Tuesday, December 8, 2009

A Little Elf told me...

...that TODAY is Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge!  YAY!

I'm feeling festive as I am the proud owner of this limited edition (was released last year and then again in SUPER limited quantities on Black Friday :) ELF ANYA from The Greeting Farm!


Isn't she a riot?  LOVE the Jolly by Golly DP too, of course (hmmm, have you guys heard that before? haha) so it seemed like a match made in heaven!  All in all I just think it made for a super fun Christmas card and the hardest part will be deciding WHO to send it to!

Here is Mercy's awesome sketch this week, MTSC51:


I flipped the sketch but other than that stayed pretty true to it and it's definitely a layout I'll be using again!  

Be sure to hang out a while here in blogland to see what the other MUSES have done this week, too!
Last but not least, don't forget to link up w/ Mr. Linky on Mercy's Blog if you are playing so we can all see your marvelously jolly creations!

For now, I leave you with this fun and whimsical quote I just came across today:

" A world in which elves exist and magic works offers greater opportunities to digress and explore..." ~Terry Brooks

Monday, December 7, 2009

Be happy for THIS Moment...

Hey everyone!

{{{PLEASE scroll down for my Little Paper Shop post today, too...and I thank you SO much for stickin' with me!  Means a lot!}}}

Do you ever feel like THIS time of year just makes ya a little nuts?   I LOVE the Holidays.   LOVE the tree trimming...the cookies...the family...even the shopping, I must admit, when I can take my TIME, I do enjoy it.

Nevertheless, I still feel like sometimes I get caught up w/the best of them and stress a bit too much...and when I was creating this weekend for my DECEMBER GUEST SPOT at UNITY STAMPS this month (yay!!), I couldn't help but stop and think a minute about this sentiment, from the upcoming December Kit of the Month:

"  BE HAPPY for THIS MOMENT"...


Isn't that the nicest sentiment?  And so true....just think of all the things we'd miss if we stayed so focused on the Dec. 25th instead of the December 7th....TODAY.

Today...I will send my kids off to school...and my four year old DD will say to her older sister, like she does every day when they are unloading out of my mini-van "Madelynn, can I have a kiss and a hug?"  I will be SO HAPPY for that MOMENT.

Later today, that same four year old DD will come up to me for no apparent reason and throw her arms around me, like she does every day, out of the blue, and squeeze my neck until I practically choke, haha.  She'll say "I'm giving you a SQUEEEEEEZE, Mommy"...I will be SO HAPPY for that MOMENT.

The kids will get off the bus and they'll smile at me from the street, and then all three of them will run up to see who gets to give Mom a hug first...are you KIDDING ME?   SO HAPPY for that MOMENT.

I will watch my boys play their 2nd basketball game this evening.   They will look at me, from time to time, and catch my eye up in the bleachers with the BIGGEST, PROUDEST smile on their faces, as they have done before during practices.   I will be SO HAPPY for that MOMENT.

Last but not least, I will serve my children dinner tonight, and wonder which one will say the prayer before dinner...Perhaps it will be Nicky, who is always grateful for his food, LOL , but is learning to be thankful for bigger things, like family and parents and his sibling...or maybe it will be Jack, who will quietly pray for our family but then will pray for a friend who had a bloody nose or was sick from school today...or Madelynn, who is SO insightful beyond her years who will pray for our family, our health, and our well-being but then will go on to pray for the things she already knows in this world that need to change..and she will BE part of that change one day, I'm convinced of it.  She is SO compassionate...yeah, I can tell you that no matter WHO decides it's "their turn" at our dinner table tomorrow...I will be SO HAPPY for that MOMENT.

Well, my friends, I'll leave you with a quote I found that reflects what I've been thinking about and to try to focus on the TODAY instead of all that has to be done before Christmas this year... of course it still needs to be done, but it WILL get done.   For now...I will try to remember this:
 

" Slow down and enjoy life.  It's not only the scenery you miss by going too fast...you also miss the sense of where you are going...and why..."  ~Eddie Cantor

Sketchin' and Stampin' with Little Paper Shop...

Hi everyone!

I cannot believe how FAST this past weekend flew by-WOW!   Did you all have a nice weekend?  I really have to say we had one of the best weekends ever.   We cooked, baked, I stamped...just kind of hang in your jammies and be a family weekend and it was AWESOME.   In addition, my two little MVP's had their VERY first basketball game.  It was ADORABLE to see how enthusiastic a bunch of 6 and 7 yr old boy were-it was like I was watching the NBA....ha!  Ok, well sort of .... ;)

Today we have another awesome sketch challenge at Little Paper Shop, designed by our own DT member and my wonderful blogging friend Cindy Haffner:


Here is my take on the sketch:


I think I am feeling a bit of a case of the "winter blahs" this week and although I ADORE making Christmas cards, I wanted something bright and cheery!  I used my {I heart} set, newly released last month at LPS along with some fun DP from my Taylored Expressions Key Ingredients Kit (berries and cherries).   I think I accomplished colorful, if anything, haha!

Be sure to check out the LPS Blog this week to see what the rest of our girlies have been up to:

Don't forget to play this week, because ONE lucky winner will be chosen at random to win the {Merry and Bright} stamp set...JUST in time for the holidays!

See you back here tomorrow with a VERY Jolly version of Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge!

Hugs,
Jess :)

Saturday, December 5, 2009

It's the BELLA BIRTHDAY BASH!...

...and I'm so excited to be a part of it!

Welcome to the Bella Birthday Bash Blop Hop sponsored by Stamping Bella! If you've just happened upon my blog, you can CLICK HERE to start from the beginning at Bloggabella.
 

Today I am also combining my Crazy 4 Challenges post.  This week's Challenge is to create a GIFT CARD HOLDER.   I went through a few fancy templates, but decided that with the holidays fast approaching, I'd provide a mini-tutorial for a SUPER FAST and EASY GC Holder-seriously this couldn't be quicker!


I stamped the UBER Cute Solly-Tude stamp by Stamping Bella on neenah White CS and colored her in with my Copics.  The DP on the front here is Basic Grey Nook and Pantry-some of the YUMMIEST DP out there right now!





For my gift card holder, I took a 5 1/2 x 8" piece of Brown PTI Cardstock and scored it the long way at 1 1/2 inches, and then scored it in the middle lengthwise at 4".





I then cut 2 pieces of this ADORABLE Basic Grey Nook and Pantry DP and cut it 3 1/2 by 3 1/2 on the left side (the side you can write your greeting in) and then 3 1/2 by 3 on the right side.   I printed out a simple "To and From" on white paper to adhere to the flap of the gift card holder on the right side, where the card goes.



All you need to do to tape down the folder side is some strong adhesive and make two strips, one on each side of the flap.

Last but not least, I glued down some Berry Sorbet ribbon on the backside and fed it underneath the main image on the front to tie it all together, literally.  Seriously, the whole thing took me MAYBE 15 minutes.


Now, what's EVEN MORE fun about today's hop?  THE PRIZES!!!


Three gift certificates for $100 in Bella Bucks will be hidden along the hop, but we’re not telling you where so be sure to leave some love as you hop!!! Make sure you leave comments on every post so you have a chance to win!! The winners will be announced on Monday, December 7 at the Stamping Bella Blog


Thanks so much for stopping by! Now it's time to hop on over to OLGA's blog!

Thanks so much for coming by, and as Em herself would say...MWAH!


Friday, December 4, 2009

These Kids have got FLAIR...



...and I've been waiting impatiently to show them off to you, LOL!

{{{Oh, and if you have time,  PLEASE scroll down for this week's FARM FRESH FRIDAY post for THE GREETING FARM, too!  Thanks so much!}}}

I am extra excited about today's Friends with Flair post because it's my first as the DECEMBER GUEST Designer for UNITY STAMPS!   Yay!   I have received SUCH a warm welcome from you guys this week, I swear, I'm STILL floating on cloud 9!   Thank you SO much for all of your comments and encouragement-you really know how to make a gal feel good!

Another thing that will always have me beaming is my family.   Over the Thanksgiving Holiday, you may or may not have seen my "I'm Thankful For" post on the DieCuts R Us DT blog.   Well, I'm sharing that project with you here today and it's super close to my heart.

I really enjoyed using the NOVEMBER KOTM from UNITY to create this little accordion book from Quickutz (the book, and the American Crafts papers are available at DCRU).



The swirly frame-type stamp was PERFECT for the outside of the book and then the inside's little "Tickets" were just the right size to embellish the inside of the book, containing this year's pics of my four beautiful kiddos.


I am so thankful for these amazing little people it would take me all day to tell you why....even longer, maybe.   These four kids are the HEART, the SOUL and the REASON behind everything I do and I'm honored to share them with you.


This is just the right size to fit in my purse-LOVE that!  I even got to use the cute stitchy "Handmade by" stamp, also part of the November KOTM!   

Here's a few things you should know before I go...

*CHECK OUT the UNITY BLOG today...there is a HUGE weekend sale going on and also a complete list of FWF participants today!   ONE lucky commenter/participant who finds the "FWF Blinkie" can win 100 stamps from UNITY!

*The DECEMBER KOTM is now available to view HERE.   Want to see some peeks of projects using the December Kit?   SCROLL DOWN to my Thursday, Wednesday, and Tuesday posts from this past week to see them as well as links to the rest of the AMAZING Unity DT! 

Last but not least, I leave you with probably my favorite quote about being a Mom.  It tugs at my heartstrings and really speaks to me every time I read it.  In fact, I'm thinking about having it inscribed on a bracelet or necklace or something because I love it SO much....

"  Making the decision to have a child-it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body."   ~Elizabeth Stone

Farm Fresh Friday is gettin' COLORFUL...

...with their FIRST color challenge!

Hey all...TGIF!  I say that though being totally excited about my post for tomorrow so maybe I shouldn't say that LOL!

At any rate, Friday's are Farm Fresh at The Greeting Farm!   We have a brand new type of challenge for you as we are introducing some COLOR CHALLENGES  to the mix.  Here is this week's Combo:


LOVE these colors together!


I used this week's MOJO115 sketch and had a blast coloring in this new "Chibi Cupcake" digital stamp, just released this past Tuesday.  Isn't she the CUTEST?  I love her happy little face!  She makes me smile...now only if she was here cuz I could REALLY use a pink-frosted cupcake today, hee hee.   I was just excited, too, that this color combo just so happened to compliment the BasicGrey "Nook and pantry" line of DP which I just think is super yummy!

Be sure to check out the TGF BLOG today to see all the awesomely colorful creations from our DT.  These girls are seriously amazing!

See you back here tomorrow!  HUGS!

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Strong as a Tree...you+me....UNITY...


"To be able to walk under the branches of a tree that you have planted is really to feel you have
arrived with your garden.  So far we are on the way: we can now stand beside ours".
-  Mirabel Osler


 When I saw this quote, I just kind of smiled for a little while....this post is dedicated to my DH....because we really do everything in UNITY and I really just sat and thought a while about the "Tree" we've planted and to be able to walk under its sheltering branches one day was really a beautiful metaphor... for the 10 years we've been married, 4 children, a beautiful new home...it just really resonated with me.


While we definitely have more growing to do, we can definitely stand beside our little "Tree".



When I saw this BEAUTIFUL tree from the UNITY STAMP CO. December Kit of the Month , I was so excited.  Man,  NO ONE does trees like UNITY!  Am I right?  I'm so excited about this month's Kit, {Delightful Moments}...and all of the images and sentiments that come with it!  Are you new to the Kit of the Month?  I've been hooked for several months now and I'm telling you for $24 you get a LOT of sweet rubbah!   


You can check out all the deets on signing up for the Kit HERE.



I used the Cosmo Cricket Nutmeg DP to create my card today.  I really like the colors of Fall in this paper pack.  Pairing the tree with the sentiment "Your LOVE is my STRENGTH" seemed so perfect for the above quote.  I really hope he enjoys it...and hope YOU do too!


Well, before I go, be sure to check out the rest of the UBER talented Unity DT peeps that I am so honored to be working with this month:

 Thanks so much for stopping by today and I will be back tomorrow with Farm Fresh Friday with The Greeting Farm, AND Friends with Flair for UNITY!  Be sure to check out the UNITY BLOG today because there is a "Garage Sale" special and TONS of sets for 50% OFF!!!!



Want ANOTHER peek of the UNITY Dec KOTM?  If you didn't get a chance to stop by my blog yesterday, you can scroll down or click HERE to see something I'm just...well...SMITTEN with ;)


I'll leave you with two more pretty awesomated quotes I love about TREES...


"Do not be afraid to go out on a limb ... That's where the fruit is."
-   Anonymous


"Life without love is like a tree without blossom and fruit."
-   Khalil Gibran