This blog has MOVED!

I finally got this blog moved over to my personal website. It's going to take me several months to get all the old posts linked up, but I have made a good start. I am going to try to do different categories for different kinds of posts. You can select what you are interested in! Check it out!

http://www.meredithcardall.com

4th of July Scrapbook Pages

these are photos from july 4, 2008
credits:
Fabulous 4th by The Ettes @ ettesandcompany
Templ-Ettes Collection 9 by The Ettes

4th of July, 2007
credits:
Fabulous 4th by The Ettes @ ettesandcompany

4th of July, 2008
credits:
Fabulous 4th by The Ettes @ ettesandcompany

Some Scrapbook Projects!

I taught a digital scrapbook class last night and had the chance to make some fun projects as samples to show what you can do with digital scrapbooking. I thought I would show them on my blog as well!

This is a cute treat bag I made for a little baggie of coconut M&Ms. Does anyone else love these as much as I do? Did you know that they are artificially flavored? While that may not be appealing to most people, I LOVE it! I'm allergic to coconut, but I can eat these!

credits:
Heirloom Kit by Deena Rutter (@ PernsicketyPrints)
Template from TheCuttingFiles at TheDigiChick
ribbon

I made this cute little treat bag full of lemonhead candies. I don't love the taste of them, but I sure do love their bright sunny color!

credits:
Happier Kit by Deena Rutter at DesignHouseDigital
Template from TheCuttingFiles at TheDigiChick
ribbon

I finally got a cute project done for my girls' toy room! I just love this fun kit! I think I have used it more than I have any other kit!

credits:
Happier Kit by Deena Rutter at DesignHouseDigital
craft paint
modpodge

credits:
Big Kid Church by Krystal Hartley at SSD
craft paint
modpodge

Magnetic TicTacToe game for sacrament meeting
credits:
Big Kid Church by Krystal Hartley at SSD
cd tin by stampin' up!
adhesive
magnets

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I have some cute new photos & updates to post soon!

A new scrapbook Page

this photo is from our Halloween 2008 Zoo Trip with all the Cardall cousins. I can't believe how much everyone has grown up! It's crazy!

I am trying to get caught up with last month's scrapbooking. This is a page about Hannah's end-of-year field trip to the zoo. It was the middle of May and 35degrees. Crazy weather!

credits:
Zoo Crew Collection by The Ettes

National Scrapbook Day Pages!!!

Guess what I did for National Scrapbook Day? I scrapbooked! And chatted with some of the designers from Design House Digital (they are my new FAV store). And scrapped some more. And then I ran to WalMart, because no Saturday is complete without a nightmare trip to WalMart. And I was so sad because I missed the entire Persnickety Prints chats at DST. I knew I would miss some, but I didn't think WalMart would take THAT long! Later that evening, I took a trip to my local scrapbook store. They are moving to a new location later this month so I snagged some Prima flowers for $2/bottle! Nice!

Anyway, here are some pages that I did over the weekend. This isn't anywhere close to all of them, but just a few!

FYI... Ainsley is an absolute nut. These photos are from last month. She wore that tutu for two straight days and would NOT take it off. It could have been worse... it could have been the witch costume.
credits:
template by (I can't remember who... how embarrassing!)
Kit is Pinfeathers by Carina Gardner at DHD
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Once more, Ainsley being nutty! She found a sheet of sparkly star stickers and stuck one on her forehead. She started giggling and then ran back in her room and proceeded to "bling" the remote control. Nice. I hope Comcast likes bling.
credits:
template - can't remember
Carina Gardner's Pinfeathers
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I promise, I do take pictures of Hannah and scrap them. Promise. This is another of Ainsley being a nut. She put her Dora couch on TOP of the table in the playroom so that she could see the tv better... and then proceeded to fall asleep!
credits:
template - Darcy Baldwin (inspired by rubia) at SSD
Kit is Happier by Deena Rutter at DHD (one of my newest FAV designers!)
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See! Pictures of Hannah. These are from her Aquarium Field Trip last month.
Template by Jen Caputo -PhotoGrids
Kit is Fish are Friends by Misty Cato, MandaBean

template (can't remember designer)
kit: Happier by Deena Rutter at DHD
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Template by Janet Phillips at SSD
Kit by Zoe Pearn at SSD
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These layouts are all created using the newest kit from The Ettes!
Bliss Dig-Ette-al Kit by The Ettes

(this layout also used Dig-Ette-al Templ-Ette Collection 9 by The Ettes)

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and a few more...
When my parents were in town, we finally blessed Ainsley. We only invited our parents so don't get offended if you didn't know about it. :)
Kit by Zoe Pearn at SSD
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This is Ainsley in her gorgeous dress. My parents bought this for me in England before Hannah was ever born. We knew it was too big for a newborn, but I had every intention of having it altered. I am glad I didn't because it fits Ainsley perfectly!
credits:
Kit by Zoe Pearn at SSD
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These are just some silly photos of a silly day
credits:
template by darcy baldwin (inspired by rubia)
happier kit by deena rutter at dhd
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These are more photos from when my parents were here in town. We had my dad's entire family come over to our house. We hung out outside until it got too cold and then headed indoors. We had a lot of fun!
credits:
template by Janet Phillips
kit by misty cato (coming this weekend) to SSD

***
alright, well, that was fun! I hope you enjoyed seeing my pages. I have been doing a much more simple style of pages when I have events with multiple photos. It works for me and I feel like I am actually accomplishing something! :)

Decorating the House!

A few weeks I had a miracle happen. It may not seem miraculous to everyone, but for our family, it was one of the greatest gifts we have been given. My parents came out to Utah for a visit. And while that in itself is a small miracle, the greatest part is that they came out to help us settle in our "new" home. We have been here for almost a year and while I have gone through everything once since we have been here, I was overwhelmed about what to do with all the stuff. It just didn't feel like home. I didn't know how to decorate it with the things I had and didn't want to buy a bunch of new things. Enter Super Ruthie and her one-man crew of my Dad. I wish I had taken "before" photos, but trust me, they worked a major miracle in the three days they were here. We still have quite a bit of work to do, but now I know what needs to be done and it's manageable.

to do:
paint ceilings white (possibly add crown molding)
hang new picture over the entertainment center (it's gorgeous and will get an entire post of it's own one day)
replace candles with white or tan fat taper candles

to do:
find a spice rack that I like
figure out where to put the knife rack
make curtains (I have the fabric now)

to do (family room):
hang new photos frames & print pictures

to do (playroom):
hang pictures
paint
hang tutus
get rid of half the toys (don't tell the girls)

to do:
flower arrangements for ainsley's room
hang curtains in ainsley's room
hang photos in ainsley's room
refresh paint on ainsley's headboard
paint red dresser in ainsley's room
make displays for hair bows
hang hooks for coats & backpacks
pack up winter clothes (yeah!)
move mirrors out of the bathroom to my room
find & hang decorative towels
paint & decorate my room (no photos until that's done)
to do:
sew summer skirts for the girls
ahhhh! this room is completely done and it is my own personal heaven. I love it!

I do still have to organize my storage room and go through about seven or eight bins of paper & old photos. Sounds like I need to find a new TV series to rent and watch while I go through things for a week! :)

I love my little house and I finally feel at home here. I am not suffocating in piles of stuff and it is so much easier to keep the house clean when it feels nice. I actually enjoy mopping my kitchen floor every day and vacuuming my floors isn't dangerous anymore (the day before my parents came, a bed frame that was propped in a corner almost fell on my head while I was vacuuming). I always used to say that my house was clean under the clutter. Now the clutter is mostly gone, too, and it's just clean! I love it! I am not sure that Thomas and the kids love that I have reverted to my completely OCD ways.
"Don't put your shoes by the door. I don't care that they have snow on them. Dry them off and put them away."
"Don't leave that cup on my counter."
"Fold that blanket when you are done using it."

And now that the really hard-muscle work is done, I can concentrate on some of the more fun projects. Well, except painting the ceilings. Who wants to come help me with that one? :)

Announcing: Tiny Prints Greetings

Tiny Prints just announced their new line of personalized greeting cards! They are absolutely adorable! You'll never have to run to the store for a birthday card again! You can personalize your cards and even schedule and send them online. You can pay per greeting card OR you can sign up for a membership and pay a lower fee per card.

And just for friends of affiliates, they are waiving the first year membership fee AND offering you three free greeting cards just for signing up. Go order your Mothers Day & Fathers Day cards now!



***
Also, if you are looking for FREE Save the Date cards, Wedding Paper Divas is offering users who purchase their Save the Date cards from WPD a $75 credit towards their wedding invitations, essentially making them free.
The only way to get this deal is through one of the Tiny Prints affiliates, like me!
Click on the image below to go to the deal.

iNational Scrapbook Day

Check out all the shenanigans & goings-on over at my new site!
(The family blog isn't working over there yet)

www.meredithcardall.com
iNSD post

Some new scrapbook pages

These are some scrapbook pages I have finished this week. It felt great to actually scrapbook again.

These photos are from last week when my parents took the girls to Chuck E Cheese. They had so much fun with Grandma & Poppa.
credits:
Urban Kids by Misty Cato @ SSD
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These pictures are from Hannah's first day of school last year. She is so grown up and it's hard to believe that she is even more grown up now! She can read and write and tell time and count.
credits:
Blending Masks by Misty Cato @ SSD (coming tomorrow)
Metal Hanger from Hang It All by Misty Cato
With Gratitude by Misty Cato, Lauren Redi, Dani Mogstad @ SSD
Alpha from Spring Arrives by Misty Cato at SSD
***

This is just a cute picture of Ainsley from last fall. She, too, is really growing up and it makes me sad that my baby is almost three!
credits:
Artesia by Krystal Hartley & Amy Stoffel @ SSD (coming tomorrow!)
***

This is another picture of Ainsley from last fall at the cabin. The mountain photo blended into the background is one I took up there.
credits:
Artesia by Krystal Hartley & Amy Stoffel @ SSD (coming tomorrow!)
Blending Masks by Misty Cato @ SSD (coming tomorrow)
***

This is a photo of Ainsley, almost exactly a year ago. Even though she has gotten so much bigger and older, she still loves Dora!
credits:
Artesia by Krystal Hartley & Amy Stoffel @ SSD (coming tomorrow!)
***

These are more cabin photos from two years ago. We took Ashley, Dylan & Zoe up to the cabin for a weekend getaway.
credits:

Fresh Linen Dig-Ette-al Collection by The Ettes
Templ-Ette Collection 9 by The Ettes
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These are from a year ago, one weekend when Ainsley was sick. Poor little girl. I still get sad when I see these photos. She was so sick.
credits:
Fresh Linen Dig-Ette-al Collection by The Ettes
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more cabin photos from last year
credits:
Fresh Linen Dig-Ette-al Collection by The Ettes
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This is a picture of Hannah and one of her cousins at the family Easter Egg Hunt this spring. She loves her cousin and gives her a hug every time she sees her.
credits:

Favorite Faces Digital Collection by The Ettes
Templ-Ette Collection 9 by The Ettes
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These are the only pictures I got from our sisters' weekend a few weeks ago. We all had glitter toes put on. It was so much fun! Mine came off a week ago, but they were fun while they lasted.
credits:
Favorite Faces Collection by The Ettes
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Busy weekend!

Thanks to my mom & dad, my house looks like a home! We worked our behinds off for three straight days and got my entire lower level of my house & most of the main level organized and decorated! I still have several boxes of paper to sort through and organize and file. I have to clean out my storage room, too. But the rest is DONE! I love ya, Mom & Dad! :) I'll post photos in a couple of days when I get everything finished!

Before my parents got in town, I squeezed in a scrapbook page.

I am trying to get all of my previous Easter photos scrapped so I can print them all. So, I used this really cute kit by The Ettes. I love it!
credits:
Spring Splendor Mini Dig-Ette-al Kit by The Ettes
Templ-Ettes Collection 9 by The Ettes

Some Scrapbook Pages

I have been a complete slacker about posting on here lately! Life has been really busy, but good busy... most of the time! :) My parents are coming for a visit, so I have been getting the house ready (don't stress, Mom, there's plenty for you to help me with when you get here!) And I finally made some time to scrapbook AND actually post them. Three of these were completed about two weeks but I just hadn't posted them. Oops! Sorry Fayette & Annette!

These are photos from the Flashlight Egg Hunt at my sister-in-law's house the night before Easter. Don't worry Aimee & Chrissy, I have more photos of your kids. I'll email them to you.
credits:
Beauty Within by Misty Cato & Eva Kipler at SSD
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These are some photos of one of our sunny spring-like days we had last week. Is the snow ever going to end? We woke up to snow this morning. Craziness!
credits:
Carpe Diem by Krystal Hartley at SweetShoppeDesigns
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I made these cute little Lollipop Holders for my kids for Easter! My girls love DumDum Lollipops and I thought this was a fun way for them to eat them!
credits:
Ink by Stampin Up!
Spring Splendor Mini Dig-Ette-al Kit by The Ettes
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These photos are actually from LAST Easter, but when I got this kit, I didn't have photos from this Easter. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry!
credits:
Spring Splendor Mini Dig-Ette-al Kit by The Ettes
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These are photos of my little Ainslers. She is so funny. It's a good thing she is cute or she would NOT survive around here! (Okay, I'm kidding about that!) Seriously, this kid gets in more trouble than Hannah ever thought about getting into. She snuck out of bed and into her playroom to find her little fairies.
credits:
Favorite Faces Collection by The Ettes

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Hopefully it won't be another month before I post more photos, but it might be! :)

Wish me luck this week... maybe I'll even get enough stuff done around my house to finally post photos of it! At the very least I am hoping to pick out paint colors and reorganize some furniture!

Announcing... Guilty Moms Club

Are your photos sitting in boxes?
Are they stacked in piles in drawers?
Worse... are they in your attic or basement slowly getting warped and ruined by the lack of temperature control?
Or, are you like certain other people I know who have five years worth of photos still on their memory cards (you know who you are!)

If you answered yes to any of those questions (or ALL of them) you can take a deep breath and RELAX. You can do this. You can get rid of the guilt. Take a deep breath and head over to My Memories Suite, the #1 rated Digital Scrapbooking software.



My Memories Suite is really easy and fun to use. There are tons of really cute products to help get you started.

And even better... you can take 10% off the already-reasonable purchase price.
PROMO CODE: GMC10off - good until 4/30/10

Check out MMS on Facebook (at Polaroid My Memories Suite) or follow MMS on Twitter (Tweets4Suites) for more great deals and promos.

(Yes, I am an affiliate for My Memories Suite and do receive a VERY SMALL compensation for sales generated from my website. I am also a designer for My Memories Suite. But I really do like the product and think that it is a great way to get started and it's very reasonably priced!)

Girls Weekend Scrapbook Pages

I spent last weekend with my sisters-in-law scrapbooking, eating, laughing, shopping, more scrapbooking and even more laughing! I had such a great time. It was a very much-needed break. I ended up with 31 completed scrapbook pages by the time the weekend was over. A 2-page spread counts as 2 pages. Aimee blew us all out of the water with more than 50 completed pages! Not that it's a contest, but it's kinda fun to keep track and realize how much you actually are able to get done! I scrapped all my 2010 photos so far. I still have thousands of photos to scrap from years past, but it feels good not to have hundreds from this year, too!

So, here are all my pages I scrapped in chronological order. I didn't do a great job of keeping track of credits. So, if you see something and recognize who created it, leave me a comment and I'll fix it! :)

easter baskets 2009
Spring Splendor by The Ettes

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Ainsley is such a nerd. she loves these socks!
Garden of Whimsy by Amy Wolff & Michelle Godin
potty by The Ettes
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Photos from when Ainsley painted her own toe nails... one of the times.
I So Pretty by Misty Cato & Jenilynn Designs
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these are from one of our january snowstorms... with our angry snowman because ainsley ate half of his eyes.

snowflakes by Jacque Larson
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My cute girls doing yoga!
Namaste by SaraAmarie (retired)
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Ainsley building domino towers on my computer. She is so funny about her towers!
Free as a Bird by Zoe Pearn, Misty Cato, Fee Jardine, Lauren Grier
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Ainsley loves puppies! Stuffed and real, she loves them. I love these photos of her snuggling her stuffed dog!
Krystal Hartley & Corina 9 to 5 (retired)
word cluster by Chrissy W
felt dog card by Valorie Wibbons - ABC Felties
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This is us making pretzels! The girls loved them!
Littlest Bakeshop by Manda, Dani & Fee at SSD
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Ainsley LOVES to play computer games but isn't quite old enough to understand how to play them. so, they usually end in tears of frustration. it makes me so sad.
ribbon by Krystal Hartley
mouse by Ellie Lash
tv frame from let's connect
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ainlsey put herself in time out. she does that frequently. :)
papers & buttons by ellie lash, i think
time out word strip by krystal hartley
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This is how Ainsley gets away with not staying in bed. She is cute and does cute things.
Favorite Faces by The Ettes
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My girls are so pretty!
Kit by Melissa Bennett
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These are photos from our Aquarium trip with our playgroup from church.
Under The Sea by Krystal Hartley & Susan Bartolini at SSD
goldfish by Kaye Winiecki

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Ainsley with all her little treasures. She carries them around the house in a tiny white basket. What a nut!
Kit by Zoe Pearn at SSD
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My Little Monkeys climbing on the countertops
Zoo Day Kit by Kristin Aagard
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Our first warm day in a LONG time!
Birds & Bees by Krystal Hartley coming soon to SSD (currently at The Digi Files)
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my girls are so sweet. ainsley climbed in bed with hannah to wake her up and give her a hug!
Spring Arrives by Misty Cato at SSD
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Ainsley pantry hiding spot! nerd.
Spring Arrives at SSD
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snow. not loving snow anymore.
snowman & snowflakes by Jacque Larson
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Ainsley ready to go to Aunt Cori's house
Cardstock & Alphas by Krystal Hartley
fruit by Jacque Larson
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the girls all ready for church!
Tutti Frutti by Zoe Pearn at SSD
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some food I have been cooking lately...
Kit by Zoe Pearn

Disney on Ice!
ribbon princesses by Rachel Young
red alpha by me
stamped alpha by Krystal Hartley

That's it! You probably won't see this many scrapbook pages at once from me for at least another year! :)