Latest LO

I know the weather is getting warm, but I felt like scrapping a Christmas LO! All of the patterned papers, diecut papers, and transparency are by Creative Imaginations.

Title: Their First Christmas Together

Journaling: and hopefully one of many! '08

Update

In less than 2 weeks my baby boy will be a year old...man, I'm seriously trippin' over that! I need to decide rather quickly what to do for his first birthday. We'll probably have a small get together at the house. So let's see... at 11 (and a half) months, Xander is growing in leaps and bounds! He's cruising like a pro and even testing his balance by trying to stand unassisted, he has 6 teeth, gets into everything, especially my scrap stuff, and says Donovan's nickname (Don-Don). He loves food, I mean really loves it! If I walk into a room with food, he will run down on me so fast and grunt until I give him what I'm eating!

April is also an important month because I have to register Donovan for kindergarten. Yeah...trippin' over that one, too! My big boy is so smart! I know he's not going to have any problems moving on to the next stage in school.

I know I say this a lot, but time flies way too fast and watching my children grow up is a daily reminder of that!


As time passes, I keep doing what I love...scrapping baby! I created this mini album for scrap-diner.com about my favorite exhibit at this year's flower show. I mixed a bunch of manufacturers here and I love how well the colors go together. Green, especially that bright spring green is moving in to my favorite color spot. I can't get enough of it!

Can you see why I loved it so much? Shoes and flowers...2 of my favorite things!

Thanks for taking a peak!

Project Overload

I've been scrapping my booty off! I created 2 LOs and a card for My Little Shoebox today. I called out sick, but I'm never too sick to scrap!

I worked with Flawless this time around...love all of the black touches on the papers!


When is the last time you used a piece of vellum on a LO? I forgot I had some left! It came in handy in killing some of the "busyness" of the floral paper so it wouldn't overwhelm my photos.

I added a Maya Road pin and owl to complete this card.

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This month I also had the pleasure of serving as Trunk Designer of the Month for Paper Trunk! I had the chance to work with their new lines, Socialite and Maybe Baby, as well as Wrangler and 1974. Yeah, you could say I had a lot of fun with these papers!!

journaling: you are one little boy who loves the snow! every time it snows, you plead with me to let you go out and play in it. I'm always happy to oblige especially since I end up getting great shots out of the deal!

journaling: I am a mother to 2 of the most adorable little boys in the world; I’ve been on my job for nearly 10 years; I have been scrapping for 5 years and love it; I’m a wannabe photographer;
I’m about to celebrate 7 years of marriage (15 years together); I’m still impatient, but becoming more and more comfortable with who I am; I’ve discovered my first wrinkle, right across my forehead

journaling: Xander gets his 1st "taste" of the ball pit...he literally tried to eat the balls! Party and Play 3/7/09

journaling: When the time comes for you to fall in love, remember this...do what makes you happy and find someone who gets their greatest joy seeing you that way!

Silence Is Golden

Aaaaahhhhh! Do you hear that? That my dear is the sound of silence in my house and I'm the only one here to enjoy it! There's no one asking me what's for dinner, or for a snack, or for something to drink, or demanding a diaper change. No one is here to talk me to death, the TV is off and I am left with my own thoughts...I can actually hear myself think! I didn't take great advantage of my quiet time, though- well it's nice outside and I hate staying in the house when it's nice. I went back to the mall (this time without the boys and my goddaughter in tow) and boy did I put a hurtin' on my debit card. What can I say, the boys needed everything for spring and summer (and I picked up a few little things for myself, of course). I racked up at Old Navy for Xander, all of their baby clothes were $5!!! Cha-ching! I also took in a movie. I had heard so many good reviews about the movie Taken that I had to check it out for myself. Man, talk about a good action flick, I loved it! If every girl in the world had a father like that, there would be a LOT less crimes against women, I tell ya! LOL! Anyway, let me get back to enjoying me peace and quiet. I need to start another LO for the guest designer position at Paper Trunk. I have 2 complete, but I'll wait until they're all done and upload at the same time.

Ta-Ta for now!!

Belated St Pat's Pictures

First let me warn you...be prepared to see some up coming projects with lots of buttons!!! I bought this bag o buttons for only $3 at this warehouse sale. Don't ask me what the hell I plan on doing with all of these buttons, but I'm gonna make something happen. My glitter and alcohol inks are about to get a work out!

***CLICK ON PHOTOS TO SEE IN FULL***



I'm finally getting around to posting these pics I took of the boys. My computer's power cord frayed and stopped charging the battery which means I had to use Donovan's 7" laptop just to catch up with my online peeps!

I need to get my camera checked out, or possibly get a new body. For some reason, a lot of my pics have been coming out a little blurry...definitely can't have that!

Xander did not like that hat one bit! He kept snatching it off and growling like he was frustrated with me! LOL!

He loves chocolate...he's his momma's son!

Dream Girls new challenge is up. This challenge is inspired a little by St. Patrick's Day. Pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, an Irish tale of leprechauns people symbolize the pot of gold as success. So with that in mind we came up with this challenge.

Prompt: Use title if I were a rich girl

Twists: Use some green on your layout & we want to see bling

Looking forward to seeing your projects for this challenge.

Check out what the rest of the Divas came up with!

Here's my take on the challenge.

journaling: If I were to win the lottery for millions of dollars, the first thing I would do is quit my job! (well, after making sure the check cashed) I would hire a professional to help me manage the money as well as do all of the responsible things like securing my family's future. Then I'd spoil myself silly! I'd take all of the vacations I'd always dreamed of taking and buy a lavish home. I'd take my mom away on vacation- she's never been on a plane before. I'd also share the wealth with those who were in my life when I was broke and donate to charities that are close to my heart. I dream about getting rich on an almost daily basis, it would be nice if my dream became a reality!

The next 2 projects are the other half of my guest designer projects for scrapfreak.com.

I adore these pictures of Donovan and Troy hanging out together at the resort in Jamaica. I took a minimalists approach to this LO to allow the pics to shine. The pps here are from Bella Blvd- really cute papers!

A really quick card made with Cosmo Crickets Ever After line.

This one was created for one of the March Madness crop challenges over at scrap-diner.com.

That's all for now! I still have a ton of projects to do, but my mojo is lacking! Wish me luck getting it back.

My Little Shoebox Contest at 2Peas

my little shoebox + two peas in a bucket are teaming up to host a layout contest just for you - our two peas community members + my little shoebox fans! entering couldn't be easier - here's what you'll need to do :*Create a layout of any theme and size using 85% My Little Shoebox Product.*Upload your project to the gallery - don't forget to check the "my little shoebox + two peas layout contest" box under member challenges to be included in the challenge!*Your layout should have at least FIVE tags associated with it.*Your layout should have at least THREE related products associated with it. Please note that to associate a product to your project, it must be available in the Two Peas store.*Projects must be uploaded by 11:59 p.m. CST 4.15.09 to be entered into the contest.*two peas + my little shoebox will select three winners who will each receive a prize package from my little shoebox.*each winner will also be featured on the my little shoebox blog and in a two peas newsletter.sound good? get to it! what are you waiting for?
To read more about it, go to two peas in a bucket.

Really Quick Post

It is so late...uh, well early depending on how you look at it. It's after 2 am and I'm still up! I just finished slapping the first coat of color paint on the bottom half of the basement, emailing a friend whom I've reconnected with through facebook, and checking emails.

The basement is coming along very well...it's almost done, but the painting part is a J-O-B! I've been painting for 3 days, my body aches and I have developed callouses, but I just keep reminding myself to keep going if for nothing else other than the fact that I'm going to have my own space! I am beat, though! I keep forgetting to upload progress photos, but I will eventually.

Here are 2 projects that I managed to squeeze in between coats of paint. I created them for my guest designer spot at scrapfreak. Both LOs are about my Xan-Xan. Can you believe my baby is 11 months old today?

I played with glimmer mist and some new Bella Blvd goodies and added lots of Kaiser pearls on this one!

This LO is about his gorgeous eyelashes. Isn't it a shame that I am the only girl in a house with 3 males and they all have long, luxurious, thick curly eyelashes and I have to damn near poke myself in the eye trying to apply mascara to my almost non-existent eyelashes? Yeah, I have eyelash envy!

I used some new Cosmo Cricket on this one...glimmer mist, too! I also created this for my week 2 entry into the great ribbon rave over at savvynsassy.

TFL! Now let me go and get my butt in the bed! I'm taking advantage of the fact that I'm off tomorrow! LOL!

What's Up With The Weather?

So I'm participating in yet another contest...I love contests because the really get my mojo going. The Great Ribbon Rave over at savvynsassy is in full swing...I actually multitasked with this LO, it's for the ribbon rave (had to use a sketch by Dalis and one of 2 color combinations, plus 2 different ribbons) and for my March Madness crop challenge over at scrap-diner.com (use bling and any part of a Jewel song as journaling or title).

Oh btw, my DH would have a fit if he knew I posted this pic of us online, so don't tell him...OK! LOL!

So back to my question at hand...what the heck is going on with the weather in NJ? Today, the weather was a gorgeous 70 something degrees...and just a few days ago (Monday), we were covered in snow and Tuesday and Wednesday we were in the low 20s.

Here are a few pics I took on my lunch break Monday.

I took a picture of this fence this past fall...maybe if I remember I can take one when Spring is in full bloom and then in Summer to do a comparison.

**CLICK ON THE PHOTOS TO VIEW THEM IN FULL**

Hmmmm, let's see what else I can share...oh Xander FINALLY started crawling today! The funny part, he's been cruising for the longest... now he crawls to get to the coffee table so he can pull himself up and walk around the furniture. He'll be 11 months old on Monday which means walking and really getting into things is right around the corner.

I took 3 days off from work, I just need a break. So yesterday, I spent a couple of hours at the Philadelphia flower show. It's the oldest and largest indoor flower show, I've been dying to get there and I finally did...I really enjoyed myself despite the fact that I had to pay $18 to park for 2 hours and drove 3 hours (roundtrip). I took a ton of photos (over 350) and will share a few later!

Thanks for stopping by!

My 300th Post

WOW, I can't believe that this the 300th post in 2 years! I must be awfully chatty, LOL!
Well, for my 300th post, I have a LO to share. I've wanted to scrap this subject for the longest time (I swear my mental scrap to do list is a mile long). I created this for the Jenni Bowlin Studio contest over at scrapfreak.com. For the contest, I had to use at least 3 JB products....well that was easy considering how much I LOVE her stuff!

I used some new Prima and Graphic 45 papers here too along with some embellishments that have been in my stash FOREVER! I don't know what is is about using stuff that gives me such a feeling of accomplishment, of maybe that's just me subliminally giving myself permission to buy new stuff! HA!

I created this LO about my little old house.

journaling: When we first moved into this house, I was pregnant with Donovan. This little 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom cape cod seemed perfect for our growing family. Little did I know how quickly we would outgrow it; a baby in the house takes up a lot of space. I soon began to dislike this house and often wish for a bigger one, one with more character, more storage space. Recently, I realized that I spend more time wishing for a better home than appreciating the one that I have. Troy and I became parents in this house. I nursed my babies in this house, celebrated holidays and birthdays and continue to watch our children grow up in this little house. I've laughed, cried, cursed, and praised all in this very house. There are a lot of people in this world who are homeless; although I have my issues with my home, I'm happy to have it. Hopefully adding square footage with the renovation of our basement will help me love this old house a little more! 2/28/09

I wrote my address on the JB ticket after I took the photo. Oooh, I just love these new thickers; I love script and I can see that I'm going to have to pick up a few more!

I used a keyhole brad as a flower center- I don't know where this is from, but I've had it forever!

Well, that's it for now...thanks for stopping by!

Bowled Over With Excitement

This month, I landed 2 Guest Designer positions! The first is at scrapfreak.com-I love this site, the members there are so fun and chatty! I created this LO of Donovan's 5th birthday for the GDT contest. I had to create a LO using the numbers 1-7...this was definitely fun to do! I spelled some of the numbers out, left others in # form and included the 6 and 7 in the journaling.

Secondly, I am the Trunk Designer of the Month for Paper Trunk! OMG, I'm still beaming from ear to ear! I submitted this LO to the contest and it was chosen...there were so many amazing LOs submitted, I'm just so happy that they chose mine! YAY!! You can check the blurb out on the Paper Trunk Blog. A box of product for me to design with is on the way and I can't wait! Love their stuff!

Thanks for stopping by!!

It's That Time Again

The latest challenge from Dreamgirls is up and this time, it's an ad challenge! Here's the ad...we had to use a safety pin on the LO and something from outside of the scrap aisle. Click here to see what the rest of the Divas came up with!

Here's my take on the ad. I used the colors (brown, black, and trace of red), the distressed look, and the layering as inspiration.

I took this photo of Donovan last Summer and had no idea how to scrap it. I like the outcome, plus I finally had the opportunity to test out some Graphic 45 papers!! They work well with the Jenni Bowlin papers here!

Now for the deets! I took apart the lollipop flower and replaced one of the circles with a piece of red patterned paper. I then cut a piece of gauze (my non scrappy item) into a circle, spritzed it with glimmer mist and added it to the back of the flower. I coupled the safety pin with a piece of savvynsassy lace to finish off the center.

I added Kaiser pearls (can't get enough of these) to buttons and used them as centers for the smaller paper flowers.

I spritzed the JB die cut paper with sandy beach glimmer mist and outlined with a red pen, then added simple journaling and an acetate "D".

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There's still plenty of time to sign up for Croptopia workshops in Parsippany, NJ March 27-29th. Just click here for all of the info!