diggin'

(photo via jakandjill)
never can have enough bracelets, love the layers here!

where the wild things are

really rare when we all agree to want to see a movie, so excited to see this especially since both Saadiq and Synai love the book!

Virgin America Mood lighting sounds really cool and awesome, well their fleet of planes seem to be the coolest around,looking forward to giving them a go in January when I fly to LA.

this print by houseind for the children's room specifically for Saadiq's side of the room.



mini minibook, books are still available under current workshops. I am looking forward to seeing how the girls that purchased them.

What are you diggin' lately? There is so much inspiration on the web, tv, print...I really get overly stimulated sometimes because their is so much to admire.
Happy Wednesday!
xo

Amy Coose said...

I'd love to win a class with Karla! I am a huge fan!
11:50 AM

congrats Amy!!! Please send me your info and Karla will send you confirmation of the class and more details. Thank you everyone who posted a comment, a new giveaway will be up on Thursday too, that's how much I love ya! :)

•Thank you: Karla Dudley Designs •

Sponsor Intro & Giveaway: Karla Dudley Designs

Want to learn something new about journal construction and design? Then this workshop is for you! This class will give you a different perspective on the makings of handmade journals. I find that it is a process. One that scrapbookers can do without having to take bookbinding. One that starts of with imagination and ends in satisfaction. The class will focus on three different binding techniques and three different closures as well.  Karla hopes  that you are inspired to try and make journals by hand for the pure love of the 'process'. They make priceless gifts and handy keepsakes for us too :) 

•learn more about karla dudley designs: workshops . digital designs .  twitter •

Q & A with Karla:


What is your ideal day?


Spending the day with the family indoors and outdoors. Wake up on a Saturday morning and have a good breakfast. Chill out around the house then go out later on to the park or library. Then, after the kids are all tucked in bed, I can get to creating or spend time with my husband watching movies :)


I always enjoy your digital layouts, do you sketch them or just play with a canvas until the elements are just right?
I never sketch my digital layouts. I just pick out some photos that are 'calling' me and I start from scratch inside Photoshop. I never know how a layout will turn out. I just make a move, step back, look at it, and keep going.


What are your go to supplies when creating?
Vellum, white cardstock, circle punches and any butterfly I can find lol....Yeah, that's a trend on my pages...like an epidemic for no reason :)


When did you start scrapbooking?
I started in 2003 after my son Kody was born. I saw a Making Memories magazine at the craft store. Saw the work of Heidi Swapp and a light bulb went off in my head. I got the magazine + some other scrapbooking doodads (probably some silly scissors back then :) and never looked back.


Even when I am old, I will still _________________.
Do Art.


Leave a comment for a chance to win this amazing class with Karla, hope you enjoyed getting to know her!
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If you’re interested in becoming a sponsor, please email me for more info. October spots are still available!

a perfect day for spraying inks and getting messy. it is chilly and raining day here.
a peek at a project I am working on...
two wildcats losses for my two but a win, win for mommy for creative mojo, :)
hope you are having a creative weekend!
xo

the digits

post is all about the scraps today! I got busy last night while watching greys! :) It was a good episode, poor george! dare 148 is up...all about the numbers! I love numbers and these numbers in certain combinations all represent someone special to me, birthdays and the love of curves.  I love typegraphy!


a few more peeks at layouts I made with the oct. cocoa daisy kit:

Tomorrow is a full day of football, yay! I think I enjoy it just as much or more than the kids, lol. Hopefully we will hit up a festival too and then just chill and watch more football on Sunday...go redskins! happy friday and I hope you have a great weekend!
xo

time to start the countdown.

Is it too early to say it's the weekend...nah, thursday is the new Friday! This week has been totally bananas and I am seriously needing a veg out in front of the tv night with Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and Grey's Anatomy.

Tuesday, was this awesome girl's birthday. I love my sister, she has the kindest heart ever and she is the yang to my yin. She is fiesty,smart, brave and sassy....so virgo.


We went to the movies to see Jennifer's Body because she loves horrors and I love Megan Fox. I hate horrors and all of the bloody  scary scences but she love them, so off to the movies we went! This one wasn't that horrific in the sense of horrors but in the sense that the movie is bad with only a few comedic lines to get you thru it. Trust me wait until it comes on dvd! We had some of these yummy cupcakes after dinner.

New peek at the October Cocoa Daisy kit, it goes on sale Oct.1. I received my kit to work with in the mail on Monday and it is gorgeous! I love all of the red in this kit, will go perfectly with those cheer and football pics that are stacking up!

Here is a peek at one of my layouts I made this morning. I used AE stamp from this month's kit on it.  I can't wait to get back home to finish up my other layouts for the design gallery. :)


It isn't feeling very fall like today, feels more like summer*-come on in fall, glad to have you here! :) happy fall everyone!
xo

scream out to the world....

(via abc.com)

....grey's is back with a two hour premiere tomorrow! I have my scraps (for some creating on commercials),tissues and coziest pj's ready! whose with me? :)

Christina said...
i LOVE Tina's work! i've been following her bloggity for a while now and it's awesome to see her on yours too!
Happy Monday

xo

12:24 PM

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congrats Christina!!! Please send me your info and LifelovePaper Photography will send your canvas print out to you. Thank you everyone who posted a comment, a new giveaway will be up next week too! :) 

•Thank you: LifeLovePaper•

the end of summer

We had our last hurrah of summer yesterday, a trip to the county fair. The day was perfect and a great tribute to the last days of summer. Synai had a cheer performance on the main stage, oh so cute! They are getting ready for competition in November! I took a few photos of the fair as we walked around.



We then headed to Richmond for a birthday (my sister's) dinner and to meet our mom. I truly adore fall.
-love all the fall family birthdays [sister, me and Saadiq]
-crisp morning air
-fall foliage
-pumpkin carving
-pupmkin spice latte
-football
-light sweaters and scarves
-holidays
-cooler weather
-fall tv
I am totally ready for the first day of autumn tomorrow, are you?
xo
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don't forget to enter to win a polaroid canvas : sponsor giveaway

sponsor intro + giveaway!

Happy Monday, today's giveaway is sponsored by LifelovePaper Photography. Tina Aszmus is the photographer behind the lens of LifelovePaper and her creative eye is just magical. She has offered the above canvas flat of a polaroid for today's giveaway. The canvas can sit on a shelf or it can be hung. The texture of the canvas is really cool. She will also be putting some up in her shop as books using these canvases as covers. Tina was kind enough to answer a few questions, hope you enjoy getting to know this artist better! Please leave a comment and a winner will be posted tomorrow. If you love what you see please tell her I sent ya! ;)

What is your favorite part about being a photographer?
The creative release and instant gratification.


Who was your celebrity crush as a child?
Corry Haim post Lost Boys. Then it was all down hill from there.


I love your creative eye for simple beauty in your photos, how do you decide on what to photograph?
I definitly lean more towards still life. I like playing around with compositions and light. I love growing and arranging flowers. It's the first thing I look at when thumbing through decor magazines. Admittedly I work a typical, non-creative office job and as creative as I am or love to be, I have to surround myself with pretty things when I'm outside of work. As soon as I leave the office, I take out my camera and snap a few shots, then it sort of balloons from there. I take a photo of something around me everyday.


What are three things you could not live without?
coffee, polaroid film and undereye concealer.

more information about tina can be found here: blog . flickr . twitter

i am minibook kit + workshop details.

I am excited to offer this new minibook kit + workshop. I hope you will enjoy it too, with this workshop the focus is on the person (you),who is creating for others but rarely scraps herself. I truely believe that it important to document all parts of life including you. Participants will receive a kit, private flickr group invite,an electronic handout, tips for prompts +a paint technique.

The kit will include the following:
-custom  i am stamp
-3x4 custom handmade old school minimini by jamaicamakes
-7 pages of creamy white paper ready for you to add your paper, journaling and embellishments
-Cosmo Cricket Paper - the Boyfriend - Art Appreciation
-Cosmo Cricket Paper - the Boyfriend - Drivers Ed
-Customed Misted Cardstock Paper
-Woodgrain Contact Paper
-KI Memories Pattern Paper
-Cosmo Cricket Paper-Nature Walk Mr Campy
-Sassafras Paper-My Dearest-Fawnd of You
-Hambly Overlay -Hanging Heliconias - Orange (1)
-Hambly Overlay -Hanging Heliconias - Brown (1)
-Hambly Overlay-Mod Circles
-Jillbean Soup-Green Numbers Journaling Sprouts (1)
-Scenic Route Die-Cuts - Journaling Label
-Jenni Bowlin-Brown Border Cardstock Sticker strips (2)
-Elle Studio Crazy Numbers (1)
-Sassafras Stickers - Happy Place stickers (2)
-mini scallop punched from Sassafras Paper
-foil stars
-ormolu assignment tag (1)
-Misc grid paper for journaling
*All paper and overlays handcut to fit minibook and ready for you to adhere and add to white paper pages.
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*10 kits are available for purchase.
The cost of this class is $20 USD+$1.50 for shipping and handling= $21.50 USD.  Within 24 hours of you purchasing your kit, a confirmation email with shipment info. will be sent to you. Please feel free to contact me with any questions. :)
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*email me for an invoice, kits are still available for purchase.

smitten:stefani mix

(images via style.com)

love all of the images of ny fashionweek coming out this week, especially the new l.a.m.b-love it! I always covet the shoes but I am really loving these pieces (tops),especially gwen's jacket. I always love her style! I really need to invest in a money tree, lol.

(image via true-blood.net)

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true blood thoughts:
I was expecting a lot more, the season was action packed and just plain awesome... the finale not so much. I thought with all the build up, it was going to be a lot more exciting than it actually was. Also was stunned at Jessica, not my Jessica, totally shocked by that one, hoping her and Hoyt get back together and my gorgeous Eggs getting x'ed, the finale was a major downer! The only thing that has me a wee bit intrigued is what in the world happened to Bill?!

happy wednesday!
xo

tardy for the party...

JessiW said...
Oh, beautiful! I would love to get my hands on some of these...and may I just say I love how there are so many supporting handmade!!! Love, Jess
11:24 AM

•Thank You:Evalicious•

You are the winner to yesterday giveaway, email me your details, congrats! :) Thank you for all of the kind comments about the giveaway, the interview, eve's shop and always leaving such nice notes behind to me as well. I  love to blog and I hope that shows... so thank you!

I was finally able to sit down and scrap a little last night and complete last week's dare: weakness. I have a few of them documented here but those who followed my blog since way back know that I love tv too! That is a weakness that will get its own layout or maybe a mini one day, lol.



Some other weaknesses that I have beside the obvious are:
-my kids
-vintage decor
-cupcakes
-big handbags
-typography
-polaroids
-starbucks
-internet
-lip gloss
-tv
What makes your list?
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eta: More details on the new minibook kit will be up on Thursday.

sponsor intro & giveaway: evalicious

Evalicious is a small home based business that offers unique handmade scrapbooking embellishments, memory art kits, art journals, tutorials & other scrapbooking items. Whether you are a beginner or advanced scrapbooker/paper crafter, Evalicious products will help make your projects a little more unique. Shop items are made in small batches at a time so quantities are often limited, make sure you get what you like before they're gone! 
I asked Eve a few questions, hope you enjoy and enter to win the goodies above... trust me they are gorgeous! :) I will pick a random winner and post the winner tomorrow (Sept. 15) at 10 am est. 

Where do you find inspiration?

Everywhere! :). New stuff, old stuff. Hard to not be inspired by all the beautiful colors and textures around me.

Your shop is outstanding, what is your favorite part of owning a small business?

I love how my shop just makes life a little more balanced now. I had a pretty stressful full time job before being able to go part time and focus more on my shop. My shop is so fun to attend to most of the time that it's hard to believe it's actually a business! I love how I get to play in my studio all day and not make dinner, not do the laundry, or clean up the house but get to tell my husband that I worked all day:). LOL!

What is your favorite item in your shop?

I would have to say I love my felt sayings. There's just something special about putting together those cuties-it consists of a lot of my fave materials: felt, embroidery floss, typed sayings from my vintage typewriter and cute punched out shapes.

What is your guilty pleasure?

Is this where someone will say "hmmm chocolate!"? LOL! I think mine would be hoarding a bit of the supplies/materials that I order for my kits/shop:).

Thank you Eve! :)  I hope you enjoyed learning more about Eve and her store. I am off to start a fresh new week, hope you have a good start too! :)

you can learn more about eve here: blog . store

xo

friday again, oh yes!

This week was a  total flurry of activity for me! Work was totally bananas, colds ran wild in our household and I just felt like the entire week was spent trying to play catch up!  Whew.... but I am so happy that my favorite day of the week is here!  Fridays make everything better...can I get a big HORRAY?!!

A little sneak at my new mini workshop that will go up next Thursday! I am totally excited about it and hope you will be too! This mini will be all about you and includes: a custom stamp, minibook by jamaicamakes, pattern paper, inked paper by me, and lots of my favorite things for mini making!







I am lucky to be the guest designer over at A Million Memories this month, thought I share a few of the layouts I made with their fun and sassy kit.  I love the second one of my little unit. I love love my family so much and they were good sports with the photo booth last weekend at the beach! Although, they didn't quite understand my enthusiasm to take more, so one it was! :)

I hope you have a fabulous weekend, hoping Saadiq will have a win under his belt this week.
xo!

9.09.09

1. blackwhiteyellow 3.lupin
4.greenolivetextiles
Happy 9.09.09, oh and happy hump day too! :) I am in the starting stages of planning Saadiq's birthday party. He will be 9 next month! For the last two years he preferred sleepovers but this year he wants a party. I love to throw parties and missed the planning, anticipation, cooking and freak outs that all makes for a good time,lol.

So a few months ago I asked him what he wanted and he said a wrestling party. I thought ok, he is really into wrestling even has Synai crying over Jeff Hardy leaving Raw the other week! I tried to find some suma wrestler suits to rent because I thought it would be so cute, interactive, "safe" and fun but that idea had to be quickly scrapped since it appears they are not for rent in my area.  I started brainstorming of all the other things that he loves and it finally clicked yesterday...spies. He loves spies, ninja, army, etc... all that stuff. This is what I am working with as my inspiration for the decor.  It will all be diy, found a cute template for moustaches yesterday for the "photobooth" area where the kids can take photos and act silly in costumes (hats,glasses, wigs). My plan is to take polaroids and digital so they can take the polariod with them as part of their favor.  I also plan to make banners in the color theme and have lots of nines hopefully in different fonts displayed around the house with balloons too. I have a few ideas for "spy" games, trying to make it fun for adults as well! The dress for the party will be everyone arrive in black since it is around halloween too! Now I have to start thinking about the invitations....

sign of fall: football season

Football and cheer was great! I took lots of pictures and hoping to start a minibook documenting their first year of play. Saadiq's team didn't win but I think they know what to expect this week! We had a beautiful Saturday to kickoff the season. :)

I can't get over how mature he looks in his uniform! He was so nervous and all excited before the game. I snapped a pic of him and his team mates watching the bigger kids playing before their game.
 

Synai was so cute, I didn't get as many pictures of her because I had my 50mm lens on my camera, in a rush to get to her 9am game, totally forgot to switch to my zoom. I did get this one of her concentrating on her team. She cheers for the anklebiter division, those little guys are the cutest!  I was so proud of her for cheering her little heart out and really knowing all of her cheers.


We went to the beach on Sunday and it was gorgeous out, accomplished everything on our list and even found the photobooths, thanks to 3P4!

Now I am  back to work and battling a cold, yuck. I don't know if I want to celebrate the short work week or cry, the office is sure to be out of control! I will have some scraps to share tomorrow!
xo

settling in...

Yes, finally it is the weekend, the start to a long weekend!
We plan on having some "unofficial" end of summer fun this weekend which includes:
youth cheer and football
day trip to the beach to consume thrasher fries, tcby yogurt, photo booth pics and oh some sun for sure!
enjoy the mid 80's weather in the dmv
scrapping
go see All About Steve
+
grilling
+
no work, cheers all around!
be blessed. xo

****

So ready for the long weekend! The weather is going to be awesome which is a good thing since we will be outside for most of the weekend and holiday. Saadiq and Synai have there first games on Saturday. They received their uniforms this week so they are really ready. :) I can't wait to see them all suited up, we will be at the fields from 8am (yes you read right,lol) until at least 2pm...this sports thing is like another job for real! :)


Cocoa Daisy's September went live today and these are some of the layouts I made with the kit. The rest of my gallery can be seen---here.







I now this is going to sound a tad bit (vampire) obsessed, but I saw a preview to this new show, Vampire Dairies while my sister and me were watching Rachel Zoe last night. I must admit I am very intrigued! It will on the cw network this fall. So trueblood fans if you are looking for a replacement until next summer, this show may tide you over!
Well off to the j-o-b, have a beautiful day!
xo

a favorite sneak peek!

I started working with Cocoa Daisy's September kit over the weekend. I have a few peeks to share:

The weather is so fall like and fabulous so far this week! I totally love this time of year when it is cool enough to sleep with the windows open,fall festivals,the start of the fall season for tv,football season and the return of the pumkin spice latee at Starbucks....yum!

true blood: I love Eric, favorite line of the show hands down- "bye bye tiny little humans" I love that he flies too and I can't wait to see how they are going to finally get rid of Maryann!  Rachel Evan Wood  is good as the vampire queen too. I hear she will be back for season three, something tells me that the hotness that is Eggs will not be making a reapperance next season. I can't believe I have to wait two weeks to see the finale!
xo

hello september!!

1.evalicious: gorgeous handmade art journals,felt embellishments, stamps and copic book tutorials
2.lifelovepaper: vintaged inspired, gorgeous still life prints that are shipped ready to frame and hang
3. karla dudley designs: digitial tips, elements and upcoming october workshop...stay tuned for details.

I am excited for you to get know these sponsors more in the upcoming months! They are all very creative and have amazing goods in their shop. As a thank you to all of my readers they will also be sponsoring some giveaways this month, so watch out! Please take some time to stop by their stores when you have a chance, I promise you will be inspired....