{a lot of scrappin' and a sprinkling of other rand This blog contains the highlights of the scrapbooking and photography pursuits as well as the everyday life happenings of a working mom. Be inspired by a weekly scrapbooking meme/challenge and read reviews on scrapbooking products, magazines and idea books. Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 0 0 87 3619

Articles from {a lot of scrappin' and a sprinkling of other rand

You know you're a scrapbooker when... 2008-02-07 21:20:00 (Before I proceed, I should note that the word 'obsessed' should probably be added in front of the above mentioned noun.)...if you have a dream that actually meet Cathy Zielske and Ali Edwards and your husband embarrasses you to tears (not that he usually does this...not to tears anyway) and the most devasting thing is that NO ONE has a camera...Meeting CZ and AE would most definitely be a dream, but with those other factors involved...it was really more like a scrapper's nightmare! :-)What would be your "You know you're a scrapbooker when..." moment/event?? ...

Out of town... 2008-02-06 21:46:00 for a conference for the next couple of days and missing my little monkey already tonight.When I was packing my bag last night, Kaitlin brought in one of her little stuffed animals - a little blue bunny - and put it in my suitcase."Here Mommy...sleep with my blue bunny while you are gone 'cause I know you're gonna miss me."Awww...how right you are little one.And when I dropped her off at school this morning and told her to be good and keep Daddy out of trouble (she's pretty good at this actually), she said, "Remember the bunny, Mommy."So, the bunny's on the pillow next to me...Anyway, the town my conference happens to be in is the same town where my little brother goes to college, so I gave him a call on the way up and invited him out to dinner.We went to Applebee's and being the good little Catholics that we are on Ash Wednesday, we both had fish. (Aren't you proud of use, Mom?) I had this:Honey Grilled Salmon...that was the first time I've ever had salmon and I really like it. ...

More CHA winter 2008 sneak peaks... 2008-02-04 22:00:00 Was it me who said I hadn't seen much to get excited about yet in the sneak peaks for the CHA winter 2008 show other than Karen Russell's new additions?Hmmm...I think I might have spoken too soon! I can always count on Fancy Pants to come up with something I'll love and this time the Simplicity collection fits the bill.Making Memories also has some super cute additions to one of my new favorite lines - Noteworthy.Here's some beautiful new papers from Prima. Here's some gorgeous looking papers from a NEW company called Pink Paislee with two debut collections - Spring Fling & Office Lingo. ...

My little & big list... 2008-02-03 10:52:00 Ali Edwards has been a great inspiration to me this past year. She recently started a project on her blog called Weekend Creative and her assignment this week seemed like a lot of fun. So, here's my little & big list for 2007 and following her lead, there is one item for each year of my age.1. Was greatly inspired by Ali Edwards!2. Photographed a flower.3. Learned how to spot color in Photoshop.4. Attended my first parent-teacher conference.5. Had scrapbook layouts published for the 1st time - three by Memory Makers magazine, 1 by Simple Scrapbooks.6. Revisited the Tulip Festival with my 5-year-old daughter. I was 5 years old the last time I was there.7. Went on a horse drawn trolley ride. 8. Watched my daughter graduate from preschool.9. Observed the power of a tornado...a little too close to home.10. Visited Ponca State Park.11. Had a layout featured in Becky Fleck's PageMaps Newsletter.12. Lead my team, Company E, to the #1 spot during YBA week!!13. I got a promotion - Assista ... Amp

Exciting news... 2008-02-01 09:54:00 for me!! I am one of the newest members of the International Scrapbooking Association's VIP Team! at iSCRAP.net. I am so excited about this! My name was just added to the list late last night, so I will be working on getting the information for my page ready so they can link it up soon, but just had to share the news right away!!I have the day off (no school for Kaitlin today) so hopefully can get that and also some scrapping done today!About ISA:The International Scrapbooking Association (ISA) is the worlds largest and most diverse scrapbooking organization in the world. They are a global resource for all aspects of the industry. With representatives from all across the globe, they bring and promote scrapbooking world wide. With excellent customer service, vast resources and advanced technology they can help you as a scrapbooker bring your work to life and show it to the world.The ISA was originally founded in 2003 as the National Scrapbooking Association (NSA) based in Houston Texas ...

Trip down memory lane... 2008-01-30 18:10:00 I'm not sure how it started, but last night at the dinner table we started down memory lane and were talking about all the cute little things that Kaitlin used to do......like scooting across the floor so that she could make music with the spring door stopper...and then when she was a little bigger she used to crawl into the space beneath the TV in our entertainment center and 'peak' at anyone willing to pay attention to her (see blast-from-my-scrapbooking-past layout below... (This is a rare peak at my very first scrapbook - created in 2002. Most scrappers have heard of 'sticker sneeze'. Well, this is an example of one of my early, and highly innovative, scrapbooking techniques called 'photo sneeze'...how things have changed!)...and then when she starting talking, the first thing she said was 'mama' (which referred to both Mommy & Daddy until she was about eighteen months old - didn't make Daddy happy, by the way) ...and then her speech got much better, but had a little ...

CHA Winter 2008 sneak peaks... 2008-01-29 20:58:00 I've been watching the sneak peaks that many of the manufacturers have been posting in the last couple of week in preparation for the CHA Winter 2008 show coming up February 10-13.I have to say, there doesn't seem to be quite as much that I am just 'oohing and ahhing' over this time around...which is probably good because I certainly still have plenty in my stash left to use anyway.Then, I saw Karen Russell's sneak peak post this morning and that was all over!If you like this...you should check out her post - there is even more to this beautiful new line of additions to her Narratives collections. ...

A layout and a little shelf cleaning... 2008-01-27 17:23:00 A LAYOUT:Here's a layout I finished recently with pictures from our late summer trip to Omaha last year.LAYOUT TITLE: {heartland of America park} Supplies:Cardstock: BazzillPatterned Paper: American CraftsLetter Stickers: Mrs. Elizabeth’sPen: SakuraCorner Rounder: MarvyAdhesive: DuckComments & Techniques:The striped patterned paper mimic the rainbow in the main picture and also create a visual triangle on the page.SOME SHELF CLEANING:There are definitely pros and cons to having a limited scrapbook space...a pro is that I have to go through my stuff periodically and purge so I don't overflow...a con is that I have to go through my stuff periodically and purge! :-)This weekend it was my bookshelf...it was overflowing! If you're interested in a bunch of great inspiration at a low price, check out the scrapbooking book and special issue magazines I posted today in my eBay store. ...

I'm 83% wired... 2008-01-25 19:45:00 for creativity, that is!!83% How 'bout you? Take the quiz...leave a comment with your percentage (or a link to the blog post with your results). ...

A little wisdom from John Lubbock... 2008-01-24 18:52:00 Here's a recent favorite quote:"The important thing is not so much that every child should be taught, as that every child should be given the wish to learn."— John LubbockI love quotes...if you do too, you might want to sign up for these:Real Simple's Daily ThoughtThe Foundation for a Better Life Daily QuoteMy Daily Insights ...

Good reads and great mail... 2008-01-23 18:37:00 GOOD READS:I'm not reading as much as I used to these days (other than scrapbooking mags and idea books, that is), but when I read Mary Lawson's Crow Lake last year I knew I had found a writer I loved. If you'd like, you can see what I had to say about that book here. It was her first book, so had to wait for a second.The Other Side of the Bridge was published late last August, but I just purchased it recently and finished it just the other night. It is similar to her first book in a couple ways. It is again set in Canada and also weaves together two time periods through its main characters.This book follows brothers Arthur and Jake in the 1930's and Ian in the late-50's, early 60's and it is amazing how she entwines the plots of these character together without becoming confusing or giving away too much/too little of the final outcome in the process. I am a sucker for good historical fiction and Mary Lawson can write it!I hope another book comes sooner...there was a five year ga ...

REVIEW: The Organized & Inspired Scrapbooker by Wendy Smedley & Aby Garvey 2008-01-21 20:30:00 The Organized & Inspired Scrapbooker by Wendy Smedley and Aby Garvey is certainly a different kind of idea book with an entirely different type of eye candy.Usually the books I read and review here in relation to scrapbooking involve a plethora of product, design, theme, color and/or journaling ideas in relation to the creation of scrapbook layouts. This book has none of those...at least not in the same context.It certainly does have product, theme, color and more, but it the context of the 'space' in which one scraps. The eye candy in this book are scrapbooking spaces and storage solutions themselves!Wendy and Aby divided the book into three sections. The first section deals with discovering your 'process' which, in turn, helps you discover the organization of space and supplies that will help you to be as efficient as possible in your crafting endeavours. It includes the following chapters:1 - Getting Organized2 - Getting Inspired3 - Approach4 - Photos5 - Memorabilia6 - Stori ... Amp

Oh, sweet nibblets! 2008-01-19 09:32:00 My little girl is definitely growing up!The days of Clifford, Arthur, Dragon Tales, and even George being the 'go-to' favorite shows have past. Sorry PBS. Kaitlin has moved on.She has moved on to Disney and Nickelodeon to the likes of Suite Life of Zach & Cody, Drake & Josh and Hannah Montana...especially Hannah Montana! These aren't even cartoons!! They're 'big kid' shows...and she LOVES them!Even her vocabulary has changed.Almost everything these days is 'AWESOME' or 'SWEET'!And over the past few days, I've noticed a new phrase has made it's way into her everyday conversations. To illustrate:I might be worried about this insurgence of 'big kid' pop culture in my 5-year-old daughter, if it wasn't just so darn cute when she says it. ...

The plague of the false alarms… 2008-01-17 19:04:00 My husband has to be to work by 6 a.m. He is not, nor never has been, a morning person. And he sleeps like the dead. So, every morning his cell phone alarm goes off at about 5 a.m. He has no real intention of getting up at that time as he pretty much just throws on some cloths, brushes his teeth and leaves, but this early alarm is supposed to help him ‘start to wake up’.It doesn’t work. He sleeps right through it, but it always wakes me up, so it usually involves me having to shake him awake to ask him to shut it off.This morning’s ‘false alarm’ routine was a little different than usual, so thought I would share.This morning it woke up Kaitlin who, luckily, usually sleeps right through it all. (If only I could be so lucky.) She came in our bedroom before I had mustered the energy to shake Justin away.“Daaaad! You phone is ringing and it’s really loud.”To which he mumbled something and shifted.“Daaaadddd!”A gruff and faint, “Hmmm…”“Dad, shut that thing off! ...

Busy times and fun stuff in the mailbox... 2008-01-16 18:02:00 This past week has sure been a busy one at work and home.Our new semester started this Monday, so the week leading up to and following a start of a semester are always a bit of a whirlwind with last minute preparations with students. It sure keeps things interesting though.Last Friday my friend Julie hosted a MemoryWorks party at her house and it went VERY well! She earned $45 in free product through her sales, plus a $10 hostess gift. It was a great party, too! A great way to relax after a long week.Saturday was a marathon laundry day and Kaitlin had play practice from 3-7 p.m. That's a long time for a 5-year-old, but she seemed pretty happy about it when I picked her up. We'll see what she thinks of it after two months of practices...Sunday Kaitlin and I headed to Sioux Falls for a bridal show with my mom and sister. She got some great ideas for a few of the things she has left to plan like her cake, programs and invitations. We also fit in a trip to Michael's for some scrapbook s ...