Some Cool Updates!

Sometimes it's cool to be blogger! So, a few weeks ago, I wrote a blogpost about the Season Premiere of Parenthood on NBC. Not long after that, I got an e-mail from a person who was involved with the Parenthood Soundtrack CD. He asked if I would post the press release and picture on my blog to help promote it, which I did. I mean how cool is it to be recognized as a TV crazy! In return he sent me a copy of the Soundtrack cd! I was so surprised and overjoyed. It's pretty cool to think that my tiny scrapbooking blog made a blip in the NBC world. It has always been sort of a dream of mine to be involved in the television industry in some way, so this was big for me!

By the way, I am loving the Parenthood season so far. Funny and real. Love it! The soundtrack ROCKS! I love that it is mellow and fun. Great to put on in the background while eating dinner. I recommend!

In other news, I have updated the Halloween kits on My Etsy site. I have added options for the photo tray kits. You can now purchase the Halloween kits separately (no tray included) for $25.00 + shipping. You can purchase the Photo trays alone for $19.95 + Shipping. Or you can purchase the All inclusive kits for a reduced amount of $40.00 + shipping. I thought it would give you more options! Also, if you don't like Paypal or Esty - you can always e-mail me with your interest and we can work out payment. The materials are all ready to ship so you will get them in time to decorate for Halloween!

My life updates: Enjoying TV, starting a Home Improvement project (Walk-in Closet), Started a diet and working out (2 days in and SORE!), and of course counting down the days till my Tim Holtz class! (26 days). Other than that - getting ready to start Christmas cards and gifts! Lots of crafting in my future! Which reminds me, I have to get hubby to hook up the cable in my scrap studio.

Sorry for the babbling today! More videos and projects coming soon!

Halloween Painter's Tray kit

I am beyond excited to share this kit with all of you! They are available on my Esty Site HERE. I am so thrilled with how it came out. I bought these 7 Gypsies trays a while ago with the intention of teaching classes monthly at my LSS. These trays are great but I have only seen them decorated for one particular occasion. I thought to myself, "What a waste!" I want mine out all the time not just for Halloween, Christmas, or spring. A light bulb went off and I decided to make these kits removable so you could get the most out of this gorgeous decor item. I thought of kits for birthdays, baby girl, baby boy, Spring, vintage, grungy, pets, holidays, really the possibilities are endless! How great would it be to get a quick and simple kit once a month or so and re-vamp your decor? After I had this all planned - my LSS went out of business. I was so bummed out because I was psyched about this idea.

So here I am trying to do the same thing through my blog. I thought Halloween was a great place to start. Everyone loves to decorate for Halloween! I fell in love with the Booville line of papers from Little Yellow Bicycle. Here are the kits!



What I made:


The tray


The Embellishments


The Papers






Super Cute right? I thought I would offer the trays in the first round. After this - the kits will be less expensive because you won't have to get the tray - you will already have them! If you need a tray after this I can get them but it might take a bit longer to get your kit. I would love to hear your thoughts regarding themes you would be interested in, paper lines, any suggestions are welcomed. This is just the beginning! Fun!

Parenthood CD!

Check out the new music coming soon! Love this show so I expect the music will spark my fancy as well! Available now on ITunes and in store Oct. 5th! Checkout the press release below!

“PARENTHOOD” SOUNDTRACK ROCKS THE FALL



ARRIVAL RECORDS/SCION MUSIC GROUP TO RELEASE THE SOUNDTRACK TO NBC’S TOP RATED TELEVISION SHOW “PARENTHOOD”



Set for Aug 31, 2010 Digital Release and In Stores Oct. 5, 2010



Soundtrack Features Top Artists Bob Dylan, Wilco, Brett Dennen, The Avett Brothers, Corrine Bailey Rae, John Doe & Lucy Schwartz, Ray LaMontagne, among others



New Season Premiers on NBC Sept. 14



August 2010 – Bob Dylan, Wilco, Brett Dennen and others are featured on the soundtrack of the fall – “Parenthood” – set to rock into online retailers on Aug. 31 (to coincide with season one’s DVD release on Universal Studios Home Entertainment) and in stores on Oct. 5 by Arrival Records/Scion Music Group (distributed by Fontana Distribution a subsidiary of Universal Music Group).



The album features 12 tracks all of which are featured or will be featured on the show, including the much talked about theme song - Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young. ” The physical CD also includes an exclusive version of that song sung by the iconic John Doe and rising star Lucy Schwartz as well as Schwartz’s “When We Were Young,” which is the international theme song for the show.



The talented artists who contributed to the soundtrack include: Bob Dylan, Brett Dennen, Amos Lee, The Avett Brothers, Corrine Bailey Rae, The Eels, Josh Ritter, Lucy Schwartz, The Swell Season, Wilco, Ray LaMontagne and John Doe & Lucy Schwartz. Liza Richardson is the show’s music supervisor and soundtrack co-producer and music supervisor for the series along with Jonathan Platt, Jonathan Miller and Jonathan McHugh. The soundtrack is licensed through NBC Universal television, DVD, music and consumer products group.



Commenting on the album, Liza Richardson says: “Working on “Parenthood” is a music supervisor’s dream. I’m working with extremely creative pros. These are people who love music and understand how to put the right song in the right scene and effectively help tell a story. The editors, the writers, the execs all make a huge contribution to the way the show sounds.”



Adds Jason Katims: “I am tremendously proud of the caliber of artists who’ve lent their voices to “Parenthood,” and to this amazing soundtrack.”



Season two of “Parenthood” will premier on NBC on Tues., Sept. 14. The show, which was number one in its time slot last season, is produced by Oscar-winning producers Ron Howard and Brian Grazer (“A Beautiful Mind,” “Frost”/”Nixon”) and show runner Jason Katims ("Friday Night Lights"). A comedic yet heartfelt and thought-provoking series, "Parenthood" follows four grown siblings of the far-from-perfect Braverman clan as they try to balance kids and careers, dreams and commitments and romance...or a total lack thereof.



For more information please visit www.parenthoodtvsoundtrack.com



The Parenthood soundtrack track list is as follows:



1. Forever Young – Bob Dylan

2. Darlin’ Do Not Fear – Brett Dennen

3. Colors – Amos Lee

4. Kick Drum Heart – The Avett Brothers

5. Put Your Records On – Corrine Bailey Rae

6. In My Dreams – Eels

7. Change of Time – Josh Ritter

8. When We Were Young – Lucy Schwartz

9. In These Arms – The Swell Season

10. Solitaire – Wilco

11. Let It Be Me – Ray LaMontagne

12. Forever Young – John Doe & Lucy Schwartz

Just Babbling!

So, I thought I would share a bit about my other passion. TV! I can't tell you how excited I am that Fall TV is BACK!!! I do my best during the summer to find things that entertain me but it's not easy. I usually can only muster luke warm feelings for Summer programming. So, you can imagine how stoked I am now that my highly addictive programming is here. Now, granted most of the season premieres start next week. However, I am glad to see some shows are starting early.

Tonight Gossip girl has returned. XOXO! I realize that this show is for teenagers but - I like it. Is it an absolute favorite - no, but it entertains me. For any fans out there - here is where we left off last season. Blair and Serena were headed to Paris. Georgina returned with a very large bun in her oven with Dan's name on it. Nate was looking like Mr. Playboy trying to forget Serena. Jenny was being sent away. and the most shocking - Chuck was shot in an alley and his engagement ring was stolen!!! Oh, how will it all turn out - tune in tonight at 9pm to find out!

Tomorrow Parenthood returns. I actually only started watching this show because it starred Lauren Graham and I am a huge Gilmore Girls fan. It took me 3 episodes and I was hooked. I think it is a good show and hope they don't ruin it as so many shows tend to do in season 2.

Wednesday - America's Next Top Model is back for another season of skinny girls complaining. I don't know why I watch this show, but I am convinced that it helped me get pretty wedding pictures. Smize!

So, now that you know what is new this week, let me explain my Fall premiere philosophy. When it comes to new shows I am always leery. The new trend in TV these days is if there aren't a million people watching - it gets cancelled. Especially new shows. I try not to get too invested too soon - just in case. A girl has to protect herself. To many times I have fallen for a show and it was ripped from me after 5 episodes. GRRRRRR! So, I pick which shows sound interesting - This year Mike and Molly (again Gilmore Girls "Suki"), Hawaii 5-0 (I used to watch the original and I think Hubby might like it) and The Defenders (I am a sucker for Vegas, this show has potential to be cancelled after 3 episodes but I am going to give it a try).

I give these new shows 3 episodes to establish characters and story lines - if I am not excited about the show after that - I drop it from my Tivo line-up.

So I will write more next week during the BIG Premiere week! But I thought I would ease you into my crazy TV world slowly.

Remember - Never apologize for your TV choices (no matter how cheesy)!!!

Challenged Accepted!

So here are a few of my submissions for a challenge hosted by Kathryn on The Scrapbeach Blog. Click HERE for more info.

Entry #1 - A Thank you card. I played with alcohol ink on glossy cardstock. FINALLY! Love it! I have been wanting to try this technique ever since I saw Jennifer McGuire's Thinking Inking videos! So awesome.



Supplies: Ranger Alcohol ink - Butterscotch, cranberry & stream
Ranger Blending solution
Ranger glossy cardstock
Papertrey Ink: Vintage cream cardstock, vintage cream ribbon
stamps: Hero Arts & Tim Holtz

Entry #2 - Here is a 6 x 6 simple layout using some maroon cardstock. I played with some smooch spritz.



Supplies: Bazzil Cardstock
7 Gypsies script patterned paper
Prima flower & bling
Distress Ink: Wild honey, rusty hinge, vintage photo
Stamps: Tim Holtz

Entry #3 - My favorite! I made a tag for Finn's mini album. I love the color combo, love the way it turned out. This is why I love these challenges. I would probably have never tried this color combo but dangle a free paper pad and stamp set in front of my nose and I'll try anything! LOL! Anyway, this is so cute and I love the Prince Finn idea and am just thrilled with how this tag will match the Max & whiskers paper I am going to use for the mini! Yay! What do you know, sometimes the stars do align for me after all!



Supplies: manilla tag
Ranger Distress inks: Wild honey, rusty hinge, aged mahogany
Ranger Distress stickles: vintage photo
Colorbox fluid chalk ink: chestnut roan
Fibers
Grungeboard: alphas and crown
Dress up buttons from Michaels - cat theme
Stamp: Hero Arts Ledger

Thanks Kathryn for introducing me to this great color combo and for offering a prize to boot! You rock!

and the winner is...

The winner of the blog candy is.........



Congratulations Robyn (pondbranchpurdy)! E-mail me your address and I will send out your package right away! Thanks again to everyone who participated for the wonderful comments!