Twinnies On... Everyday

Yea, yea, yea. I know, I know. What's with the Christmas themed photos?!? Christmas was weeks ago. I know that because there is only one tree taunting me with it's droopy needles and dangling bead garlands. Yep, just one. We downsized our Christmas this year, as we ONLY put up 6 trees, down from last year's 8. I totally missed Christmas here in blogdom what with all the hecticness that is my life... class parties, folks in from out of town, shlepping kiddos to sports/scouts, wrapping, shipping, and crafting. But, before we move onto the promise and fun that 2011 holds, I need to share 2 things from last month.

Growing up in Chicago, I always looked forward to the official start of the Christmas season... the bellringers. My dad was never one to walk past a Salvation Army red kettle without dropping in a donation. He's semi-retired these days and has been talking about picking up the bell, this year he did it. Right here at MY local WalMart while my folks were in town for the holiday. It was soo cool to see him right outside my own WM in the bitter cold with my brood. The Bigs spent one of the 3 hour timeblocks with him. Dad being Dad, arranged to have 3 bells that day(one for each kiddo). They had a great time ringing away and setting a kettle record, twice. The twinnies also got in on the action and spent some time with Dumpa. These memories are so priceless for me(and them through my photos in their scrapbooks). Check out Puppy charming the ladies and ringing that bell...

The other bit of Christmas ketchup is the crafty gifts I made. Excuse the cra**y photos as I took them in the middle of the night before hubby boxed them up and got them off in the mail. I made a TON of gifts this year for family, teachers, and friends from bragbooks to my old standby clipboards to planners to treatcones to wall calendars. For your visual enjoyment...

And some crafting just for me. A little Sassafras love... I know, shocker, big shocker.

Not quite sure why, but I love these Sass lines with Halloween. Something about the unexpected...

This WOULD have been my last project for All About Scrapbooks, but it morphed into Scrap that Baby's 1/15 prompt, "Holiday Baby". I have such a paper & glue crush on this Dear Lizzy Christmas line. So sad to see my LSS, my scrappy "home" for almost almost my entire scrappy life close at the end of this month. Sigh. Please support your brick & mortar stores. It's just heartbreaking to see another one go by the wayside.

Some fun We R Memory Keeper's for Scrapbook Express...

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, Friends.

Double Digits or I've Been Carrying a Diaper Bag Every Day for a Decade

Love this photo. It is the essence of my Bubba's life. Always surrounded by the rest of the brood. EVEN on his big day. My oldest turned the big 1-0. Yikes. How did THAT happen?!?


We spent the morning of his birthday at...wait for it... Bass Pro Shops at Christmastime. Every 10 year old boy's dream come true. There were guns and boats, and remote control trucks involved. Ahh, this is the life. The boy deserves all he desires and then some. This kid has it all. Kindness. Smarts. Brains. Humor. Mad athletic skillz. Empathy. Compassion. And boundless energy. Plus, he has my heart for ever and ever.

Here he is enjoying the fruits of my labor. (No, not that 20 plus hours of labor followed by an emergency c/s). The 5 am door buster labor I stayed up ALL NIGHT for on Thanksgiving.
He loves his new limited edition orange DSI.

On the scrappy side of my world, I have some last projects for Croppin Paradise to share. Croppin Paradise's store is still open with tons of new product coming in daily, but they have disbanded the DT there. So, my 12 months of fun designing with the scrapbook industry's latest and greatest have come to an end. You can still get all this great stuff (Basic Grey's Jovial, Dear Lizzy Christmas, Jillibean Soup's Chestnut Soup, Crate Paper's Restoration) there...

Still playing ketchup here, so check back soon for another fun update. Hope 2011 is treating you well.

The Middle's Not So Little

sigh. deep breath. here goes nothing. 2010 is behind me. 2011 is ahead. i can see clearly now, and it's going to be a great year. it has to be. there are NO other options. I hope you enjoyed your family this holiday season. The older I get, the more time that passes, the more cemented it becomes to me, just how terribly important family is. I have been blessed with 2 of the most amazingly perfect parents ever. And now Patrick & I have been blessed with 5 of the most amazing, smart, and special children of our own. Only good things are coming, only good things.

So... enough of this horrible drivel. Lots to catch up on here. First up is my middle's 6th birthday. Big fun when you're 6 often involves strangely cute bowling shoes and Mighty Beanz...


Bubba assisting Miss Sassy on the lanes...

I told you, it doesn't get any better than this...

Seriously?!? LOOK at that smile!

ok, ok, I've got TONS of scrappiness to share. Did these for Croppin Paradise. I think I may love this Dear Lizzy line even more than her debut Spring line. It is THAT yummy...

Made this one for CP, too. It was my part of the 12 Days of Christmas we featured. (I told you I was behind)! I never give away stuff I make. I'm very selfish that way. But, this one I made just for Mom. It was worth it, oh so worth it.

This one uses some fun stash and a Studio Calico exclusive pp, too. This one was for Scrapbook Express's December Progressive Layout Challenge. Never done one of those before, let alone help organize one, but it was SO much fun!

October Afternoon hit another homerun with this Seaside line. You can find it in the Scrapbook Express Store HERE.

Hope you're not sick of banners yet...

A little Alphabet Soup love for Scrapbook Express...

And, I can't leave out Scrap That Baby's last prompt for 2010...

Lots more to catch up on. Thanks for listening. I treasure each and every visit you make here and each and every comment you leave. Happy 2011! Jenny