A beautiful fall day.

Edward had a fun time playing outside with Parker. It was much warmer than it has been so I figured I'd let them get out while they could... It's been freezing cold one day and warm the next day. It's no wonder why these two have battling colds since October! Anyways, here are a few of my favorite shots from today.

 

I think I have a natural soccer player right here... he is so good!

 

 

Edward tackled Parker :) For such a little guy, he sure is brave. He has no concept as to how big Parker is compared to him.

 

My dad bought Edward this adorable hat last year. It finally fits him.

 

Chasing monsters

I know that it's been awhile since I've posted a layout. I've been so busy lately, but here's a new layout that I created using the new "Autumn Crisp" collection by American Crafts. I love the colors in this collection. And I especially love the paper clips from this collection!

About two months ago, Edward wanted to go for a walk down to the beach. Sure, it was a chilly day for the beach, but he loves being near the water. He is my husbands and my child. He loves nature and being outdoors. We love that about him. He enjoys simple things!

I went to town with the embellishments on this layout. It was hard not to with so many to chose from in this collection. I even fell for the fox die cut :)

Patterned paper: American Crafts, Chipboard alphas: American Crafts-Studio Calico, Paper clip: American Crafts, Die cuts: American Crafts, Chipboard: American Crafts, Button: American Crafts, Stencil: American Crafts-Studio Calico, Wood vaneer heart: American Crafts-Studio Calico, Stickers: American Crafts, Photo corners: S.E.I., Adhesives: American Crafts, Pen: American Crafts, Heart stamp: American Crafts.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Hope you had a fabulous day with your family and friends. We went to mom's for Thanksgiving like we do EVERY year. YAY. I love it because mom makes a ham special for me since I prefer ham over turkey and she also bakes a turkey. I do realize how much cooking she does and I appreciate it very much. And let's not forget momom too. I'm sure she put her share in as well. Dinner was absolutely delicious. After dinner, I had a piece of mom's home-made pecan pie. YUM. It was to die for. Seriously. What can I say, my mom rocks.

It's never easy getting Edward to smile for the camera, but I'll take what I can get. HEHE. As long as there aren't any tears, I'm happy.

 



 

LOL. That face... when we said grace, Edward asked a few times why we had to say grace. He just wanted to eat. HEHE.

 

 

The best cook in the world. My mom.

 

 

Here's momom and Edward. This is the best from about 10 shots. He was doing silly faces the entire time. Silly boy.

 

 

My beautiful family that I am so very THANKFUL for!

 

 

And my sisters who do so much for me when it comes to Edward. I know they love him as much as I do. Seriously.

 

 

Stitching with templates

So I've had these stitching templates by American Crafts for some time now... I bought them on sale at a discounted price thinking they'd be great... and they would challenge me to try something new on my layout. So I started poking the holes for the alphas through the cardstock with the needle. Everything seemed to be working great until I had to actually thread the holes. Wholey cow. Really? I had no idea how one simple word would take me an hour to stitch :)

To make it easier on myself, rather than knot the end of the thread, I taped it to the layout. This is something I learned from Amy Tangerine :) It helps to blog hop your favorite scrappers from time to time. You never know when their tips and tricks will come in handy.

 

In case you're thinking about giving this technique a try. Do keep in mind that you have to stitch forward and backwards so that you cover all of the holes. I didn't quite get it until I tried a few times. But, practice makes perfect. Here's my layout. I love how this turned out. If you look closely, you will see a mistake in my stitching, but give me a break, this was my first time stitching on my layout free hand, using a template.

Just wanted to say...