Believe Word Art , originally uploaded by byjen . For the past couple years I have chosen a one little word to represent my year; to set the tone or theme for the year. This is instead of making a list of resolutions I don't end up keeping. In 2008 I chose Achieve and Create was my word for 2009. Well I have chosen Believe to be my word for 2010. Believe has always been a special word for Daniel and me, with Daniel's wedding proposal in Disneyland and our Christmas time wedding. We've always "Believed in the Magic." But this year I hope to make it even more meaningful on a daily basis. I hope to learn the lesson of believing in myself and my ability to achieve the goals I set for myself. Here's to 2010 and Believing in Me!

Wow, I have been away from blog world for quite a long time now. Honestly, I even stopped reading other blogs just because I can't keep up with all the inspiration that strikes from seeing other crafty blogs. Life is always crazy. Keeping up with Rebecca, who just turned 5, and Katherine, my spunky 2 year old, is always a challenge, not to mention work and keeping up with household chores. And life is only going to get more hectic with the holidays, but I love holiday hectic! Among other things, I love the chance to be creative and make gifts for family and friends. My mind is racing with more ideas than I have time for, but at least during the holidays I make a greater effort to get in my craft room and CREATE! I have completed a few cool projects lately and have more on the horizon. I just created a painting for my friend, Susan. It's my biggest project ever, 2ftx3ft. She wanted something special to hang over her fireplace and I am so honored she thought of me. It was quite d...

Meal Planning , originally uploaded by byjen . Inspired by yet another project from Katherine Marie Photography blog , I recently finished a meal planning system that I hope will help us eat healthier and save money (less eating out). Instead of using a canvas and velcro I used my unfinished 4x6 IKEA frames and felt. It turned out pretty cute. I hope it helps.

Drive-in Movie Cars , originally uploaded by byjen . Last Sunday was our first football Sunday of the season. So it was a relaxing family day at home. For some fun, the girls and I made cars inspired by this blog . I learned about this blog months ago and have been searching for the perfect boxes, and the right time, ever since. It was a fun time. The girls chose the paint color for their boxes and they also painted white paper plates for the tires. Rebecca wanted to make sure the tires could turn, so I used brads to secure them. I also taped a flap of cardboard from the front edge to secure their paperplate steering wheel using a brad as well. Rebecca painted the faces on both cars (Katherine didn't last much past the car painting) and included little tongues sticking out. The cars turned out adorable. For their first drive-in, the girls saw a showing of Cinderella (a favorite of both).

Wow, it has been a long time. What a busy summer! I wish I could say it was busy with family vacations and time to be creative. No such luck. It was just busy with work, work, work. But now that fall is near, I might actually have a little more free time. The new semester is bringing with it a new schedule and lighter work load for my hubby (he teaches Anatomy & Physiology at a local community college). And my oldest daughter is now in kindergarten. Just those two changes may bring me a little extra time for me. So to start things off, I am taking an online art class from Paulette Insall . I'm excited but a bit overwhelmed by all the different art supplies. Just the different types of acrylic paints make my head spin. I think I just need to move past all that and just get into my craft room and finally make something! Stay tuned.....

Papa Bill Shadow Box , originally uploaded by byjen . I've been dying to share this completed layout but had to wait until after Father's Day (it was a gift for my dad). I just started making this layout for fun following the Donna Downey class instructions, but then it developed into something more. I just love the moment captured between my dad and Katherine. And the journaling sentiment I found. And the colors all worked so well together. I just need to remember in the future to photograph the layout before trapping it behind glass. Ooops.

My princesses , originally uploaded by byjen . Everyday is a princess day in our house =)

Another layout , originally uploaded by byjen . We just had a fairly busy weekend. We enjoyed 3 different BBQ's and did some redecorating in Rebecca and Katherine's room (pictures coming soon). In the middle of all the fun, I did have a chance to complete a couple more layouts based on Donna Downey's class instructions. I used one of my favorite photos of Becca which has a funny story to go with it. Check it out here . This layout is done on cardstock and then the canvas embellisment was adhered to the page protector. It's such a fun way to add texture and dimension.

Dance costumes are here! , originally uploaded by byjen . Yesterday, Rebecca got her costume for her dance recital coming up next month. She's going to be dancing to "It's Good To Be King" from the Lion King. Isn't she the cutest lion?

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

I have had the harderst time getting on the road to good health and fitness since having my two girls. I've started countless times, but just can't keep it up for one reason or another. But today I am announcing that this time I am going to do it and keep on doing it! I am going to CREATE the healthy and fit me that my family and I deserve! Last night I started the 30 day challenge on the new Wii Active and it felt really good. So here's to creating new habits and a new, healthy me!

Paper Layout , originally uploaded by byjen . I really haven't "scrapbooked" much since Katherine was born, but this Donna Downey class has really got me going again. I love painting the backgrounds and using the basic text on the pages. So simple but so meaningful. I'm truly enjoying exploring more artistic techniques. This weekend I plan on working on a piece to submitt for a Christmas publication, so wish me luck getting it done and hoping it gets chosen. I also have to reclaim my craft room. I've got a full size bed that needs to fit back in it. It's amazing how much stuff I have crammed into every nook and cranny of our house.

County Fair Fun , originally uploaded by byjen . A little over a week ago we went to the County Fair. We met Rebecca's friend, Jadine, and all had a grand time!

Fabric Scrapbook , originally uploaded by byjen . Here are some pictures of the layouts I completed in the Donna Downey class. I can't stop saying how amazing this class was. Donna Downey was such a great teacher! And it was so much fun to learn and try different art techniques and learn about different art materials. And it was really liberating to celebrate the everyday by just working with random favorite photos and happy colors and simple, but meaningful text. Did I mention how much fun this was? I LOVED IT!!

Today was such a fun day! I got to spend the whole day being creative. I learned a lot of fun and new "artsy" techniques. And I got to meet one of my biggest creative inspirations, Donna Downey ! I will be sure to share more soon, but I am exhausted from all the fun.

I am so excited to be going to San Jose today to take Donna Downey's new fabric scrapbooking class today! Donna Downey is such a huge inspiration for me. I can't wait to meet her! And I can't wait to spend an entire day being creative!

Yesterday Daniel and I took Rebecca to see the Lion King. We had been once before well before Rebecca (~8-1/2 years ago). I remember it being amazing and it was. When the show was over, Rebecca looked up at Daniel and said "I loved it!" Doesn't get much better than that!

"Bee" Curious , originally uploaded by byjen . I am currently finishing up a few new word arts for gifts. I've made this one for my mom to give as a gift to the teacher she works for.