Happy Holidays

Wishing you all a wonderful Holiday season!
See you in the New Year!! ♥

Vegas Baby!

As a Christmas present to ourselves, we took a trip to Las Vegas with a group of friends! We all went to the Brooks & Dunn concert, and the National Rodeo Finals. We also took in a Rodney Carrington comedy show and made a trip to the Neon Museum. It's been about 15 years since our last trip to Vegas. Wow, it has changed!!

We aren't gamblers, so we spent every waking moment on the go, seeing the sites, enjoying the architecture and people watching.

Las Vegas is like the world’s biggest playground where anyone can find excitement and entertainment!




All of the casinos were beautifully decorated for Christmas!


Stunning architecture was everywhere!




The new City Center Las Vegas had it's grand opening while we were there. It's a huge complex that offers a collection of spectacular hotels and residences, sensational spas, astonishing dining and extraordinary shopping. With a total cost of approximately $11 billion, City Center is the largest privately financed development in the United States. The architecture is very modern and unlike anything in Vegas! There was lots of red carpet hoopla....so we were constantly on celeb-watch!

Our trip to the Neon Museum was great! The Neon Museum was established in 1996 to collect, preserve and exhibit neon signs, the classic Las Vegas art form. More than 150 signs in the collection can be used to tell a unique story about who created it, what inspired it, where and when it was made, and how it fits into the development of Las Vegas and its rich history. Changes and trends in design and technology are also illustrated in the pieces that range from the 1930s to the present day.






Sammy Hagar was in town playing three shows a day at his CaboWabo cantina. The Rock & Roll Marathon took place despite freezing cold temps. For the first time in Vegas history, the entire Strip was closed in both directions. Lucky for us we could watch it from our hotel room! It was so cold that the drinking water at the thirst/medical stations would freeze. Oh and of course Elvis lives on every street corner!!

We had a list of things to do & see and a week simply didn't give us enough time to do it all, so I guess we'll need to go back!! Yay!!

Winter 2009 Scrapbooking & Beyond

The Winter issue of Scrapbooking & Beyond is in the stores now!

I'm a little slow at getting this posted since we've been out of town. When I opened my box from the publisher, I was so delighted to see that my dear friend Liz Qualman was featured on the magazine cover!



This is the final installment of A Flourish for Every Season. The series was created using one major embellishment to represent each season. Flourishes of crystals, stitching, rub-ons and now paper. This is the layout I created for the winter edition using Basic Grey's Wassail collection.

My flourish was cut from Bazzill cardstock using my favorite Limited Edition QK die.

Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist on the journaling tag and Prima flower gives an aged appearance.

I painted naked chipboard alphabets with white paint, sanded the edges and coated with Glossy Accents. The ghost snowflakes I coated with Stickles for some sparkle and added tiny pearls to the centers.
It was such an honor to be part of this series. And I was privileged to share this honor with my very talented friends Gabrielle Pollacco, Liz Qualman, & Robbie Herring.

Merry Merry Christmas!!

Brrrrrrrr

It has been extremely cold for the past week and a half. Our highest temps have not even reached the freezing mark. Most days the highest temps have been in the teens and 20's and the nightly lows have dipped down to single digits! Yesterday morning it was only 5 degrees!! Brrrrr

Yesterday I took a hike up to some local water falls. I'd heard they were frozen and wanted to get a few shots. Being the ever ready girl scout that I am, I put on my Sorrels, bundled up in multiple layers, filled my backpack with extra clothes, juice & crackers and of course chem hand warmers, and off I went!

The river's water level is high from all the winter rains so the falls don't appear as tall as they are in the summer months. We used to spend every summer out here swimming and diving off the rocks. Now the area is gated off to keep vandals out.


The hike in is just under 3 miles, and of course 3 more miles hiking back out! I'm sore today, but the trek was definitely worth it!


Today a storm front is moving in and we are expecting a combination of snow, sleet and freezing rain!! Simply the worst combination ever!! So today I plan to study & work from home next to a nice warm fire!

I hope everyone is enjoying a warm & wonderful winter!!

Happy Thanksgiving

On my mind today are the amazing friendships I have formed by blogging. I am so grateful for words of encouragement and positive comments! Wishing you all a wonderful day of Thanksgiving!

Thank You

Oh goodness, I have been such a bad blogger and so many emails to return! I am so sorry! As many of you know, life has been rather chaotic lately and on top of that, losing Miss Riley and adjusting to life without her has been difficult. Some days I still cry!
From the bottom of my heart, I want to say Thank You, to each and every one of you for all your kind thoughts and condolences!! Your kindness has touched me deeply!


I haven't had any time to scrap or play with paper, so I have nothing creative to share other than a few photos taken the other day! I love the sun flares I captured on the bridge.


I hate spiders more than anything but thought this spider's web covered with dew sparkled like diamonds.

We also enjoyed a fun time at the pumpkin patch!!

Hope you all enjoy this wonderful fall season!! ♥♥♥

In memory of our beloved Miss Riley

♥ Miss Riley June ♥

2003 ~ 2009

Miss Riley passed away on Friday, September 18th, after battling a lifelong illness.

My heart is broken!

( Our special thanks to Dr. Bullard & Dr. Rataj and staff for their unending compassion. Not only did they provided Miss Riley with excellent care, but they also sent us lovely flowers and made a charitable donation in her memory. The following poem was also given to us by our Vet.)

The Rainbow Bridge

There is a bridge connecting Heaven and Earth. It is called the Rainbow Bridge because of its many colors. Just the side of the Rainbow Bridge there is a land of meadows, hills and valleys with lush green grass.

When a beloved pet dies, the pet goes to this place. There is always food and water and warm spring weather. The old and frail animals are young again. Those who are maimed are made whole again. They play all day with each other.

There is only one thing missing. They are not with their special person who loved them on Earth. So, each day they run and play until the day comes to when one suddenly stops playing and looks up! The nose twitches! The ears are up! The eyes are staring! And this one suddenly runs from the group!

You have been seen, and when you and your special friend meet, you take him or her in your arms and embrace. Your face is kissed again and again and again, and you look once more into the eyes of your trusting pet.

Then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together, never again to be separated.

Welcome Fall

Goodbye summer. Welcome fall. The weather here is still lovely....the days are warm, the air is crisp, but there is a definite hint of Autumn in the air. So today while finishing up my yard work and deadheading all my hanging baskets, I thought it was time to change the flowers on the front porch to something more Fall like. What do you think? Pretty eh?

Over the weekend we took a trip to the local apple farm to buy some apples for canning, and a few pies. We're also going to try our hands at making homemade apple cider since we recently acquired an antique cider press.

And here's a few of my favorite shots from the weekend.


Hope you all have a beautiful week!

Time for the big MCS Reveal

Woohoo! The new products from CHA are starting to hit the streets and MCS has them!!! September's kits from My Creative Scrapbook are filled with gorgeous new products from Pink Paislee and Prima!! All I can say is Pam really out did herself this month!!

This month has to be one of my most favorite ever! oh wait.....I think I've said that before! hee hee! Seriously, both the Main kit and the Limited Edition kit are just gorgeous, and I was so lucky to be able to design with both of them!!

The Limited Edition kit features the new Prima 'Indeed' collection. The Main kit features Pink Paislee 'Amber Road'. Both are stunning collections!!!

Let's start with the Main Kit:



The base layer of this layout is paper by Collage Press which is included in the kit.

The stitching on this layout really isn't stitching at all. It's faux!!! I used a 'faux' stitching technique created by my dear friend and sister designer Mireille. If you would like to try this easy technique, she has a wonderful tutorial posted here.


I love the new canvas tags from Pink Paislee! To keep with the rustic feel of my layout, I simply frayed the tag edges and used staples to attach it, and used coordinating paper for my punched flowers.


I applied rub-ons on my buttons and used the new 12" transparent border stickers by Pink Paislee.

These beautifully edges papers make any layout look spectacular.


My grandson loves helping his daddy do yard work. These new Prima newsprint flowers lend themselves nicely to both feminine and masculine layouts. I embossed the red flowers and heavily inked a small newsprint flower to give it a deep red velvety look.

I used my sewing machine to attached the Pink Paislee canvas tag, and hand stitched a border around my title to add additional texture and interest.

The Main kit is loaded with so many embellishments. I still had plenty left over to make a card. Actually I could have made several cards, but ran out of time :) ~~~

Now on to the Limited Edition kit which features the new Prima *Indeed* collection. The LE kit is packed full of Prima goodness! All papers are double-sided (love that)! Prima Parlour Petals & Baroque blooms, vines, chipboard alphabets, and an entire tube of coordinating flowers give you lots of decorating options! Beautiful pearl & crystal flourishes and elegant Thicker shapes also are included! When I opened this kit I think my heart went all a flutter!

This is a photo of our youngest daughter and some friends on an overseas missionary trip. She is constantly serving & giving to others!! We are enormously proud of her!

Prima's packaging is so pretty that I just can't bare to toss it out, so I incorporate them into my layouts. Here I used the pretty green scalloped backing as a mat for my photo.


We've really enjoyed our time at the lake this summer. After having some recent photos developed I knew instantly which papers I wanted to use for this photo of my hubby taking an early morning ride. I just love how the sun is glistening on the water! I used almost an entire bottle of Stickles on this layout to add the twinkly effect to the paper, flowers and title (although I know it's really hard to see the sparkle here); and I used the chandelier crystals to mimic water drops.


To see more beautiful & creative ideas on how to use these gorgeous crystals, please visit Gabrielle's blog. I love her work and the awesome techniques she uses!!
This has to be one of the fastest and easiest layouts I've ever done! These beautiful Prima papers make creating so easy!!
For this layout I simply added two strips of punched paper, Thicker's chipboard scrolls, and I used the Prima packaging as my journaling card......Voila!


Look at these beautiful new crystal & pearls flourishes by Prima!! Simply divine! They add the perfect touch to any project!


Each month Pam puts together fabulous kits filled with the newest products available, along with an exclusive sketch design. These always sell out quick, so sign up now or get your name added to the Wait List so you don't miss out!!
For addition inspiration be sure to visit the MCS Designer Gallery!