so there i was ...

Back 2 Life - Back 2 Reality

Wasn't that a song from the late 80's. Song or not it's time for a reality check. The laundry is piling up, the carpet needs to be vacuumed, and I need to be reminded what a routine is. When I returned from CHA I decided to take on a big project. Silly me TRIX are for kids. I finally finished up yesterday and now it's time to clean up the rubble.

Photos can be deceiving trust me it's much messier than it appears.

We took the plunge last weekend and upgraded to an XBOX 360. I know everyone is all about the Wii these days but we have accumulated 7 years of XBOX games and we cannot turn back now.

Enjoy the last day of July.

Cheers,

Summer

Scrapbooking Supplies ... please don't steal!

This is a tale of one bags journey to Indianapolis and the loss that still has me confused. Last Tuesday I headed to Kimber's however my luggage took an extra detour thought Denver. After a 10 hour delay my bag was delivered at 1 AM. I opened my bag to retrieve a box I brought only to find it was GONE. The box was filled with paper for Kimber, Tinkering Ink cards for the booth, a layout to be handed directly to the editors of Scrapbooking Cards Today at the show, copies of the contract for our book and the charger for my camera battery. All that remained was a few shreds of cardboard where the box had been ripped from my bag. To whom ever took my box ... really WHY?

Cheers,

Summer

p.s. In case you were wondering there was no note that my bag had been searched by TSA.

p.s.s. Guess what Frontier airlines won't pay for my lost items since they are paper. I am now making a claim with TSA. Wish me Luck!

Exciting News ...

As I type this I am sitting at Kimber's kitchen table. We just returned from CHA in Chicago with some exciting news to share. Just before we left we received approval to do do an idea book for F&W Publications. I still can't believe it. Now I am reaching out to my friends.

Please submit your layouts on exciting times, annual events and seasonal changes that YOU capture during the year.
 
We are looking for single or double page layouts of any size.
Layouts with multi photos are strongly encouraged.
Deadline: August 25, 2008

Please follow these instructions carefully:
* Include your name, address and e-mail with your submissions. Submissions without this information will not be accepted.
* Include a typed version of any journaling that appears on your layouts.
* Submissions must be new: never-before-seen, never posted in an online gallery, never published. 
* Layouts using previously unseen photos encouraged.
* Send hi-res jpgs no larger than 300K to [email protected] by August 25th, 2008.
* Limit 3 layouts per person.

If your page(s) is chosen, you will be notified via e-mail by Sept. 5, 2008 with further instructions. The payment for publication of your artwork is a free copy of the book.

Part of me is so excited and scared at the same time about starting this journey. I hope you can share in this excitement with me.

I leave to go home in a few hours I will update more with maybe a photo or 2 when I recover from jetlag and catch up on some sleep.

Cheers,

Summer

Working Hard or Hardly Working

The weather hit over 90 this weekend. I swear I thought the forecast was for the upper 70's. On Saturday it was breezy and it made the 90's feel glorious. We decided to take the Mini Cooper out for an evening spin. With the top down it was pure perfection. Even though the back is cramped quarters the kids enjoyed the ride with minimal bickering.

Grant played a friendly soccer game on Sunday. The heat was insane. I swear it was 10 degrees hotter on the field. I took this cool (figuratively) shot right after their warm up before all the soccer balls had been cleared off the field. I think if you look closely you can see the heat rising from the turf. No comment on how the game ended.   

In between the fun I managed to get a little work done, some cards and a layout featuring some of my favorite American Crafts goodies. Here is a sampling of some of my work.

In just 1 day I am heading to Indianapolis to see my gal pal Kimber.  Sherry arrives a day after me and we plan on road tripping it to Chicago for CHA. I am thinking the 3 of us could be a lethal combination. If we don't arrive as scheduled please send a search party.  My list of to do's before I leave is insane wish me luck.

Cheers,

Summer

The darn ice cream man ....

I have been trying to post all afternoon ... so many interruptions ... the last one was the ice cream man. This week has been a crazy whirlwind of fun. I would like to thank everyone who came by and commented on my new blog. My darling husband said there were only a few typos in my last post ... WTG me.

Today's give.a.way is brought to you by my latest shoe purchase. I found these on the sale rack at Macy*s oh my they are so cute. The heel is sporty and the top dressy a total juxtaposition and oh so comfortable. Now all I need is a fresh pedicure and I will be ready to hit the floor at CHA.

I am so excited to announce the winner of my first ever give.a.way. I threw everyone's name into a huge bowl (except Linda and Denine) and gave Corinne the duty of picking the winner.

Congratulations to Debbie Cook you are now the proud owner of a Tinkering Ink Peek-A-Boo mini album. If you haven't played with one yet they are are awesome and I know you will be hooked.  Look  for an email from me and I will get your mini album mailed out before I leave for CHA.

Cheers,

Summer

Feeling a little orange ...

I really love the color orange and when Kezia from Tinkering Ink sent me a peek of the Retro Metro line for CHA I was over come with the urge to buy orange shoes. So I went on a quest for the perfect pair - not so easy when you wear a size 11 narrow. After striking out around town I went to Zappos crossed my fingers and bought a pair of orange patent leather sandals. They arrived yesterday and YEEEHHAAW they fit.

They are a little different for me but I love them and as crazy as it sounds I have so many things that they go with. Now back to the Retro Metro line which inspired my purchase ...

I hope these lines inspire you as much as they have inspired me.

Cheers,

Summer

Beautiful Garden

Today's peek from Tinkering Ink is Beau Jardin which means beautiful garden in french. Tinkering Ink has out done themselves with this release. I love that the patterns vary in side depending on which side of the paper you use.

Tune in tomorrow to see Tinkering Ink's Retro Metro line.

Cheers,

Summer 

Ring in the new with a GIVE.A.WAY

Welcome to my Blog! This is a start of a new journey for me. Over the years I have thought on and off about blogging so I decided there was no time like the present to start. For the record I am not the best typist - my mind often runs faster than my fingers. I guess I should have taken typing at some point in the many years I went to school. Needless to say typos will be part of my blogs charm - deal with it.

So this brings me to my first post. It's time to share some Tinkering Ink - Yuletide 2.

Today I made 2 holiday cards using Yuletide 2. This line is a brilliant collection of colors - I love adding pinks and blues to this lines. It is just the perfect amount of unexpected that I love to add to my layouts and cards.

In honor of Tinkering Ink and my new blog I would like to give away a Peek-A-Boo mini album.

Leave me a comment on any of my sneak peek posts of Tinkering Ink through Wednesday and your name will be entered to win. Comment each day and be entered more than once. I will announce the winner on Friday.

cheers,

Summer