justem: little bits of this and that

crazy little christmas...

for your listening enjoyment.
i love this guy.
and this whole album.
the last minute is my favorite.
it's a little crazy.
and perfect. ;)

Meet Doc...

...otherwise known as "The World's Most Boring Elf". ;)  I've seen a lot of other elves out there - elves that do fun things like make marshmallow snow forts and hang with Barbie. I've seen elves that are a bit naughty...I've even seen some elves that are like...really naughty. You all know the ones I'm talking about. ;)  And then...well, then there is Doc.  Doc does not have fun, and he is most definitely not naughty. He is at our house to do a JOB, gosh darn it.  He takes his "watch and report" duties very seriously.  There is no time for shenanigans in this house!  He has found some very benign spots to hang out around our new house to do his spying...

Perhaps some year Doc will discover his inner feistiness, but for now he's content just sitting there and looking cute...and not the least bit creepy. ;)

Spruce up your holiday packages...

Good morning!  Last week I had a post up on the Pebbles blog featuring some quick and easy gift wrapping ideas!  As we all know, the holidays are crazy busy for most people, so I shared a few simple ideas of how you can spruce up your gift wrapping without too much time or energy! ;) Here is a little sneak peak...

 Be sure to check out the original post, as well as stop by the Pebbles blog to check out some of their new collections to be released at CHA!  I'm always excited to see what they have up their sleeve! :)  

Thirty-Four {Gossamer Blue Pinspired Layout}

Happy Friday!  My monthly "Pinspired with Gossamer Blue" post is up on the GB blog today!  
This month my inspiration came from a very unlikely place...a cake!

source: Martha Stewart Weddings

 The cake inspired this layout, which features layers and stripes just like the beautiful cake!

For more details on how I made this layout, as well as a chance to play along with the challenge, check out my original post on the Gossamer Blue blog!  Tomorrow, my friends and I are having our annual Bake-a-palooza! I will be sure to share photos of this great (and slightly crazy) holiday tradition!!  Have a great day! :)

 

The Wish List

As I grow older (and have more children, ha!) the idea of receiving gifts at Christmas time seems to pale greatly in comparison to giving and watching my children receive gifts. So anybody reading this who was contemplating getting me a gift (which, I'm sure was soooo many of you...) DON'T. Seriously.  Just get my cute kids gifts. Watching them open and enjoy their presents is so much more fulfilling!! That being said, it's always fun to make a wish list of fun things I'd like to have someday! ;) Here are some things I've been eyeing up lately...

Chewbeads Waverly Necklace - Nothing says, "I'm a mom" like some 100% silicone teething jewelry!  But really...it will be awhile before I can again wear my favorite Lisa Leonard and Urban Legend jewelry.  So, instead, I figured something cute and functional would be great! ;)

1canoe2 Letterpress Calendar - This will be my third year with this little calendar. It's so cute.  Now let's hope I can find my fun little wood stump holder (which is packed away in some box) by January... ;)

Land of Nod Magnificent 5 - I'm all about numbers and letters. I have my little "E" collection (again, lost in some box) and I have one 5 sign. I think I need to add to the collection.  This one would be perfect...until, of course, we have another kid, hahaha. I'm so funny.

Emily McDowell print - I LOVE this. I saw it on Pinterest awhile back, and it's so, so, so true. It would be perfect for my new scrapbooking space, I think! :)

Crate and Barrel Table Runner - this thing is ridiculously expensive - but so pretty! I would put it on top of the piano (which arrived at our house today, hooray!) to brighten up our living room!

Midwest LIving subscription - I feel like a tad bit dorky for wanting/liking this as much as I do ;)  But seriously - this magazine is great...everything is "local" and it's full of so many great ideas and info!!

Toms Ballet Flats - I really love my Toms shoes - second only to my Converse. ;)  I've never owned a pair of their ballet flats, but they are super cute and hopefully just as comfy as the originals!

 

Housey Home Nightlight - LOVE this. It's so cute. My only fear is that my kids would break it...because they do that...a lot. ;)

 

The Mac + Chese Cookbook - Do I really even need to explain?! ;) There are also a lot of books I'd like to read (you know, because I have sooo much free time right now) on my READ pinterest board! ;)

So, there you have it - my wish list - minus the 8000 things I want for the new house!! What's on your wish list this year?? 

Fall Fun?

Good Morning!  Awhile back, I had a fall layout on the Pebbles Blog, and I thought I'd share it here today!  These photos were taken at the local Fall Festival that we go to (went to?!...so weird to think of that as our "past" now that we have moved to a new state!) every year. Henry was NOT a fan, and so (in true Spahn family fashion) we took some silly photos of us all being sad like Henry!

 

I used the Thirty-One banner kit as a triangle template for my background!  

These photos seem like they were taken SO long ago - it's crazy to think how much has happened with our family in the past six months. Putting our house up for sale, having a baby, moving to a new state. I'm really looking forward to 2014 when I can just RELAX. ;)  Hope you all had a great weekend!

seriously... {december gossamer blue}

December's Gossamer Blue kit is filled with all kinds of pretty papers and fun products.  I haven't had as much of a chance to work with it as I would have liked...but today I wanted to share with you my "Main Kit Only" layout for this month!  I love that for a December kit is is not filled with just Christmas product - but that you CAN buy some fun holiday add-ons if that is your thing! ;) This layout includes a lot of great Basic Grey, Webster's Pages, Chic Tags, and Carta Bella products. (Wildflower!! Designed by Kaitlin, who I had the pleasure of getting to know when I was on the first ever Ormolu DT way back when!!!)

 

This is totally not a great quality photo (taken with my phone) nor is it exactly a stellar photo of me - but I guess that is the point! Having a newborn is tiring...and I wanted to document just that!!

Have a happy Thursday!!

Saying goodbye... {Pebbles Treat Bags}

Hi!  I apologize for my lack of blogging lately! We have officially lived in our new house for a week, and to say it's been chaotic would be a bit of an understatement. Although we've "lived" here for a week, we spent one day at a friend's for Thanksgiving, one day at a Badger football game (my team!! So glad we live closer now!) and one day back in IL gathering the rest of our belongings.  So, that means we really only had two "workable" days until my husband went back to work.  I'm having a hard time getting much accomplished - the daily tasks like laundry and dishes and chasing around my insane children seem to take up the majority of my time, and I'm lucky to get even a box or two unpacked a day.  I hope to have some house photos to share at some point!!  Until then...

Before we left Illinois, my daughter celebrated her last day of preschool. She has been going to that center since she was five months old, so leaving was incredibly sad for both us and th staff there . She wanted to do something special for her friends, so we decided to make some treat bags with her picture on them to say goodbye.    First we made a sign for her to hold with the greeting for her friends.  I let her pick the words, but I had help edit, because what she really wanted to say was, "It was fun playing at school with me. I'm sorry I have to leave you and go to a new house and a new school. Here is a bag of candy for you because I am saying goodbye...." Yeah. She had a novel planned out. ;)  I explained that we had to fit all the words on ONE piece of paper with a font big enough to read. So this is what we ended up with:

 My Canon Selphy worked perfectly to print out the small photos, and we used the cute little Pebbles treat bags from last season's Amy Locurto line.The bags were decorated with stars cut from patterned paper and washi tape from the Basics line.  Mirielle was in charge of choosing all the colors for each bag and was very particular about who got what color!  She wrote her friends names on the bags and we filled them up with candy.

Of course after we took the pictures she decided that they weren't quite embellished enough and by the time they reached her friends they also had some crayon drawn hearts and a few Wizard of Oz stickers stuck on them! ;)  She was super excited to give them to her friends, and it made me smile (and my heart ache a bit) when the mother of her best friend from school told me that she came home and immediately put the photo of Miri on their fridge. :)  I like to joke that outside of layout making, I'm a craft flunky. I don't make gifts. I don't make decor. I don't even make cards unless I have to.  Altered projects scare me. I've never quilted or sewn anything in my life. Costumes, wreaths and everything else that a craft person could potentially make just come from Target (man, I love that place). However, I will admit that in spite of the bittersweet occasion, I had a blast making these with Mirielle. Maybe you'll see some homemade Valentines in my future. Or maybe not. ;)