Sweet!

If you're hungry right now, you should probably stop reading now. And if you're craving sweets (which for me, is pretty much anytime), this post isn't going to help curb your sweet tooth. In fact, the entire time I was putting this layout together, all I could think about was: how can I make/buy/get one of these desserts right now without having to change out of sweats and drive for 15 minutes?

Fortunately, changing out of sweats and driving was enough of an obstacle that I was able to satisfy my cravings with a few Girl Scout cookies. (Samoas will cure anything, my friends.)

Let's hope I can manage to post the photos without saying "to heck with the sweats" and grabbing my car keys. Wish me luck.



I love this layout because, in addition to showcasing that beautiful specimen of strawberry shortcake, it mixes a whole bunch of my favorite manufacturers: Pink Paislee, GCD Studios, Sassafras Lass, American Crafts, Jenni Bowlin, Basic Grey. It's like a who's who of scrapbooking...right one one page. :-)

Here's a peek at the flowers...not sure who makes those marble brads. I think they were in a Kenner Road kit.



Oh, and another one of my faves right now: Baker's Twine!!! I have it in four colors, so I'm pretty sure you'll be seeing more of it.



Here's wishing you a very SWEET Sunday! (Or should I say "sundae?")

Oh, Spring...where art thou?

Will it ever be Spring? I'm really starting to wonder. Yes, I know it's technically still February, but usually by this time in Texas, there are some signs of Spring...crocus leaves peeking up through the dirt, a random 70-degree day, a morning when you walk out of the door and think "Hmmm, maybe I don't need a jacket today." I've been waiting and watching for any hint that winter is on its way out, but I just don't see it. Instead, we had more snow flurries yesterday. ((groan))

But being the eternal optimist, I find other ways to bring some "Spring" into my life. Like scrapping with these sweet and colorful papers from Lily Bee.

The hexagon pattern in one of the papers inspired me to invent my own Spring flower. For instructions on how to make your own, check out my tutorial on the Clip It Up blog today.

Maybe...just maybe...we'll see some real Spring flowers sometime soon. Until then, I'll keep my scissors and glue handy.

Ready for a Road Trip

My six-year-old daughter and I have this little game we play on road trips. We go through the alphabet and find each letter on a road sign. Problem is: my daughter is getting too good at it. I needed a new way to challenge her. When I got my package of Scooter's Vacation goodies from Imaginisce, I knew there was a golden idea here, if only I could find the time to execute it. And I finally did!

Introducing...Road Trip Bingo!

Now, in addition to spotting letters, she has to spot things like airplanes, dogs, restaurants, boats, etc. And she has to get them in a row of five to win. That should keep her busy, huh?

It was actually a really easy project. I started with a magnetic dry erase board from Wal-Mart, covered it with Kraft cardstock, then used my square punch to make the squares. I cut the letters on my Cricut (except for the title...that's Quickutz). And I used the i-Top with the new magnet daddies to create the markers. I love that the whole thing is magnetic so the pieces will stay in place, no matter how crazy my driving is.

The only question left is: what's the prize for getting a BINGO? Guess I need to work on that.

BUT...while I'm talking prizes, there's just a few days left to submit your layout for the February Sketch on the Imaginisce blog. You can win your very own i-Top bundle (and you SO need one!) or a $75 prize package. The deadline is Thursday, February 25, so get yours in!

Going places

Another busy week...I'm starting to sound like a broken record. But I'll bet you can relate...because we're all busy, and I think we all secretly like it that way. If I didn't have a job that kept me working 40+ hours a week, I'm sure I'd find some other way to fill up those hours and I'd still be just as busy. Wouldn't you?

In the midst of this week's busy-ness, I found time to create this fun little card.


I used the i-Top to create the "balloons" and embroidery floss to create the cables. The baskets are just brown cardstock scraps that I embossed with the swiss dot folder from Cuttlebug. Then I rolled the tops slightly over to give a top edge to the basket. The cloud is handcut, then outlined in black marker, topped with a rub-on. All the supplies, except the cardstock, are from the Scooter's Vacation line by Imaginisce.

And speaking of Imaginisce, there's a really fun Weekend Challenge right now on the Imaginisce Facebook page. All you have to do is post a photo of yourself with an i-Top. If you don't have an i-Top, go to the store and take a photo with one, or even Photoshop an i-Top into one of your existing photos. Do it today because they're choosing a winner on Monday morning for some yummy Imaginisce goodies!

Unless you're too busy...
:)

Happy Valentine's Day!

To all the cynics that think Valentine's Day is a holiday created to make people spend money on cards, flowers and chocolate, I say "Phooey!" Yes, technically, we shouldn't need a holiday to tell the people we love how special they are, but what's so wrong with a day devoted to love? Cards aren't that expensive...in fact, you can even make them yourself!

That would be the perfect setup to post a card I've made, but I don't have anything new to post this morning. Sorry. But because I'm feeling the love on this fun day, I've been inspired by Kimberly to participate in Sunday Stealing.

Sunday Stealing: The Clown's Meme 1

1. How old will you be in five years?
I'll be 40-something instead of 30-something. :)

2. Who did you spend at least two hours with today?

My kids and my dogs, cuddling on the couch with a cup of coffee.

3. How tall are you?
5'8

4. What do you look forward to most in the next six weeks?
Spring break at the beach in Florida!

5. What’s the last movie you saw?
Avatar (I'm SO not a sci-fi person...I thought the story was ridiculous.)

6. Who was the last person you called?
My grandmother

7. Who was the last person to call you?
Our babysitter

8. What was the last text message you received?
From a friend of ours, telling me my husband's phone battery was dead

9. Who was the last person to leave you a voicemail?
Our babysitter

10. Do you prefer to call or text?
Depends. Usually texting is better, but some of my family members don't text.

11. What were you doing at 12am last night?
Sleeping

12. Are your parents married/separated/divorced?
Divorced from each other and both remarried to other people.

13. When is the last time you saw your mom?
Christmas

14. What color are your eyes?
Brown

15. What time did you wake up today?
7:15 (not on purpose)

16. What are you wearing right now?
T-shirt and sweats

17. What is your favorite christmas song?
O Holy Night

18. Where is your favorite place to be?
On a beach or sitting by a pool

19. Where is your least favorite place to be?
Anywhere cold

20. Where would you go if you could go anywhere?
Italy

21. Where do you think you’ll be in 10 years?
Still married to Adam, with two teenage girls. I'm sure we'll have to get a bigger house by then just to give ourselves some space from each other.

22. Do you tan or burn?
Tan (unless I'm not wearing sunscreen)

23. What did you fear was going to get you at night as a child?
Boogie man hiding under my bed

24. What was the last thing that really made you laugh?
Probably something that my kids said

25. How many TVs do you have in your house?
3

26. How big is your bed?
Queen

27. Do you have a laptop or desktop computer?
Laptop

29. What color are your sheets?
Red

30. How many pillows do you sleep with?
Two

31. What is your favorite season?
Spring

32. What do you like about Autumn?
Cooler temperatures

33. What do you like about winter?
Umm, pretty much nothing. Oh wait...I like when it's over! lol

From snow to swimming

I'm kind of all over the place these days, so I guess it's appropriate that only one day after posting pics of my kids in the snow, I'm posting a layout from the pool. I think I chose to scrap these photos today just to distract myself from the mounds of snow outside my window.


The supplies are mostly from the "Scooter's Vacation" collection from Imaginisce. Doing mostly girly layouts, I hardly ever use this color combination, but it's been fun to work with reds and blues and greens for a change. Notice that there is not a single flower or spot of pink anywhere on this layout. Can't say that very often! :)

Snow day!

After all these months of admiring everyone's snowy layouts and lamenting that Dallas never gets anything but ice, well...I should be careful what I wish for.


Yep, 12+ inches of the white stuff...in Dallas, Texas!!! My kids are, understandably, delighted. It's just short of a miracle that they actually have enough snow to build a snowman, a snow fort and probably just about any other snow structure they can think of. So much for global warming, huh?


Aside from the fact that I hate cold weather, it's been a lot of fun to watch them discover how much fun snow can be. It will probably be all gone by tomorrow, and I'll be sad to see it go. Being cooped up in the house actually means I can get some scrapping done!

Hope everyone is staying safe and warm!

It's a dog's life!

Today is exciting (for me, at least) because Imaginisce is launching monthly sketch contests on their blog, and I'm loving sketches lately. Especially this fab one by fellow DT member Julie Bonner.


When I was decided what to do with it, I happened onto some photos I snapped of our Labradoodle (Labrador Retriever + Poodle). It's about time Lilah got some layout love. We've had her for over a year and she is, without a doubt, the sweetest member of this family. There's not a mean bone in her body, and she not only lets the girls dress her up, lead her around and do who-knows-what-else to her, but I think she actually kind of likes it. Anything for attention.

The best part about Lilah is that she's decided, even though she weighs nearly 70 pounds, she would like to be a lap dog. At first, we protested and made her stay off the couch and off of our laps. But I guess we're just total suckers because lately, we've given in. And that makes Lilah very happy.


I stitched the outer circle on my sewing machine with three different colors of thread on Kraft cardstock. All the other supplies are from the Scooter's Vacation collection from Imaginisce. It was perfect for this layout.

Check out the Imaginisce blog for details on how you can enter your interpretation of this sketch in their monthly contest!