For the love of Pink Paislee, a Worldwin Giveaway

On Monday it was my day to post on the Pink Paislee blog. I managed to do so by the skin of my teeth. I swear the skin on my teeth was the only thing NOT affected by gnarly cold I managed to catch from Morgan and her preschool. Why... WHY?!!!! Tuesday I was out of it for most of the day. It was pretty much one of the longest days of my life, and I slept most of the time! Today I am still congested, but I feel tons better than yesterday. It's such a glorious feeling. Isn't that funny to feel great when you don't feel great? It's because I know it's all uphill from here. Steve had me worried I might have laryngitis or need to go to the doctor or something. I just wanted it overwith! I hate feeling helpless.

ANYWAY.... Monday was my day on the Pink Paislee blog. I decided to do a layout about Payton and how she is changing, so made my own trees, inspired by the trees in the Spring Fling line. You can check out the whole blog post here.




I've decided that since I didn't post this on Monday, or Tuesday, and now it's Wednesday, and National Scrapbooking Day is on Saturday... well, I thought I should just do a giveaway. In addition to Pink Paislee, I am also on the Worldwin Design Team. And it just so happens that I have a pile of Worldwin Cardstock that matches the Spring Fling and Office Lingo lines very well. And it just so happens that I feel like giving some of it away. How about that?

Just make a post to this post letting me know what Pink Paislee line is your favorite. I would also like to know if you have ever used Worldwin cardstock before. That's it. I'll leave this open through Saturday and have Morgan draw a winner Sunday morning. And since there are only 2 people that read this blog, the chances are very good that YOU are the one to take this cardstock home! And who doesn't like cardstock! I promise you will like Worldwin cardstock. And who knows what else I might include (wink, wink!).

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Studio Calico layouts and an opportunity at 6 months free!

Below are my layouts for the May kit at Studio Calico. Delicious, I tell ya! And guess what! If you are someone who has yet to sign up on the message board with a username, there is a big, HUGE, Gigantic I tell ya.... opportunity to win a 6 month subscription in honor of National Scrapbooking Day which is Saturday, May 3.


Simply sign up at the Studio Calico message board, and make a post on this thread. Post that I sent you there and that's it! It's a very generous offer. Be sure you post before Saturday, though. And if you already sub, just don't have a username, you will be refunded your May payment and get the next 5 months for free.

Easy peasy... so get over there! And good luck! And let me know if I made you a winner!

Okay, on with the layouts....

These are some of my favorite photos of Payton with her Grandma. I am so lucky to have captured this sweet little moment in time. It just touched me. PJ can be a little shy and a bit unfriendly, so I just loved seeing her playing with Grandma on her birthday.

I machine stitched my journaling lines for a little added detail on this one.

I have about 30 pictures of Morgan outside in this old Halloween costume. The photos are all so sweet and I can't wait to scrap another one. She has just got this free spiritedness, you know?

I got the Cosmo Cricket chipboard robot package, and decided to make some flowers out of these gears. I really like how funky they turned out.

I also used the fun Dialed stamp by Studio Calico as my faux sun. I then handstitched around the outside, because no Davinie layout is complete without a few holes poked into it, lol.

This layout. This one. This one was for me. I almost didn't send it to Scarlet for my gallery this month. I almost kept this layout to myself. This photo makes me a bit sad. You see, it's the last photo I have with my family and my Grandjack, who passed away last month. The reason that I am sad is because it isn't perfect. It's the last one, and it isn't perfect. Morgan is wearing that silly costume. Payton didn't want to sit with him. Grammie is standing up and the photo isn't balanced. But the worst part? In the series of photos that were taken, there isn't a single photo where everyone is smiling, everyone has their eyes open. That said, I modified that by taking the best photo of the rest of us... and layering the best photo of Grandjack over the top. I printed a photo with him and his best smile a tad bigger than the other photo, and then trimmed it out and layered it over the top of the photo with the rest of the family. It works because it makes him more of the focal point, which is what I wanted this layout to be about.

After the photo was worked out I really struggled with the title. I didn't want it to be "The last one" or something like that, because I wanted this layout to be a celebration of him, which is why I used the circle and the butterflies. Metamorphosis and the Circle of Life, in a way. And then I didn't know what to do for my journaling. Again, I didn't want this to be a sad layout. I found this quote, though, and thought it worked really well:

What greater thing is there for human souls than to feel that they are joined for life to be with each other in silent unspeakable memories. - George Eliot

I found the quote a bit profound. It only takes a moment for you to be connected with someone forever.

I used a lot of machine stitching on this one.

I jsut had fun with this card. I can't wait to find someone to send this to, lol.

Again, I had fun with those gears! I wish I could buy another package of chipboard that only had the gears in it. The possibilities are endless!

I enjoyed mixing some of the fun kit patterns with this card. This is not normally paper I would ever mix together, so it was so fun to do that for this card.

Thanks for taking a peek at my projects! Now get over to Studio Calico and register a username! :)

It's UN Earth Day but you can still go green

So I forgot to post yesterday, Earth Day, but every day is an opportunity to do what you can to save the environment and add some green back into your wallet, right?

First, go here: Worldwin has gone green, which is really exciting, and if you answer a few questions, you will be entered to win some great paper. Everyone can use a little cardstock, right? The weight, texture, is fabulous. I use Worldwin on just about every project.

Also, I received an email newsletter from HGTV today, and it linked to this great website.
www.ecologue.com
There's a lot of great "go green" ideas for your home, as well as craft ideas, etc. I think I'll be visiting there more often! I was really inspired by what I saw.

Speaking of green, that Junk Beautiful book I talked about in my last post is fabulous for inspiring you to create beautiful home decor items that make use of what would normally be considered junk. First one my list? To find an old croquet set. Yep. There's a great idea to use an old croquet set as a foundation for a fun and interesting rack to store you mops and brooms. I always have trouble with my mops and brooms being in the way, so I think this is a great idea to reuse an old croquet set. What else are you supposed to do with them once a piece has broken or a ball goes missing? Fabulous idea. When I get a chance I'll photograph the section in the book to show you what I'm talking about... and hopefully I'll have my hiney in gear soon to actually show you MY finished broom and mop holder. lol

Have a great week!

I'm Sneakin' In!

I was the last of my crew to receive my kit so I am a little behind my girls at Studio Calico with some May sneaks. I'm knee deep in scrappy goodness, but I stepped away for a moment to get a couple of sneaks to share, so I won't feel left out, lol.

At first I thought this kit was going to be difficult for me, but the more I work with it, the more amazed I am by how much I love it. It's been fun to stretch my creative brain this month! I will post more later.... must. head. back. into. the. scraps......

I have a couple of chick flicks planned for tonight after the kids are in bed, while hubby is at work, so wish me luck!

Inspiring Finds and some altered projects

For my birthday I got a gift certificate to Barnes and Noble, so I decided to use it as an opportunity to find some fun craft books for inspiration in and outside of paper crafting. The first one I got was because of my love for the Angry Chicken blog, which I often visit. You may have heard of it:

I am very excited about this book, because I am basically a bend the rules kind of sewer anyway. I don't know what nap means, I don't go with the grain... I sew where it looks pretty and all that. This book has a lot of niblits that intrigue me imensely and I can't wait to make some of the projects inside.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Bend-the-Rules-Sewing/Amy-Karol/e/9780307347213/?itm=1

The second book arrived on my doorstep the other day and I am ALLLLL over it. Oh man. I am almost giddy with joy and the possibilities in my home transformation.

Oh man. Oh man oh man oh man. Even my husband was drooling over this little gem. I come from a family of hoarding antiquers and I married a man from a family of hoarding antiquers. And I can't wait to cut stuff up and make gorgeous furniture and accents for my home. right. now. I have several old kitchen gadgets sitting in a box right now that are going to be transformed into a valance in my dining area, courtesy of some yummy weathered barnwood. Oh the possibilities!

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Junk-Beautiful/Sue-Whitney/e/9781561589814/?itm=1

Doing other crafts helps me with my papercrafting too. It is so much easier to be inspired when you are surrounded by inspiring things. So these two books make me really. happy.

I've been busy lately so I haven't been around much, but I think you should check this out:

http://www.truenorthparenting.com/

Isn't that a great site? I was recently asked to write articles on scrapbooking for this magazine and I was beyond thrilled with the invitation! I am still in the process of getting everything ironed out, so wish me luck. It would be wonderful to be included in this publication. I think it's a brilliant idea to include scrapbooking in a parenting resource magazine and site, so that makes being included even sweeter.

Lastly I'll leave you with some projects I have been working on. The first is a little birdie garland I made with Worldwin Ruche and Colormates cardstock to celebrate spring. I am always inspired by Melissa's use of this color palette, so decided to give it a go for this project.

I searched around online and found a bird pattern, printed it out, and then altered it a bit until it was the shape I wanted before trimming it out. I then used it as the pattern for all of my white birdies. After trimming them out I adhered each bird to the colored cardstock before trimming it out a bit larger.

For one of my projects for Pink Paislee this month, I decided to alter a wood doorhanger. I know the parties are over, but I thought it would be fun to have this for next year. I covered a Scenic Route chipboard girl and made a birthday sign to hang on the doorknob to spoil my girls on their special day. I had a lot of fun with this project and can't wait to put it to use.

That's it for today! I received my Studio Calico kit and am busy getting projects together so I can share some peaks soon. This one is a stretch for me which makes it even more fun to play with.

Have a great week!

Some Cards from Cards

I have been fortunate enough to be published in Cards magazine a few times this year. I thought I'd share the cards that were in the January, February, and March issue. You might recognize some of these from Studio Calico.

This first card was in the January 2008 issue in the Winter section. I placed a Basic Grey die cut tag on cardstock to create my card shape. I then trimmed out a snowflake and layered it on a Hambly journaling spot.
At first this card was not picked up. It wasn't until a couple of weeks after the calls had gone out that this card was requested. I am guessing that something became unavailable or didn't work. I'm not going to complain, because it was a very nice surprise!

This card was made with the September kit from Studio Calico, my first kit. My DT work started with the October kit, so I just bought this one for fun. I really liked playing with the color combo in this one! This card was in the flower section of the February issue of Cards.

These next cards were in the March issue of Cards magazine. This particular card was made with the October kit from Studio Calico. It was in the quick and easy section. I inked my chipboard alphas and then put a Fontwerks rubon over the top. And of course I machine stitched everywhere.

My Yo card is in the punches section of the March issue. I also used some hand stitched circles to embellish this card. The photo in the magazine has this card under someone's shoe! They are always so creative with their photography in this magazine.

Lastly is this So Very Happy card in the March issue. I made this for DT work at IMCK. I made the circular shaped card to go with my Scenic Route chipboard. All products here are Scenic Route. This card was in the chipboard section. I guess Cards liked that Sentiment circle too!

I'm going to do better about highlighting my published work. Once it's out for pub I take it out of all my galleries, so I never really see it again. It's nice to bring things back out again!

Enjoy the rest of your week! Davinie

It's birthday time again! My little sweetie is 2. Bear with my reminiscent post, lol

Oh, my precious little crumbcake is 2 years old... and before I go into the festivities, I need to reminisce about her birth.


Sweet Payton Jayne was due on April 30th. Because Morgan was breech and had to be delivered via Cesarean, Payton was scheduled for a Cesarean delivery too, because the hospital in our little town doesn't do V-BAC's. This was actually fine by me because I have a high pain tolerance and Morgan's delivery was a breeze. I barely took any pain meds and healed quickly.


On March 29, 2006, my sister-in-law was in town and so we were at Steve's parent's house, because it was my neice Mallory's.... 11th? birthday. We did a little game about guessing the name, sex of the baby, delivery date, etc. As with Morgan, we didn't know who our little bun was... but I thought, yet again, that I was carrying a boy.


Early in the AM of March 30 Morgan woke up in the middle of the night and I got in bed with her to get her back to sleep. At the time we had already set up bunkbeds in her room, and because I was @9 months pregnant and against the wall, I couldn't get out without fear of waking her, so I just stayed there the rest of the night, lol. I was trapped! Steve was on shift that day, so when he left for work he eventually found me and pressed a kiss to my calf and left for the firestation.


After we got up and our day began.... sorry if this is TMI.... but I lost my mucus plug. eek. With Morgan I never went into natural labor so I wasn't sure if that's what happened, and I had no idea what it meant if it had happened, so I googled it. Yes I did. And I emailed a few people. Yes I did. From my googling I saw that you could lose it a few weeks before delivery so I figured I was fine.


Shortly thereafter I started getting a little crampy. And irritable. And then I started wetting my pants. I didn't think my water broke because after I wet my pants I'd be able to go and actually pee and then make it stop, and from what I understood, when your water broke you couldn't make it stop. This happened a few times, and after a few jammie changes, I started getting worried. Still in denial about the thought of actually being in labor, but worried... and irritated about the wardrobe changes.


I figured I should probably go to the doctor's office and get checked out, so I decided I'd probably better take a shower and shave my legs, lol. At 2, Morgan liked to take showers with me, so she was in there while I was ungracefully trying to shave my legs over a big belly, all the time cramping a little, peeing a little, LOL. I had called the doctor's office and the nurse I was talking to wasn't sure I was in labor, but said I should come in so that they could be sure the fluid wasn't amniotic fluid.


I called my sister and asked her to come over while I popped into the doctor's office. It would be easier if I didn't take Morgan with me. After she got there, I called Steve to get his thoughts. He asked if I wanted him to get a replacement and leave work. I said no. I really didn't think I was in labor! I was 35 and 6/7 weeks pregnant, and my baby was scheduled for a Cesarean delivery on April 18. Family was already coming in from out of town that date.


After peeing again, changing again, LOL.... I grabbed a panty liner and headed to the doctor's office. Seriously. I didn't have anything else! Nothing happened while in the car, so I thought I was fine. I walked into the doctor's office, walked up to the receptionist to give her my name.... and my water broke all over the place. It gushed down my windbreaker pant legs and I just looked down in disbelief, and then looked up with owl eyes to let her know. lol

I was quickly ushered into the office where it was confirmed that my water did break and I was going to have a baby that day. It was March 30. It was a month early. I was 35 weeks and 6/7 days pregnant. My cell phone wouldn't work in the office so I borrowed the nurse's cell to phone Steve, who, fortunately, was NOT in denial and had already scheduled to have someone replace him. He was ready to go.

The hospital was across the street from my OB's office, but they wouldn't let me walk there. I had to get back into my soggy windbreaker pants, and sit in a wheel chair while the nurse zipped me across the street, lol. By the time I was in a room and getting all my vitals taken, Steve had arrived.

My mind was ALL over the place at this point. I didn't bring a single thing with me. Morgan and I hadn't gone out to lunch... I hadn't purchased her a special big sister dollie or told her how much I loved her and how excited I was to give her a sibling, etc. She didn't even know what was going on. And here I was going to have a baby. Today. And she was going to spend the night away from me for the first time. Ever. I was a mess. My family wasn't in town. My sister was going to fly down. Speaking of the sister.... I had posted on my blog about my mucus plug, etc., and she and my mom were already scrambling together to head down when they didn't hear anything more from me. But with Morgan, Alyca had been unable to be in the room with us during delivery, and I had wanted her there to take pictures, etc. We had already scheduled to allow her in the delivery room this time. And she was in Seattle. And I was getting ready to have a baby in Central Oregon, 6 hours away.

My stress level was UP. Way Up. And the contractions were starting to really hurt. And because I was so stressed and unprepared I was not relaxed at all, so it was making it worse. I was expecting another scheduled Cesarean. I was unprepared to work through any kind of labor pains.

I was also in a hurry. The baby's vitals were such that a Cesarean needed to happen rather quickly. And then there was talk of having me transported to Bend, because since I wasn't 36 weeks they wanted me closer to the NICU for the baby, etc. But labor was progressing quickly enough where any talks of transport, VBAC's, etc., were not an option. This baby needed to come via Cesarean anyway.

At one point Steve thought he was being cheeky, and leaned over and said "This is where you tell me you hate me and it's all my fault." I can honestly say that I actually felt that exact emotion right then. I am a very controlling person, and this was NOT the plan. My glare pretty much nailed him to the floor and he didn't do that again, lol.

When Morgan was born Steve didn't watch it at all. He didn't like seeing his SWEET little wife (lol) with her belly open. But he watched this time. And when our baby came out, it was Steve who said "It's a girl, It's Payton!" to let me know who had joined our family.

Payton was 7 pounds 11 ounces and 20 inches long. Seems like a full term baby size to me. But she WAS preemie. She had vernix all over her, which is a sign, she slept the first month, which is another sign. At first I was thinking the dates must have been VERY wrong. Nope. She's an independent girl, and her first act as the little sassy thing she is now was to make daddy have to return the April charm he got for my charm bracelet, lol. For she was a March baby, just like him. There was a moment where she almost headed to Bend and the NICU without me because her sugar levels, I think, were really low, but a determined nurse worked with her for a bit and gave her two doses of what she needed, and my strong girl got to stay with me.

It was a surprising, amazing experience. I got to experience labor! I never thought I'd get to experience any part of the labor process. And fortunately, this time was just as easy as the last with regards to pain and healing.

So that was then. 2 years ago. My baby. And now she's two. And if you are still reading you can continue and see what I did for her birthday party. :)

A cupcake party for a cupcake lass

Oh, I just loved making stuff for this party. I wish I had time for more, because I loved every minute of it.

Of course Payton had a birthday crown, and because her theme was cupcakes, I decided to make her a crown like her sister's, but instead of butterflies, did a row of cupcakes all around. I LOVE this crown. It is all Making Memories Garden Party, with a little bit of Doodlebug glitter cardstock thrown in. The jewels on the candles are from Kaiser Scrapbooking and were part of my April kit at Studio Calico. I'm telling you, that little package lasts a long time!

Lucky for me I got a photo of her smiling once or twice. There have been so many parties lately that now that it was finally her day, you didn't have to line out the drill for this little munchkin. She had the routine down pat. And she was super cute to boot:

For example... we sang Happy Birthday and my little chickpee blew out the candles on her own the millisecond the song was over. Not too soon, and not too late. It was SO cute. And she did a good job! AND I caught it all on film. AND the photos are in focus! SCORE!

Look! I even caught candle smoke!

Don't you just LOVE that cake shape? The pan is from Wilton, and I do believe it's the cutest darn thing on the planet. It's two pans, the ridged cupcake tin portion, and then a larger piece that sits on top for the cupcake. SO cute. I did have to make two sets of cake batter though, because I forgot to grease it first and I wasn't able to extract the first cake successfully.... so should you get one, don't forget to do that!

Heeeeheeee~! This teeny tiny picture is this amazing pan! It's the Wilton Giant Cupcake Pan. Check out that site for some cute decoration ideas. Ooh. And while googling my pan I also found this site, which I will have to visit again when I'm in a regular cupcake kind of mood!

I would have done something fancier with my cake, but it was so high that it touched the top of my cake stand lid, so I didn't want to frost it until it was almost time to eat it, and being the hostess of the party... well, you get sidetracked feeding people and having fun, so it was almost a last minute venture.

AND because I was at my MIL's house the day before, I never got around to making my own cake from scratch. And I SO wanted to. And Ree had me all set up with a carrot cake recipe too. But I ended up cheating and making Rainbow Sprinkle cake from Betty Crocker. Thank you Betty. And cream cheese frosting, a must. Thanks again Betty.

I also made some chicken chili for lunch for everybody. It was a cold day so it was perfect. And my dear friend, lol, the Pioneer Woman, hooked me up again with some quick and easy biscuits to serve with. Unfortunately, we have a bunch of picky friends, and finicky kids, so I didn't use the blue cheese. So basically it was biscuits smothered in butter. But geez. Who know that cutting biscuit bites would make all the difference? These suckers were GONE. Fast.

So.... our cupcake cake had a side of Umpqua Birthday Cake ice cream, something I had never tried before but figured would constitute a perfect fit for our festivities. And it was:

The birthday girl thought so, anyway. And does anyone else really matter as long as she is happy? No. I think not.

I was poking around online, looking for cupcake themed games and favors, and came across Pin the Candle on the Cupcake. Well, I was certainly not going to pay for that, so I decided to make my own. I used some cupcake embossed Love, Elsie paper, some Worldwin Cardstock, and some Making Memories paper, again with that delicious Garden Party line, for this game. I just used double sided tape for my candles. And the kids. Loved. IT. It really was quite the hit! It was all mounted on poster board. We've been playing it every day since. The kids really love being blindfolded.

Another thing I did was make a cupcake banner. I couldn't get a good photo of it to save my life, but I wanted to share it anyway. I made this thing in about 5 minutes. It really was quite simple, super cute, and perfect for our theme.


And, because I just can't stop, I continued the cupcake them with our party favors. Unfortunately, I didn't run across this site until just days before the party, so didn't have time to coerce someone into making these or trying them myself, but aren't these ADORABLE!?

They are made by this gal on a blog called Bakerella. I am going to be stalking this blog like mad for all of my foofy baking needs. I SO wish I had seen this sooner.

I ended up finding some chocolate cupcake lollipops on Ebay. I also picked up some party favor bags with cupcakes on them through Ebay too. And while searching for them I came across cupcake candles that Target made too. Too bad I missed that in the store! They are so cute!

It was cupcake mania!

NOW.... what do you get for a 2 year old girl who has a 4 year old bigger sister that isn't repititious? She did NOT need any sort of stuffed animal.

Hubby and I were actually AT Target shopping together... and we came across the kiddie gardening aisle. Have you seen it? Oh dear, it's the cutest aisle in the world and I could have bought everything in it ten times over. For me. Forget the kids. I want a butterfly rain slicker with matching boots and a lounge chair. And a water bottle. And a magnifying glass. And a bucket with a shovel. And a tunnel. LOVED it.

I let Steve pick it out, so instead of a flower tunnel we got the Chamelion. It was a perfect idea. The kids love romping around in it which means they are exercising and having fun, PLUS it folds up compactly, PLUS it can go outside. So I am happy.

We also got two magnifying glasses, a flower for Payton and the snake for Morgan. They love those too, so I am very happy with what we got her.

Also... because I know how you are enjoying this post right now, lol.... we got her some outfits for her potato heads, because it's one of the few toys she's into, and I also got her some bedding.

I am determined to make some shabby quilts for the girls' beds, so I got Payton a plain pink comforter for her bed. I figure I'll use it for stuffing and make a quilted duvet cover of sorts. And because I'm also NOT into themed bedding, rather than going for themed comforters, I figure they can have fun sheets. So we got her Hello Kitty.

One of the big hits at gift time was this donkey. Isn't she the cutest thing. EVER?! She's a bouncy toy, which will be great with my Chamelion tunnel, lol. I've got a regular gym now!

We will be visiting my Mom in Portland in June for the Rose Festival. Ever year it dumps rain on us so when my mom asked what to get PJ I suggested a rain jacket. She got her the cutest ladybug jacke with matching boots. I hope it rains now, just so she can wear it!

It was such a fun party! Now you must feel like you were actually there! lol