Here By Grace

The Tree is Up!

So how about it? Are you beginning to feel that warm glow of Christmas spirit moving throughout your body yet? I know I am! I can't remember the last time I actually put so much thought into my Christmas decor this early!  It's not even December yet and I've already put our tree up!  Now I will admit that Michael's the one who got me moving on that.  He was so cute after he woke up last Saturday, looked out the window, and saw this tiny blanket of snow covering everything outside.  After looking out the window, he ran in my room and jumped on me in bed (it was 7:00 AM!) to tell me it was Christmas and that Santa Claus was coming to our house today!  Well, after hearing him say this a few hundred times (you know how children with autism repeat things!) I decided that maybe it would be easier to start the Christmas season in our home, thus the tree is up!(LOL!)

The layouts I'm sharing today are my December layouts for Scrap-Tastic using the December kit.  I really do love that place and you should check out the fabulous things Becky's got in the store! Wowieee!  She's always a great deal going on so go check it out!

Well, it's about my bedtime, so take care and Be Blessed!!

I'm Altering!

Let me tell you that I love this hobby of scrapbooking!  There's just so many cool things to create and learn on a daily basis!  I was asked to join this fabulous new design team for Say It With Letters where I'll basically be doing a lot of altered items! Now, I do altered items for my home all of the time, just not for a company, but now it's on! So here's my first assignment for SIWL and it was too much fun to do. It's called the Village Trio and I love it! You can decorate these babies to match any season, your home, office, etc. .  I did mine to match my home. If you're interested in purchasing some for you to alter just go HERE.

A few weeks ago, all around fab chick Adrienne asked me if she could interview me for her blog.  I asked her if she was sure she wanted to interview me and she assured me that she did!(LOL!)  I'm not so sure how interesting it is, but it's HERE on her amazing blog.  Spend a little time there. She's one who does it all very well! I really appreciate her thinking of me to interview and I'm very humbled.

Well, have a wonderful rest of the week! Take care and Be Blessed!

Time. Is There Ever Enough?

Is there ever enough time to do all of the things you'd like to do in one day?  I think the answer for most of us would be no, but I'm beginning to get this "not having enough time" thing in check.  After years and years of running around like a madd woman trying to get an enormous list of tasks done everyday, I've decided that it's okay not to get everything done.  I've also decided that the long list of incredible tasks I write for myself everyday won't do like those "Mission Impossible" lists and self-destruct in a certain amount of time- never to be seen again!(ha ha! I know you old folks like me remember that show "Mission Impossible"!) So, my gift to me is to not lose another moment of sleep because my "to do" list didn't all get done! I promise not to stress about it one second longer because God's already thought this one out and the answer has been there all along! So, from here on out, if I don't get to everything I planned to in my day it's alright because I have tomorrow!

Here are 2 fun ornaments I made using some beautiful Urban Lily paper, some glitter, and some fab chipboard shapes from Jenni Bowlin!Take Care and Be Blessed!

Thankful

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! I know I did.  I actually didn't do anything at all except relax and get rid of this cold.  I know I owe my speedy recovery to all of the well-wishers out there who sent me such nice notes to feel better! So to you, I say thank you!

That brings me to my list.  Since Thanksgiving is this week, there's no better time to think about all of the wonderful things I am thankful for! I'm just gonna keep this list down to a small one, because I could go on and on and on for days!  So, here is  my short list of 7:

1.  I'm so thankful that God loves me!

2.  I'm thankful for my greatest gifts, my children. They truly make me a better person!

3.  I wouldn't be here if it weren't for my amazing parents, Rudy and Carole! They are fabulous beyond belief!

4. Gregory. I know that no matter what I do in this life, this man is loving me every step of the way!

5. My home.  I'm just so happy to have one to go to everyday.  Everyone doesn't have that.

6.  I'm so thankful that I have a career that I  chose and I love versus a job that I have to go to.

7.  My health.  Enough said.

I'll share another CreativeXpress layout I did.  This layout assignment was to create a layout that's easy to scraplift, so I chose to feature photos of Michael and his extreme seriousness when riding his bike! I just love the look on his face!  The papers, buttons, and ribbon are from Basic Grey's Obscure Collection.  The letters were cut with Cricut's Doodletype cartridge. 

Well, that's all for today! Go make a thankful list and post it somewhere. You'll feel great as a result!  Take care and Be Blessed!

Happy Thursday To Ya!

Happy Thursday to all of my scrappy folks!  I hope everyone's feeling well. I'm actually at home sick from work today with a bad cold.  There's been a nasty bug going around my classroom and so many of my little sweeties have been sick! I thought it would skip me, but here I am- home sick!

I must say that the closer I get to Thanksgiving the more Christmassy I'm feeling!  That's truly something out of the ordinary for me because I'm usually not feeling the Christmas spirit until around December 22nd!(LOL!) That's when I start my shopping! Yeah, I know I'm crazy, but that's what makes me so special!

Well, the layout I'm sharing with you today is definitely not a Christmas one.  It's actually a Valentine's Day one for CreativeXpress!  I almost didn't get done with it because of the extreme protest of my daughter Brittany who's featured in the layout with her "newly fired" ex-boyfriend.  So in reality, Love is NOT in the air (LOL!)

On a really happy note, I'm so excited to have been asked to be a member of Say It With Letters Design Team!  Wowieee are there some talented chicas on this team!  I just hope I can keep up with these fabulous ladies!

Well, it's about time for a nap, so I'm gonna say goodbye!  Take Care and Be Blessed!

Let's Hear It For Scrappy Opportunities!!

Alrighty! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend like I did!   We celebrated Michael's 6th birthday and enjoyed some beautiful fall weather here in St. Louis!

Okay, let's get to it! I have 2 great scrappy opportunities for you to take advantage of! 

Opportunity #1.  Have you got Moxxie?  If so, then I know you'll be interested in applying to their wonderful design team! The papers are oh, so yummy and the company is fabulous to work with! For more information go here! Hurry because the deadline for submission is November 16, 2007!  The layouts I've shown here today are using some of the fantastic new releases from Moxxie!

Opportunity #2.  I'm looking for some beautiful-never published layouts and altered items to accompany an article I'm doing for the December/January issue of Ready, Set, Create!   The Article's focus is Winter Gatherings and Celebrations and I would love it if you would share your fabulous creations with our readers!  So, if you would like a chance to be published in this issue, this is an excellent opportunity to do so.  If you're interested, please send all submissions to me at [email protected] by November 15, 2007.  Please limit your files to 150 dpi  please! I sure would appreciate your help!

Well, that's all for today!  Take care and Be Blessed!

Happy Birthday Michael!!

So my baby turned 6 years old today! It sure does seem like time has flown by, but I remember it like it was yesterday!  We had the hardest time believing I was even pregnant because it had been so long since we'd had children.  Erica was 15 and Brittany was 13! We were eagerly waiting for our girls to grow up so we could have our "us" time again, but the Lord had something else in mind and his name is William Michael!(LOL!)  I didn't understand it then, but now I know that this child is truly a gift of love from God, and I am forever grateful!

So I made some little treat boxes for him to share with his class and sent along some other party favors too.  The best thing about this is this.  Since Gregory works nights and I work days, I put Gregory on Daddy duty!  Yep! He had to deliver the treats to a classroom of kindergarteners and stay until the end of the day with Michael!  He's never done that before and it was clearly too much for him to handle because an hour after they got home, Gregory was sound asleep!    Daddy duty...I love it!  I wonder what he would do if he had to do a day of Mommy duty!(LOL!)

Here's a card I made just because! I used 2 of my favorite places on the web for inspiration! I used CPS sketch # 38 as inspiration and the September kit from Self-Addressed to make it. Oh, let me tell you about that chipboard frame.  I couldn't find my white paint, so I used White Out! (LOL!) You wouldn't have known it if I hadn't told you , right?(LOL!)

  Well, that's all for today! Take care and Be Blessed!!

Stamps Galore!

So I'm looking at all of the scrap supplies I've collected over the past 5 years and realized that I have so many rubber stamps that I don't have room for anything else!  See, I started as a stamper, so for the first 2 years, everything I bought was a rubber stamp and ink pads . I own over 30 different colored ink pads and over 400 rubber stamps! Yes, I said it; over 400 rubber stamps! I didn't include my newer acrylic stamps cause they don't take up that much room.(LOL!) Anyway, I haven't used most of these stamps in about 3 1/2 years, so I think it's time to get rid of them.   So, if you're interested in buying some gently used rubber stamps really cheap, I've started listing them on ebay here. I only have a few up, but in a few days I'll have up a ton more.

Well, I've been playing tonight, so here's a layout I did of my adorable little cousin Tatum. I took this photo yesterday while she and Michael played at the park.  I actually lifted this design from Rhonda Bonifay for the Scrapbooks Etc. call.  I've never been published by them, but I sure do love their magazine! 

The cards are an assignment I did for CreativeXpress using Cricut's new Christmas Cheer cartridge.  Isn't is fun?

Well, that's all for today! Take care and Be Blessed!

I Made A Mini-Album!

So, if you've noticed, one thing I don't make often is a mini-album.  It's not that I don't like them, I just have never enjoyed making them myself.  They've always seemed to be more of a chore to make than fun, but recently my girl Barb challenged me to make one.  Well, you know me.  I can't say no to a challenge, so I did my best to make myself one.  It wasn't as bad as it's been in the past.  Actually, I kinda enjoyed making it!  Who'da thunk it?  I used papers from Basic Grey's Periphery Collection along with overlays from Hambly and stamps from Urban Lily. Well, here it is in all it's glory!

Let's all give a shout out for heading for the weekend! YEAAAAAAA! (LOL!) Now, Go tell someone you love them! Take Care and Be Blessed!