plate and on the rubber. :)

 

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I'll be at the beach tomorrow with Mika for her sand soccer tournament. I am looking forward to getting some great action shots with a beautiful background!

 

Thanks so much for visiting!