Valentine's Cards

Hi Everyone! Hope your new year is going great. I have been playing some more with my Cricut and have been making some Valentine's cards. Once I get these Valentine's projects out of the way, my next project is Peyton's birthday. She is turning 4! And she wants a princess birthday party. No surprise there, right!

Here are the pics of what I have been working on:

I have been having a lot of fun using non-traditional Valentine's paper to make these Valentine's cards.
Happy Valentine's Day card
Cardstock - Kraft Archiver's
Patterned Paper - Happily Lost Lily BeeStamps - heart American Crafts; sentiment Studio GInks - pigment ink American Crafts; Chocolate Chip Stampin' Up!Embossing Powder - clear Stampin' Up!
Ribbon - Stampin' Up!
Border Punch - Scallop Border
Pearlie - Stampin' Up!
Pins - Joann's Crafts
Cricut cartridges - scallop squares Accent Essentials

Yep, I broke out my paper crimper to use on the heart for this card!
XOXO card
Cardstock - Kraft Archivers; Very Vanilla Stampin' Up!
Patterned Paper - Happily Lost Lily BeeStamp - Studio GInk - American CraftsEmbossing Powder - clear Stampin' Up!
Twine - my stash
Jewel - Stampin' Up!
Cricut cartridges - Heart and Circle George and Basic Shapes; xoxo Opposites Attract

This year's Valentine's sucker cover. I love making these every year!
XOXO sucker cover
Cardstock - Close to Cocoa Stampin' Up!; Kraft ArchiversPatterned Paper - Happily Lost Lily BeeStamp - Studio G Ink - American Crafts 
Embossing Powder - Stampin' Up!
Punches - itty bitty flower and slit Stampin' Up!
Cricut cartridges - scallop square Accent Essentials; xoxo Opposites Attract Glitter glue - Martha Stewart Pearlie - Stampin' Up! Ribbon - Stampin' Up!

Yep, it's true. I really do love my Cricut. It's been so much fun and now I can't seem to craft without it. Even for making these tiny cards! And guess what! They actually fit inside envelopes cut from one of my Cricut cartridges. It's hard to tell from the picture, but the cards shimmer from using the Valentine's special edition ink spray from Tattered Angels. It's pink, but when I sprayed it on this black cardstock it just made it shimmery and pretty.
Be Mine cards
Cardstock - textured black and Kraft Archiver's; Very Vanilla Stampin' Up! 
Patterned Paper - type print Stampin' Up!; Yours Truly Echo Park
Punches - itty bitty flower and heart Stampin' Up!Jewels - Stampin' Up!Glitter Glue - red Martha StewartTwine - my stash
Stamp - Studio G
Ink - Basic Gray Stampin' Up!Ink spray - Studio Calico {on Be Mine sentiment}
Cricut cartridges - medium size and large hearts and background shapes Accent Essentials
 

I love the Echo Park Valentine's paper this year! What caught my eye was the more traditional colors used. Although I have been using the Lily Bee paper too to make Valentine's, I knew I also wanted to make some using more traditional Valentine's colors as well. 

Well, I am off. I hope you are all good! 

P.S. I went and saw One for the Money yesterday with friends. I was pleasantly surprised that I liked it as much as I did. The book is awesome, but the movie ended up being pretty good too!

Just A Few Cards

Hi Everyone! I just wanted to take a minute to show you the cards I have made lately. I haven't had a lot of time for crafting in the last few weeks. But I managed to do a few cards. Plus I also made my dad's birthday present. It was pretty cute. I neglected to take any pictures though :(. So I will have to post it another time.

Here are the cards:

hello Card

Supplies:

Cardstock - Stampin' Up! Very Vanilla, Basic Gray {textured}, Going Gray

Patterned Paper - Authentique Blissful line

Ink - Stampin' Up! Basic Gray; Stazon Black

Stamps - Stampin' Up! 

Punches - Stampin' Up! Scallop border, Large Scallop Circle, Itty Bitty Flower 

Cricut Cartridges - Once Upon A Princess {hello tag, tea pot}

Ink Spray - Tattered Angels 

Crochet Flower - Imaginisce

Brad and Jewel - Stampin' Up!

Ribbon - American Crafts

Foam Adhesive - my stash

I just love this paper from Authentique. All of the paper that they have come out with is gorgeous! But for some reason, this one seems to be my favorite. I don't usually gravitate to these colors, but I totally love the color combinations. 

Be Mine mini Card

Cardstock - Very Vanilla, Real Red Stampin' Up!; Kraft Archiver's

Patterned Paper - Echo Park Yours Truly

Cricut Dies - Accent Essentials {scallop circle, large heart}; 

Forever Young {red and kraft tag}

Stamps - Studio G {Be Mine sentiment}; Stampin' Up! Established Elegance {established 1873 sentiment}

Inks - Real Red, Crumb Cake Stampin' Up! 

Ink Spray - Tattered Angels Be Mine

Punches - Scallop Border, Small Heart, Itty Bitty flower Stampin' Up!

Glitter Glue - Martha Stewart

Jewels - Stampin' Up!

Button - Basic Grey

Ribbon - American Crafts; Stampin' Up!

Liquid Glue - Crystal Effects Stampin' Up!

This year I had a hard time choosing the Valentine's paper that I wanted. That is until I saw the line from Echo Park. I loved the other brands I saw, but I LOVE this Echo Park line. It's just fun and I love the traditional color scheme. I am sure this is not the only project I will be using the products for. 

Thanks So Much Card

Cardstock - Very Vanilla Stampin' Up!

Stamps - Established Elegance, {Thanks So Much sentiment} Stampin' Up! 

Inks - Island Indigo, Crumb Cake Stampin' Up!

Spray Ink - Studio Calico Mister Huey's Clay

Jewels - Reflections

This is a very simple card for me, if you all don't know already. It takes a lot for me to not piece a card together. When I got my new Island Indigo stamp pad, and my new Established Elegance stamp pad from Stampin' Up! however, I got inspired to simplify just a bit.

Happy Valentine's Day Tag

Cardstock - Kraft, Jet Black textured Archiver's; Very Vanilla Stampin' Up!

Patterned Paper - Echo Park Yours Truly

Cricut Cartridges - Once Upon A Princess {Envelope and Tags}, Accent Essentials {Large Heart, scallop circles}

Punches - Itty Bitty flower, Small Heart Stampin' Up!

Stamps - Happy Valentine's Day sentiment Studio G; flourish Stampin' Up! Embellished Elegence

Inks - Real Red, Basic Gray Stampin' Up!

Jewels - Reflections

Glitter Glue - Martha Stewart

Ribbon and Twine - Basic Gray satin Stampin' Up!; twine is my stash

When I saw the cute envelope and tag on the Once Upon A Princess cartridge from Cricut, I knew it was only a matter of time before I attempted to do something with it! And it didn't take too long after all! I love this darling envelope and tag. I will get plenty of use out of it for sure!!! And, yep. Used more of the Echo Park paper for this one too. I really just absolutely LOVE it! 

I know I keep mentioning the Cricut cartridges I have been using on all my projects lately. But I haven't mentioned the fact that I got a Cricut! :). I borrowed my friend Marci's Cricut to work on my sisters shower decorations. I fell in LOVE with it, told my mom and then she got me my very own! I was debating whether to upgrade to the Cricut Mini but I like the fact that I don't have to plug this one into the computer. I want to eventually get a Cricut Expression. A girl can dream :). 

I am lucky to be able to borrow cartridges from Marci and also from Thong's cousins, Thia and Bea. I have purchased a few on my own, and also got clobbered on Black Friday at a local store who was selling them for $10!!!! I got three that morning {after waiting in the freezing cold for 4 hours}, one of which wasn't really one I wanted, or one that I have yet to use. Since then, I have purchased two more since then - Once Upon A Princess {MY FAVORITE} and Cindy Loo {Love the font on this cartridge!}

I got it early and was supposed to wrap it and put it under my tree. Somehow though it ended up straight up in my craft room instead, open and turned on with a cartridge just waiting to be used! What can I say, I used it right away :). It was practically begging me to anyway, right!

I have got to show you all this adorable pin cushion {you can see the ones that Amber made me, and one that I made right behind it}. I didn't make this most adorable pin cushion ever! No, that was made by Thia, my husbands cousin. I fell in love with it right away! Could you just die! :)

Hope this year is coming along great for everyone. I admit, it hasn't all been roses, but it has been good! I have a new addition to my family. His name is Jack and he is such a cute little happy guy! He belongs to my sister and her husband. He is just a few days old, but is loved immensely already!

Peyton couldn't wait to meet her new baby cousin and hold him for the very first time. She is already planning games for them to play when he gets a little older. I told her it may be a while, and she said she will wait! :) 

Talk to you all soon!

Loving My Free Stuff :D - Reverie Creations DT Projects

I just want to say very quickly that I am extremely grateful for the fathers in my life. First for my husband! You are my rock, and my best friend. You do so much for our family that I can't even begin to say thank you. You make me laugh everyday and you take wonderful care of our daughter! Even when you give her bright blue snow cones : D. I love you! Then for my dad. Thank you Dad for setting the bar high of what a father should be. Thank you for teaching me to be a good person and showing me life shouldn't always be taken so seriously. I love you! And for all the other dads out there, you guys rock. Happy Father' Day!

I got to work quickly after my boxes of goodies came in! I have 4 pages of my lyrics album finished! I can't decide if I should start posting pages now or wait until the whole thing is finished. For now I will wait, but I sure as well may change my mind later : D.

In the mean time, I did use almost all of the Reverie Creations package that I received! I made a 9x9 scrapbook page and 3 little mini cards - 3x3. I was inspired by the gold foil inside the roses paper. I love how shiny it is! So I used my Coffee House Tattered Angels spray on the brown cardstock to make it shiny as well. It gave it a sort of copper color. So cool! The one bad thing is that the spray makes the paper curl and warp. So I should have let it dry under something heavy to keep the paper flat. I will remember that for next time. I knew I wanted to rubon's to look like they were sort of coming out of the pictures and then off the bottom of the page.

So here are the pics:

I got the title for my layout from one of my most favorite children's books by the same title. It's such a great story about love and motherhood.

In that top picture, Peyton still makes that face sometimes when she is sleeping. It's pretty cute.

Here are the supplies used:

• Cardstock - American Crafts
• Patterned Paper - American Crafts, Scenic Route {lined paper}
• Rubons - American Crafts
• Punches - Lace border Martha Stewart, Real Estate Sign EK Success
• Ribbon - American Crafts
• Chipboard Letters - Green Glitter Dear Lizzy for American Crafts, Brown Flocked Lush for My Minds Eye
• Glimmer Mists - Coffee House Tattered Angels
• Ink - Soft Suede Stampin' Up! classic

These pictures where taken in the hospital the morning after Peyton was born. We tool pictures too after the hospital photographer did since she was all dressed up for the first time. She was so newborn swollen and red, but so, so, so cute!

In the pictures of the cards, you can see the gold in the patterned paper better. I think these would be fun on the outside of a wedding present.

Here are the pics:

Here are the supplies for the cards:

• 
  
  Cardstock - American Crafts
• 
  
  Patterned Paper - American Crafts, Scenic Route {lined paper}
• 
  
  Punches - Scallop Circle Stampin' Up!, Real Estate Sign EK Sign
• 
  
  Ink - Soft Suede classic Stampin' Up!
• 
  
  Stamps - Congratulations Stampin' Up!
• 
  
  Jewel Brad - My Minds Eye
• 
  
  Glimmer Mist - Coffee House Tattered Angels
• 
  
  Other - Glossy Accents {used to hold the scallop circle rose together}, Pop Dots
• 
  
  Ribbon - Brown Gingham Making Memories, Brown Silk American Crafts

And there you have the first projects made for the Reverie Creations Design Team! Hope you all like    them  : D! Have a great Father's Day!

Hi TJ. This Post Is For You - Enjoy The Journey Together card

So as some of you know, I have my blog set up to post to Facebook anytime I post. Plus I also have a photo album on it specifically for my crafty projects. I was told today, by a friend that I work with if I keep posting crafty projects, then another friend of ours was going to block me from being his friend. So it is to TJ, that I dedicate this post to. I love ya TJ. But no worries. If you can't handle the crafting, so be it. : D

Back to the cards. It's that time again. Amber, Marci and I all got our Stampin' Up! orders, so here is what I made. I am so loving the Smooch Spritz from Stampin' Up! I got it in Vanilla this time, but I would love it in all of the colors. The one downside is that it is a smaller bottle. And mind you, I used it on almost all of the pieces to these cards. But making just the 3 of them, I went through half the bottle. Besides the Smooch Spritz from Stampin' Up! I also used Tattered Angels Coffee House spray. I am having a hard time being sparing with it. It sprays a lot and so on small pieces, it goes on really thick. I am learning to be better with it though.

Once Marci and Amber get their projects finished, I'll post those as well.

Here is the inside of my card. If you look closely, you can see the Vanilla Smooch Spritzer everywhere.

The Supplies Used:

• Cardstock - Crushed Curry and Very Vanilla Stampin' Up!
• Patterned Paper - Fly A Kite October Afternoon
• Stamp Sets - Punched Posies, Pedaling Past and Simple Serif Mini Alphabet Stampin' Up!
• Inks - Soft Suede and Baha Breeze Stampin' Up!, Coffee Shop Tattered Angels, Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz Stampin' Up!
• Punches - Decorative Tag EK Success, Scallop Oval Punch Stampin' Up for EK Success
• Ribbon - Brown Gingham Making Memories
• Other - small scissors {used to cut out the bicycle}, Pop Dots Glue Dots

Although the colors aren't a traditional color scheme for a wedding card, I couldn't resist paring this cute bicycle made for two and the October Afternoon paper. I think they compliment each other pretty well. When I had first planned out the card, I wanted to use Thickers to say "Together" on the outside of the card. But then I decided to go with the small card format instead. So I ended up using my Simple Serif Mini alphabet that I haven't used in forever instead. It wasn't exactly what I wanted, but I just went with it. I have always had a hard time with getting the letters to line up straight, so I just stamped and pretended that I meant for it to be crooked : D.

I was hostess this month, so I was excited to get a few extras that I have been wanting for a while. So I got the Punched Posies as my hostess set, and then I also got the Scallop Oval punch that I have been wanting forever and an embossing plate. It's fun to be hostess :D Gotta love free stuff!!!

I just got finished watching some clips and then cast interview for True Blood on Ustream. I am looking forward to it coming back on. I haven't hidden the fact that I haven't liked a lot of the liberties taken in the show. But Aaron Ball said something that made sense to me. He said that the reason why characters in later books are being pulled in sooner is because with the series being 10 books now and counting, they can use material from later books sooner instead of making stuff up {not that there wasn't enough material before in the first few seasons}. I can't imagine the show running 10 seasons though and Sookie being only 27 8 seasons from now, like she is in the books. Only a few years have past by in the timeline of the books. And when you are watching actual actors instead of just picturing the characters in your head, 10 years is a lot. So I am thinking that - although I know they will change things a lot - the show is going to rely more on other books in the series instead of just making things up. On this upcoming season, I can't wait to see Alcide on the Small Screen this season! He's still one of my favorite characters in the series. I was sad they didn't have the actor that plays him in on the live stream. In the mean time, I just finished book 10 and loved it. Not as much as 9, but it was still really good. Can't wait for the next novella to come out and then see where the story goes from here. The one thing about the series that I love is that it isn't completely predictable. That's something to be said considering how many books in it is now. And I love the cast of characters!

After I finished the cards yesterday, I started on a scrapbook page. But it wasn't with photos. Instead it was lyrics to one of my favorite Ingrid Michaelson songs. I have been a big fan of music lyrics for quite some time. I don't care what the genre is, if the song has lyrics I can relate to, I usually end up loving it. I know I am a total dork, but I have notebooks of lyrics to some of my favorite songs. When I saw New Moon in the theatre for the second time, I took my notebook, so I could write down what songs where in the different scenes. I know! Total dork :D. So I decided to start scrapbooking my favorite songs and I hope to have quite a collection over time. Speaking of scrapbooking, I will get back to pictures of Peyton here shortly. I've been working on so many projects that I haven't scrapbooked for a little while.

Last thing before I go. I should get my tutorial up this week! Sorry again for taking so long with it!

Off to bed!

Lots To Talk About And Lots To Show - Peyton's Banner, Malia's Birthday And My Own Birdhouse

I have been working on this banner for Peyton's room for a few weeks. And I finally finished it on Wednesday this week. It's hard to tell from this picture, but it spells out Peyton. I have a ton of chipboard letters already, but I only had smaller ones for most of the letters in her name but the P. But I decided to use what I had on hand instead of going out and buying new ones. So the letters are small but it spells out her name nonetheless.

I am super excited to have it finished! I admit that I have been slacking since - and before - Peyton was born in decorating her room. But I really want to get it looking cute and fun for her. Her bed sits right below this and yesterday when she woke up, I found her standing in her crib staring up at it. When she saw me she said over and over "Mama, I love my present, I love it!" It was pretty cute!!!!

Here are some more pics of the details and each part of the banner:

This last picture was taken before it was hung up. I was trying to get a view of as much of it as possible without it being hung up yet. As you can tell I have used a ton of different brands to get it all put together, and a lot of fun techniques too.

Here is the list of supplies {from left to right}:

• White Flower Knobs - Hobby Lobby
• Ribbon - blue and brown polka dot is my stash, brown satin - Stampin' Up!, pink scallop purchased from Material Girls fabric store in South Jordan, pink striped Making Memories, blue and green gingham is my stash, caramel satin ribbon Stampin' Up!, green wrinkled satin blue velvet scallop trim American Crafts, orange grosgrain Stampin' Up!, green lace trim My Minds Eye, pink and white tool is from Joanne's, pink gathered Stampin' Up!, brown large width grosgrain is my stash, brown, blue and pink striped Making Memories, yellow polka-dot Making Memories,pink gingham Making Memories, brown polka-dot grosgrain Stampin' Up!, artichoke grosgrain Stampin' Up!, sky blue and white polka-dot grosgrain Stampin' Up!, pink stitched grosgrain Stampin' Up!, yellow satin is from Easter packaging of mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups : D, pink paisley from Walmart, hot pink organza Target Dollar Spot, rusted twisted wire {this holds the whole banner together and is strung from each large chipboard base to the next with the wooden spools over them}.
• Chipboard - large circle BasicGrey, large scallop flower Scenic Route, large letter P BasicGrey, large bird mini album Stampin' Up!, letter e Heidi Swapp, chipboard flower Maya Road, letter y Heidi Swapp, brown polka-dot frame American Crafts, letter t Heidi Swapp, mini tree and bird Imaginisce, green bird with white flowers American Crafts
• Wooden Spools - Roberts Crafts
• Patterned Paper - {around first spool} BasicGrey, yellow fabric paper Dear Lizzy for American Crafts, pink polka-dot {around second spool} Dear Lizzy for American Crafts, brown polka dot with roses {on large scallop flower) Dear Lizzy for American Crafts, Old Olive and Whisper White cardstock Stampin' Up!, brown with paisley {on large bird} BasicGrey, blue and white polka-dot Dear Lizzy for American Crafts, red and pink strawberry {used on rose} Dear Lizzy for American Crafts, pink and white polka dot American Crafts, green and yellow flower {cut as half scallop circle} BasicGrey, brown polka-dot bird Stamin' Up!, orange and green flower My Little Shoebox, pink and dark pink polka-dot October Afternoon, blue and white graph October Afternoon {scallops behind large circle and as part of the Scallop Circle flower over the doily}, green with brown circles BasicGrey, green graph with the black and yellow bee BasicGrey, green and white white damask American Crafts, brown and pink polka-dot October Afternoon, pink and white flowers {around spool after the letter n}, yellow and white polka dot Dear Lizzy for American Crafts, cream with pink, blue, yellow and green flowers BasicGrey
• Fabric - blue and cream Joanne's Fabrics
• Adhesives - cool heat glue gun, pop dots, glue dots, liquid glue, glue stick, tape runner, crystal effects
• Accessories - green leaf head pins Imaginisce, tree branch and bird with heart stickers Dear Lizzy for American Crafts, silver paper clip Stampin' Up!, blue button BasicGrey, brown and white string, gemstone brad, Stampin' Up!, blue flower Prima, metal flower All My Memories, cream crocheted flower Imaginisce, pink velvet flower Prima, white paper doilies Wilton, buttons are my stash, white damask flower sticker Heidi Swapp, flower sticker BasicGrey, green flowers Bazill Basics, pink brad All My Memories, pink glitter Stickles, brown brad Bazill Basics, metal flower and brad 7 Gypsies, decorative head pins Making Memories, pink corduroy button Stampin' Up!, pink gem stickers My Minds Eye Lush line, crocheted flowers Dear Lizzy for American Crafts, green gem brad K & Company
• Inks - Soft Suede, Old Olive and Rose Red all from Stampin' Up!, coffee alcohol spray ink Tattered Angels
• Tools - Crop-A-Dile, sponge to apply ink to paper and embellishments, fabric starch to make paper flowers, needle and thread to make ribbon ruffle flowers, glue gun, 1/16" hole punch, foam brush
• Punches - Bird, Scallop Circle and 1 3/8" Circle Stampin' Up!, butterfly Martha Stewart
• Die - Flower Fresh Stampin' Up! for Sizzix Big Shot
• Paint - cream acrylic Apple Barrel

What a list of supplies! I went absolutely crazy when I saw the Dear Lizzy line of fabric paper. I think it is an awesome idea. And I love that it is adhesive backed! It saved so much time not having to sand the paper down to fit the chip board. And I love the look of the fabric. I think it gives a fun and vintage look to the projects they are used on.

I love using the fabric paper to make the twisted flowers. I put one on the bird with the letter t and then another on the circle with the letter o. They are really easy to make but a little time consuming. I have mentioned before Liz Kartchner did a video tutorial on how to make them for American Crafts. I apologize, I don't have the link anymore but it is on her blog and it is a link to You Tube.

On the first circle on the left side, I am still not sure what to put there. So I will figure it out shortly. But I wanted to hang it up now anyway. I noticed now that it is hung up too that there are some ribbon bows that I want to change the size of, some of the pin wheel flowers that are popping up and some other mistakes that I would like to fix. But for the most part, I just love it!

Here is my adorable niece Malia in all her birthday glory! She wore her "Birthday Princess" crown throughout pretty much the whole party. And she was excited when her mom told her she could wear it to school the next day because that was her actual birthday. She did take it off for a bit in the party when her and her cousins were singing and dancing because she said she didn't want it to get ruined. It was pretty funny. But she is such a cutie all the way! Love you Malia!

So I finally got my birdhouse finished!I am so in love with October Afternoon right now! All of the papers but 2 are their brand. The red rose at the top is Stampin' Up! and the yellow polka-dot around the window is American Crafts Dear Lizzy. Most of the October Afternoon paper is from the Fly A Kite collection. I love everything from the colors to the patterns. They have such a great vintage feel. They make me want to rummage through some of the belongings of my mom's mom that I have. I have a small red tin that belonged to her with some old plastic beads and things. Nothing of great value to anyone else but

me :-).

Seeing the above picture makes me think of Friends episode with Monica's dollhouse and how she won't let Phoebe play with it because she brings her great big huge dog that is taller than it. I say that because of the ceramic green bird off to the right side of the picture. It's huge compared to the birdhouse that it is next

to :-).

I also can't get enough of these adorable bird houses. They are extremely inexpensive and so fun to decorate. Now Peyton wants one for her room too. I will have to get a shelf in there high up so she can't get to it. She is in a "take apart anything that she can" phase right now!

Here are some more close up pictures:

I am so glad I got this bird punch from Stampin' Up! I absolutely love it! I use it all the time. I have a die also that has a cute bird on it, but this is so much easier!

As I have said many many times, I am totally addicted to these paper flowers! They are so much fun to make and I am getting speedy at them. It occurred to me that I could also do the flowers with the Scallop Circle punch. They are made pretty much in the same manner as the regular roses. I promise now that I have these 2 projects out of the way, I will do my tutorial. Husband, I am recurring you to help me take pictures so I can do it :-D

 This time I used the Martha Stewart Lace border punch to create the trim on the sides, as well as the grass at the bottom. How cute would it be if grass was really polka-dotted like that!

Here are the supplies used for making the birdhouse:

• Birdhouse - Roberts Crafts
• Paint - Cream from Apple Barrel
• Patterned Paper - October Afternoon, Stampin' Up!, Dear Lizzy for American Crafts
• Brad - Circle Gem Stampin' Up!
• Punches - Bird, Scallop border and Scallop Circle from Stampin' Up!
• Ribbon - green wrinkled American Crafts, brown gingham and green polka-dot are from my stash
• Tools - foam brush, file BasicGrey, low heat glue gun
• Adhesives - Mod Podge, Crystal Effects Stampin' Up!, Pop Dots Glue Dots, glue stick

I will probably end up adding some kind of banner to the front of it hanging from the roof like I did with my mom's. But I couldn't decide so I just decided to leave it for right now.

I am super excited because I have been talking about making a Christmas Village for forever. And finally I found the perfect houses to do it! Hobby Lobby has the cutest raw houses to use! I have 2 so far and then I plan to get about 5 plus then I want a building for a church. Now I just need to find the perfect Christmas paper to use! I can't wait!!!

To switch gears, I get excited this time of year because as the weather gets nicer, my DVR gets more free space. This is all because I am watching hardly any TV. From fall to spring, I am a TV junkie! But once my favorite shows end for the season, there are only a few shows that I have to watch in the summer. So that means more time for things like reading, audio books {which are perfect for listening to while crafting!}, going to the park, having a BBQ, taking Peyton swimming... I love warm weather. I think I was made for it. It's hard in the winter because I am so not a fan of the cold Utah winters. I love the long days and short nights. I hope summer comes before July this year, because the last few Junes have been super cold here. So hooray for summer! I hope it's here sooner than later!

Last thing before I am off, I am loving my ipod right now! {not that I ever stopped} But I can't get enough of Ingrid Michaelson, Muse, Blue October, She and Him and pretty much any singer/songwriter I can get my ears on. Hope you guys like my playlist here on the blog!

Have a great Memorial Weekend!