TGIF

Gosh, what a week. I've been getting ready for company this weekend, and it's just been one of those weeks where everything is kind of going wrong--light bulbs burning out, appliances acting up, etc. The carpet is fixed and good now. The carpet people came back and tacked the piece that was a poll mark down really well (so no one was tripping on it-it's thick carpet so it stood up, weird) and now it looks a lot better. It takes about 6-8 weeks for a poll mark on carpet to go away completely and ours is very nearly gone now.

Here are my last offerings for Your Scrapbook Stash.com guest design team spot:

This one is using the Jillibean Soup Old World Cabbage line. This paper is perfect for black and white photos. I might need some more. Although, my love affair lately has been with color photos and not black and white.

This one uses Jillibean Soup Chicken noodle (mostly with some old world cabbage tossed in). The journaling is from a quote Doris Sander used on one of her JBS layouts. I can't tell you what the design of the page was or the colors or even the photo she used, but the words stayed with me for weeks after I saw it and that makes it the best page I've seen all year. I knew I had to leave J something similar. The numbers on these are his age. The photo, well, it's the only one I have of him that he looks kind of pensive. But knowing J, he could have just tasted a bug or something. Really. 99% of my photos are him smiling, so it was hard to find a photo for this. :)
And last a quick one about how lucky I am to have this little guy. Uses Lillybee hello Sunshine paper and rub-ons with Jillibean soup Egg Drop soup paper (again with some old world cabbage and chicken noodle tossed in).
So I'm worried. Not as worried as when I give J a lollipop, because then I know I won't find it for a while and when I do I'll wish I hadn't. No, not that worried. But I am concerned. What does it mean that I keep using string on my layouts? What would a psychiatrist say about that little ink blot litmus test of my personality lately? That I'm all tied up? Tying myself up in knots? Not sure, but I'm concerned none the less. :)

Well, gotta vacuum. I'll be back to return comments and check some blogs this afternoon. You can also check out the AC blog today to see my AC/Pebble offerings if you are just surfing. :) Happy Friday to you (and you new blog followers!) Until tomorrow.

Giveaway winner #3

And the winner is:

Congratulations! Please email me and I will reply your gift certificate to you. My giveaway box is nearly full again, so if you didn't win, I still give away a lot of my stash here so stay tuned. Be back with more layouts and a post tomorrow. Until then.

Cocoa Daisy May

Anyone else have that scare with blogger last night? Not being able to comment or check comments? Glad it's fixed, yikes!

Over the weekend, after we got home from vacation, I spent some time at the Cocoa Daisy Crop. Lots of inspiration and challenges. Here's what I contributed:

My Challenge was called Green thumbs, it was a product challenge. I like to limit myself on what I start with sometimes, makes it easier to begin. You can always add more. :) The buttons (Cosmo cricket material girl and Lily bee rub-ons are from add-ons, everything else from the main kit.) Wasn't easy to hit those circles on the AC Dear Lizzy paper with the printer. :)

The next one was from Kim's Challenge, it was an inspiration piece challenge. I love those. Here's what I made:

That Paperie paper is in the main kit, and if you have young-ish kids, you are going to need it by the truck load. Great for boys or girls, and esp. baby pics. This layout is about my grandmother who taught me sign language (her brother was deaf). This means "I really love you." J's pinky is supposed to be up, but close enough for government work. :) I made the office tie, I don't know what else to call it. I used a circle punch and tied with jute. The string represents a tying of my grandmother and J together, even though they have never met.

Next was Christine's challenge, Dear you. Another inspiration piece challenge with a twist. The layout needed to have a letter on it. See what I mean about that Paperie paper? Everything but the rub-on is from the main kit here. I put my photos over the pink parts, made it more boy-ish. :)

And last was Christine's food challenge. I took this photo with my crackberry, and I really am liking how these are turning out so I think I'll take more pictures with my phone.

Lots of American crafts on here. I used the lily bee rub-ons on the sticker (from the main kit) at the top. The Dear Lizzy fabric paper is in the paper add-on, it's sooo neat to touch. I cut it with my paper trimmer, as long as you leave the backing on it's fine.

So many beautiful things this month from Cocoa Daisy-a beautiful main kit, the fabric paper,etc in the patterned paper add-on. Cosmo cricket alphas, Webster's pages sparklers and ribbon, Lilybee rub-ons in the add-ons, and that's just off the top of my head. I have at least 2 more pages I'd like to scrap with this kit due to the colors, but we'll see how it goes.

I participated in the Pebbles/AC blog swap this week, I'll have a layout and 2 cards up soon. Happy Tuesday to you! Until tomorrow. (PS the giveaway is still open below.)

YSS giveaway #3

It's been such a whirlwind, this month. It's been my pleasure to be the guest designer for Your Scrapbook Stash.com for the month of April. I'm currently finishing up my projects since my time is up at the end of the week. Be sure to keep on eye on the YSS blog for more guest designers and of course more associated giveaways.

My third and final giveaway, a $10 gift certificate to the Your Scrapbook Stash.com store. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post. I'd love to hear about some summer things you enjoy doing with your little ones, simple things like eating popsicles or riding bikes. :) Some simple things I'm enjoying at YSS are:

On Sale $3.50-$4

New Maya Road Banner album (so cute!)

Jenni Bowlin Homespun Collection (I love it all, had me at hello.)

And you can get everything I've highlighted in this post for $10, maybe more with the Spring sale code of: SPRING2010. You will save 20%, that's for anyone, not just the gift certificate winners. :)

Maybe things will start to get back to normal around here, whatever that is! I'll post a winner by Wed/Thursday. I'll have Cocoa Daisy May kit layouts to post tomorrow. Happy Monday to you! Until tomorrow. (PS, hello all new blog followers!)

Giveaway winner #2

Before I do the last giveaway later today, I figured I better draw a winner! You know it's bad when you stop at your own blog and wondered who won the giveaway. :) I was on vacation last week from Tues to Saturday. We were at Busch Gardens and Great Wolfe Lodge waterpark. They have a military special where heroes, spouses and children get in (admission) is free to Busch Gardens (normally it's like $60/per person). If you are military you can find information here: Here's to Heroes.

Kelly, please email me (it's under my profile photo, in the paragraph top right on this blog). I'll get you the gift certificate straight away. And I'll be back to post the last giveaway in a little bit. Happy Monday! Until then.

A glimpse

At the May Cocoa Daisy kit. :)

Happy Tuesday to you! Until tomorrow. (The giveaway is still open below.)

YSS giveaway #2

Is it really Monday morning again? I have been sooo sick this weekend. If I wipe my nose one more time, I'm pretty sure my upper lip will go up in flames. :) I'd forgotten how much fun this was, being sick. I'm better today, but still really short of breath going up and down the steps in our house.

But let's get to the good stuff. The giveaway from Yourscrapbookstash.com, another $10 gift certificate good for anything your heart desires in the store. Here's what I would get:

Studio Calico Month stamps:

I have the SC butterfly stamp and the fence/abc stamp. Love them. And I love, love these! Studio Calico Anthology is still available in the store. Plus the new Crate paper Brook, paper doll and pink plum have been added. New 7 Gypsies, and Girls Paperie On Holiday and Paper Girl are in as well.

So, please leave a comment to be entered to win the $10 gift certificate to YSS. Internationals (and everyone!) are welcome to enter. I will email the winner the gift certificate as soon as they email me. Catherine did get her's last week, so just one to give away today. Let me know what your favorite release was from CHA Winter 2010. Did you really look forward to one line and then fall in love with something else? The drawing will be closed Wednesday night. I will most likely draw a winner this weekend-Sat./Sun unless I can get to the computer sooner. I will post my Cocoa Daisy sneaks really quickly tomorrow. Happy Monday to you! Until tomorrow.

Into every life. . .

A little illness must fall. It's job security for me right? :) As I wipe his runny nose and feel his hot little head I can't help but think we have had a good run. No one has been sick since Sept. 09, so this little blip on the radar will be ok.

Here is my mid-month gallery over at Yourscrapbookstash.com:

This is what my dh says about J.

Wish I had had this paper for J's book about cars. Love this Jillibean soup line.

J's bedtime buddies. I know he will grin when he sees them.

And lastly this layout is the equivalent of tying a string around my finger, a place to record what I don't want to forget about baby J.

The method of my madness as this: I was a little (ok a lot) overwhelmed by all the wonderful things YSS sent me. So what I did was decide to work with Lilybee Hello Sunshine and Jillibean Soup New England Chowder first. And then I'll work with the rest of Jillibean soup towards the end of the month. :) Maybe it's not so much of a method as it is just madness. :)

Here is the winner of the first YSS gift certificate:

Lucky number 7! Catherine, please email me at amigas6415@mypacks.net so that I can email you the gift certificate! If the gift certificate is not claimed by the next giveaway, Monday 4/19, then I will draw 2 winners from that batch, so email me soon! If you didn't win, there are still two more $10 gift certificates to giveaway, the next two Mondays. I have really nice blog readers, really, and I'm pulling for you to win. :)

This afternoon I plan to return some blog comments since I feel yucky and J is too sick to be outside for long. I hope to post my Cocoa Daisy sneaks of the May kit soon, just waiting on the official go ahead. :) Happy Thursday! Until tomorrow.

Real quick

I will draw a winner and post these layouts in their entirety tomorrow. For Your scrapbook stash.com:

These are just the mid-month. I will have more by the end of the month. :) I'm crazy busy today. Happy Wednesday, until tomorrow. PS Hello to all you new blog followers!

YSS gift certificate giveaway #1

Good Monday morning to you! As the April Guest designer for Your Scrapbook Stash.com, I will be giving away 3 gift certificates to the store, good for whatever you'd like to spend them on. This giveaway, since I will be emailing the winner a $10 gift certificate, is open to internationals as well. (Very excited to include you too!) I will keep the giveaway open through Tuesday at midnight. I will draw a winner shortly after that, and as quick as you can email me, you will have your prize?! How cool is that?

I've discovered something about myself, I don't really like shopping. (sacrilege) I stress about things for my house, often contemplating a purchase for a month (at least) and up to 6 months for something like carpet. I become frighteningly indecisive when clothes shopping. And I hate shoe shopping (it's true). It is not uncommon for my dh to whisper to me that it's time for a new pair, especially when he sees me with duck tape in hand to fix the soles. I can't help it, I feel like I'll never find a pair as comfortable or functional as what I have. I get attached, it isn't pretty. Now, I have professional clothes for work. I can dress up when I need to. No need to worry that I look that frumpy, although on the weekends I do feel a bit nibbled on by the frumpy monster. I despise going to the food store. Scrapbook supplies are the only thing that I truly enjoy shopping for. (I'm a freak, I know it.)

So I hope you won't mind that I checked out the store and the new products at Your scrapbook stash.com and I wanted to point out things that I loved. (Hey, let's spend that gift certificate before we get it, shall we? :) ) Some products that really spoke to me were these:

Loving any and everything Elle Studio. I had never seen it sold anywhere else. And I was going to purchase these for myself, except that I was able to talk Tricia into putting these vintage tags into the Cocoa Daisy May kit (the main kit). How's that for a hint?! :) I don't know what set she picked though, there are quite a few that would have worked for Spring/summer.

Also, since I am working with these products, I know that Erica at Yourscrapbookstash.com has the all the new Jillibean lines--chicken noodle, old world cabbage, egg drop and new england chowder, plus the new Lilybee Hello Sunshine as well. I'll be back in a little with a glimpse.

Please leave me a comment to win the first $10 gift certificate to the store. I'd love some gardening tips, but if you are very green like me and can't think of any, please tell me what you loved in the YSS store, how you'd spend the gift certificate. Happy Monday to you! Until tomorrow.

Some AC

Spending the day out for a Sunday drive, checking out nurseries. I'm looking at the prices on annuals/pots, etc. Finished mulching the yard, woohoo! I think the total was like 60 bags of mulch, ouch. Our carpet got put in, and wouldn't you know it, there's a problem. Hoping this can be fixed early next week. It looks like a defect in the carpet, not an installation problem. Very upset about it, but it will get straightened out in time. Glad there is no more home improvement planned. Between the fireplace and the carpet, this has been so much *fun* I just can't stand it! :)

Anyways, I'm a bit behind sharing my American crafts blog layouts here.

March AC blog, Botanique:

February AC blog, Letterbox:

January AC blog, Letterbox:

Happy Weekend to you! Until tomorrow.

Such Randomness

1. I think that I can share now, I'm the April Guest designer for Your Scrapbook Stash.com I'm very excited to give away 3 gift certificates to the store this month, this is your official blog reader heads up. Cuz I dig you. :) Mondays 4/12, 4/19, and 4/26. I will have work in the gallery on the 15th and 30th using Jillibean and Lilybee. Hope to have some sneaks for you soon.

2. Totally overwhelmed by the blog hop. Here's a little snippet of my layout that will be featured today on the American crafts blog, more of the Abode line:

3. Spending too much time out here during the day:

We put the mulch in last weekend--just to the back and side yard. It took 25 bags of mulch. We are guessing the front and other side yard will take at least 25. There are so many raised beds! And they are all full of perennials from what I can tell (since they all came back right? I didn't put them there!) Can't decide if I should attempt to put in annuals, my thumb isn't really all that green. And it's kind of gluey on a regular basis.

4. Missing Carolina. How I love the weather there this time of the year. My family came up for Easter and we had so much fun. But I miss going home.

5. Thinking about how much I still love this hobby. It's been nearly 8 years and I still love it when I see a piece of paper that makes me think of a memory. I think that's how it's supposed to be. Feeling like I've really got a handle on my stash at the moment, using the things I have. That's all I want, to use what I have, what I've loved enough to save. They always make more paper. :)

6. Tired of answering questions about why I don't facebook or twitter. I have my reasons, and they are excellent reasons. No, I won't be sharing them here but rest assured they are good and sound. So, please stop inviting me to join. :) All I'd ever twitter about is food, (just ate a cupcake, thinking of chipotle, best guacamole ever, that kind of thing) so I suspect the world can/and probably should do without that. At 130 lbs, I just think about food a lot, I don't know why.

7. See, now I'm dreaming about Chipotle. Rats, gotta go see about some guac. Happy Thursday! Until tomorrow.

American Crafts Blog hop!

Hi blog hoppers! Here is my project using American crafts Abode line. It doesn't have to be used for just home-themed layouts! My page features the AC thicker tenant phrases thickers in black, patterned paper (Boxelder Terrance and Roosevelt Way), and the American crafts printed chipboard (button) embellishments.

Thanks for stopping in! In conjunction with a guest design team position, I have several store gift certificates to give away here on my blog later this month. I invite you to stop back by. Now hop on outta here! :)

Kim Arnold www.kimarnold.typepad.com

Moon Ko www.mooner363.typepad.com

Kathy Thompson www.kathythompsonlaffoley.typepad.com

Katrina Simeck www.katyat34.typepad.com

Melanie Louette www.melanie-notesfromhome.blogspot.com

Piradee Talvanna www.piradee.blogspot.com

Loredana Bucaria www.lovescraplife.typepad.com

Martha Bonneau www.mugsyboo.typepad.com

Nichole Duenke www.nicholew.typepad.com

Shannon Zickel www.shannonzickel.typepad.com

Beth Proudfoot www.bethproudfoot.blogspot.com

Paige Evans www.chrisandpaige.blogspot.com

Wendy Sue Anderson www.wendysueanderson.blogspot.com

Doris Sander www.sanderdk.typepad.com

Mary jo Johnston www.maryjojohnston.blogspot.com

Elizabeth Carney www.itsmythingy.blogspot.com

Dusti Nakamura www.acupcakelife.blogspot.com

Kim Watson www.kj-starre.blogspot.com

Holly Hanks www.hollyscharmedlife.blogspot.com

Danielle Layton www.vtpuggirl.blogspot.com (you are here!)

Kelly Purkey www.kellypurkey.typepad.com

Amy Tangerine http://amytangerine.blogspot.com/

Happy Monday to you! Until tomorrow.