(diva)logues

Can I get a do-over. Please.

Ummm 2013.  The first 11 days... not so great.  The year literally began with Bryn having a REALLY bad stomach virus.  A few days later I had the stomach virus.  Then last Monday, I got in my car to go teach Zumba & had a dead battery so I started walking to work since I had 15 minutes until my class started.  Luckily a friend who takes my class drove by, saw me walking & picked me up.  I know...so random.  An angel in a van!    

And just when I was thinking that's all just random craziness that happens to everyone... then... worst of all... one of my bestie's husband committed suicide.  Not sure how else to say that without it being so abrubt.  It's an awful horrible tragic mess.

No comments necessary for me though.  Just requesting that everyone who reads this say a quick prayer for her and her daughter.  I love them so much.  And I don't think one can ever have too many prayers. 

 

My December Daily is finally complete, with the exception of Day #23 which must've been such a boring day I couldn't even remember what to say.  Ok well... actually I wasn't able to find a photo either... 

Most of the book was created using My Mind's Eye 12 Days of Christmas + SRM Stickers.  And like I said at the beginning of the month, it's a 6x6 format which made the pages pretty quick + easy to complete.

You can see the book in it's entirety here.

Ok.  Do-over begins now.  Keeping the faith for good things to come...

"Everybody in the club... all eyes on us..."

Another memorable Christmas has come and gone!  It's time to put away all the decorations & prepare for the new year.  And I'm ready for it!

 

We already have 3 trips booked, but I'm ready to plan more. 

I'm ready for my 2nd year of teaching Zumba & loving every second of it. 

I'm ready for another design gig to begin (more on that soon!). 

I'm ready for more fun times and laughter with family & friends. 

I'm ready to make a bigger effort at paying it forward & doing random anonymous acts of kindness.

I'm ready for whatever 2013 will bring... but I hope it's HAPPINESS.

 

I'm almost finished with my December Daily book.  Just 3 more pages to go.  I probably would've been finished by now, but I ran out of ink so I couldn't print my photos.  Minor technicality. 

More My Mind's Eye 12 Days of Christmas + SRM Stickers throughout the book...

Totally loving my new upper arm bracelet that I found on etsy...

You can see the book in it's entirety here.

Our Christmas was a total blast.  So glad my sister was in town & I got to see her 3 times this week.  We also had fun having dinner with friends this week too.  More celebrating to come... starting with my New Year's Eve morning Zumba class!  

Can't wait!!! 

Hope your Christmas was memorable too! 

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus...

I have to say, I cried quite a few times over the weekend & the tears continued today.  Columbine set the precedent for having lock-down drills in schools, and although I was not yet a mother at the time, it's always been unsettling for me that my child has grown up in a world that needed lock-down drills as part of the school curriculum.  I'll never forget when Bryn was in first grade & she came home from school after one of these drills & asked me, "What do we do at home if we have a lock-down?"  I fought back the tears & told her we had an alarm system to keep us safe.  What else do you say?  I didn't grow up in a time when people went on shooting rampages in schools... or malls... or movie theaters.  

The horrific events at Sandy Hook Elementary hit closer to home because I am now a mother.  And I can't imagine what these poor parents are going through.  What do you say now?  What do you say as you're dropping your child off at school besides, "have a great day & I love you."  I don't know.  I think we just have to keep living our lives without being afraid and trust that all will be ok. 

It is scary though, when all you really want to do is keep your child at home with you forever.   

Anyway... I'm pretty caught up on my December Daily album.  I included the letter Bryn received from Santa, which by the way, made her laugh out loud before she even opened it.  And while she still hasn't come right out & asked me if I'm Santa, it appears that she no longer believes in "him."  So... on the other side of the letter from Santa, I included a letter I found on Pinterest about Santa.  I know she'll read it, as she flips through my book occasionally while I'm making it...

Here's the letter if you want to use it...

And speaking of believing in Santa... I believe that there really is more goodness in the world than bad.  I see it every day.  In fact, every Monday in my Zumba class I see really good, thoughtful people that give me more than I could ever give them.  Their smiles, their encouragement, their willingness to show up... it makes my day.  And this has been a very special year for me in my first year of teaching because of them.  And I think I've thanked my friend that encouraged me to get certified about 100 times since then.  She's the one who knew I could do it and it's changed me... for the better. 

Just one of the many blessings in my life for which I am grateful.

Hugs and love, my friends...

"Get up, get up, get busy, do it... get up & move that body..."

Moving right along here... and I'm up-to-date.  Yay.  All it takes is some uninterrupted time, an hour of The Voice & a glass of wine... it helps with the creative process.  LOL

As with the rest of the book... lots of My Mind's Eye 12 Days of Christmas collection + SRM number stickers & border stickers...

Dear Santa... I really need a pedicure, but I'd kinda rather have a Gucci, so just ignore the toes.  Thanks.

I should probably pull these pages out of the page protectors to photograph them, since some pages look kinda wonky, but you get the idea...

And I've already started on Day #10, aka. the 6th grade band concert day, but we'll save that for tomorrow. 

Good thing The Voice is on again tonight!  Work time!  ;-)

Who's watching besides me? 

Mondays totally ROCK...

Well.... except maybe when I have to play the clarinet during the "Parent Concert" that happens during Bryn's first 6th grade band concert tonight.  Then Mondays kinda don't really rock.

Do I know the 2 songs I have to play tonight (Hot Cross Buns & Merrily We Roll Along)... YES. 

Can I make a pretty sound with my instrument... ummmm sometimes, but NO not really. 

Acccckk!  Can't wait to get BOOED off the stage tonight!  LOVE making a fool out of myself!  (Well, actually I don't really mind making a fool out of myself...I do it often!  LOL!)

At least ZUMBA rocked today!!!  Thank goodness for that! 

Anyhoo... I finished a couple more pages in my December Daily book last night, which means I'm only a couple days behind now.  ;-) 

 

More My Mind's Eye 12 Days of Christmas & SRM number stickers...

I also included a reduced-sized copy of Bryn's Christmas list...

You can see the book in it's entirety here.

Planning to try to get caught up tonight... well... after the concert, that is.  It was a busy, busy weekend & the Zumbathon on Saturday ROCKED BIG TIME!  SO MUCH FUN!  

Have a great week everyone!! 

"We can dance all night long until the morn, with nothing but our shades on..."

Believe it or not... inspite of a very busy weekend involving an overnight "date night," a Christmas party with my college friends, running, learning a new Zumba routine so I could use it in my class today, finally getting the ornaments on our tree that's been up & naked since Thanksgiving weekend, a drive-thru Christmas light display last night & a weekend-long headache the size of Manhattan... I still somehow managed to get started on my December Daily album. 

And no, I did not pay Bryn to do it for me, although it did cross my mind... 

I'm using some old wood mini book that I found in my craftroom.  For the front cover, I just cut some of the squares from the cover sheet to this My Mind's Eye 12 Days of Christmas collection & added 2 of the SRM We've Got Your Border Christmas stickers + a 2012 SRM Sticker. 

There were a few 6x6 page protectors inside it and I've also cut down some of my 12x12 Becky Higgins divided page protectors to use in it as well.  I did that in last year's book & it seemed to help slightly with the flow of getting pages done.  Although in my case, nothing is ever quick + easy.  I like to make things slow + difficult whenever possible.  But maybe this year will be different?

More SRM number stickers + various SRM Christmas stickers on those pages, as there will be throughout the rest of the book. 

And well... this could be the only time I'm caught up on my book this month, so I'll just go ahead & pat myself on the back today.  Yay me. 

Oh and Bryn got up & put on shorts + a short-sleeved shirt today.  I said, "Bryn, no.  It's December.  That's not appropriate."

She said, "Mommy... it's going to be 76 degrees today, I'm not taking this off.  I'm wearing this." 

I said, "Oh.  Well at least put on a hoodie then." 

How can I argue with that?  This weather is CRA-ZY.

Happy Monday, everyone! 

Have Passport, will travel...

Here's one last project I created for Nikki Sivils' booth at the 2012 Winter CHA trade show in January, using the brand new Exit Here collection.  I love this travel-themed collection & especially love the Passport cut-out that's included.  How CUTE is that?!  I decided to use mine as the cover of my mini book, even though I obviously didn't have to leave the country to attend this particular event.  My book includes photos + memories from the Summer 2010 CHA trade show that I attended in Chicago that year.  What a FUN event that was!  

I was actually there to represent 2 manufacturers... Nikki Sivils and SRM Stickers... but since this book was to be used on display in Nikki's booth, I only included photos from her booth in here for now.  I will add all my SRM Stickers photos + memorabilia to the book eventually... 

I just adhered my patterned paper (or photos) onto scrap pieces of cardboard, cut to size, as the foundation for each of my pages...

No matter what good things happen to me in this industry... NOTHING will EVER top Nikki naming a piece of patterned paper FOR DEANA after me & I got to see it in her booth at the show.  Still gives me goose bumps...

Just a simple book ring to hold it all together and still plenty of room left for the rest of my photos! 

TGIF and yay for the weekend!  Bob is going Downtown to watch the NCAA Midwest Regional tournament games tonight & Sunday.  I'm subbing a Zumba class tomorrow morning or I'd be going out late with him tonight!  Gotta behave sometimes.  ;-)  BUT... we'll have fun celebrating a birthday out tomorrow night, so I'm looking forward to that!   

Hope you have a GREAT weekend everyone!

Enough already...

I finished up my December Daily book just in time to get started on some brand new projects with some brand new product.  In fact, I just opened my new box this afternoon!  Woot woot!  The timing is perfect too, since I can no longer stand to look at anything Christmas until next December!  LOL 

My book was made almost entirely using the Nikki Sivils' Gingerbread Land collection.  The Becky Higgins page protectors, cut down to size, kept the design of my book cohesive... 

You can see the book in it's entirety right here.

And speaking of Nikki Sivils'... the new design team announcement for 2012 will be made on her blog tomorrow.  Very exciting!

"When I say dance... you dance... and when I say stop... don't move at all..."

I've managed to sneak in some time here & there to finish up 4 more days in my December Daily book.  Could I manage to sneak in some time to take down the Christmas decorations or clean the house?  Ummm... NO.  It's all about having the right priorities, my friends! 

Ok, well I did manage to un-decorate the mantel.  Yay, me.  But the rest of the house is going to have to wait until after we've hit 2012, because I have 2 days in a row of Zumba to do AND some ringing-in of the new year planned for tonight.  Again... it's all about priorities.          

The book has been created, almost entirely, using the Nikki Sivils' Gingerbread Land collection.  You can see all the pages (so far) right here. 

Also... I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to everyone for your kind words & comments over the years.  In fact, in February it will be 4 years since I started this blog.  So much has changed in that time... even in just the past year.  This part of my life, though, has been a blessing for me and I'm truly grateful for all of it... especially for the 2 amazing manufacturers, Nikki Sivils and SRM Stickers, entrusting me to design for them.  It's been nothing but FUN for me with both companies! 

So...on this New Year's Eve, I just wanted to send best wishes to everyone for a very HAPPY, HEALTHY & PROSPEROUS 2012 full of much LOVE and many good MEMORIES!  Be safe tonight & have FUN! 

Big hugs + kisses... 

"Oh... sometimes... I get a good feeling..."

I think I'm going to have to rename this my December almost Daily mini book.  I had to skip a couple days last week to get caught up... just the 13th & 14th.  And probably the real reason is that I didn't have any photos from those days, nor could I think of anything earth-shattering that happened either.  Or rather, I could've thought of something, but I'm feeling the need to be an under-achiever right now.  LOL

Even though I've tried to simplify the process by using the divided page protectors, this book still takes a lot of time, thought & creativity... of which I seem to be majorly lacking these days!  I will finish it though... and hopefully without skipping any more days since Christmas is already here this weekend. 

I think I can... I think I can...

"In the suburbs I, I learned to drive... And you told me we'd never survive, grab your mother's keys we're leavin'..."

It was another fun weekend, with more holiday celebrations!  Even Bryn got to have fun with friends all weekend.  Had to play a little bit of catch-up yesterday, but somehow I'm managing to stay current on my December book... 

You can see the book in it's entirety, to date, right here.

The majority of my book is being made with the Nikki Sivils' Gingerbread Land collection.  You can find Gingerbread Land online at Scrapbook.com... grab individual pieces or the entire collection!

Have a GREAT week, everyone!

"You want omelet or cereo?"

Well, I'm beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel with regard to Christmas shopping.  It's more than half-way complete.  There are still a couple people I have absolutely no clue what to buy them, but I suppose I'll eventually have a sudden flash of inspiration.  And no I haven't even begun to wrap anything.  Wouldn't want to be too organized. 

I have the first 3 days of my December Daily finished.  While the divided page protectors make it easy for me to finish a page without much thought... the glare does pose a bit of a problem when trying to photograph the pages.

Off to make breakfast food for dinner.  We're eating in our pj's tonight.  It's a tradition we started several years ago & Bryn's favorite thing to do at Christmas time. 

And the title of this post... something my sister & I say to each other ALL.THE.TIME.  We had a flight attendant ask that to us & everyone else on a flight to St Thomas once & we've been repeating it over & over ever since then. 

I'm not sure English was her primary language, but I'll take cereo please...

"Pressure pushing down on me... pressing down on you no man ask for..."

Ok, so I caved... to the peer pressure I suppose. 

I've made a December Daily book for the past 3 years now.  This year I decided I was way too uninspired, way too short on patience & just frankly have too many things keeping me distracted right now that I wasn't going to tackle this book.  NO. NOT GOING TO DO IT.  But every single year by the end of the month, I'm really glad I took the time.  It even makes me think I can tackle a Project Life book when I'm finished.  And then I come back to my senses & realize it ain't happenin'!   

You can see my 2010 December Daily right here and 2009.  Couldn't find 2008 in it's entirety, but here's a day with some pages from that year's book.

I'm planning to use a mix of products for my book this year (ie. whatever I can find in my stash), but I'll probably use the Nikki Sivils Gingerbread Land collection for the majority of it... 

To add a little more interest & dimension to the cover, I used my Glossy Accents inside all the circles (you know I love that stuff)...

There's also a SRM Merry Christmas sentiment on there (well, of course!).  Speaking of SRM Stickers... check out their blog today for details on how to apply for their design team!  A new call has been posted today!

Before you get too excited about this book (because I know you're on the edge of your seats right now), please note the simplicity of all the pages.  I'm using some Becky Higgins 12x12 divided page protectors, cut down to size, so I can just stick my photos + journaling spots into place.  Quick & easy... hopefully without too much thought.  LOL 

Anyone else doing a December Daily this year?  Link me up in the comments.  Would love to see yours!

A LOVEly little gift...

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!  Since today is all about LOVE... I have a little LOVE mini album that I made using the Maya Road mini book included in the January HIP 2B SQUARE kit.  I just recently made one of these LOVE books for CHA using my new Nikki Sivils products (posted here),  so I thought I'd make this one for Bryn in lieu of a Valentine's card...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once I painted the base of the book, the rest of it came together pretty quickly.  It's not my most detailed mini book ever, but I really wanted the focus to be on the sentiments, and not necessarily the photos or embellishments.  And well... I was in a hurry to finish it before Valentine's Day!  Heehee! 

I have a ton of things to do today before our special dinner this evening, but I'm looking forward to celebrating with my 2 Valentines!  I hope you enjoy your day with those you love...   

Set up for CHA Winter 2011 has begun...

Booth set-up for the Winter 2011 CHA (Craft & Hobby Association) Trade Show has begun!  Since I couldn't attend this time, I'm looking forward to seeing lots of photos & hearing lots of stories about it!  It was so much fun being part of it all in Chicago last summer!  I've already received a few texts from my friend, Julie, who's out there now.  Love getting an insider's view of what's going on! 

The Nikki Sivils  design team now has the go-ahead to start revealing everything we've created for her booth and catalog!  So over the course of the next few days, I'll be posting my contributions with all her new products! 

The new "It's Raining It's Pouring" line is absolutely adorable!  Love that cute little turtle with the rainboots & the umbrella... and of course, I love those cloud cut-outs!  What a great line for SPRING time!

 
Maya Road was very generous with the Nikki Sivils team & sent us some of their mini chipboard albums + some of their Fabric Blossoms.  I received the LOVE album...

 

I made a little mini album about some of the things that I love...

 

 

 

Curiously, the photo of pages 4 & 5 are missing?  Will have to add that back in after my mini book is returned.

 

 

 

Are you attending CHA?  If so... stop by Nikki Sivils' booth #1879 and see all the new lines & new projects!  You can also check out that missing page from my book in person!  ;-)

Also... make sure to check out the Creating Keepsakes blog today where Nikki Sivils will be the guest blogger!  I've also heard there might be a little give-away too!

Have a wonderful weekend!

"...bad decisions, that's alright... welcome to my silly life..."

It's finished.  It's thick, too.  Was beginning to think I might need bigger rings, but I think I'm going to leave it as is.  It's such an undertaking to get this thing accomplished every year, especially considering the timing of it during the craziness of the holidays PLUS some mad CHA deadline creating going on.  I'm always SO glad I did it though.  There's no way I would document all the detail of our daily life in my normal scrapbooking of events that occur.  It always makes me want to do more of a daily journal all year, but then I wake up from that nightmare-of-a-thought & come back to reality.  Ummmmmm... no.    

 

 

  

 

 

 

 
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Santa signed the bottom of Bryn's note she had left for him with his hot chocolate, cookies & carrots for the reindeer.  She was pretty excited when she saw it on Christmas morning.  

Sigh... going to miss all this innocence.  If only it could last forever... 

Top 10 favorite cards/projects from 2010...

 Yesterday I posted my favorite pages from the past year and today it's my cards (plus one mini book)...

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can see the Florida mini book in it's entirety here.  And gee... maybe if I had finished my Austria book, that may have made the list as well.  Hmmm...maybe next year.

Off to Zumba... my favorite day of the week!

Time to finish this project up...

I'm in the middle of finishing up this December mini book today.  If you've missed any of it, you can find all the pages here.  The last couple years I made one of these books, I finished the last page on the 25th.  I'm half-way thinking I may just finish on the 31st this year since we have so many things going on this last week, but we'll see if that works out...

 

 

 
 
Now that I've put that thought out there, I'm thinking maybe I don't really want the extra work & the 25th will be just fine! 

Have a great week!

Loca, loca, loca...

I think I officially finished up my Christmas shopping yesterday, thanks to a stop with friends at a nearby store after lunch yesterday.  I quickly ran into the grocery store after that before heading back home & ran into a friend who was in my Spin class that morning.  I, of course, was still wearing my clothes from that morning, as I still hadn't been home since I left the house at 9:15.  I'm sure she was thinking, "It's 2pm... class was at 9:30.  Would you go home & take a shower for pete's sake?"   

Then last night, one of our guest bedrooms became a workshop.  We keep that door locked during this time, so I don't have to find crazy hiding places in the house & then Bryn won't go in there.  One day she'll figure out how to unlock the door, but until then it works.  Wrapping paper was everywhere... and there may have been a couple wine glasses + a bowl of popcorn on the floor too.  I was wrapping gifts on the floor like everyone else in the world.  I only play a professional wrapper on TV!  Bob was literally sweating putting together one of Bryn's gifts.  Thank goodness I delegated that job to him.  I did enough sweating in Spin class yesterday.  And, yes, I did eventually take a shower.  ;-)   

The wrapping is almost done & I'm still waiting for a couple gifts to be delivered via my friendly UPS driver.  He knows me so well he yells, "Hi Deana!" when he sees me in the grocery store parking lot.  Of course he doesn't pronounce my name right, but as long as he brings me the goods I don't care.  Did I mention I like to shop online?  LOL

 

 

Bryn's last day of school is tomorrow & her Christmas Winter party is tomorrow afternoon.  I still need to get that ornament craft ready to go.  Adding that to the list of things making my head spin right now.  I know I'm in good company though, aren't I?

Now taking applications for an assistant...

Just a quick post before running, finishing up some more Nikki Sivils' projects & then heading up to school to take individual photos of all the students in Bryn's class for the ornament craft at her party next week. 

A few more completed pages...

 

 

 

 

Somehow in the midst of everything going on this week creatively-speaking, I'm managing to stay current on this project.  Granted it's nothing fancy, but it's current & will get finished by month end so that's all that matters!  If you've missed any of the days and care to see the book in it's entirety, it's here.

We have a busy weekend planned... going out to dinner tonight, my favorite 75-minute Zumba class tomorrow morning, TWO parties to attend tomorrow night while Bryn is at home with a babysitter & then Bob's niece coming in town to stay one night with us on Sunday.  I suppose I better clean the house a bit before then, too.  We won't even mention the fact that I still have more shopping to do & then of course it all needs to be wrapped.  In serious need of an assistant here.  I think I've made that statement every day this week!  Accckkkkk!!! 

Have a great weekend!

Clearly I've been sniffing too much glue stick...

You know you're overly involved in the world of scrapbooking when your Spin class instructor says to everyone as the next song is beginning, "Have you heard this new song by..."  and you think to yourself, "Huh?  Did she just say Basic Grey?"  And then she yells it again (because apparently we all had blank stares on our faces), "You guys remember Macy Gray, right?"  Yes, of course.  That makes WAY more sense. 

Anyway, just taking a break from CHA projects to get caught up on my December Daily.  Funny how keeping this book going is a pressing matter, yet I still have that dang Austria mini sitting on my craft table only partially completed.  Hmmmm. 

 

 

 

 

Will put up a link to the entire book soon.  Or probably later.  Much later.  LOL   

Bryn has her Christmas honor choir concert tonight.  Looking forward to watching her perform! 

Ready for the weekend...

 

It's going to be a fun weekend!  Bryn is going to her friend's birthday party tonight, and we're going to be at home getting ready for our cocktail party we're hosting tomorrow night.  Tomorrow, Bryn will be at a Christmas show with my parents & her cousin, Sydney.  And... then they're spending the night at my parent's.  Party time!  Can't wait!

 
 

Thank you all SO MUCH for all the sweet comments regarding my TV appearance.  You are all very kind!  It's been quite a week, to say the least!  Have a FABULOUS weekend!

FRANKly my dear, I don't give a damn...

Ah... Frank.  Frank, the old & overweight volleyball ref, who's on one huge ego trip.  I had one nerve left last night and he got on it.  Apparently I wasn't aware that there are "special" rules to follow when he is refereeing your game.  And the jack @*% kept pointing at me & holding up the game, until I'd look at him... THEN he would move on with the game & let the server serve the ball.  This, by the way, is probably the ONLY way he can get a woman to look at him... when he blows his whistle.  And did I mention we won ALL 3 GAMES last night?  Take that... Frank.  First place this season... kiss my butt. 

Ok... so on with the holiday cheer!  

 

 

 I've had 2 days in a row of lunch with the girls this week.  Needless to say... I've been laughing my butt off! 

And my TV segment aired this morning.  I've had a couple people tell me I sounded so calm, to which I replied... I can assure you I wasn't!  And isn't it always weird to hear your own voice?  I always think, "Do I really sound like that?"  I didn't see video of it on their website, but I'll keep an eye out for it!  

"All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up..."

Well, tomorrow is the big day... I think.  I haven't heard it's been rescheduled yet anyway.  So, for now I'm going to assume that Great Day St Louis is still coming over.  The craft room is as organized & clean as it could possibly be... or rather, as clean & organized as it's GOING to be.  And hopefully when the camera crew gets here, all goes well and they don't wonder why my friend, Stephanie, sent them here. Ha!  Should find out from the producer when this segment is going to air after the shoot & then I'll know whether there will be a video clip on their website as well.  My heart is racing just thinking about it.  Ok, breathe...

One thing is for sure though... this impending TV shoot & an upcoming cocktail party we're hosting, has kept me organized with less piddling around in the craft room than I can usually find myself doing.  Even still, I'm managing to spend some time at night after Bryn goes to bed to stay current on my December Daily book...

 

Off to run & then to finish cleaning...

"I just wanna dance... I don't really care..."

Random things making me happy right now...

• Watching Bryn play volleyball & gain confidence + skill from week to week
• Lunch with friends
• Sweating my butt off to loud music at the Y or on the treadmill
• "Who's That Chick"...  Rhianna + David Guetta = perfection
• Getting ready for the holiday cocktail party we're hosting
• Texts that make me laugh out loud
• Being current on my December Daily mini book... 

 

 

• Getting a package from Northridge Publishing yesterday, complete with my card they published in the August edition of CARDS, 2 free magazines + lots of free goodies
• Watching Glee (...or rather dancing while watching Glee ;-)
• Making a dent in my Austria mini book.  Now if only I could remember what we did while we were there... the journal I kept on our trip is pitiful (and so is my memory).
• Decaf Soy Lattes
• Popcorn + wine with Bob
• Christmas lights & decor
• New shoes... the higher, the better
• Dancing in the car with Bryn
• Upcoming "date nights" 

... and SO much more.  Happy Friday!  The 3 of us are going out to dinner tonight.  I'll add that to my list... letting someone ELSE do the cooking!  ;-)

December is here...

... and I am officially not ready for it.  Going to try not to stress out about getting the Christmas shopping done & everything else that comes along with the holidays though, so I don't end up in the hospital again like I did last year.  No time for that nonsense!  Must keep this thought in the forefront of my mind...

 
... and it's a FREE download.  Love it!

I put my December Daily mini book together yesterday.  Most of the pages aren't embellished yet, nor are the numbers on each one, but I prefer to do that as I go along.  I never know how many photos I'll end up with for each day, so I'd rather do it all at the same time.  My front & back cover are from the cardboard box that Piperlime ships their merchandise in.  As if I don't LOVE that website enough already, then they have to make it even better & ship your order in the cutest lined box EVER...

 

And just go ahead and roll your eyes & shake your head at me now, because I'll forewarn you that you're going to see that dimensional snowflake again soon.  That's what you get when you read this blog... the same thing over & over again... LOL

 

Oh how I love pink + green for Christmas!  Who I am kidding... I love pink + green period.  Just look at my craft room.  LOL  Anyway... the book is just random old paper + stash I pulled from my scrap bin.  Will probably use some SRM stickers throughout the book, too.  Did you know SRM is having a design team call?  Sadly, it's already time for them to say goodbye to their first team ever & look for a brand new team.  It has been a BLAST!  SO MUCH FUN!  So much GREAT product!  Get all the details here!

And speaking of Piperlime, I just put a couple things on my Christmas list from them...

  
faux fur jacket             metal ring necklace

They would go well with the seriously cute & seriously el cheapo stiletto heel work boots I just bought from Forever 21...

LOVE them. 

PS... Look here for the SRM Stickers + Cosmo Cricket blog hop.

Time for Zumba... my favorite day of the week!  Must go dance & sweat my butt off...  

So unaPEELing...

I went to the spa on Wednesday & got a peel.  It's the first peel I've had in a couple years & it was a strong one.  I went in intending to get the "medium" strength one she recommended last time I was there for a microderm.  When I got there, however, she talked me into getting the strong one.  I'm sure it had NOTHING to do with the price difference.  Anyway... she told me my face would start to peel in about 36-48 hours (then peel for a few days after that) and she was right on.  I woke up this morning with a chin that had huge pieces of skin coming off.  (And that's only my chin so far, the rest of my face is still coming).  I was planning to attend my class at the Y this morning, but opted to stay home & run 4 miles on the treadmill + do some reps with my hand weights instead.  Didn't want to scare any young children or unsuspecting adults.  I did tell Bob that I probably needed someone to follow me around with the vacuum this weekend, as I was going to be leaving my old face everywhere.  Gross, I know.  LOL

Anyway, as long as I'm stuck hiding in the house this weekend, I thought maybe I should tackle one of the projects looming over my head since this summer... my Austria mini book.  I want to keep it very simple, as I really do want to use most of the photos I took on our trip and I'd like to accomodate the journaling as well.  Plus... I've been putting this off for a reason.  I don't want a project that's going to take me forever to complete.  I want fast + simple.  I think I've settled on an 8x8 format & I'm using the Wander line from Basic Grey that's been collecting dust on my table since I purchased it this summer...

 

I know.  I didn't get very far, did I?  And here's a little bit of trivia for you... I made the cover a couple months ago.  It was the FIRST dimensional embellishment I made that started my new obsession. 

So, at dinner tonight Bob says to me, "I think we need to go out & have a nice dinner tomorrow night."  I just stared at him.  Apparently he forgot about the fact that I was looking like a freak this weekend.  If I didn't go to the Y today, I sure as hell am not going out to a nice restaurant.   Unless, of course, he wants me to wear a football helmet to conceal the evidence.   

Can you say "carry-out?"

Some HIP extras...

Yesterday I posted the layouts I created with the September HIP 2B SQUARE kit.  If you missed it, you can see it here!  Today... it's the cards I made, along with a little fold-out mini book.

For the first card, I used some green mist on the Sassafras paper before adding the embellishments on top.  The peach-colored card is the packaging from the Sassafras flowers, which I used on my "tree"...

 

... and another school-themed card (can never have too many of those when you have kids!)...

 

We were asked to make a travel-themed project.  I went with a fold-out mini pocket book to add to my Austria album (assuming I ever get started on it, that is!)...

 

I machine-stitched the 2 pockets & have added little extra things from our trip, like receipts & tickets.  My favorite little "extra" is a diary-style note Bryn wrote on a bus ride detailing our day.   She has such cute hand-writing... 

 

Head over here for more information on the amazing HIP 2B SQUARE kits!

One last thing!  Just incase you missed Martha Stewart on Oprah yesterday, there's a 50% off any one Martha item at Michaels COUPON on Oprah's website.  You can find it HERE!  Make note, though, that the coupon will only be posted on the website for 24 hours from the airing of yesterday's show.   So HURRY & print it TODAY!  Happy shopping!  ;-)

Noteworthy...

The July HIP 2B SQUARE kit includes a Maya Road Large Tag Coaster book.  At 4 1/2" x 8" it's a decent size to use for photos that don't have to be cropped too much.  I like that!  However, rather than use it to make a mini book, which I had originally intended, I decided to make a couple notebooks instead.  I painted the front & back covers white & then embellished from there.  I like how the accordian flower turned out using the zig zag paper in the main kit.  It was totally unintentional that it turned out like that... I may have to make some more!

 
The inside is simply lined paper that I adhered by stapling the stack to the back cover. 

It's always nice to have gifts on hand when you need something at the last minute.  It could also make a great little teacher's gift, too!

I spent the entire day yesterday cleaning the craftroom, getting rid of unused supplies, reorganizing, etc.  It was not what I planned on doing... it was just something that evolved after cleaning the rest of the house.  "Spring cleaning" in August perhaps?  Anyway, I'm thinking of doing a post this week, with photos from my room.  And I have come to the conclusion that the amount of supplies I have here is somewhat insane.  But then again when it comes to this hobby... so am I.  LOL

We have a busy 2 days coming up... trying to fit in some errands like the orthodontist & a haircut before school begins, plus some fun stuff too!  But first... Zumba!  Hope you have a great week!

Celebrate Life...

A new month... a new challenge posted at the SRM Stickers blog!  The focus this month is about celebrating life.  The timing of Ali Edwards' "A Week in the Life" project worked out perfectly for me with this month's theme.  I used a lot of the Everyday Life stickers to complete my mini... 

I used my Jenni Bowlin banner stickers that my sweet friend, Melanie, sent me on this next page...

I used the following SRM Stickers products (find them all here) to complete my mini book...

8x8 Keepsake Calendar

Express Yourself #42038 Everyday Life

Say it with Stickers #39045 Outdoors

Sticker Months Small #48090 Snappy

Quick Cards #52007 Thanks

Year of Memories #48002 2010

 

I really like how the calendar pages helped me keep my book cohesive.  I wanted this project to be as fast & easy as possible, so it really helped to have my patterned paper pack, calendar pages, & sticker sets picked out once I got started.  I love how the SRM Stickers blend seamlessly over my photos, too.  

 

Make your own layout, card or project with the "Celebrate Life" theme & post it here for a chance to win lots of SRM goodies!