It's Been Way Too Long...

Starting over can be so overwhelming. Each day is a brand new opportunity to do just that and so often for me, it is a task that is so incredibly daunting. The last few months since my last post have been very difficult for me and I am saddened that I have not been able to keep up in blog land. In February, we came upon the one year mark since Ellie went home to be with Jesus. Our lives have not and will never be the same without her here as part of our earthly family. Missing her, wanting to hold her, laugh with her, sing with her.... all so very hard for us to do. It has been way too long since I was able to do those things and feel her touch; hear her sweet raspy voice. So desparately do I want to have her with me and yet I just have to wait....I just have to wait...

I have had time to do some crafting and have been enjoying the wonderful weather we are having in Minnesota. Spring is here and it is so refreshing to be able to get outdoors and breathe that fresh sunshiny air.

This month at Scrappin' Mojo my design team work centered around the new Basic Grey Kioshi line. If you have these papers then you already know how gorgeous they are. I love all things Basic Grey, but this one in particular has to be one of my all time faves. I love pastels and this line is full of pretty lavender, sweet pink, minty greens, pale yellow and sky blue. It's spring on paper!

In this sweet little layout of Desi, I added a doilee border; a trend that I just adore. Little lacey doilees look so fresh and pretty on paper projects, don't they? The flowers and flourishes are from Prima and have been nestled in my stash waiting for this layout to take shape. I added a little Glimmer Mist in Irridescent Gold and some sprinkles of Martha Stewart fine glitter. Such a pretty end result!
A little bunny box.. love this little guy. He used to sit in Ellie's room when she was just a babe. So happy I found a use for him to adorn this little Easter box.

And lastly a cute little picture frame using one of my favorite papers from the Kioshi line. Now I can look at it all day long if I want too. It's sitting pretty right now as I chat with you all. Since I always say I will post more, I am not going to this time! I'll be back soon, but until then, savor spring!

Love, nik

Is it Fall or Winter????

According to the calendar, it's fall. But in Minnesota, that means snow anytime from October on. We have had a couple days of rain turning to snow then rain again. Wonder what today will bring? Looks like more rain or snow - we'll see. Both Cole and Desi are sick with the flu. I think Desi is past the worst, but still not feeling like herself. Cole has a temp of 103 and is coughing. If you think of us - send a few prayers our way for health. This flu is nasty! I am hoping all is well so both kids can adorn their costumes on Saturday. Desi did have a Halloween party a couple weeks ago and I was able to snap this cute little pic:
And here's one of the infamous frost on the pumpkin. Or in this case, snow on the pumpkin. For sure this will make a lovely scrapbook page, but it was hard to take since this was on October 12th!

On to scrappy news - I recently entered the DT contest at Scrappin Mojo and I was chosen to be their designer for the next 6 months! I am thrilled as this is the first forum that I ever visited and become a member of. I love these girls like family - they are wonderful and I hope you all come by and play with us. The DT challenge was to create a Christmas layout and I jumped at the chance to scrap this precious picture of my kids last year.

I used a lot of elements in this layout; distressing, inking, border punches, rubons, handmade paper flowers and glittering. I love how these letters turned out using some of Martha Stewart's tinsel glitter.

Here's a close-up of a paper flower I made by adhering several of the same shape flowers in varying sizes together. I used Glimmer Mist and more glitter to add dimension and shimmer.

All in all, I love this layout and will for sure hang it on my wall during the holidays. Thank you Jan and Terri of Mojo for asking me to be on your DT!! My other news is scrappy related too. Remember back in September when I guest designed for the kit club Back Porch Memories? The other day I received an email from Paula, the owner of the site and store in Fairbanks, Alaska, and she asked me if I would like to be one of their full time designers! What exciting news to be offered two DT positions in one day! I can't wait to start on both of these adventures. Make sure to come by each of these forums to visit me, chat and be challenged.

That's all for today. I'm doing good - 2 blog posts in a weekend! LOL! Stay tuned this week as I will be offering up a RAK in honor of my milestone birthday that is a week away. And I will have some other things to share with you all too; a holiday papercrafting class that I am offering, a couple glitter techniques, and maybe even a recipe. Enjoy your Sunday evening - XOXO, Nik