So Stinkin' Cool!

Yes!! Can I just say that I am way EXCITED!

I am proud to announce that I've been selected to be part of the 2008-2009 Design Team at CreativeXpress!!! This was my 3rd year trying for a spot so I am very pleased with myself.

Now only if I'd be picked to be on the Fancy Pants DT, I'd be doing cart-wheels on the moon!

So, here are the rest of the lucky girls to round out the new CX team...

Returning Members:
Elizabeth Carney
Nikki Hobbs
Melanie Douthit
Jen Nichols
Kara Henry
Becki Adams

New Members:
Stephanie Ackerman
Heather Carpenter
Andrea Amu
Joy Hager
Stacy Armstrong
Laura Mendoza
Karen Pinsonat
Megan Peacock
Meridith Watson

Congratulations to all of you awsome girls! I am really glad to be joining you all and I can't wait to see what the year has in store for us! :)

HELD

Here it is, my latest scrapbook page, and the beginning of a new remembrance album. This is the first page I've been able to scrap of Amelia. When I was doing Ava's pages, I was eager to begin the process and I started working on those pages almost the week after I had her. I felt as though all my impressions and images of her tiny being were still fresh in my mind and I wanted to capture all of that before I felt her slip away... not that my memories of her will EVER disappear, but I guess it was more-so a feeling of anxiety of wanting to do her memory justice!

It's now going on 3 months since we've "held" Amelia, and I am just now getting the motivation I need to start her pages. We immediately got the photos developed the very next day, afterall pictures were all we would now have. Again, no bringing a baby home from the hospital. There is nothing so lonely as being wheeled out of the hospital without our baby being held in my arms, and even more torturous, the ride home!

I'm glad to be scrapping these photos though! It is therapy to me, and brings me a comfort that can't even be explained. A sweet, sweet friend, Wendy Rago who's in charge of the Bad Girls site, was gracious enough to send me one of her luscious kits after she heard about Amelia. She had hoped that the kit would help me to preserve some of our memories of our lil' girl. I was absolutely thrilled to have gotten her package and I assured her that it would all be put to good use to document our time with Amelia. So, Wendy if you come across this post, I just want to again say thanks! You really do have a big heart, girl! ;)

So here's the first page! It is my most favorite photo of her too. She's so tiny, yet so perfect and amazing. Most of the yummy ingredients used to create this came from the June Bad Girls kit, Malibu Pop Shop...

Remember to click on the photo to view it larger. Other products that I added to the page that were not included in the kit include pink Stickles, black ink, dimensional medium (Aleene's), a floral acrylic stamp from Fancy Pants and the vellum quote from http://www.pregnancylossribbons.com/.

Here are a few more close-up views of the details...

I cut out the above flower from the Tinkering Ink paper (Giardino flower), and added bling to it with dimensional medium and pink Fruit Punch Stickles.

For the "Held" title I used the BasicGrey Undressed chipboard letters (Middleset) that came in the kit, and I painted them with Making Memories Honeydew green paint, also from the kit. The floral accents I then stamped onto the letters with black Staz-On ink and a Fancy Pants floral stamp. I then cover the letters with dimensional medium and extra-fine glitter.

Thanks for letting me share this page with you all! I expect to be working on others real soon, but I may not get the chance until after the big move, which is fast approaching (at last)! Our closing date on the house is scheduled for the 29th of this month, so I have been quite busy packing boxes. Of course I'm trying to avoid packing up the scrap-room until the last possible minute, lol!


Yesterday I had a Hysterosalpingogram test done at the hospital. It's a test performed to detect problems in the size or shape of the uterus that may be the cause of repeated pregnancy loss. It has been determined that my uterus is normal! This is a very good thing to know, but now we still have to persue some further testing. For now this all remains a mystery, but we WILL get to the bottom of all of this... I'm determined!

Again, thanks to everyone for your continued prayers and blessings!

Freakin' Fancy NERVOUS!

That's me! As I continue to anxiously wait for the announcement of this year's CreativeXpress Design Team (for which I really hope to be a part of), my nerves are certainly working over-time. See, there's also a "fancy" fabulous company that just so happens to be seeking new designers for their team too, and the company for which I am referring to of course is none other than, Fancy Pants Designs... my all time EVER, most favorite scrapbook company! I have been wanting to be a part of this team ever since I was introduced to their fancy schmancy stuff in 2005! I was lucky enough to be named to their Honorable Mention list during their previous Design Team call, so I really, REALLY hope to make it onto the actual Design Team roster this time around! What a fantastic opportunity it would be for me to be able to create and design for Fancy Pants... I would just be over the moon HAPPY! :D BUT, there are hundreds of other talented girls who are also dying to be a part of this group, and they have said they would only be adding "5" new designers! My word! Can I make the cut? I dunno, but you can betcha I am tryin' my best! Breathe, Andrea... and think positive and mighty thoughts! :)

Sooo, would you like to see some lil' peeks of the things I submitted? We had to submit 3 layouts in our entries and 1 extra project that could be a home decor item, a set of cards or an extra layout.

This is from my first layout...

and from my second layout..

and my third page...

For my extra project I went with a home decor item, and here's a sneak of it...

I do want to be a part of this Fancy Pants DT and it would be the ultimate scrapbooking dream for me, but regardless, I LOVE all these submissions that I've done. I'll be sure to show them in detail after the DT selection. Before I wrap up this post though I thought I'd share one more page tonight. This one was from my Fancy Pants DT entry from when I got an Honorable Mention and it's also a remembrance layout for our Ava. Absolutely one of my most cherished and loved pages that I've completed to date...

Daddy's Heart

Here is some more detail of the title-work...

The journaling for this page is a poem that I found in the "Pea Soup" at Two Peas. It expresses everything that I had ever hoped for in a father for my children. Mugi has definitely completed that vision for me. He has stuck by my side for all these difficult pregnancies, he has been my biggest support. We welcomed our babies into this world together and I know how eager he has been to step into the father role. I think it takes a pretty special person to be a daddy of Angels!

When I heard the news of you,

I did the things that most daddies do.

I opened up my heart so wide,

For you to have a place inside.

As each day passed, I'd think of you,

I'd watch you grow, I was "expecting" too!

I tried to imagine the person you'd be

Would you look or act like me?

I thought of the things that we would do,

The times we'd share, just us two.

I would give you piggyback rides,

Push your swing and watch you slide.

I would teach you how to ride a bike,

Catch your first ball and throw your first strike.

I would hold your hand in mine,

Be your protector, strong yet kind.

I would be your hero and friend,

Give love and advice on which you'd depend.

I will always remember the day you were born,

I cradled a miracle, small and warm.

What words I had were scarce and few,

A tear and a smile were the best I could do.

Life gave me a moment, precious and rare,

Bursting with pride, excitement and care.

I promised you then, all that I had,

See, you were my child and I was your dad.

When I heard the news of you,

I did the things that most daddies do.

I opened my heart so wide,

Where you will ALWAYS have a place inside.

As always, thanks for taking the time to look and read about my work. I love sharing it with you all!

08-08-08...Someone's Havin' A B-Day!

Yes, it's Mugi's Birthday :) Love that it has fallin' on 8/8/08! He's getting more and more distinguished these days (does the color grey mean anything?)! Lol... love ya babe! No pictures of the big boy though, as he's been at work all day and I haven't really seen him. I'll try to snap one later tonight.

This day is also kind of bittersweet for me, as I should be exactly 27 weeks pregnant today as well. I of course took down all my baby tickers that I had on my signatures in all the forums, but I couldn't seem to bare to delete the one from here on the blog. So when I scroll down all the way I can still see how far along I would've been. I know I'm torturing myself. I just keep wondering what things would be like right now if I were still carrying her. I've never gotten to 27 weeks. I WISH I knew what it felt like to be at that stage of a pregnancy. I can't help but to wonder.

Here's a favorite photo of mine with Amelia and her daddy!

Happy Birthday, daddy...

Movin' On :)

After several months of doom and gloom, I finally have a bit of exciting news to share! I am proud to say that we are FINALLY (after 8 years of renting) buying our first house!!! We are freakin' giddy about the notion of at last, being home-owners... at least I am! However, a certain someone else seems to be unbelievably nervous about the impending mortgage payments! Understandable... but paying rent that goes out the window is just as nerve-wrenching, I think!

We have been waiting for this opportunity for so long, but there was always something that held us back. We'd think about it some, but then never really persue it to any degree. I always hoped that we would be settled down in a home for when we had our children, and I even considered waiting to get pregnant this last time until we had one... but I couldn't wait. The desire for a baby out-weighed the wish for a new house! But now it's time. After losing Amelia, our minds shifted to our future once again... a future that we are unsure of. Will it just be the two of us in the picture, or will we have our little family one day? With these thoughts swimming around, we also needed to focus on "moving on". What better way to move forward than with a home to call our own.

So, by the end of June we were actively beginning the search. The first house we looked out was nothing to write home about, and I began to think this process might take a long time. Then I think we looked at 2 more homes and we did happen to find a house that we really liked, so much so that we decided to make an offer. The sellers came back and declined our offer, hoping that we'd counter to offer something closer to their asking price. Right away, we decided that if they didn't take our first offer, we'd just walk away and keeping looking elsewhere... so we did. I thought maybe I'd feel like we were making a mistake by not taking the house, but I was really okay with it because I believed we'd find something better. Later on that week I was looking at house listings on-line and I came across another beautiful house and I called right away to set up a showing. We feel in love with it and made an offer that same day. We were told that we'd be contacted on whether or not our offer was accepted after the 4th of July weekend. The call came, and they accepted! I couldn't believe it... that we were actually buying our home... I still can't!

The closing is at the end of this month on the 29th, and in the mean time I'm just so eager to get moved out of this apartment that we've been living in the past 3 years. We have really out-grown the space and I just am so excited to have an entire house to ourselves! I've been packing little stuff here and there for now, but I'm not too worried about most of the larger stuff being ready until closer to the time we move everything out the beginning of September. We'll be getting all the carpets replaced in the 3 bedrooms before we move everything in, and I also want 2 of the bedrooms and 2 of the bathrooms repainted. I've been having a blast choosing the colors and picking out some new pieces of furniture! I've always loved sleighbeds, so last week we did some shopping and picked one out for our room. We've been sleeping in a Full-size bed all these years and desperately need a larger one.

Onto other endeavors. How 'bout scrapping... what's been going on in my little scrap world? Well, going back to the new house, I almost forgot to mention that I'll be having my very own Scrap-room too! The basement of the house is finished and there's a room down there that the previous owner had been using for his work-shop, and he has cabinets and a counter installed in the room! Certainly perfect for all my scrappy needs! :) Yipppeee!

On another scrap-related note, it's that time of year again at CreativeXpress for them to choose their new Design Team. And of course I'm trying for it again. This will be my 3rd attempt, but I'm not giving up because I have really wanted to be a part of this talented team for awhile now. The entries are due by the 3rd and I submitted my 3 pieces last night. I love all of these pages that I entered... thought I'd upload my submissions here for everyone else who may not frequent CX, to take a look.

Here's my first page entry - Falling For Autumn Decor.

Information about the following project:

I really enjoy creating 2 page layout designs in my scrapbooking and I feel this particular spread embodies a lot of my favorites... bold, seasonal color, use of multiple photos and a fun topic... my Autumn Home Decor! I was also able to experiment with printing digital frames and text on some of the photos on here for the very first time, so I am happy to say this is my first successful attempt with Hybrid-Scrapping! Here is a link to my CX gallery, and if you would like to check out more of my 2 page designs, I have an album devoted to them...

http://www.creativexpress.com/commun...=5077&sl=a

Journaling -

" One of my favorite things about Fall is the decorations. I'm always so anxious to pull them out of the boxes in the closet and beautify our home with the colors of the season. Each year I enjoy collecting a few new additions. Included in this year's findings are, an adorable felt bag to fill with a chocolate stash, a handsome pumpkin guy to sit on our hallway bench, and my absolute favorite, a beautiful rustic mirrored door stand!"

Supplies -Cardstock: Bazzill.Patterned paper: My Mind's Eye.Stamps: The Kim Hughes collection, Cornish Heritage Farms (Fall Silhouettes).Ink and marker: Stampin' Up.Glittered chipboard letters: Target Corp.Computer font: Times New Roman, Microsoft.Digital photo frame masks and text: Photo Explosion Deluxe. Mini Pinking edged scissors: Fiskar.

Here's my 2nd entry - It's Just a Lil' Water!

Information about the following project:

I made this page, and instantly fell in love with it. My niece has always been one of my favorite scrapping subjects, and these photos that I took of her and her friend at the summer cabin certainly captured her free-spirited personality. I wanted to make this a pretty page, yet show a little bit of "earthiness". I think by using muted pastel colors, black inked edging, epoxy water splats and a strip of old denim jeans in combination with the pretty buttons and scalloped edges, I was able to achieve this desired look.

Journaling:

"They really DO like each other. There was no love lost between these two when Erica drenched Lera with her bottled water and then preceded to drag her by her legs into the creek! It's always fun to see what new rowdy messes can be made during a weekend spent at the cabin!"

July 29, 2007.

Supplies-Patterned paper and buttons: My Mind's Eye.Cardstock: Bazzill.Scalloped die-cuts: Cricut, Provo Craft (Mini Monograms).Mini brads: Doodlebug design, inc.Velvet letter stickers: Making Memories.Black letter stickers: Mrs. Grossman's.Rub-ons: BasicGrey.Epoxy sticker Rain Splats: Cloud 9 Design.Ink: Stampin' Up.Computer font: Book Antiqua.Other: Strip of denim from old jeans, used for border trim; Hole punch (Crop-a-Dile).

And last, my 3rd submission - Beautiful Precious Soul

Information about the following page design:

I am now the mother of 3 darling Heavenly angel babies. Scrapbooking has become more than a hobby for me now... it has become a means of therapy and healing for me. Most importantly, scrapping has allowed me to preserve my daughters' legacies. I have been able to document their brief, but ohhh so loved exsistence. This page is one of many remembrance pages dedicated to my second baby girl, Ava Noel. It is one of my favorite tributes to her because it shows what she's truly about... being a beautiful, precious soul. I will never have enough pictures of her... I will never have all the ones that I would love to take, but these pictures prove that she was real and that I am her mom, and I always will be. Here's a link to my CX gallery, where I also have an album uploaded and dedicated to Ava's Remembrance pages...

http://www.creativexpress.com/commun...=5077&sl=a

Supplies used-Patterned paper: Bohemia, My Mind's Eye: K&Co.Cardstock: Bazzill.Frame, title card, quote tag and transparent flourish accent: Bohemia, My Mind's Eye.Ribbon: Bobbin, Morex.Die-cut lettering: QuicKutz (Ginger Font).Wooden letters: li'l Davis Designs. Flourish stamps: Rhonna Farrer, Autumn Leaves.Ink: Stampin' Up.Dimensional medium: Papier Glass Finish, Plaid.Pounce wheel tool (for faux-stitching): Making Memories.Pink jewelry crystals: Hirschberg Schutz & Co.

Thanks again for taking a look... and please, please keep your fingers crossed for me to get on this fabulous Design Team... cause CX ROCKS!!