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Friday, July 30, 2010

Friday Fun...

So, my friend Teri flew in from California to spend a couple of days with me...

I'm off enjoying her visit, so I'm not going to do Five for Friday today...

I know...you are all disappointed!  HA!

As a consolation, I'm giving away a little stash of goodies.

There are tons of yummy goodies in this box:


Do you wanna win it???

Just leave me a comment here telling me about your BFF and what you all like to do for fun!

I'll pick a winner on Monday morning!

Peace, ya'll and have a BEAUTIFUL weekend!

PS...don't forget to check into Scrapbooking From The Inside Out Sunday for the August Kit Reveal! Its AMAZING!!

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

SFTIO - July Kit - Just Say It

This is the last of my DT layouts from Scrapbooking From The Inside Out Courage Kit. LOVED the yellow and red together.

I noticed when scrapping with this kit that I don't actually scrap with yellow much...I do that sort of mellow beighish yellow, but not real bright sunny yellow! I loved this paper!!!


I also don't do a whole lot of blingy stuff...but these blue gems were SOOOOO pretty!


Have a fabulous, SUNNY day everyone!

Peace!



Monday, July 26, 2010

Monday Muse - Red and White

I'm a huge fan of a blog called Tartelette. Its a blog devoted to making delicious sweet treats.

Don't get all excited thinking I actually COOK this stuff...she just inspires me so much. I love how she makes food beautiful and amazing with her passion and creativity.

I think we all have the ability to make something quite ordinary into something remarkable and beautiful and amazing by the application of passion and creativity.

So...today's muse is from her site:


Check out the red and white...

Check out the smooth and shiny vs the crumbly and rough...

Check out the circles on circles...

Isn't it stunning???

What would you do with this muse?

I'm thinking I need to go buy some cherries!!

Friday, July 23, 2010

FRIDAY! WOOHOO!

This morning was a weird one at my house...I was awakened by a little boy multiple times prior to 4 am to tuck him back in. Getting back to sleep was hard, and one song kept running through my head. When the alarm went off, it felt odd - kind of like I had just gone to bed.

THEN when I leaned down to kiss my little Boa good-bye, I totally split my pants...SERIOUSLY! It was one of those "Oh, no I DIDN'T" moments...and Jayden asked me if I was going to go to work in just a shirt and my shoes! HEE! HEE!

Today, I have lunch with a friend on deck and some fun with co-workers planned. We are going to have a "Chill" time...with ice cream and a little wii skiing competition. FUN!

So...I really want to do a totally unserious post this morning...my perfect Friday solution is, as always, Five Question Friday!

1. What were your school colors? High School was purple and gold...The Panthers! College was Gray and Maroon - the Bulldogs!! For me, tho, some of the most important colors I've ever worn were Red and White - my sorority colors. IIIIIIIIIOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTTTTAAAAAAAA!!!!!

2. What's the best compliment you ever received? When I hear my 3 year old singing to himself. He makes up his own words to songs. He was signing, "I love my mommy. She is so pretty. I love my mommy. She is so beautiful." There is nothing better than that.

3. Do you buy cheap or expensive toilet paper? Probably middle of the road...my family is DEFINATELY brand loyal, tho.

4. Have you ever had a surprise party thrown for you? Or have you had one for someone else? Both...for me it was my 21st birthday. My hubs (ex) arranged for ALLLL my friends to meet us at Midevil Times and we hd a fun time!

5. What is one material possession that you "can't live without"? My Bible.

Have an amazing day, everyone!

Peace!

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

SFTIO - July Kit - What It Takes

One more from the Scrapbooking From The Inside Out Courage Kit. This one is about all the kinds of courage it takes to really be alive and experience life.

I'll admit, there are many I'm working on!!!

This is one of the few times I've used a pen to create outlines and definition on my layouts. I know I'll be using this trick again!


Use the Cricut to cut out my letters. I'm using that more and more for different projects. Its taken me getting comfortable with choosing sizes to really enjoy this tool.

Aren't these gorgeous?!?!? I was thinking they would make a great headband or hair clip...


Have a beautiful day, everyone!

Peace!



Monday, July 19, 2010

Monday Muse

This is a song called "Crazy Beautiful"



Its got an awesome message:

Everybody’s been there everyone’s the same
but mostly we don’t care isn’t that a shame
We bring us down face after face
the inside is beautiful but the outside we want to change.
We want to change.

Well every new year you say your gonna change
From the way you live to how much you weigh,
we don’t want to change.

Take a look it’s all around you
See the world from different views
The way you shine from the inside
I know with out a doubt
It’s more than what you’ll be
In the world’s eyes.

Whoa you’re oh so beautiful, you don’t need anyone’s approval
You’ve got to believe in your self you know you are
You’re crazy beautifu
l

I know very few women who will look in the mirror and say "I'm so beautiful" to themselves.

Here is the muse:

Find a mirror.

Look yourself in the eye.

Tell yourself you're beautiful, just the way you are.


How does that change your world?

What does it do to the way you live your life?

Peace, ya'll!!

Friday, July 16, 2010

Five Question Friday

Its Friday...and a good time for Friday to hit to, because I'm so ready for a little bit of weekend.

Its time for us to have some fun with Five Question Friday!

1. Do you collect anything? Scrapbook supplies? Does that count? I collect pictures as well.

2. Name 3 celebrities that you find good looking.

Patrick Monahan from Train


Matt Bomer who plays Neil Caffrey on White Collar


and Karl Urban (from Lord of the Rings and the Bourne movies)


Hmmmm…there is a trend here….

3. Do you have any scars? If so, what's the story behind it (them?)? I have two significant scars:

The first is on my forehead, though its faded significantly over time. It’s from when I was in pre-school. We were playing chase on the playground and I ran into a pole holding up a metal awning. The pole had a bolt sticking out of it. I had to go to the hospital for stitches.

The other scar is my C-section scar…and it is a reminder of the births of my amazing kids:


4. What is a food that you like to eat, but others might think it's gross or weird? I have no idea. Do I eat weird food? I have had MANY people in my life who refused to eat tomatoes or mayonnaise. I have zero trouble with either of those foods, tho. I don’t think there are any…

5. Have you ever seen a tornado in real life? No…And I’m SOOOOOO glad of this!

How about you!?!?!?


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And just a reminder: TODAY IS THE LAST DAY!! Lily Bee is giving away the July Courage Kit from Scrapbooking From the Inside Out. Head on over to their blog and check it out!


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Peace, ya’ll!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Things That Drive Me Crazy

I was recently sent a questionnaire that asked the question "What are your pet peeves?"

My first answer was to name the two biggest peeves I have:

People who never let you finish a sentence and people who don’t use turn signals. Unless you are one of those people, I would assume we can agree that these are at least understandable.

That said, I realized I have a few more peeves, some of which are very serious and others not so much.

For example, I get peeved at people who will leave really negative comments or make holier-than-thou responses to my blog posts anonymously. It’s only happened twice, but in all honesty, it is really hard for me to take these comments seriously if the commenter lacks the courage to leave a real name. Its kinds like saying "just kidding" after you say something mean.

I get peeved about SPAM. Who doesn’t really? But the SPAM that annoys me the most is the stuff about Viagra. How in the world did I ever end up on the spam list for Viagra? I’m not exactly in their target demographic, if you know what I mean.

The whole oil spill in the gulf thing peeves me. As does the wholesale razing of trees to build unneeded commercial/medical office space in my town. I’m not at all a fan of big money raping the land…which is all rather liberal for my normally less-government stance in politics. But I was raised in central Colorado, where the air really is pure and the land really is wilderness. All this unnecessary pillaging brings out my momma-bear instincts.

I'm pretty peeved that the cartoon faces of the latest child-focused big-box-office movies are plastered all over every known form of junk and over-processed food. My 3 year old TRUSTS those faces. He thinks that its GOOD for you if Woody is on the front because WOODY is a good guy. What a job parents have today trying to teach their children that somebody’s face plastered on the label is not a good indication of value of the contents. Valuable lesson, sure, but a hard one for these little guys. PS - did we NEED to have four aisles of this branded stuff front and center at every single Target, Walmart, and Costco?

I get peeved when people try to justify/argue/discuss matters of the Bible when they have not read it. (Really, I feel this way about lots of religious texts) I don’t mean listened to somebody else read it. I don’t mean heard it in parts during your weekly church services. I don’t’ mean talking about what somebody else told you about the Bible (especially if that somebody else is mainstream media). If you would like to discuss the parts you have actually read for yourself, I’m totally up for that.

And finally, my biggest pet peeve: Businesses that purposefully misspell their names as their gimmick. I realize that texting has made this very popular, even acceptable…but when we advertise the misspelled words, it makes me wonder if we are teaching our children to be stupid on purpose (oh this is going to make me unpopular). Do you even realize how many of them are out there?
Kraft
Qwest
Fatz Cafe
Toys R Us
Chick-fil-A
In-N-Out Burger
Krispy Kreme
Tastee Freez
Dunkin Donuts

So…what about you? What sort of peeves do you have?

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

SFTIO - July Kit - BOLDLY GO...umm no

While pondering my layouts for theScrapbooking From The Inside Out Courage Kit, I had to consider areas in my life where I DON'T have enough courage....

When it comes to dealing with people, I'm as courageous as they come, but not so much when we start talking about the extreme sports type of things that so many people do for the adrenaline rush. I am just not an adrenaline junkie...I'm more of a chocolate junkie.

You know...like swimming with sharks and jumping out of perfectly good airplanes...I don't think jumping out of a perfectly good airplane is in my future AT ALL!


I used my Cricut to cut letters for the title on this one as well as making arrow heads from some of my scraps...sometimes it really stretches your creativity to use patterned paper for the embellshments...


Tried some journaling by hand on this layout...I don't often do that because my handwriting is really hard to read. But then I was thinking about my Grandma Quimby and how she gave us all hand-written cookbooks when she died. I remembered telling my mom that I couldn't read a word of my grandmother's handwriting from a letter she had written to me. Mom told me a story about how my grandmother left school at the 8th grade because she was the oldest girl and it was her job to take care of my great grandmother...I've never forgotten that...So, if my kids ever get to see these pages, I think my handwriting should be part of the layout about things I don't have the courage to do...it seemed like it fit.


So...what would be on your never-in-this-lifetime list?


Peace, ya'll!!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Monday Muse (on Tuesday)

Well....

Time once again for the Monday Tuesday Muse.

My day got away from me yesterday and before I knew it, it was 9:30 and I was ready for bed!

I figured I could start again fresh today and see how much I got accomplished...so...Lets get started!

Todays Muse is this inbelievalbly delicious looking plate…


The recipe is Honey-Sesame Grilled Chicken Wings from Sunset Magazine.

Orange, brown, white and a bit of fresh green…

Yummy for a hot summer day…

Since its Tuesday, I thought I’d just have bit of fun with it right away…

If I were to scrap this, I would start with some summery photos and a white cardstock base. I would probably add layers (just like the picture) of some of these:

This one from the Karen Russell Narratives collection:


Add a bit of this one from Basic Grey’s Green At Heart:


A little bit of this one, also from Basic Grey’s Green at Heart:


A little bit of this from American Craft’s Adobe:


And a bit of green…either from this Bo Bunny Sun Kissed Summer:

Or from this Karen Foster Dots:


Embellishments could come from a BUNCH of different places:

My favorite Jenni Bowlin Buttons in orange:

Some of the Jenni Bowlin Orange Butterflies:


I also liked these ATC Cards and Buttons from Ruby Rock It’s Summer House Collection:



Or, how about this Pocket Accent pack from Little Yellow Bicycle?


In non-scrapbooking imagry?

TOTALY loving this unique button and monocle necklace from That Old Blue House


Or, what about this awesome orange Polaroid camera?


I’m TERRIBLY in love with this orange colander from Target:

And this super cool caddy (also from Target). I have to confess that I already have this in green on my scrap table...it holds all my pens, pencils, scissors, rulers and other handy tools. SUPER useful and cute!


So…what would you do with this muse????

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And just a reminder: Lily Bee is giving away the July Courage Kit from Scrapbooking From the Inside Out. You have until Friday to leave your comment!!! Head on over to their blog and check it out!


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Saturday, July 10, 2010

I need to see this movie...





Today I'm scrapping with some friends.

Some of my layouts I'll be able to show you..

Others are a secret! SHHHHHHHH!!!

Peace, ya'll!!!

Friday, July 09, 2010

5Q Friday and ANOTHER give away!!!

Hey, ya'll!!!

Happy Friday!!

How about a little FIVE QUESTION FRIDAY? If you read all the way through (or just scroll...to the bottom) you can see even more GIVEAWAY news..WHEW its been a GREAT week for giveaways!!!

1. What is one food you could eat everyday? salad. I actually DO eat salad every day. And coffee, though I don't know if you could consider that a food.

2. Are you working in the career you thought you would be when you were 18? ummmm...not even close.

3. What is something that you wish you would have done when you were younger and you didn't? Taken a year off between high school and college. I wanted to travel around a bit and do something besides go right off to school. It would have been good for me to take the break.

4. What color are your kitchen walls? sand and a funky teal green...I didn't pick them...I've just never painted over the colors that the previous owner had up.

5. Do you remember what your very first favorite song was? Oh, yes. Delta Dawn sung by Tanya Tucker.

And NOW for an awesome give away!!

Over on the Lily Bee Designs Blog, Scrapbooking From the Inside Out is being featured AND they are doing a give away of the new July Courage Kit!!:


The Courage kit features some of the papers and die-cut frames from Lily Bee gorgeous Hello Sunshine Line. They are FANTASTIC!

I've been longing for some of the products from this line and was so excited to have them be a part of the SFTIO July Kit!

Head on over to the Lily Bee Designs Blog and check it out!!

You could win!!!

Thursday, July 08, 2010

PSSSSSSTTTT!!! Want some more free goods???

Head on over to The GLITZ Blog!!

They are giving away the Scrapbooking From The Inside Out July Courage kit!!!

Its FULL of the Glitz Kismet line...so so scrumptious!!!

Check it out!!!

10 Things I've Learned About Art from the Food Network

I seem to watch a lot of The Food Network Its good clean TV for my kids to be around and there is always something amazing happening on that channel.

But my husband made a comment about my Food Network viewing that sort of struck me funny...he said that for so regularly watching shows about cooking, I didn't ever seem to change up my meal repertoire. hmmmm...

So...I got to thinking...what exactly am I watching it for?

I came to the conclusion that I watch it because it inspires me...I simply love watching those people work...and I think I'm secretly hoping that my kids pick up some cooking chops that I can't necessarily teach them.

As I pondered, I figured out that these amazing chefs teach me a lot about art in general. Here is what I'm learning from the Food Network.

1) You can make something good from very few seemingly unassociated ingredients. I'm not sure how these folks do it, but the chefs who compete onChopped always manage to take a bunch of things that don't belong together and make really great looking dishes. How do they do that!?!?! But I know in art it can be the same thing...sometimes what ties the ingredients of a project together is YOU. Now, lets be real - if I open my cupboards and find frozen fish sticks, a can of white beans, seedless rasberry jam and some corn chips, chances are strong there wont' be any magnificent dishes that come from it. But the inspiration to TRY is still there.

2) Setting a timer sometimes brings out your best creativity. If you learn nothing from Rachel Ray and 30 Minute Meals it should be that you can do pretty much anything with 30 minutes and a well-prepped set of ingredients. There are actually two lessons to this show...one is that trying to produce a complete project in a time constraint is terribly inspiring. But the other lesson is probably that your space and your supplies should be ready to go...clean brushes, a clean work surface, scissors and pens and other supplies should be where they "go" so you don't waste time looking for things when the timer is ticking away.

3) Really great things can be found in the most unexpected places. Guy Fieri really hits a home-run with Diners, Drive In's and Dives. He makes it clear that the best things don't always come in the designer packages. For me creatively, this is made abundantly clear when I see trash-to-treasure projects, up-cycled decor and the magnificent things that can be done with stuff like old books and barn wood. When you think that new isn't always better, it really opens up the creative world.

4) Challenges produce great results. Robert Irving is constantly faced with impossible time, size and supply constraints on Dinner Impossible. But this guy uses magic (and a lot of yelling) to produce amazing dishes for HUGE crowds with supplies I might not even buy for my own family. He's such an inspiration (except for the yelling) for me to really embrace challenges to my art.

5) Being true to your own way of doing things brings huge success. There is no doubt that Duff from Ace of Cakes does things his own way. The designs are out of this world and he often uses power tools and explosives to get his creations to stand out. Perhaps the best thing I ever got from Duff is that weird is good. When you aren't trolling the status quoue, you are probably being the best creative self you can muster.

6) Limiting yourself to one key ingredient can really rev up your creative juices and 7) Having a mentor to challenge you can help you make huge creative leaps. Iron Chef America is just an awesomely inspiring show...it moves lightening quick and all these people are just working away on a single ingredient. Think about this...how many ways can you serve up yellow? How about a spoon? Paper mache? and on top of that, these chefs challenge a mentor, an Iron Chef, to a duel...what if you found a creativity partner and had a challenge between you each month to use one supply or ingredient? I predict you would have some super creative results!

8) Really creative goodness doesn't have to cost a lot of money. One of the greatest things Ten Dollar Dinners With Melissa D'Arabian is Melissa's thriftiness and accessability. She can make a meal we all would eat, using things that we all would have in our pantry. And it really made me think...what could I do with my room full of supplies if I didn't buy one single thing for a couple of months??!?!? hmmmmm...

9)The art you make to comfort yourself will be irresistable to others. Nigella Lawson has had the show Nigella Feasts for a long time. She makes no bones about food being a comfort for her. The thing is that watching her cook makes me want to cook...and seeing the comfort food she makes has me thinking about fried chicken and mashed potatoes. Creatively speaking, I find that the art I have made to satisfy my own need to create is the stuff that most people end up loving...something to think about.

10) Sometimes, its good to bring experts in to help you out when you get stumped. Rescue Chef is one of thos shows where the cooking challenged get help from a pro. I have often stared at a blank page and wondered what in the world I was going to do with it. This is when I call in the "experts." I get out there and see what other people are doing with their blank pages...I look for ideas and techniques that I can use to drive me creatively...it never fails, even if what I end up doing is a complete scraplift.

What do you think? Are there shows you watch that spur your creativity?

What lessons are you learning from your everyday world?

Peace, ya'll.

Wednesday, July 07, 2010

SFTIO - July Kit - Brave and Crazy and a GIVEAWAY!

Scrapbooking From The Inside Out Courage Kit really inspired me to think about myself in a new way!

I kept thinking "brave, brave, brave" while I was pondering the theme.

This one is based on a little song by Melissa Ethridge called "Brave and Crazy"

The best line in the song is:

If I could have my way
I'd be runnin' with the circus
I would be taming all the lions
There'd be no denying I was brave and crazy

Since I aspired to that lifestyle, I thought I'd explore what it means to be brave and just a little crazy:


You know, I never realized how many people there are out there who are afraid to get on stage in front of people.  For some reason, this has never really bothered me.  In fact, I absolutely LOVED it...It was the most energizing thing I ever did (until I had kids...which is both energizing and energy-depleting!)

LOVE the stars all over this month's theme...I really liked altering the chipboard and the Coordinations Cardstock.


The GCD paper has a little sheen to it. It looks GREAT against the rougher Coordinations cardstock. I had to rough the Pink Paislee letters up a bit to get them the way I wanted. I don't often mess with letter sets...I think I'll be doing that more often.




And now for the GIVE AWAY!!!

Scrapbooking From The Inside Out and their gorgeous July Courage Kit are being featured on the GCD Studios Blog today! You could win that amazing GCD paper used in the layout above!!! Head on over to their blog (click the link above) and check it out!!!

Have a FABULOUS (and brave and crazy!) WEDNESDAY, everyone!

Peace!


Monday, July 05, 2010

Monday Muse

I just couldn't get over how amazing this looked...like the guy is an angel fallen or something...It was so amazing that I had to just stare and stare....




What could you do with this? What would you do with this????

Sunday, July 04, 2010

Happy 4th

Hey, everyone!!!

A Sunday post!!

Not my usual fare...but today is a special day...Its the Fourth of July...HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY, MY AMERICAN FRIENDS!


Peace,ya'll!!

Friday, July 02, 2010

FRIDAY! FRIDAY!! YEA!!!

Its Friday, Its Friday, Its Friday...:::doing my happy little weekend dance!:::

That means its time for FIVE QUESTION FRIDAY!

I love doing these...this one has a few special memories...

1. What is one thing you miss the most about childhood? Grandma Qumiby's home made strawberry jam made from strawberries she grew herself, the feel of the wind in my hair and on my face as I rode my bike and being curled up on the formal living room couch reading books.

2. Are you still friends with your friends from high school? some of them I'm closer to than others, but yes.

3. Is there a catch phrase, cliche, or word that just drives you bonkers every time you hear it? Yes. In the south, they say "Bless your heart!" like its something GOOD, when in fact it is something BAD...for example: "BLESS YOUR HEART bringing all your kids to Target!" Which translates: "You foolish woman, why do you not have control of your kids and are you too stupid to think that you could bring them all to Target????? you must be a single mom!" You get the idea.

4. What is one thing that you think symbolizes America...besides "Old Glory"? This:

Courtesy of www.statueofliberty.org

5. What are your 4th of July weekend plans? A sprayground, some water balloons and perhaps a symphony concert...

Peace, ya'll! and Happy 4th!

Thursday, July 01, 2010

SFTIO - July Kit - FLY

Scrapbooking From The Inside Out July /Kit is UP...the theme this month is COURAGE!



This is my VERY FIRST kit to design with and I love it SO MUCH!!! Its just gorgeous and makes me want to go set off some fireworks and have a parade!

I'll have to admit...I didn't think too much about whether or not I was courageous until this kit came in the mailbox. How fun to really dig into areas where I'm courageous and...well...not so brave!

This is my first little piece from the kit, based on a quote from Patti Digh's 37 days.

“The moment when there is nothing to hang on to is the moment when we are most present, most alive, most vulnerable, most human.”


SO much fun to play with these colors!

And look at the bits of bling and those luscious Melissa Frances wings!!



Head on over and check out the kit, the boards and the challenges!

SO much fun!

Peace, ya'll!!