JustRite's Friday Fun Challenge...and some pics!

Good morning and happy weekend to you!!! I am heading out in a bit to my Gram's house to clean and then visit. I think after that the hubby and I are buying flowers and doing some gardening today. (Add that to the huge pile of laundry, the dusting, and vacuuming that also needs to be done!) ick. But first things first!

I have a card using JustRite's Celebration set! It was created for the JustRite's Friday challenge.....to create a kids' themed card. (Sponsored by Spellbinders!) The elephant was colored with Copics and cut out. I stamped the present he is holding twice and cut that out. It was popped up using my Perga Kit. It pops the image up and gives it dimension. The paper is by DCWV. Love all of its glittery goodness!!! : ) The fringe was cut using my Martha Stewart fringe scissors. And the button? Tessa Ann! She has the prettiest clay buttons EVAH!

Can you see the tiny lil present popped up?

My son is 13. He hates having his picture taken. Really hates it. So imagine my surprise when I asked him if we could have a mini photo shoot, and he said yes. Really? So I did what any mother would do, grab my camera quickly before he changed his mind! We just went in the backyard and I started shooting away. Here are a few of the pics.......

I can't believe how fast he is growing up...........sheesh!

OK.......truth is.......after the photo shoot he asked in his sweet voice, "Mom, can I have $10.00 to buy a game for X-box life?" Ahhhhhhhhhh........now it all makes sense!

Have a great weekend!!!!

Caffinated Cropper Blog Hop!

Good morning and TGIF!!! Today is "nerd" day at my school today......of course my dear husband told me just to go as I normally do. Ha. Ha. Funny, funny guy he is. So I am thinking I need the ole' tape around my glasses, the pens in the pocket, and my pants a bit short! What do ya think??

Today is also the Caffinated Cropper Blog Hop! The DT has some fabulous creations to share with you using the newest kit called, Birds of a Feather. This kit comes with a sweet angel stamp by Paper Makeup. I colored her in with my Copics, cut her out, and perched her on top of glittered star. (Which was a Spellbinder's die that I cut out and added my own glitter to). The swirly pearls were from my own stash, but everything else is in the kit. : )

Be sure to visit the rest of the DT and see their creative inspirations!!! Any has some great sales and such....so check out Amy's Caffinated Cropper Blog! : )

Amber

Ashley

Christi

Jimmi

Michele < -------------- ME!

Sherri

HAVE a GREAT weekend!!!!

Happy Fish! Cutting Cafe' Winner!

Good morning and happy Thursday to you!!! First off I want to announce my Cutting Cafe' winner.........Random.org picked #15! This was Jeri!!! Jeri said, " Wow! What stunning work! The banner is adorable, and you did an amazing job on the strawberry! Absolutely beautiful!" Congrats Jeri!!!

I have a LO to share with you today of my cutie pie nephew, Alex. He is a tough cookie when trying to get pictures of him.....he is the kind of kid you have to catch off guard. He was having such a good time going down his water slide last summer and all I had to do was call his name. This was his priceless, happy expression! I used Noel's Sonoma County kit. I did add a few felt fish that were prepackaged in the kids' craft section at Michaels. The title was done with my ancient Sizzix dies and felt. The rest of the title was done with my Cricut.
Oh yea, these water splashes? Also "ancient" Sizzix! LOL! I added Dew Drops to give a "watery" effect!

Isn't he a cutie???? : )

Don't forget, Noel's Lemonade Stand, is now up for sale! There are only 10 left....and they are gonna fly out of there! Such a fun, fresh, summery kit!!!

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My son is staying home from school today......slight fever, cough, sore throat, and a bit of tummy sickness. I pray the "bug" doesn't make its rounds in my house!!! ICK!

JustRite and CPS!

This week JustRite is sponsoring CPS! It is sketch # 166! You can find it HERE! Making longer skinny cards is a bit out of my comfort zone. I think because I feel like I need to "fill" up the space! You know how much "stuff" I usually like on my cards! LOL! So I did have to do a bit of sewing (took up some space) and added two strips of designer paper (took up more space), and added pearls to the corners, (can't even leave the damn corners empty!). LOL! For the main image I used the Hope Border and Center set. The image was cut out with my Spellbinder's Label's One die set. The edges were glittered. : )

I just love the look of this colored seam binding. I see it so often on Michelle Wooderson's cards as well as Melissa Phillip's cards. There is such a pretty softness to them! I am officially hooked! Because Lord knows, I need another obsession!

I did a teeny angel's wing to the button, but it is hard to see in the photograph.

I hope you can play along with us and CPS this week! : ) Have a great day!!!!

Don't forget to go HERE for your chance to win two Cutting Cafe' files! (The strawberry template and the banner set!!!) I will draw a name later tonight!

Cutting Cafe's Giveaway!

Regina, owner of the Cutting Cafe' is having a giveaway! The DT is giving away the sets they used to make their card to one lucky winner! I used 2 sets to create my sweet sugary strawberry card. The first one, is obviously the strawberry! I sewed fabric onto the front of the card, and added glittered paper to the top. I added some Papertrey ribbon, a Prima flower, a vintage paper flower, and a teeny tag and sentiment. I added the word sweet with Cutting Cafe's All Occasion Banner set! Banners are all the rage right now! I just love 'em!

Would you like to win the Strawberry template and the All Occasions Banner set? Then leave me a comment before Wednesday 11 PM Central time. That's it....easy peasy! I will pick a winner shortly after using Random.org!

Have a fabulous Tuesday!!!!! Thanks so much for stopping by!!!!

It's The Little Things in Life....

I love the expression that life isn't made up of a few big things, but rather a million little things.....or something like that. Isn't that the truth? Some things, like that first cup of coffee in the morning, my good morning hug and kisses from the kids, checking the mail after work for those fun little packages, the unexpected call from a friend......are the many things that make me smile. I have learned not to take one single thing for granted......constantly count your blessings.....because in the blink of an eye, life can change. : )

I have a Crafty Secret's card to share with you today. I used the new Material Girl set. It is such a fun vintage set! I used Basic Grey's new Kioshi paper and cut many frames using my Spellbinders to create a "negative" frame for the image. I was going for a "shadow box" effect. So I used dimensional foam squares between the layers. I added some black tulle to the dress form and a few pearls. Behind the dress form I airbrushed it using a Scalloped Spellbinders die and my airbrush system. I wrapped real thread around the "thread holder. "
See the purple thread on the "thread holder?" : )

Speaking of enjoying life's little moments, I have a couple of photos of Cort to share with you. We decided to set up the Wii in her bedroom and have her try her hand at bowling. Welllllll...........let me just tell you.........she LOVED it!!! She got so excited to see the pins fall down. She quickly learned where the "A" button was, but did need help releasing the "B" button. (Which is why her daddy was helping her here!) She played 3 games! Brian and I were so excited to see her excited to play! With her physical limitations, the fact that she was sitting on a regular kitchen chair, holding her body up, her head up, using the controller, and pushing the buttons......was amazing! She got 45 minutes of therapy without really knowing it! There are so few things Cortney really enjoys.......so this was heartwarming.......and yes........brought her mama, (and I think her daddy a little bit too), to tears........ : )

Thank you for letting me share an ordinary, life moment with you........... : )

Have a wonderful Monday!!!!

A Challenge, New Kit, and Happy Mother's Day!

Well, good morning and Happy Mother's Day to you!!! I hope you are all treated like queens for a day! I am heading to my Gram's today with my lil' family, my mom and sister. It will be nice getting together..... : )



I have a Mother's Day LO to share for Noel's newest challenge, based on THIS video. (Grab some Kleenex and be prepared to cry.......beautiful video!) I loved several of the lines in the video and used them here in my LO. I used Noel's Seaside Cottage kit. (Sold out! But don't worry her new kit is coming out in a few days! Scroll down to see it! : ) The challenges will be HERE....but probably won't be up until tomorrow! (I'm a wee bit early with mine!)



My kids aren't babies anymore, and I feel that being a good mother is even more important now as they head into their teen years. They need tough but unconditional love, direction, motivation, inspiration, guidance, and an occasional shoulder to cry on.

I feel so strongly about this.......

And without further ado, here is a sneak at Noel's newest kit called, Lemonade Stand! It is up for pre-order right now! Kits will ship in the next couple of days! You won't want to wait too long to grab this one! It is gonna go fast!!! : ) AND don't forget, if you want to be a part of the Noel Mignon DT.....applications are due by tomorrow!

Wishing you a blessed, peaceful, relaxing Mother's Day!!! (Gotta RUN!!!!.................I need to do some laundry, vacuum, dust, and clean the bathrooms......... : )