e-Published Again!

I am so excited! After coming home from Christmas vacation, I discovered that one of my layouts is featured in the Scrapbooks Etc. newsletter. I had posted this layout MONTHS ago and had forgotten I even entered it. Such a nice surprise!

We had a wonderful time at the Cabin again this year. It started snowing on Sunday and snowed hard all the way through Christmas day. On Friday we had a great time sledding in all the nice powdery snow.

Kean made the MAFYES ("Most Amazing Fort You've Ever Seen") and both kids had a great time playing in it.
The only sad part was when Poe got lost and was discovered frozen to the ground after spending two nights in the snow. She survived fine tho and appears no worse for the wear. She even tried to stay behind at the Cabin and was caught hiding behind Papo's chair. Fortunately I found her and brought her home.

I hope everyone had a blessed and safe Christmas. Happy New Year!!!

School's OUT!

After a really busy semester, I get a one month break for the Winter Holidays. Yay!!! I had a great time in both my classes and I'm really looking forward to the Spring Semester. Also, I expect to get an A+ in both Art Design and Critical Thinking. Sure wish I had put this much effort in last time I was in college...

Here is my Art final. We had to create a piece of art using a nursery rhyme that was assigned by our teacher. I had so much fun with this. I drew out the house and garage and then painted it with acrylic paint. I painted printer paper to make my own gray paper-it has a nice texture to it. I colored in the black and white images using chalk and Stickles. Then I used Crystal Effects on the balloons and the bicycle to make them glossy and stand out. I coated the entire piece in Mod Podge to preserve it. I'm so happy with how this turned out that I plan to frame it and hang it in Miriam's room. Too fun! This class opened up so many new techniques for me, I can't wait to take the Design 2 class.

Scrap Whispers Layout

Hello, Lovely People! My last Scrap Whispers round is over so I can now share this layout. It's the only one I've done in months due to school. I really need to figure out a way to include scrapping in my week since it is so grounding for me.

***If you want to play along at Scrap Whispers, the new round is starting soon. Just sign up by December 24th.***

Let's Say Thanks

Which Survivor I Am...

Which Survivor Castaway Are You?

More on Survivor. Created by BuddyTV

I just took this quiz over on BuddyTV. I am really enjoying this season of Survivor along with my friends at the Survivor Fans Podcast. However, after some exciting blind-sides, I think the rest of the season is going to be pretty predictable.

Halloween Pictures

Hello there! Mostly I have been busy with schoolwork and renovating my scrapbook room, so I haven't had much scrappy time. I have been playing Scrap Whispers, but I can't post that layout until the current contest is over.

In the meantime, here are some pictures from Halloween. We went trick or treating in the neighborhood, then took the kids over to my in-laws. There we had a tasty chili dinner and my MIL took the kids to the neighbor's house for more trick or treats. Then we went over to my friend Sara's and spent the rest of the evening in their wonderful company. Fortunately the kids' soccer games got rained out the next day, so Jerry and I spent the day painting. I should be able to post those pictures soon.

Exciting News for Jennifer Moon!

I am so excited for my sweet friend Jenn...she is getting her very first gallery show this weekend! Check out her blog for details. On Saturday you can meet with the photographers at Downtown Plaza. It has been amazing watching Jenn grow as an artist, she has a true gift and I am just thrilled for her...

As for me, I have not found any time to scrapbook or to even make cards lately. I feel kind of like I am on a speeding train and hanging on for dear life. I'm not stressed really, it just seems like there are never enough hours in a day. Maybe that's just what it's like being a grown up. My scraproom is a gigantic mess, but I have other pressing matters right now. I miss my scrappy time!

Miriam has now, in her words, "transformed into a Brownie." We had a lovely little ceremony for her troop last week. I must say she looks beautiful in brown! Miriam and I are having a blast in Girl Scouts, it is so well organized and teaches wonderful skills. We are fortunate to have a fabulous Troop Leader and a great group of girls and mommies as well.

Christmas Card Ideas

Everyone ready to make some cards tomorrow for World Card Making Day? Here are some great cards to get you inspired. Be sure to send me your beautiful creations so we can share them! Happy card making!

Published in MMFY Ezine

Please check out October's Making Memories for You eZine. My layout of the state fair is published on page 25! This eZine is full of ideas, techniques and inspiration. Enjoy!

Hurricane Ike

These pictures are from my Aunt Fern and Uncle Carl's neighborhood just outside of Houston. Think about how far inland Houston is and they still suffered quite a bit of destruction. My Aunt and Uncle were lucky not to have any damage to their home, but the house next door did as well as the house across the street. I am just so happy that they are okay. They did have to leave due to power outages, but they are safe and well-praise Jesus!

*AAHHH!* I've been tagged!

I rarely ever respond to these by email, but I thought it would be fun to post here. Plus, it will give me a record of what is going on with me right now.

THE FIVE TAG

10 years ago I:
1. I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy
2. I drove a white turbo Mazda 626
3. I lived in a studio apartment on P Street
4. I worked as a service clerk at a crane company
5. I was a single mom juggling child care and work

5 things on today's "to do" list:
1. Get an oil change in the van
2. Do my philosophy homework
3. Workout with Deena
4. Go to the chiropractor
5. Watch Edward Scissorhands again with the kids

5 snacks I enjoy:
1. Sabra hummus with crackers
2. Sesame seed honey cashews from Trader Joes
3. Pretzel Thins
4. Candy corns
5. Fruit

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire:
1. Hire a driver
2. Pay off my house
3. Put in a pool
4. Send my kids to private school
5. Buy an airplane and learn to fly it

5 places I have lived:
1. Oklahoma City, OK
2. Odessa, TX
3. Sacramento, CA
4. Newberry Park, CA
5. Lawton, OK

5 jobs I have had:
1. Burger King drive thru cashier
2. Babysitter
3. Accounting Assistant
4. Service Clerk
5. Mommy

I am tagging:
Sonda
Tonja
Jen Pells
Sharmaine
Sandra

Rules: Each player answers the question themselves. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know that they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person that tagged you know when you've answered the questions on your blog.

Okay, now I really must get to work! ;)

World Card Making Day

Please join me on October 4th for World Card Making Day. I plan to work on my Christmas cards, but I would love to see any cards you make. Just take a picture and email it to me: charissaarch@yahoo.com I will post them on my blog for the whole world to see. It doesn't matter if you are a novice or expert card maker, your inspiration is needed!

Fall is on it's Way!

Yesterday it finally began to feel like fall here. There were even some crunchy leaves on the ground. It seemed like it was hot, hot summer and then suddenly-aaaaaaaaahhhh!

Here are some pictures of the first day of school. I have two full-time students now. Miriam is really liking being a "Big Kid" and eating in the cafeteria. On the two days a week I'm in school they also eat breakfast there. She says she's still getting used to it. (Love that Girl) And my big 5th grader, Kean, likes his new teacher. Unfortunately, he has about an hour of homework a night now. We'll have to adjust to that.


















Also, over Labor Day weekend, Miriam and I went to the cabin with my fabulous friend, Nicole and her daughter Jamie. There were lots of giggles and the girls got along famously. Nic and I got a bit of scrappin' done and it was quite the relaxing weekend for both of us.
































I also wanted to share this tutorial on making some darling little pumpkins or apples out of old books. Garage sales, here I come!

And big HUGE congratulations to my friend, Sharmaine for placing SECOND in Scrap-n-Crop's Project Scrap-Away contest. Way to go!!! I am so very proud of you!

ADORABLE Cupcake Album!

I just *had* to share this album, it's the cutest thing I've seen in a long time. I love the turquoise, red, and white combo as well as all the chipboard. So darling! Click here to view it.

Also, here are a couple of the layouts I did for my neice's 18th birthday album. I left the journaling cards blank so that my sister-in-law or mother-in-law could fill them in. It was quite the emotional journey. I'm so glad I was able to create this to celebrate her childhood as she begins her life as an adult.

Say Goodbye to Summer!

It has been absolutely fabulous! This year I was very fortunate to get to spend some time with these wonderful friends. I'd forgotten what it was like to laugh until my jaws and stomach ache. Hopefully between homework, soccer practice, and life stuff we'll be able to squeeze some more girl-time in soon.

School is...

FUN!!! Never thought I would say that, but I just started my Art Design Class today. I am working toward getting my degree and was pleasantly surprised that my prior two years spent at University were not a complete waste. Two classes this semester, three next semester, and I will be done!

So anyway, about my class...I was concerned that it might be too simplistic, I would have a disorganized or lame teacher, etc. But it was fantastic! My teacher is great, very organized, smart, and interesting. We are going to be doing LOTS of art projects (*whee!*) and I had no idea what most of the stuff we are going to learn is, so it should keep my attention. AND, I don't have to buy some expensive text book, just lots of ***ART SUPPLIES***

Considering how demanding this class should be, I'm really glad that I don't have a Design Team spot that would compete for my time. Guess God knows what He's doing after all.

Miriam at Climbing Camp!

My Sweet Friend

I just wanted to share this layout that my dearest friend Kristine did of us. Also, I am very excited to have won a $10 gift certificate to Crop Addict for winning their monthly contest. Shopping here we come! AND I lost four pounds this week. Woo-hoo!

I'm starting an album project tomorrow and will post pictures in a couple of weeks.

Fireworks Layout

I did this layout last night for Mad Cropper. For some reason, the pictures kept coming out blurry, so this is the best picture I could get. My camera is acting funny, saying that the battery is low even when I replace them with new ones...odd because it took these great firework pics on the 4th.

The journaling reads, "We just love the BANG. Fireworks are our family's very favorite part of Independence Day. 7.04.08"

I used Bazzill cardstock, sei and Stampin' Up patterned paper, American Craft and Queen & Co. brads, Martha Stewart glitter, sei alphabet stickers, inked a Rusty Pickle chipboard photo corner, Jenni Bowlin journaling card, Stampin' Up star punch, a star brad painted with red nail enamel, and Dyno labeler.

Long Time No Blog!

Guess I got caught up in summer stuff and forgot all about blogging. The kids had soccer camp July 14-18 so we were spending our mornings out at Cosumnes River College. Last week was full of playdates, karate, and a Daisy Scout meeting. And last night I had some awesome friends over to play games and hang out. Talk about a lot of hilarity!

Here's a layout I did for Crop Addict's Snapdragon challenge.

Happy Independence Day!

I hope everyone had a happy and safe 4th. We had a lovely day that started with a parade in the Parkway neighborhood. Kean's Tang Soo Do class was in the parade and then they did a demonstration afterward. The weather was absolutely perfect.

Then we went to my friend Shannon's house, let the kids swim and jump on the trampoline, and ate an incredible meal. Kristine, Sara, and Deena were there also with their families. I am so lucky to have such wonderful friends to spend the holiday with!

We are headed to Mount Tamalpais this weekend to camp with Deena and her family. I can't wait to get out of this smoky valley!

Below is a slideshow I put together with the pictures from the parade. Somehow the slideshow program cut off some of the pictures and I couldn't figure out how to fix it. :( Miriam took the last three pictures-not bad for a six year old!

My Favoritist Show Right Now!

Scraplift, Challenge #2

Here is another layout I submitted for a challenge on SD4U. We just had to scraplift one of the layouts in the gallery. This quote from Miriam just cracked me up, so I HAD to scrap it. She is such a little doll and one of the greatest joys in my life.

First Submission

I finally got some scrap time in the week. Over at SD4U, the big challenge was to create a layout using NO patterned paper and NO embellishments. I had a lot of fun using my punches and stamps to come up with a unique layout, but it took a LONG time. I've always been a slow scrapper, but this one took me several days to complete.

I found this picture of Kean and it was so very cute that I just had to scrap it. I think Bob took it cuz I never would have had Kean out on the grass in his socks. :) It is just adorable and he caught him just right.

***Had to take picture down for publication***

And I Bounced Back!

lol! I just read about Summer Scrapfest at SD4U. It starts on June 16th, which will get me going on my summer scrapping. Join me over there!

We have our group birthday party this Friday, so I will post pictures after that. Plus, I will fill you in on how our birthday week has gone. Stay tuned...

Today is the last day of school-woohoo! Let summer begin!

Out on my Birthday...

Welp, I'm out of the contest. And got the news on my birthday too. Ah well. There will be other contests. There was some amazing work in there, so I'm not too bummed. Every experience is a good one and will lead me to where I'm supposed to be.

For this third challenge, we could do anything 70's. They probably didn't think mine was psychedelic enough. And truly I was putting it together VERY last minute. These are pictures of me from the 1970's-I was born in 1974.

Here's the layout I did:
So, I'm looking for another contest if anyone knows of one! School is out (finally) on Thursday, so I plan to scrap the summer away.

Doin' the Happy Dance!

I made it through to the next round-unbelievable! As a twist, the contestants voted on the entries. There were some amazing works of art, let me tell ya. You can check them out by clicking here. I am having SO much fun! And I am getting some great layouts done. Scrapbooking is just good for the soul, ya know?

For this challenge, we could only use rubbish. And I took it quite literally, not using any pens, inks, or sewing. Unfortunately not everyone else did, so my layout looks a bit juvenille compared to the other submissions. But I really like it and I have been wanting to do this particular layout for some time now.

We were also advised to not use recognizable photos of ourselves or our families. The only scrapbooking supplies we could use was one piece of cardstock and our photos.

For the metal flower, I cut open a Pepsi can and used a stencil to trace our the shape. Then I scored the shape with an exacto knife and broke the aluminum. After that, I just punched holes with a paper piecer. The letters I cut from cardboard and then pulled it apart to reveal the corrugated part. The ring and tabs are scraps from the Pepsi can and the other letter and words I cut from a newspaper. And of course the tags are from our many LIG clothing items. I never could throw them away-they are really nice coaster type material. I will probably continue to save them since I can always paint them, stamp them, cut them up, etc.

Creative Block?

I just read this article from scrapbook.com that is full of "Divine Inspiration."

Creating for your Creator

Submitted by: Drex Davis

This article is excerpted from the book Stuck In a Rut? Ditch Scrapper's Block. by Drex Davis.

There's a powerful project you can do to unlock your creativity.

Create a layout for your Creator.

It's that simple. Not a layout about your Creator. A layout for your Creator. The layout is a gift for your Creator. If no one else ever sees it, that is fine, because it's a creation for the being or power who created you. The layout can be about anything. But put everything you have into it. Hold nothing back.

If you do not believe that you are the creation of a Creator, or that the world has a willful Creator, that's OK, too. Clearly, there are creative forces at work in the world. Make a layout for those forces (i.e. Nature or some other conception of Nature as Creator). Or make a layout for your ancestors, who are, in a sense, your creators.

As you create this gift, remember the source of the creative power your Creator has given you. Think about how your power is an extension of the power the Creator holds.

I am a person who believes in a Creator, and I believe this belief helps my creativity. I believe I am the creation of a Creator. This single belief has probably been the most powerful belief I have for unlocking creativity in me. This activity tends to resonate particularly well in people who believe in a willful Creator.

We are most like the Creator when we are creating. I believe it pleases the Creator that we create. Especially when we create for the Creator.

There is a story in the Bible about King David that captures this. David had the Ark of the Covenant brought to his city. When the Ark arrived, the Bible says David went down to the street and "danced before the Lord with all his might . . . leaping and dancing before the Lord." (KJV, 2 Samuel 6:14-16)

There are two aspects about the dance that David did for his Creator that I really like. First, the dancing was done "with all his might." Second, it says he was "leaping." This must have been quite a spontaneous and vigorous artistic act. It was so noteworthy, so passionate, it got recorded forever. A dance, recorded forever, because it was so remarkable.

I think that sometimes when we're blocked creatively, it helps to get back in touch with the Being (or forces, or ancestors) who created us. When we understand that we are the result of a creation, and that the power of creation is in us, it feels very natural to create.

Some people may not be comfortable with this exercise because of their own beliefs. If that is your case, try to adapt this exercise for your belief system.

Miriam's Birthday plus Mother's Day

Challenge 2

I finished my layout for the 2nd challenge for Project Scrap-Away last night. I could only use ONE piece of cardstock and my pictures. Everything else had to be "rubbish." That's right. I said, "rubbish." NOTHING else that is used in scrapbooking. Let me tell you, it was quite a bit of work to use recycled materials to create scrapbook supplies. This layout took me two days to think about and then around 2 days to complete. I'm really thrilled with how it turned out tho. I will post it as soon as they finish judging. Cross your fingers for me!

Unbelievable...

I made it through to the next round! Wooooooo-hooooooo! Here is what Rhonna (tee-hee, we're on a first name basis now) had to say about my layout:

"Such a moving layout! What a wonderful aunt you are!"

*giggle* It just doesn't get any better than this!

For the last challenge, we had to use an advertisement as inspiration. Here is the ad I used:














And here is my layout. This is our nephew, Albert. He was sixteen in these pictures taken last Thanksgiving.

NERVOUS!

I had to rush to finish my layout on time for Project Scrap-away after the holiday weekend. I was not completely happy with it, so I am just *hoping* it is good enough. Knowing me I could have happily spent another two hours on it on top of the six I already spent.

To make me even more nervous, I just found out that Rhonna Farrer and Theresa Collins are going to be JUDGING! I am completely freaking out that they will even see my work. It's a good thing that I didn't know that earlier, I probably would not have entered. *aaaahhhh!*

No WAY!

Just on a whim, I entered a Scrap-n-Crop Contest. They were only going to pick 15 entries from tons around the world. And I got in!!! I can not believe it.

Here is the layout I submitted:

Not Meant to Be.

Well, I did not make the final cut at SD4U. I did meet some neat ladies though. I felt very welcome there. I'm not going to enter any more contests until school is over. These are the layouts I submitted for the challenge.












Also, we had a fantastic Mother's Day/Miriam's 6th Birthday celebration yesterday. Be watching for those pictures.

Happy Mother's Day all you wonderful Mommies!!!

On to Round 4!

I'm in the top 10! I am just incredibly honored and pleased. It's a good day...

The top two are my submissions for the last round at SD4U. Below them are a couple more that I did on National Scrapbook Day (5/3.)