Is it Christmas yet?

Well, fortunately we have 3 more months to go. I love the cosy December month, but I must honestly admit that I am always happy when it is January 1st. December is a very busy month for us. Both girls have their birthday in December (12th and 24th), so December is all about birthday parties, treats for school, Sinterklaas (5th), Christmas and New Year's Eve. Last week I came across an ad from My Sentiments Exactly! in Creating Keepsakes. The two projects in this ad made me to scrap(lift) a Christmas card. My first Christmas card.....EVER! I bought these Basic Grey papers last year, but never used them. I won't scrap ALL my Christmas cards, because it would take me ages to finish them. I just love to make a few cards for family and friends who can appreciate a handmade card.



Materials used: Basic Grey Dasher 'Peppermint Stick', 'Yule Log' and 'Snowbank', Bazzill cardstock and flower, Prima Flowers, Fancy Pants clear stamps 'Bella Brush', Versacolor ink 'Scarlet' and 'Pinecone', Making Memories Alphabet Rub-ons 'Heidi White', EK Success flower punch, white brad, Crop-a-Dile and sewing machine. Digital photo border: Itty Bitty Borders. Size: 4x6".

Splish Splash

You may recall that I organized a RAK some time ago. Marianne from Denmark was one of the lucky winners. I not only sent her a RAK, but also promised her to do a layout with one of her pictures. She sent me a cute picture of her son Max. I enjoyed working on this layout. With two girls in the house I hardly scrap any boy layouts, so this was a nice change.



Materials used: Bazzill and DCWV cardstock, Sassafrass Lass Serendipity, Scenic Route Laurel and Charlotte, Rusty Pickle knoopjes Lime, Chipboard star, Ranger Paint Dabber 'Pool', Uniball Signo pen white, Diamond Glaze, Sizzix Scallop Frame and Nouveau alphabet, American Crafts ribbon, Millennium Zig Writer black and sewing machine.

Love these pictures!!

When I checked my e-mail during my lunch break I found an e-mail from Florence in my inbox with the link to our personal photo gallery. I am very impressed. The pictures are SO beautiful. I just love them all. I was already happy with the pictures Florence sent us last week, but now I am over the moon. She did an AWESOME job. I won't be showing them all, but just a selection of my favorites. Although I must honestly say it is very hard to pick a few favorites. Each picture is gorgeous. Here are a few pictures. I might show some more pictures later this week. BTW, we also received the pictures in color, but I just LOVE black and white pictures.

Our beautiful girls




My sweetheart


Me


Us

Altered bottle

Lately I reorganised my scrap room and put all my Prima flowers in IKEA jars. I kept the Prima bottles and this morning I altered one of them. For now I store my crystal rhinestones in this bottle, but I might put something else in it.


Materials used: Sassafras Lass Serendipity and Rhonna Farrer French Twist papers, Prima Sprites, SEI brad, Ribbon Little Silver Hat, Rusty Pickle buttons, beads, thread, crystal rhinestones SS10 and Versacolor Pinecone ink.

In the mail

Today is a great day for mail. Around noon I received a LONG letter from my sweet friend Carol from Canada. I so love her snail mail letters. A real FAT envelope with a 12-page letter full of news. As soon as we finished lunch I made myself a cup of tea and settled myself on the couch. I always enjoy reading her letters. She has a great style of writing, and it is always nice to catch up on her news.



Half an hour ago I received a "cold pizza" from Dolls & Decorations. LOL! It is the new Dolls Good Newz Box that will be released on September 29th. Can't show you the content yet, but for those who get the kit too I can tell it is a beautiful kit. I am now off to do some shopping to buy some goodies that I can alter.



Have a nice weekend!

Haven't found it yet

I am still looking for my creativity. Don't know when and where I lost it. LOL! I am sure it will get back one day. Hopefully soon! I still haven't scrapped a layout, but I did make a birthday card last Sunday. Loved to use lots of ribbon, buttons and my new bling bling tool.



Thank you all for your nice comments on the gorgeous pictures by Florence.

Photo shoot

This morning we had a photo shoot with the four of us by Florence Bavinck. We came across her site a while ago, and decided to book a photo shoot about 2 months ago. We didn't tell our families, because we wanted to keep it a surprise. I can tell you it wasn't easy for me to keep my mouth shut, because I sooooo wanted to tell everybody about our photo shoot. Both Eric and I take lots of pictures, but we hardly have any pictures of us as a family, or pictures of Eric and me together. Therefore, we booked a session by Florence. She takes beautiful pictures, and makes you feel very relaxed. The photo shoot took place at our own home and garden and I can tell you that is perfect. It makes you feel much more comfortable and at ease, and I think it shows in the pictures. These pictures are just a small selection of the ones taken today. The rest will follow soon. Huge thanks to Florence for the gorgeous pictures. We enjoyed the session a lot and are very happy with the pictures she sent us already. I am sure the rest of the pictures will be great too. I can hardly wait!

Shop till you drop

Today we went shopping for the girls. The new fall/winter collection has been in store for more than a month already and until today we hadn't bought anything yet. They both don't fit their clothes from last year anymore, so we really had to buy something new. There is a great kids store in our village where you can buy brands like Esprit, Mexx, Vingino, Filou & Friends, etc., and we always go there first. The girls love to go there to. Not to buy clothes - although they do like that part - but to play in the bumper car. LOL! I didn't make a picture of them in the bumper car, but I did take a picture of their new clothes. Purple seems to be quite hot this winter.

Fleur's new clothes


Sanne's new clothes

Finally

I hardly scrapped in the past few weeks. Simply because I didn't have any inspiration at all. I did create some cards, but no layouts or mini books. This week I started on a layout for Marianne from Denmark. She won one of my RAKs and I had promised her to make her a layout. She sent me a great picture of her son Max. I finished the layout this evening, and will send the layout to Marianne tomorrow. I guess she will get it in the mail on Tuesday or Wednesday next week. Until then I leave you with a sneak peek.

A new "toy"

Recently I came across the blog of Peggy Severins, and read that she purchased a very cool tool.......the Glitter Glamour Hotfix applicator. The perfect tool to make your own bling bling embellishments. I love using rhinestones on my layouts and cards, so I didn't have to think too long about purchasing my own Glitter Glamour tool. I picked up my parcel from the post office today, and will play with it this evening. Now I can make my own Heidi Swapp bling bling look-a-likes, and save a lot of money.

I hardly had any inspiration lately. I am just too tired in the evening. I guess I need some time to adjust to being a working mom again. Going to bed a bit earlier will help as well. ;-) Last Monday I started on a layout for a photo swap. A boy's layout this time, so I guess I won't be using any bling bling on that one. :D