Narnia?

No, this isn't Narnia... it's Olympia WA. This picture was taken in front of our house just after the snow began... before we lost power.
This was quite the storm. It started Monday- the kids were off school because of a holiday- and just kept getting worse. First a big dump of snow (over a foot), then it turned icey. That was when the trouble started. It wasn't the snow that caused this whole area to lose power... it was the ice. There were over 300,000 customers without power. We lost our power on Thursday, 8am.
It's not until the sun starts to set that you realize how much you rely on electricity... for lights... for heat.... for connection to the outside world via the internet. At first it's a bit of an adventure... eating by candle light, playing hide-n-seek in the dark house. Then, by the next night, you realize it's a pain... and you realize all the food you're going to lose in the refrigerator/freezer. The kids had a solution for some of the refrigerated items... (Sam calls it our "hobo 'frig")

Our "hobo 'frig"

We were all set to spend another night in the dark when... THE LIGHTS CAME ON!!! The lights were accompanied by exuberant cheers. Everyone was SO HAPPY to not have to sleep another night in the cold. I was just so happy to be able to get back to normal. The only blessing in all this was that, without the electricity to distract us, we were able to connect as a family... playing board games, cards, etc. It was nice to know that we can still enjoy each other... even without cell phones, television and the internet.

SNOW!!!

Our first snow this winter... This would have been nice last month... would have really put us all in the Christmas spirit. Christmas just doesn't seem like Christmas without that glistening white stuff. Despite how pretty that new fallen snow looks... I'm just not mentally prepared for snow anymore. This balmy winter weather we have had of late has gotten me thinking lots about Spring. The kids are off school today, so I know they will enjoy making snowmen and snow forts and... of course... the occasional snowball fight. And given the weather forecast for the next couple of days... there might be more opportunities for the kids to add to their snow fort.

Branching out

 I've been seeing these cute altered projects and always wanted to try my hand at making one... New year, new goals right??
I found the frame at my local Goodwill store, sanded it down to distress it a bit and then got to work with finding a theme/color. My vintage black and white paper and my A Child's Year Cricut cartridge were the perfect marrriage for this project.
I hope to continue to branch out in trying altered projects like this one. I love the vintage look and can find lots of embellishments at local estate sales, thrift shops and my new favorite find... a local shop that sells great vintage finds (books, watches, keys, etc.)

New Year's Blog Hop- Day 2

I mulled over several ideas for a New Year's card... fireworks, resolutions, a new beginning... so many choices. I ultimately went an entirely different direction... Chinese New Year. One of my children is from China so every year about this time we start talking about it. Then I remembered some cool embellishments I had for some pages related to China...

So... Gung Hay Fat Choy- Best wishes and Congratulations. Have a prosperous and good year... and Happy 2012!!!

OUT with the OLD and IN with the NEW- Day one

 Welcome to the Out with The Old and In with The New two-day New Year's Blog Hop!

We're so happy you could join us. Day one of the hop will feature some of our favorite projects we've created this past year, and day two of the hop will feature a New Year's themed project. If you've just come across the hop and would like to start at the beginning, please visit Ashley's blog http://especiallymade.blogspot.com

As I look back on the year, it seems like the majority of my projects focused on Christmas...mostly cards. I really enjoyed using the Cricut cartridge Joys of the Season to inspire my creations. These cards were simple, but elegant.
One of the biggest and most difficut projectsI  worked on was the Exploding Box. What made them so difficult was the time it took to design and create each one... but it really was worth it in the end.

An exploding Birthday box

I also created another simple Christmas card using embelishments and simple shapes.

Stay tuned for Day 2 tomorrow....



How many cats does it take to destroy a Christmas tree?

Just one if it's a frisky little kitten named Snickers... need I say more?

I never thought I would own a cat let alone really love this little thing... but she has definitely stole my heart. In fact, this entire family of dog lovers has fallen in love with her. (Shhh... don't tell anyone, but even my husband, who is a staunch dog lover, can be found watching his football games with Snickers in his lap.) We all agree that, although he won't admit it, he loves Snickers.
The only problem right now is that her favorite plaything is our Christmas tree. I put the ornaments on the top half of the tree (thinking she will never get them), but she can EASILY maneuver her way to the top. Despite my frustration, at times, of her playing in the tree... she brings lots of joy to the family!

Colors...

The colors of autumn are truly breathtaking. It seems like everytime I turn a corner I commenting, "Oh, wow! Look at that tree!". The palate of colors is amazing... bright reds, gold, cranberry, bright orange, bronze... I never tire of looking at the world around me.

I think that's what I love so much about scrapbooking... playing with all the colors and patterns. I've been experimenting with different styles in my papercrafting and really fell in love with the vintage look. I just purchased the Nifty Fifties Cricut cartridge and have been having fun with it.