Closing my Divine Shop and some layouts

Well, I have decided to close up my Divine shop, and I have put my resignation in over there. I just don't frequent the site as often as I should, and I know that I need to do that to make my shop as successful as I want it to be.

I have something new up my sleeve but I can't really talk about it yet.

So, for now I am going through my kits one-by-one and revamping then , adding elements and papers, or retiring them. It is hard to go through your older work because you see things as your tastes change that you don't like anymore, or as you learn new techniques, the old ones don't look as good as they once did.

So, keep your eyes pealed for some new and improved stuff from me :) I will be releasing some blog freebies soon too over on the Steel City Scraps blog. I will miss being at Divine for the Ingredients Challenge (which I may still do on my design blog) -- and being with the wonderful friends I have over there.

I have a new Creative Team that is kicking bootie -- some girls have stuck with me from the jump and I ADORE THEM both for their layouts, but moreso for their friendship and support. I also have some new girls who are busting out some incredible layouts - and I would love for you to drop over the CT blog and leave them some love! You can check it out here: CITY GIRLS BLOG.

But, ah, what the future holds...............

On that note: you guys know I am on a few CT's now -- and loving it because it forces me to allot some scrap time in my life --- which I so desperately need!!

So here are some of my latest layouts ---

I created this self-portrait for a Duchess Designs blog challenge last week - I used her Girlfriends: Kathryne kit for this one. Take a good look because you won't see me scrapping a picture of myself for awhile.

SELF-PORTRAIT

The next one was also for the Duchess -- her latest Girlfriends: Peyton -- I love these peach colors!

SUGAR AND SPICE

I did these next two for Danielle Corbitt's featured kit of the week Just a Lil Flirt - this is huge! and it is such a very cute kit! I could have made more layouts with it -- and probably will.

TREAT THAT'S SWEET

For this one I also used her Wrapped in Floral Frames -- really cute !

DADDY AND LAUREN

Lastly, I did two more for Danielle Corbitt using her Backyard Blast kit. This one has a ton of summery elements!

LAZY DAYS OF SUMMER

PUPPET SHOW

Thanks for looking :) Feel free to drop over to my Digital Candy gallery and leave me some lovin :)

Christie Lemmon Designs at Digital Candy

Christie has a had a dream for awhile now, and that was to get into the shop at Digital Candy. Well that dream came true this week !! I am so happy to tell you that Christie's shop is now open for bisnass! You can check it out here.

Over at Digital Candy they have some amazing challenges, friendly people and it is just an all around warm and welcoming site. It isn't overwhelmingly large, but still a nice crew! NEVER BORING!

Thought I would share some layouts with you I did for both Digital Candy challenges or for my creative teams over there.

First, THE SPEED SCRAP hosted by JenLin!! HELLO! I loved this challenge. You get one hour to scrap your page, instructions are given every few minutes and you have to follow them to finish your layout. It was incredible, and I wish there was another one this week. I am really, really looking forward to the next one. I used Christie's SIMPLY ADORABLE kit for this layout - except the stitiching which came from her Cherry Lemonade kit.

MADELYN'S BOO BOO

Next, I did two layouts with Christie's new kit called Mud Puddles. This is a sneak peek because it isn't even in the store yet! It will be released tomorrow, and I am here to tell you -- even though it's boy colors -- you can definitely go in alot of different directions with this kit. Very versatile, and I loved working with it.

LIL DIVA

BUDDIES

Thanks for looking :) Head over to Christie's new design blog and leave her some love!

Crazy busy ...

I am not complaining at all --- we have just been so busy this summer. We have had a ton of fun in the meantime, and so it was all worth it. I am not making excuses for my posts being, well, non-personal --- but I will try to do better from now.

So, if you remember correctly, last summer I was basically pregnant and miserable for the first two/thirds of the summer. I pretty much prayed the entire summer away so that I would be done being pregnant. For those who don't know --- it's hard being pregnant in the summer with a two year old wanting to do everything!!! Then, when I had Lauren I was a recluse just loving on her and getting used to being a mommy of two.

By the time I woke up from that daze, summer was over and we had done basically nothing. I was so angry all winter that I felt like I was jipped out of summer --- I whined alot about it truly!

So, this summer it was ON!

Not intentionally, but alot of things came up this summer. My good friend got married in Hilton Head.... and so we went down for that. Long drive, but an amazing time with my amazing friends. We had so much fun. We learned Madelyn was a fish in a former life, and has NO fear of water!

Then, we took our trek to our normal summertime hang - Geneva on the Lake. I was there for a few weeks, and got to meet up with Heather a few times. It was so nice to spend time with another mommy with a baby Lauren's age. Rhiannon was so sweet to MJ and I just had a ball with them!

My in laws were then gracious enough to invite us to go to Myrtle Beach with them, and we gladly took them up on it. We had an amazing condo overlooking the beautiful waters, and we had an incredible time. Very relaxing, and laid back --- just like we like it!

Then I went back to the lake for a few days --- it wasn't long enough, but it was nice to have the closure of going back to pack up the cottage. I miss the cottage so much in the winter, if it had a furnace I would probably go there and just sit --- because there is nothing to do there in the winter at all! I would still love it. I just like being there!

We are getting ready to close the summer out by heading up to Erie to spend some time with some buds who have babes the same age as MJ. We have known each other (most) since they were born and so we try to travel each year to visit. We are from all over the states and Canada, so its not possible for everyone to make it every year, but we sure try. I didn't get to go last year because Lauren was only a few days old when they left to meet up in Niagara Falls. This year it is in my homestate -- so you couldn't keep me away. Even though I will only be there for a day or two, it will still be nice to catch up with my buds and see all the kids together. I love that part!

Then, it will be getting ready for the school year to start!

So, here are some kid recaps :

Lauren is walking, wobbly but walking --- she says daddy and only daddy. She loves her mama but just WILL NOT say it! She is such a delight, has a wonderful personality and is really cute with her big ol' gap between her two front teeth! I later I will be cursing it, but for now it is just adorable !!!

Madelyn is FINALLY potty trained --- PRAISE JESUS!!! She is just as bubbly, social and talkative as ever. She never stops from the time she wakes until she is sleeping in her bed... talking, talking, talking. She loves everyone --- and just wants to be everyone's best friend! So funny!

Mike has finally moved to a schedule that allows him off Friday and Saturday each week --- so we finally HAVE A LIFE! We can go to weddings, go out and have a drink on a Friday night--- we couldn't be more excited about this! We can go catch a movie and get a sitter (not a school night). Wow, I better make a list of things we are going to do !

As for me, I am getting ready to sub again in the Fall. Hopeful that something long term will come my way early on, and I can complete a school year in one classroom. I am still teaching computers at the community college -- and I really love that. Also, I am supposed to go back to coaching the dance team this fall. My sister and I coached together for two years until I started having kids. Then she did it by herself. Now that she has moved to Texas, they needed a coach and asked me. Well, I am not sure ASKED is the right word to use. I am not sure how I feel about that yet. I guess it depends on how that falls in with everything else I have going on--- it will either be awesome or a pain. Not sure about that yet.

So I will post some pics from Erie after the weekend is over. Sorry for the catch up post. I hate that I had to do that... but I also don't want a blog just of pictures and no stories!

Here are some layouts I did yesterday for The Duchess using her new Girlfriends: Makenzie mini kit! I love these mini's --- they are very inexpensive and have enough inside for a few adorable layouts!!!

Some news..........

No, no, no.... I am not pregnant!

I have been invited to be a CT member for Duchess Designs, and an August guest for Danielle

Corbitt!!! How exciting!

I am working on some layouts today for both of them :)

It occured to me that I haven't posted many layouts lately, and I so here are a few!
Birthday pictures later, I promise!!!

(Credits) Sadie's Garden by Beckie Wallace

(Credits) - Amy Sumrall's Over the Grungy Rainbow Kit

(Credits) - Corina Neilsen - Live Out Loud

(Credits) Danielle Corbitt's Starz Kit

(Credits) - Brownie Scraps' Sun Kissed

Funky Playground rocks!

So, Beckie is participating in a fabulous program over at Funky Playground called 'Teacher's Pet'! It's kind of like a designer bootcamp but the great part is that all the assignments they create are FREE!

To get the free kits, you have to subscribe to the Funky Playground newsletter (which you should anyway)... but subscribing will get you the code to unlock the freebies! There will be over 100 free mini's available throughout!

You can CLICK HERE to subscribe to the Funky Playground Newsletter!

Then you should go to the FuNkY pLaYgRoUnD GaLLeRy's TEACHER'S PET section and download to your little hearts content!!

This is Beckie's Free kit that is up there now! I love the frame and the bracket mat~ but then again I am in love with brackets right now!! Grab Beckie's kit here.

Here is a layout I did with it --- HARD AT WORK!

Beckie is going in to have her new baby girl tomorrow morning super early so if everyone could just send their thoughts and prayers for an easy surgery and recovery for Beckie and super healthy baby vibes for the little one, I would appreciate it. BIG HUGS BECKIE!!! Can't wait to see the pictures of your sweet pea :)

IF YOU GUYS ARE INTERESTED I AM HOSTING ANOTHER CT CALL FOR STEEL CITY SCRAPS --- YOU CAN READ ABOUT IT HERE!

Some Layouts ....

Here is the first scrapping I did in a LONG LONG TIME. It was so fun, and it really is my first true love. I do love taking the time out of designing to scrap ! I need to do it more :)

The good news is that Christie and I partnered up for the Birthday Race over at Digital Candy, so my scrapping fix will be met ;)

This one is called Forever Sisters and it is made with Beckie Wallace's AWESOME kit called At the Ballet - it is available now EXCLUSIVELY at Digital Candy - ELEMENTS and PAPERS.

Here is one I did for the Candy Jar Challenge over at Digital Candy!

It's done with an old pic of MJ and you can see the CREDITS HERE.
Here is one I did for the Scraplift Challenge over at Sunshine Studio!

It's called - SWEETHEART and you can see the CREDITS HERE Last is one where Christie forwarded me a blog featuring this free template! It is amazing ;)

You can check out Lauren and the CREDITS HERE.
SOOO FUN!

Selective Coloring Challenge

Over on the IVillage Digi Scrapping board, there was a selective coloring challenge.... well, you know I don't pass up a challenge!!!



Here is My Cookie!!!!

The selective coloring is that her cookie remained pink but the pic is B&W - jazzy huh???

I made this with Beckie Wallace's INCREDIBLE (my favorite kit of all time) Boy Meets Girl Kit!. You can grab it at SAS or Digital Candy !!!!

Beckie also has a SHITLOAD (that's right - its uncensored, remember?) of freebies on her blog. So head on over there and check them out! And check out our Creative Team Blog --- and see our kick ass layouts!

Leave me some love at SAS!

A new layout with my RAK

Over on my design blog, I am giving out a RAK (random act of kindness) to those readers/downloaders/whatever that comment or send me layouts etc.

I did a layout today with it, and I love how it turned out. I did it for the IVillage Digital Scrapbooking boards Friday challenge. Today was a quote challenge!

This is Madelyn, and it was taken 1-4-2006!!! Can you believe my MJ is almost THREE!

Hop on over to SAS and leave me some love !!!

Two new layouts!

I guess everyone has that one favorite kit that they go back to because they love it so much! Beckie has this incredible kit called Boy meets Girl! I love it so much, honestly - I can't get enough of it.

Here are two more layouts I did with it today :)

Leave me some love at my galleries - images and titles are clickable :)

MY COOKIE!

YOUR SONG

Tag your it!!!

I have been tagged from a fellow scrapbookin pal Barbara a/k/a digimom! This is my first time being tagged, so I hope I am doing this right! Thanks for tagging me - and I am sure my tagee's appreciate it too :) By the way, I had no idea what a meme was, so I wiki'd it.

A meme (pronounced /miːm or mɛm/) consists of any unit of cultural information, such as a practice or idea, that gets transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another.

Ok - makes sense to me !

ALL are invited to join in the Links fun!

PLEASE just follow the rules!

Just copy paste THIS and everything below up until my Five links:

I thought it would be cool to have a meme where we post links. We can post up to five. Then we tell five more people to share their links. If we all share who tagged us, our links are sure to be seen!

They can be business links, favorite sites, affiliate links, whatever you want…

There are Five Rules:
1. MUST be clean. No R rated sites.

2. Only FIVE links.

3. MUST tell 5 people.

4. A link back to the person who tagged you

5. Lara’s Place is the meme originator. (an active link is appreciated)

------------------end copy and paste-------------------------------


My links:

I thought I would link to things I can't do without !

1. Beckie Wallace Designs: this woman is a true inspiration with the amount of stuff she is able to get done! She has two little ones and one on the way and still manages to put out the most amazing designs. It is an absolute honor to work for her!!! Also check out the Beckie Wallace Creative Team Blog - jam packed with awesome layouts using Beckie's kits :)

2. Tribes! Ok, for those not in education this is a learning system you implement in your room to create a comfortable, safe environment and helps to create cooperative learning groups.

3. Bare Escentuals make up - well, its just awesome - you hardly feel like you are wearing make up at all ! Love it!

4. NetVibes - I just got this from a friend and you can organize your own homepage. It has a great feature that you can enter your favorite blog addresses, and everytime you log in the page will check your blogs and let you know who posted something new! Saves me a ton of time :)

5. Stone Accents Studio - My new home away from home for the digi-scrapper in me. I love the group there and they have really great challenges. You should check it out :)

6. Snippy - Here is an extra - this little program allows you to literally cut out photos on your screen. A small crayon pops up and you are able to circle whatever image or text you want to capture and then paste it into whatever document you are creating. AWESOME find!










Here is an example of what I just did with Snippy. I used it to show you a small screenshot of my NETVIBES!

7. Unzip Them All - For those digiscrappers who download billions (exhaggerating - - or, am I???) of freebies and new kits daily. This program will unzip them all for you in literally seconds! What used to take me days to extract now takes minutes! It also extracts those blasted .rar files !!! Check it out, honestly. I couldn't live without it!

OK Thats it - I promise.

I am tagging the following ladies - sorry guys ! Had to be done ;)

Kelly

Angiee

Heather

Beckie

Christie

Just me

I did this page as part of the Sunshine girls challenge! You can read about it here.

Yes, that is a spoon on my nose - JEALOUS????

Credits: Walking on Sunshine Mega by the Sunshine girls.

Some cousins

My mom has a very large family. She has five sisters and four brothers - and so that leaves me with a lot of cousins. Some are closer than others, some I rarely see, some I never see! Some were more like sisters and friends while I was growing up, still are, and some I even babysat! But, here is a layout I did with some of the cousins. One of the cousins in the picture is my little sister! These pictures were taken on Easter ! What fun we have together!!!

Credits: Walking on Sunshine Mega by the Sunshine Girls (and guy)!!

Lauren on Easter

Maddie put these bunny ears on Lauren and I kept waiting for the wailing to come - but it didn't. She actually liked having them on.

You know I have a camera permanently attached to my hand, so check out the faces!

Credits: Beckie Wallace's Burst of Spring kit. Font: CK Toehead

Missing my hubby

Well, my hubby has been away at an EMSI conference since Wednesday and, man, do I miss him! He isn't far - just at a ski resort about an hour and a half East of us. The thing is that typically it is me and the kids who go away, and leave him home, like when we go to the cottage. Well, I know how he feels now.

So, last night he called to see how everyone was doing and it turned out that he hadn't made dinner plans with the guys. I decided to take a drive! So, I left the kiddos with my mom and I drove up to see him and have dinner on a whim. I decided all of this at like 3pm. Of course, he is at the resort that has the ALL YOU CAN EAT SEAFOOD BUFFET on Fridays. But to be honest, we could have sat in his hotel room and had pizza for all I cared.

Sidenote: we did have the buffet and it was kick a$$ as usual.

Here is a layout I did of Lauren and Mike while he was gone :(

Credits: Beckie Wallace Boy Meets Girl kit.

Creative team news :(

I decided (begrudgingly) to step down from two of the Creative Teams that I am on, at least for now. I needed to make some adjustment in my life and it was just time. It is a necessary change right now, but perhaps I will be able to come back in the summer when school has let out. We shall see!

In the meantime, I am still scrapping and still learning to design. I have so much wonderful feedback from everyone on the kits I have created so far, and I really like it. This might be that creative outlet I have been searching for. I am working on an idea that is a spin off from UNDER MY PILLOW, but totally different. That is what I am doing today.

A few people have already suggested to me that I may be able to sell the kits, which is very complimentary since I am not sure they are 'worthy' yet. I am nervous about that, because I have heard of some designers getting flack when they turn from freebies to $$$ kits. By flack I mean, people actually telling them their kits are good enough to download for free, but not good enough to pay for. I would like to sell eventually. I have a group of people around me who I trust, and they will not steer me wrong. We will see how it plays out down the road.

On that note and going back to the whole - you are good enough for a freebie but not to buy, I have to say how much easier to be blunt like that and hurt someones feelings on the net. I think people wouldn't say HALF of the things they say if they were face to face! If you really feel that way, don't download it and go away to the many other people giving shit away. I am pretty outspoken actually, but I would NEVER intentionally hurt someone. I think most people are like that in real life, but online - that's another whole ball game. People type anonymous comments and just think they can hide behind their computers. It hasn't happened to me yet, but I am sure it will!

Impromptu Challenge - Unconditional

I don't know if I am just a sap lately, or if it is because Mike is away at a conference right now. But I couldn't help but do this impromptu challenge over at Stone Accents Studios. The challenge was to create a layout about what unconditional means to you, using the dictionary definition.

Now here is a testament to Beckie's kit - I am not a big fan of orange, but - honestly, check out the florals in this kit! The orange one is so unique in color and it just seems classy to me.

Well, anyway- here is what I came up with.

The foil hearts are kick a$$ too - hey, don't say a word - I said it was uncensored!

New Beckie Wallace kit - KISMET

Gotta love this new kit by Beckie Wallace who, by the way, has TWO NEW STORES! She has her shoppe at Stone Accents Studio, and we are currently celebrating her Grand Opening over at Digital Candy as well!

Kismet is brand new, and in both stores so check it out now! It is currently on sale at both stores so be sure to hustle to get it if you are interested.

Here is my new layout using the kit - called DREAMS. Which I just love this picture, well for many reasons. I had just gotten them bathed and dressed for bed. I put Lauren next to MJ on the chair and MJ immediately went for her hand. They were watching Backyardigans, so they were in their regular trance - they just held their hands up in the air. So long, in fact, I had time to run and get the camera - and there they still were holding their hands up like they were doing some kind of Renaissance dance! Love it!

Beckie Wallace - freebies!

Beckie Wallace has some freebies up on her design blog! Check them out! This is just a sample!

A GLOSSY ALPHA: Some cool metallic hearts and flowers:In the Woods paper pack :

Go snag them here at Beckie Wallace Designs!

I did it!

Ok, you guys know me. I don't do anything half way. There is nothing more annoying to me than not knowing how to do something. So, I have taken on the task of learning how to design my own kits. I have thrown myself at the mercy of some women I trust to steer me in the right direction !

Just for sh**s and giggles - I took a whack at making my own kit. Realize before you go scrolling down to check it out that IT IS MY FIRST KIT EVER! I bought some commercial use items, and went for it. I hope it isn't too amateur, but then again - I am, so I guess I should probably be ok with that. I am giving this away, but only only if you promise to share with me anything you made with it.

I understand that it's a small kit, but I was truly just messing around. I hope to have more in the future to share with you.

Also, since I used commercial use items to make this kit please check out my TOU, so that credit can truly be given to those designers: specifically Kim B, SAAB and Atomic Cupcake.

This is my new mini- COFFEE TALK (and if you are an SNL fan like me - you get it !)

I gave this kit to my partner-in-scrap (LOL - I totally made that up, feel free to steal it) Christie, and she made this layout. I can't even begin to describe to you how it felt to see it used. I was on cloud 9 nine all night - Thanks Christie !

Thanks for checking it out! Enjoy :) You can grab the freebie here !

Change can be a good thing

Well, my favorite designer, Beckie Wallace, has some new digs over at Stone Accents Studio. What does that mean for you, well it means big savings until the 15th - see the sale sign below and click here to go to her new shoppe!

Congrats Beckie on the new digs! I said it before, and I will say it again - you are stuck with me, mama - to the ends of the Earth!