Who could have imagined that my two (yes, just two) New Year's resolutions would prove to be mutually exclusive?  I kept my list short and sweet....lose weight and scrapbook one page per week!  I'd imagine that most of us are well aware that in fact , either of these resolutions could prove to be impossible to keep.  But it never occurred to me that the process of keeping up with my scrapbooking would prove to be the demise of my weight loss resolution! 

Now you may be wondering exactly how much scrapbooking am I doing?  Perhaps you are thinking to yourself that I've gone a little overboard, and are envisioning me roosting night and day at the scrapbook table with my only exercise occurring when I use my paper trimmer.  (And what would be wrong with that really?)  In fact I don't often have the opportunity to sit and scrapbook.  Usually I scrapbook using the "Pause & Push" technique.  A lot of pages are completed while passing by my work space on the way to some household chore.  I'll "pause and push" things around on my layout, hoping to find the right combination in that 30 second interval.  Clearly, it's not the sitting around that is putting the pounds on! 

So what is causing me the problems in the weight gain department?  Take a look at the layout below and you'll see my problem.  In the past, when I've actually found an opportunity to sit down and scrap for a couple  of hours(meaning at least 4), it had been my ritual to invite Mr. M&M's along as my "creative partner".  I mean as long as I'm indulging myself, then I'm going all out!  Whatever all that good feeling stuff is that chocolate helps you release, it is certainly a friend to a scrapper, especially in times of "creative block".  And when you think about the potential mess a chocolate bar could make, then it becomes clear that M&M's are the perfect answer to achieving a clean and neat chocolate binge-ing (sp?) episode.  I can sit and crunch down 20-30 tiny little bites while agonizing on just where to put that little do-da, and I swear it helps! 

I guess in the past when I only sat down to scrapbook once a year (seriously), my little brightly colored friends couldn't really do much damage.  But if you look closely at the picture below (and pay attention to scale) you will note that the bag of M&M's is one of those mamba jamba sizes.....it's easily 9" inches long!  Since having committed to finishing a page every week I've found myself working off old habits.  Whether I stop by to work on the page for 2 minutes or 20, I get out my little friends.  Apparently, I've got a poundage problem because these mini sessions of scrappin' have allowed me to finish that King size bag in just two scrapbook pages!  Do you realize how many servings that is???  (I am NOT going to read the nutritional info now!)

So what to do?  Only scrapbook within 30 minutes of mealtime?  Chew lots of gum?  Does anyone know if there is a low cal version of M&M's?  

Oh and regarding the completed page....Bo Bunny's Double Dot collection made this page a lot of fun!  I used the Orange Citrus Chipboard elements for the "Wipe Out" lettering and the "wave".  It was fun to swap out the "o" for the circular arrow element in the word "out".  The Chipboard included a sun which I dressed up with the matching brads from this line.  The idea of perfectly coordinating paper, chipboard, brads, and ribbon is great, and takes the guesswork out of color coordinating these elements!  This line is also available in Wild Berry (red), Pink Punch, Buttercup, Brilliant Blue, Clover, Chocolate and Licorice.  I'm offering a pre-order special of 20% off (discounted price is shown below) all these goodies till Sunday the 17th, just click on the product images below to place your order!  Also used in this page were patterned papers from Arctic Frog, and the photo was matted in Bazzill Bling.  The title was matted in the coordinating Arctic Frog coasters.  And I'd like to point out that no Stickles were harmed in this project! 

Save 20% on Bo-Bunny Double Dot! (Discounted prices are shown below.) Free shipping on all orders over $25.00
Orange Citrus Chipboard $5.49	Orange Citrus Cardstock (Paper) $0.69	Orange Citrus Ribbon $1.99	Orange Citrus Ribbon $1.99
Wild Berry Chipboard $5.49	Wild Berry Cardstock (Paper) $0.69	Wild Berry Ribbon $1.99	Wild Berry (brads) $3.19
Pink Punch Chipboard Code $5.49	Pink Punch Cardstock (Paper) $0.69	Pink Punch Ribbon $1.99	Pink Punch (brads) $3.19
Buttercup Chipboard $5.49	Buttercup Cardstock (Paper) $0.69	Buttercup Ribbon $1.99	Buttercup (brads) $3.19
Brilliant Blue Chipboard $5.49	Brilliant Blue Cardstock (Paper) $0.69	Brilliant Blue Ribbon $1.99	Brilliant Blue (brads) $3.19
Clover Chipboard $5.49	Clover Cardstock (Paper) $0.69	Clover Ribbon $1.99	Clover (brads) $3.19
Chocolate Chipboard $5.49	Chocolate Cardstock (Paper) $0.69	Chocolate Ribbon $1.99	Chocolate (brads) $3.19
Licorice Chipboard $5.49	Licorice Cardstock (Paper) $0.69	Licorice Ribbon $1.99	Licorice (brads) $3.19