Nativity Scene

Good morning! Hope you are still enjoying the holidays and are ready to scrap those precious photos that you took last weekend. I just ordered my prints thru Shutterfly, they are having a good sale this week.
We started a new Christmas tradition with Andrew and Carolina now that they are bigger; The Christmas Story with them as Mary & Joseph.

Of course, I have the perfect layout for these pictures. 

This is the true meaning of Christmas and what is all about, the best gift of all,  Jesus! Have a fabulous and blessed day and come back tomorrow for more scrappin' inspiration.

Do You Still Want Snow?

Good morning and happy Tuesday.  I trust that your Christmas weekend was terrific.  I know that mine was.  We got to visit with family members and eat too much, just like most of you. 

We live in North Florida so we never get snow.  I remember when we lived up north, having snow at Christmas was a great thing.  Snow after Christmas was usually annoying!  Something which had to be shoveled and driven through.  What are your thoughts on this?

Here's a recent layout of mine titled "There is Snowman Like You".

And here are my daughter and son-in-law on a ski trip last week.  They don't seem to mind snow after Christmas.  After all, they just have to get in their car and drive home if they get tired of it!

Thanks for your visit today.  Have a wonderful and blessed day!

Three Days Before Christmas

Good morning! Can you believe Christmas Day is only 3 days away? I don't know about you but I have been super melancholic this season and my heart is filled with so much joy and peace lately. God is so faithful in all His promises and even though my family and I have faced many challenges this year, He has held us thru it all.  My devotional yesterday morning touched my heart and I would like to share it with you. Here it is:

God Gives Us a Desire for Our Work

By Os Hillman

  You shall call, and I will answer You; You shall desire the work of Your hands (Job 14:15 ).

Did you know that God has already pre-wired you for the work He created you to do? We all have things inside of us that excite us when we think about it. God is the source of this passion. However, our career path may require many stepping stones before we reach the work that we were ultimately created for. The psalmist says "All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be" (Ps 139:16)

When the ark of the covenant was to be designed to contain the sacred ten commandments, God prepared a man to perform the important work.

"Then the LORD said to Moses, 'See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts -- to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship'" (Ex 31:1-6).

We do not know much about Bezalel, but you can be sure he had many jobs leading up to this most important assignment. He was also the first man mentioned in all of scripture to be "filled with the spirit of God."

When your work is empowered by the Spirit of God you will be hand-picked for some of the most important assignments. He says the skilled worker will even serve before kings (Prov. 22:9). God will see to it that your skills will be used for His ultimate purposes. This is the call of God for each of us -- to be fulfilled in our work and to use our work to fulfill His purposes on the earth. He seals the hand of every man, that all men may know His work (Job 37:7 NKJV).

Do you see why I wanted to share it with you? It happened back in 2003 when I asked the Lord to tell me His calling for my life. He told me PAPER. Every layout I make is inspired by the Lord and made with much, much love. I am always aware of His Gift and His calling for my life and I pray I never ever take it for granted. Be encouraged in whatever you do. Do it unto the Lord and if you find yourself in a place that needs to be changed, don't hesitate to ask Him. He will answer!

This is one of my favorite kits that I've made recently.  It borrows a line from The Night Before Christmas.  It's called The Stockings Were Hung.

Have a wonderful and blessed day!

Mixed Media Class

Good morning and happy Tuesday.  On Sunday I was fortunate to be able to take a  mixed media class at Cootie Coo Creations in High Springs, Florida.  Our teacher was Terrie Peattie.  What a wonderful time we had.  Of course, it's always going to be great when fun-loving & talented women get together for and afternoon of creativity.

Here I am getting my hands dirty.

And here are the rest of the ladies getting their hands dirty.

Here is my finished project.  I am the angel on the left and my four grandchildren are the little angels on the right.

I have just release a new batch of Christmas  kits.  To see them click on the Happy Scrapper at the top left of this blog.  Here is the latest installment of the monthly "Story" series.  December Story features three windows!

Thanks for visiting today.  Have a wonderful and blessed day!

Peppermint

Good morning and happy Monday.  I hope you had a great weekend.  Due to a last minute cancellation I was able to get into a mixed media class at Cootie Coo Creations in High Springs, Florida.  I'll have more on this tomorrow when I finish my project.

For today, here is one of my layouts that I titled Peppermint.  What would Christmas be without peppermint candy canes?

Thanks for stopping by this morning.  Have a wonderful and blessed day!

Merry Christmas

Good morning and happy Friday!  With just over a week to go until Christmas, I hope that you're just finishing up with everything you need to do.  This will be your last full weekend so you'd better get going!

Here's a recent layout of mine titled Merry Christmas.

Thanks for visiting my blog today.  Have a wonderful and blessed day and a safe and restful weekend.  We'll see you back here on Monday!

Two Santa Layouts

Good morning and happy Thursday!  One great thing about Santa is that he receives texts.  When my grand kids get a little "squishy" or "out of the box", my daughter just whips out her cell phone and pretends to take a picture of them.  This is followed by "No, Mama!  Please don't send that picture! Delete it!  Please!!!"  Too bad this only works for the month of December.

Here are a couple of Santa layouts.  They're not for naughty pictures; only nice!

Thanks for your visit today!  Have a wonderful and blessed day!

Happy birthday Valerie

Today we celebrate our daughter's 36th birthday. Our Valerie was born in a very cold morning in Columbus, Indiana. She has grown up to be an amazing wife, mother of two, daughter, sister and a ton of  more qualities! Valerie, we love you sooooo much and continue to  pray for the Lord to keep blessing all the days of your life!

Don't you just love snowmen? Even though it doesn't snow in Florida we see them everywhere as decorations. They are sooooo fluffy and cute! Here are two more layouts I made over the weekend using adorable snowmen.

Have a wonderful and blessed day. Only 11 days until Christmas!

thday.

Happy Tuesday!

Good morning! Hope you are having a wonderful Christmas season so far. I spent the weekend in Orlando at an awesome event sponsored by The Crafty Dreamers at Universal Crown Plaza Hotel. It was first class all the way. The location, the food, the service, the prizes, everything was perfect!

My friend Linda and I entered the Pajama Contest and we won! We were the "Crafty Babies". We carried our pillows, blanket, stuffed animals and sang Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

Here's a picture of  us wearing our jammies.

I also enjoyed playing with all my Christmas goodies and made several layouts, including this one-page for the front or back page of an album.

And this one is one of my favorites because it has cardinals. The base paper is from Authentique.

My precious and dear Father in Law went to be with the Lord yesterday morning. He was 92 years old and was married for 71 years. My husband and all his siblings were there with him (Chicago). Here's a picture of us taken during the summer when we spent some time with them.

Have a wonderful and blessed Tuesday and if you have parents, grandparents, older family members, make sure you hug them and tell them you love them.!

Cookies for Santa

Good morning and happy Friday!  I hope that your week has gone well and that your planning a great weekend.  Me, I'm going to Orlando today for a weekend Craft Escape sponsored by The Crafty Dreamer.  A good time will be had by all!

Yesterday my granddaughter wanted to make cookies.  I wasn't in the mood to drag out all of the ingredients and mess up my kitchen, so I let her paint some animal cookies using tubes of frosting.  I guarantee you that she had just as good a time!

Here is a recent layout and kit of mine titled Making Cookies for Santa.  As we get closer to Christmas I'm sure I'll break down and break a few eggs and make cookies from scratch.

Thanks for your visit today.  Have a wonderful and blessed and and a safe and restful weekend.

Christmas Layouts in Non-traditional Colors

Good morning and happy Thursday!  Yesterday I was playing around in my studio and decided to make Christmas layouts without using traditional Christmas colors red and green.  Here are some of the fruits of my labor.

Thanks for coming to my blog today.  Have a wonderful and blessed Thursday!

Gingerbread

Good morning and happy Wednesday!  Today's kit is titled "Gingerbread".  Have you ever tried to make one of those pre-packaged gingerbread house kits?  We have, and they never seem to turn out as nice as the picture.  On top of that, the kids swipe the gumdrops and other candies so the house ends up looking so bare.

We'll probably try it again this year.  Even if it doesn't turn out well, we have a great time making it.

Thanks so very much for stopping by today.  Have a wonderful and blessed day!

Ugly Christmas Sweaters

Good morning and happy Tuesday!  We all know that Christmas is the season for many things, including the ugly sweater.  People try to out-ugly everyone at Christmas parties with their sweaters.

Here is a layout from last year titled Ugly Sweater Party.

And here are some photos from an Ugly Sweater Party I had with The Hive this past weekend.

Thaks for stopping by today!  Have a wonderful and blessed day!

Jingle All the Way

Good morning and happy Monday!  I ran a couple of contests on my Facebook page yesterday and the winners are Linda Vinson and Linda Norris.  Congratulations, ladies!

Here is another one of my December kits titled "Jingle All the Way".

My DH especially likes this one because of the skating scene.  He grew up in the North where ponds & lakes froze over and the scene is reminiscent of his childhood.  Indoor skating rinks were where the professional hockey teams played and where the Ice Capades were held.

Thanks for visiting my blog today.  Have a wonderful and blessed day!

Christmas Pajamas

Good morning and happy Friday!  Another week is coming to and end.  And as promised, I'll will be posting just Christmas and winter layouts for the remainder of the month.

Here is the first one titled Christmas Pajamas.  What could be cuter than little ones going to bed on Christmas eve with their special Christmas jammies and then waking up on Christmas morning to open their presents.

Thanks for your visit today!  Have a wonderful and blessed day and a safe and restful weekend.

December is Here

Good morning!  Today is the first day of December, but I'm sneaking in the last couple of Autumn layouts for the season.

Starting tomorrow, I will have Christmas and Winter layouts for the remainder of the month.  Thanks for visiting my blog today.  Have a wonderful and blessed day!

Spiderman

Good morning!  Hope that your week is going well so far.
Last month we saw a lot of kids dressed up for Halloween as Spiderman.  Out of all of the old superheroes he seems to remain the most popular.  Inspired, I decided to make this kit.  (Plus, I had leftover spiderweb decorations that I could put to good use.)

Thanks for visiting today.  Have a wonderful and blessed day.

November Story

Good morning!  Happy Tuesday.  Wow, I can't believe that this year is almost over.  It seems like only yesterday I had made January Story, a layout featuring a fancy window, and here we are with the eleventh and the twelfth and final layout of the series due shortly.

I have some ideas for a new series of layout for next year, but you'll just have to wait until I make up my mind.

Thanks for visiting today.  Have a wonderful and blessed day.

Going Bananas on Black Friday

Good morning and happy Monday!  The Christmas season has officially started.  Here I am with my son and his family on Black Friday.  We are all wearing our official 2016 Black Friday shopping uniforms.  (Landon did not care for his head band at all.) My DIL made the shirts on her Cricut.

And here is Danny towards the end of the shopping excursion.  Way to navigate the escalator with a stroller full of presents, Danny!

And here is a recent layout of mine.  I'm thinking about re-doing it, adding some Christmas theme to it for us five monkeys on Black Friday at the mall.

Thanks for visiting my blog today,  Have a wonderful and blessed day!

Shopaholic's of the World Unite!

I absolutely LOVE Black Friday!  It's quite possibly my most favorite day of the year!  I'm in California visiting my son and his family this year.  And although I plan to do my part and get to as many stores as possible, I won't be able to buy much.  My DH has already told me that if it doesn't fit in my suitcase, that I shouldn't buy it. Here's a layout for the shopaholic in all of us.

Here I am with my son and his family in California on Thanksgiving Day.

Thanks for visiting my blog today.  Have a wonderful and blessed Black Friday!

Happy Thanksgiving

Count Your Blessings!

Good morning and happy Wednesday!  Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and it should be more than a meal where we eat too much.  It is a day where we stop to thank God for everything.  In actual fact, this is something that we should do every day of the year!
Here are a couple of recent layouts of mine.  This first one is titled "Count Your Blessings".

And here is a new version of an older one titled "Rooted in Christ".

Thanks for your visit to my blog today.  Have yet another wonderful and blessed day!

Happy Birthday!

Good morning and happy Tuesday from sunny Temecula, California!  On Sunday we celebrated my DIL's 29th birthday (hey, the same as me!)  Here are some of the pictures I took.

Here is Madison Rose with the cake she helped decorate.

And here is the lovely birthday family!  (I think that I might have coined a new phrase here.)

Thanks fro visiting my blog today.  Have a great and blessed day!

I'd Rather Be Scrapbooking!

Good morning!  Well, I'm in Temecula with my son and his family.  We had a lovely weekend, but I'm itching to get out.  They have "The Big Three" here, but there are also two smaller stores in town.  I'll be checking them out today.  After all, a Big Mac tastes the same wherever you are, but the little places have their own unique flavor.

Thanks for visiting today.  Have a lovely and blessed day!

Ariel, the Little Mermaid

Good morning and happy Friday.  Yahoo, another week come and gone!  Tonight I leave for California to spend a week with my son and his family and I couldn't be more excited.

In the meantime, here is a new layout of mine titled The Little Mermaid.

And here is my own Little Mermaid trick or treating with her brother Hank the Septopus.  Got to love the sprayed on red hair.

Thanks for coming to my blog today.  Have a wonderful and blessed day and a safe and restful weekend.

Arty Smarty

Good morning and happy Thursday!  I'm really enjoying my Copic markers these days.  Here's a layout of mine with a couple of Saturated Canary artisits colored with copics. 

When I went to pick up Andrew after pre-school the other day, his teachers asked about Carolina's pre-school.  I told them that she didn't attend one and they mentioned that Andrew had told them that she went to "Lita" school and took a lunchbox every day.  I told them that I was Lita and that we jokingly called my house the Lita Academy of Fine Arts.  I mean, where else do you get to glue paper butterflies while wearing butterfly wings?

Here are the both of them at the Lita Academy of Fine Arts.  Andrew's working with ocean animals.

Thanks for visiting today.  Have a wonderful and blessed day!