Stacked Stones Studio!

Can you believe it? I have a wedding to plan.. .and the very first step in that is creating an altered notebook to keep all my notes, ideas and lists in! Of course...I am a scrapbooker afterall! *smile* I found it at Target in the dollar section....painted it and made the pocket dividers into something that would remind me to take joy in the moments of planning and not get too stressed. Thanks for sharing this time with me? Anyone have any ideas? I am thinking small and intimate...and unique -- when you are 45 yrs old I guess it is okay to break some of the rules and I intend to! Woo Hoo!

A couple of pictures from Santa Fe -- non-engagement related. Luminares... lights. "Light of the world, You stepped down into darkness..." What a wonderful song....what an incredible gift. As we walked along the streets of Santa Fe on Christmas Eve, they were lighted with these small paper bags holding candles. It was by their light that we were able to find our way in the darkness. Celebrating His birth...the instant that His light came into this world to show us the way...I was a bit overcome. And then there was spice. Santa Fe is full of it. Piece of advice -- always ask "Which is hotter/milder? Your red or green chile sauce?" Learned that one the hard way -- it changes in every location -- every day. I know this next year holds a lot of unknowns for me -- and probably you as well...but because each of you are in my life...all of it will be filled with the warm spice of friends and friendship. Thank you for sharing your life with me...you change t...

The key to not being demolished by the iceburg is to go with the natural flow....and that I basically what I did on our trip to Santa Fe and Abiqui. 1. First we went away to a b&b and talked and talked and talked about serious stuff. 2. Christmas morning...based on my answers to the questions over the past three days, Royce asked me to wear his High School or college ring as a token of our commitment to move forward with each other...going steady. May sound hocky at my age but I was eating it up! Even went so far as to tie YARNS of string about it to make it kind of fit my hand 3. Christmas night -- ouE for a lovely meal....great classical guitar music in the back grounds...just totally enjoyable...and suddenly -- Royce was down on one knee asking me to be his wife.....I didn't even have to think.....YEEEEEEEEEEEEEWS! Then the scrapbook that he had lovingly made (and while it is very lovely and filled with sentimental things I will treasure forever, he has clearly stated that ...

...that I could upload to this hotel computer...but I don't. But I couldn't resist sharing with you all that last night Royce asked me to be his wife...and I said YES....although it came out in about three syllables....ye-ee-es because I was sobbing. I am a happy ....and want to thank each of you who have been praying with me for God's will in our relationship. You have been a great source of support. I will post pictures when I get back to Nashville....and tell you the whole story -- because it is a doosey! I have learned even more today about the lengths to which he went to make this a special event for me -- and while I couldn't love him more -- I am so touched that he has been planning this for months...and waited to my favorite day of the whole year (Kelly Darr Superstar's birthday) and Christmas Day. Ok...friends...your job is not done. I have been a single gal for 45 years (ok...really 25 cause it would have been pretty ridiculous for me to have even ...

She is ohhhh so clever...she has not only a creative eye for scrapbooking...but also a creative eye for repurposing. She saw this spice rack at Target in the gift section and knew immediately that it would hold all those little brads, rhinestones, photo turns etc that you always want immediately accessible to you sitting on your scrapbooking table. Of course at the time it was filled with cumin, thyme (who couldn't use a little more thyme), red pepper, and other things that I have dozens of bottles of in my spice cabinet...so why would I even pause to look at a spice rack twice? I have more spices than this chick needs. Fortunately, Doris saw beyond the obvious and talked it up to her friend Renee...who also gets a big "shout out" because she got it for Doris as a gift....which meant that those of us that passed it by without a single thought would have the opportunity to see it. Once seen...I couldn't resist. I am now the proud owner...and the proud repurposer o...

I had fun with mica glitter this afternoon...and then playing around with my camera to try and figure out how to shoot the glittery stuff. As you can see I never did get the exact right exposure...although I ended up with some interesting results. I saw these houses at Jenni Bowlin's house -- she had the big one covered in her papers and covered with this precious mica glitter. I didn't really have the patience for measuring and cutting to cover the house...so I sprayed the inside blue and the outside white...sprayed some seriously strong (gorilla like) glue onto the surface and sprinkled mica glitter. Of course now I personally look like a 1940's Christmas ornament. I loved the finished product -- especially with the "pop lights" inside giving a bit of glow through the vellum windows. I added red doors and a couple of pipe cleaner wreaths and some bottle brush trees to set the scene. These will certainly become part of my regular Christmas decorations.

Can you say, "LOVE the ORNAMENT KIT!?!?!?!" Those are the words coming from my mouth after working with Jenni's ornament kit last night. I ended up using some Holly that I already had and added a couple of baubles -- but I am totally loving the results. I used Jenni's Date/Name stamp on the back so years from now I can remember where we were in these pics. I have decided to make more for my family with pictures I took during Thanksgiving. Fun project. Check it out.

and fun with my camera. Tonight was our company Christmas party -- and the ladies did all the decorating this afternoon. It was held at the Spring House at the Hermitage....really a lovely setting. I had fun playing with my camera too...thought I would share a few favorites. And the winner is......

now I know for some of you this just causes you to giggle. You somehow manage to have your world totally organized and could show Martha Stewart a thing or two about throwing a good party...but that just isn't me. Oh yeah...I use tools to keep be on track with things that I am responsible for...but give me a mixed up pile of paper, tools, bling, chipboard letters and some brads and ask me to organize it and I will run for the door with my camera in hand. It just isn't fun to me...I know the necessity of it -- but my brain can't seem to grasp the most effective efficient (and why would I spend one minute of my time organizing something that isn't going to be the best!?!?!?!?!?!?!?) way to get things done. I been reading about it. and thinking about it...and inch by inch....foot by foot....all these fun little paper goodies have taken over my home. BUT NO MORE -- NO MORE I SAY! I am the queen of my domain -- this will not conquer me...nay verily I say until thee! So... a...

Here is one of DT layouts I did for Scrap It! Have I mentioned how much I enjoy being in the store....hanging out at the store....cropping at the store....shopping and the store -- and most importantly -- Ann and Bill from the store? I do. While I was home for Thanksgiving -- I think I went through withdrawal. I couldn't wait to get back and here the door "ding" as I walked through it -- and see Annie behind the counter...although when I actually did walk through the door she was back at a table scrapbooking. It just felt like home. That is a good thing. At MY home it is "organization city." I realized that I have been working on projects for both work and scrapping with such a flurry of activity -- that nothing has been put back in its place...and while that was going on -- I also accumulated some stuff that doesn't actually HAVE A PLACE. Sooooo...I am rearranging, sorting, culling, and organizing it all so that I can enjoy the process once again o...