Wednesday, February 27, 2008

See that girl right there? She is one happy girl! Her dreams are coming true! Because here's the deal... She has just accomplished one of the most desired goals of a die-hard scrap artist. And that is to be part of the design team for a scrapbooking website or manufacturer. In this case, I'm talking about my beloved ScrapInStyleTV, a community that I've been a part of practically since the day of it's inception. If you haven't guessed already - that girl is ME! Yes, ME! Woooo hoooo! I am one of 18 women chosen. Two of those women will be in a community leadership position more than a design team position. Twelve women will be part of the "regular" I guess you could say (and that is not a diminuative term by any means) design team and four of us - myself included - will be the first digi/hybrid design team. Digi/hybrid is a combination of digital and paper scrapbooking. I'm sure many examples will be posted on my blog in the months to come! :) I think it's awesome that this will be "my" area because I really do love digital scrapping and hybrid scrapping is kind of the up-and-coming trend right now. I love that I'm getting in on the ground floor of it at SIStv. And I love that this was an area in which I hoped to stretch and grow this year.

It's been a process of about 6 weeks or so. And the announcement was made official today, though I've known since Sunday night. I found out when I got online, appropriately enough, right after the Oscars. Because I sure do feel like I've won an Oscar! I do want to clarify that while I do think my scrapping skillz are fairly mad, I know I'm not the most talented scrapper on the website. I do feel that a good part of the reason I was chosen was because of my consistent presence on the site and the volume of my communications with others on the site. (And maybe, it's kinda cool to have an "old head" on the team - something that is rare in the industry. I think it's cool, anyway and am happy to represent!)

By the way, on this particular website, we are called "Fashionistas", so when you hear that term, I'm referring to the design team. So I'm ready to put on my seat belt and buckle up for a challenging, scary, fabulous, fun ride! Wooooo HOOOO!



Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Yes, Matthew, I DO have to plaster your photo all over both my blogs! Because it's your 30th birthday! Woo hoo! Thirty years. Does it seem that long to you? It does and it doesn't to me. Sometimes it seems like only yesterday that we were lovin' on all this adorable cuteness:

You were so cute that one time we were out eating breakfast and this older gentleman came over to us and gave us a dollar on his way out. Either that or we just looked incredibly broke. Either way, you mean the world to us and I don't think having you come and stay with us will change that one bit. If all the teenage crap didn't make us love you less, it ain't gonna happen now! ;)

So, have a GREAT 30th birthday, Matthew. I'm looking forward to seeing the way God will direct and bless you in your future. It may seem a bit uncertain what the future holds for you at this point, but I know for sure that God has a plan and a purpose for you and Martha and I can't tell you how excited we are to be able to not only support you, but to walk right next to you through it all! Hugs and smooches! :)

Tuesday, February 12, 2008


Snow and ice. Ice and snow. And that's how it goes. We were so happy to get rid of the skating rink that was our driveway last week. And then we got this Sunday a.m. Yesterday morning when I got up, it was about -2 degrees. Today we're in the beginning stages of yet another storm that is supposed to add another 3-6 inches, but then it's supposed to dump freezing rain on top of it all. Too bad. That just ruins it.... Oh, well. That IS winter and it just makes spring ALL the sweeter! (Yes, I said that mainly for the benefit of you Rimrockers!) :)

The hot tub is still out of commission. I'm so sad about that. That IS one of the lovely benefits of having all this cold crappy weather. The "ahhhhh" factor of stepping into the hot tub is definitely at it's height in these conditions. Crap.

I'm presently working on my Round 3 project for the SIStv design team application process. This time we are to create a project that could be used on a webisode. One of the fun things about SIStv (and, hence, the "tv") is that there are weekly (or so) webisodes that feature either an interview with a scrapping superstar, or projects with instructions or just other fun stuff. So we are to create a project with instructions that could (and may) potentially end up as a webisode.

I'm so in love with my project I can't stand it. It's actually a little project that I've had sitting on my shelf for a long time and I'm so happy to be able to finally get to it. I had fun yesterday taking photos of the process as I was going along. Those photos, along with a great shot of the final product, is what will be emailed for my submission. And that's due this coming Sunday. So, if I would get off the computer, I could get in there and finish up! :) And, of course, I'll post photos on here after the deadline...

Okay, and check this out! Yes! The track lighting is 99% finished. Apparently Chris needs to replace one light, but other than snapping the new one in, this project is DONE! There's a track like that on all three of the beams that sort of make a "U" over the whole couch. And they're on sliders, so you can control the amount of light. Yay! I can't tell you how great it is to sit on the couch and be able to see to read from any point! As much as I love this couch, this has been the one downfall - the inability to put good lighting where you need it... Chris says he's done doing projects now. Pft! Right!


I'm off to GET BUSY! :)

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

My head is just spinning these last 24 hours. I found out last evening that I've made on to Round 3 of "Project Fashionista". Just above, I've linked to the mini book that I submitted in answer to "create a project telling us why you want to be a Fashionista".

What in the heck is a Fashionista you might ask. That's okay. I know not that many people read this blog on a regular basis, but if you did, you'd know. But just to refresh, you might know that I hang out extensively at my favorite scrapping website, SIStv. While it is a website for scrapbookers, it features the "theme" of fashion. Hence, the design team for this website, those talented and personable people who are the creative and mentoring guru's, are called "Fashionistas". So fun. Every week, one of their responsibilities is to choose - from the 100's of posts to the website gallery, a "cream of the crop" selection. A special gallery is set up to display these weekly picks - it's called the 'catwalk". (See the theme, here?) I have been SO honored to be chosen for the catwalk about 4 times.

Now, as mentioned in my last post, a call has gone out to those members of the site interested in becoming Fashionistas. As is normal in the scrapbooking website/design team world, the time has come to change up the team. I'm sure there were about 2000 or so submissions (which was basically just saying that you wanted to go for it and linking up some layouts from your portfolio). Out of those submissions, about 100 were chosen to go on to "Round 2". I was one of those chosen. We were all given the above-mentioned assignment and, as mentioned, that is a link to my Round 2 submission, above.

The fabulous news is that out of those 100 submissions, about 40 were chosen to move on to the next Round - AND I WAS ONE OF THEM! I'm beyond thrilled. Nervous, even. I know that we are not being judged JUST on our scrapping "talent". (Thank heavens.) I'm an okay scrapper, but there are some trying for this that are just UBER-talents. Artists in the truest sense. I can't begin to compete with that. But, what I DO have going for me is that I totally love and believe in the site, what it stands for, its vision, etc. I am very present on the site and have been since it's inception. And - possibly my strongest point - I stand pretty much alone in my age range.

So, as I said. I found this news out last night. The reality of it sobering (not that I wasn't sober, but, you know...) and even a little scary. What if I can't deliver? But then again, I am SO up to the task of pushing and challenging myself. And, after all, this is an extremely loving and positive community. So, I'll keep you posted. I don't know what's next, but I'm sure we'll find out soon!

Woo hoooooo! :)