“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..)