I feel blessed that my husband is home right now. His ship comes and goes and his days at work are long. But we have the occasional weekend to look forward to. And should he not pass out right after dinner on the couch, I have a helper at home to do the bath time routine for the kids. So I know I am lucky. Daddy is home.
Three of my good friends recently had to say good bye to their husbands on deployment. Different ships. Different missions. Different cities. But the tears and hugs are very much the same. And it makes me so sad.
Being a military spouse living on a military base, my life is filled with military friends. While that means being surrounded by people who "get it," it also means that the struggles and stresses of deployment are very much real. There is always a little girl crying for her daddy in the middle of the night. There is always a little baby born while daddy is gone. There are always moms who put on their super mom capes and masks as soon as the ship leaves the pier to somehow do it all while their husband is gone. And those active duty moms...I cannot even begin to imagine how they do it.
I'm not sure what the point of this post is. I think that it's basically to say to my amazing milspouse friends...I love you dearly. You all amaze me and inspire me. I know how hard deployments are and I don't think they ever get easy. But I also know that you are all awesome. That doesn't mean you have to do it on your own though. Ask for help. Call me. Show up at my door. Just drop off your children to get your nails done. I am here for you. All of us are here for you. I know that when it's my turn, you will be there for me. But for now, let me be your shoulder and your helping hand.
And to our loved ones at sea - fair winds and following seas...
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Monday, July 29, 2013
Xyron Design Team Call
Eek!!!! It's the LAST DAY to apply for the Xyron Design Team!!! It has been an honor being on the team this past year and I would love YOU to be the next crafty super star to rock these amazing adhesives.
Benefits of being on the Xyron Design Team include:
Lots of Free Product – both from Xyron and from partner companies
Exclusive previews of any of our upcoming products
Payment for projects published in print and/or online magazines
Featured on our Facebook page and blog
Link to your own personal blog
Private FB group for DT members only
Payment for projects used at trade shows and on-air
Opportunity to have your projects displayed on the Home Shopping Network
Xyron DT blinkie for your email and/or blog
Purchase Xyron products at a deep discount for use in teaching classes
The application process is all done online (through FB as a matter of fact!) and is available to international designers as well - click this link to apply. Some of the information you will need to complete the application:
Contact info
Short bio about yourself
Links to three different projects (no scrapbook layouts)
Links to your galleries (if applicable)
A list of any past or current design teams you've been on (if applicable)
A link to your blog/website
There are a few questions at the end about Xyron products - how long you've been using them, which
machines you own, which is your favorite, etc.
The deadline to enter is July 29th, and the new Design Team will be announced August 1st!!
GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!
Friday, July 12, 2013
Scrapbook Steals 4th Birthday Blog Hop
Welcome to those hopping along from the oh so amazing blog of Heather Conklin!
Happy 4th Birthday, scrapbookSTEALS.com!!! When I first started scrapbooking almost four years ago, scrapbookSTEALS.com was my source of affordable supplies, amazing inspiration, and constant encouragement. Four years later, scrapbookSTEALS.com continues to be my go-to source for scrapbooking supplies, sketch inspiration, and scrapping girl friends. So you can imagine how honored I am wheto be a part of the fourth birthday celebration blog hop!
As part of the birthday celebration, there will be an online crop TONIGHT, July 12. In conjunction with the online crop, scrapbookSTEALS.com will be hosting a number of online challenges with some amazing prizes through their blog. For this blog hop, I have two challenge layouts to share.
A. Challenge #3 - Favorite Vendor. Choose your favorite scrapbookSTEALS.com vendor and create a project using their products.
It is no secret that I absolutely LOVE Xyron. Their adhesive products make crafting fast, simple, and mess free. I bought my first Xyron machine (the Xyron 2.5" Create-a-Sticker) through scrapbookSTEALS.com almost three years ago and it completely changed my crafting life!
For this challenge project, I created a layout using a TON of Xyron adhesives and other goodies all purchased from scrapbookSTEALS.com.
Supplies: Patterned Paper (October Afternoon); Vellum (Martha Stewart Crafts); Chipboard Stickers (October Afternoon); Letter Stickers (American Crafts); Stamps and Dies (Lawn Fawn, Simon Says Stamp, American Crafts); Die Cuts (American Crafts, Little Yellow Bicycle); Sequins (Doodlebug Designs); Wood Veneers (Studio Calico); Inks/ Paints (Mister Hueys, Memento, Sharpie, Tim Holtz, Uni-ball); Adhesives (Xyron Mega Runner, Xyron 5" Creative Station, Xyron Creatopia, NEW! Xyron Adhesive Dots).
This project is a direct response to this layout I created in September 2012 shortly after my son was born. Back in September, I questioned where the rainbows were. And now, with our family finally complete and together, we literally see rainbows everyday. What a change!
One of the main elements of the layout is a printed vellum I created by combining a number of my rainbow instagram photos and simply printing them on vellum.
CRAFT TIP: Use your Xyron machine to adhere vellum onto your project without needing to cover up any adhesive.
ANOTHER CRAFT TIP: Use Xyron Adhesive Dots to adhere small elements like sequins or wood veneers onto your layout with the mess or fuss of liquid adhesive.
B. Challenge #4 - Washi Fever. Create a project using washi tape. On this project you must use 4 different tapes.
I love using my Xyron 1.5" Create a Sticker to make my own washi tape which I used to create a number of elements in this project, which is based on Dr. Seuss' Oh, the Places You'll Go.
Supplies: Patterned Paper (Echo Park, My Mind's Eye); Cardstock (American Crafts); Letter Stickers (American Crafts); Embossing Folder (Lifestyle Crafts); Punch (Fiskars); Digital Files (liv.E Designs, Lettering Delights, Splendid Fiins); Floss (WRMK); Brads and Buttons (Echo Park, Pebbles); Adhesives (Xyron Mega Runner, Xyron 1.5" Create a Sticker, DIY Foam Tape).
This project, specifically, is based on this page from the Dr. Seuss book.
The layout includes a vellum tape that I created by printing the text of the book on vellum (together with a woodgrain pattern from Splendid Fiins) and running the vellum strings through the Xyron 1.5" Create a Sticker. The placement of the vellum tape mimics where the road is placed in the inspiration page. I even tried to mimic the look of the Seussical trees, which were die cut from sheets of DIY washi paper.
I also loved using all of my WRMK floss (another scrapbookSTEALS.com purchase) to add little details throughout the layout.
C. GIVEAWAY!!! In honor of the birthday celebration, I'm hosting a small giveaway on my blog this week. Just make sure you are "following" the blog and leave a comment. For another entry, "like" my facebook page and leave a comment letting me know. I'll pick a random winner next Friday, July 19 and send the winner some scrapbooking goodies!
Next on the blog hop is the ever amazing and talented super woman Staci Jones. Make sure you check out all the amazing crafters participating in this Birthday Blog Hop!
Van Nguyen {YOU ARE HERE}
Staci Jones {GO HERE NEXT}
Kristy LeeHAPPY BIRTHDAY, SCRAPBOOKSTEALS.COM!! Don't forget to visit the scrapbookSTEALS.com Blog for more details about the online challenges for chances to win some awesome prizes.
As always, thanks for stopping by!
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