a big step...

I'd like someone to explain to me how I can be the mom of a 7th grader. When did this happen? Chloe started Jr. High today - or middle school as they call it now. Way back in my day it was Jr. High.

We took her in to get a sassy new haircut on Saturday and of course, with all this new school starting stuff going on, she looks too old now. I'm trying not to be too worried. I remember Jr. High, and for me, it wasn't great. She is already off to a better start with great new friends (thanks to our awsome new ward and neighborhood - yeah move) and a much smarter than mine (back then) head on her shoulders. I don't doubt that she will do just fine. I'm just not so sure how I will do!

another one down...

Yesterday was a bitter sweet day - Oaken started Kindergarten. Another of my kids joined the school attending ranks and I have little Jilly all to myself for about 2 1/2 hours a day. I was doing great there in the front of the school - watching all of those cute little kids waiting to start another phase of their lives. Then, I realized how "little" they were - and started thinking about my little guy and, okay - I got a bit teary. But he loved it! He was even so excited to walk home with Isabel after school and even talked about what he did in school (sometimes he doesn't really ellaborate on stuff). So fun and such a change from preschool two years ago.

And, my brother got married on Saturday - very cool day. I had the honor to play music with my cousins for the ceremony. The Star Wars music I got for him was a hit - he loved it.

This is the cake with Darth Vader and Queen Amidala - he loves Star Wars!





And the romantic mood must have rubbed off on my two little ones - they just started dancing together out of the blue. I think all of the photographers snapping pictures might have had a little something to do with it though - so stinkin' cute!

broken barrier...

Wow. What a week! I realized that my first layout to be published in Creating Keepsakes just came out in the September 2007 issue - Tips and Tricks section. I have broken the CK barrier! WooHoo. Here is the layout in case you were curious...






Also, Isabel started school yesterday. It's so wierd that she starts in the middle of the week, but I guess that's year round school for ya. I'm going to have some crazy scheduling this year with Chloe starting Jr. High and Oaken starting kindergarten next week. Anyway, isn't she so dang cute in her new school outfit and those fabulous leaport print shoes?



Check out the Making Memories Blog for an inspiration challenge they asked me to do. The question was which MM lines did I find was most like me - for the answer - go here!


Just back from CHA - helping out my friends at Traditions Studio - such fun stuff to play with! They have the coolest 12x12 shadowbox frames ever - with an easle back to stand on a table or a hook to hang on a wall. I will definately be buying some of these...I know someone who puts the newest laouts she does in these all around her house. What a great way to enjoy those memories and art we make before they go into the albums! Here is an example of one - they come in black or white.

fabric inspiration...

First of all, I'm back. I think. We just moved in to our beautiful new home - been here a week. We were actually homeless for about 3 weeks having to be out of our old house for the new people to move in. We stayed with my mom and I drove the kids to school from there. But, now we are here and although it is a disaster area with boxes and stuff everywhere...we are here!

For my newest "inspiration" go to the Making Memories blog and check out what fabric inspired a fun layout! You can also post a comment on today's post for a giveaway - they are always so very generous!

the concert...

Well - the concert was fabulous! We missed the opening band, mostly because we were stuck in traffic exiting at Saltaire. A very long line of backed up traffic waiting for the parking attendants to guide us in. But, it was well worth the wait! It was also so much fun to have Chloe there too - I was suprised at how many parents brought their kids, quite a few younger than Chloe. We were, however, treated to a few close proximity make-out sessions, but all in all - it was so much fun.

I am quickly getting ready for our yard sale starting tomorrow morning at 7:00 AM. We have been feverishly cleaning out cupboards that haven't seen the light of day for about 8 years and finding all kinds of goodies ripe for the selling! I also am eager to sell off some of my scrapbooking stash - great, new, stuff - just too much of it!

the killers...

So, it's been several years since I last went to a concert. Tonight The Killers are in town and so I gave Scott some tickets for his birthday! Giving concert tickets is a great gift, because the person you gave them to kind of has to take you - at least that is the assumption here. I actually got three tickets, one more for Chloe. I told Chloe she could go with us to The Killers and I would take Isabel to the American Idol concert. Have you seen the prices for that one? $85! For the cheapest, nose bleed section. Now I figure I have to try and win some - it's hard enough paying the $35 for The Killer tickets, but $85? Anyone know of some AI contests going on?

a little inspiration...

It is amazing the places we can find inspiration. Sometimes it is something that we see for the first time, taking our breath away and imprinting itself on our minds. Most of the time, it is something we see everyday. Check out the Making Memories Blog for an example of what I am talking about. You'll find the example there is a copy - almost exactly of my inspiration, and that's okay. Sometimes just copying something gets the creative juices flowing enough to break out on the next layout.


I love unexpected inspirations and will have a monthly feature on the Making Memories blog showing some really basic and sometimes suprising examples of "when inspiration strikes".


Here is a picture of my studio in our new home.




I have had a dedicated craft room in our old house, used for painting, sewing, kid's crafting, and scrapbooking, but this space will be devoted to scrapbooking and memory keeping. And, I am going to call it my studio too - seems more official! It is smaller than the space I had but it is more central to our home. My old room was down in the basement and was on the cold side. This is the bonus room of our new house and just off of the kids' bedrooms. I'm excited to be in this space since I spend a lot of time there and to be among my kids too. I'll post more pictures as things (like the floor) are added. Plus, I need to figure out where I'm going to put this:



My MM Idol winnings! Making Memories is so incredibly generous I just don't know where I am going to put it all.

the flu and ebay...

Wow. Monday night we went to see Shrek the third with the kids (very cute!). The theater by us has a $1.50 waffle cone special on Mondays so, of course, we all had to get one! About halfwy through the movie, I start feeling a little sick - I'm thinkin' it's the ice cream (I had to "help" my two youngest with theirs). Come Tuesday morning, I'm not doing too well at all. I was sick all day - it just came out of nowhere!

So, this morning, I'm trying to get caught up on my ebay entry's. I have a ton of stamp sets, paper packs, and odds and ends, that are worth a lot. I'm selling them for cheap, so if you are interested...go here! Anything that doesn't sell, I will put in my garage sale this Saturday. So, if you are in the area - stop by!

junkitz newsletter...

One of my newest favorite layouts is up on the Junkitz' newsletter for May! GO HERE for the link! It is a layout with my friend Janna Wilson who designs some fabulous things for Junkitz. Here is a closer look!

calling Tammy, come in Tammy...

This message is for my lucky winner, Tammy.

I'm having a tough time getting in touch with you. I have tried replying to your emails, but you think they may be blocked? I also tried the Yahoo Messenger...never done it before and don't know if you got that message. So, just know I'm trying to reach you! Hang in there with me!

we have a winner...

Through a highly complex and mathematical equation, a winner was selected! Tammy Borst is the lucky winner! Congrats Tammy. She will now get to pick her favorite Simple Sweet color family for her prize!

Hope everyone had a great Scrapbooking Day, I wished my husband Happy Scrapbooking Day yesterday and he looked at me like I had actually gone off the deep end! I didn't do anything scrapping related...we sold our house finally and are under a time crunch to get stuff for the new one picked, ready, and installed. So, it was off to select, or re-select tile, look at granite slabs, lighting - just a jumble of stuff! It's all good though.

giveaway...

Okay, this is a first for me. I'm going to do a giveaway - maybe more than one! This comes from fun as well as necessity. We are moving and I have a ton of scrapping stuff that I don't want to move and would rather share! I'm selling some of my product - Simple Sweet stuff on Ebay in color coordinated kits, but I thought I would give some away here...my first RAK.

So, post your answer to this question in the comments section and I will do a random drawing - I need at least 20 comments so pass this along!

Question: What is the one, UNIQUE, scrapbooking tool you can't live without? Something more than just trimmers and journaling pens ;)

The winner will get to choose their favorite Simple Sweet kit for their prize! Here is an example in the Meadow color family:

Good Luck!

a change...

I like change. Well, I actually like little changes - ones that don't involve a lot of thinking and a lot of work. Like my hair. I change my hair style quite often and when I do, it's a little easier to do - (refer to layout below). Less hair equals less time. Oh, this layout goes so well with the new color scheme of the blog too!



So, I changed the look of my blog. Not hard to change - not as hard as I thought it would be, just pick a new template. I have been wanting to change it for awhile now, but just never did. I decided to this time because I wanted to add the MM Idol logo to my side bar and display it with pride and I needed to update the template to accomodate a picture so here it is. Someday, I want to venture into a more personalized touch. Create and add some of my own elements. Right now though, I have no idea how to do that, so this is good enough for now!

15 years ago...

today, I was married for time and eternity to my sweetheart and friend.

Yes, I used to die my hair red - at least at the time of my wedding. It has been several other colors too but we remember the red because of the wedding pictures. 15 years seems like a lot. Especially when I look at how young (and thinner) we were in this picture. Four kids later and working on our 3rd home, we're doing pretty good I think! Going out to dinner tonight...somewhere fancy!

Oh, and Chloe made the lead in her school's 6th grade play - she will be Juliet in Romeo and Juliet. What an accomplishment! We would try to help her ahead of time with her lines and, it's hard to recite and speak Shakespeare talk. I'm very proud of ya, kid.

panic...

Seriously, I had a small moment of panic yesterday. I thought I missed putting up the next challenge for MM Idol. It was weird that after 7 weeks of challenges, I didn't have one to do and it freaked me out a little! There is a little interview up at the Making Memories site...about me. I still can't believe it's over - but I'm really so excited!

I love this Easter picture of Chloe - she was so fun during the contest. She would tell all of her friends and teachers about it and remind them to vote every week. It was so neat to see how proud of me she was and how excited about it all.

And, our house is STILL for sale. This is so stressful. It's been on the market for about 5 weeks and we have shown it close to 30 times. Not even one offer yet. There are so many houses in our neighborhood for sale too so that makes it harder. I had one agent come and walk through and ask if they could leave their car in front to go look at other houses - I mean they are in walking distance. Our house is more money than the other houses too, it's bigger with more upgrades and that makes it harder to compete. Our new house will be finished in about 7 to 8 weeks and I really want this one under contract so I can focus on the new one!

this is it...

...a very special day for Isabel - her birthday! Happy 9th Birthday, Isabel! She is growing up so fast and accomplishing so much - and she is so stinkin' cute in her sassy Easter dress. Love you lots!

...and here it is:

my entry for the MM Idol contest. I was informed a little more than an hour ago that:

I WON!!!!! Thank you to everyone who voted, and encouraged me, and stood by me! Thank you to my husband Scott, who was just a nervous as I was and thank you to Chloe, my cute daughter who announced to everyone what it was and what they needed to do! I am so excited for what lies ahead - challenges and opportunities.

the FINAL challenge...

Wow. I can't believe the final MM Idol challenge is here! You can see the projects and vote HERE.

I just want to send a big THANK YOU out to all of you who have been voting and participating in this contest. It means so much to be picked from such fabulous creations to go forward each week. It feels awsome and I am amazed I am here! And, regardless of who you vote for, it is the voting that makes this contest - so thank you!!

So, if you haven't done it yet...GO VOTE!

inquiring minds want to know...

Okay. I'm a snack lover. It shows in my waistline (among other places), and it's pretty bad when I can call a few snacks a meal - and not a very good example to the kids either! So, I have a question for you; but I'll get to that in a minute.

My new friend, Wilna - you might know her as the first and most fabulous MM Idol, has asked me to help her in an awsome RAK she is doing. She needs you to answer a question - in the form of a comment on MY blog. Then, to be eligible for the RAK, she needs you to visit some other blogs and leave comments there too. Here is her blog: Wilna, so you can see what else you need to do!

So, now to the question you need to answer: "What is your all time favorite scrapping snack?" If you care to elaborate on your answer, feel free to!

The layout posted above is all about one of my son's favorite summer time snacks. It's just something you have to eat in the hot summer heat and everything about it is appealing - the intense color, the refreshing cool down in your mouth, and the blast of fruity flavor...yummm.

Welcome...to the final challenge...

Yes - I made it - top 3 of MM Idol! I'm actually a little shocked and surprised - the competition was really amazing and I was so nervous! So a huge THANK YOU to everyone who voted...even if it wasn't for me - your support of this contest is great and very much appreciated by all of us.


If you didn't know already, this was mine. Such a fun challenge with chipboard!

MM Idol Challenge #6

It is that time again...voting has opened for the next round of MM Idol - go HERE. You will notice that there are no names or recognizable family pictures associated with any of the entries. They wanted this challenge to be a truly anonymous project - for the focus to be on the technique and not the person. The technique was to do something new with chipboard.

There are several things I have loved about these challenges each week, the first is the parameters. I like limits. I truly believe - for me - that limits and boundaries cultivate creativity. I'm a little leary about this project though, espcially after seeing the other fabulous creations by the other 4 finalists. They are pretty amazing! I have also enjoyed Wilna's encouraging words on the Making Memories blog. She was the first MM Idol last year and if you have ever seen her stuff, you know why. I look forward to her weekly inspiration and have been able to learn something new every time.

So, if you haven't voted yet - get to it!