Happy 2 Scrap

Send Out Cards

2010-05-11T09:44:00.004-04:00

Good Morning Everyone!!

I just have to share with everyone the wonderful thing that I have just discovered! It is a company called Send Out Cards. Oh my goodness! This is the coolest program I have found since I found Memory Mixer (the awesome program I use to digitally scrapbook with)!! I am totally loving this!

What is it?? You ask...well - let me fill you in on the details of this truly incrediable company:

SEND OUT CARDS!!!!!

It is an online greeting card company that lets you pick your card or a postcard, type a personalized message and even upload your own photos! Once you have completed the process, click send. Once you have "sent" your card, Send Out Cards Prints your card, puts it in a real envelope with a real stamp and mails it the good ole fashioned way!!

So the person that is receiving your card gets an actual card in the mail!!!

What about the cost you ask?? Are you sitting down??? A standard greeting card will only cost you $0.98 plus postage!!!! Add your own pictures to either the front of the card or the inside of the card and it will cost.....(are you ready for this?????) $1.47 plus postage!!

It is such an amazing service!! Want to try it out for free?? E-mail me at laura@happy2scrap.com or call me (419-494-2180) to find out how you can send out 3 free cards today!!

Let me know what you think!

~Laura

P.S. I will keep you posted on a special scrapboooking project that I am working on with a "Send Out Cards" card!!!

Good Morning World!

2010-02-20T09:22:00.046-05:00

My goodness it has been a long time since I ventured into the blogging world! So much has happened - I will recap it all for you.

November 4th: My birthday! It was a fabulous day! I had sick children, so I delayed my own thrown personal party till the next birthday. (Besides - it probably wasn't right that I was having a friend party on an odd year! At least that's what my children think!) :)

November 9-December 24: I spent the better part of time taking care of my Mom, Dad & sister when my mother became suddenly ill. Life was really not enjoyable for this span of time. Although we did have MANY glimpses of the Lord's hand in our live. That was pretty awesome to see!! Check it out!!

December 24: Daddy and I decided to bring Mama home so that we could care for her instead of having her in a nursing home.

December 25: My last Christmas with my beautiful Mama

January 2: My Mom, my best friend and confidant left this world of trials to wait for us in Heaven.

January 6: Mama was buried and my Vivi turned 1! What a family party we had for her! I do believe she is the only child to have ever had so many family members present at her birthday party! My awesome friend Tiffany made the coolest cake! She made a big bear cake for the adults and a smash bear cake for Vivi. The look of shock on her face was priceless!! She kept looking from the cake - to us and back to the cake. REALLY??? I get to grab this with my hands?? Serious??? AWESOME!!! :)

The rest of January is kinda a blur.....although they did find out why my Mama passed away. She had Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. It is a rare disease!! 1 in a million people are affected by CJD each year. SOO....that being said - I have scientific proof that my wonderful, awesome, incredible Mama is a 1 in a million person!! :) Right there is a reason to smile :)

February 10: My dear sweet Sailor turned 11!!! Oh my goodness!! I do feel very old!! He is that much closer to being a teenager! SCARY!!! :)

Although my life has been quite crazy - I took some time for me to scrapbook! (of course I did!! I would have gone completely insane otherwise!!) :) I am posting pages I used to make a calendar for our families. For more information on where you can buy the awesome designs that I used for each page, click on the picture. It will take you to a new page with all the details your heart desires and a bigger picture of the scrapbooked page! :)

Hope everyone has a wonderful day! Remember to take time to scrapbook your happy thoughts! :)

~Laura

New at Audra's Little Scraps

2009-10-04T22:34:00.012-04:00

Good Morning everyone!!

Hopefully everyone had a wonderful weekend! We had a great time listening to our Prophet during General Conference. I am looking forward to reading the talks and catching all the bits that I missed due to children being children!

With a new month, comes a new challenge! I am not really sure where I found this sketch - but isn't it lovely?? So to whom ever created this wonderful sketch - THANK YOU!!! I do know, however who created the awesome designs that I used for my version of the sketch: Audra's Little Scrap's!! It's called Autumn in the Air. Check it out - it's on sale!!

I just love the rich tones that this kit has to offer! Perfect for all the autumn pictures that we will be taking so very soon as the leaves change colors.

I'll post more pages using this kit later.

Also new to Audra's Little Scrap's shop is an AWESOME kit called Apple Pie. I love this kit and the cordinating Apple Pie Alpha that goes with it. Check them out too! They are also on sale for 40% off!!

I love using the traditional red & green Christmas colors for other events! Audra did such a nice job of capturing the red of an apple and the super green that one will find on an apple tree. Great kit Audra!!

I hope that everyone will have a fantastic week this week! My goal is to get my house clean again after the whirlwind of the last week or so!! We shall see if that happens!

~Laura

August & September's Challenge winner is....

2009-10-04T22:15:00.005-04:00

.... (how does one go about announcing a winner without introducing the contestants??)

So, without further ado, our contestants for this month's challenge are:

Brittany & Mary Ellen!!!
Brittany is a fabulous stay at home mom to three cute kids and wife to Nick. She is a fabulous scrapbooker and scrapbooks both digitally and traditionally! Check out her spectacular page:

Mary Ellen is no stranger to Happy 2 Scrap! Like Brittney, she is also a stay at home mom to 3 super kids and wife to Jerome. She is an awesome scrapbooker and scrapbooks traditional She is trying to use up her things before going to buy more! (I wish I had her will power and so does my husband!!) Check out her fabulous page:

And now...the moment our contestants have been waiting for.....

The winner of Happy 2 Scrap's August/September's challenge and the lucky winner of a $15 gift certificate to the Ettes' fabulous store is.....

Brittany!!

Great job to both Brittany and Mary Ellen!! Stay tuned for October's challenge sketch coming soon!

~Laura

Best Vacations ever & LAST WEEK FOR THE CHALLENGE!!!

2009-09-27T17:30:00.004-04:00

Good afternoon everyone!!

Each year, since Jeremy began working for Pepsi, we have gone to Port Clinton, Ohio. It is one of the many towns that Jeremy is the Pepsi man for and his accounts LOVE him! (Of course I think - what's not to love??) :) This town is such a fabulous little place filled with so many neat things!

Here is our itinerairy for our day trips:

The Great Lakes Popcorn - a spectacular place that sells speciality popcorn. At Christmas time they make a wonderful mint popcorn drizzled with chocolate! It is SOO yummy!

Pizza House - If you love pizza then this is the place to go. They make the BEST pizza ever! I LOVE THIS PLACE!!!

The Beach - which one you might ask? Port Clinton has several! We regularly visit a couple of different ones. There is one right alongside of the road that has TONS of seashells for little children to collect and rejoice over!

Bay Point Marina - This place is awesome!! I know that this place costs money to get into, however because of the before mentioned love of Jeremy by his stops, we get in free!! A pretty sweet deal if you ask me! Several years ago, they had this really neat Mini-Golf area, which is now gone. (Hence the scarpbook pages at the end of this post!) However, the beach is BEAUTIFUL!! Crystal clear sand that feels very nice between your toes, and the food is specatular there! Why, might you ask?? Because Eric the Pizza House man, has opened a Pizza House there right by the beach!! Let me tell you - I was in HEAVEN!! A beautiful beach and my beloved Pizza! What a wonderful combination!!

Marble Head Lighthouse - This place is a must visit for the photographer in the family! With Lake Erie right there, it provides a beautiful backdrop for some spectacular pictures! Plus if you can, you can take a tour up inside the oldest lighthouse in continuous operation on the Great Lakes. It is AWESOME and well worth the time!

The African Wildlife Safari - This place is super cool!! Warning - you will need a car wash after visiting here! You drive through the safari and feed the animals. It is a wonderful adventure. I will post pictures sometime - the kids had a blast!!

In short - WE LOVE PORT CLINTON!!! If you are ever in the area check it out!!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Sabbath day! Thanks for letting me share about a wonderful thing our family enjoys!

~Laura

P.S. This is the last week to get those layouts to me! Thus far I have one fabulous entry for our $15 GF to the Ettes's store!!!

Welcome to Monday!

2009-09-14T07:11:00.008-04:00

Good Morning everyone!!

I must say that we, here at the Hodgkins' household, had a fabulous weekend!! It started off beautifully with Girl Scouts, which I am discovering that I love again! (Last year was rough!) The girls seemed to have a terrific time and I had a great time being with them!

Then off to play dates, which lasted most of the rest of the day, and then a fabulous dinner filled with happy conversations about the wonderful day! A beautiful ending to such a fab day!

Sunday was a bit more rough, but none the less a good day! I was able to scrapbook, so for me, that made for a good day!

I LOVE the Ettes new kits!! I have only used one of the two new kits, but I am totally in love with them! For this layout, I used the Autumn Breeze kit. Go check them out! I can't wait to use their Chistmas Mini Kit which just so happens to be on sale until September 19th!! Go check it out!!!

Hope everyone has a Happy and fantastic day! Remember to take some time to scrapbook, just for you!!

~Laura

Where do I begin...

2009-09-09T12:17:00.004-04:00

... to apologize to the Ettes for not holding up my end of the bargain?

... to myself and the promise that I made to myself that I wouldn't abandon this project mid-ship.

... to myself for letting my desire to scrapbook get put aside and not hold to my belief that just because I am a mom (with multiple children and various challenges), doesn't mean that I don't need to do something for ME each and every day. Because I am just as important as my children.

I am resolving once more to do better! I will post each week!! I will scrapbook my beautiful children and my handsome husband!! I will not drop my commitment to this blog! Beginning this weekend, I will post every week!

Because I disappeared and didn't hold my my end of the bargain to the Ettes, I am extending the time with their awesome sketch!!

Have I told you have much I LOVE the Ettes?? I first fell in love with their designs in May of 2006, when they were designing for Top Line Creations. They had such fresh ideas that blew me away back then and they still, to this day deliver that some freshness and unique designs that you can't find anywhere else. I have followed them through several changes and am so pleased to be able to purchase their stunning and awesome designs!

I LOVE THE ETTES!!!

So....Clean up in your house, use their amazing sketch, e-mail your layout (or a picture of it) to me (laura@happy2scrap.com) and at the end of September we will draw a winner for the grand prize: a $15 Gift Certificate to the Ettes' store!!!

~Laura

Emotions....

2009-08-23T16:52:00.005-04:00

Wow! I must apologize for my lack of presence here in the blogging world! Life in the Hodgkins' household has been filled with so much emotion!

I never quite understood why other Mom's got so emotional about their kids going back to school in the fall. It has never affected me the way that it seems to affect "normal" moms. I tend to be very happy that they are going back to school. We all get the space from each other that we need, they get to learn new things and go new places. They get to be with friends and for me - that was a HUGE part of school!! Plus, I get the added bonus of going school supply shopping! I LOVE buying school supplies! It is one of my favorite things to do ~ so generally speaking, this is one of my favorite times of year!

Until this year!!

We decided that the children were old enough to ride their bikes together to and from school since we only lived a couple of blocks from the school. It would save me the gas plus the hassle of having to load up 3 children into the van to sit and wait for four children to get their act together and get to the van. Besides - have you ever tried to get coats/mittens/hats on 3 children under the age of 3 in a timely manner?? It would take me at least 30 minutes to get everyone ready and all the while I was hoping and praying that the child that I dressed up first didn't get too hot in the get-up and started to strip it all off!!

Upon reaching the van, the younger children and I were meet by VERY annoyed children who demanded we produce an after school snack the second they arrived at the van and were not to happy with their siblings because they had to walk together and deal with the fact someone didn't walk as fast as the others thought that they should! What a mess! Can you see the why I would LOVE for them to ride their bikes home and get out some of these negative attitudes!?!?!

That being said, they have been practicing this trip every day, the week prior to school starting, so that they would be prepared to make this trip without me fretting too much! (Granted, Grandpa is still walking up and meeting them each morning and afternoon!!) While they were gone I enjoyed the time I had with the little ones! I got to play with them without interruption and actually got some things done around the house! After an hour or two, the children would come home happy, energetic and ready to have a fantastic day! I unwisely thought that the following week would be grand!!!

So we come to the big day, everything goes as planned. They follow the schedule with exactness and are out the door having given Mom many hugs and kisses at the appointed departure time. All is well, I thought! Life is superb!!

Then came 9:00 and I received the call from my dad that the children had arrived safely and were on their way.......(home - like every other day??).........to have a fantastic day at school. I managed to finish the call calmly and happily but once I had hung up the phone something totally unexpected and unlike me happened: I cried!!

Now dear sweet reader, I beg you..no..I implore you to understand! I LOVE my children! I adore my children! But I also LOVE having time when I can think without having to listen/deal with children crisis every two seconds! School time is sheer bliss! With that thought in mind, imagine the suprise my dear sweet husband (who was home on vacation) and I's felt in response to the abundance of tears that fell once I was off the phone! Not only did tears fall that morning, but an intense jealously welled up inside myself at the close of the school day when I realized that my awesome & wonderful Dad would be the first person to see my children's faces when they exited the school for the first time as 5th, 3rd, 2nd & 1st grader's!

WOW! I could never imagine such strong emotions and I must apologize to all you moms out there in the world that experience this type of emotion reguarly! I always thought you were a bit soft. Now having had this emotion, it is very bitter sweet having "my" time. I tip my hat to you more emotional seasoned moms!!

Anyone else out there expeience this sort of thing?? Do tell please! :)

~Laura

P.S. Please don't forget about the scrapbooking challenge for this month!
There are only 8 more days of August!!!
The Ettes have some awesome designs and there is so much you can do with their product besides scrapbooking!

So Sketchy! August layout challange

2009-08-08T12:52:00.003-04:00

Good afternoon everyone!

I just had to share with everyone the layout that I am submitting to So Sketchy for their August Layout Contest (Check out the right hand side of her Blog to find the contest rules). If you are unfamiliar with So Sketchy, let me fill you in on this amazing blog. It is scrapbooking inspiration heaven because it is filled with scrapbooking sketches (all sizes and all number of photos) & card sketches. I just LOVE their sketches! So many of my pages were inspired by Allison's work!

AND since this month I am showing off all the FANTASTIC designs by the Ette's, my layout was created using their Feelin' Happy Collection and the monograms from their Princess Collection.

Hope everyone has a fantastic week filled with many scrapbooking moments!!

~Laura

Happy August!!

2009-08-01T10:57:00.014-04:00

Happy Birthday to my Darling Addie Joy!!! Today is the magical day when she is turning 7. As far as she is concerned - the world should revolve around her! Oh what fun to be turning 7!!

Also with the new month comes a new challenge (check out the box on the right!) and this month we have another AMAZING guest designer! (Actually we have two designers this month!) Let me introduce you to Annette & Fayette - or as they are more lovingly called the "Ettes"!

The Ettes are two amazing ladies with SO much talent! I have loved their designs for years!! Now all you Photoshop scrapbookers, check out their Templ•Ettes - they are .psd files complete with all the layers to create some beautiful quick pages!! If dragging and dropping your photos is your style of scrapin' they have you covered too! Check out their "Click" Pages! They are super cute and easy to use. They have so many awesome Dig-Ette-al Kits for the scrapbooker that likes to build their own pages with backgrounds and embellishments.

If you like what you see - buy today! Everything is on sale!! But hurry! The sale is ending today!

Since today is my Addie Joy's birthday I made a layout for her using the Ettes' Princess kit and a Templ•Ette from Templ•Ettes Collection 3.

I hope everyone has a spectacular day today! I know it will be a wonderful one here as we celebrate having Addie Joy apart of our family!

~Laura

Goodness...Goodness....

2009-07-31T23:15:00.005-04:00

Oh my goodness! What an insanely busy day today was! It was filled with swim practice, a Celebration of Reading, grocery shopping, mad dash to get my house clean, and ended with a super fun Tastefully Simple party done by Claire. (Need/want anything? My party is staying open till Wednesday August 5th. Let me know or order online!) What a fantastic day!

Anywho, enough about me! Check out the amazing work these ladies did for this month's challenge!!

First up is Mary Ellen. She cleaned up her whole house and had a garage sale that went over very well! :)

Next is Leslie. She cleaned up more of her apricot mess from making fruit leather. It is MESSY and STICKY! Esp. when all the kids are there to help!

And last - but certainly not least is Tiffany! She helped her son clean up his room and rearranged his room so that he could have more room! Cool beans :)

Awesome job ladies!! I love seeing other's work! It is such a motivation to me! Thank you Mary Ellen, Leslie and Tiffany for participating in this month's challenge.

And now the spectacular moment that everyone is waiting for.....this month's winner is.....Lucky #3!!! Yeah for Tiffany! I will bring your prize by sometime soon! :)

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post with details about August's sketch and our next guest designers!!!

~Laura

Fantastic News!!

2009-07-29T23:14:00.008-04:00

I am so excited and I just have to share!!

Rememeber Audra from Audra's Little Scraps?? Our super fantastic designer from last month?? Well...she has asked me to be a part of her creative team!! I am very thrilled and honored to have been asked!!

Here are two layouts I created with her new Gone Camo colab kit coming out soon! I will send details along when the kit goes live! Till then - enjoy this little sneak peak!

Just a quick reminder that July only has 2 days left!! Get those layouts to me along with the cleaning comments! Will post the layouts and the winner on Friday!

~Laura

What a wonderful week!!

2009-07-25T06:53:00.007-04:00

Good morning everyone!

Well - I must say that decluttering certainly have its emotional benefits as well as physical benefits! I have gotten up early each day and have been able to have some time to scrapbook, my dishes have been complete for an entire week!! Any random guest could arrive at my house this week and they wouldn't be greeted by Disaster City!!

I played a show with London (it's always the same show, I am the baby and she is the Mama!), I had a tickle war with Mackay and we fell asleep on my bed. I watched my children have a bike parade around our house. I scrapbooked with Britain!! She wanted to scrapbook her Swimming Ribbons. They turned out great for her first attempt at the craft! Leave a comment with some love for my lady if you please!

Can you believe that next Saturday is August 1st??? That day is an imortant day in the Hodgkins household! My darling Addie Joy turns 7!! She is very excited! She is truly named apporiately - she is a Joy to have in our family! She is very helpful (overly sometimes!), always looking out for the little ones, and loves to give us hugs! I scrapbooked this page this week as I was thinking about how lovely she can be! :)

On Friday, July 31st, I will be posting all the wonderful layouts that I have received thus far for the scrapbooking challenge as well as the lucky winner! So keep scrapbooking and get those layouts to me with a comment on what you have cleaned up!

Happy Scrapbooking!

~Laura (& Britain)

Decluttering...

2009-07-18T06:06:00.002-04:00

Good Morning everyone!

These past few weeks have been challenging ones here in the Hodgkins' household. Last week we were so insanely busy that we didn't have any time to enjoy life and this past week it was the exact opposite - nothing to do but enjoy life. Yet both weeks were not our best weeks. Why?

As I have been thinking about this quandary, into my mind came a story that a dear friend just told me about her granddaughter. Let me tell you the short version:

Stephanie is a happily married mom of two spectacular boys. They own a farm and have been raising pigs all year to enter into the upcoming fair. Life got VERY busy for this family - too busy in fact because she missed the deadline to enter the pigs. All their hard work for naught.

Why you might ask, would I remember this story at 4am and what does it have to do with my two weeks of heck??

The only conclusion that I have come up with at this early hour is that I need to declutter my life and take time to enjoy my children. They will only be little once. Do I really need to sit and read a bunch of blogs or check facebook, when my daughter is asking me to scrapbook with her all of her swimming ribbons?? Do I really need to send my 3 year old to pre-school right now instead of sitting on the couch and snuggling with her while she learns to read? Do my children and I really need to be doing something or going somewhere at all times of the day to be happy?

I think not.

So starting today, Saturday, July 18th, 2009 I, Laura Hodgkins am vowing to take time to enjoy the little things. I will take time to smell the flowers or the mud, as my daughter asked me to do the other day. I will make a blanket fort with my kids and do a pretend show with my 3 year old! I will be a better mom!

I will snuggle with Vivonne and have a tickle war with Mackay! I will try to learn all about the Pokemon world with Sailor. I will scrapbook with my girls!

As the wise Yoda has said "Do or do not, there is no try!"

I shall report to you next week, how my decluttering of unnecessary stuff has gone! Till then - go enjoy your family and the wonderful moments that lie ahead for you!

~Laura

Happy 4th of July!!

2009-07-04T11:22:00.004-04:00

What a wonderful day today has started out being!

The kids had a swim practice this morning to prepare them for their HUGE meet coming up next week and now they are all happily eating chocolate chip pancakes! What more could a mom want?

I wanted to thank Audra from Audra's Little Scraps for our awesome June layout!! Her designs totally rock!! She just came out with a new one too!! I am totally in love with it!

Speaking of June's layout, here are the layouts I received for June's challenge!!

Melissa moved this month! That is cleaning enough!

I also have to share what awesome thing Melissa did with this layout! Since this layout only had 2 pictures, she did a 6x6 page as part of a 12x12! Then used the rest of the space to add additional elements about the day! What an amazing idea! Thanks so much for sharing!!

Melissa S. unpacked from vacation and did a bunch of laundry! Awesome layout!

Mary Ellen did dishes and laundry! I love the added picture in the layout!

Thank you Melissa, Mary Ellen & Melissa for the awesome layouts and http://www.random.org/ for our winning number!!

And the winner is.......#3 ~ Mary Ellen!!

Remember our wonderful Mary Ellen?!?!? She is the incrediable friend of mine that makes handmade soaps and lip balms!! E-mail me for flavors available. They make great Christmas and birthday presents!! :)

Hope everyone has a great 4th of July weekend!

~Laura

Wonderful Awards

2009-06-27T10:50:00.007-04:00

As I mentioned in my last post, one thing that made June such a neat month is that I was awarded 2 awards by some super awesome people! What a spectacular feeling one gains when you are given an award by someone that you regard with the utmost highness! These two ladies are fabulous!!

I must say that I really don't feel worthy to have been given this award from my friend Kirsty at Momedy! She is one amazing lady! Her blog is SO awesome! You should really check it out!

Rules of the award:

Admit one thing that you feel awful about involving being a mom
Remind yourself that you are a good mom by listing seven things you love about your kids, you love doing with your kids, or your kids love about you.
Nominate 5 other moms that you think are awesome!

Here goes - I feel awful when I am angry with my kids for a stupid mistake that they did without thinking of the end result. Usually helping them think it through and helping them see the consequence is enough punishment for me, but sometimes the choice itself causes extra consequences. I hate that!

Now onto the good things :)

I love how they cheer each other on during their swim meets. Mackay stood at the side of the pool at the last meet chanting "Go Sailor Go! Go Sailor Man!!" It was SO cute!
I love that Britain will share her bed with Mackie when she is scared in the night.
I love watching Addie & Brookie sit together and read.
I love it that Sailor is 10 years old and has no problem walking around holding his mom's hand!
I love talking about the Gospel with the kids. It helps me understand it so much better by having to explain it to them in words that they will understand.
I love scrapbooking my children! It helps me relive the experience - be it good or bad! We have had some great times!!
I love being a mom! The bad times stink - but they help to make the good times that much better! All in all - I think that the good out weighs the bad :)

Now to nominate five other awesome moms:

Julianne: an awesome mom to 5 kids who takes amazing photos! Check out her photography blog too!!
Kristen: a super cool mom that I am loving getting to know! I am so glad that they moved to BG!
Tiffany: a wonderful friend and mom that I love dearly!!!
Rachel: a great lady, friend and mom!
Debi: a fantastic lady that I have known for years! She is also a great mom!

This fancy award came from Origami by SiSi!! She makes the most amazing things out of origami!!! I am totally in love with her stuff!! I have made some origami things in my time, but the stuff she does is fantastic!! Check out these earrings!! Can you imagine making this! It is all hand folded by SiSi! Check her out! She has a gift!

Here are the rules

1. Accept the award, post in your blog together with the name of the person or people who gave it to you an a link to their blog.
2. Pass the award to 4 other blogs that you have newly discovered.
3. Contact the bloggers you award to let them know that they were chosen.

Easy peasy lemon squeezie!

I accept! Thanks SiSi!!! Now to pass the award on. :)

My Kitchen Escapades: an excellent place to find delicious recipes! She is a fantastic cook!!
Life & Scrapbooking with Stacy Julian:
I have found some of the most neat ideas on this blog! Especially her Summer Bingo idea!
Got Sketch?: an amazing website filled with tons of sketches to help you get your scrapbooking done!
The Meanest Mom: I found out about this site from Kirsty at Momedy a month or so ago and I must say that I have enjoyed reading her blog! I can relate to her on so many levels!

Thank you again Kirsty & SiSi! I feel most honored to have received these awards and will strive to continue to be worthy of said awards!

~Laura~

Last call for June Layouts!!

2009-06-26T08:35:00.009-04:00

Good Morning everyone!!

I can not believe that today, this very day is the last Saturday in June!!! It is hard to believe that the month of June is gone already! It has been a very busy month in the Hodgkins' household!

Here is a recap for any interested folks:

My Darling Mackay turned 2!!

We have had 3 wonderful swim meets!! (Britain even earned a first place ribbon for a relay she was in during her first ever meet!!)

Our family went with my parents and sister to see the movie UP on my mom's birthday. We really liked it! London even sat for the whole movie with minimal questions and comments!!!

We have gone bowling once a week for this whole month!! Our local bowling alley participates in Kids Bowl Free - which is an awesome program!! The kids can bowl 2 games every day for free! The only cost is the shoe rental! My kids have LOVED this! Check it out!

I had a fantastic time at my book party! What's a book party you might ask? Well...let me tell you! My good friend Chris is an independent consultant for Usborne books. They are an awesome book publishing company with some spectacular books! My order came in yesterday!! I ordered things for my kids for Christmas (I know that it is still 6 months away - but it is better to be prepared right?) and birthdays.
I received two (yes my dear friends two!!) blog awards! (OK - so technically I received one in May - but it happened on the last day of May - so that is close enough to June right?) I will post about this later in the week. :)

I wanted to thank Audra for June's awesome layout sketch!! She and her designs totally rock!! I have LOVED using her designs exclusively this month while I scrapbooked! It has been amazing to me how easy it was for me to create such beautiful pages! Please give Audra some love! She is awesome! You can purchase her designs at Faith Sisters.

I look forward to posting all the awesome layouts I have received! Keep them coming! There are only 3 more days after today to get your layout in and yourself in the running for a $10 gift certificate to Audra's store!

Happy Scrapping everyone!!

Layouts anyone?

2009-06-22T06:11:00.005-04:00

Good morning everyone!!

It is beautiful Monday morning here in Ohio. This week has been such a crazy busy one here in the Hodgkins' household! Between swim practices and a swim meet (which btw - Sailor & Britain did a great job in!!), the library and general summer fun it has left little time to relax and scrapbook!

However, I have taken my own challenge to heart. So I have been organizing my mess for 15 minutes and then put away my organized piles for 15 minutes. Doing that helped to make a nice size dent in the clutter of the Hodgkins house! Then at the end of the day I would sit down and remember how beautiful my children are and how blessed I am to have them by scrapbooking their adorable faces! (Despite how much they whined that day about what ever they felt the need to whine about!) Here are some of my creations.

I found this design in a magazine and loved it! Brooklyn is one of my blanket children! She always has a blanket on her! Even when it is boiling hot upstairs and she is wearing her nice winter pjs!

This layout was created using Audra's Whimsical Spring kit.

This is a perfect description of Addie and Brooklyn! They have been side by side since Brooklyn was born!

As toddlers, I would find them in the kitchen eating. I could never figure out how they had gotten what they were eating. So one day I snuck up and watched. Brooklyn would open the dishwasher door, Addie would climb up and get whatever it was that they wanted and hand it to Brooklyn. Once the item was acquired, Addie would step off the door, close it and then the two girls would sit down and divide the spoils! Smart ladies!
This page was created using Audra's Forever Family: Sister Basics kit.

I found this layout in a magazine as well! I love the contrast of all the color bars on the black background. They just seem to pop off the page!

London is indeed a colorful part of our family! She is (usually!) smiling and always wants to help. One of her favorite shows right now is Charlie and Lola. She often calls herself Lola. For a couple of months she went around always saying (with hands on her hips and a toss of her head) "Happy to help, I'm happy to help!" Such a happy girl!

Layout was made using Audra's I like to look for Rainbows kit. This one can be found on her blog under the freebies. There are 4 parts to this download so make sure to get the whole kit!

This layout was a super fun one to make! I have made it both digitally and traditional now! I love these pictures! They show my happy London!

Layout created with Audra's Forever Family: Grandmother Basics kit.

I hope everyone has a fantastic week this week! Remember to take some time for yourself! Cause the old saying is certainly true: If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!

Just a reminder that June is near completion! Make sure to get your challenge pages done and sent to me for a chance to win a $10 GC to Audra's digital store! (If you are a traditional scrapbooker, have no fear! You will not be forgotten!)

~ Happy day ~

2009-06-13T08:39:00.011-04:00

Welcome to this beautiful Saturday morning!

Thank you to the ladies who left comments on my last post. Good to know that this design works better than the last! Just as promised, one lucky commenter will receive a nifty prize!

Today's lucky lady is.....#2 -

Kirsty at Momedy!!!

(Thanks random.org!!)

And what pray tell, did our wonderful, witty friend receive??

Audra's Love Forever Word Art!!

The other day, when I was checking out Audra's Little Scraps blog I saw that she has a new kit!! It is titled "Choose the Right: CTR". I fell in LOVE with it and just had to buy it!! (It's on sale right now!! $3.00 for this awesome kit!!) In this layout, I also used Audra's Whimsical Spring Pink Alpha.

I hope everyone has a fantastic day! Take some time to scrapbook. Iif you have scrapbooking Writer's block here are a few suggestions I found. While the author of this article is nearly finished with her pictures, I am SO far behind. She offers some neat perspectives we can take with our pages. Here are a few of my favorite:

If I had a million dollars...
Favorite Bible verse
My favorite foods
Things that make me smile

I challenge everyone to take one of her ideas and use it this month. E-mail me your layout using one of her ideas and you'll get an extra entry in this month's layout challenge!

Happy scrapbooking everyone!

New Blog Design & a Drawing

2009-06-08T07:32:00.004-04:00

Good Morning everyone! Hope your weekend was a pleasant one! Mine was long but very nice!

I just have to talk about Audra's Little Scraps designs again! I LOVE them! I think one of my most favorite kits of hers is Holding onto Hope. It is part of the inspiration behind my design change. The other part is this page that I scrapbooked using Audra's Daisy May kit.

I would like some feedback about the design change. So - how about we have a prize drawing this week. Post a critic (good & bad welcome!) as a comment and I will draw a winner from the commenters. Good luck everyone and thanks in advance for your assistance!

Just a reminder about our sketch challenge. Click here for Audra's sketch and challenge rules.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Monday!

June's layout challenge

2009-06-03T09:25:00.009-04:00

Happy June everyone!

This month I am very excited to introduce everyone to an AWSOME digital scrapbook designer named Audra. I ran across her fantastic designs one day while searching for lesson helps for my Sunbeam class at church. She has several freebies on her website and a ton more designs for sell at Faith Sisters. Check her out!

She has also provided us with this month's sketch. Which I totally love! So get out there and clean then scrapbook! For my layout, I used a background from Audra's Grandfather Basics and embellishments from her Holding on to Hope design. I also used her Invisible 2 alpha set.

For any new comers to our monthly challenge - here is a revisit of the rules:

- 1. I will post the current sketch on my blog, facebook etc.
- 2. You spend 15 minutes cleaning up your least favorite part of your house
- 3. Then scrapbook (digital or papercraft) the sketch and e-mail me a picture of your layout with a comment on what you cleaned up.
- 4. I will draw a winner from all the enteries at the end of the month and that one special person will get three awesome things: a cleaner house, some scrapbooking done and a special surprise from me!! (well...technically everyone gets first two things!

Here is Audra's sketch for the month of June and my version of it. Happy Scrappin'!!

Drum Roll please....

2009-06-02T23:57:00.003-04:00

A many thank you's go out to Melissa S., Mary Ellen and Melissa C. for the BEAUTIFUL layouts done for May's layout challenge! I just LOVE to see how others interpret the sketch and how each page has the same basic elements - but all look so different! I think that is one of my most favorite things about scrapbooking! :)

Anywho - on to announce the winner that Random.org has supplied for us. And the lucky number is.......#1!!!

Melissa S. has been drawn! Check out her fantastic page again:

Didn't she do a great job?

And just what is the fantastic prize that Melissa has won, you might ask?? Well...I have been blogging all month about my friend Mary Ellen's AWESOME lip balms and soaps. So, Melissa - you my dear sweet friend will be receiving 3 excellent lip balms (Orange You Glad, No Shine Iced Coffee & Smooth Chocolate) a most exquisite bar of Down on the Farm unscented soap!

I must tell everyone again how awesome this soap is! Not only does it leave your hands feeling nice and clean without the sticky residue some soaps leave behind - but it also lasts a long time! For those of you who might not be aware - there are 8 people that wash their hands frequently in my household and the bar of soap that I opened up at the very beginning of May is just barely at the half way mark!!

That is remarkable! At least it is in my mind. Considering that 6 of the 8 people using this soap are children, and they feel compelled to use FAR too much soap when washing their hands, or the rocks they find out in the yard, and even the long lost toys that spent the majority of winter being outside buried underneath snow! You get the picture, right? :) So if your household doesn't have such crazy adventures taking place consistently, then imagine with me just how long YOUR bar of Mary Ellen's fantastic soap would last!!

So my dear friend Melissa - this is your lucky day! Enjoy your prize!

Now everyone else need not be jealous of Melissa! For Mary Ellen has the ability to make more of her wonderful things! So if you would like to secure for your household the wonderful, long lasting soap or the refreshingly smooth lip balm of which I have been blogging about - then let me know! I will take care of you! :)

Congrats again Melissa!

May's Layout Challange

2009-05-30T23:51:00.004-04:00

I wanted to show off (again) the glorious layouts I have received thus far for this month's challenge! We might have more - there is still today! :)

Melissa S. worked on laundry and dishes.

Mary Ellen worked on the whole house.

Melissa C. (and I quote) "unpacked from our trip, cleaned out the car and started the laundry. (Stuff that I never do the day after we get home!) It was miraculous!"

Thank you three so much! Your layouts are beautiful!! Now that your houses are all clean - want to come have a cleaning party at my house? :) I'll even provide snacks :)

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Poetry in Motion

2009-05-30T05:57:00.006-04:00

As I was growing up, poetry was often recited in my home. One of my most loved (and probably the most quoted) poem from my childhood is by Emily Dickenson. She is one of my mom's favorite poets - hence we heard alot of her work! Perhaps this poem has lended to my happy nature? Who knows! I love it still the same!

They might not need me; but they might.

I'll let my head be just in sight;

A smile as small as mine might be

Precisley their necessity.

Did you know that poetry is everywhere? It is even used in New York city to make the bus and subway riding a more pleasurable and enlightening experience! Inspired by a similar program in the London Underground, the program places poem placards in the spaces usually reserved for advertisements in subway cars and buses. Check it out!

I love using poetry in my layouts! It adds such a defining touch. Here is one of the first pages I did using poetry:

The poem reads:

I have a friend! A friend who is true!
A friend I can tell every sorrow to.
I have a friend who stands by my side.
A friend to whom all things I confide.
I have a friend - one beyond compare!
Oh, World, a loyal friend is rare.
I have a friend who passed the test.
I have a friend - I am truly blessed!
- Frances Angermayer

Speaking of layouts.....

I have received some very lovely ones for our challenge! And since we are talking about poetry - I feel this poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning is most fitting! So without further ado - I, Laura Hodgkins dedicate this poem to the lovely layouts for this month's challenge!

Dear sweet, beautiful layouts -

How do I Love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most need quiet, by sun and candle-light
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with a passion put to use
In my old greifs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, ---I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! --- and, if God choose,
I shall love thee better after death.

Melissa worked on laundry and dishes! Awesome Job!

Mary Ellen worked on the whole house!! Excellent job!

Fantastic job ladies!! There is still one more day after today to get your entires in for this month's prize. Happy cleaning and scrappin'! And don't forget to add some poetry to your layouts. It truly makes for a charming page! :)

Layouts anyone??

2009-05-23T10:12:00.006-04:00

Good morning everyone!

A quick appologie for missing last weeks post! My 4 older children have all joined the swim team - so I get to run around crazy getting them to all their practicies as well as all their other activities! It has been NUTS!! But - there is a light at the end of the tunnel: School is almost out and then we will have TONS of time to go crazy! :)

I have been thinking lately that it must be a VERY busy month for everyone because I haven't received any layouts of our challenge this month!! I do hope that I receive some entries because this month's prize is seriously AWESOME!!!

I just received from Mary Ellen another chapstick - or as they are labeled Lip Balm. The flavor of my newest addition is "Orange You Glad" and let me tell you - I am certainly glad to have received it! It smells like freshly squeezed oranges and is so soft on your lips! It is fantastic! A mutual friend of ours received from Mary Ellen a "Coffee Butter" lip balm and as we were sitting talking she applied some. A minute or so later she licked her lips and exclaimed: "Yum!! It even tastes like coffee!!" These homemade soaps and lip balms as SO awesome! I am totally in love with them!

So... get off your bums (yes - you too Laura Hodgkins!!) and get some cleaning done so that you can scrapbook and get a fantastic prize!

Have a wonderful Saturday everyone!

My friend Mary Ellen

2009-05-09T06:44:00.012-04:00

Good Morning Everyone!

I just have to share about my spectacular friend Mary Ellen!

She is a marvelous person and friend! I feel so privileged to call her my friend. She is a fantastic scrapbooker and card maker (You should have seen this stunning guitar card she made! It totally rocked!), an amazing mom (her kids are awesome!) and (can you handle any more awesomeness??) she makes these STUPENDOUS soaps and chapsticks! I was the lucky recipient of some of the said product and let me tell you - I LOVE it!!!

The soap is fantastic! Currently in my bathroom we are using the unscented soap. It makes your hands feel so nice! It doesn't leave the yucky residue that regular soaps do. I can't wait until we can use the Oregano/Basil handmade Olive Oil soap!! (Doesn't that just sound so fantastic?!?!?) It smells so heavenly and reminds me of my mom's home when it she is cooking and the smell of homemade foods fills her house and wraps it's warm and inviting smells around you! If you haven't experienced this phenom - then you must, I say MUST either stop reading this post and go immediately to your kitchen and begin cooking some spectacular chocolate chip cookies or something equally as wonderful OR go to someone else's house that is baking to get this feeling. It is a such a comforting feeling to me!

And don't even get me started on her chapsticks! They are so beyond fantastic that one could not even believe it without experiencing the wonder of her chapsticks! I am currently using her Sweet Licorice. It is beyond wonderful! I love it!

So....in light of this fantastic person and her amazing products, I have decided that this month's layout challenge winner will be the lucky recipient of some of Mary Ellen's fantastic soaps and amazing chapsticks!!

Isn't that a most excellent prize?!?!? (I am showing my age here - I LOVE the movie Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure!) I think so! Now go and get cleaning and creating so you (yes you!) can be the lucky one!

Happy Monday everyone :)

2009-05-04T11:35:00.009-04:00

Happy Monday everyone :)

It truly is a happy day for me! I have been having such a wonderful day! My children all (yes - all 7 of them) got up and were happy!! What a beautiful way to begin a day and a week!

I am also so excited because when I checked out the Ettes' page it had this picture up. As I examined the picture closer - to my utmost surprise and excitement - it has one of my layouts featured!!

This made my heart burst with happiness!

Such a great day thus far!

As I was thinking yesterday about my Saturday post, I realized that I had forgotten to update everyone on what is new in Happy 2 Scrap's shop. So....here is an update.

New to the shop are fantastic Embossed Cardstock Stickers from We R Memory.

I think they are spectacular!

Happy National Scrapbooking Day!!

2009-05-02T11:51:00.005-04:00

Good afternoon everyone!

What a glorious day it has been thus far! My children allowed me the privilege of sleeping in this morning and they didn't complain one bit! (They can be spectacular children at times!)

Did you know that today, this very beautiful and wonderful day is National Scrapbooking Day?? There are so many exciting things that this day brings! Check out the scavenger hunt being put on by the Ettes (AWESOME digital scrapbooking desginers), or check out Audra's Little Scraps for a sweet freebie!! (Here's a hint - check out these awesome ladies cause pretty soon they will be our guest designers!!) What ever you do - don't forget to scrapbook a little bit today!

As promised, I have found some fantastically easy cleaning tips from The Happy Slob that should make this month's challenge a snap!! This is her "3 Step Cleaning Solution".

Step 1:

Two Daily Cleaning Bursts: It’s not nearly as painful as it sounds! These short
‘bursts’ of cleaning get an awful lot accomplished in as little time as
possible. You’ll do two bursts a day - one in the morning, and one in the
evening. The whole family gets involved for maximum impact.

Step 2:

One Focus Room every day: One room in your home gets extra special attention every day. Again, in a short period of time you’ll de-clutter and de-muck, but I don’t call this a focus room for nothing! To get real results, you need to focus your attention on only one room a day. You’ll be left with tidier, cozier rooms, but not perfectly clean rooms. We are SO NOT about perfection! However, a little effort will go a long way.
Step 3:

Weekly Clean-for-All: This is where you get down and dirty with your housecleaning once a week, to tackle some serious cleaning tasks. Don’t worry – you’ll get more one in less time than you ever have before.

Aren't those steps AWESOME?!?!?! I am totally loving them! Now - on to the challenge!

Here's how it will work:

I will post the current scrapbooking sketch on my blog, facebook and website.
You spend 15 minutes cleaning up your least favorite part of the house
Then scrapbook (digital or papercraft) the layout and e-mail me a picture of it with a comment on what part of your house you cleaned up.
I will draw a winner from all the entries at the end of the month and that one special person will get three awesome things!!! (a cleaner house, some scrapbooking done and a surprise from me! well....technically everyone gets the first 2 things!!)

Here is the sketch for the month of May and my version(s). (I couldn't decide which I liked better - so I am putting up both)

Hope everyone has a spectacular day filled with much happiness at the beautiful weather and the wonderful joy that scrapbooking brings!

And the Winners are....

2009-05-01T09:26:00.007-04:00

Thank you to Melissa S., Tiffany & Melissa C. for submiting layouts for the April layout challange! The pages are beautiful! Check them out!!

And now, thanks to Random.org we have our winners!!!

Drum Roll please....

April's Challenge: #2 ~

Melissa C

Fabulous Friend #6 ~

Koala Green aka Tiffany

Congrats to Tiffany and Melissa!!

Tomorrow I will post the new layout challenge sketch, new items to the store and some nifty cleaning tips I found! Stay tuned. :)

What a Glorious Saturday Morning!

2009-04-24T13:13:00.005-04:00

Good morning everyone and welcome to Saturday!

It has been an interesting week here at the Hodgkins' household! Filled with insane schedules, LOTS of driving to and from kids activities and there was even some cleaning happening in there! (shock!! I know!) I am certainly ready for a nice relaxing day filled with the happy sounds of my children playing nicely together and a sparkly clean house!

Ok...Ok..I know! Back to the reality of my crazy life :) My Saturday is already packed full of Girl Scout activities, laundry, scrapbooking, cleaning, playing, eating (one must never forget that important item on one's to-do list!!), preparing a fun lesson to teach the 3 & 4 years olds at church and as my dad always says "Heavenly only knows" what else will need to happen on this wonderful, spectacular day!

This Saturday is a special Saturday. Do you know why?? Because it is the last Saturday in April. That being said, this is the last post before the big day!! What is the big day, you might ask?? Well.......the big day is prize day!!

Prize day?!?!?! What a fantastic day! It certainly is wonderful dear friend, because not one, but two excellent people will get prizes!! Yup...you read it correctly!!

How does one go about getting in on the prize receiving you might ask?? Well....

One of my fabulous friends who is following my blog (either here or on Facebook.....heck if you follow on both you will be entered twice into the drawing!!) will receive a nifty Springy prize. (Thank goodness Mother Nature is getting on the ball with getting Spring here!)

And

One super crafty person will receive 3 prizes from participating in my Scrapbooking Challenge!!!

So go!!! Hurry! Become my friend!! (One can NEVER have too many friends!!) Clean then scrapbook and send me a picture of the exquisite result of your genius ideas!!

Any by all means....Have a wonderful Saturday!! Remember to smile and enjoy the little things!

Monday Madness & Trying Tuesday

2009-04-20T06:47:00.004-04:00

Good afternoon everyone!

What a weekend! Between a fantastic Girl Scout activity for Britain, Addie & Brooklyn, Sailor's Saturday reading project with Bryce and Jeremy & I DJing a youth dance for our church, I didn't have any time to sit down and write a note about my other love which is scrapbooking!

So here I sit on Trying Tuesday afternoon, looking at my not-so-cleaned up living room and thinking of all the dishes I have yet to do, and realizing that I am back at the beginning of my messy stage! My nice clean living room lasted half a month! (If you know me, you should be mightily impressed and if you are just getting to know me then you may just smile and nod and move on!) :)

As a result - I am re-issuing my challenge from my first April post. If you are keeping up on your house - FANTASTIC!!! You deserve an enormous pat on the back and some chocolate! If you are like me and need more reminding to get off your bums (my Girl Scout girls get a kick out of that word! They just giggle and giggle whenever I ask them to plant their bums on their chairs!) and get some cleaning done - then this re-issued challenge is for you! But Hurry!!! Time is almost up!! (this always works for me! I am a HUGE procrastinator!!) There are only 9 days left in April!!!

Here's how it will work:

I will post the current scrapbooking sketch on my blog, facebook and website.
You spend 15 minutes cleaning up your least favorite part of the house
Then scrapbook (digital or papercraft) the layout and e-mail me a picture of it with a comment on what part of your house you cleaned up.
I will draw a winner from all the entries at the end of the month and that one special person will get three awesome things!!! (a cleaner house, some scrapbooking done and a surprise from me! well....technically everyone gets the first 2 things!!)

The Sketch is here and my rendition of it is here.

Happy Scrapin' and I look forward to seeing all the wonderful layouts that are created! I will post the entries as I receive them.

Now I will get off my bum *snicker snicker* and get something cleaned up in my house! :)

April Layout Challenge Entries

2009-04-12T17:57:00.004-04:00

I am very excited to share the layouts that I have received for our challenge!

Melissa S. cleaned in the kitchen, living room, and 1st floor bathroom.

Melissa C. folded all the laundry that was accumulating in the laundry room. 3 loads worth!

Tiffany cleaned the area in front of the game closet so that they could get in it.

WOW! Way to go!! Awesome job Ladies!!

Exciting Weekend Plans...

2009-04-10T13:43:00.009-04:00

Good afternoon everyone! I know that it's not Saturday (my usual post day) but we have a HUGE weekend coming up! Read on and you shall see. :)

This week has been a fantastic week! The children have all been home on Spring break (too bad Mother Nature didn't remember that it's spring!!) and we have been working together to de-clutter our home! It has been wonderful working together.

As I have been working, I have been remembering my challenge to everyone. So as I cleaned, I rewarded myself with scrapbooking time. It has been wonderful! Here are two pages (of the 10) that I was able to accomplish. (Digital materials come from Ettes and Company)

This weekend is going to be a very special one for us. Not only is it Easter weekend and my husband's parents are coming to visit, but we are also blessing our beautiful baby Vivonne at church! I love seeing my babies all dressed in white. As I got out the blessing dress that all of my girls have worn for this special occasion, I went back and looked at the pictures from the past blessings. I must admit, I have beautiful children! (Of course, I am a bit biased!) They make wonderful subjects for my scrapbooking pages!

I hope everyone has a spectacular weekend full of 15 minutes of cleaning and then scrapbooking!! Remember to e-mail me your layouts scrapbooked from the sketch of the month!

~Laura

April Layout Challange

2009-04-03T17:42:00.012-04:00

What a wonderful Saturday morning it has been thus far! (Of course it is 1:05 am when I am writing this!!)

This week I have been thinking a lot about how wonderful a clean house is yet I did not want to spend all the necessary energy required to obtain that sparkly clean house! As I was pondering on this idea of sparkling clean things, I remembered reading something on my friend Kirsty's blog about taking on these messes. (Check it out! She is a fantastic writer!!)

Then I did a great thing! I gathered all the stuff that was in the living room and put it in a laundry basket and told myself that I couldn't scrapbook till this basket was all cleaned up and put away. (GASP!!! I know!!) Amazing enough......I actually did it!!! I have a relatively clean living room to show for it! I think I have found a motivation for me to actually clean! WOO HOO!!

So in the spirit of keeping our houses cleaned and finding time to scrapbook, I have decided to do a scrapbooking challenge once a month.

Here's how it will work:

I will post the current scrapbooking sketch on my blog, facebook and website.
You spend 15 minutes cleaning up your least favorite part of the house
Then scrapbook (digital or papercraft) the layout and e-mail me a picture of it with a comment on what part of your house you cleaned up.
I will draw a winner from all the entries at the end of the month and that one special person will get three awesome things!!! (a cleaner house, some scrapbooking done and a surprise from me! well....technically everyone gets the first 2 things!!)

So here goes the April's Scrapbook Layout challenge!!

The Sketch and my rendition of it: (click on the image to view a larger version)

Happy Scrapin' and I look forward to seeing all the wonderful layouts that are created! I will post the entries as I receive them.

~Laura

P.S. Don't forget to become a friend of my blog! One lucky friend will receive a special spring surprise from me at the end of the month!

P.S. Was asked if you could enter more than once and the answer is yup! Just follow the rules each time. Clean for 15 minutes (or more if you totally get on a roll!) and then scrapbook the sketch again. :)

Rules of Challenge

2009-03-28T09:25:00.011-04:00

Rules for the monthly Sketch Challenge:

1. I will post the current sketch on my blog & facebook
2. You spend 15 minutes cleaning up your least favorite part of your house
3. Then scrapbook (digital or papercraft) the sketch and e-mail me a picture of your layout with a comment on what you cleaned up.
4. At the end of the month I will draw a winner from all the entries and that one special person will get three awesome things:

A cleaner house
Some scrapbooking done and
A special surprise from me!!

(well....technically everyone gets the first two things!)

Happy Cleaning and Scrapbooking!

Welcome to Happy 2 Scrap!

2009-03-20T09:10:00.005-04:00

I am Laura, a happy Scrapper from Ohio, wife to one terrific man named Jeremy and mom to 7 wonderful, challenging, beautiful/handsome children!

Please feel free to look around, ask questions, shop and be happy! I will try to post my many happy thoughts and share with you my latest creations!

Have a wonderful and happy day!!

~Laura