Christina's Happy Stamping, Scrapbooking, etc.

The White Stuff

2012-02-07T16:58:00.000-09:00

This is a page I created some time in December when I was in the mood to scrap. I love when I get in those moods! I tried to scrap today, but I almost felt like I was forcing myself. Weird, aye? For this page I used my digital kit called Snowscape. It's available here. I love how the colors blend together! It was just great fun (the walk/pictures and scrapping!)!

Baby Slippers/Booties

2012-02-06T19:58:00.000-09:00

Have I ever mentioned how much I don't really enjoy knitting socks? Well, it's pretty much the one thing I don't like to knit, which is a bummer because sock yarn looks like SO MUCH FUN! I should give socks another try though. Anyway, so I wanted to make Jeralyn a pair of slippers, but I kept on remembering when I tried over the summer to do so and it wasn't a very good experience. In other words, me + double-pointed needles + sock-like knitting = zero fun. So searching for something simple, I found this pattern. It's pretty popular! I ended up finding someone else's "interpretation" of the pattern, which is what I ended up using. Very helpful! It's great because you can pretty much make any size. You can use any size needle and any yarn. You can see what I used here.

The slippers/booties are super cute! And they stay on!

The Big Yawn

2012-02-03T08:43:00.000-09:00

Hello! Are you having a fabulous February so far? Instead of snow, we are getting rain, but I'm ok with that! I am looking forward to spring though. I miss going on walks. And I can't wait to take walks with Jeralyn in the stroller! And possibly push her in the jogger stroller while I run! Before I get too excited I better remind myself that it is still winter.

My little word for the year is CREATE. I'm seeing the challenge in that with a little one. Maybe it's something I just really need to make a priority.

As you can guess, we have been taking lots of pictures of our little girl. I'm going to try to not scrap all of them, but it's going to be hard not to. But maybe not since time is precious these days. The page below has pictures I just had to scrap because when Jeralyn yawns she looks so much like Quent when he yawns. I remember that really standing out to me and so I scrapped about it.

Recently, I had the first 20 weeks of her journal printed through Persnickety Prints and now those pages are in her journal. I did make my own little rendition of a page protector like I was asking about in a previous post. But I think I may need to modify it--it's kind of hilarious! I LOVE looking at those finished, printed pages in her album. I'll take pictures of what it looks like so far--soon!

I'm also finishing up some baby booties/slippers I am making for her. So I guess I have a few posts due soon!

Happy Friday! Enjoy your weekend!

You Make Me Laugh

2012-01-26T08:48:00.000-09:00

Well, hello there! No one had any answers to my question? Hmmm... I may have to ask on a scrapbooking forum, or I think I may just make my own page protector. It will be an experiment!

I created this page months ago. I haven't had much time to scrapbook, but I have had time to work on the baby journal. I'm ok with that! I'm also making more of an effort to get some design work done. Yeah!

She turned 5 months a couple of days ago! It really does go by fast! I'm trying to remember what those first few weeks felt like as a new mother. I remember the rush of emotions that would hit me knowing that we had our little promise. I also remember having my freak-out moments. Don't all moms have their moments? Whew! Jeralyn is so much fun! Every single day I thank the Lord for my baby girl! We waited for soooo loooooong! There were so many moments of feeling very discouraged--I don't miss those days! But I never want to forget them either. It's so hard when you long for something (someone) so much, but that dream feels delayed or like it will never come. But God was faithful!

Have a blessed day!

Need help finding something!

2012-01-21T12:34:00.002-09:00

I'm trying to find some sort of page protector that I can put things like hospital bracelets and other keepsakes in that will keep them in the pages and not fall out. I've been looking online and I cannot seem to find anything. I know there has to be something like that out there. The closest I came to finding something like that was something Ali Edwards posted about when she was talking about her daughter's baby book, but it looks like that product is unavailable. I'm about to just make my own, but I'd rather just have something already made because time is precious these days.

Please let me know if you know of anything. This would be something that would fit into a 3-ring 12x12 binder. Thank you!

Oh, I was also wondering if the Project Life pages would be something like this? Does stuff fall out of those?

Baby Journal Update

2012-01-20T06:59:00.000-09:00

I have been wanting to post some of the baby journal pages for some time now, so I'm happy to be doing that today. I had an early start today. Baby is teething (doc said she should be getting teeth in the next couple of weeks--no joke!), so I've been hearing a lot of crying. Being a mom is the most challenging thing I've ever experienced! WHEW!!!!! But it's all worth it! Even when you want to cry yourself because you just want one more hour of sleep.

For the most part I've been staying current with the journal pages. I do all of my journaling in my email account so I can access it from anywhere. It's been a nice process so far and I've enjoyed it. And it's really the only scrapbooking I have successfully done the last few months.

I'm so glad Quent took those pictures for Week 17 because if he didn't, we would have had no pictures for that week. It was a crazy week!

Well, I'm off to get the baby.

I'll post more soon!

It's been awhile!

2012-01-12T12:23:00.002-09:00

I apologize for the pause in posts. Our main computer doesn't allow me to post anything except pictures on my blog. Our "old" computer does let me post though. We were away from home for basically 8 weeks (for 5 weeks of that we did have our main computer). I have missed blogging! Because I do most of my creative work on the main computer and all of the pages are saved to that computer, I have to email the pages to my address and then grab them on the old computer. It's a lengthy process, and a worthwhile one, but one I don't have as much time for anymore. Priorities sure do change when you have a little one! Whew!

We have a family blog that I have been shy about sharing on my blog here (probably because I'm such a private person). Some of you may have the address already, but here it is just in case if you don't. www.qcsmith.blogspot.com That way you can see updated pictures of Jeralyn and see what we have been up to.

From the beginning of November until mid-December we were living in Juneau temporarily for Quent's job. And then we came home for a couple of days, and then left for Michigan for Christmas for almost 3 weeks. It's really good to be home, but I do miss our family/friends!

Yesterday I put together some rough drafts for the weeks I am behind on for Jeralyn's weekly baby book. It won't take me too long to catch up on it. I am enjoying the process of it and I feel like I stay pretty organized and on top of things with it--thus far. As she grows and is more alert and active, I know I won't have as much time to devote to scrapbooking, but I will do my best. I'm also editing photos we took while in Michigan. And I'm going to be sending out our very late Christmas/New Years card. WHEW!

So life has been busy and we are enjoying our little girl! She was like a completely different baby after being in Juneau for 5 weeks. They really do grow so much! So fast!

In the past 3 months I knitted a dress and mittens for Jeralyn. I also knitted some wash cloths for gifts. And...a pair of slippers! I don't have any projects I'm working on currently, except one project I should probably finish. I don't like having unfinished projects hanging over me.

So I should be able to post more often now. Yeah! Thank you for your patience! I hope everyone had a very relaxing and blessed holiday season!

Happy New Year!

P.S. My "little word for 2012" is CREATE. Hmmmm...

Having trouble posting, but here are some pics!

2011-12-09T08:26:00.000-09:00

More journal pages

2011-10-31T19:42:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple more pages for the baby journal:

LOVE your SMiLE

2011-10-12T21:27:00.000-08:00

Another layout for the week!

So far I've been able to scrap here and there. During naps I'm always asking myself, "What should I do for this nap time?" And then I try to prioritize things, like cleaning a bathroom, making dinner, etc. But sometimes I just want to sit and relax, so I find myself scrapping.

It's amazing how many philosophies there are out there are on all aspects of raising children. From sleep to potty training, from bottle feeding vs. breastfeeding to when to start feeding solids. For every subject you can find countless information and different ways of what works. I'm one of those people that doesn't like to be surprised. I'm not always good at flying by the seat of my pants. I'm not spontaneous. I read books while I was pregnant about baby stuff. It was a good and bad thing. It's good to be informed, but babies don't come with a manual. Jeralyn didn't read the books I read. So guess what I've been doing?--learning to be flexible--learning to 'fly by the seat of my pants'. It's not always easy for me. But I am learning. I'm adjusting. We find our groove, we lose the groove, we find another groove, we lose that groove, and then we make more adjustments. I can see that smile on some of your faces. Yeah...

I'm really enjoying Jeralyn's smiles! The interaction is just so sweet!

J

2011-10-10T20:58:00.000-08:00

Have you ever had one of those days where you are really confused about what day it is? I felt like that all day today since Quent had today off of work due to Columbus Day. Anyway...last week I created this page. I'm finding time here and there to be creative, so I'm thankful for that. I'm having so much fun scrapbooking Jeralyn! And of course creating those memories!

I have Bubble Talk for 50% off at MScraps for Tuesday!

Goodnight!

Baby Weekly Journal

2011-10-08T12:11:00.000-08:00

Hello! How are you this fine Saturday? It's raining here...gasp...I know, big surprise for Southeast Alaska in October. *wink* But that's ok! I kind of like knowing it's that time of year to get cozy indoors. Plus it's a good excuse to scrapbook. *smile*

So onto the subject of baby books and documentation...

I bought a bright pink 12x12 We R Memory Keepers ring binder scrapbook album for Jeralyn months ago. So far it's filled with stuff like our hospital bracelets, some cards she received with gifts, and other such things. For a few weeks I've been thinking about how I want to document her first year. I decided to do a weekly documentation. From her first week I've kept a journal through my Hotmail account. Babies grow so much and change so much in the first year. I wanted to do more than just document monthly. Maybe when Baby Smith #2 comes along (in at least a couple of years--don't worry--I'm not thinking about that yet. Whew!) I will only have time to document monthly, but weekly is what will work best for our first. (On a side note, have you ever read The Birth Order book by Kevin Leman? There's some interesting stuff in there! He teases middle children about not having many photos in the family photo album. I think it's quite true!)

In the beginning of this week I started to play around with some ideas of what I would want the weekly pages to look like. Knowing myself, it has to be something I won't get bored with too quickly since it's going to be a year of journaling/documenting. I know that I need to leave room for creativity. One of my favorite scrapbookers is Kayleigh Wiles. I am drawn to her collage style and I never seem to grow tired of it, so that's what I'm aiming for.

So each week I'm planning on having the photo frame collages. And then I like to draw the color out of the photos using a bit of color from paper and elements. Some weeks I will use more circles, some weeks more squares. It will just depend. Like I said, I want to leave plenty of room for creativity and flexibility for myself. I'm picking my favorite pictures from the week. Some weeks there will be more pictures than others. Maybe for some weeks it will just be one picture. It will just depend.

I'm not really into the traditional baby books. I think they are fantastic, don't get me wrong, but right now, for me, I wanted something more, something different. I really hope Jeralyn will appreciate this some day. I know I would. I struggled with what I should do for her baby book because I didn't know how I should go about it. I really like what I have come up with--I just hope I stick to it. I think the format I am using will keep me motivated though, so that will be good!

For our regular scrapbook album, I will scrap the pictures that mean the most to me, just like I normally would. I struggled with that too. I wondered if I should print 2 pages, one for her book, and one for ours. But again, I think what I have come up with will take care of that.

I will update this project more in the future.

Have a blessed weekend!

Don't Waste It

2011-10-07T09:48:00.002-08:00

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. --Steve Jobs

I was watching The View yesterday morning when they played a clip of Steve Jobs giving a speech, and this is what he said in the clip. When he said, "don't waste it living someone else's life" I started to get choked up. It's exactly what my heart has been feeling in these last few years. For so long I felt like it wasn't safe to be me, and so I wasted some time trying to cover up the real me. But now I feel free! Free to be me! I still am challenged by some things. I still feel nervous at times. I'm still a pretty private person and won't share everything, but that's just who I am. But I'm glad I know that I can be the best person that I am--that God has created me to be!

The Belly Story

2011-09-30T12:55:00.000-08:00

My Girl

2011-09-27T14:55:00.000-08:00

Yesterday after dinner I asked Quent if I could scrapbook a little before Jeralyn woke up from her nap. So I left the dirty dishes and kitchen clean up for him. He's awesome like that! And then I scrapped! It was so much fun, but I felt myself feeling like I had to hurry. I had to scurry around my digital stash to find what I was looking for, but I was able to complete the page! Yeah!

I have to say that there have been some frustrations with being a mother. Whew! It's not been a smooth sail every day. I'm learning. I'm making adjustments. What I am figuring out about myself is that I'm not very good at being flexible or just 'going with the flow'. I get these ideas stuck in my head about how I think things should be working and then I have a really hard time letting go of those expectations. Maybe it's the perfectionist side of me? I think I can be so hard on myself at times. Well, I don't just think that, I know that. I've had different moms tell me that this stage is one of the hardest, that the first month and a half is challenging. I have no other stages to compare it to, but I can say that I've definitely had some challenges along the way so far. Please don't get me wrong, I LOVE my little girl!! She's so precious to me!

I'm learning. I'm growing. I'm so thankful!

You had me at HELLO

2011-09-26T18:22:00.000-08:00

I think it was last week when I scrapped this page. It was so much fun and wow, just so awesome to be scrapbooking my very own daughter! I have dreamed of this for so long!

I think some of the pages I create of her first year will go into her baby book, which is more like a scrapbook. And then some of the other pages will go in our regular books. I'm not quite sure how to go about that yet. I keep on thinking about what Ali Edwards has done. I should look into it more. Any suggestions or ideas?

I scrapped another page today! I'll share that soon!

I hear her waking...

On Being a Mother--the typed version

2011-09-17T13:11:00.002-08:00

I meant to post more than just pictures in my last post, but our other computer is having an issue with typing any words while posting, so...I am posting this from our older computer.

Jeralyn is 3-1/2 weeks! I can’t believe how fast time has flown by already. I will admit I was pretty much in a fog the first 2-1/2 weeks (maybe I still am). Our house finally feels like our house to me again. What a huge, beautiful change and adjustment to our lives! Our daughter is so precious to us! I have experienced such joy in having our little bundle of joy and love in our home and in our arms. There have been some struggles along the way, but we are smoothing out those wrinkles as we figure out what is working for us. And that has led me to thinking a lot about parenthood and how everyone has their own way of doing things.

Quent’s aunt sent me a book about finding your own mothering style. It’s a quick read with tidbits of information about how different mothers have found strategies that work for them and their children. In all of the years I have preached about being true to your own style, I realize that one’s unique style applies even to being a mother. And I realize that what works for one mother may not work for the next mother.

There were a few days I was feeling a bit stressed and frustrated because things weren’t going in the direction I was hoping (I still have those days). I felt guilty for wanting things to go a certain way because of what others had said to me. But I realize that their recommendation is what works for them; it doesn’t work for me. So once I realized that I have the freedom to do what works for me and for what fits my personality, it was like I could soar! It was a HUGE relief to me! So I’ve been making some adjustments and it’s already paying off! Whoohoo!

I love being a mother! I have dreamed of this for so many years! So many times I have tears come to my eyes knowing that this is really happening, that I am really holding our little promise. She’s so beautiful and sweet! And funny! And I can’t wait to see her personality bloom more and more.

I'm also learning a lot about myself. Like that I have this independent spirit that is having a hard time going away. I can't just do whatever I want, whenever I want...and I thought this was going to be more of an issue for my husband...hahaha!

The other day I had to set aside some of her newborn outfits since she’s already outgrown them. It makes me sad to know that she’ll never be that little again…that we’ve already passed that stage. It makes me realize even more how I want to relish and cherish every single moment I have with her. I do look forward to the days when she and I can bake cookies together, when she coos and smiles more, when she takes her first steps, etc., etc., but I so want to bask in these moments.

Last week my friend Jamie came over to meet Jeralyn and after she had held her for a little while and put her in my arms, she said she could see Jeralyn relax more, like she knew it was her mama holding her. I know this might sound weird, but it was at that point I realized that I’m her mother, the one who will comfort her and kiss away those hurts. Wow!

“A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials, heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine, desert us when troubles thicken around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.”

--Washington Irving

I feel so honored to be Jeralyn’s mother, to be there for her in all of the ways that I can.
So with these thoughts I have shared, I want to stress again about the importance of being true to your own style! No matter what the subject might be (scrapbooking or being a mother)! Be true to who you are!

On Being a Mother

2011-09-13T20:07:00.000-08:00

Hello there!

2011-09-04T16:47:00.000-08:00

Hello! I thought I'd post something and give a little update on how life with baby Jeralyn is going. She's such a good baby! She sleeps a LOT! My days are full of her and I just love it! It's funny to think back to weeks ago when I was desparately trying to find things to keep myself busy as we were waiting for her arrival. Oh how things have changed! Before she came a lot of people would say to Quent, "Your life is about to change!" It certainly has! Sometimes I wonder where the hours of the day go. Or the days! Quent is taking such good care of us. He cooks, he cleans, he changes diapers! And he just loves Jeralyn! The cats are doing really well, too. They are used to a baby crying now and sometimes it seems like Shadow is trying to help. It's sweet! I feel bad because I feel like I don't show them as much affection as I would like, but I think as time goes on, it will get better. They are such good kitties!

Remember the dress I knitted? It's too big for her right now, but I just had to try it on her. *smile*

I just love her!

I've been thinking about how I want to document her first year of life. I am pretty sure I'm going to do a weekly kind of project. So far I've been keeping a Word document open and just journaling that way for now. I've never done anything like this, so I'm hoping I won't lose motivation.

Well, this is all for now. Happy Labor Day!

She's here!

2011-08-29T13:59:00.000-08:00

Jeralyn Promise Smith
August 24, 2011 @ 9:38 am
7 lb 13 oz
20 inches

She's perfect!

40 Weeks

2011-08-21T08:06:00.002-08:00

Hello!

Today is Baby Smith's due date! As of 8:07 am Alaska time, there are no signs of labor...yet. Only 4% of babies actually arrive on their due date, so we shall see. Quent is still convinced since he was born on his due date that she will still come on hers. Only time will tell. Yesterday we went for a long drive, in the pouring rain, on some bumpy roads. I never thought I would be someone who would go to that length as to induce labor, but there we were! I think we'll have to go on another long drive today!!

Have a good one!

39 Weeks & 1 Day

2011-08-15T08:37:00.002-08:00

Hello! I just wanted to give an update. No baby yet. I thought I felt some mild contractions in the middle of the night, but I was in and out of sleep, so who knows! We are anxiously waiting...

I started knitting a hat days ago, but I think there's something wrong with the chart for the pattern, so I'm going to stop working on that. I was just practicing following charts anyway. I did start on another little project that I had been collecting patterns for last year. The Point (the local yarn shop here in Ketchikan) had a calendar scarf project last year. Each month we would get a new pattern to add to our scarf. So I started working on that yesterday and also started listening to another book on cd. This one is called The Help. I'm enjoying it so far and find myself cracking up!

Have a blessed week!

Fair Isle Knitting

2011-08-12T08:08:00.000-08:00

It's Friday! Are you ready for the weekend?

After finishing the quilt the other day I started looking for some other projects to work on to keep myself occupied while waiting for baby. I've been wanting to learn how to Fair Isle knit, which basically means knitting with more than one color at a time. As with cable knitting, this looked really intimidating to me, but I knew that if I could just get my hands on a simple beginners project that maybe I wouldn't be so intimidated. Ravelry is the best place to look for such patterns, so I searched on there and found this pattern called First Fair Isle Anything. So I found some leftover yarn and got started. It took me less than a day to complete this.

It's supposed to be a head band or cowl, but for me it's too wide to be a head band and too small to be a cowl. So it's just a "thing" of practice, I guess. Quent did wear it around the top of his head for a little while last night. Ha! Anyway, so that is what the pattern looks likes. I had never followed a chart before, and I have to say that it was really quite easy. Now I want to do more and more Fair Isle!

This is what it looks like inside-out. All of the yarn just carries over until you use it again.

I'm starting yet another project. This time it's a hat. And there are hearts involved in the pattern! I can't wait to see how it turns out!

Oh, I wanted to answer my friend Jamie's question/comment. She asked how you will know when Baby Smith arrives. I will do my very best to create a quick post after she is born to announce her arrival. *smile* And hopefully that will include a picture! 9 more days until my due date!

Quilt--finished!

2011-08-11T09:20:00.000-08:00

Hello! Well, yesterday I finished the quilt. I have to say I really enjoyed hand-sewing the back of the binding. I listened to a book on cd while working on it and I found it quite relaxing...minus the neck stiffness afterwards. Ooops!

I have to embarrassingly admit that I actually started making a different quilt top for our bed months ago, but when it was all finished I didn't really like it that much. It wasn't making my heart go pitter-patter...haha! I still have the top, but I don't know what I'm going to do with it now. Another project for another day I suppose. What inspired me to make this completed quilt was some fabric I saw on Etsy called Sweet Nothings. I bought a baby blanket for my niece and when I saw the blanket, it was love at first sight! I just had to make something using the fabric. So...I ordered about 5-6 yards of fabric and got started.

I love how intricate and creative some quilts are, but that's just not where I am at with quilting right now, so I decided to just cut plain ole 8x8 inch squares. Without the binding, the quilt is 91 x91 inches. It wasn't my plan to create a square quilt, but I guess when we make the bed we won't have to wonder what's up and what's down. Haha! The quilt is bigger than needed for a queen size, but I like having extra blanket (since I can be a blanket hog). It's perfect for us!

I love all of the colors on the quilt. I'd have to say these have been my favorite colors in the past year or so. Another simple thing about this quilt is that there was no actual "quilting" involved. I just did tying. Simple! Someday I would love to learn how to make those intricate quilt designs, but like I said earlier, that's just not where I'm at right now. Someday...

Quilting isn't my favorite hobby, I have to say. It's not like knitting where I feel relaxed and ok with mistakes when they come up. The sewing machine was yelled at a couple of times and I wasn't too happy to become aquainted with the seam ripper, but I suppose that's all part of the game, right? But I do have to say I enjoyed the process.

When I was working on laying out all of the layers, I told Quent, "I'm 3 weeks from my due date and here I am on the floor laying out a quilt." I bet this process would be a lot easier without a belly. Haha!

I'm still not very good at taking pictures in the house on cloudy days, but here's a picture of the quilt on our bed. One day (maybe) I'll make some pillow shams...or I'll just buy some decorative pillows. Or make some pillows. Hmmm... I could even knit some!! I'm working toward making the colors of our room turquoise, brown, cream, and orange. It's slowly getting there.

Some resources that were very helpful to me in making this quilt were some YouTube videos (I love YouTube!):

How to Join Strips for Borders and Bindings

How to make and attach quilt binding

Binding Your Quilt - Quilting Tips & Tricks

And of course, phone help from my friend and step-mom, Kelly! Thanks Kelly!

Hello

2011-08-09T22:34:00.000-08:00

I'm 38 weeks and 4 days pregnant. I'm playing the waiting game. I wonder when she will say, "It's time!" I'm ready. I'm excited! So what have I been doing with my time?

I've been working on a quilt. I'm almost finished! More pictures to come...soon!

I've been reading. I sit in this chair on our deck in the sun reading until I get too warm and have to go back inside.

And growing a baby!

37 Weeks

2011-08-02T08:38:00.000-08:00

I am now 37 weeks! Well, today is 37 weeks and 2 days. During my appointment last week the midwife said I was measuring more like 38 weeks instead of 36 weeks, so....she could be here any time. We shall see!! Let's just say that information kicked me into my final "nesting" mode. I haven't gone too crazy, but I find myself wanting to be as ready as possible.

It's funny how in 9 months the color of our bedroom walls have changed 3 times! First it was the original color (taupe), then it was mostly turquoise with two walls partially taupe. And now it's cream and turquoise! I'm so thankful to Quent and Natasha for finishing up my painting job!

I have to buy another 3/4 yard of fabric in order to go on to the next step of the quilt I am making for our room. I plan to do that today. I wonder how far I'll get with that project?

Have a beautiful day!

Friend

2011-07-25T10:18:00.000-08:00

Hello! Happy Monday! While it seems the rest of the country is having extreme heat, we are having fall type weather. It's been a cool and wet summer here. I can't imagine being pregnant and in the kind of heat some are experiencing! Whew! I feel like I've forgotten what that kind of heat is like. Growing up in Michigan, I experienced many hot and humid summers. I have to admit I like living in Southeast Alaska where you can pretty much wear the same thing all year round. I hope you have been able to stay cool! I'll send you some rain. *smile*

I created this page well over a month ago:

4 more weeks until my due date (August 21st)!

Preparing for Baby

2011-07-22T10:05:00.000-08:00

It's been a loooooong time since I've scrapbooked. The only inspiration I've had to scrapbook are pictures I've taken of the baby's room. I remember seeing a page Ali Edwards did of preparing the room for her little one before she was born, and I thought it was such a great idea. So I snapped some photos (realizing I need some more camera lessons from Quent), and then started working on this page the very same day. There is another layout idea I have swimming around in my head. I should do that soon.

This week I started working on the quilt top for our bedroom. I have the individual strips sewn, now I just need to sew those strips together. This will be the biggest quilt I've ever made (queen size). I sorta cheated on the baby quilt I made, so I need to figure out how to do this the non-cheating way...or may I'll just cheat again. Hee, hee! I may need to make some phone calls and ask questions.

This Sunday will mark 4 weeks until my due date!! I can hardly believe it! We are getting SOOOOO excited!!

Quote, zero creativity, and books

2011-07-16T08:30:00.004-08:00

"When we are no longer able to change a situation--we are challenged to change ourselves."

--Viktor E. Frankl, World War II holocaust survivor

I think the baby has stolen my creative juices. There is pretty much no desire to scrapbook or design right now. In fact, I have some projects I *have* to work on, but I really don't want to. But I have been knitting. I'm almost finished with some slippers I am knitting for myself. I've also been thinking about knitting some gifts. So at least I have that source of creativity flowing right now. Next week I am thinking about starting a quilt, but I think I still need a major dosage of motivation to even start on that. It's pathetic! Ha!

Another thing I've been doing a lot of lately is reading. The other day I started and finished one book in less than 6 hours! Wow! I don't think I've done that in years! The book is called Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza and it's about her story of surviving the Rwanda holocaust. It's a fascinating story!! I couldn't put it down! Another book I recently read is Robinson Crusoe, which I had heard of over the years, but had no idea what it was really all about. I really enjoyed that book! I'm now on the search for more books to read since I find myself needing to lay around a bit more these days. Any suggestions???

Five more weeks until my due date!!

32 Weeks

2011-07-06T08:20:00.000-08:00

Whew, it's been a little while since I've blogged! I had a good excuse though. My sister in law, Natasha, was visiting with us for a couple of weeks. I really enjoyed her visit! While she was here, we took some pregnancy photos since she's an amazing photographer. On the only nice day we had while she was here (and it was REALLY nice at that!) we drove around and found a couple of places to take pictures. One of the places was this park near a hatchery. I wasn't interested in being around a lot of people while taking photos, but we had no choice here. There were SO many tourists from the cruise ships walking around. There went our privacy! Oh well! I am 32 weeks in these photos (I'm now 33 weeks). Here are a couple of my favorites:

I haven't been feeling very creative lately as far as scrapbooking goes. I have been slowly knitting a baby hat. I do, however, have some fabric to make a quilt, so I may get started on that soon.

I have less than 7 weeks until my due date! She'll be here before we know it!

My name is...

2011-06-23T10:50:00.002-08:00

I need a little pep-talk for myself today.

When I was little (ok, this is going to sound really dorky) and I would practice typing on my mom's computer, I would always type:

My name is Christina.

I was probably about 10 years old and this was before any typing classes in school. But today I think about that and I think about how yes, that is in fact my name. I am she. I am Christina. I'm not Barbara, Kristin, Samantha, or any other name.

Every once in awhile these little things come up in my mind, where maybe I feel threatened by the lies, "You are too much." or "You are not enough." But when it comes down to it, I am Christina and that's ENOUGH! I am me, with all of my quirks. I was made on purpose to be who I am. I was wonderfully made! (Psalm 139)

So I will rest in that truth today. And I hope you can rest in that truth, whatever name you are!

Quilt

2011-06-21T12:58:00.000-08:00

Hello! Happy rainy Tuesday to ya! Well, at least that's our weather for today. The sun seems to be a little shy these days. But what do I expect for one of the wettest places on the planet? Living in a temperate rainforest brings just that...rain! Anyway...I don't think I've shared this layout on the blog yet. I created it using a kit that will be coming out in a few days.

I'm tempted to make a quilt for our bedroom. I'm really close to purchasing some fabric...really close. A few days ago I finished another baby blanket I was working on. I'm not really happy with the results though. It's ok, but I think I sorta messed up some stuff. Oh well! A few days ago I ordered some more yarn to make a baby hat and to make some slippers for myself. Remember the slippers I knit for Quent? The ones that I basically never wanted to make ever again if I could help it? Well, those are the ones I'm going to make for myself. After he has been wearing them for a few months, I'm seeing how they would probably last a long, long time. And I'm needing something to wear around the house...sooooo...I decided I would do it. Right now I'm also finishing up the pants I've been slowly working on. I have lots of little projects I'm working on right now to keep me busy as I'm waiting for the last 2 months before baby comes.

Have a fun day!

Little Jackson Smith

2011-06-15T08:51:00.000-08:00

Hello! I created this page yesterday. It was inspired by this. Lately I've needed outside inspiration besides the little nudges of creativity inside of my head. And that's ok!

Yesterday I went through our canoe trip photos and picked out the ones I wanted to scrap and digitally 'slapped' them in collage fashion onto some pages. So now I need to go back and add journaling, paper, and elements. It's one of those projects I want DONE.

I'm hoping to finish a knitting project today. Whoohoo!

Have a great day!

LOVE

2011-06-14T08:25:00.000-08:00

I've been a scrappin' fool lately...well, sort of. Ha! The other day I was blog hopping and I was inspired by this and then started playing. I really should tackle the canoe trip pics...hmmm...

This layout has a picture of Quent and I that his sister Natasha took at their sister's wedding. I don't plan on scrapping a lot of the wedding photos since those aren't really our photos. But I do plan on picking a few pics out here and there to scrap.

Has anyone checked out the July/August 2011 issue of Creating Keepsakes? I just may have a layout in there. *wink*

Jacob

2011-06-11T09:44:00.000-08:00

Happy Saturday! I'm curious to see what the weather ends up doing today. So far we've had scattered showers, but also sun. Anything is possible this time of year.

I created this page a few days ago of my little brother Jacob. He's an amazing person and I wanted that to reflect in the journaling.

Have a great weekend!

Happy 29

2011-06-10T15:14:00.000-08:00

I was so inspired by this page that I had to scraplift it! I had a lot of fun creating this layout!

Guess what? I'm an aunt today to my first niece! Welcome baby Louella!

Have a happy Friday!

Katie Babe

2011-06-08T14:14:00.000-08:00

I've been having so much fun scrapbooking the last couple of days! It feels so good to play with digi! Sometimes I just need a new digital toy to play with in and then I'm set for inspiration for awhile, like what happened after purchasing the Photoshop Actions I talked about in a previous post. Sometimes motivation gets as simple as that.

I have to take breaks from the computer as much as possible these days...or rather, taking breaks from sitting. It sounds odd to me, especially since relaxing is becoming a bigger part of my routine now that I'm in my third trimester. I have this really weird uncomfortable feeling under my right rib these days. I hear it's normal. My midwife says it's normal. Relief is hard to come by at times, except for laying on my left side. So because of that, I've been reading a lot and laying down. Right now I'm reading a book called Piercing the Darkness by Frank E. Peretti. I'm almost finished with it! I'm really enjoying it!

Have a great rest of your day!

Sisters

2011-06-07T10:58:00.000-08:00

It's funny how I've been scrapping pictures that were taken in the winter...with snow. I remember in February I was really tired of the white stuff! Scrapping them in the spring/summer is a better idea! I'm scrapping the pics that we took when we were in Michigan for Christmas and my sister-in-law's wedding. That means I'm almost finished scrapping 2010, aside from the canoe trip photos, but I'm working on that, too! My goal is to get caught up as much as possible before baby comes.

I had so much fun scrapping these photos yesterday. I decided to do a 2-page spread since I hardly ever do that. I like how it divides up the two sets of pictures.

Here's the full-page spread:

And the pages by themselves:

I used all of my own designs, except for the stitching. The kits that were used were Travel Along, Snowscape Snowflakes, and Floss Stitches. The stitching is from Designer Digitals.

You Are Lovely

2011-06-06T19:01:00.001-08:00

Hello! I've been in a creative mood today as far as scrapbooking goes. I created this page and a 2-page spread today. I recently bought some Photoshop actions from Maggie Holmes and I wanted to play with those today. I have a few pictures from Christmas-time to scrap, so I thought I would have fun with those photos. I haven't scrapped an 8-1/2 x 11 page in quite awhile. I think it's fun to do that sometimes. One thing I love about putting pages into 3-ring binders is because you can put different sizes in instead of the standard 12 x 12. I may do more of these size pages in the near future. There was a post on Ali Edwards' blog that inspired me about that.

This past Saturday my friend Joy had a baby shower for me in Wrangell. It was such a great time! I really enjoyed seeing everyone so much! I was so touched by everyone's thoughtfulness and generosity. I feel truly blessed! Today I had fun sorting through the gifts and organizing the baby's room a little more.

Well, we are off on a walk! Have a great rest of your day!

Summertime Re-release

2011-06-02T16:11:00.000-08:00

Hello! I'm re-releasing a kit that came out last year called Summertime. It's available today through the weekend at MScraps for 20% off. It will be available on Monday at Digital Dandelions. Enjoy!

9 years ago

2011-06-01T14:58:00.000-08:00

Today is our 9th anniversary! It sure has gone by fast! I am so thankful for Quent. He's perfect for me in every way. I really don't know what I would do without him. He is an amazing man of God and he loves life the fullest! I just love him so much! Happy 9 years to us!

Biker Dude

2011-05-31T09:48:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure if I ever shared this layout. I made it probably over a year ago and recently it's been inspiring to me! Maybe it's the bright colors! Or maybe it's because I've been thinking back on my childhood and remembering all of the colorful things that made it sweet...especially in the summer!

I've also been thinking a lot about how my life is going to change (and is changing) in the next few months. I know it will be a beautiful adjustment having a sweet little girl to have, hold, and nurture. Sometimes I wonder what will happen to my "scrapbooking world" and design. I read a post today that really made me think about some things.

My little word for the year is "prune", as in cutting back; change. Things are changing and things will change even more. I know that when you prune a plant that more fruit is able to flourish. I know it's a good thing. I just cannot really imagine what it will be like. There are so many things even in pregnancy that I didn't expect or I don't remember anyone ever talking to me about, but here I am experiencing it. I know the same thing will happen when baby girl Smith enters the world.

I feel like my mind is churning with ideas, wonders, and curiousity on this subject. I will have to think on this some more...

Baby Bump: 28 Weeks

2011-05-31T06:35:00.000-08:00

As promised, here is a picture of me and my baby bump. I'm 28 weeks now, just starting my last trimester. I can tell she's really grown in the last month! How am I feeling? It depends on the day. Some days I feel like myself, and then some days I feel uncomfortable. I'm thankful I'm home now and that I'm able to relax when I need to. The time is going fast! She'll be here before we know it!

More CT Layouts

2011-05-30T14:32:00.001-08:00

Hello! Happy Memorial Day! Quent has the day off and we are enjoying a gorgeous day today! We just finished a game of horse shoes...he won! It wasn't easy picking up the horse shoes (baby belly), so he was a gentleman and picked them up for me. What a guy! Speaking of the baby belly bump, we took some pics yesterday and Quent is going to edit them and I should be able to post them soon! Yeah!

I thought I would share some more creative team pages using Over the River with you today, and one of my own:

This is from Jessica! I love this page! She also used elements from a summer kit I'll be bringing back soon.

This is also from Jessica. Adorable!

And one from Rebekah! She's used elements from a few different kits here.

And this is my own. This is the first page for the photobook I'm creating of our canoe trip from last year.

P.S. Over the River is 25% off today at Digital Dandelions!

Baby Blanket-Finished

2011-05-28T08:05:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I finished the striped baby blanket I had been working on since March. You can check the details about it here. It's such a simple project since every row is knitted. It's so soft and stretchy! I can't wait to wrap our baby girl in it!

This is the blanket folded in half. The green doesn't look that great in the photo (I don't think). It is a bright green, but I think it looks better in person.

The stripes are different lengths because I used different yarn for some of the colors (such as pink).

Over the River CT Layouts

2011-05-27T08:32:00.000-08:00

Hello again! Today I wanted to share some layouts the creative team from MScraps and my own personal creative team created using Over the River. It's so much fun to see others using my designs and creating pretty things!

Over the River

2011-05-26T11:10:00.001-08:00

I finally have another kit in the shop(s)! Well, right now it's only at MScraps. It's 20% off there through the weekend and then it will be available at Digital Dandelions on Monday, May 30th, also for a discounted price! This kit was inspired and created for our canoe trip photos we took last fall. I even pulled the colors from the photos to be part of the color combo for the kit. I enjoyed creating this kit. I think the little bear is so cute! Ha! Tomorrow I will share some layouts from the creative team(s).

Here are some of the layouts I have created using this kit:

This one has inspired an upcoming template.

As well as this one.

27 Week Ultrasound

2011-05-25T18:30:00.000-08:00

I'm so glad the creative juices [for scrapbooking] are flowing again! I've been scrapbooking here and there, getting caught up with things, but also scrapbooking whatever my heart desires. We had another ultrasound yesterday, and I wanted to scrap a couple of the pictures we got from that. They wanted some better facial shots of her, which was fine by me. I like seeing her! I'll post some pics of me and my belly after this weekend!

Recipe Project-continued

2011-05-16T08:13:00.001-08:00

Two posts in one day! Wow!

A few years ago I started working on a recipe project. I remodeled a recipe box I had by putting patterned paper over it and making it more my style. I created tabbed recipe sections that are color-coded. I typed out all of my favorite recipes and put them on colored cardstock. I really have enjoyed using this color-coded system over the years! It saves me so much time now! It's hilarious though because for some of the recipes it's quite obvious that I didn't do a very good job at editing what I typed because there's funny typos.

Since I finished the first part of the project (that was a LOT of typing!) I have accumulated more recipes which I have kept in a manilla envelope with my cookbooks. I finally got the motivational urge to work on making some more recipe cards. I think having a new printer that works was also motivational.

This project will be an on-going project for the years to come as I accumulate more recipes. I'll probably need another recipe box, too.

I love how Tigger has to come check out everything I'm doing. Such a curious kitty!

Baby Pants

2011-05-16T08:03:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I was at the yarn shop and I saw this yarn by Noro called Nobori that I fell in love with. It's soft and the colors remind me of Easter and Spring. I was determined to find a pattern I could use this aran weight yarn with. And I found it. It's for these really cute baby pants. I ordered the supplies I needed from Jimmy Beans Wool and got started as soon as it came in the mail. I like to have at least two projects to work on at one time so I can take a break from one and work on the other.

I bought the pattern through Ravelry. I thought the pattern was rather spendy ($10.00), but it's worth it for the 17 pages of much visual detailed instruction. The pattern author does an excellent job explaining what needs to be done...but one thing I learned was when the author says to read and familiarize yourself with something before proceeding, she means it! There was one point I jumped ahead and ended up having to pull out stitches. Oops!

I have about 3 more inches I've added to the pants since taking this picture. I am basically past the "challenging" parts of the pattern and now I'm knitting the legs using the "magic loop method". It's pretty amazing how it all turns out. It's like magic! I'm loving the yarn colors. I think this is my favorite yarn!

While knitting these pants, I have thought so much about when I started knitting years ago. It took me three times to learn how to knit and after the third time something [finally] clicked and I quickly fell in love with the hobby. But before that I didn't really enjoy knitting. One thing that helped me was to just dive into a pattern I *wanted* to make. That's the only way I learned. Sure, it was frustrating at times and stitches had to be pulled and started again, but practice makes "perfect", right? So I say just jump into those projects. You will learn as you go! Don't be afraid to make mistakes! It's all part of learning!

Now...I can't say I feel the same way about quilting. Ha! Knitting is relaxing to me, where quilting is not. I guess we just all find those things that work for us.

Anyway...so now I'm at the point with the baby pants pattern that I have to figure out what length I want. I picked the small/medium size to knit, but I have no idea how long I should make the legs. Quent suggested comparing them to some baby clothes. I think I'll do that.

You can see more details about the project here.

Blanket Update + Slippers

2011-05-12T07:52:00.000-08:00

Good morning! It's another gorgeous day here in Southeast Alaska. Today Ketchikan is going to have 4 cruise ships docking, so that means there will be an additional 8,000 people added to our population today. Whew!

Yesterday was my last day working at the coffee shop. It was getting challenging being on my feet like that for 6-7 hours. I will miss working there, I will miss [most of] the customers, but I definitely know I made the right choice to be finished now. My goal was June 1st, but because of some physical things from being pregnant, I decided it was time to stop. So now I will have a lot more time on my hands. I have some projects I want to start and finish with knitting, scrapbooking, recipes, etc. It will be a great time of relaxing the last 3 months of pregnancy!

I took this picture of the baby blanket some time last week. Since then I completed the lighter purple color and have added another color. I'm crusing along. I have an order I'm waiting for from Jimmy Bean Wool to start a new project. It's always so exciting!

And these are the long-awaited pictures of the slippers I knitted for a late Christmas gift for Quent. I wanted to take a picture of the slippers before felting (shrinking), but I never got around to that. They weren't my favorite project to knit, but I do like how they turned out and Quent really likes them. I hope they last a long, long time.

Baby Dress--Finished!

2011-05-07T10:57:00.000-08:00

I originally stared out knitting this dress with some other yarn by Noro, but I realized that it just wasn't soft enough and I didn't like some of the colors in the yarn, so I decided to give up my idea of having striped yarn for the project and went with solid colors instead. I had been eyeing some baby yarn at the yarn shop for some time and it was exactly the weight needed for the project so I went for it. You can find details about it here.

Baby Room Update

2011-04-28T08:26:00.002-08:00

A few days ago Quent hung some of the wall art and things I've created for the baby room. It's been so fun putting these sweet little touches to the room. There's more to come, so I will take more pics in the future.

One of the wall art frames has the first letter of the name we've had picked out for our daughter for a long time--like years and years--but it's going to be kept a secret until the day she is born. Hee, hee! When people ask us what we are having and we tell them it's a girl, then they ask if we have names picked out. Some are surprised that we have already settled on a name. When I tell them it's a secret they laugh. Quent has a made-up name: Gertrude Agnes Smith. GAS. Oh dear! Some people don't realize he's joking and they ask politely, "Is that a family name?" Haha!

I created the giraffe wall art and had it printed. The middle frame will have a black & white picture of the baby...eventually. The dresser next to the crib will be the diaper changing table, which will be moved over a bit after we move the guest bed out of the bedroom.

I've wanted to create this butterfly mobile for the longest time. Quent gave me some fishing line to use to hang the butterflies. It worked perfect! I cut out the butterflies with the Big Shot die-cut machine. The cats were really interested when I was working on this project.

Well, this is all for now! Have a great day!

P.S. I've been feeling her move! It's so wonderful!

Flags & Ribbons No.2

2011-04-22T07:53:00.002-08:00

Hello! It's Friday! I have a new kit out today called Flags & Ribbons No.2. It's 20% off through the weekend at both shops, Digital Dandelions or MScraps. Enjoy!

Knitting Projects

2011-04-18T14:13:00.002-08:00

It's been a little while since I've posted. I thought I would share some pics of some peeks at some knitting projects I have going right now.

One of the projects, which I haven't started yet, is going to be a little dress/shirt/tunic type knitted garment for a 6 month old. It's totally not practical, but I want to knit something girly and I found a pattern I really like. I found some yarn at the local knitting store and I can't wait to get started! The picture above is both colors of the yarn I'm using. The picture below is the same yarn as the balled yarn above, but without being balled.

And this is the baby blanket I've been knitting. After we found out we are having a girl, I bought some bright pink and purple yarn from Knit Picks. I'll post more details about these projects in the future.

Have a great day!

Baby Quilt (Finished)

2011-04-10T12:16:00.004-08:00

A few weeks ago I cut most of the fabric squares. I was going to wait until we found out if we were having a boy or girl before ordering more fabric, but I ended up ordering some fabric earlier. I'm glad I did because I was really motivated and inspired yesterday to work on the quilt. I had no expectations of finishing it in one day, but that's what I did!

First, I cut the last 9 squares of the "girly" fabric, and then I was ready to lay out all of the squares. I cleared a spot on the floor and laid all of the squares on the floor. Of course the kitties had to come help. And because of their "help" and my pregnancy brain memory, I decided to sketch out on a sheet of paper where all of the squares lay. I'm really glad I did that! I felt so organized. Ha! I even have to say I enjoyed ironing all of the pieces and strips. It was very relaxing.

When I had the top sewn together, I had to figure out what I wanted to do for the binding. Since I wasn't following a pattern I knew it was totally up to me (I guess it would be anyway). So I decided that I would use the flannel back fabric also for the binding. My step-mom Kelly answered some questions for and also with the help from the lady at the fabric store, I was ready to tie some knots. I wanted this quilt to be super simple. So instead of "quilting", I tied knots at the corners of where all of squares came together. Super simple! After that I worked for awhile on the binding, which was a little tricky. It didn't come out "perfect", but since I was the one making the quilt, it came out Christina-style. Haha!

Today I took some pictures of the quilt. I'll have to take pictures of it later on in the baby's room. I didn't have the right lens for what I wanted to do...but I did have Quent's awesome portrait lens, so I'm not complaining. So there will be more pictures later...maybe after the room is officially done. I put the blanket over a couple of stools in the livingroom, and being the curious cats that they are, Tigger and Shadow had to come check things out...

Tigger was definitely up to something. See that frisky look on his face? He was under blanket and stool, probably wondering how he could pull down the quilt...who knows!

Here is one of the corners.

Shadow was also under the stool and blanket. They probably thought I built a blanket fort for them. I love her expression. She hates the camera!

Haha! She cracks me up!

The quilt without the binding is 40x50 inches. The binding is about 1-inch. I LOVE this fabric! It's soft and such great quality! And the binding and back fabric is a soft flannel. It's super soft! I bought the patterned fabric from Etsy.

Kate Spain for Moda Central Park: Novelty Linden in Pink, Carousel in Sunshine, Zoo in Stone, Bridle Path in Metro

Joel Dewberry Modern Meadow: Acorn Chain in Pond, Nap Sack in Grass

Liz Scott for Moda Sugar Pop: Mod Buds in Brown

The two stores I bought from were: Lily Bella Fabrics and Down Shadow Lane

It's a...

2011-04-08T17:23:00.002-08:00

GIRL!!!

You cannot really tell from these particular pictures that it's a girl, but she definitely cooperated so we could see. Yeah! I love her so much!

I love this picture of her foot. So cute!

Just wanted to share...

20 Weeks

2011-04-05T13:25:00.003-08:00

So I've been putting off posting pics of me and the baby belly--probably because I'm such a private person and it's kinda weird like posting it out there for the world to see...not that the "world" looks at this, but you know. Anyway...I figured since I'm at 20 weeks (halfway) that I should probably post something. It wasn't until about week 18 or so that the bump started to become more obvious to me. In a few days we will find out if Baby Smith is a boy or girl, unless he/she wants to keep it a secret during the ultrasound. I have no 'gut feeling' and no preferences.

How do you like our new bedroom paint color? Hee, hee! Normally I despise painting, but I think I've been feeling super creative during this pregnancy and so even painting has been fun!

Take Flight Collab

2011-04-01T12:35:00.002-08:00

Today is the grand opening of Digital Dandelions!! (At least I hope so!) The designers put together a collab kit that's so elegant! I love the colors! Click on the image below.

Barefoot In Spring

2011-03-31T14:43:00.002-08:00

MScraps has a new collab kit out where all of the designers have made a contribution. They have these each month. This is my first month participating. It was a lot of fun to put together some designs. The kit is $5.00 through the weekend and it has a TON of stuff! I'd show an image of the whole kit preview, but I haven't been able to get that to work for some reason.

And here is a page Jessica created using my designs for the kit. I love what she did!

The Bar Method Pregnancy

2011-03-31T08:30:00.002-08:00

In 2010 "my little word" was discipline. Part of learning that discipline was also developing an exercise routine instead of being lazy and talking myself out of exercising. I've continued with a routine since I've been pregnant, although the first trimester was more challenging because of feeling tired and feeling "weird". But since 12 weeks I've been feeling more energetic, so it's been so much better to stick with my routine. Shortly after I found out I was pregnant I ordered a dvd from The Bar Method for pregnancy (scroll down a bit for a preview and info). I've enjoyed The Bar Method exercises over the years and exercises very similar to it, like Squeeze by Tracy Effinger. I know how much I enjoy finding tidbits of information like this on other blogs, so I thought I would share with you.

I highly recommend this pregnancy dvd if you are pregnant and looking for some movement. The exercises are safe and effective!

Have a super awesome day!

The Sweetest Sound

2011-03-29T16:01:00.001-08:00

Hello! Happy Tuesday! It's raining outside today! We had a beautiful weekend visiting our family in Juneau, Alaska. We met our nephew Jackson for the first time. He's adorable! I'll have to share a picture or two of him soon. I felt inspired today to create, and this story was fresh on my mind, so I created this. It's a page about hearing the baby's heartbeat. There are no pictures to go along with it, so I made sure the journaling was the central part of this page. I had so much fun creating it! This is the second page I've done about baby so far. There will be many more to come! *wink*

For this page I used parts of a mini-kit I designed for MScraps. It will be available in April and it's called Barefoot in Spring. I also used some elements/paper from a kit called I'll Love You Forever from The Lilypad.

Framed No.1

2011-03-25T09:30:00.000-08:00

Hello! Happy Friday to you! This week I have a new digi product out called Framed No.1. It's only available at MScraps right now, and it's on sale through the weekend!!

The layout above is also a sneak peek of a future kit coming soon!

This layout was created by Rebekah, one of my fabulous members of my creative team. She's also using the Flags & Ribbons No.1. I really like how the frames look on this page!

Have a super great weekend!!

Digital Dandelions

2011-03-23T22:16:00.002-08:00

Hello! I love Spring! I love all of the new things sprouting up. One new thing that is coming is a NEW digital scrapbooking shop called Digital Dandelions (click on picture below for direct link--site work is still in progress)! I am so excited about this new adventure! The shop opens April 1st! The fabulous designers are behind the scenes working on a collaboration kit called Take Flight, which I think is a perfect name since this is the beginning of a new journey. I'm so thankful to Leora Sanford, who offered me this opportunity to sell my products through Digital Dandelions! I will update you about sales and any news asap!

Paint

2011-03-19T19:46:00.000-08:00

I must feel really inspired right now due to the spring weather because I have been wanting to paint! I've been waiting for it to get a little 'warmer' before painting the baby room so I could have the windows open for good ventilation. Well, yesterday and today were the days! Yesterday, I painted only one wall this cream color called "Conversation" (True Value). This morning I waited until the sunlight was shining through the window in the room before starting with the orange paint called "Clown Fish". After the first coat of paint, I was a little hesitant about the color. It's more yellow/gold than I wanted, but after a second coat it looks much better and the color seems to be growing on me. It's a very vibrant color. After painting one wall with it, I knew that it definitely needs to stay only on one wall. The other three walls are going to be the cream color. I have one more wall to paint before I'm finished!

I also painted a shelf the orange color today. This will be hanging on the wall in the same room.

Today

2011-03-18T13:53:00.002-08:00

I'm in love with today!

It's BEAUTIFUL outside!

It's 50 degrees!

I have some windows open!

I vacuumed out our truck!

I saw my first robin yesterday! It's now officially spring! (Ok, so the slug I saw the other day was my first sign...sigh)

It's sunny! It's beautiful! Thank you, LORD!

Bubble Talk and Flags & Ribbon No.1

2011-03-17T21:16:00.003-08:00

I have two new kits out this week. They are both at MScraps.com (click on links below for direct link to product) and soon to be at the new site (opening on MONDAY, March 21st!). I've been having a lot of fun with these kits!

Bubble Talk

Flags & Ribbons No.1

3 Pages

2011-03-17T21:14:00.000-08:00

And here are some layouts I created using Bubble Talk and Flags & Ribbons No.1:

For this layout I used the original ribbons instead of building my own.

For this layout I built my own.

And here's a mix of both on this one.

Only Fools...

2011-03-13T17:32:00.000-08:00

HELLO! (Whoa, that was a big hello!)

I think spring is in the air...at least rain is in the air! But I'm ok with that! I LOVE the rain! You don't have to shovel it! *wink* It looks like it's going to get up to the upper 40's this week. Sweet!

This weekend has been fun creative-wise: I've been able to work more on a new kit. Ideas have been flooding my mind. I have to jot notes down so I won't forget things. Like I'll be doing housework and I'll think of an idea and I have to write it down fast so I don't forget. I love when the creative juices flow!

The page below is one I created weeks and weeks ago:

I have a couple of new kits coming out this next week. Whoohoo!

Have a great rest of your weekend!

Baby Quilt

2011-03-12T14:03:00.000-09:00

A few weeks ago I bought some fabric from Etsy, which is my new favorite online store. Sometimes I like to go on there just to daydream! I was looking at one of my favorite blogs and there was a link to this Etsy seller, Lily Bella Fabrics. It was love at first sight when I saw the fabric with the giraffe on it (the bottom fabric in the picture). I've been a lover and collector of giraffes for years, so it's a natural central decor selection for the baby's room. There isn't really a "theme" for the room, only a color theme, which so far is orange, cream, brown, turqoise, and...maybe pink, with a touch of giraffe! Since we don't know if Baby Smith is a boy or girl, I'm waiting until we find out (April 8th) if I should add pink to the fabric selections. It may sound silly to some, but it makes perfect sense to my pregnant mind. Hee, hee!

So today I had the sudden urge to cut fabric squares. I'm not following a pattern. I despise quilt patterns. I've made a few small quilts in the past, but the last quilt ended up in the trash because nothing was coming together the way it should have. (Yes, I'm a slight perfectionist) So after licking my quilting wounds over the last few years, I decided to try my hand at it again. This quilt is going to be very simple. Like outrageously simple!

It took me an hour to cut 6x6 inch squares out of 6 different patterns of fabric. I sketched out my own pattern and figured out how many squares I would need of each fabric depending on if Baby Smith is a girl or boy. I feel so organized. Haha...

Now I wait until April 8th. Oh the suspense!

Greener Grass Designs at MScraps!!

2011-03-10T14:16:00.002-09:00

It's official! I'm in a NEW store...well, new for me! My products are 20% through the weekend! Check it out here!

Do you feel safe?

2011-03-10T10:27:00.002-09:00

Do you feel safe to be yourself?

Or do you feel more safe to hide behind a mask?

Are you for real or are you playing pretend?

Do you feel safe having your own ideas, having your own original creativity, and putting your own personal 'mark' on things?

Or do you imitate others because it's 'safe', because it's already been done? Because you are afraid of what others might think?

Do you hide behind what's comfortable because you don't want to make mistakes or look foolish? Are you afraid of failure?

I know I have talked about this SO MANY times on this blog about the importance of being yourself, but I think it's good to have a fresh reminder to be who God has created you to be. There is no one else like you. There is no other you. Isn't that awesome?

I want you to know that it's OK to be you! And I want you to know that God loves you for YOU! And you can love you for you--you can LIKE yourself! Stop comparing yourself to someone else!

Be you!

Dude Mountain

2011-03-09T18:10:00.000-09:00

My friend Nettie (Hi Nettie!) reminded me that I needed to make an update on the announcement I made last week about a new shop opening up where I will be selling my designs. Well...it was supposed to open Monday, but the website is being worked on and there have been some changes, so it will still be a few days.

I was also offered to sell through a second site called Memory Scraps, and of course I accepted! I just feel so blessed that I have the opportunity to sell through both places. Thank you, Lord! When I first read Michelle Coleman's email stating that Little Dreamer was going to close, my heart sank. I felt sad and even had tears. Right before that I had made plans to really pour myself more into design. I had even requested working less time at the coffee shop so I could do so. So I'm so delighted and thankful for these new opportunities!! How is it said? "When God closes a door, He opens a window." So true!

Over the weekend I worked on repackaging my kit previews and getting things ready for the new store(s). I decided I won't be transferring over all of the designs I have made so far for the new stores because some of them just aren't very popular or I need to redo some things. I'm seeing what's most popular and I'm going to do my best to stick with those kinds of designs. I'm learning as I go.

On a knitting note, I felted Quent's slippers the other day. He really likes them! They look nice! I should take pictures...

Well, that's all for now folks! I'll let you know more about the new store as soon as possible!

Flowers

2011-03-03T11:48:00.000-09:00

Hello! Today I've been working on reorganizing some things in my digi product because starting on Monday I will be selling at a new store since Little Dreamer Designs is closing! I'm SO excited about this opportunity. I will give more details on Monday (or maybe even sooner)!

Here's a page I created last week, at least I think it was last week:

I usually have a good memory, but I think the baby must be stealing some of that. It's been funny to me! Speaking of babies, I started knitting a blanket for Baby Smith. I also attempted to make baby socks (more like booties), but that wasn't working out too well. I don't think I like knitting socks or complicated slippers. Haha!

Well, I must continue reorganizing...

Tigger Bath

2011-02-26T08:42:00.000-09:00

It's been awhile since I've scrapped a kitty page. It doesn't help that only one kitty likes getting his picture taken and the other one runs from the camera. Poor kitty!

Hope you are having a great weekend!

July 4th

2011-02-24T07:46:00.000-09:00

On Sunday I received some sad news that Little Dreamer Designs is closing shoppe. I felt like the creative winds were taken out of my sails. It was the first and only place I sold my designs. I'm very thankful to Michelle Coleman (owner of Little Dreamer) who gave me the opportunity to sell there and grow in my skills. There's another opportunity on the horizon, so I'm thankful for that! Little Dreamer is having a sale right now on everything in the shoppe until March 15th!

Last night Quent downloaded a free trial version of Adobe CS5. I think he really wants to update our stuff, but maybe I'm the one dragging my feet about it? So I'm hoping to play around with digi today and explore the updated version.

I think it was on Sunday when I pretty much hogged this computer all day and I ended up scrapping 6 pages! I haven't done that in a long time! It felt really good to sit and play! Here is one of the pages that I created that day:

El Capitan cave

2011-02-20T12:27:00.000-09:00

We woke up this morning to 4 inches of snow. Ugh! We didn't have any snow on the ground before that. Hopefully it will all quickly melt away. A year ago today it was already spring. I had already seen bumble bees and the crocuses were in full-bloom. When will spring come?

This morning I realized that I hadn't been creative yet this weekend so I asked Quent this morning if I could hog the computer and scrap. I wasn't feeling too creative, but I wanted to scrap. Have you ever felt that way? So when I saw this layout, I thought I would scrap lift.

I could have scrapped the pictures of when we went to the cave in so many entirely different ways, but I just wanted something simple and pretty looking. And since I'm trying to scrap in order (well, sorta), I decided to do that for the cave topic. There were several pictures that were taken when we were in the cave, but this one is my favorite and sums it all up.

Rowing Sarkar Lake

2011-02-18T14:55:00.000-09:00

Hello! TGIF! I'm SOOOOOOO glad it's Friday! I worked all 5 days this week and I'm SOOOO thankful the weekend is here. I'm looking forward to being as lazy as possible and catching up on some things. I have had little spurts to be creative this week (it was theraputic 'down-time' for me before heading to work), so I was extremely thankful for that. I'm in the last week of my first trimester, and already I'm finding I have more energy. Whoohoo! But a nap still sounds good right now.

Here's a page I worked on this week:

Also, I finished the gray shrug sweater I have been working on since June. I'm not impressed with it at all. I won't be posting any pictures of the completed project because there's no way I'm modeling that thing. Haha! I learned a lot while knitting it, so that's good. I've read a lot of bad reviews about that shrug and pattern, so I think it's just the pattern and not the knitter. Well, maybe both. Ha! I'm hoping to finish Quent's slipper (finally) this weekend.

Have a great weekend!

Staney Creek

2011-02-16T21:29:00.000-09:00

It's been quite the week so far! I haven't had much time for anything, so I'm even surprised that I'm sitting here posting this. I'm waiting for something on the stove to finish cooking, so I thought I'd drop a post. Ha! Plus it's motivation for me to keep on scrapping. I created this quick page the other day using a Travel Along template, plus some other goodies from Designer Digitals. I caved in during their 30% off sale earlier this week and bought a few things I've been wanting to get there. I love playing with new digital kits and elements! Anyway...I hope you are having a great week!

Buttoned-up Hat

2011-02-13T11:07:00.001-09:00

I've been having a nice, relaxing weekend. I needed it! Next week is going to be a busy week for me, so I'm getting as much rest that I can now. I was looking through my memory card on my camera yesterday and realized that I hadn't posted about another hat/gift that I knitted.

Remember this hat (first picture below) that I knitted for myself back in 2009? It's my favorite hat since I can put my ponytail through the button holes in the back. I use it all of the time. Unfortunately, when I washed this hat at my mom's house in December, the washer attacked it, but it still works. Good thing I have a back up hat that just needs some buttons.

And here's the pretty 'green apple' colored hat. I knitted the hat pretty fast, but what took so long to finish was finding the right size buttons. The first set of buttons I ordered through Etsy from China, but they were too big. And so I had to search some more. I didn't want the average, everyday kind of button. I wanted something unique, made out of dark wood. These buttons came through Etsy from Singapore. It was well worth the wait. The details are found here at Ravelry.

One of the things I like about this hat is that it's long enough so you can roll it up, but still have it cover your ears. I don't like when hats are too short and they don't cover my ears.

Well, I will continue with my relaxing weekend...

Love Stitched

2011-02-08T15:46:00.000-09:00

I have two new mini-kits in the show this week! They are on sale today for 20% off!

Find it here.

Find it here.

Two pages

2011-02-07T17:41:00.000-09:00

Hola! Did you have a good Superbowl weekend? I was in the same room as the television during the game, but it was more like background noise while I worked on Quent's second slipper. I'm happy for the Packers and all of our friends from Wisconsin. Anyway, about those slippers: I finished the main part of the slipper. Everything was going well until the very end when you are supposed to have so many stitches. Let's just say that I had to undo some things and now I'm just hoping it all works out. So I would say I'm more than halfway finished with the second slipper.

The other day I received my box of goods from Knit Picks, now I'm just waiting to finish the slippers and my shrug (cough) before I start on those other projects.

And I am happy to say that over the weekend I finally worked on some digital designs! Whoohoo! I will show some of that tomorrow! I have so many ideas to work on now. Yeah!

And last, but not least, here are a couple of pages I worked on last week:

Friends

2011-02-03T14:49:00.000-09:00

It's Thursday!!!

I don't have much to say...so I will just leave you with this:

Persnickety Prints Super Bowl Sale

2011-02-01T16:33:00.002-09:00

I just found out that Persnickety Prints is having a sale. You can see about it here. I recently had some pages printed through them and I like their quality. I've seen their kind of quality other places, but they have a good price and their shipping is very reasonable (even for Alaska!). So I would recommend them, and you can't beat a sale! Happy printing!

Always Remember

2011-02-01T16:31:00.000-09:00

Hello! Happy Tuesday! I'm blogging since I had an unsuccessful time of trying to take a nap today. Someone in the neighborhood is doing some type of construction, so the noise kept me from sleeping. I really could use some sleep...

I created this page a couple of days ago:

My goal over the weekend was to finish Quent's first slipper and to finish the shrug. I finished one slipper (did I mention that already?), but I did not finish the shrug. But I finished knitting the 34 rounds! Hallelujah! The next step is to sew the sleeve seams onto the body of the shrug, but that first requires getting out the handy dandy iron and 'blocking' everything. I dislike ironing very much, and sewing seams isn't my favorite either (plus I probably need a nap), so I'm procrastinating (again). Maybe on my next day off....

I did make a decent size Knit Picks order over the weekend for some future projects. I also have some yarn in my cart on Jimmy Beans Wool, but I just haven't committed to that purchase yet.

Family

2011-01-29T21:07:00.000-09:00

Hello! It's about halfway through the weekend. I hope ya'll are having a great weekend! Quent and I watched a couple of movies tonight while I knitted. I finished Quent's first slipper and worked on my shrug. I only have 8 rounds left of the shrug and then I can sew the sleeves on and then I'm finished!!! Whoohoo! Now I'm in the mood to scrapbook, but my eyes are feeling tired.

Here's a page I scrapped a few days ago:

Keller Family

2011-01-27T14:19:00.000-09:00

I didn't mean to have so many days in between posts, but I was too lazy to turn on this computer, which is the home of my digital scrapbooking. So what have I been doing? Working, napping, exercising, eating, reading, and well...that's about it.

Here's another page I created last week. I'm slowly finishing up scrapping the pictures I took when I was in Michigan last spring.

In my last post I said I was hoping to finish Quent's first slipper. Um...that didn't quite happen. Without realizing it, I skipped a small portion of the pattern, so I had to go back and redo that. How did I miss that? And then it took me a long time to figure out what they meant by picking up stitches on the inner or outer sole. I think there should be more pictures for a visual on the pattern instructions. And then after all of that, I realized that I wouldn't have enough yarn, so...I ordered more yarn and I'm waiting for that to come in the mail. And lucky me, I get to do all of this over again for the second slipper. Yippee. (Do you sense the sarcasm there?)

In the meantime, I'm dreaming up more projects to knit while I need to finish the ones I'm currently working on. I have to remind myself that I only have two hands. But how can I help myself when I find sweet looking ORANGE yarn?? After I saw the yarn, I went to Ravelry to look up the projects used with the yarn. And then I found a project I can make someday as an excuse to have some beautiful yarn. I love Ravelry!

Tomorrow is FRIDAY!!!

Knitted Gifts

2011-01-23T11:41:00.000-09:00

For Christmas I knitted a few gifts.

The first gift was hat. Quent was my model for this picture. He said it was really comfortable. It was really stretchy and soft. I followed a pattern from a book called More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts (which is my favorite knitting book so far!), but I had to make some adjustments to the pattern since I needed to make it bigger. It was a perfect fit, so I was really happy about that! You can look at the details more here on Ravelry (if you have an account there). It's free, if you don't!

Next was a pair of felted ballet slippers. I made these slippers for myself a few months ago, but I already wore through one of them. *sad face* I really like them and they are super fun to slide on with our Pergo flooring! We have a long hallway and it's fun to get a good running start and slide! Anyway... The person who was gifted with these asked if I could make some straps to help hold them on...so I need to consider making that. More details can be found here at Ravelry.

And lastly, I knitted this beautiful bulky lace scarf. I fell in love with the picture in the book (same book as above). I even used the exact yarn and color that was in the book. Super pretty yarn! It wasn't as soft as I would have liked. The pattern was really easy to follow. I completed the project in a day. I like it so much that I'm making an orange scarf for me, except with super soft yarn. I can't help it, I'm a yarn softy!

Yesterday I accomplished a lot of knitting on Quent's first slipper. It's hilariously huge! Felting will take care of that. I love watching the little projects take shape. Often I wonder how the pattern could possibly take you to the right finished product, but soon enough you begin to take the correct shape taking form and it's exciting. I'm hoping to completely finish the first slipper and start on the second one today while Quent is watching football.

I've also been looking at yarn colors for a baby blanket I want to make for our little Smith baby (due August 21st). I'm drawn to orange (obviously) and cream, but I want to throw some turquoise in there, too. We do want to find out the sex of the baby as soon as we can, but I think it's interesting that I'm more drawn to the 'boy' colors. I like bright pink though.... Hmmm... So I'm trying to think of neutral colors, but it's hard to do that. I know red is a color that can go either way, but I'm not fond of red. I know it doesn't really matter. Quent said that the baby isn't going to care. He's right! He said I should just do what I want. So I think I will... Speaking of which, we picked up some paint chip colors from the hardware store this morning. Would you like to guess the colors?

Have a great rest of your weekend!

Our Funny Faces

2011-01-21T08:43:00.000-09:00

Happy Friday! I love Friday! Sleeping in...being lazy...whoohoo! I need this break today! I'm going to the salon later for some pampering...*relaxed sigh*

My mom will probably want to beat me if she ever sees that I put this page on the blog, but I just love it! It's so colorful and fun! Get this, the other day I scrapped 3 pages! That's a record for these days!

I'm hoping the circular needle I ordered for the rest of Quent's first slipper comes in the mail today so I can knit more this weekend. I ordered it from www.purlsoho.com. I like that site because it's so bright and colorful, not to mention the awesome items they have on there, but they are spendy, so I don't order from there very often. I also have only 12 more rounds to go with the shrug. Yeah!

Published!

2011-01-18T13:52:00.000-09:00

Hello! Just wanted to share that I was published in Creating Keepsakes again. I'm so excited! One page is in the special issue called Scrapbooking Everyday Memories. And the other page is in the February issue of Creating Keepsakes. Whoohoo!

50 Years

2011-01-17T18:01:00.000-09:00

Hello! Did you have the day off of work today for MLK? I didn't. I came home from work and I had to decide between taking a nap or scrapping...I chose both! Ha!

I got caught up on a bunch of things this weekend. I cleaned up my craft area (which is shrinking), so now it looks much better! I finished scrapping the pictures for this project I started way back when. Now I have all of the pages waiting in Shutterfly, hoping they will have a super awesome sale pretty soon. I'm SO glad that project is complete. I felt bad that it took so long. Another thing I did was had the rest of the 2009 pages uploaded to be printed, along with what I have completed so far for 2010. I'll talk about printing later since I went with a different company this time. I still have many pictures to scrap for 2010. I would really like to get caught up before the baby comes. We shall see...

I believe I'm still working on scrapping my spring Michigan photos. These pictures were next:

I had so much fun creating this page! I used my Love Hearts kit.

Knitting projects

2011-01-15T10:44:00.001-09:00

Happy Saturday! Thank you so much for your kind words and congratulations! Quent and I are both so excited about having a little one!

I thought I would blog about some knitting projects I'm working on (or still working on).

For Quent's Christmas present I am knitting him slippers. The colors are orange and brown, with orange being the main color. We both really like the color orange, which makes me happy because I love working on projects that have orange in it. I started working on it yesterday, January 14th. They are felted 'clog' slippers. Already I have to start over because I realized that I was using the wrong color for the sole. I was supposed to be using brown, but I didn't realize that until the last row of the first part of the pattern. Oops! So I will pull out the yarn and start again. I'm ok with that because now I'm more familiar with the pattern. I'm using Cascade Yarn 220 for the project. I bought one skein of the brown, not realizing that I would need to use double yarn throughout the whole pattern. (That's what I get for not reading the pattern all the way through). So instead of buying another skein of brown, I decided I would wind up the yarn from both sides and just cut the yarn in the middle so I would have two balls at the end. It worked perfectly. And the cats helped me (cough) this morning as I did that. I don't mind winding the yarn by hand, but I have to say this time I am now tempted to buy a yarn winder. Right now I just put the skein around a chair and unwind. I'm hoping these slippers will be done before spring. Hee, hee. As Quent keeps on saying, "The check is in the mail." Yeah, yeah...

And then there's the Francesca Shrug I'm still working on. I have the good excuse that other projects took priority over this one, but now I'm working on this again. I did bring it with me on our flights to Michigan and back, but I didn't get as much done on it as I thought. I'm halfway through the last part of the pattern. It's hard to see what it looks like from this picture, but the top is the collar/neck. I'm working in the round right now. There are 408 stitches in one round, and I have 34 rounds to complete. I have 17 completed so far. Whew! Even though it's tedious work, it's rather relaxing. After this part is over then I get to sew the sleeves on. I'm really hoping that part goes well. (I'm not sure why the first picture of the shrug looks so blue, but it's probably my bad photo editing skills. It's more gray than blue.)

And of course Tigger had to come check everything out when I was taking pictures. Funny kitty!

After I complete the slippers for Quent, I have plans to make another pair of slippers for myself. And then I want to knit a bunch of baby stuff, like little booties, a blanket or two, etc. I can't wait!!

Little Word for 2011

2011-01-08T10:29:00.002-09:00

Yes, it sure does look like it's been exactly a month since I've posted. A lot has happened in the last month, but I'll get to that...

The last post I talked about my little word for 2010. Around the beginning of December I started to pray and think about my little word for 2011. I knew it would come to me, so I didn't focus on it. And then one morning I was on my stationary bike watching Joyce Meyer on tv when the word came to me. And it was quite a word. At first I was like, "No, that can't be it." (That's what happened last year when God showed me that 'discipline' would be my word). I tried to push this little word out of my head, trying to convince myself that I was just imagining things. But the word didn't and wouldn't go away.

So what's the word?

Prune.

Yes, that's it. PRUNE.

Not the fruit.

Definition: to cut off or remove dead or living parts or branches (of a plant, for example) to improve shape or growth

Sounds like fun, right? (Don't worry, it gets better--lots better!)

So once I swallowed my pride and was convinced this was the word God picked for me, I began to ask why. What needs to be pruned from my life? Why? I was clueless.

I have to admit that I still hoped that I was imagining all of this and that a much better, newer word would appear later on. Ha! (little did I know)

So...on December 15th my little word for 2011 started to make much more sense. That was the day I found out that our lives are going to change for forever. We are going to have a BABY!

*tears of JOY*

I've waited 7 years for the fulfillment of God's promise that we would have children (more on that later). So now pruning doesn't sound so bad. So much will change. I'm so EXCITED!!

This is definitely going to be a year of pruning, of growth, of making time for more important things (like cuddling with a little one). Maybe it's hard to see the correlation here, but I totally see it. I get it now.

August 21st cannot come soon enough!

Little Word

2010-12-08T20:32:00.002-09:00

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about my little word for 2010: discipline. As I said before, I wasn't too thrilled about this being my word, but now that we only have a few weeks left of 2010, I'm so thankful that this word was chosen for me! I'm sad to start another word in 2011 (I don't know what the word is yet), but I know that what God has taught me so far this year about discipline will stick with me forever. Almost a year ago I started changing the way I lived my life. It's been wonderful! How is your little word coming along?

Change Your Mind

2010-12-06T20:58:00.001-09:00

Whatever you hold in your mind will tend to occur in your life. If you continue to believe as you have always believed, you will continue to act as you have always acted. If you continue to act as you have always acted, you will continue to get what you have always gotten. If you want different results in your life or your work, all you have to do is change your mind.

--Anonymous

In good company

2010-11-28T08:52:00.000-09:00

Happy belated Thanksgiving! I can't believe it's been 3 weeks since I've blogged. I thought that life was going to settle down after summer, but I was wrong. I've been busy! I'm working 4 days a week now, plus working on design work, plus working on several projects that are for Christmas. Eeek! I'm having fun though...lots of fun!

I thought I would share a layout I created a couple of weeks ago. This is a page about my Aunt Mary and I. She's so dear to me! I was inspired by a page somewhere, but I cannot remember where it was from. I like the simplicity of this layout. I really want to get into scrapbooking more, but I haven't really had the time. I need to figure that out because I have LOTS of pictures to scrapbook.

How has November been for you? In a few days it will be December, can you believe it?

Go! Go! Go! (it's here!)

2010-11-08T15:47:00.000-09:00

Hello! Happy Monday to ya! My newest kit is in the shoppe! It's 30% off today through tomorrow, November 9th! You can get the full kit here, or you can just get the papers, or just the elements. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday!

2010-11-07T20:29:00.000-09:00

Hello! Shortly after waking up this morning I remembered the time change and that we hadn't changed our clocks. Oops! But it wasn't a big deal. I know it will take me a little while to get used to the change. How about you? It's nice to have an extra hour today, but I'm sad that it's getting darker earlier. The long summer days are gone. *sniff*

Here is one last preview for the Go! Go! Go! kit that I will put into the shoppe tomorrow!

Snowscape snowflakes

2010-11-06T08:25:00.000-08:00

Whew! It's been a busy last few days! I meant to post this yesterday, but I never got around to it. This weekend Little Dreamer Designs is having a 30% off store-wide sale to celebrate Digital Scrapbooking Day. Or is it international Scrapbooking Day? No matter, there's a sale! And I love sales! In honor of the sale, I created a cute little snowflake package which will eventually become part of a collection called Snowscape. There will be different parts of it, but all sold separately. These are the snowflakes:

For more details, click here.

This is a layout I created using the snowflakes just as they are, but I can also change the hue/saturation to match any layout. I love that about digi!

For this layout I put a cream-colored layer behind the snowflakes so they would pop more. So they look more like stickers.

This is a layout Jessica created using the snowflakes and I just love how she changed the colors! It looks wonderful!!

Your Love

2010-11-04T06:49:00.000-08:00

Hello! Happy Thursday...almost Friday! Here's another sneak peek of Go! Go! Go!:

I've been pondering a lot of things lately. Actually, it doesn't seem my mind has been at rest about the subjects it's been concentrating on lately. Maybe I'll share more about that later, but for now I think this sums it up:

O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, You know it all together.
You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it...

For you formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother's womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.

Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18

I love these verses because it proves right there that God is a personal God. He's right there. He knows everything about us. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He created us on purpose.