tHe bIG reVeAL

A simple quick mini album

It had been awhile since I had created anything that I felt a little like my mojo had taken a hike.  The month of October was so busy for me with the National show and all the preparation for it, not to mention the puppies, that I had not spent nearly enough time creating.  I spend a little time each day looking around message boards and blogs, and I especially love the Pink Paislee blog.  There is so much inspiration there, and I love their products.  Well, imagine my surprise when I won a RAK of the new beautiful Tinsel Town collection.  It showed up at just the right time last week because it is so gorgeous and I was inspired to make something right away!  Does that ever happen to you?  You get so excited and inspired by product that you dream about it? LOL!  I decided to make a quick mini album using this pretty little scalloped lace album from Maya Road. 

I started by painting both sides with a cream colored paint, and then stamping with the Pink Paislee snowflake stamps with a Platinum colored metallic paint.  Then I just let the paper take me the rest of the way.   Now all I need to do is add photos and journaling and it is complete!  Simple!  

What is a Vet?

I originally heard this on the radio a year ago.  I wrote the radio station to get the text.  It was written by Father Dennis O'Brian. 
Please take a moment today to honor our Veterans and remember them for all the sacrifices they made for our freedom.

What is a Vet?

Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look

in the eye.

Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in

the leg - or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the soul's ally forged in the refinery of

adversity.

Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe, wear no badge or

emblem. You can't tell a vet just by looking.

What is a vet?

He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two gallons a day making

sure the armored personnel carriers didn't run out of fuel.

He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown frat-boy behavior

is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery near the

38th parallel.

She - or he - is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for

two solid years in Da Nang.

He is the POW who went away one person and came back another - or didn't come back AT ALL.

He is the TRADOC drill instructor who has never seen combat - but has saved countless lives by

turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and gang members into soldiers, and teaching them to watch

each other's backs.

He is the parade - riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.

He is the career logistician who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by.

He is the three anonymous heroes in The Tomb Of The Unknowns, whose presence at the Arlington

National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of all the anonymous heroes whose valor dies

unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean's sunless deep.

He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket - palsied now and aggravatingly slow -

who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive

to hold him when the nightmares come.

He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being - a person who offered some of his life's

most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would

not have to sacrifice theirs.

He is a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness, and he is nothing more than the

finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest, greatest nation ever known.

So remember, each time you see someone who has served our country, just lean over and say

Thank You. That's all most people need, and in most cases it will mean more than any medals

they could have been awarded or were awarded.

Two little words that mean a lot, "THANK YOU".

Peace,
Jacquie

I'm back on track!

I'm finally back to feeling normal after my exhausting trip!  I think the time change, and the fact that I just did not sleep enough the whole time I was gone has really caught up with me.  When I got home, the puppies had changed SOOO much!  Their eyes and ears have opened, and they discovered their voice...grooowwwlll! :) I have a few layouts to share...I made these for a DT tryout (they did not pick me, oh well) but I really like how they turned out.

greetings....

Just thought I would check in a layout I made recently.  I'm currently out of town with a wacky internet connection and so I will try to write more later.  Peace, Jacquie

 

Fur Therapy

  So, I guess I don't need to explain where I've been. :)  You know they are not that much work at this point, but they are so cute that I can just sit and stare and hold them for hours. 

I do also have some layouts to share, and will get them up soon, I hope.  I will also be out of town for a few days starting this weekend, so it may be tough for me to update.  But I will be back.  In the meantime, enjoy the puppy breath.

Peace,

Jacquie

What I did while I stayed up for 37 hours this weekend...

Let me start by saying that I had not intended to be up this long, but you know, things never quite go as planned.  One of my dogs, Belle, was due with puppies on Oct 14th (tomorrow).  Well Saturday night, she went in to labor, so I had to pull an all nighter with midwife duties.  She did really well, and she presented us with 5 beautiful puppies, 1 boy and 4 girls. I am not a night owl.  In fact, if I am up at midnite, then it must be New Year's eve, KWIM?  So I took advantage of the 2 hours between puppies to do a little creating (among other things.)

This is my take on the ever popular butterfly collage that everyone is doing.  I made this with my basket of scraps and a butterfly punch from Martha Stewart.

I've had this old frame forever.  It is sort of rustic, but perfect for this project.

Then I made this card for World Cardmaking Day.  Yeah, I know, a week late, but I was out of town last weekend.  I really love the My Mind's Eye Laundry Line papers, and the Maya Road Chipboard.

About 4:00 a.m...and 4 puppies later, I was starting to fade really fast.  Nothing perks me up more than a little online shopping. :)  I went to one of my favorite online stores Scrapattack Scrapbooking, and found the new Crate Paper Lines.  This online store is quickly becoming a favorite, they have a great gallery and message board, and the store is fabulous...she ships it the next day, and I love that!  I also cleaned out a few cupboards in my kitchen while this was going on too.  Whatever it takes to stay awake, right? LOL!

Oh, and this is Belle and her beautiful babies...there is nothing sweeter.

So, that was my sleepless, yet productive weekend. 

Yawn,

Jacquie

zzzzzzzzzzzz

 

well...yay!!!

It has been a good weekend!  It all started out Friday with this announcement!  Dream Street papers design team....woo hoo!  I love their products, and I am SO honored that I was picked to be a guest designer.  I can't wait! 

The weekend got better...we went to Houston to the dog shows and Brighton came home with her first points! 

I know a lot of you read my blog for the scrapbooking aspect, but you also should know that my "other" hobby is showing and raising English Springer Spaniels.  I really enjoy the sport of dog shows.  I have made wonderful dear friends in this hobby as well.  It is also very rewarding, and of course I LOVE the dogs.  In honor of Brighton's first point, here is a layout I made of her awhile back using this same photo.

It's going to be a big week...we have puppies due in the next week too.  Whew, I'm tired already!

Peace,

Jacquie

A New Season

In 2 days it will be October 1...officially the beginning of a new season.  Halloween is right around the corner, then Thanksgiving, Christmas, and before you know it, we will be ringing in the new year. September was my last month working for Label Tulip.  Cindee and Cathy are wonderful to work for and their kits are nothing short of fantastic!  They have a fabulous new team for the next 6 months, so be sure to check them out at Label Tulip.  I made a few new layouts this weekend.  The first one combines some of my favorite things, Dream Street papers and the new KI Memories sheer acylic sheets.

They are sort of hard to photograph.  But they are cool.  For this layout, I traced the acrylic sheet, and then used an exacto knife to make a frame.

I put the patterned paper underneath the acrylic and the whole effect is pretty cool.

I made good use of my Martha Stewart butterfly punch too.  Gotta love those punches.

This next layout turned out completely different than I envisioned.  Perhaps not masculine enough for a layout about my nephew, but it goes with the photo, and the message is loud and clear.

I used one of my favorite papers from Dream Street papers.  This paper was designed by Alexis Hardy (who was on the Label Tulip DT with me.)   She is a fabulous paper designer and just an all around amazing talent. I seriously have used this paper on about 4 different layouts.  This was my last sheet. Better get some more! LOL!

I also used a bunch of Kaiser flowers and wooden scrolls.  The flower centers are also from KI Memories.  Love those also. 

I hope everyone has a lovely week.

Peace,

Jacquie

Feelin' Fall in the air

Well, not really...it was 93 today, hardly Autumn-like weather. LOL!  I did make this layout though using some of my favorite colors from the Fall pallette.  I absolutely adore the new Scenic Route Sonoma line...beautiful rich colors.

I love this photo of Mom and Dad.  I took it when I went to see them in August.  They both look so happy.  They have been married almost 42 years.

The letters on this layout are from Making Memories Noteworthy "Tara" collection.  I got them at Target...not sure but I think they may be the Target exclusive line.

I hope everyone is having a good week!

Peace,

Jacquie

gallery night

Tonite was gallery night at Label Tulip.  It truly was one of my favorite kits.  I felt like this one was so easy to work with and my layouts just came together so easily.

This month our theme for the Challenge Layout was "Celebrate."  Here is my take on that.  I have always wanted to make a layout like this one, with some repitition, and fun patterns.

I know...a frog on a dog layout? LOL!  I just thought he was cute, so I had to use it!  This layout has a lot of that Fancy Pants patterned chipboard from their Everyday Grind collection...love that stuff.

This was made with a very fun Pink Paislee die cut paper!  My sister and I were goofing off and my dad took this picture! I left the Maya Road chipboard bare...I love the combination of neutral with bright colors!

I like this layout a lot.  I got 3 pictures on it, which is unusual for me!  But more than that, it is the story behind the picture here.  My dad made a dang funny remark, and we all lost it! 

And I think this is my favorite one this month.  Again, notice that I got 3 photos?  I also love the fall, outdoorsy color pallet.  It goes great with horses, huh?

Hope you find some inspiration here!

Peace,
Jacquie