baby announcement!

Ha! Fooled you, didn't I? *wink*

I just wanted to share with you the newest photo card I was able to design for a sweet new baby girl. This adorable one's mommy lives in South Carolina and she found me one day a little over a year ago and asked me to create a photo thank you for her little guy who was a few months old at the time. Then I was able to make his 1-year birthday party invites in February and just recently she had a baby girl and she asked me again! How honored I felt that someone who doesn't even know me wants me to {continue to} design something for her. She is the sweetest thing!

{click on picture to head to my photo card blog}

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We're just doing one thing after another these days. Aren't summer days supposed to be LAZY?!

Last week was our own HUGE garage sale (and what an exhausting weekend that was!)

Last night, I held my monthly 3/$5 card making night (go HERE to see the fun cards we made!)

Today was filled with the big community garage sale (we shopped!) and then tonight was Mikayla's dance rehearsal for her FIRST dance recital coming up tomorrow (Saturday). She is such the sweet little dancer and I was so proud watching her on the stage perform. I can't wait for tomorrow.

Since it was beautiful weather today, I just had to snap a couple of pictures before we headed out to rehearsal! I'm sure there will be many more pictures taken tomorrow!


Hope you all are being blessed with summer weather...it has finally arrived here in Oregon. Let's hope it's here to stay!

have yourself a very merry Christmas!

I just wanted to wish everyone a very merry Christmas. I hope you enjoy this special time with family and friends...and remember to take a moment to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas ~ to celebrate Christ's birth!

Blessings to you in the New Year!

{to see all the other Christmas photo cards I was able to design this year,
head on over to HB Creative Design!}

spread the JOY

Happy Friday Everyone!!

I'm excited to share that my JOY card from Christmas 2006 is one of many being featured on Tip Junkie today and you can go over and vote for your favorite card! If it's mine...excellent! If not, no big deal! *wink*

creative & unique baby gift

Many of my friends are having their 2nd or 3rd (or 4th!!) child. (Hello, baby fever!!) Sometimes it's tricky for me to come up with a unique gift for those who might already have all of the clothes or baby accessories they need. Diapers are always a necessity, but let's face it sometimes it's a lot more fun to give something that is a little more creative than that! And I love giving gifts so the wheels are always turning! Creative gift giving has always been a passion of mine.

A few weeks ago, I attended a baby shower for a friend of mine who had just had her first baby girl, but second child. The invitation said that she had already been blessed with lots and lots of girly baby clothes, so I knew my fun shopping trip for the perfect baby girl outfit was out! So, instead of going towards the practical side in the form of a gift card or diapers (which, don't get me wrong, are ALWAYS great to receive!), I decided to use my creativity and created an 8x10 picture art of her new baby girl that could be used as wall decor for her nursery. I swiped some of the pictures off her blog and thankfully she had also posted some pictures of the nursery, so I knew there were going to be butterflies. And, lucky me, she even included the meaning of her baby girl's name that I decided to include.

Here is the finished piece...


For those of you who don't know, I dabble a little bit in creating photo cards in my "spare time". Since starting my Stampin' Up! business, I haven't done as much with this as in the past, but I still create when I can or when others want me to. In fact, for a very good friend of mine who just had her third, I will be making her new little guy's birth announcements as my gift to her. And, soon, I hope to design our family's Christmas card.

It's always fun to give a gift that comes straight from the creativity of your mind. I figure if I've been given a talent, then I should use it to bless others and not just keep it for myself! This works for me!!

For more Works for Me Wednesday, visit We Are That Family.

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Don't forget...tomorrow is the LAST day to link up your photo project to this month's craft challenge. Now, that I think about it, this post actually fits the challenge! A new challenge will be posted on Friday, so come on back!

staying on top of it all

Lots to do today...trying to stay on top of it all!

I had grandiose plans to try to do something fun and exciting this week to share for Kid Friendly Friday at I Blame My Mother or Friday Book Project at Just For Fun, but those plans quickly lost their momentum with still battling a sick and very crabby 17-month old. Thankfully, he's on the mend and a little more back to his old self. I've actually seen him smile! I miss that...

I've also been doing a lot of prep work for this Monday's MOPS. I'm the creative activities leader and create the monthly newsletter, so needless to say the week before MOPS I'm busy doing some planning. Thankfully I've gotten myself into a routine and do a little each week. As of today I'm all ready to go! (Thanks to my mom for entertaining the kids yesterday and helping me prepare the craft. Do you have to leave on Tuesday?) I'll look forward to sharing March's craft with you hopefully sometime this week. If you'd like to see some of the crafts we've created so far, check them out HERE.

This weekend is going to be quite the blur! So, I've decided to take a 2-day blogging break, which is probably what I should do on the weekends anyway, but blogging is just so addicting, you know? Maybe I'll use the weekend for catch up on my blog browsing, which I am SO behind on. Don't worry, I'm hopefully headed your way...

Tonight my husband is having a Poker Night with the guys, so I'll be busy preparing some snacks for that. But, of course, that means hitting up the grocery store first. It's nice out, so maybe we'll go for a walk instead of drive. I think we need a little fresh air! Along with making the dip and buying groceries, cleaning (or at least straightening up) should be on the agenda, so during naps I will try to tackle this. Not what I wish I were doing, but it's gotta get done!

Tonight, the kids and I will be heading to my mom's house to hang out, so that we don't bother the guys. My mom accepted the challenge of having the kids overnight while I come home later in the evening and wake up early on Saturday to head off to the Creating Keepsakes Scrapbook Convention in Portland. This was a birthday gift from the hubby! I'll be spending most of the day at the convention with friends and then finish the evening with some scrapbooking at a local scrapbook store. I wonder if it's possible to get scrapbook burn out? I guess we'll find out!

And, because I have to share something fun besides just blabbing, here is the baby announcement I created for my good friend who just had her 2nd little guy at the end of January. Head on over to HB Creative Design for more photo cards that I've created if you're looking for something to do!


Try not to miss me too much over the weekend! Just kidding... I know you all have much more exciting lives than I do! I'll be back in full swing blogging mania on Monday and have some fun things to share next week!

And lastly, don't forget...it's not too late to link up for this month's Craft Challenge. It doesn't have to be anything new. It can be something you've already posted and created with the circle scalloped punch. I'll leave up Mister Linky until Thursday. If you haven't checked out the ideas that have already been shared, please take some time to do so! You will love what you see! I'll be announcing the giveaway prize for one lucky participant and next month's "mission" by Tuesday!