Holiday Weekend

The past four days were a whirlwind of activity. Cookouts, fireworks and carnivals. Steve turned 41 on July 3rd and Max turned 14 on July 2nd. Max's baseball team played in the Bay Baseball Tournament for the 6th year in a row. Thursday and Friday's games were both rained out. Saturday they were able to get in and WIN 2 games. They advanced to the semi final on Sunday morning and won again. Max had never even won a single tournament game and now was headed for the championship game at 3:00. They faced the Middleburg Mudcats the returning champions with an undefeated regular season record. This was the team that stomped them 15-2 last month. The boys played their hearts out but despite their efforts lost 5-4. One run made the difference. Max was crushed despite knowing how well they played. It is so hard to see a child go through it.

Here are some happy layouts I made using the new Making Memories Giggle Kids paper available only at Archiver's. I made all four pages from 4 pieces of pattern paper, one pack of embellishments and some cardstock. Pretty thrifty I think!

Dear Cosmo Cricket Part 7

I just got my hands on some Early Bird. This is the first of many pages I hope to create.





















Let me conclude this day's flood of posts by saying that I would truly be honored to be a part of the Cosmo Cricket Design Team.

Your fan,
Laina Lamb

Dear Cosmo Cricket Part 6

Here are some pages I made with Snorkel. I have tons of this paper left (I bought the whole kit) and plan on making lots of summer pages with it when I finally get those pictures off the camera.

The custom titles were created using Adobe Illustrator and my Cricut Expression.

Dear Cosmo Cricket Part 5

Even though I have five boys (3 sons, husband and dog), Girl Friday was my favorite thus far.

Dear Cosmo Cricket Part 4

Dear Eric and Julie,

In answer to some of your questions...

1. People who love Cosmo Cricket products and feel inspired by them.

Definitely a description of me. Each and every release by Cosmo Cricket gets better and better. The illustrators outdo themselves each and every time. The sneak peaks and waiting for the releases send me over the edge.

2. People who have a great sense of design.

I have been in the design field for over 15 years. I graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a degree in Interior Design. For many years I worked for several architectural firms as an Environmental Graphic Designer/Interior Designer. Most of my work centered around retail design and mall renovations. I was responsible for sign design, way finding and the interior environment. After taking some years off to raise my family, I am now employed as a freelance graphic designer. I have the privilege of designing scrapbook paper and embellishments for Pulsar Paper.

3. People who are creative.

My parents would say I am the most creative person they know. (yes, I know parents do tend to think the best of their kids.)

4. People who maintain an active blog and are connected to online communities.

I can't say that I blog personally each and every single day but I am trying to be more consistent. It is a goal of mine to try to write on my own blog instead of just reading others. I do post on the Work In Progress blog three times each month. I am active on the TwoPeas message board. If I were to be chosen for the team, I could be counted on to post on whatever boards the team felt necessary. I understand that this form of marketing is vital to the company and will do my part to help.

5. People who are not afraid to submit for publication.

Afraid? No way. I'm a warrior! (or maybe a pest in the magazine's eyes.) I submit everything I design and it is paying off. I have been published 12 times in 2009 by CK media and hoping to get in a few more before the year ends. They must like me a little because I just completed my very first assignment from them. I am hoping that this is just the beginning of a long relationship between us.

6. People who are low maintenance, dedicated, easy to get along with, generally happy and fun to be around. (It's going to be hard to beat last year's team on this one!)

Me. I am crazy about this hobby. The personal satisfaction I get from scrapbooking keeps me happy. It is my creative outlet and I can't ever see my passion for it ending.

Sincerely hoping you select me,

Laina