A Baby Name Thing

Well...the SSD Blog has thrown a curve ball this week for the "Our Blog to Yours" BUT! It is RIGHT in my "Home Run Zone"! LOL Baby Names! I am a certified baby name freak...so this should be fun...although, it may be tough because Meghan's taste is about as opposite from mine as it gets but I;ll give it a try!

Here are some name combos I like that may fit in with her other 3 girls:

Casey
Shelby
Marley
Landry
Avery
Blake
Morgan
Whitney
Quinn
Macy
Rory
Devereaux
Emery
Cassidy
Bellamy
Linden
Jessie
Kenna
Shea
Sinclair
Darian
Lowry
Sheridan
Harper
Brynn



Here are some names that are NOT unisex but may fit in with the the other siblings names:

Cassia
Tessa
Dara
Chloe
Camille
Maia
Calla
Lacey
Ivy
Annika
Halle
Jenna
Amity
Delia

Spreading Some Love

Oh wow, it's February already! How crazy is that? 2008 is already flying by for ME, I don't know about you. I'm hoping it's going to be a good year for our family. So far, no complaints! Yeah! On another positive note, my grandma's 99TH birthday is on Monday! Yes, I said 99!!! What do you think about that? She's still up and walking, and lives in an assisted living home, not even a full care nursing home! Unbelievable! She does have slight dementia, diabetes, and Alzheimer's, but she's still here and doing great. I only hope I can have as long and fulfilling of a life as she has. She amazes me! So for me February really is a month full of love. Along with my grandma, I have 7 other family members with birthdays this month AND of course, there is Valentine's Day! So, top share my lovey feeling this month, I made these little word arts, just as a little gift to my blog readers! There are 4 styles in the zip. 2 distressed, 2 undistressed. I hope you can use and enjoy these, and have a wonderful February!



*image is linked

A Coffee Thing

The "From Our Blog to Yours" at SSD has a fun little internet survey this week. I am definitely a coffee girl-so this one was right up my alley. And as boring as it may sound. I am quite happy to learn...

You Are a Plain Ole Cup of Joe

But don't think plain - instead think, uncomplicated You're a low maintenance kind of girl... who can hang with the guys Down to earth, easy going, and fun! Yup, that's you: the friend everyone invites. And your dependable too. Both for a laugh and a sympathetic ear.

What Kind of Coffee Girl Are You?

A You Tube Thing

Well...this week's "From Our Blog to Your's" at the Sweet Shoppe is FUN. They are asking us to share our favorite You Tube video. I couldn't choose between these three-so here they are. Enjoy!

Rain-Patty Griffin

and

Tiny Dancer-from "Almost Famous"

and

Hey Ya-Charlie Brown version

A Rough Weekend Thing

Wow...what a rough weekend. You know it's bad when you can't wait for Monday! I was sick, my husband had tp work all weekend..it was just NOT fun. Then I wake up to crazy hyper kids, and well...I'm sure you get the picture. Thank goodness for my mom. She took my oldest son to a movie Saturday, then let him and my oldest daughter both spend the night with her on Saturday. So I did get a little bit of a sleep in on Sunday morning, but not much. I was up and at 'em at 8 am. But that is an hour and a half extra sleep for me. But hey, nothing a coffee pot couldn't fix!

Feeling under the weather did give me a chance to get some layouts made,some new products started, and I also got a few more things uploaded to both of my NEW stores! Very excited about that! Here is a look at a few layouts I did, some for CT work, some just because:

















Here is a little sneak peek of a few of my new products!




At Pickle Berry Pop:








At Purple Paper Flowers:







Hope you like them! And, as you may know, OAKS will be closing on January 31, 2008. MY SHOPPE is currently 60%(excluding already clearanced items and collab kits). So don't forget to stop in there and take a look around, some of those things may not reappear in my new stores!

Well...after a lovely weekend, it is now time for me to play catch up on housework AND laundry-how FUN! Wish me luck!

A Blinkie Thing

Would you like to win alittle gift from? A possible Guest CT spot? Or maybe even afull time CT position? Well...you COULD! All you have to do is sport my little fan blinkie in your siggy. I wander around the digital community-so you never know what forum I may spot you in.


(please save to your own computer and
upload to a file hosting site of your choice!)

With OAKS closing at the end of this month,I am busily revamping products, redoing previews, and setting up my stores at both Pickle Berry Pop AND Purple Paper Flowers!

As if that isn't enough, lol, being the hardcore scrap enthusiast that I am./ I've even managed to get a few layouts done the past few weeks too.



Here is a sampling:
















Well folks-thaty's all I've got for now.Time to get back to work!

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!



*link removed*

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

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)

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?

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):







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!

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

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):



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.

What Part of Thanksgiving Are You?

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!

What's Your Girl Smell?

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!

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.

What Gemstone Are You?

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






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.

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.



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!

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?

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!





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:




















V





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

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