A little life update

Whew. The last month or so has been a whirlwind. I have reduced my work schedule from full time to 3 days a week, which is fantastic because it has given me the opportunity to become more involved at Alexa's school (I'm a room mom and on the PTA). I also am in training to become a Guardian ad Litem - something I've wanted to do for ages and just never had the time. I am anxious to get started and be an advocate for kids who really need it (for more info about how to make a lasting positive impact on abused and neglected kids, you can visit the national court appointed special advocates website).

We spent this last weekend at Disney doing some fun events - now, I'm not one of those crazy screaming Disney fans (and I say that with love because I know some of you!!) but I'll tell ya, Disney knows how to do it right. We spent Friday night at Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party and it was amazing!! They limit the number of tickets sold so we didn't hit any lines - we rode several popular rides over and over. There were tons of trick-or-treating stations, and characters in costume were EVERYWHERE!! One of our favorite things was the "dance party" stations where the characters were out on the floor dancing along with the kids. Fun!! We had so much fun that we closed the park down at MIDNIGHT with our 5 year old and 15 month old. So you know it had to have been really, really fun.

On Saturday, we went to the special passholder screening of Tinkerbell and the Lost Treasure, which isn't being released to the public until the end of October. Again, a fantastic experience. Of course we got some individual time with Tink and Terence (her friend in the movie), and Disney flew in Rob Paulsen, who is a super-famous voice guy who does a couple of the voices in the movie. We got to meet him and talk to him a bit (and of course, get his autograph). It was a special afternoon, for sure!

The rest of the weekend was spent doing regular stuff....you'll be happy to know that Owen likes visiting with the characters as much as Alexa does. So, we waited in several character meeting lines.....but got some great photos!

I'm sure you'll be seeing some of the photos in upcoming layouts....hint, hint!

Do you like my new look?

The last couple times I've redecorated my blog, I've purchased blogs-in-a-box from some of my favorite designers. I've gotten more and more comfortable with the html code and decided to do a redecorate this time from scratch, using one of Elise's fantastic kits! What do you think??

And, lest you think I forgot - yep, that's right - it's new release Thursday at The Digichick!! Here's what I've created with just a fraction of the new stuff available for 20% off today!

Four of my five layouts use Jumpers by Crystal Livesay - these templates are FANTASTIC and are perfect when you want to do a great layout quickly. I paired her templates up with some of the new kits and came up with ----

This first layout uses Unbreakable by ViVa Artistry. I just love the coppery and blue combination they used for this kit.


This next layout uses September Grass by Elise - the same kit I used for my blog!!! As always, Elise's work is just beyond compare - her detail is so fantastic.


Although this kit - A Sport in a World Full of Games collab by Elise and Courtney Wilson - is running themed, you can see that it's really versatile and can definitely be used for non-sports kits! This is the one layout I designed myself in this batch (i.e. I didn't use one of Crystal's Jumpers).

This layout features another beautiful kit by ViVa Artistry - this one is called Cazbah. Check out all the sparkle and glitter!
And last but certainly not least, Capture+Record by Karla Dudley is perfect for recording the way we love to record our lives!

Hope you enjoy!

Blog Hop with a really awesome prize!

You want to try hybrid. You know you do. So come play on our blog hop!

You could win a $10 gift certificate to Kelleigh Ratzlaff Designs - the fantabulous designer that got me started in hybrid. She makes it so easy!! To play, go check out all of the projects her Creative Team Members have created, then head over to Kelleigh's blog and leave a comment. Tell Kelleigh which project you liked the best, or which project you can see yourself doing next.

Want another chance? Twitter about the blog hop and leave another comment on Kelleigh's blog! Facebook it, and leave another comment for another chance! Kelleigh will pick a winner by this Friday evening.

Here's my project using Kelleigh's Triangle Tube Template Set and Bump in the Night by Roben-Marie Designs. This is seriously the EASIEST project, and I plan to do 20 of them for my daughter's Kindergarten class. It took me 20 minutes to design, print, cut out and assemble one - and the design step is done, so the rest of them will take about half that time. When I started, I intended to use some ribbon threaded through a pumpkin tag to add a little dimension, but I went a little crazy with the spider and spider web and there ended up being no room!

The very best thing about Kelleigh's templates is you can use them even if you have never digi scrapped, or have no desire to try. Her templates come with a lines-only version that allows you to print the folding/scoring lines onto a regular sheet of cardstock or patterned paper. Then cut, assemble and embellish away!

The rest of the hop stops are below the image - have fun and good luck!



Kelleigh
Tracy <---- YOU ARE HERE Julee
Julie
Juli
Christy
Dana
Sunghee
Then back to Kelleigh to leave your comments!

Why I can't be a Krazy Coupon Lady

My friend (and favorite hybrid template designer) Kelleigh has been posting on her blog about all the awesome grocery stuff she is getting for next to nothing, all by learning to be a Krazy Coupon Lady. I want to be a KCL. I want to save gobs of money and get a lot of things for free. Or even make money buying things! My mom was the ultimate KCL, so one would think that maybe I inherited the gene. Nope. I've given it a try. It's not working. Here's why:

1. I am not organized enough. Ok, I can check the blogs (I do use Google Reader, after all). I can even print the coupons. But then they end up in a big pile and I have no idea where the one I need is without sifting through hundreds. Very frustrating.

2. I hate (detest, really) having unused stuff around - I like my life clutter free, thankyouverymuch. I now have 6 boxes of cereal and 8 boxes of granola bars in my pantry. It's making me very anxious wondering when they are going to be all used up and stop taking up my visual space. I know. I have a problem. But there it is.

3. I can't buy one Sunday paper because of the mess it creates, let alone 5 or 6 just for the coupons. I'm having heart palpitations just thinking about it.

4. All those printed coupons take up more visual space. I need to go vomit now. Being a KCL is just not in my future. Sigh.

More Great New Stuff

Today is Thursday, and you know what that means!! It's new release day at The Digichick, and there is so much gorgeousness I don't even know where to begin! I did three layouts this week -

Roben-Marie Designs released several beautiful sets of paper, including Stenciled Papers Two, and these awesome Wrecked Photo Masks. I also used some "older" products, including a journaling card from Library Cards Blue by Angela Woo, flowers from Flower Power by Jan Hosford and an alpha from Butterfly Birthday by Elise Hansen.


More delicious papers by Roben-Marie, this time from the Deja Vu paper pack. I also used items from her Quirky Park kit and flowers from Butterfly Dreams by Michelle Batton.

I have always been a fan of Danielle Engebretson, and I just fell in love with the rich colors and simple elements in her You Are Autumn kit.
Hope you enjoy!

Digi Deliciousness

Sigh. Have I mentioned how happy I am to be on the creative team for The Digichick? In addition to some awesome stuff from Mari, I got to work with several wonderful kits this week, and I have two more to go. Here's what I have so far!

Using Spice Up Your Life by Dawn Inskip:


Using Inspire Me by Designs by Jomi:

Using the Back to School collab by Mari and The Hybrid Kid (Melissa Wilson) - this kit is GIGANTIC and has many hybrid printables that are adorable!

Using Bump in the Night by Roben-Marie Designs:

Don't forget new products are 20% off on Thursdays - now go shop!

So adorable (if I do say so myself)

I have been neglecting Amy's goodies lately. I know. But check out this ADORABLE (and very functional) chore chart I made using her kit Blooming Doodles:

The chart is 12x12 and the base (everything but the velcro and little cards) is mounted on heavy cardboard and enclosed in one of those handy 12x12 cello bags that paper comes in. I punched a couple holes with my Crop-o-Dile and set a couple big eyelets - then threaded some matching ribbon as a hanger. The velcro is mounted on the OUTSIDE of the cello bag, and the little tags attach with the matching velcro. I figured this way the chart itself would last longer and I could easily change the little tags as her chores change over time. Here's a look at the great kit:


And here's a layout I made with her kit First Day - a collab with Amy Wolff:

Hop on over to the-Lilypad and check out more of Amy's adorable goodies!

Terrific news and a great sale

My digi-scrapping world is so, so happy right now. Many of you know that my favorite site to hang out is The Digichick - and this week several amazing designers joined their team!!! In addition, both Mari and Kelleigh released fantastic new products today. If that wasn't enough - the entire store is 30% off until the 7th.....believe me, you want to check it out - there is so much yummy stuff.....

Here are a few things I did with the new releases this week:

First up is a layout with Mari's brand new collab with Courtney Wilson - Sky is the Limit. I just love the color palette and the whimsical elements in the kit.
I used the same kit plus Kelleigh's Matchbox Template to create this little treasure box:
One of the new TDC designers is Roben-Marie Smith. I LOVE her work and I am so thrilled she is now designing at my favorite place! For this layout, I used her Stenciled Papers One paper pack and Quirky Park kit. I also used some foliage by Michelle Batton - more about her a bit further down!

This next layout is from the Any Given Day collab between Kelley Mickus and creashens - one of TDC's amazing September guest designers!
And finally but certainly not least, Michelle Batton is another super awesome designer new to TDC!!! I created this layout using her Butterfly Dreams kit and a bow from Roben-Marie's Quirky Park, linked above.
Thanks for checking out my latest creations and get yourself to TDC to take advantage of the awesome sale!!