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My long weekend was great! It's always a little hard to go back to work after being off for a few days. On Friday we headed down to Key Largo to go snorkeling. It was a good thing we went in the morning, because a storm started rolling in at the end of our water time. We had to swim over some waves to get back to the boat, then develop our sea legs REALLY quick to even be able to stand up, with the boat rocking so much. It was really fun, though. But anyways, here are a couple photos for your viewing pleasure. I'll post more of these later when I can work on them at home.
This is El Capitan, the boat that took us to the reef to go snorkeling.
My Dad being a goofball. This must be where I get it from.
I love taking pictures like this, and Chad had the perfect sunglasses to do it. My Dad and me reflected in Chad's glasses.
Chad and Daddy checking out the scenery as we head back in on the boat.
On Saturday, my Dad and I drove up to Arcadia for a day of Antiquing. Chad stayed home on this one....antiquing's not really his 'thing'. I picked up a few small things, all for craft type projects. I only spent about $15. The tin is going to make for a nice shabby mini-album. I'll be taking the backings off the earrings to use the flowers as embellishments. The lady I bought those from GAVE me the purple flower. We had lunch at a cute little cafe that lets you write on the walls, but I didn't get a photo of that.
Yesterday, we took Daddy out to lunch at our favorite Mexican place called Cilantro Tamale's. They have YUMMY rice! After that, we stopped by Borders, because I wanted to see if they had the Chicken Soup for the Scrapbooker's Soul book. This is the second store I've been to that shows it in stock, but then no one can find it in the store! No biggie, I'll just order it. I got this Digital Scrapbooking magazine instead. I'm not giving up my paper, but these magazines are THE BEST thing for learning photoshop. I always learn the best tips and tricks from scrapbooking magazines.
We then stopped by Wal-Mart for a couple car-washing items, and I just couldn't resist picking up a couple more things. These flowers are HUGE. Can't wait to take them apart tonight. All the layers are different shapes, too! The bone-shaped tags and jewel flowers were just too cute to pass up.
Oh, and here's a picture of that tape I got at Target last week, as I know a couple people wanted to see it! Sorry for the blurriness of the photo.
Last but not least, here's an awesome copper bracelet from my Dad. I saw him wearing it, and asked him if he made it (which he did...he makes all KINDS of cool stuff!), and he took it off and put it on me! Sweet.
Okay! That's all for now. Daddy is still in town for today, and I'm hoping to do some portraits of him this evening. Lets just hope the weather cooperates for the sake of good lighting!
But then again, when is a trip to Target NOT good? I can always find what I'm looking for, and I'm always happy with my purchases when I leave. My main intent for going was to get a new bathing suit. My other one was getting a little thin in the back, so I needed a new one in the name of modesty! Luckily the only place I have worn it lately is in our friends' pool. Chlorine is SO hard on suits! Anyways, this is the one I got:
We all know bathing suit shopping is nothing short of a nightmare 99% of the time. I didn't really want a halter, but I liked the color and style, so I tried it on anyways. It ACTUALLY looks REALLY GOOD on me! I was thrilled! And not only that, but it COMPLETELY covers my boobs, which is really hard to find. And it's fully lined, not just in front like my other one.
Okay, so my next purchase. I had seen the target commercial for the Ayomi Yoshida gift wrap line. I thought it was cute, but didn't really think much of it. Well, I saw the whole line at my local Target last night and it's so FUN!
Tell me, HOW can you go wrong with hot pink polka dots? This is the best photo I could find, but it doesn't even show anything. There are way cute hat boxes that would be ideal for scrap room (or anywhere) storage. The ribbon is to die for. And there are sets of velvet flocked gift cards, which I am SO getting on my next trip (hello, new embellishments!). I did get one thing...polka dot tape. There's 4 rolls of 20 yards each in the package...for $3.99. It's the size of scotch tape. TOTALLY cute! I can't wait to use it!
Final purchase: Body Spray. I ran out of my normal scent a while back, and have been lazy about getting more, so I've just been buying random body spray when I go to the store. I saw this and thought I'd give it a try:
This stuff smells DIVINE! I am SO ordering it in bulk. I think I've found my new 'signature' scent! It has this kinda sweet, florally, honey smell to it. But there's something else that's hard to describe. It just smells good, and I FEEL like I smell good when wearing it. It doesn't smell like something that comes in a 7-buck bottle of body spray! Yes, this is officially the most times I have said 'smell' in one paragraph.
I did want a couple of those mini metal Dollar Spot lunchboxes that were mentioned on 2Peas, too, but they only had 3 and they were all beat up. I didn't NEED them, anyways. But, in case you can't tell, it was another successful trip to Target!
My oldest kid is 4 years old today! Wow, I can't believe we've had her that long! Marley is an absolute joy of a dog. She was SO easily trained, and she's so laid back and well behaved. She kinda balances out Pickle's squirrel-ness. Two very fun puppies to have around!
I don't have time to bake cupcakes, as I have alot of running around to do tonight to get ready for my Dad's visit this weekend. I took a trip over to the doggie bakery and got a couple WAY CUTE daisy cookies for her and Pickle to enjoy! These things are huge...like 5" across, and a little more than 1/4" thick. I'm sure they won't miss the cupcakes.
So, as I said, my Dad is coming to visit this weekend. He hasn't been down since we moved to the new house, and it's been a couple years since he's been to Naples, period. He always stays home and watches my sister's horse when she and my Mom come down, and when I go up there, there's always so much going on that we don't get any Daddy-Daughter time. He'll be driving down tomorrow, then Chad and I are taking him down to John Pennekamp State Park in Key Largo to go snorkeling on Friday. He's never been to the Keys, so I know he'll enjoy that. Then Saturday, we'll do some antiquing in Arcadia, this cute little town about an hour northeast of Naples that has a WHOLE STREET of awesome antique stores.
Lots going on, and an exciting couple of days coming up....and I'll get lots of great photos to scrap, too!
Here's the sign I made over the weekend for my scrap room door. I was originally considering going for the Ranger Ink design team, but when I got the information, I saw that you had to create projects from several mediums, and it seemed like more than I would want to take on at this time. I used the heck out of my Walnut Stain distress ink pad on this. The bas of the sign is another of those papier mache signs from Michaels, 'painted' with the ink. The charms, which I 'aged', and flowers are from the July Poppy Ink kit. Chipboard letters are Making Memories, whick I painted, sanded, and distressed with more ink. It's mounted on Chatterbox paper (also from the July Poppy Ink kit) edged with MORE distress ink. I had ink on my fingers for two days after making this!
I want every color of this distress ink! It's got to be one of the most versitile things out there. I really want the Broken China, Worn Lipstick, Shabby Shutters, and Antique Linen to add to my Walnut Stain, Black Soot, and Weathered Wood.
Okay, for days and days now, I have been drooling over all these goreous CHA sneak peeks. I have officially compiled a list of the things I most want, based on what I have seen. I must warn you....it looks like I am going to become a stamp junkie!
1. American Crafts Greenhouse Flowers. The large felt ones.
2. Fontwerks Stamps. I'll decide later exactly which ones I must have.
3. Sassafrass Lass Stamps. There's like 10+ sets coming out, but these are my favorite!
4. Creative Imaginations Journaler's Notebook. Might actually ADD some journaling to my pages with these cuties!
5. Hambly Rub-Ons. Especially the wings!
There's also going to be 20 new Autumn Leaves Freestyle stamp sets. I'm so overwhemled with this one, that I don't even want to take the energy to TRY to pick which ones I want!
I'm not even going to get started on the papers....I'm definitely loving American Crafts, SEI, Rusty Pickle, Scenic Route, and I'm REALLY excited about the new line Cosmo Cricket, as I'm sure everyone is. Besides, the name is just cool. Thumbs up to whoever came up with that one!
The two best sites I've come across (through 2Peas of course!) for the sneak peeks are The Scrap Spot and The Scrap Etc. Blog. What items are YOU looking forward to?
This is a layout I made a few weeks ago using the Poppy Ink june kit, and I realized I never posted it! Almost everything is from the kit, but I added the rhinestones, sequins, felt (for the flower leaves) and blank negatives from my existing stash.
I also made an AWESOME sign for my scrap room door yesterday, but it might fit in for a Design Team call coming up, so I want to get more information on that before I post it.
Oh, yeah....I fixed my front door sign, too. I had made one a while back (you can see it HERE), but it was curling up and the paper was fading. The new one is made with one of those papier mache signs from Michaels, then painted with gesso and sanded. Here's the newer, prettier, more durable version:
Now off to tackle my July kits from Jenni Bowlin and Poppy Ink to get some LO's done!
I finally took the time to do a layout last night. This was so fun to make! I wanted to scrap this photo of Marley, but when I printed out the 8x10 I could see that it was a bit out of focus. So, it's been sitting in a drawer for several months. Last night I took it out, and just cut out her head. It was TOO hilarious, so this is what I came up with. The journaling reads: Okay. That is enough, not another photo. Gimme a "cookie" already!
The bathrom remodel is finished (need to take a photo!) and Chad works this weekend, so that means lots of scrapping time! Have a great weekend everyone!
My shiny new Crop a Dile. I just ordered it from scrapbook.com on Wednesday (I had a 10% off coupon code) and it came yeaterday. Wow, talk about fast service! Okay, this thing is awesome! It will punch holes in anything, and sets any eyelets (I have ALL Making Memories eyelets and snaps) with hardly any effort! I was totally shoocked though, cause this thing is HUGE. I have to stretch my hand out to be able to grip it, so I'd say the bottom part spans a good 5" to 5 1/4". Then it's probably about 7"-8" tall...I'm guess-timating here, as I don't have it in front of me. The only complaint I've noticed that alot of people have had was that you can only set eyelets about 2" from the edge of the page. For me, I know that won't be a problem, because I almost always put an eyelet on a small piece of paper then attach to the LO or card. I HIGHLY recommend this awesome tool!
In addition to that, my July Poppy Ink kit came yesterday, too! Great mail day, especially because I wasn't expecting these so soon! This month's kit included some yummy Hambly overlays and a sheet of Hambly paper. Can't wait to use them! So cool. Now I just need to actually do some layouts.
I originally didn't want anything to do with MySpace. I'm not into chatting online with random people (well, aside from 2Peas, but you get the idea). My sister and all my cousins out in California talked me into creating an account so I could see family photos when they posted them, and so I could read their blogs. So I did. I started getting messages from people I went to school with, and found even more friends that I hadn't seen or talked to since High School Graduation. Then I found Jenifer. She was one of my good friends. Last time I saw her was maybe 2 years after my graduation. We exchanged phone numbers and talked on Saturday. It was like old times! I know where she is now, and she said she wants to plan a trip down to visit. She's the second one over in the photo (I'm the first one).
Another good thing about MySpace is it tells you when your friends' birthdays are. Of course, I knew these at one time, but one tends to forget over the course of 8 1/2 years! So, I made a birthday card for my friend Carrie (who I HAVE kept in touch with over the years...she's the third one over on top).
My mom ran into the 4th girl, Shea (the little one) a little while back, and got her phone number. I still need to call her. I've seen her since my Graduation, too, but haven't talked with her since we moved.
There was another girl in our 'group', too...Sam. I got in touch with her last year. She lives out of state now, so I probably won't be seeing her any time soon, but it's nice to know I can email her if I want, and know how she's doing.
Don't ever take your friends for granted. Of course I have made new friends since we moved away, but sometimes I miss my old friends, too.
I have to say, the positive side of all the torrential rains and storms we get this time of the year are the gorgeous clouds. This is what I saw pulling into work this morning. I came in early, so the sun was just coming up. And right behind me was a rainbow (you couldn't really see it in the photo I took of it). I've seen 3 rainbows in the past week...well 4 if you count that one was a double rainbow.
I swear, nature never ceases to fascinate me.
On another note, my doctor called with the results of the allergy test she sent me in for, to see if we could find a cause to my sinus headaches. Turns out I'm allergic to, get this: Pine Trees and Cow's Milk. What the heck?! Two things I've ALWAYS been around. What the heck DOESN'T have cow's milk in it? I LOVE cheese! And I had about 20 pine trees in my yard growing up. We don't have as many down here. Maybe that explains why I get sick around christmas almost every year! You can't take my christmas tree!!!
So anyways, my doctor said to try to go without any cow's milk products for 10 days just to see what happens. It's not necessarily what's causing the headaches (it may just cause some slight itchiness on my hands of chest that I never noticed before...now I'm gonna be paranoid!), but it won't hurt to try.
So what am I eating right now? Lean Cusine Chicken Carbonara with a nice bold warning on the side that says CONTAINS MILK PRODUCTS. Heh.
I'll have to post a couple photos that I've taken for Naples Dog, too. I'll probably do that tomorrow or this weekend.
I participated in the Firecracker Swap from the Pub over on 2Peas....and this is the package I got from my buddy! Pam Taylor (davidandgoliath on 2Peas) is awesome, and she was SO fun to get to know! Lots of stuff I've been wanting. She's on the Design Team for Daisy D's so be sure to check out her stuff! Definitely lots of playing to do on this long weekend.
AND...the BIG NEWS! I have been made a contributing photographer for a new local magazine, Naples Dog! I saw the first issue the other day at Barnes and Noble, and just thought "What the heck, I'll email and see if they are looking for more photographers." She emailed me back, asked for samples (which she loved!) and asked if I was available to shoot the Open House at our local Humane Society today (it was last minute and didn't have a photographer scheduled to cover it). Ericka Basile, the magazine publisher, was SUPER nice and really excited about the magazine. How fun is this going to be?! Just taking lots of photos of dogs!
They might use the black and white photo I just did of Pickle (see a couple posts down) for an upcoming article called "What's his name?". They are going to show the photo to children and ask them what they think his name is. It's not a for sure thing, but she really liked the photo!
I'm still going to have my regular job, too, so looks like I'll be pretty busy!
