Merry Christmas!!

Welcome to Northern Virginia! Hope you've had a great ride so far, only a few more stops on this amazing train of Christmas goodies! You should have come from Monica's blog. If you missed hers, click here. How much do you love this Christmas collab? Remember, it's free with a $10 purchase at the ScrapMatters store. And everything is 40% off today, so think of how much you can get for $10!!

I've got more a tip than a tradition for you if you don't mind. Don't you hate it on Christmas morning when the little ones have opened a present and then you struggle to really open the present? You know what I'm talking about, the millions of twist-ties, plastic layers, and seemingly indestructible rubber bands that keep all those toys in the box! DH and I were so tired of dealing with crying kids as we fought with their presents so they could actually play with them. So last year, we started a new tradition. Before we wrapped anything, we took it out of all the packaging! Okay, maybe you already do this or maybe your kids are extra patient, but it made last Christmas awesome!! The kids could unwrap the presents and get right to playing instead of waiting for us to do battle with the zip ties. So that's my advice to you for a smoother Christmas morning: remove from packaging!! And here's something else to make your season easier:

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Easy Christmas gift tags! Just print and attach, then give! The one on the left is meant to go with a bag of M&M's, and the one on the right is for a bottle of sparkling cider. Hope you enjoy them! Your next stop on the train is Christy (click here).

Who doesn't love a sale?

And ScrapMatter's Black Friday Sale is HUGE! Start your shopping in the store where most everything is 40% off! If you spend $10 or more, you get a great collab kit for FREE. There will also be a ton of fabulous grab bags chock full of great deals! And don't forget to ride the blog train to over thirty stops (including here!!) of freebies! Also, a new daily download is beginning in the forum that day. Be there!

Come on ride the train..

Welcome to Northern Virginia! Hopefully, it's your second stop on the Andilynn Designs Thanksgiving Blog Train! If you missed the first stop, click here to start at Andilynn's Blog.

Little known fact about us: We hit McDonald's on Turkey Day...no, not for our Thanksgiving feast, but sort of a precursor. When we first moved to Virginia, we didn't have family nearby and it was just my husband and I. We thought it would be hilarious to start our day at the most unlikely destination...McDonald's. We were surprised to see quite a crowd there! Since then it just became a funny yearly tradition. And actually, now that we have kids, we love it! We hit the big McD around 10 am, order breakfast, and let the kids run wild in the play place. By the time we leave, the kids have had a break from the house (too cold to play outside), and we've had a late breakfast that wears off just in time for Thanksgiving dinner! Okay, enough blah-blah, I know you're here for a freebie and here it is!

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I made place cards for your Thanksgiving dinner. Just print, fold in half and fill in the guests' name! Happy Turkey Day!! Next stop on the train is Krista! Click here.

Ta da!!

I made the Simply Sweet CT!! Yeah!! Kim's designs are too cute and I'm so excited she picked me to join her first creative team. Check out the official announcement on her blog. Here's a few of my favorite kits from Kim:

All Sorts of Excitement

Dear two readers,

My scrapping life is awesome! I was invited to join Andilynn Designs' CT out of the blue!! Andilynn, aka Andrea, is the co-owner of ScrapMatters and also designs adorable kits.

Of course, I was totally honored and said yes! She also offered me a guest CT spot with Scrapmatters for the month of November. It has been so much fun! I've been able to scrap a ton of pages and love the 'behind-the-scenes' forums. I'll be sad when my month is over! Here's a few contributions to the 100 decent page count:

And, Grouch is up for Layout of the Week at Snap and Scrap! How awesome!

So anyway, life is good and I love scrapping. And keep an eye on this blog for an announcement on Friday a couple other exciting things!

I got my groove back!

Ugh, this has been the worst scrapping week ever!!! I trashed SO many ugly LO's and finally took a scrapping break. But, after a good day at church and a brighter outlook on life, I've gotten my groove back! Here's what I came up with tonight:

Man, those are cute kids...