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My in laws fly in tomorrow and my mother the day after. Which means in my house that I have one massive To Do list going. All the cleaning and fixing needs to be done asap. Projects that have been waiting months are now kicked into “I cant wait till Brandon gets home I must do this right now!” So While the laundry was rumbling I took on the spare bathroom. I always hated the towel rack because its so misplaced in this bathroom. So when my sister in law gave me these awesome knobs she didn’t want anymore I knew just what to do with them!

I love the difference it made on the little room. I also added two extra’s by the sink for hand towels. Now Im itching to do the same with my master bathroom with some super cute hooks my mom found for me.

Our other little project which always seems to try and kill Brandon was to hang our new drapes. And although I may have ruined the moment it was finished, by accidentally knocking over and emptying the 50 bits across the entire kitchen floor. Its still so worth it to have beautiful new drapes and a rod that doesn’t fall off every time you touch it. Special thanks to Brandon for dealing with that wall again.

And to cap off my exciting night I got to video chat with my best friend. We have a long distance relationship. (I seem to do that a lot. Me and Brandon did for a year and a half 4 of those months were even while we were married. My best friend lives two states over. My parents in another country, my sister in the same country as them but a province over. Am I crazy or just like getting mail haha) Anyways tonight was the second time we’ve gotten around the video chatting. I am so grateful for technology. I hear my grandma talk about when she immigrated and how she got to phone home once a month and how much it cost, and I think how fortunate I am to turn on a little computer and get to see the people I love from another time zone. It truly made my night getting to laugh and eat junk food together through a screen. Miss you.

So Bring on the crazy weekend of family and family and more family. I’m doing my nephews birthday cakes on Saturday! I cant wait to see him demolish that icing with a slight bit of cake 😉

Today I got to spend the whole day running errands with my hubby. I got to walk my two puppies. I got to visit my nephew on his first birthday, Happy Birthday Becks! I got to finish an album for a new baby. I got to talk to my little sister on the phone. And then my dad, and then my mom. I got to read a good book in the bath. I got to cuddle with my little family and watch netflicks. Its just another day in our home but after reading something my dad posted earlier today it made me really value how special a normal day can be. So today was perfect. Bring on tomorrow!

To realize

The value of a sister/brother

Ask someone Who doesn’t have one.

To realize

The value of ten years:

Ask a newly Divorced couple.

To realize

The value of four years:

Ask a graduate.

To realize

The value of one year:

Ask a student who Has failed a final exam.

To realize

The value of nine months:

Ask a mother who gave birth to a stillborn.

To realize

The value of one month:

Ask a mother Who has given birth to A premature baby.

To realize

The value of one week:

Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize

The value of one minute:

Ask a person Who has missed the train, bus or plane.

To realize

The value of one second:

Ask a person Who has survived an accident.

To realize the value of a friend or family member:

LOSE ONE.

Time waits for no one.

Treasure every moment you have.

You will treasure it even more when

You can share it with someone special.

Remember….

Hold on tight to the ones you love!

On mornings where I don’t have a lot planned for the day I try to make a little goal list of one little project I want to do. Today I got up and planned to take down all the xmas stuff. Always sad to see it go. But I also got to put out some new stuff I got for Christmas. I find it so energizing to redecorate. Even if its just tiny touches at a time. Today’s project was even better because it was only 5 min!

My mom gave me the fabulous key holders which I have been wanting forever now. I think I lose my keys at least once a day still. So this should help. And my aunt gave me the cute wall quote when I first moved away from home. We have a tiny little hallway from the main room of our house to the garage and laundry room. It was always so blah looking, so today’s project was to spice it up! I hung the key holder and centered the quote above it, found a similar frame (but I think I’m going to actually replace it with a larger simple black frame, and of course change out the picture for one of both of us and the puppies as a big family.) And five minutes later voila!

It feels good to do a five minute makeover. You accomplish something and beautify your house and it takes less time than turning the tv on! I’ve got a couple more five minute make overs to do this week, if I can find the supplies I need. But definitely stay tuned for some crafty tips! Hope your all having a good weekend!

Six months ago I submitted some work I did to Scrapbook Trends. I went for the mini albums create submissions. It was not my first but it was close to my first pieces I submitted. I had thought it might take a little longer to get in. But a couple weeks later I got an email asking me to send my stuff in and that it would be published. Well I think I was bouncing off the walls for the next month. And when I got home from Christmas holidays this little book of joy was here to greet me!

I wanted to create an album that was unique so that I had a better chance of being published. When I was in Texas earlier this year scouring the antique shops for amazing finds I stumbled upon a shelves of old spools. The inspiration was instant. I knew what I wanted to do. So I got home and got to business. The album was 100% made from scratch to wrap around the spool, thus the title wrapped up in you. It documents our first year together starting with the proposal and going through the wedding and other big events. It ends with our one year anniversary.

Here is my full two page spread and title/credit. I still cant tell you enough how exciting it is to see my name in there. What has also been amazing is the support and love from all my friends. A couple have even asked where they can get copies (online at scrapbooktrendsmag.com) Its the most amazing feeling. It really started 20eleven off with a bang. I am already thinking of other projects to submit!

This was my original pictures I had to submit and then I had to send my actual album. I will be getting it back soon in a box of goodies and two copies of the magazine. One which will be torn apart and framed (I did tell you how excited I was) and one for my mom. The one who inspired me originally to scrapbook and craft. And still inspires me today. Thanks mom, this ones for you.

As I was not blogging most of last year I wanted to share my top tens of the full year. But being me I Couldn’t make one top ten group for everything so you get a mish mash of everything I do. I decided I could Break it down into my top three loves. Projects, Photo’s and of course baking.

Be prepared this is going to be as photo heavy as you can get in one post!

This is my collage of favorite pictures and memories this year. 2010 Brought babies and new puppies, weddings and lots of Disney trips (thanks mom again for the most amazing ever giving birthday gift, I truly and getting as much use as possible out of my Disney pass)  A crazy Christmas, a few more family get together’s and just everyday moments. Really the little ones that are not pictured are the most important, but these fav’s come at a close second!

The biggest growth I had this year was in my baking. How could you not enjoy making delicious smelling addicting sweets. The many flavors of cupcakes ranging from cookies and cream, death by chocolate, the original chocolate and vanilla to crazy seared s’mores, and edible monogram toppers. Cupcakes have endless possibilities, I hope to create many more this coming year again! Then there was the wedding cakes. It was one of my few resolutions last year to sell a wedding cake. And that one has now booked more! I cant wait! And my all time favorite was my fourth of july cake. An original design, I remember my mom being confused by how plain the tall white cake was and how excited I was. But to see everyone’s reaction when I cut into that surprise beauty was every reason I bake in the first place. My american flag cake will hopefully be a tradition and maybe with practice I can cut out half that prep time!

And lastly are the projects/scrapbooking. My first love. This is my top ten projects of the year. Im really looking forward to making more of a commitment to devoting some time to this hobby this year. I broke these all up into their own part, most have more than one picture as it is and I knew I could never squish them all into one!  So here goes nothing, and remember I did warn you at the beginning!

Loved this craft and it wasn’t even my idea at all. Sometimes you find inspiration when someone ask’s you for a favor. My sister in law was having a new baby and asked each of the three girls to finish matching frames in whatever way we wanted for his room. What an awesome idea right! I got to help Jess with her’s on the right with the vellum quote over a picture, simple and cute just like her. And I went a little more complex with a framed mini pull album and giant monogram. Both so different and both so beautiful, I cant wait to see them all together!

This was a fast layout of me and my sister. I fell in love with it making it so fast with my mom’s selphy printer. Need one asap. And with the pages I ripped out of a paper back to add to the layout. Simple, fresh, perfect!

Another Layout. I knew one day I wanted to do a special layout of our relationship when it wasn’t so easy. And after we watched the movie “Going The Distance” and whispering I know exactly what they mean every five minutes, I finally felt inspired to document it. I dont know how many plane tickets we have from that year but it is kind of fun to see the distance we’ve covered to get to each other.

And speaking of travelling, if you ever want to do a travel mini album I highly suggest Teresa Collins “Travel Log” kit. It came with so much and went together so easily. I felt like it was made for my trip. I had been meaning to make an album of my month abroad for a long time and I couldnt imagine it any better than this!

I LOVE this layout! I had decided to stitch my title into the paper. Not knowing how long that would take! Haha but still so worth it! Hand stitched love with love I like to think. And those pictures just make me feel warm and fuzzy every time I look at them.

Another mini album. Can you tell thats my favorite type? So many different ways to make one thing. This is another Teresa Collins kit. A recipe book. Could it get any better for me? Now I just need to fill it in with all my secret recipes!

Last layout for the countdown. Save the best for last? It swirly,blinged out and emotional. It has every ingredient for a perfect layout. Just a timeless moment with my dad. Like I said, perfect.

Another mini album. This one teeny tiny mini. Its an album for our wedding day and it fits inside the compact I was carrying with me that same special day. I wanted to create something out of a physical item from the wedding. I love the way it turned out!

You may remember this one. Another idea that wasn’t mine but inspired me none the less. Rachelle shared the awesome tutorial with us a couple weeks ago on how to make Ornament Wreaths. I was lucky enough to see some readers experiments with the same craft! The top two are theirs and then you can recognize the two she inspired me to create as well. I am still loving them and it was a little sad taking them down today.

Best for last again. My last top ten project was by far my favorite but it has its only story and many more pictures to follow it in tomorrow’s post, but I still wanted to share it in my top ten’s!

I hope you enjoyed this crazy long and heavy post. I enjoyed the trip down memory lane , sharing all these moments of creativity with you. I cant wait for what I can collect to post next January. Good luck with all your new years resolutions! Go create!

Being new to blogging doesn’t mean I’m new to the blogging world. A couple of the ones I frequent make a post every January about their word of the year. A word to live by for one year with all your heart. As you also may have noticed I’ve been a tad absent since the last weeks of December. Holidays get out of control fast, especially when you are sick and travelling to other countries to see many extended families. So honestly my word of twenty eleven should be procrastinate, Ive been meaning to write this post for the last week but just keep putting it off. But I am back! I am starting off the year healthy and inspired. I’m really looking forward to a full year of blogging and inspiration thus my little word for this year will be create.

Create: it has so many definitions.

From the dictionary: to evolve from one’s own thought or imagination, as a workof art or an invention. To cause to come into being, as something unique that would not naturally evolve or that is not made by ordinary processes.

From my little corner of the world it means to be sparked with a an ever growing love of making something with your own hands or thoughts. And inspiring others to do the same.

Would anyone care to share their little word of 2011?

My amazing hubby made me a special Christmas present this year (yes I know I got it a week early, he spoils me!) We never had a videographer at our wedding and looking back it was a big regret. So he made me a beautiful video with the home video and pictures from our wedding. It was so touching and he put in so much work that I just had to share it!

Sorry guys no fun inspiration today. Just under the covers watching fringe and devouring halls, maybe a little chocolate bark again too. Hope your days are better than mine!

This is the answer to all life’s problems. I know I promised to share some fun crafty design stuff today but like life usually is it took a different path today. I woke up thinking it was a normal day and I would file some papers and move on to my project. But first came the immigration package. Yup if you havent heard my story well I dont feel like repeating it here and now. Although Im sure it will come up again at one point on the blog. But today I applied for them to remove the restrictions on my greencard. It took a lot more driving around, printing, running out of paper (seriously! we have never run out of paper before but on the one day we need it!) And a lot of yelling at the person Im petitioning to prove Im staying in a happy marriage with. Yup I dont handle stress like that well. But come on after two years of blissful marriage and then being told if one single thing isnt filled out properly, they will first not tell you and second deport you at the soonest chance for them. Seriously, SERIOUSLY! But its all done, its in the mail and out of my hands. So tonight this is the answer to all my problems! I’ll tackle those other projects later. Have a good night all!

CHRISTMAS!!! This is my favorite time of the year. I love when those boxes come out (and the shopping bags come in hehe) The whole house has a new cozy feeling. I decorate on the first of November every year. Always have always will. Its my little tradition. I feel that if you are going to spend that much time decorating it might as well be up for more than 30 days. So here’s a little peek into my corner of the world. Decked with boughs of holly!

And here’s a puppy corner. With two stockings! We doubled in size as a family since our last Christmas. Lets hope to add more next year too! And yes we do have presents for each pup haha. Gotta love target!

My favorite clock that I had been eyeing in my moms spare room. Last time I was home she said sure just have it. It had a broken face anyways. I am so in love with it and think it has a bit of Christmas charm to it. I think some mistletoe hanging from it would make a perfect kiss stop!

And here’s the whole set up with the tree. All the unwrapped presents are under it right now I couldnt go closer without ruining some big surprises!

And here is a double picture again to compare. I was undecided if I liked last years chandelier decorations more than this year. Let me know your opinion? 2009 is on the right and 2010 on the left.

And finally one last picture in this picture crazy post. My little corner from where I write these posts. That Im hoping one day many many people will read! This is my piece that is all mine.

And thats a tour through my Christmas town. Stay tuned I have some goals for tomorrow that are decorative and crafty!