February 2020 Highlights

February was a fun-filled month! The highlight was.... DISNEY WORLD!

First, quick announcement, all of my Etsy shop cut files are 60% off through tomorrow - no coupon needed!

 The first Saturday in February I asked my three friends to come over and help me unbox Bloom Street!

 We made about 60 kits and got them all shipped out! SO thankful for the help!

 All that physical labor meant we worked up quite the appetite so we went to my favorite place, Crave. The Sweet Heat is back as a permanent staple on the menu! I'm not sure I've ever been happier :)

 The kids make the cutest artwork during Sacrament Meeting at church.

Superbowl Sunday we went to Tom & Margi's for all kinds of appetizers.

 I got to eat lunch with Fox and his goofball friends.

 And I got to each lunch with Jane and her sassy'n'sweet friends.

 For Activity Days we gave the Bishop a "heart attack".

I was invited by Llanet of @topknotsandjesus to teach a coptic bookbinding class in Orlando, so I was like, if I'm gonna go all the way to Orlando.... we're turning it into a family vacation! Peace out 12 degrees freezing school-cancelling snow. Hello 90 degrees, clear skies, and sunshine!

Teaching at the Look Up! retreat was such a blessing. Meeting all of these lovely ladies (some for the second time!) was special and memorable. I will have a whole separate blog post re-cap soon.

 Fro-yo for the win! Also. The palm trees. I can't even.

 Our first adventure was Universal Studios! Just walking to the front entrance we found many photo opportunities. Also - I took thousands of photos and wanted to do a blog post about each day, but, I will be turning this entire Orlando trip into a mini album soon so I figure seeing all the pictures in that format will count!

 How cute! Can't wait to scrap this photo.

 Ready for fun!

 HARRY POTTER WORLD!!!!

It really felt like we were in Diagon Alley.

Of all the people in the audience, Fox was lucky enough to be chosen to help in this fun animal show!

 These two. I hope they're always best friends like this.

 Our family at Universal Studios in Orlando on Sunday February 9th 2020.

 Then we headed to our hotel in Disney World. We stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort which was themed and totally amazing. Our entire vacation was planned by Lyndsey with Conciears. Seriously, if you need help with ANY kind of Disney adventure (cruises, Aulani in Hawaii, ANY of the resorts around the world, literally anything Disney) please contact her (lwells@conciears.com) - she's the BEST!

The last time Chris and I went to Disney World was our honeymoon, almost 13 years ago! We were so excited to go back, this time with our two little noobs in tow :)

Monday morning we got up bright and early to head to Magic Kingdom! So did everyone else lol.

 We just had to try out all the fun treats!

Mr. Fox is so cool.

 The kiddos are not adventurous when it comes to roller coasters. We pretty much had to beg and bribe them to go on anything that did more than spin. Every time they put up a stink but every time they walked off loving it! We got them to ride on Big Thunder Mountain - twice!

Before the Seven Dwarf Mine Train coaster. Happy and smiling.

 During the Seven Dwarf Mine Train coaster. Fox's face. Jane's face! Ha! But seriously, they loved it.

We loved going to the pool at the hotel every night. Meanwhile back home it was still snowing!

 On Tuesday we headed to the Animal Kingdom. We'd never been to the whole Avatar section since it's relatively new, and it was awesome. So surreal! Like, HOW?!

 Jane's ears matched these pretty flowers. FLOWERS! In February!

 The safari tour was so cool. And my hubby is handsome :)

 We watched the Lion King performance - everything Disney does is amazing.

 Everest. Fox went on it, Jane did not, I think it would have traumatized her.

Our family at the Animal Kingdom on Tuesday February 11th 2020.

 Wednesday we toured EPCOT.


Mmmmmm Frozen treats.

 Flowers flowers and more flowers.

I love how it really feels like you're in a different country every few feet.

 Take me back to Germany!

 Jane dancing in Italy.

 We finished up at EPCOT around lunch time and then headed to Hollywood Studios.

 I talked Fox into going on the Hollywood Tower of Terror with me. He did NOT like it, but he got a bubble sword out of it so, it can't be all that bad!

 Toy Story land! So fun!

 We checked out Star Wars land but I'm anti-Star Wars (don't hate me!) so we didn't spend a whole lotta time there.

We spent Thursday back at the Magic Kingdom.

 We checked off almost everything we wanted to do, including visiting Tom Sawyer's Island. It was another fun-filled day!

Back at the hotel on our last night, I got this Tropical Paradise drink from the Banana Cabana which is "a refreshing concoction of Pineapple, Lime, Coconut and Cinnamon dusted with Nutmeg." Dude. I would drink this e'ry DAY! Soooo unusual and soooo good!
 Flying back into Denver on Valentine's Day we got this beautiful view of the skyline and Rocky Mountains.

Back to real life!

We watched an episode of the Kids Baking Championship in preparation for seeing Duff next month! We're so excited!

Scrap room + kitty = happy place!

Speaking of Rachel. She follows me everywhere, all day, every day, and I love it. We have a symbiotic relationship :) We need each other. She's literally right behind me as I type this.

Here she is, snuggling with me as I wrap Washi Tape around tags to use in upcoming classes.

ON THE CRAFTY FRONT:
Did you grab all of the free cut files I gave out in my Happy Scrappy Place Facebook Group this month?

 I love doing the exclusive holiday-themed cut files. These are the 14 Days of Valentine Cut Files. Which set should I do next? Easter? Spring? Summer?

 I did two podcasts in February! First is the Life Handmade podcast with ScrapbookCom.

And then I did the Conquering Chaos podcast with Erin E Hooley of Bailey's Blossoms and Peyton Bre.

I cranked out a whole lot of projects in February! Busy busy busy! First, a Bloom Street Coptic Book. I quickly sold out of kits (THANK YOU to those who purchased one!). I might have more leftover after my Crafty Cruise.

 I did a campaign with Disney promoting the digital release of Frozen II and created these Bloom Street Pop-Up Box Cards.

I played with the Bloom Street Acrylic Stamps.

 The week after we got home from Disney World, I made TEN layouts and FOUR mini albums in SEVEN days as samples for all of my upcoming classes. I love my job :)

 Check out my UPCOMING WORKSHOPS to see when and where I'm teaching next.

I'm teaching how to make all of these mini albums at Little Craft Place in June.

These are the four layouts I shared on my blog and instagram this month - click on the links to be taken to the process video or the blog post: Sunshine & Happiness / I Must Have Flowers Always And Always / Love / Kind Love Sweet.

I wrapped up the crafty month creating three Bloom Street MemoryDex cards to add to my box. Here is the floral ampersand before it got turned into an official MemoryDex card.

Wow this month flew by! So much fun. Also lots of stress and sickness, but I'm trying to focus on the positive :) Happy March!