Just Imagine

I hope you all had a great Christmas! Ours was wonderful! All four of them; ). We had family time, good food, some exciting news of a new little one arriving in July, and... a CRICUT!

What is a cricut you ask? And why would you want one? My dad told me he usually steps on crickets. But this... well, this you would not step on. (Or at least, you'd better not!)

THIS is the most fabulous Christmas present available to mankind (well, really womankind would be more appropriate) as it is the coolest scrapbooking tool! The cricut works like a printer, expect instead of printing the words it cuts them out. Which is amazing!

Yesterday was the first change I really got to use my new baby, I mean tool. I have now cut so many things I think I'll need a new cutting mat in another day or two. I have two cartridges which allow me to cut in a basic font similar to Times New Roman and create "home design" type shapes such as swirls and stars and such. I made a certificate like mat for my sister's college graduation photo, cut titles for at least 5 pages, created a gear embellishment for one of my toddler's pages, added journaling blocks to write down all that important stuff that happened at Christmas, and then played and cut random shapes of anything I hadn't gotten to use yet. This thing is so COOL!

And if I can do all this cool stuff on my own scrapbook pages, just imagine what I'll be able to do for you!

Merry Christmas

It has been a few days and I apologize.

But before I completely stop for Christmas I wanted to post a few good Christmas reminders and tips!

First-- charge your batteries (or replace them) in the camera and camcorder. Nothing worse than a great event and a dead battery. (And yes, I know this from experience!)

Second-- take posed pictures in those cute Christmas outfits early! It is easy to forget or plan to take them at the end of a get-together, but if you've got kids then I don't need to tell you-- the clothes will not look them same in an hour.

Also-- grab some shots of something a little different this year. I've been posting my holiday traditions, hoping to stir you to ideas of photos to take for yourself! So don't forget to snap a shot of your favorite ornament, the grand Christmas feast you created, or the reindeer slippers your toddler won't wear.

And don't forget-- organize your photos as quickly as possible after the holiday season, especially if you have a digital camera and hundreds of photos. I like to organize by events, so I'll create a different folder for each of the family Christmases. You could organize by people featured in the photo or make files for each day or week.

Merry Christmas!

Figure Eights

I'm so sad that I missed this Christmas tradition this year, but I'm gonna write about it anyway!

Sunday evening was the annual ice skating party. Every year a near-by congregation rents out the rink and invites the two closest church branches (that's us!) to join them in an evening of freezing ears and scraped hands. I love this event 'cause I love ice skating. I rooted for nine years for Michelle Kwan to win the gold. Never happened, but it totally hooked me on this sport.

That is not to say I know how to skate.

At all.

When I was in junior high a friend's grandma wanted her to learn to skate. The grandma took my friend each Saturday to the rink to practice, but it was no fun on her own. So I was invited to come along and learn as well.

That was... well, more years ago than I'd like to remember.

But that doesn't stop my sister and I from trying out all our tricks on the ice. Fancy stuff, like, not falling down. Skating on one foot. Or spinning each other till we fall down. Not that's tricky.

And this Sunday we had yucky weather and some other complications that kept us from our friends and skinned knees.

But this is still a tradition I love.

You Must Watch

If you've never watched this movie-- well, I guess... um... you must not be American. Or alive. Or something. You must watch this movie. The proper way to watch it is with your whole family while drinking egg nog. However, if you've never seen it I recommend simply doing so as quickly as possible, regardless of the circumstances. You must watch this movie.

Another great Christmas special I recommend is The Nativity Story. It came out in 2006, so its not the time honored tradition of the previous recommendation, but its still good. Really good in my opinion because it shows you the story in a way I'd never considered before. The Bible gives you a sentence-- that Joseph was going to put her away privily because he was a just man-- but can you imagine the story behind that sentence? A baby out of wedlock. It would have been such a big deal. We think of them as being a happy couple. But they may not have even known each other. Mary was probably 14, maybe 16. I love this movie, not because it is 100% accurate according to the Scriptures, but because it makes you feel. Amazed.

(Click the picture to watch the clip on IMBd.)

The Greatest Story

I love to read. Almost anything will do! So of course Christmas traditions at our house involve books. Lots of books. To have any kind of a Christmas at all you need: "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," "If You Take A Mouse to the Movies," "Who is Coming to Our House?" "Christmas in the Barn," and lots of others like, "A Christmas Story," and "Silent Night."

And I love that my son loves these books.

Holy Night

It would hardly be possible to celebrate Christmas without carols. But some songs are special to our holiday tradition. John Denver and the Muppets is such a one in our home. Especially Silent Night. While the muppets sing the song in its original German John Denver tells the story I love listening to over and over.

"On December 24, 1818, the curate of a parish in Oberndorf, Austira, Joseph Mohr gave a poem he had written to a friend of his, Franz Gruber, who was also the choir master and organist of that church. He asked Mr. Gruber if he might write music for his poem and that he might write it for two solo voices and guitar music because the organ being broken, he desperately wanted music to be a part of their Christmas Eve service. Mr. Gruber wrote the melody to the song that would become the most beloved of all Christmas carols, 'Stille Nacht,' in English-- Silent Night. 'Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh.' Sleep in heavenly peace."

The other thing I love about this song is that it translates so well. Obviously words don't rythme the same in other languages, but Silent Night rhymes in German, English, and Spanish as far as I know, and I believe it rhymes in many of the other 300 languages its been translated to as well. It seems to me that Joseph Mohr had some divine help writing this song.

CHRISTmas lights

All right-- back to CHRISTmas! Last night my family went to the Parents as Teacher's Christmas event. It was fun! Our little guy got to color a card, make hand prints on a paper plate, decorate (okay, eat) a cookie, and ride in a "sleigh" with horses! He had a blast, although I think he would have had just as much fun if there had been a few kids to play with in the big open cafeteria space and no activities at all. Oh well. What are toddlers for?

And while attending this event may, in fact, turn into a holiday tradition, the moment I'm going for here was looking at the local Christmas lights after it was over. Technically it is the first year my husband, son and I have driven aimlessly around a neighborhood for the sole purpose of seeing flashing candy canes and white deer, but my family did it every year growing up. In fact, it could almost be more like a competition than a tradition. Can we find more lights than last year?

And in our home town we knew all the places to go. The Wilson's regularly won the town prize with their elves' workshop and the Steigerwalt's were never far behind with a garden of lights and "running water" under a bridge in blue chasers. Some houses were beautiful with color-coordinating master plans and others were hideous in their attempt to place every decoration created by man on their front lawn.

Then there were the lights in the city. Each year after the Christmas party at my Gramma's we'd go to a neighborhood that worked together as a community to portray the life of Christ. The first houses had verses from the Old Testament prophesying the coming of a Messiah. And when I say verses I mean someone took a board and drilled holes spelling out each word and then took the time to place a light into each of those holes so you could read each verse in five inch tall twinkle lights. And the prophets? Well, you know those deer? That's kind of what the people looked like. Metal figures with lights close enough together that you can easily see the shape. So there is Isaiah, standing on someones lawn.

Then you get to the angel coming to Mary, riding on a donkey, stopping at an inn, Jesus in a manger, shepards in their fields, wisemen, the whole bit. Each in its own yard. With some squirrels and stuff in what must be the yards of non-believers. But the lights don't stop there. You see the ministry of the grown Savior, his death, and his resurrection. The tomb actually rolls away in blinking, timed lights. Its amazing.

Then you drive through the booth at the end, make a donation if you like, and get those little candy canes in a plastic package.

So like I said, this may be the first time for my own family. But it won't be the last.

Visions of Sugar Plums

Designs of Mine recently sponsored a blog giveaway at A Classic Housewife in a Modern World so I'm excited to announce our winner! Kristina has been selected and will be receiving Christmas Covered Chocolate in the mail this week. How great is that! You walk out to your mailbox, expecting bills and junk mail there-- sitting amongst the ads and fliers is a package with a deluxe chocolate bar.

Congrats Kristina!

Annual Meeting

A great Christmas tradition of ours is the annual meeting of the Missouri Farm Bureau. The meeting falls the first weekend in December each year and its a great chance for us to spend time together as a family at the Tan-Tar-A resort on the Lake of the Ozarks! Oh yeah, and we also go to meetings to help shape the policies of the MO Farm Bureau yada, yada... Actually we like that part too. There are lots of great farm families with whom we can relate, terrific speakers each night, a true Talent Show, and great food. We love it! And to top it off our local Farm Bureau pays for most of the trip because my husband is a delegate as well as county president. This is actually a picture from last year's conference. We'll leave bright and early Saturday morning and, while the hotel does offer wireless Internet, you have to go to a special room and PAY! (And like all good hotel services, it is highly overpriced!)

So while I will not be posting I will be thinking of you all. As much thought as I can manage to squeeze in between trips to the outlet mall, swimming in the pool, and listening to the organist play all my favorite Christmas carols during meals. :) Merry Christmas!

Poinsettia

I began buying Pointsettias during college. No Christmas season would be complete without one!

This story came from the Paul Ecke Ranch website.

A charming story is told of Pepita, a poor Mexican girl who had no gift to present the Christ Child at Christmas Eve Services. As Pepita walked slowly to the chapel with her cousin Pedro, her heart was filled with sadness rather than joy.

"I am sure, Pepita, that even the most humble gift, if given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes," said Pedro consolingly.

Not knowing what else to do, Pepita knelt by the roadside and gathered a handful of common weeds, fashioning them into a small bouquet. Looking at the scraggly bunch of weeds, she felt more saddened and embarrassed than ever by the humbleness of her offering. She fought back a tear as she entered the small village chapel.

As she approached the alter, she remembered Pedro's kind words: "Even the most humble gift, if given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes." She felt her spirit lift as she knelt to lay the bouquet at the foot of the nativity scene.

Suddenly, the bouquet of weeds burst into blooms of brilliant red, and all who saw them were certain that they had witnessed a Christmas miracle right before their eyes.
From that day on, the bright red flowers were known as the Flores de Noche Buena, or Flowers of the Holy Night, for they bloomed each year during the Christmas season.

Trim the Tree

To be completely fair it would be possible to have Christmas without the tree. As kids we placed our gifts to each other under the nativity one year. But really, its lots of fun and so pretty! So we put up the tree each year as a family. Even before kids I made my husband help me put the four ornaments on our tiny Charlie Brown tree. Our little guy still didn't quite get it this year, but he had been very useful in... relocating ornaments.

A Year of Blessings

Perhaps there are those of you who prefer not to be reminded that you haven't even had your Christmas photos taken yet by that annoying person who sends out cards on the first day of December. Sorry. I just... have to be that person. And since I did mail my cards out yesterday, I'm posting that as our CHRISTmas tradition today.

Each year our cards are sent with one of those year-in-review type letters, but our letters, I hope, are more of a blessings-in-review thing. Of course I need a paragraph for all the new and adorable things my son is doing, and I try to keep a nice balance. But God's blessings are my focus. And, of course, this makes the perfect scrapbook momento. With no extra work I can record all those blessings in the family album to remember year after year!

CHRISTmas

Merry Christmas! Like many of you, I'm crazy about the Christmas season. I love the lights, the baking, the glitter. Unfortunately, this is also all Christmas is about for some people. In fact, the politically correct way to address someone in December is now "Happy Holidays," since the word Christ is the most important part of Christmas. And Christ is what I truly want to celebrate this season. So through the month of December I'll be posting our favorite traditions. Many are ways we praise God, several are ways we spend time together as a family, and even the more secular are done with the real reason for the season first in our hearts.

Most dear to my heart is the putting up of the Nativities. I have several! The nativity from my childhood was made by my grandma. It was always treated as the most special part of our Christmas. When I married and moved into a home of my own I knew I wanted a nativity that could be as special to me as that one was. That's how I found this one.

It was made of olive wood cut from trees outside of Bethlehem and carved by artists from the holy land. And I love it. It actually stays out all year, but its no less a part of our Christmas.

I also like this one, given to me by my SIL. I've hinted how much I like it and am hoping for more pieces this year!And another sample of the collection.

So join us this month for more ideas. Maybe this will inspire you to take pictures of your own traditions. Don't overlook these memories just because they don't have pictures of people! And thanks to Amber for suggesting the idea on her blog! The Advent Event - Sharing Christmas ideas, traditions, tips and more!

Eating

With a small business there are many things that could eat into your profit. Shipping costs, raw material prices, advertising, etc. But this morning I discovered something else that was gnawing away at my profit. Literally. It was a mouse.

Yuck.

Apparently he is a very crafty mouse. He enjoys patterned paper, chipboard, ribbon spools, and glue. I'm pretty sure he made an explosion album for a friend last night. In my bedroom. With my materials. If I find out he was using the die cut machine I'll sell him to the circus. Or maybe "Simple Scrapbooks" magazine...

So I guess I'm off to brave the long lines at Wal-Mart today. Not for a sale or Christmas present. No. I'll be looking for a mouse trap.

Thanksgiving Quotes

Happy Thanksgiving! To celebrate today I'm posting some of my favorite scrapbook quotes about this holiday. They are great for your scrapbook pages or for a smile :).

Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they don't unravel.

"God has two dwellings; one in heaven, and the other in a meek and thankful heart." Izaak Walton

"Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving. " W.T. Purkiser

Gobble 'til you wobble.

"No one has ever become poor by giving." Anne Frank

Count your blessings instead of your crosses;
Count your gains instead of your losses.
Count your joys instead of your woes;
Count your friends instead of your foes.
Count your smiles instead of your tears;
Count your courage instead of your fears.
Count your full years instead of your lean;
Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.
Count your health instead of your wealth;
Count on God instead of yourself.
Author Unknown

Various Thoughts

Hi all, so glad to see some of you this weekend for the Home for the Holiday's event! It wasn't overly crowded, but we had fun! I got lots of my own Christmas shopping done and ate a delicious piece of pie compliments of the Baptist Church Youth Group. It was a good thing too because those Huckleberry Lane candles were smelling soooo good I could have eaten them instead...

Just a reminder that the November early bird discount will be running out soon. Click here for fab gifts!

And keep your ears open, there is a possibility of another great Christmas event coming soon!

Gallery

Yesterday I recieved a shipment of new scrapbook materials. Amazing how new packages of adhesive are so tempting! So, of course, I stayed up late and worked on my son's pages! They turned out so cute I had to update my website gallery. And since you are so special, I've posted some here too!

Confession

Today I was late for an appointment because Hobby Lobby had a sale. True story. I took the little guy to town early so we'd have time to run to Wal-Mart, Walgreens, and Hobby Lobby before we needed to be at physical therapy.... Well, Wal-Mart had what I needed from Walgreens, which meant I had time to browse in the scrapbook isles. (Yes I know its supposed to be aisle, but for me-- its isles.) I enjoyed looking at the Christmas paper packages, diving in the discount bin, and then... the paper isle. (Yes. Still isle.) It was new. It was bigger. It was on sale. 50% off. Oh my.

Well, I found some vellum I'd wanted for a while and the perfect baby album for my Gramma's Christmas gift. And I'd been through my pictures just the night before so I knew some specific papers I needed. (Yes. Needed.) And then I wanted to look at the new American Craft paper packages. Very pretty. Before I knew it I was already late and I hadn't even checked out!

So the girl at the cash register was very helpful and checked us out as quickly as possible. Then we drove as quickly and safely as possible to our appointment. And we were fine 'cause the appointment after us had canceled anyway. In the future I should be more careful.

But I wonder if they'll cancel again next week...?

This Saturday

Time flies when you're busy! I've been getting ready for the Christmas shopping event in Maysville this weekend! In case you've forgotten you can stop by the June Conley Building (which is at the far end of town on Main street, like you are heading East on 6 Hwy.) from 9:00 -2:00 this Saturday to do all of your holiday shopping in one convenient and local location! I recently received an update saying that a youth group for a local church will be there selling food too. Now how can you say no to that?

Thankful

I’m starting Thanksgiving early this year! (Not that there is a time limit on being thankful or anything!) Yesterday we took our little guy to the children’s hospital to be re-evaluated for his muscle condition. He was born with cramped muscles on one side of his neck and at nineteen months old he has been in therapy for most of his life. Some children face physical deformations, surgery, and various other trying medical procedures. So far our son has had therapy, taping, a special collar, and Botox injections (who knew?), which have not been fun, but could be much worse. Well, yesterday we got good news! He still tips his head more than he should, but it is now habit and not a muscle condition!!! Yea!!!

More good news is that the Doctor could find no sign of physical deformation in his face or jaws (bad for dental work!) and only a little bit of a flat head where he sleeps. The doc informs us that this should continue to round out as he grows and hair will soon (we hope—he’s been bald for a while now!) cover whatever remains.

So while I plan to write a whole Thanksgiving blog in a few weeks, I just had to post this blessing a little early.

Praise God!

Christmas Covered Candy

Oh yum. Today's project has required an unusual amount of self-control for a scrapbooker. Normaly working with patterend paper, glitter, buttons and embellishments is an indulgence. Not today. However, I am strong enough to resist. I think.

In my scrap area there are four delux dark chocolate Hershey's bars. And six regular Hershey's bars. Currently they are decorated in adorable Christmas paper, tags, and ribbon. We'll see if they last the night.

So my advise to you is that if you'd like to really treat your friends, family, co-workers, etc. this holiday season you order a beautifully deocrated gift of chocolate. My second piece of advise is to do so quickly.

Journaling

The great thing about pictures is that they are going to be around for a while. (Provided there is no natural disaster or your two year old doesn't throw the camera into the toilet that is.) And to enjoy your photos certianly you should place them where they will be seen. But if worse comes to worse you can do it tomorrow.

What is much harder to do is journaling.

Before you roll your eyes, let me explain. For a scrapbooker journaling is simply writing enough to remember the moment. And its amazing what a few sentences will do to jog your memory. For example:

I remember Thanksgiving as a child:

setting the table

writing a play

dressing up as a Pilgrim

trying cranberries

eating Aunt Venita's gingerbread

See, nothing fancy or long, but wow! Images, feelings, smells-- all of it rushes back to me.

As the holidays approch, take a few minutes and just write a sentence about what happened today. You can add it later to a scrapbook page, the back of a photo or on the lines of a picture album. At least, you can if you take one minute and jot it down today.

I Might Have Gone Overboard

It is possible that I got a little bit carried away. Perhaps.

Yesterday I hosted a wedding shower for the new daughter-in-law of a friend. It was nice. There was cake, really good punch, nice gifts, and maybe just a few scrapbook elements. A few.

Of course I made a pre-made scrapbook for the bride to put her wedding photos in. Red roses, silver stickers, black photo corners. It was elegant if I do say so myself. And then I needed to add to the tag that came on the gift bag. It was cute, but it had potential to be much cuter. And then who wouldn't want to keep the gift list forever-- so I decorated that page with glitter and bows. Lucky for me the shower was hosted by the church, so the invitations went out in the bulletin and not in the mail. I could have made those too...

So I might have gone overboard for a girl I don't really know.

My name is Kelly and I am addicted to scrapbooking.

To-Do List

I love to plan, to be prepared, to be ready ahead of schedule. So why is it that I never am? This year I made a plan to work on that extensive Christmas gift list starting in August. A few gifts per month and by December I'd be home-free. Well, I've bought three. That leaves just like 15 left to go!

If you are in the same boat, I'm here to help you out. Order a Christmas gift in November and save 15%! You'll kill two birds with one stone-- shop on sale and mark one more thing off that holiday to-do list!

Did I say one thing? Scratch that-- there are personal and one-of-a-kind gift for lots of the people on your list. Gift certificates, of course, work for anyone. But what about a mega chocolate bar decorated with a quote for your favorite teacher, or an explosion album for grandma? Give your sister-in-law a package of handmade cards and an altered journal to neices and nephews. Order a 6x6 album with notes to a wonderful father, mother, or spouse. Won't it be nice to give a gift you know they won't need to take back!

Let us help you get that to-do list finished! To get your discount click here: http://www.designsofminebykm.com/?code=cheer. You can even request gift wrapping.

But your on your own with the turkey.

Home for the Holidays

I'm really looking forward to a new event Designs of Mine will be attending! Its called "Home for the Holidays" and it will be happening the weekend before Thanksgiving. The idea is to shop local small businesses instead of the malls for Christmas. Amy is organizing this project and I'm so impressed by the number of vendors that will be there. I had no idea our area had so many great ideas for gifts!

The info:

Shop Home for the Holidays will be Saturday, November 22 from 9am - 2pm at the June Conley Building.

Vendors include:

Me! Designs of Mine Custom Scrapbooking, Cookie Lee Jewelry, The Pampered Chef, Discovery Toys, Add a Little Happiness Jewelry/Vic's Handcrafted Clay Jewelry, Huckleberry Layne Candles and Gifts, Avon, Burrows Metal Works, Cakes by Jen and I know Amy has added others in the last few days!

Save gas, shop local, support small businesses! Oh, and have fun!

Come shop!

My Own Advise

You can judge for yourself how my picture taking advise works.

On the 31st we had a fall party at our house. We invited some close family friends to dress up as godly characters from the Scriptures or history and then we had FUN!

Really, I had a great time. From making invitations to decorating cupcakes even getting ready was a blast. And few things could be better than visiting with friends :-). My son was beside himself with joy and sugar.

So, here ya go. Cute, aren't they?!

My Two Cents

The only thing more excited than a kid about to get a ton of candy is a kid about to get a ton of presents. Just try to get your little angel (or Batman or Snoopy) to hold still for a cute photo. Yeah right!

So here's my two cents for how to get at least a decent picture of Cinderella. Don't ask her to "pose." Instead take your camera (and better bring the kids too) to a location with a nice fall background, like a park, and give them props to play. Then snap away while they are busy making stew in a cauldron or riding a broomstick. Be careful of afternoon sunlight, especially this time of year. A shady space is your best bet. Watch out for your own shadow! Nothing like the perfect picture of your child with a shadow of someone holding a camera intruding from the botton!

Grab a shot from behind as they run out the door as well. But be ready when they are! You won't get a second chance to shoot that one!

Good luck and here's to spooktacular pictures!

Scraplifting

That's the official term for "borrowing" someone else's scrapbooking idea.

Mind you there are ethics involved here. Just ask my scrapbooking yahoo group. We got into like a million post discussion about what is scraplifting and what is copyright infringement. But basically if you see an idea you like you are perfectly free to use it yourself. Especially if its a compliment to me:-).

At the Fall Festival on Saturday I believe every person in attendance picked up a Hershey's candy bar decorated with fall patterned paper, buttons, ribbons, chipboard and whatever else I had handy and promised to go home and make one themselves.

Of course, I would have like the business.

But I appreciate the compliment.

Count Down

In just a few hours I'll be packing up all my displays, products, and even tools! The Lathrop Fall Festival is almost here. And as usual, I'm so excited!

I'm introducing... chocolate! Well, not like I invented it or anything, but like I've add decorative chocolate bars to my gift selection. Its the perfect thing when you need a thoughtful but not too expensive gift, say for a child's teacher, co-workers, coach, mailman, distant relative, that type of thing. Or just for eating. 'Cause now I'm hungry.

And there will also be a kid's table. For three dollars children (of any age :-) ) can make a paper bag album. Still to do on my list today is to create cards for ideas of things to add to your paper bag album. It can be hard to think of things, especially if you don't have photographs with you!

Also on the to do list is iron my table cloths, fix the sign that says "raffel" instead of "raffle", choose samples for my display board, pick up tables, and pack everything! Perhaps get tootsie rolls. Yes, definitely get tootsie rolls.

So I guess that means I should get off the computer and get to work!

See you soon!

Ziplock Pizzazz

Here's an idea for making your own little photo album.

Choose the photos you'd like in your book-- pick an even number of pictures.

Grab a quart size freezer bag. If your photos are mostly horizontal, cut 4 1/2" x 2" strips from the bag. If your photos are mostly vertical cut 6 1/2" x 2" strips. You will need half as many strips as you have photos.

Sew the strips together as close to one edge as you can. Sew again as close to the first seam as possible.

Using photo safe adhesive attach the first photos to the edge of the top strip. Match the second photo directly behind it on the other side of the first strip. Continue this till each photo is attached. Trim.

Staple ribbons to the sewn edge of the album. Add stickers, photo corners, decorative paper or any other scrapbooking embellishment to the pictures and enjoy the quickest album you'll ever make!

Aren't You Lucky

I recently mailed postcards, which means some of you on the mailing list may now be reading this blog. Good for you! What you may not have known when you clicked on this ultra-important bloggy link is that just for reading I'm going to give you a link to 10% off any purchase through the end of October.

Aren't you lucky!

So here it is: http://www.designsofminebykm.com/?code=bc1 . Use it well.

Once Again

Well here we go again! I enjoyed spending the day at the Maysville Fall Harvest so much that I've decided to do another one. I've got a spot reserved at the Lathrop First Christian Church Fall Festival, a babysitter arranged for the little guy, and tons of new ideas!

I've decided to add a little something for the kids who will be coming. I'm going to set up a children's craft table, where, for a few dollars, kids can decorate their own paperbag album. The flyer for the event states they will be taking pictures, so I'm thinking people will need a place to display these pictures!

I'm also planning to introduce a few new products at the festival. As you know (if you've been reading the blog!) I'm currently in love with small, alternative type scrapbooks. So this display will give me the opportunity to add decorated chocolate bars and covered journals to the mix. And who doesn't love chocolate!

The date is October 25th from 10:00am-7:00pm. Directions are: 4 miles south of Lathrop on 33 hwy to V hwy. Go 2 miles, turn right on Meadow Lane and follow the signs to 5684 SE Meadow Lane.

Hope to see you there!

Bounteous Blessings

We live for the bounties of fall

But the harvest of friendship

is blessed above all.

Yum, Apple Crisp...

I love fall. And spring too. And then summer. Well, and winter is nice also... Okay, so I don't have a clue which season I like best. But I do like fall.

First off lets just say that September and October can be wonderful because of the electric bill. We haven't had the A/C on in several weeks and haven't resorted to the heater either. Savings on bills means more to spend on scrapbook stuff!

Then there's the breeze which is blowing in on my as we speak... um, type. Gotta love it. Yesterday I made homeade pizza and didn't worry at all about heating up the house with the oven on. Just open a window! And that's another thing. Fall food. Tonight I'm making apple crisp.

And the leaves are changing. And the pumpkins are all big and orange. And I get to take really great photos without much effort at all because who can't take an awesome pictures of haybales and mums and gourds and...

So I'm off to take pictures of apple crisp (or something like that...), but tell me, what do you like about fall?

Baby Boy

Here are some recently complete pages of a pre-made baby boy album. Each page is only 6 inches by 6 inches-- so think small! Many of the picture corners are clear, so you can't see them, but each page has ready made spaces for photos.

To see more click here.

The Best Things In Life

The best things in life often come in small packages.

And right now I'm working on the cutest little baby album. This very excited grandma chose a 6x6 size and baby boy paper and I cannot tell you how much I'm loving it! It'll be the perfect place for those hospital photos, baby braclett, new mom memories, maybe even a footprint. Could you give your daughter-in-law a better keepsake?

It is so personal. But anyone will love it.

It is so tiny. But it will hold the best memories.

It is so sweet. But even a boy will enjoy what it perserves.

I promise to post pictures when I finish. It will make you want to find your child's newborn photos and fall in love all over again.

Its Not as Hard as You Think

Photos are so fun! But cameras can be so... intimidating! Most of us just turn the button to "auto" and hope for good results. Recently I've been on a mission to figure mine out, and here's what I've learned so far.

For these I used the "child" setting on my camera. Its designated by a little boy with a cap and most cameras have a similar setting. (You can get similar results with the sports setting as well.) Just turn the knob at the top-- I promise it won't bite!

I got the background to blur by standing a bit further back and then zooming in. Its harder to do with a point and shoot camera, but you can get some good results. And take a LOT of shots. With digi cameras you can do this, no sweat. Then delete all the... rough ones and just share your best!

So get to shooting (and don't forget to send me the pictures!)

Too Much of a Good Thing

Okay, so you can never have too many pictures, too many memories, too many scrapbook pages... right? Well... For those who have no limits in life this is probably true. Unfortunately I, as well as most of you, do not fit into this category.

Personally I am quickly running out of space for scrapbook storage. For you it might be something else-- cost of having pages made, time required to get it all together, or even not knowing where to begin. Fortunately for all of you, I love to solve problems!

In my albums I've gone to creating all one page layouts. This means each event in my scrapbook covers 1 sheet of 12x12 paper. The page on the other side of the book is a separate event. Fewer pages, less cost, more space.

Think about solving your problem by ordering pages a few at a time. Get together just those pages of, say a child's birthday, and order a 2-page spread of party fun. When those pages are finished find the pictures of vacation and order a couple of those. For just a few dollars and very little time you can add to your album bit by bit.

Still not sure where to start? Good news for you-- I offer a one hour free consultation. Just send me an e-mail, drop me a line, leave a comment and we can walk through it together. Some problems just need a fresh perspective!

My Favorite Place

If you haven't been to my website, you should definitely go. It's one of my favorite places on the web :-) And since I love it so much I happily recommend my web host to others. And a friend of mine just happened to need a web host! So we worked together, creating her pages and figuring out all the new stuff until... she discovered she was expecting.

Which, is a good thing!

Except that it makes her very sick. Very.

So I took over the job of web design. And it's been so much fun! Amazing how doing your own work is, well... work. But doing someone elses' can be a blast. (And why is that?)

And here it is-- Rachael's website.

Now my second favorite place to be on the web.

In Love

Did you see the explosion albums? I mean, really, did you see them! They are so adorable. Fun. Charming. Colorful. Did I say adorable? I'm in love.

And so I wanted more.

I went back to the site where I found the directions for the explosion albums and opened EVERY file. I read dozens of instructions for files with no pictures, trying to figure out what was made. I saved at least six new files to my desktop. And today, I tried a new one.

Its called a paper bag book. And that's what it is. Sounds... weird, yes, I know. But it is so... adorable. Fun. Charming. Colorful. Did I say adorable? I'm in love. Again.

It still needs photos added or I'd post a picture, but you can rest assured I'll be working hard to complete it. And then those too will be added to the collection of projects offered by Designs of Mine.

'Cause they are just too adorable.

An Apple a Day

I like to use this post as an opportunity to share what is happening professionally with my buisness, but sometimes, well, sometimes I just use it as an opportunity to share. Anything. And today I'd dying to show the pictures we took at the apple orchard yesterday! My new camera is such fun (and of course my baby is so cute!).

Good Times

Ta da! The results are in and the Maysville Fall Harvest Festival was a roaring sucess! Well, it was good anyway:-) I'm excited to have met so many people and I hope Designs of Mine was just what you never knew you always wanted in a company!

Here are some photos from the day:

Other exciting news: Connie Spiers of Maysville won the raffle. She recieves a 10 page pre-made scrapbook. This family themed album is all finished except for the photos Connie can add. Congratulations!

The explosion albums that debuted at the festival are now avaliable online. As more companies are added to the Designs of Mine angel policies list you can look forward to new styles and prints. I hope you stop by the website http://www.designsofminebykm.com/ and check them out!

Thanks for such a good weekend-- hope to see you again soon!

Angel Policies

Yea! Until yesterday all products produced for the Designs of Mine business had to be created after a customer signed a contract. But now, all that has changed-- or at least its changing!

All scrapbook companies have terms of use on their products, meaning some allow designers to use their materials to create a new product after obtaining permission, others do not. I'm excited to say that I now have permission from six companies to use their products to create items NOT requested by a contract! In fact I'm so excited about this new development I stayed up a little late last night making cards (*yawn*).

Tell me what you love by coming by tomorrow and seeing the pre-made items available. Once I know what ya'll like I'll get more up on the website. (*rubbing eyes*)

So before I fall asleep I'll sign off. See you soon!

And the winner is...!

Do you ever have an idea that seems so brilliant you just take off and run with it? Me too. And I've got one now that I'd love to race with! I recently found a company that prints scrapbook papers, stickers, and embellishments with personalized information. For example, I could order paper specifically made for canoeing in Missouri-- which would be great if I thought people would be interested.

What I DO think people would be interested in, however, are materials created just for local schools. Stickers that say Maysville Wolverines, albums in red and black, paper with MHS printed as a watermark. OR GHS, or SHS or whatever!

I'd love to offer these options, but first I need to know that you'd be interested. There are minimum orders to deal with so I'll need some specifics before I can proceed.

So leave a comment here, or drop by my website www.designsofminebykm.com to tell me what you think, let me know which school you'd buy for.

I'm off and running!

You wouldn't believe

...what you can find on the Internet. Truly. And Designs of Mine (okay, yes, that's just me) is really excited about the latest Internet find. Balloons! The Fall Harvest Festival booth will now be displaying helium balloons with the business name and website-- www.designsofminebykm.com-- printed on them!

After a small mistake in the first draft the company did a great job printing the brown logo on very nice looking 12 inch balloons. Thanks Zoom Balloons!

I can't wait to see you all this weekend. Come see the samples, check out the specials, and take home a balloon!

Finally!

It's been raining a lot here. Gustave, Ike, everyone parties at my house. And rain is good for many things. Drinking hot chocolate and reading a Jane Austen novel. Experimenting with the macro setting on my new camera to take cool pictures of rain drops. Scrapbooking while listening to the sound of rain on the rooftop. Reading books by the hour to a cranky, fussy, toddler who wants more than anything to go outside...

Okay, so not that last one.

But today we have been rain-free for almost 36 hours. Which means OUTSIDE!

I did minimal housework.

I missed every phone call (sorry Rachael).

We ate leftovers for lunch.

And I did not scrapbook one single page.

Instead, we played outside! It was a perfect fall day! The ground was mostly dry with just enough mud to really interest my son and the sandbox had the perfect consistency for really making things (messy). It was great.

So tomorrow I'll be doing double duty to get all my scrapbook cards and samples ready for the Maysville Fall Harvest Festival. But it was worth it.

Pretty Soon

If you scrapbook or not, there is probably one thing you still enjoy. Pictures. My favorite is one we had taken of our son when he was five days old at a professional portrait studio. His Daddy is holding him and Brett is all snuggled up in his arms, both wearing white and with a white, soft background. Why can't I take pictures like that?

Well, I've decided I can try! I've been looking and learning about cameras for a few weeks now, and yesterday I made my purchase! A Nikon D60 (just right for a beginner) with an 18-55mm lens and and extra 55-200mm lens. I'm so excited!

Of course, the purpose of a scrapbook is to preserve whatever memories you make and there are no "correct" ways of doing this. One of the challenges I enjoy when scrapping someone else's photos (okay, and sometimes mine too) is turning a collection of dark, off-center photos into a great page. But there is something really great about working with that perfect picture too.

I'm so excited I've been practicing on anything. I've used the portrait mode on the cat, the night-time setting for the newly painted garage, and the macro button to shoot close-ups of decorative rocks.

I'm getting better!

Pretty soon I'll even take a picture of something worth sharing!

There She Stands

On September 11th, I just wanted to post this song by Michael W. Smith.

Never Forget.

There She Stands

When the night
Seems to say
All hope is lost
Gone away
But I know
I'm not alone
By the light
She stands

There she waves
Faithful friend
Shimmering stars
Westward wind
Show the way
Carry me
To the place
She stands

Just when you think it might be over
Just when you think the fight is gone
Someone will risk his life to raise her
There she stands

There she flies
Clear blue skies
Reminds us with red
Of those that died
Washed in white
By the brave
In their strength
She stands

When evil calls itself a martyr
When all your hopes come crashing down
Someone will pull her from the rubble
There she stands

We've seen her flying torn and tattered
We've seen her stand the test of time
And through it all the fools have fallen
There she stands

By the dawn's
Early light
And through the fight
She stands

Coming Soon to a Theater Near You...

At least it will be near you if you live in Maysville! Designs of Mine will be making a debut appearance at the Fall Harvest Festival September 20th. In addition to seeing ME you can also view my samples, a completed scrapbook, hand-made cards, pre-made pages, and anything else I'm able to fit on my little table!

I'm planning to raffle off a pre-made album to anyone who signs up to be on my mailing list. If you'd like to suggest a theme for a pre-made album click comments below-- I'd love to know what you think!

**Any contracts signed that day will receive 15% OFF their total order!!!**

So stop by, pick up some information, a magnet, maybe even some tootsie rolls... Can't wait to see you there!

Easily Inspired

Okay, so a few days ago I made a goal (see below). And, of course, like a good girl I set out to accomplish this goal. What I did not realize was that it was CRAZY! I am trying to find all the things I use to inspire scrapbooking projects, cut them out, and glue them into a notebook for easy retrieval. HA! So far I've begun with my oldest copy of my scrapbooking magazine and I'm still working!

Apparently everything inspires me.

Advertisements.

Clip art.

Completed scrapbook pages.

Cards.

Stamps.

Pens.

Whatever. My magazine is decimated and my adhesive is almost gone. And I still have all those magazines left. And when I finished with magazines I was going to work on my PageMaps from pagemaps.com.

At this rate there is no need for a notebook, because I'll be so busy working on it that I'll never scrap again.

At least I am easily inspired.

The sooner the better!

I love scrap magazines, pretty pictures, and page sketches. The problem is finding what I need... So I'm going to (REALLY!) create tabbed folders and cut and paste my scrapping inspirations into organized categories. As soon as I get off the internet...

This is Me

I'm Kelly-- farm wife, stay-at-home mom, Sunday school teacher, small business owner, and avid scrapbooker. And this, is my blog.

And why is this my blog? you ask. Because my small business is custom scrapbooking! Here, on my blog, I'll keep you all up to date on the exciting news that is custom scrapbooking. You'll be the first to know about sales, events, new products, and anything else I happen to write about. Lucky you!

So join up, sign on, and follow me!