Some winter humor!

Sorry about not updating...

We have been dealing with 3 weeks of sick kids. We have run the gamut of symptoms, and I think we are on the mend, hopefully we will all be well for Christmas! I haven't ahd much time for things like updating the blog though. Here's a pic of what we were all going through these last few weeks:

That pretty much says it all! I promise to get back in the swing of things after Christmas and keep you all more up to date!

~Alyssa~

Thanksgiving Pictures

My entire family made it for Thanksgiving. We had a great time, good food, and fun visiting. Here are a few pics:

Ryan, Stacy, and Elijah
A very full couch!

Milena and Aunt CynthiaElijah setting the table!

Kids "helping" me set the table!

Cosmo Cricket Christmas

Cosmo Cricket is giving $1 to buying shoes for needy kids for every comment left on their blog today. Please go comment!

http://cosmocricket.blogspot.com/

Sorry I've been MIA so much lately! I will update this week with Thanksgiving pictures, promise!

~Alyssa~

Scrap N' Art calls!

Time to submit projects for the March/April Scrap N' Art! If you submit, please mention int he description that Alyssa sent you! The info is all at http://www.scrapnart.com/page.php?3.

March/April 2009 page calls are now open. Feel free to submit as many pages or projects as you'd like for each and every page call. We are looking for:

• Layouts & Projects about St. Patrick’s Day & Luck
• Layouts and projects using lots of green
• Layouts & Projects about Easter
• Layouts and projects using pastel colors
• Layouts and projects that highlight Spring
• Layouts or projects with birds & bugs
• Layouts or projects featuring fun and unique ways to use flowers
• Layouts with unusual journaling

The deadline for these calls is December 15, 2008.

Big NEWS!!!!!!

I am SO excited!!

Yesterday.......

I was accepted to the Scrap N' Art Design Team!!

I am so privileged to be part of this uber talented team of ladies who put together this magazine. In case you haven't already succumbed to my urgings and subscribed, well, now you HAVE to. LOL.

You can find the fun forums and magazine downloads at http://www.scrapnart.com

Scrap Whispers Round 6

This week we had to scrap about sticky things. These pics certainly qualify. This was the party we had the first night Elijah slept through the night.

MAMBI patterned paper, Basic Grey Chipboard, American Crafts journaling sticker, TMBD journaling tag, Pebbles Inc. stamp, American Crafts letters, Paper Studio buttons.

~Alyssa~

Scrap Whispers Week 5

Here is my week 5 entry! The layout had to use some form of the word fall. Since I don't have any fall pics to use, I chose to put a spin on the challenge!

Thanks for looking!

~Alyssa~

I know it's been a few days...

Sorry I haven't had an update in a few days. I haven't had time to do much scrapping the last few days. Hopefully this weekend I'll be able to get a few more challenges done.

A family update:

We are doing well. We are enjoying the late Indian summer and taking walks adn playing on the swingset. Milena can swing for 30 minutes at a time without stopping- she loves her swing!

ELIJAH IS WALKING!!!!!! He took off in the last few days. He's still pretty unsteady, but her walked most of the way across the room last night to Don, and we officially declared him a walker. I now have two toddlers, although Milena is about to outgrow that designation! Less then 2 years until she starts school. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN? LOL. Well, thanks for stopping by!

~Alyssa~

Hi Again!

Ok, everyone! if you are a US citizen, and you are over 18, you need to go vote TODAY! this may be one of the most important elections in history, so get to the polls and be part of it!

Also, make sure you head over to YMBD and check out all the new all holiday products! Over 30 amazing new items were released last week! http://yourmemoriesbydesign.ca/shop/


Here are a few new scrapbook pages and cards. I have 2 more DT's I am applying for, so I have some stuff I can't show right now... but here is the stuff I can:


This is a page using Pencil Lines Sketch 109. You can see the sketch here: http://scrappingangelsuk.typepad.com/sketches/

CS is The Paper Studio, PP is MME, Journaling spots are Your Memories By Design, eyelet is We R Memory Keepers, Quote sticker is DCWV, Chipboard is Basic Grey, Paint is Anita's Acrylics, @ symbol and Thickers are American Crafts.

Here are a few recent cards:

CS is The Paper Studio, Rub on is American Crafts, Flowers are Prima, Chipboard tag is YMBD, PP is MAMBI.

CS and PP are DCWV, letters are Basic Grey, Journaling tag is American Crafts, Star is YMBD, paint is Tulip.

Thanks for coming by!

~Alyssa~

Another Scrap Whispers Challenge

This week's Scrap Whispers Challenge is a recipe challenge. Each of the Design Team members chose one thing we had to includ on our pages. The list was: The word together, themed stickers, the colors blue and tan, and a theme of family.

Here's my layout. Together through thick and thin, that's what family is all about!

Everything is Bo Bunny except journaling tag is YMBD and letter stickers are American Crafts.

Scrap Whispers Challenge #3 - a few more

Here are a few more layouts for the Scrap Whispers Tic Tac Toe Challenge.

Time to vote again!

We need your votes!!!

Come and help us decide who should move on to Round #4 of YMBD's "So You Think You Can Scrap" Contest! Click HERE to view the submissions and cast your vote!I made it to round 4, so I'm in there somewhere! We had 29 people continue to round 4, down from the 52 that started out 3 weeks ago. Another 8 will be eliminated this round.

Thanks for voting!

~Alyssa~

Scrap Whispers Challenge #3

The Scrap Whispers Challenge for this week was to create pages inspired by Tic Tac Toe. Here is my first one:
CS is DCWV, PP is KI Memories, brads are Making Memories, journaling spot is Target, letters are Making Memories and American Crafts, flower rub ons are DCWV.

~Alyssa~

Scrapbook Challenges New Sketch

Here is the newest sketch from Scrapbook Challenges! Pamela kept it simple which left lots of room for interpretation, which I had lots of fun with!

Here is my take on the sketch!

Come check out the group at http://groups.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=groups.groupProfile&groupID=104796563&Mytoken=4EBB7A52-0DC5-4174-80ABDD63B93F3A2F39075731

We always have lots of fun, and there is a weekly sketch plus 2 weekly challenges!

~Alyssa~

More Scrap Whispers Pages! And a Mothers and Daughters Sketch!

This challenge really has me motivated! Here are two more pages I did for the "No Faces" Challenge.

PP is Ki Memories and DCWV, letters and journaling spot are Target $ bin, Flowers are Michaels and Prima, Staples are making Memories, Paint is Tulip. Other: button, cardstock, ribbon.

This Layout was done using a sketch from Mothers and Daughters Blog. Check them out at http://www.mdcchallenges.blogspot.com/

PP's are MAMBI and DCWV, CS is DCWV, Flowers are Michaels and Prima, brads and staples and making Memories, paint is Tulip.

~Alyssa~

Another No Faces Page

Here's another page for the Weekly Scrap Whispers challenge:

CS is The Paper Studio, flowers are cutouts from KiMemories paper, Yes No and journaling tag are YMBD, Letters (blue) are American Crafts, other letters are Adorn-its and Marcella, yellow frame is American Crafts, Staples are Making Memories, buttons are The Paper Studio. Other: Ribbon.

New Scrap Whispers Page

The new challenge on Scrap Whispers is up! The challenge for this week is to create a page with no faces. Meaning, no eyes, noses, or mouths can appear in your layout. I chose this photo of Milena from our visit to the creek. Here is my page:

CS is The Paper Studio, PP is Ki Memories and DCWV, smile strip is Cosmo Cricket, Letters are colorbok, Ki Memories, and American Crafts, brads are JoAnn Essentials, Flowers are prima, chipboard numbers are Colorbok, eyelets are Making Memories.

Thanks for looking! More to come this week.

Scrap Whispers Round 1

I created a few layouts for the week 1 challenge at Scrap Whispers.

Here is some info about scrap whispers from their site:

What is Scrap Whispers?

Remember that game you used to play as a kid? Where you secretly whisper a phrase to the next person sat in a circle, who then whispers it to the next person and so on? The last person announces the phrase out loud and this usually results in a completely different phrase than the one you started off with?! Well, thats basically how scrap whispers works too. Only with scrapbook layouts instead of a phrase!

Each week there is also an individual challenge. This week's challenge was to create a page inspired in some way by Nancy Drew. Here are my entries:

PP is GCD Studio, and Jenni Bowlin. Letters are American Crafts, Creating Keepsakes and The Paper Studio. Journaling stamp is Studio g, ink is Versamark, frame rub-ons are Basic Grey.

CS is The Paper Studio, pp is Ki Memories and Target, letters are American Crafts.

Thanks for looking!

~Alyssa~

SYTYCS deadline extended!

Thanks to all of you who are checking in to see if it's time to vote. The deadline has been extended due to technical difficulties. Voting for round 2 will not start on Friday, Oct. 16th.

Ummm... What??

Check out these signs I spotted recently:


This one was at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, inside the primate house. Notice the last bullet point. Please show our primates respect by refraining from staring at them. What???? It's a ZOO. Isn't that why you go to a zoo? LOL.

Spotted recently at a local gas station. Ummm... isn't gas supposed to be CHEAPER after a rebate?

~Alyssa~

Update for all of us!

Hello, everyone! We arrived home last night from a few days away visiting Grandma and Grandpa (my parents). We went to the Lincoln Park Zoo and the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and had a great time. The kids had lots of fun visiting their grandparents and having them all to themselves. I enjoyed the visit also, and I was blessed that my parents braved a night alone with the kids so I could go out with my friend Heather. We had a blast eating dinner, shopping, and browsing Barnes and Noble.

Here are a few pics from the big trip:

Thanks to all of your votes, I made it through round 1 of so You Think You Can Scrap! Thank you all for voting! The Round 2 poll will posted this weekend, I will pop back in and post a link ASAP. This week's challenge is making a LO using the colors of your favorite ice cream. Thats a bit tough for me, since anything chocolate is my favorite, so I guess I'll be busy with the browns this afternoon.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Alyssa~

So You Think You Can Scrap

Round 1 voting is open until Sunday night. Please stop by and vote for your favorite page!

http://www.yourmemoriesbydesign.ca/SYTYCS/Round1.html

The bottom 8 pages will be eliminated, and Round 2 will start on Monday. For the next 6 weekends, there will be a poll to vote in each weekend. Hopefully I'll be in there that long, but we'll see. I'm not going to tell you which page is mine, just vote for your favorite. Thanks!!

I was voted into the poll!

For the first time, I was voted into a poll on Scrapbook.com!

This means that fellow participants picked me out of the group as one of their favorites, so I made it into the poll for the whole community to vote one. If you get the chance, please come vote:

http://www.scrapbook.com/forums/showtopic.php?fid/18/tid/1481287/pid/8963223/post/8963223/#8963223

You'll have to register for a scrapbook.com account before you can vote- registration is free. Thank you!

And the Winner is....

Thanks to everyone who played this weekend! Hopefully you all had fun with my little game. I put all your names on little slips of paper and had M draw one. So, the winner is...


















the lucky person is...


















































Marilyn W.! Send me another email with your address so I can get your RAK out!!!! Thanks for playing everyone!

~Alyssa~

Fun Game for Scrapbook Gals... with a RAK!

Okay ladies! Time for a game!

This is a simple play-on-words game where I give you the clue and you have to name the manufacturer. For example, a clue may be "chilly amphibian", and the answer would be Arctic Frog.

Anyone who sends me an email with ALL of the correct answers will be entered in a drawing for a RAK. Only ONE email per person, so make sure you've got them correct. When you get them figured out, send me an email with your answers at upordown777@yahoo.com. I will reply if you have them correct and let you know that you are entered into the drawing. Thanks to the gals at Color Me Daisy for letting me steal this from their recent crop.

DEADLINE is SUNDAY, Sept. 28th, at 8 PM EST.

Ready?

1. spiffy bloomers
2. flower consonant
3. starry insect
4. standard blah
5. small cowardly transportation
6. A girl in the Alps trading stuff
7. spicy lady
8. hog antecdotes
9. picturesque course
10. shaped paper with nice scenery
11. royalty and her entourage
12. clever fantasies
13. imagination road
14. fiddling pigment
15. A girl in the Alps and her forgiveness
16. artsy diner
17. carton of looseleaf
18. one more than six nomads
19. patriotic arts
20. fall foliage
21. three insects in a carpet
22. creating recollections
23. my brain's ocular lens
24. fall after lunch
25. rosy doodle

Have fun!

~Alyssa~

Some new scrapbook stuff...

Here's a few new pages. Nothing has gotten done this week... I've had scrappers block all week (think writers block) and nothing is coming together. I might need to take a few days off and stay away from scrapping to see if I can break through the block.

Anyway, here's what I did last week:

Thanks for coming by!

~Alyssa~

Mini Box Giveaway on Vanilla Joy!

Hey, ya'll, head over to Vanilla Joy and check out the giveaway this week! They are giving away a Minibox! ( http://www.theoriginalscrapbox.com/ )If you are a scrapbooker you know what that is, if you are a crafter of any kind, you will appreciate this organizational tool! I would lvoe to have this minibox... everything would fit and I would never have to dig around in a too-deep drawer for something again! :)

http://www.vanillajoy.com/

While you are at Vanilla Joy, check out the ideas for Childrens Face painting at http://www.vanillajoy.com/kids-face-painting.html, or the great original date ideas for you and hubby at http://www.vanillajoy.com/creative-date-ideas ! Vanilla Joy even has info about Obaji products: http://www.vanillajoy.com/obaji-skin-care-products .

Ok, now get over there and check it out. And check back here for another update and some new scrapbook stuff. I promise to get that done this week.

~Alyssa~

Time for a family update!

So, "they" tell me it's time to update again. Whoever "they" are! Slave drivers, all of "them!" LOL.

Here's what I've been up to the last few days:

• Don and I celebrated our anniversary last night! We were married 4 years on the 6th, but we just had our anniversary date last night. We went to our favorite restaurant and to Borders/Starbucks with NO KIDS! It was great.


• I had two more layouts accepted for publication in Scrap N' Art!


• Elijah has taken to crayons lately. He colors pictures that blow me away for his age!


• Milena is getting ever closer to being potty trained... almost there!


• We went to the local apple orchard (Dispennett's Orchard- http://www.cabapple.org/) about 10 days ago. It was tons of fun. Here are some pics from that time:

New Feature!

Now you can follow my blog and keep updated on all my new posts just by clicking the "follow" link in the upper right hand corner of my blog! What a cool new feature!

Scrapbook Challenges - Sketch 106

The first sketch that the new DT worked on is up! Check it out as soon as you can, it's cool. And there were some awesome interpretations from the new DT!

Here's the sketch:

and here are my interpretations:

Next time you are on MySpace, check out the group Scrapbook Challenges. There are also 1-2 DT challenges posted each week! Every challenge you complete gets you an entry in the drawing for the FABULOUS monthly prize! This months giveaway is a HUGE American Crafts pack!

So, get over there and get busy!

I am celebrating!

I have been invited to participate on my first Design Team! The Myspace group called Scrapbook Challenges is a site that offers weekly sketches and challenges for scrapbookers, and I made their first ever DT! I am so excited!!!

If you have a Myspace account, search for the group "Scrapbook Challenges" and come sheck it out. The DT challenges and sketches start September 1st!

Scrapbookers, look here!

Here's a site with an awesome blog and great giveaways this week! Check it out!

http://www.vanillajoy.com/

A Few New Pages

Well, my favorite scrap mag, Scrap N' Art is holding a DT call! So I entered. I had to try. I love Scrap N' Art... that would be my current biggest scrap dream/goal. There are so many talented designers hanging out there, I doubt I have a chance, but I had to try. :)

I finally got a couple blinkies working on my blog too... check them out, they are great sites!

Here's a few new pages:

PP is DCWV, bling swirls are Prima, bling flowers are The Paper Studio, Blue Flowers are American Crafts, Font is jellyka_estra from dafont.com.

CS is Hobby Lobby, eyelets are Making Memories, letters are american Crafts (red) Rusty Pickle (orange), and Provo Craft.

Milena gave Pooh pink panties this summer. The Journaling says "yes, pooh is a boy, but since when does that matter to a 2 year old girl who thinks pink panties are the ultimate accessory?"

PP is Provo Craft, CS is Hobby Lobby, Paint is Apple Barrel, Letters are American Crafts (brown) KiMemories (Pooh), and Provocraft (summer) Chipboard is KI Memories

M is 3!

How is that possible? My baby is three. I asked her yesterday why she was growing up so fast and she said, "It's ok, Mom, I can be two for one more day." What a sweet girl! :)

Here are some fun facts about M at 3:

• Her favorite blanket still HAS to be with her at bedtime.



• She is 70% potty trained now... but we haven't started on nighttime training yet.



• She Love the park, the library, and all things summer.



• She is sypathetic and compassionate, and love God already.

Her Daddy and I are so proud of her! Here are a few pics:

Another Creatively Yours Sketch!

Here's my interpretaion of another great Creatively Yours sketch.



this is M and her friends playing at P and C's house! TFL!

Oh, and one more thing!

Just wanted to give a shout out to two new scrapbook sites that I am really enjoying:

Apple Blossom Studio http://appleblossomstudio.com/blog/

and Pink Sketches blog http://pinksketches.typepad.com/

Both of them are looking for a new design team this week, and I am going to get my applications in! I would love to work on either of these two sites, as I think they are both fantastic!

Summer is winding down!

How is it possible that summer is coming to an end already? The kids here start school next week, on the 13th. Wow. So soon...

I haven't had much scrapping time recently. We've been too busy! I do have a few new things to show, though. I'll post pictures later today, if I get the chance.

Quick family update:

Nichole is with us this week for her last week of vacation. she is reading a lot, since she can't seem to put the latest book in the current series down! Last week she helped with picking green beans, and also got to spend a fun day with a few of her friends from church. We are working on planning a fun family activity so we can enjoy our last weekend with her before school starts again.

Milena and Elijah are doing well, nothing too exciting going on.

More soon!

~Alyssa

Well, it's Wednesday!

It's been a busy week, but today I am getting caught up. I got my DT submission in to Mon Ame Memories just in time (today is the deadline)! I hate being that close to the deadline, but I was waiting for my new camera to arrive so that I could submit better images.


Speaking of the camera... I love it! It is a Kodak EasyShare... and it's orange! I love the fact that I can not get high quality pictures of my family and my scrapbook pages without 9 out of 10 pictures being blurry!


Speaking of pictures, here are a few taken in the last couple of days:








E today while we were waiting for M.


















M posing for the camera last night! She was very patient with my "pose" commands while I was checking out the new camera!











One scrapbook item: check out the HUGE Giveaway at Scrap N' Art! The gals there are giving away a TON of stuff to one lucky subscriber. If you are not a subscriber, get over there and sign up- the e-zine is awesome. The giveaway can be found at http://www.scrapnart.com/.

~Alyssa

Coming this weekend...

Don's brother Dan and his wife Beth are coming for the weekend. We are looking forward to seeing them. Don has plans to take the them adn the girls to the Potholes, a local attraction. The largest waterfall in Indiana is there too.

The kids and I are going to meet some friends at the park for a picnic today, then I need to work on my DT entry for a new site called MonAme Memories. I am excited about this opportunity! I would love to be on my first design team!

Not much else going on right now. We are canning grean beans and we have a bazillion tomatoes that will be ready soon. Gotta figure out what I'm doing with those (feel free to send me recipes and ideas!) Hope you all have a great weekend.

~Alyssa

Quick sneak at a new card:

Flowers are Prima, CS is Hobby Lobby, and letters are American Crafts.

TGIF!

It's Friday! The kids are sick, Don is taking the day off to work on the house, and I get to go shopping BY MYSELF tonight. YEA! I am sorry the kids are sick, and I am glad Don is getting work done on the house, and I am REALLY excited to be getting out by myself. That hasn't happened in about 6 months, other then going to work or a meeting, which don't totally count.

Quick tip for all you SCRAPPERS out there- try adhering buttons with acrylic paint or puffy paint. You can use contrasting colors and it will seep out around the button and through the holes and create a very cool effect! It also holds the button really well. There's no moving the buttons once they are dry.

So, that's Friday. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

~Alyssa

Card for Creatively Yours!

I created this card using one of Noella's fabulous sketches on her blog! I have her blog linked to mine, check it out!

Cardstock is DCWV, pp (cutouts) and ribbon are The paper studio, eyelets are Making Memories, Letters and chipboard are Colorbok.

Thanks for looking!

~Alyssa