Back on December 31st I participated (off & on) in a craft World Wide New Year’s Eve 2012 Streamathon. The idea for this crafting streamathon was the brainchild of a few PITA Babes who get together online at the Paper Phenomenon web site . . . The co-ordinators for this event were Ozegran (Australia), Art Journey (UK-Europe), MusicScrp (Canada) and Mitzi (USA). . . it started at 11:30pm (Australian time) with Jen (Ozegram) teaching a 2013 monthly pocket planner and ended with Joycee (the Frugal Eclectic) in the US . . . during the 24 hour period various crafty people shared with us some wonderful techniques, held quizes on various crafty happenings around the world and held drawings for some wonderful prizes! The Queen even made an appearance and danced the “Gangnam” on the Art Journey (Lily’s) Ustream!!!! Well you guessed, it I was one of the lucky winners of a prize during the time that Nicky (Inky Minxy-The Altered Zone) was streaming from England . . . Nicky was teaching how to do hand printing without a press by using a product called “Gelli Plate” and giving away four pendants she had made as prizes . . . here is a picture of what I won . . .

Nicky not only sent me (at her own expense) the beautiful pendant, but she included a ATC she made from one of the printings she had demonstrated!!!!! Even if I had not won a prize the Streamathon was a blast and I look forward to seeing it next year. If you are interested in seeing what it was about here is the link to recorded programs on Jen’s blog . . . Well, that’s all for now . . . thanks for stopping by and until next time . . . Hugs & Kisses . . . LindaB

Hi everyone . . . it looks like at last my dear hubby and I are finally done with our colds/coughs – YAY!!!! . . . as promised in my last post I said that I would be posting pictures of some of the projects that I made in December . . . sooooooo get a drink and some munchies as this is going to be a long post I think – LOL . . . let’s begin with the items I made from my local scrapbook store, PSB, annual Christmas workshop. Kits were created by Karen, Deb, Kathy, Tracy and Christie . . .

A giant bottle cap ornament.

My granddaughter, Kyra, and I made these hot chocolate tubes as gifts for her teacher & the teacher aides.

A matted Santa drawing, taken from a calendar.

A JOY banner. During the month of December my LSS also hosted it’s annual Christmas crop and ornament exchange. Here is the lovely shabby chic tin ornament I received that evening . . .

I also made that evening a mini 2013 desk calendar and a paper bag purse (I made more of the purses at home as they are great for putting gift cards in or candy or any kind of treat). I plan on posting (at a later date) a little tutorial on how to make these very easy gift purses.

Okay, only a couple of more pictures to go . . . During this busy month I also managed to take a couple of classes . . . the first class was held at PSB where I made these lovely Christmas Spool Lollies that were created by the talented Char Cundy . . .

The second class was held at a new scrapbook store in town, Chico Scrapbook. I made 5 christmas tags while using some Tim Holtz products and learning a few of his techniques . . .

Oh, I almost forgot . . . I also attended a crop at PSB on the very last Saturday of the year 2012 and I did this layout (pictures will be added one of these days, years _ LOL) . . .

Well that’s it for this posting. I don’t know about you but I am exhausted! So thanks for stopping by and visiting . . . until later . . . hugs & kisses . . . LindaB

A belated HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone! It’s been a while since I have posted . . . husband and I have been passing a cold/cough back & forth and it apparently my turn again. As soon as I feel better I will be posting pics of some of the items I made during December. Soooooooooo, until next time – take your vitamins, drink lots of juice and get plenty of rest . . . Hugs & Kisses . . . LindaB

Today has been a very special day because . . . my hubby and I went to visit a very dear and special friend in our lives at Mercy San Juan Medical Center in Carmichael (between Roseville & Sacramento). Steven was at his doctor’s last week for a follow-up appointment regarding his back surgery (he had the first of three of these operations on his back three weeks ago at UCSF)when during a routine stress test he began to have a heart attack . . . well he ended up having a triple by-pass on Friday!!!! He is out of ICU and expects to be going home on Monday. I marvel at what modern medicine can do now and can’t wait to see what the future of medicine will be like . . . We are sooooooooo happy and feel very blessed that Steven will continue to be a part of our lives . . . Here is a picture of Steven with his new toy (oh by the way-Steven is a Catholic Priest) . . .

I volunteered to drive us home (hehehe-you know I had plans) and after I took hubby to a nice restaurant in Roseville for a late lunch, we then proceeded to the Michael’s Superstore and the JoAnn’s Superstore in Roseville. . . I don’t know if it was because I still had to drive us home in the rain or because hubby was waiting in the car for me but I ended up only spending $2.00 on one little item. This is unheard of for me – I usually end up spending more than I planned or need (LOL) . . . Well, that’s all for today . . . thanks for stopping by and until later . . . Hugs & Kisses . . . LindaB

Today is special because . . . we set up our Christmas tree . . .

The hubby and I decided this year not to set up our big tree, as it means doing MAJOR furniture rearranging in the living room! . . . soooooooo this year we are doing a table top Christmas tree. We were able to use the top and middle section of our pre-lite regular artificial tree and during the next week I will be adding our favorite decorations . . . hmmmmmmmm I wonder if I will be able to control myself and NOT put up every single ornament I own (hahaha) . . . I really love that special feeling you get when you sit in a dark room that is only lite by the lights on a Christmas tree . . . Well, that’s all for now . . . thanks for stopping by and until next time . . . Hug & Kisses . . . LindaB

Today is special because . . . my granddaughter came for a visit and we made “Christmas Sugar Cookies.”

While the cookies were cooling Kyra decided to circle what she wanted from her favorite christmas catalog . . .

Kyra circled just about everything, including a few “boy only” toys (LOL). It was now time to color some of the frosting and gather the colored sugar sprinkles for the sugar cookies . . .

Don’t they look YUMMY! . . . Well, that’s all for now . . . thanks for stopping by and until next time . . . hugs & kisses . . . LindaB

Hi Everyone . . . I can’t believe that it is already December and that Christmas is just around the corner. Where, oh where does all the time go? It seems the older I get the faster time moves, LOL! Anyhoooooo, I thought that I would try to post on this blog everyday this month with what is going on in and around my life to make each day special . . . well I hate to admit it but I am already 2 days behind (LOL – story of my life) . . . Sooooooo here are a couple of pictures about events that happened on December 1 . . .

Hung the “Welcoming Christmas Wreath” on the front door. And yes my front door is green (the side facing the street, the side facing the inside is red) . . . my husband brought into the house all the boxes (13 big plastic bins) from the shed and the first thing that always goes up is the wreath on the door! I didn’t have time to start decorating the inside of my home because I had to get ready for and attend the wedding of Rachiel and Brandon . . .

It was a wonderful wedding and Rachiel was a beautiful bride (Brandon looked pretty handsome also) . . . Well that’s all for now . . . thanks for stopping by and until next time . . . Hugs & Kisses . . . LindaB

Well, we have finally had a rainy Saturday here in northern California. I don’t mean one of those rains with just a few sprinkles here and there, you know the kind of rain that leaves just enough drops on your car to let you know that it’s dirty and needs a good wash and wax (LOL). . . no, this was the kind of rain that made you turn your windshield wipers on high and drive cautiously on the highway . . . Now, I know you are wondering what could be happening to make me go out in this down pour instead of making a big pot of soup, curling up with a hot cup of tea and watching trashy Saturday movies on television while hubby was doing his thing in the garage . . . well I will tell you . . . it was the Paradise Scrapbook Boutique Annual Gift Workshop . . . I made a number of purchases (thank you again hubby for the great birthday gift certificate)and spent this windy, wet day among friends, old & new . . . at the end of 6 hours (LOL-I am finding it hard to multi-task anymore – love to eat & visit while I work) I had completed a beautiful kit created by PSB owner, Karen . . . it is a Shadow Box Monthly Calendar . . .

This shadow box was made using the 7 Gypsies Artist Printers Tray and Graphic45 Place in Time paper collection. I did make only 1 change to the Karen’s original design so far, I moved the printers tray handle from the tray top to the tray side . . . I have only one other change in mind and that is to have my dear hubby make a glass frame door . . . I can’t wait to start the other projects, but they will have to be set aside until after Thanksgiving as I have a house to clean and lots and lots of cooking to do . . . soooooooo thanks for stopping by and until next time . . . Hugs & Kisses . . . LindaB

I spent the past weekend celebrating my birthday with my scrappy friend, Debby McC . . . we had a “scrappy weekend getaway” and it was a total blast!!!! I need to tell you right now that this post has a recurring theme, which is, SCRAPING, EATING, SHOPPING – LOL! It started Friday afternoon when Debby picked me up – I wish I had taken a picture of the inside of her car – we had it packed to near overflowing (left a little room for goodies we knew we were going to bring home) . . . we were on our way south to attend the annual Scrapbook Expo held in Sacramento, CA, but first we had to stop at Ellis’s in Marysville to see what new goodies they had in scrapbooking and to eat lunch, oh and shop of course! Then it was off to Roseville to check into our hotel & unload the car. We did some shopping at Green Tangerines, went to the mall (brought a really cute top at Macy’s) and went out to dinner at Mimi’s. By the time we got back to our room we were to exhausted to scrap (I know, unheard of, but it does happen when you get older-LOL). Saturday we were up bright & early to get into Sacramento to the Scrapbook Expo . . . we had pre-registered so our sign-in time was very short and we got to go to the exhibitors hall and do some early shopping . . . Debby went to her class which began at 10am and I just kept on shopping . . . I did take time out to make the following “Make & Take” layout from the Mon Ami Gabby booth . . .

When I saw the sample for this layout I knew exactly what picture I was going to use . . . this is my granddaughter, Kyra, when she was 4 years old warming up for her very first ballet performance! . . . she loves to dance! Before you knew it, it was time for me to go to the class I signed up for – “Wood & Metal Embossed Mirror” . . . here is a picture of the finished project I completed after I got home (as always, I did make a few changes to the original design-LOL) . . .

After my class I met up with Debby and a bunch of our scrappy friends from up north, did more shopping, went to dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory, then drove back to Roseville where we did more shopping, picked up dessert from The Cheesecake Factory & drinks from Bev More then back to our room to party hardy!!!! On Sunday I was a little slower in getting out of bed (time change you know-the drinking had nothing to do with it – LOL) but I made it in time for the “free” breakfast. Then it was pack everything, load the car up, head out to do more shopping and drive home broke, but with a fully overloaded car of goodies. As I said it was a FUN, FUN, FUN weekend and I will share with you in future blogs some of the creations I make from my purchases! Looking forward to next year already!!! Well, that’s all for now . . . thanks for stopping by . . . Hugs & Kisses . . . LindaB