Creating my everyday

Our first snow!

2009-12-06T19:03:00.003-05:00

You've got to love the first snow of the winter. Well, except that it's not even winter yet ;-) I think we're going to be in for a crazy, snowy, cold winter once it actually gets here! We got several inches yesterday, so, of course, we just had to go out and play!

It was perfect packing-snow, too - it made great snowballs (that was Noah's favorite part, as you can see ;-)

How's the weather on your end?

I hope everyone had a great weekend! We had a busy one here - we went to a Brinner (breakfast for dinner) party at our neighbors' house last night, and we had a birthday party today. We'll all sleep well tonight!

I'll be back soon with my AMM December kit work :-)

Some Prima love!

2009-11-30T20:10:00.002-05:00

I feel so lucky that Prima sponsored the AMM DT this month, as who doesn't love Prima?! A BIG thank you to AMM and Prima for our gorgeous goodies! Most of the papers are from the Indeed line, and the flowers and glittered chip letters are Prima, as well. I had fun playing around with lots of border punches too :-) Don't forget that you can click on the layouts if you want to see them bigger.
Thanks for stopping by, my friends! Happy Monday!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-28T18:25:00.003-05:00

I hope that all my friends who celebrate Thanksgiving had a great one! We've had a busy few days here, and now i'm recuperating lol. I started cooking Wednesday night and finished around the time that everyone was arriving Thursday afternoon. I had a very Pioneer Woman Thanksgiving, lol. For those who don't know her blog, you should totally check it out! Her recipes have never disappointed me, so I went with her Turkey brine and her method of roasting turkey. Oh, and her amazing chocolate pie, too ;-)

Yesterday was a fun day! I did some Black Friday shopping in the morning, and then I went to a crop from 4-midnight with next-door Lisa and down-the-street Heather. We were the only croppers there, too, so we had the place to ourselves - even better, hehea! I got 4 layouts done, so I was happy with that. Of course, my AMM kit arrived today - where was the postman yesterday when I needed him?? Hopefully i'll have time to dig into it soon because it is gooorgeous! You can get one here if you love it as much as I do - lots of yummy Jenni Bowlin, Graphic 45, Making Memories and Prima!
Here is the Fancy Pants layout I made the other day with the new Vintage Valentine line. I can't get enough of this line! I'm also very into tulle lately - I did a double layer on this layout. The journaling on this talks about the conversation that Chloe and I had that I talked about here.
This is one of the layouts I did at the crop yesterday, and here is some tulle showing up again lol. At least I used a different color this time ;-) I used lots of gorgeous Pink Paislee on here, and I also used this textured crinkly paper I picked up ages ago. These photos of Chloe were taken last summer, and I just love how sweet and innocent she looks.
Well, friends, it's bath time for the kiddies. Hope you all are having a great weekend!!

I'm in love...

2009-11-24T23:07:00.004-05:00

with the new Vintage Valentine line by Fancy Pants!! It is seriously gorgeous! And i'm loving Frosted, as well, but I haven't gotten to play with that one yet, so that is next on my list ;-)

There will be a reveal on the Fancy Pants blog on Thursday with some layouts using the new lines, so be sure to check it out! In the meantime, here are a couple of sneaks of the layout I did using the VV line.

Wow, what a busy weekend we had!! My fam and I had a blast seeing Springstein in concert! I will admit that I really don't know that much of his music. But wow, that was one of the best performances i've ever seen!! He is amazing - so much energy, and he truly makes the audience feel like he is performing to each and every person there! He even crowd surfed, lol. My favorite part was one he brought a girl (probably about 12) up on stage and let her sing with him - so sweet! We had amazing seats too, thanks to my brother's hook ups :-)

My parents rocking out:
My bro, me and Tony:
Self portrait:
I took these photos of Bruce with my regular lens. I kept joking that if I had brought my zoom lens, I would have been able to see the pores on his face lol. We were in the 2nd row on the side!
My SIL and me:
Bruuuuuuuuuuce:

I got my plane tickets tonight for CHA, so it is now officially official. Whoo - I can't wait!

Tomorrow begins the start of Thanksgiving preparations here at the Taylor household. We host Thanksgiving, and it's one of my very favorite holidays. Love the together time with the family, as well as the yummy food! My MIL is on her way here now, so it will be nice to have her here for several days! I hope that those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving have a wonderful holiday! I'm thankful for all my blog friends out there! :-)

Still here...

2009-11-19T15:31:00.003-05:00

Yes, I am still good and well, but boy this week got away from me quickly! I don't know if it's the time of year or what, but things are feeling awfully busy lately! I did have time to make a layout using one of the transparencies from the Dancing Girl line. I cut out some flowers from one of the coordinating papers to layer over the flowers in the transparency. These photos of Chloe totally crack me up! Yesterday was a happy mail day as I received the two new Fancy Pants lines, Vintage Valentine and Frosted. I definitely plan to dig into these soon!!
Today was a fun day - one of my good friends came out and spent the day with me and the kids, so that was a nice treat. We have a busy weekend ahead - tomorrow night, we're going to the Bruce Springstein concert and then out to dinner to celebrate my brother's 40th birthday (and let me add that he is my older brother by almost 6 years lol!!). Saturday night, we have a going away party for good friends that are moving to England, and then Sunday, I am volunteering at a bingo fundraiser for Noah's school. Phew - I'm tired just thinking about it all!

Oh, before I forget, AMM has some great things on sale, and many of them are only $1. You can check it out here.

Hope everyone else has a wonderful rest of their week and a great weekend!

A time for giving...

2009-11-12T13:34:00.002-05:00

I have a really cool opportunity to tell you guys about if you're a crafter who is in the giving mood, but first I want to share a new Fancy Pants layout I just completed. I so love this Rough & Tough line, and as soon as I saw the dark cloud/lightening bolt paper and glitter cut, I knew I wanted to use them for these photos of the kids jumping in puddles after a rainstorm. They were SO excited when I told them to come on out and splash around - we created such fun memories that day!
Now, onto the giving part. My friend Michelle, who also happens to be the owner of AMM, has a daughter with Leukemia. Michelle is organizing a scrapbook drive for anyone who wants to get rid of some old scrappy supplies sitting around that are not getting used. I contributed last year, and it made me feel so good to know that I was helping bring smiles to the faces of these kids. Here is what Michelle said on the thread at AMM:

When my daughter Chloe was 4 years old, she was diagnosed with Leukemia. She spent several months in the hospital when she first began chemotherapy. For several weeks during this time in the beginning, she was unable to walk, she would hardly talk and was basically a little zombie. The ONLY THING that brought her any sense of joy at this period in her life, was doing craft projects. She was sometimes unable to leave her room and the social workers and play room attendants would bring projects to her room for her to work on. It was a really dark place in her life (and ours), but doing little art projects gave her a purpose every day.

I'm telling you all of this because doing arts and crafts means a lot to children who are stuck in the hospital ~ especially during the holiday season when they cannot be home with their families. What I would like to do is do a scrapbook drive (same as last year, if you were involved in that), where what you do is basically clean out your scraproom and throw into a box the items that you know that you will not use. We are just donating this stuff to kids, so they don't mind the old Jolees and Suzy's Zoo stickers or the ancient Debbie Mumm papers that you never threw away. THEY actually appreciate them. LOL. So, if you would like to participate, please box up your stuff and send it to us.

Chloe is scheduled for her next hospital procedure in early - mid December (probably about 12/7). When we go in, I would like for her to be able to take the donations with her.

Thanks so much! If you do this, believe that you are doing something special for a sick child that will truly appreciate it!!!

If you are interested in donating, please click on the link for more info or you can e-mail me at stacimtaylor at gmail dot com, and I can give you the address info. where the donations can be sent.

Thanks for reading through all that, and I hope everyone is having a great week! I'm anxious for the rain to go away on my end!!

I'm a hoarder, yes I am

2009-11-09T19:20:00.003-05:00

I am a keeper of all things. I always have been. But when it comes to scrapping and gorgeous patterned papers, my hording-ness (nice word, right?) comes out full force. I've had that red flowered Pink Paislee paper for awhile now, and I just couldn't bring myself to touch it, much less cut it. But alas, those flowers were really calling for me the other day, so I finally broke free and pulled the paper out ;-) And i'm so glad I did! I combined several different lines here, and this is what I got:
I love these photos of my then-very young Chloe (16 months!) making dandelion wishes. I think these papers definitely did those photos justice. Journaling says: Never stop believing in wishes, Chloe. One day they will all come true!

Hubby has been working a ton lately, and I think we're all exhausted in this house. It's definitely going to be an early night for us. Hope everyone out there in blog land had a great weekend! Happy Monday!!

What we've been up to...

2009-11-06T20:22:00.002-05:00

Some scrapping and some playing... it doesn't get any better than that! ;-)

This is my last layout using hte Earth Love line from Cosmo Cricket. I did this one for the member lift that we did at AMM - some of our design team lifted the fabulous Amy Tara Koeppel (you can see her layout and the other lifts on the AMM blog here ).
I had fun combining some bubble wrap and glimmer mist on the background - that worked so much better for me than paint! Journaling reads: Every child has their security blanket, and Gabs and Kirbs are Noah's. We got Kirby when I was pregnant with Noah, and Gabby came along the following year. They are Noah's favorite sleepy time pals!

We had my 3 year old nephew here from early yesterday morning through early this morning. I learned what it is like to have twins since my nephew and Chloe are so close in age :-) We had a great time! Yesterday, we spent some time outside at the park, and these are a few of my favorite shots of my kiddos:
Whoo hoo, I can't believe it's Friday already! Hope your weeks are winding down nicely, and that you all have a fabulous weekend!!

Some Earth Love...

2009-11-04T22:36:00.002-05:00

I feel so lucky that Cosmo Cricket sponsored our DT at A Million Memories this month, and I got to work with the awesome Earth love line! A big thank you to Cosmo Cricket and AMM!

I always loved this photo of Tony and me, and these papers had exactly the carefree, fun feel to them that I was looking for to match this photo.
On Noah's 2nd birthday, we had an awesome day enjoying a long walk and playtime outside, just the two of us. I wrote him a letter at that time, and I enclosed it in the Maya Road envelope that I added to this layout. It only took me 3 years to do this layout, lol!
Journaling for "Yes I am" reads: Even on my most stressed out, hair pulling kind of mommy days, there is not a day that goes by that I don't think of how incredibly lucky I am to be their mother. They are my world!
I've done one more layout with this line, but I can't share that one just yet. Soon, though!

I hope everyone is having a good week and that you all have recovered from your candy highs ;-) It's off to bed for me - I'm watching my nephew tomorrow, and he's getting dropped off bright and early at 6am. Can't wait to have him over for an overnight!

Only 363 days...

2009-11-02T21:13:00.004-05:00

until next Halloween! ;-)

The kids had a blast. The adults had a blast. And we all needed some major recuperation time yesterday, lol. Saturday night was a veeery late night for all of us. The party went off without a hitch. Well, one minor hitch. I did sort of forget to pull out the mummy cake pops that took me about 3 hours to make. Yeah, I wasn't too happy when I realized that Sunday morning, lol.

But, at least I remembered to put my spider cupcakes on the table
along with my witch's hat calzones
and the shrimp brain.

Don't you just love this shot of my two angels (insert eye rolling here). Yeah, this is pretty much the best that I got when I tried to get a photo of them together, smiling. Better luck next year.
My transformer:
My fairy princess:
I have a ton of pics from the party, but because I don't want to lose any friends, I think i'll refrain from posting embarrassing party shots for the whole world to see, lol.

Before I go, I wanted to share the gorgeous November kit from AMM with you guys. Isn't it SO pretty?? The design team is starting to post their creations, so be sure to check out what they've done. And if you're interested in the kit, you can go here to check it out.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!!

Fancy Pants glitter cuts

2009-10-30T12:18:00.002-04:00

I am a huge fan of the Fancy Pants glitter cuts! Sometimes, though, certain glitter colors don't work with a layout (although that is a very rare occurence for this glitter fan, lol). The glitter cuts are so versatile, though, that you can even turn them around like I did in this layout below. The silver glitter was too strong for my layout, but the black backside worked perfectly :-)

I also covered the pale pink Kraft Kuts letter stickers with orange ink and orange glitter. You can see more examples of how the Halloween glitter cuts are used on today's Fancy Pants blog post here.

There is also an exciting opportunity going on at AMM right now - we are looking for a Guest Designer for December! Here's what you have to do if you're interested in applying:
1. register on our boards at www.amillionmemories.com and become an active member; we want to get to know you
2. Post our A Million Memories blinkie on your blog and
3. In an email attach two layouts you think are your best work, a link to your blog and/or your gallery, and your contact information.

Please submit your application by November 15th to Jenn at Jennifer.Findlay@yahoo.com.

Good luck, everyone! I'd love to see one of my blog readers as December's guest!!

SO, one day and counting until Halloween! I'm not sure who is more excited - me or the kids, lol! We're going to do a group TOT in our n'hood, and then the Halloween party is back at our house afterwards - I can't wait! Just keep your fingers crossed that the rain stays away! Happy Halloween to those of you who celebrate it!

cookies+candy+icing=

2009-10-27T13:15:00.002-04:00

A big mess!

We bought this haunted cookie house about a month ago, and the kids had been waiting patiently until it was time to make it. Well, I figured this weekend, with Halloween only a week away, was time ;-)

I think more candy and icing went in their mouths than on the house, but I guess that's the point, right?

Will be back soon with some scrappiness to share ;-)

Some Bo Bunny projects

2009-10-23T20:48:00.003-04:00

A big thank you to AMM and Bo Bunny for sponsoring our DT this month! I got to play with the Flutter Butter line:

The first layout was done for an Ad Challenge that was posted at the AMM crop this weekend, and the second was done for a Menu challenge in which I had to use certain "ingredients" on my layout. I love having challenges to help inspire me! (My fourth project is the Welcome Autumn sign that can be seen in the last post).

So, we're gearing up for Halloween in our house - i'm so excited that it's just about a week away! I'm also pretty sure i'm actually going to get to CHA this year for the winter show, and i'm super excited! Raise your hand if you're going to be there! :-)

Anyway, friends, happy Friday and enjoy your weekend. I've been summoned for Jury Duty next week, so it'll be interesting to see what happens!

A couple of projects to share...

2009-10-20T19:52:00.002-04:00

Although i'm definitely a layout kind of girl, I also really enjoy making home decor things - it's definitely a chance for me to stretch my creativity in a different way. Here are a couple of recent projects I have to share. This first one is a sign for my front door that I made for the crop this weekend at AMM (which was soo fun, btw!). Bo Bunny sponsored our DT this month, so I used the gorgeous papers they sent for this inchie project.
Next, I made this Halloween centerpiece for the Fancy Pants blog yesterday. This was a lot of fun to make, and since we're huge Halloween people in my house, i'm glad I now have something to display in my kitchen. You can see how I made it here.
I know this is a quick, drive-by post, but we had a long day today! Dance class for Chloe this morning, then we spent the day at the pumpkin patch for Noah's field trip, and then Tony and I celebrated a friend's birthday at our house. Time for me to go collapse with some good Tuesday night TV ;-) Hope you all are having a great week!

AMM Anniversary Crop Blog Hop & Scavenger Hunt

2009-10-18T09:29:00.006-04:00

As part of AMM’s anniversary crop we’re having a blog hop and a scavenger hunt. Here is how this will work: each one of the AMM Design Team members will have a special post for the blog hop where you will have the chance to get to know them a little bit better. At the end of the post, there will be a question that will lead you on a hunt through the AMM site and/or AMM blog (the link to the AMM blog can be found on the left sidebar of the main store site). Be sure to check the anniversary crop forum for complete information on the Blog Hop Challenge.

Here’s a little interview for you to get to know me better:

What is your favorite item in the AMM store at the moment? I am a bling kind of girl, and I am loving all the new Prima "Say it in crystals" - gorgeous stuff!

Are you a messy scrapper or clean and tidy? Definitely messy! You can't even see my desk once I get started on a project - I pull out a ton of papers and embellishments and mess around until I find something that looks right!

What are your 3 must have scrapbooking products/tools? My Fiskars fine tipped scissors, Tim Holtz edge distressor and chipboard.

What was the last scrapbook item you purchased? Patterned papers - I certainly don't need anymore, but I can't stop buying them!

What is your guilty pleasure? I love having microwave popcorn with lots of "spray butter" and popcorn seasoning on it. I load it up! It's hard to find the popcorn under all the stuff I put on it, lol.

What scrapbooking embellishment or technique do you use on almost all of your pages? I almost always distress my edges - I love the little hint of shabbiness it gives to a layout.

What was the last movie you saw in a movie theater? Cloudy with a chance of meatballs (can you tell I have young kids? lol)

How long does does it normally take you to complete a layout? Several hours - often broken up over more than one day. I'm a slooow scrapper!

Is your spouse, significant other or family supportive of your scrapbook hobby? I'm very lucky that my hubby is very supportive! He is an artist and enjoys drawing/illustrating as a hobby, so he totally "gets" my need for a creative fix! My kids are too young to know any better, lol, but i'm hoping they'll be happy that mommy scrapbooks many of their memories!

Now onto the scavenger hunt! Here is your question:

What was the question of the day on 8/21/09? Which member said that she loves Pepsi but WON’T drink Coke?

Now head on over to Jeni's blog for your next scavenger hunt question!

My projects for A Million Memories!

2009-10-16T00:30:00.006-04:00

So, i've been a busy girl, and I have lots of stuff to show you! Ok, so yes, I am now on the DT for AMM so, of course, I already knew that I loved their kits or I wouldn't have come aboard, but let me just tell you that this kit did not disappoint!! It is seriously gorgeous, and it's jam packed with goodies, including the house mini-album that I made. Here are the 3 layouts that I made:

Sweet Pickin:

New Friend:

You are my everything:
And, finally, here is my mini. Minis take me forever, but the process is so worth it for me. I love that I have a whole themed album when i'm done. And i've always wanted to document our home, so this house mini gave me the kick in the butt to finally do that :-)
Sorry to overload you with pictures!

I had a fun evening - I went to the live tour of So You Think You Can Dance. This is my third year going, and it was a total blast! It really makes me wish I were more coordinated, though, lol. Hope everyone is having a great week, and I hope i'll see some of you at AMM's crop this weekend!

I've been a bad blogger!

2009-10-14T06:49:00.002-04:00

Yikes, I can't believe it's been almost a week since i've been here! Things have been super busy on the homefront, and i've been working hard with my gorgeous AMM kit! I've completed 3 layouts so far, and started a mini-album, so I should be back to share those creations with you very soon!

In the meantime, here are some sneaks of the projects/challenges that will be up for the crop over at AMM this weekend. If you're looking for a fun place to hang, as well as up for trying to win some awesome prizes, please stop by!!
Here are some additional sneaks of my project :-)

Lastly, here are two of my favorite pics from the pumpkin patch this weekend. We got lucky with beautiful weather, and we all had a blast!
Happy hump day, everyone! Hope you're enjoying your week!

Mark your calendars!

2009-10-08T13:26:00.002-04:00

You all probably noticed my new blinkie over there <------------- . AMM just had a birthday, and we're celebrating with an online crop! The crop will be the weekend of October 16-18th, so please stop by and join us! We have a lot of fun stuff planned, and A LOT of awesome prizes to give away!

Before I share a new layout, I thought i'd post a couple of photos taken of Tony and me at the wedding this weekend. Isn't my honey the cutest? :-)

Now onto my new Fancy Pants layout. The background pp is from the Rough and Tough line, and I also used some Kraft Kuts. The black felt square holding the photo is from one of the mixed media books - I get so much mileage out of these books b/c I use them not only as mini albums, but on my layouts and for home decor projects, too!

Journaling reads: Not a day goes by that we don't see one of your funny faces, crazy dance moves, or here one of your entertaining stories. You are a natural comediatn through and through, and your personality always brings a smile! Yep... that's my boy! :-)

I can't believe we're so close to the weekend already. What's everyone up to? I think it will be a slow weekend here, for once! Happy Thursday, everyone!

Please check this out!

2009-10-05T21:40:00.002-04:00

My sweet friend Amy Tara Koeppel is doing a VERY generous RAK on her blog today in memory of her dear mother who she lost to breast cancer 20 years ago today. Please go check out her post here - she gives us all a very important reminder to take care of our health and to fight back against this nasty disease. Thinking of you, Amy!

Before I go, I just wanted to share a Fancy Pants card I made for World Cardmaking Day, which we celebrated this weekend on the FP blog. I had fun covering my "creepy" card with some fake spider webs - I love those things! ;-)

The wedding was a blast on Saturday, and my friend Dana was gorgeous! Weddings make me so happy - it's so nice to see people so happy and so in love!

Happy Monday, friends!

Eye candy time!

2009-10-03T13:47:00.004-04:00

So, before I show you the gorgeous AMM kit that is pure eye candy, I have the last of my JBS projects to share. This layout is about my sister-in-law and me. Journaling reads: We weren't born as sisters, but we became sisters when I was 21 & Terry married my brother. She's the sister I never had, and I feel so blessed to have her in my life.

I'm sure you all recognize that handsome boy! ;-) Journaling: I love your originality, Noah. Always stay true to who you are - always be you!

And the last of my six projects is a canvas I made with my scraps from the kit. I first sprayed glimmer mist and added glitter to the canves before I added my squares. I added some more glitter on top after I put the squares down (i'm not too glitter crazy, am I? ;-), and I painted some TH crackle paint around the edges of the photo and the canvas. Can't wait to hang this up!

Thanks again to JBS for having me as the October guest - it was an honor and a blast!!

Now, onto the eye candy.... this is October's kit for AMM, and I am sooo excited to play with mine! I should be getting it any day now. The papers are Jenni Bowlin and October Afternoon, and the letters and embellies are a mixture of October Afternoon, Pink Paislee, Prima, Basic Grey, Creative Imaginations. If you want to check it out in greater detail, go here.

Well, I hope you all are having a wonderful weekend so far! One of my closest friends is getting married tonight, so I can't wait for the wedding! It's been a long time since we've had a night out without the kids, too, so i'm sure we'll enjoy some adult time! Happy weekend, everyone!

Some pics and some JBS layouts

2009-10-01T13:28:00.005-04:00

So, my "little" boy is going to be five tomorrow. Sniff sniff. I know it's cliche and all, but time really does fly, especially when they are little it seems. I love the quote, "the days are long, but the years are short." So true. Anyway, here are some of my favorite pics from Noah's magic themed birthday party on Sunday...

Getting ready to go to his party:
My dad and Chloe:
Having fun being the star of the show:
My mom and Chloe:
Chloe with my niece:
A family pic minus one child, lol:

Gotta go help Noah put together one of his new transformers (this is a theme this week, lol), so i'll drop off a few layouts I did with the gorgeous Jenni Bowlin kits.

My little princess:

And speaking of my big almost-five year old, here he was at just three weeks old!

Thanks for stopping by, everyone! Happy Thursday!! :-)

My guest designer toot...

2009-09-28T21:50:00.005-04:00

I'm sooo excited to finally be able to tell you guys that I am October's Guest Designer for Jenni Bowlin Studios! I am a huuuuge fan of JBS, and I'm thrilled and honored that I got to work with her kits this month. This is one of the projects I completed, and more will be revealed when the gallery goes live on the 30th.
You can read more on the JBS blog here.

Thanks for letting me share, everyone! I've been so excited about this, and I had an absolute blast creating with the kits! They're goooorgeous!

Hope everyone's week is starting off great!

p.s. Tammy, please contact me by Wednesday so I can get you into Doris' class! I have no contact info for you. Thanks!

And the grammy goes to...

2009-09-25T14:34:00.003-04:00

True Random Number Generator Result: 23

tammy said...

I just found you! Adorable little cuties you've got there! Would love a free pass to Doris' class! Love her style! Thanks for sharing!

Congratulations Tammy! Please e-mail me at stacimtaylor@gmail.com, and I will forward your info on to Doris. Enjoy her class!!

I have a Fancy Pants layout to share using the Rough and Tough line. I don't think there are enough cute boy lines out there, so I was thrilled when this line debuted at CHA this summer. It's perfect! I just got a big 'ole box of more Fancy Pants in the mail the other day, so I can't wait to get to work with my new goodies.

Speaking of getting to work, I made SIX projects this week for my guest design spot! Hubby happened to be out of town this week on business (he comes home in a couple of hours, yay!!), so I had lots of post kids' bedtime scrapping time! I think six projects in one week is definitely a record for me! I can not wait to share them with you guys and to let the cat out of the bag where i'm guest designing. Did I mention how excited I am about it? ;-)

So, my little man turns 5 next Friday, I can't believe it! His birthday party is on Sunday, so he's super excited! We're having a magic/carnival party... you know i'll be back with pics to share!

Happy weekend, everyone!

Did someone say giveaway?

2009-09-21T19:54:00.005-04:00

Yes, I know i've been a little giveaway crazy lately, but I can't take all the credit. Actually, I can't take any of the credit, lol. The last giveaway was a class courtesy of the lovely Sherry Steveson, and this giveaway is a class courtesy of the fabulous Doris Sander!

Doris is at it again, teaching another one of her awesome classes! Doris is one of my all-time favorite scrappers, and it's because she definitely has that "wow" factor. Her new class, Product Pizazz 201 teaches you how to add that wow factor to your own layouts. This is the class description: Are you ready to add the “wow” factor to your layouts? Surprisingly, it’s the smallest details that can have the biggest impact on your designs. In Product Pizzazz 201 we’ll be polishing our layouts, taking them from fine to fabulous. You'll get your scrapbooking to the next level by using tiny embellishments, basic tools, and simple techniques.

There will be 8 lessons posted on Mondays and Thursdays over 4 weeks, starting September 28th. Here are some sneaks to get you excited, and you can click on the link above to learn more:
Leave me a comment on this post, and i'll pick a winner on Friday.

We had a lovely weekend full of lots of sunshine. I'm so loving this fall-like weather! Here are some pics of my cuties:

I am off to go get creative! :-) Hope that everyone's week is starting off great!

Oldies but goodies...

2009-09-18T14:52:00.002-04:00

We had a thread going at AMM the other day in which we were posting our 3 favorite layouts. Since I have no new layouts to share today (or that I can share yet, I should say ;-), I thought it would be fun to take a walk down memory lane. I'm not sure that these are my 3 all-time favs, but they're definitely 3 of my *older* favs. The first two layouts were done a year and a half to two years ago, and the last layout was done about 15 months ago.

By the way, since the journaling is such an integral part of the above layout, I'll share it here: On October 2nd, 2004, I couldn't help thinking that, on this day, everything had gone wrong. It started by daddy and I being sent home from the hospital the first time we went. As a result, by the time we went back, I had progressed much further then I would have liked without an epidural (I was 7cm dilated before I got one). My labor with you went on and on and on for a total of 25 hours. I pushed for 3 of those hours with nothing to show for it. When I was told that I was going to need a C-Section, I sobbed. I sobbed because I was living my worst case scenario - a long labor, hours of pushing and still ending up with a C-Section. I sobbed because I was disappointed and felt let down by my body. I wanted to have you the way I was meant to - not in an operating room. I sobbed because I was scared to death. Yet, in one moment's time, "the day that everything had gone wrong" became one of the best days of my life. You were here. You were healthy. And I was head over heels in love.

I always feel like I don't really have a scrapping style - i've never been able to define it when people ask (can anyone help me out here? ;-). It's interesting to me, though, that although these layouts were done a long time ago, I feel like the style of the layouts (whatever that may be, lol) is still what I do today.

So it's Friday - whoo hoo! We're spending the evening with my parents and bro/family, which is always fun. I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend filled with lots of good times :-)