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Yesterday, Riely had a friend over for a playdate and at some point during the day, a discussion about mammals came up. They took turns naming different mammals they knew: bunnys! cats! dogs! squirrels! horses! cows!
I asked them how they knew all of those animals were mammals. They both rolled their eyes and replied "Because they all have hair!" (And don't think I didn't notice that the "duh!" at the end was totally implied.)
Riely also added "That's why people are mammals, too. We have hair!" Then she thought for a moment and said, "Well, I guess we're all mammals. Except for Grandpa. He's kinda bald, you know."
Today marks the official last day of school for Hayden (Riely was done last week) so thought I'd share our little teacher gifts, in case you might need ideas!
Hayden picked out a new water bottle for Mrs. Little, which we filled with her favorite candy (Jelly Bellys!) and attached a Target gift card. I used this Jillibean twill to spruce it up:
We also included a set of simple notecards that I made, personalized just for her:
The white cards and envelopes are from Creative Imaginations. After printing the text in the lower right corner, I used this Studio Calico Notepaper stamp on the kraft. I cut the apples and leaves from cardstock (you can download a template here) and then wrapped them all up with a strip of cardstock topped with the Jillibean twill tape.
So after today we'll be filling our days with swim practice, pool time, various camps, road trips, BBQs, zoo visits, bike rides, running, and oh yeah, hopefully some rest and relaxation too! What are YOU doing with your summer??
I'm feel like I'm moving in slow-motion today after a late-night marathon of the LOST finale and Jimmy Kimmel's after-show. Plus all the crying (oh my gosh, THE ENDLESS SOBBING!) I did makes for a puffy and teary-eyed Lisa (so not a good look). But I'm beginning to feel more content with the ending...just need some time to digest it all. And come to terms with the end of a six-year relationship with this crazy show and its characters. I'm trying to keep in mind what Damon tweeted yesterday: Remember. Let go. Move on. { s i g h }. Do I need to get a life, or what??!
So anywaaaaay....I did want to say thank you to everyone who stopped by and left such kind words about my book. It means a heck of a lot to me! I've contacted the three winners of the drawing (Random.org picked commenters #4, #87, and #103) and hope they'll enjoy their eBooks. And even if you weren't one of the winners, I hope you'll check out the book anyway. I think it's a pretty darn good deal for $5.99. Plus I'd love to see what it inspires you to create, so please share with me! (And if you have any questions or comments regarding the book, feel free to shoot me an email!)
I'll leave you with another shot of my pretty peonies which have fully opened and are just too dang gorgeous not share. Have a good Monday, my friends!
2. The graphic artist in me cannot resist a well-designed wine label. Even if the stuff inside is marginal, I'll buy a bottle for the exterior art alone. And since this bottle of Mommy's Time Out pinot gris featured clever art and a name that made me giggle, I had to take it home. (Haven't tasted it yet, as my "time-out" has not yet been assigned. I'll report back later on that!)
3. If you're wearing a skirt (and drinking wine for that matter!) you need to make those legs look fab with Vaseline Gel Body Oil with Brazilian Nut & Almond Oils. If you put it on slightly damp skin after a shower, your legs will look silky and smooth. And it smells divine. With this body oil (and enough wine) it's easy to convince yourself your legs should star in the next Nair commercial. Not sure if that says more about the lotion or the wine. :)
4. Saw these lovely pink peonies yesterday during a quick grocery run and had an immediate flashback to wedding planning. (I may have been a little obsessive about finding an EXACT shade of pink peony for my bouquet.) And right there in the crappy little floral department at King Soopers, I saw them. Not to be dramatic, but the heavens may have opened and angels may have sang. Needless to say, they are now adorning my breakfast table in an antique silver pitcher that belonged to my grandmother. Every time I pass by them, I smile, reminded of the day I became Mrs. Dickinson. (Holding the perfect shade of pink peonies, I might add.)
5. And finally, lest you think this post is all about me (which admittedly, this blog generally is!) I wanted to give you a chance (or THREE!) to win a free download of my new Ella ebook, Design Workshop. Just leave me a comment here and on Monday I'll pick three people to get the hook-up. And have a great weekend, ya hear?
eeeeeeek! I'm so excited and proud to share with y'all my new Ella book, Design Workshop! It goes on sale today and I hope you'll pop over and check it out. It's a crash course in design principals like balance, color harmony, contrast, unity, and more --- all in simple, easy-to-understand langauge that will help you build fabulous eye-catching pages.
And just a heads up: if you check the Write.Click.Scrapbook blog on Thursday, you just might have a chance to win your own copy. So be sure and head over there for giveaway day! And happy Tuesday! :)
1. Trying very hard to replace my non-healthy diet sodas and Rock Stars with a healthy alternative by drinking GT's Organic Kombucha. (So far, Gingerade is my favorite flavor.) After all, Gwenyth Paltrow recommends it. Hoping it will make me more beautiful, more blond, and more able to understand the big deal about Coldplay.
2. Following Jimmy Kimmel, who recently started a Twitter account. Loving that I don't have to stay up late to giggle at his one-liners, but get a dose of them throughout the day.
3. Attempting to figure out why it is necessary to apply graphics to a car's windshield that boldly state the model of the car, especially when the car is easily recognizable without said graphics (read: corvettes). Is this because the stereotypical drivers of these cars are approaching old age quickly (read: desperate balding men who need attention) and when senility inevitably sets in, they want to be reminded what kind of car they drive?
4. Seriously wanting to splurge on this Anthro
top because (1) the embellishments are fantastic, (2) the straps
are wide enough to cover bra straps, and (3) it would nicely hide red
wine stains. Er, not that I ever spill or anything.
5. Gearing up for a fun week of hosting the Write.Click.Scrapbook blog starting Monday. The focus? The fabulous world of FONTS! (It's a safe bet there will no mention of Comic Sans. Ahem.)
Have a wonderful weekend!
This month's gallery theme over at Write.Click.Scrapbook is Lift-A-Reader, so the members of the collective each chose a layout from the Flickr gallery to scraplift. I was inspired by the talented Alexandra (you can see her original creation here) to create this page:
supplies from Studio Calico kit, Joyland: patterned paper (My Mind's Eye, Sassafras Lass, Crate Paper) + stamp (Studio Calico) + letters (Cosmo Cricket) + tape (Pink Paislee) + buttons & brads
Hop on over and take a look at the gallery - there's lots of inspiration waiting over there! And just a heads up that I will be hosting the Write.Click.Scrapbook blog all next week, so stop by and visit me then, ok?!
Another stop you should make on your web travels today is Creative Charms for the Deal of the Month:
For only $8.99, you get all this - it's an amazing deal! (I've got some of the Vintage Jewel Brads on my desk right now, and they will definitely be making an appearance on a future layout.)
For today's list-o-five, I thought I'd share my five layouts from the Jenni Bowlin May kit (and add-on, which is totally worth getting just for the gorgeous white Prima flowers!!)
patterned papers (Pebbles) + mist (Maya Road) + letters (Prima) + rhinestone button (Webster's Pages) + rhinestones (Prima) + milk caps + font (Bohemian Typewriter)
I spritzed a bit of Maya Mist in Cornflower Blue on my kraft cardstock before adhering lots of yellow circles (from the b-side of this Pebbles paper), milk caps, and hand-cut flowers from this pattern. The photo collage is 4 x 6 and I set it up in Photoshop.
textured cardstock (Cored'inations) + patterned paper (Jenni Bowlin Studio, Pebbles) + letter stickers, flower (Prima) + clock (Tim Holtz) + button (Webster's Pages) + ribbon (Maya Road) + font (American Typewriter) + vintage check
I love the exclusive JBS patterned paper in this month's kit! I had planned to use it with sepia-toned photos, but I ended up liking the bit of purple in the color versions instead. I hand-cut the word "he" from a section of red in this Pebbles flower paper.
pattern papers (Pebbles, JBS, American Crafts, 7Gypsies) + chipboard, ribbon, mist (Maya Road) + letters, flowers (Prima) + pearls (Prima, JBS) + buttons (JBS, Webster's Pages) + font (Bohemian
Typewriter) + key charm
When I discovered the Maya Road chipboard house album had six houses, I thought they would be perfect for a two-page spread about our six homes. I covered each house in a different paper and used a small photo from that house, finishing each with various embellies and the house address (which have been altered for internet viewing!) :)
patterned paper (Pebbles) + letters, flower (Prima) + ribbon, chipboard (Maya Road) + punch (EK Success) + button (JBS) + clips (7Gypsies) + stamps (Michaels) + font (Type-Ra) + twine, metal tag
Loved how the bold vibrant colors in these Pebbles papers worked with photos of our Christmas Eve Twister game. Did a simple color-blocked background, connecting the halves with ribbon. I had to improvise on the title letter by making the "R" from a "p" and adding a leg. :)
patterned paper (Pebbles, American Crafts, 7Gypsies) + punch (Fiskars) + letters (American Crafts) + chipboard (JBS) + flower (Prima) + brad (Pebbles) + milk cap + font (Bohemian
Typewriter)
I wanted to document the early stages of our latest garden project - sunflowers! We started these from seeds Riely got for Easter, and though we have no flowers yet, we do have some rapidly growing stems. I layered four 2" squares of patterned paper with a chipboard sunburst, flower and milk cap for the middle. A super duper quick page that was finished in 20 minutes.
And that's my Five....have a great Friday!
