A Thankful Post

So I know I'm a day late getting this up...but it was a late night coming back from Molalla and and early morning today for me working retail Black Friday madness. I'm so glad to be home. Hubby has run up to the corner Irish pub to grab me a reuben sandwich and then we are watching the new episode of Gold Rush on dvr. I told him he has to wait on me tonight since I worked almost 14 hrs today!!! Anyway, I did want to take some time to share some things I have been really thankful for this  year, people, places & things!


1. My sweet, crazy, loyal hubby, without which the first year of marriage would have been dull :) we made it through together and are better people on the other side of all the changes, trials, and tribulations.

2. My sweet little sister, who traveled with me cross country from AL to OR in  loaded down Toyota Celica for 4 days with my kitty, without her this journey would have been so much harder, she kept me sane and reminds me everyday how grown up she's become:) she's a rock for strength for me when I have been unsure of decisions, reassuring  me along the way that things will get better.

3. Jimmy's mom and my parents, who never for a minute questioned our motives to move across the country only 6 months after marriage. They have been awesome, understanding, and so so supportive of Jimmy and I.

4. My best friends, Heather, Jenni and Crystal who have already been out to visit in my new Portland diggs and who I can pick up the phone and talk to for hours even if it's been weeks or months between calls. They are always there:)

5. The wonderful company I've worked for for almost 7 years, who allowed me to transfer and gave me a job immediately, and who's people, upper management and mentors have put faith and time and training  into my career a  I continue to grow as a manager in this business.

So many other little things that I can't even begin to list now, but a roof over my head, our  gorgeous surroundings in the Pacific northwest, and the life ahead. Thank you Lord, for all these blessings, small and large. Sincerely, The Hollisters

Goodnight friends!! Wishing you a happy thanksgiving to you & yours.

My favs from 2012:

Good evenin' everyone! I know it's getting late in a lot of the country but I'm still up and I wanted to do a fun post about some of my favorite crafty projects from this year. So, here goes, hope these are some of your favs too! 

VINTAGE VIXEN TOP TWELVE IN 2012:

1. This one has to be my favorite page that I've done this year. Not only because it's a vintage photo of my Meemaw, but also because i really like the cluster I did and those are some of my favorite papers.No real crazy techniques here except for just lots of layering! "STAR QUALITY"

2. This one is one of the first layouts I did using instagram photos. I really like the perfect size that they are for scrapbooking pages. I also confess that I have a major love affair with coffee, starbucks, you name it! I felt it was important to document this face, and I really like the Graphic 45 papers I used here, even did some fussy cutting too! " A GIRL AND HER COFFEE"

 3. This layout was the one I did for our convention, it was supposed to be all about me. I made a little 'list about myself and also made a big banner to go across the page using some of my very favorite paper lines, Basic Grey, Echo Park, Stella Rose and Amy Tangerine American Crafts. "ME-KMH"

 4. These were some fun little tiles I made with my friend Monica at convention in September. By far one of the funnest projects ever! You can use them on so many things, add them to so many things! I really had fun making these and I made some more tonite, will share on the blog soon :)

 5. This page was just a quick one I did while at convention, but I really like how it turned out. It was one of my first attempts at making a 'textured' background using stamping and heat embossing. I also distressed the paper and inked. the soft colors really compliment the cute pictures of my beloved Carmella. "CURL"

 6. This page was one for a sketch challenge. Once again I used instagram photos and had a sketch in mind when planning this page. I like the banner and the wooden letters at the bottom. "HELLO BUNGALOW"

7. This page I did at the beginning of the year, using paint for the first time on one of my pages as  mized media background. I love this photo of me and my 2 best friends from way back in 2007 in Boston. I also used layering and fussy cutting some of my page elements.  "TRUE BLUE"

 8. This page I did at the end of the month crop at SF. I was feeling inspired by this black and white photo of my niece, Zoe and used that as my basis for the color scheme. I also used tulle on my page for the first time and cut a large circle for the base of some old Basic Grey paper. "ADORE"

9. This page was another layering page. I also really like how my odd color scheme turned out to be perfect for the photo. The creams. browns, blacks, tans and hints of pink were perfect. My cousin Kate was so excited to get to hold this baby kangaroo at the Gulf Shores Zoo last summer, I had to scrap such a sweet moment! " INNER BEAUTY"

 10. This page I did pretty recently. One of my first non-design team pages in a while. I found these old photos from last summer of me and Leanne out on the river and had to scrap them! I used my new chevron stamp, mist, embossing powder, UTEE, smooch spritz and my fingers to make a really messy background. It was so much fun! "PERFECT FRIENDS"

11.This page I actually did before I was accepted onto the design team. I used several different papers to pull together this very femenine layout about my cousin Kate and my Aunt Deb. I love all the different flowers, textures, hearts, and cheetah ribbon I used. " UNBREAKABLE BOND"

 

12. Last but not least, is this page I did about our girls trip/crop weekend in Biloxi in May. It was so much fun hanging at the casinos and spending an entire 3 days cropping. I used several different flowers, felt, tags, and my new favorite alphas- Thickers on this page. "LOVE OF ROCK"

All in all, I would say that 2012 was a pretty creative/crafty year. All those pages plus tons more for design team, my own pages, crafts for the wedding, 2 or 3 mini albums, also some mixed media projects and gifts, man I can't believe I did that all! Even with all that I had going on and working so much. But I really really enjoyed it, and I hope 2013 brings more crafty mojo, more ideas, more time to get the ball rolling on VV stuff to sell, and of course new adventures! It all starts with a new city and a new home in April 2013, wish me and the new hubby luck! Happy New YEAR!!!