Happy Mother's Day!

Still a favorite...

Scrapping challenges

I've taken to carrying around one of my (MILLION of) blank journals, to make notes & doodles about scrapbooking layouts that are in my head. I even brainstormed in church on Sunday, for this leftover SIStv challenge:

We had to use a certain page design, the color orange, bling (my suggestion to the list), the word "joy," stamping, and tape. I hope I'm forgiven, since I *was* scrapping a Psalm!

The next sketch in my notebook was for the first challenge over at the new KiddieLit blog. The theme was Wizard of Oz, and I used the following from their element list: HOME for my topic, a quote from the book/movie, the color yellow, blue gingham (hand cut letters), red sequins, rainbows, and twisted ribbon.


I did 5 more challenges at SIS for NSD, although I managed to get 4 challenges into one LO, so I really only did 2 more pages. I thought I was tapped out for inspiration, but having a notebook along for the Boring Mom Bits (church, storytime at the library, etc.) really helped keep me inspired.

Hopefully keeping track of due dates, like the one for this challenge, will help me enter more of these challenges and keep me scrapping during the week, not just on Friday nights.

Happy National Scrapbooking Day!

Baby monkey card
Originally uploaded by CreativeExile

I had a baby shower this morning but I'm now over at SIStv checking in on all the crazy NSD challenges. I think I'm down for nearly a dozen, so this will be a short entry!

Kelly, one of my crop buddies, sang "You Are The Champion" (a la Queen) to me when I finished this project last night (a month-by-month baby album, not the card pictured here. I made this card from paper scraps from the album this morning)!

What's incredible is that I decided around 1p yesterday that my friend Stacey needed a baby scrapbook as part of her gift. To be presented at the shower I attended this morning.

I took me about 4.5 hours of solid scrappin' to crank this out. The biggest time suck was punching out letters & glueing them down. The second biggest was choosing the paper I'd use for each page.

I love this gift for new moms. You can see the entire album in its Flickr set.

I AM THE CHAMPION! Stacy Julian would be proud.

Scrapblog header

I played around a bit this morning (instead of writing a post, shame on me!) and created the new header, above. It's a WIP (work in progress), so stay tuned and feel free to give me some advice! I need it, LOL...I especially need to know how to change my blog background color in Blogger!

Thanks to NanBHack at SIStv for walking me through how to save a Scrapblog as a JPEG so that I could edit it further on my computer!

It's Friday night, so that means I'll be off to scrap in just a few. Scrapping until midnight, then coming home to fire up my computer and start celebrating National Scrapbooking Day with Michelle, who will be posting a challenge at 1:00 a.m.

So THAT'S how she gets to be the first one to post the blog entry thread at SIStv...

Feeling compelled...

...to enter this fabulous contest! I have recently learned to love kits and this one's a beaut..you could win it for FREE!

Click on the pic to check out the deets.

Will update soon, E is home after dental surgery and I'm about to take off for a walk. Hit a number on the scale last Wednesday that I was hoping never to see again...let's just say an "8" was involved *shudder*

LOTS of rummage...yipee!

Crazy weekend, starting with Friday morning...up at 6a to shower & get kids ready early...had MOPS. Up late the night before making a salad for our Caregiver thank-you luncheon on Saturday...bringing it in Friday saved me a trip Saturday morning...

Cropped until midnight, finishing up this LO and completing another...



Up at 6a AGAIN on Saturday, to hit the first of the April-October Ann Arbor Antiques Market. I woke up at 4:40a and turned off my alarm, deciding I needed sleep more than rummaging, but woke up at 6a anyway (!) so I showered & headed out early.

Some awesome finds...a tin toy stove to start a display collection (Debbie Bliss inspired that, I believe), wooden blocks (from 50 cents to $3), a printer's tray to decorate a la AE, two vintage tennis rackets for a display down the stairs to the "man cave," some vintage tennis photos for same, and two mesmerizing paintings that I would love to know the origin of...


I couldn't stop looking at them, or thinking about them, so I had to have them. The second one is damaged. There is a big gouge out of the one girl's red hat, and damp or water-stain marks around a couple of toys in the window. They are rather large, about 18" x 24", quite darkened by time, but I am loathe to try and repair them lest I lower their value. Considering I got the pair for $48, any higher price would be interesting, but I don't think Antiques Roadshow is coming to town anytime soon.

After rummaging, I met the fam for lunch, then took Tess to a birthday party at the movies...I had the dubious task of sitting through the Hannah Montana movie. Now I have a couple of questions for Disney:

1. Nuns in an English boarding school? Didn't think I'd catch that, did you?

2.Are there really 5 year-old fans left to their own devices to discover Miley's secret? That was just disturbing.

3. What was the casting description for Travis? Must look 12 but have a voice like a 40 year-old? Did his voice change after you cast him? Where did you find him, Sundance? Are they cloning Robert Redford now? Obviously I was disturbed by the young man they cast in this role...

4. If that's Miley's Grandma, who were Vicky Lawrence and Dolly Parton playing on the TV series?

5. Thanks for reminding me that Brooke Shields and I are old enough to be Miley's mom. You guys really need to deal with the Dead Mom issue, BTW. That wasn't really a question, more of a commentary. Being a mom and all.

Thanks. You know where to reach me.

Easter and then some

Survived spring break week (barely). So nice to have E back home (even if he got to go to work all week...yes, even all day Good Friday).

Too much candy for Tess, though. I'm glad she's at my MIL's with E & her brother. Three! meltdowns! before! breakfast! (not including the jellybeans at 6:30a).

The Easter bunny came by at 6a to leave jelly bean trails from each child's bedroom door to the spot where their Easter baskets were located:

Luckily, she (I'm convinced the Easter bunny is a she...c'mon, give us ladies one holiday, right? Santa's got his and I've never seen a female leprechaun, we can't be witches only...besides, who REALLY goes and fills those baskets? Can I get a what-what...)

SHE put Tess's basket in our room, so that I would know when she was up (see 6:30a, above) and feel some of her excitement, not like Christmas 2007...ahem.

Grandma wanted a picture of the dress she made for Tess & her AG doll, we got it but not without (another) tantrum and sour face (AFTER the photo was taken, thank goodness):
I would have preferred that she comb her hair (and the doll's), but as we had just experienced Meltdown #2, I let it go. As Tess so wisely noted, "her hair matches mine!" Somehow I don't think Grandma is going to appreciate that...

Lil Guy got a very nice basket, too, and I got a nice photo of the both of them. Rare, believe it or not. Tess cannot be in hug range without squeezing Ben until he smacks her.

I had to move fast.


Hope you are having a bright, sunny Easter weekend too.


Peace out.