the scrapNdiva

Holiday School Picture

2009-01-10T14:01:00.004-05:00

Xavier - November 2008 - Toddler Room

He must really want to show off his Sesame Street New Balance Sneakers, why else would he hold up his pants leg? trust me, it wasn't the socks :)

Passionate about my Christmas Tree

2009-01-10T13:44:00.009-05:00

For years, I've been collecting ornaments to put on my tree. I use my sharpie and write the year the ornament was purchased, it's nice to read the years on them as I put them onto the tree. I collect expensive and inexpensive ornaments. I take my time and wrap them each into it's own piece of tissue paper and carefully place them in their bin. My ornaments have been deemed UNTOUCHABLE and everyone knows that - well everyone except Mr. Xavier - although he has learned NOT to touch them, there are those rare times when his "I'm only 1" memory tends to kick in to full gear. I think next year I'll get him his very own 4ft tree so he can leave "my" tree alone - YES I'm worse than that mean ole' Huxley from Elmo in Grouchland when it comes to my ornaments. But just like Elmo, Xavier does not fear that mean ole' Huxley and it shows by the joy TOUCHING MY ORNAMENTS gave him - he didn't even care that I was taking pictures of him. Gotta love this kid

Uhm, yes, he's trying to get this Elmo ornament off the tree and has been trying since I put it on there.

Here are my absolute favorite place to buy ornaments from, the holiday shoppe is closed for the season but you must check them out next year - especially the day after Christmas when the prices are 75% off - SWEEEEET!

Sugar Sweet Corn

2009-01-10T13:38:00.004-05:00

I created this layout in 2003. As I was thumbing through one of my scrapbooks I came across this page. I remember this day as if it were yesterday. Our cousin "Mya" wouldn't go to anyone of the ladies in the yard. We couldn't remember if she seen my DH before or not, she went to him with no problem, I was able to capture this shot without them knowing and I think it's the innocence of the picture that I love the most.

Please Don't - Page layout

2009-01-10T12:58:00.002-05:00

I love this picture of Xavier, it's one from when we were in North Carolina. Here's what was done:

Printed 5x7 on printable canvas

Printed 4x6 picture on glossy paper AND printed it on transparency, used 3D foam to layer the transparency over the glossy pic and trimmed, when you look at it, it really has that 3D effect.

I cut out the flowers from the top half of the scrapbook paper and used 3D foam to layer it over the existing bottom half of the paper as a border.

The "Please and Don't" were typed using MS Word, printed on transparency and adhered to the scrap used for the border and cut out.

I suffered from "scrappers block" when it came time to fill in that huge blue piece so I added layers of flowers and I think it made a difference, it fits right in as if it were planned from the beginning.

The "Please Don't Poem" was one I found on-line while searching for inspiration. It just made so much sense to me. I can't wait until Xavier is old enough to read it and understand. This was a fun layout to do. Hopefully it started my scrapbooking ignition that has been unable to start for a while. Enjoy

Please hand me a diaper

2009-01-10T12:12:00.004-05:00

So, I asked Xavier to hand me a diaper, I guess I had to be a bit more specific, I should have said "hand me the first diaper on top of the stack of 80 diapers" I think that would have been much better. He literally pulled E.V.E.R.Y diaper out of his stacker, he was so busy that he didn't realize I was taking his picture. And to top it all off, he NEVER GAVE ME A DIAPER! When I did get his attention, he clapped his hands and with excitement said "YEAH MIKEY" Too adorable for words.

So you think it's a bike?

2009-01-09T18:15:00.007-05:00

Santa Hawes purchased this alphabet caterpillar learning toy for Xavier as a Christmas gift, he absolutely loves it, I think it's one of his favorite gifts yet. Funny thing though, he thinks it's a bike, YUP ya read it right, a bike - he tries to ride it as if it will take him places. Who knows, perhaps it will. Check the length, it's not that long and yet he can stradle it, he'll even pull the string as if it's a horse and screams WHEEEEEE as he goes NO WHERE.

It's been a while

2009-01-09T18:05:00.002-05:00

Well I'm not going to say I've been too busy to update this blog, I will say that I just didn't make the time to do so. So much have gone on in the past two months, way too much to post so I'll just post the good stuff pictures included.

Rollin' N Bowlin'

2009-01-07T18:45:00.006-05:00

Xavier received the cutest little tyke bike for Christmas, SWEET - he loved it, I don't think he understood what the purpose of this "push" bike was. Soon you'll see, he made his own use for it.

He also received Silly Six Pins, I love this bowling game (truth be told, I got it for me:) he really didn't get into this bowling game yet, but there is still time.

So, with his love of the bike and his like for the bowling, he decided it would be best played if he......dunnn dunnnn dunnnnnn

KNOCKED DOWN THE PINS BY RIDING HIS BIKE ONTO THE GAME!

GENIUS!

HELLLLPPPPP, I can't seem to master the technique

2008-11-03T19:23:00.002-05:00

I can't get it for the life of me, I tried so many different ways, I even tried to edit with an awesome website called www.Picasa2.com shout out to TanishaRenee I LOVE THAT FLIPPN' SITE!! I can't seem to take a digital photo my my layouts and post them online, perhaps I am being too picky about angles and stuff, but I spend lots of time on my layouts and want them viewed the best way possible. I stopped my search for a flatbed scanner that would enable me to scan 12x12 layouts, couldn't find an affordable one (affordable = damn near FREE) so now my search begins for a flatbed color scanner that can scan at least 11x17. I have sooooo many layouts to post but can't seem to master the technology I have to do so. Any suggestions??????

Happy Halloween

2008-11-01T00:36:00.006-04:00

Happy Halloween everyone

Today was a very special day for me, Xavier participated in his first Halloween Party and Costume Parade at daycare. He was the cutest spider EVER! A true sport for keeping that hat on the entire time and you can tell he enjoyed himself as he was always happy.

I've gone through so much to get this baby that today wasn't just about celebrating the occasion, it was about ME finally having my OWN child to celebrate with. Don't get me wrong, I love my nieces, nephews and cousins that I've celebrated with for years, but this year was different as I chose the costume, and we (me & mr. scrapNdiva) were there for OUR child. It doesn't get any better in my world. Although he didn't eat any of the food during the party, he did entertain the idea with finger play with the jello. Here are a few photos of Mikey and his classmates.

On another note, after the parade at daycare, we took Xavier to the mall for some trickORtreating. It was so nice seeing all the different costumes. I began to get a bit emotional because I am taking my son store to store - One of the best days of having Xavier.

I'm speechless now and about in tears, tears of joy!!!

Road trip to North Carolina

2008-10-31T23:43:00.008-04:00

Our first road trip with a toddler, hmmmmm, what can I say except the next time we will FLY! We "the scrapNdiva family" drove from NJ to Nashville/Rocky Mount North Carolina to celebrate the 60th birthday of mr. scrapNdiva's husbands twin uncles. It was a nice trip, always good to see those relatives that you don't see often. This trip gave me the opportunity to see a side of Xavier that I've never seen before, mainly because we've never really traveled in a car with him as a toddler for longer than an hour and maybe fifteen minutes. I learned that after 2 hours, he looses his patience, gets restless, AGGRESSIVE and all the "tated's" you can be - irriTATED, aggeTATED and just MEAN-O-TATED! At one point, I found myself playing feety-toes with him, he enjoyed that for a long time, like 10 minutes..... (seemed forever at the time)

I think we stopped about 3 times so he could stretch his legs (didn't even think to take pictures at the rest stops), we backed out of our driveway at 9:28am and arrived at our hotel in Rocky Mount at about 5:45pm and Xavier might have taken a 40 minute nap - YES - you said it - HE DID NOT SLEEP - he gabbled, said Elmo at least a gazillion times (he loves Elmo)

Once we arrived and checked into the hotel, opened the door to our room, XAVIER was overwhelmed, he loved the rooms as he didn't know where to start, it was perfect for him, everything at his reach, no locks on cabinets, fridge or the dishwasher - HOG HEAVEN, he went room to room walking, crawling and scooting. He tried to leave the room many times, you couldn't open the door without him saying "out" or "nanna's house" he was just too cute!

The weather was horrible in NC, rain, COLD, FREEZING COLD!! It was coat and scully hat cold outside - here are a few pics from the get-a-way. Oh and Xavier loved that darn golf cart and all the cows he was able to see. ENJOY

How do you keep your toddler "busy" during a long road trip?

My Sweet Precious Baby

2008-10-12T19:39:00.010-04:00

Oh how mommy just loves you, you are very well taken care of, you don't now and will never have to need for anything or want for much. You are still fed a bottle, because you refuse to eat, you are taken to feeding therapy every Monday morning, your mommy puree's food just for you to carry along with us (and it be good too, too bad you won't even try it), your clothes are washed, you get bathed, your diapers are changed at least every two hours, you get massages every night, I'll do anything for you precious miracle of mine, like this afternoon when I cleaned your room because you had everything everywhere, I made your little bed, dusted off your bookshelf since all the books were everywhere except on the shelf, I even took the time to arrange your books in height order, man oh man I'd love for someone to do this for me. It took me about an hour to clean your room and it only took you 5 minutes to do this:

Oh yea, what happened to the other wing on the butterfly? you know the one located on the frog garbage can..... I love you so much

Ed Hardy, what have you done to attract me?

2008-10-12T19:20:00.003-04:00

I never considered myself to be a trendy person. I tend to make smart purchases that have no expiration date on them. I would never have been attracted to anything Ed Hardy but he came out with these tattoo'd low rise sneakers that I absolutely adore. I had to get them, I have to figure out how to wear them because I don't wear sneakers often, but these babies will get some airplay.

Were you serious when you asked me to move my car?

2008-10-12T18:51:00.002-04:00

Who does that? Random lady in the parking lot is who.

As I was heading to the side of the door where Xavier's carseat is located, this lady stopped her car and asked that I move so she can park because she has a baby? What in the Fuggnicity - clearly she saw that I too had a baby. She then asked that I read where it says "and parents with babies" so I said, I did read it, that's why I parked here and if you wanted this park, you should have gotten here about 5 minutes before me. What nerve! As she angrily pulled off and parked in another spot, as I was pushing my cart towards the store, she stormed passed me and said "this is considered an infant, he's only 6 months old" OKAY lady, please when you wanna prove a point to me, please don't use your 6 month old infant son that weighs at least 30lbs more than my 18month old! Seriously, have you ever asked someone to move their parked car in a public lot so you can have that spot?

Layout Title: The Many Faces of You

2008-10-11T22:43:00.005-04:00

My sweet baby Xavier loves the outdoors, he's truly an outdoor fiend! With that said, I took him outside and he felt confident enough to explore more, very ambitious even as he attempted to walk the stone steps (of course I stopped him) he wasn't too happy. It gave me the perfect opportunity to take a few pictures of him giving me serious faces. Pardon the uneven picture of the layout, I'm still trying to master taking pics of my pages instead of scanning and stitching.

I created a 2 page spread using 9 pictures:

The last picture if of the "opened door" under the first picture, that's where I journaled.

The Expression Scanner by Epson

2008-10-11T10:25:00.004-04:00

I want this Epson Expression Scanner so bad. It absolutely makes sense to the scrapper that spends time on 12x12 layouts but don't want to spend time scanning by stitching (time consuming) and for the scrappers such as myself that haven't mastered the technique of taking photos of my layouts with my digital camera.

The perfect space - Share your space

2008-10-11T00:55:00.004-04:00

I don't know who it belongs to but I love it. Look how functional, organized and spacious this studio is. Please share pics of your space with me via email. Thanks

Cricut Design Studio: scrapNhot or scrapNnot?

2008-10-11T00:49:00.002-04:00

Ahhhh, the Design Studio. It took me a few tries to master the technique behind welding, I'm almost there but not good enough. I "heart" this program A LOT! It allows you to actually cut on your layout page if that's your choice. You have access to all the carts but you can only cut out using carts that you actually have. Kudos to Provo Craft for this software. It's user friendly if you are computer literate. All in all, I highly recommend this software. Explore the link below, they actually allow you to download a trial version, trust me, you will not be disappointed.

The Jukebox: scrapNhot or scrapNnot?

2008-10-11T00:44:00.002-04:00

I had to see what all the hype was myself. I "have" the cricut jukebox and can honestly say as an advanced scrapper that it's one of those "it's okay to have" NOT a nice to have, nor a need to have. Truth be told, it takes up too much space and if you have to take the time to change out the keypad, why not just change the cart as well. I was under the impression that you can use multiple carts within one cut, but that's not the case I haven't experienced that function yet and I tried multiple times. If this review was helpful to you and/or you can offer any suggestions on how I can make my jukebox work, please leave me a comment.

My scrapNstudio

2008-10-11T00:10:00.016-04:00

First, without the jetmaxx storage cubes, this would have been impossible.

This is inside my studio closet: bottom and top storage

Patterned paper, page kits and foam alphabet stamps are all stored in the Cropper Hopper Vertical Paper Holder , the drawers house most of the cutting tools, adhesives and themed rub-ons. On the clothing rack bar fibers are stored in baggies that are attached to the clothing bar by two three ring binder circles. Ribbons are stored in sectioned art bin containers. Photo boxes are used for all of my extra supplies or supplies that I don't use on a regular basis. I use the rubbermaid shelf savers to house many of my smaller items such as chipboard alphabets, metal alphabets and other what-nots.

The shoe rack on the side, houses my ink pads. I truly love the system I created for myself. The ease of getting to my supplies are wonderful and best of all, I can simply close the closet and the room looks just as neat.

The next pictures are of my bookshelf, I maintain my hand punches in one of the pull out canvas boxes. I also keep my magazines and how to books there too. The top racks houses all of my small embellishments like brads, snaps, staples, buttons, eyelets, phxoto corners and metal words. On top of those racks are my paints. Oh and I also store my 8x8 papers on this shelf too.

My last tour will be of my work space, I made function out of the dead space between the inner bottom of desk and floor:

The Ultimate Guide for Storing your Scrapbooking Supplies

2008-10-11T00:08:00.003-04:00

Truly is the Organization Tips for Scrapbookers! Generally, I'm an organized person, at times, it's hard to stay that way. This book not only suggest tips for organizing, it also offers support on how to maintain an order to you scrapbook studio. I find that the more organized my space is, the less I suffer from scrapbookers block and the more I actually create layouts and not search for supplies. If you suffer from scrapbookers block, please read overcoming scrapbookers block. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

The Cricut Expression: scrapNhot or scrapNnot?

2008-10-10T23:57:00.006-04:00

If you own the baby bug, please, don't rush to invest in the expression UNLESS you have the need to cut out super large images. 99.9% of the time, I'm only cutting out smaller items, since I've had the expression, I've yet to cut out anything large. With the expression, you can no longer cut on 9x12 sized paper, it's either 12x12 or 12x24 which is a waste of great paper. NOW, if you have the expression, good for you because the added features are awesome! I'm still trying to figure everything out, I'm constantly looking for the upgrades so I can download them, I hear they are coming and coming soon. How do you like the expression? Compared to the baby bug, could you take it or leave it?