Journal Your Christmas Dec. 1st

I basically just took my blog post from earlier today and used it as my manifesto for Shimelle's Journal Your Christmas class. Here is my album cover along with my manifesto page. TFL!

December

December. How can one word evoke such warm, cozy, and wonderful feelings and at the same time make me feel anxious and stressed? I know I'm not alone with these mixed emotions; the secret is to find balance. For me, a list helps to keep me in check and to stay organized. So this year, in addition to my December errand/chore list, I'm making a list of a few of my favorite things to keep me calm, relaxed and enjoying this Holiday season. After all, shouldn't we be enjoying this wonderful season? :)

My List

1. Listen to Christmas music
2. Make and drink hot chocolate (loaded with whipped cream, of course!)
3. Sit by the fire and play board games
4. Watch Christmas movies
5. Bake treats and deliver to friends
6. Scrapbooking (you had to know this would be on my list!)
7. Play in the snow (hopefully!)
8. Drive around the town to see Christmas lights
9. Treat myself to Starbucks anytime I'm near the mall
10.Be sure to tell my family & friends how much they mean to me and that I love them.

FLTOA Recipe Challenge

Yesterday, I had the honor of hosting the weekly challenge @ www.fortheLuvofArt.com. When I received the Nov. kit, I knew it was perfect for this, the challenge is to use a recipe on a layout. I knew instantly what I wanted to do... our favorite cookie recipe.
Every year we bake several batches of these, don our Santa caps, and deliver to our friends. It's so much fun to take a little time and spread a little Holiday cheer.
Since I can't deliver these to all my online friends, I hope you take the time to make a batch of these delicious treats and feel the love from our house to yours.

"Seasoned with Love" Nov. kit

My big day is finally here... my first time as guest designer at FTLOA. I received my "Seasoned with Love" kit yesterday and for a minute, I was FROZEN with fear/creative block. lol
I quickly recovered and dug into the kit. Today, Renee Lamb posted a challenge to do a layout without any photos (that is a BIG challenge for me!) So here is my take on the challenge. TFL!

Cherished Photo

To me, every photo I take is a cherished memory. Unfortunately, I have very few pictures of my mother as a child. This is one that I love because my Grandmother actually gave me the original. I've really only scrapped since my children were born and I haven't taken the time to go back and document my history. This layout is my first "heritage" type layout. I used the gorgeous FTLOA Oct. kit and I'm thrilled with the outcome. I'm now inspired to go back through old family photos and create an album with them. TFL!

November Surprises!

What a week of surprises this has been...

First, I was asked to be the November Guest Designer for my favorite scrappy site. www.fortheLuvofArt.com! I'm very excited, honored (and a little nervous!) This will be my first time doing something like this but it's good for me to step out of my crafty comfort zone. I can't wait to see the kit and start creating!

Another crazy surprise this week was the weather. We had a blast of chilly, windy weather sweep through and brought with it our first snow flurries of the season. I've lived in this area now for 16 years and I believe this is the earliest dose of winter weather I can remember. I hope this is not a preview of things to come! Although it only lasted a few minutes, it was BEAUTIFUL and I wanted to share some pics with you. It's too bad I didn't have my children dressed in adorable winter wear, it would have been a great Christmas card photo op!

How can it be November already?!

When I turned my calendar this morning, I nearly flipped out. How can it be NOVEMBER already?! I know we've been busy with projects around the house, building a barn, landscaping, etc., but I feel like time is moving at the speed of light. As we now approach the crazy, busy, wonderful Holiday season, I need to remind myself to STOP and enjoy each little moment.

I've been doing a little scrapping and creating everyday and was so surpised that I finshed 20 layouts in the last 10 days! Just want to share a few of my favorites. TFL!

Scrappy Goodness

I just wanted to share a couple of layouts I've done recently. Ellen S. from For the Luv of Art recently challenged us to use stitching on a layout. I enjoyed the challenge so much I decided to do more sewing with the fabulous papers from the Sept. kit. Thanks for looking!

4 cakes and a girl

Is there such a thing as too many birthday celebrations? No, according to Paige. In the course of 6 days, she had four birthday cakes. I'm afraid this sets us up for many years of great expectations on her part. lol I just had to share the pics!

More HHI mini album

The top shot is a layout I did for a challenge @ For the Luv of Art. The rest are a few more detailed shots of the mini! TFL!

Hilton Head Mini album

I purchased a mini album months ago with the intention of using it for beach photos. I'm not typically into mini's but I must say that I really enjoyed this project and I'm happy with the result. Thanks for looking!

Hilton Head

We just got back from our family beach trip and it was fabulous! This was my first trip to Hilton Head and I must say, I LOVED it. I just want to share a few of my favorite pics.

July 4th Celebration

Wow, what a busy and fun day we had. We went to Sunday School, grabbed some Chinese food for lunch and came home to prepare for our cookout & fireworks extravaganza! Paige & I made the Flag Cake from Ina Garten's cookbook and it was a huge hit! :)
As usual, my hubby put on quite the fireworks display. Some friends from our old neighborhood stopped by to watch with us, so it turned into a fabulous evening for us and especially, our kids!

She did it!!!

We had our POD delivered Thursday and with it came Paige's bicycle from storage. She wasn't ready to learn to ride her bike last summer but this year was totally different. She got on and with a little help from Daddy, she was riding all by herself in about 20 minutes. It was so thrilling to see her little face light up with her accomplishment. This morning she was up and dressed by 8:30 ready to hit the road. Way to go, big girl!! :)

FTLOA fabric challenge

This week @ For the Luv of Art, the challenge was to use fabric on a layout. Other than ribbon, I've never used fabric so I thought I'd give it a whirl. This happens to be one of my all-time favorite fabrics so I was thrilled when I was able to use it for my Easter layout. Of course, I had to drag out the sewing machine, but once I got started, I actually enjoyed the process. I may have to add fabric to my list of scrap necessities. Thanks Carrie F. for the inspiration! :)

World Cup Fever!

In honor of World Cup Soccer, I thought I would post some of the latest pics of my soccer guy! This boy lives and breathes all sports, but soccer is his game!

Even though I can't stand the noise from the vuvuzelas, we'll still be watching Team USA in just a few minutes!

I just received my first kit from for the luv of art and I must say, I'm loving every bit of it! Since the opening of this new on-line store/community, I have rediscovered my passion for scrapbooking. It's a great place to chat, be inspired and of course, shop! Thank you Norma for creating such a fabulous scrappy home! :)

Breaking Ground

This week is ground-breaking for our new barn!!! The kids & I purchased a new shovel for the ceremonial scoop of dirt. Seeing the grin on my husband's face as he drove the tractor around, reminded me of a story my daughter wrote in class this year. The first two sentences are, "A man is a boy. My dad is a man." No truer words have been written, this man is a boy at heart, that's one of the things I love about him!