oh, yeah, I have a blog...

I keep forgetting I have a blog. I think about it often, but then when I actually have to remember to go to blogspot.com and post an entry, I forget...even when I'm stalking other blogs ('stalking blogs' - a fittingly descriptive term I learned from my friend Stephanie's daughter, Lacie). I keep asking myself, "How could you be so forgetful?" I know it's because my mind is going a hundred different directions. That's always the excuse of women my age :) The real reason is because, "Sometimes there is a storm in my brain."

Today I got a fun wonderful package in the mail - one I've been anticipating for about two months. There's a cool lady named Sally Jean (I'm not sure if that's her name or if that's just her website name; I think the latter) who makes amazing collaged jewelry pendants and charms - her website is sallyjean.com. I've looked at her stuff for a year and in March I decided to order something. The pieces can be used on a chain for a necklace or as a cool charm bracelet. I spent an hour agonizing over which pendants to get, but I couldn't resist the one that had the word JOY and also the one that said,

"Sometimes there was a storm in her brain."

It makes me smile. I ordered them and paid by Paypal, then kind of forgot about the order because the website said to allow four to six weeks. Today it came, yippee. It was beautifully wrapped and a pleasure to open and see the real things I had ordered. And nice Sally Jean even added another charm for me because the order had taken so long. Here's my loot:

I got this charm because my little grandson Carter was just about to be born. I love anything with the word JOY, and it perfectly described my feelings as baby Carter arrived to Aaron and Aimee, healthy and beautiful. My new JOY pendant is even baby boy blue.

The phrase on this pendant just makes me laugh.

I love the bird and nest theme of this house charm.

This one, called Shopping Fairy, needs to be my next purchase. It's just so me!	No. 44 Shopping Fair

This is how a charm bracelet would look if I keep collecting these little gems. Which I won't because I'm already on to the next "shiny bright object" (as my nephew Derek would say). My next post will be about a great 'self-improvement' book I've been reading...well sometime soon.

Mother's Day mini-album I made

From Georgana's blog click here...is the Mother's Day album I made for the Mother's & Father's Day mini-catalog that we sent out in March. When there's a tight deadline and lots to get done, Georgana (my boss) sometimes asks me to do a project. I'm a pretty simple scapper, not elaborate or fussy. I probably can't call myself a beginner anymore, but my stuff looks like a beginner. Anyway I enjoyed making this album. The pages are made of chipboard - heavy cardboard - that I covered with Adorn It patterned paper. I love the group of papers I used - the Whoopsy Daisy link collection. It was fun for me to pick out just the pink, green and white papers to use. What made the album quick and easy was the already-made flower stickers that I embellished the album with. They're dimensional and cute as can be. Some have little rhinestones in the centers. The ribbon also adds a fun touch. Everything you see was designed right where I work, at the graphic designers' desks next to mine. Carolee, Tammy, Rachael - they're great. My job is to check their spelling when they put words on papers or quotes on stickers. Pretty fun, huh! The album is about 4" high by 8" long. The word "Mother" on the front is a seperate piece; it's laser cut chipboard that I covered with green sticker paper. The best thing is the photos....love every one.

Here's a fun project...

Following is a post from the blog of scrapper-extraordinaire Emilie Ahern click here She is not only a great scrapper, but a fabulous and talented writer, cute mama, and all-around wonderful person. I discovered all this just by reading her blog. (She always has fun music on her blog too.)

Since I love quotes, words, sentences, stories, proverbs, commas, parentheses and all things written, I love her simple project for making and embellishing a frame with a favorite quote. I am so going to make myself one of these - I've got enough supplies in my scrapping stash to make 100 and start a shop on Etsy. But I can't get distracted...

Now my only problem, and this is always my problem, is what quote to use. It's going to take me awhile to decide, but when I do I'll let you know. If you want to add to my frustration, or joy, really, tell me your favorite quote.

I might use a quote from a Kobi Yamada book. Thanks Emilie! (I just can't help this scraplifting habit.) Here's Emilie's post:

Happy NATIONAL SCRAPBOOKING DAY & a PRIZE

Woo Hoo!

In honor of this fabulous day I am going to give you an idea for a fun little project that can be finished in no time. And there's a PRIZE!

The project: Making a desktop "Happy Place". A small inexpensive acrylic frame embellished in some way so that when you look at it you feel happy. This can include a mantra, your favorite quote or pictures of your loved ones. Here's mine with my goal for this year...EAT healthy PRAY more LOVE completely.

Here's all you need:
- Acrylic frame, available at all Dollar Stores.
- Scraps of scrapbooking supplies.
- Pictures (if desired)

Instructions: Simply take the white paper from the frame. Most of these state the dimensions of the frame right on them. You can use any size you want. This one is a 4x6", but mine above is a bit more small than that, measuring just 3x5".




Cut paper to those dimensions and start building a mini scrapbook page.

To add dimension, you can also adhere rub-ons, cut paper or stickers to the outside fromt of the frame. I did this by cutting some extra petals from the flower I used and using gluedots to adhere them to the front, lining them up perfectly with the existing flower.






Voila! Isn't it cute? I just love mine and it really brightens up my drudgery old computer space. I hope you are inspired to create your own HAPPY PLACE for your desktop.

BecKy & Pitt in New York City

Becky and Pitt are in New York City and got tickets to David Letterman. We watched the show hoping to see them...they were lucky that they got seats on the 4th row. Sure enough, halfway through, just after Jimmy Kimmel and before Jimmy Eat World (and Lance Burton's magic act, which Scott and Mike are still discussing how he did it) there they were, right in the middle of the screen. Scott paused the TV and took some photos of the screen. Beck & Pitt are three rows up, center, behind the man with the gray jacket and red shirt. Pitt is wearing purple, Becky is wearing a jacket with light blue sleeves, and they are both clapping. They are having a blast, and it's especially fun because they're staying with cousins Kurt and Katie who are there doing an internship in New Jersey.