Dog Daze

I thought I would share a few of my older scrapbook pages with you today. Subjects: dogs & weddings! (and one baby).

I had just bought the baby hand print stamp & wanted to put it to use. I created this blank page for a baby girl - black, white, pink color scheme. Right hand side left open for journaling.


Oh, I loved my wedding invitations! Polka dots & teal - two of my favorite things! This is how they look in my "scrapguestbook".



Two pages from Lindsay's wedding scrappicturebook. The 2nd one is the Christmas tree Kevin proposed in front of.


My baby girl - Silvie! I know I'm bias, but she really is too cute!


And Silvie would rather be with a dog over a human any day, so she's absolutely loves it when her friends come over to play. She has never been intimated that the majority of her friends are twice her size - just jumps right in!


The three labs in the Koi pond. Too cute!

Bonus: Silvie & Ralfie playing under their futon.

Happy Wednesday! The weekend will be here before you know it!

Around the House

I am loving this 4 day weekend! The only thing that would make it better is if I lived at the beach so that I would be able to get all my projects done there. However, I will settle for good friends and my backyard oasis - a stacation if you will! I cut into all that fabric from my grandmother yesterday & here is a sample of what I have made so far:

Pillows for the screen porch furniture. I will also be replacing the cushions this weekend.


Pillow for our bedroom. This lace fabric truly is beautiful & I believe my granddad brought the green silk blend home from Japan when he came back from WWII.


This fabric came for my sister-in-law. It is super cute. I made curtains for the screen porch & this pillow. The pillow will probably be a hammock pillow - its the perfect size for reading in the shade:)


If you have never sewn before, it really is gratifying to see what you can accomplish. Yesterday was all simple stuff for me, but I honestly have so much fabric I should be able to outfit my entire house & possibly a few friends' as well. (Any requests? Send 'em my way!)

& here's a scrapbook page made from the photo taken in the photo booth at Summer & Neal's wedding. I also reused the ribbon & flower that adorned her candy bar boxes. I think it turned out super cute!
This is the new shelf I painted & antiqued for our bedroom. It makes a great display case for scrapbook pages.
On an unrelated note - I brought these yard ornaments at Pier 1 last week for our Koi. There pond is beautiful, but I t thought they could use a little fun decoration:) My husband would of course say that this is ridiculous.


And one of the Koi enjoying her new present :)

The art of a hand written note

Today I challenge everyone to write an old fashioned, hand written note to someone they love:) Tell them how much they mean to you, how much you've missed them - it will touch their hearts! We all email, facebook, myspace, and twitter, but isn't it still better to receive a cute, heart-warming note amongst all that junk mail? I promise you your receivee will smile a big, toothy smile when they open the mailbox and see a beautiful card, just for them. You don't have to say anything in particular - include a simple quote or a picture that always brings back memories for you. I made these cards, let me know if you want to purchase individuals or a set. Or, make your own! Customize any way you want, for any occasion or non-occasion. Here are some cards & quote examples:


"We are friends and I do like to pass the day with you in serious and inconsequential chatter. I wouldn't mind washing up beside you, dusting beside you, reading the back half of the paper while you read the front. We are friends and I would miss you, do miss you and think of you very often." - Jeanette Winterson


"Even though we've changed and we're all finding our own place in the world, we all know that when the tears fall or the smile spreads across our face, we'll come to each other because no matter where this crazy world takes us, nothing will ever change so much to the point where we're not still friends."


"Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. Christopher Robin to Pooh" -A.A. Milne


"Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and im possible to forget."

"A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked" -Bernard Meltzer


I am so blessed to have so many great friends, I might have several cards to send out today:)

Holy Scrapper's Jackpot Batman!

So my dad is remodeling my grandmother's second floor bathroom, which has prompted her & my aunts to start cleaning out the closets & storage space up there & to generally spruce it up. And look, oh look, at what they found! Yards & yards of fabric, rick rack, buttons, & embellishments galore!


My grandmother is very "green" for her generation & believes you can find a use for anything & everything. Hence, she NEVER EVER threw anything away. There are scraps from every material she ever used - she made nearly all of her clothes & my aunts' clothes and yards of material she never did use. And most of it is really cute! I mean, really! From looking at the patterns and embellishments, one can certainly tell that we are related - the polka dots, bright colors, big floral patterns! I absolutely cannot wait to start scrapping & crafting with my jackpot.

Check out this pretty red/pink fabric which will soon be cushions for the wicker furniture on our screen porch:


And this is all the rick rack, lace, and embellishments we found stashed away:


Here's a close-up of some of the best loot in the jackpot. Look how fun & retro this floral pattern is:


This has pillow written all over it - We just painted our bedroom this color!


This green, teal, and purple paisley I just love. I haven't decided what to do with it yet. There is definitely enough to make a curtain or two & maybe some pillows. And of course, scrapbooking with the scraps!

How cute are the daisies?


Need I say how much I love this fabric?!?

So, obviously I had a great weekend:) It was hard for me to leave my new loot last night & go to bed (Luckily I'm reading Eclipse, it was a little easier to pull away for Bella & Edward). I'll keep you updated on all the fun stuff I'm able to make with this stash:)

Extra note: My grandmother is a very stylish woman & always has been. We found three awesome pairs of shoes that are in near perfect condition & are wonderfully in style. They have the chic vintage look that everyone is going for. Unfortunately for me, but fortunately for my sister-in-law, my grandmother wears a size 9. Check out Jennifer's shoes next time you see her!

Let's Go Pack (& other inspirations)

So, as many of you know, I am part of a Wolfpack family and my nephews are true Wolfpack boys - bleeding red & white. I created the scrapbook page below - which I think is absolutely adorable for my sister-in-law so her family can enjoy the spirit of football year round!
Unfortunately, the picture came out dark ( a new camera is not yet in the budget!) This is the journaling: "We like the cooler days, the start of a new year, and the color of the leaves when they change, but no doubt about it, our favorite thing about the fall is" NC STATE FOOTBALL

Here a few other pages I created from my cutest inspirations - Carson & Maddox. Love, love, love the "a day in g-daddy's yard" page!
and a baby Carson page:Baby Maddox:
Don't forget Mother's Day is Sunday! Have a good weekend & keep an eye out for what inspires you - I know I will!

Apex Peakfest - Local Art at its Finest!

This past Saturday my husband's parents were in town for Summer's wedding, so what better way to entertain than to go to Peakfest in downtown Apex. Being relatively new to the Apex area, this was my first time at the festival - what a joy! Salem street was packed with local companies, artists & community groups. All the stores & restaurants were open & I was finally able to peak inside the new clothing boutique, Nativa (www.nativaboutiquepr.com). My hubby was in a hurry for lunch so unfortunately I couldn't try anything on - but I can't wait to go back! The clothes were cute, fresh, & fun. They also had a good range of accessories & the staff was super friendly! We ate lunch at Apex Bar & Grill (which, btw, has Fat Tire on draft now!). This is the perfect local Bar for you Apexers - the food is delish & the atmosphere is relaxed - perfect for watching sports. Bonus: they also have a few tables street side.

If you are in the market for new jewelry, Peakfest is the place to be! There were jewelry makers & vendors aplenty at the festival, so the selection was large enough for any taste. My mother-in-law got a pair of silver hoops & I got a gorgeous pair of gold flower earrings from Surcee. (i'll post a pic later) One could find any color bead, gemstone, metal, etc - make it your jewelry destination next spring:)

I also met Stacey Wright of Little Miss Fancy Paints (fancypaints.com) - a fun girl with a great idea & a great talent! She paints pottery as well as travels around for pottery painting parties. She makes the most adorable pet bowls & pet cookie jars - they are a must see! Of course, Silvie has to have the NC State Wolfpack cookie jar. If it was me, I'd have a hard time making a tar heel bowl, but she is very diplomatic and has every school represented. She also had painted monogram letters & who can get enough of those these days? Check out her website & buy some gifts!

As ya'll know, I specialize in paper crafts, particular cards & scrapbooking. I thought there would be several vendors similar to me at Peakfest, but surprisingly, there weren't. I wasn't able to do it this year because of Summer's wedding, but I will not miss it next year! The town of Apex has done a great job organizing this cute little festival - entertainment throughout the day & participation from so many local artists & companies. Look for Perfect Chance Memories next year!

Real First Post

So, my heart must not have really been into in January since I find myself back in more than 3 months later! I'm going to give it an honest go this time around.

This blog will be about what I've been doing, both in my life & in my part-time job as creator/president, etc of Perfect Chance Memories. I'll also update you on any cool new sites & fun creative stuff I see out & about.

So, here goes. This weekend we went to Summer & Neal's beautiful wedding at the newly finished Pavilions at the Angus Barn in Raleigh and let me tell you, this place is gorgeous! I love a venue that is so pretty in its own right that hardly any decorations are needed. The building structure is open air & looks like a big, glorified barn. So much better than a tent, but with the same natural feel. And the grounds! Who could get enough? The landscaping was perfect, not over or under done. There is a big brick patio right on the lake perfect for an outdoor ceremony. This will become one of the premier spots in Raleigh for weddings. I did not take any pictures of the grounds, but check out their website -www.thepavilionsattheangusbarn.com

I did however take some pictures of the details that Summer added to event. Her flowers were perfect - simple & absolutely beautiful! Here are some close-ups:

These torches lit up the brick walk-way to the fire pit:

I love, love, love this color rose. Hopefully this picture will blow up nicely so I can frame it & put it in my house!


This is a fun picture of the lights hanging from the Pavilion. So rustic & perfect for any kind of decoration!