Giving a Helping Hand...and a Giveaway!

According to Feeding America, approximately 5.7 million different people receive emergency food assistance from the organization in any given week.  Wow!  That is a startling number.  And to think this is happening in our own backyard! 

To raise awareness about the national issue of hunger, Hamburger Helper® is partnering with GRAMMY® Award-winning singer, songwriter and actor Tim McGraw to help Feeding America deliver millions of meals to local food banks through the Show Your Helping HandTM campaign. McGraw will lend his voice to the campaign through a Public Service Announcement which will be distributed nationwide.


Support the campaign by submitting codes from specially marked boxes of Hamburger Helper at www.showyourhelpinghand.com or by logging on to make a donation. Hamburger Helper has already donated more than half a million dollars and will contribute up to an additional $100,000 to Feeding America through this program. Don´t think one code will make a difference? The 17 cents Hamburger Helper donates per code is enough for Feeding America to deliver one meal to a local food bank.

Show Your Helping Hand is an amazing opportunity to help those who are less fortunate, especially during the holiday season!

Would you like to win a prize pack that includes a box of Hamburger Helper skillet meals, a Hamburger Helper foam "Helping Hand" and a copy of Tim McGraw´s "Southern Voice" CD? If so, just leave a comment here telling me how you give a "helping hand" during the holidays. Do you volunteer somewhere? Donate food, money or clothing to local food banks or shelters?  It could be something as sending cards to troops far from home.  Just let me know and you will be entered to win.  I will pick a winner on the morning of Sunday, December 19th.

***I received the same prize pack being donated to one of my readers in exchange for sharing this information with you.  Please be assured that I support this campaign and would never share a product with you that I don't like.***

December Daily

My December Daily album foundation has been completed for a while and now that December is underway I am taking a photo every single day to add to the album.  This is my third year doing an album and I absolutely enjoy the process.  This year I am being a little more flexible with the process and will also be waiting until the end of the month to print my photos but plan on journaling every day while the stories/feelings are fresh.  

On December 1st the girls opened the first window on their advent calendars and were so very excited to do so! 

The December 1 is an overlay from the amazing Ali Edwards that I purchased from Designer Digitals last year.  Ali has so many great products for the December Daily album there and most of them I reuse every year.  That is just one reason I am a hybrid scrapper! 

I will try to update when I get home later.  Since I am printing all my photos at the end of the month I will not have a completed page to share but would love to share what I have so far.

***FUN GIVEAWAY***

When it comes to starting off your day right, a new survey from Kix found that 84 percent of parents turn to cereal with milk for a quick and healthy breakfast.  Cereal is one of the healthiest breakfast choices parents can make. Ready-to-eat cereal has fewer calories than almost any other common breakfast option, while also being nutrient-dense and convenient. In addition, cereal eaters consume less cholesterol and more fiber than non-cereal eaters.

With the same great taste kids have loved for more than 70 years, Kix makes it easy to serve your family a simple and healthy breakfast! Whether you choose to serve Original Kix or Honey Kix, you can be sure that your kids are getting a wholesome food with nutrients they need to grow.  The "Kid-Tested Mother-Approved®"cereal is made with whole grain corn and is an excellent source of iron. It also is a good source of calcium, fiber, and Vitamins C and D. Original Kix has no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.

To find out more, visit the recently launched Kix website, http://www.kixcereal.com/, featuring background on the history of Kix, nutritional content, and special offers.

My girls love Kix cereal and to be honest I do too.  I loved Kix as a kid and it tastes just as good to me now.  The cereal fills them up and I feel good about giving them a simple breakfast that they enjoy. I like the slightly sweet flavor of the Honey Kix and feel good giving this cereal to my girls.  

Kix provided me with the awesome prize pack you see in the photo above and has an additional one to giveaway to one of my readers!  The floor puzzle and number flashcards have been a huge hit around here with the girls and we are happily eating our way through the cereal.

Do you want a box of goodies from Kix to arrive at your door?  Leave me comment telling me if you or your kids eat cereal for breakfast of if you eat Kix at your house.  I will pick a winner on Monday, November 22nd.  Please make sure you check back then or leave your email in the comments so I can contact you if you are the winner.  If you are reading this on Facebook and would like to entry the drawing please comment visit my blog at http://scrappingandtraveling.blogspot.com/.

***Kix provided me with the information I have shared in this post, prize package and additional prize package for my readers.  I have shared my opinion because I genuinely like Kix cereal and feel comfortable sharing this information with my readers.***

Holiday Cards

I have been working on my third December Daily album and decided to make some cards as a plug away on my album.  My album is 8x8 so that leaves me with scraps the perfect size for cards.  I purchased the adorable stamp set (by Hampton Arts) last year but decided to not make my cards so the cute penguin and snowman are making an appearance this year.  The papers are from Echo Park and if you haven't checked them out you really should.  Their papers are wonderful and they are quickly becoming a new favorite of mine.  The border punch is from Fiskars.  I used a ton of Stickles on these cards too.  I love glitter!

I would usually approach my Christmas cards in an assembly line fashion but find by the end I am not really enjoying the process so this year I am going to just go with the flow and see what I can come up with. 

Finally, today is my husbands birthday!  Happy Birthday JG!  We love you so much and are grateful for all you do for the Gibson girls!  ♥ ♥ ♥

Hedgehog Love!

We are big fans of cute hedgehogs here at the Gibson house.  The girls have adorable hedgie jammies from Old Navy and a cute hedgie inflatable toy we picked up from Ikea a few years ago.  Now we have a real live hedgehog in our yard!  This little guy (or maybe gal) has been a frequent visitor as of late.  A few weeks ago, just as it was getting dark, I told JG we had a giant rat running across our yard and he told me it was a hedgehog and after a better look I could see it really was.  Yesterday the hedgie returned several times throughout the day and I was able to get this photo from the safety of our patio!  Not that I am scared of him, I didn't want to scare him away.  I think he has been hiding out in our bushes and I don't mind.  I hope he becomes a regular visitor as he is fun to watch.

Party Prep

We are T-2 for the Gibson 2010 Halloween Party and I am starting to put things together.  Up until now I have had things scattered around the house because I had to do some rearranging to make room for this display and for some party food on Friday night. 

I love the Eat, Drink and Be Scary sign and the gal that created this has it as a free download from her blog, Craftily Ever After.  She also has another great sign here.  After you download them take a look around her blog as there are lots of great ideas and inspiration there.  The Crafty Witches Book of Magic Spells was also a free download from the Chickabug blog.  There is an abundance of great party ideas there and I have added it to my favorites.  For the book you simply download the file, print it, cut it out and stick it on a book you already have on hand.  The Apothecary label on the flower pot (a re-purposed Yankee candle jar) is from Echo Park.  I love digital downloads because you can re-use them! 

I really love DIY decorations and with the power of the internet, a few minutes and a printer you can find just about anything these days.  Now I need to actually get off the computer and start cleaning up!  Have a great day.



Just One More....I Promise!

Last Friday Creating Keepsakes Dream Team Member Cindy Tobey was the Guest Blogger on the CK Blog and she shared a pattern for this fabulous little paper pieced haunted house!  I loved this idea when I saw it in the Creating Keepsakes October issue and knew I wanted to make this ASAP.  So after printing the pattern and cutting out all the pieces and then busting out a craft knife so I could make all the little cuts I had an adorable house of my very own. 

Once it was finished I had no idea what I was going to do with it but knew I wanted it on display so I used an 8x8 piece of a Scenic Route chipboard album and printed out the background from Echo Park's Apothecary patterned paper pack (I have gotten so much use out of this line and to think I only paid $1 for it from the Jessica Sprague Website on One Buck Wednesday).  I used a thin coat of Mod Podge to adhere the paper and then used a dry adhesive to attach the house.  The adorable little bat is from a free download I got from the Paper Glitter blog.  It was originally part of a tag but I just needed the bat so I fussy cut it and attached just his body so the wings lift slightly off the paper. 

I love, love, love the way this turned out!  I seriously couldn't be happier.  I worked with supplies I had on hand and that certainly helps to clear out some of my stash. 

On another Halloween note my paper cone wreath is featured on the Creating Keepsakes Blog today!  I am so flattered that Megan Hoeppner was inspired by my project and asked to share it on the blog alongside her take on the project!  If you get the chance you should check it out!