Just for David

I learned something unfortunate over the weekend.
Apparently one brother refuses to read this blog anymore because he feels like the other brother gets preferential treatment.
Hrmph.
Apparently he forgot about this layout.

And maybe he just never saw this one.

Really, though, I can't be too hard on him because he did just turn 30
{see above layout}
and I know his memory is not as sharp as it used to be.

So I thought I would dedicate an entire blog post to my brother David.
{and judging from the comments I get every time I mention the brothers, most of yall will not mind}

He is passionate.

He is loyal.

He can quote Dumb & Dumber, Blades of Glory, and the Pink Panther movies word for word.

He is a reader. He is so gullible making surprising him super easy and fun!
He has good hair.

He is great with kids and adults love him too.
And he can teach a mean tennis lesson!

He loves his family.
He loves the Lord.

And he just started a blog! Here is a linky if you want to check it out.
{he was not so keen on the cute layouts from shabbyblogs.com...go figure}

To make good and sure I am back in his good graces,
here is a new David layout just for good measure.

Supplies: Patterned paper (My Mind's Eye), Alphabet stickers (KI Memories), Border stickers & brads (Doodlebug), Pen (American Crafts), misc (staples)

Can you tell I love my brother??!
:)
gretchen

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Supplies: Patterned paper, cardstock stickers, brads, epoxy sticker (KI Memories), border punch (Fiskars-apron lace)

Hope you are having a happy turkey day!
:)
gretchen

Scraplifting!

Hola!
We have started something new over on the
My Little Shoebox blog this month.
Each month we are going to take turns scraplifting
other design team members.
How fun!
This month we are scraplifting the talented Michelle Lanning.
Here is Michelle's fun layout that I got to lift.

And here is what I came up with.

Supplies: Patterned papers, die cuts, chipboard letters (My Little Shoebox), brads (KI Memories), Stickles, Pen (American Crafts)

I used a horizontal 4x6 picture rather than a vertical one like Michelle used.
Then I flipped the layout on its side.
And done!
{I am a much faster scrapper if I am scraplifting!}

Check out the My Little Shoebox blog to see what some of the other girls have made using Michelle's layouts as inspiration.
And feel free to play along with us!

:)
gretchen

Giving thanks

We are celebrating Thanksgiving over on the KI blog this week.

Everyday there will be fun, new projects posted.

I made a simple little mini-album that is being featured today.
This thing is so easy that you could quickly whip it up now and then fill it with your pictures after the weekend.

{that is what I plan to do anyway}

Check out the KI blog for more pictures of the album as well as the instructions to make it.
{there is a giveaway going on today and there will be one everyday this week so check it out here!}

I plan on actually finishing the album after Thanksgiving and I will post it here when I do!

:)
Happy Tuesday!
gretchen

Going rogue

Waiting in line in a dingy parking deck for 5 hours yesterday to get a wristband in order to get the chance to get a couple of books signed by Sarah Palin today was totally worth it.
{ok so Lee really stood in line for 5 hours-I cut in line
and only stood there for about 2.5 hrs...shhh!}
We got to meet her today.

I got about 8 seconds of face time with her.

She asked my name.

I told her {and correctly at that!}.
I said nice to meet you and thank you so much for being here.

She thanked me for being there.
I met both of her parents.
I saw Piper and Trigg.

Sarah and I are pretty much BFF now.
The only reason I do not have a picture with my new friend is because the mean ole security people confiscated all cameras and cell phones before you got to her.
So a picture with this cute guy will have to do.

Happy Monday to me!
:)
gretchen

_____________________________
P.S.

there is a giveaway going on over on the KI blog today but you have to check it out today because there will be a different giveaway tomorrow!

I love a challenge

And I doubly love it if it is a My Mind's Eye challenge!
The latest challenge on the MME blog is to make a layout
based on a sketch.
So of course I had to participate.

Here's the sketch.

And here is my take on it.
{apparently I am into large cut-out hearts at the moment}

Supplies: Patterned paper, die cuts, chipboard borders, tags, rub-ons (My Mind's Eye), Bling (Heidi Swapp), alphabet stickers (Doodlebug & American Crafts)
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{yay! for me for updating the ole blog 2 days in a row. but really i am just trying to distract myself so i do not think about the fact that there are people watching New Moon right now and i am not. not until tomorrow night will i get to see it. i am being a responsible grown up and choosing a good night's sleep over fun at the movies so that i do not harm any patients tomorrow. no offense to any of you choosing the fun at the movies option. i am envious of you. you are much cooler than i. but at least i will be well-rested for my friday evening date with edward.}

TGI{almost}F!
:)
gretchen

Happy hump day!

I am sure you are anxiously awaiting my last fall cleaning update.
The last thing on my list of things I wanted to accomplish was to clean out the cabinet under the sink in our bathroom.
It has become a catch-all for our junk.

And now I can see everything.

And everything in here is actually stuff we need and use.

No more junk just taking up space. Yay! I feel good about my fall cleaning!
{believe me, there is more that could be done...lots more...but this was good!}
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Ok now onto more fun {and less messy} things!
I've been playing with what I have left from this month's
Kenner Road kit.
I made this layout with pictures from the 1/2 marathon in MS last month, and I just basically scraplifted a couple of other 2-page layouts I have done recently.
Easy peasy!

{everything is from Kenner Road kits this month except the brads & bling-those were from my stash}

{click on it to see it bigger}
And watch out! I still have more leftovers from this kit!

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Like sketches??
Shannon Tidwell posted a great sketch over on the KI blog today.
Check it out here!
And if you make something {card or layout} using the sketch, leave a comment on that post with a link to your creation, and you might win something!
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Anybody going to see New Moon this weekend??!
:)
Have a good one!
gretchen

EEEEEKKK!!!

Let me just tell you how cool I felt when Kerry Lynn asked me to guest design for Kenner Road this month!
I am pretty sure my head grew a size.

I was stoked!

So I anxiously awaited the arrival of my kit.

And it did not disappoint!
Kerry Lynn generously sent me the main kit (Timber Cove) and the embellishment kit (Daybreak).
They are full of Basic Grey, Cosmo Cricket, Crate Paper, 7gypsies, Hambly, American Crafts Thickers, My Little Shoebox tiny alphas, and more!!
So I dove in!
And this is what I made...

And I am not done yet!
I've got another layout in the works!
:)

These kits as well as a couple of project kits went on sale tonight.

Rumor has it that there are not many of the add-on kits available so get them while you can!
And make sure to check out the gallery & see the incredible work by the Kenner Road design team!
:)

Nighty night!
gretchen

Closet...check!

Okie dokie!
I am playing a little catch up with the fall cleaning updates.
{and I reserve the right for the cleaning to extend past the 14th because I am on a roll!}

Last time I discussed the ole cleaning I was in the middle of cleaning the hall closet downstairs.
It started as this.

Then it got a little bit better.

And now I am happy with it!

Yeah, yeah it does not look super clean.
BUT I can see everything in there and I can get to all of it if I wanted to.
That is all I can ask for in a closet!

{and yes, that is a skull in there-not a real one of course! this closet holds my non-Christmas holiday decor)

What I am most excited about is this...

Yes, my friends, that is an empty shelf!
It is now an open space to hold clutter from other parts of the house.

Score!

So the closet is cleaned!
I still have the bathroom cabinets post to do.
And who knows what other cleaning may go on this weekend!
But I am for sure going to enjoy the awesome weather we are having.

What are you doing this weekend??
Off to run!
:)
gretchen

Pardon the interruption

Cleaning has been interrupted momentarily for scrappy-related things instead.

{don't worry-I have been doing my cleaning...I have just been slow posting about it! Plus I really wanted to show off this stuff I have been working on!}

I have been doing a little scrapping with some fun stuff lately.

I can't show off everything yet...but soon, real soon.

In the mean time...

:)
_________________________________
Today's Focus On over on the KI blog showcases the new Heirloom line.
And there is a chance to win a prize if you leave a comment!

Go now!
_________________________________
Happy Friday!
:)
gretchen

Work in progress

Hola!
OK day 3 of fall cleaning involved the hall closet downstairs.
Most people have junk drawers.
I have a junk closet.

For real.

Here is the disaster that I started with:

And now I have sorted through everything & gotten rid of a bunch of stuff.
The next step is to take what I have left and actually organize it in here.
We had plans with friends tonight & I knew my cleaning time was going to be limited.
So I am still working on it!
The finished project will be revealed tomorrow!
:)
gretchen

Boo-yah!

Day 2 cleaning done!
{and I am even blogging about it on the same day!}

This is what happens when all of my afternoon patients cancel
& I end up with a few extra hours on my hands.

{I hate the rain as much as the next person. However, old folks don't like to get out in crazy weather & I certainly do not mind a free afternoon if they want to stay at home!}

So today's task was the linen disaster...I mean, linen closet.

Before:

After:

Now nobody is allowed to shower for a little while around here for fear that my clean closet may revert back to its previous state!

{yeah, that is totally a joke}

Anybody out there playing along with us??
I know Lisa is! And so is Nubia!

Woo hoo!!

Get to it!
:)
gretchen

Day 1 cleaning...done!

OK so yesterday's post was crazy long!

This one will not be so much.

I worked on cleaning out my dresser and the top of my closet last night.

However I have no "before" pictures for you because I emptied all the drawers and stuff from the closet onto our bed before I remembered about a picture!
{and there was no way I was going to show you that disaster than I created!}

So anyway, here are my results...

I've got a bag for Hannah Home full of old t-shirts, shorts I will never wear because at 31 I am not allowed to wear them that short anymore, mid-calf socks that I have no idea why I even have them, and old sweaters that I hate to part with but have seen much better days.
I can now close all the drawers in my dresser & I found a few shirts that I forgot I had!
This little section was the biggest area of strife in my dresser.
It holds my long sleeve t-shirts & running shirts.

I could not close the door it was stuffed so full of stuff!

Now there is extra space and I can close the door easily!
{B, those shirts kind of tucked over there on the right side-that is my stash of throw away shirts for future cold runs}
:) I cleared out my sweater/sweatshirt mess that was on the top of my closet.
These were not-folded-so-much & there were a few that had fallen on the floor that I had just left there.
Now they are nicely folded and I can reach the top!

Oh and what do we have here??!
I believe I see some extra space just waiting to be filled with fun, new sweaters!
Tonight's task: the linen closet!
:)
gretchen

Monday, Monday

Now it is back to more important things.

{and hopefully some less controversial things...geez people!}

I am going to try something this week.

I am going to do some deep cleaning stuff that I have been putting off for way too long.
Virginia is doing it.

Brittney is too!

Katie is going to give it a whirl.

{so really I am just giving in to peer pressure}
_____________

Here's what we are doing:
-Make a plan each day for cleaning a particular room or for whatever cleaning/decluttering project you are going to tackle.
-Take before & after pics and post 'em on your blog each night, along with what you are doing the next day.
-Go to Virginia's blog and post your blog entry to a linky thing (this way you can check out everyone else's progress to keep ya motivated too!)

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Join in with us!
Even if you can only do something for 15 min. (EVERYONE can spare 15 minutes of straightening, throwing out something, cleaning up something, etc.) I bet you'll feel so much better for it!
Keep in mind that this is not a competition.
This is not going to earn your righteousness or give you the "woman (or man!) of the year award"!

This is just a chance to tackle a few projects around home with the encouragement of friends.
_____________

So my plan is to tackle 4 things:

1) Cleaning out my dresser & closet and getting rid of stuff I don't need anymore.

2) Organizing the disaster of a linen closet downstairs.

3) Organizing the world's most cluttered hall closet.

4) Cleaning out the cabinet in our bathroom.
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I only picked 4 things to be realistic.

I will be at work for most of each day this week and we have plans away from home Wednesday night.

If I actually get those 4 things accomplished this week, I will be thrilled!

{and so will Lee}

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In more crafty news, I made a couple of cards for the Focus On Baby over on the KI blog this past Friday.

If you head over there & leave a comment on this post, you will have a chance to win a cool prize pack of lace cardstock.

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There is a Joann's in Birmingham now.
Yesterday I graciously voluteered to return Lee's tux {from previously discussed wedding} to the store that just so happens to be right around the corner from this new Joann's.

So I got to wander aimlessly around a fun craft store and get a few extra wife points while I was at it.

But my aimless wandering was not in vain as I picked up the Fiskars apron lace border punch that I have been lusting over {at 30% off!}.

And I immediately put my new punch to work when I got home.

Completed layout to be revealed later.
{insert evil laugh here}
______________________________

Off to tackle my closet and dresser!
Let me know if you are going to play along with us.
{everyone is doing it}

Happy Monday!
:)
gretchen

Plan B

If I can't wear the lucky shirt to the wedding,
I am hoping these will work instead.

They are a little more appropriate.

Soapbox

I am getting on mine for a second.

1.
If you have lived in Alabama {or the South for that matter} for even a small amount of time you should know better than to plan your wedding on a Saturday during the months of September, October, & November.
{and not on the first Saturday in December either}
Seriously.
I know that your wedding is bigger than a mere football game.

So there are 9 other months in which you can plan yours.

We got married on a Sunday.

Everyone was happy. All our friends in the wedding still like us.

{All that to say that we will not be able to watch the highly touted match up between Alabama and LSU tomorrow because we will be at a wedding. Kick off is at 2:30. The bride walks down the aisle at 2:30. I have tried on several outfits with my lucky Bama shirt but I just can't make it work as wedding attire. So you can totally blame the McElveens if Alabama does not win. I am thinking positively but you know what happened last year.}

2.
If you are getting married on a Saturday, do not wait until the Friday before to get the wedding band.
Your friends who always come through {like my husband} would rather not spend a beautiful afternoon trouncing around all over town finding a wedding band for you when you should have taken care of that looooong ago.
If you end up with an ugly pewter one, don't blame us.

Get it yourself next time.

Dismount from soap box.

{don't worry, I will be back & in a better mood later}

:)

gretchen

Accident prone

That last post just depresses me
{yes, even though I am not the one who got broken up with}.
So a much more fun post follows
{but it is still about the same brother. ha!}!

This month I get to work with the new In Bloom line from My Little Shoebox.
Looks pretty girly, doesn't it??!

Well one night recently {when it was probably much too late & I should have just gone to bed}, I thought to myself, "Self, I wonder if you could make a boyish layout out of this girly line".

And then my night of sleep was postponed by an hour or 2 as I came up with this layout.
Supplies: Kraft cardstock; Patterned paper, die cuts, transparencies, chipboard alphas (My Little Shoebox); Pen (American Crafts); staples

Yep, a boy-ish layout with a girly product line.
It can be done!
I peeled the purple color off of the chipboard letters to get down to the raw chipboard {which I think looks cool against the kraft paper}.
I am pretty sure Stuart would not have appreciated sissy purple letters on his layout!
:)
He might get mad & fall off of something else!
{HA!}
Have a great day!
:)
gretchen

Update

Remember this layout?

Well I jinxed them.
I mean, Facebook status has been changed and everything.

Crap. I take full responsibility.
{and I don't say this often, but I am glad BHG didn't want this one-might have been a little awkward had this shown up in a magazine}
Maybe I should not be allowed to meet any other girlfriends until they are practically walking down the aisle.
:)

Happy Monday, anyway.

gretchen