This is my second post today, please scroll down for JBelle's Tuesday Sketch Challenge

Today is Micheal Jackson's memorial here in Los Angeles. It's being broadcast live from Staples Center and I've been watching it since it started this morning. It's hard not to feel the sadness of losing such a talented singer and performer.
Micheal Jackson was bigger than life. Some of my best teenage memories were dancing to his music with my best friend Tiffany Selby in her amazing dance room. Thriller booming from the ceiling speakers and two girls sweating their pants off learning the choreography from the video.
Summer time trips to Santa Barbara with Smooth Criminal playing in my Sony Walkman {yes long before Ipods} I loved Micheal Jackson's music. It made me dance, smile and feel good about myself.
Micheal tried to share himself with us thru his music. He tryed to let the world in by writing Have you seen my childhood? He tried to explain Neverland and his eccentrics in this song about himself and asked us one thing...
Before you judge me, try hard to love me,
Look within your heart then ask,
Have you seen my Childhood?

Micheal wanted to heal the world with his music. The songs he sang were moving and powerful. He wrote this in Man in the Mirror...

As I turned up the collar on
A favorite winter coat
This wind is blowin' my mind
I see the kids in the street
With not enough to eat
Who am I to be blind
Pretending not to see their needs

Remember Micheal for his music, his love and the kindness he showed so many.

Jacksonbelle Tuesday Challenge!

Ready for a challenge? Pull out your scrappy stuff and join us for this week's sketch challenge at the Jacksonbelle Embellishments. You can win some fabulous goodies from the store for joining the fun!
Simply create a card based on this week's sketch and link us your creation by leaving a comment on this post here.
Here's this week's sketch


For my take I chose to turn my card into a birthday invite using the It's a Party stamp set by Lizzie Ann Designs. I wanted to personalize this year's invite for family and friends so I decided to include a photo of the birthday girl.

Supplies: Lemonade 6x6 paper pad Basic Grey, Martha Stewart Scallop Dot edge punch, Dress it Up buttons, organdy green ribbon, stickers Doodle Bug Designs.

Now this just in! You can get your hands on the new Basic Grey Lemonade and Junebug lines rightnow, Pre-Order the new Martha Stewart punches {yummy!} and see the new Stampavie stamps here!

Be sure and check out the other super talented Design Team member's blogs to see their takes on this week's fabulous sketch!

Kristine Breach ~ Ink Something

Tobi Crawford ~ Tobi’s Place

Dawn Easton ~ Treasure Oiler Designz

Stephanie Hargis ~ Steph’s Stampin’ Stuff

Mitzi Koons ~ Stamps Jubilee

Loretta Lock ~ Love to Create

Jimmi Mayo ~ Stamping & Shopping

Bethany Paull ~ It’s Not All Black & White

Michelle Philippi ~ Inside My Own Private Idaho

Carly Robertson ~ Paper in Bloom

Lynda Benden: Stamp Act

Melissa Bove: Keepsakes By Melissa

Jennifer Buck: The Buck Stamps Here

Jill Dunn: Ink Genious

AJ Otto: The Willow Garden

Heather Lee-Reppen: Ink on my Ear

Lindsey Botkin: Embellished

Don’t forget that ALL COSMO CRICKET is on sale 25% off til the 12th!

Home Sweet Home

I'm HOME!!!! I had a great time visiting my parents in Arkansas. It was really hard leaving my mom. She's really my best friend and her living so far away has been so hard the past year and a half or so. I really miss her.
My parents have a beautiful home and lots of land for the dogs to roam around on and my dad is busy building her a great craft room to boot! I am happy that my parents have a nice life in Arkansas even if it is so far from CA.
I have to share this photo. It's my dad "grillin in the rain" on the 4th. Love this! Good times and good burgers Dad!


So I wanted to share with you the great sale Jacksonbelle Embellishments has going on now thru July 12th!

Woot Woot who doesn't love Cosmo Cricket? Click here for all the Cosmo goodies in the store on sale.
A huge congrats to all the girlies that made the first cut for the DT positions today on the Cosmo Cricket blog! A special Toot Toot for you friend {wink} miss ~H
Thanks for stopping by!

Hip Hop Hangover and my 2 Sktches 4 You challenge card

Hey it's Friday! Although we are enjoying our visit with mom and dad I am ready to go back home. I miss my hubby, I miss my own bed and I miss my scrap space! The time we've been here has gone by pretty fast. We'll be heading home Sunday.
Yesterday's Hip Hop was so much fun! It was great seeing my artwork included in the hop and I really appreciate all the sweet comments everybody left for me here. Wow I can hardly believe that I had over 30!
Today I want to share the card I made using the pocket and sentiment from the July KOTM from Unity for the 2 Sketches 4 You challenge.
Here's Laura's sketch


And my take using the pocket and sentiment from July's KOTM from Unity. The flowers are from the Bevy of Butterflies set. Love it!


I used strips of paper and folded them and attached the flowers with a glue dot to make the flowers 3D. I also folded a piece of scrap paper inside the pocket to make it appear full.

Next is my card for the challenge yesterday using the color yellow.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you have a fantastic 4th of July weekend what ever your plans are. Don't forget to take lots of pictures to scrap!

Hip Hop!

Hip Hop Hello! I am SO excited to be this month's scrapbooker Guest Designer for Unity! Be sure and start at Angela's blog here so you don't miss a single display of the July Kit of the Month from the fabulously talented Unity Design Team.

I could not wait to play with those cloud stamps and immediately envisioned a layout with Prima Say it In Crystals.

I took these pics of the kids last week. Scott was playing Star Wars Lego on my Mom's Nintendo DS and Lily was completely into the game as well. Too cute. I used the sun journaling stamp to write a little about the photos so the kids will be able to look back and remember our trip.

Excuse the non cropped picture of my layout. I am visiting my parents in Arkansas til this Sunday and frankly I don't have a backyard in Los Angeles. I just love all the trees and green lush grass around my Mom and Dad's place.

Here's a close up of my clouds I stickled. Who doesn't love Stickles! I had lot's of fun creating this layout!

Now head on over to the super sweet ~Laura~ to see what she has for you today!

Happy News!!!

It's July 1st and if you're a KOTM subscriber at Unity Stamp Co. then you know it's the July kit reveal! Here's this month's fab kit from Unity, a pocket full of...

I finally gave in to my rubber addiction last month and picked up my first Unity KOTM. Swoon, I loved every single rubber cling image and the Bevy of Butterflies kit I got for free just for signing up!

So if you've been on the fence here's a deal worth signing up for. For the month of July if you sign up for the KOTM you'll get this

CUTE! I can see a whole lot of layering being done with this set! If you're interested in signing up click here for the deets.

I also want to mention that Jen Buck has created a fabulous sketch for the Unity Guest Designer Sketch Challenge. If you're interested in being a Guest Designer for Unity then click here to get all the deets!
Now pop on over to the Unity Design Team girls who've posted their take on Jen's sketch.

Christi Snow
Jeanne Streiff
AJ Otto
Amber Height
Julie Campbell
Kimber McGray
Maren Benedict
Lisa Henke

Be sure and come back and visit my blog tmr! My happy news is I'm the scrapbooking Guest Designer at Unity the entire month of JULY!!!!

I'll be posting my layout I created using the July kit for the Hip Hop! I was doin the Happy Dance when I was asked and I am so honored to be designing alongside of this amazingly talented Design Team Angela has hand picked.

Here's a sneak for you

Hope you're having a great day. Thanks for stopping by!

Sketch challenge up at the Jacksonbelle blog

Tuesday's are challenge days on the Jacksonbelle Embellishments blog and all this month Jacksonbelle's had a new sketch challenge posted each week on the blog. Here's today's sketch...


I'd love to see your take on the sketch. I'll be working on mine later today since we are heading into Ft. Smith for a little scrappy shopping today.
Upload your cards to the Splitcoast Stampers gallery and tag them JBE060.
Hop by the DT Member's blogs to see their takes on the sketch and don't forget to leave them some love...

AJ Otto
Heather Lee-Reppen
Jennifer Buck
Jill Dunn
Lindsey Botkin
Lynda Benden
Maren Benedict
Melissa Bove
Michelle Woerner
Shannan Teubner
Kimberly O’Rosky
Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Page Maps Sketch Contest

I can't believe that we've already been here 6 days so far. I've been keeping busy with card making and decided to do Becky's My Little Shoebox sketch challenge at her Page Maps Blog. I picked up some Chatterbox papers when mom and I went to the Hobby Lobby the other day and I brought along my Unity Bevy of Butterflies set and inked them up for this challenge.

Here's Becky's Sketch for the contest at the Pagemaps Blog.

And here's my take. I'm a little out of my element scrapping away from home. I realize how functional my studio really is at home and how much I really love that everything has it's place. I kept going into my mom's craft room looking for this and that and the layout took me quite a long time to finish. I also miss my kitchen wall where I get fabulous direct light for photographing my artwork. I had to use the front porch here are moms but it worked.

It sure is hot and humid here but last night it cooled down enough for us to go out back and see the fireflies dancing in the trees. What a sight! I always thought they were a urban legend or something. I mean living in Los Angeles the closest I've ever gotten to seeing fireflies on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland! I know you can laugh I am too...

Thanks for stopping by!

Some Sunday News from Arkansas...

I'm still adjusting to this time change and woke up early this morning, approx. 5 a.m. California time. It's already hot here and there's a chance of thunder storms later today. Not sure what we are getting into but I've been making lots of cards while I've been here. I gave them all to my mom so she'll have a nice stash of cards ready for birthdays and whatevers.
I made this card for the sketch challenge posted at Jacksonbelle Embellishments Blog. Every Tuesday is a new challenge so stop by and check it out.
I love this Hello Sunshine paper pad by Cosmo Cricket that my good friend Heidi gave me. I have a habit of looking at patterned paper and seeing what elements I can cut out and pop into a 3D effect on my cards and projects. If you'd like to pick up this fabulous collection it's avail here in the Jacksonbelle store.

I could hardly believe it when I got the email from Lynda that I'd made the JBelle Design Team!!! I am SO excited to be crafting along side such an amazing group of talented ladies! Here they are!

Kristine Breach ~ Ink Something
Tobi Crawford ~ Tobi’s Place
Dawn Easton ~ Treasure Oiler Designz
Stephanie Hargis ~ Steph’s Stampin’ Stuff
Mitzi Koons ~ Stamps Jubilee
Loretta Lock ~ Love to Create
Jimmi Mayo ~ Stamping & Shopping
Bethany Paull ~ It’s Not All Black & White
Michelle Phillipi ~ Inside My Own Private Idaho
Carly Robertson ~ Paper in Bloom
Shemaine Smith ~ Scraptastic
Current Team:
Lynda Benden: Stamp Act
Melissa Bove: Keepsakes By Melissa
Jennifer Buck: The Buck Stamps Here
Jill Dunn: Ink Genious
AJ Otto: The Willow Garden
Heather Lee-Reppen: Ink on my Ear
There are some familiar names and a whole lot of new ones and I can't wait to get to know these ladies better! Congratulations to the other girls that were chosen and the returning Design Team members too!

Now for some Shout Out fun! Check this out!!

New Cuttlebug folders and a chance to win some free? Yowwwwie!!! Join the fun and get the deets here!

That's my Sunday news. I hope you enjoy your day and make something crafty! Thanks for stopping by!

Never heard of Cosmo Cricket {gasp!}

I'm here in Lamar Arkansas visiting my parents for two weeks and believe it or not my mom has a local scrapbook store 10 mins from her house. Memories by Design is the name of the little store and Mom and I went in to pick up some scrappy supplies the other day and as I was browsing the store I asked the salesgirl who looked to be in her 20's if she had any of the new Cosmo Cricket patterned papers. She looked at me blankly and then replied "yes we have the Cricut" I promise I didn't laugh when she said that because I was raised to be polite always and I said "no, I meant Cosmo Cricket patterned papers and chipboard accents" She still had a blank look on her face and said "I've never heard of it"
Never heard of Cosmo Cricket? Is that really possible? I guess being from the big city I tend to take some things for granted.
Here's a review of a few things I've made with the lines I have been able to pick up online and from my local Scrapbook Store Sonja's Scrap Spot.

A card I made for the Page Maps July 2009 using the Early Bird line.

I created this card based on Kazan's sketch from 2 Sketches 4 You this week. It's down to the Top 10 in the Ultimate Card Challenge. Wonder who'll win?

Another Early Bird line card with sentiment by Unity Stamp Co.

A layout with the girl Friday line. I love this pic of Lily, my mom knitted us matching caps and scarves.

And this layout taken the day I came home from the hospital with Lily. She was so beautiful. After having a son for 11 years, my dream of having a daughter finally came true...

A simple card for a friend

This one's with my new set Bevy of Butterflies by Unity Stamp Co.

And last but not least, this cute little card I made Thursday with a little friend from Unity's Jolly Little Winter set.

Hope you are having a fantastic Saturday! Thanks for stopping by...

Paper Posies July Reveal!!

Good Ol' Blogger has been giving us all quite a time with scheduling posts the past two weeks...I scheduled this post to go live yesterday morning with the July Kit Reveal over at Paper Posies. It didn't happen so here we go...

I am so excited to be a part of the Paper Posies Design Team! The July kit was revealed yesterday at Paper Posies and you're gonna want to get your hands on this one. A favorite of mine so far, this kit is loaded with Chatterbox yummy~ness! I loved creating with this month's kit! The Design Team Gallery is loaded with inspiration from our fabulous Team of talented ladies. You can check out the gallery here.
Here's what I came up with...

I used the Chaterbox patterned paper and felt embellies as well as the Jeni Bowlin Alpha Stickers and added a few Scrabble tiles of my own.

For this layout I kept it simple with the Jeni Bowlin alphas again and used the Chips from our March Kit. I love these pictures of my daughter and her favorite monkey friend.

For this layout I used the felt embellies from Chatterbox and the patterned paper. Some misc buttons, bling and American Crafts Thickers

Here's what I created with this month's mini project, a cute butterfly photo holder that comes in bare wood that you assemble and can paint or cover with paper. I painted mine with crackle paint from Ranger Inks and then embellished it with the velvet Chatterbox paper that comes in our kit. The sentiment is a stamp from Unity Stamp Co., the button flower is from Sassafras and some bling from Hero Arts.

I really love the mini projects Michele includes in each Paper Posies kit.

Thanks for stopping by to check out my artwork today with this month's fabulous kit!

Hip Hop Hangover...

Good morning from Lamar Arkansas! We got here safely although we had a little hiccup in Dallas with the SkyRail being down. Have you ever seen how big that airport is? Well we had to walk from the last gates in C terminal to the last gate in B terminal...it took us almost an hour. It was a good thing our flight got in at 1:30 and our connecting flight didn't leave til 3:05. We did make the flight to Arkansas.

Here's the downpour we arrived to. Notice Scott runnin for cover LOL...

It was completely dry when we got off the plane and within the time we walked out of the terminal to the parking lot where my dad was parked it was pouring buckets of rain...

There was thunder and lightening too. Oh and did I mentioned it was about a 100 degrees as well? Guess I need to appreciate living at the beach more.

Yesterday's Hip Hop was fun as always. Here are a couple of my challenge cards.

For this card I used October Afternoon paper and the June KOTM from Unity

For this card I used Cosmo Cricket and this cute penguin set from Unity. Not the best picures but I'm not at home.

Unity has a new Christmas release that was adorable! You can see it here. And as always there are some HOT deals over at Unity here.

Last night my mom took Lily outside after it cooled down a bit and she was

watering the dog. Totally cute!

Well today we are off to the Hobby Lobby and then we're all going swimming this afternoon. Perfect way to spend a summer day...

I hope you have an awesome Friday whatever you are up to and thanks as always for stopping by...

All good things must come to an end...

Yes it's been a great ride and tons of fun but sadly I say goodbye to Scrapping Out Loud as a DT Member today. I've really enjoyed being a part of this amazing team and I wanted to thank Jessica, Melissa and Denise for giving me this awesome opportunity. Scrapping Out Loud is really growing with the new message board and an exciting new Design Team.

It's been great designing alongside of Helen, Pat, Deanne, Lydia, and Lisa! I wish everyone all the best and a special thank you to all the gals that have played along week after week that have stopped by my blog and left sweet comments!

Ok, finally this week's challenge!

Alter Ego! Do you think that you have an alter ego? If so share her/him with us Let us know how different and what you have in common.

Well I have to admit this challenge was a struggle for me. I didn't think I really had an alter ego and I just didn't have any idea what to scrap and then it hit me...

I love romantic movies and walks on the beach at sunset. I love putting love notes in my hubby's lunchbox telling him how special he is and how much I love him. I love holding hands when we go out and the sweet little way he kisses my neck. I love that he either holds me or my hand as we drift off to sleep every night.

So I think my alter ego is a hopeless romantic!

I used Cosmo Cricket for this layout. I {heart} everything they come out with!!! I loved the cola spinner card and it was perfect for this layout! Currently I'm wild about that lil toaster in the Early Bird line! I also used Core'dinations Cardstock and embossed it with my Cuttlebug to bring out the green core.

My journaling: We were married on this beach at sunset, so I guess you could say my alter ego is a hopeless romantic!

Now I'm off to LAX to get on a plane to Arkansas to visit my family til July 5th! I'll be bloggin on the road and creating artwork with my Mom! I'm really looking forward to that. I can't wait to tell her about all the amazing & creative places I've found inspiration at online.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Happy Father's Day!

I hope you enjoyed Father's Day with the special Dad's in your lives. We had a nice lunch today at Chili's with my husband's family and I'll be seeing my own Dad on Tuesday when the kids and I travel to Arkansas. I can hardly believe the summer has started and Scott is finally out of school.

I snapped quite a few pics of the Birthday party yesterday. Here's a few on my faves.

Lily figuring out the party favors

Lily and sweet Brooke, the birthday girl.

Party giggles!

Lily scooping the pinata loot

Hannah, the birthday girls baby sister scoopin her loot!

For Father's Day we had a family lunch at Chili's with Mat's family. Here's some pics

I love her in Purple. This dress and hat was given to Lily by our friends the Loves.

Daddy and daughter.

Fun times for sure but I do miss my own family being around on special days too. I've got the greatest Dad ever and I can't wait to see him Tuesday. My fondest memory of my Dad growing up was trips to the store. My brother and sister and I would fight over who got to sit in the front seat of course and off the the store we'd go with dad. He always let us get a treat, mine was a box of good n plenty's {still my favorite candy today} I remember a box cost a quarter. We'd all be busy on the car ride home sharing our treats with each other.

Thanks for the candy Dad! I love you! Happy Father's Day and see you soon!!!

A few Happy Birthdays!

I love Saturdays! It's a great day for birthday parties and celebrations! We're getting ready to head out to the valley this morning for my friend Roxy's daughter Brooke's 6th birthday!!
Today is also my good friend Heidi's son Bradley's 6th Birthday too!!! I hear he's getting a super special surprise today and I can't wait to hear all about it.

Here's the card I made for my Brookie, she's such a sweet little girl. I used a Sassafras mini stack I got from the CK Convention and one of my new stamps from Unity's May KOTM. I also used this week's sketch at CPS


Bradley's card is currently under construction on my table {wink}.
I hope you all have a fantastic Saturday whatever you're celebrating!

Hip Hop Hangover fun...

Hey it's Friday!! A little dreary over here in California this morning but I'm in a sunny mood. Hip Hop was fun times as always and the Hangover begins now with some artwork I created for yesterday's Hip Hop.
Swing on by Unity for a sweet discount on some Fab Stamps! Read all the deets here

Like I said, fun times! I love using Unity to create cards for friends and family. My weekend is gonna be a busy one. My friend's daughter Brooke is celebrating her birthday tomorrow and I have to get ready to leave Tuesday to visit my parents back East with the kids.

Whatever you do this weekend, Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by!