Life... One Step at a Time

Sorry for my lack of updates!

I have been so busy lately, but I wanted to pop in and give some updates about me and my family.  :) Matthew had all four of his wisdom teeth taken out on Saturday, so he has been in a lot of pain for the last couple of days. Today is the first day of school that he has missed this school year, and he won't be going tomorrow, either. Luckily next week is Spring Break for the kids, so he will be able to heal. No trumpet for him for the next two weeks.

I remember having my wisdom teeth removed a few years ago. I never got any wisdom teeth in until I was 27 and oddly enough, I only had two! Both teeth on the left side of my mouth - one on top and one on bottom. The surgeon said it was very strange that I didn't have any on the other side, and they even did extra x-rays just to be sure. So at least I only had half the pain, but I would gladly endure childbirth all three times before ever going through the pain of having wisdom teeth removed again. That was terrible, but I am a complete wimp when it comes to pain.

I received a wonderful box of American Crafts goodies! Here are a few of my favorite items from the shipment:

These felt letter stickers are awesome! Here is my favorite sheet of new patterned paper:

And these ribbons are pretty cool, too:

I also got a box of new CherryArte! I am in love with the "Alien Invasion" paper - it looks like Space Invaders, and of course the Retro lover in me thought that was the coolest ever!  :) Here it is:

The color scheme is awesome. There were many others that I loved too, so just check out all the new releases if you haven't done so already. Can't wait to dig into their new stuff!

I am finalizing my projects for the Canada Crop for Kids event in October. I finished up another project for BHG last week and have a few other surprise things that I have been working on, so I will share more with you when I am able!

Before I go, I will share yet another deal with you for free prints! You know how I love those free photo deals! CVS is offering 30 free prints, just click here! Order your prints and pick them up at your local CVS store in just a few hours. Offer is good for existing CVS photo members as well as new members, so go get those free pictures!

Great deal on BHG - get a free one year subscription!

Get your free subscription to BHG Scrapbooks, Etc. by being one of the next 1000 registrants for Scrap-A-Faire! Type in coupon code: scrap3fest when you register! Get in on all the fun but hurry - it starts February 28th!

Domonique had a track meet again today and although she didn't place, she got first place at her school for shot put. The weather was gorgeous today - it was 90 degrees when we picked up Alex from school!

Here is a picture of my three that I was able to take a few days ago.  I used it on an assignment I just finished up for BHG. Matthew's hair is longer in this picture as he got it cut yesterday. Now I need to take Alex in to get his hair cut, too.

I have been trying to get my scraproom organized. I am running out of space for my paper, so I need to beg Noel to build me another paper rack! I still have to get the rest of my cabinets installed and get three more drawer units so I can get all of my junk OFF of my scrap counter.

To make a glass cutting surface, I went to Home Depot and bought an inexpensive piece of 16 x 20" glass and applied electrical tape all around the edges to cover the sharp edge. It works really well and is easy to clean, plus it is bigger than the cutting mats I have seen at Joann's, etc. As soon as I get the room finished, I will post a few pictures.

My favorite music to listen to when I scrapbook is 80's music (big surprise, there!) so I usually tune online to Club 977. If you like 80's music, check it out! It is free.

I got another call for the latest Chicken Soup book that will be coming out; if you want it, just e-mail me and I will pass it along to you!

By the way... Scrapsubmit 2.0 is coming!!!!!

Have a great night - I am off to scrap!

Layout from this month's Scrapbooks, Etc. (BHG)

Here is a layout I created for the new February Scrapbooks, Etc. magazine. It is about my mom and me when I was three years old.  :) I used Imaginisce papers and some of their embellishments released at Memory Trends last fall. The magazine has some tips about how to restore color to a faded photograph; I hope it is useful to you!  :)

I have received several new calls for upcoming Chicken Soup for the Soul books, so I will post them here in case you see something that you would like to contribute a story or two for. Chicken Soup stories that are accepted pay $200 per story.

I am off to work on another BHG project!

Mountains of laundry.

This is what my laundry room is beginning to look like. Nope, not out of laziness, but because my washer is BROKEN! The stupid thing stopped draining water, so we called out Maytag and the pump went out! This thing is only a year old! And that, my friends, is why we buy the three-year extended warranty! So it won't cost a dime to have it fixed, but because the parts are on order, my laundry is piling up in the mean time. More time for scrapbooking, right? HEHE!

Here is a page I did for the December issue of BHG. I used a dingbat that I found online for the gingerbread "cookie", then mixed artist's gesso with acrylic paint to make the "icing". I sprinkled glass beads onto the gesso while it was still a bit wet to mimic the cookie sprinkles, then let it dry before adhering the gingerbread man to the layout.

I am starting on some more projects for the May/June BHG issue and some layouts for Chatterbox for CHA! Whew! When I can, I will post some more projects!

Happy New Year and some ornaments for you!

Happy New Year to all of you! I hope that this is your best year ever! Here at the Hanback house, we celebrated at home by making tons of snacks, toasting with juice at Midnight, and throwing lots of confetti while we watched Dick Clark on TV! It is what we do every year and I wouldn't have it any other way! I have to admit, though, that when Dick Clark started speaking, my heart fell and I almost cried. It is just so strange hearing his voice the way it is, after his stroke, especially since we have all grown up watching this guy do the New Year's thing every year. I guess it is almost like a realization to me that an era is coming to an end. When he is gone, our kids will hear someone else do the Rockin' Eve. I don't know, I am strange. It just brought tears to my eyes.

I haven't really made any New Year's resolutions; I try not to do that because I feel like every day is a reason to try to be the best that I can be - I shouldn't have a specific "day" to try to decide to make positive changes, if that makes sense. I am always trying to find ways to improve myself, my relationships, my life.

Here are a couple of Christmas ornaments that I created for the December issue of BHG. I hope you like them!

(above) This one is my favorite! I used Chatterbox grafik rub-ons and adhered a round one to the top of the glass ball, then another round rub-on from the bottom of the ball.

(above) For this one I used Pearl-ex inside the ball and then swirled it around, turning it upside down in an empty egg crate to let the excess drain out and to dry. Once the inside was dry, I embellished the ball with Chatterbox grafik rub-ons and a jewel.

(above) This one was made by punching out lots of 1/2" circles then adhering them to a glass ball ornament using Mod-Podge. Once the ball was completely covered, I gave the entire ball a good final coat of the Mod-Podge to seal. These can take some time to dry thoroughly, so let them sit (or hang) for a few days to eliminate any tackiness from the Mod-Podge. Then, I embellished the top with a ribbon, a brad, and some colored wire spirals.

(above) This ornament was so simple - I just cut 1/4 inch x 6" strips of patterned Christmas paper and inserted the strips one by one into the glass ball. Once it is filled to your liking, just put the metal collar back on the top then add some ribbons. I also adhered a "Merry Christmas" button with a glue dot. See? Easy peasy!

(above) This one would look better if I had taken the time to iron the wrinkles out of the ribbons. *ahem* Anyhow, simply cut strips of cardstock into 1" x 6" strips and roll them up tightly, then insert the rolls into the glass ball. Embellish with a rub-on and some ribbons and Voila! An ornament in maybe 2 minutes tops! The cool thing about making these is that you can color-coordinate them to match any theme, etc.

I am working on several different projects for BHG right now, but will continue to post here! I hope to share some more stuff with you soon!

And would somebody please take away this bag of pretzels I keep eating?!? Good grief, I am gonna gain a ton because I keep snacking on them!!

I am alive and breathing! HAHA!

Hey everybody! Hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas! We had a special day full of food and fun. We stayed here in Frisco, but we enjoyed opening presents, eating way too much food, and just being thankful for having full stomachs and a roof over our head! What a great day! I will post some pictures tonight.

I got one of these for Christmas:

I am so excited - I have been wanting a Wishblade for the longest time! It is backordered, so I don't actually have it yet, but it is supposed to be shipped on the 29th so I can't wait to get it. Now I won't have to end up with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome from all the hand-cutting of letters and shapes using my exacto knife. YAY! LOL!

The kids had a great Christmas. They are upstairs playing with all of their goods and I haven't heard nary a peep out of them since they opened their presents! It is so funny how kids open their gifts then hibernate in their rooms with all the goods.

I bought Noel a Playstation 3. Yes, I know it is frivolous, but he is a big kid at heart and loves to play video games! He lost his PS2 in the hurricane, so this was a cool gift. I found a guy who had bought one for his family but then needed the money for Christmas so he decided to sell it. It had never been opened and he had the receipt too, so I bought it. He has been in the living room playing Call of Duty.

I am really excited about the upcoming Scrapbooking Crop for Kids in Canada next October! I will be joining some other really fabulous teachers and will be teaching for this fundraising event. If you haven't already checked it out, please do so. It is a very important fundraiser and I cannot wait to be a part of it!

Ok, off to clean up some Christmas mess and work on some projects for BHG! I will post some pictures here in just a bit!

Christmas, anyone?

Just a quick Christmas card I made for Scrappers Bliss using Three Bugs in a Rug's Holiday line of papers and rub-ons. The star at the top is Fancy Pants chipboard that has been painted with a red leafing pen by Krylon.

Working on an assignment from BHG, so I will post again soon!

Another CHA day!

Here is a photo from the BHG get-together we had tonight during CHA. This is only a few of us. From left to right: Janna Wilson, Melissa Inman, Shannon Zickel, me, Amy Licht, and Amy Howe in the front. We had a great time! I have some more pictures, but am too tired to post them so I will do it when I get back home.

Sandi Minchuk - it was great to meet you today! Glad you got your photo with Melody Ross! ;) I hated to see Courtney and Leah have to go tonight, but they left early. I go back home tomorrow night, and although the show has been a blast, I am tired and ready to go. :) Rhonna was such a hoot, and Shannon Zickel totally cracks us all up! Wendy - so glad I got to hug you and thank you in person. Jessie Baldwin - it was awesome to hug you again! :) A huge thank you to the BHG staff for a wonderful time tonight. It was so cool to get together with the new team, and I wish all the new team members could have been there. hopefully at Memory Trends! Anne - It was cool to see you, and Ruth A. and Amy F. were sweet and funny as ever. :)

So many cool people and so little time. Don't kill me if I didn't mention you! LOL! But it has been awesome seeing everyone. Oh yeah and Thena - thanks for the "hugs"!

An attendee of the show recognized Noel from another trade show. He had seen Noel's performance while he was performing for an electronics corporation and was very excited to be able to come up and talk to him. It is crazy but in other industries, Noel is considered a celebrity, as he is well-known as a corporate entertainer. However, at CHA, he was mostly known as "Mr. Jlyne"! LOL!

Alright, I need to go to bed. Seriously. Tomorrow is the last day. If you see me at the show, you had better stop and say hello! ;)