GCD Design Team Call

Recently GCD Designs had a design team call. I really wanted to submit an entry because I love their product lines but after reviewing the requirements, I realized that I would not be able to commit the time needed to complete the required projects each month. As much as I love their product line, four projects a month in addition to the Junkie Design Team requirements, would put me over my limit. But I congratulate those that did submit and those that were selected. On Monday, April 6th they will be announcing their new design team and in honor of this event they are having a giveaway. Don't miss out on the big announcement!

I can't wait to see who was selected and to see what awesome work they will showcase.

Fighting the Funk

One of my New Year’s Resolutions this year was to keep it REAL! Well I have to confess that lately I have been holding out on you guys. Yep, the reason I haven’t been blogging much has to do with the fact that lately I have been in a funk. It’s not really depression, not really stress, not really frustration, but rather it has been everything and nothing in particular. Sort of the sign of the times I guess.

I have been doing a lot of soul searching and self analysis, talking and evaluating and I have made a few realizations:

First, I can’t please everyone. No matter how much I try, there are those that will not be pleased.

Second, I am a creative soul that is desperate, yes desperate, desperate, desperate to create, but life has a way of getting in the way. This frustrates me to no end.

Third, I am angry at some people in my life and because I have not been able to resolve this anger, it is beginning to manifest itself into resentment, and I know that this can be toxic.

Fourth, I need my ME time. To ensure that I get it, I have to be more structured about scheduling it rather than trying to steal it away and then frustrated when others steal it back.

Fifth, I have been away from The Church too long. My faith has not wavered, in fact I have drawn particularly close to God during these times, but I have been making excuse after excuse for why I am not attending service on a regular basis. The result has been a slow fade. (To quote a popular Christian song) and this scares me. I never want to go back to where I was when God found me.

I am not entirely comfortable making this the forum to bleed from my gut, but I do want to keep it REAL. I want you to know the real me; the imperfect me. I am not chronically happy and I don’t live in a bubble of moonbeams, but rather, I am a flawed soul who lives in a far less than perfect world that has problems just like many of you. And, I am an artist. I sketch, I write, I scrapbook and I want to explore painting. Art is WHO I am. It is my therapy and my sanctuary. It is my God given gift and I want to grow in it. I want YOU to know my struggles to be the artist that God has called me to be.

So, you can expect that in the days to come I am going to TRY (yes try because I make no guarantees) to chronicle my artistic journey. Be prepared for ups and downs, good days and bad. Some days will be diamonds, some days will be stones. You may not be comfortable with the truth about my life, but it will be the truth. I know that some times it is going to be hard for me to say what I have to say and I may not be able to find the words, but I am going to try. So, are you with me? Will you stick around and watch me grow?

A Weekend of Nada!

The weekend blew by and basically it was uneventful. Apart from a trip to the Junkie (one of the highlights of the weekend), some running around with Mom today, a visit from my BFF Theresa and baby boy Matthew, and some laundry, things were relatively quiet. I am always so amazed at how fast the weekends go and how slow it takes for Friday to come around.

I didn't do much scrapping this weekend. I did complete a double paged spread using the Basic Grey Archaic line, but my camera is in the shop so I am unable to take photos of it. :-[

Next week I have a doctor's appointment, a conference call and hopefully lunch with my BFF.

I promise to post more next week.

Hugs,
Heidi

Are you a Fisk-a-teer? If not, you should be!

I heard over at the Fisk-a-teer board that they are expecting to sign up their 6000th Fisk-a-teer very soon and who ever it is will receive an awesome bundle of goodies. I have to tell you that if you aren't a Fisk-a-teer already, you really need to be. This group of crafters has got to be the most wonderful group of people on the planet. Everyone there is very friendly, encouraging and sweet. They pride themselves on sharing their love for crafting and they are always looking for ways to Bless other crafters, pay it forward and perform Random Acts of Kindness. They never say anything snarky or insulting (like some of the boards I have visited) and ALWAYS make you feel welcomed. If you've never heard about it I encourage you to check it out, if you are a Fisk-a-teer, be sure and tell your friends about the 6000th milestone!!!

Hugs,
Heidi
Fisk-a-teer #525

I've Been Tagged!

OK, so Jenny B in Indy tagged me and I now have to show you the 4th Photo in my 4th Folder and explain it, and tag 4 of my friends. This is a fun one. Here you go:



This is a photo of my husband Mick and his boss Stanley. Mick is receiving his 5 year service pin award down at the office. I love the photo because he has his beard shaved off and we don't have many photos of him sporting his bare butt face! LOL

I am tagging Lizzie, Rhonda, Deanna and Robin.

Paparazzi Mom

Here lately I have been unable to get a decent shot of my boys. First I get the eye roll and then I get the hand in the face. What the heck is up with that? You don't suppose it is because I am always sticking a camera in their face do you?

TOOT TOOT TOOT ! OMG Two in One Day!!!!!

Oh man, I just knew today was gonna be a great day!!! I woke up this morning and jumped onto the computer and look what I found. YOU GOTTA SEE THIS!!!!!! Talk about excited. I could hardly contain myself. You know I have been doing paper arts for many years and I always dream of having my work recognized by one of the big companies, but Making Memories. OMG! They are one of the premier companies. I am so honored and so freakin' excited.

AND THEN....
Very unexpectedly I found that my Blog has been selected to receive the Random Blinkie Blog Award for Sassafrass Lass. Check out this post (scroll down to the bottom). I mean, Sassafrass Lass too. I am over the moon with delight!!!

I hope that you will join me in my celebration!!!

Hugs.

Junkie Design Team Layout #3

As promised I completed the third layout in this month's design team assignment. For this layout I got to use a bunch of the new releases from Bo Bunny. When I saw the sneak peeks for the U Bug Me line, I was all over it. I couldn't wait to get my hands on some. You can probably imagine my excitement when I saw these goodies in my packet this month.

For starters I got to use some of these awesome new papers. Aren't they adorable? I just love the colors and textures of the circles and plaids. One of the sheets was called "Arrows" and I had so much fun cutting them out and using them to create the word "CLIMB". Add to that some of the Chunky Charms Circles and Arrows in Chiffon and some Swirls & Brackets in Clear (added from my own stash) and man oh man I was in heaven.

One of my other favorite items in this layout is one of the new transparencies from Prima. I am so in love with everything Prima and the transparencies are to die for. Toss in some of the glitter alphas from Making Memories and the new Effervescence punch by Fiskars and lots of Stickles glitter glue and I was one happy camper.

I am very pleased with this month's challenge results. I can not wait to see what Beth will have us do next. We get the month of April off, but that won't keep me from scrapping. I have a bunch of new stuff to play with so stay tuned.

Hugs,
Heidi

Is your Marriage Fireproof?

If you haven't seen this movie yet, I recommend that you RUN to the store and pick up a copy and watch it with your spouse TONIGHT!!!! Not tomorrow, not next week, but TONIGHT! This movie is one of the best movies I have ever seen. Every married or engaged couple should watch it together. It WILL change your relationships, it WILL change your marriage, it WILL change your LIFE. I DARE YOU to watch the move and change your life FOREVER.

Busy as a Beaver

I had a scrap-busy weekend. I worked on my Junkie Design Team Layouts and got two done! Yeah!!! I am ahead of schedule.



This first layout I got to use some terrific Karen Foster Baseball papers, Queen & Company Felt Fusion and some Making Memories Glitter Alphas (love those). I even surprised myself and my hubby by doing some needle and thread work by adding some hand stitching. Put those shirts away Honey, my stitching is strictly reserved for scrapping!



On this layout the Hambly acetates were a "Hoot". The owls on the Adornit Carolee's Creations papers were so cute, a perfect fit for a woodsy theme, complimenting the photos taken on a Scout Trip to Colorado Bend State Park. Critters are all the rage right now so I was in full owl form. If you look closely you will also see that I got to use the much coveted Fiskars Apron Lace border punch that I searched high and low for and finally found and more of the Making Memories Glitter Alphas. There is hidden journaling and I added a couple Fancy Pants chipboard shapes. I am very happy with the results of this challenge.

I was on a scrappin' roll so I went ahead and finished up this layout that I started over the weekend. I am loving the The Pink Paislee Captivating Line. I love the versatility of these papers. Despite this being a more masculine layout I was still able to add some pearls, keeping it pretty simple, without making it too feminine. I think I pulled it off, what do you think?



I still have one more layout to go. I will try and get that started this week while the kids are off for spring break. My goal is to finish up this weekend.

Weekend Fly By

I had two very productive weekend days....um...from a scrapbooking perspective that is...my house is a total wreck but hey I got to scrap! I finished two of my Junkie Design Team assignments and am ready to take on the third. I am determined to get them done early this time. The fact that it is spring break for the kids and that I won't have to help with homework in the evenings AND that my DH begins a stretch of 7 days off starting tomorrow, I just might make my goal. If I finish early I may get to do an extra project or two.

Oh and I have some very EXCITING news to share, but I must wait until it is official. I can give you a little hint though...
Make sure you watch this blog...you never know where someone you know might show up. (Big Grin)

Hugs,
Heidi

GCD Studios Giveaway!

My new favorite company GCD Studios is having an awesome giveaway, check it out here! Their new paper lines are to die for!!! I just finished a layout using their Provence collection and I am so in love. Be sure to check out their blog.

GCD Studios & Prima...Oh My!

I have been doing a little scrapping these last couple days and I am really diggin' the new Fetching line by Pink Paisley . The fabric blooms are so cute and the colors combinations were perfect for Austin's 14th Birthday celebration.

I have also fallen in love with the GCD Studios--Provence Abeille Patterned Paper. The texture and colors are so rich and sophisticated. Unlike any other paper out there right now. It is like a breath of fresh air. Different in a very good way. Add to this some Grungeboard, new Prima flowers and WOW! I am in heaven.

Next up...my Junkie projects. Stay tuned.

March Junkie Design Team Meeting

Tonight we had our March Junkie Design Team Meeting. It was a blast. We got to hang out for a while, chat and and eat some great food.

One of our assignments this month was to bring a creative dessert to go along with our delicious pasta dinner. Spring was the theme for the dessert. Man, I tell you these ladies are creative and Mmmmm was everything good. Take a look at these sweet treats!!

Of course we also got our assignments and I can not wait to get started. This month we got all new products! Yeah!!! I am so excited because I get to work with BoBunny U Bug Me, Karen Foster Play Ball, Carolee's Creations Adornit Fern Collection-Hoot and some awesome Prima Transparencies. So stay tuned and check the Junkie DT blogs often.

We have the most awesome Design Team!!!

Daylight Savings Casualties

I love the spring. I love the fact that everything is springing to life and waking up from a long winter. I love the smell in the air, the cool spring breezes and the beautiful colors that start to emerge after months of beige and brown. But for the love of God I HATE the daylight savings time switch! I hate having to spring forward. I have such a hard time getting up in the morning. Not to mention getting my kids out of bed at 7AM when it is still dark outside. They roll over, open one eye and the whining begins. “Five more minutes please!”

Well this morning was no different. Except this time I can’t blame the kids. I set my alarm. Really I did. I think I heard it go off at some point, but when I woke up at 7:30 AM this morning and it was barely light out, my heart began pounding out of my chest when I realized that I had to be at work at 8AM AND I still had to get the kids up. Needless to say, this morning was rough. A rough one for me, the kids and for all those that crossed my path on the way to school and work this morning. It wasn't one of my shining moments that's for sure.

Could someone PLEASE TELL ME what the benefit is of moving the clocks up one hour? Why is it a good thing that we down here in the south, when it is hotter than blazes in the summer, need one more hour of sweltering summer daylight? Who was this person that decided this and where can I reach them? I have something to say to this person and it won’t be pleasant!

I just had to get this off my chest. Whining will stop now.

AND THE WINNER IS....

The winner of my blog giveaway is:

Paisley Petals said...
1. My blog is not frequented by many...so I can't give too much advice. I do get more hits though when I post comments on other's blogs or enter a challenge. 2. I don't hate anything about your blog. I do like that your writing style is professional - good grammer and spelling makes it easier to follow than some other blogs! I personally like a little bit of everything - variety is nice. If you are looking to be more popular, I would suggest tutorials or regularly scheduled posting of products/projects. You could even start your own challenges. A blog that is a good example of this is: http://www.kwernerdesign.com/blog/3. I've got you on my blog roll but I'll go follow you & post a link when I'm done with this comment. Good luck!

So please send me your email address and I will get your prize mailed to you ASAP.

Thanks to everyone for all your suggestions. I will take each and every one of them to heart.

You guys are the best!!

Thanks so much.
Heidi

ANOTHER BLOG CANDY GIVEAWAY!!!

So I am pretty new to this blogging thing and I really enjoyed this process. Sharing bits and pieces about my life and sharing my scrapping project for all to see is exciting. Everyday I go to my blog and look to see who has commented and I check all my favorite blogs to see what has updated. There is something extremely gratifying in finding that what you have written or posted has been enjoyed by others. I am working hard to post regularly and keep things interesting. The one thing that amazes me is that one of my favorite blogs, The Pioneer Woman, gets thousands of hits everyday. I think that is incredible and I would love for my blog to grow to that level of popularity. But how is that done? How do you get the word out about your blog? How do you attract traffic to your blog? Do you do giveaways or advertise (like how would that work?) or do you rely on word of mouth?

So here is the deal. I have this awesome scrapbooking blog candy to giveaway. All you have to do is the following:

1. Tell me about how you attract traffic to your blog and how your blog went from unknown to frequented by many.
2. Tell me what you like about MY blog, what you hate about it, what would you like to see? Do you prefer long posts or short posts? Stories or blurbs? More pictures or less? Scrapping news or techniques or both? Be brutally honest.
3. And finally, please sign up to be one of my blog followers and post a link on your blog about this giveaway.

You have until Sunday, March 8th 6:00PM to leave me comments and a link to your blog after which time I will RANDOMLY pick a winner.

Good Luck to you all and thanks a bunch.
Hugs,
Heidi