A Creative Touch

LET'S SCRAP LEAP AROUND THE WORLD BLOG HOP

2012-02-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome to your next stop in the

If you came here from Peggy Ruiz @ http://peggysplace-peggys.blogspot.com/ then you are in the right place!

If you did not, Mindi Brown @ http://scrapchat-n-coffeetalk.blogspot.com/ has the hop order to help you find your way.

I am so excited to be a blog host for such a fun and huge blog hop! These group of ladies are one of the most inviting and inspirational group of ladies. Did I mention this blog hop has 50 blog hosts?!? WOW some great inspirations and some great prizes are to be had... so let's get going....

Here is the sketch I am showcasing for the hop

Here is my example:

Supplies used:

Teresa Collins Designs Spring Fling - Balloons

Teresa Collins Designs Spring Fling - Damask

Teresa Collins Designs Spring Fling - Houndstooth

Teresa Collins Designs Spring Fling Stamps

Crepe Paper to create flower

Therm O Web: Sticky Tape Runner

Therm O Web: Jumbo Zots

White Bazzill Cardstock

Now for the fun part!!! Here is the Prize Pack I am offering!

Three 6x6 paper pads by Teresa Collins Designs - Haunted Hallows, Christmas Home and World Traveler

Here is how easy it is to enter for my random draw:

Chance #1:

Be or become a member of Let's Scrap. You can do by by clicking here http://letsscrap.ning.com/ It is free, easy and fast!!
Become a follower of my blog
Leave me a comment telling me a your favorite quote of all time.

Yes, you must do all three things to be entered in the random draw. I will check. :)

Chance #2:

Make a card from the sketch I have posted and upload it to the gallery at Let's Scrap
Please tag it as : 2-11-12, LEAP21 ***Please note there is a SPACE after the comma. (2 dash eleven dash twelve comma space LEAP21.)
Leave a comment with the link to your card on Let's Scrap.

The hop ends at 11:59 p.m. Central Standard Time February 29th,2012.

I am so excited about this hop. You have an entire month to get through all the blog hosts. So take your time and make sure you create the cards or layouts. HAVE FUN WITH IT.

NOW your next stop will be with the amazing Sharon-Lee Coetzer http://shazleescrap.blogspot.com/

If you get lost along the way or have joined the hop in the middle, Mindi Brown @ http://scrapchat-n-coffeetalk.blogspot.com/ has the hop order to help you find your way. You won't want to miss out on the fun.

Crepe Paper Pom Pom Tutorial

2012-02-11T12:44:00.000-07:00

Check out the tutorial I created for Therm O Web Blog. HERE

Tutorial on Therm O Web Blog.

Guest Designer for THE HEN'S DEN

2012-02-10T23:06:00.002-07:00

I was so lucky to be asked to be a guest designer over at The Hen's Den. So head over to their blog: HERE to check out the cute card I created for them.

Make sure to check out The Hen's Den blog: HERE!

Thanks for stopping by!

I'll take the good with the bad...

2012-02-04T00:21:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was a strange day. First thing in the morning I woke up shaking and cold but I was sweating. I went back to sleep. Finally woke up around 11 a.m. just in time to start getting ready and pick up baby from school. After picking up baby we came home and I started working on the computer to make sure everything was on schedule and check emails. I usually spend the morning hours responding to e-mails and posting morning status on Facebook. Gotta love social media.

Then as the day progressed I finally started to put away the LOADS of laundry that was clean. I just needed to put everything away and keep up with the laundry. WELL...my washing machine needs replacing and it kept overflowing causing a minor flood in the basement.. carpet wet and now I needed to clean up the mess. (This has been an ongoing problem....so nothing new.)

Then I come upstairs and Robert is doing the dishes and says...the kitchen sink is backed up...we can not run the dishwasher. Okay.. fine. I just need to get laundry done.

So I finally finish with the clean laundry, cleaned up the wet carpet and started drying it then it was time to pick up the other two kids from school. My thought was to get the rest of the computer work completed when we get back from getting everyone from school... Well my plans were changed when I returned. NO INTERNET!!

Really?!? I call our internet provider to let them know that I have no internet and they need to send someone out. I already reset the modem and the power down cycle and everything. NOTHING. Great now I can not get on the internet and finish my work. I knew I should have done it earlier.. that is what I get. DARN.

So at this point I have a crappy washing machine, a backed up kitchen sink and now NO INTERNET. One good thing about it...I got to catch up on my DVR recordings. Finally!

So today...still no kitchen sink but I did get my internet back around 10:30 this morning. So I worked on my computer stuff that I was supposed to do yesterday. I was only able to get one load of laundry completed. (I normally can get 3 or 4 done)Had to wash my dishes in my tub. This is what I felt like doing t make it more fun..

Image source: sybersalt.org Funny picture of washing dishes in the tub.

But I just wash the dishes with out getting in the tub. Now my back is tender from bending over the tub. Oh well... at least I have clean dishes. And to add to the bad luck week... I could not find my card reader with the card to go into my camera. REALLY?!? Now I have to go to the store buy a new card and a card reader, so I can take pictures of my assignments. Great! At least I have a camera and a completed assignment right?!

However, we were able to have family night...we went up to the indoor water park up in Bountiful and then watched Robert play hockey. We were only able to last two periods.. I was starving and so were the kids. Off to the Mc Donald's drive-thru and off back home we went. Still the same clogged drain in the kitchen. BOO.

But we are getting a new stove delivered tomorrow. (I have been trying to cook dinner in a broken oven for the past couple of months. It is hard to cook when the temp is wrong from the reading. OH me oh my.)
So I am hoping for the stuff that we bought for the drain works. We are leaving it overnight to see if it will eat away at what ever has clogged up the drain. If not we are going to have to call the plumber. I can NOT go another day without the kitchen sink. It is not fun washing dishes in the tub. Yuck!

Okay.. off to bed. (Ha..finally before 3 in the morning. Not bad. 12:30.)
Good night!

Wow! Embossing Powders

2012-01-31T10:10:00.000-07:00

Make sure to head on over to the WOW! Embossing Powders Blog and see what I created.
Click: HERE

Catching up...

2012-01-30T22:06:00.000-07:00

Oh me oh my! What a crazy month for me. I was getting things together for CHA (craft and hobby association) Trade Show and in the middle of preparations, my best friend from Texas came to visit. Then it was full speed ahead till the show. I just got home late Saturday night from set-up....and I feel like I have been hit by a freight train.

But I have some fun and exciting projects I will be able to share soon.

First I will be one of the many hosts for the Let's Scrap Leap Around the World Blog Hop!

Then I will be able to share projects using the new collections from Teresa Collins Designs, WOW Embossing Powders, Therm O Web Adhesives, and Photocentric.

I am back and hopefully keep everyone posted on my creations and my crazy life.

While at CHA, I had many people ask how I do everything. To be honest, I don't sleep much. I am always out with my kids and then I work when they are in bed. I love what I do and I don't consider what I do work. I feel blessed to be able to have the opportunities I have but I do know my limitations. I will be sharing my heartaches and accomplishments on my blog. So if you are just wanting to see the projects I have a projects page and you can bypass the personal stuff. But this is me, letting you in on my little world.

I am so excited about my new little adventure by letting you in to see the real me. See you soon!

New Collections by Teresa Collins Designs

2012-01-21T10:56:00.002-07:00

I have been working with the new Collections by Teresa Collins Designs:
Here are the beautiful collections for you to see:

Teresa Collins Fabrications Canvas

Teresa Collins Fabrications Linen

Teresa Collins Spring Fling

Teresa Collins Everyday Moments

I can not wait to share some of the beautiful creations I have made with these collections.

Busy creating for CHA next week. Have an amazing DAY.

Busy time for me..

2012-01-03T23:48:00.001-07:00

I just wanted you to know that I am going on a blog break for a bit.
There is so much going on that I know I will not be able to keep up with everything.

I am working on CHA projects.
My best friend is coming to visit next weekend. I AM SO EXCITED!!!!

And the back on working on more CHA preparations. I will be able to share soon. so much creative energy...so much fun. See ya later.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2011-12-29T10:53:00.001-07:00

Hope you had an amazing Christmas! We spent Christmas in Colorado Springs with Robert's sister Laura!
We just got back last night. I love spending time with family. Hope you had a great Holiday!

I can not believe that 2011 is coming to an end and the new year is about to begin. I am excited to see what 2012 will bring. Each year I pick a word for the year inspired by Ali Edwards, here is a link to her blog post about her word of the year. {HERE} So my word for the year is DISCOVER!

I can not wait to Discover what I can do in 2012! Find and DISCOVER what you can can do in 2012.

Holiday break!!!

2011-12-19T19:21:00.003-07:00

It is holiday break for us. The kids are home and we are getting ready for the holidays.

It is busy at Jump Around Utah with the kids out of school and not so much snow on the mountains we have been CRAZY busy! But it is all a good kinda crazy. Today we attended a birthday party first thing this morning. Again, so much fun for the kids and to celebrate another year.

Robert and I attended an Elephant Gift Exchange party on Friday. We had an amazing time! It was nice to let down our hair and meet some new friends.

The gifts

One of the gifts at the exchange. I thought it was the most creative gift ever!!

A few weeks ago Robert's cousin stopped by on his way to Portland. Here is a picture of him and the kids. They loved having him here even if it were only for a couple of nights.

"Click, click, click, click" --- as the kids say as I am taking their picture.

I have been working on some projects here and there but can not show them yet. But I can show you the latest!!! I completed Drew's new blankie!!!
Here is his current blankie:

the old blanket

the new blanket

Sorry for the blurry pictures but you get the idea. Drew picked out all the fabric for the NEW blanket. Please note: I am not a quilter by any means...but at least I was able to complete it and he LOVES it!

We are ready for the holidays. Play dates are scheduled and we will be able to spend the holidays with family! How are you spending your holiday break?

Gift Bows

2011-12-16T14:16:00.000-07:00

Make sure you hop on over to the Therm O Web blog : HERE to check out the post I did on making your own Gift Bows. Also check out what the other designers are doing with their Therm O Web products.

Too busy to get sick....

2011-12-13T21:10:00.001-07:00

So this past week each one of my kids have been home sick. Now they are better I AM SICK. Yikes. It is hard trying to keep up with them on a daily basis... but now I am sick it makes it that much harder. But hey, life goes on. During our sickies...there was two days that we were all feeling good and that was on Friday.

Good thing because that was our Tree Trimming Party. Since 99 Robert and I have had an ornament party. Yes even before we had the kids we had the ornament party. Now that we have kids it makes it all worth it.
If you rewind to last year our tree fell over during the party. WELL, this year we made it through the party...but it fell over the other morning. So after the guest decorated the tree just perfectly... we had to redecorate it again. But, at least the tree is up and decorated.

But I do have a project to share. Teresa Collins released images in the Cricut Craft Room. Here are some of the images here:

And this is what I created :

Supplies:

Pattern Paper: Teresa Collins Designs - Christmas Home Collection
Black and Silver Vinyl
Frame K & Co.
Adhesive: Therm O Web Foam Squares and Sticky Tape Runner

So I am off to get some needed rest to keep up with the kids. Hope you are having a great week.

Winner!!!!!

2011-12-05T01:32:00.001-07:00

Thank you everyone that left a comment on the Teresa Collins Design Team Blog regarding my post. If you missed out here it the link to the post: HERE So without further a due the winner is :

Kelly Massman said...

Gorgeous layout! I'm boring but I would say Christmas Beauty! Thanks!

Kelly!!! Congrats. Please e-mail me your mailing address at sesilc@gmail.com so I can get your goodies sent to you!! Thank you everyone for participating.

Crazy week... crazy blog post.

2011-12-04T12:35:00.001-07:00

Wow.. This week has just flown by.
I can not even remember what I did yesterday much less last week.
So I thought I would share what I am doing NOW:

Fun?!?! Oh the joys of housework!

I found these pictures on my computer and thought I would share.
It just started snowing again so I will be able to get more snow/winter shots soon. Here are some pictures I did get with our first snow fall here in SLC. I think it only lasted a day. We love this time of year!!!

I wanted to play with some older paper I had in my stash. So this is what I created! I do this sometimes to get my creative juices flowing. This is my process and it works. (sometimes)

Websters Pages

Have a great weekend!

Happy E-Mail

2011-11-30T23:32:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, I was so excited to come home and get happy e-mail:

AND THIS IS WHAT IT SAID….

To Candidate: Sesil Cratin

Hi there,

I would like to thank you for taking the time to submit your entry to the mystery embossing company. I would also like to let you know that YOU have MADE OUR TEAM!!!

Congratulations!!

I am not allowed to tell everyone about who it is with yet, but It wont be long. I can tell you who else made this awesome Design Team. Theres is so much talent out there and I am still in a bit of shock that I have been chosen to join theses ladies.

Design members and leads:

*LEADS:

*Tricia Wilson–lead

*Gina Lideros–lead

*Jen Deal–lead

*Angel Bartonico - lead

*Erin Payne–lead

DESIGN MEMBERS:

Sesil Cratin, Utah --- ME!!!

Ilene telll, Delaware

Lara Scott, Utah

Amy Sotolongo, California

Diana McGraw, California

Jeannie DeGruccio, California

Jennifer Matott, New York

Anne Brown, Texas

Sherrie Shuttles, Ohio

Linda Abadie, Virginia

Jamie Cripps, Michigan

Jenifer Cowles, idaho

Tanisha Long, New Jersey

Jan Hennings, Iowa

Patti Hamil, Georgia

Gini Williams, North Carolina

Tina McDonald, Canada

Donna O’Leary, New Zealand

Benedicte Raphalen, France

Amy Prior, Australia

Irit Shalom, Israel

Jennifer Roach, Canada

Erika Taylor, Canada

Iris Uy, Philippines

Katarina Damm-Blomberg, Finland

Birgit Koopsen, Netherlands

I am so excited and can not wait to share my creations. This will be a great addition to all the other manufactures that I freelance on their design teams. SO EXCITED. So many reasons to be grateful!

Give thanks..

2011-11-24T14:07:00.001-07:00

Give thanks...

I made this card using this months free negative download for the Teresa Collins Stampmaker.

PROUD MOMENT

2011-11-22T00:50:00.001-07:00

I am so PROUD of Sammie!
Friday when I picked up Sammie from school, she was all excited about getting back to school on Monday. So I ask her why she was so excited. She told me that she got called to the office and she was going to do a special activity with the principal on Monday. They didn't want to spoil the surprise. SHE WAS SO EXCITED.

I had to ask.. How did you get to have this opportunity? Sammie explained to me that she got into the CLUB. So as a mom I had to find out what in the world was she talking about. So here is the break down:

The CLUB is a positive reward program, also known as the Principal's 200 club.

Each day 10 tickets are handed out by adults in the school. Tickets are given out to a student who is meeting the school goal. School goals can be: knowing the school rules and/or following certain school rules.

Students who receive a ticket will turn in their ticket to the office, sign the autographbook, and their ticket will be placed on the club board. As the board fills up, the school waits for the special 10 to fill up. When there are 10 in a row, the row is rewarded.

So Sammie is part of the CLUB!!! GO Sammie!

So fast forward to Sunday night. While I am trying to get everyone to bed, Sammie mentions that she is excited about going to school in the morning. At this point I forgot. So she reminds me about her special activity with the principal. OH... OKAY now I remember. I was excited for her at this point and tucked her into bed and told her she will need her energy for the SPECIAL ACTIVITY.

So all day I was thinking about Sammie and her special activity. I remembered to take my camera to help document her special day! So when I saw Sammie she had a wonderful smile on her face. I had to ask...so what was the special activity. Sammie said "We got to ride scooters together and we were in a race together."
She was SOOOOOO happy and proud that she was able to have that activity with the principal and to be part of the CLUB!

Sammie and her principal

Look at the smile on her face! She was so PROUD!!! AND I am PROUD of Sammie and her accomplishment. WAY TO GO SAMMIE!

Mid - life crisis already?

2011-11-19T00:19:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I was in a strange mood. Not sad...but not happy, just here.
I have so much going on in my head. What to and where do I go from here thoughts.
I feel like I am walking in circles with no place to go. Am I hitting a mid-life crisis already??

Not that I am wanting to be 27 again.
I have experienced a lifetime while I was working before I became a mom.
I am happy with the things that I have accomplished.
I have a wonderful husband and great kids.
We have a successful business that we are running.
I have great friends, we live in the ideal neighborhood with a roof over our heads.
I work from home with great amount of flexibility. Ideal jobs!

I just have the desire to do something NEW. Something to make me have that spark again.
I want to feel energized and excited about what I am doing.
I guess it is hard with no longer having to work outside the home has made me feel a bit isolated. Don't get me wrong. I feel blessed that I am able to be here for the kids while they are young but I still feel like I am missing something.

I need to figure it out. I can not figure out the root issue here. I know I will find it soon... I just am in a little rut.
Have you ever felt this way? I think it might be with the holidays coming up there is a ton of emotions that just surface.

Trying to figure it all out. I need to get in tune with MYSELF.

So many things to be Thankful for...

2011-11-10T09:18:00.001-07:00

We have been enjoying the time together as a family. We just got back from VEGAS.

Nov 2011

Feb 2010

We has so much fun with Pop Pop and Grammy Lori. We were able to catch up with some old friends that Robert and I used to work with while on our trip. Just a great time.

We had to entertain the kids while on the drive. We were fully loaded with movies and iPad and toys galore. You would think that we were moving out of state with all the stuff we brought to entertain the kids.

Yesterday Robert and Baby were on Good Things Utah. Baby made it on camera TWICE. Here is a clip where she got a little stage fright....but hey she was on TV right?

Robert was on talking about Jump Around Utah but I don't have the video for that segment. We are trying to get that video... as soon as we get the video I will post something. So grateful for all the opportunities that we have with Jump Around Utah.... SO GRATEFUL!

Halloween re-cap.

2011-11-01T10:57:00.000-06:00

Hope you had a great Halloween..we had an amazing night!!!
It was nice to have a dress rehearsal on Friday at school with the costumes. We were able to tweak the outfits to make it an enjoyable night. Here is a picture of the family and our costumes.

Truth be told...I took off my wings after we took the picture. So I had wings for a total of 5 minutes. I did however put on an orange jacket to be a little festive.

We started out around 5:30 to head over to our friend Pagie's house for a quick get together. On the way the kids were able to trick or treat all the way there. After filling our bellies with food we headed out again to trick or treat with friends. It was so much fun watching a group of kids trick or treating and enjoying themselves. Drew was ready to head home around 7. I couldn't believe it, really? so early? We headed up to another set of friends and Patrick was nice enough to drive us back home. (We were 6 blocks away from the house.) So Thank you Patrick!! But we were home before 8 and all the kids were out by 8:30. I was in shock! But we had a great time trick or treating. Last year we didn't get to trick or treat much because it was raining. BUT this year TOTALLY made up for last year. So excited that we have a stash of candy to last us a year.

So the kids are down and I had to finish up some work. So in addition to trying to make costumes I was working on this:

Here is the post about my project: Advent Calendar Blog Post

So now you see why I was so tired the last couple of weeks. Can not wait for this weekend. FAMILY TIME!!! So have an amazing first day of November! Till next time!

Happy Halloween!!!

2011-10-31T11:16:00.000-06:00

Oh me oh my! Halloween is here!

The last couple of weeks for me have been ABSOLUTELY Crazy! Trying to get costumes ready, assignments completed and just the everyday life of a family of 5. So we had some fun and some tears...but it is all good now.

Here are a couple of pictures of the kids in their costumes.
First is Drew... he is a ninja! He couldn't wear a mask

Sammie is Jewel ( the girl bird from Rio)

And Caroline was "tangled" She had a wig but she did not want to put it back on. I will try and get another picture of her with the wig on...so funny!

Here are the kids not wanting to take pictures for mom... I love how their expressions are telling me... "Hurry up mom... I wanna go to the carnival" Okay, I get a hint.

Here are some Halloween layouts I made:

Products used: Teresa Collins Designs - Haunted Hallows Collection,
Therm O Web: Sticky Tape Runner, 3D Zots, Super Tape, Bling/Tiny Zots, and
Flowers from iamroses.com

Cards and Tags:

Products used: Teresa Collins Designs - Hunted Hallows Collection,
Therm O Web: Sticky Tape Runner, Zots, and
3D Foam Squares

Hope you have a safe a fun Halloween! Off to help out with the school and more Halloween Parties for the kids.

My projects made it on Good Things Utah

2011-10-21T17:40:00.001-06:00

Yesterday, Teresa Collins was on Good Things Utah and my projects made it on air!!!!Here are some pictures:

Garland made with Haunted Hallows Collection
Photo credit: Teresa Collins

I made the Garland by punching out the pattern paper 6 times and grouped them together to create a "ball". Once I punched out all the "balls" I lined them up and just stitched down the middle with my sewing machine. Then I would pull the thread long between stitching the next group through the machine. Once I completed stitching the balls together I took two gems and used a Large Zots by Therm O Web to attach the gems together and onto the thread.

Crow Project made with Haunted Hallows Collection
Photo Credit: Teresa Collins


Card and gift bag. Photo credit: Teresa Collins

Here is the video of the segment from Good Things Utah.

ONE last thing: Check out Teresa's Blog HERE to enter to win a chance to win the cartridge that I used to make most of the projects.

Hope you enjoyed my creations. SO MUCH FUN!!!

Playing today with ....

2011-10-18T09:17:00.002-06:00

Today I will be in the studio working on some projects with.....

Teresa Collins Chic and Scary Cartridge by Provo Craft

This weekend my girls got to play with the cartridge and this is what they created:

So off to make something today! Have a great week!

Drew - Special Week Project

2011-10-11T09:13:00.001-06:00

This past week Drew was the student of the week at school. One of his assignments is to make a poster. So I printed some pictures and cut out letters to spell out his name and he was off creating his poster.

He was raiding my scrapbook room asking if he could use the Teresa Collins On the Edge paper and his favorite adhesive the Therm O Web Sticky Strip Runner. After he finished he told me "See Mom, I can Scrapbook like you."

I was so proud of him and he did it all on his own!!! We have the poster back now and it is proudly displayed in his room.

I am so proud of my boy!! Have a great week and let your children create along with you and don't be afraid to let them raid your scrapbook room.

Just another Wednesday!

2011-10-05T21:04:00.001-06:00

Today was just a normal day like every morning.

Wake up get the kids dressed and sent to school.

Work on computer stuff and clean up the house till it is time to go pick up the littlest one from pre-school.

Then we come home, have lunch, work on the computer more and play with the little one.

THEN I GOT TO TAKE A NAP TODAY!!!

It was the perfect sleeping weather. Gray sky, rain and it started to get cooler.

Then I had to get up and get the other two from school, and Drew had a playdate come over.

I cooked dinner, worked with the kids with homework, got to catch up on some of my shows.

I also even go to talk to some adults today. WOW.

The kids are in bed and I am beat.

Normally I start working again till about 1 in the morning.

But I think I will pass tonight.

Tomorrow I help teach art class for Sammie's class.

Then off to meetings and then I have to go pick up the little one then pick up the other two from school. Then Soccer practice (if it is not raining.) then homework and dinner then BED.

Really... when does anyone find time to craft anymore? But I have been crafting!

Did you see this on Teresa Collins Blog? If not go check out what I did with Carolina Breeze. HERE

More to come! I promise!

My parents are safely back home and now life is calm. I don't have to worry if they made it home safe. They did. Oh do I already miss them. I am so grateful for the time I was able to spend with my family. I am also grateful for the time they were able to spend with the kids. My kids love thier LOLO and LOLA!

I was so happy to get this picture of the kids with my parents before we headed to the airport. Quality time with the grandparents = PRICELESS.

So back to a somewhat normal routine. It is amazing what I can get done at home when no one is around. I am starting to find my groove. Have an amazing day!

Carolina Breeze - New From Teresa Collins Designs

2011-10-03T09:36:00.002-06:00

Oh, I just love the new line that Teresa Collins Designs has come out with TODAY!!!

I have been playing with this collection this past weekend. SO MUCH FUN!!! Check out Teresa's BLOG : HERE and enter a chance to win a collection pack. Don't miss out on the fun! Have a great MONDAY!!!

Busy... busy.

2011-08-23T08:22:00.001-06:00

Back to school boogie! Sammie starts 1st grade tomorrow. We are trying to squeeze the last minute summer activities in before the chaos begins. Yesterday Ms. Sara took the kids to the water park. I took mom to her eye apt and we came home grabbed dinner and enjoyed the evening. Sammie had her first sleepover last night. They had so much fun together, but poor Sammie was tired early because they were at the water park. I think they had a great time. They are both still sleeping so I think it was a great success.So today I am trying to clean and get organized before tomorrow. I can not believe that my oldest is going to 1st grade. Have a great week.

Last two weeks of July... Where does the time go?

2011-07-31T21:33:00.003-06:00

So much to catch up on.... Forgive me... here we go...

CHA week:
Saturday - Arrive to Chicago
Sunday - Set up booth
Monday Set up booth
Tuesday - Thursday - CHA
Thursday - Break down
Friday - Consumer Show - Head to Paper Doll House
Sat and Sunday - Paper Doll House with the girls
Monday - Fly back to Salt Lake City
Tuesday - Rest but still clean up the house to get ready for my parents to arrive from the Philippines
Wednesday - Picked up my parents from the airport
Thursday - grocery shopping
Friday - more errands
Saturday - Errands with my dad and Concert with family.
Sunday. - went to church. Now we are getting ready for Summer Camp at Jump Around Utah. Making the staff t-shirts.

PHEW... Still trying to play catch up.
I will try and go back and elaborate on my past few weeks. But at least I have everything mapped out. Okay. Off to work on YUDU shirts for the staff at Jump Around Utah.

Busy with CHA

2011-07-14T23:46:00.001-06:00

Sorry this week is just a crazy mess with getting ready for CHA. I have so much to show...I just have to wait till after CHA. Leaving for Chicago on Saturday! I am SO EXCITED!!

Great weekend.

2011-07-05T23:04:00.000-06:00

We had a great weekend. I just wanted to share a picture of our weekend. Like they say... a picture is worth a thousand words. I hope this picture tells you how much fun we had as a family and hanging out with friends. Enjoy! Hopefully I will be able to share some of my creations with you soon. Till then! Have a great week.

Please excuse the mess...

2011-06-26T12:27:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the crazy look of the blog. I am trying to update my blog. YIKES!!

This week in reveiw....

2011-06-26T12:04:00.000-06:00

Ha! Another Crazy week. At least this week we had fun together as a family. Sorry for a long post. Maybe if I would post more than once a week my post would not be so long. Okay.. here we go.

Monday:
Twice a year, we get ready for CHA (Craft and Hobby Association Trade Show) Because the timing of when the papers were ready and Teresa was out of town I went to the warehouse to separate and collate the papers for the new collections to send them out to the Design Team Members. Now is the time I spend most of my free time creating and getting layouts and projects completed for the Trade Show. Thank goodness for Nick he helped me get the papers ready to ship out. Something I thought would only take a couple of hours ended up taking three. OOPS! At least the kids were with Robert.

I get back to Jump Around Utah and get a call from our cousin Lara! She was in town for a business trip and wanted to spend some time with us. So I picked her up and took her to visit with the kids and see our place at Jump Around Utah. We just got back from our family vacation with them in Hilton Head and it was nice that she could come out and see what we were talking about on vacation. IT was great to see her even though it was only for a quick visit. I was so glad that she could take time out of her busy week to see us. We love you Cousin Lara.

The same day the kids decided they could not take their long hair any longer and they all wanted haircuts.Long story short (no pun intended) The kids and I got hair cuts.

Caroline (aka: Baby) New Haircut

Fox and his new Fo-hawk. He like the spiky hair.

Sammie loves her new bangs. She is so happy that there are no more tangles in her hair.

Tuesday:
Day of errands and cleaning the house.
I was grateful for the kids being able to have a playdate while I ran errands for Jump Around Utah and grocery shopping for the family. So it was a wonderful trip to Costco and other stores to gather everything needed for the house and the store. Needless to say it too most of my morning and afternoon to put everything away. So much fun! Tuesday is laundry day too.

Wednesday:
I love being able to explore new places with friends. We had another playdate and we meet at Liberty Park. It was so much fun for the kids and it was nice to sit and talk to an actual adult and catch up!
I love our playdates! I didn't take any pictures for some reason. But, there was an amazing view of snow capped mountains while I was sitting in the shade watching the kids enjoy the warm day playing in the water. I should have taken a picture but for some reason I didn't. I was just enjoying the moment.

Thursday:
As I am cleaning up the house I get a call from our neighbor saying that they were going to the pool and wanted to see if the kids wanted to go. YEAH!! I even got to go too. So we head off to the pool. Unfortunately, we were only able to play in the pool for 45 minutes. They had an accident and had to clean out the pool causing them to close down the pool for the rest of the night. DARN. We were trying to stay out of the house so Em would have time to clean their house. (trust me.. it is easier to clean the house when the kids are out of the house.) So to give Em more time we pulled the slip and slide out in the front yard and played for a couple hours. It was funny to watch the kids play in the water. Everyone got into the fun. It was nice to play in the water when it was soooooooooooooo hot in the house. I told Robert the house was just unbearably hot the last couple of days and I was not sure how we would be able to make it through the summer.

Okay... another day of not taking pictures. WHAT IS MY PROBLEM?!?!?

Friday:
We made a plan to head up to Bountiful to play at the rec center and afterwards watch Robert play hockey. It made it a late night but we sure did have fun!!!! Finally I took pictures.

Sammie enjoying the water.

Baby loved the water.

Drew swimming.

Drew and Robert

Kids playing in the fountains.

My view of the outdoor play area we were in most of the time.

Hockey Time!!! GO HAWKS!

The kids and Issac watching the game! The HAWKS WIN!!!

Saturday:
After a long night we had to relax a bit in the morning. But Robert was going to get off of work around 2 so we decided to tackle Seven Peaks Water Park and enjoy it as a family.
The water park was PACKED!! But we had a blast. By the time we got home we just relaxed and enjoyed the evening. We even got a visit from Tre and Payton during the evening. It was nice that they were able to join us for a bit.

So today we are relaxing at home. Sunday...a true day of Rest! Hope you had a great week.

Father's Day Card

2011-06-20T21:58:00.000-06:00

I wanted to share the card I made for Robert for Fathers Day.So I pulled out my camera and supplies from my studio and this is what I created. It was so much fun taking the pictures of the kids and I was able to make a fun accordion fold card for the kids to give to their DAD. I used the Teresa Collins Design On the Edge paper collection to make the cover. Notice the bling on the card?!? I love using Zots by Therm O Web to add the rhinestones to the card. It was a quick and easy project that he absolutely loved.

Hope you had a great Fathers Day. Till next time! Happy Crafting.

Therm O Web Design Team Announced!!!

2011-06-14T13:27:00.000-06:00

I had to share! So excited! This was the official announcement on Facebook!
____________

Lots of great entries. Too many tough decisions...but we want to say

Congratulations to our new Design Team Members!!!

16 women total. Some new, some have been with us a while. ;)

Some scrap. Some make cards. Some sew. Some do many things. Haha

(in alpha order)

Stephanie Barnard – www.stephaniebarnard.blogspot.com

Melissa Bullock – www.rubycreative.wordpress.com

Rachel Carlson – www.lostintheattic.typepad.com

Sesil Cratin – www.sesilcratin.blogspot.com

Jenifer Cowles – www.scrapbooking-n-more.com

Daniela Dobson – www.danieladobson.blogspot.com

Vanessa Goertzen – www.lellaboutique.blogspot.com

Alice Golden – www.alicegolden.typepad.com

Hilary Kanwischer – www.hilaryscraps.typepad.com

Rebecca Keppel – www.myclutteredcorner.com

Brianne Nevill – www.briannenevill.com

Heather Preckel – www.heatherpreckel.blogspot.com

Debbie Sherman – www.debbie-lovescrappin.blogspot.com

Pat Sloan – www.patsloan.typepad.com

Tammy Tutterow – www.tammytutterow.typepad.com

Erin Yamabe – www.erinyamabe.com

Summer time!!! Finally - Drew and Baby's Birthday Party (a month late)

2011-06-11T11:51:00.000-06:00

It is official! We are on summer break!

Yesterday was jam packed with activities for the kids.
Robert took all the kids to the water park. (I did not go because I had to get ready for Caroline and Drew's combo birthday party.)
Then I went and got ready for the birthday party for the kids.


The quick center pieces I made for the party.

Baby was mesmerized by the lit candles.


The birthday cake before the ducks got pulled off.

Drew enjoyed his party! The party was a hit! We love Jump Around Utah!

What an exciting day! Our summer is filling up with different activities for the kids and I am getting my studio ready for all the deadlines and projects that will be coming soon! SO are you ready for summer?

Tails of the Vacation ---the flight.

2011-06-05T10:13:00.000-06:00

va·ca·tion [vey-key-shuhn]

–noun

a period of suspension of work, study, or other activity, usually used for rest, recreation, or travel; recess or holiday: Schoolchildren are on vacation now.
a part of the year, regularly set aside, when normal activities of law courts, legislatures, etc., are suspended.
freedom or release from duty, business, or activity.
an act or instance of vacating.

So our vacation started with our flights. The kids were so excited all week that they were going to fly on a plane. This was going to be the first time we would fly as a family of 5. I can not remember the last time we flew all together as an entire family. Here is a picture of the kids standing at the security check point in SLC.

We had a delay leaving SLC to DIA. But no worries we had a 2 hour layover so that was okay with us. We get to DIA, I camp out with our stuff and Robert takes the kids to ride the train and entertain the kids while we were in DIA. Our flight out of DIA was delayed as well making our flight land in ATL past midnight. Oh well what are we to do? Robert brought me dinner, it was surprisingly good.

We made the best of the situation. We even found a great family that shared their dvd player to entertain the kids while waiting for the plane.

We finally make it to ATL at 1:30 in the morning and as soon as we land they maked an announcement "we will have a representative talk to you about how to get your baggage." Robert and I look at each other and say "this is not a good sign"
So we arrived in Concourse D. We were told we would have to WALK to gather our baggage in the main Terminal. The train was not running and the shuttle service was no longer running due to arriving in Atlanta so late. Here is a map to show you the location of where we were to where we had to walk.

As we were departing the plane a representative from the airport looked at us and said.."Oh...if you see a wheelchair on your way you can grab it so the kids can just sit, or you are not going to make it to baggage claim." So we were lucky to find a wheelchair two gates down.

Waiting for the train to take us to the rental car area in Atlanta.

We hoofed it all the way to baggage claim, made it to the rental car area and made it to the hotel by 4 a.m. Needless to say it was an adventrue trying to make it to Atlanta. But we DID IT!!! Crazy but we made it!

We are on Vacation!!! Okay... on the way.

2011-05-27T18:54:00.000-06:00

Crazy!! I am with my family sitting at DIA waiting on our flight to ATL to attend a wedding. The kids are so excited to be flying in an airplane and with our long layover Robert is taking the kids to ride the train to kill time while we wait. I am with our bags and charging up phones, dvds and computers.

Wow... we have been going non stop for the last couple of weeks. I am so glad to be on vacation. I will try and post pictures along the way. Hope everyone one has a great Memorial Weekend. :)

The Room Spacing Challenge

2011-05-23T23:44:00.000-06:00

UPDATE: **** The challenge has been postponed. I will keep you posted when the new challenge is back up. Canvas Corp is in the middle of moving offices and warehouse space. I completely understand the need to postpone something knowing that the move takes a little more time than expected. I just wanted to keep you posted. ***** 5.20.11

I need to update my home office and studio...so I have entered this challenge! I am excited to design my ideal room. I have a very eclectic style with my home decor, a completely different feel vs. my scrapbooking style. This will be fun and exciting to do...come join the challenge with me. Check it out more HERE.

End of the Year Activities...

2011-05-23T23:40:00.000-06:00

Who would have thought that having three young children would require so many logistics? The last couple of weeks have been a social calendar BLOW UP!

Just today was a madhouse. Sammie had a field trip we all were able to come and enjoy the field trip with her, but Robert had to leave early to make it into work. So I was able to ride with a friend back to the house with Drew and Baby. WE get home I had to run to the bank, drop Drew off to Jump Around Utah, go to Wal-Mart to pick up a gift for Sammie's birthday Party for a classmate later that night, go pick up Sammie, head back to Jump Around Utah to drop off Sammie for the party and pick up Drew to go home, stop at Costco and then FINALLY make it home to eat dinner and get the kids to bed.
PHEW!!! And that was just today.

I have been tiring to do something everyday for myself an just let things go. Now my house looks like a tornado hit it twice and my laundry is starting to pile up on me again. I just can not win! So Tomorrow I will clean house and do laundry.

I have a couple of deadlines I have to complete but other than that I have been running around participating with school fundraisers, art night, park clean up, Drew and Baby's birthday's, Jump Around Utah, Blog Swaps, coordinating future blog swaps, newsletters, fliers, birthday passes, ad copy, designing print ads, re-designing a car wrap, and ALL THE REGULAR MOMMY STUFF that needs to get done around the house.

Thank goodness for my friends. I have a handful of friends I can call and ask them to pick up one or two of my kids for me. This week I could barely schedule time to get a haircut and go to the dentist. OH YES... I still have to get the "other" half of my mouth cleaned. All before we head out to attend Robert's cousin's wedding and after the wedding heading out to a beach house and spending time with my sister-in-law and her family, Robert's dad and Lori, and Robert's cousin and his family. We all get along and have vacationed together....I love spending time with the family...and on the BEACH!!! So... if you don't hear from me for a while you know I am of RELAXING!!

Okay... Just wanted to give everyone an update on what is going on in my little part of the world. Enjoy your crazy end of the year activities! I know if my house is crazy, your house is probably just as crazy too. Have a great End of the school year!

Teresa Collins and Core'dinations

2011-05-16T09:35:00.001-06:00

Head on over to see the Core'dinations Blog Swap.
Check it out:

http://teresacollinsdesignteam.blogspot.com/
http://teresacollins.typepad.com/teresa_collins/
http://www.coredinations.com/index.php/category/scrapbook-blog/

It is going to be a fun week!

Teresa Collins Stampmaker May Download

2011-05-10T14:41:00.000-06:00

Have you heard? The May download for the Teresa Collins Stampmaker is available!

The May Download is available HERE.

Check out the Photocentric blog HERE to see more great projects using this months downloads.

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T12:38:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone has a wonderful Mother's Day.
I was greeted this morning with my favorite Blueberry Pancakes. Robert and the kids made me breakfast! What a great morning!
Have a great mother's day everyone!

Baby turns 4 today!!!

2011-05-03T00:43:00.001-06:00

My youngest child turns 4 today! Happy Birthday Caroline! She is truly a sweet little girl. I can not belive that she is getting so big so fast. Here are a couple of pictures of the BIRTHDAY GIRL!

Caroline helping mommy work. 2011

Caroline at Jump Around Utah 2011

Caroline crashed after playing all day. 2010

We plan on having a special day just for BABY! I will take lots of picture and her enjoying her day!

This week in reveiw....

2011-04-30T12:05:00.000-06:00

Last week, while on Spring Break we all got sick. Drew ended up getting this wicked cough, therefore I could not send him back to school on Monday or Tuesday. Baby and I ended up getting the cough as well so we were one coughing family.

Image from google

I also had a wonderful adventure with my teeth. Last year I had to have a root canal and a crown put in while we were traveling. NOT FUN. Long story short...my crown from last year broke. YES I only had it on for one year. However, I have bad teeth and this has caused major anxiety going to the dentist. As a kid I have had many cavities filled. My parents warned me that I will have bad teeth. Now, I have come to accept that I do have bad teeth.


Image from google

So I am taking the first steps in helping my gums get back into shape. So I went to the dentist on Wed to get my crown temporarily put back on then I had a two hour dentist appointment on Thursday to work on one half of my mouth. I will go back in two weeks for them to work on the other side. I will have healthy gums soon. Now I will need to go back every three months to make sure everything is still doing okay and make sure things are progressing properly.

However, having to go to the dentist twice this week as set me back TWO days. I feel like I am playing catch-up. So the house is a wreak, and I have a pile of paperwork to do and all I want to do is play with my kids. Needless to say, my house will not get picked up today. I am going to play with my kids.

Hope you have a great weekend. I will try to let go and just enjoy the time with my kids.

Happy Easter..

2011-04-25T10:06:00.001-06:00

I hope you had a great Easter. I was excited that I could capture our Easter Egg Hunt with the kids that morning. I was able to play a little myself, it was satisfying at the end of the day to reflect how blessed the day turned out with family and friends. Here are some of the results while playing with my photos in Photoshop.

Baby did not want to drop any eggs out of her basket. Solution solved!

Drew was excited from the start. You can see it in his eyes.

Drew was non-stop..running and so excited to find the eggs.


Sammie was very strategic with her egg hunt. Once she would find an egg she knew exactly where to go next. Sammie found the most eggs. She is the thinker of the family.

After the egg hunt I was able to get a decent family photo. Hope you had a great Easter. We love our little family traditions. And I was glad I remembered to pick up the camera and take pictures to help the kids remember the great time we have hunting eggs.

What is an Easter tradition that you have in your family? I would love to hear what other families do, I would like to add more to our traditions. Thank you for sharing with me.

Teresa Collins Newsletter -

2011-04-21T14:28:00.000-06:00

The April Newsletter is out from Teresa Collins Designs. Check it out HERE

Make sure you sign up for the newsletter HERE to get the newsletter delivered to your inbox.

Here is a simple card I made using the Teresa Collins Timeless Collection, and Blingage - Maddie's Jewels and Miranda's Jewels. I love the flocked black paper. I think it is my favorite.

Thanks for stopping by! Please leave me a comment below I would love to hear what you have to say!

TODAY...

2011-04-20T12:47:00.000-06:00

My day in pictures...

So far this has been a great BIRTHDAY! Hope you have a great day today!!! Thank you everyone for all the wonderful birthday wishes.

Layouts

2011-04-17T21:26:00.000-06:00

Just in case you missed my layouts on the Teresa Collins Design Team Blog. I thought I would share some layouts I made using the Sports Edition II collection. I have to say Thank you to my friend Krista Austin with Krista Austin Photography for the amazing pictures. Check out her photography skills here.

Hope you enjoyed the layouts. I had so much fun creating these layouts.

Teresa Collins Stampmaker

2011-04-09T16:16:00.000-06:00

This week I was able to play with my Teresa Collins Stampmaker. I was working on some samples for the April Download that you can find HERE. I was even featured on Teresa Collins Blog HERE.

I love my Stampmaker

The process of making stamps.

Bunny card using the FREE Downloads for April

Card using the Egg from the Free April Downloads.

It was so much fun playing and making stamps using my Teresa Collin Stampmaker. If you have not purchased on I highly suggest getting one today. I am amazed with the possibilities that this machine can do for a crafter like me. Thanks for stopping by. Have a great weekend. :)

Time to share

2011-04-07T16:22:00.000-06:00

It is time for me to share some things I am working on or plan on doing:

1. Today Teresa Collins Designs released Notations 12x12 today. It is the most amazing collection I have played with in a while.

The Notations kit was such a big hit at CHA she decided to do a 12x 12 version to enhance the kit. I love that you can use both the kit an papers to make your layouts. And on Teresa's blog if you leave a comment on her blog you will be eligible to win this collection. Click HERE to enter.

2. I plan on making time for myself. I have been working so much I need to do things for ME. So... I plan on taking this class. Life Journaling - online art Journaling Class from www. thepaperlife.com. Amy Coon is such a great inspiration and has really tapped into something that will resonate with crafters. I have always wanted to work on my own art journal but never had the time. Well the time is NOW. I want to take this journey with Amy as our guide. SO who is with me? Sign-ups are soon (ha..April 20....MY BIRTHDAY) SO mark your calendars and we can take this journey together.

3. So I have a fairly new toy...

I can not wait to show you some of my creations with the Teresa Collins Stampmaker. The possibilities are endless with this machine. I have been making stamps all afternoon so I can play later.

Sooo..... I am off to go create!
Have a good one!

Visitors and deadlines.

2011-04-04T17:36:00.000-06:00

This past week we had some good friends visit from Chicago. Wade and Jaime!!! Wade, Robert and I worked for the same company in Dallas; Wade moved in with us when he first moved to Chicago; Wade and Jaime are family to us...not by blood but by friendships and relationships we have developed over the years.
It was nice for them to visit and it was nice to catch up with Jaime. We have not seen them since before we left Chicago last year. OH how I miss them.

Here is a picture of us - not the best picture of me...but at least I was in one.

While in town I did have to work on a couple of deadlines:

If you missed I was a featured on the Teresa Collins Design Team Blog : HERE

Till next time... Keep creating!

Swimming here in UTAH!

2011-03-28T20:06:00.000-06:00

Swimming here in Utah! Well okay...just swimming trying to keep my head above water with everything that is going on.

This past weekend Robert's sister and her family came to visit. Between the two of us we had 5 kids ages 7-3. It was so nice getting together and just letting the kids play and have a great time together. Robert and all of them went snowboarding and skiing for two days and the kids got a chance to play at Jump Around Utah.

Speaking of Jump Around Utah, we ran a special with Living Social, and it has propelled us to the next level. now we are making some adjustments so that we are staffed correctly. Making sure kids are picked up on time from school, and activities are still being resumed as normal. It has been Crazy busy but a good busy.

I feel truly blessed. I have been playing with my Cricut Expression and Teresa Collins Designs paper.

I wish I could show you the projects but I will be able to show them one day. I am just grateful for the wonderful opportunities that I have been given the last couple of months. Just feeling blessed.

So this is the cause of some sleepless nights and just doing things to stay ahead. So I feel like I am swimming trying to keep my head above water. I know I will need to take a break soon. But for now...I just have to do it and keep going!

This week we have more guests coming in visiting from Chicago. I have more deadlines to meet and keep up with my daily activities with the kids and the house work. If I work it correctly it will all be okay...but no slacking is allowed. SO wish me luck!! Off to conquer another crazy week.

Hopefully I will be able to share something with everyone soon. Thanks for listening to my random blathering.

I am around...Links galore!

2011-03-21T21:09:00.000-06:00

Crazy busy here with: This

But I have great news! I love getting to know people and how they create...If you love finding out about more check: THIS

And... Last but not least! A friend of mine opened up: THIS

Okay.. THat was fun! Talk to you soon.

Life is a balancing act

2011-03-15T14:34:00.000-06:00

Image from Google Images.

Everyone has obligations to their family, friends and work. So what makes me any different than anyone else? I feel a bit overwhelmed. I LOVE being busy, but lately, for some reason, I am a little off balanced. I feel like I am trying to balance too much right now. Julie described it as one of those people that spins the plates on the long thin sticks? TOTALLY.. I am a plate spinner! This is how I feel. At any moment, my plates are going to come crashing down.

So today, I am going to let it go. I can only do what I can do. I have to let it go and accept that I am one person, and I cannot do it all. Even though we all want to be a super mom, I need to accept that I am only human.


Image from Google Images.

I have been making little mistakes here and there. Forgetting things and being easily distracted. However, TODAY... I will concentrate on doing one thing at a time. I will continue to write my list and to follow up and keep checking on my list. Set my priorities and balance only one plate at a time. If I do just one thing at a time, I will get more things completed and not with so many mistakes. We all go through these phases, and we get through them.

All this is happening because of crazy events that have happened in the last couple of days. A particular situation I am talking about happened Thursday morning. It started off just like any other morning but then chaos. Let me just say that Thursday morning events made me stop and think...a major reality check. It was a scary morning, and everything is good now but the cause of the event has now taken an effect on my life. Because of Thursday morning, I was confronted by an angry woman who is channeling her anger to the people around her because she does not know what to do herself, I feel sorry for the people that this is all happening to and at that moment I was filled with rage and resentful. UGHH...really? Why was I feeling so much anger? However, when I sit now and talk about Thursday, I am filled with intense disappointment with this individual.

However, there is nothing I can do to change what happened on Thursday morning, and I cannot change or control how people react, but what I can do is control how I feel and act. I accept that we are all human and we all make mistakes. We learn from our mistakes, and we grow.

On the brighter side of the story. Due to the events on Thursday morning, I feel like I have a better relationship with my neighbors, and I am truly grateful for my family and friends. I feel blessed with the happenings in my life, and I have more to celebrate vs. being ashamed.

Today I accept hat I have not been on top of my game the last couple of days. However, TODAY is the day I obligate to get better. I CAN DO IT! Thanks for letting me get this off my chest. I feel better. Hope you have a great week. Until next time! Have a good one!

Save the Date...and the process

2011-03-05T15:03:00.001-07:00

I have been working on my brother's save the dates for his wedding. It is a process that I really enjoy.
I like the way they turned out. The little card on the bottom is a magnet. How cool is that?

Everyone laughs at my little process that I do when I do invitations and cards in bulk. It is a step for everything. At one point, I even had my neighbor help me tie the ribbon in a knot and add them to the magnets. However, I got them done and the save the dates are sent to my brother.

I am so excited that they decided to have the wedding here in Salt Lake City. My brother and his fiance live in Washington DC. Her brother lives near Provo and I live in Salt Lake City, we both have children and to ensure that we are able to attend, they are bringing the wedding to us here in Salt Lake City. We are truly blessed they are so thoughtful with everything in regards to the wedding. Love my little brother and my future sister-in-law. With the wedding here, it makes it easier for my parents to fly from the Philippines, so they have a place to stay without having to get a hotel. My parents will get here a month before the wedding, so they can adjust to the time difference and enjoy the wedding. I love it when my parents come to visit. We don't get to see them much, and I cherish the time they are able to spend time with their grandchildren.

Now for the random thoughts:

I wish I could share more on what I have been working on but soon I will be able to post some goodies.
Check out the Teresa Collins Design Team Blog. The mini album I created for CHA is posted with instructions and everything!!!
Martha - you are my winner from my last post... Do you mind sending me your address at sesilc@gmail.com?
Teresa Collins will be on HSN again on March 14th. If you missed out on the Stampmaker mark your calendars, you don't want to miss this deal again. I have my Stampmaker and I love all the stamps I have created with my machine. THIS IS A MUST HAVE TOOL.

Okay...till next time! Hope you have a creative touch!

My Creative BLOCK

2011-02-19T10:54:00.001-07:00

Here is a great Photoshop tutorial on how to create this image above. HERE

There are days when I feel like I am on top of the world. Then there are other days that I just want to crawl in a hole and not come out. We are faced with different challenges every single day. We learn how to cope and continue with our life. So I struggle, just like everyone else. I just keep trying.

I am very blessed with the family I have. Robert and my parents are by biggest fans. My brother and future sister-in-la trust my judgment and creativity to help out with their wedding. My sister-in-law appreciates the talent it takes to make all the creations I have created for her. The love and support from my family are amazing.

My creative juices are drained right now, and I need to re energize myself. A jump start in inspiration. What do you do to re-focus and re-group to get the juices flowing? I would love to hear your ideas and inspiration to get your mojo going. Please post a comment to let me know how you get out of your creative BLOCK. I will send a special package to a random comment below. HELP ME GET the creativity BACK! Thanks

Let's talk about LOVE...

2011-02-15T09:24:00.000-07:00

It is here! February Newsletter for Teresa Collins Designs is available!

February Newsletter

And Teresa Collins Design Team has their own blog for more inspiration check out the blog :

Teresa Collins Design Team Blog

I am so lucky to be able to work with such talented group of women. I truly love what I do.

Talking about LOVE..
Hope you all had a great Valentine's Day! Our weekend was filled with preparation for the big day. Sunday the girls and I stayed home while the boys went up to the mountain to snowboard and ski. I just needed time to clean my house. While I was cleaning the girls painted their valentine boxes.

Sammie and Caroline decorating their Valentine Boxes.

I love watching what they create.

Yesterday, the kids kept saying it was "Caroline's Day". I thought it was the cutest thing. Caroline's middle name is Valentine. Therefore, the kids thought it was Caroline's special day. We do call her Sweet C. She loves everyone and her favorite color is pink. I could totally see why they thought it was her day. So all day we would say. "Happy Caroline Valentine's Day!" Caroline had a great day!

The kids came home from school with sacks of candy. Needless to say they were bouncing off the walls. Sammie was needing some mommy time, so I made nail appointments for the two of us, so we can spend quality time together. She was so cute talking to the nice lady painting her nails. Afterward, we grabbed Arby's for dinner. Sammie wanted Arby's sandwiches so that is what we had for dinner. Robert and I had our Valentine's dinner the night before.

I am truly blessed to have my family. Robert even got me roses. They are beautiful!

I hope your valentine's day was filled with love and appreciation.

On a personal note...

2011-02-12T20:11:00.000-07:00

We are finally open for business! Robert and I opened up our own business here in Salt Lake City. It is an indoor family activity center. You can check out the website here at: www.jumparoundutah.com. Long story short it has been a long and bumpy road to get to this point. My only hope is that, we are successful as a business, and we hope to make some friends along the way.

While I was at CHA, I get a call from Robert asking me to help get a letter together to host a party for Drew's pre-school classes. I knew this would all happen while I was out of town. I was tired and my brain could not switch in mid-thought and think about Jump Around Utah. Wow. Okay...we got the letter out and the party was a great success.


A couple of pictures of Jump Around Utah.

This is what you see when you first walk through the doors.

Caroline would not let go of her PINK BALLOON.

I have been working on some marketing and other stuff with Jump Around Utah. So that is why I have been so tired and not being able to concentrate for long periods of time. But things are getting underway and I can make the switch back to scrapbooking.

If you were wondering where I was the last couple of weeks I was working on our family business. Wish us luck! We are on facebook and we are running great promotions on birthday parties. So if you are in Salt Lake City come stop by and say Hi! I might be there or I might be at my studio. Now my time is split between working at Jump Around Utah, working on projects and creating with Teresa Collins Designs, and being a mom. This is a little gimps of my life, welcome to my crazy life!

CHA week

2011-02-08T22:07:00.000-07:00

Wow.
Some of the words that described the week of CHA... Amazing, hard work, exciting,new friendships, old and dear friends, rib splitting, happy, fun, dance, honored, appreciative, thankful, celebration, nerve wrenching, upset, confused, uncertain, happy, sad, tired, numb and such a great experience.
I was honored to be able to attend CHA (craft and hobby association) Trade Show with Teresa Collins. Working with Teresa has been such a learning experience even in the little time I have been with her. I simply admire the hard work she puts into her designs and work. She is truly one of the hardest working people I have met in a long time. I just am simply amazed how she has been able to juggle the role of a mom, wife, a friend and business woman and keep it all together. It is not an easy task but man she makes it look easy. Just the chance to see the gimps of the life behind the scene is astonishing.

Our adventure started on Wed. we got on a flight to Orange County so that Teresa could teach a class. We get off the plane. We are picked up by the store owner and whisked away to the store. Luckily, we did have a little time before the students came into the store to set up and have a quick bite to eat. So Teresa taught a great class, it made me miss my local scrapbook store that I used to work in before moving to Utah. I missed the social aspect of taking a class and the interaction with customers and die-hard fans of scrapbooking. And to be able to see the interaction with Teresa and customers....priceless. Shannon a good friend of Teresa was there to take us to our hotel. We were little under an hour drive away from LA. It was nice to sit and talk to Shannon on the way to the hotel.

Thursday was the first day of set-up. Here is a picture of Teresa with the crate.


Teresa Collins ready for day 1 set-up

So we set up the booth on Thursday and Friday. There is more than you think that goes in putting up the booth for a trade show. Thank goodness Jesse was there to do all the heavy lifting. However, it looked good, by the time we were done. Taylor and Gentry came on Thursday night to help work at the booth. I was also able to meet Laura, Yvonne and Maradette from the design team during setup and during the show. It was good to meet the team while we were there. I also got to meet Amy and Debbie, and now I am a fan. We had a chance to relax afterward by having a great dinner in Beverly Hills. After dinner, we walked around Rodeo Drive. I loved just walking around and seeing the window displays.

Saturday was a crazy day in the booth. Thank you to Jen and Echo for helping out with Make and take for the booth. We were crazy helping people, taking orders and just trying to get the information out to the buyers and showing them the new product line. I am always interested what people in other countries think about scrapbooking. It is amazing the similarities that we all posses when it comes to scrapbooking.

Saturday night we attended the Provo Craft Gala. So much fun to be up close and front stage with the dancers from "So you think you can Dance" I was glad to be surrounded by a great group on Saturday night.
Sunday, was another busy day the booth. Later that night I had dinner with my Therm O Web crew. We had a wonderful time talking, laughing and just hanging out with some remarkable friends. Thank you for such a great time! I needed that time to hang out with my friends and relax.

Monday I almost lost my voice from talking to so many people and the endless nights of laughing and talking. We were getting in a ton of orders, and people were getting ready to head back home that day. Taylor and Gentry were able to go home on Monday. That night Teresa taught a class at a store 45 minutes away. I was so tired but Teresa had to teach a class. AMAZING...I was running on empty but Teresa had to still be on her game and teach a class. If you ever get a chance to take a class from Teresa you will hear the most amazing stories of her life experiences. I had to stop listening at one point because I was starting to cry, and I was getting to the "ugly" cry stage. So I had to concentrate on something else before I got too emotional. How embarrassing for me. Again...another great reason to take a class from Teresa. We got back to the hotel room just after midnight. And we had to start packing so we would be able to check out in the morning. We did not get to bed until almost 2 in the morning. (I think.. I was so tired I don't remember what time we finally went to bed.)
So the LAST DAY. It was a short day but still a crazy day! At this point, I was hanging on by a thread. I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. We talked to the remaining vendors that were there and last minute orders were turned in. Then at 2 o'clock...time to break down the booth. Amy and Debbie came by to help. Between Jesse, Teresa, Amy, Debbie and I, broke down the booth in less than two hours. AMAZING fast in comparison to setup. Later that day Teresa and I were able to sit and talk. We laughed and just talked like little school girls who haven't seen each other in weeks. It was nice to relax before we had to get on our flight back to Salt Lake City. We were lucky to make it our flight home that night because my friends from Chicago, were stuck in LA until Thursday due to the snow in Chicago. BOY was I happy that I moved!

We landed in Salt Lake around midnight. IT WAS FREEZING..IT WAS SO COLD!! But I was glad to be home.

My week was crazy when I got home...but that is another post all together.

Oh the things I learned while at CHA will stay for me forever. I love the fact that I could strengthen the relationships that I have made through CHA and still be able to meet and start new friendships all in the same week. I am so blessed to be able to work in an industry that is so caring and supportive of one another. I cannot wait for Summer CHA in CHIAGO!!!

Oh while we were working at the booth Teresa was designing her next collection for Summer CHA. HOW CRAZY IS THAT??!? I am telling you...it is an amazing process to watch her design her collections. Thank you Teresa for letting me be a part of CHA with you and your girls. AMAZING!!

Life goes on....

2011-02-08T01:39:00.000-07:00

I am just back from CHA and going full force with my life. This is the first day I have started to feel a little normal. Sorry Crazy crazy life. We all are so busy. I am working on the CHA post...oh it will be a long one sorry. I just wanted to come up and let you know I am doing okay I am here.

Home from CHA...

2011-02-02T22:03:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to let you know that I am back from CHA. I AM TIRED!! was a great week. still downloading pictures, so I can post about the week. promise to get something up soon about the week. For now, I must get some sleep all the hard work and long nights are starting to get to me, and I don't want to get sick. GOOD NIGHT Blog friends!!

CHA Prep

2011-01-21T08:52:00.000-07:00

Wow....life is exciting and so much fun around CHA time. As you guessed getting ready to head to CHA. Off to Teresa Collins warehouse to get the crate off and ready to go to LA! Okay...gotta run. More things to do. CRAZY CRAZY!!!

Posh

2011-01-12T10:08:00.000-07:00

Teresa Collins debuted her POSH line today. I love the lace and fishnet patterns!
Check out her blog HERE - My layout is one of the featured projects! Go check it out!!!

I love this line Here is the FULL line:


Teresa Collins Designs- POSH Collection

Tell your local scrapbook store that you would love to get this collection. ONE of my Favorite collections.
Off to work on more samples! Thanks for stopping by! Till next time...happy crafting

Sports Edition II

2011-01-11T08:42:00.000-07:00

I am so excited that we are starting to be able to show you a new line that Teresa Collins Designs is debuting today on her blog: Here

Sports Edition II

Soon I will be able to share all the fun things that I have been creating with this wonderful line!

Teresa is also going to be on HSN on January 20. If you are looking for a great deal on the StampMaker make sure you tune in. Because Once they are gone...I don't think we will be able to get that pricing again. So Excited.

Okay...off to finish more samples for CHA. This is such a busy time for me but it is so worth every sleepless night. LOVE IT! Till next time....happy crafting.

My heart breaks..for a close friend back home...

2011-01-10T09:59:00.000-07:00

I grew up in a small little town in East Texas. YES SMALL, only five thousand people in the entire town. However, living in a small town, we became close as a community. Kids grew up together and despite the miles that have separated us over the years I feel like they are still my family.

I was saddened by hearing the news that a dear friend's father was in a fatal car accident on Sunday. He was on his way to meet some friends in the next town over. The road conditions were not ideal. He lost control of his car and hit three pine trees.
The impact of the crashed took his life instantly. The first responders to the scene happened to know the family. When the responder had to tell the wife about the loss, they were able to get some close family friends to come to ensure that she was emotionally stable with the tragic news. My friend was four hours away from her mother when she got the news and immediately came home to be with her mother. However, with the weather conditions it took her most of the day to get to her destination. She was absolutely devastated by the news. I am still completely crushed by the news. I wish I could run home and be there to help her and her mom. We grew up being friends all through school. We were so close our mothers both became the BEST of Friends.

I was an emotional wreak yesterday. I was sad, furious and in denial. I cannot imagine what my friend is going through...If I feel the way I do. How is she feeling?

I just have to celebrate his life on earth was remarkable. He married an amazing successful wife. They had a wonderful daughter, and he was loved by everyone. So in loving memory I pray for his soul to rest in peace. I also pray that the family will have the strength to get through these hard times. My heart goes out to my friend and her family. I am honored and blessed that I was able to know such a kind, caring man.

Sorry to be so vague, but they are a private family and want to respect the family but still express my feelings.

Just another regular day... in my life..

2011-01-08T09:49:00.000-07:00

Okay.. so life at the Cratin house is the same as any other home. But my kids crack me up all the time. So on Friday, the two older kids went to school. However, because it was a Friday they only have half a day of class. So Robert decides to take them snowboarding and skiing. I was so grateful so I could get things done at the house and I could working on completing my projects.

So I had this huge list that I was going to accomplish. Yea, I think I got two things marked off my list. I was sidetracked, then baby was demanding attention that I was happy to give her, my shopping trip was canceled due to nap time, in the middle of working on the computer a massive headache came over me, and the list goes on and on. No big deal. At least I got something done. Baby steps.

But I did get a couple of layouts started. Got some forms created for the store, started working on the website, finishing up some loose ends for my parents, and one load of laundry done. So I was able to get something done..it just wasn't on my list.

So today is a new day. No list...going with the flow..no pressure. We will see how this approach does for me. So have a great day! Hope you have a productive day!

I can not leave here with out a picture...I found this picture of the kids sledding. This was their last sled ride in CHICAGO. (I told you we like the snow.)

Till next time! Happy Crafting!!!

Another unexpected day...

2011-01-06T16:18:00.000-07:00

Life is about making changes, go with the flow. Well today was one of those days.
I had planned on cleaning the house and getting laundry cleaned and put away. Well, thing all changed when Sammie says "Daddy? Did you remember that you have centers today?" Robert looks at me and I agree that it will be me going to help out with Sammie's class. Robert had to be at the store to attend a meeting. So off to Sammie's school I go.

It was a perfect center for me to work. The Arts & Craft table!!! The kids assignment was to paint a snowman. It was a fun little project to do with the kids.
I loved that we were able to paint.

Look at all the fun paint the kids got to play with today.

I was happy that I was able to help out at Sammie's school today. I had a blast. However, I was unable to do laundry and get the house clean. I am okay with it waiting for another day. So after school we decided to go visit Robert at work...hopefully soon we will be able to open our doors to the public.

Okay..off to figure out what do to for dinner. Until next time, Happy crafting.

Busy, busy....

2011-01-04T01:01:00.001-07:00

Today was the first day back of school for Sammie and Drew. Sammie woke up, ate breakfast, got dressed without any arguments or having to tell her 20 times to get her shoes. For Drew, same thing, we didn't have our quarrels we usually have in the morning. I think they were eager to go back to school and get back to a normal routine. I was absolutely stunned about our morning.

So my day started of very productive. I have been working on some layouts for CHA. Let me tell you how thrilled I am to work with Teresa Collin's new release. She really knocked this out of the park with these collections. I cannot even tell you or begin to tell you which ones are my favorites. I cannot wait to show you. But for now...Sorry you just have to wait!

Oh! I forgot to mention...Sign-up to get the Teresa Collins Newsletter Here. Check out the December Issue HERE filled with some great inspiration using the Noel line. Sign up!

Okay..so I won't leave you stranded without any pictures or a crafty project, So here is a picture of a mini album I made for my December swap partner Michelle on Life on the {Scrap}beach. I love these ladies! So here is a sample of Michelle's mini album.

Samples of the embellishments I put in the mini album.

Okay..So I have been busy with getting layouts and other projects together in preparation for CHA and cannot wait to share. I still have some more deadlines to finish, so until next time...Happy Crafting!

1.1.11 Happy New Year!!!

2011-01-01T15:34:00.000-07:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I was unable to stay up and bring in the new year. I did wake up around 3 a.m. then fell back to sleep around 5 a.m. Welcome to my crazy sleep patterns. However, I did finally roll out of bed around 8:30 this morning.

Robert had the kids feed and everything. I even got scrambled eggs for breakfast. Wow..what a great way to bring in the new year.

Sammie had a play date, and Drew had a guest over for a play date. After everyone was home and guests were gone, Drew and Caroline went sledding with dad. Sammie and I stayed home and put the tree away. Organizing and getting things cleaned up is what I have been doing all day!

School starts for the kids on Monday! I am trying to get the house ready so I can work and be productive!

Our new year day has been crazy and busy...maybe a sign of what the year has to bring? We are excited and know that 2011 is going to be a great year! Off to keep organizing the house to have a productive first week of the year!

Happy New Year Everyone!

Wow..still recovering from Christmas...

2010-12-29T00:04:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a great Christmas. This was our first Christmas in Utah. It was our first Christmas together with JUST our immediate family. It was nice and I actually enjoyed myself that day. The kids were excited and it was everything they wished for. They really had a great day.

My brother came to town, and we celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve. The kids were so excited that they could open a couple of the gifts.

Ready to open gifts!

I wanted to get a quick picture of the kids with my brother...yea...they wanted to play! But at least I have a picture.


Drew, Jubert, Ann, Caroline and Sammie

Then Robert and I put everyone to bed and Santa could visit. It was a memorable Christmas at the Cratin house.

I was fortunate enough to be able to take some engagement pictures of Jubert and Ann. I am pleased with how they turned out. Tonight we went to Temple Square to try and take some pictures with the lights. We could get a couple, but it got dark quick. However, we have a couple of great shots. We even could get away and have a nice dinner. I loved it. I could spend time with my brother and his future wife. My future sister in law, I am over the top excited and so happy for the two of them and starting a life together.

So my family is happy and excited about next year! Hope you had a great Christmas. I Cannot wait to get 2011 started. Hope you have a happy NEW YEAR! Time to spend more quality time with my family before "crazy time starts."

Until the next time...have fun creating.

Merry Christmas!!!

2010-12-25T08:46:00.000-07:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!

I just woke up and wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas.

I also wanted to share the HUGE Giveaway from Teresa Collins Check it out HERE!

I am blessed to work with such a wonderful, caring and talented person...Teresa Collins. Go check out her blog for the amazing opportunity.

Off to open presents with the kids. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

So much fun...

2010-12-22T10:54:00.000-07:00

The kids are on winter break so things are a little crazy around the house. We have been playing games an a ton of computer games. I have been working on getting holiday cards out and pulling addresses off the computer. They think they are helping and doing their work when they are on the computer. At least they are playing the educational websites.

First I would like to share a layout using Teresa Collins Noel line.

Crazy Drew Christmas Layout

This was a picture from last Christmas. If you know my boy he is a total goofball. This layout is the perfect representation of Drew.

Last night Sammie lost her third tooth. This was her front tooth. We were all using the computer and she jumps up and says "Thank you Drew for helping my tooth come out! I love you! Look Mom my tooth is out!" Apparently Drew was sitting behind Sammie pushing her while she was playing on the computer and pushed her while she was holding her tooth and knocked it out, the tooth has been loose for a couple of days.
Here is a picture of her and her new smile!

Sammie's new smile.

Okay...off to finish some projects like clean house, finish the holiday cards, wrapping gifts, start preparing for Christmas Eve Dinner. Oh...So excited that my brother and his fiancee are spending the holidays with us. SUPER EXCITED! Our first Christmas in UTAH! Okay...have a great day....

OH!!!! Let me tell you a secret...YOU DO NOT want to miss out on the HUGE giveaway on Teresa Blog on CHRISTMAS. TRUST ME ON THIS. Make sure to check her blog everyday. I am telling you...here is the link....HERE!

Okay... of to be productive! Till next time...be creative and enjoy life NOW!

Finally getting into the holiday spirit.

2010-12-18T01:55:00.000-07:00

It has taken me a bit to get into the holiday season. I think it was because we have been so busy with trying to get Jump Around Utah open, all the kids school activities and just other things going on, I haven't been in the holiday spirit. However, the other day something clicked. I wasn't as stressed anymore and just went with the flow.

The last couple of days have been busy with the kids' school programs. It was so cute to see each of my kids perform with their classes.

Sammie at her school performance.


Drew at his school performance.

We finally took pictures with Santa. We got the kids dressed to visit Santa, and they were so excited to see him and tell him what they want for Christmas. We knew this would be the first year we would be able to get a picture with Santa without anyone crying...or without making mom and dad get in the picture. Success! Caroline was so excited she got to dress up. The other two were in school programs, and she felt a little left out. So here she is all proud of herself. I have to say...Caroline needed a bit of bling. I took some Teresa Collins blingage, Amy's Gems added a Jumbo Zot to the back of the gem and added it to her dress, no pins to stick her or me. Then I took one of Miranda's Jewels and added it to a ribbon I tied in her hair. Perfect jewelry for children.

Caroline excited to go see Santa.

So now that I have pictures of the kids with Santa, I could make the Christmas Cards. I created them and sent them off to get printed. Phew. One more thing off my list. The kids are now out for their winter break. It is time to get crafty with the kids.

Okay... off to bed, another busy day tomorrow. Don't forget to check out Teresa Collins Blog HERE for the great giveaway!

My busy crazy life..it's all good.

2010-12-14T22:41:00.000-07:00

Life is crazy and especially mine, okay in my own little word it is crazy.

Saturday we had a little tree trimming party to help kick off the holiday season. We had a couple of neighbors over and decorated the tree. The kids loved the party all the kids got along and played nicely together. (We had 9 kids 7 adults in our little house.) I had a great time spending time with everyone and loved that the kids didn't want the party to stop. It is never a party without excitement right? So the event of the night happened when we were finished decorating the tree, just relaxing and talking, then all of a sudden...the tree FALLS OVER... yes, you read that right....the tree fell over. Here is the poor tree. (notice the Easter Egg ornament that one of the kids made.)

Do not adjust your screens. Yes the tree fell down. Notice the broken star.

So we are waiting to see if the tree says where we put it and not fall over, so for the time being it looks like this. Sad I know but at least we have a tree.

I told you...don't laugh!

Then on Sunday, I had to do the laundry. Oh the dreaded laundry. This is what my piles of laundry looks in my home. We go through so many socks and jeans. And I have to wash all the bedding every week. I know we are supposed to have spares but for some reason we didn't have that many linens that made the move. And we just not had the chance to go out and get more. So I do laundry.

Oh how I despise doing laundry. But someone has to do it and that person is me!

I have been working on helping Teresa Collins with her 25 Favorite Things Giveaway. Let me tell you there are some amazing giveaways that you are not wanting to miss. So make sure you check out her blog EVERYDAY till Christmas. Here is the link to her blog: Teresa Collins Blog. It is amazing to see how everyone has just been extremely generous with the giveaways and supportive of Teresa's good nature to pay it forward to her readers. I am lucky to work with such a talented, genuine and kindhearted individual. You should see how hard she works behind the scenes. She is constantly being mindful of her customers and her fans. Maybe I will be able to give you a sneak peek on what goes on behind the scenes of Teresa Collins Designs.

But until then, I have to get back to getting my computer fixed. Oh yea..had to reformat my computer and now I am re-installing my programs, drivers and all that fun stuff that deals with the computer CRASHING while trying to get the newsletter completed. NICE thanks mr. computer. So I am spending time working on my computer when I would rather be working here in my studio.

my studio

Until next time! Have fun creating! Hopefully soon I will be able to get to the studio and create something. So I can share a project or two. See ya, hope your life is not as crazy as mine.

One of those days

2010-12-10T11:21:00.000-07:00

One of those days.... when I just need help and no one is there to help. That is okay. I just need to take care of some things, and we will be back to our regular scheduled program. In general, I struggle dealing with the daily things but to add in the holiday activities makes me a little frantic. I need to remember to breathe, and everything will be okay.

Teresa Collins and Therm o Web giveaway.

2010-12-08T08:28:00.001-07:00

Go to Teresa's Blog: HERE

you could win THIS

“Items depicted in tote are not included”

Here are the details of the prize:
Impression Urban Stamp Tote – this fashionable and functional stamp tote has a stair-stepped design to hold stamps, tools, inks and even static-mount stamps in special pockets on the lid! The flip-top box holds photos or envelopes and finished cards!

Mini Stamp Case – This accessory piece holds 100 teeny ¼” alphabet stamps!

Prize Pack of Adhesives:

Zots Adhesive Dots: Small, Medium and Large

Use these adhesive dots to quickly and easily adhere photos, paper, faux flowers, chipboard, buttons and other embellishments!

Foam Squares – Add a pop of dimension with these ¼ and ½ foam squares!

PeelnStick Fabric Fuse – Add patches and badges to scout uniforms, tote bags or clothes! Just press on, no sewing or ironing! And its machine washable / machine dryable.

SuperTape – The strongest acid-free adhesive on the market! Use it with metals, rubber, plastic, paper, beads, glitter, sand and more.

SuperStik Glue Stick – A jumbo sized stick in a compact case! This super strong glue stick is super smooth and non-clumping! Great for use on chipboard and boardbooks.

Sticky Strip Runner – 34’ of clear slivers to adhere photos and papers!

Vellum Tape Runner – 45’ of adhesive for vellum, transparencies, acrylic albums and clear embellishments!

So head over to Teresa's blog: HERE and find out how to enter to win.

Crazy week..and it is only going to get crazier...

2010-12-05T21:33:00.003-07:00

Wow...This week has really just escaped me. Have you ever had one of those weeks were you plan on being productive and a wrench is thrown your way. Well that is how my week has been. But in a good way. I don't mind being busy it actually made me excited and energized about the holidays. All in all I was able to accomplish something. I was able to work, get my house clean, babysit and play with my kids. What more could you ask for. The holiday season is always busy but we have to remember what is important in life. Our family.

So here are some cards I created using Teresa Collins Noel line. I used Stickles to accent the holly berries and used my Copic markers to color the leaves of the holly. I also used distressed inks around the card to give it the red hue around the card.


full card


close up of the stickles on the berries

I also created this card using Teresa Collins Noel line of paper and clear stamps.
I did heat emboss this card with black embossing ink. The small notes are stamped with versamark to give the watermarked look on the cardstock.


Embossed card.

Okay...don't forget to check out Teresa Collins Blog : HERE
Everyday for some great holiday give-a-ways.

Have a great week...take care and create!

Day 4: Teresa's 25 days of Christmas Giving.

2010-12-04T16:18:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to post to check out Teresa's blog: Here

Some great give-a-ways. I will post updates later today. BUSY BUSY!.

Teresa Collins HUGE 25 Days of GIVING

2010-12-01T20:09:00.000-07:00

Have you heard the news? Teresa Collins is starting out the holiday season off with 25 days of GIVING.
Check her blog here: Teresa Collins Blog

Have you seen the Noel Collection:

I love this collection! My signature colors...red, cream and black. Make sure you check out Teresa's Blog Every day! Trust me...there are some amazing posts that are going to blow you away. (A little bird told me.)

Happy December Everyone!

Teresa Collins on Good Things Utah

2010-11-29T18:24:00.001-07:00

Check out Teresa Collin's segment that was on Good Things Utah today!
Teresa is having a give-a-way on her blog. Go check her out HERE. I have a project that she posted on her blog as well...check it out!