Green Horned Unicorn

Rollercoaster

November was certainly a month of highs and lows. With those highs and lows came a lot of mixed emotions, thinking and not much else. November looked something like this: 

• Attended my sister's wedding 
• Attended my grandmother's funeral (just a few days after the wedding)
• Made back-to-back trips to Nebraska (two days apart), spending 9 days there in all
• Chopped my grown out hair (for the wedding) into a short and sassy 'do
• Celebrated Thanksgiving with Nate's family
• Put up our Christmas trees (yes, we have two), but not the rest of the decorations
• Wrote and designed a book for my nephew's Christmas gift
• Started (but cannot bring myself to finish) many other Christmas projects

It's a short list, but the top two events account for a lot. It's strange the way emotions sneak in and effect you in ways you never imagined. It seems I needed just a bit more time than I had anticipated to get life back to normal after this strange, rollercoaster of a month.

I'm hoping I can still pull off a few fun holiday DIY posts in December and get back in to the game with my creative & design teams (which I took a short break from). I miss being creative, although it seems I have no creativity in my veins at the moment. 
 
Thank you to everyone for your kind words about my grandma and for understanding why I haven't been around a lot lately. 

And now on to happier, more normal things...

I do have one page left to share from my November Creative Team assignments at JessicaSprague.com. Fortunately, it's a funny one that makes me smile.

Product Credits - Queen of Quirk & In the Making

These funny photos are of my mom and I clowning around in the pool during her visit this past September. Although I'm loving the 70-degree fall weather here in AZ, I kind of miss swimming in our pool... :)

New Beginnings & Sad Goodbyes

Part of the reason I've been absent from my blog was to travel home and be with my family to celebrate the marriage of my little sister, Molly, and now brother-in-law Greg. I spent much of the past week in Nebraska getting ready for the big event, which went magically (more details soon)! I'm so excited for the happy couple to begin the next step in their journey.

Sadly, part of my time was spent saying goodbye to my sweet Grandma Schlattmann who was placed into hospice the prior weekend. I was lucky enough to make it back to Nebraska in time to see her one last time. Although she wasn't awake or alert through much of time we were there, there was a brief moment, when my sister Missy and I told her we loved her, that we saw a flicker of life in her eyes and she tried to say those same words back to us. Just knowing we had that brief moment of connection with her made me and my sister more at peace. 

Grandma passed away on Sunday while Nate and I were travelling home. I have so many thoughts, memories and words running through my head that I can't quite capture to share. Instead, I will share them in a form I was able to capture - a layout I was inspired to create about my dear Grandma. This is scrap-therapy in it's purest form.

 Product Credits: BusyBee + Paislee Press

ALWAYS & FOREVER | The journaling I wrote reads: 

Sweet Grandma Schlattmann, yesterday you left this world for a better place. A place where you can walk, talk, sing & dance. A place where you can sew, crochet, drink hot tea, tend to your garden & most importantly, be with Papa once again. Although we miss you greatly here on earth, there is comfort in knowing we will see you again some day. Thank you for all you did for us, all you taught us & all the fond memories you have left us with. I love you Grandma! 11.14.2011

For family and friends who might want to peek at another page I made about Grandma Schlattmann over the summer, you can click here to see that layout and the sentiments I wrote then.

I know I had promised new projects this week, but I think you can all understand why I can't deliver. I hope to finally be back to a normal blogging schedule after Thanksgiving and get all caught up in the happenings in your worlds as well.

ST 11.01 - Cutest Critters

 The latest and greatest is up on the Sketchy Thursdays blog! Here is this week's fun sketch:

As you can see, I did a pretty literal interpretation of the sketch and didn't change it up a lot. I think that's what makes sketches fun, you can copy them exactly when you're feeling uninspired, or use them as starting point and add your own little twist when you're in more of a creative mood.  

PRODUCT CREDIT: Three Paper Peonies - the Family Pet + Sahlin Studios - Alpha

CUTEST CRITTERS | I was inspired by the Family Pet kit to scrap a page about our critters. The journaling reads:

Our three, wonderful furkids - Bugsy, Shawna and Baxter. Each is fuzzy, adorable and amazingly unique. I love how their individual personalities shine through to always add happiness and entertainment to our lives. While I am most certainly biased, I do believe that these three furballs could certainly complete for the “cutest critter” title.

I will be back next week with a more "normal" blogging schedule, incuding a lot of updates and some additions to the change post I wrote a while back. Have a great week :)

ST 11.03 - Cat in a Lightbox

The Sketchy Thursdays 11.03 challenge is up! Here is this week's sketch:

Here's my digital interpretation of the sketch:

Product Credits: Paislee Press (Montage) + One Little Bird Designs (Delightful Alpha)

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CAT IN A LIGHTBOX | There is never a dull moment in our home with Baxter around. Journaling reads:

While it’s not uncommon to find a cat in a box, it is a little out of the ordinary to find a cat in a lightbox. I was in the middle of photographing products for the Green Horned Unicorn Etsy shop and turned away to grab the next item. When I turned back around, there was Baxter curled up and already napping away. He looked too cute and comfortable to disturb, so I postponed the shoot until he awoke. September 2011. 

If you missed my post ealier in the week, don't forget to check out my fun Duluth 2011 mini-album!

Have a great weekend :)