Shabby Apple Giveaway winner

Good afternoon!

I hope that you are all having a nice day.

It appears that our first bug of the season is visiting our house- thankfully it seems that so far it's just me and my husband and I hope that it stays that way! We tend to get some kind of stomach bug or flu around Thanksgiving that wants to stick around through the holidays. This year we are boycotting germs! (well, it's worth a try anyway). I have had a horrible headache and nausea today so all of the scrapping and other things that I needed to do have been put on the back burner for now.

Thanks to all of you who entered the Shabby Apple dress giveaway.

I used random.org to choose a lucky winner from the 28 comments received and the winner is lucky #20, Savannah O'Gwynn! Congratulations to you, Savannah. I will leave a comment on your blog with how you can claim your prize.

Have a great afternoon!

p.s. would you believe that we're going to get snow in west Texas this weekend?

Craziness!!

Shabby Apple Giveaway winner will be announced today.

Please check back this afternoon to see if you are the lucky winner.

Have a great day!

Shabby Apple dress giveaway and a card

Today is the last day to enter the drawing!

Please see the link below- you have until tonight to enter and then I will post the winner tomorrow.

http://onescrappinmama.blogspot.com/2011/11/shabby-apple-giveaway-day.html

I also have another card to share with you that I made using a pretty Petaloo flower for our cross-promotion with them this month at Jillibean Soup:

Have a great day!

tis the season

Now that Thanksgiving has passed all of our attention is focused on Christmas, which I love.

(This is a card that I created for Jillibean Soup for our Petaloo Flowers feature. You can see more of the designer's work with Petaloo on the Jillibean blog today)

It truly is the most wonderful time of the year.

It is a time when we think about others more, think about the birth of Jesus, try to be kinder and find ways to help others in need. It brings out the best in a lot of people.

One thing that we do as a family is choose someone to do "Secret Santa" things for. It's usually someone the kids know from school who could use a little extra cheer, someone who might not have much for Christmas otherwise. We make treats, buy gifts and do fun things for them in the days before Christmas. It's so much fun for the kids (and us!) to drop things off, ring the doorbell and then take off down the street!

What kinds of things do you do to bring Christmas cheer?

Happy Thanksgiving

I want to wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving.

It has been a hard year but a great year for our family and we have what we need and more.

We have a roof over our heads, warm beds to sleep in and food to eat.

We have each other and we have other family and friends who love us.

We have a Father in Heaven who loves us and blesses us each day.

I know that there are many around us and around the world who don't have these basic things. I've seen it for myself and we try each year to help someone else so that we and our kids can be reminded of how blessed we are and how important it is to help and serve other people.

I hope that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving day, for all of my U.S. friends. For the rest of you, have a wonderful day as well and thank you all so much for visiting my blog.

Six Months old already

It's so hard to believe that our baby Lily is already 6 months old though I can't hardly remember the time before she joined our family. What a sweetheart she is. She loves to stick out her tongue and blow bubbles, put every single thing into her mouth, loves to laugh and smile and "sing" and talk. She's a great eater and loves to be around her big sisters.

Here is a layout that I created for Bella Blvd using a mix of collections along with one of the calendar pages from the Sophisticates collection.

and a few close-ups:

Funny thing is, now that I have this posted I realized that she will be 7 months old in just a few days! 

Time sure flies!

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope that you have a great Thanksgiving!

Good morning!

Here is a card that I created for Jillibean Soup using papers from the Homemade 6 Bean Soup and Apple Cheddar Soup collections along with the new corrugated papers. 

Thank you so much for stopping by today!

My Little Shoebox Winter Wonderland Blog Hop

***please scroll down for the Shabby Apple Dress giveaway****

Good morning and welcome to our Winter Wonderland inspirational Card Blog Hop with My Little Shoebox.

Now that the weather is getting a bit chilly and Christmas is just around the corner we thought it would be a great time to share with  you the new collection from My Little Shoebox called Winter Wonderland.

You should have arrived here from Norine's blog. If not, please start the hop at Kristine Berc's blog and follow the links through to the end.

There will be two sets of the Winter Wonderland collection chosen randomly from those who comment on one of the participating blogs. The more comments you leave the more chances you have to win! The prize winners will be announced on the My Little Shoebox blog on Tuesday!

For today I have created a set of cards using this new collection along with the cute snowflake stamp from Unity Stamp Co/MLS.

Aren't the cardstock stickers adorable? 

Some more cardstock stickers along with some of our cute glitter alphas and new mini alphas. 

Card created using the snowflake stamp co-branded with Unity Stamps. I stamped the snowflake in aqua, added some Stickles glitter glue and pearl centers. 

I hope that you have enjoyed the card hop so far and that you've been inspired to create some of you own holiday cards this year.  

Your next stop is Linda Kretz. 

Have a great day and thanks so much for hopping along with us. 

Shabby Apple Dress Giveaway day!

Have you ever heard of Shabby Apple?

It's a vintage-inspired dress boutique for women and girls and I must say that after browsing their collections I wish that I could win this giveaway! Their clothing is stylish and classic and oh-so-cute. I bet you will love it, too! I was contacted by the company asking if I'd be interested in doing a giveaway for one of my readers and of course I said yes and one of YOU will get to be the lucky winner.

I would love to share with you some of the cute things that you can find at their online boutique. First off, here are a few of the girls' dresses:

  

  

and some maternity wear: 

  

What cute mama-to-be wouldn't love to wear something like these? 

and some of my favorite dresses: 

  

  

 

They also sell skirts, accessories, fitness gear, swimwear and home decor, so there is something for just about everyone in their shoppe. 

Please "like" Shabby Apple on their Facebook page for news about special promotions and exclusive discounts: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shabby-Apple/56291792791?ref=ts&sk=info

You can also follow them on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/shabbyapple1/deck-the-halls/ for lots of great holiday ideas. 

They gave me a choice of dresses that I could give away and since this particular one caught my eye right away I will be giving away to one lucky winner, this dress in YOUR size. I will simply choose a random winner, contact that person for your size and contact information and then Shabby Apple will ship the dress directly to our lucky winner. This green "Mariposa Grove" dress is adorned at the neck with beautiful blossoms and would be perfect for your upcoming holiday party, for wearing to a social event or anything that might suit your fancy. 

All you have to do to be eligible to win is to tell me about your favorite holiday tradition. You have until Tuesday, November 29 at 12 midnight CST to enter the drawing. I will post the random winner the following day. If you share this with a friend, post it on your blog, Facebook or Twitter, simply leave another comment with the link and I will give you an extra entry in the drawing. If you do not have a blog please leave an email address so that I can contact you. If I do not receive a reply I will choose another winner. 

This drawing is open to U.S. residents only, please. 

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Saturday Sketches at Bella Blvd

For one of my Bella Blvd assignments this  month I got to work with this cute sketch:

and here is what I did with that sketch: 

I essentially kept to the design of the sketch but instead of using the two larger photos on the right I used four smaller ones. The fun thing about sketches is that you can use them as a starting point and change them up to suit what you have in mind for your page. 

And some close-ups: 

Rudolph needed a little red sparkle for his nose

Make sure to check out the Bella Blvd blog for more takes on this sketch: 

http://bellablvd.typepad.com/

and from the Bella Blvd blog- a FREE Thanksgiving printable!

I think this is SO cute and a great way for you and your loved ones to remember what you are thankful for this holiday season. With Thanksgiving just a week away this is perfect timing:

Stephanie lovingly put together this cute printable booklet and you can find out more on the Bella Blvd blog today: 

http://bellablvd.typepad.com/bella_blvd/2011/11/fridays-with-stephanie-free-digital-printables.html

Have a wonderful weekend!

new stamps from Jillibean Soup and a giveaway

These cute new stamps were just revealed on the Jillibean Soup blog this morning and I think they're adorable!

First, a set to go with the new Hearty Barley Soup collection:

and also a set of sentiments perfect for cardmaking and other projects:

They're so cute, aren't they? 

If you'd like to win a set please visit the Jillibean Soup blog and leave a comment on what you're thankful for:

http://jillibeansoup.typepad.com/my_weblog/2011/11/free-for-all-friday-and-a-giveaway.html

Good morning!

Just a really quick share today and then I'm going back to bed.

Lily was so tired last night that she went to bed before 7 but was then wide awake at 3:30 in the morning.

I know that if I don't hurry and get back to bed or I will find one thing after another to keep me up for a while longer and then it will be time for the other kids to get up which will mean no more sleep for the mama.

Here is a page that I created for Jillibean Soup:

We were asked to use the new corrugated sheets on an assignment for this month so I pulled out my Sizzix Big Shot and made some flowers to mix in with these papers from some of the new Jillibean collections. I am starting to get really excited about what might be coming our way with the next CHA release! 

Have a wonderful day!

getting ready for the holidays

It's so hard to believe that this year is almost over, isn't it? 

It's the middle of November and before we know it Thanksgiving Day will have come and gone and Christmas will be right around the corner. I have to say that Christmas is my very favorite time of the year. I love the spirit of happiness and goodwill that seems to permeate more than it does any other time during the year. I love to find fun/meaningful gifts for my family and do little acts of service with my family for those who might not otherwise have a very merry Christmas. 

I love family traditions and we have many. One of the things we've started doing every year is making gingerbread houses. It's messy but so much fun to to do as a family. Here is a page that I created for ScrapStreet magazine a while back but never shared here on my blog. 

What is your favorite thing about the holiday season? 

I am going to do some scrapping today!

(one can dream, anyway)

coming soon from My Little Shoebox!

I just got my design team package with this cute new collection and am anxious to start making some Christmas-y things:

As was mentioned on the MLS blog , we'll soon have a blog hop with some cards to get you into the holiday spirit. 

Have a great day!

finally a new page to share

Can any of you tell me how to get more time out of my day?

I am up late and up early and it still seems that there just isn't enough time to get everything done.

Do you ever feel that way?

This week has been that way every day and there hasn't been much time for scrappy things.

I DO have a page to share with you, finally. It was made just for fun, not for any assignment, which is always fun for me. People ask sometimes, "Well, aren't you always scrapping for you even if it's for an assignment?" I guess what I mean is that I am doing a project where I can dictate what I use instead of having to use a particular company (Jillibean Soup, Bella Blvd or My Little Shoebox, for example) and without any kind of restrictions on what I do (for a sketch requirement, etc.) Sometimes it's fun to scrap even if it's not for an assignment though lately most of my scrapping has been to get an assignment finished. This page was a "for fun" one for me.

I used the beautiful Crate Farmhouse collection for this page:

Oh- guess what? 

I got at email from a very cool online retailer about the possibility of doing a giveaway here on my blog in the future. SO, keep your eyes open for that. It's not scrappy-related but SO cool. So cool that I'd like to win it for MYSELF. Just thought I'd let you know. 

Have a great day and thanks so much for stopping by. I just love to hear what my readers are up to and where they're from, so...what are your plans for this weekend and where do you live? I think it's so cool that the internet can bring a world of people close. I think it's one of the things I love about My Scrapbook Nook. Random thought, I know, but I have made friends from all over the world over there. 

Did you know that they have a new Nook blog? You'll have to check it out, too. 

http://myscrapbooknookkits.blogspot.com/

Have a wonderful weekend!

quick Jillibean card share

Good morning!

This year is just flying by, isn't it?

It's hard for me to believe that it's already November.

The weather is finally cooling down, the leaves are starting to change colors and the kids are already talking about what to put on their wish list to Santa, ha ha.

Today I just have a quick card to share with you created using some fun new Jillibean Soup products.

Here I used some Hearty Barley (woodgrain card), Sweet and Sour Soup (hearts) and the new red and dark brown corrugated sheets as well as some of the cute cardstock stickers, a Soup Label and green twine. 

Have a great day!

sharing some My Little Shoebox fun

One of my favorite My Little Shoebox releases from this past CHA was the Playtime collection. Each month for our assignments we create using the collection that we were assigned to use for that particular month and because I won't have the opportunity to use that collection for my assignments I have instead been playing with the cute papers and embellishments when I get some free time to scrap using whatever I want.

I created this layout about my oldest daughter. She's only 7 but she's such a perfectionist and is quite often too hard on herself and gets discouraged. The journaling on this page is to remind her of what a special girl she is- just the way she is right now.

I also used some alpha stickers from October Afternoon, American Crafts and Pink Paislee. 

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day! 

the new look and a ?

I was playing around with the settings on my blog last night after I found that cute blue chevron background and thought I'd try a 3-column setup for a while and have been moving things around.

What do you think?

I kinda like it and LOVE the chevron.

Do any of you know how I can make more of the chevron background show?

I've fiddled around with adjusting the widths and that just makes the gray strip wider.

Any ideas?

Cards that Care Blog Hop

Good morning and welcome to the "Cards that Care" blog hop!

It's so great to have you along for the hop and I hope that you have seen lots of great ideas so far to get you in the Christmas and holiday card making spirit and to help Vera and Jennifer gather cards for elderly in nursing homes this holiday season.

You should have arrived at my blog from Kathy Martin's blog.

If not, please start the hop at http://lingshappyplace.blogspot.com/2011/10/cards-that-care.html  where you can learn more about the card drive and prizes to be won. Make sure to stop at each blog along the way leaving a comment as you go because the more comments you leave the better your chances of winning a great prize! The following companies have generously offered prizes for this hop:  Lawn Fawn, Penny Black, Sweet Stamps Shop, Avocado Arts, & I Love It All and many more, You could even win the cute Bella Blvd collection that I used on my card below.


For today I created  a card using the cute new Christmas Wishes collection from Bella Blvd: 

I just love the bright, fun colors and patterns in this collection- they're so great for even more than just Christmas pages, cards and other projects. 

Your next stop in this hop will be: Alice Carman

Remember to leave a comment on each blog as you hop along. You have until till Sunday, 11/6/11 midnight CST to leave a comment for a chance to win one of the great prizes. 

Happy hopping!

apple picking in the fall

Good morning!

I apologize for the slow week on my blog- it's been a busy one and with kids/me not feeling well.

That's real life, I guess. Tis the season for lots of germs to be passed around.

Today I have a Jillibean Soup page to share with pics of Hailey on our apple orchard trip:

It's a mix of Sweet and Sour Soup and Apple Cheddar Soup. 

Have a great day!