Klutz extraordinaire

No, not a post about how I broke the Blackberry. Be patient. :)

I submitted this page for the cover of Scrapbook Trends for November. I used Scribble Scrabble's Autumn Afternoon collection, some of my very favorite fall papers to date. I love the unexpected green in them, which seem to be in all my fall photos:

Supplies: Scribble Scrabble Patterned paper Autumn Afternoon in Harvest stripes and A is for Apple; Scribble Scrabble Autumn Afternoon die cut journaling block; Scribble Scrabble Autumn Afternoon Chipboard shape; and Maya Road Chipboard Hearts; Making Memories Felt Alphas; Bazzil Ecru cardstock; Claudine Hellmuth Studio paint Red and green (on hearts)

That look of wonder? That's probably more like morbid fascination on J's part. I will be scrapbooking this photo again to include how I fell out of a tree that I climbed to take the photo. I can't believe I got the photo (clicking all the way down) and didn't land on my child, break my camera, or any bones in the process. Sheer luck, which I did not deserve for my brazen stupidity in climbing the tree to begin with. Happy Thursday to you! Until tomorrow.

Driving-by Tuesday

I figured I'd better get this batch of photos scrapped since we are going to go back to the beach here in a few weeks. I'm a little stumped on my aquarium photos, they aren't your typical blues. This beach is just around the corner from my parents, it's a little piece of heaven on earth. 

Supplies: American Crafts Patterned paper: Crafts Fair Doris Spooler and Faye Needleworth; American Crafts Flair "smile"; American Crafts Typo Peacock Thickers; plus white cardstock, Scenic route summer rub-ons, and jolee's flip flips.

I have an unnatural affection for that yellow AC paper. It's the most perfect shade of yellow. CHA should be underway! Happy Tuesday to you! Until tomorrow.

Scribble Scrabble release

In honor of CHA starting tomorrow, I thought I'd post some photos of the new Scribble Scrabble lines. As far as I know, I don't think Cynthia is attending CHA, so these lines are available for stores to order from the Scribble Scrabble website. I love the way she photographed them, so inspiring.

Jeepers Creepers:

Lullaby of Birdland:

Party time: I love the grid paper in all of these lines! And I wish I had the party time line already as I really, really need to make a birthday card. :) Plowing through my to-do list today. Happy Monday to you! Until tomorrow.

Driving-by, again

Thankful for the rain. Thankful my pug seems to be better. Thankful it's the weekend. Here is a page with Cosmo's the Boyfriend line:

Supplies: Cosmo Cricket The boyfriend Patterned paper:  Appreciation, Tube socks, Study hall and Homework; plus K& Co Alphas, Basic Grey rub-ons, American Crafts chipboard apple and Bazzil white and gray cardstock.

I tried to pick rub-ons and embellishments for his age. I'm waiting to date this until his first day. But I feel like I'll need the reminding to be ok with it on that day. I'm going to put the date over the apple. Happy Friday! Until tomorrow.

Ohm No! Doing? Doing!

What have we been up to? Oh that's right, standing outside with a very sick dog. Every hour for the last 48 hours straight. With a two year old, saying over and over the above (translation: Oh no! What are you doing? Doing! to the poor dog who has neither privacy or dignity at this point.) I can't imagine who he heard that phrase from. :)

And as I opened the newspaper (a national paper) this morning in an attempt to distract myself from said infirmed dog and chatty cathy across from me I almost choked on my special K. My two counties were specifically named as being the only two in the country where the real estate market has stabilized and is in fact increasing! As someone trying to buy a house I'm feeling ill. What a bunch of crap! And after the last 48 hours, let's just say I know a little something about crap. (So sorry if you are checking this on your lunch break, truly I am.)

So when the going gets tough, the tough fall off the wagon. At least if you are me you do. At 10:42am today I went down in flames. I don't think it's fair to say that I fell anywhere. That implies I was somewhat innocent, when in fact it was all very methodical. I dove face first into a chocolate coke (made with smuckers chocolate and regular coke--you could do diet coke, but really, what's the point?). And I don't even feel guilty yet, even with my lil audience patronizing me with "Ohm no! Doing? Doing!" 

Let's hope Cosmo's new lines can cheer me up. I hear a Boyfriend is good for that sort of thing. Thank you Cosmo for all the new stuff, it's all amazing.

Happy Thursday! Until tomorrow.

Driving-by, hi!

Well, no rain. The drought continues and it's sunny here today. Weird. Having a rough morning, which is why this layout is quickly becoming one of my favorite. It's relevant in so many situations!

Supplies: American Crafts patterned paper: Backyard Flutter, Baby This Little piggy, Craft Fair in Myrtle O'Seam, Doris Spooler, Elanore Battington and Faye Needleworth; American Crafts Fieldhouse pink butterfly; American Crafts Flair paperclip; American Crafts Rainboots thickers black; plus Kaiser craft pearls.

It's been rumored that I've broken up with white cardstock. I prefer to think we are on a break. Thanks for stopping by, you guys sure had a lot to say about dog treats and strange toys! Happy Tuesday! Until tomorrow.

Monday morning enabling

I was going to take some photos of my scrap room so that you can see where this is going to go, but it's very overcast here. I'm sure there is not enough light in that room to make it worth the effort today. I got this yesterday, saw it in the Pottery Barn catalog on sale:

Isn't it beautiful? I've been wanting a digital picture frame for myself for years, but never could decide on one. Love that this is "built in" to the unit. It was on sale for $129.00 from $259.00. I got 2 rods to hang it with, since I never got the other one for my magnetic board. Now I can hang them both, so very excited! Definitely the purchase of the year for me, and it was on sale! I'm seriously counting the days until it arrives. :)

I have a layout, but I've got to go work with the light to photograph it so you can see. I'll do that today, should be a drive-by for you tomorrow. Until then, happy Monday!

How Bizarre

I feel like sometimes I find inspiration in the strangest of places. Like these are my dog's new treats, I wonder if they are any good? Beneful. I don't know which one is stranger: that I took a photo or that I wonder what they taste like? He seems to like them, but then my dog is kind undiscerning and will eat anything.

We have been playing with this creature: 

It's from a bucket of parts I got at the Learning store called SeaBonz. It's a company in NY city, it seems like it's inspired by modern art. I love playing with it, it is seriously a cool toy. They have other sets too-insects, skeletons, etc. I have to keep tabs on the little pieces though and put the whole thing up high when not in use. But a really cool toy for a kid who is into ocean stuff none the less. I hate to sound old, but they didn't have cool toys like this when I was little.

That's all we are up to. Hoping to get this layout that is in my head, well out of my head this weekend. Happy Friday! Until tomorrow.

DIY

It's been an interesting day already. I set off the alarm, almost missed the trash truck, and grabbed my two year old before he could run in front of a car backing out of a driveway (he was on the sidewalk). Otherwise, it's the same old, same old around here. We did sign J up for preschool, but he is on a list. Worst case scenario is a 6 month wait. Gotta love this crowded city.  

Been thinking about my housing predicament. Especially since my AC went out during a very hot day last weekend. I've come to the conclusion that new housing is out--it's the wrong location or it's the right location and way, way too expensive. I'm creative right? I should make my own like-new housing, except that I'm not a contractor/interior decorator or any of that. I've been looking into: flooring specialists to replace carpet, etc; kitchen remodels and new appliances; painters. 

See I figure that if I basically rip everything out of an existing home and paint it, then it's like new again. By doing my homework now, I will know exactly when I walk into one of these older homes this fall what it's going to cost me to upgrade it. And I'll be using that as a negotiating factor as well. Some things though, it's impossible to tell what they will cost. For example, I talked to Home Depot about kitchen re-dos (just upgrading counter tops, refacing cabinets and new appliances) and he was giving me some ball park figures. Well, a lot of the cost has to do with updating old plumbing and electrical work, something I can't see when I walk through (not that I'd have a clue what I'd be looking at even if I could see it). I know if I alert a home inspector to my plans they might be able to tell me, but still. So many hidden costs with remodeling/renovation. I just don't want my kid to grow up on asphalt. I want an actual yard, which is almost a pipe dream here. I have grass envy real bad, hope you appreciate yours if you have any!

Here's a layout I did about our trip to the aquarium in NC. I think we will visit again before the fall for just a couple of days, I miss it.

Supplies: K & Company Patterned paper and Alphas; Making Memories Canvas Alphas; Scenic Route Patterned paper; Bazzil butter cardstock; SEI tickets (All but K & Co patterned paper from Studio Calico July kit).

Have a great Thursday! Until tomorrow. And here are the Scribble Scrabble sneaks: 3 new lines--Lullaby of Birdland, Jeepers Creepers, and Party time.

A Monday and a Sneak peek

I found this on the Scribble Scrabble blog yesterday while I was cleaning up my blog sidebar links and such:

I'll keep my eyes peeled for more. I'm getting excited for all the new stuff coming out of CHA! Technically, I'm still a freelance designer for Cosmo, so I'm looking forward to their new releases too. 

Other random stuff on a Monday morning:

1. I am researching preschools, so we have one to visit today. 

2. I always cry when watching Finding Nemo. The beginning, middle, or end, it doesn't matter. And J is so into Ocean movies and toys. It could be rough on me.

3. I am going to have dinner with Vee. I know it seems like I'm living a jet set life, hanging out with all my scrapbooking peeps. But honestly, this last week is very untypical. I don't normally meet up with those girls very often-once or twice a year maybe. And this is my first time meeting Vee. We are going to Chipotle to consume mass quantities of guacamole (at least, I am!).

4. I will probably take a nap this afternoon so that I can scrap tonight. I've just been tired lately, doing so many CMEs (continuing medical education), and stuff for my license.

5. Both J and I got too much sun yesterday. Even though they are calling for rain, it's bright and sunny here. We might have to hide out in the mall or something this afternoon to avoid soaking up even more rays.

Happy Monday to you. Until tomorrow. 

PS Who else do you think has great CHA peeks? On my short list-American Crafts (cute boy line, christmas line, stamps and thickers!), Pink Paislee (fall, halloween and christmas!), and I'm anxiously waiting for Basic Grey. How about you?

Welcome to the Future

I read the manual. It's out of the box. And it's pretty cool. We'll see how it goes. I think I'd have to agree with Brad Paisley though, where ever we are going (with technology) I'd say we are here. (I still have the protective paper on the screen. Oh well, old habits die hard.)

Spent the better part of yesterday with my friend Cindy. Had such an amazing time at the scrapbook store. The kids played together and I actually got to look at scrappy stuff. So amazing to see stuff in real life before I get it in the mail. Too bad for the store that it's an hour away and it's easier for me to do the 'net shopping, or I'd be there all the time. Maybe better for my wallet too. We took the kids to Chick-fil-A and they played in the play yard for over an hour. Cindy talked me into bringing stuff down for a scrapbook yard sale the store has in Oct., it sounds like fun. I forgot to get a photo, again. I guess this is why I should carry this phone.

Happy Friday to everyone! I haven't had any projects that I've completed this week other than the mini that I can show yet. I'll try to do better here next week. Until then.

Right...blogging

I guess my brain has been fried by the summer sun, melted like a snow cone on the sidewalk or something. I'm getting there, really I am.

It's just, I'm hiding out from the cell phone still in the box. And that takes a lot of effort. I wonder just how many messages are on there? I keep using the excuse that I need to read the manual, but does anyone actually do that anymore? It should be a prerequisite to just take it out of the box and have it be intuitive. But fools are in genius I tell you, do not underestimate me. I bought the insurance for my klutziness and everything. Now I've just being weird/pathetic/superstitious. But, I'm hiding out none the less. Call the land line people. :)

I made a new friend at the playground, the kind that are gold. She has a pool pass and she wants to bring J and I as her guests! It doesn't take much at all to win my loyalty, unless of course you are a Blackberry.

I'm scrapping, nothing I can share just yet. I am making my semi-annual trek to the LSS tomorrow and will meet my friend Cindy. Otherwise, there is nothing going on. Doing CMEs, check. Paperwork, check. Cleaning, check. Errands, check. Baby pool and playground, check. I have not had my quota of popsicles yet this summer though. I'm going to work on that. Until tomorrow. Happy Wednesday!

A Monday Mini

I had the best intentions of updating over the weekend, but the journaling took a little longer than I thought it would. I also got sidetracked with another project. I frequently work on multiple things at the same time. I get a little sad when my desk is completely cleared off, it normally means I've got creative block. Not a problem now, I've got 3 things on here.

We had a really good 4th of July. J and I went to the neighbors, my cold seems a lot better. That was a weird cold for sure. J got to jump in a moon bounce thing and he ate cake. We didn't stay long, I could tell it was a lot for a little guy. He didn't make it until the sun went down, so he didn't see the fireworks. But we did hear them. All the way until midnight. :(

I have a fascination with Basic Grey. I have some paper from most lines all the way back to Motifica (and if you know what I'm talking about, I feel sorry for us both.) I'm a hoarder of my BG and I am now only allowed to buy what I have an actual idea for. I love Lime Rickey, and I allowed myself 7 sheets-1 piece of the patterned paper and 6 of the solid colors. I wish wish I had gotten all of it. I would not have had to be so creative about using what little I had in this album. I really, really love this line. Note to self: In the future don't be cheap with the Basic-ness of the Grey. :) 

Supplies: Basic Grey Lime Rickey Collection; Basic Grey White Chocolate Alphas; Pink Paislee Fascinating Rub-ons, Sassafrass Lass chipboard Numbers; Ethan's album Cosmo Cricket.

Thanks for looking! Happy Monday to you. Until tomorrow.

The power of pez

I realize it's been a day or two since my last post. Here's what we are up to:

Crafty: I'm working on a mini album. I have the backgrounds, photos and cover done. Just going to add the journaling, hopefully at naptime. So I'll probably post over the weekend.

Errands: Taking the Blackberry to the store today to purchase the insurance. It's still in the box. :( Hope no one is trying to call. My hairdryer blew up, so I'm going to look for a new one.

J and I: We have been invited to a 4th of July party by a neighbor. But I have been sick the past two days so it all depends how I feel tomorrow as to whether or not we go. I hate to expose everyone to my cold, and I've been pretty sick. The pseudofed is helping. If we don't go to the party, we will just stay around here and use the baby pool. Hopefully the sun will bake my cold out.

My pug: The dog is feeling a bit neglected, I've been trying to spend some time with him on my lap while still playing on the floor with J. Wishing I had taught him better tricks when he was a puppy, this dog will do anything for food.

J: Learning the fine art of negotiation. I offered him a "new toy" to clean up his mess of cars/trucks everywhere. After 1 or 2 prompts reminding him about the new toy he was going to get if he "helped", he did it! He was rewarded with a truck pez dispenser and 4 pez. He was in heaven. I told him good things come to those who listen to and help Mommy. I plan to exploit my new found trick in the potty training arena. :)

Happy Friday! Until tomorrow.