Let's All RUNAWAY!!

Because I made my boy feel like this (for asking him not to make a mess) . . .






I had a little runaway (sitting in the middle of our cul-de-sac), and I had to make one of these:



Which led to this:

Which made him feel:

Which means I have my little boy again! ;) Happy Day!

(I think we might be dealing with strep for the 3rd time. Poor thing is running a fever, and VERY emotional.)

Down in the Dumps!

Been in a funk that I just can't shake (actually that sounds like a great rock song title). But it's true. Just feeling blue lately.

Jimmy's been sick, but well enough to need mama. :) But those middle of the night "mom" calls are getting harder and harder to respond to. And sleeping on his floor, does nothing good for my back. Ahhh. Getting old is just fun.

And then I get a note in the mail about someone that put in an insurance claim for when the rock hit my car. I don't know what kind of damage it did to their vehicle, but either the rock hit their window too, which I can understand causing damage or some of my glass that came off hit them. Their insurance person doesn't see how I could be liable for that, but I will feel more at peace when the issue is resolved. :(

And then I am so SICK of digging trenches for the sprinkling systems. Ok we had it trenched, but there is always dirt that just falls back in. Bad dirt!! :( If one more person asks me if we're done yet, I'll scream. (Or at least assign them to come and help.) LOL!

So I guess I can see how I would be feeling kind of "out of sorts." But I have no patience for it. :( I want to feel happy and chipper all day, every day. Not possible. I realize that. Oh well.

I have one final card to share with you from the QK/AC blog share. I'm lovin' robots right now so the new Junior line from AC is just so AWESOME:





And if you're interested in playing along with me at 2Peas. My September "Year of You" class is now available. You just create a layout inspired by the class and upload it to the gallery. Here is the class. And here is my layout:

Oh, and if you want to win a Silhouette machine of your VERY OWN. Then be sure to visit both the American Crafts blog and the Quickutz blog and enter. That is quite a prize!!

The regular Silhouette machine is now VERY cheap at 2Peas as well. Gotta love that!

i did it

I thought and thought how I could create the page I was thinking of when I was prompted to complete a different layout with an even more important Joey subject. I sobbed through the whole process. But it is a beautiful memory, and I needed to say out loud the things of my heart. I will share it with you when it's mine again. I'd like that.

And thank you!
More QK/AC and Emotional Roller Coasters



Ok, just to get this off my chest. I'm working on a project, and I want to do a layout about Joey. I've had these gorgeous photos of him that I love. I mean REALLY love. And I can't seem to scrap them. What if I scrap them and the page isn't worthy of the photos or the memories? What if I scrap them and I'm one step closer to NEVER having another photo of him to scrap? What if I scrap them and all that pain comes rushing back? Sometimes I am so totally fine talking about him in my scrapbooks. And then other times it's a HUGE wall of fear and anxiety. I wish I could step out of my office right now, squeeze him a million times, take a hundred more photos, and go on as if nothing had happened. It's just one of those moments today. I'm still deciding if maybe I should just pick another set of photos. It's obvious I'm NOT ready yet. :(



On another and more happier note (because I'm really not sad today--just having these tiny sad threads of emotions that twist and turn and come and go). I wanted to share some more QK/AC goodness.

The happier note (pretending as if nothing is on my mind now) . . .

I am loving brown as a background right now. It's my new neutral color. So I created this card with both QK and AC goodies:



And if you haven't seen the new Junior line from American Crafts, just plan on getting it. I promise you that you'll NEED it. :) Here's a layout I created after being inspired by the AC dinosaur paper. (See I told you that you'll need it.)


Thank you for letting me take you on my high and low today. I know my blogger friends always understand. :)

Quickutz/American Crafts


Do you know what you get when you combine two VERY awesome companies? A chance for me to play!!

Anyone that knows me realizes that I have a slight addiction to American Crafts products, and when Kerri Bradford invited me to play along with the Quickutz/American Crafts crossover blog week, I was totally into it!!


Did you know that by visiting the Quickutz blog and the American Crafts blog you can see beautiful examples of crossover projects? And you can WIN things!! (I love winning things.)


Here is a layout I created using die cuts from Quickutz and products from American Crafts. This is my softer side as I don't often work with pink, but I loved the new friend line from American Crafts:





And you can also see this card on the QK blog:




I learned on this card to only emboss part of my paper. COOLIO!!

And then on 2Peas, this week's challenge is to scrapbook yourself. Don't you think that's the hardest subject of all. So I chose a theme of asking myself why I can't do certain things. My list is actually quite LONGER but really there was only so much room to journal. LOL! You can see the list of supplies here at 2Peas:



That's the Way We Roll!

So yesterday I took the munchkin to his first day of 1st Grade. We were warned before we took him to his class that there were going to be "no kisses", but we were rewarded with a quick hug before he scooted in and sat at his desk. He doesn't need me any more. It was a little hard to see, but at the same time I'm thrilled he's so happy! Here he is (this is "I'm excited but your photography is annoying me face.").


And then I took Skyler (one of my young women from GA), Katelyn and her friend up to Temple Square where we saw this:


But on the way home as I was driving through a construction zone, I heard a horrible thud and crack and saw that my passenger van door window had been shattered by what I assume was a rock. Lovely!! Here's that little adventure photo:

The inside of the window looks like this (it looks like I've trapped a fuzzy something or other in the glass):



But before all that trauma I cranked out another LYB "Autumn Bliss" layout. Once again can I just say how I love the textures in this release: felt, sheer, shimmer, and embossed. So pretty. This layout reminds me of calmer times:



So it was an eventful day. The window people are coming today to replace my window. (I didn't appreciate my little van so much until I had to drive the hubby's Oldsmobile WITHOUT air conditioning on a 98 degree day. Sweaty!!)

So how was your yesterday? LOL!

First Day Jitters

For both her and ME!! Yesterday was the open house. I'm happy with the school, the teachers, and the fact that although she doesn't seem to have many classes with friends she DOES have lunch with them. Whew!! It freaks me out how grown-up she looks. In the last month, we've discovered the curling iron and make-up. I feel so old!

The little man starts tomorrow and we meet his teacher today. He's much more calm about it all. Kate and I tend to get nervous about new things. I think they are going to have a great year (I sure hope so)!

Working away this morning--big surprise. Playing with my latest goodies from Little Yellow Bicycle. Created a Autumn card set with the Autumn Bliss line. You can see the items for purchase here.




And then even though their Halloween items haven't yet shipped, I actually have them. Hee, hee. Rude, huh?!! So I thought I'd make a Halloween set as well. Here you go:



And then here is an Autumn Bliss layout. Can't believe the change in the weather here lately. Finally cooling to the low 80's. Makes a huge difference. Of course it's supposed to be in the high 90's on Saturday when we are doing our sprinkling system. Naturally!! :(



Now I'm off to bathe my very dirty little munchkin and finish up laundry for the week. Does it ever stop? Sheesh!! LOL!

Oooh, I'm Playful and Graphic! LOL!

Over at 2Peas they have been advertising Garden Girls one by one by giving us a descriptive summary and then linking everyone to our Garden Gallery. Mine went up today and I'm "playful and graphic." It's fun to learn how other people perceive you. I like that description! Thanks, Mel!!

The Garden went up on Saturday. I had a school layout which documents my son's terrible behavior at his Kindergarten graduation. You can find the supply list and more photos of this layout here.




And then we had one more pattern paper themed layout, and I chose to add photos to a pattern paper grid. VERY cute paper from K&Co. You can see the layout here.



And then I couldn't go without pointing out some of the other design team's awesome work:

* Wendy Bretz is an amazingly clean and graphic designer. Love this back-to-school layout!

* And something in the colors of this layout by Margie just make me want to PAINT!!

* And Cindy Liebel knocked it out of the park with all the gorgeous pp's she used on this cute teddy bear layout.

On another note, my oldest is headed out to Junior High tomorrow. She's both excited and nervous. I'm happy for her. And then Jimmy goes to 1st grade on Wednesday. What a busy week it's going to be. :)

New Giveaway Winner!!


The new winner is Lydia!! Ok you have until Sunday evening to contact me, and then I'll pull another name. :)
Dealing with Grief

I wanted to share a new blog that I strongly want to support. Amanda Probst started a beautiful blog to support those of us who have lost loved ones. It is a challenge blog that encourages us to share our memories and thoughts of our loved one (and our grief) through scrapbooking. As many of us have people we have lost, I thought I'd share the link here: Good Grief Blog.

I Challenge You!!

Want to play along at the 2Peas "Weekly Challenge?" Then create a layout with a unique shape (see my sunshine) and load it into the 2Peas Gallery. Just make sure to mark the appropriate "challenge box" during the uploading process. And you might be selected to win a fabulous prize from one of the 2Peas Sponsors. I'd love to have you play along. You can find the challenge here.

On another note, I'm picking another giveaway winner tomorrow (just to give Wendy a little bit more time to respond). So keep an eye out!!
Have a wonderful Friday!!
Tutorial and My Current Wishlist!!

Ok, first off if Wendy L doesn't contact me by tomorrow morning, I'm picking a new winner for the Giveaway. :) So e-mail me!! LOL!

Secondly I created a tutorial for the Scrapbook Trends Blog for changing a photo from color to Black and White. You can see that here. (I used PS 7 for the tutorial. I'm itching to get my hands on a much more current version.)

Ok, lots of stuff for CHA is pouring into stores. And I've already gotten my hands on some.

The first is the Autumn Bliss line from Little Yellow Bicycle. YUMMY stuff I'm telling you. :)


These chipboard frames are embossed and just wonderful.





And if you like clear pieces, then this autumn set is a MUST HAVE:

And if you like journaling die cuts, these are lovely:



And wanna see some DARLING Halloween stuff. Then you must see the new stuff from American Crafts. How about these Flair designs?



And this Haunted House paper is just so fun:

And I've started a collection of embossing folders, and this one just made the cut!!

And one last thing, but I love Jenni Bowlin's Bingo cards. And these school ones are in such happy colors.


And one final note, we have had the strangest summer. After all that broken arm drama, the little man also has strep and a broken tooth. Good grief!! Parenthood!!

Back to School - Scrapbooking Style
Just wanted to point out some fun educational options for scrapbooking.

The first is the weekly "Work it Out" technique I write about on the Scrapbook Trends blog. This week's lesson is on changing a photo from black and white to color. I post a new technique each Wednesday.


And then 2Peas is having some VERY awesome classes. One of the most popular right now is "Thinking Inking" by Jennifer McGuire. Everyone knows what a great stamper she is and she has been uploading 2 classes per week for the past few weeks that include videos and tips for using the coolest products in inking.


And then if you want a monthly layout, I'm teaching the rest of Robyn Werlich's class "A Year of You." This class comes with a pdf that you can download and print out.


Into digital scrapbooking or want to learn, Sande Krieger is teaching awesome classes for Photoshop Elements. :)


And Shimelle Laine has a really fun class in store "Stress Free Scrapbooking", which you can purchase that helps you use your printer to create some awesome elments for your pages. You can purchase that here.


And I'm currently working on some fun projects for Quickutz and the Silhouette machine. They will appear on their blog in a few weeks. Thanks for letting me play along, Kerri!

Thank You for Your Prayers & Positive Thoughts!!
We got a cast--in red, his favorite color. And NO surgery. Bless each of you!
Giveaway Winner!!

Ok, Miss Heather L you are my winner. Now you have 48 hours to contact me at js_gallacher@hotmail.com to get your prize. :)
Man Down!!

Oh the life of a parent (and a six year old little boy)! So we were heading out to help some good friends move, and I went to pick up Jimmy from his friend's house. His little friend opened the door just a crack. "Is Jimmy here?" "Yes, he's laying on the floor 'cause he's hurt." (I'm not worried. He often gets hurt or plays hurt.) "Can I see him?" "Yes," she answers and opens the door a little more. And then I knew, he wasn't crying he was CRYING.


I just knew.


You see I broke my arm when I was about 8 years old. I remember that feeling--that don't even touch it, or move it, or let the wind blow on it awful feeling. And I could tell.


And I remember when Kate broke her arm. Exactly the same.


So I took him home, picked up Brett and off to the ER we went because of course it's now 5:15 p.m.


We finally figured out what had happened. He was getting off the tramp and hit his bum or other arm on the tramp which caused him to fall backwards and land on his arm, which fractured his elbow.


He was a trooper and absolutely hilarious at the hospital. He thought it was cool. Weird child!!


At one point he asked me to hold his arm still so he could pick his nose. Then he told Brett not to sing and snore because we were in the hospital. And then he giggled when they wrapped his arm in the sling because he looked like a mummy. Yeah, he's pretty entertaining.


But the part that absolutely KILLED me was when they took the X-rays. The way he cried out as they tried to manipulate his arm. Deep pain. Sickening pain. And I cried. And his Dad cried. (You see going to the hospital will always be hard for us--there's no such thing as a simple emergency to us any more.)


We brought him home, as well as, his "bag bone" which is what he's calling his x-ray folder. And Monday we're supposed to follow up with an Orthopedic Surgeon. Please keep him in your prayers that he won't need surgery.


I really hope they cast him because school starts in about a week and you CANNOT ask a six year old to keep still and not bump his arm. Yeah right!!
Giveaway!!
So I'm here in Utah helping Little Yellow Bicycle with CKU-Provo, and I got to share a sneak peek of their latest release with the students. And let me tell you . . . it's a crazy awesome release!! If you can dream it up, they have created it. And I love every little piece. (I had so much fun that I had a CHA dream, and I didn't even go--just dreamed I was selling and meeting people all night. LOL!)

But when I came home I realized that I have several items from their release from last year that it's time to let go to a good home. Are you a good home? Would you like to care for these orphaned goodies?

If so, leave a comment in the comments section before Sunday at midnight MST. I will choose a random winner Monday morning. Once I have posted the prize winner, you must send me your e-mail with your address within 48 hours SO BE SURE AND CHECK BACK!! (I've had a few people that never sent me their address and didn't get their prizes--and that's no fun!)

If you'd like to see either Karen Foster Design's latest releases or Little Yellow Bicycle's releases you can check the links found in their names. Fun, fun, fun stuff!!



A Digi Layout and Punches I can't Live Without!!

I KNOW that you have tools in your scrapbook supplies that you just can't live without. I certainly do. I thought I'd share some of my favorite punches that I regularly use.

The first are circle punches. I have them in the following sizes:

1/3"

.5"






1.75"

2"

2.25"

And I have the following border punches:

Binder Hole Edge Punch (but I have the Stampin' Up version)


Upper Crest Border Punch

(To see the supplies used in the digital layout check it out here at 2Peas.)


Do You Have Ugly Days?

I'm having one today. I call days "ugly" when I've just gotten caught up in the day and my hair is kind of a wreck, make-up never made it to my face, I'm wearing my least favorite clothes because there is only this or dirty laundry. So today I confess is an "ugly".

And do you know what I HATE about "ugly days?" When I still have to venture out into the world. And do you what I REALLY HATE about "ugly days." When someone I know recognizes me and then TALKS TO ME!! Darn it!! (As if my ugly disguise would hide me from the world.)

Serves me right for going out without putting on my face and detangling my hair. But ARG!! :(

And no!! This post is NOT going to have a photo. Nice try, though.
Is It Seriously August Already?

Where did the Summer go? My goodness. My kids start back to school in 2 weeks. Crazy!!

I've been recovering from CHA and other deadlines. Some months are just VERY busy. Last month I typically worked 6 hours a day. This month will be more like 4 hours a day.

Yesterday I was so tired of our crazy schedule that I claimed half the day as our own and took the kids (finally) to see the new Harry Potter movie. Fabulous!! I thought it captured the emotions of the characters perfectly. Can't wait to see the next one. And I'm excited to see the "Percy Jackson" movie they are creating I loved those books as well. I love a movie made after a book I love.


The 2Peas Garden went up yesterday. Here are two of mine. This first one is following the pattern paper theme. I chose to stitch pattern papers together like a quilt.






And for this one I stamped on pattern paper with the new Basic Grey stamps. So cute! (That beautiful woman is my lovely sister due to deliver in October. Isn't she gorgeous?)



And I just have to share some of my other favorites this month by the Garden Girls. They are just amazing!!

* I love this "Boy, Boy, Girl" layout by Shannon Tidwell. I love those little people and the way they are covered with pattern paper. :)

* And Tia's cover for her daughter's album is just cool, cool, cool!

* Jennifer McGuire used Doodlebug's new chunky glitter on these cards, and I might need to get some of these now. :)

* Kelly Purkey's use of Tia's digital camera file is just awesome. How cute is the camer in this layout?

* And this project by Sande Krieger is just a gorgeous piece of art.

I told you they are amazing. :) Hope you have a lovely Sunday!

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