RIP, RIP.

For those of you that don't know, I grew up dancing and taught dance lessons for several years as well. Dancing, up until recently, has always been a huge part of my life, and this is largely in part to seeing Michael Jackson videos at a young age. My heart feels very sad today after finding out of his passing. He was truly a musical genius and an inspiration to not only me, but millions of others. Thank you, Michael for thinking out of the box, for taking dancing, as it was known, in a whole new direction and for your inspiration that lead to a passion in my life. RIP.

I can't even tell you the emotions I felt when I saw these for the first time...

Custom Invitations!

Hi friends! I got to make A LOT (see above!) of invitations for an upcoming bridal shower my MIL is throwing. I love how they turned out. I'm always up for custom assignments- if you need invitations for an upcoming party, let me know! :)

Word of the day: SIMPLE!

Whenever Laura and I hang out, we do a "word of the day" as a joke. But this, my friends, is no joke. :)

After being inspired by a card by a famous card company which makes nothing but beautiful cards, I came up with a very similar design that I could make at home. I made this card in probably...15 minutes. Cards usually take me a looooong time and I'm typically not happy with the outcome AFTER that looooong time.

Here was the process that took 15 minutes:

1) Cut all paper to size.

2) Print sentiments on cardstock.

3) Adhere all paper together (the only thing I would change next time would be NOT using this glitter paper OR using a stronger adhesive - which I didn't have available!)

4) Stamp using 2 colors of ink over sentiment.

5) Add stickles (very thin puffy paint) wherever you please.

When I showed Scott this card he said, "that looks so professional that it looks like you bought it." What a compliment! Scott's mom, when we gave it to her, said "Did you MAKE this? It's so professional!" All of the above...made my day!

Without further ado, here is the card :)

Promises, promises.

I had a wonderful scrap session with Laura today! Her work is a-mazing. Unfortunately, I got a little hung up on certain details (which is EXACTLY my personality! :)), and so I didn't get much done at all. I was on a mad quest for red letter stickers, every kind that I have (and every store within a 30 mile radius had) didn't work, but a lot of my time was filled with that little adventure.

I brought my pages home to work on them more, feeling ok about that lack of red stickers. Then I realized, halfway through, of course, that I was out of pop dots. So only half the title is done on my Christmas Surp(rise) page. :) At that point, I felt d.o.n.e. This page is very much NOT finished, but I promised to try to post, so I'm doing it. Hopefully I'll have the finished project completed in the near future, and then I'll post that, too.

The other page is even MORE undone, the picture isn't even adhered to the page at this point. But again, I wanted to show you what I got done...even if that amount is teeny tiny. The fun is in the process!

Thanks Laura, for spending the day with me and being a constant inspiration!

FINALLY.

I got my camera to upload this morning. I only have one layout to show you, but, that's a start. I'm off to have a mini-craft day with Laura, so I'll show you my final products when I get home :)

Here's a layout I finished...umm....2 weeks (+) ago...

MORE TO COME! I promise. At least, I try to promise!

I want to show you pictures.

I really, really do. But just when I actually try uploading the photos, my computer won't do it. I don't know what's going on, I'll have to have my trusty husband take a look later.

In other news, I've been miserably sick all weekend, and am finally (thankfully!) starting to feel better. I feel like I missed out on, what could've been, such a fun weekend. The weather was perfect, there were lots of fun things going on and I was stuck at home in the bed or on the couch. But alas, some weekends we must slow down and let nature run its course.

I've come across some beautiful blogs and websites over the last few weeks that I'll share with you now. For a ridiculous dose of inspiration, go here:

http://creativetherapy.wordpress.com/
http://retrospection.typepad.com/
http://lialuvsblythes.blogspot.com/

I hope they inspire you like they've inspired me. I can't wait til the next time I get to spend creating. Today is not going to be that day, I feel my first nap coming on...

Neglect...

I've neglected you, friends o'mine. I've still been creating but I just haven't taken pictures of those creations. So, for now, you'll just have my words and they'll be brief.

Reasons I've been neglecting you...

*Finishing our taxes (is it just me or is there ALWAYS one more piece to enter. SERIOUSLY!)

*Working outside in my garden on sunny days.

*Catching up on favorite shows (there are so many these days! Some of our new favorites include: The New Adventures of Old Christine, Martin & In Living Color).

*Enjoying the start of baseball season. Go Reds!

*Trying to lose weight. Putting forth effort to do so, slowly but surely.

*Budgeting the best we can during this yucky economic time in our lives.

*Flipping through lots of magazines that are suddenly heading my way (I didn't order them, except one, Scott's mom ordered the rest. I'm ok with that!): Country Living, Better Homes and Gardens, The Nest, Memory Makers, Etc :)

*Lovin' on our girlsies.

*Enjoying extra time with my husband while he's out of work. Always trying to get home as early as I can to be with him!

*Spending mindless time on facebook.

*Catching up and then falling right behind on laundry.

*Supporting Scott as he remodels our bathroom (aka saying "Oh, that looks nice" or "Yeah, those tiles don't match). That's a supportive wife for you!

So, that's where I am. What's new with you?