Forever & A Day!!!

It really has been that long since I've sat down to spend more than an iota of a moment at the computer. Between being pregnant, holidays, working part-time, running a household, and managing this family of six very individualistic people...well life has been a bit WHACKY!!!

But I did manage to upload photos from the camera today and even edit a couple to share.

Here they are...Emma & Maggie with Santa at Krohn Conservatory the Saturday before Christmas, and Nora giving me some cheese on Christmas Eve.

I really will try to be a bit more "responsible" with my future updates. Thanks you friends for being there as you always have been! Happy Christmas & New Year from me to all of you!!!

This Crazy THing I Call LIFE!

First of all, I haven't forgotten about the tags. I will get to them...someday. But here's what's been happening.

Maggie broke her elbow.
Emma has Chicken Pox. She's one of 6 kids (as of today) in her class with it.
We're 8 weeks pregnant with a surprise gift from God!

How's that for distraction?!?

I did do a little Ali-inspired layout today that has been floating through my brain for the better part of the last week or so.


Life is certainly moving along quickly here! And it's only about to get busier!!!!

Scrap Green!

I'm not referring to the color green.

Backtrack a moment...did you know that Monday was Blog Action Day? Well, it was. While reading Ali Edwards' blog on Tuesday I learned that small fact. It is now Thursday and I finally acted on her challenge to scrap green. I set up a small paper recycling station in my scrap room. This is so easy to do! Seriously, if you're going to throw that paper away, instead of putting it into the trash can, place it in a separate bin or brown bag for recycling. A bonus for me...Emma's school participates in a paper recycling program where the school earns dollars for paper placed in the designated dumpster. So not only am I helping the environment, I'm also helping my daughter's school raise education funds.

I highly encourage all of you to do what you can to scrap green! For more ideas on how you can scrap green, visit Ali's blog.

All that Glitters is Gold!

Well, maybe not all the time, but it was definitely the case on this recent layout. Here's just a peek at it today. The title letters are actually Heidi Swapp ghost letters. In case you're wondering how I made the glitter stick, here's my trick:

~Paint the letter with a clear varnish.
~While the varnish is wet, dip the letter into a tray of glitter. I recommend using tweezers to hold the letter. That way you won't get quite so much of the sparkley stuff on your person.
~Set the letters aside to dry.
~When dry, apply a coat of clear varnish. This will act as a sealant/protectant.

The Layouts

As promised, here are the complete layouts. The Scrap4Life newsletter was officially released this weekend, so I am now free to share. Both designs were based on Becky Fleck sketches, which can be found on her PageMaps website. I must say that I am absolutely in love with shaped pages right now! It's almost difficult for me to do a traditional square at this time.

Can't you just see the likeness between Maggie & Autumn? I never really noticed until recently just how much Mags resembles her biggest sister. Maybe that's because I wasn't here when Autumn was a wee scrap of a lass like my Miss Mag.

Peek-A-Boo

As these are assignments for the Scrap4Life Design Team, I can't post them until after the newsletter is emailed, which should be within the next fews days. In the meantime, check out these blue eyes! Sometimes this little girl astounds me...well maybe it's most of the time! She sure is something special...

Beyond being very busy scrapping & getting work done for Scrap4Life, all is well. The new part time job (that I started a month ago) is really making a difference in out life. Amazing how that little bit of extra income can relieve so much stress! My duties with Emma's school (I'm on the PTO board) are in full swing as well, but not too much strain on the day-to-day life. And now Girl Scouts will be starting back up this months as well. Yup! I'm Emma's troop leader too. We're going on our third year together as a Troop. Somehow I have managed to bring these 12 girls from Brownie to Juniors. WOW! I really need to review the Junior handbook materials and get things ready for them to start back up.

A Sneak Peek!

I did this very cool layout last night, but I can't share the whole thing as it's a DT assignment. I can show a glimpse though without breaking the rules completely...Seriously, I can't wait to share this one. Believe it or not, it's an Autumn (not the season, but my 17 year old daughter) page. Teens are a bit tricky to scrap, but I can say that she "approved" of this page. She chose the photo for me ages ago. Then when the page was complete last night, she gave it the official "it's cute" thumbs up.