Look Mom .. No Training Wheels

My little boy isn't so little anymore. He came to us yesterday and asked if we would take the training wheels off of his bike and teach him how to ride like the big kids. he is 5 1/2 years old and we figured it was a good time. He's not all that tall, kind of short actually, but he tries. He has a 16 inch bicycle and his feet barely reach the ground with his seat on the lowest level. While I was searching for the kickstand to put on his bike his Dad took the training wheels off and started to teach him. I did my part and helped him learn a bit as well ... but I needed to take pictures, so I left most of the training up to Daddy. It didn't take him that long to figure out the balance part, but he needs a LOT of work on the steering and the speed control. He likes to go WAY TOO FAST! This makes him run into things and fall over. He ran into a big truck (the bumper) and hit the curb quite a few times. He needed quite a bit of room to ride, so most of his training was done in the street. Luckily there is a circle at the end of our street and it isn't busy at all. He's doing great .. I am SO proud of him. He's a Big Boy now.
For these layouts I used the June Sports Spectacular Mega Kit from SOTB. Fonts are Marydale and Dirty Fingers.

Look Mom .. No Training Wheels

Created this today, after taking a TON of photos of Andrew learning how to ride his bike like a big kid. For this layout I used the June Sports Spectacular kit from SOTB, the Cycling section in particular, created by Trish Richhart. The Font I used is Dirty Finger.

Still Around .. New Layout

I'm still around, honest. Things have been so crazy this summer, with the move and all. I've been scrapping, just haven't been posting here .. I know, shame on me.

I am currently on 3 creative teams. I work mainly with designers at Digitals .. and my goal is to complete all of the challenges there each month. I also do the Rockin Recipe Roundup Crop at SOTB each week.

I have completed a ton of layouts since I last posted here. They can all be seen on my fotki site. I will start posting more here as I get them done. Here is one that I did up this morning.

The kit I used is Games People Play, by Jamie Conn, available at digitals. The alpha is by Alisha Hess and is called a Clear Bubble Alpha, no longer available. The fonts are Kristen ITC and Gracey's Curse.
I took these photos yesterday at our neighbor's 6th Birthday party. I hope they like the layout. We just moved here a month ago and Wesley is pretty much the only other boy in our building for my children to play with. They don't mind playing with the girls, but having boys around is nice too. Everyone had a great time at the birthday party. The cake was frozen when his mom picked it up at the store, but it was fine when it was time to eat it .. the ice cream on the other hand, had melted .. the kids didn't seem to mind though.

Orange Spice by Tink

Tink sent me her Orange Spice kit last night, at my request. I couldn't wait to use the kit. The different shades of orange are just brilliant. I love this kit.
I have done two layouts with it so far. The one to the left is of Andrew's trip to the Worms' Zoo last year. The preschool students at Mannheim Elementary go every May. I created this layout as part of the Me, My, Mine Challenge this month at Digitals. This challenge called for a May themed layout, using the date in either the title or the journaling. I used the date in the deco square, sub title, and the month/year in the journaling. This particular study trip was a joy for me. We will not get to do this trip again this year though, because of the threat and concerns reguarding the avian flu present here in Germany.

This second layout with Tink's Orange Spice kit is a 4x6 recipe card. This recipe is a great one and fitting of this kit. I created this layout as a contribution to the Recipe Card Challenge we are having in one of my yahoo groups. We are making these to share them as a gift on holidays and such. Here is the recipe that is on this card:

Pineapple Butterscotch Squares.

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour.
2 Teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 can ( 20 oz) crushed pineapple well drained
1 cup ( 6 oz) butterscotch chips
1/2 cup toasted chopped nuts
vegetable cooking spray
powdered sugar , garnish ( optional)

* combine flour, baking powder,& salt in small bowl; set aside.

*beat together butter, brown sugar,granulated sugar, in large bowl until creamy. Add eggs & vanilla; beat until blended. Stir in pineapple. stir in flour mixture, butterscotch chips & nuts until blended.

* pour into 13 x 9 -inch baking pan sprayed with vegetable cooking spray.

* Bake at 350 degrees, 40-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. cool completely in pan on wire rack. dust cooled cake with powdered sugar, if desired. cut into squares.

Grandpa's Lap

I was in a sentimental mood the other day. It has been 2 years since my Father-In-Law passed away and I wanted to do something to remember him. I only have 2 pictures of him with my children. They were all incredibly young when he died.

I completed this layout as a way for my children to remember the time they spent with my husband's father. I did it at 8x10 so that I could order a good copy of it and have it framed as a gift for my Mother-In-Law. She is moving into a new Condo this week and I want her to be able to hang it in her new "home". I hope she likes it.

I don't remember where the boy themed kit came from. It was one of the first I ever got and there are no TOU in the folder. The heart shaped word art is from Glenda Ketcham and the February 2006 Scripture Challenge at Digitals. The main WordArt is by Stacey Thurman at 1 Hour Scraps.

Rockin' Recipe Roundup Wk7

This is my contribution to the Rockin Recipe Roundup 2006 Crop at SOTB for Week 7. This week's theme is vegetables.


Layered Spinach Salad
makes 4 servings
Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dijon-style mustard
1 teaspoon each: sugar, salt and pepper
2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves (can use big ones with OK results)
2 large grapefruit, peeled and sectioned
1 small cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
1 small red onioin, chopped
1 ripe avocado, peeled, seeded, thinly sliced (optional)
1/4 cup sliced green pimento-stuffed olives

Directions
For dressing, put oil, vinegar, mustard, sugar, salt and pepper into a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake well to blend.
Wash spinach, remove and discard stems, pat dry on a paper towel. If using mature spinach leaves, tear into bite-sized pieces.
Arrange 1 cup of the spinach in the bottom of a 1-quart glass, straight-sided dish. Arrange half of the grapefruit, cucumber, onion, avocado and olives in layers over the spinach. Add 1 cup spinach. Continue layering remaining vegetables. Pour dressing over all.
Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate 2 hours to marinate and chill.

Rockin' Recipe Roundup Wk6

Here is my layout for the Rockin Recipe Roundup 2006, week 6 at SOTB. This week's theme is Italian food. I haven't tried this recipe yet, mainly because I haven't had the items on hand to do it. But, it looks SOO good. I really want to try it.
Here is the recipe

1/3 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 pound ground beef
1 loaf (1 pound) Italian bread, cut into 1-inch slices
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups (8 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 jar (28 oz) spaghetti sauce
1 cup water
2 garlic cloves, minced

In a bowl, combine onions, crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Add beef and mix well. Shape into 1-in. balls; place on a rack in a shallow baking pan. Bake at 400*F for 15-20 minutes or until no longer pink. Meanwhile, arrange bread in a single layer in an ungreased 13x9x2 inch baking dish (all of the bread might not be used).Combine cream cheese, mayonnaise, Italian seasoning and pepper; spread over the bread. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup mozzarella. Combine sauce, water and garlic; add meatballs. Pour over cheese mixture; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Bake, uncovered, at 350*F for 30 minutes or until heated through.YIELD: 6-8 servings.NOTE: Do not use reduced-fat or fat-free mayonnaise.

I also did up this recipe in a 4x6 for another group that I am on. We are trying to compile a 4x6 recipe book, either for ourselves or as gifts. This is going to be fun. For the 4x6 layout I used the Rockin Recipe Roundup 2005, Wk 3 Kit ... created by Elizabeth Lane at SOTB.