Layouts from the world's worst blogger.

Yep...that would be me, the world's worst blogger in all of bloggerdom. I haven't updated in a month! Anyway, first a quick family update. Hmmm, lets see...Miles starts speech therapy in May, though he has started talking more on his own lately. The therapists who evaluated him both agreed that he was handsome and brilliant (just choosing not to talk), so that was nice! Emma was accepted into her school's gifted program and she's been having fun and learning a lot in her extended studies class. She also got the lead roll in her class play. She has about 90 lines to memorize. Add those to the lines she has to learn for her play at our local community theater and she's got a ton of memorizing to do! Finally...my running tally in my weight loss quest is 25 pounds lost since January 22nd! Hurray me! LOL

Now onto the layouts:

bg papers, frame, foliage, stitching, striped ribbon, lace (both recolored) in Chic Shack by Chaos Lounge and Bonnie Van Esch Designalpha, flowers, red ribbon in Holly's Spring Treasures collab by Chaos Lounge and A+ Designs. frame paper is from Mystical Garden ESS collabwhite paper for tags is from Happiness kit by LorieMfonts are Pea Mariella and Raliegh BT
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Springtime Jess was created using Spring Is In The Air by Bucket Of Butterflies Designs. You can find this fun kit here... http://www.enchantedstudioscraps.com...amp;amp;page=1

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Got Mama Milk was made with one of the custom kits that lucky scrappers won from Chaos Lounge. I can't wait to see and work with the other custom kits! Kit is Holly's Spring Treasures collab by Chaos Lounge and A+ Designs. You can find it here http://www.enchantedstudioscraps.com.../?productid=793 at Enchanted Studio Scraps.
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Her Highness was created with Soul Mates by Bucket Of Butterflies Designs. You can find this beautiful kit here in the ESS store... http://www.enchantedstudioscraps.com...amp;amp;page=1/
The photo is of my Jessica Haley when she was 2 years old. Where does the time go? I can't believe that she will be 18 very soon!
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Emma in 2006. LO is made with the wonderful ESS mega kit, Overboard... http://www.enchantedstudioscraps.com/xcart/product.php?productid=701&cat=277&page=1

Girls, Dolls and some Color!

Our Girls...Jess, Emma and Chloe.

Kit used is Pure Happiness by LorieM Designshttp://www.enchantedstudioscraps.com...amp;amp;page=1

Scraplift of LO by hollshanson

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A Doll For Miles was also made with the kit Pure Happiness by LorieM of ESS. I love the colors in this kit and the vintage feel. It's gorgeous.
The Journaling reads:
He's a boy why does he need a doll?
so that when he's a father like you,
he'll know how to take care of his baby
and feed him and love him and bring him
the things he wants, like a doll
so that he can practice being a father.
-Charlotte Zolotow
Taken from "A Doll For William"; which is one of my favorite children's stories.

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And now for some color! This is the thing that I love about being on creative teams...I would normally shy away from bright colors. I just prefer muted tones. But because I was asked to use this fun and colorful kit, I branched out and made something different!
Sassy Jess was made with Ordinary Miracles: March 09 Enchanted Studio Scraps Mega Kit.
You can find it in the Enchanted Studio Scraps Store http://www.enchantedstudioscraps.com...amp;amp;page=1

Such a Funny Boy! Plus some family news.

Miles just loves to make us laugh and he has quite a sense of humor! These pics are of him streaking through the house, bare naked with a diaper on his head. He thought that was totally hilarious!
Kit is the new Collab by Chaos Lounge and Melissa Daniels called Going Buggy. You can find it here. http://www.enchantedstudioscraps.com.../?productid=477
Template by RobynPaliDesigns

Other news...hmmm, let me think:
Miles is going to be tested for speech delays at the end of the month. He certainly is brilliant, so that's not the problem. He just doesn't really talk much. He has about 10 words that he uses and me makes those work in all situations!

Emma is in the midst of finishing up her social studies project. It's titled, "Half Man- Half Wolf, Legends of Werewolves". That's right, my beautiful little girl loves werewolves. She's such an interesting young lady. Oh....she also made the cut for Math Field Day again this year. I'm so proud of her!

Jess was in the hospital ER until late last night because she has a horrible ear infection. Poor girl!
She had to get a shot in the bum...Ouch!

And I've lost 2 more pounds this week! It's nice to feel like I can do this...I can lose weight in a healthy way and I can reach my goal! Hurray!

Bye for now,
Candace

Longest post ever!

Hi all! This may be my longest blog post because I am so far behind! I've got to keep up with this or things just pile up. So, lets get started!

This LO is kind of cool, isn't it?! "Our Little Star" was made with Vicki Stegall's Rock on kit. I guess it's an expression of my wish that Miles is musically inclined like his talented Daddy.
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Here's my oldest baby when she was going to her latest school dance. "Almost Grown Up" was made for a speedscrap at ESS and uses all Chaos Lounge products.

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This LO was also made for a speedscrap and I did them both at the same time! That was quite a challenge! The kit used is Endless by Armina Designs. The quote is a lyric from the song Nature Boy which is a favorite of my husbands.

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Thanks so much Jen of Chaos Lounge for tagging me, this one is different and fun!!! The rules are:
•Go to your photo folder in your computer

•Go to the 6th folder of photos

•Go to the sixth picture

•Put the picture on your blog and a description of it

•Invite six friends to join the challenge

•Link them in your blog.

Here's what I found when I looked in the correct spot. A pic of Miles checking out the Christmas tree!

I'll have to think about who I can tag. I'm so new to blogging that I'm not sure I can find 6 people!
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These two LOs were made with All About Boys by Neverland Scraps. This kit was very impressive because the colors are so rich and saturated. You can find here in the ESS store...http://www.enchantedstudioscraps.com...amp;amp;page=3/

"Ball, Ball, Ball" is about how much Miles loves basketball. I swear, the boy is obsessed! His greatest joy, right now, is for his Daddy to play ball with him!

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Finally we come to the end of this post! One more bit of news, just to pat myself on the back a bit... I've lost 15 lbs so far in my weightloss quest! 15 lbs and 14.74" lost!

Talk to you all soon!

Bad Hair Day

Miles woke up with his hair in this lovely disarray. I just had to take some photos of him. He didn't know what was so funny but he kept laughing because I was laughing!
This LO was made during our speedscrap last night on Just Mommies. Thank you Trish, for hosting the event...we all had a wonderful time!

frames by petit moineauxgold paper by Kari - RelocatedDixieGirl

stitches by Christie Lemmon Designs

newswpaper circles, arrow, circle frame in Lil'Meteorites Page Kit by Nicole Young

everything else by Irene Alexeeva from various kits

wordart by bethany

Spirit Of Summer Charity Kit

Spirit Of Summer is a charity collab benefiting the Victorian bushfire Appeal. Twenty-nine Australian and international designers have banded together to help support many Australians, animals and communities decimated by one Australia's worse national disasters. For the whole story of what these talented designers are doing please follow this link. http://jen-at-chaos-lounge.blogspot.com/ Here's a LO I made with this huge collab.

Jack...playing in the yard last summer.

Going Buggy and new blog graphics

First of all, what do you think of the new blog graphics? I needed to change from the winter theme because I am SO tired of winter! I think that the next blog graphics I make will be from this new kit...Going Buggy. This is one totally fun, colorful kit...I had a blast making these LOs for Jenni of Chaos Lounge. Going Buggy is a collab by Chaos Lounge and Melissa Daniels. You can find it here in our ESS store. http://www.enchantedstudioscraps.com...?productid=477

Two Layouts from this week.

Emma had a dance last weekend and she was so IN TO IT! I can't even tell you how much she has changed in the last year. Where is my tomboy!?
Journaling reads:
February 13th, 2009
These photos were taken
after Emma got ready
for her fifth grade
Valentine’s Day Dance.
She’s growing up so very
fast...she agonized over
her outfit, hairstyle &
if the boy she liked would
go to the dance. This is
a total turnaround from
a year ago, when she didn’t
even care about clothes !
I used the February mega kit by the ESS Design Team! You can get it at Enchanted Studio Scraps here: http://www.enchantedstudioscraps.com/xcart/product.php?productid=438&cat=277&page=1

These photos are of Miles and Emma, snuggling our sweet old lab, Autumn. She is 11 years old and getting pretty spoiled. She wasn't allowed to sleep in bed with Emma until about 3 months ago. I came to the realization that Autumn will not be with us for too much longer and

I want her days to be happy and full of love.

She deserves that much for all of the unconditional love she has shown our family.

kit is gonedoggy by Irene Alexeeva

In other non-scrapbooky related news...I am doing pretty well with my weightloss mission! I'm down 12 lbs in 3.5 weeks. Thanks in large part to my friends on the JM mommy weightloss and fitness board! Those gals keep me strong and on track. Thanks Ladies! One day I hope to have some great "after" pics to post on here...though I probably won't post the "before" pics!

Masterpiece

I'm still working on LOs of my husband and I. I guess I've been caught up in the Valentine's Day spirit! This LO is really dear to my heart. The kit went so well with the theme of the LO and I just love the way it came out. The journaling is part of Seth's wedding vows that he wrote himself, for me. It reads:

Our love is rare and powerful...

rare and powerful enough

to create a unique work of art,

rich in truth and beauty,

with you and I as the artists.

Our love is rare and powerful...

rare and powerful and courageous

enough to render a masterpiece.

I used Love In Paris kit by Neverland Scraps. http://www.enchantedstudioscraps.com/xcart/product.php?productid=297&cat=0&page=2

The Start of Something Big

I've decided that I should round up some pics of Seth and I and scrap those. We've been together 8 years and there really aren't that many pics of us. I know that's mostly my fault because I don't like to have my photo taken and I'm usually the one behind the camera. I usually focus on scrapping events surrounding our kids but Seth and I have a special story

that I should capture as well. The pic was taken near the beginning of our life together. We were on our first and only kid-free vacation.

I used the kit Always from Digi Overdose. It's a truly versatile Valentine's Day kit. You can even make a fairly masculine page with. You can find it here... Always

Alphas: Always Alpha and Hollywood News Alpha, both by Digi Overdose, coming soon to the ESS store. Overlay on photo is from Worn Vintage Photos II by Digi Overdose.

The Romantic Grab Bag

These layouts were created with The Romantic Grab Bag Collaboration by Chaos Lounge and MickeyB Designs.. This grab bag is fantastic! It's huge and chock full of wonderful Valentine inspired kits and word art. You can find it in the ESS store... Check it out here...on sale this week!

http://www.enchantedstudioscraps.com...amp;amp;page=1/

Jess And Emma...my Valentine girls!

My wonderful husband, Seth...I made this layout on a day when I was a little peeved with him. So it ended up being good therapy to create this and think, "Okay...he's pretty darn cute!...I think I'll keep him!" LOL

Treasured Boy

This LO turned out really nice. I like the metallic yet natural feel of this kit and

I love these pics of my sweetie.

They make me wonder what deep thoughts he's thinking.

Treasured Boy was made using Season's Greeting by Joey.

RAK (random act of kindness) for me!

I got an RAK from Monkey See Monkey Do and the kit is called Love Always. It huge and packed full of great stuff for Valentine's Day. You can find it in the store at ESS here... http://www.enchantedstudioscraps.com...amp;amp;page=2/

Pics are of Jess and Emma getting along... for a moment!

Chic Shack

My two newest LO are made a with a fabulous, fun, grungy, girly kit. It's called Chic Shack and I just love it! It' a collab from Chaos Lounge and Bonnie van Esch Designs. You can find it here... http://www.enchantedstudioscraps.com/xcart/product.php?productid=382&cat=0&page=1

Chloe and Emma amidst the foliage...

My second Chic Shack LO is of my sweet old Nana. She passed away in 2005 at the age of 92. What an inspiration this woman was to me! Smart, funny, strong and most of all, kind. If I can be half of what she was, I'll be doing great!

One more update....I'm doing pretty well with my journey to healthiness (and away from fattiness, LOL). I've lost 5 pounds so far and I feel better just because I am doing "something" to improve myself. I am having a bit of trouble today....I'm just jonesing for some sugar! Somebody send me some "stay away from the chocolate vibes", QUICK!

Some new LOs and a new journey for me

Before I post my newest LOs (and there are only three...I've been in a little slump!) I just have to tell you all that I am finally getting off of my butt and trying to get healthier. Yesterday morning, I was getting dressed for work and it just hit me! I am tired of my clothes being tight and uncomfortable! I've been basically binge eating since I had Miles, 18 mon. ago, and I'm finally ready to get control of things. Today our whole family joined the YMCA and this is my second day of eating healthier and keeping track of what I eat. I joined the weight loss board on JustMommies.com and they have already been so helpful to me. I took some "before" pics today but I won't be posting those...at least until I have some encouraging "after" pics to add to them!

I'm going for loosing at least 20 pounds.

So...please wish me luck!

Okay, now to my LOs...

Princess Chloe and Princess Emma was created with Frog Prince kit by Brenda Smith and her template for the 2nd January Build a Treehouse challenge on ESS.

Our Boy Wonder was created with Calalily's Boys Rule kit and Old Newspaper alpha by natashanast. This LO title is perfect for Miles, because his Daddy and I are constantly amazed at the things he knows and does. He really is our little boy wonder!

This LO of Emma was made for the speedscrap challenge at ESS. And boy was this one a challenge for me! I seem to have problems any time there's a limit to how many elements I can use! By the way, someone asked me if anyone ever told me that Emma looks like a young Anne Hatheway. The answer is yes...we have heard that a few times!

Credits: Flourish from Christie Lemmon. Everything else from Brenda Smith in Blossoms and Butterflies revisited and Frog Prince kits
http://www.enchantedstudioscraps.com...amp;amp;page=1/

For a challenge on ESS, we had some Disney inspired wordart to use (created by the talented Bekah E) and when I saw it, I knew that it was time to dig out some old pics and scan them in. In 1990, my family took a trip to Disney World. It's one of my most treasured memories. I was 18 in this pic and my little sister was 5. It's hard to believe that I ever looked like that (big hair, abs and all!).

I used a combination of several Irene Alexeeva kits and a Clean Line templet by Sine

Chaos Lounge Sale

I just had to tell you all about Jen's sale at Enchanted Studio Scraps. Today is the grand opening of the store and Jen (Chaos Lounge) has every one of her creative and infinitely scrappable kits on sale for 25% off! Many of my LOs are made using her products as well as the graphics for this blog.

I've been a big Chaos Lounge fan (okay, obsessed fan! LOL) for a while now so it's a complete honor to have been accepted on to her creative team!

Ad is linked to Chaos Lounge's store at ESS.

Dream

I did this LO for the new pixie pouch challenge on ESS. The photo is of my little Miles when he was about 2 months old. Seems like just yesterday that he was a helpless little newborn baby and now he's a running, yelling, wonderful 18 month old terror!

I used Pixie Pouch 2 by Chaos Lounge

Clouds also by Chaos Lounge

alpha by Michelle Coleman

p

LO is linked to Chaos Lounge's store on ESS

It's Finally Time!

Tomorrow Enchanted Studio Scraps is opening the shoppe doors! Come check it out! There are so many talented designers and I've heard that there will be some great sales to start things off right.

Browns and Blues

This LO was a departure for me. I only added about 8 elements! My inclination is to add at least a few DOZEN more than that! LOL I was just going for showcasing the richness of the papers and highlighting the picture. The photo is of Miles in his new ballcap, which he is totally in love with. He wants to wear it all the time and he especially likes to wear it backwards.

papers from Pam Lefors Designs, wordart from Brenda Smith in Kale kit, hearts on string in In the Pixie Forest Page Kit by Nicole Youngwire, heart and staples by NatashaNaSt

semi-scraplift (LOL) of LOs by Chaos Lounge and MighttyJoMama on ESS

Believe

Emma is just at the age where many of her friends don't believe in Santa anymore. But she still really wants to believe and keep that magic alive. I hope to teach Emma that "The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see." (quote from "Yes, Virginia, There is A Santa Caus", which is the wordart on this layout and that Santa lives in her heart and in all of us.

I used Digi Overdose's festive kit, The Overstuffed Stocking. You can find it here in the ESS store...

The Overstuffed Stocking Limited Edition

wordart by me

Also, Digi Overdose is throwing a sale to celebrate the grand opening of ESS. Everything in her shop is 40% off! So you can get The Overstuffed Stocking Limited Edition for only $2.99! That is a steal for this huge, gorgeous kit!

Chloe, Simply Beautiful

This is one of my favorite photos of my step-daughter, Chloe. She's only eight but in this pic, I can really see what a little beauty she is becoming. All that and brains too!

The elegant kit I used for this layout is called Reves de 'lamour from Chaos Lounge

You can find it here in the ESS store...

Reves de l'amour (Dreams of Love)

and the word art is from Bekah E.

Blossoms and Butterflies

This LO is of my step-daughter, Chloe (or Chlo-Bug, as I like to call her!) and our little friend, Sara. We were playing at the park near their house in NC during our recent visit there.

I used Brenda Smith Design's fabulous kit, Blossoms and Butterflies (revisited). This kit is really rich and sumptuous. I'm in love with the color scheme, too! Gorgeous!

Here's a link to the product...

Blossoms and Butterflies {re-visited}

Fly

Fly

Fly was created using Chaos Lounge's playful, boyish kit "Climbing Trees". You can find it here at the new Enchanted Studio Scraps.

Climbing Trees

The pic is of my 11 year old step-son, Jack. We took a bunch of pics of him jumping off the swing. That kid loves an "action shot"!

My Little Boy

My Little Boy

For my very first post I'd like to showcase a LO I did for a wonderful designer, Vero! She RAKed me her beautiful new kit, Love Me Softly. You can find info about this kit on her blog here http://thescrappingtree.blogspot.com/