I’ve been homeschooling Parker these past couple of weeks.  It’s been interesting for sure.

A lot easier than I thought it would be but a lot more time consuming too.

These photos of Parker were taken while we were in California, he saved up some money to purchase the cap guns he had seen on our previous visit.

An elephant never forgets.

Parker never forgets.

Never forgetting is a common trait for Autistic children, Parker is no acception. He has an amazing ability to remember every word, sound, date and object that he is interested in. It sure comes in handy with school work, he’s absolutely brilliant! And I’m not just saying that because I’m his mom (wink).

I wanted to share my excitement about a recent publication in Christmas 365:

I created this Christmas banner over a year ago for the Jan  2010 CHA.

It was fun to pick the magazine up off the rack and open right up to the two page spread.

The magazine included directions too, pretty neat.

The banner itself was REALLY long. Here’s a couple of photos that I took awhile back:

I had sewn circles together using my sewing machine and then sewn the circles to the ribbon & banner.

Pretty simple, really.

The snow has finally started melting here in Idaho…cross your fingers that it lasts!

Have a fabulous day!

xoxo, Christie

Christmas Season has officially begun!  I’m so excited!

I have so many fun things planned for my family this year, I must apologize ahead of time for my lack of blogging.

I’ll be stopping in here and there…checking up and your blogs and showing you what I’ve been working on too.

To be honest, most of my projects I can’t share yet because they’re Christmas gifts.

Here is something I’m happy to share with you now…

A little sneak peek at a two-page snowflake layout that I have created for

Paradise Scrapbook Boutique

Class will be held on December 18th.

Off to spend the evening making our home feel festive!

xoxo, Christie

Welcome to the first day of the Spellbinders™ Paper Arts Holiday Hoppin’ Blog Hop!

Spellbinders, along with Graphic 45 are showcasing their newest products just in time for your Holiday crafting and gift giving.  Lots of creative ideas are in store, as well as prizes galore!  Each participating company has generously donated towards the prize package listed on the Spellbinders Blog.  A total of two identical prize packages (valued at over $500), one for each day, November 18 and 19 will be given away!

To enter, simply leave a comment on one or more of the blogs linked below to be eligible to win!  The more blogs you comment on, the greater your chance winning (one comment per blog please)! Comments in the first 48 hours of the post are eligible.  One commenter each day will be randomly selected as the winner.  Winners will be announced on November 22, on the Spellbinders Blog!

Simply leave a comment on my blog to be eligible to win the Spellbinders Holiday Hoppin’ Prize Package!

Be sure to see all of tomorrow’s Holiday Hoppin’ blogs for inspiring projects and another chance to win!

Today I am using Spellbinders S4-292 Beaded Circles die template and Graphic 45 Christmas Past to create this Layout:

I also created this mini “Joy” Banner:

For more fabulous inspiration and additional chances to win, visit the following blog links:

Latisha Yoast

Judy Hayes

Kazan Clark

Ashley Cannon Newell

Holly Simoni

Debbie Olson

Heidi Blankenship

Sherry Cheever

Linda Duke

Laurie Schmidlin

Cheryl Marie Walker

Jill Jacobsen

Jennifer Priest

Christina Klauer

Jodi Sanford

Leslie Miller

Mimi Leinbach

Robyn O’Crowley

Sharon Harnist

Liz Hicks

Sarah Hamer

Wendy Sue Anderson

Anary Baumgarth

Jenifer Dove

Gina Krupsky

Winner’s names will be published on the Spellbinders Blog on November 22, and they will have 48 hours to reply to Spellbinders to claim the prizes. Good Luck!

My talented friend, Courtney recently moved from Idaho to Washington (miss that girl).  She’s fitting right in there (like I knew she would).  Courtney has already rented booths at two different craft fairs.

Courtney asked me if I would like to send her  some of my creations and she would try to sell them. I had been holding on to some items for quite awhile and was excited at the opportunity to sell them.

My little Graphic 45 “Cheer” mini garland was one of the items that sold. So fun!

I better start whipping out some more creations…the next craft fair is only a couple weeks away.

__________________________

Have a fabulous Monday!

xoxo, Christie

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It’s not quite Christmas yet…we’re barely even getting ready for Halloween but I received my Graphic 45 Design Team package yesterday and it felt like Christmas.

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I love the Graphic 45 Christmas Past line, it so timeless – just love the vintage feel of it.

I played with my Shimmerz Paintz a bit too.

The Shimmerz Blingz created a beautiful border around the “Merry Christmas” title.

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I pulled out my sewing machine too (love to combine sewing with scrapbooking) – so fun!

I played with Shimmerz again on the “Christmas Joy is in my Heart” card. I used the color, Angel Wings. I spread it on the Angel’s wings (and the title) – a bit fitting don’t you think?

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Here’s a closer look at the Angel’s Wings:

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And the cute little peppermint candy charms. I found them HERE.

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Thanks so much for stopping by.

I hope that you’re having a blessed week.

xoxo, Christie

I’ve posted this little mini garland before but I only had one blurry photo.

I changed the garland up a little and took additional photos of the details.  The “Cheer” garland is pretty tiny but the new Christmas Past Line from Graphic 45 has a lot of little details that were perfect for this project.

Some close-ups:

I’m off to work.  I have a busy weekend, I don’t usually work Saturdays but due to a short staff issue…well…that leaves me.

This weekend I’m also preparing for Izabelle’s 9th Birthday.  I can’t believe that my baby is almost nine years old!  Crazy!

Have a wonderful weekend!

I created this layout for the Graphic 45 Blog.  It is posted there today.

I still haven’t strung this garland together but I wanted to get the photos up while I could still title the post “Christmas in July”.

So, you can kind of imagine how it will look strung together, right?

I used more of the new Christmas Past line by, Graphic 45.

Here are the photos a little larger:

This concludes my “Christmas in July” posts, however, I can not promise: “No more Christmas Projects way before Christmas.”

Ha ha.

Instead, I promise:  A lot more Christmas projects to come….way. before. Christmas.

I do have to prepare myself for the Idaho “Winter Weather” after all.

Since we’re in the middle of CHA Summer, it’s finally OK to share some of my new G45 Projects.

I used the new Christmas Past line to create this little garland.  My camera battery ran out and I had to use my Mom’s camera.  Please forgive the blurry photo.

When I get this garland back, I’ll be sure to take some close up photos and post the little details.

There’s a couple more days in July and I have more Christmas Past projects to share…check back soon for more Christmas in July – Graphic 45 style.