Scrapdango Crowned Starts February 1st!

It's that time again!!! Scrapdango's most awesome "Crowned" contest starts February 1st and runs through the end of the month. It will be my third or fourth year participating! There's so much awesome talent there and their challenges will definitely bring you out of that proverbial box! You can find all the information at http://scrapdango.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10820. Be sure to check it out!
And come back on Tuesday because I have a LOT of pages to share with you! January was a VERY scrappy month!

XOXO - A Scraplifting Challenge Blog

Do you like to scraplift and CASE (Copy And Scrap Everything) layouts??? Well then THIS is the place to go! I just recently found out about it and fell in LOVE with the concept! My first lift is of a layout by Alaina Erickson... Here's her version...

And here's mine about how my Mom's displaying two of the quilts her sister made for her...

My link setup won't work for some reason, but here's the web address. Go check out the AWESOME LOs and have fun!
http://truexoxogirls.blogspot.com/2011/01/challenge-15-sponsored-by-sweet-peach.html
Happy Scrapping!

My Sketch World's Celebrating its 5th Anniversary!

Come join me and my other MSW friends as we celebrate five years of Lucy's AWESOME sketches!!! Lots of great fun, prizes and inspiration! Hope to see you there! Check it out at www.mysketchworld.com. Be sure to tell them I sent you too! ;)

January 17 MSW Sketch Reveal

I just LOVED the sketch Lucy Chesna posted for the DT to use this month! Couldn't WAIT to reveal this fun page. The pictures are from our most awesome My Sketch World Houston Crop last summer... Ahhhhhhh the memories! :)

Check out what the other DT members did with this sketch at www.mysketchworld.com.

Look What I Just Got!!!

I've been wanting one of these since they came out with the bigger size. I have one of the originals (second shipment actually) because I fell in love when they first introduced them at CHA Las Vegas YEARS ago. I've used my baby a lot and I've loved it very much. So when my youngest brother gave us a VERY generous gift certificate for Christmas, DH said "You can finally get that machine you've been wanting!" And I said "We'll see cuz you get half of this GC for your boat!" Next thing we knew my parents and my other brother had given us even more in GCs and we both had enough to do whatever we wanted!!!
My original plan was to get this and buy a year's worth of Spice Kits at Scrapdango.com cuz I absolutely LOVE those kits! But fate had another plan. I ordered this machine and was going to order the kits when my glasses got badly scratched and I ended up having to buy a new pair. But I've needed new ones so I guess that's not so bad... I was sorely disappointed. (Sad face...)
However, I also got a REALLY good deal on my machine AND it's in COLOR!!! So without further adieu, meet my new toy!!! It's a Cricut Expression in Teal Blue!!!!!


Now for those of you non-scrappers who read this blog (and I KNOW you're out there!) this machine will cut images and words from vellum, cardstock, posterboard and vinyl!!! And it cuts sizes from 1/4 inch up to 23 1/2 inches!!! WOWOWOW!!! (My baby Cricut could only cut from 1 inch up to 11 1/2 inches so this is a HUGE improvement!) And the colored machines are exclusive to Wal-Mart. They were a special Christmas buy and will be there as long as supplies last. (They had other colors too!) Plus you got TWO cartridges instead of one and a mat came with it - all for $179 which is cheaper than they are anywhere else!!! I am SOOO excited because my machine arrived today! It fits in the spot I had my "Baby Cricut" in too which is awesome!
I just HAD to share! And now I'm off to PLAY with my Cricut Expression! Thanks again Tony, Bill, Mom and Dad! You all ROCK!!!

2010 - A VERY Busy Year!!!

It was quite an eventful year for us this year! These are just the highlights!
First we found out that my DD was pregnant with her second child.
My family in Virginia was deluged with what President Obama called "Snowmageddon".
Then we met our now future FIRST daughter-in-law in March. They got engaged on Thanksgiving Day.
Then DH's mom came and we all know how awful that was.
That was followed up by Noah's first visit to Florida since they moved away.
Which was followed by the AWESOME MSW Houston crop!
That was followed by my trip to Virginia then back to Florida with my parents and my youngest brother (his first time visiting) and then going back to Virginia
Because Garrett had finally arrived!
My DH and I celebrated 20 years of wedded bliss just after he returned from a visit to his family in Alaska.
Then DH putting in a garden and us growing all the wonderful stuff in that...
But of course, the weather took a record breaking turn for the cold and we nearly lost it all.
FINALLY we ended the year with our trip to Virginia during which my DD celebrated her 30th birthday (YIKES!) and our AWESOMELY BLESSED Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And of course, our trip couldn't have gone without SOME excitement which was the 18" of snow that started falling 8 hours after we arrived in Virginia Beach! (A VERY rare event there!)
Like I said, it was a very full year! (And I'm sure I forgot SOMETHING in that list too! hehe!)
Somehow I did manage to scrap a few pages in between all these events... My favs of the year are in the post below along with my favorite projects from this year.
Have a blessed, prosperous, healthy and happy 2011!!!!!