Weekend Whimsy: Veronique, la Pug Fantastique!

As many of you know, I have four pugs.  Our oldest pug, Veronica, turns 15 years old this month. I'd like to tell you her story....to be honest, I can hardly believe she is still with us.

Jessica with her snuggle pug, Veronica

 Veronica was our first pug.  We got her during our "Archie's Comics" phase.  We already had a Golden Retriever named Archie.  Soon after that we acquired two turtles and named them Betty and Jughead.  This naming phase extended to the acquisition of our second pug, a black one we named Sabrina (the Teenage Witch) but that's another blog.

Jessica is trying to look like a pug!  Veronica does not seem amused.

 I remember when we first got Veronica.  She was fearless against the giant Archie!  She would jump and play and grab his under belly hairs in her mouth until they both collapsed in an exhausted, yet satisfied, pile of canine playfulness.  Archie would look at me and pant.  I swear I could hear him say about the puppy Veronica, "Thanks Mom!  She's the best toy you've ever gotten me!"

We decided that owning a pug was a very satisfying experience.  She was playful yet loved to relax and nap with us.  It seemed the pug personality totally reflected our lifestyle.  Veronica was fitting in just fine.

She got the name "Veronique la Pug Fantastique" from this Mardi Gras dress up session.

I was on a business trip when I got the phone call.  Veronica had been hit by a boat trailer and was paralyzed from mid-back on down.  I was heartbroken!  I cried all the way home from my business trip.  When I got home, we had to make the decision whether to put her down or not.  Although her spinal chord was severed, she was in no pain once we healed the minor injuries.  After conferring with our veterinarian, we decided to become the primary caregivers for a paraplegic dog!

The trauma of the accident caused Veronica's metabolic system to go whacky.  She is diabetic and we have to inject her with insulin twice a day.  We also have to express her bladder 2-3 times a day as she cannot urinate herself.  She frequently gets bladder infections which must be treated with antibiotics.  Throughout all this, she remains spunky, loving and dominates the other 3 pugs!

About six months after the accident, we had her fitted for a "wheelchair".

She gets around quite well with her wheelchair, in fact, maybe we should call it an ATV!

Veronica's accident happened when she was 4.  As I previously stated, Veronica turns 15 this month.  I have noticed some changes in her recently and seeing these photos makes it even more clear to me that she is becoming frail.

She's had an interesting life and her resilience and fortitude are qualities that many of us would do well to emulate.  Happy Birthday to Veronique, la Pug Fantastique!

Have a Great Weekend!

Fun with '11

Every once in a while, the date is pretty cool. Anyone remember the huge number of people who got married on July 7, 2007? There was a giant article in our newspaper about this "luckiest" of dates and how popular 7-7-07 was for weddings. In 2006, I was pregnant, due in June. Because my son was breech and I had to have a c-section, I was able to choose whether his birthdate would be June 6 or June 7. When I chose June 7, my doctor mentioned how weird it was that NO ONE wanted June 6. It wasn't until I pointed out to her that the date would be 6-6-06 that she understood why no planned c-sections would be happening that day!

On January 11, we had a date made up of nothing but 1's. Even though it was an ordinary Tuesday, I thought the date was special enough to warrant recording what we were doing when the clock said 1:11:11 on 1-1-11. Here's the layout I made:

From Flamingo Scraps: Tim Holtz grungeboard, Prima eline pearl
Other supplies: SEI patterened paper, Marvy LePen
Based on a sketch from scrapbooks etc. , Nov/Dec 2009

This got me thinking about other layout possibilities during 2011. We'll have another day with all 1's coming up in November (11/11/11). I've already made a mental note to take a photograph at 11:11:11. Chances are, we'll be at the Veteran's Day Parade. But here are some other possibilities for the next few months:

March '11: In many parts of the US, the police code for Indecent Exposure is 311. Obviously, I'm not going to suggest scrapping (or taking) indecent photos, but it could be fun to use a 311 theme to scrap about crazy things your pets do. I have a friend whose cat loves to jump into the bathtub after she showers. How cute would it be to scrap a photo of the cat peeking out from behind the shower curtain?!

April '11: To reach Information here in the US, you call 411. Scrap photos taken in April that help provide more information about a person, pet, or place. Use a title that incorporates 411 to signify both the topic and the date.

May '11: For traffic or transportation information, you call 511. In May, you could scrap about your car, your commute, public transportation, or other ways of getting around.

I'm sure there are many other creative ways to incorporate the date into layouts. I'd love to hear any suggestions you have!

Crate Paper's Portrait Collection

One of the most talked-about paper lines coming out of CHA is the Portrait Collection from Crate Paper. The line has a strong retro feel. Think cameos, oval frames, vintage cameras, and large florals. Each of the papers is named for an element of a wedding. For example, Bouquet reminds me of the drapes that used to hang in my grandparents' living room. The papers are all double-sided with a bold pattern on one side and something more neutral on the reverse.

I'm not a bold-pattern sort of person, so when I worked with these papers I went right for the more neutral side. While more neutral, they are still vibrant and interesting. They worked beautifully together. Here is the layout I made:

From Flamingo Scraps: Crate Paper patterned paper; Webster's journaling cards
Other supplies: Bazzill cardstock; ColorBox ink; buttons, lace and "T" unknown

As you can see, despite being named for elements of a wedding, these papers work just fine for other topics, including boy pages. I used the following papers: Honeymoon (top left), Bouquet (top right), June (middle left), Vintage Lace (middle right), Bridesmaid (bottom left), and Pearls (bottom right).

Portrait is a great line. It's beautiful and versatile, and of course, it is the same high-quality that Crate Paper always delivers. I know you'll all enjoy working with it! 

And our new Design Team Members are.....

So we wanted to grow our permanent design team just a little bit... and we asked two of our favorite people to join us in writing a few times a month to inspire our followers!  Who may they be you might ask?  :)

Well...

You will probably recognize them....

They aren't strangers around here....

It's Cindy and Tonya!! :)

And they have some great tutorials and ideas coming up this month to inspire you!!  Please join us in congratulating them on joining our design team.  We are so thrilled to have them!! :)

Announcing our Second Guest Design Team!!

We are thrilled to announce our Guest Design Team for 
April - July 2011!!

We were overwhelmed by the response we received and all the talented scrappers who applied.  We wish we could have each and every one of you on our team!!   Alas, we could only pick eight this time around.... and what a tough choice it was for us!!

After we finally made it through all the applications, we picked eight amazing artists that we hope will inspire you as much as they inspire us.  So without further ado our Guest Design Team is......

My name is Celina, I'm 33 years old, a military spouse, and a mom to three. I have been scrapbooking for almost 2 years and it has become a passion of mine. I love playing with paper (I can truly say, I am a paper addict!) and I love the challenge of creating beautiful pages that record my family memories. Along with my love for scrapping, I have a love for inspiring people.

Want to get a peek at Celina's beautiful work?  Go check out her blog and leave her some love!

Hi there my name is Janie and I live in Canada. I am definately a kid at heart. I have 5 amazing boys, and I love to play with them every chance I get. I think I am more excited to play with their toys on Christmas than they are!  I love to alter items it's definately a passion I have.

To see Janie's creative altered art, go check out her blog!

I am a SAHM, and a (new) soldiers wife.  I keep myself busy (when the kids are sleeping!!) with crafts. I would lose my mind if I didn't!! I have always been known for being a total girly-girl - which totally explains why I am a ribbon/lace addict, and love pretty frilly things! So naturally I am addicted to Prima as well :) My style can be pretty versatile, I try to make it fit the situation/person I am creating for, but my personal favorites almost always have a vintage feel.

What are you waiting for?!  Go to Jeana's blog and check out her fabulous work!

Hi, my name's Jen Unger!  I’m a fairly shy person although I have definitely come out of my shell in the last three years. I currently work part time at my LSS in Hague, Saskatchewan, Canada. I am best known to my family and friends as the creative one.

Jen's blog showcases her beautiful work and you can also catch up with her youtube channel.

My name is Julie Tucker-Wolek and around the internet I am known as the SMILEY GIRL! :):):):):):):):) I never go anywhere without my SMILES! LOL! I have been scrapping since my son was born 14 years ago, and got really into it about 4 years ago when my daughter was born! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

Want to see more of Julie's cute layouts and adorble pictures of her daughter Brookie?!  Go check out Julie's blog!!

A little about me... I'm a born and bred Southern girl who loves scrapbooking more than just about anything! I started paper scrapbooking in 2004 when my daughter's social worker suggested I keep a lifebook for her about adoption. I visited the store to pick up a few things and got totally sucked in! I also create digital scrapbook pages and sketches in Photoshop Elements. I think of crafting as therapy. It's very important to me to have a little down time with two special needs children and a toddler. Scrapbooking just makes everything better. If I'm covered in ink... I'm happy!

To see more of Heather's super cute layouts, go check out her blog!

Hi everybody!  I am Monique Nicole Fox (by name), sweet (by nature), ethnic (by design) and blessed (by God).  I am a 41 y/o single mother of a handsome son name *Christian*.  He will be 8 y/o this month on 3/27.  He is growing so fast.  We also have a beautiful cat name *Angel* who turns 9 y/o this month.  She joined our family in Dec. of 2008. 

You can find Monique's gorgeous work in her gallery and on her blog!

And last, but certainly not least....

My name is Sara Zenger and I live with my husband and our son in upstate NY.  I have a full time job managing a store, I enjoy working out, I have an addiction to using coupons and I get a rush when I get groceries to see how much money I can save!  I love to bake, read, play board games and above all be crafty!  I am fan of many paper crafts from cards, home decore, altered projects and scrapbooking!  I have been 'paper crafting' for about 6 years.  About a year ago started a blog and just recently took over running ScrapFIT.  I do this because I love to inspire others to try something they might not have before!

Now go visit Sara's adorable blog and check out her fabulous scrappy stuff!!

So that's our fabulously talented guest design team and we couldn't be more happy!!! So go check out their blogs, galleries and be inspired... we are!!! 

Stay tuned for April 1st, when we will introduce our first two guest design team members for the month of April, Janie and Sara, in more detail.

And make sure you check back tomorrow when we reveal and welcome TWO new design team members to our team!!

Weekend Whimsy: Life in Florida -- Theme Parks and Tourist Attractions

One of the major perks of living in Florida is being so near the plethora of theme parks Orlando has to offer.  The theme parks routinely offer Florida residents great deals during the off season as well as discounted annual passes.  We have purchased annual passes for both Disney World and Universal Studios in the past.

Disney World is the natural favorite when your kids are younger.  The Magic Kingdom looses some of its appeal by the time they get into middle school.  When I turned 40, I knew my family was going to do everything in their power to embarrass me in some way.  So I didn't tell anyone and escaped to Disney World with my children for a few days!   I rode the Tower of  Terror at MGM Studios on my 40th birthday....it's a six story, free fall drop.

One of my favorite memories from Disney World is the first time we took Matthew.  He was only about 2 years old.  We had him so hyped up to see Mickey Mouse!  We looked and looked for Mickey but couldn't find him.  Finally, when Matthew fell asleep in his stroller, guess who shows up?  Yup - Mickey!  He was very accommodating when we explained the situation and we got this marvelous photo.

Once the kids were in middle and high school, Universal Studios was the theme park of choice.  We especially love Islands of Adventure.  The Spiderman Ride is top notch and they have awesome roller coasters like the Hulk and Dueling Dragons.  Here is a GREAT video of the Hulk:

Other fun places we've been include the Old Jail in St. Augustine and the St. Augustine Alligator Farm.

Clearly even Floridians love hamming it up with the cheesy tourist photo opps!

We have been to the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral to witness three different shuttle launches.  What an amazing experience that is!  The first two launches we experienced were prior to 9/11 so we were able to get up close and personal and drive out on the causeway.  Since 9/11, sadly the visitors vantage point is much farther away.

Megan and Mum at Kennedy Space Center

A few years ago, during Christmas break, Mum and I took my nieces to Cross Creek and Micanopy.  Cross Creek is the home of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings State Park.  You might recall that Marjorie K. Rawlings wrote the book "The Yearling".

Marjorie K. Rawlings house at Cross Creek

Jennifer, Katherine, Megan and Mum with Marjorie K. Rawling's car

Now Micanopy may not be a tourist hot spot, in fact, I'll bet you've never even heard of it!  But Micanopy, in addition to being a quaint, little, sleepy, North Florida town, is the location for two movies:  "Doc Hollywood" and "Cross Creek".

It's a fun afternoon just strolling Micanopy's main street and visiting all the little gift and antique shops.  Most every shop has some memorabilia about the movies.

Jennifer, Megan and Katherine on in front of a Micanopy Antique Shop

 I could go on all day about things to do in Florida!  I've lived here since 1969 and it still amazes me how different our state is from the panhandle to the central springs area to Orlando to the Gulf coast and of course South Florida and the Keys.  I hope you enjoyed this little piece of the Sunshine State I've shared with you.

Have a great weekend!

And they shall be.... Legends of the Flock!

So as we were getting ready to do our new Guest Design Team call, we thought long and hard about how to honor our past Guest Design Team members.  We talked a lot about how we loved each of them, their work, their style, what they contributed here and... well... we didn't want them to leave!  So they will not be going anywhere.  They are now Legends of the Flock!!

What is a Legend of the Flock?
Why is our former Guest Design Team members who are now a permanent part (aka "legend") of our family(aka "flock")!!  You may, from time to time, see a post from one or more of our former Guest Design Team members. :)  They have their own new special page around here too, which you can get to at the top of this page, so please go check it out!! :)

We hope you have a great weekend and next week on Monday, we will be announcing our new Guest Design Team, and Tuesday, we will follow with a special announcement that we hope you will be as excited about as we are!!

Layout: Life is Beautiful

Hope no one is getting sick of all the cosmo cricket 1934 layouts!  Here's one more:

From Flamingo Scraps: Cosmo Cricket 1934 collection patterned paper; Pink Paislee Parisian Anthology Flower Darlings

Other Supplies: Bazzill Basics kraft cardstock; Stampin' Up! Satin Ribbon, Red Glimmer Paper and Small Heart Punch; sewing machine + thread

So I owe all of you, our followers & blog readers, as well as our GDT applicants an apology... I've been a little burned out the last week or so and I'm still putting together our offers to our GDT.  Stay tuned... they'll be out tomorrow and we will reveal them later this week -- you're going to love them!! :)

Weekend Whimsy: Life in Florida -- WEATHER

Living in Northern Florida, we see more of a change in seasons than our neighbors further south.  As I am writing this blog, the temperature is about 80 degrees F and the relative humidity is low.  It's a gorgeous Spring day and I love this weather but it doesn't last very long.  Spring and Fall are very short seasons.  Winter varies, this year we had some cold weather but it was consistently cold and no real extreme freezes.  Last year, we had about a week of hard freezes so we had to do something to protect our navel orange tree.

The citrus trees can survive right at freezing.  It's when the temperature goes below freezing for four or more hours that we have a hard freeze - that will kill the citrus.  So we insulate them with ice!  It's the same idea as an igloo.  The ice keeps the tree and the fruit from damage.  The problem is, citrus trees aren't built for the weight of the ice.  We lost a major branch last year when it broke from the ice.

North Florida is considered a sub-tropical climate.  Sometimes it feels like we live in a rain forest!

It rained for about one week straight when I took this photo. 

Then of course there are hurricanes!  2004 was the year we experienced more than our fair share of the monster storms.  Although they were technically Tropical Storms by the time they reached us, we were still without power for one week with each storm......and there were three.  Charley, Frances and Jeanne came calling and they were very unwelcome guests.  I had just started scrapping and thought I would spend the down time with my new hobby.  I printed photos and prepared journaling cards using the computer before the power went out.  I was so smug thinking I had found a way to relieve the boredom when the power went out.  Unfortunately, it was so humid I couldn't work with the paper.  It wouldn't cut right because of the humidity!

And then there is Summer........although it's very hot for those seven months.........it does have its perks!

I did this layout a few years ago.  This photo is of my nieces on a beautiful Summer morning on Sanibel Island.  The journaling reads:  Take Millions of gallons of Gulf of Mexico water  Add: 2 handfuls of sisterly love, 10 toes happily squishing sand, A dash of anticipation to find the perfect sea shell.  Mix well and bake under a brilliant Florida sun.  Yield: 1 perfect morning on Sanibel Island.

Have a great weekend!

Four years ago... I fell in love with Prima!!

Happy Friday!! I took a break from scrapping to go to my first book club meeting last night!!  We read a great book that I'll share about on my blog next week. :)  I didn't have a chance to get good pictures of my last three layouts so I thought it would be fun to share an older layout from my books that feature what I fell in love with Prima for -- flowers and bling!! :)

From Flamingo Scraps: Prima bling and flowers

Other Supplies: Bazzill Bling cardstock; Basic Grey Lily Kate patterned paper, Deja Views Rub-On

Hard to believe that I made this layout almost four years ago!  I still love it!!  It has hidden journaling too:

Betcha didn't expect that!!  There are these fabulous little Basic Grey magnets underneath the photo and hidden underneath the cardstock.  Just click on the picture if you want to read what it says. 

Have you ever hidden journaling on a page for someone to discover some day?

Have a great weekend -- we're expecting snow here tomorrow.  Snow!!  At sea level in California?!  It's unheard of.  Rare.  I'm so excited!!  And yes, I'm already charging the camera and crossing my fingers that it actually does snow here!! :)

Layout: Our "New" House

Shocking.... another Cosmo Cricket 1934 layout today!  :)  This is a two-page layout:

From Flamingo Scraps:  Cosmo Cricket 1934 collection papers and embellishments

Other supplies: American Crafts cardstock and Thickers; Martha Stewart photo corner punch; Stampin' Up! scallop border punch; sewing machine + thread

Here's a close-up of the left side:

And the right side of the layout:

I wanted to do a layout about our house getting painted last year!  All the details are on my blog if you want to see more about how we chose the colors and how my crazy husband painted the house all by himself in three days! :)

Layout: Time Flies By

Here's another Cosmo Cricket 1934 layout!  Of my cute nephew, Creighton of course :)

From Flamingo Scraps: Cosmo Cricket 1934 Collection patterned papers

Other supplies: Bazzill Basics cardstock; Darice red foam glitter hearts, sewing machine + thread

He's definitely growing up too fast!! :)

Layout: You and Me

Here's the first of seven layouts I made using Cosmo Cricket 1934!

From Flamingo Scraps: Cosmo Cricket 1934 collection patterned papers and cardstock stickers; Graphic 45 chipboard buttons

Other Supplies: Bazzill Basics cardstock, Martha Stewart photo corner punch; Stampin' Up! heart punches and scallop border punch; American Crafts Thickers; Studio Calico Stamp; sewing machine + thread

I scraplifted this layout by Stephanie Howell that I loved and made a few tweaks to her design along the way and love how quickly this cute layout came together!

Happy President's Day!

This weekend I managed to crank out 7 layouts using the new Cosmo Cricket 1934 -- I need room for all the fun new paper!! :)  I need to wait for daylight to put the finishing touches on them with my sewing machine (so as not to wake the husband) and photograph them.  In the meantime, here's a card I made using some scraps:

From Flamingo Scraps: Cosmo Cricket 1934; Graphic 45 Chipboard Button Staples

Other Supplies: Kraft cardstock; American Crafts Thickers; Grey fabric flowers from my stash; Stampin' Up! Linen Thread

Hope you enjoy your holiday, we'll be busy picking our next Guest Design Team.  Thank you to everyone who applied - we are going to have a tough time making a decision!!