2011

11 of my favorite pages from 2011:

the new light

Shortly after we moved into our new home, Campbell needed a bedside lamp. He's a big reader and was reading every night before bed. Once Cam got the lamp, Sawyer thought he needed one too. A couple of nights after we got the lamp for him, Sawyer told me how he loved the lamp because he could use it for drawing or reading! Of course, he'd already drawn a whole page of guys and a scene to go with!

handy Andy

My poor husband. All of this time he's had to endure my mentions of his lack of skills in the home improvement category. Over Thanksgiving weekend, we purchased a wooden swing set -- a swing set that he was going to put together. I had my doubts, but I was encouraging him to try it out.

And you know what?! HE DID IT. He put the whole thing together with his dad's help. I couldn't be more proud.

four

I saw a page on Pinterest that had white on white. There were letters and a small photo. As soon as I saw it -- I had an idea. I knew I could take this idea and adapt it to fit my needs and my style.

I replaced the 4 with Harrison's 4 year photo. I stayed with the white theme, but I added the strips and the drawn in corners. This page was much more minimal than the original and I LOVE IT!

you are my sunshine, my only sunshine

I know that sometimes when a piece of patterned paper comes along that I LOVE -- I want to do something great with it. This striped piece of October Afternoon paper was one I really wanted to make shine!

So, when I looked at these photos of my boys, I knew I really wanted them to be on a special page, too. Put it all together and what have you got? One that I really like!

your best handwriting

Both of my older boys have atrocious handwriting. I don't know if it's unique to them or if it's something that all young boys share. I do know, however, it's a real stretch for Campbell to write anything that is super neat.

A few weeks back, Campbell attached a sign to his door documenting some rules for entrance to his lair. What did I notice first? The incredibly neat penmanship, of course!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from my family and I!

our elf Buddy

It's an original name, Buddy the Elf. The boys named him some years back after, of course, Buddy in the movie Elf. So, every year I seem to do a page about him, it IS, after all, a huge part of our holiday. Seems quite fitting!




Happy Holidays ... Merry Christmas ... I hope you and your loved ones are happy and healthy!

Seeing santa

The sunshine we had early this morning is LONG gone, leaving grey skies and now..dark. Luckily, the Christmas tree lights are twinkling and 3 boys are quiet -- until the next eruption of emotion. Likely, it'll be over who hit who or who has the coveted small notebook. Reminders that Santa/Buddy the Elf are watching no longer seem to work...they might have worn off weeks ago!

However, if I look at this page I see fake smiles and can think of happy moments -- visiting Santa and telling him this years' desires!

Santa Claus, IN and the WINNERS!

Okay, so...the last day of school for the bigs. I'm happy - for a lot of reasons. But, it's going to cut into my quiet time...alot.

A couple of weeks ago we went to Santa Claus, IN to visit since my Mom was visiting - it turned out to be tiny and charming. We picked up our annual new ornaments and had fun driving through the display of lights at Lake Rudolph.





Now for the giveaway winners!
Monday: JUSTINA!
Tuesday: Patricia!
Thursday: Margie!
Friday: Lisa M!

Email me at aj_mcgarvey AT msn DOT com and I will get these out to you very soon!

feeling good and hungry skyline time...

We lived in Cincinnati for 4.5 years and really grew to love it. One of the things that we have missed about it is Cincinnati Chili. The oyster crackers, the 4 way with light onions, all of it.

So, when we moved to Southern Indiana and learned that there was a Skyline (or more!) in Louisville -- we were thrilled. So, we drove over for a bit of shopping (Archivers and Trader Joes!) and dined at Skyline. Andy and I were so happy to expose the boys to this culinary delight!



More Studio Calico with Brooklyn Flea.

And, yesterday we took the boys to see Santa -- we'd been missing the Irvine Regional Park's take on the Santa experience, so we'd been putting it off. Instead of a trainride to the North Pole, complete with snow...we braved the mall.

every single night

every night before my oldest son goes to bed, he reads. the light is dim beside his bed, he's covered and it's so wonderful. it really warms my heart to see him so interested in reading. devouring series after series.

her first snow...another giveaway...and a peak at my space!

Hey there!

The good news is...we are in escrow on our California house! We should be able to close on 12-30, so by 2012 I will only own one home. That's exciting! It's sad though, because I'm not happy about leaving southern California behind. (Said by someone who is FREEZING right now...I have to keep rubbing my hands together to warm them up!)

Speaking of cold...and the snow we had a few weeks back. Our dog, Holly Golightly, is only 20 months old. So, she'd never seen snow before! Watching her outside in it was nothing short of comedy! So, I did a page about it with the December Paper Bakery add-on kit! (I even used my silhouette!!)

Now, just a quick peek into my scrapbook space. We moved into this house and we knew that we would use the formal living room for my space. We have a bonus room and a basement, as well -- but this seemed the most connected to the family space. It's right inside the front door and has french doors connecting to the family room. We will also put french doors on the entryway to the foyer...probably this spring once things have died down a bit!

an old TV cabinet. to the left, the french doors to the family room. This houses all of my cardstock and a few small chipboard albums.

On my working area -- houses tools, mist, labels, etc.

In case you couldn't tell, I'm going for a bit of an eclectic mix. I've got light grey walls and some black furniture, some white with mostly vintage accents. The accents may be vintage but they aren't floral or shabby chic. Totally fun, totally me.

Now, another little giveaway! Just small -- nothing huge. Again -- MUST be a follower, leave a nice comment -- I will draw on Monday!

Off to make a page or two until I make cupcakes with the boys!

It's Thursday?! How did that happen?! Plus another giveaway!

There were 3 good things that happened yesterday!

1. I got 3 pages picked up for the May 2012 issue of Scrapbook Trends!

2. We got a 2nd offer on our house that is still for sale in CA. So, that makes 2 offers on the table. VERY exciting.

3. I bought a couple of pieces of furniture for the scrapbook room (or scrapbooky as it's known here!) that I think are going to work out great!

Okay, so we're all in the spirit of the holidays...and I, for one, am LOVING it! My boys have 4 more days of school until we're off for a couple of weeks and until the holidays! Here's a page with the big boys lists for Santa...and whoever else will listen! I used the super cute Nikki Sivils Gingerbread Lane paper...I could barely get my hands on any locally, but what I could -- I snapped right up. LOVE this plaid in this -- it's just the perfect shades of red and green!

And, the giveaway! As usual...you must be a follower -- leave a comment -- US only! There are give aways all week...if you didn't enter Monday/Tuesday -- go back and do that!

Have a great day!!

we have fun together and ANOTHER GIVEAWAY!

There's a giveaway on yesterday's post, too! If you didn't enter go back and check it out!

This page is so fun to me...love the smiling faces of my boys, genuine smiles and the memories of the fun we create together! It's not always sunshine and roses, but when it's good -- it's good!

This is from the December Studio Calico main kit -- Brooklyn Flea. LOVE those exclusive Thickers. Super fun and the color is totally a favorite.

Now, for the giveaway! A couple of fun Maya Road items...chipboard buttons and some lovely pink flowers!

To win you MUST be a follower of this blog and be a US resident. I love internationals -- but I don't have time before the holiday to get to the Post Office! Leave an upbeat comment and I will choose a winner at the beginning of next week!

PLAY and a GIVEAWAY!!

Hello!

Today, I sat down again with the Studio Calico add-on kit, Shiny Brite (the main kit was Brooklyn Flea) and made a page about my youngest son, Harrison. I'm really happy with how it turned out!

Okay, now...for the giveaway! I'm going to give stuff away all week long. Today you will win these two stamp sets from My Little Shoebox!

To win: 1. You must be a follower of this blog. 2. You must live in the US. (I'm sorry internationals, I really am. I have had my other give aways open to you -- but right now I just don't have time to actually *GO* to the post office. I'll do a giveaway in January open to everyone!) 3. Leave a comment (preferably a pleasant one!) for me!

I will choose winners for all of the giveaways NEXT MONDAY!

Scrappy Sunday

Hello there! I don't normally post on Sundays...gotta take one day off, you know?!

But, Stephanie Howell posted a little challenge of sorts today on the Studio Calico message board and I had a pile of photos to scrap...so here I am!

Creative Memories

Hello friends!

I didn't mention it on here yet, but I'm in the 2nd round for becoming part of the Creative Memories design team! Do you have any idea how excited I am?! I mean really, their products are super high quality and their tools are fantastic! Why wouldn't I want to do this, is what I want to know!

Anyway, I received the Holidazzle kit and I couldn't be happier! The stuff is ADORABLE. Seriously cute. The die cuts are a great weight and so are the papers. Why am I telling you this? Just in case you haven't checked out Creative Memories in a while. I was super impressed!

I made 3 projects I thought I would share here with you. I kept them simple, kind of in the vein of the Creative Memories way. I kept the focus on the photos or on the message, depending on the project. The Creative Memories products are awesome accents and I'm really very happy with how my projects turned out!

I'm sure you would agree that this stuff is CUTE! It was super to use, too!

Come back next week for some give aways! Nothing huge, nothing earth-shattering -- but a few little gifts in this, the holiday season!

Brrr....

With the chill in the air I thought I would share a cute wintery card! Made with the Pink Paislee snow days collection -- LOVE.

The past few days I've been working on my Amy Tangerine mini album. I'm pleased to report it is finished. I'm super happy with how it turned out and I look forward to sharing it with all of you.

Happy Friday!

A few weeks back, we had some snow flurries. To you, not a big deal. To me, HUGE deal. We've lived in Southern California for 5.5 years and my kids have really not had any time with snow. AT ALL. *I'VE* not had any time with snow. So, it was pretty coming down...but I'm not a fan.

GORGEOUS Pink Paislee papers, ephemera and wood shapes...love this line. All available at www.yourscrapbookstash.com .

shaving

All 3 of my boys have gone through wanting to do grown up things. Not the usual teenager desires like staying home alone or driving...but things like daddy. Take shaving, for instance. A few weeks ago Harrison found the old child razor to pretend t0 shave. And of course, he took it upon himself to try it out!

The supplies? Studio Calico Field Guide, of course!

waiting

A funny story:

Yesterday, I was going to take a photo of my oldest son doing something. He jumped up from where he was and said "you're going to make a scrapbook page out of this and then it'll be in a magazine!" He was right, I was going to make a page out of the photo. As far as the magazine goes -- he has no idea that it's not that easy!

Anyway, a quick page with more Field Guide (studio calico)! The kit is still going strong -- there's not that much left, but there are still several full sheets left and plenty of embellishments! I think there could be a few more pages left...(this is the 13th page with Field Guide!)

Please forgive the not so good photo. We've had more gloomy days than I know what to do with!

Now santa can come!

Because, you know...once the house is decorated -- it's really Christmas. Maybe not, but it sure feels like it!

Anyway, here's a page I whipped up based on the latest challenge/sketch from My Minds Eye! I loved the sketch and I had the photos already taken -- so why not, right? It doesn't hurt and I get another page in my book.

I got to go to Archivers yesterday and scooped up these gorgeous MME 12 days of Christmas items. LOVE THEM. I had gone in there crossing my fingers they would have the fun day stuff (they did!) and I had forgotten all about this stuff.

Christmas cards

Since I have Christmas cards on the brain (I'm finishing mine up RIGHT NOW!) I have a quick share of a Christmas card for you!

Made with supplies from the Paper Bakery "baby it's cold outside" kit!

Stickers, fabric and vintage papers all make for a fun and festive card! Hope you're having a great weekend!

roast piggies

Harrison is newly 4, I think we're all aware. One of my favorite things about him, right now, is that he LOVES to do "this little piggy". Except he calls it roast piggies. We do it daily. Love this right now.

Love this. Love him.