Starting A Faith Book

The thought of creating a Faith Book Scrapbooking Album has intrigued me for some time now. I've been collecting supplies and jotting down ideas for about six months. Today, I finally started. I've decided to do my Faith Book in sort of an illustrated journal style. It won't include many, if any, pictures. Instead, I hope to fill the book with scriptures, memories, stories, and images that tell my faith story. These are pictures of the cover, title page, and first journal page. Once completed, I think this album will be the most personal project I've ever made.

Looking for the HappyScrapper Card Contest?

In order to vote for your favorite card
click on "September" in the links on the right side of this page.
Get your vote in by October 31st!

My Secret Berrykin Rocks!

There are other crazy adult women out there that collect Strawberry Shortcake dolls and merchandise from the 70's and 80's. That's right - I'm not the only one! I belong to an online community of SSC collectors called Strawberryland Town Square. Every year, we have a Secret Berrykin gift exchange for Christmas. This year, my Santa got a real head start on the Christmas season. I received my first berrykin gift this week. Pictured here, it is a vintage SSC and Angel Cake 3-D Glass Picture. I've been wanting this particular picture for about two years now, so this was an exciting gift. I haven't a clue about the identity of my Secret Santa, but I have a feeling that it is someone that knows me well.

Thank you, Santa! You rock!

On a side note, taking a picture of myself was REALLY hard. Also, this photo shoot didn't include any professional makeup or hair artists or any make up at all for that matter. :)

Sometimes.....

.....

Sometimes I wish I didn't live so far from my immediate family and my friend Tracy. I take that back. Instead, I wish I had a private jet and could just fly over to see them in 30 minutes or so, have dinner, and fly back home again.

I love the life that Brian and I have built here together. I wouldn't change a thing. With that said, I wish there was a magical way to see my mom, dad, brother, sister, Aunt Irene, Uncle Don, Tracy, and a million other people that I love more often. It's not the other side of the world, I know, but sometimes it feels like it.

Frustration = Productivity

I came home from work today and was totally frustrated, annoyed, tired, and in a generally stinky mood. So, just to give my mind something else to do, I sat down to make some cards. I cranked out these two cards in like 20 minutes. That is super fast for me! I don't really like the pink and purple one but I love the Sunflower one. I was trying to capture this time of year - the beginning of fall, but with many remnants of summer, too. I embossed the sunflower blue and sponged the edges with a dark green. All of the papers were from my scraps stash. Both of these cards feature Stampin Up stamps - Spotlight and Give Thanks. Now..... who am I going to mail them to?

Playing With My New Word Window Punch

I am in love with the Stampin' Up! Word Window Punch. I used it to create the little tabs that you see in both of these example cards. I punched out the rounded corner shape and then cut it straight on one end. On the rounded end I added a brad. The jeweled Making Memories brads are really nice and come in quite an assortment of colors. You can find them just about anywhere for $2.99 a package. You can also see from the pics that I'm putting my Cuttlebug to good use. There are some new embossing folders for the Cuttlebug, but I can't seem to find them. I have to get my hands on the Paisley one because I can't wait to create some cool cards with it.

Online Shopping for the Bargain Divas

I think I'm going to do a bunch of my shopping via online this year. With so many websites offering shipping discounts or free shipping, the deals are better than ever. I thought I'd share a few links to some good deals I found on Amazon with my fellow Frugal Frannie's out there:

Here and Now Monopoly Game:
http://www.amazon.com/Monopoly-Here-Now-Limited-Edition/dp/B000ETRD9I/ref=pd_ts_t_1/103-8300803-8151858?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games

Stir Fry Pan:

http://www.amazon.com/Pinzon-11-Inch-Stir-Fry/dp/B000G806BY/ref=sr_1_19/103-8300803-8151858?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1192485386&sr=1-19

Mercy Me, The Christmas Sessions CD:
http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Sessions-MercyMe/dp/B000AA304I/ref=sr_1_1/103-8300803-8151858?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1192485716&sr=1-1

What to do with a big 'ole wonkin' stash of scraps?

Here are a couple of cards I made last night while Brian watched football. I've been making so many cards out of my scrap paper and leftover cardstock from scrapbooking projects. I can't bear to throw away any pieces that are larger than 1 inch square. So, suffice to say, I have a big 'ole wonkin' stash of scraps!
By the way, if you haven't already, please scroll down and vote for your favorite card in the HappyScrappers contest.

Yard Sale Violations!

I woke up this morning with my usual Saturday yard sale excitement. After my extremely large Strawberry Shortcake finds last week, I wasn't feeling optimistic about finding any of that sweet girl, but I was hoping to find some resell items for Ebay and maybe some rubber stamps.

What a bust!

I visited about twelve sales today. The first two were in my neighborhood. The first one did have a cute little NWT baby boy outfit that I picked up to donate to the Crisis Pregnancy Center. The second one hit on one of my biggest yard sale pet peeves. Nothing, and I mean nothing was priced. Violation! If I could write Violations and assess fines for such yard sale sins, I would. I did purchase two new SSC books there for 25 cents each. They had several Fisher Price Little People sets that I might have been able to put up on the 'Bay, but alas, no prices and I didn't have time to keep asking. There was also a small child there that kept following me around and annoying me to death. Another Violation! The next nine or so yard sales I visited were overpriced, nonpriced, smelled like smoke and/or cat pee, or were generally full of nothing useful. Violations all over the place!

I Am a Determined Shopper!

My plan is to finish my Christmas shopping before November 27th. Yep, that's going to be my personal goal. Last year, I procrastinated far to much and I found myself wrapping gifts the night before we had to leave for my parents house and then again on Christmas morning. I've already purchased, wrapped, and tagged some things, but I have some shopping left to complete. One holiday tradition that my family has started, and I absolutely ADORE, is the "yard sale Christmas." We give each other items that we picked up at yard sales, auctions, or flea markets. Last Christmas my parents gave me an entire box of vintage SSC goodies. I was thrilled! So, the majority of my shopping is for Brian's family and a few very close friends. I'm hoping to post evidence of my goal achieved, via a posted picture of me and all of the gifts wrapped and tagged on November 27th......less than 60 days away. Oh my!

My Hubby!

He looks ridiculous and cute to me all at the same time. :) (Btw, he doesn't have long hair at all. The grapevine wreath on our front door makes it look that way!)