night time is for...

*playing zen mode of plants vs. zombies. i do wish stinky the snail woundn't go to sleep so quickly. or maybe i wish i could go to sleep as quickly and often as stinky...

in a perfect world, i would be this mouse RIGHT NOW:




*sorting and working on orders for CHA for The Sampler. Since i can't be there, i can at least be hyper organized. we'll see what good that actually does for us.


*worrying when this baby is going to come out. with the boy, our OB poked him out before i really got a chance to panic about him showing up on his own. this time, we're playing the waiting game.

as for baby update, i could have sworn i was going to have her a couple days ago. horrible stomach ache, back pains, a general feeling of weirdness, and even some good punches in the cervix. but nothing intense enough to call labor&delivery or just hop in the car. eh. today we had an OB appt. baby is measuring roughly 7lbs, 12oz. roughly, right... her parts are all matured (i.e. lungs are working and such) and i'm about 3cm dilated with membranes intact. so. no baby. not today.

*making pans of lasagna and enchiladas for the freezer. at least we can eat once baby does show up... 

*working on a few challenges: 

\

with all the late nights and issues that go along with, my creativity hasn't been at its peak, so i've adjusted and really gotten into some challenges. this layout is one of the many small moments i wanted to capture from 2011 and just never had an idea for it. Over at twopeas, they have memory keeping monday and i really dug the video and ideas that the host shared. quite pleased with the layout and creating this layout gave my mojo a good kick in the butt to finish up some other projects i've been working on...

It kinda feels like cheating making a layout this way, BUT it was fun none the less. not to mention, i got to use some scraps from the feb2012 kit from The Sampler along with some other goodies i've been hording for idk why! (i.e. mister huey's mist in white, those lovely thickers, and a very small bit from my ever growing washi tape stash)

this layout i love! again, memories from 2011 that were printed but never actually documented. one of my favorite bloggers is doing a weekly sketch challenge on her blog. I adore sketches more than one person should and this sketch was no exception. a very simple sketch, but that made adding the little details even easier. well, that and the Jan2012 kit from The Sampler made it really easy too!

as for this layout, it does have a story to share... i'm not really one to make a big deal out of little man's strengths and weaknesses. we encourage him and support him, but nothing over the top. he knows we're proud. however, this little lego he assembled shocked me. husband and i had been helping him build "real" legos from just before his 4th birthday. those duplos just weren't cutting it. then, one day, he found this lego in my bag (i keep a stash for long waits at restaurants and such) and he built it. alone. it caught me unexpectedly (hey, the bag said it was ages 6-8!) and made me proud that he could create something like this with his little hands already!


*watching countless hours of Stargate: SG-1. thank you netflix for your xbox interface. much better than the one the bluray player was using.

**NO matter what ANYONE tells you.... night time is certainly not for sleeping ....not even a little...

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

The Sampler's Jan2012 Sketch Challenge!!!

things are scooting along here swimmingly. i am in full on nesting mode right now. everything MUST find a home or the donation bin or the trash before baby shows up. The only real crafting i have been able to get done lately even reflects that...

This month's sketch from The Sampler is even fairly clean if i do say so myself.

...and my take on the challenge using the The Sampler's Jan2012 Kit. I cannot believe that this shade of blue/teal has remained so appealing. I love how the layering of the same tone but different pattern looks here.

yup. so lots of cleaning and organizing around these parts. today i'm even spending some time at my crafts desk in hopes of getting things finally sorted from the holidays in hopes of easily accessible crafting once baby makes her appearance. who knows how this will end....

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

The Sampler Jan2012 Kit: READY, SET, GO!

i'm crushing hard over this month's kit from The Sampler! I started working on project life for 2012 like everyone else and their mom... and this kit is PERFECT to get me inspired and on my way to documenting this amazing year as it unfolds! I HIGHLY recommend picking up this kit! Check out The Sampler's blog for more details!

what i learned today....

dear internet, 

after watching 4 youtube videos, searching for 2 cutting plates that i do not aleady own (and finding they are impossible to get now) and trying approximately 1271624t7549493272 different plate combinations from the cutting plates i already do own, i have found that you can cut quickutz dies in a sizzix vagabond (or BigShot) machine by simply using the a, b, & c plates from the provo craft cuttlebug... i'm sure i'm late to the party on this one but thats not really surprising either.

regardless, i hope this post saves someone else a headache later on...


sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

ps. LOOK AT THE AWESOMENESS I CUT!!!

time

last night husband and i were watching an episode of through the wormhole with morgan freeman and some super-smartiepants-man tried to tell us that TIME really did not exist. instead everything is just a series of snapshots that all exist at the same *cough* time (although he avoided using the T-word as much as possible) ...so basically i gathered that he was telling me that our lives are like flip books.

flip book or not, time effing flies.  i have no idea where the past four weeks have gone. a complete whirlwind of teaching classes and packing and shopping and traveling and eating and shopping and eating and eating and eating... now we've been home a whopping two days and i'm chipping away at a mile long todo list. BUT i'm starting to get to the good parts. today i got to play with some baby things. (they're so little and tiny!) tomorrow is for crafting and work of that nature. right now.... right now is for naps. and by naps i mean the kind that last 6-8 hours.

oh, and btw...

i'm pretty sure that 2012 is going to be pretty awesome.
sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

December Daily Coaster Winner!

I know I said I would post yesterday, but yesterday was INSANE. So its WINDY around here. or was. (not so bad right now) ...but when i say windy i mean WINDY. trees falling and power outages. not as bad as some places but kinda scary none the less... for it just being WIND. So the little town we live in was a complete zoo. gas stations and grocery stores were closed and people we're just jerks in general. so the boy and i wandered off, did our errands and were gone the whole day. Time flies when you're avoiding whack-OS apparently.  ANYWHO.... on to the main event... 

The boy picked comment number FOUR!

(Shoot me your mailing info and I will get those coasters out asap so you can use them!)

I love seeing the comments and project that are showing up for the december daily albums. i'm hoping to get my day 1 posted tonight. but another busy day is upon us. the boy is about to head to school, i have a lunch date with the MIL, then a few hours to kill (i.e. craft and do laundry) then head our for husband's holiday party for work. its alaways at the same boci ball place and there is always good food and drinks. while i wont be drinking this year, it will be nice to see some of his co-workers whom i have grown attached to over the past couple years. 

happy friday everyone and hope to see yall later on with some eye candy! 

sunshine&bunnies, 

holly*

2012 December Daily (post:1)

Tomorrow is the official start to a project dubbed "December Daily". I hope to share the progress of my album daily if not close to that. So how about the cover?

For those of you who are unaware of what a "December Daily" refers to, its a daily journal that is semi made prior to the month of December so a person can capture all those little moments as they go by in a beautiful album with relatively little effort/pressure.

The holy grail of these journals is Ali Edwards and her journals. She leads the movement and has beautiful style.

As for the bits and pieces for this album...
*i ordered the Studio Calico December Daily add-on. I know. I have enough STUFF, but I thought it would be a nice treat.
*a few items from Cavallini. new "paper" tapes and an alpha stamp set will be great to throw in as i go, yet remain simple and travel well.
*in addition to the kit i ordered, i have some of my stash set asside. LOADS of Hambly, Teresa Collins and a little Basic Grey. Vintage doilies and lace.Paint Dabbers in neutral colors. 
**Last but not least i stockpiled Fujifilm INSTAX MINI film, obtained new memory cards for my little lumix (a faster and larger card finally) and phone (the old one seemed to have corrupted whatnots) and a new printer.

 {All I can say is YAY! for Amazon's FRUSTRATION FREE packaging options!}

Of course i have a pile of holiday goodies pulled from my stash AND the most amazing holiday kit from The Sampler to add in goodies as the month goes. The foundation pages (innards of the album) are mostly assembled, but i figured i would share those as i go. Kinda a before and after.I love the idea that this album could be considered DONE and allows to just record the memories as they happen... but at the same time, i can still go nuts and get crafty in it if the bug bites.

I do have to admit I am a little concerned at how FAT this album is already. Whoops. Eh, the album and I have this in common. We're both filled to the brim with love... (/end cheesey)

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*

its the most BUSIEST time of the year...

I am looking forward to this coming month so very much. parties, crafting, traveling, eating, enjoying! December is FULL!

Speaking of full, I happen to know for a fact that the Dec2011 kit from The Sampler is beyond FULL! I even have a teeny sneak peak to share! check out The Sampler's blog for a pre-release GIVEaway!

I'm looking forward to using this month's kit in my december daily album that i've been working on. My foundation pages are just about done, but all of the goodies in the kit will be wonderful to toss in as the month goes on.

This week we get to not only start on those december daily albums, but also get to start working on Tim Holtz's 12 tags of Christmas (yes, there will be a "class" at Memories Live On to help recreate some of the spirit of the tags... and yes, i am fearful again this year of another 24+ hour class) AND we get to bust out the lego advent calendar! This year we have the Star Wars Advent Calendar. i can't wait to show the boy. he loved last year's!

sunshine&bunnies,
holly*