I'm finally starting to feel better! Yesterday I scrapped this layout about our family walks.

In the evenings for the past two weeks my family has been taking walks before dinner. My husband and I really need to get back in shape so we thought this would be a good way to help. My son likes to ride his bike and miss Lily is thrilled to sip on her sippy cup and take in the sights of our neighborhood. It's a great time for Mat and I to really be able to talk to one another which is nice. I think Lily and i enjoy it the most since we are both indoors most of the day when Cayden is here. I love flowers but i won't let my hubby waste the money on buying me them so I snapped these picks while on our walk.

This is a neat part of the walk. It's a tunnel of tree and actually pretty thick too.

Scott loves this house because of the shrubs cut in the shapes of animals. Can you tell what animals are here?

Time to get off the computer and get a few things done today. Thanks for stopping by!

New Challenge at Scrapping out Loud

Happy Tuesday! I feel like time is just flying by these days. I can hardly believe school will be out for the summer soon. I definitely look forward to spending summer days at the park with the kids and on the beach.

This week's challenge at Scrapping Out Loud is the scrap a page inspired by this Chinese Proverb "Tell me and I'll forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I'll understand."

For this challenge I chose to scrap this layout about my son and his cousin Gavin. My son gets aggravated with his cousin a lot because he's got a lot of energy and is not always a good listener. We explain to Scott that Gavin is much younger and that it's Scott's responsibility to set an example for Gavin. While hunting Easter eggs this year Scott did just that and Gavin turned to give Scott a hug for being such a great cousin and I snapped this pic of the two of them.

Congrats to April's winners of our scrappy RAK Mica & Marit!! Hope you enjoy your scrappy prizes.

This month's sponsor is Scrapdango! If you wanna learn how you can get your hands on some scrappy goodies come on over and visit us at Scrapping Out Loud

2 Sketches 4 You Challenge

It's Monday and time for another fabulous challenge at 2S4Y! This week's sketch is by Laura and since Mother's Day is Sunday I better get some cards ready! Here's the sketch

And my take using paper by Core'dinations and K& Company. Prima flowers, Hero Arts bling and misc ribbon.

The new 2S4Y Design Team was also announced for the summer today. I created these cards for the call

Although I wasn't chosen for the team the ladies that were are super talented and their submissions were amazing! I look forward to a summer of great sketches and inspiration! Stop by and look at their submissions here

It's another amazing evening here in So Cal so the family is headed out for a walk. Good Times!

Have a great evening!

Anniversary weekend round up! Warning it's a long blog post!

It's a beautiful morning here in Los Angeles today. I love when the ocean breeze blows thru my window in the morning and onto my face to wake me. This post is gonna be a bit long but I've got so much to share. So I'll start with...

Happy Anniversary Babe!!!!

My sweet husband, although we've only been married 2 years, we've been loving and supporting one another for over 5. I knew the first time I met you, you were the one. Your beautiful green eyes stole my heart and your sense of humor sealed the deal. I love you with all my heart and I'm so glad you are my man.

Saturday I had an amazing National Scrapbook Day in Del Mar. I haven't been back to the fairgrounds since I moved away from San Diego in 1994. I used to go to the horse races there with friends and it was always good times. Heidi and I were able to get in on Kelly Goree's Basic Grey Gal Pals mini book class. So fun!

Here's Kelly

Ahh Good Times! I got back to L.A. with Heidi and we made a stop at Michaels to pick up a frame for DH's Anniversary gift. I framed his autographed Fedor poster from the MMA fight he went to last year.

We went out to celebrate our Anniversary at Bubba Gump's in Santa Monica on the pier. I love going there since it's a really fun returaunt. Here's a few fun pics

And miss Lily being shy...the couple next to us said hello to her and she buried her face in her hands. It was the funniest thing.

Mathew and I exchanged our gifts before we went into the resturaunt. I must say he completely suprised me with Coldplay tickets in July. I had a feeling he was up to something but I had no idea what exactly it was. My reaction was priceless and it's a good thing we were in the car.

After dinner we walked around on the pier and went home to relax the rest of the evening.

After waking up today knowing how gorgeous the day was going to be I tryed to get some things finished around the house here and fit in some scrapping. After being sick for 3 days I was ready to work on some projects and I got a layout done I had been struggling with all week.

In the evening we headed to Manhatten Beach to take a walk and grab a bite to eat. I love that we live 10 mins from heaven. We usually walk the path along the sand and decided to take the pedestrian path near the beach houses instead.

this was the scene when we arrived at the beach

Here's the path we took our walk on

Manhatten Beach Pier

My dream house...Can you believe this place!

It took my breath away!

We stopped and sat down to watch the sunset.

Amazing...

This was the best weekend I've had in a long time. I love my friends. I love my family. Most of all I love my sweet and amazing husband. Coldplay! WOO HOO!!!!

Come join the fun!!! Paper Posies 4th Anniversary Party starts today!!!

It's May 1st and time to kick off Paper Posies 4th Anniversary Party! Come on over and join the fun here

Games, chats and contests are just a few ways we'll be celebrating! See you there!

Here's a couple of layouts I created for a DT call that I wanted to share, although I didn't make the team I'm so happy to have created some great layouts that I'm sure my daughter will adore when she's older.

For both these layouts I used Core'dinations card stock that I embossed and sanded to bring out the core. I also used paper by GCD, Jenni Bowlin, Webster's. I also used the Home Accents cartridge to cut the leaves and titles.

Tomorrow I am headed to Del Mar for the Scrapbook Expo with my scrappy friend Heidi and I'm really looking forward to getting into a class. I'll report back on how the Expo was.

Saturday evening I'll be celebrating my 2nd Wedding Anniversary with my sweet husband. i can't wait to see what he got me cause he's been up to something...

Have a fantastic weekend!!!

2 Sketches 4 You Challenge and Bonus Sketch

Happy hump day! The weather in So Cal is perfect which is why I love living near the beach. it's much cooler than the valley. It's been gorgeous with a slight breeze in the evenings. My husband and I are trying to get back in shape by taking the family on evening walks before dinner. Lily chats the whole way from her stroller and my son enjoys the family time as well. I personally love the breeze on my face and spending time with my family.

Today I found the time in between 2 loads of laundry and cleaning my kitchen to scrap up my two entries for this week's challenge over at 2 Sketches 4 You

First is Kazan's sketch

I loved this sketch! It's perfect for a boy birthday card which was my take this week:

I love it when they give a bonus sketch, gimme more inspiration! This week's sketch is by Savitri

For this sketch I created a Happy Birthday card

Finally I was able to complete Monday's Challenge for Unity's 1st Anniversary Party challenge posted by Jen Buck. It was a color challenge and I used one of my free stamps from my last order. I thought the little basket of apples was really cute.

I just love that Sassafras paper! Thanks for stopping by and have a scrappy day!!

New Challenge and Design Team Call

Good Tuesday morning!!! I hope you all escaped Monday unharmed {snicker} So it's reveal day at Scrapping Out Loud! This week's challenge is Color shy! - Use as your main color of your pg. a color you normally avoid like the plague.


Well I am so NOT into Orange or Yellow so this is what I came up with thanks to a little help from Sassafras and my kit of the month from Little Red Scrapbook.

So now onto the Design Team call. Our 6 month terms are coming to an end in June and Scrapping Out Loud is looking for a few good scrappers! You can read about the details over here. Jessica, Melissa & Denise are the sweetest gals and I have really enjoyed being part of Scrapping Out Loud's first DT!! Don't forget to join in the fun in June as I will be hosting June's RAK up for grabs and it's going to be a good one so stay tuned...

just a little more joy

Ohhh in all the baby news I forgot that my artwork for Paper Posies went live on the site yesterday!!! I'm so excited to be Guest Designing this month cause the kit is simply fabulous!!! Check out all the designers artwork here

First a layout of my little Lily playing with her fairy wings and septor she got in her Easter basket.

I took this photo of Lily while she was resting on the lawn during our easter egg hunt.

And here's my altered project for this month. A cute linen notebook that I sprayed with Glimmer Mist I got from my local scrappy store Sonja's Scrap Spot. Then I used the Bo Bunny rub ons in the kit and added some letters and bling. Finally to make sure the rub ons didn't come off I coated the front and back of the book with glitter modge podge. Makes a great gift huh!

I'll be showing more of my creation with this month's kit this month and don't forget Friday is the big 4th Anniversay kick off!! We'll have contests, giveaways and challenges!! A few I'm hosting are a card challenge, scavenger hunt and step by step project tutorial. So stop on by Paper Posies and sign up so you'll be ready for the fun!

A Sunday Suprise

Good afternoon! I want to say sorry for not posting my tutorial yesterday we had an unexpected phone call in the early morning from my friend Dominique. She called to let us know her and Will were at the hospital to have their baby. She wasn't due until May but the baby was weighing close to 10 pounds. I kinda thought that the baby wouldn't come til Sunday and sure enough he arrived after midnight. Baby Love weighed in right at 9 lbs and was born early Sunday morning.

I'm headed out to see them this afternoon and will post my tutorial this evening.

Last night we had an online crop over at Little Red Scrapbook. It was a lot of fun and we all enjoyed the challenges that Sara posted. Here's a layout I created for the Die Cut challenge using the April kit.

A little Friday Fun! And a Sneak Peek!!!

Happy Friday, hope you're enjoying your end of the week! I've been pretty busy creating projects for my Guest Designer spot in May at Paper Posies this week and let me tell you how hard it is not to post them. May's kit is SO beautiful!!! Today you're in luck because ScrapClubs.com has a pic of the May kit NOW!!! Click here to enjoy! I can't wait to show you my artwork I created with this fun kit so stay tuned...

And don't forget, May is the 4th Anniversary of Paper Posies and we've got a month long party planned with challenges, games and GIVEAWAYS!!!!! So stop by May 1st to see what we'll have in store for you. You don't have to be a subscriber to play along, just sign up here for an account and join the forum.

In the process of uploading photos of my finished projects today, I was playing with Photobucket and created me as a cartoon! Ahhh Photobucket fun!

Yep I look pretty funny and PINK! But it's me and my new layered do that I really love! OK so onto something crafty~

So I watched a great video at the Hero Blog that Jennifer McGuire posted for this week's theme of "distress" here. I created this card based on her tutorial. I used the Heart Winged Butterfly to emboss resist on the tag. I have a serious ribbon addiction and when I saw this one at Michaels, i HAD to have it. Rightly so as it went perfect with my card!

Finally, here's a second card I created just using my distress tool to rough up the card stock and ink. The paper is My Mind's Eye. I also used the new little stamp set I got in my Hero winnings

earlier this week.

Stop by tomorrow for a quick and easy tip on making your own page pebbles that you can use to embellish cards and other scrappy projects...Have a GREAT weekend!

Hip Hop and the Earth Day Winner!!!

Good Morning everyone! It's Hip Hop at Unity and you know what that means, Free Stamps and FUN! So come on over to the Splitcoast forum for a little fun here! Also Angela has created a great new Place for Unity lovers, check it out here

Don't forget to stop by the Unity Blog for today's specials here

Ok I know, you want to know who won the stamp huh. Well using Random.org we had 15 entries by the midnight deadline and Random.org chose...

Chelsey said...
Love that stamp! We recycle everything that cannot be reused, but we also reuse just about everything. I save glass jars for craft projects and to store little items in. We have our own bags and our grocery store even gives extra points for bringing in your own. We also try to conserve with heat and AC as much as possible. We invested in tupperware and lunch bags so that we dont have to use a lot of bags. I like Callie's idea with the rain barrel - I have looked around for them, but cant find them under $100. Happy Earth Day!
April 22, 2009 10:48 AM

WooHoo Chelsey! Congratulations! Pls email me @Shemainesmith@yahoo.com with your address please.

I hope you have a fabulous Thursday!!

Happy Earth Day and a Giveaway!

Hey there peeps! Happy Earth day to all. Here's a little info about today:
Earth Day, celebrated April 22, is a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's environment. It was founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in in 1970 and is celebrated in many countries every year. This date is Spring in the Northern Hemisphere and Autumn in the Southern Hemisphere.
The United Nations celebrates an Earth Day each year on the March equinox, which is often March 20, a tradition which was founded by peace activist John McConnell in 1969.

I never considered myself a green person but over the last year I've been trying to be more aware of what I can do to support the cause. Here's a list of things I've been doing to GO GREEN
1. I break down all cardboard from our home and recycle it ie: cereal boxes, fiber one bars etc that I used to just throw in the trash.

2. I re-use packaging to create cards and the plastic from Thickers for gift bags

3. I bought all green cleaning products

4. we recycle all cans and plastic and bottles and newspaper

5. we switched out light bulbs to energy savers

6. I bring my own shopping bags everywhere I go, thanks to my super huge bag from GCD I got at CHA I can now can carry all the vitamin waters in the house in one trip from the car. LOL

These are just a few things we're doing to be more green. I'd love to hear your going green tips so post them here until midnight pacific time and I'll draw a name tmr morning to win this fabulous stamp from Unity Stamp Co.



Now I challenge you to make a project today recycling something! Don't forget to leave a link so I can check it out!
Happy Earth Day!

2 Sketches 4 You Challenge + Bonus Sketch

WooHoo 2nd post today! isn't this fun!! Here's this week's challenge sketch by Laura at 2 Sketches 4 You I love the way she draws her sketches!

Here's my take

I used paper, rub on and brad by K & Company, ribbon by Basic Basic, my Cricut Home Accents cartridge, Martha Stewart Border Punch and Prima flowers.

Here's a bonus sketch by Ewonne Ek that I am currently working on

Here's my take on the sketch, I made this card for my friend Julie Adler's birthday. We're getting together tonight at Pink Taco in Century City to celebrate!! Woot Woot Mommy's nite out!

For this card I used Prima & My Minds Eye patterned paper. I used my Cuttlebug to emboss the My Minds Eye paper. The flower screen is from K & Company. Sentiment is by Hero Arts and I used a Martha Stewart butterfly punch, gottta love those 40 percent off coupons at Michaels! I also sprayed Glimmer Mist over the Sentiment.

Thanks for stopping by again, have a great day!

Reveal Tuesday

It's reveal Tuesday at Scrapping Out Loud and this week's challenge is really fun! This week we want you to get out those rulers and get measuring, because we want to see you use the grid technique to create a LO! Here's my take on this challenge. I divided my page in 4 large squares...

I can't seem to get Lily to pose for me these days. Getting a shot of her looking at the camera is near impossible which makes for a frusterated scrapbooker mommmy! Oh well, I decided to document it for when she enters her Diva phase all bets will surely be off and I'll be getting lots of shots!

It's hot hot hot in So Cal today and with no A/C the kids and I are running around in summer clothes.

What happened to April Showers bring May flowers?

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Happy Mail from Hero!

Ohhh what a day! I've scrapped 2 layouts so far and I was working on the third when there was a knock at the door. I wasn't expecting anyone so I was curious of course and waiting on my doorstep was a box from Hero Arts! I was so excited to open my box of goodies for winning the Blinkie contest during the Blogaversary I wanted to share how generous they were!

Thanks Hero Arts!

Sunday Blues...

Janene's Sponge technique challenge at Splitcoast Stampers
Stamp: Unity Stamp Co, Bling: Petaloo, Ribbon: American Crafts

It's a funny feeling of regret that comes every Sunday afternoon. I know tomorrow is the start of a new week and also so many possibilities but I can't help getting this feeling on Sundays. Maybe it's because Mat will begin yet another stressful week at work at his job and not be home with me all day. Or Maybe it's because I'll kiss my son goodbye and watch him ride off to school on his bike from our garage and then I am really alone. I really think I get the blues on Sunday because on the weekends I am surrounded by my family and their love and when Monday morning comes it's just me and the babies after all the Monday morning hustle and bustle. Maybe that's why I threw myself into my scrap booking after making the decision to stay home with my daughter and be here for my son everyday. I thought it would be so great, no more angry customers at the bank yelling at me and no more hour long drives downtown in bumper to bumper traffic to my office. I had no idea how lonely I would really be. Now it sounds absolutely absurd to say that because I am not alone. I have the babies to watch after all day but I am alone.
It's a strange transition from working mom to well at home working mom. Mine has been full of joy being here to see my daughter's milestones and enjoying those little moments I missed with Scott but it's also been a sorrow because over the months I've really lost my identity. I've lost the will to curl my hair and wear makeup. I've lost the excitement of getting dressed everyday and I've completely lost my figure. This is the hardest thing for me to admit. I'm am completely not my former self.


Now believe me when I say that I LOVE the mother I have grown into thru this experience but I don't recognize the woman I am now when I look in the mirror.


This morning I went to take off my wedding ring and I could not get it off my finger. It was a little loose when my husband placed it on my finger and said "I do" it was a wake up call for me although in recent weeks I've had MANY.


So this is my way of laying it all out here. Sorry for a non crafty post but today is a good day because I am looking at my life very clearly and owning up to it.


Now I just need to find the courage to change it.