26 Books in 2016 Reading Challenge

Happy Birthday today to my oldest Son :) You know your getting old when your oldest is getting closer to his 40s. He's got a few years yet, but....... But I did want to wish him a Happy Birthday before I started this post :)

The new list is up for 26 Books in 2016 Reading Challenge

I'm looking forward to trying this challenge again :) Even though I didn't complete the whole challenge last year, I did have fun and enjoyment reading again :) What made this challenge fun was I was READING again :) also finding a book to match up with the challenge. I was reading books I wouldn't normally read and I see the list for this year is gonna be just as fun. Per Erin  "Going into 2016 - even if you don't think 26 books is a manageable number for you to complete...or even if some of the prompts don't interest you - give it a go! Once you get started, you might surprise yourself! No amount of reading is ever a FAILURE in my book." Well said Erin :) So this year she has a check off list 

OK - HERE are 2016's prompts!! 

Now to decide on which one I want to read first ................

Will you give it a go?

Emily's 1st Birthday card for Funday Friday

Hi you all, It's been a busy week being the 1st week back to work after the holiday, very productive but busy just the same. I have started my goal process and so far the crafty goals are working well, now the personal goals not so well :) I think out of the few I had for the week I had only 1 checked off. So something to work on. Posting a bit late sorry about that, it's not that the card wasn't done (that's been done since Monday, so proud of myself on that part for that goal :) But I never considered adding blogging into my schedule :) Something to look at next week even if I spend on whole day doing it. So one week at a time it is working :)
Today is Funday Friday over at Jo's Scrap Shack the theme this week is Anything Goes and our sponsor is Bugaboo Stamps.
My card is one I made for my Great-granddaughter Emily's 1st birthday on the 19th. She loves elephants per her Mom's choice at the moment I'm thinking :) Jessica seems to like them too. It's been a fun year watching her grow up through the way of facebook and a 1st year album is in the works. But back to the card I made:

 I knew I had an Elephant cricut cut in my die cuts collection cause this was the die cut I made for the swaps the one month. So with that die cut in hand and my new counterfeit kit Brighter Year Ahead to work with I went looking for the papers to use for the card. I also seen this email from Mojo Monday for their current sketch and use that for inspiration for my card:

It had alot of fun elements and that big circle too (a challenge from the Scrappin N Chattin yahoo site was to use a circle on your card so this one was definitely calling me. I found this pink splattered with cream pattern paper in my kit for the backdrop of the card and I used my happy birthday cuddlebug folder to give it dimension. Also found this fun scrap of cupcake paper that was just perfect for the card and that circle, inked it up with Picked Raspberry distress ink also used that same ink for the sentiment on the card

I used the SU That's the Ticket stamp set with the ticket punch too. This stamp set has finally seen it's first ink on it. Yep I'm working those things in that have not been used :) Trying to emphasis on atleast a few each month. Same with the embossing folders I have so many of them but have yet to even give them a try. As you can see that is going to change this year. I grabbed that pink strip washi tape that was never opened and got that on the card too :) The 1 and the st are from 2 different alphas in my current kit.
The inside of the card:

I brought that same pink into the inside and the pink stripe washi tape. I found this scrap of foil patteren paper while looking in my Happy Birthday Theme paper drawer and found that it had the one pink candle so used my circle punch on that and added it to the card. The sentiment is a CTMH stamp and I used Spun Sugar distress ink for that. Well the 1st card of the month done :) This one was a fun one to do :) Have a great weekend.... get a bit crafty if you can

 So make sure to play along this week~

    Starts: Friday, Jan. 08 12:00AM

Ends:  Friday, Jan.  15  6:00PM

(Eastern time)

What do you need to do to enter?

Challenge Rules

1. Please post a direct link to your card/project post that includes your challenge,

using the linky tool below.

2. Be sure to include a link back to our challenge

3. THREE entries per person and you must post a separate blog post for each entry.

4. All entries must be NEW and created for the current challenge.

5. You may combine with other challenges as long as you link back to us in your post.

 * All entries that do not meet the challenge requirements

Will not be eligible for top 3 or random wins (optional from sponsors prizes)

Any random wins will only be mailed within the US and Canada only.

You have until Jan. 15th by 6:00PM (eastern) time to link up.

All winners will be announced during the week of Jan. 18th.

Have fun and we look forward to seeing what you create!

Dog Gone Cute, Project Life Gone Scrappy

Good Morning and welcome to my blog today I have a project I made for Sketches in Thyme Project Life Style. I come to figure out that Project Life cards aren't just for Project Life they make great cards for layouts too :) Today's card I hand made for the layout:

is from the sketch that Shawn Lahr's made this fabby sketch #9.....

Our weekly challenge this week over at Sketches in Thyme Project Life Style.
This card was made as a title card for this fun picture of our Grandson Tristan and our Granddog Nella. Which Tristan seems to like Nella's bed quite a bit.

When I seen Katherine post this picture on facebook I knew I wanted to scrap it :) aren't they so cute together. So for my layout I went in search for a sketch to use and found one over at Let's Get Sketchy:

This one was so cool to use and the splatters provided and excellent spot for the paw prints. So I used my current counterfeit kit Brighter Year Ahead and pulled some fun dog theme papers and stickers to add to the layout with some Christmas theme items from last month, too.
A few closeups of the layout:

 I used dylusions Melted Chocolate ink spray for the splatters of ink along with a sprinkling of paw prints along the layout

 The title card and the picture are both vertical orientation.

Thank you for stopping by today and seeing my view from my little corner of the world and I hope to see your creation with this sketch over at Sketches in Thyme Project Life Style real soon this month's prize is:

Join us this month and you could win this exclusive Live Your Day Picture my Life set! 

Links will be open until January 31, 2016. 

You got a chance to link up each week of the month for a chance at this fantastic prize.

My Jan 2016 Counterfeit Kit " Brighter Year Ahead"

Hi :) Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog has a new kit reveal for the new year and they went the Scarlet Lime planner society kit club for their inspiration this month. They say:  We are not expecting you to make a planner, but instead use the kits as inspiration to make your own kit...to create layouts, cards...whatever you wish!
This is my inspiration I chose their May kit:

 I looked at the kit, noted what I saw and used those notes to build my kit: Colors: pink, Navy blue, light blue, green and a mint green too, red, yellow and the blue pained wood grain for the backdrop. Patterns/motifs: cameras, typewriter, hearts, flowers, plus signs, polka dots on the sticker circles. Extras: Washi Tape with cameras and days, Roller stamp, tin pins, tag, envelopes, camera clips, tidbits, labels, project life cards. So with this in hand I went searching in my stash.
So my kit for the month is called the Brighter Year Ahead:

The Shimelle paper pad from American Crafts was perfect for this month's inspiration. (on the top row is all from the paper pad) The colors and the motifs were close to the theme of the patterns of the kit. So I used the cut up sheets (those are in the bottom row)  for my base of the kit to work with and grabbed 9 other paper pads that had similar colors and hardly used to get my papers from for my month of crafting. Since I'm not much of a planner girl, I went more to create a kit to scrap and make cards with. Keeping within 30 pages to work with (but to grab more if needed) for the month.
I belong to a group that does challenge layouts, that is automatically 15 pages for backgrounds needed, besides paper to enhance the layouts hence the 30 pieces of paper.
 I shopped my stash to come up with things needed to enhance the kit and my layouts.

 This is my bag of goodies from my stash

 Lots of stamps for cardmaking, a couple of punches I got a few years ago fro Christmas, sadly the packages have never been open the same with the roller stamp I got that last year for Christmas and still in the packaging. Ribbons, mists, washi, brads, tags, stickers, paperclips, enamel dots, border strips, old gel pens and old glitter glue. I picked out 3 6X6 paper pads to atleast crack open and one of he pads come with brad and other goodies.

I corraled the paper pads, stamps and alphas in this container

 A closer look at those punches and roller stamp

 A better picture of the embellishments

Everything put in a container and then added to the 31 bag as I clean up my space I can easily move this around and out of the way :) My Ink of choice this month will be my distress inks for all my stamping needs.

With sticking with my 2016 Word: To-Do
 My goal for this month is 15 layouts that aren't all related to Christmas, goal to make 13 cards, goal to do my December Daily 2015 (but those papers were chosen in November to be used). This works with my word of the year and with that of setting my monthly goals and breaking them down to smaller goals. It's gonna be a fun month of crafting and it all starts here with my January Counterfeit Kit made for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog.

Bird Watching for Lasting Memories

Hi you all :) Well today is back to work for me, tonight that is. The holiday has ended and nearly nothing off my list :) This happens from time to time. I'm actually looking forward to getting back into a routine again :) It seems to give me more time to craft, keeps me a bit grounded I guess. I was sure glad to be scrappin' again.
Today is the 1st Challenge for 2016 for Lasting Memories and this month's theme is New Beginnings and this week's challenge is:

 Show us what you do that's NEW.  Activity, sport, project, hobby, making a new friend...

 I choose hobby for my new thing for this layout. It was new 3 years ago and from there it has build up in many ways. Dave put up that bird feeder and the new hobby was born. I do enjoy watching the birds that come in to the feeders, yes now we are up to 4 bird feeders and 2 suet box holder feeders (the woodpecker type birds seem to enjoy this better). 

I chose my inspiration for the layout from Let's Scrap 1/1 sketch

 

It was a good sketch for the layout I had envisioned with all those photo spots. Lots of good inspiration from the DT team over there too :)

 The Left side of the layout has a cute picture (we sure do miss that dog :) of Jake watching the birds, see I wasn't the only one that liked to watch and now I have rubbed off onto the husband and he enjoys watching the birds too. The feather I received from a RAK from a girl over in the Scrappin N Chattin yahoo group and when I seen it I knew I had to add it to this type of layout. I got 3 pictures of a variety of birds in the feeder. Some cutouts from an old calendar I have that each page is scrapbook paper to use. I'm determined this year to get that paper used up.

The right side has 3 more little photos of different birds and on the larger photo I added a frame to focus in more on the feeder and the birds. I added that piece of odd ribbon to get it out of my stash and it made a nice shelf for the picture. The diecut I received in a swap years ago. Had fun with the banner too that was on the sketch.

 A close up of the journaling and of Jake :)

The other side's journaling to finish off the page. My first layout of 2016.

I used my current counterfeit kit  " Brighter Year Ahead" for this layout. I finished up gathering everything for it last night so I'll be doing that post tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by today and seeing what I'm up to in my little corner of the world, I look forward to see you creation from this challenge linked up at Lasting Memories

My Word for 2016 is and my Goals for 2016

Good Morning you all :) I hope you had a fantastic holiday season, now that the New Year has begun we start to think about the goals that we want to achieve in the new year. Another thing to think about is, if you do this kind of thing, is One Little Word® 2016 that Ali Edwards began years ago. Not fimiliar with the concept this is what she has written on her post about it this year:
"The premise is simple - choose a word to invite into your life for the coming year. You live with it. You let it speak to you. You might even follow where it leads. There are so many possibilities and no right or wrong way to approach the adventure. Sometimes words have come to me out of the blue and other years I've gone looking for what it was I most wanted to bring into my life."
I don't actually participate with her class but I have enjoyed coming up with a word each year and focusing on it each year. So my word for 2016 is To-Do
 

To-Do to keep a daily and monthly To-Do goals so I can stay on top of what I want to get done that particular month and get them checked off :) I can break the goal down to manageable parts and have something To-Do each day to get to that monthly goal

So now to decide the monthly goals :) I know this month is cleaning and decluttering my craftroom :) Now to decide the daily and monthly To-Do goals for it. A project to work on over the weekend so I can get started Monday :) Right now my To-Do goals are to get this week's DT projects done over the weekend.
 
 I'm not the planner girl type, but I did get a monthly calendar planner this year for this reason to keep on top of things. A place to put my monthly goals and break them down a bit and then I can add to it what I did each day towards that goal. I also will be keeping a To-Do journal this year where I can write it down as I think of it and then check it off as I do it :)
My goals for this year is something I have been considering for a while now. I have chosen a few like decluttering and cleaning my craftroom, a closer walk with God, Purging a few spots in the house that need attended too and then selling the items in a yardsale or giving away depending on what it is. I want to continue trying to finish up my Big Pictures classes that I bought before their changes were made and I want to get caught up on my current classes as well. I want to stay on top of current pictures and scrap as I go with the stories that come to mind then and to work on the accumulation of old photos too, I want to be getting my DT projects done early this year no last minute crafting for me I find joy in crafting and want to keep it that way. I have a few specific scrapbooking projects I want to do this year, so theme albums will be popular posts this coming year. Just a few things that I want to get done this year and still enjoy time with family and friends. Dave and I plan to do things together more this year especially on the weekends, we want to reconnect on the weekends as we work different shifts during the week and connection can get a bit lost from time to time :) We aren't the date night type of people but we do enjoy a date day thing once in awhile now it's just making a point to actually doing it, something that an easily be done and enjoyable too. Would like to do something out of the homestead atleast twice a month, we enjoyed seeing many places and festivals over December and want to continue that through the new year.
Just a few thoughts and intentions I want to make happen in 2016..................
Did you or do you participate in the word of the year or your goals for this year :) I would love to read about it :) 

Happy 2016!

To all my friends I want to wish you all a Happy Scrappy New Year!

I'll be cleaning up the Christmas Decorations scattered about the house today, working on my Goals for the New Year and will be working on a few fun crafting projects :) I wish you all a fabulous day today!