Tis the {Busy} Season!

Sorry to leave you hanging with that big ol' picture of my head for so long! I have been pretty busy working on quite a few different projects, and loving every minute of the craziness! We had a fantastic Thanksgiving, hope everyone else was able to enjoy time with their families and friends!
Now light speed to Christmas! Which brings me to one of the fun things that I have been working on! I put up a tutorial today over at Every Thing Creative for stamping on our templates, a very easy and fun way to personalize gifts for the people on your holiday gift list! Everyone loves handmade gifts, especially when they contain chocolate, so maybe this would be something you would enjoy sharing.

Also I have a fun thing happening over at Ellen's for the next 12 days. Lisa and I have had fun getting this ready, so hopefully you will take a few minutes to pop by and check it all out!

I still have cards to do for our family, going to have to put in a few late nights to get it all done. How are you doing on your preparations for the Holidays? Staying sane or cracking under the pressure?

I hope you take some time to slow down to catch a few snowflakes on your tongue and enjoy a mug of hot chocolate!
B-

Happy Thanksgiving!

The turkey is in the oven, rolls are rising and the yams are mashed and ready to be baked. It is at this time that it is so easy to see the bounty that I have in my life and recognize my Heavenly Father's gift of tender mercies to me in this chaotic world. I have the opportunity to spend the day with my 3 beautiful children that are at home and pray for and appreciate the one that is serving in a far away land. And shed a few grateful tears for all that this is, because for me it is all that matters. We have health, shelter, love and peace in our lives and these are so priceless in our world today.
Today I get to take my time putting together a menu that each of us appreciates, and we don't have to rush off anywhere or have anything done in a certain way or by a particular time and that is such a blessing. We can sit and visit about the silly, the spiritual or the cultural and have no reason to judge, just appreciate that we have this time. And I can do it all while wearing an apron with a headband that matches, and my kids love me all the more for being a complete goofball. And for all of that, I am so grateful.

B-

Thanksgiving Eve and so Much to be Grateful for!

My heart is full of gratitude for all of my blessings. Our family has had a lot of challenges and triumphs this year, and we are grateful for it all. I know it has made me a better person and I feel growth in ways that I know my Heavenly Father wants me to improve. It isn't easy and at times I wonder where I will get the strength to get through, and then I remember that I have the most wonderful friends, an amazing family and a Saviour who knows me personally and I am comforted that it will all be okay.
I got to spend time with some of those fantastic friends this last weekend at card group, we swapped some adorable gift tags, visited, snacked, made that adorable Christmas Lists notebook that was inspired by Lisa Johnson, checked out the letterpress system from Quick Kutz, and then a couple of us caught a late showing of New Moon together! It was just what I needed for a recharge of my batteries.
A huge box of super goodie coolness was also delivered to my house from my World Card Making Day win! The sponsors of that contest were so generous, and I can't wait to start digging into and using all of that fun stuff! I am so grateful to have a hobby that I love so much that is an outlet for most of the emotional baggage that gets built up from life.
We have a bunch of our dishes for tomorrow's meal being prepared tonight, so I am going to go get back to it. But I will be sharing pics of my matching apron and headband tomorrow that I will be cooking in! Stuff like that makes me so happy too!
And to all of you who stop in to see what I am up to, thank you very much!

Happy Thanksgiving my friends!
B-

A New Project Tutorial at Ellen's

I loved creating this project, it was super fast and easy, and looks great! If you are interested in how it was put together head over to The CLASSroom and check it out! And tomorrow is her anniversary so be sure to drop by and say hello!

B-

Missing Tyler Tons!

Just missing this guy so much right now. I thought it would be nice to share a layout about how what it looked like as he packed to be away from home for two years.
I am so grateful that he is a strong and independent person, we have raised our children to think for themselves and to be adventurous. We are really proud of all that he is and has become while away serving his mission in Brazil.
As Thanksgiving is coming upon us, it reminds me how truly blessed I am by my family. This is Tyler's favorite holiday. He is a foodie, he loves to help and create his own dishes as well, so we will be noticing his absence even more.
LOVE you so much T!

B-

Finished Chloe's Blanket

She is so happy to have a new blanket to snuggle up in as winter comes upon us! We went to the store and picked out the yarn together, and then I spent a good chunk of time every evening last week crocheting row upon row of love. It is a soft and very warm blanket for how light it is, and the colors are beautiful, the combination she selected is very soothing and subtle. We are going to go get some more yarn tonight so she can learn how to crochet, she wants to make a blanket as a Christmas gift for her boyfriend. Very excited that she wants to try this hobby, and I hope that she finds it as enjoyable as I do.
It is wonderful to have things to share with your teen daughters, and this will be a nice way for us to spend time together. I might even have to learn a few more stitches ;o)

B-

Bye Jaye...

One of my dearest friends is moving to Idaho on Tuesday, sadness...

I have known Jaye since I moved to Utah, we have been playing tennis together for years, and we have watched each other mature as players, but also as friends. I know I will be seeing her now and then, so it isn't tragic, but it will be hard having someone who is so integral to my life's schedule not be around on a day to day basis. Just the week before, another very dear friend moved to SoCal with her cute husband and darling little son, and it was harder because if I do see her it will be a very rare day. At least with Jaye, she will be back and forth because of her family that is still here, and she promised to make opportunities to spend time with her tennis girls.

To honor her, we had a wonderful luncheon, after some time on the court. I made a little tag book as a "card" so that everyone would have their own little page to write her a note and share a memory or two.
We also gave her some guitar music to remember us by, and I made a little folder that she could keep it in that would remind her of how much we love and appreciate her.

Having your friends make life changes is hard, they move on and get new lives, but they leave holes in our hearts when they are gone. I hope that these two dear girls remember how much they are appreciated and also take the time to enjoy the wonderful new adventures they are bound to have with the new fantastic friends that they are bound to make! These girls are so great that people would be nuts not to swoop them up the second they meet them! Anyway, it reminds me to really treasure the people who are your true friends and who are always there for you when you need them!

Take a second to hug your dearies, and don't forget to get a picture with them too. Life moves so fast, make sure to catch a little of it with your camera! I have tried, and yet I still wish I had done it more.

B-

A Misting and Masking Tutorial

This card was so fun to make, and I have written a tutorial for making a shimmery, glimmery mist from Ranger products, and also using little snowflakes from a Martha Stewart craft punch as a mask. Super fun! I hope you take a minute to head over to The CLASSroom to check it out!

Happy Wednesday!
B-

Winner of the Domestic Love set is...

Thanks for all of you who left comments, I love reading the wonderful things that you have said!

Congrats to:

Jan Larson!

This is such a fun set of stamps. The sentiments are funny and I love the font you used! All your samples are beautiful!

Jan please email me your address so that I can get these sent out to you!

B-

Domestic Love Stamp Set Give-Away

I spent a little creative time this afternoon playing with my new stamp set this afternoon! Designing this plate was so fun, I really wanted it to be playfully quirky but also inspiring and useful.

I pulled out a bunch of my delicious October Afternoon paper and had a lot of fun making these! They are all sized at 3" wide by 6" tall, a great card size in my opinion. I think this group of cards would make a fantastic little gift. Who can't use a little encouragement?

I would like to give one of these away, leave me a comment just to say hi by midnight on Monday night and I will randomly select someone to send it to!

Good luck!

B-

Don't Stop Believing

A quick post so that it is a little fresher in here!

First, I want to thank everyone who left such sweet and supportive comments, I really appreciate you my friends!

Second, I wanted to share this layout of Chloe. She is such a hard worker with incredible dreams, and I want her to remember how important it is to believe in herself and her dreams when things get tough. It didn't photo very well, but you get the idea. Tons of shimmer mist, silver paint dabbers, glittered alphas and Zva Creative bling. It is so pretty IRL!

And last, I have a new stamp set that was released yesterday! I have made a few things with this set, but they are in for publication so I need to get to work making more. But please go visit Lisa Silver's blog, she created a card that I just love! I promise I will get one done too, hers is so inspiring, I feel like stamping right now and it is almost midnight. It will have to wait until tomorrow though, just so tired!

I hope you are enjoying a wonderful week. We are here, the weather is the perfect jeans and sweater temperature, my fav!

B-

How is it Hanging?

I had a Monday filled with interesting and fun emails today! The morning started bright and early with an email that had pictures attached from Tyler and how he spent his Halloween in Brazil. They ate the insides out of a few watermelons, carved some fun faces on them and put in candles. We really missed him, I am sure it was a time when he missed us very much as well. I love getting these notes from him, for one minute it feels like he isn't half a world away.

The Zva Creative Design Team was announced, and I am thrilled to be included amongst that talented group of artists. I will be getting all of their information onto my sidebar, I hope you take a few minutes to go visit them, I think you will be impressed as well!

I was also sent an email today letting me know that I was a winner in the "Love" category of the World Card Making Day contest that Paper Crafts sponsored. I wish I could show you that card, so cute! But instead I am sharing the other card that I sent in. This card just makes me so happy when I look at it. It is totally wacky, but it makes me smile!

And I was invited to participate in the Ranger CHA 2010 Designer Challenge. That is going to be so much fun! Looking forward to getting the details on that, but I love making a mess, and this will be a great way to get a good one going!

A few things in my life have been pretty challenging, and without going into sticky details let's just say that I have a heart that hurts from it all. So I feel very blessed that my Heavenly Father has given me some wonderful opportunities to balance it out on the other side. I do believe that it really helps you appreciate the wonderful things that happen when you have the hard knocks too. So often it seems that things are so easy for others, but it is because we usually only see the surface. Everyone has tough times to endure, so if you are going through something similar, try to find the bright spots and really focus and appreciate those instead. It really makes me feel better when I do that, hope it works for you too!

Attitude of Gratitude going on here...

B-

In the Fall Swing of Things!

It is a beautiful crisp fall day today. Leaves have fallen all around, the sky is the perfect blue to compliment the oranges and browns of the ground and a warm cup of herbal tea is warming my hands and soul.

Don't you love this time of year? Where the earth trades her energetic green frock of foliage for the lovely oranges, rusts and browns for the season of abundance and gratitude. Just as every season departs and another arrives it seems to be just the right time for a change. So grateful to live in an area where that is punctuated by the appearance of the earth.

Welcome November I am ready for you!

B-