bet you didn't know

Okay, time for another revealing post about myself. I bet you didn't know I was once hooked on heirloom sewing, embroidery, and smocking, did you? I still love it, but haven't done anything in regards to that hobby in some time. See that baby gown? I made that - from scratch. It has a matching slip, pearl buttons, entredeux, and bullion roses embroidered at the neck and hem. Michaela wore it home from the hospital. This baby album I designed is in Scrapbook Memorabilia by Cori Dahmen. Have you seen the book? It has tons of ideas for incorporating memorabilia into your scrapbook pages. Not my usual thing, but I must admit I enjoyed the challenge and I appreciate Cori for her confidence in me!

I knew you could do it!

Thank you so much for all the nice comments today! I KNEW you could do it! Remember I cannot respond to them (blogger doesn't have that capability)- wish I could. Just know that I appreciate all the hellos today!

talk back

I don't want my kids doing it, but I'd like for my blog visitors to, *hint* *hint*. I'm averaging about 150 unique visitors per day....that's a lot of people who aren't talking back to me, *hint* *hint*. I never thought I would enjoy talking to myself, and I was right. I don't. I know you guys can tell me something about yourself, your day, your life, your scrapbook pages, anything. Thank you in advance, because I know you can take a hint ;)

my movie

That is what I call it. My husband knows what I'm talking about...maybe noone else would. But, I do know there are fellow P&P movie lovers out there :D So I mentioned in a past blog post that I would tell about my P&P "thing". It's not an obsession. It's a love (albeit an unconventional one, for me at least.) It all started last December. I had seen the previews for the movie, and thought it looked interesting. I'm always up for a good love story. I had not read the book, and hadn't seen any of the earlier versions (lots of folks adore the 6 hr. Colin Firth A&E version). I invited my sister to attend with me. We made a night of it - eating Mexican food, talking, laughing, and enjoying the "no kids" part for a few hours :) And we saw P&P (#1). I loved, loved, loved it. She thought it was really good too. A couple weeks later, I convinced dh to attend with me (#2). Even he enjoyed it (but he wouldn't want anyone to know it). The following week, I saw a matinee (#3). You have to know - I live an hour from the movie theater, and I've never in my life seen a movie more than once in the theater. So, it's early January by now, and the movie is leaving this theater in 2 days...so dh rolls his eyes and takes the girls to see something they would like, while I see P&P (#4). That should have been enough, yes? You would THINK. But, my birthday is January 11th, and I found out that P&P was playing in a town 2 hours from me...a town with a large mall, a Target, and a scrapbook store that I had never visited. So, for my birthday, I drove over and spent the day shopping...and seeing P&P (#5, and the last in the theater). It sounds ridiculous - I know it does! But, I didn't (and don't) care. I have the dvd, and I've watched it 7 or 8 times since February. I have the soundtrack on my Ipod shuffle, and love it (so do the girls!) Can I explain it? No. Do I try? Not usually, lol. I just know I'm not alone, and it was worth every penny to make all those trips. To just ENJOY something for the pure fun of it, whether it made any sense or not...it was such a great feeling. So, see the movie, listen to the soundtrack, and fall in love with P&P.

PS. I did watch the A&E version....not so good. I did TRY to read the book...really not so good (and I usually love books much better than movies.) It was something special about that movie, the actors, the music, the settings....

warm days, cool thoughts

This is the time of year that my husband starts saying "It will cool off, right? We won't be stuck in summer forever?" He works outdoors, and the hot, hot weather is hard on him. Wanted to scrap about our little snow this past winter :)

more Masters layouts

Also figured out the slideshow :)

are you guilty?

I am. Of watching Big Brother All Stars. I know, I know! It's trashy tv, but I can't stop watching - and reading the live feed updates which I discovered a couple weeks ago. And if The Amazing Race were to have Will and Janelle as a team, I'd definitely watch that (loved the race with Rob and Amber). So, come one, you gotta tell me about your guilty pleasure :D I don't want to have a blog where I'm the only one talking.

for my sis

She's the best. And she needs reminded of that. This is in the Masters book (I think, lol).

poppy ink

If you haven't checked out the kit club at www.poppyink.com, you are missing a treat! Heather Burch puts together such fun kits, and her design team is top notch. I'm very thrilled to be joining the folks at the Poppy Ink site! Thank you, Heather!!

Thank you!!

A big shout out to all the ladies in the Savannah area (and those who are driving from a bit further away). I just got word that my workshops there are booked up. Very excited about that, and looking forward to seeing you all in September. Thank you to Savannah Scrapbooking and staff for all you've done, and all you are doing to prepare for the September Scraptacular event!!

cleaning out closets

One of my favorites as seen in Ask The Masters. That little rhinestone buckle? Target clearance. Don't you love finding little goodies like that?

Ever clean out a child's closet and just get very sentimental about the little things you find? Ever have a hard time getting rid of older items that are no longer played with? I do. I did. But they are growing and changing, and with small closets, there is no way I can keep it all. That was my Saturday.

new idea book

This one is hitting the shelves. I'm thrilled to be a part of such a wonderful group of ladies - the 2006 Memory Makers Masters. I haven't seen the book yet, but I just know it is full of inspiring layouts by my friends and fellow Masters.

BasicGrey rocks

These projects were created for Creativexpress.com. I'm sure I've said it before....I'll say it again - BasicGrey ROCKS :D If you haven't checked out their August Newsletter - do so. Awesome ideas in the newsletter every month. This month it also happens to have my little nephew featured on a layout :D

for all who post comments

I love getting comments, but I wanted you to know that I cannot reply to them...I do not get an email addy for you. So, if you ask me questions - I can't answer! lol Not sure what to do about that. I often want to reply back, but I can't figure out how.

simple little things like buttons

I tell you, I've searched high and low for Foof Happily Ever After buttons. Seriously - I was convinced they did NOT exist. Nobody ever had them in stock. Just a photo of those yummy buttons with the words "Out of Stock" below. But, this morning, I found those buttons at Rocky Mountain Hobbies (THANK YOU!) and threw some more goodies in the basket to go along for the ride. Can't have my buttons getting lonely now, can I? Have you ever searched for that elusive scrapbook supply that you KNOW would just make your layouts sing? Then you know how I feel about those buttons :D

workshop news

Jamie at Savannah Scrapbooking announced my classes today!

Savannah Scrapbooking
September Scraptacular!
Saturday September 23, 2006
Call (912) 920-4451 to prepay/register.

Designs with Heart - 9am until 12pm
Complete SIX 12x12 layouts while receiving instruction and ideas on adding "heart" to your pages. Each page will feature different techniques and designs with a heart theme. We will discuss ways to add "heart" with journaling, titles, accents, and photos. We'll be using the newest products available from top companies such as BasicGrey and Fancy Pants.

Handmade Blooms Family Album -1:30pm - 4:30pm
Discover the fun of creating your own one of a kind flower embellishments as we create this TEN page 9x9 album dedicated to our families. We will explore techniques such as crumpling, sanding, layering, hand-stitching, and cutting flowers from paper with a craft knife. We'll learn ways to enhance our creations with brads, buttons, ribbon, ink, floss, crystals, paint, chipboard, transparencies and rub ons. This class features the newest Chatterbox papers, tons of embellishments, and Heidi Swapp albums. We are sure you'll have a "bloomin'" good time!

Looking forward to the fun!

long day

of designing here. But, I'm definitely making some progress with my workshops :) It's exciting to see it all come together! I'm waiting on some more product to finish it all up, but here is a little peek in the meantime - and I WILL sew that button, folks ;)

Monday, Monday

Spent the day with Mom, so it had to be good :) I thought Olivia was playing a trick on me today when she came in from school saying "Why wasn't Michaela on the bus?" I even walked to the front door and called Michaela's name...thinking she was hiding outside. And she wasn't there. So, a quick trip up to the school (which isn't far) was in order. She just got confused and got in the "cars" group instead of the "bus" group.

Saw "Step Up" on Saturday night. I can recommend it! Rich even liked it (but don't tell him I told you).

Just plugging along on more class designs. Hoping to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Tired tonight. Will post again soon.

recent movies?

I'll admit it. I'm a pushover for a dance movie. Dirty Dancing is one of my all-time favorite movies (I enjoyed Save the Last Dance too, but Shall We Dance wasn't nearly as good). So the previews for Step Up look really good. I'm hoping to sweet talk the hubby into going with me to see it tonight. Keep in mind that to see a movie, we must first drive at least 45 minutes (another living in the boonies perk). It's worth it! I could also stop by Hobby Lobby and Books A Million while I'm there. So do you like movies? Anything else you recommend seeing soon? One of these days I'll get up the nerve to discuss my Pride and Prejudice obsession.....

sneak peek

Just in case you think I've been loafing all week, here is a little peek at a few of the designs I've been working on for my upcoming workshops at Savannah Scrapbooking in Savannah, Georgia, on September 23rd. Can you tell I love color? :D I hope you do too. After standing and scrapping (yes, on my bed) for 4 days, I'm a bit tired. But, I promised my 2 sisters that I would crop with them tonight. It's something we seldom get to do, so I AM looking forward to being with them...just not sure if I'll be able to scrap, lol. We'll be cropping with Heather (southernart) and friends here in town. She says we are getting pizza (which is WAY better than my usual Lean Cuisine dinners). Have a great weekend!

and the RAK winners are

Since I have 2 daughters, I had them each draw a name from the hat. The winners are: Michelle Morley and Danielle C!!! I'll send each of you the same prize package that contains: 1 tin of Die Cuts To Go by K&Co, 1 set of Heidi Swapp white fuzzy rubon alphas, 1 Heidi Swapp paint tube, 1 package of Heidi Swapp chipboard circles, and 1 package of Heidi Swapp punctuation chipboard. I hope you enjoy your goodies :D
Thanks to all that posted on my poll thread and to all of you that read my blog!

RAK poll - last call

If you haven't responded to the poll below, and you want a chance at a great RAK, please do so by this afternoon. At that time, I'll have the girls draw out a name!

not my usual

I'm a "one layout at a time" kind of gal, but not today. Today I tackled 6 at the same time. I'm working on my designs for one of the workshops I'll be teaching at various scrapbook stores this fall, and in order to have the best mix of themes, designs, colors, and techniques, I have to do them at the same time. I'll tell you, it's a job! But, I'm loving the layouts so far. I'm using some new photos and some old, mostly 4X6s. It helps that I have the new BasicGrey, Chatterbox, and Fancy Pants papers :D I even challenged myself to do a cardstock layout...okay, I cheated and used 1 strip of CBX stripe ;) Do you ever challenge yourself? How do you get outside your "box"?

she takes my breath away

For almost 11 years now. How can my baby be so big? This is why I scrapbook...I want to capture these moments and write about them, because in a blink she'll be getting married and having babies of her own. She's planning her birthday celebration this week...making notes of who she wants to invite and what she wants to do, and when and where she wants to go. It's the sweetest thing.
I'm truly blessed.

CHA K&Co display photos

Some photos I took with my little digital of the K&Company booth at CHA. And one of my friend, Valerie Salmon, and I on the last day of the show...so pardon the tired eyes ;) I especially loved the Addison line - blue and green - SO ME. The Twinkle Type glitter chipboard pieces make beautiful decor or craft items.

fun poll with RAK

I enjoy looking thru my stats and seeing the cities and countries of the people who visit my blog. It makes me very curious, you see, to know I have friends in all kinds of places...friends I might not have met yet. I thought I'd post a poll question, and after 3 days (Wednesday afternoon), I'll have O or M draw a name from those who answer the poll. Then, I'll send out a RAK to the winner of the drawing...something good, not sure what yet, but you'll like it :) So here goes! Can't wait to hear from you!

What is your favorite color of cardstock? The color that you always have on hand. The color you reach for over and over, or the color that just makes you happy. If your color is made by a particular company, be sure to tell me the brand.
And to get you started, my favorite is Green Tea (KI texture) by Bazzill :D

HOF layout

This one was posted on the CK site. Not one of my favorites from the entry (check out the HOF book coming in Sept/Oct to see those), but I still like it. KI is one of my all time favorite lines of paper. I reach for it time and time again. We returned to Orange Beach this past week, and I took more shell seeking pictures :)

BasicGrey mini book

This is one of my projects posted at www.creativexpress.com in the Tutorial section of the forums. I used Bazzill chipboard coasters as the base of my mini book. Love, love those! I added BasicGrey papers, alphas, and rubons, MM blooms, and K&Co epoxy accents. When I get the project back home, I'm going to add some personal journaling to each spread. Do you enjoy mini books? I don't do a lot of them, and I'm wondering if I'm missing something. Let me hear from you - leave me a comment ;)

Teaching in Savannah

So excited to be headed to Savannah Scrapbooking in Savannah, GA, for 2 workshops in September. Will give more details soon, but for now I have to get busy on the designs!

K&Company projects

These are a few of the projects I created for K&Company for CHA Summer, using their new Twinkle Type. That is Jenn Bourgeault's little girl, Lily, on the mini tin :)

first day of school

And I miss them already. Why does our school start so soon? At least both girls were excited and happy about it.

Teaching again

I'm excited about teaching scrapbook classes again! Several years ago I taught classes for several not-so-local stores, and loved it. Last year, I traveled and taught for K&Company to expos and CKUs around the country. I miss it, so I'm going to try it as an independent. I'm about to begin designing my fall and winter workshops, and I'll try to give you some peeks as I go along. If you are a store owner, retreat or cruise organizer, or anyone in need of an instructor, please don't hesitate to contact me for details. If you are a scrapper who would like to have me teach at your local store, please recommend me to your store owners :) I've always said it is the people that make this hobby the BEST!

I wonder if I'll remember

It's been so long since I scrapped. But, with photos like these, I'm sure to get some scrapping vibes soon :) The lighting was perfect, but the beach was crowded. I would have preferred no buildings or people in the backgrounds, but I'm happy that I got what I did.
The girls start school THIS WEEK. Can't believe it. Summer flies by. I will really miss having them with me every day. We are rushing around doing those last minute things. Got school supplies, got back packs. Olivia is still deciding on her first day outfit. M has decided, but Mommy is hoping to change her mind, lol. Wish me luck!