Be Bad.

Send the dog to the groomer.
Give the husband a grocery list.
Dump over the toy box and close the door.
You've got plans this Saturday, and I don't want to hear any excuses.

Join us at Bad Girls Kits THIS Saturday, May 2, as we scrap the livelong day away in observation of National Scrapbooking Day. The Bad Girl design team has been plotting behind the scenes, planning challenges and classes guaranteed to keep your fingers busily at work and play all day.

Here's a peekie at my own challenge (4:00 p.m. PST), which is all about reaching in and letting that Bad Girl out:


A sweet RAK will be involved...

Hope to see you there!

I'm So Punny.

"Gesso? I Know So!" is my contribution to this month's Technique Tuesday post over at Bad Girls Kits. You can check it out here. The page below is a testament to my goofy gesso love -- and my goofy gorgeous daughter, of course.

This is the beginning of a scrap-happy week. The May Bad Girls reveal party is on Thursday, April 30...and just as we'll all be recovering from swooning over that beauteous kit, National Scrapbooking Day will be swooping in on Saturday, May 2. The challenges and classes that we have planned at Bad Girls Kits will keep you busy and blissful all the livelong day, trust me on that.

Ere I go, here are a few peekies of the May kit. The best way I can think of to describe this kit is "vintage-ethereal" -- as in, roots and wings. It's glorious. Really.

Five Faves Friday

1. Last Friday, I celebrated my new inhaler's arrival, and this week, following my third doctor's appointment this month, I'm celebrating even more good drogas in the house. Goodbye bronchitis, hello clear airways!
Granted, I can't drive now or go into the sun until I'm off the meds, but at least I'm not hacking and wheezing 24/7 anymore.

2. Mochi Crunch. There are many (many) brands of this stuff available everywhere on island, but the best of the best can only be found at the movie theater, for $4 a bag.

It's insane, I know, but sometimes I will go to watch a movie just because I'm craving this stuff. Today, my sweet, sweet husband surprised me by bringing some home for me. Who needs flowers?

3. Rob also brought home something else for me:

W-wow! A new sewing machine! I think he took pity on me, since my old machine refused to work with me this week.

4. Gesso. My fingers have been covered in this happy goopy stuff lately. I'm loving it!

I've been slathering it on pages, creating accents, stamping in it, and painting over it. Gesso is so versatile. Next week my Technique Tuesday post over at Bad Girls Kits is all about the gesso, so check it out if you can!

5. This week, Rob and I discovered The Unusuals. We've been DVR-ing it for weeks now, and finally sat down to watch it. It's a pretty funny show, with some amusing and intriguing characters.

It's still not what I'd consider strong, but it has its moments...and dark humor, which I love. Given a chance, the show could become even better. It definitely deserves a place on my faves this week...even if only for featuring Cat Power's "Metal Heart" at the end of this week's episode and for introducing me to the song "Lord, Lord, Lord" by the Kahn Brothers.

Give a Man a Camera

You've heard the advice before, I'm sure -- "Include yourself in photos more often. Don't always be the one taking the photos."

So I've made the effort; I've handed over the camera.

Every single time I hand over the camera to Rob, I find pics like this when I upload the photos later.

Boobs.
Butt.
Blurry boobs.
Blurry butt.
Boob zoom.
Butt zoom.
Variations on a theme.

I get it. It's his way of saying that I am his favorite subject. I am his muse. I inspire him.
Or something.

Five Faves Friday

(1) Scrabble.


When I was in my third trimester and finding it impossible to sleep, Rob and I would stay up into the wee hours of the morning playing Scrabble. He didn't seem to care that I beat him every single time. Now, eleven years later, he's still willing to play Scrabble with me, and to lose every single time. Actually, I think he may have almost won once. The board somehow "fell" off the table and the tiles scattered everywhere. He claims that he was in the lead, and so he considers that game his one victory. Tragically, we'll never know how that game would have turned out.

Last night, we played Scrabble again, this time with our sweet little spawn. She's pretty good. She was not happy with me, though. I was able to use all of my tiles twice during the game, and both times on a triple word score -- the first time for "dismayed", and the second time for "ravings." I really don't play to win -- it's all about the wordplay. Fine -- the winning is a teeny bit fun, I admit.

(2) Delta Seafoam paint.

I picked up this paint a few days ago and I luh-uh-uhve it.

(3) My new inhaler.

Yay for breathing!

(4) Root Beer.

I am horribly addicted to root beer. Initially, it was my "crossover" drink, to help me kick my Pepsi habit. When I was craving something carbonated, root beer would do the trick. Now I drink it more than water. Bad, bad, bad habit. I'm craving one right now, in fact. On the upside, I can't drink Pepsi any more -- I hate the taste. Unfortunately, although the root beer I drink doesn't have the caffeine that Pepsi contains, root beer does have more calories than Pepsi. If I stopped drinking root beer, I think I'd easily lose five pounds. So why is this even on my favorite things list? Because it's wonderful.

(5) TTV's.

TTV's are awesome.
I don't care if they look gritty or grungy.
In fact, that may be why I like them so much.

ETA: Nellie McKay gets an honorable mention this week for tongue-in-cheek brillliance.


(Thanks for the link, Stacy!)

Guess What I'm Craving Now?

Hambly, Pavlov. Pavlov, Hambly.

You know how it works.
Someone says "Hambly," and somewhere, a scrapper salivates. Fingers start to itch.

Just as Pavlov's dog reacted to that ringing bell, we paper-loving chicks gravitate toward the Hambly...and we Bad Girls know just what to with it when it's in our hands. Yep, some of the DT creations using the purply butterfly goodness in this month's Bad Girls kit are being featured on the Hambly blog.

You may notice that one particular DT member (ahem, me) is not featured on the blog post. Alas, I only used a bit of the Hambly on one of my layouts this month, "Eleven".

I was saving the rest of the transparency to use for my Project 52 creation later this month, but then my project morphed, and now my butterflies are currently flitting around my scrap stash waiting for another opportunity. I'm sure they'll find one soon!

In any case, now that I've established the Awesomeness Quotient of said Hambly transparency, you may be interested in checking out this linky-link for a chance to win not only the transparency, but the ENTIRE Bad Girls April kit.

You know you want it.
I did say "Hambly," after all.
Let the salivating and finger-itching commence.

The TTV Addiction Begins

I've been noticing oh-so-coolio and funky photo frames on blogs and layouts recently, and after a little bit of detective work, I found out that they actually have a name -- TTV's, as in "Through the Viewfinder."

April Foster has a very easy-to-follow tutorial for using TTV's with PSE on her blog -- right here. After reading it this evening, I had fun playing around with some pics that I took today:

I used this link initially to find my first TTV (used in the pics above), but later discovered this one, too. Then I discovered that they're EVERYWHERE. There's something magical about TTV's. I love the effect!

Off to go play some more...

ETA 04/14/09 -- Perhaps TTV's aren't for everyone. My mom saw one of the pics today and asked, "What's with all of the black spots on the photo?" Ha! Huh. So I see vintage-cool, while she sees...dirty. I get it...eye of the beholder and all.

Here Comes Peter Cottontail...

Just a quick post to say HAPPY EASTER!

I've had the line "Here comes Peter Cottontail, hopping down the bunny trail..." in my head for two days now.
It was highly entertaining yesterday.
It was silly today.
If that song is still in my head tomorrow, I don't know what I'll do.
I can only handle only so much cuteness before it becomes madness.

Feeling Springy

blossoms
light rains
cool evenings
lengthening days
the promise of things to come

I'm definitely feeling springy lately! The March and April Bad Girls kits definitely helped me channel that feeling on this layout, as did a great layer-loving sketch by Gina. At this point, I only have bits and pieces left of each kit, but I am savoring every single little bit and piece, let me tell you. I was able to get a sneaky peeky of May's kit, and I haven't stopped salivating since. It's gonna be good.

There's even more to look forward to in May. Be sure to stop by Bad Girls Kits for National Scrapbooking Day on May 2. We're planning so many good bad surprises.

Scrappy Sunday

This photo IS my Sunday. Now that I have about forty little stacks of circles galore, I'll be assembling them in a mini-album celebrating the birthday of our parish/school priest. Each year I get "voluntold" for the task, but I'm happy to comply. Even compulsory scrapping is scrapping, right? Any excuse to play with paper is good by me, and I'm loving the fact that I get to play with page after page and circle after circle of GREEN today. Unfortunately, I won't be able to share the final album though, since it contains photos of students.

On another scrappy note, one of my pages was featured in a feature on April Fools/practical jokes in Scrap Street magazine. Here's a link: http://scrapstreet.com/mag2009/april4/fixtures/open2.htm. There are lots of great features in this month's issue, so be sure to check it out if you haven't already.

Linky Love

It's not flowers or jewelry that tell me that my husband loves me. It's the fact that he knows exactly what links to send my way. Here's today's linky love: "College Really Isn't Necessary."