WOW, Almost 2 years!

I swear when you get older, time flies much too fast! I can't believe I've been blogging for nearly 2 years...I remember all too vividly the day I started...February 5, 2007. Of course, I'm going to have to give out a RAK on that day to celebrate...let me put my thinking cap on!
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DreamGirls new challenge is going up tomorrow-- you're gonna love this one! Here's a little sneaky of my LO.

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I created this LO the other day for my DT assignment at scrap-diner, using a pagemap sketch. I guess you can say this is Xander's first "school" pic. His daycare bought in a photographer to take the kids' photos and Xander, who normally smiles all day long, simply gave this little half grin!


Thanks for taking a peek and stay tuned for my blogaversary RAK!

Croptopia Getaways

Croptopia Getaways is coming to New Jersey!!!! It's the ultimate scrappers getaway and will be held at the Hilton in Parsippany March 27-29, 2009. Click here for all the info you need!

Accommodations include:

• Deluxe hotel accommodations and delicious buffet meals.
• Reserved crop seating with your friends.
• Generous table space (3' or more depending on hotel inventory) - everyone gets an end seat!
• Crop round the clock in our secure crop room (yes, you can crop all night long!)
• Shop to your hearts content in our Marketplace of vendors carrying the latest and greatest products.
• Fantastic goodie bags and prize drawings featuring the latest scrapbook trends.
• Complimentary Make It and Take It's.
• Unlimited access to the Creation Station complete with Accucut, Sizzix, punches, computer and printers loaded with journaling software and much more.
• Pamper your mind and soul with our Licensed Massage Therapists.
• Make a difference with our signature charity raffle.
• Surprises and pampering throughout...

And just take a wild guess as to who will be a guest instructor......MEEEEE!!! I can not wait, my brain is already churning trying to come up with a couple of fun projects! I hope to see you there, it's bound to be a BLAST!

January 29, 2004 7:19 am

Five years ago today I gave birth to this beautiful little boy. He has bought so much joy into my life with that cute little devilish smile and inquisitive nature. No one could have ever prepare me for the amount of love that has poured from my heart since he entered my life. I love him more now than I did the day he was born...he is the light in my life!


Happy birthday big boy!!! I hope you enjoyed your day!


This is the birthday cake that I sent to preschool for Donovan and his classmates to enjoy. He knew exactly what kind of cake he wanted- chocolate with his name on it in blue writing (this one is half and half)! I treated all of his school mates to pizza, ice cream, and goodie bags, too! Since this is his last year with his preschool mates, I figured he may as well have a great party!

Donovan was so excited when he came home to birthday gifts and balloons and over the top excited when he he saw his picture and received a birthday wish from Mommy, Daddy, and baby brother Xander on the Sprout channel!!! He told his grand mom (with a huge smile on his face) "I was on TV!!" "I was on TV!!" He also received lots of phone calls from loved ones wishing him a Happy 5th Birthday!

I hope all of his birthday wishes came true!

Sketch Fest

So what's a girl to do? I still have no mojo, yet I'm yearning to scrap something...anything! Luckily for me Serendipity Scrapbooks is having a winter sketchfest all month long featuring tons of sketches from all over the scrap world. Gotta love sketches!

I wanted to feature all of these cute pics that I took of Xander Christmas morning on 1 LO, so I went with a 2-pager. The first page was created using a sketch from pagemaps, the 2nd is my own design.

Can I tell you I ran out of white cardstock? Who does that? I had 1 plain white bazzill and 1 white bazzill bling...I didn't feel like running to the AC Moore, so I improvised! I went into my super old stash...those paper packs that I bought from Michael's way back when I started scrapping nearly 5 years ago and used the back of the paper for my white background. I think I may do that from now on...I may as well get some use out of it!

Here's a close-up of the first page-- this was my favorite photo from the entire shoot. Doesn't he look so innocent and sweet? Love my baby!

close-up of the 2nd page

This LO was also created using a pagemap sketch. I finally found a use for all of those miscellaneous tags that were cluttering my stash! One thing I love about Basic Grey is that you can always coordinate old lines with me ones. I used Fruitcake, Stella Ruby, and Boxer here along with some old and newer pink paislee stuff.

This LO was created using a sketch designed by serendipity scrapbooks owner, Kristen Simmonds. I love her sketches!

Not too sure how I feel about the colors on this one, but it's done...the photos are darn cute dontcha think?

As you can see, Xander loves those fingers!

Check out my new toy! Long gone are the days when I have to wait until daylight to photograph my projects! Woohoo!! This makes mama happy and it wasn't that expensive...the shipping is crazy, though because the box is so big. Wanna know where I bought it? Click here!

Thanks for taking a peek!

Oh No Mojo...

...where have you gone? Could it be the mountain of laundry that required my attention stopping my mojo from flowing? I've finally gotten it all folded, so maybe...just maybe I can get a project in the works! I haven't been able to get anything done except this card I made for my coworker's baby shower. I want to scrap so badly, but I'm fresh out of ideas....well for now anyway!
I created this card using a sketch from card patterns. TFL!

Happy Inauguration Day!

...and the whole world watched as the first African American president of the United States of America took the oath of office!

Even a 90 degree day would not have been enough to stop the chills that ran through my body today. I am so proud of the decision that this country collectively made, I am proud to be alive during this time, to witness such a historical moment!

There's so much work to be done, our country is in shambles, but there's no doubt in my mind that the right man has been chosen for the job. I love the fact that President Obama places this country's rebuilding responsibilities into the hands of each and every American...it creates a sense of accountability and in my mind will heighten the feeling of togetherness. I am so hopeful and can't wait to see what the next 4 years bring!

More My Little Shoebox

Check out the other projects that the rest of the DT members at My Little Shoebox created. Cute, cute, cute, I tell ya!!

My Little Shoebox Sneaks/Dream Girls Challenge

I had the pleasure of creating a few projects for CHA using one of the new lines from My Little Shoebox! Who's There is so bright and cheery, the colors just scream happiness and the owls and birdies are super cute! When creating with these papers, my main objective was to showcase how versatile the line is. I created male and female layouts, one distressed, one white space and 2 layered LOs! Fun, fun, fun!! If you're heading to CHA, stop by the MLS booth to check out the goods!

This is a photo of my Xander @ 3 1/2 month- I love that big juicy smile!

My little chatterbox, Donovan! He talks so much, he even talks in his sleep!

This is my friend's Granddaughter celebrating her first birthday.

My mom- I love thispicture of her, she looks so happy!

A little gift card box

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DreamGirls new challenge is up!! For this challenge, I had to use the title I'm Not..., use products older that 6 months old and incorporate paper tearing somewhere on the LO.

I tore a hole in the middle of the page, inked it and then backed it with magic mesh. The chipboard letters in my title are old as dirt, I've had them for years and had forgotten how much I like them! Love using up old stash!

Thanks for taking a peek!

MY LITTLE SHOEBOX NEW RELEASES

Oh my goodness!!!! My Little Shoebox has 6 NEW releases coming out at CHA this month and they are unbelievably CUTE!!! Just see for yourself!! Each set contains a die cut paper and the papers are really sturdy--they're all cardstock quality!

And get this..Helen has named papers for each of her design team members!!!! I swear she is just the sweetest and I'm giddy with excitement...mine is in the Wonderful line...Wonderful-Tanisha...I think I like the sound of that!

So here they are...MLS's new releases: Enjoy Life, My Neighborhood, Turtles and Trees, Flawless, Wonderful. Who's There?

Thanks for taking a sneak peek!

Slip, Boom, Boom, Boom, OOOWWWWW!!

Yeah...that would be the sound of me falling down the steps just after midnight!!! Go ahead and laugh! It's funny now, but I am jacked up! Talk about getting caught off guard...I was heading up to bed about 12:20 am, right? I remembered that I wanted to take some allergy medicine 'cause I was sniffling and sneezing, so I go bouncing my butt downstairs and BAM, I landed square on my butt and at the bottom of the steps! I am too damn old to be falling down the steps, my body can't take all that man! I hit my left elbow and skinned it and hit the heel of my left foot so hard that I can't even put all of my weight on it. I tried icing it this afternoon, but it still hurts like heck! Leave it to me! HAHAHAHAHA!

Good thing I had called out since Xan was sick, 'cause I would not have been able to walk around on this foot all day. I hope it's better tomorrow!

While I was out with my little one, I managed to get some scrapping in.

I broke out some more of my stickers since it's the product spotlight over at scrap-diner.com.

Thepics are of me and my baby boy all snuggled up on his first snow day! I love that his jacket allowed me to chose one of my favorite color combinations. The frame around the b/w pic is actually a journaling spot sticker, but I made it a frame and I colored the making memories journaling spot to match the rest of the LO.

journaling: this icy, snowy day was perfect for snuggling close to you!

I just couldn't wait until I had the opportunity to scrap these photos! They really showcase how much Donovan loves his brother. He really does hug him like that every day...all up tight on his cheek like that, and he kisses him and tells him that he loves him all the time. It's so heart warming!

journaling: big hugs...really tight squeezes accompanied by the words "I love you Xan!" and lots of kisses. Donovan truly loves his little brother and he truly shows him every single day! Xan is crazyfor him, too!

My plan for this month is to purge and get rid of all of the unnecessary things that clutter my life. Today, it was scrap magazines! I've kept all of the ones I've ever received since I started subscribing back in 2005! Today I took out the ones from 2008 to keep and I'm tossing the rest. (To the recycling bin you go) Ahhhh, that feels good!

Thanks for checking out my place!

Blog Feature

Check it out y'all, I was featured here on Inspirational Blog!!! The blog was created to showcase creations from around the world and Helena chose my blog and a few of my creations to showcase today! This has most certainly made my day!



I was also named Freak Of The Week at scrapfreak.com! I guess the year is starting off GREAT on the scrap front!! YAY!

New 'Do Photoshoot

Just 1 day into the new year, I found myself sitting in my stylist's chair and telling her to cut my hair! It's a new year, so why not get a new 'do. I told her to keep as much length as she could and just cut it in layers and I actually like how it turned out.

This is a picture of my hair at its longest...

...and this is what it looks like now! I really like it, it still has a lot of body and I have the flexibility of curling it tight to give it an even shorter look.

Of course this called for an impromptu photo shoot! I didn't feel like dragging out the tripod, so I just stood in the bathroom mirror and snapped away!

Work it girl! LOL!

New Technique And LOs For The New Year

OK, so it's the new year and I plan to slow it down for 2009!!! Last year, I tried to do everything...I rushed around and rushed around and finally I have to say ENOUGH!!!! I am a natural busy body, but I am thoroughly exhausted! You want to know how I bought in the new year? I was fast asleep! I had no desire to stay up and watch the ball drop, I mean once you've seen it...you've seen it!

I played Uno and Chutes and Ladders with Donovan, watched a little of Dick Clark's Rocking New Year's Eve special, made myself an apple martini to toast in the New Year and then went to bed!

I hate making resolutions because eventually I end up breaking them. There are however a few changes that I need to make in my life. There are 2 major things at the top of my stress list, I need to either change them or get rid of them, not matter how difficult it may be. Of course this is easier said than done since it could change my life drastically.

I need to be proactive with finding a new job. April marks my 10th year at my job and I've hated it for quite some time now, so I need to get on the ball...seriously!! There's nothing worse than forcing myself to get up and go to work everyday, knowing how much I don't want to be there. I love the people that I work with, but I hate how redundant my job is and the fact that there is nowhere for me to go! I hate the feeling that my skills have been rendered obsolete. I don't know who'll be hiring in this economy, but I'm going to search nonetheless!

I need to get on the ball with losing weight, which means I need to "just say no to sweets"! I AM going to lose at least 25 lbs this year. My plan is to shed 35 lbs by my 35th birthday in August, but something is better than nothing. My girls from high school, my sister, and I have started a weight loss challenge. We're each putting $25 in the pot and the person who loses the highest percentage of weight between Jan 5th and June 5th (our next spa weekend) gets the money. Oh, it's on now...they've tapped into my competitive nature and I wanna win, if only for the bragging rights!

I also NEED to get my finances in order and stop spending so frivolously!! 'Nuff said! There are more changes, but these are the things that I MUST change, NOW!

Hope you had a great New Year!!!

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Now on to the scrappy stuff! Dream Girl's Challenge # 19 is up!! To begin our first challenge in 2009 we decided that it would be perfect to create a layout using the word "NEW" in the title or journaling.

Product twist: Layout must be Black and White

Technique twist: handmade embellishment being the only additional color.

Click here to see what the rest of the Divas created!

journaling: Xander's new to the whole snow thing, but 'm sure next year big brother Donovan will introduce him to snow angels and snowball fights.

The theme for this month at scrap-diner.com is "The Simple Things". In keeping with the theme, I created a quick and easy technique that will help you use up one of the SIMPLEST items in your stash...STICKERS!! All of those random alpha stickers that you've had since you started scrapping are going to find a home in your albums. When you complete this technique, you will have a faux embossed piece of cardstock that you can use on your layouts and projects.

Supplies:
1 sheet of cardstock
several different packages of old alphabet stickers
acrylic paint
sponge brush applicator
spray adhesive
scissors

TIP: Cardstock stickers work best with this technique. If using stickers with a slick surface, just lightly run a sanding block across them to scratch the surface. This will help absorb the paint.)

Before beginning, remove all of the alphabet sheets from the packaging so they are readily available to peel off when needed.

Lightly spray the piece of cardstock with adhesive, working in sections so the adhesive doesn't dry before you get the stickers down. (This step helps keep the stickers down so they don't peel up after you apply the paint.)

Randomly apply the alpha stickers to the entire surface of the cardstock. Allow some stickers to hang over the edge for visual interest. Trim overhang with scissors. In my example, I put my title letters together first and then randomly adhered the rest of the alpha to the cardstock.

Use the sponge applicator to apply paint to the entire surface. The lighter the paint, the more coats you will have to apply. Just be sure to allow each coat to dry before applying the next. I used 3 coats of white paint in my example.

here's a closer look:

Once the final coat is dry, use as you wish on any project! For my example, I used a piece of die cut cardstock to trace the shape I wanted, inked the edge and adhered to a sheet of patterned paper. I then traced my faux embossed title letters with a black pen so they stood out from the rest.

It doesn't get any simpler than this, right?! Have fun creating your own look!!

journaling: you can add, subtract, count to 101 (to 10 in Spanish) and understand negative numbers.

You can spell: go, stop, cow, pig, dog cat, exit, car, one, cake, fire truck, the, & red all by yourself

You've know your shapes forever including the complex ones like crescent, hexagon, and octagon

You're learning to tell digital time, read numbers, and prices correctly

You know lots of Spanish words

You question everything and have a memory like an elephant!

Stay smart baby, learn something new everyday!

Thanks for taking a look!