Create Something Today

show off...

  

[supplies- Everything from Karla Dudley Designs: Patterned papers: Workshop exclusive (floral), Zander: Baby (dot); Circle sticker and brush: Thanksgiving mini kit freebie; Stitches: Digi Essentials.]

Displaying your memories in a new way! I'm putting a new twist on the template. Coming soon to my shop ^_^

-out

good with the bad

We all had a good time this past week. The annual..

  

 
  

 
 
  

and Halloween too ;)

 

  

 
 
 

And now we're all sick minus Kody and DerRick. Yeah..the boys too. All this madness is hitting us like a ton of bricks. The girls aren't used to being exposed to germies and I got sick over the weekend. I usually get sick when I go out of town but I was hoping the boys would be spared. Anyhoo..I better go. I hope you guys had a great Halloween and got lots of candy ^_^ See you soon and be safe.

-out

workshop delight

It's almost Monday and that means week 2 is going to start! I'm exited about it! Everyone is super sweet and are eager to learn. I wanted to show you some pics of one of the journals that have been made

This album is by lasmanitasdevinnie she made a stunning keepsake. I loved how she punched out my paper designs with the circle punch! And those feet......seriously adorable!!!!

Thanks for sharing L!

-out

cell pics, rain, hobby lobby + homework

Hello, hello guys. TGIF! This week has gone by so slow for me. What about you all? I know my posts are far and in between so thanks for being patient. We have a busload over here lol! School and appointments + change seem to have been the words of the week.

Preschool has been kicked up a notch. The girls never needed their backpacks and now they have homework? Wowza! I was like o man. It feels a little strange because it's two of them doing the same homework at the same time. They enjoyed decorating their little scarecrows and declared homework to be "fun!" :) I assured them there will be much more homework to come. Although, as I'm getting the kids in the car, it starts pouring down rain! The scarecrows got soaked and so did I :(

 

So what does a momma do? Dry them in the car lol! I cranked up the heat, put the papers above the dash and it was all good. Speaking of homework. I actually have homework. You all know what I'm talking about when I say your kids projects end up being your projects. Yeah, with Chloe' being super star kid of the week I have had homework every other day! I did the poster with her and totally let her do her thing. I only 'guided' her on where to put the flowers and butterflies Ha HAAAAAA!!!!! Then I was asked to write her a love letter

 

I LOVED writing her this letter. It was a chance for me to let her know, strait up, how I feel about her and how she makes me feel. When I picked the girls up yesterday, the teacher said that she and the assistant teacher cried. I asked Chloe' if she liked it and she said yes. I told her I meant every word :)

Then last night I needed to bring in a favorite family recipe. Of course I chose DerRick's strawberry cheesecake.

 

Chloe' had no objections to this being the chosen recipe. But I pretty much took over the presentation of it myself lol!!!! Hey, hey, hey...she was asleep when I did it. ^_^

Having the new cell phone has been super nice. It's so easy to send pictures to my Mom and sister as we are doing whatever it is we are doing. I feel more connected with them now. Loving that. I wasn't the best at bringing my big SLR everywhere I went so yeah...last weekend the kids and I went out to the crafts stores together.

 

Yes, that's me. I'm coming out of modest recovery lol!!!

 

This is Chloe' inside Hobby Lobby. She is such a doll. I have this as my cell exterior wallpaper ^_^

 

They love any craft store. Especially when they know they'll get something ^_^ But I think they like Hobby Lobby the most. Now if I can just get them to quite climbing on the displays then we would be strait lol...

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& dont forget, tomorrow is the last day to register for my online workshop: Journals 3 Ways. I will be closing registration @ 9 eastern.Class starts Monday so see ya there!

  

-peace

coffee, shoes, soda + 7 letters

Whew...this weekend has been super eventful. I got out today by myself and decided to get some Starbucks first thing. I got a pumpkin one. Don't remember the name it but it was SO SO SO delicious! And I got it for free too. The lady felt she had me waiting to long and said not to worry about it. I thought that it was super sweet of her so I left her a tip :) I love to get out and spend a day just window shopping or relaxing outdoors somewhere by myself. One thing that never really tickled me was to go shopping for myself though. I don't know, Maybe the fact that stores that I used to love getting clothes from now only cater to the super skinny. And in doing so permanently damaged my self esteem lol! But seriously, I have been rockin' the same sandals for  several years now. It was time to get some new shoes.

  

 

These are SO my style! They're from R2 Shoes. I just know my sister is sitting back saying out loud that they're crusty lol! We have such different tastes in shoes. But yeah. Love the zipper-ness :) I also got the girls winter clothes at Old Navy. Like seriously, I was in cute heaven! I spent over an hour in there wandering around looking at all the cute winter clothes. I wanted to get them everything I laid my eyes on!!!!!! O the goodness.... SO I pat myself on the back for getting myself something for once and for being able to make a decision on what to get the girl for winter :)

Speaking of the girls...Kennedy came home last Friday and asked me, "Mom? Did you know I know how to spell my name?" I asked her to tell me how and sure enough she said all 7 letters! I was super happy for her because up until Chris (Christian) was born she had the longest name. 

  

...silly goose...

So yeah, later on that day we went to the YMCA and visited with DerRicks flight and their families. It was super fun. Kayson, in particular, found a can of Coke to be super rad.

  

oYou guys...no joke...he stared at that thing almost the whole time. He couldn't believe the beauty of this can. The wonder, the pure redness. But then later, after he was passed around a bit. He landed in the lap of Sarah and in front of him was not only a Coke but a Sprite and an orange soda AND an all silver Diet Coke!!!! Wooooeeeee that boy was beside himself....it was so funny I can't even tell you. 

So, tonight is poster night. Yep, Chloe' is student of the week next week and she must decorate a poster board with all of her favorite things on it. You know I want to take over and make it super fab right? But no, no...I must let her do it. O man...so the projects begin...

-out

the joy of the sketch

I never sketch my digital layouts. Rarely do I sketch my paper layouts. But I love to sketch out paper designs. It's a trial and error thing for me I must admit. I'm still a newbie at it but I really enjoy the process.

It's actually a fresh thing or me. I've always sketch drawings out on paper and anything digital I create on the computer from start to finish. But I find sketching out designs gives me for flexibility. This weekend I'm working on a some designs + a logo for a friend. It's been a long time since I worked on a freelance project of such a nature. My last one was a gift to a fellow dt member and she really liked it! You can view it

here

she wanted me to make a little logo to print on a T-Shirt. She was going to an scrapbooking event and wanted to show her pride for the DT. That was some years ago. I look back on it and I wonder how I decided to arrange the flowers the way that I did. I do that sometimes. Look back at my galleries and it's a cool walk down memory lane. So yeah, the sketch I did a couple of days ago is evolving quite nicely...

 

Interesting lol!

I'm going to get going. Just thought I would stop in and share what I've been up to. I think I'm going to eat a cupcake! Hi Kate!!!!

-out

new release + brainstorming

Thanks everyone for all your prayers and wishes :)

 

He did ok he just was super sleepy and a little soar. We are able to treat his condition that they found. His stomach acid is irritating something and that something gets inflamed. (again, not one for medical jargon :)So yes, we are so glad it wasn't something else. We really appreciate all your kind words. So thank you :)

Today is a day to be thankful and it's also Thursday release day over at The Digichicks! I have two small kits in my shop that I might sincerely get addicted to. I know I'm going to use these suckers all the time!

Itty Stickers: Boy

 

 

Itty Stickers: Girl

 

These are word stickers that I hand wrote. I love them because they can go on any page. I used them in this post here. I added some funky drop shadows to them that made the stickers look all wonky lol! It's amazing what a drop shadow can do let me tell ya...So yeah, I hope you all enjoy these :) Remember they're 20 % off today-all day!

Speaking of creating...I've been thinking long and hard about where I'm going with my designs. I've decided to change up my shop a bit so that I can focus on each kit that I make. I'm not going to make full kits anymore. Meaning ones with tons of things in them. With the way my everyday dynamic is; it would be stretching the kits thin. Do I make sense? I've decided to focus more on elements and papers. I'm super exited about this because I think it will make each kit better and there will be more releases as well. I'm even thinking o changing my logo. Not the almighty 'K' of course lol! But I've just been playing around with the thought of making a permanent change because I'm always changing the color and all that so I figured I should leave all the fickle indecisiveness to the blog ^_^ Brainstorming and trying things out are what I've been up to lately.

 

  

Sketching paper designs has been super fun. I'm playing around with new ways of putting my papers together. Tried a itty-bitty-mini and it was a disaster! There was no "make it work" solution going on here lol! I tried a little shortcut and found that sometimes shortcuts are not the best way to get things done. This book was suppose to be for OLW (late again, yes I know :) so I'm going to start over.

hmmm...not really much else to say other than my boys are wanting me right there with them. Lately, if I get up I'm going to hear about it. It's been like that for a couple days now. So as I'm typing I have Chris laying next to me, the computer on my lap and Kayson is asleep on the other couch. I'm cooing and cawing Chris every 10 secs or so. Pacifying him with my voice. My Wacom pen is stuck in my hair like a hair pin. That way I can grab it when I need it and not reach to get it. O man...It's a site to see but I'm getting this post done hu?

And actually; I'm done now so I'll be back in a flash!,  

-out

chris, cards + a tip

 Hey guys. I just saw DerRick and Chris drive off for the hospital. Chris has to have a simple procedure but it still frightens me. I wish I could go but no. We would have had to get there by 8 am and it would not begin until 10. The kids would not last that long at the doctors. So yeah, I think this is best anyway. I'm not sure how I would do you know what I mean? That's just been on my mind all the time for the past couple of days. I just hope everything goes ok and they don't find anything else.

 

[ 2 months ]

[suppies- PP, heart circle tag, word stickers (stickers available Thursday): Karla Dudley Designs]

On a more light and crafty note...Last Wednesday I posted my tip up over at One Little Word. I showed how to make a simple Peek-A-Boo card.

You can view the post

here

I made a card using punches for the effect.

  

 


I used postage stamp punches from Martha Stewart to achieve the Peek-a-Boo effect. I lined it with a transparency to that I can stick elements in the windows yet be able to see inside. That layer is on top of fabric which has the three openings cut as well.The card is closed. Sewn all the way around the perimeter. The note pulls out from the top from a slit. And speaking of Martha...Love the felt pillow project she has on her site right now!

I would love to try and make some. Or to have those would be great too lol!

The winner for OLW will be announced soon.

Later guys!,

-out

growth + smiles & a new ringtone

I must say that school has been pretty smooth so far. The kids are really enjoying it. Kody is super confident. Always wanting to be class helper and show the teacher how smart he is :) Today he told me all about compound words. I was super impressed! But nothing shocked me more when I asked him a question on the fly just for asking sake. I asked him how many pennies would you get if you had 2 nickles. His exact words were "I would have 10 pennies. Because there are 5 pennies in a nickle and one nickle + another nickle equals 10 pennies." My mouth dropped like whoa. I wanted to look inside his ear to see if Einstein took up shop in his head somewhere. And not just what he said for his answer but the way he said it. I would've been happy with "ten" but hey...I'm not raining on his genius parade lol!!!! So Yeah, the girls have their share of puzzles to figure out. And everyday before class begins the teacher has a question for them to answer yes or no to. Stuff like Do you think it will rain today? Or are you wearing the color orange? Cute stuff. And they get all exited to answer the morning question of the but day. Love it.

I had my camera out last Wednesday morning because it was picture day! I gathered them up in the backyard and they immediately huddle around the tree right? lol!

 

It's nice having them all in school together. They have so much more to talk about with one another now. Like it's not always about food or games anymore. You guys know what I mean lol!!!!

On another note. I can finally say that I'm an avid at handling my new cell phone. It took me a day and I have everything set up and all that jazz. Navigating the web was the toughest part to get down but now it's cake walk. It's funny too because I had taken my old phone into Verizon and I'm talking to the sales rep. & showed him my old phone. I let him know that it was the third time that the battery was acting up and that the phone only worked when it was plugged up. He was like "Oh wow, yeah..it's time for a real phone" I mean you should of saw his face. Not only did he say the word 'real' as if to imply mine couldn't possibly have existed in this century. But his face...goodness he looked, for a second, like he had seen a ghost. So I said "Pretty dinosaur hu?" ...he most definitely agreed. So I got the LG enV Touch. 

Not my dream iphone and the battery lie is low but it's doing what I always wanted a phone to do. Nothing too fancy, although I do love how the icons look like postage stamps! It's a far better phone than this one I had lol!

And I'm so not dissing my old phone. It did it's job but the whole three alphas assigned to a number was super not cool for me. Needless to say texting wasn't an enjoyable way to pass my time. Besides, with having the 5 children on the road + out n' about then having a husband who can work up to 10 hours a day even on Saterdays? Yeah, I needed a more reliable phone.

Well, I better take my shower. I'm actually exited about it. It was one of those Fridays were you are all over the place and can't wait to relax. Man...I'm exited all right...

-out

some givaways and a special little girl

Whew...it's been a eventful week + weekend. Kody has Boy Scouts in full swing. Have to get the patches sewn on his uniform. It was cool to get his fit and badges. The Store was full of boy scout goodies. Some sparkly, some clear, some metal, some fabric, cups, hats, scarves, plaques, pins, books...he was in a boys heaven! And the girls, they are all about friendships right now. When I drop them off at school they find their closest friends and yell their names. Then they all get together and play in the playground before school begins. It is too cute. They run in a pack, yelling and screaming for no apparent real reason but for happiness sake. Have you ever wished you were a kid again? I have.

Kody, Kennedy and Chloe' have been real troopers and the best siblings. I never felt any pressure to have to give them all my attention when the boys came. They never got that 'jealous streak' Probably because they have each other :) They love to help out. Even if they try to help too much at times lol! I love em' so...

On another note, as far I go I've been working on some new kits for the shop. I also printed out some pictures for an album I hope to get done sometime in the near future :) Seem to be having some type of fickle tendencies with my blog lately. I keep changing it lol! It's odd because I'm so not like that in real life. I sincerely need to give the van a bath. Ol' Bessy is a tad dirty at the moment. I made a special breakfast (cheese, eggs, sausages, pancakes, biscuits, bacon, apple butter...) on Sunday morning. You would have thought the Dudley clan was back from eating slop from outer space. They scarfed it down like the expiration date was the day before! I was like whoa. Speaking of good eats. DerRick cooks 3 things. Count them 1, 2, 3. They're a pasta dish, tortilla soup and my favorite strawberry cheesecake. They are all really very good. And each of those recipes came from recipes.com. LOVE this site. They have the most delicious recipes and you can add notes too. My favorite feature is the ability to print out the recipes in different sizes strait from the site. You know what that means? Recipe albums! lol!!! No but really, love love love. You would think I could cook with all this talking right? Nah, can't cook. But after being reacquainted with the site again I'm going to give it a Dudley try!

My girl Vee is accepting sponsors on her site. For those of you with a streak of rebellion, an eye for the eclectic and haven't been by her blog yet then what are you waiting for? She has a way with paint that would've Bob Ross blush. I love her dearly. Now I got so busy that I forgot to mention she was holding a drawing on her blog. Who ever won would win an invite to my workshop: Journals 3 Ways. It's already over so because of that I'm holding one here NOW! Comment and I one of you all will be a lucky winner! I will pick + announce the winner on Friday :)

Also, there is a very special card drive that is going on through the 15th of October. Kate, just a little girl, has been diagnosed with cancer. You can read her incredible story here. And Kristina Proffitt along with Jennifer McGuire are holding Cards for Kate and are asking all scrappers and even your children to make a card for her. There will be some giveaways also and I will have a couple of word brush kits for a winner. There will be several ladies contributing so make sure to stop by and create something for a special little girl :) Grab the badge bellow and spread the word!

So what I'm I going to do today? Probably obsess over what they kids will wear for picture day tomorrow. The girls teacher said that she would try to get a picture with the girls together too. I hope so. That would be neat. My boys are getting chunky and squishy and oh so mushy! LOVE it! The more jelly the better I say! Almost 3 months. Time flies yes? I also need to start coat shopping for the colder days. I woke this morning  and turned on the heat. For the first time since last fall I tuned on the heat. It's about that time to get ready!

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*** Begoña Alcañiz, Hey honey, I've been trying to email you and give you my workshop information. I keep getting it back so if you could please email me with an alternate email address that would be great. I'm looking forward to seeing you there!!!

Alrighty, I will chat with you all soon :)

-out