I Feel So Behind!

I got caught up on cataloging the challenges I need/want to do.... I have a total of 13 challenges to do right now, plus some DT stuff I still need to get done. I didn't do anything today, spent the day out in the living room all day with my mom, for her birthday. I barely even looked at blogs today, so I still have 50 blog posts sitting in my reader to read, that is just today! SO, here it is 1:30 am and I am finally getting around to posting for today and cleaning up my scrap space!

Here is a pic of the challenges I need to do, there are still 5 that I "kitted" up for the crop last Saturday too!

This card was made for Cuttlebug Challenges, a new challenge blog! This first challenge was to use 3 embossing folders. I used Swiss Dots, Textile, and D'Vine Swirl. I cut strips of the Swiss Dots and BG Urban Prairie, angled the ends and placed in this pattern. I used Core'dinations cs on the D'Vine and sanded off the top color, revealing the lighter blue underneath, then hand cut it into swirls. Sanding causes one problem-it pushes the embossed image back down, but I just lined up the embossing pattern on the folder and ran it through the Cuttlebug again. The last embossing folder I used was the Textile texture. I simply inked over the top of the embossing. I inked all the edges with Chestnut Roan Color Box Chalk, used a Creative Imaginations rubon on, Me and My Big Ideas rhinestone flower, and some misc rhinestones.

I did this one the other night for AMR. Stacey, the owner, has a challenge to scrapbook about you, to the extent that if someone sees the layout, they will KNOW you. I maybe got carried away, and filled an entire 8.5x11 page with journaling, lol!

Warning, the journaling is long and VERY honest. It reads...

I was born XXX XX, 19XX-Marilyn XXXX XXXX. I had a pretty hard childhood, grew up fairly poor, moved a lot, and never had a lot of friends. But we were taken care of and we knew we were loved. We finally settled in one area in 1985, and I started making friends, but I was still fairly lonely. When I hit puberty, I started getting fat, I could never figure out why, this was explained to me about 4 years ago, I have PCOS. Junior high was torture, but at least I did well in school. In high school, I suffered from depression and went into shut down mode. I never went on a date, no boys liked me. This was the worst time in my life! The only thing that brought any pleasure to me was music. I played in the orchestra, jazz band, and sang in choir. Throughout my later school years, I played the violin, viola, bass, electric bass, cello and learned trumpet for my senior project. Once I got out of school all that disappeared. If I had only worked hard in high school, I could have gone to college and made something of myself. Not that I am stupid, just daydreamed and concerned myself with things other than school. After high school graduation in 1993, I started working, mostly fast food and retail. I went to Western Business College, but quit after 2 terms. I have worked at least 40 jobs in the last 15 years, mostly minimum wage, thankless jobs where there was no respect from bosses or customers. In 1997 my family moved to Phoenix Arizona. We lived there for a year and a half, I hated it. I left all my friends, and felt the loneliest I had ever felt in my life. While on the search for a boyfriend, I met a guy at a bar, we went to my car to talk, and next thing I knew, he had raped me-technically. I did kiss him, but I kept saying no and so on. I was very naive and didn’t see that coming. I started going to church again after that and finally met a new friend, but she turned out to be two-faced and turned her back on my family after they took her in. I was going to move to Los Angeles with her and left my stuff in storage while I moved back up to Oregon with my family, with all intention of going back, till she ruined my brother’s marriage and screwed up his life. Life continued and we lost our storage unit with all my stuff in it. Most of it was totally replaceable, but I lost all my pictures, all my school keepsakes, my memorabilia, etc. Before we lost the unit, I got some money from a lawsuit where I drove through a puddle of paint on the road. I was deciding whether or not to go get my stuff or get a computer. I got a computer. At this point in my life, I was 26 years old, still living with my parents, filed for bankruptcy, and working on and off. I still had never been on a real date, or in any kind of a relationship. I started going to chat rooms, and meeting any guy that would consider me. They only wanted one thing, and any affection would do at this point, I tried. I am very glad nothing ever happened in that department and that I ended up staying safe. Eventually I met Cliff. I drove 2 hours to meet him and ended up staying the night, but nothing happened, I was a good girl. A couple days later, I was coming down for another visit. Still living with my parents, I was told if I drive down to meet this “boy”, don’t bother coming back except to get my stuff. That is what I did, I moved in with him. Life was good for me, I had a man who really liked me, I was moved out of my parent’s house, and I could do whatever I wanted. Once we got engaged, 3 months later, we moved back into town and 3 months later we were married. Life stayed pretty much the same for me. We kept spending all the money on frivolous things, got evicted a couple times, moved in and out with my parents about 6 times, and we found out I can’t have children. I have attempted suicide, and have been hospitalized in the psychiatric ward three times. Three years ago I discovered scrapbooking. My life will never be the same. I am both addicted and obsessed. I love scrapbooking so much. I love how it is always changing. It gives me something to be proud of and it gives me a purpose, a reason to live. I get so much enjoyment from scrapping. There are no rules; I can do whatever I want. I am very lucky Cliff is so supportive of it. Many occasions I get very depressed and want to quit, but he won’t let me. He is so supportive, he even scraps with me once in a while; it is pretty awesome! I am a no-hassle scrapper; I fly by the seat of my pants. I don’t scrap in order; I don’t even scrap by event anymore. I scrap what I want when I want-again, no rules! I have great scrappy friends; they are very supportive and encouraging! We get together every once in a while to crop together. Unfortunately, we talk more than we scrap, but that is part of what makes it fun. For the most part, there are 5 of us, and we are all big talkers. It is not uncommon for the 5 of us to be having 4 conversations at the same time! I love my new friends, and not just the fun we have, but I care about them deeply and really do consider them my best friends. Recently I have been accepted for a design team and was asked to be a guest designer in a couple months! I have decided that my goal is to be a well-known scrapper! I have a scrapbooking blog and I love it! I want my blog to be a must-read in the scrapping world! I have been doing lots of blog challenges trying to get my name out there-plus I enjoy the challenges tremendously! That is all I have been doing for the last 2 months, challenges. I must say, my pages have not ever been this good. There is so much variety in challenges; my pages never look the same. There are some pages that are just ok, but once in a while I do one of those pages that even I am amazed. Scrapbooking is my anti-depressant, and it is my life. I don’t know where I would be right now if I didn’t have this. I am so glad I spent my rent money one month and started scrapbooking, my life is complete. The memories are just an extra bonus.

It was so much journaling, that I had to put it under the photo mat, but added a tab for easy access! For the layout, I used all BG Euphoria pp-even the journaling is printed on it, except for the Making Memories die cut paper, blue flowers are Bazzill, all other flowers are Prima, misc brads, purple butterfly inchie was courtesy of tigardlilly, title is American Crafts Thickers, and "TRUTH" is stickled. The journaling strips at the bottom say...

Favorite Movies: Pride & Prejudice, Gone With The Wind, North & South, Where The Heart Is, Bridget Jones Diary, Sense & Sensibility, Steel Magnolias, Fried Green Tomatoes
Favorite Music: All American Rejects, Franz Ferdinand, Weezer, Angels & Airwaves, Depeche Mode, Carolina Liar, Coldplay, Muse, The Lovehammers, The Killers, NKOTB
Favorite TV Shows: House, Hell’s Kitchen, American Idol, Clean House, Friends, Little House on the Prairie, Good Eats, 30-Minute Meals, Unwrapped, Kitchen Nightmares
Favorite SB Stuff: Basic Grey, Bazzill, Sassafrass Lass, Cosmo Cricket, October Afternoon, Dream Street, Pink Paislee, Prima, American Crafts, Stickles, Making Memories

This is a card I made for my Mom's bday. I used Bazzill cs, October Afternoon pp, American Crafts pp and ric rac ribbon, Kaiser Crafts flowers, rhinestones, and Technique Tuesday stamps. I actually made this card a couple weeks ago, put it in an envelope, and forgot to take a picture, lol! I had to wait till she opened it to get a picture! At my Dad's request, I made another card for her, for him to give her! He has been asking me to make cards for him to give out, it really means a lot to me! I used Bazzill cs, Bo Bunny pp, Kaiser Craft flowers and pearls, Bazzill ribbon, Inkadinkado stamps, Stickles, and a Stardust pen to "outline" the flowers.
Close up of the Stickles. On the first cupcake's sprinkles, the Stickles came out too fast, so they are kinda globby. She liked this card the best...I think it was the Stickles. Like Mother, Like Daughter, LOL!
I got this RAK yesterday from Scrap Chat Hour on AMR, along with an ATC for the single swap.
.
In case you are wondering where my photos are for the Week In The Life, I gave up after 2 days of no pictures! I feel kinda bad, but it isn't like Ali will ever know, or care! My life is truly boring, and it isn't like I have any kids to share that with anyway. I am totally fine with it, really I am :). I don't really have time to work on the album anyway, too busy with challenges which I am just LOVING!!!
.
OH, I got a couple movie tickets for my birthday from my brother and his family, thanks guys!! I am still trying to figure out which movie I want to go see! I feel like a chick flick, since the only movies I have seen in the last year or so have been action, super hero, or stupid comedies. I like all those, but I WANT it to be a genre I haven't seen in a while. You know the kind where after the movie is over, you just sit there in the dark and sniffle?! I am open to suggestions and your "reviews"!!

.

(GR users comment here)