Winner!

Thanks so much to everyone who visited my blog for a chance to win the Cosmo Cricket giveaway.  I appreciate everyone taking the time.  The lucky winner of the paper crafting kit and some German chocolate is Angie!  If you can send me your snail mail address I will mail your box out on Monday!

It's My Blogiversary!

My one year blogiversary is this month and I want to thank everyone who has stopped by my little spot in cyperspace.  I really appreciate folks taking the time to read and comment on my posts.  So to say "THANK YOU" I have a Cosmo Cricket Earth Love Paper Crafting kit for one lucky person.  Are you wondering what exactly is in this kit?  You get 12 double sided patterned papers, 18 cut-apart element cards, 8 cut-apart borders and a sheet of cardstock stickers!  Do I have your attention now?  To be entered just leave a comment on this post (please be sure I have a way to contact you if you win).  Want an extra entry?  Become a follower of my blog and then leave another comment on this post telling me you did.  The winner will be announced on Saturday, February 6th, so please be sure to check back to see if you are the lucky winner.  I will mail the kit out first thing Monday morning.  I might even toss in some German chocolate, you just never know ;-). 

Click here to see the Earth Love Idea Gallery on the Cosmo Cricket website.

Almost There!

James has been gone for over 6 months now and we are finally on the homestretch.  I am so excited that I am not sure how I am going to get through the next week.  There is plenty of things to be taken care of and I could start packing for the little weekend getaway we have planned but those are just little things and I certainly welcome the distraction but I find the most difficult time of day to be at night when I climb into bed.  I lay awake for a very long time because I have a million thoughts running through my brain and it is only going to get worse every night until JG is finally home. 

This deployment has been the hardest one yet for many reasons.  First, I have two adorable but crazy toddlers to contend with on my own.  Second, we live in Germany now and while I can get around I sometimes feel limited in things I do or places to go.  I am certainly not as comfortable traveling around Germany as I was Seattle.  Finally, since I am now a stay at home mommy I find my interaction with other adults to be limited and sometimes I want to talk about something besides potty training, crayons and reasons why one shouldn't hit their sister. 

I am thankful that this separation is just about over and our little family will be reunited once again.  I am looking forward to the transition period and getting my girls reacquainted with their daddy.

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.