Our new floor

I couldn't stand the smell of the dog pee in our living room carpeting anymore. So, we ripped up the carpeting. I had no specific game plan at the time, I just knew I couldn't stand the dog pee anymore. I've never been a fan of carpeting. It always seems dirty to me.

We priced tile and found it to be more expensive than we wanted to pay at this time. After all, we need to go to Legoland. ;) We decided to paint the cement and buy a box or two of tile a month until we have enough for the room. We figure it will take about a year to have enough boxes.

Removing the carpeting is the easy part. It's the removing of the tack strips, filling in the holes from the nails and removing the glue left from the carpet pad that is the messy yucky part.

After all that was done, we gave the floor two coats of a light colored latex paint. This was not fun for me to do as my arm/shoulder still hurts. Then we kind of sponge painted a darker shade on top of the light shade. When that was dry, we dipped a paint stirring stick in some black paint and kind of threw it around. The kids loved that part.

Once all the paint was dry, we put on 2 coats of glossy polyurethane. It's a shiny floor!!

It's certainly not a traditional type of floor but I like it and most importantly, IT'S CLEAN!!

I think my bright red leather sectional will look pretty cool sitting on it.

And, the whole thing cost about a hundred bucks.

Some layouts...that's all I do anymore

well, layouts and scold the kids. I hate summer. I really, really do.


Love, Elsie Claire

Total mix of stash.


Crate Static

Thanks for looking. :D

Ready for some new Technique Tuesday?

Summer CHA is coming and that means NEW STAMPS!! YAY!!

New Baby set: Cute as a Button. Paper is from Daisy D's and scalloped squares and trim is from my Cricut.

Fun new font: Piccadilly

Jurassic Parts. Love this one!

Under the Sea and My Little Princess. No, this wasn't a set up just to get 2 sets of stamps in one page. This really happened!!

Layouts

I thought I posted this but I guess not. All Bo Bunny. Stamps are Technique Tuesday.

Daisy D's and my Cricut. I'm having fun with that machine. ;)

A layout for my LSS, Pages in Progress. Bo Bunny papers. Font is Quickutz Rockstar.

My arm/collarbone is feeling a bit better. I still can't lift it too high or put weight on it. I'm getting really tired of sleeping on my left side. :P I guess since it's feeling a bit better it's not broken. That's a relief.

Thanks for all your well wishes. I miss you, too, Hilary!!

Collarbone

I may have broken my collarbone the other day. In the middle of the night, I got up from bed, tripped over the dog and fell on the handlebars on Katrina's scooter. Why was the scooter in the middle of my bedroom? I have no idea.

Anyway, the pain was immediate and never went away. I was able to sleep somewhat but decided to go to Urgent Care the next morning. After several x-rays, they were unable to get a clear reading. I guess there was a shadow or something. I left in a sling, a Rx for pain killers, and was told I had at least severe bruising on my collarbone and chest wall. If it still hurts in 4-5 days, then that means it's probably broken.

I can't scrapbook. I'm going on my third day here and it's already getting to me.

I also can't chew and swallow without being in pain. My neck is swollen. I'm congested and when I blow my nose all I get is blood. Gross. TMI? Sorry.

Here are some layouts from the last couple weeks:

Making Memories Spring/Easter

Mostly Sassafras Lass

Making Memories. I love that little card Trent made for me.

Daisy D's Gypsy Harvest. I like to take a picture of Trent on the first day of school and the last day of school wearing the same shirt.

Doodlebug stamps, KI and Crate

Daisy D's Maybe Baby and Sweet Baby Jane stamps. Strawberry cut from my Cricut. ;)

That's it for now. Have a great weekend everyone.

Cricut

I really like my new Cricut Expressions. I made this sign and so far it seems to be working. The person that lets their dog poop in my yard is now letting it poop two houses down.

More layouts

Cosmo Cricket and a little wee bit of K & Co.

Sassafras Lass, Elsie and a wee bit of K & Co. and Crate.


Daisy D's Chasing Butterflies, Beacon Hill and Sharon's digi frame.



BasicGrey and some Technique Tuesday (Ooh Rah!, Main Street & Remember the Moments).

New Technique Tuesday

Sweet Dreams

Little Labels and Story Tellers Ledgers

*sigh* I love getting new Technique Tuesday stamps. They're the best stamps EVER and did you know that they're made here in the good ol' USA? Yep. cool.

We'll miss you, Kiersten

In fact, I miss her already.

From her obituary:

Kiersten E. Hickman-Perfetti, 22, of Highland Park died at home with her parents at her side, after an almost four-year battle with cancer, on Wednesday, April 23, 2008.
Kiersten was born in New Brunswick on July 5, 1985. She attended public school in Highland Park. Kiersten played varsity basketball, threw the shot put, discus and javelin, and managed the football and baseball teams at Highland Park High School. She swam at the YM/YWHA and the University Swim Club from ages 5 to 14. Kiersten was an avid music lover. She played the clarinet and was in the high school band.
Kiersten attended Goucher College in Towson, Maryland for her freshman year in college (2003-2004). Kier played basketball at Goucher College her freshman year, and she was awarded an honorary degree by Goucher in 2007. She was an avid Rutgers women's basketball fan and friend to the team, and a member of the Rutgers Cager's Club. The RU women's basketball team dedicated their 2007-08 season to Kier.
Kier enjoyed scrapbooking, reading, Sudoku, crossword puzzles, music, and movies. She took art lessons. Kiersten loved children and became an important person in the lives of many children in Highland Park and at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
During her illness Kiersten developed a list of things to accomplish. She went to The Daily Show four times and met Jon Stewart and Tere Abrams, who were very kind to her. She went to the Ellen DeGeneres Show, several Fab Faux concerts, Saturday Night Live, The Lion King, Rent, the WNBA 2007 All-Star game, and the NCAA 2007 Final Four women's basketball game. Kier also started a foundation, Kier's Kidz, to raise money for research into the treatment and cure of pediatric cancer.
Kiersten is survived by her mother and father, Mimi Hickman-Perfetti and Larry Perfetti of Highland Park; her brother, Keith Hickman-Perfetti of Highland Park, and her grandmother, Betty Perfetti of Maple Shade. Her other grandparents, Al Perfetti, and George and Nancy Hickman, predeceased her. She has numerous other relatives and friends.
Viewings will be held from 2 p.m.-4 p.m. and 7 p.m.-9 p.m. on Sunday, April 27, at Jacqui-Kuhn Funeral Home, 17 S. Adelaide Ave., Highland Park. Full memorial services will held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 4, at Kirkpatrick Chapel, Rutgers University, New Brunswick. In lieu of flowers, Kier would appreciate your making a contribution to Kier's Kidz Lemonade Stand, c/o Alex's Lemonade Stand, 333 E. Lancaster Ave., #414, Wynnewood, PA 19096.

Scouts

A couple layouts for Tiger Scouts:

I love how well the Sassafras Lass Whale of a Tale works with the Tiger Scout pics.

This is a layout I did for my LSS using the K & Co. Tiger collection. I added some BasicGrey dinosaur stamps to it, too.

A few pictures

I love this wall at Trent's school.

New Technique Tuesday

I love this new size for the Broadway font. Also, Remember the Moments. Fun stuff!!

Take a sad song and make it better

We're still listening to The Beatles around here. ;) In Kier's honor, Linda has started a Beatles layout challenge.

Here's my first Beatles inspired layout. I used some of the lyrics from Dear Prudence. All Daisy D's Wonder Years collection.








Thanks and have a great night/day.

Alvin and the Chipmunks

I'm so sick of this movie. I didn't want to see it when it first came out and I didn't want to rent it either. However, the kids have been begging to see it ever since it was in theatres. I would feel pretty darn guilty if I didn't let them rent it.

It's Monday and we rented it on Friday. It has been played five times since then. Ugh! Thank goodness it goes back tomorrow. I'm not buying it no matter how many times they ask.

Here are some layouts:

Sweetwater Everything Autumn plus 3 different pieces of Hambly.

Daisy D's Saltwater Taffy. I love that silver paper!!

BasicGrey Archaic & Sugared.

K & Co. Urban Rhapsody.

Daisy D's Bambino.

I've declared it a Beatles weekend

As some of you know, my friend/our friend, Kiersten, is dying. She is losing her battle with cancer. She's only 22.

Her father is reporting that she hasn't eaten or had anything to drink in weeks. There seems to be no amount of pain medication to relieve her of the pain she feels constantly. She's now starting to hallucinate. I feel so helpless. She lives so far away and I can't visit her or hold her hand or tell her how much she means to me.

Kiersten LOVES the Beatles. Over these last couple of months, her father reports that she asks to listen to the Beatles. She finds peace and comfort in their music. So, while it may seem kind of silly, I'm asking that everyone listens to a Beatles song this weekend in Kiersten's honor.

Here's one to get you started:

Here Comes the Sun

Have a nice weekend everyone. I'll post some more layouts tomorrow. Maybe.

New Technique Tuesday

I love this new set from Technique Tuesday, Home is Where the Heart Is. That little house is just so darn cute!

Also, stamps from Swiss Dots, Loopy Labels, Start Me Up - Broadway and Borderlines: Notions.

Here's a Sassafras Lass layout:

and another Daisy D's Sweet Baby Jane layout:

I changed the background of the layout I did the other day. I like the turquoise background better:

I don't normally rip apart layouts. This one needed it, though.

Have a great day/night.

Some Wonder Years and a Cosmo

I'm still working on Wonder Years stuff. I just love this line.


I used all Cosmo "Get Happy" for this layout. This was made for my LSS, Pages In Progress.