Scrap love...

Oh the scrap love!

This is the July scrapjack that will be posted today over at scrapjacked. Head on over there to check out the details and see the other girls amazing work!

I am so in love with my Maya mists...I can't even begin to tell you how much. And zig zag stitching. And masking. Oh the techniques.

Can you tell I am crazy inspired by Mandi these days. Thanks Mandi!

Oh and this layout...not only did I stich my letters...but I painted them too. The letters were actually blue like the ones in the layout below but I SO wanted big bold yellow letters for my title. So I turned to my handy dandy paint pen.

Don't know why that picture is so dark but the detailed pic below is perfect.

See...more title stitching.
And finally a "precious" little set of gift cards for baby gifts or thank yous. I stamped the word on velum and sewed it to the patterned paper to give it a sofened, finished look.

All of these layouts & cards were made with the June Masters kit. I think last I checked there was one left! So if you like...and you want...run on over there!

Long lost family and stuff

This week we found out we had a long lost cousin.

This is her picture. Sadly, she died before we got to meet her. She was a beautiful woman indeed. Turns out that my great aunt (the one that lived with my great grand mother in the house the was being torn down recently), had a baby in her 20's and most of the family didn't even know about it.

This is a picture of my great grandmother with all her children. She is on the front row all the way to the left and my great aunt is the one standing next to her. They have both past away as well.

Luckily, we got to meet a descendant of the child that was given away for adoption many years ago.

This is a picture of my dad, our newly found cousin Loyd and my uncle Tommy. Loyd was such a pleasure to meet and so was so appreciative to be meeting the family he never knew.

Speaking of my great grandmother's house...it is now gone.

I took this picture as they were in the process of demolition late last week but now it's just an empty lot. Very sad about that but it is what it is. Houses have life expectancies too and I guess this one was up.

Stay tuned tomorrow for some scrap goodness and our latest scrapjacked page.

Good Times All Around...

So the weekend is only half way over and I am already quite happy with how it's shaping up.
Last night we meet up with some high school friends of mine that I hadn't seen since high school (yeah thats 14 years for you guys keeping track). It's amazing how quickly you can catch up with old friends on facebook. We never realized how much we had in common and now that we are married and both have kids it's sort of a no brainer that we hang out. So anyway, we met for dinner and then went to see a local comedian and had a blast. We even capped it off with a Waffle House visit. So much fun. We are already planning a New Orleans night out!

Then today we went to my inlaw's camp for a little day at the river & boiled crawfish.

Zane enjoyed his little pool on the deck and fishing with his little toy fishing pole.

And loved watching paw paw and daddy pull up crab traps.

Guess what we are having tomorrow for dinner? he he!

Oh and I have a few scrappy things to share but I'll save that for tomorrow's post perhaps.

Guest Designer at VP Creative Cafe

Hi guys! This month I was the guest designer for the Vintage Plum Creative Cafe.
This is the little gated card I demonstrated. The ladies there were so much fun and got so creative with their cards!

You can swing by Vintage Plum and join in the fun. The instuctions are up in the forum under the creative cafe section. If you upload your cards to the Creative Cafe Gallery by Sunday at midnight, you have a chance to win these earrings from my etsy shop...

Come on, I'd love to see what you come up with!

Oh and speaking of my etsy shop, I'm going to be updating it this weekend with some new goodies. If you are my friend on Facebook you may have already seen some of the pretties so check it out later this weekend.

Celebrating Independance Day

Holiday review! I know it's late but life is crazy sometimes you know!
I can't get these pictures in order to save my life! Blogger just sort of puts them were they want them and won't let me move them. Oh well...they are sorta in order.

We started off our day with a jeep ride to my brother's house for my niece's birthday party.

Her birthday was in March but she insisted on having a summer party because she wanted a slip and slide. So we went and I thought Zane would eventually get into it but not so.

Below is the UNbirthday girl enjoying her slip and slide!

And this is where Zane spent the better part of the party. This is a misplaced picture (thanks blogger) of us at the pool party that we went to after the birthday party.

A very merry UNbirthday to you!

Ok, another misplaced picture...this is Zane's reaction to the slip and slide...

He finally said he wanted to take a turn on the slide. So my brother took him on it. *note the clinched fists*

Now my baby niece on the other hand, she loved it!

Here is my brother with his baby girl. She is a doll. I'm so proud of my brother for turning out to be a great daddy. He is still a bit irresponsible and child like at times but he has come a LONG way and treats his girls like gold!

The next two shots are pictures of the view from the Plaquemine Locks where we went watch the fireworks.

I'm so happy my little hometown has started such a wonderful tradition and it has been so well received. It really is nice to be able to have a celebration like this without having to go 20 or 30 minutes out of town to an over crowded drunk fest to watch the fireworks.

Ok, more back tracking...before we went to the fireworks we went to hang out with our friends at their little pool party. After the slip and slide ordeal we were not sure how Zane would react to this.

Apparently fairly well.

He did enjoy the water but was in and out of the pool and spazy as usual.

He did however love his little boat!

So back to the fireworks...

We parked the jeep up on the levee and watch the fireworks from there once it got dark.

Zane was amazed. He does love watching the pretty fireworks.

After the fireworks show Zane went to grandma's house and David and I headed out to a new local hot spot for some live music. It was strange going out locally and seeing all the locals that I never see...some of which I haven't seen since grade school. But we had a great time.

And this is a better shot of my tiny bit too short dress...you can't tell from this picture but it was short. Well short for me at least.

And that's it in a nut shell. A very long winded and photo heavy nut shell!

Now you guys be sure to swing by Vintage Plum this afternoon where I will be making a guest appearance at their monthly creative cafe. Log on at 6 p.m. central to join in!

Talk about taking the pressure off...

I recently made a wonderful discovery! I normally go to the CVS store here in town to print my digital pictures. Well apparently they now print little mini albums.
I thought this would be a great idea to chronicle Zane's big moments from year to year.

So I put all the pictures I wanted to include on a memory card and got this little book printed at CVS. It documents all of his first year moments including some pic from when was preggers.

and capped it off with pictures from his first birthday.

I just love how it turned out. So clean and simple and professional looking. I always felt bad because even though I scrapbook TONS of his pictures, I worry that I may be leaving out some of the chronological moments. This wonderful little book was a great way to ensure that I have all these moments in one simple little book. It was so perfect! I think I'm going to go back and do one for each year to document the events of that year and end them with that year's birthday party pictures. Which makes me think GREAT grandma gifts for Christmas! I'm thinking yes! If you have picture guilt like me, you should check out this option for documenting your children's pictures. If you don't have a CVS in you area you can do it online. Just do it, it's easy and very inexpensive! Not much more that printing the pictures themselves!

LOTS to share

So I've been crazy busy...Making jewelry...

Like this necklace

And these earrings

And this necklace

And these earrings

And these super cute burp clothes and baby accessory items...

*sigh* but I love that I made stuff. Stuff I've been meaning to make. Who knows, maybe I'll scrapbook later this weekend with all those SIS pictures.

Now to our New Orleans excursion...Zane and I took a little day trip with Alissa (AKA: Ms. Batts) to check out a little flea market/junk shop she found.

This was the Chinese restaurant that we stopped at for lunch.

Zane kept telling me he wanted to "go in there" and pointing to the mirror. That kinda freaked me out a little. These pictures were the best thing about that place. That's all I can really say out that. The server was horribly rude and totally set the tone for our next stop which was a thrift store. The thrift store people were so rude that we left and didn't even finish buying our items. When you are that rude to your customers...you don't deserve our money.

Then we moved on to another thrift store and our luck was shaping up. We got some great bargains and had a good time digging through all the treasures. Next we moved on to the Dairy Queen for a sweet treat.

Oh the Chocolate dipped cones. Oh the joy! I'll be loading a ton more pics on my facebook account of him totally enjoying that cone!

Great car conversation and ending the day with Dairy Queen were the highlights of the day. So needless to say it was a great trip over all. It's not the destination after all...but the journey...right? LOL!

Gettin' Scrappy 'wit it!

Can I tell you how MAJORLY inspired I was at SIS Live? Well see for yourself...
This layout and the one below it were layouts I did as part of a special SIS Live JACK we did between me, Beth, Mandi & Vanessa. The layout above is my JACK of Beth. The layout below is my JACK of Mandi's layout.

And here are more fun layouts I did while cropping with these amazing ladies!

*sigh* told you...I was very inpsired. And this doesn't even include the projects I did in the classes I took! Wowza!

Hilarious and Random

Ok, so a lot of bloggers have been doing video blogging. And during the SIS Live event this weekend Mandi & Vanessa decided to do some blogging as well. They included a clip of one of the videos they shot with me. Totally random and funny!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETU86ha_SCg
You have to watch it all the way through to see me!

Back from SIScon!

SIScon was wonderful! We came, we saw, we scraped. We stayed here...(Embasy Suites)

I met some hella cool scrap chicks and friends like this beautiful chick...

and this chica...

And this adorable creature...

We sniffed glue...not really. Well maybe we did a little.

We took some kick ass classes from some scrap rock stars like Martha.

We violated each others scrap supplies

A lot. (yes Vanessa, that's your paper cutter....my bum is on your cutter, my bum is on your cutter!)

We took a ton of iphone pics and self portraits and we didn't care who's camera we were using!
We ate popcorn and drank and scraped and drank some more

We volunteered each other for Karaoke. And by "we" I mean me and Mandi & by "each other" I mean Vanessa.

She was SUCH a good sport and quite entertaining!

And then we felt bad so we joined her on stage as her back up dancers. We sucked.

Now I'm sad that it's over. I had to miss the final and best class taught by Jenni Bowlin because we had to leave first thing in the morning to make our 10 hour drive back! But it was all worth it. I had a blast! I'm looking forward to reunions with these wonderful ladies VERY soon!

There is so much more to share here! I'll be back to share more pics...I know Beth had a ton and so did Mandi so I'll post more later. Plus pics of the pages & projects I made while there.

Speaking of projects, I also had the most wonderful Kodak mini album to share but I need to take some pics. More to come bloggers!

Nighty Night~!

We've been trippin' & we ain't done yet!

So much fun stuff since my last post! First of all...
We went to New Orleans to see an awesome Guns & Roses tribute band! They also had a Poison band with them AND a Motley Crue tribute band! It was crazy good!

There was plenty of time for quality time with the hubs... ...with one of my best girls, Alissa

...see lots of girl time...

I even got to see one of my old grade school friends who now lives in New Orleans.

She had just come from an 80's themed party where she was dressed as Axl Rose! How perfect was that?! Love her painted tats! Then Sunday morning she invited us over to their home on the way out of town to have coffee with her and her hubs. Such a wonderful visit! I can't wait to do it again soon.

We also got in some shopping in the french quarter and took in the sights of the city...you would think we were tourist! LOL!

So here are a few of the sights we saw...

A DJ in a clothing boutique. Only in New Orleans would you see that!

Beautiful architecture and alleyways.

Wonderful ironwork.

FABULOUS soap shops like LUSH. I simply must get some of this stuff!

Oh and our hotel, although VERY reasonably priced, it had some wonderful amenities and a very high end feel to it. Check out these pillows. Soft & firm.

And the toiletries were so cool and sleek.

And now for a huge last minute treat...my hubs as agreed to a last minute road trip to Nashville so I can attend the Scrap In Style event!

I'm going to get to take some killer classes from Martha Bonneau, Jenni Bowlin & Amy Tan! AND I get to hang out with some beautiful women like my pal Beth Perry & Stacy Fike among others that I most likely don't even know are going yet. This is so spontaneous and exciting! So much better than signing up 6 months ago and having to wait! LOL! If you get a wild hair up you butt and wanna go too, there's still room!!!

>insert snazzy title here<

Yeah that's the best I can come up with. Shut up. So this post is about a Scrapjacked page, a Masters page & a random Urban Outfitters purchase. Above is my page for the latest scrapjack of my girl Beth Perry (who we have also asked to join the scrapjacked team!).

This is a page I did with my Masters kit. I painted the Heidi Swapp bling and cut the circles in half to make more of a scalloped look. Then I folded the HS flower over and stitched it. This page has been in my head since I got my kit but I just now finished it up.

Oh and this past weekend, me and my girl Alissa made a little Anthro/Urban trip and I picked up a few bargains. Then this afternoon I was cleaning up my mail pile and found this old Urban Outfitters spring catalog. That big blue flower ring in the middle was one of my clearance items I picked up! I love it to pieces!

I feel cool now that I own something that was on the cover of an Urban Outfitters catalog! LOL!

This makes me sad...

Remember the house we stayed in after the hurricane last year until our lights came on?

My great grandmother's old house? Well it's about to be torn down.

Its so sad to me. I'm such a lover of historic things like this that it's hard to think of this house being gone.

But with some major and costly repairs needing to be made, like having it leveled again, my uncle just had to sell it. The new owner purchased it to expand his business and I don't blame him one bit...but it's still sad. We actually know the guy that bought it and my uncle and the rest of the family knew it was being purchased to tare down but none of us have the money to put into it to fix it the way it needs to be fixed. So now there is a huge controversy over the house and whether or not they should be allowed to tare it down. It's a big mess really. The local news has even done a couple stories on it. It's unfair how they are making the new owner out to be the bad guy. He is just trying to make a living and they are dragging his name through the mud. That is an even bigger shame.

At this point I don't have an opinion on the matter, I just hate to see it go and wanted to post this to keep the memory of the old home out there. I'll miss it.

Here is a picture of the room we stayed in after the storm. It's the best looking and nicest room in the whole house.

And this is a view from the stained glass window pictured above. You can see the top of the church bell tower from the stairway.

I have a feeling this will be tied up in court for a while.

Nothin', what's up with you?

Not much going on here.
Zane has developed a complete and total obsession for 4X4's. He sat next to his daddy tonight and watched the Speed channel as he flipped through this "4 wheel & Off-Road" magazine. He is TWO for the love of sweet baby Jesus! Geezzz!

I wanted to thank everyone for all their sweet thoughts, prayers and comments on our loss. You have all been so kind. Above are the beautiful Zenias that Lindsey picked for me out of her garden. She knew they were my grandmother's favorite. She loves me like that.

And with all the stuff going on, I forgot to mention to you that we got a new addition around our house. This is Molly. She is a Southwest Box Turtle.

Well besides that and some jeep driving (yes the hubs let me take this weekend and ride it around topless!), I did manage to do a bit more scrapbooking but I'll save that for tomorrow.

Later Ladies and Gigglefins!

I felt pretty today

Emotionally drained...but pretty.

Today was my grandma's funeral and it was a very emotional and rough day. My mother took it VERY hard during mass and my heart truly broke for her. Her poor, tired body had just had enough and she was flooded with all the emotion she had been holding back. I have never experienced such a out pour of emotion at a funeral. Always a quite tear, lots of hugs and an occasional boo hoo but this was real, raw emotion and it was hard. Now that this is behind us, we can begin to heal and manage our lives with this obviously missing piece.

As I mentioned, I felt pretty today. So I took a picture. A few actually. You may have noticed that I stopped taking my 365 pictures. I had gotten so religious with them and had taken a couple hundred or so. But I just got uninspired and eventually stopped. But today I put on a dress, which I never do, and I felt pretty. So there.

That's all for today. I feel very inspired but my mind is to cluttered and exhausted to do anything about it. I need to just be tonight. Just exist with my thoughts and be.

I've been scrappy

Not today...too much else going on but over the weekend I scrapped.
These were all done with my "Family Day Picnic" Masters kit. I love that kit so much!
I got a little glimmer mist crazy on some of these (thanks in part to my CandiMandi)! So if you are a scrap nerd like me and want to see detailed pictures and discriptions, you can hope on over to the Masters blog for more.

I have more in my brian that I want to get out but I'm just not scrappy right now. Maybe tomorrow. I'm just gonna be sad for a little while right now.

Laters.

She is gone

And will be missed. I spent my last few moments with her last night. She passed early this morning. My heart hurts.

A few more beach pics...

I have become quite the drive by blogger...but at least I leave you with pictures.
Above is my favorite shot of the trip.
And here are a few more of my top pics...

and now I'm off to get some rest. Laters babies!

I'll try to blog about the new Masters kit that I got in my hot little hands! You can get a peek of it over at the Masters blog.

Play by Play brought to you by iPhone

We went to the Beach! Here is the play by play...

The day before our trip we were flying a kite. Should have been packing...but we were flying a kite! LOL! Oh and I posted this pic on facebook and got a ton of comments about the power lines. I ASSURE you, they look A LOT closer than they are. It's just the angle of the picture. Promise.

So anywho, we went to the beach this weekend for the first time since before we had Zane. So this was his FIRST beach trip! Here is the recap according to my iPhone.

On the road....
And driving through the tunnel in AL...
I think this will be one of Zane's favorite parts of driving to Alabama in the future.

Once there...

Basking in the Alabama sun. *don't worry, I had on sun screen!...note the big hat and sunglasses too*

It took Zane a day or so to warm up to the idea of the sand...or rather the texture of it. But by day two he was diving in it face first!

Zane adored his little beach buddy, Jaden. Glad they came along with us!

What can I say, I needed a new Facebook profile picture?

Like mother like son.

And now for the Gulf Shores edition of "SERIOUSLY?!"

This was taken a one of the nicer gift shops.

This was a Wal-Mart...apparently Alabama is bringing back 1991.

This was parked outside of the above mentioned "nicer gift shop"

Another picture in mentioned shop. It really was a classy joint.

This was a cute little bead shop that I stopped in and made a little donation! LOL

Well that's all for now. I'll most some real pictures that I took with my camera after I do some downloading and editing. Later gators!

Painted. Ate. Drank. Enjoyed.

Had a great, lazy weekend. Painted. Ate. Drank. Enjoyed.

I put the finishing touches on the above painting today. Earlier today we went out to the river and ate boiled crabs and just hung out on the deck.

Yesterday we attempted a trip to the river but some jeep issues made us turn around and head home. Later that afternoon we went to a friend's (old co worker's) house for a crawfish boil. Since I gave myself permission to not lug around my camera, there are no pics. Sorry.

I know I'm jumping around a bit but sometimes I'm just random like that. Saturday we needed a bit of an adult break so we joined some friends to see a rockin' cover band called "Rumor Mill". The band was good but the company was better.
I was feeling pretty feisty...I even had on my sexy shoes! LOL!

Friday Zane helped Daddy wash his jeep after he had a bit of a mud riding excursion. Then we met some friends out for sushi and to discuss our upcoming beach trip! Woot!

Oh and we ate pop sickles! Is there anything that an orange pop sickle can't fix when you are 2 years old?!

Well that's all in my world. Laters!

Closing another week...

Lovely weekend. Nothing crazy or anything...just life.
Had some awesome jumbo shrimp. My hubs loves me...he boiled me 35 pounds of them!

We also went out for sushi, drinks and music with some friends...

Earlier this week, my projects for Vintage Plum were posted...

These cuties were featured on the Hambly blog.

Gave a little tutorial on the Vintage Plum blog for this cute little mini made with the VP May kit and an old board game.

Made this page for the Effer Dares on Commutes...

More VP guest designer pages...

I also had a ball with the "Blue Crush" Masters kit and made these beauties...

The one below was my take on the Scrapjacked challange where we jacked the Flyleaf Album cover! SO RAD!

And finally, a little banner i did for Zane's room with my Masters kit.

Good Lord that was a long post! LOL!

I really do need to post more often!

Today we celebrate our mothers

Yes today we celebrated our mothers
The ones who brought us into the world and made us who we are. The ones we can not even begin to thank for all they have done for us. Mine is amazing. I spend the better part of the day with my mother. I admire her strength, her drive, her hope, her love, her kindness. I strive to be half the woman that she is to so many in her life.

And today I also reflect on the mother in me. The woman I have become. The woman I hope to be.

I am reminded that these moments that seem so routine and uneventful will soon become a vague memory. Things that we do everyday will be seem like light years away. As I watched my son splash around in the bath tub tonight I realized that in 10 years this will be ancient history...hell in 5 years I'll close my eyes and try to recall this very moment. This time is so fleeting. These moments are so treasured. Will I remember them? Will I look back on them fondly? All these things that take place day to day that we take for granted...will we long to have them back? I know we will. It almost makes me sad. I look at my spirited little boy and see the man he will become and it makes my nose tingle and my eyes watery. So today, I'm holding on to this little boy with everything I have. Stay little my angel. Stay my little boy!

What a blur of a week!

Interruptions from routine throw me for such a loop! This week we had a number of them.

We went to New Orleans Monday to see Flyleaf at the House of Blues.

The show was amazing. Lacey has such an incredible voice and unlike most live bands, she is better in person! We also got a chance to hang out with our friend Matt and kinda mill around the streets of the French Quarter which I adore!
I left my camera since I didn't think we could take it in the House of Blues but was very disappointed when I saw everyone taking pictures! So all the pictures you see in this post are from my good 'ol iPhone. I fall more and more in love with that thing every day.

Oh and we played dress up in a few of the french quarter shops...which is always fun!

We are already planning our next trip back to see another live band in the next few weeks...maybe this time we will make an overnighter!

As we walked around, we took a stroll in the Mignon Faget shop and I got to try on a few pieces I've had my eye on. The hubs gave me his blessing to make a purchase but I didn't want to frolic around the french quarter with brand new jewelry! LOL!

There were a number of other weekly interruptions, like a trip to look at a Jeep, a half day of work so I could go for an interview and then another trip to purchase above mentioned Jeep. Yeah Lindsey, you heard me right, we have traded in and purchased ANOTHER vehicle. It's sort of my hubs thing...buying, selling, trading and customizing cars.

Well that's about it. The May Vintage Plum kit releases tomorrow and it's amazing. I'll be posting my guest design pages and projects here in the next couple of days. I have also made a number of things with my Masters kit and I'll be sharing those soon too. So much scrappy inspiration! AND I got a fresh order of Hambly to play with! Woot!

Super Excited!

Yes, I'm super excited to be going here...

To see them...
Hells yeah. Not much else to say tonight. I made a few of my projects for my guest design team spot over at Vintage Plum and I am in love with them already! Can't wait to share. Perhaps I'll do some peeks later this week.

OH, almost forgot...the NSD giveaway....

And the Picnik subscription goes to Michelle! Shoot me an email so I can send you your code to redeem your subscription! I know you will love it tons!

Happy NSB Day! Scrap News & Projects!

First for my scrappy news...The folks over at Vintage Plum asked me to be the guest designer for May! I'm thrilled to work with this amazing kit (you will have to wait till it's released to see the pics). I'll post some peeks later so you can see a tiny bit!

Now for some scrappies! This is a few things I did with last month's Vintage Plum kit.















*you can't see it very well in this picture but these are sewn on the sewing machine and they look like they are quilt blocks. Super cute way to use this awesome Sassafrass paper!*


























































And for my first assignment as the guest designer over at Vintage Plum, I got to host a challange at the online crop today. My challange was a 3D altered item. There is still time to play if you are feeling frisky! LOL!

I also got word that my Masters kit is on it's way to me too...man I'm gonna have a kick butt scrap week! SWEET!

Oh and if you haven't commented on my post below, you have until tommorrow night to post for a chance to win that Picnik subscription!

In honor of National Scrapbook Day...

The folks over at Picnik have given me a free 6 month premium subscription to give to one of my lucky readers!

How cool is that?! I'm beyond thrilled to share this opportunity with ya'll. I love Picnik and I know you have heard me talk about them on here before. It really is a wonderful online tool to edit and enhance your pictures to make you look like a pro! Here is the catch, you have to do a little "research". he he! It's totally easy though. All you have to do is leave me a comment telling me the name of my local scrapbook store that I support. That's all. I have a link to it somewhere here on my blog so you just have to look around!

Ok, so I'll be back to share some scrappy goodness tommorrow and share my good scrappy news! Then I'll pick a random winner on Sunday. Good Luck!

Weekend review in pictures

Another wonderful and crazy Spring weekend is over and all I have to show for it is TONS of pictures!

Let me start by sharing the cute little baby essentials wrap I made for Sugarbutt's baby Jackson. She loved it. We got a chance to visit with them on Saturday night. (still sorry we were so late sugar!)

But first, let me back up to Friday... Brought Zane to get a hair cut.


Who knew he would be such a good boy with daddy not there! Then he was off to grandma's house so mommy and daddy could go check out the Journey cover band. Where we hung out with some good friends (hi Rita dearie!) and enjoyed the sights and sounds. Oh and ran into a not so welcomed acquaintance. She avoided me. Go figure. Kate the great by ass. Sorry.

So Saturday we were off to the car show here in town.

I adored this old car with the attention to detail in the trunk and the old plate and all.

Zane may not look amused but he was thrilled to get to see the Hudson Hornet (Doc from the Disney movie "Cars"). He was just tired and exhausted from the heat!

So Sunday we had a crawfish boil and had friends over for David's birthday.
We caught up with some good old friends that we hope to spend more time with this summer and the kids got to play again.

And speaking of kids...the guys looked like kids when then saw this old house they are taring down on in our neighborhood. They had to go take "band" promotional pictures! LOL!

well that's all for tonight. Damn were did today go? Geezzz

OH and I got some scrappy news to share. I'll post more on that in the coming weeks. Can't share just yet!

Today was his birthday...

Wonderful day. Wonderful weekend really. Tons to share about this weekend and the week. I'll share more pics and stories tommorrow. HAPPY BIRTHDAY HUBS! Off to bed now. Laters!

Mr. & Mrs.

Well today we celebrate 7 years as Mr. & Mrs.
So I felt it appropriate to post this pic of these frames I made with my masters kit for our bedroom. I love how they turned out.

So my weekend was nice. Saturday we chilled out. I made stuff. We visited Sugarbutt and had dinner at her house. So nice.
This is Zane all duded up to see his yaya and James. (his daddy dressed him...can you tell?)
Oh and they matched too. His daddy had a Fox jersey just like this one.

Then, as I mentioned, today was our 7 year wedding anniversary. My hubs did it up right by boiling me some crawfish and crabs (which he doesn't really even eat).

And they were delish.

Zane's fav was the corn on the cob.

And he got to play in his pool with his pal Jaden.

So as I mentioned...a nice weekend. Doesn't get much better than this.

Random

Random thoughts and such...

The above pic is of my watering can next to Zane's watering can that his grandma gave him in his Easter basket. I just thought it was so cute how he wants to water the flowers just like we do and seeing that little can next to the big one just made such a visual impact with me today.

And this post gets even more random...

Things I'm into this week:

Music:
Pandora Radio on the iPhone, Lilly Allen, Meiko, Ting Tings, Frou Frou, Lenka

Scrappies:
New Hambly (need to order!!!!), I diggin' kits! - Vintage Plum, Masters & Studio Calico, Crape paper

Shopping:
Ann Taylor Loft, American Eagle

Yummies:
Robbin Eggs, Lots more coffee than normal, Tuna wraps from the cafeteria @ work, Homemade Caramel Brownies

Housewares:
Clean Linen Reed Defuser, Funky Mod Ikea Lamp,

Interesting...I took a color profile test and this was the result based on my answers:
Enthusiastic, optimistic & full of energy, capable of pursuing originalideas with vigor. Demands a calm environment, free from conflict anddisagreement. Prefers the natural to the artificial. Sensitive,perceptive, able to work well with others. Friendly yet something of acharacter. Most people are entertained. Ordered, rational and energetic.Needs to break away occasionally. Take a trip. It'll do you good.Apparently the cosmic gods are telling me to get out of town! LOL! I mayhave to take that advice. So you folks who know me in real life, chime inand let me know ifyou think the test was accurate! LOL!

I leave you with some pics of my little guy playing in the yard today with his watering can and bucket.

Well like Porky Pig would say.....That's all folks! Type ya later!

Just a few scrappies

Yep, some scrappies to share on this hump day.
This was a page I did for the Twilight challange over at Vintage Plum. I thought it was appropriate since our wedding anniversary is Sunday.

The next couple projects are using the latest Master kit, which by the way I love.

I thought the design of this paper was screaming to be cut like this.

What do you think?

I hope to get more scrappies done later this week. But now...Now I sleep.

The Easter Bunny Has Left the Building & apparently Jesus works for the Cable Company

Easter Recap...First off, the Easter tea yesterday
Lots of good coffee talk with friends. I SO enjoyed that!

Tons of help and support by my sweet hubs.

A MUCH needed social break for my weary mother. (who by the way had THE best hat!)

More pics of sweet friends. It's so nice to spend time with other people with kids. They just "get" it, you know.

And the traditional group shot. I was so proud that EVERYONE followed the black and white theme!

The picture above was my father-in-law trying to be cute by giving me a close up...cause he knows how I like close up pictures. He always tells me that I'm too close when I take pictures. It actually came out cute because I was laughing at him.

And of course we had an Easter egg hunt. The kids loved that. It took Zane a moment to get into the idea of getting as many as he could and not stopping and opening them as soon as he gets them!

I adore this shot...I wasn't trying to get a close up of just him. I was trying to get a shot of the three kiddos all looking at the camera (or at least just looking up). Just so happened that he made this cute face.And finally they get to enjoy the fruits (0r candies rather) of their Easter egg hunting labors.

So then this morning we dyed eggs.

It went more smoothly than I thought.

Still took two parents in order to keep him from sticking his hand in the colors, knocking them over or drinking them for that matter.

But I think he really liked the whole process!

More Easter pics here.

And now, this made me laugh so hard I couldn't hardly stand it. Apparently Jesus works for the cable company. For real. I was having some cable issues so I decided to go online and do the chat feature to get some assistance when I saw this as the response. "Analyst Jesus has entered the room" then followed by "My name is Jesus and I am here to help you today". I'm so glad it was a chat and not a phone call...for two reasons: a) I would have laughed uncontrollably in his face and b) I would not have been able to share this screen capture with you as proof. An appropriate experience for Easter Sunday, don'tcha think?

Yes it was a GOOD Friday

And this is how mine ended...

Despite some "issues" with my in-laws getting crawfish, I ended my Good Friday at a crawfish boil. My good friend Corey saw my disappointed twitter post about not getting my crawfish and promptly called to invite us to the crawfish boil he was attending. See, twitter IS a God sent.

Next I share with you pics of my little man...

His daddy got a big load of rocks for the yard and Zane just thought that was the coolest place for him to play. He thought about it carefully and took his job of rock moving very seriously.


And just to prove that I have been creating...

This is a card I made with the latest Masters Kit...Licorice and Jelly Beans. I adore this kit. Seriously.

Oh and remember that fabulous IKEA light I wanted? Well my girl Shelly out in Houston saw my post about it and offered to get it for me since she was coming to Louisiana for the Easter holiday! I met up with them today and actually got her to get me two of them. They are wonderful! Just know that when IKEA says assembly required...they AINT kidding! I'll post pics of that process later. Thanks again Shelly!

Ok, well I have to scoot on to bed. BIG day tomorrow...hosting my 6th annual Easter tea. Plenty of pics to come I'm sure!

Blog slacker

Bad blogger, I know. But since i started this job, i haven't found that "grove" yet. Not to mention I don't have Internet at work....I'm blogging from my phone right now (so sorry...no pics). But this has been a busy week and it is only going to get busier with the holiday weekend. I'm a little annoyed that I won't get paid Friday but that's a minor thing really. Speaking of the holiday weekend, wow I'm going to be busy! Tomorrow we are going to my inlaws camp on the river for a crawfish boil, Saturday is our 6th annual Easter tea at our house (complete with crazy hats), then Sunday is church and a family barbeque with my dad's peeps. See, crazy busy!

As for creativity, I got my masters kit (http://masterskitclub.blogspot.com) earlier this week and haven't really gotten to play yet so I hope to work a little on that this weekend at some point. I also have the next scrapjacked challange to do (and it is SO cool .... Like painty cool!), and I also posted a twilight challange over at vintage plum (www.vintageplum.com) so I need to wrap that project up too!

*sigh*. Is it the weekend yet?!

Coming to terms

With my new job that is. I had mostly bad days this week...but somehow, today I'm ok with things. I think I could be happy at my new job...eventually. I still wish I could be closer to home and have not given up hope on those possibilities but for now, I'm ok and I'm just rolling with it.

So the above picture was taken while the hubs did some mowing...Zane was so cute, he went out got HIS lawn mower and "helped".

And speaking of yard work, David has been taking a big interest in home improvements and curb appeal. Here he is watering the areas where he has put some seed down to help the grass patches in the yard. I just saw him watering and thought to myself that I wanted to capture that. The softer side of a strong man.

And THIS little man stopped in the middle of playing to give me this pose. I couldn't pass up that photo op.

As for new additions, well, this little guy is our new addition to our spruced up flower bed. I simply love him!

Remember how I said how bad of a week I had, well my starshine Elizabeth made my day by meeting me in my parking lot at work with this! Yes, it's the GOONIES! I adore this movie and I had mentioned it to her a while back...so when she saw it, she got it for me and saved it for a crappy day like the one I had that day. She loves me.

Now scrappies! This is a suprise for a friend...

And this (as well as the picture above) was made with the February Masters Kit.

Well all for now. Later my loves!

Oh and thanks so much for all your sweet emails and comments. Things ARE getting better. I think. LOL!

The light at the end of the tunnel

Appropriate picture & title I find. Allow me to explain...As you know, I'm not thrilled with my new employment. Above is a picture of Baton Rouge at dawn. I must admit that I do get a pretty sweet view of the sunrise on Friday mornings when I get to come into work about a half hour earlier than normal. Well back to my title...I just got some pretty good news on the homeward bound job relocation project. I'm still waiting on details but keep your fingers crossed for me! This could be the silver lining I've been looking for in the whole situation.

So here are a few random updates...a great little mini I'm working on...

And out night out last night. Friends, sushi, pool, drinks, and shananagins. *sigh*

and a lot of iphone talk and facebooking. I know...we are nerds.

Here is one of my favorite 365s of the week. I'm too lasy to dig up the others and edit them but I'll share soon.

And finally a snapshot I got of my little guy hiding in the curtains. It would have been a perfect, sweet shot but he had a mouth full of pop tart. Gotta love candid moments.

OH! And I got a new laptop! I'm so flippin' happy about that. SO happy! I decided upon a Hewlett Packard and I think I'm gonna LOVE it!

The "C" word strikes again.

This time, this wonderful creature from God has been stricken with it. Not once, but twice. My 85 year old grandmother has cancer. And yes, it's terminal. (The above picture was taken when she was a young, beautiful woman.) She has been diagnosedwith lung cancer and a brain tumor. The news of lung cancer was hard enough but the words "brain tumor" sent us in a tail spin of emotion. This diagnosis took place a couple of months ago but I'm just now ready to talk about it. I'm ok with letting my grandmother go. She has lived a long and satisfying life and it really is her time. She has lived with out her husband since he died of a heart attack in 1973 and she has longed for theday when she can be with him again. With that in mind, it doesn't make seeing her go through this any easier. Thankfully, she is not in any pain. I mean none. That is such a blessing. It's quite bizarre but we don't question it. The Lord does work in mysterious ways and I guess he figures if he must take her this way, he could at least make it as painless as possible. She did after all lead a very modest and respectful life full of kindness and giving. She has blessed this world with three children, six grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren (one of which is yet to be born). She has given me such an appreciation for our Italian heritage and culture and I would like to think that I have her giving nature. I'm sad that 3 of her great grandchildren will not be old enough to remember her but very thankful that she got to see Zane and he at least got to meet her and may remember her in some way. I hope to carry on traditions that she began and culture that she has exposed us to. She has undergone radiation for the brain tumor and is currently undergoing radiation on the lung right now butthe prognosis is not good. Months really. I plan on spending as much time as I can with her and hope she continues to stay comfortable until the very end. The hardest part for me is watching my mother deal with all of this. Although she has two brothers to share the burden, as the only daughter, you know the responsibility she feels for making sure her mother is well taken care of. Not to mention the kind of person my mother is. She is the one that always steps up during a time of crisis and helps to make things better. She is the one that is always strong and keeps a brave face despite the fact that she worries more that you can imagine for everyone she knows and loves. She truly carries everyone's burdens on herself. For example, the day we found out that the biopsy on the lung was cancer, it was the day I lost my job. She was already so worried about me loosing my job and then had to get the news of the biopsy being cancer. That is anemotion that she should have the right to feel fully all by itself. And then the day we found out about the brain tumor I had sewage backing up in my house and she had been on the phone with me pouring my heart out about my petty issues earlier that day. Then when she called me to give me the news about the tumor, she couldn't even get it out of her mouth. She had broken down and let the emotion overcome her. I rushed to her house and just held her as cried and told me the news. It was so strange for me to be that person for her but at that moment I was. So now, I feel the tables are turned and I have to be the strong person for her. I have to help her get through this. I keep telling her to prepare herself and she says that she is but she is about to loose her mother and I can't even imagine that feeling. It saddens me to even picture that day. I just wanted to get these thoughts and feelings out while they are presenting themselves because I tend to block this stuff out during times of grief.

I leave you with one of my favorite pictures of us. This picture was taken a month before David and I got married...so I guess that makes this picture 7 years old. Up until Christmas time last year, this was how you usually would find my grandma... happy. healthy. bright eyed. smiling.

Randomness.

The most random post ever...
I want this....badly. It's an Ikea light.
Did I mention we don't have an Ikea in Louisiana? Damnit! Wouldn't this look good in a bedroom painted Tiffany Blue with a chocolate bedspread? *sigh*

And here are some scrappies I did for the Masters kit.

Loved this kit. I'm also working on a couple of minis that I will do a little online class on. Any interest?

Full and Satisfied

I don't know if it was the Caine's chicken fingers for lunch then the dinner of boiled crawfish and crabs OR the perfect family day...but I end my Sunday feeling totally satisfied.

We had a very full and family friendly day. Started out at the zoo where Zane played like a wild monkey.

Had a "yummy" cup of ice cream. His words, not mine.

A relaxing train ride and then finally a cat nap.

While Zane naped, we took that opportunity to run some errands around town. I ran in at Best Buy and looked at laptops. Yep, I'm in the market for a new one.

When we got home, we did some way overdue gardening. The hubs really got into it. I love him for that. He always suprises me with his interests and willingness to get involved.

And he did a great job by the way.

Oh and then he treated me to this....*sigh* Crawfish AND crabs.

Oh what a day. What a way to spend a Sunday.

Is it possible for a Glade Plug in to make you happy?

Seriously yo. I have clean linen scented one in my bathroom and it makes me so happy every time I go in there.And and a while back when i was wondering around the craft section at Wal-Mart I found a reed diffuser that smelled just like my local scrapbook store. And that made me TOTALLY happy. Every time I get stuff from there I sniff it when I get home. I know, I'm sick. But you Hambly sniffers know exactly what I'm talking about. It's just like that but more tropical smelling. So in case you are wondering, my local scrapbook store smells like Hawaiian Paradise. LOL. (Yes Tammy, your store smells like Hawaiian Paradise and it makes me happy.) And I bought all they had here in town. I want my craft room to smell like that forever.

So how's my weekend going? Well I'm glad you asked (even though you totally didn't).

Last night we managed to sneak out for our much needed adult night.

We went to our favorite spot to see local bands to see a wonderful cover band that sings a lot of 80's stuff. How can we resist that?
Needless to say we had a great time. We met up with some old high school buddies of mine...aren't they adorable! he he!

And their sweet ladies...

We should totally get together again. Soon.

Oh and random...yes the guys in the band dressed up like the blue man group and yes by mid-set they were striping off the blue latex. And I couldn't help but notice that one of them looked oddly like Derick Zoolander. You be the judge.

And you know I had to use this opportunity to take my 365 for Friday. *note the Chee Weez sign in the background.

And finally, a picture of my object of disgust. My reason for being driven to drinking this week...Baton Rouge traffic. This was Thursday...the day it took me nearly an hour to get home on what should have been a twenty minute drive. Oh the joy.

Well all for now. We are thinking of hitting the Zoo tomorrow. Perhaps. The weather is so pretty and my little guy is due for a train ride. I'll most likely post more on that tomorrow.

Oh and I have some scrappy projects to post too.

Well laters!

Allow me to be dramatic for a moment

Today sucked. Ok, not really. But it was the worse day yet at my new job. My job is primarily to run reports. Lots and lots of reports. All day long. Everyday. Well today everything just got under my skin. It started with daycare being late. Again. But this time it wasn't as bad as it was Monday. Monday I sat outside for 15 minutes in the pouring down rain (knowing that traffic was getting worse by the minute) before somebody showed up. So I get on the road and get going. Actually making good time. Once I get to work and run the "Wednesday" reports I tell my boss I'm done and like an idiot I ask if there is anything else he needs. Well after sitting around for three hours absolutely useless and bored out of my mind he comes to my desk with a spreadsheet with about 100 line items to update from data that resides all over cyberland somewhere. Nice. Did I mention he lays this on me like an hour before it's time to go. He starts rattling all this stuff off and where it's located and I guess he saw the look on my face and asks..."Am I stressing you out?" To that I answered "Yes!" He then tells me "I stress most people out. So you go it?" What am I supposed to say to that?! So I kindly answer "I'll try."

Then traffic was stupid this afternoon. Notice I didn't say it was bad. It was "STUPID". Idiots I tell ya.

And lastly, I pick up my main and get my first piece of mail that refers to me as a "former Dow employee". Nice.

Is it Friday yet?



Oh and the two pictures in this post are yesterday and today's 365s. I've sent the boys outside...now mamma's going scrapbook. Laters!

Once upon a time...there was a crazy week...

Lots went on. So I'll tell it in pictures
Monday I went out to lunch with my old work buddies. My last day unemployed.

Tuesday I started my new job. This is my new view.

The commute is not awful but way worse than my 5 minute drive I've been spoiled with for the past 7 years.

I made a scrapbook to give to the Church for the St. Joseph's altar.


It rained. A lot.


We drank rootbeer out of glass bottles.


Saturday we put the finishing touches on the altar for church. This is a fava bean. More on that further down in the post.
We played in the leaves again

Sometimes I feel like I have two kids. And I love them to pieces.

Which leads me to Sunday... enjoying the fruits of my labor (and the labor of countless others)

So some of you had some questions about the St. Joseph's altar. Long story short, it's a big annual feast that Catholic Italians put on to pay homage to St. Joseph for bringing relief from a great famine in Italy long ago. The the prayers of the Italians were answered, they vowed to do a huge feast every year and feed all in the village. Since we have an Italian priest, he has carried that rich tradition on in our church parish. Sunday we had a huge traditional Lenten meatless spaghetti dinner (complete with bread crumbs to symbolize the saw dust of the carpenter, St. Joseph) and served Italian cookies and breads from the altar to everyone who wanted to attend. No one was turned away. As for the fava beans, they are a symbol to remind us of the times when our ancestors had no food and had to eat cattle feed...which for them was fava beans. It is said that a pantry with a fava bean in it will never go bare.

Finally here is the latest scrapjack. I had fun getting messy with paint. Check it out!

Amazing

That's what this experience has been this weekend and leading up to it.
Just wanted to post some quick pics of the altar so you can get a glimps of the product of all our hard work. So much more to share about the St. Joseph's Altar, new Masters kit, new Scrapjack and my first week at my new job. And a whole week of 365s but I'm so tired now and I must get to bed so I can commute tomorrow. Much love my peeps! I'll post again tomorrow with more.

Busy Weekend...not really...well sort of...

No...not really. And that is my final answer.

This weekend involved a trip to Urban Outfitters where I got a few really good deals and then a visit to the fabric store for some project supplies...one of which was the hounds tooth fabric for my camera strap that I'm proudly displaying above! Yes, I made it! I'm so excited about that!

Then Saturday and Sunday was cookie making for the St. Joseph's altar. These were the fun cookies.

Today we made haystacks...

They are basically dry Italian cookies that are stirred into hot melted sugar and molded into stacks. It was a very hot process but the results were pretty cool and they tasted great.

Saturday we made fig cookies. It was my first time making them but I seemed to get the hang of it pretty quickly. I'm thinking that I will have to add these to my Christmas cookie list this year now that I know how to make them. And I took plenty of pics...

365 update...well a few are above between the camera strap photo and the cookie making pictures but here is the catch up on the rest of the week...

That is pretty much it for the weekend. This week has been very stressful with job stuff but I have managed to land a job. Not my dream job by any means but it's employment and I'm very thankful for that! More on that later. Gots to get my tooshy in gear to get the kitchen cleaned up and then off to bed. Laters!

There's a new toy in our house

Yep. This is David's latest "thing". He goes through phases you know. Two years ago it was a guitar. This time it's a skateboard

And Zane enjoyed exploring it.He even gave Daddy a ride.

And we had a lazy afternoon playing in the leaves Thursday. Leaf angels are so much more fun than snow angels...and a lot easier to come by in South Louisiana!

Oh and I'm working on a great little mini...here is a peek-see...

Getting my craft on...

I've been getting my craft on peeps!

Above is a little notebook I made using all the selvege edges of the paper (you know the bottom stip we usually cut off and throw away) that came in the last Masters kit.

I saw the idea using the selvage edges of fabric made into quilt squares on flickr the other day and KNEW I had to try this! I just cut them off and staggered them and sewed them up. Great idea for making your own patterned paper. Those strips can be so cool sometimes!

And I was so inspired that I whipped up this little clear wallet.
I used two clear badge holders, turning them where both the open slit was both inside and placed the scalloped ribbon on the spine of the outside and stitched it on my sewing machine. Then I was pretty much done...I just added the rubons on the cover and presto. Done. Perfect to slip your ID and debit card into your cute little mommy's night out handbag and go. This idea could be used in so many ways...I'm thinking I may explore that some more...soonish.

Is it bad the BBQ was the highlight of my day?

Today was lazy. Real lazy.
Breakfast. Church. Lunch with Sugarbutt & Fam at BBQ joint. Nap. Coffee. Computer time.

That is all.

I had a wonderful time catching up with my sugar and rubbing her very prego belly. And seeing her little James too. I had a strange moment where I looked up from my plate and thought to myself...man they are getting big. Then I was like...OMG that's our BABIES! Time is flying and we are just along for the ride.

Ok, so 365 catch up time...

All for now ladies and gigglefins!

Consider it severance

These. Yes. All of these. Target. Shoes. Cuteness. Can't even speak in complete sentences.
Look, when you wear a size 5 shoe, you buy'em when you see'em. Ok?! Consider it severance.

So in addition to this fabulous shoe find, I also had a KILLER trip to the Anthro sales rack. KILLER. You will see those finds later.

Oh and I came across these wonderful images in my stuff I had boxed up from art school.

I have tons of them and I can't wait to use them on something crafty.

Well that's all for now...well...just a 365 from earlier this week.

Now I'm off to dream about my fashion finds and get rested for a family day tomorrow.

A reminder...

Today we remember that we came from ashes...and to ashes we shall return. So obviously my 365 had to be of me with my ashes proudly shown on my forehead. We started our day out with 7 a.m. mass so they have been a reminder to me and everyone I came into contact with all day. I said a little prayer in church for the right opportunity to come along for us and I think it may have. I got a job offer this afternoon. I have mixed feelings about it because of the drive but the pay is good and I think I'm up for the challange.

Monday I sold my favorite piece in my etsy shop. I had mixed feelings about that too! So I worked on some new creations that will me showing up in my shop soon...

This one was also for the lace dare. I wanted to do something wearable.

And yesterday, on the way home from an interview I ran in one of my favorite thrift shops and found this...three of them actually! I was so excited! Now the delima is to sell or not to sell.

And this snapshot...well that's my boy on his new horsie his Maw Maw & Paw Paw gave him. Well it's new to him at least! It was a hand me down from my nephew but it's like brand new and he just loves it. He was "feeding" it here. LOL! Thanks Gail! He adores it!

Ok, gotta get this wet towel off my head and get into bed. I'll try to get some new things added to the Thrifted Finds shop tomorrow and I'll post an update then.

Laters!

It's a chili kinda night

But first, my 365. Cute flats with socks in a clover patch.
I love my clovers around my house. they have little deep red hearts on each leaf. The old wives tale is that when your clovers have these redish black "spots" on them, that means that someone died there. I don't know if I believe that...but they sure are cool looking.

So this afternoon was pretty chill. I spend most of the afternoon playing in the yard with my little guy and racing hot wheels down the slide.

Now for the chili. YUUUMMMMM!

Turkey Chili with salty saltine crackers. Delish on a nice crisp night.

As for the job front...I've had a bunch of interviews and should be hearing something soon. I have two really good prospects that I had great interviews for. I'll keep you posted.