Masculine Layout with the May Stamp of the Month

When I saw the May Stamp of the Month, I immediately thought of this awesome picture of our son, Dawson laughing.  The only thing is, the letters in the May Stamp of the Month are filled with flowers.  That's a GOOD thing in most cases, but not this one. I wanted the "LAUGH" letters, but not with the flowers inside for this layout.  So, since necessity is the mother of invention, I decided to pull out my Black Shin Han Marker and color in the letters once I stamped them. I then used my Gold Metallic Marker to add polka dots, then added an outline with my Journaling Pen.  VOILA!  Floral "LAUGH" is now polka dotted "LAUGH," and is now perfect for this layout.  I used papers from our brand new Jack Paper Packet (LOVE!!!!) and the matching Jack Complements as my accents.  I have included a list of all of the products I used on this layout, complete with photos and links for your convenience, at the end of this post.

I'll  share a few more details about this layout in just a jiffy, but first I wanted to be sure you knew how to get this awesome stamp set.  It's yours in May only for $5 ($12.95 savings) with each $50 in product you purchase (before shipping and tax).  Order $100, get 2...and so on. When ordering on my website, you'll be prompted to add your set(s) before checking out.  Easy, peasy!

Now, here are a few details of the layout:

Live, Laugh, Love�May Stamp of the Month	12" X 12" Black Cardstock	12" X 12" White Daisy Cardstock	Jack Paper Packet
Jack Complements	Black Memento� Ink Pad	Black & White Dots	ShinHan� Touch Twin� Black Marker
Metallics Markers	Marvy® Uchida® LePen�	2" X 6 1/2" My Acrylix® Block	Surecut� Deluxe Craft Paper Trimmer
Non-Stick Micro-Tip Scissors	Thin 3-D Foam Tape	3L® E-Z Dots® Adhesive

InLinkz.com

Southern Utah University Spring Football Game

Dan and I, and my mom and dad all drove down for the game.  Our niece, Tiana joined us too.  Tannon's wife, Brookley is missing from the photo. She had to work. Darn! 

We take a break from our regularly artistic content to share some photos I'm really excited to get busy scrapping. Don't worry! I'll share them when I get it done.

April 15 was the Southern Utah University Spring Football Game.  If you haven't been following my blog for long, you might not know that SUU football is a Pedersen tradition. My hubby was scholarshipped to play football back in the mid-80's at SUU. Since then, all 3 of our boys have followed in his footsteps.  People tell me all the time how amazing it is that all of our boys have been talented enough to play college football. I think it's not so amazing when football is life in your home. 😂 Our oldest son, Easton finished his career at SUU a few years ago at number 7 on the all-time receiving list.  No too shabby. I miss watching him play!  Tannon and Dawson have continued the legacy.  Proud mom? Yep!

Dawson and Paige. This was Paige's first time as a football wife. She said to me, "If I get this nervous in a Spring Game, I can't even imagine what I'm going to be like in the regular season!"  I told her to trust me. I've felt her pain for decades as a football wife then football momma!

Tannon plays safety.  He came to SUU as a QB, and spent his first several years playing QB. Last year he severely injured his arm, and his throwing motion was pretty much destroyed. The defensive coordinator asked him to move to safety. We really thought his time on the collegiate football field was over.  I mean, he hadn't played defense since 6th grade. How could he possibly play defense on a collegiate level?  True to Tannon form, he worked hard, learned the position, and his athleticism kicked in. He got a lot of playing time at safety last year and we expect the same again this fall (his senior season). Dawson will be a red shirt freshman this year, playing tight end.  He really wanted to shine in Spring football and make a mark heading into Fall. I think he succeeded!

Both of my 'little boys" played great.  And, when you have one kid playing offense and the other playing defense, it's inevitable they will battle it out in the Spring Game.

Tannon and Dawson: brother against brother

Here are a few other great shots.  I love the team photographer, Anita! She always gets such great shots of my boys.

Tannon

Dawson after one of his 4 catches on the day

In the Pedersen house, football time is family time.  I wish all of our family could have joined us for the Spring Game, but we look forward to an upcoming Fall, full of football, fun and all of the family cheering these two on!

Wedding Sign In Book for Dawson and Paige

Something I have done for each of my children (and even some friends, nieces and nephews) is create a 12" x 12" scrapbook for their wedding sign in book. With our son, Dawson and his beautiful fiance,  Paige getting married this weekend, I created one for them too!  Thanks to our daughter, Kori for helping make it with me. We had tons of fun mother/daughter time as we created!

A few things to note:

• You will  notice there is a lot of white space on each layout. That's for signing names and writing messages. It really is beautiful with all of the writing added!
• The layouts in this book are very similar to each other. Kori and I decided to keep kind of one theme going throughout the album and just changing colors here and there. We went with dovetailed end banners, lots of fun color, flowers, and a few sequins here and there. It's pretty simple, but that's what we wanted!
• The title page and the closing pages are not for signing. They just open and close the book nicely.
• I have had people ask me how we have people sign the pages (since they are in a 12" x 12" album in protectors).  Here's what we do:  we put someone in charge of the book. It's their job to watch the book that night. We put one to two layouts out at a time for people to sign. When those are filled, my "book person" puts those back in the book and then puts a few more out.  By the time the reception is done, the pages are full of beautiful signatures and wishes to the bride and groom! It's an amazing keepsake forever.

title page

layout 1

layout 2

layout 3

layout 4

layout 5

layout 6

layout 7

layout 8

closing page

Making a wedding sign in book for someone you love is a perfect gift that will last forever!  

 

Dawson and Paige are Engaged!

Over the weekend, our youngest (and only unmarried) child Dawson got engaged to his beautiful girlfriend  (now fiance'), Paige. Where did the time go?  He was just born yesterday, right?

It was absolutely beautiful!  They had scheduled to have photos taken together on Saturday, September 17 and he felt it would be the perfect time to officially propose.  After all, his football number is 17 and it was the 17th. They have also set their wedding date for December 17.  #17 is a big deal in their lives.  He had me come down and help him set everything up earlier in the day so that when they got to the spot where they had chosen to have their photos taken, it would be there waiting. On top of that, having a photographer already there to take the pictures (and she secretly brought a videographer with her) was the perfect way to capture the special moment forever.

Dawson decided he wanted to write down 17 reasons he loves her, arrange 17 rocks into the #17, and tie a reason to each rock. That's where I came in. He sent me the reasons and then I made them into cute tags. I went down and helped him tie them to the rocks and set everything up before the photos.  He also had a little necklace made that he tied with the tag to rock #17 that had a #17 charm on it. As they read each tag, we cut them off the rock and put them on a jump ring so that she could keep them forever.

She had absolutely NO IDEA what was coming and it was awesome. She was shaking like a leaf for an  hour.  Both Paige's mom and I were there to "help with the pictures," so we got to see the whole thing.  BEST. DAY. EVER.

Here is the video. Grab a box of kleenex. You might need it.

Dawson's Homecoming Talk and Brunch

 

When missionaries come home from their mission, they usually speak in our Sacrament Meeting at church and tell a little bit about their mission experiences and an assigned gospel topic.   Dawson gave his talk on Sunday, reported on his 2 year mission to Australia, and we had a big welcome home brunch afterward.  About 150 people came to the brunch to welcome him home. We are so grateful for wonderful friends and family.  Here are a few photos from the brunch.  It's so great to have him home!