HAPPY NEW YEAR

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY CYBER FRIENDS. I HOPE THE NEW YEAR BRINGS YOU JOY AND MANY BLESSINGS.

Do you have any new year resolutions??? I always vow to get back to the gym and lose those extra 10 pounds that love me so dearly. Tonight will be my last wonderful meal (I hope) for the next month or two. LOL. Bill and I are going out to dinner with our good friends Chuck and Michelle and then to a movie. I am going to give this card to Michelle. The paper is Creative Basics, Silhouette from CTMH. The ribbon is also from CTMH. This stamp is from Magnolia.

Our Hike

Bill and I took Lexi on a hike today. The weather was just perfect. We were comfortable in jeans and sweatshirts. We climbed almost up to the top of a large hill. We let Lexi determine how high we would climb. Her little legs did well. The view of the surrounding hills and the golf course nessled in the hills is beautiful. Lexi enjoyed watching the cows. They were right there on the trail. And, all they did was stare at us. I don't know what they would do if we got close.

Along the way, we found a bench. It was a welcome relief from our burning glutes.

Okay. So we got somewhat close to the cows for a couple of pictures.

Here is me and my little doll. The hike was so good for her. She really needed it. It also did Bill and me some good. It was so peaceful and the excercise felt so good when we were done.

Towards the bottom of our hike there was a little bridge that goes over a creek. We had fun tossing rocks into the creek.

Afterwards we went over to the golf course and had a delicious cheeseburger with french fries. On the way home, Lexi fell asleep. Like I said she really needed this hike. She has been cooped up too much lately in the house and she needs to run and get her energy out.

Chrismas Eve

These are the layout that we did for my Evensong Workshop. It was so nice to have them done ahead of time. All that I had to do was to add the pictures. And, after a busy holiday season, I was so glad to have them made.

Companion Layout to Lexi and Tux

I fell asleep last night at 7:30 and woke up a couple of hours later at 10:00. So, I went downstairs and watched a movie with Bill. Because I was so wide awake, I decided to make a companion layout to go with the Lexi and Tux layout. I used Sketch# SBSC170 from Splitcoast Stampers.

Lexi and Tux

I have finally had a chance to play today. The house was a disaster after Christmas and I didn't know where to start. With everyones help, we were able to get it done. It is so hard for me to get in the mood to do paper crafting when the house is a mess. So, it is a relief for me to have it done. I have had my eye on the cover of December's "Scrapbook Etc" magazine. And, have wanted to create a layout like it. Mine is similiar, but not identical. I have a hard time trying to get the same look, especially when the paper and page size are different . I love how mine turned out. The paper used is from "Minds Eye". The scalloped border was done with a "Fiskars Border Punch." The buttons and edge anchors are from CTMH. The ribbon is from SU.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Everyone. I hope you are all having a Blessed Christmas. My family is all in the living room playing with the new WII System. So, I have taken a break to say hello. This picture was taken last night at my niece, Yvette's home. From left to right is my son, Ryan, Bill, Me Jennifer and her Ryan.Yesterday was a busy, but fun day for me. I didn't have to work, so I spent the day with Lexi. We made Christmas Ornaments.Then we made "Melt Away" cookies to take to Yvette's house. They were so good.Later that night, we went to the Candle Light Service at church. Then we went to Yvette's.

Her husband made all of these lawn decorations. I will share more pictures tomorrow of his work.

We got up early today and opened presents. After Lexi was done opening all her gifts, her dad brought out this turtle with a red bow on his back. Lexi didn't like him at first but then warmed up to him. His name is Tux. And, boy does he love to eat. This morning, he had Kale, a carrot, a raspberrie, and some banana. Isn't he cute.

Afterward, we had a big brunch. Here are some of the goodies. We had a Strata, French Toast, Bacon, Fruit, Orange Juice, Coffee and Champagne.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas....

And, A Happy New Year. I just love this stamp from Elzybells. Hopefully this is my last card of the season. Sparkle has a challenge going where you make two Christmas cards a week and by the end of the year you will have 104 cards made in time for Christmas. I just might have to take her up on it.

Evensong Layouts

Here are a couple of layouts that we did for my Christmas Workshop. The layout design is from the the "Evensong Workshop Guide". I used a Level 2 "Evensong" Paper pack and "Evensong Stickease". The stamp sets used were "Evergree" for the trees and "Chocolate Alphabet" for the font. The ribbon is "Cranberry Grossgrain Ribbon". The edges of the 12x12 cardstock are sponged in "Cranberry" ink. The paper piece that says "Tannebaum" is stamped in "New England Ivy" ink and the edges are sponged in the same ink. The trees are stamped in "New England Ivy" and are raised on pop dots. There are tiny "Clear Sparkles" decorating the trees.

Tradition

Tradition is a big part of our family. My children love and look forward to it. When life gets too busy, it is tradition that pulls us back together again. Every year, we spend an evening together decorating the Christmas tree. We play Christmas music and drink hot chocolate. It is so much fun to look at all of the ornaments that we have collected over the years and laugh at some of them. My favorite ones are the ones with my childrens photos in them. I love remembering how little and sweet they were.

This picture is of my daughter Jennifer and her husband Ryan. They are Lexi's parents.

Here is my husband Bill and Lexi going through a box of ornaments

This is my son Ryan and Lexi. She adores her uncle.
And, here is a picture of me.

January CTMH Special

January is National Paper Crafting Month and to celebrate, Close To My Heart has a special that runs from December 16-January 31. The special includes this paper pack and and the adorable Key To My Heart stamp set. You can earn it for free buy spending $130 in CTMH products. You can also get the kit for $20 by spending $75 or buy it outright for $47.90. This is a special that you won't want to miss. Please contact me if you are interested.

On January 1 the new Spring Catalog will be available. You are going to love all of the new papers and stamp sets.

Sleigh Bells Ring...

Sleigh Bells Ring. Are you listening? In the lane, snow is glissening. A beautiful sight. We're happy tonight. Walking in a winter wonderland. Catchy tune. Huh? Bet your singing it. LOL.

"Sleigh Bells Ring" is the name of this retired set from SU. Yesterday, I sat in front of the fire and painted 10 of these cards. I used SU's Watercolor Crayons and a water brush to paint them.

Hersheys Nugget Tins

I am making these cute little "Hershey's Nugget Tins" as Christmas gifts for my co-workers. I got the idea from the very talented Lisa's blog. They are a very inespensive to make, but an impressive gift. Here are Lisa's directions: First buy a bag of Hershey’s Nuggets (Costco has them in bulk.) Decorate some standard sized Avery address labels with stamps, markers, computer type or images, etc. I used Papertrey's Holiday Treats stamp set. After you decorate your labels, peel them off and wrap them around the candy nuggets. They will fit perfectly. Then put them in a bag, box or tin as shown in my photo. (These tins can be purchased from Specialty Bottle. (Option: instead of using Avery labels, use patterned paper to wrap nuggets.)

'Twas the Night Before Christmas for Scrapbookers

I just read this cute little poem on one of my yahoo groups and thought that I would share.

'Twas the night before Christmas, I'm glued to the tree.I'm wondering what Santa brought just for me. Could it be cardstock or chipboard or lace?Or a Cricut, I said, with a smile on my face. And that's when I heard him, "Hi Santa, " I said"You know... good little girls should be in their beds.""I know I should Santa and now I've got caught.But I was just so excited to see what you brought.""Well, let's take a look in this room where you work.He shook his head quickly, And left with a jerk.I heard him exclaim as he put it in gear."You've got enough crap, I'll see you next year!

Shhh. Here is a sneek peek from the new Catalog

I just couldn't help myself. I had to share with you this stamp set from the new catalog. It will be available next month. This is just one of the stamps from the "Ms On the Go" stamp set. Being a Bellaholic I was just ecstatic to see this new set. They are all sooooo adorable. I used the "Perfect Day" paper pack and colored her with Copic Markers.

More Christmas Cards

Happy Friday Everyone. This card was made for the Magnolia-licious sketch challenge for December. This card uses "Tilda wearing Christmas Wreath". You can't see from the picture, but I used my Spica Glitter pens on the wreath, the lines in her dress and the sentiment to give my card a sparkly look.
This card is for the Who's That Girl Challenge MFTWTG12 over at Splitcoast Stampers. This card uses My Favorite Things "Merry Chrismas".

Tilda Decorating the Tree

Here is a card with "Tilda Decorating the Tree". I stamped her on a seperate piece of paper and cut her out and placed her in front of the tree on pop dots.

First Haircut

Lexi got her first haircut tonight. It was just a trim. She has been so afraid of getting her hair cut. She was afraid that she was going to look like a boy. I showed her how much would be taken off...about an inch. She started to cry and said "I'll never have that hair again." But I reasurred her that we could do a scrapbook page and put her hair in the scrapbook. She was happy with that idea. Once she met the hairdresser, she was comfortable with her and was able to enjoy getting her hair cut...as you can tell from the picture. LOL.

It's December and here is Tilda in her winter coat

Here is a Magnolia Card that I made for a Layout Challenge. This is "Tilda with Hood" and "Winter Background". She is colored with Copic Markers and her hood is outlined with "Stickles" as are the trees and snow. The paper is from "Minds Eye". The sentiment is from CTMH.