Get Down Tonight!!

SNS...: in style!! My friend "CJ Jen" and I are hosting Saturday Night Scrap, Disco-style!! Come on by ScrapStreet's Town Square for all the fun starting around noon-ish June 16th. We've got some serious challenges, bingo, chatting and games planned to keep up as long as the disco ball is still spinnin'! Come on by all weekend... don't forget to tell me you're there!!

New sketch site!

I just found this really awesome new sketch site!!
http://mixnmatchsketch.blogspot.com/

Ok. uuhhhh....yeah. you got me. I just started this new sketch site, lol. It's called Mix-n-Match Sketches and it's a fun and cool concept that I hope will catch. Since I refuse to choose between one-photo and multi-photo, one- or two- page layouts, I'm working on designs to benefit any scrapper. Just my idea. Run with it!

I wanted to show you the layout on which the first sketch is based. Shown here!



anyways, if ya go take a peek, I'd love it~
http://mixnmatchsketch.blogspot.com/

I'm coming back.

soon. I know it's been a while. Just not in the blogging mood. But I'm working on something I'm getting really excited about. I've designed my first one. I'm now in the process of digitally designing it and then I'll reveal. I hope you like. ;)

Let's call my Mix-n-Matches, for now.

Cosmo Cricket...and me!!!

I'm in the gallery, yo! A good friend and I were picked from a team contest to be put on the Cosmo website!! I couldn't be more thrilled! The layout they chose is the one I did for the MM idol contest, and I submitted it again. I had another favorite, but I'm thrilled with the one they chose!!

Ok, go here and click me!! See?! I'm thrilled, of course, as it's become one of my most favorite companies!! See next door to me? Michelle Boeckermann - she's my friend, lol. How adorable is THAT layout?! Oh and yes, Michelle, Dora, another Michelle and Jenn and I altogether WON that contest!! It was so cool to participate as a team ... and then WIN!! I'll post my layouts for that contest... you like?!

...this one was a sketch project... I just love the photo, and there is a page two: with a snow pic of Matthew and the other half of that snowflake.

This one was about layering and using pink and yellow...Well, I needed to do this layout "showcasing" all of McKenna's "talents"...so it worked out well. :P

Blech...I loathe quote challenges, but I think this one turned out okay. ...and yes, they even got me to make a card!

This one...the last challenge. Ad insp. Not my favorite, but cute and colorful nonetheless, and still used stash as I promised myself a month or two ago. Eh~

This was a bonus challenge, I digi'd it. Had to make you laugh. Did I?

...and now for one of my new favorites... is it that I used so many (120 or so!) of those damn eyelets that I had to go out and buy new ones 8oO or that I finally used a flourish...used being a relative term, lol. ;) wink!!

~*~tagged~*~

ok, ok, I guess it's about time I post. Just going to respond to the tags I've received to help me get back in the blogging swing of things. ;)
Thank you to (someone?! Who was it?!) and Nicole Martel for tagging me...

Here's the deal, I list 7 random facts about myself and then choose 7 people to tag to do the same thing on their blog. Here goes!

1. I was a military brat.
2. I have a dog, Toby.
3. You know my 2 kids, Matthew & McKenna.
4. I only work (at the gym) 2.5-3.5 hours on a weekday.
5. I did gymnastics for 18 years, graduated college doing it.
6. We're selling/house hunting.
7. The guys at Subway start my order as soon as the see me walk in.

JFF, I'm going to do 7 random Scrapbooking facts since this is, after all, a scrapbook tag.

1. I scrap 12"x12".
2. I scrap mostly after 10:30 pm.
3. If I ever owned my own forum, it'd be called Midnight Scrappers.
4. My first publication was in a book.
5. I've never been published in a paper mag.
6. Most of my layouts are pics and paper only.
7. My favorite size photo to work with is 5''x7''.

So now, onto tagging: NicoleB, OneCreativeJen, Miranda W., Melita, Dianne K. Nelson, Ambearluv, & Emine. Even if you've been tagged before, have fun with it!

not so bad...

honestly, April is not!
First of all, what a surprise and honor that ScrapStreet's admin/editors chose me at "Resident of the Month" for April - boy, did I need that pick-me-up!

""This month we are honoring a member of our community that came to us almost a year ago. She has been a scrapping Diva with style and grace in her pages that lead in the inspiration department! She adores her family and shares the antics, love, and goofyness of her life with us on a daily basis. We love her for her quirky humor and if you haven't had a achance to see it, just go look at her thread SExy legs in pixel place! ""


That and the fact that I'm sort of NOT looking for contests. I love STAR that I've been doing at SStreet, and a team one we're doing at ScrappingWithGrace, but otherwise...well, not that I've actually done a page, but I plan to! And maybe I'll start submitting instead of just showing. I don't know, we'll see how that goes.


My nephews are up this week, so the computer has been slowed down. A little spring break, perhaps... we went to the Museum of Natural History today mostly to see the dinosaurs, as Matthew's been so into them lately. Here's the best part of today...we walk in and the 1st room has T-Rex, of course his favorite. He grabs my mom and gets all teary-eyed, so I grab him, thinking something's wrong. He cups my face in his little 4-year-old hands and says, "Mommy, I just can't bewieve it!" Some things just aren't picture worthy. This was one of those times.


So maybe one thing bad happened today. I took one -and only one- picture of McKenna on her birthday - it was late and she was asleep, but I got one... and it's gone. :( Can't find it anywhere. Trying not to tell myself I'm a bad scrappery mom, but it's not really working.


Boy oh Boy...a bit of a stream of consciousness today. Off to catch up on GH and get some zzzzz's... been a long, been a long, been a long daaaay!

rejection sux

it does. really. getting dumped from 2 - yes 2 - idol contests in 2 - yes 2! - days. Let's just say I've had better weeks. March was pretty lucky for me, I'd say. However, I'm just not expecting much from April.

I wonder...and I'd love to know - the scrappers we call our mentors, our inspiration, why don't we see them talk of rejection? Have they never experienced it? By not talking about it, does that somehow immortalize them? We read what they write in foofy magazines, but never really get to know the real them?

Well, this is me. All me. Disappointed. Sad. A little ticked off. Well, wouldn't you be? C'mon! Sometimes it's so sweet you can taste it, although it may be miles away. I'm tempted to say, "Well, that's the last time I'm taking a risk," as was the challenge for Scrap-Tastic - I took a risk and really went for it, doing something so completely out of my comfort zone that I almost didn't do it at all. But. Not good enough. I had unbelievable support from family, friends, scrappers and people I didn't even know knew me! But. Not good enough. Thing is - I loved both of my projects this week, for both idols. I told mom earlier this week that the ones I love are the ones that don't make it. How true it is.

Someone told me I could always try next year and my initial response was..."ummm...no thanks." Not sure it's something I'd want to do twice. But, you know what? That's not entirely true. I've been a competitor all my life, enter gymnastics for 18 years. I'll never *not* try. I'm realizing that I fear regret more than failure. I'd rather make it this far and not be chosen to finish, than to not try at all. So, someone remind me next time 'round, k?

However - the good news is, I've got plenty to keep my mind off of things. Like the Cadbury minis and 10 packs of Orbit bubble mint we just bought at BJ's. Like 2 crops at 2 of my favorite places coming up (CMK & TTT). Like "competing" with some of my favorite people - favorite scrappers - for a team scrapper thing and getting to laugh with them behind the scenes. {GO LEMONDROPS!} Like my next attempt at being a "STAR" at ScrapStreet. Thing is, life will go on. And, as soon as this stream of consciousness ends, so will mine.

One last thanks "to all my fans", lol - I've got support coming from angles I never knew existed. Fans in friends that I did know. So thanks...for the rant, for the fun, for the support, for the encouragement, for the laughs, for the tears. *whew* do I feel better!!

mm idol - GO PARTY!!

Time to vote...and this week's theme is PARTY!!


Y'all know that I act like a party girl, but rarely do. I'd rather be home with my kids and my scrapbooking and my famil-----hey, wait! I have an idea!! Easter's coming up, right? THAT'S my party!!



lol...that's kinda of train of thought last week. ya know, how I got to my party idea?



Basket popped into my head...and I just had to go for it! It's all paper and all my own original design, and best of all - it really works!!! The egg holder was just a cute side idea, but how could I not "alter" (decorate, for the non-scrappers) the plastic eggs? I almost went all-out with real eggs and egg blowing and dying, but I wanted them to last throughout Easter...that's right - all this stuff is really on my table, so pretty!



And yes *gasp* that IS a card!!! It's a rare occasion, friends... :)



So thanks for the support, I am so appreciative to each and every one of you who have supported me thus far. I need all the help I can get with this contest these days, so vote, spread the word...and I'll keep ya updated.

*mwah, friends!*

Color Code

what code are you?

Got this from Wendy Reed's blog - and it's really intriguiging...

actually provided insight into myself.

The Color Code
Congratulations. You are YELLOW.

YELLOWS are motivated by FUN. They are inviting and embrace life as a party that they're hosting. They love playful interaction and can be extremely sociable. They are highly persuasive and seek instant gratification. YELLOWS need to be adored and praised. While YELLOWS are carefree, they are sensitive and highly alert to others' agendas to control them. YELLOWS typically carry within themselves the gift of a good heart.

YELLOWS need to look good socially, and friendships command a high priority in their lives. YELLOWS are happy, articulate, engaging of others and crave adventure. Easily distracted, they can never sit still for long. They embrace each day in the "present tense" and choose people who, like themselves, enjoy a curious nature. YELLOWS are charismatic, spontaneous, and positive; but can also be irresponsible, obnoxious, and forgetful. When others interact with you, as a YELLOW you respond to them best if they take a positive, upbeat approach and promote light-hearted, creative, and fun interactions with you.

Understand that no two YELLOWS are exactly alike. Although you share the same core motivation as many others, your personality is still unique to you alone.

ahhh...thanks.

*for MM idol fans, thank you for getting me into the Top 15! People ask me, I answer: It's just WEIRD! lol - FUN, but weird!

*My last week at CreatingPages.biz design team fall/winter term. *sniff* Not that I'll be going far, just not on the inside of the fun dt room :). To celebrate? A lil Spring Crop this weekend!
*I made this fun & springy blinkie with a Christina Wall kit, Full Bloom, available in the digi store at ScrapStreet. All fonts 2Peas.
*So come on by, chat a little, have fun a bunch, and say goodbye to the old team, and hello to the very talented new one!

blood, sweat, tears & mm idol, lol!

That's right - it's time once again!

Monday, March 19th, beginning at 9 am MST (that's 10 EST for me).

I'll be attending my civil service at Jury Duty, so cover for me while I'm gone okay?

So the challenge was "back to the basics," with continuing off-limits lists popping up through the very first few hours and then throughout the week.

<~~~~We were also encouraged to use the Making Memories Deluxe Tool Kit as much as possible (and boy did it ever save me this week!) For my project, I needed the craft knife, hole punch/hammer, tweezers, ruler, and the glue pen saved my life!

Immediately, I got the idea, but it took all week to take shape.

My idea:

100% paper! There is nothing, and I mean NOTHING pre-made on this layout, other than the papers' patterns themselves.

My process:

I:

*hand cut flowers upon flowers

*used deco scissors (talk about back to the basics!) to make my own ricrack

*cut & created "ribbon"

*made & handcut "metal" words and a "metal" frame

*made & created sticker letters (insert eye popping smiley here, that was pain!)

*made my own grommets

*made my own brads (I even made a button and staples, but they didn't make the cut!)

My technique:

*and then used my favorite technique, eyelet doodling (see where the kit comes in?) to add just a touch of style and technique to the layout. It's of a girlie girl in a masuline layout (oh, you'll see!) so I need a touch of softness to complete the idea.

My supplies:

*Sweetwater patterned paper

*Fancy Pants patterned paper (just a teeny little flower!)

*Bazzil and Paper Company textured cardstock

*Canson smooth cardstock for "embellishments"

that's it!! well, that's all you see, anyway...

*Making Memories Deluxe Tool Kit

*Making Memories ribbon glue

*Fiskars Paper Edgers Corkscrew deco scissors

*Sharpie metallic marker

*fonts inspired by 2Peas fonts

I do hope you like this week - the process was my focus and, although long and a bit painful, it was well worth the product! =)

Happy St. Patty's!!

There are two crops around here that I'll be popping into...
One starts tonight at ScrapStreet - goes all weekend long!


The other is Sunday at FromHere2Scrapternity :)

Hope to see you there!

Happy Birthday, McKenna!

a whole year. a very long year.
full of stress and relief,
full of pain and happiness,
full of life.

*muah*

mm idol ~ kid's project!

mm idol's project #2 - voting until Tuesday 5pm MST!

I've had many questions about my project, even with the geeky pictures I posted! Let me see if I can break it down and explain the processes - both the actual and the one in my head...

As soon as I saw this challenge, I freaked. A little. A lot. Nothing, and I mean nothing was coming to mind! I thought of asking the girls I worked with in the preschool, looking thru some preschool idea books... So I started thinking, and I knew I wanted something textile - something Matthew could feel and see and really get involved with. As my almost 1-year-old was sitting on the floor tearing up paper she got a hold of, it kind of hit me!!

birthday + mckenna + gift + tearing + paper = something altered!

And behold, the wooden stool idea was born. with mosaic style in mind.

Let's see...we started by buying the stool, papers and paint.

A few days later, Matthew and I sat down and got the whole darn thing done!

We:

1. painted the entire stool. Messy, but so much fun! (my step: handcut some pp pieces.)

2. painter's taped the entire top. (my step: I drew the best oversized 'M' I could).

3. (my step: tearing the first pp strips) and then we tore into smaller pieces together.

4. We then picked out the letters in McKenna's name.
5. Mod Podge, baby! not sure which he enjoyed more: painting the MP or peeling it off later!

6. get to stickin'! Since the area was taped, it was just a matter of sticking lots of small pieces.

7. more mod podge 2nd layer of pp pieces.

8. (and on from here are all of my steps.) I then secured the flourish, added the ribbon and elements along the top and sides, and finished it off by decorating and inking.

(ya see where I was going here? with the whole preschooler arts and crafts thing here? lol)

When finished, I'll mod podge the entire stool and

I'll sparkle mod podge certain elements.

It's pretty gawdy for those that know me...gold glitter is something I've most definately never worked with on a scrapbooking project. However, those DCVW papers were just too perfect not to use!

Supplies:

DCVW patterned paper, chipboard elements and alphas

Crayola glitter glue

Archival ink

Apple Barrel paint
Mod Podge

adding in a closeup of Matthew's handy work:

forgot about the time change! voting is up!

Time to vote again!!
http://www.makingmemories.com/mmidol/admin/index.cfm
WOW - wait till you see all the kid-friendly projects!!

...SNS at ScrapStreet, of course! It is, of course, what brought me (and stuck me ) to ScrapStreet, ya know. If you've never been, you most definately don't know what you're missing. Let's see, do I start by telling you about the demented bingo game? how about the 10s of tons of challenges put up - which have other rewards as well... Scraplift? that's a chance to be in the mag. Street challenges? could win you a kit!
more? You'll just have to stop by and see!! This was 'S' week...so S is for Saturday - get scrappin'!

I finished my mm project, am uploading pics for it, and have just a few things left for Mckenna's 1st birthday party which is tomorrow, so I got to play just a bit. Alphabet bingo was a blast...and I won!! Think I'm going to digi up a SNS sketch layout and then call it a Saturday night!!

Life is a Highway...

Holy Toledo. What a day. Just your normal average Tuesday turns into total chaos and bedlam, but the way I like it!

Here's the lowdown:

• mm idol - top 30!! thank you everyone for voting for me: old friends, new friends...everyone. I'm so incredibly touched, but just as nervous thinking about my next challenge! You'd think, as a preschool teacher at heart, that doing a project with a kid would come easy...not so! It made me nervous, like I'm putting even more pressure on myself. Silly, I know, but fun!


• ScrapForums - finished the Funk It Up challenge #2 late last night and it's in. I actually quite like it and it's pink and fun. :) And it might just be a little funky, too! plus, it made Doug cry, so it's all good. ~challenge #3? going from what 'I'm gonna do' to what 'I know for sure' - geesh! talk about fork in the road!


• Scrap-Tastic - just barely got my idol contest entry in there, tonight. It was my first time working with an oversized picture - like the kind that takes up a whole half of a page. Teehee...whole half, get it? Anyway, it's cute and simple!


• How about a game of layout tag and some March Madness at a group I used to frequent, lost during their design team hunt a few months ago (I always seem to disengage from dt times if I'm not trying out). Anyhoo...just finished one for Creative Crafts and Stickers and it's kind of a cutie, too.


• more? you want more? Our hometown shoe store is going out of business. I mean, it's that place we've been going to since the day we moved into town almost 20 years ago. I've never been anywhere that long and certainly never shopped in the same store for that long. So Doug's parents took the kids there after we picked Matthew up from school and they both got shoes: Matthew got gray New Balance, and McKenna got her first pair of Stride Rite walkers. And then someone asked me if I had the camera. *sniff* No camera!! Can you believe that? Not for either the store's closing (which was today) or for McKenna. It's just so sad, ya know?


• Did I mention that Doug has 10 days off? That McKenna's birthday party is this weekend and in exactly one week she'll celebrate her first birthday? Think I can make it a whole week without tears? Doubt it!


• and the BIGGIE! No details yet, but we might be taking the For Sale sign off the house tomorrow. ;)

Now, back to getting some chatting done on the boards (GDT for TTT and I've barely gotten to spend any time there!!) And get this - I was asked to be on the digital team at ScrapStreet, and aside from changing a few sigs, I haven't told a soul. That's fine, though...I'm still a learner. :) Leaving you with one of my latest digis - one I've fallen in love with!!

Things to do:

1. April nametags for ScrapStreet.
2. challenge #3 for ScrapForums.
3. mm idol entry.
4. chat it up! I miss everyone so much!
5. show CP's kit layouts.
6. show ScrapStreet's kit layout.
7. plan Disney for May!
8. change this blogger banner & colors!
9. finish watching Prison Break, dern it!

*muah!

mm idol ~ please vote!

Hi everyone, me, again! All votes that were cast last week were
erased due to a system crash at Making Memories.
So I'm here, humbly asking for your help again!

brand new votes; all votes from last week were erased!http://www.makingmemories.com/mmidol/index.cfm?go=showPublicPortfolios&CFID=2333650&CFTOKEN=72527767

you may have to register to vote and there are 2 pages of layouts.
Of course, I'd be honored if you'd vote for me,
but there are two pages of amazing layouts to view!

thank you, everyone!
Lindsey

*voting closes Tuesday, March 6th at 6 pm EST.

by the way...MM is also offering a rak if you post on their blog,
right there where you vote! ;)

yes, MM idol again

and then I don't want to talk about it all weekend!
lol...new updates: MM idol blog


The Dow Wasn't The Only Thing that Took A Hit
Yesterday, the Dow Jones took a major hit, stalling the momentum it has enjoyed for so many months. In some ways, we feel their pain. We have worked through most of the unforeseen circumstances that have led to this extensive delay. We know how much work so many of you have poured into your projects and we are doing all we can to remedy the situation.

Please know we take these glitches very, very seriously and we desperately want to get these incredible designs in the public eye so they can be reviewed and rated by you, the voting audience. In the interest of making the competition as fair as possible, we have pulled the submissions from the site and are going to do everything in our power to get it live again.

Though you have taken your time to review and vote, we hope you'll be willing to come back again when we relaunch the contest, as we will be "starting from scratch" on the voting for this round. In order to keep on schedule, we are going to open this for voting again on Monday, March 5th at 9 AM, Mountain Standard Time.

We will send out another newsletter when we can open the voting once again and we'll make sure to leave it live for 48 hours to give everyone fair access. In the meantime, we thank you for the emails, blog postings, and chat room messages showing support (SelenaKimsey on TwoPeas ...Your Submission Reviews Rock!). This is a whole new process for us, created to manage traffic that was born from the first MM Idol. Like you, we truly want to make this right.
Thanks again for your patience. We appreciate all of you!
The Making Memories Team




So, because so many of you didn't have the ability to view my layout...here it is.
I'm quite proud, it was one of the most difficult pages I've ever had to do!
Thanks for the support, everyone @ ScrapStreet, CP, TTT, and the others who let me post about the vote. And, it goes without saying, thank you to family and friends and my darling lil Yahoo groups who helped out as well. *swak*

It's time to vote!!

Hey Everyone!! I've had the hugest honor of being chosen as one of 50 from thousands of entries in a scrapbooking contest, but now it's all about the votes!! Tuesday through Wednesday at 11am EST you can vote... sign up as many times as you can and vote, vote, vote!!
You're all awesome for helping out!!
Lindsey

so remember, Tuesday morning until Wednesday 2/28 evening go to this blog and VOTE!!!
http://www.makingmemories.com/mmidol/index.cfm

eta: I am just so touched by the outpouring of support from my family and friends. To make it this far, to be chosen as the top 50 is amazing enough. To see the rally that it brings around me, it the most amazing feeling. I cannot thank you enough. LK