Weekend WrapUp

What a great weekend it's been! Friday I got off work in the morning, came home and jogged and took a nice long, hot bath. I met my friend Melanie for lunch at an awesome Mexican restaurant. We talked for over 2 hours at lunch! Then we went back to her house and another friend came over and cut my hair. Then we went over Melanie's invitation information and finalized everything so I can get started on them :)

Yesterday was a great day too :) I scrapbooked all morning. Then Jesse and I rode snowmobiles to a friend's house. It was gorgeous out! The sun was shining and we were even hot while we were riding! We let our friend's granddaughter ride around for a while on my snowmobile...she had a blast :) Then last night we went out to eat and to the casino with Jesse's family to celebrate some birthdays :) No gambling...but it was fun to people watch...LOL! I must say I was a little disappointed that I didn't get ID'd to get into the casino!!! Wow...am I looking THAT old! It was fun to hang out with everyone though :)

Now today I'm having a lazy day :) I pretty much plan on scrapbooking all day!!! And Jesse's even going to cook supper YAY!!!

Hope everyone had a great weekend :)

Beautiful Butterflies

I received one of my OWOH Giveaway Winnings this week! It is SOOO cool!

Jennifer at Artistically Designed Diversions sent me this beautiful piece!

I love all the details and layers it has on it! And I love her blonde hair :)

Jennifer shares lot of her awesome creations on her blog...stop by and check it out!

She sent a handmade card along with it too :)

And on a OWOH side note...I was so excited to hear that my winner is expecting and wants to use her gift certificate to buy a Custom Baby Name Album :) Awwwww...I can't wait to make it for her :)

Friday Features-Pink and Aqua

I may have just found my new favorite color combo...Pink and Aqua! I recently made a Sorority Album in these colors and fell in love!!! I have always liked these colors, but never used them together in an album like this...check it out!

So in honor of my new found color love, I went searching on Etsy to see what goodies I could find. There were so many awesome choices! Here are my top picks.

SPARKLY PINK FLOWER Necklace with AQUA CRYSTALS

by readornment

Aqua Pink Fabric Felt Butterfly Appliques

by thebeadingprincess

Aqua. Fuschia. Silver-Plated Bobby Pins

by jennifermagnesi

Maggie Necklace or Bracelet - Bright Pink Resin Beads on Aqua Ribbon

by TinyStorm

Traveling the World!!!

This week's Blog Carnival themes were chosen by Handmade by Sandi. Isn't this Coffee Cozy from her shop so cute!

Since Sandi is on vacation right now...she thought it would be appropriate for us to all blog about vacations :)

#1 What's the best vacation your ever had?

#2 Of all the places in the world, where would you like to go and why?

I thought I would take this opportunity to share with you one of my life long dreams. I have always wanted to visit every state in the United States :) Every state has something special (or several somethings) that that would be amazing to see!

Art by recycledartco Click photo to be taken to this listing.

As a child we took the same family vacation every year! I was so envious of my friend who traveled the world with her parents to such neat places! So I made it my goal to visit each state at least once! I've got a pretty good start on my list, but there are several areas I haven't even touched.

Here is my list:

• Arizona
• Arkansas (very briefly)
• California (but I was 3 months old...so I'm not sure it counts)
• Colorado
• Florida
• Idaho
• Illinois (I only drove through these last two...so they don't really count either)
• Iowa (obviously!)
• Kansas
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

Though every year we went to Branson for family vacation, my parents also took me to Florida, the Bahamas, Arizona...and of course they are the reason I go to Michigan.

When I was in junior high, running track took me to many of these destinations as well. I went to Wisconsin, Minnesota and Texas all because of track :)

And of course Jesse has shown me some great places in the is great country :) We have gone snowmobiling in Wyoming, Montana, Utah and Colorado. We also went to Vegas together :) Now if I could just get him to take me to the beach...LOL :)

I might have a long way to go to reach my goal, but I feel I've put a pretty good dent in it in my 26 (okay...almost 27) years :)

Now...where should I go next??

Almost Wordless Wednesday-Young at Heart

Happy 87th Birthday Grandpa!!!

May you always be Young at Heart :)

Going to the Chapel...

I mentioned last week that Custom Wedding Albums are really popular right now. Between guest books and wedding gifts, it's that time of year to start thinking about weddings!

I love making different designs and trying new styles with my Custom Albums. This customer wanted her wedding date for the album instead of their last name. Very cool idea!

And this customer loved my Custom Name Guest Books, but needed to accommodate almost 700 guests and she wanted them to be able to leave a message if they liked. I worked with her to get all the details right and ended up with over 300 areas for people to write a message or sign their names. I bound it with ribbon as it was over 3" thick!!!

And here's another one I created for a local wedding next weekend. I love the colors :)

I'm sure in the coming months that I will be making several Wedding Albums as wedding season is just getting under way! I wonder what fun requests I'll have next :)

Dazzling Dangler

I was lucky enough recently to win a beautiful zipper pull from Linda at Pruitt Design! She was even nice enough to make it in any colors I wanted! Of course I had to go with my favorite colors: Pink, Purple and Teal :)

Don't you think it's just awesome!!!

I put it on the strap of my purse and it just looks too cool! I've already gotten several complements on it :)

Thanks so much Linda...I Love It!!!

Tropical Oasis

Wouldn't a Tropical Oasis be absolutely wonderful right now!?!

With all the snow we've been getting...and expecting to get more today, this lovely treasury from Spotted Cow Soaps makes me yearn for a tropical getaway!!!

Thanks so much to Ms. Moo for including my Custom Destination Word Album!!! I just love those colors!

Love Your Pet Day :)

It's been a little while since I've done a post about an obscure holiday. And when I saw this one on the calendar, I knew I couldn't pass it up :)

Pets bring so much joy into our lives! I cannot imagine coming home and not being greeted by a wagging tail and kisses galore :) Harley has so much personality and makes me laugh everyday! Pets are good for our health...and good for our souls :)

Harley and I wish you a Happy Love Your Pet Day!

Friday Features-Mardi Gras

I think I need to officially put New Orleans during Mardi Gras on my Bucket List! With all of the fun colors, great music and fun times they offer...it's right up my alley :)

Check out these great Etsy finds I came across that show the same excitement I'm sure Mardi Gras itself does!

Mardi Gras Headband

by BLinkDesign

Carnival Glass Necklace

by outofourminds

Custom Venetian Masks, Any Theme

by BridalBijou

Mardi Gras Hair Pin - Purple On Green

by Flambeaux

Scrapbook Tool/Toy Wish List

I've officially found my next tool/toy I want to buy!!! The only question is...can I make myself wait?

This super-awesome gadget will make things so much easier in my world! Right now there isn't a cutter on the market that will cut through my heavy chipboard very well. I have to score it with a cutter and then hand cut everything with my xacto knife. It works, but it's not a very ideal process! In 4 easy swipes of the blade, the Zutter Kutter will cut through my chipboard with no problem!!!

Now to the waiting part! It is available for preorder right now! And I'm so tempted to just go ahead and buy it! The only problem is the price tag: $170.00! I know if I can make myself wait until April, my wholesaler will have it available and I can order it much cheaper from them. What's a girl to do? Can I make myself wait and save some money? You'll be the first ones to know...because you can guarantee I'll be blogging about it the minute it's in my hands!!!

What's on your crafty tool/toy wish list right now? Share with us a super cool gadget in your crafty area :)

Wordless Wednesday-Scrapbook Pretties

Trends in Custom Orders

I've been noticing a few trends lately in my Custom Album orders: Sororities, Babies and Weddings. All of my latest orders have involved these themes.

I have had a huge jump in orders for Sorority Albums! I think there must be something special going on right now with sororities that girls are ordering them for their Big and Little Sisters :) Here are a couple I finished over the weekend:

I love it when customers get creative with what they want for their albums :) For this baby album, the parents are big Cubs fans...and apparently baby Calvin will be too :)

I'm currently working on a couple of wedding albums that I'll have to show you next week. One includes the wedding date and the other is a cool guest book. Can't wait to show them off!!!

OWOH Giveaway Winner!!!

This wonderful magic carpet ride called One World One Heart has been an amazing trip! I have enjoyed visiting so many blogs and getting to know so many new bloggers!

A big thanks to everyone who stopped by and entered my giveaway! Each comment means so much :)

Okay...without further ado...the winner is:

#147 Jamaise

And for anyone else who is interested, I did put my Gift Certificates in my Etsy shop :)

Now I'm keeping my own fingers crossed that I might win a giveaway or two!!!

OWOH Giveaway Reminder!!!

First of all...Happy Valentine's Day!!!

I hope your sweetie got you something good :)

And if you don't have a sweetie...I hope you got yourself something good...You deserve it!

Secondly...Today is the last day to enter my OWOH Giveaway!!!

And thanks to everyone who has already left comments on my gift certificates. They are now in my shop :)

I have had so much fun flying around on this magic carpet ride called One World One Heart! I am excited to pick a winner tomorrow! And I'm excited to see if I won any goodies myself :)

Have a great Sunday :)

Grateful to Clean the Bathroom??? WHAT!

Ever since we bought our house, I've wanted to add another bathroom. Even just another toilet would make me happy. Our bathroom is so tiny and only having one toilet can cause problems...like when I want to soak in a nice, long bath!

Well, yesterday while I was cleaning the bathroom, I had a thought...that I was grateful to only have to clean one bathroom! I hate cleaning the bathroom, and if we had two...I'd have to clean them both!!!

So my thought for today...

Be grateful for what you have :)

Have a great Saturday!!!

Friday Features-Valentine's Day

Though Valentine's Day may not be a holiday that Jesse and I really celebrate...it's always fun to look at all the pink and red goodies that come with the holiday :)

And who knows...maybe he'll surprise me with a gift this year...LOL!

I decided to go with a bird theme for all my VDay finds today :) Birds and owls are so cute and so popular...I loved finding such great items on Etsy!!!

Shocking Pink and White Love Birds Tweet Needlefelted Wedding Cake Topper

by feltmeupdesigns

Owls in Love Valentine Ring

by dillondesigns

Love Bird hand stamped sterling silver layered and soldered necklace

by cinnamonsticks

Love Birds (handmade button set of 7)

by TessaAnn

(And she's a fellow scrapbooker too!!!)

Meet Theresa from TiLT Creations

Theresa of TiLT Creations and TiLT Too is our February Featured EtsyBlogger!!!

Congrats Theresa!!!

Theresa not only runs two shops, but four blogs as well!!!

http://tiltcreationstoo.blogspot.com/

http://tiltcreations.blogspot.com/ http://tilttreasures.blogspot.com/

http://tiltsgiveawayfinds.blogspot.com/ Her Creations shop is full of beautiful bags and purses...here are a couple of my faves:

And her Too shop has lots of fabric and patterns in it. I also purchased a bag of fabric scraps from her Too shop that she has listed as a PIF!!! I loved seeing all the goodies in the envelope she sent!

Theresa has big plans for 2010 including table runners and quilts! I can't wait to see what new designs she adds to her shop!!!

She has also been dabbling in digital scrapbooking...which I am SOOOO excited about!!! It's always fun to have a fellow scrapbooker on the team :)

Congrats again Theresa...enjoy your month of fame :)

Wordless Wednesday-A Wyoming View

Where Do I Even Begin!!!

Wow...time sure has a way of slipping away from us, doesn't it!!! I thought after the first of the year that I'd have all kinds of time to get inventory ready for my big show in March! Boy was I wrong! I've been staying so busy with custom orders (yay!) that I haven't gotten a chance to even start on inventory!!! With the show 5 weeks away...where do I even begin!

I need to finish (make that start and finish) 6 more Custom Albums before I can even start on inventory! My plan is to get these knocked out this week and have the weekend and remaining time to get inventory ready.

But where do I begin? What do I work on first? What is the most important to take with me? How many of each item do I bring? There seem to be more questions than answers!!!

But stress I will not! I am trying to stay in the frame of mind that "what gets done gets done". Stress will get me nowhere. I just need to be realistic with the time frame I have and decide what to work on and the get my rear in gear!!!

So...how do you organize your time when you have more things to do than time to do them in? What do you think I should bring the most of to my show? I'd love to hear from you :)

P.S.-Don't forget to enter my OWOH Giveaway...there's still time :)

My Baby Turns 4 Today!!!

Wow...has it really been 4 years already! Jesse gave Harley to me as a birthday present almost 4 years ago! (Yeah, he does pretty good sometimes :) I got a fridge that year too!!!)

Harley has brought so much joy to our lives :) I can't imagine not having him with us everyday! He is such a character with quite the personality! His quirky traits make him so special to us :)

I thought I'd share some photos of my baby over the last 4 years :)

Here he is on the day we brought him home...he was SOOOO cute!!!

I can't believe how much his color changed in just one year!

Here he is after his first shaving! He looks like a whole new dog!

And here he is from this past summer :) Still a cutie!

Happy Birthday Buddy :)

Home Sweet Home

The vacation to Wyoming was wonderful...but it's always nice to be home :)

The trip went great! We had great roads out and back with no troubles. And I even got a little scrapbooking done :)

The first day the weather was awesome! The sun was out, the snow was fresh and nobody broke down. It was a great day of riding! And I wasn't even the first one to get stuck :) Jesse's cousin took that honor this year.

And here's a couple of shots of the guys climbing:

The second day was probably the most fun :) We went to town and got Jesse a new sled! We'd been looking around home and weren't able to find what we wanted. When they offered us what we wanted for Jesse's old sled...the deal was done! Don't worry, I didn't go home empty handed...I made them throw in a new Hot Pink Coat!!!

We were going to try riding a half day that afternoon, but it was snowing and the wind was blowing so hard we could barely see, so we decided not to chance it.

The third day was a partial success. When we went out, it was still snowing and blowing really hard. I was having a hard time seeing and sort of had a melt down...I think they call that being a wuss! I made Jesse take me back to the hotel. Luckily he was able to ride his new sled that afternoon with the rest of our group :)

It was just so nice to get away for a while and have fun with friends :) That being said...home sure is nice too! My own shower, my own bed and my puppy :) Too bad it comes with laundry, giving the dog a bath and getting caught up with life now!

Hope you had a great week!

A Wedding on the Beach

There is just something so romantic about a wedding on the beach! If I could have my entire family there...I'd love to get married on a beach :) The warm weather, the ocean, the great dresses they make for beach weddings! It all sounds so wonderful!

If I'm not getting married on a beach...I'm still happy that my latest Flip Flop Guest Books are making their way to the beach :)

I love how this one turned out! The bride wanted some extras added to her cover and I love how the flowers and ribbon add such a nice touch!

And this one was my first one in orange. We searched and searched and finally found the perfect pair for this bride :) The color really makes them stand out!

(I'll be adding this color choice to my shop soon as well!)

So while I've been playing in the snow for the last few days...my creations have been enjoying the warmth of the beach :)