Cousins at Christmas (Layout #52)

Are you getting ready for Christmas? My husband's family's tradition was to put up their tree Thanksgiving day, after the turkey was eaten and everyone was stuffed. We have modified his tradition to fit our family, so today we bought our tree. It looked beautiful on the lot, and I can't wait to get it inside and decorated. (Yesterday before our turkey dinner at my parents' house, I cleaned and rearranged our living room to accommodate the tree.)

These particular photos are from Christmas 2006, my nephew's very first one! My sister and I got my girls and her son matching outfits, and we couldn't resist a photo shoot.

I love the timelessness of the Silhouette papers with these photos! The pop of Cranberry was just what we needed for these pictures. I didn't want to focus so much on Christmas as on the sweetness of the cousins together.

This layout was part of a swap, and I wish I could give credit to the person who made it. All I had to do was add my photos, my journaling, and some Cranberry ribbon to finish it off. Children at Christmas are definitely magic moments!

Happy Thanksgiving!

My family and I would like to wish you the very happiest Thanksgiving! May you count among your blessings a roof over your head, good food on the table, plenty of warmth, and the laughter of family and friends. Wishing you the best this year! As you give thanks today, please remember those in our armed forces and other service professions who will not be with their families today as they protect and serve our country.

We will be spending the evening with my family for turkey and ham with ALL the trimmings after visiting with Logan's family. (We'll end the evening walking Lucy, our friends' German shepherd who we're "dogsitting" this week.)


My card today is based on the Mojo Monday sketch challenge #114 and uses the colors of Jeanette Lynton's Color Me Monday post this week. I used Chocolate cardstock with Creme Brulee, Cranberry, and Goldrush B&T, my August Word Puzzle stamp set, and Chocolate and Cranberry ink. I colored the cornucopia with various colored pencils. I had fun using my scalloped square punch (source unknown) and my new Martha Stewart scalloped border punch. I embellished the card with a Chocolate edge anchor and Creme Brulee ribbon. Can you see the wheat behind the focal image? I stamped it with Creme Brulee on Chocolate.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Sweet Home Workshop: Will's Baptism (Layout #51)

If you're a big Close To My Heart fan like I am then you have probably already seen a version of this layout somewhere. (I hope you like mine because I sure do have a sweet subject!) This layout is featured in the Sweet Home Workshop on the Go, and I had a great group of ladies make this layout (plus another to be featured later) and six cards with me on Saturday.


Read on if you'd like to see my close ups and the details.


I used a flip-flap to hold the little booklet I got as Will's Godmother. I wanted to be able to take it out to read the inside and back because it has prayers to say for him for his birthday and other special events in his life. I love that the important dates are already recorded there. Also, after cutting a square to fit, I wrote my journaling and then went back and stamped on the square.

Isn't he precious? If he doesn't look like his Uncle Brian here, I don't know who he resembles!

We all gathered at his house for a wonderful luncheon, so here is the family. On my journaling block behind my immediate family's photo, I wrote out who all the people in the main photo are. Even though we all know who they are, I felt it was important to record these details for future generations who may not know everyone in the photo by sight. Do you think about these things when you create scrapbook pages?

Finally, here's a close up of the cool new Top Coats 4"x6" transparency overlays. I didn't know when I first got them that they have a clear film on top that needs to be removed. I couldn't tell it was even there until I took it off. (Just rub one of the corners to get it to start peeling off.) I attached mine with flower brads from the White Daisy Mini Medley Accents that came with the workshop kit.

We loved New Moon!

Ansley, one of her friends, and I went to see New Moon Sunday and loved it! We were worried about getting tickets, so instead of watching Twilight at home before the show, the girls watched it in the car at the movie theater! (I worked on schoolwork.) Yes, we did get tickets for the show we wanted. Daddy and Macey had fun at home.

We only have a two-day school week this week. Ansley pointed out that our school week was like the weekend and our time off is the equivalent of a school week. Hmm, I'll bet they could get used to that!

I'll have more artwork to post the rest of the week so check back please!

Friends Criss-Cross Card

Here is a fun little criss-cross card that I made as thank yous for placing an order last month. I used the Magic Moments paper pack and the Buttoned Together stamp set.

You can find my tutorial for making a criss-cross card HERE.

Thanks Card

TGIF!

This "thanks" card was my make & take at the holiday bazaar this past Saturday. It is based on the Wishes Down the Middle sketch and uses my fave Emporium paper pack and Thank You stamp set. The card ended up being a little more complicated than I realized, but everyone who made one seemed to enjoy Close To My Heart's clearly superior stamps! ;)

Thankful Thursday/Quote of the Week

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. --John Fitzgerald Kennedy

What a thought-provoking quote!

Today and every day, I am so thankful for my girls. Thursdays are very busy for us, but this Thursday is extra special. Each Thursday, Macey and I have to leave school ASAP to get to the next town over (or actually up in this case) for her 4:00 tap/jazz class. She has an hour off and then has tumbling at 6:00. (During that time I get her dinner.) At 7:00, my tap class starts, and then we head home.

THIS Thursday Ansley is going with us so that she and I can re-watch Twilight (in the car on the DVD player) in preparation for going to see New Moon this weekend. (Go Team Edward!) I am so thankful that she wants to be with me to watch these movies. (We both read the books- I wanted to make sure they were okay for her.) I know she'll spend a lot of time talking to her friends about them, and I'm so thankful that I am still an important part of her life. The girls are definitely integral to mine!