Christmas Wishes...

From our family to you and yours, we hope you had an absolutely wonderful Christmas!

I have some video clips I am trying to upload, but so far I haven't been able to get them to work out. As soon as I figure it out, I post them here so you can see clips from our Christmas morning...

Recent Scraps...

Although I haven't been able to scrap very much this past month, here are the pages I have managed to put together amid all the chaos...

Using Sister Sue by Sarah Bennett at FPD

Using Vintage Thankful by Leah Farquharson at FPD

Using the November Grab Bag from Creations by Rachael at Gotta Pixel

Thanks for looking! I really hope to get back into the swing of things soon...once I get our Disneyland and Turkey day pics uploaded, I should have some very fun photos to scrap.

Today We Give Thanks....

I just wanted to wish all of our family, friends, and loved ones a wonderful Thanksgiving. In spirit of today's holiday, I reflected earlier on the many wonderful blessings I am fortunate to have received. I can honestly say that my heart is full and I am so grateful for the amazing people, circumstances, and situations that have contributed to the person I am today and to the life that I know.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you....a hundred times over. I hope everyone had a fantastic Turkey day.

4 Years Old...

Four years and one day ago, these two little cuties were born. I cannot believe how quickly the time has gone by....and I cannot believe that I was blessed with such amazingly sweet, beautiful, smart, fun-loving, caring, daring, mischievous girls. Happy birthday Aiden and Reilly....your papa and I love you so very much!

Reilly and Aiden - 11.2005

Halloween Pics....

Yeah, yeah...I know I am pretty late in getting our Halloween photos posted. Things have been a little crazy lately, with all of us getting sick, the move from AZ to CA, being in limbo at my parents home until we find a place to rent, the twins' birthday, Disneyland, Thanksgiving, etc., etc. With things being so out-of-whack, I haven't had much computer time to blog...or scrap...or do the stuff I usually do on our little laptop. That being said, I will try to get caught up this weekend once all the festivities are over.

Anyway, here is a slideshow of our pics from Halloween. The girls decided to be Musketeers, after one of their favorite movies Mickey and the Musketeers....but since I decided to make the costumes this year, I took the liberty of adding frills and sparkles to make them more girly. Aiden picked out purple fabric and Reilly picked out dark pink...I also made musketeer costumes for me and Doug, but later realized it was a waste of time because neither of us wore them for more than 5 minutes; I guess dressing up just isn't as fun as an adult.

We went to a trunk-or-treat in the church parking lot on Friday the 30th, then went trick-or-treating on the 31st with some of the AZ cousins. We had quite a group that night, including a pirate, a ladybug, Fancy Nancy, a soccer player, and a combat soldier. The girls had a blast...they loved their "mousketeer" capes and swords, but Reilly didn't care for her hat too much because it kept falling off her head. Oh well...you can't win them all.

The best part of Halloween was having Doug join us after being in Cali for three weeks with his new position. I admit, we weren't very "halloween-ish" (i.e. we didn't carve pumpkins and decorations were pretty minimal with the upcoming move and all), but we enjoyed spending time together and tried to have as much fun as possible.

Anyway, enough of my rambling...here are our very belated Halloween pics:

New Look...

Okay, so even though I don't have time for a full post right now to catch up on everything I need to catch up on (sorry...Halloween pics will have to wait a little longer), I did just want to provide the links for the FANTASTIC kits I used to create our new blog look...

Sister Sue by Sarah Bennett - available at Funky Playground Designs
Mingle by Corina Nielsen - available at Funky Playground Designs
Ransom Alpha by Bren Boone Designs - FREEBIE available at DigiScrapAddicts
Fonts: Impact Label and 1942 Report

Thanks for stopping by!! I hope you enjoy the new look...

Rock on Baby...

Seriously, this was WAY too much fun...check out our family's SpoOkY RoCk SessIoN!!

Thanks Julie and Cynth for sharing this...I SOOOO needed the laugh. Hope you don't mind that we joined in the fun!!

P.S. Doug got such a kick out of watching our rock video above, I went ahead and made another one for the groupie back in Fallbrook...it's a little country, a tad bit silly, and a whole lot of FuN!!

Auction for Benson and Claire

My cousin Sara sent me an email about this...it's a cause that is dear to her heart so I wanted to help out by passing it along to anyone who may be interested in donating to the cause.

Benson and Claire were born with a rare genetic disease that causes their liver to produce too much oxalate--called primary hyperoxaluria. Excess levels of oxalate destroy the kidney and may have fatal consequences if transplants are not received. Benson and Clarie are part of the Children's Organ Transplant Association (COTA). This non-profit charity helps children in need of life-saving transplants by organizing volunteers to raise funds for transplant-related expenses.

An online auction has been created to help raise money for these very deserving children. The auction will begin November 2nd at 8:00 am and run through midnight November 16th. The site for the auction is http://bensonandclaireauction.blogspot.com/. Although there is already a fantastic list of auction items, they are looking for businesses or anyone else who would be willing to donate products, services, crafts, gift cards, etc. Donations will be accepted until the auction opens. If you have anything you'd like to donate to the auction, please email Becca at bconlineauction@yahoo.com. All funds made from the auction will be going directly to COTA.

In addition to the online auction, my amazing cousin is also in the process of organizing a benefit concert for Benson and Claire. The concert will feature highly acclaimed pianist Marvin Goldstein, and will be held in the Idaho Falls/Rexburg area. As the concert is still in the planning stages, I don't have much information. However, once I hear something I will post it so that anyone who lives in that area may attend.

For more information about Benson and Claire, please visit http://givehopetobensonandclaire.blogspot.com/ and http://cotaforbensonandclaires.com/

Thanks for letting me share!

Costumes...

So, we've had a bit of a dilemma figuring out what our costumes are going to be this year. The girls have changed their minds at least a dozen times, and despite all the ideas and suggestions we've gone through, we haven't found anything that could be "the" costume....until now. The girls mentioned something earlier today, an idea from one of their favorite Disney movies, and it instantly clicked. Not only will the costumes be something I can make, but it will be easy to pull together...seeing as how we only have a few days left, easy is a must. Also, all four of us can join in with this one, so we'll actually have a matching/themed Halloween...how precious! j/k...

I'm not going to tell you what the costumes are until I find all the supplies...but here's a clue in the meantime:

Scrap Haps...

With Doug being gone, I haven't been sleeping very much...my mind doesn't seem to know how to shut down so that I can snooze. So, what better way to spend those long nights than by scrapping? I know I should probably spend more time packing, but I am without boxes right now so in the meantime, I will gladly spend that extra time scrapping on the computer. Here are my recent pages:

10.06.09 Font Challenge at Funky Playground Designs - Honey Script

10.07.09 Scraplift Challenge at Funky Playground Designs - Fasylvia's gallery @ 2Peas

10.08.09 Product Challenge at Funky Playground Designs - Use a Quote

10.09.09 Designer Challenge at Funky Playground Designs - What are you Thankful For?

10.10.09 Speed Scrap at Funky Playground Designs

10.12.09 NEW Product Release from Miss Tiina Designs - Little Owlie @ FPD

10.12.09 NEW Product Release from Leah Farquharson - Funky Fall Collab with Traci Murphy

10.19.09 Color Challenge at Funky Playground Designs - Black and orange

10.20.09 Font Challenge at Funky Playground Designs - Journal in list format

10.21.09 Scraplift Challenge at Funky Playground Designs - KJ Starre's gallery @ 2Peas

10.22.09 Product Challenge at Funky Playground Designs - Flowers

10.23.09 NEW Product Release from Creations by Rachael - Ladybug Love

**Exclusively at Gotta Pixel**

10.23.09 NEW Product Release from Creations by Rachael - Ladybug Love

**Exclusively at Gotta Pixel**

10.26.09 NEW Product Release from Miss Tiina - Fall Friends @ FPD

10.26.09 NEW Product Release from Tania Shaw - Fab Fall @ FPD

I don't know if I have ever explained the whole "being on a creative team" thing. Basically, as a member of a designer's creative team, I have full access to all their scrap products in agreement that I will scrap with them and promote their designs. For someone who likes to scrap as much as I do, it's perfect because it allows for me to appease my addiction without having to fork out the green (translation: I get to scrap for FREE). I am fortunate to CT for three very talented designers, and recently I also became a member of the site CT at Funky Playground Designs.
YIPPEEE!! I cannot tell you how excited I am. Two of the designers for whom I currently CT sell at FPD, and as I'm sure you are familiar with by now, I LOVE to participate in the site's weekly challenges. As a member of a site CT, I get access to ALL of the designer's products...how sa-weet is that?! There is seriously some amazing design talent at FPD, and I am so looking forward to sharing that designer fabulousness with you.

Now, going back to the whole "promoting" thing. I mentioned a few new releases on my LO's above...if you click the page title, you should be linked to the store for that kit. Additionally, there are a few sales going on that I would like to share with you...


Also, there were a number of new releases today at FPD - I didn't have the time to scrap with all of them, but you can check out the new kits HERE. Just so you know, new products are generally discounted for a week after their release - anywhere from 20% - 70% off!!

My sister-in-law had asked me if I would make some invitations for my niece's birthday party for her preschool class. I figured I would make a couple and let her decide, but two designs quickly turned into five...I had so much fun making these, I just couldn't stop! Here are the different invitations I came up with:

And here is the one that was passed out the kids in her preschool class...turns out she liked the ghost. To complete the invitation, my sister-in-law tied a strip of tulle around it with a plastic spider ring in the knot...they turned out terrifically cute.

Even though the party has already passed, I made these three with some new release kits that came out after the invitations had been printed...they were just too cute not to play with! I suppose I can hold onto them for next year!!

Using [Lil Spooks] from Creations by Rachael @ Plucky Pear Designs



Using [Lil Spooks] from Creations by Rachael @ Plucky Pear Designs



Using [Bump in the Night] by Miss Tiina @ Funky Playground Designs

Well...I think that's about it for now. I may be back later with some fun projects I've had in the works. Thanks for letting me share my love for scrapping with you! Have a great day...

What Do Monsters Look Like?

I just found out that my uber talented brother-in-law is now a published illustrator, and I had to share because I am so extremely proud of him! This is a project that he has been working on for years with a friend of his from high school. I remember seeing the original illustrations (paintings) when I lived with them (way back in the day....before I was married and had kids) and they are seriously fan-freakin-tastic.

"You know that monster that lurked under your bed when you were a kid? Ever wonder what he thought of the monster right over his head? A story told in two voices. First read the story from the child's point of view, then flip the book over to read the story from the little monster's point of view. The little monster's mom doesn't believe him any more than your mom believed you when you were a kid!" - Barnes and Noble

This book was just released in mid-September, and can currently be purchased at Barnes & Noble or Amazon.

Congratulations Ryan!! We are all so proud of you and this monster accomplishment!!

Fun Blog Finds...

Despite our upcoming move, I have been feeling crafty lately and have turned to the internet for some inspiration. I recently discovered (some by way of my sister-in-law Bobbi) a couple of blogs that I instantly fell in love with and felt like mentioning, along with some craft ideas that totally rock my crafting world...

While these projects will have to wait until I can get my hands on a sewing machine, they really inspired me to be better about reusing old clothing. This artist smock is adorable and is accompanied by step-by-step instructions on how to make it. The dresses are refurbished skirts and/or shirts...seriously, how fabulous is that?!

This gal is absolutely amazing...she does a lot of furniture refurbishing, which I dream of doing when we finally get into a home of our own, and she's actually pretty funny as she walks you through her projects....great inspiration mixed with occasional chuckles - my idea of a great blog!

I am amazed at the transformation from the rusty old desks she found on craigslist to the adorable chalkboard desks seen in the second picture. And the necklaces are made from scrapbook paper, scrabble tiles, and good ol' modge podge - sounds quick and easy to me!

Somewhat Simple is a really great site because it provides inspiration for so many different areas of your life...not just sewing, not just crafting...but also cleaning, cooking, and kids' activities. Here are some crafts that I am dying to try...

I hope to be back in the next couple of days with pictures of completed projects...but in the meantime, click on the header images for each blog so you can check out their total fabulousness.