Gettin' By

Celebrating Seven.

OK y'all. I just spent the last 30 minutes drafting a post for today all about how "it's already August 1st" and "I'm not ready for it to be August yet" and "it can't possibly be August this soon" and "where the heck did July go anyway?!"

And then I caught a glimpse of my iCal and realized, um....today is July 30. And obviously, that means there are still TWO days left before August. Even more obvious? This Monday morning needs more coffee. Doh.

So in light of the fact that I am too under-caffinated to properly compose a literate blog post, I'm gonna let the photos from the Super Seventh Birthday Celebration do all the talking:

Enjoy the rest of your July - I know I will!

Worth the Wait.

Yesterday, I received this text from my husband:

Because seven years ago (yesterday) I was 9 days overdue with a certain baby that seemed happy to extend her stay in my uterus indefinitely. I was also facing a second c-section if the little one didn't make an appearance with 24 hours. Needless to say I was stressed out, VERY pregnant, and doing everything under the sun to get labor rolling. Castor oil? Oh yes, I did.

Luckily that night, contractions started and we headed to the hospital to meet Miss Riely (who we didn't yet know was actually a girl). About 12 hours later, we were the proud new parents of a brand new daughter:

Today, that little baby is turning seven. A spunky, sassy, seven year-old that we can't imagine our lives without:

We'll be celebrating this afternoon with a Dazzling Diva Dress-Up Party (all pink, at her request!), an array of girly gifts, and of course, ice cream cake! But before all the festivities begin, I have to go collect her from her grandparents house where she's spent the last week at VBS, spending time with cousins and generally getting spoiled.

Happy Birthday to my sweet girl. I love you so! And you were definitely worth the wait!

 

Stay on, summer.

How is it even possible that July is almost over? Um, summer?? Slow the heck down! I am not ready for you to leave just yet!

So in an attempt to make the most of the dwindling days of the season, we've spent the past few days preparing for a camping trip, making last-minute birthday party preparations for certain soon-to-be-SEVEN year old, drinking a crazy amount of icy drinks to stay cool in these hella hot 100˚ temps and gearing up for our last home swim meet of the summer. And I might have snuck away for a few moments to play with the August JBS Mercantile kit, too....sssssshhhh!

And since the August kit is on my table, I guess I should share the last of my July layouts today, huh? I used a few photos from Mother's Day, strung up "clothes-line style" with lots of the fun embellishments from the Papercrafting & Artisan kits:

S U P P L I E S :

And with that, I'm off to enjoy this Tuesday - you do the same!

Fourteen.

It was fourteen years ago today we became Mr. & Mrs. Dickinson. Since then we've experienced the highs and lows that make up life - smiles and tears, laughter and anger, celebrations and losses, beginnings and endings. And just a few beers thrown in for good measure.

We're not a perfect couple, but life together is pretty darn good. And after 14 years together, we're realizing that it's not about being perfect. It's about being perfect for each other.

S U P P L I E S:

Happy anniversary, baby!  I love you!

P.S. The Jenni Bowlin Blog Hop giveaway is still open below!

Jenni Bowlin Studio Hotel Keyholder Blog Hop

There's no better way to kick off a Monday than with an oh-so-inspiring blog hop, right?  Today, several of the Jenni Bowlin design team members are sharing various ways to utilize the JBS Hotel Key Holder that's now available in the Mercantile. This reproduction is based on an actual hotel key holder and features 35 brass hooks (all numbered!) on a dark mahogany wood board. It can be propped on a shelf or hung on a wall from double hangers.

So why do you need a key holder?  So many reasons! (and the design team will show you just a few!) I'm currently using mine as a jewelry organizer, and I love that it serves both a functional and decorative purpose. It keeps my necklaces from getting tangled together and allows me to see all my accessories in one neat place:

Be sure and check out the other design team blogs for some innovative ideas on how you can use this versatile piece:

JBS Inspiration Blog
Jill Sprott
Doris Sander
Betsy Sammarco
Louise Nelson
Megan Klauer
Leah Farquharson
Corrie Jones

 

And BONUS! Each blog (including mine!) will be giving away a $20 gift card to JBS Mercantile, so be sure to leave a comment at each stop for a chance to win. Comments will be closed on Friday, July 20, at 1 PM (MST). A winner will be randomly drawn from the comments and posted here shortly thereafter.

Speaking of innovative ideas, have you seen some of the new products that Jenni Bowlin Studio will be debuting at CHA in Chicago this week? Here are two of my favorites!

Rhinestone Stars. I may have squealed like a giddy teen when I saw these sweet little stars. Yes, I am easily distracted by shiny objects. These embellies come in red, black and clear and I will be needing at least one million, thankyouverymuch.

File Folders.  These small office supply inspired folders are ideal for tucking in extra journaling or photos on your pages, or even as the base for a mini-album. They range in size from 2" x 1.5" to 3" x 2" and come with label stickers for the tabs.

So happy hopping, my friends! And don't forget to leave me a comment below to be eligible to win the $20 gift card to JBS Mercantile.

UPDATED WITH WINNER:  Congrats to Cathy L, winner of the $20 gift card! 

Give-It-Away Thursday: Pretty Patterned Paper!

This past week I've pretty much been MIA on the blog...my kids have watched waaaaaay too much television...we've become intimately familiar with the take-out menus at local restaurants, and I've only managed to squeeze in one shower in three days...yep, it must be CHA time!

So yeah, I've been busy preparing samples with new product for CHA, which will kick off in Chicago next week. And while it's always a bit hectic working under tight deadlines, I love seeing (and working with) all the yummy new products debuting this time of year. My creativity gets a kick-start and my love for this paper and glue stuff is renewed. Here's a little sneak of some of my stuff:

for Jenni Bowlin Studio

for Lily Bee Design

And now the creating frenzy is over, projects are safe in the hands of Fed Ex, and I owe my family some serious quality time. I also think I owe you, dear internets, a GIVEAWAY! So today I've got a whole slew of pretty patterned papers:

There's more than 50 sheets of 12 x 12 patterned paper (and a handful of 6x6 papers as well!) from Jenni Bowlin Studio, Basic Grey, Hambly, My Mind's Eye and more. And since I'm shipping it to you in a flat rate box, I figured I might as well fill it, so I've thrown in some more goodies since this photo was taken.

If you'd like to give these papers a new home, simply leave me a comment below.** Comments will stay open until Monday morning, July 16th when I'll pick randomly select a commenter as the winner. 

And with that, I'm emerging from my paper-strewn office, removing the wayward glue dots that are stuck to my rear, and planning to spend the rest of the day with my kiddos! Happy Thursday!

**Please be sure to leave a contact email in your comment if you are not signed in to Typepad.  Comments will remain open until the morning of July 16 (whenever I drag my butt out of bed, make coffee, and log on to Typepad) and the winner will be randomly drawn from the comments, announced at the bottom of this post, and contacted via email (if possible). Internationals are welcome to enter, but you'll have to pay postage on the shipment. And that concludes the fine print. Yahoo! And that should keep the lawyers happy. Now go enter to win! And stop reading this drivel!

UPDATED WITH WINNER: Congrats to April W, who will be receiving a pretty package of patterned paper in the post! (now say that 5 times fast!)

Jenni Bowlin Mercantile: July!

Well howdy Monday! I wanted to share a few of my pages today from this month's JBS Mercantile Kits, after which the kiddos and I will be racing down to Elitches' to try and sneak in a few roller coaster rides before the rainy monsoon weather rolls in and confines us to the couch watching movies. After all, there's no better cure for the Mondays than a quick spin on the Twister!

This month's Papercrafting Kit features both an exclusive stencil and stamp that I'm pretty sure you are going to want to get your hands on! The stencil is the ever-popular hexagon design (which I used three different ways on my pages this month!) and the label stamps are perfect for Project Life.

S U P P L I E S :

This page uses only the Papercrafting Kit and I created the background by painting over the stencil with Weathervane Paint. I filled some of the hexagons with bits of patterned paper and also cropped my photos into that shape as well. The grommets were added from my stash.

For my second page, I used the hexagon stencil with a grey pen to trace a pattern onto my background cardstock. Then I layered large banners over the Cosmo Cricket label paper. This layout uses mostly the Papercrafting Kit, with a few bits from the Artisan Add-On.

S U P P L I E S :

And with that, I'm off to get my pre-coaster work out in! I'll be back later this week with two more kit layouts. Enjoy your Monday, my friends!

Five on Friday.

1.  Ruffle Front Poplin Dress ($59.95.) I had pinned this dress awhile back, in love with the ruffled bodice and coral color. And now that's on sale for $35.95, I think it needs to come home to me!

2. Hawaiian Tropic Shimmer Effect SPF 8 ($7.99). On our trip to Laguna Beach, we grabbed a bottle of this suncreen at a local store and I love the light, non-greasy formula. The light-reflecting mica minerals give skin a shimmery bronze look and it smells fabulous, too!

3.  Rayban Wayfarer ($174.95).  I have wanted a pair of Wayfarers for ages (um, probably since I first saw Risky Business??) and last Christmas, Mike got me these. The softer color combo of ivory and brown are a bit less bold than traditional black and they've become my go-to shades for summer.

4.  Twister 2 at Elitch Gardens. Since both kiddos are now over the 48" height requirement, we got season passes to the local amusement park and are now on a mission to log lots of roller coaster rides this summer. It took some coaxing to get Riely to take her first ride on this classic wooden monster, but she's now a bonafide coaster fanatic, too!

5.  Diameters Are A Girl's Best Friend Necklace ($64.99) Eeeeeek - how fun is this necklace? The colorful string and fabric circles are vibrant and festive and would be perfection with a simple white tee and jeans. Love!

 

It's not the chase that I love, it's me following you.

Last Saturday night will undoubtedly go down in history as the highlight of Summer 2012 for me, since I got to see my very favorite band, The Avett Brothers, in the most spectacular concert setting in the world, Red Rocks with some of the very coolest people I know. (Have I used enough superlatives in this paragraph to sufficiently make my point?!)

I had bought the tickets months ago, and was absolutely floored to stumble upon Row 2 tickets that were still available. I was sure it was some kind of mistake, and once they were mailed to me, I may have made several phone calls to exasperated TicketMaster employees to confirm that they were actually legit. "So they are really in Row 2? Like at the front of the ampitheater? One row from the stage?? Pinky swear?!?"

It wasn't until we arrived at the venue and found our seats that I allowed reality to set in: I was going to see Scott & Seth perform standing a mere 20 feet away. At that point, I could've been struck by lightning and died a perfectly happy girl.

Of course, the evening only got better as they played. They are incredibly gifted musicians (both brothers play numerous instruments) and songwriters (their lyrics are absolute poetry), and through their live performances you witness their deep and infectious love for music. I sang. I danced. I whooped and hollered. And I loved every single second of it.

Just a side note: I also learned that when you video your favorite band singing one of your favorite songs with your phone, you should refrain from drunkenly singing along, as your phone will only highlight how incredibly off-key you actually are. Doh.

At one point during the encore, the brothers helped me cross an item off my bucket list by playing the one song I wanted to hear live more than anything in the world - If It's The Beaches. And I did a much better job recording it, as I was blubbering like a Beiber-crazed pre teen during the whole song and was completely unable to sing:

 

{ s i g h }  So, so good, right?! If the last month was any indication, the summer of 2012 is gonna be a good one.