Yale, this is Charlotte. Charlotte, this is Yale.

This past weekend, we drove down to New Haven for the annual Yale-Harvard football game.  While we never actually watched the football game, we did find some tasty food at the Siliman College tailgate. 

We also quickly realized that there were absolutely no children around.  So we headed across the street towards the stadium.  There, we saw Handsome Dan and took a quick photo.

The rest of our afternoon was spent visiting my old favorite spots around campus and taking A LOT of photos of Charlotte.  Here we are on the shuttle back to campus from the football stadium. Charlotte loves singing "Wheels on the Bus" so this was definitely a treat for her.

Here she is sitting on a bench right outside of Welch Hall on Old Campus (my freshman dorm). 

Charlotte loved playing in the leaves in Old Campus.  At one point, they came right up to her knees! 

For lunch, we ate at the Ivy Noodle.  Henry, Mel and I would go here all the time for scallion pancakes and pan fried dumplings.  Sadly, the food was far from the deliciousness that I remembered.  But Charlotte enjoyed getting out of the cold for just a bit.

Our next stop was Morse College, my residential college.  It was renovated since I was there but still felt like home.

We briefly stopped by Cross Campus before walking along Wall Street, across Swing Space and then back to our car behind the Payne Whitney Gym.

And now, if you ask Charlotte what her favorite college is, she'll point to the Y.  Cause, yes, that would be Yale.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

Crafting with my November Counterfeit Kit (Part II)

I've managed to create two more layouts and a card using my November Counterfeit Kit.  I think that I might be able to eek out a few more cards before the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog releases the December inspiration kit.  Anyways, without further ado, here are the creations...

1.  Even After All These Years {a scrapbook layout}

The starting point for this sketch was another Scrapbook Steals sketch by Kristy Lee (Opal #4).  

For my layout, I just used one page of the sketch to scrap out a lovely visit from Danny and Brock back in March.  Justin was enlisted in the Navy with these boys oh so long ago and, even after all these years, the three of them are all such close friends.  Here is a close up of the title.

The page is pretty simple but it feels good to slowly eat away my long to do list of 2011 pages.

2.  April 2011 {a scrapbook layout}

Here is another month page.  This time, I started with an amazing sketch by Cathryn Hansen, the November guest designer for Scrapbook Steals (Opal #5).  Here is her amazing sketch.

I love how she included some little photos along the bottom.  And here is a close up of those lovely Sassafras blooms and stitches that I'm so in love with.

3.  Thinking of You {a card}

And finally, here is a card I made with some paper scraps.  The Studio Calico Cow paper just makes me smile.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Holiday Crafting

Before Thanksgiving sneaks up on me, I wanted to share some holiday craft projects.  

1.  Happy Thanksgiving Banner.

I made this beast using my trusty Cricut.  I cut the leaves from the "Feels Like Autumn" set at Lettering Delights.   The turkey is from the Create A Critter Cricut Cartridge.  To tie the banner together, I used some pretty bakers twine.  Here are some close-up photos.

The banner is hanging up in the living room.  Every time Charlotte sees it, she says "happy" and giggles at the turkey.  That alone makes this project worth it.

2.  Paper Pumpkin

I made this paper pumpkin just a few minutes ago using the "Threaded Pumpkin" file from Lettering Delights.  I didn't have the energy to scrapbook a layout but wanted to do some crafting before.  I'm sure Charlotte will tear it apart as soon as she sees it in the morning.  But I think it's pretty cute.

3.  Muffin Tin Advent Calendar

I've been wanting to make a muffin tin advent calendar since last year and I was shocked at how quick and easy it was to make.  First, cut out 24 squares in a solid colored cardstock that are 2.25 inches square.  Second, cut out 24 squares in a patterned paper that are 2 inches square.  

Paste the patterned paper onto the solid cardstock.  Embellish as you please.  Since I used papers and embellishments from the Imaginisce Little Helper collection, putting everything together was so simple. 

Finally, add adhesive magnetic strips (you can get them from Walmart or Michaels) and voila, a super cute and easy advent calendar! 

I'm planning to write out a Christmas/ Holiday activities for our family to do each day.  Hopefully this becomes a time honored family tradition.

4.  Snowflake Birthday Banner

And finally, here is a birthday banner I made for a friend.  Her daughter is turning one in early December and the party theme is snowflakes!

Hope everyone is doing well and getting ready for Thanksgiving!!  We're heading down to New Haven tomorrow for the Yale-Harvard game.  Not sure if we'll actually watch the football game but I'm sure we'll stumble onto a tailgate or two!

Boola Boola!

Crafting with my November Counterfeit Kit

Can I just tell you how much I'm loving my November Counterfeit Kit.  Before, when I would start a scrapbook page, I would spend a long time (sometimes hours) just thinking about what papers worked together, playing with color combinations, and rummaging through my boxes for the perfect embellishments.  (Yes, sadly, I have THAT much stuff.)  But now, with the Counterfeit Kit, I already have papers and embellishments preselected from my stash and can get scrapping almost immediately.  Just yesterday, I *nearly* finished an entire layout during Charlotte's nap time (which, for me, is unheard of).  So, with that, I wanted to share with you some layouts and a card I made with my counterfeit kit.

1.  January 2011 {a scrapbook layout}.  

I used this fantastic sketch  by Kristy Lee over at Scrapbook Steals (Opal #2) as my starting point.

Inspired by the shape and movement of the photo placement, I fussy cut some Studio Calico paper to create a frame around some photos.  

I then made my journaling spot by cutting out a circle, stamping it with a Hero Arts ledger stamp and stitching around it with some embroidery floss. 

2.  February 2011 {a scrapbook layout}.

 

This was another layout using a Kristy Lee sketch from Scrapbook Steals (Opal #3).

I'm in love with the Sassafras various blooms and in stitch blossoms.  They are super cute and make embellishing so quick and easy! 

To frame my photo collage, I cute apart a die cut sheet from Studio Calico.  I also cut out some banner pieces from Studio Calico Fabrips to embellish the top corner of my photo collage.

3.  March 2011 {a scrapbook layout}.   

If you haven't noticed, I'm trying to get caught up on our 2011 family album and these month pages with the photo collages make it a lot easier.  :)  I'm also trying to catch up with all the Opal sketch challenges at Scrapbook Steals.  So, as expected, my starting point was another Kristy Lee sketch (Opal #6).

My newest obsession has been these candy dots by Pebbles (which are just adhesive little button dots).  So cute!  I'm also trying to incorporate more washi tape into my layouts.

In trying to add some pops of color to the layout, I did some random blue stitching around the flower cutout.

And I am kindove in love with these Jenni Bowlin Studio stick pins (which are just decorated needles/ pushpins).  Sadly, I just don't know how to use them.  So I just stuck it with the flowers here.

4.  Wedding Wishes {a card}.

For my final November Counterfeit Kit creation (well, for purposes of this post at least...), here is a wedding card I made.  

I cut out the circle card and scallop shape using my Cricut and Sure Cuts A Lot software.  The sentiment and banner stamps are from Lawn Fawn.  And aside from that, I used American Craft Thickers to spell out the names and added faux stitching with a black Sharpie around the circle.

Whew, that was a lot!  :)  

As always, thanks for stopping by!!!