New Chatterbox and Update!

Hey All!

I've decided to come out of hiding!  It's been a really long time since I have posted, but honestly I wasn't even aware that people still checked in once in awhile.  Thank you for caring, asking and praying for me and my family!

Well, when the fabulous Courtney Walsh asked me to make a blog post about this new Chatterbox release, I thought it would be a great opportunity to make an update for everyone.  I didn't even realize that family was reading this blog until some of my relatives started to ask me when I was going to start updating again.  Here I am!

First, let me take the chance to introduce you to this awesome new release from Chatterbox.  It's a Christmas kit, and you can find this beauty at Sam's Club.  Courtney was kind enough to send me this kit, and I feel so very lucky for the chance to play around with this product.  It blew me away!  I mean, you all know that Chatterbox has always had that effect on me (always have been a Chatterbox girl at heart), but this kit isn't like anything I have ever seen Chatterbox come out with before.  It has a very artsy, funky, fun, yet traditional Christmas feel to it.  Melody Ross designed the contents of this kit, and it is so unique for Chatterbox.  Black papers and embellishments for Christmas time?  It totally works!  The colours in this kit work together beautifully for Christmas projects.

(Image taken from the Chatterblog):

The one and only problem I encountered with this kit is figuring out where to start!  There are so many pieces (over 500 pieces), and the simplistic scrapper in me had troubles choosing which items to use on my page!  I was overwhelmed with the choices in front of me.  There were border stickers, chipboard stickers, silhouette stickers, alpha stickers, chipboard letters, ribbons, a whole bunch of buttons and felt shapes, clear stamps, and let's not forget the patterned papers!  I wanted to jam it all onto my page, but I had to settle for spreading this goodness out across several projects :)

Here is the creation I want to show you today:

 

It was fun digging out those Christmas photos!  I can't believe I hadn't scrapbooked them yet.  I loved the colours in my photos, they were just so Christmassy, so instead of printing them in black in white like I normally do, I left them in colour (which is just so out of character for me).

I had a hard time deciding which patterned papers I wanted to use, so I decided to create a star shape which would contain five of my favourite ones from this collection.  Once I was finished piecing the papers of my star together, I decided to place a sheet of vellum over the patterned papers so that they wouldn't have to compete with my photos and embellishments.  I knew I wanted to add a ton of embellies to my page, so making the patterned papers softer seemed like the best idea.  I never use vellum, but I loved the soft look it gave my papers!

Once the star and photos were in place, I had a lot of fun placing random embellishments on my page.  I love, love, love that chipboard cardinal and knew I just HAD to incorporate it on my page somehow.  It worked nicely with my trail of ruby splendid treasures.  I added some felt to my title and finished my look with the border stickers and ribbon underlining my title.  To make the green circles pop from my border sticker, I added some of the green crystal brads from this kit.  Fun stuff!

 

I feel very fortunate to work with these scrapbooking goodies after being away from the hobby for so long.  I am so happy for the chance to be working with Courtney and Chatterbox again, and am really excited for all the new adventures this company has in store!

In other news, things are going very well for me.  I have now reached 19 weeks in my pregnancy, and this little one is moving around so much for me.  Mark and I decided that we would like to keep the sex of the baby a surprise until delivery, so it has been fun trying to guess whether Elijah will have a baby brother or sister.  Elijah would like a brother, but he's convinced that he will have a sister.  I would like to have another boy, but at the same time I always wanted a daughter.  I have a strong feeling that I am carrying a girl, I felt it right from the beginning so we will see!  We would be so happy with whichever we are blessed with, God is so absolutely wonderful to us for blessing us with another child so soon after our wedding!  Mark and I are praying that we will have the opportunity to have more children after this one, so it'll be interesting to see what's in store for us in terms of child genders. 

Elijah is the most excited these days.  He is absolutely thrilled to have a sibling, and every day he does little things for me that he says is "for the baby".  For example, he'll bring me a blanket and tell me it's to keep the baby warm.  Or he'll get me a fruit from the refridgerator and tell me that the baby might need to eat it.  He kisses my growing tummy and talks about all the things he wants to teach the baby now that he's a big brother.  I love his big heart and I know that he will be the greatest role model for all his siblings.

It has been six years since the last time I was pregnant, so this all seems like new territory again.  It feels like I am going through it all for the first time, I forgot how wonderful it felt to be pregnant.  This pregnancy is so different from my last.  I have pretty much zero nausea and vomiting, unlike last time when I had it straight through until the last month and was on prescription drugs to control it.  Between 5 and 13 weeks this time around I had heavy bleeding and cramping, which was very scary.  I was put on bed rest and I left my job at Carter's / Osh Kosh to stay off my feet.  Also, I had pretty bad dizzy spells this time around that I didn't experience when I was pregnant with Elijah.  Once I got through the first trimester though, I started to feel wonderful!  I have so much energy and I have actually never felt healthier.

Emotionally, this pregnancy of course is very different.  We planned this one, unlike with Elijah when the news came as a complete shock.  When I saw those two pink lines, I immediately told Mark and we were both so happy and thanked the Lord for this blessing.  Together as a family, we are planning and praying and constantly talking about how different our lives will be with this new addition.  I can't wait until March, it just seems so far away!

Thank you for taking the time to check in today, and for your comments (which I read over and over again because they make me feel so good).  I feel so out of touch with the scrapbooking community these days but I love being back into creating again, and I love sharing my work when I can.

Have a wonderful day!

Comments

[Candace]

Glad to see you back, Jill. So happy for you; that things seem to be on such a wonderful track. Good luck with everything, and blessings and good thoughts for a happy and healthy little one!

[slammie]

love the creations! thanks for updating and glad that everything is going well for you - although I don't know how you can stand to be in suspense for so long. LOL!

[cindy johnston]

Wow..this is so beautiful! So glad I came to check out your blog! :) Take care! And..tfs :)

[Carolyn]

Hi Jill, Nice to meet you. I'm glad that you are doing soooo much better...
God Bless..

[Beth Perry]

What a beautiful layout! :D
B

[kimr]

Beautiful LO! COngrats on the pregnancy!

[Cathie]

Hi Jill, tho I am new to this site and to you, I've been around the Scrap Booking Aisle a few times! I love your ideas with the new Christmas Kit, can hardly wait to get it now!Want to let you know that even tho your pregnancy started out a little scarey, all will be fine in the end. I have a 42 yr old daughter to prove it !"We" had the same thing happen early on, she did come 3 weeks early tho, so be prepared ! God Bless, and I look forward to more of your creative ideas !
Cathie
(Sterling VA)

[Mellette Berezoski]

Hi Jill! Thanks for stopping by my blog! Your LO is fantastic! I've always been a fan of your work...so very creative and unique! Congrats on your pregnancy! Children are such a blessing! Take good care of yourself :)

[Sally]

Jill, I am so excited for you and your family. :)

I'm also glad to see you scrapbooking again. I've missed your beautiful work.
sdavidson

[erika]

so glad you updated your blog, I just wanted to come by and say that Depeche Mode is coming back to tour next year.

I hope the rest of your pregnancy goes as smoothly, congrats on reaching the halfway point (almost :)