Red Carpet ...

I'm not sure if I mentioned before but my husband Bob works for Disney. Nope he doesn't dress up as Mickey Mouse at one of the theme parks (though I'd pay to see that!), he's Director of Technology at Disney Internet Media Group. These are the guys behind Toontown, Pixie Hollow and now World of Cars Online

World of Cars Online is the game Bob has been working on since his transfer to Disney and it's finally launched! It's an online game for kids, with mini games, social media type stuff and plain fun kids entertainment. To celebrate the launch last week was the official PR press launch and we got to go. Bob was there for the whole event but I just attended "after hours" - ie: when the celebs weren't there! lol! Yep there was the red carpet and the whole shabang :) Plus incase you didn't know it's based on the Disney Movie Cars

The event was at Bob's Big Boy Drive In, and the whole back drive-in cafe parking area got converted into Flo's V8 cafe which is from Cars the movie incase you didn't know. 

Yes there was security there too, and you can see the red carpet photo backboard on the left in the above pic. That's where the celebs stop for the press photographers.

Some celebrities were still in attendance when I got there though!! Naturally Lightening McQueen took time out from his schedule to attend the official game launch and he was more than happy to pose with Bob :)

We also got pics with Matar and Sally. Film crews were still around filming pieces for TV (mostly Disney channel stuff) so not a lot of partying going on. Friends took this pic of us at the launch.

For the fashion conscious peeps I wore Levi Jeans with a black tank and a brown check LEI shirt (walmart $10) with brown boots and bag. Most expensive thing was underwear, lol, everything besides the underwear and shirt was thrifted! Hair was a total mess though, really need to get it styled.

Earlier in the day the whole team was present and wardrobe coordinated in a group shot to celebrate the launch! Go Team! Bob is back and to the right under the "cars" banner. Disney is such a TEAM focused company, so fun!

As the event was at a Drive in cafe they provided free drinks/food all night :) I had a veggie cheese burger which was delicious! And with official Cars Online napkin eh!

Plus Bob's Big Boys do the BEST shakes! So yummy! And so free for us!!! Yep I had one of those babies, strawberry for me please :) Yep we snagged the cup too - washed out it's now a little memorabilia of the night sitting in Bobs office :)

The biggest deal of the event is I drove down to Bobs work on my own, and didn't get lost (thank you GPS). His office is in North Hollywood and so busy traffic wise. Having driven down once though I'd do it again. Especially for more free food/drinks!

Enough excitement for one post! You can see more pics on my facebook page! And remember if you have kids check out World of Card Online!!!!

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Scrapbooking.com: Dimension & Texture

My article for the July issue of Scrapbooking.com magazine was all about ways to add dimension and texture to a layout. On the layout below I used Foil paper, embossed stickers, dimensional stickers, clear stickers, rhinestones, and glitter to add depth and texture. Ordinarily I wouldn't use so many different types of medium on one layout but as these were from the same manufacturer I think they worked well together :)

Supplies: Adhesive: Adhesive Roller, Adhesive Foam Squares (3L), Glue Dots; Cardstock: Die Cuts with a View; Computer Software: Corel Paint Shop Pro; Paper: Me and my Big Ideas; Stickers: Me and my Big Ideas; Tools: Computer, corner rounder

More soon!

Di

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Scrapbooking.com: Traditional goes Digital

New month at Scrapbooking.com which means new article from me which this month has a focus on Traditional scrapbooking manufacturers heading into the digital scrapbooking world. For a while now traditional manufacturers have been employing digital designers to design their paper lines but now it seems that these companies are heading into the digital arena! My article and layout for this month features digital items from Basic Grey

I love templates and Basic Grey are not only selling digital papers, kits etc but also layered templates! So check them out for all things digi! I loved working with the Phoebe kit and the "simple things" template.

I'll be taking a little break from Scrapbooking.com for Sept/Oct  (vacation! Wheeee!) but hope to be back with more projects for them soon! Including recaps of June/July as I don't think I posted them on my blog! Meanwhile check out Scrapbooking.com for more info and for their new Audio/Video option for the articles!

More soon!

Di

Disclaimer: Basic Grey provided me with free product for this article, due to me being staff member at Scrapbooking.com. But honestly I really think that ANY paper manufacturer has to be stupid not to jump on the digital product 'bandwagon'. Afterall their designs are done, and in digital format, just open a store and sell it! Basic Grey's digital products were outstanding, and the store process was quick just like any other digital store!

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Round Up July - and Oh Yeah I am ALIVE!

Well I didn't mean to take an extended break! Guess life happened eh? Got busy with fitness job and life and all that stuff, including new running training plan. But I am back baby, and with a July Round up:

What books and/or magazines did I read this month? 

Mostly fitness related stuff. I read a couple of running books (can't remember titles) but mostly fitness magazine, fitness RX, Self and AFAA mag.

What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?

We don't watch a heck of a lot of TV but True Blood is back on TV which makes me very happy! I LOVE the Charlaine Harris books and the HBO adaptation is pretty good. 

     

Also started watching "Lie to me" series 1, which I am loving! I like psychology so this is right up my street! One of my favorite series from the past was "profiler" anyone remember that?

Movie wise, had a run of blah movies none of which springs to mind. We did watch "hot tub time machine" which I recommend purely for the soundtrack! Love the 80's!!! Also watched "the runaways" which reminded me why I hate Kristen Stewart. Seriously girl CANNOT act! Also watched "old dogs", no brainer kinda movie, typical hollywood crap these days!

     

What special days did I celebrate and how?

Only thing that springs to mind is 4th July. We had a special 4th July Spin class at the gym and I taught the last 30 minutes of the extended class. Super fun!

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?

Urgh, plantar fasciitis in my left foot. Initially in both feet but now seems to be just the left. I've tried some things to combat it and hopefully these work, you can read more on that on my Health & Fitness blog.

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?

Mostly the usual - eating out :) I like eating out and we did plenty in July. New Thai place (details below), souplantation (always a favorite with me), and Indian. I love food :)

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?

New to me restaurant was Lotus Vegan which was delicious! It's all vegetarian and their wraps are soooo good! And their fake chicken is AWESOME! Not usually a huge fan of fake meats, but this chicken is really great!

What special or unusual purchases did I make?

Bought some new running shoes due to foot issues described above. The running store did a full analysis of my feet and recommended these, along with three others for my running gait and foot issues, tried these Brooks on and they just felt soooo right! I think you KNOW when you have the right shoes on!

So far so good, they have helped my plantar fasciitis, it hasn't gone completely but I can at least run and walk now!

Full review of these shoes soon on my health & Fitness blog

What were this month’s disappointments?

Can't think of any! :)

What were my accomplishments this month?

I ran a 10k race and didn't die! Whoohoo! Won't go into deep detail but I finished the 10k (6.2 miles) in 54:41 and cane 4th in my age group which isn't too bad considering this is just my 3rd race! I also got a medal to go along with the always too big T-shirt! Full details on my health & fitness blog

Anything else noteworthy to record?       

Registered for my first 1/2 marathon (in October incase anyone is interested). Also signed all my paperwork for Golds Gym to teach classes :) Not got a regular class yet but I am on the list, so a foot in the door I hope!

More soon, including a creative post tomorrow!

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New Digital Templates: 6x4 brag book

I have a new product in my digital stores, a 6x4 brag book template set. If you love templates and like the smaller 6x4 size then you will love this set. The download includes a 12 page set, each 6x4 and all interchangeable so you can build your own brag book with as many pages and double page variations as you wish! Each page comes as a layered PSD file and with the individual PNG files. Priced at just $3.95 Available in my Di Hickman Designs store and Scrapwow store

Check back soon as I'll be sharing some cards I made recently!

Di

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12x12 layout templates for digital scrapbooking

After some thought and input from fellow digital scrapbookers, I am now selling my templates as single individual pages. I have had many emails regarding the templates and how much people love them but either cannot afford to buy a whole bundle or only want one of the templates and don't want to buy the bundle... well now you can buy them individually!!! I’ve started releasing my templates as individual page templates starting with DiAGRAM #1-4 below, as you can see I also had some fun making some layouts along the way ;) Remember all my products are Scrap for Hire OK! The templates are for sale at just $1.25 each, and available at my Scrapwow store and Di Hickman Designs store

First is template #1, This 12×12 template features space for a single focal photograph. Download includes layered PSD and individual PNG files. Each template is reasonably priced at just $1.25!!!

Whilst I was remaking the templates, repackaging and zipping I decided to get a little crafty and make some layouts with the templates! Here is one using the template #1 and a kit I'll be releasing soon.

Template #2 features space for two photo's, but could also substitute one of the photo's for a journaling block!

Again I whipped up another layout using template #2 and my Revitalized kit. This template works great as a filler page, where you don't need any journaling, or you could modify it and add space for a little journaling. Remember my digital products are available at my Scrapwow store and Di Hickman Designs store

Template #3 has room for 3 photo's, a large title area and journaling area. This layout template really has it all. Two smaller photo's and one focal photo, though it could be modified for two 6x4 photo's instead.

For this example layout of template #3 I also used my Summer Fun kit, and some elements (wordart/waves) from an old Summer kit by Heather Ann Designs.

Template #4 features room for one focal photo, a color blocked background and a curved title. The curved title is included as a layer in the PSD file as text on a path.

Again another layout example but this time using subdued papers and elements from my "Feeling Krafty" kit. I think this kit works well with this photo.

Remember the templates and other digital products are available from my Scrapwow store and Di Hickman Designs stores priced at just $1.25

Di

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been awol

Apologies for going a little AWOL with the blog posts, things happened here that have turned our lives upside down! Over the last week one of our dogs, Sky, took ill. Last week she was eating grass, throwing up, diarrhea and then bloody diarrhea. Took her to the vets and they checked her over and put her on antibiotics. Then Monday night she started coughing… and over the next two days the coughing got worse. Thursday I canceled my morning run and took Sky to the vets, again. Upon investigation the vet heard the cough coming from deep in Sky’s lungs and wanted to do a chest x-ray so I left my baby there and came home to our other dog River (who was pretty upset and wouldn’t go for lunchtime walks without her playmate!). I called them for the results and the news wasn’t good. Sky has fluid on her lungs due to her heart being enlarged :( The vet diagnosed Congestive Heart Failure. Not the news I was hoping to hear, but we’ll deal with it. Sky sat another couple of hours at the vet whilst they did an EKG and bloodwork to check for any other underlying cause. In the late afternoon I took her home, a doped up sleepy dog now on medication for life.

Friday night she seemed to get over the anesthetic finally and perked up a little, and has gradually been getting back to her normal self. She is still coughing but it does seem a little better, and mostly in the evening/morning times or when she gets excited. Trying to tell her that her life is changing and she’ll have to calm down, but she isn’t listening, she’s always been the more active dog so this will be a life change for her! Needless to say my running/work schedule has been off the last few days. Hopefully I’ll get back on Schedule Monday :)

I’ll leave you with a photo of my little Sky

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