People often ask if I scrap alot at home, and the answer is heck yes! I turned my formal dining room into my scraproom so I can still be centrally located for my family, yet still grab some quality scrappin' time.
Well, I'd originally hoped to scrap all evening Friday, but that didn't quite happen...Kristine got sidetracked by work, so Big Dave and I rented a movie and had some couple time. We rented "Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins" which is SOOO freakin' funny...I love Martin Lawrence.
So Saturday morning came and went, and I still hadn't laid eyes on my BFF...so I scrapped alone for most of the day, and then Miss Priss joined me for some Mommy/Daughter scrappin' in the afternoon. I had to take a pic of her rummaging around in the disaster zone that is my scraproom...
It's a wonder she didn't get lost or avalanched upon!
Finally, sometime around four, Kristine arrived and we spent the rest of the evening furiously scrapping, chugging beverages, eating Sugar Babies, and rolling our eyes at Big Dave's antics. (Don't play 80's music when that boy's in the room unless you're ready to watch a big bald white guy do his impersonation of Morris Day and The Time....that's all I'm sayin'.)
So here are a couple of layouts...
This first one is my hands down fave of the day...and talk about simple!
Strangely enough...I love crabs...huh? Yes, it's true...everything about 'em. Everytime I see a crab embellishment or paper I grab it. So naturally I had this super cute crabby patterned paper by The Paper Lady. But I hate to use overly graphic papers for my backgrounds b/c I feel like they are too distracting...this could pose a problem seeing as how I LOVE patterned papers right? Oh, noooo...I just cut the pieces I like out of the paper and use 'em for embellishments instead...
Love this one...totally inspired by a Page Map.
And this one? Well...it's your typical sports two pager... nuthin' fancy...
and last, but not least...the 'phone it in' that capped off my night...
I don't know...strange photos = strange layout. What can I say?
Oh cursed Basic Grey...must you come out with yet another sickeningly spectacular collection of scrap goodies? Don't you realize the spell you've cast upon my poor unemployed heart? Why must you torment my checkbook like this?
(In other words...holy shit, Basic Grey's new releases are flat out AWESOME!)
There's Eva...
and Urban Prairie...
and...sigh...Ambrosia...yum, love ambrosia...
and even Organic feels...well...lovely...
Will somebody please tell them to quit coming out with this gorgeous stuff until I find a job????
Happy Friday...ah, thank goodness the weekend's here and for the first time in four weeks, I DON'T have to pack up the car and head out on the road...phew! Instead, Kristine's gonna come over and we're gonna scrap our little hearts out tonight and tomorrow. Hooray! I think I'm finally going to be able to dig into the bag of goodies I bought down in Jacksoville, and I'm especially looking forward to playing with the "Coredinations" cardstock I snagged at ASB yesterday. Have you seen this stuff? The pack I got is called Hocus Pocus and it's black cardstock on the front, and colored on the back...so when you tear it or sand it, the color shows through the black...NEATO!
I've got a few more random tidbits to share, so hang with me okay?
If you go over to http://ascrapbookboutique.blogspot.com/ and scroll down a couple of posts you can see that Linda's attempting to have a scrapbooking Yard Sale in a few weeks. I think I'd like to be a seller, but before I sign up and start getting packets together, I want to see if anyone else is planning on being a seller as well. In other words, is this thing actually gonna happen, or am I wasting my time? Anybody plan on participating? Lemme know okay?
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On the kickball front, I am THRILLED and DELIGHTED to tell you that it is FINALLY over! Oh my goodness, I will NEVER sign up for that torture ever again! Now, Kristine's delusional enough to actually say she enjoyed it, and she'll be playing again next time, but me? Oh hell no. We finished second in the league, but lost the post season tournament, so we're kinda winners and losers all at the same time!
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By the way, this *************** is my 'Official subject changer' technique...fancy huh?
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Anyone going to the Taylor Swift concert August 15th? I'm taking Miss Priss and thought I'd see if anyone else is going too.
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And of course, what would a random blog post be without a chat about my new favorite tv shows? eh?
Well, first of all...how 'bout Big Brother 10???!!???!! I L*O*V*E what they did to Brian...haaaa! And in the first week? Oh yes, this should be a good season. So far I think my favorite is Memphis, what about you? I'm also addicted to "The Baby Borrowers"...it's not t.v, it's birth control...that's their motto! Have you seen it? Love it! And my third fave show is "Greatest American Dog" oh yes...I'm a sucker for a pooch show. Oh, and the new season of "Project Runway" started this week too...and "Run's House" (sorry, I'm a child of the 80's so I must watch this one.) Geez, my DVR is working overtime to get all these things recorded while I'm at school...what was life like before digital cable? I shudder at the thought!
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Hmmmm...what else?
Anybody want to come over and write an essay on the post industrial development of Brasil/Brazil for me? It's due Tuesday...guess I should start reading the book today huh? Bad Jamie..naughty naughty! I've GOT to tell you...this class on Brasil is CRAZY! Dr. Hall lectures for a couple of hours and then we watch a film...a foreign film...a Brasilian foreign film...with subtitles...and more humping than I'm pretty sure is allowed on campus. Yep, who needs HBO when they can attend Dr. Hall's class? I swear the film we watched last night had more sex scenes (and I'm not talkin' 'bout the watered down soap opera kind) than an entire season of Sex and the City!
When I say we're studying Brasilian 'hard woods' I ain't talking 'bout the rain forest baby! MEOW!
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And just for the record, I must spout off for a moment about the glory and awesomeness of Weight Watchers once again. Even after traveling and not strictly counting points for these past couple of weeks I've lost a little bit more! My weigh in this morning was 137.4 lbs. WoooHOOOO! Next Friday I plan to see 136 on the scale...that would ROCK!
Alright kiddos, have a lovely weekend...I plan to have lots of show and tell soon!
Holy crap cakes Batman! I've been postless for two whole days! Sorry guys, I'm about to run out the door to another fun filled five hour night class, but I HOPE to get caught up on here tomorrow. (I know, you're all just chompin' at the bit aren't you?) I've got a few neato things to share, so stay tuned...
Alrighty, remember when I said I had a fun idea for a new feature on the blog? Well, here it is folks..My first "Try it Tuesday" video! It is my greatest hope that I will be able to produce one video each week and post it on Tuesday...Every week I'll take a technique out of a magazine or idea book and try my darndest to achieve the desired result. Should be fun eh?
Okay, I have a few comments to make about what you're about to watch. First, my camera is a piece of doo doo and I promise, cross my heart, that by next week I WILL have a better quality video. Second, don't criticize my dark roots...I know I need to get 'em foiled. Third, I in no way, shape, or form have a script written out, which would be why I say the word "okay" four hundred thousand times...I apologize. Fourth, I really don't have a lisp...it goes back to my camera.
Well, I guess that's my disclaimer...So sit back and watch me act like an idiot for the next nine minutes...
Check out my 'Producer'...
( It's so hard to get good help these days!)
Here's one more shot of the completed title...Whaddya think...would you try it? If you decide to try it, send me a photo of your layout (savhscrapbooking@aol.com) and I'll draw from the contributors for an envelope full of goodies. Gee doesn't that sound like FUN??!?!!??
Well well well...here I am, back from a whirlwind adventure! We trucked it almost a thousand miles, logged 15 hours of travel time and have some hilarious and wonderful memories to show for it. So, do you feel like hearing about it? Then settle in, here we go...
We were invited to go to David's Mom's side of the family reunion in Jacksboro, Tennessee. Oh yeah, Tennessee baby...you know like The Smoky mountains...
gorgeous views...
and DOLLYWOOD!
So we decided to go and make it our big Summer adventure...which it was. ;) We left Thursday and headed up to stay with Aunt Susie in Greenville, SC...which excited me enormously because I knew there was at least one or two scrapbook stores in the area (hee hee.)
Big Dave was hell bent and determined to make sure I got to at least one store, and he got me there with 15 minutes to shop before the store closed. Sure he was driving mach 12, but hey...priorities people!
The Scrapbook Company was a lovely store, sure after the big giant in Jacksonville it looked small, but hey a scrap store is pretty much a fabulous place to be no matter how big or small right? I was pretty excited to find some Rouge de Garance papers plus the Kelly Panacci artist/scrapbook line...YUM!
We got a good night's rest at Aunt Susie's BEAUTIFUL house (her guest room's even got one of those beds with the four posts and billowy curtain thingies hanging down around it...ooh la la!) And Webster and Molly, her furbabies, were quite entertaining for the girls.
Friday we got up and headed another three hours into the hills of Tennessee to go to Dollywood. Talk about a super nice, super clean amusement park!
And yes, that's Katie there beside Miss Priss...you know rent-a-sisters are included on ALL family vacations.
We've never been to Dollywood before, so it was pretty much like wandering blind around the park, but the girls definitely had their favorites...like Blazing Fury...the indoor, pitch black, flaming rollercoaster, and the Scrambler...
...and pretty much anything that got us soaking ass wet...
duh...ya think?
Um...yeah, this is me and the girls...soaking ass wet. Drenched, actually. From head to toe, bra, panties, you name it. Soaked. So if you're in Dollywood and get talked into riding a new ride called "River Battle" and you don't want to get wet? You're doomed. However, I rather enjoyed it...until the little peckerhead over on the other boat decided to practically drown me...ah, nothing better than getting a good soaking from some total stranger...whatever.
And of course Big Dave had to win a big purple Scooby Doo for Miss Priss...
I'd say he enjoyed himself...
So after hangin' in Dollywood until closing, we jumped back in the car and took off for Jacksboro, TN. Got there around 10:30, found the rest of the family, and went to our room where we all four promptly fell into comas.
Saturday was the day for the reunion, and we headed up to Norris Lake Dam State Park to meet the hillbillies...uh, I mean family.
They were very nice and although I'd never met any of them (except for the Alabama gang of course) I felt welcome. I've never been to a family reunion before, so I didn't know what to expect ya know? I guess I was thinkin' we'd have home movies and/or games or something. You know like sack races or whatever? (You know Big Dave's always trying to get me in the sack.) But, we pretty much just hung out, chatted, and ate until we started to come apart at the seams. And let me take this moment to say a big Thank you to the unknown cousin/aunt/uncle/grandparent who brought the home made chocolate chip cookie-marshmallow fluff sandwiches...sigh...
So here are some reunion photos...
Notice our rent-a-sister made it into the family photo...hee hee.
This is a mean lookin' bunch ain't it? Let's call them the Alabama Mafia. No no no...I jest, really...honest.
I told you there was a lot of eatin' goin' on... Yo Uncle Ricky, how many times have you been through the line?
And how in the world did the person who drove the farthest end up working the grill? Hmmmm...what can I say, when Big Dave sees a grill that needs tending he jumps. (I've always said he's a man of action.)
Look! Real life pickers and grinners...
After the 'official' reunion broke up, we went back to the motel and continued the party out on the sidewalk until the lovely manager came out and ran us all off sometime after 11pm. Too bad I don't have any photos of that right Sabrina?
We decided that we'd go back to Pigeon Forge on Sunday and hit the GIANT scrapbook store there and see some sights, but alas...the store was closed and we woke up to a very rainy day, so we packed up and trucked the 8 hours back home with only two stops. Miss Priss made the best of it...
Ah how cute...she sleeps just like her Nana. hee hee heeee.
So there ya have it...Thanks for hangin' in here with me folks...phew! Now I'm finally done with all my Summer travels and vacations and can chill out, get my school work done, and scrap.
I've got a fun idea I'm working on, so stay tuned for a new 'feature' on the blog!
Well, yer gettin' one right now! I'm throwin' a couple of oldies but goodies on here real quick and then I'm off to play!
Keeping with my Disney theme from yesterday, here's a layout that uses a Disney embellishment for something totally 'UN'Disney. My precious Mr. Grump, better known as...Big Dave. Ah, ain't he so sweet?
And this one's a total knock-off/scraplift from the Sandylion ad in a magazine...NEVER be afraid to copy the hell out of something!
Oh, just wait 'til you find out where I'm at right now...I should have lots to talk about Monday! ;)
Since it's Summer...and Summer means vacation...and more often than not, vacation means Disney I thought I'd throw a few old Disney layouts on for kicks and giggles. These are from the first Disney cruise we went on way back in 2004. If you've never gone on a Disney cruise, I'd totally recommend it...talk about a fun family vacation!
This layout is a perfect example of something I learned a long time ago in a magazine..."Don't worry about getting the perfect photo when you can buy the postcard." I mean, come on...why worry with trying to get a picture of the whole ship when you can jaunt on down to the gift shop and pick up a postcard for a buck...piece o' cake!
Look how wee little my baby girl was...sigh...
More advice...don't be tempted to always use themed products when making a layout. You can totally get away with using generic stuff, especially when it's the right color combo. I threw a couple of mylar Mickey heads on some circles to keep with the theme, but that's it.
Okay, how many of you've been on the Disney Wonder? Have you seen that big bronze statue of Ariel? Well, this leads to my next two pieces of advice... 1.) BEWARE of drunken husbands 2.) ALWAYS have your camera handy...I mean my Disney scrapbook just wouldn't be complete if I didn't have a layout showcasing Big Dave groping Ariel would it? I believe this is one of his proudest accomplishments in life...sad, but true.
And one last cool piece of advice I like to give is to save your itinerary, shrink it down on your copier/scanner and print it out for an accent on a layout. This is supposed to be a two-pager, but I forgot to stitch it all together oops...the itinerary is on the second page...
Here I am in my second round of Summer courses...this time, it's SOOOO much worse. Last month I took four course hours which were made up of a two hour online class and a four hour class one night a week. However, this month I apparently lost my mind and registered for SIX course hours. Do you know what that means? That means I'm in class Monday thru Thursday from 4:30pm until 9:15pm...seriously? Oh hell yes. My M/W class is a Methods of Teaching class...waaaaaay interesting stuff here folks...I'm really having an eye-opening experience about our educational system. And my T/TH class is The History of Brasil...seriously. It's the only freakin' history class offered in this abbreviated Summer term, so here I am. Actually though, the class has a LOT of potential..."Why is that?" you might ask... well, because my professor is pretty much a complete clone of Ben Stiller...you know, Zoolander?
Yes, him.
See, here's a pic of Dr. Hall...sure he's a bit older and grayer, but can't you see the resemblance? Maybe it's just the way he acts and speaks...
This dude totally kills me. He's from Philadelphia so he's got some kooky accent, and then he speaks fluent Portuguese (the official language of Brasil) so he says the words all official and stuff. Plus, he's just quit smoking and an absolute maniac. I mean, there was a point last night in class when I started thinking that this has to be a joke. I finally stopped taking notes and started writing down the silly things he was saying....for example, these are some quotes from last night...
"You put blue cheese on anything and I'm psycho!"
"Like a virgin...hoo!" (Done with hand gestures in his most Madonna-esque pose.)
"Have you heard of this Youtube thing?"
"Ew, I don't want a quat of anything!"
"Ha ha ha, it's soccer time!"
"You probably can't tell I drink a lot of coffee...oh shut up! I haven't had that much. I just love it when someone stuffs a cafe de leche in my hand!"
And he went on and on and on...now how am I supposed to take notes on the cultural and geographical significance of Brasil when he's dropping little nuggets of gold like this? Oh, and by the way...it's really spelled Brasil, not Brazil...
At the risk of offending anyone who enjoys riding motorcycles with their ass flapping in the wind, I've gotta be honest here folks...this is just wrong...
...wrong, wrong, WRONG. I'm here to tell ya that this photo is mild compared to the 'in person' peep show we got while tooling down I95...it's just hard to get a good picture when you're laughing until you cry. Well, that and the immediate gag reflex we were experiencing...
I know, I know...I have issues yada yada yada... ;)
