My Favorite Things

A Happy New Year Video!!

Hi there, sweet friends.  Were you starting to wonder if I'd fallen off the face of the earth???  Hee.  It's been a few days since I last updated the blog-o.  We literally had family get-togethers every day while Bart's mom was here, which was so nice!  But that also means that I've spent next to no time in the studio lately.  I've got some assignments that I need to get crackin' on though, so I'm gonna need to get busy soon.  For today, I got a little ambitious and shot a shortie little video just for you!  Hope you like it....I totally hate watching myself on video!  Ha!  So, since it's my first one, you can cut me some slack, if you want.  ;)  

Hope you have a fabulous night celebrating tonight (in the US) and those of you that have already rung in the new year, I hope that you had a fun and safe time celebrating!  I also hope, for you all, that this next year is your absolute best one yet!  Take care, dear ones, and I'll have some crafty goodies to share with you soon.

Bartley and I are planning a quiet night IN with movies and snacks and a cozy fire in the fireplace.  :)

Smooches!

  

Post Christmas Update

Hello, my dear friends!!  How are you?  I figured I'd give you a little update on what's been going on around here since Christmas!  See the picture above??  That's the view out my front door right now!  Ha ha ha!  It started snowing on Christmas Eve and it's snowed off and on since then!  Lots of snow here, but isn't it PRETTY??????  Yes, it's a hassle for getting around, but goodness it's so lovely to look at!

Obviously with snow like this on the ground, the roads were not very safe on Christmas Eve so that kind of changed our plans a bit but it all turned out to be a wonderful weekend.  We had beautiful services at church on Christmas Eve.  I sang Silent Night with the worship team and even though the roads were bad, there were lots of people in attendance at both services, 5pm and 9pm.  My mother-in-law is here staying with us, so we've had several family get-togethers with Bart's side of the family while she's in town, and I love that!  Plus, my family came over for lunch on Christmas Day and we had our gift-exchange then.  "The babies" (my little niece and nephew) and their parents (my sister, Diann and her hubs, Phillip) couldn't make it so we're anxious to see them this weekend so we can give the babies their gifts!  Can't WAIT!

 

Because of all the family gatherings, it seems that Bart has shoveled our front walk and drive way at least a few times a day, the poor guy.  My daddy-o even got in on the digging fun.  You can see the fruit of Bart's labor in the above photo.  Seriously, he'd shoveled and it was already starting to get snowed in again when I took this photo and that happened about 4 times that day!

 

Our dear Aussie friends requested a picture of our back yard since they don't get snow where they are in Australia, so the above photo is for John & Lynn.  ;)  And actually, this was taken a few days ago so there is much more snow in the back yard right now.  That's our wood pile in the fore-ground.  So grateful for firewood to burn -- our fireplace just adds so much cozy atmosphere to our family room.  I love it so!   

 

Here's a shot I took a couple days ago, from the car, as we were backing out of the driveway.  Snow, snow, snow!

And just to entertain you, here are a couple pictures that my sister, Gracie, took with her iPhone on Christmas Day.  She and her hubs came in their car following my parents and other sister and brother in the car above.  My parents were the first car to attempt making their way in to our cul-de-sac.  As you can see, they didn't make it very far!!  LOL!  So here we are, pushing their car back off of the mound of snow they were stuck on, so that we could dig a path up the street a little so we could then push them up the street!  Hahaha!  And after we got Mom & Dad's car pushed into our driveway, then we got to do the same thing with Grace & Chris's car!!  I'll tell you what, it was like a Griswold Family Christmas!!  Talk about good clean family fun!  Hahaha!  We laughed and laughed while we dug and pushed and froze and sniffled!  (That's me in the puffy pink coat)  Really, it was a hassle, but it was a fun family adventure and I had a ball!

 

Stuck, stuck, stuck!  Aren't you sorry you missed out on that adventure????  Wish you'd been here!  *smile*

I love my family.  We're off to spend time with family again tonight for dinner, but for now, we're snug as a bug in a rug, sitting in front of the crackling fire and Christmas tree.  I hope that you're enjoying your weekend and that you've made some fun family memories too!  I'm looking forward to getting back into the studio to get crafty, but for the time being, we're thoroughly enjoying a little rest and relaxation.  It feels good to just take a break and enjoy time with our loved ones.

Take care, sweet friends!  

 

Merry, Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas, Dear Friends.  I hope that your day is filled with love and laughter and family, those you hold dear.  I will be spending the day with both sides of our family - mine and Bart's - and I can't wait.  But my day wouldn't be complete without thoughts of you, dear friends, that share your time with me all year long.  Thank you for blessing my life with your friendship, for sharing your stories with me and your creations.  We share more than just a hobby, you and I......we've become friends over time and I just wanted you to know that I value you.  You're dear to me and I wanted to take a minute to wish you a very, very merry Christmas.  

I've shared with you before about one of our family traditions.....my Dad will read the Christmas Story to us, from the Bible, right before we open gifts today.  It of course, drove me crazy when I was little and couldn't wait to tear into those gifts, however now that I'm grown, I've come to love that special time when we gather around the Christmas tree and Dad reads to us.  It doesn't take long, but it's a great reminder of what's really important in our lives....of why we're celebrating in the first place.  I just thought that today, in case there are some of you that have never actually read the Christmas Story for yourself, I'd post it for you here.  It can be found in Luke 2, verses 1-20.  Here you go, Friends......this is why I celebrate Christmas.  May your day be merry and bright!! 

Much love,
 

P.S.  The photo above, is what our tree looks like at night with all of the other lights off in the room.  :)

Luke 2

¹In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ²(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³And everyone went to his own town to register.

 ⁴So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

 ⁸And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ^[a] the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

 ¹³Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 
 ¹⁴"Glory to God in the highest, 
      and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

 ¹⁵When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

 ¹⁶So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Impromptu Date Night

You know, there's just nothing like an impromptu Christmas date night with my hottie husband in the middle of the hustle and bustle to put a smile on my face!  We decided on Tuesday night to run out to The Country Club Plaza for a little date night before all of the family festivities started up this week.  The Plaza is THE place to go in Kansas City at Christmas time because they light up the entire area with thousands and thousands of Christmas lights.  The atmosphere at the Plaza is sooo perfect and it was a great night to just relax and enjoy some time together while taking in the sights and sounds that are Christmas time at the Plaza.  It's especially nice when your shopping is finished and you can just relax and enjoy all of that delicious atmosphere!  I took a few pictures to share with you.  If you ever come to Kansas City at Christmas time, definitely put the Plaza on your agenda!  You won't want to miss it.

The above photo is inside McCormick & Schmick's seafood restaurant.  We went there for dinner on our wedding night, and 8 (almost 9) years later, it's still a favorite of ours.  Isn't the domed ceiling so pretty?  (And yes, that's a moose head in the top of the photo!)

 

 

 

A pretty window display at Pottery Barn.  Happy sigh.

 

 

Cole Haan had the CUTEST teensy baby boy suede moccasins.  I totally wanted to buy them!  Haha!

 

The MAC store.  Make-up, not the computers.  Actually, I like both types of MAC store!  :)

 

Yes, that's a horse (& carriage) entering the picture on the left. You can take carriage rides around the Plaza.

 

 

 

The view from the parking garage.  Pretty, pretty.  I know it's a little hard to tell in the photos, but with so many lights glowing all around, it really is almost-magical at the Plaza!

 

 

 

 

A view from the car on the way home.  

In case you're in need of a little card inspiration today, you can check out the Paper Crafts blog HERE for a card I made for their Holiday Cards & More, Vol 4 issue.  

Thank you so much to those of you that have left me Merry Christmas wishes.....I appreciate each one of you!  I hope that you all know how important YOU are to me.  Your comments and emails make me smile -- I read each one -- and I love that we have connected over time.  You're important to me and if you were here, I'd give you a great big Christmas hug and wish you the merriest Christmas ever.  

Merry Christmas Eve, my friends,

 

Deck the Halls....

Good morning, Friends.  Just a little quickie card to show you today as I've got several things on my to-do list that I need to get to when I'm done here.  I'm sure a lot of you are right there with me on the last minute to-do list thing, right?  :)  

For this card, I stamped some Raspberry Fizz dots on kraft card stock and then I took my Vintage Cream ink pad and stamped some Fancy Flourishes over the top of the dots.  The sentiment is from Signature Greetings and I finished the card off with a bow and some rhinestones.  There's not a lot of fuss on this card, but I do love how the raspberry fizz dots came out when stamped on kraft.  Those new pigment inks from Papertrey are good stuff!  (Look for the inks that say 'pigment ink' under the color name.  Those are the new inks that have been switched over to the new formula.)

 

Before I go, I'll leave you with a few photos of the outside of our house at Christmas time.  Bartley handles the outdoor decor (wink!) and I think he does a great job.  He took these photos about a week ago when we had a bit of snow on the ground.  

 

 

 

 

 

We're gearing up for another round of snow here this week.  It's looking like we'll have a White Christmas, which of course I'm totally excited about.  We don't have snow on Christmas Day too often any more, it seems.  But this year, we're just hoping that there isn't too much ice/sleet before the snow gets here.  That can cause a lot more problems!  We'll be grateful for whatever we get though, knowing that those of you up North are looking at a LOT more snow headed your way in the next couple of days!  

Keep warm, Friends!

{I Love You So Much supplies}
Paper: raspberry fizz, rustic cream, kraft
Stamps: Signature Greetings, Polka Dot Basics II, Fancy Flourishes
Ink: dark chocolate, raspberry fizz, vintage cream
Other: raspberry fizz classic grosgrain ribbon, Kaiser Scrapbook rhinestones 

Merry, Merry....Holly, Jolly

Hi there!  Happy Christmas Week!  I'm getting more and more excited to get the festivities started!  I've cleaned the house and we're all ready for our holiday house-guest (my mother-in-law) and everything is feeling festive and holly jolly!  I have a bit of baking to do today -- Bartley's been requesting banana bread (we love the stuff!) so that's next on the agenda.  He should be home any minute so I guess I'd better hustle my bustle!

For today, I have a sweet little anniversary card to share with you in an color combo that I am IN LOVE WITH!  I used going gray card stock from Stampin' Up! and paired it with Papertrey's berry sorbet and rustic cream.  The gray leaves, however, were stamped with Papertrey's smokey shadow ink.  I LOVE the tiny dots stamped in vintage cream ink on that SU! gray card stock.  And I think the whole thing goes perfectly with berry sorbet.  Such a pretty and elegant anniversary card, don't you think?  The leaves are from Blooming Button Bits and the sentiment is from Damask Designs.

 

I'm off to get my baking done.  Hope your week is holly and jolly, my friends!

OH!!  One more thing before I go....I want to give a special shout-out to Sharon Holden!  Hi Sharon!  I went to my new post office box the other day and there was a package from Sharon, shipped all the way from Australia!  She sent me some adorable chocolates and a cute hand-made card and it just made my day!  (Sharon, I would have emailed you right away, but I didn't have your email address.)  Anyway, don't you just love Christmas time?  People do the nicest things for each other.  Sharon, your sweet gift was totally unexpected but completely appreciated!  Merry Christmas, Dearie!  Hope I get to see you when we come to Australia in March!

All right, my hottie hubs just pulled up in the driveway.....gotta go give him a welcome home smooch!  

Ta-ta!

{Happy Anniversary supplies}
Paper: berry sorbet, rustic cream, SU! going gray
Stamps: Blooming Button Bits, Damask Designs, Polka Dot Basics II
Ink: smokey shadow, vintage cream
Other: berry sorbet classic grosgrain ribbon, berry sorbet buttons, rustic cream button twine, corner chomper, EK Success embossed curve punch 

Hi-Ya!

 

Hi-Ya!  How are you?  Just thought I'd pop in with a little card to share.  I made this card using a few favorite stamp sets.....the background is from Background Basics: Diamonds, the flourishes are Fancy Flourishes and the sentiment is of course, Say It With Style.  I adhered the strip of ribbon with a strip of scor-tape.  Quick and easy!  And then I stamped my sentiment and flourishes, punched them out and layered them on a punched scalloped circle with some foam adhesive.

 
Hope your week got off to a great start!  Before I go, I've got a few more book recommendations that I thought I'd mention....they'd make great gifts for the reader in your life!

 

Tight Squeeze by Debbie DiGiovanni  You've heard of 'chic lit'???  Well this is 'mommy lit'!  It was a pretty funny book about a mom who's already got several kids (including a son heading off to college!) and finds out she's expecting again.   While I'm not a mother myself, except to our sweet Riley dog, I do know what it's like to live in a house with lots of kids (I'm the oldest of 5) so I found this book quite entertaining.  Perhaps I could relate to the story line, having been almost 20 years old when we found out my mom was expecting baby #5!  Haha!  At any rate, this was a very entertaining book that I would totally recommend.  A fun read.

 

Dawn's Prelude by Tracie Peterson  This book was so good.  (I know I always say this about Tracie Peterson's books, but it's so true.  She tells such compelling, hook-you-in-right-from-the-start stories.)  This one's historical fiction and the fun part for me was that the start of the story took place in Kansas City!  It was one of those books that sort of wrapped up part of the story but totally left me wondering what happens next all at the same time!  I'm so glad that there are two more books coming in this series....I can't wait to see how everything gets resolved.  I just love stories like that!

 

You Had Me At Good-bye by Tracey Bateman  FUN, fun book.  This one is modern day chic-lit...there's a bit of romance thrown in there too.  This is the second in a series about 3 roomies, each book focusing on one of the girls and her story.  I just started the 3rd book in this series today (while on the elliptical! Ha!) and I'm already 'sucked in'....can't wait to see how it's gonna turn out too!  

All 3 of these books are clean & wholesome and would make great gifts!

Have a holly jolly week, Peeps!

{Hi-ya! supplies}
Paper: raspberry fizz, dark chocolate, rustic cream
Stamps: Say It With Style, Background Basics: Diamonds, Fancy Flourishes
Ink: dark chocolate, raspberry fizz
Other: dark chocolate classic grosgrain ribbon, 1 3/4" circle punch, super jumbo scalloped circle punch, Fiskars apron lace punch, sewing machine/thread 
 

Singing Sunday

 

Did you happen to see this little beauty over on the Paper Crafts blog last week?  This is the Jan/Feb 2010 issue of Paper Crafts and it went on sale last week so check your local news stand or craft store if you want to take a peek at it.  The little card on the bottom left is mine.......OH, how I love berry sorbet, pure poppy, kraft and white/cream.  It's a seriously great color combo.  Makes me happy!  :)  I stamped some Damask Designs, Fancy Flourishes, Polka Dot Basics II and Handwritten Notes on that card.  Love.  Happy to share this cover with Teri Anderson and Julie Campbell.....such talented girlies.  My subscription copy showed up here the other day and I must say that I loved browsing the pages of this issue.  So much inspiration in there!  

I'm at church today, singing in both of the morning services and then I'll be spending the afternoon holed up at home with my hottie hubs before heading out to a family dinner in the evening.  What are you up to today?  How are your Christmas preparations coming along?  Are you already celebrating with family this weekend?  I'd love to hear what you're up to!!

Merry, Merry!

 

Cozy Saturday in Front of the Fire...

Hello there, Dearies...

We're enjoying a quiet Saturday here at the McVey ranch, cozied up in front of the fireplace, soaking in the twinkling of the Christmas tree lights and watching movies on tv....so far it's been "Something's Gotta Give", "The Holiday" and soon "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" is coming on (one of my all time favorite musicals!).  While I'd made pretty good progress on the Christmas preparations around here, there were a few last minute things I had to run out for this afternoon but I'm happy to report that I managed to survive the madness that is shopping on the Saturday before Christmas!  So now I'm back home, tucked in where it's warm (it's FREEZING outside with bits of snow flying about) and will be putting the finishing touches on the wrapped gifts today.  Before I get to that though, I wanted to pop in here and share a sympathy card with you that I made recently using the new Blooming Button Bits stamp set from Papertrey Ink.  This stamp set really makes it soooo easy to put beautiful cards together in a snap because the images are just so perfect and versatile.  I chose some soft colors for this card, and the potted plant image to create a sympathy card.  The buttons are lavender moon buttons, as is the ribbon, patterned paper and the ink I used for the pot.  

I hope that you're having a fabulous Saturday and that whether you're out in the hustle and bustle or whether you're enjoying some quiet time at home or some time out with friends and family, that you're enjoying these last days before Christmas.  If you're stressing, take a deep breath....you're in the home stretch.  ;)  Christmas is almost here so take some time to ENJOY this 'most wonderful time of the year'.  You don't want to look back on this time and remember how frantic it was!  You want to be able to look back and remember those special moments that you were able to share with those that you love.  Spend some time snuggling with your kiddos and loved ones.  Drink some hot cocoa or bake some cookies.  Hang out in the family room in front of the Christmas tree and soak up the season and while you're at it, take some time to reflect on the real reason for the season....the birth of Christ.  And if you don't have plans yet for Christmas Eve, perhaps you might consider going to a Christmas Eve service at a church near you.  Lots of churches will be having beautiful candle-lit Christmas Eve services....I know that at our church, it's my most favorite service of the year.  Everyone is so cheery and festive and the atmosphere is sooo warm and it's just a great chance to dedicate a bit of your Christmas season to celebrating the birth of our Lord.  Even if church isn't really 'your thing', it's a great night to go and slow down and remember what Christmas is really all about.  You can even gather your family together and attend a service together as part of your Christmas Eve festivities.  I know at our church, we have two services on Christmas Eve (each, just an hour long) and I'll be singing at both, so some of my family is going to come to celebrate with us.  I can't wait!  

Whatever your plans are, dear friends, I wish you a Merry Christmas.  

Much love,

{So Sorry For Your Loss supplies}
Paper: spring moss, rustic cream, bitty box basics
Stamps: Blooming Button Bits
Ink: plum pudding, spring moss, lavender moon
Other: lavender moon buttons, lavender moon topnotch twill ribbon, EK Success dotted scallop punch, corner chomper 

 

Hero Arts Blog Hop

 

Hi there and welcome to the Hero Arts Blog Hop!  I'm so glad you were able to stop by today!!  Hero Arts is about to launch their 2010 Catalog and I've got some cards to share with you today that use a few of the new stamps that will be available soon!  First up is a thank you card that I made using the really cool Poppy Background stamp.  It's one of their remountable rubber cling stamps and I stamped it in raspberry fizz ink on vintage cream card stock.  The sentiment is from Hero's Essential Messages clear stamp set -- lots of great, versatile sentiments in this one. 

 

I used a red rhinestone from Kaiser Scrapbook to highlight the sentiment.  I love how quick and easy it was to create this card because the background is so eye-catching all by itself!

 

Next up is a card with just two stamps as well -- this one using the Circle Doily (rubber cling) stamp and another sentiment from the Essential Messages set.  

 

I stamped the image and then used a two-way glue pen to highlight certain areas of the doily to add glitter to.  I stitched a scalloped border along the bottom with my sewing machine.  This Circle Doily is another beautiful stamp that really shines all by itself!

 

One more card for you today.  This one uses the Dandelion Frame (rubber cling) stamp as well as the Antique Engravings (clear stamps) set and another sentiment from Essential Messages.  I stamped the Dandelion Frame in ripe avocado ink on spring moss card stock and then I stamped the butterflies (from Antique Engravings) in plum pudding ink on vintage cream card stock and cut them out so I could adhere them to the card with foam adhesive.  I used my glue pen again, to add glitter to the butterflies and finished off the background with a couple of rhinestones to highlight the dandelions.

 

I hope you're having fun on the blog hop today!  The next stop on the hop is Lisa Carroll so hop on over and see what she's created to share with you! Remember, if you find a link that doesn't work, you can always hop back to the Hero Arts Blog for a list of direct links to all the blogs in the hop!  There are lots of special guests involved in The Hop today so you won't want to miss out on any of that Hero Arts inspiration!!  

Thanks for stopping by and sharing a few minutes of your day with me!  Have a fabulous weekend, Friends!

{Thank You supplies}
Paper: Papertrey Ink-hibiscus burst, vintage cream, simple valentine patterned paper
Stamps: Hero Arts-Poppy Background, Essential Messages
Ink: Papertrey Ink-raspberry fizz, pure poppy
Other: Papertrey Ink-pure poppy classic grosgrain ribbon, Fiskars upper crest punch, Kaiser Scrapbook rhinestone, corner chomper

{Just a Note supplies}
Paper: Papertrey Ink-rustic cream, sweet blush, hibiscus burst
Stamps: Hero Arts-Circle Doily, Essential Messages
Ink: Papertrey Ink-hibiscus burst, dark chocolate
Other: Fiskars apron lace punch, Papertrey Ink-palette glitter, corner chomper, sewing machine/thread

{Thinking of You supplies}   
Paper: Papertrey Ink-spring moss, plum pudding, rustic cream
Stamps: Hero Arts-Dandelion Frame, Antique Engravings, Essential Messages
Ink: Papertrey Ink-plum pudding, ripe avocado
Other: Papertrey Ink-plum pudding saddle stitch ribbon, plum pudding vintage button, rustic cream button twine, palette glitter, Kaiser Scrapbook rhinestones, SU! scalloped edge punch