What A Week!

It's been a crazy week here! On Wednesday not only did I turn another year older, I also took my oldest daughter, to college. Waaaaaaah on both accounts! Florida State University is about 7 hours from here so that part really stinks. I miss her so much, more than I thought I would. I've been nervous for her, excited for her and every emotion in between.

Before we left, she presented me with these...

Three milk bottles from our home town of Hamburg NY. The 2 in the back are clearly from Hamburg Dairy, and the one in the front is from Quimby, also of Hamburg. I thought that was such a sweet gift and shows my kid really knows me and the kind of things I like.

Oh, and look what vintage goody my Mom gave me!


That lovely set in the top right corner. It is Pottery Guild and so cute! (you can also see a little Stangl teapot sticking out on the left, I scored that for 2.95 because the lid is missing.

I did manage to thrift a bit. Actually, my Mom and I stopped in Ocala on our way home to hit up 2 thrift stores.

This cute little tin was 88 cents

and full of this sweet note paper.

Great Hall Pottery tea pot, I paid 7.50 because there was a chip on the spout that was glued back on. You can hardly tell and I love the shape. I don't mind these little flaws, especially when it makes something so affordable. Afterall, goodness knows I am full of flaws myself! LOL

This was a strange impulse purchase. A bag of billard balls for 2.00. Not sure what I can repurpose the rest into, but for now I have these four on the side of my mantle, displaying my house number.

And a pint sized apron for my pint sized helper, Sophie. One great thing about having two kids so far apart in age is that I now see how fast Emma grew up and now she is off on her own... woosh... it flew by! It makes me appreciate every moment with Sophie that much more. I try to take mental snapshots of every little thing so that I can really treasure each and every minute.

Speaking of Sophie, I have been making some cute little ruffle skirts out of vintage pillow cases for her and will post a tutorial here in the next couple days.

Off to join the thrifty parties at Apron Thrift Girl and Southern Hospitality!

Just me

Hi everyone! Sorry for being such a bad blogger of late. I think I was in a designing frenzy while guesting at SO and I burnt myself out! LOL! I do plan to bring those SO kits over to TLP, one by one.

Other than that, my hubby and I took a little cruise to the Bahama's, which was awesome, and exactly what we both needed! Emma and I have been taking the Citizens Police Academy, which has been just so interesting. After getting robbed, it is just what we need to educate ourselves and take steps to make ourselves and our stuff secure. It's been really great! After the class is over, I plan to volunteer at the police department.

We've been potty training Sophie, and it was going great until this week. Hopefully I can get her back on track. I am searching for preschools for her now for next year. OMG, they are expensive! One is 15,000 a year and another is 560 a month, and this is for part time! Eek!

We're looking forward to our Disney trip later this month. We've been making reservations for character breakfasts, dinners, etc. I am ordering up some costumes and p.j.'s to suprise the little ones with.

That's about it, here! BYOC is Friday at TLP! The designers have some amazing goodies for you! See you then!

Holla!

Hey everyone! I am the worst blogger in the history of blogging, lately. Sorry for that. I just wanted to let you know I am still around and kicking, just super busy with real life stuff. Hope you are all enjoying the holiday season! I plan to pop in soon with a little Christmas freebie for you! In the meantime, I just wanted to take a minute to wish you all a wonderful holiday!

Just...wow.

Hi everyone! I thought I should pop in and say hello, since it's been so long! My "real life" stuff has been forcing me to put my "digi stuff" on the back burner this past month or two. It's been craaaaaaazy around here. I am hoping things calm down soon, so I can get back to doing what I love!

Just an update for those who are wondering: no, they did not catch whoever broke into our house yet and our stuff has not been recovered. I am finding myself waking up almost every hour at night, I guess because of what happened. Thank goodness they just grabbed stuff and left and we are safe. There have been other crimes lately, and robberies too, in our area. I am just on high alert now to everything and trying to be smart and safe but not paranoid, if that makes sense.

In the meantime, I am getting ready to host Thanksgiving for my family. One thing I am thankful for this Thanksgiving season is that my Mom is coming over to cook the turkey. Haha! But seriously, so much to be thankful for: my kids, my husband, my family, my friends, our health, and so much more.

I want to wish each of you a very happy Thanksgiving if you are here in the US, and for my international friends, I simply wish you a very happy week!

I *plan* to have a new collab to share with you soon, and December BYOC is fast approaching and I will have something new for that too!

I do have a little turkey day freebie for you, but I am going to post it on Thursday! Mwahahahaha!

xoxoxo,

Long time no blog and Welcome to the Neighborhood!

Sorry it's been a while. We have been busy trying to settle into our new home. If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know how excited I was about our move. It all went pretty well and we got everything unpacked a settled in 3 days! I am a maniac about getting that stuff done.

Anyways, we moved on the 15th and then on the night of the 19th our new house was broken into while we slept. My husbands laptop and wallet were stolen, my cell phone and the diaper bag. Needless to say, that put a damper on my enthusiam for the new place. So, since then we have been busy installing additional locks, motion lights and getting quotes for security systems.

Clearly I have been a bit on edge about the whole thing because yesterday morning I saw some guy jogging from my backyard out the drive way. I went outside to see who it was and saw him walking down the street. It freaked me out so I called the police. Turns out it was the Florida Power and Light guy reading our meter. =0P How embarrassing.

So that's why I haven't been around much, but I have been getting some new things done "behind the scenes" which will be for the November BYOC at TLP! Till then, stay safe and happy scrapping!

MIA

Hi everyone! Sorry I have been a bit quiet here, getting ready for the holidays and all of that fun stuff! I hope you are all enjoying the season and I will be back soon with a freebie for you!
MWAH!
Amy

Happy Halloween

From Holly Hobbie. Well, okay... from Sophie.

Sophie's 16 month photos

Here are just a few of the photos from Sophie's 16 month session. There are many more, needless to say I have a lot of scrapping to do!

Some news a contest and a layout

OK, first of all, see that cool new banner up there? MelindaH from Gotta Pixel made it for me! What a sweetheart! Her username links to her gallery, she is a very talented lady! Anyhow, it was such a sweet thing of her to do, so thank you Melinda!!!!



How was your weekend? We celebrated Father's day by treating Tyson like King for the day. Now it's back to reality. Haha. He is such a good Daddy though, the kids and I are very lucky. I made this layout to honor him:

I used Krystal Hartley's, portion of the Father's Day Collab available at Faith Sisters. The whole kit is so cute and it is free with a $10 purchase! Speaking of Krystal, I just saw a sneak peak on her blog of a new kit she has been working on...looks sooo cute!

I too am working on a new kit and it is TOTALLY different than Funked Up or most any of my other kits. If you followed me over at the Scrap Orchard Design Contest, think along the lines of Round 3. It's flowery, vintage-y and shabby. Look for it very soon!

So this leads me to my next question: what would you like me to make after this current kit is complete? I would love for one of you to become my muse and inspire a new kit! If you have any wishes for themes, colors, or style of something you have really been wanting but have been unable to find, let me know! If your idea is chosen, not only will you receive the kit inspired by you, but also a $20.00 Gift Certificate for my store! Doesn't that sound like fun? Post here with your ideas, if you want to include colors or inspiration, include a link to that. In a week I will pick my muse! LOL! Good Luck!

Goober-y Gunk

Just a little update on how to reach me... Goober and my poor, little, decrepid laptop did not hit it off, so I had to uninstall that sucker and go with Yahoo. My yahoo is amysumralldesigns. Feel free to add me, contact me there or at my email address amysumrall@gmail.com.

Just finished up a new kit and am awaiting feedback on the name. It cracked me up (then again I am a 35 year old woman with the sense of humor of a 12 year old boy, it seems) but it may be a bit much for all of you. Once I know that there will not be a wild protest over it then I will show it to you and put it in my store! Interested now? Heeheeeheeee...
MWAH!

We Found Out Sophie Likes Cake. A lot.

Mmmmm, tasty! She had a wonderful birthday and my Mother's Day could not have been better. Afterall, I got the best gift of all, my little peanut!

I am also happy to report that I made it on to Round 2 of the Scrap Orchard Design Contest! Woot! Now it get's really scary. The other designers are all AMAZING!!! Whatever happens, I am glad I took part because I met some very cool new people and have had loads of fun. Too bad I can't even THINK about my Round 2 entry until I get this major collab done that is due, like, yesterday. I can't tell you anymore about it than that right now, but I think you will love it!

Happy Mother's Day to everyone!

A Freebie and a Game and an Update! Whew!

Hi everyone! I hope you are having a fan-tab-ulous week!

First off, proud Momma alert... Just look at this little cutie pie!
I can't believe my little baby is going to be one on Sunday!!! And guess what! She is finally getting her first tooth! Yay! Just in time to eat her birthday cake. I am looking for the PERFECT kit to scrap this photo with, so any suggestions, please let me know!

My friend Meredith played this fun game on her blog so I am stealing her idea here! (I don't know her all that well and still did pretty good! I guess I am a good guesser!)

How well do YOU know ME?

Okay, this one is different. YOU fill in the blanks about ME. Copy & paste the blank information into the comments. If you don't know, take a guess! I'll post the answers next week to give you guys some time to guess! Whoever wins will get the kit of thier choice from my store!

What is my husband's name?
How did we meet?
Take a stab at my middle name?
Color of my eyes?
Color of my hair?
Do I have any siblings?
What's one of my favorite things to do?
What was my crafty obsession before I found digiscrapping?
In person, am I shy or outgoing?
Am I a rebel or do I follow the rules?
Any special talents?
What s the one beverage I cannot live without?
What is my guilty pleasure food?
How many children do I have?
What size shoes do I wear?
What are my favorite kind of shoes?
What is my favorite color?
What is my favorite place to shop?
What is my favorite sport to watch?
Am I a morning person or a late night kind of gal?

Have fun! Good luck! And check back in a few days or so for the results!

Now, on to business...teehee. I have 2 little brag book quick pages for you, made with my Round One submission in the So You Think You Can Design contest at Scrap Orchard. If you have not downloaded my mini yet or any of the other over 70 entries, go do so! There are some FANTASTIC looking kits and templates to be had!

Download Here

Happy Scrapping, everyone!!!!

Aaaarrrrggghhhhhhh!

Sorry Gals, I've been MIA again. The whole family has the flu and ear infections. Now I have also developed tendonitis is my left wrist/hand (and yes I am a lefty). I have this huge Darth Vader looking thing I have to wear, makes it hard to type or do anything for that matter. So despite all this, we are off to Universal Studios tomorrow for a few days. We tried to reschedule, but alas, no refunds or exchanges, so off we go, loaded up on antibiotics one and all. The good news is, we only have to travel less than 3 hours from our house. I assume the baby and I will hole up in the hotel ordering room service all day while DH and his daughter enjoy the parks. The baby is doing much better now, but still has a little cough so I don't want her to overdo it.

I hope to be in touch and have a new kit when I get back! Yes, of course I am bring my laptop, wacom, etc!

Hugs to all!
Amy

I'm back!

As you can imagine, it has been a tough week. We had my Dad's Memorial Service on Friday and since he was an Officer in the Marines, about 12 of them were there to honor him with a flag folding ceremony, a 21 gun salute and a moving rendition of Taps on the bugle. His brother and a few of us daughters got up to say a few words about Dad and everyone said it was the most moving and touching memorial they ever attended.

We are all trying to get back to "normal" but we miss him terribly.

Yesterday my Mom and I took the girls shopping and to lunch at a greek place (yum!) and we had a really nice time. We found out Sophie LOVES pita bread but I get nervous because she still doesn't have any teeth.

Today is Gymboree class...oh and I am working on a new kit, almost done!

I also have a freebie meal planner over at Gotta Pixel in the Subscriber area...it's pretty cool! Thanks to Stacy for the double dog dare to make it!

OK, more soon and a freebie coming later tonight!

XOXOXO

My Dad

October 31, 1931 - February 11, 2008

Rest In Peace

I love you.

Sophie's Baptism

Well, I finally got to scrap a photo. Here is my little angel before her Baptism last week.
I used my own "A Kit For Melanie", which is available for purchase here on my blog! =0)

Quick Sophie LO

Lovey Dovey Days, available here on my blog or at my JFTSOI Store.

I guess Sophie just does not want to be a super model...

These are from her last "photoshoot"... she was not exactly thrilled to be having her picture taken. I had to jump in (sans makeup) and *try* to get her through it.

"OK, I'll humor you for a moment..."

"What the heck is your problem, lady?"

"Hey, where did my clothes go??"

"Mom, have you ever heard of Tic Tac's? Good grief!"

"Time for some Botox, Mommy!"

"This is getting tiresome."

My Little Christmas Sweetie

A Very Merry Christmas Indeed!

Just a quick update to let you know that after 33 LOOOOONG days in the hospital, my Dad was released yesterday and is now HOME!!!

He is doing great and so happy to be back and comfortable and with his family.

Happy Holidays to you all.....
XOXOXO,
Amy