Altered Art

So, in yesterday's post I mentioned that I was so inspired by the work presented in Cloth, Paper, Scissors (Link in yesterday's post). I looked through several books and magazines. This was the only altered art one, and the rest were scrapbooking. What do you think it means that the altered art one inspired me so much more?

One thought might be that they type of scrap layouts published in the mags weren't really my "type". I am very inspired by browsing through 2Peas, so I know I can be inspired by others' scrap creations. But I tend to like work that is kind of messy and haphazard looking and those mags had a lot of very "neat" looking layouts. I think that's the type they go for.

Another thought is that scrapbooking is not the only art form I like. I know some scrapbookers were always into cutting up paper, and other scrappy-related activities. I, however, was always into painting and drawing, since I was little. I only got into scrapbooking after my daughter was born and I had to do something with all those pics. A friend introduced me to scrapbooking, and when I found the 2Peas gallery, I realized that you could really make art with it, while at the same time doing something with all those photos. And after all, there's only so much wall space to hang all your paintings :) But scrap album space is limitless!

I did see others' scrap albums before that, but frankly, they were very underwhelming. Did that sound mean? I'm not sure they could totally be classified as scrap albums even, since it was mostly just plain photos glued down onto colored background with not much going on. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out why someone would waste their time on that. That was before I had all those adorable photos of my daughter. That was also before I knew all the adorable scrap supplies I could shop for.

But in any case, the altered art was very inspiring. I have had many interests over the years, including dollhouses/miniatures, sculpting, collage, etc. So I've accumulated many supplies and ideas that I could apply to altered art projects and my scrap pages.

I guess the answer is, I get inspired by true art, no matter what physical form it takes. I love writing just as much as visual art, but I consider that art as well. I think of art as anything where you create something. And you know what, after struggling all these years to achieve something that pays well (my career, which I do actually love), I am finally comfortable enough to say that in addition to that, I am an Artist too. And that makes me happy :)

Just the two of us

Yep, it was that kind of day. We dropped the kids off at his parents' and had the whole day to ourselves. The only catch is that we had to stay in the area since it's too far to drive back home. (So no scrapping for me!) So we were out and about all day. We ate at our favorite Chinese Buffet. We shopped at an outlet mall. We spent a bunch of time at B&N hanging out and reading. I browsed through...you guessed it! - scrapping books and magazines. However, I have to say my fav magazine was Cloth, Paper, Scissors. It's an altered art mag and the projects are so gorgeous and inspiring. I got a lot of ideas, and some might even work on scrappy pages, so we'll see what I come up with!

We also saw Legion. Hmm....take a pass on that one! I then left my phone at the theater (my beautiful bright purple phone). But all is well that ends well and we were reunited.

Speaking of movies - can't wait to see Alice in Wonderland. I think I'll take DD with me. The only issue is that it's coming out on my DS's birthday. And then we're having his party that weekend and the following weekend I'm throwing a baby shower for my friend. So the movie night with DD might have to be postponed (I don't know how I'll bear the wait!).

Speaking of DS's BD party...the prospect of having it here, at my house, and inviting all our friends and family gives me major anxiety. I'm just not a "let's-have-parties-and-invite-everyone-to-out-house" kind of gal. KWIM?

"Fourtheenth" Mini Album

Ok, I'm going to cheat a little - I will be posting a challenge at Scrapbook Challenges on Sunday night. However, if you're reading this, you get an early peek! For my challenge, I'll be using this album. But you'll have to wait until Sunday night to find out what the challenge will be. I'm including a couple pages here. Again, you can see the rest in my GALLERY.

And the winners are....

By way of Random.org, just so I don't have to pick and choose :)

1. For my Embellie RAK: Alex

2. Eyelet Challenge: Ann Arbogast

3. Flower Challenge: Rose Ann Deighan

Congrats everyone! Email me your addresses at ileneemail@yahoo.com and I'll get your RAKs out ASAP! Thank you everyone for commenting on my blog and playing along with the challenges - it was a lot of fun and I'll have to do another random RAK sometime soon, so check in every now and then!

A couple more of DD as a baby

I can't help myself :)

Kiki Art Giveaway

Just wanted to share that Kiki Art is having a giveaway! The info is on Sarah's blog. Super cute stuff!!

I love mini's!

I love making mini albums. There's just something about them. And when I make a few 12x12's, I start itching to make a mini. Right now, all I have on my mind is the cutest wing-shape album I have by Maya Road. It's begging me to cutify it! (I just invented that word). So I thought I'd post some covers of mini's I made in the past to my 2Peas gallery. Here's one of the covers, but you can see more HERE.

Wednesday reminder

Just wanted to remind everyone that the deadline for the Use Your Stash! crop party challenges is today. Today is also the last day to comment on my blog to be entered to win the embellie RAK. I'll do the drawing tomorrow morning for all three.

100 Questions

I saw this on Claude's blog, so I thought I'd do it too.

1. How old will you be in five years? 36
2. Who did you spend at least two hours with today? DS
3. How tall are you? 5’5.5” Yes, I take that half inch seriously
4. What do you look forward to most in the next six months? Vacation to Dominican in April!
5. What's the last movie you saw? The Book of Eli
6. Who was the last person you called? My friend, to talk about the baby shower I'm throwing for her in March
7. Who was the last person to call you? My friend. And then I called her back :)
8. What was the last text message you received? Huh?? (lol)
9. Who was the last person to leave you a voice mail? My other friend...to talk about Her pregnancy
10. Do you prefer to call or text? What is all this texting talk? Speak English, people!
11. What were you doing at 12 am last night? Spending online quality time.
12. Are your parents married/separated/divorced? Still Married.
13. When is the last time you saw your mom? Saturday
14. What color are your eyes? Hazel
15. What time did you wake up today? 7ish
16. What are you wearing right now? Pants and a lovely, very purple GAP waffle long sleeve.
17. What is your favorite Christmas song? Walking in a Winter Wonderland
18. Where is your favorite place to be? My scraproom
19. Where is your least favorite place to be? hmm...somewhere messy that requires my cleaning
20. Where would you go if you could go anywhere? Asia
21. Where do you think you'll be in 10 years? Working, writing, scrapping!
22. Do you tan or burn? Burn, baby, like fireworks on the 4th of July
23. What did you fear was going to get you at night as a child? What did I not? I had an overactive imagination prone to the macabre, to say the least. Hey, it makes me, me!
24. What was the last thing that really made you laugh? Something DH said, I'm sure. He makes me laugh like no one else can.
25. How many TVs do you have in your house? 4
26. How big is your bed? King
27. Do you have a laptop or desktop computer? Both
28. Do you sleep with or without clothes on? Used to without, but have been sleeping fully dressed since DS was born since he's sharing the bed with me.
29. What color are your sheets? Not sure what they are right now, but my fav ones are pinkish with pretty roses
30. How many pillows do you sleep with? 1
31. What is your favorite season? winter
32. What do you like about fall? I really don't like fall...but my birthday is then and I do like the beautiful tree colors.
33. What do you like about winter? snow!!
34. What do you like about the summer? The sun
35. What do you like about spring? All the sprouting nature and the smells, and the warmer days
36. How many states/provinces have you lived in? I can't even count at this point
37. What cities/towns have you lived in? Totally lost track here too..
38. Do you prefer shoes, socks, or bare feet? bare feet!
39. Are you a social person? Nope...I really like my alone time
40. What was the last thing you ate? Some bread crackers...they're on the desk right now...yummy...love bread and pasta....Ok better stop now
41. What is your favorite restaurant? Chinese buffets
42. What is your favorite ice cream? mint chocolate chip!
43. What is your favorite dessert? I love flan
44. What is your favorite kind of soup? chinese seafood soup
45. What kind of jelly do you like on your PB & J sandwich? strawberry
46. Do you like Chinese food? Yes, yes, and yes
47. Do you like coffee? not much
48. How many glasses of water, a day, do you drink on average? Not sure, but I do like to drink a lot and usually only water is available..so more than enough
49. What do you drink in the morning? water. I used to be addicted to Red Bull - it was my daily breakfast. I had to stop when I got pregnant with DS, and still can't drink it since I'm breastfeeding. As soon as I wean him though, I'm going right back to it. Still miss it!
51. Do you sleep on a certain side of the bed? I switch, depending on how I want to feed DS at night.
52. Do you know how to play poker? no
53. Do you like to cuddle? a little
54. Have you ever been to Australia? No
55. Do you have an addictive personality? Very much so...internet, video games, etc. I try to keep myself away from anything that looks addicting to prevent problems.
56. Do you eat out or at home more often? we like to eat out a lot, but I guess I still eat at home more
58. Do you know anyone with the same birthday as you? no
59. Do you want kids? I've got my girl and my boy and now I'm done!
60. Do you speak any other languages? Russian
61. Have you ever gotten stitches? No
62. Have you ever ridden in an ambulance? No
63. Do you prefer an ocean or a pool? Pool - I hate sand sticking to all that sunblock..yucky. Although I do love oceans in the Caribbean, when they're warm like a bath. Dominican, here I come!
64. Do you prefer a window seat or an aisle seat? I like a window seat for the privacy, but I also like aisle if I'm sitting with a stranger so I can get up without having to ask!
65. Do you know how to drive stick? nope
66. What is your favorite thing to spend money on? scrappy goodies...and clothes for my kids
67. Do you wear any jewelry 24/7? my wedding ring and another plain band ring I've had since I was a child
68. What is your favorite TV show? Rome, Sopranos, Dexter, Entourage, Oz, Californication, The Tudors, Nip Tuck, etc....oh, and (guilty pleasure alert!) - General Hospital (my soap)
69. Can you roll your tongue? Yes
70. Who is the funniest person you know? My DH
71. Do you sleep with stuffed animals? Gosh no, can't stand those little buggers
72. What is the main ring tone on your phone? Some sort of musical ring that struck my fancy when I was going through them
73. Do you still have clothes from when you were little? no
74. What red object is closest to you right now? The boxes of Canon photo paper
75. Do you turn off the water while you brush your teeth? Yes
76. Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed? open
77. Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of bees? bees
78. Do you flirt a lot? no
79. What do you dip a chicken nugget in? Honey mustard
80. What is your favorite food? bread and pasta
81. Can you change the oil on a car? no
82. Have you ever gotten a speeding ticket? yep
83. Have you ever run out of gas? no
84. What is your usual bedtime? whenever I can force myself
85. What was the last book you read? I'm in the middle of Dimestore Magic by Kelly Armstrong...kind of slow going right now.
86. Do you read the newspaper? no
87. Do you have any magazine subscriptions? no
89. Do you watch soap operas? General Hospital, my one true love!
90. Do you dance in the car? maybe...
91. What radio station did you last listen to? 104.5
92. Who is in the picture frame closest to you? DH and DD (I'm in DH's office right now)
93. What was the last note you scribbled on a piece of paper? The supplies from my latest scrapbook layout
94. What is your favorite candle scent? roses
95. What is your favorite board game? Monopoly
97. When was the last time you attended church? I don't
98. Who was your favorite teacher in high school? Dude, I don't even remember what happened to me yesterday
99. What is the longest you have ever camped out in a tent? a couple days?
100. Who was the last person to do something extra special for you? My parents and DH's parents helped us out today and Saturday. Does that count?

Oldie but goodie

DD when she was 11 mos old. I still can't get enough of that face!

Wonderful news!!

I will be a guest design team member (GDT) for Scraptacular in April! I actually contacted them because I discovered the store about a month ago and it had the greatest stuff with awesome deals, to boot. It had a lot of my fav manufacturers and I just loved it. The PO messed up with my package delivery and Beth was so patient and wonderful about resolving all the issues. So, I loved the store so much, I contacted them about being GDT and Beth offered me April! In March, I'll be getting their April kit (they offer the most adorable, delicious monthly kits) and getting to play with it. My LO's will go up in April, when the kit is revealed and I'll get to participate on their boards and write some entries for the blog. You really have to check this place out. I love shopping online for scrapping supplies and this place definitely stood out, with prices and what products they offer, and the amazing customer service. If you go to Scraptacular, and look up top at their tabs, you'll see that you can either purchase monthly kits, or just do regular shopping. I really can't wait to get started! I know Beth is at CHA right this moment, maybe she'll pick up some fun goodies for her kits ;)

Dear Santa, Define "Good"

Here it is, my take on Sketch 183 over at Scrapbook Challenges. Come join us if you're not a member yet! We have a new sketch every week. Also, every week, we have several new challenges, as well as monthly events, projects, tutorials, etc. Play along for a chance to win a prize pack from our monthly sponsor. You only participate as much or as little as you want - no pressure, just fun and inspiration to get you creating!

"Home" mini

This is a little mini I made, using a MR chipboard coaster album and Nikki Sivils papers. I used "Victoria's Street". These papers are too cute, as are all her lines.

I made this mini for my DT work at Scrapbook Challenges - my challenge is to create a mini/layout/altered project/anything using pictures taken at home and using some sort of quote that has the word "home" in it. Check out all the details of my challenge HERE.

I'll have the entire album up on 2Peas if you want to check out the rest.

My LO is in SNR now!

If you subscribe to Scrapbook News and Review, check out my LO there - it's in the section on scrapping your favorite color. Mine is purple (of course)!

Use Your Stash! Crop Party starts tonight!

In just a few hours, I will be posting my challenges and the prizes that go along with playing! For now, I am going to post the little RAK I put together for anyone who Follows me (link on right) and leaves a message on my blog between today and Wed. Good luck everyone!

I call this RAK "Embellies". It's got a ton of adorable buttons, a Maya Road sheer house keychain, vintage-looking stickers, a 7Gypsies journal handle, 4 Making Memories Vintage Findings stamps, MM vintage findings blossoms, a pack of making memories flower-head pins (8), and 2 Tim Holtz journaling tickets. Like I said - packed full of fun embellies for your scrapping pleasure and all you have to do is be a follower and leave a comment!



Here's my take on my eyelet challenge and my Prima Got Flowers? challenge. If you want to see the whole mini album, I have it HERE on 2Peas.

The kiddos

DD is 5.5 and DS is 10mos

Why, oh why, don't they understand?

In the interest of not getting myself in trouble by identifying the specific person I'm referring to, in case they happen to read it, I will speak in generalities (but this person could be identified as DM). First off, no one I know in my "real life" scrapbooks. No one. My friends give me blank, often disapproving looks when I mention it and I know they don't get it. Other people even closer, actively disapprove. Not DH. He thinks it's a good "hobby". Other people though (who are not to be identified, but could be labeled as DM and DF) actively disapprove. They think that "hobbies" are something you might do if you have a surplus of time and money. Otherwise, you should be focusing on other, more useful things (like cleaning the house) or things that make money. "I never did that" is what they say, and it seems to explain why they feel I'm misplacing my time. Why do I even tell them about it? I need to stop. To them, scrapbooking is "just a hobby" - in other words, a total waste of time and money and I'm being silly to spend either on it. At least online I see so many people who love it (and other forms of art) just as much as I do - I'm not alone and I'm not silly or insane :) Whew, thank goodness.

Ahh, they have these just to drive me crazy!

Check THIS out. Bermuda, really?! Ah well, at least there are things out there I can dream about.

Any advice?

How do I make enough time in a day to watch DS (I'm staying home with him, except for Tuesdays), take care of the house, exercise, and still have time to scrapbook/create? If you've figured out a system, I'd love to hear from you. He's still sleeping in my bed, so it's really hard to scrap after he goes to sleep, and he's a bad napper, so usually that doesn't work. I know there are people out there who have it figured out. I know your houses are clean and you still scrapbook every day. So let's hear from you, because I'm far from where I want to be with my daily schedule.

Today, I finally got him sleeping and started scrapping, when a package arrived, setting our dog on a barking spree, waking DS. It was all over from there. So that 10 minutes will likely be all I get today. And it's still better than what I had yesterday - nothing.

OMG, OMG, OMG!! SOOOO Excited!!

LOL...no, I'm NOT overdoing it with the title - the title is totally appropriate in excitement level because...well, I won some beautiful ZVA stuff! The ZVA DT was having a blog hop and I left comments and the random generator saw fit to pick ME to win $30 worth of ZVA products! I hope I get some pretty swirls, I just love that stuff.

Here's the link so you can see for yourself - and while you're there, check out the beautiful stuff their DT made: Lisa's Blog.

A scrapbooker's nightmare

My printer ran out of ink. LOL...yes, it's a total nightmare. I already ordered more but now I have to wait. In the meantime...no photos to scrap! Well, actually I always have photos since I'm always in the middle of several projects. But still, no more new photos I can print. I have 2 projects in the works that I have photos printed for, but both are minis. I was really wanting to do a 12x12. Be patient, Ilene!

And I totally scored today! Today is a work day, but while there, I had a long break so I went to ACMoore. They were having a 40% off sale on all their stickers. Yes, ALL, no exceptions. I got me BG June Bug chip sticker shapes for $3 (and I really wanted those, too!). And...drumroll, they actually had some of those beautiful Prima pearl flourishes. I grabbed three different ones, and asked if they were considered stickers. The cashier thought they were, but had to go find someone, and that someone went to the manager, etc. They came back after 20 min and said they weren't on sale, but they'd still give them to me at 40% off. Whoo hoo! Replenishing my very low and much used Prima flourish stock. That's one scrapbooking item that doesn't end up being stashed away in some dusty corner.

Our Little Mister - Sketch 182

Wanted to share my take on Pamela's sketch 182 that I made for Scrapbook Challenges. Using some older paper - Skate Shoppe (Basic Grey). I colored the acrylic star with Staz On ink and added some Making Memories stickers, from their Animal Crackers - Jack line. Also, a Jenni Bowlin ticket and Maya Road flower. Thanks for looking. This is my DS end of October, 2009.

Use Your Stash! Weekend Crop Party

As promised, I have more info on the upcoming crop party! The theme is Use Your Stash and Deb, Debi, and I will have 6 challenges that will get you to use up all that stuff you have hidden in the dark recesses of your scrap rooms. Out with the old and in with the new! Join us this coming Friday the 22nd for a chance to win prizes, get some pages done, and clear some space! You will have until Wed midnight (your time zone) to complete them to be eligible to win.

And, as an added bonus - I will also have a RAK up for anyone who follows my blog and leaves a comment (between 22nd and 27th)! So if you already follow, make sure you stop by and comment, and if you don't, then...well, what are you waiting for? :)

I'll take pics of the RAKs tomorrow and let you all know what they'll be. SO stop by Scrapbook Challenges (link on right) and RSVP. If you're not a member, join up and have some fun. We have challenges, sketches, and prizes up for grabs and you only participate as much as you want to.

So glad people like my mini!

I'm glad I posted my Egypt mini - I did it some time ago! This morning, it's in the top 5 most liked at 2Peas and top 10 most viewed and top 10 most bookmarked! Thanks to all who took a look :)

Our trip to Egypt

Wanted to share this album. I suppose one could call it a mini...although there's nothing "mini" about it. March 2008, DH and I went to Egypt on a 9 day trip. It was as wonderful as I imagined, and my expectations were high. This scrapbook is an album I bought in Egypt. It has, if I remember correctly, 25 pages. That's 50 pages, plus I put something on the inside front and inside back covers. Let's just say we had nearly 1000 photos and it was difficult to stop at 50 pages. Because my space was limited, I had to plan very carefully. It starts with our first day and chronologically ends with our last. Therefore, I had to make sure I devoted some space to everything. It took a LOT of planning. And a while to complete. There are sheet protectors between each page and the pages are black. The cover is leather engraved with a famous ancient painting of the Pharaoh in battle. While on the trip, we took an excursion by plane to Abu Simbel to see this in one of the temples. The most unbelievable thing about Egypt is how well everything is preserved. These ancient monuments are still standing, just as impressive now. Because of the dry climate there, all this fares much better. In many places, there's still paint left from thousands of years ago and you can clearly see how colorful everything used to be. You can imagine the painters with their brushes, painting away, likely enjoying it just as much as we enjoy scrapbooking :)

See all the inside pics in my gallery at 2Peas. It is labeled Egypt Vacation mini (PART 1), (PART 2), (PART 3)

Wonderful news!

I received an email today from Scrap N'Art, an awesome online magazine, that they loved one of my LO's and want to publish it. Unfortunately, I submitted incorrectly, but they want me to resubmit. You bet I will! I re-photographed, as per their guidelines, and I'll be resubmitting tonight when the kids go to sleep. So excited and happy about this!!

Fourteen on the 14th

Yep, that's right. It's been 14 years since I started dating my husband. Time sure flies :) 14 on the 14th. Of course, I made a little mini for him to commemorate the occasion. We ate dinner together while DD watched TV and DS crawled around. It was actually much easier than going out. We like to go out a lot, but with kids this age, I'm thinking staying home might be preferable. This weekend, we'll go visit his parents and drop the kids off, so we can go shopping, see a movie and go out to eat and celebrate.

Weekend crop party!

Stay turned for more info. But I'll tell you a little bit for now - starting Friday 22nd this month, Scrapbook Challenges will be having a weekend crop party, full of awesome challenges, games, and prizes! It'll be hosted by DT gals Deb, Debi, and myself. So put it in your planners and check back in here or at SC for more info very soon. Hope to see you there!

New Shimmers Release!

Sneak peek at Sketch 182!

I have for you a couple little peeks at the LO I made for Pamela's sketch #182, which will be presented this coming Monday. I love this sketch and I couldn't pass it up! Without further ado...

Yay!! Look...

I'm going to be published! I just found an email in my junk folder (I know, tell me about it...first time in years I checked it) that one of my LO's has been accepted for publication! How exciting! It will be published in Scrapbook News and Review's issue that comes out Jan 24th. What a way to start off 2010 :)

I also finished another LO based on one of Pamela's amazing sketches that will be available next Monday. I will take some pics tomorrow and post sneaks for you!

Sketch # 181

This one is called "He Was Here". The journaling reads, "Santa drank our milk and obviously liked our cookies. You're very welcome." My daughter approved of this one! :) Again, using Webster's Pages paper and velvet ribbon and Maya Road blossom and sheer journaling spots.

Check out Scrapbook Challenges to see Sketch 181 that Pamela created for this, that inspired this page and to play along for a chance to win a prize from this month's sponsor - Nikki Sivils! There, you'll also find weekly challenges and lots of other fun stuff to inspire you.

Thanks for taking a look!

Sneak peek!

A little peek at this Monday's upcoming Sketch 181!

A card for a good cause

I made a card to donate to someone who really needs it. Star Rork posted about it HERE. Please check out her post and help if you can. How often do you get a chance to use your art to make a difference?

Yay! Top 5 by Votes!

My page is in the top 5 now! How exciting :)

I made a new page last night but I can't share it yet - it's for Pamela's sketch that will be revealed this coming Monday. So not too long a wait :) I know I already made a page based on one of her other sketched for the end of the month, but this sketch is so awesome I just couldn't pass it up! Check out Scrapbook Challenges (link on right) on Monday to see it! I can tell you that it's called "He Was Here" and it's about Santa drinking our milk and eating our cookies. DD approved :)

OMG! - My LO is in 2Peas "Top 10 by Votes"

OMG!! The LO I posted earlier - "It's Warm Inside" made it into 2Peas "Top 10 by Votes" already! This has never happened to me before....but then again, I just started posting on 2Peas. LOL. Check it out here... Two Peas in a Bucket.

I am so excited! I gotta give props to Bo Bunny for that gorgeous snowflake paper!

Oh how I love snow

And Bo Bunny Snowy Serenade. I always liked Bo Bunny (esp. their Beu Jardin), but they just outdid themselves with this one. I love all those gorgeous snowflakes!
it totally inspired me to create this:

Confession (and a sneak!)

The truth is, before the LO I made based on Pamela's sketch for the blog hop, I'd never used a sketch before! I thought joining SC would be a good opportunity to explore working based on sketches. I completed a LO based on Sketch 183, which will be revealed in a few weeks, at the end of this month. And let me tell you, it's wonderful working with a sketch! It makes it go so much faster and takes some of the guesswork out, leaving more time for the fun part - choosing the pretty embellies :)

So, I wanted to share what I made but I can't, until the end of the month. But I can share some sneak peaks! Check back in at SC every week for the new sketches Pamela makes. They're very inspiring. And check back here or at SC for the full LO I made. It's about my daughter opening presents and it's called..."Dear Santa, Define 'Good'." LOL....I saw that title used by someone else and I fell in love with it.

I'm using the beautiful Webster's Pages paper, Winter's Wings line. Plus some Cosmo Cricket and the flower is a Maya Road velvet pleat. I colored the lace with Glimmer Mist.

In my defense

I mean, just look at that face.

Can't scrap with 'em, can't scrap without 'em

Lol...I'm referring to the kiddos, of course. They leave me no time to scrap...but without them, I'd have nothing to scrap about. Scrapping never even occurred to me before they came along. Those cute faces are my muses. But can't those muses give me at least a few minutes a day?? It really is all I ask for. Not an hour. Not even half an hour. Just a few minutes. Ugh.

You might wonder why I don't just go and scrap now. Well, I'll tell you. I'll share some intimate details that many of you likely won't approve of. In my defense, with my first child, my daughter, I did it all properly. She was sleeping alone in her crib her very first week home.

My son, on the other hand. Again, in my defense, my kids are 4.5 years apart and doing the whole "diaper" thing after all these years was a little...well, let's just say I didn't feel like doing it :)

So, I took the lazy way out, and yes, my son is still co-sleeping with me, almost 10 months later. My scrap room is attached to my bedroom. Hence, I am unable to utilize it while he's sleeping right there (I don;t know about you all, but when I scrap, I make a lot of noise).

So there you have it. By the way, if any of you have any super advice on how to get him out of my bed and into his own, please share. I'm open to ideas, in the interest of getting more scrapping time. Anything for scrapbooking!

Anyways, I have so many ideas on all the pages and albums I want to do. And so many good photos. And Pamela's great sketches are so inspiring I want to do them all! It all sits there in my head, calling out to me all day long and I simply have no time for any of it. Agh!

And the winner is...

Lisa, of Positively Lisa! Congrats! Email me at ileneemail@yahoo.com with your address and I'll get the 6"x6" papers RAK out to you ASAP. Thanks for the comment and for hopping by :)

Again, thank you all for playing and your sweet and generous comments. I wish I had enough 6"x6" papers to go around for everyone. But, I had so much fun with this, that I think I will have to do more giveaways! Make sure you add me to your friend list and check in sometimes for more chances to win and to see more of my work and sneak peaks of the upcoming sketches at Scrapbook Challenges.

HAPPY 2010!!!

Whew, that was awesome!

Wow, the Blog Hop was so much fun. We had such a great turn out and so many people participated and joined in, doing their own interpretations. Thank you to everyone who left a comment or friended me! I tried to leave back as many comments as I could. Some of you didn't have blogs, which made it a little hard :) Sorry if I missed anyone, just know that each comment was much appreciated. Thank you for all the kind words about my work and for all the congrats for making it on the team. I'm loving it already! Later this afternoon I will announce who won my little RAK and Pamela will announce who won all the goodies that were up for grabs!

In scrapping news, I'm in the middle of my project for the challenge that I will be posting later on in the month, and I printed the photos for the sketches I plan on doing. I'll try to get them done early so I can post some sneaks :)

New Year's Blog Hop

Hello 2010!!! Welcome all to Scrapbook Challenges New Year's Blog Hop! Yes, this is the one you've been waiting for. If you're just joining us, then please start at Pamela's Blog.

To introduce myself - I'm Ilene and I am a new member of Scrapbook Challenges DT! I can not express how honored and excited I am to be joining this wonderful group. I am so looking forward to meeting everyone and getting some awesome scrapping done! I can't think of a better way to start 2010. I won't bore you with too many details about myself. If you'd like to know a little more, then just scroll down to an earlier post (12/31). I made a few pages that can tell you all you need to know!

Without further ado - here's the sketch the very talented Pamela created for us, and my take on it. As you can see, I am resolving to change my evil, messy ways. The theme is New Year's - looking back on the old, froward to the new, resolutions, etc.



Now, about the wonderful prizes. I will choose one person randomly to win a RAK of 6"x6" papers, which will include one each of all the papers in Cosmo Cricket's The Boyfriend (18 sheets), Memory Box's Gliterrati (10 sheets), and Basic Grey's Motifica mini papers(6 sheets). To be entered to win, all you have to do is is either leave a comment for me, or add yourself to my "Follow" list. The link is on the right, under "Follow with Google Friend Connect", and make sure your picture/name gets added to the list when you're done.

Here are more prizes - there are many chances to win! These are salivation-worthy. Everyone who leaves a comment on ALL blogs in the blog hop, gets entered into a drawing for a collection of My Little Shoebox goodies. Everyone who does a layout based on the sketch this weekend and posts it in the Hop On section will get entered into a drawing for the "Origins" collection from Basic Grey. There will be a Prima RAK up for joining SC and another for inviting to SC. Some more details:

One lucky person who leaves a comment on all of our blogs in the DT/GDT blog hop will win a collection of goodies from My Little Shoebox:


One person who does the sketch and posts in the Hop On section will win the Origins collection from Basic Grey, which includes:
* Origins Collection Pack of 12 x 12 papers
* Origins Stitched Brads
* Origins White Tracery Doilies Paper
* Origins Brown Tracery Doilies Paper
* Origins Chip Sticker Shapes
* Origins Chip Sticker Abcs
* Origins Canvas Tags
* Origins Bloomers
* Origins Buttons


There are two packs from Prima Marketing, one will go to someone who JOINS the group this weekend, and the other will go to someone who INVITES someone to the group this weekend (through the invite link on the group):


And then one last RAK (which will be posted in the Hop On section) goes to one person who leaves a comment on the blogs in the Hop On section. They will receive an album and a bunch of trim from Rusty Pickle:


Thank you so much for stopping by and visiting my little piece of the internet. I so look forward to getting to know you guys and sharing our creations. Make sure you join Scrapbook Challenges if you aren't already a member. Each week, we have a new sketch created by Pamela, with plenty of examples from DT members, as well as weekly challenges and general fun and camaraderie. Start 2010 off on the right foot :)
Now, hop on over to CJ's Blog.