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Lamps & Layouts

There has been a rebellion this evening and Ethan has made the following demands:

• I will have access to lamps and electrical outlets. If it means stealing the lamp off the end table and bringing it to the other side of the room to investigate it's purpose, I will do so without your permission. You will not stop me in my pursuit for answers as to how this lamp thing actually works. If you attempt to stop me, I will make your life miserable for the rest of the evening.
• While in the tub, I will attempt to convert the bathroom into an indoor pool. I will do this by transferring water from the bathtub to the floor using my handy dandy mega size cup. I'll watch and laugh as the water trickles from one end of the bathroom to the other. You will not prevent me from taking on this task. I've been planning it for days!

Luckily, the little man went to sleep without flooding my bathroom and making friends with the electrical outlet. Lately, he's had an obsession with electrical outlets and cords. I can't keep him from either of these things, so I'm constantly keeping a close eye on him. He enjoys moving lamps around the house. He tinkers with their switches and tries to dissemble them. I've been thinking about removing the lamps temporarily to keep Ethan from playing with them. It seems the easiest of solutions. I've also covered all the outlets with safety plugs (which he'll attempt to remove..sometimes, he succeeds). I'm realizing there is no way to fully baby-proof a home. Kids have a way of getting around all the locks and gadgets we put in place to keep them safe. Ultimately, the only thing that keeps him from getting into trouble with the lamps & outlets is "me".

"Oh no, she caught me! What should I do? Ignore her? Run to my room and hide? I think I'll just keep playing with this lamp until she takes it away from me. " - Ethan.

On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. Wait..why isn't it turning on?

Water about to hit the floor. Better get a towel. Laugh.

Do you see all that water in the container? It didn't stay there for long. I just love my little man.  Eventually, I told him no more water outside the tub. This was his response:

I did spend the earlier part of the day scrapbooking. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Ethan spends half the day at daycare. My mother is a daycare provider and she runs her daycare business out of her home. She's been at it now for 35 years..God Bless her. Ethan loves spending time with grandma and the kids. It's something different from the usual, which would be "mom". It gives me a chance to get some work done and catch up on things. Right now, I'm guest designing for Scrap Magie, a Canadian scrapbook kit club, using one of their August kits. So far, I've put together a couple of layouts using the kit, but I'm only going to show sneak peeks right now. When I complete all the projects, I'll post photos of each one here at my blog. I believe the kit is currently available for purchase..check out the link to see the complete kit: Caribbean. Here are those sneaky peeks:

Needing to work on more projects this evening..though, my eyes could use some serious sleep. Laugh. Guessing I won't get to bed till eleven, which is my usual bedtime these days. Love the quietness of the evening..I try to take full advantage of it when I can. Smile. Guess who was playing around with the camera today? Hmmmm...

 

Glitter Glue

During my recent trip to CHA, I purchased a couple bottles of Creative Cafe's Glitter Glue at Windy City Scrapbook Shop. They retail at $1.99 and are available in an assortment of enticing colors. After bringing them home, I started wondering what the difference was between Stickles and Creative Cafe's Glitter Glue. I'd worked with Stickles in the past and for the most part, my experience with stickles has been good (the tip dispenser does get plugged on occasion. I'd love for the tip to be a little wider.) I'd been told upon purchasing Creative Cafe Glitter Glue that it's slightly more sticky than Stickles. So, I took both glitter glues out and tried them on paper for comparison to see what the real difference was between the two products.

 
Creative Cafe Glitter Glue (left) / Stickles (right)

"Creative Cafe Glitter Glue" is definitely more sticky. The texture is light and stringy upon use. It's great for covering large areas, but doesn't fair well for creating small details like dots and thin lines. Because the glue is slightly stringy, you have to carefully remove the nozzle from the surface of your paper at the end of application. If you look closely at the photo above, you'll notice that some extra glue extends from some of the lines where I pulled away the applicator. The glitter glue has a liquid consistency that takes some getting used to, but I think once I learn to use it more effectively, I'll come to enjoy the product. I absolutely love the assortment of colors available and the concentration of glitter found in each bottle.

"Stickles" also has it's positives and negatives. I've been using Stickles for a long time and it's grown on me. It goes on without "mess" and is a convenient way to add sparkle to a project. The Stickles dispenser is small in size compared the Creative Cafe's Glitter Glue dispenser. It has a higher concentration of glitter (the colors are more vivid) and is less sticky. It does take more time though to cover large areas using Stickles. The glue doesn't dispense all that quickly from the nozzle and it has a tendency to "bunch up" in areas upon application. Also, the nozzles clogs easily (if you have tips here, let me know). It fairs well for creating details. I use it a lot for creating dots and thin lines. It's available in a huge assortment of colors and different types of glitter styles.

I think ultimately the two products have their place within the creative process. It's a matter of deciding what will work better for your project's needs. I'm keeping both glitter glues for my collection. I intend on using both..I also like having options, so both products fit well with what I enjoy doing. Each has their advantages and disadvantages.

Thought I'd do a little review for the day. It's not always easy figuring out what works and what doesn't work in this industry. With so many options available to us, it's always nice to read a review or two.

 

Simple Mini Album

I think we all find ourselves taking a lot of photos during the Summer months. I know I've taken quite a few since the beginning of the Summer and they're starting to pile up in my hard drive. Summer provides the perfect opportunity for capturing photos of outdoor daily rituals, family gatherings, and the usual Summer celebrations. The challenge becomes figuring out what to do with all those photos...because I enjoy altering photos using Photoshop,  I usually print each of my photos individually with an at-home HP printer. On rare occasion, I'll send out a few photos for print using on online photo printing service. For the most part though, I do my printing at home. Because I print most of my photos at home, a lot of my image files go "unprinted". They never see the light of day. I often find myself looking at these images and I feel guilty for not having printed them on paper. So, a few days ago, I altered and resized two dozen photos. I put together a really simple mini album using the photos. I managed to finish the mini album in a few days. I skipped the layering and all the extra details. I placed the focus on the photos and the subject matter, which happens to be this years Fourth of July family celebration. I took a few hundred photos that day alone...I didn't want to forget the event. Here are some extra photos of the album:

This album does have a "big" problem..to many pages and not enough room for all of them. The album doesn't close all the way. I'm going to let it remain this way though and have it sit on a shelf in my room for frequent viewing. I figure no one will never know anyway accept me. I'm embracing imperfection.

Since noticing Jenny Bowlin's passion for glittered chipboard at CHA, I've been tempted to play around with it myself. I have a lot of glitter waiting to be used..I think it's beautiful to look at, but when it comes to actually using glitter, it can be a messy process. I can't say I have any tips or hints on using this stuff, but hairspray does wonders in keeping it in place after application. I keep a bottle near my desk for when I need it. Note that when using hairspray for this purpose, use only a small amount. You don't need to coat the glittered element with hairspray more than once..one layer will do the trick.

Just for the sake of sharing...here are some photos from our busy weekend. Yesterday, we spent the day with family at my brother's place while the guys put together a swing-set for my nephew, Jackson. We sat out in the sun all day and watched the swing-set come to life. After that event, we visited with Eric's family for a few hours. We ate a tasty meal and spent the evening catching up with everyone there. Near the end of the evening, I handed my camera to my BIL and asked if he would take some photos of Ethan and I. I've shared a few below.

Playing in the sand...love how I was able to capture the sand in the air when I took this photo. It demonstrates how we're able to stop time using a camera, if only for a second.

 

 

First official digital camera experience for Ethan. I haven't purchased him a built-for-kids digital camera just yet, but I plan on getting him one when he's a little bit older. This is his cousin's camera and I've been told it can handle a lot of wear and tear, though the photo quality isn't so fab. No big deal there..I think it's super cool that kid's have access to this sort of technology. Their view of the world is still fresh and their perspective without bias. Can hardly wait to see the world through Ethan's eyes.

A Weekend Summary

Attending CHA and flying to Chicago was a great opportunity for me to steal some solo time and just purely enjoy myself. For the most part, I did just that and in the process, I had a really good time. I think the weekend went better than I could of imagined. Before leaving, I was a little worried that this get-away-extravaganza would go array at some point, as life is imperfect at times...vacations included. Laugh. This vacation went without issue (accept for the expected two hour delay in my rush to leave O'Hare airport and get back home). 

I actually spent most of the weekend at CHA, but because this was a semi-vacation for me, I decided to reserve some of the weekend for special outings on the town. While at the convention center, I spent a lot of time navigating booths and meeting with people. Like everybody else, I was looking at the newest product, checking out the design work on display, and chatting up a storm. It was a productive show for me. I felt really good about it. I went with a good friend of mine, Karen, owner of Scrapbook Oasis. (I'll be teaching two or three classes there next November). She did some shopping for her store while I thought about what I wanted to use for Fall classes. So many choices...I also spent time with Crate Paper and October Afternoon. I worked for a short period of time at both places (one before show and one during show). Met lots of great people in the process, and caught up with friends I've been looking forward to meeting for some months. On that note, it was so much fun and a great joy to meet so many people while at the show. That was really the best part of the whole trip..meeting people...oh, and the amazingly delicious restaurant "Hot Chocolate" in Lincoln Park. I love the community surrounding this hobby. It makes for an amazingly "small world". I should also mention to any of you that don't already know...because I believe it may have caught some people by surprise..I'm by no means tall..I'm a whopping 4' 9". Laugh. True. What can I say, CHA was full of good times. 

When I did venture out of town, it was via taxi (lets not talk about Chicago traffic) to Bucktown on Damon Avenue in Lincoln Park. I went solo once and the other time I went with friends. During my first visit to Lincoln Park, we stopped off at Windy City Scrapbook Store. I love that store. The people there are sooo kind and the store itself provides plenty of opportunity for purchasing scrapbook product of all kinds. After Windy City, we went to CB2, which turned out to be a really clean and modern Crate and Barrel store. I'd never been to one, so I wanted to check it out while in Chicago. It was cool to see something different and new. Below are a few pics from my venture to the store:

Turf carpeting by the square foot..need some?

This couch caught my eye immediately..if only I had room. Num.

After CB2, and because it was already getting late into the evening and stores were closing, we decided to grab a bite to eat (did I mention we were starving?) at this restaurant called "The Black Duck". We spent a few hours there at a small corner table near two large windows with a perfect outside view. It was our last stop of the day.

We met the dog before we went into the restaurant. What a character in a half. Love her.

We I went out solo to Bucktown, I stopped off at a gorgeous ribbon shop called Soutache. They don't yet have a website, but have plans for one in the very near future. I picked up a pile of ribbon to bring home with me. They had so many varieties of ribbon that it was hard to choose..I had to be selective. I knew it was a one time trip, so I made the most of it. 

Another shop I found while solo in Lincoln Park was "Paper Dolll" They specialize in selling playful alternative gifts and stationary. They have a dog named "MOD" that hangs out that will greet you upon reaching the front counter. He a cute pug with a big grin. I bought a few paper items while there.  

For some reason, this day planner captured my attention. Maybe it's the doodles or it's eclectic nature that appealed to me. Here's the inside:

The back:

If you're ever in the Bucktown area, be sure to visit "Hot Chocolate" for a "Lesson in Chocolate". Also, "Coco Rouge" (website is incomplete, but do a search and you'll find more) had a devine carbonated chocolate drink that I will forever miss. There is a lot I will miss about Chicago...but alas, it's good to be home. Have a great evening.

More Favorites

I only have a few minutes here and thought I'd post some more CHA photos before the little guy gets up from his afternoon snooze. I'm not going to write much (which is actually a good thing sometimes..we all love looking at photos when visiting our favorite blogs) just yet about the show, though I promise I will soon. Fortunately, I've had opportunity to unpack my bags and get things organized since arriving home, which is always a relief. I have a few more tasks I need to sort out before settling back into my old routine. When I get there, I'll finally sit down and write about my big weekend at CHA. Until then, here are some more photos for your viewing pleasure.

Basic Grey

Cosmo Cricket

Jenny Bowlin (mostly design samples)

I love what she did with her chalkboards on display. She posted layouts on them and wrote ideas for using her product next to each layout. Too cool. Her booth was definitely one of the best at show. Very pretty...

Jenny  Bowlin had a lot of "small creations" on display in her booth. It got me thinking about project sizes. I'm always working on pages that are either 8.5" x 11" or 12" x 12". I rarely find time to work on mini albums, cards, 6" x 6" pages, and 8" x 8" pages. Actually, I usually don't think to create something other than the usual standard size layouts. The idea doesn't even present itself..until I went to CHA last weekend. Some manufacturers had downsized the size of their layouts on display in their booths. Making Memories had 6" x 6" layouts on display..I couldn't tell if they were actual layouts or if they had been copied and resized using a printer. In any event, they were beautiful and it didn't take a lot to make them that way either. It hit me that small projects are probably easier to finish, take less time, and provides the same sort of satisfaction that comes from finishing a standard size layout. Why hadn't I thought of this earlier? Having seen this board in Jenny Bowlin's booth inspires me to think on a smaller scale. As much as size can seem irrelevant, it does impact the time it takes to complete a project. I'm tempted to create a few 6" x 6" pages and see where it goes...a lot of new possibilities to be discovered by trying on the 6" x 6" layout. It's a size I've long forgotten about...I don't even remember the last time I worked on a 6" x 6" layout...it's time to try again.

Home

CHA Summer '08 is over. Can you believe it? I arrived home this afternoon feeling a bit worn out, but extremely excited to spend time with Ethan. I let everything go, including the luggage when I saw the little guy. I missed him sooo much while in Chicago..it's always nice to be home after being away for a few days. The familiarity of home brings me comfort and peace..and I'm looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight :)

My visit to Chicago was a semi-vacation. I walked the floor of CHA for a day in a half and the few other days I was in Chicago, I visited some of the shopping districts of Lincoln Park. Neither disappointed and the overall trip went really well. There's so much to share, but I'm feeling tired this evening, so I'll be posting mostly pictures tonight from CHA. It's a small sample of my favorites from the show. Of course, I have more favorites and I'll be sharing more pictures from the show and Chicago in the next few days. Enjoy!

American Crafts

Autumn Leaves

Hero Arts

K & Company

 

This is a 12 x 12 sheet of chipboard butterflies from K & Company. I just adore them.

Making Memories

New transparencies designed specifically for the "Slice" die-cut machine. Didn't see it in action, but it looks amazing. It may be the first die-cut machine I buy...waiting for the reviews.

Prima

Heidi Grace/Fiskars

May Arts/Ribbon

More updates from the big event to be posted this week. I have lots to share, so keep visiting :) Good Night.

One Long Post...

There are three photos that sit above my bed on my wall. The photos were captured a month or so before Eric died by a photographer friend of mine, Krysten. I remember how exhausting it was for us to get to the studio to have those photos taken. We almost didn't make it. I was at a major breaking point emotionally, Ethan was still very young, and Eric wasn't physically able to care for himself anymore (which meant I would have to get everyone ready, including Eric-which could of easily taken hours). It was Eric's family that ended up at our house to help get Eric ready for the photo session. I got Ethan and myself ready ten minutes before leaving the house. I still don't recall how we managed to get to the studio. I believe it was Eric's mom that drove us there, but even after getting there, I desperately wanted to go back home and forget about the world. At this point, our lives were no longer our own. Nothing belonged to us and we didn't get to decide as a family what we wanted and what we didn't want. We lost all independence those last few months before Eric died. Not only did we lose our independence, we lost the ability to shape and live out our lives as a family. It was a foreshadowing of the ultimate loss I would face after losing Eric on January 5, 2008. Our family dynamic changed immediately after losing Eric. It was crushing and to this day, I still can't figure out what "family" really means for us. Looking at those photos above my bed can bring on a multitude of feelings. Lately, I've had feelings of anger, frustration, and sadness when looking at the photos. I want so badly to have him back in my life. I think, "Why me? Why us? Why our family?" Eventually, the anger translates into sadness and then I want to completely give up on life all together. This cycle finds me in the late hours of the evening when I'm tired and I can no longer deal with the issues of the day. I usually end up falling asleep half way into the grieving cycle. It's become an on and off late night routine for me. So, why not take the photos down? I've thought this myself, but I simply can't do it. They're like an open path to what was "us" so many months ago. They're photos of our family..the last ones taken of "us" together. Maybe someday I'll have created an entirely new life for myself and Ethan..the photos will seem less necessary. Right now, I need them..no matter how much grief they cause me at the end of the day. It's the only family I recognize and in a way, that brings me comfort.

I put a lot of my heart and soul into this page. It's about the struggle I've had in accepting my new reality as a single parent. Note the three photos above my bed.

I want to share a little bit about the creation of this layout. I worked with a muted color palette. It best represents the feelings and delicacy of the subject matter. I also brought in some soft textured elements for the same reason. This includes using the deep canary blue vintage velvet ribbon and the flowers above.

 

This shabby vintage looking ribbon is from May Arts. I purchased it at Archivers a month or so ago. It's perfect for the page. It's made of velour with a polyester backing. It's extremely soft and is of a perfect color.

Some of you have asked me how I layer so many elements on a single page. I don't always have answer, but I did think of this today while photographing this layout. Part of my goal while layering is to maintain order. How does one go about maintaining order with so many layers? Part of what I do when I'm piecing together a layout is to think of a layout like a puzzle..First I piece together paper, then I piece together photos, then embellishments, and so on. When I start laying down embellishments, like the stickers above, I try to create "mini mosaics". These mosaics need to work together. Each embellishment shares the company of another embellishment. They're of one large group with clear defining boundaries.  The key is finding the perfect placement for your group of embellishments...It has to draw attention to your focal point, which is usually your photos. I know sometimes my layers can get in the way of my photos, but layers capture attention and help direct the eye around the layout.

Notice that in the above photo, I've created a mini sticker mosaic. Look how closely these elements sit next to one another. They fit together like a puzzle. Now, think of layering as one "big puzzle", but take into consideration the placement of your pieces. They need to fit in with the big picture. They also need to draw attention to your focal point.

Ohhhh ribbon. Need I say more? This cheers me up :)

Here's the layout I had intended on sharing with you a few days ago. You saw the close-up and here's the actual layout. Fourth of July was spent hanging out by the pool and soaking up the sun.

Finally get to share my last two Prima layouts here at my blog that I made for CHA. These were done up using Prima's latest Halloween line called "Little Boo" which will go live this week at CHA. I had an opportunity to play with it a little early and it was surely a lot of fun, especially while making friends with the big eyed owls and rhinestone crawly critters.

Ok, do owls say "Woot?" I think I got it wrong..laugh. I think they say "Hoot!" Oh well...so much for traditional owl speak. Woot! Woot!

This is a hybrid layout. The orange pattern paper and the large Halloween swirl are from Prima's new retail friendly hybrid/digital product line. I created the framed photo collage using Photoshop CS3 and printed it on 8.5" x 11" glossy photo paper before adding it to my layout. After adhering the photo collage to the layout, I cut out a small rectangle of transparency and adhered it on top of the large Halloween digitally created swirl. I added rhinestones to the transparency to further accent the appearance of the swirls.

Prima manufactures their very own line of clear acrylic albums. I took one of their large clear acrylic pages and used it on the layout as shown in the two photos above. I painted the backside of the acrylic page using watered down Making Memories Acrylic Paint. Believe it or not (I didn't think it would dry or stay put), it actually dried quickly and has sort of a water color effect to it. I was really glad this part of the layout turned out so well..totally unexpected and easy to do. I adhered it to the page using large Glue Dots. Before adhering the page to the layout, I trimmed the acrylic page with a large scissor so it would match the size I needed for the layout..it can be trimmed!

I would like to end this post on a lighter note..this little guy keeps me going every single day and I'm so grateful to have him in my life. He gave himself a spaghettio bath during lunch yesterday. Mom had a good laugh. I just love him to pieces. Smile.

I'll be back to post more right before I leave for CHA. Take care everyone! More later.

One little red bird...

I was actually going to post a "real picture" of a layout that I just finished up today. I thought I captured some good photos of the layout this afternoon, but after taking a peek at all twenty five pictures I took of the layout, none of them are usable. Laugh. I had my camera on the wrong setting..major bummer. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've taken what I thought were "great photos", only to find out that the settings were off on my camera. Oddly, this photo turned out decent. It's a close-up of the layout. Not sure why this one happened to work out, but I'm grateful to have it. At least I have one photo to share with you guys tonight. Smile. Guess I'll have to post a photo of the layout on Sunday. Arg.

Today, we made a trip to the local Barnes and Nobel store. Ethan usually enjoys visiting the "Thomas the Train" table they have set up in the kid's book section. While there, I stopped and took a look at some of the usual scrapbooking publications. I'd seen most of them already, so I picked up "Digital Scrapbooking" by CK Media and glanced through it. I'll admit, I haven't been a regular reader of digital scrapbooking magazines. I haven't had a reason to read them..until recently. I've been purchasing digital scrapbook elements the last three months from various online venders. Now that my digital collection is of a decent size, I'm wanting to use more of it on my layouts. One of the problems I've been having though, is figuring out how to use it on my projects. I've seen some amazing digital layouts online, but they totally intimidate me. Laugh. I'm certainly not a Photoshop guru, not enough at least to produce digital layouts. I'm comfortable altering photos and playing with type using Photoshop. When it comes to graphics and Photoshop, I'm inexperienced and in need of some serious help. So, it's no surprise that I found myself looking at a digital scrapbooking magazine today. I even brought it home with me. After looking through it some more, I've decided to get a subscription to the magazine. There is so much that is new to me via this avenue of scrapbooking. Lots of cool, alternative ideas that can easily be combined with traditional scrapbooking. Maybe I'll finally get some of those digital elements I've been collecting these last few months on paper..just like I did today (note photo above). The bird & Red/White paper are from "Shabby Pickle Designs". I found these last June and just love them. Tweet. Tweet.

No More Curls

With Ethan being nearly 18 Months, his hair was getting a wee bit long. My mother kept suggesting that I get it shortened a bit. It's been really short on top and super long in the back. I haven't had the heart to take him in to get his haircut. I adore his curls. They've been there since Ethan was six months old. So, as I sat there and stared at the little guy this morning while thinking about the photo session we're having with Krysten this Friday, I decided it was time to let go of the curls.  Soon enough, Ethan will be two and he'll be getting a haircut every few months. So, I brought him to one of those local kid friendly haircut places. It was extremely busy at the kid's salon, so I was a little nervous that they wouldn't be able to get us in. As luck would have it, we got in right away. I was sooo relieved. The minute they put Ethan in the chair, he lost it. The hair stylist was super friendly..she attempted to calm Ethan down using toys, suckers, cartoons (each station has it's own tv), and also by showing him the gadgets she was going to use on his hair (not scissors, but combs). He wasn't having any of it. I wasn't sure if Ethan would sit long enough to get his haircut. We ended up giving him a quick haircut. After five minutes of crying, he took a little break. Five minutes into the break, he started crying again. A few minutes later, his haircut was over and he was looken' more like a "big boy".  Ethan all grown up! He now's wears a mini crewcut like so many other boys. It's going to take me a while to get used to this new look. I think it will be perfect though for the photography session this Friday with Krysten. So glad we did it! Here are a few picks of Ethan during his haircutting adventure:

I'll post pictures of Ethan with his new haircut in the near future. I haven't had a chance to photograph him since the haircut. Isn't he just adorable with that mohawk? Smile.

I finally get to show you one of the Prima Inc. layouts I finished over the weekend for CHA. This pattern paper reminds me of the many digital layouts I've been seeing lately. I'm liking the swirls, the frame, and the flowers. This is not something I would of ever thought of..creating a freeform frame to display a photo on a layout. I think it's an idea I'm going to play around with more in the future. This pattern paper already had the frame, I simply cut out the center to make room for the photo and other embellishments. Frames are a great option for bringing focus to a subject on a layout. There are a lot of different ways to create a frame around an image. One is to cut a frame from a pattern piece of paper. It doesn't have to be large and it doesn't have to be square. It can be anything you want it to be. Think of all the different way you can frame an image on a page. You can cut multiple little windows in which you can use to frame small pictures. You can cut one large, freeform frame like the one above for framing a large picture. I think it's a great concept that has the ability to spark new ideas and techniques. It's a concept I'm going to investigate more. Framing...

Have a great evening. Take care.

Catching Up

With CHA coming up in two weeks, I've been spending a lot of time at the desk trying to finish up design work for Prima's booth. I've not really allowed myself time to update the blog. These next two in a half weeks are going to be extremely hectic for me. Blog updates will be minimal as I try to focus my energy on design work. If it seems I've fallen off the face of the earth by Friday of this week, I promise, I'm still here. I'm attempting to stay ahead of schedule and produce work for show. Let's hope I finish it all :)

Prima is premiering it's new product at their blog this week. If you love their large dimensional flowers, you will really like what you see at the Prima blog today. Large, layered flowers with realistic flower centers. I'm certain I'll use these up quickly if they come my way. Prima's also posted pictures of one of their new paper/embellishment collections. The brads above are from the collection. Love the Red & Green combination. I'll post a picture of a layout using this collection tomorrow evening. 

I've had a couple of exciting things happen in the last few days. A day or so ago, I was asked to join the October Afternoon Design Team. My term starts immediately and I'll be doing some last minute design work for them for their CHA booth. It's a huge privilege to design for October Afternoon. I'm looking forward to this opportunity and can't wait to get started!! Thank you October Afternoon!

The other exciting news came about this morning. As usual, I woke up around 5:30am and checked my email (Ethan's a morning bird). I had to sort of blink twice cause I could of swore I saw an email from "Heather Bailey", but wasn't sure. I gave my eyes a good rubbing and looked again..sure enough, it was an email from Heather Bailey...I've mentioned her name here quite a few times  because I can't get enough of her style and her blog is delightful to read. The recent release of her new scrapbook product line, "Freshcut", was sort of a dream come true. Finally, her designs on paper!! She asked in her email if I would post one of my layouts in her new flickr papercraft group. The group showcases papercraft projects using Heather Bailey's new "Freshcut" line. I added my "looken' up" layout to the flickr group. I don't think the group is available for viewing just yet..when I know for sure, I'll post a link here at my blog.

Looking for a little bit of inspiration or just something fun to look at? Here's a few things I found while online a few nights ago..can't help but share :)

Crafty, retro cards from Rock Scissor Paper. I'm a sucker for stationary. I've been known to buy a card or two just because..usually, they end up on my inspiration board in my scrapbook area.

An eco-friendly bag to get you on your way...also from Rock Scissor Paper:

 

Beyond stationary, anything hand-made has a way of inspiring me. I was checking out one of my fave design blogs and this artist came up - Jill Rosenwald - I was especially drawn to her patterns. Can you imagine this pattern on a scrapbook page? Think of all those label stickers needing use..like this idea a lot.

I'll be posting the Prima layouts over the next week or so. Until then, I'll be busy scrapbooking :)  Have a great day everyone!