Here By Grace

So I was in a Wedding...

over the weekend and it really was fun!  I haven't been in a friend's wedding in about 20 years, and I didn't want to be,(that shows you how old I am!LOL!) but I couldn't tell my good friend Shelby no.  I just love her! I have to say that it truly was a fabulous time and loads of fun! And on top of that, I looked good! Yep, that's me-second chic from the end! 

Well, it's Monday again and I'm thinking about going back to work next Monday! Yep! My summer vacation has come to an end and not a moment too soon! I need a paycheck bad!(LOL!) I went to my classroom today to start getting setup for the new school year.  After all of this time teaching, I still get excited to meet my new students!  Anyway, here's another layout I did using the Urban Passion kit from Scraptastic!  This features the scrapilicious girlies of Scrap-Tastic! Take care and Be Blessed!

Where Has This Week Gone?

It seems like since I got home from CHA, I've been running non-stop! I've been trying to get Brittany together so she can get started on her college education, I've been helping Erica get her stuff together so she can go back to finish her college education,  taking Michael for his shots so he can start kindergarten, and getting ready for my friend's wedding that I'm in this weekend!

With all of that going on, I somehow found time to finish these DT assignments for Scrap-Tastic!  I really love this paper from Urban Lily too! You'll have to get to Scrap-Tastic next week because everything I used here and more, you'll find in the August "Urban Passion" kit! You get a wonderful collection of papers from Urban Lily, Bazzill cardstock & Big Brads, some Prima Flowers, Buttons, Urban Lily Rub-Ons, and the "Fabulous" stamp from Heidi Swapp all in one crazy-low priced kit($20)! And guess who got to put this scraptabulous kit together???? Yep! It was me! So next week, get on over to Scrap-Tastic and get you an "Urban Passion" kit before they're all gone! Here's that fantastic kit!

Well, that's all for a few days! You all take care and Be Blessed!!

I'm Back!

  I'm back from CHA and my feet still hurt!(LOL!) I haven't walked this much in long time, and my body sure did feel it!  So I guess this means I need to stop procrastinating and get my behind up and out to walk in the mornings again! Anyway, I had a fabulous time in Chicago! Now, you might call me crazy (and many people already do! LOL!), but I had more fun going around meeting people and chatting it up! I so enjoyed meeting the wonderful folks I know online, but not in real life!  It was just joyous! Hey, don't get me wrong. There are a TON of new products coming out that I spent time drooling over too! I think the line that left my mouth hanging open the longest is KI Memories! WOWIEEEEEEEE!!! I can't wait to get my hands on that stuff! For me, it's a must!  Okay, so here are a few photos I took while I was there of some of the crazy-cool people I spent time with:

1. The first photo is of me and my fab friend Sandy who I drove up to Chicago with. She's truly my girl! Yes, I know I look drunk, but it's only because this is on Friday night after our 5 hour drive up and walking the CHA floor all day!(that sounds like a good excuse, huh?)

2. This is me with the wonderfully sweet and talented Wendy Malichio, and the super-scrapilicious and totally fabulous chic Valerie Salmon! I had soooo much fun with this lady it was crazy!

  3, 4, & 5. Here are the fantabulous ladies of Moxxie! The first one is the lovely Jennifer(owner of Moxxie), the next one is Sue (she works in Moxxie's headquarters) and the ever-so talented Jen( she's the amazing product designer).  The next photo is of Sue W. (man do I love this lady!) and of me being the crazy person I am!

6. This is me and the awesomely talented Heather Thompson!

7. This is me and the crazy, super-fabulous ladies of Scrap-Tastic! Man, I love these ladies too! I had sooo much fun with them!  It's Becky Teichmiller(owner and all around fab-chic of Scrap-Tastic!), me, Barb Novak (amazingly scrappy chic!), Emily Spahn (super-cool and talented chic!) , and Rachel Cohara ( oh, so cute and super-talented Hall of Famer 2007! )

I have a ton more photos, but I'll save them for later! Have a great Monday, take care and Be Blessed!!

I Got Some Awards Folks!

Hey all! I thought I'd pop in here before I leave for CHA to say goodbye and I'll be back with plenty of photos!!

Well, let me tell you how happy I was to get some Blog Awards here lately! The first award was given to me by sweet Amy.  She gave me the Thinking Blogger Award! Now, I'm not sure how much thinking I do (LOL!), but I was truly honored just the same.  

The next award, which was given to me by fantastic Danni, is the Rockin' Girl Blogger Award!  Once again I am honored, and very grateful that someone really likes my blog!   

Now, if I'm understanding this correctly, I'm supposed to pass each of these awards on to 5 people I think are fabulous, so here they are:

THE RECIPIENTS OF THE THINKING BLOGGER AWARD GO TO:

                                             

1. CPS (Card Positioning Systems)- This is one of my favorite places to go for fabulous card sketches! The designers that contribute to this site on a regular basis are the best in the business! When you visit here, be prepared to be inspired!

2. Regina Easter- Now this woman is now only a super-talented card-maker, but she's also a fantastic person! And you talking about knowing her way around a Cricut machine! Wowiee! She's the master!

3.  Jennifer Stewart- I absolutely LOVE this scrappy woman! She is just an incredible talent and such a lovely person! I love reading her fun blog and I'm sure you will too!

4.  Valerie Salmon- I've been a fan of this lady ever since I discovered CreativeXpress back in 2005!  She left me with my mouth opened then, and she still does it now!  Her sketches, layouts, and cards are like nothing I've ever seen! I absolutely ADORE her!!

5.  Wendy Malichio- I think this woman is just fabulous!! She's such a uniquely talented person and I think she's amazing! And besides that, she's soooo nice!  You really should check her out! You won't be sorry!

THE RECIPIENTS OF THE ROCKIN' GIRL BLOGGER AWARD GO TO:

                                             

1. Rebecca Bose- Now this girl has got some great style! I love everything she touches and so will you!

2. Roree Rumph- Let me just tell you that she is one of the best cardmakers around! Her style is like no other, and her use of color is phenomenal!

3. Jamie Gavin- Now this girl, not only is a sweetie pie, but she's one talented sweetie pie!! You must go check out her style and here gallery for immediate inspiration!

4. Barb Novak- Not only is she one cool scrapper, but she's also one hilarious lady!  I love reading her blog cause she truly keeps it real! Rock on Barb!

5. Melissa Phillips- All I can say is AMAZING! WONDERFUL, & FABULOUS!! Her site is a MUST!!

**If you're a Sizzix fiend like me, you've got to go to CreativeXpress to check out their sale on all their remaining Sizzix goodies! Here's just some of the awesome sale prices going on:

Sizzlit alphabets $38.61 (They get cheaper in a Build a Kit too)
Sizzlit sets of 4 and borders $4.86 - $5.15
Steel Rule dies $2.43 - $3.86
Alphabar #'s $7
Alphabar Alphabets $20 (Ransom is $25)
Embossing Folders $1.74

You can't beat those prices, so run- don't walk!!

Alrighty! I guess that's enough for today, so take care and Be Blessed!!

WHeW!!

Whew!  I've been a scrapping machine lately, but I'll get to that in a minute.

I wanted to thank everyone for your well-birthday wishes! I just had to come back to tell you that it really was very happy! Gregory and I haven't had a "real" date in soooo long and it was too much fun!
You know, sometimes we get so busy with regular everyday "stuff" that we often forget about "us". As a result of our wonderful date, we have totally committed to having a "real" date with each other at least once a month from here on out. I know it doesn't sound like it's very often, but it's a huge improvement for us! So let's get out there and get our date on! Here's to everyone having more "real" date nights!

Okay! I've got some BIG NEWS!! CreativeXpress is having a DESIGN TEAM CALL!!!! Now let me tell you that you definitely want to give this a shot!  This has been the BEST experience for me! The company is fantastic to work for, but the other designers on this team are just the best in the business!  I have been so blessed to be on this team to learn from these ladies!  Anyway, if you're interested, go HERE to read more!

Now for some Moxxie sneak peeks! All of these layouts posted today feature Moxxie's new product lines that will be making their debut at CHA this week! For a look at all the new collections, go HERE!

Well, that's it for today! Take care and Be Blessed!!

__________________

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Yep! Today is my birthday and I don't want to do anything but have some time to myself! I want to have an All About Me birthday where I don't share myself with anyone else! You know, get a manecure, pedicure, hair done, and some scrap time! (LOL!) I know it sounds pretty selfish, but it seems like every other day of the year I'm never alone and I'm always doing something for others!(I know all you wives and mothers know what I mean!)  And by the way, today is my 43rd birthday, and I'm pretty cool with that! Life has been very good for me, and everyday is truly a blessing! I'm only half as cute as I used to be, but I'm twice as smart, so I guess it's not a bad trade off! But it sure would be nice to be as energetic and cute as I was at 22 along with this 43 year old brain!  I think I could probably rule the world!!(LOL!) So, I'm gonna see go see if I can get some "alone time" on this birthday of mine and I'll let you know if I was successful tomorrow! (LOL!) Hugs to you and everyone you love! Take care and Be Blessed!

Sweet Organization!

So I've been spending so much time in my scrap area, I feel like a mad scientist working in my secret lab!  It's just amazing how productive I've become! Now, I'm sure this isn't a big deal to most folks, but it used to take me at least an entire day to finish a layout, but now I'm churning 'em out totally completed in 2 hours or less!  Having everything in one area, in it's own space (where I know where everything is) is totally working for me! So I guess this organization thing really works! And who knows? I may have to stick with this!(LOL!)

Well, I've been having fun playing with my Cricut this morning.  Since I always give my students a Welcome to my Classroom gift, I thought it would be a good idea to try to make this crayon box from the Bags, Tags, Boxes and More Shapes cartridge.  The papers are from Moxxie's Make The Grade line. I made this in like 30 minutes and it was totally fun!  Anyway, have a great day, take care, and Be Blessed!

My New Scrappy Space!

So this weekend we moved out a ton of stuff and I finally moved all of my scrap stuff to my own scrap area in the basement! (whooohooooo!!) Now, it's not an expensive, state of the art scrapper's studio, but it's all mine and I LOVE it!!  One of the best things about it is my word on the wall; SCRAPTABULOUS.  You know I like to make up words and this is one of 'em! It's a combination of my 2 favorite words: Scrap + Fabulous! (LOL!) Now, we already had a full bathroom down there along with my bike and treadmill (now maybe I'll use them since I'll be looking at them all of the time!LOL!), and I got a new big ol' screen t.v. so I won't miss any of my reality shows!

Oh, I almost forgot! The winner of my RAK is Cheryl KVD!!! Send me your mailing information so I can get it out to you!  Alrighty folks, have a great and safe 4th of July, take care and Be Blessed!!