About Me

Hello there.  My name is Laurie and I am a stay at home mom to three pretty cool kiddos.  My oldest son Ben is a sophomore in college, my daughter Analise is a junior in high school and my little man, Zachary, is in the third grade.  They each have their own way of making me smile and I couldn't adore them more.   I have been married to my husband for almost twenty one years, each year better than the next.  I've got it pretty good if I do say so myself.

I discovered paper crafting around eighteen years ago.  We were living in Boulder, Colorado at the time and I was invited to a Stampin' Up! party.  I really had no clue what the party was about, but my son Ben was just a baby at the time and being a new mom, I was tired and in need of a girls' night, so I agreed to go to the party and told myself I wouldn't buy anything, I'd just hang out with friends and hopefully have a little fun.  Well, that all changed once I walked in the door and spotted all the beautiful handmade card samples.  I had no clue one could make their own cards and I was blown away with what could be done with rubber stamps.  I left there with a handmade card and too many stamps sets to mention.  So much for not purchasing anything.

I stuck with cards for a few years and then began to notice scrapbooking magazines in the craft stores.  I've always enjoyed taking pictures and thought I'd hit the jackpot when I began researching memory keeping.  Crafting and preserving my photos at the same time, what a dreamy combination!  I soon began scrapbooking and my style has changed over the years which is a good thing.  My earlier pages are pretty laughable.  I've made many friends in the industry and have had the privilege of being on many sketch design teams and have been a guest designer for American Crafts, Studio Calico, and My Mind's Eye.  I still enjoy playing along with some of the sketch blogs now and then but at the time am not on any design teams.

Along with scrapbooking, I also enjoy creating with fabric.  I've made a few quilts, but find that I work better with paper.  My favorite thing to do with fabric is make these quilted ornament balls shown in the photo below.  I made several for friends at Christmas and am still getting requests for more.   They are quite addictive once you start and easier than they look.  I watched a You Tube video to learn how to make them and was quite surprised at how easy they are.  They look difficult and people who see them are so impressed and always say, "How did you do that?"  ;)

I come from a long line of Italian cooks and have many treasured recipes that I turn to weekly to feed my family and my sweet tooth.  My Aunt Judy is a baker extraordinaire and she's passed on several of her recipes and I hold them very dear.  I wish we lived closer so we could bake together, but sadly we are many states apart and only see each other once a year.  But I use her recipes all the time and we talk on the phone weekly to exchange recipes the other may have tried and liked.  I also enjoy cooking, but baking I prefer more, mainly because my family is picky when it comes to dinners and there's not a lot I can try that they will eat.  Cooking for myself is much more fun...ha.  ;)

Eight years ago, my husband bought me a Nikon D5000 digital camera and it become my very best friend.  I have discovered a whole new way to take pictures and love taking pictures of my kiddos, flowers and just about anything I want to remember.

Here are a few photos I took last summer at our local botanical gardens.  It was a photographer's dream come true!

And that's a little bit about me.  I hope when you stop by this blog you find something that inspires you and makes you smile. 

Thanks for stopping by.  :)