Saturday is Ft Meade Shoebox Swap Day!

Saturday is a day I have been waiting for!.... I LOVE hanging out with this FAB group of ladies!!  Once every 3  months I get together with the Meade Girls to laugh; eat; stamp and shop... what could be better!?  I was lucky enough to learn about this fab group from my dear attached by marriage cousin Mary... she is a great stamper and an awesome cousin-in-law! 

We get together at 10 am on Meade and stamp each others creations that we pre package and bring enough to share with each other... at the end we have 21 different cards and more than I can count in memories~

My card that I made for the swap...

Paula

Amanda- our hostess with the mostest!

Angie

Ann

Cindy

Dawnmarie

Fran

Gloria

Jane

Janeen

Jill

JoAnn

Kathi

Lynn

Mary

Michelle G

Vera

Pete

Rose

Sara

Tracy

Friday night at the Crop!

So Friday we were going to have dinner with friends so I took off of work.... plans fell through so I went out to my new favorite scrappy store, Great Scraps!  They have Friday night Crops from 7pm until 12am... I met so many nice croppers and got lots of GREAT info for scrapping in the MD area!  First let me show you what I got done...

I also worked on my name tag for my Ft Meade Shoebox Card Swap for Saturday.  The contest is for us to decorate a nametag with our splitcoast stamper screen name... ofcourse the BIG GAME was on Sat night so I decided to go with a Ravens theme.. I cut my screen name with my Cricut and Gypsy on a new product that I found at Great Scraps; Terrifically Tacky tape sheets.... then adhered the purple and gold microbeads... all through the week I had been attaching the sequins onto the cow bell.... as you can see I like the bling!... I did not win... :0(  but another great lady at the swap won for her inventive name tag that showcased her profession of a nicu nurse!... how can I compete with sweet LITTLE baby supplies that save little lives!?... if I had to lose I am okay with losing to that!

Shopping on a Sunday afternoon....

I have to get to this computer more to blog!  Well today is catch up day!  Here in MD it is an ice day; no school for the boys and no work for me... 

It has been awhile since I opened my computer so you will have to bear with me as I catch up!  So last Saturday Corey and I went out to celebrate our new friend Summer's birthday... we had snacks and started our celebration at Val's then proceeded to Cancun Cantina for a night of dancing... it was fun to get dressed up and spend the evening shaking my grove thing with Corey!  But most of all welcoming another great year for our friend Summer... HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUMMER!! 

So Sunday was reserved for the Michael's big sale... Cricut Cartridges for $9.99!  I went to the Michael's in Hanover, Crofton and Laurel and finally came home with these...

Sweethearts

Simply Sweet

Celebrate with Flourish

Pagoda

Pooh and Friends

Paper Doll Dress Up

Pooh Font Set

all 7 of these for the price of 1 regular cart!!... Can't wait to play with them!!

Went to a Class last night!

Decided to go to the local scrapbook store and take a class last night.  I needed to get some creative juices flowing!  So I headed to Millersville to a store called Great Scraps.  I was so happy to find a gem right in my backyard!  This store was full of the latest trends and full of creativity!  I took "Jillibean with Jen" last night to learn how to create celeb designer Jen Chesnick's 4 page layout with paper from the Jillibean line.  Jen was a great teacher and full of creativity!  I am so lucky to meet such awesome crafters in my travels!  Jen is on many design manufacture teams and is currently published in the latest issue of Scrapbook Trends...  I look forward to scraping and socializing with her in the new year!  Here is my final product...

 ofcourse I distressed it... Jen did not... her's looked crisp and clean!... although I did go out of my box by keeping the letters straight!  I don't normally like straight letters, cause I obsess on if they are truly straight!  I also learned how to sew on my page... something I have wanted to do....um... FOREVER!... so I am super happy to sew on my layouts and cards now!... watch out this could be like my distressing habit!?

I also worked on a card for the Ft Meade card swap... although I am not happy with it... I will play around a little more till I figure one out... let's be honest, it will be next Friday the day before the swap till I figure it out!... I am too indecisive!  But the more I sit and craft the happier I will get with my work!... I am rusty... someone get me some WD-40?!

Ok... I confess I didn't get to crafting!

So.... I got frustrated at the looks of Cade's room after the holidays!... I mean look at it!!

so I hunkered down and dug my way out!... I will make my way over to my favorite resale shop here in Gambrills, Once Upon A Child and hope to leave with cash for Cade's old toys versus more toys or clothes!
Here is what a full day of stay at home mom duty gets me....

now if we can only keep it looking this organized!?  so I can focus on my craft spot!?...

Getting this thing started!

So today I am starting this new journey of blogging!... I don't expect much in return!... but I think it will be neat to look back on the year's accomplishments and creations!  The boys are growing faster than I could have ever imagined and daily I am sad at all the time that has passed... It feels like Caiden was born yesterday but in fact he is now 2 working on 3!  Dakota is almost taller than I am! Mason is catching up to Dakota in size fast and Trey is no longer my baby; which is something I thought would never happen!  Corey and I are enjoying some much needed adult time now that we have a sitter here at the house, we love to just go out alone and do things as a couple again!  We added a fur baby to our family and he is fitting in just right!  Sierra is sadly not able to sleep with us anymore, her joints won't let her jump up on the bed... but she happily rests on the couch still!

In our travels back up to the northern part of the east coast I have lost my crafting bug... I am committed to get it back!  I am so happy creating and preserving those memories.  I am thinking of re-signing with CTMH this year but will think hard before I commit.  I got the new Cricut Imagine from my boys this fall on it's debut to the market; but haven't used it once!  I am gonna roll up my sleeves and get to work finding my happy place back in my crafting corner! Today I am off to create a card for my MD Stampers shoebox swap on 1/15... I will post pics as soon as I figure out how too!...