(diva)logues

"Eat, sleep, rave, repeat..."

 

 

Been memorizing some new Body Pump tracks... (love the music they send us) one of which is reminding me of hanging out in the clubs long ago.  Nothing makes me happier than loud music & dancing.  Oh & maybe some strobe lights too.

This video even looks fun.  Well minus the blood & stuff.

Call me crazy.  I may never grow up. 

I might even be willing to jump into a rave like that right now if I didn't think they'd all be asking, "Who's the old lady trying to bust a move?" 

 

In reality though... this song will be burning the hell out of our shoulders while holding a barbell in our hands.  It's a good one, I tell ya.  Granted it might be more fun to dance to this song with a glass of wine close by, but at least once this class is over... our arms will be looking HOT.

Got guns? 

We do.

BOOM! 

 

Have you tried a Body Pump class?  Shoulders are just 1 of the 8 major muscle groups we work in an hour. 

Approximately 800 reps in an hour.  It's awesome.

This class has been a total game-changer for me.  It's changed my body & I hear the same thing every day from people who take the class.  I had one friend tell me her legs have more definition (I totally concur) and another friend who told me she hit a golf ball the farthest she's ever hit one in her life (you GO, girl!)... and the comments go on & on.

This class works.

Ok so my chest might still be the same size.  Irrelevant.  It's stronger & I can afford a Wonder Bra.

 

Found some time to create yesterday.  Hasn't happened in awhile, but now that school has started, I decided I need to get back to doing what I love.

What I love as much as I love working out, that is...

 

Lots of Echo Park Hello Summer on there.  It's an old collection, but I recently got it for half price.  Also used some SRM Sticker sentiments & date stickers.  The photo collages were made using the free PhotoGrid app.  

 

Ok... so that trip.

I loved that trip as much as I love working out & creating.

It was a great week & I will treasure those days with those 2 girls forever...

 

"Hey hey hey..."

TGIF... and so far it's been an awesome one.  Although any day that begins with a fun Zumba class usually makes for an awesome day.  As do surprise early birthday gifts! 

For Mother's Day I received a new laptop, which was awesome considering I've had my current laptop for about 5 years & it was just a matter of time before it crashed on me.  So for a few days I was without my old one while everything was transferred over to the new one.   I had a couple scheduled posts this week though, so it appeared that I was still around.  For the last couple days I've been working between the two computers since 1) I haven't totally figured everything out on this new one and 2) I only have Photoshop on the old one.   My next order of business is to get that on the new laptop.  Hoping to figure that out tonight. 

Actually I'm hoping Bob will figure that out for me tonight.  Ahem.

Best Mother's Day gift of all though... was the hand-painted chevron print canvas that Bryn made for me.  I've always told her I'd much rather she make something for me, than to buy something.  She's one very creative girl.  You can't tell in the photo, but the white paint is sparkly.  Gotta love anything with glitter...

 

And speaking of her creativity... I found some random photos from her 4th grade year (2 years ago) and decided to make one page about these random events from that year, rather than dedicate a separate page to each event...

It's a mix of old & new products... plus some SRM Stickers.  Their stickers always seem to find a way onto my pages & projects.  Love them!

 

And YAY... I'm teaching a 90-minute Zumba class tomorrow morning, so the FUN continues!

Have a GREAT weekend, everyone! 

I just say NO to reptiles...

... unless of course you'd like to buy me a snakeskin bag or something... and then I say YES.  As for snakes, lizards, geckos or any creature in the reptile house at the zoo... ummmm NO.  Somehow though... we ended up with a pet gecko named Junior. 

Who he/she was a "junior" to in our family, I'm not sure. 

And Junior lived in my craft room... which was really all shades of wrong considering how much I don't love reptiles.  And the absolute best part about Junior living in my craft room, God rest his/her soul, was the sound of the live crickets (ie. gecko food) chirping every.  freakin'.  day. 

I mean, I have a nice craft room.  How is it that I felt like I was outside in the wilderness when I was in there? 

The things I won't agree to for this child. 

Anyway... Junior passed away.  Bryn cried.  I did a secret happy dance.  It was a very sad day.

I had a few bad quality cell phone photos... one showing Junior shedding his skin (totally disgusting)... so I thought I'd document our time spent with this pet.  The page turned out kinda cute (helloooo... a rainbow!) considering how NOT cute the pet was...

Speaking of the rainbow... that journaling card was from the super cute and FREE journaling cards found here.  The chevron background paper is Simple Stories Vintage Bliss.  I added a SRM Hello sticker on there too...

So to sum things up... reptiles ok for accessories... not ok for pets. 

And quite frankly... any kind of animal print gets my vote.  In fact... I just bought a zebra print rug for the craftroom....

 

I think I just died and went to Heaven. 

The end.

A little embossing...

There's many ways to use the new Glassine Bags from SRM Stickers.  Did you know you can easily emboss them for a fun new look?  Today my project is featured on the SRM Stickers blog.  I used my Cuttlebug Typeset folder to emboss my bag & add a little texture to it.  Cool right?    

I also added a SRM Birthday sentiment sticker to the bottom & tied it with The Twinery's Blossom twine and to create a unique envelope for my card...

I used the We've Got Your Stickers Plus Birdie sentiment for my card...

And one more Birthday sentiment sticker to finish it off on the inside...

For more ideas on how to use the Glassine Bags & all of SRM's fun products.... check out the SRM Stickers blog daily!  It's endless inspiration! 

"Make the floor shake, make the roof shake, make the wall shake, make the whole place shake..."

Things have been pretty busy around here, thus the lack of blogging.  2 weeks ago a Zumba instructor friend of mine broke her foot, so I agreed to sub her Monday night classes where she teaches at another club about 1/2 hour away, until she returns.  I'm also picking up some of her Tuesday morning classes for the next 3 weeks at least, maybe more depending on how long she's out.  Suffice it to say that Mondays are now double busy with double Zumba... my own regular class in the morning & then her class in the evening.  It's lots of FUN though!  Also... at 6am this morning I subbed a class that wasn't ordinarily Zumba, but that's what we did.  It's a good thing I LOVE IT!! 

In addition to a ton of Zumba this week plus the other work-outs like Spin & running that I love to do, new choreography for my playlists, blah, blah, blah... I also attended 2 birthday celebrations for friends (both in the same day)... and happen to have another birthday party tomorrow (a FIRST birthday). 

So... I've made a few cards lately.  In fact, you know you're a bit too busy when you make a card for someone & give it to them without actually signing it.  Although I do always love to get a laugh... so just call me the comic relief everywhere I go.  Good grief.

I promise I won't forget to sign this one though...

Just random things I found on my mess of a craft room table... like washi tape from Target + a SRM birthday sentiment sticker that blends seemlessly on top, and a paper heart doily folded in half underneath the tape.  Annnnd... another dimensional heart.  I know, big yawn, I've been doing that a lot lately...

Maybe I ought to go sign it now, just to be sure I don't forget.

TGIF & have a great weekend! 

"We will, we will, ROCK YOU..."

Ok so who wants to see more SNAP?

Cricket... cricket...

Well obviously I do, so here we go!   It's really just a few of the journaling spots on here, but let's face it... that's what most of the collection is & why I love it.   The photos are from Bryn's band concert in December that also involved the "parent concert" I'd been practicing for too.   The things I will do for this child...

I added a SRM We've Got Your Border sticker sentiment to the bottom of my journaling spot.  And the musical notes is a very OLD clear overlay on blue cardstock to match the letter & number Thickers.  The polka dot paper on the sides is Echo Park Springtime...

I shared this video Bob took of our stellar performance on Facebook last month, but I thought I'd share it here too since it goes along with the photos.  It's totally hilarious.  Actually we sounded a lot better than I thought we would though.  And yes, that's me right in front.  My friend commented on Facebook that I was "first chair"... something only those who have played in band would understand.  Cracked me up though!!! 

Did we or did we not rock Hot Cross Buns?

 

Ok nevermind, don't answer that...

Well that's just purrrfect...

Since January is a big month for birthdays, I've been busy making a few cards.

Now that I think about it, EVERY month is a big month for birthdays.

Anyway, I happened to have the Simple Stories Fabulous collection still laying on my floor, so I used one of the journaling cards as the background for this one...

In addition to my SRM sticker sentiment, I added my own grass, an extra wing & a punched butterfly to add some dimension to the card...

I went out & bought some cat stickers just for this next card.  It's a long story.  Not even sure how it began...

Another journaling card for my background (this one from Echo Park) plus some added punched clouds & a border punched strip for my grass...

To add to the "cat" theme for this particular birthday party last Saturday night, I happened to find cat masks while shopping that day...

 

What can I say... it got a few laughs.

And in my world... getting a few laughs is golden.

SNAP out of it...

You know you are not feeling well when you're too sick to Zumba, let alone sit in your craft room.  But after 24 hours of a stomach virus, that somehow lead to a sore throat today... I'm at least out of bed & have showered.  It's the little things!  Hopefully I snap out of this soon.

I mentioned you would probably be seeing a lot more of Simple Stories SNAP collection soon, so here we go!  I simply ADORE that collection.

This page is a combination of SNAP + DCWV The Edumacation Stack (a fun school-themed paper pad)...

The questionnaire was a free download found here.  I like to be able to include things like Bryn's handwriting or art work in her scrapbooks as much as possible.  I think it's hilarious that one of the foods she doesn't like is tofu.  How many kids have even tried that?!  And her favorite color is zebra.  Sooo funny.  That's my girl!

And I finally used all the movie ticket stubs I'd been saving for the past couple years.  These are all movies I've seen with friends... which incidentally is how I see most movies lately.  Thank you, friends! 

The polaroid frame paper on the right that holds all the movie ticket stubs is from the Echo Park Sweet Day collection, while the rest of the page is SNAP.  I also added some SRM Sticker sentiments to my Nikki Sivils scalloped border strip... 

Gotta love 3D glasses!

Hope you're enjoying your weekend and are virus-free!  ;-)

Friends are like Louis Vuitton bags. No one wants the fake ones...

Happy 2013!  It's been an interesting year so far... and by interesting I mean it's kinda stunk.  Bryn came down with a bad case of the stomach flu on New Year's Eve, which totally changed our plans right after we went out that night.  She ended up spending that night sleeping (kinda sleeping anyway) on the floor next to the bathroom.  It was an AWFUL, AWFUL night for her & she's still not feeling well.  Doubting that she'll be going back to school when that resumes tomorrow, as she still hasn't been able to eat a normal meal.  A couple popsicles, a couple crackers, electrolyte water & Sprite is all that she's been doing lately.  And she's wanted a LOT of mama time, which I actually kinda love.  Just wish she'd feel better soon.  She rarely gets sick, so she's not liking this. 

In the meantime... some crafty stuff.  I attempted to clear off my craft table so I could actually use it to create on, but ended up with a total MESS on the floor.  So... with all this random stuff staring me in the face, I started using some of it.  Funny how that happens.

I finished these 2 pages a couple weeks ago (before the mess on the floor happened)...

... and this next page WAS finished over a month ago, but I hated it & never posted it... so I totally re-did it with less color & pattern  recently.  Still not much to write home about, but better than it was...

The SRM Girl Scout sticker is sold at Girl Scout Council Stores.  And I thought it was quite perfect considering I had just taught Zumba to 2 groups of Girl Scouts so they could get a badge for learning a new dance!

I used a photo collage on the next page which was made via Picmonkey... a somewhat free photo editing site.  They have recently added the option of upgrading ($4.99/month) to use of a lot of their editing features though.  Poop.

And more SRM Stickers.... the We've Got Your Border Halloween stickers were used on the top & bottom of the page... love them...

I finished one more yesterday, but I'll save something for tomorrow.  Still need to finish up my December Daily too.  Maybe I'll work on that later. 

We'll see what happens.

If you have any questions on the products I used on those pages, just leave a comment & I'll email you links.  Too lazy to link everything up right now.  LOL  

If you're happy & you know it... don't clap your hands as hard as I do...

Seriously.  I must REALLY clap my hands hard (or maybe just too much) in Zumba, as I now have 3 strips of calluses on my left hand where the fingers from my right hand hit it every time.  In addition to that, I usually bruise the tips of my fingers on my right hand during most classes. 

I was a cheerleader in high school & apparently didn't clap then as much as I do now.  Odd. 

 I know... maybe I ought to take it down a notch.  

OK.  Moving on...

Just taking a little break here from my December Daily book with a new page using Echo Park's Today's Story.  And while it's one of the collections in their Photo Freedom line which is catered to the Project Life crowd, it still works for your standard 12x12 pages too.  I also used quite a few random SRM Stickers on there and that scalloped border strip is from Nikki Sivils' Beatrice collection...

On this particular "date night," we went to a new sushi bar we'd heard good things about.  We were also told to order the "OMG Roll," which was set on fire before they brought it to your table.  Great presentation and totally yummo...

Love the colors & patterns in that collection.  And speaking of cute collections... I also FINALLY received the Simple Stories SNAP collection yesterday, that I had ordered in.... ummmm September. 

It arrived by Pony Express.

A very OLD & SLOW pony.

In fact, I started clapping when he arrived with my package after waiting 3 months for it. 

So unlike me...

Cracked...

Well... another week has apparently come and gone without too much happening on this blog.  I'm on Facebook regularly & occasionally on Instagram (mostly to keep up with what Bryn is posting on there ;-), but my blogging seems to be happening less frequently lately.  Whoopsie.  And it's not because I'm lacking on anything to blog about... I've been quite busy... but it's partially because my design responsibilities are currently non existant.  So lately,creating is happening just for FUN... a good thing, of course! 

If you follow Nikki Sivils' blog, you've already seen this post a couple weeks ago about her indecision with the future and whether she's going to create new collections for the Winter 2013 CHA trade show.  I, along with my friend Julie, have been designing for Nikki since day #1 of her company hitting the industry 3 years ago, so I will be really sad if she decides to make a career change.  It's been nothing but the most positive experience working with her & creating with her products.  I'm a huge fan of her paper crafting products, for sure!  I adore Nikki... as a person, designer and business owner.  But I wholeheartedly agree in following your heart & doing what's right for you, right now.  And whatever she decides to do, she'll be a success for sure! 

And speaking of Nikki Sivils... I made this page last week using some of her It's Your Day collection, some SRM birthday stickers & some other random coordinating stash I had on hand...

I'm looking forward to a very FUN week ahead, including the Madonna concert on Thursday!  And I even have a new Zumba class beginning this week that I'm helping to teach every few weeks at the butt crack of dawn... Tuesday mornings at 5:30am.  Whoa... gonna be different I tell ya... but lots of FUN! 

Oh... and I dropped my iPhone 4 for the 500th time on Thursday and totally cracked the front of it.  Yay me.  Good news though!  Bob called & I was eligible for an upgrade to the 4S for $99. 

Hoping my new phone comes in the mail tomorrow.  The little slivers of glass in my finger from too much texting, is kinda getting old... 

BUTT ugly...

There are 100's of reasons I'd like to slow down time and keep Bryn young & innocent forever.  The butt ugly glow-in-the-dark spider webs on our bushes that seem to bring her great joy for 2 years in a row now, are the one lone reason I'm ready for her to grow up. 

Oh and "we're the only house that doesn't have their yard decorated."  Which in layman's terms means... our yard has no giant inflatable pumpkins, no mummys coming out of a casket, no mammoth spiders on the roof...

Ummm nope.  Not gonna happen.  Can barely deal with the butt ugly spider webs. 

And before you start feeling sorry for Bryn & thinking she doesn't have a fun mom... I do agree to doing stupid stuff like this during 6th grader sleepovers...

I've always been into building pyramids, but it takes a glass of wine or two to agree to a butt hovering over my head. 

Ok then.  Moving on...

How about those CARDINALS?! 

Hmmm.  Not a great weekend for Cardinals baseball.  We're still in it though!  Game #7 is tonight and the winner goes to the World Series.  I'm thinking the Cardinals will do it!   

So... while watching that losing game last night, I got out my photos from the winning game we attended last week!  I used some SRM baseball stickers & some of Nikki Sivils It's Raining, It's Pouring collection... since it was POURING DOWN RAIN that night! 

I also used some Echo Park clouds & made my own rain drops...

Happy Monday!  It's time to go teach ZUMBA! 

And LET'S GO CARDINALS!!! 

"ONE... we came to have some fun... TWO... and we came to rock with you..."

I guess I lied.  I thought I had finished the last page for Bryn's 10th year book.  But for realz this time, after finishing this one, I am D. O. N. E. with that book now.  Yay.

Just a few photos from a trip to Scottsdale last October during the World Series.  We packed some Cardinals red to show our support from afar & spent a lot of time watching baseball while there.  However... I realized after I printed my journaling that I thought it was the Playoffs.  So I'm going to change that.  

I hand-cut the cactus.  In fact, I didn't even draw my shape first, just cut... thus the imperfectness.  I used a combination of products... mostly Echo Park & DCWV. 

Getting tired of seeing graph paper yet?  I can't get enough of it!  Heehee 

6 more days until my next trip...  VEGAS again, baby!  3rd time this year.  Wooot! 

What to pack... what to pack... besides bling & shoes, that is?

Kickin' it old school... Zumba style...

Vanilla Ice was on The View with his special Zumba version of "Ice Ice Baby" with some rockin' Zumba dancers today.  He also performed at the Zumba Instructors Convention recently.  Anyway, The View isn't a show I watch, but I DVR'd it because I heard he was going to be on.  Love that he even dances with them.  My friend & I made up a similar rendition that we do at the Y!  So FUN!  

EARLY day today.  I subbed a 6am class doing Zumba... which by the way wasn't even a Zumba class, but thank goodness they said they loved it!  And I didn't sleep well last night either, because I was worried I wouldn't hear the alarm.  Right now I feel like I did Zumba in the middle of the night & this is a totally different day.  So weird.  After class, they were all but begging me to get a Zumba class on the schedule in the 5:15 or 6am time slot, soooo.... we'll see.  Told them I'd pass the request along.  FUN morning! 

And yes, yes, YES!  I believe I've finished the last event missing from Bryn's 10th year scrapbook.  In the meantime I also finished a 2-pager from my birthday celebration this year, but quite honestly it's mostly photos in the divided page protectors again, so I'll save it for another day.  Assuming another day comes.  Maybe I'll just stick it in the book & call it a day.    

And as it goes lately, I used mostly Echo Park & SRM Stickers on this one.  Think I've definitely used almost ALL of that Echo Park that I had, too.  So unlike me, but what can I say?  I love it...

TGIF! 

Bryn has a friend spending the night.  And her neighbor friend's mom showed up unexpectedly at the door earlier wanting to look at my kitchen for redecorating ideas.  Thank goodness the kitchen was clean & I had actually taken a shower for once.  LOL 

When I grow up, maybe I'll skip scrapbook design & focus on being an interior designer.

Although that might detract too much from Zumba. 

Nevermind.  Carry on. 

Enjoy your weekend!

"... say do you remember... dancing in September... never was a cloudy day..."

Have I mentioned lately how much I love the YMCA & all the people in it?!  Always a great way to start my day!

Anyhooo... I pulled out the divided page protectors again since I had a boatload of photos from Bryn's birthday party.  Each time I use these, I always hope it's going to make finishing a page just a little bit quicker.  But let's just say I watched 2 episodes of The Voice & still needed to finish my journaling the next day.

Perhaps I was just paying more attention to the TV?  Yeah... I think that's the story I'm going with...

It's not easy to photograph these pages without getting a glare.  Close enough though.  I used a mix of Echo Park on here + some SRM birthday sentiment stickers, but quite frankly it's mostly photos.  I had too many that I wanted to use.   

I know.  Borrrrring! 

But someday it will more appreciated in my scrapbook than it is on my blog...

Fall is in the air here.  LOVE that.  And it inspired me to actually clean the house & get out some of the Halloween decor.  Or maybe cleaning the house was inspired by knowing someone was coming over.

I always tell Bob that we should entertain more often.  It always makes me clean the house...

"Come fill my glass up a little more... we 'bout to get up and burn this floor..."

Just a quickie today with something I made before I left town for the weekend, using some of the photos from Bryn's pre-birthday "girls day out" this year.  Gosh those girls are cute.  

I used mostly Echo Park (the Sweet Day collection) & some brown SRM birthday sentiments on the side.  I used my Slice again to make my title (the Handwritten Fonts card).  And that twine was sent to me from Ribbon Carousel... perfect for attaching to my "balloons..." 

Just random coordinating scraps & my circle punch for the balloons.  I inked the edges after punching them to define them a little more...

Off to school soon to watch Bryn's poms performance. 

A shower would probably be a great idea...

"Turn the music loud... we shut the club down..."

It's Fashion Week in New York!  Woot wooot! 

OH the pressure to pack today & not be a fashion "don't" while I'm there this weekend. 

I am really looking forward to this.  My early morning spin class was completed, dropped Bryn off at school, ran through Target, picked up a jumpsuit I had altered for NY & now it's time to get down to business and focus on my wardrobe. 

Meanwhile... I've got some more events here finally documented so I can fill in some of the gaps in my scrapbooks.  This first page is from a pretty recent event, but the other two help get me closer to finishing Bryn's 10-year old book.  She has one for each year of her life & every book ends with her birthday each year.  I also have other scrapbooks filled with Deana & Bob fun stuff... like girls trips to New York for instance!  I'm still managing to keep all my books chronological, but certainly not creating in that manner.  Doing design work in this industry has made that virtually impossible for me.

Not that I'm complaining, mind you.  I LOVE what I do.  I just feel overwhelmed sometimes when I see all the photos I haven't done anything with yet.  Oh well. 

All 3 of these pages were mostly created using Echo Park (the Sweet Day & Springtime collections) + SRM Stickers (love them...they work with everything!)...

Ok then.  I'm off to my closet.

Time to get serious about clothes, shoes & accessories...

"I need perfection, some twisted selection...well that tangles me, to keep me alive..."

I heart Mondays... back to Zumba, back to school, back to impromptu lunches, back to making more fun plans with friends... what's not to love?

Here's a new page I finished last week with some photos from the end of last school year + a reduced size photocopy of the Presidential Award for Academic Excellence that Bryn received.  The original size was just too big to use, so I reduced it to 50%.  I used more of the Echo Park School Days collection too.  Been using that a lot lately.  And after completing this page, I have now used almost every single bit of that collection so I guess I got my money's worth for once.  That rarely happens! 

I used googly eyes again.  There's glasses... so it's a must for me! 

Bryn said, "Why do you use googly eyes all the time?" 

I said, "I don't use them ALL the time... just on the last 2 pages I made." 

Love that she's keeping track of my every move.  I suppose someone should.  LOL

Yay for Mondays!

Have a fabulous week! 

Coolio...

Last night was the 6th Grade Open House.  I had a moment of my own middle school deja vu when I heard someone behind me after I walked in the door saying, "Deana Newsom!  Deana Newsom!"  It's not every day that I'm called by my maiden name, so it took me a moment to turn around.  Turns out a girl I went to high school with also has a 6th grader at Bryn's school.  Small world! 

Anyway, it was a parents-only event where we got to go to each classroom of our child's schedule... starting with 1st hour.... ending with 6th hour.  We had 7 minutes per class & then the bell would ring, just like being in school.  And the hallways were PACKED in between classes.  We had 3 minutes to get to our next class.  Evidently the kids have 5 minutes in between, which is good since it was like herding cattle & impossible to walk quickly.  Bryn would later tell me that she's figured out to stay to the side when she's walking through the hall & push people to get through.  I said, "Ummm... you shouldn't be pushing people."  She said, "I don't push them hard.  I just have to get through all the people." 

Ummm...no. 

At one point walking through the maze of people last night, I overheard a dad behind me say, "I hated middle school." 

Well, thank you for letting us all know.  We're so impressed.  

Middle school seems to be going well for Bryn, so far, and yesterday she "bought" her lunch at school for the first time EVER.  She said she was going to pick a burger (plus 2 sides, which I would later find out was a bag a chips & "she lost her bowl of pineapple"... WTH?).  We went online the night before to check ingredients to make sure she could eat what was being served & not be allergic to any of it (no dairy, eggs, peanuts, treenuts).  I also made her PROMISE me that she would go immediately to the nurse if she felt any kind of reaction & we also made a deal that this would be OCCASIONAL that she bought... so I wasn't worried about it every time it happened. 

Sheesh.

Moving on.  New page here regarding preparations for 6th grade, as well as first day of school.  I used the Echo Park School Days collection along with some school themed SRM Stickers...

That's a SMASH journal pocket calendar on there, purchased from Target.  And gotta love googly eyes... :-)

By 8:20am this morning, I had already done a 6:30 Spin class, rushed home to drive Bryn to school by 8:00, drove to Starbucks, then to the gas station when Bryn called me to say she forgot her binder & "could I get it & bring it to her?"  At least I got half the tank filled before I had to leave.

The rest of the day should be a piece of cake after all that.

And one more quickie...

My Navy Pier page that I posted the other day is featured today on the Craft Gossip site  as their Inspiration du Jour...

 

Coolio!       

It's Deana. Not DeAnna. Just sayin'...

Although the older I get, the more I'm willing to answer to anything.  Well don't be mean.  Oh & don't come in yelling a childhood nickname at me while I'm working.  But that's a story for another day.

This story here involves my name being mispronounced.  So what else is new.  But it wasn't until after I printed my journaling that I realized I didn't even include that part of the story.  Thus the sticker in the top that says Hello My Name Is.  Hopefully some day when I'm old & senile the sticker will remind me of that part of the story.

Anyway.  If you're new to reading this blog, my craft room was on TV again last summer for the 2nd time.  The first time it was on TV, it was for a segment KMOV's "Great Day St Louis" was doing on gift wrap areas, as I have a whole area of my craft room that was built to be a gift wrap station.  You can see video here... forward to around 7:30.  This particular time though, the producer of the show had emailed me & said they were doing a segment on "mom caves" & said I had a "great one" & asked if I'd be interested in shooting footage again.  You can see the mom cave video here... forward to around 6:10. 

Well of course!!!   

Did not love that during the editing process, the host must've forgotton how to pronounce my name.  Oh well... Deana... DeAnna... whatever. 

I used mostly Simple Stories Fabulous collection for this page with a bit of Echo Park & Bella Blvd...

In other news...

Bryn's first day of school went "great!"  She said she only got lost one time & asked a teacher where to go.  She also said that "middle school is way better than elementary school." 

If she's happy... I'm happy! 

"When the going gets rough, the tough the get rough..."

Creating is therapy for me. 

Working-out is too. 

The fact that I actually make a little money doing both is a bonus.  I can manage to temporarily forget about everything else going on in my life when I'm doing either one.  This can pose a problem though when I stay up too late creating & then have to get up at 5:55 to do a spin class, like today.   

But at least I had fun making something, right?  Who needs sleep?  And it was something with a lot of photos & memories that made me laugh again just thinking about it.  I needed that.  It's a pretty basic design that I've used before, but it allows for a ton of photos + journaling while still keeping it to just one 12x12 page...

Just some random things here that said "Vegas" to me + a little Glossy Accents on my "wine glass." 

I know... I haven't used it in awhile.  I was long over-due.  Heehee...

Waiting for the sprinkler company to get here this morning & also looking forward to my appointment with the closet company this afternoon.  Bryn's new room is slowly coming together as well.  And one of these days we'll actually finish the school supplies shopping. 

Oy.  Lots to do. 

Maybe I'll just go work-out again & hide in my craftroom afterward instead.  :-)

Braces... second verse, same as the first...

Time flies by way too fast.  Seriously.  Can't believe school starts in a few weeks.  New chapter coming up though.  Lots of pre-middle school stuff going on around here...

• Round #2 of braces went back on & Tylenol is our friend.
• Buying new locker decor to take with us for middle school orientation/registration next week... it's all about the accessories you know.
• Ordering new furniture for Bryn's new room (I've been telling her for 2 years now that we'd move her into the guest room, since it's a bigger bedroom, & redo it for her during the summer between 5th & 6th grade).
• Selling & giving away old furniture.
• Painting the new room.  Man do I hate how long it takes to tape a room, but it does make painting faster & easier for me. 
• Scheduling a very LONG over-due appointment with the carpet cleaner while the room is empty.

Design-wise...

I have a FUN guest designer gig coming up very soon & am currently working with new products that I received a few days ago.  CUTE stuff!  Finding time to sit in the craft room & work is becoming a challenge in itself however.  Too many other fun distractions, what can I say? 

And just another quick page I recently made using old photos from last summer & some of that Echo Park Springtime collection, along with a few SRM graduation stickers.  Not a whole lot of embellishing was necessary, as the "scene" on the paper made it pretty quick & easy to finish (for once)...

 

One of these days I'll finish working with last year's photos.  Maybe. 

TGIF!  And we're off to softball practice this evening. 

Will someone please remind me that I'd rather not be the assistant coach next time?

Thank you... ;-) 

I have awesome friends...

Bryn's spacers are in.  Round #2 of braces coming up next week.  Owie. 

I'm feeling pretty thankful today for having such good friends in my life, for weekly lunch therapy and for having fun plans coming up in the future.  I do love having plans! 

And speaking of having plans... I'm going to Vegas this weekend with my sister & my mom for a "girls weekend."  Cannot WAIT!  It will have been almost 2 months since I've last seen my sister, who now lives in Denver.  It's going to be a TOTAL blast... but how could you NOT have fun in Vegas?   

And that card? 

More Echo Park paper, of course.  I just can't stop myself... ;-)   

Old + new...

I try not to do a lot of shopping for new scrapbooking stuff these days, since I'm fortunate enough to get a lot of free product.  I'm also determined to use what I already have even if it's not the latest & greatest thing out right now.  I do love to mix & match old + new, as you know.  Recently, though, I did a little shopping (both online and locally at Archivers) and picked up 3 Echo Park collections (Springtime, Sweet Day & School Days).  I also picked up 1 sheet of paper + journaling cards from Hello Summer.  I know that one is an older collection, but I wanted something rainbowish for Bryn's birthday pics...assuming I ever get around to doing something with them.  Anyway... all this new product is laying all over my craft room floor right now & I have to say it's keeping me very inspired (the product, that is... NOT the mess).

In addition to the new Echo Park stuff, I was fortunate to receive all the new SRM Stickers that recently debuted for the 2012 Summer CHA Trade Show.  YAY!  So... I've been using some new & some old SRM Stickers from my stash to get some more random events onto paper.  I posted two other pages with this new product last week, but here's a couple more...

This one is a combination of Hello Summer + School Days paper + a Sweet Day sticker + Springtime letter stickers.  I also used Mother's Day SRM sticker sentiments.  There's a couple free journaling printables on there.  Oh & those pink clips for my "banner" are old, old, old.  No clue who makes them or if they're even still  on the market...

I stuck with all Sweet Day for this next page (I know... so NOT me to do that) and added some brand new Birthday Stickers By The Dozen from SRM Stickers.  LOVE them...

I have a couple more things I've made using Echo Park + SRM Stickers, but I'll save that for next time!   

It's Monday... which means I've already taught Zumba this morning!  Bryn's in a soccer camp this week, too, so she had 2 hours of that this morning before I went to teach.   It's going to be another HOT week here.  Not the best week to be running around outside, but at least camp is only 2 hours in the morning & not during the hottest time of the day. 

Tomorrow Bryn gets spacers in her teeth to prepare for round #2 of braces that will be going back on her teeth next week.  Unlike when I was a kid & we just wore braces for 2-3 years in a row... kids these days wear them earlier for about a year, get them taken off to allow for more teeth to grow in and then get them back on about a year or so later.  Supposedly it works better in the long run... which should be good for her so she won't be in the market for veneers when her teeth start going crooked again when she's older. 

Ahem.  ;-)

I like new stuff...

As you may have already noticed, I haven't talked about the upcoming Summer 2012 Craft & Hobby Association (CHA) trade show yet.  It's the first July in 3 years that I'm not frantically designing for a booth.  If you follow Nikki Sivils' blog, you've already read her post about taking this summer off from creating new collections.  It's just a temporary break though!  While it's nice to not have the pressure of any deadlines right now, I am a tad envious of all the hoopla surrounding the show.  It's a TON of fun to get to create with new produt & be part of the whole thing.  But... I'll be ready & excited again when Winter 2013 CHA is here!  And I can't wait to see what Nikki has in store for everyone.  I know it's going to be FABULOUS...just like her!

And speaking of new products for CHA... I just heard that I'll have all the brand new SRM Stickers coming my way soon!  YAY!!  As you know, I'm a HUGE fan of SRM Stickers ever since being part of their first team of designers.  As the owner of the company already knows... her stickers seem to make their way onto most of my cards & pages these days.  For some reason my projects just seem more complete once I've added some of those transparent stickers.  LOVE them.    

Like this new page.  I was finished with it, had it in my hand with my camera & was on my way upstairs to photograph it.  When I looked at it again, I thought... I need to put some kind of SRM sticker sentiment on that red border strip.  And yep...that finished it for me.   

I used the Echo Park Sweet Day collection for the rest of the page, along with some old Basic Grey letter stickers & some red Want 2 Scrap bling...

More Echo Park on this next page... the School Days mini collection.  It's not mini, as in 6x6 mini book, it's mini as in there's not as much product included in it.  And it doesn't cost as much as the standard collections.  Heehee  I think it's cute!   

I kept the page design pretty simple because I wanted to use the whole DARE essay Bryn wrote.  Took me longer to type the essay than it did to make the whole darn page!  I have a way of making even simple pages take FORever to make... 

And what do you know?  Another SRM sticker on there. 

I'm a fan!  What can I say? 

Off to teach ZUMBA this morning!  It's gonna be a rockin' class!  Woot wooot! 

PS... Don't forget to check out my workshop GIVE-AWAY on yesterday's post!

Thanks, Jane Fonda, for inspiring me to look like a huge dork...

It's Zumba day... my favorite day of the week... and not only do I have some fun things coming up design-wise, I also have lots of Zumba to do in the next 2 weeks while I'm subbing for my friend.  Love that! 

Bryn came back home from the lake on Friday night with a fever, sore throat & had just puked in my parent's car right before they got home.  Poor Bryn.  Poor car!  So... we took her to see the doctor on Saturday morning.  They thought it appeared to be Strep & prescribed an antibiotic just incase, but said they'd call us today with lab results & tell us to discontinue use of them if it came back negative.  Even though the fever had broke by Saturday, she spent the whole weekend resting, saying her throat hurt & feeling just plain yucky.  It was a weekend full of popsicles, Sprite & Gatorade.  Lots of extra hugs + kisses, too.

I posted an old photo of me doing aerobics in the 80's on Facebook yesterday , prompting the inspiration for this page.  It's proof that the accessorizing to work-out isn't just something that happened with Zumba.  Although I have to say, Zumba does kinda take things to a whole new level of borderline obnoxious.  And please don't think it's a requirement to wear "bling" for Zumba.  Just some good shoes & a smile is all you need.  Well... clothing is preferable too.         

I think I'm just going to stop telling you that my pages are a combination of random things I've found on my craft table.  It's a given.  It's how I roll.  Blah, blah, blah.  Unless, of course, I'm designing for a manufacturer & then I'll play by the "rules," if there really are rules.  Heehee  

 

Off to teach Zumba this morning... then to lunch with the girls... & then to Bryn's orthodontist appointment.  

Hopefully Bryn can last.  She's feeling a little better, but still not quite 100%. 

I ♥ Zumba...

... just incase you didn't already know that.

I also kinda love these 12x12 divided page protectors... although I did think they were going to make it easier & faster to get a page done.  And nope... up 'til midnight last night trying to figure out what the heck to do with it!  Considering I usually end up trying to squeeze all my photos onto one 12x12 page, this is somewhat different for me though.  I think I'm going to try this more often (especially since I have a whole package of these page protectors to use!) 

And one more quick page I made last week using some random stuff... of course... (SRM Stickers, Bella Blvd, Nikki Sivils & Echo Park)...

When I posted it on scrapbook.com someone said, "I love the house you created."  I thought, "Huh??"  Totally unintentional, but I guess it does kinda look like a house now that she mentioned it.   

 

And here's a few other things I l♥ve right now...

• 25 rules for mothers of daughters... made me cry. 

 

• My friend, Toni's, collection in this Designer Discovery Contest.  Please vote for her HERE!  Seriously CUTE, CUTE, CUTE collection.  I NEED IT! 

 

• And one more thing I love... packing to go to Bermuda!  Woot woooot!  :-)

"Turn up the music, I need it in my life yeah... turn up the music, just turn it up louder..."

 Happy Monday! 

I've received a several emails from out-of-town friends about the storms in our area over the weekend, since it made national news.  The weather was different for everyone around here.  My parents, who live a half hour away, only had rain.  We had 2 separate hail storms on Saturday night.  The first one happened around 6pm and shortly after that a tornado siren was sounding.  No tornadoes touched near our home, thankfully, and we were only under the warning for an hour... which was good since we had dinner reservations for Bob's birthday.  LOL  The 2nd hailstorm happened around midnight that night.  Very unusual to have hail twice in the same day. 

Bob's State Farm office is in a different area of St Louis and that area probably sustained the worst hail damage of anywhere.  Needless to say, he & his staff will be very busy taking claims today & probably all week.  The airport is also in the area & my sister's car was parked in an uncovered lot over the weekend while she was out of town.  She came home to a badly beat-up car.  Add that to the list of claims from Bob's policyholders...  ;-)   

Bob turned another year older yesterday.  We celebrated his birthday on Saturday night at a restaurant and then again on Sunday night at our house with family.  Bob also went to the Cardinals game with my dad yesterday.  They each got a mini replica of the 2011 World Series trophy with their paid admission.  Their seats were in the Champions Club (an all-inclusive area with food + drinks) which was a Christmas gift from my sister.  Fun day for them, except the Cardinals lost. 

In addition to celebrating his birthday, I also managed to get quite a bit accomplished.  I finished choreographing a new Zumba routine that I'll be using in class today and finished 4 new scrapbook pages.  Slowly trying to get through old photos from last year that I still haven't used yet. 

Like this event.  My friend's daughter & I share the same birthday.  And I always tell her we're cool girls.  Well even without the shared birthday we're cool girls, but that's beside the point... 

I used a random mix of Echo Park paper & letter stickers, Nikki Sivils scalloped border strips, SRM border stickers and American Crafts + the Twinery for my "balloons"...

Time to put on my dancing shoes & go teach ZUMBA!

Have a great week, everyone! 

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

"Sleep with one eye open, gripping your pillow tight..."

... or sleep with 2 eyes open, as I've been doing a lot of lately.  

Aging is fun.  LOL

Anyhoo... been creating quite a bit lately but since I have nothing I can post for awhile, I thought I'd make something for fun using a combination of left-over stash that's been laying on my craft table.

Just bits of Echo Park, Bella Blvd, Bazzill Basics, Pink Paislee, We Are Memory Keepers, a SRM sticker sentiment & a Jolee's Boutique roller coaster sticker...  

 

 

TGIF and have a great weekend, everyone!