I'm back! :)

So I had to dust a bunch of cobwebs and freshen up the place a little bit.. but it's good to be back in my blog home again. Seven to eight months ago, my time online greatly decreased.. then a few months later, I kinda fell off the edge of the scrapbooking scene altogether. I wouldn't doubt if some of you thought I croaked or something. Well, I didn't.. I'm alive, well and could not be happier!! :) 

Here are a few things I did within those 7-8 months, I...

Lost 50 lbs :)

Met and started dating a kind, super sweet and handsome hunk.. Joel :)

Walked about 4 miles almost every day with Joel during summer and fall

Fell in love with above handsome hunk.... *happy sigh*

Started working a 2nd job to make some extra $$$ for Christmas

Accepted Joel's marriage proposal in November *happy sigh*

Bought this house, isn't it pretty!?

Moved two households into one

Started attending church regularly again

Celebrated Christmas

Planned a small intimate wedding for Joel and I

Chose designs and purchased furnishings for the new house

Painted the house

Made curtains for the house

Became Mrs. Joel Beard on Jan 12th! We're so happy :) :)

I inherited a 19y/o stepson, 17y/o stepdaughter and two more family dogs

As his wife, I became co-owner of Joel's successful businesses

I was a bridesmaid in my younger sister's huge wedding in Chicago in February

Worked hard to finally pay off my car

Joel and I recently traveled to northern Wisconsin to attend my grandmother's funeral where he also officiated the service

And lastly.. I organized a surprise party for Joel's 44th birthday last week, inviting all of our closest friends and family. The house was packed! Joel once told me he's never had parties for his bday, just dinner out. Well this girl has always made sure that everyone in my family has a celebrated birthday so Joel got a big surprise

Sooooooooooooo...

A lot has happened since I disappeared several months ago! Busy busy busy.

Time has zoomed by so fast with all the events, I've barely had time to blink.

But most importantly,

I'm thee happiest gal on the planet. 

Joel is the best thing that has ever happened to me.

Not only are we crazy in love, we are each other's best friend.

I thank God for him every day.

True story.

Now that house hunting, 2 weddings, a funeral, moving 2 houses, house painting/decorating, the big holidays and everything else are behind me.. I can now once again focus on the fun stuff.. papercrafts!

And in the new house, I have my own scrap room!! When we were house hunting months ago, one of JOEL'S top criteria was that the house we chose had to have a room just for me and my crafts. *happy sigh* I love this man :) Side note: It's kinda funny that my last and previous post featured my tiny scrap area in my old small apartment lol. I can't wait to take photos and share my new room!

Anyway.. so I'm just itchin to get started with scissors and paper! I have missed scrapbooking and cardmaking sooo much!! I haven't made a single thing since November! I'm looking forward to posting projects on my blog again, hopefully later this week, and I hope that you'll visit me again.

I've really missed crafting, blogging and admiring other scrapper's work. 

I'm sooooo glad to be back!! :)

Imaginisce & Cheery Lynn! Plus my i-Space :)

Such a fun week at Imaginisce and Cheery Lynn Designs! We've teamed up to inspire you with gorgeous paper collections and beautiful dies! Be sure to visit the blogs this week, there are lots of goodies to be won! :)

I was so thrilled to be gifted several Cheery Lynn dies, the selections I received are beautiful! I created a sweet card using Imaginisce's "Sole Sisters" papers and from Cheery Lynn: Mediterranean Lace Rectangle Frame die, Exotic Butterflies dies and Cuties1 border die. And I used my Imaginisce petal roller for the border die to create fun flowers and also added some bling with my i-rock :)

Here's a close-up so you can see the amazing detail on these dies!

Thank you Cheery Lynn Designs!!

Also! 

Last week I shared my scrap space with Imaginisce readers and I decided to share on my blog as well :)

 In a perfect world, I would have a big beautiful scraproom with all the pretties, bells and whistles. It's my dream to someday have my own craft room to get away, relax and do what I love with paper and glue. But reality is, I live in a small apartment with little space for anything. Maybe some of you can relate to my limited space dilemma? But I'm proud to say I was able to put together my scrap space within a 6ft x 5.5ft area in the corner of my livingroom. It's quite compact and stuffed, but not too shabby.. it works for me! :)

Against the only wall is where I keep stacked drawers and shelves that are completely filled with cardstock, tools, embellishments, stamps, inks, embossing supplies etc.

I rarely ever use my scanner, so on top of my printer is where I keep a caddy of some Imaginisce tools. I love how all my i-Top, i-Rock and d-stress tools and accessories fit so perfectly in there!

Underneath my desk, I have 2 shelf/drawer towers on each side of my chair. I put all of my loose patterned paper in 2gal Ziploc bags below with coordinating embellishments in the drawers above. I have pets and the bags help keep pet dander off my paper, and also, they help in organizing my paper by manufacturer, color, theme etc.

There isn't sufficient lighting in this area of the room and it can get pretty dim, so I installed some lights under each side of my desk so I can easily see and locate my supplies. At the right side of my chair, I keep most of my Imaginisce paper collections and supplies.. like my i-Magicut, i-Bond, sticker stackers, chipboard, diecuts, etc. I like it all there in one place because it's so easy for me to grab anything and everything I need. I was a HUGE fan of Imaginisce way before joining the team, so these drawers are jam packed with many many great Imaginisce collections! :)

On top of my desk is where I keep my pens, markers, scissors, sewing floss, buttons etc and awesome Imaginisce tools.

Well, that's pretty much the entire tour ;) As you can see, it is a bit cramped.. but, what I love most about having a small space is that everything is in reach. My computer is near for inspiration, all of my supplies and tools are either right beside me or directly behind me, and I have enough elbow room to create and make messes :) I also have a little bit of wall space to display some of my favorite projects.

I leave you with a random thought....

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Boys Rule projects :)

Hey! :) Today I'm sharing some Boys Rule projects that I created with the July kit. This was a great kit, it screamed summer! I loved it so much, it's now nearly gone. I love when I can use up almost every bit of a kit :)

Julie Bonner was July's special guest and she offered this beautiful sketch!

Here's my take...

Isn't he just the cutest lil fisherboy!?! :)

I also created these two cards....

 And lastly, this layout followed the July 20th sketch challenge. There's still plenty of time to enter here!

And my take...

This page was a bit out of my comfort zone. I usually like to add many patterned papers and layers. But I didn't have much left of my kit, so I had to make do. I really like the result, though. Sometimes less is more :)

I can't wait to show you the August Boys Rule kit! Wow! 

Imaginisce - Everyday Inspiration! :)

It's amazing the endless inspiration you can find around you if you just look. Dishes, wall decor, magazines, clothing, food packaging, bedding ..inspiration is everywhere!

I have a bright and happy bathroom with a fun and colorful shower curtain :) It's loaded with inspiration! The grid design, circles, colors..

And here is my project.. A fun layout starring my sister and her boyfriend. I love these photos of them :)

Supplies: Imaginisce (Makin' Waves, Sole Sisters & Happy Camper patterned papers); Other: Fiskars border punch, alpha stickers, cardstock 

Be sure to visit Imaginisce all week long for more everyday inspiration projects.. so many creative ideas and tips!

Imaginisce - Mix & Match :)

This week at Imaginisce, we shared projects that used at least 3 different Imaginisce collections. So many of the Imaginisce collections compliment each other with color and fun designs.. it's really easy to combine collections and have a fabulous project!

For my project, I created a layout using Hello Cupcake, Makin Waves and Hippity Hop.

I also tried something new with the design, adding all the circles for some dimension. Looks fun! :)

Be sure to check out all the great projects that were posted this week at Imaginisce! 

I'll be back tomorrow with another project but I leave you today with a thought...

Boys Rule Sketch Challenge

It's sketch challenge time at Boys Rule! Yay! 

Jenny creates some great sketches and this one is no exception..

I love this month's kit, full of Fancy Pants "Wave Searcher" and lots of other fun yummies. Perfect for any summer photos, really :) Here's my take on the sketch..

Visit Boys Rule today to see other layouts the design team made for this challenge.. then try it out for yourself! You could win some Boys Rule goodies :)

On a side note..

I've started to share random thoughts on my facebook page. Some of them are silly, some odd, some to make you go "hmm" etc. I just thought it was about time to give my facebook page some personality, it's been pretty boring there for a couple years. And I decided to occasionally share those thoughts here as well. No rhyme or reason to them.. just to maybe give someone a smile or a chuckle. 

Have a great weekend!!

A Splashin' Good Time - Boys Rule & Artful Delight

Have you see the July Boys Rule kit? I'm lovin' it! All those bright colors and fun designs and so many cute embellies! Yes, please!!!
This kit is sold out.

Today I'm sharing a layout I created that features my son and nephew enjoying their mini waterslide :)

I had a lot of fun with this page! Plenty of fussy cuts and a bunch of white pen doodles. I also used the green, orange and red Momento markers from a Boys Rule kit a couple months ago. I really like the Smooch Spritz splatter on the cardstock frame, too. 

I used this sketch from Artful Delight, designed by yours truly.. and linked up to the sketch challenge :)

I hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th of July!!