It's official, I'm a guest Bloom Girl for Jamie Dougherty who in turn designs for Prima.   Last week I received a box of goodies and to say I was overwhelmed would be an understatement.      I was and still am in SHOCK.    I've been creating non stop.   I even drug out my Copic markers!  I  been inspired to work in my new art journal.   I'm taking Jamie's Blooming Through the Seasons class and during one of the tutorials she tipped up her journal to let the ink drip and when I caught a glimpse of her journal, I knew I needed one too!

I'm using Dyan Reaveley's Dylusions Creative Journal.  I got the large size as I like to work BIG!  As soon as it arrived, I got right to work.  So far I've used a variety of media from spray paints to caran d' ache Neocolor IIs.  

I'll take you on a short walk thru of what I have thus far.                

I've been a subscriber to Cocoa Daisy for about  a year and a half.   I seriously LOVE LOVE LOVE getting my box in the mail each month.  It's like Christmas each and every month.  The packaging on the kits is adorable.  There is obvious care put into each box.   I've NEVER once had an issue with defective, missing, or anything else from Cocoa Daisy.

This past weekend they hosted an online crop in honor of their new improved website.    I had so much fun chatting with the other girls, completing the challenges, and of course, seeing what the other croppers were creating!

I completed all six challenges in the order in which they were given.

Challenge 1:  use triangles and circles.
Challenge 2:  Use Panda Eight printables (July and Smile)
Challenge 3:  Create something with a house

Someone pinch me.  Pinch me hard.   I'm officially a guest Bloom Girl for the amazing and talented Jamie Dougerty!  I've been a HUGE fan of her girls, they have such a youthful face.  She's been an artist for Prima for a while.  She recently started an online class called Blooming Through the Seasons where each month we create a project with a Bloom Girl and the flower of the month.    Well, I've been even more hooked on her art.  I love to watch her create through her videos.   She announced a call for her Bloom Team - cause get this.....PRIMA created a BLOOM GIRL line!!!!   I totally entered on a whim and before I could chicken out!   I got it!  I got a guest position!!!   Serious dream come true to be working with other mixed media artists.

One thing though, I realize that I don't put myself OUT THERE enough.   I'm all over Facebook with my friends and family, but I'm not OUT in the WORLD for others to see.    So again, I'm trying this blog thing.   Also, in the past I've been so critical of my writing skills or lack thereof.  When I read some of my favorite blogs, Donna Downey, Cathy Zielske, and The Pioneer Woman, I realize that people don't care.  They just want me.  The good, the bad, and the funny!  (not the ugly, no one wants ugly!)

With all that said, what have I been doing???

I'm in the MIDDLE of THREE art classes!!

• I'm taking Juliette Crane's Serendipity class which I LOVE LOVE LOVE, but I'm seriously behind.    Here are some pieces that I've created.

• Next I'm taking In the Studio by CD Muckosky.   She's amazing.  We just started.  I LOVE my first project!   I painted this adorable canvas bag.  I have received so many wonderful compliments on it! 

• And finally, I just started Jamie Dougherty's Blooming Through the Seasons.  I love Jamie's style and am finding her class to be so much fun!

Last night as I was working on Week 12 of my 2014 Project Life, my husband approached and looked at one of the photos I was including.  He said, "You just took this, this weekend, right?"  "Yes, I responded."  "That's pretty cool," he said as he set it down.




It hit me.  I am our family historian.  It's me!  I'm the one that records our family history and I couldn't be anymore proud.

For many years I was a digital scrapbooker.  I loved piecing together layouts in photoshop and uploading them to my favorite sites.  I was quite proficient, I'd produce dozens of layouts a week.   I saved them on my computer: a web version, a large print version, and the original .psd file just in case I needed it.  I rarely printed my layouts.  I had no reason, I just didn't do it.  They were safe.   I would literally back up my photos onto three external hard drives and whenever we'd leave the house for vacation, I'd toss one into my purse, just in case.  Then my hard drive failed and I lost all those beloved layouts.  Not my photos, just the layouts and that was pretty much the last time I digital scrapbooked.  

For a few years I couldn't even look at my photos, I'd get so upset.  As soon as I replaced my hard drive I invested in an online, automatic backup.    Fast forward to December 2012.  I was messing around on my iPhone one night and my kids had drug out all the old scrapbook books from before I had gone digital.  My daughter had asked me, "Mom, where are my scrapbooks?"  "What??? You're in there."  "No, I'm not," she said.   She was right.  All of her layouts were LOST.   I returned to my phone and started looking at literally 1000s of images captured on my phone that I had never even backed up.    I had to fix this.

I don't remember how I stumbled onto Project Life, I think it had something to do with a search for Project 365.   In any case, I found and fell in love with the concept of Project Life.   I'm proud to say that I not only finished the entire 2013 year, but also started and completed December Daily 2013, and I'm on target for 2014.  It has changed my life.  Truly.  It's made a difference for my family.

A lot has changed since I started scrapbooking nearly 20 years ago.  I used to take a million pictures and feel the need to scrap them all.   I then moved onto my big Nikon camera and would lug that beast all over snapping our moments.   Then I got an iPhone and my life changed again.  I'm mostly an iPhone photographer now. I don't know who to quote, but I love this, "the best camera is the one you use."   I realize I may not take the BEST pictures, but guess what, they are my pictures of MY family.  Are future generations going to complain? Hell no.  They are going to be delighted that someone, me, took the time to capture the moments.  I take lots of "selfies".  Lots.   Why?  So that I'm included in our history.  

I was recently complaining online about how I lost all my old digital layouts and a wise friend said, "go download them from the websites."   So I did.  I don't know how they'll print.  I don't care, I have something that shows that I did them.


And on a final note, I've started scrapbooking again.  Good ol' paper scrapbooking.  I'm seriously in love with it.   I'm having so much fun putting paper together in pleasing combinations.   I feel like I've come full circle.

COCO

Last summer we lost our beloved dog, Coco.  She had been a rescue that I picked up at an animal adoption.  I remember calling my husband and saying, "What if I brought home a beautiful blonde?" He said, "No way."  I brought her home anyway.  She was a mixed breed dog, Chow Chow and Golden Retriever.  Small in stature and absolutely gorgeous. She loved to be outside and actually preferred it to being inside.  I would have to actually bribe her to come inside during extreme heat or cold.  She wanted to protect us.   She loved camping and as soon as we'd start the motorhome, she was always the first one in.    This picture shows her on one of her first camping trips.   

She didn't come without problems.  We spent the first year really having to watch our tone of speech.  If my husband ever raised his voice, she was cowering under the table even if it wasn't directed towards her.  

We called her Momma.  She was that. She had a maternal instinct rivaling that of human mothers.  Once when we were camping, Alex was in a terrible accident and had to go to the hospital via ambulance.   We were with friends and decided to leave Annika and Coco with them.   Annika was sound asleep on the bed of the motorhome, I think she was two.  Coco went in and laid down in the hall and wouldn't let anyone in to Annika.  She wasn't aggressive, but protective.  After Annika woke up, she only allowed our friends to change Annika's diaper.  After that she was always in the middle.    She was like that until her final moments.  My kids were her kids.  

She was a loyal companion to our cat, Chicken.   Chicken and Coco would play together.  Once Chicken brought a LIVE mouse into the backyard just so they could play chase the mouse!  

Last summer, she began to have seizures, could barely walk, wouldn't eat, and was messing in the house.  I knew what was going to happen.  I didn't want to face the news.  The kids and I took her to the vet where he said, "It's time."   He suggested we take her home for some extra loving and bring her back at the end of the day.   These photos are deeply personal and emotional as they were taken just hours before she was put to sleep.  Annika and I stayed with her until the very end. 


She's a feisty, social cat, always has been.  We adore her so does everyone that walks in our house.  She quickly won over the heart of my husband and now she's been branded, "His cat."  She adores the children, on her terms of course.

After Coco died, Chicken went into a deep depression.  She stopped hunting (her favorite pasttime) and would sit there at the back door calling for her friend.  It was heartbreaking.   We were in the middle of planning a move and didn't want to bring another pet into our lives until we knew where we'd be.  We did know that we'd have to do something.

DOTTIE

Last October, we adopted Dottie.  She's another rescue.    She was rescued literally moments before she was scheduled to be put down.   I can't imagine why anyone would want to do that to our beautiful creature. 

She's a mixed breed and we still have arguments over her "breed".Today the vet tech said, "She a Dal/Shar Pei mix."  The vet said, "She's a Dane/Shar Pei mix."   Then we have the people at the park that run away screaming, "OMG, she's a Pit!!"  Whatever she is, everything says she's beautiful.


She's strong willed, strong, and playful.  She's sweet too.  She ADORES car rides and almost everyday I take her for a ride to pick up my son from school.   She chases poor Chicken non-stop.  They aren't friends yet...hopefully one day.  Dottie is full of antics as well.  

So there you have it.  A glimpse into our world of pets. 

I'm still in shock. Week 26 is finished. 1/2 a year of recording our family life. This is amazing and wonderful. Last week I posted that our life was entirely sports right now, it still is. Our daughter's team is headed to a Junior Olympics games in San Diego. We are so proud of her team. They've worked their tails off.

For this week, I mostly used my new Scrapbook Circle kit, with a dash of Cocoa Daisy, and a sprinkle of my own stash. I'm absolutely in LOVE with my new Treasure Thickers from the Dear Lizzy collection. Seriously, chunky giltter over printed chipboard? OMG, noms...

I do apologize for the randomness of the pictures, I'm blogging from the iPad.