Happy Saturday

Hey guys! I hope you are having a wonderful weekend! I have been super busy, but not scrappin'. I have been giving my 'SVG' blog a major overhaul. It took me over a week to get everything sorted out. Check it out if you can:

http://southernbellesvg.blogspot.com/

What do you think? I hope yall will like it. In another month or so, I may change up this blog some more. I am still figuring out all of this bloggin' stuff. It's so confusing at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's not that bad. I am learning a lot.

I hope to be back to scrappin' tomorrow. I have a boardbook to finish and want to work on some layouts. I got a kit and some other scrappy goodies in the mail today and want to play!!! Yall have a relaxing evening! Thanks for stoppin' by! Happy Scrappin'!

Easel Card Tutorial

Hey guys! I hope you are having a wonderful day so far!!! I just published a tutorial on the Scrapbook Circle blog on creating the 'easel' cards that I have been making lately. I had a lot of people ask me about this and thought I'd put together a really simple picture tutorial. If you are interested, go here:

http://www.scrapbookcircle.com/blog/2010/01/exceptionally-easel-card-tutorial.php

Here is the card I created:

These are SO easy and fun! I hope you will enjoy this tutorial! If you do decide to make one of your own, do leave me a link so I can visit ya and see your beautiful creations!!!!

I'm off to work on finishing up a boardbook! Happy Scrappin' guys!

Some Exciting News and Some Info For Dallas....

Hey yall! I have some super exciting news to share! I got an email today and I am going to have 3 layouts in the 2nd quarter 2010 issue of Hobby Lobby's scrappy magazine!!!! I am soooo thrilled!!!! I have had one card published in Scrapbook Trends 'Cards' magazine, but this will be my first layout pub in a printed magazine! Yippie Skippie!!! Tee Hee!

Also, one of my blog followers, Dallas, had left me a question and I wanted to make sure I answered her. She was kind enough to compliment my Mom and my boardbooks and was curious how we did them. Well, I design and cut all of the boardbooks we decorate for people. I use Inkscape to design them and then cut them using my Cricut Expression and SCAL (Sure Cuts A Lot) software. I used the following tutorial to learn how to make the boardbooks in Inkscape:
http://dan99.blogspot.com/2009/01/video-tutorial-creating-word-books-in.html
(If you will scroll your mouse over the link above, it disappears for some reason, but if you will click where it was, it will still take you to the tutorial. I am still trying to figure out how to fix that on my blog.)

After I have designed the book, I bring it up in SCAL and use my Cricut Expression to cut. I do use the deep cut blade with the pressure set on max and a blade depth of 6. I also do not use chipboard for our books. I use heavy weight watercolor paper. I have not found any chipboard that cuts well on my machine, so the heavy weight watercolor paper is perfect. Once you have your cardstock/patterned paper over the watercolor paper, it is just as thick as thin chipboard. It is great for the board books.

I use the fat Zig glue pen (I buy mine at Hobby Lobby) to adhere my cardstock/patterned paper to the watercolor paper base of the individual pages of the book. I then set these under my craft mat and dry overnight. Next, I go ahead and use my Bind It All to punch my holes for the binding....this way I will know where I can embellish and where I can't when decorating. I then decorate as desired, bind, and tie ribbon onto the binding rings. Easy as pie and so fun!!!

I hope this answers all of your questions Dallas, or anyone else who was wondering. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask!!!! I am here to help in any way that I can!

Yall have a wonderful Thursday and as always, thanks for stopping by! I should have a tutorial up for ya sometime later on today as well....so come back and visit if ya can! :)

Happy Scrappin' guys!

I'm Wild About Ka-Zoo!!!

Mornin' guys! Happy Wednesday! I can't believe it is mid week already! Where does the time go?!!! It goes by too fast! I did get scrappy on Tuesday though. I am working on a Valentine's Day board book and should have it ready to share by tomorrow. In the mean time though, take a peek at what the hubby brought me. It's the Ka-Zoo Valentine's paper pad and chipboard by K & Co.!!! I love it! The little critters are just downright adorable! Even the little package that the chipboard comes in is so cute!!! Check it out:

So since he brought me the goodies, I had to scrap!!! I first created a layout with the robot paper, but I can't share it with you guys yet. I am going to be submitting a few layouts to a Memory Makers book call. It requires that the page is 'never before seen.' If you are interested in submitting your stuff, here is the link for ya:

http://www.memorymakersmagazine.com/article.aspx?id=321

Come on girls! Show 'em your stuff! I hope we all make it in! :)

But after I finished the layout, I did decide to play a bit more and made a card. Nothing too fancy, but I had so much fun using these new papers and chipboard. I can't wait to use them some more! If you do not own this paper stack, I highly recommend it! Cute Cute CUTE!!!!

I hope you all have a wonderful day!!! Thank you for visiting today and Happy Scrappin'!

Sweet Cheeks

Mornin' Yall! How are ya on this Tuesday? I hope you are having a wonderful day so far! Brandon and I have to go and get our drivers licenses renewed this morning...ugh! But it has to be done! First though I wanted to share some new stuff with ya. Mom and I were able to scrap via Skype again on Sunday night and I finished up a layout and a card. I did this layout first. This is my nephew, Carter, playing outside when he was small. He was so cute! It was a nice spring day and he just loved to run around. His little cheeks would get so red and he was just darlin'! I cut the alpha's for the word 'cheeks' out using my Cricut and SCAL (Sure Cuts A Lot) software. This font is called 'Mr. and Mrs. Popsicle.' It reminds me of a font I have seen on Thickers. All of the patterned paper that you see is Die Cuts With A View. Mom and I split this stack and I love it. It's all glittered and so funky. I believe the stack was called 'Doodlin' Around.' I added some lace, pom pom trim, trim, pearls, and bling. Here is the layout:

"Sweet Cheeks"

Aren't those little cheeks adorable? Tee Hee! Of course, I am partial since I am his aunt, but he is such a doll! :)

To show the dimension of the pleats and trims...

I cut this little owl of some of the patterned paper...

Now, I don't know about yall but I always seem to have SO many scraps when I finish a project. So I think I am going to try something new for a while. I am going to make a card out of my scraps from every layout I do so that my scrap bin does not get so full. It's overflowing now. LOL. I had to do another 'easel' card. I just love doing these. They are so easy and fun! So here is my card made from my leftover scraps....

"Thank You"

I want to thank you for stopping by my blog today! I hope you all have a wonderful day and Happy Scrappin'!!!!! See you soon!

Always Kiss Me Goodnight

Hey guys! It's Monday and you know what that means....another fun challenge from The Cuttlebug Spot!!! Whoo Hoo! This week's challenge is a color challenge. We are challenging you to use the colors black/silver. I have to say when I first saw this challenge I was a bit weary. I would of never thought to put these 2 colors together but have to say I'm in love! They are so classy together and I definitely will be using these again!!!

For my DT project this week I chose to do a card. I have noticed these 'easel cards' a lot lately and knew I wanted to give it a try. So I researched and found these directions:

http://s27.photobucket.com/albums/c191/d0npen/Card%20Templates/?action=view&current=4x4EaselCard2.jpg

Yall have got to give this a try if you never have! It was so much fun and so easy to do! I just love the result! It's like having a card that is also a home decor' piece you can sit in your home. I think I will give this to Brandon for Valentine's Day. I used black for my base and added in some black/cream patterned paper from Creative Imaginations. I have had this paper and the coordinating stickers for quite some time, but had yet to use them. I'm glad I finally got to use them. I brought in some silver through some matte silver cardstock, metallic silver cardstock, silver magic mesh, silver staples, and silver brads. I added some black trim and black brads also. I used a vintage button. As for embossing, I used the Cuttlebug Victoria, Swiss Dots, and Lips embossing folders. I also used the Sizzix Texture Plate in Argyle. I staged this sitting on a mirror with a dish from my dish collection and some cream rose petals. Here is my card, which is meant to read:

'Always Kiss Me Goodnight'

Up close of the magic mesh. I pleated the mesh and turned up the pleats a tad for dimension. I hope you can tell.

The inside reads 'me goodnight' and then I added 'Happy Valentine's Day.' I used Making Memories Tiny alpha's.

Up close of some of the embossing:

I turned the card around a bit so you could see how it sits up like an easel. This was just so fun to make!!!

If you can, do hop on over to The Cuttlebug Spot to check out the other DT's fabulous projects and join us for the challenge!!! Here is the link for ya:
http://thecuttlebugspot.blogspot.com/
Thanks for stoppin' by today! Have a wonderful week and Happy Scrappin'!

Scrappin' Via Skype

Hey guys! Happy Sunday! I hope you are having a wonderful afternoon! Mom and I scrapped via webcams using Skype yesterday!!! It was so great to be back to scrappin'! We scrapped almost 12 hours I think! It was such fun!!! First, I had to cut some boardbooks. I cut a 'family' board book that will be in a beach theme for Mom. Then I cut out 2 Valentine's boardbooks. One of them is for me and the other for Mom. So I will have it decorated asap and share with ya! I'm very excited about it! So after cutting out board books, I got down to some other to do's. I had to cut out a few of my SVG files for Mom and for another friend. I cut out some kick line images for Mom. She is doing a 'dance line' boardbook for a young lady. I can't wait to see it!

So after all that, I got down to creating!!! I first made a card for my DT project at The Cuttlebug Spot. Since it is for The Cuttlebug Spot website, I can't debut it until tomorrow when the challenge debut's....but how about a teaser.....

Be sure to check back tomorrow for the full project and info on how you can join us for the challenge!!! :)

After creating the card, I had another project that I needed to finish up. As some of you know, I am a veteran designer for a wonderful blog called 'Unscripted Sketches.' The ladies over there are so nice and very talented. Well the owner, Jenny, wrote to me and asked me for a favor. She asked me to create an ATC (Artist Trading Card) for her. She is going to hang these cards from all of her scrappy friends on a bulletin board in her scrappy space! How cool is that idea??!!! It's like scrappin' on the walls. She asked us to create a card in our style with a picture on it. So here is what I came up with. These are definitely some of my favorite colors. Of course, what is a project without bling, ribbon, and trim!!! My faves! Here is the front of my ATC:

Love me some Thickers as well as ribbon/staples! I had to included those!

Then for the back I added a die cut card with a quote on it. It is not my favorite quote or anything, but I do like it. I also wrote a tad about myself as requested.

I hope Jenny will like this!!!

Next, as a favor for another online gal pal, Bobbi, I designed these NC State SVG's. I had posted them on my SVG blog and offered to cut one of each for her so she could add them to a scrappy project. Of course, it's not a gift from Aymee without Stickles glitter glue on it! LOL! Yall know how I am with my Stickles!

Last, I have a project that I've been wanting to share with yall for months. I participated in the Purple Cows contest. I did not make the semi-finals, so I thought I would share my project with you. It is a little box full of 24 drawers (which are matchboxes) that you pull out to count down the days until Christmas. Inside each box a little sweet treat is hidden. I used the Purple Cows laminator for this entire project. I love the laminating because it really helps the drawers to slide in/out easy. I found the instructions for this project on the SCAL (Sure Cuts A Lot) forum. I then cut out 24 matchboxes, laminated each piece, cut them out, folded, and adhered them together. Then I followed the instructions on how to put the box together and embellished. Here is a link to the instructions if you are interested:
http://www.bubblyfunk.co.uk/tracie-hudson-christmas-advent-a-39.html
Here is my finished project:

The top:

I pulled out a few of the drawers so you could see:

Inside the drawers Santa is peeking out at ya....

Even though I didn't win, I am still very proud of this project. I worked for almost a week on it and I know it will be a treasure in our home for years to come. I can't wait to have some kiddo's to pull open the drawers! :)

Oh, and be sure to check out what Mom accomplished yesterday! She was on a roll!
http://southernbellesmom.blogspot.com/

That's all for me today! Me and Mom are off to scrap via webcams again. I am going to work on some layouts! I hope all of you have a wonderful rest of your weekend! Thanks for droppin' in and Happy Scrappin'!

Happy Saturday!

Hey guys! Mornin'! It's Saturday and I am so excited today! For the first time in almost 2 weeks, I am going to scrap!!!! I just needed a teeny break due to some personal stuff and am ready to get back in the swing of things. So I will have new stuff for ya this evening or tomorrow. I believe me and Mom are gonna online crop via Webcam and Skype. Yay!!! Love scrappin' with Mom! Also, I wanted to say Thank You to Tammy at Pocket Full of Papers for choosing my blog this week! I am so grateful and excited!!! This too really got me in the mood to create today! Check 'em out! What a inspirational place!!! I am now a follower and I hope you will be too!

http://www.pocketfullofpapers.blogspot.com/

The hubby is going to work today too so that means I have free reign of the house! I think I'll crank up the tunes before I get to scrappin'! LOL. I hope yall have a fabulous day today!! Thanks for droppin' in and Happy Scrappin'!!!

She's Crafty

Hey guys! I am working on fine tuning the details of the new blog. I thought I had it finished last night, but changed a few more things this morning. I think I got it now. LOL. Anyways, I wanted to share something with yall this morning. First, check out this lady...she is my very best friend in the whole wide world....my Mom, Carol:

Isn't she so pretty?! Love her to pieces!

Anywho, yall remember all the board books I've been designing using SCAL?? Well, my Mom has decorated a lot of those and she is just doing a wonderful job! They are all the cutest! So if you have time, do go on over and check out her blog. Leave her some luv too if ya can! I know she would appreciate that so much! Here is the link:

http://southernbellesmom.blogspot.com/

Hope you will enjoy her blog as much as I do!

Thanks for stoppin' by today! I am going to do a few more things online and then hopefully get back to scrappin' tomorrow! Yay! Have a wonderful day you guys! Big hugs!

Introducing the new blog look....

Hey guys! Well, what do you think? I completely revamped my blog!!! It is SO different and I am so lovin' it!!!! I hope you will too! I needed a change!!! I decided to switch to a 3-column blog and added in some personal touches such as the date/post titles. I also added in a special siggy/post divider combo for underneath each post. I really like how my work will be in the center now instead of on the left. I also added in some other goodies. I've been working on this for 2 days!!! So glad to be done. Now I will have to do the other blogs, but it may be a few weeks before I get all of them done. Tee Hee! Now, if you are wanting to vamp up your blog and are wondering how I did a few of the things I did, I thought I'd share that with ya too. I found some helpful tutorials/goodies on the following sites. Check 'em out!

http://www.shabbyblogs.com/index.html
http://www.thecutestblogontheblock.com/
and one of my new faves!!!!
http://www.kevinandamanda.com/whatsnew/category/tutorials/blog-design

As for me personally, if you remember I had told you a day or so ago that I needed a teeny tiny break. I am on some new meds and my body is having to adjust. They just wipe me out and I did not feel a bit creative. Well I am happy to report that I am feeling much better!!! I had a great day today and am so cheerful! I hope to be back to my ol' scrappy self by the end of the week! I can't wait to sit down and create! I miss scrappin' and chattin' online sooo much!

Also, I wanted to send out a special message to my hubby, Brandon, for putting up with me these past few weeks!!! I know these hormones are driving you bonkers! Tee Hee! But know I love ya darlin' and you mean everything to me!!! I owe ya big time!

As always, THANK YOU SO MUCH for stopping by today! I hope you are enjoying a wonderful week! Take care of yourselves and Happy Scrappin'

Undergoing A Major Facelift....

Hey guys! I've been working for 2 days on an 'example' for my blog. I think I'm finally ready to start transferring everything over to my blog and setting things up differently. It's going to be WAY different, but I am excited about it. It's a more custom look and I hope yall will like it. So if you are droppin' by and things look all funky, please pardon my mess until I get it all like I envision.

Have a great night!!!

Hey Guys!

Hey guys! I just wanted to take a minute to say hello to all of ya! I am sorry I have not been posting much this week. I am on some new meds and just do not feel like myself at all!!! I haven't sat at my scrappy desk all week and have hardly been online. If you know me, that is way out of the norm!!!! But I hope to be back to my old self again soon!!! I just need a few days off I guess! I hope all of you have a wonderful week this week!!!! I will be back!

Big Hugs!
Aymee

Happy Scrappin'!

Good Day Sunshine

Hey guys! Happy Thursday! How are ya today? I hope you are having a beautiful day!!! Today I have a layout to share with you. This layout features some 'faux pleating.' I have created a tutorial for this as some DT work for Scrapbook Circle. So if you would like to learn how to do this 'faux pleating' technique, be sure to check out the Scrapbook Circle blog today. Here is the link for ya:

http://www.scrapbookcircle.com/blog/

Now on to the layout. This is Carter back in 2005 enjoying the beach breeze in Gulf Shores. He was so cute! I miss him being this little! My 'faux pleating' is the orangy red that you see.

I hope you will try out the pleating!!! It is so fun and so easy! It really gives a little extra dimension and interest to your pages. It is a favorite technique of mine. There are numerous ways to paper pleat, so pull out that paper and see what you can come up with! Let me know if you do too! I'd love to check it out!

As always, thanks so much for stopping by! Have a wonderful day and Happy Scrappin'!!!

Laughter Is The Best Medicine

Good Morning Tuesday! This morning I wanted to share a page I did this past weekend with you. I played along in two different online crops. One on ScrapFIT and one on Treasured Scrapbooking. So I did a little double duty and used this for a challenge on each board. One, for Kelly's 'Belly Laugh' challenge. You had to create a page about laughter. This is Carter running around in the front yard at my Mom's when the sprinklers were going. He was so funny! Second, this is for Jenni's challenge on Treasured. For her challenge, you had to use solid cardstock for your base, atleast 10 circles (polka dot ribbon), atleast 5 buttons, and atleast 2 pictures. Here is what I came up with....

As always, thanks for stoppin' by today! I hope you are having a wonderful day so far and I'll see ya soon! Happy Scrappin' my friends!

Time To Announce The WINNER!!!!!!

Hey guys! So, you wanna know who has won this FABULOUS kit from Scrapbook Circle???!!!!

Of course you do, right?!! Tee Hee!

Well, first I would like to shout a huge THANK YOU to everyone who signed up to win. There were 195 comments!!!! Wow! So awesome! I wish I were a rich woman! I'd buy enough for all of ya! Thank you for coming by and visiting my blog!!!!

Now, since I had soooo many people to enter, I decided on a different way to choose a winner. They have a true random number generator at random.org. So I put a min. of 1 and a max of 195 (for the number of comments) into the random number generator. The first number to pop us was.....


Drum Roll Please....


184!!! So that means that

CREATIVE DIVA IS THE WINNER!!!! WHOOOO HOOOO!!!!

Congrats!!! Please send me your mailing address to aymee810@yahoo.com. Thank you!

If you are in need of a kit...be sure to check out Scrapbook Circle! The kits are fabulous and at a great price!!!! Also sign up for the newsletter and visit the forum while you are there!!

http://www.scrapbookcircle.com/

Again, thank all of you guys for playing!!!! I will host another RAK again soon!!!! Happy Scrappin' and Take Care!

Cuttlebug Spot Party Favors

Hey guys! Happy Monday!!! I hope you are having a fabulous day! If you are checkin' in to see who won my RAK...you'll have to wait just a teeny bit longer. I have a doctor's appointment this morning and I need some time to put all of the names into the randomizer at random.org. There were sooo many applicants and I was so excited to see all of you here! So I promise to have it up before the day is out. I should be back home after lunch and will get right to work on it if at all possible. Thank you for bearing with me!!!

But in the meantime, it's Monday and that always means another fun challenge from The Cuttlebug Spot!!! Yay!! For the month of January, we are celebrating 2010. This week we are in the mood to party and making party favors!!! If you would, be sure to check out the blog to see all of the other DT's inspiring creations...

http://thecuttlebugspot.blogspot.com/

Now, for my party favor. When I first sat down to create a party favor, my first thought was to make some sort of party hat, streamer, or candy shaker. But then I thought that was too obvious. I decided I would like to make something the person receiving the favor could use even after the party was over. So I decided to make a coaster box. I always pick up coasters when we go out to dinner (usually at Outback and yes...I do ask before just stashing them in my purse...LOL) and have tons of these in my scrappy closet. These are great for any desktop as a pencil holder, scissors holder, etc. Anything really. I have made these several times before, but this time instead of using my Crop-A-Dile to punch all those holes, I decided to use my Bind It All. Let me tell you, it was so much easier to use the BIA and much more accurate. I used a combination of October Afternoon patterned paper and cardstock. Then I tied the whole box together with coordinating ribbon from RibbonFX (Hobby Lobby's ribbon brand). For the solid cardstock, I used a Sizzix Texture Plate called 'large dot'. Then for the inside, I made some Cuttlebug confetti and it is embossed with 'Script.' I then tucked a little package of cookies in for the recipient to enjoy at a later date. Here is my favor...

I also thought I wouls post a link to instructions for this in case anyone was wondering. They have a great tutorial for these on Splitcoast Stampers:

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/coaster_gift_box/

That is all from me for now. I hope you all have a fabulous day! I will be back later to post the RAK winner!!!! Whoo hoo!!!

Happy Scrappin'!!!!

The 'Bare' Necessities

Hey guys! Happy Saturday! I hope you are having a wonderful day so far! I know I am! I have been croppin' away, just spent about an hour on the phone with one of my best gf's, and the hubby is at home. So it's a good day!!!

I wanted to take a minute to share a layout with ya that I finished up last night. This layout is doing double duty. I am using it for two crop challenges on different boards. First, this is for Lydia's 'Believe In Magic' challenge on ScrapFIT. The challenge was to use a Disney title, song, etc. in your layout. I took a spin on a song from The Jungle book called 'The Bear Necessities.' I changed the way I spelled one word and I think you'll see why when you see the pic. LOL. Then this is also for Ginger's 'Clean' challenge on Treasured Scrapbooking. Her challenge was to create a 'clean' page. This was a definite challenge for me. Yall know me. I like to add, add, add. I sat down to do this one on my own, but kept drawing a blank. So I went online and found a page on Two Peas that I liked. So I decided to lift. I cannot remember the lady's name who I lifted from, but if you recognize it, please let me know so I can give her credit for the design. Her page was just so cute and I hope I lifted it ok. In the end, I was pleased with the result, even if it is clean....LOL.

The 'Bare' Necessities

Ok, off to crop some more! If you are in the mood to scrap, feel free to hop on over to ScrapFIT or Treasured Scrapbooking for some awesome challenges!!!

Also, if you haven't signed up for my RAK with the Scrapbook Circle kit, be sure to do so. The info is in the post below this one. I will announce the winner on Monday! Good luck ladies!!!

Happy Scrappin'!!!!

Wanna Win A Free Scrapbooking Kit??!!!

Hey guys! Happy Wednesday! It is a wonderful Wednesday because I have a free scrapbooking kit up for grabs from Scrapbook Circle!!!!!!! Whoo Hoo!!! Their kits are FABULOUS!!! Here is a link to the kit that I have for ya...

http://www.scrapbookcircle.com/kits.php

Here is a picture of the kit! I have this kit and have enjoyed working with it sooo much! The papers, Thickers, and other embellishments are super yummy!!!

For more eye candy, check out these fabulous projects by the Scrapbook Circle DT!!!

So you wanna WIN it???!!!! All you have to do is leave a comment on this post answering the following question...

*******************************************************

What scrapbooking goal do you have for the year 2010???

*******************************************************

This contest will run through Sunday night at midnight, EST. So be sure to comment and answer the question above. ALSO please leave me some way that I can contact you if you are the winner!!! I will announce the winner on my blog on Monday, but I still need a way to get in touch with you in case you happen to forget to check back. You can leave your blog addy, a email address, etc. Just something so I can get back in touch with ya!!! That's it...you're entered!!! Easy as pie! Good luck my fellow scrappers!!!

Also, I wanted to let you in on a little sale! Yay!!!! Scrapbook Circle is running a special this month! Anyone who comes into the store can purchase a kit at the 6 month subscription price...no commitment to buy more! That's a sweet deal! Check it out!

http://www.scrapbookcircle.com/kits.php

As always, thanks for stopping by my blog!!! Happy Scrappin'!!!

Our Western Caribbean Cruise....

Hey guys! Happy Tuesday! How are you today? Good, I hope! I have been cleaning my house all day long!!! But, I am happy to report that it looks so much better! I'm still tackling the mountain of laundry, but it is not as big of a pile! LOL!!

Anyways, I know many of you said you wanted to hear all about our cruise...so I thought I would write up a blog post with pix about our trip. We took a Carnival Cruise (Carnival Fantasy) to the Western Caribbean December 28th, 2009 through January 2nd 2010 that left out of Mobile, AL. We visited Cozumel and Calica, Mexico. It was the trip of a lifetime for us and absolutely fabulous!!!!!! It was our first cruise. We loved every single minute of it and highly recommend a cruise to anyone who is interested. As a matter of fact, we already have our next one planned. For my birthday in October, we are going to travel to New York, New York to board one (Carnival Glory) headed for Boston, Portland, Halifax, and St. John. It will be a 7 day cruise and if possible we are definitely doing a balcony this time around. We had a ocean view stateroom on the recent cruise and although it was wonderful, we want our own balcony for this next go round!! This cruise was so much fun and so romantic! I enjoyed it so much!!!!

If I had to tell you anything that stood out the whole trip, the first had to be the whole dining experience in the evening. It was absolutely marvelous! The food is fabulous! You get an appetizer, a entree, and then dessert. It was all so good! Our waiter and assistant waiter were both so nice and really took the time to talk with us. The Maitre' De (totally probably did not spell that right....LOL) also came around every night to ask us how our day was and if everything was ok. You could tell they really actually enjoyed their work. They (the whole staff onboard ship) made you feel like a king and queen. It was amazing! Then secondly, the shows! I had so much fun watching the shows each night. Also, all of the activities they have planned! There is never a second of the day there is not something to do. They have all sorts of fun games and activities. Even for the kiddies! It was awesome to see all they do with the kids. They have a special little club and you would not even know there were kids on the ship. Now Brandon and I love kids and don't mind them in the least, but let's face it...some people do not like to be bothered with kids on their vacay. Either way, a cruise was perfect. We were told there were 702 kids onboard ship with us, we rarely saw any of them. They have fun activities and special places for them to go. But if you want to join in the fun with them, you can. Then there was also special things for the tween's to do...even a little club they could hang out and chat at. So all around, a cruise to me is the perfect getaway for a family or for a couple! So my words to you are...TAKE A CRUISE!!! You will simply adore it!!!!

Now on to the pix.....

Now, for the pix. First, I am going to share with you the 4 that I actually purchased on the ship. These are out of order on my computer, but I thought I would share them first and then go in order with the one's Brandon and I took.

Ok, first up. On every cruise, they have a elegant night where you can really dress up. It was so weird to see Brandon in a dress coat. I don't think I've seen him in one since our wedding....7 years ago!!! He was so handsome. But on this night, you can have pictures made with the choice of your backdrop. I chose the backdrop that mimics the stairs leading into the dining room on the famed Titanic ship. I love that movie and knew I wanted our pic made in front of it. Since the pictures were so costly, we chose our favorite one and only purchased one. But they were having a special on the canvas prints. So for $55 we got this portrait printed on a 16x20 canvas and received the 8x10 for free. I was so glad we did this. Brandon and I do not have any portraits of ourselves except at weddings or dances (prom) in our house. So now we will have a nicer one of just us. I can't wait to get it framed!!! But I scanned the 8x10 so you could see. It looks like I need to clean off my scanner, so I hope you can see these first ok.

Next, we chose to purchase our debarkation photo that they took of us as we were boarding the ship. Not my favorite, but I liked that it had the date, where we went, and the ship on the picture. I can't wait to scrap this one!! I think I am going to do a special album of this trip and keep it separate. I need to find some tropical papers/embellishments. If anyone has any suggestions, do let me know! :)

They took this little photo of us before we boarded the boat to travel out to sea for the Atlantis Submarine.

Now this picture was too hilarious not to buy. During our visit to Carlos N Charlies (which I give details later on in the post) they took this pic of us. They handed us this huge wooden heart to hold and snapped a few photos. Now why on earth this says 'happy sex' on it, I have no clue. But it was too funny! I had to have it! I am going to put this in our bedroom. They put it in a special frame that has a monkey on it and says the name of the restaurant. It was $30, which in my opinion was way to high, but we are on vacay, so I let it slide. LOL.

Now....on to the pix that we took......

Once we arrived in Mobile, we had to wait in a really long line just to get into the parking deck. The first sight of the boat, I had to snap a pic. It was so exciting!!!!

Here I am up on the top deck as we set sail....

Here is my Brandon up on the top deck as we set sail for Mexico. He was having so much fun and I was so elated!!! Brandon works so hard and he so deserved this wonderful vacay more than me. I kept thanking him the whole time we were onboard the ship. He is the best and I am so happy we shared this trip together!!!


A fellow cruiser was nice enough to snap a pic of us together. We had just picked up our drinks and went to the front of the ship on the top deck to see the ocean. It was such a fun moment!! So romantic too! After being in the car all day, my makeup and hair could be better, but I did not care at this point! LOL.

The little tug boat was just too cute next to our ship. If you know me, I have a thing for tiny stuff. So when I saw this itty bitty boat next to our big ol' ship, I had to snap a pic.

Brandon caught me sippin' on a mixed drink as we are sailing out of the bay. Yum! Waiter! Two please! LOL

Here is the view from the Upper Deck. This is the back of the ship with Mobile Bay in the background.

Mobile Bay

Me as we were cruising out of Mobile Bay. It was soooo cold! I had to borrow Brandon's jacket. I had left mine in our room

Brandon....

The sunset as we cruised out of Mobile.

Now I know some of you have cruised before, but I thought I would post some pix of our stateroom just in case there were some out there who have never been on a ship and were curious. Now, I was pleasantly surprised. Our room was a lot bigger than I expected. It was very roomy and very cozy. Our stateroom steward was absolutely fabulous! I loved her to pieces! She was so fun and was the best to keep our room neat and tidy. As I mentioned before, we got a Ocean View Stateroom. The window was very large and it was wonderful to wake up to see the ocean. Our bed was so comfy. I could of stayed in there for weeks!!! The boat did rock some, but not much. Brandon nor I got seasick. To us, the swaying motion was almost like a rocking chair. It literally would 'rock' you to sleep if you sat for too long. LOL. As you can see, we had our own TV. The channels were out of Denver, Colorado, which was weird to us, but whatever. They also had a lot of 'Carnival' channels that tell you about things going on onboard ship and views with live cameras of different places of the ship.

PS....excuse the glare on the window from the flash. Brandon took these. I told him not to use a flash, but you can't tell men anything! LOL

So as you walk in the door, this is what you see...

Now, from the other side, you can see that we had a little area for getting ready...a vanity almost. This is where the only plug in located in the suite is located. So if you do decide to cruise and are like me...take a surge protector to plug up your hair dryers/curling irons/flat irons. I got ready here everyday and it was so fun! Then on the right you see 3 doors. These are the closets we had. We had plenty of space to store our things. Then on the left was the bathroom, which was small, but not as tiny as I expected. The shower was very roomy and I loved it. Then there was a smalls ink and the toilet. Now, the toilet in itself was an experience! If you have ever flushed on a ship, you will know what I mean. But Brandon said he wishes he had a camera to take a picture of my face when I flushed the toilet to see what it sounded like when we first entered the room. It is so loud!!! I started laughing and joked with Brandon. I told him...'you better not flush that when you are sitting on it....you might lose something you need later!' ROFL! I know! TMI (too much info)...but too funny not to share with yall!

Our towel critter on night #1. I believe this is supposed to be a walrus???

Day two was spent at sea. We spent this time exploring the ship. We visited the casino, hung out up on the deck, played putt putt, ate some fabulous food on the Lido deck, and then dressed for dinner. After dinner, of course we had to see the nightly show. All of the shows onboard ship were fabulous! I think that was one of my favorite parts. There were no camera's allowed in the lounge, so no pix to show of that. But know they were so awesome! They also had some adult comedy 2 nights on the ship and it was downright hilarious! I laughed so hard! It was the best time!

While exploring the ship on day #2, one of the 'fun days at sea,' we wanted to check out the casino. Brandon and I both have never gambled. Gambling is illegal in Alabama and it is just not something we grew up with. I know here in PA you can do lotto and stuff, but we never do. So we had to give it a try to say we did! LOL. So here is Brandon in the casino trying to figure it out. Luckily, the staff in here is so helpful and explained it to us. We only set aside $20 for this. Sad to say, we are not good at this! Ha ha! But it was fun and something new...

Go Brandon Go! Win some dough!!! He actually did well!!! Me on the other hand....

My first time gambling....rofl! Luck be with me!!! It so was not! Brandon had won $11 at this point. I lost all of it and then some! Ha ha! I am not the gambling type of person, but hey...I had to try it just once! I was so confused! But it was fun to watch other people...

The sun setting on day #2 was gorgeous! I loved the rays poking out of the clouds and shining on the sea.

Brandon enjoying the sunset on day #2....

Our towel critter on evening #3...I believe this one is an elephant.

Here is our ship docked in the bay at Cozumel. It looks big, but you should of seen the ship next to ours. It made ours look tiny. This is the Carnival Fantasy and I believe it is the oldest in the Carnival line of ships. It was built in 1990, but it was fabulous! It was gorgeous on the inside. Everything had been updated and we loved it!!!

Once we were docked in Cozumel, Brandon and I headed off for our shore excursion. We decided to do the 'Atlantis Submarine' excursion. You took a boat from the Harbor for a 15 minute boat ride out to the reef. Once there, you boarded a submarine that held about 65 people. Each person had their own little porthole window. The views were great! It was so exciting to see the reef and all the fishies. We were told that they sometimes see small sharks and stingrays, but sadly, we did not see any during our dive down. Here is a view of the submarine from the boat. Isn't it cute?! I loved it!

Upclose of the little submarine....

About 30 feet down, we spotted 'Dori' (from 'Finding Nemo')....LOL! The kids onboard were all so cute! They were all 'Mommy...I see Dori! I see Dori!' The colors of the reef were not like I expected. I expected more color, but there really was not. It was mostley all tones of blue, green, and brown. Our guide was the best! She was so informative and we learned so much!!

View of the reef about 55 feet down. This was so much fun! I've always wanted to go scuba diving, but this little submarine was the next best thing. It was like you were swimming with the fishies.

Here is a view of the reef at about 100 feet...

After our shore excursion, we hopped in a taxi and headed to the Hard Rock Cafe for some lunch. They gave you the cutest glasses to drink out of. Here is Brandon...

Here I am at Hard Rock with my cool glass!

Did you know that the smalled Hard Rock Cafe in the world was in Cozumel, Mexico??!!! I did not....well not until we ate there for lunch during our day in Cozumel. The food was delish!!! I had some kind of Twisted Macaroni dish and Brandon had some kind of BBQ steak thingy. Both were fabulous!

The whole peso thing was so funny and slightly confusing to me! For example, here is a pic of our ticket from Hard Rock....our food was $526.00....peso's that is. I just found it interesting. Brandon thought I was nuts for taking this pic, but I don't care. :)

Here I am workin' a sombrero!!! ROFL! No, I did not buy one, but I had to try one on!!! Anywho, the shopping in Cozumel was tops too! Loved it! Anything you wanted, you could find it and at a very reasonable price! All of the people were so nice! I don't know why, but I was so surprised. I mean, I know they are nice because they want you to buy stuff in their store, but even when you did not purchase anything, they still were chatty and friendly. Loved it!

Brandon enjoying his last beer before heading back to the ship. He already has a scrapbook page in mind for me to do of this picture. He was drinking a beer by the name of 'Dos Equis.' We had been noticing the commercials for it here in the state for sometime. A rather stupid commerical, but it talks about a man who never drinks beer, but when he does, it's 'Dos Equis' and this makes him 'the most interesting man in the world.' So as we were standing here enjoying the ocean air and colorful people, Brandon mentioned that I needed to do a layout about him being 'the most interesting man in the world.' LOL. Yall know my husband and scrappiness right....he is so tuned in to notice things that I should scrap. Gotta love him!!!

The shoreline of Cozumel. The picture does not do it justice. It was kinda overcasty, but it was still so beautiful! The water and the beach was stunning!!! Love love LOVED Cozumel! Yall gotta go!!!!

Here is Brandon back on the ship after our day out and about in Cozumel...

Here I am back on the ship after a long, hot day in Cozumel....so ignore the shiny face and messy hair! LOL. That's the coastline of Cozumel behind me...

View of Cozumel at the end of the day. The skies were kinda overcasty, so the picture does not do Cozumel justice. The water was so beautiful and everything was so colorful!

On day 3 we visited Calica, Mexico. Here is the view from the ship from where we docked. It was a breathtaking view!!! I loved Calica! We decided not to do a shore excursion in Calica. We wanted to wing it. So we first took some pix from onboard the ship. Next, when you get off of the ship, there are taxi's lined up as far as the eye can see. It was $26 for round trip cab fare into the city of Calica. The taxi ride in itself was an experience, let me tell you! The driving was questionable at best! LOL. But we just sat back and giggled the whole time. It took about 15 minutes to get into the city. We got our taxi driver to drop us off near the place we wanted to eat. Calica was filled with all sorts of little shops and places to eat. The beaches were beautiful and all of the people were so friendly. If you have never been, I would say go! It was fabulous!!!! I hope I can return one day!!!

I just had to get a pic of nothing but the water. Isn't it gorgeous? It was like a turquoise blue and I could just stare at it for hours. I've never seen water so clear and so blue. Fabulous!!!

Brandon and I on the deck of the ship before heading to Calica. Everyone on the ship is soooo nice! There was a lady jogging by and she offered to snap our pic. I was so glad! When there are only 2 of you traveling, it's so hard to get pix together!!! But here we are with Calica in the background. Isn't it beautiful? I love love love Mexico!!!

For lunch in Calica, Mexico, we decided to go to 'Carlos N' Charlies.' It was recommended by several friends/family/fellow crew members. We were told they are known for their food and wacky atmosphere. Well let me tell you...they were not kidding when they said wacky atmosphere. It was so weird, but fun!!! The waiters all goofed with you and with each other. It was literally like dinner and a show! Ha ha! They have a live DJ and posters/tshirts/etc. hung all over the walls. So anyways, we were sitting at our table waiting on our food when the DJ plays a really upbeat song and turns it up. Before I know it, a waiter is yanking me up out of my table to dance!!! Actually, all of the waiters were choosing someone from each table to dance with. It was so weird, but fun! I was laughing the whole time!

This was the 2nd waiter I danced with. As you can tell by the expression on my face, I was like 'What in the heck???!!!!' LOL. I can definitely say dancing with a waiter in a restaurant was a first for me! Ha ha! But it was fun!

Here is the outside view of where we ate. It is located on the top floor and was called 'Carlos N Charlie's'. They are known for their food and waiters. It was such a fun atmosphere....like one big party. You could eat either on the inside or out on the deck. We chose to eat on the inside. It was so hot during this day. The food was absolutely fabulous. Of course, it was different than the Mexican food you get here in the states. Brandon had fajitas and I had chicken enchilada's. Both dishes were so yummy!!! But the main thing was all the fun we had! We were smiling from the time we arrived to the time we left. Such a different, fun atmosphere! We would go back in a heartbeat!

Senor Frogs...a very popular dining place in Calica. I believe they had one in Cozumel too. It looked like a blast! But we had just finished eating when we strolled by here and did not go in.

This was the beach in front of Senor Frogs...a popular dining place. I think Brandon and I will go here and eat the next time we go down to Mexico. Can you tell we already are planning to go back? Hee hee! It was that wonderful! Gotta go again!

One of the local beaches in Calica. The water was absolutely breathtaking. It was so blue and the sand was so white. Pure heaven!!!!

Walking down the street in Calica. You can see all of the vendors on each side of the street. A lot of the shops were so much fun to go in. My only complaint...everywhere you went they locals would be outside shouting something like...'Hey! Come in! Best Price.' It got old after a while. Also on this particular day, Brandon was wearing a Alabama football t-shirt. So everyone would shout 'Hey, Alabama! You come inside!' I felt bad ignoring them, but you just had to at times!!! They were all very nice people, just very eager I guess! LOL. But the shopping in Calica was awesome! Talk about great prices! You can get all of your souveniers at a great rate!! They also had pottery and hand painted stuff everywhere. I wanted a plate so bad, but I was being good and did not purchase one. I was saving my money for the pictures they take of you on the ship. They are on the pricey end and I wanted to make sure I had enough money. Of course, at the end of the cruise, I was kicking myself in the butt because after all the souveniers and pictures, I walked off the ship with a little over $200 left! Darn! Next time, I'm gonna purchase me some other goodies!!! LOL

Our towel critter for New Year's Eve. All of these little critters were just so cute!

At dinner on New Year's Eve, they gave us these little hats to put on our heads, lei's to wear around our neck or wrists, and the little things you blow on. Everyone on the ship looked so festive. It was so fun. Brandon snapped this shot of me before we left our stateroom to go up on deck to ring in the New Year.

ROFL! Here I am with my New Year's ensemble....

Here is Brandon with his New Year's hat on in the room before we left to go up on deck. He was crackin' me up with this thing on his head!! He just looked so goofy! We laughed and laughed!

Here I am toasting my glass to the New Year! Let me just say that the only thing about cruising is your hair!!! The saltwater breeze, although fabulous, did not mix with my hair! LOL. The minute I stepped out onto the deck, my hair went all curly.

P.S. I am not a fan of champagne!!! That was so gross! I took my sip when the New Year rang in and that was it! LOL!

Brandon holding his bubbly while awaiting the New Year! It looks like he is giving it a thumbs up! LOL

Yay!!! 2010!!! It was so fun to do the 10 second countdown with all of the other people onboard ship. We counted down and then they blew the ship's horn. So exciting!!! It was an experience I will never forget!!!

Brandon snapped this one of me on the way to our last dinner on the cruise. This is the first time I wore this outfit and he thought it was cute, so he made me stop to snap a pic. That's my husband! Always thinking of stuff like this! Anyways, it was so sad!!! I could not believe we were going to our last dinner. The trip flew by too fast!!!! If I remember right, I had a shrimp and pasta dish and Brandon had some type of Caribbean Chicken dish. They both were so scrumptious!!!!

I hope you have enjoyed this little post (or should I say looonnnnggg post...tee hee) about our cruise. We definitely had the time of our lives and can't wait for the next one! If you have any questions or if I made anything sound confusing and you want to know more, let me know! I'll be more than happy to answer anything for ya! It was just such a blast! I am so very thankful I got to go!!!

As always, thank you for stopping by my blog! Happy Scrappin' and Happy Cruisin'! LOL