Our Little Secret

As many of you know I have 3 kids. My oldest two are two years apart and then there's a big ol' gap between them and my youngest. She is my baby and I think because I have known even when I was pregnant that she would be my last, I have always hung onto each little stage. I don't want to miss a single thing.

Which brings me to the fact that I picked up this little girl long past the time that it was necessary. (Dare I admit that I still do from time to time.) About two years ago I ended up needing to go in for surgery to remove a sizable tumour from my abdomen. I was told in no uncertain terms that there was to be no bending, lifting or carrying heavy loads. It was tough because Autumn and I were just so used to the whole Mommy will pick you up thing. This is when we came up with the hand hug. It was a way to still feel close without her jostling or hurting my incision and it eliminated the picking up. Now even two years later and fully healed we still do this. It is very comforting for both of us and it has come in handy on many occasions. Really anytime is a great time for a hand hug but I will tell you that when you are in major pain and you haven't seen your children for several days there is nothing better than those kids running into your room and squeezing your hand.

When I'm old and gray I hope my kids won't even have to think twice about that little hand squeeze.

Credits: A Sunday Kind of Love by Michelle Underwood, Sparkle Brush Set by MaryAnn Wise and Deckle Frame also by MaryAnn Wist.

Wehooo! Now for the official announcement

Well I guess I kind of spilled the beans the other day. But just so it's official...



I have now opened shop with my digital designs at Scrapinsider.com. Here's my first kit.

CANDY APPLE

This is a bright and cheerful kit to chase away those winter blahs! These happy and slightly worn papers along with some unique embellishments are sure to be fun addition to your digital goodies.

• 8 patterened and slightly distressed papers


• 6 slightly distressed coordinating solids


• 4 heart buttons in red, pink, light turqoise and dark turqoise


• 10 clear epoxy bits, 4 with graphics and 6 with words


• 6 4x6 photo overlays


• 4 stitched Tic Tac Toe Grids Red, Pink, Yellow, and Turquoise


• 3 Word Arts

I hope you will stop by and visit sometime.

Working on Creative Teams

Over the course of the last year and a half I have been very fortunate to work with some very talented ladies and some amazing designers.

When I first decided I wanted to be a part of a CT, it didn't go as well as I had hoped. In fact I faced several rejection emails and of course several no responses. The first designer I ever worked with was a woman named Laura Lively. 6 months later I went on to CT for Sande Kreiger, Kate Teague, MaryAnn Wise, Jen Alysson, and Carina Gardner. Every team taught me a little bit more and I think I grew much faster because of my time not only with the designers but because of the ladies that I also CT'd with.

As you know I am now part of the CT digital design team for 2peas in a bucket. I am also CTing for MaryAnn Wise and more recently Jen Martakis. I love it. Somehow I have become incredibly busy. I don't mind though, it's a wonderful to feel excited and energized about all the possibilities ahead of you. I love spending my day being creative. Now if I really get it together I may try a few sewing projects.

My own designing is beginning to grow. Before Christmas I faced a similar process as I did for CTing. Lots of no responses, some rejection (all very nicely worded and polite but still rejection is tough to swallow sometimes) I did get some very practical advice and that in fact prompted me to take an illustrator class with Carina Gardner at Jessica Sprague's site as well as purchasing illustrator. (I love illustrator but I will leave that for another post!) Just after Christmas I was invited to design for a site called scrapinsiders.com. So a new journey begins. I will have a more official announcement in the next day or so when my very first kit will be released.

What would a post about CTing be without a few Layouts from said CT position. This first Layout is of my lovely dd pouting and it is a familiar scene around here. I used Chelsea Parsons Milly and Molly kit and it has the cutest little illustrations on it. I have also always loved the way her kraft paper really looks like kraft card stock with all those yummy flecks and bits. The other product I used on this Layout is the 99 cent labels by Shimelle Laine. The cool thing about this kit is that you can use it digitally or she also includes a pdf file so that a paper/hybrid scrapper can easily print it out and use them on a paper project. How cool is that.

On my second Layout I again used a kit by Shimelle Laine. It is called Can't buy me love. It has lovely rich colors and is filled with hearts perfect for any kind of Valentine Layout. As you can see I didn't use it for a Valentine Layout, I used it for this teen kind of Layout. The cool photo mask is from MaryAnn Wise's flakes of snow photo mask kit.

Have a great Weekend.

For a change...Some Hybrid Projects

The kids are back to school and the house is quiet once again but I have been far from idle. I really wanted to get my house into order and work on my health (and lose a few pounds). The kickback benefit to both those resolutions is that I have way more energy and because my house is more organized I actually am on top of things. That is such a welcome change!



My Mother in Law is about to celebrate her first year anniversary. They are the happiest couple ever. Both have come down difficult paths with Brenda having been on her own for a long time and Dennis loosing his wife to illness a couple of years ago. They are incredibly busy, energetic and out finding lots of adventures together. I made them this card. It says Once in a Blue Moon...you find someone really special. Happy Anniversary. I'm so glad you've found your happily ever after. I formatted and decorated the inside of my card too. Tricky to get every thing lined up but I was happy with it. Although I had some paper trimmer issues and it tore away the corner of my card so I used a corner rounder punch to .round the corners. Doesn't the blue look lovely. The paper was from a kit called Winter Walk. The designer Shelly Castillo is making her debut this week at 2peasinabucket. I am looking so forward to seeing what designs she has up her sleeves!







My second project this m week was to make these cute little Valentine Pillow Boxes. I found some templates on line but they were all pdf documents so using my new found illustrator skills along with photoshop, I created a layer template. Then I clipped in papers and these digital stickers.


Normally I would print them at home but my printer was being all wonky so I ended up having them printed up at Staples on 100lb paper. They look so finished, or professional or something. Once they were printed I cut them out and used a scoring tool to score all the folding edges. That step was particularly important for the top flaps or they would not have folded down properly. After cutting and scoring all I had to do to finish up was to glue down the one edge. Now I could have typed in my dd's name and the other students names but I decided that it would be good printing practise for her to add the names in her self. Plus it's more personal right! We will fill them with some little Valentine goodies like a couple of Hershey's kisses or candy hearts or something. Of course Autumn adores them.

I hope you will keep your eyes on my blog. In the next few days I have an exciting announcement about another new opportunity for me.

Credits for the above hybrid projects:

Blue Moon Card: Winter Walk by Shelly Castillo, Sparkles by MaryAnn Wise

Valentine Pillow Boxes: Winter Lovenotes Digital Stickers by Holly Brooke Jones, Papers Basics Beige Bases by Kate Teague.