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!