Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! What a great day that I had on New Year's Eve. It began with breakfast with my 79 year old Dad who suffered a serious heart attack and subsequent health problems this past February. He has had a tough year health-wise and it was wonderful to hear him say, "I feel good today" and get to spend time with him. What a blessing!

The afternoon was "girl's day out" with my son's fiancee, and my sister-in-law and nieces who live in Arkansas. We had a nice lunch and an afternoon of "girl stuff", including manicures for the teens and shopping for all. (What a great opportunity for sweet fellowship and memory making!) Another blessing!

Tonight my husband's brother and his family joined us for our Church's New Year's Service where they heard my son preach the opening service and then stayed for refreshments and met our church family. Another Blessing! All of this following a wonderful belated Christmas celebration yesterday at my Mother-in-law's home. I am feeling very thankful and extremely....BLESSED!

May this New Year find you equally so!

Spring ??? Is In The Air

Well, here in Eastern Kentucky, it is a balmy 73 degrees today and sunny! Spring...before the New Year? I am certainly not complaining, being a warm weather gal ;) The Christmas Holiday has passed and I am cleaning up from the celebrations, (actually we still have one more 'Christmas' next Tuesday with family traveling in from Arkansas.) Today, I took a moment to sit down at my work space and create. It felt wonderful....and even slightly therapeutic!

I saw these resin angel wings on clearance yesterday and thought that they would look nice on a Valentine card. I love the result....with the scripture quote, they are a perfect fit. I am still having some lighting issues with the new camera, so bear with me while I figure it out. I am longing for deep, true colors in my posts....I just have to find the right settings before snapping those shots. (I guess that I will have to break down and read the owner's manuel ;) Hope everyone is well and having a wonderful day.

Frosty the Snowman

I have certainly been a negligent blogger lately! Thankfully, I got my laptop back from the manufacturer today repaired and evidently in proper working order! I am soooo glad to have it home where it belongs :) I found the cute glittery snowmen pictured above at my local Walmart this weekend. Loving snowmen the way that I do.....it was a no brainer to make this card. I think that this will be my final Christmas card for this year....on to valentine's day and spring...warmer thoughts of the months to come.

Big news at our home this weekend....our 21 year old son became engaged! As they are both in college, no date for the wedding has been set, but each declares with certainty that they have found their soulmate. (With him being an ordained minister, THAT is very important for them to recognize.) We wish them a blessed life together and couldn't be happier with their decision.

I am looking forward to gathering with my family and friends for the holiday....can't wait to see what sort of 'crafting' gifts I might have hinted for ;)

Friday Already?

Can it possibly be Friday again, already? For someone who vowed that this Christmas would be simpler....I have certainly been feeling the Holiday hustle and bustle! But even with all of the running and preparing...I have found time to create. This picture was inspired by a photo on Elizabeth Kartchner's Blog (She was Scrapbooker of the Year a couple of years ago and has a great blog...visit if you haven't.) I just loved the idea of a "picture within a picture" and hubby was willing to go along with me and pose countless times for just the right shot. (actually he declared that the first one was good enough, but with a little coaxing, he played along.) Having a 21 year old son makes it difficult to get a true family shot....we only catch glimpses of him with his busy schedule.

I happened upon this sweet little ornament yesterday and it was forlorn, lying in a markdown box, all alone...since I love, love, love the antique look of the metal, I gave it a home and early this morning, I also gave it a card. I like the "paper bag" look of the cardstock and after using distressing ink on the edges, it looked properly aged. " The ragged ribbon actually came on the tree as a hanger. I love a good deal!

Have you ever seen a cuter mug? I have collected snowmen for years and when I found this little guy, I knew just what to do with him. This one is actually for my niece, Amber. (I know, Ber, you never get surprised anymore, thanks to blogging ;) I filled with my holiday hot chocolate mix and viola! A tasty treat for the palate and the eye.

Hubby is a chocolate addict! He has never met a chocolate that he hasn't loved, so I got him this GIANT Hershey bar and fancied it up a bit for him. He will find it in his stocking on Christmas. The tag reads "believe in miracles".....and on the inside, "your love has made a believer out of me!" Just a little something to make him smile. Aren't the holidays a perfect time to do just that for those who enrich our lives?

I just adore the little golden reindeer magnet (on clearance at Michael's) that matched my paper perfectly. Since my shopping is complete....now I am on a crafting rampage....you never know what I might create next... and actually, neither do I! Happy Scrapping!

Enjoying The Process

Whew...have had a bit of "crafter's block" lately. I was telling my sister today that I do not know if it is due to the bustle of the season, or simply running out of creativity...scared me for a few days! But today....I have felt the need to "craft" and here are the results!

This is a simple card made from Miss Elizabeth papers, The Beadery embellishments and jute...you can't get much simpler than that. I especially liked the torn paper bag element...wishing that I had time to use my new Singer Pixie Craft Sewing Machine, but alas, since I have not read all of the instructions yet...that will be used another day.

I found these cute cheese shakers at a local discount store and they were VERY discounted, so I bought them with this in mind. I plan to use mine for a bead jar, but they would serve just as well for any small crafting items. (Lookout sister, one is for you ;)

Here is an update on Packer the puppy especially for Amber....this was taken today following a bath and blowdry. He is, as you can see, outgrowing my old socks as a makeshift shirt. (As of now, we cannot find any real doggie clothes small enough for him.) He was a bit of a premie and has taken MUCH tender loving care! He was 10 weeks old yesterday and is probably up to about 2 1/2 pounds now with hair growing back! Yeah! As of now, he is growing like a weed and chewing like a Piranah! All systems GO!

I have been MIA for a few days...just busy with the season! I am so tired of Christmas cards, so I jumped ahead to Valentine's Day. (If retailers can put up Christmas decoration at Halloween, I can craft ahead ;) This heart was a clearance ornament at Michael's and I pictured it on a LOVE card. My niece got me the "love" stamp and I love it.

These pringle cans are decorated to hold my white chocolate gourmet popcorn as small goodies for friends and family for the holidays. I love to recycle/repurpose when I craft. You could call me the "frugal crafter." I have stated my motto before, "never pay full price." My son was doing some Christmas shopping this week and found a couple of great deals.......he told me about them and used my motto in the telling. I was so proud ;) Have a blessed day.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

With snow on the ground and flurries in the air....it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! I had decided that I had made all of the Christmas cards I was making for this year...until my niece, Amber, inspired me to try the flower folding. I love this technique and will probably use it again and again. (I can already see it in pretty pastels for springtime cards :) It is difficult to see that these flowers are snowflake paper, but they worked perfectly with my pine tree paper and tree button. This was a quick and cute project...thanks Ber...keep inspiring me!

Playing Around

Good Monday evening! We are getting the weatherman's promised "snow showers" this evening and I cannot help but feel a twinge of Christmas Spirit. Thankfully, I have nearly completed my shopping and today I have done most of my wrapping...whew....now I have time to play :) My mother-in-law reminded me a couple of times of the "thanks a latte" phrase and when I found this cute magnet, I knew just what I would use it for. After so many Christmas-y cards, this was a simple and refreshing card to make.

An hour or so ago, I sat down at my computer and noticed an empty Coca-cola bottle sitting there (left by my son :) I was inspired to make a "classic button bottle from a classic coke bottle" for a member of my family who LOVES her coke to drink. Viola! With a few scraps of paper, ribbon and jute, Amber, a button bottle for you was born! Hope you like it. It was a pleasure to make.

Black Friday Recovery

Hi all! I haven't posted for a couple of days...Thanksgiving was filled with family activity and waaaay too much turkey....I braved the shopping frenzy on Black Friday and actually enjoyed it ( my favorite was my binge at Michael's, as our nearest is almost 100 miles away:) and today I all but finished my shopping! Yeah! This is the first year that I have not had my shopping nearly completed before Thanksgiving. I really enjoyed the great bargains!

I threw this little card together late last night, (in between the gift wrapping) and I love my little snowman. I dry embossed him on vellum, placed a bit of torn mulberry paper behind him and mounted in on Provo Craft Holly Paper, and of course, added one of my big over-the-top bows! I Stamped "Believe In Miracles" with Making Memories cherry red ink...the inside says..."for unto us a child is born." I hope to get back to crafting next week...the only problem is that my scraproom is now "Christmas Package Central" and I can hardly turn around in it....oh well... I am sure that the crafter inside me will find a way. Be Blessed.

2S4Y Weekly Challenge

Well, here is my interpretation of this week's sketch challenge from 2sketches4you.blogspot.com . I really enjoyed making this card and I think that the bunched ribbon is my fave embellishment. You can barely see it, but the chipboard message says "blessings." On this Thanksgiving week, I feel especially blessed!

I used Making Memories solid cardstock; Ms. Elizabeth patterened paper; Martha Stewart glitter; Country Charm Ribbon and Wright's Wired Seed Beads...the chipboard is Colorbok. Thanks for stopping by ;)

Showers of Blessings!

Hi all! We awoke to steady rain this morning and I couldn't help but think of the hymn "Showers of Blessings." Afterall, this is Thanksgiving week and I feel overwhelmingly blessed! I look forward to a table surrounded with family on Thursday and am especially thankful that my Dad is able and looking forward to joining us. (He plans on staying for the entire day ;) By the way...beautiful tribute to him in your blog Amber !

The card above was simple. I used a premade card blank and simply embellished with glitter and a 3D tag from a gift bag from last year which is getting repurposed this year. (Scrappers never throw anything away for good reason :) My favorite seasonal verse is "For Unto Us A Child Is Born" which I stamped on the front and the inside says "Believe In Miracles." I DO!

I was the first one awake this morning and since it is a holiday week, I started it off by trying out a couple of new recipes. These are Pumpkin Spice Cookies and they are great. They remind me of desserts made by my Granny Smith when I was a child. (it is probably the nutmeg...I think that she used that in everything.) These are made with spice cake mix, a cup of pumpkin, walnuts and butter. Simply great! I plan to take a few trays like this one to my church friends on Wednesday evening as a small Thanksgiving treat. I plan to spend today making tags for them to express my families sentiments toward them during this week of thanksgiving, just to let them know that we are blessed by their presence in our lives. (Family, you will get to try them out on Thursday :)

Okay, for those who asked for a Packer update......here he is. He has improved wonderfully since the day a few weeks back when I thought that he was a goner. He eats like a pig, plays like a puppy should and sleeps like an infant. (This morning he did let me sleep until a few minutes after 8am.) How can something that only weighs a couple of pounds carry such a weight of responsibility? (Parents have been asking that for eons, I'm sure :) I have told hubby that this is our very LAST rescue EVER! I simply do not have the emotional or physical stamina to do this anymore. We counted the other day and figured that we have saved approximately 22 abandoned dogs/puppies in the past several years. So we are calling it quites with Packer...and our son claims him as his, and says that when he moves out in a couple of years...Packer will be going with him. Hmmmm....we'll see.

Holiday Countdown

I ran into my mother-in-law while shopping earlier and she commented that she had been online to check in on my latest creations, but hadn't found any :( I've had a busy couple of days; doing some Christmas shopping and such, )BUT, I have been creating...just hadn't had time to post. I love this card! Perhaps my favorite of the season, (yes, I know that I have said that more than once.) I love this Heidi Grace Flocked Snowflake paper and I happened upon this sweet reindeer that looked as though he were flying by Country Silk, so ....a card was born. I added snowball ribbon from the $ Tree and I think he turned out quite nicely...How about you?

I have been trying to do some Christmas shopping and I seem to be having "gift block." I simply cannot find anything that just "speaks" to me for anyone on my list! Maybe I will go out of town in a week or so and look around there. Oh well, at least Thanksgiving is simpler...and MY FAVORITE of all holidays. I look forward to having family here this year...the food...the laughter...a fire dancing in the fireplace....Memories in the making.

2S4Y Weekly Challenge

This is my interpretation of this weeks 2Sketches4You@blogspot.com sketch challenge. I used K&Co. metallic patterened paper; Elegant Earthtone Wedding by American Traditional Designs; and Ribbon by Offrey. I am also entering this card in a wedding card call later this month. Wish me luck!

Snowy Monday!

Hello all...it is a blustery, snowy day here in Kentucky! It sparked my Christmas spirit and I began my holiday decorating today. ( I keep telling myself that this will allow me more time for baking and scrapping ;) I want to give a quick KUDOS to Amber for being chosen as a Fab 5 on 2S4Y! Big accomplishment, Ber! I had been reading online about ATC's (artist trading cards) and just happened to have a deck of AlphaCards by K&Co which I used to make these cute ornaments. I couldn't decide whether to use them as gift tags or tree ornaments, but since I just hung them on my tree ;) I guess that they will serve as ornaments for now and possibly tags later. They are soooo easy and fun to make. It is like scrapping and card making on a tiny canvas and I loved it. I have found several info sites (and swap sites) dedicated to these small wonders.

Here is an updated picture of "Little Packer." Have you ever seen such blue eyes on a puppy? He is such a mix of breeds that it is impossible to tell exactly (or even approximately) just what he might be when he grows up :) We do think that we see an ever so slight resemblance to a chihuahua we once knew, especially when he lies on his back and his little ears are straight up. Whatever he is, we have allowed ourselves to become his slaves. (Still eating about 6 times a day...this morning at 3AM!) He is still having skin issues, but growing like a pig and playing like a puppy should. That is a major improvement from last week. He just might make it afterall!

Busy Day

Here's a quick "Packer" update for those of you who are interested in the shenanigans of a 2 pound puppy. After what seemed as though it would be his final day of life on Tuesday....he has made an amazing recovery(as you can see from the picture of him biting my ankle! Yes his mouth is open that wide;) Today he has eaten SIX times, played with everything from my ankle to Rusty's toys to my favorite leather shoes! He has napped between play spells and his breathing sounds much improved. Who knew the healing power of a heating pad and warmed goat milk?????

Tonight (after Packer was put to bed;) I found this cute idea in a Gooseberry Creek book and had to make them. They are Christmas Tag Ornaments, which can be used on the recipient's tree after their package is opened. Cute idea! I made them from red and green felt and random embellishments. (the santa was my own creation...don't you love his beard?)

I had already put names on some which shall remain unphotographed for the sake of surprise (yes family, I mean you!)

This Easter card was made in response for an ad in one of my niece's card mags for Easter submissions. The only problem is that I have forgotten the address....Ber, can you email that to me? I loved this Hallmark ribbon (which I, of course, found on clearance for a ridiculously low price), and the Heidi Grace flocked tags. I must admit, it is difficult to think of Easter when we have our first forecast for snow tomorrow. Have a great day!

Hey All! It's been a busy couple of days....what with nursing poor little Packer back to health. (Ber, your mom can give you all of the details :) I still have found a few minutes to craft and christmas shop! I loved the purplish-pink snow flake ornaments, so I just had to incorporate them into winter-time cards (not christmas cards, just "winter" cards.) I had on hand the complimentary paper and pearls...so...two cards were born.

Ber, the tin was just crying out for a snowman and here he is! I enjoyed this challenge and will definitely give him as a pre-Christmas gift for someone, so that they can use the tags for the season. These cute 3D stickers were from Walmart and the glitter is Martha's, of course. My sister has an even cuter idea for hers....can't wait to see it ;) Have a great day!

Blue Christmas

I have been MIA for a couple of days due to working yesterday. (I missed blogging :) I must be in a "blue" mood....I picked up a couple of Christmas ornaments on my way home yesterday and last night, after things settled down, I made these cards. I have decided that all of my gifts this year will include one of my special cards. (some of them are too elaborate to mail with any hope that the bow will arrive as intended...all pretty and fluffy.) This silvery reindeer caught my eye and my fancy when I saw him. He is elegant enough to deserve a pretty snowflake bow and glitter tag.

I loved this antique look tin snowflake....and the flocked snowflake paper from Heidi Grace was a perfect compliment. I also glittered the greeting with Martha Stewart arctic snow collection. ( I am all about some glitter right now.) Hubby and I just had a nice lunch date before he left for work...I am about to retreat to the scraproom...let's hope for some cool creations today! May you be blessed.

Sweet Saturday

I had such a sweet Saturday....spent most of the day with my Dad, Sister, Niece and Nephew-In-Law....I love the sound of family conversation. As I listened yesterday, I noticed how people who have a life-long connection can speak with such ease...at times having multiple conversations going at once..yet, everyone able to keep up with all at the same time. I am blessed...and....the cards were made with Amber :) What a fun treat. We covered the dining table with supplies and created to our heart's content. It was alot of fun...and scrapfamily...I would like to do a day at my house...lunch included :) After the great day there...I had date night with Hubby and had a wonderful evening at a concert and shopping. (More scrap supplies for me :)

Here is an update on little Packer. This was taken Friday after his first vet visit. He is a struggler, I'm afraid. As the runt, he already had one strike against him. He sounds as though he may have a congenital respiratory problem and is battling skin problems at the time. With parasite medication, antibiotics, warm food and plenty of love, I'm hoping he makes it and proves my concerns wrong. I'm rooting for you Packer!

At It Again

I took a break a few minutes ago from laundry and cleaning to "sit" in my scraproom to catch my breath.....instead of breathing....or in addition to breathing...I quickly threw together two cards.

The flowers on this card is what caught my eye lying in my scrap box...I had to use them immediately, while the creative juices were flowing, and in my usual fashion of two projects in one sitting...

I used the same papers, ink and so forth to make this one, only taking a moment to grab the snowflake ornament from my "to do" box :) As I've said before, I love this unusual shade of green for Christmas....and this stamp is one of my favorite Bible verses. Happy Crafting :)