christmas cards in my shop...

I love making Christmas cards! :) Here are a few sets that I just added to my etsy shop!

Each set comes with 4 cards, but I could do sets of 8 or 16, if you are interested in more cards.

Visit my shop for more details...

christmas time is here...

 

It is officially Christmas time!!

Yesterday we covered the tree with lights & ornaments, while listening to Christmas music!!

Also, we started making Christmas candy! (more on that soon)

Oh, the Christmas fun has just begun...

MyMemories giveaway winner & $10 off for my readers...

I finally have a Winner to announce for the
MyMemories Digital Scrapbooking Software Giveaway!

I used random.org to help me pick a winner...

Congratulations, Ashley! :) Send me an email (brightside_02@hotmail.com) and I will send you the directions to download your own copy of the MyMemories Software!

If you didn't win or get the chance to enter the giveaway, you will still get something special,
because MyMemories is giving all of my readers a coupon code to get $10 off of your own
copy of their Digital Scrapbooking Software ($39.97)!


All you have to do is use this code: 
STMMMS99261 at the check out!!
click here to read more about the software!

give thanks to God...

Sisters on Thanksgiving Day!

What a great Thanksgiving it was!! & I have so much to be thankful for, everyday... The most amazing family I could ever hope for. A warm, safe home. Good food. Health & physical strength. Everything I need & so much more!!! But, even more than all of that, I am thankful for the grace & love of God! He has given me a hope & joy that could come from nothing or no one but Him. Thanksgiving is over, but give thanks to God today & everyday! Because being thankful always produces JOY!! :)

& here are some more photos from my Thanksgiving...

sparkling cider is my favorite!

my sisters rolls turned out amazing! 

the story of Thanksgiving!

of course, she is begging for turkey.

my brother & sister (he hates getting his picture taken...)

it was a beautiful day, in the 70s!

we played scattegories & i lost big time, but it was fun!

we had so many kinds of pie! & the best part is we have tons of left overs! 

we even played with sparklers before the night was over, haha! 

Thank you Jesus for a beautiful day with my family & such wonderful memories! 

:)

fossil's holiday lookbook...

Fossil is one of my favorite brands & I was excited to see that Kendi was a part of their holiday lookbook! I enjoy following her fashion blog... her style is classic & goes right along with Fossil's look! She got to remix 30 different looks from their holiday collection... so fun!! I love the all of the knits & the neutral colors... so pretty & perfect for winter!! These looks are my favorite of the 30...

Click the link below to see the rest of Kendi's 30 for 30 remixes...

|   Fossil's  Holiday  Lookbook   |




ps. my giveaway will be over soon...
don't forget to enter!!!
{ click here }

weekend snapshots...

|  SNAPSHOTS  from  my  WEEKEND  |

While reading the Dec issue of Martha Stewart Living (on my new Kindle!!)... I got inspired to make ganache... I whipped some of it into a mousse! it was quick, easy, & really rich. yumm!

I finished packing my Opperation Christmas Child shoeboxes! My church put together 66 boxes... such an amazing ministry! Have you ever packed a box for OCC? 

I love this knitted snowflake pattern, so cute & cozy!! This is on a sweater that I got over the summer for $3 & I finally wore it this weekend!

&

The last shot is my sister with really big reese's cups that they were selling at the mall!

You see the funniest things in stores this time of year... hehe!

How was your weekend?

christmas scrapbooking...

I know that Thanksgiving is this week (!!!) but I have already allowed myself to get (just a little bit) in to Christmas mode! Yes, I have been listening to some Christmas music & watching Christmas movies on Hallmark!! hehe!

Anyway, thinking about Christmas... I decided to go though some of my Christmas photos from the past few years to use in a really cute scrapbooking template that I found in
My Memories Scrapbooking Software! Oh, these templates are so cute....

Don't forget to enter my giveaway to WIN

the My Memories Digital Scrapbooking Software!!!

{ CLICK HERE TO READ MORE & TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY }

GIVEAWAY: my memories scrapbooking software!

Today i am excited to share a fun GIVEAWAY...

My Memories is offering a free download of their digital scrapbooking software to one of my followers! They also gave me a free copy of the software to play with, which I used to make the design above! :) 

As a photographer & blogger, like most of you, it's very important for me to save my photos & memories. This software makes it easy to do that in a fun & creative way! There is a good collection of templates, paper & embellishments on the software itself, but their website has even more for you to choose from... they are cute & the prices are pretty affordable. You can even add music & make movies or slideshows!

I have enjoyed playing with this software so far & I hope to learn more about it as I use it more... especially with all the holidays coming. I am pretty inexperienced with digital scrapbooking programs, but this seems like a really good one, especially for it's price ($39.97). If you are thinking about trying to do some digital scrapbooking, I think that this software would be the perfect place to start!

For your chance to WIN your own copy of the
My Memories Digital Scrapbooking Software

you must...

Be a follower of my blog & Visit MyMemories.com 

Please take a look at all of their scrapbooking kits & let me know what you like.

For one extra entry, you can....

Share about this giveaway on your blog or twitter.

Come back & leave a second comment with the link.

This giveaway will end on Wednesday, November 23rd!

a little shop update & more...

I feel like things have been pretty busy lately! I guess it's the holiday season approaching...

There are so many fun things coming up (including a GIVEAWAY later this week)!!

But for now, I will just share a few of the items that i recently added to 

my etsy shop...

& a few photos from life lately...

     steaming chamomile tea   <<              >>  my pup playing with her toys

& my current nail color: purple!! always a favorite! i got this shade at the dollar store! :)

Happy Wednesday!!

{heart of thanks challenge} day eleven...

{ a November challenge from Jen at She Collects }

Thank You, Jesus for Your love! There is no love on this earth that is like Yours. You gave Your life, so that I could be forgiven & saved for eternity. There is nothing bigger than that! Your love gives me hope & joy, every day, no matter what I am facing. Your love is always with me, infinite & unconditional. I am so thankful, because I know how undeserving I am. 

This song says it so beautifully...

{heart of thanks challenge} day eight...

{ a November challenge from Jen at She Collects }

Lord, today I am so thankful for Your Word... 

It encourages me every time I read it! It reveals your love for me! It is full of the kind of hope that only You can give! I am so thankful that I can freely read Your Word every day & that I can believe all of Your Words with confidence! I pray that You will help me to hide Your Words in my heart, so that they will always be there.

seeing stripes...

{ striped knit baby hat for sale in my etsy shop }

Lately, I have been loving stripes! & I am so excited because I just finished knitting my first striped hat... & this one is perfect for a baby boy! yay! I love the way it turned out & I've already got another fun design in the works! :)

Here are some more pretty stripes that have inspired me lately....

           j.crew  <<                  >>   wit & whistle

>>  found on pinterest (not sure of the original source, but i love this photo)

>>  striped floor found here

>>  striped walls found here