Happy to be creating

january nook kit

2012-01-28T09:15:00.000-06:00

I had my Nook January kit in my hands early early this month. I think even before Christmas? But with moving and all that comes with it (why is it that the scrap supplies are the last to get unpacked?) I hadn't had much time to delve into it.

Now the January kit is sold out, so all new subscriptions will start with February...which features October Afternoon Sasparilla:

You can snag yours HERE!!!!

I still want to share some of my January projects though, plus I had a challenge go up today for the New Year Crop, and I would love to see you participate in for a chance at winning the December kit.

Here is one of the layouts I made with the kit (the other one needs to get photographed!):

Love these pictures of little A...these were when she was 3!!

some detail shots:

I am obsessed with this chevron paper. The kit came with 2 sheets, but I need about 4;)

The next 3 cards, I made as examples for my challenge:

I still have a layout to share and I might make some more cards up with this kit....for some reason I am finding Lily Bee easier to make up cards? I adore the colors in this line for love-y, valentine cards;)

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!!

new space

2012-01-23T09:58:00.000-06:00

Finally getting around to posting pictures of my new scrap space. In the kitchen, there is a breakfast nook, but since we have a pretty large dining room table here, I snatched up that space as my own:)

Here is a peek standing in the kitchen, looking towards my desk:

Looking out how I have it set up now...I can't believe how I just had all this stuff next to our bed in the condo!

Here is a peek at the shelves:

from left to right, top to bottom I have:
stickers, paper and cardstock, American Crafts goodies, binder with rub-ons, mists, buttons, embellishments, ormolu goodies, nook kits, inks/paints, stamps, embellishments, drawers have twine and bling in them, jar of ribbon

a view of this shelf:

the smaller shelf on the left holds my punches. the tall shelf from top to bottom:
magazines, basket of extra adhesive, miscellaneous things, box of cards, homeless layouts, all my albums.

in front of the shelf is all of my sewing stuff...which will hopefully get used now that it's not in our closet;)

and a peek of the top of my desk...which has a peek of a challenge I am doing this Saturday for the Nook crop;)

this space certainly isn't fancy or matching, but I love it:) I am one happy girl to have a dedicated space to scrapbook in again:)

i have to share

2012-01-19T20:55:00.000-06:00

this.

After working 5 days in a row (someone has been on vacation, I normally work 3), I have been a tired mama. Then this afternoon was kinda blah...kids fighting, throwing all out fits over who got to push the baby doll in the toy stroller, not cleaning up their toys and me threatening to throw them away, not eating their dinners...then on to the evening routine and fits over brushing their hair, teeth, and more over that ~~damn~~ darn baby stroller...a pretty typical evening?

But there were a few bright spots. Like when we played "airplane," where I lay on the floor and put my feet on the kid's tummy and hold their hands and lift them in to the air...and tickles, lots and lots of tickles. Then me and the kiddos snuggled in to A's bed (Shaun was working tonight) and reading this before bed and having the kid's burst into giggles every time I said "hoobie doobie." Then the kisses and snuggles that come before tucking them in.

After the childrens, as Shaun and I call them, were sleeping tight, I plopped on to the couch and started going through google reader. I read this post on Karen Russell's blog and decided to check out the article. As I was reading it, it started to make me cry. A good cry. She hit the nail totally on the head.

Then I came to share it with you all, and I hope that you will share it with all the mamas you know:)

ten on wednesday...scrappy edition

2012-01-18T10:34:00.000-06:00

totally missed Tuesday...oops! I have been a bad, bad blogger. I am totally blaming it on the move...we are finally pretty much settled in, thank goodness! I am itching to get into my new scrap space, I have worked a little in there and it is nice having my supplies at my fingertips...not in a separate room!

Anyways, lots of scrapbook shares/news, so this list will be pretty much dedicated to that;)

1. First of all THIS! I am so excited! I love that collection from Little Yellow Bicycle and can't wait to play with it! I am so happy my fellow Nook dt member, Shellye, will be designing along with me:)

2. Ormolu launched a new website recently...check it out! I think it looks awesome! The blog took a little break over the holidays, but is back on full force with some great projects:)

3. My Scrapbook Nook has a month long crop going on, with new challenges posted on Saturday and Sunday, check out the challenges, there are some pretty good prizes to be won...including a chance at the now sold-out January kit.

4. Through the 20th...if you sign up for a new subscription at the Nook, we will send you a free December kit! Read more about that HERE.

5. CHA sneaks are popping up everywhere now...to say I am excited about the American Crafts sneaks is a major understatement. I am pinching myself all over again that I get to work with them!!! Here is a peek at Dear Lizzy's new line, Neapolitan:

yes. that is ruffled paper:)

These come as pictured...how cute are they? Takes all of the work out for you!!

6. Next from American Crafts is Amy Tangerine's new line, Sketchbook...which I can't wait for either;)

how AWESOME is that notebook?!

7. Today, American Crafts revealed Gardenia, which again...I love:)

I love the hand drawn look to the thickers!!

I am a bit in love with the tags (that is always my favorite part of the collections!!), but seriously lovin' the clothespins too!

so cute!!

8. Other things that have caught my eye....
Jillibean Soup Neopolitan Bean Bisque Soup

9. These wood veneer frames from Studio Calico:

10. The Storyteller line from Crate Paper:

What do you think? What has caught your eye out of all the sneaks?!

american crafts: favorite photos

2012-01-06T10:40:00.000-06:00

My January layouts went up on the American Crafts blog yesterday. My assignment was to scrap favorite photos. This was a fun assignment, but tricky since my favorite photos are always changing!

I knew for sure I would use this photo, even though I have scrapped it multiple times, but I just love it! Such a sweet little moment that makes my heart happy:)

I used the Amy Tangerine line here. I added the little orange heart after the fact since that little girl spilled some orange juice on the page;) Mommy needs to remember to move her pages from the table before kiddos wake up;)

These are some favorite baby pictures of Kieran that I never scrapped. Look how little and sweet he looks here:)

Little model baby:)

I used the Chap line here, and am still loving this collection! CHA is right around the corner and I can't wait to see what goodness American Crafts will be coming out with!

I took both of the layout photos with my phone, since I still couldn't find my camera battery charger. I found it the other night though while packing, yippee!!!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

p.s. Don't forget about the Nook crop, which starts tomorrow! It is going to tons of fun and provide great challenges to get back in the swing of scrapping after the holidays! Oh yes...and there will be prizes too;)

ten on tuesday

2012-01-03T09:31:00.000-06:00

1. I meant to do a blog post about Project Life before the year started, but never got around to it. Are you doing it? I am and I am really excited about it! I am going pretty low key with it. I didn't order a kit, just pulling from my stash. I am planning on using a 12x12 American Crafts Album and all Design A page protectors (they will be back in stock sometime this month!), adding inserts in some weeks if I have overflow. I have some printable journaling cards from Ormolu, and there are tons of other cute ones out there...like these, these, and these:) I am going to be fumbling through the whole process to get into a groove and will hopefully be able to share week one next week:) I want to dedicate Wednesdays to Project Life posts.

2. We are moving, yes...again. This was a temporary place to call home and we are moving about 10 miles away. We have to be out of here by the 10th, so I am feeling not too stressed...yet. This really should be an easy move and I am so very thankful to my in-laws for letting us rent their beach home. I think Kieran expects that they will be there too, hee hee! And Aislynn says it will make her think of Mimi and Papa all the time;)

3. I am getting my haircut later this afternoon. I want to do something drastic. I think it has something to do with the big 3-0 birthday coming up in less than 2 weeks.

4. We have some fun challenges going on at the Nook starting this Saturday. There will be prizes, of course! HERE is where you can find more information!

5. The Nook is having a special right now, where if you sign up for a subscription, they will throw in a free December kit with your first month (January). Sounds pretty good, right? Yes. Yes, it does. Go HERE to sign up!
6. I am planning to go mostly vegetarian. I say mostly, because I know every once in awhile I will want a burger;) So far, it hasn't been too much of a change, it just takes more planning. I made this soup and loved it.
7. In an effort to get Kieran to eat more vegetables, I made kale chips. The 2 biggest skeptics (A+S) even liked them:) And K loooooved them. I am beginning to think he will only eat his veggies in snack form;)
8. In an effort to become more organized and better at planning meals, I discovered this site and I love it. You can create shopping lists, import recipes from blogs/websites, add nutrition information, etc. I like it:)
9. In the spirit of organizing, I saw this on pinterest (which I guess I didn't pin, because I can't find it anywhere?), but how cool would it be for scrapbook storage? And for only $20?
10. A goes back to school tomorrow. She is excited, she told me she misses her friends;) Honestly, I am not ready, lol! I like being lazy in the mornings and having her around! But I am also ready to get back into a routine, which I am sure will probably not happen until we are settled in after our move.

Hope your 2012 is getting off to a great start!

2011

2011-12-31T09:00:00.005-06:00

You kinda kicked out butts this year. We were going along pretty smoothly and in April decided to move into a much smaller place so that we could save money, then a week after we moved...changes in Shaun's employment left us struggling...hard. So even though this last part of the year has been very tough for us, good things/lessons have come out of the whole situation. Thank goodness for our families, who have been an amazing support. And thank goodness we are employed, so many in this economy don't even have that. I am grateful for what we do have, our health, and each other...I do love this little family of ours so very much and looking back on the year, there have been some great times:

*click collage to view bigger*

Lots of beach time, tooth fairy visits, snuggles, giggles, candles on cakes, visits from grandparents. Lots of kisses, stories read, messes made, pictures painted/colored. Looking back at the pictures from the year, my heart is happy seeing how the relationship between A+K has grown.

I have no idea what 2012 has in store for us. I am feeling the anticipation that a new year brings...and I like that. Things feel possible.

So I am wishing you a 2012 full of laughter, love, and opportunities.
xoxo

my top ten

2011-12-30T09:00:00.001-06:00

Now that we are coming to the end of the year, I wanted to share some (there are a few I can't share until they are published, so that is why I say some) of my favorite layouts from the year.

This was a big year for me in terms of scrapbooking. It is funny to me how it all seems to happen at once...one door opens and then more and more.I am so very thankful for the design opportunities and publications I have had this year, I still can't believe half of it!! One of the best things though...is that I have met so many more great girls through these opportunities, and that I have had my eyes opened to many designers I wasn't familiar with before!

okay, I will quit rambling and share my personal favorite layouts from the year:

and just for fun, some of my favorite cards:

Did you do a similar post?! Link me up, I would love to see your favorite things you created in 2011!!

christmas 2011

2011-12-29T11:44:00.000-06:00

Did everyone have a wonderful Christmas? We did....I love the ages the kids are at right now, it makes is so magical:) Santa was good to us all and I was so thankful to have some family in town! My camera battery died early Christmas morning and I have yet to find the charger. So there will be lots of camera photos until I find it! To keep up with my December Daily (my goal is to have it done before January ends, ha!), here are the photos+words from the last part of December:

writing letters to Santa. It amazes me to see how everything (handwriting, spelling, etc.) improves each year.

When I was at work one day, Shaun and the kids created a "winter wonderland," as A called it, using Kieran's train tracks, "snow," and the ice cream cone Christmas trees we made:)

Christmas stories. I love pulling all of the books out in the beginning of the month. We didn't get any new books this year, but the favorites stayed the same, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and The Christmas Cookie Sprinkle Snitcher.

decorating gingerbread men:)

When we were done, they each ate one and Kieran kept exclaiming, "I ate his eye!" "I ate his nose!" It was so funny!

Love all the fun mail that comes in December:) There were even a few dt box surprises in there, so extra happy mail!!

making peppermint bark:) These guys were such helpers in all the baking we were doing right before Christmas!

My Mom requested an updated picture of the kids, so this was the best we got:)

Uncle Phillip helping out decorating cookies for Santa:)

They had quite the assembly line going on here!

Setting out cookies and milk (and 9 carrots for the reindeer) on Christmas Eve.

Christmas morning. Santa brought Kieran some trains and tracks, and Aislynn some Twinkle Toes shoes and oil pastels:) And he filled their stockings with all sorts of goodies, which they are for breakfast;)

A Merry Christmas indeed. Now that we have that all wrapped up (well...our tree is still hanging in there and we are almost done eating the peppermint brownies and cookies and treats we had laying around here), we are ready to ring in 2012! I hope to get up a year-in-review type post if time allows!

merry christmas!

2011-12-23T09:27:00.000-06:00

Are you ready for Christmas?! Aislynn and Kieran are so excited, I love it! We are going to be baking lots of goodies today, including Santa's cookies:)

Before I sign off for the holidays, I wanted to share a few Christmas cards I have created over the last

couple of weeks.

I created this using American Crafts Hollyday line. I love those tags so much, so this was just a quick card to focus on them. I added some twine from The Twinery, and it was done!

Another card using Hollyday. I love the classic colors in that line! I also love the dimensional stickers...how cute is that Christmas tree? It had the presents attached to it already, talk about easy embellishing!

I created this card for Ormolu. Each member of the creative team made a card to wish Ormolu fans Happy Holidays...check out the rest of the cards here!!

Finally, I have this card, which I created for the Let it Snow card challenge on the card forum at the Nook. I used the December kit, as well as twine from my stash.
***

I hope everyone has the Merriest Christmas!!! Sending much love and joy to you and your family!

ten on tuesday

2011-12-20T16:27:00.001-06:00

1. Sometimes I should not stay up past my bedtime to bake. Because I might add 3 sticks of butter in the dough for cookies instead of 1 1/2 sticks. And they will be thin and crispy and nowhere near as tasty as our favorite cookies normally are.
p.s. try them, but don't add 3 sticks of butter...I guarantee they will become at least in your top 3 favorite cookies;)

2. I have a lot of kitchen mistake confessions...another one added to the list yesterday. I got dinner all ready in the crock pot but um...forgot to turn it on. It "cooked" for 5 hours, then the timer went off for Shaun to add some stuff in, and he finds it off. oops!!
3. These cookies were made for Aislynn's class party last Friday and they were awesome. No mistakes were made in making these;) I am thinking these are the cookies Santa wants this year.

4. I made this for my lunches this week and it was freakin' yummy. Roasted broccoli, who knew you were so tasty?!

5. In an attempt to incorporate more leafy greens in my diet (after I eat all of those cookies), this is next on the menu.

6. Moving on from food...I had a layout makeover on the American Crafts blog yesterday. Go check it out (p.s. there is a giveaway of the Chap collection on there!).

7. I have a page featuring Mr. Kieran in the December Bella Blvd newsletter. Check it out...there are some pretty things in there with their Christmas and Winter collections!!
8. The January My Scrapbook Nook kit is shipping to subscribers and it is beautiful. I looooove it so, this collection (Lily Bee Head Over Heels) was one of my favorites from the last CHA.

9. Don't forget to leave a comment on this post for a chance to win a 3 month subscription to the Nook!!
10. The Nook is doing another card kit/class and this time it is a Valentine's themed class...featuring the yummy Crate Paper Paper Heart collection! Snag your kit and spot in class HERE.

catching up a bit

2011-12-18T09:59:00.001-06:00

with my photos for December. Some days I have taken more than others and have more stories to tell, but the way I am approaching my album is to include 25 stories from the month, rather than 25 days. Some of my album was posted on the Ormolu blog here, take a peek if you'd like!

Now on to what we have been up to...

I saw this in Disney Family Fun magazine. The first time I made it, we used olives for the eyes, but theses kids eat olives like they are candy, so we ran out pretty quickly. So weird, Shaun and I both don't like olives, but the kids love them! The photo in the magazine had red pepper strips for the mouth, but the ones at the store looked not so good, so we used pepperoni.

Aislynn's school Christmas program, The Incredible Reindeer:) I could tell she was searching the crowds for us, and once she found us, she kept on waving!

The red cups. Even though I *know* you can still order holiday drinks not at Christmas, there is something about the red cup that makes me happy:) This year, my drink of choice is an eggnog chai latte. Try it, it is so yummy! The eggnog really compliments the spices in the chai!

We heard about a 14 feet high gingerbread house in the lobby of one of the hotels around here, so we went to check it out. They had a train running around and around it, can you guess who just loved that (and threw a gigantic fit when we were leaving the choo choo)?

There was a giant column in the middle with marshmallows...any guesses on how many?

over 3,000! When Aislynn heard that, she commented on how she wished she could eat the gingerbread house!

We drove around and looked at lights and we saw this house which was insane how many lights it had! The kids were amazed...heck, Shaun and I were amazed! This photo doesn't even do it justice, the front, side, and back of the house were covered in lights, and the front had a little pond in the yard, so there was a beautiful reflection of the trees in the water.

Battling the sickies...every year around this time, it seems like something goes through all of us. Shaun and I got over it fairly quickly, but the kids are just now starting to get over it. Nothing serious, just low-grade fever, sore throat, congestion, cough...that kinda stuff.

Meeting Santa. The last 2 years, Kieran was so unsure about Santa, but this year, while waiting in line, Kieran kept calling out Santa and waving...trying to get his attention! Once he got on his lap, he totally turned shy!

Aislynn drew Santa a picture of her and him on his sleigh, with a note asking if she could go on his sleigh with him;) He said a lot of kids ask him that and that if he took all of the kids that asked, there would be no room on his sleigh! He also told her that her parents might be worried about her when she was gone;) Then Aislynn told him she wanted oil pastels. When Santa asked Kieran what he wanted, he just smiled at Santa. Santa asked him if he liked cars and Kieran said yes, then Santa asked him if he liked trains and he said yes, with more enthusiasm. Then Santa asked him if he liked Thomas the Train, and Kieran replied with a very VERY excited yes!!

and finally a craft inspired by this pin. The kids enjoyed this so much!! We have plans to do our gingerbread houses soon.

I hope everyone is enjoying their December!!

more december nook

2011-12-16T13:28:00.000-06:00

I have been playing more with the December kit from My Scrapbook Nook. I am a little bit sad because all of the paper from the kit is chopped up into little bits:( This has definitely been one of my favorite kits to play with, love Crate Paper!

Pictures of us decorating the tree last year. I was in love with the chipboard from the kit, how cute are those ornaments?!

Meeting Santa last year. We saw him again last night, and I will be hopefully posting pictures soon!! Can you believe it's only 9 days to Christmas? Goodness, this month is flying by!

The thickers are from my stash, and are not included in the kit;)

A card I made that was inspired by this pin, and I created it for an origami card challenge, Jessy is hosting on the Cards forum.

I was responsible for the Altered Item class this month, so I put together a jar of hot cocoa mix. You can see the step-by-step with photos here.

***
That's all for now...I will hopefully get some pictures+stories up here to keep my December Daily going, as well as a couple of American Crafts shares.
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!

hello winners!

2011-12-12T09:27:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Despite the kids being sick, we had a good weekend:) Miss A is staying home from school today to rest, hopefully she will be fully recovered tomorrow!

Anyways, let's get to business shall we?!

First, here are the 3 winners to the Stop and Scrap $10 gift certificates:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

32 10 2

Timestamp: 2011-12-12 15:17:24 UTC

so the winners are:

Houses Built of Cards said...

I would DEFINATELY love me some more October Afternoon! In LOVE with it here lately!!! Thanks for a chance to win!

housesbuiltofcards@gmail.com
www.housesbuiltofcards.blogspot.com

Cindy Vernon said...

OH my Gosh, we so like the same stuff, the tab punch looks awesome and I just love october Afternoon.

12/09/2011 10:56:00 AM

Rebecca said...

I'm thinking I would totally get something from OA's Sasparilla line! Such sweet vintagy looking pieces!! Thanks for the chance!

12/10/2011 11:31:00 AM

and the winner for the $25 gift certificate to Stop and Scrap is:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

Timestamp: 2011-12-12 15:24:37 UTC

which is:

love2scrap said...

I don't know how I would decide what to spend a gift certificate on because they have so much great stuff! I do love the LYB "Wonder & Wishes" line though. And the FP "Winterland" line. And the EP "Yours Truly". And......

12/09/2011 05:27:00 PM

Congrats ladies!!! Shoot me an e-mail HERE and I will send you the codes for your certificates!!!

stop and scrap giveaway

2011-12-09T08:27:00.001-06:00

Hey there! Are you ready for another giveaway? I am so excited to be participating in Stop and Scrap's Countdown to Christmas giveaway.

Are you familiar with Stop and Scrap? They are one of my favorite online retailers. They have a great selection of the newest products, great prices, a great rewards program, and great customer service:) Plus, I love that it is a family business:)

Soooooo, I am giving away 1 $25 gift certificate and 3 $10 gift certificates. How awesome is that?! They are so generous!!

All you need to do to be eligible is take a peek in their store and tell me what you would spend your gift certificate on. Leave me a comment by Sunday, December 11, 11:59 p.m. PST and I will pull some winners on Monday.

Me? I have my eye on these:

Happy window shopping AND happy weekend!!!

we have a winner+december nook kit

2011-12-08T08:46:00.001-06:00

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

Timestamp: 2011-12-08 14:29:34 UTC

which is Miss Jodi:

Jodi Keefer said...

There aren't many of the classic songs that I don't like. But this season, I am partial to " Mary did you know". Loving it!!!

12/05/2011 06:07:00 AM

Congrats Jodi! You can e-mail me HERE and I will get your goodies off to you!

***

I wanted to share a couple of projects I have done with the December My Scrapbook Nook kit.

Aislynn keeps asking me when we can make another gumdrop wreath. Soon...I think that will be a good craft to do when she is on winter break!

I knew I wanted to do the journaling within a circle and it took me awhile to get it right, but otherwise, this page came together quickly:)

I made this card for THIS challenge on the cards forum. Have I said how in love I am with the embellishments in this month's kit? I adore that big sheet of bling!!

***
That is all for now, we have a showing of The Incredible Reindeer at A's school tomorrow...the girl has been singing songs they are performing all week:)

Make sure you do come back tomorrow for another giveaway;)

ten on tuesday

2011-12-06T22:15:00.001-06:00

1. Did you see the giveaway I had posted on my blog yesterday? Check it out! I am loving reading what your favorite holiday songs are!

2. In case you were wondering what mine were, I love The Christmas Song (the Nat King Cole version please!) and All I want for Christmas is You (Mariah Carey). I now have another one joining those...Merry Merry Christmas, Everyone by Jon McLaughlin.

3. psssssst...I will be having another giveaway on Friday it's a good one...gift certificates to Stop and Scrap:)

4. I *will* be working on my December Daily album at some point, but for now I am using the blog to record the photos+stories so I don't forget anything.

Decorating the tree...gotta love that K found those stockings in the box of ornament and used them as socks;)

The finished product. It is a small tree, but nice and we didn't put any glass ornaments on it because of K...but he isn't really messing with the ornaments too much! Our star kept folding the top of the tree over since it was too heavy, so Shaun came up with the idea of making a star out of tinfoil. So we did and I kinda like it...it is very Charlie Brown-ish to me:)

5. Peppermint brownies for A's school

Seriously YUUUUM. And if you were wondering if you leave out the mint extract and the candy cane kisses off the top, would they make good regular brownies...the answer is yes. The best brownies. Ever.

6. Dinner with Santa at Aislynn's school

They were checking out Santa, who we unfortunately did not meet. The line was ridiculously (like almost worse then A Christmas Story) long, so we talked to A and she was fine with going to meet Santa another time. She said she isn't sure what she wants yet, so now she will have more time to think about it;)

7. A cuuuute Christmas craft

8. this one is cute too:)

9. for A's classmates? Does anyone have any good teacher gift ideas?

10. a freakin' cute and simple graham cracker gingerbread house...I *love* you pinterest!!!

a giveaway

2011-12-05T03:00:00.001-06:00

Hello there! I know I mentioned before about the Nook doing a countdown to Christmas with giveaways and I am hosting today:)

Here is what's up for grabs:

I've got the 12x12 sheet of Crate Paper Snow Day Chipboard and the Collection pack, which includes a sheet of die cuts, 16 double sided papers, phrase/journaling stickers, and border stickers.

All you need to do is leave me a comment and tell me what your favorite holiday song is:) I'll close the comments at 11:59 p.m. PST on Wednesday, December 7th and pick a winner on Thursday!

Don't forget to leave a comment on Leah's blog for a chance to win a 3 month subscription to the Nook OR a December kit!

this is the best part of the year

2011-12-02T10:44:00.000-06:00

This is what Aislynn said to me Wednesday. I had pulled all of our Christmas boxes out of storage and we were putting the mini tree up in the kids' room, wearing our "chri-mas" hats (as Kieran called them), discovering our favorite Christmas storybooks, and more. We spontaneously decided to drive in to town and pick out our Christmas tree...after the kids had bathed and put on their jammies.

I have to agree with her. This is my favorite time of year for sure. I have to admit I have been feeling a little bit of anxiety over Christmas this year. We live in a teeny tiny condo and I was wondering just how we would fit a tree...money is very tight this year and I was wondering about gifts, but as our friend the Grinch told us, maybe Christmas is about something more.

The looks on those 2 kids faces...the excitement in their voices as they pulled items out of the boxes...gave me a reality check. They savor this...the magical build up of Christmas. I can't decide what is better...feeling that wonder and joy as a child or reliving it through the eyes of your children. I am kinda thinking the latter;)

So bring it on December we are SO ready for you and all of the memories and moments you have to offer:)

***
Last night my sister (also known as the BEST sister and aunt in the world!) came over so that Shaun and I could go to my company's Christmas party. We had SO much fun:) It was casual, so we weren't dressed up, but I wore a bit more make up, boots, and a necklace (thanks Brynne!) and Aislynn told me I looked like a regular girl, hee hee!

After the party, Shaun and I stopped at a place we have been wanting to try for another round of drinks. Good times. We need to do that more often:)
***
In the spirit of this post, I will share a layout I created with the December Nook kit, which is now available, yay!

These are from last year and I wanted to get them all on one page. Man, I love this time of year.

So snag your kit HERE. The Nook is having some awesome specials right now, so if you like the December kit, now would be a good time to sign up for a subscription;) like you can get 2 kits FREE with a 12 month sub, pretty good is you ask me!!!

***

Another fun thing happening at the Nook is our Advent Calendar style giveaway. The member and Design Team signed up and every day, one of us will be hosting a little giveaway on our blog to countdown to Christmas. The list is here, so check it daily and leave some love on the featured blog for a chance to win! If you want the chance to win something really big, go to Leah's blog sometime before Christmas and leave a comment for a chance to win a subscription to the Nook!
***
That is all for now...

I hope everyone has a MERRY and JOY-FILLED weekend!

ten on tuesday

2011-11-29T16:39:00.000-06:00

1. It's been awhile since I have done a ten on tuesday post. I kinda miss them...they are a great way to add little bits of random links/info;)
2. Are you doing a December Daily album? I am and I am sooooo excited that I can start adding stories to it in a couple of days! I have a little peek at what my album will look like on the Ormolu blog.
3. I have a fun little advent calendar on the American Crafts blog...with instructions on how to recreate it:)
4. Another holiday project is up HERE with a tutorial. Kinda funny that I made these before the holiday season was upon us and I was SO not feeling in the Christmas mood, but now I am and I want to make more Christmasy projects;)
5. Which is good because the December Nook kit will be up for grabs any day now and it is soooo yummy! Definitely one of my favorite kits...I played a bit with it last night and didn't want to stop! It is filled with Crate Peppermint goodness;)
6. I am debating on if I should send Christmas cards out this year. If I do, I may use one of these free templates, aren't they cute?!
7. A must-do craft I think...I can see the little man loving it!
8. This was for dinner last night...they were so yummy that they are all gone:( Will definitely be adding them into the rotation;)
9. I am SO very excited for Thursday. Shaun and I will be attending my company's Christmas party-at the Pizza Bar on the beach:) Without kids:) Thanks to my wonderful sister, we are going to have a date night!!
10. Tomorrow is the last day to sign up for a Nook subscription and be eligible for this giveaway;) go go go!

thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-28T09:45:00.001-06:00

Did everyone have a great Thanksgiving? We headed to Jacksonville to spend time with family on Wednesday and drive back Saturday. As always, it was too short, but I am thankful we were able to do it. Miss being around these guys and the times when we can all be together at the same time just doesn't happen enough. Oh, and the food...was amazing:)

I never take many photos on Thanksgiving, but we managed a group photo:

Yes, there are a couple of grumpy kids in there;) They don't seem to ever want to cooperate with getting pictures taken;)
This is the crew though...all of my siblings' significant others have been around awhile and are definitely fixtures in our family. They just need to be made permanent:) *hint hint, boys*

My Mom and the kids:

I feel so lucky that my kids have such amazing relatives that ADORE them. It makes me happy to see my brothers and sister be such wonderful Uncles and Aunt to them:)
Uncle Phillip was scoring major points with the kids letting them play with his i-pad:

That's about the extent of the pictures I took!
On Friday, we went to see the Muppets and it was sooooo cute! The grown ups enjoyed it more than the kids, I think, but I would recommend it to anyone, with or without kids;)
If you are familiar with Flight of the Conchords, Brett wrote a lot of the songs that were in the movie, so you can imagine they were pretty clever and hilarious;)

When we were driving home, many of the beach communities had turned on their Christmas lights and now that we have some coldish weather-I am ready for Christmas!Bring it on, December!!!

happy turkey day

2011-11-24T07:00:00.001-06:00

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, filled with family, friends, and food!

xoxo

midnight rooster

2011-11-20T23:59:00.001-06:00

I was lucky enough to be asked by Tobi of the Midnight Rooster Kit Club to be November's guest designer. Of course I said YES!!! She puts together such lovely kits, with fun fabric and fancy pins, and an amazing mix of patterned paper, and November was no exception. Meet A Random Story:

Here is what I created with the kit:

As soon as I saw the glittery My Mind's Eye paper, it made me think of A's Halloween costume:)

See how pretty one of the pins included in the kit is? I added some twine from my stash to complete the page;)

For this page, I used the envelope the pins were sent in to house the manila tag. I printed things about Miss A at 6:)

I used this tutorial to do the chevron pattern (which I will definitely be doing again, love the outcome!!!)

I wanted to showcase lots of the pretty patterns from the kit, so I mimicked the stripes from Aislynn's jacket in the photos.

I came up with a card using the sweet little wood houses from the kit:

For my final project, I wanted to make a teeny album of the silly things Aislynn has said over the past year. I went through my facebook statuses and little notes in my purse to find the things I have jotted down/documented.

I still have quite a bit from the kit, so I hope to squeeze out another layout and card:)

Thanks so much, Tobi, for having me this month!!!

hey there old chap

2011-11-18T08:46:00.001-06:00

Well, not really old. Chap is American Crafts latest line and I *finally* got around to playing with it! I am in love with the colors and think they are perfect to scrap K:)

Here is a layout I created with some photos of him splashing around in the bath last October:

He looks so teeny here, but he still loves playing in the bath!!

I adore the little tabs that came out with this line. I really hope they release more of those with some of the other lines!!

I added some of the Sassafras glitter alphas I have been hoarding because they were the perfect match.

Since I had Chap out on my desk, I came up with a quick card:

I love the starburst pattern that can be found throughout the collection, kinda gives it a retro feel? Lately, when I have been using brads, I have chopped off the prongs and just adhered them with glue dots. I think it makes my projects a tad less bulky. I added some Twinery baker's twine in stone and called it done:)

Supplies for layout: Jacob Paper (35568) - Chap, Cameron Paper (35570) - Chap, Mike Paper (35572) - Chap, Scott Paper (35575) - Chap, Richard Paper (35573) - Chap, Epoxy Brads (85568) - Elements, Fabric Brads (85571) - Elements, Printed Variety Tabs (77261) - Bits, Emilio (42220) - Remarks Books

Supplies for card: Dave Paper (35569) - Chap, Cameron Paper (35570) - Chap, Mike Paper (35572) - Chap, Scott Paper (35575) - Chap, Printed Variety Tags (77260) - Bits, Epoxy Brads (85568) - Elements

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

warning: very photo heavy post

2011-11-16T20:41:00.001-06:00

It has been a loooooong long time since I posted any pictures+stories on here. Way too long. I am attempting to catch up what has been going on in the Brown household here, so there will be lots of pictures;)

These go back from late September, the last time we went to the beach! Hard to believe it was that long ago. Between work, school, and everything else, we just haven't made it over there.

Aunt Brynne came with us:)

These pictures actually did make an appearance on my blog, just in the form of a layout;)

Is it just me, or does it look like she has grown up all of a sudden? Between these pictures and her sass, I could swear she was 16, not 6;)

We took these to show off her earrings:)

This was taken when K was sick in the beginning of October. For a couple days, he was obsessed with Aislynn's socks, particularly these fuzzy ones:) I think it had something to do with being able to slide around on the tile floor;)

Poor guy. And poor us. He is sooooo cranky when he feels bad, it makes it hard on all of us.

Markers. Which got banned because he started coloring on himself. Then we moved to crayons, which got banned because he was decorating the walls and floor. I am thinking we need to invest in some Color Wonder goodies;)

Miss Fashionista. The weekends are when she picks out her outfits and I love what she comes up with. Bright colors and loads of accessories are how she goes;)

We did THIS craft before Halloween and they came out really cool. Maybe we should do some for Christmas, with snowflakes?

A fun ~~excuse to eat candy~~ craft we did...making pumpkin patches with graham crackers, chocolate frosting, candy corn and mellowcreme pumpkins. K's is on the left, A's is on the right:)

Most of the time, when they are way too quiet, they are up to no good, but sometimes, I catch moments like this:) A made up beds for them and they were playing "rest." Hee hee:)

We set off to find fall (trees changing colors, leaves, then went to pick out our pumpkin), and I attempted to take some photos...

She was semi-cooperative.

He was not.

This picture totally cracks me up. What funny, silly kids I have:)

Halloween pictures. Meet the Magical Mermaid:) I am SO glad she chose this over the pink Super Woman costume. She was too. She loved the costume, but when she put on her tiara and held the wand, it was all over. She felt so special and looked so beautiful!!!

~~An evil witch~~ Aunt Brynne came trick-or-treating with us:)

This guy was a puppy. An awfully cute one at that;) Poor dude was SOOO tired because he didn't take a nap. He perked up a little when we were done trick-or-treating and it was candy eatin' time.

She saw a lot of kids she new from school. This is Rowan. When we ran into Rowan and his Mom, he exclaimed "Mom, this is the girl who wrote I love you, Rowan."

hmmm. This is the first I had heard about that. Another little girl's Mom wanted to take a picture of her and Rowan, and he refused, stating that he was with Aislynn.

Oh dear.

Then they ran into Olivia, a little girl that is in their class.

We also ran into Matthew, the little boy we carpooled with last year, and he is in their class as well:)

An attempt at a family photo?

My little puppy was so sleepy, he was dragging his candy bag all over:)

And now just a couple of goofy shots of K.

I have been really terrible about picking up the camera lately. We are just busy lately. Either I am at work, Shaun is, or Aislynn is at school. I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving next week. We are headed to Jacksonville to spend time with my Mom and siblings-super excited about that. I miss my peeps a lot and I am very thankful we will get to hang out this year for Thanksgiving:)
What are your plans for Thanksgiving?

naps?

2011-11-14T22:06:00.001-06:00

With some days having Mom in charge, and some days having Dad in charge, this little stinker has not been too consistent with his naps. Most of the time, Shaun can lay him in his crib and he goes to sleep. When I am home, he expects me to rock him to sleep for his naps. Maybe I shouldn't, but I do. I am holding on to the "baby" stuff for as long as I can. It is a sweet time...he resists the sleepiness at first, wiggling and protesting...but eventually he snuggles up with "banky" and when he is just about to completely give in to sleep, he sucks on one of the corners of "banky." He has been doing this to his blanket since we weaned him from the pacifier when he turned a year.

I snapped this picture back in August, when I was doing Week in the Life, and it fit perfect for this story, right now:)

I had this layout up on the Ormolu blog last week. Oh, how I loooooooove the new releases. Love.

I used lots of Fact or Fiction here...flair, more flair, dots n spots, flappers, trims and charms, and digital+printable storytellers.

***

In other Ormolu news, Christa is hosting a color challenge that runs through November 21st. Check it out, GREAT colors and example page she has up there:)

Kaitlin also updated the shop tonight with some more goodies...

fabric swatches (which I received over the weekend and ooooooh, do I love them!)

Merrymaker

Fact or Fiction

I am super excited about this mini chipboard binder!!!

Cute, right? It measures 9x7 inches and is 1.5 inches wide. Can see using this for lots of little projects.

That's all I've got for now! I had a fun guest opportunity for November, which I hope I can share soon, I also have some American Crafts projects but I still need to photograph them;)

Hope everyone had a great weekend!!!

nook news

2011-11-10T20:15:00.000-06:00

Hey! It has been awhile! We are getting into the time of year when life just gets busy. I have all of these ideas for projects and things I want to get done...and have big aspirations for blogging...just lacking one thing: time!!!

I am going to work on scheduling some blog posts, but I wanted to go ahead and share some Nook new with you all.
***
First up are the blog hop winners:

BLOG HOP WINNERS!!!
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!
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;)
***
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.

***

As some of you may know, we have been having horrible problems with the forum at the Nook. We created a blog for My Scrapbook Nook which will keep you updated on everything that is going on in the forums, and if the forum ever misbehaves again, you can follow us there to get updated;) Remember we have a facebook page where you can chat and get updates as well:)
The design team all pitched in and did a little bit, and the new blog is so pretty! Check it out HERE!

***

Finally, I want to remind you about our Card Sharks Challenge that is going on. It is an elimination/voting style challenge and the first challenge is up! Check out more information HERE. Remember the prize is over $100 in scrappy goodies;)

That is all for now! I really would like to blog more frequently, it's just hard for me to squeeze everything in during this time of year;)

happy birthday+a winner

2011-11-06T07:00:00.001-06:00

Today is a special day for someone fabulous...

HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY LEAH!!!!!!

Leah is the creative mind behind all of the kits at the Nook. She also is one sweet lady and I hope she has the most fantastic birthday ever:)

May all your wishes come true, Leah!!!

I have also have a winner for the prize I was offering up from anyone who commented on my blog for the Nook's blog hop and the winner is....

Fleursbydesign said...

Gorgeous layout - love the photo!

11/04/2011 12:40:00 PM

Congrats Fleur!! E-mail me HERE and send me your mailing info, and I will get some goodies off to you;)

There were many many other prizes being given away from the other dt members as well as the Nook, so I will be sure to link you up here when those winners are announced.

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend:)

My Scrapbook Nook Blog Hop!!!

2011-11-01T10:00:00.002-05:00

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

We're offering one lucky lady a 3 month subscription to these gorgeous kits and several smaller prizes for other hoppers!

We have hidden 7 birds among the design team blogs....so hop around, find the birds and keep track of who's got em'. Once you've found all seven, email those 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 designer's 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!

The Nook kits are filled each month with the latest paper collections and embellishments to make you swoon! They are a fantastic deal and our international ladies love the low shipping. If you sign up for a 12 month subscription you'll get a free kit after your 12 month mark! Now that's a bakers dozen of goodness!

Now lets see what our design team has for us!!!
***

Okay girls, I have a special layout for you all today. I pulled out all of my baggies containing past kits and created this layout using bits and pieces from 4 kits:

I used the March, July, August, and September kits:)
Here are a couple of detail shots:

Just to add to the fun, I will randomly select someone from the comments to send a goody package too. All you need to do to enter is leave me a comment:)

Also, check out this post for an extra little something something if you sign up for a subscription;)

Here is the list of the design team member's blogs that you need to visit:
Shelley
Danni
Kim
Pamella-You are here!

Nicole
Jaz
Deanna
Lisa
Carol
Hilde
Lilith
Marinette
Anna
Jessy
Katarina
Gina
LG
Leah

Hop ends on Fri., November 4 at 11:59 pm Pacific Standard Time.
Winners will be announced on Sat. November 5th!

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

an american crafts share

2011-10-31T00:04:00.001-05:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Just wanted to pop in quickly before the Nook blog hop that starts tomorrow (!!), and share a layout I created using Garden Cafe.

I couldn't resist the paper leaves from the Amy Tangerine line, the colors were perfect:)

Supplies: Autumn Cider Paper (35519) -Nightfall, Orchid Bistro Paper (35533) - Garden Cafe, Lily's Bakery Paper (35534) - Garden Cafe, Lavendar Grill Paper (35535) - Garden Cafe, Magnolia Market Paper (35536) - Garden Cafe, Cafe Iris Paper (35541) - Garden Cafe, Printed Variety Tags (77256) - Bits, Hello Kale (53248) - Thickers, Fabric Brads (85567) - Elements, Paper Leaves (77258) - House

Thanks so much for looking! I am looking forward to seeing the pictures of all the kiddos dressed up for Halloween:)

a few things...

2011-10-29T09:00:00.001-05:00

We have been getting over the sickies and getting ready for Halloween over here. This week has flown by and I am wondering where it went?!

I just wanted to post a quick couple of things...

The winner for my Ormolu challenge is posted over HERE, thanks to everyone that played along:)

Also, some fun fun FUN is going to be going on soon at the Nook.

You will get to learn more about the new and old design team members, see some never-before-seen-creations, get tons of inspiration, win some prizes, prizes, and MORE prizes, have tons of fun, and we will be announcing a new challenge;)
Just in case you missed it in the banner...we will be giving away 10 Nook kits, hip hip hooray!
I hope you all will come out and play!

The Nook is also doing another card/layout kit/class, just in time for the holidays:

The kits will start shipping November 1st and the class will begin on November 12th. You can snag yours HERE.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend:)

"vintage" a

2011-10-24T07:00:00.003-05:00

Lately I have found myself hunting through older photos to scrap...mostly from the time period when I was pregnant with K. I know there are many great pictures/stories that I haven't gotten around to yet, especially because when I was pregnant with K, it seems like the creativeness in me was not functioning;) Here is one layout I did using a photo during that time period, and the story just makes me smile:

a close up of the journaling:

Love it. She totally doesn't believe us when we tell her she used to say this, but I have the blog post to prove it;)

Some more detail shots:

I loooooove that flower button. I want a million of them:) I used the October Nook kit (filled with yummy My Mind's Eye) for this page, as well as cardstock from my stash and the October kit add-ons.
Don't forget about my offer for signing up for a sub. to the Nook;)

The next layout features a photo taken only a month after the one above. My little helper baking with me...we both know the reason she helps though (to this day, ha!):

K has now caught on...as soon as he hears the mixer on, he comes running for a taste;)

Some detail shots:

I used American Crafts Garden Cafe line here. I am sooooo so in love with that thicker font. One of my faves, for sure!

Supplies: Poppy's Pub Paper (35542) - Garden Cafe, Magnolia Cafe Paper (35536) - Garden Cafe, Sunflower Deli Paper (35531) - Garden Cafe, Orchid Bistro Paper (35533) - Garden Cafe, Rose's Kitchen Paper (35540) - Garden Cafe, Cafe Iris Paper (35541) - Garden Cafe, Eclair Cucumber (53226) - Thickers, Garden Cafe Glitter Buttons (85563) - Elements, Garden Cafe Medium Jewel Brads (85565) - Elements, Savor (42210) - Remarks Books, Delish (70073) - Flair, Printed Variety Tags (77256) - Bits

Have you gone through your older photos lately and discovered any gems?!

new ormolu goodies, a giveaway, and a challenge

2011-10-22T08:09:00.003-05:00

Kaitlin released some new goodies last night and they are sooooooo incredibly lovely. That girl totally outdid herself this time. Check out some of it:

Fact or Fiction Flair

Fact or Fiction Flappers Have I mentioned that Flappers are my favorite Ormolu product?!

But I have a feeling these are gonna give them a good run...

Fact or Fiction Trims & Charms

Twine? Love. Charms to hang from twine? Loooooove.

Were you thinking about doing a December Daily? Here are some perfect goodies for this projects.

Merrymaker Package Tags

Merrymaker Number Tags

Merrymaker Advent Flair

Merrymaker Storytellers

Do you love it?! You can check out the rest of the new stuff HERE. Ali Edwards is doing a giveaway for a gift card to the shop, so RUN over there now and leave a comment for the chance to win:)

Something else cool, Kaitlin will be adding one of these buttons:

to all orders that are placed over the weekend. I think it is so cute and seriously, so perfect for a December Daily! Have fun shopping!

***

I had a page up on the blog earlier this week:

I have a little challenge going through next Tuesday and if you play along, you could win a $5 gift card to the shop:) Check it out HERE.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

baked potato soup

2011-10-20T09:57:00.000-05:00

As soon as cool weather makes it's entrance, it is all about soups, stews, and chili. I love the idea of making a big pot of something and it lasts for almost a week. One of my favorite soups has always been baked potato soup. But, when you add in the bacon, cheese...and whatever yummy toppings you like, it can turn into something not so healthy. When I saw this recipe, I knew I had to make it. A simple base of baked potato and chicken stock, seasoned with salt and pepper, and you can add all the toppings you like:

You can see I like a lot;) But I don't feel quite as guilty since it is not a cream-based soup;)

This is really simple...

All you need is a 5 lb bag of potatoes, a carton (buy the bigger size) of chicken stock, salt+pepper, and whatever topping your like: green onions, bacon, cheese, sour cream, etc.

1. Bake the potatoes...use what ever method you normally use.

2. When they are cool enough to touch, scoop the flesh out of the potato. I usually save 2 or 3 and cut them into bite-size chunks. The rest, add into a blender/food processor with a bit of the chicken stock and blend until smooth. You may have to do a couple batches depending on the size of your appliance.

3. Transfer the puree into a pot and heat over medium high heat. Throw the chunks of potatoes in there and add enough chicken stock until the soup gets to the consistency you desire. When the soup is heated up, season with salt and pepper.

4. Ladle into bowls and top as desired!

Enjoy!!!

Source: Baked Bree

nook october projects+an offer

2011-10-15T21:03:00.000-05:00

Happy Saturday! I hope everyone is having a great weekend. Seems like stuffy noses and sore throats are taking over our household here:( It always amazes me how fast we pass things on to each other.

***

Before I share my October Nook projects, I want to give ya'll an offer. From now until the end of November, if you sign up for at least a 6 month subscription to My Scrapbook Nook, e-mail me HERE and let me know. Then I will randomly draw 4 names to send 5 card kits to. I made up a bunch awhile back for giveaways, and here is a perfect opportunity to give some away!

Here is an example of 6 that I made, just so you have an idea of what you could be receiving;)

Sooooo, what do you think?! These are just some of the ones I made up, but they all have this much stuff packed in them.

If you want to have the chance to receive 5 card kits, just remember to sign up for at least a 6 month subscription to the Nook and e-mail me and let me know you did so. Oh, and remember that you have until the end of November and that I am giving away 4 sets of 5 card kits;)

A little more incentive...if you sign up for a 12 month subscription, you will get your 13th kit free;)

*And* if you are wondering what will be in November's kit...it will be filled with this collection:

***

SO now on to my October Kit projects:

I made this for the one page layout class...so you can hop over here and see how this page came together step by step.

Here is a little close up of the journaling:

Some oldie pictures of Miss A. She looks so teeny to me here:) This was before K was ever even in the picture;)

and a quick, simple card that I love:

I've got another layout in the works, and I think I get one more out of the scraps;) I am hoping to fit in some scrap time tomorrow night after kiddies are in bed, keep your fingers crossed for me that the sickies leave soon;)

american crafts nightfall cards

2011-10-14T09:19:00.000-05:00

I had some cards go up of the American Crafts blog yesterday. When I received my assignment for October, I was so thrilled that it was using Nightfall. That was my very favorite collection released this past CHA (although...word on the street is that Chap is making it's way to the design team, and that maaaaay take Nightfall's place!).

You can see individual pictures of the cards+a supply list HERE.
***
It looks like cooler weather (for FL!) is in the forecast next week, and I am soooo glad! We finally got a few decorations up last weekend and I am thinking more pumpkin bread is in order. A trip to the pumpkin patch needs to be taken, K's halloween costume has been ordered, and if A ever makes up her mind, hers will be too;) Love this time so very much!

Please come back this weekend to visit me, I have an offer and some more Nook October projects to share;)

today

2011-10-09T16:14:00.001-05:00

Today I am so glad to be off work for a day (gonna take awhile to get used to standing 8 hours straight!)...and that Shaun is off.

Today I was happy to be lazy this morning and snuggle with my stinkers on the couch and watch them make messes and play.

Today I made our week's worth of bread and the smell of it baking is delicious.

Today Shaun and I celebrate 7 years of marriage. It hasn't always been easy, and right now we are experiencing extremely hard financial times, but I am so very glad I am on this roller coaster of life with him.

Today (and everyday) I am grateful for the family member that are helping us get through these tough times.

Today I am thinking about what Ms. Kenner will tell me at our very first parent/teacher conference tomorrow morning.

Today I put finally put away the mountain of laundry that has slowly taken over our love seat this week.

Today I am trying not to think of what needs to get done this week and I am planning on a scrappy marathon for Tuesday to try and knock some of it out. I've got so many ideas for projects in my head...so little time...and energy.

Today Aislynn asked Shaun what the history of America was and it was interesting to hear him explain it;)

Today I really want to put Halloween decorations up...but I feel like I have met my productivity limit today;)

Today Aislynn says she wants to be a bat for Halloween. Today. It has gone from a zombie, butterfly, heart, princess, pumpkin, and a pirate.

Today is the season finale of Breaking Bad and I can't wait! I have a feeling it will be a great episode and leave a cliffhanger for next season, which will be the final season (booooo!).

Today I started editing pictures from the last 2 weeks (which unfortunately isn't very many...gotta start picking up the camera again!) and this is my new favorite:

Love that look of delight!!!

What are you up to today?!

ormolu sale!

2011-10-07T22:36:00.000-05:00

Kaitlin is making space for some awesome new Ormolu goodies (seriously can't wait until she reveals the new stuff-she has totally outdone herself this time!!!) so it's time to have a sale! Here is a peek at some of the goods that you could snag at great prices:

Negative Days of the Week tags

Soft Petal Packaging Tags

She also has a great sale on some digital items for $0.50, that will be retired after a week. Check out everything on sale HERE.

***

I have a couple cards to share:

This was made using a card sketch by Jessy for a challenge on the Nook's card forum. I also used the September Kit for this. I love that butterfly.

I made this card using the October kit and made it for the October Color Challenge on the Card Forum. This challenge runs until November 7th, and one lucky gal will receive a $5 gift card to the Nook. So come on down and play along;)

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!!!

things are a changin'

2011-10-06T09:22:00.001-05:00

The magical day has happened. When we in FL, wake up and the weather is cool...to us it feels freezing, but that could just be that we are wanting to throw on sweaters and put away our flip flops like the rest of the country has now for weeks. We will still get some upper eighties days, but I am almost certain our version of Fall is here...yippee!! Besides the weather, other things are changing around here too.

I am starting a new job, just part time, and we are able to work it so that Shaun will be able to stay home with Kieran while I am working and Aislynn is at school, so I am thankful for that. I will be working in a cute kids store a couple miles down the road. I feel a bit anxious about it...not because I think it will be hard or that I won't like it...just about the change in our lives. But this is something we have to do, it will help our finances tremendously, so that is good.

***

So with that change, I will be blogging more sporadically until I get in the swing of things. I am totally abandoning my daily themed posts and going more with the flow. I have lots of fun news to share with you in this post regarding the companies I am lucky enough to design for, so here goes!!!

The October Kit from My Scrapbook Nook is here and it is beautiful! I'll admit I was a little scared to cut into it at first, but now that I have, I don't want to put it away...anyone know how to add a few more hours in the day?!

Here is one layout I have completed using it:

You can get your kit here!

In other Nook news, My Scrapbook Nook is now on pinterest! Yay!! So excited about this! So make sure you upload your kit creations into the gallery, because you never know what will get pinned;) ;)

The Nook also has a limited edition card kit class right now, filled with My Mind's Eye Lost and Found II. Here are a few peeks at the kit:

The fabulous Danni Reid is cooking up instructions for her sample cards, which are sure to be lovely coming from her!!

You can get the kit+class here, for $34.95, and a little birdie says there are not very many left, so what are you waiting for?!

***

In American Crafts news....oh, I am soooo excited about this one...they have purchased the retail part of Studio Calico. You can read more about this adventure here!!

***

I think that is all my news for right now, lol! I'll be back tomorrow with some Ormolu news;)

american crafts shares

2011-09-30T08:00:00.002-05:00

Today I wanted to share with you a couple pages I did with some American Crafts goodies, but first I want to show you a peek at their mid-release:

HOW cute are those bits? I looooooove love love them:)

Perfect for little guys, huh? Actually, I think the color palette is pretty versatile! I can't wait to play with this and there are some new thickers too...foil and glitter in some of my favorite fonts:

What do you think?!

Now onto my pages...

It may be silly to scrap about pinterest, but the Amy Tangerine line begged for me to scrap about something crafts...and the safety pins in the line...I don't know, I like it:) I added a teensy bit of Garden Cafe here too:

I love that yellow chevron paper:)

Supplies: Ash (71708) - Cardstock, Oh Happy Grey Paper (35565) - Amy Tangerine, Yes Peas Paper (35549) - Amy Tangerine, The Good Life Paper (35543) - Amy Tangerine, Woodness Gracious Paper ( 35555) - Amy Tangerine, Stars, Stripes, and Stitches Paper ( 35550) - Amy Tangerine, Goodness Slate (53249) - Thickers, Wishing (42216) - Remarks, Hi Friend (42214) - Remarks), Good Times (42213) - Remarks, All Together (42219) - Remarks, Garden Cafe Printed Variety Tags (77256) - Bits, Meringue (42211) - Remarks

Here is a page I made with the Daydreams line. I told you before, but this line is perfect for girlies:) I knew I had to use the banner paper on a birthday page for Miss A. I even made the little owl a birthday hat;)

Supplies: Kraft (71646) - Cardstock, Melon (71033) - Cardstock, Happy Day Paper (35600) - Daydreams, Wonderful Day Paper (35601) - Daydreams, Joyful Day Paper (35603) - Daydreams, Gleeful Day Paper (35604) - Daydreams, Blissful Day Paper (35605) - Daydreams, Fine Day Paper (35606) - Daydreams, Playful Day (35607) - Daydreams, Sunny Day Paper (35608) - Daydreams, Wishful Day Paper (35610) - Daydreams, Chipper (78061) - Details, Smile (42227) - Remarks, Friends (42228) - Remarks, Maple Pineapple (53221) - Thickers

*I love the names of the papers in this collection*

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

scrappy thursday: more september nook

2011-09-29T09:17:00.000-05:00

I have a couple more pages to share using the September Nook kit...trying to finish it off before October comes.

I thought the kit was perfect for documenting A's first day of kindergarten. I loved the Websters Pages stick pins and the alphabet tab border sticker for the school theme:) Lots of journaling here, which was basically a copy and paste from my blog post that day;)

This was made using Jessy's September sketch:

I miss my typewriter so much:( I have been doing my journaling on the computer, but it just isn't as easy. And you can see here, the ink smeared on the tag when I printed on it.

This was the card I made for the Pinspo challenge on the card forum. Remember if you participate in this challenge, you could win a $10 gift card to the Nook!

***

I'll be back tomorrow to share some American Crafts projects:)

ten on tuesday

2011-09-27T07:00:00.003-05:00

1. I have a page on the Ormolu blog today, here's a little sneak:

2. Yes, I did use some of the September Nook Kit on that:) I have been playing with it a bit more, and have a card up for this challenge. Check out the other cards-WOW...and how cute is the inspiration piece? There is also a $10 gift card to the Nook up for grabs that Jessy will randomly give away to some lucky participant;)

3. I had a page up on the Bella Blvd blog last week...I was so happy to see some fellow Nook girls up there with me:)

4. I have been making homemade bread the last 2 weeks and have my eye on this recipe soon.

5. I made baked oatmeal for breakfast on Saturday and it was deeeeelicious:) It tasted like a dessert;) I made it with apples instead of blueberries.

6. I am sewing up a storm this week, getting some projects done for a craft fair that my sister and I are going to on Saturday. Wish us luck:)

7. Aislynn has been visiting one of the 1st grade classrooms a couple times a week to go to their reading group. The reading teacher and A's teacher have both been great with providing me with resources of how we can challenge her more at home. So proud of our little reader girl!

8. Kieran has been coloring constantly. He loves coloring with markers and making scribbles...like for hours at a time. He tells us what colors he uses and what trains from Thomas are that color-like "this green, Percy." He calls the brown marker chocolate, hee hee:)

9. Black Licorice Caramels, anyone?

10. And a few peeks of the October Nook kit. I got my shipping notice today, so I will get to play with it soon!

and a few of the add-on peeks:

Nice, huh?!

Happy Tuesday:)

make it monday: pumpkin bread

2011-09-26T07:00:00.001-05:00

Happy Monday! Today I am going to share one of my favorite recipes. About 3 years ago, I wanted to make something with Aislynn on the first day of Fall, and I had pumpkin bread on my mind. It turned out that none of the grocery stores had canned pumpkin and didn't even know if they would have any by Thanksgiving. This was due to a pumpkin shortage. When I finally did see some canned pumpkin at the fancy grocery store (about 2 weeks before Thanksgiving), I bought the last 4 cans. I didn't end of trying Pumpkin Bread until closer the Christmas that year, but once I did, we had it a lot:) It is spicy and delicious, moist, and tastes even better the next day. Now I make it every year, multiple times, in the Fall, and it is something we all look forward to once September comes.

Pumpkin Bread (makes 2 loaves and 12 muffins)

Ingredients

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree

4 eggs

1 cup unsweetened applesauce*

2/3 cup water

3 cups white sugar

3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour*

2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp ground ginger

*The original recipe calls for vegetable oil instead of applesauce and all-purpose flour instead of whole wheat flour. In some recipes you can tell when there are healthier substitutions, but this is one of the few, that I can do the full substitution and for our family, we can't tell a difference in taste or texture.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly spray 2 loaf pans (I *think* the ones I use are 8.5x4.5 inches?) with non-stick spray and line one muffin pan with liners. (The original recipe calls for 3 7x3 loaf pans, but I didn't have those!)

2. In large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, applesauce, water, eggs, and sugar until well blended. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Stir into the pumpkin mixture until well blended.

3. Fill the muffin liners 2/3 full, and divide the remaining batter in to the loaf pans.

4. Bake for 18 minutes, and check the muffins. A toothpick should come out clean when inserted into the center. Rotate the loaf pans, and continue to bake 28-30 minutes. You may need longer...the bake time is off from the original recipe since I am baking the in different size pans. When a toothpick comes out clean, they are done;)

5. Let cool for a bit in the pan, and then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely.

Source: adapted from All Recipes

photo friday

2011-09-23T18:22:00.001-05:00

It has been awhile since I posted any photos, so here are some of my faves from the last 3 weeks or so:)

I made a carrot cake for my Dad's birthday and these kids had to lick the spoons from the frosting. K has learned the sound the mixer makes, so anytime he hears it, he comes running saying "want taste!"

reading stories:)

My Dad and K...poor Grandpa had to read the same books over and over again;)

He also had to be a bridge/tunnel for trains:)

Some pictures from one of our beach adventures...Shaun caught this guy, who fearless Mr. K really wanted to play with;)

The moon was out:)

The night before my Dad left to go home, we went to Olive Garden for dinner, and then tried to get some pictures...which all turned out like this one;)

Love that at this time of day you can capture the reflection:)

opening the goods at her party...

~~Shaun~~ Someone convinced her to have a different cake than the ice cream cake, so I made coconut cream cake per her request.

Hard to believe 6 candles went on her cake this year. I wonder what she wished for? She wouldn't tell me...because it wouldn't come true;)

Move over trains and cars (well, not really) puzzles are a new favorite thing to play with right now.

James (my step-dad) got this backpack for Kieran, which was SO perfect, since every morning when we take Aislynn to school, Kieran always says "Hey! Where my backpack?" So he adores this thing...like wants to sleep with it in his crib:)

We took a few photos on A's birthday before we went to dinner at her restaurant of choice (Lin's Asian Cuisine).

Grandma and James and the crazies;)

what 6 looks like:)

painting...it has been awhile since he has painted and I was pleasantly surprised at how little of a mess he made:) He was so cute when he made those little dashes he would say Thomas if it was blue, Percy if it was green, James if it was red...I liked that he was actually trying to paint something this time...last time he just tried to paint his body;)

She was painting Tulips in the Moonlight, and was inspired by this Van Gogh:

She has learned about some artists and one day she asked me if Jackson Pollack was dead. I told her that he was, then she asked me if Edgar Degas was dead, I told her he was. Then she said "who is the other one? He painted Tulips and Starry Night?" I told her Vincent Van Gogh and she asked me if he was dead. When I told her he was, she said "Ugh, all the good painters in this world are dead."

That girl makes me smile:)

and a few more beach pictures:

A and Shaun came in the kayak, so when they arrived, these 2 ran up to each other like it had been ages since they last saw each other;)

Hope everyone has a happy weekend!

scrappy thursday: september nook kit

2011-09-22T09:48:00.001-05:00

I have a couple of projects done with the September My Scrapbook Nook Kit. I am in love with this kit, it is filled with Crate Paper Random gorgeousness. I am really hoping to get a chance to delve into it some more soon!

I used the main kit+add-ons. This was the first time I used 2 different mists and I like it:)

I did this card for a challenge on the card forum:

See that column of circles? I was totally inspired by Carol's layout:)

These note cards were for another challenge on the card forum. You should check it out, every week there are about 2 challenges and I love how they help me build my card stash;)

Thank you so much for looking:)

ten on tuesday, kinda...

2011-09-21T08:48:00.014-05:00

1. First up, the winner of the Details from the American Crafts blog hop:
Jill said...
Love your lo. Nightfall is my favorite of the new lines. Your princess is adorable!! tfs.
9/18/2011 06:09:00 PM
Congrats Jill! Send me your mailing info here and I will get your goodies off to you!
2. October Nook peeks are going up and I am excited...the colors look awesome and this will be my first official kit as a design team member:) Check out the sneak thread HERE.
3. This post showed up in my google reader yesterday and I love it. The timing couldn't be any more perfect for me right now.

4. THIS was a fascinating listen in the car pickup line yesterday. Highly recommend it for parents of teenagers or almost teenagers;) I loved all of the questions from the audience too.

5. This arrived in my mailbox today:

I can't wait to read it...easy weeknight meals are a must, I would love links to your favorite recipes:)

6. The first day of fall is Friday. I *wish* we would have some fall weather, but let's be honest. This is Florida. And while I do have serious envy for places that experience fall, that would mean they get winter. And snow sounds magical for a day or 2, and maybe around Christmas, but that's about it for this FL girl;) At least if I can't enjoy fall weather, I can enjoy pumpkin spice lattes and mellocreme pumpkins.

7. The start of fall has me thinking about Halloween, and although I have no idea what the kids are going to be (Aislynn is deciding between a zombie and a butterfly?), here are some cute Halloween themed treats/crafts:

source

source 8. While I am sharing pins, here is a recent fave... source 9. The reason for the post title is that I totally started this yesterday, but never finished;) Last night, I figured I would just post this morning so I could include the winner for the AC drawing. I am becoming a bad blogger. I am going to try to be better...starting today:) 10. Lately we have been going to the beach for walks after dinner some nights...here are a few recent favorite pictures from our adventures:

Happy Wednesday, friends! For some reason, blogger keeps messing up the format of the numbers 8 and on, grrrr...

american crafts blog hop

2011-09-17T09:00:00.001-05:00

Welcome to the American Crafts Blog Hop! The team was challenged to mix and match the newest releases from Summer 2011 on a project.

and this is what I came up with:

I used mostly Nightfall on here, with some Amy Tangerine, Garden Cafe, and Daydreams thrown in there;) I tried scrapping these pictures last Halloween, but no papers I had went with them so they sat and sat and sat...enter American Crafts...perfect for them, right?!

Supplies used: Slate Goodness (53249) - Thickers, Orange You Glad Paper (35544) - Amy Tangerine, Is It Any Wonder Fabric Paper (35556) - Amy Tangerine, Moonlit Night Paper (35510) - Nightfall, Fall Leaves Paper (35530) - Nightfall, Night Watch Paper (35508) - Nightfall, Great Day Paper (35602) - Daydreams, Vanilla (71041) - Cardstock, Geyser (71469) - Cardstock, Spells (72015) - Delights, Spice (72016) - Delights, Jack-o-lantern (42206) - Remarks, Garden Cafe Printed Variety Tags (77256) - Bits, Harvest (89409) - Premium Ribbon, Dots Glue Runner (61713) - This to That

Now for the fun part...for a chance to win 2 packages of Details:

leave a comment on this post by Wednesday, September 21st, 8 a.m. CST, and I will randomly pick someone to win these goodies:)

Next on the hop is: Piradee Talvanna

Make sure you visit the other design team member's blogs...many of them are giving away fun stuff, plus if you visit all 20 designer's blogs, then the American Crafts blog...you could win 2 of the newest releases;) So have a great weekend AND have fun hopping;)

oh hello

2011-09-14T15:46:00.000-05:00

This has been one of those crazy busy weeks. It seems like all aspects of my life are going full speed ahead and I am struggling to keep up. I am behind in lots of things, but hope to be caught up before the weekend so we can rest and relax.

So a few random things...

I have a mini album up on the Ormolu blog today. Check out the link for more pictures!

This layout went up on the American Crafts blog yesterday, along with a picture of my scrap "space," which is actually just a shelf with goodies stored on it...my space is the dining room table;)

The September kit is up at the Nook and it is sooooooo beautiful:) I have had mine since Saturday and have not had a chance to play with it and that is driving me crazy!!! It is filled with Crate Paper's Random Collection.

Do you want to win some of Jenni Bowlin's latest goodies? All you need to do is register for the Nook message board, sign up for the newsletter, and then say you did in this thread;)

***

That's all I've got for now...make sure you check back Saturday...word on the street is that there may something fun and American Crafts related going on;)

september 11th

2011-09-11T11:42:00.001-05:00

10 years ago...I was sitting in Strozier Library at Florida State University. I was ~~sleeping~~ studying before my next class started when a student ran up to me and said the library was closing. I thought that was weird...but I packed up my stuff and walking down the stairs, there was buzz that school was canceled for the day. When I got outside of the library, there was a sea of students and I knew something was wrong. By the time I got to my car, all I could gather from overhearing conversations was that a bomb had gone off in the World Trade Center. I called Shaun, which woke him up and told him I was headed home. I tried calling my Mom, but I can't remember if I talked to her then or later.

On the way home, I heard the news and the second plane had just hit. As soon as I got home, I woke up Shaun and we pretty much stayed glued to the television the rest of the day. I was only 19 at the time...and this totally changed my whole perspective of the world. I was scared...terrified, and to this day, still cannot wrap my mind around the event. I will never forget that day...and watching the specials about it last night brought back so many feelings from that day.

6 years ago, another life changing event occurred. Shaun and I became parents for the first time. I was past my due date and very anxious about meeting our little girl and my doctor was the on call doctor that day and suggested inducing me. I didn't really want to be induced, and especially pick that day as her birthday, so we decided on the 13th. Well...life is unpredictable (as it seems...or maybe it isn't so random after all?) and I woke up with contractions 4 minutes apart at about 3:30 a.m. 6 years ago, my perspective on the world completely changed again, when I held my sweet daughter in my arms for the first time.

Happy 6th birthday baby girl...throughout your life, on your birthday, there will be a somber feeling because of that day in history. But you are a beautiful reminder that life is so very precious and that there are many many reasons to be optimistic and hopeful about the future. I love you more than you could ever imagine.

Love,

Mom

toot toot toot:)

2011-09-08T15:14:00.001-05:00

Hello friends! I have all kinds of exciting news to share with you today:)

The first thing is that I am now part of the design team at My Scrapbook Nook! I cannot tell you how excited I am for this!!! I am even more happy to see some of my sweet friends on the list:)

Here is the new team:

Anna Sigga- Iceland
Carol Monson- USA
Danni Reid-USA
Deanna Misner- USA
Gina Rodgers-Australia
Hilde Aaslund- Norway
Jaz Lee- Singapore
Jessy Christopher-Malaysia
Katarina Damm-Blomberg- Finland
Kim Moreno-USA

Leah Killian-USA
LG Belarmino- Phillipeans
Lilith Eeckles- Belgium
Lisa Kisch- Canada
Marinette Lefevre- France
Nicole Nowosad- Canada
Pamella Brown-USA
Shelleye McDaniel-USA
Stacey Michaud- USA

I am so excited to get started working with these fabulous ladies:)

So the next news is that I will be the featured designer in the February 2012 issue of CARDS magazine. I am super stoked about that and am working on some cards for the article that I can't wait to show you!

And finally, I have been invited to teach a class at Miss Arts Papercrafting School. I am so excited about this opportunity! We are working out the details and I will give you more information soon, but the class will be in December:)

***

The Bella Blvd e-mails have gone out and I did not receive one, but that means I can share my pages I created for the application:)

I worked with the Mr. Boy collection, which was perfect for K;)

I also participated in another photo swap on the Nook and Carol was my partner. She sent me these pictures of her son doing tricks in the pool and I came up with this:

I used the Echo Park Splash collection for this.

I sent her pictures of A getting her face painted and she sent me this:

I adore it!!! I love the butterfly and the colors she pulled from the photos. Thank you so much Carol!!!

So that is all for now;) I am working on things I can't share yet, plus it's Aislynn's birthday this weekend and with family in town, the blog may be kinda quiet;)

scrappy thursday

2011-09-01T08:54:00.003-05:00

Happy September! I can hardly believe it is September, this year is moving by so quickly!

okay, so last week I may have exaggerated on not having much to share, but this week I am not;) I have one card to share;) I did create some projects for the Bella Blvd design team call and I have an American Crafts project that I cannot share quite yet, so I have been making something;)

Here is a card I made using the American Crafts Daydreams line. I have been having fun with this line, it is very cute and girly, perfect for Miss A:) I also have a serious obsession with the bits (those sweet little tags) and have a hard time not adding one (or two or three) to a project...

oh, have I mentioned my baker's twine obsession too?!

That's all I have for you today, I promise to have more to share next week:)

ten on tuesday

2011-08-30T10:28:00.000-05:00

1. I am *really* excited about this. And even more excited to see some friends on that list:)

2. My Week in the Life album is up on the Ormolu blog today, happy that this project is all wrapped up now:) Now I am waiting for December Daily, ha!

3. I finally made this a couple weekends ago and I am kicking myself for waiting so long. Seriously...it is pretty amazing, and do I even have to tell you that it didn't last very long? When it comes to baked goods, we are a bunch of vultures in this house;)

4. Last night I tried a new recipe, a vegan one, Pineapple Quinoa...the family was a little nervous about it...but it got 2 thumbs up (from everyone but K, but he is really really picky, so he doesn't count!). I am excited about eating the leftovers for lunch:)

5. By the way...did you know quinoa was pronounced like keen-wah? I have been pronouncing it like quinn-noah. oops;)

6. Shaun and Aislynn like to tease me and they call quinoa birdseed;)

7. My Dad is coming in to town this weekend! Yay! I am excited...I haven't seen him since last October.

8. Little Miss A is turning 6 in less than 2 weeks...whoa. We are just having a little family party for her, but I am looking for inexpensive gift suggestions for a smarty 6 year old girl. I was thinking about some easy chapter book series...suggestions, please?!
9. This will be the "cake" at the party. Except the birthday girl demands chocolate and vanilla ice cream...and sprinkles, of course;)
10. and how about a few recent pins? How awesome is this idea? I think I know a couple of kids who might be into this;) I am also thinking this would be fun too...you could even do one for colors or numbers?

Happy Tuesday, friends!

make it monday: key lime pie

2011-08-29T16:25:00.000-05:00

If you have ever been to a restaurant in Florida, particularly a touristy one...it is almost guaranteed that key lime pie is on the dessert menu. After sampling *lots* of them, I thought I didn't really like key lime pie...and then one day it occurred to me that I just haven't had THE key lime pie...the one that you finish off (every last crumb) and say now *that* is how key lime pie should taste. Shaun and others in my family insist that Publix, the grocery store here, has a good one, but I didn't quite think so. I thought I could make a better one, and Shaun challenged me to do just that. After scouring the internet for recipes and reading reviews of them, I found one that looked promising, but it called for a store bought crust, which wouldn't do at all;) So I found a homemade graham cracker crust to go with my filling, and homemade whipped cream:) I am happy to say that this one was great! I don't know if it is the best recipe out there, probably not, but it is the best key lime pie we have had:)

And you will just have to excuse the picture...I tried to get a more clean looking piece, but this was the best...and I was being a bit impatient because I really wanted to eat it:) I told myself I would get a better picture later in the weekend, but somehow the whole pie was gone before I could do that;)

so here you go:

Key Lime Pie

Crust:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 9-10 large crackers)

6 tbsp melted butter

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/3 cup of sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Crush graham crackers until really fine (You can place them in a gallon size ziploc bag and roll a rolling pin over the bag).

3. Mix ingredients together. in medium bowl.

4. Using the back of a spoon, press into 9 inch pie dish. Make sure to press up the edges as well, making it nice and even all across.

5. Bake for 7 minutes.

While your crust is baking, you can start on the filling.

Filling:

3 cups sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup sour cream

3/4 cup key lime juice (in my grocery store it is with the juice boxes/bottles of juice)

1 tbsp grated lime zest

1. Mix all ingredients together in a medium size bowl.

2. When crust is done, let the oven come down to 350 degrees. Pour filling into crust.

3. Bake 5-8 minutes, until tiny pinhole bubbles burst on the surface of the pie.

4. Chill pie thoroughly and cover with whipped cream before serving.

*We probably had it in the refrigerator about 3 hours before we ate it...but after the kids were in bed, Shaun and I snuck another piece and that piece was so much better, I think because it had longer to chill?

Whipped Cream:

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla extract (I used vanilla bean paste to get those pretty flecks!)

1 tbsp confectioners sugar

1. Before making whipped cream, I always stick my beaters and bowl in the freezer for about 10 minutes.

2. Add all ingredients into bowl, beat until stiff peaks form...but don't beat it so long that it looks like butter;)

Enjoy!

sources: Pie Filling and Crust

photo friday

2011-08-26T11:44:00.000-05:00

I am slowly starting to get back into the routine...last week with Kieran threw us off, but I am determined to get back into the groove. Which means picking up the camera more. This is a pretty K picture heavy post, but he is who is around most of the time now...and he doesn't complain about having the camera around;)

Here he is driving his cars. You can tell by his face he is making "vroom" sounds:) I was asking him what color each car was and apparently they are all green;)

We went to the beach Sunday. It was short lived because a thunderstorm was looming and the water was filled with sea weed:( We picked up our kayak from my in-laws beach house and Shaun and Aislynn took that to the beach while Kieran and I drove. Kieran went back with Shaun and took a shovel (or "shubble") with him and Shaun said he kept dipping it in the water to help him paddle;)

Proof that Aislynn be a nice big sister....she picked out this Thomas book and asked Kieran if he wanted her to read it, which of course he did:)

Can't you just see the stinker in this guy? It is a good thing he is cute:)

While A is off at school, he likes incorporating her toys into his play...like using her little dog house for a house for the trains.

or using the mail truck to give a twist to pony rides;)

We headed back to the beach after school yesterday because it was such a beautiful day. It was amazing the difference in sea weed...there was hardly any!

K and I drove while A and S brought the kayak...

This is my new favorite picture. See how clear the water is? It was so pretty and the temperature was perfect too!

Here are A and S coming up through the lake. I put the camera away after this so we could all go swim in the gulf. As soon as my foot brushed against a crab, I was out! I have become such a wimp about swimming in the water as I have gotten older!

I hope everyone has a great weekend! We have no plans, but maybe we will make it to the beach again. It is so nice this time of year once the beaches aren't so crowded;)

scrappy thursday

2011-08-25T11:02:00.006-05:00

Happy Thursday! I have lots of stuff to share today, from the Nook Virtual Crop. I didn't quite get done as much as I wanted to, but what can you do? I am going through a slump in mojo right now...anxiously awaiting for it to return:) Anyways, here is what I have to show you:

This is using the American Crafts Peachy Keen line, which is so soft and pretty. I am not a stamper, so I don't have a big collection of ink/stamps. I used Cat's Eye Chalk Ink to stamp this and it really didn't show up as good as I would have liked. What are you favorite inks to use? I have some staz on, which I do like...

This card is using the new American Crafts Amy Tangerine line. It's funny because I was most intimidated about this line, and so far it has been the only one I have cut into;) I love it...really funky and fresh! Great colors too!

Another AC Amy Tangerine card:)

I made this using bits and pieces of what I had left from the July My Scrapbook Nook kit. I am pretty sure there are some of those left HERE;)

This was my favorite layout I made for the crop. I used Jillibean Soup Watermelon Gazpacho...I loooooove this line so very much:) and these pictures, they make me happy!

I used the August Studio Calico kit for this. Oh and this is for you, Shel: take a small bagel, put peanut butter on it, place peas on bagel, devour, lol!

This was for a sketch challenge, and I used Echo Park Springtime for this:)

This was inspired by one of Stephanie's layouts...I used the August My Scrapbook Nook kit for this:)

I used the June My Scrapbook Nook kit for this one.

I have a couple projects to share that I didn't do for the crop, but earlier this week. I used the August Studio Calico kit for both of them:

and this card:

I couldn't resist making another one of these flowers. I also made this for a color challenge on the Nook. The members posted their favorite color combos and we picked one and created cards using the combination we picked. I loved the idea of kraft, green, and turquoise!

Phew, that was a lot!!! As always, thanks so much for taking the time to peek at my projects!

make it monday: ruffled flowers

2011-08-22T10:41:00.002-05:00

I received my Studio Calico August kit last week and when I saw the Pink Paislee trim, I knew I immediately wanted to try making those ruffled flowers I have seen. They are so cute and super easy to make, so I decided to put together a tutorial for how I made them:)

Ta da! That's easy, right?! Then you just need to add it to your layout/card:)

Hope everyone has a great week:)

scrappy thursday

2011-08-18T08:35:00.000-05:00

Good morning! I want to thank everyone for their sweet comments regarding American Crafts. I am extremely excited about this opportunity and all of your kind words just mean so much to me, thank you.

I really do not have much to show you today because we have been battling the 2 year molars. Aislynn really must have spoiled us because I don't remember hers being that bad, but Kieran? It was seriously like a different kid took over him...he sooooooo cranky, inconsolable, he wouldn't eat, wouldn't sleep, he wanted me to hold him, but would still be fussing. Anyways, he is SO much better now, it's not even funny. I am so glad he is back to his silly self, for the most part!

So on to the scrappy part of the post...we did a card kit swap at the Nook, and Rachel sent me this gorgeous kit, full of Echo Park Be Mine goodness:

I was able to get 3 cards out of it:

I also made this quick card using the August 8th sketch from the Nook, as well as the August kit:

That's all...ha, really not too much to share! Maybe I subconsciously was saving my creative juices for the virtual crop at the Nook this weekend? It starts tomorrow, goes through Sunday. Guaranteed prizes and fun, I hope to see you there!

soooo excited!!!

2011-08-15T15:00:00.001-05:00

Friday morning I got the happiest e-mail from Stephanie of American Crafts, inviting me to join their 2011-2012 Contributing Design Team. I had to read the e-mail a couple times (okay, like 5 times!) to make sure I wasn't dreaming. It was sooooo very hard to keep this a secret and I am so happy to see who else I will be working with! I am a big fan of many of the ladies on the team and I am so happy my sweet friend, Lilith, is on the team with me! So excited for this next year, this is really a dream come true for me:)

Check out the other lucky ladies:

INTERNATIONAL
Cindy Stevens – from New Brunswick, Canada
Lilith Eeckles – from Bertogne, Belgium
Michelle Clement – from British Columbia, Canada
Piradee Talvanna – from Singapore
Revlie Schuit – from Roelofarendsveen, The Netherlands
Shimelle Laine – from London, England

UNITED STATES
Amy Heller – from Newtown, CT
Cindy Tobey – from Kentwood, MI
Corrie Jones – from Dallas, GA
Heidi Sonboul – from Torrance, CA
Jamie Harper – from Phoenix, AZ
Jenny Chesnick – from Brooklyn, MD
Leah Farquharson – from Lauderhill, FL
Leslie Ashe – from Fort Worth, TX
Mandy Koeppen – from Hastings, MI
Melissa Mann – from Pensacola, FL
Paige Evans – from South Pasadena, CA
Pamella Brown – from Santa Rosa Beach, FL
Rahel Menig – from Gilroy, CA
Suzy Plantamura – from Laguna Niguel, CA

photo friday

2011-08-12T09:04:00.000-05:00

Meet Kieran, the fake sleeper.

One of his favorite games to play right now is fake sleeping. He even fake snores, then you tell him "wake up, wake up!" and he opens his eyes and giggles. Then repeats over and over again:) He is such a SILLY boy, that he even plays by himself (he lays on the floor, "sleeps" and says "wake up Kieran"), ha ha!
Love this age so much...

Would you check out those eyelashes? Handsome fellow;)

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

scrappy thursday

2011-08-11T10:11:00.001-05:00

I don't have *too* many projects to share today, I have been working on editing/printing pictures for my week in the life book and editing pictures to scrap. I have been so tired this week too, I think getting back into the swing of things this week is tiring me out! I wish I could make up some more time somehow, I have soooo many ideas for layouts/projects floating around in my head right now, does that ever happen to you?!

okay, enough rambling, here are a few more pages I have done with the August My Scrapbook Nook kit:

I love these pictures from this post. My silly silly boy:)

Here is the page I did for the MME challenge:

I adore this kit because of the colors! I am happy to be making some K pages, it seems like I had been making lots of A pages for a while there.

I also made this card for this challenge on the Nook.

I also made this card, using scraps of the March kit+items from my stash for this challenge:

I had a couple of projects go up on the Ormolu blog yesterday (please GO check out the other projects up there, I adore Melanie's simple sweet style and Amanda's awesome multi photo page!).

I used lots of fun products here: vignette dots n spots, flora embellishments in vignette (remember these are on sale until the 15th!), and the vignette circle tags.

While I had these goodies on my workspace, I made this card using the same design as my layout:

That's all for today! I am ready for the weekend, when we can sleep in a little bit...

ten on tuesday

2011-08-09T09:23:00.001-05:00

1. Yesterday was the big day...Miss Aislynn started kindergarten. She was sooooo so excited, woke up super early and kept asking me if it was time to leave yet. I walked her in her class and she put her stuff away in her cubby and sat at her desk (her very *own* desk, which she thought was so cool!). She hugged me and told Kieran and I bye. I had to go by the office, and when I walked by her classroom again, school had started. I peeked in the window and she was looking at the teacher with the BIGGEST smile on her face. That's when Mama started to lose it:( I cannot believe my big girl is in kindergarten. And she loves it. When I picked her up she told me all about her day...how she met 2 friends, Emily and Olivia, how she played super hero dogs on the playground with Matthew (yes...her friend from pre-k is in her class-yay!) and 2 other boys, how Ms. Kenner told her she was so smart, how she raised her hand and knew all of the answers to the questions that were asked. She also commented on how much less playing there was in kindergarten compared to pre-k:) I just know she is going to soar this year, she is such a smart girl and soaks up information so easily. We are so very proud of this girl:

2. Someone (Sherri, sorry it has taken me so long to respond!!!) asked me a while ago about the photos I post with the rounded corners. I use the rounded corner action from the CoffeeShop blog, which you really need to check out for tons of free and awesome actions!

3. There is a really cool site, Paper Coterie, and they have so many cute things to do with photos! There is a free $40 credit code that is valid until August 31st. The code is BEGINANYWHERE. I ordered this box, which measures 9.75x13 inches to stores all of A's kindergarten creations in:)

4. Kieran is liking this new found freedom to play with Aislynn's toys while she is at school. As soon as we got home from dropping her off, he pulled out some of her toys and took full advantage of her not being there to stop him;)

5. Today, Aislynn starts ballet again. She found her recital outfit from a year and a half ago and decided she wants to do it again. I am so so happy about this:)

6. Have you made these chicken taquitos I linked a couple weeks ago? I have made them 2 more times since I originally posted about them. They are seriously our favorite new dinner, sooo yummy!

7.I had 2 cards picked up for the January 2012 issue of CARDS:)

8. Have you checked out the August kit from My Scrapbook Nook? I am having so much fun playing with the kit. The bright colors are totally up my alley. I think when Mr. K takes his nap, I am going to play with it some more, for this MME blog challenge;)

9. In other Nook news, there is a virtual crop planned August 19th and 20th, so mark your calendars. The crops are so much fun, the challenges are inspiring, and the prizes are pretty awesome too;)

10. My goal is to try a new recipe each week, this week I want to try these pork tacos. Looks yummy, yes?

Happy Tuesday friends!

make it monday: pina colada popsicles

2011-08-08T12:41:00.001-05:00

Today I wanted to share the perfect summer treat, one that doesn't last long at all in our freezer. Seriously, these babies are gone in a day. I think I may need another Popsicle mold;) The first time I made pina colada popsicles, I wasn't happy with the flavor. I searched for a pina colada recipe and decided to omit the alcohol and pour the mix into the molds. I found a recipe from one of my go-to recipe blogs, Annie's Eats and adapted that recipe into one that works for the popsicles. Just try these...trust me;)

Pina Colada Popsicles (adapted from Annie's Eats)

Makes 6 large popsicles

3/4 cup cream of coconut
3 tbsp milk
3 3/4 cups chopped pineapple (you can use fresh or frozen, I usually do a mix of both)

Throw all ingredients into a blender, mix until fairly smooth. Pour into molds and freeze for at least 4 hours before gobbling up;)

**edited to add: This is the cream of coconut I used:

Coconut cream is not the same as coconut milk, so I don't know about subbing it (although I think the main difference in them is the fat content?). I found this in the Mexican food aisle in my grocery store, close to the coconut milk, but also check the liquor section, there might be some of this by the rum;)

a winner+scrappy thursday

2011-08-04T08:51:00.003-05:00

First I would like to announce the winner of the Ormolu giveaway:

Allycat x said...: My fav product at the moment is the flair badges, especially the days, months & numbers :) So many uses!; 8/01/2011 04:13:00 PM

Congrats Ally! E-mail me your address and we will get your 2-Day Hooray Flappers out to you!

Next I want to share a couple of scrappy projects. The first one is a layout I made with the July My Scrapbook Nook kit.

and a few close-ups...

I still have quite a bit of the July kit left, but I really wanted to crack into August;)

I love the colors in this kit, so happy and bright! Perfect for scrapping pictures of K;)

I used the August sketch for this page. Look how teeny he looks here, this was about a year ago. His hair was so blond then too!

I also made a card:

I am itching to scrap more with the kit, but I also really want to get started on wrapping up, well starting, my week in the life book;)

another giveaway:)

2011-08-01T11:33:00.001-05:00

Over on the Ormolu blog, Kaitlin is doing a fun little Meet the Team post every month to well...meet the team, ha! So I have a little interview up, as well as this layout on the blog today:

There is also a tutorial up on how to print directly on tags, like you see here. And notice the pretty flora embellishments? They are one of my favorite Ormolu goodies, so they will be discounted 10% until August 15th, yay!

But my very favorite products (although I have a feeling once some of the new goods are in my hands, that could change!) are these flappers, so you have the chance to win some! Just leave me a comment letting me know what your favorite thing is (can be anything!) and I will choose a winner Thursday morning.

wanna win some stuff?

2011-07-30T13:30:00.000-05:00

Like this?

or these...yes, those are fabric and they do make my heart pitter patter:)

or maybe you would prefer these?

or these? Or maybe you would just like to have your pick:) Kaitlin is doing a fantastic giveaway on Ali Edwards' blog for a $30 gift certificate. For another chance to win, make sure you like Ormolu on facebook and tell Kaitlin what your favorite new item is (you will probably just love it all, like me!). Then you can have your pick at some of the new goodies in the shop (some pictured above). Good luck!

scrappy thursday

2011-07-28T08:43:00.001-05:00

I think it may be because summer is ending for us soon (just the lazy days, not the weather, ha!), but I have been in the mood to scrap summer pictures. I played with American Crafts margarita line, which is super bright, but you know I don't shy away from color;)

Do these pictures look familiar?! Here are some close ups:

I love this picture of A here, you can see her new window where her 2nd tooth fell out:) I also *really* love those butterflies (Shel!).

I *might* be obsessed with those particular thickers and those tags;)

And finally we have my last project for Echo Park:

This one was my favorite of the bunch:)

And an Echo Park layout I made for fun, using Little Boy (I told ya I was going to use that collection to the max)!

I created this layout with the Pebbles Inc Floral Lane line:

Don't they look so little here?

and a card using Floral Lane:

and a card using Jillibean Soup Dutch Mustard Soup:

That's all for now:) Thanks so much for looking! What have you been creating lately?

wordless wednesday: photobooth

2011-07-27T10:27:00.000-05:00

week in the life: Monday

2011-07-26T09:47:00.000-05:00

I can't figure out how to upload the photos from my phone, so Shaun will have to help me with that:)

1. playing with his "tracks" first thing 2. making granola for breakfast 3. K asking for a juice box (which happens whenever I am in the kitchen!) 4. A wakes up and watches Martha Speaks

5. puzzles 6. oatmeal for him, granola+yogurt+honey for Aislynn and I 7. juice boxes 8. we go to the library and drop stuff off at Good Will, grab smoothies and come home to eat lunch 9. dirty dishes, time for Mommy to clean them up 10. nap time 11. A takes advantage of nap time and plays with K's trains 12. coffee+blog/message board/internet hopping 13. S on his phone 14. A eats a snack...pb sandwich and a salad 15. making dinner 16. A+S grilling 17. dinner, pork tenderloin+rice+broccoli 18. kids throwing fits and hiding under their covers 19. after bedtime stories 20. picasa repeated a picture to make the collage:)

I still have my regular ten on tuesday post below;)

Happy to be creating

january nook kit

new space

i have to share

ten on wednesday...scrappy edition

american crafts: favorite photos

ten on tuesday

2011

my top ten

christmas 2011

merry christmas!

ten on tuesday

catching up a bit

more december nook

hello winners!

Random Integer Generator

Random Integer Generator

stop and scrap giveaway

we have a winner+december nook kit

Random Integer Generator

ten on tuesday

a giveaway

this is the best part of the year

ten on tuesday

thanksgiving 2011

happy turkey day

midnight rooster

hey there old chap

warning: very photo heavy post

naps?

nook news

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

***

Finally, I want to remind you about our Card Sharks Challenge that is going on. It is an elimination/voting style challenge and the first challenge is up! Check out more information HERE. Remember the prize is over $100 in scrappy goodies;)

happy birthday+a winner

My Scrapbook Nook Blog Hop!!!

an american crafts share

a few things...

"vintage" a

new ormolu goodies, a giveaway, and a challenge

baked potato soup

nook october projects+an offer

american crafts nightfall cards

today

ormolu sale!

things are a changin'

american crafts shares

scrappy thursday: more september nook

ten on tuesday

make it monday: pumpkin bread

photo friday

scrappy thursday: september nook kit

ten on tuesday, kinda...

american crafts blog hop

oh hello

september 11th

toot toot toot:)

scrappy thursday

ten on tuesday

make it monday: key lime pie

photo friday

scrappy thursday

make it monday: ruffled flowers

scrappy thursday

soooo excited!!!

photo friday

scrappy thursday

ten on tuesday

make it monday: pina colada popsicles

a winner+scrappy thursday

another giveaway:)

wanna win some stuff?

scrappy thursday

wordless wednesday: photobooth

week in the life: Monday

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