something new & special....

I have a new reason for you to become one of my Scrap Sassy Silly blog subscribers......

every new "personal use" product release at Gotta Pixel will have a new release blog only coupon offer ...............

every new "commercial use" product release at Gotta Pixel will have a special new release sale

don't miss out on some sweet specials.......sign up now over on my right side bar .... my updates will be delivered directly to your inbox

soooooooooo...now for the very first special blog coupon........



and


Sweet Water Taffy Paper Pack and Element Pack ... Collaboration by Jeannie Papai and Sara Ellis.......now at Gotta Pixel...... yippee-i-aye!!!! there is so much fun in this, not everything fit into the previews so you better click on the links to find out more about this super fun and fab collab (but don't forget to grab your coupon below)

***papers and elements packs available separately.......or purchase both of them together and save 20% (this special is available every day)

*~*~*~*use coupon code SE_BLOG_1H2O and save 30% on Sweet Water Taffy, exp Jan 8, 2008*~*~*~*

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas.

Cooper finally got in to town around 5:15 yesterday afternoon after a two hour delay at STL' Lambert Airport. They were blaming it on mechanical issues, but once he got on board, he said that the crew talk sounded more like it was an issue about a "no show" flight attendant and they had to wait for a replacement to get there. Who knows....but at least he is here for the next 1.5 weeks. YAY!

Santa was very good to us again this year. Hudson and Griffin have more toys .... at least the majority of them are educational ones this time. Right now they are fighting over the Diego Mobile Rescue Unit. Sharing is so fun sometimes (LOL). I think my favorite things they received are their Aquadoodle mats. They received a handy travel size one and a big play mat for at home.

I have to work from 11-3 today for all of the holiday returns and Christmas money shopping. I'll probably shop a little during my break too with a little of my Christmas money too Coop is looking forward to spending some quality time with his little brothers and breaking in their new toys with them too.

***************

Hey there.....it's finally time

My very first Word Up challenge at Gotta Pixel....let's have some fun! On the 26th of every month I will give you one "spotlight" word and 3 twists to include in your LO.

The word for the next 31 days is BEGINNING. It is the perfect first word for this challenge since it is the beginning of great times here.

Scrap about the beginning of 2008, a new birth, a new chapter in your life, reflect on your very first LO, etc...

you MUST:
*use the word "beginning" anywhere on your LO
*black must be your main color
*use only one picture
*you must use at least three different alphas

post your LO in the Word Up gallery HERE
and then come back and link it up in the challenge thread at GP.

every participant will receive a $1.00 GC to my store after this challenge is over.....BUT.... if you use any goodies by me, you will receive a $3.00 GC instead

have a blast and Scrap Sassy Silly!!!!!!!!

Merry Christmas!!!!!! (you must read ALL to get the best savings)

Today is the last day to automatically save 20% off everything in my Gotta Pixel store at checkout....
including these fine goodies...





then.... on the 26th.....my challenge will begin......
I will be hosting the Word Up challenge on the 26th every month

woo-hoo!!!!

*****************
and ....don't miss this.........
the first 25 people to shop in my OAKS store TODAY... will receive 70% off by using coupon code SE_RAK_1225 (must use on the "view cart" page)

Mery Christmas!!!!

Cooper will be here for Christmas dinner (for those of you that don't know... he's my oldest son...17 yo & lives in St Louis full-time)

I wasn't able to book his free Southwest ticket all month....... nothing was available on Christmas day or later in the month

then a couple days ago ONE flight was ...so I booked that........and he had a 4 hour layover in Houston............then this morning, 6 flights were available...........I just re-booked it for a nonstop to get here at 3:45

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

I hope all of you have a fabulous and joyous holiday too!!!!!!!!!

__________________

***********

I have no idea who Cleggers is....she only has one post at DST and that was a reply to me.... and then a couple PMs to me.......... I feel soooo lucky!

oh my.... but clegger is the best in the world............last Thursday I started a thread that I needed snow because Hudson just had to have some................................he threw a big fit... "I want snow!" over and over and over (and we live in Phoenix....snow is a weird freaky occurance here)........................how do you tell a 3 year old you just can't make him snow?????................................well..... ..Cleggers PMd me for my address...and on Friday she sent me a UPS tracking number .........
she is sending us a snow kit to make over two gallons of snow with a little bucket and shovel

isn't this the coolest??????

Friday just was a fabulous day!

ok...my oven just beeped...my cake is ready for my cake balls...gotta run

************

well, I made my cake balls......and they are soooooooo yummy!!!!!

I made two batches..... spice cake/butter cream frosting/white chocolate and double chocolate fudge/milk chocolate/ and chocolate

the spice ones were first and i made them a tad too tiny and ended up with 100 balls....
the chocolate ones (the very sinful ones) were a bit bigger and I ended up with approx. 60 of them

so far I've shared them at work (and the recipe, everybody LOVES them a ton) and at my MIL's......Christmas I'll bring some to my FIL's .......and then, of course, I'll be eating some at home until then

*********
again......
Have a very fabulous and Merry Christmas!!!!!

it's almost Christmas

I've been working a ton at The Gap lately with Christmas creeping up so fast. I really love it and it's great for Jeff to have more time alone with the boys.
Every night that I don't work, I take them for a drive to see Christmas light displays. Around 5-5:30 Hudson always asks "Santa Beep, Santa Beep"...that's his way of asking to go see Santa and the Jeep. There is one house that has a Jeep Wrangler on risers with a huge blow-up Santa holding reigns to his reindeer that are on the rooftop. They just love it. It is at the end of a street where every single house is decorated with lights and tons of yard ornaments. It definitely is a must-see for us. I'm sure they'll be sad soon when it all disappears after the holidays.

Today is Hudson's last day of preschool before break. It's just a fun day - a little field trip to our movie theater. All of the kids get to go behind the concession stand to see how it works and then watch some movie trailers. They even get a free drink and popcorn to watch the trailers. I think the only time I've taken him to the movies was when he was an infant. Griffin gets to come along too. I'm sure they will have a blast.

Tuesday we brought a variety of home-made chocolates (peanut butter balls, golden grahams/marshmallow clusters, and peppermint bark) to all of his teachers and his 4th grade reading buddy, along with a special card just from him.
He made the gingerbread man a week ago with his buddy.

********

Right now at DST there are a few very interesting threads that I keep checking on. I've added a reply here or there too (raising your sons, cake balls, & other holiday treats)

********

OAKS has been down for a few days now. I'm feeling a little homeless at times, as well as many others. I'm sure Victoria has one huge headache too. Please be patient. Hopefully it won't be too much longer. At least the store and the blog are still accessible and we're able to add new goodies for your shopping pleasure.

*******

I have been continuing to add goodies to my Gotta Pixel almost every day. YAY!
The most recent items are:

(image is clickable)

Looking for some super fun painted frames to accent your masterpieces?? How about something from the Ugli-esh collection by Sara Ellis?

Ugli-esh Frames include 8 different multi-toned painted frames in a variety of sizes (4x4 - 5x7)
seven single frames, one double frame


(image is clickable)

Livid Vivid Evening by Sara Ellis

Every paper has a different texture from the rest of the bunch. Each one also has between 3-6 shades/colors/textures for total uniqueness (is that a real word???) .... well, each and every one is truly unique since I made every one individually.

10 textured somewhat solid papers included

Cardboard, fingerpaints, and glitter ........... what else could you ask for???????
the MIY: Make It Yours Collection, by Sara Ellis




*pick a cardboard arrow
*pick 1, 2, 10+ paints &/or glitters
*layer them in your desired positions
*tilt the layers to fit the hanging arrow
*adjust the opacity
*get funky fun

and don't forget.....

(20% off SALE only at Gotta Pixel)

************
my Word Up! challenge at Gotta Pixel will begin on the 26th.....

Let's all have some fun with this one

Each month on the 26th I will have one word that will be the main focus and then throw in a couple of extra twists that you will have to fit into your LO

for example....
*the word "spirit" will be the theme and must use the word on your LO
(examples: team spirit, ghostly spirit, spirited life, etc)
*must only use one picture
*must use blue as the predominant color

each participant will receive a little thank you participation prize from me

**********

and.........
Merry Christmas from me and my family....and Happy Hanukkuh...and all other festive celebrations
[IMG]http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i23/mesaraee/cardchristmasweb.jpg[/IMG]

Have you seen.....

the button trees thread at DST yet????? or have you already made your tree????
the examples are soooo cute........ click HERE

I bought some buttons at Joanne's before I went to work last night. I was going to get assortments of blues and greens......BUT... the only 500 pack of pins had yellow heads.....so I ended up getting the "flora" collection in pinks, oranges, and a tad of golden yellow ..........not too Christmasy (it's actually very springy) ..but the other mixed assortments didn't match the yellow pins.....................

I just couldn't bring myself to buy bunches of small packs of pins that would cost a ton more than the 500 pack...........the 500 pack was $10.99 and the 250 pack was $8.99 each

how crazy expensive are pins elsewhere?

I started making mine last night and I'm still working on it a bit... Hudson helped me some, but he got tired of it..........
it's really cute...but like I said, so not Christmasy....I just need to figure out what to do with it afterwards because it doesn't match anything in my house...it would've looked PERFECT in my old bedroom when I was single...oh well..... I might give it as a gift or a raffle prize soon


*******

new at Gotta Pixel........and on sale til Christmas



Cardboard, fingerpaints, and glitter ........... what else could you ask for?
The beginning of my MIY: Make It Yours Collection.
MIY Hearts

*pick a cardboard heart
*pick 1, 2, 10+ paints &/or glitters
*layer them in your desired positions
*tilt the layers to fit the hanging heart
*adjust the opacity
*get funky fun

goofiness and business

last Wednesday I took Hudson and Griffin to go visit Santa at the mall......they were so excited about it .......UNTIL......we walked through Macy's with their Christmas music playing...Hudson wanted to stay in there and dance dance dance..Griffin, of course, had to just because his big brother was...I ended up carrying both of them out of the store while they were screaming their heads off because I was taking them away from their dancing..........well, it didn't take long for them to forget about it & be excited again for Santa........ Griff was a little aprehensive (sp?) for a bit, but after Santa talked with him about his little bus in his hands, he was all good......... I did pay for their standard pic, but I clicked away with my digital most of the time too
........................here's a couple of my faves:

then Friday night, my creative artist to be, Hudson, decided to go to school at 6ish at night....he was wearing some gym shorts, his backpack, a cheapo felt hat, and a little cheapo watch from a Wendy's kids meal from months ago riding his little trike around the house saying "I'm late, I'm latem I'm late".... I think I've said that one too many times........and then we went outside to turn on our Christmas lights and he decided to go across the street to see Santa (a big blow up Santa and snowman in an igloo).........wellllll, I told him that he had to put on a shirt and shoes first...so we went inside and he picked out a fun Hawaiian shirt with woodie cars, a plastic lei, my sunglasses, and his crocs to go with his backpack, watch, hat, and gym shorts and then kept repeating "1 minute to Santa, 1 minute to Santa, 1 minute to Santa".... I laughed sooooo hard...now you can too at this cutie-pie:
and I have to throw in this adorable one of Griffin from right then too since he wanted to say cheese alsosorry I haven't had a chance to crop or edit any of the pics yet

*******

now onto scrapping stuff.....well, design.. I haven't scrapped in over a week.........

(image is clickable)

Need a little creative jump start for designing your papers? Toppings templates collection by Sara Ellis is the perfect place to start.

Take one, combine with another one or two, and a texture, adjust the opacity and/or the blending mode.... have fun creating your own unique masterpiece

*COMMERCIAL USAGE OK - No Credit Required*


(images are clickable)

Each include 17 solid papers with little bits of flourishes.. ..... Go-Go-Groovin, Variety Packs #1 and #2 by Sara Ellis


*****buy both together for only $4.50 (SAVE $1.50)*****
both sets together would be 34 unique and fabulous papers


(including commercial use............20% off SALE at Gotta Pixel only)

*******************

love my designs, sales, and all-around goofy happenings? then subscribe to my blog updates at the top of my right side bar ........ you'll receive the updates right in your inbox (smiles)

happy holidays at Gotta Pixel

a few weeks ago...probably at least a month ago... I posted a huge help me thread at DST for roast beef in a crock pot since mine was always ending up tougher than it should be......
wow! that thread became so popular with tons of different recipes...................well, one that I picked from it was from Darcy Baldwin, tweaked it, & used it a couple times....very yummy!

I put a chuck roast in the crock pot on low in the 7am hour........ pour a can of french onion soup and a can of pepsi.......and let it cook all day long (until 6-7 pm)........I throw in some big chunks of potatoes for the last 4 hours, along with some peppers......................that's it....
and now I eat all the leftovers unlike before

check out that thread HERE

*******************

here's a chuckle from me to you......

Merry Tossmass

enjoy!!!!!!!

*******************





bits of Christmas, bits of Hanukkuh, bits of every day

alpha, 5x7 QP cards, papers, and embellishments are all separate

purchase the embellishments and paper pack together and SAVE 25%

go HERE for more details

and......
don't forget.........

(only at Gotta Pixel)

__________________

exciting news

ok... I don't have a fancy ad for this........

BUT......... ..

I'm now at Gotta Pixel (I'm still at OAKS too)

I'm adding stuff to my GP store every day....and the best part.... everything (except for my Commercial goodies) are on sale for 20% off until the 25th....

and then on the 26th, my challenge will begin......
I will be hosting the Word Up challenge on the 26th every month

woo-hoo!!!!

********

here are a few pages I've done for the ABC album I'm hoping to finish for the grandparents christmas gifts
please see my OAKS gallery (link in the sidebar) for all the credits :)

***********

most of you already know be now... I'm a big Missouri Tiger......unfortunately we lost our Big XII Championship game on Saturday night to Oklahoma (sadness) .... so that knocked us out of the BCS games and now we're playing Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl

the BCS rules are soooooo dang screwy..... we are ranked higher in the BCS than Kansas and Illinois but both of them made it to BCS Bowl games...and we even beat them during regular season.....way too crazy

**************

so long for now.......... I need to get back to designing... Rachel Donald and I are working on another collab...... our Crazy Spunky Love has done very well so we're going to continue to do more together (I just added it to Gotta Pixel today)......... we even have a snazzy new name for our design name for our future kits....we are now Sassy Street Studio

please stay tuned for more excitement from us :)