I can’t believe the holidays are just around the corner! I’ve started a Christmas shopping list, the fall decorations on my mantel will only be in season for a few more weeks, I’m obsessed with all the fun holiday crafts that I’ve seen on my favorite blogs and Christmas commercials are already on TV! It’s hard to believe it’s already November. Next weekend we are headed to yet another wedding… the last one of the year. In the holiday and wedding spirit, I thought I’d share a brag book that I put together of my own wedding photos! I have a few other wedding brag books that I’ll be sure to share soon, too! If you are looking for a custom brag book for a Christmas gift, be sure to let me know ASAP. I already have a handful of orders I’m working on… it is going to be a busy holiday season and it is only November 7!

The countdown is on! Two weeks from today I will be walking along with 4,000 other (maybe crazy!) men and women walking 60 miles in 3 days to raise money for Susan G. Komen for the Cure. We will be camping in hot pink tents down at the beach fueled with enthusiasm and energy to show our commitment to this important cause. Sadly, many women in my life have been affected by breast cancer – including my grandma… so, in a few weeks I will be walking for them! Together, our mighty little team of five “60 Miles for Bust” has raised over $12,000!

Although the fundraising goals have been challenging to meet, training for this event has been even more of a commitment! Over the last six months or so, I’ve been trying to carve out time from my schedule to walk… and walk… and walk… Last weekend, my teammate Megan and I walked 20 miles. Here are a few snapshots. We walked from my house to my parent’s house (where mom and dad greeted us with a wonderful brunch), did a few miles with the family in their neighborhood, then headed over to Lake Murray and walked with our friend Ashley back to our house. It took us from about 7am to 2pm. Generally, we felt tired but no aches, pains or blisters! Now, doing that 3 days straight is another story, but we are pretty optimistic that our training has paid off!

Thanks to all of our wonderful friends and family for their support so far. We’ll see you at the cheering stations in two weeks!

Breakfast with the family (well, mom is behind the camera!)…

Feeling energetic!

Happy Sunday! Hope you have had a great weekend! I’m excited to share our first ever “Make Your Own Mini Album.” We put together these kits for an event a few weeks ago. With a few leftover, we are happy to offer them through our shop for just $15! The kit includes everything pictured below and step-by-step instructions on how to put it together! These will go quick! Make sure you get yours today! And… don’t forget the holidays are just around the corner! The project takes about 30 minutes to complete and includes a tutorial with step-by-step instructions.

The kit includes:
(3) 4×6 chipboard pages
(6) pre-cut patterned paper cardstock
(4) pre-cut solid cardstock photo mattings
(4) premium ribbons
(3) white buttons
(1) crocheted flower
(1) foot of bakers twine
(1) mini binder clip
(1) foot of tule
(1) metal ring
(1) full color tutorial with step-by-step instructions

To put the kit together, it is recommended to use: fine-tip scissors, ink, paper trimmer, hole punch, adhesive. The mini album holds about (6) photos. If you have any questions assembling the kit, feel free to contact me. Happy to help!

Your final product will look like this:

As much as we love selling online, it is still a blast to set up shop at a LIVE event! We’ve revamped our event set up to include our new DIY kits and projects. At this event we also had a live demo make-and-take, as well. We had a great time. Here are a few snapshots!

In addition to American Craft’s Amy Tangerine, Ribbon Ring and Epiphany Crafts — here are few more of my favorites to wrap up the trip to CHA Chicago 2011. I can’t wait for the Winter show in LA! Woo hoo!

Doodlebug had the cutest set up…

Hambly Screen Prints has some adorable transparencies with birds on a wire, mustaches and fun patterns.

Little Yellow Bicycle had the bicycle there! How fun!

Pebbles is always so cute!

A special thanks to Michelle Single for sharing her photos with us! Also, it was fabulous volunteering with the gals with Charity Wings. We had a ton of fun — and raised money for nonprofits! Such a great trip!

Stay tuned… tomorrow is SEPTEMBER! Can you believe it? We are super excited because we will be launching our new Embellish DIY Kits in September. Sneak peeks are coming tomorrow.

I’ve seen these guys a few other tradeshows and they’ve invented the coolest product! It’s on my “wish list”! You can create your own custom epoxy shapes and acrylic buttons using your own papers or photos. Check out Epiphany Crafts to learn more! Here are a few photos about how it works and what you can create with these fun embellishments!

First off, how flippin’ cute is their booth!?!?

Being part of the CHA experience was absolutely amazing. It was so fun to see the newest products and all the industry leaders at one big event! One of my favorites from CHA was the new American Crafts line by Amy Tangerine. Here are a few sneak peeks of what you will be seeing both on my scrapbook pages, coming soon to my online store and in your local scrapbook shop.

Here’s a picture of the Charity Wings crew at their booth!

I absolutely love this!!! So many of the albums and photo-related gifts I create are gifts, I usually get to see the excitement from the gift-giver, but not always reactions from the person receiving the gift! Michelle was so sweet to capture an adorable photo of Sydney after she opened her shadowbox and share it with us! Thanks, Michelle! Sydney, I am so glad you love the shadowbox. It was SO fun to put together!!

A few weeks ago I attended a beautiful bridal shower for my good friend, Shawndene. I am so excited for her upcoming wedding! I’ve seen a few sneak peaks of the DIY projects that she has created and I’m sure it will be absolutely stunning. They had an adorable candy bar at the shower and each guest got to take home a mason jar with two frosted cupcakes stacked in the jar. Delicious!

Here are a few snapshots with my girls from the party!

With the pretty bride-to-be, Shawndene…

Sticking with the bachelorette party / wedding theme for the week, here’s the cute little goody bags that I put together for Lauren’s bachelorette party. They were super simple, but pretty fun. They were especially stylin’ when displayed together. All you need is a colored bag, a black marker, a little ribbon and bubbly handwriting! There’s nothing to it! These bags would be super cute for birthday parties, too.