Katie just won the awesome purse!!

Thank you to everyone who commented. I was so glad it was not just one little person! I am grateful to have read your thoughts on kindness. It made my heart feel happy.

Speaking of a happy heart. Little Kaya just pulled the name - and the winner is KATIE. I went to her name in comments to find her email and I read about how she had her first birthday without her dad yesterday. It broke my heart and I felt SO HAPPY that Kaya pulled her name to get her a belated birthday gift. I get so sad on my birthday without my Mom. I am so happy she won this cool bag the day after that hard day! Way to go little Kaya! Great pull!

Hope you all are making something this Monday. I have not made anything yet, but I am going to sew bags with Kal when she gets home! Will post a photo of her tomorrow.

Three Simple Thanksgiving Albums for sale

If you are looking for a simple, ready to add photos 6 x 6 album....  look here

It is my etsy store. I just added three little Thanksgiving albums that could make a great gift for someone you love.

Making Gifts with Kalli

I had a rough day - there was very little foot traffic at the show I attended today. It always makes me sad when I spend an entire day to sell nothing when my family really is counting on me to bring in some extra money for the holidays. It just makes me sad - plus, I think I am getting a sinus infection which makes me want to go lie down....  well, with two little ones who missed me all day, that never happens!!  Neil's birthday is in a couple of weeks, and Kalli was all excited to make him a surprise today. He never reads my blog, so I can post it here and he will never see it.  She designed the project (album and journal from her and her sister, dug out and picked the paper and the ribbon, even picked the Cricut font and cut it all herself. I was sending an email, and she was behind me holding it just like this - she glued the letters on herself and even reached up and got my brayer to make sure they stuck.

They also picked out an awesome gift for him at Target - it made me smile when they both LOVED it and were dying to get it for him. I will post that once he opens in because if Kal sees a photo of it on here, she will be mad! :) 

We will pick a winner tonight and post it first thing tomorrow. So, if you have not commented to win the purse yet - do it soon!

Also thanks to sister who came in town this weekend and took my kids and our grandma to a special lunch (where you throw peanuts on the floor - Kaya's favorite place in town) and mini golfing at the mall. Everyone had a nice time, and it was great for Busia to love on the great grand babies for an afternoon. 

Zion show today and Thanksgiving albums

Had a busy day yesterday which included walking a craft show (it was nice because I usually work them) and going to Archivers (YEAH). I picked up some cute albums and worked hard to get them completed for my Zion show today.

Here is what they looked like. I hope I sell them, but I really hope I have one left to use for US! I loved how these came out. Shot photos quickly with flash (it was 2 AM and I was tired)....  but you can see them....

Hope you are having a great weekend. I will draw for the purse tonight - so comment HERE if you want a shot to win it. Or, some people have just sent me an email because they could not get their comment to post. That works, too!

New Class Kit & be KIND and WIN an original handmade bag!!

Two BIG things today.... make sure you go all the way to the bottom of this post to see how you can win this handmade bag:

Here is my new on-line kit -

I need to tell you that I love this project so much it makes my heart hurt a little bit when I look at it. I feel like I need to put it into a safety deposit box, just in case!!

I love this project. I love that no matter what ever happens, I made myself sit down and write these five letters. Those will never be taken away, and from this day forward, my family will always have them. I am so proud to have done this, and so happy that I have told both girls, Neil, and my Dad the little things I need them to always know.

I also included a letter to my Mom.

I believe in Heaven, so I guess I have to believe that she was reading it over my shoulder as I typed it, and I sort of just needed to write certain things to her. Plus, my girls will always have this special note I wrote to my Mom. It just all makes me feel proud to be a scrapbooker. Like doing this one project makes everything I have ever done with scrapbooking worthwhile. I just have wanted to make this for so long....

OK, here are the details.....

In this kit (sold at Just Need It) you get just about everything you need to make an envelope album.
Basically for $48 you receive:
*5 pre-cut (on the AccutCut) envelopes made from Lucky Creative Cafe Paper
*two pre-cut chipboard covers with corners already rounded (thanks Marty!)
*two O-rings to bind it together
*One 12 x 12 awesome printed transperancy to trim and use to accent your project
*Five sheets of 12 x 12 lined papers to use to write out your letters (after you trim them down a bit so they fit in the envelopes) to either 5 different people you love or 5 different letters to one person
*A complete set of Danelle's awesome Impress-On rub-ons that will warm your heart and complete your pages in a way that really makes you feel happy - I am done, and I have TONS left to use on other things
*Lots of ribbons and trims to use on your o-rings
*A complete set of 3 full 12 x 12 sheets of two sizes of chipboard letters - you have SO MANY of these!
*Tags in various sizes and colors
* another sheet of paper to use to cover your LETTERS title on the front cover
All you need on your own is Adhesive, Stamps (or you can just use the chipboard letters that are included), your thoughts, and a few photos. THAT IS IT! Complete list of what is in this kit can be found here.
You can do this - I know you can. And, I PROMISE you that you will always be glad you created this for your family.
Here are a few more photos...

You can pick up your kit and then I will email you full instructions. I will also help you in ANYWAY that I can do make sure you MAKE THIS for your family. I am so excited to share this kit with you!!

OK, now - PLEASE try to win this awesome bag!

It is a long story, but Andrea from the Nomi Collection, the lady who makes these bags is SO NICE and she made a bag just for one of you!! She was kind to me and completely made my day with a surprise in the mail!! It may have been small to her, but it meant the world to me! All you have to do is share one little thing you can do to simply be kind to another person. This bag can be yours if you comment on this post simply listing an act of kindness (one you did, one you will do, one you wish someone would do for you....) and PLEASE include your email. And this awesome bag can be yours. I will have the girls do a random draw on Sunday! Not many of you ever post, so if you post - your chances are GREAT to win this! :)

I hope you make this project - and I am so excited that one of you will soon have this HAPPY BAG to carry around with you! Enjoy your week!

Mom & Me class 10 Things I Love About You

I am teaching a class for the Town of Schererville (Indiana) on Monday, December 15th from 6 - 7 PM at the Town Hall.   I am really looking forward to helping families create a meaningful holiday gift for someone they love. I really enjoyed my last Mom and Me class, and cannot wait for this one.  I love watching Moms and Kids create something together.

Here are a few photos:

You can sign up at the Town Hall - email me if you would like more information.

I love this book and I am so happy that Kalli already made this for Kaya for Christmas! I cannot wait for her to give it to KyKy - and how cool will this be in 20 years???  (or when they are 13 and 16 and fighting over clothes...  I will take this out and yell "YOU LOVED EACH OTHER AT ONE TIME!"  Yeah, that is me, always planning to have proof that at one point they really really loved each other!!  :)

Hope you have had a great weekend. I am having Mac problems, so posting is a struggle right now. I love when computers work, want to cry when they do not!!  Happy Veteran's Day. I am so grateful for everyone who works to protect every one of our freedoms.

Sneak Peak of Letter from Me class...

I am one link away from sending out my next newsletter....  but I am so excited about my next kit, I wanted to post a sneak peak of one of the greatest projects I have ever created.  Just looking at it makes my heart happy. Kits to create this project are limited and will be availble as soon as we can get a link to the cart posted (hopefully tomorrow or Monday). More details on this project coming soon...  but the basic idea is that you use this kit to write out 5 letters that you will NEVER be sorry that you wrote.

Amazing Day

I love this weather. It got up to 73 degrees today!! I could live with it every day! I am not a fan of winter and I LOVED the weather today. I Roller Bladed....  and I had not done it in a while, so I thought I might pass out. And then Roller Bladed to school with Kaya and three scooters in the wagon (note to self - NEVER roller blade pulling a child in a wagon...  what WAS I thinking anyway???). We played at the school playground for an hour (yeah, I was in the stupid Roller Blades because it NEVER entered my head to toss shoes in the wagon). And then played outside until it was too dark to see in front of us. It was awesome. An almost perfect day.

Eating Push-ups and playing with sidewalk chalk in the midwest on November 4th??  It totally rocked. I wish it could have lasted forever. It was just that kind of day.

 

When I see photos of these two, I wonder why I got so lucky to be their Mom. 

And this photo of Kaya stops my heart a little when I look at it. 

  

I took 105 photos today. On a random simple day. Thank goodness I finally went digital, huh? :)

And this will be one of the last of us with our amazing neighbors. Our kids have played together almost every day for the past five years. They are moving next week. To a bigger house - they have four kids in a small ranch and the dad works from home. They tried to stay on our awesome block, but they ended up finding a place across town. I know it is not that far, but right now, it seems like across the country because I was incredibly spoiled being able to look out my office window and watch my kids walk to their home. Heck, in the beginning, they barely even walked...  now they are riding two wheelers between the two houses and reading books to each other, too. When we first met, she had one with one on the way, and I had an 18 month old. Now, she has four and I have two. It has been so wonderful being their friends. They were incredible neighbors and I will miss them every day.

 

And, before one of you emails me to ask, yes, Kaya stayed in her pajamas all day. Even when we went out to eat to celebrate Kalli's amazing report card. She just loves them, and I think she looks cute! I wish I could stay in my PJs all day once in a while, too. :)

Kalli Makes Something This Monday

Kalli made her first purse. She is SO EXCITED for me to teach her to sew. She is going to have her own table in my upcoming craft shows. She even has a logo and a little money box. I want to go pay mystery shoppers (strangers) to come buy something from her. It was fun watching amazed by the sewing process. I am so glad I learned to sew in high school. I love the process of taking fabric and making it into whatever I want it to be. She has a lot more planned....  She is even going to open a little www.etsy.com store once she has some made.

 

For those of you who are new to reading this blog. I try to Make Something Every Monday. HERE is the original post on why I picked Monday to make something. If you make just ONE LITTLE THING every Monday for 5 years, you will have created over 250 little somethings. I love looking at it like that. 

Also, I took 5 little girls to the park AND grocery store on Sunday all by myself. I know some of you have that many kids (and I think you are incredible people). I really felt like someone should give me a little merit badge on my way out of the store. Like I had done something incredible by handling 5 kids alone in the car, park, AND grocery store! No one came with the trophy I was expecting in case you were wondering. :) 

 

Have a great week!  

Good Stuff Instructions Finally Ready!!

If you requested a FREE copy of the GOOD STUFF class instructions, I just emailed them to everyone on the list (who included their email address). There were a few comments that did not include email addresses, so if you did not get it, let me know your email address right and I will get it out to you!

I am SO EXCITED for you guys to start making this project. Just having it makes me so happy.
Here are a few samples of my album that is a work in process....

If you would like the complete FREE instructions to create your own GOOD STUFF album, please post a comment here (WITH your email address please) or email me at klsb@comcast.net and let me know your email address, and I will email them right out to you.

I hope to do a post of links to what people created when they show me what they do! I love the idea of you all sharing your GOOD STUFF with each other.

Hope you had an incredible weekend.

KLSB