Monthly Archives: December 2014

One Word for the New Year

Happy New Years Eve to everyone! As I sit here and the final hours of 2014 wind down, I have been thinking about the upcoming year! There is one word that keeps coming to my mind when I think about 2015! My “One Word” for 2015 is:

Here is a small description of each of the things that I am determined to work on!

Smile: I am determined to smile more. I am going to think about the good things in life and know that my family gives me something to smile about every day!

Blogging: I am determined to blog 2-4 times a week. I love doing crafts and being creative, so there is no reason that I can’t blog about them when they are done. I know that my blog doesn’t necessarily need to be about crafts. It can be about what is happening with my family, about things that I am doing in the community, pretty much anything that I want to blog about!

A Sweet Berry Designs Portfolio: I have slowly been working on my portfolio. But I am determined that January 2015 is going to be a busy busy month worth of working on my portfolio. I also plan to get it up online and get some stationery pieces done!

Getting my house organized: Even though we have started working on getting the house organized while Bruce has been home for the week after Christmas, I am determined to get both of the boys rooms organized, as well as my bonus room that seems to be the catch all room. My garage also needs to be organized.

Reading the Bible daily: I am determined to read the Bible daily. I not only want to read the Bible for myself, but I want to read the it daily with the kids.

Journaling and Doodling: Outside of working on my portfolio and blogging, I am determined to journal and doodle! I love to doodle, so there is no reason I shouldn’t! I’ve journaled in the past and it has helped me get my thoughts out.

Spending more time with my husband: I am determined to spend more alone time with my husband. Just recently both of our children spent the night away on the same night. The next morning, Bruce and I spend the morning drinking coffee together, eating breakfast together, watching a little television together and chatting. There are not a lot of times like that, but it was great to just be with him.

Prioritize: There are a lot of things that I want to do in 2015. I am determined to prioritize those activities!

Stop being a yeller: Unfortunately, I am a yeller. I find myself yelling and it stresses me out and causes a major headache. I am determined to be less of a yeller.

Volunteer more: I am determined to volunteer more. Even though I am in the Junior Woman’s Club of Raleigh and we have a minimum amount of hours that we are supposed to volunteer, I want to volunteer more and involve my kids more. I also would like to volunteer in my Church more.

Be more present with my family: I know that I am a technology dork. I love it. Between my MacBook, my iPad, my iPhone and my Kindle, I could spend all day on them. But I am determined to put them away more and be more present with my family and spend less time with my electronics!

Get into Shape: I am currently working out, but the holidays has put a damper on my motivation to work out. But I am determined in 2015 to work out 5-6 days a week. I want to work out 3 days with my friend Abby and 2-3 days of walking/running. I know I can do it! I also want to get rid of my high blood pressure medications in 2015.

Better eating habits for the whole family: Even though I have been instructed by the doctor to cut down on my carbs and my sugars, I think my family could benefit from this as well. I know my boys are growing and need more carbs than I do, I won’t cut them out of their diets as much as I will for my diet, but we could definitely stand to eat less! We need to add more fruits and veggies to our diets. Even though I am gluten free, I still tend to find carbs in the non-gluten foods. So, more label reading, less processed and more fresh!!!!

Dance more: I love dancing! I am determined to dance more, even if it’s in my house!!! It makes me happy! And my kids love dance parties in the living room!

My list could go on, but these are the things that I want to work on the most! I am determined to be determined in 2015!!!!! I am really looking forward to the New Year! I’m starting my year off with a trip to Anaheim, CA for the Craft and Hobby Association Mega Show and meeting up with one of my favorite people, Laura Kelly. Unfortunately, I won’t be home to help celebrate my husbands 40th Birthday, but I truly appreciate that he is supportive of my adventures! In April, I am attending SNAP blogging conference in Salt Lake City, Utah! And there are lots of other things that will happen in 2015! And I’ll be sure to share all of my adventures with you guys!

HAPPY 2015!!!

Peace and Love!

Merry Christmas!

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Merry Christmas to you and your family!

As I sit here now that everyone has gone to sleep, I am reflecting on this joyous day! It was filled with excitement, a couple of meltdowns, great food and lots of family time! Christmas is my favorite time of the year! The look on the children’s faces once they see what the Jolly Ole Guy has left under the tree is worth all of the stress of the whole year! As I laid awake in my bed from about 5:30am until I heard the kids start to move around in their beds, I quickly jumped up as soon as I heard a foot hit the floor. I was almost too late to catch this picture so it’s a little blurry! I love trying to get a picture of them as they come down the stairs once they see what Santa has left for them!

Now, I know that everyone has their traditions. As I was growing up, Santa never wrapped his gifts. They were always laid out on the couches, my pile on one and my brothers on the other! Santa always wrapped Bruce’s! For our kids, Santa has always wrapped his gifts! What does Santa do for your family?

Our day in a nut shell…….After the kids woke up, we let them open one gift. We had to wait for Uncle Rhett, Cousin Jory, Grandma and Grandpa to arrive. I put a sausage and egg casserole in the oven! Once they were all here, everyone opened one gift! Breakfast of casserole, pancakes (Berry family tradition and now cooked by Bruce), and fruit were served! And coffee too!!! After breakfast was done, the present opening was on! Trying to keep our anxiety under control, we opened one gift at a time! Yes, this took a while. Here are a few of our favorites:

After all of the presents were unwrapped, it was time for lunch! Then it was time for some down time. Everyone left and we just hung out as a family of four, put together some legos, opened all of the packages (those annoying plastic things….ugh) and just sat around. Then it was off to Grandma and Grandpa’s house for more presents and a yummy dinner of a Rochester, NY Sausage Soup! And then home for bed!

Hmmm….not sure that was entirely a nut shell, but it wasn’t too long!

I know Christmas Day isn’t only about the presents. Thankfully, my children know and understand why this day is special, the day that Jesus was born to Mary and Joseph! And we are blessed and feel very fortunate!

I also sit here and think about those that are no longer here with us, but look down on us from Heaven. And I think about the friends and family that we have all over the country and how much we miss you all.

So, I hope that you had a great Christmas and that Santa was good to you! And I hope that you all have a “Berry” Happy New Year!!!

Peace and Love!

Personalized Christmas Stationery from Expressionery

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This post is sponsored by Expressionery.com and Laura Kelly Designs. Although I received product and financial compensation, all opinions are entirely my own.
Personalized Stationery from Expressionery.com is my favorite, especially when it has Laura Kelly’s Me and My Peeps on it! There is a Peep for everyone, even your pets! There are even Christmas time Peeps. When the package from Expressionery.com came and my boys (Landon, age 7 and Benjamin, age 5) saw that they had their own Me and My Peeps Christmas stationery, they were so excited! Landon is to the age that he loves writing notes, especially to his teachers and friends!

Expressionery.com has a gift for everyone. Personalized stationery is the perfect gift for the holidays, Mother’s Day, Birthdays or even Teacher Appreciation. Or, you can just order it for yourself! Laura Kelly’s collection of stationary is super cute and fun! Her designs are appropriate for children and adults!

A Little Christmas Ornament using our Me and My Peeps Stationery!

We decided to make a cute craft with one of our notecards. They each made a Christmas ornament to send with the note that Landon wrote to his Mimi and Paw! Each boy cut out their own Peep, leaving their name attached.

Using Aleene’s Turbo Tacky Glue, they glued their Peep to a piece of Kunin’s red felt!
After the glue dried, they cut the felt just a little bigger than their Peep!
Next, we used Eyelet Pliers and an eyelet to create a hole so that we could add a piece of string! We used the elastic silver string that came wrapped around our stationery gift from Expressionery.com!!
These lovely homemade ornaments will be sent to Mimi and Paw’s house with the sweet little note that Landon wrote for them! So, go to www.expressionery.com/laurakelly and order some personalized stationery for a gift or for yourself! The deadline to order for Christmas is December 19th. For 30% off site wide, used Promo Code: PEEPS Code expires on 12/30/14 and excludes embossed stationary and paperweights. *Limited time offer valid through December 30, 2014 at 11:55 PM CST. Receive 30% off sitewide plus free standard non-trackable shipping and handling on orders over $50 with offer code “PEEPS” at checkout. Offer excludes embossed stationery and paperweights. This offer may not be combined with any other offer or discount, and shipping fees and sales tax are separate. To prevent abuse, prices, specifications, and availability subject to change without notice from Expressionery.com.
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The Gingerbread Bear Book and Sculpey and Scribbles Ornament

Button Christmas Tree Earrings

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Check out these adorable Button Christmas Tree Earrings that I made using Laura Kelly’s collection of buttons from Buttons Galore and More! I have a great love for buttons and Laura’s are awesome!

Materials used:
Laura Kelly Buttons from Buttons Galore & More
Head Pins
Earring Hooks
Round Nose Pliers

First, I started out by picking out my buttons. I made sure that the green ones were somewhat graduated, so that they made a tree shape. Then, I chose some brown ones for the trunk and then yellow to represent the star. Once I laid them out the way I wanted them, I placed them on the head pin.
When all of my buttons were on the head pin, I used my round nose pliers to create a loop. I then opened up the end of the earring hook and placed it on the head pin loop and then closed it using the pliers. Then I did the other one the same way!
Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy! And they turned out super cute! I plan to wear them a lot during the month of December! Hope you liked my Button Christmas Tree Earrings! Now you can make your own!