All Is Calm...

...all is bright.

Merry Christmas, everybody!!

Scrap n' Art March/April Page Calls Now Open!

Scrap n' Art's March/April page calls are open!

Here they are:

• See Your Garden Grow – Show us your layouts about your garden or use lots of flowers and other garden inspired elements.
• Earth Day 40th anniversary – It is Earth Day’s 40th anniversary in April. Show us your projects using recycled/repurposed materials. Or you can even share a layout about recycling!
• Spring pastel colors – Soft and delicate. What can you make from pastel colors?
• Petal Perfect – what can YOU make handmade flowers from? Show us your creations!
  New Beginnings! - Springtime has come to be associated with new beginnings and a time of renewal. Celebrate those moments with your baby and wedding themed cards and layouts.
• Spring Holidays – Do you have special traditions in the spring centered around St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, the First Day of Spring, etc.? Share them with us!

Deadline : February 1st, 2009
Email submissions and questions to submissions@scrapnart.com

Happy Birthday

He is my best friend.
He is my soul mate.
He is kind, funny, handsome and generous.
He is all this and so much more.
He is everything to me.

Today is his birthday. With each passing year, each birthday, I am reminded how blessed I am to have him at the center of my life.

Happy Birthday, Baby!! I LOVE YOU!!!!

Welcome, Christmas!!

We finally got some pics of the Christmas decorations! Brian took all these and I think he did a fantastic job!

(Click on the pics for a larger view.)

Here's our living room tree:



And an ornament on the tree:



Here's the opening between our living room and dining room/area of the kitchen:



Here's the mantel:



And our bedroom tree:



We had so much fun decorating and now the fun is trying to keep the cats out of everything! So far, so good, but tonight, Sleepy pretended to be a present under the living room tree. She also picked out a couple ornaments from said tree to keep her company. :D

We still have to get some pics of the outside stuff. Hopefully tomorrow if it doesn't rain!

Gettin' Ready To Decorate

It is hard to believe that the Christmas season is once again upon us! It always sneaks up, doesn't it (even though commercially, Christmas begins in late September!)?!

I will most likely be decorating the house next week (and will be sure to post pics!), so I've been browsing online and in my magazines for new ideas to freshen up my usual decor. I found this wonderful set of pictures from Country Living today. There are so many awesome, inexpensive and easy Christmas decorating ideas--see them on Country Living's website here. And there's another great set on just Christmas tree decorating here.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and is ready to jump into this fun season!

A Fun Fall Afternoon

Brian and I got out today and took some pictures around our lake community. It was fun! We got to know our camera a little better and also saw some beautiful sights in our neighborhood that we hadn't paid much attention to previously.

Here are the photos from the day. (You can click all the collages/images to view larger.)

First, our little home sweet home.

Here's a collage of me and Brian. These were taken down at the little play park.


Another one of me at the play park.


The ducks came up to see us. :D



Here is some pretty Fall foliage down at the spillway.


And here, a little path (pic on left) that leads down to a little fishing creek (pic on right).


Here's a pretty shot of a pier at the beach area.


Swingset at beach area.


A fun shot Brian took of the tic-tac-toe game at the beach area.

A neat picture of the no jumping sign. :D

The winding road that leads up from the beach area.

We had a fun afternoon checking out the Fall scenery around our neighborhood.

Happy Fall

Now that it's *finally* starting to look a little like Fall around here, I took a few pics today and made a Fall collage. Happy Fall!

Click the image to view larger.

Scrap n' Art Jan/Feb 2010 Page Calls Now Open!

Scrap n' Art is looking for the following for our January/February 2010 issue. Each project submitted will earn the submitter a raffle ticket in our drawing for a prize pack worth over $200, including products from Karen Foster, Nikki Sivils, Genuinely Jane, Hambly Screen Prints, and Prima! Submit as many projects as you'd like to all of the categories below:

January Jewels - Layouts/projects featuring lots of bling-a-ling!

Winter Blues - Layouts featuring the color blue

Slush happens - Layouts featuring snowy, icy, winter photos

Valentine Gifts, Layouts, and Cards

Love Notes - Layouts featuring notes written to others

Hybrid Layouts & Projects - combining both digital and paper

"New You" layouts - Scrapbook pages about your goals, resolutions, intentions

Before and After - Layouts/projects showing the beginning and end result of a project or journey. Examples: A weight loss journey, remodeling your kitchen, etc.

Masculine Layouts & Cards

Layouts featuring negative space
Layouts & Projects featuring your favorite tool techniques

Deadline - November 15th, 2009

Email submissions and questions to submissions@scrapnart.com

My Name's In Lights!

I recently won the September Cosmo Cricket Challenge at sb.com. Not only did I win a great prize of Cosmo Cricket goodies (which I can't WAIT to get!!), but I am also featured on their blog today!! So exciting!! Go check it out!! (Scroll down for my layout "Gift of Love".)

Squeee!!!

Fun Layouts With Vintage Photos

Recently, my Mama showed us some old pictures of her and Daddy when they were dating and also some of their wedding pictures. She also had some older pictures of my sister and brother when they were babies in the late 60s. After my sister, Ginger, scanned them in and shared them with me, I used iPhoto to alter and enhance them. Then I had them reprinted so I could create some layouts with them. It was so fun!

Here are some I got done. I hope to do some more soon!

This first layout is of Mama and Daddy when they were dating. They look so happy! I love this picture of them.



Here is a layout of their wedding picture. I entered this layout in the September Cosmo Cricket Challenge on scrapbook.com and I won! Yay!



This layout is of Ginger, when she was about a year old. So cute!



This next layout is of my older brother and sister when they were babies, the year was 1968 (way before my time, LOL!).

Journaling:
Ricky was just a few days old and Ginger was 16 months old in this picture. Ginger had already claimed Ricky as HER baby and she was so happy when Mama laid him in her lap. But, when Mama took Ricky away to change him, Ginger was clearly thinking, "Oh no she didn't!". :D

I LOVE these pictures of them. You can clearly see how happy Ginger was in the first pic, holding Ricky in her lap, and then the disappointment on her face in the second picture as Mama pulls him away. SO hilarious!!



And this last layout is of Ginger, around the year 1968, on our Uncle Gene's boat.



So that's all I have done for now. I love scrapping these old pictures and telling the stories of my family.

The Cuteness Is Overwhelming

This. Is the Cutest Thing. That I Think I Have Ever. Freaking. Seen. You must go. Now.

Here's a little snippet of the cuteness.




Be sure to keep scrolling and clicking to see older posts. There are pages of cuteness to behold. :D

Home Inspiration

Lately I've been getting addicted to all things home decor related. Again. I keep a file on my computer of all the rooms, fixtures, furniture, etc., that inspire me and make me want to sell my first-born cat so I can have things like that. :D

Here are a few I found recently that make my heart pitter-patter. (Don't worry; no kitties were harmed or sold in the making of this post. :D) Oh, by the way, this post is sponsored by the color Turquoise (all images are from House Of Turquoise.)

Oh, to have a kitchen like this. (I don't know whose kid that is in my kitchen, though! :D)

Or this one. (I'm getting a strong IKEA vibe here, and I likes it!)

And this tile work is ridiculously beautiful. (Loving how the lighter color tile on the wall cascades down into the deep blue on the floor!)


And this might just be the World's Most Perfect Porch. For real. (Gah. Look at that ocean view. I would scrapbook right there at that little coffee table. All day. Everyday.)


And this door is just really cool and inspiring. :D (This door is in Brussels. But I wish it was in Macon. :D)


So, these are just a few images inspiring me right now. We are still in the process of making our house "ours"--picking out new fixtures and paint, thinking about changing flooring and thinking about taking a sledgehammer to the bathroom vanity, etc. This Saturday marks one year since we closed on our house! The interior designer wannabe in me is excited to watch it transform into our own little masterpiece.

DIY Pebbles

During my work for Scrap n' Art for the September/October issue (out now! :D), I had the privilege to work with some gorgeous Prima products. This included some of their Pebbles (such as these beauties over at sb.com). I loved them and thought that I might be able to also create my own so that I could use some of my favorite papers and customize them for particular projects. A lot of times, there are beautiful, tiny details on patterned paper that might get lost on a layout, so this is the perfect use for those details. The pebble slightly magnifies the pattern, too. This is a GREAT way to use up some of your paper scraps, too!

I found a big bag of glass craft pebbles at Wal-Mart in the general craft section. I have recently been using Glossy Accents a lot and thought that would be perfect to adhere the paper to the bottom of the pebble because it dries completely crystal clear and acts as adhesive.

So, here is how I made them. :D

First, you will need:



Bag of pebbles * Glossy Accents * Microtip Scissors * Pencil for tracing * Paper of your choice


First, place the pebble on the paper, over the pattern/color you want to show. This will help you to see how it magnifies as well, and how the end product will look.

Hold the pebble down and trace it, keeping your pencil angled and as close to the flat bottom of the pebble as possible, all the way around.



Next, cut your little circle of paper out, just inside the pencil line.


This is what you should have when it's cut out and ready to be adhered.


Next, squeeze out a tiny dot of Glossy Accents onto the paper circle. You really need a tiny bit, probably less than I have in this picture.



Place the pebble on the paper and press down all around the paper. You will see the Glossy Accents spread out to cover the whole area. You can also align your paper correctly at this point, but do it quickly because the Glossy Accents dries fast!! You can also use your micro-tip scissors at this point to trim if necessary around the bottom of the pebble. After you do several of these, you may be able to skip the tracing step and just "eyeball" the size of the circle. I was able to do that with the majority of mine. The shape and imperfections in the pebbles make them very forgiving.

I made a bunch! They are so fun and I can't wait to use them on some layouts and projects. You can use them as centers for flowers, or as embellishments alone on your project or layout. I would recommend a large, thin Glue-Dot or some liquid craft glue such as Aleene's Quick Dry Tacky Glue for attaching them to paper.

You can click on this picture to enlarge for detail.



Have fun, and if you create some, please link me up on this post so I can see them!

Patrick Swayze

We have lost an icon. Rest in peace, Patrick Swayze.

Craft Critique Giveaway!

Craft Critique is giving away three new Basic Grey Collections: Eerie, Eskimo Kisses, and Indian Summer!! So head on over to the Craft Critique Blog to enter!!

Beautiful Bea

I was taking pics today of my projects for Scrap n' Art, and Beatrice came up to see what was going on. I snapped this pic of her, and thought it was so beautiful!

The whiteness on the right side is the back door.


Just wanted to share. :D

More Work To Share

Here are some layouts I did recently.
(Click each layout to enlarge for detail.)

September/October Scrap n' Art Now Available!

I officially make my DT debut for Scrap n' Art in the September/October issue, out today!! I am so excited! This issue is packed with ideas and inspiration!!



If you're not already a subscriber, head on over to subscribe!

Happy Birthday, Mama!!

Today is my Mama's birthday.

Happy Birthday, Mama!! I love you soooo much!

Thank you for being the best Mama a girl could ask for! I hope your day was wonderful!

Here is a pic of me with Mama at Easter this year.



Here's to many, many, MANY more!!!
Ginger also wrote a sweet blog about Mama here.

Here is the card I made for her. (She FINALLY got it in the mail!)

Some Recent Work

Here are some cards and layouts I did recently.















I am busy once again with work for Scrap n' Art (for the November/December issue). The page calls for that issue are now up! So go submit your work!!