It's Almost Wedding Time!

I've been planning my wedding for a year now, and the time is very near for me!  I am very excited to be going to Mexico with 44 of our friends and family.  I am very excited about seeing everything finally come together.  I've been emailing the coordinator for months, so to be able to finally see the resort, taste the food and hold the flowers that I picked is exhilarating!

The only thing that I will miss is being able to create anything!  With my new job and the wedding, I've been unable to sit down and scrap!  It's my therapy, but I've been too busy these past few months.  June is out of the question.

I am looking forward to all the beautiful pictures and all of the layouts that I will be able to do after the wedding.  I am looking forward to being able to swap with my Scrapbook.com friends again.  Until then...smooches!

April Showers bring...

Exta time to stay inside and catch up on some scrapbooking!  I've been working on a few layouts and have managed to get in a few swaps here and there.  I knew I wouldn't be able to stop swapping cold turkey!

It seems as though these days my pictures are getting stuck inside my camera...something that has always been unheard of before now.  Its a very important time in my life as my wedding is in 2 months!  I actually need to clear out some of those pictures to make room for all the wonderful memories that will take up space on my memory card!

Here are a few layouts I've managed to churn out:

Somewhere along the way I gravitated towards kraft papers.  I think kraft is just as good of a neutral palette as black and white!  I actually prefer kraft over white...totally!  Here is a layout of my son.  He is quite the soccer star!  I was able to use my LOTW (letters of the word) on this one and it was perfect!  Other elements include a tab, a journal block and a tag with the subtitle.

I am trying really hard to use what I have.  Did I mention how hard that is for me?  There are so many great stacks for boys that have come out this season that I can't help myself!  This paper, in my opinion, was perfect for these pictures of my boys!  I cut squares out of scrap papers, mostly from the Making Memories "Chillin Out" stack I've had for quite some time.  A folded ribbon was the perfect final touch.

Finally, this is a layout of my son and his Kindergarten teacher.  I used the Edumacation stack by DCWV, my absolute favorite line of papers!  I have so many more kindergarten memories to scrap.  Hopefully I'll be able to get them done before the end of his school year.

It is my goal to get pictures printed before the end of the month so I can get to work and showcase some more layouts.  I also have a mini album I am dying to start.

SMOOCHES!

Just trying to stay afloat...

Every year I set a scrapbooking goal for myself.  This year, I have been doing a great job of creating one layout a week.  If you do the math, that means my goal for 2013 is to do 52 layouts.  Much to my suprise, I've actually been churning out 2 and 3!  Take a look at a few that I've done...



Here is a non traditional Halloween layout.  Done with DCWV Boys will be Boys pack, the only thing I used that was actually "Halloween" was the stamp and the picture of the kiddos.  I even managed to use my new Wild Card 2 cricut cartridge on this one!

This is a layout of my son and his "best buddies" who include my niece, nephew and a family friend.  Lately, I've been cutting out cool elements on cardstock and integrating the pieces onto layouts.  Here, the pennants were hand cut.

I've falled a little behind, but plan to do some super scrapping during Spring Break!

Smooches!



Busy times 3!

Happy New Year, friends!  I've been busy planning my wedding which will take place in roughly 5 months and 2 days...but who's counting?  I've also been putting the finishing touches on my new scrap spot.  Over the Winter Break, my fiance put together 4 tall shelves for me, which now are lined up against the main wall in the room.  I was able to put so much stuff up on these shelves using baskets and bins I already owned!  I am now looking for the perfect chest of drawers or armoire and table with chairs that I can sand and paint in pop colors. It is only then my scrap spot will be complete and ready for visitors!

In between searching Craigs List and putting up supplies, I was able to sit on the floor (my favorite place) and belt out 4 layouts and 2 cards.  Take a look:

Before putting the Jenni Bowlin envelope over to the left, this layout wasn't coming together.  I love the way it came out...it really makes our white POP!

I used all scraps for this one, and a paint chip!  I plan on making some bookmarks for my son's class for Valentine day.  Gotta go stock up on some red ones!

Taken at my son's 5th birthday party last year, this one is of my godson and my little one.  He will be 6 next month.  Where does the time go?

I had a blast working on this one!  I recently got an Expression 2 for Christmas, but refuse to open it until I go to my class that is supposed to completely teach me how to use it.  I know that's ridiculous...however, it has gotten me geeked about my original bug.  I used the Pack Your Bags cartridge on this one.

And though I am NOT at all the card maker, I was able to complete these with the addition of corner bookmarks:

I am making little trinkets and sending them randomly to various friends of mine.  I really hope they like their corner bookmarks...they were so much fun to make!

My goal for this year is 52 layouts....one a week.  Right now, I am right on track.  Last year I failed miserably!  Be sure to come back and see more creations...I have a few mini albums I need to complete and more layouts to churn out.

Smooches! 

The perfect works of art!

It is no secret that I am a scrap addict...more pressing than that is the fact that I am a swap addict!  My most recent swap was a LOTW (letters of the word) swap where I made one letter in a word as many times as letters in the word while other ladies did the same and got back the entire word, each letter made by a different person.  Take a look:

I made the "o" with the bat for "spooky."  I think this word looks amazing!

Of course I had to sign up for some wedding words...Bride is so elegant, isn't it?

This Trick or Treat looks better than any Jolee's I have ever seen!  I am particularly geeked about this one!



I started a file folder mini album and waited patiently for this one...it was definitely worth the wait!  So creative!

Though I am certain there will be another LOTW started really soon, I have decided to take a little swapping break to focus on layouts.  Check back soon for some layouts!

SMOOCHES!

What Are You Thankful For?

Today is my sweetheart's 37th birthday, and I am sure he is thankful for another year of life.  I, for one, am very thankful for him.  He has inspired me all over again, but not in the way you are thinking!  Two months ago, he decided to ride in the MS-150.  He bought a fancy bike and began training right away.  It got me to thinking about things I am passionate about...things on my own "bucket list."  Soon afterwards I committed to doing my first 5K.

Last night, I got a text from a co-worker that found her husband unresponsive that morning.  She was very scared and shooken up.  Righfully so.  Her last text to me was to make sure I gave my fiance a little more time that day and to make sure that he knew I loved him.  I made sure I told him.  I am thankful for that opportunity.

I might seem to be going all around with this post, but I do have a point.  Here today, I am thankful for three things...I am thankful for passion, love, and time.

I am thankful for my Mom and Dad (who is deceased.)  I am thankful for my son.  I am thankful for my siblings and their children.  I am thankful for all of my family members near and far.  I am thankful for my wonderful friends, especially my close girlfriends who are like extended members of my family!

I am thankful for a great job that I enjoy going to.  I am thankful for my talents and creativity.  I am thankful for my health.  I am thankful for basic things such as food, water, shelter and clothing.  I am just thankful.  It is so easy to fall into a rut about life and things that are happening around you.  I chose to be thankful for the life I have and the people in it!

What are you thankful for?

I'm back...with a VENGEANCE!

Allow me to catch you up on my life for the past 7 months, then you will quickly understand why I've been MIA...

May - My boyfriend of 13 months became my fiance, as he popped the question at dinner with some of our friends.  This was a complete surprise!  We went to mall once to look at rings a few months prior, but I had no idea that he was looking behind the scenes for what turned out to be the ring of my dreams...a pear shaped halo!

June - I went into full wedding "bridezilla" mode.  Well, maybe not.  I am probably one of the easiest brides-to-be on the planet!  We (meaning I) quickly decided that we (meaning I) wanted a destination wedding.  I chose Punta Cana, Dominican Republic and paid the deposit for our March, 2013 wedding.  DONE!  Our wedding is 9 months away.

July - I changed my mind.  Now the wedding will be in the Riviera Maya, Mexico  in June, 2013.  Not only will it be a straight flight, but also much more cost effetive.  A friend suggested a wonderful a travel agent and I quickly made arrangements and cancelled the original plans.  I also went to a Bridal Extravaganza and got some great ideas!  In addition, we had our engagment party in conjunction with my 38th birthday party.  This was the month that I packed up my life, my son and our belongings in Sugar Land, TX to move and start a new one in Fresno, TX.  New beginnings...Our wedding is now 11 months away.  What was I thinking initially????

August - Not only did I move out of my house into my fiance's house, but my son also started Kindergarten...at my school!  Talk about A LOT going on this month!  We managed to take our engagement photos as well.  Things are moving right along.  Our wedding is 10 months away now.

September -  So...I moved everything out of my house EXCEPT for the things in my scrap spot.  In my mind, this was the perfect opportunity to purge and organize and purge and purge.  I spent a lot of time doing just that.  Purging.  I was also able to get our Save the Dates created and sent out!  Our wedding is 9 months away at this point.

October - This month was a complete blur!  With the exception of Halloween, I can't even tell you what consumed my time in October.  I didn't capture as many cute pictures for Halloween.  We traded  in our typically jam packed full itenarary of Fall events for a quiet dinner at Chipotle and Trick or Treating around the neighborhood with friends.  By the way...our wedding is now 8 months away.  WOAH!

Which brings up to now...today...November 5, 2013.  I am in the process of totally revamping my scrapbook spot in my new home.  My fiance has totally cleared out his gameroom to allow me to have the entire area to make my own.  The challenge for this month will be to find an organization system that works for everything I have, and find the perfect table for the center of the room.  I've been scouring Craig's List to find the perfect items.  The REALEST of real challenge will be to keep everything nice and tidy as the gameroom is the first thing you walk by when you enter our home.  YIKES!

I've started working on the cutest Back to School mini album and have set out pictures to do a few layouts.  I don't want to get too far behind, especially with Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner!

Though our wedding is 7 months away, I am happy that I chose a destination wedding that requires little planning on my part!  Next month I am ordering my dress and sending out the formal invitations which I have decided to make myself!  When people ask me about wedding plans, I am truthful when I answer that they are done...well, sort of.

Till next time (which I promise will be later on this week!)

SMOOCHES!