Michele Candelaria

FINALLY! the pictures i promised.

hi.  it's the night before i'm supposed to go back to work after being off for 12 glorious days.  ahhhhh.  oops.  i'm supposed to post pics.  sorry about that momentary lapse.  here they are.

 

products used above: making memories and sei paper, rusty pickle cardstock phrase sticker, making memories flower, stock tag and notebook paper with design on side (from michaels), misc. brads and jewel flower center, fabric flower ribbons from walmart ribbon section ($1.99 for 3 yards!), party streamer to make the pink gathered thing on the right side of the photo (fun technique if u havent tried it yet)

 

products used above: bazzil card stock, making memories shaped paper, jeni bowlin flowered paper, melissa francis christmas sticker quote, miscellaneous pearl gems, stock tag, making memories brad on tag

 

products used above: imaginesce halloween paper, making memories shaped paper, doodle bug glitter alphas, imaginesce toe tag stickers, bazzil cardstock

 

products used above: bazzil cardstock, jeni bowlin papers, glitz round gem shapes, creative cafe velvet zig zag ribbon, sizzix cut felt flowers, miscellaneous buttons/brads

 

products used above: bazzil cardstock, basic grey papers, miscellaneous chipboard shapes/alphas, misc. button, bazzil flower chip

 

products used above: bazzil cardstock, basic grey papers, miscellaneous glitter brads and flowers, doodle bug glitter alphas, doodle bug adhesive alphas sprinkled with chocolate colored glitter...(neat little things in case you haven't tried them yet...u can use flock on it too).

ooohhh...from these few layouts, it looks like i only scrap one child!  i scap the others too...i swear!!! 

hopefully more later in the week.

m

New Years Eve Day: 12/31/08

it's the last day of the year....new beginnings just around the corner.  my word for the year is: PURPOSE.  i was inspired to choose a word for the year from i E's blog.  i'll post it in my studio at home, in my cubicle at work, and in my car so that i am reminded not to lose sight of what i am seeking: purpose.  that means so many things to me right now because it relates to all aspects of my life. 

anyhow....been off of work since 12/23 and have been cleaning out my studio.  my oh my...what stuff i have stashed in every single nook/cranny!!!  some lucky school or charity is going to get all the excess.  almost done...just need to move a few things and then i can get back to creating.

i actually did get a few layouts popped out.  and i kitted a bunch of stuff too.  focusing on layouts this time because so much of my energy has been going to mini-books, which are good, but they've been at the expense of my layouts.  posting the layouts here for your viewing pleasure.  will be staying up late tonight with my daughters ringing in the new year.  they'll be playing video games and i'll be in my studio scrapping away and drinking wine.  found a really good one too.  need to get another couple bottles before night falls so i can chill them. 

happy new year everyone and may your 2009 bring all the happiness you seek. 

(pictures to be added later)

m

Here goes nothing!!!!!

ok....so i've been so inspired lately by people around me...in the office, at the store, wherever i turn people are making an effort to get healthy.  so, HERE GOES NOTHING!!!!  there's a group of ladies at work who do the weight watchers point counting thing so i decided to join them weekly.  they've had some really great success with the program....every single one of them.  i'm hoping to follow in their footsteps.  we meet at the end of the day on wednesdays and weigh ourselves and talk about things that we've discovered that work for us.  i'm in my second week now and trying HARD to resist the cravings to stuff my face and eat junk that i know i shouldn't, and i'm doing ok.  week one had me weighing in at 5.2 lbs less than i did the week before, so YAY for that.  it was a hard difficult week that included mothers day.  hard.  i seem to be doing better this week, although i did go to a restaurant last night and had more spoonfuls of the albondigas soup than i should have, but it's ok.  i had some extra bonus points that i needed to use, so there they went.  i took a before picture and hope to have an after picture that shows some kind of noticeable difference.  i'm keeping a journal and i'll post pictures of that soon.  also trying to squeeze in some treadmill/curves time, but i have to tell you that it's not easy.  this new diet thing has me spending wayyyy more time cooking in the kitchen, so less available time to do other things (like scrapbook---boohoo---or exercise).  i definitely do it on the weekends, but the weeknights is tough.  and quite honestly, at the end of the day, I'M FLIPPIN TIRED.  i do have to add though that the number of times i get up to go pee has got to count for some kind of exercise, right???  no kidding!  i'm up about 10-12 times during the day at work!!!!  it's all that dang water i've been drinking!!!  and i HATE water!!!!  Needless to say, the girls are on the same healthy plan i'm on by default.  weird enough, they all (anthony included) like the diet food i've been making.  ok...well...they weren't too thrilled with the whole wheat pita cheese pizza's, but they LOVED the tostadas.  infact, we had the tostadas twice in one week!  so, wish me luck and DON'T BE BRINGING ANY SWEETS AROUND ME.  oops...didn't mean to yell.  thanks for your cooperation.  talk to u soon.   

m

My Inspiration Journal

I made this in a few hours.  It was the easiest thing to make once I started rolling.  The album is 8x8 and is by Paper Chase sold at Borders Books.  LOVE IT.  Very reasonably priced too ($9.99 I think).  I put ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that inspires me inside this journal...from quotes to color combinations found in furniture to photos!  Let me know what u think.

Some unwritten pages....

m 

IT'S BEEN A LONG WHILE....

and i've really neglected this blog...Note to self: BLOG MORE!  that said, here are my February Design Team Projects!  really happy with the way they all came out...especially the layouts.  we needed to use 90% product from our design packs, so that was a challenge.  if you have any questions about the specifics of any of these projects, just e-mail me!  i'll be happy (and honored) to share. 

on to other news....GUESS WHO JUST TURNED 9???  That's right...madison, my youngest child.  where has the time gone?  i wish they could stay little forever. 

more later in the week...

m

And yet another digi layout....

Photoshop is SOOOOOO diverse and has tons of buttons, it's easy to get lost.  Jessica is the perfect teacher, though, constantly reinforcing our newly learned skills and then making us put them to the test.  Here's our mid-week assignment.

More later everyone!  Hope you're enjoying your Sunday.

m

Digital Scrapping----OH MY!

Ok...so this is the thing...I took "Digital Alchemy" with Jessica Sprague at CKU-Anaheim in June and FELL IN LOVE with the idea of digital scrapbooking!!!  Not convinced yet that this is for me, but in an effort to find out, I signed up for one of her online courses!  It just started and this is the first assignment in week one.  Let me know what you think...

 

Wow!

Ok...finally had time to research how to get onto this darn blog and actually post a message...YAY!  Let's cross our fingers it works.

So...so...so MANY exciting things coming to the store over the coming months!  Let's start with CHA-Chicago.  Elizabeth and myself made the trek to Chicago for this show and it was a HUGE SUCCESS!   We ordered most everything we intended (including lots of Maya Road-old and new, Fancy Pants, Autumn Leaves, Basic Grey, Daisy D's, Anna Griffin, and Creative Imaginations (LOTS), etc.  We are trying out a couple new lines/products from other companies as well, including Picture It (acrylic albums/shapes), Dream Street & Daisy Bucket just to mention a few.  I think everyone will be pleased.  The addition of some of these products to the current store stock will make it the perfect place for EVERYONE!   

We've also connected with several designers/artists out there that will be coming to the store as Guest Teachers!!  Coming this year with her little perky self (hopefully) is Marah Johnson of Creative Imaginations.  For early 2008, we're working on Michelle Hill (Lil Davis Desighs), Pam Lambie (Luxe Designs), and Caroline Lau (Maya Road Designs).  So much talent out there!  These women are pure inspiration.

We have also scheduled the FABULOUS FALL OPEN HOUSE (aka Class Kick Off).  Mark your calendars for SATURDAY, AUGUST 18th from NOON-3:00.  Take this opportunity to come in, have some refreshments in an airconditioned space, touch/feel/inspect the class projects that will be offered over the next quarter....and FALL IN LOVE with all the teachers bringing these classes to you.  As an added bonus, Elizabeth (Store Owner) has generously agreed to give all those coming in on the 18th a 10% discount on ALL CLASSES registered for that day!  Wow!  It doesn't get much better than that!  You'll want to remember that class sizes are limited depending on the complexity of the project and once it's full, IT'S FULL...that's it...so don't risk not getting a seat in a class that you really really want.  Attend the 18th open house!!!    

Some other upcoming fun stuff in the store: SCRAP PINK at the end of September, World Card Making Day at the beginning of October, VIP Thank You Night in early November (by invitation only...come to the August 18th Fab Fall Open House to find out how YOU can be included in this night to remember). 

Last thing today....the Winder Wonderland Open House that will preview all the classes for December, January, and February is tentatively set for mid November, so keep your calendars open!!!  Details will be announced soon. 

That's it for now.  Keep it real and remember...LIFE IS GOOD so ENJOY IT! 

m

{welcome!}