My surgery today went well and I should be back up and blogging in a few days. Thanks to all those who were praying!

My two youngest munchkins, who are swimmers like my older two, took this year off for a break to prevent them ( and their mummy) from getting burn out. By January they were in need of some extra activity so we put them into gymnastics.

At the end of spring break they had their first test and passed the second level I think it is.

Anyway today they had an end of year gymnastics competition with 6 different age group levels. There was a double regional champion from England as one of the judges. Another one is a world class judge who will be working at the World Gymnastics Championships later this year.

All to say - my two munchkins surprised the heck out of us. After only 6 months at the club they both did extremely well.

We had no idea!

DS 11 came first in his age group - beating all the girls.
DD9 came second in her age group only missing out on first by .1 of a point.

Needless to say we are thrilled. It is all the more special as DS has never come first in anything- and he always tries very hard - usually placing 4th. So he is extra happy with this.
It was very well organised and a lot of credit must go to the wonderful lady who coaches them and put the whole thing together. What else is fab is that all the parents got involved in some way and helped out.
My eldest DS15 has been helping out at the club with all the classes and assisting with the little ones as a kind of work experience/community service. Today he had to help keep everyone in their line, get them organised prior to their time slots. He also had to take each of the 6 groups through their warm-up exercises. At the end of the day he expressed to me that he really enjoyed himself too.

Got some pics that need editing due to the inside lighting being so poor (not to mention my lack of skill with an external flash) so will do a layout soon.

Are you looking for baby shower ideas?  Want some neat idea's for gifts, packaging and nursery decor? Then look no further!

It has already started, so pop on over to The Hybrid Chick and check out their week baby shower. This party is running for the next two weeks. How fun is that? A two week bay shower!

I can tell you there are just some of the cutest projects to make and do. If you are not having a baby - find someone who is and have a go at these wonderful hybrid projects.

The giveaways are awesome too. Some of the projects are to be given away. Imagine getting one the these hand made projects by the incredibly talented creative team at The Hybrid Chick.

There are also fabulous randomly drawn Digi Chick gift coupons from various designers on offer too.

Gotta love that! 

It's been a week of baby themed kits and I am still creating with them. I have a bigger project in mind and these two items will be a part of it.

The first is a Diaper shaped card. It is made with a template from the awesome Kelleigh Ratzlaff. Kelleigh's Baby Themed Card set is so cute and clever and includes a diaper and a rattle.

I have used another sweet baby kit called Baby Days from Mira Designs to bring Kelleighs diaper card template to life. It opens out and you can write your own message on the inside. The cute little pins came from the Boho Baby kit.

Then I wanted to try out one of Kelleigh's Gable Boxes for a gift idea. Again Baby Days looks so cute on this template.

I have some more ideas for this - so watch this space!

Another layout…this time a boy one that does not even look remotely baby. That is just what I love about this kit - or should I say kits! There are two kits combined in this layout.  Boho Baby and Boho Baby Extras are from Gypsy Couture at The Digi Chick.

These baby kits are perfect for baby layouts yet there are so many assorted elements that they are perfect for non baby layouts too.

Today's layout uses some of the cute new baby products available over at The Digi Chick. There are so many lovely kits to choose from in so many different styles that it was very hard to pick one to start working with. Mind you pink always grabs me and this one eventually won out.

Plus who could resist that sweet little baby bassinet and booties?

This sweet baby of mine is the Munchkin girl we thought may have had the chicken pox this last week. It now appears as though it is just a post viral rash from the virus she has the week before. I don't know whether to be relieved or not. It would have been nice to have it out of the way.

I have used Sweet Peach by Danielle Engebretson for the layout basis and some very cute word art from  Wordz Baby by Dawn Inskip.

The design is my own this time and I must admit it was fun coming up with something that was me instead of a template or sketch. Then again - some of my favourite layouts were done with templates. Isn't it wonderful to have the variety your own work brings and yet also be able to work with others ideas as well!

Not sure if this qualifies or not but perhaps?

I am sitting here browsing through this months superb Digi Shop Talk Insider ezine catching up on articles. I wanted to check it out as Nicole Seitler from SugarPlum Paperie who is also the owner of The Digi Chick is the Highlighted Designer of the month at DST for June.

Not only that but Mari Koegelenberg has a great tutorial in there for making the cutest little hybrid tag album. Very clever!

So anyway, as I scroll down I come across a very familiar photo. One of mine in fact. This one.

It is my control center. 

I am totally amazed! Each month the Insider team picks their favourite Hybrid projects from the gallery and hilights them in the ezine!

Mine was one of 4 they picked this month. The others are wonderful too - inspiration for sure.

So now I am wondering? Does this make me nearly famous?

LOL!

If you want to know how to make one of these control centers - the Tutorial is here.

My youngest munchkin had a couple of "itchy" spots on her back the other day. As she is a veritable mosquito magnet we just put it down to that, and treated it accordingly.

Two days later the number had increased to over twenty spots and it is obvious they were not mossie bites. Some of them have that little whitish center like a chicken pox rash but don't seem to be developing any further than that.

This morning there were a couple more so I took her of to the Medical center for our Doctor to have a look at them. She also has the sniffles and a sore ear. There hasn't been any fever so I don't really think it is the Chicken Pox.

He isn't sure either!

He agree's it has some similarities to the Chicken Pox virus but can't tell for sure. As she has had a couple of viral infections in the last month with high temps he thinks it is just a post viral rash but to keep an eye on it. He gave her some anti-histamine for the itch and we'll have to see how it develops over the next couple of days.

Hopefully this will be the worst of it and it will just go away.

I found this small cork board backed with chipboard in our local $ store. Straight away I imagined using it as a base for embossing flowers and stamping with ink for cards.

Rather than leave it plain a little pretty shabbying up was called for. Then it was ready for use whenever I am in need of a softer surface while I am stamping or embossing something

I also chose to make it double duty.  The back was perfect for this quote that I have been wanting to use for a while. This way it can hang on the wall with the "used" side hidden when I am not using it. Saves space too in you are working in a small nook or cupboard.

I am sure that after a while of using it for stamping and rubbing or embossing shape into my hybrid digital flowers, that the other side will look decidedly more shabbier.

If you would like to see full step by step instructions of how I made this then go here for the tutorial.

Another layout. My oldest and youngest have a wonderful relationship - even given the age difference. She drives him up the wall and he bosses her around. Still they adore each other.

Perfect love!

I love watching their relationship develop and pray that they will always be there for each other.

For full kit and element credits go here.