Sites of the week

There is something crafty later in this post, but I wanted to chit chat for just a second before I get to that.

A little over a year ago I got on Facebook and, of course, started reconnecting with some old friends. I got a chance to catch up with one of my high school girl friends and her family over a Chuckee Cheese dinner. I had kept up with a few people after college, but then moved away and lost many of those connections. As most friends would, we talked about who was doing what and we couldn’t believe that so-and-so actually did whatever. Then, 2 very sad things came up…

One of our classmates had died of melanoma at the age of 28. She was one of the first people I met when I moved to a new high school and, as I remember, one of the nicest that I knew through high school. She was one of those people that everyone liked and had a lot to offer this world, so even though I had not stayed friends with her, it was difficult to grasp this terrible news. More about her and the foundation that has been set up in her name HERE.

The second bit of sad news that came up was one of the guys in our group of friends had a son, Dax, that had cancer. It seems like you always hear about this on the news or it’s a friend of a friend of a friend, which almost makes it not real. Having known the people in this story at one point in my life makes this real. This morning at 2:15 Dax’s 2.5 year old body could no longer fight this evil disease and he passed away. Read more about little Dax HERE. Don’t forget the tissues!!
Please remember to hug your little ones today {and everyday}! I can’t even imagine the pain that his family is suffering right now. I look at Ellie and am so thankful for what I have. I look down to my huge belly and am thankful for what I have/will have. In reading the Caring Bridge journal for Dax, I am amazed at the strength his mom has shown and even in the face of the death of her son she is so openly thankful for the St. Jude’s staff and continues to campaign to raise enough money to run St. Jude’s for a day {$1.6 million}. I hope that their family’s love will continue to keep them strong and that they reach their goal {ps…help if you can!}.

I did promise something crafty and it does still fall into the “Little Ones” category, in 2 ways actually. First it is sort of a mini “album.” I use “album” loosely here, because it’s not really, but it has pictures and does fold into a little book. Second, it’s all about Ellie…my little one. This is a kit that I created for my LSS, Scrapper’s Boutique. I couldn’t get a real good pic of all the panels together, so here they are in 2s…

The right panel is the front cover…

The left panel is the inside of the front cover…

The last 2 inside panels…

Back and inside center panels…

I need to go back to bed now! This “I can’t sleep” thing is driving me crazy…and something tells me that it’s not going to get better anytime soon! Ahhhh!!

If I haven’t mentioned it before {and I have}, I am lovin’ the stamps from Your Next Stamp, especially the Fhiona line. I am also in the midst of needing a 12 step group for blog hopping. I think this is the last one that I have in the line up for a while, but you never know what might come up!!

So, it’s a hop. Meaning that you should have started on the YNS Blog, come here from Maylee’s blog and then when you are done here, you’ll be hoppin’ on over to Simmone’s blog.

I knew exactly what I wanted to do when I got this set! Susan’s daughter is a lil’ gymnast and I thought that it would be fun to make a flat card with hair bow attached. As for additional ideas, I think these would be a super cute addition to anyone’s craft show table or a fun stocking stuffer.

Here’s the {flat} card without the bow…

And, with the bow {I found several video tutorials on YouTube}…

Detail of how I attached the bow to the card…

Now you’re off to Simmone’s blog to keep on hoppin’! Have fun enjoying all the creations along the way!

Happy December folks! Can you believe that 2010 is just around the corner? Nevermind New Year’s, right? I am sure there is plenty of shopping and gathering to do before then! Once the new year gets here I will be in the final days of my pregnancy and eager to meet “Baby Boy del Muro.” We think we have a name, but we aren’t releasing it quite yet!…I need to be able to change my mind still!! LOL! I will probably make the official name announcement when I introduce the lil’ man to all of you.

On another note, I have a different kind of announcement… Check out the PROJECT OF THE MONTH over on The Cat’s Pajamas site. It’s a project that I made that is super fun and easy to re-create. Here’s a peek at it…

All the how-tos and more pics are HERE.

Today is also TCP Tuesday and Joanne has a fun color challenge for you. I don’t have my sample done, but here are the colors. Joanne has all the deets and instructions for playing along HERE.

Did you gobble ’til you wobbled? How many naps snuck in there after devouring your turkey feast? Well, I hope you had a good one! Since I am pre-posting this, I can’t tell ya how everything went on Turkey day yet. I hope to have stories and pics to share soon!

So, maybe you gobbled, then you wobbled, but now you are HOPPING! Yep, you are right smack in the middle of the Taylored Expressions Black Friday Blog Hop, so if you happened upon here on accident, you might just want to rewind and start at the beginning {there’s a full list of participants below}.

Taylor has challenged all of us to embellish the Perfect Pacakage box {which also comes in a square shape!}. So I opened it up {folds completely flat} and stared at it. Hmmm…what do I want to do with this? Yes, it fit standard cards perfectly. Hence the name, Perfect Package. However, I wasn’t putting cards in there. I ended up putting a scarf that I am giving to my secret sister in there, so I wanted to give it more of a gift box/wrapped feel and this is what I came up with…

Detail shots…

I don’t know that this is my “traditional” style, but I gotta say that I am pretty darn happy the way that it came out! The green numbered paper is from Making Memories and the numbered note card is from October Afternoon. I added a Nestabilities die cut scalloped circle to be the base of the “4u,” which was cut from the Think Pink Slice design card. I LOVE the new design cards that have the matting/shadow feature.

So what are your shopping plans? Mine?…none! Well, at least I am not going out anywhere, but that’s not to say that I’m not making Tony brave the crowds. He’s 6′7″ and people generally don’t push him around. You would think that people would get out of the way for a beached whale…giant pregnant lady, like myself, but NOPE! Between all the hormones and general uncomfortableness, I am likely to say something that’s not so nice should someone cross my path! LOL!

If your plans include online shopping, don’t forget to check out the BLACK FRIDAY DEALS at TAYLORED EXPRESSIONS!!…
–> 15% off everything in the store {use code TEBlackFriday at checkout}
–> up to 50% on JustRite products
–> Buy 2, get 1 free Taylor’s Tiny Twinkles
–> Don’t forget to check out the new shirts and aprons, too {so cute!!!!…and if I wasn’t the size of a beached whale, I would totally be checking out with one of the brown sleeved shirts!!}

Here’s the hop list. Have fun hopping along to JEN TAPLER’S BLOG! See you tomorrow for another SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY {this one will get ya thinking, too!!}

Alex Maldonado: http://fairyblossoms.typepad.com/
Amy Rohl: http://inkaboutme.blogspot.com/
Beate Johns: http://beate.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/
Bev Gerard: http://savorthejourney.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/
Charmaine Ikach: http://oodabugalley.blogspot.com/
Cindy Haffner: http://cindyhaffnerscorner.blogspot.com/
Debbie Olson: http://debbiedesigns.typepad.com/
Donna Baker: http://www.serenityinstamping.com/
Jami Sibley: http://jami.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/
–> YOU ARE HERE Jen del Muro: http://iheart2stamp.com/
–> GO HERE NEXT Jen Tapler: http://jentapler.blogspot.com/
Jenn Balcer: http://jbalcer.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/
Jennifer Buck: http://thebuckstampshere.blogspot.com/
Jessica Diedrich: http://thewhimsicalbutterfly.blogspot.com/
Joan Ervin: http://stampingwithapassion.blogspot.com/
Joanne Basile: http://www.stampedbyhand.blogspot.com/
Linda Duke: http://www.lindaduke.typepad.com/
Lori Craig: http://loricraig.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/
Rose Anne Reynolds: http://paperdelightz.blogspot.com/
Sankari Wegman: http://sunnysankari.blogspot.com/
Sharon Harnist: http://paperfections.typepad.com/
Sherry Cheever: http://sherrycheever.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/
Taylor VanBruggen: http://www.tayloredexpressions.blogspot.com/

Anyone else getting chilled by the cool air that is rolling in with Autumn? I can’t decide to love it or hate it. On the one hand it’s nice not to be pregnant and sweating bullets, but on the other hand I just don’t like cold weather. I think I have mentioned before that I could wear flip flops year round…if the TX weather would allow, that is! I think for now I will hate to love it…LOL!

Over the past few months, I have done a couple GLUE box projects. You can see them HERE. This month I have a Thanksgiving box to show…

As you can see, I got out the Slice machine {again!!}, the Think Pink card to be exact…

One more shot…

I’m gonna make this post short and sweet, as I have a lot to get crackin’ on! Including a Twilight Blog Hop {click the link to find out more}…