wrapping it up..

I'm putting the bow on the package. :) The Birthday Bash Box of Baubles package that is! I had one little thing to finish up today and wouldn't you know it, it was one of those days where I just couldn't get it done right away. Finally though... I'm uploading!! Yay!

I'll be back to update when the links have been sent out and I'll let you know who won the gift cards to my store for leaving my blog some love!

less than 3 days

That's right.... less than 3 days and my new grab bag will be released! I am so excited about this one. It has so many fun things in it. This is definitely a bag I'd be thrilled to buy.

For those of you who got in on my free grab bag promotion, you'll get it tomorrow!! I'm so excited to be able to send it to you all. I'm putting the finishing touches on it right now (well as soon as I get my kiddos to bed!)

Is anyone up for another sneak peek? Just a tiny one? Ah, heck, why not? Here it is....



What do you think we have here? Any guesses? If you'll remember, I said before that my preview had a hint on it... notice that these beads are the same color as the package on my preview? I was sneaky, lol!

Alright... time for me to get my little ones to bed. Its been a looong day for them (and for me!).

fun with blogger

I've kept blogs since 2005. I used to be really good about posting to them regulary. One blog for the family, one for my daughter and then one for my son when he came along. However, all of the blogs fell by the wayside last November. I was ready to delete them when I decided to play around and update them. My husband's family all live so far away that we don't get to see them often. I started the blogs as a way to keep them updated on the day to day happenings of our little family. So instead of trashing the blogs along with past entries I decided to revive them, give them a face lift and a little pep. I spent a little time today working on new blog headers (something I had never done before, I'd just used the generic one). They turned out so cute, I just had to share them!

Here is the one I made for my son using the kit I named after him, Declan.



The pictures in the negative strip were taken at birth, 6 months, 12 months and 18 months exactly. He has grown so much!

My daughter's is a bit different and a little funky. She thinks she's a rock star so I had to use that somewhere on her blog header. I used the kit I named after her, Caitrin, for this as well as a little something I have coming out soon.



I think it shows off her attitude quite well! The extraction was fun and something different for me since I just don't do that in my layouts. Now to finish updating and send the new links to the family!

6 years ago today

Its so hard for me to believe that my world changed so much 6 years ago. It was Father's Day 2001 and I was 20 weeks pregnant with my first child. Without going in to too much detail, I'll say that my son, Tyler Anthony was born at 5:17pm on June 17, 2001. He passed away during birth but would not have been able to survive at that gestation anyway. Losing him was a very difficult thing for my husband and I. Even though its been 6 years (and two healthy rug rats later!), sometimes it still feels so fresh to me. Today it really hit me. Its Father's Day just as it was then. When DH gets home from golfing we're going to take the kids out to release balloons for Tyler just as we do every year. This year we're going to send one up to my grandma too. I'm sure missing both of them a lot.

The happy part is that 5 years ago today I was anxiously awaiting the birth of my second child, my daughter, Caitrin. In just one short week she will be 5 years old. It hardly seems possible that she could be turning 5. I still picture her at a few weeks old. Why do they grow up so fast?? I don't have any newborn layouts uploaded (heck, most of those were paper scrapped!) but here she is at 10 days old... so tiny and sweet!



Well, my little guy fell asleep on my lap so I need to put him down... I'll be back! LOL

spread the love...

My poor blog is just feeling lonely. She knows that there are many blogs out there who get lots of comments and she's feeling a might inadequate. In effort to boost her self-esteem, I decided to try and boost her comment section a bit (shh! Don't tell her, I want her to think its all her!). I'm giving away gift cards for my products and the lucky recipients will be chosen at random from among the comments I get on this post. So go ahead... spread the love and make my blog feel special!

And... since this post needs something colorful and fun, here is a sneak peek at that Birthday Bash Box of Baubles that will be on sale soon (the one those of you who made purchases between June 9th and 15th will get free!)....




Look interesting? Colorful and fun? I think so!! Remember, this is only a teensy bit of what will be in this box. The box is filling up fast and getting heavier by the day! If you aren't one of the lucky ones who will get it free, remember to watch for it when it is released!!

Free grab bag you say? One more day!

Just one day left of my free grab bag promotion! That's right, Friday is the last day. If you haven't taken advantage of this one, you might want to. Make any purchase (even a tiny one) and you will qualify to receive my next grab bag (I'm calling it the birthday bash box of baubles, lol!) free! I will be sending out the links on or before June 20th. You'll have it in your hands before it hits the stores! You just don't want to pass up a deal like this (at least I wouldn't, grab bag junkie that I am!).

I mentioned yesterday that I was going to put the alpha and template from the DST chat in to my stores. I decided today to give the template away on my blog instead. Who couldn't use a free template, eh? Yesterday I showed you the layout I made using the template. In case you missed it, here's the preview of the template itself.



I'll give you the link shortly... first I have to show off a layout I did. :)

I've been blessed enough to have been on Traci Reed's CT for quite some time now. I love working with her designs and she's such a fun person to be around. Sadly, I didn't reapply this time because I'm just too busy to keep up with everything so this is my last month on her CT. *waaaaah* Anyway, she just released a new kit called 'He'll Break Your Heart'. Its a tropical, surfer boy type kit. Its perfect for those pictures of your teenage boys because of the fun elements in the kit. It also works well for little boy pictures... I had to use it last night to scrap a picture of my son in the wading pool. Here you go... my little surfer boy!



I love this picture because you can see how red my little guy's hair is. He takes after his mama, that's for sure! He still doesn't have much hair but what he does have is super straight (he doesn't get that from mama), thin, fine and red. I just love to play with it. Anyway, his sister brought the doll in to the pool with them and he had a great time making the doll slide down the little slide and catching it at the end. He's a loving little guy!

Okay... off to get something done. I've sat at the computer too long! I did promise you the link to that template though so be sure to stop by and download it here!

I scrapped, again!

I was working on a template today for my anniversary chat at DST and I had so much fun with it that I decided to scrap with it before I closed my file. My daughter called the template 'crazy'. It is definitely out of my proverbial box but I like it. Here's my finished layout.



I used my Caitrin kit and my white cardboard alphabet (inked with Atomic Cupcake inked edges action). I rarely scrap with my own stuff so I'm very excited to have used the Caitrin kit twice already! Its funny because I like what I design but I am so sick of looking at it by the time its done and previewed that I just file it away and figure I'll scrap with it some day. Silly, isn't it?

Anyway.... for those who missed the chat at DST, I'll let you in on a little secret... I gave away that fun alphabet I used on the layout yesterday to everyone who came. I also gave them the template, of course, for the template challenge and a coupon to try out my products. I honestly love giving things away!

I decided to go ahead and put the template and the alphabet up in my stores so that you can pick them up if you missed out. They probably won't make it up tonight though, I'm sleepy and I should probably get to bed.

Just a reminder... only 2 more days to get in on my free grab bag with any purchase deal. I'm so excited with how many of you are taking advantage of it. It will feel like Christmas when I send out the links! Like I said, I love giving stuff away!!

Speaking of give-aways... remember how I mentioned giving away a Memory Purse or two....?? I have decided that I will give at least one away at each store (ES and OAKS). I will have the details for you soon. I have to say, I totally LOVE my Memory Purse. I get so many comments on it and I just love being able to change it out when I want and be creative with it. Of course, that reminds me that I really need to update my bag ;)

Anyway, in scrapping news.... (I really need to organize my posts better, eh? I jump around a lot!) I have been on a grab bag kick. I've bought 4 of the grab bags from The Digi Shoppe this week. I picked up Bren Boone's, Micheline Martin's, Ashley Olson's and Faith True's. Those girls really packed their bags! I can't wait to use some of those goodies to scrap!

Now... off to bed....

I'm a clutz!

There is no doubt about it. I am a huge clutz. A few weeks back I fell off my bicycle (in front of people we know no less!), I constantly stub my toes on things around the house and today I fell and hurt my hand and ankle. Fortunately with some heavy doses of ibuprofen both are feeling better but it sure didn't feel good when it happened!

Anyway... the main purpose of this post was to let you all know that I'm hosting a chat at DST tomorrow, 9pm EST! I'll be giving away a layered template as part of a layout challenge. If you complete the challenge and post your layout (PMing me with the link), I'll send you a little goodie for participating. I'll also have a little freebie for you just for coming! It should be fun! I can't wait!!

Today has been a crazy day. Dh is working long hours and its throwing us all off. I feel as though I'm getting nothing accomplished. Hopefully taking the kids out to story hour at the library tomorrow will give us that much needed break.... if, of course, the little guy stays happy!

One thing I did do today was sit down with my 4 (almost 5!) year old and scrap a page for her. She told me what she wanted on it and where. She even told me how she wanted the paper torn. She decided on the title and I added my own journaling thoughs. We used my Caitrin kit papers for it plus a new alphabet that will be coming soon. Will it be in the store? Maybe. Will it make its way into a grab bag? Possibly, LOL! Oooh the suspsense! Anyway, here's the layout...



If you like that frame we used, you'll be happy to know I'm giving it away to my blog readers!! Its decorated as shown on the layout and you can download it HERE. As you can see, it coordinates rather nicely with the Caitrin kit, so if you have the kit you might want to grab the frame!

In design news, I'm busy working on my next grab bag... the Birthday Bash Box of Baubles. Isn't that a mouth full? Can you say it 10 times, fast? LOL! Anyway, this box will be filled with lots of great stuff and everyone who has gotten in on my Grab Bag promotion will receive this fun box! (Yes, I'm calling it something different, but it is technically my next grab bag. :) ) Many of you have already qualified to get this box for free! If you haven't, there's still time! Just make any purchase of my products from Elemental Scraps or One of a Kind Scrapz through June 15th and I'll send you this baby FREE! I'll be sending out the links on or before June 20th! You'll have this in your hot little hands before it is released to the general public! Look down a few posts for more information... and here's a sneaky peak at my birthday box... there might just be a hint of what's inside....




For my OAKS customers, this box WILL be available at OAKS as well as ES, I just haven't gotten my preview done for there yet. This time, the same 'grab bag' will be available at both stores.

Time to log off and go spend some time with my night owl children!

heeeellllloooo scrappers!!

I hope that you all had a great weekend! Ours was nice. We didn't go anywhere or do anything special but we had fun none the less. Unfortunately, today begins a super long week for me. My DH works midnights as a supervisor at a forms manufacturing company. His typical hours are 11-7 but its that time of the year (vacation time that is) and there is no one to cover the day shift supervisor who will be on vacation so Dh and the other remaining supervisor are stuck pulling 12 hour days. On top of that, its his weekend to cover the overtime crowd so he has to work 6 really long days this week. Now, he used to do this ALL the time before he made supervisor. However, since the promotion I've gotten spoiled and used to having him home more, so I'm bummed that he'll be working so much this week.

The only good thing to come of it is I can CHAT with you all without the hubby here to bother me!! Hee hee! I'm hosting a chat at DST on Wednesday, June 13th at 9pm EST. I'll have a template challenge for you as well as a little freebie just for coming! I hope to see you there!!

In other news... I scrapped yesterday!! Woohoo!! Its been a while and it was nice to sit down and think of nothing but working on a layout. I usually get half way through a layout and let my mind wander to the next kit I want to work on or something.



Everything on this layout was created by the talented Jennifer Trippetti. I'm lucky enough to be on her CT but I have to say, even when I'm not scrapping a CT layout I find myself reaching for her stuff. I use some of her Digitalwear Basics on almost every layout I do!

Anyway... did you know I'm running a blog challenge over on the Elemental Scraps blog? The challenge runs through the 15th so hurry over to check it out!

Off now to take care of my little guy who isn't showing the sunny disposition that he was in the layout I did yesterday!

I have a deal for you!

an update post

Okay, I have to admit it. I am blog challenged. I try to post often but I really suck at it. So, there you have it. My big confession!

Now that that is off of my chest... let me get down to business updating you all! A lot has been going on with me in the digi-world and I don't know if everyone is up to speed. So, here's the 411...

First of all, I resigned from Digi Scrap Shak last month and from Digi Scrap Divas this evening. It was a hard decision to make, leaving stores I really liked, but I am finding myself with more and more to do and less and less time to get it done in. Who knew that the 7.5 hours a week my daughter was at preschool gave me so much free time? I'm finding that I spend most of my days outside watching the kids or taking them places to keep them occupied, my evenings cooking and cleaning and my nights designing. I haven't slept much in the past month and I'm starting to feel like a walking zombie some days. Hopefully this change will give me more creative energy so that I can bring some fabulous new products to the stores and some freebies to the blog. :)

Now... let's see... I hope you were all around for the unveiling of the new site design at Elemental Scraps. We had SO much fun over there and the new site looks fabulous! If you haven't checked it out you'd better! The store is chock full of tons of new product from some fabulous designers. I tell you, there is a lot there that I want to get my grubby little hands on (and will as soon as I have more time to scrap!). I released several new things myself over the course of the celebration. Here are are just a few things, in case you missed them....

I started the weekend off with Caitrin (well, I released it a few days prior to the store closing for the remodel, but who's counting?. Caitrin was inspired by my daughter. She picked the colors, she told me she wanted some bling in it and she gave me her personal approval for every element. LOL! We had a great Saturday together creating this kit!



Next came Declan... this one inspired by my son. Its cute. Its grungy. Its all boy!



I had so much fun with this one that I couldn't stop, so I ended up with a fun add on!



I released a few other kits including this mini kit called Cool Waters...



Then, I had a fabulous grab bag with 4 totally new products. Here's a peek at my grab bag reveal...



If you hurry over to Elemental Scraps today you can still get all the grab bag goodies for just $4! That's $1 an item!

And.. did you hear??

June marks my one year anniversary as a digital designer!! A year!?!? Can you believe it? It seems like it was just yesterday that I released my first product to the public and sat with baited breath to see if anyone would like what I had created. I have had a great year and I am so thrilled to be part of this community. I love my 'job'!

Anyway, to celebrate, I'm going ALL OUT in June!! I'm going to have sales, chats, challenges, freebies and even find a few guest CT members! I've been so busy with the ES makeover that I haven't had time to cement the details but I'll have them before Monday so be sure to check back. I have some fun things in store and I'll even be giving away a Memory Purse (or more!)

But, alas, its 5am and I haven't slept yet since my little guy woke up fussy so I need to call it a night (morning?) and get hope for some sleep before the 4 year old wakes up!

Before I go though... I want to start the ball rolling on my month of celebration with a freebie! These cardboard shapes are so fun! They can be painted or glittered or made in to element clusters, you name it! And, they would go great with my white cardboard alphabet.




Download here (link removed) I'd love if you'd leave me a little comment ;)

And... with that, I'm off to sleep....

tomorrow is Easter...

Part of me is so excited. I can't wait to wake up and dress my kids in their Easter outfits, cook a big dinner, hunt for eggs and talk about the reason we really celebrate Easter. I miss the sunrise church services of my younger days but I have been lazy about finding a new church so I really wouldn't know where to go. Anyway, part of me is really approaching this holiday with a heavy heart. Last Easter was my grandma's last holiday with us. She had been ill for a long time and we honestly hadn't expected her to make it to Easter. A few days before she became very lucid and started making plans for the holiday. On Saturday she had us all cooking up a storm and running around to find Easter treats for all of her great grandkids. By Sunday morning she was starting to slip back in to that 'fuddled' state of consciousness and while she knew we were there, I don't think she realized it was Easter nor was she able to really enjoy the holiday. It was difficult. It was also truly the beginning of the end for her. She passed away a few weeks later.

I know she wouldn't want me to sit here and dwell on all of that though so I am trying to stay chipper and just remember the good times. This year has definitely been odd though, I threw myself in to planning what the kids would wear and what treats would be in their baskets. I was so busy planning all the details that I forgot totally that I would have to cook at home this year. We've always had dinner at Grandma's. It was so strange trying to plan an Easter menu. I finally decided to go with what Grandma always made since I know the familiarity of it all will be comforting to my family.

Anyway... the Easter bunny was at our local Walmart yesterday. We decided to take the kids down. My daughter has had an aversion to characters in costumes for a long time so we were afraid she'd go running when she saw this life sized bunny. Instead she went over, told him hello and stood beside him careful to make sure she didn't touch him. LOL. She's a girl after my own heart, she told me she wanted the picture for her scrapbook. In all honesty, she could have cared less about actually seeing the bunny had it not been for the picture. Our little guy on the other hand, he was rather oblivious. He sat on the bunny's lap and chewed on his hand.

We got the obligatory photo taken by the person running the event and then Dh snapped a few for us so that I could have something to scrap. This was my favorite of the bunch.

See that frame around the picture? That's a sneak peak of something that is in my Easter Basket Surprise. I love goodie bags and grab bags and I haven't offered one since November so I decided to do one for Easter. Its full of 100mb of goodies. There's a little something for everyone.

This is only available through Monday so hurry to pick it up... for just $2 you get all the goodies inside. :)

You can pick it up at Digi Scrap Divas , Digi Scrap Shak , Elemental Scraps or One of a Kind Scrapz. Its the same at each store, choose your favorite. :)

And... lastly (before I get busy cleaning and take my daughter to a birthday party) one of my fabulous CT members, Dodo, has created two fabulous quick pages using my Easter Blue's kit. These are just adorable so be sure to pick them up! Here are the layouts she made...

Download them here. If you see Dodo around, please thank her for the awesome pages!!

bad, bad blogger

Yes, I'm a bad blogger. I don't update nearly enough.

Anyway.. first off, the Bowl for Kid's Sake donation drive... thanks to the wonderful and supportive digi scrapping community, I'm just $15 from my goal :) Thank you everyone! Its not too late to donate, I am accepting donations through Friday. On Monday (we have a big weekend planned) I will announce the winner of the year of Sherri goodies!

Okay... on to other things...

I've been busy today! Not only did I finish a cute new kit (which will be at Elemental Scraps sometime Monday) but I did 2 element packs, started another and two layouts!

First off... my new kit. I have to show it off because I'm proud of it. My daughter was a little put out that I had done a boyish Easter kit and not made a kit for her. While this started out as an Easter kit, it didn't end up that way. I'm much happier with the end result though.

See? I told you it is cute! I had so much fun with this one. I didn't want to stop adding more goodies to it. When I was finished, I did something I rarely do... I scrapped with it! I don't take time often enough to scrap with my own kits but I was sorting through some old pictures and saw a batch of Easter ones from a few years back. I just had to scrap this one!

It seems like I am always scrapping Caity pictures. I promise, I do scrap my son now and then, lol. He is such a busy blur that I don't get as many pictures of him as I'd like... and Caity is 3.5 years older so I have tons more pictures of her of course. I took some fun ones of the boy on Saturday though. It had rained all day Friday and our back yard was a mud pit. The sand box was standing in water despite having the lid on it. Of course, the kids (especially Declan) decided it would be fun to play in it, water and all.

Melissa Bennet over at Elemental Scraps has this great kit called Mud Tracks. I was so excited when I realized that it was perfect for my mud pictures! Here's my layout using Melissa's fun kit...

Isn't my dirty boy cute? He was right back out there in the mud today... I can't seem to keep him clean, or ind0ors!

Anyway... its 3am here and I need to get myself to bed. Spring break is over and my girl goes back to preschool tomorrow. She is really looking forward to it, but I am not looking forward to getting up early with her. She has this funny sense and knows which days are school days and she gets up bright and early to be ready in time (though she doesn't go until after noon).

Before I go though... be sure to check out Elemental Scraps' designer challenge. Just one week left of challenges (my goal is to post a new one on Monday afternoon) and the participation prize for the last week will be a good one! Also, to wrap up my month as the featured designer I will be having a big sale... stay tuned!

a huge thank you!

I am so excited, impressed, and genuinely thankful for the donations I've received for the Big Brothers Big Sisters Bowl for Kids' Sake tournament! This community is just fabulous and I feel blessed to be a part of it! I've nearly reached my goal already and I couldn't have done it without the support of you fabulous digi-scrappers!!

I need your help... its for a good cause! (and a freebie!)

Every year my husband participates in the Bowl For Kids' Sake fund raiser. Every year I cheer him and the rest of the team on. This year I've decided to join in the fun, bowl a few games with my friends and raise some money to help out the kids.

Here's where you come in... the tournament is to raise money for our local chapter of Big Brother Big Sisters. I'm a SAHM and I just can't get out and wrangle up donations like I used to be able to do. I decided to see if my friends in the digi world could help me out.

Here's the deal... for every dollar you donate (directly to the BFKS website) I'll give you two dollars to spend on my products at Digi Scrap Divas, Elemental Scraps or One of a Kind Scrapz. Not only do you get to claim this donation on your taxes but you can treat yourself to some digital goods while helping out a child! What could be better??

I'll tell you what!! For every donation of $10 you will be entered in a drawing to win all of my designs for an ENTIRE YEAR! You will get everything that is current as well as anything I release for a whole year (not including collaboration kits with other designers or store mega kit contribution pieces)!!

So... donate to a good cause... claim the donation on your taxes... get twice the amount you donate in digital goods (you can use the coupons yourself or give them as a gift! I'll create the coupons in any denomination you wish) and possibly win everything I design for a year!

Can you help a girl out?? Click here to go directly to the donation page.

After you make your donation, please email me (simplysherri@sbcglobal.net) with your first and last name and your reference number (this will be on the email confirmation you receive) so that I can get your coupons to you!

And, since I believe in this cause so much... the first 3 people to donate $5 or more and email me will get my newest kit Easter Blues FREE!

And now... after you've read all of that... I have a little freebie for you. This layered template was created for a template chat at Digi Scrap Shak. It is in .psd format with multiple .png layers for those of you who use DIP.

Download here... enjoy!

my fingers aren't fast enough

... nor is my computer! I have so many ideas running around inside my head that I just want to put in to action but there isn't enough time in the day! I am really working right now to find the balance between family time, house work, design time, scrapping time and time for me. The 'me' time is always the first to go so I'm really working to make some time for myself. Yes, scrapping and designing are both for me as well but I really need to concentrate on some activities that get me away from the computer.





Now that the weather is turning nice, I am looking forward to being outside more. The sunshine we've had over the past few days has helped lift my spirits tremendously and made me more productive in all areas of my life. Its awesome! I've managed to get the house in decent shape (not perfect, but better than it was by far), tackle a few projects around here and even get a bit more designing done. In fact, I have two new 'Little Charmer's' sets all ready. They coordinate nicely with my antique hat pin alphabet and are still fabulous on their own. Here's a little preview... they are already available at Digi Scrap Shak and will soon be available at the other stores!





Okay... so back to work. My kids want me to play with them.

okay, okay... a real post!

Yep, a real post from me... not just another "I need to update" post. I've done too many of those lately. My blog seems to be the first thing to get tossed to the way side when I get busy and I know I really should be a better blogger.


First off... do you even know where to find my products? When I last posted a real blog entry, I was selling at Elemental Scraps and One of a Kind Scrapz. Soon after, I joined Digi Scrap Shak and this past January, I was blessed to be able to join some fabulous designers and good friends of mine over at DSD.


Okay... so now that you know where to find me, what are you waiting for? Shop! LOL!


March has been an exciting month for me so far in the digi-world. I am the featured designer at Elemental Scraps and I am hosting a new challenge each week and giving away some great prizes. There is a sampler in the store that you can all pick up for free and I am also offering a special promotion each week in the store. This week you can get my new Antique Hat Pin Alphabet free with any purchase (no minimums). Here's what it looks like...

This offer is good through March 12th and then I'll have another special offer in the store. I love being able to offer goodies like this to my customers. :)

Okay... the family is begging me to go out for icecream with them so I'll cut this short...

a work in progress

Okay, so I'm finally getting around to updating my blog. Its been way too long, I know. I've just been so busy with other projects that I haven't taken time to blog, let alone try to update everything. I'll be working on it off and on over the next few days and I'm sure I'll even have a freebie for you soon.