"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....