From This to That

Every other Saturday on the Bella Blvd. blog, we post a 12x12 sketch that's intended to be used for layouts. BUT since I'm a card designer, I get to the fun challenge of taking that layout sketch and turning it in to a card.

It goes from something that looks like this:

To a Thank You card like this:

Bella Blvd. supplies: Sophisticates collection: Sprinkles and Lace MacIntosh, Miniatures stickers (red dot); Socialite collection: Cute Cuts (yellow gingham) , Alpha+Bits; Making the Team collection: Chipboard Icons (stars)

It's a hodgepodge of Bella collections, and I guess when I made this card I still had Disney on the brain. I used my Cricut Expression and the Mickey and Friends cartridge to create a thank you card for my parents since they went with us on the trip. which I've since forgotten to give to them. oops! But anyway, this is my most recent Bella Blvd. project. Be sure to check out the blog for LOADS of inspiration!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

All about family

Our Thanksgiving was all about family again this year as we traveled down to Georgia to spend time with Josh's side of the family. It's HUGE compared to mine. His grandparents are the patriarch and matriarch of a family consisting of 4 children, 10 grandchildren (not including their spouses), and 16 great grandchildren. Here are a couple of pics from the day. And note that not everyone could be there this year so this isn't the complete group.

The big group

The Misner clan

These are most of the great grandkids. We're actually still missing 5 of them.

The 3 babies of the group. Two of them are only 10 days apart and MJ's not too far behind at 10 mos. old. And they're all 3 as white-blonde headed as you can get. Thus the glare and bald looking babies. Can you tell that no one had had a good nap? We were doing good just to get them to sit still together.
These two were inseparable. SK loves Emma as much as Em loves SK. They're just too cute together. And SK eats up all the attention for sure.

And before I go, I need to say thanks to Callie, Josh's cousin, for taking all the group shots. Thank you for your patience and super duper I've-got-camera-envy camera and lens. I really appreciate the work that went in to some of these shots! :) Thank you!!! I now have a picture of the 5 of us that's current! :D

That's all I've got for today. I worked Black Friday 4am-noon and then again yesterday, and I'm BEAT! So I'm also thankful for Sundays--a day to worship, rest, and recover.

Happy Sunday to all!

Mr. Charming and Chef Mickey's

I've just finished up two more layouts with the Scrapbook Nook November kit and wanted to share them with you really quickly. This kit features Echo Park's Times and Seasons collection.

I'm really loving all the navy that comes in it. So perfect for all those boy photos I've been needing to scrap. It works great for some Disney shots too. Consequently, each of the photos on these layouts just so happen to be from our Disney trip a couple of weeks ago.

Mr. Charming Indeed

This picture was taken at Disney, but it's not necessarily a "Disney" layout. I caught McClain playing with his sunglasses, which he refuses to wear, and he thought it was hilarious--kinda like playing peek-a-boo.

Everything here is from the kit and add-on paper selection except for the and Oct. Afternoon green mini alphas and mini clothespin.

Chef Mickey's

And this second one chronicles our meet-n-greet with all the main characters at our character breakfast. Right now I'm lovin' the look of strips of paper and so that's what influenced this design.

Thanks for letting me drop in and share a few quick layouts with you.

Hope all you U.S. girls have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Card Sharks!

My challenge went up yesterday for the Scrapbook Nook's Card Sharks contest. It's a Bingo inspired challenge.

I made my card with the hot-off-the-presses November Nook kit.



Hop on over to the Scrapbook Nook blog and check out it out.

In other news, we're off to Nashville while Mom watches the kids. Josh surprised me with a unexpected anniversary trip! :D I can't wait!!!

Have a great weekend!

A decade later

Ten years ago today I married my sweetheart.

A decade sounds like a long time, but where did all that time go? It's honestly gone by so much faster than I dreamed possible. Maybe it was the lack of sleep that began about 5 years ago and we haven't caught up yet. hee! Regardless, it's been quite the ride. And although there have been major ups and downs, the Lord has blessed us. He's blessed us more than we both deserve. And His patience and faithfulness have most definitely seen us through.

There's so much I love and admire about Josh. And it's the little things that I think I love most. I love that he can name all the Disney Princesses and isn't afraid to admit it. I love that he regularly does the bedtime routine, including reading bedtime stories and going over memory verses with the girls. I love that when he's home, he's HOME, present with us and in the moment. I love that we text and email silly, mushy, little sentiments almost every day. And I appreciate that he loves to surprise me (even though I don't like surprises).

And it's the little things like the fact that he's going to see Breaking Dawn with me this weekend rather than watching the Ole Miss/LSU game. (We know how that'll end anyway.) But usually he'd still like to watch it. He's the eternal optimist. Always has hope. Even when it comes to this year's football woes. But instead he's chosen to go to the movies with me. Because my usual Twilight-movie-premier-goer-friend moved to Florida last year. And he doesn't want me to go alone. I love that about him.

Happy 10 yr. anniversary, babe. I love you!

Free digital printables from Bella Blvd.

Go and check out the Bella Blvd. blog today! Stephanie has designed some adorable digital printables, and wants you to have them. For FREE!

Here's a sneak peek that she made using them.

Wonder FALL

which kinda takes the place of WonderFUL. I created this card as a part of my Bella Blvd. assignments, and I really love it. But then I just really love fall too. To me, it IS full of wonder. I'm so blessed to get to marvel in God's creation each day as I drive around our beautiful little city that's tucked in between such beautiful mountains. The mountains are exploding with color thanks to the gorgeous leaves this time of year really inspired me to create this card, "Wonder FALL".


I used Bella Blvd.'s "Finally Fall" collection along with my handy dandy Cricut Expression (Destinations and Give a Hoot carts) to complete it.

It just so happens that THANKFUL for FALL is the new challenge posted over at Paper Issues too. So if you have a project, anything made with paper, that is either Thanksgiving, Thankful, or has to do with Fall, then link go link it up!

Hope you have a wonderful and restful Sunday!

Nook News and a thank you

Hi everyone! There's been a lot going on at the Nook lately, and I've got several announcements and then a big thank you.

First up are the blog hop winners:

Congrats to our winner of the 3 month sub to our gorgeous kits......Kim H!!!! Woot Woot!!!

Here are the 6 random winners pulled from the comments off the blogs:

Zarah: Thicker Prize Pack
Janet Z: 1 Kit
Jenessa: Thicker Prize Pack
Stephanie Eaken: 1 Kit
Cassandra: Thicker Prize Pack
Mag: 1 Kit

Please send us your mailing info at mysrapbooknookdtATyahooDOTcom

Congrats to all you lucky ladies;)
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The November kit is now up for sale and it is goooooorgeous! Lovely lovely! It is full of Echo Park Times and Seasons:

You can snap your kit or sign up for a subscription HERE.
I can't WAIT to get mine!!
Hello Disney pictures, here I come! :)

Also, more big news, the Nook has created a blog!!! Woohoo!

And to kick it off, we're have a contest. A CARD contest called Card Sharks. Here's what Leah says about it:

Jump in to deep water with the newest contest at the Nook! Card Sharks is a fast paced, four week battle of creativity to find out who the big fish in our amazing pool of talent it! If you enter, you may find yourself doing swimmingly. . .or you may be in over your head!

There will be four weeks of challenges (two per week, plus bonus games) in an elimination style challenge. With opportunities to be cut from the next round (and brought back!) --will you make it to the last round?

The first challenge is up HERE, so go check it out. Oh, and there MAY be a second, bonus challenge posted just a few minutes ago. ;)

K, I think that's about it.

And before I sign off, I just want to say a huge THANK YOU to all the current soldiers, their families, as well as the veterans that have served in our military. Thank you for your service, your sacrifice, and your devotion to our country. I think I've always subconciously been thankful for our military, but it wasn't until I started reading fellow scrapbookers/military wives' blogs did I realize just HOW thankful I truly am. I find myself praying for their deployed husbands while I go about my daily tasks. I rejoice with them when I get to see photos of their sweet reunions. And I read about what it's like to live that life, and I'm THANKFUL that there are people who willing serve our country in this way.

Thank you all. And Happy Veterans Day!

Wordless Wednesday: Picking out pumpkins edition

Happy Wednesday everyone!

There's a new challenge up over at Paper Issues called "Snow Day", which is fitting now that the Northeast has already had their first blizzard. One lucky Paper Issues linker will win the whole line of Pink Paislee's "Snow Day", which I have LOVED working with! And I actually have snow pictures I can use!

Here's my first layout with this collection. I used this week's sketch from Sketchy Thursdays to jump start the mojo.



Products used: Pink Paislee patterned paper, die-cuts, wooden accents; clear Stickles, Tattered Angels mist, AC adhesive

Be sure to link up your Snow Day projects, anything snow related that uses paper, to the Paper Issues blog for a chance to win this great Pink Paislee collection.

Hope you've had happy Monday!


ETA: The DT over at Sketchy Thursdays voted, and mine was chosen as one of their favorites!! So fun!

Happy Birthday Leah!!!

Today's a special day among one of the design team members of My Scrapbook Nook. Our fearless leader, Leah Killian, is turning the big 3-0 today. One of the ways the DT wanted to celebrate was by posting a birthday card in her honor.

So, Leah, I hope you have a fabulous day full of family, friends, rest and relaxation. Happy birthday!


I made this card using the new Oct. Afternoon "Sidewalks" collection (the yellow floral is from "Seaside"). I LOVED the little girl carrying the balloons, and thought she'd be perfect for a special birthday card.

To see more birthday cards made by the Nook DT, click on the names over on my sidebar---------------->

And again, Happy Birthday Leah!

Cards that Care blog hop + card drive

Welcome to the Cards that Care Blog Hop!

You should have arrived here from Loredana Bucaria's blog. If not, you may want to start at the beginning of the hop with Vera Yates' blog.

The holidays are about family, about kindness, and joy. The holidays are also the times when many of the elderly who lives in nursing homes typically feel loneliness and miss their family. Wouldn't it be awesome if we can bring a smile to their face & brighten their holiday season simply by sharing our love of card making? A simple gesture to let them know that they are not forgotten.

That's what this blog hop is all about!

We all love making cards and what’s better than knowing our creations can bring a smile to others? We hope that many of you will help and join us in our effort to spread joy & cheer.

Among the other sponsors of this great event, Bella Blvd. wants to do its part as well. Here I've created a card using the "Christmas Wishes" collection to create a whimsical Santa card that will hopefully bring some Christmas cheer.


Products used from Christmas Wishes: paper:Gifts Galore, Quadrants, Cute Cuts, and Borders; embellishments: Chipboard Icons, Just Write journaling stickers, Alpah+Bits stickers

And now you can participate too!

Here are a few important details:

• This card drive will be going on till November 31, 2011. We will need to receive your cards by November 31, 2011.

• Please make the cards for Christmas or Holiday Wishes. Anyone can send a card, your children, church group, scout troops, etc.

• All cards need to have a message in it. Please also sign your name and where you are from. On the card envelope, write your name on the top left corner. Also, please don't seal the envelope.

• Please stick to just cards. And please don't use any pins (safety reason).

You can mail the cards to either of these addresses:

Jennifer McGuire
P.O. Box 428612
Cincinnati, OH

Vera Yates
P.O Box 17596
Sugar Land, TX 77496

In each package, PLEASE include a piece of paper with your name, address, email address and how many cards you sent. This helps us in keeping track for prizes! For each card you send, you will get a chance. So the more cards you send, the better your chances.

So now get to craftin' and card creatin'! It's for a good cause!

Oh, and hop on over to Kimberly Neddo's blog for more amazing inspiration!

Happy Friday everyone!

Combined interests

***scroll down if you're here for the Scrapbook Nook blog hop***

If you've read my blog very long or known me at all, you know that I love sports. My FAMILY loves sports. In fact, my mom's coming tomorrow for Grandparent's Day at Caroline's school, but I was informed that she would be leaving early Saturday morning so she could get back in time for THE GAME. As in the Alabama vs. LSU football game Saturday night. So I come by it honestly. ;)

When I saw that Bella Blvd. had come out with an adorable sports themed line, I was all over it. "Making the Team" is a great combination of theme-y paper and bright bold patterns that could be used for anything. And somehow Stephanie managed to include every sport I've ever played! (Yes, I played football in college. I was the quarterback for our sorority flag football team. :) Shocking, I know.)

So given the chance to design with whichever collection we would like, I combined my interests and chose to make some sporty cards. ;)




Today also started a weekly feature, Cards on Thursdays, on the Bella blog. So hop on over there and check out what the other card designers made too.

Happy Thursday everyone!


Oh, and for weekend purposes, ROLL TIDE!!!

It's Nook blog hop time!

Welcome to the hop from My Scrapbook Nook!!!!

Just in case you haven't heard yet, the Nook is offering one lucky lady a 3 month subscription to these gorgeous kits and several smaller prizes for other hoppers just for hopping through our blog hop! Here's how you win. There are 7 hidden birds among the design team blogs. Hop to each blog, find the birds and keep track of who's hidden them. Once you've found all seven, email the names to: myscrapbooknookdt@yahoo.com One random winner from those that find all the birds will be drawn to receive a 3 month subscription to the Nook ;)

As for the rest of the prizes, they will be drawn from the designers blogs at random. So comments are optional, but the more you leave the better your chances are of winning a prize, which include kits!!!

For an extra bonus drawing for a $50 prize pack- leave a comment at Danni Reid's link including a link where you have facebooked, blogged or tweeted about this hop- you can leave up to three comments for a shot at that $50 prize pack!

In case you've never received a Nook kit, you need to know that the Nook kits are filled each month with the latest paper collections and embellishments. They are a fantastic deal and the international ladies love the low shipping.

PLUS If you sign up for a 12 month subscription you'll get a free kit after you've reached the 12 month mark! Now that's a bakers dozen of goodness!

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Now on to the hop. Here's what I have to show you today. First up is one last card I used with the wee teeny bits leftover from my October kit. Remnants I tell ya. This kit went sooooo far though. I made 4 layouts, 3 cards, and an altered frame and a tag. So when we say these kits are worth it, we mean it!

For this card I was inspired by the My Mind's Eye button packaging. I also added a remnant of crocheted lace, some chipboard, a specialty button, and all the little bits and pieces of patterned paper I had. Put'em together and THIS is what I got. :)

Thanks for hopping by! Here's the hop order
just in case you need it. ;)

Shellye
Danni
Kim
Pamella
Nicole
Jaz
Deanna<---You're here!
Lisa
Carol
Hilde
Lilith
Marinette
Anna
Jessy
Katarina
Gina
LG
Leah

Just a reminder that this hop ends on Fri., November 4 at 11:59 pm Pacific Standard Time.
Winners will be announced on Sat. November 5th!

And be Sure to check out our Christmas Card Class and New Contest "Card Sharks!" a fast paced, four week battle of creativity!!!!

Now hop on over to LISA KISCH'S blog to check out what she's cranked out with her amazing talent!