My Miraculous Life

Papertrey Ink Blog Hop!

2011-02-11T22:01:00.001-08:00

Here is my tag with frame for today's challenge. Since its dark now, and I have no natural light, I have to scan my card in.

Thanks for peeking!!

Tree

PTI's Fourth Anniversary Celebration!!

2011-02-07T02:30:00.000-08:00

There's a great anniversary party going on here:

http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/

So many prizes and challenges! It's like heaven!

If you follow the link above, there is a free download and a challenge to create something from the download for a chance to win a spot as a guest stamp designer for Papertrey Ink!! Which is why I am up at 4:00 in the morning, trying to get my entries in because I've never wanted to win a prize so much in my life!!
Here are the creations I made with the free download...

Melissa Bickford's tag design----

PTI Anniversary Tag...Tiffany's design

2011-02-07T02:25:00.000-08:00

Tiffany Pastor's tag design---

PTI Anniversary Tag...Alli's design

2011-02-07T02:24:00.001-08:00

Alli Mile's tag design---

Thank you so much for stopping by!!
Tree

PTI January Blog Hop!!

2011-01-25T15:57:00.000-08:00

Beautiful Blooms II, Fillable Frames 4, Honeybees, Polkadot Basics

Through The Trees. The best stuff I've ever found for masking is this stuff here. The entire back is sticky so it stays put while you buff your background color on.

I have the Friend Jars/Fillers as well as the dies, but hadn't even used them yet. So I thought it'd be neat to make a gatefold card. I cut the Graphix sticky back transparency sheet using the Jar die and stick it right over the paint brush. Then I used the sentiment "You color my world" from the TT: Valentines set which I thought was a perfect fit for this stamp combo! I photographed this card at an angle so you can see the shiny transparency. Makes it look like a real jar, plus it was so easy just to stick that die cut on since its back is sticky. Looks like it came from Hobby Lobby (price tag), but I think I got it at a yard sale for like a quarter or something. Score!

Here is the card showing off the gatefold a little better.

The Challenge:

Use stamps you haven't used before. Not hard for me since I haven't used 90% of mine!!

I'm changing my tired old graduation avatar to this one. I like that it's fuzzy. Kinda makes it sexy and mysterious.

Thanks for hopping by!!
Tree

Prayers again, please

2011-01-08T01:09:00.000-08:00

My beautiful, sweet friend, Katie Renz, has been diagnosed with Stage 4 stomach cancer. She has 3 young sons who need their mama. Please band together with me and pray that God restores her body so that she can be there to raise her sons. I know without a doubt that God has the power over this dreaded disease and that He is able to send her a miraculous healing. If you would, please take a moment and get to know this lovely woman by visiting her blog and please be sure to leave her some encouraging words.

http://katiespaperhaven.blogspot.com

Prayers please

2010-08-31T19:08:00.000-07:00

Eric broke his leg this weekend. He broke both his tibia and his fibula on his left leg right above the ankle. He was in surgery over 3 hours yesterday and in the recovery room for an additional 3 plus hours. He is in dire pain at the moment. All prayers are certainly appreciated.

"Papertrey august Blog Hop Challenge"

2010-08-25T14:20:00.001-07:00

The Challenge:

In honor of school going back into session everywhere, we thought it would be fun to issue a Brown Bag Challenge. We want to see what you can do to dress up, alter, change and ordinary brown lunch bag into a paper crafting work of art. You could modify it to become a gift bag with handles, create a card base by folding it in half (complete with a slide out tag), add a window to it or whatever else you can dream up. After the hop is through, we should have plenty of inspiration to help us create amazing projects with inexpensive brown bags!

Here's my take on the challenge. I made a little Owlie hand puppet out of my brown paper bag. Tomorrow I'm going to pack my baby's school lunch in it. Then when he's done with lunch, he'll have something to play with!

Supply Equivalents:

PTI CS- Hawaiian shores, Ripe Avocado, Lemon Tart, Orange Zest, Dark Chocolate

1 3/4 circle punch (for whites of eyes and eyelids)

1 1/4 circle punch (for eyeballs)

PTI Large Scallop Die

I cut the wings and ears out by hand.

Thanks for looking!

I'm in awe...

2010-06-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

http://thepinkcouch.blogspot.com/

Howdy Y'all!

2010-06-02T13:46:00.000-07:00

Thank heaven for good friends! I love you, Brandon, Nikki and Kaitlyn!!!

Starting graduate school in Engineering Management on June 8th. Let the fun begin again.

Papertrey Ink Blog Hop!

2010-04-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

This month's blog hop challenge was to use tissue paper in a creative way. So I made a tissue paper flower using the Beautiful Blooms flower Die #1.

Remember: Click on the picture for a bigger look! :o)

Happy Birthday

Here are some bonus cards, since I haven't posted in a while.

Berry Sweet

I combined my tools and cut out a strawberry with my Cricut and then embossed it with PTI's tin types embossing folder. I popped the texture with fresh snow ink to make the strawberry's seeds. Fun!

Some non-PTI cards for your viewing pleasure...

Monkey Love

Pointer: If you're using flock on a project, as I did with the balloon, color it in first (I used a red copic marker) and then flock it, that way any "bald" spots you might have aren't so visibly noticeable.

Clear Card- Hello

Did you know you can actually emboss on clear cardstock/transparency sheets? Give it a try some time!

Joy Spinner Card

Dental floss is fun for creating spinner cards, as I've done with this Christmas card. Just cut a hole in your card (I used a nestie) and then "suspend" your object of interest inside the hole using floss sandwiched between your floaty.

Thanks for looking!

Supplies:

Happy Birthday:
Cardstock: All PTI- New Leaf card base, Stampers select white, Raspberry Fizz
Stamps: PTI Polka Dot Basic, Fillable Frames 1
Tools: PTI Beautiful Blooms Flower Die, PTI Tin Types
Ink: PTI Fresh Snow, Dark Chocolate, Raspberry Fizz
Embellies: Microbeads, Ribbon from Michael, 7 Gypsies felt butterfly
Technique: Masking
Copic Marker R83

Berry Sweet:
Cardstock: All PTI- Kraft card base, Stampers select white, Raspberry Fizz, Pure Poppy, New Leaf
Stamps: PTI Lucky frame, SU! tiny tags
Tools: PTI Tin Types, PTI Large Scallop Die, Cricut
Ink: PTI Raspberry Fizz, Pure Poppy
Embellies: PTI Button twine, PTI Vintage button, MS glitter
Technique: Sewing

Monkey Love:
Cardstock: All PTI- New Leaf cs, Stampers select white, Raspberry Fizz
Stamps: Changito
Tools: SU! Border punch,
Ink: PTI Fresh Snow, Dark Chocolate, Raspberry Fizz
Embellies: Flock, Ribbon from Michael
Technique: Masking

Clear Hello:
Cardstock: PTI- Clear cardstock, Hawaiian Shores
Stamps: SU! Medallion, Fillable Frames 1
Tools: PTI Beautiful Blooms Flower Die, PTI Tin Types
Ink: Palette Noir, Versamark, Seafoam Embossing Powder
Embellies: Black rhinestone- Kaiercraft
Technique: Embossing

Joy Spinner:
CS: SU! Chocholate Chip
PP: SU!
Stamps: SU!
Ribbon: Michaels
Ink: Versamark
Embossing Powder: Ranger Red Tinsel and Gold Tinsel
Other: Floss

Today's ramblings...

2010-02-23T07:21:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! After struggling with stomach issues, I finally went to see my doctor about it and found out I am the proud owner of a nasty ulcer. I am happy to report that I am half way thru my 14 day regimen of medication where I have to take 4 different pills FOUR (yes 4!!) times a day! Blech!! I guess when I worry and stress, I keep it in and it has manifested itself as an ulcer in my stomach. I know, I know- TMI. ha ha. Not really playing the sympathy card, just want you to be proud of me for enduring this horrible medicine situation. I know. Things could be worse. Thank God it's not cancer, which is something I worried about, which I'm sure only contributed to the ulcer's happy party in my stomach. Ok. enough.

Now on to happy talk!

I went to a card party last night with my SU! guru, Donna LaPorte where we made 5 cards and one gift item for $15.

Here's what we did:
(all items are from Stampin Up unless otherwise noted)

A bleach technique was used with the Upsy Daisy stamp set. I love finishing the inside of the card with the same stamp set but inked with Melon Mambo ink. When the card bleaches it turns a pretty vanilla color, which goes well with the vanilla grosgrain.

Isn't this baby buggy card cute? To make the buggy, just take a circle punch and cut a wedge out of it. The button wheels are made with a small circle punch and a paper piercer was used to make the holes. The buggy frame is made with SU! gold cord. The slit punch on the bottom holds the top flap in place. The sentiment is from Whimsical Words in the SAB flyer.

Isn't this lovely and lacey looking? The "lace" was done by first inking the bottom with a sponge and soft suede ink. Then it was cut with a scallop border punch (found in the SAB flyer). This punch can be earned free. Ask you demo about it. The stamp set is a new feature of SU! which is an unmounted stamp. It clings on to an acrylic block so you can see better where you're stamping. This stamp set is in the new occasions mini (I think!).

Last but not least is this Easter card done with the chocolate bunny stamp that's in the occasions mini as well. The bunny was stamped with Versamark, then embossed, then fussy cut and placed on the mats. A cuttlebug folder was used to create the grass. The leaves are a SU! die that was cut out on a Big Shot. The sentiment was from Teeny Tiny Wishes (I think) and the tag was used with the Oval Window and Modern Label punches.

If you don't have a demo, you can either contact Donna (above) or a new, sweet friend I just met on SCS who is also a demo, Jamie. She can help you as well. Or just email me what you want and I'll find a way to get it to ya!!
And there you have it! Enjoy!

Papertrey Ink Party Continues!!

2010-02-09T23:08:00.000-08:00

There's an anniversary party goin on at Nichole Heady’s Blog!

Today's challenge was to pick a color scheme from one of 12 designer's favorite color combo's. Of course I chose Erin Lincoln's combo because she is like one of my most favorite crafters ever! I had the privilege of meeting her a couple years ago at CHA and I immediately clicked with her.

So here is Erin's fav color combo-

And here is my take on the challenge:

I had to substitute a different orange cardstock since I didn't have any Terracotta Tile in my stash. I used 2 PTI stamp sets- Beautiful Blooms and Life. I used Versamark for the leaves in the background. It's hard to tell but I chalked my focal point using the Spellbinders Nestabilities die as a stencil. The ink I used was PTI Ripe Avocado and Chocolate. I needed some chocolate on my card so I just cut out 3 little circles with my handheld hole punch.

Thanks for looking!
~Tree

Papertrey Ink's Third Anniversary!!

2010-02-08T20:47:00.000-08:00

There's a party goin on at Nichole Heady’s Blog with tons of give aways to boot!

Today's challenge was a Paint By Number based on a sketch and the color palette we were assigned was one that had to do with the first letter of my message board name, which is "T" of course.

Here's the sketch:

Here is my color palette based on the first letter of my MB name (T):

And Voila! Here is what I came up with titled, "Follow Your Own Star":

Here is a close-up:

I thought the blues in the palette lent itself nicely to a manly card, so I substituted the scalloped edge for a pinked edge. I popped up my star with foam tape to give it interest and dimension. I also thought it'd be fun to kinda curve the sentiment- you know, making it look like a shooting star.
Here's my formula per the sketch:

1. Aqua Mist
2. White (used the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder on it)
3. Enchanted Evening- didn't have it in my stash so improvised with Bazzil Smoothie in Huckleberry Pie
4. Kraft
5. Spring Rain

Stamps used are all PTI: Polka Dot Basics, Text Boxed and Star Prints.

So hop on over to Nichole's blog and play along. There are fun challenges and prizes galore!!

Remember to click on the photos for a better look!

While I have your attention (hee hee) I wanted to show you that I've actually dusted of my Copics and tried my hand at coloring today! After a long dry spell of no crafting, if feels good to put some of my supplies to good use!! You'll see on the left two hummingbirds colored in and on the right is the before picture. The first one I colored was the top left and thought it needed some work on the tail feathers. There wasn't enough light reflecting off the feathers, so I tried it again and the lower one is my second attempt, which is the one I like better.

Last, but not least. I altered a journal that I found in the dollar spot at Mike's for a dear friend of mine who is going through the scary situation of being tested for cancer. I filled it with a bunch of inspirational quotes throughout the journal that I stamped with some stamps I've been dying to use.

If you turn your head to the side (oops!) you can see the inside cover of the journal.

Thanks for looking!!!

~Tree
XOX

It is finished!!!

2009-12-24T19:11:00.001-08:00

Finally, after so many years of working and raising a family while commuting to school, I finally finished my degree! I graduated Magna Cum Laude last Saturday from MS&T (Missouri University of Science & Technology) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences and a minor in Chemistry. I'm interested to see where God will lead me next.

Time flies. I can't believe my little man is 6 years old already. Isn't he a dolly baby?

Merry Christmas and lots of love to everyone!

I'm an official blog slackard!

2009-08-26T20:27:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. I'm a worthless blogger right now!

I deleted my Facebook account so don't think I "defriended" you. Just don't have time for all the silliness on there.

I started back to school this week. I am so ready for December to be here! I'm so ready to graduate!!

Josh got married.

Josh's beautiful bride, Rachel. It's so funny. When I was pregs with Josh his name was going to be Rachel if he was a girl. Well it looks like I got my Rachel after all! LOL!

Emily will be 1 on August 31st. Can you believe that little stinker has been walking since she was 9 months old? She's just like her daddy. Josh walked at 9 months old too.

Isn't she perfect? I just love how she's colored like Eric- red headed and brown-eyed. Isn't that funny? She's our little strawberry. tee hee...

Ryan is coming home to graduate from Sullivan High.

Connor started first grade.

Eric and I have been together for 7 years as of August 16th.

Sorry so brief but I have an 8:00 a.m. class tomorrow!!

Tree

XOX

Back from Texas!

2009-05-27T16:41:00.000-07:00

Gosh, I shoulda posted this a month ago. It has been sitting in my drafts since May 29!!

I can't believe my baby graduated Kindergarten this year. Here he is on the last day of Kindergarten with his bff, Michael.

We went to Texas for a really quick trip over the Memorial weekend.

I finally got to hold my baby for the first time.

Here is a photo of Emmy and her mama, Rachel.

Connor loves his baby niece

My sister's baby, Savahn, is finally getting some hair and man, is she ADORABLE or what in her little Mexican dress?! Tee hee!

As promised, here is a pic of my new piano. I've always loved music, as you can see of this photo of me with my little toy piano at age 2.

Here I am many, many, many years later. Lots of things have changed in my life but my love for music will always remain the same.

About the RAK, anyone who posts on this thread will get a small token of my appreciation of our friendship. I love making cards, so you will get a little card kit put together by me!!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

2009-05-11T05:04:00.000-07:00

Did everyone have a wonderful Mother's Day??

I had such a great day! I actually won a prize at church for being the youngest Grandma!! LOL!!

After church we all went to lunch. I ended up crying so hard on and off all day because I missed Shirley so much. I also missed Ryan's Grandma, Ruth Ann, who passed away unexpectedly exactly a week after Shirley. So those two things together left me so sad amd with a splitting headache!! Has your head hurt so bad that you felt like throwing up? Well that was me yesterday. We went to see Star Trek yesterday evening (I know, I'm a nerd) and it was FANTASTIC!!!! You should go see it! Even as sick as I was, I still enjoyed the movie.

But on a brighter note, I want to share the most recent picture of Emmy and her mom Rachel. I've only got to see Emmy in pictures because she's in Texas and I'm stuck here in Misery, umm, I meant Missouri. I can't wait to hold her for the first time!

As I said, Eric bought me a piano for Mother's Day. He also got me another hummingbird feeder for our front porch as well as some hanging baskets of flowers. I don't know where the camera card is to my Nikon, so as soon as I find it, I promise some pics of it.

ALSO, Eric bought me a piece of furniture to use as a scrap desk in my scrap room, so this motivated me to clean up what the tornado left behind in there! Hee hee....

While doing so, I came across some stuff that would make GREAT RAK prizes!!

SO stay tuned for:

1. Picture of my new piano

2. RAKS!!!!!!

Tree

XOX

My WONDERFUL husband bought me...

2009-05-02T20:02:00.000-07:00

a new (to me!) Yamaha studio piano today for Mother's Day!!! He knows how much music is a part of my being, so he got me the piano today and we pick it up next weekend. Here is the touching part. When his mom died, she left him a bit of money left over after paying for the funeral expenses from her life insurance. So what does Eric decide to do with the money that his mom left him? He buys a piano for ME! God love him. I really don't deserve him. He is so good to me. His mom would be so pleased to know that the money went to the purchase of a piano because she loved music so much as well. I will use this piano to teach her grandson how to play.

OMGosh! I can not believe that I've posted like 3 times within the last few days! I guess I am just now feeling whole again and able to share.

I have two more weeks to go of school. My last final is on May 15th. I will be receiving my Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Missouri in December (fingers crossed!). I hope I can pass my classes in order to complete my degree. So far I'm making all As and Bs. I'm a worry wart. I have to worry though so I can make sure I do well on my exams, kwim?

Thanks for letting me share. I will be posting a pic of the piano real soon!!

Mmmmuuuaaaahh!!

Tree

New find

2009-04-30T06:04:00.000-07:00

Ok, I don't have time to make a fancy looking link to this blog that I just found today, but I wanted to share it with you.

http://starlitstudio.typepad.com/

This artist blows me away! When I have more time, I'm gonna check her out some more.

Have an awesome day!

Meet the newest addition to the Tyree clan

2009-04-27T05:02:00.000-07:00

Introducing.....

Daisy!

I've always wanted a little girl. Well now I have one! LOL! She's a 9 week old Maltese puppy. I wanted a lap dog so here she is!

:0)

NSD celebration over at AMLT!!

2009-04-26T17:31:00.000-07:00

Here are the deets:

http://amillionlittlethings.typepad.com/amlt/

I can't wait to get my goodies!

Enjoy!
Tree

Sad sad

2009-04-06T18:17:00.001-07:00

My mother-in-law, Shirley, lost her battle to breast cancer on March 20th. A week later, my ex-mother-in-law, Ruth Ann, died suddenly of a heart attack. My poor son has lost two grandmothers in one week.

Hopefully, I will be able to post more in the future.

Tree

Fun with photos

2009-01-14T16:23:00.000-08:00

Here's some fun with photos, created by my sister. Ain't she a kook?? LOL!!

I made this one:

Be sure to leave me a comment if you posted any fun photos of yourself on your blog.
Have fun!

Facebook

2008-12-17T14:20:00.000-08:00

I just love Facebook so much! My sister turned me on to it and I just recently reconnected with old friends from school. It's been such a hoot reminiscing about high school days. For example, here is a pic of me my senior year in my Cavalier outfit. Ha ha!

One of my high school girlfriends I talk to alot on Facebook is Linda, seen below. I'm so glad she snapped this photo of us at our reunion a few years ago. I just love this girl!!

I've been reminiscing alot lately as you can tell by last few posts. I guess it's that time of year to reflect and think about what's truly important in this life. Facebook has alot to do with it also. Thanks for letting me share.

T
XOX

Wow, how time flies.

2008-12-14T19:56:00.001-08:00

Josh and Ryan, then (1996)

Josh and Ryan, now (2008)

My how time flies. Sad.

Hello

2008-10-28T18:02:00.000-07:00

At the insistence of so many friends, I guess it's time to update my blog. Thank you so much for caring enough to keep in touch with me and for praying for us.

Eric and I are separated at the moment. Please pray for us to have the strength to get through this.

We got a cute little Calico kitty we haven't named yet. Does anyone have any suggestions? We also have a Jack Russell terrier, Odie. Odie sleeps under our bed. One night we couldn't find the kitten. We looked under the bed to find this:

I guess the kitty hasn't figured out yet that there is no milk coming out of there! LOL! Poor Odie. He seems to take it well, but he'll have enough of it and nip at her and tell her to stop it. Ha ha.

Most of y'all don't know this yet, but I officially work for Piggy Tales!! I worked CKC-Kansas City the first part of October. Here I am teaching one of my classes. I taught four classes in all. It was a great learning experience seeing that I had never taught at this level before. It was great that all four classes were packed. If everything works out ok, I'll be working for PT at CHA-Winter. Hopefully I won't be sick and will be able to get more pictures.

Here's me and Connor on our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch. It was a gloriously beautiful day. We always look forward to this little tradition.

Well, I haven't scrapped much so there's really nothing for me to show off.

I love you all and appreciate each and everyone's friendship and prayers!!

~Tree

Update

2008-09-01T19:12:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

At Detta, Joy and Cheryl's request, here is an update.

Eric and I have been going through hard times in our marriage. Please pray for us.

On to happier news...

Here are a few cards I made for Papercrafts Magazine Gallery Idol contest. I'm proud to say that I made the Gallery top 20!!

JULY:

Ryan came home for two weeks. For two weeks we had a plethora of smelly teenage boys in and out of the house. It was nice to have the house noisy again, even for just a little while.

Yes, I did go to CHA. Here is a pic of me and a good friend, the ultra talented Basic Grey girl, Kelly Goree. Isn't she just so dang cute!!

Here I am with two of my roomies, the ultra talented Margie and Becky Chabot.

Here I am working the Piggy Tales booth with owner, Debbie Juden. I love Piggy Tales so much. They really make me feel like I'm a family member and not just a designer!!

Ok, Detta, there's about 4 pictures of me smiling. Yes, I do have teeth. But I look horrible when I smile, so now you know why I don't. LOL!

AUGUST:

We were supposed to go to Cancun for a week, but dummy me thought you could still board an airplane overseas with just a driver's license and a birth certificate. Needless to say, we didn't have our passports so we had to reschedule our trip for a later date. So instead we went to Texas to visit with my mom for her yearly visit to the states. I was going anyway, but since we cancelled the Cancun trip, I was able to spend more time in Texas.

We took Connor to San Antonio so we could see Shamu the killer whale at Sea World.

We also visited the Alamo while in San Antonio.

It was also perfect timing for me to catch Ryan on his first day of school. I haven't missed taking his picture on the first day of school. I was worried I wouldn't get it this year since he lives in Texas now with his dad, but it worked out that I could be there. We also took Connor to Surfside beach. It's not the prettiest beach, but hey, it's a beach complete with waves, sand and sea shells!! So he was in heaven. I'll post some beach pics soon. For some reason, my camera card is giving me an error message when I try to download them to my computer.

Here is a picture of me with two of my bestest girlfriends, Gracie (middle) and Maria (right). We worked together at the environmental analytical lab for Dow Chemical company. We had such great times working together that we're now friends for life. Although we've all gone our separate ways, we're still close and keep in touch and get together when we can.

Here is a picture of me with my oldest, Joshua taken at El Toro- my favorite Mexican Restaurant in Clute, Texas.

Thanks for visiting, y'all!! I haven't forgotten about the RAK I promised way back when. In fact, I have several tubs of swaps that I've never used and probably never will use. I hope to get a list of them together to RAK. So check back. When I post the list, let me know which ones you want and I'll send them to ya.

Tree
XOX

Playing with filters

2008-07-24T06:42:00.001-07:00

I thought it was time that I showed you a photo of my new do, so I took some snaps of myself and played around with some filters, downloaded free from Optiverve labs- thanks, Kara.

Attention Friends and Family!! This is not a dead blog!!

2008-06-30T06:27:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone! I know y'all think that my blog is dead, but it really isn't! It is in dire need of resucitation, though.

Right now we're finally moved in to our new house, but since we're living out in the boonies in a new construction, we're having issues getting the internet hooked up at our place, so I happen to be at work today and thought I'd come over and say hi and give an update!

I don't have any new pics to upload, but even if I did, I wouldn't be able to share them here from work. I will really soon, hopefully. The phone company is working on getting service to our house. Another downer for me is that all my scrap stuff is packed in a million different boxes. I can't wait to get my space set up and organized so I can get to scrappin' again!!

I will be off work for the next two weeks because we shut the plant down for summer vacation every year at this time. So you won't be hearing from me until we either get the internet hooked up at home, finally, or I come back to work in 2 weeks- whichever comes first.

Have a safe and happy summer/july fourth weekend!!!

Love you all!

~tree

Another Piggy Tales project

2008-06-09T20:33:00.000-07:00

Well, the house is just about ready. We're waiting on the plumber to tie the septic to the house. I guess the last thing to do is the toilets- a low priority for men since all they have to do is hang it off the porch! LOL!!!

So for father's day, I made Eric this little beauty:

I chose to take a Piggy Tale's slider and alter it to hang off DH's rear view mirror. I put a little saying on the front beside Connor's picture that says, "Daddy, please remember to drive safely". Then when you slide it open, it says, "My life depends on it"

I used a Crop-a-dile to punch holes and threaded the Pumpkin Eater ribbons through the holes.

It was really easy to do since the package of sliders comes with a transparent template- which makes for perfect placement of the sliders.

Hope you have something great planned for the man/men in your life!!

XOX

Piggy Tales- Oh yeah!

2008-05-30T20:40:00.000-07:00

I have been down in the scrappy dumps lately. I'm so glad to have found my way back again. Does anyone else get this way?

When I saw these photos of my sweet friend, Morgan's beautiful baby boy, Ari- I just knew I had to scrap them using the new Piggy Tales Steadfast Tin Soldier line. Nothing like the sweetest face to get the ole mojo goin' again! Thanks, so much, Morgan for letting me "borrow" your precious boy!

It's Blog Hop Time again!

2008-05-28T17:03:00.000-07:00

I can't believe a whole month has gone by already since the last Papertrey Ink blog hop! You can find out more details about the blog hop here.

Our challenge this month was to utilize score lines in a creative way as a decorative accent to any type of project. So, being the last minute scrapper that I am, I chose to use my Scor-Pal to make a matchbook gift card holder and also to frame the purple mat for the baby onesie. I didn't want to overembellish, so I just added little baby button brads to the onesie. I stamped the onesie using Bitty Baby Blessings Set. I will tuck a gift card inside the matchbook. Thanks for looking!!

WOOOHOOO!!!!!!! DAVID COOK!!!

2008-05-21T19:07:00.000-07:00

You shoulda heard me and my mother-in-law screaming when they announced David Cook as the American Idol winner!!!

But the way that Simon judged last night, he gave all THREE rounds to David Archuelta, but I guess America doesn't always do what Simon says!! I said that I didn't care who won because I think they are both phenomenal with bright futures ahead of them. I'm especially proud of David Cook since he's a Missourian.

So, congrats to David Cook! Now I can get on with my life! LOL!!!

AMERICAN IDOL PREDICTION

2008-05-21T18:53:00.000-07:00

I had to run in here and tell you who I predict to win tonight before the announcement is made.

I think that David
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.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
ARCHUELTA

is

the

winner!!
!
!
!
!
!

We'll see. It's 8:54 p.m.

The announcment is in 6 minutes!!!

Evolution of a home

2008-05-19T05:54:00.001-07:00

First of all, as a Mom, I've learned to pick my battles. This one was not worth waging. Connor decided he wanted to dude it up for Mother's day and thought he needed to wear his cowboy boots AND pirate eye patch to church on Mother's day in order to look his best. Also being a mother of grown sons, I knew, this too, would pass. So, I said ok. Thankfully, Dad put a stop to it, but I thought it was so cute and had to snap a pic of it. Boys. LOL!

Remember, you can click on each photo for a better look!!

I thought it was so cute how everyone wants to pile on Grammy because they love her so much. Grammy just loves to be piled on by her boys. The dog really loves her too.

I love to take pictures of sleeping babies, so when I saw Odie and Connor all sprawled out, I couldn't resist. I love Odie's little freckled belly. His belly kinda matches the pillow cases. Ha ha! So cute! Right now, as you can see in the photo, Connor is fascinated with guns- all sizes and shapes of them. He even brings them to bed. He wants to be a soldier, and I said "NO", so to appease me, he says he wants to be a soldier "doctor" and help soldiers who are injured. He just says that to please me, but I know he really just wants to join the army so he can carry around guns. BOYS! Ha ha!

Now on to the house:

Here are the latest pics of the house. Alot of the interior doors are up now, as you can see in this photo. Here is a view walking in from the garage into the mudroom. Behind the bifold doors will be the washer and dryer.

The powder room still lacks the pocket door. Connor's Papa Roger hates pocket doors, so I guess he's saving it for last. He's been helping Eric with the inside work. You can see the desk now sitting under the window. This will be our mail/bill paying/ record keeping/homework station. Connor can do his homework here while I'm cooking dinner since this room is adjacent to the living/kitchen area. He can be away from the action so he can concentrate on what he's doing while still being close enough to me to ask for help. The desk top will be left over granite from the kitchen granite slabs.

The kitchen is in full swing now. All that awaits is the stove, micro/venthood and granite countertops. Here is a sample of the granite. It's called Venetian Gold. We picked it because tt has cranberry flecks in it which will pick up the cabinet color.

As I said before, we wanted to do a little of the craftsman look inside, so we chose a dark cabinet in cherry with an autumn blush finish. We're waiting for the stove and micro/venthood. The cabinets still need to have glass ordered for them. I wanted to have a couple open glass front cabinets to break things up a bit and make it more airy looking. I'll try to take a photo later of the details of the cabinets. Alot of thought went into our choices and I'd love to share our thought process with you!

Here is the view standing in front of the island. To add contrast, we chose to do the island in a different darker finish called Peppercorn. It's almost black. It's the same color we chose for the desk in the mudroom.

My walk in pantry now has a door! Yipee!! Yes, those are dishes in the cabinets. I was running out of room in the apartment, so I loaded up the cabinets with new dishes I bought at Pier 1.

This is the view from the dining area.

Here is the view as you walk in the front door.

Eric has been working on the master bath. Here is the marble shower panels glued and braced up. We're going with bronze fixtures throughout except the hall bath.

Today the exterior of the house will change. We hired a guy to set the rock in place. Here's the before. Tomorrow I'll post the after.

Oh yeah, the view looks nice from here. LOL! And the best part is- he's all mine! LOLOLOL!!

Finally, to leave you on a sweet note, here is Connor's pre-K school picture. I'm so in love with this face!

A I Lament and update

2008-05-15T12:51:00.000-07:00

Again, I'm a bad blogger! I know, I know! I don't post and on top of that, I haven't been visiting your blogs lately. We're so busy, I can't even see straight. Two months in a row, I missed submitting for the GSS at Papertrey Ink stamps. I don't have my Piggy Tales project done. And I have yet to make one single RAK to send out on the PTI forum!! UUUURRRRGGGGHHH! Oh yeah, throw in the blog candy I promised and I get the Blog Slackard of the year award!

Ok. Those of you who know me well, know I love to sing. Since I'm too old to enter the American Idol contest, I live my dream vicariously through every year through the AI contestants. Well, I've missed so many shows already because we've had to do one thing or another with the house, but I still try to watch when I can. This week it was down to 3 contestants: David Archuelta, David Cook and Syesha Mercado. The show elimination show comes on at 8 p.m. So I get all hunkered down and settled in waiting patiently for the 8 'o clock hour to roll around. At 7 pm, I get a call from Eric saying he had to rip up the ceramic tile in the bathroom due to a poor tile job by a friend, asking me to run 50 miles round trip to the next town over to Lowe's to get more tile. AAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!! Ok, I'll go if you tell me how to work the $*@#($ VCR to get it to tape at 8:00. Being the technologically challenged person that I am, of course, I couldn't figure out how to tape a show on the VCR and almost reduced to tears. DH volunteers to leave the job and come to the apt. to set it up. I told him not to worry about it, that he had too many more important things to worry about than to tape AI, and that I'd find out through the grapevine how got booted off. So...I said all that to give you a glimpse of what it's like to build your own house. We've had too many of these little snafu's happen along the way that I didn't want to bore you with. But, anyway, I can't wait until this is all behind us and I can have my life back again. It'll be worth it all in the end. I know that.

So who are you rooting for? To tell you the truth, I'm very, very pleased with the outcome and will be happy if either of the David's win. There's no way I could pick one over the other. They are so phenomenally talented and I know each will do well in the future.

I'm going to try to get a pic out of the blog candy I have to give out, as well as pics of the kitchen set into place. Yesterday, the granite company came to make a template of our countertops. Hopefully, the granite countertops will go in next week or the week after. Yipee!! We still have the septic system to install, which it's been so rainy lately, the contractor hasn't been able to get to it! Also, the driveways need concrete as well as the basement walk-out. Those rocks in the driveway are real ankle twisters!!

So to recap- congrats to the two Davids on AI, pictures of the kitchen coming soon, and blog candy coming soon too!!

Ta-Ta!

Updates

2008-05-05T05:13:00.001-07:00

Debbie's gonna KILL me, but I had to start off this post on a funny note and show you a pic of Debbie sliding down the slide at the City Museum. They had Drew's 4th birthday party there and as you can see, it was fun for kids as well as the adults. Isn't the look on Debbie's face, priceless? LOL! Poor little Logan looks like, "What the heck is my grandma thinking??" ROFL! Poor thing looks petrified. HA ha ha ha!

Well, I owed everyone pics of the house and so I'm paying off big time now. Tee hee!

Here is the outside:

As you can see, the column bases are poured, but they still need to be covered in rock and the tops built.

Connor and Odie/Scruffy (ha ha) Poor dog has so many nicknames, I don't think he'll ever learn his name. Lately I've been calling him "munch", a hybrid of "mutt" and "crunch". All he wants to do is scrounge up food. He's constantly on the sniff for something to eat. Ha ha.

We still have to put up these outside fixtures, which will flank each side of the front door.

This is the view as you enter in from the garage into the mudroom. Under that window, there will be a bill paying/mail sorting station complete with desk and computer. Hopefully, this little area will keep the paper clutter at bay. The doorway is where the half bath is located. We wanted to have a bathroom easily accessible for washing hands or using the bathroom without having to come through the house.

This is the view from the living room hallway as you're going towards the garage. The wall is painted "Tradewinds"- a Sherwin Williams color. I've always wanted a blue laundry room, cuz blue is the color of water and water is what you use to wash clothes. Ha ha. I'm a dork.

This is the view of the washer/dryer closet and to the left of that is the basement stairwell.

Here is a closeup view of the basement stairs which leads to my nirvana (my scrappy space- soon to come!!)

You've just left the mudroom and to the left is the master bedroom. The walls are "Kilium Beige" and the coffered part is called "Rain". I thought a beige and blue bedroom would be soothing and relaxing. I color matched the bedding I bought from Macy's (see pic below).

Here's a close up of the coffered ceiling in the master bedroom. Eric thought it'd be neat to paint the coffered part blue instead of an accent wall in blue, which really brings out the drama of the ceiling height and makes the coffered part really pop.

Here is the bedding I chose for our bedroom (taken off of Macy's website). I wanted something light, clean, airy and relaxing. I'm done with big floral prints. Yuck.

Here is a close up of the ceiling fan in our master b/r. There's one just like it in the living room too.

Here's the master bath. We painted the bathtub cove in Rain as well as the water closet (toilet room). The rest is painted Kilium beige. What I love best about this is the separate tub from the shower, the his and hers closets (yay! I can close the door to my slobbiness and Eric never has to see it!) and also the private toilet (hooray for private pooping!! LOL!) You can't see it, but opposite of the bathtub wall will be a vanity area with two separate sinks.

We're doing bronze fixtures throughout the house except for the hall bath, which I'll explain later. Here are the bathroom faucets. I ordered the tub and kitchen faucets off Ebay yesterday, so they're not here yet.

Leaving the master, turn left and you're in the great room, which is one big open room housing the living room, kitchen and dining area. The great room is painted in a Sherwin Williams color called, "Nomadic Desert". To really emphasize the fireplace, we painted it a deep chocolate brown, which the name escapes me right now. For some reason the photos aren't representative of the actual colors in real life. I don't think I like this pocket camera that Eric bought me for Christmas. It's a Canon Powershot SD800 IS. I prefer my Nikon D70. There is no comparison in the quality between the two cameras. But the Nikon is a beast to pack around.

Yes, that's me with a bandana on my head and I'm also sporting the infamous camoflauge jacket. Eric cringes everytime he sees me in his jacket. He thinks it's so hoosierish. I think it's heavenly comfortable and soft.

We've been trying to lay the hardwood floors all weekend. We chose a natural birch flooring for it's beautiful variations in the grain and its light color. Aso you can see, Eric had alot of "help" from the two baby boys.

Here are some of the fixtures for this room. This will go over the dining table:

This one will go in the kitchen. We still have to find the right pendant lights to go over the kitchen island.

On the opposite side of the house from the master are two bedrooms and a hall bath. We wanted to have the master bedroom split from the other bedrooms. Here is Eric and Connor in Connor's bedroom. We chose to do his room in that Chestertown Buff color that we originally had painted the greatroom but was too dark. In Connor's room it'll be perfect. We're doing his in a wilderness theme with golds, reds, browns and forest green. The bedding is at Target if you want to see it.

Here is your bedroom if you come to stay with us. We decided that we'll put the bedding that we have for our bed now in this room.

This is one of the bedding sets that we had in our old house that will go in the spare bedroom.

Here is the hall bath painted in Lime Granita- also a SW color. Since this bathroom doesn't have a window, I wanted to do something bright and cheery. The towels came from Target but I just came from their website and couldn't find it. It'll have brushed nickel fixtures in here, which goes better with what I'm trying to do in here.

Here is the light fixture going in the hallway.

Last but not least, here is a peek at our kitchen cabinets. They're from Kraftmaid. We wanted to do a darker wood, so it's cherry with an autumn blush finish. We also wanted clean, simple lines, so we chose a craftsman type style and we'll do bronze knobs.

Now I know why I haven't posted this until now. It took me a solid 2, yes, TWO hours to put this post together with all the photos and journaling and all! I haven't had that kind of time in ages! Luckily, today is my day off, Eric took the day off from work to keep the house project going, the dog AND Connor are both asleep. It's very peaceful now, but I really should've cleaned my house instead of hack on here! LOL!

If' you're still here, thanks for sticking with me until the end. Thanks for letting me share. Please leave a comment and let me know what you think about the house project so far. As you can see, alot of thought went into this- from the planning of the layout, the choices of materials and furnishings/colors, etc. to the budget considerations. We've been truly blessed.

Leave a comment and I'll pick some winners for some blog candy. I have stuff I've been meaning to RAK since Valentines so if you get some heart stuff in your rak, you'll know why!

Tee hee!

Last Day for 35% off entire purchase

2008-05-04T07:29:00.000-07:00

Save 35%
I hope everyone is enjoying National Scrapbook Day!

To celebrate, we are offering a whopping 35% off
your entire purchase! Enter the code NSD08 during
checkout to take advantage off this great offer. This
fantastic sale ends tomorrow, Sunday 4! Share this
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Click below to start saving money...
www.justletmescrapbook.com

I will be back later tonight with pictures of the house. Eric and I will try to finish the hardwood floors in the great room today.

Also, stay tuned for some blog candy!

Scrappy Updates and blog candy coming soon

2008-05-02T06:34:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, I'm a blogging slackard! But in my defense, we're very busy putting the final details into our new house. We had a paint color fiasco that took 2 weeks to recover from. We painted the wall in our great room the same color as in my sis-in-law's beauty shop. It's gorgeous in her shop, but way too dark in our house. So we struggled to find just the right color, and I think I finally got it right. We had at least 2 dozen paint chips and half a dozen or so sample quarts we tried out on the wall. We finally settled on Nomadic Desert by Sherwin Williams. We used the gold color called Chestertown Buff by Benjamin Moore in Connor's bedroom. We're doing a wilderness/camping theme in his room and I think the color is perfect there. I bought the wilderness bedding at Target, so next time you're in a Target, stop in the bedding department to see it and tell me what you think.

I'm doing our bedroom in two colors: Kilium Beige on the walls and Rain on the coffered ceiling band as well as both colors in our master bath. I chose these colors to match the Martha Stewart bedding I got at Macy's. I think browns and blues together are so restful for a master bed and bath. I picked Lime Granita for the hall bathroom b/c it's a little bitty bathroom with no window, so I knew it needed a bright color in there. I adore this color. The inspiration also came from towels I got at Target. I can't wait for y'all to see it! I owe everyone some pictures which are coming soon!! I promise!

On a scrappy note, my girlfriend Melissa and her hubby, Phil just adopted a baby boy from somewhere in or near Russia. A group of friends are putting together a Nursery Rhyme book to give to her for Mother's day. I chose "Humpty Dumpty". I know he doesn't have arms, but all the arms I tried sticking on him looked stupid, so here you have an armless egg. LOL! I used the Cricut for the title, leaves, grass and the crown. I used the Nestabilities oval for the body and pants, as well as the scalloped frame. I freehanded the tree and cut it out. I hope she likes it.

A sweet friend, Erin Lincoln at Creating Keepsakes had her baby boy, Henry (Hank for a nickname). Here is the card I made her. There was a book drive on the CKMB for baby Hank. I sent this card along with some of Connor's favorite titles.

I've been on a Bella kick, thanks to Amy Rysavy.

I made this one for sweet Katie's birthday. I wish you could see the sparklies that I put on the wings and wand. It's cuter in real life.

Now to the good part. I need to get rid of some stuff, so I'm posting some blog candy this weekend (*hopefully*), so stay tuned!!

It's time for a blog hop again!

2008-04-25T17:47:00.001-07:00

There was a random drawing this month for the blog hop, and of course my name wasn't drawn, but that didn't stop me from making this card for the challenge:

For about an hour, I was in crisis mode. I could NOT find my new PTI stamps and I was freaking out. I thought I accidentally threw them all away in the shipping box. I tore my house up looking for them. Then, while rummaging around in a drawer for something else, I finally found them there! Whew! So I hurried up and finished this card. It's not the best, but I did it. Our challenge this month was to use the patterned paper squares on our creation.

I used the new Pond Life set as well as the new April papers, ribbon and cardstock.

Thanks for looking!

Time for new CHA goodies!!

2008-04-23T13:30:00.000-07:00

Now that Tax Time is over,
it's time for some
SCRAPBOOKING THEREPY!
Feel free to get it at
http://www.justletmescrapbook.com/!

Use the coupon code
RELAX25
to save 25%
This coupon is good through Sunday, April 27.

xoxo,
Mary Beth

Happy Birthday, Patty and Michael

2008-04-16T20:22:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law (twins) celebrated their birthdays. So I made them each birthday cards that really speak who they are and I think they both loved them. Michael is a real outdoorsman, so I used my watercolor pencils and Angler SU! stamp set to make his card. Patty is a beautician, so I used a Bella stamp and Copics for her card. On the inside of Michael's I hand wrote, "I hope you catch your limit of fun on your birthday". On the inside of Patty's I stamped a Bella sentiment that says "Hope your birthday is just your style" or something like that.

We had breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Connor was telling Patty's step mom, Georgia about his new puppy, Odie. He told her he loves to walk him around the house like a wheelbarrow (holding his back legs) so he can see Odie's butt. I thought I was gonna die! LOL!! Boys. Sheesh.

Easter recap

2008-04-14T06:47:00.001-07:00

With all the goings on around here, I didn't get to share my Easter with you. Debbie blamed me for the snow because of the comment I made here.

And sure enough, it snowed on Easter. Here is a photo of my niece, Danielle, hunting eggs Easter afternoon. You can click on the photo to get a better look. Those white spots are snowflakes.

Meet Odie

2008-04-13T08:37:00.000-07:00

To occupy my mind, I decided it was time for Connor to have a companion, so my search began for a Jack Russell terrier. Jack's are a good breed of dog for a little boy. They have lots of energy, are really smart and just plain cute. I searched all over the pounds and shelters in St. Louis but none of the dogs we met were a good fit for our family. Finally, after searching everywhere, I stopped by the local vet office and thumbed through a binder of puppies for sale, and that's where I found our beloved Odie. Connor loves the movie, "Garfield", so he wanted to name his pup after Garfield's dog, Odie. But lately Eric has been calling him "Scruffy" so that name is starting to stick and now we're all calling him Scruffy. I wanted a wire haired (or broken coat) version of this breed because I think they shed less, so imagine my surprise when we met Odie for the first time and he happened to have that wirey coat. He's been a joy to our family even though the potty training is a lot of work! So you'll be seeing some layouts in the future featuring our cutie pies!

Life changes

2008-04-10T13:07:00.000-07:00

I've been struggling for the past three weeks with a life changing decision that I had to make for me and my son, Ryan. He had been getting into trouble at school until the time came that it was best for him to leave me and start a new life with his dad in Texas. So last Wednesday, we packed up all his belongings into his little 2 door Chevy Cavalier and he left with his Aunt Robin for the 12 hour drive to Texas. It was hard letting go of my little man. After all, it was just us two on and off since his dad left us when Ryan was 5 years old. No matter what, through thick and thin, the two of us faced life's ups and downs together. But as most teenage boys struggle to find their identity and gain independence, they also become rebellious. It was that rebellion that led us to the decision to send him to his dad's. His dad is happy to have the chance to spend what little is left of Ryan's childhood with him and to try to make a positive impact on Ryan's life. Ryan is also looking forward to spending time with his dad, which, in years past, has been spotty at best. The whole time Ryan's been growing up, his dad and I have never lived in the same state except when I came to Missouri 5 years ago, hopeful that his dad and I could be in one place to parent Ryan. But, Ryan's dad landed in jail for a year and a half of that time and as soon as he got out, moved to Texas. So, again, we were in separate states. Ryan's dad has since gotten his life together and can now offer Ryan stability and structure/discipline that Ryan will accept. Ryan had a hard time accepting discipline from Eric for the obvious reason that Eric is not his father. I had a hard time administering discipline for the guilt I harbored of the situation that Ryan had to grow up as the product of our divorce. So finally, after many bitter tears, Ryan is gone.

My computer at home has been down

2008-04-08T12:02:00.000-07:00

which is why I haven't blogged much lately. I'm at work right now using the computer so I thought I'd let everyone know I'm still alive.

In honor of my birthday, which was yesterday, here are a couple fun sites for you to visit:

http://www.birthverse.com/mybirthverse.cfm

http://www.paulsadowski.com/birthday.asp

I will update you on my life soon complete with pictures I promise!

I need to catch up on my blogging, so I will visit you soon!

Enabler alert!

2008-04-02T17:19:00.000-07:00

Paper Trey Ink's First Blog Hop!!! Woohooo!!

2008-03-25T16:37:00.000-07:00

There's a blog hop going on at Paper Trey Ink. You can read all about the blog hop details HERE!

It has been a very trying week so I forgot all about the blog hop challenge. Thank goodness I checked in on the PTI forum and was reminded about the blog hop TONIGHT! Yikers! So I ran to Wal-Mart in search of some supplies to make something for the challenge. I bought an unfinished wooden coat rack and decided I wanted to use it to store my delicious PTI ribbon. My PTI ribbon is so special to me so I wanted to store it separately from my ribbon stash. It's so pretty that I wanted to create a place of honor for it.

Our challenge for this blog hop was to incorporate ribbon as a focal point in a fun & unique way! So I decided instead of using the ribbon on a project, I would show a clever, functional and beautiful way to display and store the ribbon!

The first thing I did was spray paint the whole thing white. It has black hooks, which would've detracted from the delicate beauty of the ribbons, so the black hooks just had to go! I just traced the oval shape of the wooden plaque and cut my paper out to fit. I then used my 3/4" circle punch to punch out the circles out of the pink patterned paper to create the scallop border. I glued the little circles to the back of the oval. I printed out on the computer a saying that I just fell in love with on Nichole Heady's studio blog post. It says, "Surround yourself with the things you love". What better saying for a ribbon holder, eh? Tee hee!! To finish the project off, I punched some flowers out of more of the beautiful pink patterned paper, attached some buttons and viola!

I apologize for the low quality photography of my project. We're living in a dark little apartment right now so I tried going outside to get the shot. I had to hang my project on our front door, but it's really going to go in my new scrap room once our house is finished! I can't wait!!

So here is the finished project. Not bad for throwing something together at the last minute!!

You can click on the photos for a closer view.
Thanks for stopping by!

Today's daily musings...

2008-03-18T14:02:00.000-07:00

I've been a real blogging slackard lately, so to make up for it, here is a long post and hope you stick with me until the end.

For Joy, here is my avatar photo, hopefully a little bigger so you can see it better.

My sis-in-law, Patty took this photo of me before I got my hair cut, but unfortunately the photo was a little blurry. It looks ok in a small format but if it's blown up any larger, you can really see how blurry it is. Since avatar are normally really small, this photo works ok for that.

Now on to a RAK I received:

My girlfriend, Becky, sent me the cutest 3-pack of moleskine journals she got at Barnes and Noble. So I took and altered them. I forgot to take a pic of Becky's before I mailed it to her, so you'll have to see the one I made for myself. The paper is by Paper Trey Ink and can be found here. When I have more time, I'll take a photo of the paper trimmer I used to create the scallop strip. It's by Marvy/Uchida I think and has interchangeable blades for different effects. I used the scallop blade, obviously here. The rain dots I found in a little bag at Michael's. They come in a bag of like a zillion for like $3.99. I might've got the idea on Becky's blog, but I can't remember now who's blog gave me the tip. I have some to share. If you'd like to try them out, let me know and I'll send you a baggy of them. I have Blue, Clear, Green and Pink. I used Autumn Leaves swirl stamps and Palette Burnt Umber ink.

Here is my most recent layout:

Here is a layout I did for a challenge at A Million Memories based on a sketch by Valerie Salmon. I did it on the five things I want to do before I "kick the bucket". If you didn't see the movie, "The Bucket List", it's a must see. My list includes:

1. Read the Bible cover to cover.

2. Travel to Europe.

3. Learn the violin.

4. Visit Alaska.

5. Finish my degree.

The third one in the pack I think I'll make for my friend Katie.

On to more happy talk, here is the RAK I put together for Joy and Christine. Can you believe all these yummies came from the Target Hot Spot? I got my Zutter binder out and made a 6x6 mini album for them out of some spare chipboard sheets I got from online kit orders. I cut the inner pages out of Georgia Pacific 110 lb. cardstock I bought at Wal-Mart. It's stiff enough to hold up to altering. Then I took the paper, cut it down to size and included matching embellishments such as little cute spools of ribbon, foam flowers, flower brads, chipboard tags, prima type flowers and rhinestone brads. I just thought the colors were so bright and cheery. It makes me look forward to summer, sunny days soon to come!!

Chris, do you want me to send this to you Dad's or to your P.I. addy?

Have fun with you goodies, girls!

Now for some house pictures!!

Here's the view out our front door. Everything is muddy and sloppy right now with all the rain.

Here is Connor's bedroom.

Here is the Master Bedroom and Bath. There are two separate closets with a jet tub in between the closets. To the right is a water closet (a private room for the stool). We plan to have a double sink vanity and also a separate marble shower. The master features a door out to the patio, coffered ceilings with can lights all around.

Here's a photo of Uncle Allen, Eric and Ryan. Connor is named after Uncle Allen. He is Shirley's brother. He is doing the taping on our home. This view is from the living room looking into the dining area and the fireplace. Off the dining area you can see a slider door that leads out onto the screened back porch.

Here is the view from the dining area looking into the kitchen. In the corner is a pantry. There's also an island in the middle of the room. The kitchen sink will sit right under that arched window.

Here is a photo looking from the dining room into the living room.

As you can probably see, our kitchen, living and dining area is one big open area. Behind where Eric is standing is the master bedroom to the right and the mudroom to the left. Behind where I am standing taking this picture are two separate bedrooms (one being Connor's room and the other a guest bedroom) with a hallway bathroom in between the two bedrooms.

So it's a simple, yet functional home, perfect for the four, soon to be three of us. Down in the basement will be my scrap space and a bathroom and bedroom for Ryan eventually.

If you're still here, thanks for looking!!

RAK winners!

2008-03-17T16:01:00.000-07:00

Christine had 16 posts.
Joy had 15 posts.

So, since it was so close, I'm going to send them each a "thank you" gift for visitng me so often.

I love all of y'all so please visit often!

Theresa
XOX

Time for some blog candy!

2008-03-13T12:12:00.000-07:00

I'm going to count up all the comments from last month until now. Whoever posted the most comments will get a small prize pack from me.

Stay tuned!

New post just for Lacintha

2008-03-12T12:07:00.001-07:00

Ok, Laci. You win. You cracked me up on your last comment so here is the tag I promised I'd post for you.

If you can, please stop by and visit my girlie Lacintha.

Top Fives:
5 things you cannot live without under $10
1. Blistex medicated lip balm
2. McDonald’s Sweet Iced Tea
3. $6 drive thru car wash
4. Dove chocolates
5. The $1.99 Hot Spot at Archivers

5 favourite movies
1. The Notebook
2. August Rush (Jonathan Rhys Meyers- YUM) or Pirates of the Carribean (Johnny Depp- YUM)
3. Rat Race
4. Napoleon Dynamite
5. Dumb & Dumber

Baby names you love(but won't use)

Girls
1. Bella
2. Scout
3. Georgia
4.

5. Boys
1. Micah
2. Josiah
3. Ezra
4. Jonah
5. John

5 songs you could listen to over and over:
1. Anything Rascal Flatts
2. Anything Blues Traveler
3. Anything Mercy Me
4. Anything Casting Crowns
5. Anything Dave Matthews Band

5 people who influenced your life in a positive way:
1. My Dad
2. My boys
3. Pat Stoltenberg
4. Mama McKenzie
5. Mama Bryant

5 things that stay in your purse all the time:
1. Wallet
2. Blistex Lip Balm
3. Pen
4. Cheque-book
5. Swiss Army knife

5 moments you knew changed you forever:
1. The day my dad died
2. The day I graduated from High School
3. The first time I became a mother
4. The day I moved out of my parent’s house
5. The day I got divorced

5 obsessions you have right now:
1. Losing weight
2. Stamps
3. McDonald’s sweet tea
4. Spending money
5. Scrapbooking/cardmaking

5 places you would really love to go:
1. Europe
2. Alaska
3. Australia
4. Philippines
5. Fiji or Japan or China

5 people you would love to see do their top 5:
1. Jozzie
2. Cheryl
3. Joy
4. Kelly
5. Jude

(Don't be jealous, Deb. I already know all about you)

I love photoshop

2008-03-09T11:51:00.000-07:00

Heh heh...

Look what I got in the mail today!

2008-03-08T19:00:00.000-08:00

My sweet friend, Katie surprised me with this beautiful card in the mail today!!

The scan does NOT even do it justice. It's such a beautiful card! And the neat thing is she didn't sign the inside. Instead she included this sweet little verse printed on a separate paper:

"Though free of words, this card is full
of thoughts of love and cheer-
Made both for you and someone else
that you consider dear.
So if you have a hankerin'
to brighten someone else's day,
Just add your message & a stamp,
and send it on its way!

Um, yeah, I think I'll send it to someone dear- ME! LOL! I'm keeping this one!

Katie and I formed a bond after she read my post about missing my dad.

So thank you, Katie. I'm so blessed by our newly found friendship!

Healthful Recipe of the Day

2008-03-07T06:11:00.001-08:00

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and should never be skipped. So why not try something this delicious for breakfast?

Utter Oatmeal INSANITY!
This is, HANDS DOWN, the world's CRAZIEST and most delicious bowl of guilt-free oatmeal!!!

PER SERVING (entire recipe): 179 calories, 3.5g fat, 367mg sodium, 40g carbs, 11g fiber, 3g sugars, 7g protein

Ingredients:
1 packet Quaker Instant Oatmeal, Regular
1/4 cup Fiber One bran cereal (original)
1/4 cup light vanilla soymilk
2 tbsp. canned pure pumpkin
2 tbsp. Fat Free Reddi-wip
1 tbsp. sugar-free maple syrup
1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (or cinnamon)
5 sprays I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! Spray
1 no-calorie sweetener packet (like Splenda)
dash salt

Directions:
Place all ingredients except for Reddi-wip in a microwave-safe bowl. Add 1/4 cup water and stir. Microwave for 45 seconds, stir, and then continue to cook in the microwave for 30 - 40 seconds. Once oatmeal has thickened, remove bowl from the microwave. Add the Reddi-wip, and stir well. Then enjoy the best bowl of oatmeal you've EVER tasted!

MAKES 1 SERVING

Tag- You're it!!

2008-03-06T06:02:00.000-08:00

I was tagged by Lacintha, so here goes:

1. Link to the person that tagged you and leave a comment on their blog, so that their readers can visit yours.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share 7 Random facts about yourself on your blog.
4. Tag 7 random people at the bottom of your post, linking to their blog.

Let each person know by leaving a commenton their blog.

7 things about me …

1. I am adopted;
2. I have a morbid fear of roaches (the big black hairy ones that fly);
3. I have a sister and a mother-in-law both named Shirley Ann;
4. I hate my toes and think they are too long and skinny like my fingers;
5. I love purple;
6. I drive a Volkswagon Jetta Turbo Diesel;
7. I have been certified in scuba diving.

I will now tag:

Everyone who reads this post.

Uumm...Is it March??

2008-03-04T07:58:00.000-08:00

Ok, being from Texas, snow in March is just freaking me out! What the??? I am really, really tired of winter and can't wait until spring and warmer weather. This weather has really put a damper on my secret shopping excursions! Tee hee....

I guess I'll have to buy Connor a snow suit for Easter this year!
Here is a photo taken about 30 minutes ago. The snow is really coming down today!!

What have you been working on? I've been working on some cards for a card swap.
Remember you can click on each image to get a closer look.

I thought you might be interested in seeing the progress of the house. This was taken on 2/7/08. The company I work for is now into spray foam insulation for houses, so naturally, I'm having them insulate our home. Not much has happened since then. We've been waiting on our drywaller to show up to drywall our house. Between the weather, the flu and whatever other excuses he has, he still hasn't shown up and I'm about ready to give the job to somebody else!

Eric, and his buddy, Mark finally completed the siding on our house! That's mark on the scaffold.

Blender Coconut Custard Pie and BIRTHDAY request

2008-02-29T06:12:00.000-08:00

I made this pie last night in celebration of my boss's birthday:

So, channeling my inner Becky, the recipe queen, I would like to share this super easy custard pie that you whiz together in a blender. Yes, you heard right. A blender!

Crustless Coconut Blender Pie

2 c. milk

1 c. sugar

4 eggs

1/2 c. flour

6 T. butter

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. coconut

Throw everything except the coconut in a blender and whiz until well blended, I'd say about 3 minutes. Stir in the coconut and blend until incorporated through about 10 seconds. Pour into greased pie plate (9.5-10 inch) and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour.

Enjoy!

Now, I'd like to send all my bloggy friends a hand made Birthday card on your birthday, so if you'd like to get one from me, please say so in the comments along with your birthdate! If I don't already have your snaily, email it to me please.

Thanks!

A couple cards and Prima Box winner!

2008-02-27T06:43:00.000-08:00

First, I'd like to thank all the heartfelt words expressed in my last post about my dad. I really appreciate your kindness. I had you in mind when I made this card:

I made this card using the new Papertrey Ink Polka Dot Basics set found here. I used it to stamp the dotted background using the new matching inks, ribbon and cardstock at Papertrey Ink in Spring Moss. I used a Cuttlebug folder to emboss the white cs, American Crafts patterned paper. The flower and sentiment is also from a Papertrey Ink set called Beautiful Blooms.

The little doggy below is a Stampin' Up! set named Ruff Day. I colored him with Copic Markers. I just LOVE playing with my Copics. The pp is Imaginesce. I love the bright, boldness of the Imaginesce line.

Now for the moment you've all been waiting for...

Shelley is the winner of the little altered gum box filled with Prima Flowers!

Congrats, Shelley!!! Send me your snaily so I can get that out to ya! (Click on the sidebar where it says View my complete profile. There you will find an email link.)

It was 5 years ago today

2008-02-25T18:40:00.000-08:00

That a 5 month pregnant Theresa was running frantically through the airport in St. Louis trying to make the next flight out to Texas. I remember a male desk attendant hollering at me, hurry up! I wanted to say, "Look, my father is laying in a hospital bed possibly dying. Don't you think I want to get to him as quickly as possible? But for your information, I can't run any faster carrying this baby, and if I lose this baby because you tried to rush me along, wouldn't you feel bad?" I wanted to say this, but I was so winded, I couldn't afford the breath to get the words out. It wasn't his fault. He didn't know I was pregnant because I really wasn't showing then. I remember sitting on the 2 hour flight to Houston. Two flight attendants were sitting close to me, laughing and chatting about nothing. I wanted to turn to them and say, "Shut up! My Dad's dying!!", but it wasn't their fault my dad was so sick. I was jealous of them, being so happy, not facing what I was about to face. He died while I was in the air making the descent into Houston. I missed him by 30 minutes. I never even got to say goodbye.

Dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer around the third week of January. I immediately fell into the stage of denial. I forced my dad to take the chemo, even though he didn't want to. But he did it for me, hoping doing so would ease the worry that laid heavy on my mind. Eric and I were right in the middle of closing the deal on our house on Ruth Lane. I had already been in Texas 2 weeks, but I had to go back to Missouri to finalize the closing and the move. I didn't know how bad Dad had gotten while I was gone. Mom never let on and Dad never complained. Not one single time did he complain. Not once. That was the kind of man he was. He was my hero, in more ways than one. You see, if it weren't for him, I wouldn't be here. I was born to a very poor Filipino woman and a serviceman who was not man enough to step up to the responsibility of a child and a woman who loved him. My Mom and Dad had tried for years to have a child to no avail. Then a friend of a friend told my mom to come see a newborn baby that would probably end up in an orphanage. My Dad was opposed to the idea. My mom coerced him into going to see me. He took one look at me, and couldn't leave me. As the story goes, there were sugar ants crawling on me. It was a pitiful site according to my parents. From that day there was a bond that not even death could break. I didn't find out I was adopted until I was 30 years old. When I asked my Dad why he waited so long to tell me (he bawled like a baby when he told me), he said it was because he never wanted me to feel like I was anything other than his own flesh and blood. It was my Dad who was always there for me, through all that I'd been through. When I was a teen going through those awkward years, it was my Dad who sat at the foot of my bed while I was crying, consoling me, telling me how special I really was. After three failed marriages, it was my Dad who was always there to pick up the pieces, and send me on my way on this road of life again. You see, it was really hard to fill Dad's shoes. I guess he's partly to blame for my failed marriages because nobody could ever measure up to him. He was who I measured men against. Until now. I think God knew what I was about to face and sent Eric into my life, the only man who could fill Daddy's shoes, 7 months before my Dad died. My heavenly Father didn't want me to face this grief alone. Now Eric is my rock. Eric got to meet my Dad, but I wish he could've got to know him better. Eric has never had a Dad and this his one chance to finally share a father/son bond with someone, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be. The hardest thing was that Daddy died knowing he'd never get to hold the grandson I was carrying at the time. He loved my older boys. He was their Tata. He'd drive all the way from League City to Lake Jackson to watch his grandsons play sports, etc. He was there for them, just like he was there for me. I could always count on him to baby sit. I worked shift work at the time for Roche Vitamins and Fine Chemicals. He would drive all the way over to pick the boys up and take them for the weekend so I could work. When I was growing up, he never missed a football game. He was there, faithfully to watch me in the band or on the dance team. I would search the stands for his face, and always, he would be there.

So, with a heavy heart, I am allowing myself to think about this amazing man today. I try not to think about him too much because the pain is still so severe. I know it's been 5 years since he's been gone. But pain is still there. The hurt is still fresh. I guess you just learn to deal with it on a day by day basis.

He died 30 minutes before I got to Texas. I never got to say goodbye. But I know deep in my heart, he knew without a doubt how much I loved him, and I know how much he loved me.

Another Paper Trey Ink project!

2008-02-22T07:14:00.000-08:00

The other day as I was taking a piece of gum out of it's cute little box, I thought, "Hhhmmm, this little box would be so cute altered". So I did just that! I took an empty Ice Breakers gum box, covered it with the new yummy PTI paper, filled it with itty bitty Prima flowers.

I thought the sentiment, "Inspire Creativity" was perfect for a little box of Prima flowers. I stamped on the twill ribbon, "Just a little something". I used the Nestabilities ovals to mount the sentiment. I topped the box with the little Prima flowers to give a preview of what is inside the box. Finish it off with little crystal flower centers and there you have it!!

If you'd like to win this little box filled with Prima itty bitty flowers, leave a comment and I'll draw a name from all the comments!

A Card for Lois

2008-02-21T16:28:00.000-08:00

My sweet friend, Wilna Furstenberg is doing a huge RAK and card drive for her friend, Lois, here.

WHY?

From Wilna's blog...

I have a friend, Lois. She is 40 years old and have cancer. She is in pain and needs positive, uplifting people to remind her continually to live and that life is worth living. She has an amazing husband and four beautiful kids. The doctors are not giving her long to live, but I believe that God is the author of life. And I know you believe that too.

My heart is burdened for Lois. Can you imagine being given a death sentence by your doctors? But, there's hope in our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ! He is our great physician. By His stripes we are healed, and I believe in the miraculous power of His healing. Please pray for Lois and lift her up by sending a card. Wilna is trying to get 100 cards pledged.

Here is the card I created for Lois. Please join me in this plea...

I am totally hooked on Papery Trey Inks products. Their stamps, cardstock, patterned paper, inks, customer service are of the highest quality. I love this set. It's called Everyday Blessings and you can find it here.

I used a Marvy scalloped oval and plain oval punch for the outside sentiment. I stamped the cross as well as the sentiment and sprinkled it with black embossing powder to really enhance the black and make it pop, then I heat set it. I then cut out the cross by hand and placed foam on the back to lift it off the card. I used double stick foam for the scalloped sentiment as well. I enhanced the scallops with Black Diamond stickles.

The inside sentiment is stamped on a white cardstock and punched in the corner with a Stampin' Up notched corner punch. I love how the punch mimics the pointy edges of the cross.

Please make a card for Lois today.

RAK winners

2008-02-20T06:25:00.000-08:00

We were busy again last night doing house stuff. I got off work early, picked up the baby and headed to St.L to pick Eric up from work. We went to a flooring store to look at some flooring Eric saw on Craigslist. We bought that flooring for $2.50 or something like that a foot, which is a great deal considering we saw some hardwood flooring for $20/foot! Yikes! We picked out a natural birch wood floor. It's really pretty. We're going with a Craftsman look for the house so we picked out some cherry wood cabinets by Kraft Maid with a really pretty Autumn Blush stain. It's a pretty light red color. I hope it looks good with the birch flooring. I wanted to have contrast between the cabinets and the floor. I wanted a blonde colored wood to keep things light and airy and to contrast the red cherry cabinets. The cabinets are in a clean and simple shaker style. I think we're getting bronze fixtures for the knobs, handles and faucets. We haven't picked out our countertop yet but I think it's going to be a light colored Silestone with reddish flecks. The counter will be a blonde color to match the flooring.
We went to American to look at stoves and ended up buying a sofa instead. We got one of those sofas that has leather everywhere that touches the body, but vinyl on the back- way cheaper! It's a beautiful coffee bean dark brown color leather with 2 recliners built in. There are only 2 recliners that span the whole couch so they are extra wide and comfy. It has clean lines. It's very sumptuous. Hopefully it's neutral enough to go with everything else we've picked out. We plan to put a flat screen above the fireplace, so we looked at flat screen and got sticker shocked! LOL! This week, hopefully, fingers crossed, the drywall will go up. I will get pictures of the house (it's long overdue) once that happens so you can see the progress!

Now on to my FAVORITE part! The RAKS!!

Now everyone who commented, whether they said they wanted to win or not, got their name put in the hat. Quit trying to be a martyr and say you don't want my RAKs. I love blessing my friends! And who doesn't like the chance to win a present? So stop it already!

Here is what I came up with for the Piggy Tales preview RAK a few posts ago. I fell in love with this K&Co mini book kit. There are 143 pieces in this 4x5" book kit including transparency images, paper, chipboards. It is SO stinkin' cute!
I put 19 names in the drawing. Guess who's name I pulled out? I would have Connor do it but he's still sleeping. And the winner is.....
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drumroll please
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JOY!!!

Yippeee! Joy, you won the mini book!!

And now, for the cute Valentine stamp set...

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another drumroll please..
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BEVERLY!!!!!

Beverly, you won!! And see there, you said you never win anything!! LOL!!! You can't say that anymore!

Shoot me an email with your snaily and I'll get that out to you this week!!!

Thanks for playing

Busy, busy, busy

2008-02-18T06:18:00.000-08:00

Hey y'all!

I've been so busy the past few days. Thursday night Eric took me out for Valentine's dinner. Friday night Ryan had a basketball game. Saturday afternoon Ryan had his last bb game but it was away and the whole day was spent on travelling there, watching it, and travelling back. Yesterday was church and directly afterwards, to St. Louis to check out kitchen cabinets and countertops. So far we have our fridge (a stainless steel french door model with ice and water thru the door), and a ss dishwasher. We still have to order our stove. We have in mind that we (I) want a 36" dual fuel (Gas burners and electric oven). We're trying to find the best deal. On a happy note, I think I doomed our washing machine. I told Eric that I wanted a new w/d set for the new set and he said no. So I said, "I hope our washing machine breaks down so I can get a new one". Do you know the power of our words? LOL! Sure enough, our 7 year old Maytag washing machine broke down and I now am the proud owner of a matching set of front loading washer and dryer by Frigidaire. LOL!!!

I will try my hardest to conclude the 2 RAKs that I have going.

I have to run Shirley to the doctor for her chemo treatment today.

Stay tuned!

Happy Valentine's Day RAK and Copic Marker discussion

2008-02-12T16:21:00.000-08:00

I have been really interested in card making lately. I have been researching the web and educating myself in the application of Copic Markers as well as watercoloring and Prisma Pencils.

Here's a Valentine card I made using my Copic markers. There are alot of links to the right of my blog under resources concerning Copic markers. Copics are alchohol based inks. You can get them at HL. Once every 3 weeks, HL will put them on sale (All artist markers) for 30%. If you want to save more money, you can get them with a 40% coupon one at a time, which is time consuming, if you ask me. The markers are pricey- $6 each. But they are an investment. What I LOVE about Copics, besides their vibrant colors and blendability (using a blender pen and blending solution) is that they are refillable and the nibs (tips) can be replaced virtually making them the last marker you will ever need to purchase! I use the sketch marker (there are different ones- original, ciao, etc.) because it has a brush nib which is perfect for coloring in images. The markers are double ended. The sketch marker has a brush tip on one end and a chisel tip on the other end.

You have to use pigment inks to stamp your main image. Dye inks will bleed when used with Copics. I used Brilliance pads in black and dried it a little with my heat gun to speed things up. Make sure your image is dry before you start coloring.

To give dimension to the balloon, I used red flock. The important thing to remember when using flock is to color in your image first with your base color, in this case, red Copic ink, so that if there are any places that don't get covered with the flock, it'll be camoflauged with the red ink. (Yes, I learned that the hard way.) Then after the ink is dry, which is very quickly since it's alcohol based and evaporates quickly, apply glue ( I used 2 way glue with a chisel tip for broader coverage) and dust on the flock. Push the flock gently into the glue so it sticks. Knock off the excess flock into a coffee filter and funnel the excess back into your container.

This monkey couple is just my most favorite pair of love birds, or should I say, love monkeys? Hee hee....

Here is what a Copic marker looks like:

In celebration of my most favorite holiday of the year, I am giving away the most adorable of all time Stampin' Up Valentine set named, "Have a Heart". This set is retired and can no longer be purchased through SU!, so it is very collectible. I couldn't bear to part with my monkey stamp, so this will have to do.

Just leave me a comment telling me why and how bad you want this stamp set. (Bribes accepted! Ha ha!) If you already have this set, please let someone else have a chance to win it.

Also, please let me know if you have any questions about Copics and I will start a separate post to address any questions you may have.

Piggy Tales Sliding Door Book

2008-02-10T14:15:00.001-08:00

Here is the reason I"ve been MIA lately. I've been working feverishly hard on this book. Now that it's done, I hope to catch up on everyone's blogs and make some Valentine cards!

Seasons 2007

I'm in the Member Spotlight at Creating Keepsakes website!

2008-02-06T09:06:00.001-08:00

Come say "hi" to me on this thread:

http://www.creatingkeepsakes.com/mb/viewtopic.php?t=87068

Thanks for letting me share in the excitement!!

Connor the Artist

2008-02-01T15:32:00.000-08:00

Look at this dinosaur that Connor colored at Montessori. Is he his mama's boy or what? He loves colorful stuff just like his mom. I thought it was so cute and worth showing off.

Here is what we're dealing right now. We got about a foot of snow dumped on us. Connor had fun making a snow angel. We tried making a snowman, but the snow was too powdery to stick together to roll into balls. Can you believe that the snow has to be just right to build a snowman? I'm from Texas. I'm not a snow expert, but I'm learning!

I'm going to do a little give away for the post below this one, so leave a comment! I'll get that done by Sunday!

OMGosh! Look at Piggy Tales' SNEAK PEEK!!

2008-01-30T05:02:00.000-08:00

I can not believe the out of the box products that Piggy Tales has come up with! Take a look at these springs. Can you imagine how fun these will be to work with!! Click on each image for a better look!

Debbie's really stepped out of the box, so to speak, on her latest paper designs! I'll have to channel my inner Margie for the Mulan collection. I think it's my most favorite. I love anything Asian/Japanese inspired!

Perfect for that baby boy or toddler:

For that special girl in your life, even if that girl happens to be you!

What perfect teen paper! What I love about it is it'll work for a boy or girl!

Last but not least, new rubons!

Another thing is, Piggy Tales has gone GREEN! Quote from the Piggy Tales blog:

..."our papers will be printed on high quality 65 lb environmentally friendly, recycled paper!! We didn’t stop with that either! The patterns are printed with soy based, organic ink…and YES!! It is all acid and lignin free! "

This really speaks to me as I studied for an Environmental Science degree. I love earth friendly products!

I can't wait to get my hands on these new goodies. I'm sure my good buddy, Mary Beth, will be carrying these goodies at my favorite online store.

So tell me what your favorite is. Leave me a comment and I'll have Connor draw a name for a free goodie!

Sweet baby girl

2008-01-28T16:37:00.000-08:00

I had the honor of photographing kristi's daughter today. I love this photo of her looking through her scrapbooks that Mommy's made for her. She sure is a little fighter. You'd never guess by looking at her today that she started off life as a preemie, struggeling through those first few months of life at the NICU. She truly is a miracle baby and an answer to many, many prayers.
She didn't want to be a part of the photo shoot today, but I think we got a couple cute ones for her scrapbook despite her lack of cooperation! Toddlers! Ha ha!

Cute Calendar

2008-01-21T14:50:00.000-08:00

I made a little desk calendar and I just love how cute it is! I bought it in a kit at the stamp store. I did the stamping on one as a gift for whomever wants one. I might have two to give away. If I can't find another one here, I know I can get one at the stamp store. I'll do the main stamping for you, but it's a kit that you put the rest together. It's cute, quick and fun. So the first two people who visit my blog and says they want one in the comments sections gets one! I need to tell you, though, that I really should've stamped the little flock of birdies in dye ink instead of pigment ink b/c somehow, they smeared. But that's the charm of something homemade, right? ;0)
So if you don't mind the fuzzy birds and want one, do let me know!

Piggy Tales Hide n Seek Flap Book

2008-01-16T10:29:00.001-08:00

More New Year relfections

2008-01-15T07:27:00.000-08:00

I don't think I ever shared a photo of Savahn I took of her in her, "My First Christmas" santa hat. I love this photo. It's so darn cute!

Now, on to the business of the day.
I visited I visited Jozzie’s Blog today, which led me to Di Hickman’s blog where I found this interesting meme.

1.What did you do in 2007 that you'd never done before?
Went to CHA, had surgery for the first time.
2. What are your New Years Resolutions?
Lose weight, quit spending so much money
3. Did anyone close to you give birth in 2007?
Yes, my one and only sibling- my sister.
4. Did anyone close to you die.
Nope.
5. What countries did you visit?
None. In fact, we’ve been too busy with the house to take a vacation. The boys and I went to Texas for Thanksgiving while Eric stayed back and worked on the house. Maybe in 2008 we’ll take a vacation.
6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
A vacation with the family.
7. What date(s) in 2007 will remain etched in your memory and why?
I don't remember dates, I remember events/moments.
Events: My mom visiting from the Philippines and us going to the Botanical Gardens and Branson, my son turning sweet 16 and getting his first car, going to CHA for the first time and being mesmorized by Tim Holtz, holding my sweet niece for the first time, undergoing surgery for the first time.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting pubbed twice. Getting on manufacturer design teams- Hooray Piggy Tales!
9. What was your biggest failure?
Wasting time shopping and not using that time as quality time with my family.
10. Did you suffer any illness or injury?
Yes, I got my gall bladder out on Dec. 21st.
11. What was the best thing someone bought you?
My pocket digital camera- a Canon elph.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
My friend, Amy Birch and BFF Debbie each made me something really special.
13. Whose behavior appalled and depressed you?
Not really appalled or depressed but their actions really showed me how petty they are. And can you believe they’re church people? Which reminds me to tell you to remember to always turn your eyes towards God and away from people because God will never disappoint you.
14. Where did most of your money go?
Right now the house. Where did the other money go? Don’t even go there!
15. What did you get really, really excited about?
I was excited about CHA, and making it on the Piggy Tales Design Team.
16. What song(s) reminds you of 2007?
Anything by Rascal Flatts, James Blunt-You’re Beautiful, Rhianna- Umbrella, Fergie- Big Girls Don’t Cry, Gwen Stefani 4 in the morning, anything from August Rush.
17. Compared to last year are you...
a.) Happier or Sadder? Happier
b.) Thinner or Fatter? Fatter
c.) Richer or Poorer? Poorer. The raises can’t keep up with the inflation.
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Anything, just be more productive!
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Surfing the web - what a time sink! Something I really need to limit. Oh and watching crap TV shows. (Direct quote from Di!)
20. How did you spend Christmas?
At Mike and Dani’s for lunch and watched National Treasure at the movies that night.
21. Did you fall in love in 2007.
Yes, with my new little niece- Savahn Ana-Li.
22. How many one night stands did you have?
None.
23. What was your favorite TV program?
American Idol and Extreme Home Makeover.
24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't this time last year?
To quote Di who quoted Laine from her entry: "Hatred is the wrong word. There are people I'm working on letting go of. But that's about as far as I'm going to go". I feel the same way. There are a couple of people who I won't be interacting with anymore, goes back to #13 really.
25. What was the best book you read?
I’m terrible. I haven’t read any books. Not even my Bible. I know. Shameful!
26. What did you do on your birthday and how old were you?
It must not have been anything eventful, because I can’t remember what I did. I turned 43.
27. What was your best musical discovery?
Hhhmmm…after watching August Rush, I discovered I want to learn to play the violin.
28. What did you want and get?
Published. Getting on Piggy Tales was the icing on the cake.
29. What was your favorite film of the year?
Augush Rush.
30. What did you want and not get?
Nothing.
31. What one thing would've made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
More time with my mom.
32. How would you describe your fashion concept for 2007?
Just finding something that fits!
33. What kept you sane?
Sane? What’s sane?
34. Which celebrity or public figure did you admire most?
I admire people who selflessly give of themselves, namely Mother Teresa.
35. What political issue stirred you most?
Barrack Obama. I can’t believe that someone so controversial has gotten so close to being a president. What is this country coming to?
36. Who do you miss?
First and always, my Dad. Then my mom and my sister.
37. Who was the best new person you met?
Met, as in real life? Probably Margie. She is the most nurturing person I’ve ever met. I wanna be her when I grow up. Then, Tim Holtz. I also enjoyed meeting Lance Anderson, Mr. Picklelicious.
38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned.
Trust God in everything. For example, don’t be upset if you missed a green light. That little pause just might have saved you from an accident later on down the road.
Also, I have come to the conclusion that it’s not about being published and rising to celebrity status in the scrapping world that is important. For one, I am not ambitious enough and am such a slllooooww scrapper that I don’t have enough time between family, church and work, to produce enough artistic projects to catapult me into fame, even if I had the talent (which I don’t). What’s important is the friendships that I’ve made along the way while pursuing this hobby and to nurture those relationships. This doesn’t mean I won’t continue to submit for pub, because it’s fun and exciting submitting it gives you something to look forward to. And if I submit and don’t get picked, I’ll remind myself about what’s important in the long run.

39. Quote a song line that defines your year.I don’t know. I’ll have to think about it.

If you're still here after reading all this, then I applaud you. I just wasted 30 minutes of your life you'll never get back. LOL! Seriously, thank you for caring enough to make it to the end. I love ya!

Miserable

2008-01-13T17:29:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone!

I know I've been MIA lately. I went back to work and basketball season started up again so two nights this past week were taken up with games.

Friday night, I came down with an awful flu. I've been running fever ever since even up until today. And to make things better, the diarrhea has set in. I know. TMI! LOL!! I was hoping to get my PT project finished up and posted on my blog for all to see, but it'll have to wait until tomorrow.

Detta- thank you for checking on me. You're so sweet. I'm holding back your RAK package to send it with the puzzle piece.

Jude- I had to find the right box to mail your little goodie to you. I know I'm terrible. I hope you haven't been watching the mailbox all week! I promise, this week for sure.

Hope everyone is doing well and staying away from this flu!

I talked to Eric this evening about having a Pajama Crop (perfect for Jude!) at our new house once it gets finished. Thanks, Kara, for asking how the house is coming along. It's coming around slowly but surely. Anyway, he said he would make himself scarce whatever weekend we have it by taking the boys camping. Doesn't that sound like so much fun? It makes me more anxious to get the house finished so I can have y'all over to play!!

I'll keep you posted on it!

Theresa
XOX

The Value of Time

2008-01-08T08:20:00.000-08:00

To realize the value of ten years:
Ask a newly divorced couple

To realize the value of four years:
Ask a graduate.

To realize the value of one year:
Ask a student who has failed a final exam.

To realize the value of nine months:
Ask a mother who gave birth to a stillborn.

To realize the value of one month:
Ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.

To realize the value of one week:
Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize the value of one minute:
Ask a person who has missed a train, bus or plane.

To realize the value of one-second:
Ask a person who has survived an accident.

To realize the value of a sister:
Ask someone who doesn't have one.

To realize the value of a friend or family member:
LOSE ONE.

Time waits for no one.
Treasure every moment you have.
You will treasure it even more if you can share it with someone special.

RAK from yesterday!

2008-01-07T06:01:00.000-08:00

To everyone who commented on my post of yesterday, I'm throwing in a little something springy or valentinesy to your RAK package that I'm mailing off some time this week. It'll either be a little pack of flowers or brads or ribbon, etc.

So congrats to:
Jude
Margie
Carla
Joy
Robin

Woohoo!

Sneak Peek!

2008-01-06T15:23:00.000-08:00

What're you working on? I'm working on my December Piggy Tales project assignment. Yes, I said December. Since I haven't felt well in over a month, I got behind on my assignment. Since my gall bladder problem is behind me, I feel like scrapping again.

I'm using the cutest album made by Piggy Tales called a Hide n Seek Flap Book. Coupled with the flap book, I decided to use an awesome pack of Spanish/English rub ons in honor of my father, who taught me Spanish. So many times, I'd ask my dad, "Daddy, how do you say, so and so, in Spanish". Now I want to pass along this knowledge to Connor.

I also used the Animal Kingdom Cricut cartridge to make the animal shapes and used chalks to bring them to life. I will post more pages of the book once I get it done!

Also, I'm getting together the "Thank You" RAK packages ready for my friends who participated in the Cumulative RAK thingy.

Liz- your 601 book will get to the PO some time this week.

Jude- I have something special for you too.

Thanks for looking. So what are you working now in this new year of fresh starts?

Reflection of goals

2008-01-02T13:23:00.000-08:00

I made this to sit on my scrap shelf and remind me of what my goals were for 2007. It's just a bunch of little tags held together by a giant wooden paper clip that I painted to match my color scheme.

My goals were as follows:

1. Sharpen my photography skills, read my camera manual

Well, I did read my camera manual, but dozed off one too many times. I think I'm just a tad more skilled, but still alot left to learn.

2. Spend only $20 a week on scrappy supplies- I mean it!!
Well, I failed miserably in this department. I think it'll go back on the list for 2008
3. Quit putting scrappy supplies above personal needs. Each month buy yourself a new bra, a new pair of panties, etc.
I did pretty good on this one.
4. Submit at least one item per month for publication.
I did not follow through on this one. After I got published, I kinda lost interest, but I think it'll go on the list again for 2008.
5. Make at least 5 Christmas cards a month.
I exceeded this goal. I think I made close to to 70 but lost count. I know I sent about 100 handmade cards this year.
6. RAK something each month.
I'm pretty sure I reached this goal too. It'll go back on the list for '08 too! (Lucky you, those reading this blog!)
7. Enter SOY contest this year if there is one.
Oops! I forgot about this goal. I will change this one to Memory Makers Master. Anyone care to join me on this goal?

So, how'd you do? Have you made a little scrappy something like I did to set your goals for '08? If so, link us to it so we can see!!

One last post for 2007

2007-12-31T20:39:00.000-08:00

Just popped in to say that I hope everyone had a great 2007 and looking forward to 2008. We're home and getting ready for bed.

Do you have any resolutions for 2008? What are your favorite memories from 2007?

I hope everyone has a safe and blessed year ahead!

A Christmas Layout

2007-12-28T18:38:00.000-08:00

I took this photo of Connor last year and have been waiting for the right time to scrap it. I entered this in a contest and won $50 prize package!! Woohoo!! You can also find it in the Basic Grey gallery!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

2007-12-25T08:05:00.000-08:00

The best thing about Christmas this year is that Connor still believes in the magic of Christmas and Santa Claus. I just love his wide-eyed innocence. I wish it could last forever.

Some funny things that Connor's said this holiday season-

Sunday, we went over to Eric's mom's house so all the kids and grandkids could open their presents from her. Well, one of Eric's favorite memories of Christmas was his mom's cut-out cookies, so her friend Brenda's daughter, Rachel, who is a childhood friend of Eric went on Ebay and got Eric the original cookie cutters still in the package that are the same as the ones Shirley used when she made those cookies. So yesterday, we're driving around in the car and I hear a little voice in the back seat ask, "Mommy, did Daddy get cookie cutters for Christmas?" I said, "Yes". He thinks about it a second and replies, "Pathetic". LOLOLOL!!! I guess he doesn't think cookie cutters are a cool gift for a man. LOL!!

Then a little while later as I was sitting wrapping Shirley's gift, Connor's sitting on the floor next to me and his little wheels are just a turnin'. All of a sudden he says, "I hope I don't get a sweater for Christmas. I DO NOT need any more clothes, especially a sweater!" Ha ha ha..!

We had a great Christmas. Connor got all sorts of goodies- a couple Nerf guns, a light-etching draweing board, a kiddie MP3 player, a Fisher-Price digital camera (following in mom's footsteps), a pogo stick type thing, Magnetix, Rataouille movie, Trouble game and flash cards.

Ryan got 2 months of his car insurance paid for him, three $20 gas cards, a beanie from Hollister and gift cards to the movies.

For Josh, I just gave him money to spend how he chooses. Hopefully he won't spend it on his freeloading girlfriend, but don't tell him I said that. Urrgghhh....More on that some other time.

I got Eric a GPS I found on sale at Toys R Us of all places, and a portable table saw, which he's been eyeballing for months but would never buy for himself. Leave it to the shopaholic to break down and fork over the big bucks for it. It's a gift for the whole family since he'll use it to build our house. Oh, I almost forgot- a two pound box of See's Candies, but don't tell him I really bought it for myself! Hee hee!!

I got a new Canon Elph pocket camera and a beloved Mrs. Beasley doll. I had one when I was a little girl in the '60's. We lost it in the move from the Philippines and I've always wanted another one. I found her through Ashton-Drake. It's a remake of the original, but I love her just the same. I don't know how to transfer photos from the new Canon to the computer but when I do, I'll show you pictures of Mrs. Beasley and the pathetic Christmas Cookie Cutters. LOL!

I hope everyone is happy, healthy and blessed this Christmas!!

I'm ok!

2007-12-22T14:18:00.000-08:00

The gall bladder surgery went off without a hitch, but not without a stitch, hee, hee!!

Yesterday I was so sick from the morphine. Everytime I opened my eyes, the room was spinning which made me so nauseas. Then late last night I had the worst hangover, ha ha complete with splitting headache. Today I feel much better- no nausea or headache, but I'm really sore.

Thanks to everyone who's been praying for me.

I'm having surgery tomorrow

2007-12-20T19:23:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

I may not be up to blogging for the next few days due to having my gall bladder taken out. If I don't talk to you before then, I hope everyone has a blessed, safe and Merry Christmas!!

Love you all!
Theresa

Look at what Deb made for me!

2007-12-19T19:33:00.000-08:00

Isn't she the best? I'm so blessed to have such great friends, and especially to have Deb as a BFF!!!

OMGOSH!! We have a WINNER!!!!

2007-12-18T19:06:00.000-08:00

Guess who the winner is?? ME!! I'm the winner!! I got an "all clear" on my re-mammogram today!! YES!! I'm so happy! But you know what really surprised me was how relieved Eric was when I told him the good news. He actually took me to the hospital today to get my tests done. When I came back and told him they confirmed it was a shadow on the first test, he hugged me really tight and kissed me. I've never seen him act like this. LOL! I joked with him telling him he's only happy that now I won't be so sick that he has to honor the "in sickness and in health" vow and have to wipe my butt for me. LOLOLOL!!!! OK. That's my twisted sense of humor. LOL!!

I'm also so happy that I got all my cards addressed and stamped!! I actually got 165 cards done and most of them were handmade:

Now, the moment you've all been waiting for!!!!!
I worked on the cumulative RAK today. I used an excel spreadsheet to help me get the correct number of names for each person in the drawing!

Here's how I decided to make it fair. Everyone gave me their post counts. I made a ballot for each count you told me for your name. Then I had Connor draw names until he drew the same name twice!

Drawing 1:

Drawing 2:

Drawing 3:

Drawing 4:

Drawing 5:

Drawing 6:

Drum Roll Please!!!!

The winner is

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

It's a little blurry... I got excited when Connor picked the name and moved!!!

.
KELLY!!!

Y'all don't feel bad. Kelly had 145 posts! Odds were in her favor.

I'm sending everyone who played a little sumpin sumpin for playing so don't feel bad. Ok?

I'll be doing this again so please continue to visit. You never know when the next RAK will be!! I'm thinking about doing another Cumulative RAK every three or four months, so stay tuned!!
Congrats, Kelly!! Happy dancin' in your honor!

Is everyone's count in?

2007-12-17T09:09:00.000-08:00

Comment on this thread and let me know for sure if your count is in.

So far, this is who I have down for the running on the RAK:

Cheryl P
Cheryl Y
Carla
Deb
Kelly
Morgan
Sollie
Christine
Carla
Margie
Robin
Kara
Joz

If I missed your name, send it to me now!!!

Updates

2007-12-14T19:53:00.000-08:00

Hi all my loved ones. Thanks for your prayers, thoughts and concerns.

After a long day for running to Washington to the doctor, pre-registering at the hospital for surgery and then running back home in time to make Dezi's 6th birthday party, I finally have an update on my condition. I am scheduled to have my gall bladder taken out next Friday. I am scheduled to have my left breast reanalyzed on Tuesday. So next week will be alot of poking and prodding on me!

Now, what you all have been waiting for- I have to sift through my emails to find everyone's post counts. Please email me if you haven't done so already. It doesn't look like I'll be able to get the box out by noon tomorrow as I planned because I haven't put everything together for Connor to draw a winner. I will try to wrap things up by Sunday and get the box out by Monday. So stay tuned. I'll try to get Debbie over here as a witness to keep me honest. Not that I'd pick favorites, because you are all my favorites.

Everyone will get a little something from me, so there will only be winners- NO losers! Ok??

I'll write back soon!

Prayers again please

2007-12-13T12:05:00.000-08:00

Gosh, I hate to keep pestering my friends and family for prayers, but last night Eric took me to the emergency room because something was seriously wrong with my stomach. I was in excruciating pain and didn't know what was wrong with me. Come to find out, I have 3-4 gallstones in my gall bladder and am afraid I'll have to have surgery to have my gall bladder removed. I have an appointment tomorrow at 12:15 to see the surgeon. I'm not worried about it as this thing happens to so many people and it's a common procedure anymore. I guess this is the right time to give up fatty, fried foods. Darn. Ha ha....

Gosh I feel like I'm falling apart! LOL!

I wasn't going to say anything, but I really need your support

2007-12-12T17:42:00.000-08:00

I was just going to wait to see how I did in this contest, but I got to thinking, if my friends rallied around me and left me some love on my layout contest entry, I might have a shot at a free trip to CHA.

So, if it's not too much trouble, would you please go here and leave me some love?

http://ebbscrapbooking.com/Forums/index.php?autocom=gallery&req=si&img=1776

Thanks so much for your love and support. I really wanna win so I can go and work for Piggy Tales and have my expenses covered.

Cumulative Rak help

2007-12-11T05:20:00.000-08:00

Don't forget to count up your posts for the grand finale. Don't be discouraged about counting up your posts. It's super easy, but time consuming. Just start by going here. Count the number of times you commented on this thread. Then open the next thread right above this one and count your comments there and so on.
To find old posts, look to the right on my blog on the side bar. Scroll towards the bottom of the page under Blog Archive. It has all the posts there month to month. Click on there and count up your comments per thread. Then email me your count. It's that easy. But as I said, it could take a bit of time.

I'll try to send each of you who plays a little something, so be sure you send me your count.

Thanks!

I'm in love with Tim Holtz

2007-12-10T18:09:00.000-08:00

I know that's no big secret to all my friends who know me well. Right now, Tim is doing 12 Tags of Christmas. Every day for 12 days, he's doing tutorials on 12 beautiful tags plus he's giving away the most awesome RAK prizes!!

Visit him on his blog here:

http://timholtz.typepad.com/my_weblog/

You can find just about everything he's demo-ing at this store:

http://www.blockheadstamps.com/sheets_christmas.html

I can't wait to see him again. I wanna be him when I grow up.

Check out this video

2007-12-10T12:28:00.001-08:00

It's hauntingly beautiful. I get goosebumps watching/listening to it. Can anyone tell me how to get the video on here?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTC2oEcZM4k

Important info regarding Cumulative Prize RAK! Please Read!!

2007-12-10T06:50:00.000-08:00

Ok, since I'm SO lazy and since I trust all my friends, here's how we'll work the drawing for the Cumulative Prize Rak.

I announced the RAK on this post here. Go to that post, and from then until this Friday the 14th, please count up the number of posts you've made and email me your number to ttyree@fidnet.com. Remember, the more you posted the more chances you had to win. So everyone who wants a chance to win, please count up your posts and email me the number so I know how many times to enter your name in the hat to win.

Now, how I'll select the winner is this. I will place the names in a hat. I will draw and keep drawing until I pick the same name twice. So the drawing won't be based on just the first name I pick out of the hat. It will be based on the first person's name I draw out twice. I think that's fair enough.

So please count up your posts all the way until FRIDAY, the 14th including the posts you make this week and email them to me by 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time. I will draw in time to get the box into the mail to the winner by Saturday, the 15th!

Happy posting! You can increase your odds of winning by posting alot this week. Hee hee!!

Cumulative RAK prize

2007-12-09T14:17:00.000-08:00

Here are a few more prizes going into the Cumulative Prize Rak box!! Of course, I have to put that 601 book in there since my layout is in the book. I'm giving one as a gift to Liz since she made my day asking me for my autograph. That's so funny.

Then there's a little fall mini album with papers already cut and placed inside. I'll include some extra papers to finish it off.

Then I found the cutest clear pail kit complete with Christmas chipboard shapes and embellishments- just in time for Christmas.

Remember, if you'd like a chance to win the prize box with all the presents in there from the last six or so months, please leave a comment. I promise to get this box a winner by the end of the week and hopefully will arrive to the lucky winner by Christmas time!! So don't forget to stop by and say hi!

Final challenge after 8 weeks! Glad it's done!

2007-12-08T19:07:00.001-08:00

Now I can go Christmas shopping. We missed it tonight because I stayed all day working on the layout and it got too late to go to the city to shop. Journaling tag is hidden behind the photo and reads, "Shirley, I wasn't around when you had cancer the first time, but rest assured I'm here now and I'll be here for you. Together we'll get through this."- Theresa

Prayers for me please...

2007-12-07T08:37:00.001-08:00

As I mentioned a few days ago, I went in for my yearly mammogram. I just got a call today from the doctor's office that there's a spot on my left breast that needs further investigation. Please say a little prayer that the other tests come back as nothing. This is why it's so important to have a mammogram without fail every year. If there is something nasty there, I'm praying that we will have caught it in the early stages and I'll be ok.

Thanks in advance and God Bless everyone!!

RAK winner!!

2007-12-03T07:00:00.000-08:00

Just a real quick post before I run off to the dr. for my yearly mammogram. Speaking of which, is everyone current on theirs?? I've seen my mother in law suffer as a result of breast cancer. Everyone should have a yearly mam to prevent this from happening.

I have TWO winners for the TROUBLE BOX. I got the boxes from dollar general. They were 2 to a pack. I've altered one. But I haven't altered the other one yet. It's smaller and will say "Prayer" Box since the word prayer has fewer letters and will fit better on the box.

The winner of the Trouble box is:

JESS!! Woohoo, Jess! Send me your snaily and I'll get that right out to ya.

The winner of the Prayer box is:

ROBIN!! Robin, I need your snaily too!

Thanks, y'all for playing. I'll make more things to RAK in the future so stay tuned! Also, I'm going to post pics later this week of what is going into the Cumulative RAK box for November. It has to do with a Fall mini album with papers from American Crafts!!

RAK!!

2007-12-01T14:34:00.000-08:00

I made this Trouble Box for a challenge at Scrappy Giraffe Kits

Our challenge choices:
Song Choices
1. Poprocks & Coke (Green Day)
2. Over my head (The Fray)
3. Trouble (Coldplay)

Scrappy Mission (choose only 1)
1. Alter a clipboard (front & back) using the song name OR lyrics on project
2. Use the sketch and song name OR lyrics
3. Alter small box, frame, or tin using lyrics OR song name on the project

Requirements (choose only 1)
1. Use all items from one manufacturer (this includes, cardstock, alphas, and flowers)
2. Use rub-ons and cardstock only, no pp
3. Use 5 pattern papers - any manufacturer (I used 5 different pp from Basic Grey's Phoebe line

Bonus 1. distressing (I distressed the chipboard title letters)

I chose to create a "Trouble" box to be used to put troubles/prayer requests. A favorite scripture, "Cast all your cares on Him for He cares for you" 1Peter 5:7 is printed on a transparency and placed on the top.

So, to celebrate my second pub, I would like to give this prayer box as a gift to someone. If you'd like to have it, please say so in the comments. I'll have Connor pick a name soon.

XOX

Memory Makers 601 is in Da Howwwzzzz!!!

2007-11-30T06:22:00.000-08:00

I got my comp copy of the book and my layout back yesterday!! I'm (or should I say, Connor is) on page 221. This book is chock full of inspiring layouts. I'm going to do alot of lifting from this one! ;o)

To celebrate my pub, how about another RAK? Hhhmmmm....I'll have to dig thru my stash to see what I have to give away. Stay tuned. I'll try to find something around here or pick something up at Archivers on Monday if I get the chance to go.