'Tis the Season!!

I love the Christmas excitment that seems to jump into the air after Thanksgiving!!

It is so fun to plan for that perfect gift, decorate the Christmas tree, and see the excitment and joy this season bring to so many people!

Yay for Christmas!!

I created this layout using some pictures my Father-in-law took of our family for our Christmas card a couple of years ago. I love the pictures of the kids - neither one of them is looking or smiling, or even sitting still, for that matter! But they are still adorable pictures that I love!

Supplies: Patterned papers: Jolly by Golly collection from Cosmo Cricket; Cardstock, alpha stamps, red ink, glitter rub-ons, wire and buttons: CTMH; Stickers: American Crafts; Brown ricrac: unknown.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today,

and I hope you enjoy the wonder of this season!!

JAG

It's going to be a SUPER Saturday!

We have a fun activity coming up next week at our church, and I am the lucky one that has had the honor of planning it! ;) It really has been fun to put it all together, but it really has been a lot of work, too! It is a most-of-the-day thing. We call is a Super Saturday, and the theme I chose for this years activity is "Home can be a Heaven on Earth." I'm anxious to see how it all turns out! We are having some workshops and service opportunities in the morning, then a lunch and some time for crafting after lunch!

These are the crafts that I made that the ladies can sign up to make:

What do you think? I thought they turned out pretty cute!

We are also offering the pictures that are cut and mounted on MDF and covered with a glaze so they look like tiles, but I didn't make that sample.

So anyway, if you don't see me around here much the next week, you'll know why!

I've got A LOT to do! :)

JAG

Fun Blog Challenge at My Mind's Eye!!

One of my all time FAVORITE scrapbooking manufacturers is My Mind's Eye. I have loved their stuff since I got back into scrapbooking about 6 years ago.

So I'm sure you can imagine my pure delight when I discovered that they have a blog (yea, I'm pretty slow, just figured that out!) AND they are having a sketch challenge AND the winner will get three complete lines of MME of their choice!!

Now I know I have never won anything scrapbook related and I know I am not likely to start now :) but you can bet I am giving it a try!

Wish me luck!

My not so baby girl :)

I keep trying to tell my Gracie-girl that she is still my baby, but all I get is "mom, me 'BID' girl!" and she raises her hand as high up as she can reach! Why do they insist on getting big so quick?!

Here are a couple of layouts of her that I have completed recently:

Supplies: Patterned Papers, circle alphas (Jenni Bowlin), Cardstock, flower rub-on (CTMH), white foam alphas (American Crafts), chipboard flower (Paper Studio), journaling spot (Jillibean Soup).
Supplies: Patterned Papers (My Mind's Eye), Scalloped Cardstock (Bazzill), Green and white CS, big pink flowers, rub-on border, lace trim, line stamp and buttons (CTMH), small pink flowers (Prima), white and brown alphas (American Crafts), brad (Oriental Trading Co.), rub-on quote (Basic Grey).

I guess since Grace won't be my baby anymore, I will have to settle for these cute, wrinkly, brand new baby pictures! :)


Have a good one!
JAG

Happy News on the Homefront!

My husband passed the Bar Exam!!

We're off to celebrate!

My Paper Addiction :)

So I really think I may be addicted to paper.

The signs are everywhere....

I can't go to the scrapbook store, or any craft store for that matter,

without buying a few pieces.

I can often be heard oohing and aahhing over new paper lines I find online.

I have a stash of paper that is really too big for a couple of avid scrapbbokers.

And the main sign of my addiction is that inspite of all of these signs, I still ordered MORE last weekend and am expecting the UPS man to drop this paper set off at any minute:

It is the Grace Level II paper pack from Close to my Heart.

I'm pretty much in love with it, and we haven't even met yet!

Aren't the colors pretty?

Sad, I know.

And yet I'm still not about to give up my paper!

*SIGH*

Dear Fall....I love you!

I really have come to LOVE the fall season. I think when I lived in Utah and the summers weren't quite so long and hot, I didn't full appreciate fall. But now that we live in Texas and the summers are definitely long and hot, I really enjoy fall!

I love the cool temperatures.

I love the colors. I am seeing so many colorful trees lately, and they are beautiful!

I love fall activities: apple picking, pumpkin picking, and other harvest activities.

Believe it or not, I have even enjoyed the high school football games!

In honor of this fabulous season, I have been doing a little fall scrapbooking and picture taking!

This is a really simple layout of some of the pictures I took on our trip to the pumpkin patch last year. It was the first time I had taken the kids to a real pumpkin patch, and it was so fun!

Supplies: Patterened Papers (Cosmo Cricket - Early Bird line), Journaling spots (Jillibean Soup),

Chipboard letters (American Crafts), alphabet stickers (Making Memories), button, waxy flax, felt flourish (CTMH).

Last Friday, Bryan and I took the kids to a small town about an hour from here that we were told is the place to go when the leaves change colors. Unfortunately we missed the best of the colors by about a week, we were told, but we still enjoyed some beautiful sights and an awesome walking bridge that was great for pictures!

HAPPY FALL Y'ALL!!!

:0) Janelle

Reliving the Memories

I've actually been scrapbooking recent events lately, which is not something I do much of since I still haven't scrapbooked a lot of my kids baby pics! But I like to mix it up, and it has been fun to relive all of the fun things we did during our "Crazy Summer of 2009."

Yep, I've given it that title.

I felt a little like a chicken running around with it's head cut off,

but in the midst of all the craziness of going and coming we had a lot of fun!

This first layout is of my kids and all of their cousins and their grandparents at the family reunion we went to in Yellowstone. I absolutely LOVE these pictures!!

I love that in the family we have 12 grand kids ages 14 and under, with 9 of those 12 being under the age of 5!! You bet it is a wild, but FUN party!

I was hoping to get some great wildlife or

scenic shots while we were there, but these are way better and I think in fifty years they will mean a whole lot more! :)

Supplies: Patterned papers (Mr. Campy line by Cosmo Cricket), Brown paper, line stamps, black pen, ink and alphabet stamps (CTMH), red journaling spot (Jillibean soup), deer sticker (Karen Foster designs), brown letter stickers (doodlebug designs).

This next layout is pictures from our trip to Disneyland. While Bryan was studying for the Bar exam, the kids and I went to CA with my parents and siblings. We were able to go to Disneyland with all of my cousins that live in San Diego, and their kids. It was a TON of fun, even if my feet were killing me by the end of the day (we stayed for 15+ hours!)! I'm just so glad we all still make an effort to get together like this!

The title says "Every family tree has a few nuts....mine just happens to have a lot!"

SOOoo true with my family, and we know it, and we don't care!

That is what makes getting together fun, right?

Supplies: Cranberry CS, black PP, Green PP, black rub-ons (CTMH), Yellow PP (Crate Paper), Journaling Spots (Jillibean Soup), Alphabet stickers (American Crafts), Chipboard tree (Maya Road), buttons (Foof-a-la and Bazzil).

Oh, and you can click on the pictures to see them bigger if you want.
Thanks for stopping by my blog! :0)

Girly layout :)

I had a lot of fun doing this layout because I find I don't scrapbook really girly layouts very often. It seems like normally I do layouts with pictures of my kids together so I stay away from the really pink and flowery things. But I really had fun gettin' girly on this one!

The patterned papers are from the Imaginisce baby powder line. It is older stuff, but I still love it!

Supplies: CS (CTMH); Patterned papers (Imaginisce); journal spot stamp, rub-ons, and flowers (CTMH); pink and blus letters (Making Memories); brown letters (American Crafts); Button (Creative Imaginations), pink brad and white metal flower (unknown).

:) Janelle :)

AWww...CUTE!

This is my favorite layout I've made recently,

so I had to share it!

I love the simple, clean lines.

I love when my layouts turn out like this,

I just wish I could make it happen all the time,

not just on a good night! :)

Guess I'd better keep practising!

Supplies: yellow pp (ki memories Pet Shop collection), blue CS (SEI), brown pp (Crate Paper Orbit collection), red CS (CTMH), journaling spot (Jillibean soup), buttons (CTMH), thickers (American Crafts) Mini alphas, blue alphas (Making Memories), ribbon (Basic Grey).

In the Holiday Spirit :)

We've had quite a few cool days around here lately,

which is pretty early for "cold" weather to be hitting Texas.

But I am certainly NOT complaining!

I LOVE it!!

And it has gotten me in the holiday spirit already!

We've been talking about Thanksgiving and Christmas plans,

pulling out the jackets and sweaters,

and I even listened to Christmas music while I was scrapbooking the other night!

So in honor of my festive mood :) I have created a couple pages of holiday memories from a few years back and thought I would share them with you!

This was my little boy's first Halloween! He was quite the adorable pumpkin!

These pictures were the results of our Christmas card photo shoot, using the tripod.
That is always an adventure!
I love the quote I used as the title. I think it is a great reminder all of the time,
but especially at Christmas.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Are you ready for a little Old School Scrapbooking?

I hope so, 'cuz here it is!!

I started scrapbooking when I was 13 or 14. I was introduced to it by my friend and her mom....who are now my Sister-in-law and Mother-in-law. Funny how that all worked out. :)

Anyway, needless to say I have been doing this for a while and it is crazy to see how, not only my style, but also scrapbooking in general has evolved in the last 10+ years!

The coolest thing about it, though, is that while styles have changed drastically, I still enjoy looking through these books and relieving all the memories from years ago. My kids got quite the kick out of it too!

The only quiestion I have is why, WHY, did I cut nearly all of the pictures into stars, hearts, and circles?!? That was totally the "cool" thing to do back then - all the stores sold the shape templates and the photo pencils for tracing shapes onto your photos - but looking at them now it drives me a little crazy!

Oh well, on to the pictures.

Try not to laugh too hard, okay? :)

Hahahaha...that is quality stuff there!

Maybe it is a good thing my style has changed A LOT since the beginning! :)

Also, I've been on a bit of a card kick lately, so here are a couple I've made:

The first one is made with an old CTMH kit that I still love - an oldie but a goody in my book!

This next one uses some Making Memories paper and CTMH stamp set "Baby Miracles." I can't resist those cute, chubby, little babies!

Thanks for stopping by my blog!!

A little scrappin' time

Remarkably, I've had quite a lot of time to scrapbook this week, which I am, of course, not complaining about! :)

Here are a couple of favorites:

This last one I did using the sketch by Becky Fleck of Page Maps for the Back Porch Memories Guest Design team call. I tried to enter it, but I couldn't get my picture to upload - BOO!
Better luck next month, I guess!

I also found my old scrapbooks when I was unpacking a box last week. That was sure fun! I started scrapbooking when I was 13 or 14, so I've been at it for a good long time now, and some of those early pages are pretty "cute"!! I took pictures of a few of my favorites so I will post them in the next couple of days. I'm sure you could all use a good laugh!

:0)
Janelle

Playing with Photoshop

I finally found some instructions for using the filters on Photoshop, so I've been playing around.

I really like the "artistic" touch it adds to my pictures!

I'm sure there is room for improvement, but it is fun to play around with.

You know, just one more thing to keep me up late at night when I should be sleeping! ;)

My kids are getting too BIG!!

~Thanks for stopping by!~
Janelle

Back in the Saddle again!

We are finally moved in, back from vacations, and settled enough that I could get a little scrapbooking done - YAY!!

Here are some of the layouts I've worked on.

Not the best pictures of them, but it was a cloudy day outside and I just wanted to get them taken.

This first one uses last week's sketch from 52 weeks 52 sketches. This was the first one I had been able to do in months!

This is Grace when she was a baby. Bryan used to call her our "Pink Baby"!
And this was just a quick fun one of the kids puddle jumping.
Every kid has to do that now and again, don't you think?!
I love how this layout turned out!



And this is a picture that my husband took of the kids and I the other night. Looks like we live quite the idyllic life these days, doesn't it? :) Just thought it was too cute not to share!



Have a good day! :)

What's new with you?

Not much going on around here....

The kids and I have just traveled to San Diego, Utah, and Idaho in the last three weeks...

and Bryan and I bought our first house on Thursday...

and Bryan takes the Bar in a little over a week...

and my parents and sisters are in town to help out...

and we move in less than two weeks....

Nope, nothing much going on....

....at least not in the scrapbooking department. :) :)

Page Maps/My Little Shoebox Sketch Contest

Hello!

This is the only layout I have completed lately. :)

We are moving in a few weeks and the time has come to pack up my

scrapbooking supplies for a little while, which is sad, but I am very excited to

unpack them into my scrapbooking room!!!

Anyway...

This layout was done for a contest that I found on the Page Maps blog. The person who wins gets free My Little Shoebox papers, chipboard, etc. Their stuff is super cute, so I thought I better try it out. Loved the sketch by Becky of Page Maps - it was a fun one!

I used some fun Cosmo Cricket papers that my friend Becky brought me - - isn't she so nice?! They were perfect! Thanks Becky! :) Also used some SEI buttons, CTMH brads, die cut from the New Arrival Cricut cartridge, and Senic Route graph patterned paper.

My sweet baby boy

I've been doing a couple of layouts lately of my son when he was a baby......It's crazy how fast they grow up! I still like to sneak in on him and watch him while he is sleeping though! ;)

The first Layout was made with sketch #22 at 52 weeks. Still love her sketches, the summer schedule has made it hard to keep up with them every week!

This next one I made up using an older CTMH line. I got this one when I first became a consultant three years ago, but it is the only beach/swim themed paper I had around.

Didn't he have the greatest little swim body!

Have a good day! :)

June Cards

These are the cards for my June Card workshop that I am holding this week. It will be my final card night before we move. I have been doing this for over two years now, and I will really miss some of the good friends I have made through these workshops.

Thanks to all of those who have come and

supported me over the last two years!!!

This month I used the new Animal Cookies paper from Close To My Heart. It was so fun to work with! I usually don't go for the brighter, primary colors, but I loved this paper! The patterned polka dots are so cute!

I also used the new stamp set "You're a hoot!" - the owls in this set are adorable!- as well as the Good times stamp set, Family Ties children Stamp set, and various alphabet stamps.

Thanks for stopping by! :)

A quick and easy layout

I was on a mission to put a layout together super quick, which never happens for me!

This was what I came up with:

I thought it turned out cute, and it was a great way to get a page done in a hurry!

This is a card I made using an idea I found in Card Makers Magazine from a long time ago.

I liked the diagonal cut of the patterned paper...just something a little different than the norm!

A Few Favorites

I have been working on a mega project the last few days (in the last week I made a 56 page scrapbook for a friend to give to her MIL!) so I haven't created anything new for myself recently, but I had these two favorites from a couple of months ago that I thought I would share now.

This layout uses a sketch from the 52 sketches blog.

It was the perfect sketch for this picture, and I love how it turned out!

Check out the title! :)

And this is my favorite card that I have made recently. I used the Key to my Heart kit from Close to my Heart (Jan. special). I wanted to make a big scalloped border but I don't have the right kind of circle cutter to do it, so I stamped the circle from another stamp set several times right next to each other and then cut them out and layered them under the patterned papers. Turned out cute, don't you think?

Thanks for Looking!

Here's one for the books...

My wonderful husband

graduated from law school!!!

Talk about a proud wife moment!

He's my HERO!

May Card Workshop

Just thought I would share the cards I made for my May card night that is coming up in a couple of weeks! I made them using the Stardust paper kit from CTMH (love these papers!), along with various CTMH stamps. There are three Father's Day cards and three birthday cards.

Thanks stopping by my blog! :)