Happy Summer!

I hope you are all enjoying the summer. I certainly am! I love the lazy days of summer when the kids are out of school and we get to sleep in every morning. Although sleeping in at our house means waking up at 7:00 or 7:30am instead of 6:00 or 6:30am.

I have a couple shares for the day. First, here's a layout I made with Anna Griffin papers. Thanks Michelle at A Million Memories for sending me these lovely papers to play with! This wonderful photo of my girls was taken by Melissa Walker-Scott.



I played along with the monthly challenge on The Next Step challenge blog. The challenge this month was "Making Your Mark on Patterned Paper." Since I'm a blingy, pearl-loving kind of girl, I decided to make my mark on the Anna Griffin background paper by adding rhinestones and liquid pearls to the pattern. I also cut out the flowers from the paper and added lots of shimmery Shimmerz paint (I used Choc-o-lot, Key Lime, Fire Engine Red) and Blingz (Under the Sea).



Second, I just wanted to share some fun news. One of my layouts is in the July issue of Scrapbooks, Etc. I used products from A Million Memories kit from last year.



This layout is very different from my normal style, but sometimes it's fun to go "clean and simple." Thanks for letting me share!!

Cosmo Cricket

A huge thank you to Cosmo Cricket for sponsoring the A Million Memories design team this month!! I got to play with papers from the new Early Bird collection. These colors and patterns are so much fun! Here are the layouts I created:









On another note, Craft Critique just posted a review of Shimmerz products. The review will be up today, tomorrow and Thursday. Head on over there and see what they have to say about Shimmerz. But wait . . . there's more . . . there's a Shimmerz giveaway going on over there too! To be entered to win just go to Craft Critique and tell them how you add sparkle and shine to your projects.

"Anything but the kitchen sink" challenge at A Million Memories.

If you're looking for the Shimmerz blog hop post, just scroll down to the post below! Thanks for stopping by!!

I'm hosting the current Design Team challenge over at A Million Memories. It's called "Anything but the kitchen sink," and the challenge is to create a layout using at least one non-scrapbooking item found in a kitchen. Here's my page:


Here's what I used:

*COFFEE FILTERS -- I cut and punched flowers from coffee filters. I sprayed and painted them with Shimmerz paint and Spritz, then I layered the flowers on top of each other.
*CHEESECLOTH -- I cut out flower shapes and added them to my coffee filter flowers *PLASTIC COFFEE CAN LID -- I punched flowers and cut out leaves from the plastic lids, then I colored the plastic with alcohol ink and Staz-On ink.
*INSTANT COFFEE -- I mixed a little instant coffee with gesso and painted around the edges of the photos. The plain white gesso was a little too stark for my Photoshopped photos so the added coffee grounds helped tone down the color a bit.
*TWINE FROM THE KITCHEN JUNK DRAWER -- I hand-stitched the twine around the border of the layout, then I painted it with Shimmerz for a little sparkle.
*CARDBOARD COFFEE CUP JACKET/INSULATOR -- I punched a couple little butterflies out of the cardboard, then I added some Stickles and pearls. Thanks Michelle at AMM for letting me play with these great My Little Yellow Bicycle papers!!

This challenge runs through June 27th and everyone is welcome to join in! I'm giving away a beautiful assortment of lace -- over 20 yards! -- to the lucky winner of this challenge (the winner will be chosen randomly from all the participants). Come play!!

Also, A Million Memories has a sale going on right now. Just enter the code 2121 at checkout and receive 20% off your order (kit subscriptions not included).

Shimmerz Blog Hop

Happy Birthday Shimmerz!!! If you've arrived here from Michelle Lanning's blog, then you are on your way. If you haven't, then you will want to go back and start at the Shimmerz blog so that you can find out all of the details of this fun blog hop and go in the correct order.

Here is a little birthday card I made in honor of the celebration:


I made this card using Graphic 45 papers, and of course I used Shimmerz paints and Spritz on the flowers and the lace.

So I guess you want to know what the next blog hop word is, right? Okay, your word from me is: SHIMMERZ. Now head on over to Tanisha Long's blog to get your next word. Remember . . . to be eligible for the grand prize you need to leave a comment at every blog on the hop. Once you have all the words, email the completed phrase to shimmerzpaints@live.com. We hope you are enjoying the Shimmerz birthday celebration!!!

Graphic 45 and a teeny tiny toot

And now for a happier post . . . I just wanted to share a few Graphic 45 layouts I created in the last month:




I'm having so much fun working with these beautiful papers! By the way, Graphic 45 has a new and improved blog!! Come check it out: Graphic 45 blog.

And the teeny, tiny toot: Creating Keepsakes chose a layout of mine as one of the 10 runner ups in its "Amazing Pages Call." The layout will be featured in a special online extension of the magazine with a reference to it in the October issue of Creating Keepsakes.

Enjoy your week!!

Thank you

Thank you so much for all the supportive comments and emails. I really appreciate it! The funeral was held yesterday and there were close to 300 people in attendance. My friend's life and death touched so many people.

I just received a very poignant and pertinent email from my friend Debora who lives in another state. Since I hadn't yet told her about the recent events, her email was somewhat of a coincidence (though she's a very intuitive person, so it was probably more than mere happenstance). There were some beautiful pictures signifying life, death, remembrance, loyalty and friendship. At the bottom of the email was the following quote:

"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...it's about learning how to dance in the rain."

So true.

I will get back to posting happier things very soon. I have some new layouts and some happy news to share, so I'll be posting again in a day or two.

Enjoy your weekend, and THANK YOU again!!!

Cherish every moment

Cherish every moment of life. Hug your kids, hug your spouse, hug your family members, hug your friends . . . and love the bloomin' heck out of them.

I lost one of my very best friends last night. She was only 41 years old. She and I had been friends for more than half our lives. I already miss her terribly.

On Friday she started feeling like something was terribly wrong -- she thought she was having a stroke. They called 911, and while in the ambulance en route to the hospital, she suffered a seizure. That was followed by more seizures. Soon after arriving at the hospital she went into cardiac arrest (twice). Although they were able to revive her each time, her other organs failed. All this happened quickly and I arrived at the hospital to find my dear friend on life support and in a coma. I spent most of the weekend at the hospital standing vigil with the rest of her family and friends. It was horrible and tragic and devastating and, and, and . . . you can imagine.

Sadly, modern medicine couldn't fix what was broken. But at least she passed away quietly and peacefully and didn't seem to be in any pain. I'm so sad that I didn't get to say goodbye to her while she was conscious, but I'm very grateful that I got to be there with her during her last hours on earth.

And I am BEYOND grateful that I had her in my life for 22 years. She was a true gift. But right now my heart is a little broken.

Her husband, parents, sister and other relatives are obviously beyond devastated. Nobody saw this coming.

The cause of what happened is still unknown, though hopefully the autopsy will provide some answers. One thing I don't need an autopsy to tell me is that she had a heart of gold. I've known that for a long time.

The MOST TRAGIC thing of all this is that she left behind three little boys (ages 7, 4 and 18 months). My heart breaks for those poor little children. Please keep them in your prayers and thoughts.

Now go hug your kids and tell them you love them. Go call that friend with whom you've been trying to make plans but haven't done so because you've both been too busy to set a date. Make plans now. Go tell your family and friends how much they mean to you. Cherish all the little moments in life.

My little Artist

Thanks to Hambly and Michelle at A Million Memories, I got to play with some fabulous Hambly products!! Here's a layout I made featuring a picture of my little artist (the picture is a few years old, but she still loves to paint!).



I used lots of different techniques here: I inked the edges of the Hambly transparency with Staz-on ink, then I added some red alcohol ink and acrylic paint on top of the Staz-On. I sewing-machine stitched around the edge of the transparency. I sprayed white burlap with Glimmer Mist then splattered paint on it (as well as on the cut-out of the Hambly transparency).



The "picture frame" was made by adding gold leafing to a Maya Road chipboard frame.



I made the title by painting chipboard alphas, then I dripped melted crayon on top. I made the little paint palette and added a few paint brushes from my kids' art box (shhhhh . . . don't tell them).

I also used a couple techniques from the The Next Step (a great new technique challenge blog): I stamped on fabric with a butterfly stamp, then I painted in the stamped image with watered down acrylic paint. I also used acrylic paint to fill in the design on the back of the Hambly transparency.

I had a ball getting my hands dirty with this page!!!

And here are a couple sneak peaks of the A Million Memories June kit. Michelle has done it again and created another incredible kit!!



You can order a kit here: AMM Monthly Kits.

Spritz is in da house!!!!

Spritz is here and it's fantastic!!! My head is swirling with all the wonderful possibilities. I used Spritz on this layout to "dye" the lace and Prima flowers. I started with white lace and white Prima flowers, put them on wax paper, then sprayed them with Bed of Roses Spritz. I love this color because it looks like a vintagey pink and it has just the right amount of shimmer.

Here's a close-up of the lace and flowers that I "Spritzed":




And a big thanks to Michelle at A Million Memories who sent me these beautiful Scribble Scrabble papers to play with!! You can find them in the AMM store here: Scribble Scrabble papers.

SPRITZ!!!!!!

Shimmerz is about to re-release Spritz -- the original shimmery sprayable mist! Spritz will be back on the market on May 20th.

I was a lucky girl and got to play with some Spritz last night, and let me tell you . . . it's fabulous! Anyone who knows my scrapping style knows that I love spray mists. And Spritz is even more sparkly and shimmery than the others! I love this stuff!

To celebrate the re-introduction of this great product, Shimmerz is giving away some Spritz to several lucky winners. You can find the details on the Shimmerz Blog.

Happy Mother's Day!

To all you moms out there, I hope you are having a wonderful Mother's Day!

And to my mom: if you are reading this, STOP RIGHT THERE, do not pass go, do not read any further! Please exit out of my blog . . . otherwise you will spoil your Mother's Day surprise. :)

Is the coast clear now? Okay, let's move on. You see, my mom is out of town today (it's the first Mother's Day we haven't celebrated together), so I can't give her the gift I made for her until later on this week. But I can show all of you her gift. My sweet mom took me and my girls on a trip to Hawaii last year for one of our annual "girls only" vacations. We had SUCH a great time! And since she always appreciates the mini albums I make for her, I decided to make her a mini album with pictures from our Hawaii trip (this was also one of my entries for the A Million Memories DT call).

I used lots of fabric and Glimmer Mist on this. I started with an off-white fabric, cut it into squares and strips, then sprayed all the fabric pieces with various colors of Glimmer Mist. I sewing machine stitched around all the fabric swatches then layered them under the photos on each page. I used the Glimmer 'Mist-ed' fabric strips as ribbon and tied them to binding rings along with some straw (like you find on a grass skirt). And of course, I just had to use oodles of beautiful Prima flowers!!!











Happy Mother's Day to you and yours!!!!! And Mom, if you missed the part above about not reading any further, Happy Mother's Day and I hope you like the gift! I love you!

AMM May Kit Layouts

I had so much fun playing with the A Million Memories May kit! This kit is full of gorgeous Prima, Webster's Pages, Basic Grey and Narratives products. Hats off to you, Michelle . . . you put together another amazing kit! Here are my layouts:

If you'd like to purchase this kit, you can find it here: AMM monthly kits.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week!!

A Million Memories NSD Blog Hop & Scavenger Hunt

As part of A Million Memories' NSD crop we’re having a blog hop and a scavenger hunt. Here is how this will work: each one of the design team girls will have a special post for the blog hop where you will have the chance to get to know them a little bit better. Also, the end of the post there will be a clue that will lead you on a hunt through the AMM site. Be sure to check the NSD forum for complete information on the Blog Hop Challenge. Also, you can find links to the other design team girls’ blogs can be found in the (right/left) column.

Here’s a little interview for you to get to know me better:

Why is AMM your favorite online club? Because the kits are the BESTEST (yeah, I know that's not a real word, but it works perfectly in this case), and the forum is filled with nice, supportive ladies and tons of inspiration!
What is your favorite item in the AMM store at the moment? There are so many things I love, but if I had to pick a favorite, it would be these Prima butterflies.
What TV show must you watch each week? Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy
What are your 3 must have scrapbooking products/tools? My Making Memories trimmer, Making Memories edge distressor, and FLOWERS!
What is your guilty pleasure? I have to have something sweet every night -- usually it's a bowl of ice cream or a handful of mini peanut butter cups.
Are you a messy scrapper or clean and tidy? MESSY!!! While working on a project, it always looks like a tornado struck my scrap area. But I always have to clean up between projects.
How "Out of the Traditional Box" type scrapper are you? Lately, I've started to think very out of the box!!
Do you shop for your scrapbook supplies more online or at your LSS? Online
What is your favorite new trend? Mixed media.
How does your spouse, sig. other, or family, support and understand your scrapbook needs? My husband and family are VERY supportive of my scrapbook hobby . . . uh, er . . . addiction. :)

Now, onto some scavenger hunting. Here’s a clue for you:
Who created the layout that was recently touted by the owner of AMM as, her new favorite layout? What is the title of the layout?

Also, be sure and check out the AMM NSD forum for some amazing tutorials and challenges. I posted a tutorial on how to make these velvet pinwheels:

I also have two challenges going on: a sketch layout challenge with a fabulous prize provided by Graphic 45, and a corrugated cardboard challenge. You have until next Friday, May 8th to upload your entries, so come on over and play!!!

Lastly, I want to tell you about a great new technique challenge blog called The Next Step. It's headed by Lucy Edson, Bethany Kartchner and Galye Martin, who will posting tutorials, tips and techniques for us every week. It's for scrapbookers and mixed media artists alike. The first tutorial will be posted tomorrow, Monday May 4th. I Can't wait!

A little share for the day and NSD events

I was so thrilled to have one of my layouts published in the Spring 2009 issue of Scrapbook and Cards Today! My "You Brighten My World" layout was the featured layout for the article titled "what goes around comes around."

 

 
If you aren't familiar with this fabulous magazine, be sure and check it out! You can either subscribe to the magazine and have the hard copy delivered to your door, or you can download the current and past issues directly from the site.

Just a few more days until National Scrapbooking Day, and there's some great stuff going on!! We have LOTS of fun things planned all weekend long over at A Million Memories. First of all, GRAPHIC 45 will be in da house!!!!!! Yes, Graphic 45 will be hosting a challenge with a prized giveway of Graphic 45 papers! In addition, the Design Team has been working very hard putting together some amazing tutorials and sketches. There will also be fun challenges, games and a special NSD sale!! Be there or be square!!

Also, in celebration of NSD there's a contest going on right now on the Shimmerz blog! You just need create something using Shimmerz paints and upload it to the blog before May 9th. Three lucky winners will be drawn, and those winners will each receive FIVE jars of Shimmerz.

I'm busy working on my layouts with the A Million Memories May kit, and let me tell you that this is the best kit EVAH!!! I'll be posting some of my creations in the next couple of days.

This Face

Here's a layout I created for Graphic 45. I used the weekly sketch on the Graphic 45 blog (the sketch was made by Jing-Jing Nickel). I was inspired to get out my crochet needles by the very talented Wendela, who often adds bit of crocheting to her beautiful pages.



Have a great week!!