Tuesday, November 30, 2010

gratitude, day 30…

grateful30

…and with this, I’ll end my series of gratitude posts. 

I am so glad I took the time this month to really think about all I have to be so very grateful for…the things I’ve shared here are truly only a handful of the blessings I have in my life.  My hope is that I can always remember to be truly grateful for all the things in my life – big or small…and to develop a true ‘attitude of gratitude,’ and that I can always remember the words of President Monson:

“A grateful heart … comes through expressing gratitude to our Heavenly Father for His blessings

and to those around us for all that they bring into our lives.”

 

Monday, November 29, 2010

1500 miles later…

Yep…I’ve been g.o.n.e….gone for the last 10 days.  We’ve driven over 1500 miles – all of us - together, in our van that seems so much smaller when it’s packed with luggage, snacks, movies, games, and six bodies! 

(I must say that I love having the option of scheduling blog posts ahead of time…so I was able to post my gratitude posts every day!)

We had a wonderful little getaway, which I’ll share more about soon, but until then, I’m happy to be home for CYBER MONDAY!  I missed Black Friday shopping this year because of our vacation, but I’m all over Cyber Monday!  Here are a few deals I’m definitely taking advantage of…and if you haven’t already, maybe you’ll want to as well:

First of all – I feel like I’m running behind with my Christmas shopping – I haven’t bought a single thing…these are definitely going to help narrow things down for the kids:

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And my very favorite place to shop has TONS of deals today – there will be new deals throughout the day, all day long, so check back often!

This is just one of the many items I’ll be ordering today - we won’t have to borrow my parent’s GPS anymore!

I know it says $119.99…but it’s NOT – it’s only $89.99 – Yay Cyber Monday!

This is my new favorite Christmas CD!

And if you’re thinking about ordering some fun scrapbook supplies…be sure to check out this deal!781

oooh, I just found this great digital/printable kit that I will be using next year for sure – this would make a fun gift for a few people I know too…

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I think I’ll combine it with this kit to make something really cute and fun:

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And now I am off to shop for Christmas PJ’s for the kiddos…anyone know of any good deals on those?!?

gratitude, day 29…

grateful29

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Thursday, November 25, 2010

thanksgiving dinner…

Just reminiscing a bit…
 nov_premade_product_layout_thanksgiving nov_premade_product_layout_thanksgiving_detail2nov_premade_product_layout_thanksgiving_detail1
This layout was published in the November 2008 Issue of Creating Keepsakes Magazine. 
It was Zach’s very first Thanksgiving – seems like yesterday…
…speaking of Zach’s first Thanksgiving…  
I made this layout for a video segment I taped with Creating Keepsakes last year…
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gratitude, day 25…

grateful24

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

give thanks…

I created this fun little frame to display in my home this month.  You can also see it on the Pebbles blog,

where I shared it on “Free For All Friday”.

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I think the colors in the Cats & Dogs collection are perfect for a fun fall look – not the traditional shades for fall, but a little brighter – perfect for me! :o)

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I used the brand new Slice design card called Turkey Daze to cut out the letters and leaves – I LOVE the leaves!

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I added lots and lots of machine stitching – and plenty of foam squares for dimension.

 

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Cats & Dogs collection papers

Slice Elite die-cutting machine

Turkey Daze Slice Card

Foam Tabs

 

**If you left a comment on THIS post (below), don’t forget to check in on the

Spellbinders Blog today to see if you are the big winner!!!**

gratitude, day 23…

grateful23

Monday, November 22, 2010

turkeys…

Last week the little boys and I had some fun making colorful turkeys.  Zach has been begging me to let him “paint” something, so this was a great way to satisfy him and make something cute I’ve been wanting to do for a while now.

The Cosmo Cricket Design Team challenge last Saturday was to scrapbook something with your kids. 

I figured if I used their turkey handprints as the main element on my page, it totally counted…

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I used the Cosmo Cricket Nutmeg collection for this page.

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When I found this little label on the elements sheet, I knew I had to use it…the entire time I was taking their photo, the boys were saying “gobble, gobble, gobble…”  It was just too funny. 

Sometimes I really wish my photos had sound!

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Hope you have a great week with YOUR turkeys! :o)

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green patterned paper

teal patterned paper

border sticker

title block

white cardstock

tiny type letter stickers

chipboard letters

ribbon (Mr. Campy)

6x6 Nutmeg papers

gratitude, day 22…

grateful22

Saturday, November 20, 2010

pumpkin bread…

It seems I just can’t get enough pumpkin this fall! 

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I love this yummy pumpkin bread recipe, which was given to me by my cute friend,

Angela…hopefully she doesn’t care if I share it here.pumpkin_bread1_web

Pumpkin Swirl Bread

Ingredients:

1 C pumpkin

1/2 C vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 1/2 C sugar

1 2/3 C flour

1/2 t salt

1/2 t cinnamon

1/2 t ground cloves

1 t baking soda

**MIx together pumpkin, oil, and eggs.  Mix together sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cloves.  Stir into pumpkin mixture, until ingredients are moistened. Set aside and mix filling.

Filling:

8 oz. cream cheese

1/3 C sugar

1 T flour

1 egg

2 t orange zest

**To make filling:  beat together cream cheese, sugar, and flour.  Stir in egg and orange zest. 

**Grease and flour two loaf pans (7 1/2” x 3”).  Pour 1/4 of pumpkin batter into each pan.  Divide filling mixture and carefully spread over batter in pans.  Place remaining batter over filling.

**Bake at 325 for 1 hour (or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean)

 pumpkin_bread3_web

Do you have a favorite pumpkin recipe?  I’d love to try more recipes if you’re willing to share!

gratitude, day 20…

grateful20

Friday, November 19, 2010

a great deal (or several)….

Hey there!  Just passing along some fun info:  I just got an e-mail from GroopDealz and my jaw just about hit the floor when I saw what today’s deal is!  The BRAND NEW Dear Lizzy Christmas line from American Crafts!!!

dear lizzy groop dealz

It’s only $17.99 plus $6 shipping

(that’s a 40% savings!)

You get:

  • 12 Pieces of 12x12 Double Sided Scrapbook Paper
  • 1 Foam Letter Thicker Pack
  • 2 Packs of 2-Dimensional Stickers
  • 1 Pack of 6 Metal Embellishments
  • 1 Pack of 3 Adhesive Embellishments
  • 1 Pack of Glitter Buttons
  • 1 Pack of Assorted Brads
  • 3 Pack of Ribbon

**No Limit per customer. Ships anywhere in the U.S. in 3-5 days.

I actually have this line spread out over my table right now and I am loving it…keep your eye out for some fun projects very soon! :o)

ETA:  As I kept reading my e-mails I found another one that arrived overnight with even MORE great scrapbook deals – These deals are from the Scenic Route Store (they offer free shipping on orders over $75 or $6.99 flat rate shipping on orders less than $75 – and they ship in the continental US only). 

These are all kits from MME and they are all at least 70% off!

:deal1

 deal2 deal3 deal4deal5
deal6 dealhalloween

Wouldn’t these make great Christmas gifts? 

Hope you score some great deals today! :O)

gratitude, day 19…

grateful19

Thursday, November 18, 2010

holiday hoppin’ with spellbinders…

Welcome to the first day of the Spellbinders™ Paper Arts Holiday Hoppin’ Blog Hop! 

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Spellbinders, along with Cosmo Cricket are showcasing their newest products just in time for your Holiday crafting and gift giving.  Lots of creative ideas are in store, as well as prizes galore!  Each participating company has generously donated towards the prize package listed on the Spellbinders Blog.  A total of two identical prize packages, one for each day, November 18 and 19 will be given away!  To enter, just leave a comment on a participating blog!  Comments in the first 48 hours of the post are eligible.  One commenter each day will be randomly selected as the winner.  Winners will be announced on November 22, on the Spellbinders Blog!

Visit all of today’s Holiday Hoppin’ blogs:

Latisha Yoast

Judy Hayes

Kazan Clark

Ashley Cannon Newell

Holly Simoni

Debbie Olson

Heidi Blankenship

Sherry Cheever

Linda Duke

Laurie Schmidlin

Cheryl Marie Walker

Jill Jacobsen

Jennifer Priest

Christina Klauer

Jodi Sanford

Leslie Miller

Mimi Leinbach

Robyn O'Crowley

Sharon Harnist

Liz Hicks

Sarah Hamer

Christie Bryant

Wendy Sue Anderson (that’s me!)

Anary Baumgarth

Jenifer Dove

Gina Krupsky

Today I am using Spellbinders S5-025 Labels Seventeen die template and Cosmo Cricket Pixie-licious products…

This was the first time I’ve ever used Spellbinder dies…it most certainly will not be the last.  I didn’t realize I could use them with my Cuttlebug, but then Debbie shared this great video tutorial (there are a LOT of great ones on this page).  Now I know what I’ll be asking Santa for!

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See all those little label shapes?  I cut them with one of the dies they sent to me.disney_hugs2_filtered

If you look really closely you can see that the edges are embossed…

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I layered a bunch of the tags here – I love that I can place the die anywhere I want on a piece of paper and cut out the shape, then emboss it.  The “happy together” and “butterfly kisses” are both small tags from the elements sheet, but I was able to cut them with the die into the same shape as the patterned papers and then emboss the edges…love how they look together!

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The embossing is really subtle, but I love the detail it adds!disney_hugs_filtered 

Simply leave a comment on my blog to be eligible to win the Spellbinders Holiday Hoppin’ Prize Package!  One winner will be chosen from all the comments on all the blogs participating today.  Comments made in the first 48 hours of this post will be eligible to win.  Winner’s names will be published on the Spellbinders Blog on November 22, and they will have 48 hours to reply to Spellbinders to claim the prizes.

(Be sure to see all of tomorrow’s Holiday Hoppin’ blogs for inspiring projects and another chance to win!)

Thank you!

gratitude, day 18…

grateful18

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

gratitude, day 17…

I am so grateful for this machine that helps my little guys breathe when they are having a hard time… grateful17