Humpy Day ....

Busy busy busy ....

Yes, summer in my house is over and hockey season has begun. I've been trying to get caught up at work and have all hockey manager stuff in order before we go away to Boston tomorrow.

High school clinic ended on Sunday and we launched into a mini camp/practice for Kodiak on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night. Tomorrow we leave for Boston, come home Tuesday and school starts on Wednesday. Next Wednesday is practice and then games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. hehe... Time to lace up the sneakers and be ready to run!

Looking forward to a few days away. All set up with someone to watch the kitties and house.

Haven't decided yet if I'm taking the laptop. I think I'm going to have to with all the info I've got out there for my hockey parents right now. I need to be able to answer any questions. Other than that, I'm guessing I won't check in too much.

Stay tuned though... lots of design stuff going on when I get back. By the way... have you checked out Scoopz yet????? Be sure to check it out, it's a fantastic bargain for all you get and there will be more goodies to come from Sisters by Heart Designs!

Have a great day!

pssstttttttt.....

Don't forget that everything in my store is 29% off through August 24th. Hurry or you'll miss out on a great deal!

NEW! ~ Introducing ScoopZ a SISTERS BY HEART Collaboration Kit

Surprise, look at what I've been working on with my dear friend DeDe Smith who is my sister by heart! We've joined together as SISTERS BY HEART DESIGNS and have created our first kit called ScoopZ.

Dripping ice cream, hot summer days, warm fall days, the joyous glee in a child's eyes while they devour their precious treat. With the blending of chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla papers with the most adorable ice cream bears and the original TearZ bear you can adorn your precious photos and even build-your-own ice cream cones and sundaes! You will be able to capture the joy and fun of your kids and kids at heart with this wonderfully delicious kit.

This kit is huge and I promise you won't be disappointed! Come check it out today here.

pssssttttttt..... I've got a big surprise very very soon!

Terrific Tuesday ...

Why is it terrific? Because I've decided it should be so!

Work has been awful lately. There's an underlying tension there and I'm definitely on the lowest part of the totem pole. I take all the junk, don't get the credit or thanks and I'm pretty sure that it's in the works to get rid of me at some point.

HOWEVER, I've decided today will be terrific and I won't let it bother me today.

After dropping Ollie off this morning, I stopped at the grocery store and picked up everything I needed that didn't have to be refridgerated and would be in ok in the car at work. I did get onions and cilantro so I can make some homemade salsa with the tomatoes and jalepeno peppers we picked in the garden last night. I also have enough green bell peppers to make a double batch of stuffed peppers. I will start on those today if I have time, if not tomorrow after work. However, dinner will definitely either be tomatoes, basil & mozzarella with an appetizer of salsa and chips, or a tomato sandwich with salsa and chips on the side. Yummmmm I love fresh veggies. Oh yeah, I have more cucumbers than I know what to do with..... better come up with something for them!

I'm inviting each of you to have a terrific Tuesday with me!

It's another Manic Monday

... wish it was a fun day!

Ughhhh where do the weekends go and how come Mondays have to be so hard sometimes?

Weekend was good. Friday night hubby actually came home a decent hour. He was in the mood for good dinner out instead of something fast. Went to Bone Fish and it was spectacular! Mmmm pomegranite martinis are da bomb! hehe Went on a day trip adventure down to Smithville on Saturday. Little village was cute, probably not a go back to place though. Stopped at Mud City Crabhouse (right by LBI) on the way home and it was scrumptious as always! Mmmmm good food. Ended up home later than anticipated so didn't get anything done on Saturday.

Sunday was up early for Ollie's clinic in the morning. Then the high school team (what I think will pretty much be Varsity) had a scrimmage against Montclair. They played well, but not well enough. Lots of work to do be done for this team, but I think they can pull it together. Lost 3-1 so again, it wasn't terrible.

This week is hockey camp for Ollie so we have to be out of the house by 7:15 each morning. Ughhhhh! It means I'm up by 5:00 instead of by 5:30, but it's only a week. I also have to pick him up from Gary's (the shop his coach owns and where he takes glice lessons) on the way home. It's a little out of the way, but not too bad.

Work was stinky when I got here this morning. The cable was down over the weekend and didn't reset properly. I had to reboot the modem and restart everything. Good news is the fan noise from the server is much quieter this morning... maybe something finally resolved. I'm not complaining about that!

Working on part of a kit that I'm doing together with my dear friend (sister by heart), DeDe Smith. I'm sure you know her from the adorable tearz that she designs. It's based on ice cream and I can't wait to see it all come together. I'm behind on my part, but hoping to catch up in the evenings this week.

Better get lots of work done.... have a fantastic day!

New Kit ~ Imperial Ink

It's here! AND on sale with rest of my store for 29% off through August 24th.

Empires bring wealth and with wealth comes luxury. Here you will find deep, rich and meaningful colors. Maroons like rich wine and colors from far off places like India, the pride of Britain. There are deep oranges worthy of Ghengis Khan, whose empire starched from Far East Asia to Eastern Germany. Included are beautiful frames and borders which are only found in the most luxurious of Imperial mansions. Rich colors and unique elements proud and bold enough to show off your mighty empire.

Contains:
17 Richly Textured Papers

1 Beaded Border

2 Stamped Ink Floral Borders

3 Bows

4 Brads

1 Set Eyelets with Ribbon

4 Flowers

4 Frames

1 French Board Overlay

2 Journaling Blocks

1 Set Journaling Strips

1 Lace1 Scalloped Mat

1 Ribbon

1 Safety Pin with Beads

1 Set Staples

2 Swirls

5 Tags

A very special thank you to Ollie for helping with a wonderful name and description!

Olympic Size Sale & Blog Freebie!

Don't forget that all my designs are 29% off during the Olympics. Come shop my store @ Digitals! Be sure to check out the other designers too, there are a bunch of us offering this sale. Hurry though, it ends August 24th.

Have you seen My Dahlia? This kit was inspired by a photo hubby took of my last Dahlia of the season last fall.

Here is a free quick page made with My Dahlia for checking out my blog!

You can download it here. Don't forget to leave some love if you download. Enjoy!

I hope you'll stop by again to see what I'm up to. I have the new kit about 85% done and hope to have it out very soon. I love the colors so much I can't seem to stop making pieces for it. The name is still not set, but I'm leaning towards Imperial Ink. Ollie is so interested in this kit since he started helping me with the name. I'm so happy to see his interest in my designs.

Have a great day!

Tough day ...

Didn't sleep, migraine... stayed home from work sick. Boss called at 9:30ish ... opened a birthday card from someone he didn't know... it was a virus. Tried to fix from home, ended up going in to work to do what I could. Left with the network guy coming in to reformat the computer and start over.

Jenn's birthday today, she would have been 14.

Tough day....

Just another Manic Monday ...

WOW it's storming like crazy here right now. Very dark, thundering, lightening and pouring rain! Because of no sun on the building this morning, my office is like a meat locker it's so cold in here. It's one of those grab a blankie, curl up and read a book days. I'm in the middle of a good one too! Oh well, maybe after all I have to get done this afternoon and dinner, I can get some reading time in.

Weekend was good, busy but very good. Took Ollie for his new skates on Friday night. He's now in the top of the line skates from Reebok and says they "glide on their own" they are so good. Said something about them being "simply incredible". Well for $500, they better be something special and super sweet! Seriously, he's worth it ... he has worked so hard and we're looking forward to a good season coming up. We wanted him to get a chance to break them in before the season starts (although you don't really have to break the new ones in, they are heat molded to his feet). Anyhow, here is a picture of what $500 worth of skates looks like:

We got a great picture of Spenser who snuck into the box with them on Ollie's floor. It's going to make a great layout as soon as I get it downloaded from the camera. I already have a great idea for it.

Saturday we went to United House Wreckers in Connecticut to browse around the antiques and reproductions. Didn't come home with anything, but it was fun. Sunday was clinic and errands. Good news is that I finally got a rug for the living room. I love it!

Ok, back to work for me. Tons to get done here and even more at home.

Don't forget that all my designs are 29% off for the Olympics. Come on, you know you need to shop! I need to start making more $$ to pay for those skates! LOL

Hugs!

08-08-08 ~ Come Celebrate the Olympics Digital Style!

Come celebrate the Olympics with us at Digitals! Save 29% and more from many designers starting today, August 8th through August 24th.

To show my American pride for today's opening ceremonies, my Freedom Rings kit is on sale for 80% off.



This sale on Freedom Rings is only for Friday, August 8, 2008, so don't miss out!

If you like Freedom Rings, then you'll love the coordinating hybrid album that can be used for hybrid or as part of any regular sized layout. With 80% off Freedom Rings and 29% off the coordinating album, you can pick both up for less than the regular cost of one.



Come join me in celebrating the games and enjoy the game of shopping!

Thursday ...

So I'm working on a new kit that is coming along beautifully, but for the life of me I can't even begin to come up with a name for it. I've got at least 12 papers and about 25 elements done and nothing... nada.... zip.... zilch .... it's like my brain shut down on this one. On the way to a glice lesson Ollie and I were chattering in the car and I mentioned I was struggling with a name for a new kit. He asked about the colors and then started in with suggestions. Mind you, this 15 yr. old is a huge history buff and he was coming up with tons of off the wall suggestions. After we got home, I showed him the palette and it set off a whole new set of suggestions. Things like:

Byzantine Beauty
Persian Paradise
Imperial Silk
Imperial Isle
Imperial Sunset
Dawn of the Empire
Far Eastern Silk
Constantine's Capital
Serbian Beaty
Serbian Fire
Kievan Frost
Ambitious Blaze
Tropical Fruit
Tropical Sunset
In Flander's Fields
Fall of Persia
Triple Splendor
Across the Sea

These are just some of his suggestions. Ok, number one, these are fabulous names. I'll be referring to this list for many future kits. Number two... this kid has a fantastic eye and is quite creative. I think I'm going to consult with him more often. I'm so proud that my tough hockey kid has all these other great attributes also. He's such a great kiddo!

Above is a peek at the palette I'm working off of. What do you think of his names?

He keeps coming up with great names like those and I'll be designing forever to use them all. Now if I can get him to come up with some awesome descriptions... hehe

Have a fantastic day!

Wacky Wednesday!!!

It's Wacky Wednesday @ Digitals. Back to school is coming fast so I've put my Class Act and Dream Your Own Monogram for School on sale today for 30% off.



You never know what the designers are going to do on Wacky Wednesdays, so run do some shopping now! Hurry, the 30% off is for today only!

Hey! I feel honored... I've received an Award!



I've been tagged by Alessandra Designs who sent me this "brilliant blog" award! Alessandra is such a doll and a great designer too! She's such great fun to be around. Thank you sweetie!!

The rules are :

1. The winner can put the logo on her blog.

2. Link the person you received your award from.
(http://dreamsinkdesigns.blogspot.com/)

3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.

4. Put links of those blogs on yours.

5. Leave a message on the blogs of the girls you've nominated.

The Blogs I am giving this award are:

Designs by DeDe ~ DeDe Smith
Melanie Riordan's Blog
Misty Cato Designs - Misty Cato
Amanda Thorderson
Custom Graphic Design by Shawn Walter ~ Shawn Walter
Jen's Cropping Creations ~ Jen Maceyunas
Dea Spina Designs ~ Dea Spina

I know some of these may have already received this award, but I picked some of my favorites that I like to visit on a daily basis!

Congratulations and Have Fun!!!

New! Dream Your Own Monogram for School

New and exclusive to Digitals:

Dream Your Own Monogram for School



What is better than a fun monogram to make the perfect accent for a layout? How about being able to customize your monogram and show your own creativity? In this fun kit I've provided you with big 4" sanded edged notebook paper monogram letters and lots of fun elements to dress them up. The element colors were inspired by my Class Act and makes a perfect add on. These could be used for so many layouts especially those great school and play date photos. Use over and over in different ways making it a staple for any scrapper's toolbox. Pick one up today and show us how creative you can be!

Kit Contains:

Sanded Edge Notebook Paper Monogram Letters A-Z
5 Star Brads
1 Swirl Clip with Pencil & Crayon Charm
5 Burst Brads
5 Paperclips
5 Ric Rac
1 Ruler
1 Set Staples
3 Stickers
5 Tags

August 2008 ~ Scraplift Challenge

Today is the first day of the Scraplift Challenge for August. I'm going to post a copy of the challenge here, but you can visit the forum and thread here if you want to participate.

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First I want to thank those of you who are loyal followers of this challenge every month. This is a fantastic challenge to run! I just announced that I'm now going to sell exclusively at Digitals, so I hope to be around a lot more and get to know you all better.

Great job to everyone who participated in last month's challenge. I appreciate the great response even though I posted it terribly late. I really enjoy seeing the layouts from this challenge each month.

This month I chose a layout by dorannmwin entitled "Swimming". I love the full width photo as such a major focus, yet she managed to get good journaling, a fantastic title and nice elements into the page. Of course I'm partial to the kit since she chose one of mine for the layout! :mrgreen: It reminds me a favorite layout of mine that I did as a photo swap challenge a couple of years ago. I'm going to have to try my hand at this challenge this month!

You can find this layout here. You can also find dorannmwin's gallery here. She has some gorgeous layouts in her gallery!

I hope you can find some inspiration in this layout to scraplift. Be sure to include at least three items by Digitals designers in your layout to be eligible for the prize.

When you've completed your layout, post it to the Scraplift Gallery, then come back and post a link to your page to this thread. This gives us all a chance to oooh and aaah over your layout. It will also help me to make sure that I don't miss sending out anyone's posting bonus.

Here is a preview of your prize this month.

Have fun and I can't wait to see what you do with this challenge!