Friday, February 1, 2008

Exciting news...

for me!! I am one of the newest members of the International Scrapbooking Association's VIP Team! at iSCRAP.net. I am so excited about this! My name was just added to the list late last night, so I will be working on getting the information for my page ready so they can link it up soon, but just had to share the news right away!!

I have the day off (no school for Kaitlin today) so hopefully can get that and also some scrapping done today!


About ISA:
The International Scrapbooking Association (ISA) is the worlds largest and most diverse scrapbooking organization in the world. They are a global resource for all aspects of the industry. With representatives from all across the globe, they bring and promote scrapbooking world wide. With excellent customer service, vast resources and advanced technology they can help you as a scrapbooker bring your work to life and show it to the world.

The ISA was originally founded in 2003 as the National Scrapbooking Association (NSA) based in Houston Texas. As times have changed, the needs of the industry have grown, borders eliminated and more scrapbookers using the internet, the NSA has expanded its services, implemented new technologies and transitioned in to the International Scrapbooking Association (ISA).

Join the International Scrapbooking Association today!
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Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Trip down memory lane...

I'm not sure how it started, but last night at the dinner table we started down memory lane and were talking about all the cute little things that Kaitlin used to do...

...like scooting across the floor so that she could make music with the spring door stopper

...and then when she was a little bigger she used to crawl into the space beneath the TV in our entertainment center and 'peak' at anyone willing to pay attention to her (see blast-from-my-scrapbooking-past layout below...


(This is a rare peak at my very first scrapbook - created in 2002. Most scrappers have heard of 'sticker sneeze'. Well, this is an example of one of my early, and highly innovative, scrapbooking techniques called 'photo sneeze'...how things have changed!)

...and then when she starting talking, the first thing she said was 'mama' (which referred to both Mommy & Daddy until she was about eighteen months old - didn't make Daddy happy, by the way)

...and then her speech got much better, but had a little trouble with some words like yellow and elephant and we enjoyed endless hours of entertainment by asking her to say yellow elephant which came out 'lellow ephalent'

We ended up watching some home video later that evening with snippets of us in the hospital waiting for her arrival and the first couple months of Kaitlin's life and a couple things really stood out to me:

One - I'm somewhat amazed that I even allowed him to tape me while in the hospital...I looked horrible - especially towards the end of my 27 1/2 hours of labor. It must have been the drugs...I was smiling most of the time...yes, it was most definitely the drugs.

Two - The whole time that we are in the hospital after Kaitlin's birth, she never cried once on video...she was this sweet, sleeping little bundle of perfection.

Three - Then we brought her home...and in every snippet thereafter she is, at least at some point, screaming her little lungs out.

At that point, I leaned over a said to Kaitlin (who has been quite intrigued the whole time as she has never seen this particular video before), "How come at the hospital you were so sweet and quite and when we brought you home all you did was cry?"

She then proceeded to give me 'the eye'.

For a five year old, she is quite adept at 'the eye'.

"I think we might just have brought home the wrong baby from the hospital," I said. "Maybe we should check into that."

"Mooooooom!"

Four - In every snippet that involved Justin, he was picking on her in some way...tickling her or pulling at her eyelids when she was sleeping, making fun of her smelly diapers...and in every snippet that I was involved in I was snuggling her or trying to get her to 'tell me a story' by talking to her in that high-pitched baby talk (which all mothers seem to instantly revert to upon having a child and, yes, I admit, is quite annoying...sorry).

However, Kaitlin's response to that was, "Mommy, you are such a nice mommy."

Well, maybe I won't check into that baby switch thing after all.
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Tuesday, January 29, 2008

CHA Winter 2008 sneak peaks...

I've been watching the sneak peaks that many of the manufacturers have been posting in the last couple of week in preparation for the CHA Winter 2008 show coming up February 10-13.

I have to say, there doesn't seem to be quite as much that I am just 'oohing and ahhing' over this time around...which is probably good because I certainly still have plenty in my stash left to use anyway.

Then, I saw Karen Russell's sneak peak post this morning and that was all over!



If you like this...you should check out her post - there is even more to this beautiful new line of additions to her Narratives collections.

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Sunday, January 27, 2008

A layout and a little shelf cleaning...

A LAYOUT:
Here's a layout I finished recently with pictures from our late summer trip to Omaha last year.

LAYOUT TITLE: {heartland of America park}

Supplies:
Cardstock: Bazzill
Patterned Paper: American Crafts
Letter Stickers: Mrs. Elizabeth’s
Pen: Sakura
Corner Rounder: Marvy
Adhesive: Duck

Comments & Techniques:The striped patterned paper mimic the rainbow in the main picture and also create a visual triangle on the page.

SOME SHELF CLEANING:
There are definitely pros and cons to having a limited scrapbook space...a pro is that I have to go through my stuff periodically and purge so I don't overflow...a con is that I have to go through my stuff periodically and purge! :-)

This weekend it was my bookshelf...it was overflowing!

If you're interested in a bunch of great inspiration at a low price, check out the scrapbooking book and special issue magazines I posted today in my eBay store.

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Friday, January 25, 2008

I'm 83% wired...

for creativity, that is!!

83%

How 'bout you? Take the quiz...leave a comment with your percentage (or a link to the blog post with your results).
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Thursday, January 24, 2008

A little wisdom from John Lubbock...

Here's a recent favorite quote:

"The important thing is not so much that every child should be taught, as that every child should be given the wish to learn."
— John Lubbock
I love quotes...if you do too, you might want to sign up for these:
Real Simple's Daily Thought
The Foundation for a Better Life Daily Quote
My Daily Insights
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Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Good reads and great mail...

GOOD READS:
I'm not reading as much as I used to these days (other than scrapbooking mags and idea books, that is), but when I read Mary Lawson's Crow Lake last year I knew I had found a writer I loved. If you'd like, you can see what I had to say about that book here. It was her first book, so had to wait for a second.

The Other Side of the Bridge was published late last August, but I just purchased it recently and finished it just the other night. It is similar to her first book in a couple ways. It is again set in Canada and also weaves together two time periods through its main characters.

This book follows brothers Arthur and Jake in the 1930's and Ian in the late-50's, early 60's and it is amazing how she entwines the plots of these character together without becoming confusing or giving away too much/too little of the final outcome in the process. I am a sucker for good historical fiction and Mary Lawson can write it!

I hope another book comes sooner...there was a five year gap between her first book and this one. I'll be waiting for another, Mary!

GREAT MAIL:
I received another party order in the mail for MemoryWorks yesterday. There just nothing like getting a HUGE box of scrapbooking supplies...too bad 95% of it wasn't mine. I was drooling the whole time I was going through everything and getting the orders all divided up to deliver to the party hostess.

I did get a couple fun items though like this the new Kiss & Tell kit from My Mind's Eye:

So glad I snatched that one up before they went out of stock...not sure if they will be getting more or not.

Also got the Be Good Chipboard Alpa set from Cosmo Cricket:

The picture doesn't quite do them justice...basically a red capital alpha set with these white swirls running through them...really neat.

And...these Daisy D's rub-on tapes that I've been eying for awhile - the Fancy Border and the Straight Stitch:


Can't wait to try them all out!!

I've been keeping up with my layout a week resolution...will be sharing another layout soon.

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