WOO HOO! :)

I've been so busy with GASC prep-work that I kinda forgot how to scrapbook. I know it sounds silly, but I was a bit overwhelmed with the "what do I do?" moment before you start a new project. So while flipping through Scrapbooks, etc. I came across a challenge that I thought might be just the ticket to get me rolling again. :) They'r doing a big Ultimate Summer Challenge and week 1 was simply "raid you sticker stash & use them creatively". Okay, I can do that. A little direction but still freedom! :)

Did my entry...felt sooooo nice to play with paper and goodies again! :) And my kiddos just crack me up. Now. If you saw what it took to get the cute little lovey pose layout, you'd *really* understand the title! ;) I'm pretty sure it involved threats of bodily injury (okay, not really, but probably close). ;)

And even cooler, I just saw that my layout is in the semi-finals for this week! WOOOOOOO HOOOOOO! :) :) If you want to see (and vote) ;) the layout is:
http://my.scrapbooksetc.com/app/voting/index.jsp?id=/templatedata/sbe/voting/data/1207926546230.xml&sid=6

Off to get scrappy some more! I can feel the mojo a'flowing again! :)
XOXO...Stac :)

Home Sweet Home.

* Back from GASC.

* Recovery in progress.

* Voice returning. Actually it held out until the very end. Started sounding like Frogger in the truck on the way home, as I sang (screeched) my heart out! ;)

* Boxes stacked up for Michigan next month.

* Lessons learned, fun had, great people met, more fun had.

* Scared some folks with my hyperactivity. Other folks were okay with it. Other folks loved it. No worries, I made sure that I sugared everyone up so they were hyperactive with me. ;) Lots of "energetic instructor" reviews. I'm taking that as a positive...better than being a drone. Bwhahahahah! :)

Yep...that was my GASC weekend!! :)

One big oops though! Although my camera was IN MY PURSE, somehow I never really thought to take it out! Bad scrapbooker, I know! :blush: I know one girl got some good pics of me actually teaching--said she got one of me in mid-jump around. :blush: If that was you, or you got other pics of my classes, I'd love to see if you don't mind sharing! Just email them to me and I'll post them on the blog with your credit. :) Pretty please with sugar on top! :)

Wanna see a couple of the projects from a couple of the classes? :) Of course ya do! ;)

Here's the Magic Mesh Mania project...

This class is FULL of stampy/painty fun and mess (wet wipes included). You end up with a cute "pieces of me" layout with lil bits of your personality displayed. And then you have an inspiration "list" of techniques to play with Magic Mesh too. :) Double bonus! :) :)

Here's the one of the projects from the KI Memories class...

This one has fingerpainting fun (wet wipes again), stamping with household objects (a fave for this budget conscious girl! LOL), and maybe scariest of all...doodling! LOL Everyone did really great...dove right in to the fingerpainting, and either doing or promising to do the doodley scallops! :) Out of the box for some folks but I loved how everyone jumped in with both feet and eyes wide open.

One more share. This is one of the projects from the Vintage Hip class (Jenni Bowlin goodies).

This was a TOTAL feel good class. Everyone really responded to this one...the products, the projects, and the vintage vibe. Some folks had heritage pic copies that they were using and the projects went from great to WOW with that touch!

I'll share the Cosmo Cricket class goodies another day this week so that I can photo-load the post with the Get Happy album pages (also known as HappyHappyJoyJoy for those of you who took it! ;) LOL).

If you were there, I'd love to hear about your weekend too! Fave class (mine or someone else's), projects to share, crop stories to laugh at, pics to love, etc. Seemed like a great weekend was had by all! :) ...Stac :)

GASC is Great...

At GASC! Woo de hoooooooo! Been so much crazy fun, running straight through classes for 2 days so far, 1 more to go. If you knew how many typos were in that sentence before I proofed it, you'd understand how tired I am! Bwhahahahah! Its late now, by morning, with a little sleep...I'll be going 90-to-nothing again! I think I've scared some folks with my energy, but I give fair warning! ;)

All my classes have been super fun! I'm in this little hide-y hole back in the corner...don't leave except to pee or run and look on the vendor floor for a minute. I've been sooooooo good with the shopping! (pats self on back!) Of course, that might have to do with the long line at the "Everything Heidi Swapp is .99" booth. Gotta figure out how to get there & shop & pay in between classes! LOL :)

Brought my camera. Haven't even taken it out. Bad scrapper girl! Bad. Bad. Been too busy and having too much fun though. Got to have dinner with Ms. Kitty (Foster) last night. Riot a minute as always with that chick! There was accidental panty flashing (wind advisory much?), fire lane parking (totally necessary, uhm right?), getting lost even with a GPS onboard, drunk men attempting to pick up on the whole table lot of us hot work-a-day women, yummy food, good folks, and lots of laughs. And all that was just at dinner! :)

Off to bed. Marla's totally laughing at me tonight b/c I'm in "off" mode. Rare Occurence. But she gets the joy that is Staci Off tonight. She literally had to warn me not to walk into a pole at Walmart tonight. Wha? What pole? Hey, entertainment at any cost! ;)

XOXO ...Stac :)

In Love. Crazy.

No, not crazy in love. No, not in love and crazy. In Love. Crazy. Two totally separate things happening right now! LOL :)

1. In Love.

Had Lilli & Dec's joint birthday party this weekend. Spent the day before running around doing PTA/school stuff and Bob (who was a bit sick) spent the day with some combination of the kids, cleaning the house top to bottom. He's such a fantastic guy and I'm totally In Love with him. The party was great. Hadn't seen family in a while it seemed. Plus, its kinda nice to show that I can be a little Suzy Homemaker/Betty Crocker when the situation calls for it. I know most of them had their doubts about that previously, but I've settled into a good rhythm with my domestic talents. ;) The kids were super great--polite, not too crazy, and had loads of fun. Cousin Jeremy learned a new skill...balloon animals! They had an absolute BLAST watching him make animal after animal, and they've played with the balloons just as much as their birthday toys. :) Totally In Love with the kiddos and think every day is such a major blessing that I get to spend watching and helping them grow up. Last but not least LOL, I got a new muffin/cupcake pan. Its the bestest in the whole wide world and I am totally In Love with it. It's here: http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?sku=2105-955&CMP=AFC-CCF

By Wilton and that pic doesn't do it justice at all. Its got super deep, mega huge cupcake tins. The holes are big enough that it takes one cake recipe (or mix) to make 6 cupcakes! Excuse me, off to cuppiecake heaven! :) :) Check out the pic of the strawberry and chocolate ones from the party! :)

2. Running short on time, so on to the Crazy. :)

GASC is this week. Soon. Really really soon. I'm nervous about the teaching b/c I'm doing so many classes. Its a nervous excitement though. I just want to do a fantastic job b/c I know how important a day away with the girls is for all the folks taking classes and shopping. I want to make their getaway day as awesome as possible. The other bit of crazy comes from all the prep work still going on! Eeek! Yes, still prepping stuff! All my kits are finally done (thanks Bob!), some got mailed off and are confirmed delivered, some are ready to load up for the drive to Arlington, some are ready to go to Michigan. And then my doorbell rang yesterday and...I got more kits!!! Scenic Route goodies got here and now I'm totally golden! But my house looks like a bomb went off, which totally makes this Neat Freak go a little crazy! LOL Check out the kit goodness...

Well, I'm to go shopping for a new goodie or two to wear at GASC. Teaching is a good excuse for a new shirt or skirt, right? :) And then to hit the gym to get my shiggles out! :) See y'all soon! :) :)

Finished.

This is one of "those" layouts. The ones that get started, find inspiration, and then somewhere along the way, they just sputter out. Partially the layout, partially my crazy-busy self, but this has been sitting on my desk for over a month! :shock: :horror: LOL But yesterday, I decided. It was going to get finished before I picked up Lilli at school. 3:30...no more, no less. So here it is:

The fun part is the background paper--its Scenic Route grid paper that I went over with sharpie and then colored in with map pencils. I've done this with crayons before too. Oh, highlighters might be fun! LOL Hmmm, back to the desk for more I guess! :)

Have a smilie-filled weekend! :)

Share...

Thought I'd share a couple of goodies that I've done lately. :)

The first two are for the May KI Memories gallery, which you can check out here:

http://www.kimemories.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=ideagallery.main

First up, is a layout for my blog challenge this month:

http://kimemories.typepad.com/celebrate_life/2008/05/find-it.html

Loving my new coffee table that I scored for only $60 on craigslist. Definitely my new fave by far! :)

Next up is a card I made for a girlfriend's birthday. Bessie is my bling-a-licious girlie...she always has bling on...a.l.w.a.y.s. Its just part of who she is and goodness knows, she doesn't need it b/c she shines brightly without it. She's one of those totally gorgeous, sexy women who doesn't have to try at it, its just natural. Lucky chick! ;) And she's just so super sweet and funny, which has helped me through more than a few Mommy crisis moments! LOL :) Anyways, that was a lot of reading just to peek at a card...sorry! :)

Its been a birthday card kinda month for me too. My bestest girlfriend in the world just turned 35 last week too. She is the bravest, most good-hearted, hottie of a woman you could possible imagine and then some. :) She has changed me for the good in so many ways and I am so thankful to have her in my life. So of course, the card had to be special! :) She cried so I think I hit it on the head. :)

Off to work on some more GASC goodies! Have you registered yet? Texas online registration is closed, but Michigan is still open and I have class spots!!! :) http://www.greatamericanscrapbook.com

Have a great day! :)

Cooler than cool...

I have dreams of being this cool hip artsy-fartsy type. Reality: I'm a weird mom type. But luckily I have great friends, who are either equally weird or at least accepting of my weird. Enter my friend, Marla...

She is a friend of the "accepting" variety...she gets my obsessive scrappy nature, can shiggle it with the best of 'em, and is also a mom-type. So our conversations go something like this... "Did you see the new October Afternoon? Lovin' the deeries. (topic change) Who's class are we taking this week? I need some booty poppin' shiggle. (topic change) Ugh, potty training is hard! LOL But she will get it worked out this summer, right?" LOL :)

Yeah, so a couple of weeks ago, we totally LUCKED out and actually heard about a cool indie craft show in Dallas before it happened! Go us! Yep, totally...go us...and so we went. :)

Sooooo many fantastically cool and inspiring things to look at and yes, buy. ;) And buy we did! LOL :)

So, I always love it when other blogosphere folks share pics & links to cool stuff, so I thought why mess with greatness. :)

Here's Ms. Marla (remember I said we might be a little weird...immature...whatever!):

And then the goodies began...

Cute little barettes with little "present" looking fabric bits on top from broken doll. Totally adorable:

The cutest t-shirts I've ever seen from http://www.harrilu.com/ and you know I thought they were really special b/c I paid $28 for a tunic t-shirt and I'm a cheapskate deluxe! So that tells ya how much I LOVE this shirt/dress. :)

Marla and me shared a yard of some crazy cute green owl fabric. Lovin' the polka dottie green one too. :)

Such creative organic necklace designs from www.pamelamichelle.etsy.com . Lots of birdies and trees! :)

Other faves to check out:

nerdbomber.etsy.com for cool patches, journals, and more.

mineymoshop.etsy.com does the most original screenprints onto wood planks...wall art, coasters, etc.

www.one-updesigns.com has totally cool wall graphics. I bought uhm, a few...but I'll be using them on paper as "rub-ons".

There were so many other fantastic crafters there, but these were some faves! :) And we had a blast...totally and completely fun...just 2 chicks shopping, checking out crafts, and eating a dinner out sans the constant "Mommeeeeeee!" LOL Its gotta be done every once in a while! ;)

It's sinking in...

...and she's getting it. :)




We spent lots of this weekend working on the thank you notes for Lilli's birthday party friends. I minorly altered the make&take that Tracie Radke (fellow MMM'er) did at CHA. Here's the little thank you cards:

Lilli made a feeble attempt at whining about all the writing. But when I reminded her that her friends had come to celebrate with her and had very generously brought her gifts and the least she could do was writing them a 3 sentence thank you note (insert expectant look here)... Yeah, she sat right down and got to writing her little heart out. ;)

As she worked, she made mention that she hoped she had an extra. Being my daughter, I was guessing she wanted to "decorate" the card front. ;) And she quite secretively went to work on her extra card.


And then she brought me this...


and my heart started squeezing and my eyes had the pinpricks of tears. She listened to me and actually heard me. And all on her own, never a mention of it all by me, she wrote Mom and Dad a thank you note for her leopard webkinz. :) I'm a proud mama. She's getting it...it's sinking in...

Hope you have a squeezy heart day too! :) ...Stac

Mad for Madras...

I've been seeing it everywhere. A little pop of spring/summer fun! I'm all about mixing patterns and bright colors, so this is right up my alley! :)

Check out these pics...

These are from Target, The Company Store, and JCrew. Soooo super cute! I've managed to get Lilli into some cutie madras shorts, I'm working on getting Bob into some long bermuda ones (sedate brown so as not to scare the poor man), and have my eye on a little beverage bucket I saw this weekend. Might have to throw a party to justify that purchase! ;)

Naturally, anything that I see in out in the "real world" gets translated to my scrappin' addiction. And the search for madras plaid paper began. And ended...rather abruptly unfortunately. I have plaid papers, but no madras...not even plaid in the vibrant hues that are calling my name "Staciiiiiii, use meeeeee!" ;)

So what's a scrap-desperate girl to do? Well, since I wasn't making a late night fabric run (don't laugh...I've done it!), this chick took out those cutie shorts of her daughters! I took a macro pic of them, photoshopped it up a bit for extra oomph, and printed it onto matte photo paper. Yep, I made my own madras plaid paper from Lilli's shorts! LOL :) And you know what? My Madras-Mad Self was quite happy with the result! :)

Check it out...

Supplies: Adhesive (Adhesive Technologies, Provocraft), Buttons (Autumn Leaves), Patterned paper (Dream Street Papers), Pen (Sharpie, Uniball), Rhinestons (Glitz Designs), Ribbon (Cream City Ribbon), Stamps (Fontwerks), Stickers (American Crafts, Autumn Leaves), Misc.: staples

Madras. Yes, its everywhere. Learn to love it and the springy happy feelings it gives you! And of course, scrap with it...however necessary! ;)
Have a smilie-filled day! ...Staci :)

Spirituality in a Song...

I am a spiritual being. Not religious. Not particularly active in my faith (unfortunately). But I am spiritual. My beliefs guide my core values, the presence I give to those around me, the goals I work towards. And sometimes, it's a little thing that reminds me to tune in...to myself, to the world, to the blessings in my life.


That's what this song by Flyleaf (http://www.flyleafmusic.com/) does for me. I LOVE Flyleaf. I have for ages. But this song gives me goosebumps on the 1000th time, just like on the 1st time. That's rare and special, so I take advantage. Next time, your sitting at a stop light, look over at the car next to you. See that Minivan Mom, singing her heart out, banging her head? Yeah, that's me. I'm at church...back in 2 minutes with a lightened heart. :)


Scrap-wise...lots of random goodies on this one! Only took about 20 minutes (other than the writing) b/c I just pulled out my baggie of samples from CHA and picked whatever faves jumped out at me. Love no-brainer projects sometimes, just mix and go! LOL :) Have a great day! ...S :)

Earth Day. Its been a whole week of festivities at Lilli's school. Trying to bring focus to our world in fun, creative ways for the kids.

One of the projects is a Family Recycled Art Project. We had to create art completely from items that can be recycled. Lilli and I brainstormed and I remembered a super-cute mirror frame I'd seen at Urban Outfitters. That one was made with teeny rolled bits of papers. I thought folding would be easier for almost-7yo fingers so we went with a folded magazine bits wreath.

We got to work. Lilli did so great...really doing her best to get everything lined up when she folded all the paper bits, so careful. She was working solid with me through the first magazine. By the time we hit the second one, she was done. Poor baby fingers worked to the bone. LOL :) So Mom is the one staying up tonight to finish it off.

Turned out pretty cute I think. In a random, handmade kinda way. ;)

Lovin' the little family art projects. Can't wait to do more this summer!

Oh, and I hung it on the door to surprise Lilli in the morning. She'll be excited b/c my little clone was worry-warting about it not being done in time for the 1st grade tour.

Right Place, Right Time...

Man, I had one of those weekends!

No, not the ones where you wished Monday would Hurry.Up.Already. LOL

We had a *GREAT* weekend!

Saturday morning: Garage Sale Heaven!

The kids and I hit a couple of sales in McKinney.

At one I found some gorgeous vintage greeting cards that the lady GAVE me! Sah-weet! :) And then I found this...

Coolest thing evah! Totally made me smile all goofy...so I bought it. What am I going to do with it you might ask? Uhm, the answer is: I've got no idea! But I will figure it out and it will be fabulous! ;)

Then off to a HUGE community sale in Providence. I hate going to Providence. Its a delightfully Mayberry little neighborhood, full of cute little painted houses, with sidewalks where kids lay about coloring with chalk, playgrounds every block, fishing ponds, etc. Sounds quite nice, doesn't it? That's the problem!! Everytime I go there, I want to MOVE there! LOL We actually talked seriously about it a couple of years ago, but the drive didn't make sense for Bob. One day, I'll live in Mayberry...

Oh, back to the garage sale! :) We parked & walked up to a lady with a blanket-full of toddler girl clothes. All fancy-brands that I don't pay retail for and all in Tayvan's size. The lady says she wants to go shop too, so I needed to start picking stuff up b/c she was dealing. Well, I do what I'm told so I gathered up an armful of stuff and she says $1 an item. Uhm, WHAT??? $1 for Gymboree stuff with the tags still on it? (picture me gathering more goodies) All said, I bought $18 worth of stuff...great stuff and went on happily with a stroller full of designer duds, imagining all the great pics I was going to take of Van in the cutie clothes. :) On my way back down the other side of the street 20 minutes later, the lady waves me over and tells me that she's taking the rest to Goodwill so if I want anything for free, I'd better grab it! I asked her if she was really, really sure and when she nodded, I started picking more before I fainted away with joy! :)

So, this is my loot for a whopping $18! Every piece is either Gymboree, Gap, Old Navy, or The Children's Place. I took the tags off about 10 pieces!

On Sunday, Bob wanted to take the kids and me to the Superdome to watch the bike races with another family. Being such a fantastic wife, I said yes and acted like I meant it. ;) Really, it was pretty cool, but pretty darn scary b/c those guys are going 40+ mph and they're [thisclosetoeachother]. Luckily, Bob knows better than to ask for a new bike to tackle that side of his biking hobby. When the kids got rambuctious, me and the other mom took off for her house where the kids could be safely crazy and we could sit on the couch. Her house was totally decorated all cute & y'all know I'm a total sucker for decorating talk. :) She told me about a resale shop in The Colony that I'm gonna hit tomorrow. Fingers crossed they have some goodies for me b/c I'm on a decorating roll!

Totally, a Right Place, Right Time kinda weekend! :)

Etiquette?

So what's the correct etiquette here? When you fall off the face of the blogger earth, and then unceremoniously show up again? Apologies...that sounds like a good start. So I'm sorry to anyone who may have been reading when I *poof* vanished. Of course, there's probably no one here now but me, but that's cool. Maybe folks will come back to chitter-chat with me eventually! LOL :)



Can I make it up a little bit with a cute digi project that I did this week?




Lilli's first friend birthday party is coming up. I can't believe she's about to be 7yo! So of course, I wanted to make the invites, but didn't feel that would be practical for the kids to smush into backpacks. LOL :) Digi to the rescue!! I'm relatively comfy with photoshopping pics, but not used to doing full-out digi layouts. So that made it a fun challenge and let me keep the Creative Staci happy and the Practical Staci satisfied. :)

I won't finish with promises of daily posts or anything crazy like that. I want to blog for me, for my family. It is important to me and so I will do my best.

Have a smilie-filled day!! :)

What have I been up to?

Just a family update today...

My poor babies. Everyone of them has been sick.
Lilli started it.
Came home from school with a 103 fever. No other symptoms at all. Slept for 3 days straight and then bounced back.

Declan and Tayvan got hit next (despite all my disinfecting...grrr!).
Declan did the fever & a little cough, but is back to his usual self now.

Tayvan.
Oh Tayvan.
Poor thing gets hit so hard with every.little.thing.
She's on day 9.
Still has a very low fever. Snot coming out every hole in her head. Coughing. Sneezing.

Sounds like a typical cold, right?
Yeah, except she has the cold buggie in her body and *in her eyes*.
Did I say poor baby yet?
Her eyes are about swollen shut. And they keep crusting over.

We've spent the better part of the last week either in the steamy shower with menthol bodywash lathered up or laying on the couch while she sleeps on me or watches Yo Gabba Gabba for the 20th time that day.

Fingers crossed that my baby gets better soon.
I promise that when she does, I'll be back.
Till then, I'm off to the couch for more cuddling.
Gotta find time to finish out my Christmas stuff and get started on HOF stuff! ;)

Giving Thanks...

1. Family Update: Went to Burleson for Thanksgiving. Had a nice, chill day of food and family. We ended up spending the night at SIL's house so that we could get in line at Best Buy at 2am. It was cold, windy and sucked b/c we didn't get the computer bundle we were in line for. :( But after heading back to SIL's to warm up & sleep, SIL saved Black Friday for us. She'd hit a store for what she needed & then call me for my list. While I watched the kids, she did the shopping for both of us. She *RocKs!*! :)

Settling back in to daily life now. School's back in. Hitting the gym hard-core to make up for the T.giving foodie binge. ;)

2. MotD: This is supposed to be kid related, but the biggest thing that happened lately is...

I got my copy of Espirit Scrapbooking yesterday!!!! It is so weird in the coolest way to see a whole big article about me. Still kinda thinking "Why?" but I hope that the European scrappers like the layouts I did. :) Gotta say...EEEEEKKKKKK! (picture odd little happy dance here!) Check it out...



3. Inspiration: Uhm, check me out!! ^^^^^^ Bwhahaha! Sorry, couldn't help it. ;)

Ooh, realized the scans are pretty bad. Here's some better pics of the layouts themselves. :)

Yeah, I suck and I'm sorry...

This blog thing has totally gotten away from me. :(
I had a crazy-busy last bit of October. (being Red Ribbon Parent for Lilli's class took *so much time*!)
And posted to the MMM blog every week.
So I was neglectful.
And I'm sorry.
Don't know who I'm apologizing too really, b/c not many read this blog anyways...and y'all have probably left since I haven't written in a month. Maybe to myself.
Okay.

1. MotD: Bad day. Mean kids at the playground (mine and others). No one wanted to do homework. Kids in bed early. I'm eating chocolate chip cookies & waiting for Heroes to start. Good news: tomorrow is a new day. That's what I tell the kids when we have a sucky day, so now I'm telling it to myself. :)

2. Family Update: Red Ribbon Week. Halloween (Queen, Darth Vader, & Snow Princess). Pumpkin Patch trip. Boo at the Zoo. Bob out of town for races or at work all night. Pulled a hamstring doing the splits (yeah that I did them to the floor, wah that I hurt myself). Thinking a lot about a boob job.

3. Inspiration: Got a great one today...straight from 2peas. They called it "organizational porn". Bwhahaha! Okay, maybe not, but its GOOD! Enjoy!
http://www.cluttercontrolfreak.com/

I promise to be back sooner rather than later. Okay? :)

What a week...

1. MotD: Declan sounded out 3 words!!!!! I could literally start flipping cartwheels!!! I am so excited and proud of him!!! A couple of weeks ago, we were sitting at a stoplight & he "read" the sign beside us..."That says 'no'!" We were shocked to say the least. I've continued working on the letter names (he knows sounds 110% but not the names as well) & writing them & his name. Today, we had a few minutes & sat down in front of the fridge to play with Tayvan's magnet letters. I made "cat", "dog", "rat", "jog" & a few letter blends & we went to town. I had to help a little bit, but he totally sounded them out & figured out the words!!!

2. Family Update: Allergies Suck. Big Time. I am absolutely miserable with allergies, but its my own fault. In some bad idea version of my day yesterday, I decided to walk outside, weed the flower beds, & air out the house in the same day. Bad Idea. But Clairitin is my friend. Vapo-rub too. Lilli's taking care of me & Bob took me to dinner b/c I was not cooking. ;)

3. Inspiration: Gonna be a tad bit selfish here. Check out the new DT gallery at KI! All the girls did layouts about themselves & each one is absolutely fabulous!! My layout is one of my faves in ages!!! :)
http://kimemories.typepad.com/photos/ki_design_team/mesmall.html

Ta-Da..I'm here! :)

See, I can be good...sometimes. I'm back and just a couple of days later to boot! :)

1. MotD: Whoops, didn't happen today by a long stretch. We were busy. We were running around. It was just a busy day...and I wasn't able to set aside time for something special. Well, the kids would probably say that dinner was special...Mickey D's (every kids fave) eaten in the van on the way home! LOL Yeah, not a Great Mom day, but its cool. Just one of those things.

2. Family Update: We were so busy today b/c unfortunately my lss is closing!! I love my lss and shop there whenever I can, but with my budget I'm not exactly floating their business by any stretch. I'm sad to see them go for sure though. And of course I had to hit the 50% sale today...along with every other scrapper in the whole freakin' area!!!! Ultimately, it took me 3 trips to the store (~20 min each way!) to shop, get a number to pay, and actually pay. UGH! But I got some cool goodies that I'm thrilled with so that's what counts right! :)

Oh, Amy...I'm redecorating our living room. Its been a sorta Pottery Barn chic (well, knock-off PB anyways)...lots of tan, red, chocolate. But I've gotten where I feel it doesn't reflect me & my love of color & funk so much anymore. I'm moving towards a more flea market chic look...vintagey, collected, random. Just kinda "if I like it, it goes"...regardless of what it is. :) I've traded tan couches for bright red ones. Bought the vintage turquoise chair. And once it gets here, I'm going to paint a focal wall turquoise to coordinate with the chair and order fabric for a couple of pillows. Just a deliciously fun process for me b/c I LOVE LOVE LOVE to decorate! :)

3. Inspiration: Okay, I've been hoarding this one. Its one of my absolute favorites. But I'm feeling guilty at such a blah blog entry so I'm doling out the good stuff! Check this site out and fall in love...I want to own every tshirt. But the best part is...even if I can't buy them, I can totally use them as scrap-inspiration! :)
http://www.bellamuse.com/silkscreens.html

La-la-la...

So, uhm...I knew I'd been neglectful. Didn't realize it had been that long! I'm just gonna gloss right over that little factoid and continue on like I blogged more recently than 2 weeks ago! LOL

1. MotD/Family Update: Today's Tayvan's 2nd birthday!!! WOO HOO to my baby girl! :) We had her party yesterday...fun with family, presents, and best of all--CAKE! :) Its tradition for us to re-do the kids nursery into a Big Kid room for their 2nd birthday. But since Tayvan is still totally content in her crib & we don't need it for another baby like usual, we've decided to let her redecorating wait just a little bit. But I'm looking forward to it. :)

Today, we went to Canton to find some coolio furniture. We didn't really have any furniture luck, but I found the most fabulous doors from an old school. They are HUGE 8ft tall, 2in thick solid wood with glass panels! One of them is already turquoise and still has the steel hardware on it. And the best part? $20 for both!!!!! Total huge !!

Then we came home & I searched ebay again for a chair. JACKPOT!! I actually found and won a fabulous turquoise chair! Finally! :) Check it out...

Yeah! So now that its on its way, I can almost finalize fabrics and paint swatches. Soon! :)

2. Inspiration: Okay, I'm just gonna go with this...*everywhere* I looked at Canton today was...turquoise/aqua & hot pink. Granted, I was looking for turquoise stuff but it was all.over.the.place. And mixed with hot pink a lot, but not for girly frou frou stuff. Just for regular stuff--home decor, clothes, knick knacks. So use that as a jump point! And if you need more inspiration for those colors...check out the MyFavoriteMemories.net October 1st gallery tomorrow morning. The October kit is full of bright colors! :)

Back in Town...

So much for regular blogging, but I have a good excuse...
I was busy having a great weekend! :)

1. Family Update:

We went to Bob's family reunion this weekend. Two days out on Possum Kingdom lake. Lots of fun, some not-so fun...but all in all, a great time!

Good Highlights: Kids swimming in the lake. Jumping on the water trampoline and rolling off into the water. Paddleboats. Good food. Family fun. Lots of laughs. Lilli caught her first fish. "Camping" in a cabin just like my grandparents old one (brought back memories). Kids all piled up in the tiny living room to sleep. Family breakfasts with lots of kids helping. Feeding the deer by hand in the morning light.

Bad Highlights: Drive taking twice as long as we thought. Tayvan falling IN the lake and bashing her head on a rock. (still makes my heart race) Not nearly enough sleep b/c I don't sleep well in weird places. A honkin' water bug dive-bombing our bed right as we drifted off. (still makes my heart race) Leaving early so that I could make a OPT Team function that was kinda jacked up.

But all in all...a Fantabulous Weekend!!!
:)

2. MotD:
Trying to work with Lilli on enjoying school work more. Since the weather was great today...I decided to take homework outside. Grabbed the chalk & drew her math table on the porch so that she could fill in her numbers to 50. Still not selling it 100% so at the end of every row, we did a Super Silly Dance! SUCCESS! ;) We did it for 2 rows & I started weeding the flowerbeds with a promise that she'd tell me when she was ready for more silly dancing. *Several* minutes later, she says she's ready. I'm thinking "ugh, girl...do you know how long it took you to do 1 row??!! Focus child, focus!!" So I go over & She'd Finished The Whole Thing!!!!!! WOO HOO!!! Major focus, major initiative for her. Silly Dance. Silly Dance. Silly Dance! :)

3. Inspiration:
Been playing with some super simple digi stuff for Tayvan's invite (which you can see on the MMM blog). Wanted to share some fab digi downloads...fonts, brushes, etc. :)
http://www.misprintedtype.com/v3/goodies.php
Enjoy!!! :)

Have a great day!
...S