It’s the BIG 16!!

Helllloooo all my friends and a joyous Wednesday to you!  Today is the BIG DAY here in the Dean household!  My daughter Alexa is turning 16 today…wowzers…I cannot believe I’m saying my child is 16.  It truly feels like just yesterday when she was running around in pigtails screaming at the top of her lungs her favorite word “NO” LOL!  She was cuter than pie but boy-o was she (hmmm still is) high maintenance hee hee.  She never played with toys much…she was more active and liked to play games more than play with toys and she could never, ever entertain herself.  Thank goodness for dance and gymnastics as they kept her busy.  And smart…oh yeah she’s smart…but just not just smart but very clever…so clever that sometimes James & I look at each other and say “how the heck?”.  And she’s very much LIKE me (god help the world)..stubborn, hard-headed, a Taurus to the end, talented, smart, sweet, funny and empathetic.  She’s a beautiful dancer, talented gymnast, fabulous singer and we have lots of fun together these days.  Yeah we still butt heads regularly…I mean hello, she is a TEEN KWIM!  But I am happy with what I see in her and the woman that she is to become.  I hope that I’ve taught her over the years self-respect and how to have a healthy self esteem…things I think that are important for girls to have.  That its OK to be yourself, not give people that don’t like you for dumb reasons the time of day, to be smart and voice your feelings and opinions while being respectful and aware of other’s feelings.  That the most important thing is to look at yourself in the mirror every morning…and truly look at yourself…if you love what you see, what you’ve done, the kind of person you are, how you’ve treated others..then you’re doing ok!  I hope she pursues her love of Marine Biology..works with the animals she wants…travels the world…makes lots of friends…tries new things and has fun with her life.  I would love for her to wait until her late twenties to get married, have kids and all that jazz….spend time now doing what you want and enjoy every minute.  Live everyday like its your last is my motto and I repeatedly tell the kids that…I sure hope its imbedded in their brains..you just never know but I hope that I live a life that they respect and admire and have shown them how to live a good life.

Happy 16th Birthday Alexa!!

So happy birthday to our baby girl….16 is a big number…keep your head held high, be proud of yourself, love yourself, have fun and know that we love you more than life itself.  We are happy to have you in our lives, a part of our family and we are blessed to know you and love you.  Wishing you many more fabulous birthdays!  I was so glad to have spent just mom & Alexa time in California…every minute was enjoyable and I treasure the memories we made!  And NOPE we didn’t get you a car, but hopefully a trip full of memories and a party with your friends is even better than some car keys, LOL!  And no worries we got you a few fab prezzies too Tonight we are off to the Melting Pot to celebrate for dinner and then we will all watch the Washington Capitals hockey game (hey its Stanley Cup playoffs) together cuz that’s how the Deans roll!!

And a shout-out to all my Cali friends who came out to class and Bobbi who flew in from Hawaii to see me…I loved spending time with you all and I enjoyed the classes with you & hope you did too.  And special thanks to Shell for hosting me, I love ya and if you are in San Jose go visit her shop at ScrapGrlz.  Also to my wonderful friend Patricia (The Paper Temptress) for spending time with us…it was super fun!  And to Irina Blount (La La Land) for having dinner with us…as always it’s a blast to spend time with you when we ARE NOT working LOL!  And I will share more stories this weekend with you all about our travels but below is a slideshow of pics for you to enjoy!

NewsBitz:

-Wanna come take a Copics class with me?  My next classes will be in Baltimore, Montreal Canada, and Connecticut---all the info is up at www.cmcroad.com or you can email me if you have questions.

-SCACD has a new Elisabeth Bell release today (blog hop is Friday) and these are the Peekers #3 Collection…they are summer adorable & you will want a few for sure! So make sure to go check them all out HERE!

Slideshow of pics: (if you get by email u must come to site to see them)

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Sweet 16 Indeed!

So today’s card is actually my birthday card to Alexa…totally inspired by her.  Sassy image, cool-beachy colors and bold and fun!  I used this cute Saturated Canary digi stamp called “Pink Punkette”…she’s modern and sassy and smart just like my daughter so I had to use her!

I'm entering this into the following fun challenges:

Going Grey with Scrap-Creations (girls) 

Lady Bug Crafts Ink Challenge (birthdays)

Make It Monday (anything goes)

Tuesday Throwdown (sparkle)

Love To Create (anything goes)

Crazy Challenge (girly)

 

I used some fun papers from Kaisercraft….Alexa’s fave colors are blues…especially beachy blues.  I believe she may have been a mermaid in another life…she’s always loved the water like me but she likes to swim in it, surf, snorkel and generally just be in it LOL.  So these colors suit her to a “T”.  I used some PTI stamps “Just the Ticket” for the fun ticket accents stamped with white Palette ink on black cs.  I distressed all my papers with my Zutter Distress machine..a tool I cannot live without.  The large flowers are Petaloo.

The “16” got cut out with my Slice machine and then I coated it with Diamond Glaze and sprinkled my fave DecoArt Glamour Dust on top for a fun look..instead of sinking it suspends in the liquid.  This lil cutie got colored with Copics and then I added Diamond Glaze to her eyes, earrings and skirt and threw in some Stickles for more sparkle.  The stamps I stamped around the image are from PTI as well…just a fun element to add on.

That’s all for me today..I’m off and running…Alexa has an orthodontist appt at 12 (yes I know but it was the only appt I could get before he left on vacay) and then I drop her back off at school. Then I have to run to mall to pick up a present, pick up an ice-cream cake and head back home to wrap and get ready to leave for dinner at 4:30…oyyyy! Crazy day…what else is new huh? LOL!  Have a great day!