A Birthday for Sierra...

Sierra is a special friend. I've known her mom for 24 years and we've kept in touch throughout (no, she's NOT on facebook!). Although I've moved all over the country, her mom has remained stable and stayed in the same location, making it really easy. For Sierra's birthday last month, I wanted to make something glittery and personal, just like her.

I began by welding the letters of her name together to form a card. I then cut it (using my trusty Cricut!) and cut out the letters of her name again... Unwelded.

Gluing the letters to the card, I ran it through the Xyron to get it super tacky on both sides and glittered it galore! (She loves a little sparkle!) And she loved the card. Made just for her... by me...

Sierra's party began at Disney Studios 365, where the kids all got glammed-up. They are all so beautiful and it was so fun. We then went back to Sierra's house for movies, pizza, cake and ice cream. They all had a blast.

The Disney Gang works their magic on our party-goers...

We love you, Sierra! Hope you had a rockin' birthday!

My Kids are Gettin' Good!

Last month was a super duper busy month for us.

If only she'd look AT the camera...

Quickly summing it up...

Marissa got an award for Perfect Attendance that was handed out to her at Awards Night... I'm one of those moms that doesn't believe in keeping my kid home for a cough (if they have a fever or vomiting [either end!], they stay home, but anything else... nah!). So I really think this award is for me... Don't you? (lol!)

Stacy and Rey completed their second year of tennis. They started out as #1 and #2 singles (Varsity), then switched to a doubles team (playing together... oh my!) at the League Prelims. They won their first game, but lost to La Sierra the second. I'm very proud of them!

Most of the team showed up for support.

I'm proud of the WHOLE team! They went through a coaching change and took lots of beatings, but they still ended up with a positive spirit. Great going, girls!

Brrr... It's Cold Outside! (January Calendar Page)

I just love calendars. So... of course I signed up for a calendar-page swap! And... I picked October! (One of my fave months, because... well, it birthed me, of course!) But yeah, you know... Halloween is one of my fave holidays and I just love the colors of fall, so I had to do it. But yeah... I forgot to take pics of my October calendar layout (but you'll see them when I get them back sometime this month). So... in the meantime, I got to "angel" a spot and ended up with January.

And so... I picked the SNOWMAN! The greatest "wintery" guy ever!

Beginning with boring old plain white cardstock, I Glimmer-Misted the frosty background in Twilight. (I personally like the bigger drops, making it like bluish snow, but if you want a finer spray, step back a little bit and let it drift through the air...)

Then I had some great paper from My Mind's Eye (the super cool sky blue [snowman], the turqoise [January} and the wannabe turquoise/white stripe [torn strip at bottom]).

GLUE DOTS Rock!

I cut cutie-guy snowmen from Joys of the Season, hiding their facial features, but keeping the button-holes.  Then, I Peachy-Keen stamped their faces (my first set) and Stickled their twiggy arms in Cinnamon and their little mouths in Cany Cane. Then I popped teeny brads through the button holes and Glue-Dotted him to the page. (If you've never used Glue Dots, be sure to try them! AND "like" them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter. You'll be glad you did! They have SO many contests and give-aways, not to mention the tips and support. I just LOVE them!)

Obviously, I tore the strip at the bottom. Uh... need I say more? Then I ATG-ed it to the page. I left room at the bottom for binding purposes.

I cut out the January, using my Cricut... almost any font will do. I adhered it using a Zig pen. Since I was doing 12 pages, I could have used my Xyron, but didn't want glue boogers all over.

*Sigh*

And now we enter the most difficult part... THE FRAME. Ugh! The frame is concocted of a bunch of different snowflakes from various cartridges welded together to fit about a 4.5x3" picture. I sigh, because this took the absolute LONGEST portion. I had to go to bed while the machine cut... for each set of 4 frames, the physical cutting (on the Cricut) took ONE HOUR AND THIRTY MINUTES. Can you believe that? And then... they were a total pain to take off... extremely delicate and breaking. My initial intent was to have a sturdy slip-the-picture-in frame... uh... NO. Didn't work, and so... I adhered blue coordinating cardstock to the precious glittered snowflakes (paper was from my stash...) to support the wobbly frame. This I adhered on three sides (minus the top) and VOILA! I got my slip-the-picture-in-type of frame. Woohoo!

To finish it up, Joann's had some really cute buttons of snowflakes and snowmen, and I just had to have them when I saw them, and so... they ended up on my page! (hee, hee! At least I didn't hoard them, like I am known to do!)

Now I just have to print me out some actual calendar pages for next year (I'll put in KNOWN birthdays and events first, of course). And they'll be ready for gifting, when I get all the pages back.

I'm super excited and can't wait! What is your project for gifts?

The Holidays Are HERE! Are you ready?

According to my date keeper (see the readiness thingy at the bottom of the site), it is less than 21 days until the Big Day.  BUT, if you are of a different faith/belief, your holiday time may already be here. What did you do/make? What are you going to do?  I would love to know!

I'm trying to finish up what I need to do. Like last year, most of the gifts are handmade. Some people may not appreciate it, but I am doing what I can afford. PLUS, it comes from me, not bought by me. I try to be creative and not super duper simple and uncaring. I don't take the "easy" way out. I put time and effort into each and every thing/item I make.

And if, by chance, you are receiving a gift from me... if you don't like it or don't want it... PLEASE don't tell me. Just accept it. This is the one time in the year I don't want the truth. The truth IS NOT what I want to hear.

This season, no matter your faith or beliefs, is about giving. "... And I give to you a part of me, because you are my friend. It's a mirror of the heart of me. Look inside; see my soul; share my song and it will never end..." (one of my favorite songs from way back in the day - 6th grade glee club... don't judge me!) I can't find the song any where, so if you know it... help me out with the origin, PLEASE!

It's Beginning to Look A LOT Like...

Christmas? Hanukkah? Kwanzaa? or another holiday?

I just love all of the lights and things about the holiday season. So... as I took a ride through the backstreets of Redlands last night, I drove slowly, winding my way towards the Canyon (San Timiteo). Redlands is one of the most beautiful cities/towns ever. During the winter holiday season, they bump it up a notch (or two).

I love to see the older Victorian homes and other styles, too. But, the community is just the grandest without being so overly done and commercial... it gives off a real down-home family-type spirit. I love it!

They even have a community Christmas Parade!

So, since I couldn't find any pictures and didn't take the time to take pictures (I just oohed and aaahed...), hope you enjoyed the video... And think about what you love about the holiday season.

My love? The spirit of everyone being "nice", even when they're usually not... Enjoy!

Whatcha Want for Christmas?

There are SO many material things that I'd like, of course... BUT! The greatest thing we could've had was a new addition to our family. And so, without further ado, let me introduce you to our greatest gift ever! A puppy! Welcome Xanny!!!! (pronounced Zan-nee)

Xanny, a little long-haired, but we love her

This first picture is a couple days after we got her... We'd already given her a bath, but you couldn't tell... (hee, hee!)

We named her Xanadu (like the ancient "heavenly" city), but call her Xanny for short. She responds well to that.

She is a poodle mix, probably Maltese and Poodle (Maltipoo), but we're not for sure. Anyhow, we're all really excited. We've wanted a dog for ages, but hubs was NOT giving in.  I had researched dogs, and told him IF we were getting one, I had 3 conditions:

1) Had to be a POODLE mix. You see, with 4 girls in the house, and all having long hair... we have A LOT of hair in the house to begin with. People shed, too. And I didn't want HAIR everywhere (I have serious issues with it!). So... poodles have a more hair-like coat than "fur" and shed the least (some people don't think they shed at all... but everything in nature does).

2) Had to be FEMALE!!! I cannot stress this enough. I have massive issues with the "little pink rocket" that comes out of a male dog's you-know-what (the rated "G" version) when he gets excited. AND when little male puppies get excited, they wee-wee-wee all over the place. (Apparently, I'm not the ONLY one with this issue, as some companies actually make diapers for little male puppies... SAW IT in a pet store! HA!)

and 3) IF we got a dog/puppy/whatever, it couldn't be just Marissa's pet; it had to be a family pet. I meant, hey! That's fair, right? I didn't want ANYONE to feel left out here. Plus, it puts responsibility on everyone, not just Marissa (at 5 years old, that would actually be ME!).

And so... one morning after work, he went and picked up this most lovable dog in the world. (She is 6 months old).

After her professional bath...

She desperately needed a bath, so... being a poodle mix... ya know... we had to get her groomed ('cause they're the grooming kind of dog, ya know!). She got a bath, teeth cleaning, renal glands expressed (whatever that means... ew!), hair cut, ear trimming, and nail grinding/filing. Here's the brief pictorial:

Getting a hair cut (or them all cut)

A little ear-trimming

And the Finished Pooch (with Natalie-the Handler)

Here she is! The beautiful wonderful dog that we have! She is fairly new to us (got her a week and a half before Thanksgiving), but SO a part of our family.

She is smart, too. She knows where home is, she rarely barks, she is trying REALLY hard to potty-train, and she listens. She shows unconditional love and does what I tell her! (She is the BEST kid I have!)

Seriously... I love all my kids. And we all love each other. Xanny fits into our family like nobody else ever could. Shortly after we got her, she got really sick. We thought we were going to lose her, but... with a lot of love, nurturing and totally round-the-clock care,  she did well, and became the springy happy little puppy we've come to know and love. She is attached to us, as we are to her. We wouldn't give her up for anything.

And if... we all got nothing else for Christmas... that would be fine. This gift is gonna last a lifetime. So... Watcha Want for Christmas? We've got all we ever wanted right here.

Yudu, You Do? I Can Do! I Wanna Du!

Oh my gosh! I am so absolutely excited.

First of all... I'm all about F-U-N. Now, when you add creativity and do-it-yourself kind of stuff to it, I'm even more there. And so... I have been wanting this awesome machine by Provocraft for a llllooonnnnnggg... time. It is called a Yudu (you do).  It is a personal silk-screener. And I've wanted it for SO long, that when I designed "our" craft room, I designed a spot for one to sit in... a nice little nook, reserved solely for this baby.

Yes, the silk-screener allows you (or me!) to make your (mine) own shirts, but So. Much. More. It'll allow the operator to do fun creative things like invitations, stationary, pillow cases, cards, onesies (think BABY SHOWERS!), capes, shorts, sweats... You get the picture.

Anyway, a LONG time ago, I saw the awesome Mark Montano on an infomercial about it. I'd love to share that with you... but bummer. I couldn't find it anywhere.  And so... I found this other super awesome introduction to the Yudu from the Impatient Crafter (she rocks, too!)

Now do you see why I'm so SUPER excited? No? Well... hmmm... OH! I forgot to tell you! I am getting one! YAY! A super duper great friend of mine is getting me one! Yep. Picked it up today at Michael's. My friend ROCKS! (Thank you, Mikie!!! The girls and I are SO excited!!!)

While he goes to Turkey (not the gobble, gobble one... silly! the COUNTRY one!) on a tour, I will be watching his beloved dog and home. And so... since Cricut carts weren't THAT much on sale this year (because he usually swaps me cartridges for dogsitting...), and Michael's had a pretty great sale, and he just knew I really truly honest-to-goodness wanted one (and seriously couldn't afford to buy myself one) and it's a little pricey to ask for as a gift... he offered me the exchange - 3 months of home/dog-sitting for a YUDU!

So now... I'll be able to CAN DO a YUDU, too! Woohoo!