Scrappy: Being Engaged

As a part of the CHA Celebration at 2peas, several challenges were issued. I completed this layout for the "_________ make me smile" challenge. I promise this will be the last post about the ring for a while! I chose to journal about how being engaged makes me happy!





I've been going through my stash trying to make room for new releases. I LOVE this Pink Paislee that I got from my monthly kit club- My Scrapbook Nook. This place is a wonderful community and has the best kits I've ever seen.
I had to let my subscription go this spring and summer because of finances, but because the kits are packed so full of goodness, I had plenty of beautiful things to work with!
The August Kit broke me though- I have resubscribed to My Scrapbook Nook. Look and this beauty:


They are having a DT call right now- check it out!

Wedding Wednesday: Vol. 1

You may or may not have heard, but I am officially engaged!
Yes, I'm excited! No, we haven't set a date! Yes, I was surprised!
From now until the wedding I am going to be making posts on occasional Wednesdays that will be about Wedding ideas, inspirations, and projects. I plan to have a mostly DIY wedding and I look forward to many projects along the way!

But first, the ring:




It is more than I ever imagined and I'm in awe of it's beauty. Why the blue stone? I knew that I didn't want a big diamond, it just didn't feel like me. I told Ryan that I would like a blue stone and then from there narrowed it down to a Blue Topaz. Blue Topaz is not only my favorite color, but it is also Ryan's birthstone. Every time I look at my ring I'm filled with joy, not only is it beautiful, but it reminds me of the future that Ryan and I will share.

I'm not promising a wedding post every week, but when I do post something about my upcoming nuptials it will always be on a Wednesday!

Merry Christmas in July!!!

Today is the actual day of my traditional Christmas in July Celebration. Overeating, secret santa gift exchange, and Christmas carols will begin around 6:00pm. I'm looking forward to it, but not nearly as much as I am looking forward to announcing the winners of my giveaway from the Scrap Our Stash Blog Hop!

I am so appreciative of everyone who stopped by, made comments, and became followers of my blog! I hope you all enjoyed the hop and found some inspiration along the way!!! I wrote everyone's name on a piece of paper, turned them over, shuffled them, and drew names for the winners. I usually have help with this part, but I wanted to get these posted sooner rather than later



The winner of the December Daily album and leftover supplies is:

Froggy530

Froggy530 said...
Your mini album is too cute. I really love that line of papers and embellies. thanks for the chance to win!
July 22, 2010 7:44 AM

The winner of the random Christmas RAK from my stash is:

Michele

Michele's Scrapy Creations said...
Just love your Dec Daily. I'm planning to do one this year. I can't wait to get start.
July 22, 2010 6:50 PM

Please contact me via email at RachLHawkins at gmail dot com with your name and mailing address and I will send these out ASAP!!!


Some exciting events are on the horizon here...

On Wednesday I will debut a new topic on my blog and I'm so very excited about new adventures!

The All About Me 1 Year Anniversary Celebration will begin on August 1st

We will have fabulous challenges, a blog hop, and many chances to win some FABULOUS prizes!!!

SOS- Christmas in July Blog Hop

Welcome to the Scrap Our Stash Christmas in July Blog Hop. If you did not come here from Scrap Our Stash go back and follow the blog hop in order. This will allow you to discover the secret phrase which will make you eligible for the grand prize.

One of my favorite traditions is Christmas in July. At Horn in the West, we are only together from June until August, but we are like family and it is tradition to celebrate Christmas in July with a huge meal and a gift exchange. I'm so happy to share this with you all through the Scrap Our Stash Blog Hop.

Last year was my first time participating in Ali Edward's December Daily and I LOVED IT! Christmas is my favorite time of year and it was such a blast creating an entire album for December. Since I loved it so much, I decided I was definitely going to do it again this year. I pulled out last year's Little Yellow Bicycle collection- which I love- and created a mini album for this blog hop!








My word of the secret phrase is : of

Since I'm in the Holiday spirit- I'd like to give away two prizes to anyone who comments on this blog post.

The first prize will be the December Daily featured in this post and the coordinating papers, tags, and stickers that are leftover so that you can put your own finishing touches on the album.

The second prize will be an assortment of Christmas themed goodies from my stash (the challenge blog is called Scrap our STASH!) which includes pretty papers, stickers, chipboard embellishments, ribbons, and who knows what else I'll throw in there!

All you have to do to be eligible for my prizes is comment on this post! I will draw names on Monday morning so, make sure you have commented by Sunday evening- 11:59 EST.

Happy Hopping- your next stop is Angie's blog.

Scrappy: My Demons

The second July challenge at All About Me is all about your demons. This layout has a lot to do with my previous layout about my biggest fear. My demons are cruel voices in my thoughts that tell me that I'm not good enough, smart enough, pretty enough...





The past couple weeks I have been running myself ragged and have realized that that is when my demons come out to play. When I'm tired and emotional, they really seem to ruin things for me. Creating this page was very therapeutic and allowed me to snap out of the funk I've been in for the past couple of weeks.

You can check out the other DT member's take on the challenge and find out how to win this month's prize here!!!

Scrappy: July*4

The July challenge at Scrap Our Stash is to use brads or eyelets on a project. I created this layout about the traditional July 4th celebration that
I participate in each year. I looked EVERYWHERE for brads in my stash,
but didn't find any! I resigned that I wouldn't have any, so I
substituted buttons for brads for this challenge and used them in the
center of my flowers. When I was looking for my cutting blade to cut
the 2 pages apart, I found some brads so I added them to the upper
right corner to add some extra detail!



Pictures are: a dulcimer player, firing shots with each of the 13 toast to the 13 colonies, and hanging King George to be burnt in effigy.


This is my first double page 8.5x11 layout and I really enjoyed creating it. Will I ever go back to 12x12 paper?

July 4th

As the holiday weekend approaches, I look forward to the traditional celebration that we have at Horn In The West each year. On the 4th, we celebrate with a traditional ceremony that includes 13 toasts to the 13 Colonies and a burning of King George. (Sorry George!)

Here is a layout I created last year that show King George being burnt in effigy and shows the toast that I read for the celebration!




I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and if you are in the US that you find a wonderful way to celebrate our country!

Scrappy: My Biggest Fear

I have some wonderful, exciting news for All About Me! Melissa and the Design Team are featured in this month's Scrap Street The current challenge is "My Biggest Fear". What a hard topic! I chose to talk about my inner fear- failure.





What is your biggest fear? Come share with us at AAM for a chance to win a fabulous prize package!