ROAD TRIP!!

Guess where I am off to? UTAH!
Yep, the kids and I are taking off on a little Spring Break Road Trip...and we are leaving poor Bryan home to slave away at work. Should be interesting for all involved!
I am excited to see a lot of our extended family and to enjoy some time with them, even if it means leaving my 65-70 degree weather for a place that still has snow!
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the driving goes well. We are following some friends from church, so I won't be completely alone on the road, but I will be the only adult in the car with the kiddos. We are armed with lots of books, music, and snacks! Now I just need to figure out how to get all of the snacks, books, crayons, etc. with in their arms reach!

WISH ME LUCK! :)
JAG

Happy Monday!

How is your Monday? Is the week off to a good start? I hope so! We are having a good Monday here. Grace and I went to the library, ran some errands, did some puzzles, read a few books, and even managed to get in a bit of laundry and cleaning, which was sorely needed. :) I count that as a good Monday!

I just wanted to share this layout that I made the other night using Echo Park Paper Co.'s Little Boy line. Have you used their paper and stickers? I first bought one of their kits a couple of months ago, and this was the second one I bought.....love them! I am definitely an Echo Park fan!
The pictures are from a couple years ago when we were in Olympia, WA for a family reunion and we went to this fabulous farmers market. Grandpa spoiled the kiddos and bought them these HUGE cookies which they, of course, loved devouring! :)

Have a great day!
JAG

Hello Again.

Just found a couple of projects I thought I would share before my girly-girl and I head out for a quick walk. It is a beautiful day around here today. The sun is almost tricking me into believing that spring is here!

First up is a layout of her third birthday...all girly and princessy and pink...just like her! I'm not very good at the whole "shabby chic" look, this is as close as I get! :) I still have to have my clean lines.

Looking at it now, I think it looks cuter in person. Oh well, I guess I need to find better lighting when I take pictures of my layouts!

I made a couple of these cute cards the other day with my Martha Stewart Butterfly punch and some scraps. I love how simple and yet cute it is! I was hoping to make a set of them for my sister for her birthday.....so far I have made two and her birthday was three weeks ago! I think I am off to a great start for her birthday next year, right!? :0) haha

Have a great day! I hope the sun is shining for you, too!
JAG

Recently....

...life has just seemed crazy! Every week I think, "this week I'm not going to be crazy busy! I'm going to relax this week." Hahaha. Guess I better just get used to the busy!

Did I ever tell you what my wonderful husband gave me for my birthday?
Three fabulous things:
FIRST, and most exciting, was a visit from my MOM!!! I had no idea she was coming, and the evening before my birthday he just walked in from work like normal...except this time he had my mom with him! I screamed for a solid five minutes, I think! And she stayed for a WHOLE WEEK! Lots of shopping, visiting and fun!
SECOND, a 50 mm lens for our -okay, technically it's his- camera!!! Still trying to figure it out.
THIRD, a gallon of paint and a coupon for some painting helpers to help me paint my scrapbook room! (don't worry, I'm taking before and after pics.)
Isn't that fun!? I think it was the best birthday ever, especially because I got to spend it with my mom...that hasn't happened for several years! What a blessed girl I am to have a husband who is so very, very thoughtful.

Next up....
I had a quick photo shoot with this little girl the other day... had to try out that new lens, right? We spend quite a lot of one on one time together these days with Joshua in school, and it is special time, for sure. We had to take some pictures to document. :)

She's pretty darn cute....and she'll talk your ear off if you let her! Watch out! In fact, as I type this she is climbing all over my back chattering away about the show she just watched. :)

And finally, a card!

As I mentioned, we are painting the scrapbook room, so there isn't a whole lot of creating going on at the moment, but I did manage to get a few cards made before I had to disassemble my room. I used patterened paper, journaling sprouts, a canvas flower, Happy birthday stamp, and stickers from Jillibean Soup, as well as some random cardstock scraps, a red button and a bit of twine.

Hope your day is fabulous!

JAG

Just a little card...

Hello again.

I just wanted to share this cute little card I made using papers and die cuts from the Alphabet Soup Boy line by My Mind's Eye. It is based on a sketch challenge they had on their blog a couple of weeks ago. Isn't that tiger die cut adorable? Oh, and the sentiment is a sticker from SRM...love their clear stickers for cute, quick cards. I would say that I need to buy myself some more, but I am on a self-imposed-scrapbook-supply-buying-freeze. :) We'll see how that goes, especially with all the new CHA releases coming up!! My goal is to make it throught March without buying anything new...wish me luck!

I've been reorganizing my scrapbook room, and it has been quite fun to dig through everything and find all the fun things I had forgotten I had! Of course I am a little disgusted at how much I have that goes unused...hence the buying freeze. :) I could probably make a hundred or so cards just from the scrap stash I have built up! YIKES! Time to get busy!

Not much else going on around here, just keeping busy with the normal school, work, church, life kind of stuff and trying not to get too sick. Seems like someone has been sick since November, but right now we all just have colds and I am praying that is it for a while! In the past we have been blessed with such good health that I guess I have been spoiled. I would maybe take one of my kiddos to the Dr. each year. Poor Joshua has been four times already this year, and Grace and I have each been once! So anyway, I'm hoping this is the end!

I'll try and be back with something a little more exciting soon!
Have a good night!
JAG

Yay! The first Layout of 2011 :)

Well, seeing how it has been over two months since I even made a full 12x12 scrapbook layout, I am quite excited that the first layout of the new year has already been finished! Let's hope there are many more to come. :)

Supplies: Patterned Papers (Cosmo Cricket Mr. Campy and Togetherness) Cardstock (CTMH)Stickers (Border - Cosmo Cricket, letters - SEI and Doodlebug) Journaling Spot (Jillibean Soup) Stamps (Journaling Jots by CTMH) Brads (CTMH) Diecut (Apple from A Childs Year Cricut Cartridge - Provo Craft).

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I'm loving a new year. I feel a fresh start.
I'm choosing to be happier with where I am in life and what I am, and I'm choosing to be more hopeful. So much of life is about what we choose to see and do, isn't it?
I'm hoping to be more organized and, thus, productive. :)
I'm working to be more fit spiritually, and physically as well.
Hummm.....it's a lot, but I think it will be very worth it in the end. It all takes effort and time....and stamina, sitcking-to-it-ness. :) I think I've got it in me! Hooray for a new year!

JAG

My Top 10 Favorite Layouts of 2010!!

I thought it might be fun to share some of my favorite layouts from this last year.

It's funny how at the beginning of the year there were lots to choose from, but ever since Joshua started school the layouts I've completed have been few and far between. Life is truly full of the best things right now, with family and faith being at the top of the list, but I do hope that I am able to find a little more time for scrapping in this new year than I have the last few months. I miss the time for me, honestly, and not having had much of it recently makes me realize that it is an important part of my life, too. So here is to a new year and to finding....no CREATING... balance in my life! ;)

And without further ado...my 10 favorite layouts of 2010 (in no particular order):

JAG