Lost in Paper Scraps

Autumn Banner

2011-11-21T11:49:00.005-05:00

Just in time for Thanksgiving :) I love how it turned out. I think it has just the right amount of cute.

Thanks for looking and have a fantastic day!

Hugs, Dawn

Thought this was cute

2011-11-16T09:40:00.001-05:00

I got cartoonist.

My daughter is in on the digi action.....

2011-11-15T14:32:00.005-05:00

.......she, my daughter, Emily created this little weirdo. I thought he/she? was so cute. I asked her if I could digify him/her and she let me. So here he/she is.....boy or girl? You make the choice. LOL. If you like this file and want to download it, please click the image to be taken to the printer friendly version and save as you normally would. If you do take one of my files (or Emily's) please leave a comment so we know you were here. And lastly, if you create anything using my files, please show me so I can take a look and leave you some love. Thanks for stopping by.

Have a fantastic day.

Hugs, Dawn

I did up another digi today!

2011-11-14T13:45:00.004-05:00

I did another one. I hope you like it. She can be a Mom, Wife, Sister, Aunt, Daughter, whatever else you can think of. Friend, she can totally be a friend. I named her HappyLadyInCircle lol. How's that for creative?? If you want this file, simply click on the image and download it's printer friendly version. If you take a file/s please leave me a comment- I love them so :D Also if you use one of my files in your creations, please show me so I can come and see and leave you some love.

Thanks for looking and have a fantastic day!

Hugs, Dawn

Octopus Digital Stamps!

2011-11-13T16:49:00.003-05:00

Here are the files I digi"fied" today. If you like my files, please click on the images to be taken to the larger downloadable version and save to your computer as you usually would. If you take a file/s, please leave me a comment. I love getting your feedback :) Anyhoo, here they are:

Thanks for looking and have a fantastic day!
Hugs, Dawn

Sketchy Thursdays Sketch Challenge

2011-11-04T14:41:00.006-04:00

Sketchy Thursdays current Sketch Challenge is using this sketch:

Here is my layout using that sketch:

Here is a close up of the paint splatters I made by blowing air through a straw onto a brush filled with silver paint!! I love the look of it!

The prize is courtesy of Paper Issues, so submit your layout before 10 P.M. on Wed. Nov. 9, 2011 to be in the running :)
Thanks for stopping by to have a look and have a fantastic day!
Hugs, Dawn

I've Been Creating With Paper :)

2011-11-03T08:46:00.002-04:00

Here are my latest paper creations:
I got inspired to create this layout immediately after seeing this sketch at Sketchabilities.

This card was inspired by this card I found on Pinterest.

I know I saw some version of this on Pinterest as well, but I can't find the pin. O.O

Another card inspired by (you guessed it) Pinterest! Here is the original artist's card.

Can you believe I actually came up with this one all on my own??!! Because I did.....for once lol.

Thanks for stopping by to have a look. Have a fantastic day!
Hugs, Dawn

Owl #5 is sleepy

2011-10-29T13:39:00.005-04:00

I am in an owl frame of mind these days. I hope you like #5. I think she's a keeper. If you wish to download this file, simply click the image to get to the larger, downloadable version and save to your computer as usual. As always, please leave me a comment to let me know you were here. I hope you are having a fabby weekend. OH, I almost forgot, if you make something using my files please show me!! I would love to see :)
Hugs, Dawn

Free Digital owl day 2!

2011-10-27T13:54:00.003-04:00

Another day, another digi, and yes it's ANOTHER OWL! HOOT! I mean WOOT! Please leave me a comment if you choose to take a file, doing so really makes my day. Be sure to let me know if you create anything using my files, I would love to see!! To download the files, simply click on the image to be brought to the bigger, printer friendly version and save as you normal would. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you have a fantastic day.
Hugs, Dawn

GUESS WHAT???!!!

2011-10-26T14:45:00.005-04:00

FREE DIGIS!!!I made these owls today and am uploading them for your pleasure. I hope you like them. If you take my file/s please leave me a comment so I know you were here. I will be eternally grateful :)To download, click the image to get to it's larger version and save to your computer as you usually would. Without further ado here they are:
Owl 1:

Owl 2:

Owl 3:

Thanks for looking and have a fantastic day!
Hugs, Dawn

I rearranged my craft space

2011-10-25T08:09:00.003-04:00

I decided I needed a change in my craft space recently. I thought maybe if I rearranged everything that I would be more inspired to create. I had to pull everything out of there so I could get the table turned around, what a pain in the butt! There came a point halfway through the process when I looked around and my stuff was everywhere. I had to force myself to continue. You couldn't get into the bathroom because so much stuff was in front of the doorway. Things were stacked on my bed and dresser, you couldn't see the floor. Iyiyiyiyiyi. Once the table was in position it got alot easier. Bit by bit, I got everything moved back in. I wanted to have the table accomodate two people, but I just couldn't figure out a way to do it and have enough room for everything else. Until then, my daughter and I will continue to work on the dining room table ;) I wish I had thought to get some before and during photos, but I didn't :(
Here are the after photos though. The one above shows the view from my chair. I love looking at these things while I am crafting away. The canvas on the wall was created by my BFF Jeanne. SHE ROCKS! In case you can't see it, it says : Best Friends, So much cheaper than a shrink LOL. I made the CREATE sign out of old CD's and some scrapbook paper and embellishments. You can also see my Monchichi my sister got me for Christmas last year. Awww the memories of childhood.
To the left of my chair sits 2 filing cabinets. The top with 8.5"x11" cardstock in hanging file folders the bottom filing cabinet holds all my sewing thread and misc. craft items. See my super cute elephant card on top? My BFF Jeanne made that for me!! She's the best!

Here is my main crafting area. Complete with laptop so I can get my Skype on while crafting away. Jeanne and I live far apart, so we craft "together" through Skype and call it Cryping. That's a mash up of craft and Skype. ....Crype. It makes us laugh :)

This here is all my paper and supplies everything is within reach :)

Same view, only a little higher up on the wall. See the large light over my table? My hubby made that for me. He added a cord and light switch to the old florescent light for me. Don't worry, he's an electrician. It provides plenty of light, and I don't get those dang shadows anymore.

Last but not least, my rescued dresser that holds all my wood mounted stamps, the kids craft stuffs, extra school supplies and anything else that will fit in there. On top is my container for items that I want to alter. I also have some canisters sitting there and I have no idea what is inside them. I think I need to paint the dresser, it's very ummmm....blah lol.

I hope you enjoyed the tour :) I am off to create, have a fantastic day!
Hugs, Dawn

Some Layouts, Jackolanterns and Kites, OH MY! (photo intensive)

2011-10-24T08:53:00.006-04:00

I have a few things to post today. First are a few layouts I forgot to post when I finished them last week. This one is Ryan's 12th Birthday party. I used a sketch from Scrapbook Generations by Allison Davis. I believe these are Bo-Bunny Papers.

This next one is of my daughter Emily. I saw this layout on Pinterest and knew I had to CASE (Copy And Steal Everything) it immediately!! It is from The Pink Room Blog.

Next we have the pumpkins my younguns carved. With a little help from me and their Dad :) I think they turned out really cute.
Sarah's Pumpkin:

Ryan's Pumkin:

Both Pumpkins together:

Lastly, I saw this cute Kite on Pinterest (have I mentioned Pinterest here before? Because I love it. Alot. If you haven't checked it out, do. You won't regret it!) and decided I needed to make one as a magnet for my fridge. I had so much fun making the first one that I decided I needed to make a second one for someone else. I used different papers on mine and it says Happy Day intead of Hello Friend. Here is the link to the original one I saw on Paper. Scissors. Superheroes Blog by Betsy Veldman (SHE ROCKS!!)

Thanks for stopping by and have a fantastic day :)
Hugs, Dawn

The Walking Dead....

2011-10-17T08:04:00.004-04:00

......RETURNS!! It was soooooooo good. I can tell this a few ways: 1.I held my breath on more than one occasion, 2. I peeked through my fingers when holding my breath quit working and, 3. I sat riveted to my tv for the whole 1.5 hours of the show.

I don't want to ruin it for anyone that hasn't seen it yet, but I have a few notes (SPOILER, a little)

*Don't travel in a always breaking down RV!

*Rocks make a great Zombie killing weapon when you need it quiet (if you are one on one or maybe 2 on one)

*when a zombie herd is coming at you...hide under a car. They almost never look there!

I can't wait for the next episode! I love this show.

Hugs, Dawn

I made another page today!

2011-10-12T17:01:00.002-04:00

And here it is:

I used this layout by Theresa Collins as inspiration:
Be You. Layout

I used one of my all time favorite lines: Basic Grey's Urban Prairie.
Thanks for looking and have a great day. Hugs, Dawn

I SCRAPPED!!!

2011-10-11T16:10:00.005-04:00

My friend Jeanne and I scrapbooked over Skype today!! This is the first actual scrapbook page I have done in quite some time. I want to send a special shout out to my girl Jeanne for helping get my scrap on :) YOU ROCK Girlfriend and your page is amazing! Here is mine:
(My dear daughters in July of last year)

Papers and embellishments are Fine and Dandy line from My Mind's Eye. I also added a Kaiser Kraft Flower, buttons, ribbon, rickrack and brad from my stash. Oh and I sewed in dark brown around the edges of the page :) Just because I love the look of it....even when it's crooked ;)
Thanks for looking. Hugs, Dawn

Boo Halloween Decor

2011-10-11T09:31:00.004-04:00

So, I was at my neighborhood Goodwill and spied this cool looking frame. It was not an attractive color but it had a nice texture to it. For just $1.99 it was mine. We went home together and I spray painted that puppy glossy black. Then I just needed something to put in it. Enter Susan Stringfellow's Noel Frame. That's what it needed, except a Halloween version. I used mostly Bo-Bunny Whooligan papers, with an extra one thrown in from Reminisce's Haunted Halloween collection. Thanks for the inspiration Susan!!

My "Spooky" Banner was featured!

2011-10-11T08:51:00.003-04:00

It was featured on Paper Issues!! I'm so excited! Thanks for making my day Paper Issues!! Here's the link to the post :)
Spooky Banner

Happy Haunting

2011-10-04T19:01:00.004-04:00

I played in my scrap closet today and while looking for something to do with my Halloween papers I came across this little bird house I bought at Jo-Ann's for a dollar. So, I covered my bird house with my papers and such and came up with what I like to call my Haunted Bird House. After finishing the house I thought it needed something else. That something else was a pole to add a moon and greeting to. I simply painted a bamboo skewer black, wrapped ribbon around it and drilled a hole in the base of the house. A little wood glue and instant "flag pole" :) I think it adds just the right touch. The papers are from a 8x8 stack by K&Co. that I got eons ago. I cut the embellishments right out of the papers. I pop dotted some of them to add some dimension. That's about it. Thanks for having a look!

Hugs, Dawn

(Not so) Spooky Banner

2011-10-04T09:52:00.006-04:00

I created this banner to hang in my house for Halloween this year. I love The Whooligans line by Bo-Bunny!! The little charcters are just too cute!! I mixed in some other Halloween papers from my stash as well as bling, wiggle eyes, flowers, and ribbon. Basically anything and everything that matched (ish) got layered on :) It was fun to put together as well. Thanks for looking and have a spook-tacular day!!

Hugs, Dawn

More Crocheting goodness :)

2011-09-06T08:50:00.007-04:00

I made this "Brandon" doll for my daughter's boyfriend, who is fond of going shirtless and wearing a knit hat. He also has abs, so that is what the "25" on his tummy is. I don't have any, so I had to work from memory, and well, my memory ain't that good....apparently. I learned that reference photos are my friend, from Bob Canada's blog :)

I adapted this doll from this pattern: Jenny and Teddy Blog, thank you for Sharing the pattern!

Thanks to WolfDreamer and her blog, I was able to make this Mario doll!! Check out her blog for more way cute patterns.

I am off to find my next project. Thanks for stopping by :)
Hugs, Dawn

Amigurumi Apple and Friend :)

2011-09-03T09:24:00.005-04:00

What's better than crocheting an Amigurumi Apple?

Crocheting an Amigurumi Worm to fit inside it! But it needs something else.....

Lil Miss Worm needs a beret and scarf of course! Now they are all set for gift giving. Hope the recipient enjoys receiving them :)

I bought the patterns for these from Ana Paula Rimoli's Etsy shop . I bought this awile ago, and after searching her store, I couldn't find this particular pattern. But if you are interested in it, maybe you could email her and ask? I believe it is called Miss Worm and her Apple Home. She has pattern after seriously cute pattern of Amigurumis. So even if you can't find this one, I am sure you will find something else you like. Thanks for looking and have a great day!!

Hugs, Dawn

Jingle Belles Challenge #5

2011-02-01T13:23:00.004-05:00

This week's challenge over at Jingle Belles is to use this sketch by Amy Tsuruta:

I love Amy's sketch!
Here is my card using it. Not my favorite creation to date, but I don't hate it either :) I found these small wood pieces (cut tree limbs) in the floral dept. at Wal-Mart for a few bucks. So I bought a bag thinking I would be able to use them for something. I could see these with a couple holes drilled into them to create wood buttons! Or you could paint them, Stickle them, etc. Thanks for coming by to have a look and I hope you are staying warm and dry. We got a heaping helping of ice overnight......makes me like snow a little more. Who else is ready for Spring? LOL

Remember the Challenge at Pixie Dust Paperie??

2011-01-28T09:36:00.008-05:00

I posted about the Pixie Dust Paperie Challenge HERE. The challenge is to use this sketch by Kirsty Vittetoe :

The challenge runs from Jan. 20, 2011 to Feb. 5, 2011! You can win a $20.00 Girft Certificate to the Pixie Shop!! Sounds like a fantastic prize to me! So I created a wall hanging that is based on the sketch and something I saw on katiebeecreative.com (here is a link to her beautiful creation). Mine is not magnetic. I cut the outside shape with my Cricut and SCAL2 Software using a file on the Kutups font and a piece of scrap paper. Then I traced the shape onto my chipboard and cut it out with an Exacto Knife and scissors. I arranged all the pattern papers I wanted to use on my Cricut mat and once again cut the same shape. Then adhered each piece to my chipboard. I sewed around the edges. I was a little nervous about using my sewing machine on thick chipboard, but it worked like a champ :) I also saw a tutorial online for these ribbon flowers and I had to try to make some, they look really cute (if I do say so myself). Unfortunately I cannot find the blog I originally saw them on. I did a search for Ribbon Loop Flowers and it brings up several sites for making them if you are interested. The finished size on this 11 1/2"x 11 1/2" I think that about does it. TADA!

Thanks for stopping by to have a look. Have a fantastic day :D

Jingle Belle's Christmas Card Challenge #4

2011-01-26T13:24:00.004-05:00

It's a color challenge this week over at Jingle Belle's. The colors are Light Pink, Dark Pink and Lime Green. I found some K I Memories papers from a looooooooooooooooong time ago that used this color palette (YAYNESS! Let's hear it for paper hoarding!!). I got this one done a later than normal, but in time nonetheless. Thanks for stopping by to have a look and I hope you day is happy :D
Hugs!!

The Economy....

2011-01-24T09:00:00.004-05:00

......has claimed another victim. Scrapper's Gallery, the scrapbook store I worked at has gone out of business. The owners hung on as long as they could, but in the end they made the difficult decision of closing the store. Saturday was the last day. I will miss it greatly. I will miss being greeted by people who knew my name upon seeing my face. I will miss the colorful walls of papers, ribbons, and flowers. But most of all I will miss our customers, who came in week after week to share their love of paper.

“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”

Here's hoping I see the open door when it reveals itself to me.

I love this blog!

2011-01-24T08:25:00.004-05:00

If you've ever had difficulty choosing colors for your craft projects (or anything else for that matter) then do yourself a favor and check out Color Collective by Lauren Willhite. She uses imagery to showcase color palettes. There are some real stunning combos over there! Be inspired and create :)

Pixie Dust Paperie Challenge!

2011-01-20T09:15:00.004-05:00

I was visiting Lauren's blog today All the Good Blog Names were Taken and she alerted me to the fact that Pixie Dust Paperie is having a sketch challenge, complete with giveaway! I thought maybe you might want to join in the fun too, so I am posting it here. Soon to be added is a photo of my creation using their sketch:

Now all I have to do is make something :) HEad on over to Pixie Dust Paperie and get all the details!! See you soon.

Create Daily

2011-01-18T17:51:00.005-05:00

My BFF Jeanne and I decided we needed to remember to create something everyday. So we each made ourselves a sign in case we need reminding :)
I cut the tree using my Cricut and SCAL2 Software. It was a free file from ummmm, I can't remember O.o I will do some research to find out and get back to you.
ETA: Here is a link to the free Svg file I used for the tree.

I have been creating, alot actually. I am just lazy when it comes to taking photos of my creations and then editing them and then uploading. You know what I mean, right? Surely I am not the only one??!! Here are some of the cards I have been making for Birthdays this year:
Hope you are having a fantastic day!! THank you for coming by to check on me :)
Hugs.

Jingle Belles Christmas Card Challenge Week 3

2011-01-17T16:35:00.003-05:00

This week's challenge is to use acrylic paint. I used Silver acrylic paint on the edges of my cards in place of ink :) I had so much fun making the 1st card that I decided to keep going and made 2 more! The snowflake card (made with my Cricut and SCAL2 Software) doesn't count towards the challenge since I didn't incorporate paint onto it, but it does count towards my end of year count :) If you haven't joined in yet over at Jingle Belles , by all means click this link, or this one and start right now :)

Thanks for looking and have a fantastic day!!

Hey Cupcake Card

2011-01-09T11:11:00.006-05:00

Seeing if you were paying attention LOL. Me n Sarah Transforming at Target last summer :)

I was Cryping (me+Jeanne+Skype+crafting=cryping aka good times!) yesterday with Jeanne while we worked on this week's Jingle Belles prompt. We also worked on some more cards, ok I finished 2 cards and Jeanne finished like 20 or so in the same amount of time. AND I needed inspiration (aka copying a card I saw in a magazine, only with different products ;) for the second one. I cut my base paper 7"x6 1/4" so it will fit in a standard size envelope. I decided it was worth trying making this size because I always have these envelopes on hand and they are super cheap to replace. I always run out of invitation envies and then forget to buy them O.o I think I am gonna go grab another cup of coffee and then start working on another card or even a scrapbook page! Thanks for looking! I hope you have a super dee duper day :)

Jingle Belles Card Challenge #2

2011-01-09T10:24:00.006-05:00

This is my card:

"So this week's Jingle Belles Prompt comes from the song ... Have Yourself a Merry LITTLE Christmas ... which to us inspires making cards that feature Inchies and Twinchies (2" squares) in the design (or perhaps a twinchie-sized gift tag). "
I punched these reindeer from a sheet of Christmas paper put out by LIttle Yellow Bicycle with a 1" punch. Oh and my bestest friend Jeanne inspired me to make a card that will fit in a standard size envie! I liked working in this size. I believe I cut it 7"x 6 1/4". I also heat embossed the stamped greeting on this baby! I need to get some brown embossing powder, STAT! If you haven't already started playing along with the Jingle Belles, I encourage you to do so. The idea is to create 1 Christmas card a week and be ready to mail them come December. I need all the help I can get, maybe you do too? It's really fun too, in case you missed the other links, check it out here :)
Thanks for looking!

CONGRATS CHRIS!!!!!

2011-01-07T18:50:00.003-05:00

My son Chris graduated from Navy Bootcamp today!!! I am so proud of my boy :D

CONGRATS CHRIS!!!

A blog award :)

2011-01-06T08:47:00.007-05:00

"Dawn at Lost in Paper Scraps - Met Dawn (and Jeanne too) on the first Yahoo group I ever joined. Dawn you seem to always find the bright spot in life and your optimism and sense of humor cheer me up when I am down. Thanks so much for sharing your light with others! "
-Lora Washburn

Wow! What can I say? Thank you so much Lora. You made my day.

Lora's award has motivated me to pass this award on to some people who inspire me.

Jeanne- I can't say enough about you GF. You enhance my life in so many ways, it's impossible to list all the reasons you inspire me. For being who you are is the best way I can say it :)

Bob Canada- You draw the coolest characters and make it look effortless. You inspire me to draw. I also love your posts on The Walking Dead TV Show!

Amber Alvarez- Your artwork has a way of making me smile, even it it's just a toaster. How do you do that??!!

Jingle Belles- Motivational? YES! After MONTHS of no new posts to my blog, this Christmas Card Challenge Blog got me motivated not only to create a card, but also to post it! Kudos to Lauren and Stef!!

Thanks guys for doing what you do.

Thank You Pink Elephant!

2011-01-04T13:08:00.006-05:00

This Perpetual Calendar Tutorial posted at The Pink Elephant couldn't have had more perfect timing. I am currently trying to finish all the Birthday cards I need for a year of birthdays. What better way to keep track of when to send these cards than with this handy dandy calendar! I think my new favorite color is green. I just love it so much!

I used Basic Grey Nook and Pantry paper and stickers for this one. I printed out the calendar pages (the pdf is available for download over at The Pink Elephant!). They spray painted their clothes pins but I just used Stazon Timber Brown ink. It was faster and I don't have any spray paint ) O.o Thanks again Pink Elephant, for a great tutorial!! Also, thank you for stopping by to have a look.

I made more cards!

2011-01-03T21:00:00.003-05:00

I decided I need to make all the Birthday cards I would need for the new year. So I will resolve to mail them to the people I made them for on or before their actual Birthdays! Here are some I whipped up the last couple of days:

My daughter Sarah bought me the cutest stickers that I just had to use for Valentine cards! They are small (3 1/2"x 2 1/2"). I enjoyed working in the smaller size. I wonder if the Post Office will let me mail them? Anyone know what the rules are on this?

Jingle Belles Card Challenge Week 1

2011-01-03T20:26:00.006-05:00

I am participating in the Jingle Belles card challenge. There is a banner on the right hand side of my blog if you are interested in making 1 Christmas card a week using their challenges as a starting point. The idea is to have completed Christmas cards in plenty of time to send them out next Christmas. I cheated a little and made two of these guys for the first challenge of "Something Old, Something New". My "old" is the paper. They have been in my stash for YEARS! The New is the mini scallop punch I just got by EK Success. I couldn't wait to use it. Thanks for looking!!

Thank you Lauren!

2010-10-26T08:29:00.005-04:00

Check out the lil cutie I won from Lauren's Blog "All The Good Names Were Taken"!!! I love him and think he's totally adorable! If you want to see some super pretty cards, scrapbook pages and other cool goodies check out Lauren's blog. You won't be sorry. Thanks Lauren for hosting such a fun giveaway!

I taught again!

2010-10-18T07:51:00.003-04:00

This is the project from yesterday's Santa's Workshop. Taught by yours truly at the Scrapbook store where I work. It is a perpetual desk calendar. I only had one student but we still had a good time with paint (lots of paint) and paper :) After seeing the vinyl letters and numbers in action, I decided.....I NEED VINYL! It's the coolest stuff ever! Looking into that today :) HUgs to my peeps! Hope you are having a fabulous day.

I taught a class....

2010-10-11T08:05:00.004-04:00

.....and I liked it! No actually, I loved it! Here is the wall hanging I created:

(Took the photo from the store's website ;) ) It was my first time teaching and I was really nervous at first. The ladies that came to the class put me right at ease and we had alot of fun. Aside from rolling the petals on the green flower lol. We started late and finished late, but everyone was a good sport and we managed to get it all done :) . Yesterday was a good day.

Terrie Bailey's Blog!

2010-09-30T08:20:00.005-04:00

I was visiting Terrie's blog this morning and came across the cutest treat bag, EVER! Here it is:
(Hope she doesn't mind me sharing her photo)
She made it from a standard envelope!! How awesome is that??!! I need to make some of these for my kids school parties! Want to make some too? Simply click on the photo to be taken to Terrie's tutorial! or click here TerrieBaileysBlog

DCWV GIVEAWAY!!

2010-09-29T07:48:00.005-04:00

Click the image to be taken to the blog to win some way cool stuff from DCWV!! Check out a sample from their blog, isn't it the cutest??! I love the ribbon wrapped around the outside.I never would of thought of that in a million years lol. So? What are you waiting for? Go try to win some free stuffs!! Good Luck!!

That's Right I am posting again!

2010-09-23T14:47:00.005-04:00

I'm on a roll ladies and gentlemen! I created some more cards and I liked them so much I had to post em! I used Lori Boyd's Lollipops which can be found here and here http://byloridesigns.blogspot.com

First up I used Presley, in red :)

And in Dark Red:

And lastly we have Ethan, in a different outfit :)

THanks for coming by and having a look. I had so much fun making these!!

Could it be???

2010-09-22T12:14:00.005-04:00

A new post??!! NO WAY! Total whey! Soooooooooooooo, I blame working at the scrapbook store for my absence. We did a remodel and literally moved everything in the store somewhere else.It looks fabulous and was well worth the effort. I now have 5 days off (1 down, 4 to go), so I did some card making yesterday.

This first one I made with a digital stamp a.k.a. a Lollipop created by Lori Boyd, available @ By LORi Designs (AWESOME). Lori had a contest to win 5 digis of your choice on Facebook, and I was thrilled to discover I was one of the lucky winners! It was really hard to narrow it down to 5 because her images are so sweet and cute! But narrow it down I did. I got Dylan, Ethan, Cat, Ella and Presley (Gonna work on the ladies cards today) If you haven't done so already, please meet Dylan:

And Ethan:

Thanks for coming by and having a look. Have a fabulous day :) See you soon.

2010-09-04T21:24:00.003-04:00

I am finally uploading my latest layouts! I didn't finish all of these today. I did the "For Me" layout today though :). This first one here is my oldest son Chris and his girlfriend Kacey Before heading out to their Senior Prom. They make such a cute couple.

This is to show the detail of the ruffled paper

My youngest daughter riding her bike and posing for me :)

This one I did finish today and I love how it turned out. I sewed on it and hand stitched the swirls. I can't wait to show it to Kacey :)

This one cracks me up. My kids like to run through the ditch in front of our house and eventually "slide" in it. Look at the wave of water they created! LOL

I almost titled this one "Perfect 10". Something about her coming out of the water like this reminded me of Bo Derek in "10" . It just seemed weird to put that on a layout about my daughter, but I think it every time I see this page.

Sarah, how I love that you like to have your picture taken. I have lots of layouts of Sarah. If my other kids ever complain, I will simply remind them of when they ran from me, covered their faces or otherwise avoided my camera's lens. This time we were baking Banana Muffins. They were delicious.

No school year would be complete without a Back To School Layout. Imagine my surprise at finishing it mere days from taking the photos! lol.

That's all from me today. Tomorrow we are going to Grandpa's Birthday Party. He is 81 Years old!! I hope I get some awesome photos of everyone. Have a fun and safe Labor day everyone. Hugs to my peeps out there :)

PS- I know I used sketches on some these and I do believe they were from Susan Stringfellow at http://www.sketchsavvy.blogspot.com/ and a layout I loved by Jana Eubanks at www.frommyfeatherednest.blogspot.com

Wanna Win???

2010-08-23T00:02:00.002-04:00

If you like digis, then you will love free ones, especially when they are this stinkin' cute!! Visit Lori's Blog for all the deets and your chance to win!!

some info about my last post

2010-08-12T09:47:00.004-04:00

Hello! It's me again :) I wanted to post the project idea sources from my last post. You didn't think I came up with those wonderful ideas on my own did ya? I wish lol. Fortunately we live in the age of computers, internet and people willing to share their creations! Let's hear it for computers!! (I distinctly heard crickets there). uh-hem, moving on. Here is the framed accordian folded papers I saw at Wendy Sue Anderson's blog, Just me....and my little world. I love, love, love her style and use of color :). A couple posts ago I create a sign for my bathroom that said, Relax. I found the project on Carole Janson's blog, 3 Dimensional Me. For the record, I want to recreate just about everything on Carole's blog. Take a look at her stuff and you will see why. She's awesomely talented!
Sadly I cannot find the link to the blogger that created this :

If anyone has seen this online or knows who created it, could you leave me a link in the comments section. I feel terrible for not knowing. Is anyone inspired to create something today? I sure hope so! If you do create something today, leave me a link! I wanna see what you do :)
Have a fantastic day!!

A thunderstorm is coming.....

2010-08-11T12:34:00.006-04:00

......so I have to make this fast. I tend to shut down my computer during bad weather, and bad weather is almost upon us. So I will post the pics now and share the deets later.

This is just a simple, cheap 8x10 photo frame that I adhered paper to the glass and decorated with accordian folded flowers and buttons. I then added some Dew Drops and Rhinestone Bling.

A closer view of the "Flowers"

This is a shadowbox I bought at the dollar store (I bought 2)

This is how I redecorated it.

Yet another view. Links to the original projects I found online to come soon, I promise!! I just have to wait for the thunderstorm to blow over.

Thanks for stopping by!! I hope you are having better weather :)

I made a wall hanging!

2010-08-09T17:08:00.003-04:00

I made it for my bathroom. I have some other project ideas for said bathroom as well. I will get to those soon too I hope. I loooooooooove how this one turned out. I used papers from "Doodling Around" stack by ummmm DCWV(???). I love that stack :). I have to go make dinner for my fam. I hope to see you soon!! Thanks for stopping by. Love to my peeps!!

Check this out!

2010-08-05T10:30:00.003-04:00

I love going to art blogs and looking at incredible art. There are some highly talented people out there. I have some favorites that I check out daily. Thank you internet for making inspiration only a click away. Today I went to Abz Hakim's blog and was blown away by the images I saw there. He has such talent! He puts so much emotion into his characters. This one in particular: Gabriella
I also love, love, love the art by Bob Canada. He always throws something I don't expect into his artwork. His characters are wonderful.
If you are in the mood to check out some art blogs, here are a few more of my favorites:
Cally Jane Studio
Action Art
Beautifique
Dani Draws
Gingerbred
Happy Doodle Land
She Sure Is Sketchy
Stewy Stuff
The Ol' Sketchbook

I hope you find something you like. Thanks for coming by today :)

I created stuff!!

2010-08-01T20:21:00.005-04:00

This first item was created by making several little boxes and then sticking them together. Then I decorated each box and popped the whole thing in a shadowbox frame. I saw this idea online at scrappystickyinkymess's blog and thought it was so cute, I had to have one of my own. Here's a link to the tutorial: Wall Art and here is her finished project (I love her's!!!). I put it in a frame because it hangs in my kitchen and I know it would get gunky if I it wasn't protected by a layer of glass lol.

This next one, I cut chipboard to 3"x5" (the M a little wider), and taped them together accordian style. I embellished it with paper, ribbon, flowers, stickles, brads and ink. I pop dotted each letter to give them a little dimension. I love how it turned out.

Thanks for stopping by! Hugs to my peeps :)

A Scrapping We Did Go.........

2010-07-30T09:30:00.007-04:00

..........it was Kids Kamp at the scrap store, so I took my youngest daughter Sarah there to create this fun project. We still have to add photos, but other than that it is finished and she did a wonderful job on it. She's quite the little scrapper! Here are some photos of her at work :)

Let's do this thing!

Adding some patterned paper.

Adding brads to a circle.

Inking the edges!

I was just there to watch.

TADA!!! The finished work of art!! :D

Thanks for stopping by, I hope everyone is enjoying today :) Hugs to those of you who want one :)

Scrapbook crops are FUN!!!!!

2010-07-25T12:01:00.002-04:00

So I went to the crop and I brought EVERYTHING. I decided for my first crop I would make cards, sounded like a good plan at home. However, once I got there all I wanted to do was layouts lol. So I went shopping and got some new papers and created a one page layout that I love, and all I have to add is photos and journaling. I hope to get to that today. What made the crop as much fun as it was are the ladies I was sitting with. They all loved to joke and laugh, and made me feel like I've known them for years :) Thank you crop people. At one point I was even dancing O.o, this song came on the radio that was do-wop style so I started swaying to and fro and rolling my hands in a circle while declaring, "I'm a pip!" It was awesome when they laughed. I was made to do it again for someone's camera lmao. Ohhhhhhhh and then I had to work at that SB store the next day and they were having a yard sale in the crop room. So I got a tool tote thingamabob for a mere $8!! It's blue and has some camoflauge, I love it. Now I can trade in my ziplock bags :) I got some buttons, brads snd primas for 25 cents! Paper was 10 for a buck. I love a good deal. I also got a large pack of Twinkling H2O's for $5, here;s hoping I actually use them. I ran out of money before I found a fascinator (Sp?) and a pack of the staples it uses for $4. is that a good deal? It was good times, I will definitely be going again. Thanks for the tips and advice in the comments section of my last post, everything you said was exactly how it went. I brought all this extra stuff and finished 1 card, 1- 1 page layout and covered some chipboard album with paper, that's it, in 6 hours! lol. I gotta go for now, but thanks for visiting and hope you are having a fantastic day! Love to my peeps!!

Going to my first crop!

2010-07-23T10:31:00.002-04:00

I was convinced by a co worker to attend the 6 hour crop at the scrapbook store I work for. It's my first one. I have to admit I am a little nervous. I've never scrapped with anyone before (except on the phone :)). I have to figure out what to bring, and how to bring it. This is all new to me, so I really hope I like it. Any tips or advice on how to pack, or what to pack?

I've been scrapbooking :)

2010-07-22T15:25:00.005-04:00

Hello Dear Readers!! I hope I have some left :D I have been away a long time without any posts. I appologize for my absence. I have so much to catch up on. Work, scrapping, cleaning, hanging out with my kids, rinse and repeat. Summer is hectic and our schedule is all over the place, kinda willy, nilly. Yesterday we we went swimming at my oldest son's girlfriend's house. We had a great time. I took pics, I will have to share some when and if I get permission from the girls in them :) I haven't been dieting or working out O.O I need to so badly. At this point I am afraid to step on a scale, so I just don't. Bad, I know......and I could say I am gonna do something about it starting right now! But that would be a lie. I may be chunky, but a liar I ain't! I need to find some motivation, maybe it's hiding under a rock somewhere, I wouldn't know I haven't gone looking for it. On another note, I have been enjoying working at the scrapbook store. I am starting to recognize our customers and have worked on some really fun projects. I was thrilled to sell the last page kit I put together. It's so cool that someone out there liked what I did well enough to buy it! Thank you awesome customer from the other day :) I have scrapbooked a few of my own pages recently as well and here are some photos. I will include the journaling as well since it may be hard to read in the photos.

Once Upon a Time.....
.......Emily and Chris were as close as two siblings could be. Wherever Chris went, so went Emily. He'll say he hated it, but it simply didn't come across that way, not to me. It was as if he expected her to go with him. When I look at these photos of Chris and Emily together in 2004, all I see there is love, and devotion. The kind a little sister carries for her older brother.
A mere 6 years leaves this relationship quite a bit different, but not entirely changed. As they get older their interests change. Emily started hanging out with her girlfriends and Chris found out that girls aren't icky lol. Emily may not be tagging along after her brother much anymore, but I know, they will always be there for each other. I hope that one day they both realize how special a relationship they have. Mom- 2010

You're only 9 once, enjoy it!

Summer Fun: Ryan and Sarah playing tag with the neighborhood children.

So Beautiful:I snapped this photo of my mom whil waiting for Chris's Graduation ceremony to start. I love how this photo turned out. My mom, the first person to love me, one of the best people on the planet! I got so lucky to be her daughter. I can't imagine a better role model.

CTF: I think every kid in the neighborhood showed up to play "Capture The Flag". I love it when the older kids find a way to play with the younger ones and no one fights or feels left out.

That's all from me today. I have been drawing a little each night, but nothing worth sharing so far. I hope you have a fantastic day. Thanks for stopping by :)

AMBER INK GRAND OPENING!!! WOOT!!!

2010-07-11T10:30:00.002-04:00

Graduation!!!!

2010-06-07T10:02:00.008-04:00

My oldest son Chris graduated yesterday afternoon!!! It was awesome! I am so proud of my boy!! We were really high up in the bleachers so I am super happy with this particular photo. You'd think I was standing right there. Here is a better perspective shot of how far we actually were:

Here are some other favorite photos of the day:

My Mom, Larry and Larry's son Lonny went to Chris's Graduation with us. When we got back here we talked and laughed for a while before they had to go home. They are all so easy to talk to and fun to be around, I miss them so much when they go. Hopefully we will get together again soon :) I love having them here. We finished off the day with Chris's dinner choice Baked Ziti. Later some of his friends came over and had cake and ice cream with us. All in all it was a pretty terrific day :). I hope yours is going as well.

Workin', watching and graduation!!

2010-06-03T07:53:00.003-04:00

Just thought I would pop in and say hello. I've been working at the scrap store, having fun with that. I worked on a Basketball layout yesterday. Nothing like getting paid to scrapbook. I love that. It turned out pretty good too, I hope my boss likes it!!
I have also started watching Glee, LOVE IT!! The preggies dancin on the last episode was hilarious. I just can't get enough Glee. I watched 5 episodes on Hulu the other day, each one as good as the last. Now I want to see the rest of the ones I have missed.
Lastly, my oldest son graduates from High School this Sunday!! I cannot wait to watch him walk across the stage to get his diploma. I am really looking forward to it. Summer can officially start after that :) I hope everyone out there in blog land is happy and well!! Loves to my peeps :)

Anyone want a scrapbook sketch?

2010-05-25T12:10:00.003-04:00

I created this in PhotoShop today for a project I am working on. In case someone wants to use it, here ya go :)

Love yas!! Dawn

I was inspired.....

2010-05-22T18:53:00.004-04:00

....by the ladies cropping at the store where I work. They were all having so much fun! I had to buy some product and come home and scrap some photos!! I got quite a few of the papers in the "The Wild" collection by Reminise. Some stickers too :) I couldn't help it, I love them! Perfect for scrapping pics of my son and his girlfriend Kacey :) Can you see the sewing I did on the background?

This one is my youngest son Ryan, I snapped some pics of him while he was innocently watching cartoons after school. I love this shot of him. I'd also like to send a shout out to my Cricut for being so awesome. I love that machine! I used the Indie Art cart. for the hearts and the word heartbreaker.

Thanks for looking and I hope you have a fantastic weekend!

I scrapped this today!

2010-05-17T16:13:00.005-04:00

Some pictures of me and my daughter playing with shadows on the wall. We had a lot of fun!

I used Basic Grey papers on this layout. I love this line. It's called Green At Heart. I started with this sketch from sketchabilities, I deviated a little but the bones are from the sketch :) I heart sketches! Thanks for looking and have a great day :)

I got a JOB!

2010-05-17T11:44:00.002-04:00

I went and got a job at my local scrapbook store :) I have gone to work twice since I got hired. The first time out, I just stood there and tried to absorb as much info as possible, and I took notes in case. Lucky for me, my boss is extremely helpful and patient. She is showing me the ropes and answers every question I have, even if I ask it 100 times.
My second day was yesterday and I was working the register. I was so afraid I was gonna mess up, and I did make some errors, but guess what?? I fixed em and I survived. I just need to take a breath and relax. Time and experience will bring that :) Until then I will try not to break out in hives and sweat profusely on work days. Once I get my feet back under me, I will love it :) I can already tell. Today I am going to scrap :). After work I became a customer and bought some way cute papers I cannot wait to use!! Love to my peeps.

OHHHHHHHHHHH HOLD ON!!! I just want to share that I have worked out on schedule since I got back on the wagon :) I have been wavering between the 17-18 pounds lost mark :) GO ME!!

I haven't been posting.....

2010-05-11T08:57:00.004-04:00

**Edited to add: I worked out for 57 minutes and feel great. The 1.8 pound weight gain from yesterday was cancelled out by the 1.8 pound weight loss today!! WOOT! I sweated like a pig and actually enjoyed it :) **

.....not much at least. How long has it been since you heard me mention anything about weight loss? Awhile, I know. I have a confession to make, I haven't been working out. It's been 3 weeks. I weighed in yesterday just to see. I gained 1.8 pounds. So I worked out. Sorta. Ok, ok it was this half assed attempt at working out...........Let me just stop me right there, I just wrote and deleted a whole paragraph filled with excuses and BS. I don't know why I stopped exercising. I just know that I need to start back up again. I need to motivate myself to "just do it", JUST DO IT! Positivity is key, it trumps negativity every time. So instead of making excuses and blathering on about how I was depressed about blah blah and blah, I am going to make a list. This is a list of things I have been a positive result of working out and losing weight:
1. My back pain was gone, completely gone
2. My feet didn't hurt, at all
3. I slept better than ever
4. I was happier
5. Quick to laugh
6. I smiled more
7. I didn't get winded with the simplest of activities
8. My clothes fit better
9. My outlook was brighter
10. I could do lunges without cursing!!

In my quest for keeping this post and my outlook positive I would just like to let you know, that as soon as I hit the "Publish Post" button, I am going to exercise. I will let you know how it went :)
Thanks for stopping by and have a fantastic day.

Bratz Layout :)

2010-05-03T14:21:00.006-04:00

This is a page of my daughter Sarah, playing with her Bratz dolls. I can remember vividly doing the same thing at her age :) I used a sketch for this layout that I found over at Sketch Savvy, by Susan Stringfellow. I intend to use several other of her sketches too. They are FAB! If you are in need of inspiration head on over to her blog and you will be scrapping in no time! The samples are incredible as well. I used 2 page Sketch #6 for this layout. Thanks for looking and have a fantastic day :)

I need to work on my 2 page layout photo taking skills.

Some random pics of downtown

2010-04-28T21:50:00.005-04:00

buh, duh buh, duh buh buh buh buh duh buh buh buh buh buh buh.......Downtown. Sing it with me lol. I hope I buh duh-ed that right :) Earlier this evening me, the hubs, and 2 of our 4 chillens went to visit their grandma in the hospital. I think I posted here, that she had a mild stroke almost 2 weeks ago. She is going home this Friday and has recovered well so far. She just wants to go home, like yesterday. I don't blame her. The worrier in me is on red alert, but I squash it down and maintain a calm facade :) So after making momil almost pee her pants with laughter, we took off and let her get some rest. On the way home I decided to snap some pics with my cell phone of downtown Columbus. Pardon my dirty windshield lol. I hope you enjoy!

Luxury Apartments! WOOOOO!

I love buildings with TV on them!

A Building, I have no idea what they do here.

Lots of buildings, lots of peeps doing very important jobs, I am sure ;)

Building with ticker tape SWEET!! Almost as good as a building with TV! (Part of my hubs face too!! It almost looks like he's eating the words lol. )

Columbus Dispatch, as the photo says, Ohio's greatest home newspaper.

Now for the really good pics! On the way home we stoped at Meijer and saw these baby geese when we puled into the parking lot! I didn't very good pics, but you can sorta make them out, I hope the arrows help :) I wanted to get out and pet one, but the hubs said the mommy and daddy geese would attack me, so I stayed put :)

I hope everyone is having a FABULOUS DAY!

I got a hairs cut!!!

2010-04-27T19:31:00.004-04:00

Let me set the scene for you. Picture if you will a woman standing before her large bathroom mirror, brush in one hand, blow dryer in the other. The hair isn't cooperating, it's flat where it shouldn't be and thicker on one side than the other.

**I would like warn any of my readers with a weak constitution to quit reading now**

Make no mistake this is no imaginary woman standing before her mirror. This woman is me, what happened next, I still cannot explain. I may have been possessed by a demon, or perhaps an alien controlled my mind for a while, there are no other excuses. I left my bathroom in search of scissors, (you see where this going, right?) and came back with them in my hand. I reached up and uncaringly grabbed a hunk of hair and (yep you guessed it!) cut it off, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat!!! WHAT WAS I THINKING????!!!???? Seriously, what good can come from this? NONE, NONE I TELL YOU! The carnage! The horror! The abomination! My floor was covered in hair, my clothes were too. WHatever caused me to start doing this, wore off and all I was left with was more hair on my floor than on my head! Sooooooooooo, I headed over to my nearest Great Clips, and put my wreck of a hairdo into the hands of a professional. Tracy looked at my hair, heard my story and gave me some ideas of what we could do. I was all in. I love what she did! Tracy, thank you. I love it! It's short, oh yes indeed, but I loves me some short hair. It's easy to take care of and dries in a minute! Here are the pictures I snapped to show my texting peeps upon my return :) I kinda wish I had some before pics.

Thanks For stopping by today :)

Senior Prom 2010

2010-04-26T13:38:00.003-04:00

My oldest son, Chris took his girlfriend Kacey to their Senior Prom last Friday. The theme for the evening was "A Black Tie Affair". They were gracious enough to let us take hundreds of pictures. These are some of my favorites:

The Boutinere

The Corsage

Looking good son!

Show some leg!!

Smoooooooch!

Up next? Graduation!!!! Where does the time go?!!

Oh what a week it's been.....

2010-04-23T09:27:00.004-04:00

...... My Momil (mom in law), had a stroke on Sunday. I know how scared for her I was, I cannot fathom how she felt. She has maintained a positive outlook. She thinks of this as a minor inconvience, I argue with her about that one from time to time. She's already regained strength in her left leg, and is working hard in rehab to get it back in her arm as well. She likes to freak me out by standing up. I go into, "Nervous she's going to fall" mode, and hover around her until she is back on the bed. She always tells me to relax, but I can't. I think she secretly likes to freak me out, which is fine as long it doesn't make her mad and she doesn't fall. She told the doc she feels more cheerful since the stroke, we agreed with that. An unexpected side effect, the mind is a wonderful thing.
Our family resorts to jokes and laughter to get through tough times. Some may find that odd, but it works for all of us. I cannot imagine doing it any other way. Seeing this family rally around each other makes me realize how lucky I am to be a part of it. No matter how much they gag at me and make puking sounds upon reading this, I love you. Momil, I am cheering for you, each and every day.
On a lighter note, today is my oldest son's Senior Prom. Their theme is "An Elegant Affair" or was it " A Black Tie Affair", do I get points deducted for not knowing? I hope not. The tux has been picked up, I am assured it looks sharp. I cannot wait to see for myself. The oldest even got his hair cut for the occasion, WOOT! Today we gotta pick up Kacey's corsage. Then we well pile into the family truckster and invade Kacey's parents house to get heaps of photos of them before they leave :) FUN FUN FUN!!! I will post some pics soon!!

Illustration Friday "Linked"

2010-04-13T15:17:00.005-04:00

This is my Illustration Friday.......errrrm, Illustration. I was finishing making the lines yesterday and my son's girlfriend asked if it was me? I said no, but there is a resemblance to me here, a little. That made me laugh. I had so much fun creating this one. I was proud of the fact that I learned enough about the pen tool to create the "paper dolls". Now if I can just figure out how to blend color with a brush!! LOL. The only freebie I can offer today is a free internet hug.......any takers? Thanks for checking out my blarg today :D

From my sketchbook....(several pics)

2010-04-12T09:36:00.011-04:00

.......some random doodles I made recently, and I'm practicing shading, and still needs work lol. I used my tiny book for all of these, the pages are 3" x 4".

Brellas

Bunnies

Easter Eggs

Alien

Astronaut

Gator

Weird No arms Bunny Creature

Globby

Cricut

Guy in Orange shirt

Weird Nostrils Guy eeeeep!

Bunny With Carrot

Singing Snake

Thanks for stopping by today :) Hope you are having a wonderfully, fantastic day.

We went a walkin'

2010-04-09T13:44:00.009-04:00

My girls watched, "Yes Man" yesterday and were inspired to go for a jog with cameras in hand. They asked if I wanted to come and I said , "I don't really jog.". They were more than happy to let me walk, and so I went along. We snapped some pics of the signs of spring. Here are a sampling of some of my favorite shots. As well as a couple my girls got.

I simply love Daffodils!!

This is Emily taking a picture of her reflection in a puddle, love her shoes in the shot! Emily is 14.

We were all taking pics of the trees in bloom and Sarah said "Mom get a close up!" So I did :)

This is a branch of the tree in our yard, when it blooms it smells heavenly.

The sky was mostly cloudy and overcast for our walk, but Sarah captured a glimpse of the sun trying to peek through. I love this shot! Sarah is 9 :)

I saw this tree's reflection in the water and had to get a pic. I love the perspective, see the parking lot lines in the background? This one is my favorite of the day. Hope everyone is having a fabulous day!!

Thanks for visiting me!!!

Got me some new paints!

2010-04-08T11:42:00.008-04:00

Here are some paints and things I got to try and learn to watercolor. My palette doesn't have black, wha???

This was my idea for Illustration Friday from almost 2 weeks ago, the word was "Rescue". I think it came out a little creepy lol.

This is a random turtle that we will call a magician, he made the confetti appear.

I have no idea what this is, but he loves jeans and something may or may not be falling on him.

Seeing if you are paying attention, LOL . See my left eyebrow? That's what happens when you buy microwavable face wax to remove unwanted facial hair and use a eyebrow sticker to get the right shape, except said sticker, moves.........ohhhhhhhh noooooooo. Here's hoping it grows back!

This little guy is so excited, but why? No one knows.

Sailing baby yahh!!!

Still here? Look, I'm Popeye!!

This guy is getting held up or his arms won't lay down naturally.

Thanks for coming by today, I enjoy your company.

Gestalt Prayer

2010-04-07T13:46:00.004-04:00

I saw this on a blog today while waiting for cookies to bake, (oreo type sandwich cookies). I think it's great, so I had to post it on my blog.

Gestalt Prayer
I do my thing and you do your thing.
I am not in this world to live up to your expectations,
And you are not in this world to live up to mine.
You are you, and I am I,
and if by chance we find each other,
it's beautiful.
If not, it can't be helped.
(Fritz Perls, 1969)

Just a note to those of you who follow my blog and know about my battle with the buldge, the cookies are for my kids and not for me. I am staying strong and continue my workouts. I am stuck at the 15 pounds lost mark. I worked out like a fiend just this morning and hope to start losing weight again soon. That said, here is the cookie recipe I used today, that I got from my sister eons ago:

Cake Mix Cookies
any cake mix (I prefer chocolate cake and vanilla frosting, like oreos, but you can use whichever combination of cake mix and frosting you like)
1 Tub of Frosting
2 Eggs, Beaten
1/2 Cup Oil
1/4 Cup Flour

PReheat oven to 350*F. Beat eggs in bowl. Add cake mix, oil, and flour. Stir. Roll into balls and cook on ungreased cookie sheet for 10 minutes only. They will be soft. (At this point I smash the cookies down with a spatula to make them flat). Let cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack. Once the cookies are cool, spread frosting on one cookie and add another cookie to the top to make a sandwich.

I put about 9 cookie balls on each cookie sheet, so they don't spread into one another, and I got about 36 single cookies from one recipe. I hope you try them and like them, Enjoy!

Thanks Sherry!!

2010-03-26T16:34:00.002-04:00

She gave me this blog award!!! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWT! Go check out her awesome blog here.

All I have to do is pass it on to 5 wonderful bloggers, so in no particular order:

I also updated my facebook pic today and decided to change it here too. Don't you just love my background? That's my closet. See that black trash bag hanging up? It contains my oldest son't cap and gown for his upcoming graduation from high school!!!! WOOHOO!! The rest of what you see is your average "my closet is also my crafting space" , type stuffs. Hope everyone is having a fantastic day.

Dawn Moore 3/26/2010

Digital Painting Practice

2010-03-25T21:24:00.003-04:00

Check out my last post for a new free digital stamp :). It's been forever since I've posted a new one, and didn't want cha to miss it! This is the image the cake digi came from. This dog wants cake, bad. BAD I TELL YA! lol. I hope he scores a little, bitty piece. I got texture happy with this one. I can already feel a new addiction coming on......I need to increase my texture collection. I need some grungy ones and a paisley one....or two. I am so happy you stopped by, I appreciate it.

Here's the original sketch.

I HAVE A FREE DIGI!!!

2010-03-25T17:13:00.002-04:00

Sooooooooooooo, I was creating a new image to practice painting digitally. I made the cake and thought to myself, this would look great on a card. So I seperated it from the rest of the image and VIOLA! I hope you like it :) Click on the image to get to the bigger, downloadable version. If you take a file, leave a comment, please. I appreciate em. Love to my peeps!

Illustraion Friday: Expired

2010-03-23T15:09:00.004-04:00

The first thing that popped into my mind upon seeing this week's theme word at Illustration Friday: Expired, was expired milk. This was a fun one to do. I drew the original sketch, scanned it, did the line art in Illustrator and painted it in photoshop. It's supposed to be a cup of expired milk and someone making a bleh face over it .Hopefully it comes across that way :) Thanks for looking.

Oh the weightloss front, I haven't gained or lost anything so far this week. I am simply maintaining. I can deal with that :) I do still have a little soreness in my leg muscles from the evil, I mean lunges. I added the "Plank" to the ol' routine and holy hell that's hard! When the instructor on my wiifit says "10 more seconds", I wanna slap her around lol. What can I say, exercise makes me violent! I find myself looking for healthy activities to do on the weekends that have nothing to do with the Wii. So far I have played basketball (HORSE is playing basketball right?), tossed the frisbee to my kids, and played at the park. I find I don't get winded as easily (until I try to race my kids up a hill to the car that is, *insert wheezing here*.), I am thrilled with that. I also noticed that when I poke my own stomach, there is some firmness lying low under the jiggles. That wasn't the case before, I can tell you that! I see no changes to my body in the mirror. So I have to look harder to find the improvements. It's going to take time, and patience. Today I am happy to report that I continue to reach for the goal. Hope all is well in your world and that you have a fantastic day :D

Amber Ink!! Check it out!

2010-03-21T12:08:00.004-04:00

If you like digi stamps, then check out www.AmberInk.com !!! You will find several freebies right now, so snatch em up!! You can even add a way cool badge to your blog, website, whatever!! Spread the word and show the love!! :)
Here's a blog link Amber's Inklings, the bunnies are soooooooo cuteeeeeeeee!! I fell in love with them! Here's hoping they become digi stamps. They would make for really cute Easter cards!

Just a quick post

2010-03-19T14:28:00.002-04:00

To let everyone know that I got 1st place in the skateboard exercise of our WiiFit. The top spot was held my 10 year old for months! Until last night, folks! WOOHOO!

I have been drawing, honest.....

2010-03-17T10:07:00.005-04:00

........but so far nothing is "singing" to me or compelling me to digitize it. I started doodling a bunny, but something went horribly wrong with his feet. Apparently I have trouble drawing any feet, not just the human variety. So I need to practice drawing them until I am relatively comfortable drawing them. Which means I end up with pages and pages of deformed looking feet. No one wants to use them on a card (trust me ya don't). Usually when I get ok at drawing one thing, I stumble into something else that has me frazzled, (ie hands, eyes, the list goes on and on!). I do however, enjoy practicing. I especially love when I draw something and it looks on paper how I envision it in my head. It doesn't happen often, so when it does, I smile.
On another note, I had a fantastic day yesterday, wanna know why? Two reasons, 1) Because I could sit on my porch in the sun with a sweatshirt on (without getting cold) and draw outside! It was marvelous!!! The birds were chirping, squirrels were doing cute squirrel things, and random people would walk by, and I would try to sketch them :) Most of em look a little wonky, but I don't care, it was fun and I enjoyed it thoroughly. The second reason is, I lost 2.4 pounds yesterday! I was totally and completely stoked, that's right, stoked! I felt so great about the weight loss that I added more strength training exercises to my Wii Fit Rountine. Today I am feeling the results of the lunge and side lunge. Those particular exercises are EVIL! Truly, completely EVIL! Which makes me a little sadistic to keep them in the line up, but there they stay. I am curious to see if I can "beat" them. Basically torture my muscles until doing said exercises no longer hurts. Time will tell who will win that contest lol.

Lastly, I have a question to anyone out there that has used software called Autodesk Sketchbook Pro 2010, is it any good? I have heard good things about it, but I don't know anyone that has actually used it. I'm curious to know if it's worth it's $100 price tag.

Illustration Friday: Subterranean

2010-03-12T20:50:00.003-05:00

I will probably fiddle with this more this week, but I wanted to get the general idea on "paper" :)

Illustration Friday: Brave

2010-03-11T16:25:00.004-05:00

The word this week at Illustration Friday is Brave. Never in a million years would I have looked under my bed for a monster as a kid. I was scared if I left a hand or toe out from under the covers, and God forbid over the side of my bed, that something would grab me, yank me under there and I would disappear forever. The child in my drawing doesn't have that fear, or at least can push past it and check things out. Thanks for looking :)

The original sketch

I consider myself brave for posting this today. I wasn't going to because it's, well, whacked out. But I did it anyway :) Yay me! More practice using my tablet, and a way to see my progress. If'n there is any lol.

Thank you all so much

2010-03-11T07:38:00.002-05:00

The thoughts, prayers, hugs and kisses did the trick because both of my family members are out of the hospital and doing better than ever. I was blown away by all the comments that were left here, thank you all so much for taking the time to do that :) My cup runeth over.

My heart is heavy....

2010-03-09T13:15:00.003-05:00

UPDATE: My Uncle is out of the hospital and feeling much better at the moment. Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers, they are appreciated more than you know :)

....as I write this. Immediately upon waking my cell phone was ringing. My Grandma is in the hospital. They are trying to heal her, we pray that they will. I hang up with my aunt and go directly to email. There is an email from my mom telling me my uncle is back in the hospital. Her words go straight to my heart, well up , and spill out of my eyes. I wish I knew the magic words to hold my mom's pain at bay, but I don't, there aren't any. I will just keep my family in my thoughts and prayers and be there for those I love, no matter what. Hopefully tomorrow will bring better news.

This Freebie may not be for everyone........

2010-02-23T21:38:00.003-05:00

.........but I like his grumpy look. If you have any idea/s of what sentiment you would use with this one, by all means let me know lol. I hope you like him. Remember, if you take a file, leave me a comment, please :) I really appreciate them. If you ceate anything using my files, please show me. I will come and take a look and leave you a comment :) Thanks for coming by today!!

Elephants anyone? Anyone at all??

2010-02-22T21:40:00.006-05:00

Well, if you do in fact like elephants, and this one in particular, I have it available with and without the heart. Download one or both and be sure to leave me a comment! I love reading them, and they make me smile and have a fantastic day. Simply click the images to be taken to the larger, downloadable files. Enjoy and I hope to see you again soon. I meant to tell ya, wouldn't the one without the heart look cute with the sentiment over the trunk? Like it's coming out of the trunk? Just an idea for you card makers. If you make a card or other creation using my digis, show me ok? I love to see them in color!!

PS- I worked out for an hour today, up from the usual half hour I have been doing. Here's hoping I start losing weight again. I was down by 0.4 today. Not much, but at least it's a loss, not a gain! I will take what I can get, or lose what I can get......ummm....hmmmm ;)

A case of the blahs and boo to snow days!

2010-02-15T19:49:00.002-05:00

I feel it best to warn you, I am about to whine. Feel free to stop reading now, I won't be offended. I know, whining never accomplishes anything. I'm gonna do it anyway. Today marks the 7th day my kids have had off from school in a row. Tomorrow has been cancelled as well, due to inclement weather. The weather, hrrrrrumph. The snow is bumming me out man! I think I am starting to lose my hair, or maybe it's just me pulling it out after breaking up the umpteenth fight between this kid and that kid, or that kid and this kid. It usually ends with someone having to clean their room. Even my kids want to go back to school, how sad is that? They are bored and need to spend time apart from each other. Cabin fever has set in big time! I haven't exercised since last Friday. I should have today, but went to the dentist instead. Not the funnest way to spend a morning. When I got home (the snow started to fall, again), I went to bed to sleep off the numbness on the left side of my face. Sadly, I have to go back to said dentist Wed. (if I am able to get there, big if lol), to get the other side done. I am HOPING that will be the end of my dental nightmares. I have read and read this post and have decided I do in fact need some cheese with this whine. I have also decided that I am going to log off here and go exercise. I KNOW it will make me feel better. THanks for listening and please, take care of your teeth :)
Hope everyone is staying warm .

Seahorse Free Digi!!

2010-02-09T18:56:00.004-05:00

I have typed this post twice already. Each of those times, it came across totally negative and blah. So (third time being the charm and all), I will leave it at this:

*It Snowed.

*It Snowed Some More.

*School was closed.

*School will probably be closed again.

AND, I have a free digi for you. Only one though, mostly because of the ramifications of the above bulleted list. I hope to create more tomalie, hope being the main word there. Stay safe and warm everyone. Oh and if anyone is visiting this blog from Hawaii, please let me come visit you :) lol.

On my weightloss front (my dear, sweet weight loss front), I lost 10 pounds then gained 1 back in the course of 2 days, and then yesterday I lost 2lbs. For a grand total of 11 pounds!! I was getting a little discouraged, seeing the .8 of a pound weight gain, and the .2 the next day. So, in the interest of keeping my spirits up, I decided it would be more beneficial to me to only weigh myself once or twice a week. I am still loving my workouts. If the tv is in use when it comes to work out time I simply use the fit board and just step on my own for 30 -40 minutes, (with a bottle of water in each hand). I love listening to Sean Kingston's "Burnin' Up the Dancefloor", Beyonce's "Single Ladies", and Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" while stepping. Oh and let us not forget the gems that are Kesha's "Tik Tok", and Pitbull's "Shut It Down". There is some swearing in that last one, and I love it because by the time it comes on I am usually all decked out in sweat and ready for some swearing anyway. What do you guys like to listen to while working out? I'd love to add to my playlist. Be sure to tell me in the comments section, please.
Enjoy and Aloha.

My Sister the Freak.....

2010-02-08T07:40:00.003-05:00

......is a new web comic, by Dani Jones! It is being launched on March 12th,2010. I've mentioned Dani here before. She is this super cool children's book illustrator who broadcasts live drawing, painting and digi work over on ustream, every morning at 10 am est, Tues. through Friday. You can ask questions, make comments, etc. She is really nice and she makes her art look so easy, even though it isn't! She has quite a few shows recorded, if you want to check her out right now. The link is up there, or you can click here. So, mark your calendars, add her page to your favorites and check out "My Sister the Freak"!! You can also find awesome tutorials, and her portfolio on her blog, DaniDraws.com. Enjoy, and have a fantastic day!! :D

Some things to share and the weather!

2010-02-05T14:41:00.009-05:00

I have alot to get to today. So, let's start off with the weather, shall we? I live in Ohio, and it's been snowing since about 8:30 this morning and doesn't look like it intends to stop anytime soon (sigh). It not the normal, cute little snowflakes, but these huge, honking snowball type things. I've never seen anything like it. I have pictures so you can see. SEE???!!! (I think you can click on the image to enlarge it.)

It's falling on the road, across the street, and even trying to creep it's way into our apartment! (pardon my dirty threshold, I am so embarrased! NOT lol)
Looks like I added some distress to the photos, but I didn't. That is just how much is falling!! They even had early release at school today, so my kidlets got a 2 hour break. Now if my Hubby will just get on board, pack it in for the day and scoot on back to me, I will have all my peeps safe and sound and under one roof. For those of you that grew up with this stuff or worse and are thinking I am a total snow wuss, gimmie a break, I grew up in and around California most of my life (Navy brat BABY!! lol)

OK......enough about that....

Now, as I mentioned in my previous post, Holly sent me a weightloss journal, here it is, in all it's awesome greatness. I really love it Holly, thank you for thinking of me!!! I find the cupcakes ironic, and I love me some irony :D

On we go, if you read my blog regularly, you can expect to find this along with most posts containing free digi files: "If you make something using one or more of my files, PLEASE show me!!". Well, show me you have!!! Let me hear a WOOT! WOOT!! (you can do better than that, WOOT! WOOT!!). Sooooooooooo, I asked each linker, each creater of creations if I could steal their photos to show them off here on my ol' blog and they said......ok some didn't say anything, so I will just accept their silence as assent. (If it bothers said creator/creators, simply let me know and I will remove your images.....k?) In no particular order:

Debb of "Forget Me Knot Nonsense Blog", used my "Beaver" digi:

(Minus his tail and he becomes a Groundhog!!! AWESOMENESS!)

Mamichelle of "Shell's Life Blog", used my "Lil House" digi:

(I love the sparkle she added!)

Rose of "My Happy Place Blog", used my "Goin Swimming" bird digi:

(The paper pieced bikini is a hoot!)

Thank you ladies for linking me to your creations, you really made my digis "come alive". I have such awesome and incredible blog visitors, nay blog friends. You guys know you RAWK, right? If I missed any linkage, be sure to beat me over the head with a comment letting me know, or an email, or a wet noodle.....MMMmmm noodles....did I mention I've been dieting? uh-hem. I hope I see you again soon!!

Bet you didn't think I was gonna post today, huh?!!

2010-02-04T20:13:00.004-05:00

Before I get to my usual post, I have to send a shout out to Holly. Holly, thank you from the bottom of my heart for the awesome gift you made and gave to me. For those of you who don't know, she sent me a weight loss journal. I looooooooooove it, thanks again Holly!! I will take a photo of it and share it here tomorrow, hopefully with some link, and photos of my digis in action! THanks for sharing those links ladies! I appreciate it.

Wally

This Lil Piggy

Cool Bunny

Bacon

Now, on to the freebies for today! I was busy creating these all day. I decided instead of posting each one seperately, I would just save em up and post em all at once. I hope you like them, they are so random. Just whatever I felt like creating at the time. Hopefully there is something you can use. IF you want to download my files, all I ask is that you leave me a comment. Simply click the images to get to their larger, downloadable counterparts. I'm so happy you stopped by today!! See you again soon! Smoochie booches (any Jay and Silent Bob fans out there? lol)

Introducing Baby Kitty!!

2010-02-03T19:17:00.002-05:00

Yet another post, and another free digital stamp. I hope you like it!! I am kinda running out of things to add, lol. Ummmm, I made Chicken stir fry for dinner and it was delish. Got the recipe out of my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. It was my new recipe for the week. I try cooking at least one meal a week that I haven't ever made before. It's fun to find new foods that are healthy and yummy. This one had oj, soy sauce, honey and vinegar in the sauce, so simple and so good! Now I just need to finish posting here, do the dishes, a load of laundry, put my kids to bed and then I can jump into my pj's and relax :) Join me won't you?? We've had a long day :)

Streeeeeeeeeeeeeetch Kitty Freebie

2010-02-03T15:42:00.006-05:00

2 in one day huh? Not bad, I am swinging for the fences, and hope to make this a 3 freebie day. WIsh me luck! I'm not 100% in love with this one, and I'm not sure why, could be that I am not very comfortable with profiles. Perspective eludes me lol. Anyway, if you want this one, click the image to make it bigger. And I know I say this all the time and sound like a broken record, but please continue to leave me comments!! They really mean the world to me. Hugs and smooches to those that want it, and hearty handshakes to those that don't :)

Melissa S. of "Playing with Paper blog" created these Valentine's for her dear daughters class, using some of my digi files!! I love how she colored them and the sentiments are adorable! Check em out! (Melissa graciously allowed me to use her photos, Thanks Melissa!)

Come back soon and continue to have a fabulous day!

Beware of Attack Cat! Freebie

2010-02-03T12:27:00.005-05:00

Anyone have a cat that can relate to this? I know I do lol. Hope you like him/her. It's passed workout time, but I had to finish and upload this one STAT lol. So after I am done posting, I am off to shake some cellulite around my livingroom, aka working out lol. I have lost 10 pounds so far WOOT! Anyhow, if you want this file, click on it to make it bigger and download away. Secondly, leave me a comment so I can smile all day long :) IF you make anything using one of my files, be sure to show me! I love seeing what you make, and I will leave you some comment love for your effort :) Love yas and I hope to get crackin' on the next one shortly. Have a fabulous day!!

Ask and you shall receive...

2010-02-02T19:46:00.003-05:00

......Free digis that is. So if you missed my last post, I asked my dear, sweet blog readers to inspire me with ideas of what they would like to see as digi stamps. I got LOTS of ideas. Thank you so much guys!! I heart all of you. Inspired I am!!! The ideas ranged from sea life to pregnancy. Some I didn't know what you were talking about (Red Indians, forgive me? Enlighten me?), some I think are a little out of my skill set (A girl in a wheelchair, I would love nothing more than to be able to create this one, but I can't make any promises, I will try.), others were a little vague, (boy digis.....could you be more specific? That kinda covers alot of material). I wrote em all down on a piece of paper, and grabbed my sketch book and pencil. I drew all afternoon!! I have pages and pages of images that I have scanned, and now just need to digitize for all of you. I only have one finished right now, and I hope you like him. I call him "Doofy Toofy", click him to get to the larger downloadable version and then save as you normally would. Be sure to leave me a comment! And check back soon, because I will be posting new ones as I finish them. Unfortch, I can't get to anymore tonight, since I have to watch my fav show, NCIS. I need my weekly dose of Gibbs, Tony, Zeva, Magee (MMmmm I love me some Magee) and of course ABBEY!! I heart Abbey. (Come on Dawn stay on track, these peeps wants them some digis) SO I leave you with Doofy and I hope he treats you and your crafting well. See you again soon!! Hopefully a little less scatterbrained lol.

Taking requests

2010-02-02T08:06:00.003-05:00

.....anything you would like to see as digital stamp? Please let me know. I've fallen into a slump and can't think of what to draw. I anxiously await your inspiration :) No pressure!

Another Fish Digi.....

2010-02-01T09:50:00.002-05:00

.....from birds to fish, and probably back again lol. I hope you like this one. I think she's fishtastic! If you'd like to download this one, just click on the image to get to the larger, downloadable version. If you make anything using my files, please show me, I love to see my files in action!! Thanks for coming by today. I hope you have a fishtastic, errrr fantastic day.

A poem

2010-02-01T07:09:00.002-05:00

I found this poem on one of my friends blog's and decided I liked it too and needed to post it here. I will print it and say it to myself in the mirror every morning :) Enjoy.

I like myself!
I’m glad I’m me.

There’s no one else
I’d rather be.

I like my eyes, my ears, my nose.
I like my fingers and my toes.

I like me wild.
I like me tame.
I like me different
and the same.

I like me fast. I like me slow.
I like me everywhere I go.

I like me on the inside too,
for all I think and say and do.

Inside, outside, upside down,
from head to toe and all around.
I like it all! It all is me!
And me is all I want to be.

And I don’t care in any way
what someone else may think or say.

I may be called a silly nut
or crazy cuckoo bird – so what?
I’m having too much fun, you see,
for anything to bother me!

Even when I look a mess,
I still don’t like me any less,
‘cause nothing in this world, you know,
can change what’s deep inside, and so…

No matter if they stop and stare,
no person
ever
anywhere
can make me feel that what they see
is all there really is to me.

I’d still like me with fleas or warts,
or with a silly snout that snorts.

Or knobby knees or hippo hips
or purple polka-dotted lips,

Or beaver breath or stinky toes
or horns protruding from my nose,

Or – yikes! – with spikes all down my spine,
or hair that’s like a porcupine.

I still would be the same, you see…

I like myself because I’m ME!

"You are a great catch!" Freebie

2010-01-31T16:28:00.009-05:00

Introducing, FISH ON A HOOK!

Rhonda, Thank you for alerting me to the fact that this image wasn't allowing you to download it. I think it's fixed now. Please, try again. Sorry for the inconvience.

I got a turn at the desktop computer, and scanned my artwork. Does this say "You are a great catch!", or what?? I think he's adorable. What do you think Melissa S. (she left a request in the comments section)? I hope you all like him! You know the drill by now, right? Download (click image to make it bigger), comment, create, repeat :) I love reading what you all have to say. So keep those comments coming :) I have some more fishies to digitize, and I am hoping I can get to them after dinner or tomalie. Keep checking back, in case :) If you create something, pretty please show me!!

Thanks for coming by and ENJOY!!

Fish Kiss Freebie

2010-01-31T14:40:00.004-05:00

Ok so I was reading the comments from my last post (thanks to all of you that left me a comment by the way, I really enjoyed reading them!!). And someone asked for a Valentine Fish, and I tried to think of what that might look like. This is one of the ideas I came up with. I have several different fish in my sketchbook. I just need to get a free moment with the desktop computer where my scanner is hooked up. I have at least 2 more that I want to try to digitize. To be perfectly honest with you, I think this one comes across a little stale. The others have a bit more character to them, if I do say so myself. But if you disagree then by all means, download (click the image and save the larger version), comment, create, and enjoy :) I hope to post again before the day is out, but if I don't then I will tomorrow for sure!! Enjoy.

Free Digi, yep another bird!

2010-01-30T21:15:00.003-05:00

I'm on a bird kick these days huh??!!?? Is it just me or did this one turn out way cute? I love her. I'd like to stick around and chat with you way cool peeps, but I'm running low on time. My hubba, hubba, hubby asked me if I wanted to watch Cinemax's new flick on the tube tonight. So I am mere minutes away from watching, "The Unborn". HOw romantic huh?!! I will just pretend to be scared (yah I'm just pretending, really) and suck up some cuddles and a few handfuls of air popped popcorn. I'll let you know if it was any good. I leave you with the cleverly named "Happy Girl Bird" Free digi :) JUst click her to get to the big downloadable version, after which you can feel free to leave me a comment, and then go forth and create. By all means show me if you use any of my files. I really do enjoy seeing your stuff stuffs!! Anyhoo, Enjoy!!
Thanks for stopping by!!