How crazy is that! MAY 6th, my birthday! AND let’s not forget The Kentucky Derby this year! I love to scrapbook and have gotten so far away from it. I love crafting too, so lately I have been obsessed with making quickie cards (I’m too cheap to buy and isn’t homemade so much better?) and projects for friends. Again, if I reflect on my latest behaviors, I am alway up for the challenge of making things for friends, or see an idea and then HAVE to make it. But – my focus should be scrapbooking and finishing so many scrapbook albums I have started, but not finished, for all 5 of my kids and family. Why do we think we are going to have all the time in world to finish these? I have recently met my mother on a pleasure trip to Salt Lake City this past weekend. RIGHT before I get on my flight back to Phoenix, AZ, I left my brand new Galaxy S8+ on the bathroom toilet roll shelf. Right when I get to my gate, I realize and go back. GONE. I just wanted to cry. It is what it is. My stupidity and absence mindedness. I call the airport the next morning, and after panicked calls to several Lost & Found offices, I find the exact-right person, and someone had turned it in!!! I was elated. Moments later, my neighbor (a incredible quilt designer/artist) called me to tell me about a recent car accident involving 4 teenage girls driving to school. The school that both my daughters attend. One does NOT survive. My lame phone issues all of sudden, becomes really petty and non-important. Only within an hour, my high school freshman texts me to tell me that she lost a classmate in a car accident. Her Spanish classmate and project partner. She was beyond sad and distraught. This horrific car accident really hit me hard. Here I am…. rushing my 15-1/2 yr old daughter to hurry up and get her permit so she can get her license. So I don’t have to drive her to club soccer practice after November. I don’t ever want her to get her license. It’s always the “others” that we have to worry about, right? Anyway, I know that is not realistic, but we want to protect our kids as long as we can. So, again – Who promises that we will be here tomorrow, or next year?
My focus for the week just went out the window. I have a commitment with Hiding in My Craft Room, so here we go. I tried to resurrect my scrapbook page where three of my kids were in Maui last summer for a wedding that we were so lucky to be a part of. A very dear friend of mine’s daughter Haley & Austin. Here is the scrapbook page that hold a special memory for me. Just holding on to my kids playing on the beach with no worries about life. Just playing, laughing, & splashing, like they were small kids. But, I know they are growing up so fast, right before my eyes. MY Birthday wish for all my kids, will always be that they remind close. As brothers and sisters that they realize that family is a huge part of life and growing older. That no matter what….. Family will always be there for you.
Technical Info: Hiding in My Craft Room NSD01 MHK Designs – I used the “Sea Creatures” Digital Stamp Set. The Seahorse, The Starfish, and the sentiment “let the Sea set you free”. That’s what I see for my kids, to always feel free with hope and love. I used an oldie but goodie “clam shell” with Ranger Perfect Medium & white embossing powder. I Distress (Tim Holtz) Inked “ground espressso” along most of the blue green paper, and sprayed with water to get the run-off effect, and used my heat gun to dry. I used copic browns for the Seahorse and again, sprayed with water to get the blurred or distress look. Just replace your printer paper with any fun color to print out your digital stamp sets. One of my newest, fastest application of SookWang Tape makes it easy to apply all the photos and embellishments. My sister, turned me on to this awesome product on Amazon. Cheap and so easy to use. Layer, layer is what works great, as it gives most of your scrapbook pages dimension and depth. Enjoy and Have FUN!
Final thoughts: The Kentucky Derby, one of my favorite past times to watch and experience. Not to mentioned those delicious Mint Juleps! There is a horse with great odds this year. Keep your eye on this one….. McCRAKEN!!! 5-1 odds. That is the horse I am betting on. With CrakenCrafts as my blog name, how can you resist?!!!! 
12×12 Scrapbook Pages
Left Side of 12×12 Page
Right Side of 12×12 Page
Hey there are using WordPress for your site platform? I’m new to the blog world but I’m trying to get started and set up my own. Do you require any html coding expertise to make your own blog? Any help would be greatly aprticeaped!
Hi Emmy
Honestly, I had no experience either. None. Everyone told me to use word press and because my son works for Go daddy it was very cheap to set up. Even if you don’t know anyone, I would search under basic services from them. It is easy easy to get over loaded with all those templates, so I jyst used an easy one and took all of my own photos for the title, etc.. let me know if you need more help! Thanks for stopping by! Christine
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