Guess who is Guest Designer at Paper Popsicles for the month of November???? ME!!! I am so excited! I received my e-mail from Melissa this morning. Yay!!!!!! I can't believe it! I love it there and I can't wait to design for them!

I'm sad to say I am not moving on to the next round of Top Designer at BadGirlsKits. :( Oh well, here is my entry anyway:

I am happy to say that my peeps at scrapbookersclubhouse.com still love me! They gave me kudos for my card I made at our Scrappy Island Adventure:

As well as my peeps at 3scrappyboys.com, they still love me, too! I got kudos for my lay-out Under a Shady Tree!

Thanks gals! You all sure know how to make a girl feel good!
I'll be back to post some more of my creations from the crop after cheer practice!
Until then~

Check this out:


You do not want to miss this sweet deal! Stop by the message board while you're at it! Everyone there is sooooo nice and the inspiration is always overflowing! See you at Paper Popsicles

I got Lay-out of the Day over at 3ScrappyBoys.com. I was so surprised! It really made my day!

You can read all the wonderful comments the wonderful ladies gave me on my lay-out here.
Carley cheered her second game last night. I am so proud of her. She is doing such a great job and is really enjoying herself. Her cheer coaches are doing a really great job for their first year. It is so much fun watching them cheer and watching the PeeWee football players play football. I think even Bryan enjoys himself, though he doesn't want to admit it.
Here's some pics of her:





Bryan is a huge Auburn Tigers fan. He had to tell Carley yesterday that it was okay to cheer for another team besides Auburn. She was dead set on supporting her daddy's team and insisted on yelling, "Go Auburn" at the game, instead of "Go Aggies!" Bryan explained to her that Hamilton was the school she attended and she really needed to cheer for them while she was at their ball games and when she grew up and went to college at Auburn, it would be time for to cheer for their team. She is just too funny and when she believes in something, she believes in it with all of heart! So..Go Auburn..I mean, Aggies!

Okay, so I have done something I don't usually do, I have joined the Top Designer Contest at Bad Girls Kits . I don't usually participate in contests because I am so intimidated that my work will suffer by comparison. I don't know what possessed me to start with this one! You will have to stop by and take a look at all of the awesome entries . These ladies literally blow me away! So I took the pludge and here is my first entry for Miss Cari Fennell's Layering Perspectives Class!




Wish me luck and keep your fingers crossed that I make it through to the next round!

Seven years ago today, a horrible tragedy effected our country forever...9/11. It's a day I know I will never forget. I remember sitting with my mom watching the coverage on Fox News. We were glued to the TV in between taking care of our daycare babies. It was so weird because all of our babies were so quiet. They weren't allowed to watch and most of them not old enough to, but it's like they know something horrible was taking place. My heart goes out to all who lost loves ones that day. I know that each 9/11 for them hurts so much worse than it does me. I still cry when I watch movies, documentaries, and commentaries of that horrible day. I worry about what our world is coming to and I don't know what our future holds but I will forever be proud to be an American. Thank you to all who serve or have loved ones who serve our country. I am forever greatful that they risk their lives for my freedom, for our freedom.
I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free
and I won't forget the men who died who gave that right to me.
And I gladly stand up, next to you and defend her still today,
cause there ain't no doubt I love this Land.
GOD BLESS THE USA!!!!

Just wanted to share a really fun site, http://yearbookyourself.com Colby, my nephew, and I played with it earlier. It is hilarious! Here is my yearbook photo:

Isn't that a riot? I just can't stop laughing at it! You have to try it! Can't wait to see yours!

NOTE: I am reposting this which was featured on the Scrapbooker's Clubhouse Blog for their scrappin' green series. Enjoy!

I am always looking for ways to repurpose or reuse an item. Since I am a self proclaimed ribbon addict, there is no shortage of ribbon spoolies at my house. I am also a lover of mini albums. So when I discovered this idea of using ribbon spoolies to create a mini album, founded my Vicki Chrisman, I had to give it a try! This ribbon spoolie album was created for my Mom and hangs proudly in her home!



To create a ribbon spoolie album separate the outer circles from the inner ring, sand the inner ring to remove any leftover glue or paper, then cover all sides with your favorite patterned paper.


Next use tacky glue to attach the inner ring back to the bottom circle, then punch four holes as shown to run your ribbon through, to attach the top circle back to the spool.


Run your ribbon through the holes, tie into bows and you will be ready to embellish!

To complete the album (shown in the top three photos of this article), attach a 12 inch ribbon to the inside bottom of the inner ring using glue. Cut 12 circles the size of the inside of the inner ring and glue the circles front to back with the ribbon sandwiched in between the circles. You will now how 6 circles, front and back, to attach your photos and embellishments to. I also tied a knot in the bottom of the ribbon and added a loop to the lib of the album so I could close the album for display.
It can also be used as a trinket box, as shown.



I also took it one step further and used the top and bottom circles of ribbon spools to create a circle mini album. I covered both fronts and backs of the circles with patterned paper and bound them together with a metal ring embellished with ribbon.


Ribbon spoolies, once taken apart, also make great circle templates.
Thank you so much for letting me share these tips with you today! I hope it gave you new ways to turn a ribbon spoolie that would have otherwise been thrown in the trash can into a treasure!

How exciting! I got an award from Jackie I am so honored because I am a huge fan of Jackie's work and her blog! Thank you, Jackie!
Here's my award!



Here are the rules:

1. Pick 7 of your favorite blogs (that's hard there are tons!)
2. Winners can put the logo on their blog.
3. Link the person who gave your award to your blog.
4. Name the 7 that you are giving the award to with their links.
5. Leave a message on their blogs so that they know they've won!
Here's my picks (in no particular order):

1. Nicole
2. Ali
3. Lee
4. Lynn
5. Michelle
6. Laura
7. Mara

I finally got my pictures of our vacation to Gulf Shores uploaded to share with you all! I apologize that it has taken so long. Hopefully it will be worth the wait! We had a wonderful time, so much so, that none of us wanted to go home. Gavin still looks at the pictures and says, "Go beach!" We stayed in a beautiful condo courtesy of Cockrell Banana Co. It was right across from the beach and had "an awesome pool," as my nephews would say. We got in Sunday night around 7pm, unpacked the car, and got groceries. We picked up buckets and nets so we could go crab hunting. The beach was so nice at night. There was the most refreshing breeze and you could hear the waves crashing against the shore. It was so relaxing. I could've pulled up a chair and sat out there all night. We got up the next morning and headed over the beach again. Carley and Gavin loved playing in the water. Gavin was a little scared of it so he would have to sit in my lap and let the water wash over his legs. Carley wasn't afraid until she fell face first in it and the water snatched her goggles off her head. She just cried. We ate at some of the best seafood restaurants, Mikee's, Great American Oyster House, and another one I can't think of the name of, opps! We visited the zoo. It was so hot the animals didn't even want to come out from under the shade, but the kids enjoyed seeing them and having Daddy pull them in the wagon. We played miniature golf, too. I wasn't sure if the kids would enjoy it but they had a ball. Carly like posing with the statues. Gavin would pick his ball up, drop it in the whole, and yell, "yes!" It was so cute! Carley got a hole in one, Bryan got a hole in one, Gavin, with Bryan's help, got a hole in one. But I, however, didn't get a hole in one! Cindy, Mom, Austin, Colby, and Matthew joined us on Friday. We went and got them boogie boards so they could ride the waves. We had so much fun watching them. Matthew was a natural! He was hitting those waves one right after the other! We also ate at the Giggling Grouper and went school shopping at the outlet store! We had so much fun! It was so relaxing getting out of bed when we wanted, lounging by the pool, watching movies, and most of all, feeling the sand between my toes, the breeze in my face and warmth of the sun on my skin! I can't wait to go back. If it wasn't for the hurricanes, I'd move there right now!
Here's some pics of the beach: It was so gorgeous!



This was our beach access from Sea Oats Condos!

This is the pier behind our condo. Bryan would go fishing here at night while the kids were asleep and I was up in the condo reading. He would always find people to fish with. That is one thing I admire about Bryan, he never meets a stranger!

Here's Nana and her grandbabies: The only one missing was Savannah. She had band camp and couldn't make it.

Here is me, Nana, and Cindy: Cindy has been in nursing school, so the weekend was a nice break for her!

Here is my Pirate Carley:

One of my favorite pics of Carley and Gavin!

Here is Gavin and his pirate gun: He looks like he is going to shoot the bird. I couldn't resist snapping a picture!

Here's the Boys of Summer: Austin, Colby, and Matthew!




Miniature golf! I told you Carley like posing with the statues!



Here's Bryan and I snapping pics while Carley and Gavin were playing on the slides behind the restuarant.

Here's my shrimp and alligator at the Original Oyster House: Behind the restaurant, you could feed the catfish. Carley and Gavin had a ball. It reminded me of when we would feed the catfish in Owensboro at the Go-cart track. Fun times!

Here is Carley flying her kite: She would get tired and zip the handle of her kit in the cooler so she could go play and keep her kite flying!

Here was our trip to the zoo:




This was our first night of crab hunting. Carley and Bryan caught 5 crabs! Gavin and I followed behind watching them. Gavin would shine his flashlight on the sand, say "Oh my gosh, Crab!!!" Then he would take a shovel full of sand and dump it in his bucket! He was so cute!


Another thing I admire about my hubby, is how he is always teaches Carley and Gavin new things. Here he is teaching them about Coral!

Here is Carley with her airbrushed Tattoo: She wanted one like Daddy! Thank goodness this one washes off!

Here's Gavin flying the pirate kite:

Here is Gavin: This is the first moring in the condo.

Here's Miss Carley, all ready to go to the beach:


This is me, Gavin, and Carley! He is sitting in my lap letting the water wash over his legs!

Here my Gavin: I loved taking pictures of him enjoying himself!