Happy New Year!

I want to wish everyone a very safe and Happy New Year! I can't believe that tomorrow is 2011! :)

CHA is right around the corner and we are getting ready here at Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker! :) Remember to sign up for our newsletter, so you can get all the latest news from us!

See you next year (which of course is TOMORROW!)! :)

December Challenge :)

Hi everyone! :):):):):)

Julie Tucker-Wolek with you here today with our December challenge as Susan is on vacation right now! :) Our challenge is FUN this month, as we want to see a Holiday creation using any of Nikki's papers and embellishments! :) I can't wait to see what everyone creates!! :)

Let's see what our DT has created for this challenge! :)

From Larissa Albernaz! :)

From Susan Dupre! :)

From Ria Mojica! :)

From Deana Boston! :)

From Jen Matott! :)

From Me! :)

Make a lo, a card, an altered item that shows your Holiday spirit using Nikki's products and you COULD WIN some MORE of Nikki's products to play with!!! :) Just leave us a comment in this post with a link to your creation by January 29th, 2011 and you could be our winner!

Happy Creating and I hope everyone has a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR! :)

*Showcase on YOU!* :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

Hi all....

Julie Tucker-Wolek here with you today, and every month on Nikki's blog, I am BEYOND thrilled to be able to share with you cards and lo's that I have found while searching blogs and online galleries!!! I get literally soooooooooo EXCITED when I come across someone that has used Nikki's products!!!!!!!  I loveeeeeeeee to showcase your work using Nikki's products!!! So, if you have ever made anything using at least 80% of Nikki's products, please feel free to send to me at bmwgirl@cox.net! I can not wait to showcase YOU! :):):):):):):):):):)

I also want to take a moment to thank the friends and fellow DT members that see Nikki's products being used out there in the world wide web...and they are sweet enough to send me an email and let me know!! Thanks girls! :):):):):):):):):):)

Let's see what we have today to share! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):) 

First, I have an ADORABLE card made by Margie Cortina!!!!! She used Willow Bee on this card....I loveeeeeeeeeeeeee Margie's work!! She always does wonders with Nikki's products! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

Next, we have a little SURPRISE for a friend of Suzanne Spokus!!! Suzanne wrote me and asked if I could showcase her friend Abby Laubenstein!!!!  I thought this was just sooooooooooooooooo sweet and I was so happy that Suzanne contacted me!!! Just LOOK at this GORGEOUS lo that Abby made!!! It is AMAZING!! She used Tree Love on her lo!!!! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

Next, we have TWO lo's and a card from the AMAZINGLY talented Wendi Robinson!!! I loveeeeeeeee this girls work!!! She is WONDERFUL!!!  :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

Wendi used My Friend Birdie, Tree Love and My Sweet Cherry Pie! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

Next, we have a lo by the OH SO WONDERFUL Joni Parker!!!! I loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee this!!! Joni used Tree Love on this lo!! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

And next, we have an altered CD tin made by the EVER amazing Amy Tsuruta!!! I sooooooooooo love love love love what she did with this tin!!! She even made tags to go on the inside!! Pure GENIUS!! LOVE IT!! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):) Amy used Something for Everyone on this project! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

I hope you have enjoyed this months "Showcase on YOU!"!! :):):):):):):):):):):):) Thanks soooooooooo much for sharing your projects with us...and thanks for stopping by!!! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

Who doesn't love Ali Edwards...

Read all about Ali's new class offered at Big Picture Scrapbooking:

Join popular blogger and scrapbooker Ali Edwards,  along with a diverse group of memory keepers, as they learn to make meaningful connections to their past in order to live their life in a more thoughtful way. Projects are limited to one layout a week that address the questions listed below.  

Are you new to online education? Ali’s robust, cutting-edge online classroom provides content in multiple learning platforms: video, audio and traditional written handouts.  The classroom also houses sharing galleries and multiple message boards. This is your last opportunity to participate in Yesterday & Today at Big Picture Classes. Don’t miss out on this popular class!

Yesterday & Today

• Where do you begin creating with photos from generations past?

• What do you wish you knew about your parents when they were growing up? What life lessons do you want to pass on to your children?
• How do you document the challenging times in your life?
• How do you create layouts that tell special stories when you don't have any photos?

Ali says,
“The benefit of looking to the past is that we gain perspective. We see things differently after developing an awareness of what we know and what we wished we knew. Looking back, even if we're just viewing old photos of people we don't know, can change the way we approach the photos we take and the stories we tell today.”
Read the rest of the class description
http://www.bigpictureclasses.com/yesterdaytoday.php
To redeem your free seat in Yesterday + Today, please follow these steps:
1) Visit bigpictureclasses.com/login.php to create a new account, or login to an existing account.
2) Once logged in, visit http://www.bigpictureclasses.com/yesterdaytoday.php and click the orange “Purchase” button at the bottom of the page to add the class to your shopping cart.
3) In your shopping cart, enter your unique code in the “Promo Code” box and press the “Apply” button. You should now see the total price as $0.00.
4) Click the “Checkout Now” button.
5) Please enter your billing information (note: you will not be charged for the class) and agree to the Cancelation Policy and Terms of Use.
6) Click the “Checkout” button.
7) You should now see an “Order Accepted” screen. Click the “Complete Transaction” button to add the class to your account.
8) To access the Yesterday + Today classroom, click on “My Classes” and click the “Enter Classroom” button! Enjoy!

10% off Code Details:
Readers can enjoy 10% off the “Yesterday + Today” class price by using the following code at checkout:  promo code: yesterdaytoday

This sounds like so much fun, I wish I could play along with Ali too, but CHA will over ride pretty much everything right now. I can't wait to hear all about it! -Nikki 

Stuffed & Tired!

Hi everyone, Nikki here today!  I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday weekend! We sure did!  Five family Christmas gatherings plus five Christmas dinners equal EXHAUSTION!  I love both our families a lot but with having both sets of parents divorced can be hard around the holidays.  However we love them all and wouldn’t want to miss time with any of them.  I was able to separate all the gatherings into to 4 days so that was nice.  I’m very fortunate to have such loving families that I can’t complain too much.

For today’s blog post really I’m going to do it through pictures, actually a lot of pictures (5 Christmas’ remember) however I’ve narrowed them down pretty well… I think! 

We started the week of Christmas off at Hulston Cancer Center.

Bella & I visiting the patients; here is Bella in her Christmas dress at Hulston…

  

Then Wednesday night we had Christmas with Dan’s father, Jim.

(Okay so I didn't get any pictures from this night, my camera battery died, so this pic is actually from Thanksgiving, but I couldn't leave him out.) 

We had Christmas Eve dinner with my dad’s side of the family at my sister Emily’s home.

Which was so fun with, especially because the twins, who will be 2 in a couple of months so their favorite part was the wrapping paper!

The dessert bar...

Sweet Ellie...

Mollie and her babies...

The twins...

"Tank" (Max)

And Cade with his new house-shoes.

 

I know this is going to seem like an odd picture, Bella with a frozen turkey?? Well because Bella is a Pet Therapy dog with one of the local hospitals she gets a turkey for her work as a volunteer.  All the volunteers get free turkeys for Christmas, so this is Bella with her Christmas turkey! Thanks Bella! (And yes she got some bites of her turkey.)

Christmas Day was with just Dan, Henry and I…

(In our Christmas PJ's!)

Dan got new running shoes from Santa!

As most of you know I love, love, love Starburst Jelly Beans... 

which of course Santa knew!

But the best gift under the tree was from my sweet hubby, Dan...

a Canon Rebel T2i!! (You'll see from here on out the pictures get much better.)

Henry and I

 

Christmas dinner was with my mom’s side of the family…

 My new nephew, Jacob!

My brother Ryan and Henry.

My brother Ryan and his wife, Tessa, gave my parents a blue framed 

ultrasound picture of their baby boy! The surprise was that none of us knew what the baby was going to be, we thought they weren't going to find out until after the new year! 

Such a wonderful gift, a baby boy!

Aunt Nikki with both Jacob & Alex.

Once we were back home again we posed for our annual Christmas PJ picture! 

This is not an easy task as we are out numbered by the 4 legged babies!

My Nico & I on his first Christmas with us!

I sure love that dog!

Our last and final Christmas… was with Dan’s mom and brother, Jamie; which was Sunday night.

Jamie and his kids, Ashley, Ronnie and Andy.

We always take the "before" pictures but rarely do we take any of the aftermath; 

(since I was looking for an excuse to take pictures) here is the

end result of Sunday night's last and final Christmas dinner!

I have just one last picture to share… its of my boy, Nico! (Shocker) This was his first Christmas with us and I think it was a bit overwhelming for him! Tons of visitors, lots of treats and so many dog toys that we had to put most of them up! The funny thing is he loves his toys, he doesn’t tear them up to shreds, instead he licks them and lays on them. He’s so stinking sweet!

Thanks for allowing me to share my share my wonderful holiday week with all of you!

I’ll be back later this week! -Nikki

Merry Christmas!

From all of us at Nikki Sivils Scrapbooker, we want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas! Thank you all for your continued support, we are truly blessed to have all of you with us! :)

More from our Domestic Divas and Creative Charms!

Susan here, and can you believe that it is the day before Christmas?  Did you get all your shopping done?  Can you believe that another year has almost come and gone?   I surely can't!  Well, because Christmas is still upon us, I thought I would share a few more Christmas projects with you using Nikki's adorable Christmas Collection Happy Holly Days.

First off, are a couple of layouts by Delaina Burns.

Below is a layout by Liz Qualman.  Liz also used some of those beautiful pearl centered velvet flowers by Creative Charms.

How about a two pager!  Leah Farquharson did this amazing layout using Creative Charms as well as using an awesome sketch by the talented Allison Davis.  You can purchase her fabulous sketch books for two page layouts at Scrapbook Generations.

Now here are a few cards using Happy Holly Days.

Let's start off with this beautiful card by Jennifer Yates.  She also used some Creative Charms.  They made all the difference too!

Look at this adorable card by Liz Qualman.

And, here are a couple that I made.

How about some super altered projects by Jennifer Matott using Happy Holly Days.  Below is a cool mailbox Jen made.  What a great way to store all those Christmas cards.

I surely wouldn't mind receiving this wine crate.  Those little nutcracker guards surely couldn't keep "me" out.

Now to wrap up the Christmas spirit, how about a wonderful layout by Larissa Albernaz.  What is cool about Larissa's layout is that she grabbed some of those awesome North Pole Nights freebies that you see in the upper left hand corner of Nikki's blog.   You can see that she combined them with a some of Nikki's other lines like Blueberry Hill and Happy Holly Days.

Last but not least, one more Creative Charms project.  Here is a card I made using their cute little felt words "Boys and Toys".  The little brad is also theirs.  For the little rocket I made I used My Friend Birdie, Something for Everyone and Happy Holly Days.

Ok, that wraps it up, and I hope you have all those gifts wrapped up also!  Thanks for stopping by.

Happy Holidays!

Susan Dupre