My other job.

You know, I have said it before, but I am really lucky.
The whole scrapbooking gig is a good one.
I work for a few really great manufacturers. They treat me so good, and have really fun stuff that I get to play with.
I just love what I do.
That being said, sometimes it is challenging.

I have mentioned before that often I don't have photos to fit the particular themes I am assigned to work with.

That leaves me scrambling for photos from friends or family, or staging a photo shoot to match the assigned theme.

It works out great for the kids a lot of times that way, because we go to places I am not sure we would go to, to fill my "stock" photo obligation. Like the one time we loaded everyone up and went to a Space Museum cause I had rocket/planet/space paper to work with. That was actually fun.

Anyway, sometimes I have other challenges.

Like this last week. I worked a tight deadline for a catalog. They overnighted me the box of papers and stickers and needed it back in a couple days.

They needed two (2) two-page 12x12 layouts and a couple smaller projects.

The paper sent to me was mock-up paper. This means that the real paper was still at the printers being printed, and the paper I had to work with was color copied versions. Not a big deal, I have worked quite a bit with mock-ups.

The stickers were mock-ups too. Color copies. That is a little harder since you have to cut out the images, and glue them down. It is a little more time consuming, but again, I have done it before, not a big deal. It was a big deal once, when I had to cut out mock-up brads. Those were tedious.

I got the box, and inside the box were half sheets of 12x12 paper.

And interestingly enough, some of the half sheets didn't have a matching second half. And I didn't have doubles of any of the designs.

I needed to pull a two-page spread out of half (non-matching) sheets of paper.

I wanted the manufacturer to be happy. I love those guys, and wanted it to look nice.

I stressed. A lot. And sketched some ideas, and was scared to cut the paper, since I had no extras. I cut the stickers and moved them around. And sketched some more, and stressed more. Finally I worked one layout, and second guessed myself, and stressed. I decided to put it aside. They needed to be mailed the next day! Time was ticking! I had a headache, so I went to bed, and thought maybe fresh eyes would give me more ideas.

Well dang.

I dreamed all night about crappy layouts and upset manufacturers, and somehow the dream also involved Gwyneth Paltrow and a poodle. And the next morning I went into the studio, and re-arranged things, and finally....after working THAT WHOLE DAY on two measly spreads, I was finished. I labeled them, and glued them down and mailed them.

Then I waited....for the manufacturer to say something. And maybe ask for a re-do.

They ended up liking them.

I was happy, and so relieved.

So I just wanted everyone to know, sometimes it is kinda challenging to be a designer. It's not always fun.

It still beats cleaning buses for a living.
Or working at the Walmart jewelry counter.
(done both, baby)

By the way, here are the blood, sweat and tears layouts:


Coming to a catalog near you.

In other news:
I got a new calling in my church.
They asked me to be in the Young Women's program.
I get to hang with 14-15 year old girls.
There will be paper crafting....oh yes...there will be paper crafting.

We R 2 cre8 EZ but XLNT projects! :) <---see me brushing up on my text messaging skeelz
There are a lot of meetings, hence my lack of blog time lately.
But I am pretty excited about it.

I have had PTA obligations up the wazoo. You know, the end of the school year approacheth, hence it's a good idea to pack a million things into those last few weeks, field trips, Teacher Appreciation week, dance festivals...all those memorable yet insanely time consuming things.

Mikaylas birthday went off without a hitch. We let her turn five. I didn't cry.


I weighed in again. To keep my Weight Watchers lifetime status, I have to check in once a month.
I was down a couple more pounds, bringing the grand total to thirty pounds lost. Even with that bag o' chips the other day.
And Mikayla's delicious Costco cream cheese frosted chocolate Mousse/crack-cocaine filled birthday cake.
Oh, and the artery clogging Ballpark Frank she insisted on for her birthday dinner.

And that about brings you current.

And brings me to the treadmill.