Phew! It's over!

Hi everyone! "Phew, It's Over" is about all I've got to say! That's not to say that I didn't have a great Christmas or lots of fun through the holiday but it is such a production from the gifts, to the cooking, to the cleaning up - it's nice to now have all of the work behind us and now enjoy our new toys and each other. Aidan is off school till January 7th and I am looking forward to a week of fun with everyone!

Santa was very good to the kids this year - Aidan got his first HO Scale Model Railroad and he is positively over the moon about it! Boy I tell you - this is an expensive hobby however. We went to Hobby Lobby today to look at accessories for his track/train and I was pretty shocked how much everything was. But being the great little Tiger Cub that he is - he decided to save his money and do some arts and crafts activities to add to his railroad. So we made a fabulous tunnel out of a big round mailer, brick like paper and red paint! He loves it!

In stark contrast, Zoey got a $6 fake aquarium from Walgreens from Santa and she was doing a serious whoop it up happy dance. Santa brought her other presents too but by far the one she was most excited about was the fake aquarium with fake plastic fish from Walgreens! Aren't kids hysterical!

Eli loved the hub bub of it all and getting presents too! He was so cute he would get all excited and say "Wow" before he even knen what was in the box! Just unwrapping it was an event for him!

It was a fun Christmas but I am glad that it is over and now we can spend the next week visiting with my Mom (who flew in on Saturday) and relaxing a litte before school, scouts and soccer start up again!

Nothing new on the design front and only a few layouts which I will share soon! On a personal scrapbooking side, I am soooo sooooo excited to announce that Heather Roselli asked me to be on her team! Have you seen the adorable kits she comes out with?? One of her most recent - Making Trax- I have been drooling over since I first got a glimpse of it! Anyone with children who love Trains has to have this kit --- I think that is what I am going to start working on tonight! No shortage of train photos here!

I hope you all had a great Christmas! It will be 2008 in a matter of days - I hope it is a great year for you! Thanks for stopping by!

Merry Christmas (Eve)

Everyone on Amy's CT would like to wish each and everyone of you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. We hope you have enjoyed the goodies that we handed out this past week. We have one more fun gift before Christmas Day. I will let you in on the surprise since I am SO excited about it!!!

Amy's CT got together and we used Amy's Trading Card Templates (available at SBB) and her Naughty or Nice Mini Kit to make you an 18 page Trading Card album!

We hope you enjoy your Christmas Gift and we would LOVE to see you put it to use, Christmas Eve Download

Stocking Stuffer Dec 23rd!

Hello faithful bloggers! We on Amy's CT would like to apologize for missing a couple of stocking days! You know that word OVERWHELMED that gets us all at one time or another? Well it seems being a few days before a HUGE holiday can do that to a person or two! And with Amy being very sick with the flu and pneumonia we didn't want to bug her to do more work by giving us presents! LOL! We hope that today's fun stuff will make it worth the wait tho! First off Amy is giving out a coupon for Free Tumbler Templates to the first 20 people who spend $1 or more in her SBB store! If you haven't seen these templates yet let me show you a couple that I made for gifts this year. They are so easy and such a fun gift! This first one has an actual photo of the template printed out and inside the tumbler. I used the Wish and Wonder kit by the SSD Designers, a Flower Felty by Fee Jardine and Tracy Murphy Drop Shadows for this one.

This second one is of my cute boys (I just love to show off my boys) for their Nana. ;) I used Tracy's LJ Kit by Traci Reed to do this one.

So if you want these awesome tumbler templates run on over to Amy's store and use the coupon code "tumblertemps". Remember this goes to the first 20 customers who spend $1 or more! That is so easy to do in Amy's store! So much fun stuff! And remember to make sure you come back here and share what you do so we can give you some lovin!

Publish Post

Howdy, cough, cough! I'm alive!

Hey everyone! It's been so fun going to my blog every day and seeing all this fun activity! My CT girls are the best - they have really done a great job with the Countdown to Christmas! I hope ya'll have had fun with it too!

I have sort of felt like "Where in the World is Amy" though. We have had a truly miserable December. Aidan, my oldest, got really sick on 12/1 and missed school and any other activities through to 12/10. And then as luck would have it - Aidan went back to school and I got sick the next day. On Friday my 97 year old Grandmother passed away and then on Sunday I was at the ER clinic where I tested positive for Influenza A and a chest xray revealed that I also have pnuemonia! Geez - can it get a whole lot worse? Well of course the answer to that is almost always yet but it did feel darn right stinky on Sunday.



Fortunately I'm feeling much better now, several days of Tamiflu and a good antibiotic and I am getting back to cranking out layouts, gifts and more. I'm going to come back and show ya'll some of my projects I've been working on but for now - I'll show you some super cool layouts some of my CT girls have had a chance to work on in the last week or so.

Kris Baker did this fabulous layout using Little Boy Blue. I love how she used highly themed kit for a layout having nothing to do with the theme! Fantastic!



Traci Reed is an amazing layout artist AND Designer. I positively love this layout titled "Fresh from Heaven."


And my dear friend Pam did this beautiful layout here using the Christmas Paper Bag frames! I love her tears and the little ornaments tucked in the top tears.

Well I wanted to stop and say Hello! Before I go, the coupon for my sale at SBB is still active and is valid for 30% off for a few more days! Here's the ad again:

Well it's time for me to - Eli just came and asked me to change his stinky diaper and that I need to go sing songs to Sissy! Hehe! I'm glad the 2 year old in the house has perspective on things!

Thanks for stopping by! Now, back to your regularly scheduled "Countdown to Christmas!" Have a super evening and stop by again tomorrow - I'm sure there is something fun in store for us all!

Day 5!

Happy Holidays blog readers! It's Pam here pinning up the Day 5 (SORRY THIS LINK HAS BEEN DISABLED) stocking that CT member Char created for you! And don't forget the sale is still on in Amy's SBB Store so head on over and shop! Amy and all of us on her team hope you are enjoying your holiday goodies and we also hope you will come back and share with us anything you create using them! Oh and don't forget the Guest CT Member contest! Get your layout in by the 22nd for a chance at a sweet gig! Have a great Wednesday all!

Day 4!!

Hello, it is Amber again. Amy & her CT want to thank everyone who has stopped by the blog to get the stockings each day. We hope that you are enjoying all the treats. Before I get to today's stocking I have a few reminders & announcements.

Amy would like to remind you about the sale at Scrapbook Bytes. If you shop TONIGHT before Midnight & use the coupon you will still get 40%!! PLUS If you spend over $10 at SBB there is also a free kit!! So what are you waiting for?!?! Go get shopping!!



We already have some wonderful layouts submitted for the Guest CT contest. Be sure to link us to your layout before December 22nd.

One last announcement before we get to today's stocking ... Amy has created a mailing list for all of her wonderful customers. Stop by ~>HERE<~ and sign up to be the first to know about sales, specials and contests!

Ok, are you ready for today's stocking? Look no further!!!
SORRY THIS LINK HAS BEEN DISABLED!

Christmas Countdown ~ Day 3

Hello all! This is Char, one of Amy's CT, posting with another fun stocking stuffer!

First things first - be sure to click HERE for some important news about yesterday's stocking stuffer! You'll be glad you took the time to check!

So, today's item will be perfect for your Teacher Gift needs, and for present toppers, stuffers for gift baskets, and so much more.

I know I'm not supposed to show you what's inside the stocking before you download, but I personally like to peek. (Yes, as a teenager, I was one of those who would check to see if presents could be un-wrapped and re-wrapped without anyone knowing). And I ALWAYS tried to find my gifts before Christmas! So, if you are one of those who likes a sneak peek, scroll down... but if you want to be surprised - CLICK HERE (SORRY THIS LINK HAS BEEN DISABLED) for your Day 3 download!

Scrolling down for peeking....



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(You can click to see the sneak peek larger!)





Now that you're done peeking, CLICK HERE (SORRY THIS LINK HAS BEEN DISABLED) for your Day 3 download

Christmas Countdown ~ Day 3 - Template Still Available Today!

Hey all you bloggers! Pam, one of Amy's CT members here! Since Amy is feeling a bit under the weather the team has decided to give her a break and leave the awesome freebie template up for one more day! Here is a layout I did with the template using Amy's Bohemian Blossoms kit, her Chicken Scratch Alpha and Clothespin Clusters.

So hurry and grab the sorry no longer available and then show us what you did with it before it's gone!

And lets all send Amy lots of get well wishes too!

Countdown to Christmas ~ Day 2

Welcome back everyone. This is Amber again. Thank you for taking the time to stop by for Day 2. Sorry it is a little late going up, but better late than never, right?

We have a VERY special announcement today. We hinted at it in yesterday's ad & in some of the forums. Here is the great new ... One of you could win a change to be one of Amy's Guest CT members after the New Year!!!!

Simply use the template stuffed in today's stocking to make a layout to impress and link back to it in the comments of this post before December 22nd. Grab the stocking today, even if you are not sure you are going to apply. The stocking is only available today. After all entries are in, then Amy & her CT will pick a winner to join us for a month! So without further ado ....
~>Sorry, this link is no longer available<~

See everyone back here tomorrow for Day 3!

Countdown to Christmas ~ Day 1

Merry Christmas Everyone!!! This is Amber, one of Amy's CT members here to take over the blog for the next week or so! Amy & her whole CT would like you to join us in celebrating while we countdown to Christmas. Be on the look out for the stocking featured in the ad below each day.


Here is today's freebie ~>Day 1 Stocking Stuffer SORRY THIS LINK IS DISBABLED NOW<~ Remember stockings are surprises so you will have to download to see what you get!!

See you back here tomorrow for Day 2 & a special contest announcement!!

Holiday Party at SBB and a Major Sale!

Long time no post - story of my life! I thought I'd get on here and share a few things with you and post about the current sale I am running at SBB. Here's the ad:


There's a lot of fun stuff going on at SBB this weekend and over the next few days! So don't miss it - you can find out more about all the activities here. Plus there is a daily search in the forums for a new freebie every day! Learn more about the search here.

And please, please stop back by later today! My CT is going to be hosting a super cool "Countdown to Christmas" with lots of fun freebies, coupons and more! Look for the first post sometime today!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

Mish Mash, Hodge Podge and New Templates!

Happy Sunday morning! I love Sunday mornings - the kids know I love to watch the CBS Sunday morning program and generally are anxious to let me do it. One of the kids gets to go to the store with either Dave or I and pick out doughnuts for the family and generally they are lazy fun days. I'm looking forward to the day ahead. I think the kids and are going to make our "Thanks"giving Turkey - can you believe how fast Thanksgiving is approaching?

Except for one end of season soccer party, soccer is pretty much over. Eli did well through the surgery but has had a hard time recovering. Poor little guy he's been miserable. Thanksgiving is right around the corner, Zoey's birthday next and then I'll blink and it will be Christmas. Yikes!

I just added a couple of templates packs to my Scrapbook-Bytes store this morning. here's a preview:

Each is only $2.99 and you can pick them up here.


Oh before, I forget, I have a few things I want to share! First of all, I am hosting a "Alter the Season" challenge at Scrapbook Bytes! Our first project was to make a set of altered blocks and our next project (to be posted today) is going to be a wallhanging using chipboard coasters. Here's a peak at the blocks I made for the challenge.

After the holidays I am going to make a bunch of these up as baby gifts. Wouldn't they be cute with the child's name on them or the word "baby"? The were super easy and fun to make. Come check out the challenge here.

Scrapbook-Bytes new TidBytes is out! If you haven't checked it out - you need to! It is awesome! Jammed packed with fantastic layouts, great tutorials, fabulous freebies and exclusive downloads, digital reviews and more! Don't miss it! I'll come back tomorrow and tell you a little bit more about this photo and project we completed, but in the meantime I will give you a sneak peak.

Aren't those little nuts cute? We made their matching aprons for Thaksgiving from Ali Folendore's "Tasty Tom" kit. I'll come back and talk about the aprons tomorrow!

Well Aidan just walked down the stairs all sleepy which means he's likely to snuggle with Mommy. He won't want to too much longer so I am off! Thanks so much for stopping by - have a great Sunday!

I was reading a post today at My Scrapbook Art about funny kid stories and one of the members said that her funny kid stories are the source of most of her blog posts and I thought - gee - I should blog! So here I am! Once every 3 weeks is good right? LOL!

Anyways, don't know if you heard it this morning or not but that huge sigh of relief you might have heard was me - this is the last week of soccer till Spring season and Eli's surgery is on Thursday. After this week things should calm down at least some. Yes, there is the holiday craziness but at least not 3 nights and/or days consumed with soccer practice and games, add to that birthday parties and cub scouts. Geez - we are always on the go and even the kids have been complaining that they are never home! Life is going to be incredibly nuts when we have all 3 kids in school and involved in different activities! I missed the Digi Dare "Secret" challenge - but if I had done it - my "secret" would have been that despite the craziness I love it. I waited a long time to have kids and be a soccer Mom so now I secretly love it!

Let's see - what's going on in the digi world! If you haven't seen Traci Reed's newest collection - you are seriously missing out! It is amazing - "The Ones We Love" has 6 kits - 3 girl and 3 boy themed - all with amazing elements and backgrounds! And other big news for Traci is that she is now at Sweet Shoppe Designs and has opened her own shop - http://www.tracireed.com/. Here are 4 layouts I did with Traci's new designs!

Zoey at the Duck Pond is using Traci's "Evie Jo" kit and the DSD Template by Rachael Gialliongo.

Obviously I have been in a mood to scrap the boys! Check out Traci's new collection here!

Oh and the some of the biggest news is our house is that I had my birthday last week and even I missed it! LOL! I had planned to have a big sale, a bunch of new products and a freebie! Well, as is so typical of my life, I missed it. My Mom says I was 2 weeks late when I was born and have never been on time since. Well she's sort of right and if missing my own digi birthday party doesn't prove that - I dont' know what. Bottom line - I am going to have a belated birthday celebration and a fun word art pack about getting old free for everyone!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope to have a few things to share with you in the next day or two. In the meantime - have a great day!

Lookie Lookie!!!

How do you like my new look? It is a combination of the incredible designs of Dani Mogstad and Jacque Larsen and a new set of blog header templates that I put together! Let me tell you - Dani's new kit and alpha set - OMG - they are incredible! Soooooo cute!

So, clearly I am terrible about updating the look of my blog. But, I wanted to do something fun for Halloween and one thing led to another and I designed these 6 blog headers. It as so easy and fun - I'll be creating new ones all the time!

You can purchase the header templates in my SBB store here.



One of my CT members Biancka did an awesome header using the templates - check out her header here:




Biancka's blog is awesome! I will link you all up in a little bit when I am back from the Parent-Teacher conference. Aidan's 1st report card comes home today! :)

A little light humor for you all. I spent this morning high pressure cleaning my driveway. It was a real opportunity to be with my thoughts while I washed away the dirt on the driveway and the front of the house. The following realizations made me realize that I am addicted to digiscrapping and designing:

1) While pressure washing the driveway, I was wondering if I should take a picture and scrap the before/after process.

2) We have a welcome mat that has an interesting pattern of "holes" in it - I put it on the driveway and cleaned the driveway between the holes - wondering if there was a way I could turn that pattern into a brush.

3) Texture - lots of texture out there.

4) And then once a lot of the dirt was washed away - I found oil stains or other stains on the driveway and I thought about how cool they would look as a brush or element.

Yes, these are the profound (haha) thoughts of a digi-scrap addict with a few minutes of uninterrupted menial task work. :)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day and rest of your weekend! And - check back tomorrow - or at least go to Sweet Shoppe Designs and check out Dani's new kit - it is awesome!!

TTFN!

A Little Treat!

Good afternoon! I have to be very quick - need to pick up my son at school in a few minutes - but I wanted to make sure I got on here and posted a little treat! One of my CT members and friends, Tanya, designed this cute Treat Bag Topper! Isn't it cute!!! She made it with the Hallowbling Kit that my dear friend Traci Reed and I did together! You can see the full kit here! It is such a fun kit! If you download the Treat Topper here, please be sure to leave a little comment! Thanks for visiting! Have a great day!

Lots of Scraps and Good News!!

I've been scrapping! Last week I really felt like I was needing a break so I took a few days off from "work" and just scrapped and hung out with my family. It was great and soooo energizing. We went to the Zoo and to a favorite Pumpkin Patch. I'd like to say it generated tons of great photos - but it didn't! I did get one great photo of A and Z - or so I thought - when I looked at it a 2nd time - I realized that the tree behind Aidan makes it look like he has antlers! Great big antlers! Hopefully with a lot of cropping and some clone stamp work, I'll be able to minimize them.

I am so excited - this month I am Guest CT for Karah Fredericks. Karah is the owner and designer extraordinare at Blue Flombingo! It's been a blast so far and I've created a few layouts using her awesome designs already! Here's one:

I love the colors, alpha and "natural" elements in Karah's September Rain kit. In addition, I used her paper folds and the template that Karah is offering on her blog! Don't forget to run over there and enter Karah's sketch contest. Not only do you get the free sketch but you might also win a gift certificate to her store!

And yesterday I got a pm from Rachael Gaillongo at The Digi Shoppe asking me to be a Guest CT Member for the remainder of the year!!! Wooo hooo - template heaven! Rachael's templates are awesome! Here are 2 layouts I did last night and today using her templates!

Hint, hint!!! This fabulous template is available in Rachael's Grab Bag currently available at The Digi Shoppe. Isn't the kit awesome too?? It is titled "Autumn Mix" by LaWanna Desjardin at SBB. Great kit!

The layout above titled "Intense Beauty" is of Zoey pouting! But even pouting she is beautiful! I used Kristin Cronin-Barrow's wonderful Rustic Autumn kit and a template from Rachael's Round and Round Template pack. The stitching is from Dani Mogstad's "Imperfect Circles" element pack.

Okay - now I must really go to bed - it is very late! Thanks for stopping by! Please leave a comment and say "Hi!" Till tomorrow!!

It's Calendar Time!

Well the Bleser household has officially reached maximum craziness! Aidan and Zoey started soccer last week - Aidan practices 2x's a week, Zoey only 1. Zoey and Eli start Mother's Day Out tomorrow - 2 days a week from 9 - 2! And the Scouts start next week too although as the Den Leaders, Dave and I are fast and furiously getting prepared! So, between scouts, school, soccer and regular life - we are maxed out! So far it has been fun but then it is only beginning!

I can't believe that not only is it time to start making our Holiday presents, but according to my gift list - I am already behind. Between the calendars, the magnets, the altered items etc - I'll be working from now till January trying to get them all done!

To that end - one of my CT members - Tanya - turned me onto something called "The Holiday Plan." It is a week-by-week organization plan to get your house in order, your gifts bought and made and your baking done! It's pretty cool - check it out!

Some of you may recognize my "Just the Tops" calendar toppers! Well I am re-releasing them and they are better than ever! They are now available in .png format! You can find them here! They are only $8 but for all my blog readers (yes the 2 of you), I am offering a 25% off coupon good till the end of the month. The code is: letsgetstarted08



I love these templates and they will help you (and I) get your annual calendar done in a Jiffy! Last year I ordered mine from Winkflash and was sooo pleased with the quality, I am planning to use them again this year. Hopefully they will have an incentive for early birds who get done early! (as if I would be one of them).

Thanks so much for checking in! I hope you will scroll down and pick up the free template a post below! And please do say Hi!

A Little Something!

Hi ya'll!! I am going to call it an early night! Tomorrow is a busy day - Eli and Zoey get to meet their Mother's Day Out teachers and Eli has a doctor's appointment - again! Poor little guy - he's got an awful ear infection and the antibiotics he has been on for a week aren't helping! :( Add to that a couple of errands that we need to do, taking Aidan to school and picking him up, homework, completing an altered "Mommy and Me" project tomorrow and etc - that's a busy day!

But before, I head to bed, I have something to share! It has been forever since I gave away a freebie just for the fun of it - sooooooo I decided it was high time! Here is a fun and unique (I think!) template for you! The template is based on the layout above that I created using Scrapbook-Bytes' Element Team MegaKit for August - Hit the Trail! It is an awesome kit - the textures and elements are so fabulous! And it is only $5! Check it out here!

Download my template here! I hope you like the template! If you download the template - please leave a comment! And please don't directly link to the freebie - if you want to share the template with someone - that's great - just send them a link to my blog!

Keep a look out - in a few days I'll be re-releasing my calendar tops templates! They are fabulous for working on your 2008 calendar! :) I hope to have them out before the weekend!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great night!

Yay Traci!

I am going to be a better blogger, I am going to be a better blogger, I am going to be a better blogger. Maybe if I say it 10 times it will come true?? Maybe? Oh well - such is life!

Speaking of life, Aidan started school, Eli has an ear infection, Zoey is enjoying her time with Mommy and looking forward to Mother's Day Out starting next week! I am looking forward to the 10 hours a week without any kids! Not sure exactly what I am going to do during that time but I am sure I will fill it somehow!

Big congratulations to my friend and Designer Extraordinaire - Traci Reed! She is the featured artist in Digital Artist Magazine! Her designs are really amazing and she continues to impress me with her talent and also how incredibly special she is as a Mom and Woman. If you haven't checked out the magazine yet, it is a great magazine! Plus this month you will get a free kit titled "The Softer Side" by Traci. Here is a layout I did of Zoey using it!

To see layout and full credits, click here!

The kit is really beautiful! Traci's colors are always fabulous and her elements are top notch and always creative!

I can't spend all of my time blogging this afternoon - I've got work to do! LOL! But I definitely wanted to make sure that everyone heard about Traci's wonderful kit and her incredible talent!

Thanks for stopping by! I love it when people leave comments, so please say Hi! Have a great afternoon! Oh and just for fun, here's a layout that I did last night real quick!

Credits here!

Okay well again, thanks for stopping by!

Everytime

I think life my life is boring or unexciting - the kids remind me how not true that is! Hehe! And for glamour - well being a SAHM has it all! Yesterday the kids and I had a fun, full day planned. We left the house headed first for the Children's Museum and then for hair cuts, shoe shopping, dinner, ice cream (if they behaved) and last minute school supply shopping. The kids had fun and we all had a great time. The highlight (and I say that most sarcastically) was when my oldest son dropped his pretend police badge in the toilet. Yes, of course, it has to be the toilet he had just used. Ah yes, the glamour and humor of scooping his police badge out of the toilet. Fun!

I could go on and on with tid bits of fun like this. But I'll spare you all!

My CT has been working with my new kit (see post below) and I am so excited to share with you these layouts:

This layout is by Neisha (aka Lavendar)! Isn't it lovely! I love how she used the frame, the photo grouping and the flowers. Beautiful Neisha! My good friend and team member Char did this wonderful layout (below) with a picture of her Grandmother using Grammie's Apron too!

The last one I am going to show you today is by Guest CT member Jamie (aka azrood)! How seriously cute is her daughter?

Thanks to my wonderful CT for allowing me to share these layouts with you! Just a note - I am leaving the contest open for another day - so, please leave a comment in the post below too and you'll be entered to win the Americana kit! Your chances are pretty good now!

I appreciate you stopping by! The cable guy just got here so I'm going to run before I lose this post! I'll be blog hopping later! Have a great day!

New Kit, a little contest and more!

Good morning! It's been way too long since I blogged so today I am going to do it up big - I have a new kit to show you, new layouts and a contest! Lots of fun stuff!

On a personal note, I can't believe that Aidan starts 1st Grade next week. Wow! He's really grown into a goofy boy this Summer. He's such a nut - filled with goofy smiles, expressions, dances and more. I hope that goofiness doesn't translate to him getting into trouble at school. He had no trouble last year but he is so much more animated now.

Zoey girl is living it up! We decided it was time to give her her own room and she is thrilled. I am in the process of decorating it and I am having the greatest time taking advantage of all the great altered projects at Traci Reed's Team blog and Dani Mogstad's Girl Talk. Zoey is also excited because she has a new bunny! His name is Bun Bun and he is sooo cute and furry!

Eli turned 2 on the 12th. We had a family birthday party with fun bright red cupcakes and lots of Diego presents. It looked like Diego mania in our living room.

I am so lucky to be on the best CT's! I've been a bad blogger and haven't kept up so instead I created a slide show with many of my recent layouts using kits by Traci Reed, Dani Mogstad and LaWanna Desjardin.

I am very excited to share with you my newest kit! After more than a month away from designing - it felt great to get back into it. My newest kit is titled "Grammie's Apron" and you can see it at the top of the post. It is available at Scrapbook-Bytes. I'm really pleased with how it turned out and hope you like it too! My CT is working away with it and I hope to share some layouts with you that they have done with it soon!

Okay, now for the contest! Did you know that the Scrapbook-Bytes Design Team puts together an incredible monthly megakit available for only $5.00? They are available here. I participated in the July kit and therefore have 1 to give away to 1 lucky blog commenter. So, leave a comment for me and my DH will pick a random number and that person will be the winner.

Here is a preview of the July kit:

Pretty isn't it! All you have to do is leave a comment before Wednesday at noon and you could win it!

One last thing to share - today Fantacy is having a crop at 1:00 - 2:00 in the Scrapbook-Bytes chat room. I have it on good authority that the chat freebie is fabulous. So join Fantacy - she's a lot of fun and you'll do a layout and get a beautiful freebie. For more information, visit here.

Thanks so much for visiting and staying with me this long! Have a great day!

Yay! We are finally home! A great time was had by all and the 4,000 mile roundtrip drive was actually - well - fun! We made many great stops, had a lot of fun and overall it was a major adventure. We just got home on late Friday night so I am still in the process of settling in and trying to get back into some sort of routine!

Thanks to all of my CT members for keeping things going while I was away! Admittedly I am the worse, absolutely the worse Designer when it comes to my CT. I am so fortunate to have an amazing group of ladies scrapping with my designs and always being so incredibly supportive! Thanks to each of you for keeping my designs out there while I was gone and just being so wonderful all around!

Shamelessly, I am starting to get settled in by re-connecting and participating in all of the challenges at SSD. Lauren and Robin have a new kit which I much have and therefore am trying to rack up those challenge points so I can pick it up. To that end, I took the little quiz about what type nailpolish I am - here's what the quiz revealed.

Your Nail Polish Color is Pink

How you're unique: You're girly without being high maintenance Why your style rocks: You're the perfect blend of stylish, preppy, and cute What this color says about you: "I am secure enough not to follow every trend"

What Color Nail Polish Best Fits You?

Hmmm - interesting since right now I have blue nailpolish on my toes.

Okay well I will be back!!! I will, I will, I will - before the end of the week! I have a new sketch pack to release, vacation photos to share with you all and a little contest!

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great night!

We have our 1st Winner!

Hi! Amber here as a guest blogger while Amy is on vacation. I am so excited to get to show off our very first winner in the "Get Caught" contest. There are SO many wonderful layouts in the galleries using Amy's Designs & Templates, but congratulations to SusieU.K. !!!!! Her layout layout featuring Daddy's Girl was really a stand out for me & the CT. I love the repeating rows of flowers and her daughter is just adorable!


Click ~>here<~ for credits and to leave Susie some love and congratulate her on winning! I would love to see some more layouts with Daddy's Girl. Just leave a link to your layout in the comments and you might be the next person to "Get Caught"!!!

While Amy is away....

...her CT is gonna play!! Yes, I have access to Amy's blog, and I think we're gonna use it while she's out of town for her month-long vacation!

We (her CT) have a few things cooked up for you, to make the time go faster until Amy comes home again. We have a few contests coming soon, where you can win fabulous prizes (like coupons and gift certificates, oh my!)... and a few of us will be posting to the blog in her absense, so it doesn't get TOO dusty around here.

Be sure to visit again SOON for more details, because while Amy's away, we're gonna PLAY!


ETA: Here is our first contest:

"Get Caught"!

If you can't see the image, here is the text:

Get Caught!

Amy Bleser is out of town on a nice LONG
summer trip. While she's gone, we (her
CT) will be on the look-out for layouts
that feature Amy's designs. If you GET
CAUGHT using Amy's designs on a layout,
you just might win a prize!!

The Get Caught contest will run from
July 9th until Amy gets home sometime
around the 1st of August.

So, get busy, use Amy's designs, upload
your layouts, and GET CAUGHT by Amy's
Creative Team!

Where has the week gone? Seems like they just go by quicker and quicker now. Just 17 days till our big family adventure and I have a million things to do! Ugh! Sometimes I find it hard to get back into blogging when I have been negligent for a while, so I decided to just start with the Hot of the Presses topic from The Digi Shoppe!

The topic of the day is home remedies for being sick. Well I can't say that I have a lot of them but I always find wonton soup or thai chicken soup has seemed to help. Don't ask why - maybe it is just a mood adjustment but whenever I am feeling lousy that is what I want. I just love Asian food so it's probably mostly an excuse to have more! Hahaha!

Lots of fun things going on and new products. My most exciting news right now is the new title and blinkie that I am sporting! Want to see?

In case you don't recognize it - it is a Scrapbook-Bytes Design Team Member blinkie! I'm so excited to have been asked to join the DTM of Scrapbook-Bytes. SBB is the first site I started digiscrapping on and it has a special place in my heart! I remember at the time being in awe of the DTM's. And now, woo hoo, 3 years later I get to play with them! Very exciting for me!

I have a new template pack out - Starting Blocks II. It is available in .psd, .png and .jpeg formats and is on sale for only $2.49 till Thursday.

You can find them in my SBB store.

Oh and one more fun thing! Yesterday I was asked by Karah Fredericks to serve on her Guest CT one month in the Fall! I am sooo excited! I love Karah's paper folds and can't wait for the chance to work with more of her designs!

See - now that I've started blogging (or typing to myself as the case may be) I can't stop! Thank you to the wonderful layout designers who applied for my CT. I will be making decisions and sending out offers today! I am so excited and just a little nervous - hoping all these ladies will accept and will love my designs when they start working with them!

I better stop rambling and go and do something around the house. Thanks so much for stopping by! Leave me a comment and say Hi! I love to hear from anyone who stops by! Have a great day!

Guest CT Call!

Happy Tuesday! For some reason I am completely confused about what day it is this week! I woke up yesterday thinking it was Tuesday! As a result, I'm all off. I guess it is because school is out and I don't have to keep track of what days Aidan has to wear what or needs a lunch etc! The lack of craziness is so nice.

Swim team was cancelled this morning because of weather so it gave us the opportunity to have a quiet day at home. We have painted, played and painted again. Currently the kids are bugging me about whether their race cars are dry or not! They are anxious to put the stickers on them and race them! Once they are dry, we will have a few races, do some of our Summer Bridge activities and then we are going to start our rock garden! I have this cute little book called "Summer Dailies" and it has "Fun, educational activities for each day of the Summer!" One of the ideas is to go on a scavenger hunt for the prettiest rock in the neighborhood, bring it home and start a rock garden. And then to do this each week of the summer and watch your garden grow! The perfect thing for our very poor Texas soil here!

I start water aerobics tonight! And I completely ordered the wrong bathing suit for it! The tank bathing suit does not have enough support for all sorts of jumping and bouncing in the water. Guess I'll have to buy another one which is a total drag because I certainly am not pleased about the way I look in a bathing suit these days. Maybe water aerobics will help with that!

Well before quiet time expires and Eli wakes, I need to get some things done so I better get off here, but before I do, I have a couple things to share! First, is that there is one more day to save on my Daddy's Girl kit! It is on sale at SBB for just $4.50 through tomorrow. And secondly, I'm having a Guest CT call! I am excited and nervous at the same time! I sure hope someone out there applies! :)



Okay, off to get our activities pulled together and a few other mundane things! Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you have a great day!

New Designs, A Coupon and A Way to Help!

Aaaaah! Can you hear that? The world is just a little bit quieter now that my 2 youngest are down for a nap and the oldest is playing with his K'Nex for quiet time! This is definitely one of my favorite times of the day! It's quiet, no little nuts hanging from the ceiling fans or running through the house like wild animals. Aaaah!

I had to take a little break yesterday from scrappin' to design a little! Afterall, I have to pay for my scrapping habit with something! LOL! So, I put together this little Trading Card Album Templates. These little albums are so cute! They are fast as anything to put together and a big hit with everyone!



They are available here at Scrapbook-Bytes for just $4.00. However here is a little coupon for you good for 25% off through the end of June: 25offtctemplates. They are a super cute Father's Day gift!

Oh and before I forget, I want to share with you a really easy way to help out "Reading is Fundamental." If you go to the Scholastic website and sign your child up for their Summer Buzz program, for every 4 books you read and log, they will donate 1 to RIF. My kids love to read so we are avid readers and it would be hard to log all the books we read, but whenever we do a big sit down and read session, I pile the books we read up and then go to their website and enter in what we read and approximately how many minutes! Yesterday we read for a solid 55 minutes! Spread the word - the more books children have the more they learn about their world and can be inspired to challenge themselves to achieve their dreams!

Today has been pretty quiet so far. After naps and quiet time we are going to do some of our Summer school work and then head back to the pool for some afternoon exercise. Tonight I am hoping to make a layout with Kristin Cronin-Barrow's newest kit - it is soooo beautiful! Take a look:



Isn't it just beautiful! And with my crazy Zoey girl - it will make just the most amazing layouts! It went in the store this morning, you can find it here!

And one more thing - if you haven't already applied for Traci Reed's CT call - do it!!!! She is an amazing designer and is incredibly nice and fun to work with! You will really enjoy working with her and being on her CT. Here's the her CT Call ad and if you want to check out her designs, see them here!



Are you still with me? Thanks if you are - this was one long post! :) I did some cardboard polaroid frames over the weekend that I hope to put together and put up as a freebie! So do check back in a couple of days! Thanks so much for stopping by and getting this far down! Have a fabulous day!!! ((hugs))

Gosh it has been so busy around here lately I never got back to report on how Aidan did in the swim meet, do any enabling or show off some new layouts!

First, the swim meet! Aidan did great at warm up and was looking like he was going to have a good swim. Then I don't know if they unilaterally decided that the 6 and under kids would use a kickboard or if that was an option. Either way it seemed to totally throw Aidan off. He didn't seem to understand that it was a "race" so he pretty much took his sweet time, looked around and enjoyed the swim! He's 6 - it was totally fine and amusing! In fact, my Mom has a story that she tells about me doing pretty much the same thing on the soccer field. It's all good! I got some good photos and we had a fun experience all around. Zoey had a fabulous time playing along the fence where the trees are looking for bugs and playing with a friend! All and all - it was a fun way to spend a Friday night!

I did get to scrap some this weekend already - in fact 3 layouts. Let me show you or you can see it here!

This is using Dani's new kit titled Sweet Summer Pop! I got up yesterday morning and the first thing I did was go to the Sweet Shoppe to see what new kit Dani had out and grabbed it up! Of course that is pretty much what I do every Saturday morning! If you haven't seen the kit yet, lookie here:

I just love that sun and the cloud! And the fabulous colors - well it is a Dani kit - need I say more! I did the Cookie Decorating challenge at Sweet Shoppe using the kit too - see:

And then the 3rd layout I did was with Jessica Bolton's Homelife Kit! I have become a real fan of her work! Here is my layout:

I bought a couple other things yesterday too! I bought Shawna Clingerman's newest kit and 2 things from Meredith Fenwick.