mini-smash...

if you haven't heard, there is a cute new book/journal type thing coming any day, hopefully!   it's called a smash* book.  click here...for a cool video demo. what i especially love about it is the title...smash* for the moments and musings that stick.  cool, huh, because my blog is for the musings of my creativity!  see that...kindred spriits.  and i am so in love with the red book...known as the doodle book.

anyway, there were some delays with the release of this awesome creation so the fine folks over at k  & company decided to give away a mini-smash* to the followers of their blog.  i was lucky enough to get one.  so i took it with me on my stamping trip so i could show it off to the girls i've been gushing to about the smash*.  and i made a mini-smash* of our trip.  top 10 list and all!!  i'll take more pictures of it and post those, too.  but i wanted to give a shout out to smash* blog for giving my mini smash* a mention (lookie here)!!  how cool is that???  love!

plus you might as well check out there blog often cause you never know when you might win one!

and here's the original post that k & company linked to...

something big is a'brewing...

so apparently i live in a cave. we are getting a huge storm today and they are throwing around the "blizzard" word. a huge one at that. been in the news for days. i found out last night from a friend on facebook who lives in kentucky!! a sign i really should watch the news more often. but that's not what the big thing is that i'm talking about.

when i started this blog, it was more for me just to throw stuff out there and was a place to post pictures of my crafts (which i'm embarrassed to think were good at the time...but i guess we all have to start somewhere!) and thoughts about life. therapeutic to a point, i guess (not deep stuff...just rambling). i never realized that i would one day see my little counter in the bottom corner nearing the 40,000 mark!! holy cow! so i though i would have a little celebration in honor of that milestone.

i was lucky enough to win not one, but two contests on facebook from two of my faves: echo park and unity. i've been feeling a little guilty about this for two reasons. 1} because i won two things. 2} because they were little boy themed prizes and i have no kids.  so i wanted to pif and have someone else who would be able to put it to better use have it.

so...i have no idea when i will hit the 40K mark, but once i do, i will be giving away a prize pack that consists of  the unity stamp set in the clouds and an echo park little boy collection that matches.  would you love it???

comment on this post and once the counter turns the magic number, i'll randomly draw a winner.

here are the rules:

• one comment per person
• must comment on how you will use the prize
• leave your email so i can contact you if you win
• check back occasionally for when the magic number is hit

easy peasy. 

and thanks for visiting!

new bedroom stuff...

so i finally feel like a grown up. for the first time in my adult life, i have a matching bedroom. no more pieced together collections. no make shift nightstands from an old microwave cart or bookcase. no more laundry baskets full of clothes. 5 pieces that actually match. and are so cool. and thank goodness it all fits in the bedroom. it's amazing how different things look on a showroom floor than when it gets put into a room. but it fits, and i love it all!! can't wait to go to sleep and see what difference a nice mattress makes! i'm still in sticker shock at the amount it all cost. and for how much bedding is. so i skipped the whole matching everything and got a new duvet cover from ikea. works for me!!

irish blessing...

another cool giveaway...

yep, i'm a sucker for giveaways! here's a cool stash that all scrapbook steals is giving away. clickie, clickie

fluffy goodness...

am i not the happiest girl in all the land? look what i discovered yesterday at heartland paper co (one of the many lss)...a four pack (yes, that's 4!) of fun flock! and what's even better than having a four pack of this fluffy goodness? the fact that it was only ninety-nine cents!! yep...a buckaroo. i picked this color for some st patty's day atcs. they had a whole slew of different color combos. AWESOME!!!

prismacolory goodness...

ah...prezzies are arriving! a box of prismacolory goodness. of course, i can't open them yet. at least i know they are here and only have two weeks to wait!!!

holiday sale...

at purple onion designs! 25% off until dec 15th!


ps post the blinkie on your blog and enter here for a chance to win free stamps!! (gotta love free advertising!)

new banner...

i have been playing today in photoshop. i hate that the free trial is going to run out because i'm learning a ton! and it's so expensive! oh well. i had fun making my new banner. the elements are from sue cummings and house of 3. i just wish it didn't take hours! i start messing around with it and the next thing i know, 3 hours has gone by!!

oh well!

more playing...

with photoshop and brushes. most of these are from the house of 3 christmas kits. they are awesome!!

happy thanksgiving...

happy thanksgiving!

(a little goodie i made after my cool class with rhonna farrer.)

cutting corners...

i love rounding corners on things. i can't count how many corner rounders i've gone through because i do it so much (the little yellow and green ek sucess ones). and i don't usually find a tool that i absolutey love. and i usally don't post about it. but i have fallen in love with something. i'm afraid to admit that i bought this a few months ago and it sat unopened in the package for a while. then when cleaning one day, i busted it out. i finally used it and i can't believe i waited so long! it's the corner chomper from we r memory keepers. it is so easy to use and cuts through paper so nicely! i can even cut more than one layer at a time, which was dificult with the little corner punches. and it's like the cropidile, so it's sturdy. i {heart} my corner chomper.

going pink...

for october. it's breast cancer awareness month, so i'm going pink for the month of october. if you have a blog, i encourage you do to the same to help spread the word. many of us know family and friends who are currently battling, are surviving or have lost the fight with this horrible disease. so remember what october is about.

i was trying to create my atc for the breast cancer swap christie is hosting and wanted a background. i used the pink ribbon background (found at the shack) last year, so i wanted something new. so i created this one. i also used it in my blog header. since october is breast cancer awareness month, i figured i would share the background with anyone who wants it! so feel free to download it here.

north pole collection...

ok. seriously. how can you not love this???

it's the north pole collection from crate paper.

sigh...

road map anyone...

the latest circle journal i've been working (and will post pictures tomorrow!) has a theme of "my town". so i was trying to think of a map or something to incorporate in the layout. well, i ran across this little goodie a little too late, but it's still pretty cute. so i wanted a chance (shameless plug!) to win it!! go check it out...it's by october afternoon.

the oddest thing...

i promise i'll have crafty things to post later. i've got to get some swaps done today (before sherri kills me!) so i'll have more to add. but for now, i had to share this picture. i happened to have the camera with me the other day (because it was sunny and i wanted to look for cool pictures to take!) and i passed this house. i don't know what they did to this tree, or how they did it, but it is so cool!! the picture doesn't really do it justice. the whole tree is one giant icicle!!! i just now noticed the light at the bottom. i wonder if they light it up at night. i might have to take a drive when it gets dark and find out!!

i love your blog...

my friend sherri put this thing on her blog and she says that she loves my blog. so i thought i'd share the love. here are 7 blogs that i love.

sherri

traci

lesa (she has two...i love them both and this one is a fantastic cause!)

pam

kristina werner

kim hughes

and so many others that i haven't mentioned!!

here are the instructions for award recipients:

• pick 7 of your favorite blogs.
• winners can put the logo on their blog
• link the person who gave your award to your blog.
• name the 7 that you are giving the award to with their links.
• leave a message on their blogs so that they know they've won!

little life preservers...

my friend lesa is amazing. she has been battling breast cancer for over a year. recently, she has launched a new website to help in her own little way with other women going through the scary battle she is going through. it is awesome what she is doing. please take a minute to check it out.

little life preservers

oh my stampin up goodness...

so i didn't make a big deal of the new stampin up catty that just came out 4 days ago. i didn't make a huge fuss when my friends traci and mary were here for the su convention and let me and my cute mom gush over the new catalog before it was released to all the non convention goers. i didn't rave about all the cute new things in it, especially the new designer paper. *drool* i did briefly mention (i think), a while back, the new in colors and how while i didn't {love} them, i figured they would grow on me. which most of them have (have you seen the tangerine??? omg!) so now, i must make an official stand. and unfortunately the rest of the non su world will have to wait a teensy bit longer until the new holiday mini is officially released (because it was only released on the demo site)...but...

...oh heaven's to betsy...

it has got to be one of my all time favorite mini catalogs E-V-E-R!!!

there are soooo many cute stamp sets in it!! and the designer paper? oh.my.good.ness. am i going to have to work an extra shift just to order one of almost everything? oh i think so.

one little thing i don't get, however, and this really has nothing to do with su, just a question in general. why is a cardinal such a big christmas icon?

anyway, thanks for listening. here's a link to the new catalog, if you want to take a peek. and if you want me to send you a holiday mini (or a new catalog) when they come out, shoot me an email.

sigh.

ok...i'm off to go look at it again.

stargirls...

so the thing we did yesterday was so fun. it was centered around a book called stargirl by jerry spinelli, which is apparently one of lisa bearnson's favorite books. we each received the book prior to the adventure and had to read it before we come. it was a cute story with a lot of great lessons in life. the bulk of the day was spent going to 4 different places, seeing how things work and doing a little (or a lot, depending on who you were!!) of shopping. we got to tour ck media (i know, we did this last week!), go visit scenic route paper company, making memories, and rusty pickle. each place was fun to see and of course, fun to shop at.

ck media:
we toured the offices, met the big wigs, did a cute 6x6 page make and take, got to shop, shop, shop!!!

scenic route:
toured the warehouse, met sarah milne, the creater and owner, did a cute card make and take, and shopped.

making memories:
shopped some more. got to have a demo of the slice (i still want one!) while we did a make and take card. we got a cute slice apron from them!

rusty pickle:
toured the warehouse, did a 6x6 page make and take, met lance anderson, and had treats from a chocolate fountain (yep, he knows how to make friends!). we also got a huge bag of goodies filled with rusty pickle paper and embellishments.

after all the tours, we had a quick break for dinner, then headed to a keynote and crop with lisa, themed ala stargirl. it was a great time and we met a few "stargirls" and "starboys" in lisa's life. after the keynote address, we made 3 cards and had a great time. we met a bunch of fun people and got to know a few new friends.

click here to see the pictures from the day!