Birthday Fun

My son celebrated his 23rd birthday this week! 23...twenty-three....XXIII....anyway you say it, that's alot of years for my "baby." When I was his age, 'he' was two months old...I guess we really did grow up together, and each step of the way has been a pure JOY! Happy Birthday Jay...and may God bless you with many more!

Photo Shoot

Last Sunday afternoon, I had a great time doing a Fall photo shoot for friends of ours. And I discovered something....getting a 9 and 7 year old boy to stand still for any length of time is no small feat! They are interested in EVERYTHING going on around them...they might need a moment to pick up a leaf that just fell....pet a dog that wandered past....wrestle each other to the ground or go on a hike up the hillside! Whew, what I would give for just an ounce of that energy! Really, though, they did great and I got a workout so all is well and I think the fall colors are gorgeous!








Last week beautiful Fall weather with balmy temps in the 70's and tomorrow's forecast...SNOW! Of Fall, I will miss you!

Thanks for stopping by and "seeing" me! Hope that your day is GREAT!

Blessed...

Often, I stop and count my blessings.....I am so thankful for so much...and so undeserving of it all! On this beautiful Fall Sunday, I am thankful for falling leaves in vibrant colors, a picnic in the mountains after church with my sweet hubby, the smell of woodsmoke on the evening air, acorns falling and it being so quiet that I could hear them land in the bed of leaves below! Sometimes...almost ALWAYS, the simplest things are the best!
















A few weeks ago I found this beautiful old girl at a local flea market.....

















The minute I saw her, I wanted her. She was old and worn (dated 1948), a bit banged here and there, but she was a beauty! And...she still WORKS! Now any of you who know me understand that while I love most things "crafty", I hate to sew...so, you say, why a sewing machine??? Well, because she is beautiful, like a priceless work of art...or the finest sculpture....and while she just "SITS" in my craft room, everytime I look at her, I smile. She is almost identical to the sewing maching that my granny had when I was a child...and somehow, she takes me back...to those sweet days long ago...and again, I am blessed!

Wedding Magic

I have become a "blog post slacker".....I never seem to find the time to sit down and show you what I've been up to in the craft room...but, I did promise a pic of the pew flowers that I made for my son's wedding last month.

These were sooooo easy...I used an 8 1/2 x 11" cardstock rolled into a cone, embellished, added a handful of flowers (held together by a rubber band around the stems) and viola! Beautiful pew flowers! So many people asked where we found them...LOL...to which I replied, in my scraproom, of course ;)

There were 36 pews in the church and we opted to use the flowers on every other row, which meant that I only had to make 18 of them. It only took a few hours and the result was exactly what I was hoping for. you can't see them in the pic, but each one had an elegant white butterfly adorning them.

The photogher was awesome...and this is my FAVORITE wedding pic! I just love it...the pose, the colors...the subjects ;), just awesome!














And this one...well I just love it to! At my DIL's bachelorette dinner, we saw this ad in a jewelry store and LOVED it...since the entire bridal party was there...they knew exaclty how to pose and get the full effect! I love how the bride and groom are in a world all their own...and the way they stand out in color....AWESOME!!!

In case you can't tell...I am still on a wedding "high"....LOL....and since we purchased the copyright to ALL 500+ pics, I get to edit to my heart's content and change them up to suit my own taste....aahhhhh, a photographer's dream.
Thanks for stopping by!

Changes.....

I had the day off today and although I usually strongly dislike Mondays....I loved today. The sun was shining, I had a morning bike ride and breakfast with dh and I found time to sneak away to my craft room! Yay me!

I love to visit LollyChops blog, (for some reason, I am unable to link to her!grr) Today she posted the most beautiful teal flower bib necklace. I was immediately inspired and made TWO of them. They are soooooo easy (about 10 minutes, after I chose the flowers and ribbon.) I am thinking soft colors of fall and I chose these for my necklaces: I used Prima Flowers and some random embellishments along with fabric scrap backing.



What do you think? Cute huh? and so easy to make! Thanks Lolly for the inspiration.

I am now an empty nester....since my son married a week ago. I have taken over his old bedroom and am in the process of transforming it into my "scrap haven." Aahhhh, more room, more natural light, more space to create....more electrical outlets...just more everything.


It isn't quite finished yet, but sweet Packer Puppy has already found his favorite spot!

He lies right at the corner, and sometimes underneath, my desk. That way, he doesn't miss a thing. He can see the television from there ;), keep a close eye on me and stretch to his little puppy heart's content. He is such a joy! I call him my "scrap partner in crime" ;)

Hopefully I am on my way to many happy "scrappy" days to come in my new space. (if only I could find everything since the move from one room to another!) Oh well, looking through my stash is almost like shopping...so until next time, happy scrapping to you.

Beautiful Day

Yesterday was my son's wedding day...it was the special kind of day that I want to keep forever in my heart. It seems that time passes so swiftly....the day of his birth, his homecoming from the hospital, first bike ride, first day of Kindergarten, first day of high school, first kiss, first date,first heartbreak, first job, first car.....isn't it amazing that we always seem the remember the "firsts and lasts?" A few weeks ago, he spent his last night under my roof as a member of my household, from now on, he will be a guest/visitor, I did the last load of his laundry that I will do, cooked his last meal before he married, told him to clean his room for the last time (LOL).....so much living done between those firsts and lasts! And at the time, it seems so endless, so routine....and then when it is past, it seems so precious...the things that only a mother can really appreciate. As his Dad and I prepared all day on Friday, getting everything in order for the BIG DAY....I looked at him alot, REALLY looked at him. Who is this man that I once called "baby?" Well, he is handsome and funny, he loves people and they love him, he would rather find the good in every situation than ever even look for the bad, he is loyal, faithful and strong....he is a minister of God's Gospel and of that, I am most proud. Yesterday morning, he was my son...today he is a husband....wow....I sure hope that everything I have done for him has helped to prepare him to be all that she needs him to be...and I trust that he will. She completes him...during the ceremony, just looking at her brought tears to his eyes and to me, she was the most beautiful creation on earth because she was made for my son! Today, they are off on their honeymoon, seeing the sites and sharing the love....his Dad and I are alone again after almost 23 years. We realize that in 27 years of marriage, only four of those have been "just us." We prepare to settle in to our new roles as parents of an adult, married child. Our joke this week has been that now we're just his "neighbors." LOL....although I am sure that he will come knocking on the door for a million different reasons in the years to come, and although he will never read this, I just wanted to say..It has been my greatest honor to raise this fine young man and though my heart feels slightly tender, my eyes are dry....as I prepare to watch him begin the next step of his life's journey....knowing that he is safely in the heart of a young woman who loves him and a God who has ordained his every step...Godspeed Jay.

Where Have You Been???

Oooohhh, excuse me, that's ME who hasn't been updating her blog....I guess you all have been right where I left you over a month ago :) I have been a busy girl, but a LAZY blogger! First off, I have been and still am, helping my son and his fiancee get things moved into their new home....their wedding is in 18 days! YIKES!!!! I still have more pew bows and flower arrangements to make! I need to get myself in gear and focus...focus...focus!

In midst of all of the busy-ness, my hubby and I took a weekend trip to the Smokey Mountains in Tennessee last weekend. Packer Puppy went along for good measure and we had a really nice time. Lots of goooood food, shopping, sight seeing, good food....you get my drift here, right? Below are a few pics from our adventure:



I just loved this fence with the vine creeping over it...the beautiful mountains and trees in the background! Ahhh, such pretty scenery...



Here is a pic of us in our sweet little one bedroom cabin. So homey and comfy...I would like to have one just like it here on some of our wooded property. Hubby and I tried to figure out if we could live in one as our "retirement home" someday...I said YES, all we need to add is a HUGE closet and a "scraproom." Hmmm, that's not too much to ask for is it ;0



Lastly, we got up early on our second morning and hit the GIANT Smokey Mountain Flea Market....ahhhhh, miles of everything imaginable. Some of it was indoors in a HUGE warehouse type building.....there was lots and lots of NEW/Wholesale items and outside, there was a bit of everything. I found one booth that caught my fancy, actually hubby found it and turned me in the right direction, he said, "over here honey, it says OLD STUFF." Yep, he knows me! I found beautiful old blue canning jars. They are my FAVES!!!! Hubby was soooo impressed when I demonstrated my motto of "never pay full price for ANYTHING" and bargained until I got two of these half gallon jars (very hard to fine) and one pint jar for half of what the man wanted. I pointed out that one had a crack and the other had a "deep" scratch that might someday become a crack;) and I wouldn't want to take the two large ones and not a smaller one to go with them.....hahaha...I love the thrill of the hunt! Then I did casually mention that I was going to put buttons in them when much to my delight, he pulled out an antique tin FULL of antique button cards with the buttons still one them! (Squeal!) It takes alot to make me squeal, but this did. Hubby laughed and told me that I could have probably talked the man down $5 on the buttons and I told him that the man could have actually charged me $10 more than he did! LOL....oh such fun! I cannot wait to dig into my treasures and create something.
Well, I am off to the scraproom to make a few more pew bows and paint a candle holder. More news and hopefully, PROJECTS, coming soon.