Scrappy: Top Ten of 2009

As I look back on the past year I think about how far I have come as a scrapper. I started when I was young, keeping birthday cards and documenting every little thing that happened through middle and high school. Then I went to college and scrapped very little. I rediscovered the passion in late 2007, but then found even more- the online world of blogs, forums, challenges, and kit clubs! WOW!

It's all started with this card- a response to a card sketch, using scraps and creating something I was really happy with...

This layout is in my top 10 because of the journaling, it tells where I was at in life last year, which has changed and I want to do a comparison in February. Also- I thought about taking a better picture of it, but left it as is because learning to use natural lighting and stage my layouts was a huge step in my journey.

What a difference lighting makes...


LilyBee Mini Love the Three Little Birds line from Lily Bee and this album created for their mini album competition!


Using less, in order to make my monthly kit last longer...


I had a blast creating for the Scrap-Off at the Nook...can we do it again in 2010?


Loved scrapping pictures from my childhood!


Showing school spirit...Go Apps!


Still keeping it simple...


I think the Advent Calendar that I painted, assembled, and decorated is my over all favorite due to the amount of time I spent on it and the usefulness of it in the future!



I wish you all a fabulous New Year and I'll see you in 2010 with some updates and a bit of a facelift!

Scrappy: 2 Sketches 4 You

It's been a while since I've made a card so I decided to get a jump start by using this week's sketch from 2 Sketches 4 You. I used some leftover October Afternoon Very Merry, an ormolu tag, and some ribbons, flowers and pin from my stash:



Wishing you good luck in 2010!

Scrappy: 24 Years of Tradition

I have had this idea in my head for a week or so now, and I decided that this Becky Fleck sketch was the perfect format for a layout about my favorite Christmas tradition- getting a new ornament each year! I used the December Kit from My Scrapbook Nook with a few things from my stash- cardboard, Prima packaging, and Prima embellishments.





I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

I won!

I can't believe this! I actually won! Over on the Lily Bee blog they are giving away their collections for the 12 days of Christmas!
I won the Audrey line which was featured in the November kit from The Nook! I loved those papers and I'm so glad that I will have some more because they are so stinkin' gorgeous!

What a lovely Christmas surprise!

Scrappy: Silent Night, Holy Night

One of my favorite traditions is the midnight service on Christmas Eve. At the very end of the service, the lights are dimmed and candles are lit while we all sing Silent Night. It is the most perfect way to ring in Christmas morning.
Here is a layout about that tradition using the December Kit from The Nook.





It's snowing...a lot. Prepare for more blogging as I'm snowed in!

Advent Calendar-Part Two

It's complete and I'm beyond thrilled with the result.

The materials are Kaiser Craft Advent Calendar, Acrylic Paint, December kit (and add ons!) from My Scrapbook Nook, and some stash finds! The calendar was an add on for December and I knew that I just had to have it, especially seeing what Lynn from the Nook DT came up with! I lifted her title and found all sorts of inspiration from her calendar.








So there ya go- now that it is complete I can catch up on my December daily and start some layouts and last minute Christmas cards with the rest of my December kit!

It's beginning to look...

...a lot like Christmas around my parent's house!

I've been decorating since Friday and things are really coming together.

Here is our "fancy tree" or White, Silver, and Gold tree- we started decorating two trees last year because my mother was afraid that when my brother and I took our ornaments to our own homes someday that she wouldn't have any Christmas ornaments.



One of my favorite things about decorating for Christmas is reliving memories through ornaments. Some of my ornaments have wonderful stories attached to them and I still make my mother retell the stories from my younger years every time I hang the ornaments on the tree. I think it is a wonderful way to stay connected to my past and spend some one on one time with my mother during the holidays.

Between now and Christmas I'd like to share some of my favorite ornaments with you all.


I don't know why she's my favorite of my dancer ornaments, but I think she is beautiful! When I began dancing, I also began collecting ballerina ornaments (thanks Mom!). Each year my brother and I get a new ornament and I plan on passing that tradition on to my children someday. I'm still easy to shop for- I teach ballet and LOVE to dance. My brother on the other hand has given up traditional sports in recent years for hard to find sports such as bouldering and rugby.

Here is what is now dubbed the "Family Tree" with a whole lot of history on the branches!

December Daily-December 7th & 8th

Days are shorter, temperatures are dropping everyday and I'm really feeling the spirit of Christmas more each day!

I know I shared this page the other day, but I added the program from my Chamber Singers concert.


I was so thrilled that so many of my friends (and Wes) came to hear me sing. I felt so special!




We've been pulling out decorations and cleaning in preparation for a big decorating weekend! I'm having a great time keeping up with all of these memories!

Are all of your decorations up? We are nowhere close!

December Daily-Catching Up!

I had such a wonderful weekend full of friends and fun!

On Friday evening I shared a delicious meal with my co-workers and then drove to TN to see Ry. I went ahead and gave him his birthday present early since we were going away for the weekend and I wouldn't be there for his actual birthday. (Happy Birthday Ry!!!)



On Saturday we had SNOW (yay!) and toured the Biltmore Estate, then met up with some friends and had dinner.



Sunday I went to church with Libbie. Sunday school was wonderful, as was the choir and message during the service! Then we celebrated Libbie's life and a wonderful accomplishment!

Last night was our dress rehearsal for tonight's Chamber Singers concert- it went well and I'm excited for the concert tonight!



So now I'm all caught up on my December Daily (except December 3rd- which was a day for cleaning) and ready to work on some other projects alongside my DD!

A Wonderful Day...

I woke up to snow (my favorite thing in the world!)


Went to the Biltmore Estate


Brrrrr! It was so windy!


The beautiful sight leaving Biltmore


Then dinner with friends (new and old). A wonderful day start to finish.

An Awesome Giveaway!

I found out about this awesome giveaway from Leah Killian.

The details:

Enter to win a NEW EZ View Desktop and an entry in the Grand Prize Giveaway for a NEW EZ View Craft Desk from www.theoriginalscrapbox.com for FREE! Your entries will help The Original Scrapbox GIVE 2 of these desks to charity!
Yes—these are two separate items. The desktop is not a desk, it is designed to sit on a table or desktop and the drawers can be pulled open from either end. Click here to see more pictures and details of the EZ View Desktop.

One of the newest products at The Original Scrapbox.com is the EZ View Craft Desk. This desk is designed with a clear, glass-like top and the dimensions are 50″W x 25″ D x 31″ H.

The desk is big, with 4 drawers with built-in partitions for easy organizing on any home project.



I mean- LOOK AT THAT DESK. I would really LOVE to win the desk topper AND the desk because it would be a perfect start to my future craft room!

So hop over to Leah's blog for a chance to win!

Advent Calendar-Part One

Last night I started working on my Advent Calendar from KaiserCraft that I got in addition to my December kit from My Scrapbook Nook. I'm still trying to decide what color to paint it and working on sanding down the edges so that all of the compartments fit together. This is going to be a major project that I try to accomplish early next week.


The raw materials...


Picking out paint...


Painting numbers...


Tomorrow Ryan and I are going to the Biltmore Estate and to visit some friends. App plays Richmond tomorrow night and we're hoping to catch the game on TV or the radio. GO APP!

Also, hoping for snow this weekend! I love winter!

December Daily-Page Two

Last night we collected the gifts donated by church members and processed them to take to the Wilkes Ministry of HOPE for Christmas. It was wonderful to see the toys that we are donating as well as the increasing amount of non-perishable food that we are collecting for Communities in Schools.

Here is my page about the toy drive:




On the back of the page I journaled about listening to Christmas music for the first time. I've been rehearsing Advent and Christmas music for a couple of months, but I put off listening to recorded Christmas music until yesterday. I was listening to a story on NPR and heard a gospel version of "Jesus, What A Wonderful Child" and it gave me chills and I've been singing it ever since!

Jesus, Jesus, Oh what a wonderful Child.
Jesus, Jesus, so lowly meek and mild.
New life, new hope, new joy He brings.
Won’t you listen to the angels sing!
Glory, glory, glory to the newborn King!

I'm going to start a new project tonight so hopefully I'll have something to share with you tomorrow in addition to my December Daily!

December Daily-page one

I've decided that I will post my pages on the day following the event. So today I will share with you what I did yesterday.

Temperatures are dropping and snow is predicted for the weekend- it's beginning to feel like winter and I love it! I documented how I started wearing my snowflake jewelry yesterday and how much I enjoy the cooler weather!



Here's a peek inside the rest of my December Daily:



Tonight we are processing donated gifts as a youth group for the local Ministry of Hope to provide Christmas presents for the less fortunate in our community! I feel that giving and supporting others is a wonderful way to feel Christ's love during this time of the year.
I can't wait to share tonight's page with you tomorrow!

December Daily

Inspired by Ali Edwards and encouraged by the gals at The Nook I have taken the plunge and created a December Daily album. The idea is to create the album in advance so that you just have to fill it with memories during the days leading up to Christmas. I think this is a fabulous idea and I have had an absolute blast making my album. I used October Afternoon Very Merry papers, Jenni Bowlin journaling squares, Making Memories alpha and embellishments, K & Company chipboard embellishments, a Basic Grey blackboard album as my base, and left over Prima plastic pages from the canvas album I used this summer.

I think the outcome is great and will really lower the stress of scrapping the holiday season- I hope the end result is just as satisfying!



I have to finish assembling my book tonight and document today's awesomeness and I'll be back tomorrow to share!

Scrappy: These are the days...

I hope you all had a relaxing Thanksgiving- mine was quite full- lots of traveling and family to see, a football game, and a busy church day!


This layout was created with the November kit from The Nook, using Lily Bee Papers and their fabulous rubons. I used acrylic paint to create the dots across the top and bottom, using the round end of my paintbrush. I think it added a neat boarder and I'm looking for other ways to blend my hobbies. Any suggestions?

The picture was taken at my friend's wedding in October where I caught (was handed) the bouquet and Ryan caught (once again- was handed) the garter. How's that for a not so subtle hint?

Scrappy: Opposites Attract

Happy Appy Saturday!

Today is the one year anniversary (of sorts) of Ryan asking me out on a date. We had season tickets next to each other for the whole season and had chatted here and there. Towards the end of the first playoff game against South Carolina State University Ryan asked me to come with him to the next game. We ended up losing the next week to Richmond on our FIRST DATE the following week and began the joke that we couldn't date at football games.

This layout was for a challenge about opposites. I had wanted to scrap about Ryan and I being opposites and complimenting each other at the same time for a while now. I think the relationship works because we respect the differences we have and we agree to disagree on a few topics!



We're off to the Appalachian State/South Carolina Sate game this afternoon and hoping for a win! Go Mountaineers!

Giving Thanks

Over the river and through the woods...I'm headed to my Grandma's house today. I love this day because it means seeing my family that I don't see regularly, giving thanks for my many blessings, and overeating without being judged. I try to give thanks for my blessings everyday, but I think the spirit of Thanksgiving is inspiring. I have SO MUCH to be thankful for- my family, my faith, my friends, my opportunity to further my education, the roof over my head, and food in the cabinets, and SO MUCH MORE.

Rather than my rambling on, I thought I'd share some thoughts on gratitude from others...

Giving thanks for abundance is sweeter than the abundance itself.
~Rumi

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Wherever you are, I hope you are enjoying your family and friends. Happy Thanksgiving!

See ya on Saturday!

Scrappy and Artsy: Create Joy

Last weekend one of the VC challenges was to 'multitask' and use another artistic hobby while scrapping. I paint the paper with acrylic paint, collaged some tissue paper for texture, and then painted on top of the collage with more acrylic paint. I've recently been making ATC's for my classes and I used that technique to create two sets of ATC's. I like the outcome so I created a layout about my recent artistic endeavors.




How do you create joy in your life?

Scrappy: A Day in My Life

My daily life has been greatly changed since August. I've been driving back and forth to school and working two assistantships while taking a full course load of work. I really have a blast doing everything that I'm involved in, however there has been little time for scrapping and relaxing.

This layout was created for the Virtual Crop last weekend at The Nook and it was supposed to document a 24 hour period in my life.




I used the October Kit from The Nook for this with Graphic 45 papers and gorgeous


What does a day in your life look like? What do you try to make time for every day?