Last Week. In Pictures.

So here's a quick overview of what happened last week. I just started the process of going through all of my pictures and have barely started working with them and looking through them all.

Last Wednesday we attended a Rudy Giuliani rally. It wasn't really that we supported The Mayor, just that he had called and was kind enough to invite us several times. So we figured it wouldn't hurt to grab a beer at McCabes.

There was a nice crowd and we were able to meet up with a very good friend of ours. I mostly used the opportunity to pretend I was "photo-journalist-Meredith" and sneak as close as I could for some shots. It was actually a lot of fun and a good experience I think. I did catch a few shots of a local anchor who was not too happy that the Japanese TV Crew got in closer for a better shot than her station's cameraman did, it was pretty funny!


I really enjoyed the Giuliani rally. It was interesting to see him in public and I liked that I didn't hear anything about any of the other candidates (well besides Hillary).

Then on Friday we took the dogs to "camp" and headed to Tampa for a weekend with the Taylor Family. We stayed with Joe's cousin Nancy. Friday night was a party for Chad (Nancy's boyfriend) for his birthday. And then Saturday was Joseph's Birthday and GASPARILLA!

It was my first Gasparilla ever and Joe hadn't been since he was a page as a young man. It was pretty crazy. The longest parade I've ever been to. This is my fav photo so far...


The pirate costumes were pretty awesome and most were pretty elaborate too. We didn't get to see The Invasion but I'm hoping we'll be able to next year or go next time and take photos of the ship. All in all it was a really good time...



(It was pretty evident when we got there that I wasn't going to need the hat and glasses - sunny it wasn't!)

After the parade we went to The MerryMakers Club. It was pretty cool to see the place since I'd heard about it so much (a lot of Taylor History there). It was fun but I could in no way keep up with the pirates - thank god! We got home pretty early and the whole Krewe of Taylor crashed for the night! lol.

Sunday we went over to our Aunt Michael's house for dinner. Some of the family came over and dinner was amazing (as usual). Then came this....


for Joe's Birthday.

Don't ask, because I have no clue!

Nora & Helen. What can I say?

Joe was a good sport about it and the cake was pretty yummy - so it was a good time.

We stayed the night there and picked up the dogs on our way back Monday Morning!

So there we go. It was a pretty great weekend and really good to see the Tampa family again.

I hope that everyone had a great weekend. I am really looking forward to catching up on some of my favorite blogs, (which I've also been way too far behind on!) I can't wait to hear what everyone's plans are for the Super Bowl. We don't know what we are doing yet but I'm hoping we'll get together with some friends and re-connect to Naples a bit. We'll see!

{hugs}

back home & starting over...

2008 has already seemed to start slipping away from me. There are so many things I have planned for this year - so many leaves I hope to turn over... but January is come and almost gone and I've made little if any headway. So, this is a new start for me. A new commitment to be better about blogging, about creating the art that I love, about having faith in myself and not being afraid to mess up.

Joey and I just got home this morning from Gasparilla weekend in Tampa. It was a lot of fun (and a tiny bit not fun...lol!), crazy pirates all over the place, beads, coins, and advertising paraphernalia flying at our heads (or hitting me in the eye), beer, good friends & family, and amazing food (as always).

I have pictures from that, the Giuliani rally we went to at McCabbs last week, and some fun pics of my hubby's birthday cake.... all on the way. But for now I have a bit of work to do and will catch up on all my photos tonight!

Until then....

{hugs!}

been busy today...

getting my travel plans, hotel, and workshops all planned for CHA in February.  I'm so excited!  It's going to be an awesome show and I'm so excited for the workshops I'm taking this year.  I'm going to be taking a class by Prima called "Exquisite 6x6 Embossed Valentines Album" on Saturday morning and I'm totally stoked that there was still room for me to sign up!  

Speaking of Prima...

Becky Heisler told us over at AMM that Prima had some awesome hybrid news!  I can't wait to see this when it goes up.  I haven't really gotten as into hybrid work as I would like to but I love that Prima is coming out with their own take.  Prima products are so gorgeous and I know I'm going to want to grab up all of these products when they come out!

On a side note... I applied for the Prima DT when I was back home and on their blog yesterday they said they were still choosing their team.  I can't even begin to imagine how many entries they had since their short list is not at 100!  The SHORT list!  WOW!  I still have my fingers crossed.

My other CHA workshop that I've signed up for is on Sunday afternoon and is being taught by Kristina Contes and Nisa Fiin.  I'm really excited to *hopefully* meet them!  Regardless a little birdie told me that they are going to be using some really hot products in this workshop which is based on the Dares book so I'm totally excited!

Like I said today was a pretty busy day.  I've been working with my Autumn Leaves Manufacturer Kit and I hope to have it finished up tomorrow to share.  This is a really different color combo for me so I hope I can do this really cool line justice!

I promised a picture of my Roxy.  I tried to get a few mid-playtime yesterday but it didn't work out too well.  I did manage to grab a little snapshot as she rushed to tackle me...

Joey promised the three of us a trip to the dog park tomorrow so I'm sure I'll have some more to share!  

For now I'm off to bed!

{hugs}

Hello 2008.

I can't BELIEVE we are already 9 days into 2008!

I'm finally back and getting into the swing of life again. It was so nice to disappear from everything and be with my family for awhile. Of course I have some regrets - not enough pics taken, not enough work done... but really relaxing and sharing time with my family is what our trip was all about so I feel good.

We got back into town late late late on Saturday and spent all of Sunday playing with our pooches. Roxy is a monster now! She's so big. But she's a sweetie and it is so nice to have my pups home with me again. I missed my little {read: big} babies!

So now I'm focusing on getting things back in order and getting some work done.

While I was home I did work with the gorgeous MAMBI Sanctuary line. They were so generous to sponsor us at A Million Memories this month. I LOVE this line...


You can see all of the amazing work by the AMM DT Members with MAMBI here.

Speaking of the hotties over at A Million Memories... WE ARE CURRENTLY #2!! We leaped up on the Top 50 Kit Club Site and are sitting at #2 today! YAY! I'm so excited to Ali & Michelle. they work so hard and we watch the numbers each and every day. If you haven't already checked us out please please please do. Michelle's kits are gorgeous and AMM has the best customer service evah!

Also... you can check out some awesome CHA Winter Sneak Peeks...

Cherry Arte
Scenic Route
Tattered Angels

and a ton more here....

I just finished another project for C&T Publishing AND they decided to use my wedding 12x12 album for their COVER ART! You can see the product here which releases in February!

So that's it for now. I have some fun things coming soon and my fingers are aching to take a ton of pictures!

{hugs}

a crazy christmas...

It's been a great Christmas Holiday so far and for Joey and I our vacation is just getting started. We will be at my parents until the 5th of January and I have been taking these days to relax with my family. Things have been pretty busy around here and unfortunately on Christmas Eve we found out that we were victims of identity theft. It's been very stressful dealing with this over the holidays but we are hopeful that once we return home it will all work out. We are NOT letting this ruin our holidays!

Now it's definately back to work though! My mom and I have been doing some scrap-shopping and starting tonight will be playing with all of our new goodies together.

I know I promised some fun photos sooon - and I'm waiting for nightfall tonight to get going on them. Every year my mom does such an amazing job decorating the house and although it's a bit late the house is too beautiful not to share.

A Million Memories released their January Kit a bit early this month and it's so gorgeous....


It''s yummy yummy! You can order it here and don't forget that you can add an order to save on shipping with any leftover Christmas $$!

Also, we are doing a really cute giveaway over at A Million Memories...


All you have to do is visit our Valentines Giveaway thread and let us know what your favorite Valentines Day lines are this year and what fun projects you have planned. Then on Monday we'll be picking a winner and you'll get these two super cute kit boxes from Daisy D's!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and that you and your families have a blessed new year!

{hugs}

missing...

I've been missing for the past week or so and I'm so sorry!

Joey and I got to my parent's house on Tuesday and before that I was a mess cleaning, packing, organizing, shopping, scrapping....

But I'm all settled back in my hometown Hobart, IN and have almost all of my Christmas shopping all done! Tonight I'm taking tons and tons of photos of the house to show all of my mom gorgeous decorations. It feels so good to be back home, in the snow, with my family!

I hope everyone is having an amazing Holiday Season! I promise I'll make a "mega" post later tonight or tomorrow!

{hugs}

a Rusty Pickle giveaway and...

a little sneak peak!

So first off the goodies:

We are doing another Christmas giveaway over at A Million Memories.com - this time we are giving away the fabulous Snowflake & Mittens line by Rusty Pickle! The prize pack includes the papers AND the coordinating embellishments! To win all you have to do is visit the RAK thread and tell us what YOUR favorite holiday line is this year OR from year's past! The winner will be chosen Thursday so get your comment in!

And now for just a little tiny peek of what I've been working on for the past two days...


I am so excited to be working with C&T Publishing. I'm not allowed to really show you the AMAZING new release they sent me to work with... but you will soon as it's set for Spring 2008! I picked up these gorgeous flowers at JoAnns and have had so much fun working with them for the past few days. You are going to love this new product from C&T Publishing when you see it!

I'm also super excited because I will have my first project showing at CHA! One of the new products I designed with a few months ago for C&T Publishing (a very cool addition to their blank board book line) will be displayed at their booth at CHA Winter 2008. I'm so excited to see it there!

So bit by bit I'm getting things finished in my studio so that this weekend I can start packing up all my scrapping goodies to take home with me home for Christmas! It's going to be a fantastic trip home, and I can't wait. I miss my parents and sister so much, it's going to be so awesome to see them. It's been way too long - like 5 months! My mom and I have some scrapping to do and I can't wait to see my newest little cousin! Plus, my little sister cut her hair and I can't wait to see how it looks in real life... her hair has always been super long since high school so this is a big change, but she looks amazing.

Okay, I think I've said amazing about a billion times so I think it's time to get to bed! Tomorrow I finish up my work with MAMBI and hope to get it up to show everyone...

Have a great night & {hugs}

today i am inspired...

as usual by Anthropologie.

I love Anthropologie and have never lived so close to one! I literally find myself there once a week if not to buy something just to oogle and oogle all of the lovely inspiring goodies that they sell there.

So today I was working on my latest release project for C&T Publishing which are these super cute chipboard petal pots (I'm not allowed to show them yet but this spring they'll be released and I can share)... and I decided to share some of the cutest Anthropologie goodies on my wish list that have totally inspired me lately.

First up... vintage-y owls



I ADORE this lamp and freaked out about it when I saw it for the first time last weekend. It's so pretty. And this little sake set is so cute too. They also have a really sweet little snow owl tea set that would make such a cute gift for any owl lover on your Christmas list. Joey thinks I go a little "owl crazy" sometimes so I try to choose my pieces sparingly and carefully! lol.

One of the newest things I've found at Anthropologie are their kids clothes. They are so gorgeous...





Here are a few more random things I pulled....



Yes, that is cutlery on wallpaper! Amazing and I want it! Yes, it's pretty darn expensive but who needs a completely papers apartment? Not me!

So those are just a few of my favorite things there right now. I didn't even attempt to show you all the clothes I love form there because this would be way too long of a post!

I would love to know of YOUR favorite stores that inspire you! I am forever building up my link lists and would love to check out new eye candy!

Back to work, I'll have more to share soon!

{hugs}

{random} Friday.

Happy Friday!

Not too much has been happening this week which is why I've been a little light on the blogging. I've been doing my best to just get stuff done so that next week I can share a bunch of projects that I'm working on.

That said....

I'm freaking out about how gorgeous my little Roxy is becoming AND how BIG!

Remember when she was just little fuzz ball?


Well... this is the monster now....


She's almost 35lbs. and is finally acting like a real dog! We got her way too early so to watch her personality develop and see the stages that a pup goes through first hand (while learning along the way) has been amazing. She's finlly recognizing us as something other than food givers and is so much better about nipping. All the time I'll catch her just looking up at me staring at my face and looking into my eyes - which the Russian Monks say is a good thing! Apparenty that means she's learning to recognize our face and the eye contact is very important in the master/dog bond.

Here's a pic of her and Crystal to show how big she's getting. Crystal is still the boss but Roxy totally gives her a run for her money!


Do you love their new collars? Roxy like to pull on Crystals and we know Roxy will be growing out of her collars for the next few months so these cute little rhinestone beauties from Target for $2.50 each were perfect!

Some more {random} Friday fun...

I found this while cleaning yesterday. This is the best trophy I've ever seen...



The trophy is from Gasperilla a long long time ago which Joe's dad won for a Tug-Of-War competition.

Joey got these 3 little sailors in Hawaii...


This weekend will be super busy but I can't wait for it to start! Tonight we are going to our friend John's house for his birthday party/poker game. I'm hoping they'll ignore me and et me take some pictures - these are a group of friends that DO NOT like me hanging out with a camera but we are moving soon and if they want into my scrapbook they are going to have to deal with it! lol.

Some things to look forward to this weekend....

Flea Market (yay!)
A Handmade Christmas
Finishing up my Cards.... (maybe!)
MAMBI spotlight
a *new* C&T Publishing Release to play with
a Taylor Christmas Portrait (if the dogs will be good for me!)

I hope everyone has an amazing weekend! What are your plans?

{hugs}

Ooo... I almost forgot! I got our tickets to fly home for the holidays! We will be back in NW Indiana on the 18th and will be home until I think the 5th of January. If you want to do something call me! I'm so ready to see my friends and family it's been way too long! I will actually get to meet my new baby cousin too!

i {heart} Global Grandeur...

Been busy all weekend with cleaning, puppies, hubby, and scrapping...

but...

that means I have some fun projects to share!

I can't tell you enough how much I love this kit! There may be a few left over at A Million Memories that you can grab up, and be sure to check out what the rest of the design team did this month (everyone rocked it!)

This kit gave me the opportunity to pull out all of our travel photos and re-live some amazing moments. I totally fell for Amsterdam and really want to go back.



Can you tell Amsterdam totally inspires me. I'm going to finally clean-up some of my favorite Amsterdam shots to post. I think "Straat." is my new favorite layout. I just keep looking at it over and over again. Opening the flaps. Closing them. Ahhh.

This hottie inspires me too...


I feel like the luckiest and most beautiful girl in the world when he gives me "that look". Hehe.

The December Kit from AMM also came with this cute little box by Creative Imaginations Bare Elements called the "John" Tri-Favor Box. This little baby has so many possibilities!

Pulling out all of my travel photos to think about using for this kit really made me miss traveling as much as I used to. There are so many places I have never been that I want to - and there are places I've been without Joe that I want to take him back to! So tonight after dinner he and I are going to sit down and write some of the places and experiences we hope to have together to put in this little box. Hopefully one day we will be ready for a vacation - open it up and see what we pull out!


And finally here is a little card that I made with one of my favorite quotes....


I had so much fun using this kit and I still have a ton to use so I may still play with it tonight! I'm working on some new stuff from MAMBI which I should have soon (I love the color combos of what they sent!)

I still haven't started making my Christmas Gifts OR Cards but I did get my first Christmas Card today in the mail so I need to get on it! Joey and I have so much to figure out tonight: dates we will be back home for Christmas, Tampa Plans, project outlines... but I bought some amazing fudge from Sweetbay yesterday so I'm all good!

{hugs}

Come chat with us tonight...

and you could win:


Yup! I'm giving away two RAKs tonight at our AMM Friday Night Chat! We start chatting tonight at 7pm PST so come on by and say "hello". Our Friday night chats at AMM are just a way to get together and gab about our week, projects we are doing, things happening... and some of us even scrap! lol. (Mostly we talk to be honest.)

I have some things finished that I so wish I could show off today! But, I can't. They are top secret until the December Kit Gallery is posted at AMM this Monday, so I'll just have to wait!

You CAN see the whole kit which Michelle posted last night....


Ummm, it's amazing. That's all I can say. All of the papers are double sided and seriously the backs are just as cool as the fronts!

I hope to chat with everyone tonight!

{hugs}

Some:

new layouts to share...


ugh... I hate that these photos look so blown out. Don't be surprised if they change later today!

new goodies from AMM:


The December Kit is called Global Grandeur and is so gorgeous. I got it yesterday and I can't wait to get working this morning! There is still time to order this month's kit AND make your add-on orders for combined shipping. Check out THIS for some new goodies in the store and info on how to combine shipping! Kits ship Saturday!

and finally...

some more new artists on my ITunes...

*MIA*


She's a little crazy and her music is this amazing Bollywood/Ragga/Electronic mix. Very hot. And if you are prone to seizures I would suggest not going to her website.



*One Republic*


I have been going on and on about their song apologize and when they were on the Today show this morning Joe says "Oh yeah, I guess this song is pretty good!" Ummm, yeah.

*New Young Pony Club*


Love them! Check them out and dance the day away!

I don't know if anyone can tell but I've been a bit obsessed with music lately.

I getting to work right now but I'll have more later AND some new books that I'm really digging right now!

{hugs}

Sunday Already!

Just a quick post to catch-up a bit! Sorry no pics today, at least not until a bit later.

I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving. Mine was rather quiet. Joey and I had the whole weekend to ourselves - so we've been doing a lot of working (which for me is more fun than his work, imho!), cleaning up, cooking & baking, and relaxing together.

I have TON of projects that somehow all got started at the same time, which makes my studio a little confusing but I am hoping that by this afternoon I'll have a few of them finished up! I'm so eager to get some new stuff out there!

I also wanted to let everyone know that there are some cool things happening at AMM that you HAVE to check out. Michelle has started a Dec. Kit Naming Contest/RAK. We also have a card contest happening right now, and I'll be posting another fun contest this week! The prizes for our Holiday Contests are so cool so be sure to check them out!

Have a great Sunday!

{hugs}

(sorry if there are any major spelling mistakes but I forgot to shut off my computer last night and it's taking forever to keep up with my typing! time to let her rest a few hours while I scrap!)

Solutions & Snapshots.

Today has been "mega"productive. I have gotten so much done, everywhere. I'm in the middle of a billion projects (one of which is packing up the entire house!) , and have finally gotten some things organized in my studio so that they are easy to pack up but still out where I can work more efficiently. I am really stoked on how it all turned out for such a quick fix!





These are all made from some jars that I've collected over the past year and the $1 KI Alpha's at JoAnns. I love these little alphas so I stock up when I head there and I thought they were an easy way to decorate my jars a bit.

When I wrap them and pack them I'm storing the jars & the supplies as one. Some of the pens have special spots in my crop bag; the inks, paints and stickles all fit in that brown box which is actually a Kentucky whiskey box that Joey collected. I love how it looks. I'm hoping by packing some of this stuff today I'll be saving space and be able to still use the stuff!



This is my quick fix for my rubon's and new stuff - like a clip-it idea I guess. While packing up some of our office supplies I found the cork board squares that were supposed to have been used to create a pegboard wall for Joey. He never used them because they were to thin - we got them as a temporary solution, not a big framing project. lol.

I took two and split them in half. Then I adhered the two halves to together to make two thick halves. I used a heavy double stick tape to adhere mine, but if I was doing it for a more permanent board I would have used something else. Then I used the removable adhesive that came with the cork boards to line up the strips under my calendar. Done.

I can now take it down easy and re-make it later.

So I was happy to have somethings cleaned up AND I had space to work! I did some office stuff and then started playing. These are just some SnapShots of what's currently "in-process"...


I wanted to get a layout going with some of the presents my Mom sent me for my birthday! I am in love with the Mellow line from BG. It's so gorgeous. Rich colors, warm layers, thick patterns. It's like your favorite sweater.

Then later this afternoon I got busy again with my current product spotlight for AMM. It's Inque Boutique and I love their stamps. I'm in the middle of doing a journal with them right now - coincidentally that's what I'm callin' it....


Now I'm off to finish my holiday cards and some other goodies that are being shipped out tomorrow. Thanksgiving moments away and I haven't planned how the little Taylor clan in going to celebrate it. I'm putting together an idea in my head so we'll see what happens!

What are you doing? I hope that everyone is happy and safe this Thanksgiving. I am so sad that I can't been home with my family & friends but I love them so much and am counting down the days until we can spend a TON time together for Christmas. Love you!

{hugs}

25.

On Friday I turned 25. I didn't really know what to blog about it so I didn't. Birthday's for the past few years have been a little weird. It seems since my 21st I've celebrated every birthday away from home and away from good friends. I really don't want to sound all "woe is me"... and I know that birthdays get less and less exciting as you grow up... but lately my birthday is a reminder of how far away I really am from a lot of the people I love. I know that's all going to change soon and all of my friends and family always call, send gifts, and just spend time to catch up on my birthday, but this year I just felt more comfortable letting my 25th birthday pass on by.

The past year has been really hard and full of so many lessons. It's been my first year married, my first year designing with responsibilities and goals, and the first year I have really sat down and tried to figure out who I am and what I want. My journey answering those questions is still continuing, but I really feel that 25 is going to be my "manifestation" year. So many things are going to happen in the first few months of this year for me and life is going to be turned upside down! Now that's what I'm talking about!

So that's all I'm saying about my birthday. I'm more excited about today, and tomorrow than sad about yesterday, so I think I'm in good shape!

But, we all deserve a little birthday portrait, so here I am with my little Roxy who turned 14 weeks on Friday when I celebrated my 25th!


I can't even tell you how HUGE she's getting and how much harder it is to take a picture of her now! I have about 30 failed attempts to take pictures with her this morning. I had Joey come in too to hold my place while I set up the exposure and looking through all of the mishaps is hilarious. He suggested I do a post about the "trials of the Taylor portrait" which I will when I have more time to weed through the mess that was this morning!

I also made a little "gummy bear" art this morning for my "Right Now." journal. I put together my 25 before 26 to do list and will be printing this baby out to add in there.


I hope that everyone has a wonderful and productive Monday!

{hugs}