Little Treasures

Chris & Ashley

2012-02-08T08:58:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd share this picture taken over the weekend.
Looks to me like he had a good birthday, don't ya think?!

23 Years!

2012-02-08T06:28:00.000-08:00

Well, as many of you know, Chris spent his birthday weekend in NC. No worries, I told him we'd do our celebrating when he got home on Monday. I fixed him his favorite supper.....fried chicken & then we had chocolate cake & ice cream for dessert. Just so hard to believe that my first-born is now TWENTY-THREE years old!

Notice the candles? Seems we always have to get creative with our candles. Didn't realize that I was out of the regular little BD candles.....but Alli insisted that we HAD to have candles to blow out & all we had left was the '8' & '9' candles. She asked Chris if he would rather be '89' or '98'.........then it dawned on us......he was born in '89'......so there ya have it.....the reasoning behind the candles for this year. LOL!

When Chris came home Monday evening he had a bag of clothes & nail polish that Ashley had sent back for Alli. Anyone who knows us very well, knows how much we LOVE getting 'hand-me-downs'!! She & I had a blast oooohing & aaahhing over the pretty 'new' nail polishes & the cute tops & jackets that Ashley had sent. And BTW, if I forgot to say it......Thank you ever so much, Miss Ashley!!!!

All that to say.........just before bedtime, Alli decided to try this Tshirt (from Ashley) on Rocky. He wasn't quite sure what to think at first. But he sure was adorable!

'I'm cute......I can haz coffee, pleeezzzzz?!'

Just look at that little head cocked side ways! He's just too much!!

Making Valentines

2012-02-07T06:03:00.000-08:00

Finally.....I was able to get a little scrapping done yesterday afternoon. I just haven't FELT like it in a few weeks. The only thing I can figure is that I burnt myself out with all the Christmas scrapping projects & then once all the deadlines were gone, I just kind of fizzled. Anyways......Here's the layout I did for the Crop Chef challenge at CUC.

Here are the 'ingredients' we were required to use-- punched shapes, doily, pet/animal pictures, dotted patterned paper. A special ingredient we were to use was a bottle cap (or if you didn't have any....any metal embellie would do.) So, since I didn't have any bottle caps, I used the little square metal paper clippie-thing.....at the top, that kind of got cut off in the scan....it has a piece of ribbon tied to it. We also had to double mat our photos & make photo corners out of ribbon.

I saw this adorable little owl card on Pinterest & decided I needed to give him a try. I held a piece of notebook paper up to the computer screen & traced the little guy then proceeded to make my paper piecing pattern. I love how he turned out. Pretty cute, if I do say so myself.

Okay....so with that first one made, I got to thinking that maybe I could scale the pattern down & make some smaller ones. I had a couple little gift enclosure sized blank cards that I had picked up from somewhere.....but not enough to make ALL my Valentines....so I had decided that I was just going to use them as a pattern to cut my own little card bases from card stock. But I noticed these big index cards I had sitting by the computer & thought Hmmmmmm........when folded in half they were just about the same size as I was wanting. So.....I thought why not. We are always using notebook paper & other office supplies on our scrapbook pages so why not use these index cards as my card base. Cute & inexpensive. Win. Win! The scan on those is a little washed out.....but I was too lazy to worry with fooling around with that this morning. You get the idea.

Now, I don't know why my dumb scanner decided to show these separately....& so big.....I scanned both together & these are the smallest of all the cards.....but whatever. I also found this idea on Pinterest (Pinterest is amazing!). These are the Valentines for all the little kids that will be at our party. I did blue shades for the boys & pinks for the girls. I love how the colors really pop against the kraft background. Oh & to give you an idea of the sizes......the owls on index cards are 3x4" & the little heart cards are 2 3/4x3".

Manic Monday

2012-02-06T06:44:00.000-08:00

Are y'all singing with me now? Kinda glad it IS Monday.....hopefully today will be a little less stressful than yesterday was. LOL!

I thought it was going to be a nice relaxing day since we weren't going anywhere....ya know, spend the afternoon scrapping while the guys watched all their football stuff & then I'd take Ashley back to school. Yeah right! I spent the afternoon folding & sorting laundry to make sure she had all her stuff ready to go. One last load of dark clothes to wash was all I had to do....but for some reason my idiot washer wasn't wanting to start. I would hit 'cancel' & try again......unplug/replug & try again.....I'm getting mad now.....fussing about technology & all this computerized stuff & wishing I had my OLD washer back......the boys are trying to figure it out....come to find out one of the little plastic prongs on the door had broken off into the slot so it wasn't shutting/locking properly. Clay looked it up online & it cost $30 to replace this stupid little piece of plastic & of course, it's Sunday.....can't do ANYTHING about it on Sunday.....but he orders the piece & tells me it will be here by Wednesday. WEDNESDAY, I tell ya......a house full of SIX people with no washer until Wednesday. I know it's not really THAT bad.....could be much worse, but still. Throw in a little PMS & I was kinda growling my way through yesterday. I just told the kids DO NOT get their clothes dirty because I refuse to wash the heavy stuff like jeans & whatnot by hand in the sink!!!!!! The undies, socks, shirts are ok....but they'd just better watch it. I washed the few items of HERS that needed to be done in the sink yesterday & was ever so grateful that at least the dryer worked!! Anyways.......hoping to start today afresh & be able to finish those Valentines I have laid out all over my table. I'm doing a really cute owl paper piecing & I can't wait to show y'all. I'm also gonna get the crop chef challenge from over at Cookin' Up Creations done today.....I AM....I REALLY, REALLY AM! That was what I had planned for yesterday afternoon, but hey.....sometimes LIFE gets in the way. LOL!

American Pickers

2012-01-31T06:54:00.000-08:00

Anybody see Pickers last night? So cool to see them in 'OUR' music store. Alli loves to go in that very room they were in last night & play all the Taylor guitars.

Party!

2012-01-31T05:40:00.000-08:00

January 31, 2012
Looking for God?
Mary Southerland
Today’s Truth
Praise the LORD! For he has heard my cry for mercy. The LORD is my strength, my shield from every danger. I trust in him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving (Psalm 28:6-7, NLT).

“The Message” translates the words of Paul in Philippians 4:4 this way, “Celebrate God all day, every day. Revel in him!” I love it! Paul is calling us to party! That’s right! We are to celebrate God every minute of every day for as many days as we have. “Revel” literally means “to party, to raise the roof” or, as my Mama used to say, “paint the town red.” Every day we have a CHOICE to make when it comes to our perspective on life. That choice then determines our attitudes which then lead to the actions that determine success or failure and the quality with which we live and serve.

Paul is serious about joy, and his instructions are clear. We are to be joyful - ALWAYS!! I know that many times, life makes it impossible to be happy but happiness is not what Paul is talking about. Happiness is a cheap imitation of true joy, depending totally upon man-made circumstances, while joy is an inside job and depends totally upon God’s presence in the midst of those circumstances. Nehemiah 8:10 reminds us that “the joy you have in the LORD is your strength” (GWT). Remember that joy is not a feeling but rather a CHOSEN PERSPECTIVE that recognizes the fact that God is in control. I am not talking about the power of positive thinking. I am talking about a real, honest-to-goodness transformation of the perspective from which we live. I’m talking about the power of God, active and present in every circumstance. Don’t settle for Pharisaical religion or slot-filling, box-checking church activity. Settle for nothing less than the unexplainable but undeniable power of God’s presence at work in your life.

A January Walk

2012-01-30T12:40:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd take a few pictures today when I went on my walk......

David Purvis' new addition to his house. I was hoping to walk up the road that way & get a better look, but Rocky would have none of that.

He's such a weenie-dog.....as soon as we got to the bottom of the drive & he could hear the men's voices & the tractor & what-not, he was literally digging in, refusing to go that way. So, I figured I was going to get any kind of walk in that we may as well turn around & head back to familiar ground. LOL!

I have been walking the fence line out in the fields the past few days (since there are no cows out front right now). So, off we went. Rocky was a happy camper now.

Although he did have to stop every few steps & smell things.

Coming up the hill toward the house. Just look at that amazing BLUE sky! I thought about Aunt Vada when I took this picture. ;-)

Almost home.

Birthday Fun

2012-01-30T12:23:00.000-08:00


The December BPS Prize Package Winner at Cookin' Up Creations is... Amy Bunner Congratulations Amy....please pm me your mailing address and Email address and I'll get it to Jessica at Scraptastic Club right away! This month we had seven (7) girls qualify for the $20.00 Gift Certificate provided by Jessica at Scraptastic Club. There were a total of 204 Challenges completed in the month of December! Considering it was a holiday month and people were busy with that as well as family and friends, I think that that is an absolutely awesome accomplishment! Way to go ladies!! Amy completed 22 Challenges this month, Bev finished the month with 17 completed challenges, Sherri finished the month with 16 completed challenges, Natalia finished the month with 16 completed challenges, Patti finished the month with 17 completed challenges, Sue finished with 17 completed challenges, and finally, Tamara finished the month with 17 completed challenges.....Congratulations ladies, you all did an awesome job! This is the picture of the awesome kit that I chose from Scraptastic. Now, to find me a little smidge of time so I can scrap! The really fun thing about this prize is that it showed up on my birthday, so that was an added treat for my day.

Lady Flames basketball game that we went to the night of my birthday. I was trying to get a picture of Sparky at the top of the pyramid, but I was a tad slow. Clay said I guess we know that Sparky was a 'Girl' that night. LOL! Let's hope so after seeing Sparky 'flirting' with a bunch of guys.

Yogurt Covered Pretzels

2012-01-28T06:57:00.001-08:00

I so want to make these! Maybe for our Valentine's Day party.

Lemmings & Goblin Sharks

2012-01-25T06:55:00.000-08:00

What we learned about in school today......

Lemmings are small rodents, usually found in or near the Arctic, in tundra biomes. They are subniveal animals, and together with voles and muskrats, they make up the subfamily Arvicolinae (also known as Microtinae), which forms part of the largest mammal radiation by far, the superfamily Muroidea, which also includes rats, mice, hamsters, and gerbils.

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The goblin shark, Mitsukurina owstoni, is a deep-sea shark, the sole living species in the family Mitsukurinidae.^[2] The most distinctive characteristic of the goblin shark is the unusual shape of its head. It has a long, trowel-shaped, beak-like rostrum or snout, much longer than other sharks' snouts. Some other distinguishing characteristics of the shark are the color of its body, which is mostly pink, and its long, protrusible jaws.^[2] When the jaws are retracted, the shark resembles a pink grey nurse shark, Carcharias taurus, with an unusually long nose.
Mitsukurina owstoni is found in the deep ocean, far below where the sun's light can reach at depths greater than 200 m. They can be found throughout the world, from Australia in the Pacific Ocean^[3] to the Gulf of Mexico in the Atlantic Ocean.^[4] They are best known from the waters around Japan, where the species was first discovered.^[5]
Goblin sharks feed on a variety of organisms that live in deep waters. Among some of their known prey are deep-sea squid, crabs and deep-sea fish. Very little is known about the species' life history and reproductive habits, as encounters with them have been relatively rare. As seemingly rare as they are however, there seems to be no real threat to their populations and so they are not classified as endangered species by the IUCN.^[6

Crop Chef

2012-01-24T06:03:00.000-08:00

Do YOU have what it takes .... to be CROP CHEF? Come on over to the Cookin' Up Scrapbooking Creations forum in February and find out!

Our second annual CROP CHEF competition begins Thursday, February 2 here on the forum. This is a non-elimination challenge. Entrants earn points through their participation; and the person with the most points at the end of the competition will be named CROP CHEF! If you remember last year, we had a great time and saw some fabulous layouts created. We're hoping for an even bigger turn out this year.

There are a total of six challenges (on Thursdays and Mondays) over three weeks. Forum members will vote on their favorites, and points will be given. There will be other fun ways to earn points. At the close of the competition, the participant with the most total points will be named CROP CHEF!

There will be a prize package and the opportunity to be CHEF OF THE MONTH on the Cookin' Up Creations forum. More information and details will be available soon; and sign-ups will start Monday, January 23.

What an Amazing Birthday Devotion!

2012-01-23T05:29:00.001-08:00

January 23, 2012
Pursued
Sharon Jaynes
Today’s Truth
My lover spoke and said to me, “Arise my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me” (Song of Songs 2:10, NIV)
Friend to Friend
I was in college when I first eyed my husband. He was sitting on the floor at a friend’s Bible study gathering with his back against the wall, dressed in scruffy jeans and a red flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled halfway up his muscular forearms. His thick brown hair and chocolate-brown eyes left me weak in the knees. And the best part was that this handsome hunk of a man had a tattered Bible in his lap. He laughed easily, prayed humbly, and read intently. I was smitten from the first time I laid eyes on Steve.
After a few weeks, he finally asked me out on a date. We continued seeing each other over the next several weeks, but I was still accepting invitations from others as well. One night, Steve asked me to a college football game, and I agreed to go. Then he said, “Can I just ask you? Will you go with me to all of the football games for the rest of the year?”
“I’m not going to answer that question,” I replied. “You’ll just have to ask me each week.”
Looking back on those early days, what I was really saying was that I wanted to be pursued. None of this blanket invitation for the entire fall business. I wanted to be wooed and won. Even though he had me the moment I saw him sitting on the shag carpet floor, I didn’t want him to know that. I wanted him to show me I was worth putting forth the effort to capture my heart. Isn’t that the desire of every woman’s heart?
And nobody does it better than God.
I love what Simon Tugwell once said: “So long as we imagine it is we who have to look for God, we must often lose heart. But it is the other way about. He is looking for us.”
Oh friend, God has pursued and continues to pursue you every day. A sunset. A dandelion growing through a crack in a concrete sidewalk. A favorite song on the radio. He is pursuing you like a love-struck beau. Pay attention and enjoy His advances as He pursues you today.
Let’s Pray
Dear Lord, I swoon thinking of how you pursue me. Me, one so unworthy of Your advances. Help me to recognize Your love notes throughout the day. I am my beloved’s and He is mine.
Amen.

Scrappyness

2012-01-22T13:39:00.000-08:00

Goodness, I didn't realize I had so much scrappy stuff that I hadn't posted. The cards above are shutter/flip fold cards. You can check out the tutorial HERE.

Another page in Clay's NY album. I think I might have about two more pages & then I'll be all done!!

Some cards I made for a challenge to use 'Bling'. It's hard to tell in the scan, but I've used some crystal glitter glue & then little pink pearls.

Another shutter/flip card.

More cards....for my stash & some for gifts.

I found this idea on Pinterest . I used this idea for my 'Friday Focus' challenge at CUC.......to use up your left-overs alphas.

The kiddos decorating the Christmas tree....not the best pics at all, but they capture the memory & that's what counts. I lifted the little folded tree idea from the front of Scrapbooks, etc Dec. 2011 issue.

And, last but not least.....This was Sarah's photo Christmas card & I just decided to scrap the whole thing as is. Her Christmas letter is on the backside of the layout too. ;-) This was for a cool folded circle border challenge at CUC. I love how simple it was to create & how it looks when complete. The perfect touch for this very simple layout!

One Happy Girl!

2012-01-22T13:07:00.000-08:00

We met Maw, Sarah, Anna, Daniel, Ella, Cori, Jesse & Taylor for Birthday lunch at O'Charley's on Friday. Such a nice time visiting together!

We did our usual Friday rounds....Target, Michaels, Sams, etc. But Alli had one special request this week. She wanted to find the 'Western Ways' store over off 221 because she has been wanting cowboy boots forever now. And that's what she's been planning on spending her birthday money on. So off we went late that afternoon.....our last stop of the day. Now, those of you who know me, KNOW that I rarely make a spur-of-the-moment purchase. My intentions were purely to find this store & check things out. Take some mental notes about prices, etc. & then we'd go from there. To me, this was a total 'God Thing'.....that's the only way I can describe it. We walked into this store & the smell was heavenly! Oh, that wonderful leather smell was all around us. I told Alli that I thought I just might have to have myself a 'mid-life crisis' & get myself a pair of boots too....because truly I'd LOVE to have a pair of my own!!! But, back to the story.....We started looking & Alli had in her mind exactly what she wanted. And don't you know, that within 5 minutes she had found THE pair in a size 7 no less.......& just $104. Now, I know that sounds awful.....but compared to others we were looking at the prices ranged from $159 on up.....so right at $100 was looking pretty dang good. Leather soles & all!! She had gotten $85 for her birthday & so after a quick call to daddy, he said 'Get'em!' It was just incredible to me to walk in there & find that perfect pair within our budget & if you could've seen her face! Well, it was TOTALLY worth it!

Happy, happy birthday, my sweet girl!!

God is so good to us....to give us the desires of our hearts!

Never Once

2012-01-22T12:47:00.000-08:00

"Never Once"

Standing on this mountaintop
Looking just how far we’ve come
Knowing that for every step
You were with us

Kneeling on this battle ground
Seeing just how much You’ve done
Knowing every victory
Was Your power in us

Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Yes, our hearts can say

Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

Kneeling on this battle ground
Seeing just how much You’ve done
Knowing every victory
Was Your power in us

Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Yes, our hearts can say

Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Never once did we ever walk alone
Carried by Your constant grace
Held within Your perfect peace
Never once, no, we never walk alone

Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

Every step we are breathing in Your grace
Evermore we’ll be breathing out Your praise
You are faithful, God, You are faithful
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

You are faithful, God, You are faithful
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

~lyrics by- Matt Redman

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Sang this in church this morning..............LOVE this song!!!

A House Full of Teen-Agers!

2012-01-19T06:32:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my Alli-Cat's THIRTEENTH birthday! Wow....how is that I now basically have a house FULL of teen-agers?! She just wanted a quiet celebration yesterday......cinnamon buns & coffee for breakfast, Pizza Hut for supper & then BD cake later while watching American Idol.

Breakfast cinnamon bun with a Happy Birthday candle!

Aunt Linda's handiwork.....it was delicious, as usual!

My Birthday Girl. Isn't she a beautiful teen-ager?!

We all giggled about this one little candle......the boys wanted to help me put the candles on & that's Michael's candle....it just did NOT want to go out. It was so funny!

Alli's artwork

2012-01-13T18:26:00.000-08:00

Alli's first attempt at 'painting' a portrait....she usually sketches with charcoal.

Paper Flowers

2012-01-13T18:04:00.000-08:00

This past Thursday I shared this challenge with the ladies over at Cookin' Up Creations.

Well, ladies, if you are like me...I love making my own little flower embellies for my LOs. Not only can you make sure they color coordinate with your page, but it's a really good way to use up all those little scraps we are trying to use this month. Here's a little tutorial that I ran across the other day.....I used this method for making the flowers on my LO below.

This is my mom & dad celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary....pretty cool that I ran across this photo seeing as how we will be celebrating OUR 25th anniversary in less than two months!! Not sure if you can tell, but my large flower is made with 5 layers & the smaller one only has 3 layers. I inked all the edges before putting the flower together. I just think it adds some neat dimension to them. And the finishing touch....just a little pearl in the center & voila! So, my challenge to y'all today is to try some of the cute little flowers in this tutorial & use them on your LO or cards. Remember 1 layout or 2 cards to qualify for the end-of-the-month drawing!! Happy Scrapping, ladies!

Sandee will appreciate my day today!! LOL!

2012-01-13T17:52:00.000-08:00

Boy, what a 'Friday the 13th' we had!! * insert rolling eyes here* It all started this morning when Clay realized that he had forgotten to set his alarm clock....well, technically he DID set it, but just left it in the bathroom so no one heard it go off this morning. As soon as he got done in the shower, I hurried in there so I could get ready to go to town for groceries, etc. About the time I got OUT of the shower....Clay comes tapping on the door saying the truck battery is DEAD....like couldn't even jump start it, DEAD....& that I was going to have to take him to work. *more rolling eyes* GEEZ! So, I threw my clothes on...hair kind of half-dried...at least I did have make-up on & out the door we went. That was all fine & dandy really, but I did have to hang around in town until he got off at 5:30pm. Which really wasn't THAT bad since I was doing BD shopping for Alli & I took my time at lunch with Danielle....we talked & visited & let her kids play & have ice-cream (we ate at Chickfila).....it was just the not getting home until 7pm that really stunk! It was dark & cold! And then having to unload & put all those groceries away. I was also starving by this time....my mid-afternoon snack was long gone. So glad to have my PJs on now.....seriously thinking about a nice cup of coffee & maybe a movie tonight. :wink:

There Should be a clever title here.......but I have nothing!

2012-01-09T17:30:00.000-08:00

Today has been a cold, drizzly, sleety day.....perfect for staying inside cozied up by the fire. Besides folding a bazillion baskets of clean laundry & thought I'd share a couple pictures of what else I've done.


I made some granola bars for snacking on. Mine don't look quite like the ones I saw on Pinterest where I got the recipe from.....but anyway. They are more chewy than I thought they'd be, but they still taste good. They were super easy to make. You can find the recipe HERE if you'd like.

This is a little Granny striped purse that I made for Anna for her birthday. I need to get it wrapped up because we will be meeting them for lunch tomorrow.

And lastly another cowl that I made.....thanks, Alli, for modeling for me!

Scrappy Sunday

2012-01-08T17:53:00.000-08:00

I scrapped today! Yay me!!

Jan challenged us over at CUC to make some ATCs (artist trading cards). The perfect challenge for our month of 'Using our Stash'. For these cards, I cut apart a Christmas card that I received this year & used the cute little elements to make this set of cards.

More NY pages for Clay's album. I'm getting there.....ALMOST done....really I am. This was a very simple page of the cool Red Lobster where Clay ate one night. I used a sketch challenge for this one.

My scan is a little wonky on this one, but I just didn't feel like redoing it. :-P The pictures are kind of dark, but they are just some of the different theaters in Time Square. Sister Act, The Harry Potter car up on the roof of the building & then a couple shots of Wicked & Phantom........two shows I'd love to get to see on Broadway some day!

Liquid Hand Soap

2012-01-07T19:35:00.000-08:00

I felt a little like Granny Clampett today.....making her lye soap. Only I didn't make lye soap....I made my very own liquid hand soap. I was so excited!! It was SO easy to do & VERY cost-effective. I happened upon the idea/recipe on Pinterest......thought I'd share it here with all my bloggy friends.

The recipe:

8 oz. bar of soap

2 Tbs. glycerin

1 gallon of water

I just picked up two bars of this oatmeal & almond soap at Walmart for .97 each. These were 4oz. bars of soap, so I grated up two of them. I set the pot of water on to boil while I did the grating. Once the water boils....remove from the heat & add in the soap shavings & glycerin. Stir to dissolve.

This is what it looks like when the soap is dissolved. After it dissolves....let it sit for about 10-12 hours to thicken. It will begin to set up after just a few hours.

This is what it looked like later on this evening. I'm not sure exactly how long I let mine sit.....definitely not the whole 12 hours, but I just wanted to go ahead & get the kitchen all cleaned up & it seemed a good consistency to me, so I ladled it into my clean milk jug.

Voila....my first ever attempt at making liquid hand soap.

As far as the particulars go, like I mentioned above, I paid $1.94 for the soap (.97 each) & $2.98 for the glycerin.....which I will use MANY more times in the future. I forget right off hand how many oz. were in the glycerin bottle, but it's safe to say that for UNDER $3 I have a gallon of liquid hand soap. They also said this can be done for Body Wash too. Maw was telling me that she had seen other specialty scented soaps at TJ Maxx & Big Lots & would pick some up so we can do other scents too. I'm just SO excited.....can you tell how little it takes to get me excited? LOL! I'm thinking cute little gifts for the coming year. ;-)

New Year, New Scrappy Challenges

2012-01-03T18:19:00.000-08:00

I had the first challenge of the New Year over at Cookin' Up Creations.

Wow...I'm honored to bring you the very first challenge of our brand New Year! Our focus this month is going to be 'Scrapping our Stash'.....using up all the lovely goodies that we have hoarded away. I was looking through my newest issue of Scrapbooks etc. & ran across this layout & immediately knew that it would be perfect for a 'Stash buster' challenge.

I loved the paper strips woven into a photo mat....a great way to add texture without alot of bulk....plus an awesome way to use up those skinny little scraps of paper!! So, my challenge to you is to use the above page as your inspiration & do a little paper strip weaving of your own. I'll be anxious to see what y'all come up with! Remember you must complete ONE layout or TWO cards to be entered into the drawing for the monthly prize. Below is my example....pretty simple & easy.....& I'm really happy with the way it turned out. What a great way to use up my stash!

Below is yet another NY page for Clay's album. I used today's sketch challenge from CUC for this one. Little by little I'm getting these pictures scrapped. ;-)

We have a few days into the first of each month to catch up on challenges from the previous month before all the layouts are counted & entered into the prize drawing. So......yesterday I did these cards......

The butterfly cards were done for the challenge to use LOTS of punchies...

...and these were done for the paper-piecing challenge.

Just a little close-up of my topiaries.....

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T07:34:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone! This is what Clay, Ashley & Jon were doing last night.

Me....well, I spent a quiet evening at home with Michael & Alli. Our big 'Whoopty-Do' was making home-made pizzas for supper & watching the NCIS marathon that was on TV all day. LOL! Chris & Ashley C. only did one night of Winterfest...Friday night. They really wanted to see Skillet. They then spent the day yesterday out & about...hanging out, just enjoying each other's company. They got back here last night around 10pm. I'm not even real sure exactly what time the others got home last night...or should I say this morning. All I know is that everyone is still snoozing away!! Everyone except me, Chris & Michael, that is. Michael always goes to bed earlier than anyone else & therefore is always up earlier in the mornings. Chris has to be at work at 10...so he's getting ready to leave. At least he'll be off tomorrow & can sleep in.

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Over at Cookin' Up Creations we're starting a new month of challenges.

The new year is here … and the Cookin' Up Creations Challenge Team says,

“OUT WITH THE OLD AND IN WITH THE NEW!”

Let's face it, we all have a scrappy stash …. things that we are hoarding, forgot we had, never got around to using … yeah, you know you have it, too! And if you're like us, you may have gotten new supplies and tools as gifts or maybe you hit the after-holiday sales; and we all know that Winter CHA is just around the corner, when the scrap companies will be releasing NEW designs!

The Challenge Team members will be using OUR stash all month to make way for all the new goodies that have come or are yet to come our way. You'll see how we are whittling away our stash in our daily BPS Challenges throughout January. And you can join us by using up your own stash in the Blue Plate Special challenges as well. We'll be focusing all month on ways to use what you have to make room for more .... well, stuff!

So … we know you have some stash (don't we all) and we know you are eyeing all those new supplies … so join us as we say “OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW!”

Art

2011-12-30T09:07:00.000-08:00

Thought I would do a separate post with all my scrappiness that I've not shared in a while.

Another of Alli's drawings. This girly has some serious talent!!

Some more pages that I've completed for Clay's NY album. Above are the pictures he took at Ground Zero & the new Freedom Tower.

The three layouts above are all pictures taken in Times Square.

And this last layout was done for our Design Team 'introductions' at Cookin' Up Creations. We were to scrap 'What I'm looking forward to/ what I hope to accomplish in the New Year'. I didn't have a picture of myself & my printer is running out of ink....so I ended up with this cr@ppy little print of the Carnival Cruise ship we will be sailing on in March. I figured it would have to do for the time being & it's only temporarily attached so I can replace it with a better photo later on. This is definitely something I'm looking forward to this coming year!!!

Finally!

2011-12-30T06:12:00.000-08:00

Wow.....I've been so slack in my blogging! BUT....I have a some-what good excuse......our router died. At first we just thought something was up with the internet, but then figured out it was our poor old router we've had for a good while. So....from Christmas Day until just day-before-yesterday I've been without a computer. And I'm just now getting here to share Christmas pics & what-not. Below, is a picture I took of Clay's laptop......the kids fixed this screen-saver for him. It's kind of a little joke around here.....back on Clay's 43rd birthday, I think it was.....he made a slip & said something about turning 44 in a few days instead of 43. The kids thought that was hilarious....that he was thinking himself a year older than he really was going to be. So, from then on, everyone's always teasing him about being a year older than he really is.

One day last week.....I don't even remember WHICH day last week at this point, LOL!.....the kids made gingerbread cookies. If you happen to remember from last year, we ended up with several fun cookies...... a 'Jamie Hyneman' (Mythbusters) cookie is the one that really stands out for me. So this year Alli was determined that she was going to make a Taylor Swift cookie for Jon.......

...and not to be outdone, Jon made this lovely Scotty McCreery cookie for Alli.

Our Christmas tree on Christmas morning.

Alli with one of her new Taylor Swift cds.

Well, I was trying to get a picture of Chris.....& Michael just HAD to stick his face in front of the camera. Such a ham!!

Chris' new computer drawing toy!

There are no words......Jon thinks Santa looks like he has his finger stuck up his nose. LOL!

REAL homemade honey from right here in Lovingston!

Charlie had enough Christmas & decided to take a little snooze in the middle of all the wrapping paper.


Clay looking through his NY album....not quite finished, but I wrapped it up anyway. I think he really liked it. He liked all the 'Googled' info I had looked up about everything. I'll continue to post the layouts as I finish them. I've managed to do a few more even since then.

Christmas evening at Maw's house.....Daniel dressed up like his little Elf friend. Doesn't he make the cutest little elf?!

Ummmm........Clay & his Bow Boobs. He made Sarah & I promise NOT to post this on Facebook.....but I never said I wouldn't share it here. Hee! Hee!

The other day, I was straightening up some of the Christmas clutter & stacked several boxes out on the back porch to be taken to the dump.......

For some reason I don't think the critters were ready to let them go. Charlie LOVED that chicken box from Sam's....it really did make a nice cozy little hidey-hole-house for him. Now Rocky....he wasn't too sure about being perched up on top there. Jon put him there so Alli could take his picture, but I think he was happier to get back on the ground again. They do look like they've got some little critter condo thing going on there, don't they?

Cruising right along.......

2011-12-21T06:08:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my Clay-Baby's birthday & we celebrated in our traditional manner..........the two of us went Christmas shopping & out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse. One of the few times a year that we get to go out on a 'Date'. We had a really fun day & got quite a lot accomplished. But dinner was definitely the high-light. It was over supper that he told me about this........

In March, we will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary & WE WILL BE CRUISING TO THE BAHAMAS!! Oh my goodness....I'm so super excited! He's been planning this for a year now. What a sweetie. He said it couldn't be a total surprise because we will need to get pass-ports & shop, of course. But I love that he had planned it out to tell me over dinner last night. Still lots of details to work out & planning to do....but O.M.G.....I get so giddy every time I stop & think about it!

After dinner, we finished up our shopping......ran into 'Fluffy-Duffy' at Toys R Us & talked for a good 30 minutes. LOL! Starbucks was the last stop of the day......for a nice decaf coffee plus Clay kind of promised our 'Coffee-Girl' that we would bring her home a pumpkin spice latte.....one last Holiday Drink of the season. You would not believe how quiet it was in the place last night.......with NO LU students there. I think there might've been 5 other people in there besides us.....that was it. When we got home, Clay opened presents & we all shared some of his yummy-home-made-by-Ashley-cherry pie that she had baked for him while we were out. Cherry pie, coffee & watching 'Elf'......what a nice way to end a fantastic day!

Cookie Swap

2011-12-19T18:20:00.000-08:00

The day started off with a visit to the dentist. Ashley finally got her braces off today!! She was so tickled! From there we headed straight on into town for our Homeschool Christmas cookie swap party at Maw's house.

Lots of yummy treats for sharing.

Sarah's cute little Grinch cookies.

Daniel, Alec, Jesse, Cori, Lora, Alli, Taylor & Anna

We always used to say that Anna was 'The choir director of life'.....everyone was singing Happy Birthday to Jesus!

We had such a fun afternoon!! So glad that Donna & her kids were able to join us today. Hopefully it was the first of many homeschool parties ahead for her & her kids. ;-) God has blessed us with such amazing friends & family!

Christmas countdown

2011-12-18T08:24:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd take a minute & catch you up on what's been going on around here. We've been busy to say the least!

Christmas Snickerdoodles. Would love to say these were baked for our Cookie Swap party we're having tomorrow at Maw's.....but these are long gone. LOL! Will have to bake some more this afternoon.


In between pans of cookies....I was working on my little crocheted candy cane ornaments. I'm hoping to make enough to share at our Cookie Swap.

On my scrapping message board...Cookin' Up Creations we were talking about home-made gifts & so I took a few pictures yesterday afternoon of some of the goodies I've been working on this year. I know I posted before the altered desk calendars that I made for Ashley & her room-mates.....here's another one I did yesterday. So easy & fun to make!

How about a giant Hershey's bar.....spruced up with some scrappy-scraps.

This is called an 'Infinity Scarf'.....it's a Forever 21 knock-off.....& I found the idea on Pinterest. You can check out the pattern HERE. It was super quick & easy to make!!

Another Infinity Scarf in mustard. Pardon the cr@ppy picture.....I got Alli to model the purple one, but I had to model this one & take a picture in my bedroom mirror.....kinda dark & never mind how well the scarf goes with my red Liberty shirt. LOL!

And just a little cuteness to brighten your day. Jon & Rocky kept trying to poke their faces in the picture when I was taking the ones of Alli with the cowl. So, I finally just gave in & took one of them so they'd leave me alone.

'Part-Time Pretties' Give-Away

2011-12-14T18:23:00.000-08:00

Sheila has several Christmas Pretties ready to go that she would like to give away!

Here is one embellishment "kit"

If you'd like a chance to win....check out the details HERE. And leave a comment there saying that I sent you!

Today's the Day...

2011-12-14T06:06:00.000-08:00

...That my Girlie comes home from her first semester of college! Has it really gone by that fast? Clay will be picking her up when he gets off work today. I went up there yesterday afternoon & brought a van-load of stuff home already. She needed to get some stuff out of her way so they could clean for their 'white glove'.....which they passed with flying colors. So, it's just one more (VCAR) final this morning at 10am & she's D.O.N.E. We are so proud of her. SO many changes in just a few short months.....moving away from home for the very first time....going from homeschool to a classroom situation......but the changes have all been for the good. God is ever so faithful. She's adapted well....had some amazing professors/classes....made some super new friends.....excellent room-mates....who could ask for more?!

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OK, enough gushing from mom.....want to see something funny? Ashley's room-mate, Taheshah, dressed up as the Black Swan for Halloween...

So pretty! But she didn't want to keep the froo-froo skirt or the black wings, so she gave them to Ashley to do whatever with. Well, when I got home yesterday, Alli was tickled with the skirt & wings...excited about the possibilities for next Halloween. She had them in the kitchen trying to straighten out the skirt a little bit since it had been crumpled up in a bag.Then the boys came in from hunting & were wanting to know what in the world is all that black frumpiness Alli has. We explain......but you just have to understand what it's like with BOYS in the house....Jon proclaims that it looks like a huge afro wig.......kinda like the football player, Troy Polamalu!

And so......here's Jon with Taheshah's skirt on his head!

Only in our house!! I swear these boys can always make me laugh!

"A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones" (Proverbs 17:22, NIV)

'From Santa with Love'

2011-12-12T06:12:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine on my scrapbooking message board made these awesome little ornaments for Sunday School teacher gifts. They were placed in cello bags & she attached the following poem to each one. I'm going to keep this in mind for next year!!

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A long time ago in a land far away
A child was born on a cold winter’s day
He wasn’t the baby you’re thinking about
But another small lad, he stood short and stout
He grew up to be quite a caring old man
He loved little children, every one in the land
He found the “good book” and studied its pages
It was the story of Jesus passed down through the ages
His heart overflowed as he read, could it be?
A love so divine that He died just for me?
A twinkle appeared in his eye on that day
He found a road straight to heaven and Christ was the way
As Christmas came closer, his heart filled with joy
He’d show God’s people he loved them-every girl, every boy
He made lots of goodies and stocked up his shelves
Yes, Santa was busy and so were his elves
He was filled with such love, that he wanted to share
So he handed out gifts to kids everywhere
Praise be to God, let the angels sing
For this jolly old man spreads love for the King
As he steps into the chimney, he looks high above
And whispers, “Happy Birthday dear Jesus, from Santa with love”

Design Team Call

2011-12-12T05:25:00.000-08:00

Do you love scrapbooking challenges? Do you enjoy chatting on forums and making new online friends? Then you may have what it takes to be a member of our Master Chef Challenge Team at Cookin' Up Scrapbook Creations!

Cookin' Up Creations focuses on our Blue Plate Special Challenges, and we want YOU to be a part of it! We offer a NEW challenge each day except Monday (weekly make up day) on our forum, with a prize drawing at the end of the month. We are looking for five to six team members for a six-month term.

Your responsibilities will include:

-Presenting a “Blue Plate Special” challenge once a week

-Posting regularly on the forum message board and initiating at least four new topics each week

-Posting comments regularly in our members' gallery

-Assisting with and participating in special events, such as crops, blog hops and special challenges

-Promoting Cookin' Up Creations on your personal blog, Facebook and wherever else allowed

We offer you the opportunity to showcase your work and a chance to expand your creativity through participation on our active, dynamic Challenge Team. Challenge Team members are eligible for the prize drawings.

All past and present members are encouraged to reapply.

Submissions will be taken from today thru Sunday December the 18th, 2011 at 9:00 pm EST. Challenge Team members will be notified no later than December 23rd, 2011 via email. Your position will begin immediately after your acceptance. Your “official” term will begin on January 1, 2012 and end June 30, 2012.

To apply:

Send the following requirements to tammy@cookinupcreations.com. Please put "Design Team Entry" in the subject line.

-Your name, address, email address and contact information

- A paragraph or two about yourself and your experience in scrapbooking and paper crafting

-Four recently completed layouts and two cards or other paper crafting project

-Links to your personal blog and online gallery

-A paragraph about why you wish to join our team

Each applicant must have at least 25 posts on our forum. We would like to have the opportunity to get to know you before making our decision, and encourage you to share your work with us, and for you to become a part of our online Family here at Cookin' up Creations.

We encourage each applicant/participant to check out our Blue Plate Special Challenge Forum, and familiarize yourself with it, and how it works.

*If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.

I look forward to seeing your submissions! Best of luck to you.

Tammy Folk

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I really would encourage any of you 'scrappy' ladies out there to apply. This is an awesome community of scrappers & friends......lots of amazing talent........& a terrific group of ladies to work with!! I promise you'll have fun & be inspired to get lots of scrapping done!!

Christmas Cards

2011-12-11T17:01:00.001-08:00

I'm a little slow getting going this year, but over the past few days, I think I've finally hit my groove. I've used alot of the challenges at Cookin' Up Creations as my inspiration. In years past I've done them assembly line style......all the same....& they really do work up quickly that way, but I just was NOT in the mood up until recently. Don't know why, but anyway. So, this year they will all be different....individual....unique!

This one is a gift card holder made out of a flattened toilet paper tube. Now how creative is that?! I cut the little notch out with my circle punch to make it easier to pull the GC (which I haven't purchased yet) out.

These were done for a challenge to use sewing/stitching on your project.

This challenge was to use a bird on your project.

For this challenge we were presented with 4 pieces of artwork & we were to draw our inspiration from them.

This was a sketch challenge.

For this one, we were to use an accordian-fold flower on our project.


And lastly.....just three that I did that didn't necessarily meet any challenge.

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Now, I just need to go curl up with my address book & start addressing envies & get these babies ready to go in the mail this week!

Christmas Crafties

2011-12-08T06:49:00.001-08:00

Just thought I'd share real quick.....a little bit of my craftiness from yesterday.

I found this crochet pattern LAST year toward the end of the season & couldn't wait to give it a try this year. You just crochet up two separate curly-Q thingies & then twist them together around a pipe cleaner. So quick & easy to do. I think I might make some more of these for gifts. If by chance you are interested in making your own......you just chain 50 & then 3 single crochet in each chain space across. Make one in white & one in red & when you're done....twist them together.

A few more pages done in Clay's NY album. Basically just a few random shots......the Stephen A. Schwarzman library building.....New York Times......

.....and down here we have the Lincoln Tunnel & of course he couldn't resist taking that bottom photo of a Frito Lay truck parked on a street in NYC! ;-)

Calendars

2011-12-06T12:26:00.001-08:00

I got the idea for these nifty little calendars from my friend, Jewels. You can check out her blog here.....Joy N Jesus. They are just plain desk calendars that you can find in the dollar bins at Target. Spiff them up a little bit & they make awesome Christmas gifts. I bought about 6 of them the other day & I think I need to go back for a few more. Because, who doesn't need a calendar, right? These two that I made today are for Ashley & her room-mate, Taheshah. I still need to make on for Emily....I just ran out of glue sticks for my hot glue gun. I figured they would make terrific gifts for these college girls to go on their desks & help keep their days organized.

I added some ribbon across the top & some silk flowers with button centers & a little bling.....

And in the bottom corner I added a glittered chipboard initial for each girl with a little ribbon, string & another small flower. Do you think they will like these?