toasting in the new year

on friday, i had had plans for din-din and the
'new year's eve' movie with one of my girlfriends.

now, it's become an official party of five.
i'm quite excited really.
i'm looking at this as kind-of a little,
early new year's celebration minus the chaos.
yay, for that!

so, to add to the festivities, i made this
'toasting in the new year' printable.
p.s. you'll need a bottle of bubbly or wine for this.

instructions:

1. Each person fills out the questions.
2. Go around sharing your answers, amongst some good conversation.
3. Have the toast at the end of each "section". ("Cheers to...")

download the printable here.
happy safe and fun new year, loverlies!!!!!

our little lady in december

suri has been a busy-body this december.
this Christmas seemed extra special
because she was able to know what was going on,
whereas last year, she was just a peanut.

read the previous post to see what a
little lady she has become.
here's some photos of our little bundle of joy:

checking her aunt sky's text messages.

she lets me put pigtails in now! yay!!!

giggly girl

she REALLY did not like the santa hat.

fave place: uncle addi's lap

matching yellow with grandpa

pigtails out and ipod on.

she's very insistent on feeding herself now.

first taste of a candy cane...

i think this girl might have a thousand different
expressions, dontcha think?
lata, loves!

time capsule ornament

hope you had a merry, merry Christmas!
mine was loud, busy and fun.
suri was spoiled like crazy
and is enjoying all of her new toys.

december   f   l    e   w   by for us.
so, to remember this fun and festive time,
i made this time capsule ornament for suri...

i got the glittery tree ornament at target in the dollar bin.

i wrote '2011' on there with a sharpie paint marker.

i  tied up the important suri info. :)

what is she like right now?
here's what i wrote on the suri sheet:

Suri is almost 17 mos old.
She is such a quick learner
and VERY observant.
Recently...

She took her dad’s keys and tried to 
unlock the front door with them.

She took his electric shaver
and pretended to shave her face.

She took my curling iron and pretended 
to curl her own hair.

She helps put on her own lotion after her bath - 
she rubs it all over her tummy.

She learned the word ‘No’and  tells us if 
she doesn’t like a particular food or outfit.
(She already won’t wear something 
she doesn’t like.)

She loves wearing her dress-up shoes 
and is already such a  girlie girl, 
except she hates hair things. 
She now lets  us put pigtails in without
yanking them out.

She gives “running” hugs and sometimes kisses. 
(Now, she doesn’t like to give too many
kisses like before.)

She still loves the book “Where is 
baby’s belly button?” She has it at daycare
too. But, she picks at her belly button afterwards.

She cries to type on my computer 
because she likes the typing sounds.

She currently has 4 top teeth
and 4 bottom teeth and wears
size 4 shoes. (Her feet are little!)

She has a preference towards
anyone that wears glasses.
She especially loves her
uncle Addison, cousins Leighton
and Bryan and Grandpa Boune.

She dances ALL THE TIME.
She loves playing any sort of
pretend game.
She also does a dramatic
fake-laugh.

She says the word “Bath” and extends it out, 
like “baaaaaath” - she wants to take one all the time.

She takes medicine easily, but fights 
you like crazy if you try to clip her nails 
or do the nose suction.

Every time we turn on the Christmas tree and 
lights, she says “Wow”. 
If it’s not on, she points at it to remind us. 
She doesn’t pull the ornaments off or 
mess with it. She’s a good girl.

She likes to throw her diapers
or other garbage away by
herself and afterwards
she waits for you to clap
and say “Good Job.” She claps
along with you.

She’s very smart and picks things up 
without us even teaching them to her. 
She’s our ray of sunshine.

:D
i plan to do one every year, so she can see
how much she grows every year.
p.s. more suri pics to follow.

suri in vintage glam

Fancy Dog loves her sister.

why is it that when kids wear over-the-top stuff,
it makes me feel so giddy????

i adore this coat for suri.
hubster is not the biggest fan,
however, he agrees that it's the perfect warmth,
weight and easiness instead of stuffing her into
her big, poufy coat.

i put this coat on her when we go to the
grocery store and everything!
i told him it's not tacky when it's on little kids.
he agrees to disagree.
what do you think?

we originally bought this as a holiday coat:

i replaced the roses with some vintage buttons.
i think it's very audrey hupburn-esk.

literally giiiiiiddy.
how can you resist this?!

tis the season to fool the kids

have you heard of the elf on the shelf?

they are a huge hit among parents and 

such a fab idea in my opinion.

the idea is to hide the elf around the house in random places.

the kiddies think the magical elf is monitoring their behavior

and going to the north pole each night to tell santa 

if they've been naughty or nice.

here's a great video explaining it.

btw, target sells them. :)

i also love this idea from CaptureTheMagic.com.

it lets you upload a photo of your living room

and insert a stock photo of santa - as proof for the kiddies

of santa's late-night visit:

so much fun!!!

LOL!

have a Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!

coldplay k-cups

one of my girlfriends is obsessed with coldplay.
i mean obseeeeesssssssed.

her b-day happens to be on christmas,
so i made her these coldplay k-cups.
(she works the night shift and has a cup of coffee
from her keurig machine every night.)

i thought this was a fun idea.
kinda like picking a song or album
for whatever mood she's in.
the album covers are always really artsy
and perfect for a pretty project.

here's what the box looked like before it
was rocked out by coldplay artwork:

i opened the box up with an exacto knife
on its side, not top.
then, i flipped the k-cups face-up

i found photos of the band by googling "coldplay image" 

and printed them on my picturemate for the outside of the box.

(luckily i didn't need anything that was bigger than a 4x6

to cover each side of the box.)

flipping the k-cups face-up had made the box widen,
so i folded one of my printed photos in half,
glued it on and rounded one side for the flap.

for the k-cup toppers, i got the album artwork
from the coldplay website
under the 'recordings' section
and click on the 'art' link for each album cover.
(see where i marked with a yellow arrow below.)

i used a 1 1/8" punch for the keurig circle. 1" would work too.

the k-cup toppers are all 2" circles.
i reduced the size of the album cover artwork,
printed them out and punched them with a 2" punch.

the box was 18-count = 18 gorgeous album covers.

i glued them on with my tombo glue runner.
she'll have to take each album photo topper
off each one before she uses it.
(the keurig machine probably shouldn't
attempt to puncture the album cover toppers.)
don't worry, the toppers come off easily
because the tops aren't perfectly flat.

there are tons of keurig lovers out there
that this gift could be customized for.

i'm super-stoked about how it turned out!
the coldplay album art is so totally rad, which helps. :D
maybe a holiday edition...or a twilight version??!!

happy holidays, my lovelies.

awe-inspiring video

there are some people out there that are
sooooooooo CRAZY-talented, they take your breathe away.
my mind is blown.


Hero from Miguel Endara on Vimeo.

happy get inspired weekend

aaaahhhhhhhhh
hhhhhhhhhhhhhh
hhhhhhhhhhhhhh
hhhhhhhhhhhhhh
hhhhhaaappppyyyyyyy
ggeeeeeeeettttttttttt
iiiiiiiiinnnnnsssssss
pppiiirrrreeeeddddd
wwweeeeeeeeeee
kkkkkkeeeeeenn
nnnnddddd!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

yay! it's finally here.
i am soooooo crazy excited!!!
it is going to be
a heck of a good time!!!
are you super-stoked?

now that we're in the animal learning center
there is now ample room for our
wall of inspiration.
(this is where scrappers can "show off"
their scrapbook pages to
share ideas and get inspiration.)

i absolutely LOVE seeing
what everyone is working on
and always impressed by the pages.

so, i made this pins from bottle caps
for those who participate
in the wall of inspiration.

totally fun, right?
...and i also made these fabric rosette pins
for those who are volunteering me
set-up today:

i've also scored on a supercute sweater
for suri to wear this weekend.
not a detail overlooked, right? :)
btw, this sweater is totally me...in a mini version.

$7 clearance at target. woo hoo! :)

i added one of my rosette,
but i'm guessing the little booger
will yank it off and refuse to wear it.

she's just starting to talk
and actually know the meanings for
da-da (daddy), mama, nana (banana),
yaya (grandma), more, mum-mum,
thank you...
(btw, i said "i love you" to her just the other day
and she responded with "thank you". hmph.)

my mom-in-law will also be coming
to visit during get inspired .
she claims i've never invited her in the past,
[insert big "whatever" here. LOL!]
so be sure to say hello if you see her.
she's very friendly.
i'm thinking i'll make a big announcement over the PA
and embarrass her a bit. haha!
like every grandma,
she is seriously suri's #1 fan.
i'll leave this post with a pic
of suri and her grandma,
so you know what she looks like. :)

see you soon, my lovelies!
sooooooooo excited!!!!!

clownin' booth props

it's pretty much impossible to
not have fun when you're in
a photobooth.

there's a silliness that comes out
in all of us that enter.
just ca aaaa an't fight it,
just too ir rreeeesist aaa able.

throw in some extra-cool booth props
and you're done for.

sure, there will be the boa, floppy hats,
wacky sunglasses, etc. that come along
with the photobooth guy
(ours is tim from a special event dj)

but, that just ain't the way of the scrapbooker, is it?
definitely gotta mix in our own crafty ones. ;)

presenting...
the 2011 get inspired fall event booth props
(handmade by muah)

oversized bowties and neckties

framed chalkboards

and, of course, mustaches and glasses on a stick

definitely scrappy-style, right?
i think they'll be a fun addition.
cannot wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

p.s. thank you so much to those
who came to my thirty-one party,
i appreciate it.
i am truly blessed to have so much support
and especially LOVE getting to
spend some time with friends.
here's just a few pics from
the end of the night.

1. rachel + suri with their matching outfits 2. me and hubby + suri and her bff eva 3. suri and her cousin averi 4. girls at end of night.

making it cool with chalkboard

there are a few items that
i've been obssessed with lately.
1. chevron
2. chalkboard
3. felt

well, today we'll be talking about chalkboard. :)
i've been getting ready for this thirty-one bags party.
i sure hope more ppl RSVP.
hint, hint. ;)

i purchased this chalkboard vinyl at  hobby lobby.
it's got an adhesive back
and with my 40% off coupon
(which you can find on their website almost always)
this roll was only $5.

here are just a couple crafty ideas at work:

chalkboard wine labels

 to get the labels off,
just soak the bottles in warm water
for an hour or so.

chalkboard in a frame - one of my photobooth props, but it'd be cute home decor too.

i'm also just cutting them up
for chalkboard nametags
and chalkboards strips to label plastic cups.
very cool stuff.

cheers!

scrapper challenge: tell your story

...
note: i was going to do a video post
about this year's scrapper challenge,
but after attempting it,
i realized i suck in front of the camera,
so here i am instead. :)
...

being the organizer of get inspired,
i have met many amazing women
and have heard tons of super-amazing stories.

many of you probably started
scrapbooking the same way i did...
creative memories party? ;)

we all start for various reasons...
but, what keeps you scrapbooking?

some women started when
they discovered they were sick
and wanted to leave their legacy
for their children.

some women use it as a creative outlet,
because they don't feel creative anywhere else.

tons of reasons.
tons of stories.
so, i'm asking you to
tell your story
for the scrapper challenge.

my hope is that you hear stories of
why other women scrapbook
and it reminds you of
why you love it so much
or you discover you
have something in common
and maybe make a new friend.

(btw, if you remember,
make a new friend was
the spring event scrapper challenge
and it was a big hit.
gina myers said she made 50 new friends.
LOL! sorry, i couldn't resist that shout-out.)

i'll start.
there are several reasons why i scrapbook...

1. i think of scrapbooking as something sheerly for me. yes, i love that i'm leaving something for my children to look at 50 years from now. but, i'm also creating as a way to express myself.
2. i'm hoping that one day suri and her future siblings will look through my scrapbooks and say: "hey mom was kinda cool...at one time." LOL!
3. i love the social aspect of scrapbooking. this is why i push for that so much for the get inspired events. i've made some great friends from scrapbooking. i think its a great opportunity to connect with people.
4. it makes me reflect on my blessings. i always feel more grateful after scrapbooking because its usually about someone i love. it's hard to be grouchy when you're scrapbooking.

so, please think about your story.
this is a heads-up:
i'll be asking scrappers to share their story
on the microphone.
*dun, dun, duuuuuuuuuunnnn.*

don't worry, myself or my sister
will be faciliating this, so no pressure.
it will be more like we're having a conversation. ;)

i have given you some nifty gel pens,
so you can write it down.
you could also share your story
with your scrap-neighbor or someone else.

thanks, loves.
over and out.

get inspired fall event: crank that knob

hello, my get inspired lovelies,

i know it's been quiet on
the get inspired front lately,
but now it's time to crank that knob
up to CRAAAAZZZZAAAAYYY. 

it's only six more weeks until the Fall event
and with the way time has been flying
it'll be here before we know it.
woot, woot!!!!
(that's a double woot, btw.)

there are about 11 spots left,
so if you know of any scrappers
who'd like to join us,
please let them know asap.

how about some quick updates?

1. prizes will be given by.the.row.
there are 20 rows total with 17 scrappers each.
ten rows will be winners of
some pretty awesome prizes.
(there are 17 of each prize,
so row winners gets the same thing.)

do the math...that makes your chances 50/50.
pretty good, right?!
plus, vendors will be giving prizes on top of that.
here is a sneek peak at my prizes:

did you notice the rub-ons, clear stamps,
metal embellishments and scrap kits?
exciting!!!!!!

and...

2. the get inspired gift + scrapper challenge....
as you know,  e v e r y o n e  gets the get inspired gift.
so, if  you don't win one of the many prizes,
you won't be leaving empty-handed. :)
(not counting the 5 totes of scrapping supplies
you'll probably be bringing with you.)

for the get inspired gift, you'll be receiving a large  
page embellishment that either says:
"true friendship is seen through the heart not the eyes"
or a glittery "home sweet home".

also, the additional get inspired gift is gel pens.
(metallic gold/silver or black/white).

i've combined this gift with the scrapper challenge this time.
the scrapper challenge is: tell your story.
i will be posting up more about the scrapper challenge later
and explaining why i chose it for this year.
(i'm debating with myself on whether to
do a video post for this one.
eeekk. nervous.)

truly excited and looking forward to this event.
of course, the photobooth + my special props
(yes, the ideas are a'brewin for those)
and wall of inspiration are returning also.

start countin down the days, ladies.
we'll be seeing each other soon. ;)

from the library of + printable bookplates

getting a glimpse into someone's stash of books
is like getting to peek into their personality.

for me, i read as much non-fiction as i do fiction.
most of  my books are mystery, business, organizational,
and self-improvement books.

and i also re-read books over the course of years.
if it's highly unlikely i'll read a book again,
i'll donate it to goodwill.
otherwise, i consider part of my "personal library".

i always loved the idea of having my own
little bookplate for my books.
you know, the ones that say...
this book belongs to...
or ex libris or
from the library of...

so, i created bookplates with the always-stunning
marilyn monroe and audrey hepburn on there.
i simply googled for photos of them reading books.
(of course, being a graphic designer helped with this project.)

there were lots more pics of marilyn than audrey.
but, i love the way they turned out!
(i'm sure these photos are copyrighted,
so i'm not distributing this file for duplication.
sorry, loves, i hope i don't get in hot water either.)
just wanted to do a little show-and-tell...

but, not to leave you empty handed,
i created some bookplates for you too!

here is the pdf file to print your own.
(there are 15 different lovely colors and 30-up on one sheet)
i simply printed them onto avery adhesive paper
(which you can get at staples or any other office supply store)
and trimmed them down. easy peasy.

i'll be using these for hubby + babygirl's books.
this is also make a great gift for a teacher.
most of the teachers i know are avid readers, dontcha think?

hope you enjoy. :)
lata, dolls!