Letters to Santa

Erin's letter to Santa was written this past weekend and has been sent off to the North Pole today. Last year she asked for a very hard to find item and poor Santa and Santa's helpers spent a week sewing a green, square micro bead stuffed pillow so she would not be disappointed. This year we are happy to report that the items asked for in her letter are already in the inventory of Santa's Workshop! :)

Every year I like to print out festive stationery on which Erin can write her letter. I have greeting card software that has cute designs but I forgot that when we set up the new computer last year, I did not load the software back on. So, rather than dig out the CD, I created my own design and even put some lines on it to make it easier for her. I think it turned out pretty cute. I think it would even work for a holiday newsletter (of course the chances of me actually sitting down to write one are slim. As you can see I have a hard time even updating this blog!)

So, in the spirit of the season, I am offering it as a free download for you. I converted my design into a PDF that can be printed for letters to Santa or your holiday newsletter. I have included in the zip file a 8.5"x 11" JPEG version as well. Each file type (PDF and JPEG) comes in a lined and unlined version. Enjoy!



Click here to download the zip file containing the PDF and JPEG files.

Halloween Cards

There hasn't been much time for scrapping or designing over the past month. Lots of "life" stuff going on as well as the continuing effort to get used to our new school/activities schedule. But I did find a few moments last week to create a few Halloween cards using Spook-tacular tags. I actually printed the tags using the "credit card" sizing option from my printer. They turned out to be the perfect size for a 4.25 inch x5.5inch card.

Hard to believe that it is November already. Less than 2 months until Christmas - eek! So much to do and so little time. Guess I better get going on my Holiday crafting and Christmas shopping. Is it too early to start playing Christmas Carols? ;)

Hello October!

Wow! September went by so fast it seems like a blur. School starting, after school activities, volunteering, homework, where does the time go? I am hoping that we have now settled into our schedules and that October will feel much less manic. We'll see...

The fall weather is here, probably to stay. I woke up this morning and it was 38 degrees out. Brrrr! Down comforters are on the beds and we have broken out the fleece jackets and pajamas. Hopefully I won't feel like I need to turn on the heat in the house for a few more weeks now. It just seems too early.



I have a new challenge and a new freebie up at A Peek into Yesterday. I put together a kit of Halloween themed tags to get in the mood. Tags can be so versatile when you are scrapping. Use them for journaling, photo mats, decorative accents, cards, mini books, whatever. The great thing about digital tags is that you never run out of them! So, head on over to Peek and get my tags to play with. Be sure to post what you create in the gallery to be entered to win a gift certificate. I can't wait to see what you create!

Playing Catch Up!

Wow! It has taken me a few weeks to adjust to school starting up and the additional tasks added to my daily to do list. And here I mistakenly thought that Erin going back to school would give me all this new found "me time!" What was I thinking?

Erin is loving school and her new teacher. I think she is a good match for Erin's personality. Second grade is a bit more work that first grade as Erin has been finding out. They have homework every day. They are also expected to read every day and track it on a reading log to be turned in every week. I think we are starting to get into a groove and figuring out how to fit it all in while still having a chance to get some play time/down time into the schedule. It is especially hard on days when she has piano lessons or gymnastics, but we are muddling through.




Here is Erin posing for the obligatory first day of school pictures with Paul and I:) These very closely resemble the photos we took last year - it is cool to see how much she has grown in a year and how much more confident she has become!




Labor Day coming late this year felt very different. Instead of it being the last hurrah of summer, it felt more like the beginning of fall. We took a trip into Boston on Sunday to walk around the Boston waterfront. It is a favorite place to go. It was a beautiful day. It holds a special place in my heart because Paul and I met when we were both working for the same company that had office space in tone of the high rises over looking the harbor. We spent a lot of time after work eating at the restaurants and hanging out at the pubs in the area. While many of the business have changed and the ugly green upper and lower deck bridges have been replaced by beautiful gardens and parks, it still brings back a lot of fun memories for me. I love pointing out the tall building we worked in and showing her where we first met.





I am still plodding my way through a fun digital scrapbook album project called Beautiful Evidence. Here are the next two pages: the first was to create a page about my favorite color and document it's presence in my world. The second was to document the things that I create. Of course it had to be about scrapbooking! :)

Well, on to the rest of my long to do list today. Got my school newsletter out already, so I think I need to work on a few domestic projects this morning. I am in the process of sewing some simple curtains for the bathroom to go with the new paint job in there. Sewing is so NOT something I am good at. Wish me luck!

Happy Labor Day!

What a wonderful weekend weather-wise. Feels like fall has arrived. This is my favorite kind of weather so I hope it sticks around! Erin started school last week and I think she is really happy to be back with her friends. Adjusting to the busy life of a 2nd grader may be a bit of a challenge, though. I have heard that she will most likely have a small amount of homework each night - something she is not used to. Couple that with the two nights she has other activities and I am anticipating a very tired (and possibly cranky) girl at the end of each day. Hopefully we will all survive no worse for the wear lol!

With school starting up and the holiday weekend I haven't had much time for crafting. I am hoping to get a chance to play next week. I have been taking lots of photos so finding a subject shouldn't be a problem! I also have the remaining pages of my Beautiful Evidence album to finish up as well. Hopefully next week will afford me some much needed scrappy time.

In the meantime, let me tell you about a a new online publishing company that is launching their site this week called Ella Publishing. A few of the ladies who worked on Simple Scrapbooks magazine started up this new venture after the print magazine closed. It looks like an interesting way to deliver scrapbooking content. They are having a blog hop today so check out their blog for the details.

New Digital Challenge and a Free Kit

Wow! It i s September already? Where did the summer go? We start school later this week and Erin couldn't be more excited. I am not sure if it is the prospect of having a new teacher and learning new things or just that she will be back with all her friends that has her so excited. I think I will just choose to believe it is the former ;)

So, I have a new digital scrapbooking kit for you at A Peek into Yesterday. I wanted to use a color palette that would work for both boys and girls. Even though I tend to like more "girly" colors, I am really liking this color palette. I am hosting another challenge over at Peek and giving away this kit for free for the month of September. Feel free to head on over to the forums to check out the challenge and how to get the kit . I have also created a set of solid color digital papers that coordinate with my free kit as well.





Well off to have a second cup of coffee and get my "to do" list in order for the day. Have a great day!

More from my Beautiful Evidence Album

I am really enjoying the Beautiful Evidence Album class I am taking over at jessicasprague.com. So far it has been an easy one to keep up with, mostly because the design of the pages is already done. All I have to do is find the right photos and compose the journaling. I guess it is sort of like cheating, lol, but then again this album is not really about my own personal creative style but more about the story and the details I want to document. So, I am giving myself permission not to feel guilty about the fact that I did not personally design every page.

The "Me" page was a particularly hard page, mostly because I needed a current photo of myself for it. Since I am behind the camera most of the time, photos of just me are far and few between. So, I had Erin do a little photo shoot of me to try and get a good close up of me (which incidentally also hides the few extra pounds I am carrying around ) I think she did a great job! :) I desaturated the photo a bit because the bright pink shirt I was wearing didn't really go with the papers used on the page.

The Senses page was another fun one to do because I had to think of things that I love for each of the 5 senses. I chose my bolognese sauce for smell, the ocean for sight, dark chocolate cupcaakes for taste, Erin's laugh for sound and Erin's hugs for feel. Just a simple page but I think it really does capture some of the everyday things that are special to me.

This was our final week of summer vacation. Erin goes back to school next week. While I am looking forward to having some time to accomplish some things here at home I know I will miss having the quiet days without any particular schedule to keep. Our September calendar is already filling up with aftter school activities, volunteer responsibilities, meetings and birthday parties. I only have one child, I don't know how the moms with multiples get it all done. Guess I better rest up this weekend :)