Moving day...

This little blog needed so much updating that I decided it was easier to move rather than clean house!

Come visit me at my new home lainalambdesign.com!
I could use some company!

The Big Ticket

A quick and easy Jillibean page to share today! I used lots of bits and pieces from the Game Day Chili collection. There isn't much of this collection left in the store, so get it while you can!

Max plays a ton of baseball all Summer long. He is extremely dedicated to the game despite the fact that every team he has been on has had a sub par record. That elusive winning season had always been just out of reach. Until this past Summer. He tried out and made a new travel team comprised of players from many different high schools in our area. Including some private schools where the competition and playing level are quite fierce. This team was different and he knew it right from the start. He immediately bonded with his new teammates and coaches. They gave him the respect that no other team had given him. That respect blossomed inside of him and gave Max the playing confidence he had always been missing. He began to have his best season ever defensively and offensively. His batting average soared and his teammates gave him the nickname "Big Ticket." Max was so proud of that name and wore it with pride all summer long. The team excelled and began to win many games and tournaments. It was by far the best summer Max had ever had.

Babies and Toddlers (big sigh...)

Want to know my not well kept secret...I always wanted another baby. More specifically a Baby Girl. Time, money, jobs and all that other unimportant stuff got in the way and we never got around to having a fourth. I think it is something both my husband and I will always look back upon and wonder "what if?". We love our three rascal boys and have a fabulous life. We are truly blessed. Hopefully those rascal boys will someday grow up and have a granddaughter or two for me to spoil. But not for a really really long time.

Another fact about me? I didn't start scrapbooking until my youngest was three years old! I have preschool albums for the youngest two but nothing prior! All of their baby photos are either in a box or still on my computer. One of my goals this year is to scrapbook some of their baby pictures. I'm not going to pressure myself into making entire albums. I'm only going to scrap the important pictures, the ones that the story just needs to be told.

When I begin this process I will be using this issue as a guide to help me document those memories!

Scrapbooking Babies and Toddlers hits the newstands today! Hint: Sneak Peek here! I will warn you...extremely adorable babies with cute chubby cheeks inside.

You can purchase the print version or buy the digital version right here.

As always, CK has included some great bonus content for the issue. Sketches, Journaling spots, collages and more. Many can be easily used for other projects as well.

Want to win a copy??? Leave me a comment below and tell me your favorite thing about babies! You have until Sunday Dec 2 at midnight to enter. I will post the winner on Monday morning.

Want even more chances to win? Stop by my CK friend's blog to enter their giveaways as well! Good luck!

Laura Vegas

Mou Saha

Piradee Talvanna

Stacy Cohen

Autumn Baldwin

Deena Boese

Gretchen McElveen

Jana Morton

Joey Manwarren

Kim Watson

Time for another Sketch!

The month flew by and it's already time for a new MFT Scrap Sketch! If you play along and upload your page to the Split Coast Stampers Gallery, you have several chances to win Gift vouchers to the MFT shop! More details on the MFT blog and some great MFT Design Team projects based on the sketch as well!

I used lots of my Die-namics and Stamps on the page including my new favorite, Story Starters! I also created a PL style page for Max's Senior Album. Bella Blvd Birthday Boy papers and washi tape were the perfect choice to match the colors in my photos.

Hampton Arts

If you missed this on the Jillibean blog Friday...it's pretty exciting.

Everything pretty much stays the same but better. Jill has more time to generate ideas and market, I get to work alongside her developing product and generating the art. It's a win-win for all. Lots of great stuff on the horizon! Just wait until you see what we cooked up for CHA Winter 2013! Can't wait to share!!!

More Fab Friends

My friend Cindy shared some great projects using my stamps and die-namics on her blog! Check out how she used the 3x4 insert card to create the most adorable mini album. Cindy's work is phenomenal and so is her blog!

Stamps and Dies in action!

My friend Ashley Harris had a chance to play with my October release from My Favorite Things...stop on over to the Scrap Review for a chance to WIN my Document It - December stamp set. It's perfect for cards, December Daily, PL and more!


Laura Vegas used my Accent It - Flags and Tags to embellish this adorable boy page. Isn't her use of color amazing? It makes these photos just pop. Boy is he a cutie!

All of my October and November clear stamps and die-namics dies are back in stock! The October release sold out last month so don't miss out!

Ohio Hurricane and some new products!

Sorry I've been MIA for two weeks! Lots of crazy stuff happened. When Hurricane Sally hit the east coast on Monday October 29, we never expected to be effected here in Cleveland, Ohio! The storm took on such force as it went over Lake Erie that high winds took out almost all of the power in my town. Over 5,000 of us were without power from Monday night until the following week. We finally regained power on Sunday November 4. Steve and I were lucky enough to be able to take the kids and critters to my nearby parent's house for the week. Many other friends and neighbors had to stay in hotels or travel further to stay with family. It was a crazy week without school and being displaced. I feel severely behind in my freelance work which was horrible timing with Winter CHA products being developed and manufactured.
I spent all of last week getting the house back in shape and getting as close to caught up in my workload as possible. I'm still quite overwhelmed with what needs to be done but beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Before I go,  I wanted to share this...

Previews of my November Stamps and Dies from My Favorite Things! Stop on over to the MFT blog to blog hop and see some fantastic creations from the MFT Design team using my stamps and dies! I had a chance to play with these sets over the weekend and cannot wait to share!

Scrap Challenge!

My Favorite Things and I have teamed up to create a new monthly Scrap Challenge! Each month I will be creating a regular sketch as well as a Project Life Sketch using some of my favorite MFT products. Use the sketches to get your pages done, but be sure to share at the Split Coast Stampers gallery when you are done. MFT will choose a random winner from the gallery each and every month.



The first sketch is up. Head on over to the MFT Blog to grab the sketch, learn more and see some great samples from the MFT Design Team!

Five on Friday

1. Halloween is only 12 days away and the boys haven't picked out their costumes yet! We usually start mid-August. Yikes! My Pirate Booty page was featured on the CK Blog yesterday along with some other great costume pages!


2. It took everything in my power to resist buying these at Walmart last night when Emmitt and I were buying the Halloween Candy. "Laina, do not buy the Peanut Butter Kisses. Your kids hate them and you will end up eating the entire bag." Conversations I have to have with myself every day.


3. Lots and lots of drawing. Anyone upgrade to CS6? I have the program, just haven't had time to install and play. I think Sunday is the day! I've been working on the new Jillibean collections all week. Jill's ideas are once again superb and I am having a ball creating patterns and pretty stickers. I can't wait to share. In the meantime, head on over to the blog for a fun game and giveaway today!


4. Getting ready for another Friday Night Lights tonight. Bay versus North Ridgeville, who luckily has had as bad of a season as Bay. It's been a struggle this season for Max as a player and for the entire team. He has battled a severe ankle injury, a losing record and some not so nice or effective coaching. Trying hard not to wish it over since it's his last season. Sigh. The good news is that he has finished and submitted applications to Case Western, Wittenburg and Ohio Northern. The Denison application needs a little more work but we are almost there. Max has been working his tail off between school, football and the application process. I haven't broke the news to him yet that we need to start applying for scholarships in November!


5. Starting my Christmas lists for the boys. It's going to be tough this year. The little guys are at the age that they don't need anymore toys than what they already have, yet Emmitt still believes in Santa. (Cooper the 5th graders is of course pretending that he still does to trick me into buying him more gifts. I got his number.) The y are both technology nuts and have way too much product awareness. Steve and I are struggling with what to give them. Probably an inexpensive laptop for them to share and some sort of flipcam. I still need some Santa stuff for under the tree but don't want to waste money on toys that won't get played with 5 days after Christmas. Emmitt is obsessed with WWE right now. All four of the males species I live with are. Emmitt the most though. Not my favorite show at all. The only thing he can tell me he wants is this belt. Great. I look forward to seeing it on him every day this Winter. Not!

Have a great weekend!!!

Christmas Already!

When I was at Target this week I noticed that they are starting to stock holiday lights in the row behind Halloween. You can tell they are itching to sell that spooky stuff out and go full guns on the Christmas decor. Good thing I finally just finished my holiday pages from last year!

Happy Holidays Concert uses a bit of Winter Tortellini and Spinach Soup as well as Banner Bites (my favorite Jillibean Stickers ever)! Little Emmitt has grown so much since this picture and his glasses make him look so much older. A very good reminder of why I make these pages and record their quickly fleeting childhood.

Today's the Day!

You can see the first stamps and dies in my collection! Previews of my October sets went live this morning on the My Favorite Things Blog.

My idea when creating the collection was to create stamps and dies that could be used universally by Project Lifers, scrapbookers and cardmakers. I hope you like what I have come up with!

First up are the Die-namics. Insert It - 3x4 Insert is the perfect size for creating journaling cards and PL inserts. The cut card fits perfectly into page protectors and the rounded corners make it perfect for cards and mini albums.

Accent It - Flags and Tags is a collection of pieces and parts that can be used on their own or with many of my current and future stamp sets. These pieces are sized to make great accents on just about any type of project.

What good are dies without great stamps to match? Journal It - Top Ten includes a useful notebook paper stamp, a number set for creating lists and a few key title words.

Document It  - December was created with December Daily type projects in mind, but of course can be used for just about anything for the holiday season!

The stamps are easy to mix and match with the dies and future stamp sets will be designed around these die shapes as well.

Here are the details about the upcoming release:

• You can attend the New Release Party on October 16 from 8-10 PM EST HERE in the MFT forum, where you can WIN PRIZES!
• The MFT release, including all new stamp sets and Die-namics, is on October 16 at 10 PM EST. You’ll find all the newest products HERE at release time.
• The guest designer contest is going on now! Check out the forum for details on how YOU can win over $200 in stamp sets and Die-namics.
• Head on over to the MFT blog to see 18 projects created with my new sets by the magnificent MFT Design Team. I am awed by their creativity! (Links are at the bottom of the post!) Be sure to leave comments as you go for the chance to win one of 2, $10 gift certificates given away daily. The winners will be posted on October 16 just before the release party, here on MFT blog.

I made some cute projects with the sets and will be sharing them soon! Thanks for stopping by!

Five on Friday - Projects to Share!

Fall Fridays - don't you love them? My Senior Max has his Homecoming Game tonight. We are all pretty excited about watching play tonight. He has been battling a high ankle sprain since Game 2 of the season and although he played last week, he still wasn't 100%. He looks to be in better shape and is ready to battle tonight! The little rascals are excited because prior to the game is the Annual Homecoming I mean CANDY Parade. The entire town comes out to see the different groups, sports and clubs march. Did I mention they all throw candy? My boys won't even march with their teams...that would mean missing the grub.

1. One of his many Senior Pics you will be seeing me scrapbook this year. Can't believe he is a Senior. I say it to myself every single day. On location at Cleveland Browns Stadium, taken by my fabulous friend Trish.

2. Happy Eight - Had this page up on the Jillibean blog this week. Finally had time to use Grandma's Lima Bean Soup. Love how this came out, even when I didn't have the best photos to use.

 3. Another Card! We were challenged to use Hexagons this month. Love how easy it is to use the Hexies Stickers for quick projects and more.

4. Party Planning - My head is swimming with ideas this week. I was coerced into being a co-Chair for After-Prom this Spring. Basically a 4 hour party for the Seniors to celebrate (and keep them safe!) We have already started the planning process. Anyone have experience with this type of thing? Any ideas to share?!?

5. Picked up some new fall clothes at my favorite new store...JCP. Yep, JCPenney's. That same horrible, awful store my mom dragged me to in High School to buy school clothes and shoes. I remember how mad I was at her for being SOooooo uncool and making me shop there. Have you been to one lately??? Wow has it changed. Their new CEO has a new vision to make the stores modern, organized and all at one low price. No ridiculous sales every two days like Kohl's. I am loving the new brands they have. Simple, funky and low priced. Plus the new store by my house has a Sephora inside. Dangerous...

Five on Friday

Lots of good stuff to think about today...


1. I really want a set of these to cut my dies. I love my Big Shot but the cutting plates wear out too quickly and leave marks on the die cut paper. AND this is magnetic so the dies won't slip around!

and 
2. The Pumpkin K-Cups finally made it to my local Bed Bath & Beyond on Monday. I have been stalking the coffee aisle for the past month. These two products combined = mornings in heaven.

3. My iPhone5 was delivered last Friday at 3:45pm. I had it activated and running by 4:05. I'm addicted. Like a five year old at Christmas. The panoramic camera is way cool.

4. Using my precious free time to do some much needed redecorating around the house. The boys' bedrooms have all been freshly painted. Cooper's room is finished, Max and Emmitt's are on their way to be done. Found this cool rack today that will be perfect in Emmitt's room for books and more.


5. The 2012-2013 Jillibean Team was revealed today! Lot's of great new talent joining a few of us "old" timers over there. Very excited about working with these lovely ladies!

My Very Own Stamps and Dies!

A little something that I have been working on...

For the past two years, I have been working behind the scenes with Kim and Jody at My Favorite Things as their primary graphic designer. MFT is a wonderful company to work for and both Kim and Jody have become dear friends. I can't say enough about their commitment to quality and customer satisfaction. When they asked me to develop my own brand of stamps and dies, I of course said yes!

My first release will be revealed on Oct 11 during the MFT Teaser Time and sales will begin on October 16. I am terribly excited about this and hope you like what I have to come up with!

September Jillibean Projects

September 26? Really. I swear this month just started! Time to share my Jillibean pages before the month is over!

 Holiday Choir Concert uses lots of new papers from the Winter Tortellini and Spinach Soup collection. I am completely obsessed with the new Banner Bites stickers. They are so quick and easy to use on pages. And as you can see...I used them on every page I made in September. And my upcoming October pages to be perfectly honest.

Cleveland Fans Forever. Love this page because I never make pages about my dad or husband. I need to do this more. The stars are cut with Die-namics from My Favorite Things. I cut the "Fans Forever" flag on my Cameo and backed it with Jillibean Brown corrugated so the color showed through. Stole this idea from my very talented friend and scrap-crush Summer. Go look at her pages. She's amazing. And she wears cool shoes.

Look at that! Husband Steve on another page. Our ancestors will be happy to realize that the kids had a dad. I'm pretty happy about that. He's a good egg and we just celebrated our 12th year of marriage.

Thanks for stopping by! Going to remind myself to post again before it's October!

Feeling Crafty Today?

Then join me for a 1- Hour Challenge over at the Club CK Blog! I'm talking Ransom Note Journaling and there are prizes involved! Join Me!

Cards!

It's a monumental occasion when I actually sit down and make a card. I have about $3 trillion dollars worth of card making supplies at my disposal and yet I never make any handmade cards!!! My goal for 2013 - make cards. They're easy, people love them and I need to use up what I have rather than give more money to Hallmark.

Jillibean has been celebrating their 4th Birthday this month. To impress the boss lady, I made a couple of Happy Birthday cards to help celebrate.

These were made out of our new Soup Staples II and the new Flag Stickers. Easy as pie! I was feeling so happy when I made these that I even added glitter!

A card I plan to give my Dad...he's the best. used Macho Nacho on this one. I think I could scrap with this collection all year and never tire of it!

Back later this week with some pages to share!

Five on Friday

Finally Friday and ready for the Weekend! Football game tonight. Poor Max is still recovering from his ankle injury and will be watching the game from the sidelines. After seeing the guy he would have gone up against...I'm ok with him sitting out another week! We are headed out on Saturday to visit Denison and Wittenberg for Max. I can't believe that within months he will be applying and making his choices. Crazy. Also sneaking in a quick trip to Ikea in Cincinnati since we will be staying overnight. Furniture Shopping!

Five Things I've been excited about this Week!

1. A friend recommended...had to read the whole thing in one night. Read it. You will feel very inspired and motivated. And Brave.

2. I've had a Droid two for two years. And I hate it. Pre-ordered the iPhone 5 this morning and I am pretty darn excited about getting it next week. Can't wait to try out it's new camera!!!

3. I am completely addicted to Greek Yogurt. I have one every single day for lunch. Mango Chobani is my fav but I will pretty much eat them all except Blood Orange. It's kinda crunchy and weird.

4. I will finally be buying this at Ikea on Sunday! My poor scrapbooks have been stacked on the floor of our remodeled basement since December. They really need a home after all the work put into them.

5. After months of contemplation...I started a Project Life album! Not for me but for Max's Senior Year of High School. I'll have pictures to share next week and some scrapbook pages as well. I have been able to carve out time to create and it feels AMAZING!

PS Spot on Subway Art II went up for sale at Two Peas last week as well...I am the world's worst self-marketer! I make this stuff, have fun and then forget it's there! Have a great weekend!