crash.

Honestly, this describes my life lately.

Crash. Boom Bang.

I was in a car accident on Friday and here's what's left of my vehicle.

God truly had his hand on me and for that I am thankful.

It was raining cats and dogs and I hydroplaned at about 60 mph on the interstate

It spun me into the guardrail, and around 180 degrees into head on oncoming traffic.

The airbag deployed and beat me up pretty bad but not nearly as bad as it could have been.

Seconds after I got off the road two other cars hit the same spot and would have hit me if I hadn't moved in the nick of time.

God is GOOD, no he is GREAT.

Lately my family has had numerous challenges thrown our way and I have been battling with anxiety and depression in a big way.
I'm sorry my blog has sat abandoned but I honestly haven't felt I've had anything worth posting
I did make a layout last week and need to take a photo of it, maybe I'll post it later
Things have just been really rough lately.
I'm sorry to be such a Debbie Downer but I wanted to post an update, no matter how bad things get I know they can always be worse and I am thankful to be surrounded by my family and friends that love me (You know who you are)
I know that this too shall pass
:)

Could it be true? Tara posted an update?!?

I can hardly believe it myself!

Not a day goes by that I don't think about my blog

How it's sitting all alone, left in the cold

Probably crying itself to sleep at night

Feeling unloved and neglected.

Wait, am I talking about my blog or my scraproom?

Probably both!

Things have been busy, I know, same story, different post!

While I have been insanely occupied I have still managed to crank out a few artistic creations

This is a piece I painted with Golden acrylics on watercolor paper last week

At first I didn't like it but it's starting to grow on me.

Here's a banner I made with the GCD Studios "Homespun Chic"

They had a design team call that I thought I would try for and then I forgot the deadline and missed it! How typical.

Here's a fun layout titled "Flaky Fun" that I made with some My Mind's Eye and Jenni Bowlin

I used some Maya Mist and Maya Road snowflakes as a mask, such fun!

Mia and her Daddy had a blast sledding back in January (even though they broke the sled! LOL)

Mia celebrated her 6th birthday in December and here's a layout I did using Jen Wilson's Life Stories paper, I LOVE this paper!!!

Of course the adorable Sassafras just adds cuteness to the page.

Do you like my misting along the edges?

I misted over some doilies and really am pleased with the way it turned out.

Another birthday layout I quicklyput together using some of the new MME Quite Contrary line

The stamp is Studio Calico and it is a new fave of mine

My best bud, Tina lent it to me

If she thinks she's getting it back she has lost her mind! LOL

This is another quickie I made

I challenged myself to use scraps/materials that were on my table and nothing else

This is the result!
My Koby was missing his 2 front teeth for months but one is finally growing in!
He is thrilled, to say the least

I saved my favorite for last...

This Homespun Chic line is one of my favorites I have seen in a while, anything retro is right up my alley (Being that I am the Head Housewife of the Bored Housewives!)

The black and white letters are K & Co and I have stocked up on them, LOVE them!

My family has been going through a lot lately

If you wouldn't mind saying a prayer for us I would appreciate it more than you could know.

I have total faith that God will see us through this storm
Thanks for stopping by my blog today

I have missed you all!

A new found hobby

I am ridden with guilt over my blog.

It's hard to believe it has sat with no new posts for another month.

New businesses truly require a lot of time!

We have met so many kind people in our short time in business, and made many satisfied customers. (Just read the feedback on our facebook page!)

I do have a new found hobby but let me bring you up to speed with my scrapping hobby first!

I took somewhat of a hiatus from teaching but got back in the groove and designed some things for Valentine's Day.

Don't you love the Cupid line from Pink Paislee?On this mailbox I used the Crush line from Teresa Collins

I got the mailbox from the Dollar Spot at Target, can't beat that!

The white Prima flower has been misted with Cherry Metallic Maya Mist

I have really taken a liking to Maya Mist, their new colors they released at CHA are gorgeous!

The Scrapbook Workshoppe got them in and I just had to have Carnation Pink, Blue Hydrangea and Fern Green. Such bright, springy colors.

Want to see some new pages I've done?

Here is a funky one I used a lot of Studio Calico on

(The mist used is the Fern Green Maya Mist I was just harping about)
Here's a fun layout with more Studio Calico

I used the January Add on kit for this

When I saw the wooden letters it was love at first sight!!

Missouri has received it's fair share of snow (and then some!)

Collage Press hit a home run with their JoyRide line

I knew it was the perfect paper to scrap these photos of the kids sledding

Have you seen the Jenni Bowlin/Coredinations cardstock?

Here's a small strip of it on this next layout:

Just a fast one I threw together in about 10 minutes

I LOVE these photos of Lola & the boys!

Punctuality is a must for my oldest son, Koby

He hates to be late!
(I could learn a thing ar two from him...)
We overslept one morning, needless to say he wasn't in that good of a mood.

One more snow layout!


Now, onto my new obsession...
Mixed media & acrylic paint!!
My friend, Tina, has been a mixed media maven for some time now
and has graciously started to share her knowledge with little old me!
I love how there are no rules and anything can be used as ephemera
Golden acrylics and mediums are my new drug of choice...



Here is my first piece, "So it Seams"
I used pieces of a vintage Butterick pattern and do you recognize the black floral paper?
Basic Grey! The sewing machine stamps are Studio Calico, I used UTEE to emboss them and then did a light glaze of Titan Buff.
(This is a 16x20 canvas)


Another fun piece on paper with more vintage fun


This isn't mixed media but just a painting I did as a gift for my mother in law

I played around with Light Molding Paste on this

I hope she likes it!



If I can give you any idea of how busy I am...

I started typing this post at 11:00 AM.
It is now 5:30 PM and I am just now finishing

Have a great weekend!

As promised...I'm BAA-AAACK!

As promised, I am back!

Things have been extremely busy around here and it just seems like the longer you go without blogging, the easier it is to postpone it for another day.

But 2010 is upon us and I want to start it right!

I didn't want to post photos of my December Daily until the outside was finished but I'll show you anyway :)

I used a Prima canvas album and glimmer misted with Peppermint Stick & then Marshmallow on top of that. I plan on putting some green ribbon over the album's edges and possibly stitching "December 2009" on the front...

Here's a peek at some of the inside pages:

I got a lot of my embellishments off of etsy.com

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ormolu

http://www.etsy.com/shop/elles

http://www.etsy.com/shop/livingroomfloor

We have been doing lots of holiday baking

I made over 10 dozen Italian cookies with the help of my 2 sous chefs:

(Notice Miss Mia's new haircut? She got a cute little bob!)

Yum Yum!

Here the kids are on Christmas Eve, so excited for Santa to come!
We tracked Santa all night thanks to the NORAD Santa Tracker

It was utter madness once Santa reached the USA, the kids went bonkers!!

And then the magic of Christmas morning

Koby was so thrilled to get the Guinness World Book of Records!

(he didn't get his 2 front teeth though)

Mia with her Littlest Pet Shop animal

And Roman rocking out!
Santa brought Rock Band!!

We had a White Christmas

Here's the proof!!

We still have several inches of snow on the ground, with a forecast of more to come!

I haven't taken the kids out to play in it yet but hope to soon

I'm sorry I was away for so long and have missed all of my friends

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday with your loved ones

Can you believe 2009 is coming to a close?

It was a tough year for many and I am looking forward to 2010

I am thankful for my health and for the good health of my children and husband

Have a happy and safe New Year's Eve!!

This is just freaking RIDICULOUS!

Who deserts their blog for a MONTH!?!
What kind of blogger does that?!?

Especially at the holidays?

With three kids and a new business?

Seriously?

I have sincerely missed all of my friends and reading your blogs

Sometime within the next 24 hours I promise to give you an update on me, my life and even post a few pics of my December Daily!

I guess this is somewhat of a tease of a post, just wanted to let my readers know that I am still alive.

I will be back soon!!

A day of blessings.

Hello friends!

First and foremost I must apologize for my absence.

I never realized just how much time my new business would consume and I have a totally

new outlook on life!

Hats off to all the working moms out there (AND single moms!)

I don't know how you do it.

I feel like I am doing it all, but none of it well :(

This really bothers me as I strive for excellence in all arenas of my life

I know once the store has been open longer we will get in a better routine, in the meantime I am just thankful that God has blessed us with

a flourishing business in these tough times.

It's amazing how busy we have been and how our community

has welcomed us with open arms.

There are other furniture stores in town but we are trying to create a niche and be totally different from them. So far it's definitely working!

I haven't scrapped or done anything creative in weeks and it really is taking a toll on me.

I long to create, I've even been dreaming about it at night!!

Once I get these 42 loads of laundry done I just may have a few spare minutes...

We'll see.

How was everyone's Thanksgiving?

Mine was perfect.

My mom made the turkey this year so that was a big relief

I was just in charge of sweet potatoes, hash brown casserole, cranberry sauce and my famous caramel apple pie...

Gobble Gobble!

My kids...I tell you
Someone needs to teach them that it's not polite to dance until dinner is over.

Here are my sisters and mom and I

After dinner was over I turned on my favorite iTunes playlist and we all danced berserk around the house! I would post some pics of myself dancing but those were all promptly deleted.

Champagne will make you do some crazy things!
Here is Mia and Aunt "Boo" though..

Once we were all tired from dancing we sat down and played several games as a family

We just got Pictionary Man, what a fun game!!

The box said ages 14 & up but once it got to the kids turns we just made a list of easier prompts for them to draw and had them draw one from a hat

I have so many things to Thank God for this year, some simple and some not so simple

In no particular order here goes...

my amazing supportive husband, running water, a cozy bed to sleep in, healthy and beautiful children, the talent God has given me, my 2 sweet dogs, the privilege of living in the United States, my fabulous camera, my safe vehicle, Scooter's coffee, my washer and dryer AND dishwasher!, good music to listen to, good books to read, the new Target that just opened by my house!, safe schools for my children, the amazing teachers at our Montessori school, my friends- in real life AND online friends, oh, and paper and scissors :)

May you have a blessed day and take a moment to count your blessings.

Survived the Grand Opening, soooo busy!

This whole last week has been a blur

So sorry I haven't had time to update!

Our store opened on Saturday

We had a fantastic turnout!

We were there working Friday night until 4 AM so you can imagine the amount of caffeine that was needed to get us going...

Today was our ribbon cutting ceremony with the Blue Springs Chamber of Commerce

We had a pleasant surprise, Bryan Pratt, our Missouri State Representative

came and had a Resolution in honor of our store!

What an honor. Here we are cutting the ribbon...

Mike & I

This is such an exciting feat for us, Mike truly has put his blood, sweat and tears into this

(well, not so much tears...) :)

The store is going to be a success, I can just feel it!

Koby, Mia and Roman...

bless their little hearts,

wanted to play in the leaves last week.

We have one tree that has leaves and this is the extent of it! LOL

Oh, almost forgot to tell you!
I was featured on the ClearScraps blog for my Noel album!

Talk about exciting!

Hopefully this is just the beginning of more exposure for my work

It truly is my passion and dream.

I have missed all of my blog friends so

and promise to update you again when I have a spare moment.

(Maybe once the kids are in college?)

((I know, funny, right?))

Have a great Wednesday!