Well hello, strangers :)

Good morning to you all. I hope you had a great Easter, I know we certainly did! I've been a bad blogger...it's been 6 days since my last post (and I even had a friend say she was worried about me! How sweet!) I don't have any creations to share as I've had more articles to write and a major holiday to get through, but I can share a bit about what I've been up to this past week (I hope you want to look at some pictures!)

Hubby was working very hard to get a normal job with normal hours the past couple of weeks, going for 4 interviews and a job shadow at a local company. Unfortunately, it appears he didn't get the job, but we don't really know! The guy won't return his phone calls! It was strange, they told him to take some personality profile test (all I could think of was a dating site with some of the questions they asked!) and call to get an appointment time to take his D.O.T. physical. Well, he did just that, but never received that phone call. He figures he "bombed" the test, but like I said, how can you bomb a test that is all about who you are? They just aren't ready for someone as awesome as he is :)

Easter was nearing, so of course, that means it's time for crazy baking. I decided to bake a carrot cake with Patryk, but of course there wasn't much "helping" going on. I was pretty much doing it all. He just enjoyed playing with the on/off switch on the stand mixer (and licking the beaters after the frosting was made, of course!) :)

Watching it all mix together

This is where he started (and this is a quote) doing a commercial. You see, he's explaining the features of the toy and finished up by saying "and it's only $15 dollars!" In the next picture, he is "holding his microphone."

Then his favorite song, Vampire Weekend's "Giving Up the Gun" came on. He just had to break into random breakdancing. It's so cute, he knows every word and sings along at the top of his lungs, just like his mommy :)

Here's the finished cake. It took all day to make, so by the time I had to frost it, I pretty much gave up. I know I could have done a better job, but I didn't care! It was just nice to be done!

Easter arrived, and it was a crazy day. Hubby had to work the night before AND Easter night, so he had to go right to bed. Luckily he was able to see the "basket moment." Then, it was just me and a couple of kids with a giant sugar rush (Andraia was at her biological father's for the weekend. I missed her very much.)

After I got a couple of articles finished up, we moved on to egg dying. This was Patryk's first year, so he was in heaven! Rileigh invited her friend over to help. Afterwards, we hid them around the backyard for an egg hunt :) It was fun, despite the fact it was sprinkling out.

Well, that's all I have for you now. Off to the craft room after a play date this morning, I have so much new paper to play with! I'm sure I'll learn to write and craft in the same day, haven't quite figured it out yet. I also need to catch up with you all, see what great things you've created. You all inspire me so much :) Have a great day!

Blech.

I feel awful. I had big plans for today, but my tummy isn't feeling up for any of it. :(

I was able to finish up this layout yesterday, it's amazing how busy the springtime is. You sit around all winter, scrapping away, and before you know it the time has come to clean every corner, throw open the windows, prepare the gardens, and get to planting the food for the year. With the addition of the writing assignments, I feel like I'm always forgetting to do something **ahem ahem Dream Valley DT card was late ahem ahem** I played with the last of my Echo Park Sweet Summertime (boooo...love this line!) and tried to keep it simple. The photo is one of my favorites from Patryk's first real trip to the beach. I say "real" because his first trip wasn't really much fun for him. He was only 5 months old and spent the day in the Baby Bjorn (it was only April, we like to visit the beaches when it ISN'T tourist season.) This was the first time he got down and explored the sand: eating it, squishing it, pushing trucks in it, and wearing it EVERYWHERE. I have so many great pics of him covered in the stuff (the next page in the works is actually full of pics from this day, I have a vision and must roll with it later today) but this one is one of the best. He was such an adorable baby :)

I misted the background paper and the grid paper with blue acrylic paint mist (yup, my own recipe again.) I cut the cloud strip and used a Fiskars border punch to add something special :)

I am entering this into the Craft Your Passion current challenge, to use dots. As you can see, there are dots on the title stickers (even the red ones, if you look close enough.) The red stickers are from Doodlebug, the "sun" is Thickers.

See what I mean? What a handsome little boy :)

Before I go, don't forget to check out the XOXO challenge blog and lift one of our gazillion DT creations. There's a sweet prize up for grabs, you have until the end of the month!

Did I forget to remind you to check out the Crafter's Companion Challenge blog? If you didn't know, there's a prize pack up for grabs you WON'T want to miss out on! CC's ENTIRE Fairyopolis collection, a prize pack valued at over 100 bucks, not to mention the fact they are going to be the newest kids on the block as of tomorrow, as that is when they are due to be released :) Please head over and check it out, you can't win if you don't play!

So that's that. Now I'm off to lay on the couch until lunchtime, in the hopes of being able to sit at this computer and write a few articles. Tonight, it's the craft room for me. I miss it so very much! I'm having crafty withdrawals!

Dream Valley Challenge 5: Easter

Has it really been 2 weeks? I didn't realize it until I opened my dusty notebook containing all of my DT assignments I must complete and challenges I want to complete, and saw that my card for Dream Valley Challenges was due yesterday YIKES! I thought I had one more week!!!!!

Without further ado, here it is! This week, we want to see your Easter creations. Remember, it doesn't have to be a card. You can show off a fancy Easter basket you made, or maybe some crazy 3 dimensional centerpiece for your Easter dinner. Of course, you can always enter your standard card or layout as well :)

This month our sponsor is Stitchy Bear Digital Stamps, which is where I obtained the awesome image I used on my card. I don't often do humorous cards, only because I don't really have a good collection of stamps just yet :)

"Hi my name is Stitchy and I am Co-Owner of Stitchy Bear Stamps...we started this store April 1st, No Fooling haha..I live in upstate New York with my husband and two TEENAGE adults haha, I do say that loosely as they think they run the show here, NOT...

I been creating stamps for a little less than a year now and I am totally addicted to the craft..I started about 4 years ago making digital scraps and I knew there was much more out there, so a friend of mine introduced me to digital stamps...and the rest they say is history...I look forward to seeing all the beautiful creations come through...good luck everyone..stitchy xoxox"

Our lucky winner will receive a $10 voucher to use in their shop :)

I have been trying so hard to use up more of my stash before going nuts ordering stuff with my new small scrappy income, so this features some old-school Provo Craft Scrap Pad goodness. I don't even know what pad it came from, I only remember that's who made it. I used colored pencils to color the image, and some Cotton Candy Stickles for the bunny's tail and ears. I decided yellow Studio G glitter glue was just right for one of the eggs, and finished off the image with some Imagninsce pink gems. Bakers twine twirls along the right side, accented with some flower buttons.

The inside is where the humor comes in. A big thank you to a fellow DT at another site I design for, Marlene: she gave this sentiment out as a freebie and I had to have it :) More colored pencils and Cotton Candy Stickles, and the "Happy Easter" is from the Scenic Route Lyndon Scrap Strip sheet of paper.

So there you have it, a day late and a dollar short, but here it is nonetheless. Hop on over (hahahaha bunny....Easter....hop...hahaha) to Dream Valley Challenges and get your Easter creation in for a chance to win some great digital stamps!

Spitting Image

I had a great day yesterday, and today is shaping up to be even better! Hubby has a job shadow on Monday, a final test to see if he is going to get the 1st shift position. This is a great thing, but he is having a hard time preparing as he's attempting to adjust his schedule. So far so good, but the poor guy is like a vampire from working third shift for so long. The sunlight makes him cringe, and he isn't used to having so much done first thing in the morning. I think he's run out of things to do already, and it's 9:15 (but as I've informed him, I can come up with plenty of things to keep him busy!)

Yesterday he brought Patryk out for some errands, and I stayed behind to take a kid-free shower (it was glorious) and get in some scrappy time. The short couple of hours I had was used well, and I made the following layout. No sketch, no inspiration from other scrappers whatsoever. The only inspiration were these great goodies I received as a prize from the Paper Issues blog hop from the talented Sara Zenger. The colors and elements were perfect for this picture of me back in 1992 during my brief figure skating days. Andraia came in while I was finishing up before she went to bed and said, "Is that Rileigh? I don't remember her skating." Rileigh is my little spitting image, so it made me laugh.

The doily came from The Chip Chop Shop, and the letters are Scenic Route. I decided to outline the letters in black pen and accent them further with some Diamond Stickles, which I surrounded the button in (which came with the prize. How cute is that button?)

A close up of those sparkly letters :)

Prima flowers accented with more Stickles.

The big flower and ribbons came with the prize, I added the two Prima flowers and Recollections brad (and of course, more Stickles! You can never have too much bling.)

Ribbon twisted up with the help of my Glue Arts micro squares, a deal they had recently (I got two packs for the price of one with free shipping!!!!) The pearl strand I picked up at my local craft store for cheap, love that I found it! Basic Grey element in the corner received in another prize pack.

Crocheted trim from The Chip Chop Shop, ribbon from the kit accented with **more** Stickles :)

Now I think I'm back in the swing of things for the day. More creations to come later, I have so much stuff I've been dying to play with! More writing this weekend, so I'm taking today to craft (and wash the floors. Boooooo.)

sketches4all tag/card contest

As I mentioned earlier in the week, we are having a contest over at sketches4all. Each day, one of our talented DT members is posting a card or tag challenge, whether it be a sketch, recipe, or color challenge. There is sure to be something you are inspired by, and there are lots of prizes up for grabs.

Today is my day to post a challenge, and I decided to use a sketch from PageMaps and the added twist of using metal, paint, and spring colors/theme. Here's the sketch:

and here's my tag. I chose these papers from Webster's Pages, they remind me of the lilac bushes outside my craft room that are budding :) Can't wait to see/smell those lovely lilacs!

The metal is in the form of staples, and the paint is tan acrylic paint used to make the heart shape which I then covered in glitter dust. Looks great, I love the dimension!

So head over and enter your tag today, and check out the other challenges being offered by our fab DT members. Who knows, you might win a prize :)

I am entering this into the DYSU Challenge Blog's current challenge, scallops.

Yay, a card!

I made this today for the DYSU Challenge Blog's current challenge, use yellow, which I got in just before deadline this afternoon *whew*. I just got this Basic Grey Obscura 6X6 pad in a blog candy package (Thanks, Michelle!) and thought it would be just right for a card. I think I'll send this to a scrappy friend :) I'm also using this for my new challenge over at sketches4all. Play along to win a small prize, and check out the tag event currently underway. My day is coming, stay tuned to see my challenge and tag.

My challenge calls for "old and new" items on your card (head to sketches4all to see why I chose this, there is a reason! Just give me an hour to post the challenge LOL have to get the girls at school!) My old is the Tim Holtz acrylic stamped sentiment which I've been wanting to use since I got it a long time ago, but just haven't found the right project. The new: the paper. Obviously. Sentiment is stamped in green and then orange and embossed with clear powder. That little tag thing with the doodled heart is a Basic Grey embellishment.

Pleated ribbon done with glue dots (my own recipe: stay tuned if you haven't seen how to do this! I'll share!) Diamond Stickles.

Lazy dreary sneezy day

It's a perfect day for the craft room, despite my constant sneezing/congested head. The past few days have been incredible, and the evidence is in my garden. Many things are coming up, even blooming, so it's the beginning of the end for me and my horrible allergies. I'm only spared in the winter. The weather today is yucky and Patryk seems tired (probably as he inherited his allergies from his mother.) It's the perfect day to hide away and play with paper and glue :)

I tried to sit down yesterday, but seemed to have a bit of scrapper's block. I stared at new stuff I got in the mail, sketches, and all that jazz, but just drew a blank and had to walk away. I decided to finish up an embroidery project I'd been working on for the past 2.5 years and it's finally COMPLETE. *sigh of relief* Everyone, including the mailman, had been teasing me about how I wouldn't finish the project until Patryk graduated from high school, but I proved them all wrong last night. It's something I do while I sit in the car waiting for the kids to get out of school, or in the dentist/doctor waiting room. I can't sit for hours on end with my neck problems and do this. Oh, did I mention I need new glasses, meaning I get headaches doing it for too long? So I think 2.5 years is pretty good, considering the little time I get in each day to work on it!

Here it is. For those who embroider: this is my first time. Be kind to me, please. I'm sure you can see the gazillion errors, but hey, no one else can :) My girls love it, asking where I'll hang it and I'm not sure. I think upstairs in the hallway, of course after a wash and iron. Anyway, hope you like it! I received it from a friend who didn't want it anymore, it's a Colonial Williamsburg sampler. The original this is based off of was embroidered by a 10 year old girl! Amazing, I can only imagine how much quicker she was than I back then!

Now that it's done, I'm off to get some inspiration from all of you out there in bloggy land, giving me the kick in the pants I need to get some of my own layouts/cards done! Also mailing a couple of things today (my blog candy FINALLY...writing deadlines last week made me forget all about it...don't worry, it's on its way today! and an ebay sale of some paper.) Have a great day!

Happy Monday!

It really is a happy Monday here in NH. The sun is finally shining after a morning rainstorm, day two of beautiful spring weather.

The kids played outside all day yesterday, allowing me to do a front garden clean up. This showed me how spring is truly here, seeing all of the lilies, irises, crocuses, hosta, columbine, and other varieties poking their heads through. A little blue crocus is visible, the prettiest flower as it's the first flower I've seen bloom :) The lilac trees have buds, too!

I was able to try out my new Nike+ iPod shoe sensor, and now I'm in heaven as I know how far I'm going. This is a big deal, as I've always wondered how far I have gone on certain runs but always forget to calculate mileage in my car after the fact.

I spent the afternoon writing more articles, as I had a 5pm deadline to meet today. Two yesterday, the other two today, and I'm done :) That means..........TO THE CRAFT ROOM! Tonight I will sit and enjoy playing with paper and glue, something I've missed treMENDously. Check out my first article :)

Don't forget to head over to the Crafter's Companion Challenge Blog, where you'll see the card I made for this month's challenge. We're asking you to show us a project with flowers using your Crafter's Companion products. See my debut creation as a DT member here. I'd post about it here, but I have so much to do to prepare for dinner and bedtime. I want to be able to craft this evening without having to worry I left something undone! I've been chained to this computer researching and writing like crazy!

Hope you have all had a great start to your week, I hope to post a couple of creations tomorrow.

Happy Saturday!

Good morning, early post for you today, and a short post at that!

I'm off to Middleboro, MA for a bridal shower on my husband's side of the family, it should be interesting with the kids in tow. Thanks to my mother in law, they'll behave for the super long drive, as she has the built in DVD player in her Highlander :)

Hope you all have a great day, my weekend is filled with ZERO crafting (although I do hope to do at least one layout on Sunday.) :( But, after Monday, I can take a break from writing: 4 more articles to go, deadline is Monday at 5. Easy peasy, and the sooner I get them done, the sooner I can get scrappy!

It's scraplift time, XOXO style!

That's right, head on over to the XOXO challenge blog to choose one of the 21 (yes, really, 21!!!! We have a big team, but all the better to inspire you) DT layouts and scraplift it! Enter your take on the layout for a chance to win yet another wonderful prize from Candy Shoppe Designs. Did you play along last month? Were you our winner? Head over and see :)

So here's my layout, based on a PageMaps sketch. I just loved everything about it, and had the perfect elements in mind when I first laid eyes on it. This is a layout of little ol' me enjoying a Western riding clinic back in 1990. I loved horseback riding, and would have killed for a horse of my own. Unfortunately, it was a bit unrealistic, so riding lessons were the only option. I loved it so very much, eventually entering jumping competitions. This clinic was my first introduction to Western riding, I'd only ever ridden English before. I loved jumping, but there was something intriguing about Western style...I wanted to try barrel racing :) (No, I never did barrel race, but wanted to badly!)

Pink Paislee papers. Repurposed corrugated cardboard shape hand cut (not that well) and misted with my own recipe of red acrylic paint mist.

It's hard to tell, but that punched heart is covered in Ranger Glossy Accents. I just love the shine it gives things, I think it's my new favorite item! Flower stems are paper wire.

Banner made from twine and punched green vellum. I stapled it to the yarn for added interest, along with a row of staples. That was a random addition that ended up working out (thankfully).

That ginormous red/blue/tulle flower is from The Chip Chop Shop, the smaller black and white ones are from a prize pack I won from a fellow DT member here at XOXO :) Love 'em! Time to build my fabric scrap collection so I can make these beauties! They seem really easy.

The "horsin" in the title: Scenic Route alpha stickers coated in Glossy Accents. "around": Webster's Pages Spring Market alpha set. Random ribbon strip and button.

This pic shows off the shininess of the title, I just love that stuff! More random staples, and that black and white paper is DCWV.

So there you have it, now head over to XOXO and enter your layout today! If you participate, be sure to give the Lipstick Chick you lift proper credit.

Busy busy bee today, I have taken on a small writing position. My first article goes up today (check me out at http://www.rmtracking.com/gps-tracking-news-authors.php I'm waiting for my first article, submitted yesterday, to be published and I'll be sharing that with you all as well. I'm sure you can't wait HA) but I have to write 4 more by Monday so I feel pressured. I work best this way though, so I say "BRING IT ON!" This position will help bring in a bit more scrappy money :) That makes me pretty stoked.

Ok, enough procrastinating! Off I go! Don't forget to check out the Crafter's Companion Challenge Blog, as there's a HUGE prize in store for one lucky entrant into our current challenge. Lift me at XOXO! Also, there are only a week left over at Dream Valley Challenges, our current theme "Things with Wings." Oh, and how can I forget the upcoming card and tag contest at sketches4all! There will be new challenges each day from April 10th until the 17th, where you will play for prizes! Hope to see you there :)