Photo Session

I want to share some of my favorite photos from a maternity photo session with my fabulous friend, Nicole. She is wonderful and did this as a favor for me. I love the way they turned out! She is so talented and has 3 boys of her own that are adorable! She made me look good!

It's been awhile since I updated.... Friday was my last day at work. It was a bittersweet day and I felt very sad and empty leaving the building. I got my room in order and finished most of what I set out to do to get ready for my substitute teacher to take over. I thought the kids would be more vocal about me leaving, but they are 9th graders so they really are more about themselves. A few have emailed me saying that they will miss me and good luck wishes. I got a handmade card from my hearing impaired student who is a sweetheart and she had the whole class sign it! So cute. I'll save that one for my portfolio! All in all, I am mostly ready for this little guy to come. I started washing baby stuff and am making a list of all the things I'll need to get to fill in what we don't have for him. I have alot left from Mark, but there are some new things I want to get. He will need new onesies and t-shirts as i threw out most of the stained ones from Mark. I also want to get some PRETTY burb cloths. I used fabric diapers for Mark and YUCK they are not pretty! I saw some at Babies R Us that are adorable and have great patterns. So, here are my Five Friday Favs (on a Sunday..LOL) that I found for baby...
1. Pottery Barn Kids Feather knit baby blanket: These are the softest most delish blankets for baby ever!!!
2.Adorable onsies from Target... I love this one with the tattoo on it! So cute!
3. We had one of these for Mark and it was great! I'm not sure what happened to the one we had, but I like this design better.


4. Pretty burp cloths and bibs. Where were these 4 years ago??

5. Finally, I've hinted and hinted.... This is what I REALLY want! A Coach diaper tote!


I know.. it's shallow of me to covet a $400+ bag for baby stuff, but I LOVE IT! It's gorgeous. I must have one. IF I don't get one at my shower, then I'm buying myself one... I don't care what hubby says! It's a must have for my last baby!!!

I'm a BADDDD GIRL!

I'm officially a Bad Girl Kit Design Team member today!!! It's a dream come true... I have had incredible inspiration from this site for well over 2 years now and dreamed of being a BAD GIRL. Wendy, the owner, emailed me and invited me to join this talented and fun group! I was beyond thrilled and am looking forward to being a part of this team. There are lots of new things for 2009 on the site and off... Stay tuned for more info... you can find it here: Bad Girls Kits.

You MUST visit this site for it's exquisite design, gallery, and fun forum. The store is full of goodies that are must haves in the mixed media and scrap world! Wendy and the other DT members are easy to talk to and so very talented. The monthly kits are absolutely drool worthy! I'm talking the best of the best, creme de la creme, to die for! You won't be disappointed!

Just wanted to shout my joy and excitement on this venture for 2009 and I hope more to come!!!

Top 10 Year in Review

I did this last year and I am going to do it again as a reflection of what I've accomplished in 2008. These are my Top 10 favorite layouts this year. I have grown so much as an artist in 2008 and have been lucky enough to design for several teams: Crop Addict, We B' scrappin, and Scrap N' Art ezine... I won Bad Girls Top Designer contest and guest designed for them. I hope big things are in the works for 2009! I'm on a roll and I'm feeling so blessed about it all. This is the year for change (not only in politics) in our house with a new baby arriving soon and Mark starting Kindergarten (maybe) in the Fall. I'll be staying home until September and I hope that the baby is a good sleeper and allows me to have some scrap time to continue my growth. I plan on starting a visual journal while I'm home and vow to do at least one page a week this year! Okay, so that seems obtainable. Now, onto a recap of my year's creations:

This one is my favorite from the Top Designer challenge. I am a sculpture by training and I was trying to add dimension to my page and capture a feeling of wonder and warmth. There is a multitude of techniques used here. I printed the photo of my sono on grosgrain ribbon (this is a technique that I invented!), ripped the top layer of the cardboard base off and added paint, papers, and gold leafing to it, the wings of the "butterflies" are metal and distressed with a texture hammer, and I sewed the nest using wire and ribbon onto the cardboard. I love this page... I am going to frame it for the baby's room in a shadow box.Butterflies of my Heart

This layout is one I made using the handmade paper from this summer. I took a week long workshop with a very wellknown local artist and created sheets of handmade paper in her studio. This is one of the pieces that I used from those. I used glimmer mist to create the masked swirls in the background and outlined them in black marker to emphasize the shape a bit more. Then I used modeling paste to create the raised dots with sequin waste and painted them. The lines were made with painted cardboard stamped onto the page and then foam stamps for the title. I love this photo of my son on a beach in Florida from our trip. It always reminds me of the peace and calm I felt that day.Calm

This next layout was done on cardboard again... I've been very into the recycling of mailing boxes in order to do my part for the sake of art. I altered this photo using filters in Photoshop to create an aged and distressed look. It is my hands forming a heart over my belly at 4 months pregnant. I am now less than 4 weeks away from this miracle and still putting faith and time in the almighty's hands. It truly is a miracle that we can give birth and I'm anxious to meet this little man. I used Bad Girl's December kit here and was the guest designer for that month.

Faith & Time

This is another Top Designer layout that was inspired by Cari Fennell... not for the design, but just her prompt was to layer elements and boy, did I LAYER! I had a great time making this page and the photo of my son from a visit to our local zoo did wonders to inspire me. He looks so serious and sullen here, but he was just taking a break and watching the ponies and donkey intently. I love using orange lately and all the elements here are some of my favorite things. Touches of paint and texture are found thorughout the piece. It's a modgepodge of stuff and I love it!

Layers of You

I created this page on cardboard again (see a trend with me lately?) and collaged papers, metal tape, and inks/ paints over the surface. Then, I added the photo, which is printed on ribbon of my hands over my son's hands. As a mother, I am bound to my child through love and instinct. I love the passionate and gothic look to this page. It's another Top Designer piece.

Ties that Bind

Think Pink is one of those pages where I just wanted to try some new things on it. I altered the hue and saturation of the photo in Photoshop and printed the journaling on transparency to layer over it. Again, I used masks and Glimmer mist here in the background. I also used more of the handmade paper from this summer. After layering, I stitched the edges of the photo to hold the transparency and the edges of the page for unity. I created various butterflies around too. The journaling is about being a woman good and bad.

Think Pink

I did this page with a photo from Florida of me. I feel so at peace and tranquil on the beach. It just erases my worries and makes me feel at ease. I used colors here that compliment and punched butterflies from Hambly. I also used cork as a textural element. I love the feel of this page.

Temporarily Tranquil

This one is for the Bad Girls Dec. kit Guest DT spot and I love how it came out. I printed this photo on muslin and of course grunged up the cardboard. This is my new favorite size for pages; 6" x 12".

At Peace With Myself

I love the contrast with the black background and the colorful threads. I just had to do something that made me not obsess... I just had fun with this one! Love the photos and my design here. This is one I will pull out to look at again just to remind myself to just have fun with the materials!

Stop Obsessing

This isn't a page, but it's a piece of sculpture or altered art that I made as my final exam piece for Top Designer. I am so happy with this piece. I used wire hangers for the cage and really just poured my heart and soul into this one. I hope that I can do another one and start a series of these.

The Guilded Cage of Motherhood

Okay, so there you have it. My top 10 layouts for this year. I think I've just recently found my style and am getting comfortable with playing with materials and letting mistakes turn into art. I hope my creative mojo stays with me for this coming year! Happy New Year!

Bah Hum Bug

Yesterday we got so much snow that we had a SNOW DAY! I love the feeling I get from finding out that school is cancelled. Just like when I was a kid. Being a teacher, I have mixed emotions about it. At first I'm excited! Then, the "Oh NO! That means we'll be one day behind in our lesson plan". Oh well! It's a great day to snuggle in and get some Christmas projects done. I can't post the pics yet of the finished pieces as those that have yet to receive them might see them before they are surprised. So, I'll post them later in the week.

I can't believe that Christmas is 2 days away. Where has the time gone? Why is this year flying by so fast? I'm feeling a bit Bah Humbug this year in regards to the holidays. Don't get me wrong... I LOVE this time of year, BUT... I'm not loving how fast it all is coming and going. The malls are MORE crowded and the snow is piled up so high. It's a gloomy and cold December. I am VERY pregnant and feeling very slow. So, this fast paced world is just making me feel even slower. I can't catch up and I can't help feeling helpless. I am uncomfortable and starting to really dislike the aching hips and waddling that is slowing me down even more. I just want to nap. Of course, that doesn't happen much with the holidays and a 4 year old. I skipped the 12 Days tradition this year too. I know Mark won't remember, but I feel guilty all the same. It's a tradition and it went by the wayside this year due to lack of time, effort, and energy on my part. I'm sad about that, but some things had to go. I am glad it is vacation time, but with all the hustle and bustle I'm feeling rushed and grumpy.

I have to remember that it's not about the gifts and not about the stuff, but about family and friends. I have to remind myself that I have a new life waiting to be born in the new year and that I have lots to be thankful for. This year is going to be one of change, patience, and love. I am going to focus on my blessings and try to be patient this year with myself, my family, time, and my destiny. What will 2009 bring?
Will the year come in fast and slow down for me to savor the moments or will it just pick up the pace and leave me holding on for dear life? I can't fight it either way. I have to be flexible and open to all it's possibilities. THere is little choice in the matter.

Patience... that is my word for the year... 2009. I have to exercise more patience and let things be. Just go with the flow and try not to buck against it all so much.

Love more and not fight so much. Make priorities and try to be patient with others who don't have full realization that they can't control time or events that are beyond them. I want to find peace with my dreams and goals and family. Learn to love them with all their flaws and talents. Try not to be judgmental and defensive. It's gonna be hard especially in the face of certain sleepless nights and trying times with a new baby in the house and a 4 year old that is certain to resent the little brother at times.

I can only do so much and let others help where I can. I can only give love and time when and however possible. I will do this for me and for those I love. I will be patient at least in practice. It's going to be a work in progress...

This year I will start a journal and remind myself daily or weekly of my blessings and of my commitment to being more patient.

5 Fave Friday

I have slacked off for this week... well, not really SLACKED off, just no free time. I have had something every night this week. Parties, workshops at school, grades due, and doctor appts. I am beat! I got together with my girls (Cari, Amy, Sherry, Bon Bon, Kathy, Marty, and Nicole) for a fun, holiday gift and cookie exchange. I had lots of snacks, sweets, laughter, and scrap goodness. I didn't get home until well after midnight! I'm dragging today. We have my work holiday party tonight and I need to go to the mall for some maternity stockings and a pedicure! I hope Matt doesn't give me a hard time about it. I need a little pampering! I'm feeling huge and not very pretty right now. It's only about 6 more weeks until my due date! The panic is setting in, not because I'm afraid of the impending birth, but because I have so much to do BEFORE he comes! I have to do so much at school to prepare for my leave and then at home to prepare for baby!

In between panic attacks, I am scrapping or HOPE to be. I just got my LAST Design Team kit for Crop Addict. It is truly fabulous! I will share sneeky peeks after Christmas! I think it's the best kit from Crop Addict YET!

On the Bed Girls front, I am Guest Designer this month and I shared sneek peeks last post and now here are the entire layouts!
Okay, now for my 5 favorites this week:
1. Sparkling Grape Juice that looks like Champagne from Wegman's. I LOVE this stuff. It's my holiday substitute for wine. I can't drink alcohol due to being pregnant so this is my stand in. While it's nothing like my Semi Chardonnay that I covet, it is a good festive substitute and I feel like I'm not being left out of the party. I have at least 2 bottles on hand all the time now. The White is fabulous too because it is so like Champagne (cheap champagne, but bubbly no less).

2. Heidi Swapp Mirror book... Ooooo I love this little beauty. I haven't gotten one yet, but I am dying to get my hands on one!




3. Handmade paper making: I taught a workshop as a result of a grant I received from my school district to allow me to take a summer workshop with Margie Hughto. I had 5 participants in the workshop and we made paper! It was fun, messy , and creative and not all of them were art teachers or artists. They were science teachers, special ed teachers, art teachers, and a student teacher. It was wonderful! I took pics but they are on my laptop, so I'll upload a few pics later.

4. Good FRIENDS... I love my girlfriends! They are the sweetest most generous girls. We had a cookie and gift exchange last night and I had a blast with them. We laugh our head's off and lose track of time. They are the best! They even volunteered to help with my shower alongside my mom... totally volunteered... I nearly cried! I can't ask for better buds! LOVE YOU BARBIE BITCHES!

5. Bath and Body Works Coconut Lime Verbana hand sanitizer... okay, so throughout this pregnancy I've been a bit obsessive about my handwashing. I am now using this little gem. It smells heavenly and is not drying my hands as badly as the school's soap!

So that's the scoop this week! Have a great weekend!

Bad Girls Guest DT- Sneak Peeks

I want to wish you all a very blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving. I hope you have a day long filled with peace and family. I plan to eat myself silly and take lots of Tums tonight! YUM! I feel so blessed for my family and what we have and what we are looking forward to... a new baby in two months!

I just finished up my layouts and project for the December kit at Bad Girls! I am so excited and had a great time yesterday working on them. I got the kit on Sunday and did it all yesterday. A new record for me. I love the results! The kit is charming with a vintage feel. Lots of goodies to work with and I loved the colors.

Here are some sneak peeks from the kit:

Just a little teaser until Monday when it is revealed!!! You won't want to miss out on this one! I am going to go get ready to leave and I still have to finish frosting cookies to take with us to Matt's relative's house... Have a great holiday!!!

FAVE FIVE FRIDAY

I'm a little late in posting this.... Friday got away from me... well, I guess the whole week got away from me a little too quickly. Here are my favorite things right now:

1)Uppercase Living Vinyl rub ons- This is my new discovery and I'm loving it. I'm hosting a party on Thursday and can't wait to share this fun new way to decorate.

2) Blue Patina Glimmer Mist from Tattered Angels - GORGEOUS color and shimmer!!! You can buy it at Bad Girls by clicking on the link above!3) Also in the Bad Girls store is the new Tattered Angels Window albums!!! LOVE THIS!
Makes me wish I had a little girl to make one for... maybe I'll make one for myself!


4) On a hunt to find cards I found these that I wish I had with me when that idiot cut me off in the parking lot! So funny!!!
Scotiacards



5) Finally something I REALLY want for Christmas OR before this baby comes.... A COACH Baby Tote


I must have this!!! Really, how can I tote around all that baby stuff and my stuff in style? I have to have one this time. I went without last time and I will NOT be denied this time. LOL! Seriously, I really really really want one... Shallow? Yes, but PLEASE Santa?!




That's it for today. It's raining and I'm snuggling in to create Christmas layouts and projects today! Join us at BAD GIRLS to join in the fun!

BIG SALE!

Okay, I just have to share this... This is my final months as a Design Team member of Crop Addict and they just posted a HUGE sale on Thanksgiving... Check out the details here:

Crop Addict

Also, as a TOP DESIGNER (can you tell, I'm still basking in that title???!!!LOL!) I am teaching a class for the Holiday classes! Check out the blinkie to the right for more details... All I can say is that the workshops will be SOOoooo worth it! The supply lists are posted on the message board so you can be ready to create next weekend!!! They projects are FABULOUS and mine is on Saturday! Check it out!!!

FAVE FIVE FRIDAY

Okay, so a few of my favorite bloggers have done this and I thought it would be good to start this so that I actually blog on Fridays!

Here's my Friday Fave Five:

1. Evalicious Etsy shop... Just gorgeous and fun stuff!!!

2. Target
Otherwise known as "TAR-J" spoken in a French accent. LOL! This is my favorite place! I love their advertising, their store design, the cheap clothes, etc... just fabulous!

3. Feeling the little guy kicking and hiccuping today! It must be getting a bit crowded in there.
4. Little Debbie Nutty Bars.... YUM. My new favorite treat while pregnant. I'll worry about those few pounds afterwards!
5. The new Tim Holtz goodness! Masks, gears, keys, and more!!! LOVE it all! Tim's blog

Well, it's been a long week with my sinus infection, grades due, and dealing with loaming deadlines for projects. I am really looking forward to the weekend and some creating time. We have a party with some good friends tomorrow night and that will be fun. WAIT! What the heck am I going to wear???!!!! Maybe I need something new. Hmmmm.... Maybe I'll go check out Old Navy tomorrow. LOL!

TOP DESIGNER!!!

I won... I FREAKING WON! Can you believe it??? Well, I'm still letting it sink in. I stayed up until 11:00pm to see who won. I couldn't believe my name was there.... right after TOP DESIGNER! I am officially the BAD GIRLS KITS 2008 TOP DESIGNER! Seriously, if you don't know what this means, well, you need to go check out the competition.. I was up against over 300 girls from start to finish and then in the finals down to 10 other VERY talented and creative girls. It couldn't have been easy to pick a winner! I feel so very fortunate and blessed that I was chosen. I get a rockin' prize pack, but better than that, I get to be a guest designer for the December kit with the possibility of staying on permanently as a BAD GIRL DT member. I'm just floating on clouds right now and have screamed it all day! I keep going back to the post to check to make sure I really did win! LOL! I worked so hard on all my class projects and LOVE these 7 pieces more than any others. The classes were so inspiring and I felt creativity just FLOW out of me! The final exam is a sculptural piece that I feel so good about. I'm going to show it in a few art shows locally too. It's pictured below in the last post. I can't tell you how much winning this and the support I've gotten from my family and friends have meant to me! I am so humbled and beyond thrilled. It's a dream to get to this point and for the #1 kit club in the world! WOW! Just fabulous! Check them out! www.badgirlskits.com

FINAL EXAM!

Okay, I haven't TAKEN a final exam in many years, but at Bad Girls Kits, I am! I made it to the TOP 11! I just posted my final exam project. The assignment that Lead Bad Girl Extraordinaire, Wendy, gave was to altered something from it's original state or use. I decided right away to do a sculpture. I went looking for a bird cage at the thrift stores only to find NOTHING. So, Tuesday morning Matt was taking his dry cleaning off of wire hangers and I nearly tackled him! He handed over the 6 hangers and I went right to work on changing them into a bird cage! That's right. After fighting with Epoxy and wire hangers, I fashioned a bird cage and spray painted it gold. I painted, gold leafed, and altered a paper mache dress form into a female representation for motherhood. I cut a door that represents the womb with an egg (featuring my last sono). The nest is twigs, feathers, wire, ribbon, and strips of motherhood sayings.

Details:










The butterflies are made with metal, sheet music, grungeboard and wire & beads. The wings on the woman are made from sheet metal.





My idea was that being a Mother is both a treasure and sometimes feels like being caged. Even though things look beautiful on the outside, a woman can feel conflicted and imprisoned on the inside.
I am very happy with how it turned out and am hoping beyond hope that I win the contest and become the TOP DESIGNER!!! I would shout for joy and just about pass out! What an amazing experience this has been and I am on a creative high from it all! I just can't stop! I'm bringing this baby to the State Conference to display in the member's exhibit! I am so happy that I actually finished some new artwork to share with my fellow art educators too... Okay, keep your fingers crossed!!!

BAD GIRLS- TOP Designer!

OMG! I made it to the 6th round of the Top Designer contest at Bad Girls Kits! Here's the link to see the classes and work: BAD GIRLS ACADEMY . I am beyond excited! I love their kits. They are full of scrappy goodness and oozzing of charm and creativity! I have made some of the best layouts I've ever made during this contest. My mojo is pumped up and I'm ready for anything! Here are some of my layouts that got me to where I am now.

Here's the one that I did for the color challenge:
Now, can I make it to the final 1o??? Well, I have tons of ideas flowing thorugh my head, but are they TOO crazy? Are they not out of the box enough??? I'm up against so much talent! It's amazing that I made it this far. I'm honored and feeling so very lucky! I am just happy to have made it this far. I am gonna give it my best shot and cross all my stained fingers and toes (It wouldn't hurt if you all cross them for me too! LOL!) and just get crazy!

MOVE THAT BUS!!!

Extreme News! Extreme Home Makeover is doing a show here in CNY. They are building a house in Geneva for a deserving family and it is all the buzz around here! Just by chance... I got to meet one of the stars... well, THE star in my opinion! I was at the Bob Dylan concert in Canandaigua, NY last night with hubby. Matt had to work the VIP wine tasting in the VIP box seating, so he asked me to go. I was grumbling about it because Bob Dylan is not my favorite singer, but a night out is a night out right? Well, after the tasting was done, we stayed in the VIP seating to watch the last 20 mins. of the show when who shows up? Standing less than 3 feet from me??? Ty Pennington!!!
i am still in shock! Matt asked his security guy if I could get a picture with Ty. I was so excited. I introduced myself and probably mumbled some strange sentence. BUT, I got a pic with him!!!! WOW! I'm swooning! So, here's one for the memory books! I'm going out to the site on Friday or Saturday to see the building for myself. When will I get this chance again?

Stress!

The preggo brain has set in and so have the hormones. I am a walking time bomb. I am happy one minute.. calm and relaxed and then BLAM! I remember I forgot to do a million things and I become cranky, crazed, and mean! I don't remember being this unreliable in my first pregnancy. I am forgetting stupid things... I forgot to put stamps on some mail and it was returned to me... now it's late. I forgot to check what day I made a spa appt on and it turned out that I made it for a Tuesday instead of the Saturday that I showed up. I was super pissed about that one! I forget what day it is sometimes. I'm a mess! I can't concentrate either. I try to start a new project, get sidetracked (usually by a very bossy 3 year old) and then end up accomplishing NOTHING! I'm thinking I need a vacation from summer vacation! I need to go away for a weekend by myself. I'm no good to anyone right now. I am anti social and crabby. I just want to do what I want to do with no distractions. Is that crazy? Where would I go? How could I possibly do this on my own? I'm so tempted to just go! To where? Well, I'm pulled to the water... a beach of sorts. I would love to go to the Cape, but that is too far to drive by myself and too expensive to justify. SO, I am thinking just renting a room at Sylvan Beach on Oneida Lake and veg out. Scrap all day, eat when I want, sleep when I feel like it. Just sit in the sand? okay, it's a dream. It's probably not going to happen. Life is not fair and with Matt working and everyweekend filling up, I am having a hard time just planning this. I feel guilty and tempted all the same. I do have a week until I spend an entire week (Mon- Fri. 8-5) at a papermaking workshop with Margie Hughto. She is a very well known artist locally and has work all over the world. I am so excited to see her studio and spend a week making ART for myself! Maybe that will re-energize me. Art always does. NO disruptions, just artists working together. I'm super ready for that! So, I will post pics when I am done with that workshop and who knows, it might take my scrap art in a new direction! Now, to get some stuff done and stop putting it off and stop whining about all that's making me crazy in my life.

Preggo again!

It's official... I'm pregnant again. That was quick work. Really excited and happy about it. I have another sono today to see that little bundle. I saw the baby 2 weeks ago with a heartbeat! So, my due date is set for January 25, 2009! That seems so far away. I'm nervous, excited, scared to death, and worried all at the same time. I am hoping today's sono is perfect and that I can breathe a bit easier. I'm trying to take care of myself, but it's been a rough month. I've felt cruddy, exhausted, and FAT! Yep, I'm in the stage where nothing feels good. Just the thought of exercise makes me want to run and jump into bed. I'm wiped out! It doesn't help that Matt has been gone out of town for a total of 2 1/2 weeks this month for "work". I say that with tongue in cheek as it doesn't sound too bad to be childless, feed for free, provided with entertainment and drinks, and around intelligent adults all day. So, excuse me for being a bit resentful. He says it's not fun and it's tiring.. POOR baby... Try working, being a "single" mom for a week at a time, carrying a child who is wrecking havoc with my hormones, and dealing out discipline for a mouthy 3 year old. It's not fun at all!!! I am so in need of a vacation. I'm not talking Caribbean... well, that does sound nice, but something close by and only for a weekend would do. I am thinking a room facing water and sand, even if it is a lake, with a table for scrapping and a blender for virgin daiquiri's. I want no responsibilities at that time and no time schedule other than to eat when I feel like it, nap when I'm tired, and scrap the rest of the time. Really? Is that too much to ask? I would love the company of some other girlfriends, but I'm really thinking that being all by myself doesn't sound too bad either! LOL... maybe it's the hormones. In any case, I need a break!