Scrap Matters Speed Scrap

It's time again for a Scrap Matters Speed Scrap...I am hosting this one, its my first daytime one!

It's tomorrow, July 27th at 1PM.  They are so much fun!  You can visit this thread to learn all about a Speed Scrap and how they work, but really just know that we have a lot of fun!  

Here's the participation prize you get for completing the Speed Scrap:

Hope to see you at SM tomorrow!

I am back and a freebie template

Well, I've said it before...I am a bad blogger...I am just returning from: a scrapping leave of absence (burnt out), vacation and my Mom being in town.  My creativity slump is gone, I am back in business, but the timing was right when I was to have a VERY busy late June (in Walt Disney World, yay!) and early July (Mom visiting from out of town).  So, I was still in the forums and on my blog.  Mom and I did manage to Speed Scrap together though, I hosted last week at Scrap Matters and came up with this layout:

If you've never done a Speed Scrap, you should try it!  They are soooo fun!  The next one at Scrap Matters is TODAY at 1:30PM EST.  You can find out all the details including specific times and where to go plus the rules/guidelines for doing a Speed Scrap here.

Anyway, to ease myself back into blogging, I thought I'd make you all a template from my Speedy layout last week...and here it is.  Image is linked, just click to download.

Thanks for reading and I hope to see you all at a Speed Scrap soon!

Jen

Mom, I had a bad dream...

Every once in a while Alex comes in at night and has had a bad dream.  She is a girl with a wild imagination and that translates into her dreams too.  Sometimes her dreams are about truly scary things like volcanoes, earthquakes), sometimes they are scary and funny, like the one where a little girl set down her ice cream cone to tie her shoe and while she wasn't looking someone put a bomb in her ice cream and then she unknowingly ate it.  Wow, at 7, these are real, true fears of hers!  Eek.  Well, Alex is also a clowny little girl and that also translates into her REM sleep images.  The other night she came in and was crying...I was watching Desperate Housewives or Brothers and Sisters, don't remember which.  Todd was on call, so she climbed into bed with me and we cuddled.  I never know how much detail I'll get on these dreams, sometimes she is so out of it that she mumbles and I just comfort her and tuck her back in.  Sometimes though, she has a full on conversation with me complete with expressions and all.  This was one of those times.  She proceeded to say that a beetle had eaten her plant.  And as I sat there trying not to giggle and hugging her, I began to probe for more..."I'm sorry punkin', where did you get the plant?"  She said she had grown it from seeds so it was special.  She was upset!  Poor little thing!  So in the morning I asked if she remembered this..she laughed and said yes, she remembered the dream and that the beetle was a really big one and described it's color and teeth and everything!  Then, she drew it for me....so I had to share.

I am glad it was a beetle this time and not a bomb or natural disaster!

Alex Scrapped!!!

So, I took a LONG break from the scrapping world b/c I was burnt out!  I needed a little time to refocus on other priorities in my life and recharge my creativity...I am back now and man have I been busy!

But, before we get to that....my DD scrapped her first layout tonight!  She's been asking me to do this for years and she is so cut out for it!  My Mom told me (while I was on hiatus) about this kit Shape Up! that Amy Sumrall at The Digi Chick did.  It's a kit and comes with some special files of shapes and other simple elements geared towards kids AND she makes video lessons for the kids!  She's since added another installment of goodies and several more videos (once you purchase the system, add'l videos are included).

So, tonight Alex watched the first video and I set her up in Photoshop and the shapes and let her have at it.  of course, she was already asking how to do things well beyond the scope of the first video, she is so ready!  So, i let her in on a few other tricks of the trade and off she went...she used a scene background paper and added the cloud, rain, tree sparkles and "seeds" (yellow glitter).  I think I'm in for it now, we'll be fighting for computer time...

Oh, wait, was that chore bribery I just heard...oh, yes, it's in her future!

Here's what she did...she would love some love if you'd like to leave her a comment, you think we like getting comments, 7yo girls are even more excited to see that others really saw her work!

And here's a little update of all the layouts I've done just in the past few days, yes, NSD can do that to you...

And with that, I am really tired! So off to sleep I go!
back tomorrow with a cute story and another piece of art from Alex.
G'night!

Just a little something...

...to break the monotony...

WHY I LOVE MOM
Mom and Dad were watching TV when Mom said, 'I'm tired, and it's getting late. I think I'll go to bed'  She went to the kitchen to make sandwiches for the next day's lunches.  Rinsed out the popcorn bowls, took meat out of the freezer for supper the following evening, checked the cereal box levels, filled the sugar container, pu t spoons and bowls on the table and started the coffee pot for brewing the next morning.  She then put some wet clothes in the dryer, put a load of clothes into the washer, ironed a shirt and secured a loose button She picked up the game pieces left on the table, put the phone back on the charger and put the telephone book into the drawer.  She watered the plants, emptied a wastebasket and hung up a towel to dry.  She yawned and stretched and headed for the bedroom. She stopped by the desk and wrote a note to the teacher, counted out some cash for the field trip, and pulled a text book out from hiding under the chair.  She signed a birthday card for a friend, addressed and stamped the envelope and wrote a quick note for the grocery store. She put both near her purse.  Mom then washed her face with 3 in 1 cleanser, put on her Night solution &age fighting moisturizer, brushed and flossed her teeth and filed her nails.

Dad called out, 'I thought you were going to bed.'

'I'm on my way,' she said.

She put some water into the dog's dish and put the cat outside, then
made sure the doors were locked and the patio light was on.  She looked in on each of the kids and turned out their bedside lamps and TV's, hung up a shirt, thr ew some dirty socks into the hamper, and had a brief conversation with the one up still doing homework.  She set the alarm; laid out clothing for the next day, straightened up the shoe rack. She added three things to her 6 most important things to do list. She said her prayers, and visualized the accomplishment of her goals.

About that time, Dad turned off the TV and announced to no one in
particular. 'I'm going to bed.'
And he did...without another thought.

Anything extraordinary here? Wonder why women live longer...?

CAUSE WE ARE MADE FOR THE LONG HAUL..... (and we can't die sooner, we still have things to do!!!!)

A new kit and an awesome Grab Bag!

I have a busy weekend as usual...ughhhh...I want a weekend where I can stay home all day both days and have no comittments, is that possible? So, before I set off on my craziness I am popping in to tell you of a couple awesome new buys out there today in digi-land...the first is this gorgeous new kit Marmalade Skies by Franziska Altmann at Scrapbook Graphics. It is just a pleasure working with her designs! Isn't it pretty and fun at the same time? And, it's on sale right now for 20% off!



Here's what I made with it last night...I was really happy with it.



And at The DigiChick, Pamela Donnis has a Grab Bag...I've seen the contents and it's really good.....and it's only $3!
So, go check them both out and get scrappin'!  Have a great weekend!  I'll see ya back here Monday.

Jen

I'm Hosting a Speed Scrap tomorrow!

Hey everyone! Have you caught the Speed Scrap buzz yet? Well, whether you answered yes or no, come on over to Scrap Matters tomorrow night and join us for a a Speed Scrap, I'm hosting! Check out all the details here and here.

And look at what you'll get for participating!



So, hope to see you over there...it is sooooo much fun!