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Monday, December 24, 2007

A Merry Christmas Thing

Thank you all for a wonderful 1st year in the designing business. A small little gift, from me to you. Hope you have a safe and memory filled Holiday Season!

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Thank you to those who downloaded and took the time to say thanks!

Friday, December 21, 2007

A Blow Out Thing

End the year with some incredible savings from Rachel Martin Designs. Save 60% on all of my products.




Here is a quick lineup of a few of my things:
(all images are linked up)











Monday, December 10, 2007

A Shopping Thing

Okay, so my sister had been gushing on and on about a place called The Flower Factory. She loves all things crafty, as far as home decor goes. She loves that country/shabby/primitive look. So when she was doing her gushing I was doing the customary nodding and "uh-huhing". I am NOT into the crafty look. I like it for other people houses, so don't think it's that I hate that look. But my interior design has/will have a more eclectic, world traveler, modern feel. So, as she was going on and on about this place-I am all but ignoring her, again, with the customary nodding, yada yada yada. Fast forward to 2 months later, my sister-in-law and my best friend decide they want to go. So I half reluctantly decide to go with them. I mostly went thinking I could find a cute ornament or two, and it'd get me out of the house and away from the kids for a few hours. Well lo and behold, this place was amazing. They had crafting supplies; beads, paint, markers, crayons, canvas, ribbon, string, felt, stickers, tools, paintings, artwork, holiday decorations, toys, candy, party supplies, some household goods, silk flowers, I mean-I could go on and on myself, lol. It was SO fun. I bought $50 worth of stuff;stocking stuffers for the kids, a few ornaments, a new thermometer, a few gifts. It was fabulous. I definite;y need to go back, and I definitely need to stop being so snotty to my sister! So if you have a Flower Factory near you,I highly recommend it.I can almost HEAR you all nodding and "uh-huhing", am I right?

Friday, December 7, 2007

Lightroom Example Thing

Okay...so a few people asked about examples, so here they are. A few presets used on the same photo(I've labeled each photo with the preset use and the designer of the preset):



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I'm also including a little preset for you if you'd like to try out the "Raspberry Glow" effect:



Raspberry Glow-Lightroom Preset by Rachel Martin



If it asks for a password, try "cloudnine". I'd love to here from you if you decide to pick it up and try it out! Enjoy!

Thursday, December 6, 2007

A Lightroom Thing

Okay...so after months of seeing it mentioned here and there in forums and galleries...I finally downloaded the trial version today. There should be a discaimer on this software-something like ::warning-this software is digital crack: 15 minutes into playing with itand I'm HOOKED. The hype was right. This thing is seriously FUN. AND I was able to scout out a few freebie presets so I could play around even more! How exciting. So I wanted to share. Here are a few links to some gorgeous FREE presets:

Inside Lightroom
Kelsey Smith
Jack Davis
Various Artists


and here are some links to some amazing preset for sale:

Victoria Feemster
Michelle Pearson
Simonetta Rossi

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

A CRD Thing

So I stumbled upon the new CRD blog "Authentic Artistry" yesterday. How neat it is. I also decided to participate in the 1st challenge on the blog. I'm still a sucker for a good freebie, I guess, lol. So here it is(clickable for your crediting pleasure):

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I think it turned out pretty ok!? It was fun no matter what, and really, that is so refreshing. To just do a LO with no real strict requirements.

A Turkey Day Thing

From the SSD Blog to Mine:

You Are Mashed Potatoes

Oridnary, comforting, and more than a little predictable
You're the glue that holds everyone together.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

A Smelly Thing

From the Sweet Shop Blog to mine:

Your Scent is Key Lime

Sassy, real, and totally smooth
You're a total flirt who's always ready for a challenge!



This was a fun few minutes in my day. Funny enough, Key Lime is a real favorite dessert of mine! YUM! Try this out! Also...SSD has some FUN challenges going on over there! If you stop by, check them out!

Monday, September 24, 2007

A gemstone thing...

I'm playing along with the "From Our Blog to Yours" at SSD, this week. Here is the fun little activity they had. A quiz about what kind of gemstone you are. I LOVE what was chosen for me. Aquamarine is probably my FAVORITE gemstone.


Your Gemstone is Aquamarine

Intuitive, tranquil, and trusting.
You inspire others to have faith in themselves.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

A New ES Blog Challenge Thing

As you may or may not know, I am onthe site CT for Elemental Scraps. GREAT team, fun girls, fabulous product to play with. Well, anyways-I get to do one of the 2 bi-weekly challenges this week! I even made a layered PSD template to help you along, I'd love for you to check it out!



ES Blog Challenge #4


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There are prizes involved, and who doesn't love a good prize?

As for other news, there's not any! LOL, my life is boring, but that can be good, ya know!? My oldest 2 are back to school, my youngest 2are as crazy beautiful, the daycare kids are cute and mischievious, DH is working hard, I'm procrastinating from doing some design work, all as usual. Well, thanks for stopping in and taking a sneak peak of my week. Hope you'll stop by the ES blo, and play along.

Friday, August 31, 2007

A New Collab Thing

Well, Beth Kern and I put our thinking caps on, and came up with a Scrapz Duo. This is a back to school themed collab called Back to the Books. Chock full of themed and un-themed elements and papers, in a color scheme PERFECT for this time of year.

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I'm sure this will help get those frazzled "end of summer" brain cells back into the swing of things. I know this is a crazy time of year for me. Seth, my oldest son, who is 8, started 3rd grade on Wednesday. So far so good. He's been excited and enthusiastic about going, so that is a plus! Leah, my oldest daughter, who is 5, starts Kindergarten next Thursday. She is BEYOND excited. Really. The girl has been pushing her "10 days til Kindergarten" countdown chart at me since May 17th. No joke! So FINALLY we've gotten to actually get that bad boy out and mark off some squares! MUCH to her, and my, relief! In other news, my youngest son, Isaac, who is 3, has been a HOLY terror. "In a second.", "NO!", and "I hate you!" are a few of his choice phrases these days. I do not know WHERE my sweet baby boy went, but he's been replaced by the son of the devil(only half joking). I'm hoping this is just a late start to the "terrible two's", but we'll see. Thank goodness for my sweet darling Ruby.She s just as loving as ever. She started walking about 2 weeks ago, and the little pitter-pat of her bare feet is like angels singing! Seriously, it is such a cute cute sound. Both her and Leah had to get shots last week. Four for Leah(OMG-the agony of holding down a child who is literally half of your size and shouts "I hate you!" midway through!) and three shots for Ms. Ruby. I know. I know. It's for the best. It is still a hard thing to do. I can't imagine being a nurse, that may be the worst in that situation. But I am now the lucky mom of 2 fully vaccinated girls. Shew! Well, everyone(ya right...lol!), I'm off to finish up dinner...and maybe scrap for a bit. Thanks for making it this far!

Monday, August 13, 2007

A Free Camera Thing

Mike, from Stay At Home Dad, Geek Style, is having a give-away. He has this blog that talks about his work, which he does from home, in order to stay at home with his daughter. He talks about his day to day routine, his trials and tribulations as a young Dad, and the amazingly funny & entertaining things that happen when you are a stay-at-home parent. It is so interesting to see this from such a different perspective, a MAN! I've enjoyed browsing through his posts and checking out his site.

In his Stay At Home Dad Digital Camera Give-Away, he is giving away a brand new Canon PowerShot SD750, and all you have to do is make a post like this one! Now how easy-peasy is that, Lemon Squeezy? I hope you'll check it out! A scrapbooker can ALWAYS use another camera, right?

Monday, July 30, 2007

A Bug Thing

I'm extending my Birthday Stash until Wednesday! That is 3 more days of HUGE savings. 7 products totaling over 138MB of digital goodness, with a combined value of over $20. This is a great value for those on a limited scrapping budget, or anyone who likes a little bang for their buck. Run on over to OAKS and grab it up!



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This was a bsuy weekend for me. I've been re-vamping all of my previews, and let me tell you, this is TEDIOUS work. My family felt abandoned. Poor things. But even with the non-stop computering, we(DH and I) managed to take the kids out for some fun Saturday night. We stopped by Wendy's and grabbed some dinner to go and headed to our local Metro Garden, There is an awesome art display there. "Big Bugs" by David Rodgers. Here are a few photos of the fam:



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V

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And with that good people, I leave you to do some much needed cleaning!

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Way cool.

Friday, May 25, 2007

Boundless Inspiration...

I stumbled upon the most amazing artist this week. His name is Stephane Tartelin. Isn't that some HAWT stuff? I'm really really loving the modern lines and muted colors, and the soft penciled look. His more graphic stuff rocks too. I can't even find words for his matte paintings, wow! I love stumbling upon hidden treasures like this!

Speaking of treasure...I put up a new element pack at OAKS.

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I think that's enough bling and shine to label it as treasure! Here is a layout I did using them:

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I've had a creative block these last few weeks. I'm not sure where my mojo has gone. My baby girl turned 1 in March, my oldest son turned 8 in April, and my youngest son will turn 3 this coming Sunday. I think my mojo has been replaced with melancholy from all of the growing up that is going on in my house these last few weeks! I'm sure it will return. It usually does at some point! Hopefully sooner, rather than later. Until then. I hope you like the last few goodies I've put up in my shoppe. I also added a freebie to the Sampler section there as well. So please check that out and grab that little gift, from me to you! Have a happy and safe holiday weekend too.

Hugs!

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Tuesday, May 1, 2007

TAG, you're it!

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www.digitaltagteam.com is open for business! After weeks of preparation, opening day is finally here. I'm so excited to present to you, Sweet on Summer:

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With an introductory price of ONLY $6.99, this kit is a steal! I hope you'll drop by the Digital Tag Team Blog, there will be some fun challenges and prizes too.

Monday, April 30, 2007

Busy weekend...

I'm one of those people who likes a busy weekend. I'm not one for naps or propping my feet up in a hammock. I like to go, go, go. This weekend was one of those busy weekends that I love! Friday night we ordered a big family dinner from our local pizzaria. Hawaiian pizza, cheesy garlic bread, a meatball sub, and some wings. YUM. I've been craving some good hot wings, and these helped satisfy that craving. Then we ordered Eragon on pay-per-view. My 2 year old loves action-adventure movies. Saturday, we played around the house, all the kids got baths and showers, and we got ready to go to my niece's 4th birthday party. Of course, being the procrastinatir that I am, I had to drag all 4 kids into the local Kohl's, on the way to the party, as I had not yet bought a present. BUT Kohl's was having a HUGE sale, and I not only got my niece a few adorable little sun dresses, but Leah and Ruby both got a dress each, and I picked up some new CUTE CUTE tops for myself. I felt a tad guilty, as I

am not one to spend money on myself, but I had recently gone through my summer clothes, and got rid of a lot of ratty old things that had seen better days, as well as donating a lot of stuff that was just not fitting anymore. I seem to be one of those backwards women, who gets smaller after each pregnancy and child birth. Breast feeding and pregnancy really speed up my metabolism, so my clothes have started hanging on me. I really like what I got:


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Leah got this dress:

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Ruby got this dress:

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I had so much fun just shopping and having a good time.

Saturday night, I went out with my best friend, Adrienne. We've been friends for 12 years. She's such a hoot. We met at a local bar to have a few drinks and see a band. Her dad's band actually. LOVE going out to see them. In case you want to check them out...

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We had so much fun, acted like fools, danced, laughed, and danced some more. It felt really really good to just let loose for a night. Sunday was sort of lazy...I actually went back to Kohl's with my sister Stacey, SIL Lindsey, and best friend Adrienne. We carted ALL 10 f our combined kids up there, yes...it was nuts. The sales people were glaring, but made sure to straighten up racks and buns behind the whirlwind. I'm just like that. Then we had my sister Stacey and her husband Dan and their boys, along with my other SIL Amber, and her husband Jason, and their boys, my MIL Jean, and BIL Dominic-all over for a cookout. That was great! We had a few steaks, some BBQ chicken, hotdogs for the kids, some yummy pasta salad, and the BEST roasted asparagus. My SIL actually ended up running back up to the store to grab 2 more bunches of it, so we could make more. Then we just relaxed and watched the kids play and have some ice cream cones. It was great. I hope you had a good weekend as well.

Monday, April 23, 2007

Help support a great cause...

I've recently contributed a few items for acharity kit called Gymnaestrada. This kit is HUG and is only $8 - it contains 50 papers and over 80 elements (size 226MB). A lot of designers also contributed. This kit was headed up by Shelleyrae Cusbert. What a caring person she is. This kit is benefiting a group of admirable kids.

Contributing designers are:

kimlizzy
Rachel Knight
Laurie Slawta
Brenda Kempf
Lori Wiley
Rachel Martin
Katja Kromann
Natalie Bird
Bernadette Hunt



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The World Gymnaestrada is an invitation only international event that attracts more competitors than the Olympics. It is held every four years, this year it is hosted in Dorbin, Austria on July 8, 2007. The cost of the two week event is AUD$6000 per child and the children have been working hard to raise money. All of the money raised by the purchase of this kit will go to the general fundraising account for the team of eleven, aged between 8 and 21, and all of the money will be distributed evenly between the eleven children. Thank you for the support! If you'd like to see more info about the event please visit their team website http://www.geocities.com/tareegymnaroos/ or the event website http://www.wg2007.com/.

Saturday, April 21, 2007

Get inspired...

I'm hosting a bi-monthly Ad Challenge at OAKS. Come join me and get inspired!



Here is this weeks inspiring ad:


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If you decide to play along, please visit the gallery at www.oneofakindscrapz.com and upload your LO there, then post a link to your LO in the Ad Challenge Forum.


I can't wait to see what you come up with! Have fun! Please, post a comment here if you decide to join me! I love hearing from you!

Monday, April 9, 2007

Eye boogers, eye boogers, and more eye boogers.

Oh YUCK! 3 of the 4 kiddos have crusty eyes today! Poor things. I woke up to a chorus of "Mom!" They could not open their sweet little eyes. I distinctly remember this from my childhood, though it seems so much more serene in my memory. My mom, gently swabbing my eyes with a cotton ball dipped in salt water, as she gently caressed my face and whispered sftly to me. This morning was FAR from serene! A grumpy 8 year old boy, yhelping and batting away my hands as I tried to administer eye drops, and 2 year old crying, pulling his own eye boogers off and eating them, and a 1 year old squirming and screaming as I try to hold her eyes open without blinding her with my fingernails. MASS hysteria! LOL. BUT, I survived, and they have all been treated. Shew! And it's not even 8:30am! Hopefully the rest of the day goes more smoothly! :)

Friday, April 6, 2007

Little bunny Foo-Foo, hopping through the forest...

Looking for that perfect addition to your Easter cards or spring LOs? Well, search no further! Introducing Litle Bunny Foo-Foo. Cute as he can be.
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Now available at OAKS

I also want to let you know that OAKS is now offering a free kit with any purchase over $10! All of the OAKS designers collaborated together to make this bright and spunky kit, Colour of Spring:

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Isn't it so fun? I hope you'll stop by OAKS and have a look around. There will be a 30% sale in the whole store this weekend too! So it should NOT be hard to spend $10.

I really can not believe it is April already? We are a fourth of the way through 2007 already! Where does time go? My baby turned 1 last week. My oldest turns 8 this month...I feel old, yet I know I'm not. LOL. Easter has snuck up on me too. I am horrible at getting all "Holiday-ey" (soooo not a word...but I'm famous for making new words up). I've not made the first plan or bought the first chocolate bunny. I know, BAD mommy. I know I'll be running to Target at 9:30pm Saturday night. It's just my way! Oh, and I take that back, I have made one bitty plan. We will be at my MIL's house at some point, and my SIL is making this DELISH looking ham:


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GINGER PEACH-GLAZED HAM

The ham tastes great hot and even better served at room temperature, when the cinnamon flavor is more pronounced. For the best flavor, look for peach preserves made with just fruit and sugar and no artificial ingredients.

5 cinnamon sticks, each about 6 inches long
1 precooked smoked ham, about 15 lb.
2 cups dry white wine

For the glaze:
1 jar (15 oz.) peach preserves
1 Tbs. minced pickled ginger
1 1/2 tsp. ground dry ginger
1 tsp. dry mustard
4 Tbs. firmly packed light brown sugar
1 head chicory (curly endive), separated into
leaves


Preheat an oven to 325°F.

Break the cinnamon sticks into 1 1/2 to 2-inch pieces. Using a sharp knife, cut 8 or 9 horizontal slits, each 1/8 to 1/4 inch deep and running at an angle in the upper, more fatty side of the ham. Slip the cinnamon-stick pieces into the slits, poking them into the meat.

Set the ham, cinnamon side up, on a rack in a large roasting pan. Pour the wine into the bottom of the pan and tent the ham with aluminum foil, sealing the edges securely. Bake for 2 hours.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the peach preserves, pickled ginger, dry ginger and mustard. Stir well and heat until the preserves melt, forming a glaze.

After 2 hours, remove the ham from the oven and poke any loose cinnamon sticks back into the meat. Increase the oven temperature to 350°F. Stir about 2 Tbs. of the pan juices into the glaze to thin slightly. Then spoon about three-fourths of the glaze over the top of the ham. Sprinkle 2 Tbs. of the brown sugar on top of the peach glaze, then pat it with the back of a spoon so that it clings to the meat.

Return the ham to the oven and continue baking for 1 hour more, then baste with the pan juices and spoon the remaining glaze over the top. Pat with the remaining 2 Tbs. brown sugar. Continue to bake until the glaze is browned and bubbly and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the ham registers 140°F, about 30 minutes more. Remove from the oven, tent loosely with foil, and let rest for 25 minutes before carving.

Transfer the ham to a large platter and garnish with the chicory. Beginning at the large end of the ham, carve across the grain into thin slices and arrange them around the platter. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Serves 20 to 24.

Adapted from "Williams-Sonoma Lifestyles Series, Brunch Entertaining," by Janeen Sarlin (Time-Life Books, 1999).


Doesn't that look and sound YUM-O? Mmmmmmmmmm!
 


*blog header credits: glitter vignette-Lisa Whitney / wings-Amanda Roberts / newspaper star-Faith True / background brush-Nancie Janitz Rowe / stitching-Christine Nash / fonts-turbo ripped, verve, and upirpaw