Yay Kim M!!!!! Please email me your address at dailyscrap@gmail.com & I will get the goodies out to you right away :)
By the way - I know the comments say 38 but it is really 37 (someone's reply to their comment made it 38, but it was the same person so I only counted it as one). Also - if you ever needed to do a drawing on your site & wanted to show the random number generator box, HERE'S how. I just found this tonight :)
A HUGE THANK YOU TO ALL MY FAB READERS!!! Reading your own struggles & stories within the comments really made me feel "not so alone" in this journey of motherhood & life :) Happy Sunday to you all :)
"Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in the quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow."
- Mary Jean Irion
Anybody feeling overwhelmed with life these days??? (By the way - my hand is raised & waving right now!!) I often wonder how do people (scrappers that is) find the time to be a mom, to be a wife (and sister, and daughter, and aunt, and friend & everything else???), to keep the house clean, to chauffeur everyone around, and then on top of it all - to actually scrap??? I look at these blogs where people offer up beautiful photos of wonderful memories & seem to be so "together" and then these BEAUTIFUL pages - I mean pages people - more than one??? I can barely get in my craft room these days, much less scrap!! My daily life is running me ragged :) I can't complain too much, I did just have a weekend to myself, but it flew by so quickly & while I treasured the time - I could have used a bit more :) I did work on my Project Life album a bit & honestly I loved doing it. It was so nice not to have to "think" to much about a design or trying to coordinate everything. Just to print out pics and get the memories recorded - I could almost exclusively do that, and set the 12 x 12 layouts aside. But, creatively I think I'd get bored - I do love a 12 x 12 canvas :) Here is what I came up with for week one (yes I know I am behind) - I know it doesn't match but I enjoyed using up bits & pieces of products I hadn't touched in forever :)
Oh & guess what - I made it into Creating Keepsakes!! I only have been published once before (in Scrapbook Trends). I rarely submit simply because there's no time :) But this was a call through Jillibean Soup & I was super excited to be chosen :) Here is the magazine . . .
And here is the layout (mine is the "Snow Happy" layout at the bottom) . . .
And guess what - I have an extra magazine to share with one of you FABULOUS readers!!! Just leave a comment below & I will pick one of you Sunday evening :) It is a Special Issue FULL of tons of great ideas to scrapbook about all year long :) Oh & guess what - there's more :) I ended up getting some doubles of Jillibean Soup stamps from Jill & she said I could give them away on the blog!!! Here are the sets:
#1
#2
Cute right??? So just leave a comment below for a chance at the magazine & 2 stamp sets :) Enjoy!!
alright . . . so some weeks are good & I feel in control of my life and some weeks are overwhelming & exhausting such as this past week (thus explaining the crappy blogging week). Now I don't want you to all think I've given up already - there has just been so much going on!!! So let's get "back on the horse" so to speak - right?? What has been keeping me so busy . . .
Well, this little man turned 1 last Thursday :) Can you believe it??
Here's is my attempt at baking - okay it is just a cupcake but it was a super-size one people & I used an icing tip instead of spreading the icing on :)
Someone liked their cupcake . . .
But by the end - he was all partied out :)
We also celebrated Ryan's birthday with his friends. Being smack dab in the middle of Christmas & New Year's having a party is always difficult. He really wanted a friend party this year so we hosted it this past Saturday at a nearby play place. Everyone had lots of fun . . .
He really wanted a superhero cake & my sister-in-law has a friend that is super talented - check it out (totally way better than my measly cupcake right???) . . .
And yes, I bribed him for this shot below - I just wanted a really nice one of him at this age - these days he's all about no pics or really goofy faces on the pics. A pack of Batman gummy fruit snacks did the trick :)
In addition to partying it up over here - I have also been working away on my CHA projects - can't believe it is just around the corner :) So many new goodies I have my eye on :) Have you seen any of the new Jillibean Soup releases yet??? I have them in person & they are AWESOME!!! So far Jill has revealed Southern Chicken Dumpling Soup , Neopolitan Bean Bisque, Coconut Lime Soup and Game Day Chili. But there is more cool things to come!!! Keep your eye on the JB blog :)
Speaking of Jillibean Soup, I do have some projects to share :) First up, a card featuring Homemade 6 Bean Soup . . .
If you are wondering about those little leaf branches peeking out - that is a Martha Stewart punch :) I am seriously addicted to punches :) I am really getting into making cards these days - I mean I've only done them for assignments but it is fun to work on such a small "canvas". I will be doing a guest design spot in a few months & (gasp) it's all cards - crazy right??
I also have a layout full of Sweet & Sour Soup goodness to share!!!
And the January Soup Sketch to go along with it . . .
Feel free to join in & post your page on the Jillibean Soup Facebook page for a chance at winning some Jillibean Soup goodies :)
Before I go - a few music pics for the week, just in case you are looking for some new tunes . . .
Okay - so I missed Sunday - I mean I'm late nightin' it over here so to me it is still feels like Sunday :) But alas I couldn't get a post in before the clock struck twelve :) I haven't been scrapping because I've been doing a bit of organizing in my scrap room . . .
More to follow soon :)
Before I go - check out this little guy, getting his groove on for a bit :)
I promised to share my layout that I was working on earlier this week - I played with the Noel Mignon Cabin Fever kit & this is what I came up with . . .
I could just eat this kid up!!! I mentioned yesterday I was struggling with the title, I did snag a few alphas that were in my stash & decided to mix up a bit of Studio Calico Fab Rips & some patterned paper to create a circle, then added my alphas . . .
I vowed to work on journaling this year, as typically I just have a hard time putting things into words. The truth is I hand wrote it underneath those tags & made such a mess of the page I had to do some quick, creative thinking to fix, hence the tags :) The tags looked so plain just kraft so I broke out my stamps people!!! I used a Jillibean Soup stamp from the Sweet & Sour/Unity collection and used a Ranger Watermark Resist ink pad and stamped away. I love how the watermark resist ink gives this tone on tone look - definitely worth trying if you haven't already :) Oh also - the number strip - stamped!!! Another from the Jillibean Soup Sweet & Sour/Unity collection :)
Tonight I am thinking about this little one.
I am not one to share tons about my "furry" children but I love them dearly (all 3) & they mean the world to me - even though they are often the troublemakers of the house :) Today Bitsy was diagnosed with diabetes. We became concerned when she started drinking excessive amounts of water & was having accidents all of the place. I thought maybe is was just a UTI, but turns out this little bug was way sicker than that :( So beginning next week, she will be on insulin twice a day. I am going into the vet's to learn how to administer the shots - little nervous about that . . . anyone have a pet with diabetes??? I'd be interesting in chatting with you, shoot me an email at dailyscrap@gmail.com
So I was hoping to have a layout done & completed to share . . . but then I got caught up in the newest Grey's Anatomy & hanging some shelves in my scraproom :) I will finish it up tomorrow & post it - it is a layout I made used the newest Noel Mignon kit Cabin Fever. Still stuck on the title though . . . The kit is definitely worth a peek (no enabling here I promise - ha!!). I wish I had more snow pics because there is definitely some awesome winter themed items in it, but still plenty to play with everyday pics too, as you will see in my layout tomorrow :)
No worries though - I do still have a layout to share :) The designer challenge for Jillibean Soup is up & I am so happy to have been featured. Jill asked us to do something fun with their Baker's twine. I found this neat youtube video on String Art & thought I'd give it a go!! Here is my layout . . .
Here is a close-up of the string art snowflakes I created using the Baker's twine . . .
Off to slumber but I will be back tomorrow night - TGIF!!!
Blogging twice in 3 days??? Yay!! So my goal is blogging every other day for now, then **hopefully** every weekday down the road :) We'll see :) Anyways - just a quick post to pop in and share my cover page for Project Life. Yes I have jumped on the Project Life wagon. I must say - it was fun to have all these little pieces in pockets as my canvases versus a full 12 x 12 sheet. I tried to keep it simple, no bulky embellishments. I love that when I showed my husband he was like - "that's it??" - I guess he's used to me pouring over a page for hours :) I enjoyed peeking through my stash for little bits to add here & there. My cover page is not a full 12 x 12 page, even though that will be the bulk of my pages. I liked the layout design, so I went ahead with it even though it was a bit smaller. My plan is to complete this weekly, my week being Sunday to Saturday. Here we go, page one . . .
Most of the supplies here are Studio Calico & October Afternoon. The numbers were cut from my Cricut. I have begun a Pinterest board for Project Life - there isn't too much yet, some page ideas, printables, different page protectors & pockets, etc. You can check it out HERE . I will keep adding to this throughout the year. Hoping to scrap a page tonight - be back Thursday to share :)
"We are the hurdles we leap to be ourselves." - Michael McClure
As I embark on a new year, I feel blessed and excited and ready to begin anew. I know any day could be a new start, but of course it seems most fitting since it is the start of a new year :) 2011 was wonderful & exhausting!! Becoming a mother to a new little one has been amazing and difficult and joyful and tiring all rolled up in one. I spent most of 2011 just trying to find a routine as mommy of two & of course it is ever changing as my 2 little boys grow older. While concentrating on mommyhood, I have definitely allowed myself to take a back burner. But I think that is typical for mommies to do that - right?? Anyways I have vowed to make 2012 a year of balance between being a mommy and being me - it is important to find a little time for me again. I miss scrapbooking & being creative, recently I have only completed a few DT assignments here & there. I want to just create & have fun & while I feel blessed to design for others, I want to design for myself too - without any restrictions or deadlines. I want to run/exercise again & feel healthy. I want to get a haircut (last haircut to date - a year ago - gasp!!). I want to wear something other than sweats every day. I want to read books again - I think the last one I read was in 2008??? I want to spend more time with my friends. I want to go on date nights with my husband.
My biggest problem is really me - I am a worrisome mother, often guilt-ridden, and seldom willing to give up control of being in charge. With 2 it seems I get pretty much nothing done during the day, so recently the late night hours which were once my own, are now filled with picking up toys, doing dishes, laundry, etc. Most days I feel guilty, that I haven't done enough, that my time with them wasn't as "quality" as I would have liked it to be. Trying to make meals happen, nap times, driving to school, picking up from school, etc. - go, go, go is how I feel most days. By the end of the day I feel like I have survived it rather than enjoyed it, treasured it, experienced it. I need to find how to change this, to slow down, to take care of me & my family . . . here's to 2012 & a new sense of balance!!
You may have noticed a few changes around here - the project is still in the works but I am exciting to be revamping my blog a bit :) It is time to get out of the bloggin' slump and start posting!!! I came across a great blog designer who had some fabulous clean & simple designs - just my style :) Her name is Allison & you can see more of her work HERE. Still a few more changes to go, but I am really liking it so far. A great way to start off the new year & (hopefully) get me in the bloggin' groove!!!
Speakin' of blogging slump - I totally missed posting my December assignments for Jillibean Soup - slacker!!!
First up, this holiday mini I made. HERE is a link to the tutorial I used. It actually looks way more complicated than it was & with the aid of my ScorPal, it was that much easier :)
This next page was super fun to make. I'm not one to use stamps much (although you would think differently if you saw my collection - I'm such a scrappy hoarder!!), but I decided to break out a circle stamp from the Dutch Mustard/Unity set and use it to create a fun border around the page's edge. I then used a circle punch to create circles from a variety of patterned papers and adhered those down within the stamped circles.
In the last layout I used a fun blocking design - love how they all were anchored together with a circular photo. I don't often use circular photos but I really like how it added interest to the overall design.
This layout was also the sample for this December's sketch challenge. Here is the sketch I created . . .
Tonight I am venturing into Project Life - I'm still scrapping regular pages but I am excited to use this project as a way to "complete the picture" so to speak of my year. I will be back in the next day or two to show you what I've come up with & how I am planning on using it this year!!
Before I go . . . fun pics from our weekend - I enjoyed playing with my Christmas gift - an iPhone. It was much needed as I dropped my old phone about a month ago & had to keep it in a plastic ziploc as all the glass had shattered but was still sitting there on the screen, just waiting to fall out. Nothing like answering a phone call in the grocery store & talking into a cell phone inside a bag next to your ear. Yes I got strange looks :) Anyways - here's the pics!!
