Baby It’s Cold Outside!

If only I had a horse and sleigh… I could finish off my Christmas shopping! Apparently, we’re having the worst snow storm in something like 40 years! Unfortunately, there isn’t any end in sight before Christmas either. Ugh. LOL! Here are a few pics from around my house yesterday. (And there is MORE snow headed our way today…)

Don’t stand under these! Brrrr!

Anybody see our ROAD here???? No??? Neither do I. It’s been buried for days now…

Here’s a shot of our garbage can on the side of the house…

And the kids haven’t been playing on their swing set much this week either! Ha ha ha…

And here is the rest of our little yard (and yes… it’s postage stamp sized… in case you were wondering… hee hee hee…)

And just to prove how much we’ve gotten lately… my husband grabbed my QUILTING ruler… and stuck it down in the snow to measure how many inches we had. (as of yesterday… we’re getting more today. Ugh.)

I know that some of you living in areas that are USED to the snow are thinking I’m a big wimp…. (LOL!) but we are NOT used to this kind of thing up in the Pacific Northwest! School was cancelled all last week, businesses are closing, people aren’t driving… and tow trucks are out and about all day long! Chains are required at the moment on anybody brave enough to drive – and of COURSE, we don’t own any! WAHAHAHA! Oh well. Guess we’ll hunker down and enjoy the ‘family bonding time’ eh?

This week YOU GUYS are going to benefit from Kim B’s ONCE A YEAR STORE WIDE SALE!!! Have you heard yet? She’s putting her WHOLE STORE on a 50% off sale!!!!

Run, run, run as fast as you can… her gear is amazing and you don’t want to miss out!

And as a ‘thank you’ for stopping by to say hello today… here is a small freebie for ya if ya like… A candy bar wrapper using Kim’s new kit: ‘Time Anew.’ I don’t know… maybe you’ll be having New Year’s parties and need favors to hand out???? LOL!

Snag it if ya wanna.

Here is the download link:

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Bucket Heads

School here has been cancelled ALL WEEK because of an unusually high amount of snow…. so we’ve been inside a lot. And what do my kiddos do to keep themselves amused??? Well… put buckets on their heads of course!

Hours of endless fun eh? Over and over and over and over…. put the bucket on YOUR head… put it on your BROTHER’S head… back on YOUR head…. and on and on….

Putting buckets on your head will naturally lead to MORE silly behavior… so my boys eventually started tackling their daddy!

Gotta love all that snow outside!

On the scrapping side of things…. I’ve been having fun playing with Kim Broedelet’s brand new kit : “Time Anew.” It’s a fun, sparkly kit full of gear to scrap those ‘celebratory moments’ in life! And it’s PURPLE… my daughter’s favorite color! Woohoo!

Here is a layout I put together using this fantastic new kit:

I used this layout as inspiration for putting together a freebie for you…. a pair of Time Anew brag book pages!

Feel free to snag them if ya like! Here is the download link:

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Thanks for stopping by…. and I hope you like the new look to my blog. I’m still playing around with it…. I just had to stop and take a break! (I get sick of looking at it!) LOL! I’m not sure when I’ll get back to working on it more… but I know it’s not quite finished yet.

Have a great day! And if you’re snowed in like we are….. stay warm!

Still Singing?

I'm still singing today.... anybody else??? "...I'm dreaming..... of a White Christmas....just like the ones I used to know..." I've been sitting at my computer listening to the soundtrack to 'White Christmas.' That music is so much fun... I think I've seen the movie a bazillion times. (my mom pretty much raised me on classic musicals! LOL!)

Do you have your Christmas tree yet? We don't. Ugh. And I'm not sure when we're going to get out and get it either. We usually go out together as a family (see picture below from our 'tree hunting' last year) and pick out a tree. But.... every spare weekend/evening this month in the near future seems booked already. (I've been debating on whether or not to get a 'fake' tree this year... make it easy. But I don't think my husband is very excited about that idea... lol) Tree hunting just involves so much mud, cold weather, kids running all over... etc etc etc.... we need to go into it with lots of energy.... WAHAHAHA.... and I'm not sure if I have that at the moment. hee hee...
Anyway.... did you know you only have one day left to snag up Kim B's new grab bag???


There are 8 new product files in this amazing bag.... and that makes each set only $1.00!!! (I think Kim is nuts.... ha ha ha) I especially LOVE the overlays and ribbons.

And... want to earn a few dollars in 'scrapping money' while doing what you enjoy: SCRAPPING? LOL! DSO is starting an EZINE and we're looking for layouts featuring DSO Product. The Dec call will end Dec 20th, we are looking for WINTER themed layouts or Hybrid projects. Email submissions to support@digital-scrapbooking.org with "DEC LAYOUT CALL - WINTER THEME" in the subject. Layouts must include a complete supply list, and must contain primarily DSO product. Deadline for Dec Winter submissions is DEC 20th, 2008. Layouts chosen will be featured in the Jan edition, and compensated with a $5 GC to the DSO store.

And don't forget about Kim's adorable new Christmas kit: 'From Santa With Love.' You can get it HERE. (It's still marked down right now too.... hurry before Kim notices! hee hee hee...) I just LOVE using it! I felt like trying my hand at a luggage tag album during naps today... so let me know what you think if you feel like downloading it? (I hope some of you actually USE it??? LOL!) I've never made a tag album before... but I've always thought they were so cute... and wanted to try it out.


Here are the download links: (had to split the file into two links... it was too large in one zip)
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Hope you like it.... and have a great day!

In The Holiday Mood...

Sing with me now.... "Dashing through the snow.... in a one horse open sleigh... o'er the fields we go.... laughing all the way... HA HA HA.... bells on bobtails ring... making spirits bright.... what fun it is to ride and sing a sleighing song tonight.... OH --- Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way...."

Ok, ok, ok... I'm stopping now! LOL! Couldn't help myself. My kids have been throwing 'Christmas parties' (just for each other) and have been playing holiday music extremely LOUD the whole time. I've resisted singing along for the first 100 times they played 'Here Comes Santa Clause' and 'Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer'... but I just couldn't help joining in after that! hee hee hee...

Anyway... this past weekend my girls had the fun experience of performing in the dance production of 'The Nutcracker!' They have been putting in lots of hours on Saturdays practicing for their performances.... and they did such a great job! They had four shows, and I was very impressed by the quality of all the dancing, the costumes, the acting.... etc etc etc.... it really put me in the Christmas mood! Here are a couple of pictures of my girls waiting backstage:

My older daughter is a Soldier... she got to dance with a rifle (wooden... not real... lol) and fight with an army of mice! And my younger daughter is a snow angel. Her scene was a lot of fun.... they had snow falling for the entire scene, a snow queen and king, a sleigh... and GORGEOUS dancing with everyone dressed in white! I'm so proud of my little dancers!

I also wanted to let you guys know that Kim B has extended the time to buy her FANTASTIC new CU grab bag....


It's FULL FULL FULL of great gear! And since I've been brimming over with 'Christmas on the brain', I put together a small Christmas themed freebie for ya. I used LOTS of ribbons from Kim's new grab bag (and a few from past ones), some buttons from her new bag, some overlays from her new bag (and a couple from past ones) and stitched the 'ribbon tree' all together. Hope you can find a use for it... it was fun to put together.


Here is the download link:
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Hope you're havin' a great day.... now go sing some Christmas carols! Ha ha ha!

**update**
Let me know if you're having problems with the link above.... 4shared is being weird for me today... and it's not recording the number of downloads either. (never had THAT happen before...) So I hope you're able to get the file! Sorry if you're having trouble!

Black Friday

Are you all enjoying Black Friday???? Getting lots of fantastic deals on your shopping trips? I'm about to pop over to watch my girls dance in a production of 'The Nutcracker.' I'm so excited to see them!!! They have been practicing for so long and have been working so hard.... and the show will get us all into the Christmas spirit. (Thanksgiving is over.... so it's Christmas season now right??? LOL!)

Anyway... I wanted to let you know about one of the MANY great Black Friday deals that are going on today.... Kim Broedelet has a FANTASTIC Black Friday grab bag --- a STEAL of a deal. (as always)


AND AND AND..... FOR TODAY ONLY HER ENTIRE STORE IS HAVING A MAJOR SALE!!!! Here is your chance to scoop up all of those Kim B kits that you have been wanting to get... but haven't gotten around to it yet....


And don't forget that she has a CUTE CUTE CUTE new Christmas kit for sale right now too called "From Santa With Love." Here are a couple of brag book pages I made for you from her fun new kit:


Here is the dowload link:
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Have fun shopping today!

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble...

Hi there! And Happy Thanksgiving! (Although.... from the number of gifts/freebies on Kim B's blog today, you'd think it was Christmas!) Hope you're all planning an enjoyable day... I'm preparing myself for a massive 'stuff my stomach past capacity' meal... Thanksgiving is all about 'go big, or go home' right??? LOL!

Anyway.... I wanted to pop on here today and let you know about a FANTASTIC and FUN new Christmas kit Kim Broedelet has up for sale. It's called: 'From Santa With Love' and it's full of hand drawn doodles, realistic greenery, and gorgeous papers/elements!!! SO SO SO cute!!!


Here is one of the layouts I put together using this kit:


And I started another layout with the same kit.... and it kind of 'evolved' into a layout using bits and pieces of lots of Kim's kits! hee hee hee.... It's still Christmas-y though.... so I thought I would show ya.


I used: Papers and elements from Kim's 'From Santa With Love', the 'From Santa With Love' alpha freebie from Kim's blog the other day, swirls and bow from Kim's 'Heartfelt' kit, a few sparkles from Kim's 'Sparkles' pack, TONS of snowflakes from Kim's awesome 'Flakeys' kit, some sparkles from her 'I Believe' set, and a frame from the 'Weathered Frames' pack. Phew.... hope I remembered it all! But.... all you have to know is that it's ALL Kim's great stuff.... so go check out her store. Ha ha ha....

And.... if you're interested in a couple of Christmas quick pages, here ya go! I turned one of my pages into a freebie for you guys. The zip file has two pages in it... one with the word art and one without the wort art. (Which is from Kim's 'Words For You' set. LOVE that set!)


Here is the download link:
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Have a fantastic day! (And hopefully stuff yourselves with some yummy food!!!)

Thanksgiving? What's That?

Ummm..... anybody else notice how we skipped right from Halloween to Christmas? The radio stations are already playing Christmas music, the stores are decorated for Christmas, all of the TV commercials are about Christmas gifts.... aaaaaakkkkk!!! And here I was really looking forward to Thanksgiving.... one of the few holidays where you don't have to buy anybody any presents, you get to hang out with family (ok.... well... between the guys watching the football games that is...), eat YUMMY food, and take a nap! What's not to love?!?

So my last blog post had some Halloween pics in it.... and THIS post will have one of my favorite pics from last CHRISTMAS in it. hee hee hee.... Guess I'm skipping Thanksgiving too!

Here are two of my crazy kiddos hanging out with my mom last year. My mom is the BEST cookie maker in the world... and she always lets the kids help her in the kitchen. They get to wear Santa aprons and Santa hats while decorating of course! LOL!
I put together a layout using some of our funny Santa Hat pics with some of the AMAZING gear in Kim Broedelet's new Christmas Goodies GRAB BAG:

Click HERE for full credits.

Kim has a great sale going right now on her FANTASTIC grab bag: (I can't believe it's only $6.00 right now!!! It's a steal of a deal!!!)


AND AND AND.... all of her Christmas themed kits/gear are marked down for a short time too! Woohoo! This is the time to grab her great Christmas kits!

One of my favorite past Christmas kits from Kim is her Purple Chritmas kit.


Here are a couple layouts I made last year using this gorgeous gear:


Just to prove to you how WONDERFUL Kim's new Christmas Grab Bag is.... I put together a small freebie for you so you can sample a teeny tiny bit of it for yourselves. There are 4 papers and a snowflake page border for you to scrap with. Snag it if ya wanna!

Here is the download link:
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Thanks for stopping by! I'm off to do some Christmas shopping.... Ha ha ha!

Queen For The Day! Happy B-Day Kim!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIM!!!! (I know your birthday is actually on November 4th.... but I'm going to bed EARLY for once tonight! LOL! Besides... you're in South Africa.... and about 9 hours ahead of where I am.... sooo..... by the time you might see this, it will be about midnight your time! That counts as your birthday right???)

And I am not the ONLY one who wants to wish you a FABULOUS birthday....


(Layout credits: "Dress Me Up" freebie from Cinnamon Designs.)

Kim - thank you from the bottom of my heart for being such a good friend. You're always there to listen when I need it, or to make me laugh, and help encourage me to reach for my dreams. Your bright, energetic spirit is contagious... and I'm one of the LUCKY ducks who is constantly INFECTED! LOL! Your CT and friends - who love ya to bits and pieces - have put our heads together and would like to give your blog readers/fans a birthday gift in honor of YOU!


Soooo..... prepare to do some major Blog Hopping today everybody!!!! Hee hee hee.... just wait till you see our list of links! The rest of Kim's CT took pity on me and asked me to put together some brag book pages with the kit pieces they created.... (thanks for doing all the hard work ladies!) Here is my contribution to Kim's birthday kit : "Gratitude."



You can download my part of the gift at the link below: (And if you download... PLEASE take a second or two of your time today to go over to Kim's BLOG and wish her a FANTASTIC BIRTHDAY! She does SO MUCH for all of us (freebies and entertainment galore!!!) so take a moment to give HER a smile on her big day! Thanks!

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And here are the rest of the links for you all to continue on your 'Queen Kim' blog hopping journey: (Keep in mind that we will all be posting at different times of the day.... since we are all around the world... so if a page isn't updated yet, try again later.)

• Andrea : http://boyervillescraps.blogspot.com
• Beth : http://bethbydesign.blogspot.com/ (you are here)
• Carol (Crops) : http://crops2dawn.blogspot.com/
• Jenni (Chaos Lounge) : http://jen-at-chaos-lounge.blogspot.com/
• KimberlyRae : available at Renee's blog : http://bydezign.blogspot.com/
• Kristine (Wench'd Grafix) : http://wenchdgrafix.com/yakkin/
• LeAndrea (Doodle) : http://doodlelt.blogspot.com/
• Linda (Jazzy) : http://wordstodelite.blogspot.com/
• Nett (Lady Grundlefunk) : http://www.skwerlicious.com/blog/
• Pamela (Luna) : http://midnightcharms.blogspot.com/
• Paula (PKDoll) : http://pksbragbook.blogspot.com/
• Renee : http://bydezign.blogspot.com/
• Silvia (Phillsboo) : http://phillsboo.blogspot.com/

AND AND AND.... (yup... this is a VERY long post) Don't forget --- Kim's entire store is on SALE at the moment.... so make sure you take advantage of that! The quality of her work is AMAZING and you won't be sorry you checked HER STORE out.

Kim's Grab Bags are the BEST DEAL OUT THERE.... (it's incredible how much stuff you get in those bags!!! Really a steal of a deal...) and if you buy them both together, you get a bonus brag book to boot!

Did you make it to the end??? Phew! Thanks for hanging in there.... and I hope you have a great day!

Happy 'Haunted Holiday!!!'

Happy Halloween! Hope you all have some fun plans for this evening.... (and I hope it STOPS RAINING here in the Pacific Northwest! Argh!)

My family went to a Halloween party at my church the other day... so I already have a few pictures of my kiddos in costume to show you.

My oldest daughter is Sorcerer Mickey Mouse, my younger daughter is Minnie Mouse, my oldest son is Mr. Incredible, and my youngest little guy is Piglet. (poor guy - gets all the hand-me-down costumes! LOL!)

But I don't feel TOO bad for him.... look at that cute little face! He's going to be a heartbreaker!

And my older son had fun showing off his "BIG MUSCLES" all night! WAHAHAHA! It's so funny watching him walk around 'flexing' his arms for everybody!

Soooo... since it's Halloween.... I feel like giving away a 'treat!' So this one's inspired by my oldest daughter, Kaitlyn, whose favorite color is PURPLE!!!! (she lives for all things purple!)


Here is the download link:

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AND....

If you pop on over to the DigiScrapObsession Blog today... you can pick up a BIG Halloween DSO MEGA kit for FREE! Woohoo! Here are my contributions to it:


Well.... "Happy Halloween!" Have fun trick or treating! (I'll be busy 'attempting' to not eat too much chocolate.... yum!)

NEWS NEWS NEWS!!!

I HAVE FANTASTIC NEWS FOR ALL OF YOU!!! (Did I get your attention yet???) Listen up.... Kim Broedelet has her ENTIRE STORE on sale for TODAY ONLY at 55% off! (And if you visit her BLOG and download her freebie from yesterday.... it just might help you out even MORE! **wink, wink**)


Kim B is having a birthday celebration.... and we are all invited to join in! Woohoo! Here's what she's got cooked up for us:


So today you can enjoy 55% off her store... but even if you miss today's sale, you can STILL have fun shopping in Kim's store at DSO:



AND AND AND.... Kim has two new AMAZING grab bags going on sale as well! They are literally just JAM-PACKED with outstanding products.... and for those of you who know Kim B. already... you know her stuff is always the best quality and you get a killer deal when you purchase from her!


(Note: These new bags are NOT included in the 55% off sale today or throughout the week.... but they are STILL a total STEAL of a deal!)


Here is her PERSONAL USE grab bag:



And here is her COMMERCIAL USE grab bag:



AND..... if you buy BOTH together.... you will receive a bonus!!!


Sooooo....... in order to draw more people to my blog today to brag 'loud and proud' about Kim's great new gear & birthday sale.... I thought I would offer a cool freebie. I'm turning a recent layout I made for Kim into a quick page for you all to enjoy. (As a 'thank you' for reading this post.... and maybe you'll pop on by Kim's blog and leave her a little 'happy birthday' as well?)


Here is the layout I made using Kim's gorgeous kit, Loryn:



And here is your freebie for today: (I'll keep the link valid till the end of Kim's birthday sale next week.)


Here is the download link:

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Enjoy! And have fun shopping in Kim's Store!!!