create the life you love

A Little Project

Last spring, these moss covered letters (larger size) were being sold in the Pottery Barn catalog for almost $80! I have wanted to make my own version ever since seeing them in the catalog, bought the supplies way back then .. and finally got around to making my own.

This 'G' was a gift to my friend Ginny to put in her shop, Ginny's Orchids ..

I also plan on doing the word 'Joy' for Christmas!

Once Upon a Time I was a Scrap Booker ..

It's been years now that I have done a single scrapbook page and I miss it so. For many years  - I started this hobby when my youngest, Griff was one year old - I scrapped almost every day.  My little hobby turned into being published in a few different scrap booking magazines,  being a 'Garden Girl' at Two Peas in a Bucket for many years, becoming a Creating Keepsakes Hall of Famer, participating on a few design teams, and even traveling to various shows/conventions/crops. (Please know that I am not bragging here .. seriously, it is no big deal.. it's only scrap booking!)

 

Then .. I added card making to my scrap booking and somehow this turned into a little business. This 'little' business has kept me very busy over the past few years and now, instead of scrapping every day, I work almost every day. Don't get me wrong .. I really do love it and it is a way to still be creative and make a little money to help support my Lilly addiction  ;) .

I do miss my scrap booking days though and hope to some day (I keep telling myself this), be able to find the time to get back to it again. I still have a closet filled with supplies and still like to buy them. Maybe if I just set a goal of 1 layout per week .. although, I am the slowest scrapper on earth.  

I spent well over an hour this morning going through a big, rubbermaid bin full of completed layouts, all in page protectors but not yet in albums (need to do this, I even have the albums). Shed a few tears too .. just looking back a few years to the different stages of my boy's lives. Time passes way tooo fast.

A few of my oldest son, Bear ..

 

This just cracks me up. He was in the 8th grade play, Wizard of Oz and played one of those weird monkeys! One of my very favorite memories, being that this was such a departure from my usual life of boy sports and I loved seeing a different side of him. Bear did confess that he only tried out for the play so that he could miss classes ;)

 

He is just a little older than Griff here ... my first to drive and her I am all these years later doing it again.

Again .. Griff's age!

On the weight lifting team too! He played 3 sports his freshman year.

 

~ This post reminiscing about days past has encouraged me .. I just re-subscribed to Creating Keepsakes Magazine ~ :)

Happy 4th!

 

T-Shirt Quilts

 

A friend of mine here in Winter Park is a fabulous quilter. I am planning on having her make me a Lilly Pulitzer quilt and am currently buying/collecting Lilly fabric.

She also makes wonderful t-shirt quilts, which are great for your high school or college age children. A collection of all there old school and sports tees.

Contact Kim for information. ... KimDeJong1551@gmail.com

  

Pink Saturday

A very happy Pink Saturday and New Year to you all!

This week I am sharing some of my stationery and note pad designs that just happened to be pink! Pink is by far my largest selling color in my etsy shop. Most often paired with green, orange or navy.

** As my New Year's gift to you, all my blog readers, I'd like to offer 20% off your order at mcc designs, now through January 16. Just note 'blog discount' when placing your order and I will refund the difference through paypal **

 

   

Please visit our lovely hostess, Beverly's blog for more of Pink Saturday.

Wishing you all a new year filled with blessings galore!

 

Christmas Tags ... and a Giveaway!

 
  

{ more info at mcc designs }

*I will most likely be adding a few more styles to my shop soon*
 

Just thought I would do a little giveaway for all my sweet blogging friends :). Your choice of a set of 6 tie on or 12 non-tie on personalized Christmas (or happy holidays). The no-tie tags are great for wrapped boxes and presents (just add a piece of double sided tape or sticky dot) and the tie on tags great for goody bags, homemade treats or gift bags.

Just leave a comment here and feel free to post the giveaway on your own blog ... my blog giveaway 'assistant' will draw the winner a week for today, Wednesday, October 27.

 

*****

 

Also: Thanks for the kind comments on my previous post. Those of you that said I look like one of the college/high school girl - I love you! LOL. Seriously, I always hesitate to write about my big changes. Hope it doesn't come across as bragging. Please feel free to ask any questions - I am more than happy to help you! I have helped a few of my readers get started on a program and I can not tell you how wonderful that makes me feel!

A comment that I'd like to share, in case you didn't read it. So happy for Tammy and her husband!!

 I read your post about your nutrition changes and the program you used and you inspired me. My husband & I had gained a good deal of weight over the years and before we knew it we were the heavy couple at every social function. After reading what you were accomplishing I mulled it over for a while (months & months actually) but finally this summer my husband & I committed to the program. He started a few weeks before me and has lost 50 pounds and is keeping it off. I was mostly concerned about my body fat. I have dropped from 39.9% to between 26.5-27.5% and I have lost 30 pounds going from a size 14 or 16 to mostly a size 8 sometimes a size 10. I am so happy with our results and I really have you to thank for putting the seed in my head. So thank you and congratulations of your success!! It really is life changing.
 

Todays Creative Blog

How About a Give Away?

I have been busy today with tag orders, both Halloween and Thanksgiving, so ... I though I would share some more with another one of my blog readers (Belle won last time!)

For this drawing, I decided to do a little something different that I have seem on other blog give aways.

All you have to do to enter the drawing (for 6 personalized tags of your choice, Halloween or Thanksgiving) is post a comment here for one entry in the drawing and post a link to my giveaway on your blog (if you have one) for 2 entries. I will draw a winner a week from today, October 14. 

**BTW, I have had many readers inform me about my blog not updating on the feeders (bloglines, etc.). No updates have shown up since August :(. I finally got it straightened out and I think it is working now.

 
  
 {the colors are a bit off in the photos - I think my camera is dying - the colors all match nicely and the ribbon is a gold-ish tone that matches the turkey's beak}

 
 

Pink Saturday

Happy Pink Saturday to you all!

A few photos of the album I made for my god daughter. I took the photos at her party, which I featured last week and made a very simple album ... 

For more of Pink Saturday, please visit our lovely hostess, Beverly at How Sweet the Sound
   

Hope you all have a nice weekend. Mine is filled with sports. Homecoming game tonight (I had to write this post early), Griff's lacrosse games Saturday morning and them I am going to watch my niece play in a volleyball tournament. So excited about that - girl sports! :)

new designs

Cute little owl and birdie (available in more colors)

flip flops

multi colored name (available in any color combo, top or bottom)

 

Custom Halloween tags

 Also ... I am extending my back to school special until this Friday. 20% off all orders in my etsy shop to my blog readers. Thanks!

old photo (scrapbook) monday

Two older scrap book pages from years ago. Griff on a field trip to 'Pioneer Village' (one I remember oh so well, being a chaperon) and Griff busy doing his homework. Looking back at these pages from my scrap booking days motivated me to actually get something going again!

About 2 weeks ago, I made a label and attached it to an album ... but that was it (pitiful)

A few days ago, I got together all Griff's 6th grade papers and photos (notice the picture of Griff and all the girls at a school dance. lol)...

And last night I actually did a cover page (1st day of school last year) - very simple, which is just my style when it comes to scrap booking. Took me about an hour though!

You scrapbookers will get a kick out of this. I got out my Revolution thingy that cuts the letters to use on this page, but could not for the life of my figure out how to use it! I had only used it a few times (at least a year or maybe 2 ago), so I had to go on line and watch a tutorial! ;)

birthday wishes

Wishing my blogging friend, Christina a very happy birthday. We have 'known' each other for almost 10 years, I believe, thanks to scrapbooking and Two Peas. Hope you have a wonderful day, Christina!

{ card and gift I sent her }

Sort of a Scrap Book

 

Once again this summer, one of my things 'to-do' was get some scrap booking done ... or started, or even just get photos into an album! Again, for 5 or 6 summers now (maybe even longer), I failed to do so. The only project I managed to accomplish is a little album of the photo from our trip to Sea Island this past February. No journaling, no scrapping, but I did get the pictures in an album and it only took about 2 weeks - pitiful! There was once a time that a scrapped almost every day. I keep buying albums, thinking this will motivate me, but no such luck. I still have Connor's last year of high school all together waiting for me to get to ... it's been waiting for over 2 years now :(

Pink Saturday

Happy Pink Saturday to you all. Today I am sharing a little something I made, a gift for my sister in law. A stationery box with my scripture cards. I made a similar gift for a swap I was in a while back - a very fun project. By the way, I meet Jill through this swap. I was paired up with her and what a blessing to me! Jill is such a beautiful, lovely woman. I learned about the New Day Foster Home through her. She also sponsors a little girl, Gracie and was able to travel to China last year to visit and volunteer at New Day.

 

 

  

 

To see more (much more!) of Pink Saturday, visit Beverly's blog.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Quite one for us. Griff has his last week of school and 6th grade exams all week, so lots of studying happening here! And for those of you that 'know' me ... yes, I still have two other boys ;). I haven't mentioned much about either Barret or Connor lately  - you know the last thing they want is their mother blabbing about them on her blog ;). They are both still in college and at school for the summer. Hopefully they will be home in between sessions - I miss them!

Valentine's Day Gifts

Gifts for my sweet god daughter, Bridget ...

 

   

{ heart shaped crayons }

  

{ doggy charm for her charm bracelet - I am still searching for a Westie }

  

{ little heart box that I put the charm in }

 

{ hello kitty stickers and candies }

 

{ hello kitty 'makeup' kit - B loves hk! }

     

{ little pearl bracelet with heart toggle - I made it! }

 

 

 

   

{ all wrapped up }

I had so much fun doing this ( love, love buying, creating and wrapping girlie things),and had to do it early and drop it off since I will be away on Valentine's Day.

 Dan surprise me - just last night (and Griff - he is on 'winter' break) with a little get away to the Cloisters at Sea Island. We are leaving bright and early in the morning and staying through the weekend - so excited (although I could have used a bit more notice - I have been crazy today trying to get things in order here - dogs/house sitter, cancel appointments, laundry, pack). Still, such a sweet surprise from my sweet husband!

Also, I had my second epidural injection this morning and it was huge difference from the first. Much more painful, so much so that it brought tears to my eyes :(. Since the first injection didn't work, the doctor had to inject in the exact area of my neck were the disc is herniated. He explained that it was a much more difficult area to work on, that he had to be very precise and I had to be very, very still ... and that it was going to be painful - he said all this while I was laying flat on my stomach, with those tears running down, trying to be so still and yes, in excruciating pain. A bit scary, but it was all over in 10 minutes. I had to rest there for a while with an ice pack and had to have a ride home. This was a good thing - I was quite shaky. The pain has been bad all day (it most often is worse the 2 days after) and the ibuprofen is not helping much, when is usually does ease the pain some. But ... once again, I am hoping and praying ... oh so hard that this injection will ease the pain. I think my next alternative is surgery.

Happy Valentine's Day to you all

xoxoxo

Valentines & Frost!

Griff is off school all next week for 'winter break', so his school had their Valentine's celebration today. I was surprised that his grade (6th) was actually doing Valentines being that they are almost teenagers and getting/writing Valentine's Day cards is not too cool (at least not to Griff). We went to Walgreens to get his Valentines, but they all seemed so 'kiddish'. Even the sports cards were a bit cheesy and Griff certainly did not want them. So, we picked out some candy and I made his cards last night. I did 'make' Griff punch out the hearts and tired to get him to punch pink ones for the girls, but that was asking a little way too much ;)

These were so easy. I had a stack of white, textured scrapbook papers in strips left over from some other project, so I just cut them, rounded the corners and slapped on a heart. Griff did have to write his name inside (although he did ask if I could print them all out - um, no) and then I added candy (the Air Heads Griff picked out).

 

And, while Griff was so NOT into Valentines, I got such a kick out of seeing all his valentines from the girls, most of who were very into it. He received a few letters (love letters?!),as well as homemade cards - cute.

I had a little Valentines party to go to myself today - a brunch a friend of mine has every year. For a hostess gift, I made her a monogram note pad and some book label stickers. This little card is the same as above but smaller and a bit nicer ;) - I used pattern paper and a pop dot ...

And, pictures from early this morning. A rare event here, but the 2nd of the year - frost! ...

 

A Little Something I Made

Which just happens to be pink ;). I used the same paper as I did for the stationery box and made a birthday calendar book to record friends and families birthdays.  You can download the month pages here and see the project tutoral here. I changed mine a bit, no stamping involved and I didn't include the envelopes to hold stamps, etc.  I also took mine to Kinkos to have a spiral binding added instead of  using rings as shown.