yesterday morning:
for this tutorial i focused on using both the clear shapes and the 6x6 decorative edged cardstock pieces from a newly released collection from Little Yellow Bicycle called: Swoon. if you haven't seen it in your local stores yet, go take a peek. isn't this collection gorgeous!? i promise you, the photos don't do it justice at all. just wait until you see it in person. have ya'll seen it at your local stores yet?
i've had lots of people ask about using the clear shapes and what adhesive is best for them. i talk about that a bit in the short video below.
these particular frames are all glittery and just beautiful. so hard to see in a still shot. 
i love how this collection is so monochromatic. you can add pops of color or just leave it alone and let the color from the photos stand out. as you notice, i turned all but one photo to black & white. i felt it made a much bigger impact that way.
most of the elements in this layout are glittery or foiled or high-gloss. i'm normally not a fan of the foil, but silver foil on top of grey patterns is absolutely gorgeous. this collection won me over on the foil. :)Tania's CHALLENGE: 6 x 6 Decorative Edge Cardstock
Use any of our 6x6 Decorative Edge Cardstock from ANY of our collections with one of the two ideas presented in the video. You can spin the ideas any way you want.
Load your project to the Little Yellow Bicycle Facebook Wall or email it to lizq@cthruruler.com with '6 x 6 Decorative Edge Cardstock Challenge' in the subject line.
Submit your challenge idea by May 15th. We will choose 3 winners to receive a $25 prize pack and feature your project on the Little Yellow Bicycle blog.
i was going to stay home and do a million chores around the house on their first day of spring break, but the attitudes were flying and the stress level was escalating after two little girls got freaked out about a bee buzzing around on the neighbor girl's porch. (hello, meltdowns, please go away)
as you can tell, the attitudes disappeared and they were full of ornery.
you may think that once you've seen a farm, you've seen them all. or you may think seeing it once is enough. but this farm, to us, is something special. every visit there is something new and exciting to discover. like this time, for instance, we found the cutest little babies grazing in the pen. *happy sigh*
and for certain, there were more signs of spring at every turn. i love lilacs. just reminds me of grandma's house.
of course, a big part of the fun of going to the farm for me, is not only getting to tell the girls stories from my childhood of playing at my grandparents farm, but also getting to take bunches of pictures along the way. :)
it's an 1800's working historical farm, as part of our metro parks, and is free to visitors. while the activities at the farm change from season to season, the one thing that remains constant are the toys that are available throughout the property. the girls love having the chance to master their skills at these games from the past. ashlyn is getting quite proficient at using the stilts. and spidergirl is still mesmerized by the marble maze.
they both really enjoy the tree swing and would stay on it for hours and hours and hours if i let them. someday i'll have one of these two seater old fashioned tree swings. someday. until then, we'll continue to enjoy the one at the farm.
well, hello, there. this is me. totally in my element with a huge smile on my face just sitting outside of the summer kitchen. the farm + sunshine on my face....who wouldn't be smiling?
i LOVE this photo, but i'm so very annoyed with the non-glare/anti-reflective coating on these glasses that shows up green in photos if my head isn't turned just right. ugh.
for those of you just joining us, this is my mini-me...emma grace. otherwise known as spidergirl. and she just lost her two front teeth. remember....ashlyn tied a piece of yarn around the one and slammed the door shut yanking the first one out? well, i'll have to tell you about the second one soon.
anywho. the whole time we were at the farm i just kept thinking.......'how did i get so lucky to be mama to these two girls?' seriously, blessed.
being at the farm is a photographers dream. there are so many different textures and backdrops. i've also been trying to capture photos of multiples &/or piles over the last year. doesn't matter the item, just as long as it's a pile or multiple of something. i have something in mind for all of them.
we took a short walk up to the barnyard to see the ducklings and chickies, but were rather disappointed to not find any. we didn't even attempt to go into the horse barn with the way spidergirl's asthma has been so uncontrolled. horses are one of her triggers.
but we found piles and piles of corn waiting to be ground down for feed.
then we left the farm and headed to the park where i laid under this glorious sunshine for four whole minutes before they were calling me away again to help them reach the tarzan/zipline contraption.
of course, i obliged, because who can resist these big brown puppy dog eyes? not i.
long story short....i wore them out. but truth be told, i wore myself out too. but it was worth it. so very worth it. it's always worth it.
looks so barbaric, yes? i'm telling you what.......the first week, the week we referred to as "hell week" was rough. i'm told it's rough for even for kiddos that don't have sensory issues. every single thing she tried to eat, even mashed potatoes, would get stuck. then she'd panic. then she'd cry. then she'd refuse to eat. every single meal, every single day, until we went back the following week. she lost weight, her sensory issues magnified, it was awful.
but........i'm here to tell all you mom's out there going through this (sensory kiddos or not), that if you can just make it to day 10, you'll round the corner and every little thing will be okay.
the second week she added waffles to her icecream only diet and became even more obsessed with eating waffles than she was with eating the chocolate icecream. i'm telling you, my husband and i have made more waffles in the last month than we have our entire marriage.
and then, we started turning the key. every morning and every night. i was most nervous about this stage of the game because with each turn of the key her jaw was being forced to expand causing lots of pressure in her cheekbones, sinuses, etc. she was nervous about this part too because of all the conversations with the orthodontist, all she remembered was them telling her it was going to hurt.
so after just a few days of turning that expander key, you start to see the magic happen. that gap you see in the picture up there--it appeared, like, overnight. mind boggling.
we were initially told that they would expand her jaw for 3 months. yes 3 solid months of turning that key every morning and every night. how big was this gap gonna get!? could you imagine?
