Good Riddance 2011…Welcome 2012

31 Dec posted by

This time last year, we faced the coming of the new year with nothing but dread. We knew Mike was going into custody in a few days. Life as we knew it would be over for the forseeable future. There was nothing to look forward to about 2011.

But 2011 has passed now. It felt interminably long, and yet also somehow flew by. 2011 brought new challenges that we never imagined a year ago, including our daughter being diagnosed with severe juvenile arthritis.

Through it all, one thing has been constant: our love for each other and our commitment to rebuilding our lives as a family when Mike is released in October 2013. That goal has kept us looking forward and not back.

Now as we embark on 2012, we can look forward with more optimism than a year ago. We expect to have really good news to share soon about Mike’s living situation, and hope that our daughter’s health will continue to improve as she receives treatment.

I couldn’t have survived 2011 without the support of so many people…thank you to all of you. I appreciate all of the support and am so glad to have you all with me as I move into the different challenges that 2012 will bring.

So here’s to 2012…good riddance 2011. I won’t miss you.


Filed Under: Personal

Holiday Fun With Paper!

7 Dec posted by

Welcome to my version of the Scrapbook Update staff blog hop! This month we are taking holiday scrapbook supplies “off the page”.

Off the page immediately brings to mind holiday decor and packaging and entertaining for most people…but the holidays at our house this year are pretty low-key due to my husband being away. And I’ve never been big on 3D projects anyway.

But of course, anyone who follows this site knows that off the page for me means one thing to me: tags. I’ve become a serious tagging addict the past year! And we can’t have Christmas without cards – my other recent creative addiction – so I’ll be sharing some of those too.

But first…the tags! Tags are getting a lot of attention right now because Tim Holtz is running his annual 12 Tags of Christmas event on his blog. Of all the annual scrapbooking events that occur online, this is by far my favorite. It’s like taking a whole Tim workshop, if you really pay attention to the detail in the step-outs instead of just soaking in the finished products.

I’m a bit behind on completing my versions of the 12 tags (what else is new?) but here are my first two that are completed. Only four more to go to be caught up! Think I can finish them before midnight? Hmm…maybe not.

Tag #1

I recreated the background technique that from Tim’s tag #1, but using the texture trades snow flake embossing folder and only put the technique on part of the background. Then I created the snowbank in the bottom right corner with a similar technique by using the embossing ink pad direct-to-paper in that area. I also copied the glittered chipboard element, but just with a smaller die (and I inked the tree trunk). I topped the glitter with Distress Stickles in Picket Fence to give the tree a snow covered look.  [Continue reading...]


Filed Under: Scrapbooking

How I Became A Die Cutting Addict

8 Nov posted by
Sizzix Work Space

My journey to die cut machine fanatic has been a long and winding one. Thirteen years ago, when I started scrapbooking and I also worked in a scrapbook store, I had access to an Accucut die cut machine anytime that I wanted. But despite the general popularity of solid color die cutting in scrapbooking back [...]

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Filed Under: Scrapbooking

Monthly Tags: #7 July, 2011 and #8 August, 2011

19 Oct posted by
July2011tag

It’s time to make tag #9…and I’m just finally getting around to posting tags #7 and #8! Tag #7 has been done for a long time but the posting got delayed by the site outage from the server failure. Tag #8 was also finished in late September, just under the wire before it was time [...]

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Filed Under: Scrapbooking

Scrapbooking & My iPhone

4 Oct posted by
IMG_1930

Today the Scrapbook Update staff is having a blog hop all about crafting with our phones…which means I get to talk about one of my favorite topics: my iPhone. My life is pretty much on my phone. It is my constant companion from dusk till dawn (and in between, too). One of the best things [...]

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Filed Under: Scrapbooking

Cards | I Love You

26 Aug posted by
I love you card

This week was an especially difficult anniversary for my husband and I – the tenth anniversary of the stillbirth of our son. As that date approached I knew that being apart as we remembered that awful loss was going to be extra hard. I wanted to do something special to bring some comfort to my [...]

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Filed Under: Scrapbooking
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