My dearest kitty Thomas

I can't even believe how hard the decision I had to make today was. One of the saddest days I have had in a long time. Today, I lost my poor kitty. I had had Thomas for 16 years. He was the sweetest and most patient cat. So affectionate. He was found down the street from us and brought to us when he was just little. I have had so so so many cats come and go since him, but I have never been without him. Heck I haven't been without a cat since I was like 2 years old, so tomorrow will be very strange for me. And poor Creedence, one of her first words was Kitty. She loves Thomas so much, I am just very happy that she is only two and very easily distracted.

But he let us know in several ways that his time had come. It breaks your heart to know that there is nothing you can do for him, except let him go. I just wish I could hold him in my arms one more time. My dearest Thomas.

Some Prima shares.....

Hi! I only just looked (as I am writing this post) to see what date I last updated and HOLY COW! It was the 28th of October?! Really it doesn't seem like that long ago yet here we are more than a month later! :P Sorry. November is a busy month though! I always have lots going on because so many things happen in it. Birthdays (my aunt's, mine and my mom's), Thanksgiving, and both of those usually mean lots of family time, which means away from home, and of course away from blogging. :P And after holidays it is so hard to get back in the swing of things! Routines seem to just go right out the door. So we are slowly but surely getting back into things here in our home. And at the same time I am trying to get Christmas set up. I was going to do a December Daily this year but I am not so sure that will happen now. I am working on one, but as far as filling it up, that will just have to happen next year. :P LOL! But we are beginning some holiday traditions, as this is the first year my daughter will really be able to understand any of it. She is going to have her first taste of Christmas bread, which my mom made all the time when I was a child, and she had powdered sugar toast, (only a little!) but again another thing I had when I was little and remember as good times. Also we are going to watch some great Christmas movies that I know she will enjoy: A Christmas Story and Charlie Brown Christmas. That should be fun! :D I am still in the process of coming up with some other things that I know she will enjoy. But I am also working on decorating!!! I really don't have any ornaments or decorations, and instead of going and spending a whole lot of money on things Jed only likes to have up like 4 days of the year, I thought I would make some. I am working on a huge post about all whole bunch of things I am thinking of, and will have that up in the next few days. There are some really fantastic things out there right now! But I made my first few things the other day, and they are on the Prima blog!

Here are a few little tags I made! I really am not entirely sure what I will do with them, but I like the way they look! So maybe they will just kinda sit there? :P I used a ton of teeny tiny little scraps of paper I had (both Prima and vintage things). So it was great because that reduced the amount of little things I had laying around!!! :D

This first one, which was the first one I made, is so stinkin busy it is a little dizzying. But I had fun doing the mounds of layering and adding this and that!

Supplies: Paper-Prima Paradise City "Sunrise" (red border), Prima Rue 88 "Rendezvous" (left green strip),
Prima Christmas Fancy "Joy" (paper poinsettia), Prima Tropics "Turtle Dove" (tiny piece behind paper poinsettia), vintage book paper, doily (Michael's), Fancy Pants (Kraft tag), Prima packaging (green circle behind snowflake); Embellishments-Prima Raja Center in Red, Chatterbox corkboard (punched with a MS punch), Prima First Blush rub on (Michael's exclusive-rubbed onto paper and the attached to tag), Making Memories Misteltoe Acetate diecut tree, Prima 4 Seasons leaves, Prima laces/ribbons-Jaqueline, Lace C (silver loop), Red velvet ribbon, white chenille trim (Nursery Tales from Michael's exclusive), All Night Media stamp (tiny dots), Prima Red Center kisses, Maya Road Pearl pin, K and Co red felt flower, Making Memories ledger journaling sticker, Making Memories Diva glitter letters in white, Making Memories Vintage Findings crystal pin, Prima Holiday Lights Bright Mix (teal poinsettia); Tools and Other-Tulle (Michael's), Martha Stewart 1 in Starburst punch, Martha Stewart 1 in Circle punch, sewing machine, stapler

And this one has got to be my fav of the bunch. :D It turned out so much better than I ever could have imagined! Just strips of this and that, adhered with a gel medium and they are good to go! This one sits on the mantle in the living room.

Supplies: Paper-Prima paintables (just random strips), Prima Paradise City "Sunrise" (red bit on the left), Flirty Little Secret "Memoirs" (darker green and lighter green), Kraft chipboard packaging (random), K and Co Amy Butler Lotus Tea Box Die cuts (measure on right side), Prima Chrismas Fancy selvedge edge, Prima teal packaging, Prima Animal Bash "Tickled" (punched snowflakes), vintage book paper, Cream cardstock, doily (Michael's); Embellishments-Dress It Up Glittered Snowflake buttons, Prima Burlap sheet (unraveled some of the threads and stitched them on), Prima Laces-Nikki, Silver loop, White Chenille trim, Prima Center Kisses in White, tulle (Michael's), Making Memories Mistletoe Acetate sentiment; Tools-Stapler, sewing machine, Martha Stewart Arctic Snowflake punch, Martha Stewart Alpine Snowflake punch, Martha Stewart 1 inch Starburst punch, Marvy 1 1/2 inch Scallop Circle punch

And of course, this is my second fav, and the last one I did. Funny how they got simpler and simpler the more I did. I guess that first one really did get me with being so cluttered! :P Lol! On this one I had wanted the burlap tree to have some of the red print on it to be a part of the tree, but I am not sure what I did wrong, but happened to place my tree template, when tracing, in the exact spots where no red was painted on? No clue. But I thought it just seemed meant to be. Who knows, if some of the red had been on it, then maybe that would have been too much red on that little tag? :D Anyway, to get the even cut that I did, I first painted the backside of the burlap sheet with gel medium, to get it stiff, and the traced the tree and cut it out. That way it doesn't fray! :D Everything else with this little tag came together rather quickly. I cut strips of Prima Paintables and adhered them to the outside of the tag and then, when they all dried, I used my Provo Craft mini scallop deco scissors to create a little border around the outside.

Supplies: Paper-Cream Cardstock, Prima Christmas Fancy "Happy", Prima Christmas Fancy "Joy", Prima Angelique, Prima packaging, doily (Michael's), vintage book paper; Embellishments- Prima Say It In Pearls Centers Rosy (used individual pearls for the tree), Prima Say It In Pearls Swirl in White (used individual pearls for the stars), Prima 4 Seasons leaves, Prima Holiday Lights Mix Poinsettia, Martha Stewart Baker's Twine in red and white, Dress It Up Glittered Snowflake button, Making Memories Mistletoe Acetate sentiment, tulle (Michael's); Tools-Sewing Machine, Marvy 1 1/2 inch Scallop Circle punch, Martha Stewart 1 inch Starburst punch, Martha Stewart Star Confetti punch

And this is the garland that I made! :D I am in love with it soooo much! I have seen these a million and a half places online as of late, and kept telling myself I was going to make one! And I did! It was so stinkin easy too! I have no clue how long this measures but it goes across my entire front window with lots to spare! I can't photograph it inside because the lighting in my house is a joke. Even during the day. :P So I took it outside and had a not so easy time with it there too. It was very windy. I mean really windy. But I had to get the pics so I just worked with it. hehe. It took me two nights to make this. I spent the first night punching everything out and then sticking the little snowflakes where I wanted with gel medium, then on the second night I sewed it all up (which took all of about 10 minutes in total to sew this string). As you can see in pics below I did quite a bit of layering on some of the pieces, while others are just a plain piece. I stuck with a particular color scheme, and none of the papers are Christmas themed, but I think it still turned out pretty festive. :D

Supplies: Paper-Prima Paintables (random bits big enough to punch 1 inch circles), Prima Flirty Little Secrets "Memoirs", Prima Animal Bash "Tickled", Animal Bash "Animal Babble", Prima Tropics "Mango Cherries", Prima Tropics "Celery Splash", Prima Tropics "Turtle Dove", Prima Packaging, vintage book pages (text and print), Cream cardstock, Starbucks corrugated cardboard drink sleeve

Tools/other-Martha Stewart 1 inch circle punch, Martha Stewart 1 inch Starburst punch, Martha Stewart 1 inch scallop circle punch, Martha Stewart Alpine snowflake punch, Martha Stewart Arctic snowflake punch, Martha Stewart Star Confetti punch, Marvy 1 1/2 inch scallop punch, white acrylic paint

Now last but not least~The December BAP!!! Goodness I can not even tell you how much fun this was!! The girls on the DT all swaped photos, none of us knowing who got your own pic! So when the post went up, we were finally able to see who got to scrap our own pic! :D I got the wonderful Oddbjorg Ringsby! Her photos were so beautiful! She sent me three, and I wanted to use them all, but I stayed with the sketch, and chose one. I can't tell you how hard it was to choose just one! :D This layout came together the fastest that I have ever had happen!!! Don't you just love it when it all comes together like that! It makes you feel so productive! hehe! I had it all glued down (well except for the embies) by bed time and then woke up the next morn and sewed it up and glued the flowers and such on and presto! And I am in love with it. The color scheme is a bit different but I can't stop looking at those colors! (I think the fact that these products were all new to me helped a bit with sparking creativity!) And just so you know the photo of her I uploaded into Rollip.com to get that fabulous look! :D Still hopelessly addicted to that site. :P

Supplies: Paper- Prima Paradise City "Fruity Jungle", Prima Blooming Retro "Pumpkin Pie", Prima Blooming Retro "Origami Gardens", Prima Blooming Retro "Apple Tree", Prima Donna Downey Canvas Sheet in Teal, Prima Breathe collection paper, Prima packaging

Embies-Prima Parlor Petals Dusty Rose, Prima Moulin Rouge Colette, Prima Donna Downey Embroidered Canvas tab-Create, Prima Mommy and Me pebble, Prima 4 Seasons leaves, Prima E line Pearls Olive, Prima First Blush Flower (Michael's exclusive), Prima Raja Centers brown, Prima Raja Centers Olive, Prima Say It In Pearls and Crystals swirl Maroon, Whispered Words Flocked Alpha brown

Well that is all that I have for you now!!! I am busy busy busy trying to get some other things done-scrappy and not scrappy!!! :P This time of year is so crazy! You try to play super big catch up before CHA comes around, while also trying to decorate and be in the moment with the holiday season! And this year we are going to be hosting a Christmas dinner at our house for the first time! I am super nervous and am working around the clock getting my decorations done and such and the house clean! And like I said at the top of the post, I don't have any decorations so I am working hard on making them! :D I will do an update post once I am done. But before that I will be doing a post on all the things that are inspiring me with my decorations!!! There is a lot of awesome stuff out there! If you have any homemade decoration ideas to share, I would love to hear them! :D Hope everyone is well!!! Take care!

~Amy

New projects and a Toot!! :D

That was a lot longer break than I wanted it to be! Crazy how weeks go by so dang fast, and before you realize it you are seriously behind on a lot of things! :P I am under massive piles of DT work right now, trying to play some catch up on that! Thought I would pop on here and share the only things I have created since the September BAP in the post before last! This was by far the longest scrapper's block I have been through yet, and let me tell you-it sucked! It feels so good to be crafting again!!

First up is the Prima November BAP!!! (Can you believe it is Nov?!!!! I can't. :P) It is a two pager, but don't let that intimidate you! I totally cheated and did a 6x12, and it worked great! Took all the scariness out of it, and was super easy to follow yet change up as I needed! I did this layout with all these great pics of Cree and Maggie, my aunt's dog! Maggie is, I think, almost 12, but you would seriously have no clue when she is at the beach, because she is in absolute dog heaven!!! Give her a stick and some space to dig these huge holes and she is good! She and Creedence both have an absolute blast at the beach! (You know I just realized I did another layout in this post about Cree at the beach! How did I not catch that? :P)

Supplies:

Paper-Prima

Chipboard-American Crafts

Stickers-Making Memories

Flowers-Prima

Punches-Martha Stewart, Marvy

Paint-Claudine Hellmuth in classic teal, Craft Smart white

Now this project I designed to be my scrapper's block fix! :D I needed something where I could just create and not care. Hence, Let go. You tend to forget who you are creating for, and what it really means to you. This little book helped me a lot, and I strongly encourage making one of your own. It was super simple too, I just used a whole bunch of the brown paper bags that my kit club papers are packaged in! I cut them to size, stacked it all and sewed right down the middle with my machine, then just glued the papers in! :D Used a piece of paper and wood veneer to make the spine, which works quite nicely. Love how this cover turned out. If it wasn't my Fix it book, then I think I might just frame it.

First inside page.

And more pages just waiting to be filled.

Supplies:

Paper-Cosmo Cricket

Chipboard-Cosmo Cricket

Flower and Leaf-Making Memories

Paint-Claudine Hellmuth, Craft Smart

Lace-Prima

Punches-Marvy, Martha Stewart

Rubon-Cosmo Cricket

Corkboard butterfly-Chatterbox (punched with MS butterfly)

Stamps (letters)-Studio G

Ink-Stazon

Sticker-Cosmo Cricket

Bakers Twine-Martha Stewart

Other-Wood Veneer

Just finished this layout the other night, and it didn't turn out exactly like I had wanted, but still think it is fun! Huge mix of papers here, from the Boyfriend line, to Nutmeg and Earth Love! Took inspiration from Stephanie Howell's layout in this post-love that layout!

Supplies:

Paper-Cosmo Cricket, Bazzill Cardstock

Chipboard-Cosmo Cricket

Stickers-Cosmo Cricket

Punches-Fiskars Apron Lace, Marvy 1 1/2 in scallop circle, Martha Stewart 3 in 1 butterfly,

1 in circle and 1 in scallop circle

Baker's Twine-Martha Stewart, vintage

Corkboard-Chatterbox (used MS butterfly punch on these)

Other-Doily from Michael's, wood veneer

And because I am so absolutely excited and I have no one else to share it with who will understand really, I wanted to tell you this: I signed online this morn and went to my usual stuff, blah blah blah, then went to 2Peas to check what was new and HOLY COW!!!!! The LO above got picked as the Featured LO!!!!! I am over the moon right now! I have never had this happen, so I am so excited! And just had to share! :D LOL!

And this lovely LO was my first one out of the scrapper's block! I used the Studio Calico Oct main kit Yearbook (one of my favs of all time!) and the Fall Festival add on! And the picture there is of my daughter hidden in the wild flowers in our backyard. She seriously used to just get burried in them! (the picture kept giving off weird reflections-no matter how many times I rephotographed. I finally gave up!:P) Anyway I really had fun with this LO.

Supplies:

Paper-Bazzill cardstock, Sassafras Lass, Studio Calico exclusives, Crate Paper, Cosmo Cricket, October Afternoon, Jillibean Soup, Bo Bunny

Journaling tag-Jenni Bowlin

Stickers-Basic Grey, American Crafts

Brads-My Mind's Eye

Mist ink-Maya Road

Stamps (letters)-Studio G

Ink-Stazon, Cat's Eye

Punch-Marvy

Floral word strip-Making Memories

Die cut flower-Sassafras Lass

Sequin center-Prima

Felt-American Crafts

Other-Prima packaging

I also wanted to tell you about a site that I found a bit ago, called Rollip. :D It is a serious understatement to say that I am obssessed! Holy Cow I can not stop changing all my photos! I process them through here and presto they come out amazing!!! You have a few filters you can put it through and also if you want it to be a polaroid or not, but those are the only decisions you have to make, and after you have stunning photos!! Here are a few examples:

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Awesome, no?!! That pic of me, goodness I look so horrible, but the fixed one makes me not look so bad! :P

Well that is all I have for now! :P Things are getting very cold here. Certainly starting to feel a whole lot more like wintery times. I know it is not there yet but we are gettin real close! :D Cree has had a few developments over the last few weeks, we took her to get her hearing checked and she came back fine. We did that because she is not talking yet. Well wasn't. She now says Goodbye, Hi, and Kitty. It is so cute, it doesn't exactly sound like those words but we know that is what she means, but it is adorable to hear her voice. :D She is also in her own bed now. Not going quite so well but we are really working on it. And she is in love with reading books! She actually flips through each page and points to things and is just loving it! This was really hard for her before because she just was not patient enough to want to see the book. She would get mad and run off. So this is nice for us because it is making some special time for us as a family. :D Anyway on to scrappy stuff, I am working right now on some tags and a box. So as soon as I have some stuff to share I will get back on here!!! Hope all is well with everyone! Take care!

~Amy

Forget if you have seen me lately......

The real question is: Have you seen this?!!!!!! Holy Wow!!! I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am about this reveal! This is 100% without a doubt my fav collection yet!! :D To say that I am just a wee bit excited is a severe understatement! The colors are beautiful and perfect and the animals are just soooo adorable! Love it!

Well I can guarantee that as soon as this hits my door I will be in scrappy heaven! :D I will share as soon as I can!

As for my recent absence, :P Life has been crazy. Non stop and crazy. Been sick a million times, had no mojo, had Cree's 2nd birthday, family in town, and a weekend trip that is never as much of a vacation as we would wish it to be. Now I have a possible impending move and I am not looking forward to it. :P Needless to say I have not been able to sit at my scrap table for a very very very long time. This makes me very sad. This also means I have nada to be able to show you on here (except the awesomeness above!! :D) Anyway, I will soon have some things to share though. Maybe not all scrappy, but a share none the less. :D Hope everyone is well! Be back soon..... :D

~Amy