Warm Wishes Christmas House

I am so, so excited to share this project with you! I wanted to create something to commemorate the girls' first Christmas that I could pull out year after year. I've had this wooden house in my stash for awhile and wanted to make something very shabby and soft. I painted the house evergreen, then used a crackle medium and then painted cream paint on top to finish. I adhered Rusty Pickle buttons using Diamond Glaze and then glittered the tops of them. The majority of the house uses Melissa Frances products - patterned paper, chipboard, stickers, diecuts, pearls, trim, rick rack, and resin frame. I strung an old rusty jingle bell that I've also had forever on twine to hang from the center of the house. I also have built up a collection of vintage Christmas music that I used on the house. My "snow" for the Christmas tree and snowman scenes is white tulle that I had from my wedding.

I did quite a bit of editing in Photoshop to get my photos just the way I wanted them. The colors in the original photos are quite vivid and I didn't want them to look off with the shabby look I was going for. I desaturated them so the colors blend more with the whole project.

I've been working on some projects I can't quite share yet for The Scrappy Gourmet. Within the next couple of weeks, I will have a layout kit and mini album kit for sale.

I am also VERY excited to share that I won Archiver's "Share Your Story" contest! Thank you so much for voting...I really appreciate it! I am very much looking forward to getting out of the house to crop for a while! This winter weather has me going stir crazy! I might wait a month or so to use my crop time but it gives me something to keep my sights on! :)

Well, all for now! I'll have a new layout to share soon! :)

Very exciting news!

First, I would like to share a new layout that I made using the Dear Santa kit from NoelMignon.com. I mixed a bunch of manufacturers here: My Mind's Eye, Collage Press, Upsy Daisy Designs (not in kit) patterned paper, Collage Press journaling tag, Crate Paper sticker, Elle's Studio tag, Jenni Bowlin alphabet stickers, and October Afternoon sticker. These pictures are actually from the girls' first experience in the snow. They LOVED it and were so excited! We've had quite the Iowa winter and I'm sure it's one that we will be talking about for a LONG time!

And, I'm very excited to announce that I am finalist in Archiver's "Share Your Story" contest. You can view my story here how scrapbooking has impacted my life: Share Your Story Finalists. The voting is done via Facebook and you can do so by visiting here: Facebook Poll. There's a chance the poll might close tonight so I would appreciate your vote!!!!!

Here's to a hopefully productive weekend! :)

Snow Much Joy (and scrapping for twins!)

I have another new layout to share today using the Dear Santa kit from NoelMignon.com. Noel's kits are AMAZING. Seriously. She packs them full of papers and embellishments and I always feel like I am more than getting my money's worth. And, her kits are definitely my style with lots of product from manufacturers I use. This is just an endorsement from a very happy customer. I have scoured the web for kits I like and hers are consistently among my favs.

At any rate, I just LOVED these photos of Nora we took over Christmas at my parents. The girls both loved being out in the snow for the first time but Nora's eyes just took on a little extra sparkle so I decided to highlight these photos in a layout by themselves. I have another layout to share later this week using one of the photos here but it is more of a whole family page.

On this particular layout, I did a lot of machine stitching and distressing to add texture to the page. I also challenged myself to pull something older out of my stash to use on the page. I've had these Heidi Swapp snowflakes forever and they were the perfect embellishment. The colors in the fabric "joy" matched Nora's coat exactly. I love it when things work out that way.

The title of my post also included (and scrapping for twins) so I wanted to share what I have decided to do about the girls' scrapbooks. Initially, I thought I would create duplicate pages of everything I made but then the more I thought about it...I decided that was just crazy. It would be so much work and take some of the joy out of creating for me. I decided it was more important to get the memories documented than worry about the girls each having the pages some day. They can either fight over the pages with both of them or make color copies. I'm also planning on creating layouts with each individual girl as well (such as the one you see here). They might be twins but they definitely have distinct and different personalities and it's important to me to capture that in their scrapbooks. Those layouts will be theirs to keep.

Well, I've got a couple of kiddos to feed some lunch. More from me this week! :)

NEW from Upsy Daisy Designs!!!!

I have some sneak peeks for you today to share what Upsy Daisy Designs is releasing at Winter CHA. I am ABSOLUTELY in LOVE with these new releases. They are very different from anything out there and that's one of the many things I love about Upsy Daisy Designs. I can especially see a lot of projects from me using Blossom as these are the colors of my girls' room plus who doesn't love little girl layouts in pink, green and brown. YUM! :) Way to go Upsy Daisy Designs!

We Believe

I have another new layout to share with you today. I used Melissa Frances's Christmas line on this one. It's one of my favorite Christmas lines I have ever come across and I've been dying to use it. Despite the blizzard conditions, we had a great first Christmas with the girls. Before the holidays even came about, we would put them in front of the tree and they were just fascinated by all the lights and ornaments. I captured these photos one such morning.

To make the tree on my layout, I cut out leaves using my Cricut and added a little cream paint to the edges to shabby them up. The ornaments were made by layering Rusty Pickle buttons and Melissa Frances rhinestones. I used a pinking shears on the very edge of the larger patterned paper and sewed it onto kraft cardstock using both straight and zigzag stitches. Everything got a touch of cream paint before it was adhered to the page.

We're having another snow day in Iowa today. The weather has been unreal here the past month. This is our third BLIZZARD. Crazy! It's the kind of winter that my parents remember. I remember having a snow day here and there growing up but nothing quite like this. But, I'm thankful we're all snuggly warm in our cozy house and maybe having another day in our jammies. :)

My Miracle Girls

My two precious girls are definitely my miracle girls especially when I thought I might never be a mom. Never in my wildest dreams would I imagine that I would have twin girls someday. This layout pays homage to my love of all things girly. The girls had these darling summer outfits with the cutest pink ruffles on the butt that I just had to snap some pictures. I played around with The Pioneer Woman's PhotoShop actions when editing my photos. Almost everything here is Melissa Frances - patterned papers, crepe paper, stickers, chipboard, and pearls. The button is Jenni Bowlin and I also used my Fiskar's punch. I added texture to the page with the crepe paper and the pleated patterned paper. (The strip of patterned paper at the bottom is not crooked in real life - don't know what happened to my photo there.)

I've been a bit of an insomniac this week so you'll be seeing several projects from me soon. I have to say that I'm enjoying this burst of creative energy! :)

Sugar & Spice Challenge

I decided to play along with the Sugar & Spice Challenge over at Noel Mignon.com's Challenge Blog. Instead of creating a layout, however, I decided to make some nursery decor for the girls' room. It's been something I have meaning to do for awhile but I have either a) been busy being a mom or b) not been sure what I want to do in there. Nora & Lily's bedding is very soft and shabby with pink, brown, cream and a little green. Keeping that in mind, I pulled out beautiful Melissa Frances papers, pearls, stickers, chipboard and rub-ons, Rusty Pickle buttons and ribbon, Prima flowers, my Fiskar's punch and lots of glitter and paint to create this keepsake box. I dusted the buttons ("spice") with a sprinkling of "sugar" (Pink Paislee glitter), included a lot of PINK, and tied it all up with something SOFT (cream tulle and brown ribbon). I LOVE the way this turned out and can't wait to create some more projects for their room.

A Walk in the Park

Two posts in one week from me...can you believe it???!!!! I just have to share this new layout I created using Upsy Daisy Design's "A Walk in the Park" collection. I am absolutely in love with the colors in this collection and it matched perfectly with the pictures we took of the girls in their 1st Thanksgiving outfits. (Yep, I'm one of those moms who has to buy their children outfits for each holiday).

I used one of my favorite Fiskar's punches, SEI and Making Memories alphabet stickers and machine stitching for a homespun feel. I like using kraft cardstock these days as a neutral background and it seemed to really make the colors pop in the patterned papers.

I'm dying to get my scrap room cleaned up so I can start scrapping Christmas pictures. I've got some kits I can't wait to tear into and some Christmas papers and embellishments I've been hoarding. I think my daughters' first Christmas would be the perfect occasion to create with them! :)

Happy New Year if I don't check in again until next week! :)

Christmas and a fun announcement!

It's been a while since I last blogged but I've been busy making sure my girls' first Christmas was a memorable one! We ended up with a pretty nasty blizzard in Iowa and ended up snowed in at my parent's house for several days. We even lost power for a while and would have had Christmas Eve dinner by candlelight if it wasn't for my dad's generator. The girls were way too spoiled by their grandparents and aunts. They have tons of new toys and books. I particularly love the new rocking pony from grandpa and grandma, Holiday Barbie's from Aunt Jaime, and their new toy kitchen, shopping cart and food from Aunt Jennifer. We also got some fun toys to help them crawl from Aunt Laura and a new book to read. We were very blessed at Christmas and it was so fun to watch the girls open presents.

Of course, the best present for Glen and me was spending it with our precious girls. Every year while we were trying to have children, Glen would say "Maybe by Christmas." Christmas would come and go and we would be so disappointed. But, God had the most wonderful plan for our family in His perfect timing. And now there's no way we could even imagine our lives without Nora and Lily. I've got a fun picture to share of the girls in their Santa outfits. This picture just makes me laugh and laugh.

We still need to have our own little Christmas with the girls and Christmas with Grandpa and Grandma Cornell. And we'll have all the grandparents here for a little New Year's Eve party. I'm looking forward to the new year and what it will bring. As soon as Christmas is over, I always get the itch to clean and organize my house and that's starting already.

Speaking of the new year, I have some fun news to share! I've been selected to join The Scrappy Gourmet as a designer next year. I am very excited about this opportunity and hope to have some project kits to share soon.

Well, I better get my day started. I also hope to have some new projects to share soon. I've been busy working on Christmas presents so I haven't had any time to work on the girls' scrapbooks at all but believe me, I have A LOT of new pictures to choose from! :)

A couple new layouts

I have a couple new projects to share as I've been feeling the scrapping groove again. It comes and goes as a mommy of twins! :) On the first layout, I used mostly Rusty Pickle's Costume Party line. My "At the patch" layout uses an older Scrapbook Circle kit with Pink Paislee, Jenni Bowlin, American Crafts and Making Memories. It feels so good to get into my older stash of kits and product and be using it up!!! For the yellow strip, I cut a 1/2" strip of patterned paper and folded it to create a pleat. I inked up the edges and then stitched it to hold it into place.

And here are a couple new photos of the girls at 6 months. Nora is actually starting to sit up pretty well on her own. Lily is not that far behind. Our big news at our house is that both girls are teething. Miss Lily is especially miserable. We had a pretty bad week last week with fussiness (and not just the little girls). :) Mommy was pretty crabby too by week's end. Glen and I had a much needed date to see New Moon on Saturday afternoon. I LOVED IT! I was in tears multiple times. I felt like the emotion of the book was well captured. I can't wait to go see it again later this week! :)

All for now! :)

Some new projects and an update!

It's hard to believe my little girls are now 6 months old! We are having such fun with them as they discover and explore their surroundings. They love to play in their exersaucers. They also love to watch mommy work it the kitchen. They watch me all day long...I just LOVE it! I have my moments of frustration that's for sure, but being a mommy is the best!

The girls were chili peppers for Halloween and took 2nd place in our community's costume contest. We had so much fun dressing them up. I also had to get them "My 1st Halloween" outfits and got some great photos and wear out of them.

I have a few new projects to share. I made the grandparents these footprint canvasses for grandparent's day and they loved them! I used mostly Melissa Frances on one canvas and Pink Paislee on the other canvas. I made several footprints at one time and have yet to make one of these canvasses for their room. The other canvas I made for my little sister's wedding. This project used a lot of October Afternoon, My Little Shoebox and Jenni Bowlin and was mostly from a kit I purchased from A Kiss on the Chic.

I'm REALLY starting to look forward to the holidays with my girls and have big plans for us in the month of December with things I want them to experience. I might decorate for Christmas this weekend in fact.

Well, off to be a mommy! :)

Been a while!

I have been one busy mama! The girls are growing so fast and are such a joy! We started solids at the beginning of the month and they are getting the hang of it pretty well. Lily is my good eater! Nora is a little more cautious and not sure about the foreign substances mommy tries to give her but she gives it her best shot. Both girls are now rolling over. We have been dealing with some pretty severe eczema on both girls and in the last week they developed staph infections so we've been keeping them home and have a regular pharmacy around our house. It's so hard for me to see my little girls in pain. Nora has it worse than Lily so I've been giving her a little extra cuddle time. Poor babies! They also decided not to sleep through the night for a while which was a nightmare. It's funny how quickly you get used to sleep and then when it's taken away from you, it's so difficult to function.

I forgot to share the projects I completed during the month of September for GCD Studios as their guest designer. I had a great time working with their Party It Up collection and coming up with different occasions and themes to use it with. Thanks to GCD Studios for the opportunity to work with their products.

Well, I best be getting busy today. Lots to do as always and I'm craving some apple crisp! :)

Keep in Touch Card Shop

I had the honor of guest designing for Keep in Touch Card Shop at the end of August. I love the kit that Kelly put together for me as it was full of sweet baby girl products in pretty pinks and greens. I completed a layout and two cards with the kit and still had plenty left to work with. I love the kits that Kelly puts together as they are full of vintage yumminess! :) Click here to see my post on her shop's blog.

I have some more guest design work to share with you but I will save that for another time. Life has been so busy. I'm working on projects for grandparents day and getting ready for my sister's wedding next weekend. We bought the girls the cutest little flower girl dresses...brown satin with polka dots. I can't wait for them to wear them! I'm still loving being a momma. These little girls are so sweet. I cherish each and every little snuggle I get. Their smiles just light up my day. I love how even though other people might be in the room with them, they focus in on ME. They know who mommy is and that is so special to me!

Our Aunties Love Us!

This layout was made with Upsy Daisy Designs Circle of Friends papers. My sisters are first-time aunts and the only aunts or uncles within visiting distance so they are loving spoiling the girls!

We have been extremely busy the last few weeks traveling back and forth to my parent's house for various wedding related occasions. Thankfully, we don't have to travel again until the wedding. It's such a production taking the girls out of town and they don't always adjust well. It takes them a day or so to get back into our routine at home. Last night was particularly rough for us because the girls have been a little sick with stuffy noses. I was up with both of them at a couple different times last night which makes for a tired mommy. Glen's mom came over this morning but I'm having to adjust my plans for the day. I appreciate her help so much! She comes 2-3 mornings a week so that I am able to run errands and clean. Otherwise, I don't know when I would get anything done as two little girls demand most of my time and attention.

I've been working on various projects for two guest design spots and will have some new things to share soon! I better get busy! :)

From Mother's Day to...

Father's Day! I couldn't do a page about my first Mother's Day without doing one about Glen's first Father's Day! (Have to keep things fair, you know!) I absolutely love watching Glen with the girls. He's definitely enjoying being a dad. In fact, some mornings I about have to push him out the door to go to work because he doesn't want to leave. He'll wake the girls up in the morning to make sure he has his time with them before work. That works for me so I can get a little extra sleep. He's really good about recognizing when mommy needs a break too and I appreciate that. This page uses Upsy Daisy Designs new Man About Town II papers...perfect for pages about the guys in your life.

Well, I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later but I have been nursing a very sore back this week. I think I twisted wrong when I was holding Lily on Tuesday. It was so bad that I broke down and went to the chiropractor on Wednesday and am going again today. I just couldn't take the pain anymore. I'm hoping I am finally on the mend.

We have a busy weekend ahead as we are traveling out of town for my little sister's bridal shower. Her wedding is coming up in less than a month.

Time to get busy! :)

Shabby chic fun!

My absolute favorite manufacturer is Melissa Frances. I find myself reaching for her products again and again and again. My favorite product to work with is her rub-ons and I am now in love with her pearls and rhinestones. I own every color available!!!! :) This layout is full of Melissa Frances products. I thought they were perfect to highlight my first Mother's Day... a day that I will always remember. I was so unbelievably exhausted that day so I cried off and on. Before this year, Mother's Day was always an incredibly painful day for me. I purposely avoided going to church that day just because I didn't want to deal with the baby dedication that takes place. I just couldn't handle it. So, now that I FINALLY got to be a mom myself, I couldn't stop crying. I was also really missing my grandma and wishing that she could be here to see my daughters. Glen made the day really memorable for me by surprising me with a spa gift certificate and a beautiful silver charm for a necklace with two parents and two children. He captured my surprise and emotions really well in the photos on the bottom of the page.

We had a bit of a busy week. I'm going a little stir crazy at home. I love being home with my girls but sometimes I just crave a little adult interaction besides members of my own family. It's been virtually impossible to go to small group or do things at night simply because the girls are so fussy from about 6-8 before we start feeding them their bedtime bottle. And then when I get stir crazy, I start feeling really down. It was so nice just to get dressed up to go to church this morning. Sometimes I really feel like a frumpy housewife because all I wear are shorts and t-shirts! It does a world of wonder to put on a dress and a little lip gloss. :) I have also decided it is absolutely essential that I exercise. We can't afford my gym membership right now but to feel healthy and better about myself I have to keep moving and stay toned. These are girls are chubbing up and I have to have a strong back or I'll be in trouble! So, I'm going to start making exercise a daily priority.

Well, I best get lunch started. My parents are on their way here for their weekly visit. Two little girls are impossible for them to resist and they visit all the time! :)