DT Call

Ok, as you all know I've been going on and on about the Last Scrapper Standing contest at Addicted Scrappers. Well they've got a DT call out and all I can say is I LOVE their kits! If you're interested in being on a Design Team make sure you check this one out. Here are the deets:

How would you like to be on the Addicted Scrappers design team? Well now is your chance!! We are searching for 2 new designers. This time around we are doing our call a bit differently. This will be a competition and the last 2 standing will become part of this fabulous team! We encourage anyone and everyone to apply. Please don't be intimidated if you've never had DT experience before! US and International applicants are welcome!

We will be accepting sign ups starting today! You will need to sign in on this thread in order to be eligible to participate, you need to sign in before the first challenge is issued. You must be a member of our forum and have at least 10 posts, and 3 lo's posted in our gallery. Please list your blog (if you have one) in your signature.

The first challenge will be given on May 31st. You will have until June 4th at Midnight EST to get your challenge posted. The deadline each week may be a bit different. There will be a few "quick fix" challenges (these will be quite simple, so don't fear!), thrown into the weeks as well. The competition will run until June 13th and the new team will be announced no later than June 17th. You will need to have a bio and picture ready for us no later than June 30th.

DT Responsibilities and requirements
-this is a 3 month term
-you will be required to create at LEAST 3 lo's, and 2 cards or 1 altered item per month with our kit. (total of at least 4 projects per month)
-you must promote us anywhere and everywhere you can. we also request that you make at least one blog post per month about what you have created with the month's kit. Also please have a link to us on your blog.
-Be an active user on our message board and in our gallery. You will be help in the question of the day and monthly challenges. We don't want to set a minimum post count so if you think you aren't chatting enough...chat more!! On the flip side if we think you are chatting enough we'll let ya know!!
-You will need to participate in our crops by creating challenges, posting instructions etc.
-Each month you will be required to submit a project for our newsletter, including instructions and pictures on how to create a project, or you may teach us a new technique.

Benefits to include-
-a monthly kit free. our kits are always packed with the latest and greatest!
-an additional 5% discount off all purchases (my prices are already marked 10% off retail so you'll be getting a 15% total discount)
-free shipping on orders that ship with your kit up to $7.00
-a place on our dt page with your bio, pic and a link to your blog
-a forum just for our Addict Counselors
-Tons of FUN and awesome products to work with!!

Here is a link to the call. If you do sign up be sure and tell them I referred you! Hope to see you there!!!!

Sneek Peek

Just a little teaser about my Week 7 lo.

Tomorrow mornin' if you wake up, and the sun does not appear
I...I will be here

Hold my hand and have no fear, 'cause I...I will be here

When you feel like bein' quiet, When you need to speak your mind
I will listen, and I will be here
When the laughter turns to cryin', through the winnin' and losin' and tryin'
We'll be together, 'cause I will be here

Tomorrow mornin' if you wake up, and the future is unclear
I...I'll be here

I will be here....
You can cry on my shoulder

And I will be here
To watch you grow in beauty
And tell you all the things you are to me
I will be here

I will be true, to the promise I have made
To you and to the One who gave you to me

I will be here

(song by Steven Curtis Chapman)

(I used Photoshop Express to do the select color in these pics. Check it out here.)

Popcorn and a LO

So, I LOVE popcorn. I might even say popcorn is my favorite snack food...but not just ANY popcorn. Not this:

or this:

but THIS: There is nothing quite like hot, fresh, lightly salted, stove-popped popcorn. Ahhhh....its wonderful! (on a side-note, did you notice the top picture is Spanish?!?! Too funny.)

So, here is that lo I promised the other day. This was the first lo I did for last week's challenge at Addicted Scrappers, and then I ended up using You & Me instead.

credits: SU Define Your Life stamp, Daisy D pp, Autumn Leaves Swirls stamps, paint pens, Scenic Route chipboard, Love Elsie Lola rub-ons, cuttlebug for title, RachelScraps digi frame

Also if you're in the mood for some cool photo-editing tips, check out Virgina's post today at Blackflipflops. Find it here.

Pachelbel Rant

This cracks me up. Pretty sure you have to be a big dork to appreciate it, but I know there are some of you out there...so enjoy!



I didn't get a picture of the other lo taken today, so no new scrappy stuff to share, however, I will tell you...I made it to week 7!!!! Woohoo!!!! I'm still standing in The Last Scrapper Standing!!!! YEA!!!!!

The Waiting Game...

Well folks...that's it. That's my layout for this week's challenge on the Last Scrapper Standing. It was a scraplift. I'm happyish with this page even though it sooo much simpler than my work normally is. Tim is in love with it though so I guess that's why I stopped messing with it. lol. You should go check out the gallery of AMAZING work for this week's contest here. I'm sure glad I'm not judging. I'm not so sure I'll be moving on this week, but I'm crossing my fingers! lol. I guess that's about it for today. I'll upload the first lo I did for this challenge (and decided not to use) tomorrow.
credits: SU Always Artichoke cs, unknown tree pp, primas, stickles, K & Co "Classic K Bailey" chipboard words, Fancy Pants chipboard bracket, scoring blade, MM paint - Daffodil and Goblin Green, Colorblok brads, sandpaper, ribbon from stash

Date Night in Photos

Hey! Just a quick post to show you all how much fun I had with my wonderful hubby on Friday night. Enjoy the pictures!
Edit: I made this in PSE and its not lopsided, so I'm not sure why it looks that way here...sorry.

Blog Candy

Just a quick post to let you know about some blog candy over on JustRite Stampers. Go sign up for their newsletter and you'll be entered to win this fantastic Monogram stamp set. Honestly I'm not sure why I'm tell you all about this because I really want it! lol.
Ok, I'm off to get some breakfast and take care of my kidlets. Tim and I are going on a date tonight! Woohoo!!!

No Gentleness

Ok, so I know I promised to give you all my thoughts on gentleness and share what God has been teaching me, but I think I'm going to take a few more days to get it all together and make it more cogent. Today was a crazy day, but still good. Tim is working late, so Kessa is staying up late so she can see daddy. In fact at this very minute she's standing on my lap playing with a mini-album I made my husband for his birthday. (See it here.) So, since I have no insights on gentleness I'll just leave you with a few photos from yesterday. I really want to get back to the mini-album I'm making for my MIL and I'm also trying to find some brushes that will work with my version of PSE. So, here are the cuties that make up my family! (and I'm in there too! ;)
(Tim wasn't actually talking on the phone here, that's one of Kessa's play phones)
Do I not have the most handsome men in my life?

My Husband is the Greatest!!!!

Because he does sweet little things at unexpected times that make my day!!! Like today after all the fussing and whining that started my day I looked at my phone to see what time it was and instead of the rather bad picture of Kessa I see some blurs...and then the blurs start to move...I watch in fasination (at first I though the camera was on and it was my fingers or something!) and as I'm watching I see a pen...and then some letters...and right there before my eyes the words I LOVE YOU appear!!!! That's right, Tim apparently highjacked my phone sometime and recorded himself writing I Love You and put it as the background on my phone!!! He's so wonderful!!! So...since I couldn't get a decent shot of that, I'll leave you with a picture of him doing something similar shortly after we got married. :D
I love you too baby!

Sanctification through Servanthood (or Tough Days in Toddlerville)

So, I think I understand now what Paul meant in 1 Timothy 2:15 when he said women would be saved through childbirth! Its only 8:15 on this beautiful Wednesday morning, but I already feel like I've been through the ringer. Why? Because I've been focusing on myself and my desires instead of seeing my life and my children through the eyes of a servant as God has called me to by His example. When I manage to get my "kingdom spectacles" on properly even the whining and the fussing and the complaining are easier to deal with because I'm able to remember the reason I'm correcting these bad behaviors. Its not so that I will have "good" kids who won't embarrass me in public (although that is a plus! lol) The reason is twofold. First and foremost is it because God has called me to train them up in the way they should go. In Proverbs I'm reminded that "the reproofs of discipline are the way of life," and one that really gives me pause and makes me buckle down in the continual battle of loving discipline, we're commanded not to withhold discipline from a child so that he won't die!!! Ok, that's enough for today, even if none of you get anything out of these little "scripture" post, God uses them to cement in my mind the things he is teaching me. I'll leave you with some photos that make me smile no matter how uptight I am! (also tune in tomorrow for some thoughts God is showing me on gentleness...something I'm not that great at!)

Addicted Scrappers Quote Challenge

So the challenge for week 5 over at Addicted Scrapper's Last Addict Standing contest was a quote challenge. We were given like 7 or 8 different quotes to pick from. As you can see below I used "Life is not about the moments we breathe but the moments that take our breath away."
On the brackets and the wings I used almost the same technique. I painted them. Then I highlighted them with a different color paint. After it had dried I sanded the brackets. Then after all that I applied a MM glitter glaze to them and once that was dry I used stardust stickles to add even more highlight to the wings. There's a close up of all the wings in all their pretty sparkly glory below! My mom took these pictures of Kessa a few weekends ago at my cousin's wedding. Didn't she do a fab job?!?!
Credits: BG paper - Upsy Daisy Designs "sweet slumber", unknown brown pp, American Crafts ribbon, American Crafts "Hatbox" and "Prancer" thickers, MM paint - cantaloupe, deep coral, green, glitter glaze, Tim Holtz "Striped Elements" grungeboard, My Mind's Eye embossed chipboard, unknown stickers (from my stash), computer fonts

Poo Paper

So if any of you carefully inspected the credits for my "Mother's Day" lo you would have noticed Mr. Ellie Poo Paper. Since this tends to give me a good laugh every time I look at it I thought I would share it with all of you. Anyway, this paper was given to me for Christmas by my best friend Kirsten. Last week was the first time I had actually USED any of it, but as previously stated, it sure does make me laugh. Thanks Kirsten! Here's the cute little box of heart shaped apper. Isn't that sweet? Then you open it up and see this wonderful descriptive paper, complete with time line!!! In case you can't read it, it says: "These beautifully handcrafted paper products were made with a mixture of elephant dung and rice paddy. They were puped to perfection by the elephants of Sri Lanka, manufactured by Maximus and distributed throughout North America by Mr. Ellie Pooh!" The time-line reads: "eat -> poop -> boil and sanitize -> pulp -> clean odorless, eco-friendly "acid free" paper"

So there you have it, my totally organic poo paper!!! lol. If you're totally interested in this you can check Mr. Ellie Poo out on-line here.

Also, you may or may not have noticed, I added a counter. I just let it start at 0 and we're going to see how wildly popular my blog really is. (can you sense the irony? ;)

A Layout and some thoughts...

First, here is my LO for the first ever challenge on Totally Random, a new scrapbooking challenge blog. Be sure to check it out!credits: SU cardstock, unknown ribbons, Joann Crafts stickers, Love, Elsie rub-on, SU Priceless stamps, Love, Elsie "Lola" epoxy sticker, SU pp, Scenic Route chipboard hearts, unknown buttons, Stampabilities "Alpha Blocks" foam stamps, American Crafts Remarks clear journaling sticker, cinnamon stickles, and finally the heart is "Mr Ellie Pooh Paper" (that's right, its a mixture of "elephant dung and rice paddy." Thanks Kirsten! lol)
The challenge was to do a layout honoring my mom. Well that isn't hard, my mom is a WONDERFUL mother and WONDERFUL grandmother. I am so thankful she chose to be a SAHM and to homeschool me. I was and am so blessed by the example she is of obedience and desire to honor Christ. The journaling on this page is Galatians 6:9. It says "Let us not grow weary in doing good for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." I know there are things we all remember our moms saying all the time and for me this verse is it. She was continually reminding herself that at that time in her life God had called her to the plowing and planting stage. Its a hard and often discouraging time if we take our eyes off of Christ and the ultimate goal of our work. I find myself often reminding myself of the same thing. My mothering is not primarily for my children, my mothering is primarily for the glory of God. Thanks for teaching me that mom!

Moving on up...

Soo....I made it to week 5. However, it really isn't a great accomplishment this week as two scrappers had to be elimiated and two scrappers didn't get their projects uploaded in time! lol. So everyone that got their lo up is moving on to week 5. Here's my lo from week 4. The challenge was to use at least 3 different patterned papers and not to use the same manufacture more than once (paints and inks didn't count though.)
This picture of Kessa is pretty bad by all "photographic" standards, but I love it!
credits: MM paint, American Crafts "hatbox" Thickers, Love, Elsie "Lola" chipboard buttons, Tim Holtz grungeboard frame, My Minds Eye embossed chipboard flower, Karen Foster Designs flowered pp, Daisy D painted pp, Memory Makers file pp, paint pen.

I MADE IT!!!!!!!!!!

That's right folks...the votes are in and I made it on to round 4 of the Last Addict Standing elimination contest over at Addicted Scrapper!!!!!!!!! Woohoo!!!! If you've got a minute you should go check out the gallery, the ladies in the competition are doing some AMAZING work! This was round 3's challenge:

You must choose at least FOUR of the following items to include on your layout:
*paint
*stamping
*glitter
*star
*doodling
*circle
*buttons

Here is the lo that got me from round 3 to round 4.

This is a close up of the hidden journaling/hidden photo. I used clear hinges to attach them. The journaling reads:

"Zeke you have such a beautiful smile, however what I'm continually thanking God for is that your outwardly beautiful smile has already been matched by a beautiful and pleasant disposition. No matter what happens or how grown-up you become remember and cling to that part of your character. Enjoy life and thank God for all the good he has poured out on us!! love mom, 5.1.08"

Products used: sketch - Pencil Lines, All PP is Cosmo Cricket "Get Happy", Tim Holtz "Striped Elements" Grungeboard starburst, SU Define Your Life "perfect" stamp, Pebbles Inc. "Belmont" foam alpha stamps, acrylic paint, SU circle punchs, paint pens, mystery sticker

TRYING to be Thankful Thursday

Today has been one of those days where you just want to scream about 90% of the time. Not because anyone is doing anything horribly wrong, but just because YOU need an attitude adjustment. Ok, I need an attitude adjustment. I've had to stop and pray with my almost 2 year old several times today because I'm just being impatient and grumpy. Right now, I'm being thankful. I'm being thankful that God has opened my eyes to my sin and I'm not just continuing in it. I'm being thankful that He's promised that I have all I need for "life and godliness." I'm being thankful that He is sanctifying me and I'm being thankful for times like these:
Kessa and I enjoying the great weather yesterday afternoon while Zeke napped. We were "twirling." Too fun! :)