And we have a winner...

...ME! A winner of a giveaway!!! THIS giveaway!!! I never win anything...ever. Really! I entered a weekly giveaway last week here and won this FABULOUS chalkboard embroidery hoop - SOOO cool - from bliss in a teacup. Be sure to swing by her etsy shop and check out her goods - she has some really nice stuff. I can hardly wait to get my prize in the mail next week...oh, the excitement! Too bad I didn't buy a lottery ticket that day...makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Thanks again, Danni, for hosting this wonderful giveaway - be sure to check out Danni's blog - oh, hello friend - you may find yourself winning one of her weekly giveaways...

(image courtesy of oh, hello friend)

Educational and Cute!

How can you resist? This alphabet poster from print, pattern, paper comes in two sizes and is both educational for your itty-bitty and cute as a button for your walls. Reasonably priced (11 x 14" is $32.00 and 18 x 24" is $42.00), I may just have to order one for my daughter. The world map poster would be great on the wall of a playroom...again, educational and cute! Do we see a pattern here?

Rebecca has some really ADORABLE kids' art as well as stationery on her site. Be sure to check out her shop and blog as well!

(image courtesy of print, pattern, paper)

Be sure to shop around!

So, paging through some recent catalog deliveries from the post office caused me to do a double take...if you are looking for a garden stool/glossy end table, be sure to shop around and let your fingers do the walking via internet before you hit the order button. Here's an example...I'm not looking to buy a garden stool, but was sure I had seen this in Tracy Porter's recent catalog (she's having a 40% ADDITIONAL off clearance sale - HURRY and enter clearance40 at checkout, she has some cute stuff left) and also in the latest Ballard Designs catalog.

Tracy Porter's garden stool comes in lipstick red (yummy) and measures 12" in diameter and 15.75" high...ceramic and priced at $360.00. You can get 20% off (purchases over $200, so this would qualify) and FREE SHIPPING...that red is just sooo nice! If you decide to order it, be sure to enter SWEET at checkout.


Ballard Designs garden seat comes in either lime or glazed white and measures 10.5" in diameter and 18" high...ceramic and priced at $139.00.


Depends on what color and size you want, but it sure does make sense to shop around to make sure you get the best deal for what you want.

(images courtesy of Tracy Porter and Ballard Designs)

Too good to be true - tutorials and giveaways?!

Well, the weekend is almost here...I actually spent the whole day today thinking it was Friday. Chya! Anyway, head on over to Grosgrain to try her 20 minute skirt tutorial - this is the kind of sewing I like to do...none of these 4 hour or 4 weekend projects. I love to see the fruits of my labor in less than 2 hours. Her tutorial is very well written and has tons of photos - find it here:

Twenty minute Simple Skirt Tutorial AND GIVEAWAY!!!!

(Plus, you can enter to win her fabulous skirt in her giveaway.)

Speaking of GIVEAWAYS, she has a few more on her blog -
cute projects and she's a fan of
Shabby Apple - love their style - it's worth a look -
you won't be sorry!

Hopscotch Camis GIVEAWAY!!!!

Marseilles Dress SHABBY APPLE GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

(images courtesy of Grosgrain)

Stella & Dot

Have you heard of this company? Well, I forget how I stumbled upon this beautiful necklace (it wasn't Lucky magazine)...but I HAD to know who made it and once I found out, it led me here.

They have quite the adorable collection of jewelry from Happy Flowers to Paris Flea Market and get this, they have quite stylish items for your man! Yup! Another idea for the hubs for Father's Day - very cool. You can find that selection here, but these are my fav for my DH.

Have some fun and see what celebs have been spotted in Stella & Dot adornments as well as read about where they've been featured in The Buzz.

(images courtesy of Stella & Dot)

Delicious Desktop Wallpapers

Oh the talent shared by the group of these artists (many of you blog followers and etsyians will recognize these names) - a big thank you for allowing us to beautify our desktops with your imagery. Check out Kindred here - you'll want to come back for more!

Enjoy the summertime theme - the five senses by these artists:

• alicia bock
• bernadette sipkes
• blanca gómez
• caitlin shearer
• ez pudewa
• holly becker
• jessica gonacha
• sarah ahearn
• susannah conway
• traci french

Get lost in the inspirational blog - there is so much to enjoy! You can also check out their individual blogs here.

(Image courtesy of Kindred)

TONS of Giveaways!!!

Run, don't walk...or shall I say FLY over to the Nesting Place blog...it's UNBELIEVABLE the amount of giveaways she is sponsoring. My mind was spinning, my hands sweating, I couldn't type my posts fast enough...don't worry, I'm OK. AND good news, you can post to each giveaway to WIN the fabulous prizes until midnight on Wednesday! Make sure you scroll down and through ALL of them - there are quite a few - I lost count after I lost consciousness from the giddiness. What are you waiting for?! Get your 'click' on here, my friends:

And be sure to check out each and every website that is offering a prize...one is my friend Jeanne Winters. You MUST check out her etsy shop as well - she is a talented artist and I love the fact that she combines her crafts and artwork with her commitment to her faith - what an inspiration! She's a wonderful person to know and I miss her now that she's moved to a different state. You can check out her blog by clicking the button below.



Many thanks to Nester for putting all these goodies together - what a wonderful menagerie of talent! (You can read all about her and her wonderful blog here.)

G is for GREAT deal!

I have been a HUGE fan of Jenn Ski for awhile and was excited when she came out with her Actopus to Zelephant Animal line (screams summer - pool, exploring, zoo - with a toddler). I've been stalking her etsy site for some time, debating on whether to splurge on some items or not. When I was at Michaels the other weekend, I found that line at the store! And you know what?!? If you go online to Michaels.com and sign up for their newsletter, you get a 50% off coupon on regular priced items. Her line is regular priced! So, I got the pack of Alphabet cards (so incredibly cute) for a whopping $3.56. What a steal!

The animal cards have an adorable illustration by Jenn on the front and details of each animal printed on the back. Cute and educational - what more could a mom want! I'm sold and will be getting more items there to scrap this summer. As for her etsy shop, I will be saving up to purchase that keepsake piece for my daughter. She also has a vinyl etsy shop of her artwork and a vintage goods etsy shop. Happy Shopping!

What is your best item you found for a steal?

(images courtesy of Jenn Ski Etsy and K & Company via Michaels)

iHeart Faces: Sepia Tone (kids entry)

Oh my, those eyes! How could I possibly be upset if anything goes wrong or she misbehaves (does that ever happen - ha!). I decided to enter this photo in the iHeartFaces Sepia tone contest since this expression says it all...this is our first entry in the contest.

Check out more AMAZING photos on iHeartFaces.com.

Thanks Amy and Angie for the opportunity to be part of the extraordinary weekly contest - it's fun to see all the faces and talent out there - we'll definitely be back for more. Good luck everyone and have fun!

Artiste in Training...

Just had to post this picture of my daughter enjoying her crayons...as you can see, she's VERY intent and focused while working on her creation. We love how she will color for an hour and then tell us what she did...our little artiste in training. Hope you had a colorful weekend!

Are you ready for Father's Day? FREE projects to make!

Father's Day is next weekend, my friends...it feels like it has snuck up on me this year. Usually I am so prepared with creative gifts and such. This year will be more traditional with a gift I purchased; however, I wanted to gift you with some FREE downloads from Creating Keepsakes especially for Dad. Nicole LaRue is so very talented and has a great eye for color and pattern with the projects she puts together (can you tell I'm a fan?!?). Anyway, take these for a spin - I promise you they are easy to create and look like you spent a million dollars. Ahh, the satisfaction of creating a gift for that special man in your life :)


There are many more fun, easy projects to make from the 101 Hip, Handmade Gifts. Although you can't run out and pick one up anymore, you can find all the wonderful projects archived here. Have fun creating!

(images courtesy of Creating Keepsakes)

HAPPY FLAG DAY!

Press the white arrow on the right frame on the posted image below - it will play a video snippet within the blog post from the Flag Day Parade we went to yesterday. Or for a full screen view, click the word 'scrapblog' in the lower right corner of the image and it will take you here. Then choose VIEW FULL SCREEN at the top to see the whole layout a lot larger. Remember to press the white arrow to play the video on whatever screen you end up on. We had beautiful weather and the turnout was amazing (it's the largest Flag Day Parade in the nation!) Hope you enjoy!

I got a facelift!

Not me, silly! My blog! And, oh boy (as my daughter exclaims), I'm sure happy with it. MANY THANKS to Amanda's tutorial on her WONDERFUL site. Be sure to check it out - the girl knows her stuff and she has tons of cute fonts to use.

I was able to set my fun font so everyone can now see it - I was the only one that could view it before, but not now - you should be able to see the new, updated handwriting font in certain areas on the blog. It was an accomplishment that I don't think I would have been able to do without the tutorial, especially at the wee hours of the night/morning I decided to take on such a project!

Thanks Amanda - I couldn't be happier!

Penguins in June?!?

Holly at decor8 got my smile going today when she posted this ADORABLE penguin wallpaper from ISAK. I think this would just be perfect in a playroom! Not only do they stock penguin wallpaper, but they have birds and owls too. Be sure to check out the rest of their products - some sample photos from their beautiful site are below...niiiiice! So to answer my question - penguins in June? But, of course, if they're THIS cute!

(images courtesy of ISAK)

Paperwink SALE - 30% OFF orders $30 or more!!!

Got this in my inbox this morning - oh happy Friday! And Happy 30th Birthday to Darcey!!! Be sure to check out their site here - it's worth the trip. They not only stock paper goods, but check out these AWESOME rubber stamps. I'm sure you won't have any problem spending $30 to get 30% off. Be sure to enter BIG 30 at checkout to get the discount. Happy Shopping - hope you find some goodies! Thanks Darcey and Tara!

I AM A PAPER ADDICT...I AM A PAPER ADDICT...I AM A PAPER ADDICT...

I admit it...I.am.a.paper.addict. I wonder if there is a 12-step program out there for me. Here are some pics of some fabulous papers I scored this weekend from American Crafts, Autumn Leaves, Basic Grey, Crate Paper, and Luxe Designs (these were in addition to the awesome DCWV Green Stack I picked up). Oh paper heaven! Be sure to peruse their site links for sooo many inspirations and fun ideas.

I have my hands full with enough paper for a million projects...now to work on those two extras days per week! I used the first three papers for my daughter's second birthday party decorations - folded paper cranes out of the two-sided papers and made other decos with them as well...it was a bird/owl theme - WHO's TWO? It turned out better than expected. The two Basic Grey papers I used were from Urban Prairie. Enjoy the eye candy!

Loving these Ads by Cosmo Cricket

You all know Cosmo Cricket is one of my favorite companies (hello Christmas cards). Check out this line of ads they have on their site. LOVE 'EM! I'm a sucker for clever copywriting and wordsmithing as well as a beautiful composition of their award-winning (IMHO) papers...loving these...

pssst...did you hear their COGSMO FABRIC collection is coming soon?!?! Yes, I did say F.A.B.R.I.C...I cannot wait!

(images courtesy of Cosmo Cricket)

Digging the GREEN STACK by DCWV Inc.

So, today I was treated to an afternoon of shopping for my birthday with one of my very best friends, Laurie - we hit quite a few craft and paper stores (sigh)...and I found WAY too much stuff I loved. Projects are always in my head 24/7 - I just wish I had enough time to get to them all - I seriously need another two days in a week and believe you me, I would make use of every minute! One at a time...one at a time...anyway, I found this great paper pack from DCWV Inc. (Die Cuts with a View) that I need to share with you. The Green Stack consists of 48 sheets of 70% recycled paper...yes, my friends, it is truly an eco-conscious collection AND the prints/patterns are UBER-AWESOME. I've posted the front of the paper stack pack as well as the stack contents...I can hardly wait to do some summer layouts of our activities with Gabrielle. The only thing I have left to do is pick up an embellishments package (I've posted that too) - and I'm off to dream of my adorable layouts that will be created. To finish off the post, I've included some layout samples from the DCWV website - be sure to peruse their website - they have lots of goodies. Sign up to receive their emails to be notified of new product and also coupons plus you are entered to win a monthly drawing of $50 of product! Not bad!!!

(images courtesy of Die Cuts with a View)

Happy Birthday...TO US!

So...my sis and I are not quite a year apart, so that means we are the SAME AGE for two days. Her birthday is June 3rd and mine is June 5th. Pretty cool now, but in high school, sch-ya! Not.so.much.

Anywho - just wanted to give a shout out to us - happy bday Susie and happy bday me!

And our ages together...equal our dad's age. (Thanks to Mom for pointing that out!) Creepy - I guess it happens every two years or so. It's like one of those weird forwarded number email tests you get that you have to think of a number and no matter how you try to fool it, it comes out the same in the end. Hmmm...

Here is an image from Rich Inner Life, a blog by the very talented Dreamland owner Gina Sekelsky. Her handlettering is just beautiful and she offers some very nice things in her etsy shop, LetterGirl found here.

(image courtesy of Rich Inner Life - Gina Sekelsky)

New Blog Obsession - Addicted to Tutus and Glue Dots

So I stumbled upon this blog today and I am now an addict. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE her style and I'm stunned at how her daughter resembles me as a kid in some of my photos and somewhat of my niece Francesca (cue Twilight Zone music)...it's really quite eerie.

Anyway, this woman (Michelle Lanning) has an innate sense of quirky style that I find in my own work and really has an eye for color and pattern (two thumbs up from a graphic designer here). Be sure to check out Tutus & Glue Dots here - maybe you'll find some evening eye candy and scrappy inspiration as I did.

Keep up the fantastically inspiring work, Michelle - I am now an addicted subscriber to your posts and anxiously await your next.

(image courtesy of tutus & glue dots blog)

Parents.com Cover Contest Entry

We just entered our little peanut for a chance to win $10,000 at parents.com. Check out her album (and please vote for her)! You can find her in the 2-6 year old entries.

Here is the link to her online album.