Good Week!

I'm having a good week! I feel like I'm starting to get some traction with reCREATE. I was able to present it to the Leadership class here in my town, and made a few excellent contacts.

You might notice that I had to turn on the word verification on my comments section... sorry... I'm getting some spam comments... so don't click on the links you see in the comments area. It is so irritating!

I have a LO almost done of Zachie.. and a few more in my head I hope to get done this weekend!

Thanks for stopping by... have a great weekend!

Sweet Baby Ci

I had to scrap this picture of my daughter sleeping. You can tell by her positions and the look of peace in her face that she loves sleepingas much as me. I wish Zach was the same... he wakes up alot and has trouble self soothing.

It was fun to scrap... but even walking away from it for 2 weeks is making me feel rusty and unsure of myself. I must scrap a page a day until I feel like I am in the groove again!

Hope you got to see the Lunar eclipse tonight... it was cool!

Here are a few others...

or this

biz cards

Front of Card

Back of Card

(I'm going to rotate the circle so the type is facing upwards to match the vertical front of the card.)


I am LOVING the Linda (Lindsan) designed logo for reCREATE!

Here is the mock up of my biz cards... what do you think?
As I mentioned before... it is critical for recreate to be a stylish thing here in this area or it just won't make it.

Feedback and ideas happily accepted... as I haven't sent out to the printer yet!
Thanks everyone!!

I Couldn't do it...

 

Tonight, after a fun day with the kids, Sela is getting her book and I'm singing her her good night song, and she gives me the worlds largest hug and kiss and I put her in her crib, and she looks up at me with her big beautiful eyes, and says, Momma, "Where's my night night?" What I heard was, "Momma - I suffered last night, please please let me be a baby a little longer, you know you are dying to give me back my binky...after that hug and kiss, can you really deny me?"

I caved... conditionally. The binky is only for bedtime... and if we have any more problems with her tearing up her crib... then she will NOT have the binky any longer.

I swear she is still smiling in her sleep. You should have seen the pure joy in her face when I gave it back.

I may be a bad mom for caving... but I'm not sure two year olds understand forever. Last night was a forever for her... and after plenty of tears of my own, I decided I would really like her goodbye to her beloved binky to by a happy celebration, completed with a send off of the binkies to the binky fairy!

The Envelope please....

Before I announce the winner of the logo contest... I want to thank Linda and Dawn and Taylor for submitting logo designs to me. All of the entries were appealing and all for different reasons.

Dawn and Taylor creatively used the Reuse logo to make a reCREATE logo.... and I would have never thought to do that. It was incredibly creative.

I live in a city that could be consered "consumer heaven" there is a huge mall, and people LOVE to shop here... so one thing I knew about how I package reCREATE is that re-use needs to look hip and cool.... and Linda captured that perfectly in her crisp clean designs....

So... the winning logo for reCREATE is:




Linda;
Please tell me your favorite digi store... and I will send you a gift card!

Thank you so much ladies for offering up your incredible talents. I truly appreciate it!!

Goodbye My Friend. We will miss you

So I'm sitting here at the computer with tears in my eyes... Sela has finally fallen asleep for the first night without her pacifier. Oh how she loved her "mouth night night". That is what Zach called them - and the name just stuck - Sela adopted it, along with her love for the little suckey.
Today we had a little power play going on. Sela has been tearing up her bed at nap time, and I told her if she did it again, she would lose her pacifier... for good. (probably an over reaction from me... - but I have been fighting a nasty cold for days and just wanted her to nap so SHE too can get over her cold.) So she calls out to me a bit later... and I go in and her room is torn apart again. So I picked up her "night night" and told her to say Goodbye - and she smiled and said, "bye bye night night" (obviously not believing I would actually get rid of it.)
So night time rolls around.... and we put her to bed, and she said, "I want my mouth night night." And I said Sela - you know you can't have it anymore. And her eyes well up with tears and she says, "but I love it." At this point I'm feeling like the meanest mom in the entire world. But we had talked about it several times during the day. So she cried and cried... and I cried. And I got myself together, and went in and rocked her, and got her to stop crying, and put her back to bed, and she wimpered for a few more minutes and then fell asleep.
So Sela - I just want you to know that this hurt me just as much as you... maybe more, as I am still wiping away the tears. My little baby is quickly becoming a little girl... and I'm not sure I am ready for it.
I love you Ci... slow down for Mama, ok?

Zach's Pirate Party

 

Here are some fun pictures from Zach's birthday party. Check out the cupcakes... my crafty friend Dusti made them. Seriously - the girl is "da bomb!" She has more crafty talent in her little finger than I have in my body! The pictures are a little harsh because it was such a bright sunshiney day... but I love the smiles on the kids! You will notice Zach had a cake too... because - you know, in his words, "you get more with cake!". My husband Mark came up with great clues for the treasure hunt - and it was fun to see their little brains figure them out! Zach wasn't happy about not winning the X Marks the Spot (ala Pin the tail on the donkey)
or Bean bag toss in the treasure chest. He obviously got my competitive genes!

Sometimes You Beat the Clock and Sometimes....

Zach and Sela are tucked in their beds.... the Pirate party was a great success. I think everyone had fun. Zach will be building Legos for months... he is over the moon with his gifts.

So... what is this about a clock? Well... as I've been talking about for weeks, my grant was due on Wednesday at 5:00pm. I did my part and got it to the organization that was to be my fiscal reciever with plenty of time to get signatures and submit it. (They already have non-profit status and I don't...yet) So... the bottom line is, that they submitted the grant late - 7 minutes to be exact... and to leave out all the drama - it will not be considered.
I know that there are many other opportunities for grants, but I have a heavy heart and feel like I was let down. So... my lesson of the day should be
1. People sometimes misjudge how long it will take to do something
2. You need to seriously consider who you partner with

So... I know reCREATE will happen... I just keep wondering what my best path is. Am I harsh if I tell them I can't work with them...
Or am I naive if I give them another opportunity to profoundly affect my ablity to fund raise?

On a happy note.... Woo Hoo!! Linda and Tada- Taylor and Dawn sent over some lovely logos... I will post them tomorrow... and let you oogle at them!
If anyone else wants to submit... email me at donnarws at yahoo.com

Thanks for stopping by! Advice is happilty accepted!

So Missing the Playground

Wow... I had no idea that grant writing was so consuming. The things I have learned through this journey about how usable trash is handled and how California struggles to keep art alive in the schools is fascinating. The grant is due on Wednesday. Zach's Birthday is on Saturday... so I likely won't be playing in the playground until next week. I really want to go check out everyone's blog and see what you have been creating... but I must stay focused... and with that I am back to my final read of my revisions for today. Have a great week!

Designer Contest - Logo for reCREATE

Ok all you creative types out there... I need a logo for reCREATE.

Here is what reCREATE is all about - we take unwanted stuff from local businesses and re-use it for creative and environmental learning purposes. For example - the local sign company or printer has over runs and excess from their production... we take it, and use it for an environmental lesson about re-use, with a fun art project. Examples of other groups doing this are here and here.

SO... here is the deal... this program will be run as a non-profit. So I don't have a marketing budget but I need a logo... but I'd like to have a contest to develop a logo for my cards, materials and header for my blog/website. If I pick yours - I get all ownership rights - with no-strings - you get a gift certificate for $50.00 to your favorite digi shoppe!! You choose!

What do you need to know? The Color Green needs to be part of the logo. The logo should be clean and easy to read - but somehow should reflect art and re-use. There is a re-use logo here ... but I'm not sure it has to be part of the logo design - I can integrate it elsewhere.

Contest Starts Now and Ends February 15th - midnight PST.
Decision will be made by February 20th,and posted here on the blog.
I will put details on where to send them once we get going.

If you have any other questions... post em here and I'll answer them! Thanks in advance for helping me with my vision to reduce waste in my community - and have fun while doing it!

Organized!

My friend Tezra motivated me to make a post about the new look for our bonus room. (She was giving me credit for having an organized scrap area)

Mark installed a wall unit across the back of our bonus room, and the kids each got their own adjustable desks. (Sela's with a pink chair, and Zach's with a tractor seat chair.)

Soooo happy! Sooo appreciative of my husband finding a way to make this room look good without spending a fortune. I'd tell you where we bought it... but I don't want my friend Susan to cringe - she *HATES* Ikea. ooops - sorry Susan!

Gotta love my parents for TOTALLY spoiling us for Christmas and footing much of the bill for this little project. I still need to move all my stuff into it's proper place... but I am so loving this that I had to share!

LO Credits: Papers - Ping Designs Laidback (LOVE this kit!!)
Template Lindsay Jane Designs (picture added at the bottom)
Fonts: Arial / CK invitation

Arrrr - Zach's Pirate Invitation

Finally I got to my blog to update it. It has been a little wild around here working on my grant proposal and keeping my family happy too.

Here is Zach's Pirate Invitation that follows the Save the Date I sent out. On the treasure map portion, I took a map of our nearby streets and superimposed them onto the map so that the X lands on our street. It was quite fund and I was happy with the results. I wanted to put them in a bottle with a bit of sand and pretend jewels... but I had to tell myself just get them out and spend the extra time on the party. Now I have to plan the treasure hunt, which should be fun.
So we stay green, we'll be making pirate telescopes out of old paper towel rolls as one of the party activities. The pirate chest will be an old box that we decorate, and I am going to stop by Whole Foods to buy the "earth friendly" paper plates. I read recently that there are 700,000 birthday parties every day in the US... imagine the amount of garbage that produces.... eww.
So... I'll try to do my small part.

Still putting together ideas for the pirate loot bags - if you have an idea leave me a comment!
Hope you all are having a fantastic week... and I promise to be here more with new posts soon!
Oh... and the credits for the invitation are:
khadfield pirate doodles
hroselli yohoyoho pirate kit (Sweet Shoppe Designs)
font: CK invitation

G is for Grumpy!

This picture just cracks me up - Sela rarely pouts for more than a second - but this time she was really mad that mean ol' Namie wouldn't let her near the hot stove to help make pancakes. She had a spatula and was READY! While she doesn't pull out the pout very often, she has mastered the stuck out bottom lip!

Credits:
Papers JSprague Festa
Jen Wilson reJenerate Quick page template
Arrow - Danielle Young Bungalow - recolored
Fonts: Century Gothic, CK Fraternity

"Doesn't she have two kids?"

You may or may not have noticed that I haven't been doing many layouts of my little girl recently. Every time I would try to journal about her, my eyes would literally well up with tears - because we're just having a "moment together" these days. I can't find the words to describe it - and I know I have gone through this with Zachie at times too... where my love feels so deep that I can't appropriately capture my feelings on paper.
My Sela girl will just make up a song and sing to herself and dance in the shopping cart to the background music at the grocery store... she is just too sweet for words at the moment - and my journaling doesn't do her justice... but she is too dang cute not to scrap!

Credits: Template - Jen Caputo
Papers - Jen Wilson Comfy Jammies
Fonts: Impact, Kayleigh and Century Gothic.

What a difference a day makes

Wow. I feel like my life is back on track so I got a layout done today. Had a great afternoon with my kids - we made cookies and dinner together, and just had fun.
This layout is about my little Zach and his love for morning time - early morning time. I don't share this love with him... and thankfully neither does my daughter. It isn't that I hate mornings... it is just that I think it should be a time for quiet reflection and planning for your day. My son wakes up and is ready to go fullspeed ahead.... much like my mom. My husband once took his clock and taped over everything but the hour portion, and told him he could only get out of bed when the number hit 7.... so he would call from his bed, "I think my clock is broken!!" I wish I could be like that in the morning.

I Un LOADed today

No Layout today. I just decided I can't juggle any more things, and the layout was the rational thing to drop. I am really getting serious about this reCREATE thing. I was talking to my husband about something the other day, and said, "My girls"... and he said which girls, and I said - you know my "digi peeps".... which is funny because I don't talk that way.... so he comes in today and says - "you ought to get your "digi peeps" involved in your reCREATE project... if they put their focus into your project, you could have it going be next week!"
So... should you have a spare moment in between layouts, and you'd like to say, Write a grant, build a budget or help me with my website - just say the word or peep!

Arrrr Mateys - Get Ready to Sail

I'm so thrilled with how this turned out... Zach just decided what kind of party he wants on Friday... and he likes "nice" pirates... it is less than easy to find cute pirate stuff... so I was so happy I found this clip art and was able to play with it. I extracted Zach's picture from some shots of them playing in the front yard.... and turned him into a pirate. (This is the save the date notification - and I will get the invitation done later this week.) And YAHOO - my LOAD layout for today is done because I will definitely include this with his birthday pages! Thanks for looking and thanks ladies for all the nice comments... I'm luvin' the luv!

Credits: Paper M Mareda Home(recolored), KHadfield Pirate doodles, paper tears - Jen Caputo, font: CK centurion

My mom is coming to watch the kids today so I can get my grant draft completed for my first grant submission for reCREATE... trying to pump myself up to get it done.

Snow cute

Ok... the truth is I should be putting my little boys invitations together for his birthday... but I'll do that as soon as I throw this together (I mean THROW together a layout). I promise to be better tomorrow and make a prettier one... the picture makes up for my lazines on this one! This was Zach't first trip to the snow and he was all smiles.

Credits: Lriordan blog white paper
font:2peas fixin to
Frame: K Pertiet Crystalized edgers

Pullin' out the Baby Pictures

I really might take a break from this challenge tomorrow - I must admit I hate to quit things - so even though I need to be focusing my time on other things I'm still pushing myself to get a page done every day..... anyone else doing the challenge feeling that way?!
This layout is of Zach at 8 month - these pictures reminded me of how much fun we had that month... I had just quit my job and Mark was gone, so it was just Zach and I - we napped and played and had such a nice time. I need to strive to be that mom that focuses so well on each moment with my kids, that I was then. Feeling like I have been too grumpy and distracted as of late. Will try and be better tomorrow!

Layout Credits:
EMerritt - Doodled Words in title
SP.com Festival Scallop Border
Frame - Tia Bennet New Growth Brushes
Font: CK Renaissance
Thanks for looking!