Special Summer Issue!

I made it back from Chicago in one piece despite sitting on the tarmac for 2 hours waiting for a huge thunderstorm to pass. One week in Chicago and now I am headed back out for a week in Tennessee with my entire family. We are headed to the hills for some rest and relaxation. My cousin owns a home on a lake where we can boat, fish, hike and much more. The boys are over the top excited to leave bright and early.

CK has another one of the fabulous Tips and Tricks Special Issues out just in time for all those summer vacation photos you need to scrap. You can see a sneak peek of the issue here. Summer Fun and Travel hits newstands on June 25th and is a steal for $6.99! Use Coupon code: CKFUN10 good for free shipping in the US on all orders of $25 or more. Expires 8/8/11    

I had the opportunity to create a double pager for this issue about our trip to Cedar Point last year. Want to scraplift my idea? You can download my Digital Die Cut flags and some other freebies from the CK website here.

Want to win a copy of your own? Just leave me a comment by Sunday July 31st and let me know something fun you have done this summer! I'll pick a winner August 1st!

CHA Setup

Whew! I've been in Chicago since Saturday and it's been a whirlwind of work and fun. Jill is always the most considerate person and course had a goodie bag of treats for each of us at the hotel including my very own gnomie tshirt!
Almost as soon as I got off the plane, Kimber, Summer and I headed downtown to see the Barenaked Ladies play at the World's Largest Block party. We had a blast at the show and it was so fun to hang out with my friends before all the work began.
Sunday was our first day of setup. Gnomie showed up but he hasn't been much help. He keeps leaving the booth to visit other teams. We are right across from our friends Bella Blvd. Setup went really well and we finished early this afternoon. Now to unwind, go out to eat and get ready for our first day of CHA.
PS The show pictures are compliments of Summer since I was too lazy to bring mine.

3 more days until CHA!

Summer is the fastest season! I cannot believe we are halfway into July. Most of my projects are complete and it's now time to get ready for CHA. I will be working at the Jillibean booth all at helping to promote all of the new collections. I am so very excited to be at the show and get to hang out with all my friends. I leave Saturday and won't return until next Friday. Hopefully this time I will remember to take some pictures while I am there.

I had such a great time collaborating with Jill on the new collections. I am so proud of all of the new designs but have to say that this collection is hands down my favorite. I was also the easiest to design! I think it was because it fit me so well. I plan on using it for many, many projects this year.
Introducing Sweet & Sour Soup...

A Double Pager and more new Jillibean!

I love double page layouts. I always have so many pictures to choose from and it's such a great way to get as many as possible into my books. I made this layout last month although the photos are from last fall. Yep, I'm still that behind right now.
Aren't they a cute little couple? Max turned 16 last week. Yes, I am way to young to have a 16 yr old ;). He is an amazing child. Kind, thoughtful, driven and dedicated. I could go on and on. He does have his bad habits...leaves dirty socks in his room, eats everything in house, produces mountains of laundry. But we forgive him.
This page uses some Soup Staples and papers from the Monster Stew collection. I love using papers that you would not normally expect to be used on such layouts. I also included some canvas stars that I misted with Maya Road purple mist. Another great way to alter embellishments to fit your needs and use up your stash.

Another sneak peek went up on the Jillibean Blog today...Christmas Eve Chowder! Full of cute little Penguins! We designed this collection to be used for Christmas and Winter layouts. The touches of blue really say Winter. Did you ever notice that we always coordinate our colors? Jillibean always uses the same red, brown, off white and even sometimes the same teal or green. That way you can mix and match your collections and patterns. As always, stop on over and leave a comment to win it before you can buy it!

Apple Cheddar Soup

What's not to love...Apples, Woodgrain and Gingham. I think the thing I love the most about all of our Jillibean lines is that you can use them for themed projects when needed or use the B sides for everything else! Can you spot the little Gnome? Watch for that little cutie to be popping up all around CHA! Love this line? Head back over to the Jillibean blog for a chance to win it before you can buy it!

In case you missed this...Homemade 6 Bean Soup

What has occupied my time the last two months! The first of four new collections that I designed for Jillibean Soup.Homemade 6 Bean is a vintage quilt inspired line that can be used for any type of sewing, craft or memories projects.