I am thrilled!

I am excited to share this announcement that was made today over at Bella Blvd! (check out the last name on the list) :0)

It's a new week, and I am thrilled to tell you we have finalized the invitations to our brand new Guest Artistas. Thank you so much to everyone that sent in submissions. We had a blast checking out all your awesome work and learning a bit about each of you. It's always a shame that we cannot pick everyone. The creativity is astounding, and to get submissions from all over the world is so encouraging. We also want everyone to know that for future Artista calls, anyone and everyone is invited to submit, even if you were not chosen during this round, we would love for you to continue submitting to future calls. Thank you again for all the Bella love and support!

I am so happy to announce, in alphabetical order, the new Bella Guest Artistas for 2009:

Jessica Ball

Donna Creedon

Daniela Dobson

Sheri Feypel

Krista Hanna

Nancy Holley

Jenneke Knol

Mimi Leinbach

Brittny Lejeune

Tanisha Long

Janis Medina

Deanna Misner

Sue Mylde

Christina Taylor

Tricia Wilson

Congratulations ladies! We welcome you to the Bella family!

Kit reveal at Citrus Tree Studio

Today is kit reveal day at Citrus Tree Studio! July's kit is called "Days of summer". This kit is so bright and fun and stuffed with goodies.
Here are some of the projects that I made using the kit.
The bright colors of these papers create such a nice contrast to make this card pop!
The kit comes with 6 of these cute paper flowers. I hand stitched the stems and added some paper grass to the bottom of the card.
I am glad that I finally got to use some photos that hubby took a couple of years ago while in Santa Cruz. The title is intended to be both literal and metaphorical. The text on the layout says,"You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf." and "Note to self: Life is short, you might as well enjoy the ride.".
On this layout I used pictures from my son's 7th birthday. We took him to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk to celebrate. I had saved a coin from the arcade and was able to incorporate it onto the layout.

I'll leave you with a few photos from our fourth of July firework here at the house.

"God shed His grace on thee"

Hello July, time for a review...

Can you believe it is July already? Me neither! Today is day 182 of 2009 with only 183 to go. We are already half way through this year. To celebrate this little fact I thought I would share some of my favorite layouts, projects and cards that I have made so far this year.

Layouts:
"The Purest Place"
These are some of my favorite layouts from this year. This one is of my mom when she was a little girl. The pictures are so cute of her and her Shirley Temple curls. I like the combination of the pic's with the vintage inspired paper.
"Divine Love"
This one is of me and my hubby. In each of the squares I used objects that were significant to us and our relationship. Did you notice the wings on the layered hearts at the top? That is to signify how his love has given my heart wings (cheesy, I know, but true). The rose is how our relationship has bloomed over time, the butterfly made from sheet music is a nod to how our relationship began (in our college musical theater class). The key is because he holds the key to my heart for life. So enough with the mushy stuff, let's move on...
"they R my favorite peeps"
I frequently refer to my family as "my peeps" and wanted to do a layout documenting that. The photo is from an alley in San Francisco that we just happened upon and this mama saw a photo opportunity! The papers I used were to reflect the grungy nature of the graffiti and my peeps trying to look all hardcore in the photo.

Onto projects:
"Our Family"
This is a little frame I altered to display in our home and much like the layout "Divine Love", it is full of symbolism. The frame is actually new, but I distressed it to make it appear weathered. I used some of my German glass glitter that is one of my most favorite things! Each tag represents a little something about our family. The "W" represents our family last name, the butons are to represent how we mend and hold each other together. The pearls represent "the pearls of wisdom" and the key unlocking them. The flower and the charm (a rosary emblem that I found) represent how we grow in our faith ( we are not Catholic, it is just a representation). The heart represents our love for eachother and the milk cap represents how we nourish each other. (I know, more mush, I just can't help myself!)
"believe"
This is a canvas I made for my daughter's room. I wanted to do a monochromatic color scheme, but still convey texture and movement within the design.

Here are some up close shots that show more detail.



"Vegas" mini album
Hubby and I went to Vegas earlier this year on a quick little get away. I made a mini album to remember our little weekend and some of the things we did while we were there.






On to cards:
These are pretty self explanatory, so I will skip the commentary and just allow you to enjoy. ;0)
"Thinking of you"
"Life is good"
"Thanks"

So that's that. It's great to review previous creations and remember the fun you had while creating them, the photo's you used and why you used them and to remind yourself of why you enjoy the creative process. I hope you had fun looking back with me at some of the things I have created so far this year.
Thanks for stopping by.
~Tricia

Part 2 "Life is an adventure, dare it." ~ Mother Teresa

So here are some of the thoughts that were ruminating in my head from this post. These "Life" posts are not meant to come off as preachy or as though I have mastered any of these things, because I am quite sure I have not, so please don't take them as such. I'm just sharing some thoughts with you all and in many ways reminding myself of what's important to me all at the same time. :0) Having said that, I'll share a list (which by no means is exhaustive) of things that I think are key to extracting as much out of life as possible.

• Seize each day- You know "Carpe Diem". Live each day as if it's your last because you are not guaranteed tomorrow. Be present to enjoy the moment.

• Appreciate the little things - A favorite quote of mine is, "Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you will realize that they were the big things." It's all about the details.
  

• Be adventurous- Explore, live on the edge a little and embrace new challenges. Visit new places with your loved ones, even if it's a restaurant you've never been to. Take the road less traveled.

• Serve - Find purpose in life by selflessly serving others. This can be your community, your church, your family. The key is in the selfless part. That means you do it without broadcasting how much your doing.
  

• Laugh- Laughter is the best medicine and inner joy is beautiful! It lightens our mood and reminds us not to take ourselves too seriously.
  

• Keep it all in perspective- As Denis Waitley put it, "I had the blues because I had not shoes. Until upon the street, I met a man who had no feet."

• Focus on the positive - Is the glass half empty or half full? Focusing on the positive cultivates an attitude of gratitude and appreciation. I would rather be able to appreciate things that I cannot have than have things I am not able to appreciate.

• Live with a constant sense of wonder- You cannot deny that miracles happen every day if you've ever seen a baby come into this world or watched a sunset. This world is amazing! If you don't believe me watch this 11 part mini series. Even if you do believe me, if you've never seen it you need to. ;0)
  

So that's it, those are some of my thoughts on life and how I want to live it. I only get one opportunity to live my life and I want to make the most of it. I do not want to get to the end of my life and have a boat load of regrets, things I wanted to do but never got around to doing for one reason or another. I don't want to sit by and let life happen around me. This is my life and my job to live it, live it with purpose, make it count! If I choose not to I have no one to blame but myself.


Lastly, here are some lyrics to a song that I love called "Alive" by Becki Ryan (who incidentally is a Christian artist). I love how they convey a desire to live life passionately.


I wanna run with reckless emotion
Find out if love is the size of an ocean
Even if I crash down and burn out
At least I'm gonna know what its like to feel alive

I wanna feel till my heart breaks wide open
I wanna blaze like a fire that's growing
Even if I crash down an' burn out
At least I'm gonna know what its like to feel alive

Birthday Card

I just wanted to share a little card I made using some of my beloved Sassafras Lass!

Have you seen their Summer CHA new releases? The new line is called "Me Likey". What do you think?


I have not forgotten about my follow up post, I am hoping to get to that this weekend. :0)

Being alive is different than actually living

Just a quick post before we take off for Napa. I was sent this cute image in an email and loved the saying and wanted to share it with you. The art is by Leigh Standley of Curlygirldesign.com .

Notice that the name of her scooter is Spirit, how cute is that? I love the quote and the image, they are both so fun and so free! It made me think of a favorite quote that has a similar message.

I will not die an unlived life.
I will not live in fear
of falling or catching fire.
I choose to inhabit my days,
to allow my living to open me,
to make me less afraid,
more accessible,
to loosen my heart
until it becomes a wing,
a torch, a promise.
I choose to risk my significance;
to live so that which came to me as seed
goes to the next as blossom
and that which came to me as blossom,
goes on as fruit.

- dawna markova

I have much to say on this topic, but am short on time, so I will post again soon with more. Hope your having a beautiful Sunday!
~Tricia

Reveal day- part 2

Alright, so here we are on day two of the big reveal. Here are the rest of the projects that I completed this month. This is a wall hanging using June's main kit from Citrus Tree Studio and a quote from one of my all time favorite movies.




I made this card using June's mini kit "Zinnia". Let me tell you that this kit is anything but mini! The papers are from Little Yellow Bicycle's Zinnia line and they are perfect for spring.




I LOVE flowers and have a bunch of photos of them, but almost never scrap them. The June mini kit inspired me to make a mini book using some of my favorite photographs and quotes.

The Earth laughs in flowers. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
tag reads: There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. ~Anais Nin
The best rose bush is not that which has the fewest thorns, but that which bears the finest roses. ~Henry Van Dyke
tag reads: "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin;" Matt. 6:28

The nature of this flower is to bloom. ~Alice Walker
tag reads: The flower that follows the sun does so even on cloudy days. ~Robert Leighton (1611~1689)
Be like the flower, turn your face to the sun. ~Kahil Gibran
tag reads: Flowers leave some of their fragrance in the hand that bestows them. ~Chinese proverb
Every flower must grow through dirt. ~Anonymous
tag reads: Don't try to force anything. Let life be a deep let~go. See God opening millions of flowers every day without forcing the buds. ~Bhagwan Shree Rayneesh
The "Amen" of nature is always a flower. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes
tag reads: Flowers always make people better, happier and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul. ~Luther Burbank


So that is about all I can share for now. Believe me when I tell you that there is MUCH in the works, I just can't show you just now.......

Thanks for stopping by!
~Tricia

Reveal day

Today is reveal day over at Citrus Tree Studio! I got to work with 2, yes 2 kits this month! The Main kit for June is "Easy Rider". It features the "Rebel" line by Glitz design.
It was also my turn to create something with the "Spotlight Product", by Kaiser Crafts.


I was a busy little bee this month. I made 2 mini albums, 2 layouts, a card and a wall hanging this month for CTS. Since I have so much to share I will post a few projects today and a few tomorrow, that way I can spread out the crafty goodness.


Here is a layout on my favorite peeps.


This one is my Maverick, not so little, boy. The title comes from the definition on the rub on which describes my little guy to a "T".


We went to Las Vegas earlier this year, so I decided to create a mini album of our trip using the album above. Notice the dice hanging from the binder rings? I have this "clever" idea to drill holes in them and hang them from the binder rings. I ended up breaking one drill bit, a nail (attempting to push said broken drill bit out) and a paper piercer before I busted out the carbide drill bit. It is typically used for masonry, but I use it for scrapbooking. LOL!





Okie dokie, that's it for today. Check back tomorrow to see the rest of this months creations.

~Tricia

Sweet words

My kids' last day of school was yesterday. They had a great year, loved their teachers, got good grades and over all had an excellent year. Both of the kids said that their teacher's this year were their all time favorite! Their teachers have had nothing but kind words to say about them, but I never get used to it. Of course I think that my children are wonderful, but I will admit that I am more than a bit biased! I take it as an enormous compliment when their teachers see in them the kind of character we try so hard to instill in them. Yes, my kids have their trials just like everyone else, but my hope is that their triumphs would out weigh their defeats. So, when I read these words from my daughter's teacher it literally brought tears to my eyes:

"Peyton, my dream girl! Your are an absolutely inspiring and wonderful girl who is full of spirit. It seems to flow out of you and to brighten my every day. It has been an unparalleled joy to be your teacher this year, my dear! You have so much to offer every classroom you will ever enter, any home you will ever visit, any school, any town, any world. My wish is that you get back all the joy you give, because Peyton, you have infinite potential to spread happiness."

Here are the littles on the first day of school...

and here they are on the last.


One thing I know for sure, it goes way too fast!

A little somethin' vintage

This is a little vintage project that I made to represent our family.

The frame is actually new, but I distressed it to make it appear weathered. I used some of my German glass glitter that is one of my most favorite things! Each tag represents a little something about our family. The "W" represents our family last name, the butons are to represent how we mend and hold each other together. The pearls represent "the pearls of wisdom" and the key unlocking them. The flower and the charm (a rosary emblem that I found) represent how we grow in our faith ( we are not Catholic, it is just a representation). The heart represents our love for eachother and the milk cap represents how we nourish each other.

So there you have it, a bit of my thinking behind my creation. I hope you like it.

Thanks for stopping by,
Tricia

Caught by surprise...

I have listened to this song many, many times, but for some reason tonigh it hit me like a ton of bricks! Something about the combo of the piano, stand up bass and the rest of the accompanists just struck me. I was so moved that it literally brought me to tears! Yes, I am a sucker for acoustic music, I have a major crush on Sting & am probably a teensy bit PMSing, BUT STILL!!!! This is such a great song and says so much so eloquently. I invite you to listen to the lyrics and really let them sink in. I hope you enjoy it.