Faves of 2011

2011 was a good year for me scrap-wise. I was very blessed and fulfilled several of my goals: I made the My Scrapbook Nook DT, I also made the Bella Blvd. DT, and I finally, after countless attempts, got a layout picked up for publishing with Scrapbook Trends. So overall, I count it as a very successful year. Like I said, I've been very blessed and I don't take that for granted.

So without further adieu, here are my favorite layouts from 2011, from the ones that I can show for now. ;)

"Baby it's Cold Outside"

Documenting McClain's first snow,
and one of the several that we had this past winter, I
like the title on top of the tags, and the
snowflakes on the side.

"Sweet Adoration"

Quite possibly my favorite of all the favorites,
I LOVE these pics of Caroline and her
Baby Alive doll Kayla, especially since she's
grown out of the doll phase for now.
And I really love the vintage feel to
the whole page.

"Me & My Boys"

I really love that even though it's supposed
to be a "boy" page, I was still able to add pearls,
eyelet lace, and flowers. I like the combination
of girly embellishments meet a boy page.

"Lil Buddy"

Aww...he's still my lil buddy, but look how
bald he is! This is EXACTLY why I scrap. I
also love the string, the pinwheels, and of course
the October Afternoon paper on this one. PLAID!

"Hello Spring"

This was one of my assignments for
My Little Shoebox, working with a sketch provided
to us by Aphra, and I still really like the
way it turned out.

"Everyday Life"

Again, I think this is one of my favorites not
only because I like the design but because these are
NOT our everyday moments anymore.
These dress-up days that used to happen every
single day now only happen now on Saturdays.

"Deep In Thought"

Okay, I'll admit it. I really like the photography
on this one. I love that I captured her mood.
I also really liked this line from Pebbles--all
those different shades of pink and peach.

"Unscripted Moment"

Not my really typical style, but another moment
that I'm glad I captured. I was channeling
my inner Maggie Holmes on this one and I'm
happy with the way it turned out. I had fun
creating the masked/misted portion of the title.

"Sweet Summer Memories"

Quite possibly my favorite summer themed line,
I LOVE the colors and distressed
feel of this Simple Stories line. It worked so
perfectly with our pics from the lake.

"Fond Memory"

At the risk of sounding like a broken record,
I'm so glad I re-scrapped this pic in order to get
the journaling right this time. The picture
says it all, and I wanted to reflect on it more
the 2nd time around. Also, I'm really liking
layered/staggered paper look right now,
and of course doilies too.

So those wrap up my 2011. LOTS of fun memories caught on film. Apparently it's the everyday day-in and day-out pictures I like best, since those are the ones that are most represented here. But then that's what scrapping is all about, so I'm very proud to have documented these. They're so indicative of our life as we know it. And of course it's been a fun journey--both in life and in the scrap world. Looking forward to a wonderful 2012!

She's a Shutterbug

Just a quickie to share a rare 2-page LO I did of Sarah Kate. She'd gotten a Barbie camera for her 3rd birthday and it was almost scary how quickly she started snapping, posing everyone, and saying "say cheese" (which I don't do btw). I mean, within seconds she was clicking away. And almost 2 years later, she STILL carries that camera around taking pics of everything...ahem... just like her mommy. ;)

This one's created with a lot of Bella Blvd. and a ticket from my My Mind's Eye stash.

Oh--and guess what I get to play with this next week??!! THIS! I'm so excited!



Hope you're enjoying the aftermath of Christmas! :D

Merry Christmas!

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God."

John 1:1

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,
which is Christ the Lord. "
Luke 2:11

I hope you and your family have a very MERRY Christmas!

A couple of Christmas Wishes

I have a couple of cards posted on the Bella Blvd. blog today. I made both of them with the holiday line, "Christmas Wishes". I really love it because not only does it include traditional colors, but bright and bold ones too. Right up my alley! :D


This card has so much depth and is so front-heavy that I actually had a hard time getting it to stand up! LOL! For this one I wanted to play with layering, so I piled on the elements--an accordion flower thingy, a chipboard tree, and then a wavy banner with the sentiment to top it off. I also accented the tree's details with a little sparkle because I love cards that have a little shimmer to them. The picture really doesn't do it justice.


And for this one, I played with one of my punches and the idea of repetition. It ended up creating a quilt-like effect that I really like. Since the background was a little busy, I kept the rest simple by adding the blooms, a die-cut, and a quick sentiment.

And now I wish I could say that these two are in the mail, or that I have ANY cards in the mail, but I can't. It's one thing that I never got done. Oh I have cute picture cards sitting on my counter. I even have a few envelopes addessed. But that's as far as I got. :( I had wanted to add some twine and a stamped sentiment to make them a little more festive since the picture I used was one took in August. . BUT they're still sitting there. Maybe I'll send out a few at the last minute. For now, these Bella cards posted on my blog will have to do.

Gift card holder tutorial

***Please scroll down for Bella Blvd. blog hop***

If you're in the same boat I'm in, then you're running a tad bit behind this holiday season. The quick and easy gift that's sure to please is a gift card, and we're giving several this year. The only problem is that ours didn't come with an envelope. SO, I saw some really cute gift card holders that my friend (and cousin) Gretchen made, and thought I'd make my own. The only problem is that I wish I'd had some specific dimensions to go with them so there wouldn't be any "thinking" to it. SO, I've provided you with some just to keep your holiday as easy and stress free as possible.

And seriously? The great thing about these gift card holders is that they took me MAYBE 5 minutes to make. And that's with all my little interruptions who are all home from school now. ;) So here ya go.

To start you'll need one 12x12 sheet,
your trimmer, a score board (or you could
just measure), a corner rounder, some adhesive and stickers

First start off by cutting a 4 x 12" paper strip
then on your scoreboard, score the following lines.

At the 7 1/4 line, cut your paper.

Then round the 2 corners of the shortest side
(the side you just trimmed).

Use some adhesive to attach your gift card.

Folder your card holder at the scored lines.
Then cut a 1" strip of coordinating paper.
In this case, I just used the opposite side.

Wrap the strip around your card holder,
and use a sticker to "seal" the ends.
Voila! A super quick gift card holder.

And if you use double-sided paper, then you can
always make one from the opposite side as well. ;)

So there you have it. Maybe that will help simplify life a little for you. I hope it will. Now to go take that pile of laundry that needs to be folded!

Happy Tuesday!

Hi everyone! Welcome to the surprise Birthday Blog Hop for Stephanie Hunt, the wonderful owner/creator of Bella Blvd.

You should have arrived here from my dear friend STACEY's blog. If not, then those that are just joining in will want to go to start of the hop at the Bella Blvd blog.

To create my card I used the "Hello Beautiful" collection, which I still love, along with the aqua sheet from Sophisticates, and the sentiment is found on the Sophisticates miniature stickers.

Even though it's Stephanie's birthday, Bella Blvd. has some gifts for a few of you lucky readers as well! We all know how generous and giving Stephanie is, and she would never have a fun blog hop without a few giveaways up for grabs too. All you need to do to be entered to win is leave Stephanie your birthday wishes in my comment section. We'll pick TEN winners from TEN different blogs, and we'll announce the lucky winners on Friday on the Bella Blvd. blog!

Now hop on over to Katherine McElvain's blog, your next stop on our blog hop!

And again, Happy Birthday Stephanie!

Our family rules--DIY Subway Art

Hmmm...I'll be honest here. With the holidays coming up I'm finding that my scrap time has considerably taken a backseat to all the other activities of the season. But still wanting to blog and post something creative, y'all may be getting tired of seeing my little ones, I realized that I never posted this. It's one of my favorite Cricut Circle projects/assignments that I created back in September. BUT, the good news is, it's a great time to share it with you now. Soooo...I give you my version of the popular Family Rules subway art.


The first time I saw the Family Rules subway art, I knew immediately that I wanted to make one for our family. The many, MANY fonts that I have with all the Cricut cartridges I've collected help me make just that. And while the order of importance isn't necessarily the same, these ARE values and sayings we DO say around our house (ahem..."Obey Right Away" gets said almost if not daily. ;) ), and we DO act silly and most definitely dance crazy. So it's a fun little token that hangs in our kitchen so I can see it everyday.

To make it, I layered strips of paper on top of the canvas in an attempt to distress it a little. In retrospect I would've skipped this step. Then I cut LOTS of phrases and fonts in many many sizes then fit them onto the canvas. It was a lot like working a puzzle. When it was finally the way I wanted it, I spray-painted it black. Once dry, I peeled off the letters and was left with my very own subway art. And I love it, imperfections and all. So glad I ran across it in my old picture files.

Thanks for letting me share! Hope you all are enjoying your holiday season!

The December Bella Buzz

The Bella Buzz Newsletter is up and ready. Check it out here. And here's a sneak peek of what's in store. Looks wonderful, doesn't it?

Saturday Sketch and a girls day away

This past Saturday was Sketch time over at the Bella Blvd. blog, and I made a project with it.

Here's the sketch:

And my card:

I was really drawn to the title portion of the sketch and the way the tags were positioned, half-hidden and staggered, so I used that as the inspiration for my card. I cut out 2 mini flashcards from the "Petite Pieces" paper, then added the chipboard "merry"on top to complete my sentiment. And to give my card a little added oomph, I used strips of miniature heart pattern (found on the "Quadrants" sheet) to make a bow like a Christmas present. It's really fun taking layout sketches and turning them in to cards. I should challenge myself to do it more often, because I really like it!

Also on Saturday, the girls and I got away from the boys a bit and went and saw a production of Beauty and the Beast. It was really fun because we knew kids in the cast, and they were amazing performers.

Me and the girls before we left for the show.

A shot after they're human again. We knew Chip, and 2 girls who were in the ensemble.

And then of course Caroline with Belle. She goes back and forth between Mulan and Belle as her favorite princesses. I love that gap-toothed smile.

And THAT is how we spent our Saturday. Lots of fun! :D

16 months

I know I haven't been entirely faithful about blogging McClain's milestones each month, but it IS a way (the only way) I'll remember later on so I'm going to continue to post them when I remember to.

So here's what he's up to at 16 months:
--eating us completely out of house and home. And here I thought the girls were big eaters. But Little Man can put down 8 silver dollar-sized pancakes easily.
--Nilla wafers are the best bribe around. He loves them. I mean, L.O.V.E.S. them. Totally recognizes the box, insists on holding it throughout the grocery shopping trip, and pounds his chest (saying Please) for me to open them.
--is definitely able to make his wants, wishes, and needs known. I'm always amazed at how well little ones can speak without actually knowing how to talk yet.


--loves balls and dogs. Those are his two biggies. So what's he getting for Christmas? More balls and perhaps another stuffed dog. He's taken Sarah Kate's stuffed Barbie dog and claimed it as his own already.
--loves playing ball and fetch. He'd play it all day. Peek-a-boo is up there too, but not as much as it used to be.
--loves to read books. He's found one in particular that has a ball on one page and a dog on the next that are the only 2 pages he likes to read! lol!


--he's turned in to a Daddy's boy. Why, oh why, do they all like him more?! (j/k) But what's totally cute is that he's confused and calls Josh "mama" too. All day long while Josh's at work, McClain will say "dada". But then once he's in his sights it's "mama" all the way. TOTALLY makes me laugh.
--besides ball, dog, mama and dada, he also says "mo" for more, hot, hat, and I think he said what sounded like book this afternoon. But not going to count that one yet. ;)

That pretty much sums him up--balls, books, Nilla wafers, and of course that smile I can't resist!