Grins & Giggles

How many of you have finished your Christmas shopping? I can finally say for the first time ever, I think, I am done with my major Christmas shopping before Dec. 1! :) Woohoo! I currently do not have wrapping paper though to wrap any of these gifts yet. I forgot to pick it up the last two weekends we went shopping. Now to figure out how to get someone to take me to a Walmart, Target, etc. since I didn't have any plans on going back over there until after Christmas when I go in for my next Dr. appointment for my ankle. hmmmm...

I did pretty good with all the Black Friday sales last week. I started hitting the Amazon Lightning Deals the beginning of the week and got a few television shows, movies and Wii games for my family along with a few other things. My biggest deal was my new laptop from Best Buy. So glad I was able to order that on Thursday afternoon instead of having to try and fight the crowds that had started camping out there on Tues. afternoon already. The bad thing though is that since I had to have my parents and in laws chip in part of it to get it as my birthday and Christmas presents my husband won't let me open it until then. (There are certain times when it actually pays to have a Christmas Eve birthday. Don't tell anyone I said that though because I will never hear the end of it. ;) Most of the time though it stinks. :P ) It came yesterday and it was so hard not to open it and start getting it ready to use. When Paul ordered a compound miter saw from Sears on Thursday night I told him "Merry Christmas" and now he can't open it until Christmas either. lol. He decided it would be a good idea to get one to do the trim work and stuff when we start re-doing our house or actually putting trim up in the rooms that we have already redone. It's only been about 13 years for a couple of rooms to go without the trim work. Why is it so hard to do that last little step? Another great deal I got was new laminate flooring for my kitchen!!! I'm so excited about that it. When we first moved in here 13 1/2 years ago, one of the first things I wanted to change was the carpet we had in the kitchen. It's just been one of those things we keep putting off, but now it's finally going to be GONE! Happy dance! I told Paul, though, that when the new floor gets put in my cupboards are going to look worse than they already do. He unfortunately told me I could then sand them and he would be more than willing to hand me the sander. :P What a party pooper. Can't say I didn't try though. 

Our schedule has suddenly gotten about ten times fuller in the last week, too, all of the sudden with all the preparations for Christmas programs and parties. And as usually I don't see it slowing down again until at least February. Decided to try a new app on our phones to keep Paul in the loop a little more this year. I have such a hard time writing things on our calendar it seems, so sometimes he misses things. Hoping this will help alleviate some of that. 

This week I have my grab bag broken down and in the store. The bright colors of this collection are so fun! Don't forget new releases are 20% off through Sunday.







And if you just have to have all of it...Grab the bundle and save!



Here is my layout using this kit.



Check out some more inspiration using this collection from my CT and the ScrapMatters' CT.









Until next time...Happy Scrapping!

Black Friday Grab Bag

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and was able to spend it with their family and friends. I would like to thank everyone for being such great customers over the past year and look forward to creating more great products for you to use to scrap your memories in the coming year. 

I don't know if you are a Black Friday shopper or not, but I have really become one over the last 4 years. I had never gone Black Friday shopping until 4 years ago when I found a digital camera at Walmart that I wanted to get my oldest for Christmas. I had wanted to go before, but could never find anyone to go with me or watch my kids. That year while at Thanksgiving with my mother-in-law's family all of us ladies decided we would go. It just so happened that Paul was going to actually be home that weekend, too. Normally he would have to take off with a load of livestock either Thursday night or early Friday morning, but we had decided to have a date night Friday night so he stayed home. This was also the first year that Toys R Us opened at midnight. That year I managed to stay up for a total of 40 hours! Spending a good majority of it shopping. Ever since that year I have kind of become hooked. I've not done too bad on getting some great deals, but this year has been the best so far. I've gotten basically everything I have wanted to get, including new flooring for my kitchen! :) After 13 years of having carpet in my kitchen I will soon be able to get rid of it. So excited! Let's just say that having carpet in the kitchen with 3 kids and a husband that tends to get oil and grease on his shoes at work and doesn't always take them off before walking into the kitchen is NOT a good idea. It was one of the first things I wanted to change in this house when we moved in, but we have never gotten around to it. Now if I could just magically make it bigger so we could put in an island, I might just like it. lol. 

If you like getting great deals check out this bright, fun grab bag that I released this week at ScrapMatters. You get 3 full size products for only $3.99! But hurry though because just like Black Friday doorbusters this grab bag won't be around for long. It is only available through Nov. 29. After that it will be broken up and the individual pieces will be available in my store. 

Check out what you all get in this fun grab bag!







If that wasn't a big enough deal the rest of my ScrapMatters' store (excluding bundles) is also on sale! Plus just a little hint check out the Flash Sale on Sunday night around 6 pm EST. ;)



Until next time...Happy Scrapping!

Full of Character

So did everyone have a great weekend last week during Digital Scrapbook Day (Weekend)? Did you get a lot of pages scrapped? I had plans to get some pages done, but my mojo seems to have taken a vacation on me. This year has been really slow for me in the scrapping department. I think with all the changes we have had around here in the past year, have really started taken a toll on my creativity. Thankfully I've been able to keep on designing to still have a bit of a creative outlet. I'm really hoping that I can finally start to get a bit more in a groove with everything and scrap more very soon. Does anyone else ever seem to get in such a rut that you have trouble digging yourself out of it?

This week I'm releasing the individual pieces that were part of my grab bag last week. The colors of this kit are just so bright and cheery! Not only is it great for scrapping pictures of your magical character interactions, but also great for scrapping your everyday pictures. Like always new releases are 20% off through Sunday! :)











If you just have to have it all, than grab the bundle and save!



Here is a little bit of inspiration using all the pieces of the Full of Character collection from my CT.







If you haven't stopped by my Facebook page and grabbed my journaling cards yet, make sure to do so this week before they get put in the store next Friday.



Until next time...Happy Scrapping! :)

New Facebook Freebie

I have a new freebie up on my Facebook page. It is part of the ScrapMatters' Facebook and Blog hop. Head on over and "like" my page to pick it up. :) All of our parts coordinate, so if you visit all the stops you will have a great collab when you are done.



Also how would you like to win a $10 gc to my store? As part of the DSD celebration I'm hosting a scraplift challenge in the ScrapMatters forum. Find out what you need to do for your chance to win in this thread. You have until 11:59 pm ET Monday night to post your layout. While you are there, make sure to also post to your favorite MHK Scraps product here for your chance to win it. Hurry though because this giveaway ends at 10 pm ET tonight!

Full of Character Grab Bag

What a week it's been! I finally was able to go back to work on Monday. I decided to start out with just working every other day until 2 o'clock. I was doing pretty good until Wednesday when I was out with the kids trick-or-treating. I think I might have over done things a little bit because I have been in quite a bit of pain and my ankle has been very swollen since then. Hoping that over the weekend I can let it rest enough that by next Monday I'm good to go again. 

Hard to believe that it is already November! But do you know what that means?! One of the biggest digi-scrapping weekends of the year is this weekend! Woohoo! I love Digital Scrapbook Day. It's great that it's 6 months after iNSD, so it give me some time to recover from each in between. lol. ;) Lot's of things happening this weekend. 

First off my entire store at ScrapMatters, excluding bundles and grab bags, is 40% through Sunday! Make sure to check out the ScrapMatters' Facebook page today and tomorrow for some great coupons from the designers at ScrapMatters. Stop by my Facebook page tomorrow to pick up my part of this month's collab. And last but not least...how would you like to win an item off your wishlist from me?! Then head over the ScrapMatters' forum to this thread and find out how you could be the lucky winner. 

Now on to my fun new release for this week! Do you have any magical encounters that need to be scrapped? Than I have the perfect grab bag for you!  My Full of Character grab bag contains 5 full sized products that are perfect for scrapping the magical encounters you may have had at everyone's favorite characters. Hurry and grab it now because it's only available through Thursday. 



Hurry and grab it because it is only available through Thursday. After that it will be broken up.

Until next time...Happy Scrapping!

Beat the Heat and Flavors of Fall

It has been a good week. I made some good progress in physical therapy this week and at my check-up on Wednesday I was told that I was done using my crutches. I'm still getting around pretty slow, but it feels good not to have to use the crutches anymore. I'm also headed back to work on Monday. So life is kind of getting back to normal. (If anything can ever be called normal.)

Kailee went to her second night of dance this week, and goodness is that little girl excited about it. She can't wait to go. Michaella never used to be this excited. Hunter has also been going back to Tae Kwon Do now, too. He also started First Lego League this week. He has been looking forward to this since we found out that our county 4-H federation was looking into starting a club this fall.

I have not one but TWO new releases for you this week! :) I've been busy this week. First up is Beat the Heat. This kit is perfect for all those lazy summer days spent by the pool trying to keep cool. Love the warm, summery colors of this kit.



Check out these fun pages my CT and the ScrapMatters' CT did with this mini kit.









Next up I have a kit great kit that works not only for pictures of picking apples or pumpkins, but also any other fun fall memories you may have.



Some inspiration for you from my CT and the ScrapMatters' CT.









That's all I have for you today. See you for Digital Scrapbook Day next week!

Until next time...Happy Scrapping!

Time for Sneak Peeks

I have not one, but TWO kits coming out tomorrow! Here are a couple of peeks at what goodness is coming your way. :)

Life's a Picnic

My kids are officially done with one-fourth of the school year already! They finished up the first quarter on Wednesday before they got out for MEA. (The state teacher inservice break in Minnesota) It's been a pretty uneventful break for them so far. Yesterday they went and helped my dad with his pigs and today I'll probably bring them in for the annual Firemen's movie. Every year the firemen in town host an older movie at our historic movie theater as part of their fundraising. This year is Madagascar 3, which the kids haven't seen yet. The youngest one went to the in-laws on Wed when my father-in-law dropped off the tractor for us before the snow starts flying again. (I'm not looking forward to the cold and the snow. :P )

I have a confession to make...I have become an HGTV and DIY addict! :O I used to make fun of my mom for watching it all the time when I lived at home and now I'm doing the same. (hanging my head in shame) I'm not entirely on my own in this addiction either. Paul and Hunter also will watch it with me. We like watching Mike Holmes, Love it or List It, Property Brothers, Buying & Selling, Renovation Realities and Sweat Equity  the most. Some of those people on those shows are so funny! lol. I don't know if it's the fact that I want to remodel our house so badly that I have gotten hooked on it or some other unknown reason, but my television inevitably finds it way to one of those two channels at some point in the day. (ok I also admit that I seem to get hooked on things when I have certain things going on in my life, such as when I was pregnant with my kids I watch a lot of A Baby Story and when my sister got engaged it was Bridezillas and David Tuterra.) We have had plans to redo this house since my husband bought it 13 1/2 years ago, but lately I have really wanted to get started on it.

I have spent countless hours drawing and redrawing plans for this house over the years, but I think I have finally gotten extremely close to how we (read I ;) ) want it. One of my favorite websites lately has been http://www.houzz.com/. It's kind of like pinterest for home ideas. There are some really neat rooms on there and it's really helped me start to visualize how I want to do this house. :)  One of the things we really liked when we bought this acreage was that it has a great view of the Blue Mounds (our local state park and quarry). Earlier this summer we had looked at moving a house out here and putting it so it had a great view of the Mounds out the back windows. Unfortunately that deal kind of fell through when I broke my ankle, but it put even more ideas in my head about this house. lol. ;)

Tomorrow everyone is coming over to help put steel on the roof of our barn to help keep it dry for the rabbits. Found out this week just how wet it can get in there. It rained about all day yesterday, which was actually a welcomed sight since it hasn't rained much here all year. We had the worst drought since 1938. In the 13 1/2 years since we have lived here, we have done more work to the outside of the acreage in the last few months that we have ever before. It feels kind of refreshing and boy does our yard look different. We took a couple of outside buildings down in anticipation of moving that house out here, but it wasn't all for nothing, because that means we can now just move this house over a little bit when we finally get to working on it (and finally put a full basement under it.). I'm hoping the fixing up bug continues and we can get a few more little things done INSIDE the house. :) Was hoping we would be able to raise the roof on part of the house before we put shingles on it this fall yet so the girls could get separate rooms, but unfortunately that isn't going to happen.

Alright enough about all that and on to my new goodies for this week! I have a new mini kit in my A Year in Pictures series for you today. :) Don't forget it's 20% off through Sunday.



Check out what my CT and the SM CT did with this kit!











This month's featured kit is Fall's Fanciful Colors. It is 25% off through October 31! Don't forget to grab the matching free alpha in the previous blog post.



Until next time...Happy Scrapping!

Fall's Fanciful Colors and a Freebie

I can finally start putting weight on my foot! :) I went in for another follow up on my ankle on Monday and the doctor gave me the go ahead to start trying to walk. I have to go to physical therapy 2-3 times to work on it. It's going to take me a while longer than I had planned for me to be able to walk without crutches or the boot. I've made good progress though so far. I was able to put pretty much all my weight on it yesterday at physical therapy. My heel is pretty painful yet though when I try to walk.

I have to say though that going to Michaella's volleyball games on crutches is much easier than with the scooter. We stayed busy with all her games last week. She had 3 of them! This week she only had one, so that was a nice break. She only has 2 more before the season is done. It has gone by very fast. She has improved so much since the start of the season. I've been a bad mom though and haven't taken a single picture. :O I should just try to take her camera with me to her last couple games since it's so much easier for me to carry right now. It would definitely be easier than trying to take my big camera bag.

This week has really been starting to feel more and more like fall. The afternoons have been nice and warm, while over night it has gotten down to freezing a couple of times already. The furnace even kicked in last weekend. It's so hard to decide what to have the kids wear to school in the morning, so we they have been going in layers of clothing, which leads to more laundry. I have to say I had been enjoying my little break of not having to do all the extra laundry. :) It was almost impossible for me to get my knee scooter by the washer and dryer so Paul and the kids have been having to do it all. (Though I did still have to fold it.) Now I can kind of get to the washer and dryer and have my little helper use a clothes basket to bring the laundry to the family room for me to fold.

The cooler weather has also made me feel inspired to bring you a new fall kit! :) Fall's Fanciful Colors is inspired by all the gorgeous colors that the leaves start to change to during this time of year. It also was inspired by our trip to the pumpkin patch two years ago. Kailee was such a cutie running around picking out her pumpkin (and then trying to lift it. :) ).





Love the way this kit turned out and it's going to be perfect to scrap those great memories we made that day. Don't forget all new releases at ScrapMatters are 20% off through Sunday.



Here's one of the pages I have scrapped of those pumpkin patch pictures so far using this fun kit. Can't wait to work on some more.



Make sure to stop by ScrapMatters starting Monday for the new daily download. Here is a little sneak peek of the kit you will get FREE if you stop by and grab the pieces each day. The first one will go up at 12 am EDT on October 1. Don't miss it!



Not only do we have this awesome daily download starting on Monday, but the new designers from our recent call will also be revealed! Want a little peek at the goodness they are bringing to the store? Check this out!



So many exciting things happening and they are only going to get better! :)


I also have a coordinating freebie alpha for you today! :)



You can download it here.


Until next time... Happy Scrapping!