Hello from the USVI!!!

I'm in the USVI today. I arrived last night and have been hard at work (yes, work, not play) all day. So far all is going well (except my hotel freakin' sucks but it's the only hotel where my company has trade...till next year). Anyway, I presented the proof of the book to the client today and they really liked what they saw. Yeah! We still have lots of work ahead, but it's all coming together nicely.

So guess what I read on the airplane last night (aside from the USVI book, of course!) The new "We DARE You" book from Kristina Contes, et al. All I can say is WOW! I love all of the Dares and how it inspires us to capture the moments in our everyday lives. Not just birthdays and holidays, but the real nitty gritty day-to-day. What matters. And I just love the layouts overall. I didn't get through much, but I read a couple of the chapters and I want to do the Dares. So, since I read on my BFF's blog that some of you are doing one Dare a week, I'd love to join in. How fun is that! Coof stuff, I tell ya.

Well, my wonderful scrappy friends, I'm off to take some Tylenol and get rid of this headache and then I'll have dinner. I'll be back home by Monday.

Hugs to all!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

On Sunday, we celebrated my birthday and we had so much fun! To all my wonderful, fantabulously special scrappy friends, thank you for everything! You made my pre-birthday scrapbook party awesome. Most of my scrappy friends were there (Rena and Lou, I missed you both!), the food was high in calories and my presents were to-die-for...what more could a girl want? I'm so thankful and blessed to have such wonderful women in my life.

Here are a few photos -- can you tell I'm having a great time!






And, even though we were having so much fun, I actually managed to scrap a bit, too! Here's a peek at my latest mini album celebrating my wonderful scrappy friends! (I'll post it on SIS TV soon so you can see more).




Bye for now! I really need to pack because I'm traveling to the USVI for work tomorrow and won't be back for a few days!

Peace and happy scrapping!

What's making me happy right now...

First of all, have I told you just how much I LOVE Cocoa Daisy! Tricia puts together the most amazing kits! There's no photo of the October kit yet, but it will include some very yummy stuff like the "Love, Elsie" You & Me fabric paper I've been wanting and a cool chipboard people keychain (I can just see my mini album coming together already!). In fact, I saw this idea on the Studio Calico website and I'm going to use it as my inspiration for a mini using the Cocoa Daisy Oct. kit...Check it out!




My friend Lou posted her happy list on her blog, so I thought I'd take a moment to share a few things that are making me happy right now...

1- I had a great time today while at dinner with my in-laws
2- I just enjoyed a cold, refreshing orange Crystal Light
3- Anxiously awaiting my Cocoa Daisy kit
4- My house is clean :-)
5- Looking forward to CKU-Orlando in just three weeks (I get to meet Ali Edwards and Becky Higgins)
6- Going on vacation in a few short weeks with my DH (Spain, here we come!)
7- My Creating Keepsakes magazine
8- I got a mani-pedi today and I love that feeling!
9- My fave show, House, is back on Tuesday nights starting this coming week
10- My HAPPY room (scrap room)
11- Cool A/C and a comfy bed to jump into in a short while
12- Cuddles from my honey-bunny
13- Good conversations today with family and friends
14- We won lots of awards for our magazines and books (those are the things that make it all worthwhile)
15- My pre-birthday scrapbook party tomorrow!!! I'm so excited to see my scrappy friends, eat yummy food and just have FUN!

Peace and happy scrapping!

Awards!!! Lots of Awards!!!

In non-scrappy related news, I thought I'd share a little bit about what I do.

As some of you already know, I am the director of editorial and design for a custom publishing and promotion company that produces print and online publications for organizations around the world wanting to reach affluent and sophisticated consumers (that's a mouthful!). We create award-winning turn-key magazines, coffee table books, destination guides and websites. Our clients include American Eagle Airlines, TACA Airlines, Carnival Center for the Performing Arts, Mt. Sinai Medical Center, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, Bermuda Hotel Association, Sint Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association, British Virgin Islands Chamber of Commerce and Hotel Association, U.S. Virgin Islands Hotel Association, Los Cabos Hotel Association, De Palm Tours Aruba and Kiawah Island Resorts.

Recently, we were honored with MANY (14, to be exact) national and statewide awards for general excellence, as well as design and editorial excellence from three well-respected organizations across the country. We received the top prize (Charlie Award) for Best Bilingual Magazine for Explore, TACA airlines’ monthly in-flight magazine, from the Florida Magazine Association. Isn't that exciting!


So, yes, I am stressed and frustrated and about to kill a few people because of my work, BUT I am also VERY proud of what we've accomplished and I'm honored to work with such a talented team. :-)

I'll share some scrappy goodness with you soon — including some cute cards I made last weekend at a Card Workshop that my friends Barb and our Stampin' Up rep, Esther, put together.

Also, I'M SO EXCITED because this weekend is my birthday crop. On Sunday, my scrappy friends are coming to scrap with me all day long! Yeah! (Yes, I know my birthday isn't till October, but this was the best day for all of us—talk about a busy group of gals!). LOL!

Happy Friday!!!

Looking for inspiration...

....but lacking time and energy!

That's how I feel right now. I am finding so many beautiful layouts and so many cool ideas out there, but I just don't have the time to create. I have been working late, and I'm completely frustrated with my work. It's that time of year when all of our books and magazines are due, we are lacking the resources we need and the pressure is on. So many deadlines, so many clients, so many projects that are late, so many people to babysit! I wish there was more of me, but I haven't figured out a way to clone myself. Sometimes I wish that I didn't take everything so personally, but I'm a perfectionist and I want to please everyone all the time. I take great pride in the work that our company produces and that's why I always have to stay on top of everyone to make sure things get done on time and within our quality standards. Maybe I'm too hard on myself, but I am expected to do what it takes because I'm the one in charge of all the design and editorial content. Hey, at least I have a job, right, and in theory I actually enjoy what I do. So, in that case, busy is good. It's just not as fun as it used to be.

Thanks for letting me vent! Now on to some fun and creative stuff.

Today I received my Scrapologie kit and I really like all of the patterned papers and the tags are so cool. Check it out!



As of this month, I'm keeping just one scrappy kit subscription, and that's Cocoa Daisy. Therefore, I'm now free to check out what else is out there. I'm keeping a close eye on my faves: Work in Progress, Studio Calico and Cupcake Scrapshop. I'm really liking Cupcake's October Afternoon papers and that fabulous D. Reeves Acrylic Album. Here are some of the pics. Hmmm...




Thanks to all of you who read my blog. Your comments give me something nice to look forward to and I really appreciate your friendship!

Good night and happy scrapping!

My Honey-Bunny Loves Me...

Today he emailed me this bunny rabbit as a sign of his love. Isn't that sweet? (yes, we are both geeks, but we're in love)

We're in the midst of planning our vacation this fall to Spain and that's always very exciting. We LOVE to travel and get away together as much as possible. Next year, we may even get to go to one of my dream destinations! I would tell you, but I don't want to jinx it! We're trying to see the world before having a baby (and that will hopefully be one day soon, God willing). Although I don't even think that having a baby will keep our little family from traveling! I just can't be home for too long! LOL!

Happy Friday!

Happy Mail and Some Inspiration

I received my beautiful October kit from Trish at Work in Progress this week! I love it! The colors are so vibrant and the embellies are so delish.... I don't have time to play with it yet, but hopefully soon...Get yours before they sell out.



I also found some new album sizes over at Diane Reeves Design House, including a 12x12 acrylic album. Here are some awesome album cover ideas she posted on her blog and you'll also find a cool tutorial to create acrylic pendants. I recently created a 4x6.5 D. Reeves album, but I can't wait to get some more of these!




I've decided to continue working diligently on my California vacation album from my 2006 trip. I'm so not inspired to do this, but I must finish it. You see, it was such a fantastic vacation, BUT I've been scrappin it for a year now and I don't know why I printed soooooo many photos....it's never ending. So, I'm going to commit to finishing it in the next week or two and therefore I probably will create very simple LO's. Once that's done, I'll return to my fun, inspired LO's that I love so much. Yes, I know. I learned my lesson. :-)

Good night and happy scrapping!

Remembering the victims of Sept. 11...

An American flag inscribed with the names of the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks flies at the 9/11 memorial field near the eternal flame and the globe saved from the World Trade Center Site on the sixth anniversary of the terrorists attacks on the World Trade Center, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2007, in New York. -MSNBC.com

Feeling blah today...

Well, my friends, it's one of those days. I'm feeling blue. I didn't even feel like scrapping. I haven't cleaned my messy scrap area either after we built my new desk yesterday, but oh well. I did, however, visit some blogs, saw lots of inspiring work on SIS and found these Catslife Press beauties on the Scrapbook Oasis website (I want some!):



“No day is so bad it can't be fixed with a nap.” -Carrie P. Snow

Good night.

Work in Progress layouts...

I've been playing around with my September kit from Work in Progress and I love it! The colors are so beautiful and vibrant and it's perfect for my Yosemite pictures, as well as so many other things! I scraplifted the tree layout from Trish for my Mariposa Grove of Big Trees layout. Check out my latest creations...





Thanks to all of you who voted and helped me choose a banner for my blog! As you can see, I've already changed it so I hope you like it as much as I do! (Thanks again, Elizabeth, for helping me with this!)

Have a great weekend and happy scrapping!

So many scrappy projects, so little time!

I have so many projects in the works that I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. This fall, my DH and I are supposed to vacation in Europe and I'm already stressing about all the current projects I've started because I want to finish them before our trip. You see, last year, we took a 16-day vacation to California and I'm still not done scrapping that trip. This is because in 2006 I decided to scrap the entire trip...well, I went crazy and although I'm almost done, it's going to take two albums to fit all of my LO's. Never again! What was I thinking anyway? LOL! During the past year, I've also given up focusing on chronological albums.

This is supposed to be a way to de-stress, a creative outlet, a way to preserve memories and tell stories. Not something else to stress out about. I need to stop and think about why I enjoy scrapbooking so much and just have fun, create art, be inspired, and go with the flow without the undue stress.

I'm taking a completely different approach to scrapbooking now. I will put all of our vacation photos in an album or a photo book, and only scrap a few that really stand out to me...or better yet, make a little album of highlights. I like this plan much better!

I'm liberating myself and I like my new approach sooooo much better! :-)

Happy scrapping!

Vote for your favorite banner!

Thanks to my fantabulous friend, Elizabeth, I have a new banner for my blog! Thanks, girlie! You're awesome! She gave me two choices and I selected the one above, but please tell me which one you like best, OK? Just take the poll I've posted on the right and vote for your favorite!

OPTION A

OPTION B



Guess what I bought last night?

Can you say Elsie Flannigan? Yes, I am the proud owner (well, I will be soon) of an 8x10 Elsie print. It's called "best friend" and I love it! I saw it and had to have it, so I visited her Etsy shop and for just $12, it was mine. All mine. Can't wait to get it in the mail!




This weekend was busy busy, but oh so fun! I got a mani-pedi, ran some errands, shopped a little, painted a mini album I'm working on, visited Seminole Hard Rock, saw The Nanny Diaries, went to the Festival Flea Market Mall (don't bother), enjoyed a Riverfront Cruise along Ft. Lauderdale's waterway just like a tourist (did you know Wayne Huizenga and his family own like four or five mansions here plus a marina and a million other things), and lots more! Pretty exciting weekend...


One more thing: I visited the Work in Progress blog and just saw that September is "Be nice to writers and editors" month. Well, my friends, I'm a writer (although I don't get to write much these days) and an editorial director sooo....you get the message! LOL!


Have a great week!

The weekend is here.........

I had a great time tonight having dinner with my scrappy pals at Benny's Puerto Rican restaurant. YUM!!!!! We had lots of fun chatting away, laughing and planning upcoming events. Gotta do it again.


I just caught a glimpse of Chris Daughtry's concert in Las Vegas. Do you guys remember him from American idol? I just think he is so HOT and I have really enjoyed his music. Oooh baby!




And finally, I cannot wait to see what Jamie Waters creates for Work in Progress. The gallery goes up tomorrow.... And did you see the beautiful kit and add-ons over at Cocoa Daisy this month? WOW! How delicious are those kits!

Good night and happy scrapping! I'll be working on my latest mini about all my scrappy friends so stay tuned...