Spooky!

to say that I prepare ahead of time is an understatement (you can ask my family, I sort of get manic about it)--- I had my Christmas Cards all done in June/July. I have one child completely done for Christmas (as of today---YAHOO!) Working on DH--know what I'm gonna get him, it's just getting it. having dinner planned out in my mind.... I don't know where it comes from--the need to have things done ahead of time--my mom? my dad? I just know I feel much better not waiting until the last minute, it's more enjoyable for me. Although the secret keeping is almost unbearable! Why am I feeling the need to share? I have no idea.....

Thanks for reading by the way....

I do have something creative to share:

I had this pictured in my head for days and I was FINALLY got it completed--I just didn't share it with you! Now you see how I am!

The frame I bought at Walmart I think it was $5. This was such a fun little project and easy! Thanks for stopping by!

supplies:

pattern paper: Imaginisce

stamp: Imaginisce

cardstock: bazzill

distress ink: Ranger

buttons: Unknown

sewing

Dream on!

I just have to tell you these pictures crack me up! My "boys" are wearing their Sunday best because we had just come from my nephew's wedding. As we were driving by on the way, we noticed the Camaro. (YES, like from Transformers!) We hadn't actually seen one, so when we saw this, we got excited! The lot was closed (notice DH looking to see if there is anyone there....) We thought for sure the doors would be locked, 6 yr old DS grabbed the handle--it was OPEN! We had to check it ALL out (engine, trunk, etc....) I think the biggest boy was the most excited. I told him the only way he would buy one is if I could drive it to get my groceries!--YEAH RIGHT!--Hence the title....

Thanks for stopping by today!

supplies used:

pattern paper: Imaginisce

cardstock: Bazzill

brads & chipboard, foam shape: American Crafts

star brad: Making Memories

letter stickers: Sassafrass Lass, and My little shoebox

mesh & buttons: unknown

sewing....

Boo card

Okay, not an original idea I saw THIS card on Two Peas. I knew I had these same items (for the most part in my stash) I had to make this quicker than I thought. This ended up being a birthday card for my good friend, we went out to dinner last night. So I hurried up from a full day of soccer and made it.

I've got a giveaway coming up! It will be my first! It will either coincide with my 300th post OR my 100th layout. Whichever comes first, so stay tuned....Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies used:

pearls: Basic Grey

bingo card: Jenni Bowlin

pattern paper: Pink paislee

button: crafts etc!

sewing

cardstock: Bazzill

ribbon: unknown

stamp: Inkadinkadoo

Granola

Feeling good right now, have a load of laundry clean and dried, made granola, made bread AND the kitchen is clean, it's only 10:20 am! woohoo for me! (not a typical morning--I'm feeling quite productive.....) I wanted to share the granola recipe with you.

**while combining everything else soak in warm water:

1 cup Craisins

3/4 cup dried cherries

1/2 cup dried blueberries

(you can also add pumpkin seeds, apple chunks, and anything else you would like)**

10 cups Old fashioned oats

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup sesame seeds

1 cup coconut flakes

1/2 cup Oat bran

1/2 cup wheat germ

1/4 cup ground flax seed

1 cup sliced almonds

***combine all of these in a large bowl***

in a saucepan combine:

1 cup Maple syrup (she says don't use cheap stuff--I bought mine at Costco)

3/4 cup Oil

1 Tablespoon Cinnamon (or sweet spice mix)

1 1/2 cup honey

Mix together and heat until bubbly.

pour this wet mixture over the dry mixture and mix WELL. Place granola on two jelly roll pans with sides, spread it out so it covers the whole pan. Bake for about 15 minutes then give it a SLIGHT sift- be careful of the edges--this makes the crunchy part. Then switch pans (from top to bottom)and bake another 8-10 minutes, this all depends on how crunchy or chewy you want it. Let it rest on the counter for 30 minutes before transferring it to another container.

This recipe came from a buddy of mine at the gym....I tasted a little it IS yummy! I think my family will be glad to have all of the "supplies" off the counter, they've only been sitting there for a week!

Hope you have a FANTASTIC Friday! We have a soccer game tonight, yeah! Makes Saturday with two games bearable! :)

brr.. it's cold

Have you ever scrap lifted yourself? I did for this layout I did a couple of days ago:

I added glitter to the foam letters (you can't really tell from the picture) Found this loaner piece of Imaginisce paper in a stack and had the perfect pictures to go with it! You also can't tell that on the clear button I added bling-it really shines and looks great! The one picture on the bottom cracks me up, youngest DS was so cold he could hardly move so DD went back and pulled him up the hill...

supplies used:

pattern paper: Imaginisce

lettering: Making memories, & American Crafts

heart: Maya Road

glitter: Pink Paislee

ribbon & hemp: unknown

cardstock: Bazzill

punch: Fiskars

distress ink: Ranger

sewing

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by!

There is Sunshine on a cloudy day....

Love this sunshine from my cricut cartridge (this is from my Doodlecharms cart.)--I had to dust it off--take it's cover off to use it.

This is a quick post, hope you have a Sunshiny day!

supplies used:

pattern paper: Imaginisce

distress ink: Ranger

jewels: unknown

stamp: Imaginisce

sewing

glitter glue: Ranger

cardstock: Bazzill

Cards with the leftovers

I made that fun layout yesterday and had leftover scraps so I decided to make some fun cards:

This paper has to be my one of my FAVORITES from Imaginisce! Thanks for stopping by this Tuesday--make you day a great one!

supplies used:

pattern paper: Imaginisce

stamp: Hero Arts

sewing

ribbon: Bazzill

cardstock: Bazzill

flower & brad: Imaginisce

hemp: Walmart

heart: Maya Road

punch: Fiskars

distress ink: Ranger

Blog Buddies..

This is me and my Blog Friend Shanna Vineyard--(she's AMAZINGLY talented by the way!--She designs for Bo Bunny and she creates their stickers!) I found her blog and followed it through by google reader, when she announced that she was coming to a scrapbook store near me-like 2 minutes--I jumped at the chance to meet her in person. (she lives on the East Coast and I live in the west)

oh, the flower is a replica of one that she made for everyone! I couldn't believe how much time she took! I thought it would be fitting to add to my layout! I had so much fun making this Saturday... Thanks for looking! Hope you have a FANTASTIC Monday!

supplies used:

pattern paper: Imaginisce, DCWV

cardstock & border: Bazzill

letter stickers: American Crafts & Pink Paislee

sewing

heart: Maya Road

jewels: Heidi Swapp

butterfly punch: close to my heart

distress ink: Ranger

More candy containers!

I realized that I didn't share the other two candy containers I made for my kid's teachers. here ya go:

These are so fun to make, I plan on making some more for Valentines. This is a Drive by post, thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a FANTASTIC Sunday!

supplies used:

punch: fiskars

pattern paper: imaginisce

trim: bazzill

stamps: imaginisce

cardstock: bazzill

ribbon: bargain bin Michaels

colored hemp: walmart

sticker: Jenni Bowlin

buttons, sewing

Saturday Stuff!

I made these cards last night. *sorry for the quality of the pictures* The paper has a lot going on by itself so I just let it run:

I think this last one is my favorite. What's funny is that my 7 year old DS saw this paper and wanted it all to himself! I told him he could have what I didn't use....umm... that was like strips of things and cut out shapes. He is "scrapbooking" right now!

Today is pretty much the last day of Fall Break for us. It's been fun and FLEW by! It will be back to a schedule on Monday! Darn! It will be good though, I guess it helps us to be organized and recharged us. I do have to share a video of a place we went to, it was AMAZING:

video doesn't really show you how incredible it is. Even when you are looking at the stone it doesn't seem real. If you are ever towards Kartchner Caverns it's worth checking out!

thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend!

supplies used:

pattern paper: Imaginisce

ribbon: dollar bin at Michaels

crepe paper trim: Jenni Bowlin

sewing, hemp, buttons

Scrapbook Circle November Peek and giveaway

Here's a little peek at the November Kit at Scrapbook Circle. For more information on their contest go to their BLOG.

More Halloween stuff!

I watched a video by Jennifer McGuire yesterday and couldn't help myself!

In the video Jennifer suggests that you use heavier weight card stock. It's great, the only thing is I almost cracked a tooth trying to punch through my paper! I ended up cutting it with my scissors and it was just fine. For my bags I used those jewelry bags that zip like zip locks, I left the tops on--I like security! I have to tell you these went together QUICKLY! So if you are in the mood to create and use up some scraps, here's you a project! Funny thing about the green paper I looked on the back it's made by Provo Craft, it has the date...2003! Vintage and I used it! GO ME!!

Can you tell that I LOVE Halloween?

Thanks for stopping by! Make Monday a GREAT one!

supplies used:

pattern paper: Basic Grey, provo craft, imaginisce

rubons: Making memories

sticker: Jenni Bowlin

shaped letters: Making Memories

ribbon: American Crafts

brads: Making Memories

glitter glue: Ranger

stamp: Close to my heart

distress ink: ranger

(**There was a question regarding my previous post, I used a recycled crystal light container.--yes, I went GREEN!**)

Happy Halloween candy holder

I'm REALLY loving this Halloween paper! I decided to make a candy holder for the kiddo's teachers. This an example of the first one I did:

ooops! didn't cut the paper long enough....
added some FUN jewels!

I am going to be filling them up with mini Reese's peanut butter cups. Sure hope the teachers like chocolate. When I get some good light I'll take pictures of the next two and another special Halloween creation I made.

Life has been EXTREMELY busy with soccer, good thing we have a week break for Fall this coming week. I need it! :) Thanks so much for stopping by on this BEAUTIFUL Sunday!

Costume Parade

Okay the Halloween kit from Scrapbook Circle is just plain FUUN! Yesterday, I made this layout:

(Yes, I used more of my new stamps too!) The only things I pulled from my stash were the chipboard frame, stickles and stamps! I knew I wanted to layer it up well because I only had one picture of this particular event. (I though I had more but can't seem to find them!--doncha' hate that--I'm usually so organized!) This is just a quick post this morning.... I still have more product so I'll probably be making more things with it! Thanks for stopping by! Make this Thursday a GREAT one!

Laura's sketch #36

Can I say FUN?! Yep, I was pretty excited to use my NEW stamps from Inkadinkadoo (I bought them yesterday at my local Scrapbook store, haven't done that in a WHILE...really!--I almost couldn't stand myself they were so CUTE! see:)

As for Laura's sketch here it is:

Here is my take on it:

(Okay, funny story....I bought a new kennel for Ms. Ella the puppy, it's HUGE! It's right by the window AND it makes a perfect place for taking pictures in natural light....)

The paper & ribbon came from the FANTASTIC special edition Halloween kit from Scrapbook Circle. I then added pearls, bling, stamp, hemp, bazzill border. I even broke out the water color pencils and played with those. (thanks again mom for those....)

It was a VERY creative day because I got all my have to's done this morning. (Ya know, loading the dishwasher, vacuuming the floor, stuff ready for my Scout meeting tomorrow.....)

So I had a great time creating this card and a layout I'll have to share tomorrow, it's time for me to get going to soccer practice...IMAGINE that! :) Thanks for stopping by and visiting today!

supplies used:

pattern paper: Basic Grey

stamp: Inkadinkadoo

distressing ink: ranger

ribbon: Making Memories

pearls: Basic Grey

border: Bazzill

hemp: I bought it at Walmart

Haunted House *Pencil Holder*

I LOVE how this turned out! This is for my mom for her birthday, (she celebrates this month)-no, she doesn't look at the blog....if she happens to.... well, mom Happy Birthday!!

I used this fantastic Special Edition Halloween kit from Scrapbook Circle.

The bling, rubons, stickers, chipboard, and fence are from my own stash. I bought this house pencil box at Michael's on clearance a few months ago with the intent to do just this!

*Oh, the wire (I couldn't find mine anywhere!) I used a paper clip and twisted it around a pen.

*Also, I had to chop the ends of the fence, it just wouldn't fit. It was initially just white, but I painted it with crackle paint by ranger then inked it with white ink.

*For the windows and doors I used American craft chipboard shapes. I sanded them just a bit then painted glitter glue on top (you can't really tell from the pictures.) The windows were a little trickier. I placed bars stickers over the top of the paper, then layered the windows over that.

* for the roof I used my fiskars border punch. (again you can't tell from the picture)

*the bat is actually a sticker that I layered up on some cardstock to give it some weight.

I'm just so glad that I didn't wait until the last minute to do this! I had some advisory help from DD on where to place some things, so it was a family affair! I even have enough paper to make a card & bag to match! I'll have to work on that today.

Thanks for stopping by!

supplies used:

pattern paper: Basic Grey

fence: from $1 wood bin at Michael's

pencil box: Provo Craft

stickers & rubons: Joanns

chipboard shapes: American Crafts

brad: Making Memories

jewels: unknown (Michael's)

googlie eyes: westrim

punch: fiskars

glitter glue: ranger

ink: stampin' up

paper clip

Couple of shares!

okay, can you believe it? Two posts in one day! I do have a couple of exciting things I wanted to share with you! First off I am proud to announce I am a member of The Everyday Scrapper Design Team! Pretty fun! Check out their blog & forum it's a great place to hang out!

Secondly, (I thought this was so cool!) My dad owns a cute little Studebaker truck. It's got a black "paint" job and blue interior-yes, I said blue! It looks pretty cool. I know there is a technical name for it, can't remember right now. But ANYWAY, a local photographer asked if she could use it in a photo shoot, it's up on her blog now. Her name is Amy Fraughton, I'm thinking she needs to be taking my family shots! LOVE the area she took the photos in! Just thought it was cool!

Hopefully, I'll get to play today. The weather here is LOVELY, it's 70 degrees! This is why I live here! :) Hope you have a fantastic day today!

tip of the day at Scrapbook Circle

today I wanted to show you a neat little trick! I used my magic mesh as a mask to create this background for my layout:

What you will need:

white cardstock

magic mesh

distress ink

ink applicator

1. To create this look you need to place magic mesh on top of your cardstock, make sure that it is in place before continuing. (mine was sticky so it stayed down really well.)

2. Next you will take your applicator and ink it up well and rub it on top of your mesh. Once you have covered the area desired. Remove it and line up the mesh with the already inked area. 3. Continue until you have covered your whole page.

That's it! Easy Peasy! My finished page can be seen below or HERE.

Thanks for stopping by today! Make your Monday a GREAT one!

*Date with my boys

Can I just tell you that I LOVE this October kit from Scrapbook Circle? It's so much FUN!!

This layout was a real quick one....really it was! When I see where I want to go it goes quickly!

The green paper I made myself. I plan on making it a tutorial on Monday at the Scrapbook Circle blog, stay tuned!

For my last two layouts I've really cropped my pictures down. And you know what? I like it!

Today has us at 3 soccer games! Good thing it's cooled down! Last week there was a kid who passed out and the ambulance came, it was pretty scary! We will go well hydrated and probably get some icy drinks afterward. Thanks for stopping by today! Hope that your Saturday is a GREAT one for you!

supplies used:

pattern paper & stickers: Bella Blvd.

button: unknown

distress ink: Ranger

magic mesh

rubons: Kaiser

letter stickers: American Crafts & Pink Paislee

sewing

1 mile fun run

Okay, so here is the layout I was talking about yesterday, ya know the one I ripped off:

closeups:

My inspiration was THIS PAGE by Jen Jockisch. She's AMAZING she designs for American Crafts, Prima AND Sassafrass Lass. I stumbled upon her at Two Peas in a Bucket, her pages are just fun! Thanks for stopping by today, gotta run I hear the puppy "calling" me! Have a GREAT Friday!

supplies used:

October kit from Scrapbook Circle

pattern paper: Sassafrass Lass

rubons: kaiser

letter stickers: Pink Paislee

jewel brad: American Crafts

date card (not included in kit): Jenni Bowlin

punch: Fiskars

stickers: Sassafrass Lass

sewing, brads, buttons,

okay so today....

I was doing great when the kids headed off to school, Woohoo! they've been a little crazy and I have not been so patient. Not a good combination....maybe it could've been me waking up to the dog licking her foot next to my bed and her collar jingling (have I mentioned I'm a light sleeper?), or maybe it could've been while awake from the dog getting up and tripping over a kid on the floor, while heading to the bathroom. (don't worry there weren't any accidents) Or it could've been coming back to my bed NOT tripping over a kid (she went back to bed), not hearing jingling from the dog (I took her collar off) to find my spot totally taken over by DH. Heavy sleeper as he is, I somehow made it back and somehow got to sleep. I was tired this morning....

ANYWAY, does this ever happen to you? I feel sorry for those that have real sleep problems....I don't think I could function. I did get to Scout roundtable for training and the school to help out, make dinner and a treat for a certain birthday child for tomorrow.

I even found some time to create this little pretty:

My first ATC! It measure 2.5 x3.5" it's for the hero arts challenge this week. Yeah! It was fun to make! I figured that I could use it as an add on to a larger card OR just put it in a little envelope. I haven't gotten that far, I just had fun playing with my stamps, distressing ink, sewing machine, and paper!

I also TOTALLY ripped off a layout from a VERY talented scrapper I found on Two Peas in a bucket, she happens to design for SEVERAL large companies. As it still needs journaling and I haven't done that yet, I'll have to share it tomorrow. I LOVE how it turned out!

So if you've read this far, THANK YOU!!

My brain is starting to wander and the kids are getting crazy with some balloons! Thanks for stopping by and listen to me ramble....Hope you are enjoying the first day of October!