wetfish designs

Tiffany, of Scrappiles of Digi Style, http://www.scrappiles.blogspot.com/ awarded me the "Kreativ Blogger Award" today-----thanks Tiffany! If you haven't checked out her blog, you need to because she has a really cool blog with some awesome freebies you don't want to miss. i picked up some really cute holiday elements, so make sure you visit her and grab some, too.



Now, she has left me with the task of listing 7 things I love and to pass this lovely award on to 7 blogs I love! This will be hard.......

So let's start with seven blogs I love.....I visit so many blogs and love so many of those I visit this is near impossible!

1. The Scrappin Cop--amazing talent, amazing freebies and very generous

http://thescrappincop.blogspot.com/

2. IkeaGoddess---so famous I need not say more

http://www.ikeagoddess.blogspot.com/

3. Kirsty Wiseman---so much talent, so much personality and so full of life

http://www.limegreenbogiegirl.blogspot.com/

4. Vinnie Pearce---amazing designs and incredible artis

http://vinniepearce.typepad.com/

5. The Wish Jar---fun read, I learn a lot from her

http://www.kerismith.com/blog/

6. Steinway's Mom/Debra Tope---friend, source of inspiration and personal critiquer (is that even a word?)

http://steinwaysmom.blogspot.com/

7. Jessica Spraque--famous and doesn't know me from Adam, but I learn from her and she inspires me as a photographer and artist

http://spraguelab.squarespace.com/

Now, seven things I love.....again, this will be hard...obviously family comes first but I'm not going to discuss people I love but things I love.....:)

1. Netflix---a SAHM's only way to get to the movies

2. ArtRage---so much fun to play around with and make glittery, paintsmeared elements

3. Books--I read a lot. A lot. Too many favorite books to list here but "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson is my all time favorite book and I read it once a year to keep my life in perspective.

4. My iPod---can't design without it. When my boys are in school and I'm hanging at the local coffee house it takes me to another world where I can design without the words of other conversations getting in my creative way. And next week I am getting an iPhone and I am so excited, I can't wait to get it and start playing!

5. Christmas Music---love it. Listen to it all year round. I look forward to the holiday season so that I can grab new holiday remakes and tunes off iTunes. So far, last year's "All I Want" by the Weepies is my favorite, followed by Jars of Clay's rendition of "Love Came Down at Christmas."

6. Taking photographs---of everything. Not much time for it lately, but I do so enjoy getting my eye behind the camera and capturing my world.

7. "Life on Mars" my new favorite tv show....I also watched this show when the BBC did it a few years ago. The US version is much better! And I love the actor and loved him even more when he was in the BBC show "Monarch of the Glen"

So there you go, a little more info on me, what I love and blogs I love.....go check it all out!

This past month seems to have been really tough for me. My youngest, Henry, had to have his tonsils out after a terrible bout with Hand Foot and Mouth Disease. So the surgery is now over but the recovery is still going on. Poor little guy....It seems I haven't been able to get anything done on time or on schedule these past few weeks. I even missed posting my ASPCA freebies for the blog party which I organized! Wait, I haven't even made them yet!!!!! Plan on doing that this weekend and posting them on Sunday, so make sure you come back for them. So I feel like I am running in place on a treadmill, not getting anywhere but running out of energy doing it. Know what I mean?

I am also attempting to work on and finish my family photobook for the holidays by Thanksgiving so I can get it ordered and mailed early for once . Every year I give a book of the boys to all the grandparents. My favorite thing about making these books, other than getting to scrap for once and not design, is the chance to use designs from other artists. I rarely use my own designs in these books because I so want to use some of the "stash" I have collected from some amazing designers over the past few years.

Here is what I have finished so far.....

And today I got the camera out and took advantage of the beautiful light coming in through the window in my dining room. Sunny snow days are the best for natural light portraits! And I needed to update my own portrait so I attempted a self-portrait. Not sure if I like it, so I'll probably keep playing around whenever the lighting is good. Anyway, I needed some more formal portraits for the photobook and my boys performed wonderfully (in exchange for a grape lollipop). Check it out....

And if you haven't been in my shop lately, I have quite a few new products. My "Christmas Cheer!" is the Divine Diva Deal until next Wednesday---only 2 bucks! And I have a new "Vintage CU Box of Cheer" on sale for $15.99 until Thanksgiving. The box includes all my vintage stuff currently in my store. Anything added after November 14th isn't included, but it is still an awesome deal since you get 36 CU products. After Thanksgiving the price goes up to $25 until I remove it from my boutique in January. So act now and save!

And finally, a freebie. I should be giving out an ASPCA freebie, but as I said earlier in this post I haven't made them yet. But I am going to share two holiday papers that will be in my "Yuletide" kit that I plan on finishing this weekend. These are personal use only, click on either paper to download and remember, leave a comment here or there or anywhere and don't share the link, send friends here to download. Thanks!