CAUGHT IN TIME.....

It's been almost 5 months....

2011-08-28T17:26:00.004-04:00

...but I finally sat down and scrapped today.

First, yes we survived the hurricane, didn't even lose power. But as the sun started to come out this afternoon the winds really began to kick up. Next thing I knew I heard a crack and looked out the window...we lost a tree!

There it is snapped off about 12ft in the air, over the neighbors fence and blocking their driveway. Ironically they are one of the few people on my street that did evacuate for the storm and had just returned home. The tree just missed their car, they hadn't parked in their garage yet. So Dan helped trim off some branches so they can drive under and has called someone for an estimate on having it removed.

So now on to the scrappyness...

I think I forgot to show you my February PCC page...

It's a combo of papers from the Simple Stories "Life Documented" line & Bo Bunny "Olivia. Just a bunch of little pictures and a page of journaling.

Today I made my March PCC page...

Simple Stories "Life Documented" papers, some BasicGrey "olivia" letter stickers & labelsm and I also pulled out some rubons from CI Creative Cafe line. (Trying to use some stash up)

Then I made this layout...

I love my "Retro Camera" app on my phone and I wanted to print out some of the pictures I took with it. Used some more old stuff on this one. Pattern papers from Basic Grey (ledger & scraps of solid distressed blues) The houndstooth paper is from Pink Paislee "Bayberry Cove" and the blue sticker border is from PP "fetching". Raw chipboard Thickers that I misted with "denim" Glimmer Mist" Played around with the journaling position for over an hour I think...not sure I'm pleased with it, but it's done.

It felt good today, I wrote out ideas for all my other PCC pages up to an including August. Just need to start gathering/printing all the pictures.

Now I got to get dinner on the grill...

First an earthquake & now a hurricane....

2011-08-26T10:23:00.003-04:00

What a crazy week! Having never experienced much more than a minor tremor Tuesday's quake was something else. Working on the 3rd floor of a very old building we were really moving! Just about everyone in the building thought it was coming down around us!

Now tomorrow we expect Irene to hit. After much debate we decided that the kids and I will stay put here at home. Got lots of non-perishable food items, batteries, camp lanterns and candles. I have moved my car to a "tree free" zone. We have had one car totaled in our driveway and on another occasion one damaged by a falling tree branch. Over the years we have thinned our trees on our property, but not taking any chances, especially since I just purchased it in April. Dan is being recalled to work, so his vehicle will be where ever he's getting picked up to be hauled onto the island.

So other than that we've been busy the last several weekends. A weekend in Philadelphia, got to meet up with Beth at a Phillies game, a soccer tournament and got to visit with my brother who was back east visiting from Montana.

No scrapping has been done yet but I am ready.

It's mostly clean and ready to go...

2011-08-07T20:23:00.004-04:00

First a disclaimer: I by no means make fabulous videos...especially since I'm using my point and shoot camera for this one (and the lighting in this one is kinda bad)! Now I can't figure out how to turn the video, so you have to look at it sideways. This will probably be my first and last video.

So here it is, hope you don't get a neck cramp...

So now it's clean and ready to go.
May start printing out some pictures tonight.....

Hello blogging world...remember me???

2011-08-05T20:27:00.002-04:00

I've been feeling the itch to get creative again. I think I needed to step back and regroup after the sudden closing of CC. It was such a big part of my life for SO long I think I actually had to do a type of mourning.

So here I am actually sitting in my dusty scraproom organizing and cleaning. I actually still had a bag of samples from winter CHA still in need of putting away and I have the remnants from my last kit and then an extra box of stuff I ordered from CC out on my desk.

I've relaxed and enjoyed the summer so far...still working out and trying to be healthier. I found myself actually reading a scrap magazine the other day and enjoying myself and then this week I was actually jotting ideas for LO's down on a sticky note at work. These I am taking as signs that I am now healed and ready to create.

Can't wait to create, but first I must get this room cleaned. I've already rearranged some of the furniture.

Stay tuned....

The 3 S's...

2011-03-30T20:56:00.002-04:00

Sick, sad,soccer...not necessarily in that order. I guess you could just reverse it. Soccer...yes 2x's a week and then a game every weekend and MLS started last weekend with the home opener at PPL Park. (So happy we renewed our season tickets!)

Sad...due to family issues Jamie is closing Coordinates Collections. This has been such a big part of my life for over 5 years. I started out lurking almost from the beginning, then became a member/subscriber and then since 2006 I have been on the Design Team. Yes it has been a great site allowing me to share my creativity, but it has also been a great source of friendships. Even though many of us have never met...everyone is SO supportive and friendly. I will truly miss CC. Believe me the thought even slipped into my mind that maybe I could buy it from Jamie and continue on with CC...I don't have the time (to keep running CC at the same high rate of service) or probably the money either. On this note my blog will probably get busier...I will have to share projects...(can't leave you hanging with PCC...luv'n this project!)

Sick...came down with the ghastly stomach flu last weekend right after we got home from the Union game Saturday night! Thoroughly disgusting...I will not go in to details. Didn't surface until Monday when I immediately started disinfecting everything. Knock wood...nobody else in the house has come down with it. Hopefully it will stay that way.

Working on projects with the last CC kit this week :(

So that's where I've been and where I'm heading...

Rainy Sunday here

2011-03-06T19:36:00.004-05:00

Well today was suppose to be the first game of the spring soccer season (yesterday the girls started, but B has decided to quit...new commitments with dance(it was a long hard decision for her)) but right as we got to church we got the message that the league had postponed all games due to the weather. We will now play a week longer in May...by then the weather should be nicer.

This gave me an extra day to catch my breath even though we have Dan's mom visiting. Got to watch a little bit of pre-season baseball...it looked nice and sunny in Florida. Then I did watch a little bit of the Nascar race before we headed out to dinner.

Finally got around to uploading my March projects over at Coordinates Collections today. Loved the mix of Fancy Pants "It's your Day" papers with Jillibean Soup "Pasta Fagioli" in the "Party Time" kit. Great colors!

My favorite layout this month....

No alpha in this kit so I used some Jillibean corrugated alphas from my stash. I didn't have enough of the same color to complete my title, so I used the Jenni Bowlin paint dabber included in the kit to make them all match. From the CC store I bought some of the Pasta Fagioli sprouts and used a few here layering with foam squares. The red cardstock, pattern paper and Jenni Bowlin diecut journaling spot were included in the kit. I added kraft cardstock and some Jillibean corrugated stars from my stash. I used a brown pen for outlining my pattern papers/cardstock and drawing that frame around the edge of the background pattern paper. I am really finding that I like the look of a few hand drawn elements on my layouts lately.

You can check out the rest of my projects and my fellow DT members projects here in the gallery. As usual some pretty inspiring stuff. I will be posting full details and pictures of my projects on the CC blog on Tuesday. Would you like to win this kit? Check out the details in this blog post at Jillibean Soup.

March!Really???

2011-03-01T19:44:00.002-05:00

Yikes...it's MARCH!
Boy that month went fast and I am so ready for spring, but seriously I need a few more days in February....I need to get my little mini album done. Hoping to get it finished tonight/tomorrow and then get pictures taken. Have to email everything to J by the 3rd then we post in the gallery on the 5th.

Stay tuned...busy creating here.

It's been a sad week

2011-02-25T23:17:00.003-05:00

I have neglected most all my projects this week. I just didn't have the heart. A dear scrappy friend and fellow DT member, Kimberly Madrid, lost her son Monday night after a long battle with cancer...he was just 7...way to soon. Today was his funeral and Texas is too far, but I was there in spirit. Red was Ryan's favorite color and she asked that those attending would wear red. Many of us at CC honored her wishes and wore red today and posted in our galleries.

Rest in Peace Ryan.

{Party Time Peek}

2011-02-21T17:41:00.003-05:00

I planned on getting more creating done this weekend, but really only got one layout done with the kit. Later tonight I'm going to work on that mini-album a bit more, but before I run off to the trainer I thought I'd share a peek of what I created this afternoon...

Love the dimension on this one! I used that Jenni Bowlin paint dabber from the kit to paint some Jillibean corrugated alphas from my stash(no alphas in this kit) and then I layered some Pasta Fagioli journaling sprouts (an addon for this months kit) with foam dots. Oh and last month I picked up some of those corrugated shapes from the store...here I just inked a bit. Pattern papers and Jenni Bowlin journaling die cut were included in the "Party Time" kit.

Speaking of parties...tomorrow I officially become the mother of a teenager. Baked a nice chocolate cake today for him (another reason why I should head out the door now to the gym!)

So 2 posts in one week...shocking huh?
Don't forget Friday I will have a PCC post on the CC blog.

Finally getting creative...

2011-02-19T20:02:00.003-05:00

Well really it's my own fault...I went to the bookstore again!
I've read two books this month..."The House at Riverton" by Kate Morton (this I started on the plane ride to/from CHA) and then this week I read "the Year of the Fog" by Michelle Richmond. Both very different from each other, but also very good. So since I finished up the latter last night I began playing around today.

First I did a little watercolor to go with a poem a friends father wrote. He's very creative (with words) and was thinking he wanted to submit it for a card and asked me to do an illustration. So I painted the first thing that came to mind after reading the poem. I've had the poem for a few weeks...so I needed to get it done.

Another friend also asked me to do an album and that is sitting in the corner staring at me, but I needed to break in to my "Party Time" kit from Coordinates Collections! I've printed a few pictures and started messing around with the little Maya Road chipboard album included in the kit. So far I've primed the front & back covers and a few of the inner pages with some white acrylic paint, then I played a bit with the Jenni Bowlin "Paint Dabber" that comes in the kit on two of the pages. In my kit I got the light blue paint.."soap powder"...isn't that a pretty name?
This is what I came up with...I simply "dabbed" the acrylic paint on the white pages making little rows of imperfect circles. After the paint dried I lightly sanded, to smooth down any uneven paint ridges, and then I outlined the circles with a fine-point black Sharpie. How fun and easy! I also picked up another dabber in the CC store in orange, it's called "chicken feed". The colors are absolutely perfect with this kit.

I also finally got pictures of my January PCC page and uploaded it to my gallery. On Friday I will be posting on the CC blog about it.

Maybe on Monday I'll have a few more peeks to share.

Super Bowl Sunday

2011-02-06T17:03:00.004-05:00

No big party plans here...just hanging out with the family. I have a good book I'm reading so I will probably read/watch the game. Don't really have a fave to win, but I guess I'd like to see the Packers win since the Steelers have won a few bowls lately (shhh...don't tell my Pittsburgh friends).

Anyway...nothing too exciting here today. Doing laundry, grocery shopping, and working on my January PCC page today. I really love the colors in the Simple Stories "Life Documented" kit and I have so many things in my stash that compliment these papers. Today I decided to use papers from the "Life Documented" kit & BoBunny "Olivia" (available in the PCC addon section of the CC store). Then I was trying to decide how I wanted to embellish and with what? Then I thought of some chipboard I had in my stash...Crate Paper "Seasons" (I think this was an addon available with a kit a few years ago)

Yes I am using that cute little bird and a few of the hearts from this chipboard set. I have my pages (remember I'm doing the 6x12" size) all finished and just need to get them photographed. Phew...one thing checked off my to do list for this upcoming week.

Yesterday was reveal day over at CC. The DT uploaded their projects using the February "Song Birds" & "Blue Skies" kits. As usual some really fun inspiring stuff...you can check it out here.

My favorite project this month...

The kraft cardstock, Bazzill Just the Edge, and Jillibean sprout were added to the kit from my stash. I made a mask to spray the stars on my page with the Glimmer Mist included in the kit. There will be more on that when I do my blog post on Wednesday on the Coordinates Collections blog.

So that's all I have for now.
Hope you enjoyed your weekend.

I'm home.

2011-02-01T16:55:00.004-05:00

What a super busy fun 3 days, but I do hate that commute across the country. The 3 hour time difference is a real pain. Anyway arrived to sunny warm California on Friday...it turned cool and rainy and then I came home late last night to a light snow.

CHA was awesome as usual. I did a really big post with pictures on the CC blog today and I know Sarah will be finishing up with a second post and more pictures either tonight or sometime in the near future. All in all we got 10 complete kits done (that's 5 months) and the bones for an 11th started. Plus we picked out some fun stuff just to stock in the CC store.

It was great seeing Jamie & Lisa again...I wish we all lived closer. It was fun meeting Sarah and Robyn. Robyn even came back to our room after dinner Saturday night to help select papers for the kits...made it much easier having 4 designers there hanging papers and voicing their opinions. We spent Sunday on the show floor selecting the embellishments for these kits and doing a few more make-n-takes.

Speaking of the show floor it was fun seeing familiar faces in some of our favorite booths. Sometimes you even have a chance to chat and share some candy. (Maybe they will even let you have some of their secret stash of candy...we were in the right booth at the right time for the stash of Twix bars to be brought out) We also got to meet the people from Simple Stories who make the "Life Documented " kit that we are using as a base for {PCC}. They loved our idea and just like us loved Lisa's videos.

I'm not sharing more CHA pictures of scrap supplies (you can see these like I mentioned on the CC blog) but I will share a picture of B wearing some of the stuff I brought home from CHA.

A super cute apron from Fancy Pants, a necklace from Bella Blvd, a Make-n-Take necklace that I made at October Afternoon, and she has a few pins in her pocket from Pebbles (they are pink of course).

Making a list & checking it twice

2011-01-24T22:08:00.002-05:00

I know Christmas is over, but I'm making a packing list and a list of things that need to get done by Thursday. I spent this weekend finishing up my projects with the February "Blue Skies" kit. They have to be emailed to Jamie by the 3rd and I certainly don't want the idea of having to finish up projects looming while in California. Got to get stuff for my peeps squared away so they can survive on their own while I'm gone and then I need to decide what I want to pack. I will be happy to leave the heavy coat, scarves, and gloves in New Jersey!

Besides seeing all the great crafting stuff at CHA I'm excited to spend time with Jamie, Lisa and I finally get to meet Sarah...yay! She is filling in for Susie this year who is off on her own adventure in India. Also I get to meet another CC DT member, Robyn! She will be there with Imaginesce, but is going to hang with us a bit.

Well not sure if I will blog again before CHA, but I will probably post something while we are there. Don't forget if you are looking for something to do this weekend Coordinates Collections is having their Winter Cyber Crop. Some fun challenges, games, and of course there will be prizes.

{3 day weekend}

2011-01-17T14:04:00.003-05:00

I went back to work last Friday...one day, just to check to see what had piled up on my desk. A co-worker gave me a book she just finished and I dove into it Friday afternoon when I got home. I read all night (barely coming up for air) and then it took me another 2 hours early Satrurday morning.

It was a good easy read. About two little girls meeting one summer...their adventures and underlying family issues. I love a book that keeps me sucked in for the entire time. This is also a good reason why I either get books out of the library or share with friends...once I get sucked in there is no stopping me until I've finished it. The rest of the day Saturday was spent doing those errands I wanted to get done last Saturday & I also had to take B to get her eyes examined...she was complaining about not being able to see at school. Big prescription change !!

Sunday afternoon I finished up the layout I started on Thursday and then began thinking about my next layout. This morning I put my ideas to paper and finished up a 2nd layout with the "Blue Skies" kit. Do you ever get sucked into a style/technique when you are creating? Last month 2 of my projects had hand drawn frames on the background cardstock...this month it's outlining. Here's some pieces for today's layout...

See how the paper pieces are outlined in brown pen! Did the same thing with some of the pieces on that first layout. Hmmm....will have to ponder this.

I've also had a little idea brewing for quite sometime now and have been saving up wine corks for it. This morning I decided to see how close I was to my plan and to see if I still liked the idea...

I have a plan to make these framed decor items to hang in the kitchen. I just loosely laid out what I have saved up in a frame I had picked up a while ago on sale (not necessarily the frame I'm going to use). I think I'm going to proceed with this idea, but I do have a complaint. I do not like the "plastic" wine corks...they do not look right in this project...so I couldn't use any of them. It seems though that a lot of vineyards are switching to these "corks"...at least a lot of the wines I've had lately. I guess I will have to change up and try some new wines to see if I can find more "real" corks.

I survived

2011-01-13T12:39:00.003-05:00

I will not deny that there was pain involved. Tears were shed on Monday between the time that anesthesia was wearing off and the time I got home and took one of the prescription pain killers that we had to stop and get at the pharmacy. Ummm...why couldn't they drug me before I left? I think I spent the rest of Monday and into Tuesday morning drugged, iced, and a sleep.

Lots of soft foods this week...applesauce, greek yogurt, pureed sweet potatoes, pudding. At thos point I think I'm fantasizing about eating something crunchy. (Why would someone sit next to me on the sofa yesterday eating nacho chips?...yes it did happen and I finally asked them to stop or leave the room)

Today I haven't taken any pain meds, my bottom jaw just feels bruised. I actually ventured into the scrap room this morning and started on a layout with the Blue Skies kit (must be feeling like myself). On Sunday I printed out the pictures, but never sat down to work with it.

Here's a little peek...
I still have to glue it all down and add the journaling, but it's a start. Taking a break now for lunch I have some yummy sweet potatoes warming in the microwave.

I got it all cleaned and somewhat organized

2011-01-09T13:23:00.004-05:00

I guess it was a good thing it snowed and ruined my plans because I did manage to get it all cleaned up and even had time to waste on the computer too. I don't think I ever gave you a tour, so since it's all clean I'll let you have a little peek...

This is an antique bench table (it actually came from the farm kitchen where my mother was raised and it was used in various places in my childhood home...now it's mine) The back piece folds down making a 32x48" work surface. It nearly takes up all the floor space, but if I need to spread out it's good. Most of the time I keep it in "bench mode". The seat lid lifts up and I store some xyron refills and a few other oddities that I don't need to get at on a regular basis. Yes, the whole thing is sitting on a towel, but it makes it easier(and I won't scratch the floor) to move out to open. On top I have my xyron, paper trimmer, and my PCC album and papers. While organizing I placed my papers and embellies I picked up specifically for this project into a Cropper Hopper paper folder. I figured it would keep the basics handy when doing my monthly pages. Next to and underneath I have albums and a few photo storage boxes (my pre-digi days)

This shelving unit is tucked into the corner. Here is where I store my papers and stickers. I've sorted most papers my manufacturer as well as stickers too. They are all placed in Cropper Hopper folders & paper holders. The bottom shelf has some old albums and a basket full of idea books. There is also a small basket containing empty mini albums (you never know when you may need one) and another basket holds some sheets of canvas, cork, and a few small album kits.

The clean desk/work area. I know I've shown you how the drawers are organized so I won't go into that again. Underneath I have my printer on a rolling cart with drawers. In the drawers I store ink, photo paper, regular paper, and page protectors. There is also a small bin under there where I store cardstock scraps.

On one side of the closet I have added storage cubes with drawers, a small plastic "tool" container and a few bins. In the storage cube I have drawers for stamps (acrylic & wooden) Another small drawer has a bunch of Heidi Swapp stuff (I went on a craze with her stuff a few years ago, but I still use some here and there). Then in the big drawers...one dedicated just to Thickers ( it's over flowing right now), one for chipboard shapes, another for other chipboard alphas, then the bottom drawer holds cards of trims, felt shapes and other "fabric" type embellishments.

That's it a quick tour of my space.

Now it's a good thing I got it all cleaned up because look what came yesterday while I was cleaning....

A nice big box of scrappy goodness. I got my February "Blue Skies" kit and some addons for the kit as well as my PCC project. I think I might just try to find some great pictures to go with this kit this afternoon, then I can get my scrappy mojo going.

Such great plans for today...

2011-01-08T10:31:00.004-05:00

...drop Fritz off at a local hunting lodge with scouts(spending the weekend), drive to Ocean City for a kettle bell/TRX class, home change, go to get new dance tights for Becca(somehow she's gone through 3 pairs this year, that never happens. defective tights???), swing out to DSW to pick up a pair of shoes I want, stop on way home and get groceries. Sounds like a productive day right?

No..it started snowing about 7:30 am! Driving out to drop off for scouts was a nightmare. Roads haven't been plowed yet, had to detour because of a "head on accident". What should have been a 30 minute round trip was a 1hr 15min. So I'm not attempting to go anywhere else. Maybe tomorrow.

This is the view out my scraproom window right now...

You can barely tell I drove in the driveway about an hour ago. They are calling for approx. 6", so nothing like the Christmas storm. I should be able to get some errands done tomorrow.

Since I'm cooped up indoors today, maybe it will prompt me to tackle this...

It's a disaster! I think the last two months of kit scraps are laying there and what I pulled out to start on my PCC project. Behind this on the chair are some left over stuffs from Christmas wrapping/packing. Ugh, but it's got to be done and no time like the present right?

Speaking of kits, here's my favorite layout from the January "Sleigh Ride" kit.

Back to my productive day theory...it all needs to get done because I will be out of commission for the beginning of next week. Monday morning I'm having all 4 of my wisdom teeth extracted. Three of them are in and one is impacted. The reason I'm finally having this done is that one of the teeth now has a cavity in it. According to the oral surgeon both that tooth and the impacted one should be causing me lots of pain, but knock wood I'm not in any. However, I think this may change next week. Since I'm "older" and according to the surgeon these teeth should have been removed 20 years ago; the roots are quite developed and it may be a bit more painful than normal for my recovery. So I'm thinking pain meds, soft pureed foods, and no working out next week for me.

Okay I've wasted enough time on here for now. I'm sure I'll take a break from cleaning up this mess and waste more time here later.

Happy New Year & a little PCC update...

2011-01-01T21:25:00.004-05:00

A new year, a fresh start... resolutions to be made and broken? I'm not making any myself but I have a goal to continue what I started this fall...taking care of ME. This doesn't mean neglecting my family, but if I take time for me...it seems to benefit everyone. I feel better, I'm happier...I notice a change (and just not the 2 pants sizes either) I wonder if they do too(mentally that is)? I will admit this is easier for me to do now, because the kids can be left by themselves for an hour or two while I attend a workout, get a haircut, etc. Also looking forward to travels (California & Florida and whatever else may pop up this year)

So today I was going through the papers in the Project Calendar Collections starter kit and found this quote... "Warning: Dates on calendar are closer than they appear". This quote was made for me. At work I'm always scheduling things out several weeks in advance; which leads me to think everything in my life is weeks in advance. Next thing I know its an anniversary or birthday and I haven't prepared. Now if you tell me "tomorrow is..." or "next Saturday is..." I can totally get it and can have all my ducks in a row. I think that quote ought to be my "quote" for the year...a little personal mantra.

On that note I have some PCC updates to share that didn't make it into today's post on the Coordinates Collections blog. First is the cover of my album...

I started with the Pink Paislee 6x12 Artisan album that I picked up in the CC store. I began by misting the cover with "Denim" glimmer mist by Tattered Angels. I then cut,frayed and stitched a piece of printed canvas to use as a base for my title collage. The collage consist of some stuff from my stash (Donna Downey canvas tree(inked/misted); tag,diecut,&chipboard frame by Creative Cafe; & a button) and then I added a sticker from the main kit.

Now my title page...

The page is made up of papers from the main kit(the Live Life block was mounted with foam tape to make it "pop"). To it I added a Pink Paislee pleated ribbon along the bottom, some Pink Paislee whimsy letter stickers and then some fabric Thickers. I adhered this page directly to one of the chipboard sheets included with the album. (I will not put this in a page protector)

That's where I stand with the project right now. Are you playing along too? There is now a special gallery over at Coordinates Collections just for PCC projects. Off to upload these now.

The kids maybe sledding, but I'm on a sleigh ride...

2010-12-28T14:39:00.003-05:00

This afternoon I am playing with the January "Sleigh Ride" kit from Coordinates Collections!
Have you seen it yet?

A mix of Echo Park "Winter Time" and Fancy Pants "Hot Chocolate" with some trims and crystals from Bazzill & Prima.

My ideas are flowing and I've printed out a few photos (I think I may change one to black & white though). I've only finished one this afternoon and here's a little peek for you...

I used a kraft sprout & shipping tag by Jillibean Soup (from my stash/CC store) and the clear crystal is from my stash....otherwise everything else can be found in the "Sleigh Ride" kit.

Well off to create some more.

approximately 20 inches later...

2010-12-27T19:14:00.002-05:00

We are digging out...
(well this is Dan and soon after I took this picture the neighbor showed up with his plow and completely plowed out the driveway)

It started with a dusting Christmas night and then began in earnest yesterday morning around 7am and didn't stop until the wee hours of this morning. Today was sunny and very windy...we now have some 2-3ft drifts. Yesterday and today Fritz was gone for a good portion of the day sledding in a sand/gravel pit that is no longer mined. (our only source of hills around here) Me I stayed holed up inside editing pictures, working on some projects, and doing a little reading.

Let's back track to Christmas Eve...at our church the children put on a Christmas Pageant at the 5:30pm service. This year I was the mother of "Gabriel" and the "innkeeper".

I didn't really get a good shot of the innkeeper, but here is "Gabriel" in all her angelic glory. After we arrived home we were greeted by Santa on the back of the fire engine and he delivered the first present. Had a nice light dinner, played some Wii and folded a little laundry.

We told the kids they couldn't get up until 7am, so I think they had us up and downstairs by 7:30am (not sure who woke who up)

One quick shot before the wrapping paper started flying! My sister and her family came down for the afternoon and an early dinner. Yesterday we were suppose to go to my Dad's but that didn't happen because of the storm. All in all it was a good holiday!

Now I need to get my mojo on. Have a "creative post" on the CC blog on Wednesday(that's what I worked on today) and I printed out pictures to use with my January kit. Stay tuned.

yes,yes...I'm still here, but haven't been bloggin

2010-12-22T19:08:00.002-05:00

Just caught up in the festivities of the month! Band concerts, christmas parties, etc.

I am now officially done work until next year :wink: Tomorrow I will spend most of the morning wrapping presents. Every year I vow to wrap as I go and I don't...oh well I just that's the way it goes. I'm also going to get my eyebrows waxed and go to a kettle bell class. Trying to keep up with the workouts to counter act all the yummy food. This will be my 3rd workout for the week.

The only thing I haven't gotten done on my to do list are Christmas cards. Possibly I will throw something together next week and send out New Years cards. If you have received cards from me in the past...I'm sorry mines not there yet, but here's hoping I get one to you next week.

Cooking dinner Christmas Day here at our house...my sister and her family will be attending. We are suppose to have dinner at my Dad's on Sunday...but that may get snowed out.

Got a great email from Beth yesterday about the Phillies...thanks I really enjoyed it and passed it along to some fellow phans!

Next week I will be scrapping. I have my January kit and my PCC project to work on and I have a creative post due next Wednesday...yikes!

That's all I have for now...so if I don't get on between now and the 25th....enjoy your holiday!

brrr....Florida was cold!

2010-12-12T19:44:00.005-05:00

So glad I brought along jackets and my Uggs! While walking to Epcot one morning we actually saw ice on the walkway!!! Anyway Disney was quite nice decked out for the holidays (we are planning on returning again this time next year) First thing different I noticed was in the lobby of our hotel...Each lobby at every resort had a giant gingerbread creation! Do you recognize whose feet are hanging out of the chimney? Next year I plan on visiting the lobby in as many resorts as I can to see all the different gingerbread creations.

Of course I have to show a few pictures of the topiaries in Epcot....

and then here's Pluto and his house sitting in the gardens between Future World & the World Showcase.

Here's a picture of the Magic Kingdom as we arrived by boat one night. In all the years that we have come to Disney World this is the first time we arrived at the Magic Kingdom via this form of transportation. An interesting piece of useless Disney trivia: they have the 7th largest Navy in the world. (This fact was imparted to us by a cast member while waiting for a parade to begin...I have other interesting tidbits too, maybe they will come up in another post)

One of the special holiday events we attended was "Mickey's Very Magical Christmas" with a special admission ticket to the Magic Kingdom you can spend 5hrs in the park enjoying special shows, riding the attractions, enjoying complimentary cookies & hot cocoa, catching a fireworks show and watching a parade on Main Street as it snows. (yes I said snow...the magic of Disney makes it snow on Main Street...though I think it was cold enough to snow on it's own)

Here's a shot of the sparkly castle as we were walking to Tomorrowland.

and here we are waiting for the parade to come down Main Street.

Of course at the end of every Christmas parade is Santa.

All in all it was a great vacation and like I said we plan on spending sometime early next December in Disney. It was a great way to kick off the holiday activity. The only major hitch was our flight was delayed almost 2hrs coming home. I finally crawled into bed at 2am Thursday morning and had to be at my desk by 8:30am! Ugh....Thursday was a LONG day.

Friday night we went and bought a fresh tree.

Saturday I got up and went to a workout (kettle bells and TRX) then came home and started decorating. I can say with the help of the whole family the outside decorations/lights went up, the artificial tree in the living room went up and the fresh tree in the family room is up, as well as other decorations throughout the house.

Here's a look at the tree in the family room.

Today was church, some laundry, and pretty much just vegging. Still have lots to catch up on, a few last minute gifts to buy, and everything still needs to be wrapped...but I am on my way!

Lot's of lumps & bumps...

2010-11-28T18:25:00.005-05:00

Sitting here looking at the layout I completed this afternoon, I've come to realize that this month's projects are very dimensional. Lot's of chipboard, popdots, and that really cool pom-pom trim by Prima available as addons this month. If you haven't...you must pick up some of that pom-pom trim...besides looking pretty laying on my scrap desk, it's really fun to use!( I picked up all 3 colors)

On this layout I added some paint & glitter to some chipboard swirls I had in my stash.....

After placing the swirls on the page I then decided to layer items on top of the chipboard. I think in one spot there is about 6 layers (counting the papers)

On this one it's mostly chipboard and pop-dots...

Chipboard layered on top of chipboard and can you see that fun tangerine colored Prima trim?

This was such a fun kit and I really loved those bright fun colors...a great twist on the traditional christmas/winter color scheme!

Tomorrow Becca dances in 2 different numbers at a "Tree Lighting" ceremony, hopefully we will have nice weather. She was also chosen to play Gabriel in the Christmas Pageant this year at Church and Fritz will be the Inn Keeper. (more on that later this month)

Just a few more days until we go to Florida for a "quick" vacation before we get totally wrapped up in the activities of this month.

Frosty Porch in progress...

2010-11-26T18:44:00.003-05:00

Happy Belated Thanksgiving to everyone! We woke up yesterday to a "frosty" porch here in southern NJ. Had a some sleet coming down for a bit. While watching the Thanksgiving Parade in Philadelphia it snowed for a bit, so we are finally getting a bit of that winter storm that all my friends out west have already experienced. Thankfully it didn't last long and we headed up to PA to have dinner at my Dad's house. Lot's of delicious food...YUM and I can happily say that I did not over indulge, but I'm still glad I went to 2 classes with my trainer already this week :wink:

Anyway I was feeling the pressure because this has been sitting on my scrap table all month...unopened!!!

This is the December "Frosty Porch" kit from Coordinates Collections. Fun papers from Basic Grey & Crate Paper, some Pink Paislee Cushie Alphas, BG rubons & Woolies! So I absolutely love everything in this kit...but had no ideas or time to work with it until today. Right now I have 2 projects started and ideas for a few others floating in my head.

First peek is of this little project...

It's now pushed off to the side drying...some papers and mists have been added since I took this picture. Then I had one of those cute little woolie snowmen, but it just didn't have the look I wanted for my next project...so a little altering was in order.

Here I removed the "ugly" (well it just wasn't working for what I have in mind) hat and created a new hat out of pink paper and a floral rhinestone...much better. Then I wanted my snow lady to have a pair of angel wings...hmmm? It just so happens that the Crate chipboard sheet from the "School Spirit" collection had a pair (this was an addon in October). Isn't she adorable?

So that's where I'm at right now. I certainly will get the one project finished up tonight and I plan on cranking out some more in the next 2 days.

No shopping for me today, but I have picked up a few things over the internet in the last week so I have at least started.

{fall welcome wreath}

2010-11-16T18:38:00.004-05:00

This is what some of those supplies pictured in the last post turned into...

It is now hanging on my front door until I replace it with a fresh green wreath for Christmas.
Hmmm....maybe my next "creative post" can be how to embellish a Christmas wreath??? (well maybe if I can't come up with any other ideas) Anyway if you want my blow-by-blow instructions you can find them on my post on the CC blog today.

So recap of the weekend... had dinner at the Melting Pot (the whole fondue concept has been intriguing me for some time now) We picked one of the 4 course dinners for 2 of their menu and it was truly scrumptious. Since this restaurant is located right on the edge of the outlet shopping area of Atlantic City, I can for see stopping in after shopping and maybe just ordering the cheese fondue or one of the dessert fondues as a little after shopping treat. (Of course this is something I can only dream of right now...since the luxury of having a day to putter around some shops is not in my immediate future) Boardwalk Hall (where they use to hold the Miss America Pagent) was only 3 blocks away it was a nice walk to and from their parking venue to the restaurant. Once inside Boardwalk Hall we found our seats (truly bot a bad seat in the house) and waited a few minutes for the opening act. On this tour Rodney Adkins opened and played for an hour and then Toby Keith put on a show for approx 2 hours. AWESOME!

Saturday was a 2 hour ride up to Trenton (well just outside) for Becca's game...it ended up being a 1-1 tie, but probably should have been a win for us. Sunday we had Fritz's game (only a 50 minute ride) and they won 2-1. This win secured them a first place in their flight in the SJSL, but they better win next week anyway :wink:. Afterwards we stopped for an early dinner/late lunch at PF Changs.

One more weekend of soccer and then we can start gearing up for the holidays, but we do have a little vacation to Disney coming up soon...can't wait.

productive/creative...what a day.

2010-11-11T18:44:00.005-05:00

Happy Veterans Day! Since it was a Federal Holiday it was a day off for me...which I then turned into a fairly productive day. Some laundry of course, then Dan & I went out shopping and had lunch. We actually got a few Christmas presents...I shutter to think that this holiday is just around the corner. After we got home I decided to get to work on my "creative post" project. For the record I had no idea where I was going to go with this up until yesterday and I was feeling like it would be hard to live up to those pumpkins. But I did a great project (at least I think so) and got the pictures taken for my post next week. Would you like a little hint?

Some leaves out of my yard, some Glimmer Mists, jute, and some pearlized smooch inks. Any ideas? Oh yeah, I used a few small scraps of paper from the Festive Feast kit too.

Well hopefully over the weekend I can organize my thoughts and edit the pictures necessary for my CC blog post next Tuesday.

Tomorrow night Dan & I are going out to dinner in Atlantic City then we are going to see Toby Keith in concert. I can't tell you the last time I went to a concert??? Other than that not much going on here...just 2 more weekends of soccer!

Reveal Day

2010-11-05T17:48:00.003-04:00

It's reveal day over at Coordinates Collections! I love this day...I can finally show off my projects and I get to see what my fellow designers did with their kits. Love how each of us can interpret the same kit in totally different ways and this month is the first time that our new team is all showing their work.

This month I was assigned the Festive Feast kit, but I also bought the Just Dessert kit too. Two totally different kits...but oh so fun! And the addons for each...let's just say my box was overflowing this month. Oh yeah I did show you a picture didn't I?

Anyway here is my favorite layout from the Fancy Feast kit....

"Delicious" is all about my LOVE for the pumpkin cake my friend makes at her family's restaurant. I use to get upset with her for not sharing the recipe...but now I realize I'm better off not having it ;) Everything on this page is from the kit except for the Jillibean canvas flowers & the buttons. I used that water/crumpling technique to distress the blue paper....wetting the paper makes it so much more pliable and you can manipulate it into the shape you want and let it dry.

Then I didn't have much time to play with the Just Dessert kit, but I did get one done...

Here I used the diecut My Minds Eye paper, Lost & Found diecuts & brads, and the Parisian Anthology tickets that were included in the kit. To this I also used Prima flowers (craftable & sweet taffy), Lost & Found trims and stamps from the Parisian Anthology line. Oh the inks I used were Distress Inks in Broken China & Weathered Wood. Not my "usual" style, but I do like how it turned out and this kit was SO made for those ballet pictures.

Tomorrow my post will be on the CC blog...it will go into a little more detail on my Festive Feast projects.

Soccer tomorrow & on Sunday. I got a shipping notice today that my December kit is on the way! Have you seen the kits yet? You can check out the previews here....I'm getting Frosty Porch. Also have something else coming in that box too, we'll talk more about that later on my personal blog and over at CC. (Here's a hint: PCC)

it was a {me} day

2010-11-02T16:46:00.003-04:00

I was home all alone today and totally took advantage. After a good 40minutes on the treadmill, a load of laundry started, a dinner in the crockpot I headed to my scrappy room. I've come out only a handful of times...to take a shower while some items were drying, to fold a load of laundry, have a bite of lunch and to vote. In between those tasks I got A LOT accomplished. Finished up my Festive Feast projects (reveal is Friday the 5th) , pictures taken, email sent to Jamie and I played with the Just Dessert kit too! Here's a little peek since I can't show you yet......

Some goodies from the kit and some Prima flowers in the"craftable" and "sweet taffy" also used some of those Parisian Anthology stamps included as an addon this month.

After a day of creating I left this in my wake....

...it's a total disaster!!!! Stuff is just piled on top of more stuff. There is not one inch of open space left. I will HAVE to CLEAN before I can do anything else!

Another peek & a suggestion

2010-10-27T19:00:00.002-04:00

Okay so it's the 27th and I have 2 projects complete. Hope to finish up over the weekend but here's another little something for you to ponder...

Now my suggestion? Pick up these canvas flowers from Jillibean Soup and if you are an inker/stamper grab yourself some of the Distress Ink in Rusty Hinge. Neither is listed in the "Festive Feast" add ons, but the collector that I am I had both and pulled them out with this kit. As you can see here I inked those little canvas flowers with the Rusty Hinge ink and then added some buttons from stash.

And just because I feel like sharing with you....I've come to the conclusion that I need my glasses to scrap. I can manage to get by without them during the day, but at night it's another story. I guess it's a combo of being tired and the lighting. (You should have seen me trying to thread the floss in those buttons earlier) I know totally pointless...

Weekend update

2010-10-25T19:06:00.003-04:00

To sum it up...lots of soccer very little scrapping and household chores.

I did promise you a peek though and I did mange to get a layout done Saturday morning(while doing some laundry) So here you go...

The tree stamp does not come with the kit (it's by Paper Trey Ink...thanks Lisa). LOVE this kit I just wish I had more time with it! I have another layout started...which I plan on finishing tonight and have an idea spinning for another(maybe tomorrow night).

So like I said...lots of soccer. B had her normal game Saturday afternoon...it ended up a 1-1 tie. Her team is now 4-0-2. Then Sunday morning her team played in a 3v3 Halloween Tournament. They split into 2 groups.

The Piggies and the Dalmatians. The Dalamtians were coached by Cruella and the "mother" dalmatian and of course the Pigs were coached by the Big Bad Wolf.

Here's a closeup of the Pigs. The girls had loads of fun playing this morning. We actually had to leave before the tourney was over so we could get to Fritz's game on time. (of course it was away this weekend) His team won 5-1 and are now 5-1-0 this season.

After his game we went out to a late lunch/early dinner and did a little shopping.
I got myself 2 new shirts and a sweater...all on sale! Got to love a bargain.
I left my house at 8:15am and never got back home until 6pm...longer than a work day for sure.

So there you have it our weekend in a nutshell.

Creative with pumpkins...

2010-10-19T20:29:00.002-04:00

In between soccer games this weekend I managed to crank out a little something using these two lovely pumpkins...

and no it didn't involve any carving! So as to not repeat myself you can see all the details here on the Coordinates Collections blog.

Other than that it's been a pretty busy week with very little time for creating. I'm really hoping to spend some more time with my Festive Feast and Just Dessert kits. To this point very little progress has been made...the pressure is now on!

On a more personal note I have been keeping up with my kettle bells class...sometimes managing 2 classes a week and even a little time on the treadmill. Since during the bathroom remodel our scale must have gotten thrown out(and I have yet to buy a new one) I have no idea how many pounds(if any) I have lost; but I can say I notice a difference in how some of my clothes fit. Let's just say they aren't getting tighter :) !

Well that's all I have time for now...hope to have some sneaks from the kits to share soon.

Home

2010-10-11T11:50:00.003-04:00

Yep we got home last night from a long weekend of this...

I spent most of the weekend with the boy at his games (4 on Saturday which they won and 2 on Sunday which they lost (one do to some very poor officiating)!!) and DH spent the weekend with Bec at her games (they went 2-2 on Saturday and 1-1 on Sunday) All in all everyone had fun on the field and at the hotel hanging with their friends.

Beth...I'm so sorry I couldnt get to visit you at the store while up in PA...the time just wasn't there and it was tough only having one car and kids at 2 different locations.

I'm now doing laundry, catching up on the computer, and have hopes of breaking into some of those new goodies this afternoon. It is good to be home!

Look what the mailman just brought...

2010-10-07T16:06:00.003-04:00

It is making so very HAPPY...yet sad too. Happy because I got both November kits and lots & lots of addons for both, and I picked up some of the Crate "Sew Brads" in the Snow Day line...YUM! SAD because I can't play with any of it until MONDAY!!! No time from now until then...I've got a jam packed weekend starting with tonight.

Mid-week update

2010-10-06T15:10:00.004-04:00

It's Wednesday and I don't have to go back to work until next Tuesday...isn't that exciting! My first day off since June (besides the two holidays). Not doing anything special just trying to catch up here around the house. (Soccer both days every weekend really takes it's toll) I finally got around to washing all my crystal & china and getting it back in the cabinet. (The cabinet had to be moved when doing our bathroom remodel this summer and my china/crystal has been sitting out in my living room waiting to be put away). Also went to the dentist this morning to start on a crown...had it drilled out, mold made, and a temporary put in.

Have you been over to Coordinates Collections to see all the DT kit ideas using the October kits?
Such great kits and my fellow designers all provide such great inspiration! I had the "Golden Rule" kit this month, which looking at you immediately think "Back to School", but this kit has potential to be so much more. The colors scream fall to me. Here's my favorite project of the month...

It's not "back-to-school" or "fall"...instead I went "sports". All the papers, alpha, and "sew brad" were included in the kit. I added chipboard from the 12x12 Crate Paper Chip sheet and a Jillibean Sprout (Atomic Soup collection); these were both available as addons this month. I'm really digging that curved bottom and red swoosh...gives it lots of motion!

Well kids will be home soon, have to get Fritz to practice tonight and the Phillies game starts at 5pm! So I better run and try to get a few more things done here around the house.

Here's a little peek for you...

2010-09-30T19:27:00.003-04:00

I totally forgot that tomorrow is October 1st and we are switching to a new blog schedule over at Coordinates Collections...so I'm not posting any peeks over there with my "Golden Rule" kit.
So I'll just show them off here.

Well in this peek you can see one of those awesome "Sew Brads" by Crate Paper (you get 3 in the kit, but I picked up a whole package too. LOVE them!) From the addons you can see a Jillibean Sprout from the new "Atomic Soup" collection and the chipboard soccer ball is from the Crate Paper chipboard sheet. You can't see it in this picture but that metallic brown cardstock is FABULOUS.

In this peek you can see that I also purchased the red corrugated alphas from Jillibean Soup (you get the blue in the kit)

Then here is a little flower embellishment made with some Crate papers, brad, and border sticker.

I am loving this kit...so glad I got my mojo back last month. I just wish I had more time in my life for creating. I'm hoping to stay up late tomorrow night and maybe even Saturday night too playing with this kit. I have an idea for another layout and maybe a card or two.

I had something else I was going to say, but for the life of me I can't remember right now. Anyway don't forget tomorrow you can order this kit over at CC and the Novemeber kit images will be posted and you can preorder those. Both are FABULOUS and I actually had to buy the 2nd kit this month because I couldn't decided between the two. Oh and then don't forget the addons that go along with each kit! I am in big trouble.

NL East Champs!!!

2010-09-27T22:41:00.002-04:00

Just had to share my excitement...
Phillies are the NL East champs again for the 4th straight year!!!
There were times during the ever so long season of baseball when I had a few doubts...but here we are again. YAY!

Anyway another busy soccer filled weekend, but I did manage to get 2 layouts, a card, and a gift box done with my "Golden Rule" kit. Love,love, the Crate School Spirit collection...that being said I am seriously in Love with the "Sew Brads" almost too cute to use (glad I picked up a package in the store besides the 3 you get in the kit :wink:)

Sorry no pictures yet...I can share a peek or 2 on Friday when I do my blog post at CC!

shhh...I've got a few hours to myself!

2010-09-24T19:14:00.003-04:00

It was just me and Becca, but she was just invited down the street for movie night! My house is silent, well soon to be broken by the sound of the Phillies game I will listen to on the radio while squirreled away in my messy scrap room.

Look what I've got out...

working on a layout as I type. Actually just taking a quick break to pop in and say "hi".

So did you catch the CC blog yesterday? Such exciting news: new DT members, blog changes,forum changes...exciting stuff for sure. Can't wait to start working with the new team members.

Okay...it's back to scrapping.
Talk later.

Pretty lazy Sunday

2010-09-19T17:29:00.003-04:00

Was not productive at all!
Soccer ate up 6 hours of my day, but the boys won 5-0! (1 1/2 hr drive each way)
Dan's still at work, have a load of laundry to fold
Yet I sit here wasting time on the computer.

I think I'm more productive...

2010-09-18T18:31:00.005-04:00

...when I am overscheduled/overbooked. When I have lots of time I tend to procrastinate. Well this is just an example...I'm posting 2 days in a row. When was the last time that happened? Seriously, I have so much to do and it's actually getting done! This morning started working on the ever growing loads of laundry and scrapping. Like I said I got the October kit in the mail Thursday, have a "creative post/challenge" to have done for Friday's CC blog post and I have an album that has to be made.

I promised someone I'd do an album for the lady who heads up the "Parking Violations Officers"...she's been on the job every summer now for 10 years. The person who asked me said they had an album and a bunch of stuff...I just needed to get it all organized and put together. When I got the stuff from her it was a magnetic album (gasp!) and some newspaper clippings, a few pictures and some emphemera. Yikes what was I going to do with it? It sat in a bag in my scraproom for almost a month. A few weeks ago decided to see if I could deconstruct the album...I did. I managed to seperate the cover from the spiral bound interior.
Then I removed the outer coating on the cover and redid the outside of the album. Here's how it looks now...

Then it sat until this morning. Today I managed to make this title page....

I started by printing the words "Celebrating" and "on the job" on plain white cardstock. Once it came out of the printer I embellished with Pink Paislee 365 papers, chipboard letters/numbers, and a Jillibean Sprout layered on top of a Maya Road sheer.

The next 2 pages in the book...pattern paper with some free stickers (gotta love the freebies) and a picture I enhanced in Photoshop with a digi brush & text. Trimmed it out with some pattern paper and some Pink Paislee tape.

Okay feeling pretty good 3 pages down this morning and 4 loads of laundry.

Now it's off to the soccer game...

Becca's over there on the far left looking towards the ball. The girls ended up with a tie today. 1-1
Then there was the boy, doing his job as a sideline judge.
After the game headed out to do the grocery shopping, posting this, then cooking dinner.
Tomorrow the boy has a game (quite far away) so I'm not sure what I'll get accomplished, but hoping I am a bit more productive.

Talk later

TGIF

2010-09-17T17:13:00.004-04:00

Can you believe it's the middle of September already?
Soccer's in full swing now, been to one back-to-school night, have another one next week, dance & scouts have started. We're just moving along. Seems I just go from one event to the next.

Got this in the mail yesterday...It's the October "Golden Rule" kit from Coordinates Collections. SO MUCH better IRL! And then I bought most of these addons too....

I am SO in LOVE with all the releases from Crate this summer!!! Now I need to find time to play with it.

So I did go back to kettlebells this week. Feeling really good about making time in my hectic life to do something for me. I'm going to try to go 2 times next week and to get a little time in on the treadmill too.

Oh guess what? I know a secret and I can't wait to spill it!!!

Preppy Reveal

2010-09-09T22:34:00.004-04:00

Okay, so I didn't get this posted on Monday like I intended and here it is Thursday night already!

Anyway like I've been saying this kit was amazing....LOVED every little piece of it and intend on using up all those bits I have leftover too.

Here is my most favorite layout of the month...

To the kit I added a piece of kraft cardstock & some Cosmo Tiny Type alphas(I think I'm collecting them in every color) The team emblem is actually cut from the ticket stub. On a side note we bought season tickets to the Union this year and I have really been amazed at how totally awesome it is to watch the pros play.( We even had a few "friendly" games against Celtic, Manchester United, and Chivas de Guadaljara (sp?) We've also heard great things from people about how nice this stadium is. It was designed specifically for soccer and we hear it reminds some of some European venues. Oh and then there are the fans and all the chants that go along with the game...truly unique and quite the experience.

Anyway, back to scrapping...

I did some 6x12 layouts with this kit too. Such a fun size to experiment with. All my layouts and the details can be seen on my post tomorrow on the CC blog (oh and there will be details on a giveaway posted too...check it out)

So over the weekend got the kitchen painted. I hear that the glass for the shower enclosure should be installed next week. Maybe then I will share some pictures of the completed bathroom remodel...stay tuned for that excitement :)

On another note I tried "kettlebells" on Tuesday. Kettlebells are round weights with handles on the top (sort of remind me of cannonballs with handles) and they come in different weights. A friend/co-worker loves the class. 45 minutes long and you sweat (a lot) and get the cardio going swinging these things around. I will kid you not...I was sore (no pain, no gain right?) Legs still feel a little tight today, but I think I will go back again next week.

Twice in one week

2010-09-03T18:50:00.003-04:00

Can you believe I actually posted two times this week?
Maybe I am getting it together after all.

So did you check the Coordinates Collections blog today? It was my day to post so there are a few peeks of some of my "Preppy Boy" projects and there is a cool Facebook contest posted. Awesome prizes...check it out if you haven't already.

I'll be back later this weekend with a project (or two) reveal.

happy Monday

2010-08-30T19:57:00.002-04:00

So is it sooner than later?

I just wanted to pop in and say hi.
The "Preppy Boy" kit is totally awesome...I've done 4 layouts and plan on working on another one later tonight and then maybe a card or two tomorrow. Love it...hope the mojo carries over into next month. Friday I can share some peeks on the CC blog and maybe I'll post some here too.

That's all for now.
Bye

It's the "bad" blogger checking in...

2010-08-25T16:13:00.004-04:00

You know I figured this is what my blog would be like when I first started blogging. (A poor, pathetic, neglected mess) But I was good at it when I started 2-3 posts per week, stuff to share, and here I am posting for just the 2nd time this month. It's not that I don't have stuff to say, but something to do with the fact that I just feel mentally exhausted when I come home from work each day (crazy issues that I just won't go in to here on a blog) and the fact that most of my day is spent on a computer doesn't help. Even my creativity has been suffering.

With that being said I have been inspired by this kit...
This is the September "Preppy Boy" kit from Coordinates Collections. Hopefully you already pre-ordered one because I believe it has sold out! Love the mix of papers from SassLass Indie Girl & Basic Grey Oliver. (Blues & Greens with just a hint of pink...YUM) I've got 3 layouts done already and have ideas for another couple of projects. (Next week will be sneak week on the CC blog)

So speaking of the CC blog this week is "Creativity Week". Two of the designers have posted videos this week, so fun to hear a voice to go with a picture and a name. (No videos from me...not that technologically proficient yet. Though my west coast friends have told me I sound like the Barefoot Contessa?!!? (she is SO Long Island and I've just got that southeastern PA/South Jersey thing going on) I've been racking my "uncreative" mind for something to highlight on Friday and have finally come up with an idea...getting ready to get started on it now. I'm home all alone so I can have uninterrupted creative time all night!!!(Truly unheard of)Hopefully this will get me out of my rut and bring on the mojo. I really think this months kit has helped with that too.

Remodel update: Toilet and vanity have been installed, tile work 99% done, waiting on the glass enclosure for the shower, hardware for the cabinets and one more wall sconce. I now need to repaint the bedroom (new door and some drywalling done) , kitchen (downstairs below the bathroom had some drywall issues) and the family room because while I had the services of an interior designer I decided to have custom valances made for my kitchen window and family room windows. Some how one home improvement project always leads to another!

Okay so now I'm just babbling along (told you it wasn't that I didn't have anything to say) so I will stop here and get busy creating.

Talk later (hopefully sooner than later:wink:)

August???

2010-08-03T19:32:00.004-04:00

Yes summer is flying by and I have not been a very good blogger!

Just 2 more days until reveal day, so stay tuned. Have you been reading the CC blog this week? Since we have an extra week this month we decided to have a CONTEST!!! Just go to the blog each day this week and answer the question posted by one of the DT members. If you post everyday you will be eligible for the prize. On Sunday Marielle will post a winner (drawn randomly) What do you get? An awesome kit of course.

Speaking of kits Jamie, Lisa and I have been busy. Still ironing out all the details but they are looking good. For those of you who have posted on Mondays post you won't be disappointed (that's a hint people :wink:) Maybe later this month when we've settled on some more kits I'll make a photo collage highlighting some items you may see in the kits.

Remodel update...

Drywall has been hung, primed, and painted (I'm sure there will be touch ups later, but it was nice not having to worry about cutting in around cabinets and fixtures!) Today the floor was installed. Here's a look at the tile going in the shower...

The big square tile on the bottom is actually in 2 sizes ( 6x6 & 12x12). Then lying on top are the accent tiles. Getting excited can't wait to see it installed.

Otherwise nothing exciting...work is CRAZY. Soccer has started. Next thing you know school will be here.

So we've been busy....

2010-07-21T18:39:00.007-04:00

Busy in so many ways in my life. Work is crazy this time of year. Busy working on my DT projects, busy with the remodel, and since CHA is next week we've been busy checking out all the latest and greatest. Seen anything you like? We're not going to Chicago, so we've been burning up the internet with emails and pictures trying to put together some really FAB kits. So far we've worked up about 5 kits. Nothing totally set in stone , but looks good so far.

Here are a few of my favorite pieces so far....

okay I can't choose...LOVE this whole collection by Crate Paper!

and these stars are DIVINE and those colors! Speaking of Jillibean have you seen some of the new sprouts and alphas?

CHA is more like CHA-ching, CHA-ching in my wallet!

Sitting here right now trying to come up with something creative for my Friday CC post...had to walk away last night. It just wasn't flowing. Got something started tonight now I need to decide how to finish it off and then what am I going to say about it?

Remodel update: Rough plumbing & electrical are complete. By next weekend we should be painting so I'm here right now...

Trying to decide on a paint color! (Sorry the picture isn't that good...cellphone camera) The glass tiles are just accents in the shower area. The rest of the tiles are a whiteish stone in the shower, cabinetry is black. There are about 4 colors on these 2 swatches that are in the running. Ugh!

So it's been awhile...

2010-07-11T11:19:00.003-04:00

I get my weekly post in on the CC blog and then just never get around to coming over here and posting something. Anyway let's see it's a new month, can you believe it's July already?

So far summer vacation has been running smoothly around here. Both kids attended a soccer camp run by Elizabethtown College's soccer coach and some players. Even though it was so very hot they both enjoyed it, Fritz has spent a week away at Boy Scout Camp and then he left today to go to Myrtle Beach and attend a golf camp for a week thanks to his grandmother.

Last weekend Fritz & Dan started gutting our master bathroom...

Dan is actually finishing ripping it all out today. Wednesday I went shopping with the designer who works for our friend who is doing the actual remodel. Picked out flooring and tiles for the shower. On Monday we had settled on cabinetry, vanity top, and fixtures. I believe later this week they will begin putting it back together. Not something we had actually planned to do this summer, but when your tiles begin falling off the wall in the shower you know it has to be done. Truthfully I'm glad to be rid of this bathroom it was truly very ugly!

So on to the creative side...

This past week of "reveal week" on the Coordinates Collections blog. You can see this layout and details on my other projects using the July Parade kit here.

Yesterday I got a box of my August goodies delivered. In addition to the kit I picked up these...

Six new colors to add to my collection...marshmallow,cinder,denim blue, burnt red, lemon zest, and key lime. Looking forward to using them in some upcoming projects.

I am working with the "Fun in the Sun" kit for August, it is gorgeous and I really can't wait to work with these...

Self-adhesive canvas borders by Little Yellow Bicycle. I think there are 6 different designs and everyone gets 3 in their kit.

Today I plan on doing a little cleaning of the scrap room. Have quite a few layouts that need to be put in albums and then I want to start looking through pictures to go with this fabulous kit.

Hope you are enjoying your weekend.
Talk later.

Boy has it been HOT

2010-06-25T12:24:00.003-04:00

Awfully hot humid weather...topping out at 100 yesterday! I don't know how the kids survived soccer camp this week...it's been brutal. Luckily Wednesday they came in from the fields to watch the USA World Cup game and what a game that was! GO USA!

Anyway last weekend was very productive for me. Finished 3 layouts, finished my blog project, have another project started and an idea for a 4th layout brewing. So have you checked the CC blog today? It's "Creativity Week" and today was my day to post. Here's what I posted...

Full details and instructions(with pictures) can be found on the Coordinates Collections blog .

Otherwise, been trying to stay cool. The pool or air conditioning work best. Picked the kids up from camp today(half day) Becca's at a Pool Party, Dan & Fritz are out doing some errands, I'm doing laundry. Then will be packing to send the boy off to Boy Scout Camp. We will be going as a family to the Phillies game tonight and then after we drop Fritz at camp on Sunday we will be going to see the Union play at their brand new stadium on Sunday. Busy weekend ahead, but I'm hoping to get some scrapping/crafting in tomorrow.

{busy creating}

2010-06-19T14:48:00.007-04:00

If I had a sign on my door that's what it would say this weekend. Have so many ideas floating around in my head I feel like it's going to explode. Right now I have 2 projects going in various stages of completion. (Some drying time involved, thus my blogging)

Working on projects with the "Parade" kit and also finishing up my project for next week's CC blog post. (For this I still also need to edit pictures and write up the post)

Just wanted to show you these...

I stamped these on some leftover cork from the cork board project. (Used a stamp from HeroArts & Stazon ink...then cutout by hand) These are going to be in a project using the Parade kit...stay tuned!

So good to be home

2010-06-11T20:29:00.003-04:00

It's been one of those weeks and it continues tomorrow. So I am home enjoying the peace tonight.
Here's a few pictures from Tuesday's dress rehearsal...

I decided to show this one because of love all those little heads lined up across the stage. During dress rehearsal there is always a group of younger girls peering over the top of the stage watching the older girls. They either try to emulate what that see on stage or just stand and watch. Sometimes they are just too funny.

And then this was her last routine "Doctor, Doctor...I've got a bad case of loving you" That's her in the front dancing in towards the "Doctor". 3 Dances and a finale, each night for the past 3 nights, it's been a long week. Though last night was my night just to sit back and watch...what a great show. some of those older girls can really dance!

Anyway while this has been going on I've had a box from Coordinates Collections waiting for me at home. I've opened it and peeked inside...but it will have to wait a few more days. Today is Friday so my blog post at CC went up today. It was my June "Jack" reveal...you can check it out here.

That's all I have for now.
Going to read a book for a bit then crawl into bed.

it's Hot & Humid!

2010-06-05T17:14:00.005-04:00

I finally broke down and closed up the house this afternoon. The humidity is horrible as I was standing at my scrap counter cleaning up my leftovers from the June kit...sweat was dripping off my face (sorry...TMI?). Anyway 90+ degree temps and about 95% humidity is a bit much. Only for a few days so they say. Enough about the weather. It's just a hang around the house weekend for us. Next week we have something every night and then a tournament over the weekend.

Today was "reveal day" over at Coordinates Collections. Which means "reveal week" will start Monday on the blog. My dear friend Kimberly posted a peek of a few of her Fab projects today. I will show you one of my layouts here...

Just a real simple one using the piece of BoBunny paper included in the kit as the background.
It's all "Jack" kit except for the label sticker & felt soccer balls. My blog post on the CC blog will have a few more projects and tips/ideas. Stay tuned for that on Friday. If you can't wait until then you can see all my projects here .

Well I did start a project today using this....

I fell in love with this bag when I saw it at CHA in January. The examples Donna (Downey) had made were beautiful. When Jamie got them in the store I picked one up and it has been sitting in the box for the last few months just waiting to be altered. Today was the day the process began and I L-O-V-E what I have going on so far. You'll have to wait until later this month to see how it turns out. Like I said not a lot will get done this coming week at my house.

Talk later.

TGIF

2010-06-04T18:15:00.002-04:00

It was a short, but long week if you know what I mean.

Have you been checking the Coordinates Collections blog this week? We've started with the "team posting"...today was my day. You can check it out here. (I will be posting on the CC blog every Friday. Tomorrow is the reveal day on the site, but all next week is reveal week on the blog. We will take turns posting our projects...with "tips" about each one. Kind of like the newsletter that we have now done away with.

Well got to get done some CC stuff here on the computer so I can settle down in a bit to watch the Flyers and the Phillies. (I certainly wouldn't want to be driving through South Philly tonight...both teams are at home!) Hopefully with the heat & humidity we are having those bats will come alive tonight. They've had such excellent pitching, but no hitting!!! Gotta get the yearly slump behind us. And if the Flyers played like they did 2 nights ago...I think they might actually be able to win the Stanley Cup.

Planted,potted, weeded...more to follow.

2010-05-29T16:51:00.004-04:00

Luckily on this first weekend without soccer (also a holiday so I get one extra day) the weather is cooperating. I was up bright and early this morning so I could do a few errands before the holiday traffic started. I pulled into the garden center at 8:00am! Came home, unloaded, had a cup of coffee then headed out to another store(very cute..they have tons of clay pots, birdhouses/food, koi fish &pond accessories) to pick up fish food and also purchased a pot. Stopped at another place and grabbed a bag of potting soil, and then a roadside stand for a few perennials to add to my front flower bed.

Then I began weeding, planting and potting. Nothing has been done all spring except rake up leaves. Here's a look at my potted containers....

The bargain of the day was that Gardenia Tree for only $10.00. Of course I then had to buy a pot at the other store for it :wink: So there are the 8 containers I planted for around the deck and patio. I just have to do the 2 giant pots out by the pool. Also if you can see Fritz is in the background helping. We weeded down the walkway to the gate and in front of the picket fence is another bed of flowers that I added more perennials and weeded.

Speaking of the pool. The kids made it in for the first time this afternoon. A nice treat after doing yardwork.

Still need to get some journaling on my last layout for the month and I have another idea I'd like to work on this weekend. Then I have to get the picture taken of all my projects. I will be still posting crafty stuff here, but we are also changing up the format of the CC blog starting next week. Each week will have a theme and the DT will take turns posting each day. Hope you stop by and check it out.

So lets catch up...

2010-05-19T19:01:00.003-04:00

Gosh it really has been like a whirlwind around here. I feel like I'm constantly in motion. So crazy that on Monday morning after showering I realized I had no clean work pants! (Guess what I started doing at 6:30am?) We were on the road almost all weekend with soccer and then managed to see another Union game Saturday night in Philly.

Okay now I've let you in on my secret...my house is a disaster right now. I did manage to get 7 loads of laundry done Monday before/after work. Dan opened up the pool today, so when I got home I got to help him fold up the cover and get that into storage. I have a ton of empty pots on the deck and around the pool that should be filled with flowers by now (they are not) and the list continues to grow.

So besides soccer, we are winding down other activities. Tomorrow night is a band concert, next Thursday is an "art show", a scout project on Saturday, and next week starts recital rehearsals.

Speaking of the recital...I picked up these last week:

Of course I had to buy one pose in each costume. I pretty much choked when the guy told me that I could have every pose they took for $150! I think my exact words were "That's not happening" So I struggled to pick just one of each that I liked. (I still spent more than I should have)

Anyway, last night I finally started to play with my "Jack" kit from Coordinates Collections.
I began by misting a piece of the cardstock. Using a stamped image from the Donna Downey foam stamp that I love so much.

Well after it dried I wasn't happy with it. Mad at myself for wasting a piece of cardstock ( I have now thought about it for 24hrs &changed my plan and think I may be able to salvage some of it.) I moved on to another layout idea...

For the base of this layout I used that great piece of BoBunny paper that's in the kit. Love the grunge look of it. Also used some of those cool Basic Grey trims too. Sorry it's slightly out of focus, but it's only a peek right?

So yes I'm still here.
One more weekend of soccer!
Maybe I'll start posting more regularly then?

Happy Mail today!

2010-05-12T16:39:00.004-04:00

Arriving home on this cool dreary day I was happy to see that priority mail box on my front porch! Inside? The fabulous "Jack" kit from Coordinates Collections.

Here's the preview picture from the CC site. Some fun papers from Bella Blvd "Man of the House", Basic Grey's Max&Whiskers and Capella, and BoBunny "Mama-Razzi". Pictured is a sheet of stickers from Bella Blvd. This product was not available from the manufacturer so it was replaced with a sheet of alpha stickers from BG Max&Whiskers.

I think I'll just sit and look at it tonight, maybe in a day or two I'll start working on my projects.

That's all I have to share for today.
Better get off here and think about making dinner for the family.

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T15:25:00.004-04:00

Happy Mother's Day to all my fellow Mom's. Hope you had a day filled with fun times with your families. Today I actually slept in (didn't make it to church) and Dan actually made a nice breakfast banana pancakes for me, plain for the kids. They also gave me a gift certificate to my favorite little book store in town. With a little time to relax, I went up to my scrappy room to clean up a bit. Much to my surprise I need to buy a few new albums...I actually got around to putting away a few months worth of layouts.

Then off we went to round two of the weekend soccer games. I finally remembered to grab the camera as we headed out. I have a hard time watching the game and taking pictures. But I did manage a few...

There's Fritz throwing a shoulder into the opponent across the field.

Turning the ball up the field. Then after the game they came across the field and they each presented their Mom's with a flower.

Oh by the way they won and Becca's team won yesterday too.

Now that I'm back home I'm doing some laundry and finishing cleaning up my space.
Nothing scrappy to share, but stay tuned for some later in the week.

Cinco de Mayo

2010-05-05T16:49:00.006-04:00

It's the 5th of May which means quite a bit or absolutely nothing depending on your views. If you are a scrapper today is the day we (the DT) reveal our projects over at Coordinates Collections, if you celebrate Mexican holidays or live in the US you may celebrate Cinco de Mayo, or if you belong to my family you can celebrate ME!

We had coffee and danish at work today(after a co-worker called Dan and made him deliver it to our office) Then these arrived for me a few hours later....

Tonight for dinner we will be having tacos and maybe some good Mexican beer ( I am not a big tequila fan) to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.

Now most of you come to my blog for the scrapping inspiration so I will not disappoint. Here are a few of my projects from this months "Fancy" kit....

All the papers on this layout are from the kit as well as the "Elements Stickers" from the Fancy Pants Roadshow collection. From the addons I used the Fancy Pants alpha stickers and the Pink Paislee Chipboard letters. I made the banner from some Pink Paislee Artisan Tape, twine and PP whimsie alpha stickers. The white flowers were stamped(Hero Arts) and I added a Jenni Bowlin butterfly.

Next I made this 2pager using pictures from our wedding (almost 17 years ago...wholy cow!). It was totally inspired by the saying in the Fancy Pants "strips" paper. The quote from I Corinthians was read in one of the lessons that day.

That Webster's Pages paper with the "est." oval was perfect for stamping the date! Like I said in a previous post of been trying to use my stash so I added a bunch of Prima flowers from my stash & a few of their rhinstone swirls. Also mixed in a few Kaiser Pearls too. I misted the cardstock with the turquoise mist giving it a bit of shimmer and it also blended with the gold to look a bit green which was perfect since my bridesmaids all wore dark green velvet dresses.

The altered mini-canvas was used as my title, here's a closeup...

Like I said before it's a combination of the turquoise glimmer mist, watercolor paints and a black sharpie pen.

You can see the rest of my projects and more from the DT here

Okay, I guess I've covered all the bases.
I hope you all have enjoyed today...the 5th of May.

Happy NSD & May Day!!!

2010-05-01T10:21:00.003-04:00

It is an absolutely G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S day here in southern New Jersey! It is hard for me to be inside right now, but since I got up extra early (to get stuff done) and since I'll be spending time outside this afternoon at Becca's game I don't feel too bad about spending a little time in my scrappy space.

Well finally finished up that layout I started last weekend...it's a 2pager and it's "lumpy". I don't think I've done many "lumpy" layouts before but I like it. It was totally inspired by one of the sayings on the "strips" pattern paper from the Fancy Pants "Road Show" collection that was included in the kit. I'm on a mission to use some of my stash so I added in some embellishments that I've had laying around...but you will definetly see the kit in it too!

So this morning I actually did a 4th layout, just printed the picture so I'm waiting for it to dry before I adhere it to the layout....
I managed to get a red, white , and black layout out of this kit! Crazy since I see turqupoise, pink , and black looking at the kit. (I did have to use a piece of white cardstock from my stash) But all the PP's are from the "Fancy" kit. I used those FAB chipboard letters from Pink Paislee available as an addon, some JBS sprouts from the store, and some buttons and a couple of clear acrylic accents from my stash. It has such a different feel from my other layouts! The DT will be posting their layouts on the 5th (also know as Cinco de Mayo or my b-day...you only have 4 days left to get me a gift:wink:))...stay tuned!

So that's what I got for now. Soccer this afternoon, soccer again tomorrow, hoping to also get pictures of my projects and the newsletter blurbs done tomorrow as well as a little gardening.
May get back in my scrappy room tonight. For those of you scrapping...enjoy the day!

Talk later.

Monday already???

2010-04-26T20:16:00.004-04:00

Where did the weekend go?

Let's see I spent 2 1/2 hrs Friday night at "dance pictures" She had 3 different time slots scheduled (3 different classes=3 different costumes= a serious dent in my wallet :wink:) starting with the 1st at 6:25pm. When we arrived to have her hair done at 6pm and to change from soccer gear(came straight from practice) to the first costume we heard that they were running seriously behind. About 8:25pm we were finally climbing into the car to head home. It had been close to 4 hours since she had been home and she wanted to know what I planned for dinner. By this point it was the McDonalds drive thru...I myself had passed the point of hunger and just wanted to get home.

Saturday morning Fritz had his first game as a "referee" actually today he just shadowed the assigned referee. Starting next week he will have at least one game every Saturday morning...his first paying job. As well as earning an income the program was designed to teach the "traveling" players respect for the ref. Nothing like walking in another man's shoes I suppose.

Saturday afternoon we traveled to Cherry Hill for Becca's game. They won 5-4.

Another Mom emailed me this picture of her getting it past two defenders (it didn't last long).
After the game we headed out to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory in honor of Dan's birthday on Sunday. After dinner we went to Barnes & Noble...the kids picked out some books and got hot chocolates. I then ducked into Coldwater Creek with my 25% off coupon and came out with 2 new tops.

Sunday was church and then another game of soccer. This one was played in a steady drizzle of light rain. They actually won the game 3-2. Afterwards we came home, ate our leftovers from Cheesecake Factory and presented Dan with gifts and a small cake.

Phew!
Then today was work...the cycle starts all over again.

I attempted to start a layout over the weekend...the keyword was "attempted". Getting ready to sit down and work on it a bit right now. Got to printout some pictures...for me this is the worst part. I put off doing it all the time...hoping that they would just magically appear over night I guess.

A mini-canvas???

2010-04-21T17:45:00.003-04:00

That's probably what some of you are going to say when you get your May "Fancy" kit from Coordinates Collections. When we were putting together this kit at CHA we felt it had an "artsy" flair to it and decided to put one of these mini-canvases in each kit...

They are just like a big artist canvas, stretched on a wooden frame, but is just a small 2" square. Whatcha going to do with yours?

I broke out mine today. Had an idea come to me earlier, so when I got home I had to get started.
To start I placed a chipboard heart in the center of the canvas (as a mask) and misted the canvas with the Turquoise Glimmer Mist (included in your kit) Then with some watercolors and a small misting bottle of water I added some color to the heart.

This is what I have so far...

I have more planned for this little canvas, but this is where I'm at right now. My vision is so cool, I hope it all comes together. Now you'll have to wait until the 5th to see the completed project.

I know...poor neglected blog

2010-04-18T19:49:00.004-04:00

Sorry...have had a lot on my mind lately. (A few people in my life with stuff going on...and about the only thing I can do for them is say a prayer. Just wish I could do more.) A lot of it has preoccupied my thoughts for most of the week and I just haven't been as creative as I should be. But don't fret...I do have two peeks to show you!

Remember the peek from last weekend? Well I decided that the image I stamped with the "Glimmer Mist" just didn't work with my layout, so I flipped the cardstock over and used the other side. Here's a little peek at the finished layout:

So I did managed to get another layout done this week. Still have to add the journaling, but otherwise it's pretty much done. Those of you that had the April "Flowers" kit got a roll of the Pink Paislee Artisian tape in the kit. I finally managed to get my hands on some of it (there are a few rolls available as addons this month in the store) and have used it in both layouts.

Here you can see I used the "Black Dot" then layered on top I pleated the "Bayberry". You can also see the Pink Paislee Limeade "Expressions" look great with this kit.

We had 2 soccer games this weekend. Becca's team won 5-1 and Fritz's team was tied 1-1.
That's all for now. Hopefully I can get my mind back on track and I can show you some more later in the week.

Happy Saturday & a little peek.

2010-04-10T14:17:00.003-04:00

It's a beautiful spring Saturday here in southern New Jersey. My family returned home last night(late...the plane was almost 45 minutes late getting in). We don't have the blazing hot temps that we had early in the week...definitely more seasonable.

Wednesday I got the May "Fancy" kit in the mail from Coordinates Collections. This kit as well as the May "Funky" kit are available for pre-order now. Here's a little preview...

Lot's of fun new goodies. Pattern Papers from Fancy Pants-Road Show, Crate Crate Paper-Paper Dolls, Webster's Pages-Life's Portrait, & Pink Paislee Bayberry Cottage. Some Glimmer Mist, Pink Paislee Artisan Elements, a mini-stretched canvas. So much fun!!!

It's actually nice to have it early in the month. I've been working on a few ideas in my head and this morning I sat down and started to actually play. I'm going to try a different kind of sneak peek today. I'm going to show you a few of the items I've made to go on the first layout...

The white flowers were stamped on cardstock and then misted with some of the leftover Perfect Pearls from last month. The turquoise flowers were cut from the Crate Paper and misted too. Made the little banner from some PP Artisan Tape and whimsies stickers (not included, but available in the CC store) I misted the turquoise cardstock with some Glimmer Mist, then sprayed the Glimmer Mist on part of the Donna Downey "wheat" stamp (used in the corkboard project in previous post) and stamped on to the cardstock.

That's all I'm sharing for now. Getting ready to head out to Becca's game and then from there we will be heading up to Philly for the Union's opening game. Maybe tomorrow I might have more to share, but we have another game and there's some yardwork I want to get done...so not sure if I will have time.

Corkboard 101

2010-04-07T18:30:00.004-04:00

So I made a little something yesterday...by the time I finished up it was too dark to take a decent picture. This afternoon I managed to get a picture of the completed project...

What do you think? Another piece of wall art for my scrappy room and it can double as a corkboard. (Not sure exactly where it's going to hang, but somewhere close to the work area)
I've had this idea brewing in my head for quite sometime and finally collected the materials needed and had a nice quiet afternoon/evening to complete it.

Supplies needed:

Picture frame (mine has 11"x14" opening)
cork (I bought a roll at AC Moore, might try to diecut some of my leftovers)
acrylic paints & inks for stamping
stamps (Donna Downey wheat stamp & inkadinkadoo alphas)
chipboard letters (Fancy Pants used here)

After cutting my cork to size I stamped the wheat in a cream colored paint across the cork sheet.
When that layer of paint had dried the next color was applied. In an attempt to create a little dimension I slightly offset the stamp so a thin area of the cream colored showed around the edge.

Allow this second layer of paint to dry, then repeat the process with the third color choice. When this was finished I thought it needed a bit more definition, so I outlined the wheat stalks with a fine point brown Sharpie.

I love mixed titles so I used a combination of stamping & chipboard. When this was done I mounted the cork sheet and inserted in my frame. This was quite fun, I'm thinking I may have to make one for Becca's room in the future. (Different colors & design of course :wink:)

The Bunny was here and gone

2010-04-05T17:40:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was absolutely GORGEOUS! The kids and I got up, quickly checked the Easter baskets to see what the bunny brought, and then headed off to church for the 8am service (Dan was at work) It was noticed by several people at church that we were not at our usual service, but I explained we had a busy day ahead of us. After getting back home and having a quick breakfast we were off to the family Egg Hunt and dinner. The kids had a blast. Apparently the bunny left quite a stash here in this planting. I think they each pulled out 2 or 3 eggs.

We had a pleasant day and also celebrated my Dad's birthday. My cupcakes were a hit with the non-chocolate lovers and even the chocolate lovers admitted they were good.

So now on to today the 5th...the new reveal day. I can finally show you those projects. In each "Showers" kit you get one of these...

...a Bella Blvd. "Blooms A Bella". (thanks for the picture Lisa :wink:) Each flower is made up of 6 layers (3 little & 3 big) they are held together with a few stitches and a brad. Easy enough to take a part if you wish(and I did!).

This was my first project...

At CHA we saw an example that used a small layer from the bloom. If you cut apart the petals...viola, a heart! I then misted the hearts with the Perfect Pearls and mini-mister that come in the kit, and then mounted with foam tape. Except for the letters (Thickers & Doodlebug) this is all from the SHOWERS kit.

Next I did this with 2 of the big layers...

I cut each layer in half, slightly overlapped, then stitched to my layout above and below my picture. I used a piece of the flocked transparency from Fancy Pants, cut a scalloped piece of pattern paper from the Crate Paper "Downstream", and cut stars from the Pink Paislee "Queen Bee". I misted the stars with the Perfect Pearls and mounted with popdots. To these kit materials I added Pink Paislee chipboard letters, Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type stickers, and some Prima Pearls. (all available in the Coordinates Collections store)

I did a card with the final big layer & another layout with the two small layers. If you'd like to see them other other ideas by the Design Team using the April "Showers" or "Flowers" kit, just click here.

So today was opening day...got to watch the Phillies win their 1st game of the season! Just dropped my peeps off at the airport about an hour ago. The house is mine until Friday night...woohoo! I'm even getting a massage tomorrow.

Life is Good.
(yeah, yeah, I'm all talk I will miss them terribly)

Spring break has started...

2010-04-03T16:44:00.004-04:00

On Wednesday we had an interesting turn to our weather, sunny & warmish. Thursday was beautiful...I actually left work early (not to enjoy the weather) I used a half day of sick time to pick Fritz up and take him to the Dr's. For the last week or so his allergies have been horrible. A constant cough from the drip. Basically I was tired of listening to it and afraid it might have developed into something else. At Dr's they did a strep culture and when the Dr. came in she said that it was negative and she believed the cough was just a result of his allergies (cedar & oak pollen is crazy right now) She prescribed a stronger cough medicine for him to take and off we went. How surprised I was when I glanced in my rearview mirror, when getting ready to leave the parking lot, to see the Dr. waving at us to stop. Apparently when they checked the strep test again before disposing of it, it was positive. So now he's taking an antibiotic & cough medicine. Luckily there is no soccer practice for the next week, so he has plenty of recovery time.

Yesterday was gorgeous! Sunny highs in the mid 70's. I washed the bed linens and hung outside (except for Fritz's, didn't want them to load up with any pollen) Went grocery shopping and did a few other errands. While I was out and about I picked up 2 climbing rose bushes. I want to have them grow across the picket fence that closes off our backyard from the front.

Today is a bit overcast and damp...a cool fog rolling in off the ocean. Finished up all my projects for Coordinates Collections, wrote the newsletter tips, just waiting on Lisa to send me a picture before I send everything off.

Tomorrow is the annual egg hunt and dinner at my Dad's house. Here's a picture of one of my contributions to the meal:

Don't they look nice and Springy? They are angel food cupcakes with a topping made of crushed pineapple, instant pudding mix, and cool-whip. oh, and half a strawberry placed on top. Since there are so many choclate lovers in the family I am also making some chocolate mousse bars too.

one more for you...

2010-03-28T19:43:00.004-04:00

Finished up the layout I started last night after today's game.
(It was cold & wet and ended up in another tie...our record for the boys is now 0-0-2 for the spring)

Here's a peek...

The pattern papers you can see are from the "Showers" kit. As addons this month I bought the Prima Pearls & Crystals in platinum, some black Jillibean Soup journaling sprouts, and a set of letter stickers in yellow & gray from Little Yellow Bicycle. I used these items on this layout. (The white cardstock is from my stash) I used a few more pieces of the Bella Bloom on this layout and still have some leftover for another project. Who knew one flower could go so far?

So I've posted 2 days in a row...a record for this month I think. Not sure when or if I'll get another peek up. Before I forget ... reveal day has been moved. It will now be the 5th of every month. You can still select you kits and addons on the 1st over on the Coordinates Collections website. Due to all the delays with shipping (especially the new products) we decided to extend the date, making it easier for the DT to get their projects done.

{finally}

2010-03-27T19:10:00.005-04:00

I got a big box of goodies from Coordinates Collections on Thursday! Unfortunately it had to sit until today. Let me tell you it was SO worth the wait. I LOVE the "Showers" kit. If you'd like to see the kit preview videos, Lisa cranked them out this morning and put them up on the CC message board. So many possibilities with these kits. I got right to work this morning too... here's a little peek:

This kit has no alpha, so the letters you see have come from my stash. Otherwise this is all Showers kit. There is no alpha this month because of all the cool "extras"...a whole book of Queen Bee Flip Notes by Pink Paislee, a flocked transparency from Fancy Pants Roadshow Collection, and a Ranger Mini-Mister with a sample of Perfect Pearls inside(just add water). Can you see these products here? Look closely at those blue hearts (I took apart the Bella Bloom in the kit)...do you see the sheen? Yep, they were sprayed with a mist of the Perfect Pearls.

Had to take a break this afternoon to go to Becca's game...they won 4-2 and she had an assist on the last goal. Really hoping she'll get her own goal soon.

Anyway now we're back home, we've eaten and now I'm hoping to get started on another layout. Did I mention that this kit ROCKS?

Tomorrow Fritz has to be on the field at noon for a 12:30 start...so I hope to get some late afternoon scrapping done while doing the final loads of laundry (stinky/muddy soccer uniforms)
May have another peek tomorrow night or early in the week.

{still waiting}

2010-03-22T20:37:00.004-04:00

Thought I'd pop in to let you all I know I'm still alive. Still waiting for the kit to arrive from Coordinates Collections. I hear the girls that chose the April "Flowers" kit have gotten theirs. Apparently we're still waiting on a piece of paper from KI to ship :(. Anyway we had a gorgeous week last week highs in the low 70's and we finally saw the sun!!! However, it disappeared late yesterday and right now it is raining once again.

We managed to get both soccer games in this weekend. Becca's team won and Fritz's team tied 0-0.

Sorry I haven't been on the computer much (I know I have a ton of blogs to catch up on)but my carpal tunnel has been acting up. This past week I've just been coming home from work and putting my brace on. It's feeling much better now but I'm trying to limit how much time I spend on the computer for awhile.

Hopefully I'll have something creative to share soon. I can't wait for the April "Showers" kit to get here.

{Waiting}

2010-03-14T15:53:00.004-04:00

It seems that's what I'm doing. Waiting for some consistently nice weather (had another Nor'Easter blow through this weekend) Waiting for the spring soccer seasons to start; the previously mentioned weather has really had an effect on the fields. Waiting/looking forward to the Major League Baseball season to start. Waiting for this to arrive from Coordinates Collections...

This is the April "Showers" kit from Coordinates Collections. Fun new stuff from Pink Paislee, Crate Paper, and Fancy Pants to name a few. You can see previews of both kits and the addons here.

So since I'm waiting on this and a bunch of other stuff; I finished the book I was reading. It was quite good. "True Colors" by Kristin Hannah it was a story of three sisters on a horse ranch in Washington State. The same author wrote "Firefly Lane" which I'm going to dig into next...it's been recommended by several coworkers.

When the book was complete (approx. midnight Friday night) I went back to scrapping. A few weekends ago I picked up some materials from Nora to do some projects for Paperwings. The papers in the kit were from the new Bella Blvd. line..."Estate Sale". Here's what I did:

From my stash I added some Thickers, a Prima crystal swirl, and a pink journaling spot. See that sheer ribbon sticking out from under the pink flower? It's a piece of that fabulous new trim they have in the store from Webster's Pages.

To the Bella papers I added some Thickers, some number sprouts from Jillibean Soup, and a Bazzill Just the Edge. The JTE started out "french vanilla" but I inked it with some "broken china" Distress Ink. The "bouncing" line for the "ball" was handstitched with brown floss.

So that's what I did this rainy weekend...hopefully somewhere the sun was shining!

A little mid-week project

2010-03-10T18:24:00.005-05:00

You got to love Wednesdays...halfway through the week and for me the deal is a little sweeter, I get out of work early. Getting out early is nice, you can schedule appointments (last week it was the dentist for me) Anyway today nothing was on the agenda so I came up to my scraproom intending on cleaning up all the stuff that was strewn about from my last round of creating. I had leftover kit stuff and I had pulled out some other papers too. Instead I finally decided to repurpose an older project. Actually this was a Make and Take from my very first CHA a few years ago. We made them at the Melissa Frances booth. It originally had a very soft pastel stripe paper and lace trim around it, with a stamped tag, a few rubons, etc. I loved the concept of the container...but truly they were not my colors. I used it as is for a few years, but when I moved into my new space last fall, I ripped everything off of the metal jar...and it just sat there on my desk. I've been using it to hold glue dots, glue sticks, and my Tombow adhesive.
As some of you know I have avocado/sagey walls, dark brown espresso colored floors, a khaki chair and cabinets, my accent colors in the room are cranberry and a burnt orange. All this pulled from the striped valance that I used as my inspiration.

Today was the day to make the container fit the colors of my room....

and to think just about everything here on the container had made it out onto my work area in the past week or two. (I actually had pulled my paper holder full of Jillibean Soup pattern papers during an earlier project ) It is a mixture of papers from one of their older lines and a new piece, but I think it works perfectly in my new space.

Got to go finish dinner, Dan will be home soon. I hope to settle in with a new book I picked up today on my lunch hour. Will let you know in a few days what I think.

The weekend again

2010-03-06T14:39:00.004-05:00

Gosh I can't believe it's been almost a whole week since my last post. I really can't even remember what has occupied my time. I know I did finish up the canvas piece I started to show you from last weekend. Yesterday the DT uploaded all their projects using the March kits over at Coordinates Collections. Here are a few of mine...

First is my "Silvermist" layout:

I had so much fun playing with different mediums on this...all to create a wet/watery feel. after all Silvermist is the water fairy. I used a combination of Perfect Pearls,GlimmerMists, watercolors and water which was misted on quite liberally. And of course we talked about the iron on scroll in a previous post.

On my last post I mentioned the canvas page that was included in the "Charmed" kit, well here is what I did with it...

More inking, misting, spraying, another iron on, some trims from my stash, and a tag.

If you want to see what the design team did with both of these kits take a look here in the March Project Gallery.

So today was sunny and highs in the low 50's...could spring be here soon? Most all of our snow has finally melted and I'm thinking of potting plants and gardening ( I think my lucky sister was able to go to the Philadelphia Flower Show today...:sigh: I haven't been in about 15yrs...what a spectacular indoor display...acres an acres of ideas!) Anyway since I was feeling "springy" today I created this card...

"Happy Easter" supplies used all Jillibean Soup papers from the Minestrone & Egg Drop Soup collections. Stamps are by Inkadinkadoo.

It was quite simple to do, but I think it is rather cute & cheery.

Maybe more tomorrow...I don't know. Weather is suppose to be even nicer, might have to spend some time outside.

Busy, productive weekend

2010-02-28T19:23:00.007-05:00

Taking advantage of one of my last free weekends...soccer will soon be starting up for the spring season.

Yesterday morning busy running errands and doing some grocery shopping. While out and about I stopped in at a crop that Paperwings was vending at (formerly the Scrapbook Cafe). Nora brought my DT kit with her so I was able to pick it up...just a 5 minute drive as opposed to a 40 minute drive! Happy to say I got some fun new product from Bella Blvd & some trims from Websters Pages to work with...stay tuned for those projects in an upcoming post.

I was able to finish up all my projects for Coordinates Collections this weekend! Now just have to write my "blurbs" and send off the emails. I was able to get 3 layouts done and a card! Here's a peek at one of the layouts...

Lots of "fussy-cutting" on this one for sure!

So after I finished up my projects from the kit I started working on the canvas page Jamie sent me. If you were fortunate enough to get the "Charmed" kit before it sold out you will be getting a canvas album page with your kit...it doesn't come with the "Cherished" kit :sorry: (It is roughly 6 1/2 x 7" and is a refill page for one of Donna Downey's canvas albums) There are so many different things you can do with this...Lisa mentions a few ideas in her kit preview videos)

Here's my canvas with the first layer of color misted on it...

Then the much talked about iron on (gosh I love this tree!)....

If you noticed the background color looks a bit different, that's because I misted my page with water and let dry before applying the iron on. Oh, do you see that little snail? He was stamped on to the page with black Stazon ink.

Well that's all I'm going to show you for now.

I believe we are again shooting for the 5th of March as preview day on the Coordinates Collections site.

Happy Hump Day!

2010-02-24T16:40:00.005-05:00

Ahhh...the middle of the week...only 2 more days until the weekend. On a weather note...I just maybe home again tomorrow or possibly sent home early??? Snow is suppose to begin sometime after midnight tonight. Along with the snow we will be having hurricane force winds again and to think soccer starts next week! It's going to be a snowy, cold, muddy mess...can't wait :wink:

Anyway haven't really completed any projects this week....instead I've been doing a lot of this lately....

I found that I've been putting my ideas on little slips of paper while waiting in the car or on my lunch hour sometimes. The blue slip is from the other week...it's the idea I sketched out for my "SnowDay" layout a few posts ago. I just pulled the a couple of these out of my wallet...hoping to get to work on the "white" one next. Got to get the rest of my March projects done and I'm hoping to get to the Cyber Crop at Coordinates Collections this weekend. Again it was a late month for the DT getting their kits so I believe we are shooting for the 5th of March. I'm hoping to get it all done by the 1st. Fingers crossed.

Where did the weekend go?

2010-02-21T19:06:00.005-05:00

It seemed like I was just giving thanks for it being Friday and here it is Sunday night already!

Had a pretty busy weekend planned...lot's on the "to do list" and had a fundraiser for the U14 girls soccer team on Saturday night (they are playing in Spain this summer)...was nice to get out and have a fun night with the adults.

On Thursday I received the "Cherished" kit from Coordinates Collections in the mail. With this kit we are trying something new...it doesn't have an alpha!

After polling the members we decided that we would drop an alpha from a kit once in a while in order to put more "product" in the kit. This kit has a fabulous vintagey/victorian feel to it. Loads of new product from Prima, Scribble Scrabble & Jenni Bowlin to name a few. I am not a "vintagey" type scrapper so this is really making me step out of my box. However with a little bit of thought I think I can make it work for any type of layout. I managed to get one layout done this weekend and I am "chewing" on another idea or two.

Here's a little peek at what I got done...

This is a look at several layered scrolls. The top scroll is actually a Donna Downey iron-on which I picked up in the CC store. I ironed it onto a piece of pattern paper from the kit and then cut it out. The two other scrolls are cut from the same doublesided pattern paper.

Stay tuned for more later...off to do another load of laundry!

Put the "playing" to work...

2010-02-15T18:34:00.007-05:00

So today I put some of this past weeks playing to work. It felt really good to get "creative" on my layout today. Look at this detail...

Now first off I'd like to apologize for the lighting...still working on what type of lights I want to have in the scraproom and most of the time I take my shots outside or in natural light (that wasn't happening today). Anyway used some handstitching and embossing powders. Nothing really new, but not things I do on a regular basis. Though I had so much fun with the handstitching and like the look it gave my layout...you may see it more often.

I never like the look of my swirls when I draw them free-hand...so I cheated today. I used a digital brush (this is from the Chick Pea Swirls set by Rhonna Farrer...available at 2ps) It was close to what I had in mind, so I printed it on plain paper in the size I wanted. I added an additional "swirl" on the end with a pencil. I cut the paper into a smaller size to fit on my layout, positioned it where I wanted to stitch and pierced holes along the lines that I wanted to stitch.
After removing the paper I began stitching with embroidery floss.

The snowflakes I printed out from my computer onto the back of the pattern paper, then cut by hand. I lightly outlined the edges with pen to give more definition, then coated all over with several coats of clear embossing powder, then I added some silver embossing powder...allowing some of the clear areas to show.

Here is the final result..

Supplies used:
Jillibean Soup: pattern paper "sesame oil" from the Egg Drop Soup Collection, journaling & number sprouts, alphabeans, & those fabulous corrugated alphas.
white cardstock
clear & silver embossing powder
embroidery floss & brown pen.

So that's what I accomplished this afternoon. Tomorrow it's back to the paying job :wink:

Recharging

2010-02-14T11:57:00.004-05:00

Yes, I've been absent from my blog and really not spending much time on the computer this week (insert gasp/look of shock). Instead I've been recharging/playing. How you may ask??? Well the recent series of snowstorms has kept me close to home and I decided to finish reading the book I started on the plane trip home from California. It was good...it was set in a Welsh Village approx 1950's...once I got into the way the Welsh "speak" it was a good read..."The Earth Hums in B flat"
I haven't read in so long probably due to the fact I needed glasses :wink:

When I felt like being creative I just played. Not really working on a project...just playing with products & techniques that I want to incorporate into future projects.

Here's a little look at something I was playing with earlier this week...

I got these 2 color samples at CHA (Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists) and had picked up these tree stencils a few months ago. I wanted to get a feel for the colors and try out the stencils. Now that I played I have a little scrap of paper with an idea all sketched out. Just have to wait for a few things to come in the mail :wink: Speaking of little scraps of paper I've sketched out a few ideas for some layouts...now I just need to get them done.

I really enjoyed "playing" with some of my supplies this week. I feel creatively "recharged" and ready to dive into some new projects. I think tomorrow may be the day!

Enjoy your Valentine's Day with those that you care about and maybe you can indulge in a decadent piece or two of chocolate!

brrr...it's cold out

2010-02-07T18:55:00.004-05:00

It may be cold, but there was sunshine! No more snow until Tuesday.

I couldn't believe these icicles outside my window this afternoon! Some are 2-3ft in length! To get this picture I actually threw open the window and leaned out...this picture really doesn't do it justice. It took me nearly 45 minutes to clean off my car this morning, so we didn't make it to church. Fritz spent close to half the day outside enjoying the snow...it was truly a beautiful day( a bit cold though)

Yesterday was a different story...it was just plain nasty. We did end up losing power for about 45 minutes...we fared much better than most people. A few pictures from yesterday (Dan remembered to take some pictures for me while on patrol)...

This is 20th Street approaching the boardwalk/beach. (Love the water spot on the lens :wink:)

This is 14th & the boardwalk looking out at the Fishing Pier...no that's not the moon, it's a snowflake.

This is 11th & boardwalk facing north.

So I did have time to scrap with the BG layout kit we got a CHA. The original projects are designed by Layle Koncar. I really didn't deviate much since the product supplied was very limited.

This is a layout in memory of "Riley" whom we lost just last week. It is using the papers from the Max & Whiskers line.

This layout uses papers from the Kioshi line. It is mainly pastels mixed with a rich dark brown.

Well that's all I have for now. Need to go back and proof this...I'm trying to type and watch the Super Bowl. This post has taken twice as long as it should.

Kids are excited school is on a 2 hour delay tomorrow.

A blizzard???!!!!

2010-02-06T10:09:00.006-05:00

Blizzard= sustained winds at 35+mph, visibility less than 1/4 mile, and these conditions continue for 3 or more hours....yep that's what we've got. It's been snowing since about 5pm last night and is expected to move out between 6-10pm tonight. We have sustained winds at 35-40mph and gusts around 50mph. Right now we have somewhere between 12-18inches on the ground. Here's a look out my scraproom window... The arrow is pointing to the mailbox...the post is almost completely buried in the snow. I'm sure after the plows come through we will be digging it out too. There are trees and wires down all over the place. Our lights have flickered on and off several times already this morning. (Figured I'd hop on now and post before I totally lose power) Poor Dan is working daywork in Ocean City today. The island is really suffering from these winds combined with the wet snow. Just talked to him and there are a lot of roads that can't even be plowed due to the electric lines and poles which are lying across them. The electric company says they won't even respond until the winds have diminished. Even the police dept's. backup generator has failed...they are awaiting a new generator to be delivered by the County Emergency Management Office. (From a scrapping/curiosity stand point I did send him to work this morning with my point & shoot camera)

Speaking of scrapping...it's a perfect day for that. At CHA Basic Grey gave out a retailers layout kit (which was great for us when we were trying to match papers for upcoming kits) in the kit they supplied pieces of the new papers, some stickers, and layout instructions. You pretty much have to follow their instructions completely because they only gave you a few full sheets of paper...most are just half sheets.

Here I pulled all the papers from the "Max & Whiskers" line...

The papers are double-sided. The one sided is very "themey"/pet specific (very cute for your pet layouts) but the other sides are non-themey patterns. Love the colors in this line...nice teal blue, browns, orange, red, and yellow. (Masculine/autumn colors). Right now I am doing the layout that is pet specific...just printed out a picture before the power fails me. Hopefully I can get a few more done over the weekend and will be sharing later.

Stay tuned for some storm pictures later too. Tomorrow is suppose to be cold & sunny...I suppose we will all be out shoveling snow.

February already???

2010-02-01T18:44:00.004-05:00

Well that month just flew by!

Not much to say after my long winded post yesterday. It's still lonely. I find myself looking around the house wondering where he is. Twice yesterday I almost asked the kids or Dan where the dog was and a few times as I heard icicles/snow falling off the roof on to the deck, I stopped what I was doing and headed toward the door thinking it was the dog trying to come inside.

As promised I have a few projects to share from the Heart kit at Coordinates Collections. This was such a fun kit and it had SO much yummy Pink Paislee "Cupid" in the kit and the addons in the store.

Here's the decor item I made...

it just hangs from a pretty sheer pink ribbon. Right now it is hanging from a door handle in the house. Notice the 4 cut flowers=4 family members. It's hard to see but I also used pink stickles in the centers of the circles on the heart.

Here's a layout...

The rest of my projects are all uploaded to my gallery over at Coordinates Collections.

Well that's all for now...Happy February!

Recap of the last week...it's been a wild ride!

2010-01-31T12:15:00.005-05:00

So let's see where to begin...

Yes the rain came back to Southern California as Dan & the kids arrived; but moved out by Wednesday.

Starting with Wednesday we were awoken at 4am with a ringing phone (7am back east)...the kennel! To bring you up to date Dan had texted me on Sunday saying that the dog was acting really weird (mopey) his guess was that he really missed me. Monday morning Dan decided it may be something else so he took him to the vet. The vet checked him out and couldn't find any outward symptoms...his guess was maybe depression, but took some blood just to be sure. He said it was okay to drop him off at the kennel...so Dan went about his day getting things ready to leave for Philly that night. In the afternoon the blood work came back with signs of a kidney infection. Dan picked up meds & special food to drop off at the kennel. According to the kennel he took his meds on Tuesday and was up drinking and lounging in the office with the owners (not 100%, but seemed to be improving) When they went into check him Wed. morning his eyes were dialated and he was taking very shallow breaths and was totally out of it. Within 1 hour of frantic phone calls back & forth and finding a 24hr emergency service that would see him, he passed away as they were loading him into the car. Poor baby he was only 7 1/2 and there must have been something else going on that nobody detected. He had never been sick in his entire life. (okay I'm crying now...) We told the kids later that day and there were many tears especially from Becca. On the way home yesterday in the plane she told me she wished she had never gone on vacation...her logic, if she stayed home she would have taken care of him and he'd still be here. Poor baby I've tried to explain that nobody knew what was going on and he probably would have died anyway. Here's a picture of "Riley-Roo" from January 2009 out enjoying the snow...
He's usually much "hairier" than this; but we had had him stripped down in November...he was really "blowing" coat. Normally he looks like a solid black collie...ie "Lassie". He loved the snow, just last month when we had all that snow I would look out the window and just see this big blob of black lying in the snow surveying his surroundings. Happy as a pig in mud. I kept meaning to take a picture, but never had the camera handy when I would see him out enjoying the snow.

So that was our downer and will be for quite sometime. Today I'm busy vacuming the upstairs trying to get rid of as much visible dog hair as possible. He was to go to the groomers this week...so he was shedding like crazy...leaving clumps of "Belgian" everywhere. The March "Charmed" kit over at Coordinates Collections is based on the "Lucky" papers from LYB...look for a tribute to "Riley" as one of my projects next month...already got an idea floating around in my head. (EDITED:oops...have to rethink this...I'm not getting the "Charmed" kit! Offered it up, before realizing I had projects I wanted to do with it. I really need to think before I open my mouth sometimes.)

So the weather turned sunny although a bit cool (upper 60's) and we were able to enjoy the park. Becca was distracted from the bad news at home by visiting "Pixie Hollow" each day.

Here she is visiting with Tinker Bell & Terrence. She even managed to get a "Silvermist" costume from the store in Downtown Disney.

As you can see by my outstretched arms...a self-portrait of Becca & I on the Materhorn! Love that ride.

A snap shot of Dan & Fritz...I think this was a ride in "Toon Town".

So we arrived into Philadelphia about 8:00pm last night. Circled the airport for quite a while before we eventually landed. They had a few inches of snow on the ground and was lightly snowing. It took us over 2hrs to drive home last night (usually a 1hr drive) The closer we got to home the harder it was snowing and the worse the roads got. Finally just before 11pm we pulled into our driveway. Snow covered, but sitting in the driveway was Dan's new truck delivered from the dealer that day. Here's a picture looking out our driveway this morning...

So long sunny, balmy, California....hello 10" of cold New Jersey snow!

That's it our week...told you it was a wild ride.

Stay tuned for tomorrow I'll have my February projects to post with the "Heart" kit from Coordinates Collections.

We finished it up today

2010-01-26T21:48:00.006-05:00

All done...10 kits...yay!!! Now I have to wait "patiently" for them to arrive each month. I really hope you guys will like them. Here are a few parting shots from the show floor...

This is the LYB booth...always easy to spot with the spinning bicycle on it's roof! We stopped by this booth quite a few times.

You know we stopped here since we had a member of "Team Pink" with us.

and yes this is always a must booth to visit. See anything you like yet?

and you asked for them, you got them! We placed an order here too.
So there you have it...a few of our many stops at CHA. Stay tuned for a few videos soon too. Lisa came armed with her video camera.

So we all got up bright an early this morning to go to our class 7am-9am...ugh! What were we thinking? It was totally worth it!!!!! I loved it. Totally played and I am SO inspired to play more. Here is a look at a few of my pages...

Okay here's a picture of Jamie & I with Donna. Like I said it was early...so we are looking mighty tired.

Now I told you we talked with Donna & Bill yesterday and again today. Can you guess what about?

Now it's time for a little R&R...this is the view outside my room right now!
Talk later.

A busy day...

2010-01-24T23:04:00.004-05:00

We're all sitting here completely drained. Traveling/jet lag/lack of sleep catching up with us all.
Last night took a fun Hero Arts class last night with Lisa. Made 6 fun cards and used lots of fun new stamps. This morning was day one of kit building. We walked the show floor picking up catalogs and any samples we could get.

Just some of the samples as we begin building kits.

Then we go to the walls, this year we were prepared with painters tape (easy removal w/o damaging the walls)
We got the bones for 9 kits done tonight. Tomorrow we hit the show floor finalizing and looking for embellishments.

Getting excited for Tuesday morning. All three of us are taking a 2 hr class from Donna Downey. Look at some of the fun stuff she had in the Prima booth...

I love this messenger bag and there was an extremely gorgeous camera bag too.
We talked with Donna and her husband Bill this morning at the show. Keep an eye on the MB at CC for something related to our chat today.

{packing}

2010-01-22T19:24:00.001-05:00

Hitting the road bright and early for my 9am flight.
Stay tuned for updates from CHA!

it hasn't been this clean...

2010-01-18T15:04:00.003-05:00

since I moved in this past fall!

A clean work surface...yay! Finished up all my projects this weekend. Wrote my newsletter "blurbs" and sent of my projects this morning. The only thing left to do is sort thru that glass dish on the counter...that's my catch all for sm items that don't get used up while working on projects. The idea is that when it's full...I sort thru and put it all away.

Getting excited for CHA...sneek peeks are popping up all over the web!
See anything you like? I do!

{one more to go}

2010-01-13T17:07:00.004-05:00

Hopefully I can get one more project done this weekend.(but I have no idea what yet) Sunday I managed to get 2 done and then Sunday night another idea came to me....I could barely stand sitting at work all day on Monday. I was itching to create. It took me 2 nights...lots of cut work and paper pleating and then I had to wait for those pleats to dry. Intrigued???

Here's a little peek...

Stay tuned for the full reveal February 1st! Got to find a few pictures for a multi-photo layout...got to have one of those every month. Then and only then can I say my projects are done.

Starting to get my list together, this weekend will be doing a few errands picking up stuff, before the packing begins. Speaking of packing it dawned on me this morning that I have to pack up my peeps stuff too before I leave. They will all be joining me in CA for a few days after CHA. A little mid-winter break for us in the California sunshine. Plan on doing Disneyland, the San Diego Zoo and possibly a few other things...including a visit to the Pacific Ocean(living here along the Atlantic the kids are curious about the Pacific)

Pressure's on...

2010-01-10T16:10:00.004-05:00

Got my Heart kit in the mail yesterday from Coordinates Collections...once I stopped drooling I needed to buckle down and get to work. Just 2 weeks to get everything done before heading out to CHA! I drooled all afternoon yesterday...that "bullseye" paper is fabulous...how am I going to cut it up? When I went to bed last night I had no idea what I was going to do...this morning a few ideas came to me. Finished up one layout and printed a picture for the second this afternoon.

Here's a little peek for you....

As you can see I did manage to cut the Pink Paislee "Bullseye" paper...but only a small piece. The flowers/leaves were cut fro the PP "Hearts Bloom" paper which is part of the pattern paper addon for February. Otherwise everything you see here comes in the February Heart kit.

So I'll be working on a few more layouts this week and probably next weekend. Also need to start making a list of stuff that I will need to get before packing for CHA. Can't wait to go to California...busy working on putting kits together, but it's always fun just to hang with Jamie and Lisa. We are even taking a Donna Downey class together one morning...should be fun!

On a personal note....I've given up...my eyes are not what they used to be! Had my eyes examined last week and as I suspected I need reading glasses. Now I just need to get use to wearing them. I spent close to a half hour picking out a pair, this is what I got....

Not the best picture...I took it with my phone on Friday at work.

So that's where I am at right now...

Confetti Projects

2010-01-05T06:48:00.004-05:00

Yay... I can finally share! Like I said before this kit was SO fun....fresh, bright, funky, a big old party in a box!

So here they are, two of my favorites from this month...

I kinda stepped out of my box on this one...paint splatters and all. I love it! When I first put down that piece of the Hambly transparency it didn't look right (needed to be bigger) so with some pen work I extended the grid design out onto the page...taking up more visual space. The stickers and Prima Sprites are available as addons this month. The doodlebug shindig letters came from my stash.

This is a real simple 2 pager (which seems to be my style when I do a 2 pager) The yellow pattern paper is American Crafts from the addon package available this month. I pulled some Heidi Swapp acrylic snowflakes from my stash & some Pink Paislee letter stickers too.

My other layouts and card are up in the CC gallery.

Have a great day.

Happy Belated New Year!

2010-01-02T12:00:00.005-05:00

yeah, I'm a day late I know. Yesterday we all slept in which is very unusual...I guess the dreary day made it possible. I finished up some scrappy projects and then started where I left off (before the holiday madness) in the organization/purging process of the new "scrappy space". So far I have a nice bag of stickers to take to the before/after school program run at the local primary school. This afternoon I'd like to sort through my stash of papers and donate some of those to the school too.

The sun is finally shining so I hope to get photographs of all my DT projects, do the writeups, and get them sent out this afternoon too. Can't wait to share with you all. Reveal day has been moved to the 5th of January.

Speaking of DT projects have you seen the previews of the February kits over at Coordinates Collections? They are called Heart & Soul and are now available for pre-order. I always love when they get a name; the monthly name contest is always SO fun. It finally gives life to the kits that we've worked hard in putting together (some months are harder than others when we find product isn't available and have to go back to the drawing board :wink:)

Here they are....

The inspiration for Heart came from the "Bullseye" paper from the Pink Paislee Cupid Collection. As soon as I saw this paper back in the summer I told Jamie & Lisa that we had to do a kit using that piece as our jumping off point...Love those polka dots and the colors. Mix in a little Bobunny, some more Pink Paislee, and a dash of American Crafts & Basic Grey. Naturally this is the kit I picked. Hopefully it will be arriving on m y doorstep by next weekend.

Then we like to do a kit that is a nice contrast to the other kit offered. When we saw the new Basic Grey Origins we knew we had our inspiration for the 2nd kit...Soul! Mix together some Basic Grey, Jillibean Soup, a bit of Maya Road, and a dash or two of Daisy Bucket & Doodlebug and you end up with another fanatstic kit. So different yet just as fabulous as Heart.

So I'm off to take some pictures and organize/purge some more.

So long 2009

2009-12-31T19:00:00.007-05:00

This is it my last post for 2009. Overall it has been a good year for us...we have our health, we both have jobs and our children are doing well and having fun being kids. Really what more could one ask for?

No big plans for us tonight...just had a nice family dinner including MIL (who leaves tomorrow) I tried a new recipe... Mashed Sweet Potatoes & Bananas with honey. I saw it on the FoodNetwork at Thanksgiving and have been dying to give it a try. It was delish!!!

Other than that it has been a dreary day...a mix of snow & freezing rain which appears to have finally stopped. It was a great day to spend a few hours working on some scrappy stuff. Got another project with the Confetti kit done and I'll give you one last peek for 2009....

It's all kit accept for the black cardstock, MM Tiny Alphas & the MM Glitter Bling frame. The Glitter Bling Frames are available as addon's this month over in the store at Coordinates Collections....and see a frame doesn't always have to hold a picture. Here it highlights my title.

Well that's all I got for now...Talk to you next year!

{ahhh...}

2009-12-27T16:29:00.003-05:00

A nice "normal" Sunday and after the last few hectic weeks my mojo returned to full strength and I played in my scraproom. I got a 2-pager done with the January "Confetti" kit over at Coordinates Collections. So that's 2 projects down and I got ideas for a few more. Can't wait to show them to you on reveal day.( Remember because of the holiday and the fact that the DT didn't get kits until late...the official date has been moved back to January 5th)

Here's a little peek...

The yellow pattern paper is from the addon and the Heidi Swapp snowflake & Pink Paislee fashion script letters are from my stash.

I'm off to work tomorrow. Just working 3 days this week...since I didn't have any travel plans I volunteered to come in so others could travel. MIL will be arriving tomorrow night for a few days, so we are still in the throws of celebrating Christmas. One more round of gifts to open on Tuesday night.

Merry Christmas!!!

2009-12-25T15:25:00.003-05:00

Merry Christmas everyone...I hope you are enjoying your holidays and time spent with family & friends. Our festivities began early yesterday evening with the 5:30pm Children's Mass.(Dan nearly missed due to his EMT duties apparently around 3:30 a rash of calls start going out and everyone available was paged...he called from the hospital at 4:45 saying he'd meet us at church)
Here's a look at my angel before the service...

And here is a shot of the angels looking on as "Gabriel" speaks to "Joseph".

I can say that all the little "angels" played their parts perfectly...they were so "angelique" and cute. Now all the little shepards were not so well played... I think one almost brought down one of the candles at the end of the pew.

Due to our connections with the local fire dept. we found out that Santa had just passed by our house before we got home. When they found out we were home, they drove back to our street to deliver the 1st presents of the night. Everyone was pleased as you can see here...
Fritz received a "paintball" game for his Playstation and Becca received the Tinkerbell movie which included a little treasure box & necklace. We had a delicious meal of filet mignon with redwine hollendaise sauce, mashed potatoes, and spinach souffle.

Surprisingly Dan & I were the first up this morning, but by 7:30 we had 2 children bouncing beside our bed eager to go down to see what Santa dropped off.

Fritz's big gift was a new improved paintball gun and this picture is Becca showing off the Precious Moments figurine Santa left for her. Behind her is a dollhouse which she has played with all day. She really wanted something for her Barbies and this does the trick! To top it off it was 1/2 the price of the Barbie house and is built much better.

Dan is now putting in a few hours at the Rescue Squad(they are normally 12hr shifts, but on the holidays they break them up into small sections so that people can spend time with their families...if only the PD could operate that way too.) Tonight is just the 4 of us for dinner we will be having lasagna. Tomorrow we will travel to my Dad's for a big family dinner/gift exchange and then next week my MIL & SIL will be here for a few days.

So that's what we've been up to the last 24 hours.

Merry Christmas to all!

I am officially ready

2009-12-23T18:06:00.002-05:00

I took today off, ran a few errands this morning. Picking up candies at the local candy store, buy extra tape and wrapping paper at CVS, running to the grocery store for a few needed ingredients for the upcoming meals, etc. Then I came home and wrapped. By the time the kids got home everything was done.Whew! Cranked out some of that Bacon Bleu Cheese dip from Thanksgiving and passed out containers to a few people to enjoy over their holidays. (Lisa, if I had a way you would have gotten one :wink:)

Going to just chill with the family tonight knowing that I'm ready.

The only thing on the list tomorrow is a little prep work in the kitchen for dinner tomorrow night and on Christmas. That way when we get home for the Children's service tomorrow night it won't take much effort to get dinner on the table. I think this is the first year that I won't be wrapping on Christmas Eve. Someday (probably in another life), I hope to be one of those super organized people that have it all done well before the big day.

Wishing you all a very Happy Holiday.

14 inches later...

2009-12-20T16:00:00.004-05:00

I know for some of you it's not a big deal, but here along the southern NJ coast it is. Especially since it isn't even winter yet.

Dan left his car at the end of the driveway so we were able to get it out relatively easy this morning and get to church at 10am (not many people were as brave as we were) Once we came home we now had to dig everything out.

Luckily for us our neighbor came over with his tractor and plowed out our entire driveway before we got to far into the manual digging process.

This left me free to do laundry and scrap this afternoon. Have you seen the January kit's yet??
They are called Confetti & Champagne. Such great names and so very fitting. I'm working with the Confetti kit this month.

A mix of papers from Bella Blvd "Flirty", American Crafts "Teen" and Basic Grey "Sugar Rush". Add in some goodies from Prima, Hambly and Pink Paislee you get a totally rocking kit! So very bright and fun. Here's a peek at a layout I did this afternoon ...

The green Prima "Sprite" & the Doodlebug "Shin-Dig" letters that you see in the picture did not come with the kit but you can pick them up in the CC store.

This kit is so fun and versatile...parties, girly layouts, and any other thing you might want to add a fun pop of color to. I'm even thinking of using some of this weekend's snow pictures with these papers.

Snow Bound Saturday

2009-12-19T17:22:00.003-05:00

This is the view from the front door about 8am this morning at that time we had about 3 inches.

It didn't take long for the boy to decided he needed to be out in the snow. Here I caught him throwing a snowball...just waiting for someone to come out and join him.

My plan for today was my annual cookie baking with a close friend and our daughters. Drinking my morning coffee and listening to the forecast I knew I'd be on my own baking today. I did manage to bake 4 different kinds of cookies and add that to the 2 varieties I baked during the week, I'd say I got enough for some cookie trays to give away. Here's a picture of some cookies that I made from a new recipe I found this year....

Coconut Lime Shortbread cookies. MMMM, the smell was heavenly when grating the lime peel. This is a shot of them right after I spooned the lime glaze over them...they were draining over the sink(love easy clean up :wink:)

So after I heated up soup for the family as todays lunch du jour, I headed of to my scrappy space. Last weekend I mentioned that I printed out some pictures to scrap. Well I got as far as choosing the pattern papers and cutting a few pieces to size...then it sat all week! Band concerts and other holiday activities interfered.

Due to the weather conditions I had a hard time getting a good picture of the layout.(sorry) Used some Pink Paislee stuff on this...mostly stuff from the Mistletoe Collection, but there is a small piece of paper from the "Vintage Moon" collection too (remember that cool blue & silver pattern?). A few clear Prima crystal swirls, a chipboard piece from the "Enchanted Collection", some ribbon from my stash and Pink Paislee Expressions chipboard letters & whimsy stickers.

After finishing this off I cleaned up my table and I'm already to get started on my January DT projects for Coordinates Collections. My kit came in yesterdays mail...perfect timing!

Finally...

2009-12-13T16:01:00.005-05:00

...it's beginning to feel like Christmas at our house. Got all the decorations up and most all of my shopping complete. Whew!

Yesterday the "big" cut tree in the family room went up...completing the decorations.

Yes it's big....close to 9ft. I had to trim a bit off the top to get the angel to set properly. So many fun ornaments on this tree. Handmade stuff by the kids, a picture of Becca from each year at dance(these are so fun to look at...seeing her change), ornaments from my childhood, some old glass ornaments from my grandmother and even a few from my great grandmother's home. Lots and lots of memories.

While out shopping this week I found some cool glass candy canes at Pier 1. These suckers are big (and they even had some bigger). I decided they would be cool placed in a clear glass vase/ container in the kitchen.

So here's what I have on one end of the kitchen island.
(The brushes used on both of these photos are by Ali Edwards...purchased @ Designer Digitals)

Taking a break from the holiday madness and just printed out some pictures from the "Tree Lighting Ceremony" that Becca danced in earlier this month. Hoping to find time to scrap them soon. Stay tuned.

Mixed Media Album

2009-12-06T19:48:00.006-05:00

So, so very glad I bought a few of these albums earlier this year! Yesterday was a rainy, icy, snowy day ...great for finishing up this album. Now I can get it out in the mail this weekend. I'm sending it to my brother and his family. So I started with the Fancy Pants Mixed Media Album and the pulled out the scraps from the "Oceanside" kit (I think it was just this past July's kit over at CC)...lot's of Fancy Pants Summer Soiree and Cosmo Cricket Snorkle. I then added in some more FP Summer Soiree and loads of other stuff like Jillibean Journaling Sprouts, MM cork letters & Tiny Alphas, Creative Cafe embellishments, some Pink Paislee letter stickers and some other stuff.

Well after taking pictures today I sorted more pattern papers as I am arranging the new space. I have a nice donate pile going...I know some of it will be going to the school real soon. Also got some of the Christmas decorations up. It's finally beginning to feel like Christmas around here.

Hope you all enjoyed your weekend.

12 Giveaway's of Christmas

2009-12-06T16:27:00.003-05:00

Check this out...

Lot's of fun stuff being given away each day...even a cool kit from Coordinates Collections.
Go check it out!

December!!

2009-12-01T17:00:00.003-05:00

Where is the time going? I have started shopping, but the decorating has to be done soon! Boxes have been drug out of the attic...just need to get it all up.

Well it is the 1st of the month so I can finally share my work from the South Pole kit over at Coordinates Collections!

This layout uses papers from the kit and the diecut paper is from the pattern paper addon and so are the chipboard pieces. The chipboard letters are leftovers from last months Pumpkin Pie kit.

This layout is a quick simple one using product from the kit. The only addition from my stash were the Pink Paislee Whimsy letter stickers (gosh I LOVE those things!)

So that's 2 of my layouts for the month...the rest are all uploaded to my gallery at CC.

Heading out to a "Tree Lighting" ceremony. Becca's dance class is performing a tap routine to "Here Comes Santa Clause"...hoping I get a good picture or two. My photo skills at night need some work;).

{an awesome giveaway}

2009-11-27T19:01:00.003-05:00

have you seen Donna Downey's blog today?? Besides a great sale in her store; there is a giveaway going until 10pm EST tonight. The Quikutz Epic6!!!! Now wouldn't this be a great addition to my new scraproom???

No shopping for me today (well maybe a little internet shopping later tonight), just stayed home and finished up my DT projects. Loved, loved, loved the South Pole kit over at Coordinates Collections. I cranked out 2 more layouts & 2 cards this morning!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T10:28:00.003-05:00

Well I have my cooking done for the day. We'll be eating with my family so I only had to prepare an appetizer and a side dish. Trying a new appetizer...hot bacon blue cheese dip and the old stand by side dish of glazed carrots. We are leaving shortly for a day of visiting with family.

As promised here are two peeks from the December South Pole kit over at Coordinates Collections.

On this layout I added in a few of the chipboard letters from last months kit...I inked them a nice dark brown. I also highly recommend the Crate Paper-Season chipboard shapes that are available as an addon this month...I've used them on both layouts so far!

Well that's all for now...to everyone celebrating Thanksgiving enjoy your day and don't eat too much turkey!