Lori Whitlock Design Team

I have been sitting on this news for the past few days, about to go nuts I have wanted to spill the beans so badly!!! If any of you have pet dogs that suddenly started howling and acting strangely this time a couple of days ago, I can safely say it is because they were reacting to the ear-splitting shriek I let out when I got the news that I am on Lori's Design Team!

Now, between you and me, I am pretty sure they meant to send an email to a Kristy Clark McGee or maybe a Prissy Lark Mackey, and they entered my name by mistake. But I made sure I said yes really quickly before they could realize their error - LOL!!!

For those of you who are wondering who Lori Whitlock is, well...she designs a lot of the cutting files that are sold by Silhouette - my can't live without it scrapbooking machine. She is also a featured designer for Echo Park! That's right, she designed among other things the "For the Record" Collection that I used up and went out and bought again and used up and went out and bought again and used up and...you get the picture. For more info about Lori and to check out all the wonderful goodies she creates, simply click HERE. Here are just two wonderful examples of the got-to-have-them-they-are-so-darned-cute things Lori designs and sells on her website:

And, if you want to check out the blogs and maybe say "hello" to the other fabulous ladies on Lori's Design Team, simply follow these links:

Tamara Tripodi
http://happylifecraftywife.com/

Natalie Graham
http://mygrahamcrackers.blogspot.com

Corrie Garza
http://www.buglvr.blogspot.com

Carolyn King
http://myblogbycammie.blogspot.com

Joy Dickson
http://joyslife.com/

Happy Happy! Joy Joy! Happy Happy! Joy Joy! Happy Happy! Joy Joy!
*yes, I am still doing the happy dance*

Remembering When with Birds of a Feather Kit Club

Sunday was my turn to BLOG over at Birds of a Feather. And let me tell you it wasn't hard! I love all different types of paper - I really, really do - and I have thoroughly enjoyed playing with every BOAF kit I have received. But I have a special warm fuzzy place in my heart for vintage-y papers and ephemera. Whenever I look at vintage-type items I am always reminded of sitting on one of my great-aunts' front porches as a child listening to them and my grandmama reminisce about family members and times gone by. SO - when I got the BOAF November Kit and saw all the wonderful goodies from Simple Stories Generations and Bo Bunny Timepieces collections I danced, I giggled, I touched every single item at least two or three times, I rubbed my hands in glee, I called my BESTIE up and bragged a little - I did just about everything but lick the paper - and I ALMOST did that! I was a little worried about getting a paper cut on my tongue, though, so reason ended up prevailing.

For my first layout, I used a pic of the Hubster and me taken just a few short weeks ago on our fourth anniversary. It was taken at a Chili's Restaurant. By my 11 year old daughter. After spending three hours chaperoning a bejillion sixth-graders during a fall choir concert. Not exactly the most romantic scenario for an anniversary, was it? But, you know, all night long I had such a wonderfully complete sense of contentment. We were together, and we were happy, and that's all that mattered! So...back to the scrapbook kit, when I saw the "Happily Ever After" image on one of the papers, it was pretty much a no-brainer what my layout was going to be about!

My second layout was this one:

It's a simple layout really. The picture, which was taken about four years ago, was edited and given to me by my oldest daughter (in the pic with my youngest daughter). I loved the gold tones in the sepia-tinted photo. Maybe it was because I was working on this layout late, late at night, but it reminded me of flashbacks that you see in the movies - where everything is replayed in a hazy, warm kind of glow. I decided to play on that warmth with my papers and a gold-toned paint that I sprayed onto a Pink Paislee template (included in the kit). Add some clock cogs (to represent the wheels of time) and flowers and ribbon (because they were just plain pretty) and voila! Layout complete!

I have so many ideas floating around in my head for this month's kit, and I cannot wait to share them with you! So stay tuned!