I'm no domestic goddess

I love the vintage images in the Domestic Goddess collection from Graphic 45 featured in the October kit from My Scrapbook Nook but to tell you the truth, I'm not a very good vintage-y scrapper. I do try but have so much to learn. I thought that I would make my first layout about me since I don't do that very often.

I liked the idea of the "domestic goddess" images, a perfectly pressed and aproned woman, very June Cleaver-ish and very much like some women I know. They bake their own bread, keep a sparkling clean house, sew clothes for their children, are involved in many activities in church and community. While I would love to be better at a lot of things, I most certainly am no June Cleaver or Betty Crocker. I have been known to cook a meal poured out of a box or bag, my house is not always clean and I don't do windows or a number of other things. I'd rather throw my husband's white shirts back into the dryer than pull out the iron.

I am a pretty good mom and wife, I think, and I do love my family, and that's what matters most. I love my three girls and love to spend time with them, love to hear their laughter, love to watch them play nicely together, to do silly things and to sing sweet songs. I love it when Sarah takes Aimee's hand and says, "here, Aimee, I'll hold your hand so you won't fall down." There are certainly some sweet moments. And, I have the best man in the world as my husband. It is because of him and his hard work that I can stay home with my girls.

I wouldn't change a thing.

So, while the stresses of being a mom, wife, homemaker can be rough at times, I love it.

Thanks for stopping by!!

the Jillibean Soup blog

I was so excited to get an email from JBS a bit ago...

Be watching the Jillibean Soup blog tomorrow for something fun.

And, did you SEE the new Cosmo Cricket Nutmeg collection?

Click the link on the right side of my blog for a peek at the cute new products.

October kit pics!!

I told you yesterday that I'd share with you some pictures of October kit from My Scrapbook Nook and here you go! It's such a gorgeous kit. Leah and Pam really work hard to get the absolute best for Nook kit club members.



Gorgeous, isn't it? The Graphic 45 papers are double-sided, one side with fun vintage images and the other with beautiful patterns perfect for scrapping a fall day, an "All about Me" page, just about anything you can imagine can be scrapped with this versatile collection. You also get 7 beautiful new homespun Prima flowers- one large and six small, a Jenni Bowlin journaling book, buttons dyed to match, lovely trims and a set of Prima alphas not to mention lots of other great little embellishments. And, due to limited product availability fewer kits were ordered so this one is guaranteed to go FAST!!

You can see more pictures and get your kit before it's gone by clicking here

Have a great day!! I am off to play with my kit in a little while.

it's here!!

Yes, my October kit from My Scrapbook Nook is here.

I am on my way out the door to take the girls to gymnastics but I'll share some pics later and hopefully a layout tomorrow!!

playing with some Jillibean Soup

I got these beautiful pictures of Aimee the other day- we'd just gotten back from buying some more plants for our front flower beds, we put them all on the porch while we figured out where to put them and Aimee decided that it was a great place for her to sit, and I knew it was a perfect photo opportunity. I was right! And, I had just the perfect papers to use for creating a scrapbook page with them- the new Christmas papers from Jillibean Soup!

Now you might wonder why I'd use Christmas papers for pictures taken in late September but the colors were perfect and because they weren't too "themey" I could use them without a problem. And, because Jillibean Soup designs their collections with some basic colors common to each one I was able to combine a bunch of collections (Grandma's Christmas Soup, Lentil Soup, Minestrone, Alphabet Soup) without it looking too mismatched.

I had fun trying out some of the new Jillibean Soup corrugated alphas, too, just added a bit of paint and inked the edges. The flowers were made by inking and crumpling, then layering some of the Journaling Sprouts and rounds I'd punched from the patterned paper. The brads are by Creative Imaginations, the small alphas by Making Memories, but the rest is Jillibean Soup.

The fun thing about making this kind of flower is that they don't have to be perfect and, in my opinion, they look better if everything isn't perfectly centered and matching up. That's why I crumpled everything up before stacking the layers, I inked and did some doodling on some of the edges as well.

Journaling reads: "Where did the time go? I still find it hard to believe that my baby girl isn't a baby anymore. In less than a month you'll be two years old. Can't we just keep you a baby for a while? Ask time to slow down?

Here is a close-up of those cute new corrugated alphas that seem to be everywhere lately. For me it was love at first sight, and I love the texture they add to a project.

So, there ya go. A new page. I hope it's not 4 or 5 days before I get to do another one but right now things are a little crazy with Matt having to work so much, and he's working all weekend and I am just trying to keep my sanity and keep the kids from getting too bored.

We went to the park, did some crafty stuff, went to see Matt at work so I could get my flu shot, played outside and had popsicles, did some coloring projects and now I think I'll go turn on
a movie for the girls so that I can clean bathrooms and work on some more laundry. Yeehaw!

Can you tell I'm excited about the chores?

Not really.

But, maybe I'll make some more pineapple chocolate chip zucchini bread tonight.

Now that's something I can get excited about :)

Have a great rest of your weekend!!

simple scrapping

With not feeling well recently has come a desire to conserve as much energy as possible. It's amazing to me how much it takes to just do the simple, mundane things like grocery shopping, cleaning and even walking from place to place. Instead of doing all of the normal chores that I have to do (unfortunately there are still dishes and laundry and bathrooms to take care of but the painting has been put on hold, etc. )I've been trying to rest and take care of myself so that I can get feeling better.

This is apparently not working since it's about 1 in the morning and I am awake instead of sleeping, so I'll take a minute to load a couple of pages that I've done so far this week. Both are quite simple pages, ones that can be done pretty quickly and that used some pictures I've had waiting in my needs-to-be-scrapped pile for far too long.

This first page celebrates that wonderful day when our Aimee finally learned how to walk. Some of you might remember the struggle we had with her and how excited we were when, at 19 months, our baby girl walked on her own for the first time. She hasn't stopped since that day and now often runs from place to place. It's still so fun to watch her go!

Page credits: Everything is American Crafts except for the little pink Kaiser Craft pearls on the butterfly.

It is hard for me to believe that it's been almost 3 years since this picture was taken. It's a picture of Hailey from when we lived in Boise, taken at a pumpkin patch just outside of town. Isn't that a fun little place for a photo op? I can't wait to take the girls to the pumpkin patch this year and get some new pics. Everything here is Pink Paislee except for the ribbon, which I believe is American Crafts, left over from one of my old kits from My Scrapbook Nook.

Thanks for stopping by!!

October kit coming soon!

The September kit from My Scrapbook Nook is all sold out!

It's no surprise, really, considering how gorgeous it was and how popular that Amber Road collection has become.

The October kit is available and a picture will soon be up on the site, but here is a list of all of the wonderful goodies you'll receive:

Graphic 45 Domestic Goddess Papers
Graphic 45 die cuts
1 Prima Trim
Two sets of beautifuly embellished Prima flowers
Graphic 45 Vintage Alphabet
3 ribbons in grosgrain and satin
1 Prima Chipboard Alphabet
1 Jenni Bowlin Journaling book
Scenic Route Chipboard
and a scattering of dyed to match buttons!

Doesn't it sound great?

I'll share a picture as soon as it's posted on the site.

a winner and a layout

I know that some of you are anxious to find out who the winner of my little giveaway is going to be so I won't make you wait any longer.

What I did was make a list of everyone who made a comment on the giveaway post and if someone was referred to my blog by someone else then I wrote their name down again in order of comments received. I then went to our handy random.org and since there were 24 people on my list (including those who had referred others who got to have their name entered in the drawing extra times) and had random.org choose a number between 1 and 24 so that it would be completely impartial.

And, the winner is...

MICHELLE!!! ( The Moonlight Scrapper)

I'm excited that Michelle is the winner...she's a sweet gal I met while on the team at AC Bailey.

Michelle, please email me your info to mattandbeckywilliams at yahoo dot com and I will get your prize on its way to Alaska in the next couple of days.

Congrats!!!

Thank you, everyone, for coming to visit my blog :)

And, now for a new layout.

I don't know about you but I am a big Pink Paislee fan so when the Pink Paislee warehouse sale started I jumped at the chance to get a big box of supplies for a great price. Everything on this page came from that warehouse kit.

This is, of course, my sweet Aimee girl. It's hard to believe that she'll be two years old a month from today. Where did the time go? It surely goes too quickly.

Have a wonderful rest of your weekend.

picking a winner

Yes, I need to pick a winner for my giveaway...I've already started filling a box with paper and stamps and other goodies and will pick a winner this weekend.

I also really want to scrap, really want to finish a page I started yesterday but I also really need to sleep.

Right now I feel like I got hit by a freight train...it feels a bit like the flu but maybe it's just a sinus infection. Either way I am feeling cruddy and just need to go back to bed. Again. I am tired of sleeping but am so exhausted and know it would be better for me to rest than to scrapbook so that I can get over whatever this is.

Happy Saturday to you.

Hailey had fun in her first race today at the Fall Festival in our town.

I'll post some pics of that later.

Early Bird cards

In celebration of getting a card picked up for Scrapbook Trends magazine yesterday I made a couple simple little cards with some more of that super-cute Cosmo Cricket Early Bird collection. Nothing too fancy about these, I got both done in about a half hour at most.



Have a great afternoon! I hope it's been a good day for you so far.

a reminder and some news

I just wanted to remind you of my giveaway. You can read the details down below a little ways. I'll put together a nice box of stuff for whoever wins, all you have to do is leave a comment on the giveaway post below. Pretty easy stuff. Thanks to all who have left comments so far :)

You make me feel so loved. Really, you do.

Also...

drum roll, please...

I have been submitting to Scrapbook Trends magazine for I don't know how long, trying to get some of my scrapbook layouts and cards published. I've had various things published in online magazines but have really, really, really wanted to get something in print.

so...

GUESS WHAT?

I checked my email this morning, early, and there was an email from Paige Evans. If you know Scrapbook Trends you know who she is. And, it was an email requesting something I'd submitted.

For real.

I was stunned.

And, so excited :)

Now I just want to go create and create and create some more so that I have some new things to SUBMIT!!

It's so fun.

Thanks for letting me share my happy news and make sure to leave a comment on the giveaway post below so that you can have a chance at some free scrapping goodies.

Have a wonderful, scrappy day!

more Early Bird

If you've been around my blog for very long you know that the Early Bird collection from Cosmo Cricket is one of my all-time faves for scrapbooking.

It's been a while since I've created anything using this set so I pulled it again yesterday and loved it as much as I did the first time. The colors are just so perfect for so many things.

These are some pictures of Sarah this spring, playing outside on a warm, rainy day with her trying to catch some of the raindrops in her little hands. Silly girl, but I think she did catch some and she was so excited to do so.

Here I've mixed the Cosmo Cricket with some American Crafts (alphas, galoshes Flair), Chatterbox(felt and button), Sassafras Lass (flower and cloud stickers), October Afternoon (rub-on), a Jillibean Soup journal spot and some bling from Kaiser Craft. I like how the little clear rhinestones look a bit like raindrops. That was the idea, anyway.



I wanted to add some more red to the layout so I used some white Thickers and inked them with one of my Stampin' Up! pens. They're great pens but the ink didn't absorb into the foam letters very well and instead kept rubbing off on my page and all over my hands. I decided to remedy that by putting some Glossy Accents over the top giving it a bubbly, shiny appearance.

So, what do you think?

It's always fun to play and scrap when it's not for an assignment, too.

how about a sneak peek?

Would you like to see a sneak peek of the upcoming October kit at My Scrapbook Nook?

Of course you would!!

Isn't that gorgeous? Just wait until you see more.

I'll have more peeks later for you so keep checking back.

This kit is going to be absolutely gorgeous, as they always are. And, if take a look at the kits and decide you'd like to join the kit club at My Scrapbook Nook, just let me know and I will get a $5 store credit for each person who uses me as a referral. You get a $28 kit each month valued at much more, filled with the latest and most beautiful scrapbook products on the market today. Yes, just go to http://www.myscrapbooknook.org/club.shtml to see the kits and the let me know if you decide to join and we both get a great deal :)

time for a giveaway

Happy Sunday to you!!

It's been cold and rainy today and guess what?

I LOVE it!

I love this time of the year when I can pull out my warm, cozy tights for church, my jackets and sweaters and other comfy things.

It's the time of year when I start to pull out the fall decorations, start to think about Thanksgiving and Christmas even though they are still months away.

This is my time of the year.

Well, so is Spring, I guess, but I do love fall.

I love to watch the leaves change from green to yellow and orange and red.

I love to watch the girls go stomping through the piles of fallen leaves.

I love the crisp feel to the air.

And, because I am loving this time of year I am going to do a giveaway.

A big one.

Full of Maya Road and Cosmo Cricket and American Crafts and Pink Paislee or whatever I end up putting in there. I have lots of stuff that I've accumulated and I'd love to share some of it with you, my lovely blog readers. I surely do appreciate those who come to visit and really love it when you leave comments.

Would you like to win some fun scrappy stuff?

There's just one catch.

Of course. There's gotta be a catch.

Because I'd love to increase my blog readership here, if you bring a friend to join my reader list you will both be entered into the drawing.

Otherwise, you can still enter by leaving a comment here and telling me what you like about fall or what you'd like to see more of on my blog. Did you like the sketches? Card Wednesdays? Tell me about it.

I kinda got out of the habit of doing the extras when our computer was down but want to keep my blog fun and interesting.

So, if you do tell a friend, have them tell me here in their comment who sent them here so that you get credit and an extra chance at winning. The more people you bring the greater your chances.

And, hey, if we get lots of people I just might do a few giveaways. I certainly have enough stuff, that's for sure.

I'll give ya until the end of this week- Friday night at 11pm EST on September the 18th.

Have a great day!!

where were you that day?

I found this picture online at the Wikipedia site. I think it's interesting that the Statue of Liberty, which is a symbol of our freedom, an invitation to others to come and enjoy the blessings we have as citizens of this great nation. Alongside that symbol of freedom, though, is a reminder of those who sought to take those freedoms away.

Today is September 11, 2009. It's been eight years now since that horrible day when terrorists made their mark on the United States.

I will always remember where I was that day when I heard the news.

Matt and I were attending Idaho State University and we'd just gotten to school and were walking to the library on campus when one of Matt's friends stopped us and asked if we'd heard the news.

We hurried to the computer lab so that we could look up anything we could find online about what was happening and were glued to the televisions as we passed by them.

I remember watching as the second plane hit, then watched horrified as the towers started to come down. It was almost surreal, and like I mentioned before, it was like something you only see in movies.

Then we heard about the plane that hit the Pentagon and the other that went down in a Pennsylvania field.

I was saddened that something so horrific would happen in our country, saddened at the number of lives lost, grateful that no one close to me was hurt. Even today, eight years later, tears come to my eyes as I think of that day.

I was also lifted up by the heroism shown that day by airline passengers who fought for their lives to the very end. I am grateful for the firemen and others who sacrificed so much.

I'm proud to be an American and hope that we will always remember that day.

"Let's roll."


Even in all the destruction the flag still stands for freedom.

I hope we don't take it for granted.

We are so very blessed.

more Amber Road layouts

I am having so much fun with this kit, can you tell?

It is absolutely gorgeous and so easy to scrap with.

I took some time today when perhaps I should have been cleaning toilets or folding laundry instead and finished up these two pages. I love the way Leah puts our kits together so that everything goes together so perfectly. This is definitely one of my favorite Scrapbook Nook kits to date. While it has a fall/harvest theme to the die-cuts and rub-ons you can use the patterned paper to scrapbook just about anything, as I've done on all of my pages so far. I do have some pumpkin pictures printed out that I'll most likely use for this kit as well but these pages certainly show the versatility of the kit.

This first layout I made today is one about Sarah and Aimee.

Journaling reads: "Having Hailey start kindergarten this year has been hardest for Sarah but she and Aimee are slowly becoming buds." September 2009



This next layout uses a picture taken by my sister-in-law, Ginger Williams, on our trip to Arlington this last weekend. I wanted to have a recent picture of our family and knew that this kit would be perfect for scrapping it. Thank you, Ginger!!


And some detail shots:

Aren't the colors of this collection just lovely?

I hope you're having a happy day.

I am.

and a quick layout

I have been trying to scrap more lately and sometimes that means doing a simpler page just to get in some scrapping time.

Today I used some pictures of Sarah jumping in puddles that we took while on our walk at a neighborhood park about a week ago. The green in the pics went perfectly with the packaging insert from the Prima cherry blossoms in my September kit from My Scrapbook Nook.

Aren't you proud of me for re-purposing my trash?

Otherwise the page is pretty simple, nice and quick and easy. A couple bits of ribbon and some staples and part of one of the journal cards from the kit and that's about it. I sanded the edges of the paper and blackened the red edge of the journal card to match my page.

One of the cool things that I like about this page is that the main photo was edited using a cool technique I just learned how to do in Photoshop. You simply create a duplicate layer of your photograph, turn it to black and white, then use the eraser tool to bring the color back where you want it. I learned it from a tutorial on Jessica Sprague's site. You can read all about it here

Have a great night! I hope to get some more scrapping done tomorrow :)

all nines- a challenge for you!

Yep, today is the ninth of September 2009

9-09-09.

Do you have some fun "nine" activities to do today?

I'd better think of some.

I'm sure I have more than nine things to do.

Today is such a busy day I hope I can sit down for nine minutes in a row :)

I hope your day is "dressed to the nines."

ha ha.

Maybe I can put nine of something on a scrapbook page or card.

Now there's an idea!

Anyone who wants to make a page or card- use only products in nines- nine buttons, nine flowers, nine buttons, nine different patterned papers, you get the idea.

Anyone up for it?

Leave a comment here with a link to your project by midnight EST on Friday and I'll do a drawing for a fabulous prize.

September Scrapbook Nook kit projects

I fell in love with this kit as soon as I heard what the contents would be:

Pink Paislee Amber Road paper and tags

Prima flowers and pearls

Black rhinestone swirls

Maya Road pins

...and more, of course, but these things are just gorgeous!!

I had some time today, thanks to my not feeling well and not wanting to try to do too much, and I was able to finish up some kit projects.

For this card I used one of the Amber Road canvas tags and just frayed the edges a bit. I also used some of the Pink Paislee chipboard alphas ( a kit add-on as well).

I love the patterns in this kit because they just call for distressing, inking and pleating, all things that I enjoy doing and haven't done on a layout in a while. The lace and aqua trim came from my stash, the other items were either from the main kit or add-on (chip alphas, pearls).

This is my sweet Hailey. I still just can't believe that she's 5 and in kindergarten. It seems like just yesterday that we were bringing her home from the hospital to our home in Boise. Man, has time changed so much since then.

I have lots of other ideas for this kit and tons of product yet to play with so come back in a day or two and I should have more projects for you to see.

Until then, have a great day!!

we're back!

Happy Labor Day!!

I hope that you have a nice, fun, relaxing day.

This is supposed to be a day when you can rest from your daily labors but after getting back from our trip this weekend there is so much to do. We'll see if I actually get to do any resting.

Up on the agenda today? Laundry, grocery shopping (a few things, anyway), unpacking, keeping the kids entertained, maybe some flower/bush shopping and looking for a new dishwasher since ours has gone kaput.

So, where did we go this weekend?

We drove about 6 hours to Arlington (just outside of Dallas) so that Matt and his brother could go to the BYU vs. Oklahoma game at the brand new Dallas Cowboys stadium. What a thrill it must have been for them to be there! It was quite a game, no one was expecting BYU to win so that victory made the trip so much more worth it.


Besides football, though, we got to hang out with Marc and Ginger and their kids, went to a beautiful park and had lots of fun.

Walk softly and carry a big stick. I can't remember who said that. The big stick part is right, anyway. Sarah is rarely quiet. ha ha.

We found these along the way on our hike through the woods...tempting but we didn't try them.

Happy Labor Day! I hope it's a good one for you.

I'm off to vacuum the floors and then to do some scrapbooking!!