2 Projects and Some Fall Photos

I made this nearly 3 months ago; I've been trying to get it pubbed, but no takers so I'm posting it! I took all of these pics myself (using Donovan's mirror) during my pregnancy with Xander. I cut 2 Making Memories die cut papers and adhered them so as to look like a pregnant belly. I used some savvynsassy lace and American Crafts thickers to finish it off.

journaling: i don't think there's ever been a time in my life when i felt more beautiful than when i was pregnant with Xander. The first 4 1/2 months were rough- i was sick and had lost 10lbs, but i still felt like i glowed. i think there's something to be said about the 2nd time around. i guess i understood the changes that my body would go through and i revelled in it and really enjoyed being with child!

This card was created using card sketch #21 from creativelyyours.wordpress.com and just rite stamps (used on the orange circles).

This time last year I was pregnant with Xander and sick as a dog...morning (more like all day)sickness was kicking my butt!! Needless to say, my favorite season to photograph passed me by and I don't have a single picture to show for it because I was glued to my couch...the trash can...the toilet bowl...you get the picture!

This year, I made it a point to at least go out in my neighborhood and take a few pics. This one was taken right from my front yard.

*CLICK ON THE PHOTOS TO SEE THEM IN FULL*

Troy and I took the boys to the park last Sunday. I have passed this swing set many times, but this time for some reason it was calling for me to photograph it!

I'll be the first to admit, I have a thing for wooden fences...I just need to take pictures of them!! The following 4 photos were taken in Johnson Park. I went there the other day on my lunch break and snapped a few photos. It was chilly, but peaceful!

I love how the sun broke through the leaves--hurt my eye a little trying to capture this one!

I took a bunch of pictures of this bridge.

This is my little boo boo- he was so sick this day that I was called to pick him up early from daycare. Yes, I tortured him and made him pose for me, cold and all...he even managed a smile.

I just love those chubby little fingers!

Here's my big boy playing ever so confidently at the playground...boy it seems like yesterday when he was petrified to get on anything!

Thanks for taking a peek!

Daily Question

This LO came out way busier than I had intended, but it works for the subject matter. If I had a nickel for the amount of times Donovan asks me for snack during the course of a day, I would be a very rich woman! I swear, I'm on the brink of insanity (for many reasons, LOL)!! Sometimes he doesn't even give me a chance to answer before he asks again. He sounds a little like this: mommycanIhaveasnack, mommycanIhaveasnack, mommycanIhaveasnack? I've been teaching him the difference between healthy snacks and junk food snacks and telling him that it's important to have more healthy snacks in your diet. He's so darn smart and good at rationalizing that he'll ask "mommy can have a healthy snack?" after I've told him no he cannot have more cookies or candy...how do you say no to that? He's a trip, but I wouldn't trade him in for anything in the world.

I created this LO for scrap-diner. I love those Buzz and Bloom caption bubbles, as soon as I saw them in my package, I knew what I wanted to do!


Thanks to everyone for all of the well wishes for Donovan. It's amazing how quickly the mouth heals...his stitches have all dissolved and there's a tiny scar left but I know that will disappear soon as it's only been 1 week!

Ooops, Forgot To Post This One

Here's yet another acrylic album from My Acrylic Album!! I completed this about 2 weeks ago using photos that I took at my friend's granddaughter's 1st birthday (she's also Donovan's godmother).

To create the cover, I used self adhesive glitter paper for the "cupcake tin" part of the cupcake. I then drew the "top of the cupcake" onto a transparency, dabbed the edge with acrylic paint and adhered above the glitter paper and added stickles to make the "sprinkles".

I dabbed acrylic paint on the edges of all of the pages to give the album a "frosted" look.

Thanks for looking!

My Acrylic Album Overload!!

My Acrylic Album is having a design team call- details are at the end of this post...don't be scurred, acrylics are so much fun to work with...trust me, so go ahead and apply!

Here are my latest acrylic creations. This jack-o-lantern album can be found here- it's perfect for housing photos of my "li'l pumpkins". I adhered KI Memories lace cardstock to the pages and accented with Cosmo Cricket Hello Sunshine and lots of magistical memories chipboard. I left the back sides of the pages blank so I can add photos that I take of my boys later this year.

One day Xander and Donovan were lying on the floor, Xan was asleep and Donnie was watching TV, I looked down and saw this and my heart just melted!

I used My acrylic Album's square charms on this card. I painted the edges of all 3 charms with acrylic paint, added patterned paper behind the center one and a rub-on on top. (Yes, I used more savvynsassy ribbon!

I can't wait until I have some free time so I can get out and take some beautiful fall photos to fill this Autumn Album

How cute are these little acrylic buttons?! I just added patterned paper and ribbon and voila...a cute embellishment!

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OK, here's the info about the DT call:

What YOU do:

Be enthusiastic about your work, your artistic abilities and about our products!

Be original and forward thinking in your designs and your style.

Have the ability to use a variety of styles and up-to-date techniques while including various acrylic items on your projects.

Have stellar time management and organization skills that allow you to work within set / strict deadlines.

You must be able to create, photograph and post projects using the My Acrylic Album items that you receive, by the set deadlines.

You will post on the My Acrylic Album BLOG, at least once a month. Your blog will be an article/tutorial/project relative to acrylic/altering.

Submit your My Acrylic Album designs for publication (Magazines, ezines, contests, etc) at least monthly.

Be very active on message boards throughout the scrapbooking industry.

ADVERTISE!!!! Be PROUD to be on the My Acrylic Album Design Team! Put our banner/link on your BLOG and in your signature lines on scrapbooking message boards where allowed!

Post your finished projects online in the layout galleries of scrapbooking sites everywhere! You must identify MyAcrylicAlbum.com as the manufacturer used in your designs regardless of where the project is posted/submitted.

Agree by applying, to release the rights of your designs to MyAcrylicAlbum.com for display on the company website, forum, BLOG and in company materials and publications.

Must be at least 18 years of age, and a resident of the continental US.

Constant communication with both the My Acrylic Album owners and your DT coordinator is mandatory.

Be able to perform your required duties for the duration of your term. January - June, 2009.


What WE do:

Send you a monthly goody box of the newest, hottest, best quality acrylic products we have to offer, in a reliable and timely manner.
Send you other various scrappy goodies as they come into stock, or arrive from other manufacturers.
Give you 20% off all purchases from MyAcrylicAlbum.com during your tenure as a dt member.
Support you in your art and creativity any way we can.


How to Apply!

Send the following in one e-mail to: DT@Myacyrylicalbum.com

Your Scrapbook resume if you have one.
A paragraph or two about why you feel you would be a great addition to our team.
Four samples of your work. (2 layout / 2 altered). Photos must be clear, in jpg format, no larger than 500x500 pixels. (Clear/acrylic samples not necessary but helpful)
A listing of current design team obligations.
Your blog address if you have one.
Include your name, email address, phone number.
You MUST supply a direct link and your member name to any online galleries/communities you may be a part of.

Submission Deadline: November 30th

Designers will be announced no later than December 15th

And So It Begins

Well, today started out like any other day, but ended up with a trip to the emergency room! As a mom of 2 boys, I wondered just when the trips to the ER would start. Knowing how active boys can be, I figure I will have my fair share in due time. Today is probably just the beginning!

My baby gave himself a fat lip! He was going to his room to get his pillow and blanket, slipped on his too long sweat pants and busted his lip on the floor. OUCH! He cried so hard and as soon as I saw the blood, I knew we were going to have to go to the ER. I made him rinse his mouth so I could see just how bad it was...it was a pretty bad gash, very jagged...I made him hold a cold, wet washcloth to his mouth, threw some clothes on and took him to the hospital. He was strapped down to the hospital bed and ended up getting 3 stitches in his lip. He's in pretty good spirits, still playing and watching TV.

He's still a cutie, fat lip and all! Hope the scar left behind isn't too bad!

Lots Of Goodies In This Post

SWITCH!!!! This week, the DreamGirls and the Gutter Girlz switched Design Teams which turned out to be a blast...both teams rocked the challenges!!!

This is my interpretation of the Gutter Girlz challenge to us:

THE PROMPT: I can't.
THE SONG: Heaven Help Me by Gretchen Wilson
PRODUCT/TECHNIQUE: Pink

I painted and inked the distracting background of the photo, traced the ric rac to get the wave on the pattern paper and curled the torn edge. One thing I love about Basic Grey papers is that the lines mix and match very well. I used Romani, Scarlet Letter, and Ambrosia here...love that!

I used some of the lyrics from the song as my journaling, which includes the words "I can't" and 2 of the flowers are trimmed in pink. Click here to see what the rest of the Dream Girls came up with.


Our challenge to the Gutter Girlz was to create a layout using the colors Black & Pink (in honor of Breast Cancer awareness month) the twists are no pattern papers & must use some lace on your layout. Click here to see what the Gutter Girlz came up with.

Here's my interpretation--This is my baby sister (on the left) and her best friend. They look like they could be sisters!


Thanks so much to Noella from Creatively Yours for coming up with this wonderful card sketch (#19)! I think this card just may be my favorite of all the ones I've ever made. Lovin' those Bo Bunny Believe papers. The chunky ric rac as well as all of the yummy trims and lace on the projects in this post are from savvy n sassy, I tell ya you can find some of the best ribbon in that store! I distressed the ric rac a little by inking it and fraying the edges.

I loaded up on Sassafras papers and chipboard on my last shopping trip at my LSS and I have to say that this line is too darn cute! Although I am no longer in the Top Designer contest, I created this LO to follow along-- I think it's so cute and whimsical. Kind of looks like a page from a children's fairy tale! LOL!

Thanks for stopping by and allowing me to share with you! I'll have a couple of acrylic albums projects to share in my next post!

Tagged

I've been tagged by Aja-


1. I can not mop the bathroom floor before mopping the kitchen floor; if i had the room, I would have 2 separate mops.

2. I've only broken 1 bone in my life- 3rd finger right hand.

3. I'm a lefty.

4. I can't swim, but I love to snorkel...go figure!

5. Thursday the 12th is usually my bad luck day.

6. I am a serious daydreamer.

7. I probably have over 100 different pairs of shoes (including flip flops)

I'm tagging YOU!!

Creatively Yours Contest

Creatively Yours: Sketches by Noella is seeking two talented Guest Designers for the month of November.

The site is running a two-step contest to help find these two Designers.

ALL ARE WELCOME TO APPLY! Click here for full details!

Speaking of Noella's great sketches, one of the cards I made as part of her DT was chosen as a featured card on the WCMD website! YAY!!

2 Toots And A No-Go!

Has it really been a week since I last blogged? WOW! I have been so busy getting no sleep- LOL! My Xan has had a cold for about 2 weeks now. He's so stuffy and therefore not sleeping through the night and guess who gets the walk the floor in the wee hours of the morning? You've guessed it...me, 'cause of course DH can't hear the baby crying!!! I swear I'm so tired, my face hurts and I'm getting headaches again!! I ended up taking the day off today because I just couldn't get it together this morning. I have a pretty busy month, so it looks like I won't be getting any rest anytime soon!

Anyway...I have a bit of happy news...I was named as an honorable mention in the Reminisce DT search and I finally received the latest paper trends mag with my altered photo cube in it along with a box of scrap goodies! Check it out!!

As for my no-go, I didn't make it through to round 5 of the top designer contest...Oh well! I still plan on playing along for the last 2 challenges, if I have time. Here's the LO that I created for round 4.

detail close-ups:

A quick card I made for my DT position at scrap-diner

The ribbon and lace on the following projects are from savvynsassy's ZZ school days kit.

Lots of distressing on this one--loving the Ambrosia here!

I used my stylus to dot acrylic paint on the thickers to match the butterfly in the photo.

I'm teaching chipboard techniques at my LSS next month and created this LO to demonstrate 5 of them.

Are you looking for different ways to alter chipboard? I have demonstrated 14 different ways here...you can mix and match them...the possibilities are endless!

Thanks for taking the time to stop by!!