More Journal Your Christmas Fun (Day 3)

Two Peas in a Bucket has had a range of CHA challenges this week, so I used several of the challenges as inspiration for my Journal Your Christmas pages. Here is my page for JYC, Dec 3, "Planning Magical Moments":

See It on 2Peas

This layout is done in response to CHA Challenge #2, "Scraplift 2 Concepts". I took inspiration from these sources:
http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/gallery/member/367453-tenmylove/1875576-december-daily-day-1-cover/ [twopeasinabucket.com]
and this one:
http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/gallery/member/498045-soaphousemama/1877620-days-3-and-4-december-daily-jyc/ [twopeasinabucket.com]

I also used my 2 kits that I made up for January from my stash:
Scrap Your Stash Kit , and May Your Days Be Merry and Bright Counterfeit Kit .

Supplies used: Cosmo Cricket Jolly Days background, cream colored pp is from Crate Paper, Wilton's Doily, Elle's Studio stamp and journaling spot, gold glitter ribbon and Thickers from American Crafts.

I quite like how it came out, and I have enjoyed playing along with the challenges at 2Peas, so I will be sharing many more pages over the next few days...Leave me a comment to let me know what you think!

I made the Newsletter?!!!

Just a quick unscheduled post to share my excitement! I have never made the 2Peas newsletter before-and I have been a member for 10 years!! SOOO excited! Lol!

Here's my screenshot:

Mine is the one in the middle! Click HERE to see it on 2Peas!
Whoot, whoot! Lol...just excited...and I got to chat with Glitter Girl!

Purple Pumpkin: GIVEAWAY!!! WIN 50 Flair Buttons!!!

Purple Pumpkin: GIVEAWAY!!! WIN 50 Flair Buttons!!!: Its nearly time for our first big sale of 2013, which will be held on Monday 21st of January in the Purple Pumpkin Shop .  As well as new em...

Scrap Your Stash Kit

One thing I love about 2Peas-I am always being inspired! I saw a thread on the General Scrapping Message board about making up a kit from your own stash, and I was immediately intrigued! So, I decided to sign up for the emails, and I waited anxiously to see what it was all about!

We got the email, with photos of Scrappypedia's, glamorous kit, Going For Gold  (here's a sneak peek) , and lots of yummy gold, emerald greens, white, and peacock blue. Well I love all of those colors, so I was up for the challenge!

Here is my kit, Evening Glamour:



And here is a closer look at my papers:
I know it looks huge, but it is nowhere near as large as the inspiration kit! But I love it...these are some of my favorite colors and motifs to scrap with!

Journal Your Christmas, Days #1 and #2

I played along with Shimelle's Journal Your Christmas class for the first time this year, and I loved it! Instead of trying to do a page every day in December, like a December Daily style album, I just read her daily prompts and journaled whatever they triggered for me, and took photos along with the photo prompts, also! It was so much fun, and I felt so much less stress! Now that the holiday has passed, I am using my Merry and Bright kit (and another kit that I will share tomorrow) to put these memories and photos into an album. Over the next month, I plan to share these pages and stories here on my blog. I really feel that this class helped me to appreciate the joys and memories of the season, and I love that I am now signed up for lifetime access to it! Is it weird to already be excited, and planning things for next year? Lol!
Anyway, on to my pages:
Day 1, "A Christmas Manifesto":




The journaling reads:
"Spend time this year ENJOYING the season, creating and recording memories, instead of overwhelming myself with too much STUFF. Simplify, take more time for family and togetherness. Take time to reflect and yes, even to mourn the loved ones who are missing from this year's celebration. But treasure the memories, and the loved ones who are here. Appreciate the magic of Christmas while the kids are young. Make yummy food, enjoy, and photograph all of the family's memories."

Day 2, "Tuna Can Ornaments":

The journaling reads:
 " I remember sitting at the table as a child, making the ornaments for this tree! The painstaking work threading each bead onto wire for the icicles, and the hot glue burns on my fingers from gluing the velvet ribbons and tiny ornaments onto the tuna cans...I wonder how many cans of tuna were eaten in the process of making these? I love crafty things like these now, so it seems funny to think back on how much I hated making them at the time!"

Thanks for looking! I will be back with another kit from my stash tomorrow!

December Wrap-up...And Welcome 2013!

I am finally getting around to posting a few pictures from December (so many to edit, so little time!)...
The twins had fun at Chasity's awesome birthday party:

The kids (Evan, Natalie, and Cecilia) played and won a lot of basketball games:

I am dying over Natalie's expression, as she watches Cecilia take a free throw shot:

I went the kiddos' Christmas program (can't believe it's Evan's last year there...):

I took the kids to the skating rink with their church youth group:

Over the weekend, the big kids were gone (grandparents and friends' houses), so I took the little ones to see some christmas lights:

And our church's drive-thru Nativity scenes:

I saw an idea on Pinterest, and wanted to try it, so I made fruit trees for the kids' class Christmas parties:

I made sweets to give out to family (yummm....peanut butter balls!):

We did another Pinterest recipe, Bacon Explosion (not recommended for the faint of heart or anyone with cholesterol problems- but soooo good!):

We enjoyed Christmas with the family (I have tons of pictures of this, but I will just share one that sums up the spirit of the season for me):

We left out cookies and milk for Santa:

Here is a favorite of my tree:

It actually snowed on Christmas night, and the day after Christmas I was able to take this photo:

We were pretty low-key and relaxed for the days following Christmas, and welcomed the New Year at home with the twins and a Storage Wars marathon. And toasted 2013 with sparkling glass of champagne:

I enjoy the chance to pull out our crystal champagne flutes from our wedding and use them once or twice a year!

A Merry and Bright kit for January...

As many of you may already know, I stepped down from the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog's design team in December. I really thought about it a lot, and went back and forth on this decision. In the end,  I decided that I want to keep my scrapping fresh and fun, so I felt like it might be time for a bit of a change.  I will continue to play along with the CKC blog as time permits, though, because I love shopping from my stash, making up kits, and all of the fun challenges to use those kits along the way!

With all of that said, I do have a kit for January! The CKC blog is being sponsored by Paper Issues this month, and this is the kit that we were given for inspiration:
"A Merry Winter":

 

 

When I saw the inspiration, I thought that it was perfect for me, because I have been following along with Shimelle's Journal Your Christmas all through December in journal form only...and now I was able to pull together a kit to get those memories scrapped!

 

My "May Your Days Be Merry and Bright"  kit:

 

 

I  know it looks huge, but I do have a month of memories to record... And Christmas goodies coming out my ears! So I plan to use as much as possible!

 

Here's a closer look at the Papers:

 

I have a wide range of papers to choose and mix and match from: white and kraft cardstock, Coordinations white embossed woodgrain cs, Tim Holtz Seasonal Paper Stash, several papers from The Paper Studio,  several from the Cosmo Cricket Jolly Days collection, tree paper from Cloud 9 Designs, a few from the Carta Bella Winter Fun Collection, several from October Afternoon Very Merry collection, and some printable cards from AC Digitals, Crate Paper's Sleigh Ride collection. Colorful and fun, with a bit of a vintage-y retro feel. Love these papers!

 

After I took the phots of my kit, I picked up the mail and went to Target, so I had to add a couple more items in:

I recieved this paper pad from a giveaway from the fabulous Els Bridges, and I couldn't resist these adorable kraft stickers from Target's $1 spot!

 

I also have some stamps pulled to use with my kit:

 

And I will probably use some of these fun wood veneers and chipboard buttons:

 

I will be back a little later to do my Look Back wrap-up (December) post! Thanks for looking, I can't wait to start using this kit, and putting my Christmas journal together!

New Webster's Pages collections

I have been drooling over the sneak peeks of the new collections that Webster's Pages are debuting!
Here is a quick look at the one they are sharing (and giving away) this week!:

Last week, they shared Modern Romance:

I also LOVE the Alison Kreft collections:

There's so much to love! They really knocked it out of the park this time!

A Look Back, cont...

Picking up where I left off yesterday...

In June, we did a lot of gardening, blackberry picking, and some canning:

I took the kids to a swimming party with their church youth group:

Learned some fun songs and moves in VBS:

And had fun catching some free ice cream and getting pictures taken with Maggie the Cow on Flip Day at Maggie Moo's:

We had fireworks on July 4th for the kids with my cousins and their kids:

The twins got to spend a week at Aunt Amanda and Uncle Josh's house in Nashville:

I had a couple of silly boys when Nate came over to play:

Then we took Evan to a week at Lakeshore church camp with his friend, Trevor:

And, August 1st, the kids started back to school (I think it gets earlier every year):

I canned what felt like a billion tomatoes:

And I won some awesome summer CHA goodies:

We started September off with a Labor Day weekend trip to a friend's cabin in the mountain...and I have so many photos from that weekend! Here are a few of the highlights:

Greeter Falls:

We swam out and stood under the falls (check one thing off the bucket list!):

Board Games in the cabin:

S'mores every night:

Check out the local flea market on Sunday morning:

Took a Labor Day hike in the rain:

Where we saw this:

And The Great Stone Door:

We had some freakish lightening storms:

I went to a baby shower for a good friend:

And flag football started up (Evan was the QB for his team!):

In October, Evan turned eleven:

The 3 youngest had a blast playing in the cotton (something I remember from my childhood):

We actually had some beautiful fall colors, which I really enjoyed on my morning runs:

I did a few photo shoots for some friends and family:

Did a few tries at our Christmas card photo:

Till Daddy helped, so they would behave:

Evan's flag football team went undefeated, and won their "Superbowl":

Tracy had her little one, and I got to visit:

At the end of the month, Evan and his best buds, Nate and Trevor, all got dressed up for a Halloween party:

And on Halloween, I took the kiddos trick or treating:

In November, I went to my cousin Jocelyn's baby shower

Basketball season started back up with a Jamboree:

The twins turned nine:

We celebrated Thanksgiving at home with a yummy meal:

And then decided to work on replacing our kitchen floor...

And, since this post has gotten so long, I will share December photos tomorrow!