Tag-a-lag

I've been TAGGED by Tami!

This is called the middle name game. Here are the rules:
1. You have to post the rules before you give your answers.
2. You must list one fact about yourself beginning with each letter of your middle name. (If you don't have a middle name, use your maiden name).
3. After you are tagged, you need to update your blog with your middle name and your answers.
4. At the end of your blog post, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name. (Be sure to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged and that they need to read your blog for details).

Since I don't like my middle name, I'm going to cheat and use my first! ;)

M-Married. {Very happily I might add.}
A-Accountable. {Something I stress to everyone I know. Always be accountable!}
R-Rowdy. {Yes, I can be a little rowdy at times.}
Y-Young. {Yet sometimes I don't feel it!}

Okay, let me think of who to tag...Staci, Darlene, Melissa P., and Amanda O. :D

It's Challenge Time... Gourmet Style!

Hey Ya'll...(in my best Paula Deen draw),

The Scrappy Gourmet is celebrating it's ONE Year Anniversary and in honor of this special occasion, each Design Team member will be posting a challenge with the prize being one of their kits!! Pretty awesome, huh?!!

If you want to play along and have your name put in for the drawing for my kit all you have to do it post your layout HERE in the Scrappy Gourmet gallery, under "Mary Shirley's Blog Challenge".

So....here's MY Challenge;

Create a Layout sharing your favorite food(s). Whether it's something sweet and fatening or the perfect comfort food on a cold winter day.

Here's the twist...

1. Use Felt!

2. Use 3 different Pattern Papers!

3. Bring on the Bling and Buttons!

That's it, pretty simple! Have fun and post your entries in the gallery by Feb. 14 at The Scrappy Gourmet under my blog challenge category.

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Hope you can play.. Post here and let me know so I can take a peek at the Gallery! :)

CARDS Call!

I got my first request from CARDS yesterday for their June
'08 issue! Soooo exciting! This is my first (in print) publication, so it's extra special!

I'm also grateful for all of my friends who allow me to act like a giddy school girl when these exciting things happen in my life! :) lol

Winter Cook Off Contest!

Join in the fun and enter The Scrappy Gourmet's latest contest - The Scrappy Gourmet Winter Cookoff. It goes until January 31,2008. You have just two weeks to create and display your favorite designs in the gallery, with no stipulation on product usage. And the best part is that you can enter as many times as you'd like! Two winners will be selected; one for design elements and style and the other winner will be selected at random. So.... the more you enter, the better your chances are to win.

Winners will be announced the first week of February and will receive a prize package worth more than $75.00 of product from Fancy Pants, Daisy D's, 7-Gypsies, Melissa Frances, Art Wareshouse and of course, The Scrappy Gourmet.

Upload entries to the gallery at www.thescrappygourmet.com

Now... what are you waiting for????

I {heart} Scenic Route!!

Okay, and well I {heart} my little one too... but sweet goodness I just {heart} these Loveland papers!!! Not to mention I'm pretty fond of my Expressions...all three papers were cut using the Accent Essentials!

Where I'll be!

Next month I'll be over at Back Porch Memories as their Guest Designer!! SAAHH-WEET! I was so excited to get the PM from them yesterday! So, come over and check out their kit and see what we have in store for February!

I {heart} Valentines!

Valentines Day is one of my favorite Holidays. I have so many special memories that evolve around this day. I can remember my dad always having roses delivered to me at school when I was little. I was probably the only 8 or 9 year old getting a dozen roses on Valentines, you think? I've saved each and every card that was attached. That is just one very special memory I have and of course it means a lot more now that my dad has passed away.

I have a lot of fun ideas for all of the V-day goodies I have and I got started last night! Here's my first card for the big day...



And this was my take on Melissa's card challenge over at CreativeXpress...



And last, a layout I finished for a call at Back Porch Memories...

A Croppy Weekend

I cropped a LOT over the weekend!! We had our monthly hostess crop on Friday night and rolled it into a 12-hour crop at the same house the next day. Talk about some fun... that was a blast! We actually over-extended our stay a bit though... I think we were there about 15 hours instead! oops! lol

I managed to get 6 layouts finished. So, I was happy! I set my 'Goals' for the new year and that helped me get started. Hopefully I will fulfill my goal of over 300 layouts this year! It's a lot... I know!

Here's one I'll share...

Tag... You're it!

Darlene tagged me on her blog! Aren't you sweet! :D hehe

1. Name your 2 favourite scrapbooking topics.
Topics or Subjects?
Subjects would be my kids and topics would be new techniques.

2. What are the 2 best places you've been to?
Las Vegas and Kentucky (where I'm from)

3. Name 2 things you do every day.
Work online and call someone

4. Tell us 2 things that pretty much everyone knows about you.
I love scrapping (durr) and I love my caramel lattés!

5. Tell us 2 things that everyone DOESN'T know about you.
I'm blind as a bat and I sleep naked... haha okay that's not true, but
I wanted you to laugh! My second one would be that I can't stand to wear
socks!

(my add-on)
6. Tell us 2 things that got you into the hobby of scrapping?
A couple of my great friends hounding me and the fact that I really needed
a hobby!

I'm going to tag April and Andrea

OK, so you can see that all of the questions have "2" in them. You're going to answer the 5 questions on your blog and add one more with "2" of something. That way as it spreads, it'll get longer and change depending on who it visits! Make sure to list the 2 people you're tagging on your blog and let them know! Make sense? Ask if it doesn't!

2008!!!

It's so hard to believe that another year has gone by! 2007 was a great year, of course it had it's ups and downs... but don't they all?! We ended the year with our family and friends having fun as usual!

It's time to get back to business. My gig is finally up at Scrapbook Central... what a fun year I had designing tons of layouts for the store! I'm definitely going to miss my monthly packages of goodies to play with, so I may just have to do something about that! ;)

Santa brought me a cute little bug for Christmas! Actually, it's the big guy... the Cricut Expressions and 4 cartridges!
I've had a little fun tonight playing around. Another fun thing I've been doing is organizing my scraproom. Ha. Yes, so much fun! I bought a new cabinet for one of the closets and left the doors off, so it actually looks like I put a bookcase in the closet. So when we move I can use it either way in my new room...I like options!

Here are some layouts that I didn't get to post last month since it was so crazy!

This is my little man on his first day of Preschool!


A collection of Elisabeth's shoes for the year!


And last, one of my new favorites. A picture of Elisabeth and Landon about a week after he arrived. I haven't added the journaling, but I wanted to post anyway!


Here's to a wonderful new year!