Easy Valentines Card

I was inspired by a card I found in the January/February 2010 Paper Crafts created by Kalyn Kepner.  Kalyn's version had many details like mounting the hearts with foam tape, stitching on the card and a few buttons and I LOVED it but since I am sending mine off in the mail I wanted to keep it extra simple.  I used kraft cardstock for the base, ribbon from Maya Road, and the patterned paper is from a Basic Grey Lemonade 6x6 pad.  I used my Slice to cut the hearts and the "xoxo".

I am really pleased with the final look.  I find it to be extra simple and not over the top, which is what I was aiming for since I am sending this off to my in-laws with pictures of my girls.

CHA Favorites

I have been stalking some of my favorite scrapping blogs all month for sneak peeks of the new lines they would be releasing this week at the CHA-W convention. There is so much out there to buy but Cosmo Cricket has my favorite lines so far! I hope I can get the Joyride Paper Crafting kit soon, it is adorable. Jenni Bowlin has managed to come out with another stunning line, Homespun. The page was designed by one of my favorite bloggers, not only for her amazing talent but also a fellow military spouse, Stephanie Howell. If you haven't checked out her blog you really should. I love her style! Finally, have you seen the new line by Elizabeth Kartchner? She worked with American Crafts to come out with a beautiful spring line with adorable papers and embellishments. This is definitely on my gotta have list!

If you want to see many other products being released this spring you should check out the Creating Keepsakes Blog and the Paper Crafts Blog because they posted some great videos on their sites.

Sorry there are so  many links but I didn't want to add photos and violate any copyrights that are in place.  Wanna share your favorites?  I love reading comments!

Catching up

I have seriously neglected my blog! We haven't been busy or away, I just have put blogging off to the side for a bit. I have been rather productive as far as completing some projects so far this month. I finished making a calendar for my dad and I put together a diaper cake for a friend who just had a baby boy.

This was my first attempt at making a diaper cake and I was in a hurry while shopping so when I got home I realized two things. First, the diapers had a pattern on them. I bought diapers I would use on my own babies so avoided the ones I knew would be totally plain white. Using the patterned diapers just added an extra step in assembling this project. Secondly I learned that attempting to shop with a screaming toddler makes planning things out in my head impossible. I ended up with a bunch of stuff that didn't coordinate the way I had hoped.

You can see the finished diaper cake below. I covered the diapers in a solid cream fabric and then wrapped the outside in some Martha Stewart ribbon. I used the fabric because the diapers clashed with the ribbon and everything else I bought. It was fairly easy to finish but I am pretty sure I will not be making another diaper cake in the future.

Happy Anniversary James!

James and I have been married for 7 years! Time sure does fly by. We have had ups and downs, highs and lows but we have managed to survive. Of course the greatest blessing of all has been the births of our beautiful daughters. I am thankful that we have chosen to spend our lives together. I love you always and forever.


This is a little blast from the past from 2001.

My 2009 Favorites

Holy smokes! 2009 has flown by and I am really looking forward to 2010. Here are some of my most favorite things from this past year.

My favorite photograph:

My favorite girls in tutus: My favorite trip: Salzburg, Austria

My favorite television show:

My favorite coffee place:

More December Daily Pages

The whole concept of the December Daily album is to have the guts of it assembled before December actually rolls around. This year I failed! I only had days 1-15 completed. As of right now I am behind! I have just finished days 16 & 17 and day 18 is currently in the works. I really like this project but just don't seem to have the scrappin' mojo flowing right now. I need to add journaling to some of the pages still but have pictures for the pages I have completed.



The photo for day 10 was my first attempt at setting up a tripod and using the timer. That was the only way I could get both of my girls to sit still for a photo. Day 11 is the girls sitting in my bed while I am getting ready for the day.

I hope everyone is ready for Christmas! Only 5 days away! This month has flown by. I have been finished with all my shopping for a couple of weeks now but need to wrap up the girls presents. I will head out to the commissary on Tuesday to pick up a few things I will need for breakfast and dinner on Christmas day. Nothing fancy this year since James is deployed. Other than that I am ready to go. I actually can't wait until the holidays are over because that means we are really close to James coming home!

Finally

We have snow! Really it is just barely a dusting of snow but none the less the ground is white. I think there is something magical about December snow. Everything looks better. Christmas lights, trees, roof tops. As I sit here drinking my coffee and typing this it is snowing now and Aubrey looks out the window every so often and tells me there is "nose" outside.

I am really enjoying the magic of the Christmas season with the girls this year. While they certainly don't get the entire idea of it all just yet they greet the lighting of the Christmas tree with lots of clapping and giggles every day. I hope they always get such joy out of the little things.