A Stache party and a huge Nessie Burger

How about those young'uns? They are amazing!

Me and Jesse at CHA Scrapbook Royalty Staging Room with our Meat Sticks and Nut Clusters Sheila bought us for snacks! We couldn't stop laughing!!

So there are some amazing girls that volunteer for Scrapbook Royalty/Charity Wings and they are young and so dedicated and I have to tell you about them!

There are more then just these two but here are two of them...
One is my friend Jesse. She has been with me since the very very very beginning for Scrapbook Royalty and has been at almost every event. She goes by King Jesse and she is definitely a King of somethin'!
Our friendship has grown and stretched and been tested and grown some more of the last 7 or so years since we met and I just love love love this girl!She just moved into a new place a few weeks ago and this weekend she has a mustache housewarming party. Jesse is obsessed with mustaches... I took this picture of her friend Chris and I love it! It was so much fun! I swear it is so weird to be the oldest person at a party but hey! I somehow fit right in!!!

And then there is Lauren, She just started volunteering and I can't even believe how awesome she is. She also just got engaged and I am so happy for her! She has taken Club Royalty by storm and made a huge impact on what I do. I can definitely count on her and that is just such a gift. Today we met for me to give her some stuffs and we had Nessie Burgers... We couldn't event slightly put a dent in them but dang they were good!!

ok. every other day then!!

looks like I will change my plan to an every other day post! haha!

This is where I was yesterday ...


went to Camp Pendleton. One of my besties, Brooke promised Albert a tour and he was amazed that they would let him on base since he is from Spain! or as he says, Barcelona.


and I played with her kids... I had actually been avoiding them for a few months after the divorce started. I think because I have such mixed feelings about kids now. I never doubted that I would be a mother, and now I do, and it makes it harder to be around other people's kids in a way. Especially my good friends who know me so well. But I had fun and they were fun and it was actually all very good.


and we had fun on the tour and Albert did lots of jumping. First off the tank which you can climb but at your own risk (big signs all over telling you so)



Then he played in Brooke's backyard on the trampoline. He kicked Brooke's kids out first :) Yep. He is a big kid! Fun fun fun!

oops! already missed a day!~

Geez I can't believe I already missed a day on my 30 days of blogging! Haha! oh so typical!



I've met some amazing people and made some incredible connections at Brave Girls Camp. This is Veronica and Lorraine. They came to CHA and I barely got to see them but I am so glad I did at least get to give hugs. They are two of the Bravest Girls I know.
Lorraine called me after I got back and we discussed a project she is working on. I am so excited because she is including me in the project. Keep an eye out! I will be posting about it as soon as she says I can!!



And even though they are not brave girls Alumni, Wendy and Marisa are two more amazing brave girls I spent time with at CHA Chicago. Wendy is from Canada and is a Crafty TV spokesperson. She had a show that just ended and she is so fun! and so sweet! Marisa is a firecracker and she was my co-host for the Westcott Under the Sea benefit for the Wyland Foundation. She is a true blue friend and someone I really admire for her unwavering commitment to giving only her best!

I have met some amazing women in my life and I probably couldn't write about them all but I am definitely going to try!

Im doing it anyway!

I LOVE CUTE LITTLE PIGGIES!!! They're soooo tasty!

I keep just putting off doing my blog post because life is getting in the way. Then I realized that my blog needs to get in the way of life!! I miss so much blogging and I have to pick up the habit again. So I am going to do the 30-day challenge... here goes day 1...
day 1...
I hear my friend G in my head every day saying "Elena, I keep going to your blog and it's the same post! You need to blog!" And I guess, I get so behind that I dont even know where to begin.... so I am beginning with something I love...

I love handmade gifties! This one is from my friend Maria and she stamped in the metal and it says..."This little piggy loves bacon!" and you know i do! She sells these very popular bracelets in her etsy shop!

And I love little piggies! In fact, I was out with my good buddy Jessekins and we ran across the cutes piggie I ever saw!!
I got to hold it! Turns out it costs $850 to buy one :( a little out of my league!
and lastly for today's love of piggies theme, I love love love my friend Jennifer (who is not a piggie) but an awesome friend who left me a cooler full of piggie parts!! Yum yum yum! Do you see the sliced bacon!! I can't wait to fry it up in a pan!! and that piggie roast is going in my crockpot!! Yep! I am learning to cook. Albert says I am on a cooking spree but I keep telling him I am not. I refuse to admit that I can probably feed myself if I have to!

Im A Petite Doll!

Thanks to the amazing Suzi Blu who made this Petite Elena Doll for us to create stamps to sell!

Suzi is so fabulous!!
She is an amazing artist
She is a Beeeeeautiful heart
She makes people happy and confident
She is giving
She is my friend.

Thank you Suzi, my Brave Girl Sister!

Things bring me to tears

I can't do it all...
that is not what brings me to tears though. Knowing that I can't do it all means that I have to rely on wonderful friends and a support system to help me with what I can't do. So here is the point.

I met an amazing girl at Brave Girls Camp. Her name is Jeri Lynn.

Two words, one name. :)
and she is seriously like a soul sister to me. I told her at the first BGC that she is my white twin. And so now that is our running joke but seriously, she is a beautiful amazing girl who just doesn't have a clue how special she is. She shines kindness and compassion and I just love her.

So, what she did...

Another amazing friend Melody Ross created new logos for Scrapbook Royalty (to be elaborated on and gushed over at a later date... big news coming...) And we used scanned images and clip art to do the logos, so that meant that they needed to be vectorized. Yeah yeah, whatever that is... Well, anyway, It needed to be done and I don't know how to do it and Melody doesn't know how to do it but Jeri Lynn DOES

AND SHE DID!!

And when she sent me the files, i cried. I get by with a little help from my friends (and my white twin)

I can't wait to announce what my little non-profit is doing. We are growing. Some of you know about it. but just wait and see!!

And December 3rd-5th we are doing a taste of Brave Girls in San Diego!!!

Can't wait to announce the deets. So many amazing things and people in my life. I am truly a happy people!

Re-post

"It's hard to wait around for something that you know might never happen, but it's even harder to give up when you know it's everything you want."
Candice posted this on her FB a quote Marah had posted on her FB.

The things I find on FB.

I tell you. Today was a hard day. Actually, just tonight was hard because I had some a-ha moments and I really don't know how to handle them.

I know that I need to be alone. To find my way to independence and be ok with being by myself. I just haven't decided if I believe this or not.

Unity Stamps Supports!!

OMG... My lovely friend Angela is just amazing. She is the owner of Unity Stamp Company and she and Melody Ross, another lovely friend have created a set for Scrapbook Royalty.... (insert tear rolling down face)

There are two you can buy...

This beauty:

or this beauty:


Each set is $24 and we will be selling them on the Scrapbook Royalty website! If you want to buy one now, you can just email me elena@scrapbookroyalty.org and I will send you an invoice...
Im so excited! This is a such an amazing gesture on Melody and Angela's parts and I am so grateful to have these wonderful women as friends!

Desert Scrappers

So my friend Laura hosts retreats in Palm Desert. It has been going on for years and I finally made it to my first one! I have to say, that she did an amazing job. You know there are always glitches and things that go wrong behind the scenes but I was impressed.

I find the most awesome stuff...

I find the most awesome stuff on Facebook... Just reading people's posts, I only get to about 5 a day but I try to read what is at the top of my que... Today I found this on Gina K.'s status:

Every experience God gives us, every person He puts into our lives, is the perfect preparation for a future only He can see. ♥

This is soooo amazingly true! And i am not a particularly religious person. Well, I dont talk about God, but I do have faith and I just love that this was on her status. I just love it...

Now the best part about it, is that I am not even sure how I know Gina. Or if we have met or if she just friended me because we have lots of mutual friends? or if i met her at an event or what!??!? But I know I like her because she is a crafter and a stamper and we have 176 mutual friends. And how can she not be awesome if we have all that in common?!?

Amazing how people are brought into your life for some reason, and make a difference somehow. Sometimes without even trying or without ever knowing they did. Although she will know because I am going to post a message to her :)

OK, for some creativity...

I was part of a "steampunk hairclip swap" and Here are the goodies I got!

From Miss Vicky little clocks with words and glass pebbles

Jennifer Tsang just bought a ton of stuff and went to town! very fun!

From Erin Bassett. I just love that she used all that Tim Holtz goodness!

These are mine... I used tulle, 3 different black silk flowers, a treble clef paper clip, old buttons and a little gold heart cause I just love these girls!

Carly Breslin, Vicky's Daughter used rust colored flowers and some brass locks and keys. yum. she has made me beautiful clothes, check out her stuff.

Julie Haymaker Thompson is the first person I ever heard of Steampunk from and she inspired me for this swap. I loved her hair clips when they arrived and I love her! Even though we have never met in person, she has become and online friend and has left me many kind comments on my blog. Especially when i was going through such a hard time. I am so glad to be able to call her a friend!

This was such a fun swap and at the girls suggestion, We decided to make an extra one each for a little fundraiser for SBR. So please go to the Scrapbook Royalty Website and make a donation

1 ticket for $2
3 tickets for $5
20 tickets for $20

you can win one of each of these handmade beauties!

Thanks so much for your support!

What day is it?

oh boy. i thought it was the 16th or 17th and its the 21st!! what tha?!?!?

My lovely friend Angela posted this on her fb....

"....happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true." - Leon J. Suenes -

So the price I am paying is not knowing what day it is... among other things :)

i did it anyway

I needed to think and am just tired of unpacking! So after a grueling day on the phone with stupid tech support and customer service with Cox and then tech support with Host Gator, I just needed some thinking time. And I think best when I am crafting.

So even though I don't have any room on my table which is buried behind those boxes you see,

I turned over and empty bin and just "DID IT ANYWAY!!"

Melody and Kathy will be so proud :)

And that makes me a Happy People!

moving is so much work! and I love Idaho peeps!

there are a few empty boxes!!

Thank goodness for amazing friends and family! My place is coming together. Despite the fact that there are still sooooo many boxes to unpack. I can't thank Sandy and her husband Bob enough for helping me install the cabinets in my office and my brother, Uncle Mike, Albert, Jimmy, Brooke, Manny, Raul, Ignacio, Barbie, Jesse, my aunts and uncles and grandma and grandpa, Bonnie, Jessekins they all helped me move in either by hauling stuff or helping me buy furniture etc!

I can't believe how lucky I am!

And of course, the most amazing person is my mom who made this all happen. I can't believe how much she loves me.

In Idaho today with Melody Ross and got surprised by a bunch of Brave Girls for lunch. It was so cool! And then the amazing little Jocelyn made Bearette a new Brave Girls Dress! seriously needed it! Bearettes dress was rags!







it was so cool to see jocelyn and all the wonderful brave girls!

MELODY MADE ME A BACON AND TOMATO GRILLED CHEESE SANDWHICH FOR DINNER! IT WAS SOOOOO YUMMY ! AND THEN SHE FED ME BACON FLAVORED ALMONDS!! YUM YUM!











how cute is bearettes new dress! i want one to match!












they all had little girls! it was sooo darn cute... well there was one little boy, sheryl brought her grands on and he played DS the whole time :) this little princess made me laugh. she was just scooping up noodles with her hands putting them on the spoon then shoving the whole thing in her mouth! now that is what I call good eats!









my brave sista Maria. she has turned into quite the jewelry goddess!















here is jocelyn putting the final touches on bearette's dress. cute buttons and an adorable crocheted flower!











i loved visiting with these amazing women. it was such an awesome surprise and all because of a few little facebook posts! still think you're too good for facebook? you are missing out! You know who you are!


will post photos of my new place very soon!