My Dad & Me From A to Z

For Father's Day this year, I really wanted to do something really special for Cam. He is such an amazing dad to Nash & Gray. He does so much for them and for me and he loves every minute of it. Late at night, we talk about going to Texas. Almost every night he expresses how nervous he is to be so busy with school. He doesn't want to miss any part of their childhood. They are so important to him. However, providing for our family is also super important to him. School is a must. And it is demanding. And he will have early mornings and late nights. We won't get to see him near as much as we do right now. So I decided to make sure our boys get a healthy dose of their dad on the nights he won't be home before bedtime. This book was my solution:

I started by making a list of A through Z and writing out something specific to Cam and the boys for each one. I outlined the major things I knew I wanted to hit on: church, fun, family, bathtime, bedtime, etc. and double checked they were accounted for. Then, I created a very simple base template with one large space for a picture, one large letter and a short piece of text explaining the letter. The result was a simple, beautiful book that shows just how appreciated Cameron is. I am so pleased with how it turned out. It just makes me giddy. The boys love reading it. I love reading it. Cam loves reading it. And it's so wonderful to see pictures actually printed and simple, short details of their lives right now.

[gallery link="file"]


If there's enough interest, I'll make the templates available for use. Otherwise, I will just enjoy this little piece of happiness sitting on my bookshelf.

Give Thanks Album: Finished!

This little ditty is finished and headed to my door! :) Can't wait to see it in person!

Click here to view this photo book larger

Give Thanks Album: #16-21

Give Thanks Album: 11-15

Give Thanks Album: 5-10

I know it's been a while since I've posted my layouts for my give thanks album. I write the journaling for each page as the days go by, but having time to actually scrap the layout is an entirely different story! I did just score a free 8x8 shutterfly book, so it looks like this album is going to get printed a lot sooner than I thought!

Give Thanks Album: 2-4

Halloween Dessert Table

We threw a Halloween party the weekend before Halloween. I've been designing party tables for Whipperberry, and decided to try my hand at a dessert table for our little get together. I was really happy with how it turned out!

If you've got a party coming up, I'd love to help you design it! You can see my party packs here, or if you want something completely custom, just e-mail me! 

An Attitude of Gratitude

I've figured out that when you're going through a trial like this, it's really easy to get into a "poor me" mindset. That often turns to bitterness, hate, and a continual downward spiral of sadness.

Truth is, that's not a very enjoyable way to live life. And so, in the spirit of Thanksgiving [YAY November!], I've decided to scrap a mini-album this month of 30 things I'm thankful for. I'll write the journaling of what I'm thankful for every single day, but the actual page probably won't happen on a daily basis. We're traveling a lot this month and it's just not realistic to sit down in front of a computer and scrap for an hour every day. At the end of this, though, I'll have a wonderful reminder of my thankful-fors from right here, right now. A snapshot of my life exactly as it is in this moment. And hopefully, when times get really tough, I'll be able to flip through this book and remember just exactly how much I have to be grateful for.

So, without further ado, here's the cover and my entry for November 1st.

I've never done a mini-album before, so I'm trying to keep things simple for myself. All pages will be done with the collab "Grateful Moment" from Lydia Designs and Ashalee Wall available here.

Sneak Peek & a Pre-Release Giveaway!

I just finished putting the final touches on this new kit and I can't wait to show you! Here she is:



If you'd like to win this brand-spankin'-new kit for FREE, leave a comment on this post telling me one thing you're super proud of!

[Entries close Tuesday at Midnight - Winner will be selected on Wednesday.]

Collabracadabra! [Blog Train!]

I'm participating in the a-mazing collabracadabra blog train from the PDP designers. You do NOT want to miss this! Check it out:

Collabracadabra is a celebration of the magic of digital scrapping. the polka dot plum designers, want to give you a big surprise every month, with a plum designer collab! You can grab it for FREE, the first week of the month, from our exclusive blog train. follow the train, collect the freebies, and at the end of your journey, you will have a beautiful full collaboration, magically created, just for you. when the week is over, the collab will only be available in the shop, but will be free with a purchase of $10.00 or more.

This month's collab is granny's attic. a huge collection of papers, elements, an alpha, and layout templates with a vintage feel. here is a preview of all that you can collect, if you visit every blog.

As a fun added bonus, we would love for you to submit your layouts make with the new collab by the end of the month, in the monthly thread, and the last day of the month, we will vote on a winner that will be presented with a gift certificate to the polka dot plum shoppe!

AND THAT'S NOT ALL.........
There is also a full kit, selected especially for you, by one of the plum designers, for you to enjoy for FREE, if you are able to collect our special plums along the way, during your visits to our blogs. put the plums together to form a six letter code, and use that code at check out to receive your free featured kit. Our designer of the month is kreations by kami. And I have to tell you, the featured kit is TO-DIE-FOR. Seriously. I love it.

here is my freebie for you! i can't wait to see what you create with our beautiful new mega kit! [As always, if you send your LO to me, you'll get 50% off to my shoppe too!]

You should've arrived here from: Sweet Tomato Designs

[Click on the image to download]

Please leave a comment if you download and be sure to check back tomorrow for a chance to win my brand new kit before its release on Wednesday!

Your next stop is: Polka Dot Plum Designs

Designer Survivor Template Freebie

I'm participating in a Designer Survivor competition over at Brownie Scraps and would love any of the support you'd like to show! For the first challenge, I created a template for you, based on my Traffic Jam Lovin' layout from a week or so ago. Hope you like it!

To download the template, click on the image and look in the description section. The download link is in there. If you wouldn't mind leaving a comment there, I would really appreciate it! Thanks for the support!

Never Pay Full Price for CMKD Scraps Again & CT Call!

Today, I'm leaving with C for Arizona. We haven't been down there since Christmas! [That's pretty great for us. Last year, it felt like we went down there every month. Financially, that just wasn't good.] I'm so excited to see everybody. We have a family reunion for my mom's side of the family on Thursday and Friday, and then a reunion for C's dad's side of the family on Saturday and Sunday. It's a good thing we LOVE everybody! Because I'm going to be gone, I wanted to let you know about a promotion I'm running. I would love to get a gallery of pages & projects made with Call Me Kristin Designs products. It keeps creative juices flowing! So, to reward you for taking the time to send me your designs, you'll get a 50% off coupon for your entire order in the shop! The good news is that your projects can even include pages/cards/home decor/etc. made with my freebies! That means you could possibly not pay full price for anything ever again! [You know how I love a good deal. :)]



So here's how it works. Just send me an image of your page/project/card/etc. made with mostly Call Me Kristin Designs products and I'll send you an exclusive 50% off coupon, just for you! Once I get back, I'll start putting together the gallery. Every image you submit will be linked back to your blog, so if you're looking for a way to promote yourself, here's a great place to do it! Just let me know the URL you'd like the image linked to.

I can't wait to see your pages!

Note: If you're interested in being on my creative team, I will be holding a CT call in the near future. Gallery submissions will be used as your application, so get a page in if you'd like to be on the CT!

Wordless Wednesday:Better Use of Time

Does it count as wordless if there are words in the picture?



I'm gonna say yes.

Want to Score a Major Deal?

So, I've been spoiling my twitter peeps with coupons all day to get screaming deals on my new products. I just thought I'd share the love with my blogging friends too! Here are the active coupon codes:

Get Bistro for a Buck: Use code Table4Two

Get Vintage Vinyl for a Buck: Use code CMKVVDOL5

Get the Love Letters Templates Set for a Buck: Use code IHEARTTEMPLATES

There are only a few of each coupon left, so be sure to check back for more!

Is there a product you'd like to see a coupon for? Let me know in the comments!

3 Things

1. I promise I'm not neglecting the blog. [Ok, semi-lie. It's being neglected, but I'm not being a bum!] I am prepping like crazy for the grand opening of my new digital scrapbooking shop and it is at the c.u.t.e.s.t site. I can't wait to announce it! There will be a major sale, brand-spankin-new products and even some free goodies for you!  So, mark your calendar for July 1st. <3


2. Major changes are in the works for the Call family. We'll know just how major after a long walk either tonight or tomorrow, hearing back from a certain less-than-awesome professor, and perhaps an arm-wrestling match or two. ["Team Kristin" shirts would be much appreciated.]


3. This is what my hometown currently looks like.

That fire's been roaring for days now, and as far as I know [and from the looks of things] it's still not under control. Pray for Flagstaff, AZ. My whole family lives there! [extended included...]

In other news, I got possibly the worst night sleep last night, ever. C has some funny sleeping quirks. So, before I launch into this, let's remember: "Love means to love that which is unlovable; or it is no virtue at all." {G.K. Chesterton}

Here's what went down [via conversations with C and my sister, L]:

L: hi

Me: hey there. how did the Lilster sleep last night?

L: terrible. up from 11-1, up at 4 and 4:45, up at 6-6:30

Me: gross. sounds about like my night actually. C was freaking restless

L: perhaps he needs to be swaddled [L recently stumbled upon the glories of swaddling her little girl. longer naps have totally revolutionized the whole Mom thing for her.]

Me: haha maybe. I woke up at 4am because every ten seconds or so, he would whack his head down to his pillow twice. thunk thunk --------- 15 seconds ---------- thunk thunk

L: :)

Me: that went on for about 20-30 times before I punched him and told him to knock it off. he was completely out.

L: your very own personal thunderstorm.

Me: :)

L: might I suggest a king bed?

Me: we have a king. we are l.a.r.g.e

L: oh dear.

-----and in the words of C -----

Me: sweetheart, you were ridiculous last night!

C: why? I thought I slept really good!

Me: umm...you did. I don't even think you woke up when I punched you.

C: lol. I'm sorry honey.

Me: It's alright.

C: I don't even remember having a dream of any kind.

Me: Best sleep I had was from 7 to 8 after you'd already left.

C: hahaha. It's the ice cream, honey. You shouldn't eat any of it.

Me: ... I don't think so ...

Finish It Friday

Signing off for the weekend again!

Here's my list:

1. Plan Freezer Cooking Day


2. Work Out


3. Scrapbook 5 Pages

What's on your plate?

Ridemax + Disneyland = Genius

The big news is we made it to California and back without any car trouble! [Shout out to Lola!]

The next biggest news is we used a program called Ridemax to get the most out of our weekend getaway. I will never go to Disneyland again without Ridemax. Best $14.95 I've ever spent. My dad recommended it to us and we thought we'd give it a try. Basically, it calculates the best way to spend your time throughout the day, avoid the lines, and still hit every attraction on your must-see/do list, without burning you out. Brilliant.

We stayed at a hotel 2 blocks away from the park, so we could walk there. Ridemax plan in tow, we arrived at Disneyland bright and early Friday morning. The park opened and we joined the rabid rush toward Splash Mountain. There were no lines yet, but we went and grabbed a fast pass instead of just riding it. Then, we walked right around the crowd and walked onto Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

[caption id="attachment_828" align="aligncenter" width="550" caption="Credits: Gina Cabrera, Kevin & Amanda, ADesigns, Ali Edwards"][/caption]

Then, we walked right on to Star Tours, Buzz Lightyear, Small World and Autopia [We're pretty tall...I snapped this pic of C on Autopia, lol].

We played it just right. As soon as we got off the ride, a line would appear for the attraction. I felt so sneaky!  The best part about it was we had a plan that we knew would work. In the past, I've spent so much time in line because I wanted to make sure I was able to ride my favorites. This time, we knew it was alright to take a break and see a show because we were planning to ride Space Mountain/Matterhorn/Peter Pan/etc. later.

Did you know they have canoe tours in Disneyland? They do. We canoed.

Did you know that the Disneyland Railroad that goes all around the perimeter of the park has a full fledged grand canyon exhibit and dinosaur land inside one of the tunnels and that it goes right through Splash Mountain and you can see the people on the ride? It does.

Seriously, we had a 4 hour break Friday afternoon [Ridemax schedules it this way on purpose because it's the heat of the day and when the lines are the worst.] and we walked through Downtown Disney, had a relaxed lunch at Tortilla Joe's, went to the Animation Academy in California Adventure and saw an hour-long Aladdin broadway style show.

We geared up for the afternoon, rode everything on our list and then some, and showed up for our reservation at the Blue Bayou [the restaurant that goes right through Pirates of the Caribbean.] Cool, romantic, amazing food, it was fabulous.

C snagged us an amazing spot for the fireworks and we finished the night on Peter Pan [honestly, the only ride we waited in line for longer than 10 minutes.]

I've never seen and done so much at Disneyland! It was wonderful.

The next day was California Adventure. Slept in a bit [it opened at 10], and be-bopped on over to the park, walking again. Ridemax didn't disappoint! We ran and grabbed a Fastpass first for California Screamin' and then jumped in line for Toy Story [I totally whomped C.]

We walked on to the huge sliding gondola ferris wheel [which was pretty darn freaky for a ferris wheel] and continued throughout our day seeing everything we wanted to. Tower of Terror was also on the list [I hate drops...but love C, and so I buckled my seatbelt and screamed my head off.] Soarin' over California was a 2 time favorite and C even convinced me to ride the Maliboomer, which was a huge deal. I avoid the straight up drop rides like the plague.

We were so far ahead of schedule that by 4pm, we were back in Disneyland [and we'd ridden the big rides in California Adventure twice!] We grabbed dinner and shared a table with a wonderful couple where we could also see the Fantasmic show. Worth it.

We finished the day with sugar-free butter pecan cones and picking out our Christmas ornament and mugs. [Tradition. :)] and a late-night hot tub to pamper our aching legs.

Sunday, we slept in and headed to church. We had every intention of staying for all 3 hours, but the ward we picked actually had Sacrament meeting last, so we really had no choice but to go off and find the Hollywood sign.

After that, we drove to the LA Temple and had a nice long walk & talk. [Don't you just love Sundays?]

We drove to Santa Monica beach for dinner and ate at a Ma & Pa Pizza shop [think My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but Italian] called Bruno's. YUM.

We took some time to visit our Beach House No. 18, grabbed a movie, and headed back to the hotel. There's nothing like not having anyone to answer to or anywhere to be. I love it.

[caption id="attachment_829" align="aligncenter" width="550" caption="Credits: Call Me Kristin "Of Noble Birthright" Freebie, Paislee Press"][/caption]

LDS Blog Train!

Welcome to my portion of the blog train! I had a blast putting together this little mini-kit for you.

Download Of Noble Birthright by Call Me Kristin Designs

Please leave a comment if you download!

Your next stop is: All LDS Freebies

If you get lost, click here to get to the full blog train list.

Don't stop here! Check out the entire train to get the coordinating scraps!

Finish It Friday: How'd You Do?

My Finish It Friday went 2 for 3 again...though maybe I could say it went 2.5 for 3, I'm not sure. Things went a little crazy this weekend. Friday was date night, so C & I went to a comedy show on center street, where I just so happened to see the CEO of my company up on stage. It was hilarious. Then I proceeded to stick my foot in my mouth twice in one day...more on that later.

On Saturday, honest to goodness, the only thing I finished was that new logo up there [which I quite like! What do you think?] But then, we got to go play house with these cute kiddos. I'm thinkin' that's a pretty great excuse.

Sunday, I finally got to be productive. I finished my portion of the LDS blog train [church related kit, I don't feel guilty at all. Especially because I WAS NOT watching the lost finale with the rest of the world, even though I've seen every single episode. We're watching it for family night tonight.]

The pictures still haven't been ordered [how's that for setting a bad example for ya? sheesh.] However, they've been compiled into a folder for editing and resizing. One more week and it's happening!

What about you? How was the weekend? Productive? Distracted? Did you Finish It?

Finish It Friday: Come Link Up!

Last weeks super productive Saturday really sold me on Finish It Friday. I've decided to make this a regular thing here on the bloggy blog. {And thus spend more than 5 seconds designing a cute little logo}

Post your Finish It Friday list on your own blog and come link back here. On Monday, we'll see how everything went for ya with another link up!

This weekend's projects are:

1. New Finish It Friday logo


2. Blog Train Contribution {Look for some FAB digi scrap supplies on June 1st!}


3. Pictures ORDERED for the kitchen. Not even put in the frames, just ordered. Sheesh. Heaven knows I should be able to handle that!