And Cue Holiday Music

When I was a child, November was for Thanksgiving. We used to decorate for it - Mom had beautiful ceramic decorations of pilgrims and cornocopias that she set about the house. Food preparation began well in advance (Mom would pre-roll the dough for her famous croissants and store them in the freezer). At school we cut out the shape of our hands to make paper turkeys and studied the contents of the first meal the Pilgrims shared with the American Indians (we didn't say Native Americans back then, although I say it now). Christmas was only a distant idea.

Now mainstream retail and media treats November as the pre-cursor to Christmas, preparing everyone for Christmas shopping, baking and decorating just as soon as the lights go off on Halloween. I'm as guilty as anyone, I guess, as I buy into the Black Friday hype, but I do still enjoy the idea and celebration of Thanksgiving.

This year I'm participating in the unofficial 30 Days of Thanks challenge that is circulating around Facebook. Everyday I post something I'm thankful for - some days it's super serious and other days it's lighter fare, but I think it's important to remember to be grateful for everything we have when there are so many that have so little. Today when I walked out the door to what we consider arctic air (it was supposedly 51, but I'm not buying it), I'm thankful that Florida is not as chilly as Canada.

I'm thankful for so many things.

I'm thankful for my faith (my niece Tabatha, kit used is Elfin Magic by Katie Pertiet)

I'm thankful for my husband (John and our cruise waiter a few years ago, kit used is Grapevine by DigiZines by Teri)

I'm thankful for family (Mom and Connor, kit used is Give Thanks by DigiZines by Teri)

I'm thankful for Disney (me with Bianca and Libby, kit used is Best Day EVER plus coordinating alpha by Sweet Spot Designs)

And I'm thankful for my country, the good old USA (me as a child, kit used is All American by GreenEyedLady Designs)

Why are you thankful?

A Whole Lotta Scrappin' Going On

For February I had a layout goal of 30 layouts. That's a lofty goal for the shortest month of the year, even more unrealistic when you factor in 5 birthday parties. Suffice it to say, I didn't quite make it. But I did respectable in any event - 25 layouts, 1 card and 1 gift bag. I'm happy with what I accomplished.

What helped (a lot) was the ACOT Crop held over the last weekend of February. It happened to be my least busy weekend of the month, so for a change perfect timing. The most exciting part of the crop was that I did a lot of paper scrapping, something I don't take as much time for these days since digi is faster and less messy. I missed my paper, and I had lots of fun playing with it. Here are a few of my favorite layouts from the weekend:

A Royal Reception (Libby)


Faces of Our Past


Work in Progress


A Means to an End (Bianca)


Even Mom got into the action, I was proud of her for finishing 2 layouts and a gift bag. Here's a really cool one she did where she made the book embellishment freestyle:


Definitely a creative weekend at our house, and a fun one too.