Saturday Afternoon....

In the midst of laundry, cleaning the house, and cooking dinner.....this is what my girl was doing. Playing with her doll....changing her outfit....getting ready to go downtown tomorrow to American Girl. I grabbed my camera and started shooting. It's times like this I wish I had her hair done a bit nicer. But it was a lazy Saturday afternoon...hence her sweatsuit.

She decided she wanted her dolly's cheerleading uniform on. 

She struggled with the outfit....but stuck with it....

.....and eventually ripped the Velcro!

This is her "baby" Gloria all ready for tomorrow....in her cheerleading uniform. ; )

Have a wonderful weekend!

Altered Egg and Tutorial!

Good morning and TGIF to you! I have an altered project to share with you today and a mini tutorial on how I created my version of a Faberge egg.  This egg even opens to place a little gift inside.  I probably should have taken a picture, but I didn't, so you'll have to trust me on this one! ; )

I picked up a couple of these metal eggs from Michaels in their seasonal aisle.  It is kind of cute....but I knew I wanted to create something fabulous with 'em! 

So I spray painted it to give it a good base coat. I just used a cream color.

After the egg is dry, I covered it with Mod Podge and sprinkled it with a pretty silver glitter from Martha Stewart.  I have another egg I created with a different color that I will share with you next week.  Just choose whatever color pleases you!

I've had several people ask how I tie my bows using the seam binding.  I think my next tutorial will be a step by step for that, but I hope you can kind of see here how I did it.  A double bow on each side and tie it in the middle with twine.  Don't worry if it isn't perfect!

For this egg I did use my glue gun to adhere everything.  I love to layer my embellishments, so this is the order I built this egg in.  First hot glue the bow/twine to the egg.  I glued it a bit off center towards the fattest part of the egg. 

I cut 3 leaves using my Cricut and the Flower Shoppe cartridge.  

I had a few feathers in my stash I knew I wanted to add.....after all it IS an egg! ; ) And a few acrylic pieces from Prima.  I like them because they add a subtle look to the egg without overpowering it.

And lastly, I add my flowers.  The flowers are once again from the Sizzix 3-D flowers die.  

As I mentioned earlier, I have one more egg to share with you next week in a completely different color scheme!

I am off to the American Girl Doll store with Cort this Sunday.  My guys are spending the day together doing "guy" stuff.....which is nice! I am hoping to get a bit of crafting time in as lately, I haven't had much time!  

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Thanks for popping by!

Drum Roll Please!

Okay, okay.....I am sorry to be a tad bit late, but by the time I printed all of the names and some of them twice.....it took a bit of time to cut them and pick a name!  So the name that was pulled from my big ole' tupperware bowl was..........Becci!  

She said: I have a blog but I confess that I am not super great at keeping up with it. I started it so that I'd have somewhere to talk about something other than children and raising children ;). I mostly post crafts and recipes there!

I would love to win GIANT FLOWERS (oh my goodness!!!) and I would be happy to share Victorian Romance so that another person could win too :) THANK YOU!!!!

I wish I had 154 more cartridges to give away to all of you......I have so enjoyed the last couple of days reading about the reasons you blog......or don't.  I thought you might get a kick out of my very first blog post.......it might give you a little chuckle! Click HERE! ; )

I haven't visited all 155 of you yet.....but I promise by the end of the week, I will have visited each of you.  If you don't blog, I can't thank you personally, but I will thank you here.  For your support, friendship, and kind words.   

Have a great night everyone!

Life is Heavenly...

If you are here for my blog candy (Giant Flowers and Victorian Romance), click HERE. I will pick a winner tonight at 10 PM CST.

 I have been reading all of your responses as to why you blog.....and it reminds me of this "sisterhood" we have built in this cyberworld, that we all want the same things.  Friendship. Feedback. Comraderie. A way to stay connected to our friends and family. Your words about my blog and my family have been incredible heartwarming.  I am so appreciative of you!  I have been trying to visit each and every one of you....and I am a little more than half way through. I have realized how much we all like to receive feedback from others and how good it feels when someone says something nice. I am terrible many times at leaving comments for others. It isn't done intentionally, by any means, it's just life being busy and me trying to limit how much time I spend on the computer.......away from my family. 

My card today is a bit bright.  Happy.  It uses an image by Crafty Secrets, Little Blessings Creative Scraps,  and I've surrounded it with lots of pretties.  The Tattered Angels frame was painted in a pale blue, covered with glossy accents, and sprinkled with glitter.  The flower was cut using my Cricut and the Flower Shoppe Cartridge. 

I snuck a few hot pink flowers in there too! And a bit of seam binding and twine.

The dried flowers are by Prima and had been in my stash for a very long time. I was so glad to be able to incorporate them here! 

Thank you my friends for supporting me on this journey, and I promise to do my very best to return the favor!  Hugs to each and every one of you!

Be sure to check back tonight and I will post the winner of the two Cricut cartridges!

Have a great day my friends!

Why We Blog......

Why do you blog? Sometimes I ask myself this question and have to think back to where it all began 4 years ago. I started this lil' blog on a complete whim. I really knew nothing of the blog world at all. My MIL actually knew more about them then me! So one morning I decided to take the plunge and start this corner of the cyberworld. No one really visited....no one really left comments, and I think the only people who actually read this blog were my mom and MIL! I started visiting other blogs which got people to know I existed......and the journey began. I still use this blog as a tool to connect with my family and friends. Sometimes in "real" life I mention something about Cort or Kyle and my family/friends say, "Oh yea! I read about that on your blog!" I love the connectivity it gives me to all of you.....and it is heartwarming to read your comments and e-mails when I post about my kids and their/my struggles. It is comforting to know that some of the things I feel, you feel...that we are just moms who happen to create and post our stuff on blogs.

To celebrate each of you and as a way of saying thank you for joining me on this crazy, crafty journey, I have two cartridges to give away!  I will randomly select ONE winner to receive both. They are favorites of mine.....they make my heart go pitter patter......

Giant Flowers.....

....and Victorian Romance....

What do you have to do?  Just become a follower if you are not already and tell me why you blog.  I promise, cross my heart, to come pay you a visit! I have been a wee bit neglectful in that department lately, and for that I apologize! Also, if you would like your name entered a second time, paste my blog button on your blog (located in the upper right hand corner).  

I will pick a winner on Wednesday night at 10 PM CST. 

Have a wonderful day!!!

Cast All Your Cares

JustRite has come out with a beautiful new set called, Cast All Your Cares.  It is a set that reminds us of the inner strength we all have....that God has given us.  There are times when we need those reminders.  Life can certainly test you......and we need to know that we are not alone.  This set does just that.  I stamped the sentiment in brown Memento Ink, and the frame in Hawaiian Shores Papertrey Ink.  I used Spellbinder's  Label's Sixteen die to cut it out.  The flower stamped in black and colored with Copics.  I used Papertrey's Doily die on cream cardstock.

I added white Flower Soft to the center of the flower.  I love dimension on my cards and popped up the flowers and frame with dimensional foam circles. 

I added a bit of seam binding and twine behind the flower. 

For more inspiration on using this beautiful new set be sure to visit these talented designer's blogs. 

JustRite Inspiration
Debbie Olson 
Becca Feeken 
Heidi Blankenship 
Kazan Clark
Linda Duke
Angela Barkhouse 
Michele Kovack

And for those who gave me computer advice and left kind words for me,  I finally got my computer back!  It seems to be running smoothly and I just had the inconvenience of reinstalling all of my programs......but I am happy I have it back! : )

Have a wonderful Sunday!