Christmas decorations this year

Hi all. Coming up for air a bit amidst all the crafty things I'm in the middle of today to share with you some of our Christmas decorations this year. We don't have much and most of them are handmade. I have been saving my kid's handmade ornaments over the past years. They love looking at them and trying to figure out who did what and when so until they move out of the house, our tree is going to be filled with homemade ornaments. Don't get me wrong, I love looking at them especially the ones with their pictures on them but in a decorating/design stand point I'm sure my tree can benefit for some themed color scheme or something like that.

Anyways here are what we've done this year to spruce up our home and bring in the spirit of the holidays....

I added a new handmade item to my Christmas collection and I'll share the project with you soon along with a super easy tutorial for it. :)

Till next time,
Grace

Paper Bakery December Sketch #1

It is another Monday and we are days away from Christmas. Still can't believe it! Today I want to share the latest sketch over at Paper Bakery kit...

and here's my take on the sketch....

this page was made using the wonderful December Add on kit that will be revealed on Dec. 15th.

To check out some more photos of my layout plus read how you too can play along with my sketch, check Paper Bakery kit blog here.

Till next time,
Grace

Poinsettia flower napkin rings *Glue Arts*

 How's your first day of December going so far? Ours started off with some snow. It's still a light dusting but it reminds me of the songs that starts off with..."it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas". Aaahhh the joys of living in Colorado!

Today I want to share a project I made for Glue Arts....

Poinsettia Flower Napkin rings

Pulled out for publication

I used some Glue Arts Accent it all Vinyl to make the flowers and added some glitter to it for that "holiday shine". this project is somewhat 'green' as well as I had used an empty paper towel roll for the base of the ring. To learn more about this project and an easy how to tutorial to make it, check out the Glue Arts blog post here.

Till next time,
Grace

some Christmas DIY inspirations

You all know how I love Pinterest. Every time I get a chance to get on there I'm pinning like a mad woman! So today I'm sharing some of my favorite holiday "pins". Hopefully this will get you excited about the holiday crafting like I do. :)

Isn't this so clever. A new way to use those holiday socks!

This cute trees are made out of cupcake liners. How clever and inexpensive too!

Ribbon to create a candy ribbon-like ornament. How cute and sweet too. *wink*

I sooooo want me a glass dome!!!

a cute treat container that you can do for popcorn and a red glove. You'll definitely get the "coolest homeroom mom" if you hand this out to your kids classmates this year.

If you want more information (and links) to this project and see the rest of what I'm pinning on Pinterest, make sure you check out my Pinterest badge/link on the right side bar.

Have a great and inspirational day everyone.

Till next time,

Grace

Holiday cards *Paper Bakery kit*

December is just a couple of days away and what better way to welcome the "holiday season" than by sharing some Holiday cards...

this card set was made using the Paper Bakery November Add-on kit. such a fun kit to play with.

to learn more about purchasing the kit or to see the other kits being offered, check the site here. Happy Tuesday everyone.:)

Till next time,
Grace

our fancy dinner experience

The week before Thanksgiving, the kids' school offered a Thanksgiving lunch for the children and their family. It's a special meal during their lunch time where the parents can purchase the meal for them and the kids. We decided that instead of participating in this that we will just go to a restuarant for a "fancy" dinner.

So on a Saturday night we went to a restaurant called Zio's. They serve italian dishes and we've never been here so it was a new experience for all of us. We don't normally eat out at a restaurant because we like fast food (cheap and fast) plus the kids have not really been the most behaved while waiting for their food but I thought they need to experience the "fancy" side of a meal at least once a year so they can be familiar of what is expected of them as far as proper etiquette are concerned.

Here's a few pics of our dinner out...

while waiting for our table to be ready, I took out the camera for some quick shots.

We saw an ad in the paper of a great family deal that Zio's was having. It was about $22 for a big plate of spaghetti and meatballs plus chicken alfredo with unlimited salad/soup and bread. We thought it was reasonable and since we've never been to this restaurant, we were up for trying anything.

Marcus didn't like the restaurant experience at first. He was complaining and wanted pizza instead but after tasting their bread and having some of the spaghetti, this boy was happy!

Maddie surprised me at how much food she ate. She doesn't normally have seconds but with this meal, she was enjoying everything twice!

We were surpised at how much food we got for the price we paid. Definitely a deal! Plus the food was delish. I didn't care much for the marinara sauce but the Alfredo dish was superb. We even had room for dessert which we all shared a plate of bread pudding with caramel sauce. I didn't get a chance to take a photo of the dessert as the kids wolfed it down before I can even blink!

All in all it was a great experience. I love how this is so rare for us that we cherish little moments like these. Sharing a great meal (that I didn't have to slave in the kitchen for), practicing our table manners and having a blast together.

Till next time,
Grace

goodness gracious Grace!

Gosh! Shocked myself today when I peeked into my blog and noticed that I have not posted anything this week! So sorry guys. All the crew (aka family) has been home all week long and that meant lots of family time BUT also no time for anything else. But I love it though. It's not often that I have my hubby and kids all to myself and we have been enjoying catching up on some movies, doing chores together, putting up our Christmas decorations and enjoying a feast on Thanksgiving.

So today I have some overdue sharing (and linking) to do.....
This past week, Glue Arts teamed up with Imaginesce and the designers were able to play with the Happy Harvest collection. Here's a wreath I made using the wonderful fall papers.

I added a tutorial on how I made this wreath in the Glue Arts blog tha can be found here.



Then last Wedneasday (I believe) Glue Arts shared a few more of my Happy Harvest projects.

 To see more of the card set and layout, click on over here.

Did you know that a new sketch started on Monday over at Paper Bakery kit blog? Here's the latest sketch..

 and I used that sketch to alter some paper bags (which is included in the November Add on k it)

to play along with the sketch and to learn more about the November Paper Bakery kit head on over here. BTW, they are having a great Black Friday sale on past kits. Make sure you check that out too.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you are having a great Thanskgiving break. I know I do. *wink*

Till next time,
Grace

For a limited time

Happy Saturday everyone. It's pretty windy today and I dropped my step stool on  my feet! I'm thinking this day is not turning out good.

but wait, I remembered that I had planned on opening my Etsy shop today for a limited time and that instantly put a smile on my face. :)

So I'm inviting you to check it out. It will only be open for two weeks (or until I'm all sold out) and I had put items that I recently made that I'm looking for homes for. I can easily hoard all my projects but I think they will have a better purpose if they're actually used and now is the perfect time to "share" them as they will be the "one of a kind" gifts you can share with your loved ones.

Here's the link again.

Have a great weekend and till next time,
Grace

words to live by

Craziness is starting to creep up around here. The calendar is getting a "bit" full and we haven't even hit the Thanksgiving break!

So what do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Well one of the things I do is to stop/rest and read inspiring quotes. I've even dreamed of having a wall full of these inspiration phrases. So today that I'm feeling a tiny bit swamped, let me share with you a few quotes that gets me pumped up and ready to tackle the long to do list.
*all quotes are in my pinterest board- Words and Quotes. To check my pinterest boards, click on the link at the right side bar of this blog. :)

Till next time,
Grace

An Attitude of Gratitude

Can't believe we are about one week away from Thanksgiving and I've been really inspired by all the "thanksgiving" ideas out there, from the projects to ways of showing gratefulness this month. I just hope that we can continue the "attitude of gratitude" even after the holidays are over.

Today I want to share with you a couple of links....

Speaking of Attitude of gratitude, I made a mini album with that in mind which was posted in the Glue Arts blog recently. Check it out here plus check out the full step by step instructions on how I made the book.

One of my friends posted a fun Gratitude photo scavenger hunt over at her blog and I'm playing along. Check out my first batch of photos in my photo blog here.

Now I have to run.Still got a TON of things in my list to accomplish by the end of the day. Tada!

Till next time,

Grace