beautiful

That is one word to describe the gorgeous papers in the January Scrapbook Nook kit. At first I was intimidated by them, and worried I would ruin them by cutting into them. It didn't take long, however, to get over that and I am enjoying the kit immensely!! Here is another page I made with the Webster's Pages products and a few other extras. I did some hand cut work and some machine stitching on this one as well.

happy girl

My husband and I are always commenting about this, but Aimee is truly such a happy little girl. She is content almost always, sweet as can be. At 14 months she has started talking more and quite fittingly, one of her favorite new words is "happy." She says it over and over and over, "happy...baby...happy." Here is a page I made last night to capture this.

top 12 of 2008

My friend, Camilla, from My Scrapbook Nook, challenged us to post our top 10 favorite scrapbook pages of 2008 on our blogs. So, here you go. I had a hard time narrowing things down since the subjects of my pages are oh-so-cute (yes, I realize that I am so biased in my opinion). I hated having to cut one out of the running so instead of posting only 10 I am posting 12- one for each month of the year. Some are my favorites because of the page design and others are my favorites because of the picture on the page. It's funny to me that most of my favorites are ones from later in the year, but my style of scrapbooking has changed and improved (I hope) as the year has gone by. I hope you will all enjoy these!

In no particular order my favorites are:

Scrapbooks.com guest design team layout

I was lucky enough to be part of the Christmas countdown for the Scrapbooks.com blog, Simple Inspirations. It was a fun page to do because my silly husband was the subject of this one instead of one or all of my 3 girls. The page is up on their blog now, so I thought I'd give you a peek!



You can see the full image either on the Simple Inspirations blog or by clicking here

And, of course he got more than just a lump of coal in his stocking. I think Santa was pretty good to him this year, in fact. Happy Holidays!

a couple new pages

I have had the urge to scrap lately since it's been a little while since I've been able to do anything, and with my crazy sleep patterns lately I was able to get some time in to do a couple of pages.


For this other page I was feeling a little nostalgic since it was Sarah's birthday today. The layout was created using the January kit from My Scrapbook Nook and features papers and trims from Webster's Pages, flowers from Making Memories and some other miscellaneous things from past Nook kits.

This second page I made using some of the Chatterbox Together line paper, chipboard and felt pieces. The pics are of Hailey and I in Boise about three years ago. Funny, now she has two other sisters and Aimee is about the age now that Hailey was in the pictures. This was supposed to be an AC Bailey design team assignment page (sshhhh!!) but I couldn't wait until February to post it. Besides, I have TONS of time to get more layouts done. So, I'll share this one with ya now.


Thanks for stopping by my blog. Feel free to say hi! Have a wonderful rest of your day. Happy birthday, Sarah!

Happy Birthday to Sarah

Our sweet little Sarah turned 3 today. It's hard to believe that 3 years have passed already since she came rushing into the world. It was funny...I was sheduled to go in to be induced on the morning of December 29 because of gestational diabetes and as we walked to the hospital Matt told me that I should get ready because she would be here by 10:30. Well, Sarah was more than ready to come into the world. The only thing stopping her was the fact that the doctor wasn't there yet! She is always so busy and in a hurry to get things done but will slow down to read a book or watch one of her favorite shows. And, despite her tiny size she packs quite a punch. Never the one to get pushed around, Sarah is the bold one, always voicing her opinion and making sure that HER voice is heard.

She is a sweet little thing, so kinda and loving and always willing to give a hug when needed. Just watch out because just as she can be so sweet she also has quite a big temper in that little body.

Right now she loves to go to gymnastics, loves puzzles, the Wonder Pets, Snow White, coloring and singing. And, she can't wait to go to Sunbeam class for the first time on Sunday. We love our Sarah so very much. Happy Birthday, sweetie!

this ought to help a little

With Christmas, getting ready for Christmas, visiting with family, being really sick and with everything else we've had going on at home I haven't done any scrapbooking in more than a week. For some people that might not be a big deal, but for me, going that long is well...unheard of. I try and scrap at least something every day, even if it's just adding something to a page already in progress.

I blogged about this not too long ago but thought I would perhaps share a little more. My sister in law and her family were here for Christmas, visiting from Houston, and she brought me some Chatterbox goodies. Apparently those lovely Chatterbox people gave their design team members far more scrapbooking supplies than they could ever hope to use up very quickly and so she shared some of the wealth with me!! Thank you, Ginger!



So, here is a picture of what she gave me: full sets of the Botanico, Together, Happy Day and Artsy.licious lines along with the die-cut papers, ribbons, buttons, stamps, chipboard, etc. This is sure to get the creative juices flowing, don't you think?

Another Lemon Grass layout

I thought I had posted all of my December AC Bailey layouts on here but I guess I missed one! So, without further adieu, here is a page I made using the Crate Paper Lemon Grass collection, some Creative Imaginations buttons and Basic Grey chipboard letters.



When we moved to Texas we left behind our Idaho snow-topped mountains and traded them for fields of white cotton all around us. I still miss Boise, my close freinds and my "home" but since we are here with family we definitely gained more than we left behind. And, Texas is becoming more like home now.

a few little things

With Christmas preparations taking up a lot of my time I haven't gotten much of a chance to scrapbook lately. We've been spending time with family and making lots of yummy treats as well.

One treat I made this year that I'd never made before was peppermint almond bark popcorn. It is so easy but also so very delicious. Just ask Matt!! He had quite a bit of it the day I made it.

>All you need to make the popcorn are: 1 bag microwave popcorn (make sure you take out the unpopped kernels) 4 squares of almond bark, some crushed candy cane. Just pop the popcorn, melt the almond bark and throw in some candy cane and mix it all together and then spread it out on a cookie sheet lined with foil or wax paper to cool. YUMMY!!

I have made a few little cards and a page, so I will share those with you as well.

I am in Chatterbox heaven

For those who might not know, Chatterbox is a scrapbook product manufacturer, one that has been around for a very long time. Anyway, my sister in law, Ginger Williams, is on their design team and recently received a box of product that she said was the "size of a small Volvo" filled with paper, stamps, ribbon, brads, chipboard, etc. And, since she got multiples of everything she thought she might share some with little ol' me. I am so very thankful!! This stuff is gorgeous, and so fancy and costs so much at the scrapbook store but I got it all for free.

Thank you so much, Ginger. You made my day. She told me that she was bringing me some when she came to town for Christmas but I had no idea just how much she was bringing. Truly amazing. I will have to take a picture of it all tomorrow so you can see just how much stuff it was.

an update on Leah's Christmas album and a giveaway

If any of you read about Leah's Cosmo Cricket Christmas album and actually took a look at it, you will know how beautiful it is. Every so often she updates her blog with new pages for the book and those are up now! Also on Leah's blog is an AMAZING giveaway. Here is a picture of the prize and all you have to do for a chance to win is to simply leave a comment on that post. Check her blog here at http://lifeaslou.blogsome.com/2008/12/20/christmas-mini-album-pages-6-7-plus-150-give-a-way/



So, what are you waiting for????

And another little mini

This is another little mini album that I did for AC Bailey but haven't yet posted. It's the 3x3 Melodee book by Creative Imaginations. I used paper and brads from Kaiser Craft, Ranger Crackle paint, felt trim from Queen and Company, all of which can be found at our AC Bailey store.





Isn't it so tiny and cute?!

A plug for Simply Done

So what is "Simply Done"? These are project kits being sold at the AC Bailey online store. Members of the AC Bailey design team and some of our great consultants have put together some little projects- card sets, mini albums, other altered items and it comes together in a nice little kit for, complete with step-by-step instructions and are fully customizable. You can choose the supplies used in the project sample or customize by choosing your own paper set and other embellishments and all can be found right here.

This Maya Road mini album is one of the projects I got to do. It was a quick and easy little book that didn't take much time at all to complete. I used the Scenic Route Sonoma paper set, chipboard and stickers along with coordinating ribbon, flowers and other embellishments.








Head on over to AC Bailey and check them out for yourself!

..and the stockings were hung by the chimney with care

Doesn't this look so cozy? I love that it's Christmas time and I can decorate the house with all of the fun, festive things. And, this is our fireplace where our stockings are lovingly hung with Scotch tape :) Believe it or not, we've been in this house more than a year and a half and this is the first fire we've had in our fireplace. I guess we got spoiled living in Boise with a gas-powered fireplace where we just had to flip a switch and voila! we had fire. I know this will be the first of many fires in the fireplace this winter.

And a couple of pages...

I have been trying to scrap more lately and am learning to be faster- thank goodness since I have so many pages that I want to do and not as much time to get them done in. Of course since I haven't been sleeping well lately and since the girls are playing better lately, too, I have had more time to do it. If only my house reflected all of this free time I apparently have!!

Here are a couple more pages I did this week. One is Hailey and her beautiful, sweet smile and the other is Sarah at the park. She loves that big red swing!!

A few cards

I have been in the mood to make some cards lately...probably because I need to get on the ball and finish up some Christmas gifts. I usually give sets of cards to all of the women in my family but this year I might not be able to...sorry, ladies. I am going to try my hardest, though. Here are some of the cards I made yesterday. Some use old Cosmo Cricket scraps, some lace and Prima flowers and others use the new American Crafts Everyday collection. Enjoy!!

We have a winner!!!

I apologize for being slow to post this especially since I was so anxious to have y'all comment on my blog. But, using an online random number generator I have chosen a winner for my little scrapbooking prize. And the winner is..............

#24!!!! And that person is Sami. Hooray for you, Sami. I will leave a comment on your blog about what to do to get your prize. Funny enough, she and I were roommates in college and I know she likes to scrap but with 4 kids I don't know how much time she actually gets to spend. So, I will send her a little something to add to her stash.

Thank you, everyone, for playing along and I hope you'll continue to stop by and visit. Happy Holidays :)

On the 11th day of Christmas

I mentioned before that we are having the 12 Days of Christmas on the AC Bailey consultant site. Each day a design team member posts a new holiday card, layout, gift, etc. idea for the consultants and today was my day again. For this project I created another one of those cute little paper mache boxes using products from our AC Bailey December kit. This would be great for little treats or a small gift.

Some exciting news

I have been on the design team at AC Bailey for about a year now and have loved it so much. The product that Erica carries in the store is wonderful- she is so good about getting the latest and greatest things and is open to suggestions as to what she should get. She is awesome to work with. The monthly kits are fun and the community is one of the friendliest on the Web.

Our design team coordinator, Lisa Carroll, is stepping down to focus on some other important things in her life, so an opportunity opened up for someone to step in and take her job. While I don't know that I want the full responsibility of taking care of all of the work myself (I am amazed at all Lisa did behind the scenes and am grateful for all of her hard work- Thanks, Lisa) it will be fun to share the responsibility with my fellow design team member, the ever-so-talented and cool Jessica Ripley. It will be interesting and fun, and a challenge I hope I am up for since Lisa has left some very big shoes to fill!

Along with that news...I have been trying to submit more of my work for possible publication and just got a page picked up by another online scrapbooking magazing, scrapbooking.com. My layout will be featured in the February 2009 issue along with an article with pages by my fellow design team member, Elisabeth. Congrats, Elisabeth. I will have to wait and see how some of my other submissions pan out, but will continue to try so that I can fulfill my dream of one day seeing one of my pages in print!! Wish me luck!

Design Team call at My Scrapbook Nook

It is that time of the year again! It's hard to believe that 6 months have gone by since the last call, and that a year has gone by since I first tried for the team. What is that saying, "if at first you don't succeed, try and try again." Well, that's exactly what I intend to do. It is a fun site with beautiful kits, and the talent there is simply amazing. So, I will try out even if I might not make it.

If you would like to take a chance at this great opportunity you can check it out here. (Just click on the little word "here" for those of you who might not know that trick)

Crate Paper Lemon Grass

When I saw the new AC Bailey catalog this was one paper set that I knew I really wanted, so I was very persistent in asking about it since we get updates on new arrivals all the time.

Anyway, I love this set because of the beautiful earth tones, perfect for fall pictures and cute yet also elegant enough for pictures from my wedding reception :) I couldn't resist scrapping one of those along with pictures of Aimee in her little pumpkin suit from this Halloween.




I also thought it would be fun to do a little box of cards. I got the paper mache from Walmart. While I love that store they sure do get a lot of our money. Anyway, I decorated the box with supplies from my kit (Crate Paper Lemon Grass paper, brads, glitter die cuts and border stickers, etc.) along with some brown ink and stamps from Hampton Arts, all of which can be found at the AC Bailey store. To match the color of the box and because I love it, I used kraft cardstock as the base for the
4x4 cards.


Thank you for stopping by my blog. Have a wonderful day!!