Many Thanks......

Good morning! 

:)

 I have a card to share with you today that uses texture paste and a stencil.  The stencil is by Heidi Swapp. I just adore these polka dots!.  Before applying the texture paste, I added a wee bit of silver paint and mixed it well.  I taped my stencil to the piece of card stock, and scraped it across using an old credit card.  I love the subtle texture it gives!

Since I wanted the background to take center stage, I added a few simple embellishments to finish off the card. 

The flowers were created using orange vellum and my Silhouette.  I added a couple of feathers, ribbon, and my stamped sentiment. As a final touch I added a few orange sequins. 

I feel as though lately, my blog is a bit blah.  I don't have as much time lately and I apologize for the numerous "short and sweet" posts.  I keep hoping my life will slow down just a tiny bit, but not sure if that's going to happen.  

I hope you can bare with me! 

Have a great day my friends!

Flowers, Flowers, Flowers!

I think I went a bit flower crazy on today's card!  

I couldn't help myself!  The main image is an image from Crafty Secret's Digital Garden set.  It was colored using my Inktense pencils.I added some Rock Candy Stickles to the center and a bit of glossy accents as well. I used a pretty Spellbinder's frame (Marvelous Squares) to matte the image.  The background used a Heidi Swapp stencil and texture paste.  I added a bit of silver ink to it once it was dry. I also added some Tim Holtz film strip, a bit of lace, and ruffled green paper to peek out under it. 

It's a bit busy....hopefully not too busy! ;)

My lil family went apple picking on Saturday.  It is a tradition we've had for the past 16 years or so. I know the kids are getting older and who knows if Kyle will want to go with us next year.  I took a lot of pictures that day knowing it could be our last year.  I still need to edit a lot of them and will share those in the next day or two.

 I handed the camera off to Kyle and he captured this one of Brian and me.  My man is scruffy, but I really like it!  

It's nice to get pics of us once in a while! ;)

Well it's the start of a new work week, so I've gotta run!

Have a great day my friends!

100 Days of School Treat Cups

I have one last school project to share with you today.  Since most schools celebrate the 100th day of school, why not alter Dixie cups and fill 'em up with treats! I used my Cricut to create the stars and welded the number with the apple. I added a little tag that I had run through my printer. 

And of course I couldn't resist adding loads of glitter to my apples!

Today is bitter sweet for me.   I truly feel blessed to be spending the day apple picking with my family. But sad that it would have been my very best friend's 42nd birthday today.  I think about her everyday.  There has been a hole in my heart for the last 4 years.  They say that time heals all wounds....and I suppose they are right.  

The wound is healed, but the scar will remain.

She was a special person and never in a million years thought I'd have to say goodbye so soon. 

This was a LO I had created using the lyrics to P!nk's song, Who Knew......

Have a blessed weekend with your loved ones!

Back to School Backpack

Do you know what day it is? Do you?  Do you? Go on say it......It's Hump Day! 

Okay, I am a total dork.

;) 

I have another school themed project to share with you that was featured in the September 2012 issue of Cricut Magazine.  It uses the Campin' Critters cartridge.  I opted to leave the sleeping bag off, since most kids don't sleep over at their school.  ;) I filled the pockets and inside with little treats, notes, and trinkets for your little one.  The little bear and the Sending Wishes were created using my Imagine and Shrinky Dink material.  

This is a perfect way to start off a school year! 

I apologize for another short post, but I've gotta get my booty in gear and get to work.  Tonight is "Meet the Teacher."  LOTS to do as always!  

Have a great day my friends! And as always, thank you for taking the time to visit. 

:)

Personalized Teacher Card

Since it is September, I thought I'd share a few school themed projects with you this week.  I created this personalized card for Cortney's teacher last year.  It was published in the September issue (2012) of Cricut magazine.  Since they photograph the projects so nicely, I  used their photo instead of my plain boring one. ;) The glue bottle was created using Nate's ABC's.  For many of my shaped cards I just cut the image twice.  I score the cut in back about 1/3 of the way down. Then I just glue the two pieces together at the top.  I added some fun accessories like a pencil and scissors to the top of the bottle.  :)  I added the teacher's name using my computer.  

I added a bit of twine and a few rhinestones to finish it off.  

It's another busy week here.....it seems most of my weeks are! 

Open house at my school, therapy, haircuts, drive Kyle to work.......the list goes on....

Busy is good.

Life is full. 

I like it that way. :) 

(most of the time anyway!)

Conversation Box

Good morning my friends! Thank you all for all of the wonderful birthday wishes and e-mails! It brightened my day more than you will ever know! :)

With today’s kids living in a technology age, conversations seem to be an old art these days.  I do have a rule at my dinner table, or any dinner table, that they can not use their cell phones!  So we usually end up talking about our day at school/work, but there are times, when there is a lull in the conversation.  So here’s where I come in!!  A Conversation Starter box! All you need is a cheapo recipe box or something similar to alter.  Mine was from the dollar store. : )

What is a conversation starter box you inquire? It is a box filled with questions you can ask your kids at the dinner table that gets them talking…..thinking.  They can be included in the process by coming up with questions to ask you. I decorated the top of the box with the two kiddos from the Dr. Checkup Cartridge.

And I used a word bubble from the CCR Exclusive Cart called Word Bubbles! ; ) The words were done on my computer. I added glossy accents to their eyes and tongues…….

I’ve even included a spot inside the box for extra journaling bubbles.  Kids like to  participate in generating questions, so all they need is a pen and an extra word bubble to write their questions on.

Here is a sampling of questions inside the box. By the way, for all of you teachers out there, this would be great to use in the classroom too!  I know myself I find questions on the Internet, or a great quote and would love a place to write it all down….. so here is the solution! And once again, you can have your students come up with some of the questions and add them to the box.

 

My little box now sits in my classroom, where I add to it whenever I see a great question or quote from the Internet.  It's been a great place to organize my questions! 

 
  This was so easy to create and hopefully, your dinner conversations will be a bit more lively and fun! : )

I have our last golf outing tonight and then the rest of the weekend? I am planning on relaxing a bit and hopefully getting in my craft room.  I need a down weekend with no chasing! ;)

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend too!!!

Another Year Older.......

Yep. It's true.  I am one year older today.

I am wiser I suppose with each year that passes. 

I appreciate more now than I have ever in the past.  Time is precious. People are precious.

Little things ARE the big things in life. 

I have come to the realization that my imperfect life IS perfect. It's mine and I'm so blessed because of it.

This hobby has been a savior for me. I am so thankful to have all of you. I can't tell you how much it means to me when you leave sweet comments and e-mails about my kids. Often that is the "picker-upper" I needed that day. :)

Life's curve balls have made me who I am. 

The forty something wife, teacher, mama, friend, neighbor, daughter, sister, crafter, photographer......

:)

Since I know you didn't come here to listen to me become melancholy, I DO actually have a card to share with you.  The main image is by Crafty Secret's Digital Flower Garden. I colored it using my Inktense Pencils.  

The back panel was a bit of an experiment.  I used a Heidi Swapp stencil and my Inktense to trace around the circles.  I added a bit of water to "fill in" each circle.  It gave the green panel a bit of character and interest I think.  The rustic green paper is by Paperloft.  I added a few vintage buttons and a bit of trim to finish it off. 

I am off to work today!

Have a great day my friends!