November Wrap-Up

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journaling: We spent Thanksgiving at home this year- the first time in many years. Mark made the turkey, cranberry
sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy and squash while Melinda made green bean casserole, stuffing, spoonbread, sweet potatoes, and of course pumpkin pie. It was nice to enjoy the day together at a relaxed pace.
credits: by Michelle Coleman at LittleDreamerDesigns: Thanksgiving Day and Thanksgiving Day Sample; Template by Aly Hall from Cookies 4 Kids 2010 at SweetShoppeDesigns.com; by Pixel Works: File It Under (retired); By Kate Hadfield: Heavy Duty Staples (retired); Kristin Aagard: Happy Haunters Alpha (blog freebie)
fonts: CK Invitation

It was quite the holiday weekend, to say the least.  Let's see if I can keep the weekend events to short novel-length :P

We had a 5 day weekend respite from all activities because of the holiday and I was looking forward to sleeping in Wednesday. I woke up to the sound of the vacuum cleaner running and the first floor of the house totally turned upside down. I spent the afternoon after getting the SBG spotlight posted trying to make some semblance of order out of the mess of my LR just so I could walk around. The big thing that DH did was move my big computer armoire I use for my paper scrapping supplies into the main LR area next to the table that I now use for my digital scrapping stuff. Of course to do that he had to empty it, as it weighs a ton by itself not to mention the ton of supplies that were packed into it. He took the kids out for lunch and I opted not to go so I could keep working and I had to run to the library to pick up a bunch of books for Carissa that had come in. He was gone a lot longer than I expected and when he did finally come home he told me to get in the car and come with him while the kids stayed at home. Not really knowing what to expect I just did what he asked and went with him. He took me to a big furniture store on the other side of town and told me we were picking out new furniture for the family room. So we did- a new couch big enough to seat all 7 of us at the same time, a tv console for all of the electronics sitting on the floor and table we were currently using, and a trunk-coffee table piece. We arranged for it to be delivered on Saturday.

We spent Thanksgiving at home, just us. That was fine, it was nice to stay home. DH helped cook so the day was pretty relaxed. In between cooking we worked on the house. I cleaned out the closet containing all of my old Creative Memories product, freeing it up for other scrapbook supplies I was keeping. I sent off an email to a consultant I still give referrals to asking if she would help me sell it. I had decided this summer it was time to get rid of the vast majority of it- most I had kept originally after quitting being a consultant intending to finish up some albums I had started and some other projects- but I hadn't really figured out what I was going to do to get rid of it and not feel like it was a total waste of good supplies and money. After not getting to any of it in all of these years it was time to admit I wasn't going to do them and let it go, hopefully getting at least some of the $ back I had invested in it. DH and I spent a couple of hours after the kids went to bed planning where we were going and what we were going to get during the Black Friday sales the next morning.

In the wee-hours after only a couple of hours of sleep we got up and headed out to try and get the items we wanted. After bombing out at the first store we went to because we weren't going to stand in line inside the store just to find out they didn't have what we wanted for one of the kids, we spent 45 minutes standing in line in the freezing cold at an electronics store. DH got his surround-sound system and I got the video camera I wanted at this store without too much drama- only had to have the manager figure out why it wasn't giving us the free movie disc burner we were supposed to get with the video camera. Our next stop was Target – and we got what we wanted in a short amount of time. Out in the parking lot the inconsiderate person parked next to us left their shopping cart right in back of our van instead of walking it back to the cart return- we saw them do it and then leave. It was maybe 5:30 at this point- still dark and we were starting to feel the lack of sleep. After putting the cart in the return I dashed back to the van to put the newly purchased item in my hand in the back since DH had it open for what he was carrying. He didn't notice me at the edge of the van and slammed the back door down on top of me- the door hit me on the left back side of my head and pushed the right side of my face into the back edge of the van- big huge ouch! I was seeing stars. If I hadn't had my glasses on I'm sure it would have been worse. Miraculously my glasses weren't damaged- investing some extra into the super-flexible metal frames was worth it this time for sure. We had a couple more stops, and while my head was hurting it wasn't horrible so we went on. Our last stop was Staples an hour later where I was looking for PSE9- a bust in the store, but it didn't take long to find that out at least. They might have had more copies since all they had on the shelf were empty demo boxes for all of the software, but no one was available who might have been able to check for me. So we headed home and I checked out their website and just ordered it online for the same price with free shipping- that works too LOL

I took some ibuprofen and headed back to bed for a nice long nap just as the first of the kids were getting up. I pretty much was fighting a massive headache all day on Friday, especially over my right eye where I had hit the side of the van. A few hours later I was starting to sport a nice black eye, which wasn't a surprise.

We put up the Christmas tree and decorated the fireplace mantle Friday- had to get the boxes put up again since they were were the new furniture was going the next morning. I helped Bryce rake up the last of the tree leaves in the yard Friday afternoon too. The couch and tv console were delivered Saturday afternoon, later than expected. The trunk we bought was damaged when the guys loaded the truck so we didn't accept that one. They brought the replacement piece Monday morning. I've tried to keep plugging away at the mess and it is actually down a lot, but there is still a lot to get through. I need to do some more weeding and tossing. The new couch is nice, it is nice to have enough room for everyone to sit down on furniture instead of half of us being on the floor when we watch movies together.

All in all, the weekend was pretty good. I had been thinking it would be nice to have my scrapping armoire next to my computer table for a little while, but I hadn't mentioned it to DH as the amount of work to move it was daunting- still is even at about 80% through the whole process. At least I am getting to the end of it, finally.

Bryce had a jazz band concert on November 10 and his first cornet recital November 21. I videoed his songs from the recital with my ipod so I could show them. He did really well!

Bryce playing Ballad in Blue by Robert Girlamo. November 21, 2010. Mark is accompanying him on the piano.

and his second piece was a duet with his teacher, Greg Arnold. They played Blue Skies by Irving Berlin.

Here are some pages I did in November- a few from November’s events and some from older dates- the usual mix ;)

credits: Srsly Stoked by Kim Jensen and Kate Hadfield at Scrapdish.com and The-Lilypad.com; Learning to Sew V2 by Pamela Donnis; template by Roadside Designs for Weeds & Wildflowers Designs template challenge
fonts: TXT Scribbletti

 
journaling: This November afternoon was filled with Thanksgiving activities- making quick costumes for Brenna & Sarah so they could dress up for AWANA that evening, baking mini pumpkin pies to share, and collecting canned food from friends for the Care and Share food drive at school.
credits: at scrapbookgraphics: Basic Buds Vol1 by Buttercup Designs, Everyday 365 Kit Collection (November, solids, flair, and Word Bits) by Baers Garten
fonts: Typewriter

A page about DH's short-lived stint in the Navy.
credits: by Pixel Works at The-Lilypad.com: Always Remember Papers, Always Remember Elements & Alphas, Soldier Stuff Addon, waves from Where Are We? (retired) ; fonts: Typewriter

 
credits: Impressions of Comfort Home by the Studio Girls at scrapbookgraphics.com; fonts: CK Heritage

 
Title page for my 2010 album.
credits: Everyday 365 Kits Collection by Baers Garten at scrapbookgraphics;
font: CK Cursive

 
credits: by Re Kneipp at scrapbookgraphics.com: Color My World with Damayanti Designs and Have a Nice Day Templates; fonts: MA Sexy

 
journaling: There’s nothing quite like getting a brand new box of markers to use. One of Sarah’s favorite things to do is draw and color- in coloring books or on pieces of scratch paper where anything she can imagine comes to life. One of my favorite ‘everyday gifts’ is a new picture drawn just for me by Sarah.
credits: at scrapbookgraphics.com: Doodlemania.ink by Dawn Inskip, Clustered 1-4 by Dutchie for The Lab, Metallicalpha Collection by Flergs; fonts: CK Handprint

 
credits: by Dianne Rigdon at 2PeasInABucket.com: Now I Lay, Journalique Elements (crochet lace), retired: Summer Living Pink Lemonade (ric rac), Little Buddies Glitters; portrait by Roseanne Miske Photography
fonts: Cezanne

 
journaling: Brenna takes ballet, tap and jazz dance classes each week, but her favorite by far is ballet. Her toes are always pointed just so, even without a teacher’s reminder. The audience can tell that she really feels the music and tries to interpret it with her movements, a skill that is hard to teach. She loves the music, the precision, the movements, and of course, the pretty tutus she gets to wear. She is a beautiful ballerina already, and I look forward to watching her improve as she learns more in years to come!
credits: at scrapbookgraphics: Ballet Recital by Dawn Inskip, Sketch Collection 34 by Jen Caputo ; fonts: SP Wonderful Wendy

Last Week’s Layouts

credits: The Whisper About Fall and Playing with Overlays 7 by Natali at scrapbookgraphics; fonts: University Roman LET

I did this next one for the Studio Lorie playday on the SBG blog last Monday. Lorie’s kits always remind me of storybooks come to life, so that is what I scrapped- Brenna surrounded by books that are literally coming to life all around her. Yes, it took me a full day to get this one done, but some times you just can’t deny the pictures in your head ;)

 
credits: Everything by Lorie Davison at scrapbookgraphics.com: Bouncing Brownies and Bunnies, Faerily Moonlit, Ticket to Dragon's End, Hoppin' Frog Jamboree, A Pioneer Story, Rough To the Touch, Buzibugs' Happy Birthday, Flying Dreams Storybook, Bunnies, Bees and the Birds Big Balloon
fonts: TXT Annesia

and now that it is October, Halloween Kits are starting to make their appearance in the stores. Saxon came out with this awesome collab at scrapbook-elements this week called Googly Moogly. I had a bit of fun doing some hybrid crafting with it- a spooky coffin box I designed around the coffin lid element, and a couple of fun spiral popup cards.

   

P365: September 2009

credits: Sweet November by Dani Mogstad at SweetShoppeDesigns; 365 Project Templates by Amy Pearson

A Beautiful Fall Weekend

I know I’ve said it before, but the weather here in Colorado can be crazy! It is the middle of September and it was snowing here this morning and afternoon. yes. snowing. in the middle of September. It is much too early for this!! I have a feeling it is going to be a long, cold, wet winter.

It was a beautiful fall weekend though with mild temperatures and lots of sun to keep things bright and cheery (the calm before the storm). Saturday afternoon after lunch we headed down to Penrose to the Happy Apple Farm to see about getting some fresh apples. We hadn’t been down there since I was pregnant with Sarah, so Brenna didn’t remember it at all.  We came home with a few apples and a couple of pumpkins. There were still quite a few apples on the trees, but our favorites the Gala were all already picked. There were lots of Golden and Red Delicious still, but because of the high numbers of apples on the trees most of them were pretty small this year. So we didn’t get many apples. I still have to make apple crisp out of what we did bring home- I just haven’t felt like doing all of the coring and peeling yet. This was the first weekend that the pumpkin patch was officially open, so there were lots to choose from there. Hopefully the pumpkins will last until Halloween gets closer sitting in the garage.

journaling:  It’s been several years since we last visited the Happy Apple Farm in Penrose. There is nothing quite like apples picked fresh off the tree with your own hands. Because hail destroyed the whole crop last year , this year the trees were dripping with apples. They were a little small, but they sure did taste yummy!
credits: Delicious and Tiny Vellum Dates by Ellie Lash at scrapbookgraphics
fonts: CK Constitution

  journaling: We spent quite a bit of time at the Happy Apple Farm pumpkin patch looking for the perfect pumpkin for the family, but Sarah wanted a little one of her own. We finally found one just right for her while walking back to the farm shop. Sarah was very happy when we left the farm to head home.
credits: at scrapbookgraphics: Primitive Fall by Jen Ulasiewicz, Sketch Collection 25 by Jen Caputo, Mixed Stitches 2 by Manuella Zimmerman, Newsworthy Alpha by Birgit Kerr; Date Bits 19 by Misty Cato at SweetShoppeDesigns; fonts: TXT Abrasive

And a LO about Sarah’s latest obsession about her looks- freckles. She has at least moved on from insisting she has green eyes- she is back to being content with her blue eyes.

journaling: It's Sarah's latest obsession about her looks -whether or not she has freckles like she sees on the cheeks of some of her older siblings. I don't know why she has become so concerned about things like this. Is it just because she wants to be assured that she really does belong in our family? she wants to be just like them? or something else entirely I don't realize? I reassure her that yes, she does have a few freckles dotting her cheeks that make her look cute and try to move the conversation on. I wonder what the next thing is going to be?
credits: Primarily Educational (recolored), Mixed Paint Alpha (recolored), Eclectic Templates No. 1 (retired), and Teeny-Tiny Torn Tags by Jessica Bolton at funkyplaygrounddesigns; fonts: Tom's New Roman

The aspen leaves around town are starting to turn. It’s a little earlier than usual this year, probably because of the cooler and wetter summer. They always turn a bit sooner up in the higher elevations because of the colder temperatures, and it is always a glorious sight. We haven’t been up to the mountains to take pictures of the aspens in a couple of years now. Mark thinks next weekend will be ideal to see them, so maybe that will be the Saturday outing if the weather is nice since we don’t have any dance things scheduled that day. So, in the meantime I’m still going back and scrapping these older photos- some of them more than once now. I need some new material! You can’t beat the view though, no matter how old they are ;)

credits: Golden Days by Pixel Works at scrapartist; Layered Up Page Templates Vol 1 by Tania Shaw at funkyplaygrounddesigns; fonts: Times and Times Again

credits: Golden Days and Golden Days Addon by Pixel Works at scrapartist; Date It by Amber Clegg at scrapartist

Catching up on some layouts

I evidently haven't been very good about posting everything here as I get them done- oops! so, here are a bunch of new layouts for you to see.

My friend, Jess Gordon, is opening up a store over at SunshineStudioScraps and I got to play with her new kit, Christmas Heart. It's a gorgeous kit- great job, Jess!

journaling: We bought this hand-crafted pyramid in Rotenburg, Germany, and this was the first year I had put it out during the holidays in a while. The girls were fascinated with the nativity characters spinning by candlepower.
credits: Christmas Heart by Jess Gordon at SunshineStudioScraps; Worn Overlays by Manuela Zimmerman at scrapbookgraphics.com; fonts: CK Script and CK Becky

and here's the layout I did last month for Jess with her Cozy Sweater kit
credits: Cozy Sweater by Jess Gordon at CRD Block Party; Fall Colors by Dianne Rigdon at scrapartist; Scruffy Stitches by Amy Hutchinson at After5Designs; Rubon action by Atomic Cupcake; Pencil Lines Template 106 by Michelle Filofonts: Persimmon

Brenna and Sarah playing with my old baby doll we found in Grandmama's storage unit a couple of weeks ago.

journaling: I found my old baby doll in a box in my mom’s storage unit, and brought her and her bed back to the house for the girls to play with. Sarah was instantly enamoured of my old toy and carried her around, fed her and placed her in her bed for naps. The other girls got a few minutes with the precious baby every once in a while too. It was difficult to convince Sarah that Baby Doll needed to stay with Grandma where she would be safe and could be played with the next time we came for a visit.
credits: Phil & JayMay from the Young Love Collection and Everyday Basics Classic Frames by Chere Kaye at FunkyPlaygroundDesigns; stitched alpha freebie by Syrin; Templates With Attitude blog freebie by Tracy Blankenship; fonts: CK Becky

A couple more pictures from the Balloon Classic this fall:

journaling: The Colorado Balloon Classic is a Colorado Springs tradition and one we enjoy participating every year over Labor Day weekend. We go to at least one of the morning liftoffs to enjoy the beautiful colors of the balloons against the blue Colorado sky and mountains. It is hard to get up early on a morning when I would rather sleep in, but it is always worth the extra effort. August 30, 2008
credits: Skidamarink by Libby Weifenbach and Chere Kaye; Templates with Attitude 18 and Toolbox 11 Templates by Tracy Blankenship at FunkyPlaygroundDesigns; fonts: CK Extra and Times New Roman

Sarah reaching into her stocking last Christmas to see what was inside

credits: Holiday Fancy and Holiday Fancy Add-on by Dianne Rigdon at Scrapartist.com; Pencil Lines 106 template by Michelle Filo; candy canes and striped bow from Krafty Christmas Collection by Melinda Staley at Scrapdish; scruffy Stitches by Amy Hutchinson at After5Designs; fonts: CK Elsie

and a layout I did for the currrent Hodge Podge challenge to count your blessings. I used Holly McCaig's newest kit for this one.

journaling: I used to wish my family was a little bigger as a kid. We lived far away from our relatives and didn’t see them very often. They say, “be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it.” Mark and I had talked about 3 or 4 kids- I always thought 3 would be a good number. I didn’t count on having a set of twins or one last surprise after we thought our family was complete. Things are just about always noisy and messy , but I wouldn’t have it any other way now, of course . Six blessings may be bigger than I originally planned, but it is the perfect size- I should have dreamt a little bigger!
credits: Dream Big and felt heart from Jubilee (recolored) by Holly McCaig at HollyMcCaigDesigns; Hodge Podge Challenge template by Emily Powers; fonts: CK Becky

Fall Leaves and a freebie

I mentioned how gorgeous our maple tree was this fall a couple of posts ago. Well, here are the pictures finally.


Just a day after I took the above photos, a cold-front came through with high winds and knocked most of the leaves off the tree and into the yard. Of course the girls have had fun playing in them ;) Bryce hasn't been out there cavorting with them this year for some reason, so you won't see him in the photos. I got Sarah and Brenna out in the yard before we started raking them up, so there is a pretty carpet of red and orange leaves all around them.




The twins wanted to jump in a leaf pile, so they got out the rakes and made themselves one to jump in.



I have managed to scrap one of the photos I took with Chere's new fall papers, and I had to add in some of the leaves from off our tree which I was glad I had taken the time to pick and scan after taking the photos of the tree.

credits: by Chere Kaye at FunkyPlaygroundDesigns.com: Fall Foliage and Fall Solids papers, Glimmer Leaves, alpha and trim from Caleb and Stacey; Cookie Decorating 101 template by Jaclyn Bernardo for SweetShoppeDesigns; maple leaves by me; worn overlays 2 by SomethingBlueStudios at catscrap; fonts: SBC Calligrapher 2000

I hope some of you reading this can use some gorgeous maple leaves for your layouts too! Enjoy scrapping with them. You can download the leaves HERE.

I've been working on something new for the store for the Digital Scrapbook Day celebration we have planned at Scrapdish. My little idea turned into a very big project that I have spent almost a week on now. I hope to have some previews ready to show off tomorrow!