An Autumn/Fall Collection

There are such nice people out in blogland.  I've been featured on this wonderful blog, Reclaimed Threads, in an Autumn/Fall collection.  Go check it out!

Oh...and it's Friday!  Yeah!!!!    :)

Scrapbook Sale Continues

Disney Scrapbook

The sale continues on Etsy today.

                                       

Bowling Scrapbook

                                       

Thankful Hearts Scrapbook

I love biographies and autobiographies.  They are my absolute favorite genre of audio books, especially when they're read by the author.  Since I listen to audio books everyday on my commute I go through a lot of books...usually a couple books per week.  Some I just grab off the library shelf because there aren't really any other options that particular day and some I've been anxiously awaiting their arrival in the new section.  This book....I've been waiting for.  Hoping that it would show up at one of my libraries (yeah, I go to several!). 

Resilience: Reflections on the Burdens and Gifts of Facing Life's Adversities by Elizabeth Edwards

Her earlier book, Saving Graces, had brought so many tears to my eyes as I read it that I had to stop.  Reading of the loss of her son when I had just been through so much with my own, was too much for me at the time.  Some time later though, I thought I could get through it if I listened to the audio book instead.  What was I thinking?  I walked into work for days with red puffy eyes.  Yeah, not so smart listening to a tear jerker on the way to work!!!! 

I loved the book though.  How could you not love this woman?  How could you not want to wrap your arms around her and comfort her as she told the story of her son's death and her struggle with breast cancer?  For those of us who have been thisclose to that kind of loss, her story is an inspiration.  Not because she overcame every obstacle with ease and grace and emerged on the other side unscathed, but perhaps because her journey, like ours, came with bumps along the way.

Of the two books, I would definitely say that Saving Graces is my favorite, but only because so much of Resilience seems to be a recap.  If you pick up Resilience because you want the scoup on John's affair, don't bother.  It's Elizabeth's story, not John's.  In this day of sensationalism, I must say I was a bit relieved.  I find her story much more compelling anyway.

Stock Up for Holiday Gift Giving Sale...Great deals on Scrapbooks!

Stop by my Etsy shop this weekend for an awesome scrapbook sale! 

Starting Friday, Oct. 23rd

10% off purchases of 1-3 items

20% off purchases of 4 or more items

Of course there's a little bit of fine print....discount does not apply to shipping charges or custom orders. 

Hurry...sale ends at midnight on Sunday, Oct. 25th!

Twins...they're everywhere!

Ok.  Maybe it's the Law of Attraction.  I HAVE twins therefore I ATTRACT twins.  Who knows.  But lately everywhere I look, everyone I talk to or come into contact with either IS a twin or HAS twins!  Not that I mind.  I think it's cool.  I'm just puzzled.  I've had these twins for 18 years and now all of a sudden it seems like everything "twin" is finding it's way to me. 

Ceara & Arielle 1995

Now... if I could just get that Law of Attraction thing to work in other areas of my life!  :)

All I Want for Christmas! Paper Bag Scrapbook

All I Want for Christmas!

I have been a busy little elf this weekend.  I'm so excited about all the scrapbooks that are moving from the "I can't wait to make this" pile to the "completed" pile.  I've already listed a few on Etsy and several more will show up during the week so keep checking back.

What do you think about the WHITE paper bag book?  It's the first one I've made in white.  I kinda like it.  It really makes the red POP!

So how are you doing with your Christmas shopping?   Are you marking things off your list yet?   I can't believe it's only a couple of months away.  I would count the weeks, but that might put me into a panic!  :)

Let It Snow! Paper Bag Scrapbook & more...

Let it SNOW

Before long snowflakes will be flying and the earth will be covered with a glistening blanket of snow.  Ok.  Not ALL the earth but I'm sure my little corner of it will find itself buried under the white stuff soon enough.

If I had my way...which hardly ever happens....we would get a beautiful fluffy snow on December 22nd and by January 2nd it would all be gone.  That's it.  That's all I need.  Snow for Christmas and poof, it's gone! 

Snow was fun though when I was a kid.  We (usually my brother and I) would spend countless hours playing in the stuff.  We built forts in the snow along the road where the snowplows had created mountains and cliffs. We skated on the creek by our uncle's house or on the ice-rink we "built" in the yard.  We rolled snowballs for snowmen and made snow angels, being careful not to disturb the snow around them. We went sledding down the steepest hills we could find or sometimes down the snow and ice covered gravel road.  We used the old wood and metal sleds because you could lay down on them (piling 2 or 3 people on!) and really build up speed until ultimately we would all fall off.  Eventually we used the "newfangled" plastic saucer sleds and raced each other to the bottom of the hills.  As we got older we went snowmobiling.  Yeah, snow was fun.

I've got lots of great memories of the snow as a kid.  Unfortunately no pictures.  I did find this one though.

                                                   

How funny is this?  It obviously wasn't winter...notice the short sleeves?  It was always freezing in our house.  And wow...does this kitchen scream "farmhouse from the 60's" or what?!  Honestly, I don't ever remember our kitchen looking like that, especially the floor.  The boots are hot though....right?  :)

Anyway, my point is....take pictures of your kids in the snow!  Better yet....take pictures of them playing in the snow, put the pictures in a scrapbook AND write the stories that go along with them.  Your kids will treasure them. 

Winter Wonderland

Scrapbooks for Autumn

Can you believe that we are almost halfway into October already?  Seems like yesterday that I was wondering if SPRING was ever going to get here...and now the snow is already flying in some parts of the country.  Apparently it snowed in both the Quad Cities and the Rockford areas yesterday so I'm not sure how we avoided it being right in the middle of the two, but I'm NOT complaining!  I would be grateful if it just totally missed us entirely this winter.

Ok...let's back up...it's not winter yet....but it is Autumn/Fall!  Here are a couple books I just listed in my Etsy shop.

Autumn Blessings

Happy Turkey Day

You can see more photos of these scrapbooks or purchase them in my Etsy shop.  You don't need to "join" Etsy to look...but you do need to sign up if you are going to purchase.  It's easy and quick to sign up....but if you see something you want or if you would like to place a custom order...and DON'T want to sign up for Etsy, you can just email me or leave a comment! 

Coming attractions!  I went on a little shopping spree the other day.  It was definitely time to stock up again.  I love to get new things...but then I never know which project to work on first!  Here's a list of possiblities....if something peaks your interest let me know and I'll move it to the top of my "to-do" list!  :)

Birthday Girl / Birthday Boy

Sweet 16

Happy 21st Birthday

Over the Hill

My Special Day (Wedding)

Big Sister

Grandparents

All Boy

Happy Holidays (Every holiday throughout the year!)

Let it Snow (snowflakes and snowmen)

All I Want For Christmas

Vintage Christmas

Homespun Holidays

Snow

Winter Wonderland

Winter

Pickin' Pumpkins

Thankful Hearts

Once Upon a Time / Princess

Sleep Over

Theatre

Film

Volleyball

Bowling

Dance

Track & Field

Soccer

Basketball

Swimming

Disney Autographs

Sea World

and of course, School (books by the grade)

Some of these are repeats of scrapbooks I've already sold.  You can see photos of "sold items" here.  And, as always...you can request a custom scrapbook!  :)

Remember....scrapbooks make great Christmas gifts!

Our Hero Mickey Mouse!

Mickey is marching on....catch up with him in my Etsy shop or on Flickr.

Great Halloween Treasures from Etsy

It’s a beautiful day here in the Midwest…that is if you like cold, damp and rainy. I, in fact, do not like any of those things so I am observing it only sporadically from the warm side of the window. Even in here things are not so sunny. I have had a sore throat and “cold-like” symptoms all week. Not bad enough to go to the doctor but just bad enough to feel worn out and kinda crappy.

So, I thought today would be the perfect day to look for some great fall/Halloween items on Etsy…you know, to remind myself that there are some good things about Autumn too!

I love charm bracelets. The more noise they make the better! I actually found a couple that I wanted to share with you.

Trick or Treat...Bracelet with Free Earrings

The first one is by Fanceethat. The beads and charms are so much fun you’ll want to wear it the whole month of October. The great combination of shapes and colors really bring this bracelet to life. Oh, and it even comes with coordinating earrings!

Retro Halloween Altered Art Charm Bracelet

Looking for something a little quirky? Then this bracelet by JezebelCharms is right up your alley. It incorporates Scrabble tiles into the design. And, those photo charms are a hoot! I know I’m getting ahead of myself here, but there’s also a Thanksgiving bracelet in the shop that would definitely be the talk of your holiday dinner table!

Set of 12 Folk Art Halloween Hang Tags...No. 1

Moving right along…wouldn’t these adorable folk art hang tags by mayberryquilts be the perfect finishing touch to a bag of homemade caramel corn or cookies? Tie the bag up with some raffia, add the tag and you’re good to go. Love the designs!

Vintage Trick or Treat No. 2 Cup Full of Supplies for Halloween Altered Art and Scrapbooking

Of course the scrapper in me loves this idea. What a treasured gift this vintage cup (with goodies) by INeedThat would make for YOUR scrapper friend! It even includes Anagram tiles! Ok, they may mean nothing to you…but Anagrams send me flying back to my childhood at warp speed! (I’m showing my age, right? Alrighty then, let’s move on!).

I’ve got a few new additions to my Etsy shop as well.

Pickin' Pumpkins Paper Bag Scrapbook

When you’ve got small kids, Autumn just isn’t complete without a trip to the pumpkin patch. Capture the memories of the day in this scrapbook dedicated to just that one event. The kids will pull it out over and over to show it to everyone who visits!

1993                                                              1994

When my kids were little Halloween was ALL about the costumes. Ok…maybe it was a little bit about the candy too! Anyway, each Halloween produced a handful of photographs. Enough to capture the memory but not enough to fill an entire full-sized scrapbook.

Happy Halloween 2 U Paper Bag Scrapbook

I realize that today with digital prints (yeah, my kids were little back in the age of 35mm) it’s so much easier to end up with hundreds of photos of a single event, but usually even those can be narrowed down to a dozen or so that are truly meaningful and representative of the event. That’s why these paper bag scrapbooks are so much fun. You can tell the story in an up-close and personal way. Add the photos and comments on the pages and then do even more journaling on the inserted cards. You can also slip other notes and memorabilia into the pockets. Even if you prefer to place your photos into traditional photo albums or full sized scrapbooks, get some duplicate prints and place them in paper bag books to share with grandparents or friends. What a great personalized gift!

Oh…I almost forgot to mention. There’s still time left to get over to my Etsy shop for the weekend SALE!

You can find more pictures of my scrapbooks in my Etsy shop or on Flickr or become a fan on Facebook!


See ya around!

Judy