iNSD...

It's been an exciting week in the scrapbooking world as designers, sites, and CT members are (frantically) getting ready for this Saturday, May 1, 2010 - National Scrapping Day. For those not familiar with this scrapbooking holiday, it's basically an amazing weekend of huge sales, discounts, mega freebies and give-aways. All the different sites will have weekend long chats, challenges, and chances to win goodies (i.e. giftcards, kits, products, etc) from he designer store. If you are looking to stock up on some digital scrapbooking goodies, this is the prime opportunity to grab a LOT of stuff for cheap. 'Nuff said.

Anyway, rather than talk your ear off about the fabulouss-ness this weekend is sure to bring, I'll go ahead and share some of the ads and previews from the very talented designers/sites I get the privilege of working with:

Creations by Rachael

Funky Playground Designs

ScrapMatters

A Good Day...

Today was a good day....a GREAT day, in fact. The sun was shining, the wind was blowing, and we got a visit from "Aunt Emily." I cannot tell you how long overdue this visit was - it's been ages...WAY too long...since I've seen my younger sister. The girls absolutely ADORE Emily...they couldn't get enough of her. We went to the park, got some frozen yogurt, hung around the house, and basically just enjoyed our time together.

 
To add to the goodness, the girls also got a visit from some of their AZ cousins - silly Connor, Ashley, and Ethan. I unfortunately did not get any pics of the chaos, but let me tell you that the girls were on cloud 9 as they got to run around, wrestle, explore, and just plain be silly with their dearly beloved cousins.

It was so fun seeing how happy they were...ALL day. We definitely need many more days just like this.

Pink AND Blue....

...PAINT, that is! I am happy to say that I finally got the girls' room and the bathroom painted this week. Yay!! The jobs aren't totally done; I still need to go back and paint the ceilings in both room and the beadboard in the girls' room...but AT LEAST the walls are done.

Doug and the girls and I went down to Fallbrook on Saturday to pick up my good ol' friend Clyde (a.k.a. the very first car I ever bought - a 1995 Isuzu Rodeo - that Doug's parents have had for the past few years and are kindly letting us use now that Doug sold his Tacoma). While Doug and the girls stayed the night, I drove back home to have some uninterrupted time to paint. It was a long, lonely night (to be quite honest) but well worth it. The girls were too sleepy Sunday night to notice (they didn't get back until close to 10pm), but when they woke up Monday morning they were ecstatic to see their PINK room. Roo actually came running up to me later that morning, threw her arms around my legs, and emphatically said "Thank you for my pink room, mama...thank you SO much! I love it!!" Needless to say, it was really cute to see how something as small as a free can of paint could bring so much happiness and joy to the two little girls I love. (By the way - thank you mom for the paint. I know I said it before, but I really, REALLY appreciate you thinking of us when you picked it up).

Anyway, enough of my rambling. Here are some pictures from my fun weekend of painting...(coloring isn't the greatest since they were taken in poor light at 2am in the morning, but it's gives you an idea of the before and after)

 

 

The two rooms are FAR from being done...I need to find shelves and towels and rugs for the bathroom, and I'm still trying to figure out what I'm doing for the girls headboard slipcovers, wall-hangings/art, and curtains...BUT, at least this is one less thing I have to think/worry about. 

Now, if only I could decide on a color for the rest of the house....2 rooms down, 5 more to go!! Oy ve...

Scrap Haps

I've been busy, busy, busy with my scrap creations...and even then, I still feel as if I'm falling behind on my CT committments. As much as I LOVE the variety of designers products I get the privilege of working with, I am afraid I may have gotten in over my head and will soon need to make the difficult decision of cutting back on some of those committments...but that makes me sad just thinking about it, so I'm going to put that thought aside and post some of my recent layouts...

 

Using Birthday Girl from The Design Girl

Using Funky Chic from The Design Girl

Using Hoppy Easter from The Design Girl

Using Go Green collab from Designs by Sarah Bennett and WM[squared]

Using Press Play collab from Wild Dandelion Designs and Jennifer Barrette

Using Sunday Afternoon collab by Sarah Bennett and Trixie Scraps

Using Park Play collab by Jennifer Barrette and Melissa Bennett 

Using Park Play collab by Jennifer Barrette and Melissa Bennett

Using Spa Day and Ribbony Goodness from Pixie Perfect Designs

Using Happiness from Creations by Rachael

Using Mother Nature collab from the FPD Designers

Using Backyard Buddies from Erica Zane

Using Spring Has Sprung from The Design Girl

Using Sweetest Days from Erica Zane

Using Waterpark collab from Sahlin Studios and Jacque Larsen

I also posted a Saturday Special blog post/challenge over at ScrapMatters where I gave a tutorial on how to make your own photo vignette. Check it out HERE for the instructions...and you can earn points towards store discounts if you play along!! Here's the layout I created for the challenge:

Using EZ Breezy by Erica Zane

And, the amazingly talented designers at ScrapMatters worked hard to create a FABULOUS kit for the iNSD Insider at DST...visit HERE for info on how to get the kit...and check out my layouts below for a sneak peak on what the kit includes...and you can also check out the DST gallery for other layouts created with this fantastic mega kit...seriously, you won't be disappointed!!

Whew! That was a long one...thanks for dropping by. I hope you enjoyed looking at my creations!!

Painting Bird Houses....

One of the first things the girls wanted to do after moving into the house was put little bird houses in the garden. We bought some forever ago (they went on sale at Michael's the week after we moved in), but didn't get around to painting them until today. Here are some pics of our fun afternoon o' painting:

Even though the girls seemed to end up with more paint on themselves than the birdhouses, they had an absolute blast making their very own birdhouses.

The girls were pretty entertaining while they talked about birds and the new houses...here's a little video clip I got of their amusing discussion (sorry it's so shakey - I don't have the steadiest of hands):

Creations By Rachael - Store Closing Sale

Creations by Rachael is closing her store at Inspiration Lane...which means she's having a sale! From now through April 25, Rachael's entire store is 35% off...

In addition to the closing sale, Rachael is offering the chance to buy her entire store for $25. The last time I checked, I think there were about 70+ items in the store...this includes kits, mini kits, brag books, and quick page packs...so everything for $25 is a TOTAL bargain!!

Yumm-O...

One thing this little family of ours loves is PANCAKES. Yumm. What a wonderful way to start of the day. While flipping these tasty lil' flap jacks this morning, I couldn't help but snap a photo and share one of the small things that makes our day just a little happier...

Again?!...Are You Kidding Me...

Soooooo...Doug did something to his knee. Again. In jiu jitsu. He's at the doctor's office as we speak...had an x-ray and is waiting for an MRI. I am keeping my fingers crossed it is nothing too serious...and I know he is REALLY hoping it isn't serious since Worlds are in a month and he was planning on competing.

Fingers crossed...waiting anxiously.

**Status Update: According to the MRI results, Doug has a "partial tear of the fibular collateral ligament and distal biceps femoris with edema in the adjacent soft tissue, posterolateral corner injury is suspected. Additionally strain of the popliteus muscle is also seen."**

So - some partial tears, tissue swelling, and muscle strain...that puts him out of jiu jitsu for a minimum of six weeks. Needless to say, he's not a happy camper right now.

Lost and Found Sale at FPD

Going on this weekend at Funky Playground Designs



And just a head's up for the first FPD Speed Scrap - if you've never done one before, you should!! It's a chance to chat with fellow scrappers, win some prizes (gift cards and a free participation prize), and complete a FAB.U.LOUS layout in about an hour!!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Pixie Perfect Designs - Grand Opening

The very talented Holly of Pixie Perfect Designs is entering back into the world of digital scrap...and it just so happens that today is the Grand Opening of her new store at scrapable.net!! Click on the ad below to be taken to her fabulous shoppe...

And here are just a few of the goodies you'll see in Holly's store, as well as some pages I've created using them...(most of them are layouts from when Holly was desiging before, so I hope you don't mind my repeat sharing!)

Thanks for stopping by!

Sarah Bennett Birthday Sale

ho doesn't love a reason to celebrate, right? Well, Sarah Bennett (one of the talented designer I am fortunate enough to CT for) turns 28 today and in celebration of her special day, she is offering 28% of her shop (excluding collaborations) from now through April 18th...just check out using the coupon code below.

You can also stop by the CT blog for a 4x6 bragbook template pack....grab this and your birthday scrapping will be a snap!!