One Year Blogiversary!

I started this blog one year ago! My first post is HERE. I have learned so much about blogging, my interests and how to connect with others. I am grateful for each & every follower and really appreciate all of the nice comments that people have left in the past year.

I am all about ribbon this time of year. It is probably my favorite element to decorate with! I am crazy about this ribbon & will be using it  everywhere!! Here is my latest find:

In a previous post I mentioned that I have 2 new assignments. One of the assignments is a photo assignment that I am working on & will share with you at a later date. I am photographing an architectural element in our city & have found that the dwindling light from fall into winter is making it challenging to complete it. The great thing about this assignment is that it has no due date. My goal is to share it with you when I feel that I have it completed, which will be sometime before spring. (I hope!)

My second assignment is profiling women in business in our local area. I have been impressed with a number of women who have taken their passion & turned it into a business. You will get a behind the scenes look at how & where they work. Later this week I will be giving you a behind the scenes tour of Lucy's  (the Slipcover Queen) studio. You will love seeing how she turned her garage into a stunning, cozy studio!

These assignments are "self-assigned". I figured that my kids have several assignments which are designed to further their understanding of a subject and that I could do this for myself. I hope you have a self-assignment or two! I would like to hear about yours and if you are still thinking about it, this is a good time of year to stretch your boundaries & work on something new for you!

As I was composing holiday card tips post here, I realized that I didn't have my previous year's Christmas cards all in one box. I am hoping that when I find the kids' memory boxes (safely tucked away in storage, but not visible), that I will have a copy of previous years cards. I did find a good portion of the photos & cards. Following is a tour of our cards (some are just the photo, as I am not digging into the storage room until after the holidays!).

1997~I remember this like it was yesterday. My husband & I were heading to his first company Christmas party & I was a bit nervous to leave my 4 month old with a new babysitter. It turned out that she was a great babysitter & a pretty good photographer , too!

1998~hard to believe that the one with the dimple is now a teenager! She had a choir concert last night & sang like an angel! That chubby baby is now defying gravity with his skiing and wakeboarding. Thus the progression of my wrinkles!

1999~this was taken by my father-in-law. I think my mother-in-law was doing something crazy to get the kids to laugh. It worked. We hung a sheet from our garage door for the back drop. My husband & I developed this photo in our basement that year. I miss our make shift photo lab. I ended up having this printed by a real lab, but it didn't turn out quite as surreal as the photo below. 

2000~We used a piece of black velvet & draped it over a door for this photo. My husband added the red bow. My favorite thing here is how they are holding hands. That doesn't happen anymore! This is a gorgeous card from Exposures. That gold ribbon took forever to weave through the tiny holes!!

2001~Another Exposures card. It had a vellum overlay & ribbon, too. I love this photo~so sweet!

Without the vellum:

2002~we added our third child this year & moved to a new home in December (avoid moving in December, it is only for insane people!!) The baby in this photo, Miss Boo, really did fall asleep! Mr. F. was being a 4 year-old boy & wasn't cooperating, so I thought it was fine that he was in his normal mode of being goofy with his eyes squinched shut! I made this card on my computer & added a phrase inside that said..while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads... The back of the card featured our new address & a photo that I had snapped our new house. 

Back of card (2002)

2003~this is my Mom's favorite photo of the kids. I took this one:) I just used a store-bought card & slipped in the photo. 

2004~This is the snow picture! We had snow the day after Thanksgiving & I was able to get it before the snow melted! The kids were ice cold when they came in!! This is also the card where I added that apostrophe & had to have all of the photos re-printed~oops!

2005~I think this is one of my favorites (I cannot pick a favorite since they all hold special meaning to me!) I really wanted a pocket card in 2005, but I couldn't justify the cost. I came up with a way to get the pocket card. I found this beautiful stationery & then printed a photo of the kids that I had taken along with the saying onto the cardstock. I fed the tassel through the hole & looped it & then inserted it into the pocket. The pocket is a pretty bronze color.

The card out of the pocket: The card said BELIEVE and then below the pic, it said ...in thespiritof the season. The font was regular & then spirit was in red & script. 

2006~This was one of the easiest cards ever! We had our photo taken at a local chain photo studio & ordered the cards on the spot. I had my cards ready in September that year!!

2007~I love the color of this card & how whimsical it is! The inside greeting said: Wishing you a bright & cheerful holiday season in pink & green fonts!!



2008~This was my first true digital card, where I sent the photo online. I love how the greenery in the background complements the design of the card.

2009~if you haven't read my recent post about this card, you can go here.

2010~

Sarah over at Clover Lane, just posted a tutorial on how she has recently displayed her cards for Christmas. I love this idea, but will be heading more toward the scrapbooking route, as I have a limited supply of cards.

It is snowing outside and my family is beyond giddy! I am happy that they are giddy. Here we go, winter! This is a recent splurge! I love these *Bogs*. Waterproof.  Warm. Comfy. Colorful.

This one is for all of my family & friends that live where it isn't snowing:

Snow is flying, but we are ready!

I am loving my blogiversary. I am celebrating one year of having fun in blogland!! What are you loving today?
Hugs,