San Diego Scrapbook Expo, Baby!

I spent 10 hours today helping set up the Rusty Pickle booth at the San Diego Scrapbook Expo! I've been attending the Expo as a customer for years (and have been lucky enough to win the page layout contest several times), but this will be my first time working the event! If you are going to be at the show, please stop by and say, "Hello!" I'll have pictures of the show soon! Have a great weekend!!!

Holiday Home Magazine - I'm in There!

Wooooo Hooooo!!! I received a big box from Fed Ex yesterday and when I saw it was from CK Media, I knew exactly what it was. The Trick or Treat Pumpkin I designed and copies of the Magazine where it was published... Holiday Home Magazine! This magazine is FULL of awesome holiday decorating ideas! Be sure to pick one up and check out page 29... :-)

Free to Share! MMM

So... I didn't make the list for the 2009 Masters... but no worries! Now I get to start sharing the layouts I did for the contest that I ABSOLUTLEY LOVE!!! I have sent several of them out to be considered for publication, but I just HAD to share this one. It is an 8.5 x 11 layout of Anna and my niece, Sarah. They are almost exactly 1 year apart in age. They had just gotten dressed for a luau we went to this summer and they looked DARLING! I LOVE this picture!!! The blue and white tag pulls out for the hidden journaling. Thanks for stopping by and have a GREAT weekend!!!

I Need Some SCRAP Therapy...

No word yet on MMM winners... and no word on the new members for the Fancy Pants team. I need some SCRAP THERAPY! Any of you out there waiting for one or both of these calls, too!? Good luck to us all and may we get word of the winners before there is a wide-spread shortage of all things chocolate!!!

Since I have been stalking the scrap boards for about a week and have ignored my blog, here is a quick catch up... We have a Serbian Exchange Student staying here at the moment. We received word last Monday morning that he would be here that afternoon... talk about speed cleaning! He will be leaving us this weekend, but we sure have had a great time getting to know Stephan and all about his country!!!
This past weekend, we went up to our favorite "stay-cation" in Oak View (just inland from Ventura, near Ojai). My Grandfather built "The Lot" about 50 years ago and it has always been the vacation house for all the family members. I have the BEST memories about going up there as a child... Granddaddy giving my sister and me rides (for hours) in the trailer he built to hook up to the back of his tractor... playing "school" in the covered front patio... running around and playing on the property. This weekend, it was Jeff's turn to get out that same tractor, hook up the trailer, and take Anna on ride, after ride, after ride. I sat there with tears in my eyes and goosebumps as I remembered... and I swear that I could feel Granddaddy standing right next to me... smiling too...

We went up to The Lot for Jeff's annual ride with his frat brother, Dave, in the Cool Breeze Century. The boys decided to take it easy and (only) ride the metric century this year. They finished over an hour faster than they figured! They did GREAT... and doesn't Jeff look CUTE! As we do each year, Dave and his family (Hi Mari and Shane!) joined us after the race for a wonderful afternoon of catching up and playing... and a nice dinner, too! It was a WONDERFUL weekend!

Alright... back to scrapping... working on a layout of those tractor/trailer rides... :-)

16 Candles...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHRIS! He might look like a "man-boy", but Chris has finally turned 16!!! Since his birthday was the last day of summer break and we are buying him his letterman's jacket as his birthday gift, it was a pretty quiet celebration. Chris had a few friends over for dinner... with the menu that he chose... My homemade hamburgers and his favorite tuna noodle casserole... WHAT a combination!!!

Anna was trying as hard as she could to blow out Chris' candles, so he had to keep her mouth closed! Holding Anna is Chris' new "friend" Nicola. Of course, neighbors and "adopted sons" Corey and Ryan hammed it up for the camera. And, yes, even big kids like Chris still like to hug their Dad!!! (I love that picture!!!)

Resort Cropping... ahhhhhhh!

Can you believe I actually packed up and left the house to crop!? I don't do it very often, but when my new friend, Jami Petersen, Editor of Scrapbooking.com Magazine, invited me to join her at a new Scrap Resort here in town, I couldn't say "no!" Anna and Jeff helped me bring in all of my stuff and I just had to get a few pictures of Anna and Jami together. Anna still talks about "Miss Jami" who was so nice to publish her work and article a few months back.

Click on the thread title above to see the San Diego Scrap Inn site... a pool, themed bedrooms, brand new kitchen and bathrooms, tons of table space, tools, computer and stamps... OH MY! This place ROCKED! AND, I was able to get 3 new Rusty Pickle layouts done! WOOOO HOOOO!! Here is one that I did with my favorite Disneyland picture...it's called, "Priceless." Thanks for checking in and have a GREAT day!

Tossing that hat again... Fancy Pants...

Yep... I've tossed that hat into the ring once again! Last night I sent in my submission to the Fancy Pants Design Team. Besides Rusty Pickle (who I OBVIOUSLY LOVE!!!), there are a few companies that I would love to design for because I think my style is a good compliment to their products, and Fancy Pants is one of them. For the audition, we were asked to submit 3 layouts and a project (using mostly Fancy Pants.) Since I recently created a few of my FAVORITE layouts using Fancy Pants, I knew I was on my way. Yesterday, I finished a new Word Art project and sent everything in. Now, it is time to sit back and wait for the announcements for MMM AND Fancy Pants! (And hope that I see my name on the list(s)!) Here are the projects that I sent in with the audition... hope they like them!!

Disneyland Pictures - Part 2

As promised, here are the second half of our Disneyland Weekend Photos... starting with the return of the Electrical Light Parade! How did I miss the fact that my favorite parade had been brought back!? As soon as that music started, I flashed back to when I was Anna's age, sitting on the curb on Main Street, in awe of the beautiful lights and the funny music... the snails and the buzzing bee were my favorite... they were Anna's, too! Then onto the Princess Faire, Anna trying to decide on her Halloween costume, the kids in line to see "Johnny Depp" in "Pirates of the Caribbean" and Chris and Jeff having fun on the Tarzan Tree House. It was a GREAT weekend and we can't wait to go back in September!!!

MMM teaser and DISNEYLAND!

I know there are a lot of you out there that are now in the the torturous hold of the MMM waiting period!!! (Dad, MMM is one of those big contests that I like to enter.) Creating layouts for a contest like HOF, SOY, MMM or even a DT call is a lot of fun... putting together the entry package or submission email can be a lot of work and a bit stressful, but still a great feeling of accomplishment... BUT the wait for "Call Day", the wondering if calls have been made, and finally the big announcement is PURE TORTURE! Thank goodness we are keeping busy, Chris' 16th birthday is this weekend and school starts on Monday, so I don't have a lot of time to sit around and second guess my entry.

To be honest, I loved my entry and can hardly wait to share my entry layouts with you... but since we can't share layouts until the announcement on the 22nd, here are a few teaser facts about my entry... Of the 5 entry layouts...
... 3 were 12 x 12 layouts
... 2 were 8 1/2 x 11 (I know, can you believe it!?)
... 3 had only 1 picture
... 1 had 3 pictures
... 1 had 6 pictures
... they are all traditional (no digi) layouts
... there was a boat
... there was an athlete
... there was Anna
... there was NO Baby Robbie! (I know, another shock!)
... there was Jeff!
... 1 is so alternative that I can't WAIT to see what you think about it!
... the original theme layout took almost 8 hours to create (I'm not re-creating that one, so I sure hope it gets published so I get it back!!!)
... 2 hidden journaling tags
... no painting (really... what was I thinking!?)
... NO, you HAVEN'T seen any of the pictures (why do you think my blog has been so boring lately!? I've been hoarding pictures for months to make sure I had some great ones for this contest!)

Ha, ha, ha... there are 15 facts about my MMM entry... that tell you just about nothing about my entry. Seriously... did you think I would tell you or show you something that would DQ me... NO WAY! :-) But I will give you all the details on the 22nd when the winners are announced (unless I'm actually one of them... then my lips will be sealed!)

DISNEYLAND!!! We spent the last few days at Disneyland and had an absolute BLAST! The whole family crashed Jeff's hotel room at the Disneyland Hotel (he was at the CACM Expo... which is an annual trade show for the Homeowner Association Industry)... we played in the pool while he was working and then had a great weekend at Disneyland and California Adventure. Anna did not stop "geeking out" for 3 days! She thought the whole resort was "Disneyland", which I can understand... the Disneyland Hotel, the pool area, Downtown Disney... it is all the "Happiest Place on Earth," isn't it!? And she sure was one happy little bug! She went on Space Mountain, the Matterhorn... but she didn't like the "dark, scary" rides. Yep, even Randall scared her on the Mike and Sully ride! And, funny enough, she was scared of the characters! She got autographs from a few Princesses, but that was it! She loved seeing them in the parades, but would go hysterical if she saw a character up close. One of the Disney employees put it best, "She is 'Star Struck.'" I think that was probably right. We still have one more day on our pass, so we will be going back in about a month when school is back in session, it is calmer and cooler. Maybe she will get some signatures in that $15 autograph book at that time!!!

I have a bunch of pictures to share, so here's the first half of them... the rest tomorrow!

I Got RAKed!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU Jaimie Lea!!! We have been at the Disneyland Resort for the past several days and I arrived home to find an AWESOME assortment of ribbons on my doorstep along with the cutest little handmade card. (Dad, because I know you are going to ask, a "RAK" is a "Random Act of Kindness.") Anna and I are going to have a lot of fun playing with these beautiful ribbons! You can check out Jaimie Lea's blog by clicking on the thread title above!

And, yes... I will be posting some MMM stuff in the morning as well as some fun Disney pics!!! Have a GREAT night!

Scrapbooking.com ARTICLE and COSMO CRICKET!

WOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOO!!! I'm THRILLED about a special article that I wrote for Scrapbooking.com!! It is an inside look at my recent audition for the Cosmo Cricket Design Team. Although I didn't make the CC team, I was hoping that this inside peek would give others some new ideas when preparing for and implementing their own auditions. Whether you are trying out for a LSS Design Team or a Manufacturer Team, there are certain things you can't forget!

The article was just published this morning... click on the thread title above and it will take you straight to the article. I hope you enjoy it and would LOVE to hear your comments! You can post them here or email me at traceylocher@cox.net. Due to limited email access at the moment, I will respond to your email on Sunday.

Oh, and on the MMM front... I was able to track down the parents for my last Model Release form with about 24 hours to spare before the deadline! THANK GOODNESS!!! The layout that was in question is one of the most alternative layouts I've ever created and I was really bummbed thinking that I was going to miss the opportunity to submit it. Although I can't share any of the layouts I created for MMM, I will post some "Entry Facts" shortly! Now all there is to do is sit and wait... GOOD LUCK to everyone who entered MMM! Doesn't it feel good to have tossed in that hat...!? :-)