My Hometown

Crystal of Behind the Seams of Boutique so*Euro Blog has tagged me to share a bit about my little ole hometown of Boise, Idaho. ;

I can't think of a better way to start off then by saying - Go BSU BRONCOS!!!! The Boise State Bronco Football team went to the Fiesta Bowl this year and WON - thank you very much! it was the biggest game that we have ever been invited too and we rocked it baby!!! hehehe. We are famous for our "smurf turf" - the vividly blue football field which every time we play a home game on ESPN one announcer ALWAYS says - "don't adjust your TV's screens folks, the field is really blue." hardy, har, har *sigh* But we love it!

Boise means The City of Trees and one famous street known for it's Tree lined streets is the historic Harrison Blvd. Beautiful historic homes line this street along with Warm Springs Ave. Gorgeous history and homes in these areas. They are a favorite of ours to drive by and see the houses over and over again. It's especially fun in the Spring when the trees are in bloom and look like "popcorn trees" as my kids call them.

Another one of my favorite places in Boise is the extensive greenbelt paths they have ALL over the city. From the far, far edges of the city limits to right in the midst of downtown. You can bike, ride, walk, run all over town and connect to the river, parks, lakes, residential areas, schools, etc.


We you can float the river or raft the white water. fishing and hunitng are big in the area too plus skiing at the Bogus Basin ski resort.



That's my little "tour" of my hometown and some of my favorites things and places about it. I tag Morgan - if she hasn't been tagged yet ;) to share a bit of her hometown with us as well!

Pull up a chair and sit with me

It's a beautiful warm day here and what better to do than turn on the sprinkler, dorn a bathing suit and grab a stack of good books and magazines and sit in the sun for the afternoon. Well maybe not the whole afternoon............ wink. I picked up some books at the library this morning that I had put on hold, sent my daughter off to afternoon kindergarten and slathered up my son with sunscreen and out we headed! One of the books I was really excited about was Where Women Create: Inspiring work spaces of extraordinary women. What a fun book and peek into other women's work spaces. It's FULL of pictures - my kind of book! *snicker*

oh and don't forget something to drink - for us it was popsicles. Otter pops to be exact. Little tubes of frozen sugary cold goodness to keep us cool. Here's me with my new sunglasses. My daughter saw them on me and said, "Whoa mom! you have big eyes!!!" Had I been thinking I would have responded, "The better to see you with my dear. " anywho, I like them - big eyes or not.


Since we are just sitting here chatting away in the sun while we browse books and magazines soaking in the fun inspiring ideas , let me tell you about the fun I have been having on flickr.com. Now this site is not new, it's newer to me but I've had alot of fun playing around the last few days with it. I have alot of my designs loaded there in an account and just started looking
around for fun photo groups to join. and boy howdy did I find some fun ones. You can search for any type of group and probably find it. Then just add your photo to the group. It's a fun way to connect and share photos of similar things, some groups even have monthly challenges. Just another way to get your photos, designs, etc out there to be seen. Naturally I joined a few relvant to me and my interests, like fabric, aprons, etc. I even had a gal contact me and say she wanted me to post a picture of a top I had done in her "RED Clothes" photo group. Funny huh!

Kim of Creative Blogs surprisingly featured little ole me on her blog on Wednesday. Totally unexpected and she said some of the nicest things. Thanks KIM! Take a peek and check her scrapping blog too!!! Lots of fun!



One of the things I love to do is find great and fun opportunities for indie designers and pass them along so everyone can particpate and play too! Hey, if you can't help someone else along the way on your journey then what's the good ey? So, calling all handbag designers! Marie Claire and GLAM have teamed up and here's your chance to BE DISCOVERED! take a quick look to get the details and deadlines! Also, there is a new site in the works that looks fun and full of fashion. Might even be a good chance for indies to get involved and get noticed! check out Trendi - magic or tragic? they also have a link for their blog as well!

and what a better way to end this long chat then with a little girlfriend chit chat. I never realized how much my friend Susan and I look alike until I did a mini photoshoot with her recently. I had the chance to visit with her and her family when I was out of town at the Boutiquecafe girls Getaway and I pursuaded her to let her hubby take the camera and turn it around on the 2 of us so I could have a few snapshots of her and I together. IT was a blast! To see the pictures of her and I and me with her daughters sporting - oh yes - Shaggy Mosaic jeans - head over to her blog. She goes into hilarious detail about how we met and our first meet up.



Well thanks for indulging my long winded chat on this beautiful afternoon. Make sure to put your feet in the grass (don't you just love little tiny chubby piggies! those are my 3 year olds toes), turn on some of your favorite music, grab a drink, book or your laptop and enjoy some ME time today outside.

Pimp my ride

She's 6.......she's determined..........and she did it! You might remember reading about my daughter's fundraiser and how I wasn't so thrilled with having to go around to our friends and family and ask them to buy stuff from my daughter so she could win some prizes. Well as my earlier post mentioned she did it all on her own with the goal in mind of selling 25 items to get a Limo ride and pizza lunch. The Payoff day has arrived. 3 sleek limos pulled up to my daughters school today as a line of anxious excited children lined up. There weren't very many kindergarteners there - just lots of older kids which makes me even more proud of her! We bought her a new top over the weekend that she picked out while shopping at Kohls and then she sported her white high heeled sandals which she has NEVER worn to school, just church. And let me tell you she was feeling like a million bucks! She was walking around the house strutting like she was on the catwalk and loving how her hair flipped and bounced when she walked. LOL!!!

It was so fun and exciting to see her climb in that Limo grinning from ear to ear and hearing the excitment from all the kids as they discovered the TV, candy and pop in the limo. Too much fun! So thank you for allowing me a "mommy moment" as I am just so proud of her determination to do this and pretty much did it on her own in a record 3 days to accomplish her goal! You go girl!!! LOL!!

Hook me up!

My computer was delivered last night! yeah!!! Just hook me up and pump my internet addiction right into my veins please! :) More than just being without the internet is was being without my all my files I needed, pictures, etc. SO - I am hooked back up and feeling good!Just a few little glitches still to get worked out before my computer to back to it's old self again ;) but for the more part it's good to be connected and back in the game!

Now a fear a flood of posts are coming your way as everyday I think "hummmmmm......I could blog about this", or "OH this is going on my blog!" LOL!!! I have so much to catch you up on and share. I guess we'll see how cooperative my computer is.

Closing SALE!!!!!

I just discovered the pinkpurpleandorange.com will be closing. It's a great site full of handmade items from vairous indie designers. They are currently trying to clear out inventory and close up shop. You only have 2 weeks left to grab some great items on SALE!!!! They've got handbags, jewerly, baby items, paper goods and more!!! Be sure to check them out!

Can I get a Drumroll please.......

It's after midnight here and I know that everyone will be anxious to find out who the winner of my Mother's day giveaway will be. SO let's do it!!!


The winner of my first blog giveaway and winner of the matching set of Mosaic Tees is................................

JENNIFER!

She posted using this name on May 12 @ 1:05pm and talked about having 4 boys and finally getting alittle girl last August.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! If this is you, please email me asap to claim your prize: info@creativeoutletdesigns.com. (If the prize is not claimed by May 16th I will draw for another winner)

Thank you to everyone for playing and posting!!! I was such a treat to see all the participation, enthusiasm and the wonderful compliments and feedback. I will definately have to do this again so keep an eye on my blog!

Mother's Day GIVEAWAY!!!

To honor all the fun and love it takes to be a Mother, I am doing my first BLOG Giveaway for all the women and mommies out there! Just post a comment and have a chance to win a Matching set of Mosaic tees from ME!

You can post one comment each day to recieve 3 entries into the drawing. I will post the winner on Monday!!!

I will create a matching set for YOU and your daughter or and for YOU and your son! If you have a son, I will design a frayed appliqued neck-tie t-shirt to match yours.

So post away and have a great weekend!!! Thanks!!!

It's me - unplugged

*sigh* - oh help me!!!! My computer decided to DIE on me today! ACK!!!! I could see trouble coming and went to back up all my files and it freaked out! now I can't even get it to turn on. WAHHHHHH! I am sitting on my hubby's laptop to quickly check email and get my "internet fix" for today . ;) Hopefully we will be able to get it fixed soon. Meanwhile I feel so out of the loop with all my online friends, groups and fun sites I like to check. I have very limited access and time to get online so returning emails and posting might have a bit of a delay. I apoligize. Don't give up on me as I take a trip back to the stone age and get unplugged for awhile.

7 random facts about moi!

Jennifer of Bella*Tessa Designs Tagged me recently to share 7 random facts about me. hummmmm..........here we go I guess!

1. I was a half-time sports dancer in my "former life" (before kids)

2. I have performed in a Disneyland parade before and had a tour of the back lot. VERY cool!

3. I have double jointed elbows which was always an interesting fun "trick" in school and a bit of a snag for dancing. It's hard to have straight arms when yours over-extend!

4. I am the tallest person in my family and I swear I have been 6 feet tall since I was 12! LOL. I have 3 sisters who are oddly enough all about the same height and I'm a bit taller than my parents too!

5. More still?????................Where's the engerizer bunny when you need him. OK - hummmmm.......... I once met Michael Landon at a celebrity Tennis Match- whom I adored because who didn't LOVE "Little house on the Prairie" when they were growing up!

6. I have a nose like my Dad.

7. I have had 2 little girls sweetly named after me. *sigh* makes my heart melt and feel grateful.

Well ...........that's it! 7 little silly random facts about ME! hopefully I didn't bore you too much! ;)

It's not just a t-shirt!

It's a Mosaic top designed and created by ME! Whew! I have just finished editing the photos and have uploaded my listings to go live in my Blossom Street shoppe on Thursday night at 6pm PST. Here's a sneak peek at 4 of the 5 tops that will be available tomorrow! I have some exciting new designs coming later this spring/summer for my women's tops and also some fun new designs for my aprons as well! get ready to spice up your wardrobe whether you are cooking, cleaning or out and about town.

It's Launch time!

I am participating in 2 group launches this week on Ebay. The first one is with the ladies of Blossom Leigh Boutique in their - Show your colors launch! I went for Red, white and Blue combination what was patriotic but versatile enough to wear all summer long too!

the Second launch I was asked to join is "the BRAT Pack" with the ladies of WisteriaLane. Rhonda of Hipchick asked me to create a Matching boys set for her theme of "Sixteen Candles." She really played up the photo shoot with the cute birthday cake table scene too!

Dear Miss Mess.....

Not Miss Abby! We are not giving advice on manners, your love life or hardships here. It's all about organization and cleaning! Boutiquecafe.com has started a NEW Monday Feature called, "Manage it Monday." This will be a great resource for advice, tips, tricks and inspiration for our everyday clutter. She'll help us clean more efficently for whatever time we have available to do that and even challenge us! We have kicked off the first week with the topic: Creative Studio/Spaces. Feel free to post pictures of your own spaces or messes or the pictures of the spaces you love! The fun has already begun! Be sure to check it out here and post away! We want to hear from you as well!

If you have topic you would like to see discussed please email our resident expert at dear.miss.mess@gmail.com . Be sure to check the boutiquecafe forum each monday for a new topic!

Sunday Brunch with me!

I did an interview FOREVER ago for an indie blog and had completely forgot about it until I saw that some hits to my website had come from the Indie diner blog. SO - if you missed brunch with me yesterday, no worries so did I! tee hee hee. Take a peek at the interview HERE.

I'm Diggin' you!

I'm smiling so wide my cheeks hurt! LOL!!! I just watched the newest podcast from boutiquecafe! Yes I said "WATCHED." it's a fun video photo montage from our recent girls getaway in SLC. WOW! so much fun to see all the great pictures and relive the moments and it's all put to a great song called "Digg the code" by Geoff Smith. If you want to see some funny candid shots of me - *snicker* - then take a peek! I saw photos I didn't even know people where taking and catching me at silly moments. *sigh* Anyway, enjoy! Be sure to sign up for the BoutiqueCAFE girls getaway 2008 mailing list on the Boutiquecafe.com site to be kept in the loop with details, speakers, and when tickets go on sale.

Little sneak here, little sneak there

With so much going on in all aspects of my life right now I thought I would share some sneak peeks into different parts of it. Of course, you probably most interested to see some upcoming designs first. I just got a boys and girls sent off to the models a few days ago! can I get an "AHOY Matey!"

and here's another sneaky peeky at what I will have up for auction this Weekend for a launch I am guesting with titled - SHOW your COLORS! A big shout out to Susan for doing the photo shoot for me!

and well what about ME? hehehe - when I have my "Mommy Hat" on it's all about the kids! We had one GREAT day this week where the weather was sooo nice. Of course it was to nice to stay inside and I couldn't pull the kids off their bikes even if I wanted to! The nice weather seems to bring everyone out of their houses too! We have about 12 kids riding around out in front of our house one evening, moms lounging on the grass chatting and a few neighborhood pets chasing the the kids or vice versa, and plenty of chalk drawing going on!

and maybe one more peek into my life for today. ;) After the fun conversation Traci and I had about the way I dress I thought I would post a picture of me yesterday. This is ME! color and fun funky pices of jewerly like I mentioned before! How's this Traci? :) paired it with some shoes with a HIGH heel and curled my hair up all wild and cute!

I LOVE this jacket! I got it at Forever 21 in SLC when I was there for girls getaway. Not normally something I would have bought for myself but after Amelias inspiring speech on "What I think HOT is all about" and great fashion advice and challenge I snatch this up and I am sooo glad I did!OH! and I picked up the chunky bracelet there too. We all need big plastic bracelet in our accessory drawer don't we? *snicker*

Mother's day gallery

Mother’s Day is fast approaching and BoutiqueCafe wants you to share what makes YOUR mom special to you! Or, perhaps there is another Mom you know who inspires and impresses you. Send in her picture (max width 300 pixels) to daria@boutiquecafe.com and include a paragraph about your beautiful Mom and what you admire about her.

They want to have a gallery full of Mom Tributes for Mother’s Day. (yes, husbands can send in tributes to their wife, so ladies give him the nudge!)

Do you want a Woman's top from ME?

I'm busy, busy with orders and creating my new stuff but I'd thought I would give my blog readers alittle inside info. I get several emails about my tops and how quickly they get snatched up when I do list them. I also only have so much time to create more SO........if you are itching for a fun mosaic top from me I will be listing 5 new tops in my Blossom Street shoppe on Thursday evening May 10th! I will be listing in sizes Med - XL so get your mouse ready to click, buy and grab one before they are gone! Also - my mailing list subscribers get notifed first when I list new items. You can sign up for it on the right.

Thanks for the great response I have had to my tops. Sometimes you just never know if others will love the same things you do.

May day! May day! New contest!!!!

Looking for great Mother's day gift ideas and want some personalized or unique? OR do you sell items that would be great gifts for Mother's day? We are looking for you to post about your items, shops, etc on Boutiquecafe.com chat forum! It's a fun spam and WIN contest! Just post a picture or 2 and link to your items, store or website and be eligible to win $25.00 CASH - via Paypal transfer - from Me! Creative Outlet Designs!

It's easy and FUN th play! Here's how:

Post your pictures and links in the contest thread HERE

OR BLOG about your contest and post the blog link in the contest thread as well for an extra entry to win the cash for some fun shopping and extra exposure for your items and blog! ;)

THAT'S IT! Come on over and play, browse and shop! But you have to hurry! you only have until Sunday night!

in other Fun Boutiquecafe.com news Susan is back as a moderator on the board! she is heading up our Etsy section and also will be taking on another fun weekly feature I will announce on the boards on Thursday! It's going to fun, informative and fill your daily cup of couture for sure! you can find out more about Susan on Ebay, her Blog, and her Etsy shop.