SOCIAL MEDIA

Excited to Share...

6.30.2010
that I'm joining the design team for My Favorite Things Stamps! It will be fun to stretch my stamping skills a bit and to get to use some of the Die-namics dies on my layouts and projects, thank you so very much Kim for opening this door to me and inviting me to be a part of the My Favorite Things team of designers. Here's to another crafty adventure!

Check out the rest of the team members that are joining forces here on Kim's blog.

And just for fun, here are some projects that I've used some My Favorite Things Stamps on...

Everyday Bloom

Your Smile

MFT Stamps - I {Heart} Books

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Making Cards...

6.29.2010
thought I'd share some of the cards that I've been making for make-n-takes and samples for Paper Studio lately, I so often forget to share what it is that I do for my local scrapbook store.

Donut Mini Card

Donut Card featuring stamps by Hero Arts.

You Are Amazingly Beautiful Card

You Are Beautiful Card featuring the DeLovely collection by Cosmo Cricket.

Cherish Today Card

Cherish Today card featuring stamps by Hero Arts using Versamark Ink and the heat embossing technique.

Butterfly Card

Butterfly Card using die-cuts made from the Slice machine by Making Memories and the new Real Wood by Creative Imaginations.

DSC07260

What's Perking Card using stamps from Hero Arts.

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Random Musings

6.27.2010
  1. right now if you asked Zoey what her favorite color was she would answer you "rainbow"
  2. i went to the movie Toy Story 3 with Zoey yesterday and while sitting next to her in the movie theatre I had the thought that I was so very happy being right there with her in that very moment...and for the fact that I get to go to the movies with this cool little girl whenever i want
  3. just finished up a wonderful week long bible study with a group of truly beautiful friends and on our last meeting, while finishing up, our group leader started reading from Isaiah 55:10-11 "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes from my mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." and when he said the word "rain" it started to rain and to rain hard. it was one of those rare and magical moments that gives you goose bumps.
  4. i'm struggling a bit with being the stay-at-home-mom that is starting to work more outside of the home...sometimes i feel as though i still have the expectation of myself to be available to others and for things that i was able to do before, when in reality, now, it feels like any time that I'm not working is scheduled for things that need doing at home. and when that's not the case, i want to be with family. not complaining, just trying to figure it out so there is some resemblance of balance here and there.
  5. just started reading the book titled, The Sweet By and By by Todd Johnson...so far so good.
  6. trying to feel more motivated to blog...it's hard when time is such a precious commodity and the thrill of summer just beckons me away from this little space here on the web
  7. watched the movie The Book of Eli with Ethan last night...a very good movie
  8. back to exercising in the early mornings, hopefully will stick with it this time around
  9. am thinking how nice it was to have ethan make french toast for us this morning for breakfast (kinda defeats the purpose of exercising though perhaps?)
  10. played barbies today with zoey and had fun
  11. thankful for all those people out in the world that have touched my heart in some way, shape or form...those times when i look around me and see so much hurt and pain i need to make a point to remember how very lucky it is that i am
  12. feeling a wee bit overwhelmed with my "to do" list, both crafty and otherwise
  13. amazed by the views at times outside my windows right here at home:
Rainbow

Birthday Snapshots

6.24.2010
We went on a little birthday adventure this past weekend and surprised Zoey by packing up the car and taking off without sharing with her where we were going...we stayed in Green Bay, Wisconsin at the Tundra Lodge Resort and Waterpark for a couple of nights and ended our long weekend with a night in Appleton at Ethan's parents house.

For her birthday dinner we ate at Grazie's in Green Bay and they brought out a ball of pizza dough for her to play with before her food arrived which was a fun surprise!

Pizza Dough at Grazie's!

Pizza Dough at Grazie's!

Birthday dinner consisted of a Peanut Butter and Jelly pizza...she was thrilled to say the least with this dinner idea! :)

Peanut Butter and Jelly Pizza

Peanut Butter and Jelly Pizza

Dessert was a cup of dirt of course!

Cup of Dirt

Cup of Dirt

On our first day we spent the afternoon at Bay Beach Amusement Park where all the ride tickets cost just 25 cents...for $7.50 we had a ton of fun. Her favorite ride was the Grannie Bugs, the pink one of course!

Bay Beach Amusement Park in Green Bay, Wisconsin

A very close second was the carousel...we did this several times.

Bay Beach Amusement Park in Green Bay, Wisconsin

Bay Beach Amusement Park

Bay Beach Amusement Park

Bay Beach Amusement Park in Green Bay, Wisconsin

The next day we headed out to the Zoo in Green Bay...

At the Green Bay "New Zoo"

Zoey got to feed one of the giraffes which was pretty neat.

At the Green Bay "New Zoo"

Both days while in Green Bay we played a ton at the waterpark itself while at the resort. They had a kiddie pool with a slide, lazy river, regular pool where you could play basketball (Zoey had fun shooting hoops) and the hot tub. She was a little fish!

Next stop was a surprise (to Zoey) visit to Grandma and Grandpa's house (Ethan's family). She helped Grandpa with some yard work...

Helping Grandpa

and then he set up the sprinkler for her.

Playing in the Sprinkler

Playing in the Sprinkler

I set up the birthday table...

Zoey's 6th Year Birthday Cake

Birthday Party at Grandma and Grandpa's

Birthday Party at Grandma and Grandpa's

Birthday Cake

Larry T-Shirt!

It was a very special time away for the three of us. And her birthday wish this year? That all of her future birthday's are just like this one!

:)

More birthday pictures can be seen here:


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Chin Faces Anyone?

6.17.2010
Chin Faces!

Yesterday after work this was what Zoey and I ended up doing with our free time before dinner...nothing puts a smile on your face like playing chin faces.

Chin Faces!

Chin Faces!

Chin Faces!

It's safe to say that many giggles were present as well. :)

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My Favorite Things Stamps

6.14.2010
MFT Stamps - I {Heart} Books

I had some "free time" last night and was able to get some crafty stuff(s) completed...I had some fun playing with my I {Heart} Books stamp set by My Favorite Things Stamps, the little "zen" guy pictured above is one of my favorite images from that set...I love him so much! I had some fun paper piecing with this card and then did some repetitive stamping with Versamark ink on the background. Simple and sweet. I've got a busy work week here this week and also am working on some deadlines for Creative Imaginations as well. I've got some fun planned for the weekend though...we're celebrating Zoey's birthday this year with a little adventure trip planned for the three of us, can't wait! Until then though, back to work!

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Creating a Unique Photo Collage

6.13.2010
At the Beach Collage

I received an email from one of the developers for Photovisi.com sharing with me their new FREE online photo collage service and I think that scrapbookers and photographers alike will find this to be a very fun site! There is a quality selection of collage designs and options available for your customization. It's very easy to use too, you just select one of the many collage templates, add your photos and then customize your collage simply by dragging your items around. After the collage is finished it's available for download! Easy peasy! Check it out for yourself here and have fun!

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The Rain Boots are Getting Some Good Lovin'

6.11.2010
Testing Out the Rain Boots

She LOVES her rain boots...if it were up to her she would be wearing them every single day (and she pretty much has really). Today was another rainy day, after I was done with work this afternoon though there was a brief break in the rain so we stopped by the park to let Zoey run off some of her energy.

Testing out the Rain Boots

She was very appreciative and was thrilled to discover some pretty massive puddles at the bottoms of the slides...luckily she just happened to have on her rain boots (and I just happened to have my camera from having had brought it to work today).

Zip Line Fun

She also had to do a couple of runs on the "zip line" while we were there...

Zip Line Fun

this is the good stuff.

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Butterfly Thank You Card

6.10.2010
Thanks Butterfly Card

Just a little share today...a super simple card made using stamps from Hero Arts and the Slice Die-Cutting Machine by Making Memories (to cut out the butterflies).

It's a rainy day here today and I'm off to work in a bit, which is just as well since it's rainy. I have been told by Zoey that she'll be playing Barbies with Papa when I leave...that may be why Ethan just asked me if he could pick up a new Lego set at Wal-Mart today (in kind of a somewhat panicked tone).

Happy Friday to you! :)

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Someone's Growing Up

Last Day as a Kindergartener

Today is her first full day of summer break. We met friends at the park this morning, then this afternoon we headed to the library to get all of her Summer Library Program goodies and then headed back home to do what you ask? Play school of course! :) We made it about 15 minutes yesterday after school was let out before the tears came...she loved Kindergarten and her teacher so much so this year that she didn't want it to be over. Bless her little heart! Wouldn't it be great if she felt this way about school all the way on up through up her high school years? I can only hope!

I will say this...I am a happy mama to have her home again! Love these lazy days of summertime that we can spend together! I'm soaking them up while I can!

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