{discovering} life

Another stamping share...

I've got a layout up at Hero Arts today...I had a lot of fun playing with embossing, stamping on buttons, stamping on acetate tags, background stamps with Versamark, repeat stamping...just a lot of fun stamping! :) :) You can see it here on the Hero Arts Blog and it has a link to all the info on the site if your interested in checking it out. I'm working on a fun project using a bunch of the new Summer Catalog items - wow - so loving the big stamps and the new background stamps!!

Swim lessons finally end tomorrow - so glad! LOL! It's been a busy month already with sessions back to back - but the kids have learned so much and are much more comfortable going in the water. Which is fabulous news! They both will go under now - such improvement!

I got sick last weekend which wiped me out a bit - but feeling better thankfully! I've got a bunch of assignments to get done by this weekend so I gotta get to work today. I've got something fun to share in the next day or two...so check back! So fun and cute! I love it!

Anyway - just a quick post. Have a good Wednesday!

Yummy things!

I typed up this huge post last night with photos and links...and then Typepad ate it. So bugged! That's the first time and argghhhh...it is frustrating! LOL!

So, I'll try to remember what I wrote! :)

First of all, I have been waiting for months for the new releases from Autumn Leaves to come out - and guess what - they are here!!!! Pure bliss - no kidding!

I saw them all listed at Two Peas and to see each item more up close is awesome! I don't have it all in my hands yet, but when I do...trust me, you'll be seeing lots of projects from me! I mean, seriously...Heather Bailey! I love her stuff and am stoked that they did this line! New amazing stamps - and ink pads!!!! :) New Cute boy and girl lines, addition to the Manhattan line - so cool! Lots of new embellishments and such - they really have done a lot this time!

Anywho...you can find the new Heather Bailey stuff here and the rest here. If you find it somewhere else online, please post in the comments to people can get some! You'll love it!

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Speaking of Heather Bailey - did you see that she released photos of her new fabric lines on her blog. Oh my gosh!!! I'm such a sucker! LOL! That first color scheme with the red, brown, blue...I've already got my pattern picked out and now I just need the fabric. I will be making that quilt as soon as I get that yummy stuff. So love it!!!

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I love my Scrapbooks, etc. magazine! It has been a huge honor to be apart of the 2008 Creative Team and to be able to contribute to the magazine. I love everyone that works there - truly an amazing team that put their heart and souls into what they do. Do you subscribe? If not, you gotta - now!! I just renewed for 3 years at this great site online that has it for only $6 a year! Yep, $6 a year! Plus, if you enter the coupon code JUNE at checkout, you'll get 20% off - so I think it came to $4.88 or something a year. I got 3 years for under $15! Cool deal! So, grab it now! It really is a fabulous magazine - you can't go wrong!! I promise!

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Wanna hear a funny?

Yesterday, Hudson went to his friends house from school to play. On Wed., he had a friend over and then went to his house after and Thursday, off to a new friends. He never gets to play with boys his age - he always plays with Madi and her friends on our street which are all girls older than him. Such a bummer. So, he was so happy!

Anyway, I guess they fought a bit over toys and sharing so I went and picked him up. I asked him what they did and he said,

Hudson: "Well, Ben got water on my legs, shorts and shirt with the hose and got me all wet!" he said so upset and sad.
Me: "Oh, he was just playing. Did you cry?"
Hudson: "No, I just pouted."

I laughed so hard. Pouted - what a vocabulary. And yes, I'm sure he cried! LOL!

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Ok, off to finish a layout for Hero Arts today that will be up next week! It's a fun one. And, we are finally getting our wood blinds installed in our kitchen area and our master bedroom today. I could not be happier! It's going to look awesome! Yippee! Have a great Friday!

Some more cards...

I've got two cards up this week at Hero Arts showcases these fun ticket stamps!

You can see the first one, which was made at the same time as my Father's Day card (hence kinda the same design)

here

and the second one

here.

Also, did you see that their new 2008 Summer Catalog was posted online today! Delicious! 12" long border stamps - so cool! And I'm totally in LUV with all of the new background stamps! I can't wait to play with them - so fun!

Hope you all had a great day yesterday celebrating Father's Day! I got some awesome pictures of the kids at their grandparents last night - I'll share very soon.

Have a great Monday!

Happy Father's Day!

I hope you are able to celebrate the Father's in your life today - whether near or far. Here is a simple card I put together for my hubby...using Stampin' Up! stamps, Hero Arts Notecards & gems, and my good old string and some punches. Have a great, great day!!

Dad - Happy Father's Day! We love you and miss you so so much! We can't wait to be with you in a few weeks! :) Hope you have a safe trip home!

Ryan - Your an amazing husband and father - I hope that you have a wonderful, wonderful day today! We love you!

And thanks for all the posts - I loved the first layout too in the last post - it was pretty much the 1st one - just added too, a different title and a larger photo. Thanks for your responses!

Have a good one!

Look familiar?

First of all - thanks for your last posts! It was so fun to hear which was your fav and why - thanks for sharing! :) Our email has been down for a day and a half (talk about killer) so I'm glad that I'm back up and running!

I had a shot at the May/June BHG cover and it didn't get chosen (Melissa Inman's great layout is on the cover - so cute). But, I thought I'd share my 2 layout options here...that photo is just so cute and colorful! Again - do you have a fav of the two?

I gotta get those Father's Day cards done and I'll try to get them posted before Sunday! :) Happy Friday!

Which do you prefer?

When given an assignment for a magazine, book, etc., there are usually certain things that you need to focus on...i.e.: a color scheme, a certain technique, a sketch, a product, etc. I was given a certain assignment from BHG Scrapbooks, etc. to create a layout that had multiple words on a photo and a color scheme to follow. So, the layout I created had words printed directly on the photo which I created in my photo editing software program. Here is the first layout:

Once I heard back from the editors, they said that they had another layout that was similar and was wondering if I could change the words to be done with stickers, chipboard, rubons, etc. - and to add a photo of the person's face. So, this is the second layout and the one that appeared in the January 2008 magazine (the color is kinda weird - sorry:

Which one do you like the best? I have my personal favorite - which one is your's?
So, if your ever asked to edit a layout or change something - don't get down about it. It happens a lot - to everyone and it's just part of the publishing process. It's not personal - everything in the article needs to work together and sometimes changes have to occur. So - a little share.

Sorry I've been a lame blogger! Last night, as I was trying to fall asleep, I was trying to think about where my day went. We've been consumed with swim lessons every morning - which take our day up to noon. Then, cleaning, had to run errands, taking care of Jaxon (feeding, burping, playing, soothing, changing, getting him to sleep, etc.), resolving fights between the older two (which requires a whole other post - any tips to get them to stop fighting non-stop? argghhhhhh), more 'trying' to clean, trying to scrap, etc., etc., etc. And then the day is gone. I seriously feel like I have 10 hours less than everyone else! :)

I've got some Father's Day cards to make - so I'll share those this week. I'll have a Hero Arts share next Monday and some more shares like this. I also want to do some videos but I've been so intimidated to dig into that - but I really want to - so hopefully soon! :)

I got my Canon 40D camera and trying to play with that a bit too. I haven't had much time for photos - I totally need to get some of little Jack Jack - unfortunately - it's been too long and I feel badly about that.

And - my apologies that I haven't been great at getting back to emails lately! I love hearing from everyone and I promise I'm going to do better. It's just been crazy adjusting to kids home and the baby and all.

Hope your all doing well! What have you been up to this summer? Post and say hi! Hugs!

A colorful photo shoot

  I have been working on lots of assignments and printing lots of photos and I was excited when I came across these photos. I kinda forgot about them and haven't had the chance to sit down and look at them. It was so fun getting Jaxon dressed in this cute outfit from the Gap. I loved the colors and had to get it for a cute photo session with him. I took these all on March 13 - so he was a little over 1 1/2 months old. Such a sweetie! I just wanted to share some fun photos of him - oh how they grow so so fast!

Thanks for the emails on the camera and the books - New Moon is a little boring right now and I hope that changes. I better get through it so I can start Eclipse and her new book! :)

I'll be back with more soon! Have a good day!