Schock's Scrap

Happy New Year!

2010-01-02T13:54:00.002-06:00

We had a WONDERFUL Christmas and now the new year has begun! Hard to believe how fast it flies by! I've only got two more days of vacation before heading back to work and so I'm trying to "make a plan" for my digiscrapping so I don't fall too far behind! I was VERY proud of my 365 project last year, but in September when life got crazy, it fell by the wayside. I've decided to follow Gina Marie Huff's Sweet & Simple system for my project 365 this time around. I used her Life 365 kit last year and loved it... this will make it even easier. I need to go back and catch up so i can print the second half of last year's book. Between that, my CT commitments and trying to do some Sweet Shoppe challenges, I think I have my work cut out for me! Gotta run so I can get started!

Things got all wonky...

2009-12-23T09:06:00.002-06:00

In addition to just being SUPER busy, PSE was giving me fits so I have barely scrapped at all in the last or so. :( But, the good news is I think I have it all sorted out and can finally scrap again. YAY! Be sure to check out the latest layouts on my facebook or by clicking one of my galleries in the sidebar- I think Digishoptalk is the most complete gallery for me.

In the meanwhile, the designers I create for have been hard at work (and so understanding with my PSE issue). GSD by Nikki Epperson is still going strong at Polka Dot Plum but also has a guest spot at The Digichick this month! Be sure to check it out.

Jennifer Fox Designs, also at Polka Dot Plum, was spotlighted in the DSA Enabler! Check it out here and you can grab her exclusive freebie kit. :)

Darcy Baldwin, her shoppe exclusively at Sweet Shoppe Designs, has not only some fabulous fonts, but check out some of her new releases too. She has a some great template sets and the More Than Words word art sets are amazing!

Anyway, wishing you all Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!

Life got crazy...

2009-11-01T14:30:00.002-06:00

so it's been awhile... how is everything out there in digiscrap land? I've been SO busy with school/work, the family and just plain life, that I've not updated my poor, neglected blog. October has been a pretty rough month for us- lots of stress, everyone getting sick, etc. But now it's November and we'll try to put all that behind us. The rest of the fall is mainly getting ready for family holidays, get caught up on scrapping and watching football... sounds good to me! :)

I'm still creating for Darcy Baldwin (at Sweet Shoppe Designs), Jennifer Fox Designs (@ Polka Dot Plum) and GSD by Nikki Epperson (@ Polka Dot Plum and Designs in Digital). Be sure to check them out and check out my layouts on my facebook Scraps album.

Hope to be back with updates more often (if life slows down a bit!) :)

Font goodness and another FOBTY...

2009-08-13T14:30:00.002-05:00

So, you know I absolutely LOVE Darcy Baldwin's fonts, alphas and templates right? (I know, who doesn't?) Well, check out The Daily Digi RIGHT now for a post all about your own handwriting and a couple special coupons from Darcy! :) It's my last week of freedom before returning to work and I've been taking it easy- hanging out with the kiddos, scrapping and spending too much time on Facebook...but check out my FB page for my latest layouts.

On to the FOBTY... they want some song ideas... well, I hate to say I'm officially old because I no longer know who sings what and mainly listen to music in the car! :) But with a little investigation, I've got a few for you that I like WITH the artist names as well: "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" by Cage the Elephant, "Panic Switch" by Silversun Pickups, "No You Girls" by Franz Ferdinand and "She's a Genius" by Jet.

Think of me Monday- it's back to work for me! :) SS

An update and FOBTY

2009-08-11T09:18:00.003-05:00

So, it's been one crazy summer and it's quickly winding down to an end. My classroom is being moved to a portable, but they're not ready yet, so I'm a little worried about getting everything ready in time for the first day of school. :( Excited, nervous, happy and sad about that all at once! Anyway, before school starts, I've decided to get back into the challenges at SSD and so we'll start with this FOBTY- they want to see a picture of a place I've been this month. So here it goes...

That's Wiggles World at Six Flags- we spent lots of time on the rides there and even saw the real Wiggles in concert that day. It was SUPER hot, but fun!

In other scrap news- having a blast with Jennifer Fox and Nikki Epperson's creative teams. We're anxiously awaiting the opening of Polka Dot Plum where their new stores will be! I also have LOVED being Darcy Baldwin's guest--and I get to stay! (OK, so I basically asked if I could PLEASE stay once school started, but she said yes, so it's all good! Hee hee!) Yippee!

Keep an eye out on my FB page for layouts and be back soon with another update (I hope!)

I need more scrap time!

2009-07-21T14:47:00.002-05:00

So much for teachers "having the summer off!" I've been busier than ever! :( But enough whining... First, for the scrap stuff- still having a blast scrapping for Gone Scrapping Designs by Nikki Epperson and Jennifer Fox Designs. These two gals are not only fabulous designers but real sweethearts too! I have NO idea how they manage to scrap for... well... everyone AND design AND raise their kids, run the household, etc. Simply put- they rock and I totally want to be like them when I grow up! ;) Check out Jennifer Fox Designs blog for a freebie from moi tomorrow... it's using a fabulous kit that is coming soon! Hope you like it!

I'm also completely in love with Darcy Baldwin's stuff. I always loved her fonts, but spending some time on her team, I'm getting to know her and she's a great gal too! It brings me back to journaling my feelings and recording my family history, which is why I started digiscrap in the first place. Maybe if I beg, I can stay when school's back in session! ;) I was totally flattered to see my layout featured as her sneak peek on the blog and as one of the preview images in the shop. Check it out HERE (and buy some fonts while you're there!)

Well better use Marley's naptime wisely... gotta run but be back soon! be sure to check out my FB page for recent layouts under the album "Scraps" :)

Summer lovin'... having a blast...

2009-06-28T09:33:00.003-05:00

Ok, well it's super hot, and we're not loving that part, but otherwise life is good! :) We just got back from a family wedding in Napa, California and so I've got TONS of pictures to scrap! I've not updated my slide- having trouble with it- but you can find my latest layouts on my Facebook page. Other news in the scrap world? My 365 project is going strong, I can't believe I've kept up with it all year long! I even have more than one photo each day I've scrapped. I'm anxiously awaiting the end of this month so I can finish uploading to Viovio and get my book of January-June! :)

I've had a blast on my CTs this month too! Gone Scrappin' Designs by Nikki Epperson and Jennifer Fox Designs are coming soon to a new store... it's going to be fun, so be sure to check their blogs for info coming soon!

So you know I LOVE me some Darcy fonts right? Well, I'm thrilled to be guesting for Darcy Baldwin at Sweet Shoppe Designs this summer! YIPPEE!!!! Not only are her custom fonts AMAZING, but just try to find a font in her store you can't use! Love her stuff and having fun there too!

Well, gotta run, but I'll try to keep you up to date! :) S

What's happenin'?

2009-05-13T19:18:00.001-05:00

So I've been MIA... sorry! Sometimes life gets in the way. :) So, I'm excited to report that although I've not updated my slide (maybe if I have time I will but in the meanwhile, you can see them all in my W&W gallery here) I have kept my 365 project up to date! The "real" album Project 365 from Becky Higgins at Creating Keepsakes... it's collecting dust... but my digi-album using Life 365 by Gina Marie Huff at Weeds & Wildflowers is going strong! I'm so excited about this as a way to keep record our family's day to day life.

I'm still working with the fabulous Andrea Gold and also was thrilled to be invited to join Nikki Epperson's creative team. Having a blast with her stuff and look forward to posting more layouts here too. Coming soon... also joining Jennifer Fox Designs creative team. Yippee! More to come soon!

2 FABULOUS guest gigs- Woot!

2009-03-17T17:22:00.001-05:00

I have two fabulous guest gigs this month- Ziggle Designs and Amanda Heimann Designs- both at Scrap Orchard. So I thought I'd add some of my layouts here too. You can find all of the products used in these layouts at Scrap Orchard. Hop over now for the BOGO sale too! :)

Busy, busy!

2009-03-01T15:17:00.002-06:00

Well, I can hardly believe that it's March already! I've very busy- between home, work and trying to scrap- so I'm going to make this quick! I'm currently working on my project 365 digitally (the physical album is collecting dust) AND I'm all caught up! I've already got 22 pages and that's just through February, so I think I may print the book quarterly afterall.

Also, I wanted to announce how excited I am to have 2 guest gigs this month! I'll be guesting for Ziggle Scraps and Amanda Heimann Designs- both st Scrap Orchard. Be n the lookout for some new layouts with their amazing products soon! :)

Project 365, ADSR and my upcoming guest gig

2009-01-18T18:00:00.004-06:00

I'm so excited about this new project I'm working on. It's based on the photo-a-day idea from photojojo. Someone on one of my forums was talking about the CK kit of the month coming out- I don't paper scrap, but I thought I'd check it out. I went to read about it from Becky Higgins here and here to read all about her actual product and thought it was a great idea. Apparently they didn't make NEARLY enough of them, but I was one of the lucky ones who was finally able to get through the busy server to order mine (lots of people didn't, and some were even really ugly about it on the KOTM blog, so I felt like I had the goose who laid a golden egg or something!) It's not REALLY scrapping as the items are pre-cut, but you can arrange them in multiple ways and add elements to it.

I really am enjoying taking daily pictures and trying to improve on my photography as well... you'd think I could convince my husband (who minored in photography) to take pictures for me (hint, hint)... and maybe I'll try to have him take some pics, but I really want to get better with my camera too, so we'll see. I thought my family would like to have something like this too, but how? So I decided to make digital pages for my Project 365 too. Of course, the photos and journaling will be the same as my "physical album" which will actually make it easier for me, but the digital kit I'm using has endless possibilities. I got Gina Marie Huff's Life 365 from Weeds and Wildflowers. I also had the fabulous Darcy Baldwin at Sweet Shoppe Designs make me a custom font- DJB Stephanie S script- so that journaling is REALLY me. :)

I hope to keep updating slides each month (of course, my family will then get a "sneak peek" of their end of the year photo book) but I HAVE to share because I really like the idea... I'm up to date with pictures, and printing out week 2 now for my album, but only have the first week done digitally. Look for the monthly slide which I'll probably have to post up top!

Also, ADSR 4 is in full swing and Melody and I are at it again! She is such an amazing scrapper that our "intersection" layouts are completely out of whack- her side looks great, mine is... well... I got it done anyway! :) We're having fun! My ADSR gallery is HERE if you'd like to check it out.

I'm taking it easy and really getting back into scrapping with these fun projects. I have a guest CT gig coming up in March with one of my new favorite designers that I'm really excited about... and I've decided that I'll keep you in suspense for awhile with that! :)

Another FOBTY and SO true...

2009-01-16T17:46:00.002-06:00

No surprise here! In fact the only surprising thing about this finding, is that I'm blood-related to my mom and sister! You'll see what I mean in a sec...

You Are a Reluctant Shopper

You really don't enjoy shopping. For you, it's just another chore.

You approach shopping systematically. You research what you're going to buy and come prepared with a list.

Of all the types, you are the most likely to not buy things you don't need.

You try to de-emphasize stuff in your life. You find shopping and buying things to be a rather empty experience.

What Kind of Shopper Are You?

A Snow Test FOBTY...

2009-01-10T07:54:00.002-06:00

Let's see what the snow says about me:

Your Snow Test Says You're Independent

You feel like something good will happen to you in the next few days.

You love to work, especially when work is creative. You have the makings of a successful artist.

You are an independent, individualistic person. You thrive when you're doing your own thing.

Your biggest worry in your life is your health. You tend to be a bit of a hypochondriac.

When it comes time to relax, you always go the extra mile. You take relaxing as seriously as anything else in life.

The Snow Test

I agree with MOST of that! :) More to come later today- ADSR layouts in a new slide and project 365 photos too!

Ok... so I've been a bad blogger... (here's why and a FOBTY)

2009-01-05T18:24:00.004-06:00

Will you forgive me? :) I know, I'm bad... but we've been SO busy! I should probably go ahead and link this to my "personal" blog, as I find myself retyping stuff... anyway, I'll save you my family business but share my biggest headacheof late- so if your not into the techie nerd stuff, feel free to skip this part!

As most of you know, I'm addicted to digital scrapbooking (thus my fabulous blog, right?) Well, apparently my external hard drive (EHD) which holds ALL of my scrap stuff and lots of digital photos had died (actually it reformatted to RAW which is unreadable). So fast forward, I've got $60 software which recovers TOO much data (corrupt files making my 250 GB look like it's got 100GB of data on it). So for about 3 weeks, my computer has been on, searching for files and trying to weed out corrupt files (you can't "see" the files, only their names- most of which were replaced with numbers like this [478367492] so it is a HUGE pain). Well tonight it's FINALLY down to 400GB which I'm saving and then will weed through in my editing software where I can find duplicates and actually see file contents. Thankfully, Brian has not thrown my computer out the window (which I thought may cross his mind as I've been staring at the screen full of numbered files for weeks and trying to save them). Fingers crossed my good stuff is saved and this process is OVER. Go backup your important data right now at Mozy.com or on another EHD.

Wow... are you still reading this???

Ok, so onto the SSD FOBTY- resolutions. I do tend to hate "resolutions" as they are almost bound to fizzle after a few weeks, so I'm going to list my goals... I want to cook more and feel good about myself when I do. I want to stop having little piles of clutter (it's especially bad in my kitchen where mail and coupons land). I want to keep watching what I eat so I can lose these last 10 pounds. I want to start exercising to be healthier and teach my kids to live that way too. I want to become not just a scrapper, but a family historian. I want to take at least a picture a day for my 365 project. I want to improve my photography (because it really sucks)!

Finally I hope to update this blog- perhaps weekly- with my 365 photos (which as I mentioned aren't very good but give a good ideas of daily happenings around here). Be on the lookout for a 365 slide. :) Gotta run... more organizing of those awful recovered files to do...argh!

Thanksgiving...

2008-11-26T15:52:00.002-06:00

We're off for 5 days and I'm hoping to get some XMAS projects done! I scrapped calendars last year, so I'm thinking about something different this time around. I have a few hybrid projects in the works, but can't really discuss yet as SOME people who read this won't be surprised when then get their gift if I do... but I'll be sure to upload and share soon. We should be busy visiting with both families over the Thanksgiving holiday, but it's a relaxing busy... you know what I mean? Rather than busy with work, the kids, etc.

Anyway, be sure to tell those you love how much they mean to you over the holiday. I know we have a lot to be thankful for: healthy children, families that love us, a comfortable home and food when we're hungry, good jobs... my list goes on. I know we are blessed and I will never take that for granted. Hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving!

Back to scrapping...

2008-11-16T12:59:00.002-06:00

I've not had as much time as I'd like to scrap, so I'm working on it right now! In the meanwhile, be sure to check out what the girls have cooking! You can find my designers in the sidebar- the blinkies are clickable- so go check out the great stuff from Andrea Gold, Christy Skaggs, and Amanda Kay. :) More to come soon so keep an eye on the new slide too!

Halloween, tee ball and oh yeah...DSD!!!

2008-11-02T07:04:00.004-06:00

I guess it's been busy around here because I almost missed DSD!

First we had Halloween, the next morning was Jaxon's semi-final tee ball tournament and after all of that I was feeling sick, tired and just overall crummy. But I came home and turned on the computer to check e-mail and realized it was DSD! I knew it was coming, but had forgotten about it. I rarely shop (for anything really- how I'm related to my mom and sister who are world-class shoppers, I have no idea!)... but I had to grab a few deals out there, so be on the lookout for some new layouts. I'm adding a new slide of recent layouts in the sidebar, so be sure to check them out. :)

Hope you had a great DSD! :)

Check out what I made to show my class!

2008-10-19T19:30:00.002-05:00

I started working on it this afternoon and I'm so pleased with how it came out I wanted to share it! Credits are on the last page, but in case you can't see it, I'm including it here too.

5 Little Pumpkins (traditional poem)- "Halloween borders" by Christy Skaggs @ GDS, "All Hallows Eve" by One Memory at a Time @ GDS, "Enchanted Forest" by Milla Designs @ Catscrap, and "October Rust" by Miss Mint @ Peppermint Creative. Font: GG Katie.

Enjoy! I know my kiddos will love seeing this projected on the big screen. :)

See KCB's October releases and prepare to be amazed!

2008-10-19T19:20:00.001-05:00

As always, Kristin Cronin-Barrow at Sweet Shoppe Designs, creates rich, gorgeous kits and this month is no exception. I am BEYOND THRILLED to be her guest this month and want to show you her two newest releases.

New this week from KCB: "Playtime". Aren't the colors in this kit fun? I just got it and can't wait to play with it. Check it out below or click HERE.

Now check out "Moments in Time"- talk about a versatile kit. I can dream up TONS of layouts for this kit and I'm sure you can too! Check it out below or click HERE to get in in the shoppe:

Here's another new one this month, "Nature's Retreat" by KCB and Meg Mullens. I have already played with this kit and it is FULL of fabulous elements and papers. Click HERE to get it at the shoppe.

Check out the new stuff...

2008-10-12T09:33:00.005-05:00

From the fabulous designers at GDS I'm lucky to create for!

First Andrea has lots of exciting stuff happening! She put over 70 items in her shoppe on clearance 50% off!! And, she's running a promotion through October 15th. If you spend $5 in her shoppe at GDS including her clearance items, she'll send you a $5 gift coupon to my shoppe!! WOW! Not to mention the challenges she got going on over there. Check out her shoppe or her blog for more info.

Here's 2 new kits from Andrea Gold: Click here for the "Possibilities" Page Kit.

Click here for the "Just for Fun" Page Kit.

Also at GDS, check out these kits: "Hocus Pocus" by Christy Skaggs and "All Hallows Eve" from One Memory at a Time. Not only are they both adorable and perfect for October, but they compliment each other beautifully!

Click here for "Hocus Pocus" by Christy Skaggs.

And click here for "All Hallows Eve" by One Memory at a Time.

Enjoy!

FINALLY getting back to scrapping...

2008-10-12T09:24:00.002-05:00

I have been SO busy with school, home and just plain life but I am FINALLY back to scrapping! At this point, I don't care if I have to stay up all night to get some layouts done- I need out of this creative funk! :)

I will be adding a new slide (maybe even trying blogger's version) to show you my newest layouts. I like having the slide with all of my layouts, but would hate to subject you to old, poorly done, amateur layouts! Ha ha! Sometimes looking back at early work is pretty scary! :) Thanks for hanging in there with me!

An even YUMMIER FOBTY!!!

2008-10-12T09:18:00.003-05:00

This week's FOBTY is even more mouthwatering than the last! :) Well it involves ice cream, but also a personality quiz. Here are my results, though I'm not sure it really sounds like me! :)

Your Ice Cream Personality:

You are not a particularly modest person. You're proud of who you are, and you don't care who knows it.

You are the type of person who likes to throw caution to the wind. You only live once, so you're going to live as large as possible. You are definitely a wild one!

You are a somewhat open minded person, but deep down you're fairly conservative. You don't like trying new things very much. And if you do find something new you like, you stick with it.

You are a natural multitasker. You feel alive when you're doing more than one thing at a time.

You can be a big dramatic and over the top sometimes. You are bold in every way

The Ice Cream Personality Test

Fast Food FOBTY!

2008-10-03T09:04:00.000-05:00

Here's the Sweet Shoppe FOBTY for the week:So my question is… what is YOUR favorite fast food and how often do you eat there? talk about a challenge that is right up my alley! I am a self confessed fast food addict, so choosing a favorite will be tough. I'd say my fave is Fazoli's -but I never get to eat there as it's far away. :( Local faves: Thundercloud Subs,Whataburger & Taco Cabana probably take the honors. Chains like Chick-Fil-A are good too! Now I'm hungry! :)

The FOBTY speed test

2008-09-26T08:56:00.001-05:00

Ok... so I would not make a good secretary for many reasons: I'm unorganized, I stress about small stuff, don't drink or make coffee... but who'd have thought I was such a bad typist? Well this week's FOBTY has brought this weakness into the spotlight! :)

Check this out:
64 words

Speedtest

I guess that teaching certificate is even more valuable to me now! LOL!

My AWESOME CTs and a FOBTY...

2008-09-21T13:11:00.003-05:00

First let me start by saying how fabulously lucky I am in the first place to work for such wonderfully talented designers in the first place. Now with school starting, the new program we're piloting at school, my new computer finally arriving, and just plain managing life with my family, I was VERY busy and had not scrapped at all, let alone made any layouts to showcase my designers' gorgeous stuff. :(

But each one of them were so understanding... I was ready to quit because I didn't feel like I was carrying my weight... but they all said no problem. They have been SO wonderful...

So today I'm scrapping- YAY!!!!! And I want YOU to check out their stores: Andrea Gold (who btw has a 40% off coupon in September's DST Insider, Christy Skaggs, Amanda Kay and Garden Girl Designs. Also, I have a new guest gig (I was so busy I would have forgotten about it)- so also check out One Memory At a Time. :)

Ok... now onto the FOBTY. This is right up my alley as I'm reading the Twilight series and with halloween right around the corner, who wouldn't like to find out if they're "vampire material"? :)

You Could Be a Vampire... If You Had To

Like most people, the thought of being a vampire has crossed your mind. But you're not sure if you'd do it, even if you could.

Living forever doesn't sound half bad, if you could live forever with the people you love the most.

But do vampires even love? And would the vampire version of you even be you?

It's all too much to contemplate. Luckily, the chances of you ever becoming a vampire are astronomically low.

What you would like best about being a vampire: Living forever

What you would like least about being a vampire: Blood stained teeth

Could You Be a Vampire?

FOBTY

2008-09-11T19:22:00.000-05:00

I've got to get some planning done for my sweet husband- his birthday is tomorrow and I want to do something nice for him, so here's a quick FOBTY.

You Are 76% Real

You know who you are, and you're pretty darn comfortable with yourself.

Like everyone, you struggle with the parts of yourself that aren't so great...

But you're good at accepting who you are and not dwelling on your faults.

As a result, you're confident, optimistic, and very real.

How Real Are You?

So do you like my new digs?

2008-09-07T18:50:00.004-05:00

I was tired of my old blog and wanted an update, but really didn't want to spend all day fiddling with html coding... and so I finally caved in and got one of Zoe Pearn's Blog in a Box kits to make things easier for me. Not only that, but the MARVELOUS Becca (aka Becca Boo) of Graffiti Chicks helped me when I had one little catch (darn photobucket settings). Anyway, I hope you like the new look... I'll be redoing my family blog at some point soon too but I've got a HUGE headache and need to take it easy tonight!

Be sure to stop in at Graffiti Chicks or in Zoe's store to check out their fabulous stuff!

FOBTY 9/4

2008-09-06T11:21:00.002-05:00

Being a teacher, I love school supplies (yes... I'm a nerd)! So this week's FOBTY was right up my alley! Take the Crayola Color Quizzer and see how you fare! As for me, I'm a "Color Genius"... but missed 29!!! Of course, many of the ones I missed are "Kids Choice Colors" that were named way after my coloring days. :) Got to run- sorry for the quick post, but I'll be back soon!

Drum roll...

2008-09-01T09:22:00.002-05:00

I'm now a guest CT for Amanda Kay at Sunshine Studio Scraps! Here's her blog announcement. I'm so excited to be working with her, even short term. I'm sure you freebie hunters know her, even if the name doesn't ring a bell yet. Her blog is Perfectly Imperfect (now you know who I'm talking about)! She has done lots of the freebie collab kits with the Sunshine girls (including the fabulous Flergs) which is how I found her designs. You'll love to see what she's got planned and in the meanwhile, check out her store at Sunshine Studio Scraps. Well gotta run and get some things done for school before tomorrow's open house. :)

FOBTY and why I've been MIA

2008-08-28T21:55:00.000-05:00

First let's start with the FOBTY: The spelling quiz. I think I'm pretty good at spelling but we'll see...

Your Common Spelling Mistake Score: 90% Correct

Your spelling is excellent.

You don't fall for common spelling pitfalls, and you spell almost everything correctly.

Do You Make Common Spelling Mistakes?

Not bad! I just love the SSD FOBTYs.

Ok now for why I've been missing. As most of you may know, I'm a teacher. Well, this year the beginning of school has been even more hectic than usual. Why? Well, first the school itself is brand new and so there are lots of kinks to be worked out. For example, I got some of my furniture order (separate from the school itself) the day before school started. Don't get me wrong... I love my new school and once things settle down a bit, I know it'll get easier. The other part making it a bit stressful is that I'm piloting the new program and still feel like I also have kinks to work out. I know what I want it to look like in my head, but I'm still trying to translate that into the real classroom. Thankfully, they all know that this is new and are ok with the idea that there will be some trial and error, but I want it to be perfect right now, you know?

Plus, I got a new laptop (which is actually good news and I'm no longer running my broken laptop rigged to a desktop monitor) but I just installed firefox and the CS3 trial on it and haven't gotten to use it much. I'm hoping to churn out a few layouts this week and have a few already to add to my slide. In the meanwhile, the designers I CT for have been WONDERFUL and understand that sometimes things happen. How lucky am I to work for these fabulous ladies? They rock.

So run over and check out Andrea Gold, Christy Skaggs and Garden Girl Designs and tell them I sent ya! :)

Another announcement and a FOBTY...

2008-08-17T17:50:00.002-05:00

First and foremost... I saw a designer whose stuff I really admire was having a call. I'm kind of a newbie to the store she sells at so I totally did NOT expect to get a response, but I did. I'm guesting for 3 months for a great designer... so you want to know who? :) I'll wait for her announcement before I spill... but here's a hint... she's bright and SUNshiny. :)

Now for the Sweet Shoppe FOBTY: This week it's "Which American Accent Do You Have?" Being a life-long Texas girl the results were surprising!

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The West Your accent is the lowest common denominator of American speech. Unless you're a SoCal surfer, no one thinks you have an accent. And really, you may not even be from the West at all, you could easily be from Florida or one of those big Southern cities like Dallas or Atlanta.
The Midland
Boston
North Central
The South
The Inland North
Philadelphia
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

A New Team and a FOBTY

2008-08-08T10:29:00.001-05:00

I've been invited to join the CT of one of my digi-friends so expect to see some new CT layouts in my slide. I'm now part of the Awesome Blossoms designing layouts for Garden Girl Designs. She is just starting out and selling at Scrappin' Out Loud, and J3 Designs... talk about a busy gal! Be sure to go check out her stuff and be on the lookout for some new layouts by me!

Now for this week's FOBTY- this is a quick little quiz that tests your knowledge of Grease. Ok.. I LOVED this movie but it's been awhile since I've seen it (like jr.high)! How'd I do on the quiz?

I got 13 out of 15 right! Woo hoo! Of course, I have no idea which 2 answers were wrong, but I'd say that's pretty good... gotta love pop culture! You can take the Grease quiz here. Off to work! :)

FOBTY 7/31- Show me happy!

2008-08-02T14:11:00.001-05:00

The mission: Show off a layout that makes you happy. It doesn’t have to be your best layout or even your favorite layout, just one that when you look at it, something about it makes you happy. Well I had to scrap two of course- one for each kid- so here they are:
This is great because it's wild and messy and happy just like my little Marley Moo!

This layout is a lift from Missys3lilbugs "Prek Grads"
This one makes me happy because Jaxon is so happy and loves school... and I loved having him in my class and watching him learn over the past two years. :) I LOVE being happy!!!

FOBTY about music this week

2008-07-29T08:19:00.002-05:00

This week, the SSD FOBTY is all about music. So what kind of music am I? Well, it's not my favorite kind of music, but the description fits.

You Are Country Music

You are friendly, down to earth, and fairly conservative.

You are true to your friends and your upbringing. Change is hard for you.

But beneath your old fashioned attitude, you are expressive and artistic in your own way.

Very few people can express pain and pleasure as eloquently as you can.

What Kind of Music Are You?

I'm hard at work on this month's hybrid album, but as soon as that's done, I'll have some GREAT pics to scrap from Jaxon's 5th birthday. :) See you soon!

Scrappin' projects and another FOBTY

2008-07-22T13:25:00.002-05:00

Well I'm busy working on a few hybrid projects right now. The first is an album for my mom (can't get into details because I know she reads this)! The second is the hybrid workshop at SSD this month- a vacation album- and I'm so excited about it. The timing couldn't be better as the kids just took their first road trip this summer. The third is an altered notebook and pens for my son's teacher this upcoming year. And the fourth is a mini-book of letters for my daughter Marley. I don't know why I start one without first finishing the previous one, but such is life. hope to have some shots to show you soon!

Now for the FOBTY- your mission is to blog about the summer jobs (or adventures, if you didn’t work) you had when you were a teenager. Well this should be fun! My parents were awesome and didn't push the work thing which made me WANT to get a job... maybe that was their idea. My first job was at a movie theater and it was awful! I hated it!!! I went in soon after starting and told the manager I wanted to quit. She must have run off quite a few folks and was under watchful eye, so she convinced me instead to "take a leave of absence". Not sure if she was expecting me to have a change of heart or what, but it was a leave from which I never returned!

Then I worked at a seafood restaurant- it had been started by a family who had a big chain on BBQ restaurants so it was not fast food, but not fancy either. The pay was good, they worked us hard, and it kept me from eating on the job as I'm not into seafood... it was a great job for a teenager. :)

Well got to run back to working on these albums and cleaning up the house! :) S

Time for another SSD FOBTY!

2008-07-13T17:37:00.002-05:00

SSD- Sweet Shoppe Designs
FOBTY- From Our Blog To Yours
No more explaining those acronyms! Y'all should know by now! :)
This week's FOBTY is your favorite vacation spot or dream vacation. This is fun- and I'm posting both. My old favorite vacation spot was Las Vegas- Brian and I used to go every year and always had a blast, but since the kids have been around, we make the trip much less often. :( Since neither of us had a "big" 30th celebration, we may go to celebrate our 31st birthdays!

We recently went to Ruidoso, New Mexico and that was great. I love the mountains and everyday I woke up and walked on to the balcony and thought one day, we will live in mountains like this. (Sorry mom- I MAY move one day, but don't worry about that NOW ok)? So I'd say that's my current favorite vacation spot.

Dream vacation? If it was just me and and wonderful husband, I'd say Lake Como in Italy. It looks SO beautiful. I have a painting of it in my house and I swear I could walk right into it. If it was a family vacation, it would be Disney World of course. To be quite honest, I'm excited to go to Disney World not just for the kids, but for me too! I remember it being such a fun trip when I was a kid. :) Another fun FOBTY from SSD!

My first chipboard album!

2008-07-08T12:01:00.003-05:00

Now that I have given this to my mother-in-law I can share the pics! I was so excited to get my first album done so I wanted to show you. This one was an easy one becasue the album was made to fit the maya road album, but a good way to start hybrid so I didn't mess it up!

I'm working on 2 others for my mom and sister, so those are top secret right now (so if you're reading this, no peeks for you mom or Linds)! I'll be sure to post pics after I get those to them. :) Off to declutter the toy closet (and hopefully do a layout or two)!

Time for SSD's From our blog to yours...

2008-07-03T21:00:00.001-05:00

As I have mentioned before, I have a new addiction- Sweet Shoppe Designs. Each week they have something you can add to your blog, which is fun AND earns sweet rewards points- so here it goes!

This weeks FOBTY, in honor of Independence Day here tomorrow in the states we are going to do a little fireworks quiz! Enjoy!

Here's my results:

What Your These Fireworks Say About You

You are deeply passionate about a few things in your life.

Everything else, you couldn't care less about.

Your passions tend to hold steady over time. If anything, they intensify.

Once you hold on to something (or someone), you don't let go!

The Fireworks Test

I have a new addiction

2008-06-28T08:18:00.003-05:00

...two actually! The first new addiction is Sweet Shoppe Designs (or SSD). I've loved their stuff for quite awhile and made many purchases there, but have just recently discovered their forums. Lots of fun people there, great challenges and ways to earn Sweet Rewards points good for %s off their products each month. All I can say is that I can see myself spending tons more time there!

The second new addiction (was actually started by the above mentioned forums) is HYBRID. I never scrapped until I went digital- what can I say- scissors and glue are scary. ??? I've been checking out the hybrid galleries at SSD and Peppermint Creative and marveling at all of the cool projects and thought to myself, I wanna do that! So I'm working on 3 projects and have finished one- it is really fun! Plus, since I scrap put of order and therefore am bad about getting layouts printed, so this gives me something tangible! I hope to post some pics of my hybrid projects soon!

Join the REVOLUTION!!!

2008-06-26T08:37:00.002-05:00

Well it's summertime, and since I'm a teacher, I have all of June, July and part of August off from work. I had these great big ideas about what I wanted to accomplish- mainly around the house- but found myself overwhelmed. Either my husband and I would bust our butts going through organizing, throwing out and cleaning up for an entire weekend OR I'd start something, get pulled away by the kids, and then feeling like I'd accomplished nothing, give up. The house isn't dirty or anything- I'd clear a social services check LOL... but I feel overwhelmed by little clutter piles and sometimes can't find what I need.

So, being that I have this great digiscrap community at DigiShopTalk, I reached out with a simple post in the Chatter forum: "I'm Domestically Challenged". I wasn't sure what to expect but hoped to get some ideas to keep the house free of clutter (I'm a stacker- stacks of magazines, the kids have toys stacked up on the built-in bookshelves, etc.)

Well, the response was HUGE! Everyone either had a helpful comment or were letting me know they were in the same boat and also looking for ideas and support. It has spun off into a "Declutter challenge" and what I'm calling the "Declutter Revolution"! I've already gotten some great tips and feel INSPIRED to get to work one step at a time.

Who'd have thought all of this support would come from the digiscrap community? Just one more reason I not only love to scrap but love the forums at DST and GDS!

A little peek from our trip...

2008-06-24T15:30:00.001-05:00

How cool is Smilebox? Especially for non-scrappers, but I still love it for QP style pages. Enjoy!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Back from a FABULOUS vacation...

2008-06-23T18:53:00.007-05:00

We drove 11 hours (my kids first long road trip) to Ruidoso, New Mexico late last week and met my parents and my mother-in-law at a big cabin in the mountains for 7 days (it was supposed to be 10 days but we came home a bit early to recover). So it doesn't sounds like TONS of fun from that first line, but it was great!

The scenery was unreal and we had a gorgeous view of the mountains from the deck. It was dry (unlike the humid conditions I live in) and only got into the upper 80s (where it was record breaking heat for weeks at home). We went shopping, sightseeing, hung out in the hot tub, took the kids to the Smokey Bear Museum and FunTrackers (race cars, bumper boats, etc.), went golfing, gambled at Inn of the Mountain Gods, hiked (but only around the cabin as Lincoln National Forest was closed to due extreme fire risk) and just enjoyed some much needed R&R. I've got literally hundreds of photos to scrap from the vacation so be on the lookout! I'm still working off the rigged-to-work laptop, so all of those photos I mentioned are on my son's laptop. I'll get it from him while he sleeps! :)

I have joined a new CT, but since its not been posted yet, I can't say who yet! :) More to come...

Jaxon starts swim tomorrow and tennis soon- and Marley will take her first class ever: Kindertots dance! Expect LOTS of pics from that! :) S

Summer is here! Woo hoo!

2008-06-04T07:36:00.006-05:00

Well, I'll start with good news. My FABULOUS assistants Jana and Christy basically packed my classroom single-handedly. I just don't know what I'd do without them. So the classroom is packed and I'm "checked out"- the last day I went in to work with Christy, I was sick and only spent about an hour there and she took care of it. They are SO truly awesome! Now that school is over, the only school related stuff I have going on is planning for next year, the "buddy group" for kids with autism and some in-home training for one of my families. I'm so excited about this extra time in my day- I hope to get a lot of new layouts done so I can finally get some printed out. I made Scrapper of the Month for June at GDS which is cool- not only is it nice to be recognized, but I got the huge and fantastic June GDS collab along with it!

The bad news (other than being REALLY sick for two days that is). I made it through to round 4 of the GDS Supreme Team site CT contest. It was down to 23 this round and they made the final cut to 12 Supremes. I was really hoping I'd make it, but I didn't. :( I know I should feel good for making it this far, but I can't help but feel a little disappointed. I'm glad for the gals who made it, and their stuff is awesome, but I thought sunmer would be a GREAT time for me and was really hopeful. My sweet husband reminded me that this was my first try for the Supreme team and that out of 104 people, I made it down to the final round. He is actually trying hard to support this "habit" of mine (how sweet is that?) I think I'll try next time around, but I was hoping for a summer term- oh well!

Well, I'm off to do some laundry and run some errands. When I get back, I'm planning on some layouts for Andrea and Patty (who by the way is Scrap Outside the Box's Designer of the month- woo hoo Patty!), so keep an eye out! :)

Ok... so maybe I DID fall off the face of the earth!

2008-05-25T09:04:00.002-05:00

Well, I'm going to save you all from my moaning and complaining about my laptop breaking (actually it's not broken, the screen is just shattered- which is kind of important so I can SEE what I'm doing-) Here's the short version- The laptop screen cracked inside, I tried to get my PSE to work on my son's laptop, but it was slow, missing all of my actions, fonts, etc. And most recently, heard my frustration as I posted my round 3 layout (which I'm still not sure I like) for the Supreme contest at GDS. I had a dead desktop and let my dad have one flat panel, but I got my small flat panel monitor back from my sis yesterday and low and behold, I can hook it up to the broken laptop and it works! I have the flat panel sitting on a wooden tv tray (classy) and the laptop actually on my lap, but I don't even care because IT WORKS!!! Now I can wait and save up for a really nice replacement.

I'm loving Andrea Gold's CT and all of the folks at GDS. They've been so supportive through all of this "stuff" (surgery, being a busy working mom, the computer issues, etc.) I've made it through to round 3 of the Supreme Team contest (to be a part of the site CT) but its a tough competition so we'll see what happens. I'm actually surprised to have made it thus far! there are 4 rounds and then the team will be announced- fingers crossed! This is the best time of year for me to try for this because with summer coming, I'll have tons of scrap time. I was starting some guest stuff for Patty's Designs, but then all of this "stuff" happened, so I've only done one layout for her! She's being so patient! Go check out her stuff at Scrap Outside The Box.

Sadly, because of my computer issues and the above mentioned "stuff", I decided to leave Beckie Wallace's CT. It's a bummer because I love her and her designs, but with my surgery and now this, I felt like I was short-changing her and it was not fair to her or the others on the team. I'm still keeping up with all of their blogs and hope that maybe I can catch up and reapply next time around. Those gals are GREAT and Beckie is just a fabulous gal all around. :)

The last month of school is ALWAYS hectic and this year is no exception. I'm up to my ears in paperwork and have even brought some home in the hopes of getting it all done without having to work after school is out. My campus opted to work extended hours so we can be done by May 30th, but I may end up having to work a day or two after school is out, but we'll see. I really need to get my room in order so I plan on weeding through things as well if I have the time. If you're not a teacher, you may not know that in addition to all of our other end of the year stuff, we have to completely take down the room. Nothing is left out unless its boxed up or shut away the cabinets so it takes some time.

Anyway, I need to get around before my husband returns from Starbucks... I'll be back soon to update my slide and post, but in the meanwhile, leave me some love at GDS or check out my gallery at DST.

I didn't fall off the face of the earth...

2008-04-27T18:17:00.002-05:00

It just looks that way on the blog! :) So here's the month in review.
I'm 17 days post-op and other than a little soreness, I'm fine. I feel much better than I expected I would. Brian was wonderful and took over for me completely so I could recover. He laughs and says "What did you expect me to do?" But really... taking over in every aspect of the child-rearing and running the house takes work! I only missed 3 days of work, but even after I went back, Brian took care of business around here. He is simply wonderful.
I had my birthday this month. The big 3-0. We kept it simple, just dinner and a movie, so I wouldn't go into shock or have a midlife crisis. Ha ha! Jaxon assured me that "30 is a lot" but that I'm "not old". :) I still don't feel like a grown up, let alone like a mom in my 30's (sheesh)! Ok... I need to stop now before I DO start to feel old... here's some scrap news from my fabulous designers that I'm lucky enough to CT for!

Andrea Gold is hosting a quick page exchange using her gorgeous "Discover" kit at GDS with some GREAT participation prizes. Check out her blog post for more info or check out the QP exchange at GDS.

Beckie Wallace will be hosting a lyric challenge all weekend long and having a huge sale in her Digital Candy Shoppe to celebrate NSD! So be on the lookout May 3-4th!

Brian and I will be sending the kids to grandma's next weekend (I must admit this was BEFORE I knew it was National Scrapbooking Day) but I still plan on checking out some sales! :) I know a gal started a NSD master sales list at DST which I'll be checking on. I also have gotten some of my ADSR prizes and WOW is all I can say. I can already tell you I'm going to be a Bella Scraps fan. And those memory purses are cool (just got to figure out what I want to scrap and put in it!) Anyway, more LOs to come- I'll update my slide soon too. :)

Surgery went well and some REALLY EXCITING news!

2008-04-11T08:46:00.005-05:00

I can't really move my arms too much yet- I'm swollen and sore, but I'm feeling better today than I thought I would. I just wanted to tell everyone thanks for the well wishes. It really makes your day when you're feeling like this! I will still be limited on computer time, but hope to be back soon.

And for some REALLY exciting news... I had my husband check my e-mail this morning and he said "Melody is excited and says to check ADSR"...

If you have been living under a rock, let me fill you in. ADSR (the amazing digiscrap race) was a 6 week long set of challenges you worked on as a team. Some challenges were independent, some we had to combine pieces to make a layout, and some were "roadblocks" only 1 team member was responsible for. As long as you completed the challenge by the deadline, you were able to continue the race. You also got awesome gifts along the way for completing each challenge.

Ok, so I go check the ADSR blog and see these adorable kiddos drawing names from a hat for second place, first runner ups, and the grand prize... goes to ELECTRIC HARMONY!!!! OMG! WE WON! There are so many great prizes I honestly can't remember them all!

So, I'm going to hurry up and rest (ha ha) so I can get to scrapping with all of my new stuff! I'm not sure you can ever top that, but just participating in the race was awesome and NDISB folks have been so friendly, so I'll be back next year for ADSR 4 for sure and NDISB in general.

Off to the first doctor's post-op... hope to be back soon!

I've been tagged AND a kit for a GREAT cause

2008-04-06T08:59:00.006-05:00

Ok, I was tagged- twice actually- by my friends Rose AKA RoseMcDigital and Beckie AKA Lillypug34 but all are invited to join in the Links fun! PLEASE just follow the rules!

Just copy paste THIS and everything below up until my Five links.

I thought it would be cool to have a meme where we post links. We can post up to five.

Then we tell five more people to share their links. If we all share who tagged us, our links are sure to be seen!

They can be business links, favorite sites, affiliate links, whatever you want…

There are Five Rules:

1. MUST be clean. No R rated sites.

2. Only FIVE links.

3. MUST tell 5 people.

4. A link back to the person who tagged you

5. Lara’s Place is the meme originator. (an active link is appreciated)

Here are my 5 Links (only 5? Argh... mine will all be scrapping)!

1. Go Digital Scrapbooking- I'm here a lot checking out challenges, posting in the forums and making new digi-friends.

2. Andrea's Bits, Scrap and Little Ironies- I LOVE Andrea's blog because she gives away FABULOUS templates all of the time. I am also VERY lucky to be on her CT and she is so great to us- no drama or pressure, just fun!

3. Peppermint Creative- First, I love her stuff. But her blog is a close second because she is hilarious! She has tons of tips and project ideas too.

4. Sunshine Studio Scraps- I found these gals through a HUGE freebie collab kit around Christmas and have been hooked on their stuff ever since.

5. DigiTreats- Pamela's blog is awesome. She was supposed to be on a break from designing when she started making these ABC Skip, Run and Jump kits. It is going to be HUGE by the time she's done. My first CT experience was with her and it was great too- no drama or stress, just having fun!

I am tagging these folks (whose links you should also definitely check out),
Nicole Great stuff and generous with freebies!
Theresa Great kits and a sweet gal!
Kim B She cracks me up- she laughs as much as I do!
Shana Great designer and a very nice gal!
Christy I'm new to her designs, but from what I can see so far, they all rock!

That was hard as several of my digiscrap friends don't blog (like you Melody!) and my friends who do blog aren't into digiscrap. What can you do? :)

Now for the info on the kit I mentioned earlier. This is from a friend of mine, and when I saw the kit, I HAD to get it. Most of my students are on the autism spectrum, so this is particularly close to my heart. Here's a link explaining about the kit, with big previews and the link to donate here in the GDS forum.

World Autism Awareness Day

2008-04-01T21:46:00.001-05:00

Please spread the word! As many of you know, most of my students have autism, and it is rising at near epidemic rates, yet there are still many who know very little about it. Check out available resources, research and community support at Autism Speaks.

My busiest month is almost here

2008-03-29T10:41:00.000-05:00

...which is both exciting AND stressful! Let's see... I'm getting blond highlights back (the old reliable) so my mom will be very happy! :) My sister and I were referred to as "Brownie" and "Blondie" respectively as children and apparently we need to remain that way. Ha ha!

I have tons of meetings coming up too for my kiddos headed to kindergarten and end of the year stuff. I am also presenting a few trainings for staff and parents with my teammates which is giving me gray hair (now you see that my reason for the blond highlighting is NOT to make mom happy)!

Next week I have surgery which I'm only moderately nervous about, but I'll be sore and out of whack for a bit, and that has me more worried than the process itself. It's tough to tell the kiddos to go easy on mama or the teacher for that matter- I think my title should include "child wrangler" and "human jungle gym"! That week is also when Jaxon has kindergarten round-up and kinder buddy day which I'm excited about. I can't wait to see what he thinks about the whole thing.

The last but not least of the stresses... I turn 30 this month. Yes folks, it's all downhill from here! Ha ha! I wasn't all that concerned about it until my friends kept reminding me about it... and now I'm thinking I'll make 30 fun. Maybe it'll be my year to lose those last 10 pounds I want to rid myself of, and get more organized, and I WILL do more for myself this year. So, if I'm not around much this month, you'll know why. Anyway, keep your fingers crossed that all goes well.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes...

2008-03-10T15:16:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I'm a dork, but is that really news? Yet again I'm playing around with my blog. I changed my template and then fiddled with all of the html code (I realize that this adds "techie" and/or "geek" to my title as well)! Anyway, I'll probably have a new blinkie sometime soon too. Well, back to scrappin'...

Spring Break = lots of scrap time!

2008-03-06T18:43:00.000-06:00

Spring Break starts tomorrow after school and I am SO excited! I have no plans other than to relax, hang out with the kids and scrap (oh and clean house)! I am on a guest CT spot for Theresa Borntreger this month so expect to see some new things from me. and I plan on doing the bonus and optional challenges for ADSR this week too.

Also, as you know I'm VERY lucky to be on Andrea Gold's CT, so I'd like to take a minute to thank her for reading my mind when creating her newest product! :) Ha ha! My hubby's grandma passed away recently and she was always quite the cook. Everyone loves her recipes, so I thought it'd be nice to type them up and send copies to all of the aunts, uncles and cousins (this was BEFORE I realized how many recipes she had)! These new recipe brag book templates are a must have in my book! Check them out here while she's got them on sale!

My messy Marley

2008-02-19T18:27:00.000-06:00

Perhaps she has a green thumb? I need to add some LOs to my slide, but don't have the time right now, so here's a quick one.

:) Credits: Andrea Gold's new "Pink Parfait" page kit.

And one more from the same kit...Andrea Gold's new "Pink Parfait" page kit and Template Set #25

ADSR3 is coming!!!!

2008-02-15T23:04:00.000-06:00

What is ADSR3? The Amazing DigiScrap Race of course. Ok I admit, I didn't know what it was until I saw a post about it on GDS, but I'm SO glad I did. Here's some info about it:
At NDISB, we've come up with a cool internet digital scrapping game that will mirror the excitement of the TV reality show "The Amazing Race." Teams of two will traverse the digital scrapping world, site by site, completing challenges and collecting prizes along the way. Everyone who completes the week's challenges in the allotted time frame will move on to the next week, where they can collect even MORE prizes! And at the end of the race, everyone who has travelled around the digiworld and completed each and every challenge will be entered into a drawing for the GRAND prize!

A gal from GDS named Melody and I have teamed up. Our team is Electric Harmony (you know- Schock/Electric and Melody/Harmony). It sounded like an 80s cover band at first, but darn it, we're going to ROCK ADSR! Ha ha! Melody even made a blinkie for us... check it out in the sidebar... we are going to have so much fun. :)

The bad news is GDS is down right now for site maintenance. I know it won't be long, but I have found such a digi-home at GDS that I miss it already. Ha ha!

The good news is my sweet husband surprised me on Valentines Day with a new Sony H3 Cybershot (we weren't going to "do" Valentines, so I had nothing for him, but he didn't seem to mind too much). AND, Andrea Gold has some GREAT new mini-kits and full page kits going into the store at GDS. Keep an eye out for them... her new one "Pink Parfait" is going to be a new favorite of mine already I can tell! More LOs coming soon...

Back in time for the Superbowl...

2008-02-03T21:19:00.000-06:00

Well, most importantly, we are back from Kansas and Grandma's service was lovely. We got to spend a lot of time with Brian's aunts, uncles and cousins which was really nice as well. She was such a wonderful lady and it was great to think back on her life. We flew in during a snowstorm (they got 5 inches that day) and I was in shock. We don't "do" snow in Texas, and on the off chance it does snow, it lasts a day at best. It was 15 degrees when we flew in...eeek! Anyway, luckily it warmed up some ("warmed up" for Kansas is in the 40s by the way)! So we're glad to be back in Texas! :)

We made it home just in time to watch the Superbowl (thanks to TIVO we could rewind the first 5 minutes we missed and catch up during commercials) and the GIANTS won!!!! Since our teams didn't make it, Brian and I were both REALLY rooting for the Giants, but didn't think they'd be able to win. As the game went on and they kept sacking Brady and doing well on offense, we thought "Well this may be a game"... but holy moly they WON!

The bad news On my trip, my camera was safely under my seat in my carry-on... or so I thought. Someone sitting behind me was kicking under the seat and now the lens keeps giving me an error, so basically my camera is broken so I have no "snow" pics to show the kids. Then, on the way home, my EHD cable was lost (I think it must have fallen out of my bag when we changed planes). The good news My husband said I can get a second EHD (good to backup the backup anyway right)? AND a new camera!!! WOO HOO!!! So, if you have a camera you LOVE, please e-mail me with your camera, what you love about it and what you wish you could change (link to e-mail is on the sidebar). I want to get to shopping before Brian realizes how much this may cost him! :) Thanks... more Layouts added to the slide so check it out!

A huge loss...

2008-01-27T21:29:00.000-06:00

My husband's grandma passed away today. We spent all weekend with her and I am so thankful for that time. We may be headed to Kansas for the funeral, so it may be a few days before I have an update for you. Please keep us in your prayers and be sure to take a moment to let your own family know how much you love them. S

My new Slide!

2008-01-21T15:31:00.000-06:00

Well I've gotten on an organizing tear with ACDSee 10 Photo Manager (I have WAY more stuff than you can even imagine)! So I combined all of my locations for LOs into one folder and realized I had lots of LOs finished and not on the blog.
So I saved them all as jpegs and made a slide. If you have not yet checked these out, you can find them Slide.com and the best part? They're free! Plus it saves space on the blog which is always nice too. I have lots of QPs I've scrapped too, but I'll save those for another slide. :)
Looking back at some of my LOs is really interesting. The "old ones" look so... amateur. Rough edges, no shadows or layer effects, etc. I've learned so much that I want to go back and "fix" my old ones. But for some reason, many of my first LOs I merged before saving instead of leaving in layers...ARGH! You live and learn I guess. I still think of myself as a "newbie" as there is still so much I want to learn, but I definitely can see how I've grown! :) SS

EXCITING news!!!!

2008-01-15T19:07:00.000-06:00

I am SO excited, I can barely contain myself!!!! You know I have a "top 3" list of designers right? Well, when I saw one of my top 3 having a CT call, I couldn't help but try for it. I knew if I didn't, I'd wish I had, so I went for it fully expecting NOT to be selected. Well she went from adding 4 to 6 spots and I was checking the blog and GDS to see who she ended up selecting (to be honest, I was kind of obsessive about it checking every time I had a free moment to see if she'd made her announcement just so I could say congrats to the new CT members and "at least I tried!")

So when I saw her post announcing her CT additions, I was SO excited that I actually screamed- about giving Brian a heart attack! Check it out here!

It seems my schedule became less hectic just in the nick of time for this CT call. So now I'm on 2 CTs for 2 of my favorite designers- how cool is that!?! Anyway more news and LOs to come soon!

More work this weekend...

2008-01-06T07:46:00.000-06:00

Some vacation this has turner out to be! We've still been working on home projects and boy is it a LOT of work. We started going through the kids closets and I have TONS of kids clothes (4 years worth to be exact) to take pictures of and sell (that's not counting the donations over the past few years and the 6 bags we donated yesterday!!!) I guess I was hanging onto them in case we decided to have more children, but now we're moving them out. Fingers crossed I can get rid of them all- I'm taking pics as I go, so I should have some interesting before and after LOs!

Brian's grandma is settling into her new home and it sounds like all is well. It is a person's home who cares for 2 other older people and she will still have the hospice workers coming in as well. This ended up being a good alternative as she refused to go into a nursing home, but we couldn't provide for her during the workday. We hope to go visit this week now that she's had a chance to settle in. She is just a mile or so down the road from us so we'll be able to visit often.

I'm hoping to get some of her pictures scanned in and make some family LOs with them (I don't have much as far as extended family goes, but since my mom is a geneology buff, it makes sense that I should have some historical LOs). I'm also thinking I'd like to scrap her recipes into hardbound books for all of the grandkids.

Off to finish conquering the closets and then I'll scrap this afternoon... it's back to work tomorrow and the students return Tuesday! :) I almost forgot, I'll post pics of the new haircolor soon too (it's a bit more red than I imagined, but still cute I think!)

Ok let's catch up...

2008-01-04T18:49:00.000-06:00

I've been busy lately with lots of house projects- we put in a new kitchen sink and faucet (which sounds silly, but I swear it makes SUCH a difference in my kitchen), we finally got extension ladders tall enough to hang the big iron wall art in our 2-story foyer, and decided to switch out Jaxon and Marley's rooms. That in itself was quite an undertaking because Marley's room was lilac, so of course we had to repaint it blue before we could move Jaxon in and then move all the furniture, etc. I still have not finished redoing their closets, but that, as well as painting Marley's "new" room, will just have to wait! I'll probably have some great before and after LOs too! Ha ha! But, I've got lots of scrapping to catch up on and plan on getting to work soon.

I wanted to quickly share my secret project- it was a calendar that I made using shutterfly. They had it so that instead of using one of their photo ploppers, you could have an entire blank canvas to put your pictures in- perfect for a digiscrap calendar! I'm including it on a slide below. The credits for the calendar all go to a few of my favorites- DigiTreats and Peppermint Creative for the materials and Andrea Gold for the templates- if you'd like more specifics on a certain LO, e-mail me or leave a comment and I'll be sure to share the details with you. :) Happy New Year!

I'm a TERRIBLE blogger...

2007-12-22T17:16:00.000-06:00

And scrapper lately too! I've had NO time to scrap other than a top secret project I was working on for Christmas (which thankfully I got done just in the nick of time)... so I'll REALLY have to make it up to Pamela and scrap like crazy to catch back up! So if you're looking for a great kit (for ANY occasion) check her out at SAS. :)

After Christmas, I'll have lots of pictures to post and layouts to do too! I'm also trying my hand at hybrid stuff (I've never really even printed out my stuff so its a big deal)! Anyway, have a great holiday season and I'll be back soon (promise...) Stephanie :)

Busy bee...

2007-11-24T21:22:00.001-06:00

I've not had much time to scrap (until today...thanks to my VERY patient husband who has tolerated me being on the laptop all evening!) So I will post some layouts asap.

I need to do some CT layouts, but I've been kind of "blocked" so I've been using templates (I know that's fine, but I can't help but feel like it's "cheating" if I don't make the LO from scratch!)

Anyway, I'll be back soon to post some LOs... just didn't want anyone to think I'd disappeared! :)

Happy Digital Scrapbooking Day!

2007-11-03T21:49:00.000-05:00

Well, Marley is "famous" yet again! :) Check out my layout with my little queen and be sure to snag the QP download here. I enjoyed making it and hope you like it too!

***UPDATE- OK, since I'm just a scrapper and not a designer, I'm not used to people DLing and commenting on my stuff. The QP freebie I made for my fabulous designer Princess Pamela at Digitreats, just hit 1,400 DLs! I am so excited!!! "They like it...they really, really like it!" (Yes I'm a dork! LOL!)

Halloween!

2007-11-03T21:46:00.000-05:00

We had Jaxon's "best buddy" Joshua come over to trick or treat with us this year and the boys were SO excited!!! They had already been in costume earlier in the day at school, but it was still really exciting for them. I don't think I've ever seen Jaxon that wound up! :) We were waiting for a pizza to arrive and then decided to go ahead and get started. Brian and Marley stayed behind to hand out candy and wait for the pizza while we headed down the street. Then we got the cell phone call that the pizza had arrived, came home, refueled with pizza, and then we all went back out for round 2. We didn't get far before Joshua had to use the bathroom, so we headed back to the house and called it a night. Even though we didn't hit as many houses as we'd hoped, we all had a great time! Here's one LO of the boys on the run... more to come soon.

Credits: All Hallows Eve freebie overlay from KJConners, halloween paper 7 from Jasjul at Stone Accents Studio, and the frightfully delightful wordart doesn't have author info (I must have forgotten to rename it, but I'm sure I found it from the IkeaGoddess blog- if you recognize it, let me know so I can give proper credit). Fonts: Bleeding cowboys and Pea Angedawn.

I finally did it...

2007-11-02T19:48:00.000-05:00

I always try so hard to scrap original pages and even feel guilty when I use a template...and yes, I know that is exactly what templates are for... but it still almost feels like cheating!

Ok here's the deal: I rarely appear in pictures as I'm usually the one taking them, and I've had some people ask to see the new haircolor. So I thought I'd try to quickly scrap the one recent pic of me (of course we're at a costume party, so You can't see much of the hair, but you'll get the idea).

So... I scraplifted!!!! I think that as long as I give her credit, I'm "ok" though. The original layout I lifted this idea is here and by KirstieGai- on the Peppermintcreative.com design team gallery.

And here's mine... Credits: Witches Brew kit by Miss Mint at Peppermintcreative.com and Bleeding Cowboys font.

Suffering from Scrap withdrawal!

2007-10-14T20:10:00.000-05:00

I have been so busy with work, the kids, etc. that I haven't had as much time to scrap as I'd like. Brian is out of town with his father this weekend, which would usually mean I'd have more time to scrap, but with Marley getting over being sick and Jaxon wanting to play his new computer games, I've basically been at the kids beckoned call. Now Marley's asleep and Jaxon is having a "slumber party"- which means Daddy's out of town so he gets to sleep in my room. So I made a QP to give away on our CT blog, scrapped a few freebie quick pages I had downloaded (some are missing information about the designer, so I may not post them) and one original page that I'll post below. I'm hoping to get one more done tonight too.

Here's one with my silly boy Jaxon:
Credits: Twinkle Toes kit from Miss Mint at PeppermintCreative.com, Duck from Rhonna Farrer's Splish Splash, and Pea Lacy font (I always forget to include fonts!)

Long time, no post!

2007-10-10T20:22:00.000-05:00

I have been SO busy that I've had no time to post, let alone scrap. But I was home with a sick little one today and managed enough time to do a quick challenge. I LOVE Ikeagoddess's blog, especially for finding freebie templates, so when I saw she was hosting a challenge at The Meadow, and that there was an awesome freebie album for completing the challenge page, I couldn't resist. So here's my take on the First 3 things challenge: The first day that Jaxon was a brother... he was 2 years, 2 months and 2 weeks old when Marley was born. He was SO excited to meet her!

Credits: Polaroid frame and stitched alpha from DigiTreats, flower doodle from Lena's Feeling Blue, and "Dream" word art from Gina's Playing with Wire blog freebie.

So much to do, so little time...

2007-09-22T12:06:00.000-05:00

I've been so busy with school that I haven't had much of a chance to scrap, let alone post, but I did some LOs with templates this week to get me into the "Halloween spirit!" As a child, Halloween was a favorite for me, but lately it seems to sneak up on me and its over before I really had a chance to enjoy it... so we're going shopping early for the kids costumes and I may even get one too! :)

Credits: "Halloween" kit from DigiTreats and Halloween template from Sir Scrapalot.

Credits: "Halloween" kit and "Year in Review" templates kit from DigiTreats.

Somehow I forgot to add here!

2007-09-22T12:00:00.000-05:00

I still feel like school is working on me... just too tired and feel like things are hectic, so I'm adding some LOs I forgot to put in the blog. Sorry for the short post.

Credits: "Amelia" kit from DigiTreats, month paperweight from Designing on the edge, word art from Ronna Penner and freebie template (missing designer in the file name- so please let me know if you recognize it so I can give proper credit.)

Birthdays...

Credits: "Abby Happy Birthday" kit by DigiTreats.

Credits: "Abby Happy Birthday" kit and "Funky" template kit by DigiTreats.

Credits: "Happy Birthday" kit and "Maze" template by DigiTreats.

This one I'm really proud of because Princess Pamela featured it on her blog... so Jaxon's famous! :)

Credits: "Josh" kit and "Basic Block" template by DigiTreats.

I was playing around with filters on this LO, but it turned out ok.
Credits: "Floral" kit by DigiTreats.

SAS Grand Opening today!!!

2007-09-12T14:45:00.001-05:00

Just wanted to hop on and say I've been so busy with school that I've not posted, but I will have some LOs to share soon. In the meanwhile, go check out the Stone Accents Studio boutique which opened today. Of course you know I love DigiTreats, but this place is full of great designers and they have lots of grand opening stuff going on... go check it out (that's where I'm going!)

The kids are at grandma's...I can scrap...YAY!

2007-09-01T14:12:00.000-05:00

We are so lucky to have 2 sets of fantastic grandparents that are both within a short drive (one is about 2 hours away and one is about 45 minutes away) AND are willing to take the kids overnight! :) In fact, I just called to check on them and my parents took them to Chuck E Cheese's today!!! I'm not even brave enough to try that one! LOL! Anyway, here are some LOs I've done this morning.
Credits: "Kiss Me" kit from DigTreats by Princess Pamela.

Credits: "Josh" Kit and "Josh" mini-kit from DigTreats by Princess Pamela.

Credits: "Funky Templates" and "Floral" kit from DigiTreats by Princess Pamela.

Credits: "Abby" kit and blog freebie template from DigiTreats by Princess Pamela.

Year in Review Templates

2007-08-26T10:39:00.000-05:00

I'm using the Year in Review Template Set from Digitreats by Princess Pamela for these layouts. I like this set because while there is a template for each month and a front and back page for the set, templates aren't exactly tied to a month. For example, the May template has flowers, so you could scrap any outdoor spring or summer pics in it... does that make sense? :) Like the layout below is the January template, but its only snowed here once in the past several years and that was in February, so I used it for February.

Credits: DigiTreats by Princess Pamela -Year in Review kit - January template
Papers- NEP’s Harmonies Kit Paper 4, Bren Boone’s Luscious Solids Paper #29, J.Cantill’s Mod Monday kit paper P5-blue and DigiTreats by Princess Pamela Tina kit blue cardstock paper.

Credits: DigiTreats by Princess Pamela -Year in Review kit – May template
Papers- Bren Boone’s Luscious Solids Papers #30, #22 and #11, Angela Sharrow’s DST Birthday 2007 Paper #6, and NEP’s Harmonies Kit Paper 4

Recognition... I'm not used to this!

2007-08-19T10:08:00.000-05:00

I go onto my creative team's message board and see a new post to me... I'm thinking what's this? It turns out, my Scalloped heart LO (see post below) was chosen at Digital Design Divas (DDD) as the LO of the day for August 17th. :) They also give a Shout Out at DigiShopTalk (DST) to announce it and I get a gift card for their boutique. Glad Beckie found it and brought it to my attention! I LOVE our CT!

And my latest CT LO using the Josh kit from Digitreats by Princess Pamela and the Basic Blocks template freebie from her DigiTreats blog was featured on her blog. Jaxon thinks he's famous! :)

I started digiscrap just so I could do something with all of the digital pictures sitting around unused on my computer. The idea that anyone else would like what I do, let alone recognize me for it, is unreal. :) It made my weekend!

A bunch of DigiTreats LOs...

2007-08-18T10:14:00.000-05:00

I am having SO much fun, and learning SO much more, on our new DigiTreats creative team. All of the girls are great and even tolerate my dumb questions! :) Be sure to check them out too on the DigiTreats blog where Pamela has great freebies often!

I just love it... and getting free stuff from one of my favorite designers isn't bad either! :) And I just "treated myself" by getting the Wacom Graphire4 tablet (to be fair, they have it at Circuit City and if you order online you get a $50 Mail-in rebate, so I was just trying to be frugal! Ha ha!) It is too cool and I'm hoping I'll be able to use my own handwriting and doodles soon once I get the hang of it.

Here are some LOs using just DigiTreats stuff:
First the same template used 2 different ways. Credits: Beach kit and get dirty page from My Boy Templates kit available here

Credits: Abby kit and get dirty page from My Boy Templates kit again available here

This LO is from Jaxon's birthday, I may flip the LOVE and my quote though... got to love templates for ease of use! Credits: Scalloped heart template, part of the "My Girl Templates" kit, yellow fabric paper from "Julia" kit, other papers and word art from "Beautiful" kit, and star brads from "Little Astronaut" kit all from DigiTreats by Princess Pamela available here

Hope you like them! :) More to come...

GREAT NEWS!

2007-08-14T20:23:00.000-05:00

I am SO excited to announce that I'm joining the creative team at Digitreats by Princess Pamela! Click HERE to see the announcement on her site.

I cannot tell you how excited I am to be working with her designs as she is one of my faves. :) So be on the lookout for more postings from me here on the blog and in scrap galleries with Digitreats stuff! And if you stop by Digitreats, be sure to drop a comment that I sent you!

More new layouts

2007-08-10T19:09:00.000-05:00

Going to make this quick as I have a killer migraine...

The 60/40 layout- Rusted staples from Julia kit, Frames from Vintage Polaroid kit and all other papers and elements from the Tina kit- all from Digitreats by Princess Pamela.

Rockstar layout- Papers and all elements from the Josh kit and Superstar template, both from Digitreats by Princess Pamela.

Inspired by mom's Patchwork Quilts

2007-08-08T18:28:00.000-05:00

My mom has TONS of patchwork quilts (among her other antiques,collectibles, and literally thousands of cookbooks!) :) That was the inspiration for this LO. It's a "busy" one, but I like trying different things and making the occasional layout that is "out of my ordinary style". The entire layout was made with the Abby kit from Princess Pamela's DigiTreats.

Jaxon's a Computer Addict!

2007-08-05T20:07:00.000-05:00

This boy LOVES his laptop- I mean how ridiculous is it that at 4 he has his own laptop anyway? He plays games, mostly online at Nick Jr. or Disney, and would play all day and night if we let him. Then again, with this digital scrapping, you could easily substitute my pic in the layout! This isn't a good pic of him because he's biting his lip, but its because he was concentrating so he could get to the next level! :)

Template Around the Block at Tracy's Scraps. Red and Blue papers from Designing on the edge.

Our Trip to the Beach

2007-08-05T19:41:00.000-05:00

We took a family vacation last weekend in July and had a great time. A tropical storm was headed that way, and we almost decided to skip the trip, but since the condo had already been booked, we went and it was beautiful the whole trip! Jaxon LOVED the waves, but it wasn't Marley's gig... she much preferred the sand! :)

This is a two page layout from the beach. Sand and water papers, and alphas from Princess Pamela's Digitreats and template from Tracy's scraps.

Arrow element from Joy Crowley's Comic Junkie kit and punch alpha by Leah Riordan both available at Oscraps.

Template and sun element by Lindsay Jane Designs, Blue swirl paper by wetfish designs

Random pic of Marley

2007-07-25T12:58:00.000-05:00

One of my boards has a challenge thread where we have to do an LO using a certain kit and this was my page. All of the papers I used came from Shabby Princess called Express Yourself and the template called Window pane is here.

Birth Announcement

2007-07-19T19:46:00.000-05:00

One of our friends just had a baby and sent pictures via e-mail. So what did photoshop-addict Stephanie do? I made a birth announcement. I made it "smiley" and "X"ed out their names for their privacy, but I was really happy with the announcement and wanted to share it.
Heart brad from Atomic Cupcake.

Birthday Layouts

2007-07-15T18:56:00.000-05:00

Jaxon's Fourth Birthday at Ready, Set, Play! This is the Swirl Template from Princess Pamela available here. Her stuff is great! Papers and elements in these birthday layouts are from Miss Mint's Party Pants kit @ Peppermint Creative.

Here's a "Busy" birthday layout...

And here was his birthday invite and my first attempt at digital scrapping. It's not great, but it shows me how far I've come too. I was going for the comic book/superhero look, but fell a little flat. I also edited out the personal info so there are blank spots where the phone numbers, address and website were listed. :) The papers and elements are from Joy Crowley's Comic Junkie kit available at Oscraps.

Jaxon's First Soccer Lesson

2007-07-10T20:58:00.000-05:00

Jaxon was so excited to start soccer lessons and I was ready with camera in hand to catch him in action... or so I thought. The lighting at the indoor arena was bad and I didn't have it on the setting for that, so all the pics blurred. I still wanted to commemorate the day, so here a slightly blurred LO.

Template- Soccer Superstars by Rachel at Scrapleaps. Papers from Calico Designs.

Celebrations and Holidays

2007-07-05T20:01:00.000-05:00

This is a 2 page LO from our fourth of July. Hopefully the journaling shows on the computer... it is so much easier to read in print than on a screen. They also look so much better side-by-side... oh well!

Blue papers, overlay, fibers and brads from Celebrate at Shabby Princess. Red paper from Happy Birthday by Tia Bennett at 2Peas. Paper stars from SimplyCleanDigiScraps.

Jaxon and his Family

2007-06-27T20:47:00.000-05:00

Brian hates this picture of him, but I love the moment it captured, so I made an LO out of it.
Template by Friske available here. Paper and elements from In Dreams add-on kit at Oscraps.

This one was of Jaxon and his Aunt Lindsay in the backyard at our house goofing off (hard to believe, huh? Ha ha!)
Journaling box and swirl overlay from Festival kit at Shabby Princess.

Go Longhorns!!!

2007-06-26T20:56:00.000-05:00

Enough said!

Paper from Vintage Football by Tia Bennett at 2Peas. Journaling piece from Leah Riordan's Funky Floral add-on kit at Oscraps.

Jaxon and His Friends

2007-06-25T19:48:00.000-05:00

This is Jaxon and his "Best Buddy" Joshua from school.
Papers and elements from Vintage Dreams Retro kit by Little Dreamers Designs.

And this is Jaxon's "Best girl" Megan who lives next door but sadly moves this month :( I made this page for them so they'd always remember each other.
Papers and elements from festival kit at Shabby Princess. Doodle from April's Free Pea Kit by Rhonna Farrer at 2Peas.

Baby Pictures

2007-06-24T19:33:00.000-05:00

Here's one of my favorite pictures of Marley. She was just two months old and such a cutie pie! The journaling is a little hard to read on the computer, but it says "The princess sleeps...You were two months old and loved sleeping in mama's arms. I was able to slip out and take a picture before you woke up."
Papers and elements from Festival kit at Shabby Princess.

Brian and Steph

2007-06-22T19:56:00.000-05:00

Pictures of Brian and I come so few and far between that I have to take old pictures, scan them in and make LOs with them. Here's one of Brian and I from Christmas in 2000.

Papers and elements from the No Name Kit and Journaling piece from Funky Floral add-on kit, both by Leah Riordan and available at Oscraps.

My first LOs of my kids

2007-06-15T20:31:00.000-05:00

Of course, part of the reason I got into Photoshop was because I wanted to make scrapbooks for my kids, but I'm not "crafty" so digiscrap made tons of sense to me. I was more worried about getting the page done than having an idea or theme in mind, so these are both a little generic, but again, I was (and still am) learning. I also didn't have a grasp of many of the new effects (like drop shadows) so they seem a a little flat too.
Papers and elements from Joy Crowley's kit Orbital. Frame from Leah Riordan's Funky Floral add-on kit. Both available at Oscraps.

Papers and elements from Blue River Madness kit by TaniaJPS at Oscraps Flower from Princess Pamela's Digitreats blog. Tag from NinaScraps TagIt kit at Oscraps.