Wow! I can't believe Christmas is over, and it's almost 2012... Where did 2011 go? I guess when you're scrappin' and creating, it goes pretty fast!  Had a busy year; driving to North Dakota to see the grandbabies, stopping in at Mt. Rushmore...

 bringing Miss Piper Grace back with us for a month!  Boy was that a lot of fun having her here!   Looking forward to doing it again, but with both kids!  Although Beckett will probably run me ragged!!  I might have to have Dave take off work so we can both deal with an energetic little 2 year old!

(Piper all settled in the back seat playing on Gramma's phone!  Soooo glad we had this for the trip! She was loving playing Fruit Ninja!)

     I'm sure I'm not the only scrapper out there with a disaster in their scrap room... so I spent the last 2 days organizing and tossing tiny scraps that I thought for sure I would be able to use, and just didn't over the last year!  My husband walked in and said, "Wow, this looks really nice in here... now let's keep it that way!" Yeah, sure, honey... no problem... It's obvious he doesn't understand how a creative mind works! 
     I will have an exciting announcement to make in the coming weeks (and no, I'm NOT pregnant... that ship has sailed!).   I am very excited about it, and if you could see my face, it would be grinning from ear to ear!

    Okay, enough blabbing for now... time to get scrappin'!  Toodles for now ya'll!!
    

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Here is my Pocket Book created using Fancy Pants St. Nick line!

 This is the cover... used the flocked transparency... love it!

 I made a little paper pieced quilted heart, and a lace border punch for the pocket... On the right, I hand cut 2 candy canes and applied glossy accents to make them shiny!

 For these pages, I punched some small christmas lights, and used linen twine to wrap the "cord" and created a string of lights!  Tedious, but worth it!  For the envelope I found some darling little velum envelopes, and stuck one of the cards inside of it... embellished the tree and snowflakes with bling!  The left is a pocket with the tree border I fussy cut and glued on top of a stripe.  I used the flip side of the "bite" out of the top of the pocket to create a scallop border under the stripe!

 Ahhh... my fireplace!  As soon as I saw the stockings, I knew I had to make a fireplace!  The green stripe made perfect "wallpaper"!  I used gray, dk. chocolate, black, red, white and brick red cardstock to create the fireplace..and the santa feet!   I used scraps to creat the candles, and used the mini-christmas light punch for the "flame"! There is a hidden pocket, and I made a folding "tree" to slide in there for pictures!   For the page on the right, I cut lines along the stocking lines, and fussy cut some larger stockings.  There is also a pocket behind those for pictures!

 This page was inspired from Lisa Tenney... she had made a little "mini card" in her daily album, and I fell in love with it!  I was using the 6 x 6 St. Nick pad, and knew I had to make a page of Christmas cards!

 Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without some presents under the tree; or in this case, my little pocket book!  So I made some "present pockets" for pictures!    The page on the right I used a full sized "border" and created two diagonal pockets for pictures... I used two antique copper tree brads for embellishment.

The back cover was easy because of the leather look Saint Nick Paper!

Well, the tree is up... finally... really behind the curve this year!  But I sort of have a good excuse... I've been scrappin' like crazy!  I designed the cutest little "Pocket Book" using the St. Nick line from Fancy Pants!!  I don't know if my favorite page is the fireplace, the cards, or the large packages holding photos!  One thing I do know, is that is was so easy to come up with this using the St. Nick line!  The papers are wonderful and provided plenty of inspiration!

  The next project will be using the "Winter Wonderland" line from Fancy Pants... It is stunning, and I can't wait to play!!  Be on the look out for some sneak peaks!!

Happy scrapping!!

Thanksgiving...

This year, Thanksgiving brought much reflection of all the blessings the good Lord has blessed me with.  I have a wonderful husband that supports me in all of my endeavours; two beautiful daughters who have made me laugh so much over the years!  Two absolutely adorable grandchildren, Piper and Beckett, who made me realize what 'love' is really all about.  I am thankful for my whole family; dear mother, two wonderful sisters, nieces and nephews, cousins, and the list goes on! 

   With all this 'love', who couldn't help but be inspired to create!  If I figure it out right, I have posted pictures of my "Thankful" kit...  I went a little crazy with the glitter glue... what can I say?  Do I ever go halfway with anything?  lol 
   I have also posted pictures of my layout made with Fancy Pants Summer's End line... Love love love these papers!  They made it soooo easy to come up with this layout!  It is similar to the one I made above, but I had the opportunity to make this for Jodi and the Fancy Pants family, and when a layout works, it just works! 
   Speaking of Fancy Pants, I am putting the finishing touches on a cute little 6 x 6 mini album I am calling my 'POCKET BOOK'... due to all of the pockets for stuffing with pictures and other memorabilia!  I am entering it into their contest sponsored on their website... fingers crossed!!!  lol

   

Long time no see!

Well, hello there everyone!  Hope you have all been healthy and happy!  Busy summer for us.. visiting North and South Dakota was a blast!  Of course, seeing your grandkids is ALWAYS a blessing!  We brought Piper back with us, stopping off in South Dakota to see Mt. Rushmore... wonderful trip. 
    Having Piper here for about a month was awesome, to say the least!  It was so much fun getting to know her!  She is such a little sweetheart!  Looking forward to next summer when we can have both Piper and Beckett for a little while!   Let's hope my house can withstand the little 'tornado' (Beck).  We will just have to be outside more! hahaha
    Been busy creating more kits and cards.  Getting more involved in making cards for OPERATION WRITE HOME... my friend Leslie Frederick is involved in it, and it's always fun presenting her with loads of cards to send to the troops!  I recently hostessed a CARDS FOR THE TROOPS day at the Roy Community Center, and we turned in almost 250 cards to Leslie!  We will be doing this once a month starting in January (after the holidays), so keep a few hours open to come and join us! 
    As soon as I figure out how to post pictures, I will be be posting my newest kits available on a regular basis...  hopefully one day, I will be breezing through all the steps to making an awesome blog page!!
     November 12th is our Cricut Swarm!  Lisa Tenney and I are hostessing it... hope to see you there!  We will have projects for you to do, and Fancy Pants is going to be teaching a class for a mini-album, ALL MATERIALS ARE PROVIDED!  Whoo hooo!!  Thanks Fancy Pants!  (pst.. I've seen it, and it is c-u-t-e).  I will also have a pretty cool project for us to do... not a challenge this time girls!!  Although it was fun seeing what you came up with using feather boas!!
     Alright, enough blabbering... need to get busy designing more goodies for you to make!  Take care, have a super-wonderful day!  Toodles!

Rain, rain go away...

In lovely North Dakota... with all this wonderful, wet rain!  The flooding is terrible... it is very hard to see people's homes halfway submerged in a lake that shouldn't be there.  I feel so bad for them, and wonder where they are staying, if they are safe, and how much they have lost.  It has been raining all day today... a  giant dark cloud has been hanging around drenching an already drenched community.  I've never seen roads buckle up from underneath because of so much groundwater making it swell!
   On a lighter note, it was great fun encouraging Piper and Beckett to "run through the puddles" so Gramma could take pictures to scrapbook!  Beckett was loving it!  He got quite upset when we decided he'd had enough when his little pants were wet up to his thighs!  Of course, Gramma HAD to have Piper jump up and down for pictures in the puddle as well!  Should be some great pages!
   We leave North Dakota on the 1st (Dave's 50th Birthday) and head for South Dakota to see Mt. Rushmore and possibly the Badlands!  Should be a lot of fun with Miss Piper-face!
   One thing about being up here, is that there is a huge Scandanavian population (I am mostly Norweigan), and you would've laughed at my delight at seeing tourist items with UFF-DA on them!  UFF-DA is a Norweigan term for OOOPS!  I need to find a bumper sticker that says it!!!!
    I am going to be starting a journal thingy with my daughter... the lady that starts it and provides the daily prompts is at :  http://www.iheartrunwithscissors.com/.  It should be a lot of fun!  We went to Hobby Lobby today and bought some journals... well, actually, I got a 6 x 6 sketch book, and plan to make little scrapbook layouts for each day!  We actually start on 1 June, so check it out if you like and join us!!
   Well, the grandkids are calling!  Take care, God Bless and see you soon!

The End of the World...

Well, it's 2238 (10:38 pm for non military people), and we are all still here...  Guess we still have things to do and places to see and people to love!  Happy Armed Forces Day everyone!

   What a beautiful day it was today, too!  Went BACK to Crop Chocolate warehouse sale, and found some MORE stuff... very excited for these kits I've got in mind!  Can't wait to get designing, but I really need to put away all my stuff and straighten my room.  Can you say DISASTER AREA...  It is needing my immediate attention that's for sure!  Plus, I need to create a special little place for Miss Piper Grace to sit and create with her gramma when she comes to visit!  Fun, fun, fun!!

   I am such a nice and caring wife, that I decided to share my horrible cold with my husband.  The poor guy is miserable...  I sure hope no one else gets it... it sucks!

   If you can come to Roberts on Thursday this week, please come!  We are getting together there one last time!  It won't, however, be the last time we all meet!  Bernie is such a wonderful person, and has offered her basement for us all to gather and giggle and create!  As soon as I know more, I will update you all. 

   I leave for North Dakota on the 27th of May and will return, hopefully in time for Miss Donna's 50th wedding anniversary celebration!  So we will probably be taking a week off, and then hit the ground running with our weekly crafty sessions!

    Take care everyone.  God Bless you and keep you safe!

Third Time's a Charm.. ?

Wow... almost 20 hours of scrapping really whooped me!  Came home Saturday night, and promptly proceeded to sleep for almost 3 hours!  Had tons of fun with my scrappin' buddies... really gonna miss getting together at Roberts.  But, being the optimist that I am, I am so thankful to have met these wonderful ladies and formed some great friendships.  Yes, Roberts is closing a door in one sense, but as they say, when one door closes, another one opens.  We must always keep our hearts and minds open for new opportunities, and dwell on the positives and not the negatives.  The Lord works in wonderful and mysterious ways, and we can only look forward to what He has in store for us all next!  I mean, He did bring us all together in the first place, right?
    Have a great day everyone!!

Number Twooooo!

Wow!  Thanks to my daughter Sophia I now have a really cute backdrop for my new blog-thing!  It is perfect because it fits in with my email (crafty_chick) and All Cracked up Designs!  What can I say, I'm a funny egg!  ha hahahahahaha
   It's a beautiful sunny day, and this silly cold still won't let me get out and enjoy it without hacking all over the place.  Who gave this to me?  hmmmmm.. payback is .. well, you know!
   Excited but sad for our last Cricut Club at Roberts tomorrow (I'll be there with toilet paper in tow for the nose..)   I have met some absolutely amazing women at that store, but we are bound and determned NOT to let this be the end of it!  We WILL get together and have fun no matter where we are!  Friday  night is our last midnight crop (boo hoo), and Saturday we go out in style... wearing black and mourning the loss of our meeting place!  Come join us!
     Until next time, keep a smile on your face and a happy heart!

First time for everything...

Soooo... going to give "blogging" a try!  Why not... I've already tried 'pink' hair (and liked it!).  Now I just need to figure out what to write about... hmmmmmmmmmmmm... 
   This week is a sad week for a lot of us... our Clinton Roberts craft store is closing.  We are going out with a bang though!  Friday night is a midnight crop, and Saturday, we are all going to wear 'black', as we will be in mourning.  However, we will not let this be the end of our wonderful friendships we have formed while scrappin' at the store~!  We will continue meeting weekly for our own version of "cricut club", but we will probably come up with another name for it!  The business name is going to be "All Cracked Up Designs... And no Place to Scrap"!  Thought that was the perfect name since we are always 'cracking each other up'!
   I am looking forward to designing new and fun layouts... there are so many of them mulling around in my brain already!  I just need to get rid of this silly cold that came on all of a sudden on Mothers Day (of all days).  I've been joking all day that my nose is getting all the exercise (continually running).  Seriously, I don't have time for this, so it can leave tonight!
    Anyway, enough blabbing for this time!  Check back often...  Take care and see ya next time!