Wednesday, January 24, 2007

vintage, chic, and fabulous


these are just a few layouts that i created with my paper! i didn't think that scrapbooking could get any better...but it did. creating layouts with my own paper is the best! dream street papers - the company i design for - teamed up with petal loo - a company that designs flowers and the wonderful little purse shown here. the purse says everything i wanted my paper to say: vintage, chic, and fabulous! the purse was just a white color, but i decided to sew my paper on it. inside has pictures of gracie's family in it (jack, mom and dad, nana and papa, mimi and papa...) she loves carrying it around...and so do i!!



Wednesday, January 17, 2007

sometimes you have to look past the pee pee

last night i was staying up late because i went to pick up my paper, and of course i was too excited to work with it and sleep wasn't an option...let's face it - i would have laid awake for two hours and thought about what i should do anyway. iv'e learned a couple things about myself - and shutting my brain down to sleep when it's on a creative roll is not an option is one of them. it's almost like the creativeness in me surges adrenaline through my veins and keeps me up to finish my thoughts through a project...it kills me every time when i look up and realize it's 2 am and i have realized that my eyes burn and my arms are heavy (it's bizarre that my eyes never registered to my brain how much they burned)...is that just me or does this happen to anyone else? anyway, back to the reason for the title of my entry...at 1 am i hear jack crying; my gut feeling is that he threw up b/c matt had the stomach flu on monday night and i am just waiting for that friendly bug to visit the rest of us...i go in his room and notice that he had peed the bed.(not just a little pee either, but a 2 foot in diameter pee spot). my first reaction is to be mad at matt b/c jack usually doesn't pee the bed if he goes right before bed. however, my sweetheart reassured me that jack "took 2 huge pees" right before bed. anyway, jack is crying so i let him come lay in our bed for a bit while i am changing his sheets. when i come back into my room there was another huge pee spot on my bed. ( i was starting to get a little ticked b/c my bed doesn't have a plastic liner to protect the mattress like his bed does, and my eyes were really burning from sleep deprivation). so i have to wake matt, change jack, change the sheets, calm him down, etc, etc, etc. well my sweet hubby changed the sheets for me and said, "it's all right sweetheart, we are a team" - i love him - and i went and rocked my 3 and a half year old. i have not rocked him for so long, and last night the realization hit me that i might not get many more chances to do that. although i was tired, i relished in the moment of holding my firstborn while he fell asleep on my chest. i remembered how i used to rock him as a baby and truly felt like it was just yesterday (a saying i thought only old people said), and realized it was 3 years of yesterdays gone by. with 2 small children it is good for me to have occasional moments like this because it puts life into perspective for me, and helps me to enjoy every moment of their little lives...when they are 30 i know i will think - where did the time go? i loved holding him and feeling needed. i need moments like that in the quiet of the night or morning to remember to love each moment as it comes- even the pee pee.

Monday, January 15, 2007

announcing...nancy

it feels like a new baby was born...i am so excited to show my first line of scrapbook paper to be published!!! it worked out well that my first line to be printed is the line i named after my mom, nancy salmon. she instilled a love for pink and green in me (just visit her house and see her living room)...and visit her mother's house and see her living room. perhaps gracie too will love the fabulous color combo. her room is also pink and green (we get 'em while they are young). i decided that every line of paper i do will be named after someone who has influenced my life for good. i'm happy that my first line to be picked up was named after the first person who influenced me for good - my mom. she loves victorian houses too - so each the papers individual names are: wrap around porch, the parlor, the gardens, powder room, the loft, and cloak room. kind of fun, huh?...well this is just about one of the most exciting things to happen for me in my life. i was telling matt that i love photography - and i will always do that - but designing is something totally unique and girly. i get to show my personality on paper and be as creative as my little heart desires. i also get to go to scrapbook conventions and socialize with other women who are just like me. call me conceited, but i love seeing my name printed under the paper (like i'm the author)! i hope this is the first of many exciting designing moments to come. thanks to my sweetheart for letting me sit in front of the computer and for getting excited for all of my creative little whims, thanks to my mother for giving me the creative genes and for encouraging me to be crafty, thanks to my dad who always led me to believe that i could do anything i put my mind to, and to my Heavenly Father for blessing me with talents, the gospel, and people in my life who care.

Tuesday, January 9, 2007

addicted/cleaning soapbox

so i totally love this blogging stuff. however, it's just one more thing to take me away from my housework....cleaning is overrated anyway. i think there is a difference between dirty and messy. i take care of the "dirty" part once a week - clean with cleaner, vaccum, dust, etc - the messy part however (all the toys, clothes, dog bones, etc) - we are lucky if that happens once a day. i try really hard to do a once over right before matt comes home. i know i should make my house meticulous during nap time... but that's when i have lara time. also, while the kids are awake - i'd rather play with them. my mom-in-law once told me that she loves the saying "the cobwebs can wait, but your children will grow up". well, that's that. my house is generally in pretty good shape. anyway...i love this brown hat on grace! she loves hats too. this pink and brown paper is totally in right now and perfect for these pictures. too bad grace never smiles. last night we had pictures with my parents and siblings - and little miss gracie wanted nothing to do with smiling - or being in the picture for that matter. she just kept screaming NO NO. my mom made the comment that how could something this cute be so naughty! she was my angel baby until she hit 18 months...now she has decided it's her turn to be heard. we love you my little stoic, strong-willed princess.

Monday, January 8, 2007

i love scrappin'

sorry i am posting again, but i am so excited about my paper! they just put my bio up on their website, and you will be able to see my paper the end of this month! i am soooo excited to go to cha in california to launch my paper! go to the dream street papers website to the right to see my bio:

also, i was the guest designer this month for paper made memories (a kit club), so check out the paper made memories link to the right as well.