Mosh Posh Blog Hop + a Giveaway

Welcome to another Mosh Posh Blog Hop!!

Every month I look forward to the Mosh Posh kit that Kristen puts together. I have been with Mosh Posh as part of the Design Team for 2 years now and was a subscriber before that. I know that there are lots of kit clubs out there - trust me, I have tried most of them! I love Mosh Posh because of Kristen's awesome customer service and the fun kits that she puts together. I would never be part of a Design Team that I didn't believe in. Kristen was the very first person to put me on a Design Team, so I guess that she must believe in me too!

(November 2007 Mosh Posh layout)

As I was looking through my Mosh Posh layouts, I noticed that I seem to have a slight obsession with using trees for my fall layouts. Just a slight obsession. Oh, and it might not just be in the fall either.

(May 2009 Mosh Posh layout)

(August 2009 Mosh Posh layout)

Alright, are you ready for another giveaway??? I had so much fun decorating my trees for this month's Corn Maze layout that I thought that I should give away some of my favorite embellishments: brads! There are velvet brads, shaped brads, large brads and mini brads. Any kind of brad that you can imagine. Well, except for my Brad.


Hahahahahaha. I crack myself up. Anyway...

For a chance to win these super fun brads, leave me a comment telling me all about your favorite Thanksgiving side dish. I am working on my menu and need some inspiration. You have until Sunday, November 22nd to leave me a comment. I will pick a winner on Monday.

Now, hop along to check out what my fellow Design Team Members are up to! Happy Thursday!!

Brook Magee
Jenny Dziekan
Frances Sylvia

5 Reasons To Love Maddux

1. He is the absolute best kid in the world to go grocery shopping with. He makes all of the big decisions (Captain Crunch vs. Lucky Charms and apples vs. bananas) so that I can concentrate on not knocking over the displays as he waves his arms enthusiastically while holding on to the back of the grocery cart. I try to take his opinions very seriously because the child eats nothing other than cereal and chicken nuggets, so if he doesn't speak up when he decides that he will slide a banana into his daily routine, the child will surely starve.

2. He is really an 85-year-old man in a 4-year-old's body. His big concerns in life revolve around when he next gets to eat and whether or not it is too early to put on his pajamas.

3. He loves loves loves to talk on the phone. If the child gets to talk to my dad on the phone, his whole face just light up. He sneaks away with the phone so that he talk about "boy stuff" with his grandpa. I will find him later laying in my bed, all tucked in, just chatting away. He likes to discuss what he has eaten that day (are we sensing a food trend, here?), what he is currently wearing and he loves to throw me under the bus whenever possible. Mommy is still in her pajamas, he will whisper conspiratorially and she fed us cookies for breakfast. Can you believe that? I miss the days when my children couldn't rat me out to my parents.

4. Maddux is sweet. I know that there will come a day when he will transform into a stinky teenage boy, but for now he is sensitive, kind and utterly adorable. He loves to sit in my lap and tell me about all of the thoughts that came into his head during the 11 hours that we weren't together while he was sleeping. He likes to say things like, Mommy, I love you more than pancakes. And he loves to get up at 1:00AM to check on me. He will wander into the living room in his bulldog footie pajamas, rubbing his eyes, and he will ask me what I am doing. He will stick around to fold a few towels with me, discuss how his Backyardigans CD is better than whatever music I am listening to or grab a glass of water and then he will head back to bed. Night, Mommy. Love you more than ice cream.

(This picture is from November 17, 2008)

5. He is growing. His pants are too big around the waist, but just the right length. He talks about how much he is going to love Kindergarten and then, in the same breath, asks if I can go with him. When I look at him, I see Bradley. Everything that is good about Bradley, his kindness and easygoing nature, is evident in our sweet little boy.

I let Maddux pick the winner for the ribbon giveaway and he chose:

A Sarasota said...

Mmm, chicken pastry for dinner tonight.
Nice banner!

November 12, 2009 9:56 AM

Please email me at EsteeLynn(at)gmail(dot)com with your address! Have a happy Wednesday everyone!

A Little Bit of Paper & A Little Glue

I am hosting another contest this month over at Scrapbook.com. This month, all that you need to do to participate is create a layout that uses one predominant shape for your embellishments.

For the above layout you can see that I predominantly used circles. Everything on this layout is from the new GCD Studios Collection, Artsy Urban, that was designed by Melody Ross. Isn't it fun? My favorite part of the collection is that is contains so many different embellishments! There are crocheted flowers, glass brads, chipboard pieces, felt trims, vintage buttons and about a gazillion other embellishments. You can see the whole collection over at the GCD Studios Blog.

This is another GCD Studios layout that I created using the Artsy Urban and the Party It Up Collections. This layout also fits into the parameters of the contest because I used only stars for my embellishments. First, I lined the back of acetate stars with patterned paper. I then used a paint brush to brush Mod Podge onto the edges of the stars. After the glue was just as I wanted it, I dipped the stars into glitter (Pink Paislee Pixie Stix - Licorice, Green Apple and Orange Crush).

The best part of the Scrapbook.com contest is that GCD Studios is graciously giving away 4 of the new Artsy Urban 12" x 12" Quick Page Kits. Awesome. I hope to see you over there!

A Leaf Garland

As soon as I saw the Cosmo Cricket paper in this month's Mosh Posh kit, I just knew that a leaf garland was in my immediate future.

To make this garland, I first drew two leaves onto a piece of cardstock, one smaller than the other, to use as guides. Using my guide, I cut 15 leaves from felt, using the larger leaf. I then cut 15 smaller leaves from the Cosmo Cricket patterned paper.

I attached the patterned paper onto the felt by stitching a straight line across the two. Nothing fancy, just a straight stitch. Once that part was completed, then came the fun... the embellishing!

I added more details for the leaves, lots of buttons, felt embellishments and brads. This is the fun stuff. If you decide to make a garland, it can be as detailed or as simple as you please. To attach the leaves together, I totally cheated and staples them together. Hee Hee. Simple, yet effective. Voila! A leaf garland!

Since today is the Mosh Posh Blog Hop, you just knew that I couldn't leave you without a prize, right? Today I have 52 ribbons, just for you. I love ribbon and have collected so much of it that I would love to share some with you. All you need to do is leave me a comment telling me what you are having for dinner tonight. Bizarre question, I know, but I am stumped and need some ideas!

You have until Sunday, November 15th to leave a comment. I will announce the winner on Monday.

Be sure to hop along to see my Design Team Members, who have tricks up their sleeves I am sure!

Brook Magee
Jenny Dziekan
Frances Sylvia

Happy Thursday!!

A Day In The Leaves

I think that the goal of every child should be to have friends who have more leaves in their yard than you do.

By having friends who have ridiculous amounts of leaves already handily raked into a ginormous pile two things are universally true:

a. Playing at a friend's house is always more fun than playing at home, i.e. playing in their leaves would be much more fun than your own lame leaves.

b. If leaf playing is done elsewhere, this allows the mother to not have to rake her own leaves for the entertainment of her children. Or even worse, to have to re-rake the entire yard after her children have decimated the leaf pile. -shudder-

Just saying.

November Mosh Posh Layouts

I absolutely loved the Mosh Posh kit for November. Cosmo Cricket, Basic Grey and Making Memories all rolled into one gorgeous kit - what's not to love?

To get the scalloped edge for my "Miss You" layout, I traced my largest dinner plate onto a piece of cardstock and cut it out. I then used my Fiskars circle punch to make circles which I cut in half and then placed around the perimeter of the cardstock circle. I glued them down and then added extra tape just because I was impatient. Shocking, I know. It is an easy (and super inexpensive!) way to create your very own shaped paper.

I had a lot of fun with this layout. I hand cut the trees and thought that they needed a little extra something.

Adding brads gave the trees a little extra pop of color and a more textural feel. Another inexpensive way to add depth to a layout.

I just love the colors for this kit. The turquoise just makes me happy.

Don't you think that you would love to win one of these kits?? All that you have to do is go to the Mosh Posh Blog and post a comment for your chance to win your very own November Mosh Posh kit.

You know you want to! Starting on Monday, I will be hosting a Blog Party over at the Mosh Posh Blog and you won't want to miss out on all of the prizes!

Check back tomorrow for lots of yummy Artsy Urban layouts. You just might want to check out the GCD Studios Blog because they are doing giveaways of the brand new Artsy Urban line, which was designed by Melody Ross! I will also be posting my contest at Scrapbook.com tomorrow morning. GCD Studios will be the sponsor and they will be giving away 4 prize packs of the new Artsy Urban Collection! There is just lots of fun paper-y stuff going on! See you tomorrow!

November?

Remember my epic I love October post? Um, yeah. October didn't turn out quite like I was expecting.
Thanks to this sweet little girl (seen here in her prom picture, hee hee) we now know everything there is to know about abdominal migraines. She also owes me about a month of sleep. I'm going to put it on her tab.

However, October was not a complete loss. In between the Pediatricians, Specialists and Emergency Room visits we managed to squeeze in a few sunny days. A morning at the park was exactly what Maddux was hoping that October would bring. Maddux is always happy, so he is easy to please. A steady supply of Halloween candy and a few mornings at the park are all he really needs in the world.

Breuklyn spent all of October chasing, literally, after Caleb. Breuklyn and her best friend formed the "Chasing Club" which basically consists of chasing a few select boys on the playground. It's all very complicated first grade stuff.

When Brad had lunch with Breuklyn at her school one day, he was horrified to hear his darling 6-year-old being teased by her friends about Caleb being her boyfriend. Poor Brad. I think he is looking into joining the Chasing Club.

I have high hopes for November. Yes, that's right. I am throwing it out into the universe - November is going to be fantastic. It's going to be amazing.

Ooooh, before I forget! - The winner of the Crate Paper giveaway is Lal! Email me at EsteeLynn(at) gmail(dot)com so I can mail your prize out to you!

(PS Kari and Ginger, I haven't forgotten you. Don't give up on me!)