Out For The Holidays

Happy Holidays from my family to yours!


I hope you all have the best holiday season ever! We're off to Wisconsin for a week and then, finally, we are moving into our new house! YEAH!!! I'll be back on in a week or so with more fun stuff to share!

Enjoy your special time with your family!

Brian, Michelle & Breanna

Until next time.....

Crafting Fool....

Yep, that's me! I'm still going strong making and finishing up gifts to give away.
So tonight was supposed to be my book club night but, darn weather decided I needed to do other things so I didn't get to go. Our roads here in Ohio were very icy and yucky to travel home on. Black ice really intimidates me, especially after fishtailing out of the parking lot tonight going home! I stayed put when I finally got home! LOL! So I worked on more gifts! This time it's little candy bowls that I found at my grocery store of all places! Sometimes you can find the neatest things in a grocery store or drugstore if you just look! I found these glass bowls made by Libby Glass and they came with a lid to seal them shut. The best part?! They were only $1 each! I could kick myself for not buying more and for not buying myself any! That really stinks! Anyway, since I have been sick the last week(long story to include 2 ER trips - ugh!) I thought I'd be better off buying my treats to fill them with instead of making it! I got chocolate covered pretzels and trail mix! Not a bad combo I think! Here are some pictures of the bowls. I also put a picture of how I packaged some cute little bottles of hand sanitizer for a couple of ladies I wanted to give a little something to as well!

Stamps - "Roses in Winter" from SU, 3 different blue inks, sanitizer is from Bath and Body Works


Stamps - "Merry & Bright" from SU, Black Stazon ink, SU paper, SU markers, Nestabilities scalloped circles and plain circles, Target $1 Spot vortex Snowflakes. Don't you love the little pom pom too! They are SO cute!


Snowmen Close-Up


Remember my penguin from Michaels? Well this is one of his friends I picked up because I knew it was perfect for these bowls! How can you resist cuteness like this at only $1?! I can't obviously! I used SU papers and inks, Nestabilities scalloped squares and more cute little pom poms. I put stickles on their antlers but you can't really see it.


Reindeer close up


I know the pictures are a little on the "cr@%%y" side but I was tired and wasn't going to pull out my "stuff". Lazy I know but, well I'm past being up 17 hours right now and am heading to bed! LOL!

Until next time....

I'm a Thief......

Crazy girl say what?! LOL! Yep, I went to this great blog, Creative Antics, and the last entry?! Totally stole it for my blog, yes, for you dear sweet readers of my blog I committed a crime! LOL! Well, okay not really since I did tell her I was doing it....that makes it okay right?! Anyway, this made me laugh so hard as I can turn around, look at my mess and totally see it happening to me! Read on so you'll know what I'm talking about!


Twas the night before Christmas, I was glued to the tree.
I was wondering what Santa had brought just for me.
Could it be cardstock or chipboard or lace?
Or a Cuttlebug, I thought, with a smile on my face.

And that's when I heard him..."Hi Santa," I said.
"You know, good little girls should be asleep in their beds."
"I know I should Santa, and now I've been caught.
But I was just so excited to see what you brought."

"Well, let's take a look in this room where you work."
He shook his head quickly, and then left with a jerk.
I heard him exclaim, as he put it in gear.
"You've got enough crap, I'll see you next year!"

Cute isn't it?! This line however ""You know, good little girls should be asleep in their beds", would explain why I was really still awake when Santa came!! LOL!

Enjoy!

Until next time....

Easy Peasy Photo Album

Okay, when I said that title to myself it sounded good! Now I'm thinking "does that conjure up a picture of mushy peas?"! LOL! Anyway, I thought I'd share a few of the fast gift ideas I have in case you could use them too! These are also inexpensive since I usually am either adding them to another pile of gifts or need about a 100 to gift out for friends! So, this year for my Dad I got him a couple of shirts - boring right?! Well I try to add a little fun something in there for him and I found a neat little light up magnifier for one box but needed something for the other one. This past September when he came up to walk the 5K with my daughter and I, and then be at the finish line when we all finished, we took a ton of pictures! I thought to myself "what a great gift opportunity! I took one of those little photo albums that are plastic with a cheesy cardboard insert in the front of something goofy and turned it into an album so he can always look back and remember the fun of the weekend of the marathon! My cost?! $3 is pretty much all I spent for this gift. The album itself was $2 and the Air Force paper was a $1, the sticker quotes, brads, and all the paper are scraps from other projects! How can you beat that?! I did use a Kodak machine to print my pictures. I chose the 2"x3" option that makes 4 per normal size print. It's a great option when you need to put a lot of pictures in one spot!. My cost for these photo albums was probably around $1.50 but check your store in case $$ is different!

Before and a still before but not quite as before as before....make sense?! LOL! Aaahh my world...it's a happy place! LOL! Anyway...


The final cover


A couple of the inner pages using a variety of scraps I had, literally, lying around! Don't forget, if you really want to, click on the pictures to enlarge them!





Photo album - $3
Photo printing - $1.50
Weekend of fun and memories - priceless!

Now, to make one for my brother too!

Until next time....

Holiday Funny

With all your stress from the holidays going on do you need a laugh? My daughter sent me a picture of her cat and, well, a vision popped into my head, so I had fun with it! I feel like this way too! LOL! Enjoy the picture and the laugh!



Until next time....

19 Days and Counting.....

Yep! We only have 19 days until we close and the rush to move is upon us again! This time we'll be freezing our hineys off! I think I gotta work though...yeah that's it..I gotta work! LOL! We'll be having a painting party at our place too, still waiting for all those offers to help us paint...not too late! Anyway, here is another, much better picture of the outside and a picture of the fireplace!

The hard part about this tile is trying to match a paint color for the wall! Yikes! I can't tell you how many paint swatches I've come home with!


I don't think they can finish the outside paint until the temperature gets back up a lot higher then it has been here!


Well, that's the house up until now!

Until next time....

Penguin Prettiness

Is it just me or is Michael's really getting some uber cute stamps these days in their $1 bin?! I've gotten quite a few good ones including this adorable little penguin! I don't know if I hadn't been taught how to use my Stamp Ma Jig by my friend Bobbye that I would like it as much! I was able to perch this little fella on top of my words just right! I had made these to go in a gift basket at work and could not remember to bring them in! So, they're still going to work just now they'll be in the hands of my awesome co-workers who helped out with the "Adopt-A-Family"! So do you want to see him?!! Then take a look below;




I hope you like him! All the paper came from SU the DP however, is from last year! I think though if you're in some of the other countries that it is available over there. At least I think I've seen it used on some of their projects! I used my Cuttlbug and Swiss Dot folder for the green and I got the snowflakes at Target! Love that Dollar Vortex at Target! LOL! It just sucks me right in!

Until next time....

We're Almost There.....

I'm so excited to post this - we have a final walk through date! YEAH!!! Painting party at my house for New Years Eve! We sign our lives over on the 30th and start moving in right after that! YEAH!!! I'm going to bust!! Here are some pictures of our last visit that shows some pretty good progress too!

Here's that girl again! Posing as if she's holding briefcase with a million dollars! LOL! A little stain and that banister is done!


Here's where I'll be drinking my morning coffee soon!! We have wood floors but for the sake of construction they're covered up to prevent damage...


This is where I'll be making my specialty - blackened chicken! Ha ha ha! Maybe I should say I should be saying it's where I'll be fulfilling the nutritional needs of my family! LOL!


Isn't it pretty! My creative space is where the window is on the second story! Isn't my honey the sweetest! He gave me my own room!


Well, thats it for this week!

Until next time....

"Tis The Season

You know how when you first start at a job and you meet all sorts of people and you wonder "how am I going to fit in?" Each day goes by, you get a little more comfortable but you still wonder who your co-workers really are, I mean outside of being great co-workers (that was evident early on) but you really want to "know them"! Know what I mean?! Well a message was sent out recently across the base that they were looking for people to "Adopt a Family" for Christmas. Well say no more! I hopped right on it and volunteered my co-workers (after asking my boss that is!) but only if they were interested! We wound up getting 2 families, 3 kids all together! Let me tell you the generosity of my co-workers was just amazing! I mean, really awesome! I had given the option of buying the gifts themselves or letting Breanna be their "personal shopper"! Much to her delight she was allowed to go shopping for the babies! Here are a few pictures of the babies "haul" that I'm wrapping up today!


Can you see why my boss said "WOW" when he walked into the conference room and saw this?! LOL!





See what I mean?! I know they all love knowing that through them these children will have an AWESOME Christmas and their parent(s) will have the best peace of mind knowing their kids are happy and that people really do care!

I know now that I have the best co-workers ever! I'm going to really love this place! My co-workers ROCK!

Until next time....!

I'm a German Shepherd!

Don't call me "Benedict" though! LOL! I'm on this rubber stamping list for Ohio Stampers and they share a lot of websites. Most of them are interesting and have to do with crafting, which is great, but this one had nothing to do with that at all! I thought it sounded like fun, so I tried it! It's a test to see what kind of dog you'd be! You've probably seen them before where they tell you what other things you would be after you answer a list of questions. Well, if you've done the others then try this one!LOL! I answered mine and they tell me I'm a German Shepherd! LOL! I guess I'm closer to the Pope than I thought! LOL! Here's the link if you'd like to try;



Woof, woof.... <--translate that to "Until next time...."!!

My Baby Has "Spirit"!

Yes she does, she's got spirit how 'bout you?! He he he! Couldn't resist that old cheer from high school! No I wasn't a cheerleader but, come on who doesn't know it?! A while back I mentioned having a surprise about my baby, which I think I partly gave away with this comment! Breanna tried out for, and made, the JV cheerleading squad at her school! I'm very proud of her for so many reasons! That takes a lot of courage being in such a judgemental world (she's already got some comments about it!) to try out on her own. It also let me know she really was okay with our move up here to Ohio. I know from experience it's hard to move in high school but she really did well with the transition! So anyway, indulge me in my "proud Momma" moment and check out her pictures! I took them at her game last night, her first one!


She totally indulged me here with a big cheesy grin!


She looks unsure here but, even so, she did great for her first game!



Great action shot from half time and at center court!


Can you tell I'm a proud Momma?! He he he! Thanks for indulging me!

Until next time....

Cards for my Babies...

Well okay, they're technically someone else's babies but....they're still my "babies" and I miss them SO much! When I was working at the elementary school I had lots of little "friends' that honestly were the main reason I actually stayed there! The hugs, the waves, the believing me when I say I'm only 29....these kids ROCK! I had two special ones though, more then special actually! I learned more from these two then I could have learned from anyone or any book for that matter! Adria is actually called DeDe and I've mentioned her on here before. She had cancer and I'm pretty sure she's cancer free now thankfully! This little girl was just a ray of sunshine to me! She would wave, smile and was always SO happy just skipping from block to block on the tiles down the hallway no matter where she was going! Sometimes she'd get in trouble because she's staring in the office windows waving at me! Her laugh was just infectous! She lived her life as though she had no worries in the world! Despite everything she had been through, cancer, losing a kidney, not to mention many other issues in her personal life, She just kept on smiling and was SO happy all the time! Anyway, she taught me to smile and be happy no matter what's going on and, somedays, that's a tough lesson to follow! Her brother is Owen, handsome young man who was so protective of his little sister it was amazing! He was so sweet and so hungry all the time! I enjoyed keeping snacks in my desk for them as they go so excited over them! Owen was good at making me laugh! I almost couldn't wait for the end of the day as I hoped they'd be in the office waiting for their Mom! Anyway, I made them a couple of cards to send them a little something to let them know I am thinking of them! Here's the two little sweethearts and their cards!

Doesn't DeDe have the prettiest eyes?! Owen's smile is so handsome!


Owen's card


Guess who this card is going to?!!


Well, now that I think I've made myself want to cry missing them I am off to other things! Enjoy my post!

Until next time....

WOO HOOO!!!

Guess what! Guess what!! I submitted some of my scrapbook layouts to a magazine (online) called "Scrapbook News & Reviews" and, typical me, forgot I did it! Well Sunday night I finally sat down to look at my email and saw a message saying they like my layout and would I give them permission to put it in their magazine! Well, YEAH! Then I realize the next day they actually wanted THREE of my layouts! I'm going to bust here! They took two of them that I had on here the one from my youngest daughter's first day of kindergarten, my parents cutting the cake at their wedding titled "Forever" and another I didn't post here called "Marathon"! So if you're looking through my blog and see this picture;



It just means that was one of the ones that got picked up! YEAH! I'll be sure to let you know when it goes out!

Until next time....

Pig in a Can - Again?!

I'm tickled pink! Pink as that pig in a can that is! LOL! Anyway I told Mandy from "Limelight Papercrafts" about my ornament holder idea and guess what?!! She loved it! I'm thrilled that she said that! Well when she asked if I could take better pictures for her I, of course, said "yes"! So, in case you wanted to see better pictures too....here's a couple more! I'll also include a little bit of directions how I did it too!







To get my ornament to stand up in the pail I simply had my husband put a hole in the lid large enough for me to get the string through. I then taped it down and went on decorating it! I used my Coluzzle and my scallop Nestabilities to make the circles and my newest SU punch for the scalloped border. The "bling" is from Michael's dollar area and Target's Dollar Vortex! I buy the rhinestone body tattoos they have there as I get more rhinestones that way and I've never had a problem with them falling off! If I think it's going to be possible I do use some Crystal Effects to hold them on! You can see I attached them to the plastic and then around the edge. I tied on a variety of ribbons to make it a little fancier too! Just think of all the possibilities!!

I hope you like the better pictures!

Until next time....

Bon Appetit - More of the "Good Stuff"!

A good friend is comforting sometimes, even if it is a rubber stamp! LOL! I decided to make another sample for the design team I am on just to keep myself busy (can I get any busier?! LOL!). I had gone to the Dollar Tree and found the neatest shadow box frame and knew I could do "something" with it! Do you ever do that?! Find good deals and buy it knowing you can do "something" with it?! Anyway, I took the frame and repainted it burgundy to match the ink and paper I chose for this project. Those are usually the hard part! I'm sort of OCD in the matching department! So, frame, paper, accessories, rubber stamps and, most importantly my idea I came up with this;

A good view of the whole thing!



Here is a close up of the leaves and dew drops. Can you believe I only used the leaves for this?! I love when an idea comes together!



I know I should have cleaned the glass first but I was so excited to share with you! LOL! I hope you like it!

Here's a list of what I used for this project;

* frame from the Dollar Tree (repainted from white)
* DP of my color choices which were burgundy, mustard yellow and brown
* dew drops
* Adirondack Ink - Woodlands
* Stazon Ink - Black
* Gold embossing powder
* Stamps "Bon Appetit" from The Rubber Cafe

Just in case you're wondering I used my "Stamp Ma Jig" to line the leaves up just right! It's way easier to use then I ever thought it would be! That is, of course due to my SU demo's patience to teach me well! LOL! Thanks Bobbye!
Until next time....

Great Christmas Ornament Idea

One day last week when my daughter and I were out shopping we came across a great gift for her to give her friend back in Virginia. This particular friend is fond of pigs, matter of fact her obsession with pigs rivals Breanna's obsession with cows! If you know Breanna then you know that's pretty obsessive! LOL! Anyway! It was a glass ornament, and pretty delicate, so in order to get it to her and have it make it safely through the gentle hands of the USPS (ha ha ha I'm so funny!) I had to come up with a way to have it make it there in one piece! Hhhmm, what to do, what to do... Ah HAH! I have had these cute little cans that I had ordered some time ago from Mandy over at "Limelight Papercrafts" sitting next to my computer desk crying out for attention! So, I thought why not make a little display for the ornament and, that way if she wanted, she could keep it out all year! Well, pink pig ornament, new pad of paper that I got from JoAnn's throw in some bling (girls gotta have her bling!) and some neat sparkly tags I got at JoAnn's (love that clearance section!) and VOILA! Show off piggy style! What do you think?!

Here she (hey, it's a pink pig so it's gotta be a girl!) is in the container





Here she is out of the container. The lucky recipients name is "Annie" hence the "A", or "a" rather, on the tag!



If you want to see what she's thinking you'll have to click on the photo to make it larger!

Well I hope I helped inspire you for a neat way to package an ornament!

Baby It's Cold Out There!

OOOOHHH my goodness! It's SO cold that it now takes me like 20 minutes to get ready to go! If you're wondering....yeah sometimes I do finally get all my gear on and darn it....I gotta go! LOL! Anyway, here's a picture of me just as I'm getting ready to head out the door -

**WARNING** - it ain't purty! LOL! I had on 3 layers up top and thick running pants too that were black with the reflective safety strip down the side!
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I was kind though! I uploaded the smallest version! LOL! How's the weather by you these days?! So now, how about a "challenge"?!! I dare you to make a card or an altered item using the colors of my gear?! Oh and since it's the season for all things sparkly, not to mention the flash caught my flourescent safety strip, how about adding come "bling" to it?! LOL! My bling is the blue stickles on the snowflakes. Here's my take on it;




Sorry for the picture being slightly blurry! I must still be shaking from the cold! LOL! To make this even more fun for more people (a couple of my readers are quilters and crocheters not card makers!) how about you make anything with these color choices, leave me a message and send me a picture or a link to a picture on your blog and I'll put your name in a drawing to win MY Card?! Oooh temptation......! LOL! Can you resist?!

Until next time....

New Gift Idea

Are the holidays approaching you as fast as they're coming at me?! I'm so not ready! LOL! I already have a bunch of parties I am going to and the one question that goes with all of them is "What do I bring for the hostess?" Well, how about a nice bottle of wine?! Yeah, I know, typical fall back on, "safe" gift - right?! Well how about we "buck it up a notch" and add a little gift holder to the bottle?! I used a tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers to create this little pouch of sorts. Take a look;



I used some great paper for this, the green is from "The Paper Co", the designer paper is from "My Minds Eye", the white is from SU. I simply stamped it with Stazon and colored it in with my coloring pencils! Easy peasy! Just think of it with some chocolates, which I would have put in there myself however two little mice in my house named Brian and Breanna ate it all....no surprise there, but it would also be a great idea for a gift card to a local supermarket so they can pick out some great cheese and breads to go with it! Your hostess would love you if she got this! The stamps?! Well, you're going to have to visit The Rubber Cafe to order your own! LOL! I have more coming with this set if you can believe it! The next one will knock your socks off so stay tuned!

P.S. - not being a drinker at all, I didn't have a bottle of wine to post with this picture! I'm so glad you all have great imaginations to think that beer bottle is something a little classier! LOL!

Saturday Fun

It feels good to be able to help others in their time of need doesn't it? Well, this past weekend we decided to do something different from our norm! We found out about the local food pantry our church supports and decided it was high time we helped out! Here are a few pictures I took while I was there! Guess they're not used to pictures being taken as I got a few funny looks!

That's one big can of tomato juice isn't it?! My honey sure does look handsome too!


Behind the scenes!


I'm glad we were there to help as when I asked how long this many bags would last they told me, about 2-3 hours! I'm SO thankful to be on the giving end! We sure are blessed!

Until next time....

All About....

Breanna?! Huh?! This was supposed to be more about the house but, yet, somehow, someone, managed to be in almost all the pictures! LOL! Funny how that happened! We stopped by the house this past weekend. Brian hadn't been able to stop by lately because of how busy his school work is keeping him and I'm too impatient to wait so I'd go without him! Here are a few more pictures of the house - no snow! YEAH!

Here's Breanna excited to see the front of the house all bricked up! I'm glad I'm not paying the heating bill with the door wide open!


This was supposed to be a shot of the kitchen cabinets in boxes but who's that sitting on them?! Last time she'll sit her fanny on my counters! LOL!


Can you believe this is the pantry?! Shocking!


No pictures of Breanna it is, however, a picture of her bathroom!


The tile guys were here putting in the tile! This poor guy couldn't run from the camera because I think the tiles were stuck to his hand! LOL!


Here's the King surveying his future domain.... and who's right behind him! LOL!


Well that is the house up till yesterday! As Breanna would say, it's still all about her and she was "looking good"! LOL!

Until next time....

Nitty Gritty

We're getting down to the nitty gritty on house details now! I'm SO excited! Soon we'll be moving from our long term hotel, otherwise known as the townhoue to what will hopefully be "Home Sweet Home" for a long while! I have been taking a lot of pictures but someone, who will remain nameless but is the only child still living at home with sticky fingers on my camera (okay breathe here...!) has been downloading them and not telling me where they are! So, without furter ado (and for those interested!) here are some more pictures of our house progress;


No, your screen isn't dirty! LOL! Those little white flecks are "SNOW"! Yep, I braved the elements for this shot!



Well, this contraption isn't our new home gym! It's how they get the ceilings done when they're a couple stories high!



I think, in this shot, they're counting down the weeks until I no longer come and bug them for pictures! Or, maybe it's just the drywall primed for painting....



So, I'm wondering, do you think the guy who wrote this on the doorframe, told his Mom that when he grew up he wanted to get paid to write on the wall?! LOL!



Well that was two weeks ago.......