Seasons of Change 2011

Welcome to the bi-annual Seasons of Change blog hop, where you get to meet the retiring, returning, and newest DT members of Scrapbook Challenges! If you’ve just joined in, hop on over to the beginning at

Pamela’s World of Scrap

If you’ve arrived here from Shelly’s Blog, you’re in the right place! This term, I am happy to say, I fall into the returning DT category. I had so much fun with it last time that I’ve decided to stay on board! With the introduction of new teams (sketch team and challenge team) I felt like I would best be able to serve my beloved Scrapbook Challenges community by being a member of the sketch team. I look forward to Pamela’s newest sketches and jump right on them as soon as I can, so I look forward to sharing my results with you throughout the next 6 months!

I started off as a paper scrapper about 8 years ago, but I’ve moved more towards digital the past 5 years or so. This year, I’ve decided to make a hybrid album, much in the stylings of my scrap idol, Ali Edwards. I’m taking on her “One Little Word” project, with the word “focus” because, although I have a lot of areas in my life that I’d like to improve with new year’s resolutions, I know I really need to just focus on one at a time. Focusing is something I struggle with, so this is a resolution in and of itself I guess. SQUIRREL! Anyway, I hope it’ll give me just enough paper scrapping to keep my hands on crafting appetite satisfied. Digital is great and all, especially for making the yearly family album that I do, but nothing beats spending several hours elbow deep in papers, prints, and spray glue…. yeah spray glue. I know… not the typical scrapping adhesive choice, and the fumes are definitely not crop friendly, but I love the total adhesive coverage it gives. Anyway, enough about me and my weird paper scrapping habits.

For this sketch, I went with Pamela’s 2-page version and went my usual digital route to help finish off my 2010 book.

I have recently become a DT member at Raspberry Road Designs too, so a lot of the digital kits I use now are from Susan there at RRD, including this one I actually suggested she put together, called Candy Cane Lane. I love the kit she came up with and it fit right in with my red and white peppermint themed Christmas decorations this year. I got a little playful with the journaling layout, as you can tell! I like it though!

Journaling:

New Family Traditions:

Most of our holiday festivities, in years past, have amounted to us loading up the car and taking it all to do while in Tyler/The Farm. Now that both of the kids are old enough to enjoy Christmas, we felt it was time to start celebrating the holiday in our own way. So for the first time since we’ve been married, we had Christmas as a family in our own house. We brought in some old traditions from our own childhood, like Christmas jammies the night before presents, and having cinnamon rolls for breakfast.

We started a few new traditions of our own too. Jonah enjoyed looking for Christopher, the elf who came to keep an eye on their behavior, in his new hiding spot each morning. We made sugar cookies together, told the Nativity story with the help of the Little People set,
and we went to look at the lights at Deerfield.

All of those traditions are nice and all, but the one I like the most is how we decided to handle the whole matter of gifts to each other. In order to put the emphasis on giving, rather than receiving, we limited gifts to one from each person to each person. Then instead of sorting them by who they were to, when it was time open, we sort them by who they were from so each can take a turn giving a gift.

Now that you’ve had a little preview of me and my style, here’s a little preview of some of the fabulous prizes to be won on this blog hop adventure you’re on! Not, that you haven’t seen them on everyone else’s blogs, but they’re so awesome they’re worth seeing again aren’t they?! I wish the DT was eligible to win too! Haha!

1.  For one person who leaves a comment on all the blogs in the hop, they will get the new Spring Market collection from Webster’s Pages, including chipboard buttons and twine.  

2.  For one person who does a layout based on the sketch and posts in the HOP ON section, they will get the Be Mine collection from Echo Park Paper Company.  

3.  For inviting people to join the group, one person will get a collection of adhesive from Helmar.

4.  For one new member over the weekend, they will get some new Spring Market Unity Stamps (Released 1/7/11 – They’re so brand spankin’ new the photos hadn’t even been released to us when I wrote this post!)

Now that you’ve seen all the goodies, hop on over to

Janine’s Scratch Pad!

Thanks for stopping by, and I look forward to seeing you on the boards!

A New Trick I Learned

I was reading an article about different ways to take pictures and came across the word bokeh. I had never heard of it before, but Googled it and found this DIY article on how to achieve the look. I played with it for about an hour and this is what I came up with! Happy Holidays everybody!

I’m pretty tickled with how it came out since this photo is SOC (straight off the camera) except for the text overlay. Took quite a while to get it just so so, but I’m in love with it and my husband says I should sell it as a Christmas card for other people. Any takers?

Yay Portraits!

Jason hates that I make him go and do this every year, but this year actually didn’t suck. We went early, so the kids weren’t tired and cranky, the schedule hadn’t gotten backed up making us wait forever, and the staff was able to make our kids really crack up. Lots of great pics this year!

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For grins and giggles, here are our family pics, taken every November/December, since we have been married. He thought it was pretty dumb to get them done when it was just the two of us, but I’m glad we did. I like to see the evolution of our family!

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Christmas Pics Posted

I forgot to take very many pictures at a couple of our Christmas gatherings, but here’s the pictures i DO have, all uploaded on facebook for you to see! Enjoy!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=54047&l=5af87&id=501652911

My Christmas Q&A

01. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Wrapping paper wherever possible! I actually like wrapping presents. I crisp corners and fold over the edges to make them all pretty… not that anybody notices, but I feel like I’m doing a good deed by making them pretty. Besides, who’s tree are they sitting under for most of December?! Mine! So of course they have to look nice! haha

02. Real tree or Artificial?

Our Skinny Tree

Artificial. I like the concept of the real tree, but I like having my tree up earlier than a real one would allow, plus they make such a mess and why cut down a perfectly good, oxygen making tree, when I already have a perfectly good, non-dying tree here already? I am on the look out for the perfect artificial tree though. It’s almost as hard to find one of those as it is to find the “perfect” real tree. My current one is ok, but it’s tall and skinny, and not very fluffy. I got it when we lived in an apartment, but now that I have a bigger space (and more ornaments) I’d like a bigger tree to fill it. It kinda seems empty in that corner to me.

03. When do you put up the tree?
Usually the night after Thanksgiving although with all the travel that we’re doing this year, we decided to go ahead and put it up the weekend before Thanksgiving so we could enjoy it for the 2 whole weeks we’ll be home before Christmas.

04. When do you take the tree down?
I’m assuming this is what question 4 was because it was missing when I copied the survey… but usually, we take it down the weekend after new years. This year it gets to stay up a little longer because we’re hosting a Christmas After-Party on that weekend!

05. Do you like eggnog?
Disgusting. Even with the help of booze.

06. Favorite gift received as a child?
Probably the 2 hampsters I got from Santa when I was 9 (I think?), which my Mom had previously told me NO WAY was she going to get me a “rat to let loose in this house”, and then she proceeded to grumble about needing to go kick Santa’s rear end for bringing me not one but TWO “rats”. I named them Itsy and Bitsy.

07. Hardest person to buy for?
My grandparents cause if they want/need something that they don’t already have, they just go get it.

08. Easiest person to buy for?
Jonah. I have already bought everything I intend to this year, but I can’t help but find more things that I WANT to buy for him! hehe

09. Do you have a nativity scene?
Yes.  I have a Willow Tree Nativity set that I keep hoping someone *ahem, Jason* will get the metal star backdrop for *wink wink nudge nudge*  

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?

Our Christmas Card

I try to mail them if I get around to it. If not, then nothing I guess. I try to make my own cards a lot of times, and that’s what gets me into trouble cause I run out of steam before I get them actually sent out. I skipped all that this year and I just ordered a few photo cards from snapfish, with a quick pic I took of Jonah in front of my mom’s tree, for 1¢ each, on a limited quatity special, so I think I only have enough to send to my family… so here’s a sneak peak for the rest of you. I guess this sorta counts as e-mailing them huh? Blogging them wasn’t listed as an option! 

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
I can’t think of a specific one right off hand, but I know there have been a couple of times where I got something from someone, who should have known me well enough to know better, that was exactly what I DIDN’T WANT.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
Cartoon version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

13. When do you start shopping?
I like to get everything done before Thanksgiving, unless I know I’m shopping for something, like electronics, that I know I can get a really great deal on, on Black Friday. I’m pretty close to done now actually.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?

Poinsetta Towel and Pot Holder I Re-Gifted

That’s actually the theme of the Christmas After-Party that we host. You can bring as many unwanted gifts (re-wrapped of course) as you want to the party, and then you get to draw for however many you brought. Then we do a little bit of stealing and the whole thing is a lot of fun. I actually like both of the gifts we ended up with last year… a picture frame and a cake stand.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Giant Cinnamon Rolls (we have them for breakfast on christmas morning)

16. Lights on the tree?
A tree without lights???  That’s just wrong. But if you’re asking for a numerical value, my skinny little tree has 350 lights on it (plus the star!)
                                                                        
17. Favorite Christmas song?
O Holy Night… it’s one of the few that I feel like I can sing relatively well, acapella, so it’s usually what I sing when I’m in the Christmas carol mood.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Travel. And lots of it. Christmas with my mom’s family at “the farm” the weekend before Christmas usually, then christmas morning with my parents, then Jason’s mom, then Jason’s extended family, then back to my parents’ house for a gathering with my dad’s side of the family. All of Christmas day we’re go go go, but at least it’s all in the same city.

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer’s?
uhhh… , dasher, dancer, prancer, blitzin, comet, cupid, donner, vixin, and rudolph? maybe?

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
Star. The angels creep me out for the same reason porcelin dolls do, they look like they’re looking at me.
                                                                                                
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?

Christmas Jammies For Jonah This Year

We usually get to open one on Christmas Eve, and it’s always Christmas PJ’s. Everything else is the weekend before Christmas (see #18) and Christmas morning. Jonah’s getting Christmas jammies this year, but I inherited some new ones from my Mom this year (to fit my pregnant belly) and Jason will probably just wear some old ones that he has.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
That my husband waits until the week before Christmas (sometimes just the day before) to do his shopping.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color?

The Noman Ornament Jonah Painted

I like to mix it up every year. I, like my mom, collect ornaments for several themes when they go on clearance after Christmas. This year our big tree is all silver and blue, and the little tree is going to be decorated, by our playgroup kids, with kid proof ornaments . Every few years I do a “traditional” tree with no holds barred as to what goes on it. I have a box of “special ornaments” that are handmade or were hand me downs from various parts of our family, or were ornaments I got to pick out as a kid. That was a tradition in my family, picking out an ornament that has to do with the favorite facination of the year. I’m continuing that with Jonah but I’m also thinking I may try to do an ornament craft project with the kids each year too. So this year Jonah painted a little wooden snowman, because he is ALL ABOUT the “noman” everywhere!

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?
Vennison Enchiladas at my grandparent’s house (the weekend before Christmas) but really, I like those any time. We don’t usually have a “traditional” Christmas dinner, more of a pot luck sort of a thing with my Dad’s family. 

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?
Ever since becoming a parent, I have found it’s more fun wishing for gifts for Jonah, maybe because I’m still a big kid, but I’m excited about the cool stuff he’ll get. I DO have a wishlist that I keep up with year round, though, because it’s always so hard to think of something when someone asks me on the spot. But to name a few specifically, I guess, the nativity backdrop (see #9), the Bon Voyage expansion pack for the Sims2 (so I can get my Seasons expansion pack working again… it installs just fine but the play disc is scratched), some wintery maternity clothes (sweaters/longsleeve shirts and a nice pair of jeans) and a few oddball things for cooking/hosting parties.