multiple personalities.

so really, i don't have multiple personalities.
(i know i totally ruined your day, didn't i? that had the potential to be terribly exciting.)
but up until this day, i have had three different blogs.
yup, it's true.
i have grown tired of these three worlds living semi-separate lives, and strongly had the desire to streamline my life.
so i merged them!
(after months of consideration, and most of those months there was only considering being done due to the fact that i didn't have the time to actually follow through with the desired change.)
may i suggest, that if you like coming here (where you are right now), try coming over here instead.
sure, you might just have to put up with the stories of the shenanigans my wee ones live-out all too fully and excitedly, and most possibly have to endure a picture (or two... hundred), but i think it could possibly be a rather large amount of fun!

between diet coke and chocolate…

here I am, enjoying a diet coke and some hershey’s miniatures, and realize that I have other goodies to share today..

some new products at jessica sprague (available today) are getting me in the mood to scrap (more) and make some fun hybrid stuff for the halloween season.

first up:

carina gardner-

(click on layouts for list of full credits.)

and some cosmo cricket:

can’t you see a little banner, just like this, but in real life?

I can too..  hopefully I will get it done soon!

and then there was august..

I don’t want to depress you..  I don’t want to depress myself, but did you know, were you aware, that august is almost over?

really.

next week, and that’s it.

hello september.

see, I depressed you.

shame on me.

I really am sorry.

maybe what I have been working on, catching up on (because I’ve been enjoying the last bit of my summer and playing a lot), will help to cheer you.

they just make me long for summer…

(click on image for list of full credits + links.)

a layout or 5..

I have been getting a lot of scrapping done.

(sadly it is all digi scrapping..  heaven knows how many pictures i have that are printed off, waiting in the mess that is now known as my craft room in the basement..  don’t even get me started on the stash of supplies that keep those pics company..)

I am not sure if this surge of digi scrapping is because of the re-discovered passion my girls have for playing polly pockets or  for watching jurassic park.

(both of which seem to take place in the loft, upstairs where the computer is..)

but anyway..  here’s a few:

(as always, click on layout for list of full credits.)

new today:

“chemistry” by cosmo cricket:

and i was way too excited about these brushes by liv:

and well, then there is all of this other stuff, that was basically just for fun…  our summer has been well-spent, and i have some cute pix to prove it!

(cute pix = more scrapping motivation!!)

hope you are enjoying your summer as well!!

how red river paper saved my father’s day.

imagine:

it’s father’s day.

you have planned the perfect gifts, purchased the necessary items to make those gifts awesome, including printing off the perfect photos of your three darling girls. 

you printed them off days in advance so you wouldn’t have to go to costco the saturday before (when it is a total madhouse there) no doubt dragging those three (not so happy girls now, because you are going to costco on a madhouse, day-before-fathers-day trip).  instead you went days before and picked them up.  now all of the makings for your perfect gifts lay, waiting for you to assemble them.

but that week before proves to be way too busy and the event of assembling these sure to be awesome gifts is left to the morning of. 

the assembling looks more like a mad scramble to get it done before the three, now bed-headed girls wake up, so they can give the gifts to the dude who fathered them (and still fathers them).

as you get out the ikea frames, with those three perfect spots in the mat (perfect for those three perfect little girls) you notice, that is a 5x7 opening in that mat.

not a 4x6.

did you really print off 4x6 photos?

(right about here, it should be state that i am a silly, measure once, cut twice kind of gal.  no, i haven’t learned my lesson, yet.)

you mean, you didn’t double check before uploading and ordering all those photos?!

nope.

and then you cry a little.

(maybe even say a few naughty words under your breath.)

(then you repent because that isn’t becoming of a lady..  and it’s sunday..)

your mind starts to run (cause that’s what the mind of a woman does when it encounters a problem) and the possible solutions to fix this problem start coming.

- mounting photos on a different paper to add interest?

- cutting a new mat, with the matting I don’t have and what, my laser glare?

- printing off new photos…  um, it’s sunday.  you aren’t ready (don’t look the least bit attractive), and hello!  it’s sunday…

- maybe i could print off new photos on that awesome presentation paper..  why use awesome presentation paper when YOU HAVE THAT ASWESOME (and free!!) PHOTO PAPER FROM RED RIVER PAPER?!? (!!!)

yeah.  remember that?  it was sent to you to try out and review?

that red river paper is looking more awesome than the awesome presentation paper, isn’t it.

well, it is more awesome.

up the stairs you go, RUNNING.  to your trusty printer and that awesomely free photo paper. 

you print off all of your pictures (5x7 this time) with ease onto gorgeous photo paper.

as you compare them to the costco prints, these are so much more awesome..  sheesh, and all i have is an hp printer, nothing too fantastic.

(not that i have anything against costco, they are great, fantastic, awesome even..  i also love the word awesome, apparently.)

the color came out more true to what i saw on my monitor. (the costco prints were darker.)  now, i know that i can go out and spend a pretty penny and get a fancy-schmancy monitor calibrating program doohickey, but let’s be realistic.  food is funner.

they are also a nice, matte finish.  (another mistake i made in the online ordering process, i failed to check the proper box for my desired finish.)

they are also so very incredibly helpful as to giving you tips for your specific printer and purpose.

i used the arctic polar luster, arctic polar satin, and the polar matte.  they were gorgeous on their own, but with my little girls’ faces on them, that much better.

point of this story:

red river paper saved my father’s day from being reduced to a bunch of empty picture frames, and promises of pictures, or those darling pictures being printed off on awesome (but sub-par) presentation paper.

basically saved me from being reduced to a pile of pitiful woman mess because this silly girl who happens to measure once but always cuts twice (did I mention that before?), did almost that and tried to remember what size those mat openings were once, and print twice.

seriously.

*in all seriousness, this paper is incredible!!  i am not being paid to say this, but i was given some awesome paper to try out and then give my honest opinion in exchange for said paper.**

*that is all.**

oh, and another link to their site.

more for you monday(s).

I am still playing catch-up after last week’s holiday..  well, that and all the fun we’ve been having.

I am trying my best to lay back, relax, and have fun with the girls before summer finds it’s end.

(I wish that the end would just get lost though…)

so here’s two weeks worth of goodies:

(click on layouts to link up to full credits.)

queen of quirk’s newest scrap canvas:

liv’s newest needs + wants, stings galore v.2:

and then there’s the temple…

i needed something newish to put in the girls’ rooms in the way of a temple picture.  i played with jodie lee’s vintage crackle textures and got just what i wanted!

it’s template tuesday!!

i will openly admit that i suck at template tuesday.  i have a whole pile of them, stacked-up on my desktop, just waiting to be played with.

but i don’t suck so bad at it when it is actually my turn to make the template.

that’s right!  it’s my template there today. :)

(click on layout for full list of credits.)

so head on over, download it, play (better than i do..), and share your creation in the template tuesday gallery.

hope to see your layout there!

in the haze of cold/allergies (still not sure..) i missed a whole monday.

**SCROLL ON DOWN FOR THE JESSICA SPRAGUE BIRTHDAY BOLGHOP FREEBIE!!!**

i was looking back over the projects i did this last month, enjoying them, and fixing mistakes (wink, wink) that have been found, and i realized, i missed a monday!

is there possibly anything worse than missing out on a whole day?

yes, there is.

a summer cold that has it’s hold on the majority of the household.

or is it allergies?

i still can’t make up my mind.

it sucks though.

so here’s what i missed:

(hope you did too.)

echo park:

(as always, click on the layout for complete credits.)

in the making:

and jodie lee:

37..

**ALL LINKS HAVE NOW BEEN BROKEN.  THANK YOU FOR MAKING OUR BLOGHOP A SUCCESS!!***

that is where you have arrived, stop 37 for all of you blog-hopping fools!!

(now, in case you somehow stumbled on this here old blog, and want to start at the beginning of the line, click on the image below and enjoy even more fun!)

i have created (using the AMAZING designers creations of course..) a quick page for you!

i remember hopping around to all the other blogs in the past celebrations, scooping up goodies and giggling like a school-girl..  i am so excited to be an actual integral part of this one!!

(kisses to liv-xxxxxx!!!)

thanks for stopping by!!  come back soon. ;)

now go see what my friend monica has in store for you..  if it’s late, watch out, she’ll make you hungry with all of the other goodies she concocts!

“tonight, tonight, tonight! hot dog it’s coming tonight!!”

(if you can name that movie, i will admire you forever.  if you know which word i changed, you will be ranked as extra awesome in my book.)

the most exciting blog hop of my whole life is coming, TONIGHT!!!

(just in case you forgot.)

the jessicasprague.com blog hop starts 10 pm (est) here.

then a few hops more (36 to be exact) and you’ll be here!!!

(like right here..  my blog.)

to prove my excitement, i made a layout today…

it’s complete with lyrics that seriously bring me to tears lately.

(click on image for list of full credits.)

lyrics, for your tearing-up pleasure:

"Story's read, prayer is said
Close your eyes sleepyhead
While angels linger in your dreams
And hold you in their feathered wings
Just like you, I was small
Not that long ago at all
I wish you all the happiness
That God gives freely if you ask.
When you reach for the stars
Don't forget who you are
And please don't turn around and grow up way too fast
See the sand in my grasp
From the first to the last
Every grain becomes a memory of the past
Oh, life's an hourglass
Life's an hourglass."
(but i suggest listening to the song to get the full, tear-jerking effect.) (wink, wink, wink..)

song: mindy gledhill, “hourglass”

peyton had to drive the point home, one drizzly day while i was busily painting, trying to distract myself from life and all that was going on.  i was listening to this song, like really listening to what it was saying.  i was getting teary, and right after the line, “and please don’t turn around and grow up way too fast..” peyton runs up to me, hugs my leg and says: “i love you mommy!!”

it made my heart hurt just a little.  she is doing just what i need her to slow down in doing!!

oh well, a little blog hopping can’t hurt anyone in the cheer-up department. ;)

something to look forward to.

it is celebration month at jessica sprague, and next week might just be my favorite part of the celebration..  well, behind the sale..  and the speed crops..  you know..

it’s the bloghop!!

i have looked forward to this for the past couple of years.  it is a night full of blog-hopping, freebie collecting goodness!

(see, it’s your favorite now too.)

i will be one of those stops along the way (SO excited!!).  i have loved going and collecting, getting all of that fun stuff, and now, i get to be part of it for real!

so, mark your calendars, set your cell phone alarm/reminder thingies and hop (pun totally intended) on over!

here’s your friendly reminder..

it starts today, the whole store is one sale and those classes…  those self-paced classes!!!  buy them up now, at 20% off, who can say no?  too busy to do them now?  do them later, that is why they are self-paced!!

my most favorite aspect about jessica’s classes are that the information is yours FOREVER. 

so say you take this one “photo editing” class, you love it, and when you go to use some of your newly acquired skills, you forget one step.  you think you know what it is, but you aren’t sure..

you can go back, access your class information, read it again, or watch the video..

it is still there for you.

forever and ever and ever.

awesome.

can’t tell you how many times i have gone back to the MNAY classes i have taken there to re-fresh this old brain of mine.

(i blame it on the lasting effects of having a placenta (or three) that once resided in my uterus and sucked all functioning brain cells from my noggin.

(just a theory, mind you.)

so you go there, i probably will too, and have a good day!

(now i am off to get my chores done so i really can play.  it feels like a hybrid day today.)

the perfect monday.

it’s a cool, overcast, sometimes stormy monday here.

there’s stuff to be done, stuff that i want to do, but the weather is perfect for me to snuggle up with the monstrous book i started last week, and really want to finish.  at first it was so i could move onto the second book in a series i started, but this one, it was just hanging over my head.  now i am genuinely into it and want to know what happens!!

well, then there’s the many pictures i want to edit, and scrap.  so many new products i want to play with.  a couple of new sewing patterns i want to make multiples of..

and then there’s my room…

i really want to work on aspects of that, but that would also involve playing musical light fixtures with..  i think 5 lights?  i keep losing count.

so many fun things!!

so for now, i will just show you the fun stuff i have been working with this last week…

(click on image for list of full credits k?)

echo park’s new collection: “splash”.

and elle’s studio cupcake flags.  any excuse to make a cupcake!!  when i saw these, i immediately saw a banner.  add a little of my own bazzill from my stash, some double-sided tape and twine and there it is.  pretty darn cute if i do say so myself.

the recipe for these guys is here, i omitted all coconut to make them a delicious vanilla.  i would have to add, that in a pinch, soured milk to replace the buttermilk which is called for, does not (IN NO WAY!!) work.  they weren’t nearly as tasty or light and fluffy and thus, ended up in my garbage can.

(after we ate most of them.)

the only other thing that makes this monday not as perfect as it could be is that the birthday sale at jessica sprague has been delayed by a day.

so just hold on!!  it will start at midnight.

(hopefully links to the new products used above will be updated then too.)

a celebration you don’t want to miss!

JessicaSprague.com is FOUR! To celebrate, they're  throwing a HUGE Birthday Bash & Summer Sale. From June 13-26, you can save 20% off of every self-paced class, and 35% off of ALL digital products. In addition, grab all 27 episodes of Jessica's amazing Photoshop Friday tutorials for just $1 each before they're retired on June 26! As part of the celebration, starting on June 24, you can participate in an incredible 49-person blog hop, picking up a sweet digital freebie at each stop! Best of all, on June 26 Jessica will be making a special announcement of a brand new class coming up in July. We only put our site on sale two times a year, so don't miss out on this GREAT savings opportunity! For all the info on the Summer Sale, Photoshop Fridays, blog hop, and the new class, just click here!

Just watch out my friends..  the fun only gets funner!

P.S. Don’t forget the speed scrap, 7pm eastern, tonight!!

a different take on the memory block i love so much…

i have made (and will continue to make) these cute memory blocks for probably as long as i live.

(see here and here.)

i have done them totally traditional in the past, which is fine.  but the 3d style of it bugs my ocd mind..  they just don’t sit flat!

so i tried one totally hybrid, designing my 6 sides in photoshop, printing them off and slapping it all together.

it sits flat!!

my tutorial is featured over at the “mouse, paper, lovely” blog today.  go check it out!

(you can also get a complete list of the products i used to make it.)

a very happy birthday month.

i have a dear friend, someone i love soooo much who is turning 4 this month. 

that is a big deal.

there will be festivities to last all month and the good news is that you can join in too!!

the party kicks off today..

now remember, it’s EASTERN STANDARD TIME.  so it'd really be 7 pm here. 

there are freebies for participation, no contest, just join in the fun!

there is so much more to come, and there is no need to worry, i will keep you posted. :)

now i am off to play, maybe even finish my new area today?

(maybe..)

7 days challenges.

so this week hasn’t exactly been the ideal week for me to sit and get everything i want to do, done.  that would be the life..

but i have managed to get a couple challenges tackled!

this one used a freebie created my linda of “in the making design”.  so sorry, if you didn’t grab it, you didn’t get it. :(

the frame is from liv.edesigns (here).

the stitching is from splendid fiins (here).

the font is “lobster” (here).

paper bits are a freebie (upcoming) that i need to tweak before i share…

(so watch out.)

i recently took pictures of ashley, to document her “student of the month” status (so proud of her!!) and this theme, “this is love”, was the perfect fit for just a couple of these pictures.

the paper is from kitschy digitals (here).

frame is also from kitschy digitals (here).

there’s that stitching again (here)…

the staple i extracted from the frame in the above layout (frame here).

the fonts used on this layout are: “pea carrie script” and “never let go”.

(i distressed those too, just a little, so they would look chalked and aged.)

i am hoping to get my craft/studio/sewing room all done (as far as paint goes) so life and programming can return to normal soon.

Today!!!!

Just a reminder: seven days in may begins today!

(How’s that to start you week?)

Go check out the general forum to play along.  I know that I will be there..  well, in between the coats of paint drying, making teacher year-end gifts, going to the dentist..

So come and hang out with me there!

I did last year and had a blast, got addicted, quite frankly, but it was entirely too much fun.

(And you’ll score some freebies!!!)

As for new product, I have a few…

(They are all delightful.)

Splendid Fiins:

(Click on layouts for list full credits.)

Carina Gardner:

Be watching for a post about baby hunger…

Last, but certainly not least, Cosmo Cricket:

I have many more project ideas in store with this collection.

So, will I see you in the forum, or what? ;)

one down.. (re-visiting peanut butter cupcakes)

so i said, just the other day, that i needed to re-visit this cupcake with a glorious idea that hit me..  sometime, i can’t remember when.  it was most likely when i was ready to fall asleep.

(those darn glorious ideas hit me then or when i am in the shower..  at least i can write them down when i am in bed.)

i originally tried this recipe in the fall and we all loved it.  after that trial, i had the idea to add some reeses (big ‘uns) to the actual cupcake.

yeah, i didn’t get around to trying that one out until, well, last week.

they were winners.

so when my next glorious idea hit, i knew i’d better test drive it (so to speak) soon.

that, and one of the guys who works for merrill didn’t get his peanut butter cupcake due to the fact that merrill ate it.

(i think that means they are kind of good.)

so here goes…

i start out with my most favorite boxed triple chocolate fudge cake mix ever (still haven’t found the perfect chocolate cake recipe to make from scratch that stays moist…).  i tweak it a little by substituting 1/2 cup softened butter in place of the oil.

then i divide the batter among my cups and get an assistant to unwrap, and not eat the regular sized reeses peanut butter cups. 

(not eating them now is key.  tempting, i know, but very important.)

you take that little cup of yumminess, and place it on the top of the batter.  press it in until the top of the cup is level with the surface of you batter.

see:

pop those in the oven and let them bake according to the recipe.

after they have cooled, they will look flat.

(but they are delicious, so don’t fret.  frosting will make up for the flatness soon.)

we had one, that didn’t get “reesed” (totally just invented that word..  you can even see it up there!!) and you could tell which one was missing the secret surprise.

it was all fluffy and junk.

then lynn ate it assuming it was like the rest.  she was greatly disappointed.  but she should have known.  there were no chopped peanuts on top!

(that is our code of sorts.)

which is okay, i am sure that she was the culprit who got into the jumbo bag and ate the one cup that we were going to need to reese all of them.

so after they have cooled, frost them.

when i say “frost them” i really mean that you should frost them with this:

Peanut butter frosting

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/3 cup heavy cream

Place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

so, you can go on ahead, and pipe that on the way it is OR…

you can do what i did..

i substituted the regular old peanut butter (delicious, but boring in comparison) with a cup of this!!!

it is a bit of an addiction lately…

i really wanted to add dark reeses to the cupcakes, but would not (no way!!) settle for the miniatures.  i wanted the big’uns.  i couldn’t find them.  i will have to attempt it again, i guess.

(i am sure everyone will throw a fit of epic proportions..)

now these are good the “regular way” but SO good with this little tweaking.

(i finished off the frosting.  right out of the bag…  can you picture that?  me, mouth ajar, bag of frosting inserted..)

when i asked merrill if they were good, i got quite the reaction.

now that frosting recipe makes enough to generously frost a little more than a dozen, so we made some of each…

(and to further try to convince you to go and make them yourself, here’s some pictures to help with the convincing.)

yeah, don’t forget those chopped peanuts either.  you know, “code” and all..

oh, and i have been told that a glass of milk is a great addition.

More for your Monday.

Time to show off some of the loveliness that exists at Jessica Sprague…

(Don’t forget that “Mondays in May” are still in full swing there!!)  

Jodie Lee has released some beautiful stuff today.

Here, I used her “Botanique Brushes” to create everything from the background to the sweet little stamps.

(Click on layout for list of full credits.)

Last week, we had a RS meeting that we chose Faith to be the theme.  We paired it with gardening (‘tis the season) and I made these cute plant picks for the tomato plant handouts, and one to go in each of our speakers thank you plants.

Cosmo Cricket was made for this people…

 

For the tomato plant ones I simply designed them in photoshop, printed out my stuff onto presentation paper, cut them out, use a little double-sided tape, plus a popsicle, and the help of a good friend.

For the larger ones, I did pretty much the same thing, but instead of double-sided tape, I mod-podged the papers onto either side of a little “woodsie” (found at craft stores).  I sanded-down the edges after it dried and top-coated with more mod-podge.  I used Tombow multi adhesive (the green and white guy) to glue the popsicle stick onto the back.

(Here’s the link for list of full credits on those babies.)

We also had some of these….

This one is asking for me to toy with it..  can I add it to my list that is today?

As for the state of homelessness, among other things in my life..  changes are in the works in my neck of the woods people..

Lots of changes.

All of them good! 

(I swear…)

Summer is coming, life needs to get a little more organized, streamlined and a bit easier, I am thinking…  blogs might get a re-boot of sorts.  “Furious Orange” (the color of the vomitastic wall in my basement) will no longer be so vomit inducing, hopefully starting today.  Then there’s a tutorial I am putting the finishing touches on..  those cupcakes I mentioned toying with..  and some sewing patterns I bought.  I want to do them, but I don’t without a space to leave them when I need to, you know, to cook, clean, wipe bums.  Stuff like that.  Oh!  And pictures..  LOTS Of pictures to share.

See, I told you good, and exciting.

P.S. Gear up for “7 Days in May”.  It starts next Monday…  I am severely looking forward to it.

It truly is the most wonderful time of the year!