{Hey, Nice Pockets}

Get 'Em While You Can.....

as they will be officially sold out by noon EST if they haven't already.....

Yep, Kim is back in action....she has been on a bit of a blogging hiatus while tending to a wee bun in the oven.....so, if you are lucky, you'll be able to snag one of these uber-pretty "Delilah" aprons...isn't she just perfect for the Spring/Summer season....isn't this newest creation so *delilahghtful* (yeah, I know...it is true - I am a totally self-entertaining moron)...can ot get enough of that modern polka with the pink ribbon & bow...oh, and those fantastic gray leaves on that green.....love it!!!!  And, if you're feeling real creative and all seamstress-y you can always snag the Delilah apron kit and sew it yourself!

There are 2 of these pretty little frocks on the way to 2 of my lovelies......

Remind me to tell you how my weekend was....it was interesting to say the least.  Have you ever been side-swiped? And while parked in a driveway in suburbia?????  I have. TWICE.

Testimonial.....

if you're like me you *never* believe what you read in beauty magazines. OK, OK, you got me...there was that one time - you know that month where the mags were running that amazing headline: "Lose 20lbs. In 30 Days On the Ice Cream Diet"...yeah, I know you fell for it too.  I mean, who could resist being told it was OK to eat ice cream and everyday??? Did I really think eating Ben & Jerry's Oatmeal Cookie Chunk all day, every day for a month would not *add* 20?!? No! How foolish do you think I am? (That's a strictly a rhetorical question --- please don't answer that last question....I know just how foolish I can be, thank you very much.) Who wouldn't get sucked in by the green-light to inhale large amounts of ice cold sweet creamy delight laced with hints of cinnamon and vanilla? Again, don't answer.  ;) 

 
Back to the point I was trying to make.....yeah, so, I never believe the beauty mags but one item/review did get my attention....Allure magazine had given an eye cream from Avon the equivalent to the old school Siskel & Ebert "2 thumbs up".  As I read the review I sat and laughed, all jaded and remarking to myself about how ridiculous the outlandish claims of "plastic surgery in a jar" were...talk about pie in the sky!

Not only am I not one to believe the mags but I am also not one to doctor my photos...this is what I look like, like or not....my dues are paid in full and up to date for every little line and flaw I have on my face and elsewhere...these were hard earned and I'll be damned if I am going to erase them by way of computer. Besides, imagine the horror, shock and surprise of doctoring your photos up only to finally meet someone who only knows you by way of photo and they have no idea who you are b/c you look nothing like your photo???  That's more embarrassing than looking like a few flocks of crows have landed on my eye area as if we were shooting a remake of  Hitchcock's "The Birds"! I don't want to be that girl...I am not that girl.  Well, maybe that was until I read this Allure prize-winning product review.

Never one to fret about the lines appearing on my face, somehow the subliminal beauty powers that be had gotten to me...somewhere lurking in my subconscious the Eye Cream Gods were luring me into their web of deceit and lies thru advertising. Yes, I do use an eye cream as part of my daily moisturizing rituals (I am not that hardcore to go without moisturizer!)...after a free gift with purchase from Clinique I decided to try the sample of their Repairware Intensive Eye Cream. 

Sounds good. Sounds serious. Sounds like it will be intensely moisturizing, right? Wrong. Dead wrong. This was the opposite of everything the product name states with the exception of the "intensive". Oh, it was intensive alright, intensive DRYING....oh, and did I mention burning? It would not surprise me in the least to find this was a little vat of battery acid hidden in a moisturizer look-a-like!  Within a week my eyes were dehydrated and had the appearance of the salt flats....totally dry and tight...so tight the skin from my under eyes were pulling and wrinkling the skin on my cheekbones.....imagine your eyes looking comparable to this photo (minus that stunning blue):

...and, all the while you were trying to moisturize!?!?!?  WTH????

Enter, Allure & Avon with the claims of "plastic surgery in a jar"...now, if ever was the time I *needed* an eye intervention and QUICK! Ding Dong! Avon calling! Fast forward a week and a speedy delivery by my trusty Avon lady and I receive this little tub of gel and cream.

Everyone, this is Avon Anew Clinical Eye Lift. Avon Anew Clinical Eye Lift,this is everyone. I am sure you will all make quick friends.

This $28 gel/cream combo has been gracing my eyes twice daily for 2 weeks and all I can say is "Wow!". They weren't kidding when they said this stuff works....if I weren't using it myself I would swear I was lying about the potency of this little powerhouse....the first 5 days or so I could actually feel it lifting my upper lids - sort of felt like I had some scotch tape pulling the upper and lower lids to smooth them out ....that feeling has subsided but the effect has not.....for once the beauty editors weren't pulling our leg! Even the color of my eye area has subtly changed and I didn't even know I had a problem with discoloration around the eye! I want to see a review of this product simply stating "The shit works." Because it does.

Now I need to take my 37 year old eyes that now look 35 for a quick shower and reapplication of my holy grail eye product & upload my layouts for the June 2008 issue of Digital Artist Magazine.

Happy Friday people.

What A Week.....

as many of you know things move fast in my little world. This week I had some serious PC issues, signed and returned my SIStv contract, planned a last minute trip to Chitown to spend a day with some amazing friends, left my day job. Being back from my trip, caught up on rest, I have just posted the 3rd installment of tutorials for SIStv's theme for the month of April, digi/hybrid minialbums. You can check it out here.

Happy creating.  :)

Alone...

As seen in Digital Artist Magazine - February 2008.

Credits can be seen here.

*I Wanna Shop*

screamed in my best Dee Snider voice to the tune of Twisted Sister's "I Wanna Rock"!

Have you seen the all new Boutique at SIStv?!  It's all kinds of insane. It looks so adorable, happy & fun and more importantly is jam packed with all sorts of open stock from these killer manufacturers: Hambly, Sassafras, Bam POP!, Glimmer Mist, Thickers, and Banana Frog stamps.

As if that wasn't enough to make you want to shop, Monday we will see the release of a paper collection from the insanely talented Kerry Lynn Yeary, entitled "The Romantic"...to die for, just to die for - everything she does is to die for!

Wait, there's even more! Monday will also be the release date for the latest StylePhyle which is called "Jim & Pam", you are going to love this little collection as much as you love "The Office". Be sure to check it all out!

A little "thank you gift" for my Big SIS, the incredible Kelli Darr, aka Kiki, KikiDee, KelliDarrSuperStar, KDSS!  :D  She rules....and, everytime I *see* her I now automatically sing the Kiki Dee & Elton John 1970's super hit, "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart" - instant smiles.

Spring Is a Comin'.....

some fun colors to remind us that it is just around the corner.

All credits can be seen by clicking on the individual photos and following the links to Scrap In Style TV.

So Pretty.....

is this exclusive "Sweet Spring" kit from Paint The Moon Designs (aka Annie Manning). So, yeah, it's exclusive, you won't find it for sale anywhere...the only way you can get your hands on this bad boy is to buy the March issue of Digital Artist Magazine which is available now!!!! Be sure to pick up a copy - this month is even bigger than the last, chock filled with loads of amazing layouts that have never been seen before, some great tutorials, really fun and interesting articles & this amazing Sweet Spring kit - all that for $6..can't beat it with a stick!  And, if all that doesn't sell you just think, with each issue of DAM you will be saving a tree or two - that's right, being we are ALL digital there were no trees harmed in the production of the mag!  ;)

Gotta run but someone just reminded me to tell you how my last week went...in a nutshell, I chased a dog, on foot, in the left lane of the Garden State Parkway on my way to work; on the coldest day of the year with no gloves, hat or jacket, I had to get underneath my car and unwrap a sapling that had wrapped itself around my axle, into my wheel/brakes and up over my muffler; went to a book release party & ended up in the coolest little Russian joint; was chosen as a Fashionista; and was rear-ended not once but TWICE on the same trip home from work...it had been quite a week, glad to start a new one!

Happy Monday!

Holy Fashionistas!!!!

The word is finally out...the final selections for Project Fashionista (episode #64) have been announced publicly and my name was on that list! I am officially a Fashionista at Scrap In Style TV!  Well, not technically official until March 15th but you get my drift.

Talk about being one of the lucky ones. It's been a number of days since I got the news and I'm still sitting here scratching my head not getting the full gist of it....maybe it's because the shock was just starting to wear off, that was until the list of finalists were revealed which was immediately followed by an insane amount of fanfare at SIStv. It feels as if Gigi and I have been drinking a bottle or two of Veuve Clicquot and I am walking around with an intense heady feeling...not sure it will wear off anytime soon...not even sure that I want it to right now. Flattered doesn't begin to cover the way I'm feeling.

This was a stiff competition with some of the most talented and certainly most amazing girls out there. As much as the project submissions had me floored and sitting in awe, it was the  people behind all that creativity that had moved me so...to the point of being overwhelmed by their beauty, heart, soul & ingenuity. Never did it occur to me that there could be a competition (and of such magnitude) where each and every contestant, while they wanted the coveted F-girl position, was nothing but supportive for every other contestant...never have I seen anything like it. If I wasn't a part of the process I don't think I would have believed it. Something tells me this is just the beginning of a wild ride.  :)

I need to go sit and do some QiGong for a minute, I feel all jumbled and off center!  :D

We May Be A Lot Of Things.....

but The Devil's Rejects???  :D

Clowns are not my thing, they are creepy; way creepy. Rob Zombie brought the clown creep factor to a whole new level in his movie The Devil's Rejects. Somehow though, when we bumped into "Captain Spaulding" at a Rob Zombie show we were fascinated with him....if you were to ask me I say it's the hat that had me sold. Being a sucker for a good hat I couldn't stop obsessing with this clown's teeny tiny tophat....isn't it adorable? If it wasn't attached to the mask I would have hijacked it.  It's so cute it pretty much takes away the whole creepy clown idea, that is, until I think about the movie (which is insane) and the fact that on this steamy hot night there was a dude so dedicated to the character he wore the costume & mask the whole time and even built a straw as tall as the old Giant Pixie Sticks so he could continue to get his drink on; that's dedication.

Project Fashionista...

Round 2.

I did what I am calling a "reverse hybrid" and am moving on to Round 3 where I fully expect to have to get off the bus.  :D

The creativity and talent of the people who have been involved is mind-boggling...seeing their work makes me quake in my boots and wondering if I didn't get the advance due to some technical glitch!  Good luck to all my fellow SISters - YOU ROCK!  :)