April Fools Day!

Did everyone get their family and friends with a joke today? I did!!! I cant tell you what I did to Sean but I can tell you what I did to Connor!!! ;) Ok, first, an ambulance drove by my house today, I thought it was my alarm, turned off the alarm, slept in. THEREFORE, I really didnt have time to think. lol SO! While Connor was getting dressed, I prepared his breakfast for him. I finally gave in and bought him Corn Pops. The kid LOVES them. I do too though, and I will eat the whole box. Hence the reason I never want to purchase them. I really do get off track, dont I? Anyway, back to the joke, I dyed his milk blue. You should have seen the look on his face when he sat at the table. "Ummm Mom, what is that?" "Your milk." "Its blue." "No, its not." "Ummm, yes Mommy, it is!" "OH NO!! Something must be wrong with it." I burst out laughing screaming April Fool like a nut and he just looks at me. Guess he is still too young to get it, huh? lol I had fun though. He refused to drink the milk. I took a picture of him pretending too though. There is something seriously wrong with my Olympus. Yuck. Horrible grain, very dark and blurry. I have to have it fixed. :(


NEW IN THE STORE! I have THREE, count them 1, 2, 3, new products in the store today!! For all you PS Junkies out there, we have TWO new photoshop actions to enhance your photos!
First we have Grainy Day Photos! This action will convert your photos to black and white, then add a grainy look to give them a vintage appeal!

A closer peek at that photo with the action run on it.

Then we have the same idea but in a Sepia tone! Which I just think is so awesome!


I also did up some cool new graphical overlays!! Our challenge last night at the chat was to create a layout using brushes. These layouts were inspired by that! Check them out! A Graphic Touch Overlay Pack!

Just for fun, here is the layout that I created for inspiration for the chat last night. Please be gentle, I downloaded the brushes, created the layout and uploaded it in just over 15 minutes.

All brushes used were found at Brusheezy. Photo is of my friend Jen, with my Acidic Addictions PS action used on it. Title is from a Smashing Pumpkins song.
To end today's post, its the 1st of the month which means that the newest GUILD KIT is being released today! Let me tell you folks, this kit is one of a kind. Truly unique and is just going to blow your socks off!!! The Artisan Notebook is also being released with FREE GOODIES! This month's focus is on using High and Low Key photos in your layout. I created a High Key PS Action for everyone! So go check it out!!!
Tomorrow I will post some fantastic layouts created by our CT with the kit for inspiration, just in case you need that extra nudge. ;) HAVE A GREAT DAY!

I did it!!!

Can you believe it? I did it! I finished my project. Just like I said I would!! :) Yes, it was an apron. It took me a little longer then I thought it would but I still did it. It was a simple project and I am satisfied with the results. I was about to post that I couldnt get a picture done until later but MOM knocked on my door. I, of course, made her try it on and let me take some pictures. :) She is going to be making herself one as well. No doubt a lot more....ummm.....country. lol




The Inspired By Art chat is tonight!! Whoot whoot!! At the Guild!! Check it out here, at 10PM EST. I have a great group of regular ladies and we LOVE to see new faces. Well, new names I guess. ;) Last week we challenged everyone to make a block inspired layout. Here are a few from our team.
Stacey Jewel Stahl

Maggie (aka sandersmr)

I suppose I should go finish my laundry and get some other work done. May be I will look through some galleries first. ;) Dont forget to stop by tonight though for laughs and learning!

Happy Sunday!

Believe it or not, I have plans of being productive today. :) I currently have a project underway that I refuse to tell anyone about. Why? Because its pretty bad when even my online friends are asking when I am going to finish craft projects. Seems I procrastinate and sometimes just dont finish anything. Well, I am excited about this new project and I believe I should be done today. I will upload a photo tomorrow. Its a sewing/embroidery project that I started last night. Its pretty easy, I think, so far. Heres hoping I finish it alright. Then I will get to work on the camera bag and the curtains I still havent completed. ;)

This morning I created a goodie for everyone! We are supposedly going to have Spring arrive this coming week. I will believe it when I see it. Until then though I created an April Showers inspired desktop wallpaper for you all. It has both the regular 1024x768 and wide screen 1280x800 sizes for you. It was created with my new kit Puddle Jumper, available at NDISB.
Here is a preview for you and you can download it here.


AND I was tagged by Kristine!! Here it goes!
ALL are invited to join in the Links fun!
PLEASE just follow the rules! Just copy & paste THIS and everything below up until my Five links:

I thought it would be cool to have a meme where we post links. We can post up to five. Then we tell five more people to share their links. If we all share who tagged us, our links are sure to be seen!They can be business links, favorite sites, affiliate links, whatever you want…

There are Five Rules:

1. MUST be clean. No R rated sites.
2. Only FIVE links.
3. MUST tell 5 people.
4. A link back to the person who tagged you
5. Lara’s Place is the meme originator. (an active link is appreciated)

Here are my links for you!

1. The first place I head in the morning, afternoon and evening. Oh and when I cant sleep, have a few spare moments or am just bored.

DSA Guild.

2. I could spend DAYS looking through photos. There are so many UBER talented people out there!

Flickr

3. This site helped me lose 20lbs! Cant get much better then that! Lots of wonderful ideas, people and inspiration. Track your weight loss, your calories, get recipes, track fitness, etc.

Spark People

4. What can I say? Its your place to buy all things handmade. ;)

Etsy

5. I found this one yesterday to help my newest addiction, embroidery. TONS of free patterns. Happy me.

Needle Crafter


OK…Now I’m tagging….. Maggie, Christine, Holley, Stacey and Melany.

Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend.

What to share first?

So many thing going on these days!! Ok first, I have some new products in the store today! I am especially excited about my new mini kit!! I LOVE IT! (Again, I am biased.) lol Its called Puddle Jumpers and you can grab it over at NDISB! Connor bought the coolest little pair of rubber boots yesterday and they inspired me. I didnt get much sleep last night. ;) Check it out!

Also created a layout with it this morning. Connor was more then willing to throw on the boots and let me take a photo. Unfortunately it was gross out this morning and the photos were pretty bad. He had some really odd faces in most of them. lol Seriously, my kid is the cutest in the world but even he looks weird jumping in the air. ;)

I also used a frame by Katie Pertiet and CK Alis Writing font.

Cant forget my new alpha either!! Also new in the store today! Krafty Notes! Thats my actual handwriting. Messy huh? Its cute though, I think.

I am hoping to get some more things in the store later this week so dont forget to check back! :)

In my REAL life. Wow. Things are happening. Yesterday I was called into the school after classes were over. I automatically assumed that Connor had gotten in trouble. You are not going to believe what happened to my poor son yesterday. I was LIVID but everything has been dealt with. At the end of the day the teacher left the children with the teacher's aid while she ran to do something. While she was gone Connor asked (not real name) Joe if he could go to the bathroom. Joe said no, it wasnt his turn. Connor got very upset and said again that he needed to go pee. No, not your turn. Connor then started 'pitching a fit and yelling' that he needed to go to the bathroom. Was he allowed to go? NOPE! He was sent to his seat for causing problems. CAN YA IMAGINE! SO then the teacher comes back and Joe is all like, Connor was pitching a fit and yelling at me while you were gone.' She immediately knew something up because Connor NEVER fights with the adults. She asked him if he was okay and he said he needed to pee really badly. She grabbed him and raced him to the bathroom. He could not get his belt undone fast enough and ended up peeing in his pants. He was so embarrassed he would not come out of the stall. She went in to get him. She had him put his ski pants on so that the other kids wouldnt know what happened and then it was time to go home. Joe was dealt with. Connor was so sad. It was unreal. No five year old should have to go through that, especially at school in front of the other kids. He knows now that if he has to go, he is to go. I wont stand for that.
In other news, Nan is doing GREAT! She has been transfered back into town. I went over to visit her last night and she held me hostage. I didnt leave until 40 after visiting hours were over but we had permission from the nurses. While I was out in the hall getting something for her, I ran into a friend of mine and we started talking. When I was walking back into the room I could hear Nan telling her new roommate how special I was to her. She said I was Sean's FIANACE! She has NEVER used that word before. She said I was like a granddaughter to her and that she loved me dearly. How sweet is that! Melted me just a little, it did. Next week we have to visit with a home therapist at the house. We have to make a lot of changes so that Nan is able to get around once she can walk again. It makes me happy that things are going so well for her.
Thanks for stopping by!

Getting down with my Crafty Self

Thats what I have been doing. :) One day last week, when we went to the hospital to visit Nan, I picked up a copy of the latest Paper Crafts magazine. This is odd because I have never purchased it before. While skipping through it, I saw an add for a Donna Downey scrapbook book. Just a day or so before I had stumbled upon her blog and thought 'fabric scrapbooking?' how cool. THEN! I see the ad for the exact project I had noticed on her blog. In one of her videos, behind her family, there were these adorable hoop pieces. It was the same that was in the magazine. :) However, there was something that had disturbed me. How does one print on fabric? Thanks to the Instructables website, I NOW KNOW! EAZY PEAZY! All you have to do is buy some Reynolds Freezer Wrap. Iron it on to the back of your chosen fabric. Cut to fit your printer. Hit print. Watch in amazement. Wait a few minutes, peel off the paper and VOILA, you have just printed on fabric.

Now I just have to wait until Michaels opens to finish my project. There are no craft stores around here. Walmart has nothing and FabricVille has very little. BTW totally upset with FabricVille right now. Holy false advertising, but I digress.

Another little crafty hobby I have recently picked up is embroidery. By recently, I mean yesterday. ;) I was flipping through my fave channels the other day, TLC, Slice, HGTV, etc., when I saw an episode of She's Crafty. I have never actually managed to catch this show so I was rather excited. However, turned out it was going to be about embroidery. *yawn* This aint your grandmother's embroidery, they said. Uh huh! I was about to change the channel until I saw her. Who is her? Jenny Hart is her. She looked like a rockstar, cuz she was one I guess. lol Anyway, she is totally adorable and totally convinced me to try it. I did last night and I am loving it. I know that I am FAR from perfect but its only my first try.

So far I have tried the Satin Stitch, the Slip Stitch, whats the regular one called?, oh and the Devil's Knot. What? French Knot? Are you sure? Ok, fine, the French Knot. Oh and Jenny? Well she is sweet. I added her as a Contact on Flickr. I sent her an email thanking her for inspiring me. I didnt expect a response but I got one. She emailed me back the next day. How sweet is that! Check out her site Sublime Stitching for some very cool designs!
Check back tomorrow for some new product releases. :) Thanks for stopping by.

Things I Have Learned Today

It is amazing what you can learn in such a short period of time. Here is what I learned this morning:
If you have always spoiled someone they will continue to want to be spoiled. (Not talking about Connor)
You cannot feel guilty because someone else made a mistake. (Not talking about me)
A five year CAN not like something that is sugar, sugar and more sugar. Would anyone like some toaster strudels? They have blue icing. :)
If you are in a rush, do not give a child learning to read Alphabits for breakfast. You can only imagine the things that will come out of him.
No matter what tune you use, if you sing the song with only the word EAT and quickly, laughter will ensue. Not good if you are already late.
When the alarm goes off, do not turn it off and go back to sleep. You set it for a reason.

There are millions of things to learn everyday. Sometimes we think we havent learned anything new but I can guarantee that at some point during the day, you have learned something you never knew before. It happens. Trust me. Have you ever thought to yourself, wow, wish I had learned that earlier on in life? I know I have. I suppose we all do what we do to get where we are though. I know that if I had made all the 'right' decisions in my life, I would most definitely not be where I am today. I would therefore be missing out on some stupendous events and people. For instance, I would not be a mother. I would not have my beautiful, precious child. I would never have met Sean. Well, I would have met him but I would not have dated him. It would not have been the right thing to do. Those are the two biggest things really. The only ones that I truly am grateful for. My two biggest mistakes in life lead me to my two biggest loves. So were they really mistakes after all? Hmmmm.... There are a few things though, that I wish I had known. I probably wouldnt have changed my life any but I still wish I had known.

Dear 16yr old self,

It has now been 10 years since I was your age. Ok FINE, eleven years but whose counting? Over the years a great deal has happened. Some of the events were wonderful, some were not but you learned from all of them. I do not have to tell you to enjoy the freedom you have now. I do not have to tell you what a lucky person you are. I do not have to tell you to slow down. You already know all this. I am very proud of you. You listened to your heart, not your peers, for most things. You know how privileged you are to be a normal teenager. Enjoy it while you can because it is gone before you know it. If there was one thing I could mention to you, it would be something that seems so simple. Take Science and Art! I know that teachers and guidance counselors have told you that it doesnt matter right now, but it does! What if they are wrong? What if you arent meant to be an early childhood teacher? Just because the adults and all those silly "What should I be when I grow up' tests point one way, does not mean that you have to go that route. There are many things that I could teach you, warn you about but if I did, then you wouldnt be the person you are today. But seriously, the one thing I do know is this, You should really consider Science and Art. I know you dont like Science but it opens a lot of doors and you are good at it. I know you dont like Grimace but seriously, does that matter? You are a creative person. I know you dont believe it but you are. Art will do you so much better then Drama in a few years. Sure, you make a mean fake piano bench but you make an even meaner craft project. CHECK THEM OUT! Seriously, do not let the man who wears short red and white running shorts from the 80s choose your future for you! (Sorry Mr. White)

I love you. I always will, even when you think I dont. Smile. Be proud of yourself. Stand tall. Seriously, like we arent short enough. Stand up! ;)
Hugs,
Your 27yr old self.

I really wanted to say TAKE TYPING but I did that, so that advice was no good for me. My favorite part in the movie Anchorman was when Steve Carrel said I Love Lamp. lol That seems completely off subject but this is going to be a moment like that.

I Love Maggie. :)

Thanks dear Maggie for the brilliant journaling prompt. Check it out at the Guild under Creative Team Challenges.

9:30am. Should I work or should I play? I played a lot yesterday. I seemed to have been on a Shabby Princess kick. My two layouts from yesterday. The block layout is my challenge for the week. Check out the details at the Guild under Designer Team Challenges.


Kits by SP, alpha is Swirlicious by me, font is DSAG Simple Print by Christie Frachioni.

Thanks for reading.

Someone is SERIOUSLY messing with Me!

Remember the other day the whole baby brother story? Well, it continues today. Connor and I had Sean drop us off at the Dollarama as he left for work. We then were going to walk home. Connor had forgotten his mitts and I could not find any in the nearest stores. I gave him mine and decided to stop as much as possible on the way home so that my hands didnt freeze. It was -5C outside and I was carrying bags. The first stop was Tim Hortons.

Connor had said to me that his baby brother would be arriving in nine weeks. Nine weeks? There you go, babies take nine months to get here. Oh, yeah, nine months, sorry Mommy, got those words mixed up. Then you know what happened? The lady at the next table starting yelling, BROGAN, his name is BROGAN! Pardon my language but WTF??? I was truly FREAKED OUT! Things like this cannot happen to me. It just gets my hopes up only to be dashed in another week or so. Wouldnt it be really cool if it was all really happening though? It might just be the push we need to get the wedding going and everything else we have been putting off. :)
Another cute thing that happened at Tim's today. For those of you who are familiar with the coffee shop, you know about Roll Up the Rim. For those that dont, well every Spring they have a wonderful contest. Whenever you buy a coffee (tea, hot chocolate, etc.), med-ex-lg, you can roll up the rim of the cup and have a chance to win something. Connor and I were talking about the different prizes and he wants the boat. I told him that if we win the boat we will sell our cup. lol Where are we going to put a boat? We had finished our drinks and rolled up the rims. I had had Please Play Again but Connor said he was feeling lucky. Rolled up his rim and he was a winner! He started jumping up and down and screaming I'M A WINNER! I'M THE BIGGEST WINNER! OH YEAH! lol He won a coffee. Boy, did we get a lot of attention. Everyone in the whole building turned to look at us. I smiled politely and announced that he had won but would be getting a hot chocolate, not coffee. ;) He even took a picture of his cup before his win so now he has something to show people.


Its MONDAY! That means my chat at the Guild is tonight! 10PM EST for those of you wishing to join us. We love seeing new faces. Tonight I am going to be providing some inspiration involving a popular new scrapbooking trend. I have been wanting to try this technique for awhile and am excited to see what everyone else will create.