For You Santa *The ScrapRoom*

Leaving cookies out for Santa is a tradition I really miss. No more wide eyed wonder at the empty plate in the morning or arguments about which cookies were Santa's favorite. The truth came out this year during a conversation we had while I was looking through photos and the kids were peeking over my shoulder. Matthew admits that in his later years he would sneak downstairs and eat some of the cookies! (and I thought Eric was the one!) He looked so guilty admitting this even though he knows now that Santa wasn't eating them :)

More Christmas goodness from the December Flavor of the Month kit from The ScrapRoom.

Fussy cut the banner from patterned paper and added some Thickers :)

This Santa is from the Winter Frolic Cricut cartridge, I love that I can reverse the image with the Expression. Added some Stickles for that extra bling factor.

Now I'm off to "snuggle" with my teens and watch a movie. Christmas was my holiday off this year and starting tomorrow I have to pay the price for having 4 days off (if you don't figure being on call and called in) with a 4 day stretch over New Years. Adding in Wednesday and a 12 hour call slot on Thursday :( I really need to look at the big picture when I'm signing up for call and not do that to myself!

Merry Christmas to all!

It's Wrestling Season Again...

and that means lots of photos of my guy and others in those things they call "singlets". So if guys in the equivalent of leotards offends you, time to move on :)
 
He always looks so intense and nervous before a match. I know my stomach is in knots! The idiom "The bigger they are the harder they fall" is true. Last years wrestling season is still fresh in my mind. He was so inexperienced and it showed. This year I was pleasantly surprised to see a huge improvement. He didn't win either match but he sure gave those guys a run for their money!

I think these guys from Constantine thought they were going to just walk on the mat and be done, but Matthew had other plans. The first guy he wrestled was ranked in state last year. I only have this one pic of the first match because I was so excited all the others are too blurry from my shaking hands!

Matt put up a great fight and was in control for the first part of the match. His downfall is learning how to get out of a hold when on his back.

The second match. Remember he is a BIG kid and he makes everyone else look tiny...

Little can be deceptive. This dude had thighs the size of New Jersey!

I'm learning some of the strategies slowly. grabbing around the head and pulling down is a good move :)

A little coaching between periods.

Got him down and getting him maneuvered into a good hold.

Showing he's in control...

but all it takes is one wrong move and the tables are turned :(

It's going to be a long season for this Mom. My stomach ties itself in knots before every match. He had a tournament this weekend with 3 matches. 1 win and 2 losses but learning from his mistakes. I also committed the cardinal sin of the photographer...I forgot my SD card at home and don't carry a spare :O Guess I'm learning from my mistakes too :)

Scrappy goodness coming next week.

Christmas Kisses *The ScrapRoom*

Mimi has a habit of sitting in my lap and giving me hugs and kisses, hopefully she'll never outgrow this habit! My sister in law Debbie took these photos, Thank you Debbie!

If you check out The ScrapRoom Blog you can see my tutorial on stitching :)

Fussy cut the string of ornaments.

This "package" is stinkin' cute! Added the baker's twine bow with a little Tombow glue.

As you can see by my last 3 posts... The ScrapRoom's Flavor of the Month kit is awesome!

One more layout to share form this kit coming up :)

Make Mine With Sprinkles! *The ScrapRoom*

A sugar cookie just isn't a sugar cookie without sprinkles, in my book anyway :) Making sugar cookies with frosting and sprinkles is a long standing tradition in our family. Used more of my ScrapRoom Flavor of the Month Kit, this time some Simple Stories. I can't get enough of their sticker sheets!

I actually cheated a little...I had 2 sticker sheets so there was enough of the scalloped border sticker for both pages. Ditto with the adorable popcorn banner.

Can you imagine what their clothes looked like at the end of the night :(

The tag sticker filled in the white space on the photo perfectly.

Used some pre embossed American Crafts cardstock for the circles.

Love this little gingerbread man :)

Journaling cards are always included in the Simple Stories lines, they make journaling a snap! 

I had to dig deep into my stash for these "sprinkles". Way down in my cross stitching bin, these little seed beads were hidden. The only catch was there were no red ones and I really wanted red. After digging through Mimi's room looking for her bead supplies, I found a pair of earrings she had made with red beads and actually disassembled them for the beads. Bad Mom! Luckily she wasn't mad at me. She knows how I get when I have an idea in my head and nothing else will do :} To make the "sprinkled" letters I first painted the Kraft alpha stickers from Pebbles, then added some Glossy Accents and sprinkled the beads on.

Check out The ScrapRoom Blog for more inspiration. You'll be glad you did...promise!

Magic *The ScrapRoom*

No. Not Magic Mike. Christmas magic. The magic you feel when you see the Christmas tree lit up for the first time each year. When I was little I would lie on the couch or on the floor in front of the tree and stare at it for hours. I can't resist taking photos of the tree each and every year. This was the year of the mirrors.

It started the year before when I decided the wall in the front room would look really cool covered with antique mirrors. I have a wonderful friend that loves to frequent auctions and estate sales. He loves to scour the corners for cool items and doesn't mind looking for my collectible of the moment. I requested oak mirrors with beveled edges and one year later, voila! A wall of mirrors! Imagine my delight when I turned the lights down to gaze at my tree and this gorgeous view appeared :)

This layout is one of the rare ones that didn't start with a photo. When I pulled out my Flavor of the Month Kit from The ScrapRoom and saw this paper, I knew immediately what photo I wanted to use.

The birds are fussy cut so that the photo and mat slide underneath. Doesn't it appear as if the birds are looking at the tree too?!

A little spray ink with some "magic" masking to help it stand out.

The brads included in the kit are so beautiful. I love the vintage feel of this collection.

I hope you feel the magic too!