Random Trivia...

Today I was reading Kelly Crowe's blog and she had done a quiz...a get to know me better kind of quiz. So I thought I would pass this one on. I love doing this with my friends and relatives, I have learned things I never knew about them before.

4 jobs I've had:

nanny

tree waterer (at a garden center)

teacher of almost every elementary grade

momma

4 movies I could watch over and over again:

Pride & Prejudice

Emma

Only You

2 Weeks Notice (Are you sensing a theme here?)

4 places I've lived:

Kalispell, Montana

Boise, Idaho

Denver, Colorado

currently in Congerville, IL

4 TV shows I watch:

American Idol (I must admit that I am officially hooked this season, after not seeing any of last season.)

The Big Idea on CNBC

What Not to Wear

Divine Design

4 places I've been:

Mexico

Myanmar

Virgin Islands

Hawaii (the hotter the better)

4 people who email me (regularly):

my mom

my sister

Lindee G.

J Crew (I don't know if that one counts or not...but it's true!)

4 of my favorite foods:

lasagna!!!

smothered burritos

my dad's grilled steaks...mmmmnnn

salads

4 places I'd rather be right now:

ANYWHERE WARM!

Love Children's Home in Myanmar South East Asia

Paris

Playing on the beach with my kids

4 things I look forward to:

A clean and organized house

The weekend

Visiting family (out of state)

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N

That's it! If you blog you should definitely put this on there and let everyone get to know you a littel better. Tomorrow the site goes live so don't forget to check back to see the new kit! I just know you're gonna love it! I will post layouts I made with it tomorrow with some details of how they came together...can't wait.

From McDonalds

Here I am posting from the McDonalds Playplace. Is this a great country or what?? The kids get to have a little play time, and I get to get a little work done. Brilliant! Usually you get free WiFi here, but it appears that now they are beginning to charge. Today I got a coupon so I could use it for free. Woohoo. When we were at CHA, we used the McDonalds WiFi and we did have to pay, but the cost in minimal. So we may have to do this more often. This afternoon will be spent scrapbooking and I can hardly wait. I have all of these ideas that I can't wait to actually to get started on it all. So hope you have a great Wednesday and check back to the site for the March kit to be posted on the first!!

Busy, busy...

Well, it was another productive day around here. Lots accomplished...I was even tempted to get the car washed, but there is still too much slush on the ground. If you saw my car though...I should have washed it anyway. LOL. It seems that everytime I take the time to wash the car, we get rain, or snow or a nice mix of both, increasing my frustration.

Thought I would share a funny picture I ran accross the other day. I took this because there is evidence everywhere I look that the kids have been there. Most mornings when I pull on my boots there are squishy lizards and plastic animals who have spent the night in the cozy toe of my shoe. Tripping over toys throughout the day, and finding the kids belongings in unusual places. Like my purse, my coat pockets, and EVERYWHERE in the house. This penguin spent the day in the pantry (Tanner painted him all by himself.) The reason I photographed it is so I can remember this sweet time of having little ones. The day will soon come when there won't be stuffed animals and fairytale land to pick up. I will no longer find a toy snake tucked under my pillow, or find penguins in the pantry.
I want to cherish this time in their lives (in my life) and soak it all in. I don't want to hurry along and forget about all of the wonderful things that are happening RIGHT now. I want to document these ordinary, everyday things that to me are just as important as the first day of school and the first tooth they lose. This is where life happens, in these moments, and it may not make sense to some, but for me this brings my focus back to what's really important. Really, isn't everyday life beautiful?

Beeeea-utiful!

Well we woke up to some snow this morning and it was just like a "fairytale land" as Chloe likes to say. Everything looked like it had just been dusted with powdered sugar. It was beautiful and we had the whole day home together. I think this is the prettiest snow we have gotten this year! We only got around 3 inches, which is wonderful...it's just enough to play in, but not too much to shovel and drive in. I spent the afternoon and evening putting together the kits for March...and I must say that they are cute, cute, cute! The March kit is packed with goodies. Lots of fun things to play with and get creative with. I was going through pictures of what I would use this kit for and really and truly could NOT decide. It just about went with all of them...birthday, travel, winter, school, Easter, they just worked! One of my friends plans to scrapbook her honeymoon pictures with the kit...yep I told you it was versatile! (*By the way Christy...you are the BEST...thank you so much for all of your help today!!!)

Here is one of the pictures that I am planning to use the kit with. It's a picture from our trip a year ago to Myanmar, South East Asia. We worked at the Love Children's Home which is the orphanage that our church supports. I don't think you could really call it work though...there was too much fun and LOVE involved to consider it labor. These kids have just stolen my heart...and to get to see my own children interact with them on this trip was incredible. I had been once before I had children, and the second time around with a 2 and 3 year old in tow was a totally different story. I have gobs of pictures to scrapbook from that trip, so I am determined to get them started. (I have a whole album made from my first trip there.)

This is in the taxi that took us to and from the orphanage every day. It was about a 45 min. drive one way. (Isn't she a good sister??) This picture just melts my heart! This photo was taken almost exactly a year ago...and I cannot believe the change in both of the kids. All I did was blink and it is a year later. Definitely one of the perks of having my kids 18 months apart is they are the best of friends. They take care of each other. They are great playmates, and I am so thankful that I will always have this photograph to remember their deep love for each other. (I may have to pull out this photograph when they are teenagers and NOT the best of friends.) But for now, I'll cherish these tender moments. (And make a scrapbook page about it of course!)

Lovin' this...

I told you earlier about my love for bags...and here's another one. I got this at the Body Shop and a percentage of the proceeds go to charity. I really liked the circular text and the "Made With PASS!ON" that's on it. I thought it was a great idea to use the exclamation point as the letter "I." Plus I just liked what it said. I use it to carry all of my music back and forth from guitar lessons.


I thought I would post a picture of Amanda and myself with Jenni Bowlin, as I just got an email confirmation of my order from CHAW. She (and her husband Jared) are just way too nice. I loved her booth. Full of great things. I can't wait to get my product from her!! Yea!!!I have some great photos of her booth. It's just dripping with inspiration. I laughed out loud when she told me that she and Jared were husband and wife. I think sometimes we know a LOT more about these famous scrapbookers than they think we know! I love her style and the new products are darling!!



Have a wonderful start to your week! Blessings...

Super Quick!

I wanted to just leave a quick note for today...sickness has struck at our house and it's going to be a long day. I am praying for a speedy return to health. But this means lots of hugs and cuddling, and "Mommy will you rest here with me?" What parent could turn that down? So I am off to my full-time occupation of mom duty.

*I was catching up on Candice Stringhams blog and she has a cute list of love themed songs that she put together for Valentine's Day. I must say that we do have almost the same taste in music! here's the link: http://candicestringham.typepad.com/aperture_14_focused_blur/

EnJOY!!

TGIF...

Well I am very excited to give you all a little sneak peek of what's to come for our March kit...

I just love these colors and these products. It has bits and pieces from some of my favorite companies. A little grungeboard...a little Heidi Swapp paint, KI lace cardstock, an exclusive hand-made wool felt rabbit, and beautiful papers. I really can't wait to play with it! So here is a little visual of what is to come...

*The "March" flash card is not part of the kit contents...just for display.

Also in other Freehand Scraps news, I have had several of you contact me about international shipping and shipping to Canada. I am happy to ship to wherever you would like, and all you need to do is email me and I will give you the extra shipping cost quotes. So don't let your address deter you from getting one of these super cute kits!

Hope you have a wonderful Friday!!

Inspired!!

Well I have to admit that I met some pretty amazing people at CHA! I have been in touch with several of them since then. So without further ado I would like to announce who our guest designer for March, (are you prepared for this?) the amazingly talented and fun TIA BENNETT!

Yeah I know...pretty cool huh? Many of you have products by her sitting in your scrap space right now. It was an honor to meet her and to share my Freehand Scraps vision. She totally "got" it and that felt great! I cannot wait to see what she creates...so excited.

I also plan to post more sneak peeks of what's coming up for the March kit...so stay tuned for that! It is really such a great kit, that I can't decide which pictures to use with it...it's very versatile. I am thinking maybe birthday photos of my sons 4th birthday. (Next month he'll be 5! So I am just as "behind" as you are probably.) We shall see. I have so much to choose from.

Also, while I was at CHA I met Stephanie, who is such a talented and sweet person. She and I, come to find out, have a lot in common. I just love her art, and the fact that she is so super positive! (How REFRESHING is it to talk to someone so positive...VERY!) So she is starting a new magazine called Home & Heart and it is all about making your home and the holidays and your family traditions extra special. It's packed with great ideas, it just oozes with creativity. So I am going to post one of her "doodles" as she calls them to share with all of you! (By the way she also sells a CD with her doodles and her fonts, if you're interested.) It's all here: www.homegrownhospitality.typepad.com

Random Happiness...

Today was bitter cold, but there were a few really great things about this day:



First, the sun was out! It put a smile on my face for no reason other than I had to wear my sunglasses while we ran errands. (This is uncommon most wintry days in the midwest.)





Second, this page is just WAY too cute! (From CHA at the Sonburn booth...check them out for sure.) I love the flowers that she used to embellish it.




Third, Tanner was wildly excited for school today. It was pajama day: nuff ' said! They made movie tickets with stickers and practiced buying the ticket, and buying popcorn and then having the whole movie experience. I kind of wished that I could have gone to school there today too. They are always having so much fun! His class had been studying artists and different forms of art last month and he came home today with his rendition of Picasso titled "A guy with a different kind of truck." Look close and you'll see the wheels. It made me smile!



And lastly, I got to hang out with my favorite girl in the world today. Does it get much better than that?? We had a long talk about how she will have to wait until she's much older to wear makeup. (She wants red lips like Cinderella.)




Here's hoping that you smiled today for no reason other than it is good to be alive!

Words to insire!

I found this quote in a stack of things that needed to be gone through...am I the only one with "those" stacks?? I am reorganizing my scrap space to make room for the new table and it looks like a bomb exploded in there. BUT when it's all said and done it will be uncluttered and I will be more productive *fingers crossed* I would post a picture of before and after shots...but really I am just too embarrased to share. So I will share the AFTER pictures instead. This is a huge task since I have been doing this for soooo long, I have saved little bits of this and that through the years, and quite frankly I have WAY too much! Combine my things with other peoples photos/albums that I am working on as well, and you have chaos! So I was reading someones blog about their life feeling cluttered and how much better she would feel if she just took some time to organize. I am that exact person. If things are cluttered and a mess, I feel unmotivated, and am therefore UNPRODUCTIVE. So I have been inspired to tackle this project and be my best-productive-self.



I had a challenging day, one where there are loose ends everywhere that needed to be tied up. Situations out of my control and just the everyday life stuff to take care of...this quote was something I needed to hear. I think everyone should hear this today, and so that is why I'm sharing it.

"Courageous risks are

life giving, they help you grow,

make you BRAVE

and better than

you think

you are."

Joan L. Curcio

So there you have it: you are better than you think you are!!! Have a happy Tuesday.

February Kit...

Well I finally played again with my February kit. I had a good friend come over in the evening and I was "forced" to get something done. LOL I don't think she had to twist my arm. As we sat there working while my kids napped I mentioned how much fun this hobby is. I get such a sense of accomplishment for each project completed. I really have soo much product left to play with I could make a few more things!! But this is what I accomplished last night...

The pink/black layout is a somewhat blurry photo of my daughter and niece playing princesses. I loved the way they were silhouetted in the window, and looked like little angels. I cut a heart from the fabric in the kit and sewed it on, and then cut 2 smaller hearts from the pattern on the fabric and attached those with glue dots. I sewed the Heidi Swapp journaling spots across the bottom to add my journaling and then sewed a few flourishes to finish it off. The "i love you" is cut from the card (that's included in the kit) and I also unfolded the card and cut off the top of the heart to make the scalloped-edged pink photo mat. I liked the variation of just using it as a card/or altering it to make something completely different.

The next project I worked on was using the heart-shaped Bazzill cardstock. I made a page of Chloe picking dandelions. This summer was so funny, how everywhere we were she picked every dandelion in sight for me. By the end of the day I would have a handful, or a pile on the kitchen counter, or a little stack on the dash board. And she wasn't satisfied until she had picked ALL of them. I really liked the effect I got using the reverse side of the KI lace cardstock (the white side.) I think it looks like a doily that you would really see on a Valentine.

I used the Elsie epoxy stickers to accentuate some of the dots on the lace cardstock. I also needed a little bit of white for the journaling and title, so I used the cardstock behind the Elsie epoxy stickers (the actual packaging.) It was white with blue grid lines on it. The red line at the bottom of the title is just a part of the design on the packaging and it is shiny which was kind of fun. (Definitely use your slick writer, or you'll be sorry.) Anyways it was fun to make and I liked the way it turned out. So Christy (my scrapbook partner last night) wondered how I would put this kind of a layout into my album since it isn't a true 12X12 size. Of course there is the obvious: mount it onto a solid color cardstock and put it in the page protector. OR I was thinking it would be fun to decorate the other side, so that you could just slide it into the page protector and have both sides completed. I think I might try that. To solve the problem of it sliding around in there and looking funny I thought I would put clips on the top of the page protector holding the heart. But you could even staple it so it would stay put, or sew it into the page protector. The ideas are endless. So I challenge you to set aside some time to create this week...(of course using your Freehand Scraps kit!) and you'll feel better because you did! I promise.

**by the way if you click on the images they will enlarge so you can see the details up-close*

Cute Idea...

I was just finally putting away some of the last winter decorations around the house and had bought a pot of red tulips, my all-time favorite flower, and decided to re-purpose this cute jar. I couldn't find anything cute to put them in, and the valentine paper around them was definitely not the look I was going for. (But it did make them the nice price of $2.50, which is why I picked them up in the first place.) So I simply removed the previous contents and put them away for next winter. And replaced them with the pot of tulips. I didn't even have to change the ribbon. (By the way, my sweet grandma made the candle arrangement and gave it to me as a gift. I know...I told you creativity was in my genes!)

While in Anaheim we made sure we went to Anthropologie. My favorite, favorite store...there is one in Chicago, but I have never been, just seems so far to make the trek with the kids. So I am always completely inspired just looking at the amazing displays, and this particular time they had really decorated for spring. They had potted plants and dirt and real cabbages planted in things all over the place and it was very cool. If you have never been there it is a MUST! So I guess that was why I was looking for something unusual to house the new plant. I took a few pictures of the store and some of the things that were "speaking" to me. What a treat!

I also am going "green" with my grocery shopping and finally bought the fabric shopping bags that I had been meaning to get for a while now. They are $1 at Walmart and they were black which was a HUGE selling point for me. They shouldn't ever look dirty! I thought they were cute and the lady in line behind me was oohing and aahing about them. She hadn't seen them anywhere. The only draw back was that the checkstand isn't really equipped with a good set up for this kind of thing so it took a little longer than usual. But in the end, it's really such a small price to pay to help the environment. My favorite feature is that they have long handles so that you can just sling them over your shoulder. Those heavy items felt so much lighter over my shoulder instead of dangling from my pinkie finger! And yes, I am the "I-think-I-can-get-it-all-in-one-trip" kind of person. So this way I can use more than just my fingers and forearms!

Really I think I just like bags...purses, totes, duffel-bags, suitcases. I love them all, and I liked having an excuse (and a good one at that I might add) to buy a few more. I'm off to practice guitar for lessons tomorrow and take a little nap...had a great church service today and a yummy lunch afterwards. I made fajitas! Did I mention that Sunday is my favorite day of the week? It's no wonder why!

More, more, MORE!

I can't help but feel like looking through all of the CHA photos over and over again, I am going to post some more to share. Really there was just so much. Almost too much visually to take it all in. I thought that the displays were just as creative as the new product even! We made a make-and-take at the Heidi Grace booth that was such a cute idea. It was just a shish kabob of gumdrops with a monogram in a circle at the top. It would make a really cute (and inexpensive) party favor for a childs party. I would keep in mind the kids ages because it is on a skewer that could be dangerous for little ones.

I am definitely going to do this idea again. I was thinking of all of the fun variations you could do also...skewer a marshmallow peep for Easter, or this would even been really fun to do at a wedding with elegant papers for horsd'oeuvres. The possibilities are endless. I made one for each of my kids and they LOVED them.

This is Heidi Grace paper and I have a few more photos of her booth to share. The colors were darling and it was packed with people...I had to wait my turn to take photos of it. That being said, Heidi Grace is truly an artist, and her work is beautiful!

Even her catalog was amazing! Filled with her sketches and artwork for the designs. I am telling you it was inspiring! So have yourself a wonderful weekend, and take some time to relax!

Home again!

Wow! What a trip...I am so very tired. I ended up missing my flight home...so the only option was to take the red-eye last night. Long story short...20 hours of travel later I had finally made it! But it was worth it to have great big hugs the second I walked in the door. I sure missed those munchkins, and I was VERY glad that they weren't stuck in the airport with me. That would have been ten times harder. Just really glad to finally be home...isn't that one of the best feelings in the world?? It's definitely one of the highlights of any trip for me. So today I've been getting back into the routine and getting caught up on the shipments that arrived while I was gone, and going through a big stack of mail. By the way the photo at the top is of us with Jennifer McGuire who is such a talented lady. I almost save every idea that she makes for her column in CK magazine! She is always putting a creative spin on a tried and true technique. We swapped broken toe stories and laughed about it. (I have a broken toe that is still NOT healed and it has been over a month and a half. It sure did feel good doing all that walking around CHA. LOL) She is just as sweet in person as I imagined her.

Okay thought I would post a couple more ideas from CHA. Beware...you will be inspired!!

CHA

I just have to start by saying that CHA was just the most inspiring place EVER! It was such a treat to see all of the new product, soooo much great stuff...so little time. I could have spent at least a week just browsing the booths. But seriously I am really grateful to all of the great people we met and got to know a little. Just seeing the product was a treat, but the sweet design people were the cherry on top! The first thing we did was meet Heidi Swapp and have our photo taken with her...of course. She is just as nice as can be. And we managed to order a few things of course. Her release was definitely one of the highlights, as well as the new Sassafras Lass lines. There were so many, many companies that had really great stuff! I really liked so much of the new product that it made it almost impossible to pick and choose for the upcoming kits. BUT we did it and I feel like that is an accomplishment in itself. My feet need a break! So I will be posting lots of great layouts used with the new product and also cute displays that I loved.

Of course I liked seeing all the inspiration in everyones booths. So we made sure to take lots of photos. The photo above is of the Making Memories new Noteworthy line, all displayed on the painted pink door. Very cute. Jenni Bowlin's booth was full of cuteness of course. We enjoyed doing a lot of the make-and-takes. I will post more photos soon, so stay tuned for that.

*I also wanted to announce the winner of the BIG Rak!! So without further ado...the winner is Angela L. So Angela, just email me at heidi@freehandscraps.com.

March Sneak Peek...

Here is a little peek of one thing that is going to be included in the March Kit. It's an exclusive wool- felted rabbit, and it is darling. You won't find this anywhere else! We've altered a simple galvinized bucket that you can find at your local hardware store. Added the antique book paper (from February's kit) and decopauged it on with a cute ribbon tied to the handle. It's topped off with a spring of wire (19 guage aluminum) and the March hare looks like he's hopping along the handle. Would't this be a cute Easter basket?? It was very inexpensive and totally unique! I think it would also make a great tool holder for my scrap table.

Don't forget about the RAK giveaway on Saturday's post...leave a comment there and enter to win the yummy scrapbook product! I will be choosing a winner in the next few days..so stay posted! We will have lots more from CHA, very excited about that.

Gettin' Crafty

Today the ladies from church got together and crafted. Thought I would share some of the cute things that were made. I will post more pictures again with a sneak peek of one exclusive item from March's kit!!

RAK!

So here is the product that I am giving away. It is by Luxe Designs and it is their new Valentine's Day line of papers. It is called the "Trinket Collection Pack" and includes 2 sheets of 8 paper designs (16 total) double-sided 12"X12" and one each of the "To Die For" double-sided 12"X14" alphabet die-cut sheet. So it's loaded with inspiration...just what we all need to get started on our projects. I am loving the geometric designs and the bold patterns! We are crafting after church tomorrow, so I hope to post a few pic's of what projects I completed!

So if you want to enter to win the prize...post a comment here and I will choose a winner at the beginning of next week!! Happy Saturday!

I almost forgot!

**First of all, I just learned the lesson, that you don't post the larger image with writing next to it...sorry if it's unreadable. It looked just fine when I previewed it!

Second, I am going to do another giveaway tomorrow...it's for some scrapping goodies. Just in time for Valentine's Day. Your hint is that it is product from Luxe Designs. Lots of inspiration in this collection we'll be giving away!! So stay tuned for that...

Ahhhh Friday...

How is it possible that I haven't posted any pictures of my kiddos yet? They ARE the main focus of my photography always it seems. I sure have them trained well, they'll be playing together and all of the sudden say "Hey mom, take a picture of this..." Yep, they are little hams for the camera and actually argue over who gets to be in the picture. Then they start directing the photo shoot. "Mom now take a picture of Macintosh...now of me hanging upside down...now of me doing a forward roll...and it goes on and on and on. It makes me smile though. The best part is that ever since switching to digital...they get the immediate gratification of actually seeing the shot immediately. Then they laugh and laugh at their silliness. On a side note, this is Chloes' Cinderella look...she wants to wear her head scarf every day. She even wanted to wear it to church on Sunday morning and told me that everyone would start calling her Cinderella. Funny enough the first lady that saw her said that she was looking just like Cinderella that day. The look of complete exhilaration on her face was unbelievable, she completely lit up! Now if only I had my camera ready to capture that shot, it would have been perfect! I think that being a mother is the most important and funnest thing I have ever done for sure.

On a CHA note, if you place an order between Feb. 11th and the 14th, we will be shipping the kits out on the 15th. Thanks for your patience with that. In other great news the subscription link is finally fixed and reflects the shipping amount, plus it asks for your address, which is great so I know where in the world to ship it to! Hope you all have a wonderful start to your weekend!

Hugs!

A Recipe...

I am making an old favorite tonight. I got this recipe from a cousin of mine as a shower gift. It is very easy and really good. I am having company and it's the perfect thing to make ahead of time and then pop it into the oven so that you aren't cooking the whole time your guests are over. It is a Mexican dish and it can be adjusted to however spicy you like it. (If you're me, you like it REALLY spicy.) Yep, I get the "extra hot" hot sauce at Chipotle. The hotter the better.

Tex Mex Casserole:

1 1/2 lb. ground beef
onion (however much or little you like)
1 large can enchilada sauce
2 14 oz. cans stewed tomatoes
1 taco seasoning packet
6-8 tortillas
4 oz. package of cream cheese
2 4 oz. cans of diced green chilis
1 cup monterey jack cheese

Brown the hamburger and onion and drain fat. Add the taco seasoning packet. Stir in the stewed tomatoes, echilada sauce, and a little salt and pepper. Boil all, then reduce heat and cover: simmer 10 minutes. Warm tortillas, spread with cream cheese and green chilis. Fold tortillas in half; cut each half-moon into 4 pieces. In a 9X13 pan pour a 1/3 of the meat mixture then spread the tortillas in a layer, and repeat the process (kind of like lasagna.) Bake @350 degrees for 15 min. Sprinkle cheese over the top and return to oven until cheese is melted.

*the way I spice mine up is to add Rotel "extra hot" diced tomatoes and green chilis: substitute a can of this for the stewed tomatoes

I always say, "if it isn't easy I don't cook it" because I think sometimes things that are simple and easy to prepare, taste just as good as the really complicated recipes. Hope you enjoy this one and remember that it isn't what you put on the table for dinner, I don't care if it's peanut butter and jelly, it's who's around the table that counts!

Brrrrr...

I don't mean to keep complaining about the weather, but today it was so windy/rainy that it literally blew my umbrella inside out! It was just like a scene out of Mary Poppins. The only thing good about the rain is that Chloe gets such a thrill out of getting to use her "froggy" umbrella. My yard is beginning to look like a small series of ponds!

In Freehand Scraps news...I just unpacked at least 8 boxes of new goodies!! One of the shipments was from American Crafts. This product is all brand-new from their CHA winter lines. Very exciting! Getting prepared for the big CHA event...excited to meet some of my scrapbooking heroes, and to just soak in all of the creativity! (pictures for sure will follow!)

(*On a side note people who are signing up for 3 month subscriptions are not being charged for shipping + handling. PayPal is working on resolving the issue right now. Until they do, I will send you a request for funds through PayPal for the additional shipping charge, and also to get your shipping addresses. Thanks for your patience on this matter!)

If I could, I would send you all a big bouquet of roses just like this one! These are the flowers I mentioned in an earlier post...but I am not opposed at all to buying myself fresh flowers. I suggest you do it, and let them brighten up those dreary wintry days! (Besides...they smell SO good.)

Business as usual...

Do you ever get to Monday and wish you didn't have quite so much on your agenda. That is Monday every week for me! Tanner to preschool, grocery shopping, first batch of kits in the mail (woohoo!) guitar lesson, all with 15 minutes left before preschool pick up. So what did we do?? We hit our little local thrift store called the "Etcetera Shop" which is 2 blocks from Tanners school. All of the profits they make go to children around the world in need. All of their employees volunteer their time. So it's a great place to shop, and the prices are unbeatable! I always just go to browse and I seem to always find some treasures. Today I bought this vintage childrens desk with a nice little price tag of $3.00. I also found a cool desk organizer, also $3.00. A little scrap of floral shelf liner paper for 15 cents. My total bill came to $7.78! I do love to shop. Usually it's a mad dash home from preschool to outfit Chloe in leotard and leg warmers for tumbling class. However, I got a call from her sweet teacher saying that they were cancelling classes due to severe fog. The weather here has been a part of the last couple of posts so I won't go there today. I'll just say that the kids were afraid that we wouldn't be able to find our way home in the fog the visibility was so poor! It really was beautiful and I should have taken some time to take some photos of it. I love the look of fog in photographs. I have one picture I took years ago at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco where they are famous for their fog, and it literally looks like the bridge disappears into the fog. It's a very magical effect. I hope that you had a good start to your work week, and I am lookind forward to a less chaotic Tuesday! Good evening.

Happy Sunday!

Well if we didn't already have enough snow...this is what it looks like here right now. It's snowing like mad again. I am really wishing today that we lived someplace warmer...someplace like maybe sunny Cancun? The funny thing about this weather is that there is also lots of thunder and lightening involved, which is very strange to me.

I taught the Bible story of Naomi and Ruth today to my Sunday School class and was thinking of how nice it is to have friends along the way to keep us company. I just got a beautiful bouquet yesterday of roses, from friends who live out of state. What a nice surprise it was! So if you are reading this...Stoll family-thank you...you made my day! Love you guys!

Giveaway!

Well here it is... time for my first giveaway. Very exciting! We have randomly chosen a winner and the winner is...Ahauna who posted :February 1, 2008 10:56 AM . So email me at heidi@freehandscraps.com with your address and I will get it right out in the mail to you. ONCE I can get out of my driveway...LOL. It's so snowy here that I didn't even get any MAIL yesterday! Did anyone else have a snow day yesterday? The only thing that's a bummer about snow days is all of the shoveling that's involved. My back is a little sore today from all of that lifting. Luckily it was a light, fluffy, powdery snowfall. As you can see by the pictures...Macintosh (our Cairn Terrier) loves the snow and has already been out 6 bazillion times this morning. He goes out looking normal and comes in looking like the abominable snowman. It's very cute...not to mention WET!

I hope that some of you are going to get some time to scrapbook this Superbowl weekend. I am having a friend over today to get crafty. I still have so much product left over from my kit to play with that I think I will just have to make a few more projects! I will post pictures of the finished results of course. I am also getting prepared for CHA! So excited about that! Then of course...who wouldn't be excited about that! Have a great Superbowl/scrapbooking weekend!

The BIG Launch...

Thank you to everyone who has contacted me with words of support and best wishes! What a wonderful feeling...to be loved! This is what we woke up to this morning...very pretty, but VERY cold! (Yes, I have a REALLY big yard.) It's a snow day, which means I don't have to make the trek to preschool today...NICE! Now I have to get ready for my big workout that will solely consist of shoveling snow...I think I'd better make some hot chocolate so that I can tackle it with a smile instead of a sigh. The kids were really excited about the snow and it's sooooo deep that they are already planning to make a snowman and have a snowball fight. More pictures of this event will follow, to be sure!!

In other BIG news...the kits are officially for sale. I am so excited. I hope that everyone out there can catch my vision of what Freehand Scraps is all about. This dream of mine is finally becoming a reality and I am so thrilled!

So to celebrate Freehand Scraps coming to fruition I am doing a giveaway...the cute hearts above are 100% cotton Valentine dish cloths that are handmade by my sweet friend Danette. She is so talented with her knitting! I loved getting this gift. Not only is it something that you can use on a daily basis, but it also looks cute in your kitchen! So post a comment to introduce yourself and I will draw a winner and announce it tomorrow! Hope you have a GREAT Friday!