Blues blog and my scrappin fascination

It was a SMASHING weekend!

2012-02-11T22:59:00.000-05:00

Wow, I had already almost finished this SMASH book but went to a SMASHING event over at PhotoScraps and all I can say is WOW! Instructor Gina A. and a few other ladies had their books and it was a great night of sharing and inspiration! No pictures of theirs since it was "theirs" but if you are local, Tracy is having another one on March 23rd (sign up now!) and you can sign up and see for yourself! Here's some more pics of mine...this first one was just the ABC's of me and my Everyday Life...my 2nd one is gonna be TOTALLY different!

my 2 greatest creations :):)

quotes I may use later

her 1st sport EVER!

stuff

my ~~Baltimore Ravens~~ Ray Rice fascination

Dinner & movie with daughter and Essandra

postcards from Martha !

Daughter date nite !

can't wait to start the next one tomorrow and show you!

It's a SUPER HAPPY Friday AND Twisted 138 is up!

2012-02-10T12:44:00.000-05:00

what could be better than a sunny Friday in February, the sick kid is all better and back in school, lunch with friends and a super awesome SMASH class tonight over at my favorite scrapbook store??

PHOTOSCRAPS-ELDERSBURG, MD

I know! Some crafty inspiration from the super awesome Team A over at Twisted Sketches! We are up on the blog today with Sketch #138 for ya...and this week's twist is FRESH~any how, any way! So pop over and see what we created "JUST FOR YOU!"

sneak peek :)

** ps-don't tell Anam, but I did the LO and forgot the "twist" {OOPSIE}; comes from not having my handy dandy sketch notebook when going off to a crop and working on DT stuff while drinking wine and laughing with the ladies too much! I know, I know, ONE DAY, I will get plugged in and jump into this age of technology...ONE DAY...maybe?...I still am old skool and I like when people talk face to face about what's going on in their lives; I need emotion, laughter and animation!! But anyway, come join us over at Twisted, like us on Facebook and Twitter, and don't forget to check out my layout!!

more LOTD

2012-02-07T20:00:00.000-05:00

just ones I had done for myself....am still only about 2, 700 photos behind schedule. I'm trying to scrap all the ones I already have printed instead of printing new ones :)

Bella Blvd papers and stash

LO I had done for a challenge but missed the deadline !

and this LO, I scraplifted a vintage layout from Doris Sander in a December 2008 issue of Scrapbook Trends-forgot to take pic of hers but will try to track it down this week.

more Bella Blvd and Martha Stewart fabric butterflies

last of the 2012 CHA swoons

2012-02-07T19:06:00.000-05:00

loving needing wanting.....

BUTTERCUP collection from LilyBee:

THIS AND THAT (CHARMING) by Echo Park:{click photo to see full collection}

and ALL the Heidi Swapp stuff:

LOTD

2012-02-06T16:04:00.000-05:00

SassLass and Crate Paper in da house....

Marvelous Monday!

2012-02-06T16:02:00.000-05:00

It's a marvelous Monday....not only did the NY Giants win the Super Bowl in a nail biting game, but I also spent the weekend with some marvelous ladies who came together to scrap for charity...
the hostesses (us gals in red -see below) with the mostest all thank those who came to crop for making it a success! And thank you for showing such love and support for our dear friend Natalie! We can't wait to do it again in 2 weeks!

PLEASE keep the prayers coming for Natalie, Jamal and their family...and just know we are all HUGE believers in MIRACLES!!! God can't answer our prayers if we don't ask him for healing for this child so we hope you'll ask and increase those prayer circles !!! We love you Natalie!

Love, Peace and SOUL....

2012-02-02T09:08:00.000-05:00

it's sad when things like this happen....just shows that we are all human~ we succeed, we fail, we laugh, we cry, we all feel pain...no matter what race, creed, color, ethnicity, background; we are ALL HUMAN....RIP Don Cornelius.. and thank you for being such a trailblazer in the music industry.

I remember being a kid and watching Amer ican Bandstand and Soul Train every Saturday morning after cartoons...and thinking those "grownups" (most of them were high schoolers) sure could dance...OMG, having a ~~big~~ HUGE crush on both guys from Shalimar....mostly Jeffrey Daniels though....The SOUL TRAIN line will live on forever...

I'm back! Weekend recap and some shares

2012-01-30T16:35:00.000-05:00

and I hope to be more consistent back on the blog...busy busy bee...kinda...but, just wanted to thank Angela, Kathy, Binnie, another Katherine and the rest of the super chicks from Phi Mu fraternity (yup, they are a female fraternity, not a sorority, look it up for reals) for a great weekend...we ate, we laughed, we shared, we scrapped (but not much-I got 6 layouts done)...

yes, my side title is crooked (YIKES!!)

trying to journal more :)

using up my Pink Paislee Nantucket stash to make room for more after CHA releases !~
and I'll tag along with Heather's idea on this wonderful Monday:

Watching: The news WJZ 13

Eating: Nothing right now but I earlier I had leftover buffalo wings and some lemon/parsley pasta salad...since it's a therapy night, it's leftovers for dinner

Drinking: Water-will switch over to some chai tea later

Wishing: That I was at CHA....am drooling over the new Simple Stories, Pink Paislee, My Minds Eye, and THIS : Basic Grey

Needing: see above :):) but add the embelllishments too :)

Listening to: my 80's playlist ....my norm :):)

Wondering: why Blue Cross Blue Shield has to give me the business, deny me services for THing 2 just so I can get pissed off and appeal them...don't they know that I usually am a WINNER?????!!!

Wow...CHA 2012....I may need to start over

2012-01-30T11:22:00.000-05:00

and get all new stuff! Simple Stories droolworthy goodies!

More CHA 2012 loves!

2012-01-30T11:14:00.000-05:00

Drooling......wanting....needing.....

Wow-awesome plunge!

2012-01-27T22:08:00.000-05:00

super duper fun all for a great cause....temps were warm after torrential rains stopped-we got up to about 61 degrees at plunge time, the water was brisk, about 40 degrees or so and it was totally awesome; I can't wait to do it again!! and who really cares if Joe Flacco didn't make it??? It is all about Special Olympians anyway! I am off to another charity event tomorrow so no blogging but here are a few pics from today until I get back!

My plunge is dedicated to all of us who have kids with "different abilities" {even if they don't participate in Special Olympics} and I also dedicate it to the Simmons family who pledged the most with both their hearts and their wallets! I was truly overwhelmed by their generosity!!

Have a great weekend everybody!

It's FRIGID FRIDAY!

2012-01-27T09:38:00.000-05:00

and we are plunging into the bay today all for Special Olympics!! It's been raining all morning and the winds are howling something fierce but that's not gonna stop us from assisting the cool schools teams (that way young ones are plunging in a safe environment) that are plunging today and from plunging ourselves!

My plunge today is dedicated to the SIMMONS family for sponsoring my plunge in a MAJOR way...see ya this evening with some pictures!! OOOHHH NOOOOO....COLD WATER!!!!!

GO TEAM PARK POLICE!

last year-SNOW!

Twisted Sketch #136 is up

2012-01-26T11:35:00.000-05:00

Sketch 136 is up for your viewing pleasure and this week's "TWIST" is FABRIC! Yup...and I actually had a couple of pieces in my layout....some super cute red cotton down at the bottom next to the gold sewing trim piece, a canvas button at the top and some awesome sheer Websters Pages fabric at the top as well...all tucked in in the background...laying low but giving wonderful texture and layers :)

I went through all my 2012 New Years pics and even though this shot of me & my sisters wasn't perfect, I liked it~! Some of the best shots to scrapbook aren't perfect so....I'm scrapping em all..

super cool papers are from American Crafts-the Amy tangerine line, the clock is a jewelry item from Michaels and the rest is just stash.....hop over to Twisted for the Sketch and to see what the rest of Team has done...Rachel and Renea really got my votes this week :)

Twisted Sketches sneak......

2012-01-25T13:40:00.000-05:00

tomorrow......TS will have some goodies to inspire you!

Simple Stories CHA 2012 reveals AND a blog winner!

2012-01-23T19:43:00.000-05:00

Beginning today, Monday, January 23 through Thursday, January 26, they have a new collection that they'll be revealing each day...I'll only reveal one of the things that I am in love with:
Documented, an all-inclusive mini-album system that allows you to share your story your way, includes mini albums, memorabilia pockets, memento areas, page protectors and more:

for the rest of the collection and more reveals, hop over to their {BLOG}!!!
And I just wanted to thank all the folks who HOPPED with the Simple Stories fans last weekend; I promised a RAK to one lucky winner and that winner of MY blog candy is GAIL C~! Contact me at: bluequeen4@hotmail .com so we can talk prize winnings!
**and big Congrats to Martha for having the most comments on her blog-she gets candy AND one of her commenters wins candy too from Simple Stories....they are gonna do it again soon so hope you had lots of fun and were inspired in different ways :)

LOTD

2012-01-23T08:35:00.015-05:00

Despite the Ravens loss last night, it's still a super Monday! I'm just glad that we got this far and that we played an exceptional game against the Patriots. It was exciting and kept us on the edge all the way to the end! Here's to next season!

We got a dusting of snow and I do mean a dusting and today's temps are supposed to go back up to the mid 60s!! Pretty strange! But I got to play with paper and glue and scissors at the birthday partay (BIRTHDAY GIRL, SEE ABOVE) this weekend and decided to "just" play with my October Afternoon stash {well, as much as possible-I had to add a few other baubles here and there).....

Happy Monday !!! Hope your week is wonderful !

PURPLE SUNDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

2012-01-22T15:10:00.001-05:00

LET'S GO RAVENS!!!!!!!!!!!! IT'S ABSOLUTE "FAN"DEMONIUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The wait is over-IT'S A SIMPLE BLOG HOP :)

2012-01-20T07:56:00.008-05:00

SIMPLE STORIES THAT IS! Welcome everybody and TGIF! Simple Stories did a creative thing & let some fun fans (me and some others) join up with their creative Design Team to bring you their first 2012 blog hop filled with Friday inspiration, some CHA sneak peeks and some really cool creations... R U READY ????

The HOP actually starts at the SIMPLE STORIES blog (hey Amber!) and so if you started there, you are on the money! You should be popping here via way of DT member Allison Landy's blog; I know she gave you some great inspiration! If you didn't start at the beginning, click on my Simple Stories Blog Hop tab at the top and you'll see all the participants start to finish!

Rather than do a regular layout, I decided to ALSO do an altered project. The house looked bare after all the Christmas decorations got put away yesterday (don't laugh)! I had these "junk" pieces that I found at the Goodwill for $ 1 each just sitting in my closet and I finally decided to turn "trash to treasure."
BEFORE: (ADDED SOME BLACK ACRYLIC PAINT AND MIST)

I then added a clothesline type of hanging using a vintage tape measure that belonged to my husband's grandfather and some twines that I found at Ollie's of all places...chose my pic (photoshoot that we did for the Children's Miracle Network since my son used to be one of their sick child ambassadors) and then I dug in the SIMPLE STASH:

I wanted to showcase the Destinations stickers to show that even though it is travel themed, you aren't limited to using them just for travel layouts!

I added in stickers under the tape measure :):)

and tucked some more in the corners

and while the finished piece is quite SIMPLE,but I like it! Whaddya think??

TWO THINGS before I go: 1. Leave some L-O-V-E here on THIS blog post (a comment and a way to contact you) so that I can REWARD one of you lucky hoppers with a RAK :) and 2. Make sure you leave a comment on the Simple Stories home blog so that THEY can reward one of you lucky hoppers with a RAK too! You know what? Just leave love everywhere, spread the joy!

The next diva on the HOP is somebody you should already know...and ADORE...girl is super talented, gorgeous, smart, got mad minibook skillz and talent (Oops I said that twice didn't I )-up next .. it's WENDY "how you doing" Morris !!! Hop over to her blog Scrapnspire for more Friday hop fun!
And you know I couldn't REALLY say bye-bye without a SIMPLE STORIES layout right ???!!!

using:

Featured Friday crafter....is Marilyn!

2012-01-20T07:05:00.001-05:00

don't ask me how I found her (Marilyn aka The Artsy Girl)) but I'm glad I did!!! I put her in the same category as Robin S, Wendy M, Sasha H , Keisha, Karla D and Jennifer B- in my Sistahs of Color Hall of Fame-these ladies can craft like SHAZAMM! Crazy mad skillz that I hope I can attempt when I grow up LOL...
She's not a scrapbbooker (or at least not to me-but then again, I was looking at all the eye candy and never noticed if she was or not LOL) -she does amazing stuff like this:

and this:

see what I mean ??? ANYWAY, hop on over to her amazing blog {The ARTSYGIRL Connection} and leave her some ROYAL L-O-V-E !! Tell her Queen Kat sentchya! TGIF everybody!

Some Simple Stories since we are counting down!

2012-01-19T20:39:00.001-05:00

It's THANKFUL THURSDAY and one of the things I am always saying I am thankful for is my son's health....despite all the developmental delays, they would not be manageable if he was still physically sick...so, I decided to finally take a big girl pill &; make the trip back down memory lane...FINALLY after all, the boy IS 7...back to age 18 months or so...
In an attempt to get school pics/artwork "documented" I took an awesome class over at my LSS PhotoScraps......Awesome Miss Tracy B guided us through this super mini-book (and no, I didn't follow the directions but she's used to it LOL) ...base is the Fancy Pants brag book and the inside is Simple Stories....

I haven't junked it up yet but here's my start & my honest journaling...I know my handwriting is sheer crazy but again, it's STILL hard for me to write about those "old" days...I get shaky writing about them....

sorry for the bad pics-it's nighttime and I forgot to photograph them earlier

papers and stickers are from the Simple Stories ELEMENTARY COLLECTION
Don't forget...Simple Stories Facebook Fan Blog Hop is TOMORROW!!
Starting at 7am CST-that's what?!! 8 am for us here on the East coast!!

COUNTDOWN....SIMPLE STORIES!

2012-01-19T20:39:00.000-05:00

ONE MORE DAY TILL THE BLOG HOP !! See you here Friday morning !!!

tomorrow...save the date :):)

2012-01-19T16:31:00.000-05:00

IT'S GONNA BE A BLOG HOP! SIMPLE STORIES HAS A SIMPLE BUT SWEET BLOG HOP TO MOTIVATE YOU! WE WILL BE UNVEILING SOME COOL PROJECTS "AND" PRIZES ALONG THE WAY! Come back tomorrow and read all the details, leave some L-O-V-E for my projects (different ones cause I have OCD)... I'll have some blog candy AND Simple Stories is gonna give away a prize on their blog too! Hasta manana :):):)

Save the date and a sneak!

2012-01-18T19:53:00.000-05:00

I must be getting old...I THOUGHT I had mentioned that I will be participating in a BLOG HOP later this week featuring some super cool product from the folks over at SIMPLE STORIES! But when I mentioned it in conversation today, I realized that I forgot to post the post!!

SO...I'm working on some goodies for a SIMPLE STORIES BLOG HOP...the reveal and fun is on FRIDAY! The first project (you know I always have to do more than one LOL) involves my super awesome Thing 2....

so I hope you'll mark your calendars and join us for a super sweet blog hop! And oh yeah, you know blog hops mean prizes :):):) More details and sneaks tomorrow !!!

melissa's got 2012 birthday love goodies to giveaway!

2012-01-18T16:09:00.000-05:00

papers, stamps and a HUGE surprise!

I can't give it all away though; you gotta POP by and see what she's giving away to some fabulously lucky winner!! Creating from the Heart and giving from the heart! Good Luck!~!

Studio Calico CHA 2012 droolworthy....

2012-01-17T20:56:00.000-05:00

BUTTERFLY L-O-V-E

I don't use SC as much as I'd love to (WOULD LOVE A SUBSCRIPTION HINT HINT); aren't these products droolworthy or what???

AWESOMENESS FOR THOSE OF US WHO ADORE BUSY PAPER!

LOVE THIS COLOR SOOO MUCH !

FOR MORE SNEAKS OF THEIR TAKE NOTE COLLECTION...HERE YA GO!

Thanks Wendy for showing me the ....

2012-01-17T20:44:00.000-05:00

buttons!! Something I struggle to use (flowers are first) but plan on incorporating more into some altered projects in 2012....the sneaks of Bella Blvd's BUTTON MARKET are AWESOME!!

and they have about 50 more! Check out their blog, AND they are giving 3 lucky winners a chance to get their grubby paws on some before you can buy em-a GIVEAWAY this week!
Check it out {HERE}

Jenni Bowlin sticker love 2012 !!

2012-01-16T21:21:00.000-05:00

she rocks the sticker party~there's more at her blog!

Sunday multitasking...

2012-01-15T16:55:00.000-05:00

but first, BIG CONGRATS to my Baltimore Ravens for the win today!! Whoop Whoop!! Felt good to stay home and just relax and watch the game in my pjs!

But on to what I'm working on this week...I joined up over at CSI: Color Stories, Inspiration to challenge myself in 2012. Debbi Tehrani and Keandra and the rest of the talented team are gonna FORCE me to do "color" challenges; something I totally totally totally stink at...I do not like pastels and so let's just say it is gonna be a challenge. The rest of the challenge parts I can try, but color is a stumper. BUT, that being said, I did hop on Challenge # 1 and I hope you'll join their ning site and share with me some of your creations....I won't post their stuff but a glimpse of SOME of what the first challenge involved:

and here's my take:

I got to help this special chick celebrate her birthday this week!

She is an amazing gift in my life and I so wish I could see her more often...maybe I should make that one of my 2012 resolutions?? Coffee with Anna once a month! Let's see what she says :):):) HAPPY SUNDAY !

HAPPY SUNDAY!

2012-01-15T13:40:00.000-05:00

AND IT'S ALL ABOUT THE PURPLE AND BLACK! GO RAVENS!!!

more CHA 2012-Making Memories!

2012-01-13T21:28:00.000-05:00

and the reason I love this one so much even though it's SOOOO against my style is because I finally see some adorable little children of color!! Are these totally adorable or WHAT??? :)

I always complain about images like these because I never see images that looked like my kids...they both are lite brown with brown hair and so the whimsy papers never fit them BUT I can see these making a debut here for sure :):)

hop over to the Making Memories blog to read all about the designer of this super cute collection!

Thankful Thursday

2012-01-12T02:30:00.000-05:00

Prayer works. Faith comforts. God heals.

photo courtesy of hallmark.com

just asking my blog readers to say some very special prayers for my friend Nat and her family....the blessing of restored health is what she needs right now...

I know that one's prayer circle can never be too large... and again, I just wish that they would find a cure for cancer and cancer-like diseases; one of the toughest things a mom can endure is to see your child critically sick....I know from experience that it is one of the worst things " I " personally have EVER endured and I know that the power of prayer strengthened me. We just pray for healing for J in a MAJOR way.

**and I know she ain't gonna like the pic that I posted but just know girly that I LOVE YA !!

Wandering Wednesday!! AND a TWIST !

2012-01-11T09:27:00.001-05:00

first up, the TWIST...after a much deserved break, the Twisted Gals from Twisted Sketches are BACK!!! Yup, we're finally back for 2012 and Team A decided that we'd give you the twist of something "NEW".....Since Thing 2 lost his 3rd tooth this week, I decided to hurry up and get the first tooth pics scrapped! My layout is not for the new tooth, but the fact that he was so dramatic over losing the tooth and anticipating the NEW tooth which had actually almost grown all the way in! Try explaining that concept to a child who doesn't even understand why his teeth are falling out!

this was a simple layout that came together rather quickly...I'm still using my October Afternoon Rocket Age collection along with an overlay that's been sitting in my stash for maybe 2 years??? Anyway, hope you remember us and will hop over for Sketch # 134 and check out what the rest of the DT has in store for your viewing pleasure!!

and now for the Wandering part...websites that gave me some inspo and oohs and ahhhs this week: lots of eye candy from Jenny:

Memory jar idea for J over at Steamy Kitchen:

mad love to this blog I just found AND she's on team Pink Paislee-CORRIE!

Briarrose (a/k/a Rachel)-gotta love that screen name!

and last but not least, my favorite Etsy shop of the week ! ItsyBitsandPieces
**This one's for you Rochelle!

ENJOY!!!!

POTD

2012-01-11T00:42:00.000-05:00

some folks in MD are thinking it's quite strange that here we are, mid January and such mild temps....hey, I'll take morning dew with a bit of frost frost and increasing warmer day temps any day!

dratted lambs ears all over the garden

Terrific Tuesday!

2012-01-10T10:00:00.000-05:00

It's a Terrific Tuesday despite being sidelined by a back injury thingee...that's what happens when you have all intentions of starting the new year right by exercising BUT somehow end up doing it all wrong and your body fights you ...but hopefully I will be on the mend...that meant no creating this week but I had managed to do some paper play over at the bffs on the weekend :)

stash layout

Pink Paislee Nantucket-one of the best collections EVER

and, WE'RE BACKK!!!! We Twisted Sisters are back from break and will be rolling out some new 2012 inspo for you on Wednesday !! But for now, a sneaky:

hope you'll pop back by tomorrow for the full reveal and some inspiration!!!

TGIF! and some CHA 2012 drool worthy goodies :)

2012-01-06T09:53:00.010-05:00

If you love butterflies...SEI has some goodies !

Prima wooden tickets (you already know their flowers are gonna rock!)

Loving the My Minds Eye for reals.....I am on a 90 day supply buying restriction but WILL be getting my hot little hands on some of this:

super cool, super need

and A SNEAK from a company that is new to me-Ruby Rock It has a line called Vintedge-awesome! I can't find sneaks of the collection but it you click the pic, you can see how their DT got to play with it!

HAVE A FAB FRIDAY EVERYBODY!! I'LL BE BACK LATER WITH A FRIDAY FEATURED SCRAPPER !!!

Thankful Thursday

2012-01-05T22:50:00.001-05:00

It was truly a fizzychotic day (that's for all my Love & Hip Hop fans LOL)....get a call that my son was hurt at school (he fell at recess) but not seriously "but still"- I worry cause he's been really trip prone lately as you can see; doctor's office and grocery store were also chaotic, the daughter sick, girlfriend major drama , other people calling needing some personal stuff, my son's bus broke down (on busy RT 40 of all places) so I had to go running out at the 4:30 height of rush hour to go get him, then the same kid with a bloody nose...it was like, bloody hell, do I need to clone myself today???!! What if I wasn't a stay at home mom??
And then, THIS:

poor guy looks like he messed up shaving or something!

THE TOOTH...it has been loose since before Christmas and I knew I was gonna be sad when it came out...I didn't want it to come out at school like last time...So I was happy that it came out after dinner but also sad cause it's gonna change his sweet smile and super sweet gap...he's losing his babyness and I wanted to hold onto it since we missed a whole year of babying him when he was in the hospital. It was time you just can't get back....But to be THANKFUL, I am THANKFUL that the new teeth are coming in white; the doctors had worried that the residual effects of the 1 year of drugs would've cause permanent teeth damage and I'm happy to say that's not the case!! I What's up with crying tears over a tooth but I can ssoooo put my kids off on the bus on their first day of school quite happily??? LOL

And then, just when you wanna scream, we see this-We got to see this together tonite-just the two of us:

{sigh}....this made the day totally worthwhile. I only had my pocket camera so it's not the best photo but the oranges and purples and pinks were spectacular...It reminded me that at times I just gotta step back, breathe deeply and appreciate the wonder of God's many blessings!!!

bear (?) bare (?) with me...I'm behind in New Years blogging

2012-01-05T01:12:00.001-05:00

It's pitiful...you go on a road trip....you get behind when traveling...then you get home and all your chores are piled up laundry is piled up ,you get home to a semi-empty refrigerator....then life resumes and so I plan on catching up this week on all fronts!

First up, I SOOO meant to post this as my COUNTDOWN to 2012 BUT since I had no real internet connection @ dad's, I could not post not one single thing....So, here we go-the catchup!! I didn't do as many layouts in 2011 as I would've liked; I think I was shooting for about 100 and only got to maybe 72?? But, I'll take it :):)

So my FAVORITE 11 of 2011 (in no particular order) ARE:

KB squared, KR and Lisa Lisa -love the PA crew

Scrapbook Circle's FIRST ever Guest Designer {WOOP!!}

Little Yellow Bicycle GDT {very contemporary)

butterfly love and one of the most fun GNO in 2011

Pink Paislee LOVE LOVE

is it a trend? More butterflies Jenni Bowlin style

black cardstock and butterflies-a perfect combo!

MY 46th BIRTHDAY! Divas came to bring me L-O-V-E

The BEACH-my fav place EVER

My Minds Eye LOVE!!

BEACH-Florida kind and cool sand

and while I didn't really apply/learn as many techniques as I would've liked, I think that I am progressing so....and if you can't tell that my fav go to's are butterflies, black cardstock, clusters and cool papers :):):):
and last but certainly not least, my favorite page from my SMASH BOOK:

XOXOXOXOXOXXOXOOX-Idris Elba crush

{ LOL } HERE"S TO 2012 !!!!!

just some pics from New Years

2012-01-04T23:02:00.000-05:00

can you believe I was unplugged from a laptop or desktop?? I mean, who has dial up??? Those who hardly ever use the internet or who think that Fios is expensive! (it is!!) We went to my dad's and that is just what he had and it was NOT working so we had to find other ways to amuse ourselves that did not involve tv or internet......but here's some pics from the New Years 2012 countdown...

KellyM has a fab jewelry giveaway!

2012-01-04T01:55:00.000-05:00

and when I say fab............trust me, it is! Feast your eyes on this beauty! It's from Shabby Apple and I had never heard of them but I think THEY may be my San Fran 2012 weight loss incentive !!

awesome right? Well, all you gotta do is hop over to Kelly's blog {HERE} and check out the req's..........Good love !!!

actually scrapping some current pics for once...

2012-01-03T22:15:00.001-05:00

normally I'm scrapping stuff way outta whack-like summer vacation in December or 4th of July in February..so I decided to switch it up and do some current stuff in the current month....more October Afternoon...ya'll remember the uncooperative BAD ELVES during my December photo shoot right??

well, experience has taught me to take about 100 shots so I can get 10 good ones....this was one of the good ones: When he was the "Good Elf"...I did add some Q&Co red felt, the alphas (?), tags: OA (older line) and a Colorbok tag but the rest is from the Holiday Style line from October Afternoon.

we switched hats and let sister go inside so we could focus:)

great combo of blues and reds and black.......LOVE !

last layouts of 2011....

2012-01-03T01:38:00.000-05:00

just some some layouts I did for me, myself and I....

my PA crew :):) both Debs are missing though :(

Authentique in da house!!

All papers are from the Authentique Uncommon collection that I was gifted at a charity crop....and the overlay is again from Cathe Holden @ JSIM; flower is from a busted craft bush and the die cuts came off another FREE table :) SCORE!!

hate that I was wearing a football tshirt but love this pic of my GIRL so

added diamond dust for added BLING power

pink and yellow papers are awesome Pink Paislee Nantucket and the yellow frame is Pink Paislee too; got it off another FREE table :):)...cool girly silhouette is from the American Crafts Amy Tangerine Good Times sticker book :) LOVE :):)
Have a project to share for Terrific Tuesday??? Add your link in the comments so we can come by and look too !!!

LOTD with a tiny overlay

2012-01-02T21:28:00.001-05:00

from Cathe Holden over at Just Something I Made....sometimes the full page overlays that you buy in the store are just too much and you just need a "little sumthin sumthin" to add to the the page...years ago, I accidentally bought a WHOLE box of transparencies and so I print my own overlays from Cathe....she has tons of great pdf printables and ideas {HERE}

mixed glitter added to the Pink Paislee banner-bling!!

Eat Pray Love (SNOW that is)-it's the cute overlay from CH

ENTER 2012...HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!

2012-01-01T01:43:00.012-05:00

I'm taking a COUPLA days off from blogging so I just hope everybody rang in 2012 in a special way!

this was my bubbly in 2009

In this new year of 2012, let's promise each other to try be more empathetic, cheerful, gracious, inclusive, generous, loving and let's not forget the best one...CRAFTY!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!!
And like Paula Deen (almost) says-Best wishes, dishes (and I'm adding kisses in there too) from our house to yours!
Welcome 2012 :) CHEERS!!!!!

THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS....

2011-12-31T14:20:00.001-05:00

As we start the countdown till 2012, we also reflect on so many things....I just
wanted to take a few moments to thank you for all the special moments and personal stories shared, all the words of encouragement; all the private emails that show how we really are all connected by 6 Degrees of Separation!
Thank you for pointing me in different directions so that I don't stay stagnant in the same place each and every week; thanks for showing me different projects to keep me inspired-even though it's been 6 years of creating and craftivity and I still can't make cards AT ALL !!!

I cherish each and every follower and reader of my blog...my little old blog wouldn't be what it is without you!!
TRUST ME, I FEEL BLESSED AND OVERJOYED JUST TO BE ABLE TO DO WHAT I DO HERE AND SHARE IT WITH YOU. HOPE YOU'LL COME BACK IN 2012 AS I CHANGE THINGS, GET MORE ORGANIZED, TRY TO ADD SOME LINKS/TUTORIALS ETC...TO MAKE THIS BLOG MORE EXCITING :)

LET'S TOAST TO THE POTENTIAL TO BE HAD IN 2012 !!!

SCRAPLIFT OF THE DAY

2011-12-30T09:49:00.008-05:00

this month's Scrapbook Trends is off the chain! Well, actually, every issue is off the chain, I just wanted to say that! I got no further than the cover-in fact, I bought just based on this fabulous layout by the super talented Kelly Purkey: And if you can believe it, I have never been to her blog; I've always loved her work in SBT but just kept forgetting to go to her blog...damn, what have I been missing??? I popped over there for 2 mins tonite and was like OMG! Girl is SUPA DUPA talented; she's SUPER BASS !! Will have to go ~~lurk , oops, troll, oops, stalk....~~ leave love when I get back home :)

Anyway, I decided to whip out my October Afternoon Santa Sack AGAIN and "scraplift" her "We Smile A Lot Together" layout....90% supplies OA - that cool Noel tag which came from Michaels-I think it was supposed to be a gift tag but I used it as a scrapbook embelly !

look at the super cute deer closeup that I just had to handcut...added some German glitter glass, date stamped and some aqua necklace beads from my old jewelry making days......remember it's a "lift" so I never do anything "exactly" like the original-could never happen anyway since I never measure, PLUS, any original is el numero uno but the concept is still there...sorta kinda.....

Thanks Kelly for inspiring me just from looking @ the cover !!

TGIF!

2011-12-30T07:25:00.000-05:00

WOW!-December certainly has been busy and here we are finally...the LAST FRIDAY in 2011...and it's Purple Friday too! Major hand claps to the Baltimore Ravens for getting........count em...SEVEN..... ballers. to. the .Pro Bowl....SEVEN ...ya'll know I bleed PURPLE and BLACK :) One of the bffs {E} does not share my love for all things nfl/Baltimore Ravens but still gifted me this awesomely soft & snugly Ravens blanket for game days!!!

xmas morn dec 2011

Since Twisted Sketches is on winter break, all crafting that I have done has actually just been for myself...I actually got to craft this week in between gigs and got about 10 layouts done. I know, crazy right??? Organized my supplies made crafting soooo much easier! Am on an October Afternoon kick since I got their Santa Sacks and was not disappointed!!!

I had never used their rubons before and let me just say, they went on like butta baby! Titles are actually a combo of Little Yellow Bicycle and somebody else (memory lapse)..am not sure if I was loving the ribbon and the fabric tag but since they are glued on, they gotta stay.

Here's hoping that your Friday is full of fun-take some time away for yourself !

Tyra mail!

2011-12-29T08:32:00.000-05:00

Susan from Creative Inspirations sent me a Christmas present since I was the winner of an oh so sweet All Things Tim raffle....check out the stamp set that was done by my buddy Ted from Stampers Anonymous (he totally rocks and is super cool in person too...)

One of my 2012 goals is to be a better stamper and if I manage my time well today, I may just get to play with it tonite to make some tags for a gift that I'm giving to a guy this weekend :)
Thank you Susan and wish me luck !!!!

Altered project...Buttons baby!

2011-12-29T01:55:00.000-05:00

Buttons are NOT something I normally use in my scrapping; IMO they are kind of like FLOWERS-too much can ruin a project for sure...plus,many buttons look so cheap in the stores so...About 2 yrs ago, I scored a small bottle of TRUE VINTAGE buttons at a yard sale (long story behind that) that belonged to a lady's grandmother .. they are straight up delicate and so gorgeous that I try to only use them on special projects.
So, for Christmas, I decorated my bathroom in some subdued colors and added a cute altered cross that I scored from Hobby Lobby.. tricked it out with some fabulous papers from Memory Box and that cool angel sticker (I mounted it on chipboard) has been sitting in my stash since 2008! Added in some buttons and pearls ....VOILA !

easy peasy room decor on a dime....linking up to the divas over at Scrap Your Crap for their Dec button challenge # 60 :)

Happy Christmas 2011 !

2011-12-25T03:37:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all from those of us here @ the Blue family abode! Hope your Christmas and your 2011 was filled with love and many special moments :)

From our home to yours- hugs and kisses...and don't forget...
LIFE IS SHORT; WEAR YOUR CROWN~ Love, Queen Kat XOXOXOXOXOXOOOOO

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T01:15:00.000-05:00

retro layouts from when I knew nothing about scrapbooking :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Frohe Weihnachten

聖誕快樂

GLÆDELIG JUL

Maligayang Pasko

JOYEUX NOËL

FELIZ NAVIDAD

РОЖДЕСТВОМ

No matter what language you speak, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays !!!

LOTD

2011-12-24T00:56:00.000-05:00

HAVE A SUPER SATURDAY MORNING EVERYBODY! BE BACK LATER AFTER I CATCH SOME ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZss..............................

I saw an ad in a travel magazine and used it for this LO- I may just scraplift myself on this one :) I'm hoping to TRY the Christmas photoshoot again today! Wish me luck!!!

Counting down the days...are u ready??

2011-12-23T11:02:00.007-05:00

Flat Lance went with me yesterday to run errands and when we got to the grocery store, he got all shy and hid in my purse:)

but believe it or not, places weren't that crowded...mind you I was nowhere near a mall or toy store or anything like that. I went here to mail some stuff and guess what happened?

I forgot the packages that I was supposed to mail! Grrr!!!! So, my day today is looking too full so it may not happen this week either....I think my mind was on all the happy snail mail that I got yesterday (upcoming posts)...an international surprise, some super cute Christmas cards and some October Afternoon swag!

So I ask again, are you READY!!!??? Well if you aren't, just relax and fuggedabboutit! Christmas will still be magical :):) Que sera sera right??? ...once I drop off my teacher's gifts and stop at Kupcakes & Co for my bus drivers today, I'M DONE! I plan on having some fun with one of my bffs tonight and chilling with my family on Saturday baking some cookies (not me, Thing 1 will bake for her momma-I shoulda said tasting some cookies) and doing some local stuff but that's about it. Will catch up some posts on Saturday night so for now, BE COOL :):):):):)

OMG Snail MAIL International baby

2011-12-23T08:52:00.010-05:00

haben einige internationale mail den ganzen Weg aus Deutschland!!! Yeppers, my super sweet pen pal, aka Felicitas, sent me a totally awesome gift from Germany! I was doing the "happy dance when I saw this:

and doing an even happier dance when I ooohhed and aaahed over this super cute project...boy did she make me wanna whip up some new bags and add more layers...hers are definitely much much more artistic! I shall have to practice more!

GIRL GOT SKILLZ !!!

This crafty thing that we do really shows us how we are all connected...I'm so glad that I gotta coupla gals in Germany who found my blog and that I have a totally AMAZING pen pal :):)...Thank you again Felicitas......XOXOXOXOXO

Christmas Picture outtakes...Take 1 !

2011-12-22T22:52:00.000-05:00

what is it about kids not wanting to take some simple Christmas pictures??? When one kid cooperates, the other is off on their own tangent....Today was an absolutely warm day (62 degrees for December was a hit) and so I thought what could be easier??

I gave up cause it got sillier and sillier....will try again tomorrow!!

it's a Terrific Tuesday! and a RAK winner!!!

2011-12-20T17:48:00.001-05:00

Blow the horns! All the gifts for the adopted families are sorted, wrapped and ready to be delivered tomorrow...the LRFH team rocked this project !! They gave and gave and gave and for that, 3 families will now have presents under their tree this year! What a blessing both for the givers and the receivers - THIS is what Christmas is truly about.

so on this Terrific Tuesday, I decided to put a little xmas cheer together from my stash and award one of my blog readers with a small RAK, just in time for Christmas since I'm going the the post office this week.....a "Just because RAK " since I am grateful for all of those who continuously read my blog and are inspired by my kooky randomness! You all inspire me with stories and personal emails ...just a small way of saying THANK YOU and HAPPY HOLIDAYS...so on that note, the random fan winner of this small gift is.................

NITASHA....hey girly, send me your snail mail to bluequeen4@hotmail.com ASAP :):)

Joe's got a RAK Giveaway!

2011-12-19T16:22:00.000-05:00

WWJD? What would Joe do? Have a giveaway of course! What would you do with all of this??

well, you have an opportunity for your mailman to bring you this for the NEW Year IF you win...all ya gotta do is hop over to Joe's blog (and let me say that he does have some great projects-lurk around for a bit! You won't be disappointed. He has a lot of stuff but trust me, it's all good-in fact, he crafts better than many of us :))) and enter!! {HERE}s your link! Don't delay; play today!

Paper bag love....Krafty bags in time for the holidays!

2011-12-19T00:32:00.000-05:00

last week, I was over at the fabulous Janna's blog and she had created some totally awesome "gift bags" using paper bags from a video tutorial (link below) and so I decided to try my hand at them too to use up my stash. Mine aren't as bright as Janna's because I was gifting them to a friend so she could use them herself and I know she isn't as flashy as I am. Plus, this was my first batch so...learning curve ya know?!!

this personal one held a card for K since her hubby has been sick

this one she is going to use as a gift card holder

this one's gonna hold hot cocoa packs and maybe candy !

closeup

now that I look at them, they need more BOLDer stitching. better stitching and more embellishments...my next batch will have MORE for sure:) I viewed the Krafty bags VIDEO TUTORIAL by Roben {HERE}. I always have different color/size paper bags in my scrap closet since Thing 1 carries lunch everyday. My local Target has red, white, blue and brown paper bags (brown ones come in 2 sizes) so you may wanna check them out first -they were where the cleaning supplies like laundry detergent and stuff were ...you can also find plain paper bags at the Dollar Store or Michaels...shop around-50 bags cost like $ 1.50- $ 2....these are awesome small gift /giftcard holders and if you don't have a sewing machine, you can still alter them with stamps and embellishments! Cost way less than gift bags,especially if you are using ribbon and fabric scraps :)

If you try them, don't forget to leave Roben some love for linking the video and to let her know how much you loved this project! And send me a link so I can see them too!

Weekend recap! and our tree is up EARLY!!

2011-12-18T22:57:00.003-05:00

Well, everything that I can do for Christmas short of grocery shopping is done....we scaled back a lot this year-NEEDS vs. WANTS...so.....I did get to travel a bit locally and go see some friends...plans got a bit mixed around but I did a pitstop near Parkton for a bit and my camera had no charge so no photos there but I did love seeing Laura (and I picked up a sweet gift from her just for ME) and then I kept going north to go play with some paper & scissor friends!

Kat and Andrea

KB and KB

Kate and Kat

Lisa Lisa and her cult jam

had a great time and it was great re-connecting since it had been a few months ......

**other updates:
The Ravens are losing in a major way to Detroit....maybe that'll change by morning but I doubt it....
**This CD is pretty good but not my favorite
BUT very sexually explicit (song content)-will be glad when Rihanna grows up and sings more classy songs...I'm still a big fan of the girl tho'.

**Weekend projects-made a tray for Kate so she can add pics of her super cute grandson in there..I was away from my ribbon stash so it looks naked to me-she said she'd add some when she got home too...She picked the papers and I used those super cute pin banners from Making Memories, Prima flowers and a Making Memories ephemera kit in there...sprayed cardstock with some Ranger Perfect Pearls copper spray for a hint of shimmer.

**the BIG tree that Thing 2 "needed" and yes, Thing 1 has stopped sneezing around it provided she takes the Zyrtec! and just other Christmas touches around the house..I still need to add more ornaments to the tree though :)

AND OUR TREE IS UP! wELCOME ALL THE TREE DIVEAS WHOA RE COMING OVER FROM DOCERELA'S (A/K/A CATERINA'S) BLOG....

see ya tomorrow for links to a HUGE giveaway AND to a paper bag project!

**LINKING TO CATERINA'S BLOG! (that used to be my name in Spanish class in high school)

Twisted Sketches Challenge # 132 is up!!

2011-12-16T10:51:00.000-05:00

we've got a lovely sketch for you over at Twisted Sketches this week! And for those of you who are doing December daily's you can still use our sketches or our twists to jump start some creativity!

This week's "TWIST" is glitter and I had these super cute metallic flower thingees that I wanna say are from K & Co but I'm not entirely sure...I used a few of them and shared (gave away) the pack...the "glitter twist" is in the leaves, you can't see it the shine that well but they came pre-glittered.....kraft background and then some free stash from the other bff {not pictured}...so hope you'll hop over to Twisted (even though for some reason, my LO is not posted but that's ok, you're seeing it here :)) and use the sketch and link us up!

Went over to the bff's last week and took this pic-and even though I only got 2 measly layouts completed, I still had fun! And I truly believe that God put folks in my life right on time; hence the layout and the quote....and she still loves me even when I forget her dang Gummi Bears! LOL !

Side note**ps-yes, Jo, I tried to cover my greys but didn't really succeed...they refuse to leave! I used that Clairol Perfect 10 that says it gets rid of greys in 10 minutes but obviously I needed 10 x 10 minutes ...didn't work and it really didn't dye my hair black, more like medium dark brown which is weird because my natural hair is really really dark...

We finally get a tree! Thankful Thursday!!

2011-12-15T15:14:00.000-05:00

and finally got a tree in the house yesterday...a big spruce even though I need to add more lights to it :) Anyway, Thing 2 was super excited but I couldn't get any good shots since my camera really hates indoor shots...Santa is definitely gonna gift me a decent camera and an ipad next year....
So for Thankful Thursday, we are thankful that we have each other....7 years ago, we thought that we'd have this boy home at Christmas but at Thanksgiving, he got so sick and didn't recup like we thought. We were at Evangel Temple and had made plans to bring him home and then we got "THE CALL"...he was too sick.... so it was back to square one.

so, here we are 6 years later and this is the FIRST year that he "kinda" understands Christmas (but not a wishlist thank goodness!) and so we are extremely HAPPY and THANKFUL! The gift of HEALTH trumps presents any day....and for those of you with sick children, just know that MIRACLES do exist....I know first hand that we had a boxful of them during this kid's first 3 years of life....***Nat, we are still praying for you, J and the family** Love you girl!! Keep your faith and just know that I of all people understand the struggle and juggle.

isn't he super cute ????

What are you THANKFUL for ?? Do share !!!

POTD-it's wonderful Wednesday!

2011-12-14T10:01:00.000-05:00

I'm in love with this girl...even when she's acting like a teenager :):):)

LOTD

2011-12-13T14:32:00.000-05:00

stash...stash...more stash....

cool red background metallic paper (doesn't photograph well but its cool IRL) is from the Recollections "Love Letter" collection from Hobby Lobby, My Minds Eye brads and cut out from my vintage stash and a fabric tag & flower (unknowns) that were also in the stash. Like I said, my mojo's been outta town for the last 2 weeks...hope he comes back soon.

you ever have those days?

2011-12-13T14:03:00.000-05:00

When it all sucks?? Well, I musta been having one of those days...just felt off kilter, weirded out, unfocused...ran errands and went over budget, had a migraine and went anyway, almost wrecked my darn car (long story -totally my fault for not paying attention-thank god no one else was involved but me and my stooopid self AND thank god that I didn't wreck it)...but yeah, where was I ?? Oh yeah...in the 15 yrs that I have been around this place (6420), I don't think I've EVER burned dinner (maybe once)...well, welcome to this week!

BLACK...BURNED BEYOND RECOGNITION.....I turned away from the grill (folks that know my grill know I have a high powered Brinkman-it will burn your food really fast even if only 2 burners are lit) for a minute and VOILA, the chicken if you can tell it's chicken, caught on fire! Needless to say, I really couldn't even muster up the energy to start dinner over again so I dug into the emergency funds and Dave came to the rescue!

My daughter thought it was pretty funny and my husband had no idea what to think; he didn't say a word...could be worse right??? Had to make lemons outta lemonade....

Howard County famlies***CAMP FAIR FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

2011-12-13T12:22:00.000-05:00

**Just putting out some information that I thought would be helpful....If anybody wants to join me at the meeting, let me know! It's unfortunate but true that we folks in Maryland have to book our kids summer camps in Jan & Feb so that we can get slots!!

Today’s summer camps offer so much more to our kids with special needs than just camping! Consider what goals to set for your child, and what activities will be the most beneficial over the summer months. Summer camp experiences can strengthen overall abilities, remediate academics, enhance social skills, develop executive functions and build self-esteem. This program is presented by the Howard County Autism Society, but would be appropriate for families of children with other disabilities.

For more information, contact the HCAS Resource Center at 410.290.3466 or info@howard-autism.org. You can also visit www.howard-autism.org.
MEETING: Tuesday, January 24th 6:30 p.m. Cedar Lane School
11630 Scaggsville Rd, Fulton, MD

Terrific Tuesday! WHERE HAVE I BEEN???

2011-12-13T12:05:00.000-05:00

I know, I've been MIA....crazy busy schedule and not squeezing in enough crafting for sure (I went to a crop the other day and jsut had no mojo...2 layouts and 4 half layouts-what's up with that??? :(:(....it's been all about the life/ kids/ mom wife/ schedule and just trying to slowly get things finalized for Christmas....will be getting the tree tonight (I know, we're awfully late-we decided to try a live tree this year-hope kids allergies can handle it)) and then "hopefully Things 1 & 2 will cooperate for my photo shoot this afternoon too...HOPEFULLY.....

Sneaks of my upcoming Twisted Sketch...this time I did not plan on missing the DT deadline!!

can you guess the "TWIST?"

TWISTED CHALLENGE WILL BE POSTED ON WEDNESDAY!!!

have more items to photograph and post today....slowly....see ya again soon!

TGIF...and it's Purple Friday!

2011-12-02T20:14:00.000-05:00

TGIF everybody!!! so sorry for not posting this week; I've been a bit under the weather and finally decided to crawl back to the land of the living...it's Purple Friday and I hope that the Ravens will continue their path of dominance this weekend....

PURPLE & BLACK BLEEDERS :):)

and another apology to Anam for missing my Twisted Sketches deadline....one day I will be able to afford a laptop and missed deadlines will be a thing of the past :):) But I had done a layout for Sketch # 130:

SassLass paper, and VINTAGE stash....so love that cute "My Name is" tag from Martha Stewart !! Loved the sketch that you can see {HERE} and the ladies of Team A rocked the challenge without me! HOP OVER AND PLAY WITH US THIS WEEK, WON'T U !!!??
Anam is also looking for a new card team, so if you are a card maker, check out the post! The deadline was yesterday but you never know, she might make an exception!

LOTD

2011-11-30T20:09:00.000-05:00

Got to meet some online friends this weekend! It's so great when you get to put a face to the name and we had sooo much fun!

got to meet Tina and Chanequa and it was like I had already met them in another life; we hit it off right away and I so hope we'll get to get together in December and do it all again!

I only accomplished 6 measly layouts and so here's my LOTD:

used clean space, only using scraps from the free pile...it truly was a FREE layout !

where has November gone and a printable...

2011-11-30T09:56:00.003-05:00

wow...time IS going by...November 30th?? REALLY ???? As part of my last posts over at the Scrapbook Circle, my focus was on their Harvest Festival kit AND superbly awesome American Crafts stickers....I did dissect some of them to make my phrases and I loved that there was space enough for me to do that...loved all the apples in there too!

As we move into December, the Scrapbook Circle is giving away a free printable for the Christmas Holidays!

super cute right? You can DOWNLOAD IT HERE (full size verson)...
And I just wanted to thank the whole team over at SBC (Diana(s), Tessa, Lisa and the rest of the sweet paper divas) for making me feel so special as their first ever Guest Designer this whole month !

LOTD

2011-11-29T10:13:00.000-05:00

I was soooo bogged down with the Thanksgiving errands and stuff that I SO forgot to post my layout for Twisted Sketches challenge # 128 !!

and as you can see, the challenge was white...something I don't think worked for me but that's whey it's called a challenge right!?? Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and I know it's all back to the daily grind today!
We've got a new sketch up today and it's all about the GLITTER so I hope you'll hop over and join US !! Have a great day everybody!

the Scrap your Crap blog is back

2011-11-25T18:37:00.001-05:00

and this month's challenge # 59 was MISTING or Spray Paint...I don't normally mist or paint but decided that I needed to continue the path of using my "crap" and so I jumped in on the challenge!
I used 3 kinds of Smooch spritzes- silver, pearlizedCaramel Latte, and Candle glow and then I added some acrylic paint in Bronze with my fingers....no title yet but may add it later :)

The Scorpian Crafter has a Giveaway!!!

2011-11-23T09:33:00.007-05:00

a Webster's giveaway! CK from the Scorpian Crafter blog is celebrating in a major way this month!! In addition to it being Thanksgiving, it's her birthday and wedding anniversary! Did I mention that the birthday and anniversary are on the SAME DAY?? I mean, she is one of my bffs, but who does that ???? LOL...No, she knows I got nuthin but love for her and my bro...AND for her giveaway:

****check out her blog TODAY and do what you gotta do to enter since the winner will be announced on November 27th!!

I won't give any spoilers..but this is BIG!

2011-11-22T20:28:00.000-05:00

like Christmas in July...this is all I'm gonna post and you have to click on pic to check it for yourself>>>>>>>>>>>

POTD

2011-11-22T15:38:00.000-05:00

Super Tuesday...As I continue to do things for needy families this week, I'm grateful...for it all...

It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord,and to sing praises unto thy name, O most high:
To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning,
and thy faithfulness every night ~— Psalms 92.1-2

It's Super Tuesday and...

2011-11-22T15:29:00.000-05:00

I'm cooling my brine for my turkey...I decided to go against my norm and am gonna make a small turkey after all...all veggies are prepped for delivery tomorrow to a family and after I cook my cranberry sauce and potatoes ( I do them early too so flavors can blend) so it's a pretty low key day on Thursday. Thank goodness our kids had school this week so that gave me the push to get out, run errands so that this afternoon I get to relax and play with some crafty stuff....

One of the questions on the Scraps of Color forums was "Have you outgrown your crafty space?" and I always say yes! I called myself cleaning it this week so based on the pics below, you tell me if it's clean or not! I think one of my winter 2012 goals is to make it more cohesive colorwise ...AND if I'm lucky, I'll get the money to go down to VA where my dad lives with my husbands truck and nab a great piece of furniture to upcycle from a mom & pop shop that he found down there...it's like this raggedy house full of old furniture (think like Sanford & Son junky aaah choo!) but the pieces are vintage and begging for some TLC! My sister upcycled this bad-ass dresser in black with new knobs and I wish I woulda had my camera to show it...So anyway, without further ado, here's my space:

desk top-basket for my Zutter

desk last week-it's not this clean today though

long work table for kids and my sewing machine

messy lounge and tv area/ and Queen Kat's work table

album, mag and paper storage and knick knack area (I'm packing for a crop)

other end of side cabinet

as I said, I used a stereo/electronics cabinet to hold all my paper and other goods. Baskets hold ( top to bottom): 1. misc kid craft stuff 2. ribbon, lace, and trims, 3. glitter (I have a lot) and 4. rubber stamps....bottom black boxes hold more ribbons and chipboard letters...2 brown boxes hold punches... The other side of the cabinet holds my magazines and layouts (I know, I should be putting them in albums but I'm behind! If things don't fit in these, it's time to get rid of stuff! What's your space look like? Send me a link!!

Super Saturday!

2011-11-19T13:24:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving approaches quickly and wow, it's been a busy week...we've just been in the spirit of giving to others that haven't been able to do it all themselves. I spent last evening in my kitchen cooking for others (and smelling all that great garlic, onion and cilantro) and today will be delivering meals and different things to 3 different families. I urge you to consider performing a RAK to a needy family this year (there's PLENTY of time)...You'd be surprised how good one simple act of kindness can make you feel ! It's all about paying it forward...

And as I mentioned earlier this week, I have been busy in the craft room-CLEANING it that is LOL...and working on some other projects for my Guest Designer stint over at the Scrapbook Circle ...This week's theme is GRATITUDE and there's so much to be grateful for! I got to work with their awesomely awesome Harvest Festival kit so head over to their shop if ya wanna get one for yourself!! I really enjoyed working with all the colors and textures and papers and for me to get 5-6 layouts out of 1 kit is truly PHENOMENAL-I hardly never ever do that! Instead of food or the kids, I featured some gals that I am truly GRATEFUL for....

Who would they be??? You can see the full reveal at the {Scrapbook Circle BLOG} and then join us in our NOV CHALLENGE....

What are you grateful for? Here’s what to do if you would like to play along:

1. Create a paper project with the theme of gratitude. We would love to see a Scrapbook Circle kit in action, but any materials will do.

2. Post your layout to their blog, a gallery, or their Facebook page. Go back to their post and leave a comment with the direct link to your posted page.

3. Deadline to enter is Wednesday, November 30th, 9:00 pm Pacific.

Good luck and happy scrapping!

Thankful Thursday and It's World Prematurity Day!

2011-11-17T13:18:00.000-05:00

November is Prematurity Awareness Month®. The awareness month kicks off on November 1 with the release of the 2011 Premature Birth Report Card and today, November 17 marks World Prematurity Day. The March of Dimes and partner organizations worldwide are asking everyone to help spread the world on the serious problem of premature birth. In the USA, 1 in 8 babies is born prematurely and as most of you know, we were that family who was one of those statistics.

Yes, Our wonderful Thing 2 entered this world at week 25, weighing in at the micro-preemie weight of 1lb 8 oz ! Yes, I typed that correctly and so we began a journey of 8 long months in the hospital....EIGHT...MONTHS...LONG LONG STORY and it's still painful at times to date...still haven't really scrapbooked that part of our journey....there were many many many many days when this kid should've &; could've died but for some reason, God granted us favor and the boy kept fighting and 7 years later, he's still here and he's healthy and really working hard to get to what we call "mainstream." And even though there are still residual effects (motor skills, speech issues, vison and hearing loss issues) from his traumatic birth, we are grateful and thankful for HIM-it could be worse-many preemies suffer brain injuries, retardation and other dibilitating health problems....I thank all the surgeons (7 surgeries), doctors and oh so spectacular nurses who cared about him like he was their own. And to my 2 auntie-nurses Yolanda and Alice who are still in our lives, WE LOVE YOU!

for more information on Premature Births, go to MARCH OF DIMES homepage .

It's Breaking Dawn Premiere!

2011-11-16T16:25:00.000-05:00

thanks to the Sun Rewards program, we get to attend the new movie, "Breaking Dawn" TONITE before the public gets to see it so to all you Twilight fans...here goes! They are having a very strict policy and are checking persons, bags & purses (no ipods, ipads, cells, or cameras) so I won't get to take any pictures at the theater!

I won't be giving away any spoilers so not to worry! It won't make sense to me anyway since I haven't read any of the books and don't follow Twilight but my daughter does ...I'm jsut glad tghat we get to have a free date night!

Holiday creations begin!

2011-11-15T13:36:00.002-05:00

I decided to get back on track this year and start some Christmas decorations (I know, I totally don't do Thanksgiving decor) EARLY so that the kids will be excited about Christmas since last year was the first year that Thing 2 kinda understood it.
In addition to putting up a tree in almost every room, I like to decorate my bathrooms as well. I usually try to do some type of canvases or altered art in them too since they are an inexpensive way to dress up a small space in an inexpensive way (you can use stash). This year, I actually started looking around at the Christmas lines back in September and was inspired by all the colors of the Wonder & Wishes Collection by Little Yellow Bicycle. I picked up a simple white tray and some trims from my local Hobby Lobby, added clear buttons from my Webster's stash, some old Christmas ornaments and the rest is simply the super cute paper and embellishments from LYB ...and finished this tray this week:

once you gather your supplies, you can put these trays together in less than an hour! So, I'm one down...2 more to go....

Still Smashing!!

2011-11-15T13:07:00.000-05:00

yep-I'm still Smashing!! Just thought I'd update ya with more pages of my 1st one....I did get one of the K & Co mini smashes as well but haven't started on that one...I think I may do that one with a theme/color pallette...

I won't deny it...ya'll already know I am Ray, Idris and George obsessed so:

and then I added some Field Hockey shots in there too for the girl child....

LOTD and a sneak for Scrapbook CIrcle!

2011-11-15T12:28:00.000-05:00

I hardly ever have pics of me & hubby together cause I'm usually behind the camera but have decided to try to change that...back in the summer, my dad took us to dinner for my birthday at my ALL TIME favorite pizza place in New Jersey, La Gondola...pizza heaven!! and so I let somebody take the pic..... :):):)

most of the supplies were from an older kit I got over at Great Scraps and the rest of supplies are from my stash -Recollections flowers (Hobby Lobby), Maya Road together spot, 7 Gypsies stickers.....
and a sneak for the Scrapbook Circle: more when it goes live!

Office of Special Education post (local followers only)

2011-11-14T13:12:00.000-05:00

I feel it's important to list these things that are happening in my community for those of us with kids with "different abilities"....you may see Thing 2 at some of these events so that's why I post them :):) Many times the regular kids just run all over those who need a slower pace and during the holidays, there's some nice events taking place. Great idea for a "Dad and me" craft date ! !

WINTER CRAFT PARTY
Saturday, December 3rd 2011 10:00 am to 12:00
New Hope Lutheran Church
8575 Guilford Rd
Columbia, MD 21046

Bring your preschool or elementary aged children out for a fun morning of creating winter crafts. We will provide the crafts and a light snack, all you need to bring is yourself and your little one. This event is specifically for children with developmental delays and disabilities, but siblings are welcome. Please call the Family Support and Resource Center at 410 313-7161 to register for this free event. Dads – if you want to bring the children to the craft party your kids will leave with a few hand made gifts for mom!

I've been a slacker I know....

2011-11-14T13:07:00.000-05:00

and I feel so bad about it but the last 3 weeks have been super crazy with family issues and family visiting and when that happens, I usually don't get any computer time! I don't even get to squeeze in any craft time either! So, today is not a free day to craft either since I'm in between doctor and therapist appointments with Thing 2...but just thought I'd let ya'll know I'm still blogging and still getting my mojo back! I will be working on some projects late tonight and do have some reveals for Twisted Sketches and for the Scrapbook Circle but you'll have to wait till later in the week for those!

For now, I leave you with some shots of my cool RED paper bag album....as you remember, in October, I was one of the Guest Designers on the Little Yellow Bicycle "Head of the Class" Cycling Team and after I did 2 layouts for their blog, I still had leftover product so I continued to make more goodies for myself. Years ago, my friend Denise B taught me how to make a paper bag album and ya'll already know I am "class challenged" and of course, couldn't remember how to do it once I was by myself.... I watched a youtube video but again, I really need a hands on one-on-one tutorial...BUT, I tried ! and shall perfect it with the next one. My local Target sells paper lunch bags in the brown, plus red, white and blue all the time so I thought the red just brought out all the colors of the Head of the Class collection. So, once I print out the pictures, this one is for Thing 2 (the boy child):

97% of the supplies (( exceptions are: AC Thickers and I think some school stickers from Reminisce) are from Little Yellow Bicycle...so, will be back blogging on the regular this week! Have a HAPPY MONDAY and hope it's filled with great stuff!

Sensory Santa (for my local followers)

2011-11-13T14:24:00.001-05:00

SENSORY SANTA AT THE MALL IN COLUMBIA (MARYLAND)

Friday, December 2nd 8:30 – 10:00 am

Sunday, December 4th 8:30 – 10:00 am

10300 Little Patuxant Parkway, Columbia

Does your child’s sensory issues prevent him from visiting Santa at the mall? Come to the Sensory Santa before the stores open to the public for a quieter, more sensory-friendly opportunity to visit Santa during the holidays. The music and water fountains will be turned off, and we’ll have numbers to hand out so you won’t have to stand in a long line. We’ll provide some activities to help pass the time in a fun, festive way.

The event is intended for anyone who may wish to take advantage of this unique opportunity.
For more information, contact the HCAS Resource Center at info@howard-autism.org
or 410 290-3466.

more important than the 11-11-11

2011-11-11T10:19:00.000-05:00

but the fact that is is VETERANS DAY....thank you to all are serving, who have served and to those who have died defending this great nation!

HUGE Shout out to my favorite VET-my dad-who not only served his country for 20+ years, but who gave his children the gift of being military brats...It was an experience unlike no other and it gave me and my sisters a great love for travel, cultures, languages and people. Three of us served also served in the military as well and I really think that shaped and molded us in positive ways.

Thank you to all the soldiers who support and defend this great nation we call the USA....and let's get our soldiers home!!!

Purple Friday!

2011-11-04T10:31:00.000-04:00

Ravens...Sunday nite...late game...please let us win!!

TGIF !! Scrapbook Circle in the house!!!!!

2011-11-04T10:21:00.001-04:00

It's Friday and I'm on ffiiyahh!!! Back in August or so, I applied to be on the DT over at The Scrapbook Circle...I had never seen this site before, found it accidentally during one of my many insomnia ridden nites and fell in love instantly with their kits and their inspiration!! And while I didn't make "the cut" {THIS TIME lol}, I was invited to be their Guest Designer for the month of November! Still a WIN situation for me !!

So, I was asked to create some lovely projects using their HARVEST FESTIVAL kit and you can see two of the projects over at their blog starting today ! The Harvest Festival kit was full of fall colors and textures and oohh, the lovely lovely papers made me lick my lips. Ya'll know I'm a paper addict so with Jillibean, OA, AC and more, I was actually sad that I couldn't use both sides of all the papers! .....Green apples and woodgrain...:):) L-O-V-E :):)

so anyway, after finishing up the layouts for their blog, I kept creating with the kit (woop woop!) -The only extras I added was the pearl bling and the tulle-everything else was outta the kit! I woulda done more this week but I had family visiting from out of town and that left me no time to scrap this week :(:( ....

Thing 1 once she started growing hair it never stopped :)

So, during your blog hopping this weekend, be sure to hop over to the Scrapbook Circle and check out their Design Team and their awesome guest designer (me) and leave some love!!
And if you are coming over from their blog....Welcome! Thanks for popping by !! Glad to see ya! I won't be blogging this weekend due to some other family obligations that are taking me away from the electronic gadgets of it all, , but I'll be back on Monday morning! Have a fabulous weekend everybody!

Twisted Sketch 126 is up!

2011-11-02T21:22:00.000-04:00

for your inspiration! And this week's "TWIST" from Team A is....FEATHER!!! It just so happened that my mom gave me a black feather and it was sitting in my car and perfect for this week's challenge!
I actually loved Emily's take on the challenge cause she did a DOUBLE "twist"...she used the twist in both the title and in her embellishments!!

for my layout AND for other inspiring layouts from fab Team A, hop over to our blog and check us out!!

November already??and a re-draw

2011-11-01T10:34:00.001-04:00

pic courtesy of 2nd-chance.nl

well, I never heard from the ORIGINAL winner of the SOC blog hop so, all the names go back in the drawing.... 2nd chance winner is..... NatG ! PM me your snail mail addy girl! Now I'm really wondering if people follow blogs in general cause they are interested in the blogs content or if they are "candy snatchers"...things that make you go hmmmmm...... Since my blog time is limited, if I follow your blog, it's because some project(s) or words caught my eye; it means I'm inspired by something on it otherwise I don't bother following-I visit, but don't follow....this time I will NOT award the previous winner with a prize like I did last month; it's not fair to the loyal followers.

But on that note, it's November and that means that I'm thinking of doing a Christmas giveaway before the end of the month so you can have an RAK before Christmas....but it's gonna be given to a random follower...I'm thinking something like an Oprah "My FavoriteThings" custom kit full of things centered around my favorite Christmas decoration (try to guess what it is) ....stay tuned and have a TERRIFIC Tuesday !!!

happy halloween...

2011-10-31T12:49:00.000-04:00

and until the kids get their costumes ready later on today, I thought I'd share some great Halloween treats for the eye that I spied today!

FrogPrincePaperie at Etsy

from the Prima blog

www.Papercraftsmag.com

DinaRobe at www.etsy.com

www.cherishedvintage.blogspot.com

Purple Sunday

2011-10-30T21:11:00.000-04:00

instead of Purple Friday....when life gives you lemons, make lemonade, right??! I had every intention of spending the weekend with my PA boo:
BUT...Mother Nature had other plans so we didn't get to get together to play...but it's all good! Saturday's weather was seriously weird...hail, sleet and rain down here...snow up there ....but lo & behold, Sunday was absolutely beautiful and sunny AND, my wonderful generous friends ET AND DT gifted us tickets for this:

PURPLE SUNDAY!!!

so, the weekend was pretty great after all.....and I just wanna thank my friends who understand our journey, who see that we are "trying", who are always doing kind and generous things for us when they aren't asked to, when they don't have to, and they ask for nothing in return......there are times when generous gifts like this are "RIGHT ON TIME." (On the other hand, I have some friends who are pretty selfish and don't see themselves as such but what can you do?? You keep praying for them and hope they finally get that "ME" mentality out of their systems)......but for now, I REALLLLLYYYYY appreciated the day and the sunny temps and the drive and THE totally awesome comeback from the Baltimore Ravens!!!!!

Friday Featured Scrapper is back!

2011-10-27T11:00:00.001-04:00

I know, I've slacked in featuring crafty divas! It's not for lack of candidates, I've just been super busy with obligations and have forgotten to do my write ups on time...BUT, I saw this SUPER SUPER cute card over on the SOC blog last week (you know I'm always attracted to anything EVIL lol) and so I was reminded that I needed to get back to the features :):)

So, if you can believe it, this week's diva doesn't scrapbook too much {I know, GASP now} BUT, she can thrown down in the cards area and I wish she'd make me one!! Put your hands together and say hello to Ms. Bloggerita ...a/k/a sweet Georgia Peach, Rochelle Washington from TWO TEARS IN MY BUCKET AND also the Triplicate Trials Challenge blog!

I know she's gonna totally kill me for stealing a pic but hey, she's super cute and that killer smile...what can I say?? But, back to the creations......here's another of my fav's:

Hope you'll hop over to her blog, leave some royal L-O-V-E and tell her QUEEN KAT sentchya !! TGIF everybody !!!!

super classy and love the orig inspo pic

you can get the Harvest Festival kit !!

2011-10-27T01:00:00.000-04:00

the November kit is up over in the Scrapbook Circle shop!

it's chock full of fall inspiration...............

and I have to admit, I will have some secret reveals with this kit....SOON! I am gonna be the November Guest Designer over at their {BLOG} and I admit, I loved this kit but the problem was deciding what pictures I wanted to use!

As we close October and Breast Cancer Awareness month...

2011-10-26T13:10:00.000-04:00

Just remember:

There will be 230,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer (includes new cases of primary breast cancer among survivors, but not recurrence of original breast cancer among survivors).
There will be 39,520 breast cancer deaths.

EARLY DETECTION SAVES LIVES ! The best gifts you can give yourself are a BSE, mammogram and regular GYN exams...someone once told me that since we women are so busy juggling our lives and others lives, the best way to remember to do these are to schedule them in your birth month as a present to yourself....Your family will thank you!

Mel and I Crop 4 a Cure 2011 **

**LO made with the simply gorgeous Authentique papers that one of the ladies "gifted" me at the charity event....and then I added the stickers and pins ephemera that was part of our goodie bags...black flocked paper I mooched from Essandra :):)

Winner of the SOC blog hop**

2011-10-25T10:40:00.002-04:00

retro layout of the day-I can't post without a photo :):)

thanks ladies for all the kind words regarding the SOC layouts and also on me being on the Little Yellow Bicycle CT blog this week! The hop was quick and my random generator picked number 11 so the winner of my RAK is Crystal (Nappycp) !!! Crystal, you have until Oct 31st to email me your snail mail either here or at Facebook (see my link at the left)...after that date, if I haven't heard from you, I'll pick another winner :)

Plunging for a cause

2011-10-24T13:02:00.001-04:00

In addition to cochlear implant/hearing loss issues, one of my passions (since I have one myself) is kids with "different abilities" and ways to support them. In 2010, I attended and reconnected with some military brat friends from middle school and one of my friends (the awesome officer NcNeill) is involved in Plunge MD for Special Olympics. So, in 2011, I was the photgrapher for Team Park Police and we had such a blast (below) that I decided to take the plunge myself (Yup, I'm going in the icy water) in 2012!

Plunge participants take a quick dip in the Chesapeake Bay to raise funds for Special Olympics Maryland, the state’s largest year-round organization devoted to sports training and competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

I NEED YOUR SUPPORT IN THE WAY OF PLEDGES !!!! CLICK ON MY POLAR BRRR "FUR" BUTTON ON THE LEFT AND PLEASE SUPPORT ME! ! I'LL BE ACCEPTING PLEDGES ALL THE WAY UNTIL JAN 20, 2012!! PLUNGE DATE IS JANUARY 28, 2012 *********** AND TO THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE ALREADY PLEDGED ME VIA MY FACEBOOK LINK, THANK YOU, YOU GUYS ROCK!!!

I'm up @ LYB!!

2011-10-22T21:52:00.001-04:00

I felt so honored to be creating ANYTHING for a major manu! OMG, this is like a dream come true...and it's so awesome to see my Thing 2 sweetheart on somewhere other than my blog!!

So, I am today's featured guest artist over at the Little Yellow Bicycle blog ..I know ya'll love their collections; especially the one I was gifted called the Head of the Class! !

And it's nice to see a scrapper of color over there too right??? Again, I feel honored and privileged; I feel like I'm part of the changing faces of scrapbooking :):) ...So, hop on over there, check out my projects and leave me some royal L-O-V-E so they know you love seeing some SOC over there :):):):) ...I'll be back tomorrow with another LYB project that's still in progress but still super cute! !!

It's an SOC blog hop !!

2011-10-21T05:51:00.097-04:00

***BLOG COMMENTS ARE CLOSED***
In honor of Scraps of Color's (SOCs) 7th Anniversary, I've teamed up with some crafty ladies for a colorful BLOG hop! As you travel along this blog hop I hope you'll make some new friends and be truly inspired !! The blog hop starts at TIARE' S BLOG so if you started there and then HOPPED here from Karen's blog then you are in the right place!
I thought I'd share both new and older LOs--all showing the importance of getting out and having fun with girlfriends and then scrapping the moments! Get in front of the camera no matter what you look like, flaws &all-YOU are your own worst self critic; folks are only looking at how much fun you are having!

BIRTHDAY-PARTY ON!!

MY blood SISTAHS !!!

ADOPTED SISTAH :)

SCRAPPY SISTAHS

Along the way of hopping, there's RAKs involved and for those of you who are new to blog hopping, that means a chance to win blog candy at every blog!! As MY way of saying "thank you" for popping by, I personally created a nice little "THANKSGIVING " kit for one lucky winner !

All you have to do is be a blog follower of my blog (you can leave L-O-V-E here too if you like- It's not required but it's nice to read). Be sure to visit each blog between today and Sunday, October 23 for more inspiration and chances to win. Thanks to all sistahs in our lives who make us laugh, cry, sing, dance, pray, learn, craft, play, and live!

Next on the hop is YVONNE !!! : And a big thanks for stopping by-I will be announcing my blog candy winner on October 25, 2011. {USA winners only }

Special Education notices**Thoughtful Thursday!

2011-10-20T13:50:00.000-04:00

We folks in Howard County get some great information from our Office of Special Education that I believe could benefit other kids/moms of "special kids" that I befriend in blogland....I recently received the paper copy of a new newsletter in our Friday folder but it is also in cyber print so I thought I'd pass the link along to you guys.....it's called STEPPING STONES and there are just some great articles and support resources that I personally bookmarked...Happy Reading-hope you can use some of the info !!!

Save the Date!

2011-10-20T13:17:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow we blog hop with the SOC divas!

and here's a sneak :):)

and yes, there will be blog candy from me!! See ya tomorrow!!!!

The Twist is "SPELL"

2011-10-19T20:36:00.000-04:00

any kind, any way! Our challenge is up over at Twisted Sketches and for sketch # 124, we've showed you our twist on words and letters! Some of the gals even used titles and song lyrics and boy were they creative!

As many of you know, I am gonna be one of the upcoming guest designers over at Little Yellow Bicycle (details to be coming) and after creating my reveals for it, I had tons of product leftover from their Head of the Class collection so what better way to showcase the twist than with this collection?? Everything on the layout with the exception of the number 6, the abc (American Crafts) and the alphas (American Crafts) is from Little Yellow Bicycle... It fit the twist perfectly !!!

so, if you are still scrapping back to school pictures, this twist is for you! OR, if you are scrapping Halloween, we have some inspiration for that too ! TFL and hope we inspire you to get crafty in any kinda way this week!

Blues blog and my scrappin fascination

It was a SMASHING weekend!

It's a SUPER HAPPY Friday AND Twisted 138 is up!

more LOTD

last of the 2012 CHA swoons

LOTD

Marvelous Monday!

Love, Peace and SOUL....

I'm back! Weekend recap and some shares

Wow...CHA 2012....I may need to start over

More CHA 2012 loves!

Wow-awesome plunge!

It's FRIGID FRIDAY!

Twisted Sketch #136 is up

Twisted Sketches sneak......

Simple Stories CHA 2012 reveals AND a blog winner!

LOTD

PURPLE SUNDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

The wait is over-IT'S A SIMPLE BLOG HOP :)

Featured Friday crafter....is Marilyn!

Some Simple Stories since we are counting down!

COUNTDOWN....SIMPLE STORIES!

tomorrow...save the date :):)

Save the date and a sneak!

melissa's got 2012 birthday love goodies to giveaway!

Studio Calico CHA 2012 droolworthy....

Thanks Wendy for showing me the ....

Jenni Bowlin sticker love 2012 !!

Sunday multitasking...

HAPPY SUNDAY!

more CHA 2012-Making Memories!

Thankful Thursday

Wandering Wednesday!! AND a TWIST !

POTD

Terrific Tuesday!

TGIF! and some CHA 2012 drool worthy goodies :)

Thankful Thursday

bear (?) bare (?) with me...I'm behind in New Years blogging

just some pics from New Years

KellyM has a fab jewelry giveaway!

actually scrapping some current pics for once...

last layouts of 2011....

LOTD with a tiny overlay

ENTER 2012...HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!

THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS....

SCRAPLIFT OF THE DAY

TGIF!

Tyra mail!

Altered project...Buttons baby!

Happy Christmas 2011 !

Merry Christmas!

LOTD

Counting down the days...are u ready??

OMG Snail MAIL **International baby **

Christmas Picture outtakes...Take 1 !

it's a Terrific Tuesday! and a RAK winner!!!

Joe's got a RAK Giveaway!

Paper bag love....Krafty bags in time for the holidays!

Weekend recap! and our tree is up EARLY!!

Twisted Sketches Challenge # 132 is up!!

We finally get a tree! Thankful Thursday!!

POTD-it's wonderful Wednesday!

LOTD

you ever have those days?

Howard County famlies***CAMP FAIR FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

Terrific Tuesday! WHERE HAVE I BEEN???

TGIF...and it's Purple Friday!

LOTD

where has November gone and a printable...

LOTD

the Scrap your Crap blog is back

The Scorpian Crafter has a Giveaway!!!

I won't give any spoilers..but this is BIG!

POTD

It's Super Tuesday and...

Super Saturday!

Thankful Thursday and It's World Prematurity Day!

It's Breaking Dawn Premiere!

Holiday creations begin!

Still Smashing!!

OMG Snail MAIL International baby