Happy New Year!

May your 2011 be filled with many blessings! I thank all of you for letting me share my creations and little bit of my world with you!

Here's my final creation from 2010... Technically I did the journaling this morning, but everything else was done last night...

sketch by Lisa Hidy for PersonalScrapper.com; all materials from December PersonalScrapper.com kit (Fancy Pants, 7 Gypsies) with addition of Stickles, journaling pen, and Thickers

With much love and gratitude to you all!

<3

Not My Favorite Couple of Days...

Although I'm kind of glad that the hustle and bustle of the holidays is over, the last couple of days pushed me almost beyond my limits. The hubby and I were headed up to pick up the kids after they'd spent the night with Grandma and Grandpa when I was rear-ended. It was a very slow moving accident and no one was hurt (at least not either of us). Two witnesses in the oncoming traffic said the lady who hit me appeared to have her head down as she was moving, possibly on a cell phone when she obviously couldn't see that I wasn't moving anymore. Her very little car ran under my bumper...Between insurance companies, auto repair shops (my car wasn't driveable- they said she pushed my exhaust system into the driveline) and rental agencies, I'm pooped and don't want to have to wait around for anymore calls ever- at least not til they tell me my own car is ready for me to pick up! Needless to say, not something I ever want to do again...

On a much brighter note, it's reveal day at Sketchabilites. This is the last reveal for 2010, which sounds awfully weird! I really liked the sketch, but I wasn't sure I was too happy with what I created til it was completely finished. I really like it. I got a giant pack of chipboard numbers from Tuesday Mornings and for the life of me can't remember what brand they are, so if you happen to know, let me know please!

Here's Karan's sketch...

And my take (and my handsome birthday boy!)

All materials Jillibean Soup with exception of chipboard numerals and Tattered Angels mist

I'm working on a couple other projects right now, but I've been really tired at the end of the day this week. Mentally exhausted, I suppose. I think I'll see if I can stay up to watch a movie with Paul since the kiddos are down.

So glad you stopped by!

~Til next time <3

Amidst the Craziness...

I've been a bit scrappy... Sometimes though, it's really nice to just sit and veg for a bit. Luckily we were able to do that yesterday. I don't even thing we cooked- how terrible is that?? :) Even living in the "middle of nowhere" (as our friends and family lovingly refer to it) you can get some Zip's burgers for lunch and pizza for dinner!
Tonight the kiddos are headed to Grandma and Grandpa's for a sleepover with a couple of their cousins. Everyone is totally excited about it, particularly us since it means date night :) The two of us are dying to see Harry Potter, but I think we will be out-voted by the others joining us... Next time, I suppose.

The crafty time I've had has been trying to play around with a few challenges. This one is a double-duty with a sketch from Cardabillities and a challenge for a Christmas themed thank you card at The Studio. It was fun to get my alpha stamps out. They're in reach now after a bit of rearranging in my craft room.

all items are Fancy Pants from the December Personal Scrapper kit

I've got another LO done, but it's for the Sketchabilities reveal in a couple of days. It's so nice to have that taken care of early so I can continue working on other things too.

Be sure to check out my Blogaversary post below to win some goodies!

~Til next time <3

Happy Blogaversary!

It's been 2 whole whopping years since I've started this little blog of mine (plus 2 days technically, but who's counting?!) I've been putting together this little pile of goodies that I thought I could share to honor the occasion. Here's what you have to do to win:

1- Be a follower
2- Leave a comment letting me know you stopped by

Now if you REALLY want to win, you can let someone else know about the goodies. If they follow the steps above, make sure to tell them to say that you sent them over. Then I'll give you an extra draw!

Since it's the holiday season and shipping is awfully busy, I'm gonna hold this over until the first of the year. So that means you need to stop by on or before January 1, 2012. I'll get creative and hold a little drawing on the 2nd and get the goodies shipped out shortly after that. Here's what you'll get...

I will happily ship to the US. My international friends will need to pay the additional shipping charges.

Thanks for following me and letting me share my little world with you! I so appreciate all the love and comments you've left for me!

~Til next time  <3



Favorite Holiday Times!

I remember Santa coming around the neighborhood on his sleigh just before Christmas when I was little. It was completely one of my very favorite parts of the holiday season. As I got older, Santa stopped coming around. I'm not sure if it was budget cuts with the fire department or what, but I sure did miss it. I'll never forget one of the first Christmases we were married when I suddenly heard that magical sound of Santa and his reindeer coming down our street. I jumped up and opened the curtains to see if what I thought was there was real. Sure enough, there he was! I must have looked so silly- a grown woman jumping up and down, waving like a crazy person :) 

The county we live in now is a very rural fire district, but we are so very fortunate to have Santa visit us every year! He actually travels with the entire fire unit. They blow the sirens to let the neighborhood know he's on his way! We heard him coming and waited nearly two hours for him to finally make it to our house. We all got our candy canes, and Santa made us promise to be in bed early Christmas Eve. Before we said our goodbyes, we had someone in the big guy's entourage take a quick pick of us...

Can't wait to start in on the baking later this week as well. So much to do and so little time. I just need to remind myself what is important about this time of year...

See you tomorrow for a little Blogaversary treat for my followers!

~Til next time <3

Holidaze...

It's crazy around these parts! Last Sunday was J's birthday, so we are currently STILL celebrating and will continue to through the weekend! With that, getting ready for normal holiday festivities around the house and all that goes on at school during these couple of weeks, I'm desperately in need of a vacation! It will be very awesome to spend time with the family and just relax (and of course try to squeeze in as much crafty time as possible!) so I'm also praying for a healthy break!

It's also reveal day at Sketchabilities! This was another awesome sketch, and the timing was perfect to be able to use my new kit from PersonalScrapper! When I saw all those yummy buttons, I just knew what I wanted to do for that tree!

Here's Karan's sketch...

And my take...

patterned paper-Fancy Pants Traditions; cardstock - American Crafts; flowers, buttons and brads - 7 Gypsies/American Crafts; alphas - American Crafts, Paper Trunk

I had quite a bit of fun with this one! It's really making me extra excited to spend some uninterrupted time scrapping! Wish me luck making it through 2 more days of work (yeah, I know, totally shouldn't be complaining!) 

~Til next time

<3

A LIttle Bit of Scrappy Time

I'm here! I'm guessing no one sent out the National Guard to search for me, although I very easily could have been buried under a ton of snow! We've had blizzards and other snow-filled craziness around these parts, and it's only the beginning of December- WOW! Apparently, we had the "snowiest" November on record here. I can't remember November anytime recently where we even had any snow, so it's been a bit of getting used to, to say the least. At least I've got some new pics to scrap and share with the kids enjoying the snow :)

It's also time for another Sketchabilities sketch. I have to admit that I was a bit intimidated by this one. I'm not quite sure if it was all the white space or what, but I love what I ended up with. I know I say I love a lot of different companies, but October Afternoon is truly and completely right at the top. I tend to have a hard time getting my hands on it, so maybe that's what draws me to it even more...

Here's Karan's sketch

And here's my take

My little sweetie girl just before her first day of school. I had the chance to take Miss A and her bff to the park due to a little scheduling mishap at their preschool, and this was one of the pics I was able to get. Although I didn't end up including the banner in this one, I was excited to include a few special elements in the flowers.

Karan also has a call out for a sketch artist. Look HERE for the details.

One more scrappy item I'm quite excited about before I head out-- I've been looking at all sorts of altered items and always feel like I can never do them justice. I don't know. My crafty brain just isn't there yet or something, so I feel kinda insecure about my altered endeavors. So... This was just a huge HURRAH for me to complete as well as feel good about. It's a magnetic advent calendar made from a mini-muffin tin. These go for big bucks on Etsy shops, so maybe I can put some together for next year?! Let me know what you think...

Winter break is just around the corner! Only a day and two weeks (no, I don't quite have the hours down just yet!) So excited to spend some time just hanging out with the fam! We'll head out to cut down our tree this weekend and J's birthday is in less than two weeks! I'll have plenty of pics to keep me busy!

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to say hello!
~Til next time <3

PS Holiday Prep Crop

Erica from Personal Scrapper and Carrie, the designer/creator of Paper Trunk are holding a Holiday Prep Crop in their neck of the woods, but they've extended it to the on-line community on Personalscrapper.com . It's inspired me to get crafty, especially since I haven't been very active in some time with Erica's crops. It was a good chance for me to get some things in my craft room squared away and get the scrappy juices flowin'... I'm extra proud because I actually scrapped something for MY album! YUP! for M-E!!

Most items are from a Personal Scrapper add-on kit. patterned paper, alphas, stickers- Making Memories; paint-Tim Holz; currogated arrow-Jilllibean Soup; Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist

This was a really big deal for me, so I'm glad I finally did a LO for it. Some other time, I'll do one that gets a bit more into the story and process (so my family can relive this crazy time in our lives, I guess!) Whatever you gotta do to get crafty I suppose!

Thanks for stopping by and letting me know what you think. I'm going to be in a place to be doing some blog hopping again soon, so if you leave a comment, I can stop by and say hello!

~Til next time
<3

Sketchabilities #35

Yep! I'm already back! I was going to preload this post, but I just couldn't stay up any later last night... So now, in between finishing up my grading, here's Karan's latest Sketchabilities sketch! It's another one of my favorites!

I got to play some more with my yummy Jillibean Soup! Totally one of my very favorite manufacturers right now!

Luckily, the rest of my order from Your Scrapbook Stash came in, so I had some new toys to play with too! I also have to give some props to my friend Kim who took those cute pics of J while at her son's birthday party a while ago! Make sure to check out what the rest of the DT created, and take a shot at the prize!

If I'm not back by Thanksgiving, come dig me out from under these report cards!
<3

In Complete Denial...

Yep, that's me... I am, yet again, up to my eyeballs in school work. It's my favorite time of the year--REPORT CARDS. Blechh... That's all I have to say about that! So why the denial, you ask? Well, this weekend was the wonderful CK Convention in Seattle. Yeah, I know... the whole report card thingy and all, but I was super-duper stoked because I'd made arrangements to meet up with my Personal Scrapper friends! I figured a day or so wouldn't hurt anyone, so I jumped in my car and took off for Sea-Town :) A few of the girls took some pics, so I'll try to post some up when I get a chance. I also got to visit with both of my brothers and my sis-in-law as well as my dear friend from high school. Such a good trip!

Speaking of Personal Scrapper, I made this little creation as a birthday gift (but I'm having a hard time talking myself into actually giving it away!) This is using the November kit with brand-spankin' new My Mind's Eye - Fine and Dandy. The colors in this line are just awesome! I also got to play along with a new challenge blog called Paper Issues. The current issue is using scallops. I loved being able to use my punches for this one too.

Here's my creation...

I love any challenge that helps me dig into my stash! Tons of fun!

I'll be back shortly with the latest sketch from Karan at Sketchabilities. It's another gorgeous one!
~Til next time
<3