More vinyl!!

Are you tired of seeing vinyl on my walls yet??? Well, get ready because this is only the beginning!!! Here is another spot in my "Loft" that needed some words & bugs. I heart bugs, you know! :)

I love vinyl!!!

I just got some vinyl to use with my Cricut and I have to report that I LOVE it!!! You can use it with the regular Cricut or the Expression. That's all I can say. You really don't even need any special instructions. I did use some paper that is like painter's tape before I put it on my wall to keep the letters all together but I don't think you really need that. Here is my wall!

Other Secret Elf Swap

Earlier this month on my blog I organized a Secret Elf Swap. Here is the awesome box of goodies I received from Betty over at Stampsmoreorless. My favorite part of this package was the homemade ornament (that must have taken hours to make), and the Simply Scrappin' Kit. I use those so much!!! Thank you Betty for playing!!

My Cricut Secret Elf

On Splitcoast Stampers there is a thread on there where anyone with a Cricut can join in. We decided to do a Secret Elf Swap this month and my Elf was Molly. Here are all the wonderful goodies she sent me. I was in shock. I absolutely love the blocks she made and then coated with Modge Podge. Take a look. Thanks Molly!!

The Perfect Gift

Tonight after we were all done with Christmas my 9 year old DD said that she forgot to give me a gift she made. She then proceeds to pull out a coupon book that she made for me at school. This tops every other gift I received today because she made it from the heart and she made it with my sense of humor in mind. She knew exactly where I was going to laugh and planned it perfectly. Here it is...

This one is my favorite!

My other favorite. "You working for ME!"

Merry Christmas!

My family and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

My Lesson

Yesterday I tought the lesson in my Young Women class. I asked them what their favorite part of Christmas was and most of them said the presents, of course. I then talked about how Jesus Christ has given us many gifts and the main one being that He gave his life for us. I turned the lesson around in the end and asked them what was their gift to Christ this year. I gave them an empty box that I made with my Cricut and asked them to write one thing on a piece of paper and put it in the box. It had to be something they were willing to give Him as a gift. I told them that I was going to work on my temper this year and have more patience. It turned out to be a very uplifting lesson. Those girls, our future, are so inspired. I handed out white chocolate covered popcorn for a little treat in the end.

Traditions

As Christmas day approaches I thought I would take a minute to reflect on all our family traditions both old and new. If you would like to share any as well that would be wonderful!

*My children get to decorate sugar cookies and they each get their own tray. I have been doing this with my family since I was a child. It was always something I looked forward to.

*This year I made fudge, divinity, and white almond bark popcorn to give to friends and just eat. This I am going to do every year. My DH usually doesn't eat chocolate but he just loves my fudge. He told me that it is his favorite treat ever. Of course, I made 5 more batches after he told me this. He usually doesn't enjoy treats that much so when I find one I go crazy with it.

*On Christmas Eve we act out the Nativity as a family then we have "Make your own pizza" night where each of the children and both of us have our own dough and add the sauce, cheese and toppings. The kids absolutely LOVE it! Sometimes I make the dough from scratch and sometimes I just buy it at the store ready to go. I might just do that this year, too, since I want to make things very simple.

*The children all get to open one present on Christmas Eve which has been matching jammies for the past 3 years. I love this tradition but I think the kids aren't sure about the jammie thing anymore. I think they would rather open up a toy or something. They will appreciate it when they are older.

*Tonight my DD's wanted to start a new tradition on the Eve of Christmas Eve. We all stood around the tree holding hands and sang Christmas songs with all the lights turned out in the house and just the tree lights on. We ended up just sitting on the floor around it after awhile. We are going to make this a yearly tradition. It was very sweet and I think my oldest 4 are actually old enough to look forward to this.

I can't think of any others right now but it seems that we have a lot this time of year. I would love to hear all about yours, too, if you have a minute! I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!! I have a very exciting post coming up in the next two weeks so please keep your eyes open!!

Have a great night!

Santa Has Amnesia

My 9 year old DD had her 4th grade play last week called Santa Has Amnesia. It was such a cute play! My DD's class danced and sang a song about the Jamacan Bobsled Team. She really doesn't have hair like this but they all wore a homemade wig. I love that my kids' school does a play for every grade each year. It gives them something to look forward to and practice.

Bracelets a hit!

The girls at church all loved their bracelets and they all fit them perfectly. With all the leaders I ended up making 19 of them. The lesson on Cultural Arts went really well, too. It's funny because if you ask me, I'm not very talented in that area but once we started naming all the different ways we can enjoy Cultural Art I realized that I dabble in a lot of everything. I'm not a master of all trades but a partaker. I know there is a quote out there somewhere that goes along with that.

Have a great week!

Lots of jewelry!

This year I kind of went crazy with my new hobby of jewelry making. These are some of the bracelets that I have made for the Young Women whom I serve in my church. I am giving a lesson tomorrow on Cultural Art and I thought I would end the lesson by giving them each my gift to them. I believe that my hobbies are all about art. Some people draw their own image and some like to stamp it or cut it out. Creating is an art all in itself! Hope you enjoy these!

My Christmas Card

Well, I guess I wouldn't call this my "real" Christmas card since I sent out photo cards that I ordered online to most of my family & friends. I made these special cards for the friends I have made on the message boards I am on and a few other people. I wish I could send them to all my subscribers but not sure if I have the time to make over 200 cards this year! Maybe next year I will try that. Okay, I probably won't. lol. I really like how this turned out. It has a simple & clean look but took me longer than my normal 5 minute card. Hope you get some ideas from this. :)

For this card I used a really old Stampin' Up! set called Love Notes. It was a Hostess Appreciation set many years ago. Here are the supplies I used.....

Paper: Real Red, Certainly Celery, & Whisper White cardstock. SU's Designer Series paper

Ink: Basic Black & Stampin' Write markers

Accessories: Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, SU red mini brads, Michael's large scallop scissors, SU's tag punch, Celery grosgrain ribbon

A Birthday Bella

Lately I have felt like I've lost my mojo for stamping. I have been scrapbooking a lot but haven't really pulled out my stamps much. I challenged myself to go up to "The Pink Loft" and just create something. I pulled out this Bella that I have never used and made a simple birthday card. I know it's not my best work but it helped get the stamps & ink in my hands again. Enjoy!
For this card I used a half sheet of Regal Rose folded in half as the base. I took my 2 3/4 x 4 1/2 strip of Bordering Blue cardstock and ran it through my Cuttlebug using an embossing folder. I stamped my Bella using Basic Black ink on Whisper White cardstock and colored using Stampin' Write markers. I backed with Real Red and finished by using the Birthday stamp set from Stampin' Up! in Bordering Blue ink. The mini brads are also from Stampin' Up! Super simple!

Ice Storm

Yes, we live in a state that is majorly effected by the ice storms. It started ice raining on Saturday night and everything stayed frozen til today. I guess only 1 in 3 people in our state have electricity right now and we are one of the lucky ones. A couple of my DH's employees do not have electricity and 1 could not get out of her garage this morning to go to work! This is the 2nd day school was cancelled for our kids so we will have another long day stuck indoors. A highschool in a city about 25 minutes away burned to the ground yesterday because a power line fell on it due to the freezing rain. I took some pics of my backyard yesterday, here they are.....

I can only be "me"

I've been thinking a lot this past week about what it means to be "me". I have a lot of friends who are very different from me but yet we are alike in so many ways. I know that we all have extraordinary things to offer each other. Here is who I am...

*I'm loud
*I'm sensitive (I take things really personal, even if it is not intended)
*I never want anyone to feel left out
*I enjoy simple things in life
*I love to learn new things
*I say whatever is on my mind (anyone who knows me can tell you that)
*I wear my heart on my sleeve (if I'm sad, happy, mad, grumpy, etc. you can tell)
*I don't like awkward moments of silence so I fill them up with whatever I can think of
*I dance when noone is watching and when everyone is watching
*I embarrass my kids a lot!
*I want to do the right thing all the time (I struggle with this and being too hard on myself)
*I'm easy to get a long with (at least, I think I am. :) )
*I LOVE to laugh and joke
*I want to be the best mom and wife in the world and I know I fall very short!
*I take on too much but I get it all done! I want to help everyone with their "projects" and sometimes other things in my life have to take the back burner.
*I love doing things in the spur of the moment but I also like to stay at home

Well, that's a little bit about me. I am just reflecting today on myself and how I fit in in this big world. :) It's all good and I am very happy with me. That is the only person I ever want to be!

Birthday Boy!

He was such a happy boy trying cake for the first time. What a sweet boy!!

His brother was not so happy that he didn't get to have a cake in front of him. We told him that he only needed to wait about 2 weeks until his birthday. He was so sad.

The kids had so much fun at our family "party".

Projects to come!!

I have been so out of the blogging mode lately. I have been so busy working on things for church & family that it is crazy! Once this week is over I will have more time to work on things for my creativity. My goal is to send off all my Christmas packages and cards by Saturday. Then I can play until Christmas!!!

My baby turned 1 today!!! Here he is....

The BEST treat ever!!!

Yesterday was the first time that I have ever made holiday (Christmas) goodies! I made homemade fudge, divinity, chocolate covered pretzels, & chocolate covered strawberries. The best treat that I made was white chocolate covered popcorn!! My sister told me how to do it and it was so super simple!!

White Chocolate Covered Popcorn
1 bag of microwave popcorn, popped
4 squares of white bakers chocolate

Melt the chocolate in the microve for 90 seconds, stir. Microwave for additional 10-15 seconds, stir. Pour over popcorn in a bowl and mix well. Pour out over wax paper and let harden. Then eat and enjoy! YUMMY!

Gingerbread Houses

This is what I am doing right now!! This is the first year we are starting this tradition and I can tell you it is going to be a keeper. We also make Christmas cookies, Christmas Eve "Make your own pizza", and act out the Nativity. Traditions are the best!