So what did you do yesterday?

Grant is sick. I mean, he's ADORABLE, and sick. He has a fever and the sniffles and a loud, hacking, old man cough. And he is SOOOO sweet and SOOOO cute. Always is, right? Actually, he's just a tad pathetic and wants his mommy to hold him, so I did lots of cuddling yesterday. That and watched Star Wars. Over. And. Over.

In the meantime, Cole was quite chipper! Annoying when you would like your 5yo to keep sleeping on the couch, but the 2yo wants to play with the BIG Legos that are super loud when the tall tower falls on the hard wood floor. But, that little booger is adorable, too. Of course.

I meant to mention that I FINALLY bought a new lens. Ahhh. I love it! It was super cheap (as far as camera lens' go) and takes the MOST gorgeous pictures in low light. Indoor shots are amazing! I don't know why this lens wasn't the kit lens. Drives me crazy to realize I have had my SLR for over a year and JUST bought this lens. Oh, the pictures I could have taken!! If you are on the fence, hop over. Seriously. You need a prime lens (Cannon EF 50mm 1:1.8 - not that I know what any of that means). Expect better pictures from me.

I have to tell you that with all of that creativity last week, I am POOPED! However, I just can't seem to stop myself, so I did create one more little thing just in time for Valentine's day:

(edit: Deleted the pic! Working on this one for the future!)

In my store!

They are supposed to be kinda like this. I can picture my templates with the top edges cut with deckled scissors and punched with pretty punches.

People were asking for them (seriously, I got like 3 emails in one day and all kinds of posts on the message boards), so I made 'em up really quick (okay, not really quick, 'cause I really don't know what I'm doing with this "designing" thing).

And, last night I attended the Digichick Friday Night Chick Chat, which was a speed scrap. Oh, THAT was fun. Every 10 minutes, we were given instructions and a specific "recipe" for a layout. For example, the first instruction was to use a solid paper for the background and a patterned paper for a 5 inch tall strip that extends across the page. I followed all of the instructions, took MUCH longer than I should have, and came up with this.

Here for credits.

These are the girls in my family at Thanksgiving! My mom always wants to take a picture with just the girls, and although we are missing a few sisters in this pic, she finally got her wish! Yeah. I have a big family. And, see the little cutie in the pink shirt on the left? My niece, Cara, who is over 3 now, JUST had her adoption finalized yesterday!! YAY! We can all breathe a sigh of relief over that bit of news! It was a LOOOONG journey, but so very worth it in the end.


I also did a layout for the Project 52 challenge going on over at Jen Wilson Designs. I've had this story in mind for a long time now, and I am so glad I finally did a layout. Oh, I love this boy!!


Here for credits.

Well, that's it! I hope to do a couple of layouts with my new super-sharp indoor pics of Cole (who loves saying "Hi!" every time the camera comes out, which gives us the cutest bright-eyed smiles). In the meantime, I'd better clean the house before Mitch comes back from hunting, just to make up for the mess that was NOT cleaned up last night while I was scrapping!!

Been working a TON!

Some fun things happening in my digital scrapbooking world. I'll spare you all and just show you my new stuff.

First, a grab bag! It's kinda a secret, but I'll tell you that there are three template sets, and two sets are new boxes. Hee, hee!



Next, I created this little box last night and popped it in the store this morning for only $1. I've used it a few times today, and I still love it!



And, I put a couple of my Valentine themed items on sale for only $1, too! Go check out my store at The Digichick!

Been doing a lot of cuddling lately

My 2 year old is wonderful. Cuddly, adorable, sweet. Great kid. Snot-nosed, though. Today I was chatting with a friend and ran my fingers through my hair. They got stuck. In dried snot. Not mine.

Such is the life of a mom!

Valentine Treats and other goodies, too!

Since I'm attempting to catch up on my blogging, I suppose I should just keep going, eh? I released some new products this week! Look down to see what I released in Jen's store.

AND, in my own store (which doesn't make me nearly as much money in one month as Jen's did in one day!), I have these fun new items!

Here.
Here.
Here.
Here.

PLUS, I've made all of my templates available for Commercial Use! Wahoo!

JEN WILSON! Seriously!!

If you have been reading my blog for a while, then you know that I am totally in love with Jen Wilson. I own a ton of her digital products, and even some of her paper stuff from My Minds Eye. In fact, there is a metal dinosaur sign in Grant's room that is a "Jen Wilson".

So, about 2 weeks ago I asked Mitch if I could attend a chat that Jen was having at her store to celebrate the release of a new digital line. Mitch said yes (bless him!) and so at 7:00pm, Mitch gave the boys a bath while I attended the online chat. Oh, it was so much FUN! They always are. During the chat, I teased a bit and told Allison (a CT member) to beg Jen to have me on her CT. I was totally joking, because I had begged dozens of times before and never actually thought I would have a chance to be on her CT.

Imagine my SHOCK when, while I was downloading my newly purchased goodies, I received an email from Jen Wilson herself, asking me to be on her CT. Ack! I was stunned! Oh, it was an exciting night filled with multiple emails and lots of fun moments. She said that she had actually been thinking about asking me for a while! Jen Wilson! Thinking about little ol' me!

Since that night, I have been having SO much fun creating stuff for Jen Wilson. In fact, we got to chatting one night (eeek! I chat with Jen Wilson!) and she asked if I would ever consider putting together some hybrid printables for her. For Jen Wilson! And . . . I went a little overboard . . . and this is what I did:





Click here to be taken to my little section of Jen Wilson's store. Oh my gosh! Did I just type that? MY little section of JEN WILSON'S store! Eeek!

So anyway, I need to calm down a bit. Whew! Here are some of my recent layouts/projects as a new CT member for Jen Wilson!! Click here for credits.

The next adventure

A quick back-story: Just before Christmas, 2007, my brother-in-law's dad was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Chad had surgery to remove as much of the tumor as possible just after the first of the year (I think), and then had to wait to see if they got it all. I don't know much about brain tumors, but Chad was not given much hope because the tumor had little fingers all over the place. Still, in the couple of months it took to get the results (new scan, etc.), Chad and his wife Kathy relied heavily on prayer and their faith in God to get them through the scary time. Kathy, an amazing cook, reworked Chad's diet (which had already been very healthy) to completely cut out sugar (because their research suggested that sugar helps the cancer cells to grow). We all prayed constantly for Chad's miraculous healing. To our great joy, the results came back and Chad's cancer was completely gone. However, the medication he had been taking took its toll on Chad's body and he began having seizures and strokes. A little over a year after his battle began, Chad went home to be with his Savior. There are silver linings all over this story. Chad's family had lots of "borrowed" time to spend with him in his final year. Matt, my brother-in-law was able to visit with his dad many times (Matt is in CA, and Chad was in OR).

We attended Chad's memorial service yesterday, and it was wonderful. We almost didn't go because it started at 10:00am, and we would have to leave our house SUPER early and drive for 6 hours, and I wasn't feeling that great. However, as we were trying to decide what to do, Grant said, "I think we need to go to Uncle-Matt's-Dad-Chad's service." See, we had been praying for Uncle-Matt's-Dad-Chad at almost every meal and bedtime for the past year. So, our 5-year-old made our decision for us. We left the house at 4:00am and drove to LaGrande. The boys slept most of the way and were wonderful the rest of the time. We arrived in time to change our boys out of their pajamas and into their clothes. It started snowing as we got out of the car and scurried into the school auditorium. The service was uplifting and fun and sad and such a wonderful tribute. I think Chad would have been pleased to see us laughing about his many adventures: bungee-jumping, sky-diving, skiing, riding his motorcycle, building and racing his little sports car, his crazy inventions and many more. Matt put together a couple of slide shows that were so much fun to watch and helped us get a really good picture of the man that Chad was. After the service, there was a great reception where our boys got to catch up with their cousins. Then, we went out for pizza and went back over to Matt's childhood home for a few minutes before jumping in the car for the long ride back.

There was a lot to think about and talk about on the ride back home, and plenty of time to do it. I love having heart-to-heart talks with Mitch, especially when we have both just experienced something that was very moving. I am very thankful that our 5-year-old decided that we needed to make the effort to go to the service. Sometimes God speaks to us through our children, huh?

A little tutorial about choosing the right paper

As I told you (a while ago), I am now on Vera Lim's creative team as a hybrid artist! It is a great gig with super easy requirements. I just have to write one blog post every three months, and I get all of her new releases if I think I can make something with it. Super easy and very low pressure. My kind of CT!!

So, today was my day to post on her blog. This is what I wrote:

Hey everyone! I’m Kelleigh, one of the three new hybrid artists for Vera Lim. We are all super excited to be here and we are having a lot of fun creating with Vera’s gorgeous designs. At least once a month, we will be dedicating a blog post specifically to hybrid, and we hope that you find these posts to be educational and inspiring! And, I get to go first! Wahoo!

When I first started creating hybrid projects, I really didn’t know much. Sure, I knew how to make a pretty page for a mini album, or add some paper to a hybrid printable template, but when it came time to print the thing, I was just clueless. This cluelessness went on for a couple of months and through many hybrid projects, until I read somewhere that I should be printing on matte photo paper. I thought, “Nope. Sounds expensive.” Then, I actually did a bit of research about photo paper, did the math, and figured out that for each sheet of letter size matte photo paper, I was spending about 36¢. I’m frugal, but I’m not cheap! I decided to fork out the money for my first pack of matte photo paper.

Ahhhhh! MUCH better. Let me show you what I mean, and you can decide.

I created these simple little tags using Vera’s A New Beginning paper and A New Beginning Magic.



#1 is printed on regular old copy paper. Please. Don’t do this. You might not be able to tell by the picture, but the tag is obviously super flimsy and the colors are muted and kind of grey. Okay, so I have a good printer, and it doesn’t look THAT bad, but look closely at the leaves on the bottom. See all those pixels? It’s not just my photo. The color is spotty in real life, too!

#2 is printed on letter size cardstock that I bought at Walmart for SUPER cheap. Better, right? I don’t usually print on cardstock unless I am just doing a test run. The paper will suck up your ink, and leave your project with a dull finish. Again, look closely at the leaves. More spots. However, the tag is sturdy, so this is kind of acceptable. Your mother would probably think you are a genius if you presented her with a gift with a little tag that you made yourself.

#3 is printed on Epson Premium Presentation Paper Matte Double-Sided. I’m pretty sure I’m paying more for the double-sided, but I actually print on the back sometimes, so I’m okay with forking out that 36¢ per sheet. Besides, by printing on the automatic mode (I didn’t select “photo paper” when printing) I figure that I am saving some ink. And, look closely again. No spots. Well, in real life, there are no spots. The transition from color to color is nice and smooth, the drop shadows look fantastic, and the glitz and glam that can always be found in Vera’s Magic shines brightly! I gotta be honest here and tell you that I recently discovered that when I print on auto, my colors are truer to what I see on my computer screen, so I typically print my projects just like #3.

And, then there is that last gorgeous little piece of art. Tag #4 was printed on the same Epson paper, but I selected “Photo Paper” as my paper type when I printed. Ahhh, yes. Luscious color!! In real life, it is a little dark, but so very vibrant and detailed! This’ll suck my ink dry super fast, but sometimes it is SO worth it, right?

I hope this little tutorial on selecting the right paper (in my humble opinion, anyway!) has been helpful! I can’t wait to see what hybrid projects you create with Vera’s gorgeous goodies!

---End of post---

And, this is what I created with Vera's new kit!

Another great collaboration!

Well, I've done it again! I've teamed up with the wonderful Jess Gordon and created a set of printables using her new So Flirty kit!



You can buy the set in her store at Sunshine Studio Scraps! I've included a milk carton, a fancy bag, and a new candy box template that I hope to release in my own store next week! Go get 'em!

Baby steps

Have you ever felt SO far behind on something that you feel like you are never going to get caught up, so why bother even trying? That's how I'm feeling about this blog. However, I was totally motivated at MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) today, where a panel of women talked about their organization strategies. What did I get out of it? Baby steps. I'm just gonna take baby steps to get this blog up to speed. Then, I'm gonna scrub my toilets. Promise. Well . . . maybe tomorrow.

Anyway, where did I leave off? Hmm . . . back in December and all the snow. What's next? Let's just jump to Christmas, shall we?

Christmas Day and all the excitement leading up to it was so much fun! We were able to get out of the house to attend the live nativity at a local church, which, after 3 years, seems to be a family tradition. I just love it, and the boys had a great time, too. We didn't have to battle the crowds, since it was so stinkin' cold, and we had our pick of the Christmas cookies! The boys liked petting the animals and looking at all the people dressed in their Bethlehem finery. It seems like ALL of the Christmas Eve services in town had been canceled due to snow and ice, which was just weird, but we made the best of it. First, we drove around and looked at Christmas lights, . . . venturing into neighborhoods that CLEARLY hadn't been visited by the snow plow. Mitch just put it in 4WD! Then, we came home to potato soup (sort of a tradition) and Christmas cookies. We read the Christmas story from the Bible in front of our tree, talked a bit about it, then sent the boys off to bed. I'm sort of forgetting the timeline on some things, but we did walk around the neighborhood in the dark and just look at Christmas lights a couple of times. That was definitely something I will never forget! So peaceful and so wonderful.

On one of those walks, Grant told me that he is such a lucky boy. I asked him why he thought that. He said, "Because I have clothes and a nice house and a family who loves me and a lot of presents under the tree." So cute. "But I wish that I could have one of those big kid Darth Mauls, Mom." What's that? "You know. The one we had to put back because it has little parts that can break off?" Little did he know that I had stuffed that one under my coat in the cart and it was already wrapped and under the tree. I'm such a sneaky mommy!

Christmas morning at home with our little family was great. We got the boys up, dressed and ready for the day (in record time) and gathered around the tree for another reading of the Christmas story. Presents were opened, and the boys were thrilled! We tried not to spend too much on the boys this year, and I think we were able to keep it around $40-$50 each. Still, they got everything they wanted, including new Star Wars figures (for both), Legos (for both), a Spiderman costume (Cole), and a force action Light Saber (Grant). You should have seen Grant's eyes when he opened the Light Saber! He was so excited!

Mitch went totally overboard on me. BIG time. He got me a new Bamboo Fun which came with PSE 6.0 for Mac (an upgrade for me!), an external hard drive, and the iPod Nano that he won in a promotion at work. So cool! Plus, some movies (National Treasure 1 and 2, which I adore!) and other little things. He knows me!!

I got him a new hunting jacket, a decoy bag and a shelving unit for the garage. See. I stayed on budget. Stink. However, he did buy himself a new shotgun in November, so I guess I feel better.

After cleaning up, we packed up all of our stuff for the day over at Mitch's parents' house, and headed over. Mitch's brother and his family joined us, and we all ate breakfast together, then gathered in the family room for the much dreaded, much loved, traditional family pictures. And, here they are:

The grandkids. Mitch is always able to make them smile!


Our little family. Of course, there were three cameras going at once and we didn't get a single picture of all of us looking in the same direction!


Travis and Brandee's family:


The whole group:


The rest of the day was fun, crazy, relaxing (at times), nuts. I wouldn't trade it for anything! We had such a good time just hanging out and enjoying eachother's company! My mother-in-law always makes Christmas just FEEL like Christmas. Special, and all that. She decorates and cooks and makes everything festive. I love that!

Okay, whew! That was a baby step, but a BIG baby step. I'm tired!! I wish I could end with something witty, but I'm going to bed! Love you all!

Drive by posting

I know it has been a LONG time since I last posted. Sorry about that! I thought I would just swing by and drop off some layouts and projects, then come back later to update you on life around here!

You and Me Together


I Love You


Sing


Jude and Mommy (my newest nephew!)


My thoughts on being a mommy


A2 Sisters - This is my sister Angela and her biological sister, Adi! Adi was adopted by a family from England, and Angela is a total California girl. Both girls were born in Romania. Adi came to the US to visit over Christmas break and the two girls had a blast meeting in person for the first time. I made this layout as a little gift for the two girls.


Love, Joy, Peace, Hope - You might remember these little layouts as a wall hanging that I did mid-December. Well, I wanted the pages in my scrapbook, too. Luckily, a very talented designer came out with some cool digital page protectors. Perfect!!


AND, my prize from Prima Hybrid arrived last week! WOWSERS! It is awesome and amazing! I can't wait to play with it and show it off!! I can't believe they gave me so many goodies!!

Okay, back later (when I have time) for more personal updates!