Have you hugged your computer today?

No seriously!

I am on mine (both of them) all the time.

Don't know what I would do without them.

Last Friday when I hung out with Kayla, Natalie and Celeste for the evening, we got to talking a little bit about how we started including our computer in our scrapbooking. That was such an eye opener for me. I have always used mine. The very first memories I kept were DJ Inkers clip art printed out onto really cheap cardstock (the only kind at the time!) and some paint pens colored in the images and then I would try to write a few thoughts or a date.

So in that spirit, and since my mind is on Halloween, I thought I would provid for your entertainment some of my very first layouts! These are from about 1995.

Please don't judge me harshly, I know they are pretty hideous by today's standards. But that was 12 years ago, and I was trying hard to keep my special moments remembered! I know the stickers and I didn't know any better, so I used both sides of the same thin sheet of cardstock, one side printed out right, and then I ran the next otherside through for the skeleton crew and it was upside down, it broke my heart! So I said "Oh well..." and ran it through the right way and tried so hard to make it work! I know it isn't amazing, but the idea is that these are my memories, and who will care twenty years from now if they are gorgeous pages? They will look at those crazy costumes that I made, yes I hand painted five sets of sweatsuits with glow in the dark paint, and say what a goofball! That is something that I really wanted to remember! My kids loved those costumes so much they slept in them and wore them until I couldn't stand the sight of them anymore and then they wore them some more, LOL!

So my point, I guess, is that we use our computers so much more than we realize, we should embrace that and figure out new ways to involve one of our most reliable tools in our memory keeping more often! Our computers will love having our company even more, and you will be able to get more of those precious, crazy moments preserved!

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Go Fish!!!

New Kit called Oahu from PcLayers.
Super tropical, batik looking kit, great for vacation and beach layouts.

So do you do the digi?

PcLayers is looking for artists to join their creative team. We are looking for memory keepers who are comfortable sharing their art, knowledge and enthusiasm.
Who we are:
PcLayers is a new digital community with old scrapbooking heritage. The artists and administration have been providing traditional crafting product for many years. They have now brought all that talent and experience to the digital memory keeping scene.
What we need:
Enthusiastic, energetic, digital/fusion artists that love to share their work and inspiration. Cheerleaders and trendsetters that love to be involved in a great message board community and are willing to answer questions, be supportive, and have the desire to build online friendships. How it works:
If selected you will receive monthly credit in your pcpurse. You select the kits you want to work with and you share your work in the gallery, your enthusiasm for the product on the message board and your appreciation for others efforts by praising in the gallery. More details will provided at that point.
What you need to do to apply:
1) Send four samples of your work sized at 500 x 500 pixels at 72 dpi to
submissions@pcLayers.com

2) Please include a link to an online gallery.
3) If you participate on any teams, please list what they are
4) If you have an online resume, please include a link
5) Please share why you think you would be a good fit for this team.
6) Any other information about yourself that you wish to share!

Deadline for submissions will be Sept 30th midnight (mountain time)
Those selected will be notified by the 7th of October.
The team will be posted on PcLayers on the 7th as well.

I need team members, come join me!
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Tomorrow is Tuesday (wait that is today!)

Yesterday went by way to fast, I got up today thinking it was still Monday and that tomorrow was Tuesday, crazy!

This time of year just flies too fast for me, the kids are gone all day and I have tons of crazy stuff I want to get done, but never quite get to, ever have that feeling? Total treadmill, LOL!

I wanted to share the other layout I had been inspired to do by the Method Playground challenge this week of making a patterned paper out of cardstock. This one actually was my favorite of the two I had made, but the other one went so well with the other layouts that it made more sense to use it, so this one is in the stable.

It is a great technique to use a white core cardstock (DCWV) and put chipboard or other detailed items under it and sand!

Loved this color combo, and the Hambly Robots are sooooooooo cute! Perfect for these pics of Laurel and Carter beating the crap out of each other in the snow!

Also, PcLayers is doing a creative team call. It will be fun to see who they end up with on their team, they have talented product designers, so it will be great to see awesome people working with their stuff! If you have questions about that, let me know and I will find some answers for you!

I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

*smooches*

B-

fabYOUlous Method Playground

The first layout for the challenge blog!

I love these pics of Laurel, and even though the layout was hard to photo because of the transparency on it, it still looks pretty good.

The challenge is to make a patterned paper from cardstock. The brown layer has 3 different sizes of holes punched in it and then was laid over a white cardstock with strips of green laid randomly over it so the the dots are FUN!

Anway used the white signo to do the journaling on the Hambly overlay, and I just love that pen!

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Little Sneak Peeks!

I got to spend a little time this weekend working on the very first

challenge for the Method Playground blog (please use link below

when you are done reading!)

Finished up a layout that had been giving me some design hiccups and then the one that is in the blue and green went together in no time, isn't that how it always is! Once I knew I had something to post, the ideas just started rolling and I still have more things I want to play with, this challenge is that much FUN!!!!

I hope a lot of people are inspired and want to explore the techniques that we present!

So here is the completed project that I will be teaching online at Lazar StudioWERX. It is adorable. I know I am biased, but let me tell you if you need a cool halloween project consider doing this class!

Anyway, I have a birthday dinner for my dad this evening, so going to put this to rest!

Hope to see you at the Playground!

B-

WOW!!!

576!

That is the number of hits that we got on the Method Playground blog yesterday!
We are having such a great learning experience, and we are so grateful for all of the people who are helping us put it together and who are as excited to play as we are!

I got to go and hang out at Paper Creations for a few hours last night with a couple of digi-gals that I just adore, and we spent some time getting to know each other. I needed some time out of the house, and this was a great way to get it!
Anyway, got a lot to do and tennis is the mens semi-finals and the women's finals today at the US Open, have to keep up with that!
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Method to our Madness!!!!

I am super excited, some of the Honorable Mention Girls have gotten together and put a blog out called Method Playground it is almost ready for viewing, so if you try the link and it doesn't get you all the way there, try again it is really close!

All of us that are involved (Deborah Mahnken, Jen Armentrout, Alicia Story and I) all love techniques and wanted to have a way to share what we do, have guests to share what they do and have a way to invite everyone to participate, learn and enjoy creating with great ideas in a supportive atmosphere! Please pass the word along too if you don't mind! We are going to be doing paper, digital, hybrid and all kinds of other things, so there will be something for literally everyone!

Can you tell that I am a little excited about the coming season?!!! I just love the fall and Halloween is just the best most fun holiday pretty much ever!

Anyway, got tons of stuff to do, and dinner is calling!

B-

Wednesday Wonders

I wonder why I can't get Filezilla to cooperate with downloads I needed to get done today.
I wonder why the things that I can't get done don't do themselves.
I wonder why my kids feel the need to have something right then and now when it just can't be done right then and now.
I wonder why people don't do what they say they are going to do when they say they are going to do it (I am guilty of this and wonder why I don't just do it when I said I was going to!)
I wonder why dinner can't just make itself.
I wonder why I can't just accept somethings as they are and get over them.
I wonder about many important political issues also (constantly) but I won't share those thoughts.
I wonder about many social issues also, but can't immediately fix them so try not to be depressed about them.
I wonder about spiritual growth as well, and wish I had more energy to pursue these interests.
I wonder when life will simplify.
I wonder when I will stop complicating my own life.
Does anyone else ever wonder?

September kit at Creating Inspirations

I think I told you how much I loved the kit this month, it was full of 7 Gypsies and Daisy D's in gorgeous fall colors that were so inspiring to me, but I couldn't share what I had been working on until the kit got revealed a few days ago.

I have really enjoyed making 6x12 layouts this summer, they are fast and just make me smile! I had these little pics of Chloe that were so cute, but I was just struggling to find a way to share them, and this kit was just perfect! The velvet letters are making memories and were not included in the kit, but everything else was!

I will share the newsletter layout after it is sent out, that project ended up being my favorite from this kit!

It is a wonderful weather day here in Utah, it is overcast and not to hot or cold, I love it! I have spent the day working on some fun holiday projects that I will be teaching in Vancouver B.C. in November. So the smell of Modge Podge is heavy in the air too, gotta love it!

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Featured Layout

I am such a ding-a-ling sometimes!

It is so much fun to share what I have been up to with my scrapping, that I post work on some of my favorite message boards like Creating Inspirations, Two Peas, Scrapologie, SIS and PcLayers. I also post once in a while to Creating Keepsakes and share some cards at PaperCrafts.

This is sometimes a lot to keep track of where I have shared what and when. So this last Friday I posted the layout of Carter called "It's a Good Day" at Creating Keepsakes and then went on my way to go enjoy some wonderful and much needed time with my FAB friends Kim and Nicole for the evening!

So yesterday I went to Creating Keepsakes to see all the wonderful work in the gallery and check out Erin Lincoln's blog and stuff. The home page comes up and there is Carter and that cute little layout that I had posted and forgotten about on Friday was the featured layout.

It just made me really happy and was kinda cool!

Also spent some time this last weekend working on the sample for an online class I will be doing at Lazar StudioWERX!

It is a very fun and over the top cute Halloween project! More info to come around the 15th of September, just wanted to share a little sneak peek!

Well enjoy the remainder of your holiday weekend, we still have one more day of relaxing, our school district also takes Tuesday off so the kids don't go back until Wednesday!

B-

Grumpy today

Doesn't happen this bad very often, but I was pretty grumpy today.

I have a dear friend going through some major changes in her job, and I am very proud of her for taking chances and making tough choices.

I made this layout of Laurel, I am trying to remember these things myself, and she is such a good example to me daily of how important it is to appreciate the gifts that each day does bring. It is just hard for me to figure them out today. I know I have to have days like this to appreciate the days when it all goes right though, so I will be trying to be more positive tomorrow and enjoy.

If you have any advice for me, I would love to hear it!

B-

Finally...

Got to play with my new Scenic Route!!!!

These cards practically made themselves because this paper is so easy to use!

The flowers and brads are by Making Memories, I loved that the brads were just the perfect color to compliment without overpowering, so happy!

I don't consider myself much of a cardmaker, but I do so love making them and consider them a great way to get something done that makes me feel good when my mojo is in hiding! (like it has been for a while, LOL!)

Got my cute Carter onto the school camp bus this morning, he was so excited! This is his first time being away from family pretty much ever, and it will be interesting to see how he perceives the event. We of course miss his sweet, fun little personality already!

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Sharing My Memory Makers Master entry

This is the entry that I put together for the contest. It was a hard timing for me to get an entry done, and my mojo just wasn't what it usually is. I made myself do the contest anyway, it was a great growing experience and I learned a lot along the way, that makes it worth while!
I love each of the projects for various reasons, most of them have some digital work on them and I am really trying to improve the quality of my hybrid designs. I believe that I have improved, it is just a journey and I am trying to enjoy the ride!
The products on the layout called "true" are by Sande Krieger, from her French Laundry collection.
The product on the "wish" layout is by Deena Rutter from the So Girly collection for PcLayers, slide frames are by Lazar StudioWERX, Glitter chip is by Foof-a-La, background paper is Heidi Grace, I hand painted and doodled the scalloped frame onto kraft paper.

The product on the "it's a good day" project is from, 7 Gypsies, Jenni Bowlin, Bazzill, American Crafts, Luxe, Poppets and hand painted and hand and machine stitched.

The product used for "every little bit counts" is Scenic Route, Basic Grey, Jenni Bowlin and a tag from her t-shirt.
The product for the "Beautiful" project is the Blossom kit by Celeste Rockwood-Jones for PcLayers, vintage flowers and gems and flowers by Making Memories.
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Digi Goodness

I am really enjoying the kits from PcLayers!

This is a sneak peek from a kit that will be released next week called Amelie, it is so full of great embellishments! Crocheted flowers and borders and elegant soothing greens and blues. Super easy to use, LOVE it!

School went well for all the kids today, Carter is going to Mill Hollow on Wednesday and he is super-amped! It is an outdoor education experience where they go stay in cabins with their school mates and go on hikes and do skits!

Very cool stuff!

Chloe had a blast getting to know everyone in her drama class and getting the low-down on the expectations for journalism, she is loving the fact that she is finally in 9th grade and not at the bottom of the heap, but at the top!

Laurel was excited to catch up with her friends, and especially Meeka! Meeka was able to go to Japan twice this summer, and she brought Laurel back an authentic manga, Laurel is excited to practice reading kanji and has already started picking at it, she couldn't be happier to be studying Japanese as her foreing launguage again this year! She has a another really cool class called bio-tech that is kind of CSI like, they will do a lot of deductive testing and analyzing and she can't wait, she loves gross stuff!

Tyler had a full day at school, and then ran in the door threw on his work shirt and went over to the market where he is a bag boy, this is good for him, and will hopefully help him be more responsible with his time! I had fun making this layout of him, he just loves all things "Tyler" and when he saw this sitting on my scrap table he said "um yeah, I rock" so of course I had to throw that on there! What a guy!

Anyway, I missed having them around for most of the day, but I went and hit a tennis ball with some friends, and then ran a couple of errands. The day was actually bearable, LOL!
Anyway, tennis to watch, US Open is on and scrapping to do (always...)
B-

End of summer sadness

I have been pretty melancholy these last few days I must admit.

The kids are back in school full time tomorrow and we have been doing lots of crazy stuff to get ready for it all.

We had the girl cousins over for a sleepover that resulted in seeing Pirates of the Caribbean 3, pizza, play time at the park, a trip to 7-11 and a huge fort that is still covering my entire living room! These girls are so funny, and it was our last little hurrah!

We have been to the mall to dig up some reasonably untrashed attire for them to go back to school in. I say this because the look that the girls like right now is a little on the worn and grungy side. I was a total preppy girl back in the day, so this is fun for me to see how the girls choose their look and stay within our very limited budget! Carter and Tyler are easy, some T's and cargo shorts and they are good to go. then there is the wonderful paying of the fees that goes with the going back to school thing, and let me just tell you that four kids later, that is one chunk of change.

The kids are excited about their classes and I am sad that they are more excited to go back to school than they are to sit on the sofa and do nothing with me. I do see the folly in my reasoning, it just is hard to be really alone for me the first few days of every school year.

Also, Dave has some pretty crazy stuff going on in his life, not a surprise, just makes it all the crazier trying to deal with mine.

Anyway, not feeling old enough to have a Senior and Junior in High school, a Ninth grader in her last year of Jr. High and a Sixth grader enjoying his last days at the most awesome elementary school ever!

So have pity on me being all alone now that summer has ended, I need it! Just kidding, pity party over got things to do! Actually, I am headed back to the tennis court after two weeks off, and into the scraproom to finally get some "stuff" done ;)

Hope you all had a great summer too!

B-

MMM not for me...

Not yet anyway.

They don't know it yet, but I will be a Master some day, oh yes I will!

(said in my best Wayne Campbell voice!)

The team they have selected for this year is extremely talented, (not that I am not), and very inspirational, (I am that too!) and I am looking forward to the pages that will come.

So what is keeping me so happy is that I know that this is not the end of the world, I will get a chance to share what I love doing, and it will be when I am better prepared and have more to offer!

I was so excited for my friend Emily Pitts, she was selected for the page of the day at the Creating Keepsakes Blog that is hosted by Erin Lincoln!!! And while I was there, I found out that I had been the page of the day yesterday for the digi layout of Laurel and I! So very cool, fun to find little things in life like that! Little golden nuggets of happiness!

I was off the computer most of the day yesterday helping Teresa clean and donate a lot of stuff, you can see what a difference it makes in your creative process when you don't have a ton of things cluttering your mind! I also was dropping off a card at Creating Keepsakes for the January issue, super excited about that too!

Creating Inspirations has got a ton of cool things going on, and is going to be incorporating digi into their product mix also! I am very excited about that, I love doing hybrid/fusion/tra-digi projects and it will add a great dimension to the shop there!

Also at the StudioWERX street team blog, the girls have been taking the Poppets to the next level! They have been rocking it hard, and the inspiration there is super thick!

So, life is good! It isn't always exactly what you want, but it is always exactly what you need to grow!

B-

Snuggle Bunny

Seriously!

I am in heaven!

Can you even believe that 7 Gypsies has their products available digitally at PcLayers?!!!

The goodies are gorgeous and look amazing! This layout is all digital, but I can't wait to try some hybrid projects with this kit!

My Creating Inspirations September kit has a ton of the 7 Gypsies goodies in it from the same Zanzibar collection, I am the luckiest girl in the world!

I am going to be a crazy scrapping chica!

To top off my Monday, Laurel made manicotti tonight for dinner! Like fresh pasta dough hand rolled, from scratch sauce all cooked to bubbly cheesy perfection! And then Chloe topped it off with the Olsen family super FAB chocolate chip cookies hot out of the oven!

Good thing Dave and I went on our long walk before we ate all that, otherwise it would have been a short waddle!

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Me & You

So I got my online class done at Creating Inspirations last night!

It was a ton of prep work, and the class went over 3 hours, but I think it was received really well!

The bummer is that today something went seriously wrong at the site and it has crashed (we think a hacker) so it is gone, all of the downloaded images, instructions and clarifications vanished.

****EDIT****

Site is restored and classes are intact and available!!!

**********

Anyway, this layout was one of the free classes that had been available, I love this picture of Chloe and EV, it is so them! I tell you that cat is just lost when the girls aren't around to make her the princess constantly!

This cat has a great story!

We rescued her when she was six months old, she was sick with a kitty cold and had a heart murmur. The sweet rescue lady told us this and said we just aren't sure how long she will live, it might be two days, two months or too long, we just don't know. And Chloe in her sweet perfect eleven-year old wisdom told her that it didn't matter that we would make all of her days that she had the best ones ever. And they have done that, every day this cat is loved on like it could be her last! That was four years ago, and kitty girl has grown out of the murmur according to the vet and she weighs about 20 lbs! She can reach the door handles (thank goodness she hasn't figured them out!) because she is so tall, and she is at home anywhere in the house, she trusts us all implicitly! We are very fortunate to have her, and she will be loved everyday like it is her last!

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Please Come and Play!!

If you don't have too much going on this Wednesday evening, come and play paper and glue with me!!!!!

We will be making this altered project called "Our House of Love" starting at 6:00pm MT at Creating Inspirations!

The class has a ton of cool techniques, and is something that you don't have to have the kit to do, you can use whatever your favorite products are to make it your own!

There will also be a couple of other classes that I will have posted for inspiration as well!

I hope to see everyone there!

B-

Piles of Goodies

That is a good thing right!

Why yes it is!

I have some gorgeous Sande, Tia, and Rhonna stamps that are begging to be used on everything and then there is the delicious Scenic Route paper that needs some love too!

They are mocking me just a bit though, because I am not allowing myself to play with them until I finish some DT work. It is all good though, because I am going to be done very soon, and I have the opportunity to go hang with a couple of FAV croppin' girls tomorrow, so those goodies will be riding shotgun, yippppeeeeee!

Gotta get some pics printed today, love that HP9650 on days like this!

I got this layout finished yesterday, it is a combination of two challenges, one is the Scrapologie four product challenge which was using fabric or felt, numbers, the word "when" and star(s). Also the journaler's junction challenge was journaling down the side of something, and the trick was to try to fit the words to the side of what ever it was you were going down. Great Challenge and great timing, it gave the layout just the extra kick I was looking for and it made me get it done instead of staring at it!

Anyway, hope you get to have some moments that take your breath away too!

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Me, well manicured?

Maybe for just one day!

I know from this picture that it is hard to tell, but really, my nails look great!

I haven't had my "nails done" for about 18 years. But for my birthday, my fab sis in law Brianna gave me a girls day out gift certificate! Loved getting a little pampered and having a little lunch! Thanks Bri!!!!

This pic is also kind of sneek peek for the online class that I will be doing at Creating Inspirations for a specialty kit called "All That Jazz"! The class is going to include an altered album, a couple of cards and a layout. All the instructions will be downloadable and will include plenty of pics to follow along with. I am really excited about sharing what I have been up to, and making everything has been very fun!

Anyway, with the girls at camp, the house is kinda quiet! I think I am going to take the boys to see Harry again for a matinee in the morning such a great flick. And speaking of great flicks, we rented Bridge to Terabithia yesterday. Let me tell you, this is a must see! I don't want to give anything away, but it is a very beautiful movie that is sure to be a classic!

Have a wonderful evening!

B-

Monday stuff!

I love product challenges, and have been getting them going on over at Creating Inspirations! This layout is from the challenge to use: The color pink, glitter, paint, polka dots, and flower(s).

That is a pretty girlie list, so I went with it hard and used some pics of my super tennis girlz!!!

There is another product challenge going on now, and it is always fun to play!

Also at Creating Inspirations, there is a Design Team call! Beth is easy to work with, and the team is very talented! The message board is a very wonderful warm community that is very caring!

I can't wait to see who my new teammates will be!

On a really sad note, a wonderful, talented, humorous, kind soul passed away. Alleen (sagehen) died suddenly and unexpectedly this last weekend. I find this so heartbreaking, and it just puts life back into perspective for me.

So my goal is to remember why we do what we do when we do it. Live life to the fullest everyday so that you will have no regrets when it is time to leave this life.

B-

Tennis tournament elbow!

I have taken a little blogging hiatus to enjoy some of my summer and to get that darn MMM done and sent!

My entry got sent on Monday and arrived on Wednesday morning. So glad to have gotten it done and sent. I know quite a few very talented people who have entered, and with only 10 Masters spots and 10 runner up spots, it is going to be tough choosing for those judges I think.

I also have had a very busy summer tennis season, which is good! But right now I have a very grumpy elbow and a less than useful knee (going up or down stairs, not pretty, LOL!)

Our team made it to a play-off tournament for the state, the best five teams played a round robin format. Our team ended up losing 3 of the 4 team points, but I was fortunate enough to have won both of my matches.

If this makes no sense to you, sorry! A short description would be a line-up consists of 2 singles matches and 3 doubles matches, a team point is awarded (the win) when at least 3 of the 5 matches are won by a team. We came so close the entire time with many heartbreaking 3 set tiebreaker losses. I was very proud of the ladies I shared this experience with and enjoyed this season very much.

This being the case, I am a little behind on some scrapping responsibilities, but I am ready to get back to taking care of that now that the other distractions are handled!

Anway, if you don't mind keeping your toes crossed for me for the MMM contest, I would really appreciate it!

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A night to ourselves!

Rick and Brianna took the kids today to spend the day and night with the cousins for pioneer day eve (Pioneer Day, it's a Utah thing).
So Dave and I have had the late afternoon and evening to ourselves.
It is really weird to have no one home, this nevers happens, usually someone wants to be an "only" child when there is a cousin night. But not this time.
So I have been cooking our favorite pulled pork recipe and making a greek pasta salad for our day tomorrow with the family.
We took our long walk, and had a big salad for dinner.
I am almost done with my MMM entry, got a little more done today, so glad!

So anyone ready to talk Harry Potter with me?
We got our copies at Borders which was incredible, they had to have sold a couple of thousand books at that midnight party! By 12:10, we had our two copies in hand with a couple of posters also!
I started reading at about 12:30 and kept going until about 4:00. Got up the next morning at around ten and started reading again off and on throughout the day, laughing, crying, wondering and guessing. By 10:30 that night I was done and ready to chat! But I couldn't, Laurel who had the other copy was just a little behind and didn't want to talk, she wanted to finish!
So I spent the day yesterday waiting for her to finish so we could finally talk about it!
Anyway, it was fabulous and I think anyone who is a fan will be satisfied with the ending!

Anyway, Dave and I are going to go watch a movie, have a porcupine for dessert (another Utah thing!) and enjoy our very quiet home.
B-

Book 7 of Harry Potter!

So we have it on pre-order at Borders, and they are having a big midnight buy your book party tonight!


We will be there, waiting with millions of other excited fans to receive the last installment of the story that has swept us through the last tens years of incredible fantasy and unfortunate reality.


The parallels that J.K. finds are wonderful, and I am sure this last book won't disappoint.



I have had a bit of the slowdown in my creative mojo these last few weeks, but I have been trying to just keep pushing through and creating something everyday.
It is a goal for me, to learn to not worry so much about how perfect it is or isn't (usually the latter, LOL!)
But I have to set goals, or I tend to lose interest and motivation. So my goal for this summer was to enter the Memory Makers Masters contest. I am so close to being done, but the last touches and thoughts are eluding me and it is so frustrating. I hate to even submit for anything if it doesn't meet a certain standard, but this time I will just have to let go of those issues and send it in, just to make myself finish that goal.
Not sure why I do these things to myself, but I do end up stronger and more determined in the end, so I am hoping that the ends justify the means, LOL!
Anyway, a completely pointless post, but needed to ramble.
Wish I were in Chicago with Mary Kay cruising the new product releases, but I will be using Harry to comfort my mind.
B-