just Dalovely and Delicious

Feeling Verklempt...

2011-10-18T15:25:00.004-04:00

So I'm feeling a little verklempt. Chiara over at the House of Paper announced today that she'll be closing the website in November. I've called HOP my online scrappy home for 5 years now. I love everyone over there and will miss them and the website.

:(

Here are my layouts for the HOP newsletter today. It's scraplift week.

For this layout, I was inspired by the lovely Heather. I love how she did her scalloped paper ribbon border and just had to try it out!
This layout shows an amazing bond that I've recently developed with these 2 amazing gals. I'm so happy to call them my friends.

And for this one I lifted the amazing Chiara. I love her layers and design.
This layout shows off my inner nerd....oh who am I kidding. It's not so "inner."

Next week will be my last time submitted projects for the HOP newsletter. I will definitely miss my assignments and working with such a fabulous Design Team. Here's hoping we stay in touch!

Cards, Cards, Cards!

2011-06-14T09:34:00.008-04:00

It's Card Week over at the House of Paper! Here are some that I made for the HOP newsletter.

For this "hello" card I used the adorable new Fancy Pants "It's the Little Things" collection. I LOVE the papers! To see my instructions on how to make that flower, check out the HOP Blog (click here). In the instructions, I used a border punch for the flower. But as you can see from this flower below, you don't have to.

Here's another card using the new Fancy Pants "It's the Little Things" collection. (Did I tell you how much I love this paper???) And those playing cards are sooo cute! I fussy-cut out all of the flowers and used some popdots for diminsion.

Here's a card using Pink Paislee's Soiree line. Sooo fun & cheery! The flowers were made using a Tim Holtz diecut (a friend let me use her Sizzix Big Shot at a recent scrap retreat!)

Here's another card using Pink Paislee's Soiree line. I really adore this collection! I used a stamp to make the flowers, then cut them out and nested them.

And here's a cute one using The Girls Paperie "Jubilee" collection. The papers are so sweet! I made the butterflies using a Martha Stewart punch.

Thanks for looking!

Echo Park Flowers

2011-05-25T15:43:00.002-04:00

Come check out the House of Paper blog! I posted instructions on how to make these adorable flowers using the Echo Park Summer Days collection! I just love how bright and cheery they are! :)

Fun with Photos Friday

2011-05-13T14:29:00.005-04:00

Found this really cool website online: Big Huge Labs

I messed around with the PhotoBooth and came up with this:

I used to love going to the photobooth in the mall when I was a kid. Brings back all sorts of memories.

They also have this one to make pop art like this:

I could waste hours playing with photos on this website!!!

Best Foot Forward - 04/07

2011-04-08T15:35:00.002-04:00

So I'm a sucker for Goodwill. I can ALWAYS find something awesome! I love this picture. I stuck my feet outta my car window and quick snapped a pic with my phone. (If anyone saw me, they would've thought I was nuts!)

Best Foot Forward - 04/06

2011-04-07T09:16:00.003-04:00

So I almost forgot to take my picture again! Sheesh! I meant to take a cute photo at my friend's house of our feet outside in the gazebo drinking our mojitos. Well, at least I remembered at the last minute before I had to leave.

Playing "footsies" with my gal-pals:

I'm going to have to staple a post-it note to my forehead to remind me to take a foot photo everyday!

Best Foot Forward - 04/05

2011-04-05T11:59:00.000-04:00

Woke up with really bad weather! VERY wet and windy! So here are my wet feet and umbrella outside of work:

At least it didn't rain all day. But I'm glad I wore my closed-toe shoes or else I would've had soggy toes!

Best Foot Forward - 04/04

2011-04-04T12:56:00.006-04:00

Ok, so I took 2 photos today. My first is my "real" photo:

I stopped at RedBox on my way to work to use the free rental code that they texted me this morning. Thought it'd be an interesting photo.

But you can't really see how adorable my shoes are! So here's a second photo:

Aren't they fabulous? They are BCBG and a friend gave them to me! They are HOT 4 inch heels! Only problem...they are about 1/2 size too big. So I put in 2 shoe inserts to make them smaller and wore them to work. Except, they're still too big and I can barely walk in them. I'm about to break my ankles. So I unfortunately won't be wearing these again. But at least I got some photos for the day!

Best Foot Forward - 04/02 & 04/03

2011-04-03T11:55:00.000-04:00

Had a great weekend with my feet! Went to the Renaissnce Fair on Saturday. I'm so mad that I forgot to take a photo of my feet while there! So I had to photoshop my feet in next to my favorite funny guitar playing Hob the Troll:

And here are my feet on Sunday, headed out to our Sunday Bible meeting:

If you're playing along, let me know! I'd love to see your feet photos.

Best Foot Forward - 04/01

2011-04-01T17:41:00.005-04:00

Over on Heather's Blog we're putting our Best Foot Forward this month! Everyday we're taking a picture of our feet and where they take us. What will my journey for April be like?

Here's the first day of April's photo:

Made a quick stop to Old Navy on my way home to return a shirt...that was too big! YES, I love that feeling! Losing a few pounds just makes clothes shopping more fun! It was a beautiful sunny day, especially after a week's worth of rain (and tornados!). Perfect weather for a Friday!

Come play along with us this month!

Band of Skulls

2011-03-29T23:18:00.002-04:00

I love watching a show, hearing a great song, and stumbling across a band you've never heard of. This was on Nurse Jackie last night:

Very cool.

This looks really cool...

2011-03-29T15:44:00.004-04:00

So I've been hearing about the new SMASH book from K&Company for the last few weeks:

And today I found their blog! Smash Stories Blog

The more I check them out, the more I want one! Each color has it's own "personality." I think there are 6 colors (red, black, orange, green, pink, blue) and at this point, I'm really diggin the red one:

But I need to see them all! Can't wait until these are released!

New Melody Ross Soul Food!

2011-03-29T10:02:00.004-04:00

Have you seen these new papers?? They are so pretty! Here I used the new Melody Ross Soul Food collection for the latest How Much is Too Much? blog challenge. This week's challenge was to scrap about your name. So much fun...here's my take on it:

Come play along with us and don't forget to grab some of the Melody Ross before it's all gone from the HOP shop!

Homemade Flowers

2011-03-18T10:28:00.004-04:00

The first day of Spring is on Sunday, so what better way to enjoy it then to make some homemade flowers?!? I posted some tutorials recently over on the House of Paper blog: Flowers 1 and Flowers 2. That's how I made these lovely projects:

Here's a layout using the BEAUTIFUL Echo Park Be Mine collection:

A card using the Echo Park Springtime collection:

And an altered gift bucket (from Target $1 spot) using new Echo Park For the Record and other Echo Park papers:
All of the new Echo Park collections (including the new PLAYGROUND!!!) can be found in the HOP shop! :) Happy Spring!

HAPPY FEET FRIDAY!!!

2011-03-11T11:39:00.014-05:00

I like taking photos of my feet. And guess what...I found out so does my scrapping buddy, Heather!! So for the past few weeks, we've been exchanging Happy Feet photos via text!

Here are some of my recent shoe photos that I've texted to Heather:

Today I'm wearing my Steve Madden's:

Here are my Vera Wang's:
Here are my Dr. Martens:
Here are my Nine West heels:

And for all you Crocs haters, here are my Crocs wedges:

I bet you're asking "So what?" Well, I'll tell you what. Heather shared with me this post from Lisa at My Life - Perfectly Imperfect and I LOVED her mini-album she made using photos of her feet. SO for the whole month of April, we are both planning to take daily pictures of our feet and then we are going to scrap them! If you notice Lisa's blog, she has some pics in her socks, and some pics in the same shoes. It doesn't have to be different shoes everyday. And this is not really focusing on the shoes (although I do love me some shoes!). It's just the adventure of where your shoes take you! Take a pic of your feet at the store, park, cleaning your house... It's just scrapping from a different point of view.

Wanna join us??? Come on...I know you have some shoes you are dying to take photos of! Who's with us?

I want cake now!

2011-02-04T15:56:00.001-05:00

Isn't this too cute?!? (Although the clown kinda scares me)

diy valentine's cakes from tiger in a jar on Vimeo.

Great Giveaway!

2011-02-04T13:43:00.002-05:00

Ohhh, what a great giveaway over at Life As Lou!

Go leave a comment, you might just win!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!

New HMITM Challenge

2011-01-31T08:01:00.003-05:00

The new How Much is Too Much? Blog Challenge is up this morning!: #164 Hot or Cold Come play along with us!

Here's mine:

All products are from the House of Paper. I used prodcuts from Bella Blvd Socialite, Echo Park Be Mine and Sassafras Lass Paper Crush.

Happy Monday!

My New Favorite Band

2011-01-28T14:29:00.006-05:00

Yes, they've been around awhile, and yes I'm just catching up, but man...the Black Keys are good. Just 2 guys. That's it. And the thick bluesy rock they produce is just awesome. This video is pretty sweet too. "But he smells like ranch dressing!" Classic. (btw, I love Patrick's "Buddy Holly" glasses. And I love how Patrick's "son" pulls a donut out of his pocket, just like Patrick. hahahaha)

Their new album "Brothers" is really good! AND it got a Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Album!

my 2011 word

2011-01-25T13:41:00.001-05:00

So, I've picked my "word" for 2011.

be.

As in:
Don't BE so frustrated all the time.
BE true to yourself.
Just BE content.

Have you picked a word?

Basic Grey Hopscotch Goodness

2011-01-25T12:52:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to share a little Basic Grey Hopscotch with you:

This layout is a lift of one of our HOP Design Team members: Suzanne.
Had a great time lifting you, Suzanne!

Watch the HOP shop for new CHA products coming in! Today we get Sassafras Lass Paper Crush! ohhhh, ahhhh!

I should have known from the start

2010-11-19T08:38:00.003-05:00

This morning I grabbed an old mix CD to listen to and this song happened to be on it. I haven't heard this song in YEARS.

I used to listen to this song A LOT back around 8/9 years ago when it first came out. I even called the radio station to ask what the song was and they mailed me a free copy of the CD! It's Prime STH's I'm Stupid (Don't Worry 'bout Me).

Prime STH - I'm Stupid (don't Worry 'bout Me) from George_78 on Vimeo.

The song is pretty lame but it's weird that I should happen to hear this song again this week. It's funny how forgotten things come out of nowhere and bring back all sorts of memories. And I guess I should realize that some things never will change.

Scrap Therapy

2010-10-16T09:54:00.005-04:00

Last night I was mad at myself for feeling a certain way. I was allowing myself to hold on to the hope of change when deep down I know there never will be any and instead of appreciating what I do have, I get bitter and resentful. So as I'm angrily brushing my teeth before bed, this song pops into my head:

OK Go - Get Over It

I do that sometimes. My brain tries to tell me something through song lyrics. I'm brushing my teeth and screaming to myself inside my head "Get Get Get Get, GET OVER IT!" And I realize, I need to scrap this feeling now, or I'll lose it. So, what do I do at 2:00 am last night? I make this layout:

(I mixed Bella Blvd with Echo Park from the House of Paper.)

I took those pictures right then based on how I felt towards myself. This layout is a message to myself so when I feel that way again, I can drag out this layout and remind myself to "get over it." There's just no one to blame for crappy situations sometimes even though you're looking to blame someone. And if you don't get over it, you could miss out on being happy with what you've got.

And I've learned (with great difficulty) to let each day be new. I try not to allow myself to wake up holding on to those bitter feelings I went to bed with...trying to still grasp at what/whom I was mad at. "You know you can't keep letting it get you down, and you can't keep dragging that dead weight around...when the morning comes."

Scrap therapy...it really does help sometimes.

HMITM #145

2010-09-06T09:41:00.003-04:00

What a great challenge from our guest designer, Jane Howden! Get in Shape!

My challenge is all about shapes - circles, squares, hearts, etc. These can be punched, chipboard, stickers, whatever you have. Choose your shape and use it at least 10 times on your layout. I’d then like to see you use the name of your shape in your title - for example “You are in my heart” or “Singing star”.

Go check it out on the blog.

Here's mine. I featured a non-traditional shape...raindrops! I loved using the Echo Park - Walk in the Park collection from the House of Paper for this!

Have a great week!

hello blog...

2010-08-24T10:19:00.007-04:00

I've missed you! I seem to have been caught up in a whirlwind of activities lately and I haven't updated my blog lately...sorry! Here's what I've been up too...

The House of Paper has gotten in a lot of GREAT new products lately...Echo Park, My Little Shoebox, Bella Blvd...and I've been using them on my recent layouts!

Here's a layout for the latest How Much is Too Much? blog challenge:

I mixed Echo Park's Sweet Summertime, Bella Blvd Midterm and My Little Shoebox Sunday Market lines. I can not WAIT to kick my feet up and relax a bit in another month or so when we take a family vacation!

And here are two layouts for this week's Design Team over at the House of Paper:

This layout I used all of Bella Blvd's new Midterm collection. Great to use on non-school layouts too!

And on this layout I mixed Bella Blvd's Midterm & Hello Beautiful with My Little Shoebox's Summer Breeze collections. This layout makes me smile. I love the little birds and the party hats! ;)

Happy Tuesday!

HMITM #140 - Flower Power

2010-08-02T08:44:00.002-04:00

The new challenge is up over at How Much is Too Much? It is the week of 8/02/10 so you have to use 8 different flowers , 2 ribbons for the month and 10 buttons or brads for the year.

Here's mine:

I used the new Echo Park Collection - Life is Good from the House of Paper. The papers are SOOO pretty!

Happy Monday!

Swimming in December

2010-07-19T09:16:00.005-04:00

YAY! My first challenge over at the How Much is Too Much? blog challenge is up today! Go check it out!

Here's my layout for the challenge:

Still LOVING the Echo Park papers! I am finding SO many uses for those collection packs! The HOP shop still has some in stock...go get it before it's gone!

Hope you get to play along with us this week! Remember that at the end of the week one participant will be featured as our "How Awesome is Too Awesome - Weekly Wow" and will be in the running to win a RAK at the end of the month!!

Flashback Week!

2010-07-13T07:00:00.004-04:00

The Design Team over at the House of Paper was challenged this week to use photos more than 10 years old. So I dug through my old albums and came up with these gems.

Now...no making fun of my very stylish feathered hair! I had my big 'ol plastic yellow digital watch and my trapper-keeper...I was ALL set for the 5th grade! I was inspired by the Scrap Yourself blog challenge on this one to come up with this childhood memory.

I am LOVING the new Echo Park collections from the House of Paper! They are so versitile! Here I used the new Walk in the Park line. I hand cut out all of those flowers and did the marker work with a black sharpie. I love how it turned out!

Here I used the Echo Park - Walk in the Park line again.

I used DMC floss to stitch those flag stickers together to make a banner.

And here's the pull out tag with journaling.

Happy Tuesday!

Aren't we the cute couple?

2010-07-12T21:16:00.002-04:00

Ahhh, I could spend hours playing on the Yearbook Yourself website. I get such a kick out of it. Here's me & my hubby as an adorable King & Queen from the 60s. I look pretty cute if I do say so myself. Hubby just looks...well odd. haha

HMITM 136

2010-07-05T09:42:00.003-04:00

The new challenge is up over at How Much is Too Much? This is especially exciting for me as this is my first week on the new Design Team for HMITM!!! This week's challenge is from the talented Georgia Keays:
Create a layout using:
4 word title
5 (or more) colors
0 flowers - and that includes your patterned paper!!

I used the adorable new Echo Park - A Walk in the Park collection from over at the House of Paper. What a fun line to play with! I loved the colors.

Happy Monday! :)

Drumroll please....

2010-07-03T08:39:00.001-04:00

Ok, I am so totally excited today as the big announcement has been made! Go check out the How Much is Too Much challenge blog to see what I'm talking about! :) :) :)

Big Idea Festival

2010-06-30T21:41:00.001-04:00

I just signed up for this free online class over at Big Picture Scrapbooking this summer. Want to play along? It's 13 fun-filled days featuring 13 talented instructors. Each instructor will share 3 project ideas - that's 39 projects, all for free! :)

All my Quirks

2010-06-29T07:28:00.000-04:00

This week over at the House of Paper the Design Team was challenged to scrap about our many quirks. Here are a couple of mine:

On the layout above I played with the new Fancy Pants Wishful collection. I made the flowers by hand...aren't they cute? They're super easy to make:

Cut out a flower shape from your paper. (I hand-cut mine.)

Ink the edges and use a pencil/skewer to rollup the edges.

Curl up all of the petals.

That's it! Layer and add a brad.

Viola! Finish with some ZVA bling and stickles!

And on the below layout I used the new Echo Park Sweet Summertime collection. See the big green circles...don't they look like I crocheted them?? I saw how to do this on another website. (Sorry, for the life of me I can't remember where I saw it or I'd give them credit.)

Here's how you make the "crochet" circles:
Cut three equal pieces of yarn. Tie one end and start braiding.

Braid a decent lenth (based on how big you want your circle). Tie off both ends and trim the ends.

Using wet glue (I used Aleene's Tacky) start coiling up the braid in a circle and glue to a piece of cardstock and let dry.

Then when dry, cut the circle from the cardstock. That's it...aren't they cute?

Hope you have a great Tuesday!

Scrap Yourself 8

2010-06-28T17:54:00.001-04:00

Here's my layout for the Scrap Yourself - Home Reflections Challenge. I'm loving the challenges from this website! So fun!

Favorite Toy

2010-06-28T12:55:00.002-04:00

This is for the These are a few of my favorite things challenge blog. (I've been having so much fun with challenge blogs lately!) This one was to do a LO on your favorite toy. Here's my journaling (the font is a little hard to read):
Growing up, Cabbage Patch Kids were all the rage. I SO wanted one! Though we didn’t always have a lot of money my parents gave me 2 over the years. My first was a little girl with short blond hair, a pacifier and the cutest green dress. I unfortunately don’t remember her name.And here I am with my second named Marc something. I loved that he came with such a stylish jacket. Over the years I have lost their socks & shoes and their birth certificates, but I still have both of themand my fond memories of playing house with them. photo-1987

Happy Monday!

Scrap Yourself 4

2010-06-27T22:26:00.005-04:00

Yup...this was from a few weeks ago but I'm still catching up on the Scrap Yourself Challenges. They are lots of fun! This challenge was "If I Could Turn Back Time." I've decided not to make this album about myself too seriously so I'm having fun with this layout. Because really...I'm sure I could come up with something more important that I would do if I could turn back time...right? haha I mean, who WOULDN'T want a time machine made out of a Delorean so you could go back in time and change things, right?!?!?!?

Really, truly...if I could buy any car, it would be a Delorean! I mean, HOW FLIPPIN COOL would it be if I drove up in one of these with the car door opening up like a wing?!?

CCG 148

2010-06-27T09:31:00.002-04:00

This is for Color Combos Galore #148. I had fun using all of the border punches! Happy Sunday!

HMITM 135

2010-06-26T15:31:00.002-04:00

This was a great challenge over at the How Much is Too Much blog: Party Like it's 1999!

Create a layout with:
1 word title
9 squares
9 brads
9 pieces of pattern paper

Using the AMAZING new Echo Park Summertime papers from the House of Paper. Such a FUN line! AND...the HOP Shop just got in the new Echo Park Walk in the Park collection! Just ordered mine...can't wait to see it in person!

Have a great weekend!

Curiouser & Curiouser

2010-06-26T10:18:00.004-04:00

Ohhhhh, I just found out some exciting news last night! But I can't say anything yet...so mums the word...well for now at least. Do I have you curious yet??? BWAH HAHAHA HAH HA (that's my evil maniacal laugh!) Check back July 5th for the big news! (well, I certainly invite you to keep checking back before then too, as I always have wonderful things to post. haha But, especially check back on July 5th if you're curious!)

like mother like daughter?

2010-06-14T15:17:00.003-04:00

Ok, someone (ahem...Heather...) just commented on the below layout: "girl, you look just like your mom! I swear, that pic could be you dressed in 70's garb!" hahahaha Actually, when I saw this photo, I did see the resemblence as well.

So I decided to Yearbook Myself and add the hair and glasses to a photo of myself. So whatta think? Do I look like my mom? haha

Scrap Yourself 6 - Oh the places you'll go

2010-06-14T14:59:00.002-04:00

Here's another layout for the Scrap Yourself Challenge. I decided to scrap about Hawaii. My parents took me when I was 10 months old...of course I don't remember a thing. I still give them a hard time about it. ("You really couldn't wait until I was a teenager???" haha) I'd love to go back one day!

Frozen Tongue

2010-06-07T23:52:00.002-04:00

I love this photo of Belicia! I got to play with my new Fancy Pants Wishful Thinking papers and stickers that arrived today from the House of Paper! So fun!!! I did this for the new How Much is Too Much? Challenge #134: Use 6 patterned papers and 6 stickers. Have a great week! :)

More Glimmer Mist fun!

2010-06-01T08:01:00.000-04:00

I also made this little layout using mostly Pink Paislee from the House of Paper. This is for the new Scrap Yourself Challenge Blog. This was for their first prompt and I'm catching up. The challenge was to scrap a High School photo.

I used a sheet of Bazzill White Trellis Embossed Cardstock and sprayed Glimmer Mist and Smooch all over it. You can use a papertowel to gently dab and rub in the colors together if you want.

After it dried completely, I took out my sandpaper and sanded some of the embossed cardstock to show the white color below.

And that's how I got my background paper! Thanks for looking.

Glimmer Mist & Smooch FUN!

2010-06-01T08:00:00.009-04:00

This week the DT over at the House of Paper used Glimmer Mist & Smooch on our projects. Here's what I came up with.

First up, this layout is about my bestest friend Amy. :) I used Lily Bee and some great new ZVA Bling all from the House of Paper. I used a simple white background paper with some black words on it from 7Gypsies and used Glimmer Mist to match the Lily Bee. (Oh, and see alllll those hearts?? YUP...all handcut by me! No cricut or tool here! Just me and my scissors! Old school, baby...old school.)

I made my own pattern by cutting out a heart shape from some thin cardboard/chipboard (the stuff you get when you order paper from the House of Paper). Cut your shape out carefully with an exacto knife. You want both the positive and negative image. Don't cut your image too close to the edge.

Using your Glimmer Mist, lightly spray a few times over your image. Move your hand while spraying (don't stay in one spot) to get a nice light coat. You may need a few sprays to cover the area.

Use several colors if desired. Let each color dry a bit between coats as to not smear it. You'll also get different colors if you layer colors! This is my final background paper that is now one of a kind and matches exactly what I want!

Next up is a layout about a recent trip to a winery. I used new Basic Grey Max & Whiskers and lots of Glimmer Mist & Smooch!

I started by taking this adorable Basic Grey Doiley...

and flipped it over to use as my pattern. I used another white/black sheet of paper from 7Gypsies and then used the Glimmer Mist and spritzed all the corners. You may need to hold down the corners a bit with one hand/pencil while spraying with the other hand. This paper is thinner then the chipboard (from previous example) and the corner may lift a little when wet. Try not to over-spray. Carefully pick up the doiley and let both sheets dry.

You're left with cute Glimmer Misted sprayed corners!

Then take your Smooch Pearlized Accent Ink and an acrylic stamp. Use the brush and add the ink to your stamp. Paint it on...but not too goopy.

Then I stamped the corner...reinked, stamped again...and repeated a few times. Let this ink dry before touching it. (mine's a little goopy)

I also sprayed some plain white prima flowers to match AND that lovely piece of lace (thanks, Chiara!) to match as well. One tip I have for spritzing flowers and lace...I like to use a styrofoam plate to spray on. Because then when you spray, it doesn't all get soaked up by the paper/cardboard. You are left with a little "puddle" of spray. I take my flower/lace and really drag it through that puddle for really intense color! If you just lightly spray, you get light color. You soak it in the color...well, you get the point! You can get different shades of colors depending on how much spritz you use. And don't forget, you can spray your chipboard letters too! (See my title)

Go grab some Smooch & Glimmer Mist and get creative!!

New Echo Park

2010-05-31T13:56:00.003-04:00

Totally loving this new collection that arrived over at the HOP shop! The bright colors are SO fun! This is for the challenge over at How Much is Too Much? I had to use 17 letters in the title and 43 items. (phew!)

I handmade these flowers; aren't they cute??

just some little My Little Shoebox sugar...

2010-05-25T08:00:00.000-04:00

Just another layout using some My Little Shoebox. A lot of this is the Just Add Butter line (40% off right now over at House of Paper!) and some mix-n-match diecuts, papers, overlays and alphas all from MLS. And lovin the Glimmer Mist! I mixed two different colors for the flowers and sprayed the chipboard alpha too! This layout is about my friend Rebecca who moved to NJ. I miss her, but everytime we see each other, we pick right back up where we left off...love that about her! :)

Have a great Tuesday!

very nice surprise today...

2010-05-24T18:47:00.002-04:00

I got a VERY nice surprise today from the Scrap Yourself blog! Check it out. Thanks so much! What an honor! I plan on playing along every week with their challenges...they look so fun!

Lovely Lily Bee!

2010-05-22T21:07:00.002-04:00

Here's a layout using some of the great new Lovely line from Lily Bee...as found over at the House of paper:

Have a great weekend!

Inspired By...

2010-05-20T23:19:00.003-04:00

This week's Design Team were given the challenge of being inspired by fellow HOP scrappers...which isn't really a challenge at all! There's always so many great projects to be inspired by in there! It WAS a challenge though to pick only 2 layouts to be inspired by!

For this layout I was inspired by Margaret. (I'll post a link to Margaret's layout ASAP) I used lots of My Little Shoebox from House of Paper. Love this photo of my baby girl (now 8! yikes!). She had the CUTEST cheeks!

And for this one I was inspired by Jennifer G. I used the ALL new Basic Grey Capella line from the HOP shop!

Thanks Margaret & Jennifer for the great inspiration!

Cheesecake Factory

2010-05-15T22:17:00.004-04:00

The girls are spending the weekend with Orlando's family. Orlando normally works all day on Saturdays, but took the day off to have a "Date-Day" with me. :) We went to the movies and then to the Cheesecake Factory for a late lunch/early dinner. (would that be a linner or a lupper?)

We always have to get the Taquitos!

Orlando in heaven eating a Taquito.

Here's the Carne Asada meal that we shared.

Soooo good!

5 for Friday

2010-05-13T09:37:00.008-04:00

It's been a very nice QUIET week! We all need one of those every now and then.

New Hair

There's just something about changing your looks that makes you feel good. So my hair was turning blonder and blonder and I was ready for a change. I think this color is called hazelnut...ironic since I hate nuts, but it's a lovely shade of brown.

Flamingo Juice

So, I will be consuming this fine product this evening with some of my favorite scrappy gals! Can NOT wait! This is one of my favorite drinks. It's like a fruity long island iced tea (w/o the cola) Here's the recipe in case you ever want to try it:

Flamingo Juice
This will make a small pitcher...whether you choose to share or not is up to you.

Liquor Part
1 cup Vodka
1 cup Tequila
1 cup White Puerto Rican Rum
1 cup Gin
1 cup Triple Sec

I mix the liquor all up and put it in a jug. You can keep this separate from the juice to make your drink stronger or weaker when adding them together. (Plus in the ODD event that you actually have any left, you can put this in the freezer and it'll keep since there's no juice in it!)

Juice Part
1 2/3 cups Sweet & Sour Mix (liquid. I PREFER Rose's!)
1 2/3 cups Pineapple Juice
1 2/3 cups Cranberry Juice

Now you have two pitchers both with about the same amout of liquid. Just pour equal amounts into each cup. If you plan on drinking it all in one night, just dump both pitchers together (because you may not be able to measure properly after a couple of drinks. haha) If you like yours less sweet (a-hem...me!) use less juice part. To enjoy properly, you must drink in a pink glass preferrably one with flamingos on it!

Wednesday night TV on ABC

I love the new comedys that all started their first year on ABC Wednesday night this season: The Middle, Modern Family, and Cougar Town. All incredibly funny and unique. No laugh track. No studio audience. And some similar interviewing techniques as used on the best comedy out there...the Office. All three are very funny!

New Bras!
Ok, so some of you may think this is TMI, but I just got new bras and they are fabulous! (And NO, I'm not posting a picture of me in my new bras! haha) As you ladies know, buying bras is one of the worst ways to spend an afternoon. I recently spent about 2 hours in a dressing room trying to find a style that works. I finally found a great one from Playtex and bought it in three different colors! As the Playtex website puts it, "When the girls are happy, I'm happy!" ;)

MLS Mini Alphas

These are the best things since sliced bread...really! I think I use them just about on EVERYTHING lately! They come in every color under the sun and are small enough to write out things or use with a title on your page or label things. Just really LOVE them! You can get these over at the House of Paper!

Happy Friday! :)

5 for Friday

2010-05-07T14:26:00.007-04:00

I missed last week because I played hooky from work and went to a winery with my family. So without further ado here are 5 of my favorite things right now....

Vino!

How can I go to a winery and not include wine as one of my favorites from the week??? Let's just say that I've already gone through a couple of bottles. (Hey...it was National Scrapbook Day last Saturday and I was celebrating, wasn't I?) The Lakeridge Winery was great! Free tours and tastings!! (How can you go wrong with free tastings?? haha) My favorite was the Southern White.

New Bath Towels

My husband and I are going on 13 years of marriage. We got a whole butt-load of towels at our bridal shower and have used them for all these years. But, we decided the towels need to finally retire and I bought new towels. There is nothing nicer then stepping out of a shower and using a nice big fluffy towel!

Painted Toenails

There is just something about painting my toenails that makes my feet feel happy. (Even my jacked-up crooked 4th toe feels happy with a painted toenail!)

Panera Bread
I think I could eat here everyday...well, at least a few times a week. I love their sandwiches and soups and salads and breads...it's all good.

Like a Boss

So my boss is gone for the next month which means I get to feel like one for awhile! :) Well, I still have a sub boss, but things always get nice a quiet for awhile during times like this. Ahhhhh.

Enjoy your Friday!

Wouldn't Change...

2010-05-04T08:00:00.001-04:00

This weeks theme for the Design Team over at the House of Paper was to scrap something we wouldn't change about ourselves. Well I took a little liberty and asked my family to write down something they wouldn't want me to change. I used lots of new Lily Bee Lovely papers and chipboard flowers as well as Glimmer MIST!

For this one I used Sassafras, Basic Grey, Smooch Ink, Stickles and lots of other goodies...all from HOP:

Thanks for looking. Happy Tuesday! :)

More Sassafras Lovin'

2010-05-02T21:39:00.002-04:00

Here's another layout I did for NSD weekend. I used the new Sassafras papers and stickers. Had a great time scrapping this weekend! Hope you did too!

Happy OFFICIAL National Scrapbook Day!

2010-05-02T00:51:00.004-04:00

Well, shoot...I can't even say that now. I'm looking at the clock and it's after midnight, so technically it's NOT National Scrapbook Day anymore! Oh, well. I'm still up being all crafty. Here's some stuff I got done in the past 24 hours or so...not much considering I spent half the day at a wedding today! But I had fun. I hope to get some more stuff done tonight and tomorrow.
This was for the "One Word That Describes Me" challenge:

This was for the "My Favorite Body Part on Myself" challenge:

And this was for the "House of Paper Color Scheme" challenge (using purple, gray, black & white:

Don't forget to check out the House of Paper for more challenges and give-aways this weekend! Hope your weekend was extra scrappy!

Happy National Scrapook Day!

2010-04-30T17:59:00.005-04:00

Well, I'm officially a few hours early...but who's counting??? Don't forget to head on over to the House of Paper for lots of great challenges, prizes and fun! :)

I'm on the cover of CK!

2010-04-27T13:08:00.003-04:00

***Insert jaw-dropping look of shock here!!!*** I know, right?!?! It's too good to be true...because it ISN'T true! haha Had you fooled for a second, didn't I??? I found this mock CK cover on their website. (Click here to make your own and fool your friends.) How much fun is that?

For more fun, don't forget to visit the House of Paper this weekend....it's NATIONAL SCRAPBOOKING DAY on Saturday and we'll be partying Friday - Sunday. Come join the festivities and get your creative on.

Mini-Album Week over at HOP

2010-04-27T08:00:00.000-04:00

It's mini-album time over at the House of Paper. Here's what I came up with:

I had SO much fun making this mini-album. I used a TON of new My Little Shoebox products! The album is a Maya Road Coaster Chipboard Blossom Book from my stash. (as well as some ribbon) But everything else was from HOP: My Little Shoebox Flying High pp, overlay & diecut, Imaginary Friends pp, Just Add Butter pp, Lil Critter pp, Mini-Alphas and Sprinkle Alphas (multiple colors), Who's There overlay, Imagine a Forest overlay, Wonderful overlay, Sky's the Limit Diecut...and Stickles (multiple colors). Phew! It was a lot of work but I love how it turned out.

If you've made it this far, thanks for looking! :) Happy Tuesday.

5 for Friday

2010-04-23T08:29:00.010-04:00

It's been a rough week for me. I went to the dentist to have some work done and my TMJ flared up and has made me miserable. And then I couldn't sleep last night. But I'm going to be happy today. Here are 5 of my favorite things this week:

Vintage Jewelry
I've been looking for a vintage looking necklace with chains like this one I found on etsy.

But the ones I've been seeing are around $20/$30 plus shipping. I was shopping with the girls last week at Marshall's and found a black shirt with a VERY similar necklace attached...for only $12! And I can take the necklace off to wear with other things. I love finding deals like that!

Magazine Subscriptions
I love it when I can find bargains when renewing my scrapbooking magazine subscriptions. I just renewed Scrapbook, Etc. for 2 years for the price of one. Love that!

Administrative Professionals Day
So Secretaries Day (errr, I mean Administrative Professionals Day if I'm being PC)was this Wednesday and our boss took us out to lunch at Ruby Tuesdays. I am in love with their fruit teas. All of the flavors are good but mango is my favorite. They are delicious...and you get free refills. (And if you ask nicely they'll give you a free refill to-go as well!) Had a great burger as well.

NetFlix Instant Movies

Ok, so NetFlix is pretty great...you get movies mailed to you every couple of days as soon as you return the last one. BUT, I totally love the NetFlix Instant movies. While they don't have brand new movies, they do have a large assortment of older favorites as well as TV series! Plug it into the TV through the xBox and I'm all set!

Pizza Night!

I love knowing that I get to go home and eat pizza for dinner. I adore pizza...but it has to be good NY style...none of this Domino's crap.

Happy Friday! :)

Beautiful Bloggers!

2010-04-21T09:02:00.002-04:00

I got this awarded to me by Jill over at her blog "Drawn 2 Scrapping." Thanks, Jill! :)

Terms of the award: Must list 10 things about yourself, thank the person who gave it to you and pass it onto 10 wonderful bloggers:

10 THINGS ABOUT ME
1. I love to sniff & fondle new scrap paper when it arrives on my doorstep from the House of Paper. There's something about new paper that is mesmerizing...I don't want to cut it up for awhile.
2. I love it when my toenails are painted.
3. I love it when books I've reserved at the library come in. Books on hold...just for ME!
4. I crack my ankles frequently. It freaks people out.
5. I hate sneakers...except for Converse. And even those I don't wear a lot.
6. I really don't like the customer service part of my job. I hate answering the phones at work...ugh.
7. I wish I had more time to play my piano, read, and scrap.
8. I love Ruby Tuesday's Mango Iced Tea. Mmm.
9. I prefer salty snacks over sweet snacks.
10. I need a new iPod...mine is completely full. I have to delete songs to add new ones. :(

And now, my turn to pass this on to 10 other wonderful bloggers!
1) Jacquie
2) Mari
3) Jen
4) Gina
5) Suzanne
6) Lady Grace
7) Audrey
8) Mimi
9) Karen
10) Debbi T

Hope you all keep it going & recognize your fellow bloggers/scrappers!

Originals VS. Covers

2010-04-14T13:09:00.007-04:00

So I was talking with a friend recently and this subject came up: What's better...the origianl song or the remake?" My initial reaction is to say "The original is always better." But then I got to thinking about some songs and found that I would actually consider some remakes to be better then the original. Some examples?

Here is "With a Little Help From My Friends", originally written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, released on The Beatles album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967. It is sung by Ringo Starr.

And here is a cover by Joe Cocker as performed at Woodstock in 1969.

Now normally, I would automatically say the Beatles version, hands down, is the better version. But I actually prefer Joe Cocker's cover. Maybe it's because I don't really like any song that Ringo sings. Maybe it's because Joe's is more soulful.

Another example? How about another song written by Paul McCartney? "Live and Let Die" is the theme song to the 1973 James Bond film.

And here is Guns N' Roses cover from 1991 on their Use Your Illusion I album.

Again, typically I would say Paul's version is better. Don't get me wrong...I love Paul's original. But I think one of the reasons I'm siding with GNR's cover is because I actually heard theirs before I heard the original. So that brings me to an important question...If you hear the cover before you hear the original, will that affect which one you like better?

For example, the Black Crowes did a cover of "Hard to Handle" on their Shake Your Money Maker album in 1990.

I actually was unaware for years that the original was by Otis Redding in 1968.

As much as I've come to love the original by Otis, the Black Crowe's version will always be my favorite because I've loved it longer.

Of course there's a long list of covers that should NEVER have been released in comparison to the originals. But there will always be those remakes that hold a place dear to my heart. What do you think? Do you have any covers that you prefer?

Spring Cleaning

2010-04-13T08:19:00.003-04:00

It's Spring Cleaning for the DT over at the House of Paper. Here are my two projects for the week.

I used the new Pink Paislee 365 Degrees papers for this one:

And for this one I used the new Basic Grey Kioshi papers as well as lots of Glimmerized flowers:

Happy Tuesday!

Glimmer Mist/Smooch Fun!

2010-04-11T13:50:00.006-04:00

I've totally been having fun lately with my new Glimmer Mist and Smooch! (smooch...such a fun word to say. SMOOCH! Go ahead...no one is listening. Say it outloud! There...wasn't that fun? haha)

Here are some flowers the I glammed up:

I used Glimmer Mist Pink Taffy and Smooch Sassy Pink Paint just on the edges on the left one and Glimmer Mist Suede on the right. I LOVE how they shimmer!!

I used Glimmer Mist Pink Taffy on this homemade flower. The middle was made with pearl seed-beads and Glossy Accents.

And here's another homemade flower with Smooch Wineberry.

Just bought more from the House of Paper...can't wait to make more flowers this week!

Five Favorites for Friday!

2010-04-09T08:30:00.009-04:00

Ok, I missed last Friday because I was busy with the family since we all had the day off. But I want to get into the habit of posting my 5 favorites every Friday. I think it's good to remind myself of the little things in life that make me happy.

McDonald's Iced Tea
It's freshly brewed. It's in a huge cup. It's got lots of ice. And it's only $1. Of course I get the unsweet tea. I had a headache this morning so I ran through the drive-thru and picked up a bacon (welldone), egg and cheese biscuit and a large unsweet tea. Mmmmm. Pop a few Excedrin along with that and I'll be feeling better in no time.

The Blind Side
Ok, so it wasn't a phenomenal movie. But it was good. We watched it as a family last night and we all enjoyed it. It's so hard to find a movie that we'll all watch and actually like.

The Public Library

I love reading but hate paying for books I may or may not like. Can I just tell you how appreciative I am of our public library? They have a great website that I can put things on hold and then they email me when they're ready for pickup. So I walk-in, check-out, and walk-out. AND if they don't happen to have a book I want, they will get it from another library from across the state! How cool is that?

Glimmer Mist

Ok, so I'm a little late hopping on this band-wagon. But better late than never. I'm hesitant to try new things with my scrapbooking especially when it involves tools (go ahead, rub it in Amy, Karen & Heather...) or something potentially messy. Glimmer Mist is a liquid spray...hence...MESSY. But the HOP just got some in stock so I had to try it out. Whoa. It is wicked cool. Spray it in a shoebox and it's not too messy either. I'm hooked. I just bought more!

Bob Marley Fridays

So I have a tradition at work. Friday afternoons, I crank up the Bob Marley at my desk. It's the perfect way to get me in the mood for the weekend. I've been doing it long enough that even my workmate will pop his head in my office on Friday afternoon's and ask "You got Bob on yet?" :)

What are your favorites today? Hope you enjoy your Friday!

I'm being published!

2010-04-06T15:11:00.005-04:00

For as long as I've been scrapping (12+ years), I've always thought it would be awesome to be published...to be one of THOSE layouts that you see in magazines and books. And well...I've never given it a go. I've never submitted anything anywhere. I never really even looked into how to go about it. And in the back of my mind I never thought my stuff was good enough to be in one of those books anyway.

Well, last month I saw this call for layouts on the Memory Makers Magazine website for an upcoming book. And I thought, "what the heck?" I mean at least I can say that I tried, right? A total of 10 layouts could be submitted per person and I figured I'd submit as many as I was able to get done. I only ended up getting 4 layouts done to submit. (Submissions must be never-before-seen: never posted in an online gallery and never published. So they were brand new layouts that I had to do for the call.)

I felt accomplished for at least submitting 4 layouts and was satisfied for trying. This was my first go at this afterall. Well...I got an email from Memory Makers. I'm being PUBLISHED! And not just one layout...ALL FREAKING FOUR LAYOUTS! (*insert shocked face*) Maybe they were desperate for layouts (the idea book is supposed to contain 500+ layouts). Maybe not that many people submitted. Or maybe my layouts are actually not too shabby. Regardless of the reason, I am thrilled. The book won't be published until Summer 2011 and I'm assuming it will be available at JoAnn's and Michaels stores and maybe even bookstores. As compensation, I get a free copy of the book. So you'll have to wait until next year to see my four layouts! :)

April PageMaps

2010-04-01T09:09:00.004-04:00

Can I tell you that I am just giddy today?? One of my layouts is featured on the PageMaps website for April!! Ok, so it's not quite like being published in a book or anything (ahem...I beleive I may have a another post in the future discussing future publication somewhere *insert big cheesy grin*)...BUT in my book it's certainly an honor! I appreciate PageMaps for the beautiful sketches and the accompanying layouts for always providing inspiration on those days when a little extra spark of creativity is needed.
So here's the sketch I was provided:

And here's my layout:

I used all products from the House of Paper: new Crate Paper Brook collection, My Little Shoebox Mini Alphas and Sprinkle Glaze Alphas, and some Stickles.
You can see my layout on both the PageMaps website as well as the April PageMaps Newsletter.
What a great way for me to start April! :)

My Little Shoebox and Bella Blvd

2010-03-30T08:00:00.002-04:00

Loving the new releases that House of Paper has recently brought in!
Here's some new My Little Shoebox - Flying High:

And here's the new Bella Blvd All Inclusive:

appreciate this

2010-03-27T16:52:00.003-04:00

I did this layout for a PageMaps contest that they have going on this month. I love the sketch and I LOVE the new Basic Grey Green at Heart line! Go grab some over at the House of Paper!

Five Favorites for Friday!

2010-03-26T15:53:00.010-04:00

Ok, after a not so great night and not getting to bed until almost 2am (not going there...) I'm actually having a pretty good day. I just saw this Five Favorites on Friday from Heather's blog and thought, "Hey...I wanna do that too!" :)

Feeling Better
After almost a week of being sick with a horrible cold/sinus thing, it feels GREAT to be able to breathe out of both nostrils again! AHHHH!

Driving Home
There is nothing like driving home on a Friday afternoon from work. That is except, driving home from work on a Friday...in Spring...with the windows down...blaring Guns N Roses! "ShaNaNaNaNaNaKnees!"

eBay
Ok, so I haven't bought anything off of eBay in years! But per the idea of Karen, I stocked up on some white Primas to use my new Glimmer Mist on. Got some great deals! Thanks, Karen!

Happy Mail
I love coming home to find a package from the House of Paper! Got some of the new Basic Grey and Pink Paislee! Can't wait to play with it this weekend!

Strawberries
We went strawberry picking last Friday at a local farm and had so much fun! I grabbed a plant (only $2.00!) and have a bet going with Oscar's mom that I can keep my plant living longer then hers! (I kill all plants...) So far so good!

whatever...

2010-03-17T10:02:00.002-04:00

I know the term used as a retort has been around for years. (wikipedia) But, I think more recently the term "whatever" has become overused and abused. (whatevs, evs...) I think this clock pretty much sums it up. (I think it's funny though.)

I still like the word, but feel stupid when it's the only comeback I can think of. Why, when I'm upset, can I only come up with "whatever"?? However, this feels like my life lately. Just one big whatever. I'm sick and tired of dealing with crap and just want to write in permanent marker on my forehead "WHATEVER" and point to said writing whenever someone says something to me. It feels like nothing I do matters or changes anything. So what difference does it make, eh?

If I could find a good synonym, I'd use it instead. But I can't, so I'm stuck with saying "whatever."

Just Breathe

2010-03-16T13:45:00.002-04:00

I'm really liking Pearl Jam's new song "Just Breathe." They performed it on SNL last weekend. (I think Eddie needs a hairbrush though...looking a little poofy.)

"Did I say that I need you?
Did I say that I want you?
Oh, if I didn’t I’m a fool you see,
no one knows this more than me.
As I come clean."

You Know How to Rock

2010-03-14T11:09:00.003-04:00

You know the difference between LOLA and LAYLA.
You know the WHO is not a question.
You know someone loved Rock 'N Roll before JOAN
and the only covers you've ever liked are ALBUM COVERS.
You know heaven has a STAIRWAY and a DOOR.
You FOUGHT THE LAW but loved the POLICE.
And your pink came with a FLOYD.
You know HOW TO ROCK.

This is a commercial that plays around here for Hard Rock Hotel & Casino with the song "Radar Love" playing in the background. I love the commercial. You can see it here: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=896211383275

I think I'd like to put those words on a layout one day...I think it would be wicked cool.

Dear Lizzy Banner

2010-03-11T22:47:00.004-05:00

Here's some more Dear Lizzy love! Banners seem to be very popular in scrapbooking right now. So I decided to make one of my own using my 2010 word: HAPPY. I love how it turned out!

You can find all of the new Dear Lizzy collection over at the House of Paper!

We Are Family

2010-03-09T07:30:00.000-05:00

This week's Design Team theme was to use the lyrics from the Sister Sledge song "We Are Family." Very appropriate since we just added on 4 new Design Team members to our happy little House of Paper Family!

Here's what I came up with using the new Crate Paper Brook & Pink Plum lines:

I adore both of these collections! You can get all of these Crate goodies from the House of Paper.

Pink Plum Picture Frame

2010-03-07T22:58:00.004-05:00

March is National Craft Month! So I got crafty with a picture frame. It needed a little something and the new Crate Pink Plum is PERFECT!

Here's the before of the picture frame that I found lying around my house:

And here's the after with a little help from the new Pink Plum Collection:

You can find all the new Crate Pink Plum (as well as Brook) over at the House of Paper. Do something creative this month. Happy Crafting!

Nerdy Bird

2010-03-07T11:55:00.002-05:00

I got to play with the new Sassafras Lass Nerdy Bird collection today! It's so fun! I found this old photo of my girls that I just love. You can find all the new Sassafras stuff over at the House of Paper...go get yours before it's gone!

(p.s. Yes, I realize I misspelled a word on my layout. Yes, it ticks me off but I can't change it now! oh well...gives it character I guess.)

Today...

2010-03-02T08:58:00.002-05:00

I saw this on Ali Edward's blog. A good reminder about using your 2010 word everyday. I will remind myself today of all the reasons I should be happy and not focus on all the things that I think will make me happy. What's your word and how will you reflect on your word today?

My Prize Pack

2010-02-25T16:49:00.001-05:00

Looky what came in the mail today!!

My Heidi Swapp Prize Pack from PeachyCheap!!! Looks like lots of great stuff! THANKS so much!

I will not be snarky.

2010-02-25T09:01:00.009-05:00

I will not be snarky.
I will not be snarky.
I won't!
Lather rinse repeat.
I will not be....oh who am I kidding.

So I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Or rather, I woke up just fine but somebody put me on the wrong side of the bed. (not mentioning any names here.) So whilst (ha! inside joke...there I am being snarky again...*eyeroll*) getting ready for work, I kept repeating this in my head: "I'm not snarky. I'm happier then a bird with a flippin french fry!"

So I bite my tongue and actually manage to leave the house without saying one snarky comment. (well, maybe one slipped out, but who's counting.)

I get into my car. My nice clean, vacuumed, scrubbed down car that I JUST cleaned the other day. Now, hubby had to borrow my car yesterday and I politely asked him to "Keep my car CLEAN! Don't leave any of your freakin' trash in it!" Well, guess what I found in my cupholder??? A Blow-Pop wrapper and sticky lollipop stick!!! Not only was it trash, it was STICKY trash!! He didn't even bother to wrap the gooey stick inside the wrapper! ARRRGH.

So what did my snarky self do?? I carefully took the stick and wrapper, got out of my car, walked PAST the outside garbage can, and jammed it onto the side of HIS car window right above his door handle. The gooey candy stick helped it stay in place on the glass window. This way he won't miss this little message from me when he takes the girls to school this morning.

Ahh. I feel better. It's kinda like the horse head left in that guy's bed from the Godfather. Or Tony Soprano leaving a dead fish for someone. They were warning messages. Well, this is my message...PICK UP YOUR FLIPPIN TRASH! I'M NOT YOUR MAID!

Wonder if he'll get the message.
Blow-Pops

+ Car Window

= My SNARKY Message

I'm on a horse.

2010-02-23T21:09:00.002-05:00

I don't like commercials. I fast-forward through as many as possible. But I happened to catch this one and it made me laugh. "I'm on a horse." hahahaha Seen any good commercials lately?

i want to ride my bicycle?

2010-02-23T20:34:00.003-05:00

Working with some more Dear Lizzy this week for the House of Paper. It's funny how different your kids can be from one another. My youngest has no desire to ride her bike. I asked her the other day "Do you want to learn to ride?" And her response "My instinct tells me NOT to." Maybe she's just wise beyond her years.

...happy...

2010-02-22T07:00:00.001-05:00

Somebody put me in a foul mood last night...not mentioning names. So here are a few little reminders to myself to think of my 2010 word more often...happy. These were all found on etsy.

from theloveshop

from volume 25

from paper relish

And my favorite:

from studio mela

I love these prints. They make me happy. Today I will be happy.

PageMaps

2010-02-21T14:40:00.002-05:00

Here's the sketch for the Scrapdango Sketch Challenge over at PageMaps:

And here's my take. I have a ton of Basic Grey papers lying around and thought I'd try to use some up. (Latharia's trying to get us to use up our Basic Grey over at the House of Paper! Nice try, I still have about 5 inches of this paper!)

I won!

2010-02-19T22:46:00.002-05:00

Looky looky! That's me!!! I won something from Peachy Cheap! How cool is that? Here's the original post from Heidi Swapp's blog. I think I won some awesome My Mind's Eye stuff! I'll take a pic and post here when I get it in the mail! Thanks Heidi...my weekend just got a little sweeter! :)

Waiting For That Day

2010-02-18T13:17:00.003-05:00

Ok, I'll admit it...I love George Michael. Yes, he's pop & cheesy but he's had some great songs over the years. He's my guilty pleasure artist on my iPod. This song is one of my favorites. When I saw my dad last month, he taught me the chords to play this on the guitar. Now if only I could get my fingers to cooperate and learn to play it...

"I know I'll never see your face again.
C'mon now. I've got to be strong now."

I love how he throws in a little Rolling Stones at the end...
"You can't always get what you want."

...the daily grind...

2010-02-16T08:00:00.000-05:00

This week's theme over at the House of Paper was to document your daily going-ons. I did an A.M. and a P.M. layout. (Notice I snuck a Beatles song in for both of my layout titles? How clever am I?)

A Day in the Life

That little monster pretty much sums up how I feel about mornings. I used Sassafras Monstrosity papers and journaling tag, AC Thickers, MLS mini-alphas...all found at the HOP shop.

A Hard Day's Night

I like my evenings much better! I used Sassafras Amplify papers, letter, stickers and blossoms all from the HOP shop.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look!

New American Crafts - Dear Lizzy!

2010-02-13T15:43:00.002-05:00

Guess what we got in at the House of Paper store this week? The new AC Dear Lizzy Spring collection is so pretty! I just got mine in the mail today from the HOP shop and I had to play with it! Go grab yours before it's all gone!

Sugar Rush frame

2010-02-10T16:55:00.001-05:00

This frame was featured in the last Basic Grey Newsletter so I made one for myself using BG Sugar Rush. I love how it turned out. (That's me as a kid.)

Love is in the air...

2010-02-09T08:38:00.002-05:00

Love is in the air over at the House of Paper. This week, the Design Team got to show some love in their projects.
This layout was made using Sassafras Monstrosity papers.

Here's a card I made using some of the new Fancy Pants papers.

Go check out the HOP shop for some GREAT sales!

Them Crooked Vultures

2010-02-07T11:26:00.003-05:00

Did anyone catch Them Crooked Vultures on SNL this week? I really enjoyed it. Them Crooked Vultures is a rock supergroup that includes John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) and Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age). Back in 2005 Dave said "The next project that I'm trying to initiate involves me on drums, Josh Homme on guitar, and John Paul Jones playing bass. That’s the next album. That wouldn’t suck."

And true to his words, it doesn't!

52 Challenges - Fabulous Flamingals

2010-02-04T20:32:00.002-05:00

Here's another layout inspired by a Starbucks gift card for my 52 Challenges:

I used mostly Basic Grey Urban Prairie. This is me, Heather & Karen...the fabulous FlaminGals. NO, not Flaming Gals. FlaminGals...as in flamingo gals. It's a long story. But I get to see them tomorrow night and scrap! Can't wait!

I Gotta Feeling!

2010-02-02T07:00:00.002-05:00

This week's theme over at the House of Paper was to use lyrics from the Black Eyed Peas song "I Gotta Feeling." Here are my two layouts:
I took a little liberty with the lyrics for this one. The lyrics should be "party everyday, p-p-p-party everyday." Well, I swapped out party for potty. haha The layout is about the outhouse my dad made and the old man that sits inside.

The Beatles Rockband was released on 09.09.09 and we had a little release party at our house and played all night. It was fun!

I used the new Making Memories Love Struck papers and Fancy Pants Frosted papers as well as lots of goodies...all from the House of Paper.

52 Challenges - Dress

2010-02-01T23:45:00.004-05:00

Here's another layout I did using the first challenge from the new book I got. The challenge was to be inspired by an outfit. I love vintage dresses especially from the 50s. (I love the show Mad Men!) I found this dress online and fell in love:

So I used it for my inspiration for this layout:

I found misc. rose prints online, printed & cut them out. I used American Craft Thickers and Elle's Studio Journaling Tags from the HOP store. TFL!

How well do you know Lost?

2010-02-01T16:40:00.001-05:00

Here's a fun little quiz to get you in the mood for tomorrow night's Final Season premiere episode!

How well do you know Lost?great free widgetsWidgetboxMore info

52 More Scrapbooking Challenges

2010-01-31T21:57:00.005-05:00

So I bought this book a few months ago and I love it. I've been posting challenges from it every week over at the House of Paper. The 3rd challenge was to be inspired by a home-decor item.

I found this bedding online at Bed, Bath & Beyond and fell in love with it. (I wish I actually owned it.) So I used it as inspiration.

Here's what I came up with:

I used old misc. Basic Grey scraps from my stash and My Little Shoebox mini-alphas and MME Bling alphas from HOP. I hand-stitched the lines at the top and made the flowers by hand. It was great fun to be inspired by a comforter! Come play along with us over at the House of Paper! :)

The Hunger Games

2010-01-30T01:39:00.000-05:00

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
It's 1:30 a.m. and I just finished the book up. I had a hard time putting it down the last couple of days! Though this wouldn't be the kind of book that I would immediately run to read, I'm glad I did. 16 year old Katniss is a great heroine...one you want to root for and win. By the time you get to the last page and read "End of Book One," you eagerly want to rush out and read the next book just to see what happens. I thoroughly enjoyed this book!

View all my reviews >>

We Want YOU!

2010-01-20T09:38:00.004-05:00

Are you creative, outgoing, talented, self motivated and a team player? Then we want you! House of Paper is looking for 2 or 3 new Design Team members to complete our team. We will announce the designers once they have been contacted and accept their positions. The submission deadline is February 10, 2010.

For more details, visit our HOP blog. Come be a part of our team!

It Might Get Loud

2010-01-19T09:13:00.004-05:00

I got this from Netflix last week. I started watcing it and realized "Hold the phone...my Dad's gonna like this!" My parents came for a visit this weekend. So I waited to watch the rest of it with him. Watching this little gem of a documentary with my dad made it even better. When some old footage popped on the screen or they'd talk about a certain guitar, I'd pause the movie for a sec because he'd start to tell me a little story about the music group or tell me about interesting facts the guitar. This movie was an awesome way to combine three different generations of amazing guitarists. After watching it, even my dad appreciated the Edge and Jack White (though he had never heard of either). I'd give this movie 5 stars! Really really good.

A Perfect Day Would Be...

2010-01-19T07:00:00.001-05:00

Our Design Team theme this week over at the House of Paper was "a Perfect Day Would Be..." I could've gone all serious on this topic and told you how I really felt...but what fun is that? haha I chose to take a more silly route this week:
I used the new Fancy Pants Frosted collection for this one. It's a letter to me from my feet reminding me of the simple pleasures in life.

And this is the new Fancy Pants Vintage Valentine. I would love to get all my online scrap gals together to scrap! How fun would that be?!?

I love the new Teresa Collins Tear Drops...they look like little chandelier dangly things. haha I used them on both layouts. They come in a pack and I took them apart to use one on each layout.

my 2010 word....HAPPY

2010-01-13T09:03:00.004-05:00

So, I picked a word for 2010...HAPPY. It doesnt' mean that I'm not...well at least not all the time. But it's something I need more of in my life. I need to focus on the more important things. I need to work on trying to enjoy the good in my life and just be...happy.