Note to self (and a freebie for you)

Grow - in faith, in gratitude, in joy. Grow abundantly.

If you'd like to make one of these, here's the template I created, available for 24 hours only:

- password: notetoself

(click image to download) ETA: no longer available - be on the look out for more freebies soon -

Read more about the album here.

I'm off to feed the voraciously hungry family - as Abigail would say, "I hongee!"

Stop #3 - ScrapMatters' Black Friday Freebie Blog Train

Welcome to my part of the world, in the beautiful Pacific Northwest! My family and I are actually out of town, visiting the grandparents to celebrate Thanksgiving together. Our hotel room view is just spectacular.

No amount of words truly embody the gratitude I feel as I contemplate all I've been blessed with. The material possessions are the least of the blessings... all the wonderful people that surround me in love, all the great experiences that I have under my belt... all I have in my life is exactly what I need. Thank you, Lord, for your blessings.

When we return home from this trip, my daughters and I will begin the exciting preparation of our home for Christmas. We love unraveling our {fake and pre-lit} tree and adorning it and the rest of the home. The girls have their own {lavender} tree they hang their handmade ornaments on. The advent calendar will be ready to unveil its goodies, and all throughout the house, you will be enveloped in Christmas music. I am unabashedly thankful for the true story of Christmas and will recount it nightly with my girls at bedtime. A frenzy of baking will scent the air of all things delectable!

I love this time of year.

To thank you for stopping by, I want to gift you this CD holder, made of our fabulous ScrapMatters collaboration kit, Comfort and Joy:



(Click image to download) edited: no longer available - thanks!

I actually got to design a paper and an element for the jam-packed Comfort and Joy kit - needless to say, I'm thrilled to be in such good company. You know how great the designers are at ScrapMatters.

And here is a layout with paper I designed - the precious little girl pictured is the daughter of one of my good friends, Brenda:



My blog is stop #3 - you should have visited the following stops already:

ScrapMatters Team Blog
Andrea's blog
Britt's blog

Your next stop is at Australia, home to my friend, Sharon. Tell her I sent ya!

Have a great time picking up all the goodies on this blog train - they're quite spectacular, really!

I love this hobby!

One of my favorite digi designers, Erica Zane, and I have teamed up to create this calendar that conveniently fits into a CD jewel case:


(click on image to go to the ScrapMatters store)

Here's a closer look:

Click on the image to see the calendar in its entirety:


One of my layouts was featured - it's funny how I can work on some layouts for days and they can be ho hum, but this one I whipped together in less than half an hour.



edited: layout was pulled for publication in the December edition of the Artisan Notebook - !!!

This hobby is so much fun and a good outlet for me in the midst of the crescendo of holiday busy-ness!

Stop #2 of the Freebie Blog Train

Happy World Card Making Day! You've reached the beautiful Pacific Northwest at this stop. To thank you for coming, here is my gift to you:


(click image for download)

I rummaged my craft closet for a few supplies: jewels, white butterfly rub-ons, glue dots, and my trusty Xacto knife to cut out the pretty blossoms. The digital papers and blossoms are courtesy of Scrap'it Designs, her About a Girl kit.

Here are some close ups:




(back of the card)

You should have reached my blog from the ScrapMatters blog. Your next stop is at my friend Kari's blog. Tell her I sent ya!

October 4th is World Card Making Day

Yes, you read that correctly: World Card Making Day! Any chance I get to celebrate life, I'm ready with my party hat and appetite. :) And how about some freebies to go with your hors d'oeuvres?



It will start on Saturday, October 4th, at 7am Pacific Time at the ScrapMatters blog.

(For those of you that aren't craft/scrapbooking enthusiasts, I really appreciate you chugging through all the crazy art lingo I throw at you - you must really love this family to do so!)

12 weeks until Christmas? Already?

Regardless of how much I vow not to let it happen, Christmas (and its crazy commercialized frenzy) sneaks up on me. So let it be known: 12 weeks left! When I have a chance to collect my thoughts, I can be purposeful about keeping the celebration focused on the true gifts.

Simple Mom is a blog I follow regularly, and she leads the way in organizing the 12 weeks so that mayhem doesn't grip the hearts, minds, and pocketbook of your family.

This year, one of my goals is to hand make gifts. I enjoy the thought of sending my loving touch through them, and want to teach my girls the value of true gift giving. Otherwise, do you know what happens to me? I wait until the last minute until I haphazardly spend beyond my budget just to appease my gift list, and spend extra on overnight air to deliver the packages. NO MORE.

One of the handmade gifts I'm undertaking is a project my hybrid team and I are heading at ScrapMatters, called It's in the Cards:


(Click on the image to see the thread at ScrapMatters)

Hope you can join me! It's a weekly venture, so the workload is spread out. It should be tons of fun. :)