(diva)logues

Woot woot!!!

The Winter 2012 CHA Trade Show is well underway!  Did you know that Nikki Sivils was chosen for the "Service to Humanity" award by the CHA committee? 

"Nikki Sivils coordinated craft relief efforts following the 2011 tornado in Joplin, Mo., working with dozens of companiesto secure, organize and distribute $50,000 worth of donated scrapbook supplies to the victims of the tornado. On Sunday, July 10, 2011, Sivils and her team delivered 50 tubs filled with scrapbook supplies to crafters who lost everything in the tornado. The donated supplies also went to local schools, the Spiva Art Center in Joplin and were used for the children’s ‘Healing Through Art’ program. Her efforts following the disaster helped return some normalcy to the local area and scrapbooking community. Sivils selfless activity directly inspired two other craft relief efforts in Joplin where products and funds were raised for St. Mary’s Elementary School, as well as an art auction benefiting the City of Joplin."

Very, very cool!  Congratulations, Nikki!  You deserve it, girl! 

image source...

In other very exciting personal news... I just found out today that I'll be on the next sessions schedule at the YMCA with my own Zumba class on Monday mornings.  I AM SO EXCITED!!!  I've already been working on new routines, but this news will kick my butt into gear to come up with more!  My first class will be on February 20th. 

Woot woot!!!

Free printables...

I'm not participating in making a Project Life book... it's a bigger task than I'm willling to take on... but I did find quite a few FREE journaling card printables on Pinterest the other day.  And since I purchased some of Becky Higgins page protectors just to have the ability to make some quick & easy pages, I think these just might come in handy!  Plus... they are cute, cute, cute! 

Project life printables here.

Journal spots found here.

My lists tags found here.

There are LOTS of printables you can purchase, too, but I'm kinda diggin' the freebies! 

Have a GREAT week!  

A little too connected...

I have to admit...I have mixed feelings about Facebook lately.  It can be a good vehicle for getting hurt feelings.  You know the old saying... what you don't know (or see on Facebook) won't hurt you.  On the other hand, when I went to my 25th high school reunion, I felt like I was still in touch with a lot people BECAUSE of Facebook.  It gave you something to talk about....because you'd already been chatting online.  I liked that.  The majority of time when I'm on Facebook, though, there's something that makes me laugh...sometimes to the point of tears in my eyes.  I like that, too.  I like staying connected. 

Like I said... mixed feelings.   

So... I had a handful of photos from my 25th reunion that happened in September.  I wish I had taken more & especially wish I had one of just Sally, Steph & I since we've been friends forever (since 2nd grade with Sally & since 6th grade with Stephanie)... but I worked with what I had.  And as I was trying to decide what products to use with my photos, I noticed that there was a lot of green & yellow in the School Is Cool collection from Nikki Sivils.  And how perfect is that, since our school colors were green & gold? 

I added a brown Burlap Button to my camera punch-out & I also used some SRM stickers... We've Got Your Number & Class of '10...

 

Got my run in this morning & I'm almost finished choreographing a new Zumba routine...without any help from videos.  And it ain't easy peeps.  LOL

TGIF & have a fabulous weekend, everyone! 

Decaf venti soy latte please...

Seems like there's been quite a few birthdays lately among my friends.  Some BIG celebrations... & some more subdued lunches too.  I've been making a lot of birthday cards though & SRM stickers make the job a little easier.  For this particular card, I used a cardboard Starbucks sleeve to hold my note & a gift card for coffee, of course...     

It's "early release" day at school, so I'm off to pick up Bryn & do something fun together!  Too bad the weather is cold & rainy today...

I'm ready to "exit here"...really... I am...

A couple of my new projects were posted on the Nikki Sivils blog last week using the new "Exit Here" collection.  I love that she created a travel-themed collection this time, as we do a LOT of traveling every year.  In fact, we already have 4 trips planned between now and June!  Yay!  I'm so ready to get out of town!       

I'll be posting more of what I created for Nikki Sivils' booth at the Winter 2012 CHA Trade Show, the closer we get to it.  It's next week already!  If you're attending... look for Nikki's booth #3047.   

Also... there are some brand new badges to go along with Nikki Sivils' 4 new collections.  Post one of them on your blog... and you just might win that collection! 

 

 

Have a GREAT week! 

New product releases for SRM Stickers...

Have you seen the SRM Stickers blog recently?  This week they've been showing all the new products making their debut at the Winter 2012 CHA Trade Show at the end of the month.  My favorite of all the new releases are the ADORABLE border stickers!  LOVE THEM...

 

 

 

I also LOVE the new We've Got Your Invite stickers.  What an easy way to create party invitations!  I've been having lots of fun working on some new projects using the new stickers.  Here's a sneak peek...

Head over to the SRM Stickers blog for a chance to win some new SRM products!  There are 4 different chances to win, so become a follower of their blog & leave your comments!   

Have a FABULOUS weekend, everyone!  

New product releases for Nikki Sivils...

Head over to the Nikki Sivils' blog today to see all 4 brand new collections in detail, that will debut at the Winter 2012 CHA Trade Show at the end of this month! 

You can see each collection in it's entirety on the Nikki Sivils' blog.  I've only had the opportunity to work with the Exit Here collection, so I'm excited to work with the other 3 collections after CHA.  They are ALL so CUTE! 

Also, leave a comment on Nikki's blog for the chance to win the collection of your choice!  Woot woot! 

Craft Storage Ideas...

I found out yesterday that my craft room was featured on the Craft Storage Ideas website.  There are lots of other inspiring craft rooms there as well!  Check it out... it's a fun site! 

You can see more of my craft room right here.  Things have changed a bit since I posted that back in 2010... like our gecko & his little home that's been added to my room... but you get the idea.  ;-)

Off to Fed Ex... to send off 3 new pages, 4 new cards and 1 new mini book that I created using the brand new "Exit Here" collection from Nikki Sivils.  One of my new pages was posted on her blog yesterday.  You can see it here.  I LOVE that new collection!  If you're attending the CHA trade show... you can check out all the new projects & collections in her booth. I will also be posting mine here soon, so stay tuned for that...

Work it, baby...

Happy Martin Luther King Day...

I'm busy working-out & working.  It's a mad dash to finish up my projects for Winter 2012 CHA & get them mailed off in time for my deadline, while Bryn is busy playing with a neighbor friend today.  And speaking of my new CHA projects... have you seen the one that just got posted on the Nikki Sivils' blog?  You can check it out here, along with a detailed look at all the new papers, cut-outs & stickers included in the new "Exit Here" collection.  I adore that new collection... it's just too darn CUTE. 

As for the Nike ad... I tore it out of a magazine. 

It just spoke to me...

"I'm sorry... I'm booked..."

We had our 1st no-school snow day yesterday.  So Bob & I got 3 trips planned last night to 3 different warm-weather locations (what is it about snow that makes me long for some fun-in-the-sun?)... 

• A girls weekend for me in February to Phoenix
• A date weekend for Bob & me in March to Las Vegas
• A family trip to Bermuda in June for all of us (with Bob's company)

We just found out that Bob officially qualified for the Bermuda trip, so we're going out to dinner tonight to celebrate.  He was working really hard at the end of the year to make sure we went... I'm so proud of him.  Also keeping my fingers & toes crossed for a 4th warm-weather trip in the fall, but we'll see what happens.   

And speaking of travel... have you seen the sneak peek for the NEW "Exit Here" collection on the Nikki Sivils' blog?  CUTE, CUTE, CUTE!!!  Perfect for all my travel photos!

 

Happy Friday the 13th!  Have a GREAT weekend! 

Good news...

Check out the Nikki Sivils' blog today for the 2012 design team announcement.  I'm thrilled to continue working with Nikki, as her Retailer Program Coordinator, and have enjoyed being part of her team since the day her company hit the scrapbooking world!  Love her... love her products... love representing her company! 

Thank you again for the continued opportunity, Nikki, and a HUGE congrats to the new team members!  It's going to be a FUN year... and CHA is just around the corner!  Woot woot!!! 

Enough already...

I finished up my December Daily book just in time to get started on some brand new projects with some brand new product.  In fact, I just opened my new box this afternoon!  Woot woot!  The timing is perfect too, since I can no longer stand to look at anything Christmas until next December!  LOL 

My book was made almost entirely using the Nikki Sivils' Gingerbread Land collection.  The Becky Higgins page protectors, cut down to size, kept the design of my book cohesive... 

You can see the book in it's entirety right here.

And speaking of Nikki Sivils'... the new design team announcement for 2012 will be made on her blog tomorrow.  Very exciting!

Hala hala!

The Winter 2012 Craft & Hobby Association (CHA) Trade Show is just around the corner and once again, I have the amazing opportunity to create projects to be on display there.  While I'd love to actually BE in Anaheim for the show, it's just as cool to have my work there representing me.  New product is on it's way to my door step & I'm excited to get to work, since I'll have a pretty quick deadline to meet.  I love this time of year!

While I'm waiting though, I'm still keeping up with some new found inspiration to finish pages using what I already have.  On this one, I used some Amy Tangerine paper for my background, some graph-patterned paper from Bryn's American Girl paper pad, and lots of SRM Thanksgiving & fall-themed stickers.  I just printed 6 wallet-size photos & then cropped them a bit smaller to fit...

I attended one CRAZY FUN birthday party on Saturday night.  Aside from my 40th birthday party, it was probably the most fun party I've been to since college.  Didn't get home & in bed until 2am.  Way too late for me... but totally worth it!  Love those girls! 

Happy Monday & have a GREAT week!     

"Old" is the new "new"...

Well... not really.  I love "new."  In fact, I just bought a lot of "new" today... like lots of fun blingy stuff for Zumba & going out on the town.  I even bought a couple birthday gifts today, too, so it wasn't all just for me... even though MOST of it was for me.  LOL  

But for the sake of this post... we'll just pretend that "old" is cool.  Because I have a TON of old product, not to mention a TON of photos that need to get into the books.  And since my goal this year is to get pages finished, whether they're "publishable" or not, I think I may be on a roll here!  Almost everything I used for these 3 pages was AT LEAST a year old, some of it a LOT older than that.  And of course... there's some SRM stickers on all pages.  LOVE those stickers...   

Photos scrapped... check.

Old stash reduction... check.

Don't care if I can post them anywhere but here... check, check, check!

And speaking of birthday gifts.... I have a fun birthday party to attend tomorrow night.  Belly dancers will be there and I'm sure we'll all be dancing as well!  Woot woooot!  Party pics next week!

Have a FABULOUS weekend everyone!  TGIF!

Resolutions...

I haven't really made a list of resolutions yet, but have a few in mind.  Like disconnecting from my phone more often & being more "present" when everyone's home.  Bryn gets on me about that.  I'd also like us to get back in a routine of going to church.  Seems that the busier the weekends get for us, the easier it is to sleep in on Sundays.   

Creatively-speaking, I have some goals in mind too... since I've been feeling uninspired & somewhat burnt-out for awhile now.  I want to get back to creating, just for the sake of creating so I can get photos & memories into the books.  I have so many photos of so many events that are piling up.  And then by the time I get around to doing something with them, I just can't remember the details as well for my journaling.  As far as I'm concerned, that's the most important part, so I feel like I've been failing there lately.

Like these photos for instance.  This night happened back in June.  And it's just one of many pages that I want to get to, but haven't yet... either because I've waited for the right product or I simply just had other things I'd rather do.  Either way, I want back that feeling of doing this because I LOVE it and it's important to me to document our lives... NOT just because I've made commitments to do it.  So when I'm not creating for one of the manufacturers I design for... I prefer to just use what's on hand.  I love to use a mix of products & manufacturers.  Is it the "right" way to design?  I don't really care whether it is or not!  It's me... and it's easier to stay true to me, than to force something else...       

Another page in the book! 

Off to my annual doctor's visit.  Had to say NO to shopping with a friend today because of it.  Now THAT sucks.  LOL

Top eleven in '11...

Happy 2012!  We had a FUN & memorable weekend... a great way to ring in the new year!  And the Zumbathon was a BLAST yesterday.  Getting my tired butt out of bed that morning was the most difficult part, but once I got there... all was GREAT!  Best way to start the new year EVER!   

And following suit in annual tradition of the yearly round-up... here's my top 11 favorite pages from the past year...

Some trends I noticed while reviewing my work from this past year:  stars, word bubbles, banners & 8x10 photos...cropped to fit.

At least you didn't have to see an over-abundance of clouds & rainbows though.  LOL   

Hope you all had a FUN weekend!  And here's to making 2012 a FABULOUS year!