i don't know about you, but i'm super excited that May has arrived. the last three days of April brought us lots of rain and clouds. so, thankful to finally have sunshine and i'm thrilled to share my layouts i made with this months Gossamer Blue kits... um, i LOVE LOVE LOVE these kits!!! i know, i sound like a broken record each month, but it's true! my heart was full of smiles when i opened all the kit contents last month. lots of my favorite colors rolled into one.

my "Times Square" layout was created using the main kit along w/ the digital files.

i had planned on using four images, but i only had three images that would work for the story behind the photos. using the geotags to frame the photos was fun! i love how it all turned out. especially loved using the above ad for inspiration.

i also added lots of big, bold arrows to the design to compliment the slender die-cut arrows by Jillibean Soup. i used two of the digital file 3x4 cards and layered them together along w/ Fancy Pants decorative baggie, which holds my hidden journaling.

for my next layout, i used contents from both the main add-on kit and add-on kit #2...again, LOVE!

there are so many bits & pieces in both kits, i couldn't help but to use as much of it as i could on one layout, ha!

this layout turned out totally different than what i had first imagined. first of all, i had an issue w/ my trimmer and lining up the polaroids straight...i need to remember to trim paper down first before adhering stuff down before hand. it all was all crooked, so i just went w/ it. i was determined to use that paper no matter what, hahaha.

i hand cut a variety of arrows from the pattern paper & layered them for dimension along w/ embellishing a few with brads. i love the color and how it adds to my page.

photos added to each polaroid randomly to go w/ the flow of the slanted layout design.

if you've not already bought a kit, do so now right here! there are kits sold-out already on the site. you will not want to miss these luscious kits!!

happy hump day, xo!!!

i have a bad habit of forgetting to update my blog. i've become blog-lazy around here. i guess it's not really a top priority like it used to be. will have to change that...

anyway, hope those of you that do stop by are doing well. today i wanted to share a layout that went up on Lily Bee's blog yesterday. this week focus on project is the great outdoors and another fellow team member and i went w/ a beach theme.

ever since i have been w/ the Gossamer Blue kit club design team, i am embracing pattern paper more and more. using it as my main background rather than just cardstock. however, i couldn't resist a little white space on my page. plus, i wanted these colors to pop off the page.

i can't get enough of the surfboard elements though. i had so much fun piecing them together. love how they look on the page and how they turned out.

thanks for taking the time to stop by. i promise i will try to be better about updating my blog more often than i have in these past few months or more.

xoxo!

since the beginning of April, we finally took the plunge and began building three more garden beds. this has been something we've been wanting to expand on for quite a while. last year Tim built two his & hers raised garden beds. they both sit up close to the house for quick & easy access. his holds onions, a variety of bell peppers and potatoes and hers holds herbs.

last year i tried my hand at growing roma  and egg plant along w/ the herbs and to my surprise, they did very well. but we knew we were going to need more space for more of our favorite vegges/fruits.

the past three weekends, we have spent a lot of it in the backyard. one weekend was spent building raised garden beds, the next tilling the gardens, planting a few apple trees and berry bushes and just yesterday we visited the farmers market purchase a few veggies to plant. we have three garden beds that i am looking forward to fill!

currently, we are growing cilantro, basil (my FAVE), parsley, thyme, rosemary, sage (these last three herbs have lasted all winter long, loved that), cherry tomatoes, roma tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, beets, lettuces, red cabbage, green cabbage, potatoes, onions, bell peppers, asparagus, fuji apple tree & a granny smith apple tree.

on our list is blueberry & blackberry bushes, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, butternut or acorn squash, spinach, collard greends, kale, arugula, oregano... can't wait to get these items planted!

we have also started composting. so glad we are finally doing this. i've always hated tossing food scraps in the trash or down the garbage disposal.

and yes, we have gardening hats, LOL! i couldn't resist. while we were shopping for our building supplies, the rack of hats were calling our names. we were trying to imitate the classic american painting of the farmers with the pitchfork in front of their house, LOL. there are boards up on our garden beds to keep Nala out. during the building process, she would get into them and lay herself down. completely in her comfort zone. we had to put a stop to that, ha!

our goal, is to be able to grow at least 50% of our favorite veggies & fruits. let's see how our semi-virgin green thumbs do :)

xo!