Come scrap with me!!!

Are you feeling stressed out? Do you still have more christmas shopping to do? Stop worrying and get scrapping. There is nothing like a little scrapbooking break to shake off the stress. This weekend and all winter long you can find me at my local scrapbooking store -- the Ashburn Family Scrapbooking Store -- so stop by and check out all the fun. I am hosting Happy Hour at the Creative Cafe and teaching 2008 Calendar classes in January.

OMG....I have some exciting news!!!!!

I'm thrilled thrilled thrilled!!! I was chosen as an All Moments Remembered DT finalist! I am doing a "happy dance" because this is such exciting news. There are 8 other finalists and all of the women are tremendously talented. AMR will choose 2 DT members from the 9 finalist – so I will have to wait (wait…OMG) to find out if I make the final cut. The storeowner, Stacey, is redesigning her store and the new site will be unveiled on December 27th so be sure to check it out.

Grading....Grading....Grading

I am grading papers. Big....big stacks of papers. I refuse to go to bed tonight until I finish -- and I am almost there. I needed a brake so I thought I would catch-up on some blogging and post my most recent CHIT CHAT CHALLENGE page. Come join the fun over at CHIT CHAT CHALLENGE. This week's pages are not due until Friday and the RAK is simply awesome!


The page above and the one below uses some great old photos. I scored them when my mom and dad came to visit recently for Thanksgiving. My dad (very graciously) brought the old family photo albums to share with me. OH MY GOODNESS -- there is so much goodness in the old albums. You will be seeing many more old photos over the next few months because I will not be able to help myself. Each one brings back so many wonderful memories of my childhood.


Thanks for visiting me and I will be a better blogger during my winter break. I do not go back to school until after MLK day. YEA YEA YEA!!!!
Sending you a big hug.....

Some of my (most recent) favorite pages

I have not had a lot of time to scrap lately but what I have created has been very heartfelt. Although I am sometimes rushed, I always find such peace in the stolen moments that I have to create my pages. I do love to create. So....here they are and thanks for looking.

Our first snow!!!!

I have been a really really bad blogger. Too many things on my plate these days. But there is nothing like a first snow to put a smile on my face. The kids did not get out of school today (can not figure out why the county did not cancel classes) so they had to wait until after school to play in the snow. The boys had a blast sledding down the hill in our back yard. The very hill that their father is foolishly determined to grow grass on. This is the first time Langston has been big enough to sled alone and wow his laugh was priceless. So, despite the pile of exams and papers that I have to grade -- I enjoyed the afternoon with my sons -- and I have no regrets.

I had a glorious Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is such a joyful holiday for me. It is the one time of the year that ALL of the family comes together. This year, it was an extra special highlight to host Thanksgiving at my home in Virginia. I had a wonderful long weekend with my family -- we ate...we laughed and ate some more. Oh....and I even gathered all of the women together on Friday afternoon for some scrapbooking. A first for them all. What a total blast.

I hope you enjoyed a wonderful turkey day too.
Hugs,
Wendi

This was the perfect challenge for me this week. We had to use a quote about stillness from Oprah, 1 calendar and masking. Journaling: "Stillness is waiting...Stillness is you"...Miles - it is my gift to you. Learn to be still, learn to be one with Nature...in your stillness you can listen, you can receive.

I also created the 3 books of wisdom, hope and faith using the metal pieces from 3.5 diskettes. I then used Adirondack's silver and gold alcohol inks to antique the metal. I glued heart and star brads on each. I also glued small sheets of card stock paper inside each book.

This is a great challenge for this season -- stop by CHIT CHAT CHALLENGE this weekend -- I am sure you will have a blast.

Oh....and guess what I am doing today. Getting the house ready for all the family that will start to arrive this weekend. I usually do not put the Christmas tree up this early but I thought WHY NOT? The tree, the decorations, the smells all make me so happy. Here is a pic of what my guest will see as soon as they enter my home. I am giddy with excitement and can not wait to see all of the FAM!!!

Here is a little little peek at my Chit Chat Challenge page

I will post the page tomorrow -- and if you have not joined in the challenges it is not too late. Pages must be posted by 11:59 pm on Thursday. So you still have a few hours. We have another great RAK this week. So don't delay ... come join in the fun.

My favorite holiday -- Thanksgiving -- is almost here!!!

I love gathering with my family every thanksgiving. It is a tradition that my grandfather started many years ago.

I do not have my own memories of my grandfather, but I do have my mother's stories. According to my mother, I adored my grandfather and he adored me. He enjoyed playing with me and I loved to cuddle on his lap. I have seen pictures of him, and those images are imprinted on my mind and heart. He is bigger than life. My grandfather made his transition when I was only two years old but he has left a lasting impression on me and my family.

My grandfather loved his wife and children. He loved family. He enjoyed seeing many faces gathered around a table full of home-cooked food. It is for this reason that his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren continue to gather at Thanksgiving. We come together from near and far. We leave our homes in Georgia, Illinois, and Virginia so that we can reflect, remember and celebrate our family, our traditions, and our love for all the blessings the Creator has bestowed upon us.

This Thanksgiving season we will all gather in Virginia. I have the honor of hosting thanksgiving in my home this year. It will be only the second time my family has hosted thanksgiving in Virginia. The first time was four year ago.

The menu this year is so yummy. It includes:
Orange roasted Turkey
Jerked Turkey
Holiday baked Ham
Standing Rib roast
Chi-town Lasagna
Mississippi Greens
Alabama Fried Corn
Southern Potato Salad
Supreme Mac and Cheese
Orleans Salmon and Shrimp
Mashed Potatoes
Candied Yams
Homemade rolls and corn bread
Yummy Dressing (not to be mistaken as stuffing)

Desert:
Butter Pecan Crisp
Holiday Fruit Pie
Sweet potato pies
Lemon pound cake
Granny Smith Apple pie

OMG how good does that menu look. And...just in case you were wondering I am not doing all the cooking. All of the ladies get in the kitchen on Wednesday and start cooking -- together. That is one of my favorite parts. I love all the hips and butts bumping into each other, the stories, the laughter -- the circle of sisterhood.

I hope you and yours have a wonderful holiday full of love and laughter. Let me know what is on your menu this year.

HUGS
Wendi

BE GLAD

At SCRAP IN STYLE TV the sisters start a list of "glads" every Friday. It is a wonderful way to refocus my attention on what is wonderful, blessed and beautiful in my life. It is so easy to get caught up in what is not going right and allow that negative energy to build and grow. I know that celebrating my blessings and remembering to be thankful is a better way to spend my energy. So...on Friday when I received a challenge from one of the "SISters" at SISTV to scrap a page about the things I am glad about -- I was on it!

I decided not to use any pictures....and just create a background (using only the scraps leftover on my table) to note my "glads." It was a fun, carefree and reflective challenge. Give it try....

It is Friday!

Wow...I am so thankful that it is finally Friday. It a beautiful cold and wet autumn day. I love it. I am bundled in a warm sweater sitting in my day room looking out at the wet leaves falling off the trees. I love days like this.

I gave you a sneak peek of my CHIT CHAT CHALLENGE page earlier this week -- so here is the whole sha-bang. To create the background I used a mixture of white paint and stencil paste on the bazzil paper. I quickly dried the mixture with my dryer and then crumpled the paper multiple times. The crumbling caused the paint/paste mixture to crackle. I love the effect. I also lightly inked the paper. If you have not experimented with stencil paste it is a fun and forgiving product to play with. Give it a try.

Be sure to stop by CHIT CHAT CHALLENGE and join in the fun.

Enjoy your weekend.....

I know...shame on me

I know I have not been a very good blogger lately. But....I just have a lot (too much, dog-gone-it) on my plate. I know I need to just -- breathe -- and take one day at a time. My mantra seems to be "THIS TOO SHALL PASS."

Well, I just wanted to load a quick sneak peek at my second page for CHIT CHAT CHALLENGE.



This was a bunch of fun and I hope you find time to join in. Oh...and it is not too late to get your submission in for the 1st challenge. Be sure to check out the great (really INCREDIBLE) RAKS we have for you...they are unbelievably yummy.

Our sponsor for our second challenge is DAMSEL DESIGNS and look at the lovely RAK she has prepared.


I have a very very very long "to do" list today ....so I am O-U-T....out!

Sending you a big HUG, no matter where you are in this world.
Wendi

Some Halloween pics

The first CHIT CHAT CHALLENGE IS UP!!!!!

Here is my take on our first challenge. It was so much fun to create and I really hope you will stop by and play with us.

A sneak peek of my CHIT CHAT CHALLENGE page

Tomorrow is the BIG DAY at CHIT CHAT CHALLENGE! We will be posting our first challenge. I thought you might want to see a sneak peek of my page -- just to get you thinking. I hope you will join in because it will be a lot of fun and there are great RAKs.

Hope to see ya......

Have fun with your stash

I really wanted to play with my acrylic paints. I added a little of this and that and created the foundation for building the rest of the page. I have been holding onto the the Tinkering Ink paper and knew that I wanted to cut out the branches and bird. I pulled some scraps from my left-over collection of pattern papers and went to work. I have added some cheap bling from Jo-Ann's fabric store, plenty of rub-ons, some lace, and a little bit of this and that to finish off the page.

I am sure you have lots of yummy goodies in your stash -- go pull them out. Never be afraid to mix and match whatever you have -- it is all about telling your story and creating art. That is all that ever matters.

Ashburn Family Scrapbooking Store

Today, I stopped by my LSS, The Ashburn Family Scrapbooking Store,
in northern Virginia. I used their Accu-cut to create some really cute felt embellishments. I will share a picture of them later -- and my oh my, you are going to lub lub how yummy and fun they are.

The owner of my LSS, Kely, and the gals are super friendly and helpful. They have a lot going on this weekend -- so if you live in the area be sure to visit the shop. There will be a free Halloween photo shoot with Marirosa Anderson on Sunday. It will be oodles of spooky fun. While you are getting cute pictures of the kiddies be sure to sign up for a class with Danelle Johnson, the designer of Creative Imagination's Creative Cafe. In November, she will be teaching several classes at the store.

I am planning on relaxing at home and getting a few scrapbook pages completed. I hope you have a delightful fall weekend and have the chance to crop crop crop.

HUGS
Wendi

BOYS!!!???

Sometimes it is so wonderful to catch those unexpected and wonderfully "BOY" moments. I love the photo I used on this page. Although, I should tell you, it is another summer layout since I have been too stressed and too busy this week to unleash my MOJO. In fact, my MOJO is hiding. But, the crazy thing is, I really want to scrapbook. I am crossing my fingers and my toes that I can relax and let my creative energy flow this weekend. I hope....I hope.....!!!!

What do you do with your less than perfect photos?

I love this photograph of me and my boys, but my baby boy is not looking at the camera. In the past, I have cropped the baby out and used just the image of me and my eldest. But, that bothered me. I hated taking the baby out. So, I decided to create a page that acknowledged the imperfection of the photo. And...isn't that the way life is? Kids will not (do not) freeze and smile so that we can take the perfect photograph and create the perfect scrapbook page. The truth is that we need to "be o.k." with the imperfect photographs. If we can accept the imperfections, we can capture our life, our kids, our families, just as they are. We can capture the IMPERFECTLY perfect. I want you to pull that blurry photo out of the box. Grab that holiday photo with the kids not looking at the camera -- and scrap it.

Create Love Notes

The journaling: Because I am your mother I find more things in life to smile about. Miles, your smiles inspire me. They are full of such energy, hope and carefree happiness. I love watching a smile dawn on your face -- it rises in your eyes and spills over into your cheeks. How can a mother thank her son for his smiles?



The journaling: Miles, what really amazes me is your ability to find joy in all that you do. No matter where you are...you always jump in...you give it 100%. I love that about you and hope it is a quality that you keep.



The journaling: Langston, because I am your mother I enjoy your sloppy wet kisses. I never imagined that even the second time around I would find such joy in wet baby kisses. It makes me kinda sad to see you grow up. I know that you will always love me, but the wet kisses will not last forever. Perhaps the best part of kissing you -- is that when I look into your eyes I see love, I see the best part of who I am, and I am humbled...I am moved.



Since my Mojo has taken leave lately I thought I would share something I created this summer. I made this mini-album as a compilation of love notes to my sons. It is freestyle and yet I love all the emotion that is bare and transparent in my journaling. Create "love notes" for someone you love -- it will be a {he}art project both of you will treasure.

CHIT CHAT CHALLENGE

Are you wild and crazy? Do you love to have fun with your scrapbooking goodies? Do you like to push yourself? Did you answer YES, YES, and YES -- then you must check out CHIT CHIT CHALLENGE. On November 1st the first challenge will be posted.

Stop by CHIT CHAT CHALLENGE and get to know the wonderful design team.

You must get XM radio!

You must get XM radio so that you can listen to XM 156 which is Oprah's station. I love to listen to Oprah's "Soul Series" -- I find it so uplifting and inspiring. I also love to listen to Dr. Maya Angelou. Anybody else out there listen to XM 156? Who is your favorite host? Do you ever find that you have arrived at your destination but can not get out of the car? Tell me all about it.

Do you doodle?

My hubby took a rare pic of me this summer so I thought I'd play around with doodling.I wanted to create a fun and playful page about myself. Doodling is a great way to give a whimsical feel to your {he}art work. Journaling is all over the page and includes: I love to dance with my husband, I love a big bowl of chili in the wintertime, I love teaching, I love my locks, I love waking up with a smile, I love to hike in the fall, I love my 2 boys, I love laughing until my stomach hurts......

It was a lot of fun to create and may be a technique you would like to give a try.