color me scrappy

GHOST TOWN

2010-07-27T16:52:00.000-07:00

Echo, echoo... echooo! Followed by the sound of crickets, a few tumbleweeds, and you get the general vibe of this blog, lol. It seems I continue to use the "busy" card when it comes to keepin' up with the latest, but there is hope yet! Ok, so... a quick recap then. And by quick, I mean just what happened the other weekend. I don't think I will be able to quickly sum up the beginning of that 2-week drive through 12 states last month in an RV in this post. Ohh no, that I will save for another time. No need to thank me. :) What can I say, summer is endlessly full of possibilities for our family. I've been known to wander, be listless & stir-crazy to the point that I must get out... anywhere, I don't care. Coupled with curiousity and unbinding schedule, we headed out once again to wherever the road took us.

My fascination with ghost towns took us here in Bodie, California. It is situated right along the border of Nevada, just north of Mono Lake. So much history, memorabilias left behind from decades past. I must say, it is probably the most well-preserved abandoned town I've ever visited. Another one that comes to mind is the Calico Town which is also in California. But, before our visit took us to this old mining town, we were heading up to Mammoth Lakes, CA. We drove through Hwy. 395 along the Sierra Nevada mountains, stopping by Big Pine, as well as Lone Pine. The latter is well-known location for several old western shows, including "Bonanza" I believe. (Wiki infos -- here)

This long & quite stretch of highway is also gateway to both Mt. Whitney (the highest summit in the USA) and Death Valley (the lowest point) which I'm sure sounds familiar to a lot of people. It's interesting how these polar opposites happen to be within miles of each other and was absolutely exciting to be within distance of these places rather than just being on a diorama that we did for school. It is also good to know that these roads takes you to the Sequoia National Park, as well as the Yosemite National Park... both of which we have already visited last winter and numerous times previously. Another point of interest, a grim spot in American history is the Manzanar National Historic Site, where the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII is located. It's a sobering walk through inside the museum for which I am glad my children were exposed to in real life and not just from the pages in their social studies book. (Side note: if you've read the highly acclaimed novel "Snow Falling on Cedars" by David Guterson and/or seen the movie bearing the same title, this is the relocation camp mentioned).

So, here we are in Mammoth Lakes, California. It is a favorite tourist ski destination in the wintertime, but we opted to visit this summer to get a leg on hiking the mountains without difficulty. The rain notwithstanding, it was a pretty easy, great for the body & mind workout, filled with wildlife discoveries along our path. The Devil's Post Pile photo below:

These places are accesible only by shuttle busses, by the way, for which you have to purchase tickets from a resort building. Then, a couple more miles into the 6-mile hike, we came upon the most-anticipated view I'd hoped to see --- the Rainbow Falls... gorgeous in all its glory. And yes, you do see a rainbow or two when the sun shines upon it. What followed was another hike down to the lower falls where my crazy husband and even crazier kids thought it would be fun to "hang out" with legs dipped into the mouth of the waterfall... yeah, right where it goes dowwwn... crashing right unto rocks. OMG. :P Let's just say that I held my breath until we were outta there!

Well, I lived to tell the tale, lol. Not only that, but another weekend after this trip, we planned another excursion up in the mountains, the Palomar Mountain, to be exact. It's just a few hours nearby Julian, CA in the San Diego county where we hiked again for fresh air, wildlife, a water spot, and an abandoned old frontier cabin. The previous day, we trekked out to the beach for one fantastic bonfire at night complete with scrumptious & sticky s'mores!
It has been a memorable summer, so much of it swirling in my head and needing the right time soon to document them all down into fun little scrapbooks pages. I look at my scrap supplies with longing, but I remind myself that soon enough when school starts, it will be the perfect time. Right now, we are totally in the thick of making memories and life... it is definitely good!

Now, I wonder where we are heading next weekend... ;)

Checking Pulse

2009-11-21T23:15:00.000-08:00

Yes, I'm still alive, lol! I drafted a post for Halloween, but never got around to finishing it, so here I am back to updating again... Oh man, I've been such a total slacker, sheesh.

And lately, my discriminating taste has me appreciating the latest & greatest from such fab companies like Cosmo Cricket, Pink Paislee, and Sassafras Lass. I mean, how could I possibly resist the *new* just-released "Nutmeg" collection from CC?! I won one of their giveaways and ohh my, what a special treat!!

In addition to that, check out the extra goodies... yum!!

Also, a few layouts from last month's challenges @ACOT:

I don't think I did any justice to the Nutmeg line though.

I do love this one of my funky little monkey :)

I'm not sure if I ever posted any of the following layouts, but here goes...

Phew, I think that's all for now... that was graphic-intensive! Are you *cross-eyed* yet? And, ohh oh oh, another happy mail day from October Afternoon for winning their recent giveaway. Check out what they sent me: HERE ~ Yay me, whoohoo!!

Also, ACOT is having one of their quarterly online crop right now and if you haven't joined us yet, you have been missing out! Seriously, it's just too much fun cropping in our PJs and another thing, before I forget... am indeed, one very lucky girl! I used to be on their Creative Team and this month, to my absolute surprise, I've been chosen as the Guest Designer. Check out my KI Memories Reveal :) Thank you so much, A Cherry on Top!

Anyway, I hope you all have one delicious & fabulous HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!

Scrappy Update

2009-09-28T17:19:00.000-07:00

Happy Fall, Y'all :) Oh, I wish! If only the weather would cooperate and stop hovering into the 90s, I might actually believe it. Today, fortunately, was much cooler so I hope to be able to escape to my scraproom and finish another layout or two. I've done a couple, plus some previous ones I haven't had the chance to post here yet.
American Crafts, of course... what else. :)

Found this pencil holder at Ms & altered it for my daughter's desk.
Glittered edges with Stickles & pop-dots for dimension.

A bookmark I made from KI Ms scraps during ACOT's online crop.

A quick & simple layout using October Afternoon's "Road Map" collection.

Chipboard buttons (Love, Elsie) and another AC flair.

I created this for ACOT's September "Supply List" Challenge: red/ribbon/rhinestones

Pink Paislee's "Amber Road" collection:

And, this summer album I finally finished for the 52 Challenges Week 13 - mini album.

The rest of the photos can be seen here in my gallery at ACherryonTop ~ TFL!

Alrighty, off to serve dinner, but first a linky share at All Scrapbook Steals HERE for a chance to win their fabulous fall giveaway!! I don't know how I became a part of the mailing list, but I'm glad I found my way to the online store (also here) because wow... the prices cannot be beat! And, since tomorrow marks my 36th (yikes, lol) birthday, I might just treat myself to some online goodies... hmn. ;) (are you listening, hubby? *hint*hint*)

Blue Skies Ahead

2009-09-16T21:04:00.000-07:00

I couldn't wait to play with the "Blue Skies" collection after I got my hands on them! Such fun, beautiful colors, and gorgeous embellisments too. I created a layout for this week's school theme challenge at the American Craft's blog. Since I only have 1 girl & 3 boys, this was perfect just for her as she enters 9th Grade! I think I had way too much fun layering these cute butterflies, lol.Then, upon seeing how cheerful these designs were, I knew it was just the right supplies I needed to make a couple of Cards4Kate for the card drive being headed by Jennifer McGuire & Jana Millen, hoping that however little, I hope it will uplift her spirit and her family for the tough time that they're going through right now. I can't even imagine something like that happening to us, so my heart goes out to lil' Kate & truly wishing them all the very best for a better future...I was happy to find ribbons @Michaels that goes great along with this line and adding glitter to the cut-out edges gives it a more finished look.I just couldn't resist making one with the butterflies again & of course, with a flair! :)

Now, here's a tool called the iTOP by Imaginisce that I wondered about since I adore the idea of being able to customize brads to match whatever projects I'm working on and am happy to say (even without viewing the DVD tutorial that it came with, I merely glanced at the written direction) that it was pretty easy to use!

And, voila! These are the 16mm & 22mm sizes that it originally comes with, but are also interchangeable with a much bigger 28mm that I also bought. I tried it with fabric & patterned paper and as my lil' son would say: "easy peasy, lemon squeezy!" LOL Seriously, this can get pretty addicting really quick. I am already thinking up of other possibilities to utilize this tool as much as I can. Also, if you're interested, A Cherry on Top has it on sale right now for much less than at M's. Ok, I am off to scrap tonight!

September Update

2009-09-10T22:44:00.000-07:00

Well, so much for keeping up with this blog! After our summer vacay last month, we'd a week to prep for school before it started early on Aug. 17 and ever since then, we've been pretty much occupied. I did luck out being able to join in on ACOT's online crop the other weekend, so I've got a few pages to show for it and tonight, I scrambled to put this layout together, just not wanting to miss out on the challenge by American Crafts to create a page with a friendship theme using 2 fave products. Yep, I'm still hoarding more Flairs & stashing Platform Thickers in every color! (Please excuse the photo, I didn't have the best lighting tonight :))

A photo of my youngest with his first ever BFF in Kindergarten. And, up close:

Also I'm sharing this totally fab paper from AC which I used for a Fast Scrap challenge.

Another Fast Scrap challenge to make 2 cards using same set of supplies -- KI Ms here:

This recycle challenge I loved since I got to decorate an empty AC flower canister!

This layout was for the mixing of B&W and color photos:

Another challenge: Use transparency which I sandwiched between the cardstock & paper.

Why yes, that is another Flair you see, lol.

The challenge here was to create an entire B&W layout with a burst of 1 bright color.

Those are my 4 silly children aka "The Remix" composing a song together. :)

I just love the burst of orange on this layout!

And, then there's the inevitable "Story of Us" page for every couples out there. I included a small photo of us on our honeymoon in Baja, Mexico ages ago when we were only 20 & 21 years old and well, not much has changed... we're still kissy-kissy like this (I know, gag, lol!) but we are now wayyy older. *sigh*

Anyway, I think that's it... Summer break photos to share in my next post. I'm just happy I actually got to finish a layout tonight! Ok, off to share it on the AC blog. :) G'night!

Surf's Up!

2009-07-31T15:41:00.000-07:00

What a fun weekend and looking forward to another one tomorrow! We hightailed it to Encinitas Beach late in the afternoon and into the night, well after sunset, to catch some big waves and to gather some of these smooth & colorful round rocks to bring home.

I also managed to put a couple of layouts together for ACOT's Ad & Sketch Challenge this month. First layout, I used the "Windsor" line from SEI -- very classic, and for the second one, my fave ever "Grafton" line from Scenic Route. I just love the surfboard graphics in bright bold colors!

That's all for now. We are gearing up for a week-long vacation to NorCal and the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon for some hiking, biking, beachcombing, and lots of sight-seeing here & there. The kids have put me to shame since they're all packed while I'm still here procrastinating, lol.

Alrighty, off to packing I go... Peace out!

Scrap Stuff

2009-07-21T00:30:00.000-07:00

I was up and about late last night, so I decided to whip up a layout for this week's Music Challenge over at the American Crafts blog. This'll be my first time participating and definitely not the last! The paper's called "Talent Show" from the Teen collection and I also love how I was able to cut out the stars & numbers (from the Everyday line), then layer them for dimension. I added a couple of AC rub-ons too and my favorite "Platform" chipboard Thickers that I just cannot have enough of! That, right along with my fave Craft Fair line and omg, the ever growing addiction to Flairs!! And, like a good scrapper, I put the leftover scraps to good use on this side closure card.

Then, I finally got around to tackling the pile of recently scrapped layouts completely uploaded before they're put away in their albums.

A close-up on these dew drops.
This one I used the Garden Grove line from Scenic Route with a cute 3D monkey. Whoops, please forgive the crooked photo!
He reminds me of my boy, lol, and the embossed cardstock (Bazzill?) is cool too.
Oh my, what can I say about my little guy, but this is just "so him" in every sense... a total goof and being my mini-me, wearing my sunglasses with my purse while gabbing on the phone!
Remember the AC Flairs I mentioned earlier? Here's one and I'm being conservative here because I am finding it harder & harder to resist sticking them on each and every layout, seriously!

Better late than never, here's last year's 1st day of K using KI Memories.

Except for this cute glittery owl from Colorbok's "Friendly Forest".

The Mr. Campy line from Cosmo Cricket to go perfectly with these photos.

A couple of cut-out work and layering here & there... hmn, there's that flair again! ;)

This adorable momma & baby deers from the same Colorbok collection.

Here's a die-cut paper from that line as well.

The cool chipboards are from Pink Paislee while the 3D embellisments are Jolee's. Um yeah, I've quite a few (ok a TON) of those collected over the years. Oh, the shame, but hey... maybe they'll make a comeback, kinda like "bringing sexy back," no? Ok, maybe not. :P Until next time!

Summer in the City

2009-07-20T09:42:00.000-07:00

Oh, we have been busy and still keeping busy as of late, totally enjoying the freedom of summer without any set schedules. The days stretching and blurring into the next as we while away the hours, as well as take refuge from the heat. Lucky us, we don't have to go far! We live in one of the nicest community and we couldn't be any happier here. We are just a few houses down from the lake. Hubby goes for a swim alone early on weekend mornings, but the rest of us tag along later in the afternoon or at night when it's much cooler and less crowded.
We also have a water park adjacent to the pool right behind the cabanas which is perfect for the little ones not quite ready to brave the pool. My little guy's been learning more & more how to swim though with the aid of his floaties and of course with daddy nearby.

We're still getting familiar with our new city (San Diego) and since we are "beach people" it was only a matter of time till we've gone to check out all of them. The first place was Pacific Beach, us walking on the pier past the beach cottages and at the end, we found a man who caught a rather large, scary looking stingray! Let's just say that we did not go near it for fear of another trip to the hospital -- long story involving Joey while surfing & stepping on one ticked off stingray. Yikes!

We hung out for a while, walked the boardwalk, had some ice cream treats too. Ocean Beach is closeby and we drove there too, but preferred PB instead. We also drove through Imperial Beach on another weekend right after we spent a few hours at Coronado. And ohh, is this place gorgeous!! I took a lot of photos that I want to have enlarged and framed, and of course, scrap a few as well. We tour the grounds and spent the entire afternoon until well after sunset facing the beach with this view behind us. So grand!
If you're familiar with the place, her claim to fame was from that Marilyn Monroe movie called, "Some Like it Hot" and it is even rumored to be haunted. Well, seeing how it was built in the 1800s, I'll take their word for it. ;) You can read up on the Hotel del Coronado's history from their website. I can't wait to go back again, maybe even join in on ice skating on the beach! It's true, they have an actual ice skating rink outside when the place is all decked out for the holidays. This being Southern California, it should be interesting to see, lol.

Speaking of another interesting place, we hightailed it to Lake Havasu, Nevada/Arizona -- the other side of the river (and Laughlin, NV on the way back) to visit & see the London Bridge. We haven't been back there since the kids were very little, so we took them again. We ended up swimming at the Pirate's Cove and spent an entire afternoon playing in the Colorado River. We found a nice secluded area for us by the campgrounds which turned out to be so much fun!
Then, last weekend, we headed down to Solana Beach so Joey could get some surf time and the kids can body board while I, naturally, take photos and keep an eye on the little one. I got my digicam ready, batteries all charged up with one to spare and I brought along 4 different lenses just so I could play with some shots. When we got there, it dawned on me... that I was formatting both memory cards that morning, but didn't remember to put them back in the camera bag, so there I was ready to take photos of such beautiful views of the ocean, the steep sloping cliffs, the surfers, my family and... and I blew it, ack! After a few pouts from me, I improvised with a camera phone & the FlipVideo (I know, unlike a dSLR, but oh well), I actually ended up having a total blast being crazy with the kids and a hideous pile of seaweed, of all things! LOL

Whoa, this is turning out to be quite an epic of a post. I better wrap this up with... a photo of cherries? :P I'm addicted to these and can't.stop.eating.them! Yum!!And, thanks to dh for these wonderful flowers... he said "just because!" :)
So, today, we are chillaxin' at home... playing Legos,

reading books from the library,

and I'll finally get around to scanning or taking photos of quite a few layouts that I put together before. It is gonna be another toasty day, phew. I hope you stay nice and cool!

(photo from the lake on the 4th of july)

Tap, tap... is this thing on?

2009-07-03T19:38:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I've updated this blog, so lotsa catchin' up to do! First off, my reveal for GCD Studios has been posted on their company blog. Yay for that challenge & thankful for the kindest comments! Here's a sample setting of what I've made. :)

ACOT has been doing their usual monthly challenges and I did a few last month, but I slacked off on taking photos and actually uploading them, so here's one I just took. I've, at least, 5 more I think. I will try and bust a move this month though, I hope!
The scalloped paper's by Creative Imaginations, AC Thickers title, and the latest Xmas line from SEI. And, speaking of which, I have been a looong time fan of this company! I must have each and every collection ever produced... oh yeah, I hoard them too. I remember way back when my very fave was the "Seasoned" line and stood in the long line at the Orange County Expo just to see if I could purchase more, hehee. It was raining that day too, but was so much fun. I'm the kind of scrapper who has to hang on to really good papers, ya know, just in case... but last night, I finally caved and started working on the Windsor line. I'm not done yet, but here's a lil' peek:

Looove love the flocked swirl that I cut out and later on need to figure out where I'm going to attach it on the page. This is a very elegant collection with shimmer and foil as well. And, consequently, I just placed an order through my CC Scraprewards to send me these SEI card kit called Floral & Contemporary which makes perfect teacher gifts next year! I knew I wouldn't be able to give them away unless I have some for me too, so yeah I ended up ordering them twice.

Now heads up and stop by the SEI blog because they're doing a 100th Post Giveaway here!

Ok so, I'm off to finish proofing photos from our recent mini-break, and I've still yet to go through the ones of my two kiddies on their promotion days! Man, time just flies, doesn't it? Till then :) I hope you have a safe & fun 4th of July weekend!!

Score!

2009-04-29T10:00:00.000-07:00

What can I say? Not only are the GCD Studios products gorgeous, but they are so nice over there, to boot! It didn't go unnoticed that I lurrrve this Paris Nights collection, so guess what the UPS dude delivered to me today? Yep, you guessed it... and ohh my, this line is even more beautiful in real life! I took a few, combined the patterns, but these photos will not do them justice.
They have a beautiful shimmer to them.
And they also have such a wonderful linen texture. If that doesn't impress you, these flocked brocade will... ohh yeah!

A closer look...
Another pattern with the same beautiful treatment...
Just when I thought it couldn't get any better... it also comes with a scalloped die-cut paper!

An up-close look at the edges... cool, huh? I can't decide whether it's foil or just a raised type of paint, but it sure is neat!
Ok now, how awesome are these scalloped-edge paper strips?! And, would you believe that it also comes with a transparency sheet? :)
Annnd journaling die-cuts?? There's that linen-like texture again!
Then there's the glittered alpha stickers... love it!But, they didn't stop there! How about a set of chipboard letters & embellishments?And, for good measure, they also threw in a couple packages of these glittered letters!

How lucky am I to be one of the Product Testers for them?! Seriously, I cannot wait to think up of things to create. I am just so excited and I hope to be able to do them proud. So, THANK YOU, Heidi & GCD Studious for this opportunity and for your awesome generosity. :)

In My Garden

2009-04-28T21:55:00.000-07:00

Just received this gorgeous Garden Grove line from Scenic Route... such a fun, bright, and brilliant collection with so many possibilities. Thanks Scenic Route! :)
They're thick & double-sided... here are the prints on the back:
Oh, and it even comes with kraft papers.I can't wait to pick out some spring or summer photos and get craftin'!

Earth to Me

2009-04-22T16:55:00.001-07:00

Happy Earth Day Go GREEN!!

Well, it seems like I'd just fallen off the face of the earth lately, but life happens as it always does, and before you know it, time's ran off in a blink of an eye. Easter was celebrated in the same fashion with what else, cupcakes, egg painting, hunting, and the inevitable sugar high. Oh, but don't these look sooo good though? Mmm mnnn...

I haven't scrapped anything lately, but I got a new Cricut travel cartridge and am excited to start our family album which will be an ongoing project. I'll add to it from time to time to document the many "firsts" we will have in our new home... first seasons, holidays, and what-have-yous. I'm liking the idea of progressively working & adding to this album and being able to reflect on all of it later. Check out my messy work area. :)Using mod podge for paper on the Maya Road chipboard house front cover.

Then, I used paints from Making Memories for the rest of the houses...

I've got a few more ideas up my sleeve that I'd love to implement once the weather cooperates. I cannot believe it spiked up to almost 100 degrees these past couple of days, just insane! Last weekend was beautiful enough though that we went for a relaxing day trip to a place called Julian, California. Loved the rolling hills, the rocky hillsides, all the apple orchards, farm & ranch houses, and of course the little ol' town itself chockful of historical buildings still standing since the late 1800s.

Here's the family on our way to one of the remaining original bakery... Joey & the kids ordered a giant cinnamon roll, big blueberry muffins, old-fashioned apple crumb pie ala mode while I had the boysenberry apple pie with a cafe mocha. Yum!

Ok, I better stop, lol, I'm making myself hungry! :P Till next time...

Terrific Tuesday

2009-04-07T17:48:00.000-07:00

Strange how the weather calls for rain both today & tomorrow, and yet it has been very sunny all day! It was a perfect day for a tee, shorts, and flip-flops while driving with the windows down. Just another glorious Spring day... even my horoscope agrees. I love it! :)

"Seek out the simple pleasures today, because there's not much else you need right
now to make you happy. Everything you need you already have, as you will come to more fully understand today. "

So, I took it easy, proofed more photos and getting some of them printed tonight. I'm finally ready to scrapbook our move from last summer, 8 months to this day, and the new house as well. I think I've got the right supplies for them, makes me excited just thinking about it. I will include a couple of photos of my scraproom too... my fave place in the house, next to the kitchen, that is. And, speaking of which, here's an updated photo taken at night. I've previously posted more photos here.

Well, not much else goin' on here, just getting dinner finished up before hubby gets home from work... maybe watch the new 24 episode later. Anyway, the kiddies are done with their homework and the lil' one's taken his bath, so that's it for now.

Mellow Monday

2009-04-06T15:41:00.000-07:00

Now that spring break's over, we are back to our regularly scheduled programming. :) It seemed to have gone by too fast, but we managed to squeeze in a fun outing or two and had my mom over for a couple of days as well. We don't see her often, so it was nice to have her around. I didn't get any scrappy time, but I've lots of photos to use for later.
The kids with my mom at Legoland, a photo of my fave place inside --- MiniLand New York, and one of all the kids at SeaLife in the next building which we visited just the day before. What a cool place! It's like a mini version of Sea World.

Afterwards, we decided to cruise the beach and ended up here where hubby & his friend sometimes like to go surfing during their lunch time.

It's such a mellow place, way less crowded than our usual Huntington Beach hangout, so we stayed well after the sunset while the kids played in the sand. And, I just love this street sign... only in California, lol.

Then, we rolled into town late at night, but not too late since we were still able to dine in at our fave sushi place and catch the last showing of Nicolas Cage's movie, Knowing. It's actually a good movie, I was surprised. Oh, and speaking of surprises... I've one more thing to share! I just found out that I am listed as one of the Product Tester for GCD Studios! Sooo awesome and truly an honor, whoohoo!! Details here:

*ETA: Another great news... I just received an email from Scenic Route Paper announcing that they picked out my "Santa Barbara Mission" layout to be featured as one of their March Monthly Challenge winner! Wow, this has been one fabulous day all around! :)

Flash of Genius

2009-03-30T22:55:00.000-07:00

I just like that movie title! :) Well, another mellow weekend's gone by filled with movies, shopping, sushi dinner & Wii games. I finally saw the Flash of Genius on dvd and wow, what a story... while Changeling was another film that I will not soon forget, very disturbing in fact, and both of them true-to-life stories. I love watching back2back movies while scrapbooking, totally gets my mojo going, and here's what I worked on.

Marrakech line by Basic Grey & American Craft's awesome fabric thickers:

( Beach photos from last Spring at Crystal Cove, California )

Scenic Route

2009-03-27T16:57:00.000-07:00

Let's just say that Spring break is underway here and I cannot wait for next week when hubby takes a few days off so we can go to one of the many attractions here in SoCal and let the kids enjoy their break before heading back to school. We've just been enjoying the free time, lounging around, and being lazy which, of course, gave me the chance to whip out this layout for the SR monthly challenge. This Sonoma collection is my other fave next to their Grafton collection. I was hanging on to these papers, but no more, so here's what I got done last night.

and an up close look at the flower cut-outs outlined with stickles:I just love how the stickles add that extra oomph to anything and I can't seem to stop myself from cutting out flowers! I joke that I'm like that old lady in the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes." :) Remember, she had the entire walls in her hospital room covered with flower cut-outs from magazines? I did that in my teens with old photo albums years before I discovered scrapbooking, lol. Well, that's it for now. I've got dinner brewing & a date with James Bond tonight... in Quantum of Solace, that is. Ha!

I hope your weekend is fabulous!!

Spring Fling

2009-03-23T21:32:00.000-07:00

Then again it has felt like Springtime here in SoCal all along with the fantastic weather we've been having. It rained quite briefly yesterday morning too, but by mid-day the sun was already out again. I have been playing with my scrap supplies, breaking out some new stuff which I haven't even touched yet. Then, I was on to finishing up my summer album. I figured I better get that done before summer rolls around again! Well, here's what I did for ACOT's (SEI) manufacturer challenge:

Next layout's for the "dedication" challenge:

The leftover scraps I used for the card challenge:
Now, I've just got to scan 15 or so pages for my summer album and upload later... phew!

Introducing

2009-03-17T04:17:00.000-07:00

A new favorite company, GCD Studios, that I have come across online since CHA-winter in Anaheim and was so excited to find out yesterday that ACOT's already got them all in their store, whoohoo! I remember browsing through the upcoming releases, on the lookout for the familiar companies that I've come to love, and then being drawn to some new style of patterned papers which I've never seen before. To my delight, I've learned that they are local here in Southern California and you don't know how happy that makes me, but it does, not to mention that their products are really gorgeous too! I've several faves, but the "Paris Nights" collection is my absolute... it's elegant, timeless and classic!

Top of the morning to ya & the rest of the day to yourself! HAPPY St. PATRICK's :)

Hello again, hello...

2009-03-15T21:29:00.001-07:00

Wow, it has been about a decade since I've kept a personal blog! I also had one for my web graphics and even a pregnancy journal for my last baby. Well, come to think of it, I did keep a scrapblog or a travelogue just a few years back when I discovered scrapbooking, but that's long been forgotten too. Now that weblogs have become mainstream, I know how important it is to have an online presence, so here I am... again! This site will serve as a creative outlet gallery for my projects and random family things, as well as a photoblog. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoy your visit. :)