And Then.......Jackson Arrived!

It's time to open Christmas Presents thank goodness they were bouncing off the walls asking!
The long awaited arrival of Jackson happened! Emily asked for Nikki, Jackson and Sammy for Christmas so she had a very American Girl Christmas. Abbi too she got all the Ballerina stuff for her and for Bitty.



Here he is in all his glory!
The next day Grandma and Grandpa came over and we took them to Cabella's and Ikea then later we went out to dinner and up to Cuneo to see the Christmas lights. The snow the night before was perfect for viewing lights. Cris and Sara had to head back for a Chuckie Cheese b-day party for Luke on Sunday.
We had a wonderful weekend with Family. Mom and Joel headed back on Monday bright and early.
After this we had Caroling with the Girl Scouts at the retirement home. And baking cookies for the cookie exchange. That brings us up to the 18th goodness gracious! After that it was the class parties and Imagine Christmas at Willow Creek. We picked up and decorated our Gingerbread house, finished shopping and wrapping,went to Grandma Marilyn's on Christmas Eve. Mommy and Daddy went out to a movie(alone) and then back home to prepare for Santa's arrival. We sprinkled reindeer food outside and remembered to put out the key and do a plate of cookies but Mommy forgot the milk in Santa's cup. He seemed to have found it in the fridge though. And then it was Christmas Morning! Since then it's been playdates for the girls and playing in the snow. Mommy had her Scrap night so she got a playdate as well! The gingerbread house is leaning and the candy and parts of the roof and wall are missing! Today it snowed enough to build a village of people in the backyard or a wall of very boulder like snowballs? The roads are clear and Dave is home for another 4 days in a row so we'll have some fun for the new year! And maybe even possibly we'll get some of the Christmas stuff down and put away! Oh I have such high hopes!

More Tags!


I made some more tags using justjohanna stamps sylvie, little al and the snowflake trio! Love these colors this year. Lots of presents wrapped in greens and blues !

Later that same day!

We had a lovely Christmas dinner with everyone out! That was fun and the kids had a good time! There are 2 kiddos missing in the pics one just refused to be photographed the other thought she was sneaking out of the pic but I kept that part of the b-day cake photo just because!











After dinner we drove through the snowy night back to our house for B-day cake and presents then other various desserts and Christmas! That will come shortly!
Yummy b-day cake I picked up from the Bakery for Dave and Luke. Their b-days are 4 days apart. We couldn't cover the cake with all their candles. Luke's would be ok but Dave is on 41 I'm afraid I didn't have that many candles!

Next Day


The entire family arrived. I spent the morning preparing picking up birthday cakes and wrapping presents. I made these tags using my most favorite stamp from justjohanna the Candy Cane Tree. Ok it was my favorite during the Holiday I'm sure soon I'll have a new favorite it's hard to pick! Anyway their glittered and fun!
A little up close action of Little Al hanging out on the tree!

Then we attempted a Chritmas card photo. As you can see Em was really into it Abs not so much this was the best in the bunch before the screaming and crying started. Ahhh The holiday season is in full swing!


12 Days! Yikes

Ok so I'm going to try to catch up slowly I have tons of pics I just got off my camera so here goes.

We had Dave's B-day party. Well it was little his parents and the girls and I. I made him a cheesecake and we ordered Pizza. He got some wonderful things. New work gloves, fun beers from some of his favorite breweries, t-shirts, a Cival War calendar, a nice cigar etc. etc. It was a very nice evening. Right after this Christmas errupted in our house. My family arrived the next day from part south and once they were all booked in the hotel we began the festivities.

More to follow!








Christmas Is Here.....Well Sort Of!

So Christmas for my side of the family is this weekend starting in about 2 1/2 hours when the first guest begin arriving. The children are crying the husband is sleeping in and I've been up since 6am getting ready! I so LOVVVVVEEEE the Holidays! HA Actually I complain too much! I had almost everything done yesterday for Dave's Birthday. His parents came out for dinner and we had a little party. Which I think everyone enjoyed! Today though is the beginning of the never ending series of parties and events!

That being said I'm sharing some HOLIDAYISH cards I made awhile back using justjohanna's 12 Days of Christmas stamps. Aren't the Pipers and Geese a Laying cute? I wish I were back in bed!
Hope everyones holiday plans are going well! I have to go finish wrapping presents! Have a great weekend!

Snow & Ice and Ice & Rain & Rain & Rain & ICE!

So that was my day! And how was yours? I'm glad I basically didn't have to go out except to drop off and pick up from school today! It was the perfect day for staying in! I learned a few things. 1) you cannot make Pepsi Chicken in the crock pot it gets too soupy and the chicken falls off the bone! Lesson Learned 2)You can heat set stickles if you want it to dry faster! Good to know! 3) our new dinner time with Dave's new job is almost 6:30! YIKES! Hopefully travel time gets better!

So today I made this card the angel is paper pieced using Basic Grey. The stamps are justjohanna.com Sylvie and Nest. I stamped and cut them out and popped them adding some patina stickles to Sylvie to make her even prettier!

Have a super evening!

Holiday Happenings Here!

I'm behind on my Christmas Cards so I've started to simplify! Love this justjohanna stamp snowflake trio! very versatile. I stamped it here with various chalk inks then added stickles on top so it would sparkle!

While I'm behind in my Christmas Cards I'm done with my shopping except for maybe a chocolate Santa or two for stockings! WOO HOO!

I'm pretty ready for Dave's birthday and my Mom's visit this weekend. I just have to figure out what to do for Dave on his b-day. I had dinner reservations at our favorite place but he started a new job this week and there is no way he'll be getting home early enough to make it out at a decent hour.

I started my shopping spree at Cabella's this morning. Abbi was thrilled to see all the animals and everything but every time we wandered into a department she would express how TIRED she was so we made it quick I finished 3 people there though. Hopefully everything will fit and be what they wished for! Tonight Dianne and I headed out and we accomplished a ton more! I have a project to finish before Sat. but besides that all I have is the wrapping! Phew!

Randi came to Abbi's school to explain Hanukkah, I read a book, she taught them a song and we did a dreidel project then they all took home gelt. It seemed like they had fun!

So later this week I have to go and explain Christmas to them as the teachers can't do it! I suck I don't have any candy to give them I suppose I should go and get some boxes of candy canes or something?

Anyhoo hope everyone is making a dent in their holiday plans! Stay safe in the cold and ice!

Candy Cane Wishes!

This is about where my kids are right now! I should be posting a picture of their playroom and their bedroom they are completely clean. You know Santa doesn't bring toys to little girls that don't take care of and put away the ones they have now! I'm such a mean Mommy! But I'm scrubbing the house from top to bottom in preparation for Christmas this coming weekend with my family. The upstairs is done tentatively well except the studio it's last on the list. That was my Saturday. Dave had his Company meeting in Madison so he was gone most of the day then we went out to Pizza Hut for dinner so Emily could redeem her reading coupon, when he got home. We came home amid an ice storm. ICK! I didn't get my Christmas wreath for the house it was way to icky outside for that!

Sunday was quiet all day just more house stuff and this card. I used the sketch from linnecards. The stamp is the Candy Cane Tree from justjohanna. And the paper is Scenic Route(Loveland) it's valentine but the colors are perfect for Christmas as well.

Then we had a babysitter and went to Ana's SURPRISE 40th Birthday Party. Which I have to say Zjelko pulled off perfectly! He had a caterer and tall tables set up in the living room and family room for people to mill about drink and enjoy bites before hand, then Ana arrived and we all yelled surprise and she cried and hugged and cried some more, she was so happy to see everyone. Then dinner was served it was gorgeous and yummy. There was Champagne and a dessert buffet and everyone had a wonderful time! It was a fabulous evening!

On a side note Dave lost his car keys(they can't be far they'll turn up) but we had to come home to get my car keys then my BIL Marc had leave the party to drive one of the cars from Ana's house back here and he fell on our icy drive! EWWWWWWW He swears he was laughing when I went out to see what the yelling was about? Hmmmm? But it still was pleasant only the part about the Cars.
Good Morning! Things have been nutty around here! Snow and school and ice and snow and decorating for the Holidays. I just have to clean off my coffee table(covered in holiday stuff) and find homes for all of it and I'm finished! Phew!

I've been working on cards all week. Christmas cards, dt cards cards cards and more cards. Here I made a card with Calvin the snail! He's a cutie isn't he? I love him! I colored him with glaze pens so he's really bright to match the paper. The paper is my own it's actually part of a larger piece I painted for a layout. When I cut it down to 12x12 I had this smidge leftover. It's painted in acrylic and embellished with pen. I of course added glitter with stickles because well no snail would go out in the world without stickles! Certainly not Calvin

So this week I received 2 of my RVA swap ornaments one from Dianne(HA I know I almost fell out of my chair) and she even mailed it, considering how many times I've seen her in the last 2 weeks I'm not sure when? She was very good at keeping it a secret from me though! I had no idea she got my name! It's a perfect snowman ornament made with loving care! I'm so excited to have one!

The second one came from Canada very exciting! From Kelly Oribine. It's a lovely snowflake done all in pinks, reds and browns seen below and a very nice card. I just love it! I'm so excited!



What else is happening here? Nothing much. Dance class was bring a friend for the girls they were thrilled to take their friends to class. Christmas shopping is coming along almost done with all the big stuff, Dave is still an issue! Oooh and the Schnockered group is doing a Cookie Exchange so we've been sharing tips and links over on that blog. It's not scrap related at the moment but more Christmas and Recipe related. I think that's about it!
Hope your having an awesome week!

Ok I figured it out

How to add stuff to the Red Velvet Art Ornament swap album! So now I feel like I can share my ornaments here as well! This was a fun swap! As you can see I'm really into this mossy green as of late. The stamps are Tim Holtz designs. It's hard to see here but the edges are gold and there is some gold doodling among the snowflakes. The Believe is done in the Embossing Tinsel and I've added liquid applique and a ton of stickles for good measure of course.

Let the Decorating Begin

We've put up the tree added the lights and brought down the many many boxes of Christmas! The girls are buzzing with excitement over the entire prospect of Christmas. It's finally becoming real to them.
Other than that it's been quiet around here, getting fairly warm and raining most of the day. Into the night with WHIPPING Winds and growing colder by the minute! The perfect time for some hot cocoa and tree trimming!

Today we reveal our Altered projects for linnecards. This is a chipboard key that I painted. I then stamped it(Inque Boutique Noel) with Versamark and heat embossed with Red Embossing Tinsel(Ranger) for the shimmer. It's kind of hard to see the detail I tried scanning here with a patterned paper background? The poem attached on Scenic Route Roxbury paper reads:
Dear Santa, take this special key And use it in our door It’s magic so it’ll let you in To leave my present on the floor Don’t worry that I’ll hear you For I’m snuggled up in bed With dreams of sleighs and snowmen Dancing in my head So use this key – it’ll help you To open up the doors Thank you for stopping at my house I love you Santa Claus

Ice Storm & Dancing!

Well it happened all my doubting and we actually got the bad weather. Well it's relative I suppose. First is snowed and blew all over the place then there was sleet then the rain began and it froze on top of everything making streets like a sheet of ice. We were inside for most of it! Randi and I ran to JoAnn's for a bit during the beginning but then we were home. The girls played outside for a bit but by then it was becoming icy.

We went to the community center to dance tonight for the festival of lights celebration. Santa came(the little ones screamed like he was a rockstar!) Emily and I danced and we headed home down our icy streets and out of the extremely hot hot hot building.

So I've been playing tonight her in my room listening to the plows and cars going by. Seems like things have picked up again the roads must be clean. I made this bright happy sunny cupcake card using a new Sizzx frame die I got at Joanns today. The stamps are justjohanna, Strawberry Cupcake and the word Felicitations. I colored the cupcake with Souffle Pens, I love the texture these give. The doodling is hand done. I inked the frame and lace with chalk ink. Added some white pen and stickles and voila! The patterned paper is Heidi Swapp, the card DCWV.
So that's about it. I've finished my Altered Item for Monday I think it's cute can't wait to share! Have a great Day! I'm going to work on some Xmas cards have to get going on those!

Jitters and Snow Storms!

Last night was great we went to the multi-cultural event! It was actually less stressful than ever. Em is getting older so she wants to go off with her friends every once in awhile. Not for long but Mommy standing near is apparently not very cool! Anyway food was difficult since the gym was packed and the lines were long. So Karen, Sah, and I took the girls to TGI Friday's afterward. They had so much fun and were thrilled to be out together. Soon we'll have pics of Emily and Zayla in their costumes they dressed in!
My new vacuum is wonderful. I can't complain one bit about what I paid($29 Circuit City online free shipping came in 3 days) it cleans and it stands straight up when I'm done! My old vacuum is a bit tired it only lays down refuses to stand and well it was in serious need of a tune up which would have cost at least $50+repairs. I checked they are out of the model I bought but they do have another one for $26 if you need a vacuum.
Tonight is the night our little Tree Lighting performance at the Community Center. Emily is excited, me not so much but that's just the pre-show jitters! We're supposed to get sleet and snow and ice and more snow today and tonight so we'll see how it goes.
I made this card in honor of our maybe first storm of the season. That way if it doesn't snow I still have my snowy flower to look at! The stamps are justjohanna. Flora Hugabundous and Snowflake Trio. The paper is Fabriano and Stampin Up. I used a template for the circles and colored them in with my white Sakura. Water colored the flowers in blue and also the background in washed out blue. Then I added Liquid Applique all over and heated it to puff. On top of that stickles for a bit of shimmer. The ribbon is Stampin up as well. The color combo is from the Splitcoast Color challenge this week.
Stay warm and have a happy Saturday!