Old 2008-Bring in the new.

Well I don't have any projects I've been working on because I have just be spending time with my family. Yesterday I went and helped my sister unpack in her new house and our kids got to play. Then last night we went to Matt's Mom's house for an evening of games and food. We played Uno, Wacky Six, the numbers game and started dominoes.
Now Matt decided we'd have the kids invite their friends over for a New Years Eve party. They will be able to play the Wii, board games and movies if they want. But of course I get the job of cleaning up the house before and afterwards (not my favorite job) I'm the kind of person who just loves to stay home on NYE and watch movies and play games all night.
I know a lot of people had a bad 2008 but we had both good and bad as any year in the life of a normal family. I hope financially 2009 will be better for us and anyone else out there needing it. But our family is very blessed and I'm thankful for all we have and the opportunity I've had to start substitute teaching. It has been a blessing for me (Just love those kids) As well as my wonderful, smart and loving kids and My sweet giving husband who would give the shirt off his back to anyone in need before asking for anything for himself. I can gush about him because I know he never reads my blog (he gets embarrassed easily) But he really is a wonderful man!!!

I don't really ever make resolutions for the new year but I do make some goals every once in a while. One of my big goals is to keep up on clearing off my computer of my digital designs since right now it's so full I can't save anything else (OOOHHHH NOOOOO!) And to use the beautiful designs more. I know everyone seems to put lose weight on their list but mine is to just start small and walk on the treadmill each day. I can probably do that.
Sorry such a long boring post and no pictures but there will be some to come in 2009.
Have a great New Years everyone.

Get it before it's gone

Well it's my friend Amy Sumrall's last day of her going out of business sale so go and get some TODAY. Her blog

Winter Wonder "Christmas" Surprise.

We woke Christmas morning to a huge snow storm (How is drifts of snow 1/3 of the way up the garage door for ya). It's beautiful but a lot of work to keep shoveling it off the driveways. Well my kids did not even wake up until almost 8 am and that's after my husband got up and dressed and probably woke them. (I think he was more excited than them) LOL Anyway as a family we decided that we would ask for just one present from Santa and it was a Wii video game system. Because our kids are use to huge amounts of gifts from Santa when we went into the living room Josh said "We didn't get anything" then he finally saw what he was looking for- The system and every possible accessory and game for the Wii. They were so excited. Even my 10 yr old daughter who is on the fence about still believing in Santa said "This costs a lot of money so I know it had to be from Santa" One more year of sweet innocence.
My husband and I weren't really getting very many or expensive gifts since we were cutting back this year. Well my husband can't seem to understand that and I got a big surprise when I opened a box with a brand new Nikon Coolpix digital camera (10.1 mega-pixels and 18X zoom). Well of course I love it but I feel bad I didn't think of something better for him than some shirts and a bag of pistachios. He always does things big and I'm a cheap-scape. He just told me well that's what you do "TAKE PICTURES" which is true. But now I have to figure out a whole new camera.
I still have wrapping paper all over my living room and presents are scattered around the house and it's still snowing outside and you know what- it's wonderful.
I hope everyone who stops by had a great Christmas/insert your holiday/season.
Best wishes for the New Year too.

More gifts

I made this Angel Door hanger with a a plain wooden one I got at the craft store. I use the kit "Heaven and Nature Sing" from Krystal Hartley to make the design. I printed out and adhered it to the door hanger with Mod Podge. Then I added irridecent ribbon, a felt flower and sewed on a button.

Say it isn't so.

Well one of my great designers Amy Sumrall is retiring from designing. I have really enjoyed being on her creative team and playing with her great designs. She has all her kits on sale so go to her blog to get links to her stores. We'll all miss your fun and funky style. She even has a free alpha on her blog right now so hop on over.

Thrifty Christmas Gifts

Well we don't have a lot of money this Christmas season so we decided to make gifts that I had all the ingredients right here at home. For my boys friends I decorated some small almond cans with each boys name on it and then filled it with gummy worms (a can of worms)I didn't get a pic of that. Then for my daughters friends I happened to have some big wooden clothespins in my scrapbooking stash, that we painted and put glittered letters for their names. Then I picked a photo of them and mounted on cute paper. There you have it - instant photo holders. For the ladies I visit teach (and for my husbands families he visits) I decided to use my Cricut and some vinyl that a friend gave me. I purchaces glass blocks over a year ago that I never used and decided now was the time. I also had left over ribbon to use for the glass block project. The only thing I purchased to finish these things were the gummy worms and they were only $1.50 a bag. I love a good bargain.

And a Partridge in a Pear Tree

Well I made these fun ornaments with a kit called "Sweet Surrender" from Meredith Cardall. On sale at FS and 3S for $1 today. On sale on Sat at ES. I put my kids pics in the frame, printed out on photo paper, cut out and put on brown cardstock. Just that easy.

Crazy Christmas Cards

Well I forgot to post what my Christmas cards looked like. I did them digitally and then mounted on sage green cardstock and inked with brown. This is just the digital part so I don't have to take a picture since I alredy sent them. I used that program that I saw months ago to morph my family into some weird faces(you can look back in my blog to find it if you want). Anyway you'll think it's funny or not. Since my kids are 7,8,10 they look like teenagers in this one and my husband looks oh so suave and debonaire. LOL! Well at least I had fun and thats all that counts right?

Twilight before Christmas

Well for you Twilight fans. Here a super funny parody on a fellow scrappers site. Go here to see it. Let me know what you think.

Kids Christmas Program

I made this layout with pics from my kids Christmas program last week. I used the kit "Candy Cane Lane" by Meredith Cardall at ES. The alpha is from Fee Jardine at SSD.

Did you know?

Well music has a special place in my heart and specially Christmas music. I went to a Christmas Fireside last night. About 8-10 different choirs sang and the congregation sang Christmas hymns in between each choir. WOW! what a beautiful thing.
And along that same line I made a page that represents a song that for some reason makes me cry every time I hear it. I need to find a download of it somewhere so I can hear it anytime I want to. Remember the reason for the season.
Our Savior Jesus Christ.

Those Boys

Well I got this cute photo from my sister. It was her sons birthday and she got a cute shot of Logan with my two boys. I used the new kit "Rough and Tumble" by Meredith Cardall and TheresK at ES. I really love the puffy clouds and the great red alpha.

Happy Feet

Well I made this layout with the cute new kit "Happy Feet" by Krystal Hartley and Ziggle Designs at Scrap Orchard today. She has a cute little brag book that is made with the kit too. I used this pic of Josh who is out in the first snow without a coat and having a great time.

Quick Page Delight

Well I have been slacking on doing actual scrapbook layouts so I've resorted to using some quick pages from Meredith Cardall who is a brillant designer and she makes the best quick pages around. She used some of the best kits and makes them gorgeous. On this page she uses a kit "Kooky Kritters" from Amy Sumrall to make this page that was perfect for some close ups of my kids on Halloween.

Playing Catch Up!

Well I have been substituting a lot so I have a bunch of projects I've done but not able to post until now. I made some helper cans for Primary. I used the kit "Zoe' by Misty Cato. Then I made this Christmas tree advent thing. I used strips of different papers to make the tree and then I used various elements to make my magnets (large clear glass pebbles put on top of element and then magnet applied to the back) I know I used various elements from a bunch of Krystal Hartley's kits and the Xmas paper was from Melissa Bennett. I will be using it for singing time and have the numbers of the songs on the back but you could make 25 and use it as an advent calendar. I just held the paper onto the back of a cookie sheet with magnets on each corner. Great way to get a magnet board if you don't have one.

I've been published

Well in a digi newspaper that is. My Christmas box project is featured in the Daily Scrapper. Check it out here

Merry & Bright

Well I'm in a monthly card swap group and we had to make Christmas cards for this month. I got this really cute kit "Merry & Bright" from Pamela Donnis who is a fellow team member of Krystal Hartley. I did it all digitally and then cut out an extra tree to add dimention. Then I used a wooden star and painted yellow and glittered. The alphabet is a stamped one from Heather Roselli at SSD.

Off I Go

Well I was going to get things back in order as I have been sick in bed for two days but I got a subsitute call this morning so I'm off to teach some 4th graders. Hopefully I'm done with the sickness and get through the day. I'll have to read everyones blog later. Bye

Thanks

Well I just have so much to be thankful for it's hard to name them all. But mostly that my family is well and happy and all my extended family is back living in the same area and we see each other often. You will understand if you have a bunch of brothers and sisters who are close(friends even). I have some great friends. I have in the last year gotten to meet some new friends via the digi scrapbooking world who are beautiful people and just fun to be around. I am now a substitute teacher and I get so much joy from those little people(elementary school sub). I am also the Primary chorister in church and love singing and helping the kids learn to love music. I have much to be thankful for today. Except for the 20 lbs of potato's I need to peal and cut to get ready for today's big family dinner. I made pumpkin pies yesterday. We have a group of over 40 something so we have to have it at a church house. Well off to start getting ready. Have a Great Thanksgiving everyone!

Frosty Faces Album

Well I made this fun album with a frosted plastic album I found at Roberts. I used the collab kit "Winter Wonder" from FS. I used all the papers and elements from it except the black scalloped frame which is from Amy Sumrall's "Kooky Kritters Add On" and the alpha is a freebie from Amber Gray called "Silver Twilight Alpha".
I used picures from two different sledding trips. We go on at least one big sledding trip every January.

I know-Twilight-Again!

Well if you are a Twilight fan and a digi scrapper I found one for you. Just had to have it and it's free too. Here's the link

Nicky's B-day Party

Well we had Nicky's birthday party on Saturday since his birthday is so close to Thanksgiving. We had a bowling party with a bunch of little boys and sister too They had a blast! Here are some pics of the party and I also made a little treat topper for the goodie bags. I used the kit "Outer Space Chicks" from Amy Sumrall from FS to make them. Now I just have to get more stuff ready for his real birthday tomorrow along with making pumkin pies and getting all ready for Thansgiving. The crazy holiday season begins.

Santa needs some mail

Well I made this little mailbox with a plain white one I got last year at Target (so don't go looking because I don't think they have more this year) I used the cute kit "Feelin Frosty" from Krystal Hartley at FPD. I also added some glitter, ribbon, ric rac, button and a sparkly gem on the flag. I might have my kids write their Christmas lists and put them in it. Then I'll take them out and put in the real mailbox-My kids are trying really hard to still believe in Santa. I was like that when I was a kid too. You want the magic to still be there as long as possible.

How Many of Me?

Wow I was a bit surprised to find out there are not many of me in the US. That's great. Try it out.

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 4 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Things I've done

Well I stole this off Rachel's blog who stole it off Shell's blog. If it's fun you just have to steal it. The things I've done will be in bold.
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band Well I played the Cello and Clarinet in Elementary School. I was in choirs but that’s not a real band.
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland.
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris - No,but my husband lived there for 2 yrs.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (I only saw it from the Verisanos bridge when driving from NY to NJ and from the plane when flying into NY)
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run- in girls softball
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors- here in some small towns in Utah
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied- As a kid I think when I had 10 bucks I thought I was set.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted- it was at the state fair and it was a caricature photo-that count?
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason-Actually I’ve gotten flowers from total strangers before- at an airport once and from a guy at a 7-11 store. Also from past boyfriends and hubby.
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy- Are you kidding me yes, I’m a pack rat. I’d have kept them all if I could.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt- It was like 6 inches big but I did it.
73. Stood in Times Square-not sure but I walked all over NY with a friend half the time we didn't know where we were.
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London- (I saw all of London except that)
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper- when I turned one. They use to published those pics.
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someones life –A friends nephew was choking and I pulled candy out of his throat to start him breathing.
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous—Toni Teniel (70’s singer), Jimmy Osmond, and the black guy from the Love Boat show.
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Twilight Night

Well I went to the opening night of Twilight. I went with a few of my sisters and friends and we were part of a big party put on my the Utah Twilight Moms group. They rented out a whole theater and we also had a whole VIP area with vendors selling everything Twilight (jewelry,tee shirts,wristbands, etc) and they even had a sparkling booth were you got to get sprayed with sparkle spray. They had a raffle and gave away some fun prizes. The movie did not disappoint and I had a great evening out with the girls. The actors they got for all the characters fit perfectly and it just makes you want to see more. Now we just have to wait for them to make the next movies.

Give Thanks

I saw this project on Good Things Utah and knew it would be the perfect present for my friend Jennifer's birthday. Well I did it on Tuesday but couldn't post because I know she looks at my blog sometimes. Well I had lunch with her yesterday and give it to her. Hope you like it Jenn! I plan on making one for my family as well. It's a great way to get some thoughts from everyone in your family on what they are thankful for and then put a picture to remember the moment. You can get the instructions off this blog. http://www.kmckaydesigns.com/

The album was just a blank book except for the brown spine and I mod podged paper onto it and added a pinkish flower and glittery MM brad for a center. Then I used the We R Memory Keepers kit "coppered out" to make the pages inside. I made enough of the pages to do all their family plus grandmas and grandpas ( I just showed 2 examples)

Off to create some more. I have 3 projects in the works and since my husband had to take my car and I'm homebound all day I hope to get them all done.

Happy Day Everyone!

Wanna Date?:

A date on the calendar that is. Well I have been making my 2009 calendars that I give to grandparents and others for Christmas presents. I used a premade calendar made by Heather Roselli that purchased from SSD. I just had to put photos in and then put in all the holidays and birthdays. And I made the front cover of the calendar with the cute kit from Krystal Hartley and Corina Nielsen called 9-5 Chic from FPD.

I am finally done with our Primary Children's Program. It was on Sunday and they did fabulous. They sang great and made me look good. Now we can move on to some fun Christmas songs that we will be singing at the ward Christmas Party.

Bunch of Cards

I've made a few cards in the last little while but didn't have time to post since I've been substituting most of the week. I taught a 1st grade class for 2 days and a whole day kindergarten class another. And WOW did the kindergarteners take it out of me. I needed a rest when I got home but I am finding out that I really, really love to teach little kids. They are so sweet and genuine. I hope to get some more jobs in the next month while my kids are in school.

I made this card for a card swap group I'm in. I used 2 new kits. The first is from Amy Sumrall called "A Lil Shabby" at TDC and the second kit is from Krystal Hartley called "Feelin Frosty" at FPD. Here's a card I made for my sisters new baby. I used the collab kit called "Dream a Little Dream" by Kreative Karma, Krystal Hartley, Amy Sumrall, Meredith Cardall, Ellie Lash and Sugarplum Paperie. And it's at Faith Sisters.
Here's a card I made for a friends B-day. I used the kit 9-5 Chic by Krystal Hartley and Corina Nielsen at FPD.

Feelin Frosty

Well you must go see the great layout by my fellow Krystal Hartley team member Rachel http://realrach.blogspot.com/. She did a fab job with the new kit Feelin Frosty from Krystal.

It's on sale today for $1 then it goes up to regular price. I haven't had time to play with it yet as I have been subtituting all week.

Happy Bday to Me

Well I know my birthday was last week but I got some money from my MIL and I just bought a few crafting tools of my dreams. The first one is a Bind it All. It can punch and bind mini albums, calendars, etc. I'm excited because you can punch chipboard, acrylic, tin, and a stack of cardstock that is up to 1/8 inches thick. I also got the corner rounder that rounds corners on all that stuff too. I'm excited to start a project with it. I am going to combine chipboard, tags, acrylic pages and decorate them all up. And the best part of it all was I got a 40% off coupon from my local Scrapbook Store and saved $33. (Happy Dance!!!)

I got inspired by a designer named Teresa Collins, she does some fabulous work. Check out her website at http://www.teresacollinsdesigns.com/

Substituting begins

Well my kids go back on track on Monday and I have a few substitute jobs lined up for the rest of the month. I would like to sub at my kids school so I made this flyer and biz cards to give to all the teachers at their school. I hope this will drum up a lot more jobs for me. I used the darling kit from Krystal Hartley "The Sky is Falling" freebie. I absolutely love the colors and elements in this kit.

Winter Wonderland so early?

Well this is what we woke up to this morning. The kids couldn't wait to go play in the snow.

Around the Town

I used Krystal Harley and Jennifer Barrette's kit "In the Neighborhood" at FPD to make this layout of my kids with their costumes on.

Change is in the Air

Well the Fall weather here has been gorgeous but the leaves are blowing around outside and it looks like it's about to turn cold soon. I used the new November collab. kit from Faith Sisters coming out tomorrow Nov. 1st to make this "Winter Fun pail". Ton's of stuff on sale at FS some up to 50% off. so hop on over ther. I plan to use it for primary and put Styrofoam balls inside to look like snowballs and attach a song to each so when the kids pick one out that is the song we sing. (using Styrofoam balls was my son, Josh's idea- what a smarty!)

Gettin digified

Well I've been super busy making some digital hybrid projects this last week. And here we go:

Here's a Kritters Bingo Game I made up with Amy Sumrall's kit Kooky Kritters at TDC it's on sale for $3.99. I also used 4 of her other kits to have enough kritters.

Then I made this 2009 Monthly Goal Booklet using Krystal Hartley and Corina Nielsen's new kit "9-5 Chic" at FPD on sale for $1.00 today so run and get it. Also she has another kit "In the Neighborhood" on sale for $1.00 too. I just haven't had time to make anything with it yet.

Then I made this Christmas Memories Box with a kit "PaperPieced Christmas" from Debra Ballance at Faith Sisters. Hers is on sale for $3.00

I have one more project I made but I won't be able to post it until tomorrow.

New Baby in the Family

Well my sister April had her baby a couple of days ago and I went to visit her in the hospital and got these cute photos. Just gotta love those cubby babies.

Here's a layout I did with the photos. The kit is from Amy Sumrall "Close to You" coming soon to TDC and the frames are also from Amy.

Bringin Back Summer

Well I used a new kit from Meredith Cardall callled "Bringin Back Summer" at FS. I made a round acrylic album with some fun summer pics of my kids.

Raspberry Mint Truffle

Doesn't that name just sound yummy. Well I helped name this kit with Amy Sumrall and friends and I had fun making a page with it too. It's on sale today for $4.00 at the Digi Chic http://www.thedigichick.com/shop/product.php?productid=19194&cat=0&page=1 So hop on over and take a peek.

I'm a Scorpio

I found some fun facts about Scorpios and I found them soooo acurate on most accounts. So here's the info if your interested. http://astrocenter.astrology.msn.com/msn/ArticleAstrologyHomeV2.aspx?sd=20051018&GT1=21001

Some Autumn Fun

Well my kids are now off track (year round school) so I have no time to myself and have to think up things to keep them busy. So in the next few weeks there may be less scrapping/crafting and more running around finding fun things to do.

On Thursday my sister's and I took our kids to Gardner Village, which is a walk around shop area that is decorated with funny witches all over. It's a free event that is fun for kids as well as parents. Well with 4 moms and 16 kids it's not an easy task to herd them all around but we did it. Then we took them to Chick-Fil-A for lunch and then back to our house to run and play while we sat and talked a bit. On Friday the kids went with Dad to the Scarecrow festival were they got to do all sorts of bounce houses, games, making rockets and face painting. I got a day without kids to run some errands. Then we had a cousin Birthday/Halloween party so the kids got to get there costumes all ready. We had a Scream ghost guy, A surfer dude and Wendy from "Wendy's" fast food fame. We plan on going to the pumpkin patch this week to get our pumpkins for carving and then to a haunted house (they are getting brave). On Saturday we have a church Halloween party and the kids get to dress up and play games and get all sorts of treats. Then maybe next week we will take a trip to the zoo. Wow rereading that made me tired. I better get my energy up for the next 3 weeks to come.