My Weblog

New kits and plenty of older ones. :)

So, I shall start with the newest one.  I have had the great pleasure of working on this months ScrapArtist collab kit.  Our guest is Madame Mim, and I have loved getting to know her and work with her.  We have come up with this truly gorgeous kit, Tapestry.

It is packed full of elements.

And the papers are so gorgeous.  They are beautiful brushwork and texture.  I love them.

It is still one sale for a bit, so go grab it.

Then, last month I did a winter collab with Amy Wolff, Winter Sparkle.  Again, she is so talented and such a fun person.  I feel lucky to have been able to work with her. Here are some previews to that. :)

It is really perfect for your frosty, cool winter pages.

Then I added a whole mess of older kits, my portions of past collaborations, and some new ribbons.  Which are fabulous!  You can go to my store at SA to see all the oldies, but here are the new ribbons. :)

Thanks for looking. :)

Funny things my kiddos say: October Edition

I haven't been very good about jotting them down this month, but here are a few.

**DD-S was "reading" a little book about the creation and "read", "Heavenly Father gave us the water so we can drink and the fish can swim. He gave us the birds so we can shoot them and eat them." That is what I get for marrying a hunter. haha! (31 Oct)

**we have our three older kids together in one room for sleeping purposes, and they do a bit more playing than sleeping at night. So, ds-J comes out one night saying, "I know what you can get to watch us better when we are in the room. You know those things they use on the TV to see the deer at night, you could get one of those." He is referring to something he has seen advertised on the outdoor channels; it is like night vision, but recording the deer. Silly boy!

** Kids are supposed to be cleaning, dd-S says, "Mom, my Spirit keeps distracting me, so it is VERY hard to clean." (3 Oct)

**dd-S, trying to convince her sister that she had already seen 101 Dalmations 2, "Yes, I saw it, in Mom's belly, you weren't there. Mom's belly has a dvd player in it. " (1 Oct)

Some new digital things!! Wahoo!

So I have been a busy little beaver.  I have been feeling some artistic inspiration and have been working on the computer again. :)  YAY!  It is about time again. 

So I will post some previews of my new goodies.:)

First, a little late to post about them, but i have some Halloween Stickers up in the shop.  I love these little doodads!

Halloween Stickers

 

Then I have some new photo overlays!  I am in love with these!  I think I am going to OVER use them. hahaa!

All Crinkled Up

I also decided to make these available for commercial use.  The terms are in the product description. 

Then I re listed some things that I had for sale in at the-lilypad. 

Fabulous Fall Papers   and

Fall Stickers

OH---and we have Amy Wolff as our guest at ScrapArtist this month.  We so thrilled!  She brought such fin inspiration and artistry to this kit.  I LOVE it.  Here are some previews for that kit.

Autumn Artistry

AND there is a free brag book album with the purchase.

So, that is the digital stuff.

****

Daylight Savings is kicking my booty!  I literally put my kids to bed tonight at 7:30.  Their bedtime is normally not until 9:00.  hahaha!  Luckily it is dark, so they don't know the difference.  I am excited though for the early bedtime.  That means I can get some things done tonight.

This last week so so busy and crazy!  We had two Halloween parties, and then the school parties.  My B-day is also in that week, so it was full!  We had loads of fun for Halloween.  I am always so thankful that my hubby takes the kiddos out, and I stay home with the littlest one, and hand out candy.  Soon that will end, and I will have to participate in the trick or treating, but for now, I am thankful.

For my bday I was super surprised.  My hubby had some new bedroom furniture delivered.  We have lived in this house foor a year now, and we have had no dressers in our room.  It has created a huge clothes problem, as you probably can imagine.  I am beyond thrilled to have them, and I immediately started putting clothes in them and rearranging my room to fit them in. :)  THANK YOU, babe!

And I also have decided to start helping out in the other elementary school.  My dd goes to one and my ds goes to another.  So now I help in both schools.  It is a little more of a time commitment, but I think it is good for them to see me there, and I love to develop relationships with their teachers.  so that is what I have been up to.

Getting in the mood for Halloween.

I love the fall.  It is my favorite season.  I just love the chill in the wind, the leaves changing colors (although we don't get as much of that here as in other places we have lived).  I love the smells that are associated with fall.  I especially love all the fall colors.  I am happy that autumn is here!!! :) :)

Well, I have been working on a bit of crafty felt things.  Some for fun for my daughters and some to sell.  I have become a little obsessed with the adorable felt foods.  I have seen some on-line and I immediately knew I had to have some for my girls to play tea party with.  So I whipped up some donuts this last weekend.

They are huge hit.  I even have requests from them for ones with different sprinkles. :) LOL!!  I intend to make them some sugar cookies and muffins, and then if I am still into making them, I will do some fruits and veggies.

EDITED to add some quick and easy instructions:
I didn't follow a pattern, but they were easy though

1. Cut two four in felt circle out a dounut color and then cut a tiny hole (a little less than an inch) in the middle.

2. cut the frosting wobbly-like and a little smaller than the brown felt pieces.

3. I sewed the frosting on the top piece of the donut.

4. I sewed the donut top and bottom together.

5. Then I added the beads for sprinkles.

and then they are completely, adorably finished.

And since I was making felt things.  I got the itch to make some random bits and pieces felt pumpkins.  I grabbed a ton of random things from my craft area and made these adorable Whimsical Pumpkins

and here are some details

I made each one individually and hand stitched each stitch.  You can grab them HERE for 1.00 today only, for Fab Friday.

*****

On a different topic...

My kids have decided that their long standing nicknames are boring and not cool.  So they decided it was time to come up with their own.  After much deliberation my son (8) decided that he wanted to be "Meatball Dude", and daughter (6) wanted to be "Chocolate Head", and my 4 year old daughter decided to be "Alfredo".  They crack me up.

My son has started cub scouts.  Scouting is a huge thing in our family.  My hubby believes firmly that it really help to teach leadership and develop character.  I agree, even though I haven't experienced the scouting program myself.  However, for me getting the hang of it and helping my son focus to get it done is a new thing for me and I am still having trouble with all the details and all the things they have to do.  Well, my hubby has decided to bribe me to help my son get his Wolf requirements done quickly.  If we get it done soon (within the next month) I will "maybe" get my coveted zoom lens for Christmas.  I have never been more motivated to help him get his scouts done. LOL!!  I hope in my rush to help him accomplish his wolf goals and requirements I don't forget about homework. LOL!!  So wish me luck!

Anyway, that is about all.  Night!

Funny things my dd-S has said this month

My dd-s is 3 almost 4 and with her growing grasp of the world around us she seems to be saying hilarious things regularly. She cracks me up. Here are some of the funny things she has said this last month:

**as a Fed Ex truck drives by, dd-S says, "Mom, that is a kid stealer van." Me, confused, "huh? what do you mean?" dd-S, "well, it steals kids, puts them in boxes and takes them away."
(what??? where did she get that idea from?) (30 Sept)

**I drank a sip of dd-S's water from her water bottle, and she pouts, "Mom, now it has your germs on it." I told her we have the same germs so not to worry. then she says, "No we don't, you have spider germs and I have butterfly and lady bug germs." (HMMM--what do you think she is saying about me?) (24 Sept)

**DD-S, "Mom, uh who was it that translated the Book of Mormon, Yoda??" Mom, laughing, "uh honey, Yoda is NOT real, it was Joseph Smith." dd-s, "ah, ah right, that's who it was, Joseph Smith." (20 Sept)

**Mom, "I think I am going to do some yoga." dd-S, "WHAT? You are going to eat some yogurt?" (16 Sept)

**I was teasing dd-S about something. DD-S asks, "Why are you teasing me?" Mom, "Because that's my job." DD-S, "no it's not, that's Daddy's job." Mom, "Then what's my job?" dd-S, without hesitation says, "To make him stop." (15 Sept)

**As a moth is flying above us and lands on our ceiling, dd-S asks, "Do [butterflies] poop?" (14 Sept)

Interviews With my Kids

I was tagged by a good friend of mine...

Interview with dd-S:

1. What is something mom always says to you?
Um, clean up the car.
2. What makes mom happy?
ummmmmm, doing what you say.
3. What makes mom sad?
when you feel the Spirit.
4. How does your mom make you laugh?
You tickle me.
5. What was your mom like as a child?
hugging
6. How old is your mom?
I don't remember.
7. How tall is your mom?
(Stretching her hands to the top of my head) THIS tall.
8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Clean.
9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Shop.
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Uh, I don't know, I don't know, I said.
11. What is your mom really good at?
Artist.
12. What is your mom not very good at?
jumping.
13. What does your mom do for her job?
Write curvise (meaning cursive) and sometimes you help ds-D scribble on paper.
14. What is your mom's favorite food?
I don't know-peanut butter jelly.
15. What makes you proud of your mom?
cleaning.
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
I dunno, a girl, and what would your name...I think Leia.
17. What do you and your mom do together?
shopping.
18. How are you and your mom the same?
I dunno, I wanna go upstairs....
19. How are you and your mom different?
I dunno either.. (me waiting) are you not going to skip those things... I have been thinking and thinking and thinking and I JUST DON"T KNOW.
20. How do you know your mom loves you?
Kissing me.
21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
Kissing him. (ooh lala)
22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
to the mall.

Interview with dd-A:

1. What is something mom always says to you?
no. (nice, huh?!)
2. What makes mom happy?
If I clean my room.
3. What makes mom sad?
If i don't clean my room.
4. How does your mom make you laugh?
Tickling!
5. What was your mom like as a child?
Like MEEEEE!
6. How old is your mom?
32.
7. How tall is your mom?
oooh that's a hard one, 40 inches??? no no no, uhh 80 inches.
8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Read.
9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Go to S****'s Cakes. (not true)
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
I don't know, uh, balancing.
11. What is your mom really good at?
Reading.
12. What is your mom not very good at?
Hula Hooping.
13. What does your mom do for her job?
Take care of her kids.
14. What is your mom's favorite food?
Cheese.
15. What makes you proud of your mom?
When you had D.
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
That's a hard one. Please don't write that, please don't write that. UM, what did you ask? UM, UM,I don't know.
17. What do you and your mom do together?
Go on Mommy and dd-A dates.
18. How are you and your mom the same?
We were just like each other when we were little.
19. How are you and your mom different?
She's grown up and I am younger.
20. How do you know your mom loves you?
By her face.
21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
That they love each other.
22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Walmart....I mean ROss, Ross, Ross.

And then here is my interview with J:

1. What is something mom always says to you?
Be quiet. (if you know J, he seems to perpetually talk in an outside voice)
2. What makes mom happy?
Doing my chores.
3. What makes mom sad?
Not doing my chores.
4. How does your mom make you laugh?
Talk in a funny voice.
5. What was your mom like as a child?
Very risky... for money!! (whatever that means-honestly I have no idea)
6. How old is your mom?
32--like Dennis Pitta (BYU football player whose number is 32).
7. How tall is your mom?
14 inches, I mean 50.
8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Play with ds-D.
9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
play on the computer.
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
It would be...well, you are famous...an artist.
11. What is your mom really good at?
Being an artist.
12. What is your mom not very good at?
Not very good at...i don't know...you are good at everything.
13. What does your mom do for her job?
Take care of children.
14. What is your mom's favorite food?
Raviolis. (he had that for lunch at school today)
15. What makes you proud of your mom?
Wow, that hard, UM, when you sell and make lots of money.
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
It would be Amber the cartoon character, and I would name you Uniqua.
17. What do you and your mom do together?
Date and snuggle.
18. How are you and your mom the same?
We are in this family.
19. How are you and your mom different?
Because you are a girl.
20. How do you know your mom loves you?
UM..I know that you love me because of
your kisses.
21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
You married him.
22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Mazatlan.

Blinging Borders

Something new at the pad. :)  I just finished up a set of bling borders.  They turned out great! :) (If I do say so myself ;) ).

You can grab them at the-lilypad for the rest of this month.

Blinging Borders

and while I am posting.  I totally forgot to post about this months BYOC at the pad... here is my portion. :)

Circle Ooohs!

Fabulous Fall papers

Fall Stickers

They are all still available at the pad. :)

Thanks for reading. :)

GOOOOOO COUGS!!!!!

YAY!! We had the funnest time yesterday. :) It was a long day, as we left our house at 7:00 am and didn't return home until 7:30 pm. But it was so worth it. We had a blast at the game. I was a little bummed that I didn't get to hang out with my sis, Misty more, we both had our own huge group of people we brought with us, so we ended up sitting far away from each other. I do have to admit that part of the fun for me was to sit in the stadium and think about my dear ol' high school gang and the many times they sat in the stadium watching James (our buddy that played for UW) or cheering for ThEIR team. It was fun to think of them. So, all you peops!!! I hope you are doing well, and I miss you!!

ds-J is a committed fan, watched the whole game without pause, not getting bored or anything (except a potty break). He used the binoculars to get a closer look and was thrilled when he located Pitta in the warm ups before the game. dd-A was also a huge trouper. While she is not into the game as much, she was very awesome and sat there and watched and was VERY good. Dh and I got a huge kick out of when she got her turn with the binoculars she quickly took them to get a better look at the cheerleaders. LOL!!! dd-S sat with the girls of some friends of ours for a huge portion of the game, and kept them laughing with her funny little comments, like, "I think we should go home, we haven't been there for a VERY long time." And also had them in stitches when she started asking everyone around her if they had any money so that she could get enough money to buy her sister a lemonaide. HAHAAAA!! funny funny girl. ds-D was WELL--a year old baby at a football game. :) He was a handful , but was as awesome as one could expect. He got passed around and many hand helped to give me a break, and I actually got to watch a decent portion of the game. Thanks to everyone who took their turn with him.

After the game we waited what seemed like FOREVER (mainly because the sun was so hot and I am not a fan of the heat or direct sunlight) to meet Dennis Pitta, one of the star players for the BYU team. dh's mom had arranged for us to meet him and that was great for the kids. He was awesome and took time to sign EVERYTHING we threw at him and even gave ds-J some "knucks" when J pulled out his own football jersey to show him that he picked #32. Very awesome. :)

We also survived the first week of school. PHEW!! It is always an adventure with change for my kids. I find myself reacting so differently with each child because I think I feel a bit of how they feel.

I knew how nervous ds-J was, a new school and new experience. He gets so worked up over test (spelling) and the potential of what could happen. He told me at the open house for his school that he felt a little sick, like he does before spelling tests. On the way to school he asked me if he was going to have a spelling test that day. My poor boy! So I found myself crying a little as I dropped him off (well, walked him in), and feeling nervous for him all day. I felt a huge sense of relief when I picked him up. No major catastrophes. Just a bit of a black eye from someone helping him fall off the bars.

Then with dd-A, I was so chill. She has the same teacher as ds-J did last year. So she was just excited!! She even let me brush her hair. LOL!! I didn't worry one bit about her all day. I was still preoccupied with worrying about J. The pick up schedule is a little crazy. Their schools get out VERY close to the same time and I have to drive from one end of the city to the other. But I think we have it settled. We might try it a little differently this week, we'll see.

I have thoroughly been enjoying the quiet time with dd-S and ds-D. dd-S and I spend lots of time snuggling and reading books. I think she really loves having me more to herself. dd-D is crawling and getting into everything. I am pretty sure he will be walking in two weeks. He stands up all by himself and takes a few steps. I have finally bought a super long gate. It extends five feet, so it should close off one side of my living room. and then I will gate off my kitchen at the entry way. So those of you who have been to my home...it will give him access to the living room, dining room and kitchen. I will lock him in there when I am in the kitchen cooking or doing dishes or something. That will be nice. Poor poor D! He will NOT be happy about that. hahahaaa!

My dd-A had her first soccer game. :) WOOO HOOO!!! She did great. Her coach said she was a natural. They play 3 a side which is so much better for the young ones. It is definitley not as mob ballish as it was when I was coaching Misty. It was just fun to watch her be her and do something that only she is doing. It was good for her.

Dance starts tomorrow. dd-S had her class before we get the kiddles from school and then we go back for dd-A's two classes. She is NOT doing hip hop this year. She said she was not fond of shaking her booty like that. LOL!! We are totally fine with that. SHe is doing a beginning ballet class, which she gets to use the bar. (She is beyond excited about that.) She is also taking a tap/jazz/ballet combo, which will focus more on the tap and jazz. Poor ds-J really hates Mondays once dance starts. I just drag him around with us at the mall all day long and he is so bored. I am going to have to figure some things out for him.

Also, I was busy being crafty this week. My dear internet friend, Jacque, and I have been busy working on a new child's quiet book. We have done in the past a Book of Colors and an ABC book and Activities Collection, and this last week we just finished up MY NUmber BOok and Cubes. We put it in her store this time because I am the guest designer at their site, the-lilypad for this month. :)

Here are some pictuers of my craftiness for this last week:

So we did that. :)  I actually made the cubes and the album shown.  I know, a little too crafty for me. LOL!!  I am so not a hybrid gal, but these were fun to do.  My kiddos love them.

I have been sick all week, so I have been very behind in laundry and dishes.  I mostly caught up on dishes today, but I have loads of laundry to do.. UGH!!!  I hope to get that caught up by Tuesday!  Wish me luck.

TTFN!!!

for hecks sakeness!!!

That is my 3 yr old dd's new favoritest saying!  She was cracking me up every time she would say it today.  We were driving in the car after swim lessons and I had all the windows rolled down because my ac doesn't work (hopefully that will be fixed tomorrow) and she was cold, so she said to me, "Roll up your windows, Mom, for hecks sakeness, I am freezing."  Funny funny girl.

We are cruising along with our summer plans, swimming, golf lessons, trip to see family, etc.  It is keeping me busy.  The kids do alright.  Some days are too much for them to be around each other so much though, and they start to be mean to one another and to do things on purpose to make the other one mad.  Sheesh, can't they just all get along, hahaha!!  yeah right.  My older two are the worst.  When they love each other they do so deeply it is awesome, but when they are mad at each other you'd better watch out! WOAH!

So I am going on a bit of a vacation next week.  I am going to visit my in laws.  Should be fun and crazy and tiring all at the same time.  Vacations normally are.  I still am uncertain exactly how long I will be there.  dh and I will figure it out at some point.  I am excited to see family that I haven't seen in such a long time, some of them for more than a year.  And then to meet and smooch on my new nephew, too.  That will be delightful!

Scrapping...the fabulous Shabby Miss Jenn is our guest this month at ScrapArtist.  She is so great.  We have a super huge kit with her for sale at SA for this month only, Ocean Picnic.

Seriously gorgeous kit!

and I think that is all. :)

ttfn,
Ams

hahahaaaa!!

I sure was sick for a LONG time. LOL!!

OK so really that picture a day thing fell apart!!I still take TONS of pictures, but definitely NOT every day! UGH!!  I thought it would be so great.  And I am going to try again!

Well, I really was sick for a very long time.  Let me back up.....

Back in August of last year, I was about 7 months pregnant, anemic, and very tired.   I got sick, some little 48 hour bug.  But then about two days after that I got this"cold".  And lets just say that it never really went away.I had a stuffy nose FOREVER!!!!  Seriously, it would get REALLY bad and sinus infectiony, then clear up a bit and just make me nasally, then sometimes I would just have a runny nose, etc.  It was bad and very frustrating.  sometimes I couldn't breathe through my nose for weeks on end. 

Yes, I definitely should have seen a doctor, but I couldn't find the time.  I also just figured that since I had a baby and was up all the night long off and on the I just had a weak immune system and once I started sleeping better I would get better, but that didn't happen.  Also, with four small kids I just could hardly find time to think let alone make a doctors appt.  I saw my doctor finally in December (only because my darling hubby made the appointment) and a series of times until March.  I went on a few rounds of antibiotics and I would clear up while on them, but about two days after the course finished it would come back.  She sent me to a specialist and. . .

He says I have allergies. LOL!!  So I am on a nasal spray and fine now. LOL!!  All that for allergies. 

I am so thankful!!  Honestly, when I would flare up really badly I would feel so sick.  My head hurt and my eyes hurt and I was so so tired.  It is nice the breath normal and not sound nasally all the time.

That's my sick story!

***
Recently my sweet baby boy has really started moving!  He is so cute.  He is not crawling yet, but I don't think he needs to.  He can get anywhere he wants.  He rolls like a mad man and stretches and pushes and he is just dangerous!  LOL!!  He takes up a ton of time just having to be on him all the time and it is only going to get worse.  I am really going to need to do some crazy baby proofing soon.  I must say that he is absolutely darling. He is the most pleasant baby.  We feel so lucky to have this sweet spirit in our family.

***
I am finally getting back into the swing of designing.  I went to Hawaii with my husband in April and I have hard a time getting back into it.  I have been crazy busy with baseball and tball and then just end of school stuff.  I have some things in the works but find it hard to get the time to finish them up. :)

Also, ScrapArtist has partnered with a company called Smilebox and I have been working on some project for them. :)  It is very cool and very easy to use.  My first project for them should be up soon.  I will be sure to link you there when it is finally up.  And I am working on another one for them. I am excited about this venture.

Speaking of Smilebox. LOL!!  I should get working. LOL!

***
scrapping goodness!!!

OH--LISA WHITNEY is back at SA!!!  She was on a bit of a leave of absence.  Moving and stuff!  Check out her blog.  Well, she is back and making gorgeous stuff as always and she is having a contest.  She is an incredible creative spirit and the grand prize for her contest is uber generous!  You have to check it out. :)

Also, Natalie Braxton has made flip flops.  And they are the cutest flips there are!!  I LOVE these and they are so cute!

And those are about the only stores I have been too lately.

Oh wait, I fibbed, the Songbird Ave. kit this month is gorgeous, too.

I am out!