A few layouts :)

Here are a few layouts I've done over the last week or so! Credits under each!

Credits: His Playroom by Traci Reed and Craft Desk by Heather Roselli; template by Sheri Malcolm

Credits: inspired by http://www.myscrapbookart.com/galler...amp;ppuser=107; uses Craft Desk by Heather Roselli, a grunge edge by Penny Springmann, and a meshy brush by E. Merritt.

Credits: inspired by http://www.sweetshoppecommunity.com/...mp;ppuser=2764; uses His Playroom by Traci Reed.

SSD FOBTY - Cheesecake

Mmm....cheesecake. My mom makes awesome sour cream cheesecake with a graham cracker crust that I adore. Who am I kidding - I adore all cheesecake! Especially cheesecake with some form of chocolate swirled in (but not too much - I still like to be able to taste the "classic" white type mixed in). Excuse me, I have to go - I'm hungry!

Baby updates and an adorable kit....

I know I haven't been updating about Owen and our adventures on our last trip to Russia - but Adam is doing a great job with baby updates on our family blog - check it out here!

I have a few extra minutes today while everyone is napping and I want to show you this adorable kit by Eva and the layout I created with it - the kit is 50% off right now and you can pick it up here for only $2!!!


My layout:
This is such a great kit for ALL birthday and celebration layouts - and it's a steal!!

Introducing

Owen Jacob :)

We have a million photos on the camera from today and I pulled off just a couple to show you:



We're having a blast!

Coming later today: the big reveal

Although it's still Sunday night for all of you back home, it's morning in Moscow! We are going to pick up the baby in just a couple hours - so by the time you all wake up, I'll have photos posted!! :)

SSD FOBTY 7/23

Another fun quiz - this one about baby names (how appropriate!):

You Like Names that Are Retro and Fashionable

You like names that are from the past but becoming modern again. Names with a strong history are very appealing to you. You're a big believer in giving children very adult sounding names. You're not a fan of nicknames or newfangled spellings. Some female names you might like: Audrey, Emma, Fiona, Georgia, Isabelle, Naomi, Rosemary, and Veronica Some male names you might like: Brendan, Colin, Ethan, Jared, Kenneth, Martin, and Nathaniel

What Kind of Names Do You Like?

Total adorable-ness (and 30% off)

The DigiChick is having a 30% off sale on everything through the 26th - that means that these awesome new kits by Amy Sumrall are 30% off rather than the usual 20% for new releases! WAHOO!

Both of these kits are just absolutely adorable and I had so much fun working with them. First up is a collab with Polka Dot Plum - Cutieful Doodleful Youville - I also used hat and box templates by Kelleigh that are coming soon! I made a little party set that includes a hat, favor box and thank you card.

I am just in love with Hula Monkey - what a fun summery kit!! I used it to alter an oatmeal carton - life with a 5 year old means much little junk around - I love to use the cartons to hold craft supplies, hair ribbons and scrunchies, and all the other little minutiae that accumulates!

Hope you enjoy these little projects!

Just because I haven't been posting layouts

doesn't mean I haven't been busy! I'm designing for Feeling Scrappy's Sketchapalooza class and that's taking up most of my layout time - and of course I can't show what I've created until class is over in mid-August! But, here are a few other layouts I've done recently (credits under each):

Credits: sketch template by Dani Alencar; uses Little Giggles kit by Courtney Wilson

Credits: uses Robots in Disguise by Julie Billingsley; inspired by http://www.sweetshoppecommunity.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=86701&ppuser=1040

Credits: uses Robots in Disguise by Julie Billingsley, Tonic by Lauren Reid and Border Basics (stitching) by Libby Weifenbach; inspired by http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=1505806&f=n

Credits: uses Eva Kipler's Next Tuesday; inspired by http://www.sweetshoppecommunity.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=86613&cat=all&ppuser=224

Credits: Sketch by Dana @ The DigiChick; uses New Day by Elise Hansen and Atomic Cupcake's distressed edge 2 action

Great gift idea!!

I just love these 2010 CD Case Calendar Templates that Mari released today at The DigiChick. It's so easy to customize them and add photos or quotes - perfect for gifts that look great but are super inexpensive to put together!!! Here's the kit and then one example from me (my example uses papers and elements from Scattered Hearts by Flergs). Remember, new products are always 20% off on Thursdays!

SSD FOBTY 7/16

Another fun quiz!

You Should Spend Your Summer at the Beach

You're a free spirit who is always thinking of new ways to have fun. And you don't just love summer... you live for it. So, you really should blow off your responsibilities and head to the beach!

Where Should You Spend Your Summer?

Want to jump start your creativity?

Feeling Scrappy's latest sketch class, Sketchapalooza 4, starts tomorrow. I've taken all the previous Sketchapaloozas and am on the design team for this go around. The class runs for four weeks and is a complete STEAL at $25. You get five sketches per week, plus a bunch of challenges and prizes, plus very personalized attention and guidance from the design team - some of us are paper scrappers and some digi, so there's plenty of help for everyone! At the end of class, you will receive a pdf of all the sketches, so you can flip them, rotate them, and use them again and again. The class is held in an online community with a very active message board and gallery. I have yet to meet a single person who didn't love the class and get a ton of scrappin' done during the four weeks.

To sign up (don't miss it!!!!) just click the hyperlinked "Sketchapalooza 4" up top!

Things I have done

I got this list from Char's blog, and the directions say to highlight the things from the list you have done. Mine are in purple - 67 out of 99 is pretty good!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world/Disneyland Paris
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not
24. Made a Snow Angel
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Stood in the rim of the Grand Canyon
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an erupting volcano in person
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theatre
55. Gone to a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Cookies for charity
62. Gone whale watching
63. Been given flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favourite childhood toy
70. Visited Buckingham Palace
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt or blanket
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Been to the top of the Empire State Building
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Fantastic new stuff and SSD FOBTY

Did I mention we got stuck in Russia for an extra day?? Sorry, still thinking about it. While I was stuck, Elise, Mari and Amy all released terrific new products!

First up, here's A Guy's Life by Elise, and a layout I created with it. This is a super awesome masculine kit that can be used for little boys all the way up to grandpas!


Mari released this beautiful hybrid Gift Set using her Happiness kit - absolutely perfect when you need go-together packaging for several items.
And last but certainly not least, check out this super cool Superhero collab by Amy and Laura (Simply Scraps) called Comical. This kit makes me laugh every time I look at it - I think it's so fun!!
AND....I thought I would tack my FOBTY post on to the end of this one! Today's challenge is to blog about your weather. Since I live in South Florida, really the only word for it is HOT!!!! HOT! HOT! HOT! But we've been lucky this year and have had thunderstorms almost every afternoon, which tends to cool things down a bit. We're enjoying lots of time in the pool and at the beach.

I do not recommend this

So, Adam and I are both pretty easy-going travelers. We've gotten stuck for all kinds of reasons in all kinds of places, domestic and international. You just kinda have to deal with it and not get stressed out. It helps to laugh. Even with that attitude, I DO NOT RECOMMEND being stuck in Moscow if your flight is canceled. Really. Truly. Get home as soon as you can - 9 hours on a Russian airline stuck in a middle seat would be better than our experience yesterday. Just a small taste of the fun - the hotel Delta booked us at had no hot water. No. hot. water. Delta. Booked us at a hotel that had no hot water (which by itself MIGHT have been funny, but along with all the other problems we had, was decidedly not).

I'm sitting in Atlanta right now, waiting to fly home. Delta is going to get a very nasty letter from me very soon. As soon as I recover from sleeping fewer than 4 hours in the last 40. The only small silver lining is that we didn't have kids with us on this trip. Because that would have been beyond nightmarish!!

Happy Day!

Adam and I are officially parents of 2 children, rather than just 1! Unfortunately, we can't take physical custody of our son until we wait out the 10 day appeal period. Wahhhhh!!!!

Links updated

I just updated the product links in my post from yesterday - go check out the awesome new stuff - and you get it for 20% off today!

I'm a peach! SSD FOBTY 7/2

You Are a Peach Smoothie

You are indulgent and a bit hedonistic. You crave luxury in all aspects of your life. You are passionate and even a bit temperamental. You have strong emotions. You are fiery and expressive. You don't hide what you feel, even if people may not want to know it. You are charming and a natural entertainer. People are drawn to your charisma.

What Flavor Smoothie Are You?

Goodies galore

Kelleigh, Amy, Mari and Elise are ALL releasing new products tomorrow at The DigiChick (and don't forget, new products are 20% off on Thursdays!). Here are the projects I've created with them to give you a little sneak peek!! I'll post the actual links to the products when they're released tomorrow. ***UPDATED with links 7/2

Sassy Purse 3 Template by Kelleigh:

Hot Feet, Cool Treat collab by Amy and Pamela Donnis:

Happiness Mini Kit by Mari:

Daydream Believer Full Kit by Elise:

Sweet Nothings Mini Kit by Elise: