Published in Memory Makers!

Please check out my layout titled "A Second Chance At Love" on page 83 of the May/June issue of Memory Makers and feel free to tell me what you think. I'm very exited about this publication because the layout is very near and dear to me. It is of my grandfather and his second wife on their wedding day and I was their "photographer" for the event. It was so exciting to see my grandfather remarry after my grandmother passed away. I'll post the layout at a later date once the magazine is off the newsstands and the July issue is up.

My first published layout!

It was so cool seeing my very first published layout in print. Here it is - as shown in the March/April 2008 Memory Makers on page 81. I created "Grand Teton National Park" for the Reader Idea Gallery on Earth Day. The quote I chose is one that I have always loved and I kept the layout colors neutral to keep the focus on the photo, which was actually taken by my husband, Andrew. So it was as exciting for him to see the publication because it was his photo!

Cece's Birth Announcement

I created this announcement for my new baby cousin who was born on St. Patrick's Day this year. It took me awhile - I made 60 of them. I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out. I hope you like it!

I will be published in Simple Scrapbooks!

So, I am surfing online tonight and I see I have a new email. I think "okay, it's a notification for a thread I've been viewing." But oh no...it's an email from Elizabeth Dillow from Simple Scrapbooks. My "Friends to the End" Mini Album has been chosen for publication in the September/October Simple Scrapbooks! This will be my first time published in Simple Scrapbooks and I am more than thrilled.

I applied to be the May guest creative team member at Feeling Scrappy (AND GOT IT!)

Feeling Scrappy is an awesome site if you are looking for a fabulous group of scrappy friends, encouragement in your scrapping endeavours or to educate yourself on all that's out in the scrapping world. They are currently accepting applications for the Guest Creative Team member position for May and I decided to give it a go. I applied to be part of the six-month Creative Team back in February and did not get selected (oh don't worry, I will apply next time around) so I thought I'd give the guest spot a shot. Cross your fingers!

UPDATE: I GOT IT!!! YAY! I am so excited to be part of the team at Feeling Scrappy for the Month of May! Whoo-Hoo!

Submission for the Sketch-abilities Design Team

Sketch-abilities is a brand new sketch blog that will feature totally cool sketches designed to make you think outside the scrapping box. I gotta tell you, when I first looked at this sketch, I was a little intimidated...but I am so happy with the result and I got an awesome layout from it. Here's hoping it lands me a spot on the design team because I have this feeling that this site is going to be very fun! You should check it out if you are a fan of sketches. This will definitely be a site that's not your "grandma's sketch site."

Noel Mignon's Hopscotch Kit Rocks!

You got to check out the Hopscotch Kit from Noel Mignon. It is awesome and comes will all sorts of girly goodies that are perfect for scrapping those Easter and Spring photos. Check out two of the creations I made with this kit...and I still have plenty left to do more pages! But hurry...Noel only has 5 left in stock!

I signed up to be a Close To My Heart Consultant!

I just signed up to be a Close to My Heart Consultant! I am so excited. My starter kit should arrive in a couple weeks so I can begin my new business in scrapbooking! Yea! Check out the full line of Close To My Heart products on their website.

Anxiously Awaiting...

So I reapplied for the Sketch This Design Team since Janelle's computer crashed and she lost everything (which really stinks). I am crossing my fingers. Sketch This is full of some talented ladies and I would be in great company if chosen. This was my entry: Happy Jack. Here's hoping!

UPDATE 4/16/08: I did not make the team. Oh well - back to the drawing board. Congrats to all the talented ladies that did make the team though - I can't wait to see what you do with Janelle's sketches!

Button, button, whose got the button?

So, a Feeling Scrappy friend named Kari Ann posted a topic a few days ago about a friend of hers who makes her own buttons out of Sculpey III clay. It sounded like such a fun project so I decided to make some of my own. They were super easy to make and turned out really well. Here's how I made them:

1. I bought nine different colors of clay from Joann's at $2.37/block.
2. I took clay and rolled it into balls to make it soft and then molded it to my desired button shape.
3. I used a corn-on-the-cob holder to poke the holes in the center of each button.
4. Bake the buttons according to package directions.
5. Decorate the buttons using acrylic paint or paint pens. I also used Puffy Velvet markers to achieve a textured look.

I hope you take some time to try them out. You can also choose to leave the buttons unpainted until you know what layouts you want to use them on - then paint them to go specifically on that layout. Have fun!

Published in Memory Makers!

It was so very exciting to see my layout there in print inside one of my favorite scrapbooking magazines. The feeling was almost surreal. Getting published was a personal goal of mine for so long and to reach that goal was very rewarding. Please check out my layout titled "Grand Teton National Park" on page 81 of the March/April issue of Memory Makers and feel free to tell me what you think. I'll post the layout at a later date once the magazine is off the newsstands and the May issue is up. But, having the May issue released is also good news for me because another layout of mine will be featured in that issue!

I thought I'd share my scraproom.

This is my desk in my scrap space. I finally finished the room in August 2006 and it only took me nine months. The cabinets are actually premade kitchen cabinets from Lowe's & a premade 10-foot formica countertop from Lowe's. It stretches from wall to wall and is so easy to clean off. My Dad, Mr. Bob Villa v2.0, is awesome for installing this for me. The shelves used to hang (at one time) in both my brothers bedrooms and now I have them. They are great because I can adjust the heights. The 4 colored foam bulletin squares are from Office Max. On my desktop sits my MacBook Pro, my Canon MP600, a Pampered Chef tool caddy with all my essential tools, magazine files to house my scraps, journals and planning stuff and a TV. On the shelves sit boxes, baskets, jars and two sets of hardware drawers full of supplies. In the drawers are more tools and supplies and in the cabinets sit organizers for all my paper and cardstock. The inspiration for the bright Caribbean colors comes from my aunt and uncle's folkart which decorates the room (see my other picture). They are professional artists located in St. Petersburg, FL.

This is the lounging side of my scrap space (primarily used by my hubby and golden retriever). The wall art and pillows are my aunt and uncle's folkart I spoke about previously. I have 2 rope chairs, which were my mother's for 30 years and are now mine. The cubed shelving unit is actually Closetmaid Cubicals (bought at Lowe's). The Canvas drawers are made by Closetmaid just for the Cubicals line. They are great for storing all kinds of scrapping stuff. I use them to store my foam and acrylic stamps, punches and larger tools. In the photo boxes are extra photos and more embellishments. The side tables are actually craft storage drawers by JMax bought at Target. I use these to store chipboard, die-cuts, ribbon and fibers. The large white baskets that sits upon one of the cubes is full of 12x12 pockets that hold stickers & rub-ons.

So I finally did this blog thing.

It seems that everyone has a blog now and I feel really behind the times. So, I decided to get with it and create a scrapbooking blog. I figure it's the place to start since I want to eventually earn a spot on a Design Team and I know a blog is a great thing to have to do so. Therfore, here's my blog and my first entry. I hope you all like it!