"What is the use of a book, without pictures or conversations?" (Alice in Wonderland)

And WHOA do I have pictures for YOU!! :) I just got my fabby swap box from my DARLING partner Gina, and DID she hook me up or WHAT?????????

So I opened the package and found this: But seriously, LOOK at the detail AROUND the box!!:

And that's not even the BOTTOM of the box!!!!:
So... of course you KNOW the inside of the box RAWKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:

But wait... it gets even BETTER:

AND did you SEE the detail in the bracelet??:

AND that's not to mention the wind up caterpillar and two books that Gina enclosed as well! Um, Melanie confiscated them, and she hid them from me already, but when I find them (they're probably under her pillow where she stows all the stuff she swipes until I have my back turned), I'll add 'em to the post!!

Gina, seriously, thank you so very very much for all of the goodies! I cannot wait to play, and NOW I definitely want to see the new movie!! Hope you enjoy your box o' goodies when it arrives as much as I loved mine!!!

Prima's Got a Secret...

And they've got some AWESOME candy too!!!

That's Right! Prima is giving away two more AMAZING prize packages in conjunction with their BIG SECRET!

Check 'em out!!!

"She was obliged to recollect that...no private correspondence could bear the eye of others" (Persuassion)

While Jane Austen may have felt correspondence should remain private, hopefully the recipients of my cards won't feel that their privacy has been invaded by my posting the cards in advance! :) I have to finish up my Alice swap this week and THEN I'll be busy card making for the next two weeks... I have 48 seniors who are going to get individual cards wishing them well... And I have my work cut out for me!! :) Other than the "You're a Hoot" card below, I think I'll be working from scratch... :) (OH, AND please be sure to check back in the next week or so cause I'll have a little birthday announcement!!!)

"Every impulse of feeling should be guided by reason; and, in my opinion, exertion should always be in proportion to what is required."(P&P)

I know, I know... I've been awfully MIA this pregnancy.... But shall I throw a hint to my loyal followers and say I've FINALLY begun my pre-birthday celebration with a gift chance for YOU?? Tune back in during the month of March to see what goodies I'm able to compile in honor of my thirty (gulp) third bday...

In the meantime, I HAVE been crafty... but again, I can't post the stuff till it goes "Live" with the Dollies, because honestly I try my hardest to just get THOSE challenges out of the way before I scrap anything else... and then I run out of time or mojo or energy!! :) BUT it's snowing out again today, so maybe we can get scrappy in the interim??

Let's see...

Did I mention my chagrin when I found out that Ranger is discontinuing Crackle Accents and I had JUST finished my last bottle on some layouts? WELL, here's one of those final projects...

And here's a layout of my loves... And my teenage loves, New Kids on the Block, lol... They STILL have it going on...
Hey, if any of you bloggers out there have a tutorial on how to take a better picture of a 12X12 layout, please pass it along... I STILL (obviously) struggle with getting just the right shot of my work... Cards are easier MOST of the time, but I can't seem to get my 12X12s to look the way I'd like them to... :) Thanks!!!

(oh, pregnancy update... still due June 26th or July 6th, and Elijah is growing very nicely. We had a sonogram yesterday and we saw his spine, confirmed his gender again, lol, and saw him moving around, which was pretty cool... I SHOULD be scrapping his sonogram pictures but who has time??) :)

It's a Snowy, Scrappy Day!!!!

Actually, it's been TWO snow days at this point, whoo hoo!! We got about 18 inches here in Northern NJ, and having been spared the weekend snow, it's not THAT bad out there... But bad enough that schools across the area have been closed for two days! Which means BUMMY days! :) AND Scrappy days, believe it or not! It's been so long since my clutter has taken over my dining room... Feels good (but overwhelming when I think of cleaning it up!) :)

(My Creative Clutter is BACK)

And I'm back in challenge mode (could it be????)

Here's a "Heart Filled" card for the AI Factory Challenge, the CCEE inspiration challenge (black, red and white as well as hearts), Cute Card Thursday, and I THINK it fits the Pile it On challenge as well (although it's the wine I love not the bunny)! (This is also card one for the upcoming Alice in Wonderland swap... Gina, stop reading!!! :))

Can you tell I'm still loving the flower soft stuff??? AND that I'm still dying for a glass of wine?? -- the little charm thing is a double entendre... It's reminiscent of Alice's "Drink Me" tags and bottles, and my extremely STRONG desire to drink a whole bottle of wine, lol... Four more months...

A Couple of Items (Whoo Hoo!!)

I have FINALLY gotten some scrappy mojo going on, largely as a result of my recent crop weekend with Scrap A Doodle Doo last weekend. So...

For Design Dollies, I played with some Vintage papers from Graphic 45 (go figure):

AND in honor of my darling friend Kristy's newest line of Digital Stamps, Some Odd Girl, I had the chance to play along with Sketchy Thursdays' Second Chance Challenge using this funky Kaylee Cuddle stamp and some Flowersoft (my newest addiction!!):

All in all, I did complete eleven projects this past weekend, but I can't showcase them until they are released with the Dollies... SO, hopefully that means more blog posts this month! :) Thanks for checking in!! :)

It's a....

BOY... Just a quick note to update my readers, lol (thanks Sylvia for reminding me to post this news!!) that we found out our little bundle of joy due July 6th is a Boy... Elijah Andrew Medina is what we're thinking of naming him and we are beyond excited. Exhausted, but excited... Many hugs ladies!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!

Just a quick note to blog land to wish you all a very happy 2010!! I know it's been FOREVER since I've posted, and I am hoping my energy levels will increase now that the first trimester is pretty much over so I can get back in the groove of things! :)

Christmas Break SHOULD be consisting of preparations to teach Jane Eyre to my AP Lit class, Romantic poetry to my Brit Lit classes, and whatever else I can conjure up for my AP Language and Multicultural Lit classes! :) BUT today I am spending it catching up with my scrapping, which has definitely gone astray during the first exhausted months of my pregnancy! :)

Some old stuff that has appeared on Design Dollies are below, but I have GOT to get with the swing of things this week!!!

Wishing you the VERY best!!

Uh oh... could that be MOJO flowing???

It's still going strong I believe... :) Melanie has me making cards today... she's up to her fourth card (which I think I'll have her post later so everyone can see just how cool she is... she's working with Bellas and rub ons right about now!

Here's my one humble card using the 365 Cards sketch:

And here are ALL of Melanie's gorgeous creations! :) I'm so proud of my little six year old... she really IS a mini-me... She was just laughing at me for taking so long to finish one little card while she wrapped up all four of hers. So she went to go watch Annie while I tried to catch up! :) Gotta love kids!!!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!!!

Can you believe it!!?? Has anyone else started their Christmas countdown?? I don't know about YOU, but I'm thinking that in addition to some Christmas cards in progress, perhaps it's time for some candy??? :) Stay tuned, I am feeling Christmasy!! :)
For now, though, my Dollie Leah and I were scrappy this weekend and we knocked out a bunch of Desin Dollies projects that I can't share with you JUST yet... Once THAT was done, lol, I DID manage a Magnolia "Thank You" card (THANKS Karmyn for sharing your stamps!!) :)


She's a cutie patootie, that's for sure! :) This one actually fits the Pink Elephant Color challenge (Brown, Yellow, Neutral and an extra... in this case glittery pink) and I used Sketch Saturday's sketch to get this concept going...As a Thank You card, this piece fits the Pile it On Challenge for this week AND the Simon Says Stamp challenge as well! :) SO... Thank YOU for stopping by... More fun and some candy DEFINITELY to come soon! :)

"When the felicities of rapid motion have once been, though slightly, felt -- it must be a very heavy set that does not ask for more.” (Emma)

Melanie's recital was last Saturday (could it already have been a full week??). It was BEYOND adorable and SO very worth all the hard work on both sides! From watching the bigger girls dancing she decided she wanted to add acrobatics to her repertoire, so now she's taking ballet, tap, flamenco, AND acrobatics... I'm just psyched she's finally liking it. We tried enrolling her when she was almost three and she cried the whole time! :)

My mojo returned for one sole page using recital pictures...

AND I finally got to play with some Rock Candy... This jury is still out. :) I think I like Crackle Accents better, but for the "sweet" theme of this page, I think the concept works...



Hmmm... Here are a few other pages that have recently appeared on Design Dollies

(Webster's Pages just ASK to be cut up, don't you think?) :)

Have you checked out the Dollies yet??

It's official... our weekly challenges have begun. In addition to the lovely blog candy available just for checking us out, we have weekly challenges in three categories: 1) Colors (Mondays); 2) Elements (Tuesdays); and 3) Sketches (Thursdays). Individual prizes are given out monthly per category, so there's a chance to win three different prizes... Come check us out if you haven't been over there yet! :) And happy scrappin! (If only I could join you today!!)

(Oh, here are two of my "creations" as featured on DD as well!!) :)

World Card Day Yesterday

Who woulda thunk there'd be a WORLD card day? And who woulda thunk I'd actually get crafty with it? :) I made quite a few cards, some for Design Dollies so those will be posted in time, BUT here are a few that do not have an upcoming reveal date, lol! :)

I have missed my online friends and blogging family so much this past month... now that it's October things will be in full swing until after the middle of the month when I can hopefully identify what my new "normal" is! :) Stay tuned...