New Store Sneak Peek

In order to maintain some sort of order in my life (was that just an oxymoron?), I have set up a separate blog for the new store, CraftFancy.
There you will find all the store information, pictures, video, freebies, etc.
So add it to your favorites, tell your friends, go on over and take a look... http://www.craftfancy.blogspot.com/.
And today, you will find this little sneak peek video that we took last weekend.
Don't mind the empty shelves and boxes everywhere.
And try to bear with the craziness of the video, the kid filmed it and I could just kill him for the 2 minutes of my booty he shot.
But enjoy and if you are in the area....I will see you soon!!

CraftFancy Scrapbook Store Sneak Peek from spazzgirl on Vimeo.

Busy, Busy, Busy...

Life has been a bit busy lately.
With my gig on the NoelMignon.com dt, working on CraftCritique reviews (I have one up today), working the office slave job and raising an upstanding citizen...I have barely had a moment to breathe lately.
I completely forgot to post these RAK cards from some great gals...

This one from Lynn, this is soooo me. Love the sentiment.

And this little Bella from my buddy, Donna. She also sent me a little skull, this gal knows me so well.
And a huge thanks to Paula for sending me just a little more sunshine. While you are all warm and toasty, we are having a high of 55 degrees today! She may not be a regular blogger at the moment but it's nice to know we are still buddies.

And there is big news here at Max Central.

We got the letter on Friday that Max has been chosen to attend the High Jump program for (according to the acceptance letter) 2 years of rigorous education.

So out of the 400 kids who applied, Max was one of 65 who will be attending a 3 day overnight outdoor education course followed by 6 weeks of summer school and then Saturday school during the school year.

I'm thinking the same as you...what kid WANTS to do this??!

Yeah, that's my kid.

Totally switched at birth, nothing like me as a child.

He has had his heart set on going to Northside Prep since 4th grade and now that it has climbed to 14th place on the list of best high schools according to Newsweek, this program will greatly increase our chance for a spot in the Class of 2014.
So, to award the kid for his amazing accomplishment and to keep tabs on him while he is studying in the city all summer, I broke my cellphone rule that he had to wait til his 13th birthday.

He's pretty happy.

I was out at the new store, CraftFancy, on Saturday attempting to make all the baby goodies fit into the baby section of the store, which is nearly impossible.

The great news is that we passed the Village inspection today and will be opening our doors on June 9th! {I am working on editing a video I took on Saturday for a sneak peek for everyone this week}

I have officially quit my office slave job with corporate america and have my last day of sitting and typing on June 7th.

I am ecstatic about this and kinda stressed at the same time, trying to tie up loose ends before I am gone.

I've pretty much run the business on my own for the past 9 years, so I need to teach my boss how to use a computer before I leave in two weeks.

This explains my lack of comments on my favorite blogs and the reason I have yet to fix my blog banner that I broke last week.

But I hope to check up on all my blogging buddies real soon.

And I truly hope this is not a peek at the way things will be once I am not sitting in front of a computer every day and don't have time to surf the web and chat online with my friends...that could take some major getting used to.

My buddy, Michele

This is my buddy Michele.
And I am now officially amazed that I have only 2 pictures of us together and we both look good in both pictures.
I am pretty convinced I can now only take photos posed next to her.
I love the way this LO turned out, totally simple with just a hint of sparkle on the butterfly with stickles, Michele loves the glitter.
And it is totally true.
She does totally get me.
We've been bestest of friends I think since the moment we met and we have so much in common, it is insane.
And she listens to my complaining all the time, like a trooper.
And lets me razz her to no end and takes it like a champ.
Yeah, I total love her.
She makes me look good in photos and is an awesome friend.

All the details about this page are featured over at the Noelmignon Projects Blog!!

Remember Foam Stamps?

Do ya?
Well about 3 years ago they were all the rage and everybody had them.
Heck, everybody made them too.

Some of us still have some (or a ton) and never use them.
So that's the challenge over at SYC this week.
The title here was stamped with white paint first and then I journaled over it.
More details over at the ScrapYourCrap blog.

This picture so sums up the kid these days.
He is computer obsessed.
And it is always, "Ok, one minute!"
"Hang on, I'm saving."
"Just let me get to the next level."
Drives me batty.
I always say, at least he doesn't watch TV.
But wait, that little monitor is like a TV!
Ahh, but it is interactive.
And he mostly plays strategy and simulator type games.
He's currently hooked on Command and Conquer.
And occasionally he dabbles in the old school Nintendo.
But who can blame a kid for wanting a little Donkey Kong once in a while.
Especially after seeing this awesome documentary about it.
Just hope he doesn't want to be like the grown men in the movie, spending their whole life trying to beat the dang thing.
I hope it starts to warm up some more so I can encourage a little more movement out of that kid besides his fingers.

My Mini Garden

I definitely do NOT have a green thumb!
I try and try to keep things blooming and they always die on me.
I luckily still have one house plant, Pauly the Palm Tree.
Corey the Cactus is still alive too, but that doesn't really take any sort of skill.

For a little project on the GDTM for Noelmignon.com, I used these little pots I got at the Target $1 spot and look, they're even growing!!

For all the details about this project, go to the Projects and Layouts website.

Day Late and $1 Short

I am a chaotic person by nature.
I've got that kid.
I work almost full time in a dungeon office.
I pick up an extra kid after work every day and am responsible for him maintaining average grades as well as my own kid.
We eat a home cooked meal almost every single night, nothing extravagant but it still requires preparation and heating of some sort.
I try to maintain a love life with the man, mostly with just phone time (ok, that sounded bad) but occassionally I may even lay my eyes on him.
And it is just the way of my world.
Do I love it this way? Nah.
Do I kinda like it? Yeah, kinda.
I think I would be easily bored without it all, the constant motion, the underlying stress of each day.
It's the adult ADD.
I never would've admitted that before but I am really starting to come to terms with me.
I'm OK that I am a tad crazy, always.
And that I am unorganized and spazztic.
And constantly late.
Wait, that part of it, the tardiness, I don't enjoy as much.
At all.
I am your friend that will send your birthday present or card a month (or more) late.
I am the one always late to meet up.
Punctuality is not one of my talents, at all.
I'm just happy when I meet my deadlines occasionally.

And as the GDTM for Noelmignon.com this month, I am happy to report, I made my first deadline, thank god!
My submission for the Manly Challenge over there, you have til Friday to get your entry in and possibly win your own spot as GDTM for June.
Or if you want a little more permanent spot on a DT, she is having a call for that as well and all the details are HERE.
I can say, having been on the team for the past few weeks, it has been a breeze and the girls and goodies are fabulous, so if you're looking for a great site to do a little work for, I can't recommend her enough.

This page was made with the Scenic Route Providence line, completely. The only extras were the little buckle and the black chipboard from American Crafts.
LOVE those chipboard pieces!
Design is based on an Ali Edwards in one of her books, not the Life Artist, probably the patterned paper one, I love that book.

I know I am sucking at this whole blog thing(see above) but I am way busy these days with work, the new store (which I do not own, am just working there once we open, if ever), that kid, trying to find a house (did I mention that?) and still watching that devil child afterschool.
So bear with me.
And if you wanna see what I am doing, thinking, up to...Check out my twitter on the right side of the blog and also here.
Just more of my daily ramblings and nonsense.

Elizabeth's room of sCRAP!

This is the very last of my scraproom tours I have.
Makes me a little sad because I don't have any more to work on (hint hint!) and because it seems like lightyears since I've seen this girl.
In the beginning of this video, you can see how I got the great product for the scrapMYcrap challenge over at SYC this week.
You can't hear Elizabeth talking but I swear when I watched it last night, even without the volume on, I could hear her like I was there all over again.
Man, I miss you guys!

Now a little bit about my buddy...

Name: Elizabeth Manna

Blog Address: My Own Lil Space

Etsy shoppe: good morning sunshine

Before you had a whole Room, where did you craft?: In my old house I carved me outta a space in my bedroom or I would use the dining room table…when I lived at mom’s for that year, I scrapped in her poker room.

What are 3 words you would use to describe your room?: MINE, over-stocked, serene

What do you love most about your room?: The fact that the windows occupy almost a whole wall (even though I need that wall space) but it lets in the most amazing sunlight. Plus, I get to look outside into the country.

Least?: As you can see I have entirely too much crap. This stems from being a hoarder, but I can’t get rid of it (see?!) and plan on using it all one day. Having all that crap though has come in handy in the past so I shouldn’t complain.

If you could change one thing about your room, what would it be?: More wall space to hang things. Unfortunately due to having a ton o’crap, my wall space is occupied with shelves.

What do you think is the coolest thing in your room?: Would be the shelve that you see with all my paints in it. My mom scored this at a yard sale. Actually she bought it from another customer for $10-$15 (I can’t really remember). Can you believe that price though??

How do you keep "organized" in your room?: Actually in the video this is the cleanest my room has been….lol. One thing that really helps me is to clean up as I go if possible. This is the biggest tip that I could offer anyone.

What do you own the most of?: Oh good grief…I have a lot of everything especially ribbon, paper, and stamps.

Do you craft sitting or standing?: sitting

Do you listen to music, tv, chat on the phone while working?: MUSIC….nothing like some classic rock to scrap too!

What crafts do you dabble in?: I like to make jewelry, play around with fabric, knit, cross stitch, play around with paints, and all sorts of other crafty stuff. If its crafty, I’m there.

Now how about a look at all her fabulous stuff...

Elizabeth's Room of sCRAP! from spazzgirl on Vimeo.

Little Mr. Smarty Pants

I realized when coming up with one of my latest layouts, I never even mentioned that after the weeks of science fair bitching, I never even mentioned that the kid placed 4th.
Duh!
Well, he did.
His project was 4th in the fair which is 4th through 8th grade, so I was pretty impressed with myself...I mean him, I was impressed with Max.
The top 3 spots were held by 7th and 8th graders and so it was a big deal that he won.
He missed going to the regional fair by one spot and for about a month kinda wished that 3rd place kid would come down with chicken pox.
But now that he has his taste of the limelight, this may have been what sparked his whole new outlook on his school career and put us where we are now...approaching an entire summer of school by choice.
He's totally not my kid.
I was not like that at all as a child.
As parents we stress getting good grades and the importance of education but by no means are strapping him to set of Encyclopedia Britannica's each night and telling him, "Memorize!"
It's all him.
And it makes me proud.
And a little freaked.

This is for the project RAK challenge we had over at the ScrapYourCRAP! blog this week.
Be sure to check out all the great projects with this paper lace and we are giving away some lace to two more people, so head over for a freebie!

Details: Paper Lace, Diecut Paper by KiMemories, Labels by Jenni Bowlin, Creative Cafe stickers, Making Memories Letter Stickers, Doodlebug Letter Stickers, Scenic Route Chipboard Piece for the "cool".

She {hearts} Candy Too!

My very first article is up over at CraftCritique.
It features this Layout...

Be sure to check it out!
And if you are looking to spend a little money tomorrow for National Scrapbook Day, my buddy Noel is offering free shipping all weekend in her shoppe and her current kit is awesome!
Happy NSD People!

Winner!

It took the kid three times to pick a number between 1 and 38.
He's gifted alright.

But finally he said 28 and so the winner is.....

Stephanie said...

Vacation, I sit for teachers and get the summer off to travel and see my GD... I love everything about summer, warm nights, bird watching, long walks on the beach.

April 30, 2008 12:34 PM

Email me your info Stephanie and those summer goodies will be sent out to ya on Monday!

Almost at peace with nature...kinda.

See people...the nest is still in tact.
Still on a window ledge, just not my bedroom window ledge.
After some careful consideration and a small amount of internet searching and encouragement from some of the blog comments, I decided that I just could not bear the idea of chirping every morning at dawn.
Yes, I realize some of you early birds are up way before that.
And that some of you enjoy the sounds and sights of nature.
But I am not one of those people.
And I am Ok with that.
I live in the city for a reason.
It is the sound of the roaring expressway 2 blocks from my house that lulls me to sleep every night.
It is the sound of various car alarms going off at all hours of the night that never wake me from my slumber.
I am a total night owl and sleep is toward the very top of my list of things that I absolutely love.
So, eight hours a night is a necessity to me.
I could easily sleep 10 or 12 hours and not feel like I wasted any time at all, I actually am pleased I spent it doing something I love.
And the kid doesn't even start school til 9am, so it seems rather pointless to be up before 7:43am.

All this in consideration, I thought it best to carefully move the nest.
And not across the street to the park, although that was an option but to another window.
I figured the momma bird would be happy that I just relocated her to another portion of the same building and would be able to find it easier.
So, I went to my handy dandy pile of chipboard sheets and took 2 sturdy ones.
I figured I needed one to push the nest on to the other, that way I wouldn't put people germs on the nest.
I called for the kids.
One to help me with the nest and one to hold the baseball bat in case the bird decided to swoop in and peck my eyes out.
I carefully opened the windows and began trying to scoop the nest on to the chipboard.
It was really on there.
Like molded to the window with mud, she had done a marvelous job.
It wasn't moving as gracefully as I imagined in fact it wasn't budging at all.
So I pushed a little harder, telling the boys the whole time..."careful, careful, carefu.....oops!"
Crap!
I pushed too hard and instead of it transferring to the chipboard it flew off tumbling toward the ground.
The boys began laughing hysterically and I did too because I was being so careful and chanting the whole time..."careful, careful"
Max took off outside to grab the nest and check out the damage, I followed behind him.
I was running down the stairs and out the front door saying, "Be careful with it, don't mess it up, I like nature, I didn't mean too, I was just trying to be good, Oh damn, It's ok, It's ok."
Like the karma police were listening.
Max scooped it on to the chipboard.
It was a little messy but still in tact, like I said, she did a good job.
I put the nest on the intended window in the front and took that picture.
Max just shook his head at me saying "tsk, tsk."
That kid preys on my fear of karma, I swear.

The next morning, same time, I heard the chirping and flapping again at my window.
I told Max when he woke up, "Those birds were on the ledge again."
"Think they're mad?"
"I think so, I coulda sworn I heard an f-bomb in between tweets."
I am praying she finds her nest and stops landing on my window each morning to yell at me real soon!