Summer is definitely in  full swing, baby!

I am so sorry that my blog has been neglected.

It seems that the only time I have to browse blogs and

check email is after midnight.

The photo above is a peek at one of my TransAtlantique projects for Graphic 45.

I’ve finished a few additional projects (mostly Girls Paperie)

I simply need to find the time during my waking hours to photograph them.

Soon.

I promise.

__________________________

Life it full of:

Time with my kids

working

cleaning

Helping my Mother

laundry

My sweet husband

Lemonade

The occasional good book.

And…

just for fun

Here’s a little photo of my friend Courtney’s Puppy, Bandit:

He fell asleep on my couch.

Life is good.

Hello my fine feathered friends!

The past few days have been pretty productive, I have some projects to share…but alas, I must wait until they have been posted on the Graphic 45 blog before I can share them here.

Do not fret my dears, I have some additional irons in the fire that are close to completion. So, hang tight for a couple of days…

…I promise it will be worth the wait!

xoxo, Christie

OK, I’m bursting at the seams with excitement!  Just in case you haven’t heard yet, I been selected to be part of the 2010 Graphic 45 Design Team!  I’m so happy to be able to continue designing for Graphic 45, it’s such an amazing company to work for.

The amazingly talented women on the 2009 Design Team are fabulous. Each one of the women I worked with inspired me and I will miss working with them dearly.

I’ve been visiting all the 2010 member blogs and I am so excited to work with the 2010 gals too. What an honor to be able to work with such talented ladies (past and present).

Speaking of Graphic 45, my Graphic 45 Beach Album kits are now available at The Scrappy Gourmet.

The Graphic 45 Beach Album is featured on the Scrappy Gourmet website for the whole month of April. How fun is that?  It makes me feel special (and I’m totally not).

Another little ditty I want to share…

My sweet friend Courtney, the one I posted about HERE, came by last night to teach me how to make a purse.  Courtney promised to help me and she definitely made good on her promise.  This darling girl toted her sewing machine AND her surger to my house and stayed for FOUR HOURS.  She was so patient and made me feel like I was doing a good job.  Gosh, I’m lucky to have Courtney as a friend.

Here’s Courtney at her machine (helping me…patiently):

And here are some photos of the purse we made together:

I love it!  It was so much fun to make. I will definitely be purchasing a sewing machine. Very. Soon.

Here’s a link to Courtney’s Sewing Blog:

Watch Me Sew

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

xoxo, Christie

Wow.  I turned around and it’s Wednesday night. Almost Thursday. Awesome.

Was it just Monday morning a couple hours ago?

Whew!  What a busy week!

Here’s something fun I created with the Graphic 45 Le Romantique Line:

A little wedding card.

I blanket stitched around the edges of the paper.

I love blanket stitches.

I love sparkle.

I love pearls.

I love lamp.

I know that last one might have been over your head but I like to quote movies now and again.

Here’s a view of the bottom right corner:

And what is a bottom right corner photo without a bottom left corner photo?

I’m not sure either…but here is the bottom left photo anyway:

Here is the little envelope I made for the Best Wishes Card:

Fancy-schmancy!

Or not.

I’m feeling kind of punchy…haven’t slept much in that past few days.

Fancy-schmancy?  What was that?

Must be the 70 invitations that I made for a church dinner…or the 70 favors I made for the church dinner?  Maybe it was the poster the the Chamber of Commerce dinner/auction tomorrow night?  Nah, maybe it was the recipe box I made for a sweet Etsy customer?

Or maybe…

It’s the fact that I did all of the above while desperately trying to keep my house clean so we can show it to potential buyers…In addition to doing laundry, going to work, meal planning, homework helping and feeding my family?

Or maybe it’s the fact that I haven’t made it to the gym in a week and could really use the calorie burn and extra energy about now.

Whatever the reason.  Sorry for the erratic behav…

…er, I mean….yes.  Or no. I mean…I’m with crazy?

I LOVE this new book, “Delight in the Details”:

Lisa Pace totally inspires me…enough to get out my paint and sandpaper! If you’re a scrapbooker who loves details – go buy this book now!

Thank you Karen! I love it!

Happy New Year!

Don’t you just love to celebrate the New Year to come?  We get to realize all of our accomplishments and memories from the year past, then say goodbye to mistakes we’ve made and start afresh!

A new year, a new beginning…filled with hope.

I have lots of NEW projects in the making.  I can’t wait to share my new Graphic 45 projects created with their new paper.  They’ve been showing sneak peeks of the new lines on their BLOG.

I’ve been preparing for CHA (The Craft and Hobby Association Trade Show). I’ll be attending with the gals from Paradise Scrapbook Boutique and my Mom (I’m looking forward to some fun Mom and me time).  Paradise Scrapbook Boutique is the creative blood that flows through my veins.  Without the women of PSB my creativity would run dry. I’m totally serious.  Thanks ladies – you know I love you!

During this new year I will also be creating for an online company called, “The Scrappy Gourmet”.  I’m excited to be joining their design team!  So keep your eyes peeled on their website for some upcoming kits!

Here’s to a happy and healthy 2010!

Love, Christie

My little sister Emilee and I drove four and a half hours to Salt Lake City.  We were so excited at the opportunity to meet Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman!  Ree was in Salt Lake for her Cookbook Signing.

The book signing was scheduled to start at 7:00pm in Salt Lake City. Emilee and I arrived at about 4:30pm.  The plan was to locate The King’s English Bookstore and then do some shopping while we waited.  Well…when we arrived there was already a line outside!  Emilee and I hopped right in line too.

Two and a half hours later we filed into the Art Gallery (located right next door the The King’s English).  I couldn’t believe how many people were there!

Emilee and I took a self-portrait while we waited for Ree to arrive:

Here’s a photo from The Pioneer Woman’s Blog.  And guess what?  I’m in the photo!  I inserted a huge arrow (just in case you were having trouble locating me).

And here’s the photo I took (another huge arrow – which seems silly now because the photo is obviously Ree):

Ree’s sister-in-law, Missy is on the far left-hand side.

It was a blast to meet Ree, she was EXACTLY like she is on her blog.  She was adorable, funny and full of life…not to mention gorgeous!

I turned out to be one of those weird fans that made her a gift.

Before I left Idaho and drove to Utah, I put together a mini album for Ree.  It’s strange…but…after reading The Pioneer Woman blog for two years, I kind of feel like a know Ree a little.  Like we’re friends.  Kinda.

Anyway, here’s the book I made:

Ree takes the most beautiful photographs…I though she might like a little something to showcase them.

A peek inside:

Was it silly of me to hand her this book?  I sure hope she likes it.

I’ll share some more photos after I get a chance to edit them.  I’m still having trouble photographing my projects without my fancy camera.

…….Next up…..I promise I’ll share the Making Memories Christmas Album I’ve created!

Emilee’s Wedding Plans are still in full swing.

I helped Em with her hair for her engagement photos.  You can’t really see her pretty braid in this photo but it is present in other photos. I’ll share them when I can. Promise.

I helped design some pretty tags that will be placed on the apothecary jars at her reception.  I dropped the sample off at my Mom’s before I took a photo…oops.

I filled out the invitations for Emilee’s shower.  I wish that I would’ve had time to create some home-made invitations (she’s totally worth it) but I ran out of time.

While I was searching for a hair-tie for my daughter today, I found one of my pretty rhinestone hair clips.  I’d completely forgotten about it.  The clip kind of looks like a snow flake (which goes along with Emilee’s snow themed wedding).  I tried to snap some photos of the clip in my hair…it proved to be harder than I expected.

I tried.

Tomorrow I get to pick up my camera lens.  The lens is finally repaired.  I’m so excited – I can take proper photos again!

I have a couple projects to share (a Graphic 45 layout and a Christmas Mini album) but I think I’ll wait until I pick up my camera lens tomorrow. Good idea, right?

And why is it so obvious?

This is why:

Frozen grass.

Being new to Idaho we didn’t think to turn off the sprinklers.  My kids call this phenomenon (OK it’s not really a phenomenon): Grass-sickles.

I’m sure our dog, Marely thought we were a bit crazy too…especially when I let him out to do his morning business. He was sliding around the back patio trying to make it to the grassy area.  I soon discovered that Marley does not like frozen grass.  Poor thing.

I later checked my phone messages. On the way to work, my Dad had phoned to inform us that a sprinkler had broken in front of our house (which is on a hill) and there was frozen water all the way down the block.  He continued to comment (while laughing), saying that cars were sliding around on the ice and that Dan and I should probably turn off our sprinklers. Good advice.

Besides the fact that I have yet to change my license plate from California to Idaho…the grass-sickles are a dead giveaway:

We’re from California.

Sooner or later we’ll catch on.

I was cleaning up my craft room this evening and discovered that I made a big boo boo on the Back to School layout I posted yesterday.

Embarrassing but true, I am only human.

The little calendar beside the photo of my children says, “September” and they actually started school in August.

Whoops.

At least the correct date is on the “Date” tag.  I’ll just be moving that up a bit to cover the “September”.

I’m not feeling clever right now.

Not. clever. at. all.