Just Gabbing Tonight

I didn't work in my craft room today. Jerry was home from work at 10:30 am - oh no! Not that I don't like my husband home, mind you. But because Jerry works on commission, an early day means no work. As an auto body painter for a large franchise, he has never quite seen slow downs like he is having now. And he's been in this industry for 20 years! Unfortunately, people are cashing out on accidents instead of having their car repaired. Who can blame them? It is very difficult in this economy to make ends meet. But enough of the "blue" news. Time to move on!

I took advantage of Jerry being home early to get some errands done. We ran to Aldi (do you have one in your neighborhood?), the dollar store, and on to the farmer's market. We've had such lovely weather that it was very nice to go to the market. Lovely vegetables this time of the year. Truly (and I'm not exaggerating) the cauliflower we picked up for $2.00 was as big as a basketball! We love the little cucumbers and sweet baby carrots. It's squash time, too, so I'll give you my favorite recipe in another post. Oh, and best of all, apples are ready! Yippee!! We love this time of the year for fresh apples!

Shane came for dinner tonight. What a lovely visit we had! He is working so hard at two jobs, and we couldn't be more proud of him. I made his favorite snickers salad for dessert, so he was happy with the meal! He also spent some time giving some love to the pets. Oh were Sassy and Chanel glad to see him!

Back to the craft room tomorrow! I am thinking I might have withdrawl if I went TWO days without crafting! Oh, I must tell you that I'm having a scrapbooking day on Saturday. LOVE that!! I'll be having my mother-in-law, my oldest sister, and three nieces over starting at 7:00 am. What fun we will have! I'll be sure to share pictures of the day. I've made this treats for the girls in special boxes, but I'll have to post them later, so that they are surprised!

Enough gabbing for the night. Hope everyone is having a good week. And remember, no matter what, make today your best day!

Stamping over at Practical Scrappers

This week the design team over at Practical Scrappers was to use stamping. You'll have to check them out! When I think of stamping, I think random stamping for a unique look. It also lets you create absolutely any type of paper you want!
Before I go into the design of this layout, I want to tell you a little about the featured gal in this layout. her name is Kelly, and if you click the layout, you'll see that I've highlighted her face with a window charm. She was on my team whe I was a director for CTMH. All I can say is that she is a fabulous person. She exceeded any and all expectations as a consultant and leader on my team. At convention in 2008, she was given an award for Top Sales as a new consultant. I could go on and on about her, but that would embarrass her much, I know. The layout says it all. Clearly she was (and should have been named) a Rising Star at Leadership this year.
For this layout, I used the Cottage Floral and Tiny Typewriter stamps set to create my paper. Colors used were Tulip, Sorbet, Creme Brulee, and Juniper. I have shown you the paper before it was used below. When you are random stamping, the way to get it even is to work in triangles. Your first triangle will work off your second and so on. You should really try this technique some time. It's fun and relaxing! After I stamped, I used my stipple brush to warm up the page.

I also cut some flowers from Cottage Floral (I love to cut and make die-cuts from a stamp set!) I used them randomly on the layout with pop dots, and I put window charms in the center for some pop. That is the close-up example I've shown you below.
Try random stamping! And if you do, I'd love to see your work! Send me an e-mail or direct me to your blog. I always love to see other people's work!!

Sisterhood

This is a great sketch by Creative Scrappers. These are pictures from a sister's weekend in 2006. For five of us to re-arrange our schedules was quite a feat. But how wonderful for all of us to get together! That was the last year we were all able to have a "full" sister's weekend with all 5 of us. I am hoping someday that we will have this precious time again, How special to shop, laugh, eat M&M's, and just be friends and sisters for a weekend.

• CTMH Grace Paper and matching journaling stickease
• Bazzill and Prima flowers
• Random chocolate sparkles
• CTMH Dazzling Die-Cuts scalloped circle
• Thickers letters

Oh, and to complete the recipe, 5 lovely girls. Can you tell I love my sisters very much?

Cards and Movie Day

I was able to spend the WHOLE day in my craft room today. I purposefully made meals in the last couple of days that could be reheated. Yippee! As much as I love to cook, I really like days in my craft room. Jerry was out muskie fishing for a part of the day, so all was okay.

I've got Netflix, so I was able to stream movies over my laptop and just work away while I crafted. This first card is my husband's favorite. This is new paper coming out from CTMH, and it will be available on September 1st. It is called Grace, and it is warm and wonderful. I love paper packets that have a sheet with strips. It's so versatile for adding to artwork. That's simply all this card is - two matching sheets of paper, a matching stickease, some random ribbon, and a Martha Stewart daisy. It's a very nice pattern from CPS.


The second card I created today was a really fun pattern from Inspirational Card Sketches. Oh, that was a fun pattern to work with! I flipped this pattern, and I brought the sentiment to one of the boxes. it allowed me use this beautiful gold organdy that I purchased from Paper Source. Again, I chose to work with more Grace paper. The flowers are Prima, and the brown sparkles are from the dollar bin at Michael's. I used a sentiment from the Faith, Hope, and Charity stamp set from CTMH.


The last card is my favorite. It's simple and very understated. I didn't use a pattern yet brought things together fore Penny's Challenges. She wanted us to create with flourishes so I grabbed my Playful Petals stamp set with lovely flourish. I added some pearls to it along with a Prima Natural flower. The sentiment stamp is one of the favorite that I own. It is from a discontinued set from CTMH. More pearls along the bottom and some CTMH chocolate organdy. This card can be used for just about any occasion!

Now that I've explained the cards, I wanted to share a little about one of the movies I watched today. Have you seen "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas"? It is about 2 young boys that become friends through a concentration camp fence. It was heart-wrenching to watch this movie, and I found myself watching more movie than making cards. I cannot fathom how or why Our Jewish culture was persecuted in this way. What I will say is that I am proud to be American, and I am blessed to be free. If you have a chance to see this movie, I highly recommend it. I know it will move you.

The Butterfly

"The butterfly counts not months, but moments, and has time enough." - Rabindranath Tagore

What a blessing to come across something so beautiful in my garden! Yes, I did take this picture from one of my gardens. The Monarchs have been out often, and it was just lovely that it paused long enough for me to snap a few pictures. I can't tell you what the flower is as I have a terrible habit of planting and not remembering. What I do know is that the butterflies love it!

So relish in your moments today. Don't let even the tiniest thing pass you by. I just put a meatloaf in the crockpot, baked a pan of cream cheese brownies, and put a loaf of bread in the oven. These are the moments for me when I get to snap a few pictures, cook for my husband, and then share with you. What a wonderful life!

Simple Pet Layouts

You know, as I took out these pictures today, I thought of something. So often I work to make the most beautiful layout filled with lots of flowers, embellishments and "things." That's great! I love looking at those layouts in my books - and I will be making a lot more of them.
However, sometimes I think I just need to relax in this hobby, this craft that I love so much. I don't want to take too much time working to make a layout just perfect, so that I eventually lose that love. I also think that it can detour people from looking a blog. I want to make things that people can easily copy without much fuss. Just a revelation I had today! LOL! Enough rambling now.
For these two layouts, I used Cloud 9 pet paper. Because the colors match, I can easily put them in the pet book side by side even thought the backgrounds aren't the same. I captured my sweet pets sleeping. And what funny personalities I've got in my house! I used Thickers letters from American Crafts, and the small embellishments and sayings are random. Didn't take much time or product, but I did what I wanted to do - showcase my sleeping beauties!
**If you'd like to see the layouts larger, just click on them.**

Two Blog Awards!! What an Honor!!

Wow! I am so touched by my wonderful blogging friends! It is not only an honor, but I am humbled by these awards. I never take them lightly as I know they are passed on with love.

This first award is "Eye Like Your Style." I received it from Dawn and Kim. These two women are amazing, and I want to pass it right back at them! The other people I want to send it to are Penny, Jamie, Tina, and Laurel. If you aren't a follower to any of these blogs, you will want to check them out. You will find fabulous artwork and lots of inspiration! They have all inspired me in one way or another, so I like to keep my eye on their style!!

This next award is from Karen. Karen is one of the most incredible artists I know. She also has a strong love for family, and so her posts always touch my heart.

Here are the rules of this award.
*pass this on to bloggers who you feel are honest in their blogging
*list 10 honest things about yourself

I am going to pay it forward by passing this award to the following friends:

• Kim (I am grateful for this prayer partner of mine. Although we've never met, we are definitely sisters at heart.)
• Tammy (I admire her spirit, her courage, and strength. She is a wonderful example to all.)
• Selene (I really look to her for honesty in artwork. There have been a couple of times that she hasn't like what she's posted, but she does anyway! What a true spirit of crafting!)
• Tina (She has been an inspiration to me in business, in artwork, in teaching. And she shares her family on her blog. I like that!)
• Karen J (She recently opened her crafted room for bloggers! Now that is honest - showing close-ups and all! Her artwork is beyond compare. I look to her for so many ideas!)

Now let's see. 10 honest things about myself:

1. I will drink blended coffee before I have a meal.
2. Much to my dismay, I watch reality shows. American Idol is my fav.
3. I home-schooled my son, Shane, for several years.
   
4. Speaking of Shane, even though he's 20 years old, my "mama bear claws" still come out when they need to. Guess I'm still a little protective, huh?
5. I never hoard my scrapbooking supplies. I purchased them to use them!
6. I am extremely afraid of frogs. Very silly, but true.
7. I don't like wearing pants. 99% of the time, you will find me in a dress.
8. I played baseball on the "boys team" when I was growing up. Still and all, baseball is my favorite thing to watch.
9. My favorite scripture is Micah 6:8, and my favorite book of the Bible is Philippians.
10. My husband and I never argue. It's easier to compromise!
    

Getting my Mojo on with Blues & Browns

Last post for the day!

I think I am going to like Cafe Mojo. Could it be that it refers to coffee? Maybe it's that there's great artwork - check it out! Or it could be that my friend Kim is a design team member. Well, whatever it is, it's worth a look-see!

The challenge was to create something in blue and brown. I've been hanging on this cute little 6" clipboard for some time. I thought this was the perfect time to use it. All products used (except the clipboard and silver sparkles) are CTMH.

Serendipity paper and die-cuts
TLC stamp set
Journaling Spot
Outdoor Denim Craft Buttons
Chocolate Brads
Clear Buttons
Designer Ribbon - Chocolate, Outdoor Denim

It's All Heart

This is my third post for the day!

I always like to try my hand at the Cuttlebug challenges. This week we were challenged to make shape cards. I could have come up with something more original for the challenge, but because it's our anniversary, I guess I felt in the heart mood!

Cricut Wild Card cartridge
Cuttlebug Swirls Folder
CTMH, Petaloo, and Prima flowers
Gelly Roll glitter pen

Dream

I thought I'd work on the Raspberry Suite color challenge this week. The reason I wanted to work with it was simply because it was a challenge for me! I am not used to working with these colors, and I didn't know what the Sorbet would look like in this mix. It was uncomfortable, but with the help of CTMH products, I think the card is "give-able."
CTMH Daydream Level 2
CTMH Aspiration stamp set
CTMH Love Story Rub-Ons
CTMH Sorbet and Sweet Leaf ribbon
CTMH Sparkles
random silver sparkles

19 Years...The Love of My Life

Today is mine and Jerry's 19th anniversary. Oh, he is the love of my life! We met on a blind date, and three weeks later, he asked me to marry him. People said it wouldn't last, but here we are 19 years later!
There are so many reasons I love this man more and more every day. People don't believe me when I tell them that Jerry and I don't argue. But it is true. He is so easy-going, and he has taught this Finlander to be much more easy-going over the years! He helps me to see that whatever may happen, it is not the end of the world. Jerry has stood by me through every illness, surgery, or difficult physical time I've gone through. Truly, many people may have walked away. But those wedding vows - "in sickness and in health" really meant something to him. Jerry is a strong father. Adopting Shane when he was barely 3, he has loved him and taught Shane so many things. What an amazing quality in a husband! He has truly shared life with me in these 19 years, and I love him more and more every day for that. Jerry is my best friend, my soulmate, and the love of my life. Happy anniversary, honey!