Blog Challenge Participants....

How about a sneek peak at the Giftaway? =]
Winner of this blog challenge will be receiving this really cool pack of paper from Me and My Big Ideas: Noel Collection and one other surprise!I hope this paper pack will inspire you to do a really cool Christmas (or winter =]) project. I got a pack for myself and will be using some of it for my Days of December album. Here are some pics that I took of my pack.

Don't forget to come and comment on my December 1 blog post to let me know that you participated. Great job everybody!

What I am working on today...

Just thought I'd give you all a peek at what I am creating today. I've been busy running errands, but if you've been reading my blog lately, you know I have had a need to create something at leisure. Not for an order, not for a wedding, not for sale... just because.

I am creating a chipboard Gratitude Album and I am going to include the thankfulness posts from the challenge for November.

What about you? What have you been creating?

Wordless Wednesday: Missing you...*sigh*

Finished favors...

Well, not finished with all 200 yet, but I thought I'd show you the finished product. I could've made it fancier, but I've been crazy busy. Everyone will just rip into them for the candy anyway, right? If you are interesting in ordering favors for a party, wedding, goody bag, shower or any occasion, please contact me. I will custom make them to your specifics!

All righty...back to the work table for me!

Wedding favors...in the making...

Take a good whiff.... Can you smell the minty cool freshness? =]

So, here is a peek at the wedding favors that I am making. I plan on putting 2 peppermint patties in a plastic bag (sleeve) and then I am going to stamp and print another card or label for the outer package. Here's the start of it. You could do these to add to a goody bag or for showers, birthdays, etc.

Start with mini peppermint patties:

Other tools or items needed: Cardstock of your choice, Stamps, Ink pad, Cat's Eye Chalk, Circle punch (mine is Creative Memories), Scallop Punch (mine is Stampin' Up), Paper Trimmer (mine is Cricut), and adhesive or double stick tape (I used Pioneer Photo Splits)

I cut 1.5" strips of white to punch out the small circles. I stamped an image on the circle and then used the Cat's Eye Chalk to ink the edge of the circle.

I then cut 2" strips of the blue and punched out the scallop shapes. I used 2 scallops per patty. One for the top and one for the bottom.

I used photo splits to adhere the circles, scallops and patties to each other, but you can use double stick tape or even a dot of glue.

To be continued when I get around to the next step. I've only done 102 of these and I need about 300. *Yikes*

P.S. They taste great, no matter what step you're on! ;]

Wordless Wednesday: Busy Bee...

Pails and such...

Here are some altered clear buckets. The buckets are by Stampendous!

You can use these for anything, but in this case I used them to hold tealights in a votive jar.

This one uses paper from the new DCWV Blossoms & Butterflies Stack

This one uses paper from Cosmo Cricket.

This wall hanging is made from two altered CD's. The bottom CD has the verse Psalm 139:14 in Spanish. A picture can be added to the top CD.

All of my altered items and chipboard books/albums can be purchased. Just let me know what colors, theme and personalization you want for each item!

Cool Challenge site for scrapbooking!

Check out this site. They are not brand new to the online world, however, they've revamped things to be more of a Scrapping Challenge blog. I look forward to getting some great ideas. Go check them out here! FEELING SCRAPPY

Scrap's of Life has got some goodies to give away...

I love this blog. She's got a little mix of cooking, scrapbooking, and everyday life posted here. She's got a great kit to give away and since I NEED that kit, I am posting about it here for an extra entry. =] Check it out by clicking on this CLICKY.

Blog Challenge winner is.....

I issued the SS Blog Challenge a couple of weeks ago. I offered up an incentive to anyone who would blog about their 4th of July and then contact me to let me know. Well, it was a very serious and high tech procedure, but all the names were put together and only one was drawn. Here is the lucky winner and what she will receive.

Thanks for blogging! Watch for more fun blog candy!

Patterned paper and cardstock sticker sheet by Bo Bunny. Solid Cardstock by Prism. Brads.

For Dad...

This is an altered tin (Altoid type) that I made for my dad. It holds pics of me, my dh and my kiddos. I also included some random gift cards of places he likes to eat and have coffee. I tried to keep it as foo-foo free as possible.

oh...and yes, it says "Love, Fred" - that's what he called me when I was little. =]

And since I am showing you something I recently made, here is something else that I did recently. I teach a Jr. High and High School girls Sunday School class at church. We are going to be starting on a new devotional book. The book encourages us to keep a journal as we go through the lessons are encouraged to meditate on God's Word and issues that are so important.

So, I went to Staples and bought these recycled, sugar-cane made spiral notebooks (less than $1.50 each). I gave one to each girl and then let them have at my collection of supplies (they love it when they walk in and see all my stuff there!). We took a heavy patterned cardstock, cut it to fit the front cover, and then applied it with a thin layer of mod podge. From there you can go as wild as you want. Add ribbon, chipboard shapes and letters, flowers, glitter...whatever! Hannah did the black one and I did the other one. Actually, I did most of it. Hannah added a bunch more ribbon to it for me.

The girls were instructed to bring it back every week for class. I hope they're as excited as I am about it!

My Place...

So...those of you that know me, know that I have a need to create. It is just something in me. I will go for a while without creating and then it hits. A craving, an itch...whatever you want to call it - I.must.create.
There's not a whole lot of extra space here in our house, so dear, sweet hubby told me to make the family room into my scrap space. Yup! He's awesome like that. He understands this obsession of mine. So here it is. My space. I love it. I still need to get some frames hung up and I would also like to get some words stenciled and painted around the room. Words that will inspire me, make me smile, bring me joy - yeah, those kind of words. Now, I leave you to look at the photos while I go create. Have a great week!


Here's the view from the living room looking into my scrap room/family room. Just painted the walls dark tan and chocolate. The chocolate wall is where I want to stencil some words in bold pink or white...love the MM organizer my hubby bought me!

This is one side of my work space. I have a magnetic knife strip from Ikea. It holds my little tins. I also added a bit of cork board to the wall to hold pictures and memorabilia.


This is my paper stash. I am still working on this area of organization. The valance was made using the bed skirt from the futon comforter set. I also took the fitted sheet and made it into a table cloth for the table. It was a twin set and the futon is a full.

I have more frames to hang in this area above the window.

Another shot of my work space. I keep all of my embellishments at arms reach. My Cuttlebug and larger items are stored in the cabinets underneath.

SS Blog Challenge #17 - Prized Pocessions

This challenge is from Lisa ~ I think she did a great job for her first time handing out challenges!

We all cherish our families and our homes and many of the bigger things in our lives. . .but what about something small? What is your most prized pocession? Is it a picture? Is it your great great Aunts tea set? Is it a family recipe? Is it something silly or sentimental? Tell us about it and why you value it and what makes it special to you. Please post a picture of the item if you can!

Wow. This one was really a hard one for me. I am pretty sentimental and find that I value a lot of the little things in life. Because of this, I tend to hang on to a lot. I am also on a journey to de-clutter my life, so I've learned to try to let go of some things. After thinking long and hard about this, I finally came up with one of my most prized pocessions - and here it is:

This is a heritage album. My grandmother, that I often speak about, gave me these photos. She knew that I would do something special with them and I have. I have pictures in this album that date back to 1909. I have wedding photos of my grandparents, great-grandparents and even my great aunt's. I have baby pictures of my father and my aunt that were taken in Japan while my Grandfather was stationed there during his service in the USAF. I am sure that there are older pictures of our family floating around somewhere, but to think that she trusted me with these precious memories mean a lot to me.

I have a very diverse background. My mother is Korean. My father is French/German and grew up around the Pennsylvania Dutch. I married a Bolivian. Isn't that a great hodge-podge? I think so. Just imagine the potlucks at our house! LOL Unfortunately, we are all many miles and miles apart. I take comfort in knowing that I have something that helps me to trace back my roots, what makes me special - what makes me different.

Friday Find: Gadget Holder

So - I have discovered the Goodwill stores. Yeah, I know. I'm way late to the party. Anyway, here is one of my "finds". I guess it is one of those holders for napkins and cutlery. It's not old, (has a Target label underneath) but kind of reminds me of Shaker furniture or something. It was love at first sight and I knew what I would use it for right away!

It holds a beloved spot in my Scraproom. Right now it holds pens, scissors, punches and other odds and ends. I love it!

March 12 on 12 completed layout...

Finally. Done. Working on April's now.

Friday Find - If I ever win the lottery...

Okay, I guess I would first have to play the lottery in order to win, so let's just say if all of a sudden I was just crazy rich - this is what I'd want. A Scrappin' Shed. Yup, that's right. Not a scrap room, scrap space, scrap basement, closet, whatever.... A Scrappin' Shed. *sigh* Here's a picture of the outside, but you must enter the gallery and keep clicking next to take a look around. Wow.

Oh, by the way, if I ever do get a Scrappin' Shed - you're all invited to come and play! Promise!

Enter gallery HERE.

SS Bog Challenge #12 - Getting To Know You...

This week's challenge is brought to you by ... ME! =]

Blog Challenge #12 - Getting To Know You

Copy and paste the following section into your blog and answer as best as you can.

You can elaborate (I hope you do), you can post pictures, you can be deep, you can be funny. Whatever you choose -just be honest.

Second part of the challenge - post a picture (from this week) of you at your computer. Don't worry about cleaning up - just post and have fun.

1) Right now I want: Right now I want to eat some of the carrot cake that my daughter made for DH. I have not eaten sugar or any carbs for 2 weeks and I can smell the cream cheese frosting from here. *sigh* Be strong...be strong.

2) I wish I knew how to: I wish I knew how to digital scrapbook. I made a weak attempt, but I am a visual learner. I wish someone could just sit down with me and show me step by step. Ugh. My plan would be to finish scrapping all my photos already printed and digi scrap all the ones waiting in my computer.

3) When I want to indulge myself, I: I usually scrapbook or read. I don't get much uninterupted time around here - so that is a luxury!

4) You’ll never see me: sitting around with nothing to do. I don't understand women that are "bored". Of course, I have met women that are "boring", but that's another story. I always have something to do. Always.

5) A childhood memory that I love: A childhood memory that I especially love is of a Christmas in Colorado. We had just moved there and our things had not arrived from Alabama yet. We did not have any of our Christmas decorations. My dad took us to go find pinecones. All sizes. We painted them and sprinkled glitter all over them. Then he took Coke cans, cut them into strips and twisted them around pencils so that they were in a spiral. We hung those on the tree too. We even strung popcorn and cranberries. My brother and I got an Atari game system. This was the first time they had ever come out with this type of thing. Wow. We were amazed. We knew Mom and Dad didn't really have the money for it, yet "Santa" was able to help them out.

6) 2 things I do every single day: Pray for my family and go online (see my priorities?) LOL

7) Happiest moment of 2008, so far: The happiest moment of 2008 so far started out to be not so happy. We made the decision to move closer to our church. We didn't really have the money or energy to do this, but it had to be done. We found a place, but then found out that we had 1 week to move. In the end, it was the best thing we could've done. God is good. We are way closer to work, school things, friends, and our house is perfect for us!

8) Describe yourself in 3 words: funny, encouraging, energetic (I asked DH to help...I know, that's cheating...) His answers were: loving, energetic, smart =]

9) 2 scrap related goals for this year: Learn to Digi Scrap. Go to an SS scrap retreat.

10) You have $40 that you MUST spend on yourself – what do you do with it?

I would probably go to the spa and get a mini massage or facial or maybe spend time with a Starbucks browsing Barnes and Nobles and purchasing the books I like instead of putting them back on the shelf.

Now, the second part of the challenge: Here's a picture of me blogging. See all my scrap stuff out from Menjiness' visit? I am still scrapping!
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March 12 on 12 Challenge

I have decided to join in on a 12 on 12 challenge. The idea is to take 12 pictures of your day on the 12th of every month. This is my first month in the challenge and I didn't really get what I would call "exciting" photos, but I guess that not every day is exactly exciting. LOL So, here is what I got.


This is our new place. It is actually the first picture of the house that I've taken. This was before anyone else was up - well, except for hubby. He was already at work.

This is our pool. It is the hi-lite of our house (for the girls anyway). I love the backyard because of the benches that we placed back by the trees. It is a very peaceful place to hang out early in the morning or late at night. Gotta love the warm California climate.

Guess which one of my kids was the first to wake up? He's usually my first companion in the morning. I love the time we have to play before the hectic day gets started.

I usually have two cups of coffee. One when I first wake up, and one when Taryn gets up. She likes to make my coffee. However, she does not like that I am taking her picture this morning. LOL "Aww, mom........", says she.

Okay, technically - this is the first kid awake in this house! This is Oso. My Jack Russell - Chihuahua mix. He's hiper, but we love him!

Naomi did not want to put on socks or slippers today. Why? Because she said that her toes were pretty - that's why! We don't wear shoes in the house normally, but most of the house is wood and tile so I like them to wear socks or slippers in the morning. Not this girl! Nope!


Here's Marco. Busy at his job already. Those letter blocks that you see - I have a love/hate relationship with them. They are the magnetic Leap Frog ABC thing. Naomi learned her ABC's with them and is even starting to recognize some of them - but there are so many! Upper and lower case and he loves to drag them all around. *sigh*

The school day has started at about 8:45. Hannah is doing her writing.

Here's Taryn doing her spelling.

...and of course Naomi loves to get working. She calls this "my project". She is very busy as you can see.

I got busy all day and forgot to take any other pictures. We also had church tonight and I wanted to take my camera for our kids club that we have. Oh, well. Like I said, I am new at this. LOL

This is Hannah after her shower giving Marco his last bottle.

Here is the last picture of the day. I just realized that I didn't get one picture of Big Marco this time. Oh well. Wednesdays are very busy for him. This is the time I actually got ready to go to bed today. This is a miracle, but I was exhausted. They don't call me Midnite Scrapper for nothing you know!

Hopefully, I will get these pictures on a layout soon. =]

Mental Holiday - SS Blog Challenge

The challenge: Where do you go when you know you have to go somewhere but don’t have the time, energy or inclination to actually leave the house? Posted by Lee =]

As many families are these days, we are always on the go. Marco is a pastor and our church is at least 30 minutes drive one way. We are there twice on Sunday, once on Wednesday, once on Friday, and Marco even goes in on Saturdays. Now that he is also working a separate full-time job, he doesn't go during the day like he used to. By the way, each of the times we are there, it is for a different thing. Church service, kids club, youth night - whatever. I also homeschool my children. We are together all.the.time. There are definitely times when I feel like screaming, "Calgon, take me away!" I have been all over the world and can think of many places that would be nice to re-visit. Instead, this is what I do:

If I can only steal away for a moment, I will hop on-line and visit some of my favorite sites and blogs. There are a couple of sites I visit daily and many, many blogs that I read on all sorts of subjects every day. To be able to just sit and tune everything out is always a nice break for me.

If I have a longer stretch of time and some quiet (ahem...) I will let myself get lost in a book. My favorite reading is a good historical fiction piece. It could be about that crazy Henry the VIII or a young girl during the days of the Civil War. I love interactive books that have replicas of love letters, ticket stubs, passports, etc. that you can take out and actually see and feel what the real piece looked like. I have several books like this. Love letters shared between John and Abigail Adams, a book on slavery, and several others. I also love biographies and auto-biographies. I collect books on women in history. I figure I can learn something from everyone, right?

My next choice if I had - say, a whole day to myself - would be to go to a crop and scrapbook (if it were available) or browse a book store at my liesure. Bliss.

Lastly, my favorite anytime holiday is to cuddle up with one of my children and just be quiet with them. This is hard to do these days. My oldest is 12 and my youngest is 6 months old. I can get lost in the thought of them and what the future holds for them. Little Marco is at the stage of saying mamamamama (with a mouth full of drool) and I love it when he looks right into my eyes and does this. So sweet. Makes all the hustle and bustle of life just melt away.