All Work and No Play

…makes Jack a dull boy – and a tired one too! I have heard people say they needed to go back to work after time off just to get some rest. I feel like that today after our snow day. I’m sure Mike does too! I was hoping to get some design time, but it just didn’t materialize. I did get a little creative time though, putting together some gifts for my mother to give her chair aerobics classmates! She caught a glimpse at my “right brained” shopping list and thought they would make fun little presents for her friends.

I also moved everything off the shelves in our master bedroom among other little tasks needed for our floor project. You know, laying the hardwood is just part of the project….there are so many other things to do. I know every time we would talk about replacing this carpet, Mike would say “I’m going to have to pull up those baseboards” and I could just see his wheels turning realizing the domino effect of tasks to complete. I didn’t appreciate that though until the first day when he was pulling padding off of nail heads on the subfloor. This really is quite an undertaking and I feel like, by the time we finish (well, mainly Mike finishes) we will have moved and cleaned just about everything we own! But based on the initial results – it will be well worth it!

Here’s a great photo of Mike (because none of his gray hair is showing – ok, well, maybe a little) reconnecting the television and bundling all those wires! And a second photo of Birdie contributing to the day’s work by holding down the chair!

By the way, our Christmas tree has a “permanent” spot now at the base of the staircase – kind of hidden but – I think Santa can find it!

Snow Day!

Ahhhhhh…..snow!!!!!!! It’s beautiful coming down! It began snowing here early this morning and snowed much of the day. Problem is – we don’t do snow well around here. Streets are slick and most of us Southerners don’t drive so good on snow and ice. Matter of fact – years ago I actually got a 4 wheel drive vehicle stuck in snow on a straight, flat road – much to the embarrassment of my husband and astonishment of the good samaritan who stopped to help me. I’m sure I’m no better driving on it now.

Snow is a welcomed guest for a day or so here. Heath took Birdie outside to explore it for a bit but she wasn’t really impressed. Seems she liked it much more the last time. The 23 degree temperature must have bothered her because, while she was intrigued from afar, she was eager to avoid the cold, wet weather close up.

I couldn’t pass up the chance, however, to snap a fun Christmas picture in the snow. Heath sported his American Eagle hat with horns – thanks to the suggestion of Uncle Raymon – and naturally, we grabbed Birdie’s reindeer gear to complete the picture! I think it makes the perfect picture for our Christmas cards this year!

Since we have a snow day tomorrow, I have already planned my day to include design time for my Scrap Wow Sequels for this month’s kit, Polar Pals. Stay tuned later this week for previews including a Snow Day Quick Page for your snow pictures!

By the way, my Christmas tree is in the kitchen tonight and our living room is almost completely hardwood!

We don’t have an Elf on the Shelf at our house, but we do have a Christmas tree that seems to move every day. Monday I came home from work and it was in the kitchen. Tuesday it was in the middle of the living room and today it was back in the kitchen before it moved to a little out of the way nook.



Why so much moving? Because we are finally getting hardwood for the living room and bedrooms! What a perfect time of year to bring 51 boxes of hardwood into the house…Not! We have boxes in most of the rooms downstairs and right now, the living room furniture scattered, rather crowded in the other rooms. It’s a challenge for us to get to the front door, except for Birdie.



Day 1 – carpet and padding out. Day 2 – sanding the floor. Day 3 – on the way with 2 boxes down!

Let’s Get This Party Started!

Aw, I have let this Etsy shoppe sit empty way too long…so today I thought it was time to start adding inventory to my Partysaurus Etsy Shoppe!  I began working on my new inventory a couple of weeks ago and photographed some samples last weekend…guess I was waiting to have the whole kit and ca-boodle created before listing any   I have tons of templates and tons of products perfectly created in my head but if I wait for all that to materialize….well, the shoppe will be empty for awhile!

I decided a long time ago that creating printables with my designs was something I wanted to pursue.  I love the ability to reprint for one and the ability to customize and maximize my digital design!  So I am working on gathering a collection of printable goodies with my past designs!

Today I listed a few items with flexible use – the primary design was for cupcake toppers but the design easily lends itself to creation of stickers, tags, and embellishments for favors, cards and invitations!  Here’s a peek at my new Partysaurus listings as cupcake toppers!

Summer Nights

Well, it’s the second day of summer and I think I am already ready for fall.  Not trying to wish my life away…just the humidity and heat!  There are several things besides the heat and humidity I like about summer….like no schedule for Heath, daylight past 8:00, more grilling and chilling.  It’s just a slower time of year (outside of work that is) and I really enjoy the less hectic pace.  I took some time tonight to scrap a bit and thought I would share my page here.  The picture is my brother-in-law and niece taken from our father’s day cookout Sunday.  I used one of my favorite kits, Moonlight Soul by Kitty Designs.  She is one of my favorite designers – just love her whimsical doodles and fun accents!  While I was linking her kit I noticed it is on sale right now for $1 – lots of her kits are (yes, I filled my cart) so if you love her work, now is a great time to shop!

Always Dream…part 2

I’ve been accused on several occasions of having my head in the clouds, living in my own world, daydreaming, etc.  I say, why not?!?  Besides, the words of Joel Osteen encourage me to dream when he says “God will never put a dream in your heart without first equipping you with everything you need to accomplish it.”  Seems perfectly reasonable to dream, yet, sometimes life’s stresses and challenges drain my energy and hope and dreams seem foolish to pursue.  Without stepping back from the short term frustrations, sometimes it is difficult to recapture the energy and power of dreams…but I try to stay focused on them because they are the very things that make me feel most alive…and I believe they are the very reason I am alive, the reason I was created. 

I have spent time pondering my dreams while taking Kelly Rae’s course.  My problem is focusing on just one or two….I have so many ideas, plans, dreams….I just flit around from one to another without ever devoting the energy to accomplish any it seems…my silly right brain again I guess.  Do you every feel that way?

I gave you a sneak peek of my Always Dream kit, inspired by all my contemplation about dreaming.  It is available at The Digi Chick….here’s the kit and a beautiful layout by Tracy (additional items in Tracy’s layout include Fuss Free: Square Pegs by Fiddle-Dee-Dee Designs, Designer Bundle 1 by Wendy Page Designs, and foliage from Quirky Park by Roben-Marie Designs, all available at The Digi Chick).

In case you missed it, be sure to check out my sneak peek post HERE because there is a small freebie in it.

Now to leave you with a tune that has been playing in my head with all this dreaming (make sure to imagine it in the voice of Kermit the Frog)…

Who said that every wish would be heard and answered
when wished on the morning star?
Somebody thought of that
and someone believed it,
and look what it’s done so far.
What’s so amazing that keeps us stargazing?
And what do we think we might see?
Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection,
the lovers, the dreamers and me….
…………………………………………………..Paul Williams………

Keep dreaming!

a gazillion years of good luck…

If finding a four leaf clover truly means 7 years of good luck – I will have good luck till the end of time.  You see, I have this completely useless talent…finding 4 leaf clovers.  I probably found 5 or 6 last week alone.  Finding 4 leaf clovers is a nontransferable skill.  I mean finding things would be a great talent…but I assure you I am not good at finding things.

Take sticky notes for instance.  I cannot tell you how many stinking sticky notes with important information I have lost.  I only find them after I need them.  Like today, it happened to me twice…had to track down the info again…only to find those annoying yellow notes just after I made the phone call and sent the email to get the info!

I’m going to blame my whole “not being able to find important things” quality on being right brained.  I recently bought a book on right brained organization because I read an article about how all the organizational books were written by left brained people and we right brainers couldn’t stay organized using their strategies.  Did the book help?  Well I read half of it and then I lost the book – so, I’m thinking…

At least I have a gazillion years’ worth of good luck to bail me out of trouble I might find from losing those silly sticky notes!

Always Dream…part 1

I have enrolled in an amazing e-course – my first but certainly not last based on my wonderful experience!  The e-course is Kelly Rae’s Flying Lessons.  For those of you who worry that I don’t need to be navigating a plane, don’t worry….it’s not that at all!  It is a course filled with inspiration about, actually, it’s a course about life.  It’s about living your dreams, connecting with others.  It’s about exploring your creative side and sharing in a supportive, understanding and inspirational community.  It’s about gaining a better understanding of self and moving through self imposed boundaries.  And, I’m happy to say, a portion of it will be devoted to time management strategies which I definitely need!  Really anxious for that!

I actually spent time this weekend with my digital designs.  I created a kit, inspired by this very e-course.  I named the kit Always Dream…because sometimes, I know I have let the stresses and demands of life get in the way of pursuing dreams….and I wanted to remind myself that we all need dreams to pursue.

I am not going to show you my kit yet, it releases on Thursday at The Digi Chick, but there is a sneak peek above!  I created a few doodles for the kit that didn’t seem to go with the papers once I finished them, so I thought I would offer them here as a little thank you and maybe a little reminder….that we all need dreams to pursue!  Here’s wishing you a wonderful week taking you a step closer to realizing your dreams!

Always Dream Doodles

Happy Day

The end of school and beginning of a more carefree schedule of nonwork commitments is always such a happy time.  The garden has started calling my name a little more than it has the past few years.  The gentle whispers of warm weather, not yet crazily hot and humid and the sight of colorful blooms inspired my ScrapWow monthly featured kit, Happy Day.  I’m sure the name of the kit came from that song, stuck in my head….hearing Ben’s rich, deep voice bring the joyful tune to life in church – Oh Happy Day.  What a great combination of inspiration!

Along with the featured kit, I created 4 sequels to coordinate with the monthly subscription download…including quick pages, stamps and scatters and clustered frames.

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Wishing you sunshine and warm weather, a great song in your head and a very happy day!

I got some really great buys too! I got Kelly Rae’s Taking Flight, a few Stampington publications and lots of craft supplies!  Ready to create tomorrow for sure!  See, it is perfectly fine not to  follow plans!!!   And do I have any plans for tomorrow?  Of course I do…