Etsy Treasuries

I'm so excited! As I learn my way around the Etsy site, I learn more and more everyday. This past week, I've discovered the Treasury. The Treasury is where other Etsians put together a group of items, usually involving some sort of theme..colors, objects, etc. Not only have I had the fun of making a few treasuries, myself, I've had the honor to be featured in a couple of treasuries. It's not a sale, but it's a good feeling, knowing that people are looking at your work, selecting it. It's all about getting exposure. Getting your name out there.
The other advantage of being in a treasury, is the opportunity to get your item on the Etsy homepage. I've been told that the more clicks your item gets, the more chances that has of being on the front page. I don't know how true that is, but more than one Etsian has passed along that info to me.
So, if you could be so kind, as to click on these treasuries, for me. The more clicks, the better. You don't have to leave comments, if you don't want to..just click away! I'd love the support!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=58204
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=17192

PS. My images are the ones by IrresistableImages4u

My purpose in this world.

Sometimes we wander around aimlessly wondering what our purpose in life is. Why are we here? If you're a Christian, you know you're here to serve God. But, that's pretty obvious. What about the not-so obvious reason?
What I'm getting at, is, I think I discovered my purpose in life, this week. For the past five years, I've been teaching VBS at our church. I was put with the youngest group of children, which can be quite a challenge. On the other end of the spectrum, though, it can also be quite rewarding. In past years I've worked with the pre-school and kindergarten classes. A lot of fun, I admit. This year, I was put to the test and my class has children from ages 18 mos to 5 yrs. Sarah (dd) is my oldest, she just turned 5. The majority of the group is age 3. We have 5-6 kids, depending on the night. A nice combo of boys & girls. Did you know that it is possible to teach toddlers??? It is. They can learn. They can sit for an extended amount of time and do an activity. I have one little guy who is quite active. His grandparents go to our church and teach the older kids. They warned me that he's very hyper and doesn't sit still for a second! Well, they were all quite impressed when I had him sitting down, doing our craft. He really got into it and did rather well. I told his grandparents, "if you want him to sit, get him foamie stickers!" lol. They laughed and were impressed. I gave myself a pat on the back.
Aside from that, we have a bible verse that we're learning, this week. It's from Mark 12:29-31.29"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'There is no commandment greater than these." So can a toddler/pre-schooler, who does not know how to read learn a long verse like that? Probably not. However, if you make it simple and fun, they sure can. For my group, I shortened it and now, only the third night of the session, they know it (with a little help). Our kids say, "Love God, with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength". We have hand motions to go with it and all the children participate. It's wonderful to see them get up in front of the church, with 40+ kids of all ages watching them as they say their verse. My eldest dd, who is 9, is having a heck of a time memorizing it! But, the little ones are doing great. I have a wonderful group of young children this year. It's exhausting and very challenging, but I'm loving every second of it. I'm, not only, proud of myself, but I'm very proud of them.

July Kit Project

And here's the creation for this month's kit. Papers by Blitz Designs. This is an altered frame (purchased at Michael's). I took the photo of the Marigold with my digital camera. This is my first, ever, altered frame! I'm really happy with the results and intend on doing more of these, in the future.
I'm sad to say that this will be my last kit project from EBB Creations. EBB is doing away with their kit club. It has been a fun few months and I've learned a lot of new techniques along the way. My horizons have expanded, greatly. I've created things I never, in a million years, have dreamed of, in the past. It was a learning experience for me, and worth every minute of it. Thank you to EBB Creations for giving me this, incredible, opportunity!

Splashtastic!

Allow me to introduce to you, my newest digital kit...Splashtastic! I learned how to make ric-rac! I'm sooo excited! lol. Yes, it doesn't take much. This kit includes 6 papers, more buttons, a mini-tag, the word, "splash" some drop shaped brads and more. A fun kit for those summer, water activities.

I have to say, if there are any digi designers out there, reading this...you guys rock! I know, now, it takes a lot of time and creativity to create and put together these kits. I'm curious as to how long it takes one of the "pros" to throw one of their average sized kits together? That's a lot of computer time involved!!!! Good for you all!

I'm, slowly, learning how to create more, different elements. But, this is a start. This kit, along with my Chocoloholic Kit is for sale in my Etsy Shop. However, if I "know" you, and you're interested, we might be able to work something out.
Here's the kit....


and the layout...

Have a great day and happy scrapping!

Thanks Patriotic Challenge Participants

Thank you all who participated in this challenge. I had fun hosting it and it was great to see all the different layouts! What a much better turnout this time. I guess we learn from our experiences...what works and what doesn't!

The winner of the drawing is..........................................
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Marilyn aka melonscraps (from AMR)

Congrats Marilyn!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks, again, for playing. You will be receiving a nice RAK from me, within the next week!

To view Marilyn's layout, check it out here...
http://melonscraps.blogspot.com/2008/07/what-i-am-doing-on-my-day-off.html

It's that time of the month

Oh, stop, not that! lol. Women! Sneaky peak time! That's right. This month's kit includes...ha, ya think I'm gonna tell...NOT. But, I will say that I moved away from the traditional layout and altered something, this month. I did a frame (not included in the kit). In a few days I'll let you see the whole thing, but, for now, here's all you get! Yeah, whine all you want, you're lucky you even get to peak!

How Sweet It Is!

Okay, this isn't just any ole digital layout, to me. This is my very own. That's right, my own. By "my own", I mean, I built this one from the bottom up. First, I designed my own kit. My first kit called, "Chocoloholic". Yeah, I knew you'd like that name! The kit includes everything in this layout, except the font. You get 4 pp's (Mocha Swirl, Love Chocolate, Striped Chocolate, and Chocolate Drops), 2 bottle caps, 2 buttons, 2 fibers (only one shown in layout) and 3 eyelets in different shades of brown. Also an upper case alpha.
I intend on doing more of this, as time goes on. But, it will take lots of time and practice. But, eventually, it'd be nice to have my own digital scrapping line of products. Whether for sale, or for freebies, who knows. Maybe someday in the near future I'll get enough product to put in my etsy shop.
As a scrapper (digital or traditional) I'd love to hear what you think. Should I add more, less? Is the kit missing anything. I've never done this before, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for looking!

It's All About Friends

I had the most, incredible weekend! Friday night I had a great time with some new friends. You know, the Girl Scout song, "Make new friends, but keep the old." Well, I can't say the friends I hung out with on Friday are completely new. I've known them for a few years, now. But, compared to some other friends that I heard from, this week, they are new.
Remember that best-friend you had in high school or that roommate from college? You swore you all would grow old together. Nothing could keep you apart. You were inseperable. You laughed together and you cried together. Sleepovers, parties, school dances and so much more. You made a packt that you'd be in each others weddings, no matter what. You couldn't imagine what you life would be like without that person, nor did you even want to.
This week I've done a lot of reflecting. It's been all about friends...both the new and the old. It started, the other week, when we had our "Friendship" chat on AMR. Shortly after that, I decided to give my old friend, from college, a call. Billie moved and lives about 2 1/2 hours away. We haven't spoken a couple of years, aside from the occassional email. There were no quarrels or squabbles that kept us apart. Just everyday life. I was very excited to tell her that I'd be traveling through her neck of the woods on the weekend, and if she'd be home. We decided to meet up for dinner and chit chat. It was the girls, myself, she and her hubby. We had a remarkable visit and both agreed that we need to do that more often. It felt really good to see her again and I was much relieved when we left for home, Saturday night. It was a long drive, and a late night, but none of that should matter when it comes to seeing a friend.
In the meantime, the next day, after talking on the phone with Billie, I rec'd an email from another old friend. Kara and I were best-friends in high school. We met in Girl Scouts (surprise there lol). We did everything together. Always at one house or another. Those school dances, all-nighters, etc and so on. She was in my wedding (and so was Billie). Eventually, we just drifted apart. She moved to Mass. and I got married, had kids, and moved on. With Kara still being single (at the time), with no kids, we didn't really have much in common. Again, there weren't any quarrels or fights that kept us apart. Just our daily lives. So, now the time comes and Kara tells me she's going to be in NY this coming weekend. We plan on meeting up this weekend. We decided to meet at a half way point, since, she'll still be a good 3 hrs away. So, I'm going to see Kara in Syracuse this Saturday. Now, I can't even begin to remember the last time I saw her. I've spoke to her on the phone, once in the past year. Emails have been very scarce. What we'll say or talk about, I have no idea. But it will be nice to see, yet, another old friend.
Which makes me wonder. Did you have friends like these? Do you still keep in touch? Wonder what they're up to? Any idea where they are? When was the last time you talked to them? I highly recommend picking up the phone or dropping an email to say hello. You never know what kind of an impact that may have on them!

""A friendship can weather most things and thrive in thin soil; but it needs a little mulch of letters and phone calls and small, silly presents every so often - just to save it from drying out completely.""
Author: Pam Brown

""A good friend is a connection to life - a tie to the past, a key to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world.""
Author: Lois Wyse
""Don't walk in front of me,
I may not follow-
Don't walk behind me,
I may not lead-
Just walk beside me
and be my friend.""
Author: Unknown

""Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It's not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything."

-Muhammad Ali"


""Good friends are like stars.........You don't always see them, but you know they are always there""
Author: Unknown

(quotes from scrapbook.com)

The week of June 16th re-cap

It started with the EBB Monthly Kit project. This kit was all about baby. Included in the kit was a word album. Now, I'm not crazy about mini albums and word albums. They're gorgeous, but not really for me. I prefer layouts and such. So, after thinking about what to do with this project, I figured it out. I wanted something that would include both girls. I can't leave one out and focus on the other. It's "not fair". lol. So, I decided to use the album as an addition to a layout. A wonderful and fun way to include additional images, without overcrowding. This kit was lots of fun to work with, once I got the mojo flowing.


Yes, I've done some scrapping this week. Good thing, since I won't get much done this weekend.

The other week was my week for EBB's weekly challenge. I've been told that I should do a layout about my Rascal Flatts craze. So, that's the June Week #2 Challenge at EBB. To create a layout about your obessions. It could be about anything, not necessarilly music. Chocolate, coffee, favorite actor, scrapbooking, etc. The possiblilities are endless.
I have to say, this layout was fun to create. I used several different techniques. Distressing inks & paints. I never used distressing paints before, and it was fun!
So, here's my Rascal Flatts Obsession layout! Some call it an obsession, I call it dedication!



The above layout may have been the most fun, but this next one might be one of my favorites, too. I'm very proud of Lizzy, this year. She's so smart and does so well in school (even if she does whine and complain about it). Despite what she says, she has lots of friends and is very successful. A good reader, too. She was giving an award from the Mount Markham Teacher's Association, this week. One of three kids in her class. She was totally surprised. Even, I kept it a secret from her. Her award is for her Excellent Academic Performance. These papers were also part of EBB's June Kit. I'm lovin' the stars!!!!

Way to go, Lizzy! Keep up the good work. We love you!

June Sneaky Peaks

Ok, this month was definitely a challenge, for me, with the June EBB Creations Kit. I'm not a big fan of mini-albums, and without revealing the whole surprise, that's all I'm saying. But, I made it work. When there's a will, there is a way! So here are a few peaks. If you want to see more, well, you'll just have to wait until Sunday night. Ebb's having the monthly kit reveal at 9 pm EST. Join us in the forums!