a bag of chips

Happy Birthday, America!

Celebrate safely!

Layouts galore!

WOW! Two posts in two days? Miracles do happen, you know. 

Today is the 1-month anniversary at Write. Click. Scrapbook. YAY! Today was also the launch of the July gallery over at Write. Click. Scrapbook. July's theme is The Love of Color and I must say that the layouts the team submitted are stunning. The coolest thing about having such a large and quite diverse group of hugely talented gals is the variety of styles and perspectives. Each of us brings something unique to the table and that, my friends, is what makes our new site spectacular. 

Here's the layout I created for the Color theme:

Autumn Baldwin is hosting the Write. Click. Scrapbook. blog this week and she's doing an amazing job discussing journaling and digital scrapbooking. Last week was Elisha Snow's turn - she's such an amazing photographer and scrapbooker and her boys are so dang adorable. We've also had Ann Costen and Melissa Kaiserman who did such great things as our inaugural hostesses. Thank you ladies!

Tomorrow will feature a Q&A interview with Renee Pearson (yes, THEEEE Renee Pearson) and word has it she'll be giving away an awesome prize as well.  She is such a lovely lady with some mad digital design skillz. I always try to run into her at CHA and when I do, it's one of the highlights of my day. Tomorrow's interview should be awesome! 

Also, my buddy and WCS co-founder, Elizabeth Dillow, was interviewed today on the Diva Craft Lounge

about WCS and how we got started. If you want to hear some of our story, check it out!  And be sure to check back at the Lounge on the first and third Wednesdays of each month for interviews with the rest of the Write. Click. Scrapbook. team members. 

Whew. There's been a lot going on lately!

Including the reveal of Studio Calico's July kit, Documentary. 

Even though sometimes, when I open my monthly box full of goodies, I'm a bit overwhelmed and unsure of what I'm going to do with it. And then, without fail, every month, I end up completely loving every single thing. I also love how I'm starting to love things that I might not have bought on my own, browsing through a store. I love stepping outside my scrap box and trying new things - it's very liberating!

And then a little card I made with the stamp set in the main kit. I love that balloon stamp.

Summer fun!

I had so much fun working with the latest goodies from Stampin' Up!  They've gone and worked with the folks at Country Living again to create a very cute and fun Summer Cookout kit. Totally perfect for those fun summer bar-b-ques with friends and family, watermelon, ribs, corn-on-the-cob, potato salad, cold beer and lemonade, and homemade ice cream. This kit even comes with coordinating drink coasters and food wrappers!

We're having some folks over this Saturday for our 4th celebration, where I'll be using these cute things I made, but I love that I'll be able to use these things over and over throughout the summer. We have a few birthdays and Labor Day coming up over the next few months - I love it when I get to reuse the things I make.

For my little project, I used the kit stamp set (love that star!) and I used the food wrappers for making my signs and pennant flags.  I also used their Scallop Oval Frame die with their Big Shot for making the signs, and some American Crafts letter stickers as well. 

But the really, really awesome news is that the new Stampin' Up catalog comes out tomorrow, July 1st! I got one in advance of the official release and there are some great new products in there, as there always seems to be. I'm got my eyes on a butterfly punch and a few more of their exclusive dies.

I feel a shopping spree coming soon! =)

Summer Crazy

I'm so sorry for my absence from around here lately. Things are going really well over at our new site, Write. Click. Scrapbook., better, really, than any of us could have ever imagined. We're into our fourth week now!  And, just in case you haven't been there yet, we've had some amazing hostess already and a few giveaways, and we're working on our theme layouts for July. 

I've also been busy working on the July kit at Studio Calico. I know I've said this kind of thing before about the SC kits, but WHOLY COW they just seem to work some kinda magic to pull together such awesome kits month after month. But before I share my sneaks for July, you just gotta know this:

Studio Calico subscribers will now get an advanced opportunity to purchase new add-on kits each month. Beginning with July's kit, subscribers will be able to purchase their add-ons and shop items 12 hours in advance of reveal (12:00 noon on the 27th). Some add-ons will also be held in reserve and posted for sale at 12:00am for the traditional reveal.

Not a subscriber?  Email waitinglist@studiocalico.com now to preorder your subscription!

Now you might not think this is a very big deal but if you've been denied a chance at a fabulous add-on kit because your little fingers or aging computer or slow internet connection couldn't get you checked out fast enough before it sold out (yes, they're that fabulous), you know how major cool this new perk is. There's never been a better time to just become a Studio Calico member already and call your dibs. 

And now for my sneaks with the totally fabulous Documentary kit and add-ons (I got them all - On Location, Field Notes, and Director's Cut) for July:

And then, when not scrapping, working on photos, working on WCS (short for Write. Click. Scrapbook.) or chasing around three summer-crazed kids, I managed to finish my third quilt. This one is Nadia's, and I made it using a Moda Jelly Roll cut into 5-inch strips and sewn together. Very easy to do. I've been sorta flying by the seat of my stretch pants when making what I have so far though with the help of a beginning quilter book or two with lots of pictures, and via the internet (how did we manage to survive without the internet?).

It's called a coin quilt and I was inspired to create this design by what I saw on this Flickr group, this blog and this blog. And I would also like to thank Allison Kimball and Lisa Tutman-Oglesby for inspiring me to start quilting. I'd been wanting to forever and their fabulousness did me in. Thanks, ladies!

I'm still tying my quilts, which I actually love. I've collected some information about people in my area who will do quilting for me, but I'm not ready for that just yet. And I've also started dropping hints to the hubbs that I might want a better/faster/fancier/tricked-out/pimped-up sewing machine for Christmas, one that might make it possible for me to do some of my own quilting. 

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And then here are some recent photos of the kiddos:

 

This last one is Aidan with my sweet nephew, Dylan. Since my brother's nasty divorce, these two don't get to spend nearly as much time together as they should. But when they see each other, it's instant silly and goofy and best buds. Like it should be.

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Well, that's about all, folks. Please head on over to Write. Click. Scrapbook. this Thursday for a sweet giveaway.

Buh-Bye!

This is the post I've been meaning to write.

The last few months are a blur. Faster than fast, Lightning McQueen fast. I'm-forty-now-and-it's-all-downhill-from-here fast. I'm finally going to catch up on the things I've been meaning to share. 

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One of the awesome things that took place these last few months is the launch of my cousin Sean's big project. He's a filmmaker and photographer with ooooodles of talent. He lives in San Francisco and did a photography project on the Tenderloin District.  Check it!  It's a amazing. I'm so proud of you, Sean! I know he's gonna be big someday. Stephen Spielberg or George Lucas big. 

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In April, the whole family headed up to Carpinteria for Spring Break. It was cold and damp for several days but that never stops us from having fun. Below is a storyboard I created using the Magic Blog It Boards from MCP Actions. Oh man these are so cool and so easy to use. I've been using them on my new photography website and I love how polished and professional they look. If you have a blog and post multiple photos at a time, these actions are money well spent. 

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I turned forty on April 18th. (And for anyone who remembers what I MAY have said last year about the whole 40 by 40 thing? Totally didn't make it. By about 40 lbs.) My amazingly thoughtful husband planned a party at a winery in Temecula in their barrel room. What an amazing night!  The food was yummy, the company was lively, and the wine was very nice. I was dressed up with heels and make-up, and even had flat, grey-free hair. And it all went down without my big honkin' camera around my neck (gasp!). On purpose. Instead we took our little Panasonic Lumix wonder box which was passed all around. (Yes, I own a point-and-shoot. As point-and-shoots go, it's one of the best.)  Here we are with the glow of good company and good wine filling up our faces.

A huge thanks to all our family and friends who made the long drive from all over Southern California to be there. I had a wonderful time and I feel all grown up now. Sort of.

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I've added yet ANOTHER hobby to my long list of Things To Do With All My Spare Time. Along with scrapbooking, my photography business, knitting, cooking, laundry, three kids, a husband, cleaning, reading, and sometimes sleeping and showering, I have taken up quilting. Yes, quilting. I've been wanting to for a while now, and it was a trip to this store in Ft. Morgan, Colorado last summer while at Sweetwater House that the bug finally hauled off and bit me. 

Now, technically, it's not quilting since I'm not yet actually "quilting" my quilts, but rather tying them with yarn. Maybe, someday, I'll get a better sewing machine with a good set of various feet (foots?) so I can machine quilt, but my current el-cheapo $79 Shark machine I got at Target a few years back just isn't up to the task.  I've made one for Aidan and one for Makena, and I'm working on another for Nadia. I've been using Moda Jelly Rolls and pre-cut fabric collections from various places and I'm having a blast with it.  For my first quilt, I used a Jelly Roll and simply sewed the strips together to form the quilt top, then tied and bound my quilt. For Makena's, another quick and easy time of sewing the pre-cut squares together and voila, a cute lap quilt. For Nadia's, I'm working on a "coin" quilt which you can see in the Moda link above. Here are peeks at Aidan's and Makena's quilts:

Aidan's last day of Kindy is Monday. Bloody heckfire, but did this year just completely fly by or is it just me? And then before I know it it'll be September and I'll have a first grader AND a kindergartner. I'm just not ready for all this grown-uppedness yet.

Oh, and Makena lost another tooth and has several more wiggly ones.

Nadia's favorite thing to say lately is "You in deep doodoo." That girl slays me.

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I'll be back soon. Promise!

This is it!

This is the big day.

The big reveal.

The culmination of a whole lotta hard work by a whole buncha people.

www.writeclickscrapbook.com

When you get a chance, please go check it out, take a look around. Leave a comment. Let us know what you think.

And if you were near me right now, standing across the room, waiting for me to push that little "Save" button at the bottom of my screen, you would be able to hear my heart pounding and see my hands shaking, just a bit. 

Studio Calico - June

Here are my layouts for Studio Calico's June kit "Soda Fountain."  Man, this was such a fun kit.

(This is my personal favorite using June's main kit. The letters were cut from a Studio Calico patterned paper which I must now buy a lot more of.)

And then I made an easy little card using the Studio Calico pinwheel stamp from June's main kit which is just too cute for words. And have you tried stamping directly on patterned paper? I think it's a fabulous idea! Works especially well for alphabets and wee little accent stamps like this one. 

Stay tuned on Monday for the official launch of Write. Click. Scrapbook. I can't wait to share it with you!

Hurry!

My generous friends at Stampin' Up! have once again sent me some awesome stuff to play with - the same stuff that can be yours for a song! The papers are gorgeous and double-sided, and the stamp set is perfect for that fun, whimsical touch. ALL of their textured cardstock and ALL of their Designer Series paper are Buy Three, Get One Free!  This is a great chance to get patterned paper and cardstock that coordinate and match PERFECTLY. Check out the promo flyer:

But notice the date this special ends. SUNDAY! If you need to stock up on textured cardstock or refresh a tired collection of patterned paper, add some fun alpha stamps to your stash, this is your chance to score!

And this is a quickie layout I made of Nadia, my back-talking, sassy-mouthed, stubborn-as-all-get-out but impossibly cute 2.5 year old. I used the Pink Flamingo papers (shown in the flyer), the Jumble Alphabet (shown above), the Scallop Edge punch and the Whisper White craft ink. I stamped using the white ink and then just outlined with a black pen. I also used some older Stampin' Up! rub-ons (very faint "stitches" through the punched paper strips) that works so nicely and always transfer so easily. Gotta love that!

Happy shopping!

And don't forget to check back here on Monday for news and links for the BIG REVEAL!

Announcements

In case you've been wondering where I've been and what I've been doing, here's the deal.

Studio Calico's reveal of the June kit, Soda Fountain, is tonight!!! This kit is unbelievable. If you've EVER considered joining this kit club, this must might have to be the kit to start with. 

Here's a sneaky peek at one of my layouts:

Want more sneaks? Visit the blogs of my SC peeps, listed to your right. And feast your eyes!

Oh, and one more thing. I've been dropping hints in various places lately about something coming June 1st. Did you know that June 1st is MONDAY? We'll, it is. And here is a hint of what's coming and of why I've been a bit out of touch lately:

Want to know more? Pop on over to some of my former Simple peeps' blogs to see if they might know anything. 

I'm incredibly, hugely, fantastically, freakishly excited about this!

Heaven gains an angel.

Donair died on Monday night at about 7:00, surrounded by loved ones.

My mom and I saw her last Friday, spent nearly the whole day with her. I was not prepared for how she looked. Especially after going through the photos I'd taken of her a year ago when she was healthier and feeling well, the shock of seeing her so sick and emaciated nearly brought me to my knees. 

But I'm so glad to have been there. We talked, joked a little, got her to smile a bit, looked through some old photos (her and my mom in bikinis on the beach in Santa Monica from 1967 or so) and read some old letters my mom had written her. And I realized that Donair had been there at the beginning of my life, and I got to be there near the end of hers. We'd come full circle.

Later in the day, to give my mom some time alone with her, I took a drive through the lovely little town she lived in, just outside Vancouver Washington and just 15 miles or so north of Portland. I drove past this old church and an adjacent field when I saw something that gave me so much hope amid so much sadness:

An entire field of wishes. I made many wishes for Donair, for her last days on earth and for when she gets her wings. I made many, many more wishes, seizing the opportunity in a field full of perfect, delicate dandelions to put all those prayers out there. And as my prayers floated on the breeze, finding rest in the foot-high blades of grass, I knew that everything was going to be okay. Not good okay, not happy okay, but okay.  I would do what I could to share a bit of Donair's story, to help raise awareness about ovarian cancer and its symptoms, to help in any way possible to avoid the loss of another vibrant, smart, funny, loving and beautiful woman to this dreaded disease.  

As we were leaving I got my chance to kiss her, hold her fragile shoulders and tell her that I loved her. An honor and a privilege I'll never forget. And then I made a hasty exit and had a good cry.

Goodbye, Aunt Doni. Rest in His peace. And tell my daddy I love him.