Friday, May 30, 2008

TWO Forum Challenges this month....

Please check out the TWO Forum Challenges that I am hostessing at Digitals in June! Both are featuring LILAC SPRING and should be a lot of fun!

My monthly DIGITAL QUICKIES Challenge is a bit different! We are going to do brag book pages this month!

I am honored to be hostessing the DESIGNERS ELEMENT Challenge this month! I have created a special LILAC SPRING Add-on for you to use for your layout this month! Get this add-on for free just by participating!



THANKS!

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

High/Low - May 28th + Freebie + I got TAGGED

Hello everyone!

First of all, I am going out of town on Friday for a week. I'm headed out to go to my hometown for my family's annual "moving the cows" from the winter range to the summer range. But first, I have my cousin's daughter's wedding on Saturday and then we are leaving to go to the Arizona Strip (where our cows are) on Sunday until the following Saturday. Then on Sunday, we will go to my brother's baby's blessing and then I will be coming back home on that Sunday. Anyways, since I have a lot to do to get the house clean, laundry done, and get packed for the trip, I didn't think I would have the time to get my Friday posting and Freebie done...so you get it today instead. Of course I won't be posting the following Friday, so you'll miss me for a week but then I will be back.

I also wanted to remind you all that I will NOT be hosting any of my regular crops during June. Just taking a little break from that....I need a break and I bet you all could use one too...but come back in July! I will still be around trying to catch up on all my design responsibilities and stuff though! And I will be hostessing 2 Digitals Forum Challenges during this month...Digital Quickies and Designers Element...so please check those out!


So, guess what? I was tagged over the weekend for the very first time! Cyndi from Wetfish Scraps left a comment on my Friday posting and tagged me. What fun!

So, I'm going to follow the rules, which are:

1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.

2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.

3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.


Seven random facts about me:

1. I watch WAY TOO MUCH TV. I just adore movies and tv shows. Thank goodness for the internet, my great DVD collection, and Tivo...because I don't miss any of my favorites and I can always go watch some of my shows that are no longer on TV too. Part of this obsession comes from growing up and watching old movies and westerns with my Dad. It was always "our" time because none of my other siblings were interested. It's crazy, but watching movies actually helps me design. Usually I have half of my screen dedicated to some tv show or movie playing and the other half I use to design. My best stuff comes from watching movies and designing at the same time! I don't know why, but my creativity works so much better when I am watching movies!

I actually came up with my Friday HIGH/LOW on this blog from a movie. I watched STORY OF US in the theatre with my husband before we had children and we loved the idea of playing High/Low with our kids every night. The concept of learning about their day with just the lowest thing that happened and the highest thing that happened, really seems to open the conversation between us as a family. My kids don't totally understand it yet, but I think they will enjoy it eventually. But I thought it has worked well for me to share some of the things that have happened during the week!

Speaking of.....let's do HIGH/LOW now and then I can continue my random things about me.

My LOW for the week is that I have to clean the house and do laundry and get packed for my trip. I hate this part of traveling and being away from home.......you have to do it before you go and then it's even worse when you get home. LOL Oh, well. Plus another week without Joey! :(

My HIGH for the week is that my hubby is back! I missed him very much and it is so good to have him home. The kids missed him a lot too and I think he has enjoyed how much attention he has gotten from the kids the past few days...not to mention his wife the past few days! :)

2. Did I mention I HATE house-cleaning? LOL I really do. I LOVE a clean house, but I hate doing it, especially doing the dishes. Thank goodness I have a dishwasher now...it definitely makes it easier for me. Someday, when I am rich...I can't wait to have a maid. :)

3. I do not like milk. I was allergic to it when I was a baby, but now that I am not allergic to it anymore...I still don't like it....it's definitely the taste. I can drink chocolate milk just fine...and I cook with milk...and I will have milk with my cereal..but that's it. The rest of my family (my kids, my hubby, and my siblings, and parents) LOVE milk and they go through it extremely fast and they all think I am WEIRD for not liking it.

4. I sometimes feel guilty about this...but I am one of the grungy stay-at-home moms who likes to wear sweats all day. I sometimes wish I was an elegant woman who liked wearing nice clothes and stuff...but I really don't. Every once in a while it is nice to dress up and go out...but I really don't have a nice selection of clothing and I hate shopping...so if you come to my house you will most likely find me in a t-shirt and sweatpants.

5. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and I was married for time and all eternity to my husband, Joey on June 19, 1999. I have been a member of the church all my life and I am so glad that I have the gospel and my own testimony.

6. I hate HOT weather....I would rather freeze any day. I enjoy that I live in Utah and get to have all 4 seasons, but my favorite days are those wonderful overcast, rainy days! There is nothing like a walk in the rain to clear your head and make you happy! :)

7. I do not like public speaking or teaching. It scares me to death to talk in front of more than 4-5 people at the same time (unless its family or very close friends). It completely stresses me out to have to teach a lesson at church or even go visiting to sisters in my church.


Well that is just a few things about me. Now I get to pick 7 people to tag:

Ali Edwards

Amanda Thorderson

Christina Bartholomew

Cindy Lou

Elizabeth Kartchner

Keli Carter

Georgia Oliver


THANKS SO MUCH for reading through this LONG post! :) I hope you all have a great week and I'll catch you on here when I get back!

Here's your freebie!



DOWNLOAD LINK

DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT CROP TONIGHT!

Please join us for another Designer Spotlight Crop! Come meet and chat with SHAWN WALTER!



HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

Sunday, May 25, 2008

More on the Book Club...

I had a question about my Book Club that will be coming soon! I will have all the specific information ready for you in June (probably in the middle of the month sometime)....but here is just a little bit more info.

I have a forum started at Divine Digital for this. Go subscribe to THIS FORUM to get the updates and information when it comes in!

The question was asked...WHAT KIND OF BOOKS WILL BE CHOSEN AND WHO WILL DO THE CHOOSING? Well, I have a thread up in the forum HERE, and would love for you to give your suggestions on what books you want to read! So please go ahead and put the books and authors that you would like to ready down, so I can look for them. I'm hoping to get a variety of different kinds of books so that we can all share in and enjoy different subjects and kinds of books. I will have the final say on the books we read (after all, I am hostessing it)...but I want to hear your suggestions, so please don't be afraid to post your ideas! I have been in 3 different book clubs in the past and have a variety of different books that I'd like to start us out in...but I want to use your suggestions to! By June I want to have at least a year of books lined out for us...and I want a variety, so please offer up your suggestions!

THANKS!

Friday, May 23, 2008

High/Low - May 23rd + Freebie

HAPPY FRIDAY!

My LOW for this week is that my husband has been in Chicago all week for a conference and I miss him very much. He will be home late tomorrow or early Sunday so I am very happy that this week is almost over :)

My HIGH for this week is that the weather started off incredibly hot (summer weather!) and then for the past couple of days it has cooled down and rained. Yay! I don't handle the heat well and it has felt so nice to be in comfortable weather. Plus I really love rain :) So it has been nice (especially since my swamp cooler isn't working). It has also helped me to get a lot more done as well!


Lately, I have really been into creating my new SCATTERZ elements. They are a lot of fun and quite honestly are easy and fast to create with all the wonderful commercial products that I have. I love being able to combine all the styles, actions, and other commercial stuff from various designers to design my own creations. I have had good reactions to my new ScatterZ elements and I really thank you for that. Anyways, so for today's freebie I have created a new ScatterZ element for you! I hope you enjoy it! HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!



DOWNLOAD LINK

Thursday, May 22, 2008

NEW! Online Book Club

So I have some exciting news.....I am starting an online book club! I will have more details and specifics ready for you in June.

But in the meantime, here's what you need to know!

THE READING ANGELS BOOK CLUB will be held every other month, on the 3rd Thursdays at 9pm EST at Divine Digital, starting on July 17th.

We will meet in the chatroom and discuss the book and then you will have a month to do a layout on your feelings and what you learned from the book. THEN you will have 2 months to read the next book! I will be creating a mini-kit, inspired by that month's book that will serve as your freebie at the chat and the rest as your posting bonus!


I'm hoping to get a lot of interest in this...so who's in? Would love to see lots of ladies join in! Let me know what you think!

My Favorite Things Crop on Saturday

Please join me this Saturday, May 24th, for another great My Favorite Things Crop @ 3Scrapateers!




HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Happy Birthday TSG! SALE!

Come into the TSG Store for a great 30% sale! All my products over $2 are 30% off, so now is the time to get those products you have been wanting! :) SALE ENDS May 27th.

PLEASE NOTE: To see the sale discount, you must put the product in your cart!


Go check out my store:
http://www.scrappinggarden.com/shop/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=13


THANKS!

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

SPEED CROP on Wednesday!

Just a reminder! Don't forget to join me this Wednesday for another Over the Hump Crop! It's SPEED CROP TIME! This month our theme is WEDDINGS! Come for the freebie and the challenge that goes along with the theme and you will have 2 hours to complete your layout!

Monday, May 19, 2008

Maniac Monday

It has just been a really bad day so far for me. Our dryer has been squeaking for about a week, but my hubby went and worked on it a bit and now it just squeaks every now and then. But today, I was doing laundry and my washer refuses to drain the water. I have no idea what to do and of course my husband is in Chicago for the week. So I had to go get quarters and I am now doing laundry in the trailer park laundromat....I hate it, but what do you do. Not to mention that it is extremely hot and our swamp cooler is not working and we think our fridge is about to die too. Why do all your major appliances have to die at the same time? UGH!

Okay, just needed to vent. I will now go and be a good girl and get something done. Thanks for listening!

Friday, May 16, 2008

High/Low - May 16th + Freebie

Yea! It's Friday! Don't you all love the weekend?

My LOW for the week is definitely that my husband is leaving tonight to go to a conference in Chicago. I won't see him for a week and it is really bumming me out. I really wish we could afford for me to go with him. It would be so nice to be together without the kids and I could totally just sit around and design in the hotel room all day. Oh well, maybe sometime we will get a chance to go away together.

My HIGH for the week is that I have got a new thing going with my kids. Every day after JJ gets home for school, we have been going on a walk together. It's about a 3-mile walk that we have been doing. And not only has this got us outside and exercising...but we have had some good talks as we have walked. I've learned some new things about my kids and I think they have enjoyed it together. It takes us about an hour and in that hour I feel like I am actually being a good mom and spending quality time with them. So it has been a very good thing.


So I have lots to do...what else is new right? LOL Working on several products - a combination of store contributions and a collaboration with one of my bestest designer friends, Georgia! And I am trying to complete the illustrations for the children's book I am working on. It is turning out better than I could have imagined and I'm very excited about it! But all of this is supposed to be done by the end of the month, so I basically have 2 weeks to finish everything! Yikes! Anyways, I better get back to work!

So I'll leave you with a little freebie. I have a Butterfly and a Doily for you that goes with my LILAC SPRING Kit! Enjoy!




DOWNLOAD LINK

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Crop TONIGHT!

Don't miss out on tonight's crop! We have the INCREDIBLE Amanda Thorderson with us! Come "meet" her and get to know her! Freebies included!

Friday, May 9, 2008

My Favorite Things Crop

Don't forget to join me this Saturday for another great My Favorite Things Crop! You won't want to miss out on my new kit!

High/Low - May 9th + Freebie

Hi everyone!

I know it's been like a month and half since I did the Friday Freebie and High/Low and I'm sorry, but hopefully I'm back into it now!

So since it has been so long, I am just going to let you know about one of my HIGHs in the past month! And that is my brother's wedding. I think one of the neatest things for me about Cody and Becki is that I got to see them fall in love. Becki lived right across the street from our family in Orderville, Utah, so my brother literally married the girl next door! Becki is a year younger than Cody and they were friends, but never dated in high school. But then she was there after Cody's 2-year mission for our church.

Becki was going to school in St. George finishing up her Associates Degree and Cody began school here in Orem. He took several trips down south to see her and as far as we all knew they were just friends. Cody's best friend, Austin was on a LDS mission and somehow they decided to play a joke on him that they were getting married in November. This would be about a month after Austin would get home. They even had me do a FAKE announcement to send to him! Crazy huh?

I remember asking him:So Cody are you really interested in Becky and I expected him to say no, we are just friends. But he paused and said Yea, I like her. And then Becki ended up moving up here to go to school and they would come over to my house for Sunday dinner. It was a lot of fun getting to know her and see them together. And just the neatest thing is that I got to see it happen!

Anyways, so their wedding was on April 25th in the Mt. Timpanogos LDS Temple in American Fork, Utah and then their reception was a week later in our hometown of Orderville and I thought they did some really fun displays and decorations for their reception and I just want to share some of that with you! And they had the most unique wedding cake I have ever seen, so you gotta check it out!











I didn't take too many pictures because I was chasing my kids the whole time, but my sister took lots and then they had a professional photographer there too, so as soon as they get those I'm sure I will have lots to share. My daughter and my sister's daughter were little flower girls and looked so cute and my little Bethie caught the bouquet and that made her so happy! :)


And one of the LOWs for this past month, is just my overwhelmed schedule. I keep thinking that things are going to get better, but my to-do list stays long and never gets any shorter. I am definitely looking forward to my month break in June. Hopefully I can just find myself a little bit and get organized and find my balance!


JUST A REMINDER....that tomorrow is the last day for the 30% off sale at Digitals and my NSD Grab Bag! Next week the grab bag items will be put in the store seperately, but get it now for only $3!


Anyways, that is all for today...I am going to leave you with a freebie that coordinates with my NEW Kit, LILAC SPRING. It should be in the stores by tomorrow!

One of my newest product series is called SCATTERZ and it includes little element creations that is just a great edition to any page. The freebie I have for you today includes a Corner ScatterZ that goes along with my new kit! So enjoy!



DOWNLOAD HERE!

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

More stuff....

Check out what just arrived at my door! My husband and children surprised me with these roses for Mother's Day. I haven't gotten flowers of any kind for a long time, so this was just such an amazing surprise and I think they are so beautiful! It definitely made me feel very special!




I also wanted to share a neat experience I had. I mentioned that last month I got to go to the ScrapbookUSA Convention. I was really excited because I have never gone to one before. Anyways, so I met up with a friend, Sabrina and her friends but ended up wandering around on my own. I also got to take a Scrapbook Class called "Scrapbooking on the Wall" and I created an awesome Wall Hanging...check it out:




It was a great day full of great inspiration and a time for just myself to relax and enjoy. I even started to scrap a 2-page layout...of course I didn't get it done, but it was kind of fun to sit down amongst hundreds of traditional scrapbookers (with all their new purchases and big crop bags full of all their supplies), pull out my laptop and work on a page! I think I was about the only digital scrapbooker there! LOL Anyways, even though I didn't get to spend much time with Sabrina, I had a really good time.

But the best thing about the whole thing was I was at a booth looking around and a woman came up to me and said, "Are you DeDe?" And I said yes I am and said, "Hi, I'm Cindy." And I must have looked confused because of course I didn't know who she was, but she said, "you Know, cinlou!" And I got so excited! It is so funny how in our digital scrapbook communities we come to know each other by our usernames, not by our real names, LOL. So I got to meet one of fans and friends from online (actually from Scrap Outside the Box) and I was very thrilled. I ended up hanging out with Cindy and her sister , the whole day. They were event taking the same class as me and it was so fun to get to know them better. I really felt like I had known them forever! So much Fun!

Anyways, here is me and cinlou at the convention:





And I want to leave you today with just a cute photo of my daughter that I captured today. She is in this stage where she just loves nightgowns, she just wants to wear it all day. And about once-a-week, I let her do it. So today is NIGHTGOWN DAY and she gets to wear our nightgown all day long. This nightgown was a gift from her grandma on her birthday and she totally loves it. I love it too...I wish I had a nightgown that long and that soft :)




So from Beth and Me, I hope you all have a very wonderful day! I gotta go get to work!

I'm Back

So now that my grandpa's funeral is over, my brother, Toby and his wife have had their baby, and my brother, Cody's Wedding is done...I think I am actually back. I'm trying to get caught up with everything and get back on track!

Right now I am working on the children's book and the new kit for Saturday's My Favorite Things Crop. Hopefully I can get it done!

I have been feeling bad because I haven't been able to scrapbook anymore just design and also that I haven't been journaling or even posting pictures and things about my family here on the blog, so I am really going to try and be better at this. Did I mention that I really want to start taking more photos of the kids in their everyday moments and really journal about their lives. They are getting bigger every day and I'm afraid that I am starting to miss those special moments. Just not enough time in the day and I really need to start balancing my life better and prioritize because I'm feeling very scatterbrained lately. So hopefully I can get all this figured out! Any suggestions about organizing your life? LOL

I did want to share a picture of my kids from a few weeks ago. It was actually nice weather and the kids went out on the porch and they took some books outside and were actually sharing the books and reading to each other (well "reading" is a relative term, but they were sharing the story together). Now, if you know my children, this doesn't actually happen very much. They really don't play well together and they fight constantly so these special moments when they actual act like they like each other, is very wonderful. Any suggestions on contentious children would be nice too! LOL

So not the best photo in the world, but I think it captured their personalities a bit.



Oh and I have some exciting news! My wonderful hubby gave me an early birthday/anniversary/mother's day gift. I have been wanting to go to a Digital Scrapbooking Retreat really badly. Partly to find some time to actually scrapbook and partly just to get away and find myself a bit. I have been feeling a little down and just needing some rejuvenation. Well guess what! I am going to the Scrap Girls Convention in October. 5 months away, but I am still very excited! Check it out here:

http://store.scrapgirls.com/product/12564/Scrap-Girls-convention---Digital-Scrap-Link-%28Connections-Live%29

It's in Salt Lake City, only an hour away so I am very thrilled to have more than 2 days away by myself and just enjoy designing/scrapbooking and find time for myself. I really think it is going to do a lot for me! Anyways, I'm very excited!


Anyways, I better go get lunch made and get JJ off to school and get to work! Oh and I definitely am going to bring back the Friday Freebie and High/Low this week too! So come back and visit! Oh and don't forget tonight's Over the Hump Crop @ Digitals!

Monday, May 5, 2008

Scrap the Night Away Crop this Wednesday!




Please join me another great challenge, as we continue our All About Me Albums! Plus, win prizes as Digitals continues their NSD Celebration!

DON'T MISS OUT!

Wednesday, May 7th
9pm EST in the Digitals Chatroom!



HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

Saturday, May 3, 2008

ACDSee Crop @ Digitals




Come one, Come all to the wonderful ACDSee Crop
with DigiScrapInfo and DeDe Smith!

Come to hear all about the program,
get a chance to win a copy of the software,
and even get an NSD Mini-kit just for coming!

Join us in the Digitals chatroom on Sunday May 4th at 8pm EST!

SEE YOU THERE!



NSD Celebration Crop

Hello everyone!

Don't forget to come to my NSD CELEBRATION PARTY CROP today at 4pm EST in the Digitals Chatroom! You won't want to miss it! I'm giving out 12 great sponsor prizes and just for coming you will get a great mini-kit from our NSD KIT!

Please come!

My NSD Grab Bag!

Don't miss out on my NSD Grab Bag! 3 Brand new personal-use products at only $3! Get it now until May 10th!

Get it HERE!

Friday, May 2, 2008

NEW! 3S Scrapstyle Ezine May/June Issue




May/June 2008 issue now available!

Another amazing issue under our belt, over 500 MB amazing high quality downloads, projects, fun, inspiration, a brand new Card Section and much much more!

Get your's today!

http://shop.3scrapateers.com/shopexd.asp?id=5901

NSD @ Digitals


We would love to have you join us at Digitals for our massive, week-long National Scrapbook Day event May 3-10.

Stop by the store for a 30% off almost everything sale (some exclusions apply) and special NSD grab bags for $3 - personal use and $7 - commercial use. While you are there, score a free mini-kit from our Weaving Time in a Tapestry Mega Kit and download a new card each day from Glenda Ketcham.


Then swing over to our forum for a fun Treasure Hunt hosted by Amanda Thorderson where you can win free kits daily and prizes! Then scroll down and join some of our 22 challenges, 20 of which reward your finished tasks with another part of the Mega Kit! While you are there, click on our forum calendar to see the 8 fun crops scheduled this week to be held in our chatroom. Each crop hostess has several prizes to give away to participants.


Then take a hop to our store blog where you can join Karla of Lifesong Kreations in a layout contest to win prizes.
And be sure to subscribe to this forum for all the latest info and be sure to thank our sponsors for their generous prize donations.

Let the fun begin!