A Layout: fall beauty

Thought I'd share a layout here today. I created this layout not too long ago based off of a Becky Fleck PageMap...LOVE her sketches!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Bazzill
Patterned Paper, Cardstock Letters: Basic Grey
Rub ons: Making Memories
Ink: Colorbox
Circle Punches: Marvy
Font: Unnamed Melody

Journaling:
I wanted to make sure that I got some good pictures of Kaitlin before the fall foliage completely disappeared this fall and we cut it quite close. This tree at the College still had some brilliant red leaves and we were lucky we got our shoot in because within days, they were gone.

Kaitlin was so cute on this day. I basically just told her to pose near the rock and she did all the rest herself. She kept saying “Why don’t we try this?” and she’d let me shoot away……. It’s certainly a rare occurrence for her to be this cooperative and it was a very fun shoot! Thanks, Sweetie!

Comments & Techniques:
This was a fun layout with the combination of colors and the layering of circles. The second word of the title is layered right over the cardstock letters.

I also just posted a challenge over at iScrap.net based on this layout this morning. Check it out...would love to see your creation in response to the challenge!! There's are some other really great games, contests and challenges going on other than mine also...a little something for everyone.

The spoof run...

Kaitlin has no school today, so I took the day, too. Hoping to get some scrapping done later.

It's been another busy week. Last night the gals in my office had a small baby shower for one of my co-workers who just adopted a beautiful little baby girl. It's always nice to hang out with the girls a little outside of work!

Kaitlin had a break from play practice early this week, but they had a run-thru practice before this weekend's run of shows. I left the shower at about 8 p.m. thinking they should be close to getting done with practice, but they had only finished the first act when I got there.

However, I was glad I got there in time to watch some of it as it seems that last night was unofficially designated the spoof run. In almost every scene there was someone in costume who wasn't supposed to be there (one of the mothers, one of the stage hands), things didn't go quite as they were supposed to, or certain events were exaggerated to the point of pure silliness.

During the castle battle scene where every one's just running around the stage and up and down the aisles screaming and waving their arms, even Allison (the director) got into the action and made a caped appearance on stage.

And in the final scene, the guy who's been playing the piano throughout practice and during last weekend's shows made an appearance with a huge red tutu on his head as a wig.

It was hilareous.

At the end of the night, Allison told all the kids that she thought they we all just wonderful. The other good news was that the production broke even last weekend, so anything earned this weekend is pure profit. She said that this production was one of the best the playhouse has ever scene. Great news for every one involved.

Kaitlin is both excited and sad about the final weekend for the show. She has made a ton of new friends and had a ton of fun. She was already asking when the next show will be and I don't know, but hopefully the success of this show means there will be another Lewis & Clark Children's Theatre production in the works soon at Dakota Theatre! I think she's got the theatre bug!

The Color Sense Game from Pittsburgh Paints The Voice of Color

Just something a little fun tonight...now I guess I know why I'm always drawn to rooms that are shades of green and orange!


The Color Sense Game

I am Al Fresco - Fresh and balanced, the al Fresco greens are a natural and versitile choice for all interiors. They recreate nature and put the essence of renewal in our everyday lives.

My secondary harmony family:
Desert Spice - If you are in search of warmth and friendship, look to the muted or radient orange that emanate from the Desert Spice Harmony collection. Known to enhance conversation, teracottas and oranges are a perfect match for evening and candlelight, and work especially well in dining and living rooms.

What were your results? Were you surprised or what you expected? Are you tempted to repaint your entire house now? :-)

Her Village Girl Debut...

Here's my little village girl!

Since they had their show in the afternoon today, there was a little more time for pictures afterward, so tried to catch a few before the costumes came off.

Here's Kaitlin with Week 1 Belle (next weekend a different girl has the part).

Waiting for the cast photo with a few of her village children friends...

Here's the whole cast - over 90 children were involved in this production.

Four shows down...three to go next weekend.

I asked Kaitlin today if she will be sad when the play is over.

"Yeah...I'm gonna be crying."

For my scrappy readers...

Let your Creativity Bloom!

Catch Spring Fever with weScrap's (International Scrapbooking Association) On-line Crop. We are holding our 2nd Online Crop here at the ISA! It starts tonight and runs through Sunday.

It will be a weekend full of great challenges, games, make and takes, and best of all - fabulous prizes!! The crop will officially began at 6:00pm (EST).

We're bringing back favorites from the last crop: new rounds of Scattegories, Bingo, loads of fun challenges, plus lots of new stuff! You won't want to miss this! Come on over! I have a special quote challenge that I will be posting tomorrow.

weScrap On-line Crop

Still alive...

Yes, I am still alive. It's been one crazy week. I think this is the longest period between posts in a LONG time. So, here's an update:

KAITLIN

Kaitlin had practice for Beauty and the Beast every night this week. The earliest that I had her home and in bed was 10:30 p.m.! Needless to say, I've had one tired little girl this week.

On Wednesday, Kaitlin's teacher emailed me to say that she fell asleep immediately during quiet time (around noon - remember, she's NOT a napper) and she ended up sleeping until 3:15 p.m...right through activity station time which is the loudest part of the day! Mrs. Moser and her children have all been in play productions before, so she understood that perhaps on that one day, sleep was more important. :-) Gotta love great teachers!!

Beauty and the Beast opened last night. It was a sold out show and it was wonderful!! It was so awesome to see it all 'put together'. Kaitlin did a great job - I couldn't stop beaming during her three little scenes!! Six more shows to go...Kaitlin is super excited for the other family and friends that are coming to the upcoming performances. (For those friends and family members, be sure to talk to me ahead of time so I can tell you exactly when and where to watch for her.

I have the day off because there was no school today. It is 10:15 a.m. I still haven't heard one peep from Kaitlin's room. She's usually up by no later than 8:00 a.m. 'Nuff said.

ME

I told you about my exciting news last Friday. Well, I got EVEN MORE exciting news on Wednesday this week. I had a layout picked up by Creating Keepsakes for their July 2008 Seasonal Solutions column!! I am super excited because this is the first time I have had anything picked up by CK!!

I met with a friend of mine for lunch this week who is now the director at a tech educational center where I live, and discussed some teaching opportunities for me in the coming months. In April, I'm going to be teaching a three-night scrapbooking 101 course...FUN! They've also been getting requests from the professional community to offer a business & technical writing course, and with my background in education and English, he thought of me, so it looks like I might be teaching that in July.

I was recently asked to do a scrapbooking presentation for the staff at the college where I work (there is a committee that tries to offer fun/educational presentations to the staff a couple times of year) and that took place yesterday. I used a mini-version of the presentation I plan to use for my Scrapbooking 101 class and it went well. I got lots of positive feedback and ideas for topics to add into the course.

I also signed on to be a Junior Achievement volunteer this week. I will be teaching a six-session course to an 8th grade Social Studies class at Catholic school here in town. I am both a little nervous and excited about this. This will happen in April, so I'm sure I'll have more to say about that as it nears.

Well, that's about it. On my agenda for today??

Well, my external hard drive arrived in the mail earlier this week, so I will be dealing with this issue for a good portion of the day, I'm betting.

Wish me luck!!

5 NEW Scrapbooking Idea Books

This should come as no surprise to any of you...I'm as addicted to scrapbooking idea books as I am to scrapbooking (maybe even more!).

Here are some sneak peaks at a few idea books coming out later this year that I am quite excited about:

1. Show It Off!: Scrapbook Pages And Projects To Display by Memory Makers


2. Scrapbook Page Maps: Sketches For Creative Layouts by Becky Fleck


3. Get It Scrapped!: Organize, Visualize, Create by Debbie Hodge


4. Oh, Baby!: Precious, Adorable, Lovable Ideas For Scrapbooking Baby Pages by Memory Makers


5. Modern Memory Keeper: A New Approach To Scrapbooking Your Family Legacy by Ronee Parsons

You might be wondering why I am so excited about books that aren't even available yet. Well, I'm just weird that way, I guess...excited about scrapbooking inspiration yet to come.

BUT, I also wanted to make sure that you were aware of one VERY neat feature at Amazon.com. Another way to save even more money by buying your books through Amazon.com is to PRE-ORDER your books.

On most pre-order books, you will see a "Special Offers Available" link just below the price info. The special offer is that if you pre-order the book, you will receive an additional 5% off at checkout. Also, if the Amazon.com price decreases between your order time and release date, you'll receive the lowest price as well as the 5% pre-order discount.

Considering you already save an average of 30% on these books through Amazon.com, that's one pretty sweet deal, I'd say!

Also, don't forget about FREE SHIPPING on all orders above $25. Basically, buy two books and you get free shipping, too!

Note: No, I don't work for Amazon.com, nor am I getting paid for endorsing them (wouldn't that be cool!), but it really is where I do virtually ALL of my shopping for scrapbooking idea books. They really do have the best prices around and with these added benefits (pre-order discount, free shipping), the savings really do add up...which helps me to be able to buy more books for my money!!