Hey JESSIE! This One's For YOU!

Hi friends! I hope you are having a great day! I'm doing ok. I'm just about to head out to sushi with a friend so with any hope, my day will get better.

So, every now and then I do a tribute card. Most of the time, I do it for people's birthdays. Sometimes, I do it to inspire myself. This time, I do it because I LOVE Jessie Knight Rone and her red/white bows! Honestly, I tried to put more bows on this but my ribbon started to look funny. The sentiment says Wishing You the Happiest Holidays and is from Recollections. The penguin is from Paper Smooches and the paper is Bella Blvd.

Have a great day everyone!

Dancing Penguin in a Tutu

Hi friends! I hope you are having a great week! We are having a little adjustment period with Brady going back to school but I'm sure we'll get it. Then we'll have Christmas break. LOL!

Did you hear me shriek the title of this post?! What's more me than penguins and puffy pink tutus? Nothing. Seriously. Here's my first "official" Amber Ink post. I used the darling Gumdrop Penguins - Just Dance Girly. I love this little cutie! I used this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch 145 for this card. The paper is from Echo Park, ribbon is May Arts, and the sticker is Doodlebug.

Have a fabulous day, friends!

Woohoo! Catching the Torch!

Hi friends!!! Exciting news today! I'm being passed the torch to design for Amber Ink for the month of December! WOOHOO!!! The ladies behind Amber Ink (Pam and Amber, a mother/daughter duo) are the NICEST gals ever! So, when they asked me to design for them, I said yes. You'll be seeing lots of Amber Ink digis, iPapers, and even some clear stamp projects right here on my blog.

Here are the other torchbearers:

Jenn Borjeson

Kaija

Shirl

Angela Kelley

You can check out the announcement on the Amber Ink Blog.

November 2011 SFYTT

Hi friends! I hope you are having a great day! We are tired today! Brady went back to school and we all had to wake up early to him there. Perhaps we should have signed up for afternoon preschool! :) I'm ready for a nap but the kids are not.

Today, I'm sharing my card for Jen del Muro's Nov 11 Sketch For You To Try. I decided to make a vintage card with my new Hero Arts stamp that I got at my LSS for 50% off. The paper is Pink Paislee Butterfly Garden and I added LOTS of Stickles to this. (PS since Christmas decor has gone up, you're gonna see these Christmas lights in my pictures from now on. It's not a statement, it's because I take my pictures on my mantle and we decorate it for Christmas and I'm not taking it down everyday to take pics!)

Have a great day, friends!

EAD Frame with Vinyl

Hi friends! I hope you all had a great weekend! I am NOT ready for life to go back to normal tomorrow. :( Oh well. Today, we headed out to the mall to go to the Apple Store for Dustin to get his computer fixed. We also hit up a few stores and had lunch there. It was a nice afternoon. After we got home, we put up our Christmas tree. Fun day!

Today, I have another home decor project to share with you. I'll bet you all thought I didn't have it in me to do all these non-card projects. ;) Well, I didn't either. I decided to make a frame with the EAD Designs You are loved always vinyl. That is a message I want my boys to know ALL the time and carry in their hearts so I wanted to make a sign to show them.

I also made a video to show how to make this project:

Have a fabulous day, friends!

Thanks a Bunch and a Winner

Hi friends! I hope you are having a great weekend! I'm going to be crafting with some friends so that will be fun! I did a little more shopping this morning and I'm happy with all the deals I got. I plan on patronizing some businesses for Small Business Saturday as well. We already went to a family owned restaurant for lunch.

Here's a card I made for The Craft's Meow Nov/Dec sketch challenge. I used my only The Craft's Meow stamp for this, it's a Frieda stamp. The paper is Crate Paper Random and I used some Glitz Stickles for this as well. The ribbon is dyed seam binding.

And for the WINNER of my EAD/Whisker Graphics prize pack... Spip78! You win! Email me through the sidebar on the right with your address and I'll mail your prize.

Have a great day, friends!

Three More Challenge Cards

Hi friends! One day, I will think of clever titles for my posts. Maybe. Perhaps. I did a little Black Friday shopping today. It was alright. How about you? Did you get any good deals? Wanna tell me about them?!

Ok, AGAIN, since I have been such a slacker in the posting department, I am going to post three cards I made earlier this week so I can get them entered into the challenges. I have a busy weekend and I don't want to forget.

First up, my card for Card Positioning Systems #245. All of the paper is from American Crafts.

Second up is my card for Mojo Monday Sketch 216 and for the Your Next Stamp challenge 56 to use die cuts on your card. I used YNS Penguin Greetings. The paper is from Echo Park and the dies are from Spellbinders, one of the snowflake Nesties.
Lastly, I have my Card Patterns 142 card. I LOVE this card! It's all Webster's Pages paper and stickers. Then I used vintage lace, seam binding that I dyed and twine and finished with a pretty button. The stamp is from Flourishes Kids Play set.

Have a great day, everyone!

EAD/Whisker Graphics Blog Hop (Giveaway)

For my EAD Designs and Whisker Graphics blog hop post, CLICK HERE. I have blog candy there and there's a HUGE prize for the blog hop!

FWF: Merry Christmas M&Ms

Hi friends! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I'm not currently out black Friday shopping but I'm thinking about going out in the morning to see what's left. Is that a weird approach? I don't really need anything so I don't want to fight off anyone.

I've decided to show a project for Unity's Friends With Flair blog hop this week. Here's a project I made for my craft fair that didn't sell. I think I'm just going to give these to Brady's class if I can find more of these tubes. I used Unity's Christmas Bough for the tags on this. I also used GCD Studios paper and Holiday Divine Twine.

Don't forget to LEAVE A COMMENT because you never know where the blog candy is hidden! Check out everyone on today's hop right HERE.

Happy Thanksgiving, Friends!

Hi friends! I hope all my US friends are having a wonderful Thanksgiving! I just wanted to post really fast and let you know that I'm thankful for YOU, my blogger readers! Thanks so much for coming here and all the support!

Here's a card I made for Brady's teach for Thanksgiving. I used Paper Smooches Sentiment Sampler for this. All the papers and stickers are from American Crafts, I won this collection and I LOVE it!

Have a great day!

Earth Love Journal

Hi friends! I hope you are having a great night! We are all prepped and ready for Thanksgiving. I'm excited! I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving, if you'll be celebrating.

Here's another journal that I made for the craft fair a couple weeks ago. I used some Cosmo Cricket Earth Love papers and stickers. I added some Thickers to spell the word journal.

Have a great day!

Three, Yes THREE New Cards

Hi friends! I hope you are having a wonderful day! My kiddos slept in again! Not as late as yesterday but I'll take it! :D Today, I think we are going to have pajama day and just hang out. We *might* put our clothes on and head to the park but I'm not sure.

Today, I'm sharing a BUNCH of challenge cards I made over the weekend so that I don't turn them in late. With Thanksgiving coming up, I might forget to blog them so I decided to put them all up today.

First up, my card for this week's Ribbon Carousel Challenge. It was a sketch from Laura. But I just realized that I'm LATE for that challenge. However, I'm gonna enter this in THIS week's RCC30 which is Holiday Hoopla. It still works since this is a holiday card. The papers are from Webster's Pages and the ribbon is seam binding that I dyed myself.

Next up is a card for Paper Smooches Sparks challenge where there was a picture to be inspired by. I'm also entering this in the Simon Says Stamp challenge to make a Thank You card. This is also the card I made for this week's SCS Featured Stamper challenge. The featured stamper this week is my friend Tenia and you can check out the card I CASEd HERE. For this card I made Studio Calico paper, Paper Smooches Sentiment Sampler, and May Arts ribbon.
Last up, here's a card for the CAS-ual Friday Challenge 29 which is a sketch. I used Doodlebug papers and sticker with a Unity Stamp Co sentiment from Christmas Bough and some bling.

Have a great day, friends!

Glam Notebook

Hi friends! I hope you're having a great day! We are doing good. Today is the first day of Brady's Thanksgiving break from school and the kids slept in this morning! Brady woke up after 9:30am and Parker woke up at 10:15am. WOW! Great way to start our break!

Today, I'm showing another journal I made for my craft fair. This one is make with Cosmo Cricket's Ever After collection, seam binding and some Recollections bling. Just a more elegant and lovely type of journal.

Have a great day, friends!

Boyfriend Journal

Hi friends! I hope you are doing well! We are having a low key weekend and by low key I mean I've done NOTHING! Gah! I should probably do SOMETHING. Oh well. ;)

Here's a project I made for my craft fair that didn't sell. None of the journals I made sold but that's ok. I had them priced at $8 each. I used Cosmo Cricket's The Boyfriend collection for this journal. I left the journalling part blank so that it can be personalized.

Have a great day, everyone!

EAD and Whisker Graphics Blog Hop

Hi friends! Today is a super exciting day! I got to coordinate the EAD Designs and Whisker Graphics cross promotion blog hop! These awesome designs teams have joined together for a blog hop full of inspiration and PRIZES!!

One random commenter will win:

~$25 EAD Designs gift certificate

~15 yards of the original 12 Divine Twine colors along with Holiday Divine Twine

~an assortment of Bitty Bags and other Whisker Graphics products

Here are the projects I've made for this challenge. First up is my framed chalkboard. I used EAD Designs Chalk It Frame 1 for the base of this project. To dress it up I made some pompoms from Oyster Divine Twine, Black Licorice Divine Twine, and Lemon Divine Twine. Then I added a yellow Chevron Little Bitty Bag to store the chalk in.

Next is the project I have on the Whisker Graphics Blog today. You can find the full details over there.

Finally, I have this project posted on the EAD Designs Blog. For all the details on this project, please hop on over there.
Here is the list of participants on today's hop. Remember to LEAVE COMMENTS EVERYWHERE because you never know where the prize will be!

EAD Designs Blog

Jenn Coker

Joanna Bandelin

Kassidy Thomas

Laura Cline

Laura Williams

Lauren Brewer

Liz Munoz

Whisker Graphics Blog

Ashley Harris

Ashley N Newell

Jenny Dixon

Michelle Philippi

GIVEAWAY!!!!!! To celebrate this amazing event that I got to put together I'm gonna giveaway a gift pack full of EAD Designs and Whisker Graphics goodies. Just leave a comment to enter. For an extra entry, become a follower of my blog. (More giveaways to come!)

Have a great day, friends!

Please Excuse the MESS. The Children are Making Memories

Hi friends! Sorry that I haven't been blogging as much lately! I'm still feeling under the weather. I had a couple days where I felt ok and then went right back to feeling sick again. The kids seem to be doing ok though.

Ok, today I have a project using some EAD Designs vinyl and some art my kids made. I used the new EAD Designs Please Excuse the Mess vinyl, a cheap canvas and some paint. And my kids. That might have been where I went wrong. This is SOOO much darker than I was hoping for since the kids just smushed all the paints together. But they are SO PROUD of their work.

And I also made a video showing you how we did it.

Have a great day friends!

EAD Video: Child's Art Wall Gallery

Hi friends! I hope you had a great weekend!

Today, I'm sharing a video I made to show you how I did a gallery wall for Brady's school art. I used the Every Child is an Artist wall vinyl from EAD Designs. Enjoy!

Craft Fair!

Hi friends! I hope you're having a good day! I'm feeling a little bit better. I've spent the last few days FRANTICALLY getting ready for a craft fair and I just got home from the fair about 30 mins ago. I'm hoping that crafting will go back to normal after this.

Here's a photo of me at my table. I wish I had a larger table or brought a second table. I didn't know that we could bring more than one table. I also wish I had brought some boxes or crates for more levels on my table. In sales, I made $49 tonight and gave back $5 (10%) for the charities, which was in the agreement with the people who set up the fair and I was happy to do it.

Sooooo...after reading tons and tons of stuff for the past few days I freaked out a bit and thought that my cards wouldn't sell and I needed to make more "stuff." I spent the last few days making lots of little crafts and guess what?! NONE of it sold. At all. I sold ONLY cards tonight. It felt good to get all the compliments on my cards.

Over the next few days, I'll be posting more detail shots of the items on the table so come back for that. Even though the items didn't sell. ;) Have a great night, friends!

Sail Boat

Hi friends! I hope you are having a great day! I am super busy getting ready for a craft fair. Gah! And I'm still under the weather. This is just a hard week.

Today, I'm sharing an old card because quite frankly, I've been so busy that I haven't taken pictures of all the projects I've made recently. So, here's an old Father's Day card using some Wilson Designs Stamps and some October Afternoon paper. The mist makes it looks like it's raining so this card is so confused. LOL! What can you do?

Have a great day friends!

Sad Day

Hi friends. It's a very sad day for me. If you've been following my blog for any amount of time, you probably know about my amazing friend Katie and her battle with cancer. I found out today that she passed away early this morning, peacefully and surrounded by family. My heart breaks for her beautiful family and I'm praying for them to find peace. You can read Kevin's (Katie's husband) post HERE.

Here's a picture I already shared of me and Katie but I wanted to post it one last time. This is the only time we met in person at CHA-W 2010. Looking at this picture reminds me that I should be joyful that I was one of the lucky ones who got to meet Katie in person, see her smile in real life and give her a hug. I love you, Katie! Thanks for being my friend and teaching me more about love, being a good mom, living life to the fullest and the importance to smiling over the last few months than I could have learned in a lifetime.

Now, I would like to ask you all for a favor. Several actually. In my last conversation with Katie, she was talking to me about how she was trying to make the kids a bunch of birthday cards that they could open from her in the years to come. She said that she had only gotten a few done. So, in honor of my friend Katie and the last conversation we had, would you please send some birthday cards to her boys? Here's the address:

The Renz Family
PO Box 5913
Bellingham, WA 98227-5913

Birthdays:

Kevin - Nov 17

Will and Nate (will be turning 6) - Nov 19

Hunter (will be turning 12) - Dec 1

Thank you to everyone who has prayed with me and continues to pray for the Renz family! If you would still like to donate to help the Renz family, you can use the button on my right sidebar. Every penny will go to the family to help with whatever costs are needed.

Flashback Friday 17.0

Hi friends! Happy Sunday! I hope you all are doing WAY better than me! I'm still a bit under the weather. The kids and my hubby are fine though, so thank goodness! Brady's back to school tomorrow and I'm snack mom. Luckily, I found a box of mini granola bars on clearance at Target (Halloween) and bought those. I'm supposed to cut up apples too but we'll see if I'm well enough for that, if not, I have raisins for backup fruit.

Today, I'm showing an OLD card I made so I can participate in Amy's Flashback Friday 17. I made this card back in April 2010 and I still kind of like it. The challenge is to show the first card you made with a banner on it or the first banner you made. I searched and searched, teehee, I started at 2008 which is so silly because I'm never really ON top of the trends.

Have a great day, friends!

Mustache Valentine's

Hi friends! I hope you are having a great day! I've been sick all day. I just wanted to pop on real quick to show you a card.

Here's a card I made for publication that wasn't picked up. In retrospect, I think that the idea is great but the execution needs to be more modern. I suppose I could re-make it. I think I might for Brady's class! Who knows? A card and a favor in one! So adorable! Plus, how cute would a bunch of 4 year olds look with mustaches.

Have a great day, friends!

First EAD Post

Hi friends! I just wanted to stop by to say that I'm blogging today on the EAD Blog. It's my FIRST post so if you would stop by and say hi, I would be so grateful! You can find my post HERE. Thanks!

WG Peek

Here's a sneak peek of the project I have on the Whisker Graphics blog today. Please check it out and leave me a comment!

Asian Spicy Noodles Recipe

Hi friends! I hope you are having a great week so far! Brady seems completely better today, thank goodness! I kept him home from school and I think that it was necessary, he still said that his tummy hurt but he didn't have any other physical symptoms so he'll go back to school tomorrow. As for me, I'm not 100% but I'll be ok.

Today, I'm sharing a recipe that I've adapted from one I found on Pinterest. You can find the original recipe HERE. When I find a recipe, I like to follow it to the letter the first time through and then maybe my revisions the second time around. I found this recipe too oily and very sweet when I made it so I changed it up the second time.

Asian Spicy Noodles:

~1 box angel hair pasta

~1/4 cup canola oil

~1/4 cup sesame oil

~6 tablespoons soy sauce

~3 tablespoons honey

~1-2 tablespoons red pepper flakes

Optional toppings: sesame seeds, peanuts, shredded carrots, bean sprouts, blanched broccoli, snow peas, onions, etc...

1. Boil noodles, drain and rinse with cold water. This is a "salad" dish after all. (I always rinse my pasta when I make a salad.)

2. Heat oils together, add red pepper flakes (we like a lot of heat, you can use less), let steep, and then strain out the flakes and discard.

3. While the oil is still warm, whisk in soy sauce and honey. Pour over noodles and let chill until cold.

4. When you are ready to serve, top with desired ingredients and enjoy!

If you try this recipe, let me know! I'd love to know what you think!

Fight Like a Girl

Hi friends! I hope you are having a good week. We are not doing so hot. Brady and I have caught the stomach bug that Parker has. Please keep your fingers crossed that this will pass quickly so that Brady can go back to school and that I can take care of my kids instead of laying on the couch in pain.

Here's another card I made for HYCCT. This is for Taylor's challenge to use glitter, bling and all things girly. I used my Paper Smooches Hope set for this card. I added Cotton Candy Divine Twine, Stickles, and bling as my girly elements.

Have a great day, friends!

NaBloPoMo and Teacher Gifts

Hi friends! Happy Nov 1! I hope you all had a great Halloween. We had a good one! The kids were SO excited for trick-or-treating! They did pretty well. Parker made it around a block and then he and I stayed home to give out candy while Brady and Dustin went out for another block. The hilarity that followed from the sugar rush was rather hilarious! The baby went a little nuts. But that's ok, he had to go to the doctor on Halloween so I guess it's ok for him to have a few pieces of candy and run around like a madman. :)

November is National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo) and that means I will be trying my very hardest to have a blog post every day for the month of Nov. This year, NaBloPoMo is being hosted on BlogHer. I recently joined BlogHer so I don't know much about it other than the fact that there's a conference that they throw. I'm not a super hardcore blogger but I do like to keep things going on this blog and I'm hoping this will help me expand the topics I talk about on my blog. Like I said last week, I'd like to start blogging more recipes, home decor, money saving tips, etc...

Today, I'm sharing the project I made for Brady's teacher and teacher's aid. I ADORE and appreciate these ladies! They have really made a strong impact on my son and he likes them and likes school now. I worked it childcare and education before I had Brady so I know how nice it is to get a little treat now and then from the families.

I actually got this idea from Pinterest. You can see the original HERE. And like a silly person, I didn't follow the link through to see their link for a printable. I went off to find my own and I'm actually more happy with it than the one they used. You can get this PRINTABLE HERE. I got the cups at Big Lots (I'm addicted to my cup that is just like this!) and put some Halloween candy in there. I made a wrap using some net ribbon and the printable and I finished with a bow on the top.

Brady was ADORABLE when he gave these to his teachers. They were busy doing other things on opposite sides of the room. He walked up to each teacher with the cup behind his back and waited his turn to talk to them. Then when it was his turn, he pulled the cup out from behind his back and presented it to the teacher. So sweet! Moments like that are when I really know that I'm doing it right.

Have a great day friends!