Bring it 2013!

It is January 1, 2013 and I finally created our Christmas card and ordered our 2013 calendar.  :)   As I wrote our "12 Highlights of 2012" I came up with many, many more highlights.  I also couldn't believe we were still in Tampa a year ago.  Tampa feels like a lifetime ago already.  I could have added "made new friends" or "got to see my sister twice in one year!"  But I left it at our family highlights and not just my personal highlights.  I could have added the bummer of finding out my dad has Parkinson's...but I didn't think I needed to remind people.

I have had years of major transition, but as I looked back on this year, I think it wins for the most transition in one year.  Moving twice in a year, with one of those moves overseas is pretty huge.  If I ever complain about leading a boring life, somebody hit me!

But I can't complain.  The Lord blessed 2012 in ways I could never foresee.  I can't wait to see what He has in store for us in 2013!

Many blessings my friends!

Gettin' Crafty

I never have less than three or four projects percolating at one time.  That's just me.  One such project has been on my mind for a couple of years.  My Aunt Bev showed me a darling Christmas tag she though I could reproduce for her, since I am the artsy one in the family.  I took the tag and tucked it away.  I finally decided I needed that project off my mind.

Here is what she wanted me to replicate:

Very pretty.  These were some of my better attempts at the tree using watercolors:

Kind of got there, but I didn't feel like I could do that for many tags.  I turned to Storybook Creator 4.0, my digital scrapbooking software.  Here are two different results:

I'm happy.  Now to buy some good paper to print them on--I have some, but it is in storage.  Everything feels as though it is in storage right now.

Latest Projects

In the last week I have completed several projects.  The most notable, in my world, is traditionally scrapbooking my freshman year of college!  I haven't focused on traditional scrapbooking in awhile, but I have a lofty goal of finishing college in the next four weeks.  Yikes!  So, to work I must go.  Below are two pages.  I've also completed many digital calendars that will be Christmas gifts, which is why I can't post them right now.  I did include a page from our 2011 album of Jason's promotion.  I love the textures and layers!  



All projects were created using Creative Memories products.

Crafty Things

I've been a little crafty lately.  The top is a card I threw together for a dear friend.  A CM consultant had created these "CM girlfriends" last year and I had customers make them as make 'n' takes.  They are hilarious! 

Then next card is for a friend, but was also used as an example of our fantastic Cricut cartridges, particularly, Stork's Delivery.

The third is a layout I was challenged to do by a customer with our new Wish kit.  I love the kit and it was perfect with these pics of the boys from their bowling tournament.  I scraplifted it from our March/April catalog and just made a few minor changes. 

The last is a tile from a class I took at a three-day crop a few weekends ago.  Isn't it darling?  I just love it!

I promise to work on my pictures of projects.  :-)

The Good Stuff

The week in Tampa was a blast.  The boys love nothing more than playing on the beach, looking for shells, digging holes they can fit in...they love it all!  We made it there twice after Jason got off work.  The pictures speak for themselves, they were in heaven.

2010 Is Almost Finished

As many of you can relate, I get so much more done when I have structured time and a deadline.  Hardcover Storybooks are 20% off this month, so I'm trying to finish our 2010 album by the end of the month and order it.  I love a sale and a deadline to get stuff done!  These are two-page spreads, but I haven't figured out how to upload them that way...another day. 

Christmas Card Love

I was thrilled when Creative Memories brought back the folded 7x5 and 5x7 cards.  I love Christmas cards and I'm becoming one of "those"  people that tries to out-do herself every year.  I won't lie, I was pretty proud of this year's card.  The front is an image from the Biloxi "green".  I just love how this is so unique to where we are living right now.  I wish I could send cards to everyone I know, but even with my discount, I had to keep the numbers lower than I'd like.  Maybe some Valentine's cards for those I couldn't send Christmas cards to this year.  Hmmm...

Front

Inside Top

Inside bottom

Back

Winter Wonderland Wild Times

Well, a mega-road trip to Iowa and back has once again ended.  The Lord provided the perfect amount of snow for the boys to experience their first "White Christmas."  They were in heaven!  As we drove out of Kansas City, there began to be snow left in the ditches and they would exclaim, "Whoa, look at all of that snow."  It wasn't even covering the grass yet and as we got closer to Cedar Rapids, they were more and more amazed.  It was great.  There are more tales to tell, but for now I'll leave you with these two layouts of their first sledding experience.

Croptoberfest FUN

Croptoberfest was a blast this year. I had eight ladies attend. Last year I had two attend, so I was very happy with this year's turnout. I had planned the event from 9 am to 9 pm. Most of the ladies stayed till between 4 pm and 5 pm. I had a couple of die-hards that stayed till 8:30, which was great.

I treated them to White Chili, cornbread, banana bread, Halloween oreos and lots more. Everyone went home with "Bright Autumn" photo mats and borders. Two of my digital customers worked on their digital calendars the entire time, plus bought some more digital stuff, so they got the "Bright Autumn" digital kit. That is what I have used for this layout.

I borrowed a Cricut from a friend to use our "Cheerful" cartridge to create some cute little pumpkins and the "Delicious Autumn" sign. I was pretty impressed with the Cricut expression, I have to admit--it's on my Christmas list now.

It was a fun day. I was tired by the end, but it was the type of tired you feel after a satisfying day.

Creative Memories Digital Sale

I'm thrilled we are offering a fantastic savings on our most popular Creative Memories digital products beginning Sept. 8 through Sept. 21st! I have two 12x12 Storybooks waiting to be ordered! And with 30% off of our digital downloads, some new content will undoubtedly make it's way into my computer.

I love the quality of our stitched binding and the quality of the pages. Our products have undergone extensive testing and scientists have stated our Storybooks will look the same 100 years from now. How awesome to know we can leave our grandchildren and great-grandchildren such a legacy!

Visit wwww.mycmsite.com/karijohnson for more information.

New Traditions

Some dear friends sent us a beautiful project to assemble. The Chrismons were desiged by Paul Berkbigler, and printed with help from his wife Cory and some former Concordia classmates. They are a wonderful reminder of the true meaning of CHRISTmas.