August Addicted Scrapper Sneak Peak!

Wanna sneak peak?? Well... here are my recent projects I completed with the Addicted Scrappers August kit. It was such a versatile kit to work with. Tons of papers and embellishments and the pink/purples were great for girly pages while the green/browns were good for masculine or generic pages. I was able to create a variety of different looks and I still have soooo many scraps leftover! I still have more projects I wanna do with it! I loved the double-sided Upsy Daisy papers! Very cool line! And Addicted Scrappers just came out with exclusive clear acrylic stamps! I love them. (The flower, journaling oval, "Memories" word, and arrow are all from this month's set of stamps!!) Thanks for peaking!

Cool Clipboard!

I had so much fun making this little circle clipboard!

It came with my July Addicted Scrappers kit (Check them out- they're awesome!). A cool trick I discovered is since I love this clipboard so much, I didn't want to permanently affix the design to the clipboard (in case I want to change it in the future- I probably won't though- it turned out so cute!). So, I simply created the design on chipboard and cardstock to add dimension and instead of gluing it down, I just laid it in place and attached/screwed the silver clipboard clip through it to hold it there! Its very secure! I love the fact that I can change my boys pictures too since the clip just holds the photo so perfectly! Thanks for looking!

Cool Stamp Tip

If you're anything like me, you forget about what stamps you actually have because they are tucked away in a drawer somewhere. Its usually AFTER I've completed a card or layout that I remember the perfect stamp that I COULD have used if I'd have remembered it!

So... I thought of a cool idea...

Create a reference sheet of all your stamps! Just take your wood-mounted ones and lay them wood side down (where it shows the design) on a flatbed scanner... fit as many as you can on your scanner and then scan and print out a reference sheet. For clear acrylic stamps, either copy or scan the piece of paper that they are usually mounted on that shows the design. You can also just stamp all of your stamps onto a card or paper, but this seems to take a lot longer than just scanning them.

Now the next time you are scrapping or crafting, you can pull out your reference card(s) and see what stamps you actually own!!

I've Been TAGGED!

I've been tagged!

My best friend Christine (check out her blog: Paper Rhino- link on right) tagged me, so I have to continue this! The rules are pretty simple. List 7 random things about myself and then tag others to do the same. Sound good? Now technically, I'm supposed to tag 7 other people but honestly I don't know 7 people that have blogs yet! So I am revamping the rules and am tagging 5 people. Once you are tagged, you need to post the rules and tag 7 (or 5!) other people by letting them know that they are tagged by leaving them a comment on their blog. So... Jeff, Lisa, Dee, Didi and Jenn... you've been tagged!!

1. I competed in beauty scholarship pageants when I was in high school and college. I even made 1st runner up once and won the swimsuit trophy!

2. I am deathly afraid of spiders.

3. My husband and I were both virgins when we got married!

4. I recorded a CD with our past worship leader at church. I played keyboard. Its pretty amazing to see your name on a CD jacket!!

5. I have always loved horses. As soon as I got married, I bought my first horse "Cowboy." He is a beautiful Appaloosa- chestnut colored with white spots on his back.

6. I ran a 5k race last summer.

7. I started my college degree in journalism and was the editor of our high school paper. I also wrote articles for our local newspaper before going into teaching.

Addicted Scrappers projects

Here are some of the projects I created with the July kit over at Addicted Scrappers. This was such an awesome kit! Great boy "star" themed papers and transparency and embellishments. It was a ton of fun! I am LOVING being on the design team there! They are an amazing bunch! Thanks for looking!

Stingray City!

My hubby and I just got back from the best vacation of our lives! We took a Western Carribean cruise to Jamaica, Haiti, Grand Caymen Islands, and Cozumel to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. It was awesome to say the least. Just the two of us... no kids (although we did miss them!), no responsibilities, no worries.... just two tickets to paradise!!

Anyways... our favorite part of the cruise was in the Caymen Islands. We had a chance to snorkel/swim with stingrays. Now of course images of Crocodile Hunter were flashing through my brain, so I was a bit nervous to say the least. We live on Lake Michigan so I never have to worry about fish or animals that could potentially eat or kill you!! But the tour guide said it was suitable for 5 year olds, so I figured we could handle it.

We got in a boat and rode about 20 minutes into the ocean. About 2 miles out there is a sandbar that locals have been going to for 20 years and feeding the stingrays there. The stingrays are very friendly and used to people because they get fed all the time! When the boat started slowing down, we anchored on a perfectly clear, sandy sandbar about waist depth. I saw a little stingray and thought ok, this is fine. But suddenly there was a huge black blob moving in the water and I honestly thought it was a clump of seaweed until my hubby said... no honey... that's a stingray! It was more than 4 feet across!! The next thing I knew we were standing in the water with about 25 HUMONGOUS stingrays thinking they are cats and rubbing up and down you. Seriously... they rub on your legs, back, crawl up you... they love to be touched and pet. Its safe as long as you don't step on them or rub them the wrong way where their stingers are. We fed them squid and although they have no teeth, they suck the squid into their mouths like little vacumes. After I got used to it, it was incredible! I would highly recommend it to anyone! One of the coolest things we have ever done in our life!!

I'm an Addict Counselor!!

Oh my gosh!
Oh my gosh!
(breathe)
Oh my gosh!

I am so excited! I just got news that I was chosen to be on the Design Team of Addicted Scrappers! They call their design team "Addict Counselors"... and I'm officially one!! YIPPEE!

They are such an amazing website. They have tons of contests and challenges and great inspiration in the gallery! Their kits are awesome with very trendy products and papers which is what drew me to them in the first place. Check them out... you won't be sorry!!

Whoo-Hoo!
Still in shock...
YIPPEE!!!