Sweet Dreams, Baby!

The new prompt is up at Scrap That Baby! This time, we're scrapping pictures of baby sleeping. It took me a while to find a picture for this one, because Jonah hardly ever sleeps anywhere but his crib. And well, we don't really take the risk of waking him up to sneak in his room and snap pictures of him sleeping.. lol! But, he did somehow manage to fall asleep in his stroller... at the airshow, of all places, with jets zooming overhead. Maybe the big ear protection Daddy made him wear really works? lolI finally got to use the Sassafras Mix & Mend collection, and I absolutely love it! It may actually be my favorite line that Sass has ever made! It's just so absolutely perfect, it makes my heart smile! :) Again, I used burlap on this layout.. are you ladies used to hearing that by now? lol I have A LOT of it! But this time I used it as a mask. :)

Anyways, head on over to Scrap That Baby and submit your layout for a chance to win a prize from our lovely sponsor, Catch the Moments kits!

-Dani

Scrap that Baby... and the Grandparents!

There's a new prompt up at Scrap That Baby! This time, Sarah is asking us to scrap the baby and the grandparents in honor of Grandparent's Day. When I saw this prompt on the list waaayyy back in April, I was excited! I knew that I'd have the opportunity to have the perfect pictures for it because my parents were coming all the way out here to California to visit. And I got some good ones. The one I used on this layout is one of my favorites! Jonah loves his Paw Paw!
Isn't it just the sweetest?! And how about those hot air balloons? Sassafras rocks my world!

Well, what are you waiting for?? Head on over to Scrap That Baby and play with us!!
-Dani

Scrap That Baby blog hop winner!!

Normally I'm old fashioned and actually draw a name from a 'hat' but today I'm running short on time. So I used old-faithful, random.org.



And according to random.org, our winner is.............

REBEKAH!!!!!

Rebekah, please send your address to tdsmith22@gmail.com and I will get your prize out to you ASAP!

Thanks everyone for playing along and following my blog! =)

Boooo.. it's Monday, but yay for sketches!

Wow this weekend flew by!! We had a great weekend full of lots and lots of family time! We shopped pretty much all day on Saturday for some new clothes (yay!). By the way, the clearance section at Old Navy is a MUST right now! They actually had shorts for $1.97! And then yesterday was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! It was warmer, though the wind was still a little chilly. We spent a lot of time outside playing with the little man though. The one thing about Monterey is that the parks here are amazing. We took Jonah to the Dennis the Menace park today, which we go to a lot. It's an awesome park, so if you have kids and ever visit the Monterey area, it should definitely be added to your agenda! Oh and I got a haircut! =) I like it a lot! My hair hasn't been this short since before Jonah.

Enough about that though. It's Monday. That means sketches! First up, we have Sketch 214 from Scrapbook Challenges.

And here's my take:


Next up, we have sketch 13 from Scrap For Therapy. SFT is a brand new forum that I've been helping out with in the past few months. I've been trying my hand at designing sketches. Though I'm still not very good at it, I'm designing SFT's sketches. Head to the forum and check it out and try out the sketches to be entered into the drawing for the monthly prize!

And here is what one of our wonderful DT member Katie Tennis did with it:


I sure do hope you all enjoyed the Scrap That Baby blog hop! (Winners will be announced on the 25th!) I REALLLLY hope you all enjoyed it.... because there will be 2 more coming your way here soon, within days of each other. Keep a look out for those at the beginning of September!

Who doesn't love a good blog hop??

I told you all that Wednesday would be fun!! =) BTW, I'm scheduling my post 15 minutes before the hop starts. It officially starts at 8am EST.

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Welcome to the Scrap that Baby's Sweet Summertime blog hop!!

Thank you so much for hopping along on our first ever blog hop!

If you didn't come from Maya's blog or you popped upon this blog and didn't realize we were blog hopping you need to go to Scrap That Baby and start the HOP! You will need to comment on ALL of the blogs to be eligible for the grand prizes listed on the main site! Plus so many of our awesome designers are giving away a prize on their blogs as well. You will not want to miss out. There are MANY MANY chances to win!

Our theme for this blog hop is SWEET SUMMERTIME!! The members of our design team will all be sharing fantastic summer projects, stories, tips or ideas for keeping cool and having fun in the summer with a baby along.

Here are a few ideas by Dani (That's me! lol):

This layout is from a trip to the beach back in April. It was actually warm then!


The format for this hop said that we could insert stories. I just want to say that I don't have any summer stories including little Mr. Jonah man. Why? Well because, being Southern, my idea of summer includes intense heat, humidity, and spending time by the lake. Here, on the central coast of California, we've barely reached 70 degrees, and those days are rare. Soo our summer this year has just consisted of hikes and doing things indoors. But next year we'll be in Texas in the summertime!

I do have some tips though. Some of you may know, my other hobby is couponing. I'm always looking out for good deals. Throughout the summer, you can find coupons for general summertime items like sunscreen and bug spray, as well as even some apparel coupons like from target.com. A lot of times the coupons won't expire for months, so hang onto them until summer is winding down and products go on clearance. Use this opportunity to stock up for next year! Same goes with summer toys and clothes for the kiddos!

And lastly, I want to share a recipe for one of my favorite summer foods. Sadly, I don't have a picture.. but trust me, it's delicious and my little man likes it too!

Spaghetti Salad
1 lb spaghetti
1 bottle Italian dressing
1 large tomato
1 bunch of green onions
1 large cucumber
vegetable seasoning
garlic powder
onion powder
celery seed

Cook spaghetti according to directions on package. Meanwhile, chop tomato, green onions, and cucumber. Once the spaghetti is drained and cooled, mix in the veggies, Italian dressing, and spices. Mix well. Refrigerate. Serve cold.


But wait, there's more! In addition to the prize you can win from the main blog, I am also hosting my own giveaway! Become a follower of my blog and comment that you did, and you will be entered to win 10 various KI Memories papers and some KI Memories embellishments.


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Our blog hop run from today, August 18th until August 22nd . Invite your
friends to play for extra entries. You must comment on all the blogs for a chance at the main prize
The Scrap that Baby blog will be drawing for prizes on Wednesday August 25th! .

The next stop on the blog hop is........ BRANDI!

Getting back into the swing of things...

I think I'm finally, finally, FINALLY getting back into the swing of things, though it hasn't helped that we've been without internet service for 3 days. I've been scrapping though.. and it has been SOOO much fun! I actually did a layout today, but I will be sharing it on Wednesday. Why Wednesday, you ask... well check back in on Wednesday and find out. ;) I promise you won't be disappointed.

A new prompt was posted at Scrap That Baby yesterday!! The prompt, Step By Step, is to scrap baby walking, crawling, rolling, or any other way they can be 'on the move'! This prompt was actually ALMOST perfect for me, as Jonah just took off and started walking the other day. He had had first steps already and would walk a few at a time, but he's walking at least 8-10 steps at a time now. Anyways, I didn't have pictures printed of that in time, so my layout is of him crawling in the sand on a trip to the beach back in April.


And since today is Monday, a new sketch was posted at Scrapbook Challenges! I really wanted to do this one REALLY badly, but since the internet was out, I couldn't get online to get the sketch, or to post it for that matter. I know this is definitely one I will go back and do in the future because it definitely fits my style! =)


And last but not least, my project was featured on Momenta's blog today. It's just a sweet and simple layout featuring the Family Ties collection, which happens to be my favorite Momenta collection!

Don't forget to check back in Wednesday for some FUN! =)
-Dani

Paint technique up at Scrap That Baby

Today was my day to put together a technique post for Scrap That Baby. I, of course, decided to use paint. I'm not going to pass up any opportunity to get paint on my hands!! It seems to me that a lot of people stay away from paint for some reason or another. I just want to encourage you all to bust out some paint! It doesn't have to be the expensive kind or anything.. I use the cheap acrylic paint that you can get for like $1 or $2. And they have so many colors, you can't go wrong! And I also recommend puffy paints too.. you can get those for cheap as well!

Anyways, the topic of my post is using paint to add texture and interest to your mini albums. Of course you can use these techniques in everyday scrapbooking too. Head on over to Scrap That Baby to see my tips!

Here's my mini album (visit Scrap That Baby for the bigger pictures of the techniques):


Two awesome things I must say about this mini album. 1--I used all scraps!! 2-- I took all of the pictures in it!! I know it's a simple mini album, but that was the point. I wanted the emphasis to be on the paint.

Don't forget to check out my post at Scrap That Baby!!
-Dani

It's Monday already?!

Aw man!! Why can't the weekend be 5 days long and the regular week be 2 days? Wouldn't that be much nicer? I had a great weekend, even though we didn't really do anything. I had big plans for the weekend.. so much I wanted to do. Buttt the weather was crappy. I haven't seen sunshine in about 3 days or so now.. so much for sunny California. And it's cold. It feels like winter outside. I saw my breath yesterday in the middle of the day. BRRRRRRRR! I think I'm ready to head back to the South! Ahhh wouldn't it be nice to just go fishing, dip my toes in the water, and sip on some good ol' sweet tea all the while not freezing my little butt off! Don't get me wrong, I love California.. but SHEEESH!

Anyways, I've got a sketch reveal!! As soon as I saw this sketch, I knew I had to do it! I love it so much! It's sketch 200 at Scrapbook Challenges. If you do the sketch, join the group and upload it to the gallery and sketch post to get your name entered in the drawing for this month's fabulous sponsor prize!

There is also a two page version of this sketch in the group. Here's my take:


It didn't turn out quite as I had hoped that it would, but eh.. sometimes that happens I guess. I still love the sketch though and will probably end up doing it again sometime! =)

Also, I would like to remind you that the new prompt is up at Scrap That Baby. This time the prompt is Fun and Games. We're urging you to either scrap that baby doing something fun or maybe come up with some fun craft project or game for your little one! I didn't take part in this prompt this time, but there are some awesome examples from the rest of the design team!!

Lastly, I'd like to repost the May coupon for Momenta.

If you haven't added Momenta on facebook, you definitely should! Here lately they've been giving out some coupon codes that are pretty sweet. On top of that, once the page hits 600 fans, they're giving away a $50 gift certificate to one lucky fan!

Well, that's all for now! Hope you ladies have a great week! =)

I've got paint on my hands!

I'm working on a special post for Scrap That Baby about paint! There's just something about paint that soothes my soul. I've been playing around in my scraproom for a few hours now with nothing but some paint. And let me tell you, I haven't been so scrap-induced happy in quite a while! I just love paint! Anyways, I wanted to post a few sneaks of what I'm working on! (Yes, I'm that excited about paint!)

I wish Mother's Day would've lasted the whole week.

Yesterday was awesome! I didn't change a single diaper, and I didn't have to make any bottles!! I slept as late as I wanted and did what I wanted all day. I got to forget about our diet and pick anything I wanted for dinner and Daniel made it!! He also built me a really awesome HUGE planter box for my veggies. I'll post pictures of it later. The only thing I forgot about yesterday was to take a picture of Jonah and me. I'll have to do that today and just pretend it was yesterday.

Anyways, since today is Monday, that means the new sketch is up at Scrapbook Challenges! I didn't get around to doing this one, but I figured I'd post it anyways.


What a great sketch, right?! You should head on over there and check out what the rest of the DT did with the sketch.. simply amazing! If you do it, post it in the group for a chance to win the awesome sponsor prize this month! You don't wanna miss out on that.

Also, I new technique went up at Scrap That Baby this weekend. Go check it out to learn how to make adorable little prize ribbons!! So cute! I'm going to give it a go later today.. they're just too adorable not to try! =)

Hope everyone has a great Monday!

I've got reveals... and a coupon! =)

Oh my goodness, how much fun was this weekend?! I "scrapped" all weekend. And the reason scrapped is in quotes is because I only actually did 2 pages.. the rest of me "scrapping" was me blog hopping and cropping. Ahh.. the joys of talking too much. It was a good weekend though. I actually got Daniel (my husband) in to my scraproom Saturday night. He started a page, but hasn't finished it yet because he just had to go grill some steak (who cares if neither of us had eaten in HOURS.. and who cares if we were starving?? I'm sure it was just a cheap ploy to get out of scrapping with me.. haha). I'll keep y'all posted on that!

So to my reveals. First off, it's Monday! That means it's sketch day at Scrapbook Challenges! WooHoo! I love Pamela's sketches!

(There's also a 2 page version of this sketch posted at Scrapbook Challenges)
Here's my take:

Quite a mix of manufacturers there.. I've got Crate Paper, Lily Bee, and some KI Memories (Elsie of course). I just love these pictures, too. Captain is such a sweet, patient soul.. he'll put up with just about everything Jonah throws at him!

Also, there's a new prompt up at Scrap That Baby! May 1st's prompt is all about Easter!! So yes, it's time to pull out those Easter pictures from a month ago and get to scrapping that baby!!

I can't believe how perfectly the Anna Griffin "Darcey" collection matched these pictures of my little man! And thank goodness for my friend Jenny who let me borrow her bunny punch! =)

In other exciting news, I've been too busy to properly announce it.. butttt.. I've been asked to join the Momenta design team as well! There's all sorts of exciting things happening at Momenta right now. One thing that's new and awesome is that they've launched their new online store! It just went live a few days ago, and there are some bugs being worked out still. Anyways, I've got a coupon for you!!

Just go here to start shopping!

Hope everyone has a great Monday.. and recuperates well from all of the NSD festivities!
-Dani

What's in a name?

That's the new prompt up at Scrap That Baby. When I saw this prompt, I squealed with excitement!! I've been meaning to make a mini album listing all of the little nicknames that we call Jonah, I just hadn't had the motivation/inspiration. As soon as I saw the prompt, I knew it'd be perfect!!!



All of the inside pages are based on the same simple design, so I won't bore you will all of them but here's one.



The other nicknames I included were Bone, Bean, Babysaurus, and Big'un. Looks like we may like B's a little. Butttt I can't believe I forgot the one that we use most often, Mr. Baby/Mr. Baby Sir. So I suppose that one will have to have it's own 12x12 page soon.

Everyone on the DT rocked this prompt! Head on over there and check out the inspiration... and join in the challenge!!

In other news, I'd like to hint that on Sunday I'm going to post something exciting!! =) I can't wait! For now, I'm busy preparing for it though.

I hope everyone has a fabulous Thursday!!

Oh, the day Jonah was born...

I don't think I will ever forget that day. I mean, with the pain, long hours of labor, and no food, who could? Oh, and of course my beautiful baby boy... weighing in at a whopping 9 lbs 10 oz. Aside from my own happiness, another thing that I will never forget is how insanely happy my husband was. He's such a natural Daddy.

Anyways, to the point.. yes, Scrap That Baby's second prompt. The first prompt of April is "On the day that you were born...". This was the very first prompt that the DT got to work on.. and let me tell you, there are tons of creativity and talent over there! Here is my layout:


I almost forgot to mention the best part!! If you do this prompt and post it before April 13, you could win a prize! That's right.. we have a sponsor! Up for grabs is a $10 gift certificate to In A Scrap Creations. So y'all get busy scrappin' those babies!

Well, I'm off to San Francisco to pick up my parents at the airport! Woo! I haven't seen them in 6 months! I hope everyone has a great Easter weekend!
-Dani

I'm ready to scrap that baby!

My wonderfully amazing husband has been trying to get me to apply for design team calls for a while now. I had wanted to, but wasn't sure if I "could", ya know? I figured I needed a new challenge, and I'm definitely ok with the commitment.. so I did it. I applied for one. And I got it!

I am now on the design team for Scrap That Baby, a new inspiration blog for pregnancy, baby, and toddler scrapbook layouts, altered items, etc. There are 2 prompts each month to inspire you to scrap that baby. Also, there will be 2 tutorials/tips/articles from the DT each month!

The first prompt was just posted on the 15th: Shower Me With Babies. This was before the DT was picked, so I don't have a project to post for it. You can join in the fun and post yours though! The deadline for this prompt is March 29th! Who knows? Your project may be chosen as a favorite and published on the blog!