Random ruminations

Excuses

2012-01-15T07:15:00.001-06:00

I know. Lame. I'm coming here to give you excuses for not blogging. We've been living in a plague-ridden house for a few days now. Coming onto a week. Suffice it to say that every person is puked, snotted, and just plain worn out.

I should have known we'd all get sick. Anytime we go somewhere there is kid-based, we end up sick. Last year, after we went to Chuck E Cheese, we were in the same predicament. This past Sunday, we went to BounceU for a birthday party and all mysteriously got sick the next day. Damn kids and their little mini germs. Kids germs are like, concentrated or something. "Buy now! Smaller, but more potent! More bang for your buck!" Now, in all fairness, we only usually get sick this time of year, when the cold/flu germs are everywhere.
Oh well, we're all on the tail-end of it. Except me, of course. Mine is slowly but surely turning into a sinus infection. I will be going to the doc sometimes in the next few days, I'm sure, to get some antibiotics to kick this thang.

What was that? You want proof of our adventure that we are lying all the blame on? I happen to have photographic evidence that we were, in fact, at said BounceU, and that, in fact, fun was had by all.

Click here for full-size image and credits

OK, I think that's all for now. Hold onto your britches though, cause I'll be back in full force next week. I keep warning you guys, you know?

Love to all,

Make Something Monday

2012-01-09T13:12:00.000-06:00

Well, I did well there for a few days, huh? I think if I can just get ahead of myself and maybe even start some posts before the day of, I could actually keep on top of this thing. I really do enjoy blogging, so I wanna...well, blog.

So onward, my friends. It is make something Monday!! Let's seeeeee. What have I made lately? Oh! That's right. This little thing I do called digital scrapbooking layouts! So here's the LOs that I've done from January 1st - today. Minus two that I'm going to share on Thursday. Plus, I have a few done that don't go out until Thursday or Friday ;)

Click here for full-size image and credits

This is my good friend Val's adorable daughter, Kayleigh

Click here for full-size image and credits

This is my gorgeous best friend, know in internet land as Star.

Click here for full-size image and credits

This is my Facebook Timeline cover. Cool huh?

Click here for full-size image and credits

Alright folks. That's what I've made. I see flaws in every single one of them, yet I'm proud of them all.

Love to all,

What's cookin' good lookin'

2012-01-04T21:14:00.001-06:00

Well, here it is...Wednesday. Yes, it's late Wednesday, but it's still Wednesday. Boy, I just typed the word Wednesday A LOT.

So according to my schedule, Wednesday is:

ALRIGHT!! Food! One of my mostest favoritest things in the whole wide world! Well, since it's late, and my posts have been practically novel-size, I'm going to keep this short and sweet and share with you some of my favorite recipes from one of my favorite home cooks, Ree Drummond, aka Pioneer Woman. If you want to eat something good, eat any one of her recipes. The woman knows what she's doing! Without further ado, here's the goods.

Seriously the best mashed potatoes EVAR.

Can you say Mac 'n Cheese?!

It may not sound good. It may not even look good. But eat her dump cake right now.

Amazingly delicious (and actually really healthy) Chicken Tortilla soup.

Creamy Chicken Spaghetti Casserole. Isn't that a lovely descriptive dish title?

Go. Eat and be merry.

Time to read Tuesday!

2012-01-03T08:13:00.001-06:00

Yo yo Random readers! Today is Tuesday and that means:

Reading! Books! Words! Libraries! Illustrations! Love, love, love!!! You's alls know me and my books. If you're on my actual blog, and not just reading on an RSS feed, you'll see my Library thing widget there on the right. I keep track of every book I read. I started doing this almost 10 years ago. I like to look lovingly at this list and remember what I was doing, what was going on in my life, and even who I was when I was reading a certain book. You know how some people are transformed back to a memory when they hear a certain song? That's what happens to me when I see the title of a book I've read.

So recently, like say the last 6 months, I haven't read as much as I "normally" would. I tell ya, having a 3 year-old, plus a hobby that I adore, really putting my reading time in a crunch. But when I get my hands on a book that I really love, it's still an all-consuming experience for me. Plus, I still listen to audio books while at work, so I get books read that way, as well. Anyway, guess what I got for Christmas?? If you guessed a Kindle, you would be RIGHT!! I know I blogged before about how I wasn't sure I wanted one, but I decided I DID want one, and Santa (read: my wonderful hubby) got me one! I've already read one book on it (a really long one), and I really like it. I love how light it is, and I can hold it any way and still be really comfy.

So, onward to what I've been reading. If you've read my blog at all, you know my reading style is all over the place. I love novels, fantasy, and young adult (and even some bigger children's) books. I just got done reading the final installment in the Inheritence series by Christopher Paolini, aptly titled Inheritence. Now, I started reading these books long before they got super popular. I picked Eragon up because the author is from the town my Mom and sisters lived in at the time, Bozeman, Montana. I thought it was a pretty cool link, so I picked it up and read it. Paolini was like 12 or some ridiculous age when he started writing these, and I was very impressed with the caliber of writing for such a young author. Some people would argue with that, but for someone of that age (hell, any age) to set up a whole fantastical world in such detail is talented. And that's that. Anyway, I was really looking forward to this last book to finish out the series. I wasn't disappointed. I won't write a review or anything, but just suffice it to say I was pleased with the way the series ended. I always hate the end of a long series, but I also can't wait to get to the final word.

I'm also *trying* to get through the most popular series of the year from last year, the Song of Ice and Fire (more popularly known as The Game of Thrones series). I got through books 1 and 2 with no problems. Book 3 I had to be really pushed by some online friends to finish. I was glad I finished it. Now I've been reading the 4th book for like 3 months. I just can't seem to get through it. I know I'll like it if I just buckle down and read it, but I just need to do it. Not sure why I'm dragging my feet so much. Hmmmm.

So this post has ended up being a book (ba-da-bah! I'll be here all week, folks!). I'll just say go read a book and be done with it.

Go read a book. I'm done.

2012 plan and Make Something Monday

2012-01-02T21:06:00.000-06:00

Hey all. Thought I'd share with you a rough "schedule" of what I'll be doing on my blog. NO, I won't be posting everysingle day. I'm going to try, just because I enjoy blogging, but if I don't blog a day or two (or three) a week, I'm not gonna beat myself up about it. And I don't think the 3 people that read my blog are gonna care, either. So here 'tis.

I pinned this on Pinterest from here (if you don't know what Pinterest is, hang in there. I'm sure I'll be talking about it all the time).

So yes, Make Something Monday is going to be dedicated to...guess what...you got it!!! Digital Scrapbooking. It IS what I "make" most often. (BTW, no matter what the post is scheduled to be about on any certain day, be prepared to see some digiscrap stuffs comin' your way. I can't help but share this stuff!)

(For those of you that don't really care about my digiscrap hobby, you can skip this paragraph.) So quick overview of my scrapping life. I am active in 2 forums, Sweet Shoppe Designs and The Digichick. I am a CTM (Creative Team Member) for the most amazing designers. Misty Cato, The Digichick, eNKay Designs, Etc. By Danyale, Fiddle-Dee-Dee Designs, HGD by Laurie Ann, Queen of Hearts, and Jen Yurko. I am also guesting for Jeanye Labaya Designs for the month of January. I CT for designers that I ADORE and have no problem shouting to the world how awesome their designs are.

Since I've been away from blogging for so long, I'm of course not gonna show every LO that I've done since the last time. But I will show you a favorite from each of my awesome designers.

Click here for full-size picture and credits

OK. Yeesh. That took a long time. Someone had better appreciate this...

I'll blog atcha soon!

Happy New Year, friends!

2012-01-01T09:59:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone! It's a new year! I'm excited. I have big plans for this year. This is the YEAR OF ME!!! mmmmmmmwaaahhaaahhaaahhaaaa! That's not as narcissistic as it sounds. We all know how we tend to not make time for ourselves. Not take care of ourselves. Not do things for ourselves. I'm going to try my hardest to take care of ME this year. Well, I guess I'll help take care of that one kid. You know, the one that lives in my house for some strange reason?

In the digiscrap world around this time, everyone's all abuzz with the "One Little Word" phenomenon. It's a class given by Ali Edwards. I have no idea what your actually supposed to do in the actual class, but I'm doing my own thing with OLW...cause that's how I roll. I've chosen a OLW that I can apply to many aspects of my life. Yes, I'm sure I'll scrap about it (already have, as a matter of fact), but that's not my main focus. I want it to be a constant reminder of how I want to/should be/am going to live my life. My One Little Word this year is:

Good word, huh? Yeah, I picked it myself. This is a word I can use throughout my everyday life.

I can use it with my family. We can actually get up and do stuff. Go places together. Do projects together. Just BE together DOING thing together more.

I can use this at work. Other than prompting me to actually get some stinkin' work done, I can use it to encourage myself to move above and beyond what I am doing. You know, make something of myself.

I can use this, of course, in exercise. Which I WILL BE DOING. I am ready to do this thang.

As you can tell, I can really use this in so many applications. And I will be. I need to do this, not only for myself, but for my family and friends...anyone who holds me important.

This is the first LO I've done for OLW. I think it has just the kind of feel that I was looking for.

Click to enlarge

The Daily Details by The Digichick Designers (Jan. collab)
My Words Only V.5 by Captivated Visions

So for now, that is all. I will be blogging regularly again. This is another thing I'm taking ACTION on, and I'm determined in. Not that anyone reads this pathetic little blog, but I enjoy blogging, so I'll be doing it.

Until next time,

Beware

2011-12-20T07:16:00.001-06:00

You've been warned.

Controversy

2011-10-04T16:51:00.000-05:00

I try not to touch on too many controversial subjects on my blog. I have friends who have very differing opinions on a lot of things, yet we manage to remain friends. I've decided I can no longer keep quiet on this front. I may make some enemies here, but I'm prepared to defend my position...to the death*. Here goes nothing...

If you don't cook with onions, you're a wimp.

There I said it. No onions? Wuss. "I don't like onions!" Weenie. "Onions smell so bad!" Get over it!

Onions are the one thing in my pantry (actually, I keep them in my fridge veggie crisper) that I'm never without. If an onion can possibly be used in a dish, I'ma be there with it. They can bring a tang to a dish like no other. They can even bring a little heat with the right onion. Yet, when you cook them down, they have the most mellow, sweet, and savory taste. They are very versatile and bring flavor out in almost every meat, especially meat of the beef and pork persuasion.

I bring this up, because whenever I'm chopping an onion (which let's face it, is practically every day), I always have this nagging voice in my head. I shall not name names. But an old friend of mine (we are no longer friends...I won't say it's because of onions, but it didn't help the friendship any) claimed she was the best cook in the eastern hemisphere (See?! That should tell you right there how smart SHE was). She was very prideful of this fact. Yet, she was also prideful of the fact the she didn't use onions because "they're gross!!" Did I ever throw in her face that you CAN'T BE A GOOD COOK without using onions? Nope. Never. I'm too good a person for that. Did I start bringing my onion-laden dishes to our get-togethers and relish in the praise they received? You betcha. Because onions are hella good, I'm telling you!

So be down with the onion. If you're afraid of them, I'll let it slide if you give them another try. Be adventurous. You've never heard Wolfgang Puck say "onions are icky!" That's because they're a cook's best friend. And I need a friend, because I ditched that other chick.

*of a small vegetable

New Scrappin' Goodies

2011-09-23T08:08:00.000-05:00

I'm baaaack with some scrapping goodies for you all! I wish I could get you all to understand how much I love to digiscrap. It's so relaxing, creative, and just fun! And look at these kits! They are so gorgeous! I'm sure you'll find yourself wanting to run hand-in-hand with them through a flowery field. Wait...you won't? Well, that's just crazy talk, because that's the kind of reaction I have to them! What do you mean that makes me crazy...YOU'RE THE CRAZY ONE HERE.

Onward to the goodies!

This is the new release from eNKay Designs at The Digichick. What a cute kit!

Dear Tooth Fairy by eNKay Designs

Maylee's too young to have lost any teeth yet, of course, so I went a different direction with my LO. I've been wanting to scrap her night time routine for a while now, and this was the perfect opportunity. Plus, Daddy did a great job taking pics of her brushing her teeth.

For that page (up there. Yep that one ^ ^), I also used one of Lacey Bittner's templates, the Cute & Quirky Templates, for this LO. Templates are WONDERFUL. I find them very helpful and I also find that they actually help my creativity and inspire me. Here's the template pack, that is awesome.

Cute & Quirky Templates by Lacey Bittner Designs

Next I have some news and some goodies. I was offered a spot of Jen Yurko's CT and accepted! I am ecstatic! Have you seen her stuff? She has the cutest doodles and she always has these cute little people in her kits. And she's awesome. So here's her newest release at Digiscrappers Brasil.

Pedal Pushers by Jen Yurko

Once again, I didn't have a pic of M on a bike or anything, so I did a photo-less LO of what to get her for Christmas, because we've been debating this at our house recently.

And last, but not least, Misty has a new release tomorrow at Sweet Shoppe. It manages to be beautiful and fun at the same time, and I love kits like that! Here's the sneak:

Check the new releases tomorrow!

Here's the page I did with this great kit:

So, go on...check out these kits! I know you've got pics that one of these kits is just perfect for! I know it!

Love to all!

Today's PSA: Read to your children!

2011-09-22T09:50:00.000-05:00

You all know how important books and reading are to me. It's kinda my livelihood. This week, Kindle joined up with public libraries (finally) to include quite a few of their books for library patrons. This was good for the library world. But I still don't even know if I want an e-reader. There's something about paper. Having a heavy, paper book in my hands. Love it. Anyway, this isn't even what I was going to talk about.

If you want to have some quality time with your kid, and you want them to be the smartest thing since the light bulb, read to your kids! It's fun for all! (Well, there are some books that I've read to Maylee so many times, that I'd rather bite my own toenails off than read it again...but I always do.) It's interesting! It's relaxing! And if you're a mom like me, what's even better is watching your husband read to your kid. *Sigh. Few things make me happier than seeing a scene like this:

So anyway, if you're an adult...read a book! They're way better than TV or movies (though I still like those things, too). If you're a parent, read a book to your child! And if they don't like it, persist. Just reading books will help their vocabulary, social skills, and comprehension. It really is amazing what words will do.

Thanks for stopping by. And reading my PSA.

Some new LOs

2011-09-09T09:20:00.000-05:00

Haven't posted in a few days (and I was doing so well, too!!), so I thought I'd pop over and show a few new LOs I've done. Yeah, I know...bore you with more of my "art." I actually don't know if I consider it art, though it is very important to me. Now, I have seen some LOs that I consider art. But mine...nah.

And just so you know, I don't scrap chronologically. A lot of scrappers do, but I came to the scrapping game when my daughter was already almost 2, so I have a lot of older pictures that I use to scrap. Oh, not to mention the the pictures I already scrapped, but scrapped when I WAS NOT good, so I like to use them over to give them the LO they deserve (not that I'm like some super-scrapper now. I still have a lot to learn and will be the first to admit it!). Anyway, enough rambling. Now on the the scrapping ramblings.

This first one is of my new...ummm....2nd cousin once removed??? It's my mom's first cousin's daughter's son. Can you figure that out for me, Val? (She's my resident genealogist). Anyway, my cousin Mandy had a gorgeous new son, Sammy. I wanna squish him!!

Noah & Co. by Lacey Bittner Designs
Page Template volume 3 by Thaty Borges
Font: CK Alayna

Maylee looks so little and smiley here. She's still little and smiley, but much bigger than THIS little and smiley.

Life is Bliss by Meghan Mullens
Template: Cluster Queen freebie

This was Christmas day last year. Maylee was being such a typical toddler. She got tons of new toys for Christmas, yet she played with the box. Huh.

What I Love About You by Daybreak Scraps
A Lot Of Papers Templates by Meghan Mullens
Font: Courier New

My sweet, sweet babies. Maylee loves her Daddy so much, and of course, he is wrapped around her finger. I love watching the two of them together. It makes my heart melt and my soul sing.

Occasionally by Polka Dot Plum Designs
Shabby Princess Project Scrap August Template
Font: Eight Fifteen

Beautiful, not 100+ degree days are here! We went to the park to celebrate! Maylee calls this the "curly slide."

My Happiness by Sugar Pie Scraps
Page Template by Thaty Borges
Font: Carrington

I love this picture. Maylee looks so sweet and it's so cute with her little boots. This, more than the baby picture above, shows me how big she's getting, I think.

Ribbon Stacks by Lacey Bittner Designs
Fresh ‘n Funky 2 Templates by Lacey Bittner Designs
Papers and elements from Sweet Stuff and Noah & Co. by Lacey Bittner Designs

Minimal Mondays

2011-09-05T19:50:00.001-05:00

My talented kid. She loves to count and sort things. It's pretty much the only thing that can occupy her for more than 5 minutes at a time.

Thanks for stopping by. Love to all!

Hobbies, old and new. And obsessions.

2011-09-03T07:16:00.000-05:00

Thought I'd share with you all a couple things that are a big part of my life. Some are VERY obvious, but some you may not know about.

Let's get the obvious out of the way. Digiscrap. I love it. Like really, really love it. It's creative, beautiful, and I've met some wonderful people through it. I'm not going to post favorite layouts or anything, you can look back through my old posts and see tons and tons of stuff I've created. I DO want to mention some of my favorite digi people, though.

Tiff at Dotted with Dots (the MOST INCREDIBLE minimalistic LOs you'll ever see. Seriously. Did you know one perfectly placed picture, with just the right elements is pure bliss?)

Deb at Starlight-Creations. (She's my bestie. My BFF. My girl. That's that.)

Favorite digi-stops... Polka Dot Plum, Sweet Shoppe, Scrapable, The Digichick, Scrap Orchard, Digishoptalk, Me So Scrappy. Love all these places!

Mars at scrap.teach.rant. (Great scrapper and all around fab lady)

Next obsession: contemporary a cappella music. Have you even heard of that? I'm sure you know what a cappella is (singing without instruments), but contemporary a cappella takes it a step farther. These groups are truly bands, with every instrument done with the voice only. Drums, guitars, horns....the whole nine yards. Some of you know that I'm a singer. I sang all through high school and my college years. I miss it a lot. I miss being part of that community and I love the high of singing in front of people. It was a real joy. Anyway, if you don't know anything about contemporary a cappella, I have a few examples and starting points for you. First off, check this video out. This is the group Duwende. Lemme just say they are amazing...one of the best groups out there!! This is a great example of contemporary a cappella.

Another resource I love for contemporary a cappella is a podcast I listen to every week, Mouth Off!
They talk about what's currently happening in the a cappella world and review a record every month. I wanted to mention a big thing happening in the world of a cappella. Have you seen the NBC show "The Singoff?" It's been on for two seasons right around Christmas time. This has really brought a cappella into the mainstream and we're all looking forward to a new season starting in a couple weeks! With a cappella being kind of a niche "thing," this show is especially exciting to me, because I know a lot of the people that work behind the scenes on the show! I can't wait to see their names in the credits when I watch it. And, of course, I can't wait to hear the amazing music coming out of their mouths, too! Here's a favorite clip of last year's show, just to give you a taste.

And I have another video that is my favorite, because it's so good, yet it's so hilarious, that I want to share. Since I've already showed 2 videos, I'll just link you to it. But watch it. You WILL NOT regret it. Pour Some Sugar on Me by OTR.

Okay, next on my obsession list is crocheting. I just learned how to about 2 weeks ago and I've actually made time to practice! My friend Val had a little crochet party, with her, me, and our friend Stacey (together, Val and Stacey make the photography duo that take our awesome family pictures every year), getting together to eat good food and learn my new obsession. We had a great time, but I picked it up rather slowly LOL. I learned one stitch and brought my "project" home and practiced until I felt like I had mastered that stitch. But the problem came when I thought I was ready to try a new stitch. Val lives too far away for us to just pop buy each other's houses, so she tried to teach me by just telling me what to do...yeah, that wasn't working for my thick head. So I popped on YouTube and found a quick and easy video showing me how to do it and I picked up that stitch, too. So now I know the single and double half crochet stitches. I'm practicing those stitches until I have them down pat and then I'll learn another one. From what I hear, there are only like 6, so I'm already a third there!

Last but not least, my Pinterest obsession. Have you heard of it? Pinterest is a place to...store your visual ideas you see online. It's the ultimate bookmarking site. Check out my boards here. You set up different "pin boards" and pin stuff you see around the internet into one place where all your thoughts can come together. I'm probably not describing it's awesomeness well enough, but I really do love it. Not only do I draw digital scrapbooking inspiration from it, I get recipes, house decorating ideas, photography ideas, craft ideas....on and on. You follow people's boards that inspire you and people in turn follow your boards. If you think you might like it, send me your e-mail address and I'd be happy to send you an invite. Come join the madness!!

New releases

2011-09-01T10:52:00.002-05:00

Hey all. Wanted to share some new releases from my CT designers. There's some awesome stuffs!!

First up is L'Posh. She just put out an awesome fall collab with Ellie Lash. And there's an owl! I'm such a sucker for owls!

Apple Picking {Collab}

She also has a great birthday kit. It's Polkadotplum's second birthday this month! Come on over there for all kinds of birthday challenges, games, and chats!

Birthday Bash

Lacey Bittner Designs just put out this cutie cute, sweet kit.

Sweet Stuff

Use coupon code NEW20 to save 20% through Friday!

And last, but certainly not least, eNKay Designs put out this awesome template kit. *sigh* I love templates.

Eezy Peezy 5 Templates

20% off right now!! Go! Go fast!

Yes, I know what you're thinking. And yes, I AM the luckiest girl in the world to CT for these awesome designers and get to work with these awesome digi stuffs!! It's okay to wish you were me for a little while.

Love to all! Thanks for stopping by,

Let's hear it for the boy

2011-08-31T07:59:00.000-05:00

So today is my husband Brandon's birthday. He'll be old. No, he's not old by any means, but he's sure feeling old lately because he's been working so hard. I thought I'd take this opportunity, on his birthday, to make you all feel nauseous. Yes, another "My oh my, I sure do love my husband" post. This hasn't been my first, nor will it be the last, I'm sure. When one has an awesome, amazing, sexy, fantastic and generally just the best husband in the world, one tends to gush every now and then.

My husband is a hard worker, an amazing father, a real help around the house (even after working a very physical job), and a fantastic griller! I've been with him almost half my life and we've essentially grown up together, from our teens into adulthood. We now have the biggest blessing we could ever imagine, our little munchkin (whose not so little anymore...*sob*). So to my wonderful husband, my best friend, I say Cheers! 'Atta boy! Hear hear! Let's hear it for the boy! Oh, and happy birthday, honey. I love you more than words can say.

Because I don't feel right not posting some pics, I'll post some LOs I've done of my handsome man. (Of course...I can't seem to make a post without a layout or two :p)

/end gush

Love to all. Thanks for stopping by!

Me in digiscrap right now

2011-08-28T07:16:00.001-05:00

I've done some AAM (all about me) pages lately, because of challenge prompts. I don't usually like to scrap about myself, but here's a "summer in review" in layouts.

First up, I got a haircut at the beginning of the summer. It was SO SUPER HOT and I was driving by the salon, and thought...what the heck!

Capture Life by Spinky Dink Scraps

Next, Brandon and I got dressed up for a wedding we were going to:

My Fair Lady by Penny Springman
Font: Journal
Template: Shabby Princess April Project Scrap

I've been reading this series for a while now. I'm kinda stuck right now, (not much time to read *sigh*), but the series in really awesome.

Bg paper: Some Like It Hot by Zoe Pearn
Misty Cato’s Blending Masks and Sanded Photo Masks
Font: Nueva Std

For this LO, I was supposed to scrap about the last brave thing I did. Well, I'm no superhero, but...

Chemical Reaction by Melissa Bennett
Font: Journal Bits by Darcy Baldwin

I'm sure I'm not alone in my love for Adele. But I absolutely adore her. She has an amazing voice and her lyrics are so real. <3

Template: Jenn Barrette iNSD 2011 freebie template
Bg. paper: Sunshine by Fee Jardine
Elements and papers: My Fair Lady by Penny Springmann
Gem button: All About Her by Kristin CB
Fonts: Arabic Typeset and Code Pro Light

And last but not least, my 13 "things:"

You Give Me A Reason To Smile by La Grier
Font: Firefly Castle
Template: Out of the Box by Studio Basic Designs

So yep, that's me... welcome to my crazy world!

Thanks for stopping by! Love to all,

Mommy time

2011-08-27T19:19:00.000-05:00

So today I had a Mommy time day planned. I get these about once a month, which I realize is absolutely nothing to complain about, because I know moms who don't get a day to themselves that often. Well, it didn't exactly turn out the way I was planning, but I was without hubby/child, so I guess it counts.

I needed to go into work for about 1 1/2 hours. No biggie! I could knock that out without it hardly effecting my day at all! Well, that turned into me being there for 3 1/2 hours. And I still have at least an hour's work to do first thing Monday morning. Oh well. As we say around the office...job security.

After that, I ran a few errands. Had the windows rolled down and the radio blasting. That was nice. But I had to go grocery shopping, which can ruin any wind-blown high that any woman has. Blech. Can you believe I used to love grocery shopping? It seems it's the bane of my existence nowadays.

To finish off my time alone, I plopped my butt on the couch and watched stupid, mind-numbing TV that I had recorded. Very predictable sitcoms with pretty people and canned laughter that did just what I wanted it to. Let me relax. Made me laugh. It was pretty damn good.

Then my babies came home and I was so glad to see them. I swear, after just being away from my daughter for 9 hours, she seemed to have grown. When their this age (3 years and a few months old) I think they truly can visibly grow in that expanse of time. They're quite amazing.

So to wrap it up, I had a good day. Maybe not as awesome as I wanted. I did NO scrapping. I didn't do any catching up with all the online stuff I needed to do. I didn't clean anything (which is good. Hubby always tells me NOT to spend my days cleaning when I have a Mommy day). But it was still time to still my brain. Which every Mom needs now and then!

Thanks for stopping by friends! Love to all,

Dusting off the cobwebs

2011-08-26T14:48:00.001-05:00

2 months. Well, 2 months and 3 days if you wanna get specific. Which I shouldn't...because that's just kinda pathetic!

So be warned!! I'm gonna dust off the cobwebs of this old fella and blog again (hmmm...where have you heard that before?) And if you don't like digital scrapbooking stuff and you don't like seeing what I've created, you prolly should just un-follow me. Because that is a lot of what I'll be sharing. It's my hobby and after my family, it's a real joy of mine. It's fun and relaxing and rewarding.

So since I've been gone FOREVER, I'll share a few of my favorite LOs I've done since my absence (that sounds so much nicer than "since I couldn't ever get off my butt and motivated to blog).

Sweet Little Claire by Polkadotplum Designs
Font: Spicy Sushi Roll

Charming by Misty Cato, Sweet Shoppe Designs

Audrey by Pixel Perfect Designs

My Fair Lady by Penny Springman
Font: Journal
Template: Shabby Princess April Project Scrap

Kickin’ It Old School by Misty Cato and Melissa Bennett, Sweet Shoppe Designs
Font: DJB Journal Bits

You Give Me A Reason To Smile by La Grier
Font: Firefly Castle
Template: Out of the Box by Studio Basic Designs

A Fresh Start by Sugar Pie Scraps, Polkadotplum
Blending Masks by Misty Cato, Sweet Shoppe Designs
Font: Black Jack

Template: Layered Up In You 3 by La Grier
Sisterhood by Julie Billingsley
Font: Eight Fifteen

After the Rain by Meghan Mullens
Some flowers and Word Art from All About Her by Kristen CB
Font: sfBrooke
Inspiration from this site

And something huge that's happened in our house in the last couple of weeks? My baby, my little angel, my sweet little baby girl, has gone to preschool. It's been rough so far. She cries everyday, but when I pick her up, she goes on and on about what a good time she's had and I get to hear all about her day. I'm loving it! I just can't believe how hard it is! I can't come to terms with her being this big. Here are a couple LOs I did to commemorate the event:

My Sugar Pie (retiring Sept. 2011) by Sugar Pie Scraps
Font: Nueva Std

School Days Blues by L’Posh
Template by Scrapping with Liz
Font: Minion Pro

So there we go. A little game of catch-up. Hope to see you guys around!

Pottermore

2011-06-23T08:26:00.000-05:00

I am an unabashed Harry Potter fan. I have been a fan of the books for years and love everything Harry Potter. I even enjoy the movies, though I'm careful to keep them separate from the books, because nothing can be as good. This morning, we HP fans got some wonderful news from the author of our beloved series, Jo Rowling. October can't come fast enough!

I am shaking with anticipation! I truly am!

Meatless Mondays

2011-06-07T14:17:00.000-05:00

Yep. I know. It's Tuesday. But I wanted to share with you all something that my family has started to do recently. We've decided to have Meatless Mondays. This is where we eat meals without any meat in them for the entire day of Monday, both improving our health and the environment.

This is what the Wikipedia entry on Meatless Mondays says:
"Meatless Monday is a non-profit initiative of The Monday Campaigns Inc. in association with the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health Center for a Livable Future. The program follows the nutrition guidelines developed by the USDA. Meatless Monday is part of the Healthy Monday initiative. Healthy Monday encourages Americans to make healthier decisions at the start of every week.
Meatless Monday focuses its initiative on Mondays for multiple reasons. Monday is typically the beginning of the work week, the day when individuals settle back into their weekly routine. Unhealthy habits that prevailed over the weekend can be forgotten and replaced by positive choices. A weekly reminder to restart healthy habits also encourages success. A 2009 trial published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine provided individuals with weekly health prompts and encouragement. Approximately two thirds of participants responded with improvements in their overall health, eating habits and physical activity levels."

And PLEASE check out the Wikipedia entry on the Environmental impact of meat production.

This is just a little something my family and I have decided to partake in, doing what little we can. And there are tons of meals you can have that are meatless! We've had Veggie Stir-Fry, Pasta Salad, Quiche (we obviously aren't doing Vegan Mondays since we wouldn't be allowed eggs then LOL), and I plan on having fun looking up different meatless meals!

So much scrapping news

2011-06-05T09:17:00.000-05:00

I swear, I have the best intentions for this blog. I think all I-can't-seem-to-post-regularly bloggers say that. I really don't want to ONLY post when I have scrapping stuff to share, but that seems to be what I'm doing. I'll really try to get back into some personal stuff on here, too. Because I love reading personal blog and some of you prolly like hearing personal stuff from me, too. Like about how my "baby" brother (who's 6'5") graduated high school yesterday and I cried my eyes out. And how, at that same graduation, I had to walk about a mile (because of parking issues) in heels and the result was 3 blisters on my feet, one of which has my whole ankle swollen (bleh!). Or how we're so inundated with Cicadas right now that I have a permanent drone in my ear, that I've finally been able to just ignore. And about how my little girl starts Gymnastics this Wednesday night and I am so excited for her, not to mention that she starts Preschool, at a REAL school, in 2 months and I just may die over that fact. So this is the kind of stuff I'm gonna try to post more often, even if it's just a little post.

Now, onto scrapping stuff, because I have the biggest news of my scrapping "career." When I started scrapping, I loved the creative outlet it gave me and I loved showcasing the pictures of my family and whatnot. Then I got accepted on my first CTs and those brought so much inspiration, motivation and scrapping mojo for me. Once I got more familiar with CT world, there were a couple of CTs that I wanted so bad, that it became my goal to be on them. I could feel in my bones how badly I wanted to be on these CTs. I loved the shoppe and/or designer SO MUCH, and for me, being on a CT is sharing my love for the designer/shoppe that I CT for. I want EVERYONE to see how awesome this stuff is. So the 2 CTs I wanted....I got on them!!! I could not be more ecstatic!

Even before I was on CTs, waaaaaaay before, actually, I was a fan of Misty Cato Designs. Her tutorials on her blog helped me when I was a fledgling newbie (still kinda am LOL), and her scrapper's tools and designs are A-MAHHH-ZING. And guess what. SHE. ACCEPTED. ME. ON. HER. CT. Unbelievable! I've never been so excited in my life, I don't think (ok, when I found out I was pregnant, that was better, but that's a bit different LOL). Just check out some of her kits:

Can you believe the gorgeousness????? My heart is sighing... And there's SO MUCH more at her shop at Sweet Shoppe Designs. (Oh, and pssst! She gives freebies, AWESOME freebies, out on her blog pretty regularly!)

And that's not all....ooooh, no, that's not all!! If you've read my blog in the past at all, you've heard my gush about my digi-home Polkadotplum. I even did a LO about how much I love it there:

Sweet Little Claire by Polkadotplum Designs
Journal mats: Animal Crackers by Digilicious
Title alpha (friends) - Sunshine and Happiness by Shiloh Designs
Title alpha (home) - Hodgepodge by Miss Tiina
Title font: Firefly Castle
Journal font: Daun Penh
Date Word Art: Date Stamps by Misty Cato

I got on the store CT there! I'm a Sugar Plum! I get to promote my love of PDP all over digi-land now! They have wonderful designers at PDP and they're having 2 guest designers every month for the rest of the year! Joining the amazing PDP designers this month as guests are Mye De Leon, who has gorgeous kits and Scrapping with Liz, who makes amazing templates!

Morning Hush

Chopped Paper Templates

So celebrate with me! I could not be happier! w00t!

Thanks for stopping by, loves!

New collab kit from Bean Bunny Designs

2011-05-25T08:52:00.000-05:00

Ch-ch-check out this totes adorbs kit by Bean Bunny Designs and Studio Demo!

Awwww! If you have a little mermaid like I do, this is just perfect! Beach pics, bath pics, pool pics, sprinkler pics. It so cute! Here's a LO I did of my Mermaid Princess:

And if you don't have any of those kinds of pics, you can still use it for a beautiful LO! Look at this one:

Go grab it up now right here at PDP!!

And look at what Bean Bunny designs is offering! What a chance!

Lookie here!

2011-05-21T05:00:00.000-05:00

So much is going on! I've got news!

Since I've talked to you last, lots has happened. Maylee's birthday party (a whole 'nother post to come about that). Maylee turned 3. iNSD was awesome! ([inter]National Scrapbook Day) Mother's Day. Mine was great! Yours? Tons of scrapping done. Oh, and I'm on two more CTs!

I have TONS of LOs I could share with you, but I'll just introduce my new designers and then be off.

Sara, or Tree City Studio, is a great designer selling at Polka Dot Plum. Check her out! She's super-sweet and a super-great designer! Check out this collab she did with Farynar's Wings! Is it not just one of the most incredibly cute things ever?!

Check it out in the shoppe here!

Here's a LO I did with it: (A friend told me that Maylee would hate me for this LO in the future. I hope not! I think it's adorable!)

Tree City Studio also came out with these recently:

Cut-outs are the newest digiscrap trend. I personally love them! These templates make it easy!

In the shoppe here!

And my other CT?! Janet, or Bean Bunny Designs! Also at Polka Dot Plum! (Anyone see a trend around here LOL) Janet's designs are so amazing! Her colors are so bright and they just make me smile! She also does these awesome cards...Valentine's Day, Christmas...you gotta check them out. Bean Bunny Designs has a new collab coming out with Studio Demo...you'll have to stay tuned for that one! Gonna keep you guys waiting! Until then, check this out! A sale! A sale!

Shop the sale here!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand:

Oh, you know you wanna apply! Go ahead! Do it!

Oy! I just have this perpetual smile plastered on my face lately! Look at all the goodies! Look at my awesome designers I get to CT for! I'm so happy!

Thanks for stopping by everyone. Love to all!

Grand Opening!

2011-04-30T14:14:00.000-05:00

Designs by Sweet Mesquite is having her Grand Opening at Scrappity-Doo-Dah this weekend!! And she's offering a sweet sale until May 6th! w00t!!

So go! Ch-ch-check it out!

Happy Easter Friends!

2011-04-24T05:00:00.001-05:00

I want to wish you all a wonderful Easter! In celebration of Easter, I thought I'd share all my Easter LOs I've done over the years.

Maylee's first Easter. That would be 2009. (She was almost a year old, she was born right after Easter 2008.)

This was a quickpage that came with my printer software. It's kinda cute, but I was just starting out...

Template: 365 Templates by Jumbbumble Designs
It’s a Girl’s World by Farynar’s Wings

Template: Playing with Paper by Mushy
DYEing for Easter by Sugar Pie Scraps
Font: sfBrooke

Now for 2010.

Sunrise Sorbet (Sunshine Studio's blog train)

(Obviously, I didn't know what shadows were yet LOL)

Sunrise Sorbet (Sunshine Studio's blog train

And I made a LO when we dyed eggs (for the first time ever) this year. I can't wait to scrap the pictures from Easter day this year!

Template by Ulrika for PolkaDotPlum April template Challenge
DYEing for Easter by Sugar Pie Scraps
Font: Journal

Love to all!

Designs by Sweet Mesquite closing sale

2011-04-23T13:56:00.001-05:00

Beth is leaving Polka Dot Plum. Let's just have a moment of silence.

Now go, go, go to PDP and stock up on her stuff since this is such an awesome sale! And follow her blog and her Facebook to see where she's going next!

I'm excited to say that I'm staying on the Designs by Sweet Mesquite CT after my guest stint in April. I'm so excited to see where and what Beth does next! So stay tuned!!

My first blog hop!! Sugar Pie Scraps Designiversary!!

2011-04-14T22:00:00.001-05:00

Welcome Sugar Pie blog hoppers!! I'm so happy to have you on my site... this is my first ever blog hop! Well, I've gotten goodies from lots of great blog hops, but this is my first time every offering something on my very own blog.

I'm so excited to share these cluster frames with you because they are made with my all-time favorite kit from Sugar Pie Scraps, "A Fresh Start." I just love the charcoal and blues together. I think it's gorgeous!! So please, click the link below and enjoy!

http://www.mediafire.com/?rjucokt3s2axn

Sorry, I'm not too savvy at this yet, so it's 2 separate files to download. Hopefully, I'll get better at this before next time!! LOL

If you get lost, here's a map of all the great chefs on the train!

Sugar Pie Scraps

Sugar Pie Chef Bobbie

Sugar Pie Guest Chef Kate**You are here!

Sugar Pie Chef Blogger Casey

Sugar Pie Chef Mira

Sugar Pie Chef Jessica

Sugar Pie Chef Becky

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have fun hopping to the next spot!

ADSR6

2011-04-11T14:13:00.002-05:00

Hey all! I wanted to share something so fun that a friend and I are doing together! This is my first year doing the Amazing Digi Scrap Race (ADSR), that's put on by Natural Designs in Scrapbooking. My partner, Val, has run the race twice before with different partners. Basically, you have stops on the race where you have to complete a challenge. The stops are at different digiscrap forums and each challenge is so different! We're already on challenge #5. We get a challenge every Sunday and Tuesday. We have until the following Sunday to complete both of them. When I started this race, I told myself I couldn't procrastinate on the layouts, and I haven't! I've gotten them all done soon after we've received our challenge. The theme for this challenge is family...I can dig that!! So here's a description of the challenges and my LOs that I did with them.

Challenge #1 - Host site: Digi Scrap Connect

Create a LO using 6 fun facts about your family. Items required on this LO: 1.At least one photo of your family. 2.At least 6 items listing trivia/fun facts about your family.

Credits:

Kitschy by Akizo Designs
Font: Toony Loons

Challenge #2 - Host site: Scrappity-doo-dah

Peek-a-boo challenge. Items required: 1.Two background papers 2.One photo, cropped to 3"x3" 3.Cut 3 shapes out of your top paper to show bottom paper (peek-a-boo) 4.Journal about someone in your family that has inspired you 5.Add a cluster around your photo.

Credits:

Kit: Spontaneous Delight by Carrie Stephens
Some elements: Tea & Honey by Honey Designs
Font: Angel Tears

Challenge #3 - Host site: Natural Designs in Scrapbooking

Family play time. Create a LO telling us what your family enjoys doing together. Twist: you have to make the LO LOOK like that activity.

Credits:

Perfect Picnic by Polkadotplum Designers
Font: Veteran Typewriter

Challenge #4 - Host site: Digiscrap Station - Intersection (Only one member of the team produces a LO)

Traveling family. One member supplies photos and journaling, the other member produces the LO. Make a LO about your family's travels. Have the vehicle of these travels play a predominant part in the LO.

Val gave me photos and journaling and I whipped this up. No kit used.

Challenge #5 - Host site: OScraps

LO about yourself. What would YOU do if you had a day to yourself? This was a recipe challenge, meaning they gave you all the directions for the LO and you made it what you wanted. This is the recipe I went with:

Background Paper
Three Flowers (can be the same flower used three times)
Word Art
One More Paper
Stamp or brush
One, Two or Three Photos
Date

Of course, you all know what I'D do if I had a day to myself!!

Credits:

Moments by Cinzia
Word Art by Scrapping Sisters
Photojackets from Library Thing personal account

So tomorrow morning we'll get a new challenge and I'm looking forward to it. I may not have loved all of these challenges, but I have been getting my scrap on, and I have ADSR to thank for that!

I'll wait until I have another few LOs put together and share my next leg of the ADSR with you guys! Wish me happy racing!!

Designiversary kit...your way!

2011-04-09T07:33:00.001-05:00

Hey all! Sugar Pie Scraps is having her 1 year designiversary! Now you all get to help her choose the kit she'll design for it! We've already been through one round of "voting" and a color swatch was chosen. Now we get to pick a theme to go along with those colors! Here are the choices:

Vote here!!

Everyone that votes will receive a discount coupon to purchase the kit when it is released and one lucky person will win the kit! Please vote for the number of the theme you like best. Please only vote one time. Voting will be open through Thursday, April 14th. The winning theme will be announced on Friday, April 15th and I will then begin work on the kit!

Let the voting begin!!

Thanks everyone! Go on over there and vote! I can't wait to see the finished product!!

New Release Polkadotplum Designers Collab!

2011-04-06T06:29:00.000-05:00

Wow, I'm in scrapbooking heaven! 3 awesome designers from Polkadotplum have teamed up to design this amazing kit, And One To Grow On! Designs by Sweet Mesquite, Farynar's Wings and Laughing Sun Designs worked together on this oh-so-cute birthday/party kit. Check this out:

Look how big this collab is!! It's so beautiful! And notice how there's plenty of elements for either a boy or a girl! And as usual, you can buy the bundle with everything or pick and choose what you want. I love that about PDP! Here's a LO I did with this kit:

Here's one from Shauna:

And one from Nena:

See how versatile a kit can be? And see how all different creative minds think alike? I think that's just awesome! And, just a little tip, go over to Beth's blog, Designs by Sweet Mesquite and she just may have a coupon for you!!

Enjoy your day and love to all!

Whoa! Check this out!

2011-04-05T20:52:00.000-05:00

**Disclaimer-- This whole post needs to be read in your best infomercial-announcer-guy voice. These deals are seriously so unbelievable that that's what it reminds me of!**

Jumbbumble Designs is going wild and crazy! Melanie is set to potentially give away hundreds of prizes!! No kidding! The more fans she gets on her Facebook, Twitter and followers on her blog, the more you win! Get this:

For Facebook and Twitter:

100 likes everyone gets 1 free template
500 likes everyone gets 2 free templates
1000 likes everyone gets 3 free templates
More than 1000 likes everyone gets 4 free templates

Yes, you read that right. ALL THE FANS will get this prize. She's not picking one or two from the hundreds fans, she's giving templates to everyone! Isn't that amazing?! I've seriously never heard of any designer doing something on this scale.

AND!!

If she gets 25 new blog followers, she'll give out a discount coupon for anything in her store or a freebie. And since she's being so generous, I'm gonna bet it's a freebie LOL!

Oh, and that's not all!!

For one lucky follower/liker, she's going to give away:
1 week full access to her store
ALL templates for free
1 time new release Sweet Spring templates

This is going on for the whole month of April, so spread the word! You won't be getting all these amazing prizes if she doesn't get the followers! Tell your friends! Tell your friends' friends! Go tell it on the mountain!

Good luck and love to all!

Big scrapping news!

2011-04-05T06:19:00.000-05:00

Remember how excited I was to be on my first CT with Jumbbumble Designs?! And remember how I said I wanted ONE CT to dedicate my time to? Well, I loved CTing so much, I went ahead and took two guest spots for the Month of April! I know, I know, I said JUST ONE, but....well. In my defense, all these ladies I"m CTing for are in the same shop, my new home, Polkadotplum (PDP). So let me introduce you to two wonderful ladies and their awesome designs.

Beth, or Designs by Sweet Mesquite is a wonderful woman with awesome designs. You may recognize these LOs I did with her You Make Me Happy kit.

Beth was one of the first people to welcome me with open arms to PDP, so I'm ecstatic to be working with her stuff!

The next designer that I'll be CTing for this month is Crystal, or Sugar Pie Scraps. She is such a sweet woman with amazing designs. I really like her style. This is her newest kit, Spring is in the Air.

Here's a LO you may recognize with this one.

And here's a couple did with her A Fresh Start kit. I LOVE this kit! I love the blue with the black/grey. So beautiful!

(This one was done with another kit, too, but all elements are from Spring is in the Air. The red paper is not.)

Sugar Pie Scraps has some cute stuff set to come out this month! I can't wait to start working with it! And Designs by Sweet Mesquite just re-released her kit, Emily, and it's gorgeous!

Here's what I did with it.

I'm very proud of this page, because it was very hard to do, with the cluster "coming out" from between the papers. This digital scrapbooking isn't as effortless as I make it look (LOL!!)

So that's my big news. I'm so excited! Getting to work with these awesome designers is such fun!

Anyway, more goodies to come from all these wonderful designers. Stay tuned!

Love to all,

New Release and a blog hop! (That means FREEBIES!!)

2011-03-30T07:18:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone! Hope you've been having a good week. Wednesday, otherwise know as HUMP DAY is here!! I've been having a great and bad week all at the same time. I woke up Monday morning sick. Just like that...BAM, you're sick! I was fine Sunday and Monday was feeling bad, which got worse throughout the day and got even worse by Tuesday. Sigh. Stupid sinuses. On a much, much brighter note, I started working out yesterday and it felt great! I'll be going at least 3 times a week, if not more. I really worked hard and because of the type of machines at Curves, resistance machines versus high-impact machines, I'm not one bit sore. And that's saying something because I know I worked my hiney off. I'm not kidding around here with this working out stuff! I actually enjoy exercise and when I do it I go at it guns blazing. It's finding the time to work out, and I just decided I HAVE to make the time, because Maylee will appreciate a healthier Mommy in exchange for me being gone from the workday an extra 45 minutes.

Anyway, on to the good stuff! Melanie, or Jumbbumble Designs, has a new release today! Look at this beautiful kit she designed:

Check it out here!

I'm LOVING the blue and orange! The blue is, well, soft (like the title indicates! Haha), and that orange makes a great POP! I have another one in the works, but here's a LOs I did with this kit:

So pretty! (The LO, and my dear friends Val and Carrie, too!)

Now let's move on to the FREEBIES! Yay! Polkadotplum is having a great blog train!

Check out what Jumbbumble Designs is offering! Oooh, I love her templates!

You can download this awesome template pack >>here<<

Here's a LO I did with one of these great templates:

Check out what the rest of the Polkadotplum ladies have for you!

Farynar's Wings

Sweet Tomato Designs

Laughing Sun Designs

Designs by Sweet Mesquite

Sugar Pie Scraps

Rhonda Sunflower Designs

Tree City Studio

Kat's Creations

Pixie Keepsakes

Polka Dot Plum Designs

GO! Go now! Come on ride that train!!

Enjoy everybody! Have a great week! Love to all!

Sneak peek from Jumbbumble Designs!

2011-03-28T11:39:00.001-05:00

Hey everyone! Wanted to let you know you have a chance to win this awesome new kit, Sweet Soft Blue, being released by Jumbbumble Designs this week!

Check out the sneak peek:

Oooh, look at those colors! Looks fantastic! If you want to win, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post over at Jumbbumble Designs' website by Wednesday at midnight (CST)! Feeling lucky?

Love to all!

Bumblebee busy-ness

2011-03-25T08:29:00.000-05:00

Ok, I've been super busy, but man do I love it! Being on a CT is so much fun! I've made some really good friends and boy, has this put my scrapping mojo in high gear!! I'm so inspired by the templates and kits I've been getting to work with! I love working with Melanie's stuff (a.k.a. Jumbbumble Designs) and I'm loving all the stuff I'm buying over at polkadotplum, (further to be referred to as PDP) too! The challenges they have over there really help me get ideas (well, they tell me!) for what to scrap. It's great to get so many LOs done that I truly love. There's only one LO I've made in the last couple of days that I'm not really happy with. I'll tell you about it further down...

So, here are some LOs I've made lately. And I have even more, but can't show them yet because the kits and/or templates haven't been released yet **wink**

I whipped this up for the PDP March Journal challenge, where we were supposed to journal about how we were feeling right now.

Credits:

A Fresh Start by Sugar Pie Scraps
Font: Pea K*Rayn

I made this LO for the PDP March Quote challenge.

Credits:

Granny’s Attic blog train (Polkadotplum)
Love the Piglet by Utski Designs
Font: Jellyka, Saint Andrews Queen

This is the LO that I'm not too happy with. I LOVE this photo of my mom with my two nieces. I made this for the PDP March White Space challenge. If you're not familiar, white space scrapping is smaller photos and showing a lot of the background. I've done very few of these kinds of LOs, mainly because I like my photos to be the main attraction of my LOs. But this is very popular, and since this LO, I've done a couple white space LOs that I HAVE been happy with. Anyway, lemme know what YOU think. I think...blech.

Credits:

With Love From Sarah by Jumbbumble Designs

This LO was for the Weekly Newsletter challenge. We had to use this one little element offered as a freebie in their newsletter (This time it was that little piece of scalloped trim behind the photos). This was a fun LO. I'm trying to branch out and not just use photos of Maylee (though she will ALWAYS be my favorite subject to scrap). This is my nephew Grayson.

Credits:

Crazy Templates Volume 1 by Jumbbumble Designs
Spring is in the Air by Sugar Pie Scraps
Music notes: Birthday Girl by Julie Bullock

And this last LO I did for the Weekly Photography challenge. We needed to scrap spring pictures. Well, I was in the mood for spring, because we HAD been having wonderful spring weather, but that witch Mother Nature changed her mind and winter's back in my neck of the woods. Woke up to snow this morning! I asked a photographer friend of mine if I could use some of her beautiful nature photos and she kindly obliged! I really like how this one turned out.

Credits:

Crazy Templates Volume 1 by Jumbbumble Designs
Spring is in the Air by Sugar Pie Scraps
Photos by Shawntae’s Photography
Font: Palatino Linotype

Notice that the last two LOs where done with the same template pack (2 different templates, but that same pack with the same "feel") and the same kit? Could those two LOs be any different from one another?? Nope! See what you can do with templates? Change them up to suit what you want your LO to be!

Well, this has been a fun post! I love that I participated in all these challenges and got so many LOs done! I love being a Jumbbumble Bumblebee and I love my new home over at PDP! I'm just.....in love!!! (I know, I'll shut up now.)

Love to all!

**Note. All the images in this post were linked from my Photobucket account, which is not usually the way I do it. It's kind of a trial. If I don't like it, I'll go back and edit this post with photos instead of links. But I can tell right off the bat that it's much easier with Photobucket. Lemme know if you have any viewing problems.

The rest of it

2011-03-20T20:35:00.000-05:00

Well, better late than never, huh? It's still technically tomorrow. I promised I'd post the rest of the LOs I've done, and I'm here to do just that!

   But first, gotta share about our day. We went to a good friend's daughter's birthday today. My friend's name is Amber (Amburger, according to Maylee LOL!!), and her daughter's name is Skylar. Skylar and Maylee get along pretty well, even though there's a bit of an age difference. Skylar turned 5 earlier this week and her birthday party was at a gymnastics studio. Maylee did pretty well...she didn't want to do any of the organized stuff and just wanted to dance and bounce. I had to keep reminding myself that she's a bit younger than the other kids, so I'd give her a little leeway when it came to following directions. One activity she found she did like was a the trampoline. This wasn't a regular trampoline, but a really long, narrow one that ran along the whole length of the back of the studio.It wasn't too bouncy, which is why I think she liked it. The bouncy, bouncy one scared her.

   Boy, I just read that previous paragraph and it was really poorly constructed and kind of ramble-y, but it's getting late and I'm not going to correct it. Sigh.

   Now to the good stuff. As promised, recent LOs I've done:

This is another CT LO I did, because I just love being on a CT and I love doing LOs for it!! I hope the shine (of the CT) doesn't wear off too quickly!

My little girl when she was still...little! Sweet!

Credits:

Template: Crazy Templates Volume 1 by Jumbbumble Designs
Kits: Missing Spring by Designs by Kat
Font: Courier New

Missourians, remember that ice/sleet/snow episode a while back. Yeah, I don't think Brandon's going to forget it anytime soon.

Credits:

Template: Shabby Princess Project Scrap Month 2

Kit: Shabby Princess Seasonal Sampler - Winter
Font: Pea Stacey’s Doodles

Credits:

Template: Shabby Princess Project Scrap Month 2

Kit: Happy Go Lucky by Shabby Princess
Arrow (recolored) from Bright and Cheery from Double Dutch Designs
Font: Tekton Pro

Don't know why, but I'm not crazy about this LO. Hm.

Credits:

Template by Shabby Princess Template Challenge #10
Barefoot by Shabby Princess

(This kit's on sale right now! Go get it! And hurry!)

Now, I love how this LO turned out! And it's pretty much a kit-less LO!

Credits:

Frames from Shabby Princess Template Challenge #10
Font: Pea Bitt Bitt

And this kit?? Well, I've had it in my head for about a week now, and I LOVE how it turned out!

Credits:

Kit: Love the Piglet by Utski Design
Word art: Vector Alpha by Angel Hartline Designs
Font: Calibri

Whew. I think that's it. Stay tuned for Jumbbumble Designs new template pack coming out at the beginning of April (can you believe it's already April? That is crazy.)!

Love to all,

So much catching up to do!

2011-03-19T08:37:00.000-05:00

You know, I used to decide not to blog because I didn't have any LOs to share. Then I thought, well, I don't have to share scrapbooking stuff on EVERY SINGLE post, do I? And I decided, no, I certainly did not. Well, I kind of have the opposite problem right now. I have so many new LOs to share, but I don't want to do it in one HUGE post, so I'll post some today and some tomorrow. So stay tuned for more!

First, because I'm still on such a high about getting on my first CT, I'll share my first CT LOs with you guys. One of the awesome things about the designer I'm CTing for, Jumbbumble Designs, is that not only is she a kit designer, she's a template designer. Love, love, love me some templates. So I get to use her kits to do LOs and I get to use her templates to do LOs, either with her kits, or another designer's kits! Isn't that awesome!? I'm still showcasing her work, even when I use another designer's kits, because she designed the amazing template I'm using! It's like win-win-win!

Credits:

Kit: Flowerpower by Jumbbumble Designs
Font: Journal

Credits:

Template: Crazy Templates Volume 1 by Jumbbumble Designs
Kit: Love Who You Are by Captivated Visions
Font: Word Art: Journal
Journaling: Iskoola Pota

And guess what?! Jumbbumble Designs is still looking to fill some CT spots! Check this out:

OK, I HAVE to mention this, because those of you who know me know how it's bugging me. Now that Melanie has some good CT girls, we'll be sure that her ads going out are all translated well, with correct spelling and grammar. That's one of the things we're there for!

On the top LO, My Star, I used the "Seventies" photo action by Pioneer Woman. I love that one! Isn't it cool how it really looks like a photo from the '70's? (I guess that's the whole point, huh?) Since I'm mentioning the Pioneer Woman, I'll share the LO I made from the photos I took from our night out to see the Pioneer Woman.

Credits:

Template: Girl Talk
Kit: Dinner Party by Shabby Princess
Font: Myriad Web Pro

OK, ONE more LO, then I'll do another post with the rest of them tomorrow. Remember the other day when I was telling you all how nice Day, from Inspirations from Day was, and how she did me a wonderful kindness even though I was stupid?? Well, here's the LO I made with the kit I purchased from her.

Credits:

Spring Kissed by Inspirations from Day
Chocolates: Sweet Stuff to Scrap by Honey Designs
Font: Pea Aimee

So, that's all! Well, not all, but that's all for today! More to come tomorrow, so stop by then and see the rest!

I'm a Jumbbumble lady!!

2011-03-17T19:12:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! I've been accepted to my first CT! It's for Jumbumble Designs at PolkaDotPlum! I'm so excited!

    For those of you who don't know what a CT is, it's a Creative Team for a designer. The designer designs her kit, then us, her CT, create layouts for her to use in her promos and to showcase the kit. I've been debating on whether or not to apply to a CT. I knew I kind of wanted to, but didn't know if I had the time to dedicate to it. I decided I wanted ONE CT spot, but I was very particular about who it would be. I wanted a great designer at a really well-respected shoppe. And I got it!

   So, yes, you'll be seeing a lot of Jumbbumble Designs on my blog from now on. But it won't really be much different...I'll still just be posting LOs! I love to digiscrap, as you all know, so this is just a win-win situation!

   Stay tuned for my first LO using Jumbbumble Designs! I'm off to go work on some as we speak!!

Multiple Sclerosis Charity Collab

2011-03-16T06:00:00.002-05:00

March 14-20, 2011 is National Multiple Sclerosis Awareness week, and in honor of that, 34 designers got together to create a mega-kit called "Movement." MS stops people from moving, and we're raising money to make sure that doesn't happen.

This HUGE kit includes 190 Papers, 419 Elements, 3 Alphas, and there is a matching set of QPs sold separately.

100% of the proceeds from the sale of this kit and the matching set of QPs go to the National MS Society, more specifically, Mandy's BikeMS ride.

Go get this kit at GingerScraps!

The QP/Template pack includes 42 QPs, 1 Brag book, and 6 templates. Get it here!

Ooooor, you can buy them both in a bundle for a great $15 (for MS Charity!!) here!

And look at this kit in action. This is a layout done by my friend, Star. Isn't is just adorable?!

This is something I just love about the digiscrap community. The way we all come together for a greater cause is just amazing. This isn't the first charity collab I've bought and I'm sure it won't be the last. Designers donate their talents for charity all the time, and that's just awesome!

Bucket List

2011-03-15T15:47:00.001-05:00

Yes, I have tons of LOs to share with you all, but I feel like I've only been posting about digital scrapbooking lately, so thought I'd give ya'll, me dear friends, some personal insight. Inspired by my wonderful friend Star, here is my very much impromptu, unofficial

Bucket List

1. Finish my degree (OMG, this is taking forever. Someone get me off my butt!)

2. Be out of debt (this is kind of hard with #1. Student loans for the rest of my life. For reals. And owning a house kinda makes this one hard, too.)

3. Be financially stable (This seems easier than #2. Not easy, but easier...)

4. Instill in my daughter how important education and learning are without sending her over the deep end.

5. Keep my happy marriage happy.

6. Go to Nova Scotia. (My love of NS started with Anne of Green Gables.)

7. Learn how to use my digital camera really well. Like out of auto mode.

8. Read Atlas Shrugged. I've tried. Honest I have. I just can't seem to make it past the first 20 pages!

9. Meet...somebody famous.

10. Buy a dSLR and learn how to use it (yes, I know I just typed #7, but SOMEDAY I WILL have a dSLR!)

11. Go to Disneyland (yes, Disneyworld is closer to me, but if we go to Disneyland, my sisters will be closer and their whole families can come, too!)

12.Do karaoke. Yes, I'm a singer. No, I've never done karaoke. (My Missouri friends...help a sister out!)
13. Take my Mom to Rome. (She's fascinated by all things Catholic...well, religions in general).
14.Learn digital scrapbooking even better. Yeah, I kinda know what I'm doing, but there's always room for improvement.
15. Throw a successful surprise party. (Sounds fun, huh?!)
16. Be a Cardinals Baseball season ticket holder.
17. Grow a vegetable garden.
18. Write a children's book.
19. Refurbish/refinish and old set of furniture.
20. Be in the audience at the Ellen Show (I know, right, Star!!!)
21. Get a total makeover by someone who really know what they're doing. Clothes, makeup, hair. The works.
22. Exercise at the gym/exercise class/some form of exercise for 6 months straight.
23. Learn to cook steak well.

I'll be adding and crossing things off this list for a while. This is all I could come up with right now. I'm sure there's quite a few important things I'm forgetting...

Face Swap

2011-03-14T06:28:00.000-05:00

I've been editing photos almost as much as I've been scrapping lately. I love photography, but don't know very much about it. So since I'm not the greatest photographer, I have to edit my photos to bring out the best in them quite often. I'm getting much better at this. You can see one of my edited photos here, that I entered into the I Heart Faces challenge last week. I didn't win, but a lot of my wonderful friends voted for me. Thank you if you did! You're all the sweetest!

A photographer friend of mine, Valerie, is always talking about her photo edits and how she swaps faces. The thought intrigued me and I knew just the photos I wanted to try it on. I have this set of photos I took when I was up in Washington for my sister's wedding. There was one with us all together, but one of my sisters didn't have the best look on her face, so I wanted to try to put her face from another picture in that picture. Thus, the "face swap." (You can click on any photos to make them larger.)

Here's the photo of all of us:

^ (not the best look)

Here's the photo that I borrowed my sister's face from (LOL)

BTW, I love this photo so much. I wanted to try to put myself in this one instead of doing the face swap, but that was TOO HARD!!

OK, so here's the face swap with more edits needed, but you get the idea.

Another problem I was running into was glasses glare. My mother, me and all both my sisters wear glasses, and as you can see, the glare from the flash is pretty bad, especially on the face swap. So I took the time to edit the glasses glare. To be honest, this took longer than the face swap.

So here's the finished product, with face swapped and glasses glare fixed. Hot dog!!

It might not look like a very dramatic change, but I promise, if you look at them original size and sequentially, there's quite a difference.

Here's the page I scrapped with my hot dang newly edited photo:
(apologies to my brother-in-law Jon, whom I unmercifully cut from the photo)

Credits:

Template from Shabby Princess Template Challenge #9
Kits: Sun Porch and Plentiful by Shabby Princess
Word art: So Thankful by Miss Tiina

I was so please with how the photo edit came out, and like the LO as well. Sometimes when you try something new, it's a relief to get it right, just to make the next time not so intimidating, you know?

Thanks for stopping by today!

Inspirations by Day

2011-03-13T06:59:00.000-05:00

So the other day, I got a freebie from one of my favorite sites, Hand Picked Freebies (under new ownership! It's back pretty regularly, now!), and I saw a freebie that I wanted. I've been very picky about my freebies for a while now. I used to just download ANYTHING if it was free. Now that I actually know what I'm doing (LOL), I don't do that anymore! So anyway, this was a few elements from the kit Spring Kissed by Inspirations by Day.
In the freebie download was a coupon for $2 off the whole kit. Now that was nice to begin with, so we'll call this 'Nice Thing from Day # 1." So I decided to buy said kit. I really liked it! Here's a preview of the kit:

Pretty, huh? I have scrapped with it yet, but I can't wait! The colors are just so vibrant!

So when I bought this kit, I liked the alpha that went with it, so I bought it, too. After I had paid and had the downloads going, I realized that I bought the alpha, but the alpha came WITH the kit, as well. What a duh!! moment for me! It's pretty unlike me not to notice something like that. So I was bummed, but just chalked it up to "Oh well. It was your stupid mistake!"
So a couple days later, I got an e-mail from the designer herself, Day! How often does that happen? We'll call this "Nice Thing from Day #2." This is what her e-mail said:

"Hi Kate, I saw that you liked my kit Spring Kissed, thank you for supporting my store! I also noticed that you purchased the alpha in addition to the kit. However, the kit comes with the alpha so now you have it twice! Since I know how hard we all work for our fun $ I hate to see it wasted, so here's a $2 coupon to my store so you can buy something other than the alpha that you already had :)"

Now, how nice is that? And thus, the coupon is "Nice Thing from Day #3." And with that coupon, I got a lovely set of templates. Love me some templates!!

I wanted to share this story with you guys. Day in no way asked me to post this on my blog, but when you receive such care from a vendor, you need to share that! Word of mouth speaks volumes, my peeps! So, go visit Day's blog and shop. As we've established, she's REALLY nice!

Prayers

2011-03-12T06:21:00.000-06:00

(¯`v´¯)

`·.¸.·´

¸.·´¸.·´¨) ¸.·¨)

(¸.·´ This balloon heart is traveling around the world for all the victims in the Japan Earthquake & Tsunami. Please pass this balloon on & show your support & prayers for them all during this devastating time. ♥

Hug the ones you love and send prayers to those who need it...so many do right now.

Thank you Shawntae.

I Heart Faces

2011-03-08T20:11:00.002-06:00

I've never entered one of these challenges. A photographer friend of mine, Shawntae, enters all the time and does a really good job! One of her photos (see it here--such a great photo) was recently chosen as one of the favorites, and I was so proud of her!! Anyway, I saw the challenge this week and though, oh what the hell. I'll enter.

People's Choice Photo Challenge | Best in Face February.

So here's my entry. I absolutely love this photo of my dear daughter!! I can't help but say what a cutie she is!

Thanks everyone for stopping by!

EDIT: Thought I'd include the SOOC shot, for those that are interested. I tried and tried editing this photo, and not sure if I'm even satisfied with what I ended up with, but after about 10 different reincarnations, I just had to decide and do it!

So this is the original photo:

Putting it off

2011-03-05T19:24:00.001-06:00

I don't know why I've been putting off blogging. I've actually had an interesting couple of weeks. Well, maybe not interesting to you, dear followers, but a little out-of-the-ordinary for me!

I was so excited to to to a q&a/book signing event for Ree Drummond "The Pioneer Woman" at St. Louis County Library headquarters. And I went with a couple friends/cousins of mine. First off, let me say how nice it was to go out with grown women and have decent conversation. The library is in a very nice part of St. Louis, the Plaza Frontenac area, and we went to a nice restaurant that I never would've gone to otherwise. Being mommies of young children, we of course talked a lot about our kids and husbands, but there was plenty of other conversation, too. It was very nice. And of course, getting to see P-Dub was awesome! I've been following her for a couple years now, and she's talented, beautiful and very funny! She talked a little, answered some questions, and then started to sign books. Since there were so many people, we were given line tickets when we came into the event. We were group 8, so we sat for a LONG time and waited. But, we talked and passed the time nicely. Even though Ree had been signing books for over 2 hours, she talked to everyone and had a smile on her face and was so gracious. It was well worth the wait. I'm so glad I went!

Me and Ree Drummond

Me, Carmen, Ree, and Mandy

Let's seeeeee. I've done quite a bit of scrapping. I got a whole bunch of Mah's (Dream's Place Atelier) kits and I finally got inspired! I've been kinda in a drought. Haven't had any ideas and wasn't really into it. But I got these gorgeous kits and the pages just kept coming!

Credits:

Kit: Mail for You by Dream's Place Atelier

Credits:

Kit: Come to the Jungle by Dream's Place Atelier
Fonts: Pea Seelekish and sf Scribbled

Credits:

Template from Vintage Love bundle by Queen on Hearts (collab w/ Dream's Place Atelier)
Kit: Black Tie by Dream's Place Atelier
Blue flowers from Tweet in Blue by Dream's Place Atelier

I've really been editing my pictures, too. I've been using Pioneer Woman's PSE actions like crazy, and I really love all of them! I'll give you an example of a pictures I used an action on. There are many different ones that give all give different effects to the photo.

My goofy girl: Straight-out-of-the-camera (SOOTC) (OMG, don't mind the mess in the background)

My goofy girl: Using PW's "Boost" action

Isn't that just awesome! There are so many cool ones. Will share more with you later. And yes, my daughter takes after her father.

Just a quick quick about what else I've been doing...I got new tires on my car. Much needed, but the $$ made me cry. Almost $700. Ouch. Maylee and I had a playdate/mommy get-together with a good friend of mine from high school. I finally got to meet her bestie, whom I've heard so much about, and we got along famously! She's great. She's got a son a little younger than Maylee and they had a great time. Here's proof:

Playing piano together. They got along great. At one point, Maylee was playing piano with her foot...she's so talented!

OK, I'm going to stop now. I'll blog more tomorrow. I have a couple more LOs to show and some more to blab about, but I'll shut up now.

RAK!!

2011-02-27T18:19:00.000-06:00

My friend Mars (you may remember her from this post), has an awesome RAK on her blog! For those of you not "in the know" a RAK is a Random Act of Kindness. She's giving away an awesome $10 gift card to Skute Designs' store. Now, if you're one of my followers who doesn't digiscrap, but has been wanting to get into it, this may be a perfect opportunity! (Shawntae!!) Or maybe you're a friend who loves free digiscrap stuff! (Val!!) Either way, it's a great giveaway and you should pop over there and sign up! All you have to do is leave a comment...how simple is that?!?!

Introducing Dream's Place Atelier!

2011-02-25T14:51:00.000-06:00

So you know that Energizer Bunny thread over at DST that keeps going and going? This is the thread that Maressa of Dream's Place Atelier (DPA) (known by her fans as simply "Mah") started. It went a little something like this: post and post and post some more to this thread. Throughout it all, Mah would give out prizes and the goal was to get the thread to be a record-breaker in the forums. Our goal was to hit 1,000 pages...that's 10,000 posts! Well, as you know, we did it! And had a blast and made so many friends while doing it!

So anyway, Mah is the new resident designer at Zig Zag Scraps! They did an interview with her to introduce her to all they're followers and fans. Ch-ch-check it out >>>here<<<
And check out her store at Zig Zag here. But if you really want a deal, check out her store at Digiscrappers Brasil! So many things on sale and this deal:

Make your own bundle for only $6.75!

And just so you know, this post is not at the bequest of Mah. No one asked me to write this. I did it because I'm a true fan and Mah takes care of her fans. So check her out! Her designs are awesome and she's awesome! Simply put, I, Kate, think that Mah, and her designs at Dream's Place Atelier are:

That is all.

Love to all!

Day (or week) of the dead

2011-02-23T13:09:00.000-06:00

I'm sick. Seems like I've been sick a lot, but really, I don't get sick all that much. I had a sinus infection that came on full force in just a couple of days. I'm pretty miserable. The coughing and wheezing this time around and really bad. I haven't slept in days. I'm running on about 4 hours of sleep in 4 days. Yeah, I'm tired. I can't wait to have a good night's sleep!

Wanted to share my latest LO with you all. I really hope to get back into the scrapping groove...been in a little bit of a rut. Anyway, here 'tis:

Credits:

Kit: Sparky Connection by Caged Bird Designs (Freebie for

Scrap Street)

Next I'm really going to try to scrap with some kits I got from DigiScrap Brasil from my favorite: Dream's Place Atelier! She's my girl! ♥ U Mah!

Next time I write, hopefully I'll be feeling much better!

Welcome new followers...friends

2011-02-19T20:23:00.000-06:00

I gotta tell you, I have made such awesome and diverse friends over at DST. There were a core bunch of us that stayed on this one thread for such a long time (a record for DST, I bet!) and we got to be friends and I think that is so cool. Just wanted to say welcome to my boring blog:

Dillie

Belladonne

Barb

Tipou

And the infamous Mars (see previous post)

I also participate pretty regularly in the Creative Forum Discussion at DST as well. (I've mentioned them quite a few times.) Here are a couple people I've met through that thread:

Tiff

Stef

I'm serious when I say these ladies are ALL great artists and/or designers and I am so glad I've met them. They continually provide me inspiration, education and laughs.

Thank you ladies. Sorry my blog isn't more exciting, but I'm glad to have you around.

Mars, this poopy post is for you

2011-02-15T06:18:00.003-06:00

   I have this friend named Mars. She's a princess. She's Filipino. A Filipino pirate. She's a preschool teacher. She's a ball buster. She's great. I have this story I'd like to share, and I'm going to dedicate it to Pirate Princess Mars. It's a story about poop (not my own, don't worry). You may stop reading now, if you wish...

   Sunday morning, I got up and sat at the computer, like every other morning. I thought I smelled cat poop. Ick. I looked everywhere. I went to go look at the litter box and noticed the opening to it was blocked off by hubby when he was doing laundry the day before. So I cleaned the litter box out thinking that was where the smell was coming from. I *thought* after I did that, the smell seemed better (that's what I get for thinking).

   When I went to get Maylee up, I noticed that the sunrise was beautiful! The sky was so pink and pretty! We looked out of one of the windows upstairs, but we couldn't see it as well as if we were looking out the kitchen window, which looks East. So I carried her downstairs to open the blinds and look out the window. I think you know where this is going...

   I got downstairs, stepped on the mat in front of the sink to open the kitchen window blinds and SQUISH. I had found the poop. With my bare feet. This, my dear friends, is not something I'd recommend. Maylee said, "eeewww, poopy!" So I cleaned it all up and it was over with. Oh, not before I laid a guilt trip on my husband about it first, though! LOL

   So that is the story about how I stepped in cat poop.

Mars, I thought of you the whole time I wrote this poopy post.

Reminiscing ruminations

2011-02-12T20:21:00.000-06:00

My little dear daughter has been giving me some T-R-O-U-B-L-E for a couple days. She sure is testing her limits and all that terrible-twos jazz. And night times have been H-E-L-L. Yes, that's the second time I've done the spell-it-out-with-hyphens-to-emphasize-the-word thing in the same paragraph. So shoot me, I'm tired. Anyway, back to night time. Maylee has been wanting me to pick her up and snuggle her (those are her words..."Can I have a snuggle?") multiple times in the middle of the night. I usually do it the first time, and then try to put my foot down if she does it again. Well, for a couple nights now, when I tell her I'm not going to pick her up (I lean over the side of the crib and hold her while she's still standing up), she has gotten VERY mad! I've never heard her scream like she did on one particular night...ever. Whew. So after a couple of really bad nights, I've decided to pick her up when she feels like she needs me to for the next two weeks. I'm hoping that the need to be snuggled constantly kinds of goes away a little. Fingers crossed.

All this attitude has got me thinking lately about how much she's grown up. I decided to scrap a page with my all-time favorite picture of Maylee. These pics were taken the day she turned one week old.

**Sigh**

**Tear**

Credits:

Papers: Sweet Pea by Teresebelle Designs

Shape mask: Teresebelle Designs

Elements: Moments by Cinzia

Alpha: My Heart's Dream (blog train) by Designs by Anita (Richards)

I'm off for now. Love to all...

Another barf-worthy post

2011-02-05T12:16:00.000-06:00

It's February. The month of LOOOOOOVE. So kill me for feeling all lovey-dovey about my man. Here's another LO I did about us. This was for the Creative Forum Discussion challenge over at DST. This week we were challenged to make a LO with no photos! For some people, this wasn't a challenge at all. Apparently, a lot of people scrap with no photos. We were supposed to scrap a memory that we didn't have any photos of. And this is what I came up with.

[Click to open in new window to read journalling. Please.]

I had a lot of emotions while creating this LO. It's a great memory, good times overcoming bad times and all that. I truly do love my husband like crazy.

Love to all in this lovey-dovey month!

Me 'n my hunny

2011-01-30T19:53:00.000-06:00

Just a quick post to show you my latest LO. This is for the Shabby Princess template #8 challenge.

You all know how in love with my husband I still am (I know...barf). He and Maylee are my favorite subjects to scrap, of course! This year, I've vowed to be in more pictures, so I'll have more pages with me in them, too (as much as I hate that!). So without further ado, here 'tis!

Credits:

Yours Truly by Shabby Princess

Font: Pea Devon

Isn't he just the cutest! I know, I know, I'm shutting up now.

Scrapping challenges!

2011-01-29T15:11:00.000-06:00

Oh, I've been a-scrappin'! I've had some interesting challenges to scrap for and I'm excited to share them!

The first challenge I scrapped for was over at The Shabby Princess. She has kind of a "non challenge" challenge going. A lot of people do a 365 project or a 52 project. She didn't want to set us up for failure so she did "Project Scrap." We have to take at least two pictures a week, and scrap 2 layouts per month. She even supplies us with templates each month! Then, at the end of the year, you'll have a book to print out! The format is a multi-picture page and a companion single-picture page. I scrapped one page with no problems (the single-picture page), the other page not so much. I scrapped the whole page and didn't like it, so I did another one. So here are my Project Scrap pages for January:

This is the one I didn't like very much. Yick, right?

Credits:

Papers: Happy Go Lucky by Shabby Princess

Stitching: Splendid by Shabby Princess

Word art: Thank You by Digital Scrapbooking Experts

Font: Adobe Casion Pro

Here's the other one I did. Much better. (Click to open in new window to see journalling)

Credits:

Papers: Happy Go Lucky by Shabby Princess

Font: Pea Martha

And the companion page:

Credits:

Papers: Princess.com and Spring Breeze by Shabby Princess

Alpha: Moody Blues by Shabby Princess

Flower: Sunrise by Ellie Lash

Font: Adobe Casion Pro

So, the next challenge I took on was one that we came up with in the Creative Forum Discussion thread over at DST. One of the regulars (Stef, check out her stuff, she's amazing) is an advocate for never using scrap kits. She's a graphic artist and is very talented. I don't know how to do a quarter of the stuff she does. So we challenged her to do a page USING a kit, and she challenged us to do a page without using a kit. To put it mildly, this was a challenge for me. I struggled with coming up with something, and then when I figured out what I wanted to do, I still struggled. But I'm pretty pleased with the finished product. And to be technical, I still don't have a finished product, because I did the LO two different ways and am waiting for the crew to tell me which one they like better. Personally, I like the second one better.

Let me know which one you guys like better. Oh, and two things, just an FYI. The background is my living room carpet (LOL!), and extracting long curly hair is HARD. And time-consuming!!

Love to all,

Getting to know you...er, me

2011-01-28T09:47:00.000-06:00

I've always like these little question/answer thingies. Feel free to copy/paste onto your blog and let's get to know eachother!

What scares you the most and why? Well, as far as someTHING that scares me, it would be snakes. I'm absolutely phobic, unfortunately. But of course, the thing I'm scared of the most is something happening to my little girl or hubby.
Do you like chocolate? Uh, is the Pope Catholic? In other words, yep. But dark chocolate is my favorite.
What do you do in your free time? Read or digital scrapbook. And check Facebook incessantly. I can't stop myself.
What makes you bored? Stupid movies that my husband has seen 1,000 times.
Do you like rainy days or snowy winter days more? Hhmmm. I think rainy days. But there's a secret behind that one ;-)
If they were president, what would you do? Oh, where do I start? Major for me? Healthcare is a must, gay marriage is a must, tax increase on wealthy is a must, bringing our troops smartly and safely home. I think taxes on cigarettes and alcohol is a good idea. People are GOING to pay extra for that stuff, it's just a fact. We need $$ where we can get it! This is just touching on what I'd want done, but it's a start.
Do you like spicy food and why? Not so much, but I wish I did because I heard on TV that it helps fight of bad germies in your body.
Tell me about someone in your family? I've kept this one blank and saved it for last because I really wanted to think about it. It's hard! I have a very...interesting family. But I'm going to take the easy road and tell you about my mother-in-law instead. She has collected her whole life, years before she even had any, for her grandchildren. When her own kids were young, she would collect things for them, and get more on top of those and put things back for her future grandkids. Her house is an absolute playground. She lives for her grandchildren, and boy are they lucky to have her.
What is your all time favorite comedy movie? Hmm. I love My Big, Fat Greek Wedding. That's a romantic comedy. Favorite dramedy is Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Favorite is The Princess Bride, which some may not consider a comedy, but I think is very funny, in a kitchy kind of way.
Tell me about your favorite book, magazine or comic? My favorite book of all-time is Beach Music by Pat Conroy. I also love Empire Falls by Richard Russo. Love The Help by Katherine Stockett, all of the Harry Potter books by Jo Rowling and, of course, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I could go on and on, but I won't.
Which was the last movie you've watched? Hhhm. We rented Salt a few weeks ago. It was good. We're Angelina Jolie fans. I have Inception to take home this weekend. I've heard good things about it.
What country you would like to visit most and why? Ireland. Or New Zealand. Or France. Or Italy. Or Australia. Or, or, or...
What was your favorite sitcom growing up? I loved Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Blossom. When I was a little older, I loved (and still love) Friends.
Do you like to shop? Hate it, hate it, hate it. I don't mind so much online, but I hate to go to stores and shop.
How often do you go online? All the time. Too much. I'm on at work, I'm on at home. I have certain sites I check ALL THE TIME. (See my Facebook reference above.)
What's your middle name? Elizabeth
Are you old fashioned? Nah. I'm too liberal to be old fashioned LOL! I like the nostalgia of old fashioned, though.
What music do you like listening to? Pop, Rock, R&B, classic rock, a cappella, classical. I love all kinds of music, even a few country groups.
Define a great life. Family. 'nuff said.
Where do you like to go to have fun? Where ever my little girl is. She's fun and funny! My hubby's also awfully fun to have around.
What is your happiest childhood memory? Out riding my bike. I would ride around for hours...all day. It's so sad that kids can't do that anymore.
Will you ever go sky diving? Probably not. If I lost weight I may consider it.
What three possessions could you could not live without? My computer (with internet), my TV (with cable) and my cell phone. These are the POSSESSIONS I wouldn't want to live without. There are much more important things I couldn't live without.
If you knew that you'd die suddenly, would you change anything about the way you are? If so, what? I wouldn't be so lazy. I'd meet with my friends more. But I'm mainly a homebody right now, and I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing because all my favoritest people are right there with me.
Who would you love to meet? Jane Austen. Jo Rowling. Angelina Jolie (and if Brad Pitt's there, that would be ok, too.). My grandmother at age 18. President Obama. Jon Stewart.Ellen Degeneres.

Blechedy blech blech

2011-01-23T06:42:00.000-06:00

Nothing. I haven't done ANYTHING! I haven't scrapped... I haven't read... I haven't...well of course I've watched TV cause that's what you do when you're just lying around. Watch TV. And I've done A LOT of just lying around because I've been sicker than a dog! This whole house has been sick! Started out with Maylee on Tuesday, then Mom caught it from her, then I caught it from her, then Brandon. What a horrible game of dominoes! It's the saddest thing in the world to see your baby so sick, not being able to control herself and vomiting and can't make it to the potty, so sad. I felt so sorry for her! Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. Thank God the bad bad stuff only lasted about 8 hours for me. But my body is so sore from vomiting. You really use muscles you usually don't to do that. Yick. The first day I felt up to it, I went to the store and bought some Clorox wipes and wiped down pretty much every surface in my house. And scrubbed bathrooms. I really hope we don't get this again this year.

So anyway, that's an update of my past week. Sorry I have nothing exciting to share. I've gotten a lot of inspiration from some ladies over at DST this past week, so I hope to do some scrapping soon!

Here's my baby, all sicky :( Don't you just wanna snuggle her up?

Even after a couple days, I knew she wasn't herself yet for two reasons. One: We got quite a bit of snow while we were sick and she hasn't asked once to go out and play in it! Two: I asked her if she wanted a chocolate pudding and she said NO! Unheard of!!

Catch-up

2011-01-12T18:23:00.000-06:00

   I think I've put off blogging for so long because I have so much to catch up on. I think I'm just going to skip it. Sorry for anyone who was truly interested. I'm sure this post will be long enough without me describing what the last month has been like! Let's just suffice it to say I had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. We had snow on Christmas and no where to go except home with our little family, so it couldn't have been better! Scrap pages will follow...

   In other news, there's not much news. Same ole, same ole, really. My mom and brother have moved back in with us. We put Spencer's bedroom in the basement and set up cable down there for him. He's pretty much a happy camper. It gives him a little more freedom and he doesn't have to ask permission all the time to watch TV in the living room. While the cable guy was here, we had him put cable in our bedroom, too. I said I'd never do this, but I kinda like it. Just some nights, it's nice to snuggle up and watch something together instead of having to try to situate ourselves together on the couch. We aren't using it non-stop and I really hope we won't. I've always been a firm believer that the bedroom should be a place of SLEEP, and not associated with shoot-em-up movies and football games. We'll see how it goes.

   I just want to mention that one of my cats, my old cat Tuxedo, is always sleeping on one of the vents in the living room. We shoo her off all the time and tell her not to be so selfish with the heat, but she doesn't listen. She covers the WHOLE vent and nothing comes out into the room! I just looked over and she's on it again. Dang cat!

   Well, onto scrapping. I've actually done quite a few pages since I posted last. I had some creative juices flowing for a couple of weeks, so here goes! (Yikes, I just looked and I've done 13 pages since then. This could take a while! Just hang in there with me. I think this is the best part, anyway!)

This is my least favorite of all I've done recently. I almost didn't even keep it, but thought, oh, what the heck.

Credits:

I want to fly by Honey Designs

Thought this one turned out really cute. Love the colors...very frosty.

Credits:

Snow Angel by Raspberry Road

Font: Chopin Script

One of me and my honey. I don't do enough of him....he's my love.

Credits:

Smooches by Irene Alexeeva

Crayon hearts from Crayon Hearts by Irene Alexeeva

Photography by Valerie at theSweetLifeImages

Now we're moving into Christmas territory.

Credits:

Scrap Orchard Christmas collab Advent

Papers: Irena Alexeeva

Elements: Irena Alexeeva, Lyndsay Riches, Fruitloop Sally, De Crow Designs, Laura Banasiak, Designs by Kat, Tracey Howard, SuzyQ Scraps, Designs by

Font: Pea Bitt Bitt

And another (really loved some of the photos in this one!):

Credits:

Template from Designs by Dani (Girl Talk)

Countdown to Christmas by Michelle Coleman (Little Dreamer Designs)

Font: sf Tick Tock

Christmas morning:

Credits:

Template by Armina Designs

Holly Jolly Christmas by Christin's Creations (Stuff to Scrap)

Font: Pea Faye

Here's proof of our White Christmas

Credits:

Christmas by Ivy's Inspirations

Word Art from Winter Wonderland by Summer Driggs

Last year, I got the idea of scrapping some recipes in 8x10 size to frame and hang on my kitchen wall. I'm even going to paint my kitchen the blue or green in the kits. I redid the Chili one I had done already because it was pretty bad, and I did a new one, too. Mmmmmm. Foooooood.

Credits:

Holiday Kit by The Shabby Princess

I did a few pages of Maylee reading. You all know how important reading is to me (us), so I thought I'd put down some reading memories. This first one was with photos from a long time ago. Sigh, my little girl is so big now, but she's still using a paci in these pics!

Credits:

Sugarshock by Sugar Hill Co. (blog train)

And with more recent pics:

Credits:

Bookworm by Chaos Lounge

Font: Pea Darlin' Deb and sf Scribbled

These photos are some of my favorite ever taken of my little girl. I had used these pics in a LO earlier in my "scrap career" and it was horrible! These pictures are just too important to me not to have in a great LO. So I redid it...and I love it. My sweet baby girl!!!!

Credits:

QP by Eryn's Scraps

Font: Pea Jane (journaling)

Pea Biggio (Word Art)

And last but not least, a LO I did of some fun we had this past weekend.

Credits:

Template by Chrissy W. (Elemental Scraps)

Sweet Pea by Digital Scrap Cafe

Alpha by Modern June Designs (she's moved blogs and I can't find her!)

Font: Pea Kristin

So that's that. I'm just going to sign off now before I start rambling on about something or other. Like how I'm listening to this awesome book at work right now, The Help by Kathryn Stockett. The narration is so great and I can't wait to get to work every morning so I can start it. I'm loving it so much!

Okay, I'm really shutting up now. Love to all!

A pre-post post

2011-01-01T19:30:00.000-06:00

This is a pre-post post. Meaning it's the post I'm posting before I post a real post. Meaning I'm going to do a real post soon, just not right now LOL! But beware, one's coming!

Love to all,

Lots of pics and links! Christmas excitement!

2010-12-17T20:57:00.000-06:00

We've had a great couple of weeks. Christmas is coming and we are excited!! We've decorated the tree, learned new songs, gotten some snow (though it was too cold and windy to go play in it), and had Christmas at the in-laws! Oh, and we've been reading "The Night Before Christmas" every night for about 2 weeks now. We are in the Christmas spirit! I can't wait until Christmas eve when we'll bake cookies and put the key on the door for Santa! Christmas here we come!

Yep, we already had Christmas at my in-laws! Remember when I told you guys we had our pictures done for my mother-in-law? And she was going to love them and I was so excited to give them to her? Wel...she loved them! We all had so much fun watching her open them. We gave them to her before any of the kids opened their gifts so it was all about them at that moment. I thought it was really special! Here's my MIL receiving them:

After that, the kids got to rip into their presents! Maylee couldn't believe all these presents were for her!

Here's a layout I did of Maylee opening her presents:

Credits:

Dreaming of Christmas by Irene Alexeeva

One of her gifts was this little puppy that walks and you can play with it in the bath, so it has these little bath goggles. Maylee decided she needed the goggles more than the puppy did:

Can you tell they're a little too small? They're for a toy dog head, not your head, Maylee!

I've kinda been on a scrapbooking streak as of late. I guess I have some creative juices running or something 'cause I'm cranking pages out left and right! And I'm glad! Sometimes I go for a couple days with no ideas and I hate that. Here's some pages I've done recently.

Credits:

Charlie by Digitreats

Credits:

Shabby Christmas Blog hop by the Studio

Papers – Digilicious, Angel Hartline Designs, Deli Scraps by Min

Elements – Deli Scraps by Min, Designs by Darlene Houghin, Kimberkatt Scraps, Lightning Bug Creations, Digilicious, eqrAveziur Graphic & Design, Angel Hartline Designs, Piggy Scraps Designs

Credits:

Enchanted Neighborhood by Irene Alexeeva

We're going to go see Santa Claus and one of his reindeer (a live reindeer!!) at the library tomorrow. We're excited! I hope Maylee sits on his lap with no problems...she was kinda leery of him last year, but in the end she sat on his lap without crying. Hopefully this year will be good as well.

Love to all!

New blog design - Chance to win

2010-12-17T15:30:00.000-06:00

I have a whole bunch of new scrap pages to share with you all, but I wanted to let you know about this contest that April Showers Blog Design is giving away. All you have to do is comment on this blog post and you could win a new blog design or a free workshop registration! How cool would it be to have a real professional design your blog? Too cool, I think! I wanna win!

Kids say the darndest things

2010-12-11T12:40:00.000-06:00

Man, kids are freakin' cute, aren't they? I know mine is, when she's not busy hiding crayons in her underwear. Yep, that's what I said. Maylee got into big trouble the other day for writing on the wall in her playroom. So when mom was taking away Maylee's crayons, she had to do a pat-down on her because the little turkey was hiding them in her underwear! Sneaky-sneak!

Anyway, back to the cute thing. I had to share these videos with you, because I do happen to think my kid's kinda cute. Really cute.

Maylee learned a new song! Santa Claus is Coming to Town. How 'bout I share a couple renditions with you?

and another:

Now I know you may not be laughing as hard as I have been over this, but let me tell you, it's cute. And I couldn't get video of the last part of the song. Where it says "So be good for goodness' sakes," Maylee says, "So be good for good and snakes!" OMG!! Hahahaha!

Which is better? Part deux

2010-12-09T20:57:00.000-06:00

I redid another scrap page. I think this one's pretty obvious as to which is the older and which is the newer, but I'd love to hear which you like better, and maybe even why.

#1

Credits:

Vintage Florals by Shabby Princess

I think I tried a little too hard on this one and I don't really love either page. Which is a shame, because the photos are amazing. They are done by my photographer I have on retainer (LOL), Valerie, at the Sweet Life Images. These pictures seem like they were so long ago! Maylee looks so little...she's such a big girl now. Anyway, I'd love some feedback.

Why do you blog?

2010-12-08T16:01:00.001-06:00

So a friend of mine, Karine, asked on her blog, "Why do you blog?" This is a good question. To be honest, I wanted to blog because I was curious to see if anyone would be interested in what I'm talking about. Turns out, they're not. After 9 months of blogging, I have 13 followers. Two of them are the same person, two of them are digital scrapbook designers and I highly doubt they actually read what I'm writing. A couple of them are blog-hop followers, so they just followed me because I followed them, so they're not reading what I'm writing, either. Oh, and one of those followers in me, LOL! I have a core group of girls, one being my mother, who read what I'm blabbing on about over here. Makes me wonder if it's worth it. But then I remember after I started doing this, a friend pointed out to me how cool it was going to be for my daughter to see this blog one day. I hadn't really even thought of that...a blog for posterity's sake. That's fine with me. And you know what, I like to blog. The followers may come, but it's really just something for me to do and a way to share things I love and are important to me. I'm not sharing to many people, but I guess that's beside the point. Would I like more followers to kinda validation this whole blogging thing on my part, sure, but I'm not going to make it that important. I hope.

Well, Christmas has come around here. Here's proof:

Credits:

Sugarplum Dreams by Shabby Princess

Maylee had such a good time helping decorate the tree. Once it was up, she messed with it for about 3 or 4 days, then has pretty much left it alone since then. Thank goodness! And Christmas on my in-laws side was moved up from Christmas Eve to earlier for the first time in 15 years. My mother-in-law understands that now that her kids have little kids, we'd really appreciate being at home for Christmas. I'm really grateful, too. I didn't know how I was going to swing going to the in-laws and put out cookies and carrots for Santa and the gang. Maylee would have been dead asleep before we got home and I don't want her to miss out on those traditions. This will be the first year she may actually remember, though I doubt it.

I did one more scrap page this past week, too. It turned out pretty cute.

Credits:

Mostly Promise by Shabby Princess

A little bit of Shabby Mommy by Shabby Princess

Victorian hearts by Bisontine Creations

Font: Pea Lovey Dovey

She's just growing up way too fast. But she's not too old to do naughty things. My mom called me from work today to say that Maylee had colored all over her playroom wall. Mom put her in time out and took her crayons away, but had to give her a pat-down because she was hiding crayons in her underwear! That little turd!

Well, I'm going to cook breakfast for dinner. Brandon's working a lot of overtime this week, because it's the last week he can get good $$ before he starts having days off for the holiday. So he's home late this week and that makes the evenings fly right by.

Thanks to my few loyal readers! I really do appreciate you guys stopping by.

Random ruminations

Excuses

Make Something Monday

What's cookin' good lookin'

Time to read Tuesday!

2012 plan and Make Something Monday

Happy New Year, friends!

Beware

Controversy

New Scrappin' Goodies

Today's PSA: Read to your children!

Some new LOs

Minimal Mondays

Hobbies, old and new. And obsessions.

New releases

Let's hear it for the boy

Me in digiscrap right now

Mommy time

Dusting off the cobwebs

Pottermore

Meatless Mondays

So much scrapping news

New collab kit from Bean Bunny Designs

Lookie here!

Grand Opening!

Happy Easter Friends!

Designs by Sweet Mesquite closing sale

My first blog hop!! Sugar Pie Scraps Designiversary!!

ADSR6

Designiversary kit...your way!

*New Release* Polkadotplum Designers Collab!

Whoa! Check this out!

Big scrapping news!

New Release and a blog hop! (That means FREEBIES!!)

Sneak peek from Jumbbumble Designs!

Bumblebee busy-ness

The rest of it

So much catching up to do!

I'm a Jumbbumble lady!!

Multiple Sclerosis Charity Collab

Bucket List

Face Swap

Inspirations by Day

Prayers

I Heart Faces

Putting it off

RAK!!

Introducing Dream's Place Atelier!

Day (or week) of the dead

Welcome new followers...friends

Mars, this poopy post is for you

Reminiscing ruminations

Another barf-worthy post

Me 'n my hunny

Scrapping challenges!

Getting to know you...er, me

Blechedy blech blech

Catch-up

A pre-post post

Lots of pics and links! Christmas excitement!

New blog design - Chance to win

Kids say the darndest things

Which is better? Part deux

Why do you blog?

New Release Polkadotplum Designers Collab!