Busy, busy, busy...

Man oh man, there is just something about this time of year that always seems busier. The change in seasons, canning & freezing goodies from harvest time, craft shows and holiday fairs, getting the house/yard ready for cold weather... but now that I have school to add to the mix I must admit things seem downright crazy!! Hence my lack of posts, scrapbooking, and new goodies for the shop. I will say I feel really good about all the things I've accomplished in the last 2 weeks, so it's feeling very worth it! My biggest accomplishment, thanks to my best pal Jami who devoted 3 days to helping my, has been switching my craft room/office with my children's play room. The craft room/office had REALLY outgrown it's space and it was a COMPLETE disaster. Now it looks 100 times better. I still need to purge some craft supplies, organize a few things, and decorate, but it has given me such a new lease on life to have that project behind me. THANK YOU JAMI!! I LOVE YOU GIRL!!

I also have been canning and freezing produce like crazy this year. I plan on giving lots of homemade/handmade gifts this Christmas, so I made TONS of jam to give in goodie baskets. Peach, raspberry, strawberry, raspberry-peach, blueberry, and blueberry-peach... still to come apple butter, pear butter, and chokecherry jelly. I've also done pickles, pies, and frozen lots of yummy fruit to make into cobblers, muffins, and pies later.

... and I'm happy to say that I've been sticking with the 21 Day Challenge (see Rhonna Farrer's blog for details). It's funny how just knowing that I am doing this with so many other women out there makes it easier. I'm not saying that some days aren't REALLY hard, but with God's help and the 21'ers encouragement I am becoming a more patient person. I am also happy to say my kids seem to be enjoying it too... I've been trying to slow down the running lists of things to be done etc that go through my head all day and just take care of today. Enjoy the moments, even the difficult ones because life just goes so fast. I think I had become a bit overwhelmed with the growing busyness of life; it was making me feel like I was always 10 steps behind, making me impatient, and a bit crabby too. ;) That's why I'm so glad I'm taking the challenge. This stressed out attitude of mine was becoming a habit and I do not want to be like that! Life is too short and there is too much to be thankful for. So here I am on day 15 (I'm a day behind the official challenge) feeling so much better about things. It is so rewarding to see that just a simple change in attitude on my part can make such a large impact in my home.

Boy am I chatty today!! Ok enough babble and here's a layout I did for Jenn's design team. I just love her jotters, the quality is so amazing!


Well that's it for today, have a great Wednesday everyone. Hopefully there will be more goodies going in my etsy shop today... so check it out!

I'm taking the challenge...

...the Rhonna Farrer 21 Day Challenge that is. It is an AWESOME idea. 21 days, 1 habit, inspiring quotes, and an art journal equals a very fun creative way to lick a bad habit or start a good one. I'm breaking a bad one. With all the craziness in my daily life, I often feel I have very little patience. I do not want to let myself be easily frustrated with those around me, especially my family. I'm on day 3 today, I started a day behind everyone, and I'm so glad I'm doing this. I know it won't be easy, but it is SO worth it to break this habit. Making time to spend creating and writing in my journal everyday will be so good for me too. If you haven't heard of this challenge yet, go over to Rhonna's blog and check it out. You can start today and just be a day or two behind like me! :) She has amazingly beautiful quotes for you to download for your journals too. Well wish me luck, this is one challenge I'm gonna lick!

Just something I've been working on...

There is a local festival coming up next month that I was thinking of participating in. My pal Jami and I are going to get a spot and sell some of our crafty creations. I was thinking of stepping outside the scrapbook box for this show... so here is one of the things I've come up with.

The photo is not very close up, sorry, but I think you get the idea. They are so soft and shabby with handmade ruffles and flowers and lots of vintage touches too. I'm also working on some pillows, brooches, and probably a few scrappy things too. I just haven't quite decided. All I know for sure is I better get my tush moving cause the show is about 1 month away!

Have a great day!!

Sketch and a layout

It's been a while since I posted a sketch on the blog, so I thought today was about time! Here's the sketch...



...and here's the layout I made.

Instead of circles, I cut butterflies out of the Pink Pailsee butterfly paper and stuck them over the cut edge with pop dots for dimension. (I added glitter to them as well. I also used a chipboard strip and gathered some ribbon into ruffles for the border strips. I added some chipboard and sticker word spots and some really cute tree brads I was so excited to use. It was a very fun and girly layout to do!

I'd love to see your take on the sketch, post a link here so we can all check it out! Have a great day!!!

Oh, and stop by my etsy shop, new stuff going in this week!

Scrap Happy

Hey! I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend. Well it's back into the swing of things again today. My daughter started Pre-school this morning. She was so excited, especially since big brother started kindergarten 2 weeks ago. I can't belive next year she'll be a kindergartener then it will be just me and Connor. We'll be so lonely! Speaking of me and the little man, here is a layout I made of him at Easter.



Check out my etsy shop for new goodies today! Go here to see them!

Making new goodies...

I've been making some new goodies for my etsy shop, and realizing how many things I need to get listed in the shop! So watch out this week for some new items and restocking of some favorites.
a little peek at some of the new goods
These Ticket Tags will come in a set of four (each one is different) and are perfect for journaling.
I'm going to have several color versions of this Journaling Card set... this is the Fall Stamp version.

I hope you all have a great Labor Day!! See you tomorrow!

Creative Chaos Challenge!

I created the weekly challenge over at Creative Chaos today. Be sure to go over and check it out. Here's a little sample...



Have a great day!