Hello Friends! What a busy week I've had! I went out to Young Play Memories to drop off some design team work, and came home with a list of new projects! Wow, I am so excited to get started! I turned in two of the Your Pictured Memories Frames and ChipPic. The picture is above. Its of my mom (the little one) and my aunt. This is around 1948. Look at their car behind them. These are the pictures I treasure! This was so much fun to make and I think the papers coordinated perfectly together. I also finished a new box and mini album I made with the Chip Pic product. Wow this stuff ROCKS! For the mini album, I just cut two 12x12 ChipPic sheets into 6x6 pieces, used the coordinating gaffer tape and whalla, you have a album ready to embellish. It takes so much of the work away, and you can focus on the creativity and pictures! I was told that they are coming out with 108 new papers for the July CHA show, and I can't wait to see them in a few weeks.
>







On a sad/happy note, today was the last day Renee is working at My Daughters Wish. She is such an integral part of the store. Its going to be very hard to come in on Saturday without here there. Renee is one of the most talented artists I have ever known. She has made me so much more creative and she is truly an inspiration to everyone she touches! I will miss her enthusiam, her creativty and most of all her friendship every day in the store. She makes working so much fun! It was sad today to have all our clients come in with gifts and hugs. It really made her day. To always hope that you can touch others lives, and to realize you have is a life altering experience and she is having it today at the store. She is going to do fantastic things with her life, and I will be so happy to say that she is truly a friend and I love her very much. Look out for this girl, she is going to take over the world one day, and then she'll scrapbook it! Love you girl!

Quick post, cause I am still laughing.. THIS is what happens when you leave your distress ink out and walk away for 5 minutes! I can't wait to SCRAP this!

Happy Friday! I have been frantically working on my Your Pictured Memories Design Team projects. I only have until June 1st to complete at least 4 projects. Its so different when you HAVE to come up with things.. don't get me wrong I LOVE IT! But its a little pressure. I am so proud to say, that I have had no problems coming up with ideas with all the paper lines and things I have been given to work with. My style is more loud and bright, so the first two projects I have completed are totally my colors. Above is a ChipPic frame, which is really cool that I have altered and completed a layout of Bianca and her girlfriends at the beach. The second is a layout of Bianca and Mallory on NSD. I think Bianca is the splitting image of Mallory and they are so alike! They even had their hair styled the same way on that day, I love it! They are both so darn cute and the sweetest things in the world! I am working on a vintage heritage piece right now, and should have it done today. Young Play Memories and Your Pictured Memories has added galleries to their webpages and you can see my worth there as well. I am excited to go crop with my girlfriends on Saturday night. We are going to My Daughters Wish for a night of fun and creativity!

Happy Mothers Day everyone! What a wonderful day to celebrate all the blessings we all have. Whether your a mother, soon to be mother or a daughter, we all can celebrate the reasons we are who we are. I feel so fortunate that I am a mother to two beautiful children, a daughter to a fantastic mom, and to have a mother in law that I love like my own. I know I won't know how well I have done with my own children until they are adults, but looking at Bianca I am so proud she is my daughter. My children are the lights of my life and I can't believe I was so lucky to have them. I am still learning how to be a mom and will always be looking to learn more. I might not always do it right but I hope they will both know that I love them to the ends of the earth and just wants whats best for them. So, tomorrow really celebrate the women in your life and let them know how much you appreciate them for how they have helped you in your life!
I am posting two clocks I have made for my mom and mother in law. These are the Heidi Swapp clocks that were so much fun to make. I was so intimidated by them, but once I got started it was pretty easy. Don't ever be afraid to try something new, it will turn out great. I hope they like them!

What a fantastic weekend I had! National Scrapbook Day couldn't have been any better. I cropped with all my buddies at My Daughters Wish until 5:30, then started working! The store was packed with all our favorite customers and we truly were treated like rock stars! Ana Cabrera visited us, and did a make n take with Hambly products and she is such a fun, energetic and talented artist! It was really fun to hang out with her! We didn't close down until 1am! Thanks to all my girls who came and hung out with me, special shouts to Laura, Nancie, Tab, Debbie and Sharon! It felt like the old days at the Hive with all of us together. I finished 3 layouts (too much socializing and shopping to be done to actually be productive!). One is posted here, its the last "crop" at The Beehive. What a fun place that was, I sure miss it, but the traditions and friends will live on forever. I loved the vibe at the store on Saturday, I wish we could do things like this once a month! Sheri was such a rockstar and OT was a sweetie, moving cars, helping all the fantastic ladies that came.
Sunday I went out to Young Play Memories, and picked up my design team box for Your Pictured Memories. What beautiful papers, rubons, gaffer tape, and the new Chippic product. It was a little overwhelming and I had a little anxiety that I had to produce my best stuff with it. All it took was for me to pull it all out at my dinning room table and look at it. Within 5 minutes, I had a ton of ideas (its not that hard when you have fantastic things to work with!) and really can't wait to get started!
Well today its about 90 outside, and I need to get out there and enjoy it with the kids, so have a great day everyone
This second layout is of me and my mom when I am about 1 1/2. Look at her fantastic skirt! Its not hard to scrap a fantastic colorful photo like this!

Wow 4 DAYS until National Scrapbook Day! What a wonderful day! I can't wait! I am going to be cropping with my friends at MDW from 10-5, then I am working the night shift from 5:30-1AM! Whew, I won't be able to move on Sunday, but it will be well worth it. I am doing a make and take which is Elsie inspired at the store, then teaching a mini class "YOU ROCK" with my buddy Renee at some point in the evening as well. We are going to have so much fun. We all have matching tank tops and we are all going to ROCK on Saturday. I hope everyone can come visit us in the store, there is going to be a ton of giveaways and games.
Also, on Sunday I am going out to YoungPlayMemories to pick up my design team box for Your Pictured Memories design team. I can't wait to start to play with this new product. I'll make sure its posted here ASAP! I've done a bunch of new projects, but two are birthday presents so I can't show them.. yet.. and the layouts I finished need some journaling before they are done. So, for now here is a newer layout of mine that is being featured in the Basic Grey gallery. Its a picture of me at age 21, in 1992. I love the purple mad dogs and great star earrings. Fun layout for me!

Let me know what your plans are on Saturday, is everyone going to party like rock stars?

Quick update! Look at BAM POP! My layout is in their gallery! Also, take a look at BASIC GREY! My layouts have been selected to be shown in their designer gallery! What a happy Friday for me! Also, I am going to Scrapbook Territory tonight for a Rubber Soul stamping class and cropping with my girl Laura! Have a great day!

Things have been very busy this past week. I had the pleasure of attending the 3-day breast cancer charity crop/silent auction at Young Play Memories. There were at least 50 people there and we had a fantastic time. It was me and my girl Nancie and we rocked it on Saturday! We did our own thing for awhile, then we decided to start doing layouts together. Meaning we took an idea or sketch and then made our own layouts. Its amazing to see how our layouts looked simular, but then took our own style on. We were so creative and in the swing of it.. and then alas.. it was already 11pm. These days that are all day crops are so wonderful, but go by so fast. I got great news that day as well, I am going to be on the Young Play Memories Design team! Yippee! I can't wait! A friend of mine Dee Bjorklund is also on the team, so its great to have a friend that I can hopefully get together and create with! I am still trying to figure out my NSD schedule, but I know I want to be with my girls, but I also want to do some make and takes.. stay tuned!
The layout with Tinkering Ink and the picture of me and the duck was my fav of the day. I am thankful to my father for clicking this picture, circa 1972. What a shot!
I also included a few others of the day! Enjoy!

I hope everyone has recovered from their Easter delights! I am now in full scrapbook mode, as I have classes to prepare for and a DESIGN TEAM to work on! WEEEHOO! I had to submit my bio and picture to the website and wow that was hard! I am not fond of pictures taken of me, but I had to bite the bullet and have some taken on Easter. If you'd like to see it, visit them at Your Pictured Memories and hit the design team button, yep thats me!

We have been having problems getting Tony to sleep at night. A few moms suggested to get him a twin bed because thats the sign he is ready. Well we got the perfect new bed for Tony at IKEA (we couldn't get him off the darn thing!) and he slept through the night last night! It worked! I love the bed and so does Tony. Look for pics soon of him on it!

I had so much fun making the project, Gypsy Mama! I love the products and colors for this mini book celebrating Mom! Perfect book for a gift for your mom or someone who is a mother! I'll be teaching it at My Daughters Wish on Saturday April 28th, and Thursday May 3rd, perfect time for Mothers Day. I hope to see some of you there!

Happy Easter! I am up before the family and enjoying my "quiet" time before the storm of Easter, dressing up and tons of family love. Bianca will be packing today to go to Washington D.C. with her 8th grade class. Its going to be a beautiful day for us. I love family get togethers. I am so blessed to have such a loving, caring, wonderful family. We will head to my parents in law house and celebrate today with 26 people. I hope each and every one of them realizes how lucky we all are to have each other. I can't wait to see Tony running around finding Easter eggs. I'll definitely be chasing him with the camera.
We have had a hectic week, but ended it with the best news ever! At 11pm the other night, Rocky (our lovely 70# dog) got in a scuffle with a skunk in the backyard. The smell was like a cloud of nuclear waste hanging over our house and permeating his fur! Poor guy was whinning and crying rolling around in the grass, and NO tomato soup didn't work on him. We ended up taking him to the vet the next day and he is much better now, but he still stinks!
Friday I got the best news ever! I made the design team for Your Pictured Memories! It actually says my name on the list! I had to have Bianca come into the room to tell me that was really my name on the screen and I wasn't hallucinating from checking so much all day! I am so excited and can't wait to get started being creative! Thanks to the entire staff for picking little ol me!
Have a blessed day everyone and enjoy each and every moment you have with family and friends. I will be snapping away, as I am officially the "family documenter" with our family and scrapping away the results of this beautiful day.

I discovered something new and fun for me to try! I have never been a scrapbooker that uses idea books or sketches. I have always just done my own thing, but this week I actually took the time to go through a favorite book of mine which is Elsies book and put post-its on the pages I thought I'd like to try. I was so inspired that I sat right down and did that page. I was really pleased with what came out. Mine was totally different that what she did, but the inspiration was there and it was a happy moment for me. So, above, is this layout. I think I'll be adding some more to it.. It needs some white doodling on it but I was really excited about this. The second layout is also a sketch. I bought the paper pack for Halfway Cafe by Cosmo Cricket and knew I wanted to use it for this picture. On the backside of the paper pack cover, this sketch was there, 15 minutes later, this layout was done, different from the sketch, but great! So, this is a fun new thing I tried and loved! Pick up a sketch and see what you can do!

One other note, I sent the BAM POP layout from my previous post to them and they loved it and are going to put it up on their gallery on the website, WEEEHOO! How exciting for me!

Happy Monday! I am really going to try to update my blog on a weekly basis, so here it goes! I have so much to report this week! The new schedule is up for My Daughters Wish and I am teaching a whopping 8 classes over the next 3 months! I am so excited for all of them and hope everyone can find one that they like to come join me for a fun filled class! Here are the titles:

Wings and Things - Altered BE Purse
Gypsy Mama - Mothers Day version of 7 Gypsy Trunk Class
Fathers Day Coupon Book - This book will have coupons to give to dad for chores, favors and lots of hugs and kisses
Cosmo Cricket Lacing Project - This will be an Altered Wall Hanging with pictures, chipboard and a whole lot of funk!
Technique Tuesday - We'll use all the fun stamps to make some really cool things!
Copycat Crop - This one is not to be missed! We'll take your favorite Scrapbook Celebrities and scraplift a layout or project from each. It will be an all evening event!
Tim Holtz Wannabes - This is another fun one not to be missed! We'll take 3 of Tims best techniques, distress inks, alcohol inks and color wash and you'll spend 3 hours with 3 different teachers learning how to do all the fun things Tim does!
Queen for a Day - We'll alter one of those fantastic large letters all over the store and be treated like a queen while we have fun!

See the Calendar on the blog for times and more descriptions! I can't wait to have all kinds of fun with everyone!



For fun, I added a great picture of my Turkey friends that came to visit the other day! Have fun!

Hello everyone, I have updated my blog with some new fun things! My new slide show weeeehooo.. I love it! Thanks Christine for the inspiration.
Also, I have found this great new site. Tally Scrapper . Its a fun new store/message board/gallery that you can meet new people and give Tally points. They had a grand opening crop and challenge and I actually won one of them. It was for my layout/frame "19". This is one of the best things I have made. It is up on our wall in the hallway. I never scrap myself and this is a layout of me at 19. I love this picture and the frame just came out better than I anticipated. I won a cool All Boy Chipboard set/book/box from Fancy Pants. Look for it sometime in the future on this blog.
Have a great day everyone!

I recently joined the Basic Grey designers website, and they asked me to post answers to some questions, I thought I'd share them here with you, since they are really great questions. I think I'll have to scrap this too! lol!

If you could switch lives with anyone for a day, who would it be and why?
It would be my grandmother Leone, 60 years ago. She was such an inspiration to me. She has 6 children, her husband was off fighting in World War II and she worked the shipyard. I would love to see what life would have been like for her back then.

What do you think is your greatest achievement in your adult life?The easy answer is my children. I have a 13 year old daughter, Bianca and a 19 month old son, Tony. The deeper answer is to find acceptance of myself and to embrace life and really enjoy all the blessings I have.

What is the best advice your mom ever gave you?Don't worry about what everyone else will think, go with your instinct and take a chance in life. Also, don't wear white after Labor Day

What is the hardest part of scrapbooking for you?Scrapbooking myself. I have been looking at my empty Art Journal for a few months, and just can't get to it. I feel like I have so much of my family to document, and just don't take the time to document me, which I know is the most important person for my family to have.

What is your favorite time of day and why?Early Early morning. I love sitting here at my computer looking out of my studio and seeing the deer and wildlife walking by in the sunrise. (See my blog for the view! http://artlifed.blogspot.com/ )

What a beautiful morning here, the turkeys were outside romping in the open space and all is well in the world. I spent the evening with my friends cropping and just having fun girl time. I love spending time with people that inspire me, and these women inspire me to create! I love it!

I have been working on design team submission stuff, so I can't really show that here, but here are two layouts I did this week. The first is so special to me. It is me in Hawaii when I was about 2 1/2 and I am anxiously waiting for my father to return from a tour of duty. I would get so excited and tell my mom that I wanted to look my best when daddy came home. Therefore the curlers!
The second layout is of Bianca. Wow I can't believe how awesome she is! She is the quentissential teenager, full of life and just so expressive in her actions and her fashion sense. I absolutely love what I caught in this picture! It is soo her! She is like this all the time! How much I love this side of her. I am proud oh so proud she is who she is! SHE ROCKS!

I wanted to share some pictures of my breakfast friends that stopped by the house the other day. Its absolutely amazing to have such wildlife right outside your door, especially here in the bay area. I try throwing veggies to them, and they come sniff them and just walk away. I need to plant something they like to eat and figure out what to feed them. I can't wait for spring around here and I hope we get a bunch of babies. I am so grateful to have this around me. They always make me feel more relaxed and I love being outside when they are close. Its so quiet and peaceful. Its nice to take a step back from your hectic life and watch nature.

Hello! I just wanted to share a special layout I did last week. This is of my father and me. I was about a year old and this is when we lived in Hawaii. My father was a pilot in the military and I moved around for the first 6 years of my life. I was a daddys girl for sure and I cherish these pictures I have of my childhood with him. My father died when I was 6 years old and I miss him every day. I am very fortunate my parents took a lot of pictures of us when we we were all together.
Enjoy and if your dad is around, give him a hug and kiss today and tell him how much he means to you!

Happy January everyone!

Things have been so busy these past few weeks, but I am finally working on my office/scrapbook room and am almost ready to start creating in my new space. Here is a picture of the view I get while I am here typing away.. priceless.

I also created a new class for My Daughters Wish. Its called the XOXO book. Its a mini book that is so much fun. I hope you can come take this class. Mallory will also be teaching a Valentines mini box/book class the same day, so come hang out with us. The classes are on Saturday February 3rd, and I am sure the class is repeating in February, just check the Class Schedule. Here are some photos of my book.

Wow, time is passing by so quickly these days.. Christmas was fantastic, to see Tony start to understand the ripping open of presents and playing with his new toys brings so much joy and happiness to our lives. I hope everyone can enjoy a Christmas with small children. It really puts things in perspective. We have one week to go before our big move. Tomorrow I am actually putting ALL my scrapbook supplies away. I have been putting it off each day and its finally time. Its so hard to not have your supplies out and handy for when you get the creative bug. I think I really need to start that art journal and get things down in there. I made journals this year for all my friends and really hope they get the message I am sending by writing things down. This past week I actually had lunch by myself out in Walnut Creek, and had a book with me called Visual Chronicles. I was really inspired by it and I am hoping to teach some kind of class at the store centered around it. I also need to document this move as it is such a big one for me. I am moving into a house that has such a rich and wonderful history and the sense of happiness and love that surrounds this house is just wonderful. I can't wait to start our lives there. I'll have picures of it soon. Also, I am teaching two classes at My Daughters Wish in the month of January. I am teaching the Recipe Book and the Wings Purse Album (renamed from Wishes). Check out the My Daughters Wish calendar or call the store for details.
For today, I am including some pics of the journals I made my friends this year. They were a ton of fun to make.

I know everyone has been so busy these past few weeks getting ready for Christmas! I know I have and with our impending move coming up on January 8th, our lives are in a whirlwind. I am taking time to reflect and think about this past year and how my life has changed and how some people come in and out of our lives. I have become closer to many of my friends this year and that has been so important to me. I have met some incredible people who inspire me and make me a better person. I am now working at a job that I can actually say I love. The people there are fantastic and I feel so welcome and appreciated, what a wonderful feeling. I am so thankful to have a family that I love, friends that I can count on and a future that I am excited to walk into. Much love hugs and peace to everyone who comes by to say hi!
On another note, I have been frantically working on Christmas presents and I will only show one today that I made for Bianca. It was a Bare Elements trunk that I altered with the Daisy D Girlfriends line. It turned out really cute and I think she will like it.
Enjoy!

Happy Sunday!
I can't believe that Christmas is only 22 days away! YIKES! We are also moving in January. I am so excited to move into our new house. I will have deer and wild turkeys in my backyard, I can't wait! Its very hectic and stressful to plan a move and try to get it done through the holidays. I am so blessed in my life to have a fantastic family, great friends and a understanding and supportive husband. I am now working and I love it! I now know what motivational speakers say to do a job that you love and it will be rewarding. I love working at a job where I love the products, I love the people and my coworkers are supportive and I am appreciated. It means the world to me. I am including two layouts I did a few weeks ago, one is of Tony at the Pumpkin Patch. The other is of Bianca and Tony up in Weaverville this summer. Have a great day everyone and remember to be thankful of our blessings and tell the people you love that you love them all the time!