Happiness Is.......

2009-06-01T12:56:00.001-07:00

Under Construction!

2009-03-24T09:22:00.000-07:00

I found some really cool "blog couture" at Houseof3.com. Please be patient with me while I attempt to redesign the blog.

BLOG HELP!

2009-03-17T10:33:00.000-07:00

So I tried to give my blog a new springy feel, but really I am just so incomptent when it comes to this blog stuff. I would love a header and a cool background. Can anyone help a sister out? Point me in the right direction? Explain the foreign language that is "blog speak?" I would love you forever :) :) :) Maybe even shower you with gifts and praise.

Okay I'm getting a little dramatic, but seriously I need help!

A couple new layouts

2009-03-15T11:49:00.001-07:00

It's been such a nice weekend. Close to 60 both days. We've tried to get out as much as possible. So this is going to be a quick post before I eat and try to take Nicholas for a walk to the park. Not sure how that is going to go because it's almost 2 p.m. here and he still hasn't taken a nap. Here are 3 new layouts that I finished this weekend.

Girl's Night Out - my mom, cousin and sister at my Bachlorette party. Used a Paper Posies kit for this.

I used a My Creative Scrapbook kit for this layout. My husband and nephew at a family member's wedding.

And I also used the same Paper Posies kit for this layout but added some embellis from a Little Red Scrapbook kit and the butterfly in the upper right corner is a Studio Calico stamp. This is a photo of me, my mom and sister at my bridal shower.

Well that's it. I am going to check on my roast in the crock pot and get back outside. Hope you all are enjoying the fabulous weekend :)

I think I'm addicted

2009-03-12T07:52:00.000-07:00

To Pioneerwoman that is. I just "found" that site yesterday. I have heard about it before and never paid attention. So I spent most of yesterday afternoon browsing the recipes and found several that I want to make.

BUT THEN, I found the photography pages. WOW! Not only does she take incredible photos but she explains it so well. So if you have a DSLR like me and have no idea how to use it other than to press the little button and wait for the flash, she has a great tutorial. Check it out HERE.

That's it for now. I'm off to check out HIP HOP!

Loving my new UNITY RUBBAH!

2009-03-10T10:14:00.000-07:00

I just received this in the mail yesterday:

The picture does not do the stamps justice. THEY ARE HUGE. I mean GINORMOUS! I can't wait to use them. I think there are still a couple left so I would hurry up and pick one up for yourself if you can! Such a great deal for $20!!

Well that is my little bit of excitement for the day. I am hoping to get some scrappy time in this week but we will see how that goes. I have learned not to plan things and just go with the flow - I am much happier that way.

I'm off to lunch now, hope you are enjoying your day!

Sick Child + Time Change = Early Morning Car Rides

2009-03-09T08:40:00.001-07:00

I tell you, I don't think I slept at all this weekend. Well I slept on Friday but that was because my parents kept Nicholas over night and even though I promised myself I would sleep in, I was still up at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. But it was okay, I felt good, I had slept a whole night through without getting up. I was good to go.

Saturday night, Nicholas was a little difficult to put to sleep, he finally fell asleep about 11:30 p.m. - not a big deal it's the weekend afterall. I forgot to change the clocks. And then he woke up at 3:30 a.m. (although my bedside clock said 2:30) and was up until 9:30 a.m. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! It was not just that he was up, he was crying and whining the WHOLE time. He would not let me put him down and he wanted me to hold him while standing and walking. He weighs over 30 lbs so after a few hours of trying to hold him and walk around the house and him NOT falling back to sleep, I dressed him up and put him in the car for our first early morning car ride. I kept the window open a crack hoping the cool air would help him breath (he is still very congested) and it worked like a charm. He was snoring in under 5 minutes. UNTIL I tried to take him out.

Then he started screaming and crying again. So we walked some more, I tried to get him to watch t.v. or give him things to distract him. At this point I was becoming concerned that there was something really really wrong with him. So after another hour, I went back to the car and drove around for a good 30 minutes until I knew he was knocked out cold and then I brought him back in the house and went to sleep.

Needless to say we didn't get up and out of bed until 12:30 Sunday afternoon. The whole day went by pretty fast and I felt like I got nothing accomplished. My house is a disaster, my laundry is still dirty, I didn't get to scrap :( or even bake cookies like I wanted to. But Nicholas was in a better mood and nothing seemed to be bothering him so that was good.

So yes, this was my weekend. It's a very fun and exciting life I lead - please try not to be jealous. I did get one layout done on Friday that I need to take pictures of. It is for the Simply Obsessed Spring Training Crop that is going on through the month of March. So far 3 challenges have been post - I've only gotten one completed. I need to catch up!

Hope you all had a much better weekend then I did :)

Quickie Post before leaving work!

2009-03-03T14:52:00.000-08:00

Okay - I have not been around much this weekend because Nicholas is sick. He has croup. It is a very nasty, contagious virus that has him coughing like crazy only it sounds more like he is barking then coughing. Poor little guy is just not himself.

On a brighter side, I discovered a new kit club today. It's called Vintage Plum (I love love love the name). I highly suggest checking it out. I signed up for the message board and everyone there is just so sweet. The kits look like they are full of goodies including exclusive patterned papers!

Well it is approaching 5:00 p.m. here which means I am done for the day. I need to go pick up my boogie monster and head home. Home you all had a wonderful Tuesday!

XoXo
N~

RAK Winner and another Layout!

2009-03-01T14:35:00.001-08:00

This post is going to be short, sweet and straight to the point because Nicholas is sick! YUCK. It's been a sleep deprived day and a half. But the fever finally broke and hopefully tonight will be better. At least it is the weekend.

The Winner of the Scrappy RAK is Carol/FIBREJUNKY. Email me with your address: njeanb80@hotmail.com and I will get that out to you this week.

The layout I did today is for the contests/challenges going on over at Willow Traders in celebration of their 4th anniversary. Lots of awesome kit clubs are sponsoring. Tons of fun! Today's sponsor is Bring Your Own Memories.

Some Pink Paislee Vintage Moon papers that I have been hoarding since September along with some Jenni Bowlin crepe paper ribbon.

Okay well I must go finish making dinner while Nicholas is occupied watching WoW WOW Wubbzy. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

You Can Tell You are Getting Older...

2009-02-28T12:01:00.000-08:00

when you actually enjoy getting up at the crack of dawn! Before I had a child, I would never EVER even CONSIDER waking up and getting out of bed at 7:00 a.m. on a weekend. But now that I have Nicholas. I don't mind. I think my body has adjusted to only have a few hours of sleep. So I was up at 6:30 this morning, made breakfast, played with N and scrapped! I had to do some "unfuns" too - grocery shop, get gas, deposit a check, all that fun weekend stuff.

So this layout is my sister with Nicholas the day after he was born. I used my February Simply Obsessed kit along with some jewels, primas and thickers from my stash.

This is Nicholas wearing his "king of cool" shirt right before christmas. I used my January Life Preservers kit and some jewels and clear snowflakes from my stash.

Well that's it. I need to start dinner now and some laundry! Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

FOLLOW ME!

2009-02-26T11:57:00.000-08:00

I cleaned out some of my supplies over the weekend and I have TONS of scrappy stuff sitting in a pile that I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to give away. So my first giveaway is simple....just follow me. Click the follow me button and viola you are entered! Easy peasy!

Your prize will be a surprise but it could include papers, embellishments, rub ons, parts of a kit, etc.

I will pick a Winner on Sunday.

RAK WINNER!!!!

2009-02-24T07:20:00.000-08:00

The winner of some Unity fun is Ronda Simpson!!

According to random.org:

True Random Number Generator
Min: 1
Max: 29
Result: 26

Ronda Simpson said...
Saw the invite on SO!! Just popped in to see what's going on!! Sure wished it would snow here in Texas!! :)
February 23, 2009 10:35 PM

Ronda please email me with your info: njeanb80@hotmail.com or pm me on SO. Thanks everyone for playing along. I plan on cleaning out more scrappy supplies and will have more raks in the near future!

Hope you have a great FAT tuesday (said as I am eating my second krispie kreme).

SNOW DAY RAK

2009-02-21T19:00:00.000-08:00

I was just looking through some of my stamps. I a Unity wood mounted single to give away as a RAK. Just leave a comment here and I will pick someone on Monday night!

Snow = Scrapping!

2009-02-21T13:20:00.001-08:00

It didn't snow nearly as much as predicted - probably only about an inch or two out there but I spent most of my morning scrapping. I got 1 layout done last night and 3 done this morning.
I only photographed two of them so far.

This one is using my January Simply Obsessed kit. My little guy in the snow for the first time with his Papa (my dad). He wasn't a big fan. I also used the most recent Triple the Sketch for this layout.

And this one is my sister's soon to be baby girl. I used the My Creative Scrapbook February kit that I traded a fellow Willow for. I scraplifted some this layout from the MCS DT. Have I mentioned how great they are!

It says "today is the day I fell in love." This is my niece's first scrapbook page of many I am sure. I am waiting for new ultrasound pictures and pics of my sister's big ole belly too so I can keep adding to it.

Well I am off to scrap some more! I think I am going to pull out the sewing machine and use that on a layout. I also need to do some laundry - although that is not as fun.

ETA: I am really on a roll... I took advantage of nap time and Nicholas fell asleep early so I got a ton done!

Using the My Creative Scrapbook February Kit. Does anyone else have the hardest time with THICKERS? I can never get them to stick. They are constantly falling off. Doesn't even matter what type of Thickers, they all don't stick! Maybe it's just me though :)

I used a Homegrown add on kit for this. I bought a few add ons but ended up selling the Fall Survival kit because I just didn't have the time for it. I kept the Halloween add on because of all the yummy MM goodies!

This layout is from the February Little Red Scrapbook kit. Lots of Webster Pages goodies. I was unsure how I would feel about this kit because the websters pages weren't really my style but I love this layout. This is my sister last month - 5 months pregnant.

I used the January Life preservers kit for this layout. I also used some Unity stamps! I bought tons of these stamps and have never gotten around to using them on a layout. I love this set - - Jolly Little Winter. So cute!

Well that's it for today. I am going to watch a movie now that I have some time to myself. Tomorrow I am off to a Bingo Fundraiser for most of the afternoon. Then it's back to work.

Well so much for a movie and time to myself - Nicholas is awake!

Goodnight everyone!

UGH!

2009-02-20T19:05:00.000-08:00

I know original title. But that is how I feel. It's a friday night, I just got back from the grocery store. I wanted to make sure I got all my "errands" done before the big snow storm we are expectinh. Yes, you read that right. SNOW STORM = UGH! We are expecting 8 to 11 inches and it is supposed to start snowing around 11:00 p.m. and continue until tomorrow afternoon - UGH!

I guess I should look on the bright side - plenty of time for laundry, cleaning, cooking, playing with cute monster-like child and SCRAPPING.

Here are two of my most recent layouts made with the My Creative Scrapbook December Limited Edition kit. This MME paper is so fun!

My sister and her fiancee. They are expecting a baby girl in June.

My handsome little man. I just can't get enough of him. I scrap lifted this layout from the DT at My Creative Scrapbook. They have an awesome DT!

Well that's it for now. It's 9:15. I hope to get Nicholas down for bed and try to start scrapping. Have a great night everyone!

So Sketchy #7

2009-02-05T08:24:00.000-08:00

I'm home today and tomorrow. I am so happy to be home with my little man and have a chance to clean my house, do laundry, COOK (yes I am going to cook - hopefully I will not burn anything or set the house on fire). My dad is having surgery to repair a tear in his knee today. So Nicholas is home with me to give Gamma & Papa a break from babysitting duties. Hopefully I will get lots of scrapping done this weekend.

I frequent Kristii Lockart's blog "Honestly Speaking", I just love her bubbly personality and gorgeous layouts. She is on the DT for the So Sketchy blog. So I thought while I am home and have the extra time I would try one of the sketches. I did Sketch #7 which was just posted today.

Here is my take on it.

My layout is somewhat on the simple side but I like it. I love the bright colors in these My Mind's Eye Starbright papers. I used my May 2008 Personal Scrapper kit. My goal is to start using up all those kits in my closet.

Well, I am off to do some laundry, straighten up the house so that when Nicholas goes down for a nap I can scrap some more. I think I am going to try the Triple the Sketch blog next.

And also, today is Thursday which means that it is HIP HOP over at Unity Stamp Company. I just love their stamps. If you have some time today check out hip hop - you can win free stamps. Do the blog hop for some awesome inspiration!

Have a great day!

More Layouts! I'm on a Roll!

2009-01-27T14:41:00.001-08:00

I did four more layouts during the Willow Traders use a kit challenge. These are from an older Transparent Touches and Tags kit. I love that kit club because there are always 3 kits to choose from: a girl kit; a boyish kit; and a neutral kit. One of the very few kit clubs that offer boyish kits! Or at least that is my opinion. Anywho here are two of the layouts. I need to take pictures of the other two. Maybe tonight, I will have some time. I am loving the look of stitching on my layouts with my new sewing machine.

Wow how time flies. Nicholas was only 2 months old in both these layouts. Now he is almost 18 months. It seems so long ago. Makes me kind of sad but also a little relieved because he is starting to sleep better and eat real food and say words. My sister is due in June with a little girl so I will get my baby fix and my girlie-girl pink and fru-fru fix. Heeehee. I need a couple years of sleep before I think of having another one!

I am getting ready to leave work for the day. Have a great night!

Life Preserver Club - December 2008 kit

2009-01-19T12:21:00.000-08:00

I finally got in some scrapping time. I received a sewing machine for Christmas and am loving the look of it on my pages (if you can't tell). Willow Traders is having a "Use a Kit" challenge. I picked this kit to use. All I had left after these layouts and the card was one piece of patterned paper, some trim and the rest of the thickers. It was awesome having the day off today and being able to scrap a little. Now, I am off to make a big Turkey dinner (my first time making a turkey). My dad found turkeys on sale and gave one to me and my sister to make for dinner for our families. Turkey, mashed taters, stuffing (stovetop - but it still counts), veggies and cranberry sauce. I can't wait!

Hope everyone had a nice long weekend!

This is not scrapbook related but fun!

2009-01-18T07:15:00.001-08:00

If you haven't heard of Swagbucks my suggestion is you go here and sign up. What is swagbucks? It is a search engine. Works pretty much the same as google except that everytime you search for something you can earn "swagbucks" or points. You can trade these swagbucks in for giftcards. I joined a few weeks ago and just traded my swagbucks in for a Target gift card. They also had Barnes & Noble, Macy's and Starbucks that I can remember off the top of my head. Pretty cool concept for something we do every single day! If you have any questions, feel free to leave me a comment.

I scrapped!

2009-01-10T08:54:00.002-08:00

wooo hooo! it's only been forever. its a very simple layout but still I SCRAPPED!

It's not the best picture but it's pretty dreary here. It has been snowing since late last night and we are expect snow every day through Tuesday or Wednesday! Just a simple layout of my son and sister. I am loving the look of distressed edges. Hopefully I will get more time to scrap today during nap time but I am still a little flu-ish so I may just lay down and take a nap too. Hope everyone is having a GREAT weekend!

I LOVE THESE PICTURES

2008-12-29T09:04:00.001-08:00

THEY ARE NOT THE BEST BUT THEY SAY SO MUCH. I CAN'T WAIT TO SCRAP THEM!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

2008-12-24T17:11:00.001-08:00

AND GOODNIGHT!

Just Some Random Odds & Ends

2008-12-19T20:20:00.001-08:00

It is 10:25 p.m. and Nicholas is finally asleep. Hopefully he is out for the night. I am sitting here watching the Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular on ON DEMAND (comcast) ->WOW! How do these women do it? I'd fall over. I would so love to see this live. It's amazing! The toy soliders are on right now. This is definitely something I will have to take Nicholas to see when he is a little older.

This is what it looked like this morning out my front door:

My icey tree. 1 inch of ice fell and then a slight dusting of snow. My street looked like an ice rink. CRAZY! I waited until everything was plowed and finally went out to run a few errands about 2:30 p.m. Target was crowded! So glad my christmas shopping is done.

Snow is expected and in the forecast for tonight, tomorrow afternoon and also Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I WOULD SO LOVE A WHITE CHRISTMAS!

UM, what is this about?

I was making dinner tonight while Nicholas watched his favorite show - Wow Wow Wubbzy. He was laying on his little couch. I look over and this is what I see. I, of course grabbed my camera and ran over there and took some pictures. And he started laughing when I said EWWW, Nicholas stinky toes, no no.

I really want to scrap but I feel idea-less. I need to get organized and I am a little tired right now but hopefully tomorrow I will start scrapping. My goal is to do a little bit of scrappy each day of my vacation and since I don't go back until January 5th, I hope I will get quite a few layouts done!

Well that's it for now. Tomorrow I should be back with a brand new layout (hopefully if all goes well).

Goodnight!

AND THE WINNER IS

2008-12-14T16:04:00.000-08:00

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:11
Timestamp: 2008-12-15 00:03:22 UTC

CONGRATS TO

jan farnworth said...
more then likely you need to have something steady to put your photo on and some sort of timer thing set. i am not the best at pictures either tryed to get christmas parade photos what a nightmare good luck.
December 12, 2008 12:35 PM

Jan please email me at njeanb80@hotmail.com with your address and I will get your RAK out to you this week.

Thanks for all the advice! I attempted the photos last night and tonight with no success. Mostly because I couldn't get Nicholas to look at me. He wanted to look everywhere else, pull on the ornaments and bows on the packages, etc. I will try again tomorrow. I just need one semi-decent picture.

Hope everyone had a great weekend. I spent my shopping and am happy to say I am almost done! Whew! It is a relief to know I only have a few small things left to get.

1 week and 1 day - the Coutdown begins AND A RAK!

2008-12-11T08:57:00.000-08:00

I have ONE week and ONE day left of work before I am on vacation for the rest of the year! I cannot believe Christmas is almost here and with it the end of the year. Where has the time gone? 2 whole (although busy) weeks to spend with my family at home. Enjoying the season, baking cookies, getting the house ready for the holidays. I can't wait. I can't wait to pull out my scrapping supplies and get every memory down on paper for my gorgeous son who is growing so quickly. It makes me sad. 16 months old, almost 29 lbs (yes you read that right). Talking, walking, running, just constantly on the go.

This was him last year at this time:

And since we haven't gotten many pictures by the tree because he has been so sick and crabby here is the best I can do so far this year.

I can't believe how much he has grown in a year and everything he has learned.

THE RAK!
Okay so this weekend I will be taking pictures in front of our christmas tree with my son and step daughter for our christmas cards. All the pictures I took last weekend with my flash off to get a good picture of the tree in it's full nighttime glory came out with different colored squiggly lines all over. ETA: I should add that I have an SLR (nikon D40).

So please leave me a comment with some advice. What is the best way to take a nice christmas tree photo in the evening so that my christmas cards will be pretty. No squiggly lines!!! Here is what I am talking about.

See that's just bad!

In exchange for your advice I will pick a winner on Sunday morning from my comments by random.org and send them a cute little rak. The rak will include a little UNITY love!

Hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season!

Have you heard?

2008-12-03T20:30:00.000-08:00

My favorite Stamp company is having a Scrapbook Design Team call! YIPPEEE! Check out the details: Unity Stamp Company.

I realized I haven't posted in quite awhile. Life has been busy lately. That and the fact that I have not been getting much sleep. Nicholas (16 months) wakes up 3 or 4 times a night now. I can't figure out why. Sometimes when he wakes up, he stays up for an hour or more. Anyone have any advice? I could definitely use it. I've tried just about everything!

I haven't updated the blog with any new scrappy projects lately. So here we go:

How cute is she. My little niece Sara. Love her to bits.

My little man. I DO MY OWN STUNTS BABY! is from a Zany Zinnia kit. And 1st Swim I believe is from a past ScrapRoom kit (not the best pictures - but it's 10:40 p.m. right now!)

How adorable am I? This is some crate paper. Loved this line!

And here is the most recent layout that I just did for the Unity Wednesday Addict Challenge. YOu can find the info on the SCS forums. I am so in love with this little deer from the Unity November kit of the month. Did you see the December kit? I can't wait to see it in person! Everything else on the layout is from the Studio Calico Looking Glass kit. Again not the best pictures but they will have to do for now.

Well I am off to LALA land now for at least an hour before Nicholas wakes up for the 1st of what I am sure will be numerous times tonight. Goodnight!

Not so happy Hip Hop Hangover

2008-11-21T10:55:00.001-08:00

I fully intended to have a great post ready for HHH! Took the pictures of my layout. Went to go upload them to the blog and my internet connection died. Haven't been able to connect since. I am at work now so hopefully by the time I get home tonight it will be back up and running. Check back later for the post and photos. Hope everyone had a fun hip hop thursday!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

2008-10-31T18:07:00.001-07:00

ISN'T MY LITTLE DRAGON SO ADORABLE!

HIPPITY HOP HANGOVER!

2008-10-31T07:45:00.001-07:00

Did you hip hop yesterday? Don't know what Hip Hop is? Go here. Yesterday was only my 3rd hip hop but I am totally and completely addicted. Not only to Hip Hop but to Unity in general and all the great ladies on the message boards. Not familiar with Unity? Go here.

Here is my first Unity project. I'm not much of a card maker but at least I attempted! I love this stamp. It is HUGE!

I am home from work today to take my little DRAGON trick or treating. Hopefully I will get in some good scrappy time while he naps. I plan on putting some of my other unity stamps to work.

I am excited about this. November's kit of the month! Can't wait to get my hands on these. They look HUGE!

Well the monster that is my son is now tearing up my family room so I must go and try to put him down to sleep and hopefully get some time to myself that isn't cleaning or laundry related! I hope to be back later today with some new creations.

I am also considering opening my own etsy store! More on that later.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Fall is FUN!

2008-10-06T09:45:00.000-07:00

I love fall. It's one of my favorite seasons. With Christmas being my favorite time of year. I love the colors the change in season brings. The apples, pumpkins, hayrides, etc. We went apple and pumpkin picking this weekend. My family has been doing this for years (since my sister and I were young). We go to the same place - Oriole Springs - every year. I so look forward to the first weekend of October for this reason. We pick pumpkins (and if we are not there when the place opens - we have to listen to my father tell us all the good pumpkins will be gone); we pick apples, we stop at the Smoke House and get fresh ham, bacon, string cheese and carmels (my fave)! This year since we had Nicholas with us we stopped at the petting zoo. He had a blast. He was running through the apples trees holding an apple above his head yelling "bawl bawl (ball)." It was a lot of fun and a great fall day. Not to cool, lots of sun, no rain!

Here are a couple of pictures.

It was a long weekend. I didn't scrap any layouts but I did use the WIP Project kit to do a Halloween Banner. I will try to take pictures of it later. I also bought some jars at Target, an easel at Dollar Tree and some bins at the Dollar Tree, to try to get my stash organized. I have a huge jar that holds all my flowers now. It is so pretty! It makes me happy.

Hopefully I will get in some scrapping time this week. Maybe tonight. DH will be watching Game 4 of the White Sox v. Tampa Bay series. GO SOX!

I hope everyone can get out and enjoy the great fall weather. Happy Fall!

Teething.................

2008-09-29T14:55:00.000-07:00

Is messy business. All the drool, the runny nose, the bright red cheeks. Not to mention the LACK OF SLEEP. Not for him, no of course not, he can sleep while I am driving in the car, struggling to keep my eyes open or while I am at work. Last night was horrible. Nicholas is getting those big side molars on top. He's been a fussy mess all weekend. And of course chooses Sunday night to NOT sleep. In bed at 9:00, up at 10:00, up at 12:00 back to sleep at 12:45, up at 4:00 FOR THE DAY! Yep 4:00 a.m. - 3 1/2 hours of sleep for me. I have been living on caffeine and sugar just to try to be a normal person today. Not working very well. But alas it is almost 5:00, I get to commute the hour home where a nice big crock pot of warm beef stew is waiting for me. All I am looking forward to tonight is my stew, some warm bread and butter and a nice long hot steamy [get your minds out of the gutter!] shower. Then I will HOPEFULLY have a much better night and actually get some sleep.

No scrapping for me tonight. Somewhat depressed about that. I did get a layout done last night and will hopefully post pictures tomorrow.

Hope all of you have a great evening!

Update from last night....

2008-09-24T07:18:00.000-07:00

Sleep or Scrap??????? Well I really wanted to scrap. Turned the TV on to watch the news. Got some stuff out, put it on the bed. Then the weather came on and I thought oh I'll just sit down for a second and watch the weather before I start scrapping................................

Can you see where I am going with this?

Picture me, propped up on some pillows that are up against the headboard, my legs are kind of hanging off the bed, I have scrapping stuff scattered all over the bed, the TV is on, the lights are on and I AM PASSED OUT!

That is how my husband found me last night :) So no scrapping for me! Maybe tonight I will try again.

It's 10:00 p.m. here....I should be sleeping

2008-09-23T19:54:00.000-07:00

But here I am! I just realized it's been a while since I updated everyone on the wonderful life of me. I know I know you are all sitting on the edge of your chair anxiously awaiting my monthly update of my really exciting life.

So....Fall Survival should be starting up soon. I am anxiously awaiting my kit. I am really going to try hard this time to use up the ENTIRE kit. Yes I know that is crazy talk considering it is such a ginormous kit and I pretty much have scrapping ADD.

I am trying to go outside of my comfort zone lately and have been surfing blogs and two peas for inspiration.

Isn't she a doll! My little niece Sara. So this layout has been giving me problems all week. First off nothing wants to stick. Doesn't matter how much adhesive I have used or the fact that I have used two different kinds, just refuses to stick! I used the new ribbon technique I picked up at Got Sketch 2 and since I don't have a sewing machine I hand stitched it and of course stuck my finger about 5 times. Funny story with this layout. I usually scrap upstairs in my bedroom and decided on Saturday morning to take it downstairs to finish stitching the ribbon while Nicholas sat in his high chair eating breakfast. A while later I realized the "R" in "Party" was missing. I searched and searched for it and it didn't turn up. Of course there were only 3 "R's" on the sheet of Thickers so I had to take take a different letter and turn it into an "R". Where do you think the lost R finally showed up?

In my dryer! Yep, it was washed and dried! Don't know how that happened my layout was nowhere near my laundry.

I finally broke into my Studio Calico "Iconic" kit. Here is my layout. Although not the most flattering pictures of me I love them because of the look on Nicholas' face. He is just too cute, sometimes its hard to believe he's mine.

I can't wait for the big reveal of October's kit on Saturday night. All the sneaks look awesome. I hope I can stay up till 12:00 (well 11:00 p.m. here).

Have you seen A Kiss on the Chic yet? I have been stalking these kits for the last few months and they are always awesome! I took the plunge and tried out for the DT. Keep your fingers and toes crossed for me because I would really love to be a part of this team.

So Nicholas is sleeping. Hubby is down the street watching the White Sox game at his brother's and I have some peace and quiet. It's 10:05 p.m. Do I go to sleep or scrap????? Who needs sleep right?

Have a great night everyone.

Rainbow!

2008-09-04T19:31:00.000-07:00

On the way home from work Tuesday, this is what we saw:
It was actually very bright and you could see the red, green, yellow, green, blue and purple clearly. This is a photo shot out on my patio once I got home. It was so cool that the rainbow was actually over our house.

Here are three more Summer Survival layouts. It is time for Stashbuster now! Fall Survival is expected to start the beginning of October and I am so excited!

Well I am off to scrap my first Stashbuster challenge which is to use as many journaling cards on one layout as possible!

Thank Goodness for LOOONG Weekends!

2008-08-30T08:38:00.000-07:00

I am so happy whenever a long weekend rolls around. We are not going anywhere this weekend. Just going to be a quiet weekend at home and I love it! That means every free moment I have I can devote to scrapping. Nap times, bed times, early mornings. I did two layouts last night for Homegrown Summer Survival:

I have also signed up for Got Sketch 102 and can't wait to play! Stashbuster will start next week at Homegrown Scrapbooks in anticipation for Fall Survival - which of course I can't wait for. I am anxiously awaiting my September kits from Studio Calico and Scarlet Lime.

Here is a card I did with Studio Calico's August kit:

Nicholas is being his usual crazy self.......learning so many new things each day. He's ready to be a basketball star!

He already knows how to slam dunk!

I took my camera with me to work last week and walked around on lunch and took a ton of pictures. Here are a few of my favorites...

This is the soon to be finished Trump Tower!

I think that is it for now and will update later today with more layouts!

I am hoping to get even more done today..........

2008-08-16T06:18:00.000-07:00

I happen to be very proud of this Summer Survival layout: because i did all the stitchng by hand - by myself :) I love the way it turned out. I love this October Afternoon papers too!

Summer Survival Layout: There is no greater bond than that of a Mother & Daughter!

A close up of all the yummy prettiness.
NO LAUGHING! Yes this is me, I was probably about 11 or 12. I need to add journaling but this is yet another Summer Survival Layout. I can't wait until fall! I am loving this program.

Studio Calico August Confections kit: Shopping for the Perfect Dress. My wedding was butterfly themed so what better layout for the wedding dresses I tried on than .... Butterflies! I adore this kit :)

Okay I think I am up to date now with all the layouts I have done so far. I hope to be adding more soon. I need clean the house, do some laundry and wait for Nicholas to take a nap and then I plan on scrapping!

I feel like I'm on a roll!!!!!!!!!!

2008-08-16T05:48:00.000-07:00

I've been scrapping alot more than usual lately and it feels so good! I think it has to do with participating in the Summer Survival Program over at Homegrown Scrapbooks, wanting to participate in challenge blogs and my desire to be on a DT. Plus I have tons of picture stacked up that need scrapping.

ZZ kit: Unconditional love (my grandparents with my son - their one and only great grandchild and their pride and joy).

This is a Summer Survival Layout: You have the most beautiful big brown eyes (this has to be my favorite pic of my son to date)

Another Summer Survival Layout: Sunkissed Baby (my beautiful niece)

I am not sure what kit this was from: Oh so Sweet (my stepdaughter when she was younger)

A card using the Bad Girls July kit.

This was using a Limited Edition Easter kit from A Million Memories: Easter page 1 (my stepdaughter)

Easter page 2:

A close up of all the prettiness!
I will be back later with more! Just have to take some picture and crop but Little Mister is getting hungry so I must tend to him first :)

My Birthday Boy

2008-08-14T14:49:00.000-07:00

He's finally 1. Well he was on 7/31 but I finally uploaded the pictures. Isn't he so handsome :)

Here is a layout using my YUMMY Studio Calico August Confections kit:

Can we all tell I'm obsessed with the awesome butterfly stamp! Everyone knows this girl loves butterflies :)

I've been busy!

2008-08-09T19:56:00.000-07:00

I've been busy scrapping lately and not really updating the blog. I am participating in Homegrown Scrapbooks Summer Survival Program and have already signed up for fall....I think I'm addicted. Here are some random layouts I have done in the last few weeks. I have more to take pics of and will hopefully update the blog again tomorrow. I am also going to apply for a DT spot at scrapbook circle please keep your fingers crossed for me. I would just love a DT spot for this club, they have awesome kits!

Summer Survival Layout: Snuggles with DaDa

TwelveFridays layout: Messy Face

Summer Survival Layout: Gamma & Me

Addicted Scrappers: Car Ride

I don't remember what kit I used for this one: 6 Months Old

Zany Zinnia: Nicholas - 3 Months Old

This is DCWV Rockstar line: Rock Star Baby

Summer Survival: Follow Your Dreams

TwelveFridays: Dirty Laundry

The Scraproom - June:

Zany Zinnia: Dance

I believe this was a Transparent Touches & Tags kit: 5 Months Old

Simply Obsessed Christmas Kit: Baby Its Cold Outside

SOMO Jan/Feb kit: LOVE

Studio Calico: Two Little Indians

Zany Zinnia: Another Day to Remember

July Bad Girls Apron Challenge: PROM

July Bad Girls Kit: Daddy's Girl

That's it for now....have a great night everyone :)

A couple new Layouts and a RAK!!

2008-07-25T07:25:00.000-07:00

I have done a bunch of new layouts just have not had time to upload them. Just started the Homegrown Summer Survival yesterday. Printed all my pdfs out and can't wait to get started tonight.

Here is a layout I did with my first Bad Girls kit. This is for the July Apron Challenge. My sister going to Prom.

This is a layout I did for the Challenge a Day that is going on at Willow Traders. I used the Jan/Feb Story of My Life kit. I can't wait for September when they start sending out kits again!

And now for the RAK..............

I have so much "stuff" that is just cluttering my space. I have decided to put together a little surprise RAK all you need to do is leave a comment on this post. I will pick a winner Monday 7/28/08.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE!!!

It's been a month! But I have some new projects.

2008-06-18T20:29:00.000-07:00

It's been a month since my last post. I have gotten some layouts done and a project but all in all it's been a pretty uneventful month. Real life always gets in the way of scrapping. I signed up for the Homegrown Scrapbooks Summer Survival Program in hopes that I will get tons of scrapping done.

Anyway, it is 10:30 p.m. here and I am pooped! Baby is finally asleep, I've showered and now and just sitting in bed about to watch the news and once I upload these pics it will be time for me to go to sleep.

Hope everyone has a good night!

I did this layout with a Scarlet Lime project kit (I believe it was april) and added my own chipboard birdie and some primas.

So this cute little frame is a project from Twelve Fridays. It's not a great picture but I liked how it turned out. Everything is from the Twelve Fridays kit except the little 100% pure joy tag.

This 2 page layout is from a past Simply Obsessed kit. I believe it was April.

Well that is it for now!

My Entry for July Paper Popsicle Guest DT Spot

2008-05-17T15:06:00.000-07:00

I did this last night. You had to do a layout with the title Why Not. The star is acrylic. And in the bottom left corner it says "It was cold and you were teething."

Another Mini Album and Bakerella's Cupcake Pops

2008-05-11T19:04:00.000-07:00

It has been a somewhat productive weekend. I have actual green grass on my front lawn now thanks to the landscaper who put sod down! Makes the house look so much different. Kind of which I had taken a "before" and "after" shot.

I did another mini album as a mother's day gift for my SIL.

I also attempted Bakerella's cupcake pops. I think they turned out okay for the first time.

Well that is all for now.

"Happy" Birthday Mini Book

2008-05-08T18:00:00.001-07:00

Here it is! I used Zany Zinnia's May "Rainbow Bliss" kit! I added some of my own primas, bling, brad and ribbons. I am happy with the way it came out!

Awesome Mail Day & New Layout

2008-05-08T07:34:00.000-07:00

So I had a GREAT mail day yesterday. Not only did I get the May Scrapbook Sussies kit - - which I designed the stamp for:

I also received the May CMK Blueberry Smoothie kit and a RAK! It was so exciting :)

I actually got to scrap last night too. Nicholas was in bed early and I pulled out my sussies kit, looked at everything and scrapped a 2 page layout using the sketch provided with the kit. The pictures I took did not come out too good but it was 10:00 at night and I was tired!

So it was a very productive evening. I finished my stepdaughter's Happy Birthday mini album and was able to give it to her yesterday on her actual birthday. I will post pictures of it tonight.

I am actually also considering apply for a CT position at Go.Be.Creative! Keep your fingers crossed for me :)

Mom Mini Book

2008-05-07T08:14:00.001-07:00

I did this over the weekend as a mother's day gift for my mom from Nicholas. I loved the way it turned out. My first mini book. I am already working on a second using the word "Happy" for my stepdaughter Danielle's 14th birthday. I will post pics tomorrow after I finish it.

Happy

2008-04-25T13:36:00.000-07:00

I am so happy today. Not only did I get my brand spanking new Nikon D40 yesterday (can't wait to start using that baby), but my son started to say ma-ma today. I just love hearing his little voice and I can't wait to hear what new words he discovers next. Every little thing he does now is just so adorable. Now that he is flying up the stairs of our house I know it won't be too long before he's walking (or running knowing him) around the house...

BaBa and DaDa

2008-04-14T11:45:00.000-07:00

Ba-Ba and Da-Da, these became two of my favorite words over the weekend. Nicholas started talking. First came ba-ba and then da-da shortly followed. I love his little voice. It just amazes me how quickly he catches on to things now. Already 8 months old and becoming such a big boy.

Layouts I have done recently

2008-04-09T13:06:00.000-07:00

here are a few layouts that I have done recently. my goal is to get some new ones done this weekend and hopefully submit some projects to a DT call.

Hello and Welcome

2008-04-09T12:41:00.000-07:00

Hello. I have decided to start this little blog for two reasons 1. everyone I see on all the scrapbooking sites has one and 2. I'm really bored at work today! Anyway, let me introduce myself. I'm Nicole, nice to meet you. I live in Crest Hill, Illinois which is a suburb of Chicago. I was born in raised in Chicago near U.S. Cellular Field (GO SOX!) and just moved out to the 'burbs in July. I also had my son in July (it was a very busy month). Nicholas Aaron was born 7/31/07 weighing in at a whopping 9 lbs, 2oz (still can't believe he was that big). Nicholas is the most incredible thing that has ever happened to me. I truly enjoy every single moment of mommyhood (even those 2 a.m. wake up calls).

I have been scrapbooking on and off since I was a teenager but only started to really get into it within the last few years. I am currently serving as one of several stamp designers for Scrapbook Sussies and hopefully soon I will be writing to tell you I was chosen for a DT spot. That is my goal. That and scrapping the 1000s of pictures I have taken of my gorgeous son. Well, now that you know a little about me, leave me a comment and tell me about you! I would love to hear from you.

Nicole