Bad Blogger! LOL!!

Sorry folks...so many things to do so little time, right?!

Well, I had to say good-bye to a couple of my favorite Japanese scrappers these past few weeks...so sad. I know eventually they will all have to leave (DHs are on assignment overseas in Chicago for only a few years 3 to 5 years) but it is SAD... With the economy not doing so hot, there will be more. I know of at least one more leaving the end of next month and another one leaving in September...sign.

----------------------------------------------------------------

On a more cheerful note, I have been asked to join a great group of talented scrappers to be a part of an Ezine called Scrapbook News & Review (SNR)!!!! WHOOOHOOO!!





This is such an honor for me! I know some of these women from their HUGE TALENT shared on other scrapbooking venues. I am thrilled to join them….just hope that I can keep up with them (inserting YIKES!!).

So if you’re wanting to go “GREEN” and get all those paper magazines out of your scrap area, Scrapbook News & Review is for you!! The magazine is literally packed-full of inspiration and no advertising pages are overwhelming these issues! Come take a look for yourself HERE!

MS Crop 2009...

a crop that I have been going to since it started back in 2007. It is a crop that raises awareness and funds for Multiple Sclerosis.

The first year was held the first weekend I spent in my new home in Schaumburg...thank goodness I have an understanding husband! LOL!! Thinking I was going to meet a fellow scrapper, I ended up scrapping alone (her son being sick and couldn't make it at the last minute). But I got a lot of pages done! LOL!!

The second year, I had a lot of company :0) It was a fun time for me...don't ask how many pages I got done...heehee!!









This year, well...can I tell you I got spoiled?! Besides being late for the crop (my little guy's graduation which last 2 hours instead of 1!!!), dinner was already being served so I ate right away (no lunch or dinner so I was straving!!) and I had a massage scheduled! Boy, did I need one...sitting in the bleachers for two hours straight did a number on my back - thanks, Princesses!!










Yes, I was in the private crop room called the Princess Room = WOW!!! We had a lady-in-waiting (Chris), a sweet table, special goodie bags and notification on when the auction tables were about to be done. But the best part, I was with friends (but I missed my Princess Fiona!!!!) with tieras and pink T-shirts ("Princess CropALot") - heehee!!! AND we bid for the Princess Room at the auction table and WON!!! We were hovered over that table so that no one will outbid us! LOL!! When you're spoiled, well...you have to go for it again :0)))




Pictured from left to right - ReneeN (bottom), MargieH, ChrisR, CJ and Mary BethT hovering over the Princess Room poster that was displayed on the Silent Auction Table.





Laura, my friend & crop organizer, what can I say! Another job well done...each year, it has gotten better and better. You are awesome - there's not enough words to describe what kind of person you are because you're all that and more!! I hope (& pray) that a cure will be discovered in the near future! Hugs to you!! xoxoxo

A newly graduate!

My youngest son, the six grade graduate....from Saturday Japanese school!

The ceremony was yesterday amongst the rain drops, we managed to get an outdoor picture before it started to pour...boy, what a rainy weekend!








It was also the principal's last graduation ceremony. His 3-year assignment has ended and he (and his lovely family) will be returning to Tokyo. He will be sorely missed especially by my family...he was a fun & cool principal :0( We wish you well!!

Proud mom with her little graduate...Congratulations, Hiro!! xoxo

「ラブメモ9号リリースパーティ」終了!

２月２７日、「ラブメモ9号リリースパーティ　in　シカゴ！」はマージー・ヒグチの家　（Schaumburg IL）で無事に終了しました。寒いシカゴの冬の中でも約２０人のスクラッパが参加しました。











おかげさまで、イベント前に２０冊の９号とバックオーダが売り切れました。皆さんがラブメモ９号に紹介された「紙1枚で作るミニブック」を挑戦しました。全員がミニブックをうまく完成し、多数の方は残ってミニブックにエンべりを付けました。楽しい～！

















家の中は焼きたてのカップケーキとコーヒーの匂いがいっぱでした。一個一個のカップケーキに"LoveMemo #9 ReleaseParty”とカップケーキのイメイジのスタンプを押した円いデーコレイションを付けました。皆さんがカップケーキとコーヒーをいただきながら、ラブメモの本にのってるテックニク、「これをやってみたい、あれもやってみたい｣のお話しを聞こえます。














頭の中はスクラップの事でお帰りになったと思います！とっても楽しいイベントでした～ラブメモ９号とカップケーキのおかげでした！（笑）

Brought to you by the letter "C"...

PHEW!!!!!!!!
(A VERY BIG sign of relief! LOL!!)

The letter "C" as in Coffee & Cupcake party for LoveMemo #9 Release Party in Chicago is now over! LoveMemo is short for "Love My Memories" - Japan's first scrapbooking magazine and its editor, Emi Kume, is credited to have started this crafty trend in Japan. As I mentioned previously, I was interviewed for their design team article in this issue! So excited to bring this magazine to the Japanese scrappers' attention in Chicago!

After days of preparation and cleaning, it turned out to be a very nice event :0) Thank you to those who attended, purchased and basically, played with us!

I am very lucky to say that all the magazines sold out before the day of the event...I have a handful that would like to order the issue (oh, Emi! LOL!!) which is a good thing!

The best part? Having new people come and see what scrapbooking is all about and leave home with excitement of finding a new craft! YEAH! What a great feeling!

Everyone had a great time with the party's make'n take...making a mini album out of one 12x12" paper. This technique was featured in issue #9 and for those who had ordered the magazine got a special gift from the editor - a fun patterned paper from Cosmo Cricket, a journal box and cardstock to make the outside cover. How cool is that?! BUT I didn't want them to make a mistake on their first try so I gave out patterned papers in my inventory and let them try it! A lot of ohhs & ahhs...for many, it was their first try at scrapbooking - how cool is that?!

I hope to see the end results from them soon!

---------------------------------------------------------

For my Japanese scrappers:

お忙しい中、「ラブメモ9号リリースパーティ　in　シカゴ！」のイベントに参加していただいた方、又は、雑誌を注文いただいた方、本当にありがとうございました！

とてもいい思い出と楽しい時間でした！

＊３月のクラス＆ワークショップ　スケジュール：

　４日（水）　　１０：００ＡＭ－１３：００ＰＭ
スクラップブッキング & etc.　＠　シャンバーグ自宅
クラス・ワークショップ代金：$5　+　material
持ち物：　ベーシックツールキット＊

　６日（金）　　１０：００ＡＭ－１３：００ＰＭ
スクラップブッキング & etc.　＠　シャンバーグ自宅
クラス・ワークショップ代金：$5　+　material
持ち物：　ベーシックツールキット＊

　９日（月）　　１０：００ＡＭ－１３：００ＰＭ
スクラップブッキング & etc.　＠　シャンバーグ自宅
クラス・ワークショップ代金：$5　+　material
持ち物：　ベーシックツールキット＊

13日（金）　　　０９：３０ＡＭ－１３：００ＰＭ
スクラップブッキング & etc.　＠　ミツワCommunity Room
クラス・ワークショップ代金：$6　+　material
持ち物：　ベーシックツールキット＊

１８日（水）　　１０：００ＡＭ－１３：００ＰＭ
スクラップブッキング & etc.　＠　シャンバーグ自宅
クラス・ワークショップ代金：$5　+　material
持ち物：　ベーシックツールキット＊

３１日（火）　１０：００ＡＭ－１３：００ＰＭ
スクラップブッキング & etc.　＠　シャンバーグ自宅
クラス・ワークショップ代金：$5　+　material
持ち物：　ベーシックツールキット＊

＊ベーシックツールキットは、12" paper trimmer; scissors, black pen/marker, pencil, eraser, ruler, exacto knife, and adhesive (dry=テープのり & wet＝液体)です。無い方は、私から借りて下さい。

参加ご希望の方は、ミツワ、私の自宅とも私宛にＥメールして下さい。もし、上記に都合の良い日が見当たらない場合でもご連絡下さい。

よろしくお願いします！

Spellbinders....

Kinda late with the news but by now you've seen the list of 20+ finalists for Spellbinders Wizard design team and my name is no where to be found.

Of course, I'm disappointed but you can't expect everyone to be selected...which would be great in an ideal world! LOL!! But hey, with many years of submission experience, it's OK! LOL!!

SO what I can do is finally share what I had sent with the exception of two items (card & altered item)...they got picked up by Scrapbook News & Review magazine so there's a bright spot in all this!

This was under the layout category - "First Love."
I'm sure my son will not be too happy for sharing this but I just love this picture. He was in kindergarten (Englewood Cliffs NJ) and they were constantly holding hands. She went back to Japan and unfortunately haven't kept in touch. Wanted to use the scalloped hearts and nested birds (Spellbinders) for this layout. Using the smaller heart with the bigger one, I was able to make an open heart die and make a chain of them running along the edge of the paper.

This was under the stamped category - "Be Mine."
I made foam stamps out of the Timeless Heritage (Spellbinders) pieces to make my hubby a vintage Valentine's Day card. Then used the foam stamp as an accent in the card. Kinda corny but loved how the foam stamp picked up the details on the die's embossed design! Granted not my best card but I liked the technique and that was what I was going for and a card for my hubby! LOL!!

Design team or not, I truly enjoy this Company....good people and good products! So if you're looking for a die cut machine (a manuel one), you should look at Spellbinders :0)

Valentine's Day...

Well, I'm not big on Valentine's Day other than getting stuff for my boys' classes. I also tell my husband not to do anything Valentine-y because everything cost double! OY!

I usually get myself a HUGE bouquet the day after and they are just as beautiful...maybe too budget conscious?! LOL!! My way of thinking is that everyday is Valentine's Day...we express appreciation for each other many, many times :0)

So this year he and the boys surprised me with a bouquet of flowers and one of those cards that records a message...that was cool! Oh, what cracked me up was my oldest DS' note to me "Happy Valentine's Day, mom! Thanks for giving birth to me!" What a character that one! LOL!!



Oh, my DH also bought a pair of beautiful red wine glasses from Crate'n Barrel (one of my favorite stores) and I am to pick the red wine up tomorrow from Wine Styles - they are some AWESOME selection! Can't wait!


Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day xoxoxo

Do you know how much I love Teresa Collins?!

A TON!!! LOL!

Just now, I was surfing the blogs that I bookmarked - paper crafters who I love & get inspiration from. What a SUPER SUPRISE to see my Valentine Wreath on Teresa Collins' blog!!!! WOW!

Totally made my day! I privately emailed her about how much I loved her CRUSH line and how it inspired me to make a wreath. My friends @ Craft Fancy really loved it so we decided to offer a class!

Here's the pictures that I "stole" from Craft Fancy...













Can't really tell from the pictures but had used a lot of foam tape to give it a 3D effect. Really loved how this turned out...thanks to Miss Teresa's design!! LOL!!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend :0)

Love is in the air and...

it's February?!

Where did the time go?

Hope everyone had a great time watching the Super Bowl - congrats to Pittsburgh! Although I am not a football fan, it's exciting to see all the half-time activities and the (expensive) commercials!

What did I do? Well, I was busy making final touches on a design team call for Spellbinder Wizard...or should I say I was driving myself & family crazy over this! LOL!! Let's just say I am happy with the end result of my submissions and hope they are too! This Company has such great products and I enjoy "playing" with it all! So wish me luck!


This wasn't part of the submission but really loved how it turned out. An altered item was part of the submission. At first, I thought I would do a place setting but decided it wasn't "altered" enough! LOL!! I used the StampinUp Top Note die as the base...wouldn't you know that Spellbinders just released Labels Four that would be perfect for this base! Need to add that on my wish list...among many...sigh...LOL!! A total of 4 dies were used for this card :0)



Love in the air? Well, it is Valentine's in a couple of weeks :0) Do you have anything special to give? I happen to have a class at Craft Fancy (Arlington Hts IL) that might fill your need! I'll be using one of my (good friend &) favorite designer's product line, Teresa Collins' CRUSH, sprinkled along with chipboards from Maya Road & Scenic Route to make a Valentine's wreath!! Class will be offered tomorrow AM (11am-1pm/Feb 3rd) and Sunday, Feb 8th. (1pm-3pm) ~ so get your spot reserved! Class fee is $20.

Happy 12th Birthday...

to my little guy who is not so little...I guess....sniff-sniff!



We celebrated at his favorite restaurant, DARUMA. The people there are so nice and makes the boys feel special. The special dessert of the day are "TO DIE FOR!!" So good!

So happy birthday, Hiro-kun! xoxoxo

TaDa Technique #2 @ TaDa Creative Studios!

This Tuesday is my turn to show something cool...well, being Japanese, people automatically think we know ORIGAMI like the back of our hands...NOT! LOL!!

It's not like ORIGAMI but it is playing with paper! I'm showing a flat pleating technique that I enjoy using on my layouts. So I'm sharing that addiction on TaDa Creative Studio's blog HERE. I hope you stop by and let me know what you think :0)

In the meantime, I'll post the layout that I did for this technique...

See the flat pleat under the green flower? Really like how it worked with the layout :0)

This picture was taken in the fall when we visited Anderson Japanese Garden in Rockford IL. If you lived nearby, you should take a stroll and enjoy its beauty...a lot to see!

BIG HUGE TOOOT!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so so excited to share that I have been interviewed in a Japanese scrapbooking magazine ("Love My Memories"/nickname: "LoveMemo")!!!!

I met the editor Emi Kume at the last Craft & Hobby Assoc. (CHA) trade show this past summer in Chicago. Actually we knew each other beforehand through a few emails. She has an online store that one of my Japanese scrapbooking students told me about a few years ago when I lived in the NY/NJ area. SO I have known Emi-san for years! LOL!! Right, Emi? Heehee... Anyways, she is a TERRIFIC person and I am SO HAPPY to FINALLY MEET HER FACE-TO-FACE!!!

Anyway, a few weeks later she asked if I would like to be involved with an article covering design teams..how they work, how to apply and what the job entails. I gave her information about my job as a design team member for TaDa Creative Studios and sent samples of my work with TaDa.

So thank you, Emi, for letting me a part of your FABULOUS MAGAZINE!! As I told her, "LoveMemo" is my Japanese textbook! LOL!! It's the only thing that will motivate me to read ANYTHING Japanese....sorry, mom!

Also for my scrapping friends in Japan, "LoveMemo" is having its first design team (scrappers in Japan only) so if you are interested, GO FOR IT!! Details are in the magazine.

Thinking sunny days....

OK...the place is covered with snow again...not happy. I know it's winter but haven't you heard of cold bright days?! LOL!!!


So I'm not feeling sunny right now due to the weather so I'm fixing it and thinking RED! LOL!! I have a Valentine's Day card class ($15)being offered at Frozen Memories so I thought I'd let you know too. So if you live or visit the Chicago area this month, these are the dates & times for it:


Saturday, January 10th (10:30am to 12:30pm)
Tuesday, January 20th (10:30am to 12:30pm)
Thursday, January 30th (10:30am to 12:30pm)


Guess it would be helpful for a picture....





Nice & colorful and not white like the stuff outside today - YUK!

Happy (belated) New Year!!

Late as usual but hey, better late than never, right?!

Most of you know that hubby is in Japan helping out the Temple with new years services and ceremonies...he'll be back at the end of the week and the house will be back to normal! Let just say the house is a little too quiet...yes, even with two boys in the house, we now know who is the biggest noise-maker! LOL!!!

On new years day, a Japanese family typically celebrates with various dishes (OSECHI RYORI) in these stacked boxes - aren't they beautiful?! These dishes are made so they last for days (no frig in the "old days & all the shops were closed for a few days to celebrate new years). Each dish has a meaning (don't ask, I don't know them so I will have to google search and come back to you on those...).

Here's a picture I took of the box (can you believe we had one?!) while we were preparing the rest like handrolled sushi (more like my friends...they came over to teach me a little...LOL!!)...sorry it looks so bare.


It was nice to have friends over with their families to bring in 2009 together!

I hope that everyone has a wonderful and even better year...it was tough last year with the economy and all but we must be positive and move on!




So happy new year!!!

Edited to add some links to better explain the meaning behind each OSECHI dish HERE & HERE.

Christmas 2008...

OK...just for you, Renee! I will post what we got for Christmas! LOL!!

Here goes...

Taka....

A bunch of law enforcement-related books-he "thinks" he wants to get into that field..first it was police, then SWAT and now FBI..oh, wait...back to SWAT? OY! These are from Hiro.

An iTune gift card from Santa..already used up in 20 mins!

A cell phone from parents since it's FREE and on family plan.

LL Bean winter coat from his uncle because he doesn't have a decent one!

$$ from various "sources" (aka relatives) due to birthday & holidays.

Lots of sleep-ins! LOL!!

Hiro...

A bunch of word search books from Taka

A board game from Santa

A cell phone from parents...now I'll know where he is!

An American Eagle jacket from his uncle

$$ from same source & same reason

Computer time & many sleepovers with friend.

Hosho...

A coin bank from Santa...now he can stop harrasing the bank teller with all those coins!

LL Bean winter coat...otherwise Taka will not have a winter coat! LOL!! He was eyeing Taka's coat...actually it's nice one...the Weather Channel guys use them...it's light but it keeps you warm & dry...a pretty good investment!

Margie...

A HUGE box full of Maya Roads goodies from Santa, of course 'cuz he understands me! LOL!! And it's the only surprise for Christmas! LOL!!

A Slanket...one of those HUGE throws w/ sleeves...which btw took me the next day to use because everyone else had it the entire Christmas Day....I will not name names but...

Need I say more?! LOL!!

It was a very peaceful Christmas...spending time with family :0)

And not outside where we've had snow for at least a month now...so we had our White Christmas and am now done with snow....be careful what you wish for, right?! LOL!! But isn't it beautiful :0)

This is from our front door looking west...this is our deck...totally buried in snow!! YIKES!!!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!
Will post about the new year soon!

Merry Christmas!!!

To all those who celebrate this wonderful holiday...hope you are with family, loved ones and/or friends! I'm about to wrap the last couple of presents before I head for bed :0) but wanted to wish everyone warm thoughts and memories of the day!


Merry Christmas :0)

December Babies...

A special shout out to my little brother, Dave, on his birthday (December 11th)!!! Hope you had a wonderful day...sorry I didn't call you :0(

Another December baby (22nd) is my big baby, Taka!!! This will be his 14th year on this earth. One of Hiro's friend came over to celebrate with us (so Hiro had an impromtu sleep over...gee how did that happen?! LOL!!!). So Happy Birthday to Dave & Taka...many, many more good years to come!




Taka conducting the birthday song....












Blowing a candle out on his favorite carrot cake :0)

To all my friends who are Spellbinder Wizardettes....

....is that a word?! LOL!!

Spellbinders posted that they are in search of design team members for next year!!! If you are a fan of their dies and machines like I am, you too should go for it! I want to give it a try so come join me!

Here's the link!
Good luck to you!!

Speaking of tags....

This is for the benefit of my Japanese scrappers...as promised, here's the pictures of the tags we'll be making this month (most without ribbons when I took this picture/you will have them):










上の写真は、今月のプロジェクトです。
もし興味がありましたら是非参加して下さい。
宜しくお願いします！
MargieH

This past weekend has been a rush of events for us. Saturday, my oldest DS had to skip Saturday Japanese school to take a placement test for high school (he'll be a freshman in the fall @ Schaumburg High School) - YIKES! How did he grow up that fast?! Right afterwards, I had to take DS #2 to the bus stop so that he could attend Japanese school (was not happy that big brother wasn't going...he indicated that he wanted to take the placement test! LOL!! Wait 2 years, kid! You'll have your chance! Then I rushed to get my hair done and get to the dry cleaners before picking up DS#1...didn't quite make so DH had to step in and get our little guy. Then off to a holiday party all the way downtown...love the chance to catch up on friends at this annual gathering...too much white wine & champagne ;0P But so much fun!

Sunday, it was back downtown (Wrigleyville) to Church. It was so nice to see our congregation members as some of them are close to 80s and 90s years young. The ladies made this wonderful hot ODEN (kind of like a thin brothed stew full of potatoes, vegggies and fish cakes)...great for a hangover! LOL!!! Then afterwards we went to MITSUWA for some much needed food shopping! LOL!! Then we passed out at home...it was a very quiet evening!

So how was your weekend?

Tagged By Ivy...

As I see in the comments, my dear friend Miss Ivy tagged me so here's the rules & my answers:

Here are the rules...Welcome to the 2008 edition of getting to know your friends! Try not to be lame and spoil the fun! If you get tagged, copy this entire survey and paste into your own blog, change all of the answers so that they apply to you. Then visit the profiles of some of your friends and "Tag" them by simply leaving a comment, asking them to visit your blog, and state that they have been Tagged! The theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your friends that you might not have known! Some of you may get tagged several times, so they can always refer back to your blog for your answers.

1. What time did you get up this morning? 6am....stumbling around to brush my teeth & wash the good ole face and off downstairs to get lunch bags ready for the boys. Can you believe that Schaumburg school district does not offer hot lunch to their kids?! OY! I have to do this until the boys are in high school.

2. Diamonds or pearls? Pearls...my birth gem (June baby)!!

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? I think it was SpiderMan 3?!

4.What is your favorite TV show? Runway

5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Coffee & (maybe) toast

6. What is your middle name? It's Japanese and I don't answer when called :0P

7. What food do you dislike? Mussels = YUK!

8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? A Japanese band called UverWorld

9. What kind of car do you drive? A silver ACURA RDX...love that car!

10. Favorite sandwich? Roast Beef w/ lots of horseradish :0)

11. What characteristic do you despise? Liar

12. Favorite item of clothing? Jeans

13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? I never been to Europe so I would love to wander around that area! AND my DH promised to take me there...are you reading this Hosho?! Heehee!!

14. Favorite brand of clothing? Talbot's, Liz Caliborne

15. Where would you retire to? Somewhere warm without any natural diseasters (you know, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes - LOL!!)

16. What was your most recent memorable birthday? Two years ago when we had family from Japan over and they remembered my birthday! We had a mini impromtu party! Loved it! Great memories! Two days later, we were off to Mt. Rushmore, Yellowstone Nat'l Park & Grand Teton for a summer/birthday vacation :0)

17. Favorite sport to watch? Not into watching...

18. Furthest place you are "tagging" this? Not sure yet...

19. Person you expect to send it back first? Would be a miracle...there's a lot of these going around

20. When is your birthday? June 14th (Flag Day!)

21. Are you a morning person or a night person? Was a night owl but getting old and have to get up early for the kids so MORNING PERSON (of no choice - LOL!!)

22. What is your shoe size? 8

23. Pets? Do my kids count? If not, no.

24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? I'm part of an article about design teams for a Japanese scrapbook magazine that should be coming out on the 10th - so excited & honored that Emi (the editor) asked me!

25. What did you want to be when you were little? A music/theater teacher

26. How are you today? I'm great but ovewhelmed with my schedule...

27. What is your favorite candy? Altoids

28. What is your favorite flower? Oh, wow. I have two: pink roses & gerber daisies!

29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Tomorrow! Knowing that I survived another day to enjoy another one!

30. What's your full name? Marjorie T. Higuchi

31.What are you listening to right now? Silence..well, DH is now walking around.

32. What was the last thing you ate? Vanilla Bean Ice Cream!

33. Do you wish on stars? Sometimes

34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Pink!

35. How is the weather right now? COLD!

36. The first person you spoke to on the phone today? My son's teacher...in trouble again that little guy! OY!

37. Favorite soft drink? Definitely COKE!

38. Favorite restaurant? Daruma Restaurant (Japanese restaurant in Hoffman Estates, IL)

39. Real hair color? Black

40. What was your favorite toy as a child? Headless Barbie...thanks to my brothers!

41. Hugs or kisses? Both!

42. Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate

43. Coffee or tea? Coffee!

44. Do you want your friends to email you back? Of course.

45. When was the last time you cried? Just an hour ago...I'm such a sap when it comes to sad stories on TV!

46. What is under your bed? Dust bunnies..probably.

47. What did you do last night? Creating some Christmas tags!

48. What are you afraid of? drowning

49. Salty or sweet? Sweet

50. How many keys on your key ring? key ring...try paper weight!

51. Favorite day of the week? Saturdays (esp evenings...the only time I can rest). Kids have Japanese school on Saturdays and we have to be downtown to officiate church. Sometimes no church, I try to schedule SB classes.

52. If you can choose your talent, what would it be? To make anything on a sewing machine!

53. Do you make friends easily? I seem outgoing but am really shy.

54. How many people will you tag this to? Not sure.

55. How many will respond? I'm hoping most.

Tag to those of you reading NOW! HA!

JOY to the world....

Heehee!!

I just finished submitting this to the TaDa folks but wanted to share this with you all! These past few weeks I've been into these door knob holders...don't ask, I don't know why! I might do a class on this one...one of these days :0)

Papers are from TaDa Creative Studios, of course!

The letters "J" & "Y" are brought to you by Spellbinder Wizard folks! Note that I was able to cut thin chipboard and the pattern papers with the Wizard....even embossed both! VERY COOL!!! SO EASY!!!!

The door knob holder is from Basic Elements.
Metallic paints & glitter are from Ranger Ink (Dabbers & Stickle)
Ribbons are from May Arts & Queen & Co.
Stick pin from Maya Road
Charm & Jingle Bell - unknown (didn't keep the package)/the bell is from Hobby Lobby
Adhesive - mostly 3M QuickDry & Glue Dots

Just love how this turned out!

Happy Holidays!!!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! For some reason this year, we had a hectic social life weekend! LOL!!

First we had a house full of friends for Thanksgiving dinner...it was WONDERFUL to have them over and to express our gratitude of their friendships :0) Our friend's eldest asked me why we celebrate Thanksgiving...we're Japanese! Her mother didn't know what to think of her daughter's question. I just smiled and told her that you don't have to be of any kind of background to express thanks for what we have...a warm home, good health, good friends and such a good life. I think she got it :0) Love teenagers...they're curious about everything...well, the ones I know at least ;0)

One day of rest (Friday) which I needed! Handwashed all the (two sets of) china, silverware and serving plates & such. Did not need to go out to stores....I think this is the weekend to stay out of stores! LOL!!

On Saturday, we went to a "reunion" lunch...hmm, maybe dinner (it was a 10 hour affair!) in Palatine. Although all have resigned from the Bank, we get together a few times during the year at each other's homes. We eat, laugh, sing, drink and eat some more. So lucky that we are able to do this. Most of them we have known for close to 20 years! Time flies! Cheers, you guys!

Sunday, I had to get some projects done. Couldn't find any of the stuff I needed without digging out from the basement! This is what happens when you have to clean the house and throw stuff downstairs! UGH! LOL!!

I had the opportunity to sit down and play with the Wizard! Love my Wizard...esp. the Nesties! With the scalloped circle and the regular circle, I made a holiday card. Notice the TaDa Creative Studios BEAUTIFUL holiday papers. The paper is printed in metallic ink! VERY cool technique! You have to see in person....just BEAUTIFUL!!!

Notice the white in the background! Yes, it snowed overnight in Chicago!! OY! But what a perfect background to my holiday card! LOL!!! All the papers (I used two different patterns) and accents are from TaDa Creative Studios. Just added a little fiber for the paper button accent.







This is the inside of the card...don't you just love two-sided papers! I cut a circle from my Wizard and you know you can emboss with the Wizard, right? Well, you can! I edge with Pebbles Inc chalk (the shimmer matches the shimmer in the papers) and stamped with Stampin' Up on StazOn Aquamarine color for a bold touch. Of course, if you're adhering with vellum, you need the Xyron!




So this is my card to you! Hope that the holiday season brings you and your family JOY throughout this festive season. Remember loved ones that are far or who have passed on (thinking of you, dear Becky!!!). Gratitude to you for visiting my blog, and/or attending any of my classes at Frozen Memories, CraftFancy or at my home!