Friday, January 30, 2009

random january photos...

I didn't take a ton of photos in January...but here are a few random photos taken throughout the month:

Meagan made cookies a few times...by herself:

011109_meagan_cookies

...(well, she let her little brothers help)...Zach was the official beater licker:011109_zach_cookies 

The boys spent many hours building marble tracks:

012008_marble_track

I loved sneaking in and getting a picture of Meagan and Josh reading the Book of Mormon together one Sunday evening:

012509_scriptures

Yummy cupcakes from our sweet neighbor:

012809_cupcakes

Zach fell asleep in the van one afternoon when we went to pick up Meagan from school.  I brought him inside and put him on my bed.  About five minutes later, I walked back to find him in the doorway like this...sound asleep:

012809_zach_sleeping

This is a little something I've been working on:

mission2_inspirationbinder_filtered

I'm not a worm lover (or lover of any slimy thing, really), but when Seth came home from preschool with this little night crawler, he couldn't wait to get a photo with him (of course, he had to cover his own eyes, because "the night crawler has big eyes of his own"):012709_seth_nightcrawler_ey

And we're getting ready to bid farewell to this (finally):

kitchen1

The cupboards and pantry are coming out tomorrow...and the tile is coming up on Wednesday...yes, these are very very happy days...

Thursday, January 29, 2009

yw binder...

Once a week, usually Wednesday evening, I get the opportunity to meet with the girls in our Young Women's program...my class includes girls ages 12-14, the Beehives.  I shared recently about our trip to see the Draper Temple, but most of our activities are on a bit smaller scale. 

A few weeks ago, we met and put together these little binders.

YW_binder_label  

As you may know, handouts are a fairly common addition to our Sunday lessons, and the girls have already begun quite extensive collections of quotes, thoughts, stories, and other items that they've taken home which were meant to help reinforce the lessons. 

YW_binder

I thought it would be fun to create these little binders so they can file their handouts under the appropriate value (YW Values) for easy reference.  I just printed each value on a circle of it's corresponding value color and glued them to the edges of the page protectors.

YW_binder_tabs  

I know I wish I still had all of the handouts and other items I was given when I was a teenager...they would have come in handy for talks and lessons I've had to prepare in my adult life.

YW_binder_tabs1     YW_binder_tabs2

The girls were excited to create their binders and get their handouts organized...and I'm excited to be starting one myself...because it's likely I'll be giving a few more lessons and talks in my lifetime. :o)

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

just chillin', again...

Yesterday I shared some of my projects using the BOY version, so today I'll share some projects using the GIRL version of "Just Chillin'."  Again, these photos were sent to me to use, so I don't know the cute girls in the pictures, but the projects are all mine. :)

A few layouts:

girl_justchill_6x6_icecream

girl_justchill_6x6_sweet16

girl_justchill_8x8_gradsgirl_justchill_8x8_grads_detail

girl_justchill_12x12_friendsgirl_justchill_12x12_detail

and a couple of little projects:

girl_justchill_project1_giftbag

girl_justchill_project2_photoalbum 

That's all for now...but be sure to check in throughout the day on the Making Memories blog - today is the last day of the show and they will be doing more fun peeks and giveaways all day! :o)

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

just chillin'...

Isn't that a great name for a teen/tween line?  I love it - almost as much as I love the product!  There are two separate categories in Making Memories new "Just Chillin'" program - one for girls and one for boys...and I was lucky enough to get to work with both of them! 

Since I don't have any teens in my house, they sent me photos to work with on these samples...so these cute teenagers are strangers, but the projects are mine. :o)  Today, I'll share some of the boy samples:

boy_justchill_12x12_handsome

(again, I have no idea who the person in the above photo actually is...but he could totally pass for Brad, about 20 years ago, lol.  Seriously...)

boy_justchill_6x6_unknown

(just found out the cutie in the photo above is Margie's son)

boy_justchill_8x8_promking

boy_justchill_project1_changejar

...every guy needs a little jar to throw his loose change in, right?...

boy_justchill_project2_note

Okay, that's all I have for today...but be sure to check the Making Memories blog for lots of fun sneak peeks and giveaways! 

ooh, I just found this fun little video tour featuring Margie on the MM Blog, check it out too! :o)

 

cha winter 2009 peeks...

Hi there - I am getting lots and lots of hits these days and I'm 99% sure a lot of you are coming here looking for sneak peeks of new product being released at cha right now!  I'll be sharing more of the samples I worked on for Making Memories, but I have something else to share right now.

I was also looking for sneak peeks and came across this wonderful site:

The Pink Donut

You need to check it out - there are videos from most of the major manufacturers, sharing their new product, straight from their booths at cha!  It's the next best thing to being there! 

Now if I could just figure out a way to make the weather here more like Anaheim's weather...the 3 degrees I'm feeling right now are just a bit too cold for my taste! :o)

Monday, January 26, 2009

making memories 'great escape' projects...

{Okay, so technically, I don't have permission to share these projects yet...but since I've seen photos of them popping up here and there on the internet, I'm going to go ahead and do it.  I think it's probably okay...but if you see this post disappear, you'll know why...}

So, CHA kicked off yesterday in Anaheim and Making Memories has an incredible release this time around!  They have several new lines including a new travel line, a line for teens/tweens called "just chillin," and a wedding line too!  I was able to work with Just chillin' and the travel line, called "Great Escape" before the show, creating sample layouts and projects.  Many long hours were put into these samples, and I had so much fun creating...but I always look forward to the time when I can actually SHARE my projects with you.  Waiting for the "top secret" weeks to end seems like eternity! 

So, without further rambling from me, here are a few of my projects using the "Great Escape" line:

travel_6x6_coldwater  travel_6x6_zoo travel_GREEN_6x6_beach travel_journal +

You can go to the Making Memories Blog HERE to see these and lots of other great projects using this line!

Sunday, January 25, 2009

draper temple open house...

...wow, you guys are quick!  Yes, as you have guessed, I was able to attend the LDS Draper Temple open house yesterday morning with the Young Women of our ward.  draper_lds_temple

[photo credit]

I was excited to be able to take Meagan (my daughter) with me...we had enough tickets and car space, so she woke up bright and early to go with us.  It was a great experience, and so fun to be there with this group of amazing your women who had never been inside a temple...and who talked of how amazing it will be to one day be married in such a beautiful place!

I was going to try to take my camera and take pictures of our group outside of the temple, but there were heated tents set up all around the temple...and it was raining (HARD)...so we didn't get an opportunity for a photo.  However, I have found some amazing photos on the internet and thought it would be appropriate to share them here. orig_2_0031_30Dec08-734427 orig_6_DETAIL_03_30Dec08-783696 orig_15_WAITING_AREA_30Dec08-735130 orig_7_DETAIL_04_30Dec08-777691 orig_14_ordinance-0021_30Dec08-783128

[I did a google search for photos...and found all of the above photos on this blog...couldn't find his original source, but when I do, I'll credit them...]

So, Emily (or Mike) who left this comment:

 Mike and Emily said...

Are you going to the Draper Temple, for the Open House? Ohh, I hope so. We just went, and it was amazing!

Friday, January 23, 2009 9:30:00 PM

You were the first person to guess correctly, so if you'll e-mail me with your mailing address, I'll send some fun scrapbook goodies your way! :o)

Friday, January 23, 2009

getting ready...

...for a little trip in the morning.

  • ironing done
  • van cleaned out
  • directions googled

saturday_morning_plans

...wanna guess where I'm going?

I'll be back tomorrow night with pictures to share...and if you're the first person to guess where I'm going (obviously, more info. than just the city, since I'm sharing the above map) AND why I'm going there...I'll send you a little something fun and scrappy! :o)

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

inauguration day...

Tuesday morning, while I was watching this:

012009_obama

He was doing this:

012009_zach1 012009_zach2

Guess who got most of my attention??

012009_zach3

He eventually finished being silly and snuggled up with me on the couch...and we were able to watch Obama's address again together...since it was on tv pretty much all day, we had plenty of opportunities.  :o)

organizing...

I always get this way after a huge deadline...ready to get rid of stuff and organize what I have.  One of the projects I've been wanting to work on was organizing the cards I've made.  About a month ago, I went through all of them and gave a bunch to my mom.  I still had a basket-full, though, and wanted to figure out an easy way to organize them.  After doing a little shopping, and finding nothing, I decided to use the basket I've been using for years and just take it up a notch.

 card_basket

I embellished the outside with a simple ribbon and made divider cards for the inside, to sort the types of cards.  My basket was featured on the Making Memories blog last week...you can see more pictures and read more about it here.

Now I'm working on several other organizing projects...which means I'll have more books for sale soon.  And it probably means there's a giveaway in the works as well...stay tuned!! :o)

Are you in the purging/cleaning/organizing mode too?  Is there anything you're curious about...as far as how I organize?  Do you have ideas to share with me?  I'd love to share more of my organizing projects and ideas - let me know if there's anything you want to see. :o)

Saturday, January 17, 2009

thank you...

Thanks for all of your comments and e-mails on my "grumpy" post -

if nothing else, it's nice to know I'm not alone, lol.

  jocm_november_sketch1

I spent most of yesterday cleaning up, scrubbing, and cleaning out...felt gooooood to get rid of stuff!  Then I stayed up late working on putting together my "inspiration binder," which is a project that has been in-the-works for years.  literally.  I finally went to bed at 4:30 this morning, turned on the electric blanket, and slept deep and sound until 8:30.  Today was a much better day. Meagan and I finally went to see Twilight.  It was fun to spend some one-on-one time with her...it just doesn't happen very often.  Throw in some yummy popcorn and vampires, and we were both happy!  While we were at the movie, Brad took the boys to Chuck E. Cheese.  Lucky him. ;)  (it was all his idea though...I thought he was staying home until the last minute and he told me he was going)  We've spent the rest of the day lounging around, being lazy.  Tomorrow is Stake Conference, so it's nice to know we can sleep in a little bit (rather than being to church by 9:00).  Now all I need is to put on my comfy jammies and relax in front of the fireplace...the perfect end to a grumpless day. :o)

[thanks a bunch card published in the November 2008 issue of Paper Crafts Magazine]

just fyi...

I finally added some photos from Christmas (and a few other things) to my blog.  I changed the posting date to December 30th, though, so when I print my blog book, Christmas will be in December 2008 (where it should be)...not January 2009.  So, if you're interested, scroll down to 12/30/08.  :o)

 

P.S. I'm happy to report that nobody received this in their stocking this year:

hcm_coal

[created for Holiday Cards and More, Volume 3]

Friday, January 16, 2009

grumpy...

...that's how I'm feeling today - just plain grumpy.  Rather than going into detail, I'll just share a few more pages from my Joy of Scrapbooking contributions:

wendyCH8.04

wendyCH10.03

These two are most definitely journaling-based layouts.  I love looking back on the interview with Josh...I need to do that more. 

Now I'm off to clean or something...gotta work through the grumpies...

Thursday, January 15, 2009

joy of scrapbooking...

Once upon a time, Lisa Bearnson wrote a book called "Joy of Scrapbooking." joy_of_scrapbooking1

Last year, I received an e-mail from someone asking me to contribute to a new idea book...an updated version of Lisa's original book.

joy_of_scrapbooking

Of course, I was more than happy to contribute...and I thought it would be fun to share some of my layouts here on my blog...and since I haven't shared anything creative for quite a while, and I can't share anything "new" right now (with CHA just around the corner), I thought today would be a good day to start...

wendyCH7.02 

It definitely seems appropriate to start with a winter layout!  The first time Zach ventured out into the snow...something he's done dozens of times since these pictures were taken (December 2006), but he still gets that big grin on his face every single time. :o)

wendyCH6.03

...and at the opposite end of the weather spectrum...here's a layout of Brad at the lake. :o)