Carving Pumpkins

First, I want to thank everyone who came to my Mary Kay and Starry Night Creations open house yesterday. It was a great time and I enjoyed talking with all of you. If you missed it, please contact me to set up a private time to look at my inventory and get some holiday presents off your list. I have great gift ideas for mother's, father's, teenagers, teachers, etc. in a variety of price points. Don't hesitate, just ask.

So, after the open house and a shopping trip to MOA (Erin's early birthday present) we carved our pumpkins. Last year, we completely forgot until we were out trick or treating and admiring everyone else's carved pumpkins. But Erin wouldn't let us forget again this year.

But, who said carving pumpkins was a family activity? So last night we carved 2 pumpkins.

OK, we might be a strong word. Erin drew the face and John did the rest.

Here's John's, I mean Erin's pumpkin.

I can't say Ryan did much better. He did pick a pattern off the Internet. Not exactly the pattern I would've picked. I was going for the cat on a fence or something Halloweenish like that. But nope, not Ryan, who then proceeded to play with his Robin Trio building set and had nothing to do with the carving of his pumpkin. I have to admit, normally my, I mean Ryan's pumpkins turn out like John's, I mean Erin's. But I was up until midnight finishing it and am pretty proud of my, I mean Ryan's pumpkin.

In case you don't have kids or watch cartoons, or in case the three hours of carving makes me think it turned out better then it actually did - it's Patrick from the cartoon Sponge Bob Square Pants.

Happy Halloween and have fun and be safe trick or treating.

Molly

Albino Squirrel

We've had an white squirrel running around our backyard for about a month, but we have not been able to get a good picture of it. Finally, on Friday, after Ryan's school party and before the window guy came to measure our windows and while I should have been getting ready for Erin's school party (Friday was rather hectic, by the way), I saw the squirrel in our backyard. Grabbed the camera and quietly went outside. I found it in the tree, but as soon as I would see it, it would scoot around to the other side. I'd slowly creep around to the other side, keeping my distance, and it would scoot around again. This hide and seek game went on for about 5 minutes until the squirrel was completely terrified (or dizzy) and was frozen in place in the middle of the tree trunk. Bam! I finally got a couple good shots, left the squirrel in peace and quiet and went back inside. I did look out the window a couple times and after about 10 minutes of being plastered to the same spot on the tree, the squirrel got out of the tree and went on with it's day. Haven't seen it since, but I got my picture!

Note: no animal was harmed during the taking of this photo - maybe scared and made dizzy, but not harmed.

Open House - This Saturday!

Please join me at my open house. This Saturday, October 30 from 10am to 2pm.


There will be Mary Kay skin care and cosmetics, scrapbook supplies and a chocolate buffet! And, don't forget about a great gift with purchase. You'll receive this adorable bag with 4 sample-sized Mary Kay lotions free with a $40 purchase - it makes a great stocking stuffer!

Mary Kay Skin Care and Cosmetics:  Pamper yourself - there'll be several Mary Kay products available for you to try and you can jump start your holiday shopping with gift ideas for men, women and teens.

For those of you who don't know, I became an independent Mary Kay beauty consultant about 2 months ago. I've been using the products for about 10 years - some skin care, but mostly the cosmetics. Since I became a consutant, I've learned so much more about the products and I keep finding new products to help with those pesky problem areas and I'm loving it - and looking better - and have smoother, softer skin! My new favorite is the Timewise Targeted Action Toning Lotion. It has a shot of caffeine to help break up cellulite and make your skin firmer. An added bonus, it's helped soften and reduce the scar tissue lump in my arm that I've had since a school locker slammed on my arm in junior high. I know - not the most pleasant thing, but I'm thrilled that I finally found something to help reduce it. Let me know what your pesky problem area is - I'd love to help find a solution for you, too.

Starry Night Scrapbook Supplies - I'm back. OK, I never really went away, just took a break and focused on vendoring at scrapbook crops. So now I'm back and have some great new things to show you. I've revamped the Starry Night Kits. It's no longer a kit club, instead, it's kits for layouts and projects with idea sheets. Warning - most kits are limited to what's in stock - feel free to email me if you want me to hold something for you.

Here's my newest creation and Starry Night Kit - a 7 Gypsies artist box embellished wiht Echo Park holiday paper:

I also have some back to school looks for your scrapbooks - a 1-page layout featuring Fancy Pants paper and Bazzill's cardstock:

And a first day of school layout featuring Basic Grey paper:

What do you think? Stop by the open house on Saturday for more ideas and deals - tons of patterned paper at $0.50 each, specialty paper at $1.00 each, Mary Kay product bundles and much more.

Need directions or my address - email me at molly@scrapntime.com and let me know where you're coming from.

Thanks and I'll see you on Saturday! I'd love to have you stop by, but if Saturday doesn't work for you, contact me for a private showing at a time that is convenient for you.

Molly



Disney World

Wow - I can't believe it's been a month already since we were in Florida, basking in the sun and humidity, and I'm still not caught up at work! Vacation was wonderful, reality, um - not so great.

Here are some pics from our trip - enjoy!

Erin loved getting autographs, even though she didn't think she would care about it. Ryan, at this point, was hovering behind me and John, too scared to get close.

I was anticipating long lines for getting character autographs and photos. But it was great. First thing we did when we got to Animal Kingdom was head to Camp Mickey and Minnie and we hardly had to wait for autographs. Of course, Ryan was still hovering in the background.

Finally, with the rest of the family by his side, Ryan warmed up and got his picture taken with Lilo and Stitch.

Animal Kingdom had some African drums set up. Ryan rocked out. Love the shades!

Here we're on the Toy Story ride at Magic Kingdom. It's an interactive ride where you get to shoot at things as you go.

Dinner at Chef Mickey's. The food was great, but Mickey was sick - hopefully not from the food! We still saw Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto.

The electrical parade at Magic Kingdom. It was quite a site to see, but warning, find your spot early and don't move - to say it was crowded would be an understatement.

The kids got to trick or treat during Mickey's not so scary Halloween party at Magic Kingdom. The weather was perfect - I don't think we'll get the same luck this week.

We spent the afternoon at Cocoa Beach. It was the first time the kids have seen or splashed in an ocean. It was a great break from the land of mouse, parades and fireworks.

What was Ryan's favorite part of the trip? The Lego store at Downtown Disney. Yes - we fly to Florida for a week, spend 7 days at theme parks and see the ocean, only to have Ryan's favorite part be something he could do in Minnesota! Apparently he doesn't realize we have a Lego store in Minnesota and I'm not sure I want to tell him.

We had breakfast with Minnie, Donald and Goofy at the Beach Club Hotel. It was a buffet and the food was great. I'd definitely try to find more buffets the next time we head to Disney.

Erin loved exploring the shops at the World Showcase at Epcot.

Lunch at the 50's Dine In at Hollywood Studios.

Another parade - this one at Hollywood Studios. Actually, this one was called a Block Party Bash, not a parade.

Ryan finally got to see one of his favorite characters - Lightning McQueen.

The finale of Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios. Each park has it's own version of fireworks. Hollywood Studios was one of the best shows - it was a mix of lasers, water and fireworks - plus, it's in an amphlitheater so you get to sit on a real bench instead of the curb!

Disney pin trading is rampant in all of the parks, but I do have to admit - the pins are adorable. They have pins for just about everything - princesses, villians, rides, parks, hotels. Luckily, the kids didn't get into it until the last couple days we were there. But it did make a great souvenir for the trip.

We had a great time, and now that I've had a month to recover, I can honestly say I can't wait to go again. Next time, I think we're doing the land/sea package and mixing all of the walking at the parks with some relaxing time on a cruise.

And yes, I do plan to scrapbook our trip. Not all 1200 pictures, but keep watching. Once I get past the hecticness of the next couple weeks, I'll start our Disney album and post the layouts as I go.

As Mickey says - have a Magical Day!

Echo Park

Hello:

I've just updated the website, http://www.scrapntime.com/, and added Sweet Summertime and A Walk in the Park, 2 collections from a great new company, Echo Park. It's been a while since I've been this excited about a new scrapbook company. I love their bright colors and fun patterns. They also have great element and alphabet stickers sheets along with a sheet of journal cards.

Here are a couple layouts I created with the Sweet Summertime kit:

I love mixing patterns, but tend to have a problem with the page getting loud with too many patterns. Here's a simple tip to keep the patterns in check and the photos the center of attention ~ start with a neutral base. Both of these layouts start with Bazzill's Kraft cardstock as the base. Here's a bonus for you - with each A Walk in the Park or Sweet Summertime collection you purchase at http://www.scrapntime.com/, you'll receive 2 FREE sheets of 12x12 Bazzill's Kraft cardstock. Offer good through next Friday, July 16.

Here's another tip for capturing your summer memories - do a recap page. Take one or two pictures from each event and put them on one layout to showcase your summer at a glance.

Happy Scrapping!

Happy Belated 4th

I hope everyone had a happy and safe 4th. We spent the evening at a potluck BBQ with some neighbors and friends. It's become a tradition and each year, our fireworks show gets better and better. Here are a couple pics:

Ryan was so proud to be sitting with the big boys. He's too young to hang out with them, but he does idolize their skateboarding ability. The boys did great making Ryan feel like he was part of the gang.

I didn't get any great fireworks shots, but I love this one of Erin with a sparkler.

Hope you had a great 4th!

What happened to June?

What have you been up to this summer?

Now that summer's in full swing, and 1/3 over, I thought I'd share a few things we did in June. From most to least recent - here it is:

Ryan finished the spring soccer season and received a trophy. OK, everyone received a trophy, but not everyone was this proud of it. Ryan's record for the season - 1 almost goal. He was standing close to the net, someone kicked the ball toward him and it bounced off his leg.

Erin's smile before ...

and after braces.

We went to the North Shore for a long weekend. We hiked a 1/2 mile in the rain to High Falls - the highest falls in Minnesota, or so we were told. We later heard that High Falls is actually in Canada - or maybe the trail goes into Canada. Either way, it starts at the Minnesota Welcome Center and although we intended to stay in the US, I don't believe it actually turned out that way.

We spent some time at Grand Portage, an 1800s trading post.

Of course, we had smores by a bonfire every night.

And feeding the birds. This was probably the highlight of the trip for the kids. As soon as they started tossing the bread, the birds came swarming in. They even fed a couple geese and goselings.

Last day of school. Can't believe it - Erin will be a 4th grader in the fall and Ryan will start kindergarten!

Kindergarten Olympics. This is a great tradition that St. Mike's has. The kindergarteners and pre-kindergarteners get together for a morning of games at the park. The games include gunny sack races, frisbee golf, a soccer shoot out and tug of war. At the end, everyone receives a gold medal. It's a great way to end their kindergarten, and pre-kindergarten (as in Ryan's case) year.

Yep - that pretty much sums up our June. I think the rest of the summer will be much quieter - at least I hope so!

Hope you're having a happy and safe summer!