A Blast from the Past and an Ah-Ha Moment All Rolled Into One!

I have been dreaming of writing this post for a few days, so it is time to stop dreamin' and start writing! Something most of you may not know about me is that I grew up on a farm in rural WV with horses. My life was all about HORSES, HORSES, HORSES! Both my brother and I used to ride and show horses and it was always a family affair.

So, it was during a recent experience that my daughter, Cupcake, had with one of her best friends, at a horse stable, that I had an AH-HA moment of my own. It was during Spring Break and she was invited to her friend's house for a sleepover and to go to the horse stable where her friend will help muck out the stalls, groom the horses and earn riding lessons. Cupcake and ridden horses a few times and I knew that she would love the experience. I loved the aspect that she would get to see all of the fun and not-so-fun parts of owning a horse, too. The girls ended up having an amazing time playing time but due to the weather were not able to ride that day. The owners of the barn promised that Cupcake could come back anytime for her riding lesson though.

While I was looking through the pictures of Cupcake and her friend Meileigh that her mom, Jennifer and had taken, I thought, "I need to show Cupcake the pictures of me when I used to ride and show horses." So, off I went in search of the scrapbook.... I started looking through it. You know, one of those clingy paged ones from back in the day. And here is when the ah-ha moment hit me smack dab in the face.... here I am as a staring at a girl in a tutu, surrounded with dogs and always on or near a horse. Oh have mercy, I have Cupcake REALLY, TRULY is my MINI-ME in so many ways! Oh my, how I loved dogs, big and small, it did not matter, when I was a young girl and still do. I saved my birthday money one year to buy my first Jack Russell Terrier (I think I was 16) and I have had a Jack Russell ever since. I have always had a dog!

The second was dancing. I openly admit, hands down that, Cupcake is a much more talented dancer than me, but yes, I was a dancer, too. I danced for many years as and loved every minute of it. Dance recitals and all. Yep, we got that in common, too.

And the third, was horses. Cupcake has loved horses for a long time. It is not because we have horses now, or live on a farm, because we don't. In fact, we are rarely around them, except at festivals or parks. She is just an animal lover, big and small. The thing that really stood out to me is how much like me, Cupcake is. But it really smacked me in the face yesterday while I was looking at that old scrapbook. HARD. Nature vs. nurture? Nurture is screaming loudly and clearly to me here!

SO, I am going tI have been dreaming of writing this post for a few days, so it is time to stop dreamin' and start writing! Something most of you may not know about me is that I grew up on a farm in rural WV with horses. My life was all about HORSES, HORSES, HORSES! Both my brother and I used to ride and show horses and it was always a family affair.

So, it was during a recent experience that my daughter, Cupcake, had with one of her best friends, at a horse stable, that I had an AH-HA moment of my own. It was during Spring Break and she was invited to her friend's house for a sleepover and to go to the horse stable where her friend will help muck out the stalls, groom the horses and earn riding lessons. Cupcake and ridden horses a few times and I knew that she would love the experience. I loved the aspect that she would get to see all of the fun and not-so-fun parts of owning a horse, too. The girls ended up having an amazing time playing time but due to the weather were not able to ride that day. The owners of the barn promised that Cupcake could come back anytime for her riding lesson though.

While I was looking through the pictures of Cupcake and her friend Meileigh that her mom, Jennifer and had taken, I thought, "I need to show Cupcake the pictures of me when I used to ride and show horses." So, off I went in search of the scrapbook.... I started looking through it. You know, one of those clingy paged ones from back in the day. And here is when the ah-ha moment hit me smack dab in the face.... here I am as a staring at a girl in a tutu, surrounded with dogs and always on or near a horse. Oh have mercy, I have Cupcake REALLY, TRULY is my MINI-ME in so many ways! Oh my, how I loved dogs, big and small, it did not matter, when I was a young girl and still do. I saved my birthday money one year to buy my first Jack Russell Terrier (I think I was 16) and I have had a Jack Russell ever since. I have always had a dog!

The second was dancing. I openly admit, hands down that, Cupcake is a much more talented dancer than me, but yes, I was a dancer, too. I danced for many years as and loved every minute of it. Dance recitals and all. Yep, we got that in common, too.

And the third, was horses. Cupcake has loved horses for a long time. It is not because we have horses now, or live on a farm, because we don't. In fact, we are rarely around them, except at festivals or parks. She is just an animal lover, big and small. The thing that really stood out to me is how much like me, Cupcake is. But it really smacked me in the face yesterday while I was looking at that old
o go old school and post a few pictures of me in my horse days. The scrapbook page that I did was done with Sonshine Graphics Studios. I used the "Panda Love and "Life's a Beach" lines to make this page. I hope you enjoy it. When was the last time you had a blast from the past and an ah-ha moment all rolled into one?

 
 This was me and my first horse, Lady Sunshine Mary. I grew up on this horse. She was the best horse ever. More people who were TERRIFIED of horses, faced their horses on her, than I can remember.  This was taken by my Grandmother, Helen Farley June 18, 1983 - Polaroid picture:-)

 This was me and my last horse, Beechlick Bandit. He was so beautiful! This was taken sometime in 1988.

 This is me and Lady at the West Virginia State Fair. In my mind, I can still hear John Denver singing "Country Roads." He was performing while we were showing that year - for real! "Country roads, take me home, to the place, I belong, West Virginia, Mountain Mama!"

I apologize for the photo quality... some of the photographs are rather old:-/ I just wanted to share a blink in time and a walk down memory lane. Mom, this post is for you! XOXO

Thanks for all the great memories and the strong work ethic that hardwork and dedication and perseverance payoff in the long run.

Hi'ya Peeps!

Knock, knock! Anyone home? This blogging stuff has been hard to keep up with.... I ain't gonna lie! Life is soooo busy but some time in my life has recently freed up and I will BLOG about it soon. I promise, fingers crossed and all that jazz. So, I am hoping to get caught up and show you some fun, crafty and inspiring new pages from the fabulous Sonshine Graphics Studios.

The last post was an Easter page with pictures from last year so I decided to do a new layout with some pictures from this year. Same kit but a totally different color palette, yet still soft and very "Springy." Easter was a super, fun day spent with our great friends and neighbors for an Easter egg hunt and some dinner. The kids had way too much candy but lots of laughs. We also got to share our Easter traditions with our exchange student from China. She wasn't too sure about the Pickled Eggs - WHAT?!?!

Here is my page.  This is made with the Hippity Hoppity Kit from Sonshine Graphics Studios. There is a lot of versatility with the kits so you can alter it to fit your needs... which happens to be quite girlie in my house. But the kit has plenty of greens, oranges and glues to fit the boys, too. Enjoy!

hippity hoppity.....

Easter IS on it's way. March certainly flew by and April is almost here. The Easter season is more than Easter egg hunt's and chocolate covered bunnies (unless they are filled with peanut butter). For my family, it is about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. His Death, Burial and Resurrection and that Empty Tomb... He is Risen.... He is ALIVE... Oh, what an amazing feeling, as a Christian, to know that Christ will come again. Amen.

Spring is in the air and there is still a hint of crisp, coolness to it here in Florida. And it feels amazing and refreshing. We might be one of the few places in the US that is not getting snow.

Since my last post, we have been busy with Spring Break and a birthday party. Blog posts will be coming soon.

I am pleased to share with you this very cute, Easter page using the new Hippity Hoppity line from Sonshine Graphics Studios. This line is super versatile and will be sure to satisfy either your boy or girl pages as it offers a variety of color options. Please stop by and check out Sonshine Graphic Studios and all of the digital kits that are available.

Enjoy the page and Happy Easter from our Family to yours.

I "Mustache" You a Question

Errrr... Maybe I'll "shave" it for later. Bwahahaha!

What is up with all of this crazy mustache stuff? The jokes are endless and the the comments and laughter that it elicits are nonstop.... Whether they are slim, thin, little pencil mustaches or the wide, caterpillar, cover, most-of-your-lip, handlebar mustache, they are all the rage and my almost-nine-year-old-DAUGHTER is no exception. As a girl, one of the worst things EVAH was someone eluding to a little peach fuzz on the upper lip but, now girls are wearing mustache necklaces and earrings as well as mustache clothing. Mustache, mustache, mustache... they are everywhere! Man, how times change... I am seriously dating myself here, I presume;-) But really, WHERE did they come from

I had some crazy-fun making this super cute and fun MUSTACHE Birthday invitation for Sweet Cheek's upcoming 9th birthday party. She enjoyed making her mustache and posing for her pic:-) That is one of the cool things I LOVELOVELOVE about DIGITAL scrapbooking. If you have a great digital scrapbooking software like the one offered by Creative Memories.This invitation was made from the "Panda Love" and "Life's A Beach" lines from the amazingly talented Sonshine Graphic Studios. Mustaches were also courtesy of the amazing Dina Gerner.

So, on top of making scrapbook pages, you can also make your child's birthday party invitations. Just another reason to love digital scrapbooking. So, I MUSTACHE you a question. Will you come to my party? Afterall, who could say NO to this face?

My Beach Baby....

Time sure does fly when you are having fun and it sure does seem like it was yesterday that we were at the beach celebrating Sweet Cheek's second birthday. But that was over a year ago! WOW! Where does the time go? Certainly way too quickly. Sweet Cheeks turned three a few months ago. It is truly amazing the changes that happen developmentally between two and three. Between potty training and their language skills alone, those are huge!

But this post is about the beach... this picture was taken on December 22nd. How many places in the US is it warm enough to even entertain the thought of shorts, let alone a swimsuit, in December? Florida! One of the reasons you gotta love living in Florida.

Sweet Cheeks is no exception and she loves running on the beach and sticking her toes in the cool water. She's not going to get too wet because the water is pretty cold but but all in all, it makes for a great day. Is there anything any cuter that sandy, baby toes?

This sweet scrapbook page was completed using the super beachy and fun collection "Life's A Beach from Sonshine Graphic Studios. The colors are perfect for designing your scrapbook pages for the sweet, cheeky girl or the rough and tumble boy in your life. Lots of pinks, blues and, greens and yellows. Super fun!

Showing the Love

Have I mentioned lately that I really do have a great husband?!?! He is sweet and kind, generous to me and others, eve to fault according to his fortune cookie. Very loving and he is crazy about me or some would say just plain, crazy... tee hee. With Valentine's Day right around the corner, I decided to whip up a little card for my main squeeze this year. I have to admit I am the gal that actually gets a little hot under the collar and not in a good way, if flowers show up at my door on Valentine's Day. I prefer flowers for no reason at all. I don't want flowers when everyone else is getting flowers... pffttt.  No offense to those of you who will receive and love your flowers on Valentine's Day, I bet they smell lovely. ;-)

So anyhoo, off of that soapbox and on to, the lovely card that I made from the "Hearts of Love" collection from Sonshine Graphic Studios. The lovely pinks and whites are perfect for creating the perfect Valentine creation whether it be for scrapbooking or for cardmaking.

Professional photography courtesy of Lori Boynton of Lori Boynton Photography. Enjoy! And don't forget to show your sweetie some love this Valentine's Day<3.

A Little Morning Sweetness

Good morning and here is hoping and praying that your morning is a little extra sweet. Here is a fun layout that I designed with the "Hearts of Love" digital package from Sonshine Graphic Studios. It is perfect for creating your Valentine pages and I will show you a sweet card that I made for my hubby soon:-)

One of the things that I love, love, LOVE about digital scrapbooking is that I no longer have to drag all of the scrapbooking tools, papers and everything-in-between out just when I wanted to make a page. Plus have the little hands in all the brads, ribbon, adhesive and on the paper cutter. So, I am going to admit that I made this page with my baby girl, Sweet Cheeks, I bet you can pick her out without me telling you she is the baby, with her on my lap.... Did you just shed a tear in your coffee? Ahhhh, hug your babies, or your puppies, or your friends, or your neighbor or your co-worker but for Pete-sake just hug someone.... share the SWEET-HEARTS of LOVE!

 

I have to give a huge shout out to one of my most favorite peeps in the whole wide world and a girlfriend that I could not live without, Lori Boynton of Lori Boynton Photography. She is the wonderful photographer who captured the images featured today as well as the amazing mugshot headshot of me. I promise you she is a magician behind the camera!

 

That's all for today... don't forget those hugs<3!

 

 

 

 

My New Adventure.....

Hi! I am Betsy Bowen and I am a wife to a wonderful, supportive husband and full-time mom to two beautiful girls who were adopted from China. Family fun and everyday life is my primary focus and passion of scrapbooking. I began traditional scrapbooking back in 1998, completing vacation albums that my husband and I took. After becoming parents through adoption, my focus shifted to keeping traditional-annual albums as well as writing our oldest daughter’s lifebook , which is her story of her adoption from China. I love creating memories out of the ordinary and the extraordinary and knowing our daughters will have those memories for many years to come.

Short on time, a busy life and waiting for “The Call” to travel to China for our second daughter, this is what led me to switch to digital scrapbooking.  I have been using solely Creative Memories Storybook Creator Plus 3.0 since 2010. I love the speed and ease of digital but also the creativeness that comes in using different design kits such as Sonshine Graphic Studio. I joined the Design Team of Sonshine Graphic Studio in January 2013.

When not scrapbooking, keeping up the family blog at cupcakeandsweetcheeks.blogspot.com, playing with the kids or taking the girls to dance class, I also enjoy church activities, being with family, spending time with some amazing girlfriends, going to the beach, living a healthier, more active lifestyle and cooking.

So, what does all of this mean? It means that I am wonderfully blessed to be working with Sonshine Graphic Studio and their amazing products and I get to see design some wonderful creations like this one below from their "Panda Love" line. I love the bright colors and versatility of this line along with the cute, cuddly Panda bears.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Life's a BEACH!

One of our family's favorite things to do is go to the beach.... living in Florida and all, one would think it would get old but it never does. Whether they they are the white, sandy beaches of the gulf coast or the rougher waves of the east coast, we love the beach and the salty water ( not the sand in the swimsuit part) but almost every other part that goes with it.

My girls love the beach and the water. They have grown up around the water and on the days that it is not packed, they pretty much have free-rein. There isn't really anything they can't do. Cupcake is pretty brave and enjoys the boogie board now. Sweet Cheeks likes the boogie board too as long as it it wedged in the sand and doesn't really move. It is really pretty cute and it makes her happy!

So one of the highlights of our summer was the family beach trip up to South Carolina. We headed north and Nana, PawPaw, Uncle and Aunt Lisa headed south. We landed in a beach house and spent the week having a blast!

Here are a few pics:

I Can't Believe....

it has been a whole year since I last posted on the blog. It has been a busy year, but an INCREDIBLE year! We just celebrated one more year with Sweet Cheeks. She is now THREE years old and it seems like she has always been a part of our family. She is no longer a baby, although she will ALWAYS be my baby and I am pretty sure she knows that. On the flipside, I tell Cupcake the same thing and I am pretty sure she knows she will always be my baby, too.

Here are a few highlights from the past year: We have made several trips to West Virginia to visit family and friends, we decided to host an exchange student from China and she will be with us until June 2013, we went on a family beach vacation with Nana, Pawpaw, Uncle and Aunt Lisa, Sweet Cheeks started dance class and loves it, we went to West Virginia for Thanksgiving and had lots of family here for Christmas. Cupcake continues to do well in school.

Life is good.... no. Life is great and we are incredibly blessed!

Here are a few pics. Enjoy!

(Professional Photography Courtesy of Lori Boynton of Lori Boynton Photography)