And the winner is ...

I used my favorite random number generator and wouldnt you know, the result was lucky number ONE! (I had to do it again to make sure it wasnt broken) but yep, it was just randomly one. So that means the winner is

Stacey!
hansenfamily said...
Wow Blog Candy how fun. Great job on the running. You are doing such a good job keep it up. Love the layout. The photos are amazing.
June 16, 2008 12:45 PM

Send me an email at megamay79@yahoo.com with your address and whether you would like the teresa collins or the scenic route, and I will send it right out. (well, as soon as I can get my rear end to the post office - or get DH to do it - lol!)

And here is another page from the crop this weekend: (yep that is me when I still had hair)

Its been a while

Sorry about that. I just got really busy and didnt feel like spending time online. But now, the weekend is over and I am back at work and I would rather spend time writing than doing my work. So, here is a quick recap of my weekend. Friday-took Ellie to camp, met her teachers, feel better about her being in camp. Then, got my hair cut, HATED it, but resolved to see how I felt about it after washing it. Was miserable all day, probably from the hair cut and feeling bad about myself. Ran some errands, scrapbooked a little, picked Ellie up from camp, scrapbooked a little more (big crop at Scrapperie this weekend, so scrapping is going to be a theme) went to ILs for dinner. Saturday morning I tried to sleep in because I was really tired on Friday from getting no sleep Thurs night - no amount of coffee seemed to work. Got up on Sat, STILL hated my hair, almost cried. Called the salon and told them, got an appt for noon for her to fix it, spent the next couple hours scrapping and trying not to stress about the hair and going to the salon and feeling bad for telling the girl I hated it. (seth took ellie to the zoo - I didnt go because I needed sleep and to deal with my hair) went to the salon, she fixed it - sorta I mean she can't give me back the hair she cut off now can she? - but it looks better and she felt bad and I felt bad so I just decided to stop feeling bad. did a little more scrapping, played with ellie a little, went to a party at my mom's work, got really drunk, ate too much - good thing it was a free day on the diet but still, too much even for that. Sunday, did pretty much nothing, we all just bummed around the house, playing Wii, scrapping, watching TV, etc.

this morning I got up at 6 and went running - did TWO laps! and I felt really good about it. did my hair, sorta like it - not love it, but I will live.

onto scrappy stuff, I finished: 12 layouts, 4 notebooks, 4 altered coasters, and 3 cards !! woohoo! I was a scrapping machine this weekend! Most of the pages are not my best work, but I had fun and that is what counts right?!

here is one that I made with the moxxie filly RAK that Janet sent me - loving this!! and I have a really great idea of what to do with the rest of it - just you wait! This is a super simple page. It is amazing how fast stuff comes together when you use a coordinating line! I wanted to keep it simple and allow the horse to shine. I cut around the front legs and slipped the photo underneath. Then I outlined the whole horse in brown pen to make it pop a little more. I thought the rub-on title was pretty perfect for us riding the horse at the zoo - can't get more urban than that really.

Onto Next Round!

my mojo was really low this weekend and I had a tough tough time coming up with a page to enter in this week's challenge at Project Scrapaway. But I did finally come up with one that I liked, sort of. I wasnt particularly confident this round, but I made it! The challenge was to use words as the focus of your layout. I used a quote from ellie. I was thrilled when I woke up today and found that I made it to the next round! So here is mine:



"When I heard that the topic of this challenge was words, I knew that I had to create a page about something funny that my daughter says. I have been wanting to do a page about her asking me to kiss her boo-boos for a while, so that seemed perfect. Then I had to find the right photo. I took the perfect photo just yesterday! She had scraped her finger on the sidewalk when she was drawing with chalk, and kept running to me and asking me to kiss it. I loved all the bright greens and the red of the slide in this photo. Those colors went well with the bright new Cosmo Cricket papers. But I wanted to set off the photo a little. A scrap of black velvet did just the trick! The velvet is dark and lush with a hint of shine."

Journaling ~
You didnt fall very much early on, but you definitely picked up the 'kiss it to make it better' thing VERY fast. Now, every bump or scratch requires a kiss, even if it is on your butt.

Materials ~
Making Memories paper / GCD studios stickers / Cosmo Cricket paper / Prima flowers / Velvet / Misc Buttons / Making Memories brads

And here are the other contestants' entries:
http://www.scrap-n-crop.com/index.asp?p=/static/projectscrapaway_challenge5.html

Ellie is at camp

Today is Ellie's first day at camp. I am worried about her. I know she will be fine, but she is probably a little frightened. Seth took her there at 9am and dropped her off. He said she was a little unsure, but mostly fine. He will go get her at 3pm! long day!

 

Here is a page that I made this weekend for a color story challenge blog. This is very much not my usual style, but I wanted to give it a try - light colors and 'shabby chic'

 

check it out!

I made the design team at Scrapbook Dreamer! I am so excited!
http://www.scrapbookdreamer.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13288&hl=

I also just ordered a Wii ! pretty excited about that too. hmmm, do you think the wii and scrapping might be a little counter to each other? do you think the Wii will cut into my scrap time, now that I just added two new DTs?

Nah, don't worry, I like to be busy! and scrapping will always come first!

next round here I come!

For this round of Project Scrapaway, we were challenged to design our own patterned paper.

Here is the page that I made:


The judge was Teresa Collins. This is what she had to say about mine: "MEGAN A. ~ LAZY HAZY CRAZY DAY OF SUMMER I was instantly drawn to her layout. I love the colors and how creative she was with the use of the sun and it’s rays. The journaling caught my eye. Also, I loved the circle photo in the middle of the sun. Stunning layout!"

If you want to see the other entries you can see them HERE.

blog visitors?

Someone asked yesterday how you determine how many people have visited your blog. There are lots of ways, but I only know one. Since you probably already know that I am a HUGE google fan, I use google analytics: http://www.google.com/analytics/

you register your blog with google analytics and it tracks all kinds of stuff like how many people visit each day, how many unique visitors (that is the 200 for me), where people visit from - they show it on a world map with countries colored in. What sites they come from. All kinds of stuff.

and if you DONT know how much I love google, then you may not know about google bookmarks - like your favorites list except that you can get it on any computer just by logging into google. and google reader - where you subscribe to different blogs and get notified when they are updated. That is what allows me to keep track of all 100 blogs that I read without going out of my mind. It lets you put them in folders and change the names and everything.

ok, plug for google over now.

here is a card that I made for Seth's cousin and her new fiance because they just got engaged. I am rather fond of this card. I wanted to keep it simple and elegant. And I really liked the quote, which was on vellum, so I pulled a scrap of scenic route paper out of my scrap pile, paired it with some black button shaped brads, black cardstock and a velvet ribbon and voila! I even did the inside! I NEVER do that! All I know is she had better appreciate this - lol - just kidding.

Blog Candy!!!

Can you believe that I have never given blog candy away?! Well, I just realized that I have had over 200 visitors and someone that I know was giving blog candy for that. So I thought that might be fun for me to do. Ok, so leave a comment on this post and on June 30th I will do a random drawing from all comments. The winner can have their choice of either - the Scenic Route Liberty kit (minus two pcs of paper and the letters) but including all the die cuts and everything, OR a homemade kit including 6 sheets of Teresa Collins paper, some coordinating flowers and laces and other misc stuff. I will try to post photos later, but no promises. The photos probably wont be up until the weekend.

Ok, now for today's thoughts. First, I went running yesterday and guess what ... I liked it! I was sweating and felt like I was going to die, but afterward I felt so good that I wanted to go running again today! woohoo!! Hmmm, what else? I have been doing well on this diet, but I havent lost as much weight so far as I thought I should, but that could be because I built muscle already. I went down a lot right away then back up. But hey, it is only week two.

Here is my share for the day: sketch from coordinates collections, paper from scrapwords, I did stitching and painting on it for my sassy scrappers contest entry. the photo turned out terrible, but you get the idea.

Check it out!

Check out this new challenge blog that I have been loving: Get Your Scrap On!
It has been around for a few months, and I always love the challenges. I have to admit to not getting to them in time most of the time, but it is always a great inspiration. This week the challenge is to use the same sketch for a card and a layout.

And here is another new page. It isnt anything spectacular, but the journaling I think it really sweet, you probably can't read it, but I am talking about how mu husband is the constant in my life and is always there for me. Scrapperie April kit here.

project scrapaway update

I made it through round 3 with my 1979 layout. I LOVED this page as I was working on it. yes, it is a little bright and busy, but the challenge was to be inspired by the 70s and use bright colors. I did a lot of fun digi stuff on here that I havent done before. So I learned a lot. And I did a new technique (for me) with the glitter - applying it in lines with elmers glue and a paint brush. More details below, but my enthusiasm about my finished product was dampened a little when I saw all the other entries. these girls are really bringin it! click here to see all the entries.

So the next challenge is posted, and it is to make your own patterned paper. Well, I actually just did sort of make my own patterned paper on the page I posted on the post before this one. But something tells me that THAT wouldnt be good enough for this challenge, so I have to put my thinking cap on - hmmmmm.

This contest is REALLY making me think outside the box, and do techniques that I dont normally do. I dont normally think about MAKING patterned paper because - well it takes time and I am very short on that. I can't even really say I am lazy - although I often do when I am talking about my time savers, really it isnt lazy, it is just that I dont have enough time to do custom stuff. So - thinking cap on - do you like it? lol - or do I look like a crazy person trying to contact aliens.




My thoughts: "When I started thinking about the 70s, the first thing that came to mind is that I was born in 1979. So, I thought maybe it would be fun to do a page about the year I was born. I did some research and found the popular movies, tv shows, and some random facts. Then I thought about art from the 70s and the first thing that came to mind was Andy Warhol. I love his work and I know that he worked in the 60s and the 70s. I found a photo of my mom and me from that year, and used photoshop to turn it into a Warhol style then I printed it out as the background. I also used photoshop to write the journaling insde the numbers (which are bellbottom font) and printed that out on transparency. As I added the journaling, I left room for flowers to be added later. Then I wanted to add a frame and took inspiriation from the 'that 70s show' dvd cover. I drew the lines in pencil on the cardboard, then I painted them. When that didn't give me the effect I was going for, I pulled out my glitter."

Journaling ~
3/25: The first space shuttle Columbia, is delivered to the JFK Space Center, to be repared for launch.
3/28: A nuclear power plant accident at Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania, caused a partial meltdown.
4/1- Nickelodeon Television Channel launches.
5/4 - Margaret Thatcher becomes prime minister.
7/8 - Los Angeles passes its homosexual rights bill.
7/16 - Iraqi President resigns and VP Saddam Hussein replaces him.
8/10 - Michael Jackson releases his first breakthrough album Off The Wall.
11/4 - Iran hostage crisis begins.
12/6 - The world premiere for Star Trek: at the Smithsonian.
12/9 - The eradication of the smallpox virus is certified. / President: James Earl Carter, Jr. / Vice President: Walter F. Mondale Population: 25,055,487 / Life expectancy: 73.9 years / New home: $71,800.00 / Median Income: $16,461.00 / Stamp: $0.15 / Gallon of gas: $0.86 / Dozen eggs: $0.85 / Gallon of Milk: $1.62.
May 23: Rocker Tom Petty files chapter 11 bankruptcy / "Kids Are All Right" premieres / My Sharona by The Knack / Bad Girls by Donna Summer / Da Ya Think I'm Sexy? by Rod Stewart / Reunited by Peaches & Herb / Hot Stuff by Donna Summer / I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor / Escape The Pina Colada Song) by Rupert Holmes / Ring My Bell by Anita Ward / Babe by Styx / Too Much Heaven by Bee Gees.
TV: M*A*S*H / All in the Family / The Carol Burnett Show / Happy Days / Little House on the Prairie / Dallas / Laverne & Shirley / Charlie's Angels / The Waltons / Hawaii Five-0 / CHiPs / Soap / Taxi / WKRP in Cincinnati / Three's Company / The Rockford Files / Alice / Mork & Mindy.
Toys: Electronic Perfection / Strawberry Shortcake dolls / Big Trak / Boggle / Intellivision / Star Trek: The Motion Picture figures / Sea Wees.
Books: A Bend in the River by V. S. Naipaul / Sophie's Choice by William Styron / The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe / The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels.
Academy Award Winners: Best Picture: Kramer Vs. Kramer Directed By Robert Benton / Best Actor: Dustin Hoffmanin Kramer Vs. Kramer / Best Actress:Sally Field in Norma Rae

Materials ~Cardstock / Photoshop / Transparency / Cardboard / Doodlebug Glitter / Misc Buttons / Me And My Big Ideas Paper / Paint

so tired!

Here is the page that I did for three Scrapwords challenges: Selena's sketch, Sandy's letter E (I still havent done D) and Darlene's monochromatic challenge

the background paper was plain pink, then I stamped it with a versamark ink and wood grain stamp, then it wasnt dark enough so I embossed it with clear embossing powder.

Papers are Daisy D, letters are thickers, flowers are prima, misc buttons and metal findings and karen foster jeweled brads

I am so tired today. I am taking the day off from working out - Does anyone know if you are allowed a day off from working out on the Body for Life plan? (my book STILL hasnt come) I know you are allowed a day off from dieting and I am choosing Sat as that day this week, but I really think I need today off from my workout. - I am soooooo dragging! I have been following the diet/exercise program REALLY WELL. this has been so easy so far - ok not easy, but do-able. BUT I have been working out hard, and not eating a lot, and I think it is just catching up to me. My body is real sensitive to that, and usually I end up sick the first week or two of a diet. So, I think that is a big part of it. I did strength training at work last night and it really took it out of me. I am still recovering today. I was at work until 9pm last night!!!! And we had a HUGE storm that took out the power (it came back on before I left) but all the traffic lights were out. And then a road that I normally take was closed, so I got a little lost, had to back track and go around - didnt get home until almost 10 and hadnt eaten dinner yet! I ate dinner and went straight to bed - yeah, I know not the best idea for a diet, but I was soooooooo hungry that I had to eat something!This morning I had to be in work early. I overslept then the road was STILL closed and the light was still out - no cop directing traffic this morning, it was a total mess. Now I am here, filled up from my yummy shake, but sooooo tired. I am too full and too thirsty to drink more coffee. I want to drink water but I am too full for it. I think I should have only had half of the shake, but it was so good, I couldnt stop myself - lol! ok, I am done whining - back to work

Some pages

This first page is using the new Fancy Pants paper, fancy pants felt, thickers and prima flowers

And this one is using Scrapperie's May kit.

Weekend

I think I say this every weekend, but seriously, where did the weekend go? I had a really really long week last week and this weekend was one of my 2-day weekends and it just was not long enough! Thank goodness for a 3-day this coming weekend.

Ok so where to begin?
First,

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY SETH (and me)

Yep, today is our 6 year anniversary! I can't believe it has been that long! But on the other hand, it feels like our wedding was a lifetime ago. Not because it has been bad but rather, because we have grown, changed and done so many amazing things in the last 6 years. I think that is a good thing - to feel like I have had a lifetime of experiences in only 6 years?! What does that say for the next 5, 6 or 20 years?

Second, I made the DT at 2scrappyChix ! I am so excited! 2 Scrappy Chix is a new (or reborn under new management really) kit club, community and store. And I am LOVING it! The store is stocked full of all kinds of yummy goodness, and the community is full of really nice people - NICE is key for me! And there is a chat room - love that! And there was a crop this weekend with some really awesome unique challenges.

Ok, Ok I know you know that I love pretty much all challenges. But I think that sort of makes me an expert on what is truly unique and these were truly unique!

Here are the cards that I made from the first one. The challenge was to make a set of 6 cards using one sheet of patterned paper + the prefolded cards + some scraps. I can't remember who posted this challenge and I really should because this was the best challenge EVER!! She posted instructions on how to cut your paper to make the 6 card fronts. I almost didnt do this challenge because I dont like making cards and I hate following instructions, but I am so glad that I did! She posted 6 different sketches that you could follow but I made all mine the same because I plan to give them as a gift. (well I am keeping that one different one for myself because I ran out of the papers that I used on the others)



then there was this challenge. Making bows! Now I have seen the instructions for this a few times, but I never thought about trying it because - well - I hate following instructions. But really this was so much fun! and all you need is a piece of 6x12 double sided cardstock, a couple of brads, and some glue dots. It was so easy and fun, and a great way to use up those large scraps of paper that you used a little bit of but just cant see yourself using again. Personally, I think that those papers would make the best bows anyway, because like these are loud and bright. I only used a few small pieces on layouts, and then I have the rest left over - perfect colors for birthday packages!



Third, Seth and I (and Missy from Scrapwords) started Body For Life yesterday. Well, at least Missy and I did - Seth isnt totally on board yet, but he did help me shop for food (we spent almost $300 at the grocery store - eek!) and he helped me measure and photograph my befores and let me do the same for him. I worked out 20mins HARD yesterday and 20mins Medium-hard today. I ate hardly ANYTHING yesterday and so far today I am doing ok - just eggs and a granola bar. I shouldnt have had the granola bar so early, but I was just STARVING! So, I figured it was ok. Anyway, so things are ok. I havent had cravings for sweets yet - just cravings for food in general. But, then, I was at home yesterday and now I am at work where the vending machine calls to me. So, we shall see how hard it is today. But I am super determined to do this! 12 weeks - I can do this! Well actually to be totally honest, I am shooting for 10 weeks because that is when we go to Disney World. Now if things are going really well and I plan to really enter the contest, then maybe I will try to keep it up in Disney, but for now, that just seems to difficult to contemplate, so I am planning for 10 weeks. And yes, I will be keeping it up over Fathers Day, 4th of July and CHA.

Ok enough blabbing for now. I am going to call seth and pester him to take some photos of the pages I made yesterday.

TGIF

and I do mean THANK GOD!!!

It has been the longest week EVER! I think partly because last week was a 3 day week for me - mon and fri off, and this week is a 5 day week. but today we have a deadline and a lot of work at work AND I have a migraine! the pain is better now, but I still feel like I got hit by a truck and all I want to do is crash on the floor and rest. oh and I am dizzy and sick to my stomach. but hey at least the pain and light sensitivity is gone - thank god for small favors right?

lots of scrapping this weekend for the 2scrappychix crop that I mentioned yesterday on the blog. and I have some other things for contests that I have to do. but it is good because I really need some time to myself. oh and we are going to a strawberry festival too.

Oh and one more bit of news - I am getting ready to start the body for life 12 week challenge. I am making DH do it with me, and acouple pals from scrapwords are doing it too. I am not going to say it is going to be fun, but I think that I really need a good swift kick in the rear, so maybe this will help. I am hoping that DH doing it with me will help me stick to it - but who knows maybe it will send me running for therapy or filing for divorce. I guess thats the chance you take huh? just kidding, I am totally sarcastic and downright stupid today - that is another side effect of a migraine. well the stupid is, the sarcasm comes from the stupid because I keep doing really dumb stuff and if I didnt laugh at myself I would be really upset. ok onto the fun stuff then back to work...

This page was for a challenge at the got mojo blog - but I didnt get it done in time. The challenge was to be inspired by clothing and use tape. I used a scrap of denim because ellie is wearing denim in the photos, and I used duct tape. I liked how the bright plaid on the paper contrasted with the darker and more 'edgy' materials. I then played up the contrast between 'pretty' and 'edgy' with staples on the laces.

crop time

It is almost crop time at 2scrappychix

Saturday June 7 will be the day of the crop from 9am-4pm CST with your projects due by Sunday June 8 at 12 noon CST.

oh and the new design team will be announced too!

see you there!

and here is a page from last weekend.
This was for a challenge to interview someone. I (sort of) interviewed ellie. She wasnt being very cooperative. This stuff is from my scralet lime kit

time waster

saw this on Shannon's blog and had to try it:

Try this, it's a fun time-waster and if you post it on your blog, let me know so i can come check it out!
1 - Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.
2 - Go to Random quotations: http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.
3 - Go to flickr's "explore the last seven days" http://www.flickr./
Put it all together, that's your debut album.

The latest from my band Sinaitic Palimpsest , our new album "Dream as Well as Act"!

Onto Next Round!

Last week I was complaining about how hard this challenge for project scrapaway was - to use NO scrap products on your layout. So that the round is over and I have not been eliminated, I am sharing my page with you.

My style is usually clean and bright, so I took this as an opportunity to try a different style. It was definitely a challenge! I really wanted to try using some cardboard and a brown paper bag so I started there. We were instructed not to use easily identifiable photos so I decided to do a page that I have been thinking about for a while - my favorite things. At first I chose ' I {heart}' as the title because I was afraid of trying to make letters. However, I eventually decided that it was incomplete without the 'my favorite things' part.

Materials used:Brown Bazzill cardstock / Brown Paper Bag / Cardboard Scrap / Page from a Vintage Children's Book.

"I {heart}" title is made from a cereal box, with a page from a magazine glued on for color and texture.

"My Favorite Things" title is hand drawn on plastic from a box that a toy came in.

Flower: circle of red felt, circle of plastic, circle of paper bag, bottle cap, circle of book page, temporary tattoo on plastic. Flower leaves are temporary tattoos on plastic. Also, macrame twine.

Here are all of the entries: Link.

new page

Well, be prepared to see a little less of me for the next couple days because our internet is out at home! I dont know what DH is going to do! he is going to go totally crazy!

Anyway, here is a page that I finished this weekend with the scrapperie May kit:

Bind It all album

Here is my first bind it all album. You are probably totally sick of seeing these photos - same ones as the last three mini's, but I like them. This one is for my neighbors - they are such sweethearts and love ellie. It isnt overly embellished and it feels a little 'not done' to me, but I guess maybe I got sick of using the same photos over and over again. anyway, for this album I bought a children's board book at the dollar store and cut it apart. For the cover I cut the swirl out just to make the cover stand out. Then I covered the whole thing in paper. Since the pages were an odd size and I didnt plan well, I could only cover one page per sheet of cardstock, unless I peiced some together. so I used some scraps of patternet paper with my scraps of cardstock to get it all done without using my entire supply of blue green grey paper.

after all the paper was glued on, I sanded the edges, inked them, and then ran it through the bind it all. That thing is amazing! It was so much easier than I thought and it looks so professional!!

weekend

this page was for a 'gauntlet' challenge at scrap supply- use red, use patterned paper, lace cardstock AND a transparency, use a journaling card and tell a story on it, use tiny letter stickers and some of those new popular 'people' figures.

This is what I came up with. The photo isnt very good because i was so busy this weekend that I waited until too late tonight to take the photo. And I was planning to add some people to the tag but didnt get time. oh well.

What did I do this weekend? Hmmm what did we do Friday? I cant remember. maybe I got a chance to relax that day, can't really remember. Saturday I did some scrapping in the morning then went to see Cirque Du Soleil, then we went out to dinner at Roys - yum! I had this really tasty macadamia nut crusted mahi mahi in a lobster butter sauce - sooooo good that I ate it ALL. Then today we got up early and went to the zoo for a free stuffed key chain animal - they are giving away a collection of them over the next few months on designated days to members. We saw the animals, rode the train, and the horse then came home to see my parents. We went out to lunch with them then hung out for a little while, then I took a nap, then did some gardening.

I had a really good time weeding with DH. He is so funny sometimes! and at one point I was laughing and I said how funny he is and he said, "I guess I am more funny when I am miserable, is that why you like to make me miserable?" Its true I guess. I mean he was exaggerating about the misery I think. He just meant that he wasnt having fun weeding. but he gets all sarcastic and funny when he is annoyed at having to do something. hmmmm.

Oh and then after gardening, we had family bath time and torture penny time. LOL! we all took showers and we washed penny, cleaned her ears and brushed her teeth. Seth was teasing me again that I must like torturing the dog. not really, but she needs some hygeine every now and then.