One Little Word 2013 :: Simplify

Happy New Years everyone! Party like a Rock Star & let someone else drive home!

January Kit Sneaks :: JBS Mercantile

I am so excited to share a few sneaks with you of my first ever mini album kit that I designed for Jenni Bowlin Studio!
You'll find never before seen tags from Elle's Studio, the brand new Fourteen collection from Crate Paper, Dear Lizzy, & Studio Calico!
Look for the full reveal of all 4 kits on the 31st!!!

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Gift Certificate Mini Album :: Crate Paper

My niece, who is 16 this year requested gift certificates to places she can go to after school with her friends. I wanted to create a fun way to give her these so I created a simple mini album using the Sleigh Ride collection from Crate Paper. 

Merry Christmas from The Klauers ...

Snow Day :: Bella Blvd

I began with a grey card stock and used white mist over a snowflake punch. I then used the same snowflake punch with the bold blue & greens to add the pop of color. Sewing through the strips of Designer Tape compliments the thin font on the "weather forecast" sticker. 

Advent Activities :: Counting down to Christmas

The Advent Calendar I created for Bella Blvd & Silhouette has turned into something my kids are loving so much!

Each morning the boys take turns pulling the paper from the envelope to see what our activity will be doing when they get home from school. They have been simple, yet something the kids look forward to each day.

Here is a quick recap of our first 12 days of December ::

So far we have done : paper snowflakes, baked cookies for a neighbor, enjoyed hot cocoa & marshmallows, made pipe cleaner candy canes, had a chocolate treat, read Christmas stories, family game night, watched a Christmas movie & had popcorn, made & decorated salt dough ornaments, wrote letters to Santa, and made bead ornaments! Phew! I'm tired just typing that! LOL!

Tonight's activity :: pancakes for supper!

Follow me on Facebook to see photos of the daily activities!

Christmas Ornament :: Crate Paper

The Crate Paper design team has created some beautiful Christmas Ornaments that will be featured on the blog this entire week!

Here is what I came up with::

I love to pick up these old embroidery hoops at the backyard sales. I stretched a bit of old fabric onto the hoop & using no-sew fabric adhesive, I added an assortment of embellishments from the Sleigh Ride collection. These are the perfect quick gift for the Holidays! {Great Gift Topper, too!}

December JBS Gallery Updates :: Jenni Bowlin Mercantile

Gallery updates are happening today over at Jenni Bowlin Mercantile!

A sneak of this month's Papercrafting kit ...

Project Life :: Crate Paper Design Team

I am very excited to announce I am part of the Crate Paper Project Life team!

Project Life is something I have been wanting to do for a long time  & this was the perfect opportunity to do so! The one thing that has always held me back was knowing that I simply wouldn't be able to keep up with it weekly. As amazing as it would be, I know me better. So, I am going into this with the "monthly highlights" attitude. It is going to be a place to record and keep those everyday moments; as well as a place where I can collect and show off little items like movie tickets & drawings from my kids. 

I started to pull some things together & decided I needed to do a "title page" of sorts. Something to get the album started. I chose to do a page about our three kids; since they are the center of my everyday. As you can see, I used the Sleigh Ride collection as the base of this page. I love that it's a Christmas line with neutral papers that can be used beyond the Holidays.

I did some PL searching around the web before I got started. One thing I noticed was some people rounded their corners, some didn't. Hmmm, decision time for me. And as you can see: I rounded them baby! I thought why not? I very rarely use by poor corner rounder so it was time to dust it off. I love the look. Do you round or keep your pieces square? 

The next thing I researched was how to photograph the finished pages. A light background or a dark background? At first I photographed them with my trusty piece of white foam board, but noticed there didn't seem to be enough contrast behind the pieces. So, I did a reshoot and used the dark carpet in my work office. Much better I think! 

{You will also notice I removed some of the red washi tape because visually it just did't seem to work.}

Continuing with the Sleigh Ride collection, I highlighted a few ways we've been celebrating the Holidays :: decorating the tree, our annual girls Christmas brunch, & our family Christmas cards. 

When I stamped the date on the above card, I didn't realize it was on the "bah humbug" wording. Right above "family" no less. LOL! I left it because it made me giggle at the thought of the craziness that occurs when all 26 of us get together!

Happy Holidays everyone! Don't forget to capture those everyday moments. 

Guest Designing :: American Crafts

Every email from Paige makes me happy, but when she was asking if I would guest design for American Crafts, it blew me away! I couldn't be more excited. 

Head on over to the American Crafts blog today to see what I created.

25 Days of Christmas :: Weekend Recap

We've had a busy Holiday Weekend here & the boys were so excited to start the Advent Calendar activities. 

See my Calendar & daily list HERE. 

Each year; myself, along with my sisters, our mom, & my oldest nieces get together for our annual Christmas Brunch. My sister Angie hosted this year & created a beautiful setting. This year she chose the theme "pajama party". We all come in our comfy clothes, ate a wonderful breakfast, exchanged a few gifts, & watched Christmas movies. It was so nice to have a day just to sit and enjoy. 

I also spent some time with my niece watching the sunrise from a tree stand...

And now, we've got a sick little girl & 2 boys excited for their school Christmas programs tomorrow! 

Never a dull moment this time of year!