The Crafty Insomniac

Manic Monday

2012-01-22T23:09:00.001-07:00

This will be 50% off for Monday only!

2011-12-15T23:07:00.005-07:00

I am very overdue posting any layouts, I see!

The Stars Above by Sherwood Studio:

Thankful by Elise's Pieces, template by Rainy Dayz Designs:
Thankful by Jen C Designs, template also by Jen C Designs:
Moody by Sanko Studio, template also by Sanko Studio:
Country Christmas by Sherwood Studio:
Jolly Holly by LDrag Designs, template by Rainy Dayz Designs:
Joyful, Joyful by Spinky Dink Scraps, template by Rainy Dayz Designs:
The Merriest by Elise's Pieces:
Night and Day by Che Yang Designs, template by Che Yang Designs:
Winter Sparkles by Jen C Designs, template by Jen C Designs.
My Precious Treasure by LDrag Designs:
Star of Wonder by Sherwood Studio:

2011-12-05T10:50:00.002-07:00

2011-11-14T10:49:00.001-07:00

iDSD

2011-11-05T16:11:00.002-06:00

This is Digital Scrapbook Day, which really is celebrated all weekend. I am lucky to have gotten on a new CT recently for Che Yang Designs. She has several challenges going on for the month of November. The challenges all revolve around patterned paper, and the winners get $10 gift certificates to her MScraps store. Here are the links for the challenges:

http://www.mscraps.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8814
http://www.leebenkers.com/2011/11/che-yang-designs-giveaway.html
http://www.mscraps.com/forum/showthread.php?p=186331#post186331

It is nice to have something to work on when the craziness of DSD weekend is over!

2011-10-03T12:50:00.002-06:00

I am guesting on the CT for LDrag Designs this month. She is having a sale today for this kit:

You can also pick up an add-on for this at her blog:

Enjoy!

2011-09-15T11:28:00.003-06:00

Using Journey of the Heart by Elise's Pieces and Kim B Designs:

Geometric Boy II by Sherwood Studio:

I used Loving You by Jen C Designs:

I used His Senior Year by Elise's Pieces:

It's Summer by Jen C Designs:

Geometric Boy by Sherwood Studio:

I used Sister of My Heart by Spinky Dink Scraps:

I used Retro Echo by Sherwood Studio:

I used Summer Nights by Jen C Designs:

I used Whooo Loves You by Elise's Pieces:

I used Sweet on You by Jen C Designs:

I used Afternoon in the Park by Sherwood Studio:

I used Tranquility by Jen C Designs;

2011-07-20T10:52:00.004-06:00

I used The Light by Spinky Dink Scraps:

Morning Glory by Sherwood Studio:

By the Beach by Jen C Designs:

By the Beach by Jen C Designs:

Ghost Town by Sherwood Studio:

Smolder by Paste Optional Designs:

Our Family Story by Jen C Designs:

Going to Grandma's by Mye De Leon:

Dad's Day by Elise's Pieces:

Garage Bank Remixed by Polka Dot Chicks:

Imagination Station by Jen C Designs;

By the Bay by Sherwood Studio:

Daddy Daddy by Jen C Designs:

2011-07-08T23:05:00.003-06:00

Using Love at Home by Elise's Pieces, and a template by Rainy Dayz Designs:

I used Timeless and a template by Jen C Designs:

I used Destination:Vacation by Elises's Pieces:

I used Me Me Me and a template by Jen C Designs:

I used Spring it On by Mye De Leon and a template by Rainy Dayz Designs:

I used Remembrance by Sherwood Studio:

I used Midsummer Night's Dream by Mermaid Designs, template by GlitterQueen:

I used Having a Bad Day and a template by Jen C Designs:

I used Just Because by Tracy King and a template by Rainy Dayz Designs:

I used Got a Bite by Spinky Dink Scraps:

I used All Natural by Elise's Pieces:

I used Fiesta by Elise's Pieces:

I used Live Laugh Love and template by Jen C Designs:

I used a Grab Bag by Sherwood Studio:

2011-06-05T21:28:00.003-06:00

Using Paradise Falls by Spinky Dink Scraps and Ruby Lane:

Using Dandelion by Elise's Pieces:

Using Granny's Attic by Bubbles Bits:

Using Serendipity by Sherwood Studio:

Using Rocket to the Moon by Scrap DZines:

Using Polar Opposites by Polka Dot Chicks and Rainy Day Guides Vol. 8 Template by Rainy Dayz Designs.

Using Boyish Charm by Elise's Pieces:

Using Blue Skies by Sherwood Studio:

Using Enchanted by Spinky Dink Scraps:

Using Garden Fairies by Sherwood Studio:

2011-04-27T09:21:00.003-06:00

Using the PDW collab Animal Crackers in My Soup, with Rainy Day Stackerz Vol. 1 and Rainy Day Clusters Vol. 2 by Rainy Dayz Designs.

Using Brighter Days Ahead by Elise's Pieces:

Using Sassy Spring by Sherwood Studio:

Using Boys Rock by Crisdam Designs and Rainy Day Guides Vol. 8 Template by Rainy Dayz Designs:

Using Connected and Cluster Funk Vol. 2 Template Set by Jen C Designs:

Using Burlesque by Polka Dot Chicks:

Using Posy by Sherwood Studio:

Using Nothing but the Tooth by Charm City Scraps, and Rainy Day Guides Vol. 8 by Rainy Dayz Designs:

Using Oh Boy by Jen C Designs:

Using Tango by Paste Optional Designs:

I used Candy Wrappers Project 52 Flavor 5 Template set by Scraps of Candy and So Krafty Write It Down and Krafty Colors, Wanna Date and Tag You’re It, I Was Framed and Border, and So Krafty Kit, all by Starving Artist Designs:

Page 2:

Using So Krafty Write It Down and Krafty Colors, Wanna Date and Tag You’re It, I Was Framed and Border, and So Krafty Kit, all by Starving Artist Designs:

2011-04-05T22:48:00.004-06:00

Using Rocky Mountain Spring by Sherwood Studio (I got LOTD at Browniescraps for this layout): Using the Shabby Spring Bundle by Jen C Designs: Using It's Madness, Baby! by Elise's Pieces: Using Happy Birthday by Jen C Designs: Using Wish Big by Sherwood Studio and Kimeric Kreations: Using Lemongrass by Spinky Dink Scraps: Using Retro Spring by Dani's Delusions and Julie. It is. (now Sherwood Studio) and Color Lovers 4 Template by Rainy Dayz Designs: Using ClusterFunk Templates 2 and A Day in My Life by Jen C Designs (I got LOTD at DigiScrap Drivein for this layout): Using Awakening by Sherwood Studio: Using Stitch in Time by Elise's Pieces and Color Lovers Volume 4 by Rainy Dayz Designs: Using Blame it On the Rain by Jen C Designs and Sir Scrapalot Designs: Using a template and Sea Spray kit by Spinky Dink Scraps: Using At the Pub by Sherwood Studio:

2011-03-03T22:04:00.002-07:00

Pizza Pie by Spink Dink Scraps and Connie Prince:

Slainte by Jen C Designs:

You Make Me Happy by Designs by Sweet Mesquite:

Well-Suited by Spinky Dink Scraps and Trixie Scrap Designs:

Mr. Handsome by Sherwood Studio and Elise's Pieces:

Secret Delight by Sherwood Studio:

Express Yourself by Designs by Sweet Mesquite:

You Are My Sunshine by Jen C Designs:

Boy at Play by Sherwood Studio:

Love You Just a Little Bit by Jen C Designs:

2011-02-08T15:00:00.002-07:00

Using All In Love by Flutterbye Faery Designs:

With Game On by Elise's Pieces, and template by Jansis Designs:

Flower Fancy by Charm City Scraps:

Is This Love by DSD by Athena (I got layout of the day at Brownie Scraps with this one):

Island Dreams by Sherwood Studio:

It's All Me by Spinky Dink Scraps and Victoria Feemster, and template by Rainy Days Designs:

2011-01-31T21:51:00.003-07:00

Using Winter's Retreat by Elise's Pieces:

Using New Year, New You by Jen C Designs and Roseytoes Designs:

Using Just Because by Flutterbye Faery Designs:

Using Dreaming People by Mermaid Designs:

Using In Love With You by Jen C Designs:

Using Cappuccino by Alexis Designs:

Using A Guy's Life by Elise's Pieces:

Using Insane Moments by Spinky Dink Scraps and Kat's Creations:

2011-01-20T11:04:00.002-07:00

This one uses the new kit by Sherwood Studio, Winter Solitude:

This uses Cold by Jen C Designs:

Clean It Up by Sherwood Studio:

Cold Winter Day by Mermaid Scraps:

Steadfast Love by Spinky Dink Scraps:

2011-01-12T22:28:00.004-07:00

I started a new blog for a 365 project. I will leave this one as my digital scrapbook one and post my exciting everyday life the other one!

Cappuccino With Jenn

Some recent layouts

2011-01-07T15:11:00.002-07:00

This one is using A Day in My Life by Jen C Designs:

Using Happy Camper by Elise's Pieces:

Using Celebrate America by Alexis Designs:

Using Softly Winter by Designs by Sweet Mesquite:

Using Rolly Polly Christmas by Starving Artist Designs:

Using another one from A Day in My Life by Jen C Designs:

Using Gotta Have Friends by Dani's Delusions:

Using Modish and Mapped 19-20 template by Lilleyscrap Designs:

Using Sun Tea by Dani's Delusions:

2010-12-17T21:17:00.008-07:00

It may not seem like, but I have actually been scrapping. I have had some really fun kits to work with lately.

With Nuts and Bolts by Spinky Dink Scraps and Creations by Rachael:

With Mauvelous by DSD by Athena:

Using Seaside by Ruby Lane and Elise's Pieces:

With Winter's Day by Jen C Designs:
With Christmas in the Parlor by Sherwood Studio:

Friday in Mexico

2010-12-07T13:32:00.002-07:00

So Friday night was the show where the kids got to participate. They had rehearsal in the late afternoon, which worked out well since we had dinner reservations at the Brazilian restaurant so they were going to be the kids club during that time anyway. The restaurant was one where they walk around with big skewers of meat and if you want it, they slice off a piece for you. I skipped a couple of them, but the chicken and turkey were good. The last thing was pineapple cooked with cinnamon, so that was tasty. For dessert, Scot and Dawn both ordered the Alaska cake, so we got to see the flaming alcohol being poured on them. We picked up the kids afterwards, and then the younger two had to go to makeup. I didn't realize it was such a production, and I think at that point Owen realized he was going to have to wear a toga for his part in Hercules! Basically they did one song from a bunch of different Disney movies, so when it was time for Hercules, Owen and his friend ran out from backstage and were out in the front lifting foam weights in their togas. I know they were embarassed, but they were really good sports and smiing and giggling the whole time. The Lion King was at the end, so that's when Declan the lion and Sean the zebra got to come up the aisle and then dance on the stage. It was very cute and fun to watch. Unfortunately, we had to get up early on Saturday for our excursion to the Mayan ruins of Tulum and Xel-ha (pronounced shell-ha). Even more unfortunately, the van didn't get there until about an hour after they told us to be there waiting, so we didn't really need to get up so early! We got on the bus and went first to Tulum. I was glad to get that out of the way early since it was starting to get pretty hot. It used to be sea port, so the buildings look out over the ocean, which was a beautiful blue that morning. Our guide explained how they built the main buildings to be used as a sundial to keep track of the seasons. Luckily we didn't have a lot of time there since the kids were getting bored and hot. Once we got to Xel-ha, we had a quick lunch at the buffet and then got the snorkel gear. I couldn't do it because of my glasses, but I swam around in the water anyway. We decided to go get the tubes for going down the river, which turned out to be kind of a mistake since there was no current and if you didn't paddle, you went very slowly. It did takes us past the 15-foot cliff that you can jump off, which Scot did. Then we made it to the rope bridge and the zip lines, and decided to walk back from there. We had fun on the zip lines and it wasn't busy so we got to do them a lot without waiting. On the way back to the main area, we saw some manatees feeding by the dock. By the time we got back, it was time to get on the bus again and head back to the resort. We had our last dinner at the buffet and then hung out in the game room/snack bar area until it was time for the nightly show. It was called Fuego so we thought it would be some kind of fire thing, especially since it was down at the beach instead of the theater, but it just turned out to be a bunch of different dance/song numbers. The outfits were something else, and the kids watched most of it anyway, even though they kept asking when the fire stuff was going to happen. We packed up a lot of our stuff so we would be ready, although we didn't have to check out until noon on Sunday. We had breakfast that morning, and then Declan wanted to go swimming while Scot and Owen went on a little tour to see all the animals at the resort. Check out time came too soon, and Owen started to get upset, as I knew he would. Our friends were staying until Tuesday, so he didn't understand why we had to leave before them. Since he had not wanted to do it, he had to do most of his makeup work at the airport and on the plane, but it got done and it didn't interfere with vacation.

Playa del Carmen

2010-12-06T12:50:00.002-07:00

We are back from our little trip down to Mexico! We arrived around dinner time on Tuesday night. We were on the same plane and airport transportation as our friends, so we all checked in at the same time. Our rooms were in two different buildings but kitty-corner, so that was handy. We decided to get the junior suite, so we had a king bed and then around the corner was the pull-out couch for the kids. The room was nice and spacious, and there was room for one of the kids to sleep on the cushions on the floor since they didn't want to share the sofabed. It was for the best anyway, since then they fell asleep easier. We were pretty close to the part of the resort where the buffets/snack bar/game rooms were, so that was nice. We put our stuff in the room and then went to eat some dinner at the buffet. I think we checked out the game room and snack bar, also. The game room had pool, ping pong, foosball, air hockey, and a giant chess board with game pieces and a giant Connect 4 game. The snack bar was a big hit because of the swing chairs and the raccoons hanging out begging for food. I can't remember if we watched a show that night or not. Wednesday we swam at the beach and played beach volleyball and soccer. The main pool wasn't open yet, but the kids tried out the aqua park. There were water slides, but I guess they wanted deeper water and higher slides, so we only went that one time. Wednesday night was the Mexican buffet night, and they had the food and vendors all set up outside around the snack bar. They had games for the kids to play and Declan won a fanny pack and Owen won a baseball hat. Thursday we spent more time at the beach, and half of the main pool reopened, so we tried that out. The water was pretty cold, so the kids didn't stay in very long, but we played poolside Bingo. Dawn got a Bingo but didn't realize we were supposed to have 2 bingoes for that game, so when she went up, they said she had to jump in the pool or do a sexy dance. The resort entertainment crew were very similar to what we had on the cruise. We had our first dinner at one of the restaurants that night, so the kids all went to the kids club for a few hours. We ate at the mediterranean place, which was o.k. It was right by the beach, so that was nice. Friday we were at the beach again, and then Scot and the kids snorkeled in the cenote looking for turtles. I guess they saw one, but more importantly, the kids got to practice with some snorkel gear because we were going to Xel-ha the next day and I really wanted them to snorkel there. Part 2 later!

2010-11-22T16:12:00.002-07:00

I hope we have fun on this upcoming vacation, because it sure is a lot of work to get ready for it! I have notified the teachers and turned in the required form, gotten my work shift covered, planned Owen's birthday party, and now we have to get some projects done before we leave. The third grade is having a holiday craft fair, so each of them has to make 18 crafts to sell. The money will go to charity. I think it's a fun idea, and luckily we will have this week/weekend to get them done so we won't have to rush to do it when we get back. I have started on a packing list and I don't think I have to get much more besides sun screen and bug spray. I want to bring my e-Reader, but I need to see if I can find a cord that plugs into the wall to recharge it. We aren't planning on bringing computers, so I need to find another way to charge it, along with Owen's iPod. Not an emergency on either count, but it would be nice to get the cords for future trips, also.

2010-11-13T23:18:00.003-07:00

For the first time since September, we actually had nothing going on today. Baseball and soccer are done! Scot and I decided to go see a movie, like we used to do back before sports started. Sadly, even the afternoon matinee shows are now getting pricey, but it's still something we like to do. We saw Red, which was entertaining. I also want to see The Social Network, but I think at this point I'll just wait for video. It's not one that really needs to be seen on the big screen. I'm sure we'll go see Harry Potter on the big screen, though, although not right when it opens since it will probably be crowded.

For some reason, Declan has suddenly realized that he can read chapter books to himself, too, so he's had his nose buried in a book for the last couple days. He is reading some Magic Tree House books and I got him some of those Black Lagoon chapter books. Owen already devoured the newest Diary of a Wimpy Kid book in one night. He was so proud of himself for sleeping in until 9:15 this morning, since he stayed up until 10:30 reading last night!

Scrapbooking Day

2010-11-06T21:45:00.004-06:00

Today is National Scrapbooking Day, which is being celebrated all over digiland. However, I was not home most of the day so a majority of the festivities passed me by. There are a lot of sales, games and contests in all the forums, so it can be really fun, if you are around! lol I did enter a few contests here and there, but didn't have a chance to do any Bingo games or any of that.

I had orchestra rehearsal this morning, and then Declan had his last soccer game and a party afterwards. The kids had a lot of fun at the house of one of his teammates that was hosting the party. They had a zipline in their backyard, plus a basketball hoop, so they were kept very busy. Oh, and Declan had a little field trip for Tiger Scouts in the morning, so we had a pretty busy day. It should all be slowing down soon! We have no more sports practices during the week now, so what will we do with all that free time? I can't wait to find out!

Here are some recent layouts:

Using Take a Chance by Spinky Dink Scraps:

Using Silver Peony by Sherwood Studio:

Using Straight From the Heart by the PDW Designers:

Sherwood Studio

2010-10-28T11:44:00.003-06:00

I am so excited to see the Sherwood Studio store at The Digichick. This is the designer formally desigining under the name Julie. It is. Julie is a local designer, and I even got to meet her once for some scrapping time. I use her kits a lot for my camping photos, but they work well for any layout since she has a lot of variety.

Here is a layout I did recently using Licorice Parfait:

And another using Colorado Cliffs:

2010-10-23T23:10:00.003-06:00

Well, it seems October is going by fast, I guess because we are fairly busy lately! Today Owen had a 9:00 a.m. soccer game in Longmont, and then Declan had a morning game, also. We came home for a quick lunch before heading out to Declan's roller skating party. I think it went well overall, although some of the kids had never skated before and some took it more than others! After the party, we came home again for a brief time. Declan was able to play with some of of his new toys, but then we had to head out to the Rapids game. I enjoy watching soccer, so I liked it, but it was pretty loud the kids were up later than they probably should have been considering we had an early start to the day! Tomorrow are the last baseball games. I think Declan is sad about that, but Owen is ready to be done with it since he struck out again last week. We may do Declan's family birthday tomorrow night since Monday we have soccer practice and one of those high school trick-or-treat things to go to. He picked Qdoba for his birthday dinner, and I just need to make him a cake. I also need to figure out something to give him for his birthday!

It seems like there are a lot of changes lately for my digital scrapping teams. One of my favorite designers is changing stores and her name, from Julie. It is. to Sherwood Studios. I can't wait for her new store at the DigiChick to open! A couple other designers are taking a break and I resigned from a couple teams, so I am cutting back a little. I still have plenty of great kits to work with, though! Here are some recent layouts:
Using Moonlit Beach by Starving Artist Designs:

Using Country Hayride by Spinky Dink Scraps:

Using Harbistoz by Jen Maddocks Designs (another local designer!)

Using Noteworthy by Digital Designs by Athena:

2010-10-17T22:22:00.006-06:00

Welcome to my stop on the Blogtrain! You can get my part by clicking on the paper bag image below! Create a layout with the items in the trick or treat bags and post it in the PDW gallery you will be entered in a drawing for a $15.00 Gift Certificate to the store! Winners will be announced Halloween Night.

1. PDW Blog
2. PDW facebook page
3. Southern Creek Designs blog
4. Donna
5. Lori
6. Susie
7. Jemy <----You are Here
8. Katers
9.Lynn
10. Marla
11. Kimeric
12. Becki
13. Vicki
14. Sondra
15. ScrapDZines

Battle of the Creative Teams

2010-10-16T10:52:00.003-06:00

I am participating in the Battle of the Creative Teams Contest for Pixiemama Designs.

If you are inclined to vote for our team, here is the link.
Thank you!

There are five of us on the team, and we each had to do a layout using whatever Pixiemama kit we wanted following a specific recipe. Here's mine:

October

2010-10-01T23:54:00.005-06:00

And so begins one of my favorite months of the year! It is still a little hot here to think of it as fall, but I'm hoping it's just around the corner. So what is going on with me? I have been enjoying my volunteer time at the school library this year, and I know I need to get in there and help in the classrooms, but I am just happy to be a pretend librarian at the moment. My mom is visiting and helped in Declan's class this morning and will be helping in Owen's class on Monday. My work schedule got changed back to Wednesdays starting this week, so I will be able to go on a field trip with Owen's class, if I get the form in early. They are only taking a certain number of parents because they are taking the bus and there isn't much extra room. Declan has his first field trip of the year on Monday, but they didn't ask for any parent volunteers for that one. I have two recorder performances this weekend, both local, which is nice. Next weekend we are all trekking down to the Springs for the last performance of this year. I am working on a complete revision of one of the recorder websites that I maintain. I need to just get it put together and worry about finessing the design later. Anything will be an improvement on the old site! I took it over from someone many years ago and never really did much in the way of re-designing. I have been busy with my digital layouts, but I am also looking forward to working on some paper cards with my mom on Monday while the kids are at school. I am hoping to get a start on my Christmas cards. I haven't made any cards for some time now. I didn't realize how much of the social aspect I enjoyed until my stamping buddy moved away and I had no one to stamp with :(

Anyway, here are some recent layouts:

This uses Memory Lane by Jen C Designs.

This is using Christmas Hugs by Flutterbye Faery Designs

This uses Romantic Blues by Alexis Designs

2010-09-29T16:12:00.006-06:00

I am excited about all the fall kits coming out right now. One that I got to work recently is called Fruits of Fall by Flower Scraps. It is available at both her Digiscrap Obsession and her Stuff To Scrap stores.

Here is the layout I did:

2010-09-12T22:15:00.002-06:00

Trip

2010-09-11T23:27:00.002-06:00

Well, we had a fun visit to South Dakota over the holiday weekend. In order to maximize our time, we left on Friday night after Scot got home from work. We made it to Torrington, Wyoming the first night and stopped in a hotel there. We had to separate the kids so we each got to spend the night being poked and kicked by restless sleepers. Apparently Declan was snoring, also, but he was with Scot that night! We got up bright and early in the morning, had breakfast at the hotel, and then got back on the road to Rapid City. We crossed the border into South Dakota around 11, and decided to stop at Custer State Park on the way since we couldn't check into the hotel until 3 anyway. We stopped at the visitor's center and had a picnic lunch, since we had brought the cooler and some food. They were going to do a gold-panning demo, so we did that before driving around the wildlife loop. That's where we saw a bunch of buffalo (bison?) walking along the side of the road. We drove without seeing anything more, until we were beset by a herd of friendly mules. They were sticking their heads in the car window. We got out of the car to visit with them for a little bit, and then didin't see much else until the prairie dog area near the end of the loop. We also saw some bighorn sheep along the main road. We found a scenic overlook, and then figured it was time to get back on the road to Rapid City. We ended up getting to the hotel around 5, I think. We had dinner at Denny's and then took the kids down to the water park to swim. The hotel was pretty big and we were constantly getting lost trying to find our way to and from the pool area. I guess we weren't the only ones, because I passed some ladies on the way to the ice machine and they asked if I had left bread crumbs behind me. lol Sunday we planned to see Mt. Rushmore in the evening so we could see it lit up, so we decided to check out the Reptile Gardens and the Cosmos Mystery Area. We spent the morning/early afternoon at the Reptile Gardens, then headed back to the hotel for more swimming before going to Mt. Rushmore. We were going to stop at the Cosmos Mystery area on the way, but it was really crowded and the wait for the next tour was pretty long. We decided to skip it and come back to it later. Turns out we probably could have waited since there wasn't a lot to do at Mt. Rushmore. We walked around the trail and looked at the exhibits, then killed some time by eating since the lighting ceremony didn't start until 8 p.m. They showed a little movie and then lit up the faces. She called everyone down to the stage who was a veteran, so Scot reluctantly went down for that. He is not much for ceremony or attention, but they all just stood there while the flag was folded up and the park ranger thanked them for their service. We headed back to the hotel for bed. We decided to head to Devil's Tower on Monday, with a stop at Deadwood along the way. I wasn't sure about Devil's Tower, but Scot wanted to see it, and I'm glad we did go. It was the only day that was cold, so I figured it was a good day to do a lot of driving! We looked at a museum in Deadwood, stopped in front of the saloon where Wild Bill was shot, and then checked out the cemetary, which was on a steep hill. Since we watched the show Deadwood, it was fun for us, but not sure the kids cared too much. We stopped in Lead to check out the big open mining cut and have some lunch. Then we drove on to Devil's Tower, which was pretty cool up close. We walked around the base, had a snack, and then headed back to Rapid City and arrived by dinner time. We decided to get take out from Boston's and ate it by the pool between swimming. I went down the water slides, and they were a lot faster than I realized. I'm surprised the kids kept going on them, but I'm glad they are getting adventuresome. Maybe we'll try Waterworld next summer! Tuesday it was time to head for home, but not without a couple stops on the way. First off was Cosmos Mystery Area, which was pretty dead since most people were probably back at work or home already. The kids really got a kick out of that place. It was pretty weird, but being in the little house with the weird pull to one corner started to make me feel queasy after awhile. Luckily the tour wasn't very long! We stoppped at the Mammoth Dig site in Hot Springs, which is something I wanted to see. We got in just as a tour was starting, so we were able to join that. It's not a big place, so spending an hour there was just right. We had lunch outside on the picnic tables, and then really started for home. We didn't really stop after that, and got home around dinner time, which was perfect. I was worried that it wouldn't be enough time, but we managed to see quite a lot and it was a fun trip.

2010-08-31T11:35:00.000-06:00

Here is another layout I did from our recent trip up to Silverthorne. It seems like almost every year we get to celebrate my mom's birthday with her. It has become a fun tradition!

I used the Brownie Bites daily download kit from Down This Road Designs.

Busy!

2010-08-27T21:13:00.003-06:00

I have an all-day recorder workshop to attend tomorrow. Too bad the past two nights have involved very little sleep. I will try to get myself to bed soon, but I have a hard time making myself!

Here are some recent layouts:

This was done with Grandma's Recipe Box by Digital Designs by Athena

I used Kind of a Big Deal by Geek Chic and Sir Scrapalot for this one.

This used Apple of My Eye by Flutterbye Faery Designs.

2010-08-20T09:51:00.003-06:00

Wow, I guess I have been absent from my blog. We are starting to get back into a routine, and school is starting on Monday, so that will help a lot. I don't seem to do well with a lot of unstructured time. It was fun to not have to be places at a certain time, but after awhile, it turns into being lazy all day! The kids got to drop off their school supplies, meet their teachers, and see who else is in their class, so I think they're getting excited about it. We have some fun things planned for this weekend, and then suddenly it will be school and sports! We do have our trip to Mt. Rushmore for Labor Day weekend to look forward to before our weekends are filled with soccer and baseball games.

We had a lot of fun up in Silverthorne with my family. The kids were excited to meet their new cousin Moby for the first time. We got in some bike rides and board games. Declan won Doodle Dice, which made him happy, and I ended up winning Hand and Foot rummy.

I did this layout using the Pool Party set from Plain Digital Wrapper and a template by LDH Originals:

This one used Dance in the Rain by Geek Chic:

This one used a collab by Julie. It is. and Dani's Delusions, plus a template by Scraps of Candy:

2010-08-06T21:44:00.002-06:00

Tomorrow we are off to Silverthorne for the week. The kids are very excited, and it will be fun to be back at the house we got married in! Luckily we'll have internet, so I won't be out of touch, but I will be busy with family so probably only checking in at night after people go to bed...

2010-08-02T23:39:00.003-06:00

We had a fun weekend camping. We got rained on pretty heavily Saturday night, but we didn't let it stop us from having a fire. We pulled over a canopy for the wimpy adults to sit under while the kids sat out in the rain and played in the fire. They were having a great time, and everything was wet so less chance of them burning something up by accident! We had a problem with our tent last year leaking pretty bad (from a heavy rain fall at this same camp site), but we sealed it up and had a tarp across the top as reinforcement for the rain fly. We did discover that we should have pulled the rainfly out from the windows (which explained the flap with a loop just for that purpose, duh), so we did get some leakeage in around the windows, but we just made sure to be more in the middle of the tent and it wasn't that much water coming in anyway. Sunday was windy in the early morning, but it settled down enough for us to take the canoe out on Jefferson Lake. It started to get stormy again, so we ate lunch, packed up, and headed for home. Now we are looking forward to a week up in Silverthorne!

A recent layout using Waterworld by Donna Rafferty.

2010-07-29T09:39:00.006-06:00

I guess I haven't posted many of my pages lately, although I have been doing a lot!

Using Neopolitan Taffy by Dani's Delusions.

Using We Are Family, the charity collab.

Using Get Your Grunge on by Captivated Visions.

Using High Tide by Brandi Sutherlin Designs.

2010-07-26T10:28:00.002-06:00

We went to the Renaissance Festival yesterday. We had a good time, but after awhile the heat and crowds get to me. Everyone was congregating in the shady spots! The kids ended up getting some fancy walking sticks, and the lady even carved their initials in them.

On Saturday night I went on a photo walk in downtown Denver. I guess it's a national event and there are walks going on all over the country on this same night. I joined a yahoo group of local area digiscrappers, and some of them were going, so I signed up, too. Basically we just walked around on a route the leader had already picked out and took whatever photos we wanted. My main goal was to experiment with my camera and get to know it better on the manual settings instead of always using auto. It works well for a lot of situations, but there are times that it's better to use the manual settings. I used to do a lot of photography, and develop my own prints and negatives and everything, so it's something I always mean to get back to, even though now it's all digital! So I am happy to say that I didn't use the auto settings, or the flash, for any of my photos, and I spent a lot of time just experimenting with exposure bracketing and the different white balance settings. The other digiscrappers were really nice and we stayed and had a late dinner at the restaurant at the end of the walk.

2010-07-24T09:10:00.002-06:00

I had a chance to work with this awesome charity collab, We Are Family, available at Gotta Pixel. It will help Sally (KyRainbow)pay some medical bills from her fight with cancer.

2010-07-22T16:19:00.002-06:00

I did another layout for the contest, week #3, without really thinking about how it looked similar to my week 2 entry. Oh, well! We had to put title or song lyrics from a favorite summer song, so I ended up picking Rock You Like a Hurricane by the Scorpions. I have a friend I used to visit in the summers and she was a huge Scorpions fan. We would sit there and listen to this album and copy over the lyrics into a notebook, but I have no idea why. We were out in the middle of nowhere in a mobile home, so I guess we had to be easily amused!

2010-07-20T10:59:00.002-06:00

I did this layout for a challenge. The layout was supposed to be inspired by your favorite ice cream. I did mine based on the Cappuccino Heath Blizzard at DQ. Yum!

I used Espresso Yourself by Jen C Designs, and a modified template by Allison Pennington.

2010-07-19T19:28:00.003-06:00

I don't know why I'm having such a hard time getting a grip on the fall schedule. I think I am just overwhelmed with this soccer business, and the fact that both kids are not at the age of two weeknight practices and one game day. On top of that they will both be in Scouts. Declan is also interested in baseball, so he might do a Sunday only league for 8 weeks. It is hard with our school getting out so late in the afternoon compared to most. Maybe we'll have to start getting in the habit of morning homework, but that really isn't my prime time of the day! Then today I got an email asking if I can work two day shifts at work, which I really don't want to, plus I think it will interfere with my availability for my computer job, which is definitely more of a priority for me. I know it's still only July, but registration is starting for everything now so decisions need to be made. We are checking out a new Scout pack for Declan to join since our current one is kind of disorganized and lacking in participation. Owen already has friends so I don't want to switch him over, but Declan has a chance to find a good one still. I may be helping run the Bears (3rd graders) so hopefully at least his den activities will be fun.

2010-07-16T09:42:00.000-06:00

It's time to sign up for the August Brownie Addicts Membership!

2010-07-14T13:21:00.001-06:00

Flower Scraps is having a celebration for the rest of the month!

Geek Chic new Store Opening!

2010-07-13T08:56:00.003-06:00

Geek Chic is opening a new store today at Gotta Pixel! Check it out!

There is also a freebie add-on to her new kit Sweet on You in the store:

2010-07-08T23:57:00.003-06:00

Wow, I have been slacking. Apart from a camping trip for 4th of July, we have not been doing anything that exciting, I guess. I never sleep well while I'm camping, and I start to feel really grungy after about the second day, probably because my hair is dirty and that drives me crazy! However, I have to say that I really love it and I am glad it's something we started doing. Now that the kids go to sleep on their own in the tent, we can stay up a little longer and chat by the fire with the other gronw-ups. Plus the stars were so amazing without the city light pollution. Dawn and I took the kids on a night hike (walk). We took the trail through the trees down to the lake, but then on the way back, missed the trail and had to take the long way back on the road. The kids were freaking out that we were lost or that wild animals were going to attack, or that we would get hypothermia. So between listening to the paranoid child and the hypochondriac child, I couldn't help but get the giggles, which freaked them out even more. Anyway, night hikes are one of my favorite things to do while camping, and hopefully they weren't too traumitized by it! We only had the one night to do it since the next night we were out late for the fireworks and went straight to bed when we got back. Next year I think I will go up for longer with the kids, and then Scot can join us for a couple days in the middle. It was so nice and peaceful when everyone left, so it would be fun to be there during the week a little after everyone else takes off. Owen smashed his hand on a football tackling thing, and one other boy smashed his hand with a rock, but otherwise no major injuries, so that was good!

Now the kids are done with classes except for a couple more sessions of baseball for Declan, so we can start making plans for Elitch's and things like that.

2010-06-30T13:23:00.001-06:00

This "new" blog design is driving me crazy! It was suddenly messed up, and I tried to fix it, and now can't get rid of this gray. I keep adding different background schemes, and none of them seem to work. Pleae don't think it's my choice to have an ugly gray backgound! lol I don't know why blogger changed, but I am not thrilled so far....

Brag Book Blog Hop

2010-06-29T17:07:00.003-06:00

I had a chance to work with a collab kit from Digital Scrap Fun and SAHM Scrapper called Let Freedom Ring. You can get it at Stuff to Scrap.

I made my first ever brag book page to participate in the blog hop. You can download it here.

Here are the other stops:
Christi
Tricia
Dana
Jessica
Haylee
Misty
Laura
Jennifer <----You are Here
Lindi
Melanie

2010-06-25T21:57:00.002-06:00

New today by Sugar Pie Scraps: Boy-ish, which can be found at Enchanted Studio Scraps!

I did a layout with it already, from Owen's school talent show this year.

2010-06-23T23:30:00.002-06:00

Here are some layouts I have done recently. I have other, but they can't be posted just yet since the kits are not out!

This one uses Crazy Kind of Love by Geek Chic.

This one uses Daditude by Pixiemama Designs.

This was done for a speed scrap, and uses October Haze by Modern June Creations.

This one uses Remembrance from Julie. Itis.

This was also for a speed scrap. It uses City Trenches by Starving Artitst Designs.

2010-06-20T23:02:00.002-06:00

You can get these at here Polka Dot Plum store!

2010-06-17T22:54:00.002-06:00

I am happy to have some photos that I can use with the more "girly" kits, so I scrapped this photo of us having dinner after the Carnegie Hall concert. The place of the $13 cocktails! We also ordered a bunch of desserts to share, so it was fun.

I used Messy Girl, a collab by Sweet Mesquite and Sweet Berry Scraps, and a template by Sweet Mesquite.

2010-06-15T18:03:00.001-06:00

Visit her store here!

2010-06-14T21:49:00.000-06:00

Get them here!

2010-06-13T10:46:00.001-06:00

Here is a sneak peek of a new kit coming out soon from Sweet Mesquite and ????! Check out her blog for a chance to win!

2010-06-11T14:13:00.004-06:00

Today was the last day of basketball camp that the kids had for this week. I won't miss having to get them somewhere by 8 a.m., but I'm glad we signed up since they had a lot of fun. Next week Owen has a mythology art class and Declan starts his once a week baseball class. We also lucked out getting a 4-week piano lesson slot for Tuesdays, so I am making sure Owen does his daily practices again.

I have also been making pages, which I can now post since the kits were released.

This one uses the new kit by Geek Chic called i {heart} you. It matched really well for the photos we took on Mother's Day.

This one uses Playtime Boy by Sweet Mesquite. When I saw the turtle, I knew which photos I should scrap with it.

This ones uses the new kit by Pixiemama Designs called Daditude.

Terrible Two's Blog Train

2010-06-06T19:20:00.004-06:00

Flower Scraps and Nibbles Skribbles have teamed up their creative teams to bring you this fun blog train! Stop by each blog to snag the fun pieces of this kit. This kit was all about kids and that 'terrible' age!

Welcome to my part of the Terrible Two's Blog Train!

I am giving away a quickpage, which you can download here. If MediaFire is having issues, like it was earlier, it is now here at 4Shared, also!

Here is the blog train:

Crystal
Flower Scraps
Scrappy Cocoa
Jennifer Myers. <----You are here!
Ginger
Scrappin' Serenity
Lina
Karen
Jennifer Magreevy
Nibbles Skribbles
Knittin Jen
Donni

2010-06-05T22:17:00.002-06:00

This is my second hybrid project! I used a pyramid box template by Purple Cherry Designs, and Aventure from Julie. Itis. Basically you decorate it digitally and then print it out and assemble. I decided to make mine into a photo holder.

2010-06-04T10:51:00.002-06:00

Julie. It is. has a beautiful new kit out today called Silver Peony. It reminded me of the foggy beaches of my home town, so I scrapped some photos of our visit there last summer.

2010-06-01T17:29:00.002-06:00

Can you believe it's already June??? Time for the Enchanted Studio Scraps June CAC (Create A Collab). The title this month is Fruity Patootie. It's a great collab with awesome summer colors. And for one week only you can build your collab at only $1 per pack. Sugar Pie Scraps has an alpha pack, element pack, paper pack and a template pack all only $1 each! Hurry over to her store at ESS to take advantage of this great deal!!

2010-05-30T21:51:00.002-06:00

Today we went to Elitch's for a little while. Since we have season passes, we don't feel the need to stay forever and get our money's worth, which is nice! It was not warm enough for the water park, so we just did the rides. The kids tried a new ride, the big swings, which they really liked. I tried to get them on it last year, but they didn't want to, even though it's a mellow ride. Owen keeps saying he wants to try and wooden roller coaster, but I'm not sure he's ready for that yet! Luckily I like all rides, so I will go with him if he does really want to go. I went on a big ride while Scot took the kids on the swings again. It was fun, but I didn't feel great afterwards. I am so mad that I can't seem to handle that kind of stuff anymore. It must be an age thing, but that doesn't make me feel better about it...

I also did a night owl speed scrap last night. It was at a perfect time for me, after the kids were in bed and so there were no distractions.

2010-05-28T23:49:00.003-06:00

I joined a contest at Stuff to Scrap called This Scrapper's Got Talent. I don't know how long I will last before elimination, but it's always fun to try these little contests. Our topic for week 1 was to scrap about ourselves using only 1-2 photos, using the words I am somewhere, and not having any complete sentences in our journalling. It is not my favorite topic and I have already done a couple "me" layouts for some kit releases, but I had a new photo to work with from New York, so I decided to focus on the one part of me that never seems to change!

I also had my first foray into hybrid scrapping, which means combining digital with paper. I used a template to make this bag digitally, printed it out on photo paper, and assembled it. You could also print out the template onto patterned cardstock and do it that way, but it was fun to put different papers on the sides of the bag.

2010-05-28T14:08:00.001-06:00

Sugar Pie Scraps has a sale going on this weekend only! Here store is here.

2010-05-26T00:02:00.003-06:00

Roof is done, and most of the gutters. They are coming back tomorrow to finish up. In the meantime, I have managed to get some layouts done after getting back from New York.

I finally scrapped our stop at Real Goods a couple years ago on the way to Monterey, using Sonny by Brittbree:

These are recent photos of our harbor cruise in NY, using Adventure by Julie. Itis.

This is from one of the displays at the Biosphere, using Wish I Was Here by Geek Chic:

These are old pool pics from a trip to Pittsburgh, using Bubble Bath Buddies by Flower Scraps:

2010-05-20T00:03:00.002-06:00

It looks like our new roof will be going on tomorrow or Friday, and then the gutters. I am glad it all worked out and went pretty smoothly with the insurance and everything. I had to spend some time at the bank trying to deposit the check since it was written to us and the mortgage company, but that is finally done. I took the day off from work to watch field day at school, but after lunch I was pretty tired of walking back and forth between the kindergarten and 2nd grade events, so I took off to take care of the bank thing instead. Things are winding down for school so soon we will be able to relax into our summer routine. Owen is signed up for a one week art class that will deal with mythology, and Declan is signed up for the baseball class he wanted. Now Owen says he wants to try basketball, so I'll see if there's a class available for beginner level. He really doesn't do great with competitive situations, but if he wants to try it, I will sign him up and see how it goes! Hopefully the library will have a fun summer reading program, and we also have our Elitch passes, so I think we will have plenty to keep us busy.

2010-05-17T14:33:00.001-06:00

2010-05-07T20:25:00.003-06:00

I ended up downloading some free photo actions a couple days ago, and I can see why people are so addicted to them. They are so fun! On this layout of Declan, I used an action that turns the photo black and white, except for any blue. Then you can pick what shade of blue you want.

I even used an action on this photo which basically just brightens it up a little. This all happens with the press of a button. Too cool!

Owen is really wanted in iPOD touch for himself. After researching it, I'm afraid I will want one, too, but I guess I can always play with his while he's at school. lol

2010-05-06T10:01:00.001-06:00

You can find her store here!

2010-05-03T23:16:00.002-06:00

On a personal note, someone is coming to look at the roof tomorrow to see if we can turn in a claim for hail damage from that freaky storm we got last summer. I also have small group practice for the jazz pieces we are performing for the upcoming orchestra concerts in June. I need to run through those pieces in the morning!

Happily, my mom is arriving Saturday, and then we are heading out to New York on Wednesday. I can't wait! I have been really lucky with lots of fun trips this year so far.

Since the soccer tournament was cancelled, we are going to sign up for the Run With Rocky school fundraiser. We also have student-led conferences, book fair, field day, and a bunch of field trips coming up. I have a feeling May will go by in a blur!

2010-05-03T23:06:00.004-06:00

Despite all the craziness of iNSD, I did manage to make a couple layouts. I have a ton of new kits to work with. I bought some during the sales, but I also won a lot with all the contests going on.

Sugar Pie Scraps put our a kit called Nana and Me. I was excited since you don't see much Nana word art in kits!

These are some older photos from the Arvada Kite Festival. I used Where the Wind Blows by Geek Chic and Graham Like the Cracker.

This was done using Serendipity by Julie. It is. and a template by Scraps of Candy.

I had fun with this one, using Ocean Breeze by Southern Creek Designs. This was for a speed scrap that was at 10 p.m. my time. Finally a time where I could participate without distractions!

This was using the kit All About Me by Pixiemama Designs. I don't really scrap myself very much, so it was a challenge!

2010-05-02T15:07:00.002-06:00

Laurie Scraps is having a 40% off sale at her store and at Digital Scrap Cafe!

She has some cool kits and templates. Her CT call is tempting!

2010-04-30T12:50:00.002-06:00

Some of the designers that I do CT work for are having some sales for iNSD (interNational Scrpabook Day). Check it out:

Sugar Pie Scraps Sale!

Geek Chic Sale!

2010-04-29T00:16:00.002-06:00

I am happy that tomorrow is Thursday. Wednesdays are not my favorite lately! Once school is out, I'll be switching to an evening shift so the kids will not be stuck there with me all day. I am only sad that I will be missing more of my turbo kick class, but I should be able to start that again in the fall. There are other classes to choose from, but that was always one of my favorites.

I finally called someone to come look at our roof and see if we have a hail claim from the freak storm last summer. Many people have gotten new roofs out of it, so I figured it was worth a shot. Maybe they can fix the gutters at the same time! Then we can look into re-doing the back porch. I am hoping to make the deck part smaller and have a lower patio area. Something we will eventually have to do is new siding, but I think the roof and porch are going to come first. I have a big list of interior improvements to work on, also. We tend to let things go, but I would like things to look decent in case the housing market improves and we have a chance to possibly move. I love this neighborhood, but it would be nice to be away from the busy street and our crazy neighbor. It probably won't happen, but I always have it in the back of mind as a remote possibility. If not, we should at least have things looking decent!

2010-04-26T08:35:00.006-06:00

Welcome to the Sugar Pie Scraps and Kat's Creations Blog Train! Their products are available at Enchanted Studio Scraps. I used a template from this set:

and Color My World:

to make this quickpage:

You can download my quickpage here.

Kat
Chris
Kiana
Sara
Vicki
Helen
Charlie
Carolyn
Prissy
Crystal Kristin
Keesha
Jennifer <-----YOU ARE HERE
Joana

2010-04-23T11:24:00.003-06:00

Well, I'm pretty late to the party, but I signed up with Twitter last night. lol It seems like a good way to get info for scrapbook stuff.

I made these pages with kits by Julie. It is. Spring Rain comes out today, and Colorado Nature is an older kit that I thought would be perfect for the Leadville camping photos.

2010-04-20T21:39:00.001-06:00

I got a chance to work with an upcoming release called Neutrality by Digital Design by Athena. I love working with earth tones, and it seemed perfect for these photos!

2010-04-18T23:40:00.003-06:00

I got my first email from Owen today:

Dear mom,
You are the best mom ever!I love you.
Sincerely,
Owen

He is using my old laptop now, much to his excitement. Too bad Scot put Linux on there, so if something goes wrong, I can't be much help! He has been playing a lot of Webkinz. I have an account so we can play tournament games.

2010-04-17T11:06:00.002-06:00

I made this Well Worn and Wordlets Word Art by Julie. It is.

The kids are at soccer this morning. They really seem to be enjoying it, and Owen might get to play in a tournament at the end of May. He's never played against other teams, so it will give him a taste of what's coming up for his age group next time, and see if he really wants to stick with soccer when it starts getting more competitive. Owen also suddenly has 4 field trips between now and the end of the year! He has been complaining all year that they haven't gone on any, so he is happy. I am chaperoning the one to the School of Mines, but not sure if I'll sign up for any of the others. A lot are on Fridays, when I'm on call for work. Declan has one more coming up on the day before the last day of school, to the Musseum of Nature and Science.

2010-04-14T22:01:00.002-06:00

I did these pages with a new kit by Marni Designs that came out at Brownie Scraps on Monday called Love Gingham.

I was also featured in the CT spotlight at Pixiemama Designs blog. I made a template as a freebie, so go over there and snag it if you like it! I may post it here next week, just since I've never done that before.

2010-04-13T12:40:00.005-06:00

Sugar Pie Scraps has her store open at Enchanted Studio Scraps now! Her templates can be bought separately or in a pack.

Pixiemam Challenge Extended!

2010-04-11T10:16:00.002-06:00

Good news! The one year anniversary blog hop for Pixiemama Designs has been extended to give you more time to get your entries in. They are now due by Thursday at midnight (M.S.T.), for my challenge.

Pixiemama Challenge

2010-04-09T23:24:00.003-06:00

Hi, and welcome to the Pixiemama Blog Hop! You have probably arrived from JayaPrem's Hangout, but if you get lost along the way, you can find the beginning at Pixiemama's Designs.

I am hosting the Word Challenge. The rules are that you must use the words "One", "Happy", or "Birthday" in your layout. Only one word can be used in either title or journaling, and it must be visible. Twist: you can only use your word ONCE! For example if you choose the word Happy you can't use any of the other two words and you can only use Happy once in your layout.

Enter to win by leaving a link to your layout in the comments, and please be sure to provide a valid email so we can contact you with your prize. The winner will receive a $5 gift certificate to Pixiemama's store at Scrappity Doo-Dah (PU products only). Winner will be chosen on Sunday night.

It's not required to use Pixiemama's products for your entry, but make sure you check out her store in case you see something you do want to use!

Next stop is Missy Moments!

Remember, we are all in different time zones, so don't panic if something it not up right away!

2010-04-09T14:12:00.002-06:00

I did a page last night when I saw that Julie. It is. had a new kit out called Well Worn. I found these photos from our visit to the museum on Sanibel, not this past trip, but from two years ago.

I also got the good news this week that Sugar Pie Scraps is getting a new store, opening soon! I have one page done with one of her templates, and hope to get some more done soon.

Marni Designs release is coming on Monday instead of today.

I am participating in a blog hop to celebrate Pixiemama's one year design anniversary. Come back tomorrow morning for a challenge and a chance to win a gift certificate to her store!

2010-04-07T22:30:00.003-06:00

What a long day! I hope to work on a page tonight, but I may wait until tomorrow when I am feeling more alert! I will post my layouts from the Geek Chic release, although I have not put them in any galleries yet due to not being home much today! The Marni Designs release was delayed until Friday.

This is the layout using the April grab bag:

This is from Baby Lily. I used one of the templates that comes with the kit. I was happy to make it work for a boy!

2010-04-06T22:43:00.002-06:00

Geek Chic has a new kit coming out tomorrow, and also an April grab bag that has some great stuff in it. I have worked with both kits, so I will get to post my layouts tomorrow! These will be available at Polka Dot Plum.

Marni Designs also has a new kit coming out tomorrow. I don't have a preview, but it's very cute!

2010-04-05T23:39:00.005-06:00

Revised to say that I received some disapointing news regarding some of my CT's that I will no longer be on due to the store/forum probably closing. I don't really know all the details, but accusations are made and I would rather just stay out of it all since it doesn't involve me personally!

Back!

2010-04-02T22:25:00.003-06:00

Well, even though I was home for a couple days in between trips, it really does feel like I've been gone for the last two week. It was a lot of fun, but I am also happy to be back home, getting back to our normal routine. It was fun spending the week being spoiled by my mom, and of course, the kids love spending time with their Nana. I got a lot of great photos, so of course, I am looking forward to getting back to scrapping. I did manage to complete a few pages this week from Arizona, but I can't post them quite yet!

I ended up renting a movie one night in AZ, which was Paranormal Activity. We got Shorts for the kids to watch, and they thought it was really funny. For some reason, it looked really low budget to me, but maybe it's because the t.v. was old!

2010-03-27T10:18:00.002-06:00

We got back pretty early yesterday, so I was able to participate in my Friday night speed scrap. I scrapped one of our Florida pictures since I had just gotten them off the camera. I used What's Up, Buttercup? by Geek Chic Scraps.

I am sick now, but hopefully it's just a normal cold. We are leaving tomorrow for Tucson!

2010-03-19T21:22:00.002-06:00

I need to force myself off the computer and to bed here soon, due to our 6 a.m. flight in the morning. I am already feeling withdrawals from my little computer community, but I am forcing myself to leave the laptop at home and have a real vacation. Scot is bringing his so I will check my email, but that's about it. There is plenty of other stuff to do in sunny Florida!

The layout I posted last time with my mom and the kids in the background was voted layout of the week at Plain Digital Wrapper, much to my pleasant surprise! It is such a nice forum, and I'm happy to be a part of it. I am also being featured as a scrapper of the week on the blog at Brownie Scraps tomorrow. That is one of my other favorite forums, so I am feeling honored this week!

Owen had his performance at the talent show tonight, and managed to get through it despite being nervous. I think he did a good job, especially since it was his own song that he did. We weren't able to stay for the 2nd half of the program because of not wanting to keep the kids out late, but it was fun to watch and there were some really cute acts.

2010-03-16T22:58:00.002-06:00

I have been scrapping our Georgetown day trip from last summer. I have another layout that I can't post yet until Friday.

I went out and got all my Easter shopping done today. I knew I wouldn't have a lot of time between trips to get stuff, and I would rather not wait until the last minute and everything is picked over. They had a lot of cute stuff at Target, like these frames with a little soccer ball in the corner. I also had to get some new sandals since we only have one pair that fits anyone. I got out all the short and t-shirts and the kids were trying stuff on yesterday to see what still fits. Luckily most of it still does so we are all set for the trip!

Between dentist appointments and rehearsal for the talent show, we have had to get up earlier than usual the last two mornings. I am looking forward to a normal schedule tomorrow, even though it does include work.

2010-03-15T21:07:00.003-06:00

These are the layouts I did with Marni Designs new kits Little Boy Blue and Little Buddy. I think I will be using Little Boy Blue to scrap the rest of my 4th of July pictures since the colors match the outfits the kids were wearing that day.

2010-03-14T21:04:00.005-06:00

Marni Designs has two new kits coming out tomorrow. I have a sneak peek for one of them. I had an easy time working with these since they are both boy-themed with great colors. I can't wait to post my layouts tomorrow!

2010-03-13T22:28:00.003-07:00

I ordered a new toy today, a Flip Video Camera. It's digital and small, and you can put your videos on the computer easily, unlike our other one with the tapes. I picked 2-day shipping so it will be here in time for our trips, plus the talent show on Friday.

I just found out an hour ago that tonight was spring forward night. I hate this time change! I would much rather gain an hour. I will have to force myself to go to bed a little early, I guess.

Owen has been complaining about not feeling well off and on since Friday evening, and I've had a mild sore throat. It seems we always get sick at this time of year, but hopefully it's nothing much.

2010-03-12T22:43:00.004-07:00

Lots of layouts to post today! This first one is from a new kit by Julie. It is. called Vivre:

After dinner, I decided to my usual Friday night speed scrap, and this is the result. I used a kit that I won just today from Modern June called Bohemian Chic. I think I will be using it again soon since I didn't get to use a lot of the great paper. We had to pick solids for this speed scrap.

I also decided to get a bunch of my layouts printed up since there was a sale going on. I can't wait for them to arrive! I had 92 pages to print, which didn't even include my layouts from the last few weeks. I won't save up so many next time, but at least I got a nice discount from the sale!

2010-03-10T15:10:00.003-07:00

This is using the new kit You Sham(rock) My World that came out today by Geek Chic and Sweet Tomato Designs. I used a template by Kate Designs for the template challenge over at MLAS. These photos are old, but I've always liked them. We were dogsitting Daphne a few years ago and Declan was hanging out with her in the yard.

2010-03-09T12:07:00.003-07:00

Just a little sneak peek of the new Geek Chic collab kit coming out tomorrow at Polka Dot Plum!

2010-03-08T23:38:00.002-07:00

Our trips our coming up here soon. I am going to have to pull out the summer clothes and see what we've got, I hope! I haven't checked Florida or Tucson weather yet. I'll wait until we are closer to departure. I have the rental car and kennel booked for the Florida trip, and then Scot will be home while we are in Tucson, so no kennel needed. I don't think we'll need a rental car for Tucson, either. We will have laundry facilities in Florida, so I will try, as always to pack light, especially considering luggage charges these days! All four of us will have the biggest carry-ons allowed, so maybe we'll only have to check one bag.

I have been completing some pages, but they can't be posted yet. There are releases coming out on Wednesday and Friday this week, and I'm also hoping to get a page or two done for my new CT!

2010-03-07T13:23:00.006-07:00

I did my usual Friday night speed scrap this week. I had to use two photos that were in a sequence. I used a kit called Urban Jungle by RebeccaPSP, and it worked well for the rustic setting of the YMCA.

I was excited to get the news yesterday that I was accepted to a CT for a local Colorado designer, Julie.it.is. She uses such great jewel and earth tones for a lot of her kits, which I find very easy to work with. I can't get into her forum yet to find out all the details, but I love all her kits that I've seen of hers.

2010-03-06T22:43:00.003-07:00

I spent the day and evening at a recorder workshop. We played in the morning and part of the afternoon, and then we learned some English country dances so some people played and others danced. I did both, and it was pretty fun, but made for a long day!

Scot is going skiing tomorrow so I will have to think of something fun to do with the kids. They went to a Home Depot workshop this morning and Owen practiced his archery later at home. I can picture him getting into a solitary sport like that rather than a team sport, eventually. He really liked it when we tried it at the YMCA last year. We actually all had a lot fun with it.

Report cards came out on Friday. Both did well although Owen had a couple comments about him getting easily frustrated. Hopefully that is getting better over time. We talk about it a lot, but who knows if it's helping. They also got a packet of the school photos that I didn't order. I don't really want to get two packets of photos a year, and seeing this did not tempt me to order them! Declan was having a bad hair day because I didn't even know it was photo day and didn't fix it much before he left for school. What cracks me up is he has one photo where his eyes are closed, and that's the one they featured, but another version is shown on a couple of them with a nice smile, but it's not the main photo they focused on. Does anyone even look at these before they do them up?? I might scan them before I return the packet since they are kind of funny.