Camryn? What are you doing?

I don't know!!

All of this at 7:45 AM!!! Thursday.............here she comes!!

2nd day of school & a new "doo"

Today is officially the 2nd day of 2nd grade for Ashlyn. She's not doing as well as we thought she would. Kindergarten was a tough break for her, but 1st grade was a breeze. She thoroughly enjoyed herself & looked forward to each day. We're not sure if it's the quality family/friend time she had this past summer, adjusting to a new "more mature" teacher or the lack of friends that moved into her new classroom? Either way, she's cried terribly both mornings, so we've gone up to eat lunch with her. Yesterday was a good lunch day, but today she cried again. Hoping this trend will stop, as it doesn't make it easy for us, since we're not sure why she's upset.

Now that she's back in school, we're all getting used to a new routine. She will have 3 dance classes a week, plus church on Wednesday nights. Definitely more then last year, so if it's too overwhelming, we'll pull her out of a dance class. I firmly believe though, that kids can handle a busier schedule better then adults most times. They simply get used to whatever you set for them.

And I'm getting readjusted to waking up early, which hasn't been too difficult, as of yet. I'm finding myself staring at the clock around 10:30 in the morning & realizing I've gotten my days work done & I'm "hours" ahead of schedule. Sooooooooooooooo liking this a lot!! You would think I have more time to scrap, but I've hardly been upstairs. I'm trying to get myself back into a routine but figure that will take me a good month. So until then, I'm very sporadic with my scrapping.

In other news, as promised, here is a picture of me & the girls, with me sporting my new hair-doo. It's hard to tell by the picture just how short it got cut & the golden highlights I had added, but I'm getting used to it. I definitely like the length, as it's quick & easy & I have decided I like it better if I blow-dry it straight. It has natural wave to it, but it's very unruly, so I have to tame it:)

And, as if that's not enough blogging for one day, don't forget that Just Let Me Scrapbook is still running their 35% off sale through the end of August. Just enter the code JLMS35 and put my name (Dawne Ivey) in the comment box as you check out. She's been entering a ton of CHA products, so get over there quick.

AND, if you don't have a subscription to Scrapfabulous's monthly kits, you need too. The September kit is a wonderful "school" themed kit & I had a TON of fun working with the products. Design team projects will debut on September 1st!!

Fooling the mojo

Sometimes my mojo leaves me & there's absolutely nothing I can do about it. Other times I can muddle my way through some projects & still be happy with them. And then there are times I say...."to heck with my mojo. I'll just use someone else's," and so I'll use other people's work to gain my inspiration & sometimes even "lift" their design in it's entirety. Let me tell you.........it's extremely liberating, to say the least. By using this method, from time-to-time, more specifically this week, I've gotten 4 layouts done in 2 days and that doesn't include my projects using the fabulous September Scrapfabulous kit I worked with. PLUS, (as if 4 layouts isn't enough), I used products I've had for a long time or I've been itching to use & haven't had time. I'm so loving this I think I'll continue for the next week......I figure at this rate, I'll get approximately 15 more layouts completed?

And I write all this to say....................it's OKAY to use other people's mojo. Just make sure you give them the credit:) And with that, I present you with:

This layout was done gaining inspiration from a layout by Greta Hammond. I did change it up a bit, but for the most part, the overall design is the same.

This is an almost identical lift of a layout by Joy Bollinger. I loved everything about her original. I did change products, as I didn't have the same ones, but I love this layout.

This layout is more my design then anything, but I did use a layout from Jenni Bowlin for the frame idea. I'm thinking I'm going to journal a little something, but haven't decided what yet. I just loved the picture.

This layout features the wonderful frame idea from a layout by Jennifer Gallacher. A lot of you know the story of her son's battle with cancer. I love the frame & duplicated my own. I was originally going with her overall design, but changed it to my own.

This layout & card project are my own design. I forgot about these 2:) The card set was for my father-in-laws birthday.

So, there ya have it. I probably won't upload the first 2 on any galleries since I used other people's work to gain my inspiration, but I wanted to share them anyway.

I'm looking forward to Friday............High School Musical 2 starts at 7:00 PM CST. So, if you were planning on giving me a call....I won't be answering the phone. I have a movie date-night with my 2 girls & some popcorn!!

Perseids, Mojo & Summer

I missed seeing the Perseids last night. I set my alarm, changed the settings on my camera & took some practice shots, set up a chair outside, set my flip-flops by the back door & got in bed around 12:30. I was so excited about this beautiful display, I kept waking up every 45-mins. with the last time being 3:23 AM. Promptly fell back to sleep, only to wake again at 5:15 & realize I never turned my alarm on!!! So, I missed any meteors or shooting stars, but I'm persistent..........I'm gonna try again tonight!!


My mojo is trying to rear it's head & of course it would....this is Ashlyn's last week before school starts & I'm trying to make the most of her time home with us. I got my fabulous September kit from Scrapfabulous & have already altered the cutest Candy Shaker, completed 2 layouts & a card. I've got ideas for several other projects, so I need to find some time to complete them before Mr. Mojo leaves again. Last week I did complete a layout that I wasn't too excited about, but you know how things sometimes grow on you? This one is doing just that....whether good or bad. I've been in the mood to use punches again & have invested in 4 in the last 2 weeks (note the corners of this layout)!! I've also invested in Heidi Grace's new acrylic stamp sets. If you haven't seen them, JoAnn's is having 40% off all their scrapbooking stuff, which includes their acrylic stamps. I promptly bought all the sets I had been eyeing, along with other scrapping goodies I knew I couldn't leave without.

So, with that I leave you. My eyes are droopy & I need to be focused for a meteor shower I'm so hoping to see tonight!!

35% Coupon Extended

Due to the tremedous response from the 35% Coupon, Just Let Me Scrapbook has extended this awesome sale until the END of August!! Yep, the end of August & they continue to add new items to the store daily. You've got to check them out. Here's a recap of how this works:

1) Go shopping at Just Let Me Scrapbook & use the coupon code JLMS35 to get 35% off your ENTIRE order (includes sale & clearance items).

2) At check-out, put my name (Dawne Ivey) in the comments section. This is because I'm a design team member, which is how this sale is being circulated. So be sure to tell all your friends & family about this sale.

3) At the end of the month, the Customer who placed the biggest order, will get a $50.00 Gift Certificate to the store!!!

Doesn't get any better then that, especially with Summer CHA stuff starting to show-up on the shelves.

I'm still in a rut. I can't seem to scrap any pictures. I've altered some items, which you've seen, but I can't seem to put pictures to paper. I've created a couple of cards, which I'll get uploaded soon. I did scraplift a layout from the current issue of Simple Scrapbooks, but I'm just not happy with it..............sad isn't it? I did get 2 more layouts picked up by ScrapStreet for their September issue, which makes me very happy. I love the layouts they selected!!

School starts August 20th & I'm not looking forward to it. I'm counting the days & wishing we could start over with June 1st. My little baby will be in the 2nd grade & we've had so much fun this summer, none of us want it to end. We've done all the necessary school shopping for clothes & supplies, so now it's just the wait. I'm definitely feeling sad that summer is coming to an end.