Owen, Party of 4!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

2011-12-23T21:05:00.001-06:00

It's that time of year when we are all busy!! Christmas is only 2 days away! How in the world did that happen!! I'll be back soon to post the various crafts we have done since Thanksgiving! Stay tuned!

30 Days of Thankfulness ~ Day 11, 12 & 13

2011-11-13T07:58:00.001-06:00

Day 11 ~ Thankful for all our Veterans! Especially my two favorite ones, my dad (Go Army) and my brother (Go Air Force)!! I am an Army brat!! My dad served for over 20 years and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Although we moved frequently, it was normal to me. People ask me all the time how did I deal with it. Since I knew no other life, if really didn't bother me. I've lived in Alabama, Georgia, Alaska, Hawaii and California.

Day 12 ~ Thankful for electric yard tools such as leaf blowers and hedge trimmers! Yard work isn't one of my favorite things to do but having the electric tools makes it a lot more bearable. I trimmed all the bushes and then used the leave blower to clear the drive way and porch of all the leaves, twigs, acorns and other debris.

Day 13 ~ Thankful for my little brother!! It's his birthday today!! My brother turns 31 today! He's my only brother and I love him dearly!

30 Days of Thankfulness ~ Days 8, 9 & 10

2011-11-10T16:53:00.001-06:00

Phew!! Some days just go by so quick!! Here is another catch up post!!

Day 8 ~ I am thankful for my girls!! I am so blessed with my girls! Emily is 6 and is doing great in school! Annalynn is almost 9 months old! Both girls came into my life when it was needed. Even though I do have days where I just want to run away from Emily's attitude, I wouldn't trade it for nothing. She's going to be a strong woman one day with all that spunk!

Day 9 ~ I am thankful for the great daddy my girls have! Jim is an awesome dad to our girls! He loves taking them places and spending time with them. Although, right now at this point, Annalynn is more of a mommy's girl!

Day 10 ~ I am thankful for the love of reading! Growing up, my sister and I would spend our allowance or babysitting money on books. Most of them were Nancy Drew. She'd buy a few and then I'd buy a few and we'd trade. To this day, I still love to read. I usually have at least 3 different books going at a time. I've been keeping track of what I've been reading on Goodreads and oh my goodness!! I've been a reading fool!!

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day 6 & 7

2011-11-07T02:25:00.001-06:00

Day 6 (Sunday) was a little hectic around here so I didn't get a chance to post. So here is Day 6 & 7....

Day 6 ~ I am thankful for school teachers. I am incredibly thankful for our school teachers! I myself could not be a school teacher. For one, I lack the patience, as bad as that sounds. It takes a huge amount of love and dedication to be able to teach children. Heck, I couldn't even home school my girls as I don't have the proper discipline to do it. By discipline I mean that I would find other things to do and wouldn't be able to give my girls a proper education. Plus seeing how I'm not a genius in all subjects, I don't think they'd learn much from me past a certain point. And I'm okay with that! And then there'd be the constant head buttings between Emily and I. And besides, Emily can get more social interaction with her peers better being at school verses staying home. And that is an important part in going to school. Not to mention the fact that we get a break from each other! So here's to all the teachers out there, keep up the great work! Your hard work is paying off even if you don't see it!!

Day 7 ~ I am thankful for the miracle of modern medicine. I hate when my girls are sick! It makes me feel so helpless and if I could endure their sickness for them, I would in a heartbeat! But since we can't, I'm thankful that there are people who develop modern medicine. Of course we all know who the Great Physician is! So thankful that He has provided man with the knowledge to develop our medicines. Ever since Annalynn has been on breathing treatments and has been on medicine to fight her cold, her attitude has greatly improved! I now have my cheerful daughter back! I know her "sickness" pales in comparison some other children/babies that I know about but I am none the less thankful!

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day 5

2011-11-05T13:52:00.000-05:00

Day 5 ~ I am thankful that Annalynn was NOT admitted to the hospital today and for insurance.

Yesterday I took Annalynn to the pediatrician on a sick call. She's hacking, runny nose, congested and wheezing. The jest of the appointment was that it's a strong possibility that she may have asthma. He gave her a breathing treatment and it worked wonders. She was no longer wheezing. He sent us home with a steroid and a zpack. He wanted to give us a breathing machine but he instead referred us to a specialist. The earliest I could get in was Dec. 5.

Fast forward to this morning, her wheezing came back overnight. I called the pediatrician to see what we should do seeing how we won't be seeing the specialist for a month. We were told to bring her in and there was a chance that she could be hospitalized to get it under control. We get there and her levels were at 99 which is good. Got another breathing treatment and was prescribed a machine along with the necessary medicines to go with it. So, right now for the next week or so, she will be taking 4 different medications. Two go in the breathing machine and two are oral. The oral ones are the steroid and the zpak from yesterday.

And if we didn't have insurance, the cost of her medications today would have been $475!! Wow!! We only paid $36!

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day 4

2011-11-04T08:15:00.002-05:00

Day 4 ~ I am thankful for my life. If someone would have told me 10 years ago that I would have been here at this point in my life, I would have laughed at them. Without going into too much detail, 10 years ago, I wasn't in the best of places. I was more caught up in the fast pace of life than worrying about the consequences. There were many times that I thought I wouldn't and probably should have made it. But I finally saw the light and got my act together through the grace of God. Of course he never left me, which is why I did make it, but I had left Him.

Jim and I have been married 7 1/2 years and we have 2 beautiful daughters. And even though we still get some curve balls thrown our way, I wouldn't trade it for nothing!

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day 3

2011-11-03T05:11:00.000-05:00

Day 3 ~ I am thankful for my friends. I am truly thankful for my friends. Growing up, we moved around a lot because my dad was in the army. It didn't bother me so much until the last move we had to make. I spent 7th-11th grade at one base and a week before my senior year, we had to move. I knew all summer we were moving, but when that day came, I was devastated. I had friends and a church that I didn't want to leave.

Fast forward 19 years since that move and my "friendships" were much to be desired during that time span. Now, I have one woman that I have remained close with since my high school days but I never really found any more true friends until I started attending our current church in 2008. There, I formed friendships with 3 women that along with my dear old friend, I would do anything for, I trust them with my life, I am totally comfortable around, can talk to them about anything, I don't get embarrassed around them, they have seen my house at it's worse, they don't judge me and they accept me for who I am. Idiosyncrasies and all! If it came down to it, if I was in the hospital and they were the only ones around to help me go to the bathroom, I have no qualms about letting it all hang out! HAHA To me, friendships are a true blessing!

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day 1 & 2

2011-11-02T20:19:00.003-05:00

I know you've probably seen the post of Facebook about posting each day something you are thankful for. I'm going to do that here as well but I am going to expand on my statements.

Day 1 ~ Thankful for my husband. Jim and I are like peas in a pod. Or peas and carrots as Forrest Gump would say. We pretty much have the same interests and he's a great father to our two daughters. I throw a lot of stuff at him and he keeps me grounded. Well, most of the time! He's pretty much laid back and easy going. I can leave the girls home with him and go off and do things I want or need to do without the girls.

Day 2 - Thankful for being a SAHM. We are blessed that I can stay home with the girls. I stayed home with Emily for her 1st year and then went back to work until Annalynn was born. I can see my girls grow up and am able to attend Emily's school functions. Even the ones that are as minor as a Halloween party or Valentine's Day party. I am also able to serve on the PTO and help out where I can. While I was working, I had to be selective about the events I could attend.

So, what are YOU thankful for?

Countdown...

2011-11-01T08:39:00.002-05:00

Each year, Halloween marks my countdown to the beginning of the end of a year. It seems that as soon as Halloween is over, preparations for Thanksgiving and Christmas festivities begin! I absolutely love this time of year. Not so much for the presents (even as cool as they are) but for the traditions that Jim and I have started since we first got together. As Emily came, she was included in most of them and now this year with our newest addition with Annalynn, it's going to be that much more exciting.

Blogging is going to be picking up as I'll be sharing our activities and journeys throughout the holiday season.

This weekend I am starting with the Pike Road Arts & Craft Fair. This year I will be going with two of my dear friends and I can't wait!! Jim will be taking the girls to the zoo while I shop and get some crafty ideas!

Summer swap and other ramblings...

2011-08-31T20:21:00.003-05:00

School started on Aug 15th and it's been a whirlwind of activities since then. I've been helping out Emily's teacher by tearing apart workbook pages, the PTO board has been busy and I am heading up the Women's Retreat at church (which is scheduled for next weekend). I have never in my life planned a retreat, but it really hasn't been that bad.

I really haven't been doing any sewing, scrapbooking or crafting of any kind. But I did have to get a swap finished so that's pretty much the only thing I have worked on.

This month's theme was summer. Any size or medium is acceptable. Here is the ATC that I came up with:
I used my SU Tart n Tangy set and made limes, oranges and lemons. I added a drop of glitter to the middle and outlined the fruit. The sentiment is from Hero Arts.

My next swap theme is Halloween. Gotta get to the drawing board on that one.

Open house and other things....

2011-08-11T23:43:00.002-05:00

Tonight was open house for Emily. She got to officially meet her 1st grade teacher for the year although we already know her through church and school. Emily got a chance to see who else was in her class. There's only 1 girl in there that was in her kindergarten class. But she knows another one from her Daisy troop. It will be good for her to make new friends. After that, I worked the PTO table for a couple of hours. Jim took Annalynn home since she started to get fussy but Emily stayed with me.

Being a SAHM, I feel that it is my responsibility to keep the house clean and to have dinner cooked. But I am totally lazy and I blame the baby for not getting things done. Now, let me just say that Jim doesn't say anything to me about the house. It's lived in and there are little piles of stuff everywhere, not like the piles on "Hoarders", but none the less, piles that don't belong there. So, on a scrapbook message board, there is a forum called "Managing Your Life" and there are daily, weekly and monthly challenges posted. I decided to join in on one called "It's Gotta Get Done In August". With only 20 days left in the month, I carefully made my list:

Red means in progress
Green means done

1. Home
Goal 1: Finish painting the kitchen. Jim has Mondays off so he can watch Annalynn for me.
* Clean out cabinets & purge some dishes
* Clean out fridge (my oven needs it to but I.'ll wait for winter to do that).
* Make and hang new curtains.

Goal 2: Go through Annalynn's clothes and decide what to do with them.

Hobby/Craft
Goal 1: Finish sewing Emily's outfit I started last week.

Goal 2: Figure out where I left off in Emily's scrapbook.
* Put loose pages in order.
* Add missing titles and embellishments to existing pages
* Finish scrapbooking the pictures that are printed.
* Print pictures that need to be scrapbooked (at least through 2010)

Goal 3: Annalynn's scrapbook
* Finish scrapbooking the pictures that are printed.
* Add missing titles and embellishments to existing pages
* Print pictures that need to be scrapbooked (to current date).

Goal 4: Organize scrapbook paper.

Goal 5: Organize sewing fabric and patterns.

Church/Faith
Goal 1: Finish planning Women's Retreat to be held on Sept 9-10th

Goal 2: Start attending the Ladies Bible Study on Tuesday mornings (no excuse for that as Emily will be in school and there is childcare for Annalynn).

Goal 3: Start reading the Bible daily and doing my daily devotions.

SAHM
Goal 1: Start losing weight.

Goal 2: Drink more water everyday.

So, we'll see how I do. =)

Vacation swap

2011-08-02T18:47:00.005-05:00

My craft group has monthly swaps and July was no exception. This month, Sandi chose the theme of vacations. The project could be any size and any format. I usually do ATC's as they are fast and easy. But this month I decided to try something different. A card with multiple openings. Not sure what the technical name for it is, a tri-fold card maybe? Anyhow, here is my finish project. Let's see if you can figure out my favorite vacation spot.

This is the closed view. It looks like it's off centered but that's because I didn't tie the ribbon tight so the "door" is open a little. The little squiggly designs I hand drew. I also used crab stickers in the lower right hand corner where the treasure box is.
The first fold opened. Again, the squiggles I drew and the stamps are from TAC.
Pardon my fat hand in this shot. =) The second fold opened. More squiggles. =)
And the final fold opened. And darn if there aren't more squiggles!!
Can you tell where my favorite vacation spot it??

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THE BEACH!!!

Giddy about new fabrics!!

2011-07-30T19:03:00.007-05:00

Went shopping today and found some delicious fabrics for next to nothing! I found these at Wal-Mart. They were $3.98 each for 2 yards!! I got four different prints for a total of 8 yards!

I also found some equally as yummy fat quarter bundles for $5.98 a bundle. All these prints came in one bundle. They are brighter and prettier in person. I'm not a real good picture taker. =)

And then here is a fat quarter bundle in solids to match the above bundle:

So what am I going to do with all of this you ask? Well, I don't really know. Emily has requested a skirt out of the pink polka dots on the green background and the butterflies. A ruffle skirt with both fabrics on it.

I spent a total of just under $25 for it all.

New pillowcase

2011-07-30T10:39:00.003-05:00

I was at Hobby Lobby the other day and saw some pillowcase kits marked down to $4.00. I loved the print on the fabric so I picked up two kits. I went to sew the pillow using their instructions. I always like to try that first because sometimes they are better than what I can think of. But they just didn't make sense to me. So I made up my own instructions using their fabric. Now, the pillow I stuffed in there isn't exactly fluffy so it looks flat in places but you get the general idea:

Auburn University pillow covers

2011-07-28T20:11:00.003-05:00

So here are the pillow covers that my friend Heather asked me to make for her son:

The front:

The back:

I made them just a tad bigger than the pillow in case of shrinkage when she washes them for the first time.

Personally, I think they are ugly since we aren't AU fans. Can't believe I let them touch my couch. HAHAHA Actually, I'm not even an Alabama fan, hubby and I could care less about football.

My first pillow sham!!

2011-07-26T21:49:00.003-05:00

A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine asked me if I could make pillows covers for her son with his favorite football team fabric. I said sure! I mean, how hard could it be? I've made dresses for Emily and that's got to be harder. Well, she gave me the project last week to start working on it. Now, I can NEVER in my life made one before and I'm the type of sewer that needs a pattern. I am a total visual person! At first we thought about just closing one end with velcro so that she'd be able to take them off and throw it in the wash. But the more I thought about it, the more I thought it was kind of tacky sounding.

So I searched the internet and found these easy to follow instructions. Now, I am notorious about screwing up and I sure didn't want to screw up the fabric she gave me and have to go buy more. So I found some material in my stash and made a sample. Here's the front:

And the back:
I've got to say, I'm extra proud of myself for this one! Seeing how I just started sewing in May 2010!

Now, to do the real thing!! I'm hoping to finish those tomorrow and post them when I'm done.

Christmas In July

2011-07-25T19:10:00.004-05:00

The past few days I have been cutting out pieces for bibs. In this house, we can never have too many bibs! Especially if hubby is doing the feeding! LOL I simply traced around a bib that I liked onto a piece of cardstock and then extended the lines out about 3/4". I also extended the neck up just a bit. I pinned together the right sides of my fabric and vinyl then sewed around leaving an opening at the bottom to turn. The vinyl is a table cloth I cut up! Hey, what can I say? I'm cheap like that! HAHA The snaps were a breeze. I did not use the crop-a-dile type tool. I've heard too many people had trouble with it so I used a snap fastener kit similar to this one.

And yes, there is a small flaw right up there (insert up arrow). I was in a rush while closing it and didn't pin as precisely as I normally do. But heck, it's a useful bib!

I have many more to sew but I need to get working on making pillow covers for a friend of mine. As soon as I finish those, I'll post them.

Vintage tag

2011-07-25T15:12:00.004-05:00

The past few months, my crafting group (Circle Of Friends) has been doing a little project where we are assigned a person and we make them something crafty. The recipient has no idea who their surprise crafter is until they receive their item.

This month I wanted to go out of my box. Since I cleaned my room, I found some stuff I had forgotten I had. I saw the patterned paper and immediately knew that I was going to be doing something vintagey (is that a word?). The images are actually from a 12x12 patterned paper that are raised and have different images. I just cut the images out and use them as little stamps. The flower in the middle I've had for ages and the glass beads are actually on a hat pin! And for more added flair, the pearl buttons on the two corners. I hope my secret person likes it!

Stumbled upon buried treasures...

2011-07-24T20:12:00.004-05:00

My craft room has been in a HUGE mess for the past few months. So much so that I have taken over the kitchen table. I finally cleaned it this weekend and while at it, I found some cards that I made ages ago and never shared. Here they are:

I have a few people in mind for these cards. Seeing these made me want to break out my stamps again! In fact, I even organized my stamps and ink!

Burp rags

2011-07-20T09:29:00.004-05:00

A friend of mine had given me a pack of burp clothes as a baby shower gift when Annalynn was born. They are really super cute! The closer I looked at it, I saw how simple it would be to make my own (reminding you that I just starting sewing May 2010). Here is one of the ones I received:

And here are some of mine that I made. There's that blue fabric with pink flowers again! =)
I just bought a pack of bath rags and then cut my fabric to size. I sewed the print side down onto the cloth leaving about a 2" opening to turn. Turned it and then sewed a border around the edge to close the opening. Easy peasy! Next time I will buy some dish clothes since those are a bit longer but these will do for now!

Crinkle Tag Blanket

2011-07-16T06:09:00.004-05:00

A good friend of mine mentioned to me that she was going to make her son a tag blanket. I had never heard of such a thing so I googled it. Google is such a great thing! Anyhow, I came across a lot of tutorials but I really liked the one on Fireflies and Jellybeans. I am such a visual person and her tutorial is awesome! Luckily I have a lot of scrap material but if you don't, the remnants bin at Joann's is a great place to find scraps, especially when they have a 50% off sale.

Here is my crinkle blanket. The crinkle is a potato chip bag! I think the next one I would make the ribbons a bit longer. I had this cute butterfly fabric and was/is going to use it to make some bibs and thought it would work great. The red backing is from the placemats and napkins I did a few weeks back for my mother in law.
My model absolutely loves it! She immediately put it in her mouth!
It didn't take long to make and it would make a great baby gift! So go find your scraps and get sewing!

Seat belt covers

2011-07-14T19:17:00.006-05:00

I've been having a problem with Annalynn in the car carrier, for starters she doesn't like to ride in it because she can't sit straight up. As I was bathing her one night, I saw cut marks on the sides of her neck and I figured it was the car seat straps cutting into her. Her neck is so huge that it always rests against the straps. So, I made covers for her inspired by Make It and Love It. Be forewarned, I am not a master seamstress, I just learned how to sew last summer so you will see imperfections.

I haven't had her model them yet and she was napping when I took the pictures but I'll try to remember to get one the next time she's in it.

I have two more projects in the pipeline, bibs and a tag blanket. Hoping to get around to starting the blanket tomorrow sometime provided that Annalynn naps. =) You will notice that this is the exact same fabric that I used on the tags in the previous post as I had some leftover from a dress of Emily's and Annalynn's.

Fabric Tag swap

2011-07-05T11:37:00.005-05:00

This month I hosted a fabric tag swap with COF. Not as many ladies participated as I thought would but that's okay. The only requirement for this tag was to have some type of fabric on it. I got my idea and ran with it but it pales in comparison to the other two I received. I am going to the post office today to mail these off.

These are mine. I sewed the fabric onto the tag with batting in the middle and back it with textured cardstock. I added jewels in the centers of the flowers and put the recipient's initials on it. The little blue flower is a brad and the sentiments are from Making Memories. Everything on this tag (including the fabric) came from my stash so I couldn't even begin to tell you where I got any of it from.

This is Andrea's wonderful tag! I love all the added accents and the tool. The shell and charm are adorable!

And this is Sandy's! I love the blue fabric and all the daisys! Daisys are my favorite flower.

Placemats & Napkins

2011-06-20T11:18:00.004-05:00

I made some placemats and napkins for my mother in law. She absolutely loved them. They were so easy to do. Great project for a beginning sewer (such as I). I started sewing May 2010 and I've made quite a few dresses and skirts for Emily. I am going to be making some burp cloths this week.

On the placemat, I used 3 different fabrics on the front and a solid maroon on the back. There is padding inside. The fabric on the left and the bottom, were actually fat quarters. The fat quarter was big enough to do four place mats.

And these are the napkins. I folded over the corner so you could see the color of the backing which is also the backing for the placemats.

Here is the website that I used for the dimensions. Easy Placemat and Napkin tutorial. I did not do the quilting part of the tutorial. I just skipped over that.

Flip floppin'

2011-06-17T09:15:00.005-05:00

Yesterday's craft was fuzzy flip flops. This is an easy and fun craft to do! I had my 6 year old measure, cut and tie the ribbons onto her flip flops. I also made a pair but didn't get a chance to finish them. I'll post a pic as soon as I do. I would do fabric next time as the ribbon frays a little, but she saw that ribbon and since it was only a $1, what the heck!!

I had her measure the ribbon to 6".

And the cutting commences!Tying onto the flip flop.
Making a knot.
And pulling it tight!
Ready to wear!

Today is going to be mama sewing day and movie day for Emily. I have got to finish a set of placemats and napkins today!!

Summer is here....

2011-06-15T10:01:00.004-05:00

Summer is here and Emily (age 6) is out of school. It has been a challenge to keep her busy and out of trouble. So I have printed a calendar and we have written on each day the stuff we want to do. Today is craft day. So we sat down to make a card for her teacher she had and a Father's Day card for daddy. She picked out all the cardstock, paper, stamps and stickers. Here is what she came up with:

A father's day card for daddy. Emily colored the image and then I blended it. I don't have a happy father's day stamp so I had to write it.

This is a card for her kindergarten teacher. We are going to mail it this afternoon. I couldn't even begin to tell you where the PP and sticker came from. It's been in my stash for so long I didn't even know it was in there until Emily found it.Tomorrow morning we are going to be making Chocolate Pudding Pops and then in the afternoon we will be heading to Bass Pro Shop for the free Bird Watching seminar.

A Quick Card

2011-05-28T14:09:00.004-05:00

My dad's birthday is Monday, May 30th. Emily and I made a card for him. I'm not sure where the image came from as I got it in an image swap a few years ago. There wasn't anything on the back as to who or what stamp it is. But he's cute!!

Emily colored the image. I inked the edges with SU Brilliant Blue, mounted it on a piece of scrap paper and then mounted it on SU Brocade Blue cardstock. The background stamping is from SU Fresh Fillers and the sentiment is from TAC.

Live Love Learn plaque

2011-05-10T19:52:00.004-05:00

I am on a roll with plaques! I made this one for a swap in my yahoo crafting group. We were each assigned a name and we are to send them one crafty thing. I came upon this printable at Today's Fabulous Finds a few months ago and bookmarked it. Have I mentioned that she has some awesome craft ideas?! Anyhow, I got the piece of wood at Hobbly Lobby for $.99. I used some distressing ink to tarnish the wood from a very light color to the brown you see now. I then printed the quote onto scrapbook paper, modge podged it on and hot glued a turquoise jewel in the center of the flower for some dimension. I have added magnets to the back as well as a wall hanger.

National Scrapbook Day

2011-05-07T11:40:00.002-05:00

So today is National Scrapbook Day! And guess what I'm actually doing?! SCRAPBOOKING!! Jim took the girls to the zoo so I could have some time to myself. I should be doing housework but heck, that is what the rest of the week is for right? And if I'm going to have time to myself, I'm going to do what I WANT to do and not what I HAVE to do! I'm trying to finish an album that my sister asked me to do last year right around Memorial Day 2010. I started on it right away but today is the first time in a long time since I've worked on it. So, I loaded my music, set my kitchen timer (so I can see how much I get done), got my water & snacks and all my supplies out.

Happy scrappin'!!

New baby and craft projects

2011-05-06T11:34:00.006-05:00

Since my last post on January 16, our bundle of joy has arrived. Annalynn Faith Owen was born on February 17 @@ 11:00am. She was 9 pounds and 21" long. She has grown incredibly fast since! She will be 3 months old soon but is the size of an average 5 month old! But the ped says everything is fine since she is proportionate. Hopefully she'll taper off soon! =) But, the bigger news: she is already teething!! She has her two bottom middle teeth getting ready to erupt through her gum line! Seriously??!! Wow!

This week at Emily's school it is teacher appreciation week. I'm pretty sure most of the schools across the country are celebrating it this week as well. I came across some nifty craft ideas that I made that I wanted to share! So with out further ado, here we go:

A plaque with Joshua 1:9 printed on it. I got the idea from Today's Fabulous Finds. I just printed it and modge podged it to a piece of wood that my father had cut for me after I painted it. I hot glued a pop top on the back and also added 2 magnets on the back. That way Emily's teacher could either hang it or put it on a magnetic board.
Next, we have Paint Stick Magnets. These are also from the Blog of Today's Fabulous Finds! I didn't use the "I Love First Grade" since Emily is in kindergarten this year. I will definitely use these for Emily's first grade teacher next year. Then after that, I guess I'll have to make one for the grades beyond 1st grade. =)

A subway art card that I made for Emily's teacher from Jim and I. Again, I got the idea from Today's Fabulous Finds! I downloaded the one I wanted, resized it in Word and then printed it on scrapbook paper.

And lastly, I made this card from Emily for her teacher. The art came from DCWV Grade School paper pack. I simply cut the "tag" out that I wanted and mounted it on cardstock.

That's all I've gotten done this week. Annalynn is not a good napping baby like Emily was so my free time during the day is limited. But I manage to get some things done around the house. Until next time, happy crafting!

Happy New Year.....17 days too late!

2011-01-16T16:07:00.002-06:00

So it's 2011! The first 17 days have gone by fast!! That is partly due to tax season is in full force and we have changed softwares. Everyday I get calls from people asking for their W-2's and I'm trying to train a co-worker on the new software and she's just not getting it. That takes time away from my clients that I could be spending on them. Plus since I only work 6 hours a day, I've got to cram as much in as I can. Not to mention that after I have Annalynn, my working days will be over for a while so I'm trying to tie up lose ends because that's just the way I am.

I go see my doctor this coming Thursday and I'm going to ask him about an induction date. I'm thinking of Feb 18. She is due Feb 26th but for personal reasons, I want her born on or before the 23rd. We'll see what he says.

Emily is doing awesome in kindergarten. She has really picked up on the reading since Christmas break. She's excited to be able to read and trips to the school library are the highlight of her day. They are also taking AR tests on the books that they read and she's scored 100 on both tests she has taken so far. She also thinks it's cool that the 6th graders come help them read, they can hang with the big kids!

Hoping to get back into scrapbooking and paper crafting once Annalynn is born. Right now I've been sewing things for Emily. And since I won't be working, I can do some crafty things while the baby sleeps and Emily is at school, or at least I hope so.

Finished skirt & compete outfit

2010-12-01T21:43:00.003-06:00

I finished Emily's skirt that matches the shirt that I appliqued yesterday. I needed to get it done tonight since we are going to be super busy tomorrow and I don't want to come home and work on it.

And the finished outfit.....

Emily is excited to wear this to school on Friday for their field trip to see a Christmas play. She's really starting to get into wearing skirts so I have a feeling that this pattern is going to be getting a lot of use!

Cutting Fabric with Cricut

2010-11-30T21:22:00.005-06:00

A couple of weeks ago I was browsing Cricut videos on Youtube and I wondered if the awesome machine could cut fabric. Well, low and behold, it does!! Here is the video I found that shows a really great way of doing this: Cutting Fabric with Cricut

I am sewing a Christmas skirt for Emily and had some fabric left over. So I thought about the video and decided to applique a red shirt to go with the skirt. Here is the shirt:

I used Cuttin' Up for my font. It's kinda of hard to see in the picture, but on the fabric, there are different colored/patterned santa hats and the words "Ho ho ho" sprinkled around it. The skirt is almost finished.

Imagine the possibilities of creating your own appliques with your Cricut!! I have pulled out a bunch of plain onsies and am going to applique them to my heart's content. But I better get a move on if I want to finish before the new bundle of joy arrives or before I run out of energy, whichever comes first. =)

Monogrammed Ornaments

2010-11-24T11:14:00.005-06:00

I was going stir crazy being bored at the hopsital, so the first thing I did the night I came home, was to monogram some of the glittered ornaments I did earlier this week. Here's how they turned out:

These are going to be gifts for my co-workers along with a monogrammed glass votive. I plan to give these out next week so that they can enjoy them through Christmas.

Gall Bladder

2010-11-24T09:32:00.002-06:00

Well, I must say that the start of this week has been very eventful! I had a gall bladder attack late Saturday night/Sunday morning. Called the OB on call and he told me to head to the ER. I get there and they do a scan on my gall bladder and I find out that I have a ton of gall stones. So they monitored the baby for a little while and sent me home with a script for some pain meds. I get discharged and head home. About 30 minutes after I get home, another attack hits me. I took the pain meds to no avail. So I head back into town (about a 25 min drive) to be admitted to Labor & Delivery. I stay overnight Sunday night and then my OB visits me Monday morning to talk about removing my gall bladder. I see the surgeon around noon Monday and he said we need to go ahead and take my gall bladder out while we have a window of opportunity before I get further along in my pregnancy. So, the gall bladder came out Monday around 5:30pm. I was sent home yesterday afternoon. So, here I sit recovering. =)

Glass Plate

2010-11-20T18:03:00.004-06:00

This afternoon I sat down to etch a glass plate that I got from the dollar store. I used my Cricut Expression to cut out the leaf for my stencil using the Stretch Your Imagination cartridge. I actually etched this on the back side of the plate. This way, the plate can be used without worrying about any of the food getting into the design. I didn't realize that my fingerprints would show up this bad in the picture, but you get the general idea of what it looks like.

Christmas cards and ornaments

2010-11-18T16:44:00.004-06:00

I took the day off today to do some shopping and have thanksgiving lunch with Emily at school. It was actually a pretty tasty lunch! After lunch, I came home and decided to work on more ornaments and my Christmas cards. Here are the various ornaments in stage 1. I still need to add ribbon and monogram. I'm giving these to a few friends and co-workers. I think I'll monogram their first name.

There is one missing in this picture since I have already given that one away.

And here are my Christmas cards this year. They are much more simpler than years past. I first stamped onto the white cardstock and then ran it through the Cuttlebug. The candy cane is from pipe cleaners.

Hopefully I'll be able to finish off the ornaments this weekend.

Glass ornament & candle holder (with pics)

2010-11-16T17:17:00.004-06:00

I am making a few things for Christmas gifts this year for some family, friends and co-workers. I was surfing some crafts sites and got the ideas to make glitter ornaments and etched candle holders. The ornaments I'll give to people next week so that they can put on their tree and the candle holders will be given closer to Christmas. Here are some pictures of a set that I finished today:

The ornament was really simple. I saw a video on youtube and was able to follow along. I got glass ornaments, Pledge with Future Shine floor wax and ultra fine glitter. You put the floor wax in the ornament, swish it around and then pour the excess out. I then poured the glitter and swished it around and dumped out any excess. I then used rub-on for the flowers. Here's a link to the youtube video: Glitter Ornaments

Next we have the etched candle holder:

This was yet another simple project I saw on youtube. I got the candle holder at the dollar store. I cut out the "A" stencil with my Cricut using repositionable contact paper and put it on the glass. I then slapped some Armour Etch etching creme and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Ran it under cold water to wash off the creme and then pulled off the contact paper. (I would highly recommend using cheap vinyl for this instead of the contact paper, it would be much easier). Dried the glass and you see the results. Here is the link to youtube video: Glass Etching

This is the backside of the votive holder. The rub-on was in my stash. It actually matches the rub-on that I used on the ornament.

Both of these projects were really simple and fun.

This and That

2010-11-15T16:08:00.003-06:00

I actually have some craft projects going on right now. I've made some glitter ornaments, glass etched some candle holders and cut out fabric appliques using my Cricut. I will hopefully finish those us this weekend and post pictures.

Emily and I have been doing a lot of baking. Last night we made pumpkin fudge and today we made pumpkin cookies. These cookies are AWESOME! Emily isn't much of a cookie or pumpkin eater, but she can't get enough of these. Here's the recipe:

OLD-FASHIONED SOFT PUMPKIN COOKIES

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour ****

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened

1 cup LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze (recipe follows)

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Grease baking sheets.

In a bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

In a larger bowl, beat sugar and butter until well blended. Beat in pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract until smooth. Gradually beat in flour mixture.

Drop by rounded tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets.

BAKE for 15 to 18 minutes or until edges are firm. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Drizzle Glaze over cookies.

GLAZE:

COMBINE 2 cups sifted powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract in small bowl until smooth.

Estimated Times: Preparation - 10 minutes; Cooking - 18 minutes; Cooling Time - 2 minutes cooling.

****I used self rising flour and omitted the baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Baby update!

2010-10-10T14:00:00.003-05:00

We found out Thursday what the baby is! I feel so relieved to finally know and can call it the proper name. It's a girl!! Her name is Annalynn Faith. Emily was a bit upset because she really wanted a brother. But she has come around and is really excited to be having a baby sister. I'm letting Emily be involved in some of the small decisions that need to be made (ie room paint color and such) to make her feel really important. She commented to me the day we found out that she's not special. But I've been spending extra time with her and just talking with her. Like I said, Emily is super excited now. She says she can't wait to hold her, feed her and play with her. She even said she'll give me clean diapers but in no way will she touch the stinky dirty diapers. =) There will be almost 6 years difference between the girls.

There is a lot of re-arranging and de-cluttering to do. February will be here before I know it. Emily wants to switch rooms which is fine with me. We were going to have to paint the spare room anyhow so it's not inconvenient. Just need to move Emily's bed and dresser. Have to go through a lot of clothes too. Luckily I kept every stitch of clothing Emily ever wore! Emily is excited to go through those boxes as well to see all the clothes. Fun and busy times ahead!

Neglectful blogging/crafting

2010-09-18T11:13:00.002-05:00

I have been so horrible in updating or crafting. I haven't really been in my craft room since February. A lot has gone on in our family since then. I had a miscarriage earlier in the year (in April when I was 10 wks) and then life just got busy. I am currently 17 weeks pregnant and thanking God everyday that we are one more day closer to the birth date of Feb 26, 2011.

Emily started kindergarten this past August and she is loving that! She got a great teacher and comes home excited! We have gotten more involved in church and I am currently serving as the PTO treasurer for Emily's school. I have a wonderful boss that let me switch my hours from 8-5 to 8-2. It's amazing how much more work I am getting done with those hours. But by the time I pick up Emily and we get home, I just want to veg out. Hence, no crafting is getting done. I know I need to get a jump on my Christmas cards. I think I'm going to cheat and use my Wild Card cartridge from Cricut. I think I can keep them fairly simple. I am missing my connection to my crafting message board that I am a member of. No excuse, just pure laziness.

Anyhow, that's the jest of things around here lately.

New Card

2010-02-07T14:48:00.006-06:00

Valentine's Day is just around the corner. I have put together a very creative gift for Jim (which I will post pictures of next week once I have it all fixed up) and figured I needed to make a card as well. I haven't made a card in I don't know how long. Lately I've been on a scrapbooking kick. Heck, I didn't even make my Christmas cards for 2009. I had an idea but I just did have the motivation to do them.

CPS has posted their weekly sketch for this week and when I saw it on facebook, I immediately knew what I was going to do. I was at Target last week and found some yummy 12x12 papers and some stickers in the $1 spot. I knew right away that I was going to use those on this card.

Here is the sketch:

And here is my card:Once I got through with this card, I realized how much I missed cardmaking. So, this week I'm going to work on my card list for the year (birthdays, anniversaries and Christmas) and get my rear in gear!

Cross Painting

2010-01-09T12:42:00.006-06:00

Phew.....didn't realize that I have posted in a looooong time. My crafting has taken a backseat to my laziness. But with the new year...I have vowed to post more. I've mainly been scrapbooking lately. Trying to get Emily's scrapbook caught up. I am actually starting to SB 2008. So I'm not that far behind.

Anyhow...here is a painting I did a few weeks before Christmas. It's supposed to be a cross. There is some metallic paint on it so it shines as light hits it. A group of girls from church decided to take part. We had a great time!

Here is all of us proudly displaying our works of art:

Back row l-r: Tisha and me
Front row l-r: Melinda, Maggie and Casey

Scrapbook Retreat

2009-10-03T08:04:00.002-05:00

Last weekend I was at a scrapbook retreat with a bunch of friends. We had an awesome time! We stayed at Camp Chandler on the lake. I got there around 6:00 Friday night and left around 4:00 on Saturday. It was $50 for the whole weekend including all our meals. I got a ton done! I cropped 200 pictures and scrapped 14 pages that included 100 pictures! I got Emily's birthday book all caught up. I am wanting to work on some more this weekend but I need to clean my craft room. :(

I also need to start my Christmas cards since October is already here. I have a few swaps that I need to complete as well. But first, we have a birthday party to go to.

Simple Thanks revisited

2009-07-22T20:09:00.004-05:00

I have been making some cards lately, but they are "revisited" cards. What I mean by that is that I've made the card before a few years ago and made them again with a little variation.

I made two thank you cards this week but didn't take pictures of them because I thought I already had them stored on the laptop. I didn't but you can still get the basic idea from this one I did have. Instead of using the curvy verse, I stamped grateful in that place and used the ladybug.
I sent one to my Aunt Sally and another to my Great Aunt Gail. They were gracious enough to let my parents and I stay at their houses during our recent trip to California and Oregon.

I have been scrapbooking like a mad woman. Next Friday, the 31st, it's cropping time at the church. Then we are having an all night crop in September that I am extremely looking forward to. I may end up doing my Christmas cards that weekend.

Toodles for now!

Finally got crafty!!!

2009-06-28T18:07:00.003-05:00

I got the last circle journal in the mail for my yahoo group and I sat down today to make my piece. For this one, we had to choose 3 words from a list we were assigned to (their were two lists) and illustrate them on an ATC without writing the word.

The words I chose were key, clock and leaves.

The clock art I found on a 12x12 piece of heavy patterned paper. It has all sorts of vintage images on it so I just cut out the squares I want to use instead of using the whole page on a layout. The key sticker I had in my stash and the patterned paper was also in my stash. I was going to put a leaf on there until I realized that the leaves show in the top right corner of the patterned paper....so that worked out great!

Well shoot.....

2009-06-26T18:08:00.002-05:00

I have so neglected my blog and my crafting hobby. We have been busy just about every weekend and it continues to be that way. I am ready to get back into my groove and gt crafting again. I need to get caught up on my scrapbooking so bad!! And my blog, I still had an Easter layout! LOL

Here's a glimpse of what's been going on:

We went on our first cruise May 4-9th. We had a great time!! I would highly recommend a cruise to anyone! We met some great people and are still in contact through facebook and email.

The next weekend was Emily's 4th birthday party. I can't believe my little girl is 4!! If you are on my facebook page, I have posted a ton of pictures. If you're not on my facebook, look me up and friend request me. My email over there is ElisabethKOwen@gmail.com =)

May 31st, we went to visit my sister and her family. They had their sons dedicated to the church so we spent the weekend with them.

The first week of June, my parents were in TN so I had to take care of their dogs by going to their house each night. Thankfully they only live 16 miles from me.

Then we just had father's day. My brother, his wife and 3 girls were over from Mississippi for a couple of days so we spent all last week up there.

This weekend I plan to veg out.

Next weekend, 4th of July, we are going to Atlanta for a few days to visit with Jim's parents. That should prove to be an interesting time. It always is.

And last, but not least....July 9th, my parents and I will be flying from Montgomery, AL to Reno and driving to Sacramento, CA. My granny passed on May 18th and we are having the memorial service for her on July 11th. So we fly into Reno on the 9th, drive to Sacramento and stay the night with my Aunt. Drive to Florence, OR on Friday (about 8 hrs of driving), have the memorial service on Saturday. On Sunday, drive back down to Sacramento and then we'll fly back home on Tuesday. Busy schedule!!

Hopefully things will calm down after that and I can start crafting again. I'm also planning on painting my kitchen. I did my living room in May and I'm loving it.

Anyhow.....off to back my crop bag and head to the church. I want to do some scrapbooking tonight. The only thing I hate about going out of the house to scrapbook is that I don't have everything at my fingertips and I always leave something at home. When I start a page, I want to finish it right then and there! LOL

Happy April!

2009-04-08T07:31:00.004-05:00

This past weekend I finished up a tag swap for my yahoo group. I'm satisfied at how it turned out. We had 10 participants including ourselves. We sent the tags to the hostess and she is going to put them in a special book for all of us to enjoy! I'm very excited to see the finished project. Everyone is our group has a different style and flair and it's cool to see everyone's creations.

I used SU cardstock and a Studio G stamp. The die cut flower is from Cricut "Walk In My Garden". I then used my cuttlebug D'Vine Swirls for the background. The dragonfly is a charm that I attached using a silver brad and then I drew the "fly" line with a black pen. For a "lasting" impression, I lightly sprayed each tag with "Moonlight Path" spray from Bath and Body Works.

At Last!!

2009-03-28T13:26:00.004-05:00

I am finally posting something crafty in a long time. I've been in and out of my craftroom but haven't posted any of it.

Here is an ATC that I completed for a swap for my yahoo group COF.

I used my Cricut to cut the bunny from Doodlecharms. I added Sparkle N Sprinkle glitter in the color of Cyclemen. The pp is from DCWV Pocket Full of Posies. I colored the eyes and whiskers with markers. Nothing fancy but it works.

I have 3 other swaps on my table right now and a circle journal that I am working on.

My Craft Area

2009-02-21T11:35:00.002-06:00

We had a last minute "challenge" this morning for Winterhaven. We were to post a picture of our craft area right then and there....no cleaning or tidying up. So here it is:

WinterHaven craftings part 1

2009-02-20T17:44:00.005-06:00

This week at Stamp Haven, we had our first annual stamping event called WinterHaven. It's a week long event filled with stamping events and fun! Here are some of the cards that I have created for various challenges. FYI-I got a new laptop for my birthday and I haven't loaded my photo editing software on it yet so the pictures will look a little washed out.

Transport Me challenge: Use a TRANSPORTATION stamp. Any kind. Could be a car, plane, a boat, a cowboy on a horse, just something that carries people or goods from one place to another!

I didn't have the "normal" transportation stamp, so I used a reindeer stamp. I gold embossed it and then ran my red ink pad over it for a distressed look.

Wacky World of Wallpaper Challenge: Fabre sent out 4 different themed wallpaper packs and we were to make a card from it. The themes were baby, girl power, Americana and bon apetite.

This first one was with the girl power wallpaper which is my "patterned" paper. The ice cream cone is a shaker box. This is going to my niece who will be turning 5 next week. The sentiment is from TAC Trendy Greetings.
This one came from the baby wallpaper collection. My best friend is expecting her second son this August and this makes a cute congratulations card. The wallpaper is the background and the bunny that I cute out from another piece. The sentiment is from TAC but not sure what set.
This lovely piece of wallpaper came from the Bon Apetite. I chose the blue card to bring out the little bit of blue on the background. I added the sentiment which is a sticker.

And this last one is from the Americana pack. I used three different pieces, the background, the house and the sentiment. The sentiment is from TAC but not sure what set.

I have a few more cards but I'll upload those over the weekend.

I'm beginning to like painting....

2009-02-01T12:33:00.004-06:00

Ever since I went to Corks N Canvas with my girlfriends in December, I've been wanting to paint more. Lynne (one of my co-workers) decided that she wanted to go there and try it out. So we are scheduled to go this coming Tuesday. While we were looking at the calendar of scheduled paintings, I came across one that I wanted to do but the night wouldn't work. So off to Michael's I went to buy some 8x10 canvases. I finished the painting last night:Everything is hand drawn by me including the words and steam. I'm actually surprised at how this turned out and Jim actually liked it. I told him that I wasn't sure who I was going to give it to and he told me to give it to him so he can hang it! I may frame it since it's a flat canvas. Here is what I adapted it from but they used a 16x20 on theirs:

Happy New Year and some crafty stuff....

2009-01-17T15:38:00.003-06:00

Happy New Year to each one of you!! I have done many projects since my last post so I have a lot to show you. But, I won't do it all today. I'll space them out so it won't be an overload.

This project was for a circle journal. The instructions were to take 1 or 2 pages and put a tag of some type on there. I'm starting to delve into the vintage looking style and I must say, I like it.

My first painting

2008-12-13T09:16:00.005-06:00

Melissia, Michelle, Dawn and I decided to go to a place called Corks & Canvas to do a painting. We went last night and I had a blast! It was a little loud since there was a group of about 15 ladies that were celebrating a birthday and I think they had some "spirits" before they got there plus they brought more. At this place, you are allowed to brink whatever you choose to drink while you paint. You can even bring in food. I decided to have a cappuccino. Here is the painting we were to do: Christmas Stockings. There was an instructor there "teaching" us how to do the painting. We started off with a blank 16x20 canvas and actually drew our picture on there and then painted it.

Here is my progress:
I didn't finish the stars on top because I can't draw a star for nothing. So I'm going to cut a star using my Cricut and trace around it and then paint it in. Why I didn't think about taking a star with me last night, I have no clue. I guess I thought that the image was already going to be drawn on there.

It's not a bad painting considering I can't draw with a flip and I drew it all. =) I will probably go back a do a few more. I would recommend that you all try this at least once if you have this type of thing in your area.

Stamped Canvas

2008-12-09T18:55:00.004-06:00

I totally CASED this project from Ruby Claire! As soon as I saw her post, I knew I needed to try my hand at it. Be sure to visit her site as well for some awesome art inspiring ideas. =) My canvas size (5x7) is a bit smaller than hers but I was thrilled at how it turned out. This is a hanging canvas (hence the turquoise ribbon you can see at the top) for a friend of mine.

Here are some in progress pictures:

Here are the steps:
1. Cover your canvas completely in different brightly colored patterned paper.
2. Draw on a butterfly. (I got an outlines from the internet and traced it)
3. Gesso around the butterfly. (Not in it)
4. Outline the butterfly in black. (I used a black sharpie)
5. Paint the edges black.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T00:00:00.001-06:00

I wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving and safe travels!! We are traveling to Atlanta tomorrow and will be back on Monday, Dec 1.

COF Circle Journal

2008-11-26T18:12:00.004-06:00

I've been busy the past week cranking out some projects. Some of them I can't show until my Secret Pal receives them. =) But, I can show you the circle journal I completed.

Sandi's circle journal was an address book. She wanted us to take two pages and include our address, a picture of our house and a picture of us. Here is the front of her book:

And my entry (I've whited out my address and the pictures aren't grainy as they look here) :
I included a picture of my subdivision and the beautiful fountain out front. The HOA always does an awesome job of decorating it for the holidays and keeps nice flowers/shrubs throughout the year. I used my 50 States Cricut cartridge for the state cutout. The leaf and flower are both felt.

Christmas Decorating

2008-11-25T21:39:00.003-06:00

Emily decorated our Christmas tree this past week all by herself. We decided to put it up last Wednesday since we would be gone from Thanksgiving until Dec 2. So we put on Christmas music and got to work. I unwrapped the ornaments and she hung the ones within her reach. Here is a slideshow staring Emily. The yard decor was done by Jim.

Thanksgiving Crafts

2008-11-25T21:18:00.005-06:00

Emily and I made some Thanksgiving crafts this past week.

Here are some place cards for Thanksgiving. The body is my thumb print and the feathers are from Emily's fingers. I drew the legs, the beak, the red hangy thing (don't know the technical term for it) and drew the stitching around the border. Emily told me which ones to put the names on. These will go on the table at my mother in law's house. She had a fun time playing with the paint.

This one she had a blast with! I painted her hand and arm brown and "stamped" the page. Then had her add the leaves. The name printed on the right hand side, I helped her with by putting my hand on top of hers while holding the pen. The signature on the left, she did by herself. She's going to give this to Memaw (Jim's mom).

Girls Night!

2008-11-17T21:36:00.003-06:00

I decided that Emily and I would have a girls night tonight! We started off with a candlelit bubble bath (yes we took one together), ate dinner, made some puppy chow and painted our fingernails.

Here are some picture of Emily and I making puppy chow:

Puppy chow is a yummy snack. The recipe is on the back of Rice Chex mix but here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

9 cups Corn Chex®, Rice Chex®, Wheat Chex® or Chocolate Chex® cereal (or combination)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Preparation Directions:

1. Into large bowl, measure cereal; set aside.
2. In 1-quart microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.
3. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

Prep Time:15 min
Start to Finish:15 min
Makes:18 servings (1/2 cup each)

Boy Birthday Card

2008-11-16T19:05:00.004-06:00

Jim's nephew is having a birthday this week. And as embarrassing as this is to admit, we're not sure if he's going to be 10, 11 or 12! Jim asked me to make him a birthday card so I told him I would. Since I wasn't sure of his age, I decided not to use an image on the front.

Jim did find out that Avery (his nephew) is getting an iPod for his birthday so we bought him an iTunes gift card. I really like the faux stitching around the border. I think it gives it a little bit of personality. I made this card in about 10 minutes. The patterned paper is from DCWV Nana's Kid's and the sentiment is from TAC Trendy Greetings.

SheetLoad's Blog Candy Blow Out

2008-11-11T10:53:00.004-06:00

Check out that stash!! What stamper/scrapbooker wouldn't want this to add to her collection?! Sheetload of Cards is sponsering this awesome blog candy! For more details, visit the blog post and read all about it! This is so exciting! I wonder who the lucky gal will be? Better hurry, this candy is going to expire at midnight on November 16!

Christmas ATC swap

2008-11-08T21:35:00.005-06:00

I love making Christmas themed projects! So when Dawn, one of my SBS12 sisters, decided to have a Christmas ATC swap, I jumped right in. I ran across some Mary Engelbreit dimensional stickers in Michael's $1 bin. As soon as I saw them, I grabbed them all up because I knew I could use them on something.

The "patterned paper" that is behind the stickers, is actually the cardboard insert is from the stickers. It was too pretty to throw away! I mounted the "pp" onto SU Night of Navy cardstock and then mounted it onto some dark red cardstock I had in my stash. I then used my white gel pen to draw the decorative border. I used my SU Word Window punch for the sentiment.

This is the "inside" of the ATC's. You can see where I stamped the sentiment from SU So Many Sayings through the window. I am going to personalize the ATC's to each sister that participated.

These didn't take a whole lot of time to do but I think they look like a million bucks! =)

Just in case anyone is interested...

2008-11-07T09:23:00.002-06:00

Here's the link to my personal blog. I try to keep my personal and craft blog seperate. =)

Blessed with a nephew!

2008-10-31T15:21:00.001-05:00

My sister and her husband has welcomed their second child, Connor Evan McLendon into the world at 1:31pm today! He weighed in at 7lb 8oz and measured 21 1/2" long. We will be on our way to Dothan, AL (about 1 1/2 hr drive) early tomorrow morning and stay the weekend.

Lots of grandkids being born to my parents. But this is it for them.....6 grandkids is the final count. Unless by some miraculous miracle that Jim changes his mind about him wanting any more. 3 granddaughters from my brother/sister in law, 2 grandsons from my sister/brother in law and 1 granddaughter from me/Jim.

Meeting Caroline

2008-10-25T11:30:00.002-05:00

As you read this, I will be meeting Caroline for the first time. We met earlier this year through a small Yahoo group called Circle of Friends. I noticed that she lives in the same town as my brother and sister in law and Caroline visits her family farm occasionally that is coincidentally about 45 minutes from where I live. Right now we live about 3.5 hours from each other. We could never seem to schedule a time to meet because something always came up. Well, this weekend as Emily and I travel to Mississippi to visit the newest addition to my brother's family, we decided to meet up. We are going to meet for lunch and then we'll head to her house. While our girls play together, we plan on playing in her craft room. Jim is staying home this weekend since he's sick.

I made a card for her. The pp is from Rhonna Farrer, sentiment is from a TAC set but not sure which one and the little pearls for bling.
I also decided to buy her a little gift for welcoming us into her home. Here is the packaging:
And open it up and look what we find:

This houses a tea lite candle and the saying wraps around: Friends fill our lives with happiness and joy...they are always cherished and held dear to our hearts.

And the picture frame:

Blessed with a Niece

2008-10-22T08:57:00.001-05:00

We have been blessed with a new niece this morning. Hensley was born at 8:15am weighing in at 7lb 6oz and measuring 21 3/4" long! Mom and baby are doing fine. They are in Columbus, MS. Emily and I are planning on heading up there Friday.

Fall Swap and Baby Card

2008-10-21T20:20:00.005-05:00

I mentioned in my previous post that I had finished a swap I'm in. Well, here is what the cards are going to look like. I used Sandylion pp, swiss dots Cuttlebug folder, TAC Trendy Greetings for the sentiment and the leaf stickers are from Stickapotamus. I actually mounted the stickers on black cardstock and cut around them. I attached them with a popup dot. The ribbon is by Bobbin.

Here is a baby card I made tonight for my brother and sister in law. They are expecting their third daughter tomorrow via C-section. Emily and I are going to visit them this week in Mississippi. Jim is sick so it's looking like he won't be able to make it. The baby carriage I made from DCWV pp. I used my circle punch and then cut the circle in half. I attached rick rack since I didn't have any lace. The carriage's wheels are buttons. I then drew the lines around using my white gel pen. The sentiment is from SU Warmest Regards.

More Hangover Challenges

2008-10-21T10:02:00.005-05:00

I had a chance on Sunday afternoon to finish up a few last SOF hangover challenges and a blindfold challenge from 2Peas stamping board. I was at my mom's house so my supplies were limited and I used her camera.

Hangover Challenge #2: Serendipity For this one, we were to create a Serendipity Sheet and make at least one card using some of it. I got Emily busy on this one. I had her pick through my scraps, tear them up, and glue them. That kept her busy and out of my hair while I worked on other things. The sheet: The card:

Hangover Challenge #4: Take Me Out To The Ballgame For this one, we were to make a card, layout, or whatever and put something round on it! Well, I literally made a baseball card. LOL I was at my mom's house so I had to work with what limited supply she has. Hence the writing of Happy Birthday on it. The card opens up from the bottom. My brother's birthday is Nov 13.

Blindfold Challenge This wasn't an SOF hangover challenge but a general challenge on the stamping board. Our mission here was to Cover your eyes & do a 'random grab' of 3-5 stamps (NO PEEKING when you pick!) and to create a piece with it.

For this, I put all my stamp sets on the floor and had Emily randomly pick three sets. Then I had her pick 1 stamp from each set. Here's what she chose: (SU Garden Whimsey, SU Doodle That, SU Send a Celebration)And here is my card:

I also finished some fall cards for a swap I'm in but forgot to email myself that picture from my mom's computer. I'll upload those later during the week. I need to make 1 more baby card for my sister in law. She is due for a c-section tomorrow (Oct .22). Emily and I are going to Columbus, MS for the weekend. We are leaving Friday around 1:30 and it's about a 3.5 hour trip. Ought to be fun. We're hoping to meet up with Caroline sometime during the weekend.

Congratulations

2008-10-16T22:23:00.005-05:00

Last week I had an awesome time during the Stamptoberfest at 2Peas. We all had so much fun that there are a few Hangover Challenges! Hangover Challenge #3 is called "Initials Are Important". Our goal for this challenge is to create a piece using our initials as a technique, embellishment, brand, etc. My initials are EKO.

E = Elephant
K = Kid
O = Occasion
My sister's 2nd child (a boy) is due on Nov.3 so I made this as a congratulations card to her.I cut the elephant out with my Cricut for a pattern, traced it onto a folded piece of baby blue card stock and then cut it out. The patterned paper I also cut with the Cricut and adhered it to the front. I stamped the greeting using TAC Trendy Greetings in SU Brilliant Blue. I know the face isn't an elephant's face, but I thought it was cute anyhow. It's a rubon.

Guest Spot

2008-10-16T07:08:00.003-05:00

This week I was honored to be the guest designer on One Powerful Hour. When I originally signed up, I had a ton of cool ideas but couldn't get any of them to work. So I decided on the Moon theme. To me, there is nothing more magical or beautiful about the moon that when it's shining full on a cold, crisp winter night and illuminating the fresh fallen snow. Not that I would know what that looks like in person since I live in the deep south but I have seen it on TV and get the jest of it.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to created a moon themed piece and link it to the blog post at One Powerful Hour. I look forward to seeing everyone's interpretations!

Here was my sample piece but I do have another one in the works:

More SOF entries

2008-10-11T22:36:00.007-05:00

Tomorrow is the last day for Stamptoberfest at 2Peas. I must say that I had a great time doing some neat challenges and meeting lots of wonderful stampers. We played lots of games and had many contests that were actually sponsored by 2Peas. I actually won and already received the following stamp set:

After we got back from the pumpkin patch, I went into my craftroom and cranked out a few cards. All of these qualify for multiple challenges. Most of the challenges don't end until 11:59 Sunday night and winners for each challenge will be announced sometime Monday. So there is still some time left to squeeze in more creations.

Now, onto the cards:

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-11T15:29:00.006-05:00

I packed a picnic lunch for us and we took Emily to a pumpkin patch today. We have never been to this particular one before but we liked it. And to top it off, I saw a lot of people that I knew. This patch is about 35 minute drive from Montgomery. Emily had a blast! They had a petting zoo that included baby goats, sheep, donkeys, racing pigs and a coughing cow! The cow coughs and it sounds like a human cough. LOL They also had chickens, rabbits, turkey and peacocks to look at. We took a hay ride down to the patch and picked out our pumpkins.

Here are some pictures from today:

This next picture is really special to me. Pictured next to me are Maxine Bearden, Quincy Bearden and Faye Brown. I went to church with them in Ozark, AL for the 5 years my dad was stationed at Fort Rucker. We left there in 92 so I haven't seen them since. As we were eating lunch, I looked around and saw Ms. Maxine. I couldn't believe my eyes. Ozark is about an hour drive from this place and of all days they decide to come up was today. I went over to them and they knew exactly who I was. We exchanged phone numbers and email addresses.

Dead Tired!

2008-10-09T19:27:00.006-05:00

What a hellacious week this has been! I've been so busy at work that when I get home, I want to go straight to bed. I actually went to bed a few times this week at 8pm! Usually when I come home, I hop on the computer for some fun time but I haven't even done that! Tonight is the first time I've made anything crafty since Sunday. I'll be so glad when Oct 31st is gone! That means work will slow down for me until January and then I'll be hit with tax season until April 30th. Just thinking about it is stressing me out. LOL

Anyhow.....on to the creation:This was made for the Stamptoberfest celebration on the 2Peas stamping board. This one qualifies for the Flourishes challenge, Make it Sparkle challenge and A Card of Different Size/Shape. I mainly stick to 5.50"x4.25" and since this measures 4x4, it's different size for me. LOL

The pp is from Urban Lily, the dark pink rubons are from American Crafts, the bling is from my stash and the light pink stamped image is from Fancy Pants Designs "Brushed Designs" set that I won from 2Peas during one of the many giveaways that 2Peas is hosting.

I was also told that my spider card from the last post also qualified for the Stamp n Doodle challenge! Woohoo! So my challenge total is up to 9!

5 SOF Challenges completed

2008-10-05T14:43:00.006-05:00

I have managed to complete 5 SOF Challenges so far. I've been having fun time during the celebration. You still have time to check it out. For everyone that has particpated, we have received this badge:Now....onto the creations!

This first one I have combined Use 3 Things and Cuttlebug challenges into one. I used the snowflake folder, pp is from DCWV, the ribbon is from my stash and the image is Penny Black Little Snowy.

This is for the Spiders Galore challenge. The spider image is a piece of PP from Karen Foster. I drew the border and wrote the sentiment using a white gel pen. Nothing fancy. =)

Ah...the Ugly Paper Challenge! Sandy sent out a stamped image, 3 pieces of ugly paper and we had to use some of each in our project. And we couldn't just use a sliver...we had to use enough to where it showed. Can you see my ugly paper? LOL I added the ribbon, brads and the sentiment from TAC Trendy Greetings.

This little piece is for the Wonderful Women challenge. I had previously used this idea from an OPH project so I dug it up and did another one.
That's all I have completed. There are a few more challenges that I want to particpate in. I'll probably do those throughout the week.

Stamptoberfest is here!

2008-10-03T09:07:00.009-05:00

Stamptoberfest is finally here!! This is such an exciting time for stampers and scrapbookers alike! What is Stamptoberfest you ask??

Stamptoberfest is a bunch of stampers on who get together and host fun challenges. It starts today and runs through Sunday, October 12th. That gives you this weekend through the end of next weekend to pick challenges, create something and post it for all of us to see! There are lots of fun prizes to win, too! There's something for everyone so come on over and have loads of fun!

Check out the master thread of challenges on the 2Peas stamping board and start creating!

Thanksgiving, birthday & anniversary

2008-09-29T19:05:00.005-05:00

I didn't get in my craftroom like I had planned this weekend. I did complete the anniversary card Saturday morning and didn't go back in there until tonight to do the fall card and the birthday card.

First up....an anniversary card for my parents. On Sunday, they celebrated 35 years of marriage. They have endured through many hard times together. They have known each other since they were kids. Grew up across the street from one another. Kinda sweet....to marry a childhood sweetheart. I used Cuttlebug D'vine Swirls for the embossing, a piece of scrap patterned paper, the heart embellishment I had in my stash and cardstock from SU. The sentiment is from TAC Trendy Greetings.

This is a birthday card for my sister. She will be 29 on October 3rd. I used a piece of pattered paper that I've had in my stash for the inset, SU cardstock, mini prima flowers that I have received from Caroline and used TAC Trendy Greetings for the sentiment.
Lastly, a fall card for a fall challenge for Stamping Friends. The image I received from Deloris and is by Inky Antics. I used Cuttlebug D'vine swirls and the sentiment is from Sugarloaf. I didn't realize that I mixed the green on her face until after I uploaded the picture here but that's ok. Gives her more character. LOL The ribbon I had in my stash.

Fall Theme

2008-09-24T21:59:00.004-05:00

This week over at One Powerful Hour, our theme is fall. We were to use warm rich colors, leaves, holiday items, sports teams, anything and everything you can imagine.

I used SU Pumpkin Pie, SU Handsome Hunter, GP black & GP white cardstock. The dark panels have a rich brown patterned paper from Karen Foster's Throughout The Year Biggie Bundle. I used Cuttlebug Swiss Dots for the embossing. The image is from Inky Antics courtesy of a RAK by Deloris. The sentiment is from TAC Trendy Greetings and the leaves are the same ones that I used for my 2Peas inchie swap.

I am so glad fall is here! I love the crisp, cool mornings that turn into beautiful afternoons. I love all the smells associated with it like pumpkins, spice, apples and ginger. This is the time of year that I bring out all my yummy smelling candles so it smells like I've been baking some goodies. So if you come to my house and it smells like pumpkin pie, that would be a Yankee pumpkin pie! LOL

An afternoon of cropping/chatting

2008-09-21T19:19:00.008-05:00

I told you this head cold wouldn't get me! In spite of getting up at 5am this morning and having this head cold, I managed to go to church and host the crop!

Here are some shots of the clubhouse/surrounding area and the girls (minus me of course):

The back porch of the clubhouse:
Looking out of the back porch. So beautiful!
Looking up at the side of the clubhouse from down below.
The gals at the crop (Robin in the pink, Dawn in the stripes, Morgan in the purple and one of her daughters).

As for what I got accomplished today? I completed all 9 of my autobiographical ATC's for this month's Circle of Friends swap. These are the front covers. I gold embossed the butterfly. You only see 8 since the 9th one I kept for myself. =) These are tri-fold ATCs. I used SU Garden Whimsey for the butterfly.

Ok....try to picture as you open the front cover you'll see the far left panel that reads Live Laugh Love. I used Studio G for the Live, Laugh, Love. Open the Live, Laugh, Love panel and it opens to this. I hand wrote all 9 biographies. That took a bit of time to do but it was worth it. The purples in the pictures look different because of the non use of flash on this shot. I used CTMH Girly Girl for the Totally Me.

Next is Janice's circle journal. Here is her beautiful cover:

Here are her "instructions":

And my creation. I used a real deck of cards for these inchies. The inchie part is the suit in the middle mounted on the red and black squares. I then cut up the 4 of whatever suit and adhered that to the panels. I used my while gel pen to write the name of the suit.
I also started working on the SBS12 Christmas ATC swap. I didn't finish up my Christmas cards but that's okay since they are pretty much done anyhow.

Head colds suck!!

2008-09-21T06:04:00.003-05:00

Grrrrrr......I have a few projects that I want to get completed this weekend and this head cold is doing it's best to put a crimp in my style but I'm going to put him back in his place. Doesn't he know not to mess with me? Most people around me know enough about me to not mess with me and apparently he wasn't warned.

At any rate, I will be crafting later today since I am my neighborhood's crafting coordinator at our clubhouse. Basically all that means is that I set up the date each month (3rd Sunday) and then go open the clubhouse for us to use and make sure we leave it the way we found it. LOL Maybe I'll get a few pics of our event. Warning Dawn now so she can go hide. LOL Just kidding girl!

My to do list for today:

COF (yahoo group) ATC autobiographical swap (almost done)
COF Janice's inchie journal (got my ideas already)
Finish my Christmas cards

And if for some reason I get done with that, some things to start on:

SBS12 Fall card swap
SBS12 Christmas ATC swap
COF State swap

Anyhow, I went to bed last night at 9:00 and got up around 5am to go to the bathroom. Been up from then on. That's how I know that I'm going to lick this cold in the butt real quick. If I was majorly sick, I'd still be in bed. =)

Monograms

2008-09-17T19:46:00.006-05:00

Here are are "instructions" for this week's challenge at One Powerful Hour:

"Create a piece that uses someone’s initials, it can be your initials, a family member’s or a famous person’s, as always, interpretation is open. Use the letters as the feature or hide them in the background. But most importantly have fun!"

Here is my creation:
I am going to frame this and hang it in Emily's room. It measures 8.5 x 11. These are her initials: Emily Elisabeth Owen. I really like my first name so I decided years ago to pass it on to my daughter as a middle name if I had one. Well, I had one. LOL

I used SU Cameo Coral and Tempting Turquoise. The patterned paper is from DCWV Pocket Full of Posies. For the letters I used the Plantin Schoolbook Critcut cartridge. The stickers came from my stash that I've had for a few years.

I showed this to Jim and his reaction, "Alllllllllrighty." Men! LOL

Saturday Crafting

2008-09-13T18:02:00.004-05:00

I actually got a lot accomplished today but only have two pictures to show you.

Here are 3 sets of inchies that I completed for an autumnal inchie swap on the 2Peas stamping board. I did a football themed once since we do have one guy in our group. =) The leaves are felt, the sunflowers are stickers and the football/star are charms. I hand drew the yard lines so that's why they aren't perfect. LOL
Next up is a card for the 09/05 sketch that was also on the 2Peas stamping board. I know I'm a slacker on this one but at least I got it done. =) I used Karen Foster Designs Throughout The Year biggie bundle patterned paper. I bought this huge stack sometime last year for a project I was going to do but never started on. The pumpkins are stickers that I attached to black cardstock and then cut around them. I adhered them with popup dots.

I have also just about finished all of my Christmas cards. I also worked on my COF ATC swap as well and the two birthday cards I needed to do, I just took some from my stash. LOL So the only thing left on my must get done list is the OPH Fairy Tale challange.

Weekend Projects

2008-09-12T21:52:00.007-05:00

I didn't get into my craftroom at all this past week! :eek: This week was very busy at work since corporate deadlines are this coming Monday. So by the time I got home, I've been too tired to do anything remotely creative.

I was going to go to Birmingham this weekend to a Stamp Expo at Scrapbook Mania (the LSS that hosted the online crop last week), but since gas jumped up almost $1.00/gallon this afternoon alone, I decided to stay put this weekend.

So, here is my list of what I HAVE to accomplish this weekend:

2 Peas autumnal inchie swap (stamping board) ~ Completed
COF ATC Swap
2 birthday cards for some friends ~ Completed
OPH FairyTale Challenge
2Peas sketch from 09/05 ~ Completed

Here is a list of what I would like to work on but not necessarily complete:

COF Janice's inchie journal
COF State Swap
4 birthday cards for October birthdays
COF Butterfly template
2 Peas Community Project of Peaville (stamping board)
general scrapbooking

I might get up early tomorrow and get in my room before Emily gets up.

My 2Peas sketch

2008-09-11T22:14:00.003-05:00

This week it's my turn to host a sketch on the 2Peas stamping board. This was actually alot of fun. Here is my sketch:

And my sample:I used SU Basic Backgrounds for the little holly leaves on the red background, TAC Christmas Season for the poinsettia and TAC Trendy Greetings for the sentiment. I gold embossed the poinsettia and the sentiment. After I embossed the poinsettia, I then colored in the image using a blender pen and daubing it into the red ink.

Anyone is welcomed to use this sketch. =)

Spirit Day 2007

2008-09-06T16:33:00.001-05:00

Yet another old LO I completed today. This was also challenge #4 for the online crop. We had to create a football LO.

Our family is so not into sports. So the chances of us attending a football game is slim to none. LOL Emily's preschool was having Spirit Day in November 2007. I had to go out and buy her an outfit. I wanted to buy her a University of Alabama outfit but since we are in Auburn country, you see what won.

Fall Card

2008-09-06T10:27:00.004-05:00

Today's first challenge for the continuing online crop from last night, is to create a fall item. Whether it be a card, LO or altered item.

I used my Cricut and Happily Ever After cartridge for the pumpkin. I hand drew the pumpkin lines. The sentiment is from Sugarloaf. I should have used the "Happy Thanksgiving" sentiment but didn't. So this is a thanksgiving card, not a Halloween card. I used the Cuttlebug with the D'vine swirls folder for the embossing. LOL

Tis the season.....

2008-09-05T22:04:00.002-05:00

To be Jolly...fa la la la la lalalala LOL

Our second challenge tonight for my first online crop, was to create a card using a stamp and some ribbon. Right up my alley, eh? I think I'll also use this one for this week's One Powerful Hour challenge as well.

I used TAC Christmas Season and my Cuttlebug snowflake folder. I gold embossed the reindeer. Then added a gold bow to the bottom. Really quick and simple.

Gulf Shores 2007 LO

2008-09-05T21:05:00.003-05:00

Tonight I am participating in my first ever online crop. The LSS that is hosting it is in Birmingham, AL which about 90 minutes from me. This is a good way to "force" me to get off my rear and scrapbook.

The first challenge was to create a 2 page LO using at least 5 different pieces of patterned paper. So here's mine (yes it's another beach trip from a year past LOL):

On page 1, I have used 4. The sandpaper, the dotted words, the fish background and the flipflop paper under the sandcastle sticker. I used my Cricut to cut the words using the Cuttin' Up cartridge. The sandcastle piece flips up for my journaling.

This is page 2. The 5th piece of patterned paper is at the bottom with the fish swimming on it. I filled in the extra spaces with some swirly lines that I hand drew.

And the two side by side. All in all, I think it turned out decent.

Gold Week

2008-09-03T21:34:00.005-05:00

I am a few hours early in posting this but I was so exciting about this week's theme. LOL This week at One Powerful Hour, we were to use the color gold in our creation as the feature or as an accent. As always the theme is open to our interpretation. So if the color Gold is not the first thing you think of when you see the word Gold...well, do whatever inspires you, as long as you have fun! I actually decided to create two pieces this week.

I'm starting to dig this vintage look! =) The patterned paper came from a kit that I got from my mom. I used the same pp on a challenge that I participated in on the 2Peas. The tag die cut is from Miss Elizabeth. I then mounted the tag onto a golf leaf piece that I received from Caroline as a RAK from COF. Then I attached that to a gold piece of DCWV metallic cardstock.

This card actually got a different reaction other than, Ok-aaay or Allllrighty then, from my husband. He actually laughed and said that he loved it. He said the frog cracks him up! LOL This card was inspired by a sketch in SheetLoad of Cards September download. The blue patterned paper is by Miss Elizabeth as is the sentiment. The striped patterned paper was from my stash. The frog image I got in an image swap that the SBS12 gals had. I believe it came from Dawn. Again, I used the gold metallic cardstock by DCWV.

Java Blu Award

2008-09-03T11:40:00.000-05:00

I was awarded this lovely award from Dawn. I'm honored that she chose me. She has some wonderful creations on her blog so cruise on over and have a look.

Here are the rules for the JAVABLU AWARD:
1. The winner can put the logo on their blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 5 other blogs.
4. Before listing the nominees give a brief reason why you chose them.
5. Put links of those blogs on yours.
6. Leave a message on the blogs you have nominated.

It is so hard to nominate just 5 people. I have been inspired by many of you. In no particular order, I nominate:

Caroline ~ She has nudged me out of my box through One Powerful Hour and our yahoo group Circle of Friends.

Ruby Claire ~ Her style is fresh, fun & funky!! I love visiting her blog to look at her artistic creations! She always has a different spin on things and mixes it up quite nicely!

Sandy ~ For all the wonderful work she is doing with Cards For Heros. She is truly dedicated and can crank those cards out! Her work is awesome and fun! I've recently become acquainted with her through the 2Peas stamping board.

Ros ~ Another new acquaintance from the 2Peas stamping board. I love her work. So soft and delicate not to mention beautiful!

Dawn ~ One more new acquaintance from the 2Peas stamping board. I love her simplistic style as it's close to mine. She uses gorgeous colors in her creations.

It's so hard to nominate just 5 blogs. There are many of you who inspire me each day. And many who give me the nudge to go outside my box.

Childhood Memories

2008-09-02T18:50:00.004-05:00

This week over at One Powerful Hour, the theme was childhood. Our mission was to portrayed something that reminded us of our childhood or children.

Each Sunday, we have an old timey ice cream truck that comes through our neighborhood. Everytime I hear it, I am automatically transported back in time to my childhood. When we heard that music, no matter where we were in the neighborhood, we immediately stopped what we were doing, ran home to get some money and then ran off to find that truck! We would split up in all directions to find it.The 3D ice cream die cut is from Miss Elizabeth along with the buckle and patterned paper. I used TAC Trendy Greetings for the sentiment.

Hip To Be Square

2008-08-30T14:23:00.005-05:00

Our sketch challenge today at 2Peas was this:

And here is my take:I scored the card and then stamped on it. Afterwards, I drew in the black lines. This so far has been the only project I have done since my father in law is in town. Right now he is out hiking and Emily is napping. So I ran out to my craft room and completed 1 out of the 5 projects I want to do this weekend.

This was the bee stamp that I had picked up while I was at the beach this past March. this is the first time I have used it. LOL

COF 3D Christmas in August

2008-08-30T12:40:00.005-05:00

Our COF August swap was to create a 3D ornament of any type as long as it could hang. It didn't necessarily had to be a Christmas theme, but I figured what the heck?

I bought plain wooded plaques from the craft store for $1.00 each. I then painted them red and used a heavy duty staple gun to attach the ribbon. I found some Christmas clothes pins with the snowman, tree, star and gingerbread man. I popped them off the clothes pins and hot glued them to the wood. I used Paper Doll Dress Up Cricut cartridge for the Santa piecing and a fuzzy ball for his hat. The background paper is DCWV Christmas Stack and the red clothespin I painted red since they were neutral wood color. I punched out squares and wrote the numbers 1-24 on them. I also hand wrote the Christmas Countdown.

Now, this is the only one that I used this particular patterned paper on. On the 5 others I did, I used red and white stripped paper.

COF Dream Destination Circle Journal

2008-08-27T19:38:00.005-05:00

In the mail two weeks ago I received Nancy's circle journal. She put her journal together in an awesome way. Don't all those ribbons and fibers look yummy??!!! The cover of her book is out of this world!! So creative!I opened it up to find the "instructions" on the inside cover.
Choose our dream travel destination eh? Well, there are a lot of places I would love to visit. When I opened the journal to the next available page, I knew exactly where I was going in this journey. Tuscany!! And just so happens, the movie came on TV the next night! Weird!!
I know I played off the title of a movie, hopefully I won't get sued! LOL And I cheated a bit and used a lot of stickers. I did print the wine bottle off the computer and colored it. I cut the title out using my Cricut. And I even handwrote my name at the bottom! HAHAHA I didn't get the best picture of this piece but it gives you the idea.

August 22 sketch & HAHA Challenge

2008-08-25T19:39:00.007-05:00

I finally broke down and decided to join the girls in the Stamping Forum over at 2Peas. I will readily admit that you will NOT see me posting on the NSBR forum. I wouldn't be able to sew together all the panties in the world to make one big enough for me to post over there. In other words, I can't put my big girl panties on and deal with it. LOL But I would be out of luck anyhow seeing how I can't sew! HAHAHA

Anyhow, I did their current sketch and the weekly HAHA challenge together. The HAHA challenge was to use at least 3 pieces of scrap from our stash. All of the cardstock was in my stash drawer including the brown. I used TAC Trendy Greetings for the sentiment. The die cut envelope I had in a kit that I've had forever and came across the other day.

The colors are hard to see but they are: main card body is dark brown, the middle part is red and the mats behind the patterned paper are a hunter green.

OPH Lady of Shalott

2008-08-25T19:19:00.006-05:00

This week, the theme at One Powerful Hour was "The Lady of Shalott" by Alfred Tennyson. Now when I first read what this week's theme was to be, I immediately thought of Anne in the "Anne of Green Gables" series by Lucy Maud Montgomery. She was always reading this particular poem. In one part of the movie, a few of her girlfriends and herself re-enacted the part where Lady Shalott discovered what her curse was and the boat carrying Anne ended up sinking. Anne was so engrossed in the poetry that she didn't realize the boat was sinking it until she was almost submerged. She grabbed onto a bridge's legs (for a lack of a better word) and was rescued by her childhood love, Gilbert. Anyhow, it's a great series of books/movies if you haven't read or seen them.

For my piece, I focused on Lady Shalott's condemnation of never being able to look out a window for fear of a curse that was unknown. She could only see the outside world by seeing the reflection in a mirror. One day a knight rode into town and she just had to look out the window. At that instant, the mirror shattered and she was condemned to die. Thus laying in a boat going down the river to die. The part Anne and her girlfriends re-enacted.

While my picture in the "mirror" is not from the Medieval period, it does symbloize the shattered life some of us may face. At times we are not content with our lives and think the grass may be greener on the other side. Once we realize that it might not be the case, it's already to late, as our life and mirror is shattered and we must face the consequences of that broken glass. Ok, enough deep thought, on to the piece.I had a frame die cut and thought it would be the perfect mirror frame. The picture is actually a patterned piece of paper. I used some UTEE and did the cracked glass technique to try and make it look like shattered glass. Didn't turn out as well as I thought it would, but it does the job.

Golden Tree

2008-08-22T21:03:00.007-05:00

I did a few projects tonight but I only have one ready to show. Since we'll be stuck indoors this weekend thanks to Tropical Storm Fay, I'm hoping to get a lot of scrapbooking done as well as other miscellaneous projects.

Here is the one card I did tonight. I used my Cuttlebug D'vine Swirls folder and gold embossed the tree. This is from one of my new TAC sets called Love and Laughter. I drew the stitches to break up the white. The gold paper is actually metallic cardstock from DCWV.

Products Used:
Cardstock: SU Mellow Moss, GP White, DCWV Metallic
Stamps: TAC Love & Laughter
Embossing: Cuttlebug D'vine Swirls and SU gold embossing powder
Stitching: SU marker

What's the Wurd Burd??

2008-08-19T18:30:00.003-05:00

This week over at One Powerful Hour, the theme was feathery friends. I don't have to much bird stuff around but I did find this stamped image I believe I received from Ruby Claire.

Now, I admit that this card is the ugliest thing I have seen in a long time. LOL I was just so stuck. But it is growing on me. I am forever asking my mom, "What's the wurd burd?" when I've asked her a question and she says she'll have to get back to me. The greenish paper is SU Taken With Teal. I used all scraps for this. Time to dig into those scrap drawers and put them to use.

Scotch ATG 714

2008-08-19T13:20:00.002-05:00

So I've had my ATG for right about 2 weeks now and I'm loving it!!! I have done so many projects with it. If I had still been using the mono adhesive, I would have gone through 2 refills already! I'm telling you, this thing ROCKS!!

It is a bit bulky, but you get used to it really quick. Especially when you see how much adhesive is on this puppy! 36 yards/108 feet/1,296 inches for about $4.00!! Where as the mono adhesive is about $5.00 per refill and you only get 13 yards/39 feet/472 inches. So to me, I'll take a bit awkward over the high priced/little refill. The initial startup cost is a bit more, but it will more than pay for itself. I got my ATG for roughly $40.00. And I know I bought my initial mono case for $6.00 and the number of refills, I can tell you right now I know I've gone through 20 of them because I've done bulk buys. So right there, that is $80.00 just in refills!! :eek:

Another thing I like is that the adhesive sticks really well. I have yet to have something come up because the adhesive didn't stick. Once you tack your project down, it's down!! So you better make sure you got your stuff where you want it. LOL

Trying to think of anything else to tell you.....think think think!! I talked about price, quantity and quality. Oh yeah...if you order your gun, be sure to order some adhesive since it doesn't come with any.

Well, if you have questions, post away and I'll edit this post with my answers.

3 New Cards

2008-08-16T08:32:00.003-05:00

I have a whole pot load of birthdays (family & friends) between now and the end of the year. I want to get a jump on them and make cards before the last minute. And since I was feeling creative, I made a few since Wednesday. Now, I'll admit that I am making a few of each and I'm going to give those out to some of my friends and family that don't know each other. Besides, it's like buying a card anyhow....they make a ton of the same one. LOL

I found a variation of this idea on splitcoast. I thought the black and white looked gorgeous together. I used SU Garden Whimsy for the images and TAC Laughter (Hostess set) for the sentiment. The ribbon I had in my stash. At the bottom there are three eyelets. Cardstock is GP white and GP black.

This one was fun! So fun that my mother decided to make one as well. I used SU cardstock and Garden Whimsy for the images. The sentiment came from TAC Laughter (hostess set). I used my markers to color on the flower stamp and stamped it twice. Thus giving the lighter flowers. The ribbon came from my stash.

This little girl is so cute. I realized after I scanned it in that I forgot to color in her face. I'll be sure to do it before I mail it. LOL I used TAC Hello There and SU Rose Red Designer Series Paper. The flowers are charms that I cut the thingy off the back of. I drew the stitches around the inside of the circle.