I'm Glad That I Live in this Beautiful World...

Every time we sing this song in Primary {children's group at church}, it just gets me.

Yesterday was no exception.

I was a ball of tears.
Happy, grateful tears.

 

 I am blessed with this beautiful world to live in and for those who protect it and keep it as peaceful as possible.
A picture cannot even describe the immense beauty that is all around us.
We need to stop and recognize the natural creations.

There are so many who care so much for this country and for the entire world.
I am thinking about you, praying for you, and those you love.
Today & always.
I really didn't mean for this to be a serious, or sappy post.
I just needed to be grateful for yesterday.
For the quiet in the busyness.
For the creator.
For the protectors and the hardworkers.

Sometimes we need a little clarity. 

A wake up call. 

Or maybe just some understanding.

Yesterday was a tender mercy.

We are all striving for peace within ourselves and in this world. 

Whenever I hear, the song of a bird

Or look at the blue, blue sky

Whenever I feel the rain on my face

Or the wind as it rushes by

Whenever I touch a velvet rose

Or walk by a lilac tree

I'm glad that I live in the beautiful world

Heavenly Father created for me

Guest Designer: Punky Sprouts

"It's a love story...baby, just say "Yes."
 We have been listening to Taylor Swift non-stop for almost 2 months years now. Ella just loves her songs, and I actually don't mind them either. This layout was inspired by the Lawn Fawn 'Check This Out' stamp set & Taylor's song.
I had the opportunity to guest design for Punky Sprouts this month. They sent me a lovely Punk-a-licious album, some Lil' Blossoms, & Trims. They also sent a Lawn Fawn stamp set to incorporate into my projects. It was lots of fun! You can find the entire post on the Punky Sprouts blog.

Melissa Frances Booth #2529 - Behind The Scenes

This is where I was from set-up to take-down. And every moment in between, except for a few quick 'bathroom' breaks.
We were busy, busy.
Just the 3 of us. We could have used a 4th person, but they decided to work the Atlanta Gift Show.


The booth looked beautiful. The design team did a beautiful job with creating samples and Carolyn has an eye for just how the booth should look. It is always nice to see familiar store owners who carry Melissa Frances product and also new stores that have not see her products and fall in love at first sight!

This is our 'closet' behind the booth where we store boxes of product and our lunch & drinks. It was a little crazy back there after 6 days!

And finally, this is the booth taken down and all packed up ready to go back to Pennsylvania until the next show!

It is a lot of work, but I am very grateful for this amazing job that I have and the people I get to work with in the process . It was a busy week where everyone loved all the new products, so I think it was a success!! Cannot wait for next year.

My Top 5 favorites from CHAW 2013

#1 CHA Peeps
I know that CHA is all about the new products in the crafting industry, but CHA to me is about the people. This creative community just about always has me in awe. I love seeing old friends and meeting new ones. It is my favorite part of this crazy week.

Ok, back to the products! There were some favorites. And here they are in no particular order:

#2 Glitz Designs
I have always liked Glitz, but this release was just so perfectly on trend. With every paper line released, it just had my heart. Love. Love. Love. My two favorites were Color Me Happy and Unchartered Waters. Love the paper layers, stamps, and they are bringin' sexy roller doodles back! Yesssss. {For those who have been around awhile, then you know what I am talking about.}

images from Glitz Design Blog

#3 Technique Tuesday
I was not a stamper until I found my first Technique Tuesday Stamp. It was a set by Ali Edwards. I love how Technique Tuesday brought stamping to the scrapbooking industry. Now I love to stamp on my layouts and all other projects. My favorites from the Technique Tuesday booth were:

photos from Technique Tuesday Website
Love the flair stamps! And the hashtag & @ are going to be fabulous in my Smash Books!

#4 Bella Blvd.
This booth just made me all out happy. After working CHA from sun up until sun down for 5 days, this booth was just my happy place. And I saw some friend's work in there too!  I love their Valentine release: Kiss Me

I also loved the feathers & crochet hearts. I plan on using these for my girls' headbands, and other altered projects.

#5 Farmhouse Paper Company

I am a little partial to this lovely paper company that was started by my dear friend, Angela.  Since they started last CHA, their designs have made my paper projects so so happy. I still love Sugar Hill from CHA Summer. I love autumn time, and this line is autumn at its best.

Besides shopping at my local scrapbook store, I love to shop for crafting supplies at the office supply store. Farmhouse has released a product line called '302' that brings all beauties of the office to our scrapbooking and paper projects. They have a wonderful description of this line on their website here. 

I cannot wait for this line to release in the Spring!!! 

Love Where You Live: Gingerbread House Tour; Waxahachie, TX

I always thought my mom was a reader of my blog. But when I talked to her this weekend, I shockingly found out she doesn't read it. BUT she reads The Pioneer Woman & NieNie religiously.
Thanks Mom.
So I was going to email these photos to her, but thought I will post them here and send her the link. (Yes, I am THAT daughter.) I will get her to read this blog, one way or another.
At the beginning of December, my neighbor invited me to lunch and the Gingerbread House Tour. I had read about this Waxahachie, Texas tradition last year when we first moved, but didn't have time to attend. Each Saturday for 3 weeks, they open 3 different homes up for visitors. You get to see each of the homes in all their Christmas splendor. The first home we toured reminded me of my childhood home and all the decorations!


This was my favorite picture! So gritty!!
Can Dad make a love seat like this? It was made out of an old crib. Loved it & the porch it was on! Maybe this will also entice you and dad to come and stay with us this December! We can tour 3 different houses for 3 weekends! Pretty please?

Sharing Christmas: Post Report

A few people have asked about how everything turned out with the Sharing Christmas Advent Calendar. Here is the scoop:

I really was only going to share our Christmas with either my parents or Craig's parents. But as the end of November came around, I really had the feeling that this was needed for each of them. Then I went to Utah for other reasons, and saw my Grandma for the afternoon at her new assisted living center. She had just recently sold her condo, which had been her home since the late 1990's. I felt she was lonely and also needed a little pick-me-up each day. So after Thanksgiving I made 2 more sets of Sharing Christmas cards. It was so fun, and if it seemed like a lot of work, it wasn't.

As the month of December started, this became a daily joy for us, especially me. This time of year is about family and since we were far away, it felt like everyone was a little closer. And I think they loved it more than any gift we could have purchased for them.
Here are some pictures that they sent to me recently of all the cards and photos!

The card that started it all....

Some of Nana's cards & photos...

Grandpa & Grandma Garner's cards...
Craig told me this is how they displayed their Christmas cards when he was young. I think we will throw out the Christmas card tree and start this tradition next year.

Grandpa & Grandma Burton's Cards & Photos...

If you want to read more about Sharing Christmas, you can find the original post here.

One Little Word 2013

There is lots I have to say about this word, but I just typed it all and blogger deleted it.
Blah.
One Little Word is choosing one word to inspire you for the year. It can have personal meaning, and/or maybe something you want to work or focus on for this year.  With just one word, it is easy to remember throughout the year.

I have fallen in love with this Fancy Pants line: The Good Life.
I also have fallen hard for flair. Especially by Joscie.

If you haven't heard of One Little Word, you can read about it over at Ali Edward's blog. 

And here is where I wrote about OLW for years past:
2012
2011
2010