cool online class

my wickedly talented friend, paula gilarde (hof 2007) will be teaching an online digital scrapbooking class at nyc scraps starting monday, november 29th. paula is super sweet and i'm sure you will learn a ton about digi scrapping. i'm excited to take the class. it's really reasonably priced - a two week class with a lesson every two days and a digital kit is included as well - all for only $20. if you don't have photoshop a free 30-day trial version is available - so that isn't an excuse. if you are interested you can find the class at nyc scraps. and tell paula i said hi!

my updated studio

ok i'm going to share, but remember it's still a work in progress. sorry for the grainy photos. the walls will be behr watermelon pink and the trim will be all white one day. i still need to paint my printer cart, the little red table, and my ikea fira black. i need to buy a curtain and i want to update the ugly particle board bookshelf to a white one. so without further ado, i present my studio.

view from the doorway


my desk - new vika table tops and cabinets


my sewing station - new ikea helmer unti holds sewing supplies and other odds and ends - that's my scraps bin next to it - sorted by color (well i shove stuff in the top and sort when it gets overwhelming)


my scrap table


expedit #1 holds embellishments sorted by color and cardstock up top - you can see my white board with my assignments on it too!


expedit #2 holds all sorts of odds and ends


sterilite storage for october afternoon and american crafts supplies


ugly bookcase holds patterned paper and albums


ribbon storage


button storage


little white cabinet holds american crafts house shapes, paint and ribbon - the photo holder above is from ikea


new fabric covered bulletin board


wood floor with new rug


so that's that. a work in progress but so much better than a couple weeks ago. feel free to ask questions. thanks for looking.

halloween photos

ok so i've shared these elsewhere, but figured i might as well stick them up here too!











a good time was had by all!

good reads

have you been to goodreads? i've been loving reading about what everyone else is reading. i have a "to read" bookshelf growing by the day. i went to the library for the first time in a long time yesterday with my list in hand and brought home a couple of new books to read. now i have to try and squeeze the reading time in somewhere.

i've been busy decorating my home for company over thanksgiving, reorganizing my scraproom, getting ahead with my scrapin' responsibilities, and carting the kids from birthday parties to soccer and back!

hope all is well. more later...

sometimes i wonder

why i even suffer with a blog. i never update here and readership is low. of course maybe it would be higher if i posted more. ha!

news news news...

well if you haven't heard i've been asked to be a simple gal for simple scrapbooks magazine. what does this mean? well i'll be posting layouts in the simple studio gallery, i'll be published more regularly in the magazine, and i will be a trusted adviser to the magazine. i'm thrilled - this is my own personal hof folks. it also gets me off the hook in terms of hof and mmm as well - i'm exclusive to simple for one year.

on the homefront, we have refurnished and decorated our living room. we still need a few pieces, but it's starting to come together. as well, terry started the powder room. he painted and installed a new toilet. he has to install the sink and mirror. then it will be curtain and shower curtain hanging time. this was our mini-remodel because we have guests coming for thanksgiving.

kids are doing well. sam is not transitioning into his new room all that well. he has a temper and hits sometimes when other children do him wrong. adam is loving school. he seems to have settled right in - having the same teacher again doesn't hurt.

have a great day! :)

nutty

ok so i spent the greater part of last night pouting about not making the october afternoon team and then the calls went out.

and i didn't get a call.

and then they said a few of the calls hadn't panned out. it wasn't over.

and then i kept checking my home phone all day hoping that there was a call. no call.

and then the phone rang at 5:20 - i thought it was terry. nope.

it was kim! from october afternoon! yay! i got the call!

can you say happy dance?

if you haven't seen their stuff check them out...

october afternoon

galblog

ok so you have to check it out...

a brand new blog so full of inspiration you'll just be in heaven.

i am. and all those rak's - sigh.

galblog

sigh

it's our last day here on cape cod. it has been a fabulous week - we've spent so much time on the beach enjoying the sun, surf, and wildlife. our first night we went down to the beach (literally 50 yards) for a sunset. this shot is unedited and not cropped (no tools on dh's computer.) those specks are adam and terry hunting for crabs in the tide pools.


we are definitely planning on renting again up here in eastham next year. we even looked at a rental today right on the beach. i'm hoping it will be available the week we'd like it as it would be perfect!

back to the grind tomorrow! sigh.

i'm off (*see mel your kick in the pants worked)

ok so yes i'm off in more ways than one. lol

i'm off this blog way too much. i might move it over to scrapgal they have a new blog thingy that works ok and maybe i'll update it more if i'm over there?

i'm off my routine. i was sick with strep again last week and then i aggravated my plantar fasciitis - this has led to evenings spent on the couch relaxing rather than hanging out in my studio scrappin' and surfing. i also didn't get to go to my monthly crop which means not a lot of scrappin' was done this month.

i'm off on vacation for the next week sans internet access. it's going to be nice to have a break from the routine of my life and rejuvenate.

what else has been going on since my last post. not much on the scrappin' front. i had no calls really this month. a little lull - oh well.

personally i had a birthday. i was sick. it sucked. oh well. my present was the crop - it didn't happen so i'm planning another one for september. yay!

i did post this layout at the beginning of the month. thanks to all my peeps who sent in photos. you all encourage me every day and i appreciate you more than you can comprehend. it's funny how i feel so close to people yet they live so far away. this world we live in is so small in a way!





looking forward to september and getting back into the school routine with adam. no more making lunches everyday! woohoo! :)

have a great week everyone! xoxo

embracing the simple

for awhile there i was having a little style crisis. i was trying to hard to be something i'm not and feeling like i had something to prove to myself. i've come full circle on this. i realize that the most important piece of any layout i create is the story behind it - not the paper, glue, or even the design. i realize that i want to focus more on my writing and my photography in an effort to leave the best possible story for sam and adam.

one thing i need to work on is jotting down the little things that my family says and does more often. the stories are all there just waiting to be told. i just have a horrible short term memory.

so basically i'm embracing the simple philosophy set out by simple scrapbooks and scrappers like stacy julian, cathy zielske and others. this does not mean i won't try new things or get out of my little box once in awhile. it does mean that i'm changing up my process a it and the end result will be simpler.

i feel like a huge weight has been lifted. i am going to continue with my design work for awhile and see where it takes me. so when you see my work in the future don't be surprised that i'm back to my roots!

bad blogger

yes i've been a bad blogger. almost a month. in that month i've been busy. went to cha. met some cool people. came home and now we are in house guest mode which means cleaning cleaning cleaning. so fun. here's a pic i took of sam last night. i wish i was a better photographer and all my shots could look like this!

happy august everyone. :)

ive been tagged by the fabulous kelly and here i go:
my roommate and i once:
never in my life have i: been to europe
high school was : horrible - too clique-y
when i'm nervous : i'm chatty
my hair : grey
when i was 5 : my parents installed an inground pool - what great summers we had
when i turn my head left : i see a window looking out onto a pitiful building in hartford
i should be : working ha!
by this time next year : i hope to have more balance in my life.
my favorite aunt is : aunt betty - she's gone - she was so good to me as a child.
i have a hard time understanding : i think i'm going to agree with Kelly - stupid people.
you know i like you if : i laugh with you and tell you secrets.
my ideal breakfast is : eggs over easy, bacon, home fries and english muffins.
if you visit my home town : i'll take you to a nice restaurant.
if you spend the night at my house : you will be sleeping on a fold out couch.
my Favorite blonde is : unsure
my favorite brunette is : unsure
the animal I would like to see flying besides birds : pigs LOL
i shouldn't have been : so ignorant about my mother's illness
last night i: made an awesome pasta salad and read my book
a better name for me would be : anything other than celeste
i've been told i look like : donna downey lol
if i could have any car, it would be: a restored vw convertible karmanghia
i'm tagging dina!

do i *know* you?

online that is? well if i do please send me a photo of yourself for a layout i'm working on.

gypsyheartpea@gmail.com

thanks in advance!

updating

ok so i've been told to update (thanks miss mel.)

let's see - just returned from a weekend on cape cod. i'm seriously wondering why we don't live closer to the beach. the boys had a fabulous weekend - digging in the sand, crabbing, eating too much junk, and riding on the go karts. they can't wait to go back.

adam started day camp today. i'm praying he likes it. it's nerve wracking actually. i can't wait for the day to be over so i can hear how it was.

scrapping has been on a hold for a week or so. i went to a crop and produced nothing really worthy of sharing. i have to start working on july poppy ink. otherwise, i'm chilling. i'm seriously contemplating some changes. i need to make mroe time for my famil and dh somehow.

i'm back at work today and swamped and procrastinating. ugh.

take care!

much better photo

for the action.

oh it's lovely and i hardly manipulated any of the settings. thank you thank you mindy bush!

design team call

scrapgal is having a design team call. it's a great store and a great community. go on over and check it out.

scrapgal design team call

one of the perks is you get to work with me. ;) that was sarcasm. :)

i wish i had more ___________ because _____________.

i wish i had more time because then i would be able to sleep more. i'm exhausted and a little stupid actually - stayed up until 12:30am last night watching food network star - a reality show - now i feel like death warmed over. of course if i had more sleep i'd have more energy and then i could get more done. maybe even exercise. sigh.

action

since everyone (one person lol) is so interested the action is from mindy bush - it's color wonder in her color wonder set.

editing photos

ok so i purchased a set of actions today and i've been fooling around with them this evening. trying to edit three months of photos and get them uploaded and ordered this evening. fun - not. so i decided to give a set of actions a shot. you can see the original, the way i used to edit photos and the action. which one do you prefer?

oh and this is dh being funny at the pumpkin patch. he said, "how about this one?" he's such a jokester that one. :rolling eyes:

wish me luck only 50 or so more photos to go. :)

i've been tagged

by hillary

1. regular or diet soda: rarely drink soda but when i do it's regular - ginger ale or root beer.
2. salt or pepper: i like both.
3. hot or cold weather: can i say in between. i like hot but only if there is air conditioning inside to go into to cool off. and i like cold if there is heat! lol
4. dogs or cats: cats. dogs are too much work.
5. dieting or exercise: neither - yeah i'm ok with being fat.
6. cooking or doing dishes: dishes - i
7. sleeping or shopping: sleeping - i remember when i used to get to sleep.
8. red lobster or outback steakhouse: ick.
9. classical or hip hop music: classical
10. dancing or playing sports: dancing
11. back rub or foot rub: back rub, but only because dh rubs my feet a lot.
12. fruits or vegetables: fruits
13. grey's anatomy or house: grey's anatomy. but i do watch house.
14. coffee or tea: coffee in the morning, tea the rest of the day
15. curling up with a good book or a night out on the town: book
16. straight hair or curly hair: straight
17. skirts or shorts: shorts - i only own one skirt.
18. burgers/hotdogs or chinese food: chinese food
19. vacationing in switzerland or mexico: mexico - love the beach
20. sports car or suv: sports car - better gas mileage at least.