Memory Makers with Nicole Stark

blog hiatus and a treasure hunt!

2007-10-02T09:57:24.0375035-04:00

yes this is worth coming out of hiatus for!:)

A good friend of mine, Kim Hughes has been designing new stamp sets for Cornish Heritage Farms. Let me tell you these are to die for . . . so incredibly cute!!

Here's your chance to be among the first to get your hands on them. Please go to The Cornish Heritage Farms BLOG and there you will find directions for a Treasure Hunt. These steps are extremely easy to follow (no guesswork at all). Along the way, you will see images of seven stamp sets and have chances to win them. One lucky winner will be drawn at the end and win ALL seven sets. Seriously how cool would it be to have all the sets . . .

This game starts at midnight Monday, October 1 and ends at 9am on Thursday, October 4. At that time, all seven sets will be available to purchase at Cornish Heritage Farms . This is the beginning of many sets to come. You can see samples using these stamps on Kim's Blog Paper Hugs and Stamped Kisses and at the CHF Gallery

hope you all play along:)

reflection

2007-08-16T15:08:21.4923750-04:00

so it's call week for the new MMM's.

last year at this time i had already sent in my entry and had totally forgot all about it. since call week last year wasn't until the first week in september i had plenty of time to forget. in my experience i would have to say it's nicer that way. no patrolling the boards. no hitting F5 over and over. for all of those waiting for the announcement i can't say i've been there, but i feel for you and wish everyone the best as we wait for the final word from mm.

this past year as been such a wonderful experience.

i've stretched and grown creatively.

i've had many more layouts published this year then i've ever had before.

i've met some really great ladies.

i've had the experience of deadlines and book assignments.

i've done so many things i never thought possible.

a year i will forever look back on:)

here's to the (anxiously waiting) 2008 masters and to a year of possibilites.

you'll love the ride!

in the mail today

2007-08-11T17:36:31.6065000-04:00

Just how cute is this?!

so fun, today i got two packages in the mail. one from catherine (fellow master) and another from beth (mm editor). contained in these two packages were magnets that were given out at cha. so between the two i was sent over 30. lol. not sure what i'm going to do with 30 magnets of my cover, but i'm thankful to the two of them for thinking of sending them to me.

Also for those asking how I did the photo collage on my last post, there is now a tutorial available here. It’s such a quick and easy way to make a large impact on any layout. If you give it a try make sure you link me up so I can see:)

2007-08-03T18:58:21.9680000-04:00

Please forgive me for never getting back to posting

This summer has been nothing but busy. The past month or so I have been non stop thinking about girl’s camp and as soon as I got home it took me quite a bit too totally recover. Nothing like staying up till 2 in the morning singing to the Grease soundtrack to leave you totally beat. To see a few fun pictures from what will forever be called “80’s night” click here and then scroll down a bit.

Now that I’m finally getting back into the swing of things I’ve also taken on a fun little DT spot over at “I am a scrapaholic”. I’m helping incorporate some fun digital tricks along with the kits. Nothing too hard I promise! Also Monday August 6 at 7pm , Mountain Time you can come chat with me on the “Celebrity Therapist Chat” forum on the message board. Hope to see you there!:)

Here are a few things I’ve put together with the August kit:

The question mark block of the card I put together in Photoshop, printed it on a transparency, and then used it as the base for this fun little card. Inscription inside, “So . . . how old are you again? Well, anyway . . . Happy Birthday:)!

i wanna cry!

2007-07-02T17:15:11.9590000-04:00

i just got done writing a HUGE post and i lost it all! i know better i've done this before, but i forgot how this blog program likes to time out after awhile. So I will make another attempt later tonight . . .

hello blog land . . .

2007-06-12T00:35:30.3533750-04:00

so does anyone still check this thing out? . . . just wondering . . . ;)

5 years ago today i was resting in a hospital bed. a little tender and soar, but very very happy. after all 5 years ago today my dream of becoming a mother had come true.

i had been induced the night before and had been in labor all night. he was born at 8:44 am on a tuesday morning.

now my little guy is 5! five years old today. i can't believe it. a couple of weeks ago he had his kindergarten check up where he bravely had four shots. two in each leg. my brave little boy is all registered for kindergarten.

i'm just hoping my brave little boy will have a brave mommy come fall.

just recently i scrapped his baby picture. he really was a cutie baby, it must have been all that hair!

and then this shot i quickly caught of him after his birthday party on saturday. he's wearing his brand new batman jammies that his aunt 'manessa gave him. they are so cool because they have a cape attached to the back with velcro . . . :)

yep . . . this is one of the many reasons i scrapbook.

a journey

2007-04-26T16:27:20.6761885-04:00

i picked up a copy of the june issue of memory makers. WOW! amazing work. i swear each issue just gets better and better!

but also as i was flipping through yesterday i realized how full circle my life has come right now. a year ago this spring is when i had finally started to get my life on track. my soul was at peace with the things i couldn't change in my life. to celebrate my growth and change i did a layout. it became my themed layout for the memory makers masters contest last summer and was featured in "meet the masters's" article in january. something that was never shared though was the journaling . . .

I had been having pain off and on for about a year. The episodes usually lasted a couple of days. Nothing too sever, most of the time being just a subtle annoyance. In January of 2005 the pain became unbearable. I quickly made a doctor's appointment. After a few more appointments and many tests I was scheduled for surgery.

The culprit: endometriosis. I had heard of it, but actually had no idea what it was. After a lot of reading and a follow-up appointment with my doctor the reality started to sink in. Although not life threatening this disease had drastically changed my life.

I was twenty-five years old. We had been blessed with one little boy, but I really wasn't ready to quite trying. I had always dreamed of having a big family and I couldn't bear going through menopause at such a young age. So I decided to just deal with the pain for the time in hopes of adding to our family.

What I learned is that pain has a way of breaking you down. It became a never-ending cycle every month. Trying to deal. Trying to just get through. I became an emotional wreck with no end in sight. I started becoming bitter as well, pushing people away. How would they know what I was going through they didn't hav this?! The self pity and 'why me' started. I even got to the point where pregnant woman and little babies just made me cry. Several sister-in-law's became pregnant - I couldn't find it in myself to even be happy for them. Didn't they know it was suppose to be my turn to be pregnant?! I let the disease control what my days were going to be like . . . I went on in this selfish state for almost a whole year.

What a wasted year! One day I woke up and realized that my ride on the bitter train needed to end. I looked at my life, my attitude, my relationships, and realized that I didn't like who I was and I needed to change. I went to church with a new resolve. I started reading my scriptures and turning to my Heavenly Father. I asked that my heart be softened and that I could find peace within myself. I wanted to be happy again. To live again.

Through time and prayer it happened. I was able to find peace again. I still have pain. I still have worries that Wes will be an only child, but I know that for some reason I was given this to bear. I know I can have help when I can't bear it any longer. I have a loving supportive husband and an incredibly adorable little boy. I'm truly blessed!

Through the pain and the yearnings I have come to celebrate life: My life!

in the new june issue the master's were interview again and asked to make a layout that we thought was a "winning" page. the layout featured was another tough one for me to make. why did i do it then? . . . because scrapbooking is my life. besides my blog i don't really keep a journal. through my scrapbook layouts my posterity will know me. they will now my dreams, my wishes, my challenges, my joys. scrapbooking for me is about not making my life seem perfect, but sharing my story.

i picked the theme "one wish" and then made my layout based on that theme. it was fun to see that the actual theme for the 2008 contest turned out to be "i wish".

so what is my one wish (most of you already know). it's to have another baby . . . a girl. like the title of my layout - "just a little pink". since my journaling is hard to read i thought i would share it here:

i have my boys, my family, scrapbooking, church . . . life is full and i'm loving it all.

sometimes though after looking at pictures of babies, seeing all the pink that exists in my supplies and hearing wes constantly ask for a baby sister . . . i go there; that place where i secretly still long for a little baby. where my wall comes down for an instance and i can shed a tear or two. where i still say a silent prayer and ask for that wish to be fulfilled.

i can see her a little girl with dark eyes and hair. we even have her name picked out . . .

so there you go. the progress of a journey. a journey that continues as i continue to make new goals and strive to keep going.

i'm diggin' the digital!

2007-04-20T16:32:53.7055474-04:00

for awhile now i've been in some what of a scrapbooking rut. i go through it frequently . . . this time it's not really a crisis situation since there's not any looming deadlines or assignments. i still feel like creating, but it's just not in me to go sit at my scrap desk and push paper around. instead i've picked up doing some digital.

never say never people!

about a year ago i start to dable in this new medium, but soon put it by the way side since i loved the hands on aspect of scrapbooking so much. well i'm back to playing again and i'm loving the results. i've learned so many fun new things and have bought a butt load of fun new papers and embellishments (much to my husbands dismay!).

so i thought i would share my excitement and some new layouts.

thanks for stopping by:)

2007-04-06T12:53:16.2604325-04:00

every year in january i get this need (like most people) to set goals and resolutions for myself. many go by the wayside as i get busy with daily life. others i religiously work at as i try and better myself. so with the coming of spring and warmer weather, also comes my reevaluation of where i am and what i need to work on better. what comes to mind. this poor blog. i'm failing miserable at updating this thing! i finally got better at my personal one . . . so here's to a new beginning:)

yesterday i decided to go to my local craft store. i really haven't been shopping for scrapbook supplies in awhile and thought i would go see what new things they had. while there i went past the magazine rack. i was so excited when i spotted the new may issue of memory makers.

after getting that phone call in september i never thought that this might happen. still pinching myself that my layout and my little guy made the cover.

an update . . . .

2007-03-08T14:21:04.0030000-05:00

It’s march . . . . really this year is flying!

We are finally getting some warm weather here in Ut. Yesterday Wes and I actually ventured outside for errands without jackets and wearing sandals. Well it’s not like I don’t wear sandals most of the year anyway . . . but that’s getting off topic. LOL!

I’ve been playing life on the down low lately. Soaking up time with my family and reorganizing my scrap area yet again. My most resent purchases were from the dollar store; these really cute jars that I organized all my ribbon into. I realize this isn’t some new and amazing way to organize and store my ribbon, but I finally gave in and followed the trend that I’ve been eyeing for awhile. Let me say that I’m so happy! (Yes, really it is the simple things sometimes that make me happy.) I’m one of those ‘see it-use it’ type of scrappers and now with all my ribbon in easy access it makes me want to use it more.

So what else has been keeping me busy?

I seem to get that a lot lately from friends and family.

I’ve taken an interest in cooking. Yep, I was getting lazy. There’s been way too much frozen foods and take-out going on at the Stark household. I’ve livened up my repertoire and have expanded my horizons. Along with the cooking and baking has been a early release of ‘Spring fever’. Really it hits me every year, but usually not for another month or so. I’ve been cleaning and dejunking. I think it must be something spurred on by being chained to my scrapbook desk for too long working on the Ask the Masters book. I got my assignments all done, turned around and realized I had been neglecting other areas of my life.

Balance. My constant stuggle.

So that’s me lately . . . I have also been scrapping a bit. Not going to share here since I have shared them on my other blog. I’m going to try and update this thing more than once a month. Sometimes though . . . I really have nothing to share.

Thanks for stopping by:)

a little love in the air

2007-02-16T18:34:45.3117658-05:00

awwww . . . . another valentine's day is over. yes that is relief you hear. valentine's for me as a cake decorator can be very busy. add on top of that the book assignments for the new masters book and being a wife and mother --- yeah i was a little stressed!

now with the holiday passed and my assignments arriving saftely in the office; i'm back to the usual grind, which i'm more than willing to be in right now.

although i had planned to take a mini break from scrapping . . . the overdrive of scrap mojo continues to go on. so i had to break into my kit from memory creators and get busy.

today i was able to finish up these two layouts and thought i would share.

every year for valentine's day and my birthday my sweet husband always buys me a bouquet of flowers. he thinks they are a waste of money, but he still does it anyway. finally got it down in a layout after taking a picture of my flowers he gave me wednesday.

my sweet guy and his best friend bunny. she's a girl and her name is bunny (go figure . . . lol!!). he's had her for years and within the last several months has latched onto her and takes her EVERYWHERE with him.

so what did you do today?

2007-02-03T22:43:04.0470179-05:00

yes this actually came out of my husbands mouth!!!

really honey what didn't i do this week. i guess it ticks me off just a tad since i not only have all the usual SAHM things (which in and of itself is a FULL time job) but added to it: a part time job in the mornings, a church calling, and now scrapbooking assignments.

mind you not just a few assignments here and there . . . i'm now trying to get 9 layouts and 2 projects done in the next week and a half. and on top of that dealing with the very busy valentine cake stuff at baskin robbins. in total i will probably do about 80-90 cakes over the next couple of weeks if not more. thank goodness for a very helpful grandma who took wes over night this week and allowed me a full work day.

don't get me wrong . . . my hubby for the most part is very supportive and actually helps out quite a bit, but some days he doesn't think to much before he opens his mouth! LOL!

i just have to remind myself that i'm loving what i do . . . i feel blessed beyond measure . . . even among all the assignments and deadlines.

so for all those wondering . . . this is what i did this week

i finished 4 layouts
typed up supply lists and emailed for approval
mailed out 2 layouts for a book
made 50 red frosting roses
built, frosted, and boxed 21 back up cakes
made 36 dark chocolate hearts
and another 36 red chocolate hearts
made a gift album for the young women's president
planned and did the mutual activity on wednesday

and along with this did the usual everyday stuff that makes up life. now to show this list to brandon . . . . pain in my butt:)

hoping everyone is having a wonderful saturday . . . love the weekends. always lots of family time going on. tomorrow is the big super bowl party. the only reason i'm even considering going . . . to be with my family, eat some yummy treats made by my MIL and laugh at the boys when they yell at the tv.

so i'm off to jam to my ipod and get my scrappin' groove going! oh yeah!:)

a little sneaky peak!

2007-01-18T11:24:37.4660000-05:00

so it's been awhile again. . . really i've been slacking on a bit of everything lately. thank goodness for a very supportive hubby who as so gracefully stepped in.

what has been keeping me so busy?

scrappy stuff! yes it's been very fun, and exciting. assignments and deadlines. i'm really loving it all. the hard part is being so excited about something and not being able to share.

well i get to share this layout . . . i'm very excited since i just finished it a little while ago:)

it's a layout i did for the imaginisce booth at cha. it's their new 'en fuego' line. like a couple of their previous lines it has that very sophisticated look, but with a twist of latin inspiration. to go along with the papers they also have some new rubons, brads, and metal brad charms. i used the brad charms on two of my flower centers.

thanks so much for stopping by:)

winter wonderland

2007-01-04T16:21:23.2868586-05:00

and only a couple of weeks late . . .

soon after i arrived to work this morning the white stuff started falling. wes is having blast! as soon as daddy comes home today he intends to have a snowball fight and start building a snowman. i'm really hoping this snow stays long enough that we can go sledding!

so it's now 2007!

Wow . . . I can't believe it!:)

2006-12-23T14:30:38.9066138-05:00

Wishing everyone a

very Merry Christmas and a

Happy New Year!!:)

handmade christmas

2006-12-20T21:59:15.0920431-05:00

every year it seems like i try and out do what i did before . . . anyone feel like they are in the same boat? this year everything seemed to fall into place a little bit better. today i even managed to finish my gifts early! YES! cut to the scene from the past three years of me sitting hunched over my scrapbook desk madly cutting and glueing down paper and ribbon right before we head to the inlaws for christmas eve dinner. . . .yes, it feels good!:)

so i thought i would share some of the things i finished up today. keep in mind the pictures are not the greatest since the lighting in my apartment is really bad. but i think ya'll get the jist.

this is one of those paper mache letters you can purchase at your local craft store. i covered with with some Prima flowers, Doodlebug buttons, and a few rhinestones. quick and very easy.

here are a few more of the zoom albums that i finished up. really these things are amazing! i quickly personalized them by adding some pattern paper and chipboard.

lastly here is an album that i did for my mother in law. keep in mind she is not a scrapbooker. . . so far from it:) anyway she loves keeping photos around and quickly changes them out and then tries to keep them in something she got from the dollar store. i thought i would help her out a bit and got her a three ring binder full of sheet protectors and just sheets of cardstock. i did the cover in photoshop using some photos by my really good friend kathy (thanks girl!), printed it out and slipped it in the front cover of the binder. brushes and frames are all from www.twopeasinabucket.com.

thanks for stopping by:)

the stockings were hung . . .

2006-12-11T21:26:16.6883267-05:00

Wow!!!

It’s full swing Christmas season! Everyone got there Christmas shopping done?

Christmas cards sent?

Mine are going out tomorrow!!

So glad I decided on the quick and easy digital card this year. I designed the whole thing in Photoshop and then uploaded it to www.shutterfly.com . I then adhered them to the fronts of blank white cards. I so love the quick and easy!!:)

As most of you have seen the prize package that arrived earlier last week was crazy!!! So many fun things! The Zoom Album has to be one of my favs. As soon as I saw it the wheels started turning and I thought how fun they would be to give as brag books for parents and grandparents this year for Christmas.

Here is one that I actually did the other night for my sister-in-law with pictures of my niece. It is going to be sent to a grandma that lives back east.

so it's been awhile . . .

2006-12-01T19:25:51.5367754-05:00

I’m such a blog slacker!!!

Life has just gotten away from me lately and I’ve had a hard time trying to stay on top of everything. Anyway I’m here, I’m alive . . . very busy, but a fun scrappy kind of busy going on:)

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Ours this year was great as it was spread out through the week. We had three Thanksgiving dinners, yep you read that right 3!! The best part was enjoying all the time with family and reflecting on the many things I’m thankful for this year.

Last week I did sit down and scrapbook a layout for my little sister. She turned eight this summer and was baptized in September. I’m going to put this in a frame and give it to her as a belated present. Just a little reminder of her special day . . .

cardstock: Bazzill Basics

pattern paper and chipboard: Fancy Pants Design ( I love their new big chipboard swirls!!!)

bling and paint: Heidi Swapp

small flowers: Doodlebug

chipboard letter: Lil’ Davis Designs

tag: Avery

big flowers . . . well I actually don’t remember who makes them

and last but certainly not least a piece of my beloved dictionary paper:) sprayed with some Krylon “Preserve It” for acid reasons.

Thanks for stopping by . . . I promise I’ll be better about updating this thing:)

Hey there!:)

2006-11-17T20:32:28.3500000-05:00

So I see I’m the last . . . lol . . . . yeah I’ve written this first entry about 4 times now. Each time I never hit the submit button. This whole experience is still so crazy to me!! Something I’ve always dreamed about, but never thought would actually happen to me. To say I still have my moments of shock is an understatement, but . . . I’m so happy and thrilled to be here.

Since I actually shared my call story on my own personal blog and also on the message board I’ll forgo telling that here. So about me . . .

I’m actually a very introverted person (that’s why this is at times very hard for me) with extrovert tendencies. I don’t talk in complete sentences. I spell things wrong a LOT! I tend to type and use . . . . in every other sentence. . . . and I love smiley faces:)!!

I live in Utah with my husband and our little boy. When I’m not decorating ice cream cakes or spending time with my family you can find me taking pictures or at my scrap table . . .

I’ve always been pretty creative. I was very blessed to grow up in an environment where I was constantly surrounded with opportunities to nurture the creative side of me. My mom and grandma dabbled in so many crafts and hobbies that I couldn’t help but catch a love for everything crafty.

At times I look back and think how ironic it is that I found scrapbooking though. I use to walk down the isles of my local craft store and think “what a waste of money!” Now after almost 4 years of scrapbooking I could probably open my own scrapbooking store. I picked up this hobby innocently enough. After my son was born I wanted to make a baby book about his birth and first year. In NO way was it going to be a ‘scrapbook’. In the end I was sucked in and so incredibly glad it did!

This hobby has grown to encompass my life. I love taking photos. I love recording moments. I love getting messy and combining it all together. I’m a scrapbooker:)!!!

I’m so very excited for this next year. To be called a Memory Maker Master. To share my ideas and my love of all things scrappy with all of you.

Here are a few layouts from my MMM entry . . . .

As a mom who stays home with my son, just thinking about him going to school next fall makes me so mommy-sentimental and blubbery! With those thoughts and feeling in mind I made this layout. Wes and I have so much fun together and I know this is a time I’m going to look back and long for, but for the time I’m enjoying each day that it’s just him and me.

This layout is of my darling husband! LOL!! It still makes me laugh looking at the picture. I got my digital camera last summer and have taken well over 8,000 pictures with it. You can only imagine the annoyance my family has at times . . . needless to say I often get things like this from my honey! To show him . . . I scrapbooked it and threw it in among the rest of my entry. LOL! A little comedy relief among the rest of my layouts!:) I love it since it's just my husband. Shows his personality perfectly!