whoa!

Long time no chat! Its been a wonderful mad house around here! Our spring break trip to Washington D.C., then a busy week of activities for the little man with a swim team banquet and receiving his Wolf Badge in Cub Scouts, then my parents arrived for a quasi-surprise long weekend visit for my birthday! Tons of fun!

First up, photos from Washington, D.C.:

I took well over 500 photos, so here is a pretty small look at all we visited on our trip. The Lincoln Memorial. The little man's favorite President. He was in awe standing in front of this statue. Then we visited Ford's Theater where Lincoln was assassinated. It was unbelievable. We couldn't believe all the places we stood where history happened. 

The Museum of Natural History. What boy doesn't love dinosaurs? But beyond the dinosaurs, it was a pretty impressive fossil collection. I think the Gem and Mineral display was our favorite. With the butterfly enclosure close behind, at least for me. :) Those photos need their own post. 

We took a day trip to Philadelphia on the Amtrak. A first time on the train for the little man and myself. We saw the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and so much more all thanks to my wonderful friend and amazing local tour guide, Becky Oehlers. What was really remarkable was standing in the room where the Declaration of Independence was signed and then seeing it in person at the National Archives back in D.C.!

Our first night in town, we immediately went down to The Mall. It was a beautiful evening with a full moon. The monuments were even more breathtaking. The scaffolding around the Washington Monument will be coming down in May.

At the end of our trip, we got to tour The White House. Very cool. No cameras are allowed inside. But see that giant lantern hanging by the columns? We walked out right underneath them!

And the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. Beautiful building. Amazing views. Sadly, the cherry blossoms were not in bloom. When we planned this trip, we had hoped to catch the earliest blossoms, but it appears the whole country is having a ridiculously long and cold winter. Bummer, looks like we will have to visit again someday!

Paper Crafting news:

I have to confess that I get so busy working on so many great paper crafting projects, that I forget to share with you what is happening! We are busy planning the best issues ever from Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking Magazine! The new monthly digital content is so great to work with, we are really able to get creative. And the monthly print special issues are out of this world!

Like this print special issue, Card Creations Vol. 12. I shared some of my favorites from the issue over on the Plugged In with Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking Blog. This issue is full of the best cards from the best designers! Its crazy inspiring to me and one I look at constantly!

This is one of my favorite cards from the issue. I stamped on a piece of patterned paper that looks like watercolor with images from several different Avery Elle stamp sets. I love the way I was able to create a larger sentiment as the focal point!

I also have several guest design gigs coming up in the next couple of months. Here is a peek of what I will be sharing with you later this week!

So here is an FYI list:

• The MFT Release Countdown is this week! Another amazing one, again! And a special new product that we cannot wait to share with you!
• You can access and subscribe to the digital monthly issues of Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking Magazine here
• You can subscribe and have the monthly print special issues sent to you here
• If you are interested in submitting, check out the publication calls here

thanks for always stopping by!

~kimberly