so Stampington emailed me about picking up some of my stuff which is pretty fun! Love their Take Ten issue....it is a pretty big issue that comes out quarterly.

Beck Fleck also emailed me about contributing to her next newsletter which is fun too. I have never done it before andhave been wanting to email her forever and of course her stuff just rocks.

Owen's bday is sunday but we went over to john and diane's this weekend to celebrate since we are going to Maryland to see Amber~yeah~this weekend. Here are a few shots! what a cutie!

he got a new bike and a remote control boat for the pool! lucky kid!

this weekend was nuts! august is going to be a tough one for sure...so glad i am not feeling so tired anymore {well just a little}. i do get a paycheck this week! yeah! it will only be a little one since i only worked 8 hours but it will help. i feel bad for brian since he has been taking the bill burden on his own.

my tummy is finally popping out which is fun! makes you feel a bit better when i starts to do that....i don't know why i am so anxious this time around but i am...

look at this little treasure Joan sent me from HSS...is that the cutest????

don't forget the chat tomorrow night at Dragonflairestudios.com and then there is another at http://www.serendipityscrapbooks.com/ with Kim Moreno August 20th...she is co-owner of pageframes, DT coordinator of Dream Street, Busy Bee and a hundred other things! LOL..she rocks.

ok...off to shower and get to work to see one of my kids...have a good one!

DARN! there were a bunch of calls i wanted to do last night and totally forgot. Total bummer...i guess that goes to show that i have toooooo much going on. i really wanted the one though, guess i will have to just stalk the site! LOL!

but the good news is my term is officially starting for HSS! how fun!

we are off to atlantic city today to for a few days! can't wait! mama needs some cute maternity clothes!

well owen and i are off to the recycling center...here he is when i took his photo the last time with my camera LOL.

"be the change you wish to see in the world" ghandi.

soooooooooooo well....i didn't get my lo pubbed in Canadian Scrapbooker for the summer ScrapJam at Srapbooking Fanatics....but the winning lo was actually my favorite one in the contest by the super talented Michele {twisted soda} so i cannot complain...also i did some of my FAV lo's with that contest so i am pumped!

we are painting this weekend which is tough b/c i have to wear a mask the whole time and my face is a raging hormone field right now and the sweatiness, i am sure, is not helping!

the 'rents came to watch owen while we get work done so that is a huge help...i will post pics of the dining room b/c, well i must say, the stripe work i did is lovely! LOL

ok...off to work...here is a lo from the scrapfan contest...the challenge was to scrap a childhood memory so i did this lo of my fav book...i bought this immediately when i found out i was pregnant with owen b/c it was my favorite book...just a few months ago when the 'rents moved my mom gave me a box and books and guess what was in it! THAT VERY BOOK {just a tad yellow and stinky but oh well}. i even did the journaling in crayon! LOL

wow! so much going on...i cannot believe i forgot to post about the Vicki Boutin chat over at serendipity scrapbooks last night! it was awesome...she is so down to earth and greta hammond stopped by...could you imagine being the BHG team? yeah, right ellen! LMBO!

so some more updates....8-9 there will be a chat over at http://www.dragonflairestudios.com/ with July A Shahin with Scrapbook Dimensions~the hybrid magazine. Great mag by the way...if you are looking for something to subscribe too. Then Chrisy Tomlinson will be there on 8-10 so please stop by...some great prizes are always given away! Maggie is super generous! Also there is a cool contest going on right now for an altered tray given by the fabulous Sally Keller!!!!

Also some more good news on the personal front. I am just finishing up my first trimester w/ our second child! Can you believe it? crazy stuff...i have so much to be thankful for right now. Now if we could just find out if we are moving or not?!?!?!?!?!?!?

MORE GOOD NEWS! How good is life right now?????

I made the Serendipity Scrapbooks DT! so exciting...it was the first online community that i ever joined and really felt like I belonged last December or maybe this January. I think that is what makes it so special.

I looked through my gallery the other day... at some of the first things i posted and what a long way i have come! LOL

thanks for letting me share...here is one of my entries (with my new addictions...buttons and big primas and my tuskineko glue pad)

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FINALLY i am back on track with my computer. It has been over a month until this got under control and I so happy. Obviously, my blog has been neglected! LOL...

so i have tons of good news! I get to use that blinkie! how cool is that?

AND I got asked to be on Serendipity Scrapbooks DT as well! Yeah...i need to not have a computer more often, LOL!

The layout above is a little bit of what I have been working on too...one of my entries for the ScrapJam over at Scrapping Fanatics!

so....some sneak peaks for the Summer ScrapJam Contest over at http://www.scrapbookingfanatics.com/ ! i cannot post any of my layouts due to the rules ...the winning layout will get posted in Canadian Scrapbooker. We are getting tons of goodies to play with too! This week a box of goodies from Upsy Daisy! YESSSSSS!

you know me and my techniques...i used some BG rubons on the naked chipboard and then on the parenthesis, i gobbed rubber cement on it and then painted it with MM copper glaze. When it was dry, i rubbed it with my finger until it began to rub off and then inked it...gave it a cool distressed look. I also coved the bazzill flower with pp and sanded it and then did the mirrored letters in photoshop.

I got tagged again by Nicole and Kelly! Let me see if I can muster up so more quirky stuff about me.

Let's see.....
1. I am not a fan of nicknames, we have a friend who is naming their kid two special names (first and middle) to call the kid a completely different name? why not just name them the name you want to call them? ah, hello?

2. We are 99% sure we are moving to the Reading area, probably closer to Philly, my fav city!

3. i love the beach but hate the sand.

4. i love when people touch my feet!

5. i have my MBA and probably going back to get my master's or my phd hopefuly by 35.

okay, i don't have anyone left to tag! so those facts are on me!

I wanted to share with you my hybrid projects i have been working on for Maggie over at Dragonflaire. Her designs are just AWESOME! This is one is for Sundy's Linen Kit...GORGEOUS purples...just love them...they match my new bathroom!

okay can we talk about my One heart...One mind gift from Amy Teets! holy crap! tons of stuff just look at all those rubons and pp!!!! thank you soooo much!!! and also Kristen from Serendipity Scrapbooks for the hybrid contest! i am so pumped i won first prize!

i am also anxiously awaiting my goodie bag for the Summer Scrapjam over at Scrapping Fanatics! a whole box of Upsy Daisy Designs!!!!!!! Imight be the one they pick to get pubbed in Canadian Scrapbooker! wahoo!

okay, i am not sure why it has been a week since my last post? we have been busy but come on, ellen! don't be a slacker, LOL!!!

so this weekend i took a Kristina Contes class and got to meet a friend online, Nicole! who is the cutest by the way. i only took one class and had to jet....had a friend in need in NJ...new house just broke up with her bf so there was lots to talk and drink!

so here is my minibook i made, can i tell you i am obsessed with making minis with the 4x6 pages pasted together like this???? LOVE IT! also my mom worked with hambly!!! and finger painted!!! 63 and going strong...WTG BARB and she bought me the Toby line...YEAH!

it is all about right now in my life....here are a few more...

okay can you say FLU FLU FLU? more like ARGH ARGH ARGH!

i am feeling okay today but barely. had to catch up on a few things and my scanner is acting wacky too...ah....just wanted to post a fun card i made for the CPS card contest...along with the 115 other people! LOL

isn't this zingboom deer stampt the cutest? i call this "miss you deerly".

Don't forget to stop by Dragonflaire for the grand reopening Friday, June 1st. I will be doing a hybrid challenge and there will be a bunch of other challenges going on. Some great freebies and some paper give-a-ways.

Also Serendipity Scrapbooks hybrid contest ends tomorrow. Don't forget to check it out as well!!! i got mine uploaded yesterday. The super fab Amy Teets will be judging and offering a great gift!

All links are to the right!

Okay so my drama is over, LOL...well not really but the past few days have been rough. Seeing your best friend and family in so much pain is the hardest thing i have ever been through. i find managing someone elses pain is not so easy, if that makes any sense at all. i do apologize for getting so personal.

i did get some good news....my pageframe with the Hambly that i did for my friend, Nat, who passed away 10 years ago is getting pubbed in Paper Trends Oct/Nov 2007 issue! how cool is that. i posted it on May 16th so feel free to scroll down :) i don't think mentioned that i got a spot in Blueprints 2, too!

well...off to update a few things and pour some emotion into a few pages before heading up to the rents for the weekend with a bottle (or tow or three)!

pain, pain, and more pain

so it almost feels like, here we go again....i don't know how a lot of people handle it b/c i can't seem to manage this, the thing is it is not mine, it is one of my best friends. if i could take some of the pain away for her i would but heidi has always been too strong for that.

i got a call monday morning from one of my old college roomie's and best friends for over 10 years now --it was her husband....Angie, her older sister, 35, had died on Saturday along with her 8.5 month old unborn daughter.

i haven't talked to her yet, she won't talk to anyone but her mom and dad, paul, and her brothers right now which i can understand. she is carrying guilt for going away on vacation when Angie wasn't feel well so there is no convincing her otherwise. it is funny how we are such good friends yet so much a like. oh, and Tyler, no mother, no sister...that's a lot to handle at 13.

if you knew us girls...we are more than friends...i mean we live far away but see each other all the time and talk 24/7. we know all about each others "real" sisters but it is more than that for us. my dad tells me all the time that i have the most amazing group of friends and i all i say is, "i know, dad, isn't it great?". so this pain i have is more than i can even explain because i am just so overcome with grief for Heidi, we all are. i almost don't want to wake up tomorrow but i know i need to.

we are open about death with owen and i told him what happened and he just gave me a big huge hug. i explained that Angie was like losing his Aunt Amber and he trembled and said, "oh no mommy, oh no".

the one thing i remember Paul saying over and over again is, "she is so strong, Ellen, she is so strong". well, even strong people could use some positive thoughts and prayers.

so i ask to each and every person who may read this to pick up the phone right now and call the people you love and TELL THEM you love them. DON'T email it...DON'T text it. i did it yesterday.

with all that being said, i think i am taking some time from scrapping right now....just on overload i think...guilt... an undeniable feeling to just be. I talked to Maggie, the amazing owner of Dragonflaire and told me to take as much time as I needed and I think I will. I scrapped the phrase "be present" a little while ago and it cannot be more true. i find myself sitting in the big chair in the living room and just staring out the window and losing myself in a whole bunch of crazy "what ifs".

what if amber died over the weekend (my FABO sister)...same age...what if i was burying her and my unborn neice tomorrow? what if my mom and dad were burying me and owen? craziness, people...just plan crazy.

my mom's best friend emailed me today with the most wonderful words that i will leave you with tonight...

"sometimes life is too cruel to understand"
thanks louise...and mom and dad and amber and brian and owen and stacy and jess and kel and everyone who is praying for heidi and her family...may God be with us

I totally forgot that right before i left for Mexico i sent some lo's over to Tenika at http://scrapbooklayouts.blogspot.com/. I just love her blog about Multi-Photo layouts! soooo much inspo over there!

well i was catching up on some comments and all the eye candy and I saw my lo! yeah! http://scrapbooklayouts.blogspot.com/ go check it out and check out the amazing talent she has over there!!!! it is actually a hybrid lo, too!

yeah! another one for BamPop Gallery! I cannot get enough of their stuff!

Also some more good news....I got a spot in BluePrints 2!!! It is another Bampop LO!

Here is the one going into the gallery.

The Riveria Maya Rocks!!!!! I am back and let me say, ah well, REALLY tan...i don't know who i am when i look in the mirror! LMBO! and we went through two things of 55 SPF while we were there...wowzers that sun is hot....

let's see...we spent at a minimum of 4 hours in the pool every day with the swim up bar (some days up to 8 hours!) wahoo! here is a photo of me, my sister, jess, and stacy showing off our legs....we had sooooo much fun, we really did...never laughed so hard in my life...i would highly recommend a trip with your friends. It was my sister and her husband, my two best friends from college, my sister's best friend and her husband and their friends. so we had a group of 10 and loved it.

here are a few things we did

1. swim

2. float

3. sleep

4. drink (a lot)

5. eat

6. swim

7. float

8. sleep

9. oh and i CANNOT forget drunk snorkeling (don't worry it was an inclosed lagoon so we were {kinda} safe!

so i have lots to scrap! if you haven't clicked on colleen's blog over to the right, please do...she is raising money for Leukemia and Lymphoma...if you have ever had anyone that has suffered from this disease, you know how devastating it can be. Her and her team motivated me to make this for my friend Nat...you can see my post from 04/19/2007 for a bit more.

so we are off to SUNNY mexico!!!!!!!!!!!!

i spent a lot of time outside lately with owen...just hanging and diggin up worms...it reminds me of new life and new growth...things on my mind the past few days since my grandmother's stroke. love her to pieces and i can't stop thinking about the things i take for granted too often.

if you read this, send a prayer her way...or a thought...whatever your faith may be..

here are some fun photos of us outside...the first one is worms and the second is our boxer, Chase, drinking from the hose. Can owen's gardening gloves be any CUTER??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? and some tulips we picked outside (owen picked them so their stems are 1/4")that we put into a glass bowl.

cheers to all and i will have a margarita for ya!

ok so a ton of people have been telling me to read Kristina Contes blog and i did and let me tell you how rolling-on-the-floor funny she is. I don't find a lot of people with the same sense of humour as me and, well, their love of beer and wine, as me too.

Didn't do much scrappin yesterday b/c of cinco de mayo....just one of my favorite days to hang, relax and have some margaritas or margatini's...whatever the bartender (scrubby, heehee) is serving that day. Plus we are in vacation mode here already...brian is off until NEXT tuesday and we leave for, ahem, Mexico~Riveria Maya more specifically, on Tuesday. Yeah baby!

Pretty pumped, Maggie...who owns DragonFlaire (pls come join our new forum to the right) nominated my hybrid card over at DST for a contest. She is the best!!!!!!! and has a ton of freebies over at the forum but you must register first so please come and hang with us!

Grand opening to be on June 1st!!!! karla dudley has recently joined the team...she is on the amazing Scrapologie Team..wowzers...

so i have been getting a lot of questions on how i made the hybrd card a couple posts below so i will share tomorrow when i have a few more minutes.....

i wanted to share this fun thing i did with an etch-a-sketch from a tut Julie Ann shared over at Srapbook Dimensionals...it was so fun! should i alter it, lol?

i love using filters!!!!!!!! they always amaze me, they really do!

please check out www.scrapbookdimensions.com if you haven't yet! great hybrid stuff and tons of fun!!!!!!

Here is a hybrid (a teeny bit of hybrid actually) I did with some of Amy Teets stars I picked up when i visited (stalked) her blog! I printed 'em, cut 'em, ink 'em, and sewed 'em to my hambly cutouts!

so i made this little pageframe guy for a challenge over at busybee but after i uploaded it, i thought maybe someone might take it the wrong way.

this quote is just too much for me! i love it! gladys from the ellen degeneres show said this and i saw it the first time she had her on and i never laughed so hard in my life.

the funny thing is now she has her on all the time and is selling this as tshirt and donating the proceeds to meals on wheels. love her generosity!

though i don't talk about it a lot, my faith is very strong. so enjoy!

ok so has anyone ever shop at the white house black market? it is my most favorite store ever to shop at! register and you get 5% every order and free shipping online!!!! anyway LOL...in the spirit of earth day they changed their catalog and to a post consumer recycled product and they had this killer quote from Ghandi on it...i had to take a photo of it and share....i also cut it out to scrap! lol! ps you have to get the catalog...the online one just doesn't do it!


ok so what else.... OH YEAH...i have been TAGGED by emine! i have to post 7 random things about myself and tag 7 other people! ok, girl...here it goes!

1. i played rugby in college
2. i love to drink lots of wine..heehee
3. gardening and yard work is my fav thing to do next to scrappin'
4. i got my first pub coming out in may!
5. i was in a really bad car accident when i was 15 and the doctor told me he was surprised i made it through
6. my maiden name is Heinly (Blah!)
7. i would eat sushi everyday if i could

ok...who i tag....
lacintha
maggie
rhea
kelly

ok so a few things to start off the weekend....i am updating the blogs i like to go visiting so if you want to meet some cool chicas with great stuff, then pls go check them out!

also i got a super nice email from Colleen who is managing the fundraising for the ladies running the marathon for Leukemia/Lymphoma...sending her thanks and mentioning my blog and lo's etc...very nice words, girl...thanks...

I don't know if anyone has ever lost anyone to these diseases, or any other for that matter, but these girls are doing something for a good cause. I lost one of my best friends my senior year in college on December 7. I will never forget getting the call from Becky at 4am with the news that Nat had lost her battle with Leukemia. She had just come to visit me that summer in Boulder, CO on her way back to San Diego to gather the rest of her things to move back to PA permanently. She had finally shaved her hair, a decision that was very hard for her as she had this crazy curly hair down to her but since I knew her.

I remember getting the letter from her just two years before in my dorm and reading that she hasn't been feeling well...tired..sick...rundown ~not like Nat at all~ and she went to the doctor for blood work and they found it. She was going to have to do lots of treatments but she wasn't giving up. From listening to her and seeing her, I knew it was serious and we were so young...only 19 years old...

Anyway, her and Ted (my freshman formal date, LOL) stayed for a few days in Boulder and we had a good time. The one thing we never talked about was her disease, we talked about the people she met along the way at the hospital, some that lost their battle and some that were in remission. It was a short visit, much shorter when I realized it was the last time I would see her. She was a terrific and passionate friend, something that I learned from her. I also learned from her to celebrate life...she would not have wanted us to sit around and cry for her but to live for her, that I do know. So tonight at my girls night out, I will raise a toast to her and to life, as precious as it is.

The funny thing about all this is I have a matchbook from Nat that has her info when she moved to San Diego...it was the only thing I could find to write on at the time and I have saved it ever since. I keep it one of my bins with my scrapbooking stuff so when I go digging for inspiration I find it. So when I heard some scrapbooking ladies needed some support, I knew it was the least I could do.

PEACE to everyone and don't forget to remember the Earth! Every day should be earth day, not just April 22nd.

sooooooo.....found this GREAT new site that I am totally diggin'! love the laid back island feel of b/c, well, we all know how i feel about warm sunny places with a beach and a cocktail....IMAGINE if you could scrap there too???

ok...soooo...check out this rocking kit... http://www.webscrappin.com/kitclub.html

Ah yummy tinkering kit and hambly! two of my favs...looks like a kit that will keep going and going....it would be in my in box by now but I have a few months left on two other kit clubs. Nicole, the site owner and local LSS owner keeps dropping hints about some other great things made just for these kits too...imagine exclusive items!

If you have some time go check it out and stop in and say hi!

So here is a lo I made for the call over there and another one i made about me and my scrubby and my struggles with letting people love me.

Again, PEACE to everyone.

lots of donating going on out there! we got ladies running marathons and a family's fight for their 13 year old son with only a few months to live. Open your hearts and open your wallets! ;)

just wanted to share the love....esp with everything going on in the world today...a few bucks here and there so worth it and they add up!

http://cestmoi.typepad.com

and

http://benefitforjen.blogspot.com

Thanks so much and PEACE to everyone.

hmmmm....what to chat about...

maybe this nutso weather here on the east coast, scrappy couldn't even make it to work...he tried three different ways and could get up any of the hills or mountains b/c they were all shut down. You know it's bad when the man can't make it to work. The ice storms are crazy.

Had a good weekend despise losing Bud. My step-grandfather...he was so good to my grandma, she loved him...a different love than she had with my grandfather who died when i was 15. They had a good marriage but one that stayed together b/c it was supposed to. Bud was the love her life, he took her to dinner...dancing...rides in the convertible...they were too cute. My grandma was so upset in the beginning fo what people would think of her b/c they weren't married. I told her, "go for it grandma" be happy! and no one cared and if they did that they weren't really her true friends.

This is the lo I made for her. Bud was in the airforce and got this hat for owen. He never had children so he just loved owen so much...he and his first wife lost their only son when he was a few days old. So i framed this and gave it to her after the luncheon the day of the funeral.

It's all good. He is in a better place now, not suffering anymore.

okay! the "mag"ster did it again with another rockin' kit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love it...off to make some more stuff with it...made the hybrid card with the paper kit and the embellie kit!

Had a great weekend...hope everyone had a great holiday too!

isn't he cute...just like his mom!

i will upload some egg huntin' photos soon...i have to laugh at my sister, owen's aunt amber...she hid the eggs yesterday up at my parents and they were so hard to find. LOL...we had a good laugh at that one!

Scrapstreet Ezine wants to pick up one of my lo's about spring...isn't that cool?!?!?!?!

Also...got the nod from my scrubby that it is ok to get a new camera! and a nice budget too! I can't wait to get back to work so i don't have to keep asking permission to buy stuff!

leggy my eggy!

love my hambly wings!

owen and i had a super fun day outside. he loves my camera, it so cracks me up & let me just tell you how good he is. i cannot wait til i get my new one and he can play away with this one, supervised of course! i stand there with my hands under the camera while he is taking the photo in case he drops it!

okay so here is one of mine and one of his...can you tell which is which?

*how cool is this????? i just love to stamp..even though i do hybrid now and lots of other stuff...i will ALWAYS stamp...letters, flowers..and my new fav~the office line!
*check out this list for TONS of inspirations! and please let me know whatcha think!

*******50 Ideas to do with your STAMPS!********

~~~check out number 50, this is my fav...owen and i do this all the time with this great set from Stampin' Up made just for tattoos! you can color them in! My layout over at Bampop is called TATS and that the subject of it! cool, eh?~~~

1. Use alphabet stamps to make your title on a strip of cardstock
2. Cut out the individual letters and pop dot them for an even jazzier title 3. Stamp directly on your photos
4. Get a personalized stamp with your return address for all your correspondence
5. Get a personalized stamp with “handmade by ____” to mark all your creations
6. Stamp a small image over and over again to make your own patterned paper
7. Try the above with Versamark ink for an even subtler background pattern
8. Stamp with acrylic paint
9. Use a phrase stamp on the inside of a card to make it even more professional-looking
10. Stamp lines in Versamark as a guide for straight handwritten journaling
11. Use an inkpad, without a stamp, directly on your paper to jazz up the edges
12. Stamp a flower and add a brad or eyelet for the center
13. Use small alphabet stamps to make captions for photos
14. Stamp a word on a tag to highlight the theme of your page
15. Stamp an image multiple times, color in and cut out the pieces to overlap and form your own paper piecing
16. Stamp an image and cut out, then pop dot or use on your page just like a sticker
17. Emboss your stamping for extra shine or the 3D effect
18. Use one set of stamps throughout an entire mini album to tie it all together
19. Use stamps to decorate the cover of a cloth album so that it coordinates with the theme of the pages inside
20. Practice stamping on scrap paper and use the result as a pretty bookmark
21. Use wheel stamps for handmade gift wrap
22. Use a wheel stamp to make patterned paper
23. Use a wheel stamp for a quick and easy border
24. Stamp on paperclay and punch a hole in the top to make your own charms
25. Stamp on a magnetic sheet and cut out for cute handmade magnets to give as a gift
26. Stamp an image in black ink and color it in
27. Stamp an image in clear ink and emboss in clear, then rub colored ink over the paper so that you get a reverse image
28. Stamp an image in black and use a sponge dipped in ink/pressed on the inkpad to color in the image – looks even better if you "don’t" stay inside the lines
29. Stamp in Versamark and dab chalk over the top for a softer image 30. You can also try stamping with chalk
31. Stamp a whole scene and mat it just like a photo
32. Overlap stamped images for a collage look
33. Use an alphabet stamp to make monogram patterned paper 34. Use word stamps to make interesting patterned paper
35. Try stamping your title with mismatched or different sizes of alphabet stamps for a funky/ransom note look
36. Customize your home décor by stamping on your walls
37. Stamp on fabric – aprons, dishtowels, tote bags, swatches for scrapbook pages, etc
38. Stamp the sides of a post-it note cube for a cute gift
39. Use stamps on your holiday cards – makes it easier to mass produce the same design over and over
40. Print business cards or address labels from your computer and stamp an image in the corner to jazz them up
41. Stamp off on scrap paper once before stamping so that the image is softer and you can read text through it
42. When making background paper, stamp two or three times before re-inking – you get even more ‘shades’ out of just one color this way
43. Use Staz-On ink to stamp on vellum or metal
44. Stamp on polyshrink and bake it to make your own plastic charms 45. Stamp on bottle caps for an even jazzier embellishment
46. Use a stamped image as the outline for creating a wire shape
47. Use a word stamp to stamp on ribbon or twill
48. Leave space in printed journaling to stamp a few words so that they stand out
49. Use stamps to fill in the smaller squares in a colorblocking page
50. Get non-toxic ink and stamp on yourself – makes a cool temporary tattoo! (kids love this one too).