{discovering} life

New Autumn Leaves Books! :)

I was so excited to see the new product releases from Autumn Leaves this week! Jeff went ahead and posted the whole catalog on their site (early - yahooo!!) and it had the advertisements for the new books! So excited to share! Hope you don't mind...just so excited to see these up!

Designing with Details!!!
I believe Jeff said this is planned to ship in June.

Notice the photo of Hudson - so neat to see that! That cupcake page right above him is mine as well - and the little cupcake circle! So fun!!

I've always loved and looked forward to the books from AL and this is still just surreal to see my stuff and name on there. So truly blessed! :)

Perfectly Clear - The Clear Stamp Book
(scheduled to ship in April)

This book was soooo fun to work on! If I can say it...I love every single layout I did for this book! My fav to date!!!

I was shocked to see my two layouts at the top of the ad...so neat to see that! That 'm' layout with the stamping on the cork - the second one in the ad - is one of my all-time favs! I've got a lot of favs in this book! Tracy really just let us play and it was so much fun!

I can't wait to see these two books! They have another 'The Foof-a-Life' coming out too and I'm sure it is fabulous! It's more home decor and other items - not tons of layouts - fun stuff!

Thanks for letting me share...it's fun to see these things being announced and looking forward to seeing the actual books. Everyone puts so much time and work into these books...it's so neat to see it all come together! :) :) :)

I've been loving all the CHA preview photos! It officially starts today in CA and I can't wait to see actual photos from the show. I've got some layouts up in the Autumn Leaves booth and some stuff in the Quickutz booth :) :) Fun times! And new product releases....what can get better than that! So fun and inspiring!

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Madisyn had her birthday party with all her friends yesterday at our house. Our first official party with friends...it went great! Lots of fun! I got a lot of fun photos that I'm going to download today and I'll post some this week. She had a great time!

Thanks for all your sweet birthday wishes for Madi and I...you are all so sweet and it meant a lot to me so thank you so very much!

Have a great Sunday! Hugs!

What a great surprise....

First of all, thanks for your sweet Birthday wishes for Madisyn! She had a great day! We had family over last night for a little party and she got lots of fun things. She loves it when people come over! Plus, she ate her piece of cake! I think that's the first time she's ever eaten her cake (not just the frosting!) LOL! She had a rough night last night - cried for about an hour and I couldn't calm her down. That is so hard when she does that - I just don't understand what causes it. But, I just held her and tried to help...and be patient.

I still can't believe that she is 5! So crazy! Lots of thoughts yesterday - thinking about her birth and her life thus far. It hasn't been easy - I won't lie - but I'm so glad she is here...that she is a part of our family! Love her so much!

Late last night...I was online looking around for a minute and guess what I stumbled upon....

The NEW Autumn Leaves Releases for CHA Winter this week! YAHOOOOOO!!!

Unbelieveable! I love every single thing - seriously! Seriously!!!! :) :) :)

Here is a link to the new releases....get ready to drool!! Thanks to Lifetime Moments for posting them! I didn't expect to see photos until the show so this was an awesome surprise!

((Notice the little cutie Madi on the MOD Primary page - loved playing with that new line - so delicious!!!)

Anyway - gonna try to do something fun today. Gotta finish a layout for CHA...take Madi to school...most of the usual I guess! LOL! My hubby is taking me out tonight - dinner and who knows what else! 29.....Wow! My last official year of my 20's - better get working on that BALANCE thing right!

Hope you all have a great day as well! Hugs! Oh - I got lots of fun photos of Madi yesterday - I really need to post some photos. :)

My girl is FIVE!!!

In 2 hours, it will be January 23...my sweet little girls 5th Birthday!!!

This year has flown by! I can't believe I have a 5 year old! I love her to pieces! We will probably have a pretty regular day...school and lots of playing. Then all our local family will come over for cake and presents at night...it will be fun and she'll love it. I have a few presents that I think are gonna surprise her (Leapster and some Barbie Dancing Princess toys). We took invitations to her friends today for a birthday party on Saturday - her first girls birthday party! I hope I can get through it! LOL!

I never thought that she would of been born the day before my birthday! It was quite an experience to be welcoming her into the world 3 hours before my 24th birthday! The sweetest birthday present...without a doubt. I got pre-clampsia (sp?) at the beginning of January, put on bed rest, went into Dr. on the 21 and he said I had to be induced. I was just two weeks early. Crazinesss! It's kinda hard now to juggle both our birthdays...but that's okay. She's here and that's all that matters.

I thought I'd share a layout of her...this was in the Trendsetters Idea Book by Scrapbook Trends. Did you get that one? Lots of great artist and work in there. This is one that I did for that book...love her! :)

Ok - gotta get to bed. Still have work to do for CHA (time is surely ticking) and birthdays coming right around the corner. Busy week!! :) Hugs!

$90 Later....

I got my photo card back and all my photos were retrieved! YAHOOOOO!!! I haven't been able to take any photos all month (yes I need another memory card LOL) so I am so happy to have it all back in my hands. Also thrilled that the 400 photos from Christmas were retrieved - can you imagine how sad I would of been. So great news! I thumbed through them a bit last night and I got lots of fun ones. I can't wait to look at them more!

Thanks for sharing your words with me!! Lots of good ones! And to those that are celebrating a birthday this month too...HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Angelia...I'm so jealous you got to go to Boston - that's one place I really want to get too. Lucky you!! And thanks for the early birthday wishes! Madisyn's 5th Birthday is on the 23rd - the day before mine! Funny how that turned out right! LOL! So, I'm always busy planning her birthday and don't ever really think about mine - guess that's not a bad thing right! :)

Anyway - CHA is right around the corner (the large trade show for the industry). It's my favorite time - seeing all the new products that will be released! Love it! I've found a few sites that have sneak peeks up already so I thought I'd link you all up. If you know of any more....please share! Love finding them!

Lifetime Moments MB
Scrap Etc.
Remember the Moments
ScrapScene
Be Different

If I find more, I'll be sure to share. I know there is another great site but I can't find it since I got a new computer and it's not saved on this one. If you know of it...please share! :)

Ok, short post but I gotta get to work. Layouts to finish for CHA and lots of fun assignments to finish up. I can't wait till I can spill the beans on some fun stuff! :) Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I'm gonna be working in my studio most the weekend - I'm hoping at least to get a lot done. We'll see if that happens or not!

Any fun plans for the weekend? Working on anything fun? Hope you have a good one! Hugs!

One Little Word

On January 24th, I will turn 29 years old. Wow! Where did my 20's go? I feel like it has slipped through my fingers...literally.

In December, I was thinking about all the things that I need to change and improve on this year. There are a lot. :) With this birthday fast approaching, I NEED this year to be THE YEAR that I make those changes. I can't keep letting time slip on by...it truly goes by so quickly. Next January, I will turn 30 and I hope that I will be in a place that I will be happy with...happy with myself for making myself a better person...the person that I want to be...the person I know that I am...I just need to unleash her!

With that said, when I saw Ali's eZine this month about choosing One Little Word to be your word for 2007 - I thought it was a cool idea. I didn't really think much about it after reading it - you know - life and assignments and stuff got in the way.

Rewind back to Nov. or Dec. I was thinking of signing up for Heidi's Big Picture class...A Year to Remember. I thought that it could help give me some 'life challenges' and inspiration that I need to change and improve upon this year. Well, I decided not to do it. Not much spare time and just didn't know if it was the thing for me. Anyway - I guess my whole talk to my hubby about me turning 29 and wanting to improve on things, needing life inspiration, etc. - he got me on the waitlist for her class and he got me in. I was surprised! So, I'm in. Not so much for the class project part (although I'm sure it will be darling) - not sure how much I'm gonna be able to do - but for the life inspiration and fun of it all.

This first month we've been challenged to come up with a goal that we want to focus on for the year. I've had it in the back of my head...to loose weight...but thinking again about Ali's One Little Word idea I thought of a word that I'm sure we all want to work on. But, it's something that has been on my mind that past year and something that sums up a bunch of things that I really want to work on this year.

BALANCE

Perfect word huh!! I love it!

Something I've been wanting to try to achieve...

Balance with my
Health
Kids
Hubby
Spirituality
Scrapbooking
Time
Home

It's a list...trust me...I know it. But, I've gotta start working on each little thing. One step at a time. Did you choose a word for 2007? A special goal that you are wanting to work on? We've gotta help eachother ok! :)

Speaking of balance...kids are sick with a nasty cold and I got assignments due...gotta run!

Glad you all liked the fun storage ideas! So cute huh! If you buy anything - do share! :) Also, I'm so sorry I haven't been good responded to your posts - I love it when you post and say hello. Sorry I haven't been good with getting back to you - another thing I need to get back into doing! :) Have a great MONDAY!

Some fun storage ideas

Hi! I've thought about coming on here and writing every day and then I get caught up in something. It will get better! I'm starting to wonder if anyone still comes around - I've been so lame. Sorry! Things are so busy this month! With the huge trade show, CHA, at the end of the month I'm busy creating things for the show and for lots of other assignments. Busy busy busy month! What am I gonna do in February with my time? LOL!

I've got a bunch of stuff I need to be working on, but I thought I'd share some fun storage ideas that I've seen. I have so many things in my studio now - I love storage! I keep buying it and my hubby doesn't get it - he says I just need to get rid of stuff instead of buying more things for storage! LOL! Oh well! I'm sure my obsession will continue.

Plus, combine storage solutions with Pottery Barn - and you gotta know I'm a gonner! :)

So...I love these, love, love, love these! Now don't go buying all of them cause I want to get some eventually (just kidding) - but I do really love them! They come with lids in a bunch of different colors too.

I also think that these slanted shelves are cool - get some cute buckets to put on there and your set! You can see in the bucket but still have things organized and 'clean'. Fun!

I absolutley love my cubby drawer unit that I bought from PB awhile ago (they no longer have them), but I saw this cute little shelf unit that has little compartments for you to put little boxes, jars, bins, frames - the possibilities are endless. Cute idea.

And this is the cutest thing! They have a bunch of different ones, colors, combinations, but how fun for a wall behind your desk or in front of your desk - pin up things that inspire you, write down notes, hang up product - so much fun! I so wish I had a spot to put these right now!!

And one last one...I asked my hubby to help his dad make me something like this for Christmas but it didn't happen. I ended up getting an expresso colored wood shelf and some cute bowls from Anthropologie that totally match the colors in my buckets. So cute! I need to get the shelf up and I'll share picts! But...I love this idea from PB! So cute! I tell ya...Pottery Barn is the best - I know they can be pricey - but such cute and fresh ideas! Love that!

I love looking around for fun things like this! So - I thought I'd share a few!

About the movie we saw on Friday night...it was

A Pursuit for Happyness

I've heard mixed reviews on this movie but I loved it!! I cried and cried! We have some big things going on right now and I think it just made my hubby and I so grateful for our life and for where we are at and what we are blessed with. I feel so bad when I say that I'd love to get a bigger house, or this and that....when really we have everything we could possibly need! ((And here my whole post is about cute storage things that I want! LOL). I wanted to do a whole post about this movie, but I know that I'll forget.

If you haven't seen this show...go see it! The things that he does for his child...to keep living. The endless nights studying, crying and I'm sure....lots of praying. Such an inspiration story! So grateful we were able to get out and that we chose to see it! Fabulous!

Anyway - I gotta get back to work and dealing with the kiddos. Madi has a nasty cough...doesn't sound good. I hope that she'll get better soon! Hope you all have a great day!

Yippeeee!

Happy Monday everyone!! I hope that you all had a great weekend! We actually got a date night - how sweet is that! It was a busy week and we both needed it. I've got to share some thoughts about a fabulous movie we saw - I'll post about that tomorrow.

I've got a ton to do today, so I gotta be quick. But, I just had to share my excitement - hope you all don't mind.

My birthday is this month and while my parents were here visiting after Christmas - my mom surprised me with a Sewing Machine!! I was totally surprised and so excited!! We ended up changing it though to a different one and I'm just in shock that I'm getting this one. I really don't need a new machine - mine is just perfect - but I've been wanting to do some monogramming and fun things and this machine has 2 alphas and tons of great options and stitches - I can't wait to play with it!!

It's suppose to be here today and I can't wait to play with it! A totally unexpected surprise...

THANK YOU MOM!!! SO so so so so so so much! Love you!!!!

I'm thinking of selling my Singer 2638 Sewing Machine. I found a place online that as a refurbished one here for a great price. I'd sell it for a great deal - better than that! LOL! If you interested, just drop me an email and I'll get back to you!

Ok - gotta go work!! So much to do! Despite the fact that I hurt my hand badly wrestling with Ryan yesterday - I've gotta get it done! Luckily it was my left hand! LOL! Hope you all have a fabulous Monday!!

 

Hi! Winner! :)

Thanks to everyone that came by and for your sweet words! Thank you!!!

So - quick story - I was downloading photos from Christmas and poof - all the sudden it froze and my photos were all gone on my card. I about cried! Couldn't believe it!!! So, I'm not taking more photos right now cause I'm going to try to take it somewhere to get the photos recovered. So sad!

So, I didn't take a photo, sorry, but I had Madisyn draw a name and she drew:

How sweet of you!  Happy New Year.  Look forward to seeing what you create in 2007!

Posted by: Judy | Tuesday, January 02, 2007 at 04:12 PM

 

Congrats Judy!!! Please email me your address and I'll get the book to you right away! I hope you enjoy it and find inspiration from everyone's projects! And thanks to everyone else for playing! I hope that you all have a wonderful year! Nothing like giving stuff away at the first of the year - get off on the right foot! :) :) :)

I've had a busy week...but my hubby has been even busier at work which means I haven't had much help with the kids. So, Friday night...starting to go a bit insane! LOL!

I'm scrapbooking though - just did a page that was so fun and I love it! Mind you, I haven't scrapped in like 3 weeks and so I created a page the other day (took me 3 days to finally get it done) and I HATE IT!!! I showed it to my hubby and he gagged - yeah - it was bad! LOL! So, that assignment was a redo - I couldn't submit it when I didn't 'love' it and I ended up creating something I do love. That's a good feeling. Now, I'm praying that I'm able to keep some mojo with me for the rest of the month!

Hope you all have a good night! I'll get back to posting regularly now - got lots on my mind and lots to share so I hope you'll all keep coming around! :) Hugs!

Happy New Year!!!

I love this time of year - a new year - a fresh new day to think about the things that I want to change and improve. I didn't get my Christmas Scrapbooking project done that I wanted too - but I'm hoping to do some sort of book with my resolutions for the new year. I have so many things on my mind and things that I want to focus on improving - need to get it all down on paper.

How was your Christmas? Ours was wonderful! It was the first time in 9 years that we weren't with our parents/family for Christmas morning. It was strange - but also so nice to be home creating our own traditions in the comforts of our own home. Luckily I saw some of my family that week in Vegas and then my parents and bro and his wife came down to visit. The first day of the New Year was spent with everyone at our house watching football, eating and talking. Good times! :)

I feel like I'm ready to get back into the swing of things...Madi is back at school today, I've got work piling up that I've got to get done, cleaning and more more more! I have sooo many photos from December and so many things I've wanted to come on and post about - I've just been overwhelmed by it all though. I was just downloading my picts and it froze up - haven't had that happen before on this MAC so now I need to probably shut it down and restart. So, I'm just gonna post this - no photos again! LOL!

But, I do want to do a little giveaway. 2006 was a wonderful year for me! Of course there are always the ups and downs, but I like to try to focus on the UPs!  :) I'm thankful for this awesome craft of scrapbooking - so thankful for the people I have met and for the places it has taken me! I loved working for Making Memories and now for Autumn Leaves. They are so wonderful to design for and I just feel blessed every day that I get to create and play and truly be myself in my art! Thankful for all the opportunties I've had - so humbling and I just feel so thankful! I'm excited for 2007 - excited for the ups, the downs, the challenges and the rejoicing...hope it brings good things to all of you!

Anyway - with that said...
I thought I'd give away one of the Making Memories Celebration Books. I've got some projects in here...it was a fun book to have the opportunity to be in. Lots of great work in here by many designers!

Just post here, say hello, and I'll put you into the drawing. I'll draw on Friday! :)

Happy New Year to you all!
Robyn