Curse you, holidays!

Seriously...I love that we have a house big enough to entertain for the holidays, but dislike there is so much preparation involved. You know, cleaning the fingerprints off the walls, *finally* scrubbing the corners, where the mop doesn't really do anything but push all the dirt into them, and the worst chore of all...going through the kids' toys to decide what should go to make room for what is to come. Not only is Christmas a little over a month away, but Andraia turns 11 in a week *eek* and Patryk will be turning three a few days later! Lots of new toys/gadgets to make their way in the house in the next month, that is for sure!

I've been quite busy with all of that, but I did find some scrappy time yesterday. It felt great! I completed a challenge over at s4a, Stacy's scraplift. It was supposed to be for another challenge as well, but by the time the Stickles were dry and the last embellie was in place, I was a day late and a dollar short (as usual LOL). That challenge was to use orange and green, traditional fall colors, and scrap summer pics. So here I am as a little chubby 3 year old, frolicking on the beach, a place I visited often as a child.

Here's the layout to be lifted:

And here's mine:

My Mind's Eye Totally Girl papers. MLS Carrot Juice mini alphas. Scallop chipboard border, inked in green and orange with orange and green glitter glue on top, from Stuff2Scrap. MM Just Chillin Glitter Die Cut butterflies, enhanced with orange glitter glue, and orange circle. All glitter glue is Studio G.

I then made this tag for another s4a challenge, to use a fall image and saying. I decided to use Nikki Sivils Tree Love stuff for this one, along with home made glimmer mist (I really need to give it a name, huh?) in copper. It looks really neat in person, way more shimmery. More orange Studio G glitter glue, and random ribbon/brads from my stash.

Finally, I made this card to kick off the holiday card making season (I actually have a fantastic family photo to include this year, so I have to get them done!) It is for Jackie's card challenge at s4a, which is a sketch challenge. Nice, simple sketch so I kept the card pretty simple, too. MME Sweet Dreams Holiday Avenue papers for all elements (save for the stamped sentiment.) I just cut the big and small snowflakes from a piece of paper from the collection. Easy peasy!

Off to pack my crafty bag, I am going to spend some quality time with a girlfriend making Christmas cards and drinking wine tonight. YAY! Hubby has been quite busy working, picking up some side jobs to do before his "real" job third shift, so I haven't seen him for 2 months, which means I have been in "mommy mode" for 2 months. Can't wait to put an end to that tonight! Hopefully I'll have some super projects to post when I return :)

And be sure to stay tuned....there are some great happenings over at s4a, who is celebrating a year of challenges. There will be prizes and many different challenges, so if you haven't joined up over there I suggest you do so. There will also be a blog hop coming up, be sure to check it out!