Pray Without Ceasing....

As I stopped to eat lunch and check my email I found yet 2 more requests for prayer. So many needs....so many needs. I felt compelled to just have a post full of prayer requests. I may not give alot of information but trust when I say, God knows! I do this because I find out people follow my blog I and I don't even know it. So, it is my hope that there will be some prayer warriors out there that read this post and God will lay it on their heart to pray for some or all of these needs. I hope if you do so you will be richly blessed for your obedience to God's command.

1. Baby Trina, in the hospital awaiting results of testing to determine what is causing her to run high temps & be so sick.
2. Amber Donley, involved in a serious car accident this morning (7/31/09) and is in ICU with multiple facial fractures plus numerous other injuries.
3. PJ - truck driver whose propane tank exploded and caught him on fire. In medically induced coma with burns over 40-60% of his body.
4. Mike Laws - unspoken request
5. Tim H. - battling throat cancer
6. Christine Bergan - preparing to move to TX
7. First Baptist Church Maryville members....Cindy/Alyssia/Cassidy Winters - as we all continue to heal from the loss of Fred, a Pastor, husband, father, brother, son, uncle, friend, shepherd.
8. Our country & its leaders....the economy & the corruption that abounds
9. Pam Barnal - awaiting results to determine what is causing such serious shortness of breath. Family issues....need for peace & unity.
10. Shelby & Tyler Gaultney - Unspoken
11. Diana Camren & the rest of the team- as they prepare to go into the Mission Field for 2 weeks to Africa...leaving August 5th! May God use them in a mighty, mighty way!
12. Kristine & her husband, my friend's daughter, as they are traveling from CA to move here (IL).
13. Baby Jack - born with Cystic Fibrosis

The list can go on and on but unfortunately I must go back to work. Pray....pray without ceasing!

I can't decide....

which one I like better. I think I know but I had to submit both to Angel, my faithful quality control expert, to decide for me. This is my week 3 Battle of the Creative Teams layout. Our challenge this week was to scrap by numbers. Working our way from 10 down to 1 page element. Our choices were.....

10 Staples

9 Flowers

8 Words

7 Sprays of Greenery

6 Ribbons

5 Papers

4 Frames

3 Photos

2 Fonts

1 Date Element

Here is what I came up with....

I am most fond of the top layout. I feel like it is more easy on the eyes. By that I mean, the bottom seems off balance....maybe had I placed my photo cluster on the left and the smaller greenery/floral cluster in the lower right corner.

So, what do YOU think. I want to know. Drop me a comment at the end of this post or email me at helenmparker@sbcglobal.net Tell me "top" or "bottom".

Creative block removed....

Wow....I have been having a hard time getting caught up with some layouts. Mostly because of time constraints but also due to some mental blockage in the creative department. And that is probably stemming from KNOWING I really really MUST get these layouts caught up. I have done 3 layouts today. One this morning before I left for work. And two tonight since getting home from work. Here they are.....the good & the bad.


This is the one I did before work and probably my least favorite of the 3. Sometimes I just struggle with some kits. This was to fulfill a CT obligation and maybe that was the biggie, again, because I felt pressed to get it done. The kit is called Let Us Adore Him by Scrappy Shannon at www.prettyscrappy.com and it is a completely adorable kit with great wooden elements & a nice country feel to it.


This is from a soon-to-be-released kit by Lorilei Murphy called Pristine. Again, a CT responsibility I needed to fulfill. She did an awesome job of designing many floral & greenery elements that make for fun clustering. You probably recognize the photo as one I took of Mom and I in KY last weekend.


This is my FAVE of the day! Savin' the best for last. I used the upcoming August Collab kit, Drama Queen, from www.prettyscrappy.com due to release Aug 1st. I really was not sure I could create something with this kit.....I mean really. But, I have to admit, once I got started it just flowed! So funny how that happens sometimes.

BOTCT - WEEK 2

Here are the layouts from my awesomely talented team, The Busy Bees, for week #2 of the Battle Of The Creative Teams at Digiscrapaddicts

This weeks theme was "music" and we chose to all create a LO based around our Top 20 Playlists. Our uniting element...besides the Top 20 is the Ipod from a kit called, Drama King.

Don't forget....GO VOTE FOR "BUSY BEES" HERE

by Helen the Happy Scrapper


by Brandy the Beautiful Scrapper


by Emily the Energetic Scrapper


by Tracie the Talented Scrapper

by Wendy the Wild Scrapper

Did I not tell you this is an awesome team????????? Now, GO VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mermaid or Whale?

Received the awesomely funny email from a dear friend who I know for certain is a "whale". Before you gasp and fall out of your seat due to such a sharp comment on my part....read the following:


Mermaid or Whale?

Recently, in a large French city, a poster featuring a young, thin and tan woman appeared in the window of a gym. It said:

THIS SUMMER DO YOU WANT TO BE A MERMAID OR A WHALE?¨

A middle aged woman, whose physical characteristics did not match those of the woman on the poster, responded publicly to the question posed by the gym.

To Whom It May Concern:

Whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, sea lions, curious humans)..
They have an active sex life, they get pregnant and have adorable baby whales.
They have a wonderful time with dolphins stuffing themselves with shrimp.
They play and swim in the seas, seeing wonderful places like Patagonia , the Barren Sea and the coral reefs of Polynesia
Whales are wonderful singers and have even recorded CDs.
They are incredible creatures and virtually have no predators other than humans.
They are loved, protected and admired by almost everyone in the world.

Mermaids don't exist. If they did exist, they would be lining up outside the offices of Argentinean psychoanalysts due to identity crisis.
Fish or human?
They don't have a sex life because they kill men who get close to them not to mention how could they have sex?
Therefore they don't have kids either.
Not to mention who wants to get close to a girl who smells like a fish store?
The choice is perfectly clear to me; I want to be a WHALE.

P.S. We are in an age when media puts into our heads the idea that only skinny people are beautiful, but I prefer to enjoy an ice cream with my kids, a good dinner with a man who makes me shiver and a piece of chocolate with my friends.

With time we gain weight because we accumulate so much information and wisdom in our heads that when there is no more room it distributes out to the rest of our bodies.

So we aren't heavy, we are enormously cultured, educated and happy.

Beginning today, when I look at my butt in the mirror I will think, "Good gosh, look how smart I am.."

I so love it!!!!!!!! I am sure I will have some people read this and shake their head and mutter some words under their breath. I know the importance of being healthy but I also know the importance of being loved for who you are.....and loving yourself despite 'how smart you are'. Thanks to my "whale of a friend" who sent this to me to remind me to laugh in the face of all the Mermaids out there!

Kentucky Trip, Part 2

While I am waiting on some clothes to finish washing I thought I would write some more about my trip to KY this past weekend.


As I said, we arrived at about 6:00 p.m. Friday. I went to the main house, knocked on the door and did not get an answer. Hmmm, she didn't say she would be gone. So, I went to see if she had left a note on the door of the cottage. She didn't just leave a note, she left the key sitting on the table at the door to the cottage. I chuckled and said, "yep, we are in the country". I unloaded the car and the owner soon came to greet us. She had been home but did not hear me knock. We talked for awhile with her and then it was time to go get some dinner as Mom and I were both very hungry. Before I go into the dinner dilema, let me show you some more photos of the inside of the cottage.


A water feature that even sported fake smoke!



The 3rd bedroom that has one wall made out of 3 separate screen doors. Two of them are stationery while the 3rd one is hinged and used as the door to the room. She hung quilts over the stationery portion of the wall to create some privacy. Such a neat idea.




Pretty flower arrangement at the foot of mom's bed. One thing I notice right off the bat is that she had price tags on many of the decor in the cottage. I inquired and she said that is because it used to be a shop and she turned it into the cottage. She loves antique stores and buys so much that she HAS to sell some of it. The sheep decoration in this photo is something I bought as a momento from the stay.




One view of the livingroom




Another view of the LR...the red cabinet holds the TV




So, about dinner.....as I said, we were hungry. It was by now about 8:00 p.m. so we opted, at the advice of the owner, to try Marion Cafe in town. I had to make a quick stop at the Family Dollar store first. We arrived at the cafe a bit after 8:00 p.m. The neon sign was still lit for "open" and the hours on the door indicated they were open until 9:00 p.m. on Friday. We barely had our foot in the door when the waitress tells us they are closed. We were welcome to stay but the kitchen was closed. I pointed out their sign was still lit for open & the other sign states they are open til 9 p.m. We inquired about where we might find another place to eat and she really didn't know. Hmmmmm, seriously? So, we drove back to the Family Dollar store where there had been a Pizza Hut next door. Surely they would be open. I walked in to place a carryout and there was NO ONE in the place except 2 workers....who did not look thrilled I was coming in. Oh well! I ordered the dinner and after receiving what I believe was a look that meant I am throwing fiery darts at you in my mind.....I went out to wait with mom in the car until I thought the food would be ready. It is 8:30 at this point. 8:30 p.m. on a Friday night. Hello? We took our pizza, breadsticks & soda back to the cottage and ate dinner finally at shortly after 9:00 p.m.

Oh how we get so spoiled with modern city-livin' conveniences. However, I don't find it too much to ask for a place to honor what their signs say. Here are some photos of the fine PH establishment and mom & I being goofy in the car.....remember, our blood sugars were low so we cannot be held accountable for our silliness!

38 Hours In Kentucky

But oh, what a great 38 hours it was. We arrived around 6:00 pm Friday night to find a cozy little cottage, overflowing with nick-nacks galore. We departed Sunday morning around 8:00 a.m. to head back to reality of life at home.

The trip consisted of lots and lots of driving. We drove through Amish country and took a scenic drive through Land Between The Lakes (area between Kentucky Lake & Lake Barkley). This took up the biggest part of the whole day on Saturday, which was more than I had anticipated but it was worth it. It just meant I didn't accomplish my scrapbooking goals nearly as I had hoped. Out of 4 layouts I set out to have done before we came home, 1 was finished and I practically redid it when I arrived home. Oh well, tomorrow night is another chance, right? I hope atleast.

Here are a few photos & a LO I did from our short, 38 hours in Kentucky....

Not a bad set up for just $100 per night, huh?

The leaning....shoot, I can't remember what these things are called, senior moment!!

I so love this photo of mom & I....especially after cropping off my butt, LOL!

My room.....it was the "red hat ladies" room....see the red & purple boa's up on the window??

Mom's room....she got an a/c unit...a 2 water features in her room....and a double bed. After all, this was a trip for her birthday :)

A 6 week old foal the owner's had on their property. Her (or his...not sure, didn't look) name is Buttermilk. So stinkin' cute!

Caught this photo of Momma & baby walking away....sometimes the shutter click happens at the right moment!

Pond & gazebo on the property....the horses are to the right in this photo.

Our first morning...enjoying our coffee before we head out for the day. It was a semi-cool, breezy morning which we soon learned was a prelude to some thunder showers that were heading our way.

This photo is just called "Three Chairs" Our cottage is there in the background behind the greenery.

Mom & I posing by Kentuck Lake. Taken on a short, scenic drive before we entered what was called The Trace, which is a 20 mile (one way) drive thru Land Between The Lakes.

Such a funny story behind this photo. One of the reasons I wanted to do the LBL drive was because they sport an Elk & Bison Prairie. A 3 mile one-way drive thru a patch of land where they keep elk & bison. You pay $5 per vehicle. You are allowed to drive thru as many times as you desire....as long as you pay the $5 each time. Okay, so I make sure my camera is turned on and ready for lots of photo op's. We drive, and drive, and drive, and drive......no stinkin' elk or bison. Mom and I were going "Here elky, elky, elky....here bison, bison, bison". I said "you know, they are all back in the trees sitting there laughing at us goin' 'look at those idiots. they paid $5 to drive thru this....let's hide and see if they pay another $5 to go thru again'." Right at the very end of the drive there was 1 sad, lazy, lone bison lying next to a watering hole. He picked up his head long enough for me to snap some photos and that was the extent of The Elk & Bison Prairie.

If you had not guessed, this is just a photo of an old, delapidated barn.

Kinda a funny story to this one, too. On our way home we had mapped out a different, more scenic route to take. It was a pretty drive out of Marion along 91 North. We saw more Amish homesteads and even saw one Amish family walking to church. Then lo & behold if 91 didn't end at the Ohio River. We had 2 choices....wait for the ferry to come back & take us over or turn around, back track all the way we just came and go back the way we came in originally. Ugh, neither of us were thrilled about driving up on a ferry. I was down right nervous about it. But, the thought of all that back-tracking was not appealing either. Soon some other vehicles drove up and were waiting for the ferry. We said to each other "well, if they are willing to brave it, so can we....let's live dangerously and go for it." It was less than 5 minutes over the river and we were so happy we didn't chicken out because it saved us a lot of time. I love how the water sparkles in this photo!

Here is a shot I took while driving out 654 South through the Amish homesteads of Crittenden County, KY. Mom actually saw this shot and so I stopped in the road to get the shot. The photo does not do justice to the beauty that you could see for miles. I did a layout using this photo, see the next & final photo/layout......

I did alot of adjusting & blending of this photo to reach this look. I did some levels adjusting & then colorized to make it a sepia tinted photo & brought back the blue of the sky. I then added a digital TTV texture effect around the edges of the photo as well added a brown paper grungy texture with a lighter opacity. The quote I used under the photo was one I thought up just for this shot.

Well, that is just a few of the photos from the weekend getaway to Marion, KY. It was fun and I highly recommend The Honeysuckle Cottage for your stay.

Photos promised....

Here are some photos from over the past week that I haven't had time to post. They are completely unedited but will have to do for now.....

Remember the Women's Event last Friday...I decorated 2 tables and this is a close up of the beach table....love how it turned out, thanks to my Diva Table Decorators, Sheila & Jackie



This is a close up of the Scrapbooking Table.....for confetti I used colored buttons, tiny ink pads, & large chipboard alphas.



A full shot of the Scrapbooking Table. For placemats I used 12x12 patterned paper and under each plate I placed a scrapbook magazine I no longer wanted. I chose white plates, cups, bowls since as a scrapbooker I usually start with a blank white page & build on that. My napkins were black & white with a flourishy design which totally spoke "scrapbooking" to me.



A full shot of the beach table....this table was all about color & lots of it! Pink & yellow plates, solid green napkins, orange napkins with hula dancers on them, the little take-out boxes I posted last week. Inside the orange bucket in the center of the table I put 3 whirly-bird toys that thanks to the a/c blowing in the gym...made them twirl. I also had some beach toys & some colorful flip flops stuck inside. Hanging over I had some sunglasses & sunvisors.

This was just another beautiful table I took a photo of...I had nothing to do with decorating this one.

This was the craft area where the ladies took turns sitting down to make a card. I only wish I had a photo of us actually doing the craft because this pretty, neat little area soon looked like a tornado had passed through it.

The day after the church event was my nephew, Jesse's graduation party. I ask, "could he look any more thrilled???"

This past Tuesday I spent a few hours with my dear childhood friend, Lori over at the Galleria in St. Louis. We ate, as I said before, at California Pizza Kitchen. This is a shot of my partially eaten Goat cheese/red, yellow peppers/japanese eggplant/carmelized onions pizza. I debated posting this photo since I had 2 missing pieces but it was still very pretty so I decided to do it. Man, is it ever making me hungry to look at it!

Oy, this is the one photo I wish I had edited....I look like a ghost next to the nicely tanned Lori. Isn't she beautiful? And she has an even more beautiful heart to match! We were in the parking lot snapping photos of ourselves and cracking up laughing at the results we were getting....chopped off heads....turned away faces, etc. The whole time we both had to potty so the laughing was not helping in that department. Thanks to me getting lost on the way home I stopped at a Walgreens on Clayton Rd....used their bathroom then called Sheila to Mapquest me home again. Not quite the same as "beam me up, Scotty" but close!

That's my life in photos for the last week. Thanks for stopping by!!!

The way people think.....

What makes people think it is okay to point out weight issues to the people who have the weight issues? I mean, do they seriously think that by stating the obvious and making you feel like a disgusting, undisciplined slob it is going to kick start a sudden weight loss routine? Even IF done in love, I promise you this is most likely not the result that will follow such comments. More likely the result will be the person will simply leave your presence and go on to have even more negative feelings of themselves and now feel as though they are not loved as much because of how they look. They will draw more into themselves than ever and probably gain more weight. Certainly to do so is a "choice" we make.....to allow such comments to penetrate the walls....the oh so thick walls we have built around our hearts and crush us. We don't want to be "felt sorry for", we want to be loved. Unconditional love is a far greater motivator than words.....words hurt.....words alienate. And while I understand the concern that comes from those words....until you have been on the receiving end of such comments (and struggling with the issue yourself) you CANNOT and probably never WILL understand fully what I am saying. My hope, by laying my heart out to be crushed a little more, is that people (even myself) will next time stop and think before they speak. Because after all, we ALL have ISSUES....but not all are so obvious.

Friendship Re-visted

There is just something about reconnecting with a friend from your childhood that puts a smile on your face. I met my BFF, Lori Edgar, from back in my growing-up days in the little town of Marine at the St. Louis Galleria for dinner.

We opted to eat at California Pizza Kitchen, which I thought was funny since she now lives in CA, lol. I highly recommend this restaurant and so wish we had one on the IL side :( Everything sounded so good to us both that we chose to each order an appetizer and an entree and then share the eats.

She is a vegetarian...or vegan, I can't remember so no meat like chicken or beef. I was completely okay with that....I don't have to have meat with every meal and so think I could make the switch to a "veggie" if I really put my mind to it. She ordered Tortilla Spring Rolls with portabella mushrooms, carmelized onions, fontain cheese & some other yummy stuff I can't remember and for the entree she chose a Thai Linguine (w/o the chicken). I chose spinach artichoke dip & chips and a Goat Cheese w/red and yellow peppers, carmelized onions, japanese eggplant & CPK's special sauce pizza. OMG I loved everything....so very tasty and satisfying.

So, we shared old memories and slowly munched on dinner for the next 2 1/2 hours. It was such a lovely evening and I am so glad her temporary car problems did not ruin our chance to have that time together. She is such a beautiful & loving person with eyes, hair & a figure I would die for :) I will post photos later since, as usual, I am not prepared to do so.

That was my evening last night and I could not get sleepy until well after midnight so of course today I am tired. But, I have a really yummy lunch of Goat cheese, red & yellow peppers pizza waiting in the fridge for me....is it lunch time yet?????

The insanity of life continues....

please excuse me while I take a break. Well, I don't get to take the break until the weekend but what a break it will be....or so I pray. More on that later.


If you haven't stopped in at DIGISCRAPADDICTS to vote for the Busy Bees, please do so before 11:59 pm CST tonight (thank you)!


So, my weekend. Where on earth do I start. How about the happy stuff. Friday night was our "Girlfriend Night" women's event at church. Two hundred women came out to fellowship with one another and either pamper or be pampered with facials, hand & feet spas, chair massages, etc. I have photos to post but in all the craziness of other things I am working on, I have not posted them yet. Soon, hopefully. So, Friday was a long day...worked all day and went right to work on finishing prep work for the event and didn't leave the church until nearing 11 pm.


Saturday morning was my Food Pantry volunteer day. We had several clients come in which helped make the time go by faster and that is always nice. Then, the afternoon was filled with a graduation party for my (I almost said youngest...not any more, lol) nephew, Jesse. It was a sweet day outside and I tried to be out in the fresh are as much as possible since it is rare to have a 75 degree, no humidity JULY day in the midwest. All the fresh air caught up to me about 6:30 pm and I headed for home to rest up for church the next day.


Sunday I felt refreshed and ready to tackle a day with God, friends and of course, food. What I wasn't ready to tackle was spending 8 1/2 hours in an ER waiting to learn if my dear friend was going to be okay. While dining after church my friend, Suzy, passed out to the point of losing pulse and no breathing. Thankfully we have nurses in our group and they performed CPR and she was back within about 30 seconds but not too with it. At the hospital they determined her potassium was a 0.2 on a scale of 8.0....HELLO??? No wonder her heart stopped. They did a round of potassium and release her (against our wishes). Suzy insisted we then go to Cracker Barrel for pancakes....did I mentioned she is a nut? So, off to CB we went from the ER. It was extremely crowded and loud inside the restaurant. After waiting outside in the rockers for about 15 minutes we were seated. Soon we had our dinners (or breakfasts for most eating) in front of us and we were just enjoying the fact Suzy seemed okay. That came to an end when she once again passed out but this time never losing a heartbeat or anything. Back to the ER we went. This time they admitted her. A sonogram of her neck (where she was complaining of swelling) was performed to discover she had a stone in her saliva gland. This was what was causing her the pain when she ate and then to pass out. But, the doctor wants to sure there is nothing else wrong with her heart or arteries in her neck that caused the heart to stop. After 11 hours+ away from home on Sunday I was exhausted in every aspect of the word.


We believe we have probably been banned from a few Troy restaurants due to our ability to freak out large groups of customers & break dishes better than the Greek's can at a Greek wedding. But, we still have our Suzy with us and that is what is important....I just hope no Edwardsville restaurant owners read my post and decide to pre-ban us from eatery's up there. LOL!


This weekend I am taking my mom on a weekend trip to Kentucky. It is an impromptu trip that is much needed. I have no set plans. Just to arrive and settle in and go from there. I plan to spend time with my God, my computer, my scrapping and of course, my mom :)


I leave you with a layout I did using an awesome kit by Lorilei Murphy of Rosey Posey Studio....image is linked to her store to purchase the kit.

BOTCT - Week 1 Complete

I have to begin by saying....the Busy Bees are one amazing group of digi scrapping ladies! The layouts below prove it! Whether we get the votes for this week or not, we are definitely winners. I am honored to be a part of this team, thank you. You can click on any of the images to be directed to their gallery to go leave them some love!



By the amazing Wendy


By the amazing Tracie


By the amazing....me


By the amazing Emily



By the amazing Brandy



If you are as blown away as I am with this LO's I sincerely hope you will go over to Digiscrapaddicts and vote starting Monday morning, July 20th. Here is the link to the forum where you can go ahead and get registered and then be looking for the link on my blog Monday for exactly where you go to vote.


http://www.digiscrapaddicts.com/forum/

Deadlines!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am facing 3 deadlines....that is alot for 'lil 'ol me!

1st Deadline: Since last week, I have been working feverishly to prepare for tonight's women's event at my church. It's a Girlfriend Night and is adding up to be a fabulously fun time. For this event I agreed to host the craft, which consisted of a make -n- take card. What I envisioned as being about 75 at the most has turned into 200+ women. That's a large amount of trimming, stamping, hole punching, ribbon cutting, flower sorting, bagging of items!!! Yesterday I sent out and SOS to my friends for help to finish completing the last 106 bags. Three of them graciously spent 2 1/2 hours with me working non-stop! I owe them lots of chocolate goodies tonight :) To think, I was going to try and finish that project by myself last night. I would have been up all night. On top of the craft I prepared to decorate 2 tables....one in a beach theme & one in a scrapbooking theme. I handed over the goods to Sheila & Jackie and gave them free creative reign to put the tables together and the rocked the house. I will post pictures later of how incredibly adorable the tables turned out. So, after work tonight I have one more shopping spree to pick up 3 last minute things for the event and then the only thing left for me to do is show up & be prepared to enjoy!!!

2nd Deadline: Wednesday of this week began Battle of the Creative Teams (see yesterdays post for further explanation). I have to get my layout created & uploaded to Angel tomorrow (Sat) morning before I leave the house at 9:15 a.m. I work the Food Pantry until noon and then have my nephews graduation party to attend from 1:00 until ?? The layouts for this contest have to be "quality controlled" by Angel to make sure we have met all the requirements, etc. I have no clue yet as to what pictures I will even use in my layout.

3rd Deadline: I received an email from Lorilei this week with a new kit she has coming out soon. The coupon codes she gives to download are only good until a certain day (usually just a few days from the day she emails you) and then I have to have my LO created, posted to 3 galleries & sent to her within 3 days from the day I download. My deadline for that is tomorrow, Saturday. I sure hope my creative juices are flowing tomorrow and that I do not break any fingers, wrists, arms, etc. between now & the time I get these deadlines met. Ok, I don't want to break any of those things EVER!!!!

So, that is a little of my insane life right now. Before I go, I must add that I did take some time while sitting in Taco Bell drive thru today to enjoy the beauty around me. There is a huge flowering bush beside the drive thru with all these purple blooms. There were gobs of bees going from bloom to bloom having a grand 'ol time. Then, there was this little bird that caught my eye. He (or she...I really do not know bird anatomy) was perched upon a light post just looking around. He flew over my car and landed on the concrete and again, was just looking around. He hopped down the sidewalk and then flew up onto another light post. I don't know why all this was so entertaining. Probably because these creatures of God's design are living their lives in the moment. They aren't thinking about all their deadlines....what bills have to be paid next....if there is food stored up in their cupboards. No, they are doing what they do....existing. So, for a few moments in my hectic weeks-end, I took a few short minutes to enjoy life. I smiled :)

BOTCT (Battle of the Creative Teams) Week 1

It's Sooooooo on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



I signed up to participate in this a few months ago and the time has finally arrived. I am so excited....so nervous.....so pumped! I am on a team with 4 other ladies and the 5 of us represent the store, Pretty Scrappy. We call ourselves the Busy Bees. This is the avatar one our teammates, Emily, created for me....



I so LOVE the camo hard hat.....we are fierce group of bees I tell ya!

I need YOUR help. If you are reading this, I am asking you to support this endeavor I am on. Now, this is a contest so that means there is a prize! At the end of the 4 weeks, whichever team has the highest cumlative points, WINS! Voting is done by the PUBLIC....YOU!!! Our entries must be posted by midnight (eastern) on Sunday and voting begins on Monday and ends Tuesday at midnight (eastern). No exceptions!!! I hope you will head over to the forum where this is taking place and register so you can start voting on 7/20/09. Will you do that for me? Here is the link: http://www.digiscrapaddicts.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=125. If you have any questions/problems registering, please leave me a comment or email me. I imagine they will post a thread that will appear after midnight on Sunday where you will get to vote but I am not sure how they will do it for certain. Again, our TEAM NAME IS....BUSY BEES! NOT to be confused with the team The Honey Bees!!!!

We have our assignment for week 1 and our team has decided on the various Pretty Scrappy kits we will be using along with a few special instructions for our layouts. This is working differently than I had thought it would. Each week, each of us on our team must create & upload 1 layout. But, the kicker is....each of our LO's must coordinate with each others in a certain theme/style. Not that they have to look exactly alike in design....not at all. For instance, this week our challenge is to use WHITE SPACE and our layouts have to have a similar color scheme, i.e. monochromatic, red/white/blue, etc. I flipped when I saw our challenge was white space....I love using white space. All this means, if you don't know, is you have a large area of your background without any elements. There are several ways to create white spaced layouts and I am certainly going to stalk the digi-scrap world for some awesome inspiration in design.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks in advance if you choose to help me out by registering to vote!!