About Me

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DFW, Texas, United States
I'm the luckiest woman out there. I'm blessed to be married to my best friend. I have two amazing children, one son-in-law and the most adorable grandson ever with grandson number two due February 2013!!! My passion is people and preserving their memories for generations to come.
Questions, Comments or Concerns:

Email me at craf_t_scrapper@yahoo.com

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Friday, March 21, 2008

March 21, 2008

Well, 2 posts in one day again!!!

Cait did it!!! She passed her driving test!!! And she got to drive a little on the way home!!!

Happy Scrappin'!!! Over and out!!!

March 21, 2008

Well, I got scrappy last night while cleaning up my mess from making the wedding album. I had a bunch of scrap pieces of the Scarlet Letter paper as well as the solid color cardstock from cutting pages down to fit the album. They were too big to toss but not big enough to complete larger layouts so I decided to put them to use. I threw together 11 mini cards using just leftover cardstock, BG SL paper, HOTP flowers & brads , Making Memories rubons - all of the stuff used on these cards were leftovers from recent projects. The cards range in size from 2 1/2" x 3 3/4" to 4" x 4" - they are rather cute if I do say so myself!!!

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So this morning Rob took Cait for her permit. Good grief all the stuff you have to have and go through!!! We had all the papers the state requires for the permit and even had them notarized, her birth certificate and our marriage license showing he was her legal guardian and it still wasn't enough!!! I guess I failed to read the social security card was needed - or it wasn't on there, one or the other. Needless to say they had already stood in line at the driver license office and had to leave, drive to the only social security office in Austin which of course, was in North Austin and then go back to the driver license office in South Austin. I'm waiting now to hear if the driver license office will accept the printout from the social security office or if we will have to wait for the card to actually arrive - I'm such a bad Mom, I have no clue where her social security card is but hey, I do know the number that's a start........LOL. Then it will be a wait to see if she passes!!!

Today looks like it is going to be another gorgeous day in Austin. The sun is shining and we have a light breeze and it is just gorgeous out. I tell you I think I must have spring fever!!! I am so not focused on doing my work and just want to get out and play in the sunshine - even though I know I would get burned so bad I still want to get out and play!!!

While in the midst of typing this our contractor showed up regarding our retaining wall and he brought BABIES!!!! He brought his 3 year old and his 6 month old and oh boy did I get to play!!! I love kids and he has the most precious little girls!!! It was a breath of fresh air - I have baby fever too for those of you who don't know. I've had it for about 10 years..........LOL. Unfortunately the man upstairs didn't think I should have more than one child by birth and one by love but I am blessed with them!!!

So, off to try to focus and do some work today no matter how hard that is going to be!!!

Happy Scrappin'!!! Over and out!!!
K-

Thursday, March 20, 2008

March 20, 2008

Well, it's payday today. The day I love but hate!!! We get paid but then we get to pay out to everyone else. I always put off paying the bills to the very latest moment, I really like to log into my bank account and see a pretty balance sitting there - I'm bad I know.

Today proved to be not exciting - which thrilled me!!! I stopped by the bank to drop the card off to Elisa and she loved it!!! It really makes me feel good to be complimented on my work - I'm so not confident in myself!!! She told me she had a box of pictures from her recent trip to Chicago and then engagement pics she wanted to get together with me to see what we could do with them!!!

Last night we made a trip to Archiver's. Dylan has a class project for Spanish, yes Spanish, to where he has to do a family tree. He wanted it to be really neat so naturally I figured we could scrap it and make it rock. He wanted bigger than a 12x12 so we resorted to white posterboard. It is a piece of art in the works and I'll post it when he finishes it this weekend.

While at Archiver's I spent more than I should have - typical. Have I EVER told you guys how evil that store is??? I walk in and the demons start chanting "buy me, buy me, no buy me!!!" I don't stand a chance!!! I did notice a book on the shelves while browsing - mind you I am not one who is big on scrappy related books other than magazines. I figure things come into style and go out so fast there is no need to spend $20 or more on something I can look up on the internet right? Well, this one book stood out and talked to me - yes, I heard it talk!!! I picked it up and browsed through it a little and just had to buy it. The title of the book is "The Ultimate Guide to the Perfect Word." It is a little over 300 pages of quotes, questions, journaling and all kinds of stuff. I made it to page 30 last night and already had my sketch book filled with 3 layout ideas, 5 card ideas and tons of journaling jump starting quotes. Today I went through it with a highlighter and found tons more to get me going again - I haven't made it past page 60 yet!!! This book is really a good buy for those of you, like me, think that buying books is a waste - not to mention that I'm also journaling challenged!!!! LOL

Here is what the cover of the book looks like:

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Off work in about 30 minutes then off to pick up Dylan from baseball then back home to do some laundry. While laundry is going I'll be working on purging some of my scrappy stuff to take up to my Mom next week when I go pick her up and bring her down here for the week while my Dad goes fishing. She's slowly getting into it but hesitant on cutting the pretty paper until she gets the hang of things. I have so much paper that I could wallpaper our entire house and still have some left so who better to give it to so she can practice??? Plus, the stuff I've got separated out so far is a little bit older but she said she doesn't care as long as it is something she can tinker with. I'm going to go through my stickers as well and pass on some that I have duplicates of - heck I should give them all to her because I rarely use them but as soon as I do I'll be looking for one that I bought with a purpose so for now, I'll just give her duplicates.

Surprisingly I have absolutely nothing scrappy to show off today!!! I intended on making a few cards last night but after running all over for stuff to work on Dylan's project and then purging my papers time ran out. Hopefully tonite I'll get something scrappy done - oh wait, last night I got something scrappy done, I made 15 library pockets w/tags for Dylan's family tree so he could put a picture on the outside of the pocket and info about the family member on the tag!!! Woohoo I did get scrappy last night!!!

Tomorrow is the big day!!! My baby girl is going to take her test to get her permit for driving!!! Yeah, we are a little slow in getting this done but she'll live with not getting her license til summer. At least she'll be able to drive us around and get plenty of practice in just in time for her license before school starts again next year. I'm nervous for her but she has studied the book really good and has known the answers to the questions I've reviewed with her from the books so I hoping she doesn't get nervous and freeze up during the test. It is only the written (well computerized now) test so not like she has to drive or try to parallel park yet!!!

OK, time to stop yapping and do my end of day paperwork, pick up the bonehead and do something productive tonite!!!

Happy scrappin'!!! Over and out ya'll!!!!

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Today rained. And rained. And rained some more!!! Other than that it was relatively quiet and that is good some days.

I picked up the kids from school and Dylan asked to go to Hobby Lobby for a new model car - who am I to refuse a trip to Hobby Lobby right??? **wink** I am so thrilled we went too!!! I know I should have taken the package of BG paper I bought to the front and told them it was mismarked but I didn't - I was bad, I admit it!!! I bought it!!! It was on the shelf with a price tag clearly on it stating the price was $3.99 and I know that was wrong but I didn't say a word - I almost feel guilty about it!!! The price on all the other packages was $17.99 and if I hadn't bought it someone else would have..........right??? Anywho, I got a new pack of paper that I definitely DIDN'T need!!!

I also used my 40% coupon and got some of the new Doodlebug Designs Sugar Coating Glitter assortment - they are so so so so pretty!!! Wanna see???

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Aren't those some of the yummiest colors you've ever seen??? I couldn't resist since I had the 40% off coupon - I should have but I just couldn't. I have promised Rob I will create more, spend less - we'll see how that goes, I'm not so good at that promise, I try but I can find things at any store to use in my scrapping and cardmaking - yes, especially Home Depot!!!

So, I said last night I was going to focus on card making for a little while. I will still be making 8x8 albums as they are so loved but I am trying to get my scrappy mojo completely back and cards are so quick and easy and give satisfying results so I'm gonna work on my mojo via cards for a while.

Here is a quick card I made tonite for a darling friend who just got engaged!!! Gratz Elisa!!! The cardstock is from my stash, patterned paper for background and dress is Basic Grey Scarlet Letter, the embossed patterned paper was done using the Cuttlebug Textile embossing folder, Dress Stamp from Hero Arts, Pearls on dress from Hero Arts, Congratulations stamp from Kelly Panicci for Sandy Lion and the ink is ColorBox Chalk Ink in Charcoal.

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Hope you like and thanks for looking!!!


Happy Scrappin' - Over and out ya'll!!!

Monday, March 17, 2008

March 17, 2008

So, how was your St. Patty's day??? Pretty uneventful here I guess. Same old thing just another day.

Tonite I managed to finish another 8x8 album that I'm selling. I did it in a wedding theme using Basic Grey's absolutely gorgeous Scarlet Letter papers. I love how it turned out. Not only will B&W pictures look fantabulous in this album color pictures will too!!! I used American Traditional Designs Vellum stickers to embellish the book a bit along with brads, a few flowers, fibers and ribbon.

Wanna see it???

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So how was your day??? What projects have you gotten done lately???

I think I'm going to work on some cards this week so keep your eyes open for some new creations!!!

Happy scrappin'!!!

Over and out ya'll!!!

Thursday, March 13, 2008

March 13, 2008

I think Spring is full force in central Texas now!!! Just gorgeous weather again today!!!

Our company flew back home to Oregon today. It was a very pleasant and relaxing visit. So glad that Joe and Carmin could come out and see the kids and hang out with us this week. The house was so quiet and calm today though after they left!!!

I had a couple people ask me about the inside of the Baby boardbook I posted a couple days ago so here it is:

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I gave it to Joe and Carmin for their son who just had a baby and they loved it. They couldn't wait to get home and put pictures in it!!!

Last night I managed to complete an 8x8 album that I'm going to sell. It turned out cute I think. It is themed for a girl either from birth or at a young age growing. I love the color combo on it and can't wait to do another (working on one tonite with dif papers). I'm hoping to sell this one pretty quickly - otherwise it will sit on my shelf of completed items that I won't use.

Here is the album I did last night, it has a front page that doesn't really leave room for pics or journaling and then 17 pages for pics/journaling:

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Tonite I'm working on setting up papers for another book - I'm trying to decide if it is better to buy 12x12 papers and cut down to size or to use 8x8 papers and cut down to size. In my head 12x12 papers should work better but looking at it on paper it seems like a lot of wasted paper from the 12x12 papers especially when I want to use like 5 of one style and don't need any of the scraps after cutting the 8x8 out. Still trying to make sense of all it by drawing it all out and marking off what I'd cut off the 12x12's and then the 8x8's. Then the other obstacle is most papers come in 12x12 or 8.5x11 unless you can get them in the paper pads then you gotta make sure enough of each pattern comes in the pack or you have to buy two packs then I'm not really making money when I sell them - not that I'm gonna make a ton of money on each album as it is..............anywho, I'm just rambling trying to get it all straight in my head......LOL

Over and out ya'll, I got an album to work on!!! Happy Scrappin'!!!!

Saturday, March 8, 2008

March 8, 2008

Another gorgeous day here in Austin, TX!!!! I'm glad to be feeling a bit better - I've been really fighting a heck of a want to be cold and spent more time in bed sleeping than anything else. I still have an off and on cough and some silly intermittent congestion but nothing a squirt up the nose of Zicam doesn't help!!!

On another note, it's been a rough couple weeks emotion wise and I think I might actually be getting past all the turmoil in my life and finding my happy spot again!!! I scrapped today so that was a good start!!!

Woke up this morning and made a quick card to take over to Felicia's Scrapbooks for a Marvy Uchida punch contest she was having.

This is the card:
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I also submitted a card I made in the MMFY Survivor contest that I just loved, this one:

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While at Felicia's she asked if I would be interested in teaching some classes - I thought that was pretty cool. I'm weighing my options with my schedule of work and the kids to see what I can do. I'd love to get out and teach a class a week and mingle with other scrappy ladies!!!

Cait and I stopped at Hobby Lobby to pick up a couple albums for books I have to custom make (they were 50% off through today) and then stopped at Archiver's - I swear that place is EVIL!!! We picked up some of the new Heidi Grace papers - OMG they are so yummy. Cait got some of the new K&Co. papers too - I started to get them but want to see what she does with them, they are just darling!!! I've bought so much girly themed stuff lately I'm trying to go with darker or more jewel toned colors in the stuff I buy for a little while.

I did get another Baby boardbook finished. This one is for a family member who had a baby on Christmas Day.

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So, I got two scrappy things done today, some shopping that didn't need to be done and some quality time with Cait. She's growing so fast so I treasure every chance we get to go out and do girl things!!!

Over and out ya'll - I lose an hour of sleep tonite so I best catch up on it by going to bed early.........LOL..........nah, I'm just getting old and sleep comes earlier!!!! LOL

Happy Scrappin!!!

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

March 5, 2008

FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY!!!

OK, they have finally announced so I can spill the beans!!!

A friend of mine here in Austin told us about the Adornit Teen Chix talent search. So, Cait and I talked and a friend of ours sent down some Adornit product she had in her stash and Cait got to creating!!!

The deadline for the entry was 2/14 and Cait had her stuff in WELL before that - like a week or so after the contest was announced!!! LOL We've not been able to share any of her work until after the winners announced and we found out Monday and had to keep quiet until the podcast today.

So, HERE is the podcast. It is short and sweet and doesn't say last names but Caitlin is her!!!! This is the Adornit Chix website with the podcast posted on the site.

The email notification she got was this:

Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2008 19:53:46 -0800 (PST)
From: teen@adornit.com
Subject: You're a Winner!
To: "Caitlin Brooks"

Congratulations! You have are one of our TOP 5 winners for the Adornit Chix Contest. We're so happy for you and would like to do a spotlight on you. We will be doing a podcast on Wednesday to announce the winners - please keep this quiet until the podcast is posted. We will send more information after we receive your information below.

Please email us a photo of yourself and answer the questions below.
First Name
Nickname
Age
Eye Color
Hair Color
Your Weakness
Your Fears
Thoughts When First Waking Up
Favorite Candy
Do You Sing
What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up
Diamonds Or Pearls
Favorite Movie
Favorite Actor
Favorite Band
Random Side Notes


And we waited.........and waited...........and waited........and refreshed all day long today until finally, 8:40 pm they posted the podcast!!!

And here is her work:

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Harley Girl Daisy Supplies:
Cardstock by Bazzill
Patterned Paper – EK Success Harley Davidson Pink Vines
Ribbon by EK Success
Jewels from my Mom’s Stash
Black Flower by Bazzill
Pink Flower by Heidi Swapp
Alphas are misc cardstock but with the Cricut Alphalicious cartridge

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Happy Birthday Card Supplies:
Cardstock by Bazzill
Patterned Papers – Adornit – New Year’s & Birthday Collections
Flowers by Prima
Jewels from my Mom’s stash
Happy Birthday is misc cardstock cut with the Cricut Beyond Celebrations cartridge.


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Altered Frame Supplies:
Misc Frame
Patterned Papers – Adornit – Girls Will be Girls Collection
Ribbon from Maya Road .
Flowers by Prima
Jewels from my Mom’s stash

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Altered Clipboard Supplies:
Clipboard from Wal-Mart
Patterned Papers – Adornit – Mother Collection
Flowers by Prima
Ribbons & Jewels from my Mom’s stash


Congrats Cait - I am so so so so proud of you!!!

Over and out ya'll!!!

Monday, March 3, 2008

March 3, 2008

Wow, can you believe it is March already??? I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted until today!!!

Today we got some great news but I can't share until Wednesday.............I just want to tell everyone though!!! All I can say is it is about Cait and involved scrapbooking!!! Check back here this week though - it will def be posted!!!!

Tomorrow is a busy day. The owner of the company is coming to town and we are meeting with contractors, engineers, the city and whoever else shows up.....LOL. We are still trying to get a retaining wall built that caved in last year - so many loopholes and codes and this, that and the other though. It's been a pain.

OK, over and out for the night. If I stay on I'll be tempted to post the great news and we've been told we can't. I sure have left plenty of hints though for people who have known what was going on - I just want to scream it out though!!!!

Followers

Just to cover all bases...................

I am not the best scrapper out there. I don't claim to be totally original, I lift from many places and in many forms from color combinations, to product usage, to technique and so forth. I try to be fair to all scrappers out there and mention them when I lift from them - now keep in mind, there are so many people out there scrapping, card making and altering items that naturally more than one person will have similar ideas. When I mention lifting, or casing as some call it, I mean when you intentionally take a design you see and duplicate it exactly or only change up the coloring........KWIM???

With that said..........

All content, including text, photographs, and concept design elements are © Karen Brooks unless otherwise noted. Content within this blog is shared for personal, non-commercial use and inspiration only and shall not be used for personal gain or entry into contests or for publication. That wouldn’t be very nice now would it???

Thanks and happy scrappin'!!!!