Remember my floating ornaments (Dec. 7 post)? Christmas is over, the decorations have come down, but look what’s up now. These will stay up until I can find something to hang for Valentines Day. : )

Got the (super glittery … and I didn’t even wear disposable gloves to hang them!) snowflakes among the Christmas stuff that was on clearance at Target after Christmas. Total cost for 8: $2.00.

Before I get to the topic of resolutions, I know you want to know who won the DVDs (my last post). Holy cow – choosing 5 winners from over 500 comments? You guys are FUN! So – congratulations to these winners. E-mail me at bhiggins@ckmedia.com and give me your mailing address. I’ll ship a copy of my DVD to you.

Chris in Tamarac, Florida
Nicky in Eagle River, Alaska
Kim in Mechanicsville, Virginia
Diane in Prosper, Texas
Deneen in Manteca, California

I’m a goal-setting girl, so I love this time of year to reflect on each area of my life and what I want to work on in each area. And of course I’m 100% successful with every resolution and I never falter with ANY of my goals. Except I missed 4 days of exercising this entire year (wink). But seriously (you know I’m kidding, right?) – I do love thinking about this stuff.

So what would you think about creating a layout a day in the month of January? Lain Ehmann (with Simple Scrapbooks magazine) is ready to help you with the challenge and you can read about it here. I’m thinking it would feel SO good getting 31 layouts done this month! Seriously. That would be SO great. I don’t have high expectations of really getting 31 done but I’m sure as heck going to try.

Hope you’re enjoying the post-Christmas season. I hit some sales with a few girlfriends on the 26th and I have to say, I’m not a shop-on-a-big-shopping-day type of girl. But we had such a blast. And I’m pretty excited about scoring some great deals. I have always loved a good bargain. Just don’t love the crowds. But I think I’m in for a repeat next year. : )

I recently worked on a DVD project, and wanted to let you know that it’s now available. You can find the information in the Products section of this website. If you are interested in purchasing the DVD, contact them with the given information. You will have the option to either be able to join the DVD program and start receiving all of the DVDs that we (CKMedia) have been doing with this company, OR if you prefer, you can just purchase my DVD. Just want to be sure you understand that you have the option.

So what is this DVD? Remember the 12 Days of Christmas video clips I did on my blog in November? Okay – MUCH better quality video. : ) I talk about and demonstrate all-things scrapbooking. How I got started, my favorite techniques, my system, favorite theme albums, sketches, other creative projects, and I even take you on a a tour of my home office/creative space.

I have sent this DVD to our two bag winners (see Dec. 17 and 18 blog posts). I have several more to give away. Simply post a comment with your first name & city & state/country and on Monday, I’ll randomly choose some people who will receive my DVD.

PS – Are you thinking about your New Years resolutions??

Added note: If you already subscribe to the DVD continuity program, you should automatically receive my DVD, and therefore do not need to order it (unless, of course you just wanted additional copies for gifts or something). : )

Have yourself a merry little Christmas. I sincerely wish you a wonderful holiday, filled with everything you wish for. May you feel the love of our Savior, turn your hearts and minds toward Him, and enjoy your time with family & friends.

Wow – you guys really want that market bag! : ) I still haven’t finished reading all of the cute ideas you have been doing for neighbor gifts, but I’m really inspired with so many great ideas already (for next year)! You guys are so awesome.

So our lucky winner of the striped market bag is Holly (a “southern scrapper”). YAY Holly! E-mail me your address (bhiggins@ckmedia.com).

Some of you asked about how we display our Christmas cards. We tape them to a wall. That’s it. And I’m known to leave them up through at least Valentines Day most years because I love seeing so many loved ones in one spot. : )

(Paint color is Oak Harbor, Dunn-Edwards brand)

In our last house, we did this:

Just ribbon and clothespins.

One last note for today: My Best of Becky Higgins Sketches books are on back-order and should be ready to ship again by late January/early February. Some of you have ordered it at CK online and in case you wondered, I wanted to be sure you knew. All customer service questions can be forwarded to orders@ceatingkeepsakes.com.

Wow! You guys REALLY want that market bag, don’t you? : )

Thanks to those of you who have already been in touch with Karlee about placing an order for some homemade things. I can’t wait to hear how you like them!

Passing along a message from Karlee: She just told me that most Etsy orders were shipped Tuesday night and the rest will go out today. Boy, she really cranks them out, doesn’t she!? Amazing. She also welcomes you to email her for custom orders. Her e-mail address is on her homepage. Also note that she has a big batch of new things going on the Etsy site just after Christmas. You’ll want to check that out!

I’ll announce the winner for the striped market bag on Thursday.

What a wonderful response on Karlee’s stuff. The randomly chosen winner is Denise Hunter! E-mail me your address, Denise, and I’ll get you that little tote, possibly in time for Christmas.

Speaking of Christmas … I wish I could bring each of you homemade goodies! But since I can’t, Karlee and I want to give away another bag. This time – the market bag!! I will send this very bag to one lucky winner, so post a comment.

If you did something other than treats for your “neighbor gifts” or “friend gifts” … I’d love to hear what you did, so mention that in your comment.

Danielle (a “disappointed customer” in Australia – you know who you are) … will you please e-mail me at bhiggins@ckmedia.com? I have no way to e-mail you.

I’m so excited to share someone with you. First – check out this stuff:

market bag

sunglasses pouch

headband

coin purse

church tote

Okay – a brief explanation: The talent behind these things is Karlee Fuchs (pronounced “fukes”). Super talented chick with a heart of gold. Makes the most adorable stuff and it’s really affordable too. Oh, and you can throw it in the washer & dryer. LOVE that. You can order from her Etsy shop, or you can e-mail her with a specific idea that you have, or tell her you want something you see here on my blog (notice I put names by each thing) … and she’ll totally do a custom order for you.

Her website is www.karleeskreations.com and there is a link to her Etsy shop from there. If you look at her blog, read her 12/3/07 post for her version of how we met. One of my BF’s – Karolyn – heard about a boutique last month and so we went to it (FUN day with Karolyn!) and that’s where we met Karlee and her cute friend who happened to be reading her new CK when we went to their booth. NICEST girls. Karolyn and I went nuts over her bags and stuff. Next thing you know, she was making a list … checking it twice … of stuff we wanted her to make. We spent a long time in her booth! We were just dreaming up all these things she could make!

Karlee oozes with talent. And so I want you to know about her and have her make something for YOU! Check out her site and feel free to e-mail her directly (her addy is on her site). We wanted to give away a couple fun things, so post a comment (say anything) and I’m going to choose a random winner to receive THIS:

children’s tote

Then check back in the next couple days and I’ll have something else to give away. : )

My website is up & running & fully functional! Check it out at www.beckyhiggins.com.

Right now it’s quite simple & slim, but at least it’s a landing place in cyberspace for anyone interested in seeing my “stuff” all in one place … my blog, my products, a bit of my background … and even a new recipe blog where I will now post any & all recipes that I want to share (not here anymore).

By the way, my brother Andrew is the talent behind my website – making it work, making it pretty, making it possible to show up on your monitor right now. He’s done a fantastic job, and I’m grateful for his work on this project.

This is what I get for leaving my art within Claire’s reach.

Little stinker. But it’s an easy fix. You can see what this USED to look like (and what it WILL look like again, as soon as I fix it) on p. 72 of the January issue of CK. It’s a fun project to do with a child … or on your own, of course. There’s a fun homemade tic-tac-toe game idea on that same page and I loved getting that back from CK recently, because Porter was totally into playing it today.

Thanks to those that have shared pictures of your hanging ornaments/snowflakes/etc. Love seeing the different ideas!

Several of you asked about the organizers in our pantry. The company that makes them is Shelf Reliance (and the product we got is called “CanSolidator”). We got these at Costco earlier this year. LOVE them.

If you had a hard time downloading my Excel file (layouts-to-do) from my last post, just e-mail me (bhiggins@ckmedia.com) & I’ll get that to you.