{i'm in the spotlight!}

I've been listening to DiscTalk Radio since they started, and I love how it keeps me updated on all the latest scrap goodies and layouts. Well, it seems as though the gals over there have noticed me! My layout Play (one of my favorites) has been featured this week! Go catch "Dishin the Digi Coast to Coast" (it's free!!) to hear how they unabashedly lavish me with undeserved praise!



We took the kids on their first camping trip this past weekend. They had a blast! Unfortunately, the water level at the lake was too low for swimming, but we did lots of grilling, roasting marshmallows, and other fun outdoors-y things. No bear sightings, not that there ARE any bears at Lake Enid, but my mother has the insane fear of them anyway. My brother and I like to give her a hard time about it ;)

The kids have gone to spend this week with Ed's mom, then we are all off to Florida for lots of family and beach time! I can't wait! But in the meantime, things are very quiet here. Luckily, I have plenty to do to keep me busy. I have lots of plans that will hopefully come into fruition soon. I can't reveal them yet, but keep your eyes open!

latest layouts

I have been a lax blogger lately, and so I have some catching up to do!

*play - Spotlighted this week!*



*this is the life*



*teddy bear picnic*



*the face*



Cheers!

{ouch}

My son just bit the fire out of me. I have a mark. It hurts. He's now laying on the floor in disgrace. He's been doing that quite a bit lately (the biting, not the disgrace part). I don't think he means harm, he just gets excited, and doesn't know how to express himself. But even so, I can't allow him to get away with it, no matter how cute he is. And he is pretty damn cute ;)

My roses and I are fighting a raging battle against the dreaded blackspot. It was winning, but I think we may have gained the upper hand. I've done a day's research, and have discovered that a solution of vinegar may be beneficial. So I mixed up a gallon sprayer with 3 Tbsp. vinegar, 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil, and a couple drops of dish soap. I spent the last two days picking off infected leaves, and spraying the remaining canes down with the vinegar solution. So far, it really seems to be helping, but I've only gotten to 3 of them so far. 8 more to go. I'll let you know who wins!

*Perpetual Calendar*

I thought I would share the project I did for ScrapArtist.



The actual calendar portion is completely digital, and can be used for any month, any year.





I put the months in fold-out tabs to remind me what month it is, since I often can't keep track (I wrote down July just today).





The year is stickers, so hopefully I can change it out next year, if I don't decide that it's time for a change, which I am liable to do!



On a tiny side note, my oldest daughter is going through her first break-up. What am I going to do with all those layouts I did of the two of them? She's taking it rather well, though.

Cheers!

{check it out}

I know I've mentioned this a couple times, but it's so cool to see my name in "print"!

I'm famous at ScrapArtist!

I'll come back and post more pictures and details of this project. I had a blast doing it!

*trivia winners*

I know everyone is curious about the trivia contest winners. #6 stumped most everyone - Christina's first kit was Heritage, not Urban Love (even I didn't know that)! But a few people did get it right. The first five to answer correctly were:

Sara
Schmoopie
Jennifer
Rainee
Dagmar

I'll be sending you your gift certificates as soon as possible! Thanks to everyone who played!

Cheers!

{some contest fun}

The biggest buzz around town lately is the opening of Christina Renee Designs. Yes, the talented designer now has her own store!! (check out the CT pages! I made those!) She is sooo excited, and to celebrate, she's given me some gift cards to give away!

There's tons of fun going on today. There's a scrapping challenge with her latest kit here. Look around the store, and play in this challenge. This challenge is going to be a blast! And anyone who participates in ANY challenge will recieve a 25% coupon good for one entire order! And rumor has it that there's a freebie floating around...

The first 5 people to correctly answer these questions will receive a $10 GC to her store! Hurry - contest ends at the end of the day! (hint: you may want to check out Christina's blog for the answers!) Prove your love of her designs, and be rewarded!

*i just realized that if we leave these comments for everyone to view, then all the answers are right there! LOL so i've hidden the comments for now. those of you who have already played, you're still good to go. those of you who haven't played yet and want to, please email me your answers! (email link on left sidebar) thanks, and sorry!*


1) Name the business Christina previously owned with her friend Jamie.

2) What product was featured on Disc Talk Radio?

3) What was the name of the kit created for Christina's fans?

4) Name 2 ladies that were a guest for Christina in April.

5) Where does Christina live?

6) What was the name of Christina's first digital scrapbooking kit?

7) What color are Emily's hands in the layout Gina Miller made using the really funky watercolors?

8) What's the name of Christina's husband?

9) What month did Christina join Funky Playground Designs?

10) What does Christina drive?

11) How much does Urban Love cost?

12)What's the name of the collab kit Christina made with Anne DeJong?

13) What's the name of Christina's son?

14) What's the name of Christina's stitching pack?

15) What did Christina give away on National Scrapbooking Day?

Good luck!


Cheers!

{hybridizing}

When I was in college, I had great plans to be a DNA scientist, so "hybridizing" was a term i could see myself using in 10 years. Of course, that's not even CLOSE to what I'm doing now! But I'm pretty sure I wouldn't trade ;)

Is hybridizing even a real word? Or is it just an Amy word? Let's look it up......I'll get out my trusty dictionary widget....Yup, it's a real word. Darn. I like adding my own spin to the English language! Oh well, at least I'm adding my own spin to the definition! I'm not splicing DNA, I'm splicing paper and digi!

*My Everything*







I did this one awhile back for Scrap Gypsies. The background is all digital. I added my journaling, the compass, and printed it out. Then I printed out the circles and my photos, cut them out, and added them to the background. I extended the lines of the compass with my sewing maching, added a Hambly rub, a flower, and some buttons.

*Roost*







This was also done for Scrap Gypsies. It was done much the same way. The background is a blend of several digital papers, and some brushes. Then I added elements on top of it. The crown was added to both the background and the photo before printing, so that it would look like a stamp (Yes, this takes quite a bit of planning beforehand!).

*Security*







I actually had planned this one for my SOY entry, but as there is no way I will come up with 11 more layouts in 3 weeks, I've decided to forgo that contest this year :( I was really quite happy with how it turned out. The background is a Daisy D's paper, cut to an 8x8 size so that it would fit in my printer. I printed the journaling and some circle brushes right on top of it, then added a few paper circles, some buttons, a Heidi Swapp sticker, and some eyelets and ribbon. I roughed it up a bit and placed the whole thing on top of a Rhonna Farrer digital paper that I had printed out.

*a bit of news*

Did I mention that I will be the featured hybrid artist at ScrapArtist this month??? I'm so excited! I've just finished up my first project, and it will be debuting on their blog next Monday!

Cheers!

{jesus year}

Hubby has aged another year. We have just celebrated his 33rd birthday. We ate dinner at our favorite local pizza joint, had an ice cream sundae bar, and sang the infamous "happy birthday" song. He even led the conducting ;)



The girls were first in line for ice cream



Morgan was eager for a photo op



and all Alex wanted was the strawberries!



We had some of the best pizza ever at Old Venice. Not only was the food incredible, but it has a very sophisticated, Tuscan atmosphere that I love.





Happy Birthday, Honey!

*big boy haircut*

Alex got a haircut today. I wanted something short, cute, and "cool." He no longer has the typical "baby" haircut. My little boy is slowly becoming a big boy :(



*latest layouts*



All the girls in the house have now had their ears pierced. We got Jessie's ears done for her First Communion last month, and for once I actually remembered to take the camera! Her looks of anxiety are too cute!



Another Jessie layout. I have a prediction that Jessie will grow up to be a stay-at-home-mom. She loves playing Mommy to all her dolls, Alex, and especially her baby cousin! I snapped these the last time we were visiting my mom and brother.




Have you all checked THIS out yet? I can't wait!

Cheers!

{queen of the crop}

The 10 finalists have been announced. I didn't make the cut, but I am so happy for those who did! I didn't go into the contest with a hope of winning, but rather to challenge myself. And who knew? I wouldn't have a chance at all if I didn't enter, right? I was very, very pleased with my layouts that came out of this contest. If nothing else, I think it really helped me define my style.

*week 1: She-Woman*



I often tell my husband how multi-talented I am, even though he doesn't quite believe me! This layout is all about my different roles in life, specifically as mom, wife, artist, and friend. I used a duplicated photo that was treated with different actions to give them each individuality. They're all me, but they're all different!

*week 2: Beach*



My wish. 'Nuff said.

*week 3: Everyday*



My daily schedule is chaos, even though I don't have one of those "job" things! A cocktail always calms me down at the end of the day.

*week 4: Observe*



My middle daughter brought home a card for mother's day that she had filled out with all the things she thought made me a good mother. It was a joy looking through her eyes!

{a blog post of epic proportions...}

Another weekend, a new month, and new adventures! My goal for this month? Get organized! I made myself the cutest little scrappy planner and have not yet used it to its full potential. This month, that changes. Kids are home, wild, and chaos abounds! Not only will I get the house cleaned, the kids in order, and the garden growing, but I am going to conquer that ever-present enemy.....my scrap space!!!

*my new toy*

I've been trying to get things done today so that I can have a little time to learn how to operate my new toy:



It was time for an upgrade. Took me 3 days to decide which non-flip, FREE phone had the best calendar/alarm system! I think I use my phone more as a personal reminder than as an actual talk-to-people device. That, and as a watch.

*food for thought*

My brother and I just finished an online conversation where we were discussing the pros and cons of beaming. It went something like this:

Him: wonder if i should eat these M&Ms. hmmm. i just ate some starburst, prolly wait a few more mins (he works for MasterFoods)
Me: email me some! virtual candy...mmm...
Him: just can't beam stuff yet. that would change a lot of stuff, ya know.
Me: no kidding - then we'd all get fat!
Him: like over night... FedEX, UPS, and the USPS would be f****d
Me: but think of all the new enterprise possibilities
Him: might not be such a kewl thing if everyone had a beaming station
Me: what if you banged into someone mid-beam?
Him: think about it... i tell you i am about to beam you some candy... you are like yeah... so you authorize it.. then because i am a dick.... i light a firecracker and send it instead. POW!
Me: you cruel bastard
Him: just an illistration to bring to life real issues...
Me: perhaps a scanner to make sure items were authorized before beaming?
Him: the beaming stations would have to be state of the art security stations... and the protocol that would have to be written to standardize beaming. traffic would be unreal
Me: guess you would still have to have security guards - like at the airport. or robots.
Him: we need to design that shit with dad... and get FedEX to fund our research... we could leverage their support and $$$ by explaining to them that the will be out of business if they dont back us up.
Me: exactly! they would have no choice.
Him: maybe we could lie and tell em we have a working prototype or some shit.
Me: yeah, but they'd ask to see it, then what?
Him: bomb case full of shotty pin ball machine parts.............

My daily entertainment. Gotta love him!

*scrappy goings-on*

Lotsa stuff going on right now! Little Dreamer Designs is having their grand opening sale!! Lots of great stuff 35% off through the 4th! You HAVE to go check it out!

Don't you just love my new blinkie?



Christina Renee has a little sumthin-sumthin for her blog readers. Here's a little sneaky peek:



And I heard a little rumor that there may be a nice surprise for shoppers at Funky Playground Designs soon....

The first means a new Treat of the Month at the Sweet Shoppe! This month we got to lift Sari Underwood:



This is a layout of my middle daughter at her end-of-the-year party at school. She has such a great bunch of friends, and they're always nuts when they all get together! Makes for great photos! Speaking of layouts...

*latest layout: dirty hands*



I got the BEST photos of Alex "helping" my brother change a tire the last time we were at my mom's. He was completely entranced by the whole process. I took tons of photos, and they are some of my favorite ever! Not sure this layout quite does them justice. Something is missing, and I can't tell exactly what... I think I will end up scrapping these again. Maybe a hybrid?

*tag, you're it!*

Lastly, Emily has tagged me! I know you're supposed to tag other people after doing this, but everyone I know has already done this one! But I thought I'd play along anyway!
*disclaimer: I'm assuming "things" refers to inanimate object. No sappy "family" or other people answers for me!*

My 5 favorite things:

1. My Mac
2. My camera
3. My car (Mitsubishi Eclipse convertible)
4. My garden
5. Final Fantasy XII

Thanks for the tag, Emily!

Cheers!