this is the story.

Studio Calico Sneaks!!

2012-02-14T13:06:00.002-06:00

I was over-the-moon excited when I got an email from April Foster of Studio Calico asking me to be their guest designer for the month of March! I have been working on some layouts with the kits and can I just say how much I LOVE all of the pattern papers in the kits for March. The colors, designs...just all of it! And the other bits of each kit aren't that bad either ;-) I think you all will be very pleased with the selection of products and themes for the March kits! Thanks for taking a peek!

(Main Only Layout)

(Used bits of a couple of kits but a lot was from "Narrative" - Addon #4)

(Used mostly papers from "Encyclopedia" - Addon #2 and bits from the other 3 addon's)

February ScrapJack!

2012-02-05T12:27:00.002-06:00

A new Scrapjack went up on the first of February! We jacked the fabulous Celine Navarro! You can check out her layout that we jacked and everyone's take on it here on this blog post. Make sure you play along and link us up to your layout! I used the January Studio Calico kit for my layout plus a few little extras from my stash....

The Green Frog Studio Projects

2012-02-03T17:56:00.003-06:00

These were my first projects done for The Green Frog Studio Design team for Celine Navarro. I was super excited to be asked by Celine to be a part of this new venture on her blog and this first layout was based off a sketch that she provided. You can see the original post here on her blog along with the sketch that she and I worked with.

...and this simple little card was also my first tutorial that was shared on her blog. I love this "quilted" paper look and it is very easy to replicate :-) You can see the full tutorial here on her blog...

Happy Friday :-) I have a three day weekend and I am looking forward to it!

Blue Moon Scrapbooking

2012-01-25T06:00:00.000-06:00

I saw this "paper quilting" technique used quite a while ago by someone on the Studio Calico design team, if I remember correctly. I was absolutely intrigued by this method and went on the search of something easy to replicate for this layout for the Blue Moon Blog. While the technique is not difficult, it is very tedious - I will just warn you now! But the end result is very lovely :-)

I also used some of the new Crate Paper "Paper Hearts" line. I really love the non traditional shades of blue in this Valentine's collection! And I am still loving those little doilies by Jenni Bowlin!

...and a few more!

2012-01-24T06:00:00.000-06:00

Here are a couple of more layouts done for the American Crafts Design Team for the month of January. I'm still in love with the Chap line and the Amy Tangerine line :-)

American Crafts - January 2012

2012-01-23T11:04:00.005-06:00

I am finally posting my layouts done for the American Crafts Blog for this month of January. They were originally featured on this blog post earlier this month. Make sure you stop by the blog and check it out! Last week, all of the new collections for the Winter CHA show were revealed and today the entire line for the new Dear Lizzy line is up. Be still my heart. I can't wait to get some of that stuff!

The theme for my projects this month was to scrap some favorite photos. I love how both of these layouts turned out...layers & circles :-)

Blue Moon Scrapbooking

2012-01-11T16:02:00.001-06:00

Here are a couple of layouts that were originally featured on the Blue Moon Blog over the past couple of weeks. The Blue Moon online store has gotten in some new goodies like the new Fiskars/Jenni Bowlin punches and the new Crate Paper "Paper Hearts" collection! Make sure to check it out!

American Crafts Layouts - December 2011

2012-01-07T06:00:00.000-06:00

These two layouts were made for the American Crafts Design Team for the month of December. I had fun with lots of layers on both of these layouts. I love how versatile the American Craft lines are and that they work so well together!

Member Swap - Studio Calico

2012-01-06T23:05:00.001-06:00

I had the opportunity to participate in a Member Swap on the Studio Calico Blog. You can view the original post on the blog here. I used the November "Handmade" kit for both the layout and the card.

Happy New Year's Eve!

2011-12-31T14:21:00.001-06:00

....I wanted to share a couple of layouts on this fine Saturday afternoon! I can't believe that it is the last day of this year. Seriously, where did this year go!?

"Our Christmas Eve Tradition":

This first layout was made for the Blue Moon Scrapbooking Blog earlier this week. My husband and I always have a tradition to go to Carrabba's Italian Grill for our Christmas Eve dinner - it's always one of my favorite December highlights!

"2011":
Earlier this month in December, I was privileged to be a guest designer for one of Jennifer Gallacher's "Stretch your Sketch" classes. I created this layout with the December Studio Calico Kit and I used the sketch that Jennifer provided for the class. I pretty much literally followed the sketch exactly as it was. I really love sketches as there are so many ways to interpret them. Thanks for having me be a part of the class, Jennifer!

Have a terrific New Year! Please be safe during this holiday weekend. This has really struck close to home the past couple of weeks....I'll be working all day New Year's Day...not really what I wanted to do, but hey! You gotta do what you gotta do :-)

...it's been a while...

2011-12-22T10:37:00.002-06:00

...still in the holiday swing of things around here! Still snapping pictures and collecting different things for my December Daily. I have not actually gotten any photos or journaling into the album yet, BUT I have managed to stay on top of uploading my photos & editing them each day. Which is huge for me!

Onto some scrapbooking...this layout was originally made for the Blue Moon Blog last week. I love tags and made some of my own with pattern paper and those little circles from the Studio Calico die cut package from the State Fair line.

This little greeting card was also made for the Blue Moon Blog for this week - I just love that little chipboard Santa Claus! He is too cute :-) I also really like the holiday line by Crate Paper - the chipboard elements and the label stickers were especially fun for this line.

This is a little candy cone I created for the SEI Blog this month. You can see the original post here on the blog. Very easy to make!

This "Merry" card was also on the SEI Blog this month. I stitched all of the stars down in a random pattern and then placed the label right in the middle. Another super easy card to make!

And lastly, this was the third project up on the SEI Blog this month. Love me some Starbucks :-)

Happy Thursday!

Scrapbooking

2011-12-13T06:00:00.000-06:00

Here are a few layouts done the past couple of weeks...I have more, but can't share them yet!

This first layout was featured on the Blue Moon Blog last week. I loosely followed a sketch by Studio Calico for this layout. I love the sprinkled stars down the length of this layout - I felt they sort of fit the photos of Times Square that I took back in July....

This layout was made using the Studio Calico November Kit. I adore the pinks, woodgrain, & faux leaves in this kit. I wish I had about 3 more packages of those little leaves. They added just the right amount of texture/dimension on my layouts!

And this last layout was also made with the Studio Calico November kit. This was made for the most recent Scrapjack of Leslie Ashe! Obviously, I am still continuing my love affair with my circle punches ;-)

Happy Tuesday!

December Daily

2011-12-12T17:49:00.001-06:00

December 7th:

- Went and finally picked up our Christmas tree

- Cleaned Pop-pop's house that morning

- Troy took Pop-pop to his eye doctor appointment - he needs to have his cataracts removed.

- Had tomato soup & elbow macaroni & grilled cheese for dinner

December 8th:
- Last day off work together
- Went and had lunch with Rachel at Panera Bread. It was absolutely crazy at Cordova Mall. But lunch was delicious! I had a bowl of french onion soup and half a turkey sandwich. Super yummy.
- Decorated the tree that afternoon
- Started working on Christmas cards
- Watched some more "Dexter".

December Daily

2011-12-09T07:00:00.000-06:00

December 6th:

- I took off the day from work since Troy was able to get three days off this week.

- Troy & Pop-pop went to the Naval Air Museum for a while.

- We attempted to get a decent photo to send with our Christmas cards this year. After 30+ minutes, we finally got a decent photo...

- Had dinner at Wintzell's. We had never been there before - but Troy saw that they had AYCE snow crab legs, so he wanted to try it out. And shocks of all shocks, I actually tried the snow crabs and they were pretty good!

December 7th:
- Finally went and got our Christmas tree.
- Troy took Pop-pop to his eye doctor's appointment while I cleaned his house.
- Had to buy a new tire for Troy's car. It was completely flat and when he pulled the tire off, there was a huge gash in the tire.
- Went to JoAnne's and got my Christmas cards
- Got 62 pictures printed at Wal-Greens.
- Had tomato soup with elbow macaroni & grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner
- And yes. We watched more Dexter. In fact, we stayed up until 1:30AM watching season 3. Gracious.

American Crafts Christmas Cards

2011-12-08T15:09:00.001-06:00

These two Christmas cards were featured on the American Crafts blog last week. I love the very traditional "Hollyday" line by AC for this holiday season. All of the reds, greens, & silvers are so much fun to work with. One of my favorite parts of this line is the Remarks and Phrases sticker book. They are just the perfect touch for a greeting card. You can view the original post here on the blog.

Make sure you check out the American Crafts blog - they have put up a couple of new items that will be coming out soon! New Amy Tangerine products and another very cool new product called Flutterbys! It can be found on a couple of different posts on the AC blog.

Happy Thursday!

December Daily

2011-12-06T14:59:00.001-06:00

December 4th:

- Dinner at Mom and Dad's (roast beef, carrots, rice, & biscuits)

- Photos at the Milton Riverwalk

- Lots of wind at said photo shoot

- Nativity scene at Mom's house. My Mom made this one a very long time ago - this was the nativity set I grew up with.

- Troy had to open the store at work

- Watched a couple of episodes of "Dexter" before going to bed.

December 5th:
- Work from 8:00 - 6:00
- Warm & humid
- Rained a little bit through out the day/evening
- Spaghetti & salad for dinner
- Watched more episodes of "Dexter" that evening
- Stayed up too late watching "Dexter"
- Went to Publix

December Daily so far....

2011-12-04T09:27:00.001-06:00

December 1st:

- Work 8:00 - 6:00

- Payday

- First frost of the season

- Found out my car heater did not work

- Dexter

- Garland & Glitter

- Decorated tree at work

- Poinsettia's

- Emails

December 2nd:
- Work from 8:00 - 6:00 (actually I left a little early at 5:30)
- Filled up car with gas
- Went to the mall to take advantage of a sale at Lane Bryant
- Went to Michael's
- Troy was closing that night. Stopped in to visit him. It always makes me smile to watch him in action at work.

December 3d:
- Fresh Pedicure
- Had off from work this weekend
- Fresh hair cut & hightlights from Tiffany at the hair salon
- Date night with the hubby at Carrabba's
- Ice Cream at Baskin Robbins
- Worked on scrapbook assignments
- Picked up season 3 of Dexter. Obviously, we are zooming our way through all of the available seasons!

..and so far - I have managed to get all photos uploaded and edited and saved in their respective folders. Now, on to the printing and getting them in my December Daily....

...and the winner...

2011-11-30T20:24:00.001-06:00

..of the Christmas Book Class by Rahel Menig is.....

AllyW said...

I love Rahels work!! Great giveaway! Our Christmas Eve tradition is that i make cookies to leave out for Santa...still (my boys are 19 & 16 now:) and we stay home that evening and make a big fancy dinner just for ourselves. And we don't open any presents until Christmas morning. Drives my boys nuts!

November 30, 2011 11:30 AM

Ally, please email me at melissamann1981 (at) gmail (dot) com and I will forward your information on to Blue Moon so they can send you the information!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the giveaway!

Giveaway!!

2011-11-28T05:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Monday morning!! I have a spot to give away in Rahel Menig's new class that will be featured at Blue Moon Studio Online!! This class starts on December 1st and it looks like it will be a lot of fun! I love Rahel's clean and fresh approach to scrapbooking - I'm sure her book is a beauty! Just leave me a comment by 8:00PM Central Time on Wednesday, November 30th, and I will pick a random winner! In your comment, make sure to mention whether or not you have a certain Christmas Eve tradition! My husband and I always have a special meal at a great Italian restaurant in Pensacola on Christmas Eve and then go see a movie! This year, the movie will probably be "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"!! So, leave a comment and I'll pick a winner and post it here on Thursday!

**COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED FOR THIS GIVEAWAY**

Turkey Day Photos

2011-11-26T19:49:00.001-06:00

Troy & Pop-Pop playing cribbage

Mom & Pop-Pop figuring out the new Keurig

Mr. Beauregard

Dad talking to family in NYC

Mom working on mashed potatoes & Dad carving the turkey

TV watching & talking

More talking...

Mr. Mann

Waiting in line to get a drink

Eating

Plate of food: turkey, wild rice, sweet potato casserole, bread, mashed potatoes, black olives

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-25T17:13:00.001-06:00

....and that series of pictures pretty much represents our Thanksgiving day...well, evening :-) Mom & I got the Thanksgiving dinner put together for about 15 people. We had the traditional turkey, stuffing, wild rice, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potato casserole, & potato bread; and of course, lots of pies: pumpkin, key lime, cherry, apple, and pecan. 'Twas supper yummy. Everyone declared it a total success :-) But, since we held it over at my grandfather's house, we ate pretty early in the day and everyone was already on their way to their next destination by 4:00...this left Troy, the puppies and I a pretty nice long evening together. We laid back, relaxed, read the paper, looked at all 52 ads, yawned, stretched, and laid back down :-) It was such a good evening. I stayed up until 11:00 due to a sale that was starting then online, but ended up not purchasing anything and was in bed by 11:15. All in all, it was a great day. We did head out today to see what we could see...and all we ended up with was four brand new pillows for our bed, a movie, the first season of "Dexter" and a Mannheim Steamroller CD. But hey! Normally, the four pillows would have been $68 and we got them for a grand total of $18.00! They were 60% off and I had a $10.00 coupon for the store. Pretty good!

And now, the return of reality. Troy has gone back to work tonight, and I will go back tomorrow and work all weekend...

Happy Friday evening!

I'm on a roll....!

2011-11-23T07:00:00.000-06:00

...and I'm back again with some more layouts! This first one was made for the Blue Moon Design Team and was shared last week on the blog. I love that new line by Crate Paper and used a bunch of the stickers as little "photos" on my layout.

This layout was created with the November Studio Calico kit "Handmade". And I have discovered how much I adore those little black flower embellishments by Jenni Bowlin! Lots of stitching on this layout. Also, and most importantly, this layout was directly inspired by a layout I saw by Danielle Flanders. I originally saw it as the Layout of the Week on the Studio Calico Blog. My layout is nowhere near as lovely as her layout is, but I love the design!

And this layout was made with the October Studio Calico kit. I love this picture of Troy and Kaleb. And I know I've scrapped it before, but it just really captures what was going on while they were watching a movie. Silly boys :-)

...and some more!

2011-11-22T07:00:00.000-06:00

Hello again! I'm sharing some layouts that I made using the "Hollyday" line and the "Chap" line by American Crafts!

I absolutely LOVE the holiday season and my favorite day of the year is Christmas day. Troy and I have started a tradition the past few years to get a live tree and I have loved having one in my living room for the month of December! When we first got married, we bought a pre-lit artificial one that was on clearance after the holidays and it served us well for a few years - but, there is nothing like a real tree! This picture is from last year when we were picking the tree out :-) I didn't use any pattern paper on this layout which is rather astonishing for me! Pattern paper is my go-to for sure! Instead, I used the cute decorative tags in the Hollyday line - they were the perfect touch for this picture! I also used a ton of the little star rubons.

For this layout, I used the new Chap line. I adore the colors in this line. They are just perfect! And they are the perfect pairing to black and white photos - at least to me :-) This was a picture I took earlier this year of my brother-in-law and his son. Kaleb didn't want anything to do with pictures, but I was finally able to snag a couple of them that turned out pretty decently! Little stinker ;-) I layered lots of pattern paper and used lots of stickers from the Remarks sticker book for this line.

Technique Tuesday Guest DT

2011-11-21T07:00:00.000-06:00

I was honored to be a part of the Technique Tuesday Design Team for this month! The stamps for this month's Studio AE were just fabulous! I can't wait to incorporate these stamps into my December Daily this year! Probably one of my favorite stamps in this set was the circle heart stamp and I highlighted that stamp on this card.

SUPPLIES: Crate Paper Peppermint Collection Papers, EK Success Bumpy Road Border Punch, Technique Tuesday Studio AE November Stamps, American Crafts Ribbon, Jenni Bowlin Ink, My Mind's Eye Jewels, Fiskars Corner Rounder Punch, Marvy Uchida Circle Punch, Brother Sewing Machine, Acrylic Block, White Thread, Dimensional Dots.

American Crafts - November Cards

2011-11-20T14:35:00.000-06:00

These cards were made for my November American Crafts assignment and they were featured on the blog last week. You can check out the original post HERE. I love the Nightfall autumn themed embellishments especially those cute dimensional flowers! I usually struggle with using buttons on projects, but then the idea hit to use them as my "background" on these tags :-)

I hope you have a fantastic week and have a very happy Thanksgiving!!

Around Here....

2011-11-16T18:18:00.001-06:00

Around here....we had a little tree that burst into some glorious orangey, golden colors.

Around here....there's a sweet little dog who loves to snuggle and sleep in patches of sunlight.

Around here...I have a new typewriter that came home with me recently.

Around here....There has been a lot of crafty stuff happening lately. And a lot more that still needs to be done!

Around here...dogs & humans enjoyed some lovely sunny cool days a few days ago.

Around here....this little stamp finally came home with me.

Around here...fall is in full effect in my corner of the world. falling leaves, brownish grass - definitely fall in Florida.

Around here....we are ready for Thanksgiving!

We have a winner!! (Technique Tuesday Stamp Giveaway)

2011-11-14T18:51:00.001-06:00

I used the random generator and it picked number 24! The winner is Nitasha :-) Please email me at melissamann1981 (at) gmail (dot) com and send me your mailing address!

Nitasha said...

Love all the vibrant colors in your layout and the stamping is awesome!!! This is a great set of stamps!

November 10, 2011 9:10 AM

2011-11-12T08:27:00.001-06:00

Good Morning! Make sure you check out Shimelle's blog this weekend for a fun filled few days of Christmas crafting! I had a tutorial to make a card up on the blog yesterday afternoon with a woven paper technique. There's also a banner tutorial and Pam Brown has another awesome card tutorial up this morning!

Make sure to check it out! Shimelle is giving away gift certificates to 2 Peas in a Bucket all weekend!

Have a great weekend! It's cold here and the Blue Angels have their homecoming show today at NAS Pensacola! If you've never seen them in action before, you should check to see if they will be coming to an area near you next year! You won't regret taking the time to watch their air show. See ya!

Oh, and one more thing! The Technique Tuesday giveaway is still going on below! Make sure to leave your comment on that post to be eligible for the giveaways!!

November Studio AE from Technique Tuesday Blog Hop

2011-11-10T07:00:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone! Welcome to the Technique Tuesday blog hop for this month! I was super excited to be a part of the design team this month and absolutely LOVED the stamp set for November which is "25 Moments" by Ali Edwards. This stamp set will work beautifully for any and all projects, cards, and layouts for this holiday season! I am especially looking forward to incorporating it into my December Daily this year!

This is my layout that I created for the hop! I used the stamp set a total of six times for this layout! The phrases are perfect to use as journaling or as a custom embellishment.

Make sure you follow the other blogs for this hop! As a thank you for all the comments received during the hop on all eight blogs, as well as those left on the Technique Tuesday blog, we will give away two stamp sets.

Ali

Melissa <-------- That's me!

One person will win our I Love You - Eye Chart stamp set.

One other person will win our So Sorry by Ali Edwards stamp set.

You don’t need to leave a comment on all the blogs to be eligible to win. But the more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win. All comments must be made by midnight PST on Nov. 13^th. Tune into the Technique Tuesday blog on Nov. 14^th to see if you are one of the lucky winners!!

As a bonus giveaway, I will pick a lucky winner to receive the "25 Moments" stamp set by Ali Edwards!! So make sure to leave a comment and I will pick a winner on November 14th as well!

Thanks so much for stopping by! And have fun hopping!

***THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.***

Lots 'o Layouts!

2011-11-04T15:48:00.001-05:00

I have several new layouts to share today :-) The first couple of them are layouts made using the October "Field Guide" kit by Studio Calico. I'm still in love with the teal & white polka dot pattern paper! This first one is about the drastic hair cut I got for my 30th birthday back in July of this year. I had about 12-14" cut off! And I have not regretted it one single moment! The layout below this one documents the love of happy mail :-) Nothing like getting home and seeing those boxes sitting on the deck!

This layout was originally featured on the Blue Moon Blog earlier this week. Cute picture of Mr. Maximus - my Mom and Dad's mini schnauzer. He is something else, that little guy. I love schnauzers and one day, I'll talk my hubs into getting one ;-)

This layout uses lots of Studio Calico goodness!

And last but not least, this was my layout up on the SEI blog today! Lots of layers and pieces of paper!

Happy Friday!

Technique Tuesday - Guest Design Team

2011-11-01T09:00:00.000-05:00

I was super excited to be asked to be a part of the Technique Tuesday design team for the month of November! The stamp set for the Studio AE members is just fantastic this month! You will definitely need this one to have for your December Daily this year - I plan on getting a lot of use out of this stamp set for that project! Here is a layout I worked up using this stamp set....

Make sure to stop by the blog and the rest of the team's blogs to see what they came up with! It really is the best time of the year :-)

American Crafts - October

2011-10-29T15:25:00.004-05:00

Here are a couple of layouts from this month that were made with the lovely American Crafts products! This first layout uses paper and embellishments from the "Garden Cafe" line. I love all of the browns and blues and greens in this line and the culinary theme that is subtly implemented through out. It worked perfectly to document this new recipe that I tried out earlier this month :-)

SUPPLIES: White (71081) Card stock, Petunia's Pastries (35532) Garden Cafe, Clover Cantina (35537) Garden Cafe, Poppy's Pub (35542) Garden Cafe, Wonder (53265) Thickers, Biscotti (72018) Delights, Delish (70073) Flair, Garden Cafe Stickers (42210) Remarks, Dimensional Dots (61709) This to That - all by American Crafts; Typewriter; Circle Punches - Fiskars, EK Success, Marvy Uchida; Border Punch - Martha Stewart.

And this next line is the fabulous new "Chap" line! Oh my. You will definitely need this line in your scrapbook stash! The papers are fabulous with tons of geometric shapes and the embellishments are way too cool! I love those "Just Write" cards that are included in this line - they can be used in a multitude of ways!

SUPPLIES: Jim (35567) Chap, Scott (35575) Chap, Mark (35576) Chap, Cameron (35570) Chap, Ben (35578) Chap, Ash (71078) Card Stock, Geyser (71469) Card Stock, Jared (59152) Stamp, Dimensional Dots (61709) This to That, Just Write (64012) Chap, Josh (53254) Thickers, Wonder (53262) Thickers, Buttons (85569) Chap, Man of the House (77262) Chap - all by American Krafts; Kraft Card Stock; UTEE; Versamark; Thread.

Catching Up....

2011-10-27T16:16:00.001-05:00

I have finally had the chance to use up some of my kits from the last couple of months from Studio Calico. This first layout is from the September "Glee Club" kit. I love those woodgrain alphas by American Crafts!!

These other two layouts were completed using the October "Field Guide" kit. Do you see that aqua and white dotted pattern paper? I am obsessed with that piece of paper. I am wanting to use it on everything!

Easy Canvas Prints

2011-10-26T11:53:00.001-05:00

I recently had the opportunity to order a canvas print from Easy Canvas Prints. I received my print last week and couldn't be more happy with the results! I currently have it sitting on the ledge of my piano and I love seeing it there every time I'm in that room! The ordering process and the upload process were super easy! I chose a picture I wanted and uploaded it and it told me if the resolution would be okay for the size canvas I wanted. I had different options for the sides of my canvas and I chose the mirror image to wrap around the outside edges. I really love this look! It completes and finishes off the canvas beautifully!. The quality of my picture printed on the canvas is just awesome. It is not pixelated or grainy - really super happy with the results. And, it was shipped to me super fast!! I received my print within a week of ordering! Make sure you check out their site to get your own canvas print :-)

Pictures on Canvas

Blue Moon Design Team

2011-10-25T22:40:00.003-05:00

I just love the new "Memoir" line by Studio Calico! That plum colored pattern paper - LOVE. I am NOT a purple fan. In the least. But, I adore that paper! This layout was originally featured on the Blue Moon Blog today. I'm still continuing my love affair with my circle punches. I recently added a 2.5" circle punch to my collection. Love. I find myself reaching for these punches over and over again! Definitely a staple needed for any scrapbooker :-)

Make sure you check out the blog and the goodies in the shop. A bunch of new Prima goodies were recently added!

Happy Tuesday evening!

The Girl's Loft October Kit

2011-10-23T04:00:00.000-05:00

These are my projects for the Girl's Loft October kit. I will admit it was quite a challenge for me to work with this kit. I don't celebrate Halloween, and therefore, had no pictures of the sort whatsoever....so, I had to set to work making some altered projects - which is not my strongest forte either! But, I thought that these turned out pretty cute :-) If you are a Halloween enthusiast, then this kit is for you!

Blue Moon DT

2011-10-22T20:52:00.000-05:00

These were all featured on the Blue Moon Blog earlier this week. I adore that Hero Arts/Studio Calico stamp set. That pinked circle is probably my favorite - I seriously need a punch that looks like that...!

Check out the blog and check out the store! Loads of inspiration on the blog and loads of goodies in the store!!

Blue Moon DT Work (Studio Calico)

2011-10-14T06:00:00.000-05:00

This was my layout for this week on the Blue Moon Blog. I used a masking technique on this layout - I really do love this look :-) I used a lot of the new Studio Calico "Memoir" & "Autumn Press" lines again. Really loving the colors in that "Memoir" line - those blues & purples...yum!

Lots of new goodies are still making their way into the Blue Moon shop! Make sure you check it out :-)

American Crafts - October Assignment

2011-10-13T06:58:00.001-05:00

My October projects for American Crafts went up on the blog earlier this week! I love the new "Nightfall" Collection by AC. It has a lot of room for variation of Halloween projects and Autumn themed projects.

To check out the full post on the American Craft blog, click here. There's also a chance to win the entire "Nightfall" collection on that post! Make sure to comment to get a chance at it!

American Crafts also had another fun surprise this week! They are teaming up with Crate Paper! Another favorite company of mine :-)

Beef Tips & Mushrooms

2011-10-08T07:00:00.000-05:00

I've been hankering to use my crock pot again recently and last Sunday I decided to try my hand at beef tips & mushrooms. I didn't really follow any sort of recipe - I just threw some stuff together and hoped for the best! It turned out pretty tasty!

Beef Tips

Carton of fresh Mushrooms

2/3 c Red Cooking Wine, divided

1 can Beef Consomme

3/4 can Beef Broth

1 Shallot, diced

2 TBSP butter

3 chopped garlic cloves

Oil

Salt

Pepper

Lemon Pepper

Oregano

Worchestire sauce

2 cans Cream of Mushroom

1/4 cup of sour cream

Pour some oil into a pan and bring to high heat. Brown the beef on all sides and set aside. In same pan, melt butter; add chopped garlic, shallots, and mushrooms; add 1/3 cup of red wine to de-glaze pan. Cook for a couple of minutes until mushrooms start to cook down; sprinkle with salt & pepper. Put cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, beef broth, beef consomme, and rest of red wine in crock pot; add beef; add mushroom mixture; add salt, pepper, oregano, lemon pepper, & worchestire sauce and mix all together. Put crock pot on high and place lid on. Cook for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally. Cook until beef is fork tender.

Once my husband got home, I cooked up some no yolk egg noodles (love those things!) and placed the beef tips on top. Super yum!

Blue Moon DT Work - Studio Calico

2011-10-06T08:07:00.004-05:00

This layout was feature on the Blue Moon Blog on Tuesday. I used lots & lots of the new Studio Calico "Memoir" & "Autumn Press" lines. And can I say just how much I love those new stamps by Hero Arts for Studio Calico. Yum. I think I could easily use them on each and every layout! I used lots & lots of warm layers here and sprinkled the new kraft star stickers all over. Another thing I think I will need about 32 packages of :-) Make sure to check out the Blue Moon Store! There are always new goodies showing up in the shop! They have super fast shipping too!

October Scrapjack

2011-10-03T14:59:00.000-05:00

The October jack is up! And we jacked Kerry Lynn Yeary!! Her creations always make me wonder how she managed to think up that idea!! You can check out the Scrapjacked blog to see what the other girls did as well! I created a layout with four little "cubbies" and placed my pictures and embellishments in each one to mimic the altered project that Kerry created. Make sure to play along this month!!

Homemade Pizza

2011-10-01T07:00:00.000-05:00

I made a pizza for lunch the other day since the hubs & I were both home - I've used many different options for making the crust before from a pre-made crust to a pizza kit and have never really been satisfied. I do not like a a thick or chewy or bready crust. There's a pizza place close to where I work called Lillian's and let me tell ya, Ms. Lillian makes a good pizza crust. It's just right - not too thick and not paper thin. Although, you can fold it in half like a slice of New York style pizza! So, I decided to try out a recipe in my good ole' Betty Crocker recipe book and the verdict was pretty good! I think the next time I make it, I'll use about 3/4 of the dough and I think it will be perfect! It was pretty thin and not chewy - it got a little cripsy on the edges - super good! This was also the first time that I used a basic marinara sauce and freshly sliced mozzarella cheese. Now, THAT made all the difference! Oh my. Soo good. Publix had the fresh mozzarella on sale a week or so ago and I splurged and bought it :-) Don't know if I'll be able to make pizza without it now!

Crust Recipe:

1 package of active dry yeast (roughly 2 1/4 teaspoons - I buy my yeast in bulk size so I don't have those cute little packages of it)

1 cup warm water

2 1/2 cups of flour

2 TBSP olive oil

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

Dissolve the yeast in warm water in a medium bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. Stir. Drizzle a little olive oil on top and let sit for a few minutes. I let mine sit on my warm oven as it was preheating for about 10 minutes and it handled beautifully. It was a nice soft, silky dough. I had to use a little bit of flour when I first started to handle it, but that was about it. Spread across the pie sheet. Spread some marinara sauce over it. Sprinkle oregano and pepper over sauce. Sprinkle pecorino/romano cheese over sauce. Spread some regular grated mozzarella cheese over the spices. Lay some pepperoni slices down. Slice some fresh mozzarella cheese and place the slices over top the pepperoni. Cook at 425 degrees until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted & bubbling.

I also think that this would be good with some fontina cheese or feta cheese. Lillian's (the pizza place) makes a three cheese pizza that is TO die for and it has feta cheese on it - unbelievable taste. So good. Unfortunately, her prices are a little to much for me to splurge there too often. Let me know of any good recipes for crust that you may have!

Candy Box - American Crafts

2011-09-30T17:10:00.001-05:00

My first project went up on the American Crafts blog earlier this week! I was asked to make a project with the new "Daydreams" collection. You can check out the full tutorial here on the blog. There is always loads of inspiration and giveaways on the blog each week! Make sure to check it out! Plus, they had a post of a new line coming out by AC!! I can't wait to get my hands on it :-)

Mini Book - Blue Moon DT

2011-09-30T10:42:00.001-05:00

I had a little tutorial on how I created this little mini book using the new Amy Tangerine line by American Crafts on the Blue Moon Blog this past Tuesday. I thought I would share a few of the images here :-) I absolutely adore this new line by American Crafts - super easy to use and the patterns on the paper are killer! My favorite right now is the blue paper with stars and that feather paper and the blue paper with the circle graphs on it...You can check out the full post here on the Blue Moon Blog.

Jacksonville/Vacation

2011-09-27T17:09:00.001-05:00

At the beginning of September, the hubs and I took an almost week's vacation from work. I had signed up to go to the CKC Jacksonville event and we decided to go ahead and take a nice break from the work routine. The following pictures are just a few I took while we were in Jacksonville and the ones of the sunset and boats are ones I took once we got back home - they were taken down in Perdido Key, FL (where I work). We stayed in a hotel right next to the St.John's River and our room overlooked it (we got a free upgrade!) - the view was so gorgeous! They had a wonderful roof top swimming pool that I never did get a chance to actually get into!

I've been meaning to get these uploaded onto the blog for a while and am just now getting around to it. I didn't get any pictures of the scrapbook convention. I was actually pretty disappointed in the convention. I really enjoyed my classes I took, but the Vendor Faire was sorely lacking. I only bought two stamps at the Technique Tuesday booth! That's it! I was really shocked at how little there was at the booths.....

The vacation from work was super nice though! It was much needed for both of us. The crazy summer at the condo with all the tourists/vacationers had definitely worn me out and the hubs was definitely due for a break from all of the drama in his work life. It was so very hard to go back that Wednesday morning!

A to Z

2011-09-22T15:05:00.001-05:00

I've seen a few of these - here's my take!

A. Age: 30
B. Bed size: Queen - we are looking at upgrading to a King size though
C. Chore that you hate: Cleaning out the refrigerator
D. Dogs: Samantha, Black Lab; Lucy, Pug/Bulldog Mix
E. Essential start to your day: Two glasses of ice water
F. Favorite color: Black
G. Gold or Silver: Silver
H. Height: 5'3"
I. Instruments you play: Piano, Flute (been a while since I played)
J. Job title: Reservations Team Lead
K. Kids: None - not by choice
L. Live: Pensacola, FL
M. Mother’s name: Stacey Leigh
N. Nicknames: Scilla (only my Mom calls me that)
O. Overnight hospital stays: One - had to have emergency gall bladder surgery in December 2010
P. Pet peeves: People who ask "Don't you WANT children?" and people who decide that they are going to shorten my name to Mel - I will refuse to answer to you.
Q. Quote from a movie: "You is kind. You is smart. You is important."
R. Right or left handed: Right handed
S. Siblings: Two
U. Underwear: Um, yes.
V. Vegetable you hate: Peas & lima beans
W. What makes you run late: Nothing - I am terribly OCD about this
X. X-Rays you’ve had: Dental, Abdomen, Pelvis
Y. Yummy food that you make: Stuffed Shells, Pot Roast, Chicken & Asparagus & Pasta
Z. Zoo animal: Penguins

Step on up!!

2011-09-21T22:21:00.002-05:00

I used the Random Number Generator tool:

....and Eliz Gardner....you are the winner!

Eliz Gardner said...

Love the border stars and all of the layering.

September 18, 2011 12:14 PM

Please email me at melissamann1981(at)gmail(dot)com and I'll get your goodies out to you!!

Thanks again to all who participated in the hop!!

American Crafts Blog Hop

2011-09-21T09:18:00.002-05:00

Happy Wednesday!

Just a quick post to let you know that the comments for the Blog Hop are now closed! I had 293 commenters! I'll pick a winner sometime this afternoon and post the lucky winner!! Thank you all SO much for stopping by and taking a peek at my layout for the hop! I had a lot of fun with it :-)

Here a couple more layouts that I completed last week and am just now getting them up on the ole' blog!

American Crafts Blog Hop!!

2011-09-17T09:00:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone! Welcome to the American Craft Blog Hop! The design team members were all challenged to create a layout using all five of the new lines from the Summer 2011 lines:

....and here is my layout!

LOVE YA

HOW TO: Cut a piece of white card stock to 8.5" x 11". Cut a piece of dark blue card stock to 9.5" x 7.5". Use a corner rounder punch on three of the corners of the blue card stock. Cut a piece of blue & white checked paper to 8.5" x 7". Use a corner rounder punch on three of the corners of the pattern paper. Layer all of these on top of each other and adhere. Use a sewing machine to stitch around the edges of the dark blue card stock and the checked pattern paper with white thread. Place picture in upper left hand corner. Cut a piece of pattern paper to the same height and use corner rounder punch on upper right hand corner. Place next to picture and adhere. Cut a piece of fabric paper to 4.5" x 6 1/4" and adhere below the picture and block of pattern paper at the top. Cut a strip of white card stock to 6 5/8" x 1" and stamp dotted pattern cross it. Adhere down using foam dots for dimension. Place title on the strip of white card stock. Punch out a variety of heart and star shapes from various pattern papers. Layer below the white card stock strip. Use foam dots on some of the punched shapes. Take a rectangular sticker and cut in half. Place half in the block of pattern paper in the upper right hand corner and place the other piece of sticker on the bottom left hand corner of the fabric paper. Type journaling on white card stock and cut into strips. Adhere down across the bottom sticker. Put a piece of flair on the sticker in the upper right hand corner.

JOURNALING SAYS: i love you, Troy Mann....we've been together for eight years now...i hope we have another 50+ years to be with each other...xoxo..

SUPPLIES: Cardstock, pattern paper, fabric paper, adhesive, sticker, flair, foam letters, texture stamp: American Crafts; Ink: Jenni Bowlin; Punches (star, heart, corner rounder): Fiskars; Thread: Coats & Clark; Sewing Machine: Brother; Typewriter: Smith Corona

For a chance to win a package of Flair from three of the new lines:

leave a comment on this post by Wednesday, September 21st at 12:00pm CST and I'll announce the randomly selected winner with my next post!

Next on the blog hop is: Michelle Clement

Make sure to stop by all 20 designer's blogs and then go back to the American Crafts blog post for a chance to win two entire lines!!

The Girl's Loft - September Projects

2011-09-16T09:35:00.002-05:00

Here are my projects for The Girl's Loft September kit. I created three layouts and a card and still had plenty of product left over! It had some lovely new papers from the new Crate Paper line - love it!

You can check out the goodness HERE.

....and a couple more layouts.

2011-09-08T17:33:00.001-05:00

Sharing a couple more layouts that I finished up earlier this week. I was just able to get around photographing them due to all the lovely rain that was dumped on us from tropical storm Lee...

And on this note, I wish you all a happy weekend! The hubs and I are actually going away this weekend!! I cannot tell you how excited we are :-) Vacation officially started for me last night and it starts for the hubby tonight! I'll be going to be very first CKC this weekend - totally excited! See ya next week!

Blue Moon Scrapbooking

2011-09-07T21:40:00.002-05:00

For the last couple of weeks, I've had the fun of using the new Amy Tangerine line for American Crafts! My favorite pieces to this new collection have been the new Thickers, fabric brads, & the Decorative Bits. Oh, and the mix tape! These two layouts are ones that I've made for the Blue Moon Blog the past couple of weeks....

You can purchase this line in the Blue Moon Store....

....and I also happen to know that the new Studio Calico has popped up in the store today!!! I can't wait to get my hands on that goodness!

September Scrapjack

2011-09-01T10:36:00.001-05:00

Scrapjacked is back! Make sure you check out the blog to see who we jacked this month!! One of my all time favorite scrappers :-) I used the August Studio Calico kit for this layout..love the colors in that kit!

You can check out the blog at www.scrapjacked.blogspot.com!

2011-08-26T20:04:00.000-05:00

I have just a couple of layouts and a card for this post....

This first layout was one done for the Blue Moon Scrapbooking Blog...I love this picture of my hubby. I'm so glad he is so good-natured about my love for impromptu photo shoots :-) He is such a good guy...and rather studly too ;-)

This is a greeting card done with the August Studio Calico kit "Boardwalk". Seriously. This kit was 'da bomb! The colors were gorgeous in this kit - all those blues & greens...*swoon*...!

And last but not least...this layout was also done with the Studio Calico August Kit "Boardwalk".

Wishing you a happy weekend :-) This girl will be working the whole weekend...

The Girl's Loft - August Projects

2011-08-23T19:46:00.000-05:00

Here are my projects for the August kit from The Girl's Loft! I loved the colors in this kit this time around - Margie always has a great color scheme in her kits :-) You can always check it out at www.thegirlsloft.com.

Elle's Studio - "Savoring Summer" Mini Book

2011-08-21T16:28:00.000-05:00

When I was on the design team for Elle's Studio, the first part of this year, I received this Summer Project Kit called "Savoring Summer". It was an awesome assortment of goodies with some exclusive Elle's Studio tags. I FINALLY broke into this kit this weekend after getting some July photos printed. I wanted to save the kit and just highlight the month of July - mostly because it was my last month of my 20's. Turns out, I'm really glad that I opted for this. There were so many different things that went on during this month that I was glad to already have a plan to document it all. I pumped this little book out in just a few hours. Saturday evening, I cut out all the pages and then created the front & back to the mini - I also cut out all of my photos. I spent about an hour starting the pages by adhering the photos & journaling blocks in. Sunday, I finished it by putting in all of the journaling, titles, & embellishments. If you bought one of these kits, let me know in the comments! I would love to check it out :-)

These are not all of the pages in the book - there are probably close to 25 pages in it - but I was running out of time to photograph it due to an incoming thunderstorm :-)

Say what!!!?!

2011-08-15T21:04:00.001-05:00

This has been one of THEE hardest secrets to keep!! I am SUPER honored to have been asked to be on the American Crafts Design Team!!!! When I saw the email on Friday, I think I actually might have actually skipped a few heart beats! And I am very excited to work with some other very talented ladies! Check it!

INTERNATIONAL

Cindy Stevens – from New Brunswick, Canada

Lilith Eeckles – from Bertogne, Belgium

Michelle Clement – from British Columbia, Canada

Piradee Talvanna – from Singapore

Revlie Schuit – from Roelofarendsveen, The Netherlands

Shimelle Laine – from London, England

UNITED STATES

Amy Heller – from Newtown, CT

Cindy Tobey – from Kentwood, MI

Corrie Jones – from Dallas, GA

Heidi Sonboul – from Torrance, CA

Jamie Harper – from Phoenix, AZ

Jenny Chesnick – from Brooklyn, MD

Leah Farquharson – from Lauderhill, FL

Leslie Ashe – from Fort Worth, TX

Mandy Koeppen – from Hastings, MI

Melissa Mann – from Pensacola, FL

Paige Evans – from South Pasadena, CA

Pamella Brown – from Santa Rosa Beach, FL

Rahel Menig – from Gilroy, CA

Suzy Plantamura – from Laguna Niguel, CA

Also check out the American Crafts Blog for a super BIG giveaway!!!

Week in the Life Via Phone - July 23 - 31

2011-08-13T07:00:00.000-05:00

These are all of my photos taken with my phone during the "Week in the Life" project. I'll give you fair warning that this is a picture heavy post - and this isn't even all of them. ;-)

Schtuff

2011-08-12T15:10:00.000-05:00

Here are the last few crafty projects from the little studio :-)

This shadow box was made for the Blue Moon Scrapbooking Blog! It was featured earlier this week. I usually don't fancy myself an altered art kind-a-gal, but it was a refreshing change to challenge myself with this! I used a Maya Road Trinket Shadow Box - very cool!

And these are a few layouts from the two most recent Studio Calico Kits. This first one is from the "Mind the Gap" July kit - I did love the papers in that kit!

And these next two layouts use the "Boardwalk" August Studio Calico kit. And talk about loving the paper...*swoon*. I'm all about the blues & greens and this kit is chock full of them! I'm loving the exclusive SC paper that was in this one. I was so happy that I was able to snag the extra paper add-on. I can see myself hoarding a sheet or two of this!

This layouts documents the love Troy has for shrimp :-) Although, after this meal, he said it would be a while before he could eat another steamed shrimp..lol.

...and this layout documents the game of Cribbage. My grandfather loves this game and if you are at his house, he always challenges you to a game. He & Troy are always playing and I always hear him say these little quirky things when they are playing...just wanted to get those sayings down on paper :-)

And can I just say how much I love the camera app "Retro Camera" on my android :-) Love it. Both of these last layouts have pictures on them that I took with it. I really need to get with the ball and upload all the recent photos on there from my NY trip so that I can include them in my Week in the Life album. Speaking of which, that thing has totally thrown me for a loop this time around. Usually, I can just roll that thing out the week after - and I have struggled with it for the last 4 days. I finally decided on a format to use - I'm doing a hybrid/paper approach. I got all of my collaged 8 x10 sets ready. I now just need to upload everything to be printed. :-)

Happy Friday!

Blue Moon Design Team Projects

2011-08-05T16:36:00.000-05:00

These are a couple of layouts that were recently on the Blue Moon Scrapbooking Blog. I cannot tell you how much I LOVE that green woodgrain paper by Studio Calico. I think a little piece of that paper has made it onto the last several layouts I have made :-)

- iShoot -

- Family Photograph -

Make sure you check out the blog and the store! New goodies are starting to make their way in :-) www.bluemoonscrapbooking.com

Week in the Life - Saturday, July 30, 2011

2011-08-04T12:45:00.000-05:00

Saturday's Details:

*Self Portrait* - 30th Birthday

*Directions* - Dad & David mapping out the directions to Nana's house from our hotel in Bethlehem, PA.

*City Skyline* - getting into NYC.

*My Family* - talking after the visitation at Schwille Funeral Home. The plan was to go check into our hotel, and then head back down to Glendale Diner a few blocks from the funeral home to have dinner. The memorial service would start at 7:00PM.

*Rachel & Mom* - inside Glendale Diner

*Food* - and a TON of it! They did nothing small in this joint!

*Funeral Home* - outside the building after the memorial service for Nana - talking to family.

*Map* - David figuring out which train to take down to Times Square. After we got back to the hotel that night around 10:00PM, we three decided to head into the city. We met up in the hotel lobby at 10:15PM; got a bunch of quarters; walked two blocks down to the bus stop; waiting for the bus for about 20 minutes; took the bus down to the subway station; got on the 7 train and took it down to Times Square.

*Sephora* - yes, it was still open at 11:50 at night! And it was packed!

*Times Square* - it was absolutely packed in Times Square. Wall to wall people. There was an insane amount of people down there. But, I can say that on my 30th birthday, I was in Times Square :-)

*Bus Ride* - catching the bus back to the stop near the hotel. There was a ton of people on the bus. I'm standing right behind the driver - standing room only! And more people still got on at this point!

I took over 75 pictures this day. This is only a small glimpse of this day. It was an emotionally exhausting day with the funeral service & seeing family that I hadn't seen in a very long day. We were busy from the minute we woke up until we dropped into bed around 2:30AM that morning after our jaunt into Manhattan. However, I am so very thankful that I was able to get up there to celebrate the life of my Nana. She was an incredible lady. She made the best pot roast. Ever. She always had a kiss & hug for me. She was a soft spoken lady with a big heart. She always sent a birthday card filled with X's & O's. She was my Nana. I miss you, Dorothy May Moeller. xoxo

Week in the Life - Friday, July 29, 2011

2011-08-04T12:06:00.000-05:00

Friday's Details:

*Interstate Driving*

*Fuel*

*Fill it Up*

*Food*

*Stretching*

*Fuel* - again

*More Driving*

NOTES:

1. Up at 4:45AM.

2. At my brother's house at 5:45.

3. Pulled out of his driveway at 5:56.

4. Met up with Mom, Dad, & Rachel at the Staples in Birmingham, AL.

5. Lots of driving, driving, driving.

6. Stopped at Cracker Barrel around 2:00/3:00 that afternoon for lunch.

7. Family gave me my birthday present while at Cracker Barrel - a Fuji Instax Camera :-)

8. Got back in the car and continued driving. I switched with Mom and drove with Dad & Rachel and Mom drove with David.

9. Got into Bethlehem, PA, around 1:00AM.

10. Crashed into bed around 1:30AM.

Pretty much this whole day consisted of driving, stopping for fuel & bathroom breaks. It was a VERY long day of driving. Drove non-stop from Pensacola, FL to Bethlehem, PA, which is about 92 miles from NYC.

Week in the Life - Thursday, July 28, 2011

2011-08-03T07:00:00.000-05:00

Thursday's Details:

*Sleeping*

*Packing*

*Styling*

*Raining*

*Capture*

*Punches*

*Scrapping*

* Restaurant*

*Pedicure*

*Yummy*

*Pasta*

*Birthday Cake*

*Evening*

*Packing*

NOTES from Thursday:

1. Packing for the trip to NYC.

2. Got a fresh pedicure

3. Bought some new products for the new hairstyle.

4. More rain.

5. Troy told me to be ready when he got home - he took me out to celebrate my birthday early since I wasn't going to be here on the actual day.

6. Went to Carrabba's Italian Restaurant. I got Pasta Carrabba & Troy got Linguine Pescatore.

7. Troy had the waiter bring a piece of chocolate cake over with a candle for me :-)

8. I threatened Troy with bodily harm if the waiters all came over & sang "Happy Birthday" to me ;-)

9. Above mentioned chocolate cake: best cake EVER. Seriously. Delish.

10. Went to Lane Bryant at Cordova Mall and bought a new skirt & shirt that were on the 50% rack. Plus, I was able to use an additional 30% off text code.

11. Went home & finished packing.

12. Set alarm to go off at 4:45AM. Had to be at my brother's house at 5:45AM to be on the road at 6:00AM.

Week in the Life - Wednesday, July 27, 2011

2011-08-02T20:30:00.000-05:00

I'm finally getting a chance to post the rest of my Week in the Life pictures from last week . It has been a crazy past week - but, I'm finally getting caught up today.

Wednesday's Details:

*Rain* - again. Sick of the rain.

*New Haircut* - I cannot tell you how anxious & worried I was about this. I had originally had my haircut scheduled for Friday morning, July 29th. However, my family & I ended up having to leave that day to go up to NYC for my Nana's funeral. I ended up cancelling that appointment and making one at a different salon entirely, since the other one couldn't fit me in on Wednesday. And as it turned out, I LOVE this haircut. I hadn't had my hair professionally cut for about 3 years. It was very long. I had probably over 12" cut off! It is one of those inverted bob styles - it is considerably short in the back & I love it because it is not on my neck! I also had her put in a good amount of highlights :-) Happy Birthday to Me!

*Lunch* - hubs & I had pizza for lunch

*Phone* - still raining at 2:34PM

*Back Room* - hubs on computer, dogs chewing rawhide.

*Back Room*

*Evidence* - that Lucy had plowed through the pillows. She loves to do that and make a nest for herself :-)

*Evening Rituals*

NOTES:

I don't have many pictures from this day at all. It was very rainy & I was feeling out sorts. Troy had to close the store that evening, so I was by myself. I did a quick photo shoot for some friends that evening - the rain finally stopped for a little while.

WHITE FAMILY PHOTO-SHOOT

The Girl's Loft - July Projects

2011-07-27T22:28:00.000-05:00

Here are the layouts I did using the July Girl's Loft kit :-) Loved all the yellow & gray & red tones in this kit! Lots of fun to work with! You can check out the blog at www.girlsloft.com.

Week in the Life - Tuesday, July 26

2011-07-27T08:08:00.000-05:00

Details from Tuesday, July 26th:

*Getting ready to Leave for Work*

*Lucy* - none too happy that I'm about to leave her

*Sitting in my car* - had just read a horrible text message from my Aunt Barbara

*Breakfast* - ended up not going to work - went back inside and made myself something to eat

*Self Portrait* - yesterday was a rough day

*Scrap Desk* - 'tis quite messy

*Interstate*

*Dinner* - Beef O' Bradys Chicken Tacos

*Outside* - went out with the puppies for a while - Troy complained about mosquitoes the whole time...

*Mushroom* - we've had a ton of these pop up in our yard due to all the rain we've had recently.

*Going Inside* - I love Lucy's curly tail :-)

*Troy & Lucy* - Lucy was very intrigued by the neighbor mowing his grass

NOTES FROM TUESDAY:

1. It rained off & on all day.

2. Troy had to open the store - was up at 3:00AM

3. I was on my way to work when I got a text message & turned back around & went home.

4. My Nana (my dad's mom) left us today. We will miss you, Dorothy Moeller.

5. My sister & talked on the phone several times today.

6. Plans were made for us all to drive up to NYC for my Nana's funeral & memorial service.

7. I rescheduled some appointments - including a hair appointment that I was very anxious about on Friday Morning - it has now been rescheduled for Wednesday morning and I'm just as anxious.

8. My brother-in-law got into a car accident and was taken my ambulance to Sacred Heart Hospital.

9. Thankfully, bro-in-law is ok and was able to be released. However, he had a previous back injury & this accident made it even worse.

10. I'm so thankful for my Husband. He had plans set up for my birthday this Saturday, and now I won't even be here. He has worked 9 days in a row to take off those two days around my birthday and I won't be here with him. I cried about this several times yesterday.

11. A very emotional day. I almost thought about quitting the Week in the Life. But, I realized that this is Life. This is what is making up my life right now. As hard as it all is, I want to be able to look back at this time. The rest of this week won't be easy, but this too shall pass.

Week in the life - Monday, July 25, 2011

2011-07-26T07:00:00.000-05:00

Moments from Monday...

*Lunch* - Healthy Choice Meal, Crackers, Fiber Bar, & Diced Peaches

*Shoes* - I know it's blurry, but I still like this shot.

*Sammers* - I was outside on the deck and she was quite unhappy that she wasn't out there with me.

*Morning Haze*

*Dewy Morning*

*Clouds*

*Evidence of Puppies*

*Dishes*

*Dinner* - leftover stuffed shells

*Kitchen & Kat*

*Cleaning up Email*

*Scraproom*

*No Makeup*

*Yummy*

*Ice Cream, Grenandine Sauce, & Ginger Ale* - DELISH!

TODAY:

I was grumpy.

It was a typical "Monday" at work.

It rained.

It thundered.

We had left overs for dinner.

Super thankful we had those leftovers and that I didn't have to cook anything.

Watched "American Pickers" & their trip to Pensacola.

No mail.

Tired & sleepy.

Week in the life - Sunday, July 24, 2011

2011-07-25T07:00:00.001-05:00

Here we are with Sunday's details....

*Time I got up out of bed* - I was actually woke up much earlier than that by a telephone call around 6:00AM and then another one around 7:30AM *sigh* - should I also note that neither of them were emergencies....

*Footwear* - my favorite black sandals

*Church*

*Drama Presentation* - a youth Drama Club was at the morning service

*Self Portrait* - taken in car

*You & Me* - aka Troy & Melissa

*Headlines*

*Lucy & Sammers* - it only took about 20 shots to get one in that they were both looking at me

*My Baby*

*Rain Showers*

Random things to Note:

1. I love when we are both home on Sundays (even if it is just part of the day).

2. Completed one scrapbook layout using the Studio Calico Sunday Sketch from last week

3. Threw the frisbee for Sammy around 7:30...

4. ...and that led to multiple mosquito bites.

5. Totally dreading work tomorrow.

6. Watched "The Italian Job" & parts of "Titantic".

7. Bemoaning the fact that there are only 6 days left until 3-0.

8. SUPER anxious about Friday morning.

Week in the Life - Saturday, July 23, 2011

2011-07-24T17:46:00.000-05:00

I am super excited to be participating in the "Week in the Life" project again hosted by Ali Edwards. This is my third year in a row playing along and it is usually one of my most loved projects when going back and looking through it. I will be honest: it is a lot of work. A lot of remembering to pick up the camera. A lot of jotting down memories/schedules/etc. A lot of collecting paraphernalia through out the week - BUT in the end, it is totally worth it. This week is especially significant for me because it is also the very last week in my 20's. A very bitter sweet moment, if I do say so myself. I have been very emotional about this birthday for so many reasons. Some I will share here and some I will not. I've really been having a rough time the past week and a half or so and have been struggling with so many thoughts that I have been feeling extremely overwhelmed. I know that I will look back at this time and laugh at my silliness, but right now, in this moment, it is far from silly. So, welcome to my week & welcome to the last week in my 20's :-)

*Living Room* - I love how Sammers is peeking her head around at me. She usually despises the camera :-)

*Driving down 8 Mile Creek Road* - a road that we drive VERY frequently

*Fuel* - documenting the price of gas at this time

*Hot Hubs* - hehe ;-)

*Breakfast date at Denny's*

*He drinks coffee & I drink water*

*Best steak breakfast burrito & best hashbrowns*

*Publix* - love shopping here

*Lunch* - baked french fries

*Sunny/Cloudy Afternoon* - you can just barely make out Sammy with her frisbee

*Dinner Prep*

*Stuffed Shells*

*Night Time Rituals*

If you are also documenting your week, let me know so I can check out the daily moments in your life :-)

Vagabond Giveaway!!

2011-07-18T21:45:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday Evening!

I just wanted to leave a quick post this evening about the fantastic giveaway that Blue Moon Scrapbooking is doing on their blog! They are giving away a Tim Holtz Vagabond that is signed by the genius himself!! You can check out the blog post HERE! Make sure to follow the rules & you could get up to 5 chances to win!

And these are a couple of layouts I've made over the past couple of weeks for the Blue Moon Blog :-)

The Creative Type

2011-07-15T17:00:00.000-05:00

Make sure you check out the prompt for July at the The Creative Type! I really loved the prompt this month - and I used up some "old school" Studio Calico! The "Homefront" line was by far one of my favorites - I loved the papers SO much from that line :-) Make sure you also check out the blog for some details about looking for a few new faces to design for The Creative Type! You can find the blog HERE.

Lots & lots...

2011-07-08T16:45:00.001-05:00

I guess it has been a while since I updated my blog! I felt like I had a ton o' layouts to share :-)

*Top 10 Places to Visit* - Studio Calico Documentary Line

*My Brother* - Studio Calico "Mind the Gap" Kit

*Relaxation* - Studio Calico "Paper Moon" kit

*LOVE* - Studio Calico "Paper Moon" kit

*Smile* - Studio Calico "Paper Moon" kit

*Smile*- Blue Moon Scrapbooking Design Team Work

*Sweet Boy* - Blue Moon Scrapbooking Design Team Work

The Girl's Loft June Projects

2011-06-29T12:09:00.000-05:00

My projects for The Girl's Loft June kit are up :-) Make sure to check out the blog to see all the creations from this month's kit!

*Summer Days* - pictures taken with camera phone

*Happy Birthday* Greeting Card

*Home* - pictures taken around the house

*Pensacola Beach* - my hometown

Elle's Studio June Gallery Reveal

2011-06-24T19:03:00.001-05:00

This is my last gallery for Elle's Studio. A very bittersweet moment, indeed! Thank you to Elle, for allowing me to be a part of your team for the past six months! I loved every moment of it :-) Make sure to check out the full gallery! The girls all knocked it out of the park :-)

American Crafts Guest Designer!

2011-06-23T07:01:00.000-05:00

I was SUPER excited about being a guest designer for American Crafts!!! I got the email at the end of May asking if I would participate and have been crazy happy about this opportunity!! Thanks, American Crafts!! You can see the post on their blog HERE !

Poor little blog....

2011-06-17T20:02:00.000-05:00

I have been neglecting my blog as of late. I blame it on all the crafty projects I've been working on the past couple of weeks! I had my gallery to get ready for Elle's Studio - my last one. I can't believe my term is already up on this team - seriously, Elle is just a fantastic person to work for!! And congrats to the new team for the second half of the year. I am determined to finally break into her debut Project Kit next weekend! I have a three day weekend and am already planning for it. I've also been working on some other projects - and I cannot wait to finally let the cat out of the bag about those either! I got a super fun email about a month and a half ago and it totally made my day :-) That will go up sometime next week!

In the meantime, we are trying to stay cool around these parts. It has been exhaustingly hot around here. It got up to 101 degrees one day this week with the heat index at about 110. Not so much fun. We also need a serious drenching around here. We have not had a decent amount of rain around here in SO long. The past two days we have had those little storms that pop up and downpour for about 2 minutes....but, we need far more than that.

A few layouts from the past couple of weeks....

*Blue Moon Design Team*

*Studio Calico - May Kit*

Catching up....

2011-06-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

I'm finally getting some layouts posted up here that have been done this past month. Most of them were for different assignments in May...

*The Creative Type May Prompt*

*Blue Moon Design Team - Blog Post*

*Sunday Sketch - Studio Calico May Kit*

Elle's Studio - May Gallery Reveal

2011-05-23T07:00:00.001-05:00

Here are my projects for the Elle's Studio May Gallery! I love how versatile these tags are - you can use them for virtually any project/layout you want to! There's been a lot of fun stuff happening on the Elle's Studio blog lately! Make sure you check out all the news! Tomorrow, their first ever project kit is going live!! Super excited to see it - it will have exclusive, one-of-a-kind tags in the kit that you won't be able to get anywhere else!!! You can check out the blog at http://ellesstudio.blogspot.com/.

The Girl's Loft May Projects

2011-05-22T10:06:00.000-05:00

Hey, hey! I finally got my May layouts for the The Girl's Loft posted. It has been a crazy two weeks around here. I am hoping to get caught up this week! The kit this month was filled with more wonderful product from one of the new lines by The Girl's Paperie!