Thank you for your patience everyone!  I knew that we were going to have a tough time making the decisions for the design team but I didn’t quite anticipate just how difficult this was going to be!  The submissions really were amazing and eliminating so many gifted women was not a facile or fun thing to do.  I feel incredibly grateful that so many immensely talented artists want to be part of what we do!

However, finally, in the end, we were able to narrow down the field to just three.

And those three are:

Anna Bjorklund

Kim Watson

Emily Spahn

Please join me in congratulating each of them!

We had three finalists:

Jennie Yeo

Ronda Palazzari

Ria Majica

Our semifinalists were:

Amber Bretz

June Goh

Shannon Parks

Gayle Martin

Thank you again to each and everyone of you for putting yourself out there and for taking the time and the effort to try out!

I started a post a couple of days but did not get very far…

Lots to talk about today, so I’ll get right down to business!

First off, I am so excited that we are going to be adding a digital kit to our monthly offerings!  Brooke and Marissa are two very talented designers and I am in love what they’ve done for June!  “Posh Picnic” coordinates with our main kit to create ENDLESS possibilities!  They’ve also include an bonus project with their digi kit.  The kit will retail for $9.95 and is downloadable from the site.  Posh Picnic is packed with roughly 362 MB of assorted digital embellishments and digital papers.
Here’s a look at it!

Everything is starting to come together for Ali’s kit.  It’s so exciting to see all that product rolling in the doors; I think I’ll have a very good relationship with my new UPS guy once it’s all here!  The Making Memories order came today and all that new product is even more beautiful in person than it is in the catalog!  Ali and I had a meeting this morning and then got together her kit; everything just works so perfectly together.  But of course, Ali put it together so what else would you expect?!?!?

Emily has put together a blog about the Ali classes in Eugene.  Come play Eugene! has all the pertinent info on the classes.  Please let me know if you have any questions about anything.

Christine sent me photos from her Project for June and I adore the way it came out!  She always amazes me.  She asks me to order items, and I can be thinking, “Huh, I wonder what she’ll do with this…”  And then, I see the finished project and it is always absolutely beautiful!

This month’s kit is a mini album designed to help you record a week in your life.  This is a simple and easy way to capture the everyday moments, those moments that we some times take for granted and forget to record.

I totally want to do this one!

And now I need to get back to looking over the Design Team Call submissions.  The Daisy Divas and I are having such a difficult time narrowing it down because there are just so many submissions that are outstanding.  Maybe we should just have a DT of about 40….

Look for an announcement tomorrow night.

Yay Meredith and McDreamy!  I’m so glad they ended up together.

But…

what are they going to do with now that Meredith isn’t broken and scary?

Do you remember when you were a kid how lllloooonnnngggg summer could seem?  And there always seemed to be a period towards the end of the summer when there was absolutely nothing to do (of course this was even before cable and vcr’s!).  I remembered being painfully bored.  Now, I think bored would be the ultimate indulgence!  Who has time to actually be bored?  Today, instead, I long for the 29 hour day…

Last Thursday was Scott’s birthday — he prefers fruity desserts (I can’t understand a dessert that’s not loaded with chocolate!) thus the cobbler.

Friday was rather uneventful…

Saturday, Scott did his annual manly activity (110 mile bike ride) and the kids and I played.  That evening a friend came down from Portland with her 4 year old twins to spend the night .  She and I checked out a new Hawaiian seafood place in town and the kids were bouncing off the wall at the idea of to a slumber party and a babysitter!  The food at the restaurant was delicious and it was so nice to have a chance to really catch up with Sara without kids crawling all over us.  When we got home at 11, her kids were crashed out on the family room floor.  My kids were still wired…

Sunday we hit the fountain downtown.

The kids loved it and it definitely made for good naps!

Sunday night it was down to Eugene to meet with these girls…

We were planning out our next round of classes in Eugene in conjunction with Ali’s July kit.  We’ll be holding 3 sessions June 20-21st at Jill’s amazing house.  The June 20th session and the afternoon session on the 21st she’ll be serving yummy strawberry shortcake and wine.  The morning session on Saturday will be breakfast with mimosas!  And of course Ali will be teaching each of the sessions!   If you’d like more information on the classes please email Emily at emily@cocoadaisy.com.

Monday night I hosted my bunko group.  I was actually scheduled to host next month’s but this month’s host needed to trade.  There’s nothing like needing to take your kids to the dentist 30 minutes away for an appt that began 3 hours before 12 people were showing up at my house!  I got home 1 hr and 19 minutes before the party started and hadn’t done a thing prior to get ready.  Somehow I managed to pull off a 3 course meal in time(ok, with a bit of help from Dream Dinners)!

Yesterday I drove up to Vancouver, WA (almost 2 hrs) to meet with someone in the industry.  I think we might have some very exciting things coming down the pike!

And, in the midst of all this activity I still needed to get some work done and take care of a couple of wee ones.  So, needless to say, I am not getting much sleep and I’m longing for a bit of boredom, or… those 5 extra hours in a day!  LOL

Happy weekend!  I am so excited to have a warm weekend!  Ok, maybe not warm but HOT!  On Sunday it was in the 50s, today it was almost 100 — wierd…

Tomorrow Scott is doing a big bike tour.  Reach The Beach is a 110 mile bike ride from here to the coast.  Note, I am NOT joining him…   I get to hang with the kids.  I think we are going to go out to breakfast, hit the gym and go to the farmers’ market and then head over to this great fountain downtown so the kids can run through — they love it!  Then it’s home for hopefully some very long naps and some quiet work time for mommy!  Then it’s off to a t-ball in the evening.  And tomorrow night, a friend from Portland is coming down with her almost 4 year old twins.  The kids are so excited for a ‘lumber party and I’m looking forward to an evening out with a good friend.  I think it’s going to be a busy day….

And, here is a peek at next month’s kit, “Gazebo!”  Blue, yellow and white (with a touch of green and pink) is one of my favorite home interior color combination and I love the way it translated to scrapbooking.  I can’t wait to have a few free moments to play with this one (I don’t think that is going to be tomorrow!).

June Kit “Gazebo” Patterned Paper

7 Gypsies Nottinghill Westway

7 Gypsies Calais St Martin

7 Gypsies Calais Marquise

Pink Paislee Lunch Hour

Making Memories Garden party Scalloped Square

Making Memoreis Garden Party Scalloped Circle

Anna Griffin Blue & White Vine

Hambly Home Décor Overlay White

Glitz Sublime Vines

Narratives Flourish Sky

Sassafras Lass Pocket Full of Rosies – Secret Garden

October Afternoon Garden Chair

Webster’s Pages Feather Your Nest Morning Glory

7 Gypsies Journeys Reef Ocean

Cardstock

Bazzill Parakeet

Bazzill Small Eyelet White 6×6

Bazzill Kevin

Bazzill Dark Butter

Embellishments

Amy Butler Belle Flocked Alpha

Prima The Goods – Clear Stamp “Corners”

7 Gypsies Rubbings – Self

Heidi Swapp Felt Butterflies Dark Pink

Heidi Swapp Felt Flowers Lemonade

Anna Griffin Blue & Yellow Card

Kaiser Pearls

3 Sheets Knock-Knock “Great Idea’

American Craft Indie McKeown Satin Picot – Green

Prima Blue Scalloped Floral Lace

The Narratives Flourish Sky is not shown in the photo

Nor is the October Afternoon Garden Chair