a journey through time with Cosmo Cricket

I have loved COSMO CRICKET products since the day I laid eyes on them. CC is having a Design Team call and to be added to their team would be a dream come true. I thought it would be fun to take a stroll down memory lane by showing just a few of my favorite projects I have made using Cosmo products. Just as the Cosmo lines keep getting better and better...so do my layouts! Hopefully....LOL!

I remember the very first time I was introduced to products from Cosmo Cricket. It must have been late 2006(?) I was given the Wanted line as a part of a kit club I was on the Design Team for and I fell in LOVE. And this was the first layout I made with CC products and turned into one of my very first published layouts.

My next love affair was with the Dutch Girl collection. I loved it's youthful yet feminine feel. This layout was pubbed in Simple Scrapbooks Magazine.

I was able to get my hands on just the papers of the Fleurist line before their debut and I was not sure how I would take to them. They are much more soft and feminine than I usually go. But this layout to just a few minutes to create and I ADORE how it turned out.

I love the Cogsmo line and went so far as to borrow photos of a friend's little boy to create this layout...which won BEST IN SHOW at the Crop Because You Care Benefit as judged by Stacy Julian and the Editorial Staff of Simple Scrapbooks.



Mmmm...Cupcakes. This layout made using the Honey Pie line was a Creating Keepsakes Friday Feature and was also an highlighted design featured on the scrapbook.com cupcake day gallery.



The Get Happy line made me borrow a picture of a rowdy boy again and create this layout, which was also a Friday Feature on the Creating Keepsakes website.



Then there was this cute card, made with the Hello Sunshine collection, with which I tried to force Nesting Dolls to sweep the scrapping world. It didn't work out, but I love this card.



This project, made with the Ever After collection, is actually not a layout at all, but a framed wall hanging (that's why it is so simple and there is no journaling). This holds a place in our Home to remember the importance of families.



And this layout which I made today in under 30 minutes using the fabu Girl Friday line.



Phew! Which brings us to today. I had planned making a gazillion new projects with the delightful lines which have recently been released, however, in preparation for our move those delicious lines have been packed away and so are the layouts I made with Mr. Campy and Snorkel. Blast!
BUT...I did not pack the newest and best line ever...the new Early Bird line which makes my heart sing! This week I made these two projects (a card and a giftbag) with the line and I am convinced I could scrap with these paper sand embellishments forever and never run out of inspiration.




I made the giftbag with my own template which I created.I will share the template, step by step instructions and photos here soon.
And, by the way, I haven't even begun to discuss their fabric lines. SO GREAT! I have been sewing up a storm!
I hope you have enjoyed our journey. I have had tons of fun reliving the creations of these layouts and falling in love all over again with Cosmo Cricket's products.

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Trivial Pursuit gets some GAME!

I have a bit of an obsession with Trivial Pursuit.
And I'm not gunna sugar-coat this...
I am really good at that game.

However, this is not a claim to superior intellect, I credit it mostly to the fact that I spent the majority of my formative years glued to a television set while my adolescent peers breathed fresh air and exercised. And no matter what people tell you, television, even crappy television, is very helpful in the game of Trivial Pursuit. Like the time I was faced with the tie breaker question: What is the full name of the Frog who is the new mascot of the WB network? To which I screamed without hesitation...MICHIGAN J. FROG!!! For the win.

I got two checks from CK Media yesterday and headed to Big Lots for their crazy cheap sale of American Crafts Thickers. $2 each?! Are you KIDDING me?! I bought a gazillion packs. I also grabbed 3 sets of AC rub-ons.

And then I saw it....

the Trivial Pursuit 25th Anniversary Edition for $10.
SOLD!
What's special about it?

- For the first time ever, Trivial Pursuit cards cover one topic with three question levels: easy, medium, and hard.
- The more challenging the question you answer, the farther you will move along the bonus track.
- The zones along the track let you steal wedges, move opponents' tokens, and more.



Dude.
Steal wedges?
Oh yeah!!!

This ain't your Grandma's Trivial Pursuit game! I love that a part of the new twist is the option to sock it to your friends and family by stealing their hard earned wedges. I will be promptly and efficiently stealing Matt's "Sports Category" wedge when we play this.

Because I don't really know/care who Refrigerator Perry is.
And Matt will be swiping my Arts & Entertainment wedge since he doesn't keep up with Paris Hilton's life the way he should.

Arts & Entertainment is my very strongest category.
(for the aforementioned reasons)

What's your strongest Trival Pursuit category?

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tuesday tell all

It seems I have had a lot of sum up posts lately.
Probably because my life is oddly fragmented and chaotic lately.
With no signs of letting up until September.
Mmmmmmm...yeahhh.

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Today one of my bestest friends ever comes to see us.
I have so many fun things planned.
And I know that everywhere we go
people will think my children are hers.
But can you blame them?


And as you can see by the photos above, I am due for the most fun week EVER!

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Base-boards are so lame.
I have not paid one second of attention to them until today.
Nothing makes a girl thoroughly clean her baseboards like house-guests coming to visit.

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I received two lovely bundles of Cosmo Cricket Cogsmo fabric today.
For a super-secret Cosmo Cricket blog post that I am Guest blogging.
To be continued...

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I am on week #1 of a 9 week photography class taught by Karen Russell.
So far I am really enjoying it and I have already learned a ton of good and applicable stuff about good photography.
I will be writing a full report for The Scrap Review at the end of the 9 weeks.

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Speaking of photos. Here are a few recent favorites from my Project 365 photos.


Ella's Earth Day plant has finally sprouted a beautiful crimson flower.


I love that Evangeline is such a girly-girl.
She always puts bows in her own hair to be more "pitty". And clearly it doesn't matter if they're upside down or if they match.And she declares, "Mommy...I Pin-sesses"

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Hello Monday!

I am the Guest Designer for July over at my favorite kit club, STUDIO CALICO. I have always loved their kits, but this one has been my favorite of ALL TIME! It's travel themed and will work for anyone since it contains both masculine and feminine elements...and that hot air balloon stamp?! AWESOME!



Head on over there to see what I made with this delightful kit and purchase a kit of your very own! Their kits always sell out quickly so hurry!

By the way, if you're considering joining a kit club I highly recommend Studio Calico. They have consistantly beautiful kits, great customer service and a wonderful and warm community.
.
.

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Sunday Sound-Bites: MoZella

This week's Sunday Sound-Bites is a goodie that I first
heard about from my good friend, Jenny Meese.



MoZella.

Yes, the cover art for the album is creepy and unimaginative at best,
but check it out anyway for the sweet tune-age behind the cover art.
My favorites are Can't Stop and Thank You.
Listen to samples of both songs here.

Then purchase MoZella's debut CD here.

HAPPY LISTENING!

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a small triumph in the water

It seems as though this blog is steadily turning into a mini-series saga of swim lessons.
Well, time for today's installment.

As the days have passed, Evangeline has become more and more comfortable in the water, while Ella has become more and more reluctant to touch water in any form. Ella's particular manifestation of fear is the dreaded kick-board. (da-da-dummmmmmmm!)

So this past week I went to Wal*Mart with both of the girls and let both of them choose a cute little femmy kick-board in hopes of quelling Ella's fears. Unfortunately, our pool at our apartments closes at 7:00pm (insert exasperated comment about paying through the nose for this over=priced apartment and then not even being able to take an evening swim in the glaringly un-heated pool). This week on Wednesday Matt came home a bit early and we threw on our suits and headed to the pool for 30 minutes of swim time. For 25 of those minutes, Ella stood poolside and stalled for time. Meanwhile, little Evangeline not only braved the freezing water, but floated on her kick board, put her head under twice and threw herself off of pool's edge into my arms a gazillion times.


(Evangeline on the final day of swim class - 06.26.2009)
But finally, at the last moment, Ella decided to enter the pool. She climbed into a circular Little Mermaid inner tube and actually kind of swam on her own (with the tube around her) without clinging to the neck of a parent. A triumph for her these days. Friday was the final day of swim lessons and Ella managed to attend class with her innertube on.

Yes, baby steps are fine with me.

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problems connecting?

I know a lot of you have had problems connecting to this blog recently.
Here's the deal....

I recently purchased a domain name for this blog.
Blogger says they will always forward people
using the old blogger address to the new domain.
But clearly, they lie.

The new url is http://www.em-il-ie.com/

And if you want to add this blog to your feed/google reader you must enter the following url for it to work...

http://feeds2.feedburner.com/em-il-ie

Hope that helps!
I love my bloggies.

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mount joy...our future home.

Photo by Janette~ on Flickr.

Can we talk about Mount Joy for a moment?
I am very excited to move there and the home we found is fantastic.

However....

Some of you may know that I am a "city person."
Not a fan of small towns.
And Mount Joy is a small town.
How small you ask?
2.3 square miles.
Population 6,000.
Yeah, that small.
Eek.

But their city website does promise...
"Small Town, Historic Charm and Genuine Friendliness. "
Apparently nobody in Mt. Joy is fake in the least.
And they ALL want to be my friend.
I had better polish off my two piece Best Friends necklace.

8

Goodbye MJ

No matter what he became later in life.
Or how eccentric he turned.
There is no doubt that he changed music forever.

From adoring Thriller as a child.
To loving Black or White in High School.
To my obsession with the Jackson 5 in college.
His music was a part of my life.
And for that I am thankful.

I was unexpectedly affected when I heard the news of his passing today from a heart attack.

Goodbye MJ...your music will be missed.

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The Bachelorette

Can you even believe what is happening on the Bachelorette?
I hate this kind of television.
But I also LOOOOVE it!
I think that is the definition of guilty pleasure.

Here's my take...
Wes is such a butt-dog!
Doesn't he realize that being slimy will actually hurt his music career?!!

I am so glad she finally got rid of creepy foot fetish guy. How gross was he?

My current favorites are Reid...



and the recently ousted Jake...when he said "Nice guys finish last" while tearing up I wanted to stab a pen into Wes' heart.



And I did love Ed before he left for his job.

I am SO EXCITED for Jake to come back and blow the whistle on Wes.
Although, did you notice Jake dressed as a pilot
wearing a tie and short sleeved dress shirt?
I feel skeevy about a grown man a wearing short sleeved dress shirt.

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today...

we missed swimming class.
because I lost track of time.
so instead we went to McDonald's playland.
then came home and watched Maggie & the Ferocious Beast in Nowhere Land.


this promises to be a lazy day at home.
and I'm okay with that.

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and the winners are....

So, I realized I kind of left you bloggies hanging on the winners of the chapstick.
Without further ado....



- Lolly won the 5 pack of mint chapsticks.
- And a bonus winner of 1 tube of the chapsticks is...Jennette!

Woot!

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And the winners of the Make Some Noise CD's by The Quiet Two are...

1. kismet art said...
Have to throw my hat in the ring for "I Remember Purple" :) Thanks for the great music share!

2. jennie said...
Well, my oldest and youngest loved Ultrafoot the most. But my silly little redheaded middle girl decided that Magic Banana was the bestest thing she's ever heard.Very fun stuff!

3. Estee said...
The kids and I concur - The Magic Banana song rocks. I bet it's your fave too. :) Just the fact that they say ba-nah-nah makes it the best. :)Thanks for the recommendation! If I listen to The Backyardigans one more time my head will fall off. :)


Hey girls! Please email me your name and mailing addresses to emilie_ahern@yahoo.com
By the way...my favorite song on this album is I REMEMBER PURPLE.

1

recently...

We settled on a place to live in Pennsylvania.
What a load off my shoulders.
And it is fabulous and we will be so happy there.
The name of the town? Mt. Joy
Perfection.

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We took a visit to a local amusement park, Dutch Wonderland.
As was indicated by our recent swimming lesson experiences,
Evangeline rode many rides alone while her older sister
clung to my leg and sobbed.



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Been love love LOVING this CD.



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Been missing her like crazy.

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Gave the Freeze Happy website a makeover.
Check it out and tell me waddya think?

9

How To : Make a Break Up Survival Kit

One of my besties had a nasty break up last weekend. I knew I could call her and give the usual "You're so much better off without him." and "You're too good for him" shpeel, and even though those things are true, did they ever actually make anybody feel better in the throws of the heartbreak?

I called her and let her talk about what she wanted to and the following day I planned and executed The Break Up Survival kit. The kit is broken up into three sections which walk you through the emotional roller coaster that IS break-up: Sadness - Anger - Empowerment.

Let's go through the steps to make your very own break-up kit for a girlfriend in need. You start off with a Mix CD with tracks broken up into the phases. My track list is included with each phase.

PHASE 1 : SADNESS

(package contents: a favortie chick flick, a bag of microwave popcorn, decorative tissues, milk duds in altered box)

This is an unavoidable step. Even if you broke it off, there is still a period of mourning that must be respected. Let's face it. Right after a break-up you just want to wallow in it and know that others are suffering in the world. Packed into your first gift bag are the following items.

- You don’t really want to go out of the house for those first few days. Stay in your pj’s and watch this chick flick (one of my favorites) while munching your popcorn.

- After your movie popcorn, finish it off with these Milk Duds. The message on the box was made just for you. A little reminder that, hey, we’ve all been there. We’ve all fallen for a boy, only to realize later he was a total dud.

- Cute tissues. There will be crying jags, so keep these cute tissues in your purse at all times so you can pull it together when you burst out crying during your shift at work.

- Pop in your Mix CD and listen to the following songs, locked in your room, sobbing uncontrollably and wallow in the fact that this part just sucks.



Track 01: Everybody Hurts by REM
Track 02: Another Lonely Day by Ben Harper
Track 03: Breakable by Ingrid Michaelson
Track 04: Nothing Better by The Postal Service
Track 05: Torn by Natalie Imbruglia
Track 06: The Choking Kind by Joss Stone


PHASE 2 : ANGER

(package contents: punching balloons, blank journal with altered cover that reads "BITTER", an optional voo-doo doll)

Go ahead. Get angry! Get wicked pissed! Your period of mourning is over and now you are able to give way to the feelings that he used you, treated you bad and acted like a jerk. He wasted your time and broke your heart. And you’re angry as hell.

- Start off with some solid physical aggression therapy. These Punching Balloons will make you feel much better. Feel free to scream and swear while punching.
- Use this blank journal to write some seriously heavy poetry about hurt and hatred and sadness. Maybe later you’ll turn it into a best selling work. Or better yet, turn it into lyrics and get a Grammy for your pain and suffering…it worked for Gwen Stefani.

- Grab your mix cd and listen to the following tracks. Drive in your car, roll the windows down and scream the words at the top of your lungs.

Track 07: Hate (I really Don’t Like You) by Plain White T’s
Track 08: Jerk by Kim Stockwood
Track 09: Shut Up by Black Eyed Peas
Track 10: That Holy Night by The Reason
Track 11: You Oughta Know by Alanis Morrisette
Track 12: This Bitter Pill by Dashboard Confessional
Track 13: I Will Survive by Cake



Phase 3 : EMPOWERMENT
(package contents: Framed wall art, Old Navy gift card, peppermint chapstick)
Whew! You finally made it to that special place. You have realized you dodged a serious bullet when you went through the break up. He’s the loser and you are a fabulous, beautiful, vixen…ready to get out there and date again because any guy would be LUCKY to have a chick like you.

- Hang this picture in your house where you will see it often and remember that you are going to be happy. Happy that you got away from him before it was too late and happy that you are living single and loving it!


- Now that you’re empowered, the guys are flocking to you. Use this Old Navy gift card to go out and buy some foxy clothes for your return to the dating world. Nothing builds a woman’s confidence like new threads to step out with.

- The peppermint chapstick will make your first kiss with your new man (or slew of men) soft, supple and memorable.

- Grab your mix cd and listen to the following tracks. Pop it in your home stereo, grab your roommates and dance all around your living room with wild abandon while you celebrate your freedom. You are ready to reclaim your happiness! It may still get hard at times, but you have your friends, wisdom and time on your side.

Track 14: In a Little While by U2
Track 15: Love by Sade
Track 16: I Really Don't Think So by Priscilla Ahn
Track 17: With a Little Help from my Friends by Joe Cocker
Track 18: Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles
Track 19: Single Ladies by Beyonce
Track 20: Survivor by Destiny’s Child

13

no one could be better...

When we had Ella, you had never even changed a baby's diaper.
Now, you are the best Daddy in the world.
For any relationship to be truly deep and meaningful you must have THE FOUR T's.
And you have them in spades...

Touch
Whether snuggling with the girls during nighttime stories or handing out hugs and kisses when you return home from work, your physical affection lets our children know they are cared for.


Talk

You tell our girls each day how much you love them.
Those words will echo in their minds and hearts for the rest of their lives.
.
Task

I have been overwhelmed with love for you as you sacrifice each day to drive 1.5 hours to and from work to be a good provider for our family. You serve each of us in so many ways that they are too great to list.

Time

You spend time with the girls every day. I love that they have special soccer time with their Daddy. And they just adore every minute they have with you. From playing guitar and singing to them at night to the countless Saturday morning filled with Daddy's scrambled eggs and cartoons.

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Thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you do, for everything you are and for everything you are helping our children become.

Happy Father's Day !!!

.

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