Wishing you...

Supplies: Patterned papers (Cosmo Cricket Mitten Weather), Brads (American Crafts)

*****

Heads up...

Starting on December 10th there is going to be some fun stuff going on here!

And I am bringing friends along!

:)

Happy day!
gretchen

Bring on the holidays!!

Thanksgiving was great!

Bring on Christmas!
My mantle is almost done.

We are getting a tree today.

{Lee won't dress like Clark Griswald & he doesn't like egg nog, but everything else will be about the same when it comes to which tree gets picked for our living room!}

All the Christmas decor is out but not yet in it's place making my house in a state of holiday disaster right now!

I've got cinnamon candles burning 24-7.

Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la

This is all in my effort to make this Christmas much better than they have been over the past few years.

And of course I had to do a layout about it...about "rediscovering Christmas".

Supplies: Everything is from the new Bedford Falls kit from Noel Mignon!
{there are some left!!}
Patterned paper: Pink Paislee; Chipboard title: Making Memories; "ticket": Pink Paislee; die cut border: Pink Paislee; tiny number stickers: Jenni Bowlin; gold glittery leaves: Making Memories

*****
FYI:
Paper Issues is running a holiday challenge until December 25th!
Show off your Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa
Festivus/Christmukkah (or whatever you celebrate) projects!!!
You can link as many projects as you want.

If you used paper...you are in!!Link up your stuff here & check out all the fabulous inspiration while you are there!
{by the way, your fabulous project may be featured one day & of course there will be prizes along the way!}
*****
Happy holidays!!
:)

gretchen

Happy {belated} Thanksgiving
from the Misner clan!

pictured: Ginny & David {getting hitched in March} on the left, Stu-baby front & center, Mom & Dad {about to celebrate 38 years of marriage} on the right, me & Lee in the back

Have a great weekend!!

gretchen

My shoes

Have you seen the newest special issue from Creating Keepsakes??

It's a good one filled with tons of practical layout ideas!
And I have a layout in there!
And the layout happens to be one of my most favorite ever!
:)

As seen in the Nov/Dec issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine.
Copyright Creative Crafts Group.
Posted with prior permission from the publisher.
Patterned paper: Basic Grey, KI Memories; Chipboard alphas: Basic Grey; Alpha stickers: American Crafts; Journaling block: KI Memories; Brads: KI Memories; Bling: KI Memories

Thanks for looking!
:)
Have a happy Thanksgiving yall!
gretchen

It's starting to look alot like Christmas

The new Bedford Falls kit from Noel Mignon has totally gotten me in the Christmas spirit!
It is full of awesome Christmas stuff from My Mind's Eye, Fancy Pants, Pink Paislee, Making Memories, Jenni Bowlin, and more!

I am so excited to scrap with it!
And I plan on making lots of decorations for our home with it.

{you might remember that our past couple of Christmases have been ho-hum so i am going to work hard to make this one fabulous! and much more festive!}
Before I dive into the home decor stuff, though, I made a few cards with some of the Pink Paislee and My Mind's Eye papers in the kit.
I used a very simple design, but those Santas from the Father Christmas line (Pink Paislee) make for a beautiful card!
{if i do say so myself!}
{cardstock, patterned papers, brads, ribbon are all from the Bedford Falls kit from Noel Mignon}

Not too minimize Thanksgiving, but I am already looking forward to Christmas!!
:)
gretchen

KI Challenge

Today was my day to put up a challenge on the KI blog.
Since Thanksgiving is in a few days, I thought the challenge was pretty obvious.

What are you thankful for?
Has this been a great year?
Has it been a tough year & you are glad it's almost over?
Are you blessed??
Well then scrap it!

Scrap what you are thankful for!

Supplies: Glitter cardstock, patterned paper, border sticker, chipboard alphas & numbers, "November" glitter sticker are all from the NEW Over the Rainbow collection

If you make something, make sure to link it up on this post on the KI blog.

And link me up here too while you are at it because I want to see it!

:)
gretchen

Catching up

Whoa! I feel like the end of the week just flew by!
And I've gotten a little behind!
It all started when we made a trip to T-town to see these guys play their Thursday night game against Georgia State.

It was a blow out!

And that is the best kind of game to watch!
:)
_________________________________________

Here's a little fun thing...
This is a challenge blog that I recently discovered.

They do challenges every 2-3 weeks.

But they are fun, do-able challenges so everybody can participate!
{it's not like you have to use 24 different papers from 12 different manufacturers and 20 flowers that you painted with a toothbrush}
For example, the challenge going on now (until Nov. 25th) is Save Thanksgiving!
Link up all your Fall & Thanksgiving projects, old and new!
There are lots of projects over there and tons of inspiration for each challenge.

And you can easily link up your projects too!
Well, I get to be a part of their creative team for the next few months!!
Fun stuff!!
So check out the site and play along with us!!
:)
_________________________________________
I recently got my hands on my first Midnight Rooster kit.
{it's the December kit}
And I've already made 4 layouts & a card with it!
Here's some proof even though I can't share everything yet!

_________________________________
One more thing...have you made anything with any of KI's fun glitter stickers??
If you have, link it up here for a chance to win a prize!
{at the time of this post, nobody had linked anything yet...so your chances are goooood! you have until Monday. HURRY!}
_________________________________
OK I think that gets me caught up!
{for now}

Have a great Sunday!!
:)
gretchen

Taking you on a tour

Taking you on a little tour of my scrap space that is!
*****
Let me preface these pictures by saying that my scrap space is SMALL!
It started off as unfinished attic space off of our bedroom that my husband finished while I was away for a weekend.
{i know, how sweet!}
It is small & has a slanted ceiling on one side which makes it fun I think!
But because it is small, and I tend to be a tight wad, I sacrificed some "cuteness" for practicality and efficiency!
I love it though!
*****
When you open the door to my scrap space, this is what you see.

My makeshift desk is a $20 door from Home Depot resting on 2 file cabinets.
{see what I mean about being a tight wad!!}
I keep my die cut machines on this so I can reach them easily.
On the right, in a few Cropper Hoppers, I keep new-ish paper from my favorite manufacturers.
On the left...well that is a bunch of layouts that I need to put in albums!
This is what is hanging from the desk/door. I made it all by myself but got the idea from an old article in BHG Scrapbooks Etc featuring Erika Gruhm's scrapspace.
All I did was handstitch (because I am scared to use a sewing machine) some fabric so that I could slide it onto a dowel rod.
Then the dowel rods are resting in some hooky things that I screwed into the door. These curtains are a great way to hide a mess! Trust me.
The shelves above my desk hold buttons, paint, random stamps, glitter glue, & some rolls of ribbon.

OK, now immediately to the right when you walk in my scrap space is this old CD/DVD shelf that I saved from being thrown away.
I spray painted it and voila!Then next to the CD shelf, I have stacked a few of these little drawer thingys. These are great to hold a bunch of little stuff that might otherwise get lost in the shuffle!
On top of the CD shelf & little drawer thingys I have these pink baskets that I got from the Target dollar spot.
I keep essentials in these baskets.
And since I have an addiction for brads and bling, I have a couple of baskets just for those things too!

Now if you look to the left when you walk in, there is this bookshelf that I spray painted to match the CD shelf. I am not able to get a great picture of it because I cannot back up far enough! Remember, this room is small!!
This shelf holds finished mini-albums, ink pads, notebooks full of stamps that I do not use enough, quote books, etc.

WARNING!!!

What you are about to see next is potentially dangerous!!
And this is what sits on top of the bookshelf!
EEEEEEEEKKKK!!!

Yes, that is my collection of alphabets.
It is not a pretty sight, I know.
HOWEVER, I can find just about whatever I want in there! :)
Maybe.
I am taking suggestions for a better system.
Please let me know ;)

OK one more thing...I have these paper racks next to my primitive desk.

I bought them cheap when a local scrapbook store went out of business (booo!!). However, they are very helpful to hold my cardstock & older patterned paper that I have organized by color.
Well there you have it!
That is a little glimpse into my scrap space!
{and i am quite impressed if you are still reading!}
Have a great day!
:)
gretchen

a little free PT

no co-pay.
no insurance.
no appointment.
just a little advice.
because so many girls I know have taken up running.
and I love it!
but running can be hard on the body.
too many people experience real injuries or at least aches & pains with the pounding of the pavement.
{and i do mean pounding!}
the stronger your muscles are around your knees, the less pounding your joints will have to take as the muscles absorb some of that!
so here are a few basic exercises I think are a must if you run.
they are simple.
and require no equipment.

but your knees will thank you later!
happy running!!
:)
gretchen

I know it's Monday, but...

Supplies: Patterned paper, stickers (all Bella Blvd)

It's another day!
Have a good one!!
:)
gretchen

Slowly but surely working on my Christmas cards!
{and sneakily submitting them for
Cosmo Cricket's December guest designer contest!}

So what are you doing this Saturday?!
What ever you do, have a good one!

:)
gretchen

That's my layout!!

{HERE}

:)

happy hump day folks!!
gretchen

Reminder

November 13th
It is the return of my "Holiday Trio" class!
11:00 AM
Scrapbook Mania
$25
We are going to make 3 double-page layouts: Halloween, Thanksgiving, & Christmas!
It's a page for each holiday!

Last I heard there were a couple of spots left!
Call the store to sign up!{205/424-4246}
I hope to see you there!
:)
gretchen

The Focus On this past Friday over on the KI blog was the fun new pockets.

Well those little 3x3 pockets are perfect to hold gift cards!
So I made a birthday card for a friend.

And then I added a pocket on the inside of the card to hold a gift card.

I also made a baby card for a girl at work who will soon be giving birth to TWINS!!

But I still need to go pick up the gift card to go inside!
:)

Make sure to check out the KI blog and see some other cute ideas for using the new pockets!

Have a good one!
gretchen

For my running peeps...

As seen in the Nov/Dec issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Posted with prior permission from the publisher.
Supplies: Patterned paper (Basic Grey-pink; KI Memories-all other), Chipboard alphas (KI Memories), Glitter alphas (KI Memories), Brad (KI Memories), Bling & chipboard heart (Heidi Swapp for Advantus)

This was is in the Nov/Dec issue of Creating Keepsakes.

{on sale now!}

Pictures are from last year's Race for the Cure in Birmingham.

Ah good times!

:)
Happy Monday folks!
gretchen

OK here's the whole album

Happy Friday!
Have a great weekend!
:)
gretchen