Our Epic Christmas

And we are back! The cruise was fantastic, and we really enjoyed the time with our family. There were some rough seas on a few of the nights, but overall, we had great weather -- much better than what we returned home to.

But I know what you're really interested in are the photos. So without further ado...

Gigi and Avery waiting to board at the Port of Miami

Trying out the cool light-up dance floor in the Kids Club

First peek at our cabin, complete with decorations...

...cake and a bottle of wine!! Thanks Dad and Jan!!

The cabin was a bit small, but thank goodness for the EXTRA large balcony!! I spent a lot of time out here.

The ship was beautiful...very glitzy! The first day when we were getting into the elevator, Avery asked "Why is everything so fancy?" and I replied "'cause that's how we roll, babe!"

First stop: St. Maarten. Check out the size of our ship (on the right) compared to the one next to it. It was kind of embarrassing.

Oh how I love this photo. My beach babes!

A view from the water taxi dock in Phillipsburg

Meeting "Prince Charming" from the Cirque Dreams dinner show

Next stop: St. Thomas, where we took the ferry over to St. John. We planned to go to Trunk Bay, but the surf was too rough that day, so we had to settle for Caneel Bay...not such a bad trade-off, I guess.

Cecily didn't mind a bit because there was plenty of sand at Caneel

Closest we got to a snowman this year...but he turned out looking more like a snowbird -- oops

Family Karaoke in the Bliss Lounge. And oh yes, we sang!

Avery's favorite part of the ship? The pool. Of course.

She's Dora, Dora, Dora the Explorer! (sing it with me, moms!)

One step closer to my Professional Segway Rider certification (Nassau, Bahamas in background)

Braids!!!

In the Ice Bar -- this photo really says it all. BRRRR! Everything in there is actually made of ice, including the chairs and the bar itself. Unfortunately, they don't serve coffee or hot chocolate, so we didn't stay long.

And then it was back to the real world. But it was fun while it lasted, and I can't wait to do it again. Hope you enjoyed the recap!

We have a winner!!

Greetings from sunny Miami! We are preparing to set sail on our first-ever family holiday cruise, but I wanted to make sure to post the winner for my little giveaway before we go.

Thanks to everyone who entered! I always love reading all your comments. I had my daughter choose a number between 1 and 43 (she's my own version of a random number generator) and she chose 13. So the winner is...

aud1inok

Congratulations! Please email your address to me at robmab at yahoo dot com and I will get your prize shipped out to you the week of Dec. 27. (don't worry if I don't respond to your email immediately...my Internet access will be spotty starting tomorrow evening.)

Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah and many blessings to all of you!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

A few projects and, oh, how about a GIVEAWAY?!

Time to share a few projects I did with the Frosty Porch kit from Coordinates Collections. First up is a rare two-pager:


I love that little "woolie" snowman. He was perfect for these photos of the record-breaking snow in Dallas. For years, I've been jealous of everyone else's snow pictures and last year, I actually got some of my own! Be careful what you wish for, huh?


The photo in this layout was one of those rare, unplanned moments. My girls came into my scrapbook room during August, playing dress-up with all their winter gear. I snapped a photo and it turned out so much better than anything I could ever stage. I'm actually using this as our Christmas card photo this year...who'd have thunk it?!

And a few cards...

Loved all these buttons so much that I had to find a way to use them!

This card is significant not because of the layered tree (which everyone seems to be doing this year), but because it's the one where I learned how to tie a good bow! Rabbit ears...that's the secret. Shhhh!

And I'm overwhelmed with all the amazing comments and responses to the wine charms! Thank you!! I'm so glad you enjoyed them, and for those who asked about the shrink plastic, I got mine at Michael's (it was near the stamp inks at my store), but it's widely available at craft stores and you can even buy it online at the Shrinky Dinks website.

I'm up over 200 followers now, so I think that calls for a celebration! How about a GIVEAWAY?!

Imaginisce has been so generous to me this year, and I think it's time to spread the love around a bit. Here's your chance to win goodies from two of my favorite collections from the past year: Christmas Cottage AND Birthday Bash. This giveaway includes a card pad from each collection, plus a few embellishments for each one and a snag 'em stamp.

Here's a bad photo (sorry, no daylight left...had to resort to using the flash):


Leave a comment below and I will randomly draw a winner on Friday for the prize!

Quick caveat: I won't be able to ship this to you until after December 25th, but I promise to get it out before New Year's!

Thanks for stopping by! And good luck!

'Tis the Season!

Holiday parties, Christmas shopping, gift giving...is there any question why this is the MOST wonderful time of the year?! Yes, I know the true meaning of Christmas is much more than parties and gifts, but I can't help but look forward to the fun of this season. I love the holidays!

If you haven't been to the Imaginisce blog over the past 11 days, you've missed some fabulous ideas by our design team. But it's not too late to go check out all the inspiration and fun. Today is my day to share and I posted a tutorial for a fun and festive gift: wine charms!

Here's a little peek:


Paired with a bottle of wine, they make a great gift!


Here's a close-up of the little storage tin I made with the Cottage Christmas papers and some Mod-Podge.


If you've come over from the Imaginisce blog, leave a comment here to be entered in today's giveaway for the entire Cottage Christmas collection, plus the Roly Rosies and Petal Roller tool!

And if you haven't been to the blog yet, head over there for a full tutorial on this project, plus all the other great inspiration from the design team during the 12 days of Christmas!

Thanks for stopping by!

December Sketch Challenge...it's ON!

December is here...which means lots of holiday fun, celebrations and treats. But it also means it's time for another Imaginisce sketch challenge, and this one's a dandy! It was created by Liz Qualman, my old pal from the CHA make-n-take table.

So it seems Liz has a thing for mittens these days, and she's been spreading her mitten-fever throughout the Imaginisce Design Team. But I resisted! After all, there are so many possibilities for that banner, and I just received these gorgeous products from the new Garden Party collection. They were calling me!

I cut the scalloped circles with my Cricut, but if you have a 1" scalloped circle punch, that would work just as well. Then I folded them in half and lined them up to create the banners.

Of course, I couldn't resist adding a little blingy bling with the i-rock.

As always, there's a great giveaway being offered for today's sketch hop. Visit the Imaginisce Blog to see a list of all the participating design team members and leave a comment on each of their blogs for another chance to win!

And check out the details for the December sketch challenge on the Imaginisce Blog and start working on your entry. It's always so much fun to see all the unique takes on these sketches, and I'm sure this month will be no different. Who knows...we might even see some more mittens!!

(Just kidding, Liz. You know I love ya, girl!)