Hello. Wow. I'm here again. After soooooo very long away. Life happens when you aren't looking. I am happy to be back in space where I can create and experience art again.

So much has happened in life since I last posted on this blog. Happy, sad and in between.

I am not sure I have my blog legs anymore..so just a toe in the water.

I created a few pages for the first time in several years...another toe in the water:

This felt good. I'm glad to be back.

Alter-natives

Hey Girls! Hope everything is amazing in your lives and that you have been your crafty bests! I have been working on some projects to send to Scrapbook Magazine.. but of course I can't post them until they are actually published. That can be a drag because I get really excited to share what I have been working on!!!

I am busy planning a trip to Park City, Utah to visit a friend from high school that I haven't seen in 10 years! I am so excited!! I have never been before and heard it is just beautiful..I will take a ton of photos to share with you guys!

Jen and I reconnected through Facebook... who else is addicted? I know I definitely am! I have met up with so many people from my past.. I love it!! Who have you reconnected with that was the most exciting? I would love to hear about it.

The new challenge on the Scrap Your Crap blog goes up tommorrow. This month's challenge is to alter an item thatyou've had laying around your craft area that you set aside to make the perfect present with. It's the perfect time NOW!! I love to alter inexpensive frames that I find in the dollar bin at Target! SCORE!!!

Here's one I did for a Father's Day Present... please come and play with us!!!!

What's up this weekend?

Hey Gals! What do you have planned for the weekend? I am going to be attending back to back Yoga classes and I am really looking forward to it.. I am also heading up to some St. Pat's Day Festivities in Balboa Park.. Hope I don't combine the two and end up looking like these characters.... Have fun whatever you do!!!

I'm Extended!!

So yesterday I spent 5 hours at my hairdresser and got extensions.. I have been wanting them FOREVER and figured that now that I was single, it was as good a time as any to get them... I hope I don't look like one of those cougars pushing 40 who is desperately trying to look young?????

Happy Mardi Gras Y'all!

I love New Orleans.. In fact I consider it almost a second home.. I would soooooo love to be there right now.. but such is the life. I hope everyone is having an amazing Fat Tuesday and finds lots of Babys in their King Cakes :)

I just finished designing this project for Zarah's Sketches/Inspirascrap Blog.. If you haven't checked out the work these ladies do you are in for a treat.. nothing to help get you out of any kinda scrap rut then an amazing sketch to get your juices going!!! I'm off to check out what you have all been up to!

I'm The Scrapmuse Guest Designer for Feb!!!!!

A few posts ago I mentioned that I had been asked to be the guest designer for the month of Feb for this incredibly cool scrapbook kit company called Scrapmuse. The kit is now available!! Here's some of the stuff I was able to create with this ginormous kit! I still have so much left over! Here's a link to the newsletter they put out that has a cute little interview they did with me. The newsletter has examples from their regular designers and each of them wrote an article.. I wrote an article on using embellishments.. you can take a gander at that in the newsletter as well.

I really enjoyed using this kit and loved working with all the talented gals over at the kit club! Did i mention they also include chocolate in their kits? Enough said :)

Happy Valentine's Day?

Ok! I am not going to be that girl! This is my first Valentine's day as a newly single girl and I refuse to be a Debbie Downer! Yes, the boy I was seeing broke up with me last Saturday (suspicious timing..I sense someone did not want to spring for a gift..but I digress).. so I am officially solo on the big V-day... thank god for amazing friends and cute fur companions!

Valentine's day is too commercial and way over the top.. but I am still choosing to spread some love! All of you in blogland that I have gotten the pleasure of becoming friends with over the last year are sooooo important to me! You are LOVED and ADORED more then you could ever know! Have your best day ever!!

Get yourself some Craftiness from Scrap Muse

Hey Girls (I don't think I have any boys read my blog)! I am thrilled to have been asked by the rocking scrap kit company ScrapMuse to be their guest designer this month. How fun is that? Take a look at what this cram packed kit called Sweet Tooth has to offer:

They also include that scrap staple.. a full size choclate bar with every kit.. clever! The add-ons are really adorable as well. They did a fun little interview with me that will post when they put up the creations I made for them.. Here is a little sample to get your mojo going:

If you get a chance to check out their blog or their gallery... you will find tons of inspiration from their VERY talented Designers.. Make sure to check them out! When the rest of my work is posted I will make sure to get it up here.. just in case you want to check it out :) Thanks for looking friends.

New Week.. New Adventures...

Can you believe I am almost 40 and yesterday was my first super bowl party? This is me and my pal Heather before we headed out. The party had like 40 people and 3 T.V.s and 3 food and drink areas! Yikes! I can't even button my jeans this morning because I am still soooo full! It was a good adventure though. Did it turn out the way everyone hoped?

Today I am heading out for my new volunteer position at the Family Justice Center. I am going to be working intake for victims of domestic violence. We do everything from educating about what abuse is, to helping them find shelters for themselves, their children and pets to getting temporary restraning orders. We also work with cases of elder abuse at the center.

I was shocked to learn that most victims try to leave an average of 7 times before they actually get out. Here are some more shocking statistics:
In the U.S. there are 1.4 Million reports of stalking each year.
Current statistics show that Males are victims of domestic violence 30-50% of the time.
It is now considered abuse for a minor to witness an act of domestic violence against one of their parents.

I am nervous that I will do a good job.. there is so much to learn! I am sure the day after Super Bowl Sunday will be a doozy! Have a good week friends :)

So Excited I Can't Sit Still!!!

I just wanted to thank everyone for all the kind words of support from my last post. You honestly have no idea what your thoughts have meant to me. I have wanted to post something about the divorce for the last 3 months and just haven't known how to go about it.. I needed to get it off my chest so I could move on.. Thanks again for your friendship!


Ok! I am totally going to toot my own horn on this post.. because I am so darn excited!! I am a published designer!!! I have been asked by the U.K. Publication Scrapbook Magazine to be part of their design team!!!!
My first issue came out this month:
My First issue included a 3 page spread about my style and an interview to introduce me to their readers!!

I am going to have one to two layouts posted every issue from now on and be paid for my contributions!! I can not believe how lucky I am!!!

Ok! I am off to check out what you have all been up to this weekend! LOVE YOU ALL!

What's too much to share?

I have been noticeably absent from my blog recently. There is good reason for it. I am going through a divorce. I haven't known what is considered to "personal" to post and what isn't. It's a big part of my life and occupies alot of my thoughts. To blog about everything else BUT the white elephant in the corner of the room has been difficult for me. It has also been difficult to create layouts as of late. My mojo is missing. I think that scrapping for me is a celebration of happy memories and about capturing a moment of happiness in some part of my life. I haven't had too much to celebrate as of lately.. so I have been absent from many of the posting sites that I loved to frequent in the past and just haven't found the push I needed to get back in the creative saddle.

Please don't feel sorry for me. The divorce is my choice. I am growing everyday as a person and I honestly believe that I am better for the decision I have made. I sincerely believe that people aren't meant to be in our life forever. We are together as long as we keep learning and growing together. Sometimes we grow apart.. but I think it is incredibly important to keep growing. I have many amazing people in my life and I am meeting more and more of them every where I turn around. I am grateful for the place I am at in my life right now.

I am feeling it's important to say it here and get a bit of catharsis done here so I can move forward in my art work and my blog life. Enough said...thanks for caring :)

Here's a couple of projects that will be posted on the Scrap Your Crap Blog on Feb 1st... Hope you play along with us and post your creations for us to see

Girl's Day Out at the Auto Show

I went to the Auto Show at the downtown Convention Center today with Heather and Carolan to check out cool and exotic cars.. Here's me with my dream car.. anyone have 100k to lend me? I promise I will pay you back :)

Check out the interior of this pink lowrider... we were all drooling over it!!

After the show we had lunch at this amazing Indian restaurant and stopped to take a group shot.. this homeless drunk guy stopped and stared at us as the picture was being taken and said "it's Charlie's Angels!" and then stumbled on down the street.. hysterical!!

Happy New Year!!!

Sorry it has been soooooo long since I last posted! Time flies during the holidays!
My two words for the year ahead are balance and aliveness... I think they both reflect where I am in my journey through life.. I try not to make resolutions just once a year. I prefer to do them all year long! What about you guys? Any resolutions or words to live by this new year?

Look at this AMAZING cone that my dear friend Karin made for me! This girl is going through chemo and she takes the time to make me a cone to match my scrap room! She is freaking amazing and I adore this cone sooo much.. Can you see the swarvoski crystal hanging off the end and the one in the heart? ..They are so pretty!! It is also lined with vintage music sheets... THANK YOU KARIN!!

Road Trip! I just got back from a road trip with my bestest buddy Shanna... She took me to her old stomping ground in Northern California for a girl's bonding trip before she moves to Colorado.

We stayed at her parents house..they were so sweet to us and cooked us the yummiest foods..I think I gained 5 pounds on this trip! Here is the view from their balcony:

We went to a forest in Mill Valley and climbed a set of stairs called the DIPSEA stairs. There are over 850 in all.. straight up.. I am happy to say we made it !




This sign in the middle of the woods cracked me up!


We also got a chance to go to the wine country..this was our favorite vineyard.. Ferrari-Carano..the grounds felt like we were in Tuscany...



Well you are all current on my life! I am off to check out everybody's blogs and see what shannigans you have been up to this holiday season!!

Spreading some Love

Guess what I just found out thanks to my friend Michelle? I got a shout out in the December issue of Creating Keepsakes!! I know it isn't a huge deal.. but I feel totally excited because I tend have a very non-traditional style of scrapping and I love that I got noticed!!! YEAH!!! I have been a little behind on my reading of the mags so I probably wouldn't have figured it out until Dec of next year had it not been for my pal Michelle!

Also wanted to take the time to thank Monique for giving me this cool award!
Here's the rules for this one:


The winner may put the logo on their blog.
Put a link to the person who sent you the award.
Nominate 5 blogs.
Provide links to their blogs.
Leave a message for your nominees.

I nominate the following gals:
Karin-you rock and keep me in stitches at the same time!
Michelle-Your store inspires my creative mojo and I love drooling over the pictures of your new arrivals you post on your blog.
Britta-my home girl blog buddy
Callista-you and I are clearly twins seperated at birth on the things that we like and that catch our attention. Thanks for the holiday tag by the way :)
Greta-My fellow crap scrapper and girl who turned me onto the world of Twilight.

P.S. speaking of Twilight.. I finally saw the movie yesterday.. oh my Edward is a hottie.. I would let him bite my neck any old day :)

Holiday Hit List Craft Show

This weekend I got the pleasure of helping out my super talented friend Karin in her booth at the North Park Craft Mafia Holiday Show. She had sooooo many amazing choices and her booth was a favorite among the shoppers. Next to us was Amy who is another amazing talent. Our friend Michelle who owns the store Paper Tales came by to give us some moral support! She even bought me the cutest little collage! It was a day of friends, crafting, food and girl bonding.. I really enjoyed myself so much! Here are some pics from the day:

(Me and Michelle with my adorable Collage!)

Here's the beautiful Ms. Karin with one of her creations.. more of her stuff is below...



Here's Amy with Karin and some of her very hip stuff:





These gals are always such an inspiration to me! So lucky to know them :)

P.S. I got tagged yesterday by the super cool Monique and Callista
and I just realized I am going to be late for work! UGH!!! Those darn jobs always get in the way!! THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH!!! I promise I will get my responses up in the next few days!! Love to all of you!!