Coming up for Air

It's been a busy two weeks, but I think I am finally finding a rhythm of work and family and fun. At least, I hope I've found a rhythm!  I have a calendar planned out with responsibilities and daily activities planned out, including time for scrapping and perusing the galleries and forums.  Last night, my calendar included Craft Night at a friend's house.  Always a fun time, I was able to get a lot of my upcoming scrapping assignments completed, including some that were a little more overdue that I would have liked!  This morning, I was able to get up and post 4 new pages to my galleries.  That's a lot of scrapping.  (Not to mention the bits and pieces I've managed to get done over the last couple weeks.)

I have four pages that I made with goodies from My Life and Scrap, with a little bit of Danyale's gorgeous alphas thrown in too. :)

SAHM
Kit: A Day in My Life by Jen C Designs (at My Life and Scrap)

 This page has a coordinating left hand page also, but I have to wait to post it in my galleries because it's out for publication!  I'm very excited to see it "in print," even if I have to wait to post it around.  I really loved this challenge at Log Your Memory (week 3) and love the pages that were inspired by it.

Kit: Cold by Jen C Designs

 The blues in this kit just screamed skiing to me.  It has been a few years since we've been out, but the memories are great and we're hoping to hit the slopes again sometime soon!

Happy Boy:
Kit: Denim by ScrapElf
Alpha: Backyard Life by Etc by Danyale

 I love this photo.  John was so thrilled to bounce on the pile of rolled up blankets in the store, I think it's the only way we survived the last 20 minutes or so of that last Christmas shopping trip!  The picture isn't great, I only have my cell phone camera, and he wouldn't sit still long enough to get a crisp shot, but that's part of what makes it such an energetic photo, I think.

Kit: All I Want For Christmas by ScrapElf
Alpha: Backyard Life Alpha by Etc by Danyale

I haven't done much with my photos from this Christmas.  In fact, I think they were only taken off my camera's memory card about a week ago.  Long enough to decide that I needed at least ONE page this year, before next Christmas comes around!

And some older pages that have been sitting around here:

Kit: Chugging Along by Colie's Corner
Word Art: Chugging Along Word Art by Etc by Danyale and Colie's Corner

 Danyale had a new word art set out that coordinates with a release by Colie's Corner.  The train theme was perfect for using with this picture of John testing out his new ride-on train he got for Christmas.

And this is Danyale's newest solo release.  Loving the quilted alpha still!  This title is part of the word art set, and the hearts are all part of the alpha deco pack, but were so much fun to work with!  Making this page even made me kind of like this picture (which I have always disliked, even though my favorite pint-sized photographer snapped it)...I'm not sure which part makes me like it more, the pretties that I decorated the page with, or the Photoshop work that took away all the acne that had been on my forehead.  Turned it in to a half decent photo!

Kit, predecorated paper, and template: Sweetest Thing by Connie Prince

 I put this page together on the night my baby turned 1.  This is still my favorite infant photo of him, and one of the few I have of him actually sleeping those first few weeks.  The best part of this layout, is that it went together so fast.  The background is actually a pre-decorated page, and I piled a focal cluster from a template over the paper, clipped papers and elements into the template pieces and voila!  Super easy, super fast, and super cute!

Kit: Make a Wish by Isabel Mendez
Alpha (number 7): Time 4 Presents by Etc by Danyale (recolored)

This is the page I put together late on the night of my last blog post, but never got back to post!  It was another template page, so went together pretty quickly, all things considered.  I did recolor the 7 (it was originally a very Christmas-y green, but wanted the outlined number, and love the final look!

Here's to another week beginning, and hopefully a slightly more organized calendar, and more timely blog posts!

Gotta-Grab-It Madness

I love Gotta-Grab-It.  However, my bank and Paypal accounts do not always agree with that statement, so it's a good thing I can get a few of the packs for free through my CT positions. :)

From Danyale at Etc by Danyale, there are four fabulous alpha/word art sets.  I only played with one alpha, but I'm itching to get my hands on the second.

Priority

This page is also for the Week 2 Challenge at Log Your Memory.  It didn't take a whole lot of thought to come up with my word, because I am already having to do a whole lot of juggling to balance what I HAVE to do with what I WANT to do, and deciding what is really important.  Remembering that it's all about my own priorities makes me feel less guilty about the things I have to give up.

And I can't remember if I mentioned here before that I won a three month guest spot with Connie Prince during a New Year's Eve chat, but I also got to play with her GGI contribution, Time to Play.

Playmates

Isabel Mendez (Crisdam Designs) also has a great offering for the GGI sale this weekend:

I'll be playing with this one later today!  It's very fitting as today is John's first birthday.  I'm off to play with it, and will be back later with a new layout. :)

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!  We spent all day yesterday traveling home, so I am beat. But there are lots of changes and new adventures coming up in the next few weeks.

Look for changes to my blog coming in the next week or so.  I am working through the Blog Design Basics class at JessicaSprague.com, and hope to have all the pieces in working order by the end of the week.  Before I figure all that out though, I will be loading a new background and header up.  I'm using a pre-made set that matches Connie Prince's kit "This One Life".  These are available exclusively at Gotta Pixel through the end of this month.

Speaking of Connie Prince, I will be adding Connie's team to my list of CT's!! (At least for the next three months.)  I won a guest spot on her CT at the GottaPixel chat on NYE night!  I'm super excited to play with her designs.

It's 2011, and with that comes a whole new set of challenges at Log Your Memory.  I have finished my first page (the Remember 2010 page I posted last time), and have one more ALMOST done...I just can't make the title look the way I want it to.

And one more finished page to wrap up today. This is what I made at Friday night's Speed Scrap, using Project 2011 Cardstock and Bits & Pieces from Isabel Mendez (Crisdam Designs).  I am loving the flexibility of these basic pieces, and can't wait to add each monthly add-on kit throughout the year. (I've already used the January pieces to make my desktop background for the month.

Ok, that was two pages.  I guess I need to work on my counting skills.  While I do that, enjoy the new year and all the hope that newness brings.