Sharing our Day.......Apple Picking....

What a fun day we had today! We started at Cort's school this morning for their annual Dutch Days. Cort sang in the choir and then we walked around eating and buying Mums and such. My in-laws joined us and it was great to visit with them a bit. Afterwards we drove to Indiana and went to County Line Apple Orchard. It is our tradition to go every year. Today was a bit chilly and fall like.

Here is my girl picking an apple. It may not seem like much......but a few years ago, Cort would just bang her head and cry.....and now, she is really into picking them and putting them in the bag. It makes my heart warm and fuzzy when she can enjoy some family time with us. : )
......and my guy......

.....and the "big guy!" : ) Such a good sport....had to work this morning and had a smile on his face even on 4 hours of sleep!

I had to upload this photo of Kyle.....even though it was a bit silly eating his ear of corn....but my oh my!! Look at those dimples and eyes!

A little tonsil shot........ : ) Riding the hay wagon!

I never seem to get my two together.......at least not looking the same way and both looking good.....but I was pretty happy with this photo of my two. Sheesh! They are getting so big and grown up looking.

Off to warm up these chilled bones with a hot cup of apple cider!!! And tomorrow I may even bake a pie! : )

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Officially Fall.....

OK.....I believe the 23rd marks the first day of fall......too bad it is 90 degrees here and super sticky outside! But to honor this change of seasons.....I have a fall banner to share with you! I combined two of my favorite companies.....Noel Mignon's kits and Provo Craft to create the letters! I used Noel's Office Party kit (sold out) and PC's Storybook Cartridge to cut the letters. I did lots of Glimmer Misting, inking, and sewing!
I love the layered look of these letters.......this is truly my favorite font!

This lil' lovely is hanging on my fireplace........

Be sure to check out Noel Mignon's latest Halloween kit, "Sleepy Hallow!" A jam packed kit full of fun Halloween tidbits!!!

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My Dad and I, and the family had dinner the other night and told me he misses visiting my blog for stories about the kids and such. Lately, he tells me it's all "business." So here is a tidbit about my weekend coming up.....nothing too exciting....but here it goes! Saturday, Cortney is singing in her special needs choir at her school in the morning. It is fun to watch the kids get so enthusiastic! My girl has been practicing singing her version of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," all week. Which if you remember from last year......is a "Christian" song! LOL! (She attends a Christian school and that's what Cort told me last year......; ) Afterwards we are heading to Indiana for some apple picking. Now mind you.....I am not a baker. At all. Every year we vow to make apple pie. This will be our 6th year. No apple pies have been made. Yet. This year will be different! My husband has printed out recipes for apple pie. We've been talking about apple pie, dreaming about apple pie........my son tells me he will be 80 when we actually make apple pie. 13 year olds are so cute. Well now we have to prove him wrong! I'll take pics.........maybe.

Have a great weekend! And as always........thanks for stopping!

ATTENTION!!! ATTENTION!!!!

OK.....did I get your attention? : ) Provo Craft is holding a Swarm in Utah on October 9th! It is going to be a jam packed day filled with classes, food, prizes, and a pretty awesome Swag bag! Check it out! If you are interested in going, you can go to the website at the bottom of the flyer and register! Hope to see you there! : )

JustRite's Christmas Blog Hop #3!

Welcome to JustRite Stampers’ newest Wednesday feature, 12 Weeks of Christmas Blog Hops #3! Every Wednesday up until Thanksgiving some of your favorite designers will be joining some of the JustRite design team for a series of Christmas blog hops, showcasing JustRite’s entire Christmas Collection of stamps! So mark your calendars for Wednesdays at 9am Central for great Christmas gift, card & project ideas, starting at the JustRite Inspiration blog! We are in week 3 of JustRite's 12 Christmas Blog Hop! (If I keep this up, I might actually be able to send some homemade cards this year! ) LOL!

Today's card uses the set Vintage Christmas by JustRite. The ornaments were colored with Copic colors, R81, R83, BG10, BG32, Y21.. They were then cut out, edges inked, Crystal lacquer and glitter were applied. Rhinestones were also added to their centers. The image was stamped again in silver. It was cut out using my Small Circles die by Spellbinders. I left it on after cutting to airbrush with Copic BG10 . Then the cut ornaments were placed on foam dimensional dots. The frame was also stamped in silver, cut out with a Large Circle Spellbinder's die and rhinestones were added. I inked both circles' edges with silver, then I layered them over a scalloped circle. (Spellbinder's die too!) The paper is by K & Company and was hand stitched with silver tread. As a final touch I added silver ribbon and 2 vintage buttons.
Love the look of the these old fashioned ornaments!
Would you like more Christmas inspiration? Be sure to stop by these talented ladies' blogs!

JustRite Blog
Debbie Olson
Becca Feeken

Sharon Harnist
Jeanne Streiff
Michele Kovack <------- Me! : )

Mona Pendleton
Heidi Blankenship
Beate Johns
Sankari Wegman
Selma Stevenson
Kellie Fortin
Angela Barkhouse
Pam Imholtz
Kazan Clark
Liz Weber
Stephanie Kraft

Have a wonderful day! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Give Thanks Nested Frames by JustRite!

Good morning! Autumn is just around the corner although today in Chicago you wouldn't know it! It is supposed to reach 87 degrees with high humidity. But I'll take a random warm day here and there! JustRite has come out with a new fall inspired stamp set. It is called Give Thanks Nested Frames. This set is perfect for Thanksgiving cards! I stamped mine with brown Memento Ink an colored the leaves and acorns with my Copics, TG03, YG63, B31, B33. The edges were sponged in a deep brown. I cut and layered the frames. The edges were also glittered! (Big surprise there huh? LOL!) The sentiment was also stamped in brown and cut out with an oval Spellbinder's die. I did a bit of airbrushing with Copic YG03. The edges were also sponged in brown ink. The cardstock is by Papertrey in Ripe Avocado and Cream. The cream panel was embossed with the Linen Impression plate.

The leaf was created using 2 different Spellbinder's leaf dies. I used old dictionary paper and a piece of cream felt. The felt was sprayed lightly with adhesive and a chunky glitter was applied. I added a button and piece of old lace tied with twine.

Be sure to check out the JustRite blog to see the other designers creations with this fabulous new set!

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My girlfriend Jen's benefit was held this past Saturday......and we were able to raise a little more than $10,000 for charity! Which is so awesome and definitely the way Jen would have wanted things! Today should have been her 39 birthday.......I guess she will have her cake wearing her angel wings........

Thank you for all of your support and well wishes!

Crafty Secret's DT Challenge.....Halloween!

Good morning and happy Monday to you!! Today is our Crafty Secret's DT challenge for September! Vicki challenged us to make anything Halloween themed! I decided on the Halloween Treats stamp set. I just adore this cute little owl and colored him with my Copics. I cut him out and added a foam dimensional dot behind him. The tree was stamped in Versamark and heat embossed with black embossing powder. I punched a circle from a piece of scrap paper and used the negative space to sponge a white "moon" directly onto the DP. I adhered the owl right over it, so that he is sitting on the branch.
The sentiment was stamped on vellum and adhered with a Halloween brad. A larger piece of vellum was run through my spider web Cuttlebug folder. It was hand stitched with black thread and small brads were added to the corners. I piece of glittery, sheer ribbon was tied for a finishing touch.

Be sure to check out the rest of the team's amazing Halloween projects! : )
Vicki Chrisman Team Leader

Pam Hooten

Heidi Blankenship

Marisa Grosson

Linda Duke

Michele Kovack < ----------ME! : )

Melissa Phillips

Flo from France

Julie Campbell

Mary Hamer

Heartwarming Vintage blog
Crafty Secrets Website

Wishing you all a wonderful day!!!!! : )