PrimaHybrid Flower Girl Blog Party

It's PrimaHybrid's grand 0pening day finally and a few of the Flower Girls decided to throw a blog party, and of course that means that you all get the presents! We put together some 8x8 templates to share with you all.
You can DL my blog party gift Here. It will be available until Monday, February 4.
**no longer available**

go check out the other Flower Girls' blogs and pick up some more goodies!
Andrea - http://www.andreagourley.blogspot.com/
Julie Ann - http://jshahin.blogspot.com/
Danielle - http://www.danielleflanders.blogspot.com/
Jess - http://scrapbookideas.wordpress.com/
Kristin - http://wyowoman.blogspot.com
Amy - http://alb52.typepad.com/
Di - http://dihickman.blogspot.com/
Cathy - http://paper-cat.blogspot.com/

I've included instructions on how to use digital layout templates in my template DL, and you can also find some on Di's blog.

Don't forget to go stock up at PrimaHybrid- the whole store is 25% off through February 4, and drop by the chat room at DigiShopTalk tonight at 10P EST/ 7P PST to find out all about PrimaHyrbid and pick up a de-lish goodie too!

Here's a little taste of one of the new things in the shop today, and one of the blog party gifts:

credits can be seen HERE

and here's a small peek at the chat goodie you can pick up tonight at DST- see you there!

credits can be seen HERE

New templates at Scrapdish today

I put a bunch of new templates in my store this morning- three more layout templates in the Great Grids series to along with my Great Grids: 28 Square template, and the do-it-yourself version of the petal boxes I've made quite a few of for CT assignments this month. The bookmark templates were put in the store a couple of weeks ago, but I'm not sure I mentioned them here yet.

Latest photos

I knew I would fall off the Photo-a-day bandwagon LOL I think I might still try and put together photo montages- it's not like I don't have several hundred photos from this month, they just were taken more in clumps as the month wore on. Here's a few from the last week that I think might be of interest.

Brenna wearing the red rainboots that I was given a plant in at my baby shower for her. After almost 5 years she can finally wear them!
We got the kid size table and chairs out last week- can't remember the occasion at the moment- but our two little DDs have been enjoying them immensely, bringing all of the various dolls and stuff friends down from their room to enjoy snack and tea time with them. And of course everyone has to appropriately dressed in a bib so that they don't get their clothes or fur messy ;)
My new scrapbooking/hybrid toy came via UPS yesterday afternoon. I spent some of my Christmas gift money on this baby. I need to find a big project to give it a try on!
One copy of a printed, bound book of a story that Bryce wrote and illustrated in Language Arts class last semester. They were supposed to arrive in time for Christmas, but only came home yesterday. I guess they will be given out as Valentine's day presents to those they were intended for ;)

our new dining table set that was delivered at lunchtime today from Sunday's birthday shopping trip.

The house is quiet and I am going to go enjoy my dinner in peace. Why is my house quiet, you ask? I was carrying my overflowing laundry basket downstairs so that I could get started on it while waiting for the furniture delivery guys, and I slipped..... I have severely sprained my left ankle now as it was caught underneath me and twisted in a bad way as I slid down the stairs. The last time I did this before we had Brenna I was hobbling around for over 6 weeks, and I'm sure this time is just as bad as that. I think it is not hurting so bad at the moment because I took a bunch of ibuprofen, have ice on it, and it's just getting numb. I called hubby at work and told him he was in charge of dinner tonight and that he would probably be taking the kids to the library this evening too because I am not standing up any more than I have to. His idea of taking care of dinner was to take them out for pizza LOL! I guess I don't mind being left behind too much, as long as they bring me a slice or two to enjoy later! ;)

Happy Birthday to me

So, my birthday was this last weekend, and it was good. I went to TrinityCrops Friday night, and then Saturday I went out scrapping all day with my friends Bonnie and Becky. We went to a crop put on by a local group, and it was nice to have time to work on things without being interrupted every 5 minutes. I made it a 'CT free weekend' and chose to work on pictures that I had bought specific kits for. It felt good to use some of the things that had been sitting on my HD untouched for so long!
Friday night I did this page of Sarah for Michelle Godin's birthday blog challenge:
and since there were only 2 of us to participate in this challenge, Michelle was really sweet and gave us both GCs to spend in her store at SBG :)

At Saturday's crop I focused on the never-ending stack of vacation 2006 photos. I got several pages done for that vacation. Somehow I don't think though that I will have them all scrapped before the next big vacation this summer- we're looking into taking the older kids to Disney since Grandmama offered to watch the little ones while we are gone, but shhhh... it's a secret! ;) If anyone has a good source for package Disney deals we would appreciate knowing about them. I'd love to be able to stay in a Disney hotel this time around, but from what we've found so far it's not looking too promising price wise.

These two pages are from the special candy exhibit we saw at the Virigina Science Museum:

credits: Candy Coated by Gina Miller and Natalie Braxton; Foam Stamped Alpha by Jessica Bolton; Grunge City alpha stamps by Michelle Godin; frame cluster by Nancy Comelab; fonts: Horse Puke, CK Becky

Science City in Kansas City Union Station was one of the funnest science centers we went to. I love the optical art section. I thought I had taken a few more pictures in that area, but I guess the quarters were just too cramped as I only found the one of Beth standing on the sideways staircase.

credits: Grunge City by Michelle Godin; layout template by Jen Caputo; fonts: TXT Abrasive

the twins were excited to get to ride a sky bike too at Science City- they weren't quite big enough for the one at the Franklin Science Museum in Philadelphia that Bryce and Mark rode.

credits: Grunge City by Michelle Godin; Smarties Templates collection 5 by Teresa Ferguson; fonts: TXT Abrasive

and finally a two page LO with pics from the VA aquarium in Norfolk.

credits: In the Sea by Gina Miller and Laura Bratcher; frame clusters by Nancy Comelab; fonts: CK Becky

Sunday we went to church, and then afterwards went furniture shopping. My dear hubby finally admitted that the chairs he has not finished yet and the table he plans to build are not going to get done any time soon. We found one set in all of the stores in town that went with the pieces he has done so far, so we went with that and bought a table and 4 chairs. Hopefully these pieces will last long enough for him to get the rest of the chairs finished- the wood is cut and just needs to be put together and finished. In the evening my mom came over and watched the kids so that we could go out to dinner by ourselves. We went to the Olive Garden and enjoyed our meal in peace and quiet- thanks Mama! I had the lasagna rollatini with chicken, and a piece of chocolate mouse cake that I shared with DH. They were both delicious.

Prima Grand Opening on the 31st and projects

The Grand Opening celebration for PrimaHyrbid is coming in just two days! here's a list of what's happening:
25% Off EVERYTHING at the shoppe!
This sale runs Jan. 31st - Feb. 4th.
See new kits from your favorite designers and check out the growing selection of Physical goodies too! Don't miss it.

• Enjoy a chat on Jan. 31st at 10pm EST in the DigiShopTalk Chat Room to learn all about PrimaHybrid and ask questions. You might find a freebie too!
• Participate in added challenges! Prizes of both digital and physical products.
• In the shoppe, pick up your Free True Love Candy Wrapper from Iron Orchid Designs. This is just de-lish!

I've gotten a peek at the new things and they are fabulous! I especially love Corina's newest goodies ;)

Here are a few of the hybrid projects I've done for PH, and a couple of layouts too, that I can show you here. There are a few still 'in the wings' that will go with upcoming newsletter tutorials, so posting those here will just have to wait a bit longer.

credits can be seen HERE

credits can be seen HERE

credits can be seen HERE

credits can be seen HERE

credits can be seen HERE

credits can be seen HERE

So, do you want to be a Flower Girl too?

PrimaHybrid would like to add some fresh talent to our crop of Flower Girls creative team!
You could be a Flower Girl (or Guy!) at PrimaHybrid!

Call Details:

Please send the following items in your email application:

• Please tell us about yourself (any scrapbooking or artistic experience) and why you would like to be a Flower Girl
• 2 or 3 examples of your current style in the form of cards,altered projects and/or layouts. Projects must be “hybrid” – created partly with digital techniques and party with traditional physical products. Each photo must be less than 200k. There is no need to use Prima products on the projects. Projects may have been previously published and/or posted online.
• A link to an online gallery and/or resume. There is no need to have been published before. You may be on other design teams - but please tell us about them.
• Your full name and state/country of residence, along with full contact information (phone number too!) This will be kept confidential and will only be used to contact you for joining the team.

Flower Girl Creative Team Requirements:
The main role for our Hybrid Creative Team members is to create layouts or projects using our physical products mixed creatively with our digital products to give members inspiration and education.

• Flowers Girls are required to create one project per month that is tutorial based (has written step-by-step how instructions) and one additional project per month with just photos and credits.
• Flower Girls are able to enjoy supplied physical and digital products from Prima Marketing, Inc. and PrimaHybrid.com

Please email your application (subject: PrimaHybrid Creative Team) to the following addresses: doris@primahybrid.com and cc to tami@primahybrid.com

Call applications accepted immediately. Call deadline is Feb. 20th, 2008 at midnight EST. All entrants will receive a verification email. We plan to notify new design team members by March 1st, 2008. Updates will be posted on the blog. If you have any questions feel free to post them here or email: doris@primahybrid.com

I've been keeping a secret

for a couple of very long months, but I can finally tell eveyone- I'm a PrimaHybrid Flower Girl!

(ugh! blogger doesn't like to post my blinkies correctly in the middle of posts- I can't figure out why. Check out the real deal on the right -->)

go check it out: http://www.primahybrid.com/
The site is open today, January 15, and there are loads of gorgeous products in the shop from favorite digital designers and Prima, as well as projects in the gallery to show you how to use them all together. Sign up for the newsletter (there is a box on the home page) as there will be weekly tips and tutorials written by the Flower Girls to instruct and inspire you to try out hybrid scrapping!
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Here's the official blurb about the site:
Prima Marketing, Inc., an industry-leading manufacturer of unique flower accents and scrapbooking materials, is about to set another trend – products that seamlessly build a bridge between traditional paper and digital scrapbooking. PrimaHybrid.com will launch on January 15, 2008, offering exclusive hybrid scrapbooking products, projects and resources that will appeal to both traditional scrapbookers and digital scrapbookers.

The foundation for PrimaHybrid.com is already in place, set to provide the hybrid scrapbooker with a variety of resources to create meaningful hybrid projects:

• Products that instantly coordinate to combine paper and digital product lines
• Step-by-step hybrid scrapbooking project examples
• Inspiring articles to help the digital scrapbooker to visualize how digital "translates" into traditional paper projects
• Tutorials to help the traditional scrapbooker cut the learning curve into learning about digital scrapbooking techniques
• A weekly newsletter to showcase newest trends and tips, such as “A Step by Step Guide to Your First Hybrid Project”

The site will also offer complete digital kits and elements created by leading digital artists such as Gina Miller, Weeds & Wildflowers Designs, Meredith Fenwick, Iron Orchid Designs (IOD), Carrie Stephens, Corina Nielsen, Dianne Rigdon, Nancy Kubo, Trish Jones, Kim Christensen, Vera Lim and Doris Castle. One of the first offerings available in the shoppe is a collaborative kit, called “First Blush” featuring creations by each of the artists.
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My gallery at PrimaHybrid is here, so you can go check out some of the things I've been up to and haven't been able to show off. There are a couple of other projects tucked away for upcoming newsletter articles, so you will just have to wait a bit longer to see those.

In other scrapping news, I put my latest digicraft up in the store at Scrapdish this evening. A set of bookmark templates. My kids love their custom bookmarks and are still telling me thank you for making them a week later.

and with that I'd better call it a night and head to bed. The new semester of bible study starts in the morning so we all have to get up and get moving a bit earlier than usual.

photos for the 8th and 10th

from January 8- Sarah and her bears. She is wearing the shirt that Grandmama gave her for Christmas.
I do have some photos from the 9th, just can't show them off yet since they are of a project I was working on ;)

from today (the 10th)- Brenna and Sarah in the van on our way to the dance shop to get Beth a new pair of tap shoes.
I was not terribly thrilled with having to run this errand as the reason she needed a new pair was because she lost one of her tap shoes before Christmas.... between paying for the semester tuition, 4 costumes, new tights and now another pair of tap shoes, the credit card statement is now much larger than normal.

this is the wall of pointe shoes that is right near the front door- one of the two (the wall of black pointe shoes is to the left of the mirror you can see in the photo). I just love seeing them all lined up. So, today I took a picture. I'm sure the shop workers thought me a bit odd for stopping to take a picture of a wall of ballet shoes, but that's not unusual LOL
(I'm loving Lightroom- the colors on the photo as it came off of the camera were way off and I think I've got the soft pink of the shoes close to what it should be now.)

Do you want a tiny peek at the things I've been working on for a month and can't show you quite yet? click here
Just a few more days before the grand opening on the 15th!

Today's photos

Sarah climbed out of her crib yesterday morning, so Mark took off the front side before bed last night. He wanted to put the mattress on the floor, but I figured it would just become a bouncing spot so I got out the bed rail to help prevent middle of the night spills. Plus, I need the space under it for her clothes baskets.

How Sarah fell asleep this afternoon- she was digging through the front closet and putting on everything she could find. She has on the striped fleece hat, one pink mitten and two knee pads. I turned her over so she wouldn't fall off the edge of the couch and she pulled the hat down over her eyes and continued to sleep for about an hour and a half. Sarah is too funny sometimes!

I know, for someone who isn't doing the photo-a-day challenge I've been taking a lot of pictures. I'm sure it won't last, so enjoy them while I do take them and get them up on the blog regularly ;)

Why there are no toys in the toy bucket

I found this this evening when I was trying to get Brenna ready for bed......
She just laughed and kept right on throwing them out onto the floor.

The Promise Concert LO

credits: Crystal Cranberry by Amy Hutchinson at Ah!Designs; 2 @ a Time Layout templates by Amy Bleser at SBB; Winter Garden and Christmas Warm by Jofia Devoe at TheDigiChick; Kelsey Smith 'Fun Fun' Lightroom preset; fonts: Zapf Chancery LT

a couple of pics for moms to love

Some people are doing the 365 pictures challenge. I'm not willing to commit to that, wish I could, but I would rather be honest and say it's just not going to happen. I can post a couple of cute pictures I took today however!
Sarah in her new 'do'. She insists that her hair be put in some fashion every day now. Barretts, a pony tail, pigtails, .... something! I put a few hair things in her stocking for Christmas and I've created a monster! She brings me something and says 'hair' and then she bugs me until I put it in. She does look adorable though ;) I guess I won't be trimming her hair a whole lot since it is easier to put up when it is longer- good thing she likes for it to be neat.

and look at this little guys adorable face and wild hair- it sticks straight up all over his head!! LOL We ventured out to the zoo this afternoon since it was a bit warmer (meaning we didn't freeze our tushes off the minute we stepped outside) and we saw him sitting up and playing. He had a rough start with mom not wanting much to do with him, and then last month the older orangutan who had 'adopted' him died suddenly of old age. The keeper we saw today said that mom was doing better with him now that the responsibility is hers again. She has learned some things about parenting and isn't so scared of him.

The New Years Eve party the other night was a success- the kids had a blast. We ate birthday cake, and then ate lots of yummy soup and finger foods, played games, ate some more, talked and nibbled some more..... Julie and I had had enough of the noise about 10:45 and decided to call it an early evening. The kids were getting rowdy and a couple of the younger ones were starting to get hurt, so we figured it was time to toast the new year and put kids to bed LOL The kids didn't mind- they drank some sparkling cider and pulled the strings on lots of poppers and were content to head home to warm beds. Well, Brenna was out of sorts at having to leave, but by the time we got home in the frigid cold temperatures it was out of her system and she went to bed quietly.

I've been printing and crafting a lot this week- still have more to do too. I can't show any of it off yet though. Hopefully soon! The second New Year thing I've been seeing in lots of forums and on blogs is Ali Edward's word for the year. I've been a bit down about having to leave some of the things I did last year this week. I've got lots of new things on the horizon though to take their place, so I'm adopting the word "Embrace: to take or receive gladly or eagerly; accept willingly" as my one word for this year- looking ahead to the new things I've got ahead of me! 2008 should be an interesting year!