Pass It on Card Ministry - First Give Away!

From Country Life in the Big City

I want to first thank all of you sweet ladies who said such wonderful things about the card that I made. Thank you so much! I am really feeling the blessings of this ministry already and this is my first card give away! I also want to thank Kathy again for letting me be apart of her Pass It On ministry. Plus, I have wonderful news! Kathy has had another person come forward asking to join the ranks! Please be sure to visit Janet's blog at Janet Creations and also the founder Kathy's blog at Pass It On.

Now for the fun part! I used the Random Number Generator at random.org and the random number that it picked from 1-7 was 3!!!! (I'm sorry, I don't know how to copy the generator graphic to show it to you here....) The third person to comment was Erika! Congratulations! I'll be contacting you soon to get your address and then I'll get your card in the mail to you. Then you get to do the fun part.....you get to Pass It On to someone who needs some TLC!

Thank you again, ladies, for visiting my blog, for your wonderful comments and for helping me to Pass It On!

I will be posting the next card soon, so be sure check back and to tell your friends. Be sure to visit Kathy and Janet's blogs, too!

Home Sweet Home - layout

I love to surf around and get inspiration from all of the amazing blogs out there. Here is where I found the idea for my latest layout. I thought that this was the neatest idea ever and even better because the challenge this week at Practical Scrappers was to use your punches! I had also saved the fabric sample that was attached to the package that the play house came in. When I saw that tag, I knew that I had to save it and use it on a layout! I added some blue/gray ribbon to to look like smoke coming from the houses chimney. This layout also meets one of the October assignments at the Yahoo! group ScrapFromYourStash to use brads, flowers and handwritten journaling.

I'm hoping to get more scrapping done this afternoon! I hope you are able to craft today, too!

Bake Sale Madness - part 2 - Salted Nut Roll Bars

Okay, so how yummy does this look? Oh wow. These are SO GOOD!!!!!! You have to totally forget about your eating-well plan when you look at these.....they are oozing with butter. lol This is the second thing that I made for my churches bake sale tomorrow. I packaged them the same way as I did the Sweet Trail Mix, except I placed each square on top of a food-safe doily to pretty it up a little bit more. This is another easy recipe and makes a lot. I usually don't cut them into pieces this big, but since it was for a bake sale, I made them larger squares. I usually cut them half this size and that's plenty because they are so rich!

Salted Nut Roll Bars-

1 package yellow cake mix
2/3 cup or 11 tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg
1 bag miniature marshmallows
2/3 cup corn syrup
12 oz. peanut butter chips
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
2/3 cups dry roasted peanuts

Crust-
Mix dry cake mix with the 2/3 cup of melted butter and the egg. Put into a greased jelly roll pan. ( I line my pan with parchment paper). Use your hands/fingers to press the mixture to the edges and to make as even as you can. Bake at 350F degrees for 14 minutes. It will NOT be done. Sprinkle crust with marshmallows, covering evenly. Return to the oven, bake for 8 minutes. Cool.

Combine the corn syrup, peanut butter chips, peanut butter, 1/4 cup butter and vanilla in a saucepan and cook on low/medium until melted and mixed well. Stir often. Do not over cook. Pour this mixture over the marshmallow layer evenly. Sprinkle with peanuts. Let cool and cut into bars.

Yum.

Here's how mine turned out and are all ready to go to the bake sale!

Bake Sale Madness - part 1 - Sweet Trail Mix

Do you remember my talking about frantically searching for 2 recipes yesterday? Well, here's why. I wanted to make them for a bake sale at our church tomorrow. It is during a craft boutique, so I thought that this Sweet Trail Mix would be easy to snack on while walking around and looking at all of the beautiful items for sale. I put 1 1/4 cups of mix each cello-bag and I got about 22 bags per recipe. I did make two batches of this and for two reasones: 1- It is SOOO good! 2- It is SOOO easy! lol Here's the recipe:

Sweet Trail Mix-

2 sticks of butter
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 box of Crispix cereal - or generic brand - either is fine
2 cups peanuts
1 bag of M&M's - the big bags in the candy aisle - not the little ones you find by the cash register

Before starting, tear off a couple of big sheets of wax paper or aluminum foil and place them on your counter to make one big sheet. You will need this to pour the hot mixture onto so that it can cool.

1. Empty the box of Crispix and peanuts into a brown paper grocery bag. Give it a good shake to mix.

2. In a medium sauce pan, bring the first three ingredients to a boil. Boil for three minutes. Remove the pan from heat and then add the vanilla and baking soda. Stir well.

3. Pour the mixture over the cereal. fold over the bag several times and give it a good shake. Be careful, because the syrup is VERY HOT and the bag will get hot in your hands. I try to hold it by the top where its rolled up and then use my other hand to help flip the bag from side to side and upside down and back.

4. Place the bag in the microwave. Cook on high for 2 1/2 minutes.

5. Remove the bag from the microwave and shake well again.

6. Place the bag back into the microwave and cook on high for 2 1/2 minutes.

7. Remove the bag from the microwave and shake well again. Pour the mixture out onto waxed paper or foil. Use a metal spatula to spread the mixture out as much as you can and to help break it up a bit. Once it is cooled, break apart clumps with your hands. Pour into a big bowl and add the M&M's.

8. Put into an air-tight container or big Zip-loc bag. Enjoy!!!

Here is how I packaged them for the bake sale!

It's a sickness.......

......it really is. I am totally addicted to collecting recipes. I admit it and here's the proof. A tub full of them, 3 binders and a file box. All of them are full of recipes. The sad thing is this.....I have thrown a lot of them away. And I do mean A LOT! And, even worse. This doesn't include any cookbooks. Those are tucked all over my house and when we moved recently, I was forced to face the fact that I had way too many of them and I ended up purging out several hundred cookbooks from my collection. It's amazing what moving into a smaller house does to your collections of "stuff". lol If you're wondering why they are all sitting on top of my table....it's because I was desperately searching for a recipe this morning. Well over an hour worth of searching, too! I was trying to find two recipes that I've had forever. I knew exactly what they looked like, what type of paper they were on and how they were printed out. Every detail. Excpet the most important one. Where they were! I am happy to report that I did finally find them. But, this has made me see that I really, really need to do something about this mess. So, this is what I'll be doing for awhile. Organizing my recipes. I have a few ideas that I'm working on and I will be sure to share.

I hope that I'm not the only person who's addicted to collecting recipes. And the crazy thing is that there is no possible way that I will ever be able to make them all. lol It sure is nice to know that I just might have that perfect recipe filed away and waiting for me to make it.....as long as I can find it first!

Fridge Raider - scrapbook layout

Yeah! I was able to do a scrapbook page today and complete two different challenges! The first challenge is from a great Yahoo! group that I'm in called ScrapFromYouStash. Each month, there are 4 different challenges and the biggest and best thing about this group, is that it focuses on using up your stash. The first challenge was to use any of the sketches from the October PageMaps. The second challenge that I was able to meet with this layout was this weeks challenge at Practical Scrappers. Another totally awesome blog that is all about using up the stuff you already have. This weeks focus is Punches! I was thrilled to see that, because I have a TON of them and I do not use them as much as I should.

I'm off to do some more crafting! I hope you're all having a wonderful day as well!

Pass It on Card Ministry

The Lord works in wonderful ways and I am thrilled that He has led me to meeting Kathy and her new ministry of sharing called - Pass It On. I have been asking God if there is anything else that I'm supposed to do with the grace of creativity that He has given me. I do a lot of things for myself and my family, like scrapbooking, but I still have been feeling a little empty and like I'm not using this grace to the fullest. Then I found Kathy's site and read about the ministry that she felt called to start and I knew instantly that this was an answer to my prayers! So, I wrote Kathy and asked her if I could help and be a card hostess for her ministry. I am excited to say that she accepted my request for help. I've only known Kathy for a little while, but I can tell you that she is a very kind and wonderful person and I truly believe that her ministry of sharing will help touch those in need of some love and support. Please read about Kathy's vision here and be sure to share this ministry with all of your friends and loved ones who would like to win a handmade card to share with others. Remember, that's what this is all about.....to Pass It On!

To start, I will be posting a new card on Monday morning. Leave me a comment and on Friday morning I will pick a random winner and I will mail the winner their card as soon as I receive their mailing address. Then, and this is the most important part of the whole ministry......the winner needs to send that card to someone who needs it. Someone who could use some words of support, get well wishes, of thanks.....someone you love. That's the really fun part of this whole ministry! We have all gotten so wrapped up in this world of technology that we live in and what a wonderful surprise for someone to receive a handmade card in their real mailbox! So, I hope that you tell your friends about Kathy and my blog and join in on this wonderful ministry. Let's see how many people we can bless with these cards!

Here is the card I am offering this week:

The inside of this card says:

Your kindness touches my heart.

You have until Friday morning to comment. I will be picking a random winner at noon Central time on Friday. Thank you so much for helping me Pass It On!!!

p.s.- If I have enough interest, I will offer more cards during the week for you to Pass On..... ;-)

embellished - digi layout - The Paper Cut - Challenge #2

I can't even begin to share with you how busy my day was today.....whew! We were running non-stop all day long. I had a couple of volunteer jobs at church today, plus one of my daughter's was in the Science Olympics at one of the local high schools. Add on top of that a quick run to buy my son some shorts, then to Border's for a book for my daughter, and Burger King for a much-needed order of french fries, and you can see that I was really glad to finally get home this evening! I was really glad to finally get to sit down tonight and to work on this digital layout for the non-Twilight version of Challenge #2 at The Paper Cut. This challenge was to do a layout answering the question: "What kind of a scrapper are you?" So here's what I came up with:
Journaling says:

My scrappy style
is sometimes....
simple
busy
colorful
monochromatic
girly
masculine
vintage
trendy
but always.....
embellished

The other part of the challenge was to work in some of the logos of scrapping supplies that you use, but I really couldn't do that with this layout and make it look the way I wanted it to. I believe that Challenge #3 will be posted tomorrow and I can't wait to see what it is! I sure do love a fun challenge! This layout was done with the Blossom Kit by Shabby Princess, with the exception of the blue, check bow which is from the Hugs n' Kisses Kit by Weeds & Wildflowers Designs.

It's been a long and crazy weekend for me and I'm hoping that things will calm down a bit with the school week starting up again. How was your weekend?

Oh, I have some really exciting news that I will be sharing with you all this week sometime. I have been given a wonderful opportunity to help in a new ministry of sharing and I will tell you all about it soon!

in denial - digi layout - The Paper Cut - Twilight Challenge #2

Well, I am really having fun doing the challenges at The Paper Cut! This layout is for Challenge #2 - to scrap what type of a Twilight fan you are. I'm going to do their non-Twilight challenge next, which is to scrap what type of a scrapper you are. Everything is pretty much from the Yours Truly Kit by Shabby Princess!

Journaling says:

I have to admit that sometimes I am a little
embarrassed that I am a bigger fan of the
Twilight books than my teenage daughters are.
There is now way that I like these books more
than they do! I’m a mom, for heavens sake!
So, I guess I will keep pretending that the
books are just okay. How can I ever admit
the truth? That maybe I wonder what it
would be like to live in Forks, what it would
be like to be Bella....to be Edward’s girlfriend.
I sound just like I was a teenage girl.....
But do I ever really wonder those things?
Things like that? Me? Never!

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend and finding some time to be creative!

love @ first sight - digi layout - The Paper Cut Twilight Challenge

I can't tell you how much fun I had doing this layout! This is for the Chapter 1 Challenge at The Paper Cut. I couldn't resist doing the non-Twilight version of the challenge. I knew that I had an awesome story to tell and that it was something that I needed to document, for sure! My poor husband was really curious when I texted him yesterday while he was at work asking him if I had the right song in my mind that he used to po-go to at the skating rink and what his DEVO t-shirt looked like. He acted like he had no idea what I was talking about! lol We were pretty crazy back then, that's for sure! Oh, the 80's......what a totally awesome time to be a teen!

It took me awhile to find the right paper to use, but once I did this layout came together to perfectly. I was at first looking at black or off-white, but it just wasn't working for me. Once I saw this notebook paper, I knew that's what I needed to. Everything is from a super-cute (and FREE!) kit called School Itty Bitty Kit from Three Paper Peonies, except the alpha for the word "first". This is from the kit called Awakening by TaylorMade Designs. I also had fun using Pea Deliah's Doodles from a font at Fonts for Peas, and I've never used doodles before! They add the right touch to my notebook paper, don't you think? I don't have any pictures from way back then, so I found some images on the internet and used them for this layout.

Journaling says:
I remember the first time that I saw Joe so well. Christine Nelson & I were at Skateport. There wasn’t really anything to do in Springfield when you were a teenager, besides go roller skating. But, that’s where I first saw Joe. He always wore his black DEVO t-shirt & gray parachute pants. Every time they played the song “Turn Around” by DEVO, Joe & his good friend, Andy Havens, would pogo around the skating rink & always during the middle of the song, they would go to the center of the rink, lay on the floor & do the jerk. Oh, I was totally in love with him right after I first laid my eyes on him! He was such a rebel & I was hooked! It took a month or so for us to actually meet & that part is kind of fuzzy but I am pretty sure that Christine had something to do with it! But, it wasn’t long before Joe & I were “going together”. We were quite an item.....and we still are! We spent many a weekend after that going to Skateport together. That was quite awhile ago, but Joe will always be my New Wave sweetie & I’ll always be his Punk Rock Girl.
We owe it all to Skateport.........oh, and probably Christine, too!

This was such a fun layout to do! I really need to do more of these about my teen years........there are so many stories that I could tell!!!

First Site - layout - Twilight Challenge @ The Paper Cut

So this one I just had to do for fun. I ran across this blog, The Paper Cut, and it's all about scrapping your addiction the Twilight books. First of all, I am not addicted to these books. lol Yes, I have read them all and they are quite easy to get sucked into. So, I don't consider myself a Twilight addict, just a Twilight fan who loves a fun challenge and so I decided to join in on these challenges at The Paper Cut. I have to admit that I did start rereading the first book a few nights ago. I wanted something easy to read that I could get lost in, and for some strange reason, this book fits the bill. I don't really quite know why I like the books, but there is some odd magic about the story that really pulls you in. I'm not quite sure what it is......maybe I'll figure it out as I do these challenges each week at The Paper Cut.

Journaling says:

I resisted for a long time. I saw the book
everywhere I went. It wasn’t easy to ignore.
Then, I started seeing more & more ladies
posting on their blogs about how they were
reading the Twilight Books & how addicting
they were. So, I finally caved in & bought
the first book. Like I said, it took me awhile.
I think that Book 3 was already out when
I finally decided to go downstairs at my
favorite book store, The Bookworm, to their
children’s section, & pick up Twilight for
the first time. I really don’t know what it
is about this book that makes it so addicting.
I honestly don’t think that it’s written that
well. It is written for teenagers, & at a very
easy reading level. Lots of short sentences
make up each paragraph. But, there is
something about it. Something about the
characters. Something about Bella. Something
about Edward. So, after that I was hooked.
It only took me a couple of days to read
the first book, so I went right out & bought
the second & then the third.. I had to wait
awhile for Book 4....and then there was the
movie. I’m actually rereading Book One
right now. And quickly becoming lost in
the story of Edward & Bella the magic that is
Twilight

If you enjoy the Twilight books and are looking for something fun and different to scrap, then I highly recommend you visiting The Paper Cut blog. The really neat thing, is that even if you aren't a fan of the books or say you are but don't want to do your pages about Twilight, they have non-Twilight twists to each weeks challenge. So, anyone can play along!

Here's what their blog says:

Twilight Chapter One : {First Sight}

How did you find Twilight? Was it recommended or introduced to you by a friend? Did the cover draw you in from afar? Tell us how you came across the series and how you fell in love with it....because we know you did!

Challenge: Use a picture of yourself and/or one of the Twilight books or the Twilight DVD.

For those of you non Twilighters:

If you haven't experienced the phenomenon of Twilight, feel free to express how your found your love or fascination with something or someone. Let's elaborate on the name of Chapter One, First Sight. How did you fall in love with ______?

Non Twi Challenge: Use a picture of yourself and a picture or something that represents your "something or someone."

I hope it's okay that I copied that here! Please visit The Paper Cut if you'd like to join in on the fun there! I'm having a lot of fun looking at everyone's pages that they have done and enjoying rereading Twilight at the same time!

Family Favorite Recipe - Crock-Pot Ranch Stew

We had this for dinner last night. Ranch Stew in the crock-pot. This is one of the recipes that my Mom used to make all of the time. I remember coming home from school and having the house full of the aromas of this cooking all day in the crock-pot. This is comfort food. I used to pick out the beans and pieces of tomatoes, but I don't do that any more! lol I do substitute Morningstar Farms Meal Starters Grillers Recipe Crumbles though for the ground beef and it works wonderfully in this recipe. I haven't eaten red meat since 1991 and love having these products so that I can fix my favorite childhood (and ground beef loaded) recipes in a veggie-friendly way. The canned corn, beans and tomatoes are the regular-sized cans. Not the big ones. I'm sorry, but I don't know the ounces for them. I just grab what my mom did. lol I'm guessing they are around 14 oz cans. The ones a bit bigger than a can of soup..... ;-)

Ranch Stew-

1 pound of ground beef (or the equivalent in veggie ground beef crumbles)
1 chopped onion
1 chopped green bell pepper
1 can corn- drained
1 can red beans- rinsed and drained
2 cans chopped tomatoes
1-2 teaspoons chili powder

Saute beef (or "beef" crumbles) onion, and green bell pepper in some oil in a big skillet. Meanwhile, add corn, beans, tomatoes to the crock-pot and turn to medium heat. After the meat is cooked and the onions and bell peppers are soft, add the mixture to the crock-pot along with the chili powder. Stir well. Let cook for 5 or 6 hours. You can turn your crock-pot to low and let it cook all day, if you want. Stir every now and then, if you're home. Serve on top of some cooked rice. Yum. You can also top this with some shredded cheese, if you like, but I like it just the way it is.

Leftovers are so yummy. I'm having some right now actually!
Enjoy!

Office Supply Challenge layout- Practical Scrappers

Somehow I managed to get this layout done this afternoon! My little one was giving me quite a run for my money while I was working on it. lol She was having just a little bit too much fun with my scrapping goodies and figured out how to open the little containers that have all of my eyelets in them. Plus, it's just hard to work with a little one beside you, getting into everything your trying to use, and moving things on you when you're not looking! But, I persisted and look what I did! I finished the challenge at Practical Scrappers to use office supplies on your layout or card. I chose brads and used them to hold down the fabric and lace and also as centers to a couple of the flowers.
I did some surfing around last night in some of the scrapping galleries and I was definately influenced by the current trend of tearing and rolling the edges of the paper to create frames and shapes. I used a big bowl to help me make the circle and a small, wooden kabob skewer to help me roll the edges of the paper and curl it.
I also made the fabric flower from some of my fabric scraps. I frayed the edges with a razor blade and used a brad to hold the circles together. Then I cut out a few leaves from some pretty, green felt and sewed a straight stitch through the middle of each leave with some lighter green DMC floss.

All of the other flowers are Prima and I added a small rhinestone to the center of each. I also rubbed the lace with some brown ink, to antique it up a bit.

I had a lot of fun doing this challenge and I hope to work on another one soon! Maybe a card will be next!

time for some creative therapy....

It's been one of those days.....

It sure doesn't help that it's been raining, again....gloomy....again....cold, again.....

So, I am going to try to make some time for some much-needed creative therapy today. Dinner is in the crock-pot, the kitchen is clean, my bed is made, laundry is going.....it's time for some fun. I plan on sharing the recipe for tonight's dinner later; after I can get a picture of it. It's Ranch Stew in the crock-pot and one of my favorite comfort foods from when I was a child.

I have some fun challenges in mind and here's what I'd like to start working on today:

• Practical Scrappers - Office Supply Challenge - I think I'm going to use some brads :-)
  
• The Paper Cut - Twilight Challenges - Chapter 1 - I want to do this totally for fun and just for me. I have read all of the books. I wouldn't say that I'm a die-hard fan, but they were fun to read and these challenges look like they'll be lots of fun. The awesome thing is that they also have a non-Twilight spin on the challenge, so you haven't read the book or have but don't want to do the Twilight-themed challenges, you can still play along!
• ScrapFIT: Workout #6 - This is a new challenge blog that I recently found and this looks like a fun challenge!

Look at what I found also, while doing some blog surfing last night:
\

New album from Prima Wow! Look at those pages!
A neat way to add texture with paint from Studio Calico - I need to try this!
Look at these darling pumpkins! These would look cute on my mantle!

Okay, I know that I found more, but my free time is going fast! Before I know it, it will be dinner time. Take care and I hope you're all having a wonderful day!

Family Favorite Recipe - TGI Friday's Broccoli Cheese Soup

It's been quite awhile since I've shared any recipes, so I thought that I would share one of our favorite soup recipes today. It's a copycat recipe for TGI Friday's Broccoli Cheese Soup and it is SO good!!!! I usually let this sit and simmer on low on the stove for quite awhile. At least 30 minutes or so. I ALWAYS make a double batch, too! This is so good served with a salad and some good bread. Enjoy!

TGI Friday's Broccoli Cheese Soup-

• 4 cups broth - veggie or chicken
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup half-and-half cream
• 5 slices of American cheese
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon dried onion flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 cups broccoli florets in bite-size pieces
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (to garnish)
• 2 teaspoons minced parsley (to garnish)

Combine the broth, water, half and half, cheese, flour, onion and pepper in a large stock pot. Whisk to combine and to break up any lumps of flour, then turn the heat to medium/high. Bring the soup to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Stir often. Add the broccoli to the soup and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the broccoli is tender and the soup is thickened. Serve soup sprinkled with some cheddar cheese and fresh chopped parsley on top.

layouts from this weekend.....

Gracie's Comfy Couch

Gracie got this little couch for Christmas last year and it's by far the neatest thing ever! She loves it and everyone has fun sitting in it with Gracie. It's pretty comfortable, too! We found it at Wal-Mart and I'm pretty sure that she'll get a lot of use out of it for several years to come. I'm actually kind of so-so on this layout. Maybe because I was working on it at 3 a.m. and not thinking straight. lol This morning, I took it apart and put it on the light blue card stock. It was on a coordinating floral paper and it was just too much for my eyes to handle. It does look a lot better, but I'm not loving it. I think it's the paper.....I do love the paper, but I think it's the colors that are getting to me. Oh well! I'm being silly and too picky! It's cute and most importantly, it's DONE! lol

Gracie, Our Santa Baby

I love these felt poinsettia's that I found on clearance at Archiver's!

Oh, Oh, Ohh!

This one will take a bit of explaining. lol Gracie loves music and every morning we would watch music videos on TV. She absolutely LOVED the Beyonce song "Single Ladies". And, they used to show the video A LOT, so she would dance around the living room and sing, "Oh, Oh, Oh!" a long with Beyonce. You could also watch it on-line and as soon as I showed her that we could do that, she wanted to watch it all of the time! She even sang it in the car! lol The video is black & white, so that's why I chose to do black & white for this layout. Silly, but fun! lol

Me & You

I had printed out this photo of me and my husband on New Years Eve awhile ago and the other night when I was scrapping and ran across this paper in my stash, I knew that it was perfect for this picture! The arrow ended up being pretty grundge and I wasn't meaning it to. lol I had painted it marron first and didn't like it, so I tried to then paint it light pink and it just wasn't turning out like I wanted it to. So, I tried to wipe off the pink paint and it only came off half of the arrow. So, I decided to put glue all over it and cover the whole thing in light pink glitter. You can still see the marron paint through it and I think it turned out pretty neat. A happy accident, that's for sure! The "Me & You" part that I highlighted in the circle were not colored in originally. I used a blender pen and my Stampin' Up markers to color it in, so that it stood out more.

So that's it for my productive, scrappy weekend! I hope you enjoyed looking at these, because I really had a good time scrapping them. Now, I REALLY need to sit and start putting my layouts into albums! I am embarassed to admit that I have a VERY, VERY tall stack of layouts that are not in albums.......all of this work and they are stacked up in my closet. Oh, how sad is that???? Does anyone else seem to have this problem? I really need to just start using those 40% off coupons and picking up an album every other week or so......it's a shame that we can't enjoy them because they are hidden away.

I hope you all have a blessed and beautiful Autumn day!

Our sweet, litle Grace - digi layout

Wow! What a weekend I have had! My husband was away on business from Thursday through Sunday, so I have had many sleepless nights. I just dont' sleep well when he's gone. And, then our computer server went belly-up on Saturday, so I was without internet until this morning. I did spend all of Saturday night (until after 3 a.m.!) scrapping! I don't have photos of the layouts yet, so that I can share, but I did get one digital layout done and have it here for you all to see.
This is my little Gracie when she was a less than 2 months old. This is the photo that was used for her birth announcements. I remembered seeing this idea in a Martha Stewart magazine ages ago and never forgot it. I sure didn't ever think that I was going to be able to use the idea for my own baby announcement. Gracie was our surprise gift from God.....that's why we named her Grace, which means "gift from God". Her birth information was printed out onto an iron-on sheet with my computer and then ironed onto her onesie. It looks almost looks like the info was typed onto the picture in a photo editing program, but it's not. It's on her clothes. lol This is another absolutely beautiful kit that I got the other night by Shabby Miss Jenn Designs. And, it's called "Gracie's Garden". How fitting is that? Another reason why I had to buy it. lol

I'll be sharing more soon! I hope you're all having a beautiful day! We have sunshine and blue skies!!!! It is so wonderful to see after being stuck under gloomy, cloudy skies for almost 2 weeks!

Autumn - digital layout

I got a couple of Autumn digi kits at Shabby Miss Jenn Designs and I just had to sit down tonight and play with them. I absolutely LOVE Autumn and everything about it and I just couldn't resist getting the beautiful kits offered there! I am a huge fan of all things vintage, so the kits offered at Shabby Miss Jenn Designs are right up my alley!!!!

A surprising visitor

I had quite a shock this afternoon when I looked out our living room windows to see this huge bird sitting on the fence! I ran and grabbed my camera, but I didn't have my zoom lens on and couldn't get a good picture of him, as you can see from the bad photo above. I did get my zoom lens on my camera but by the time that I made it back into the living room, I either startled him or he finally got tired of the squirrel chirping him out from the ground in front of him. Our squirrels are VERY possessive of their front yard. Notice I said, "their" front yard! They chirp at us all of the time when we go in the yard! lol I pulled out my old bird field guide and I think that it's a Peregrine Falcon. After doing some googling, I found this page that talks a bit about them. I am surprised that this is what it might be, because it says that they are endangered. Whatever it was, it sure was a majestic-looking bird! I'm not sure if he will ever visit again, but I sure hope that he does. I have my camera ready!

family - layout - Practical Scrappers weekly challenge

Here's another one for this weeks challenge at Practical Scrappers to use lace card stock. I had a lot of fun with this challenge and I'm anxious to see what next weeks challenge will be!

I had my scanner out, so I decided to use it to scan my layout. Yes, we are having yet another cloudy/rainy/gloomy day here. It is really starting to bring me down. It seems like it's been forever since we saw the sun and blue sky!

For this layout I cut a strip of the lace card stock to go across the width of the page and I also cut out a couple of extra snowflakes to use as accents. I added a few felt snowflakes and fastened them together with colored brads. For the title, I rubbed a silver Brilliance ink pad over the chipboard word and then heat set the ink with my embossing gun. Then I added a smashed bottle cap that I had added a punched circle to the center of that says "Pikes Peak, Dec ;08". I put a few pieces of red, ribbon scraps behind the bottle cap and that's about it!

I'm hoping to spend the evening scrapping and I hope that you are all able to spend some time being creative today, too!

Without You - layout - Practical Scrappers weekly challenge

First of all, please, please excuse the horrible photo of my layout! We are having yet ANOTHER gloomy and rainy day here and I can't get a decent photo whatsoever. I've tried and tired, but it's just too icky and dark outside. I need some sunshine and blue skies!

Okay, so I really wanted to use some "real" lacy card stock that is the challenge for this week at Practical Scrappers. I had a sheet of semi-lacy card stock and I used it for this layout. But, I kept seeing all of these fantastic pages done with the real lacy kind and I just had to try it, too. lol I know, I know......I'm making excuses. I just needed an excuse to go out and buy some, because I didn't have any! lol
So, here's my layout using some lacy card stock. I didn't use as much of it as I originally thought that I would, but I stumbled upon this transparency sheet, because I still had them sitting out from doing an older challenge at Practical Scrappers to use transparencies. I really thought that it went great with this photo that I had of me and Joe holding hands while driving to church one Sunday morning.

The transparency says:

Without you I'd be lost
a ship without a sail
a nest without an egg
a tree without a root
a home without a heart
A soul without a mate.
I cut one strip from the lace card stock and put that underneath the photo and transparency across the bottom. I wanted to do something more and then it hit me that highlighting the words "soul" and "mate" would look really neat. So, I took some pink acrylic paint and brushed it across the back of the transparency. I really love how that turned out!
The heart is corrugated and I added all sorts of things to it. The light pink hearts were cut from the lace card stock. I wrapped it with some ribbon and I added a couple of plastic tags tied with ribbon, punched red hearts, a rhinestone and then letter stickers for our initials.

The next piece of lace card stock that I have is snowflakes and I can't wait to work on that one next! Hopefully this evening during nap time!