Double Up...

posting today! LOL :)

I realized that I hadn't done shown some updated posting on my blog of my Memory Makers' column projects. So, update I am...

Memory Makers March / April -- What We're Lovin' trend "forest friends and woodgrain"
Loved the super cute Sassafras critters, especially the mix with the dark Collage Press paper. :)
And the October Afternoon is always one of those fall-in-love faves that you can't find forever...so when I found it, I was soooo excited! :) Love the deer guys! :)





Memory Makers May / June -- What We're Lovin' trend "vintage"
Go Staci, go Staci...I was sooooo excited that I got to do some hybrid work for this one! :) Rhonna's goodies are the coolest to work with, so I was glad that her Urban Junque line was perfect! :)
And who does vintage like Jenni Bowlin? Uhm, nobody! She's the bomb-diggity of vintage, so lots of JB goodies on the 2nd one. :)





Memory Makers July / August -- What We're Lovin' trend feature article "peace" & " kraft + color pop"
I can't begin to describe how over-joyed excited I was to have the opportunity to do a full-length feature article! This was my first time to make assignments for other designers, which was fun b/c I had to figure out trends AT CHA, get the products from the manufacturers, track down the designers at the show (hard!!!), and they had less than a week to get projects in for approval! WHEW! :) But it was *fun!* :)
I got to pick which trends I wanted to do, of course. So I played with the "peace" one with lots of American Crafts goodies. Then I jumped into the "kraft + color pop" trend with the awesome Fancy Pants and Hambly goodies. :) Total LOVE! :)

I've got one more column coming out in the Sept/Oct issue. It's a near/dear to my heart b/c it's a bit dark and twisty with a side of sarcastic funny like me! LOL :) Any guesses on the trend? (Marla, you can't guess b/c you saw the projects!)

Back soon with more goodies! :)

Happy almost-4th!

XOXO...Stac :)

Something New & Something Old...

all at once! LOL :)

I got a little chance to play last night! Love love love when you get a little burst of magic and it not only works, but works fast. You see, I'm a totally slow scrapper. But last night, Bob claimed the tv & the computer (so no shows or music) & he was doing laundry too! WOO HOO! So I got a super quickie project done...under 30 minutes! :)

I'm cleaning out my "random bits & baubles" bins b/c they're overfull, so I used this big alien monster dude. He started life as a hangtag on Declan's shorts. :)

As for the something old, this one's a little harder. Some folks know, but most don't, that I was working on a book project a while back. It was still very early-stage, but I'd spent countless hours doing write-ups, projects, planning, etc. Unfortunately, it was in final approval stage when the economy tanked and I was one of the unlucky cuts. The whole she-bang is still living in the work-in-progress binder that I was using, just kinda ignored.

One day, I will write a book. It's still a huge goal for me and a dream that I want to achieve. In the meantime, I'm going to start slowly posting some of the layouts that I created for my first book project. Here's the first one that I can let go of...it was a stamping focused example...

As for the e*crew, we're chillin' out today...totally veggin'. Tomorrow, I'm shiggling in the am & then we head to Poppy's house for our 4th of July Extravaganza! :) He lives in the country, so we can do whatever we want for the most part. Usually, that involves hand-feeding the koi fishies in his pond, swimming for hours, cooking hot dogs & smores on the firepit, and lots and lots of fireworks! :) Should be a blast...literally! LOL ;)

Happy (early) 4th to everyone! Stare deeply into a sparkler and ponder your life...it's a 4th of July tradition! :)

XOXO...Stac :)

DUDE!!!

Really!!! Yes, I'm screaming b/c...

DUDE! Check this out...

My layout is Layout of the Day on 2Peas! How cool is that? I'm a little super-uber-overexcited about this but I can't help it...that ROCKS! :)

Here's the full shot of the layout...

Lots of Cosmo Cricket lovin', my new beloved Tim Holtz stamp, some hot Creative Imagination rhinestone brads, and always present Thickers. :)

Oh, paper trick must-do: Cosmo Cricket has great distressed edges, but since I'm an 8.5x11 girl, I have to chop a couple of those pretties off. :( So I sliced them down, patched them back onto my background and covered the seam with a pretty ribbon border frame. Functional and decorative! :)

Also, the orange frame thing in the title started life as a sticker tag. After a little exacto knife surgery, the insides are saved for another layout and the outside orange frame found life on this layout over some grey cardstock. Double bonus! :)

Off to cartwheel or eat chocolate or both! :)

XOXO...Staci :)

I'm baaaack! :)

Whew! Another super-fun week of teaching, scrapping, shopping, big dinners, and airports. LOL :) The recap:

* Left out Thursday for GASC - Chantilly VA.

* Got set up early enough to hit a local Zumba class near the hotel. (yes, I am obsessive...why do you ask?) ;)

* Taught all day Friday -- Hambly Mixed Up mini album, Pink Paislee Fascinating Frame Up project, Cosmo Cricket Girl Friday Galore mini album, and American Crafts Crafty Girl album. All went really well. Lots of love to the VA girls who came to play and scrap and have fun with me! :)

* Snuck into the back of Crystal's 7gypsies Mini Album Madness class. Such an awesome project, but I figured out that I'm a totally sucky student. I'd be doing my own thing & hear this niggling "make sure you..." and realize that I was totally zoned. I'd look up and be 2 pages ahead so I'd just go back to working. Later, I'd hear again "make sure you..." and look up to realize that now I was 3 pages behind. LOL Oh well, it was worth it b/c my album is totally cute & based on Crystal's design but has "me" in it too--lots of handcut scallops and hearts, marker lines, etc. :)

ETA: Dude, look what I found on Crystal's blog!!! (her pic...that I was too focused to even realize she was taking! LOL)

* Taught Saturday morning -- Pebbles' Summer Scrappin' Fun layouts, KI Memories sketch class, and Sassafras Lass Wonderfully Whimsical layout. All went really well again. (whew!) I got to meet Michelle Vocke, who is the awesome VA local writer gal that did several write-ups on GASC (including special love on my classes!).

* Shopped all afternoon on Saturday and found some serious goodies!!!! Marla is proud of me b/c I bought stamps! I know...shocker! I actually bought 2 new Tim Holtz stamps that I've already inked to death (soon to post projects!). Lots of Teresa Collins goodies, AC flair buttons, repeat October Afternoon paper & diecuts to go with, Making Memories buttons, Cosmo Cricket stickers and more. Suffice it to say, my room is bombed! But I'm going for the "scrap with it" style of cleaning up, rather than actually, you know...cleaning. ;)

* On Sunday, I was the lucky bird with a late flight, so I'm went to Zumba again. Probably made a fool out of myself b/c I'm all-out-getting-down and the other ladies...not so much. Make no mistake, they were into it, but I'm a little...uhm, yeah...just a little more shigglin' going on in Staci's world! ;) But I'll never see them again & I'm sure I was their entertainment from Texas..."remember the time that crazy blue-hair girl came and was all low, low, low...." ;)

* Lovely reunion dinner with the kiddos and Bob on Sunday night.

* Monday morning -- dr visit. UGH! Poor Lilli has had allergies bad lately, but while I was gone, she got progressively worse. So I took her to the doc with what I'm sure was a sinus infection & double ear infections. Nurse Mom was right on. Plus, she was having so much trouble breathing, that she was wheezing...basically having a minor but constant asthma attack. B/c she doesn't have a history of asthma, we're doing the inhaler + antibiotics for now, but hopefully she'll wean off the inhaler in a couple of weeks. (fingers crossed) Speaking of fingers, while sitting there with Lilli, I noticed that Tayvan's suck-blister on her thumb was looking gross and infected. Showed it to the dr who kinda freaked a bit. Yeah, likely staph infection abscess. (yuck yuck yuck) Doc took care of it while I held Tayvan down (but Van was a total brave champ and barely cried). It's totally gauze-wrapped up now...so maybe this will be the hard-core jump-start to No.More.Thumb.Sucking! Well, I'm optimistic! ;)

* Today...rest, relax, chill...finally. :) Back to the grind tomorrow! :)

* Can't have a postie without pretties though, so here's some fun...

Memory Makers July/August 2009 feature article "7 Trends to Try"

These are my layouts for trend -- "peace symbols" & "kraft + color pop"

Back soon with more new goodies!

XOXO...Stac :)

Double Bonus Day...

Rushing out the door to shiggle, but promised a posting to a lil someone special... :)

So, lucky you, it's a double bonus day o'projects!

First up, a super fun layout I made last night with a mix of Cosmo Cricket and Sassafras lovin'. These flowers are the easiest-peasiest thing in the world, but so cute! :)

Then, as promised to several folks....drumroll please....

my Pink Paislee Fascinating Frame Up class goodies...

And I know everyone wants close-ups of these babies, so never fear...b/c they are here!

In the class, we make the big one with the house. But it's totally do-able for folks to make the other two at home. I made them strictly with the class kit products, except the hoops. So you can have your own little family of framed layouts! Soooo fun and easy, but with a big wow on the cheap! Best of both worlds! :)

And I'm off...

XOXO...Stac :)

Let's Rock...

We're total rock stars in our family.

Well, in our own minds at least! LOL :)

But don't tell Declan that.

Please.

He is certain that he's a rock star or will be one.

He is the coolest lil punk you'll ever meet.

Totally into rock music, skateboarding, doing tricks on his bike, skulls, and great clothes!

Love that guy!

Here he is...at his best... ;)

Lots of fun goodies from my stash--some Jillibean Soup, Cosmo Cricket, Doodlebug, & Reminisce. The patch is one that Declan earned at a skateboard thing last summer...saved it for the perfect layout and this one felt right. I can't remember the manufacturer on the skull paper that I chopped to bits...I'll keep searching or if anyone can clue me in, I'd appreciate it! :)

Gearing up for GASC-Chantilly VA! Just a couple more days till I'll be chillin' on the plane, heading to a weekend of super fun teaching & shopping!

Oh, and in a fit of total OCD, I've researched Zumba classes in VA that are within the 3 mile radius the hotel shuttle will take me. Hopefully, the few gyms/classes that I've scoped out will let me in & the classes will be as bootie poppin' as Dara's classes are! :)

XOXO...Stac :)

My fave way to scrap...

is when new goodies never even get put away.

They're just so inspiring that you gotta use them right away! :)

That's what I love about this layout from last night. The mess of goodies in my room in a little overwhelming right now, but I'd rather scrap than clean! LOL Hey, its double-bonus...it is cleaned up a bit & I got a layout done! ;)

This is me & my bestie girl, Shonnery! :) We were out for a Girl's Night Out, dancin' our azz off! :) A random country song came on (Friends in Low Places) and we didn't miss a beat...straight from bootie poppin' to 2-steppin'! :)

There's lots more stories from that night, including my knight in shining armour...Tom (Shonnery's husband). He literally picked me up and moved me when a guy got a little too close and I didn't realize it (oblivious!) and then almost got into it with another guy who was coming on too strong for Tom's taste too. Again...Staci = oblivious and didn't even know that the almost-fight was about me until 2 days later. My friends have taken to saying that I "require supervision" b/c I'm not so aware of my surroundings, especially when there's music/dancing involved. It'd be funny...except its true! Okay, I'll admit it...maybe that makes it more funny! ;) LOL

Off to gymnastics! Lilli moved to Level 3 (YEAHHHHH!!!!) and Dec is trying out Boys Gymnastics (wtg!). Back with more goodies soon...

XOXO...Stac :)

Literal Sarcasm.

bwahahahah. I can't help but laugh already as I remember the story behind these layouts. Lilli, god love her, is the most literal child on the face of the planet. She's frequently been told this (by us, teachers, friends, etc). You can "joke" with her, but chances are...she's not going to get it. ;) As re-enacted yet again by her comments this past weekend...

And with that story, it also reminded me that I hadn't quite documented the full breadth & depth of her lack of sarcasm-decipering. And with our family of Sarcasm King & Queens (aka me, Bob, my mom), that's not so good for Little Lilli. ;) So here's the ode to that...

Man, I love that girl! The best part is that I know she'll figure it out one day and joke along with the rest of us. And then it'll be the best story of "remember when Lilli said..." LOL :)

Scrappy wise, these are made up of my box of Studio Calico lovelies that I got! I did have to handcut some extra cork butterflies from a spare cork tag to match the one that was already in the Chatterbox set of diecuts. :) And those starburst Collage Press diecuts are a TDF fave! Wish I could get a whole sheet of those babies! ;)

Off to do homework and hit the pool!

XOXO...Stac :)