Merry Christmas!

Portland has finally emerged from "Arctic Blast 2008," as the local news station called it. We're back to having green grass! After two weeks of snow & ice and being stuck in the house with the family, it's nice to know we can jump in the car with out chains and go where we want.

We did manage to venture out a few times in all that snow. During the second weekend, we bundled up & headed to the mall. There was a driving snow storm going on, but the place was packed. An ice storm was expected, so everyone was trying to cram all their Christmas shopping into one day. That made it a great day to see Santa. His line was very short, so we made it quickly to him. Delaney loved visiting Santa and takes special care to write him a nice letter every year. She had a little chat with Santa as he read her letter and even complimented her on her drawing of her & Jake on his lap. She's such a thoughtful girl, she brought Jake's newest doggie to keep him company in case he got scared on Santa's lap. And she brought along her Baby Jessie. Baby Jessie is very special, my parents brought her to Delaney the day she was born. And this past year, our 12 year old Chocolate Lab, Jessie, died, so Delaney wanted to be sure that Santa knew about her.

Jake was in awe of the whole process, from Santa's workshop area to Santa himself. We were very happy to get a picture of both kids without Jake crying. It turned out to be a fun experience. I'm not sure next time will be so much fun though. When Delaney visited Santa for the second time, she was 22 months old. She screamed and cried, only stopping when Dave & I stepped in to be in the picture with her. I felt bad for Santa and was disappointed, until I thought about it for a while. We always want our children to stay away from strange old men, but then we take them to Santa, who looks pretty strange to a baby and then leave them together for a picture, and for some reason we're disappointed when they scream & cry. After that I thought twice about letting someone she might be uncomfortable with hold her. So I'm sure next year's picture with Santa will be a family affair, and that's fine, just this time, I'll dress for the event....instead of being in my sweats like last time!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! Ours was somewhat spread out this year, but it turned out great. It was so much fun to have another baby in the house this year. We loved watching him celebrate his first Christmas...there's nothing like a baby pulling off all the bows & trying to eat them. And it was especially fun to see Delaney help him open his gifts and then show him how to play with each toy. Thanks Santa!

Find some inspiration with CJane's Blog

I want to share one of my favorite blogs with my readers. C Jane is a mom from Utah who has experienced tragedy in her family this year. Her sister and brother-in-law were badly injured in the crash of a small plane in August. She is caring for their 4 small children, in addition to her own baby, while they continue on the long road to recovery. She posts updates on her sister and brother-in-law, while promoting a charity in their honor on her blog. I love reading her stories about her baby and hearing of the exploits of a mom who has taken on so much in support of her family. Her posts are both funny and inspirational. My prayers are with her and her family. I hope you click on over to her site for a little inspiration too!

A beautiful day to find a tree

Saturday was beautiful here!

We started out bundled up in coats, gloves & hats, but then as it got warmer, we were able to take off a few layers. I took tons of pictures of the kids, hoping to get some (or even one) good enough for a Christmas card. In the end, I got a lot of good pictures. Of course, they're my kids and I think they're the cutest kids on earth...just like every parent does.

Looking for a tree was fun! We wandered around the farm, looking for just the right tree, pretty tall (about 9 ft or a little more) and skinny at the bottom (or skinnier than most), but also nice & full. Boy, I'm hard to please! We needed a skinny tree this year, because we decided to put it in the dining room and people will still have to sit at the table to eat, at Christmas dinner anyway. This is my way of babyproofing, putting the tree as far from the living room as possible and hoping we can catch Jake crawling toward it before pulls it over on himself. So far so good, but we've got three more weeks to go. I keep my trees up until New Year's. I just love Christmas and its decorations, and I try to stretch it out as long as possible.

Thank goodness we picked Saturday to get our tree. It poured down rain on Sunday! And we were the lucky ones, inside putting on the lights & decorations. Laney loves decorating the tree, so she unpacked all the decorations from their boxes & wrapping, while Dave & I put on the lights. One of her favorite traditions is putting the angel on the top of the tree before we start putting up the decorations. Dave always holds her up while I take her picture. This year, the tree was so tall, Dave had to put her on his shoulders and climb up on the step ladder so she could get the angel to her rightful place. I got the shot! A cute picture of Laney gently placing the angel atop the tree.

Now I've got to print my pictures so I can start on some fun Christmas layouts. I'm not quite sure which paper collection I'll choose. I need to look at the pictures first. Maybe next week, I can look through the store & see what inspires me. I'll share it here when I'm finished.

Oh, I just had to share this one! Laney is such a great big sister, always so patient with Jake. She never yells at him or complains when he hits, pinches or pulls her hair. She certainly tries hard to avoid all those things though. With all the pictures I took, it's hard to believe this is the only one like this!

Jake says, "Thanks for putting up with me sis! I love you!"

Where has the time gone???

I found myself wondering today...what happened to that little baby who couldn't sit up much less cruise all around the living room ripping everything off my coffee table and throwing it to the floor. Where is that beautiful, spotless cranium?

In less than a week, my house has been destroyed by a small monster with bruises all over his head!

OK, he still is the cutest little boy on Earth! I just need to find a way to slow that Earth down a bit, it's spinning out of control and my baby is disappearing...only to be replaced by a BOY!

Things are changing everyday around here! I just don't know what I'll do when he decides to "explore" the Christmas tree we're getting tomorrow.

But for now, I'm happy he's sleeping! I did finally post my Acrylic Album class on my scrapbook store blog, http://www.whimzeesgirlsonline.blogspot.com , so check it out when you get a chance.

Jake @ Whimzee's

I took this photo of Mr. Jake while I was wearing him in the Baby Bjorn. We had stopped by the store so I could take photos of all the new merchandise for the newsletter I'm designing today. The tables were totally covered with new merchandise and I didn't bring Jake's jumper, so I put him in the front pack & got to work. He loves the carrier and likes to sit both toward me and away from me. It's fun to see his reaction to all the things going on around the store. He loves to watch the ceiling fans, the TV and he loves to "chat" with customers. When I noticed him looking at me and saw the piles of stock in the background, I thought it was the perfect time to document a normal day for us. The little guy is in the store quite a bit, not as much lately as he was, but it will be fun to remember what it was going on in my life when he was this little! So get out your camera and take some photos of "normal" happenings in your life....not just the big events & celebrations.

Coming Soon on the WhimzeesGirlsOnline Blog

This is my latest project! I'm really excited about how it turned out! I've posted this photo on my other blog, http://www.whimzeesgirlsonline.blogspot.com . This weekend on my Thanksgiving trip to Medford, I'm going to write a step by step class to help everyone dive into their first acrylic album. So check that blog next week for all the details!

And have a great Thanksgiving!

10 Minute Mini Album

I forgot that I hadn't posted this cute little album to my blog. I took pictures of it as I made it and wrote instructions for a quick DIY class on the store blog I write. So if you want to check it out follow this link http://whimzeesgirlsonline.blogspot.com. I made this as a gift for my mom. It was the perfect thing to make with all my extra wallet size photos. I had the wallets printed at Costco to use in my Basic Grey Ambrosia layout and the extras were just lying on the table at the store, crying out for a home!

I can't wait to try this idea with some Christmas photos of the kids!

Creative Cafe 4th of July Layout

I created this layout when the Creative Cafe collection first arrived in the store. It's still my favorite! The photos were taken on the 4th of July last year. I wanted to use a red, white & blue theme, but I also wanted to be subtle with it. Delaney was so proud that she & our neighbor girl had painted her nails red after the neighborhood parade. She jumped in the hammock to pose for me and to escape from the 105 degree sun that day.

I printed the photos in black & white, so the hammock stripes wouldn't compete with all the patterns in my paper. Mixing coordinating patterns is one of my favorite layout techniques, so I love black & white and sepia tone photos. Using neutral tone photos allows you to go wild with the colors on your page without worrying that your photos won't match with your layout. And since it's so easy to change photos to black & white or sepia on Costco's website, I take all my photos in color and change them later depending on which papers I choose. This photo has great color, I just didn't want to use it on this page. So next time you're printing out photos for a scrapbook layout, take a minute to consider the papers you'll be using on your page, a black & white photo may just make your "nice" page a "stunner"!

Basic Grey Ambrosia Pumpkin Patch Layout

After seeing my pumpkin patch pictures, I was really excited to create a layout for them. First, I thought about using some of Reminisce's sparkly Halloween paper. But when I put the pictures on it, I just wasn't inspired. Then I caught a glimpse of our new Basic Grey Ambrosia. I thought the oranges in my pictures just cried out for the variety of oranges showcased in the Ambrosia papers. I printed my photos in 5 x 7 and wallet size at Costco and used 8 different Ambrosia papers on this page. I cut simple rectangles and arranged them around my pictures. Then I used the Cricut at the store to cut the swirl design from one of the papers. And to finish off my page, I used black vinyl Thickers letters.

Now I've got to get to work on the other half of this double-page spread. I'll use the same background paper, Clementine, and I have about 8 more wallets that I plan to put on the page. For my layouts, I like to get everything together and then take some time to mull over all my ideas. This is probably why my projects take a while to materialize, but I enjoy the design process so much, I'm not bothered by it at all. I know that once I finish the layout, it will be something I love. I'll be sure to post the other half as soon as the inspiration for the design comes to me! :)

My Reminisce Creations! #3

I wanted to create a project that my daughter can add to and make her own. I started with Reminisce's Making the Grade Collection papers and stickers for Grades 1, 2 & 3. I used a 4 x 4" cube and painted all of the sides with black acrylic paint. I mounted corner-rounded squares on each side, using two squares from each grade paper, one of each side showing. I placed Delaney's 1st grade photo on the 1st grade side and let her choose stickers that showed what she liked best in first grade. I'm so excited to see what she chooses for her 2nd grade side, the photos will be here any day!

My Reminisce Creations! #2

I couldn't believe how wonderful the Reminisce's Girly Girl Collection matched Delaney's personality. She's a little diva and the sparkly pink paper is just right with her little ballerina costume! I used the as many of the Girly Girl papers as I could fit along with some World Win Cardstock, teal vellum tags and American Craft Ribbons.

My Reminisce Creations! #1

This is one of my favorite layouts. I used Reminisce's Shades of Autumn Collection along with some bronze brads, World Win Cardstock & American Craft Ribbon. I love using pattern in my layouts, so this paper was perfect!

So Many Blogs, So Little Time...

Hi there! I'm sitting at gymnastics now, hoping to send out the Whimzee's newsletter before my battery runs out...we'll see! I just started the new blog for the store. Twila & I are so excited to get it started & hear what everyone has to say and what ideas they have to share. While I was working the other day, a very nice customer came in & shared a ton of blog addresses with me. It's so fun to check them all out. There's one drawback though, I just can't stop! The last few nights I've been up way too late watching the Olympics & surfing the net. I do want to share a couple blog's though. Ali Edwards's is the essential scrapbookers blog, don't miss it! http://aliedwards.typepad.com/ (Ali's got awesome ideas, writes great books & loves Twila's favorite adhesive...)

Also check out this one, Nichole Heady is the Designer & a co-owner of Papertrey Ink, her blog is full of ideas (for both scrapbooks & cards). In this entry, she uses the Adirondack Acrylic Paint Daubers we have in the store to create a mini-album. I was excited to see this one since I wasn't sure how to use the Daubers.

http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/2007/11/3.html


PS- I got kicked off the wifi at the gym, my battery was down to 14% & I was typing while holding a squirming Jake in one hand...so I figured these were all signs that I should finish this at home! :)

My Latest Experiment in Papercrafting

I wanted to share my latest project with you. I created this clock from a Colorbok kit I purchased a while ago at Tuesday Morning. I wasn't too excited about the papers that came with it. They were very old fashioned and not too colorful. So I looked through my huge collection of scrapbooking papers and came up with this Anna Griffin print. It looked nice and seemed perfect for my mom's sewing room. I gave the clock to her as a birthday present last weekend. She loved it! Instead of the one photo shown in the sample, I used two photos, one of my kids and one of my nephew. It will be nice for her to be able to look at it & see all of her grandchildren. The kit came with the clock and its parts and also the ribbon, rub ons and embellishments. I was especially happy with how the photos turned out. I am a beginner using Photoshop, but after a few hours I figured it out. I finally got the result I was looking for, aged, with a canvas like texture. Now I can't wait for another chance to try out what I learned on this project.

Great Vacation!

Our beach vacation was wonderful! The weather was very nice which is great for the Oregon Coast! We stayed at the Surfsand Resort in Cannon Beach. I think it's the very best place to stay at the coast, with children anyway. Without your kids, do try to stay at the Stephanie Inn in Cannon Beach. The Stephanie is owned by the same company as the Surfsand and it's a great place to spend a special weekend, like your anniversary. But now that we have kids, we've moved to the Surfsand for our beach getaways. In addition to being a great place for kids, they take dogs. So if you've got a pooch who loves to swim in the ocean this is your place! Delaney calls it "our beach." She found 5 sand dollars this trip and was so excited. We've never been able to find any in Cannon Beach before. I've got a bunch of pictures on my parenting blog at http://www.pregnancyplanet.net/community/blogs/posts/LaneynJakesMom

In case you want to check them out, here are the links for the Surfsand and the Stephanie Inn.

http://www.surfsand.com/

http://www.stephanie-inn.com/

Keeping up with the times...

Well, I've gotten so many requests from my friends that I'm setting up a facebook page tonight. I guess I finally decided to keep up with the times! I'm surprised how many people I know already have a page. Maybe this way I'll know what some of the people I saw at my 20th reunion are doing. That will be cool! If I'd done this a few weeks ago, I might even have recognized some of them! I'm hoping to be able to keep up with all these new internet projects I'm taking on!

I've still got to get my pictures for the Whimzee's newsletter into the computer so I can work on it on our beach trip this weekend. I guess that's just another project to put on tomorrow's list!

Off to bed on my 38th Birthday...

I'm off to bed, but just thought I'd say I had a great birthday today. It was nice spending the evening at home with Dave, Laney & Jake. They made me a beautiful birthday cake, chocolate....lot's of sprinkles! Thanks! Gotta go get a little sleep before little Jake wakes up wanting a snack during the night.

I did make it to Whimzee's today to work on my newsletter for next week, took some pictures and made a list of articles. Some cool new merchandise came in. I love the black, silver & red foil castle paper from Creative Imaginations, makes me want to do another Disneyland book. I'll find some links tomorrow.

Thanks to my family & friends for making my birthday a wonderful day! :)

Up with Jake...

Just got up to give the little guy his pacifier! Boy, he's been fussy this week! Just started feeding him real food and the rice cereal seems to have gotten him all riled up... We spent the first 3 nights with him fussing all night and we sure are tired now! He seemed to do better with the bananas, but today it was pears & oatmeal. Maybe I shouldn't have tried two new things in one day.... We'll just have to see how it goes, we've got the 6 month Dr. appt. this week, so I'll ask her! Off to get some sleep! :)

Just one more thing....Basic Grey Euphoria

Oh, and today when I was finishing the Whimzee's newsletter, I came across all these cool layouts in the Basic Grey Gallery. They use the Euphoria collection which recently arrived in the store. But what I really like about looking at layouts is that I can "scrap-lift" them to use with my photos & other papers. I do love Euphoria, especially the "Cool" paper, it looks like the designs I used to make as a kid with my spirograph! Basic Grey really does have some of the best paper designs out there, so check it out!

http://www.basicgrey.com/catalog/idea_gallery.php?cPath=88

Not a Blog Virgin Anymore...

I've always been a bit of a writer. I've been thinking of starting a blog for a while now. Between my jobs designing the Whimzee's newsletter and being a mom, I think I've got a lot to say. I love to check out all things new in the scrapbooking world and this will give me a place to share all I find with anyone who's interested. There isn't as much room in the newsletter as I'd like to include cool links to new projects I'd like to start. Of course, being a mom doesn't give me a lot of time for cool projects, but that's beside the point! It's kind of like shopping, it doesn't hurt (cost anything, take any time...) to look! And as far as being a mom, I sure don't run short on funny material in that department. Just try having the youngest baby (6 months) at your 20 year class reunion! And I don't know if anyone else might have accomplished that last feat with a 7 year split between kids! I'm sure there is someone else out there, who hears, "oh...a 6 month old and a 7 year old...and they're you're only two?" So if you're interested in scrapbooking and mom humor, check back....it's always a kick to laugh at other people's misery....it sure makes you feel better!