Decorated Card Tin and Cards, too!

Here is the tin that I made for my grandparents for Christmas:





Here are some of the cards I made to put in it. I thought I'd continue to give them 20-25 cards or so each month to add to it:




I hope they like it!

Scrapbooking Goals for 2009... and a Giveaway!!!

Everybody else is doing it, so why shouldn't I? :)

A scrapbooking goal for 2009...hmmmm... I never set a scrapbooking goal, but maybe it's time. This has been a bad year for scrapbooking for me- I really should have gotten more pages done. With all the pictures I have (not to mention all the paper!), there is no reason other than poor time management.

So, with that in mind, I'm setting my goal at 150 pages. I know that's not much, but it's more than I've gotten done this year! LOL

Now, for the giveaway! I have no idea what I'll be sending, but I can promise it'll be fun! Just share YOUR scrapbooking goal here by midnight January 2nd (Eastern time, of course). I'll have my daughter pick a winner on Saturday!

One more...

Okay, I guess I should have put these in the last post, but I'm having a brain cloud.

Here are a few more Christmas pictures...


In front of the tree....




Striking a pose (note the bow on her head!)...




Here is Kacy decorating the tree...

Christmas Picture

Of course, no pictures of me were taken on Christmas (why is that???). But I had Kris take 3 of Kacy and me on Christmas Eve. Out of the three, I love this one the most...



Can you see why? :)

I hope your Christmas was magical!!!

Coaster Calendar and Picture Frame!

Here is something that I made really quickly on Christmas Eve for a gift! I made 3 of these- they're simple and cute!

A post! With decorated buckets/tins!!!

I have no excuses for not posting in over a month (yes, a month!). Moving on...

I made these buckets for Christmas gifts for two of Kacy's friends who are 8 years old. Totally girls, of course, so I made the buckets as "girlie" as possible!

Where did I get the buckets, you ask? Why, I'll be happy to share! They are the empty buckets from Tastefully Simple drink mixes! It was a sacrifice, but *someone* had to drink all those Cosmos!

Front and top views. I had so much fun making these!!! I then put their Christmas gifts inside the buckets (Webkinz squoosh in there very nicely!).

So I am obviously a big dork when it comes to this blogging stuff! Denice was awarded with this blog award, and she then had to nominate others for it. I was one of them, although I suspect it's more because I sent her Chocolatini than it was because of my actual blog. :)

Because I'm a complete dork, I had NO idea that I was actually supposed to put this award on *my* blog and then nominate others. The big test was figuring out how to actually put this award-thing on my blog. Clearly I overcame that obstacle, so now to the rest of it. I have to list six things I value, six things I don't value, and then nominate 6 other bloggers for this award.

Seriously, this is WAY too much pressure on a Monday morning!

Things I value:
1. My family!
2. My friends!
3. My health!
4. My heart, both physically and emotionally. It's never let me down!
5. My faith!
6. Time... there's just never enough!

Things I do not value:
1. Snobbishness
2. Excuses
3. Irresponsible parenting
4. Superiority
5. Mushrooms
6. Rudeness

My six receivers are:
1. Anne
2. Aaron
3. Lisa (who doesn't have to respond because she just received an award!)
4. Lynn? (I'm assuming this is her name!)
5. Kathi (again, she was just nominated, but her work is SO INSPIRING!!!)
6. Alicia

It was hard to choose just six, because there are SO MANY out there that simply inspire me!!! And yes, I may be "cheating" because I'm choosing two blogs that have recently been nominated, but honestly, go look at them. You WILL be inspired! These ladies are BEYOND creative!

I'm off to each site to let them know they were nominated!!!

Another Blue's Clues/First Birthday Layout

Kacy will soon be four, and here I am, working on her FIRST birthday. We did take a LOT of pictures, but still.... I finally have the main ones scrapped. The others are more action shots of family and friends. I WILL get them done, but I'm happy with what I've completed!

The page on the left was done two months ago, but I finished the one on the right yesterday at the all-day crop. I always do a 2-page layout, and I can't believe it too this long to finish the other half! But finished it is! :)

A quick card...

As you know, I send out cards to my top ten team members who had the highest sales. Here is the card I mailed out for September sales...



I just LOVE this CTMH stamp set! I also used a saying from the September Word Puzzle set.

Baptism Layouts!

We had our monthly all-day crop yesterday, and I was SO excited to go!!! I haven't been creative at all this month. I did my polka dot layout and a card since my last all-day crop.

In my defense, I was on vacation for a week, and I was also sick for this past week. But that's no excuse, and I know it. I don't know what it was, but I hope it's over!

It is a shame that I don't actually get more finished at these all-day crops, but something is better than nothing, right? :)

I did a few things yesterday. Kacy was baptized almost two years ago, and those layouts are finally complete...








While I was at it, I also did a layout for my niece's baptism...

An idea worth sharing!

I read this on another blog I'm on, and thought, "Hey! What a great idea!" I wanted to pass it along, and here it is!

Click here to read

Polka Dot Challenge Layout!

Well, I didn't get it to Vi in time for voting, but I wanted to have proof that I finished it! :) I think I over-killed the polka-dots, but it's still cute!

A catch-up post, and vacation pictures!

I haven't stamped, scrapped, crocheted.... nothing creative at all since October 4th. How sad is that??? It's just been a whirlwind here.

We were on vacation from October 5-10 in Ocean City, Maryland. We go every year around this time, and I just love it! There are no crowds, many things are still open, and it was warm enough to wade in the ocean! Kacy missed her house, her friends... basically everything! But she loved the sand and the indoor pool, so all was good.

The hotel we stay at has an atrium which is home to several parrots and other exotic birds. They are so friendly and so cute!

The week after we came home was just non-stop! Three Tastefully Simple parties, a team meeting, gymnastics class, and a myriad of other things just kept me going and going with hardly a minute to spare!

I did get to watch the Penn State game on Saturday. Kris was at the game, and I spent most of the first half yelling at the TV. Luckily, a completely different team showed up after halftime, and Penn State beat Michigan!!! YAY!!!

Life kind of calms down of the rest of the month, and for that, I am grateful. I still have three parties this week, and that is a good thing! But my schedule isn't as crazy as it's been since the beginning of the month, and I can focus on being creative again!

Here are a few pictures from our vacation!

Kacy standing with the seashells she collected!



My dad, Kacy's great-great-aunt Kay, Kacy, and me after Kacy fell in the water! We thought she'd have a meltdown, but she loved it!



Kacy and Kris



My favorite bird, Curly!



Dillon the parrot, strutting around! He followed one woman around for over half an hour, and when her boyfriend got too close, Dillon went for his ankles! Too funny!



The view of the atrium from right outside our room. Isn't it pretty?

My first Flip Book!

WOW!!! These are SO COOL!!! They look complicated, but if I can figure it out, trust me: you can, too!!!

I finished this one yesterday, and today I started another. I had grand plans to spend several hours at the scrapbook store making 2 or 3 of these babies. Instead, I spent several hours making ONE almost-completed flip book. But I did show two other friends how to make them, so it was totally NOT a wasted afternoon! :) And let me tell you- their creations are just beautiful!!!

First of all, I got the inspiration and the link to the directions at this blog. My creation isn't nearly as pretty as hers is, nor did I take as many pictures as she did! But I hope you like it anyway! :)

Second, I used the Close to my Heart paper set, and I'll be darned if I can remember which set this is! But it made it easier for my first one to use the paper set. I added Chocolate just because I liked it! :)

I hope you get inspired by this like I did!!!

October Layout

Happy October!!!

Wow- where did September go??? I can't believe it's over!

I love October, though! It's when it truly starts to feel like fall. The leaves changes, the air turns crisp, and the ground crunches. My husband and I got married on October 2 (15 years tomorrow!!!), and overall, I just LOVE fall!!!

Here is a layout that took me over a week to finish- how pathetic is that? I kept it on my office table, and everytime I'd wander past, I'd look at it, add something, change something, but I still wasn't happy. However, I REALLY need my table, so I had no choice but to finish it up!

I love these pictures, and I love the paper, and I didn't want to mess it up. I know, I know... you really *can't* mess it up, but I wanted this to be a special layout.

I used two layout ideas from pagemaps.com- did I mention that I love that site??? The pictures were taken almost 3 years ago. I'm a little behind! teehee

Tag! You're it! 7 things about Tracy!

This is the first time I've ever been tagged, and therefore, it's also the first time I'm doing the tagging! I hope I'm doing it right! :)

1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

7 things about Me!

1. I have lived in the same town all my life.
2. I can say the alphabet backwards!
3. If I could get paid to read, I would be in heaven!
4. I'm obsessed with the Harry Potter books!
5. I can't start the day without a Mt. Dew!
6. I am fiercely loyal to my friends.
7. I never, ever got detention in school.

I was tagged by Meredith!

I've tagged Alicia, Michele, Denice, Karrilee, Scrapping Virg, Kay, Amy, Vi, and Pam!

HEART TO HEART Blog Candy!

As you can see, I follow many, many blogs! Whenever they are updated, I am there! I read each and every one and I get SO many ideas from them!

I came across one today that is giving away over ***$1000*** in "blog candy"! This all benefits the Alzheimer's Association, and it's a very worthy cause.

All the information can be found at her website here

Please check it out. The sooner we can get rid of this horrible disease, the better!

Autumn Layout

We're heading to Hersheypark this afternoon, but I finished these pages this morning and wanted to post them!

I've been waiting for my LSS to get this paper in. Isn't it gorgeous??? The pictures simply do NOT do it justice! It's by BoBunny, and it's just stunning!

These pictures are from 3 years ago. Kacy was so little then!



I used some black and some copper metallic paper to contrast with the BoBunny paper. I really love this layout!

Numbers Layout and Spark People Challenge!

The challenge was to use 5 pictures, 4 colors, 3 brads, 2 stamped images or stickers, and 1 journaling block. I did it using pictures of my niece, my in-laws, and two great-aunts!

A quick card...

Each month, I send out cards to my Tastefully Simple Top Ten team members with the highest sales for that month. Those cards are usually quick and simple- no layering or fancy stuff! LOL

This month, I decided to start sending out anniversary cards to my team members. This is the card I came up with- what do you think?



It's very, very simple. It's SU! paper, and the flowers and saying are from one of their retired sets (I believe it's retired, I could be wrong). The retangle is an old CTMH stamp.

Being as I eventually have to stamp well over 100 of these over the next year, I wanted to keep it simple, but pretty. I think it works!

Congratulations to my husband!!!

My husband entered his third body building competition on Saturday (for those on Spark People, that's where I was ALL DAY). He placed FOURTH in each of his categories- WOO-HOO!!!

I am so incredibly proud of him. It takes a lot of dedication and commitment to do this. His willpower is amazing- I'm in awe, I really am!

Here are some pictures...

Family Scrapbook

I LOVE these "word books" made by Bo Bunny! They have so many to choose from: Family, Beach, Travel, Party, Love, Believe, and a few more that I can't remember! LOL

I did this Family one back in July or August, and I wanted to share it here! If you have any of these books, please share your pictures! This is my first one, and it's not overly embellished, but I really like how it turned out! Kacy likes looking through it, too- after all, it *is* for her! :)

Here is the front, and 2 pictures from the inside of the book! Enjoy!

Want some blog candy?

(by the way, I am SO doing this sometime soon!)

But for now, I found out about this awesome blog, and I wanted to share the opportunity with anyone who visits here!!! Enjoy! :)

First Birthday with Blue's Clues!

My goal was 10 pages at my crop yesterday, and I finished 9! WOO-HOO!!! Not too bad, I don't think, considering the first 3 hours were eating and socializing! LOL

Kacy is 3 1/2, and I have yet to scrap one single first birthday picture... until yesterday!!! Here are the pages I did:


On this one, I did some "hidden journaling" for the first time, under the cake picture. I don't know if my cutter isn't cutting properly or if it was me (gee, imagine that!), but my paper didn't fit together very nicely in some of these layouts. I was a little discouraged by that, but I think they got pretty good anyway! :)

Here is the next one:



I used CTMH paper in Pansy Purple and Moonstruck, and then I had several Blue's Clues papers, as well. I know it's not as "bright" as perhaps a first birthday should be, but the colors all work well together and the focus is definitely on the pictures!



I was so excited that I remembered to save one of her birthday napkins!!! I also, for the first time EVER, used rub-ons! I bought some at the store to try at home, so we'll see if I really like them.

I love these pictures! She was peeking at her gifts- what child wouldn't? I mean, really?