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!

Holy Moly, Doozie of a post, including a freebie!

I guess that's what happens when you don't post for a while!  But I have a freebie for ya if you get through it all, LOTS of great info here!

Let's start with Mandy Mystiques...did you know she has a new blog?  Oh, yes and it's so pretty!  AND she has a newsletter now...so go run over there, check it out and sign up for the newsletter.  She's going to have exclusive Newsletter Subscriber freebies, so don't miss out on that!  And speaking of freebies...she has a new collab kit out with Jennifer Barrette and Mandy has a freebie addon to the kit.  So, when you go to the blog, don't miss that either.  Here's the new kit, it's called Sunshine and Rainbows, isn't it just the fresh breath of Spring we all need right now?

And here's what I did with it:

And last but not least, Mandy is having a CT call right now, so if you love this and her other awesome designs, apply to be on the team...it's a great one to be part of!

And in other news...Franziska Altmann has an awesome new kit out at Scrapbook Graphics.  Isn't it just gorgeous...as are all her designs!  You can buy it here.

Here's what I did with it, it was so easy to be inspired!

And...look what's coming soon.... a new collab...Impressions of Delight coming to Scrapbookgraphics on February 1st...ooooh, it's so pretty!  here's Franziska's portion and I will be back with my LO from this yummy collab!

And from pamela Donnis...we're all feeling a little Springy and Valentinesy!  She has several new kits out and a sale!  Let's start with the goods....

At Funky Playground Designs, she has these new yummy treats:

I was inspired and did this:

And at Elemental Scraps, she has this new Springy kit:

And I did this, so easy to work with, I am tired of being cold!  LOL

Oh, and the sale....Pamela announced that she will be leaving Elemental Scraps at the end of January and so she is having a moving sale.  See her thread announcement here.  And here is her sale flyer.  Click it to go to her shop at ES for the sale.

And lastly tonight...if you've made it this far...a template freebie.  It was inspired by this LO I did with Franziska's Snowberry kit.

Just click template image to download.  In case there is a password (I never know with 4shared) it is inspiration.  Please no sharing links or files, just send friends here to read all my exciting stuff and download their own template for free.  And hey, why not leave me a little note or thank you while you're here?

Thanks for reading!

A Hybrid project, some layouts and ADSR Catch-Up

So, I am now on the CT for The Hybrid Kid, a new site that features hybrid projects for you do do with or for your kids that are learning based.  It is such a cool site and neat, neat projects.  I am very excited to be a part of it!  Here is the first project I did...available now at The Hybrid Kid.  It's a badge album with letter cards for each letter and some sight words.  All you have to do is print the cards, insert them into badge holders (I got mine at Wal-Mart for next to nothing!), bind them together with rings (like the kind for attaching flash cards together) and embellish with ribbons if you like.  Then, the kids can write on the plastic badges to practice their letters and then wipe it off to write again and again!  The write-on wipe-off crayons or markers work well.  Pretty cool huh?

And here are some layouts I have been working on...

These are using Franzika Altmann's products at Scrapbook Graphics:

This one uses Franziska Altmann's Efflorescence:

This one uses Franziska's Snowberry:

And these are from Pamela Donnis at Elemental Scraps:

This one uses her kit Box of 64.  Aren't her kits adorable?

This one uses her kit Garden Charm.  And she has an add-on available for doing a challenge at ES called "Inspired By".  Check it out here.  This was my entry.

And here are my layouts for the 1st 4 ADSR challenges..all credits can be found in my ADSR gallery.  It's been fun and challeging so far...some new and different challenges than usual which is good, keeps in exciting!  Three use Mandy Mystiques' products and 1 uses Franziska Altmann's products.

And that's it for me tonight...I finally feel caught up in the scrap world...I really got bogged down for a while, but I am afloat once again!

Good night!