Queen of the Crop

Seriously...I really truly cannot stop crying today. BUT....my baby did so great! as did her bff, Jack. We went outside early to get the "1st day of school" pictures, & when the bus came, neither of them even looked back. They got right on the bus & it drove away.... I am soooo proud of her! Here are some pics: I can't wait to hear what she thinks of her 1st day of school!

Cropstop is doing it again! Please join us for our annual "Fall Frolic" online crop and blog hop! The crop will begin on September 1st and go through September 22nd with daily challenges posted by our Creative Team. Participants will have till September 30th to complete and upload their projects in the "Fall Frolic" album in the Cropstop Gallery . Our Creative Team will be offering great challenges, games, a make n' take and prizes!! Visit their blogs during the crop and you'll have a chance to win additional blog candy! Please visit and register on the Cropstop.com forum/message board and in our Cropstop gallery so you can participate in our "Fall Frolic" crop . All guidelines and info can be found in the "Fall Frolic" Online Crop thread on the Cropstop forum !!

Ok.....I am an emotional wreck today....My baby, Emma, starts Kindergarten today. I cannot stop crying! I'm not sure why, but it may have to do with the fact that just 5 & a half years ago, she blessed us by coming into this world. Now we had our struggles in the begining, as she was born almost 3 months premature. She spent just 5 weeks in the hospital (at the time it seemed like eternity) in the NICU. When she came home, it was on a monitor for several months....... But today, I have to let go of my baby girl, & put her on a bus & wave good bye. For some reason, this is really hitting me hard! I am so proud of her for being so excited & not scared at all! She is beautiful, smart, funny (& definately trying at times), & I think I am just so sad that she is growing up. But, the last 5 years were incredible, the next 13 will be just as fun........Right??? I will post pictures later today of getting on the bus & probably of me crying......

Yes, wayyyyyy far behind! I have done 2 crops with From Here 2 Scrapternity , & used 2 months worth of supplies sent to me by Pam (owner of FH2S ). & I just realized that I had never posted any of them! So, let's start with July, & I will post August in another post later this week. For a non-store site, Pam is very very very generous in the supplies that she sends the Inspirational Team (IT) each month to work with, & for that I am really grateful! For July here are the projects that I did using what she sent: Thanks for looking!

I have great news! The very first design team that I was on was Nuts About Sketches. I love Shawn's sketches, & it was so much fun doing them each week. Plus it assured me that I would get at least 1 layout done a week! I was so sad when my term was up. Recently she had a call for a new design team, & you guessed it..... I made the team! Along with these amazingly talented ladies: NAS DT September 2010 - February 2011 Al-Marie Campana Anna Mills Anneliese Grassi Barb Prendergast Cathy Sanders Julie Kight Juliann Merchant Liz Kordek Marilyn Peter Michelle Duncan Michelle Stanzione Rebecca Geile Sarah Facteau Tina Guigui The layout that I used to apply for the team is: Yay! I can't wait to create with her sketches again (not that I stopped, I continued to use them!). Congrats to all of the gals who made it as well!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am really behind on my blogging. Today I am going to share with you the entire month of Sketchy Sunday layouts that I have done for The Everyday Scrapper . August 1st: ---------------------------------------------------------------- August 8th: (this lo was a page design class at Scraptacular which happened to be the same as the sketch) ----------------------------------------------------------------- August 15th: (I was prego w/ Audra in this pic, hence the big ole belly) -------------------------------------------------------------- August 22nd -------------------------------------------------------------- August 29th, tomorrow: A day early, but at least I am early rather than late, right? lol. --------------------------------------------------------------- Stop on by The Everyday Scrapper to check out the fun stuff going on over there. & to see the weekly sketches. It is a fun place to be! Thank you for sto...

If you are reading this the day that it is posted, I am either on my way, or at the Hamburg Hideaway for a scrappy weekend away! I will be having a ball creating, watching movies, listening to music, eating, & hanging out w/ great friends! Have you ever created an ATC (Artist Trading Card)? I never had because I never knew what to do with them, or what the purpose of them is. I did a little research on them, & this is what I came up with (I also posted this on The Everyday Scrapper ): As their name indicates, ATCs are collectables, a brilliant idea born of the older sports-themed trading cards. The one rule that makes an ATC derives from their origins: the dimensions of the ATC must be 2.5″x3.5″. Now, it seems there are a few “rules” that go along with the dimensions: First, an ATC must not be sold, only exchanged , as the whole essence of these tiny works of art is about artists meeting (by correspondence or online if need be) and exchanging their works, thus mee...

For August, Beth at Scraptacular , decided to put out 2 kits again! I was lucky enough to be able to design with one of those kits! They are always fantastic, filled with lots of goodies, & this month was no exception! If you haven't gotten your kit yet, head on over there now to get one of these fabulous kits. Here is what I've created with it:

Wow! Can you hear those crickets, & see the cobwebs? It has been over a month since my last post. That just means that summer is here, & we have been super busy. Going to the pool, amusement parks, picnics, parties, & just keeping busy. I need to keep the kiddos busy or else they drive me crazy! Also, Emma will be starting Kindergarten in 2 weeks. I am really really having a hard time over this! The other night Tony & I were talking about it, & about me putting her on the bus & waving good bye & sending her on her way. As I was saying it, my eyes are filling up with tears, Emma, the big girl that she is becoming, looks at me & says, "Mommy, why is there water in your eyes?" I said that I was sad that she was growing up & that she was starting school & would be away from me. She looks me in the eye, puts her hands over her heart, & says, "Mommy, I'm sorry. But...I am going to be ok." It made me cry even hard...

Happy Tuesday! I hope that everyone is enjoying their summer & keep cool in this crazy hot weather! I know we have been spending many many days at the pool just to keep cool. I realize that the kit came out July 1st, but I never showed you what I created with the fabulous kit from Scraptacular !. I also wanted to let you know that if you haven't already, you can still get in on the beautiful July kits, just click here . I was lucky enough to create with the Summer Fun kit. At first I just stared at it, wondering what I was going to do with it, but let me tell you, I used it right down to scraps, & I am still making cards w/ those scraps! Let me share with you all of the things I've done with this kit. Told you I did a lot with it!!! So, if you are interested in purchasing a July kit, what are you waiting for? Hurry on over to the store & pick one up today. Thanks for looking!

I am back from vacation, & seems like am jumping back into life w/ both feet. My family & I went to the beach for a week. Had a fabulous time! Although hot, it was a lot of fun. The day we got home, I helped dh unload the car, unpack a few things, then 90 minutes later jumped in my car for a scrappy retreat. Yesterday I was totally playing catch up from the week. It was fun to be away, but I have to say, there is no place like home. ;o) With that being said, here is the post for the Everyday Scrapper , yesterday: ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Happy Monday!!!! It is a HOT one here, again, with the threat of some major thunder storms. I hope that everyone is staying cool & everyone is enjoying the summer! Do you ever sew on your layouts, cards or projects. If you do, do you hand stitch or use a sewing machine. I love the look of sewing/stitching on layouts, & must admit, that in addition to sewing on my layouts...

Today I posted at the Crop Stop the weekly Ink & Stamp Spot in the forum & on the blog . I recently learned a new technique & loved it so much that I have to share it with you. Someone (you know who you are, Lisa) suggested taking a die cut sheet & putting it on a piece of card stock & misting it to leave the illusion of the die. Now, this might not be new to you, but I am really afraid of Glimmer Mist, so this is outside the box for me. I didn't have any die cuts, so I just cut a large circle. I then misted it & left the impression of the circle on the paper. I also took some flourish stamps & stamped in the corner of my page. Of course I inked all the edges of my papers, to give it that finished look. To top it off, I added some accents with Liquid Pearls. Here is my finished project: Do you use Glimmer Mist on your projects? If so, please share with us how you use it, or show us your projects that you've used them on. Give this scared girl som...

HAPPY MONDAY!!! Below please find the post that I did over at The Everyday Scrapper . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for stopping by this fine Monday morning. I hope you had a great weekend, & are as excited for for the summer as I am, as the first day of summer is today. As you read this, I am sitting on the beach with my toes in the sand. Aaahhh, summer vacations! :o) Today I have something for you that is so easy & fun, that the best of the best, or the newest of scrapbookers can do it. Have you ever scrapped a layout with nothing but some cardstock & a sheet of stickers? Sounds challenging, right? But it can be done. See: Now, I did use some scrap paper as a border between the pictures & the stickers, but it was that simple. (I apologize for the clarity of the picture, for some reason my camera wouldn't focus right on the stickers). If you give this a try, or have ever done something like t...

Ok girls, it's time for a new set of challenges over at From Here 2 Scrapternity !! There are 6 fabulous challenges posted by me & the other DT members, so hurry on over & check them out. Below, please find my challenges that I have issued: Use Your Stash Challenge For this one, my challenge to you is to dig deep into your stash & use 15 or more buttons on a layout or card. Big buttons, fancy buttons, color buttons, plain buttons, tiny buttons....I don't care, but you must use a minimum of 15 buttons. Here is what I came up with for this challenge: Journaling Challenge For this one, my challenge to you is to is to journal, but hide it somewhere on your lo. Anywhere, doesn't matter, but it has to have hidden journaling somewhere on your lo. Here is what I came up with for this challenge: The journaling is on the tag w/ the funky ribbons on the right side. Pull the ribbons to reveal my journaling. Please have your creations posted in the appropriate thre...

This past Sunday a new sketch was revealed at The Everyday Scrapper . If you feel inspired, please join us on the forum and share your take on the sketch. This sketch was created by our very own Mia Clarke !! exclusively for TES ! Thanks for looking!

Every month the Inspirational Team (That’s Me!!!) From Here 2 Scrapternity will post 6 challenges on the 1st & the 15th. My fellow team mates came up with some incredible challenges on June 1st & have given us until the 14th to complete them. I extended the complete by date for my challenges to June 19th, as I posted my challenges late. So there is still time to complete my challenges! (see earlier post here ). Sometimes RAKs are offered, sometimes it’s just for bragging rights. The challenges from June 1st were so much fun! I had posted my take on the sketch challenge yesterday, as I used a new technique that was challenged at Scraptacular , so please scroll down to see it, but here are the other 3: This was for the ad challenge: I used the dots of the lifesavers & the stripes on the lifesavers as my inspiration. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Recipe Challenge: 1 piece of card stock, 2 pattern paper, 4+ brads,...

Last week, Lisa posted a challenge in the Scraptacular forum , & boy was it a challenge for me! She wanted us to break out the Glimmer Mist, & use a die cut sheet as a template, & spray around it so the illusion of the die cut was left on the paper. As you may or may not know, I am SCARED of glimmer mist! It is just so far out of my comfort zone. But, she issued a challenge, & I chose to accept. Instead of a die cut sheet, I cut a circle & used it as my template. I put it down & sprayed away (biting my nails all the while). Well, I did it! I faced my fears, & used the Glimmer Mist & here is what I came up with, using a sketch at the From Here 2 Scrapternity site, for a sketch challenge (yes, I combined challenges & killed 2 birds with 1 stone), however, this sketch was perfect for the glimmer mist challenge! This is what I came up with: Thanks for looking & have a fabulous day!