A sneak peek of my CHIT CHAT CHALLENGE page

Tomorrow is the BIG DAY at CHIT CHAT CHALLENGE! We will be posting our first challenge. I thought you might want to see a sneak peek of my page -- just to get you thinking. I hope you will join in because it will be a lot of fun and there are great RAKs.

Hope to see ya......

Have fun with your stash

I really wanted to play with my acrylic paints. I added a little of this and that and created the foundation for building the rest of the page. I have been holding onto the the Tinkering Ink paper and knew that I wanted to cut out the branches and bird. I pulled some scraps from my left-over collection of pattern papers and went to work. I have added some cheap bling from Jo-Ann's fabric store, plenty of rub-ons, some lace, and a little bit of this and that to finish off the page.

I am sure you have lots of yummy goodies in your stash -- go pull them out. Never be afraid to mix and match whatever you have -- it is all about telling your story and creating art. That is all that ever matters.

Ashburn Family Scrapbooking Store

Today, I stopped by my LSS, The Ashburn Family Scrapbooking Store,
in northern Virginia. I used their Accu-cut to create some really cute felt embellishments. I will share a picture of them later -- and my oh my, you are going to lub lub how yummy and fun they are.

The owner of my LSS, Kely, and the gals are super friendly and helpful. They have a lot going on this weekend -- so if you live in the area be sure to visit the shop. There will be a free Halloween photo shoot with Marirosa Anderson on Sunday. It will be oodles of spooky fun. While you are getting cute pictures of the kiddies be sure to sign up for a class with Danelle Johnson, the designer of Creative Imagination's Creative Cafe. In November, she will be teaching several classes at the store.

I am planning on relaxing at home and getting a few scrapbook pages completed. I hope you have a delightful fall weekend and have the chance to crop crop crop.

HUGS
Wendi

BOYS!!!???

Sometimes it is so wonderful to catch those unexpected and wonderfully "BOY" moments. I love the photo I used on this page. Although, I should tell you, it is another summer layout since I have been too stressed and too busy this week to unleash my MOJO. In fact, my MOJO is hiding. But, the crazy thing is, I really want to scrapbook. I am crossing my fingers and my toes that I can relax and let my creative energy flow this weekend. I hope....I hope.....!!!!

What do you do with your less than perfect photos?

I love this photograph of me and my boys, but my baby boy is not looking at the camera. In the past, I have cropped the baby out and used just the image of me and my eldest. But, that bothered me. I hated taking the baby out. So, I decided to create a page that acknowledged the imperfection of the photo. And...isn't that the way life is? Kids will not (do not) freeze and smile so that we can take the perfect photograph and create the perfect scrapbook page. The truth is that we need to "be o.k." with the imperfect photographs. If we can accept the imperfections, we can capture our life, our kids, our families, just as they are. We can capture the IMPERFECTLY perfect. I want you to pull that blurry photo out of the box. Grab that holiday photo with the kids not looking at the camera -- and scrap it.

Create Love Notes

The journaling: Because I am your mother I find more things in life to smile about. Miles, your smiles inspire me. They are full of such energy, hope and carefree happiness. I love watching a smile dawn on your face -- it rises in your eyes and spills over into your cheeks. How can a mother thank her son for his smiles?



The journaling: Miles, what really amazes me is your ability to find joy in all that you do. No matter where you are...you always jump in...you give it 100%. I love that about you and hope it is a quality that you keep.



The journaling: Langston, because I am your mother I enjoy your sloppy wet kisses. I never imagined that even the second time around I would find such joy in wet baby kisses. It makes me kinda sad to see you grow up. I know that you will always love me, but the wet kisses will not last forever. Perhaps the best part of kissing you -- is that when I look into your eyes I see love, I see the best part of who I am, and I am humbled...I am moved.



Since my Mojo has taken leave lately I thought I would share something I created this summer. I made this mini-album as a compilation of love notes to my sons. It is freestyle and yet I love all the emotion that is bare and transparent in my journaling. Create "love notes" for someone you love -- it will be a {he}art project both of you will treasure.

CHIT CHAT CHALLENGE

Are you wild and crazy? Do you love to have fun with your scrapbooking goodies? Do you like to push yourself? Did you answer YES, YES, and YES -- then you must check out CHIT CHIT CHALLENGE. On November 1st the first challenge will be posted.

Stop by CHIT CHAT CHALLENGE and get to know the wonderful design team.

You must get XM radio!

You must get XM radio so that you can listen to XM 156 which is Oprah's station. I love to listen to Oprah's "Soul Series" -- I find it so uplifting and inspiring. I also love to listen to Dr. Maya Angelou. Anybody else out there listen to XM 156? Who is your favorite host? Do you ever find that you have arrived at your destination but can not get out of the car? Tell me all about it.

Do you doodle?

My hubby took a rare pic of me this summer so I thought I'd play around with doodling.I wanted to create a fun and playful page about myself. Doodling is a great way to give a whimsical feel to your {he}art work. Journaling is all over the page and includes: I love to dance with my husband, I love a big bowl of chili in the wintertime, I love teaching, I love my locks, I love waking up with a smile, I love to hike in the fall, I love my 2 boys, I love laughing until my stomach hurts......

It was a lot of fun to create and may be a technique you would like to give a try.

I have been tagged........

Finally, my day is over. Tuesdays are such a long day for me and my last class didn't end until 7:10. I am so glad to be home and I made it just in time to kiss the boys goodnight. There is nothing in this world like the sweet kisses of my boys. It is on days like this that I miss my boys so much. I look at them and I feel sad because they seem to be growing up so fast. So, I thought I might share an older picture of Langston. He is about 9 months is this picture. I loved his head full of curls.

Well, Dana tagged me. Check out her blog because she is an incredible scrapbook artist.

So here it goes.....

Jobs I've had:
1. salesperson at The Limited
2. cocktail waitress at a rooftop bar
3. waitress at Po-Folks
4. summer camp counselor

Movies I (do) could watch over and over:
1. Pretty Woman
2. When Harry Met Sally
3. The Italian Job
4. The Bourne Identity (and all of its sequels)

TV shows I watch:
1. Law and Order (all of them...all of the time...any time)
2. 24
3. Prison Break
4. House

Places I have lived:
1. Chicago, Illinois (where I was born)
2. Charleston, South Carolina (for college)
3. Baton Rouge, Louisiana (for graduate school)
4. Houston, Texas (as a little girl)

Favorite Foods:
1. crab cakes (no filler)
2. guacamole
3. Apple pie
4. Strawberries
(O.K. I know that is a weird list...what can I say)

Favorite Colors:
1. Red
2. Yellow
3. Brown
4. Black


Can you tell that I lub lub yellows and reds. They make me feel warm and safe -- they "feel" like home to me.

Places I would love to be now:
Hmm....this one is hard.
1. The Bahamas on vacation
2. In the mountains, in the woods, on a hike
3. In my car, on a Sunday drive, with the boys asleep in the back seat, and having a lovely conversation with my husband. Oh...and I want it to be 65 degrees and sunny.
4. In bed, on a rainy day, taking a very very long nap.

Names I like but would not use for my children:
1. Preston
2. Marley
3. Cole
4. Atticus

Wow! That was fun. I will tag--
1. Jann
2. Colleen
3. Cinnibonbon
4. Mye

O.K. sister-scrappers...now go spread the love!

When your own words are not enough.....

Sometimes I need a little help journaling and a song is the perfect solution. On this page I have used several verses from Mary J. Blige's song "Take me as I am."

The journaling reads "Now she's older now, she's wiser now. Can't disguise her now. She don't need no one tellin' her what to do and say. No one telling' her who to be. She's on solid ground She's been lost and found. Now, she answers to G-O-D. And she's confident this is not the end. Ask me how I know...cause she is me." The lyrics really seemed to fit my mood and the cut up photograph of me.

So I challenge you to find a song that speaks to your heart and your spirit and use it on a page.

3 things that I enjoyed this weekend

Tonight as I sit in bed (next to my snoring husband) and reflect on my weekend I know that the things I enjoyed the most -- were the simple things. We didn't do anything special. We rose early on Saturday morning and went to big brother's flag football game, we went home and sold a few things in our community yard sale, I went to a girlfriend's house for a few hours while daddy took the boys "geocaching" and then we spent the evening at home. And, of course, I got in a few hours of scrapbooking. Sunday was low-key and we had a few friends over the house. So....my short list of things I enjoyed this weekend are very simple.
1. I enjoyed sitting in my kitchen, with the windows open, and listening to the peaceful sounds of my fountain.

2. I enjoyed taking a walk and admiring the beauty of autumn.

3. I enjoyed taking pictures of my boys playing with their friends.

What did you enjoy doing this weekend? Now go get your paper and scrap it.

"Slightly Off Course" Jennifer....you are a winner!

You have won this...
Happy dance-Happy dance! Thanks for hanging out on my blog and, hey, your style rocks, too.

My man folds clothes

My dear hubby folds clothes. And, that is only one of the many many reasons why I love him. Let's see....
1. He fills up my gas tank on Sundays.
2. He cleans my car (He hates the juice boxes, snack bags, toys that litter the back seat).
3. He gives both boys a hair cut (to keep them cute and adorable, of course).
4. He watches (any version) of Law and Order with me. (It is the perfect compromise between sports and HGTV).
5. He doesn't care when or how long I hang out with my girls.
6. He calls me for lunch in the middle of day.
7. He can make me swoon when we dance to any of Robin Thicke's songs.
8. He still loves a fierce debate with me after watching the Sunday news shows.
9. He gives a mean massage
10. He is passionate about community service.

Wow...that wasn't hard at all. So, think about it, why do you love your sweetie? Now, go give 'em a call.

Today I am JOYFUL

I have a stack of work to do and a very long "to do list" but I am full of joy today. And, of course, I must express my joy in a creative way. So I ran to my personal scrapbook place and put together a quick page full of random goodies that make me feel happy. In moments like this, the most important thing is to journal the feeling. Journaling helps me savor the moment and makes me so much more appreciative of all my many blessings.

The journaling reads: "My joyful thoughts today: I am blessed and I have experienced so much joy in my life. There have been more happy and joyful moments that sad. Marrying the man of my dreams is high on the list. Having God bless us with two beautiful and healthy boys is everything. They are my joy. OMG...I love my family -- they are everything to me."

So, think about it -- what fills you with joy? Now hold that thought, that feeling and go get creative. Anything goes -- no boundaries.

You can make your own stamps

I found PJ's blog on how to make stamps -- and, wow, what a treat! It is a beautiful thing when sister scrappers open their method tool box and share with others. This is a great one!

I used PJ's stamp making technique to create two different stamps. I created a bird and stamped on a music sheet for the "Food feeds the soul" layout and I created star-wings and stamped on a transparency for the "DIVA FIERCE" layout. This was super easy -- so give it a try.

Visit PJ's blog to learn how to create your own custom made stamps -- HERE

I was a good mommy today

Tuesdays are usually a crazy day for me. I have a 10:30 class and a 4:30 class so it means I do not get home until 8pm. Yuk! Fortunately, Monday classes were rolled over to Tuesday because of the holiday. So...I did not have to go onto campus. I took care of stuff around the house and picked the kids up from school. We went to the park for a playdate and the boys had fun. After the park, we went home for a small ice-cream treat. I, then, helped big brother with his "homework." Technically, he does not have any homework because he goes to a Montessori for first grade and homework is against Montessori pedagogy. Still...he needed to work on his numbers. Baby brother played outside and got into the water. Oh my -- what a mess. And, then I made dinner. So...it was a good day. I hope yours was too!

Use felt on your scrapbook pages

This page was inspired by a SISter at Scrap in Style who dared me to scrap a layout using FELT as the background "paper" and everything attached with stitches only!!! Stiching EACH element took me awhile..but it was so much fun. The journaling is hidden in the pocket.

If you have not worked with felt give it a try. You will be pleased with how creative you can be with this old (but new again) product.

Scrapbooking princess tea/birthday party

So my BFF has the cutest daughter. She loves to scrapbook and so my girlfriend asked me to help her put on a scrapbooking princess tea party for her daughter. It was so much fun. I designed custom gift boxes and mini-scrapbook kits for each girl. We had tea for the girls, beautiful pastries, and lovely tea sandwiches. It was the party I will never have a chance to give -- since I have two boys.

Fall Festival

It was 90 degrees today so it did not feel like an autumn day. Nevertheless, all of my girlfriends (working mommies and stay-at-home mommies) met up at a local pumpkin patch for a playdate. It is rare that we can all get together -- all 7 of us -- and all 11 kids. We enjoyed chatting with each other and the kids had a total blast. The only thing that could have made our day better would have been cool autumn weather.

My new address

Thanks for joining me at my new BLOG home. We are going to have so much fun. So, strap on your seatbelts and let's get creative!!!

Free Gift??

Do you want to win a free gift? Leave me a message and you could be the lucky winner. On October 12th I will randomly select one person to receive this custom designed office set. Can't wait to make some new friends...from near and far.

{{{HUGS}}}