It's not Christmas yet....

Only 44 more days until Christmas! Wahoo!!!! Ok, I get really giddy about Christmas--prepare yourselves! But it is only November 11th. (Bummer. Sigh....) So, in an effort to stay grounded and live in the moment, I'm going to show you 2 projects that are not Christmas related.

Some of you know that I'm head-over-heels in love with the Pink Paislee products so this sign will be no surprise. Maddie had to have a matching room sign like Sammy's and this one is pink, dreamy and fabulous! My opinion, anyway...Sorry, the lighting is crappy. That's what I get for taking pictures at nearly midnight when I SHOULD BE SLEEPING! The time change has really messed me up. Anyway... this sign is made from Pink Paislee's Topsiders in their Pop Fashion line, a felt crown accent by Autumn Leaves, and velvet flowers by Maya Road. The alpha stickers are also Pink Paislee. A little ribbon, tinsel and .... voila: another piece of pink dreaminess! ;)

This second item is my new pride and joy! I call it "Our Thankfulness Box." Design-wise, its not earth shattering but I love the tradition that it will bring to our family. It is a wooden box (bought at Michaels) meant to be a centerpiece at our table. Inside the lid is a log where we will spend Thanksgiving and who we are with. Then each person at the Thanksgiving table writes on a leaf (inside the box) what they are Thankful for, what year it is, and how old they are. I hope that several years down the line my kids will dig through the past years' leaves and giggle about what they were thankful for in 2008. It's sort of like a Thanksgiving scrapbook in a box. I also plan to add photos in there to "float" around with all the leaves. I love the idea of a Thankfulness Box. Its a good lesson for the kids, a fun way to remember how we've spent the Thanksgiving holiday and a great way to count our blessings. I feel so blessed that I'm not sure this box will be big enough. I hope that you have a lot to be thankful for this year too!

Cheers!
Christy

That's my girl!

Maddie just broke her first board and earned her yellow belt in Tung Su Do. She just loves the martial arts. This is one tough girl--and she's only 4 years old!

Here's a short, crappy quality video that Brentt's took from his phone.



That's my girl! Thanks for checking in and letting me share these proud moments.
Have a great weekend!
Christy

Fall in San Diego

I love Fall! But living in San Diego we really have to seek out the signs of fall that the northern parts of the US have naturally. We joke and say San Diego only has 2 seasons: Green and Brown. We're deep into the dangerously dry brown season, also known as fire season. Fortunately, this year has been quieter than most recent years.One unique sign of fall we have here is the Monarch Migration. Last week we were down in Balboa park and stopped in the butterfly garden (a little local secret!). There had to have been 50 butterflies in there, not all monarchs either. It was so beautiful I have to share!Yep, we have flowers blooming all year long.

Now, all that said, it is still no replacement for the fall I grew up with on the farm in Minnesota. We were back there last fall for harvest and when I look at these pictures, I swear I can smell the cold, dusty air.
Happy Fall y'all!

A little news....

I have 2 bits of happy news to share. I finally opened a shop on etsy.com. Click here if you want to view it: christyhoover.etsy.com

My obsession with creating stuff might as well make me some money, right? I only have a few things posted there for now. I'm just getting my feet wet to see how it goes before I list a whole lot of things (and incur listing fees.) I'm having a garage/craft sale on November 8th and whatever I don't sell there will be posted in the shop. If you're in San Diego and you want to come, email me and I'll send you the address.

On another note, Yellowbird Scrapbook Store is letting me teach a canvas class in November and December. I call it "A Christmas Carol" canvas. There's nothing Scroogey about this canvas, it just reminds me of a Victorian, Charles Dickens' Christmas. It's a big canvas too- 9" by 14". Its not a complicated class but once you learn the techniques, you'll be using your scrap supplies on a lot more than cards and pages. The best part is that the class is only $20! What a great gift! (But I wouldn't tell anyone if you wanted to keep it for yourself!)

Here's a photo:
It uses the new Wassail line from Basic Grey, vintage sheet music, Jenni Bolin papers, and so many embellishments that adds real dimension. Contact Yellowbird if you'd like to take the class. I'm looking forward to teaching such a fun thing!

Things like this make me want to just skip over Thanksgiving and go right to Christmas. But I wouldn't do that...probably... Anyways, first things first. We need to take down all the Halloween stuff. I'll post some fun pics about last night soon.

Thanks for checking in! Enjoy your weekend!

Boo!

Last weekend we celebrated Halloween at the "Boo!" Parade. Here are a few pictures:

Bella the angel:

Maddie the wicked witch:

Maddie the sweet witch:

Keegan, the protector:The group of kids at the Boo Parade.My sweeties:

We hope you have a safe and Happy Halloween!

My confession

Hello.... my name is Christy and I have a confession. I am.... a scraplifter. Yes, I do it occasionally. I take someone else's design and I make it my own. And I'm not ashamed of it. Wink! That's my *big* confession. ( You thought I was going to tell you something juicier, didn't you?) I think scraplifting is quite acceptable ....as long as you give credit where credit is due. Right? Isn't that why scrap magazines and blogs exist? I think its a fun way to get ideas and no matter what I do, my stuff never ends up looking exactly like the inspiration piece.

So, I was checking out some of my favorite blogs and found this idea on the amazingly talented Danielle Flanders' blog. This is her version:I scraplifted it and here's my version. I am *loving* Pink Paislee stuff!
Similar yet it never turns out the same.

Grandma's are so special and have such a unique relationship with their grandchildren. I only wish we all lived closer.

Also, I am such a fan of Danielle Flanders that when I saw this adorable door sign and I had similar supplies, I had to make it too. She even gives you a bit of a tutorial on how to make it. Of course her version is pink, girly and wonderful! Here's my version I made for Sam's door using the Pink Paislee Vintage Moon Topsiders.

Thanks for the inspiration Ms. Flanders!
Cheers!
Christy

Finally... I'm scrapping again!

I have been so busy with life (and making other crafts-wink!) that I've realized I haven't been making many layouts lately. So, I went to a crop on Friday night at Yellowbird scrapbook store and got busy. Here are the results...

Remember that pirate picture I took of Sam in the last post? One of them will go on this layout. I know its a little weird but sometimes, I scrap backwards. Meaning that I will make a layout before I have a picture printed or sometimes before I've even taken the photo.

That was an easy layout. Hambly Screen Prints makes the silver paper with the pirate ship on it. I simply cut a black piece of paper from Pink Paisley's Vintage Moon collection and adhered it on to be a photo mat. Then, I added the title (letters also from Pink Paisley), glued some trims on and it was done. I'll probably write the year and hide the journaling behind the photo mat when I put the picture on it.

Here's another "backwards" Halloween layout. Maddie, the dog, and I will all be witches this Halloween. With any luck, I'll be able to convince my mother-in-law to dress up as one too. Won't a couple 4 by 6" photos of us fit perfectly? Or maybe one 5" by 7" photo if I only have one good one.

Here are a couple layouts that I did "the normal way". I'd been delaying scrapbooking these pictures from the fair and from our vacation because I liked the photos so much that I couldn't envision a layout that would "do them justice." This certainly isn't my best work but I do like how they've turned out.
The "San Diego Fair" layout is so busy with pictures that I tried to keep it simple by using cream cardstock and accented it with patterned paper from October Afternoon. The title is American Crafts Thickers chipboard stickers.

This layout of Colorado is also simple. I just didn't want to detract from the great photo. The orange paper is also from Pink Paisley's Vintage Moon line (I'm really liking them lately!) and it went perfectly with the old vintage dictionary pages along the bottom and on the flower. I'm also really into trims and ribbon. Anything to give it dimension.
And because I'm always ahead of things, here's a Thanksgiving layout. We're renting a cabin in Big Bear with 3 other close families and I'm hoping to get a great shot of all of us this year. There's so much to be thankful for that the journaling part will be easy!
Feel free to scraplift whatever you see. Thanks for checking in!
Christy

Because its NOT a dress rehearsal...

Sammy has gotten into full character and is ready for Halloween. We made this pirate costume on-the-fly because his Firefighter costume is way too hot. Its been in the 90s for weeks here. Looking forward to fall weather...soon we hope!

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday! I've been busy creating but so much of it is Christmas gifts that I haven't been able to share. But this Halloween collage is for a neighbor who I don't think checks my blog. I love it so much, I just may keep it myself. It fits in so nicely with all my other decor.

I'm considering adding a black tinsel hanger. What do you think?
We're off camping this weekend. I'll share more next week. Enjoy your weekend!

Pennsylvania in the Fall

The kids and I just returned from a lovely trip to Pennsylvania (Lancaster area) to see the in-laws. We did so many fun fall activities but the highlight of the trip was meeting my new 7-week old niece, Abigail Louise. Isn't she adorable?



Here's a quick picture of our other niece, Annabelle. She's quick and busy so not too many pictures of this sweetie. No trip to Lancaster county is complete without visiting the Sturgis Pretzel House. This was Sam's first time learning to twist the dough. Talented? Nope, he didn't twist this pretzel though. This is a photo of him right before he crumpled it into a ball. And then threw it across the room. That's Sam.
Both Sam and Maddie were fascinated by all the Trains in Strasburg. We went with Brentt's Dad and even though he was annoyed most of the time, the kids and I had a nice time. I've never heard a boy yell "Choooo..... Choooo...." as loud and as often as Sam did. It was fun to see him so excited! And then, we rode the train. I thought Sam was going to have a baby-aneurism or something. He was out-of-his-mind excited!

Then, we went to pick some pumpkins for Grandma. How darn cute is Sam?!?
(Perhaps I'm a bit biased but I think he is so friggin adorable here!)Madeleine's goal was to find Grandma the "biggest pumpkin EVER."
And I'll just end by saying it was a busy, fun-filled trip. Even the kids were tired at the end. Perhaps, I am a super-Mom after all. (wink!)