Did you know that a giraffe’s pregnancy can last anywhere between 400 to 460 days? That’s a long time to be pregnant! You know what else can take that long? Ok, it’s not typical for it to take 448 days to build a new house (and yes, that is the final count!) – but that is what has happened in our case. We wrote a check on February 25, 2012 to make a deposit on a lot and a new house. We had some delays in figuring out what we wanted to do and we went through a few different floor plans, lot choices, and waiting for the builder to open up a new part of the subdivision. We got all of that worked out and we wrote an even bigger check in May of 2012 and started meeting with the architect and picking out everything for our new house. We were told that construction would begin around the end of June and we would be in our house by October. We had a great time picking out colors, cabinets, and flooring. I started packing up some of our non-essential items and preparing our current house to go on the market once our new one was underway. June came and went. So did July, August, September, and October. Even though the subdivision had been approved, the particular parcel of land that our lot was part of became tied up with the city because a church was going to be built nearby. That led to complications and we could not start the building process until that was cleared up. Finally, in early October, we got the go-ahead that it was going to happen. We got word that construction would start around the end of the month. I got serious again about getting the house ready and packing up a few more items. I tried to work on de-cluttering and getting rid of things that we didn’t need anymore. October came and went. So did November. By the first of December, I was feeling convinced that there would never be a hole in the ground before the end of the year and that it would just keep getting put off by winter after that. It was very discouraging. We had looked for quite awhile before we ever settled on building a new house, so it felt like we had been in limbo for such a long time (and we had)! Then, it finally happened! They started digging a hole on December 13, 2012. Of course, it happened while we were out of town for our Disneyland trip. We had been waiting around since May and then the day they started digging we were out of town! My agent snapped some pictures and emailed them to us and I really couldn’t believe it until we got back in town and I could see it for myself. Our builder has been able to complete houses in about 90 days (which is kind of miraculous) but they told us ours would take longer because there were sure to be weather delays and we were also finishing our basement. Our agent said he really thought we would be in by around the first of April. I knew that wouldn’t happen. I was just hoping we could somehow move in by the end of April so I could host a family dinner for my brother’s wedding the first weekend in May. Well, we had the coldest January we’ve had in Utah since 1949 so it was the coldest winter I have ever lived through. There were a few weeks where they couldn’t pour cement. I felt terrible for the workers who were framing our house under those conditions. It was miserable to bundle up and walk through the house. More delays. We didn’t want to put our house up too early and have to move twice. We felt like it would sell quickly (it did!) and it would be too difficult on our family to move somewhere temporarily if we sold our current home. We decided to wait until about 6 weeks before the house would be finished. I knew that I needed to finish getting the house ready though and we even had a friend who said they knew of someone who was very interested in this area and wanted to move in April or May. In early February, he said that they wanted to come through and look at the home. I went into high gear of getting things done and packed up a storage pod full of stuff. The friend never ended up coming to look at the house, but I’m still glad I took action because it has lessened my current workload. It became apparent that the new house would not be done before my brother’s wedding. We made arrangements to host the family dinner elsewhere. We figured that it would be completed around the end of May. We put our current house on the market in the middle of April and it went under contract 6 days later. It worked out so perfectly, that we still keep worrying it will fall through since nothing has been easy for us with this process. The buyers didn’t need to move in until the time that we were going to be ready to move out. Things started really happening on our house and we are... Continue reading

We’ve got them coming… the moving trucks will be here soon. But don’t worry, we will have every single toy accounted for. No toy will be left behind! We are going to have to take a short break for a week or so while we get all settled in our... Continue reading

little bits of beauty 1. my favorite, 2. together..., 3. hidden art *exlpore*, 4. daisies again?, 5. Embroidery Love, 6. sweet..., 7. xoxo, 8. don't forget..., 9. Think Spring Part Deux Created with fd's Flickr Toys I love to get lost on Flickr. There are some really amazing photographers there and their photos really inspire me. I just love all of these pretty pictures! You can tell that a lot of thought went into the making and taking of each image. Beautiful! … Continue reading

I’m still giggling and smiling over this one. Alex created this masterpiece for me for Mother’s Day and said “here’s an obligatory, handmade dealio for you” and he handed me a frame with this handwritten note inside it. I love him so much! Accept, Create, Love. Sounds like good advice to me! … Continue reading

It's just not happening today. I expect there will be a few more crazy days in the coming weeks as we get close to our big move. I'm just trying to roll with it all the best I can and trying to enjoy the process. Be back soon! . Continue reading

pinterest link My mind is going in a million different directions right now and so I’m having a hard time focusing in on any one thing. I’m in the middle of 2 houses, several blogs, end of school year stuff, and I had gum surgery and a 3 hour root canal on Wednesday. That’s probably contributing to my foggy brain more than anything else. All I know is that every time I start out to do one thing, I end up working on something totally different. If there is something “shiny” around, it’s sure to catch my attention and completely distract me from what I should be doing. I have a TON of stuff I should be doing (like packing up the rest of the house), but I keep putting it all off. I think one of the best ways to illustrate how my mind is working these days is to share some of my recent finds on Pinterest and the thoughts I have about them. I pin all types of random things and that seems to be just what my brain is doing right now as well. Oh, and it is also a great way to procrastinate all those annoying “to do” items on my list! I adore these travel prints. I should get some to hang in our new house. I wonder how many of these places I’ve been to? I should make a list and scrapbook about it. I would love to go back to Seattle someday. That Joshua tree sure is pretty. pinterest link I love the way all of these little vases look. What a great idea to save drink containers and use repurpose them. After we move, I’m totally going to start doing that. Oh, and I’ll buy some spray paint. But then I have to figure out where to keep all of the containers. And I’ll have to paint them. And that will be messy and I have to figure out what kind of flowers I’m going to put in each one and where I will display them. Yep, I’ll probably never do this – but I’m still going to pin it in case I ever feel like I’m in the mood to spray paint old containers. pinterest link Oh, I love this song by the Lumineers, I should go listen to it. Hubby is the one who has it in his iTunes though. We really need to have a day where we do a homeshare exchange and get each other’s music. Alex has a ton of songs I want and now that I transferred his iTunes to his new laptop, he lost a lot of the songs he got from my library because I haven’t enabled his new computer from my iTunes yet. Man, it sure is complicated to keep up with all of this technology. Talk about your first world problems. It’s a great song though. pinterest link I can’t help but yell “PIVOT” when I see this one. A great episode from my favorite tv show. I need to make my husband watch this one because when we are moving something around that doesn’t fit, I always want to say “PIVOT” and sometimes I even want to channel Chandler when he says “SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!” lol! Now I want to watch that episode again. pinterest link This might be the perfect pin for me right now. I seem to need reminders to stay on target. I feel a lot like Dory right now because I’m so easily distracted. I love Dory though. I still think Finding Nemo is my most favoritest movie of all time. It just hits every mark for me and I love the messages about parenting, perseverance, and life in general. Just keep swimming! pinterest link Now I’m off to either a) start calling utility companies to arrange for our move, b) pack up some books, or c) take a nap. … Continue reading

If I could pick any fictional castle in the world to visit, it would absolutely have to be Hogwarts. The school of witchcraft and wizardry in the Harry Potter series is a fascinating place and I wish I could really go inside it. I guess I will have to settle... Continue reading

I usually try to roundup the previous month no later than the 5th of the following month, but at least I’m still getting it done. Better late than never! And I’m keeping my roundup streak alive – I haven’t missed a month since January of 2006! What entertainment did I watch/listen to this month? (movies, tv shows, plays, music, concerts, etc.) Watched Once Upon a Time, a few Big Bang Theory episodes (which got too raunchy for my kids so now we are going to have to read ahead on the topic matters before watching). I also watched Alice in Wonderland on my iPad which reminds me so much of my brother when he was young and insisted on watching that movie at least once every day. What fun things did I do with my family and/or friends? My parents came to town for a visit during the first week of April. We took my parents to a Utah Jazz vs. Portland Trailblazers basketball game. The Jazz won and we had an amazing evening. My mom even got picked up (literally) by the bear. So funny! I went on a business lunch date with my husband at Thanksgiving Point where I got to meet with some very interesting people that he is associate with. We went to a late birthday brunch (for me) at my in-laws house on a Sunday morning. I took a tour of Stampin Up! My daughter had a week off of school for spring break. Went to a bridal shower for a family friend Went to a special VIP Lego event at Hogle Zoo with my son Worked on teaching my daughter to drive What were my accomplishments this month? Putting our house up for sale and having it go under contract 6 days later has to be the biggest accomplishment of the month! I have been working on this project for months and had the house ready to show, which is a good thing since we had a lot of interest. We had an open house where 10 different groups came through plus 7 showings all in 6 days. There was one day where we had 4 showings and Alex and I had to eat all 3 meals out of the house. It was crazy! We had a nice offer though and we took it. We don’t know much about the buyers but everything is looking good (knock on wood) to close later this month. In the meantime, we’ve also been trying to keep on top of all the construction progress on our new home. There have been some last minute changes and a few snags that came up. If all goes well, we should close on the new house at the same time that we close on our current home. I started the Toy to the World blog up again and wrote 6 posts there. I was a guest on episode 32 of the Capturing Magic podcast I wrote 9 posts for The Daily Digi and one post for Capturing Magic. I was a co-host for 3 episodes of The Digi Show. I designed 3 templates (all in the scientific set) I created 9 digital layouts (each image is linked to original post where it first appeared) Anything else noteworthy to report? I realized about the middle of April that my driver’s license had expired on my birthday on March 10th. Oops! I had to get that taken care of and when I took the eye test, I just barely passed it. Time for glasses! Another disturbing oversight on my part – I didn’t realize until the end of the first week of April that my car license plates were supposed to be renewed by the end of March. I can’t believe I did that! It’s all taken care of now. I’m thinking that I’m not dealing with a full deck lately. We ate out a lot. With our house being shown so much and needing to keep it in perfect condition for such events as appraisals and home inspections, I had a hard time wanting to make any sort of mess in the kitchen. Not much time for that either! I dropped a fair amount of change in an Archiver’s store buying paper scrapbooking supplies I’m proud of myself for getting my roundup done! Have you done your roundup yet? You can start at any time – you’ll be glad you did! … Continue reading

Monsters University comes to theaters on June 21st and we can hardly wait! Like any student preparing for college, there are some steps that need to be taken. Start off by watching the introduction video. Then you will need to take the M.A.T. (Monsters Aptitude Test) before you submit your... Continue reading

We made it through the big wedding weekend – well, at least all the people made it in one piece. The cake was not so lucky. My brother (who is a culinary student) had spent all week working on his own wedding cake only to have it crash en route to the reception. If the bottom two layers had not been made of krispy treats, it would have been complete carnage. My hubby told him that he should bring it in anyway and that it would provide a story for them to tell for the rest of their lives. He wisely stated that this was a memory and there was no need to shy away from that. Have I mentioned that I love that man? He’s pretty smart. So the cake was re-invited to the party, even if it wasn’t dressed appropriately for such a formal occasion. The catering company went to work on it with some fresh flowers. It ended up looking just fine and most people didn’t even notice that anything was wrong. A great example of picking yourself up and dusting yourself off after a fall. I hope they realize how symbolic this will be in the years ahead. There are times when you just need to scoop it all up and make it work, even if it feels like a mess. And after all that fuss, I forgot to even take a picture of them cutting the cake. But I have a picture from earlier in the day that I will share. Now remember, this is my brother who does not like to appear on my blog. I’m just hoping that he’s busy enough on his honeymoon that he won’t check here. lol! I mean check out the smile on his face! How can I not share that? Handsome guys in this photo from left to right; my brother, my son, my hubby, the groom (my youngest brother) and his new brother-in-law. my parents our side of the family I’m very happy for my brother and his new bride. She is a very sweet person and it was so nice to get to meet all of her family. She is from Tennessee so we were not able to meet anyone from her side until the night before the wedding. They met in their culinary program here in Utah so they chose to get married here. They are still going to have receptions in both New Mexico and Tennessee so I guess they will get a couple of more shots at a wedding cake. It would be hard to top the meaningfulness of this one though. … Continue reading

With so many newer movies to watch, we often don’t think to go back to some of the movies of the past. North Avenue Irregulars came out in 1979 and I remember thinking it was so funny as a kid. A few years ago, I told my family that we... Continue reading

I’ve had a few people ask me to create a place where they could find all of my video tutorials, so this will be the “go-to” place for that kind of information. I’ve also put up a permanent link in my sidebar so you can get to the videos anytime. You can watch any of these videos on my free vimeo channel or here are the links to each individual video and the related blog post (some of them have free gifts in the post): how to use layered templates in PSE how to mix and match digital papers how to scrap double page spreads with templates how to scrap with lots of layers on a template Hope you enjoy scrapping along with me! … Continue reading

Ok, if you haven’t noticed by now that today is {inter}National Scrapbook Day, then I haven’t been doing a very good job around here! Seriously though, I think you know by now that this is a very scrapbook-y kind of day. I’ve also mentioned a few times that I’m going to be spending time with my family today while my youngest brother gets married. Woohoo! So, I’m just going to leave you with a brief little guide to making the most of this fun holiday. Watch my free video about using digital papers and download the free 24 paper gift pack Watch my free video about using single & double page templates and download a free pack of 2 layered templates Watch my free video on multi-layered digital scrapbooking and join in the fun at The Daily Digi’s top secret event Take advantage of the storewide 30% off sale in my scrap shop through the end of Monday, May 6th. Use code 55631R55 at checkout.. Read the Funtastic Friday post at The Daily Digi to get the info on all the other sales and events in digiland! Have fun! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I’ll be back to my regular blogging on Tuesday. … Continue reading

I love the look of multiple layers all smashed together on a page – sort of a controlled creative chaos. It feels like you are peeking in on a stack of papers, photos, and memories and getting a glimpse into the creator’s mind. Here is my new pack of Smashing templates. There are 4 single page templates (size 12x12) and they will help you scrap a multi-layered, “smashed” looking layout in no time at all. Get all 4 smashingly layered templates in this set for only $5.00 Watch me use these smashing layouts and learn a few simple tricks to get the most out of these super fun templates: Scrapbook Lady Smashing tutorial from Katie Nelson on Vimeo. Here are a few layouts that I’ve created with these templates: Flickr link Flickr link Flickr link Flickr link I’m happy to say that I have another free gift for you - (did you get yesterday’s free download?) I want you to be able to try out this unique scrapbooking approach for yourself. I know you will love it! However, there’s a bit of a catch with today’s free gift… you have to sign up for a special, top-secret National Scrapbook Day event at The Daily Digi. I promise, you will be glad that you signed up because you will get all sorts of good stuff! The ONLY way to get your invitation is to make sure you’re subscribed to this newsletter and that you have the special events section selected. This event won’t start until it’s officially National Scrapbook Day (tomorrow). Unlike my other free gifts, this one is exclusive to this special occasion and you must sign up to receive it. *** note, this gift is no longer available. Be sure to sign up for The Daily Digi newsletter so you don’t miss any future events! … Continue reading

We absolutely LOVE Harry Potter around here and I can guarantee that you will be seeing many future posts about all sorts of things related to the Harry Potter universe. The books are just incredible and I love the J.K. Rowling has become the first author ever to become a... Continue reading

I’ve had this idea floating around in my head for awhile now and I’m so excited that I’ve finally been able to bring it to life in template form. I love being able to mix and match simple layout designs and use them repeatedly throughout an album or a project. I also love the look of a coordinated double page spread where one side is a large photo or paper full of journaling and then that is paired with a multi-photo layout on the other side. This is such an easy and stunning way to scrap! I’m going to show you what I mean in my free video tutorial below and with my own layout examples. I think you will also become addicted to the Simple Sides approach! Here is my new pack of Simple Sides templates. There are 5 single page templates (size 12x12) and 4 double page spread layouts (size 24x12) for those of you who like to create in one piece for photobooks. Of course, you can get even more use out of this set if you rotate and/or flip the templates as well. Don’t worry, I’ll show you how to do that in the video. Get all 9 layered templates in this set for only $7.50 Watch me use this template system and learn a few simple tricks to scrap with double page spreads. Here’s a closer look at the layouts I’ve created with this set. I’m not including a bonus pdf file with this set (I usually put them in all my template sets) because the layouts I created don’t have any additional supplies other than one font and I’ll link to that here. Bebas font Because I’m celebrating National Scrapbook Day a little early, I have another free gift for you! (did you get yesterday’s free download?) I want you to be able to try out this easy-to-use scrapbooking approach for yourself. I know you will love it! Free download! You will just need to enter your email address to get the download. Your address is not used on any list, it’s simply required so you can get the download. No purchase necessary. Be sure to come back tomorrow for my last new release, another video tutorial, and another FREE GIFT! … Continue reading

Those of you who have followed me for a long time might remember some of my previous paper packs that coordinated with each other by color. Even though those designs have become a bit outdated, I’ve still loved those sets and am always wanting to use them. I decided it was time for a fresh new update on the idea and I have put together more than 100 papers in my new Scrap System collection with even more to come in the future! The kraft-like texture is subtle enough to work with any type of project and the colors and simple patterns work beautifully together. Here is the pack of solids – includes 50 sheets of digital paper Only $5.00 for 50 sheets of 12x12 digital paper! Here is the coordinating pack of stripes and chevy patterns. They really go with any theme and the colors match up perfectly with my solids. Only $5.00 for 50 sheets of 12x12 digital paper! I’m excited to show you how easy it is to use these papers on a digital layout and also demonstrate how to mix and match the colors and patterns. I’ve recorded a video tutorial since my last one was so well received (thanks for all the nice comments!) so you can see the entire process for yourself. Here’s a closer look at the 2 layouts I featured in the video: I used the Scrap System solids and stripes/chevys pack (reds) + a paper from the solid neutrals. Template is Scrapbook Lady Spic n Span. Fonts are Elise and LD Woodland. Flickr link. Scrap System solids and stripes/chevys packs (blues), Scrapbook Lady Scenic template, Friendship image from Lettering Delights, Bebas font. Flickr link. And since I’m celebrating scrapbooking for the next few days (in honor of National Scrapbook Day), I have a FREE GIFT for you to download. I’m giving you 24 additional papers that coordinate with my solids and stripes/chevys packs so you can try them out and see how easy they are to use. Free download! – You will just need to enter your email address to get the download. Your address is not used on any list, it’s simply required so you can get the download. No purchase necessary. Be sure to come back tomorrow for another new release, another video tutorial, and another FREE GIFT! … Continue reading

I’m heading into my 8th year of using my roundup tool at the end of each month and I can say without any hesitation that it has been the single most useful memory keeping tool I’ve ever used! All you need to do is to answer a few questions at the end of each month. Jot down your answers on a blog, in a journal, or in a word document – whatever works for you. Don’t worry if you miss a month, you can start again at any time. Of course, the more months you do your roundup, the more you will have to refer back to. Before you know it, you will have a monthly index to help you reference your own life! I love to look back through my past roundups. You can find a complete index of all of my previous roundups if you want some ideas for your own inspiration. What reading/learning did I do this month? (books, blogs, magazines, ebooks, podcasts, classes, etc.) What entertainment did I watch/listen to this month? (movies, tv shows, plays, music, concerts, etc.) What fun things did I do with my family and/or friends? What gifts did I give and/or receive? What special or unusual purchases did I make? What illnesses or health concerns did I have? What were my accomplishments this month? What were my disappointments this month? How did I do on my goals for the month? (Or any current short or long term goals) Anything else noteworthy to include? These are the 10 questions that I use as prompts for each roundup. I don’t always answer every single question, but I find that they help me explore and record the memories of the past month in a simple and concise way. Sometimes I answer the roundup questions with a bullet list, and other times I may write a paragraph or even more explaining the events that occurred. There is no “right” or “wrong” way to do a roundup, just try to include as much detail as you want to remember. You can add more questions if you want or you can choose to answer only a few, feel free to customize this tool to best meet your needs. If you want a little roundup pride badge (I love badges!) to display on your own roundup post, feel free to copy and paste this one. I'd also love it if you would link back to this post or my blog when you share your roundup so people know where to find the idea. … Continue reading

With my brother’s wedding just six days away, I can’t help but turn to thoughts of my own wedding more than 22 years ago. When I was discussing wedding cakes with my brother, I thought about our own beautiful cake covered with real flowers. We cut into the cake at the end of our reception and did the traditional exchange of feeding each other a bite of cake. We were nice about it and didn’t smear it all over each other. It might have been the only bite of food that we ate at our reception. We had a very nice buffet of food, but we were so busy with pictures and guests that we never got to sit down and eat properly. I do think we grabbed a few little bites at the end, but it’s sort of a blur. I was taught that it was traditional to save the top layer of your wedding cake in your freezer and then eat it together on your first anniversary. I’m sort of surprised we actually did that because we only had a small freezer in our first apartment. We kept it for an entire year and tried to eat it on our anniversary, but it really was disgusting. When I asked my brother if he was going to do the same, he said “no, we will just make a new cake for our anniversary” – which totally makes sense since they are both culinary students. In retrospect, I wish we had just gone out for cake on our first anniversary. Think about the weddings you’ve attended (your own or someone else’s) and jot down your memories of the wedding cake. What type was it? Did you get to eat any? What traditions have you observed when it comes to wedding cakes? What would you do differently if you could do it all again? Fun things to think about on a Memory Monday! … Continue reading