No, I know it's not Valentine's Day yet...

but I'm going to upload a Valentine's scrapping project anyway :)

I made this as my October design team assignment for CreativeXpress.com. This mini-book with pages and accents created using the Cricut Expressions and Cuttlebug machines, is a fun way for the kids to tuck a way their treasured valentine cards exchanged with their lil' "friends -n- crushes"...

Valentine Cards-Keeper Mini Book w/ Handmade Valentines (Oct.2008 CX dt assignment).

Even though I myself do not have school-age kids, I really enjoyed creating this Valentine Card memory book for young ones to display their treasured card exchanges! This book is very simple to replicate and utilizes a 7" scallop square design for the bases of the entire mini-book, cut from the Cricut Expressions machine. Each page I designed as a "pocket" format for which the Valentine cards can be tucked into.

- I first cut out my front, back and book inserts using a 7" scallop square from the Accent Essentials cartridge. I wanted the front and back covers to be a little more substantial in weight so I also cut out extra pieces from a weighter cardstock, then sandwiched and adhered them between 2 other cut scallop squares of cardstock.

- I then chose the patterned papers that I wanted to use from the Figgy Pudding BasicGrey collection. These papers are typically Christmas theme but I thought they lended very well for a Valentine oriented book! I also cut these papers into 7" scallop squares. These pieces are used for the page inserts and I cut them to alternate in the book as pockets, diagonally and horizontally. After cutting the pieces, I faux-stitched and inked around the edges and adhered to the cardstock page inserts.

- Creating the embellishments for this mini-book was probably the most fun part of this project. I used the clear product packaging that some of my Cricut cartridges were shipped in, and cut out clear acrylic heart and flower embellishments. For these, I used images from the Accent Essential cartridge once again. The heart pieces I even ran through the "Swiss Dots" embossing folder for added texture. Buttons, trim and ribbon, along with some other Cuttlebug die-cut and embossed hearts and stamped images were used to accent the book further...

- I also created two "homemade" Valentine cards using my supplies to show how adorable cards look displayed in this unique Valentine memoir.

Supplies from the CX store:

• 36-8240 - Pomegranate Trio by Bazzill • 03-0122 - Figgy Pudding Collection Pack by Basic Grey • 37-1604 - Swiss Dots Embossing Folder by Cuttlebug • 37-1540 - Deocrative Hearts Embossing Folder by Cuttlebug • 37-1115 - Hearts & Stamps Dies by Cuttlebug, 2 X 6 • 37-1092 - Heart #1 Two-Step Die Set by Cuttlebug, 2 X 2 • 37-1056 - Harmony Alphabet Die Set by Cuttlebug • 35-7638 - StazOn Opaque Cotton White • 03-0304 - Journal Block Clear Stamp by Basic Grey • 03-0033 - Infuse Buttons by Basic Grey • 03-0058 - Recess Ribbon by Basic Grey • 36-5169 - Vintage Hip Trims Gracen by Making Memories • 36-0427 - Embellishment Distressing Kit • 73-3848 - Brown Medium Slick Writer • 24-3072 - Terifically Tacky Tape® by Provo Craft, 1/2" • 31-1002 - 2-Way Glue Pen Fine Tip • 73-6937 - Extra Large Gromlet Cool Metals by We R Memory Keepers • 36-9552 - Crop-A-Dile Eyelet and Snap Punch by We R Memory Keepers • 29-0300 - Expression Machine by Cricut

Other supplies used:-ColorBox Chesnut Roan ink.-White Bazzill cardstock.-Accent Essentials Cricut Cartridge (Offered with Expressions Machine).-Clear product packaging.-Generic cardboard.-Binder ring.

So there it is! Hope you enjoyed the lil' break from Christmas, lol!

As for Christmas, it's approaching quite fast and I suppose I should get myself in gear and get out to those stores to finish up the last of my shopping. Christmas dinner will be hosted here at our new house this year, so that's got me a tad excited! I don't do turkey though so I'll be making my signature specialty, "Mushroom Wine Chicken", and mom's bringing the Prime Rib!

I'm not sure I'll be making another post by Christmas, but I will try. If not though, I'd like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and I hope that you really take effort in enjoying your time spent with your family and friends closeby! Make some special memories!

Trying Ohhh Sooo Hard!

That's me... tryin' so hard to gain some spirit! It's already the 10th of December, and I'm just not feelin' it. Where's my Christmas spirit? I do wish I could find it, but it's just too hard this year. I'm just kind of going through the motions right now and trying to make it to a new year. I just can hardly fathom that we will be having Christmas without Dad... he absolutely loved Christmas with his whole heart. As he stated in his family Christmas newsletter last year, "I am positively and absolutely, unapologetically a Christmas groupie -- not quite a junkie, but surely a groupie." And so he was!

I've put up some decorations, but that's about the extent of it. I am so happy that we now have our own home this year and I do enjoy decorating for the holidays, but I just can't seem to get the full-blown enjoyment out of it right now. At this time last year, we were spending time in my parent's home... we were away at friend's for the weekend and we had stopped into Altoona to see how my dad decked out their house for Christmas. I am just so sad and hurt that the "magic" that my dad seemed to put into our Christmas celebrations will never be embraced again. All we have now are memories.

Aside from the decorations part, Christmas Eve will forever be changed without my dad's messages. I looked forward to going home to church every Christmas Eve to hear my dad preach... and luckily we took the video camera with us to the service last year and did record some of my dad's very last Christmas Eve service. Now I can barely even make it into a church. I know it shouldn't be that way, but I believe it's just temporary as I continue to grieve and let out my frustrations. Afterall, I don't go to church to worship my dad... I go to worhip God.

And, then there is Amelia. This was to be our first Christmas with our new baby Amelia. Again, this just doesn't seem fair. But, we will make it. We might not have everything that we had hoped we'd have, but there is still so much that we DO have, and I know that we are blessed in many ways. So with that thought, I will just say that God is good and merciful!

So like I said, I have put up some decorations and I'd like to share them of course! I didn't get around to any of my usual cookie baking or card-making for this year, but I always decorate.

I love that we now have a fireplace mantel to embellish...

The carved angel with the nativity scene is a Jim Shore collectible piece that we actually gave as a present to my dad last Christmas. He had just started collecting some of the Jim shore pieces about a year before. I think it's beautiful on our mantel, and I can't help but to think of him every time I look at it!

The metal silver tree is also from my parents collection. I've decorated it with all old glass ornaments from when my mom and dad were kids. The Mary and Joseph with baby Jesus wall hanging is actually a pastel drawing/painting that I did one year for them as a gift.

I decided that this year, the only tree that I wanted us to put up was the babies' tree. Last year I had been wanting to get a small white tree to hold all the ornaments that I was collecting in memory of our first baby and of Ava. I found a cute pre-lit white tree the day after Christmas. Since we now lost Amelia too, I thought that we could honor their remembrance this year by putting up their baby tree only, and I think that is what we'll do now every year until and "if" we welcome home another baby. Here's the tree and a few close-ups of some of the new ornaments for this year...

And last for the time being, my wonderful hubby brought me home a beautiful surprise the other night. He got these three sweet bear stockings embroidered with each of the baby's names! I was speechless...

He said he wants us to start our own new Christmas tradition of writing notes to our angels every Christmas Eve and putting them into their stockings! Isn't that a beautiful tradition?! I think so!