"For a fine Sunday in Bath empties every house of its inhabitants, and all the world appears on such an occasion to walk." (Northanger Abbey)

What a tumult of emotions! These past few weeks have been a series of ups and downs and lefts and rights and I am still too drained to completely understand what's going on. I can't even really expand on the situation further, except to say that in trying to help others, I've ended up more stressed in my own personal life than I needed to be.

Happy thoughts, happy thoughts... Hmmm. We did get to the beach this weekend and last. Ever notice how when you go through the trouble of making a trip to enjoy beautiful weather, the climate doesn't necessarily adhere to your plans? We drove down to Point Pleasant last week, and it was hazy and cloudy and the water was freezing. The beach was crowded, and we ended up crammed together like sardines. So we chose a quieter beach this past weekend, figuring that Belmar would offer some sanctuary and more space to enjoy the beauty of the ocean. Except that it was about sixty degrees, cloudy, and very windy. We needed sweaters. And that was MOSTLY because we got there after a three hour crawl through traffic, missing all of the prime sunshine. But it was definitely more relaxing than the previous trip and much less crowded.

And now it's over ninety degrees, humid, hot and muggy. Perfecct time to be at the beach, where it's slightly cooler and I'm sure the water is MUCH warmer now! :) But of course, we have no more plans to venture down the shore until the end of August... When it'll probably rain instead. Figures, no?

So in all this stress, I am not really happy with the creative work I've come up with, but here are some of the things I have finished.

(This was for Karmyn's Think Outside the Box challenge at the Shoe)

(This was made for a CafeMom challenge using a sketch from 52 Sketches)

(And this two page layout was done for July's Basic Grey kit, which I got from Scrap-A-Doodle Doo...)

"If any one faculty of our nature may be called more wonderful than the rest, I do think it is memory." (Mansfield Park)

And MY memory is shot... I have TOTALLY forgotten to update all month about my new DT assignment! It's old news now, BUT I was officially designated as a full Design Team member of If the Shoe Fits, Scrap It, effective July 2009. I have been playing along with the talented members of The Shoe, especially on the ning site, for the longest, so the invitation to join the DT was actually a surprise and honor! :)

SO, here's some stuff I worked on for the Shoe that has appeared there thus far. Forgive me for the redundancy if you have already played along with the shoe, and if you have NOT, then get your behind in gear and check out the great challenges both on the site (for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to Scrap A Doodle Doo!) or the ning, for other goodies! :)

(Christmas in July card... Santa's globe was a transparancy, which is why it looks TOO glary...)

(This one was for the Sponsor Kit, that is provided monthly by Scrap A Doodle Doo... Ended up being my brother's birthday card too!!!)

This one was for last Friday's color challenge (Aqua, Granny Smith Green, and Kraft)... Thank you Karmyn for introducing me to the long legged ladies stamps!!! LOVE Danica...

And THEN Miss Kristy had this AWESOME sketch... So awesome we have a card AND a layout challenge for it!!!

SO although sometimes I feel like I don't have enough work to post to my blog, now that I'm FINALLY able to post some of the layouts I've been coveting, well... hopefully one day they will see the light, lol!! Thanks for looking, and have a wonderful weekend!!!

"In every power, of which taste is the foundation, excellence is pretty fairly divided..." (Mansfield Park)

So my itty bitty bloggy thing got its first "award" of sorts today--TWO actually! :)

First to post it was my muse, Ms. Jill... More about her below...

And THEN Amy gave me the same really cool award! Amy is a new online friend for me, but she TOTALLY rocks... She's beyond talented, and oh so humble about it to boot! And she has this little Princess named Emma... Oh my gosh. CUTIE... Oh, Amy needs stamps... Note to self...

OK, so this bloggy awardy thingy means that I have to post the pic, and then I have to post about Seven bloggy friends, and THEN post seven things about myself people may not know... So here goes.

I am a fan of:

Lisa Howard: Seriously, the funniest, most REAL blogging voice in our crafty little circle, Lisa's blog inspires me to work harder at my craft while enjoying my everyday life a little more... My all time favorite blog read...

Kristy: Miss Kristy is seriously SUCH a hugely talented artist. She's not just a scrapper though... She has these awesome skills... Sketching skills, nunchuck skills, chibi skills, bowhunting skills, photoshop skills, computer hacking skills, blog design skills, oh, and scrapbooking skills.

Tracey: This is Tracey's like sixth copy of this award, and it's her own fault for being so darned amazing. She's truly an artistic inspiration, and an overall AWESOME chick. We bond, over wine or beer, almost every other day lol, and it has gotten to the point where I "talk" to Tracey more than I talk to my local friends... now if we could only meet face to face one day, well... that'd be off the HOOK! :)

Karmyn: Karmyn and I are like polar opposites. She's a neat crafter. I'm a mess (slovenly artist IS my motto!!). She's in a band. Not only can I not carry a tune, but I listen to SPANISH music or the New Kids on the Block in my free time... definitely not a rock kinda girl if you get my gist... She knows how to get things on a discount. I know how to rack up a credit card bill. She's got short spikey hair. I have long curls... The list goes on and on and on, but we WORK. At this point I think we see each other about twice a month or more if we can swing it! :) She's my buddy, fellow newbie Design Team member over at the Shoe, and my main confidante... Which reminds me... Karm, give me a BUZZ!!!

Jill: Ahhhh... Jill has DEFINITELY seen the evolution of my scrappy style! Actually, if I really think about it, Jill has actually TAUGHT me how to scrap the way I scrap today... I was so scared of ink before I "met" her online! :) LOL... She talked about inking edges and (gasp) distressing and tearing paper like it was the greatest, newest, bestest thing ever. And I thought she was nuts. Um, if you saw my last post, you can see that we've come a long way together!!!

Tanisha: THIS lady TRULY traipsed across the eastern seaboard to come see little old me about two years ago... And that was back when I was like "Ink, what ink?" ACTUALLY, it was more like "WHAT is that gun looking thing that sounds like a battery operated adult toy that you're using on your layout? OH Stamps? What stamps?" And then she tried to teach this old dog how to make something DIMENSIONAL... LOL. I was SO in awe... and still am in awe of what Ms. T can do with some paint, adhesive, and a l'il bit of paper! :) She rocks...

Lesley: Yeah... um I thought I was getting good with the whole vintage and Tim Holtzy stuff... Until I got to know Lesley. Of my bloggy friends, she's my newest, but hot DAMN, check out her work.... She puts me to shame each and everytime she posts, and, well, she knows how to keep it real too! :)

SHEESH, the SECOND part of this longest blog post ever is seven things about me.... Let me make them snappy:

1. I am deathly afraid of spiders or flies going up my nose. Don't ask.

2. The first thing I look at when I meet a person is their teeth. Then their hands. Then their butts.

3. My aunt and scrap buddy was my best childhood friend for over twelve years. We argued, didn't talk for about ten years, and now she's my best adult friend all over again. And we're raising our children together just like we dreamed...

4. I want to move to the country.

5. I have to be reading about three books at a time or I can't concentrate and get the gist of a single one of them. Current list includes The Time Traveler's Wife (again), Mrs. Dalloway, Persuassion, and Great Expectations. The last THREE are prep for work though! :)

6. I wish I were still 26. It was a great year... I reminisce a lot about YOUNGER years, and am starting to feel a little age worn, but at 32, I have to suck it up and keep truckin!

7. I had a best friend for over fifteen years (not the aunt I mentioned above, lol). SOMETHING went wrong and we lost it... I wish we could have salvaged our friendship earlier, but of all things, FACEBOOK is bringing us slowly closer again... Gotta LOVE technology!!!

"I suppose there may be a hundred different ways of being in love." (Emma)

Being a mother has opened my eyes to what it means to be truly in love, unconditionally. When I am blessed with the opportunity to guide, mold, forgive, correct, or be patient with my child, I am reminded again of how great God's love is for us... And when I reminisce on those precious days when my baby was... a baby, well, my heart swells with love, pride, and a little bit of nostalgia.

Onto the Art

The newest Dream Girls challenge was to use photos that were five years old or older, in a sepia or black and white tone, within a sketch from the site.

I have been hoarding these pictures of Melanie as a toddler for almost six years now, waiting for the right inspiration for their use. SO I scanned them into the comptuer, used Paint net to pull out the blue in the comb and pamper, and then turned them into a sepia tone...

Then I played with some acrylic paints and crackle paints around the edges of the photos... AND then I played with some GRUNGE PAPER... Gotta love the stuff... it's so moldable, and tear able, and inkable, and yummy...