She Makes Me Smile...

Another layout I just finished with the July Crop Addict kit. I've shared this picture with you before, but I finally figured out how I wanted to scrap it. Off to watch the first games of Chris' SDSU basketball tournament. Make it a GREAT day!!!

PS - Yesterday's layout called, "Fabulous" has been on the 2Peas Top 10 all day and was in Erin Lincoln's 6/27 Weekly Digest on the Creating Keepsakes blog! WOOO HOOO!!!

Guitar and Baby Robbie FUN...

Two new layouts I created with the July Crop Addict kit... one about Chris' guitars and one about all the different FABULOUS Faces of Baby Robbie. TFL and have a GREAT DAY!!!

Pierce Charity Crop and Silent Auction

My friend, Candice Mclean, is hosting a huge even to honor and raise money for the family of a fallen local soldier. Click on the title above for more information about the 12 hour crop, class, Make and Take and auction. The event will be held at Ever After Scrapbooks in Carlsbad, CA. If you live in the Southern California area, you will want to check this one out!!!

Good Luck to the Cosmo Cricket Finalists!

I'm not one of them, but I wanted to wish the best of luck to the 12 lucky designers still working for a spot on that fantastic team!!! Now, go out an make it a "Woo Hoo" kind of day!!! :-)

While we wait for the Cricketeers, please enjoy these 4th birthday pictures...

So, while we try to sleep tonight since the Cricketeers will be calling the Top 12 candidates for the new Design Team in the morning, I would like to share these darling pictures. Last weekend was Anna Banana's 4th Birthday, which I haven't had a chance to post because my blog had been taken over by Cosmo Cricket! We had a special dinning room table with all the fixings, goodie bags, we played bubbles, with the parachutte, and even a Princess version of Pin the Tail on the Donkey, which was "Pin the Shoe on Cinderella!" For dessert, Anna had her own little cake, as every proper Princess should have... and we all enjoyed our favorite Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes! The evening ended the next morning since Anna's best friends, and their parents, stayed for a Slumber Party!!! So, without further adieu, here are a few pictures of Anna's Princess Party with her best friends Catalina and Baby Robbie!

Graduation... Cricket STYLE...

Ahhhhh... the end of my "Week of Cosmos..." All Cosmo Cricket... all day long. I will make this last post short and sweet... an 8 1/2" x 11" layout (not my norm, but when I get an idea I go with it!) My oldest just graduated... the OGHS Patriots... red, white and blue are our colors. This picture of Jessica and Chris... brother and sister... just tugs at my heart strings. The quote... "Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero" - Marc Brown

Thank you for your love and support! Cosmo Cricket ROCKS! Make it a Woo Hoo weekend!

HOLY COSMOS... YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS!!!

So... Cosmo Cricket is looking for a few new DT members who can...

Design... I've been designing with Cosmo Cricket daily...
Blog... I've been blogging about Cosmo Cricket daily...
Be active on the scrapping boards... yep, that's me
Share their work all over the place... I have posted all my new projects to 3 galleries daily
Submit their work and get published...

So, we are left with the publishing...

... and for the FAB NEWS...

... ALL OF MY NEW COSMO CRICKET LAYOUTS/CARDS/PROJECTS that I created this week, IN ADDITION TO A FEATURED ARTICLE THAT I PITCHED THIS WEEK, are going to be PUBLISHED IN THE AUGUST ISSUE OF SCRAPBOOKING.COM MAGAZINE!!!

WOOOOO HOOOOOO!!! I am so stinking excited that I can hardly stand it!!! Click on the title above and it will take you over to the current issue of Scrapbooking.com. I hope you will bookmark it and come back to see the August issue!!!

{Alright, time to breathe... and get back to finishing my last CC project before the application deadline... right after this little happy dance... alright, back to work... }

Cosmo CARDS!

When Jon, the Cosmo Cricket Warehouse Guy posted the call for new Design Team members, he said he wanted to see layouts, projects, and cards... OH MY! You've seen everything else... today is all about the cards! I made three totally different cards to show how versatile the Cosmo lines are!!! First is my favorite... the "You're Invited" card is so shabby and rustic... LOVE IT! I cut 1" x 1" squares, distressed and inked some, and framed it out with basic brown ribbon. The title is from the "Gretel Journaling Cards." I used foam strips to elevate the title from the patchwork background.

Next is the "Family" card that could be used for a wide variety of occasions. I LOVE to cover chipboard... here is one of my favorite chipboard tips. When cutting out your patterned paper with your exacto knife, don't cut right up against your chipboard, but leave about 1/4" around your chipboard piece. Then sand it up and leave some "danglers" around the edges... then ink. I LOVE that look!!!

Finally is my wild and crazy teenage boy "Good Luck" card. There was so much happening here that I didn't distress and sand the edges (can you believe the restraint!?) I took my hole punches and added some "peek a boo" holes down the left side of the card to mimic the button shapes on the chipboard. This one is bold and wild and too much fun!

As I have been doing all week, these cards are posted at Creating Keepsakes, 2Peas and Tally Scrapper.

I also wanted to note that as of this morning, my "Adore" layout was still in the Top 10 at 2Peas!!! Two days on the Top 10 list! That just blew me away!!!

I sent my application email and resume to Cosmo Cricket last night, so I am hopeful the "Cricketeers" will be stopping by to check all this out very soon! THANK YOU to all of you that have stopped by and given me your love and support! One more new project to post tomorrow and then it is the hands of the Cosmo Gods! :-) Today, go out and make someone else smile... you won't be able to help smiling in return. That is another thing that makes me say, "Woo Hoo!!!" :-)

Cosmo's Gone "Home Decor!"

Here is a BIG "WOO HOO" for the astonishing response yesterday's layout, "Adore" has received!!! In addition to reaching the #2 spot on 2Peas by member votes during the past 24 hours, it has received a TON of love (both comments and points) at Tally Scrapper and a great response at Creating Keepsakes!!! {Yep, doing my silly happy dance now!!!}

Now, back to business. Now that our oldest has "flown the coop," it is time to start planning my new indoor SCRAP STUDIO!! (My current "studio" is in the garage and BOY is it hot in here right now!!!) The first thing that any proper studio needs is some wall art! This is a simple cluster piece... 4 frames that I stained and distressed... and a saying that we live by - with a twist! "Live, Laugh, Love, Scrap!" For the featured flower/star accents, I used the Cosmo Cricket "Gretel, Buttons and More Fashions." I had to create the flower for the "Scrap" hanging myself. I wanted the color and detail from the "Gingerbread" paper, but didn't have a flower in the shape that I wanted, so I used the negative space from a flower I liked and traced out my own.

The flowers and words themselves look "suspended" because they have been adhered to a transparancy placed at the back of the frame. This also helps create the illusion of mini shadow boxes! And... Voila! A simple, chic wall hanging to inspire me... now I just need to build the rest of the studio...

As I did yesterday, this project has been posted in my galleries at 2Peas, Tally Scrapper and Creating Keepsakes. Make it a "Cosmolicious" Day!!!

"Adore" is the #2 layout at 2Peas!!!

WOOOOO HOOOOO!!! Just wanted to stop in to share the exciting news that my COSMO CRICKET layout "Adore" (posted below) just made the TOP 10 (by vote) at 2Peas!!! SERIOUSLY!!!

{UPDATE} As of 9AM this morning (June 18th), it has hit #2!!! WOOO HOOOO!!!

I "Adore" Cosmo Cricket!

Yesterday, I shared with you that my blog has been taken over and will be all about Cosmo Cricket this week as I work my tail off to show how "Cosmo-licious" (thanks for the new word, Sara!) I think their products are!!!
In our last episode, I shared with you my favorite Cosmo Cricket works that I completed BEFORE I knew about this Design Team call. Now it is time for some new stuff... "Adore!" I adore everything about my sweet Anna... her smile, those eyes you can jump right into, and that darling little nose that I kiss about 20 times a day! I also Adore the shabby chic colors and textures of these papers and cut outs! The large flower on the top left of the layout pulls out to reveal a hidden journaling tag... all of the sentiment... none of the clutter of extra words.

For you Cricketeers, this layout has been posted in my galleries at 2Peas, Creating Keepsakes, and Tally Scrapper. I LOVE to share my layouts!!! I also regularly submit my work to be considered for publication and will be submitting this one later tonight. TRUST ME... I LOVE to have my work published just as much as you love to see your product published! Ask anyone... I get giddy when receive a "congratulations, your layout will be published" email and, if you really need to see it, I can even share my "happy dance" with you... :-)

Thanks for stopping by today! As far as a preview for tomorrow... all I can say it is, "the writing is on the wall..."

...We Interrupt This Program...

... to bring you a week (well, 5 days to be specific) of all the yummy, cool, fun, shabby chic goodness of COSMO CRICKET! I was thrilled to come upon a thread over at 2Peas last week from Jon, the Warehouse Guy at Cosmo Cricket. It seems he was snooping around the owner's office and found notes that she was looking for a few new Design Team members!!! SERIOUSLY... Cosmo Cricket is looking for a few new designers... WOOOOO HOOOOO!!! While I finish up a few new projects to post and try to "Wow" the Cricketers, I will share with you a few layouts, projects, and cards that I completed back before this call came up (with the intention of showing you that I have been a fan of Cosmo Cricket and have been LOVING your products for quite some time!!!) You can also click on the thread title above and go check out all the Cosmo Cricket goodness for yourself!

One more thing for today... in the past few days I found another designer that is going for a spot on this awesome team. Her name is Lynn and if you love scrapbooking, paper crafting, and/or Cosmo Cricket, you have got to check out her blog. Yes, technically she is "the competition." She is also very talented and a kick in the pants... go... enjoy her site, too!!! http://lynniemarie.blogspot.com/

Happy Father's Day, Dad

This was a VERY busy and fun weekend... Father's Day... Anna's 4th birthday... and I'm working on some AWESOME COSMO CRICKET projects that I can HARDLY WAIT to share (can I hear a little, "Woo Hoo!") ! So... I have a ton of stuff to post in the next week, but I have to start with the person that has been here the longest... Dad! I know I won't see you until this weekend, Dad, but I had to show you what I made you for Father's Day. (Isn't my Dad tooooooo cute!!!) When you get this, it will be in a cool frame and ready for the house.

I love you, Dad!!! I love you, too, Sweetheart... the best husband and Daddy I could ever ask for!!! And to you, Bob... my AWESOME Father-in-law... thanks for your love and support. And one last shout out to Uncle Paul... you might not be a Dad, but you sure love us like one! :-) HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!

I'm teaching again... "Love and Marriage"

Now that the Grad Nite craziness is over, I can focus on my scrapping and teaching! Here are a few sneak peaks of a class that I will be teaching at Ever After Scrapbooks in Carlsbad, California on Monday, June 30th from 6PM - 9PM. From your courtship, engagement, proposal, through your wedding, this is the perfect mini album for your LOVE STORY! Using the beautifully elegant "Princess Bride" line by Rusty Pickle and a scalloped acrylic album, this book can be filled with pictures and memories of your favorite relationship! Click on the thread title above and it will take you to the Ever After site for more class information or you can call Ever After at (760) 433-9313. Hope to see you there!!!

Creating Keepsakes Magazine... LOOK, I'm in there!

This has to be the best example of how completely absorbed we have been with Grad Nite for the past 6 weeks! I received my June issue of Creating Keepsakes THREE WEEKS AGO and haven't had time to sit down and read it. It was just brought to my attention that my "Bates Nut Farm" layout is on page 107!!! WOOOOO HOOOOO! AND, the article that I wrote about the layout/techniques are published as an on-line extension article! DOUBLE Woooo Hoooo!!! If you click on the title above, it will take you to the online extension. Have a GREAT day, everyone!!!