Thursday, December 31, 2009

One Little Word 2010


Anyone else giving Ali Edwards' One Little Word a whirl for 2010? I haven't before, but it sounds like a fab idea for the coming year!


{LIFE}

...to live it, breathe it, try it, adventure through it, eat it, find it, document it, grow from it, share it, celebrate it...

...to love it!!!


Hope your New Year's Eve is safe and anywhere from pleasant to rip roarin'! What do you think or hope 2010 might bring for you?

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Tim Holtz Tag & Christmas Teacher Gifts

Rocky Candy, how I love you....let me count the ways..... Well, if I truly did count.....this post would go on and on and on and on and on and on and ON! {And since I'm already a chatty gal, I'd rather just leave room on the post for that chatter!} But, needless to say, I LOVE the stuff, both the Stickles and Distress Crackle Paint alike...thank you Tim Holtz!

Here are some of my tags that I made based on his first inspirational tag from Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas:

I made five total. These three went on top of the blank Stampin' Up! tags I made for my son's teachers' Christmas presents this year.

In addition to the uber fabulous Rock Candy Stickles and Distress Crackle Paint, I loved how I made my snowmen! I do not have Tim's fun snowman stamp, so I punched out three circles, taped them together, layed them on top of Grunge Paper (I didn't even realize it was Grunge Paper and not Grunge Board, until he did a tag later down the line with it.......then I went back and looked and what do ya know!!! :>), traced and cut out my snowmen.

Next, I inked them up with black ink and embossed them twice with clear embossing powder. I inked up the snowflake stamp with Versamark and then pressed it down into the embossed snowman while the embossing powder was still warm. When it cooled down, I removed the stamp and it left a snowflake depression in my snowman (Thank you Claire for showing me that technique! :>). And then I added the white paint, followed the rest of Tim's instructions, and I had SO MUCH FANTASTIC FUN!!!! I felt like an inky, sticky kidlet making these and I think I had a permenant Chesire smile etched into my face! :>


Using assorted Stampin' Up! tag stamps, I made fifty-four tags, eighteen for each teacher. I used my Spica glitter pens to add some sparkle, some crystal Stickles for snow, and threaded each one with coordinating embroidery thread.

To present them, I threaded through each set of tags with a double strand of silver cord, put a signed large Tim snowman tag on top, and tied them off. School let out a week before Christmas this year, so these were practical for the teachers to use on their gifts. Practical, crafty, and fun makes for a great gift in my book and hopefully, in their books as well. These three women have been wonderful assets in our son's life and we are thankful for all of them!


Supplies:
Cardstock: White - Georgia Pacific; Certainly Celery - Stampin' Up!; Pure Poppy - Papertrey Ink; turquoise & blue - Stash
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Real Red, Certainly Celery, Brocade Blue - Stampin' Up!; black - India Ink; Faded Jeans, Broken China, Worn Lipstick, Weathered Wood - Tim Holtz Distress Inks for Ranger
Stamps - Stampin' Up! (all except snowflake....$ stamp from stash)
Other: silver ribbon - Papertrey Ink; Grunge Paper & Board, Stickles, Distress Crackle Paint, Spica glitter pens - Copic; Paint Dabber - Adirondack; Versamark ink; clear embossing powder, embroidery floss & fibers - Stash

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Attack of the SILLIES.....

Giggling...

...HARD CORE GIGGLING...

...was erupting from me....

...I was simply trying to take a picture of our Christmas tree (still not sure I accomplished that!)...

...Hubby came out to turn off the tube that has been on the Science channel all day, so that I could "attempt" to take a pic of our beautiful Christmas tree (which is in the corner, next to the ol' tube)...

...he started cracking comments...

...not quite jokes, but I was laughing hysterically, nonetheless...

...our baby boy (who is not quite that baby boy anymore....I was even wondering tonight as I put him to bed how he was ever small enough to fit inside me!...) came out of his room...

...disrupted from his attempts at sleep by my laughter, my fits of giggles that just wouldn't stop...

...and he asked, "What happened to Mommy's noodle??????!!!!!!"

...he had heard his Dad, Hubby, asking me what 'busted up my noodle' (aka my fit of giggles) before he came out of his room...

...and then the filter came off...

...more giggles came out...

...more laughter...

...TEARS from the INTENSE giggling that followed...

...just GOT TO LOVE a fit of GIGGLES for no really good reason, RIGHT???!!!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Merry Christmas!

After staying up late to wrap presents, my eyes are puffy, and I'm a wee bit tired. But, truthfully, in the end, seeing someone's face all lit up when they have a wrapped present in their lap, is worth it. :>

I like the little things in life. Its the little things, life's little moments, that make me smile. I thought I would share a few of those little moments that have placed smiles on my face and in my heart this season.

* Strolling down memory lane as I took each ornament out and hung it on the tree.....made me smile!

* Handing my Princess a box of ornaments to hang all by herself for the first time....made me smile!

* An Auntie taking the time to track down a gf/cf chocolate advent calendar......makes me smile!

* Children racing, checking the date to see whose turn it is, to open the next door on that advent calendar......makes me smile!

* Taking the kidlets on our annual Christmas lights drive.......made me smile!

* Hearing squeals of delights and sounds of awe when we saw a beautiful or fun display of Christmas lights.....made me smile!

* Cheering a friend on and smiling from the inside out when we all welcomed one of my closest friend's newest baby into the world.......made me smile!!

* Singing Christmas songs with my kidlets......makes me smile!

* Listening to my son sing in his Winter Concert......made me smile!

* Getting inky and making some Tim Holtz Christmas tags.....makes me smile!

* Winning one of Tim's giveaways during his 12 Tags of Christmas and having a couple of girlfriends immediately know that it was me because of my :> greater than smiley face smiles.....made me smile!

* Telling my son that the present he just shook and swears is Legos is really just a box of rocks....made me smile! (Don't worry....he's laughing too!)

* Having Hubby home for four days this Christmas.......makes me smile!

* Chatting online with my best friend last night while I was wrapping presents.....made me smile!

* Family and friends, emails, phone calls, cards, pretty pictures, smiles and happy faces....make me smile!

* And of course, YOU and this fabulously fun blogging world.....make me smile!!!

Thank You!!

Source: freefoto

Monday, December 21, 2009

Charming Giveaways

Who is interested in some absolutely charming giveaways? How about three giveaways? If you like pretty, unique, and absolutely delightful, keep reading....

Blogging has allowed me to 'meet' so many different and wonderful people all over the world. And one of those people who make me smile is Karyn at French Charming! Her posts are full of gratitude, wit, and oodles and oodles of eye candy that make you smile, add a little pretty to your day, and provide some fabulous inspiration! She has three, count them....one, two, three! giveaways that you can throw your name in the hat for! Please take a smidge of time and visit her! (The giveaways are linked at the top of her blog, under the header.) Tell her I said 'hello'! :>

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Oh Christmas Tree

December sure is zipping on by, isn't it? So fast, that I think it has done a December disappearing act! My jaw hit the floor (THUD) this morning when I realized that it is the 20th already!!! I've been sick for a week, along with Hubby and our Princess. Our Monkeyman is the only one to have escaped this ....... tap, tap, tap ..... knock, knock, knock .... ... Pound, Pound, Pound ...... that would be me, being a wee bit superstitious and um, knocking on wood! I'm hoping we're all healthy for Christmas at the end of this week. The end of this week ????!!!!! AAAAAHHHHHH !!!!!!!!! (Yes, that would be me running .... screaming .... waving my hands in the air!!) AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maybe a little card talk will calm me down!! As soon as I saw Making Handmade Cards button eKits, I knew I wanted to use them to make a Christmas tree card with them! Tie in a little embroidery thread and a PTI bow and I was a happy gal!

Now, I'm usually a traditionalist when it comes to Christmas colors and I have a hard time deviating from the traditional red & green. I can add in some blues and metallics, But pink?! Well, my oh my, I took that leap across the canyon from the traditionally colored Christmas forest to the one colored a la Candyland...... and I liked it! A little fun with a Funky Christmas and button eKits, some ribbon corners, and more embroidery floss and a pink Chrismtas card sat in front of me .... it even makes me smile.:>

If you are curious about eKits, Sign up for the Making Handmade Cards free newsletter and get a free eKit to play with!

Back to life, back to reality (OH! that is sooo going to be stuck in my head all day now !).........

My inlaws arrive on Wednesday and my 'To-Do' lists are just a wee bit long. Those lists encompass all of this week's to-dos as well as most of last week's as well. Last week was my Monkeyman's last week of school this year and I was delighted to hear him sing "Jingle Bell Rock" and "Deck the Halls" in his Winter Concert. I got inky with some of Tim's tags and some SU Christmas tags for his teachers. But, mostly, in between taking care of my family, I curled up with a book, a blanket, hot tea, and read with the lights of our beautiful Christmas tree aglow, reminding me of my favorite time of year.

I hope you are enjoying this season! What holiday memories are you creating this year? If you don't celebrate at this time, what December delights are making you smile?

Friday, December 4, 2009

No Nesties? No problem!

Are you full into the swing of the Christmas season? We're getting there! And the weather seems to be cooperating with the idea of winter approaching. When I was a kidlet, I had the great fortune to enjoy a beautiful white Christmas as I lived in three different states with snow (on both coasts). Seeing a sunny California day when I am dreaming of a winter wonderland, sleigh bells ringing, and chestnuts roasting on an open fire......whoops.....apparently, as usual, songs are singing away in my head. But, I digress (I'm good at that!), we have been awaking to cold mornings and lots of fog, sealing us in for cozy days.

I'll bet you're wondering why I don't need Nesties, huh?! Okay, okay, I'll move along now!! :> I know my head is swirling with Christmas time fun, but I hope you'll indulge me with a little flower fun....yes??


Truth be told, I would LOVE some Nesties, but since I have none, I had to pull out some creativity and figure out another way to create my paper flower! I wanted a large scalloped handmade flower for my card, so using Microsoft Word, I drew a series of nested circles (which I then dragged apart, so that I would be able to cut them out individually). You could also cut out circles with a circle cutter, Coluzzle, Cricut, or any die cutter you have (probably those desired Nesties!). Using a touch of temporary adhesive, I adhered those circles to the back of my paper (in this case, printable paper from the Flower Train eKit from Making Handmade Cards) and pulled out an oldie, but a goodie..................scalloped decorative scissors!!

I never use decorative scissors anymore, but my kidlets do enjoy them very much, so they are still in the house and I am mighty excited to have found a great use for them! If you cut with the same point of the scissors (say either the point of the indent of the scallop or the top round of the scallop) hitting the same point in the paper (the edge of your temporarily adhered circle), your scalloped circles will come out even. See? A Nestie like nested flower with No Nesties! :>

My scallops were small and getting lost in the patterned paper, so to make them more pronounced, I added some much loved Stickles (oh, Stickles, how I love you so!) and set them out to dry. While waiting for my Stickled scallop circles to dry, I needed to distract myself......er, um, finish the rest of my card (yes, something shiny and sparkly and WET is very hard for me not to touch!). I printed another sheet from the Flower Train e-Kit for the background paper and adhered three ribbons in three different widths. Do you remember that cream ribbon that I custom colored with my Bic Mark-It that I posted about? Well, that top narrow blue ribbon is that very ribbon that started out cream!


Wanting to keep my scalloped flower three dimensional, I only placed adhesive in the center of the scalloped circles, including to the ribbon, so that all of the edges would pop up a bit. I used a bit more of my custom colored ribbon to tie off a hot pink button, placed the whole piece onto a hot pink card base and voila, a card for any occasion!

Who likes freebies?? Making-Handmade-Cards has a free Flower Doodle eKit if you sign up for their free newsletter! :>

I hope all of you had a FANTASTIC Thanksgiving if you celebrated it! We had a cozy one with just Hubby and our kidlets. Two of my three closest friends (we miss you, Jilly!!) came up, one on Friday and the other on Thursday and it was absolutely wonderful to just hang out with them and spend time together. The rockin' Auntie who found the gluten & casein free chocolate advent calendar for my kidlets (to accomodate our son's diet restrictions) gave it to them and was able to see their reactions in person and my other girlfriend, who also rocks it out as an absolutely fabulous Auntie, french braided our Princess' hair....oh so sweet! Oh yea, did I mention that I did some serious tromping when we all played MarioKart on the wii??!! Oh yes, I did!! :>:>

Hope your week has been fab and that your weekend is to be even better! :>

Supplies:
Cardstock: Melon Mambo - Stampin' Up!; white (for printing the eKit papers on) - Georgia Pacific
Pattern Paper: Flower Train eKit - Making-Handmade-Cards
Ribbon: cream - Offray, Hibiscus Burst twill & Raspberry Fizz grosgrain - Papertrey Ink
Other: Mark-It - Bic; button - stash; Fruit Punch - Stickles; scalloped scissors


Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!

For everyone who is celebrating today, Happy Thanksgiving! What does today hold for you? For us, there's all kinds of savory foods, switching back and forth between football and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and fantastic family time. Hubby is rockin' it in the kitchen....he does all the cooking on Thanksgiving and Christmas (yes, I am a very lucky gal!). And as always, for me, I am thankful for the big things in my life like family, friends, our home, our lives, crafting, creativity, and you, but it really is the little things that make me smile and remind me to live with gratitude. I hope your Thanksgiving (or if you are from around the world and today is not a holiday for you, then 'hope your Thursday...') is full of little joys that will make you smile!

Monday, November 23, 2009

Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas!!


Its the most wonderful time of the year..................................Tim Holtz is doing his 12 Tags of Christmas again this year!!!! I have SOOOOOOO enjoyed his creative bonanza at the beginning of December the last two years and can you tell that I am excited that he will be doing it again this year?!!?!! Yahoooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!! If you have never followed Tim for this, definitely be sure to hop on over there and visit him during this time....each and every day for oodles of creativity and inky fun!!

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Sparkle and Shine!!

Uh-oh........it has begun. What? What's begun? The Christmas music! The Christmas music that pops in my head throughout the whole year has started to escape from me. I found myself singing "Winter Wonderland" this morning. While I was lucky enough to experience the wonders of a white Christmas as a kidlet, snow doesn't visit these parts very often.....at all (as in decades between light dustings!). So, I enjoy the white wonders of Christmas through happy, snow filled, winter Christmas music!

So, how about a little sparkle reminiscent of Christmas? Okay, okay, so its a birthday card, but the red glitter sure does sparkle and make me want to get Christmas crafty!


In April, I made a card with the intention of giving it to Hubby for our anniversary (but, that is a whole other story.....). I really loved the simple elegance of that card and so I gave it another go and just changed up a couple of things. I kept it to two colors, like the first card, but changed the black to red. And instead of using bling/gems, I went with an all over sparkle, using a technique called burnished velvet (using glitter) that I used here for the first time and learned about from Dana at Paper Daydream, who saw a fantastic tutorial for this from Spike at Cuttlebug Challenge Blogspot.


Yup, yup, it definitely has an all over sparkle! Not the greatest shot, but I really wanted to show you just how much the burnished glitter really does sparkle and shine!!

Do you have any Christmas songs singing in your head? Or are you just trying to get ready for Thanksgiving, if you are in the States? Would you believe that I have yet to start thinking about what we need for Thanksgiving dinner? Well, except for figuring out how to make a GF/CF pumpkin pie, which I am putting recipes together for, but have yet had the chance to try out....yikes!

Hope you're heading into a fantastic and relaxing weekend! I have some trips out to Mom's, lots of cleaning as we have friends coming the day after Thanksgiving, and apparently, working on that GF/CF pumpkin pie recipe! :>

Supplies:
Cardstock: Stampers Select White, Pure Poppy - Papertrey Ink
Stamps: Damask Designs
Ink: Real Red - Stampin' Up!
Glitter: Garnet (fine) - Martha Stewart
Other: Quickie Glue Pen - Sakura

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Make Your Own {Custom} Colored Ribbon


So, how many times do you go riffling through your ribbon drawers, shelves, containers, baskets, and more looking, searching for the perfect color ribbon?! Well, if you are like me, then the answer would be oh too often!!!

I have oodles of ribbon, always want more, and get incredibly frustrated when I don't have just the right color. Even though I want more, I'm running out of room to store it and wouldn't it just be nice to actually use what I have in a better way??

Last night, as I was creating a card, I was looking for a particular blue in a narrow width and after doing one of Tim's digs, I couldn't come up with any! Not even a scrap.

Suddenly, I glanced at the bag of Sharpies! I remembered some cream satin ribbon in the width I was looking for and started grabbing the ribbon, the bag of Sharpies, case of Bic Mark Its, and my random small collection of Prismacolor Markers.

Trying several of my blues out, I found the correct one (which happened to be a Bic Mark It). The ribbon was 100% polyester and took the ink from all three kinds of markers brilliantly! I just ran the markers along the length of the ribbon. It dried instantly and did not come off on anything. It did make the ribbon a bit stiffer, but that worked in my favor as the ribbon held the bow's shape when I tied it. There are other options, including reinkers and ink pads, but this is so fast and not messy at all!

I must admit, I am rather excited to know that I can make just about any color of ribbon that I need, which can come in really handy when you are crafting at night and the option to run out and get the right color is not available! And it was uber cheap as well! That 50 cent roll, was on clearance for 10 cents when I bought it some time back. So, my length of custom colored ribbon that I used cost me all of a fraction of one penny!!

Oh yes, and just in case you are worried, I am still creating and crafting! I started a new painting last week, have been making some cards (which I'll get up here soon), and tweaking some other creative projects. Hubby has been building some models with our kidlets. My son painted a ceramic kitty that he has been dying to put a brush to for awhile now. And I just bought my daughter her own set of paint brushes as she wants to paint too! So, there has been lots of the creative and crafty going on here and I'll definitely get some of it up soon. :>

Hubby just called..........the chicken, rice, and veggie soup that he and our Princess have been making all day is ready! What's for dinner at your house tonight?

Thursday, November 12, 2009

GF/CF Chocolate Treat Advent Calendar

Would you believe that three, count them, three packages for Christmas arrived on my doorstep today?! And I did not order any of them! While I usually have all of my Christmas shopping done by now, I am behind this year. (Really, really behind......listen closely, you might even hear a whimper or two!!)

One of my closest friends, who is an Auntie to my kidlets (and her husband, a wonderful Uncle), grew up with a chocolate treat Advent calendar to open every day of December, leading up to Christmas. And she has continued her family tradition with my kidlets.

Since we changed our son's diet two years ago, they have been unable to enjoy the chocolate treats under each door. Well, being a good Auntie, she did some research and emailed me a link for a GF/CF Chocolate Advent Calendar, wanting to know if she had found a solution. And while several of the ingredients (soy lecithin & refined sugar), we avoid (but are not 100% removed from his diet), we told her that it should be okay for the little bit (he splits it with his sister) that he would be eating for a short time. We will see after he has it the first time if that is really the case.....fingers crossed!

Our kidlets' calendar, from a mighty nice Auntie & Uncle came from Peanut Free Planet. And while I cannot give you a review of how it tastes yet, I can tell you that it arrived very safely packed, in a zipped bag, wrapped in bubble wrap, packed in packing peanuts. I know my kidlets will be excited for the treat........as this kind of treat is a very rare one in our house!

{Oh yes, and if you are wondering, "Where's the picture?!".....I did not take one as I do not want to spoil the surprise for its intended recipients!! }

Sunday, November 8, 2009

1940s Vintage Handcrafted Passed On Family Goodness

Oh yikes!! A little over a month ago, I promised you vintage, 1940's, handmade, little girl, hand sewn, delightful, creative family goodness passed on. Apologies all around for my delay! Here she is!

My mother in law sewed this with her grandmother when she was a little girl, around the mid-'40s. Her grandmother was from Russia and sewing was what she did in her country throughout most of her life. And apparently, she continued sewing and shared her craft with her granddaughter, Hubby's Mom. I've always known that my mother in law did a lot of sewing as an adult, but I did not realize just how early she learned to combine needle, thread, and cloth. I hope you will be as delighted as I am at the wonderful handcrafted goodness this is!

From tip to toe, she is sewn. With every detail paid attention to, she comes to life. Her face is colorfully embroidered and you would not believe how many layers are under her dress! Even I was amazed as I was not aware of all of the layers, until I began photographing her and kept finding more!

Just look at those sweet socks!! And her felt black shoes, finished off with a blanket stitch and perfectly adorned with a simple little black bead (you may need to click on the pic, enlarge it, to see the detail).

A dainty little white button hides the snaps that close the dress in the back. Snaps. Actual snaps, hand sewn in. All of my daughter's dolls' clothes close with Velcro. She wasn't even sure what those little silver things were!

And oh my! What a delightful surprise when you open her dress! Darling eyelet lace with a soft blue satin ribbon weaved through it, tied off in a petite little bow in the front. Sigh.

Under her dress, a little petticoat, trimmed in lace. Look at those sewn fingers! Sigh.

And her full slip, topped with that oh so precious eyelet, threaded with sweet satin ribbon. Still sighing here........ You?

And lastly, bloomers finished in matching lace. Oh yes, multiple sighs for each and every hand crafted, hand loved layer.

When I see our daughter gingerly examining her doll that her grandmother and great-great grandmother hand made, I get those wonderful warm tingles in my heart. It is mighty sweet. And what is even better? She gets it. When she saw me putting these pics on my computer, she tenderly picked up her doll and said, "Mama, this is my first real doll." Now she has her Cabbage Patch doll (aka Dolly), her Fisher Price doll (aka Sally), her D.W. doll, and her Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls that she gives rides in her doll stroller, sings songs to, and changes their clothes over and over again. But, she knew that this doll was different and somehow more special, making her, her 'first real doll.' What a treasure, both my Princess and her doll. Sigh.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Rachael Ray Cookware Giveaway

Hi there! While I was blurfing the other day, I came across a Mama blog that I had not found before, Mama's Soapbox. I found some witty and funny stories there and was pleasantly delighted when she emailed me to let me know that she had just posted a GIVEAWAY for Rachael Ray cookware. Just think, a new piece of cookware or bakeware for you to get creative and crafty in your kitchen, just in time for the holidays...........or...................a holiday present all taken care of for free! Free is a good thing. Yup, yup. Definitely a good thing. So, go visit Stephanie and tell her I said "Hi!", won't you? :>

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

GF/CF Pumpkin Bread


Yes! You are in the right place! Today, I crafted some time in the kitchen with my daughter to bake some delicious pumpkin bread!

Our son has a restricted diet and eats gluten and casein (the protein in dairy) free, mostly soy free, msg/nitrite/nitrate free, low sugar (almost no refined sugars), as preservative & chemical free and organic as we can get. With that being said, I read every ingredient label, am constantly making substitutions, spend a good deal of time grocery shopping, and have learned a lot in the last almost two years that he has been eating this way.

While the entire house is not always gf/cf (plus everything else), our family meals are, and when it comes to baking......well, we do not keep any gluten flours in the house at all. Flour gets in the air and will contaminate everything. So, when my Princess wanted to use the canned organic pumpkin we bought at Trader Joe's yesterday, I set about looking for a recipe online that we could all eat and love.

I found a GF/CF (gluten free/casein free) blog through a google search and found this recipe as a great place to start. We rarely use any refined sugar, even in baking (though I do have an emergency stash of organic cane sugar for recipes that just do not work with sugar substitutes), so I headed here for sugar substitutes and their equivalents. I chose to use a combination of honey and agave syrup. Here's my version of Kathi's recipe for our gf/cf pumpkin bread:

Yummy GF/CF Pumpkin Bread
1 c. Quinoa flour *
1/2 c. Sorghum flour
1/2 tsp. Sea salt
1 1/2 tsp. Baking soda (aluminum free)
1 tsp. Xantham gum
1/4 tsp. Freshly grated nutmeg
1 heaping tsp. Cinnamon (we use Ceylon cinnamon) *
1/4 tsp. Ground Allspice
1/8 tsp. Ground Ginger
1 1/4 c. Pumpkin puree *
1/4 c. Vegetable oil (usually we use Canola for this to avoid the soy, but I was out)
1/4c. Ghee, melted, but not hot (essentially it is clarified butter, with all the solids removed, taking out the casein/proteins) *
1/4 c. Honey *
1/4 c. Agave Syrup *
2 Eggs, beaten *

* denotes items we used that are organic


Preheat oven to 350. Mix dry ingredients together in large bowl. Mix wet ingredients together. Mix wet ingredients into dry ones until combined. Do not over mix. Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake 50-60 minutes. Remove from loaf pan and cool on wire rack.

Guess what?! I do not miss the gluten, the sugar, or anything else in this pumpkin bread! It is scrumptious.........so much so, that I imagine it will be gone mighty quickly. My daughter and I had it with lunch and it is on the menu to accompany our dinner as well.

Next, I want to find or come up with a good pie crust recipe that fits our requirements so that I can make some pumpkin pie for the holidays that everyone in the house can eat!

Monday, November 2, 2009

Free Jessica Sprague Holiday Class

Free? Did someone say, free? Did someone use the words Holiday and Free in the same sentence?! I'm on it!

Can I back up for just one second? Will you hang in there with me?

Like many of us, I have an overwhelming amount of holiday photos. And I am behind in scrapbooking in general and even more when it comes to scrapbooking Christmas! And I know that when I do get to scrapping some pages of Christmases past, years past, I am missing out on some of the best memories to document and share. I miss out on them for two very obvious reasons: one, so much time has past and two, there is just SO much information and SO many photos that I get overwhelmed and it becomes more about getting it done, getting them on the page, than about documenting the little things that make the holidays, events, and moments special. And you just might have figured out that its those little things, those moments, that make life smile worthy. At least, for me, they do!

Now this class, Holidays in Hand, is supposed to be a way for you to tell your holiday stories. I have been very interested in Ali Edwards' December Daily project and now seeing the bright and shinning email in my inbox telling me about Jessica Sprague's new free holiday memory keeping class, I am thinking that I just might be able to combine the two! This is more than a whisper in my ear, offering me help in this arena, its like a swift kick in the you-know-what!!

Last July, I was fortunate enough to sign up for Photo Editing: Frame-ups and Special Effects at Jessica Sprague's site when it was offered for free. And the cool thing was that even if I didn't have time to get to it on a particular day, I could always go back and pick up where I left off as the class materials remained in my "My Classes" section. I think its a great feature to be able to take it at your pace and as your schedule allows. And just so you know, even with all of my gushing, I am not connected or affiliated in any way with Jessica Sprague......just a happy camper right now! :>

Do you scrapbook, memory keep, or document your holiday traditions, events, and/or moments? How do you make it work for you?

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, and more Pumpkins!

Pumpkins, anyone?? Or I suppose I should more accurately say, Jack-o-lanterns, anyone?? I have jack-o-lanterns from '06, '07, and '08 to share. Where's '09?? Sitting on our porch, still waiting to be carved. Yikes! I better get to it!! If you hang in here with me through this post, the last carved pumpkin is one of my favorites.......

Can someone who is more skilled with a camera, please tell me how I took this first shot?! Everything around the pumpkin is in focus, so I assume I didn't move the camera. This is my pumpkin from 2006 and the faces jumping out of my pumpkin have me, three years later, still wondering what happened!


Above, from left to right, is the pumpkin we carved for our infant daughter that year, our son, and Hubby's pumpkin.

2007 pumpkins carved up to light the way for trick o' treaters. Above was baby girl's...sweet, sweet, sweet.


Here is my pirate ship pumpkin! I was so dismayed to discover that I do not have a single great shot of it. It is far more detailed than this pic shows. The cut out on the flag is a skull and bones. The pumpkin on the right is our son's and his first time carving!!

Look how gnarled and wrinkly this pumpkin is! No wonder Hubby chose it for his own. He likes the scarier side of Halloween and has to tame it all down since having kidlets. But, he still wears his scary mask, aka Uncle Charlie, every year and loves handing out Halloween candy while I take the kidlets trick o' treating!

And here comes 2008.........


These cute eyes were peering out from our front window ledge.



Some toothpicks came in handy here for holding the centers of the 'B' and 'O's for a "BOO" pumpkin.

Another standard pumpkin face, one that always sends me back to the faces my brother and I carved with Dad every year as a child. Mom helped scrape out the pulp and Dad helped with the carving. Thankfully, that is one tradition I've changed up a bit with our family. Hubby is the best pulp scrapper outer ever!! And so, he empties the pulp and all those yummy seeds to roast from almost all of the pumpkins................he can empty five pumpkins in the time it takes me to unload just one!

And here's one of my favorite pumpkins that I've carved.....



C3PO and R2-D2! This one about killed my hand and I was in danger of breaking those fine lines many a time, but it was so worth it. Our kidlets loved it! I love listening to the pumpkin discussions outside, before the door bell is rung.

Pics of the pumpkins that were carved with the faces of Darth Vader, the Old Hag (witch from Snow White), and Elmo are all on film and as I was arguing with my scanner, I was unable to get them up. But, there's always next Halloween, right?

I have an Optimus Prime (Transformers) and a Minnie Mouse celebrating Halloween here this year. They are anxiously awaiting costume time and the chance to show them off to the neighborhood. Do you celebrate Halloween? Are you dressing up? Any kidlets transforming into something cute, sweet, or ghoulish? I would love to know what you are up to tonight! Happy Halloween!!

Friday, October 30, 2009

Have a Hauntingly Happy Halloween!!

With mere minutes before Halloween begins (although, if you check your friends emails, Facebook status updates, or are there yourself, you'd think tonight was Halloween for the sheer number of Halloween parties occuring!), I thought I would share a Halloween card of my own.

Now, since I have a mighty innocent Halloween on my agenda, here's my confession for the holiday.....this card is not from this season. I made it way, way, way back in 2007. But, I did get inspired by the rockin' blogger and creator, Taylor Vanbruggen at Taylored Expressions!! Thanks, Taylor!!

After digging around her blog a bit, I found the original post (scroll down to the second post) that I was inspired by. You know something strikes a cord in you when you remember it over two years later! :> And I knew I had the perfect stamps to CASE her creation with. I used my ooo-llll-dddd All Night Media stamps from back in my early stamping days of the mid-'90's and my Vintage Label stamp from Purple Onion Designs that I love as much today as I did when I bought it then!!

So, you are probably wondering, why two pics of the same thing, same angle, etc.??? Right??? Back in 2007, you know, waaaaayyyy back when, I wasn't worried about taking pics for blogging or anything other than remembering what I made. And since my son and I were arguing, debating, conversing, contemplating, and disagreeing on which pic to use, I put both up. He thought it was a "Before" & "After" shot, simply because the windows 'lighting' (colored in with Prismacolor colored pencils) was so much...more in the second pic. As he put it, "See!! The lights are on in this one and they aren't in that one. Its a "Before and After" shot!!" I haven't made him watch too much HGTV, I swear!!!

Hope tomorrow is Spooktacular for anyone celebrating Halloween and if you are not, well, then I hope your day is simply fabulous!!!!! If you are getting your spooky groove on, what ghosts and goblins, or fairy princesses are gracing your door?

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Home is where the heart is....

Hello there! Long time no see, huh?! I have been running around like that proverbial chicken.....still! There was lots of company last month, a kidlet birthday that actually stretched three weeks into this month, a four day scrapbook retreat which takes a couple of days to pack for, two or three times that to unpack (I write this as we are still tripping over my dozen plus bags in our entry way), and a couple of weeks to recover from the uber late nights! We also had the usuals, school, homework, art projects, games, playdates, and the typical daily stuff. And one of my best friends unexpectedly lost her father.

I've been in shock since receiving the news and can only imagine her and her mother's grief. They were an extremely tight family and loved each other so much. We said good-bye to this wonderful man on Friday night. My friend asked us to hug our loved ones and enjoy them for whatever time we do have with them. She also asked and hoped that whatever we learned from her father, we take out into the rest of our worlds. He was an optimist, a problem solver, warm, loving, and opened his home and heart so willingly. And his whole family makes me smile!

Hmmmmm..........I suppose I've surprised myself as this is not where I was going to go with this post. But, because I think so much of this man and his wife and daughter, my friend, I am going to leave this in here.

And just so you do not think I have completely abandoned creative pursuits, including card making, I'll share a card with you as well. There are four of us best friends and I made this card for another gal in this group, my best friend that I met over twenty years ago.

My apologies for the shadows. I did not realize they were so strong when I took the pic and I have already given her the card and cannot retake the pic. I stamped images from PTI's Boards & Beams. The small topiary trees, I colored with Prismacolor colored pencils and then cut out with a craft knife. I stamped the house twice and cut the windows out on one of the images with a craft knife as well. I then layered the cut house on top of the uncut house with foam tape for depth. I wanted you to be able to look inside the windows. And as I have discovered many times now, I seem to like the graphic look of stamped images uncolored.

Here you can see those layers a bit better. I layered all of the pieces on a Kraft base, stamped the first half of the sentiment on the bottom, and added a Sweet Blush satin bow. On the inside, I stamped and punched out a heart from PTI's Heart Prints and stamped the othe half of the sentiment from Boards & Beams.


I chose to share this card today because the sentiment rings so true. My friend's parents built their last two homes and chose every detail, but it was the people inside that made them homes that they relished being in.

My own home definitely needs updates, new carpet, a redone kitchen, and some pruning in our yards. But, it is my family that lives inside these walls with me that warms my heart, makes me smile, share hugs with, laughter, and even tears that make my life what it is. And today, I am choosing to smile as football is on the tube, my daughter playing in imagination land under the dining table, my son yelling out at the top of his lungs for every touchdown, Hubby enjoying his first real down time day in over two weeks, and me, in the middle of all of them and finally checking back in with all of you! :> What are you smiling about today?

Supplies:
Cardstock: Stampers Select White, Kraft - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Onyx, Sepia - Versafine
Stamps: Heart Prints, Boards & Beams - Papertrey Ink
Ribbon: Sweet Blush Satin - Papertrey Ink
Punch: Small heart - EK Success (from PTI)
Other: Craft knife & Prismacolor Colored Pencils

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Oh September, where did you go??

October first?? Seriously?! September, where did you run off to? Oh September, the month that ushers in the new school year (even though my kidlet starts in mid-August.....but, my internal calendar is still set to all those years that school started in September), the beginning of fall, my first born, and the onset of the greatest season of the year!

Sinking into reality, I changed my son's calendar over to October (before he could put another hole into his Oh Brother Blue walls), checked the school's events for the month, realized that I have several creative and social events planned and marked in pen on my calendar for this month, and most of all, thankfully, blissfully, and happily welcomed the semi-fall weather that has finally approached us this week! Crisp and cool, the morning air has been, crunchy leaves (dead and brown, but crunchy) have fallen, thanks to a flighty wind, and even some cooler temperatures (although, it was nearly eighty degrees today......but, that's still about, oh say twenty plus degrees cooler than last week!!!) in the afternoon. Our windows are open and our wallets are thanking us that the air conditioning does not have to run. Fall is upon us!!!

Kitty cats on our deck are flighty, chatty, and quite opinionated this full moon night. Kidlets are slow to go to sleep. Hubby has retired to the desktop. And I am here checking in. Mucho apologies for the week's absence. I simply and totally was swept away in the busy-ness of the days. We had a kidlet birthday (that is continuing this weekend....for three weeks now), my inlaws visited us this weekend, and the usuals of school to-dos, kidlets milestones (my daughter has amazed us recently with a sudden leap in her coloring skills...she's turning into our little artiste! and our son is excitedly choosing books to read over toys in order to "take him......" to somewhere and sometime.....lately, its been Pennsylvania, New York, San Francisco, Paris, the desert, and all times of history.........talk about wonderful!!!), and an insanely filled calendar. We are the kind of folks that either have absolutely nothing going on or everthing, all at once and this seems to be one of those times!

Not having forgotten about all of YOU, you wonderfully creative, friendly, and talented folk that you all are, I do have something to share with you. I have not been able to photograph it yet between company, birthdays, and oh, hmmmm..........responsibilities (that pesky "R" word). Here's my wee tease: think vintage, think 1940's, think handmade, think little girl, think handsewn, think delightful, creative family goodness passed on. :>

Hope your week has been sweet, autumnal-like, and full of wonderful little bits of goodness (you know, when you add up all those little bits, they can amount to greatness! :> ).

Monday, September 21, 2009

Shake It!

Ack! I'm trying to write this post and I have an ultra chaotic '80's mixed tape playing Styx {Mr. Roboto}, the Star Wars theme song....complete with happy little R2-D2 noises, and a good ol' fashioned "Happy Birthday" song playing in my head! Send help quick!

Good thing I've got something super simple to share with you! I honestly do not think I could handle complicated with this track playing rather loudly in my head (oh yea, add in a Star Wars Leapster cartridge sound effect, the Colts @ Dolphins game playing loudly in front of me.....go Reggie Wayne {he just might save our Fantasy Football game tonight!}, and a little girl arguing football with her Daddy).

A month or so ago, I dug through the Michael's clearance bins outside the front of the store and came across a little pack of three dimensional embellishments (Michael's Recollections brand), complete with shaker robot, shaker dinosaur, and little red car, marked down to .79 and I quickly snagged it. I needed a card, and fast, for a super seven year old boy, who loves robots. Clean, crisp and a little simple "Happy Birthday" courtesy of PTI's Borders & Corners Monogram Edition completes this.

To paper crafters, I understand that this could be seen as too simple and without enough paper crafting love. But, let me assure you, this little seven year old boy loved it and immediately started shaking it for a moment.....maybe even two....before he made a beeline for the brightly wrapped present that it was sitting on top of! lol

Hope you all are having a marvelous Monday night, enjoying the game (if you watch/follow NFL), and awake to a terrific Tuesday! As we are in a heat wave here, I would love to know how your part of the world is treating you. I am anxiously awaiting fall and since we are not going to have fall weather to get excited about on the first day of fall tomorrow, might you tease, tempt, and delight me with news of your crisp air, changing colors, and crunchy leaves?

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Gypsy Giveaway!

I'm not giving one away, but I know who is!

Photobucket

When I opened my email this morning and saw one from Linda, I followed her link and learned about a new blog, Cutting Above, for which she is on the Design Team. And they are giving away a Gyspy....actually two!! If you want to learn more about the Gyspsy, you can do so by visiting Cutting Above and by watching HSN on September 24th at midnight. So, hurry up and go visit them and find out how you can get your chance to win our favorite bug's (aka Cricut) latest gadget (that looks like tons of fun to play with!!!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Stop the presses.......

........I stamped a card! Waaahooooooo! I know its been a bit and I'm so sorry for that. Life has just been a wee bit busy and the first thing a lack of energy seems to zap, is my creativity. Grrr... Now, even though, I still feel as if I am a cat chasing her tail some days, I decided to craft some time for myself to ink up a stamp that I've had sitting out for awhile now. I absolutely love the detailed images of Mostly Animals stamps and this sunflower is from my stash from back in my early stamping days......about fifteen years ago.

Did you know that you can emboss with your Distress Inks?? Remembering hearing (okay, so I didn't hear it...I read it!) on the 2Peas stamping board (a couple of years ago) that you can emboss with Distress Inks, I thought it was about time I finally try it out for myself! Even though they are dye inks, they do stay wet long enough to pour on embossing powder and heat. Sooooooo....add another dozen ink colors for me to emboss with....yay! (There are way more than a dozen colors....but that's about the number that I own.) Does this add to your collection of colors to emboss with? Or are you an uber cool stamping encyclopedia and already have this knowledge incorporated into all those fun files in your brain?

Even though I had much more elaborate plans for this beautiful stamp, once I stamped and embossed her, I found that I liked the detailed line image so much that I chose to leave it as is. Wanting a bit of color on the card, I punched a trio of butterflies to flit up the card from some Stampin' Up! DSP left overs I had on my table, inked the edges with the same Distress Ink, folded them up, glued them on, and added a touch of bling for some sparkle. Actually, while the pic doesn't show it, there already is a bit of sparkle embossed into the image. Do you remember that orange glitter I had covering my old stash of embossing powder, glitter, and flocks? Well, there was a touch of it left on the rubber of my sunflower stamp that I absolutely could not get off.......until I stamped it on my card and then it was embossed in for a permanent home. Now, I'm really glad its there as for some reason, it just works!


Here's one more trip down memory lane..............back in May, I shared with you some wonderful Strawberry Charm of and from my sweet boy. Well, here is strawberry number four....kind of. That plant has flowered and fruited many times now. But, the noisy blue jays that visit us in our backyard every afternoon this year have been eating them all summer long!! My sweet boy got so excited every time he saw a "pretty white flower" because he knew that a strawberry that he planted, watered, and nurtured would follow that he could eat. We kept encouraging him to keep taking care of it and more would come. Well, either the blue jays found something more interesting to eat or the tomato cage with the reflective strips tied on is working or my sweet boy's timing has improved because he has been able to reap the benefits of his care taking as he harvests and eats the last four ripened strawberries from his charming strawberry plant. Now he wants to grow tomatoes, eggplants, lettuce, zucchinis, and a whole host of other fruits and vegetables!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Bashful Blue - Stampin' Up!
Patterned Paper: Stampin' Up!
Stamp: Sunflower - Mostly Animals
Ink: Tea Dye - Distress Ink
Punch: Butterflies - Martha Stewart
Other: clear embossing powder - Stash; Hemp Twine - Stampin' Up!; Bling - Me & My Big Ideas

Friday, September 4, 2009

Creative Kidlet Fun

A year ago, I was so unsure of the whole Facebook thing......I just didn't "get it." But, it was kind of cool to see updated pics of peeps I knew long ago. So, I signed up........just to see those pics! A month later, my cousin found me on there and "friended" me (I had even forgotten that I signed up by then!) and so I thought that maybe I should check it out.

I am So glad I did! Reconnecting with some close friends that I had lost contact with and probably would have never found (or even known where to look).........and suddenly I "got it"! I began to understand what a great tool social networking sites can be. Anyhow, I certainly did not intend this post to be about the wonders of Facebook.

One of those fab friends that I had lost contact with, oh about twenty years ago, I have reconnected with via Facebook and this morning, I was delighted to see an email from her with a link to a fun creative and crafty site, The Crafty Crow, that encourages kidlet creativity today. I went and checked it out and see some fun prospects to share with my own little budding artists!

The Crafty Crow

Hope you enjoy the site! Just as an FYI, I have absolutely no connection to the site. I am simply excited to see this blog full of crafty ideas for kidlets and did I mention that I noticed they do give aways too? ;-)

Does anyone have a fun weekend planned? We are looking forward to having Hubby/Daddy home for three days! Have a Fantastic Friday and Happy Labor Day weekend to those in the United States!

Monday, August 31, 2009

Little Things

Friday, I celebrated and shared a whole lotta blog love. And when I listed seven tidbits o' me for the Kreativ Blogger award, number seven said, "Little things often make me smile even brighter than the big things." That is oh so true! And since I spent much of last night, through the night, up with my precious baby girl (okay, so she's not a baby anymore, but close enough!) as she coughed and sniffed, and sniffed, and sniffed some more while whimpering for a tissue, I thought today was a perfect day to celebrate some of those little things!

* My kidlets and I crouching low to watch an ant colony move themselves and all of their eggs across the walkway to a flood free zone (aka away from the sprinklers)........made me smile!

* A calendar on the desk filled with family photos........makes me smile!

* Beep, beep goes the microwave, reminding me that my reheated coffee is waiting for me......makes me smile!

* Glistening droplets, left behind from a morning sprinkler shower on the grass, basking in rays from the sun that finally decided to greet us........makes me smile!

* A lazy Sunday spent online with a great friend..........made me smile!

* My daughter asking if we can please go to Trader Joe's "next morrow" (aka tomorrow).......makes me smile!

* Downloading pics off of my camera, just minutes ago........made me smile!

* Listening to my daughter sip her "tea" from her pink Disney Princess tea cup......makes me smile!!

* Listening to beautiful bird chit chat outside and deeply soaking in the fact that the blue jays have not arrived for the day yet.............makes me smile!

* Knowing that my Princess will want more than her usual share of cuddles today......makes me smile!!

* Looking down at the Monopoly board game that still needs to be put away and quickly hearing the laughter that fills the room when our son plays with his Dad.........makes me smile!

* Clothes fresh out of the warm dryer to put on this morning after being chilled from being awake most of the night.........made me smile!

* And just as much as all the happy little noises that fill this house and my life, quiet too.....makes me smile! :>

Another bit that makes me smile is hearing from all of you! But, that is no little thing as I'm always grateful for you taking the time to stop and say hello! What little things make you smile?

Friday, August 28, 2009

Blog Love to Celebrate & Share!

Ack! The 18th? Seriously, the 18th? That's how long I've been away? Too, too long, for sure!! Hubby was gone for that week, came home, went back to work the next day, and school started up on the 20th. It has been a busy couple of weeks here for us and I've been pretty much exhausted (the 5:40 am alarm is not doing anything to help that, either!! lol). And unfortunately, I've been absent here and most places online while we settled back into early mornings, school hours with just my daughter and I, nightly homework with my son, and just the general Zip! Zam! Zoom! pace of school days. There was so much to do last week that my list had run off the end of my paper. And one of those items, written in Bold letters is to get back on here!! I've got a whole lotta blog love to celebrate and share! Not to mention, I have so missed visiting you and seeing what you are up to!

Now, I must say what a lucky and fortunate gal I am to have "met" so many wonderful people online!! And Kelley at My Front Porch has been so much fun to "meet"! She's creative, full of inspiration, and has kidlet tales to share. She kindly passed on a blog award to me (back on that 18th day of August.......yes, blushing cheeks, shaking head, and apologies for not posting earlier to THANK YOU, Kelley!!!), the Karma Award.

The Karma Award: "These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind of bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly written text into the body of their award."

Tracey at My Fenceposts2
Julie at My Little Scrap Shop
Cheryl at What I Do Instead of Laundry
Penny at Penny Duncan Creations

And then, on that very same day, I visited Julie at My Little Scrap Shop and found another blog award! There was some serious smiling going on here. :> Through my love of Papertrey Ink, I found Julie and am always so delighted when she stops by for a visit here or I get the pleasure of visiting her at her blog. I always feel like I'm on the phone with a girlfriend when I read what Julie is up to and she never fails to inspire me with her creations. Thank you, Julie!!

Two deets of this award are to tell you five things I like to do and pass this award on to five other people. So, here we go!

1) I LOVE spending time with my family! Last night, as I was leaving to go to Back to School Night, our kidlets were on an adventure on a research vessel in Antarctica, tracking penguins....I kid you not! I had such a chuckle over that one. Thank you, National Geographic Kids magazine (which is where I think the inspiration for their latest adventure came from)! And tonight, we are all planning on playing Monopoly together. I've forgotten what a Friday night out is like, but I'm happy there will be some family fun to cherish!

2) I like to read at night and a good book has been known to keep me awake and reading into the wee hours of the morn'. So, if you see me with toothpicks holding my eyes open, its a good bet that I'm into a fantastic adventure, often in a land I've never been, other than in my mind where those splendid little letters and words have taken me.

3) Of course, I love to get a mighty bit colorful....with ink, with paint, with markers.....on my fingers, my hands, and I've even had it on my nose before! And guess what?! I seem to be passing that on to my son. We always know when markers have been part of his day at school because not only will his hands look like a kaliedoscope, but the evidence is always plainly written on his face...........literally!!

4) Girlfriend getaways to Disneyland are most definitely a favorite of mine! And at the Happiest Place on Earth, you're never too old to have a little kid-like fun!! Girlfriend getaways are good for the soul, for sure!

5) And last, but certainly not least, is blogging and visiting all of YOU!!! I just love seeing what you are up to, or being inspired by your latest creations, or tapping my toes in a Happy Dance for an achievement, or getting a good chuckle from some of the fantastic wit and humor I read or just getting to know a new online friend, who makes me smile! I cherish each and every comment that I get here, love your emails, and grateful for this online world that makes geographical distances irrelevant!

And here are some great blogs to go check out and spend some of your time with:

Adventures from the Monkey Hut
Ethel at The Paperquilter
Stacy at Stacy's Memory Triggers
Anita at Castles Crowns and Cottages

And would you believe it? A few days later, I visited another online friend, Siri at Ein hund, mykje handarbeid - One dog, loads of crafts and found that she had so kindly awarded me the Kreativ Blogger award! One lucky gal am I!!! Siri has been so much fun to "meet"! She uses materials in unique ways, crafts her projects down to the last detail, and is always willing to try something new! Thank you, Siri!

Here are this award's deets:

1. Thank the person who nominated me for this award.
2. Copy the logo and place it on my blog.
3. Link the person who nominated me for this award.
4. Name seven things about me that people might find interesting.
5. Nominate seven Kreativ Bloggers.
6. Post links to the seven blogs that I nominate.
7. Leave comments on all seven blogs letting them know I nominated them.

Hmmmm......seven things that you might find interesting about me...........

1) My addictions, er, um, creative obsessions, goodness! I mean hobbies started with learning about stamping in 1994 and scrapbooking in 2000.

2) Well, actually, those dates aren't entirely true....... My love of the "cut and paste" grew out of crafting at school and in Girl Scouts as a kidlet. I started Girl Scouts in the 2nd grade in Brownies (back then there were no Daisies and 1st graders couldn't be a Brownie) and continued all the way through a year of being an adult co-leader of my old Senior troop (not sure I actually did anything 'adult' like that year....but, I sure did enjoy Scouting for one more year after graduating!).

3) Welllllllllllll.......actually, there is more truth to my love of crafting.... I remember my parents having their own crafty hobbies as a kidlet. I remember some drawing, both of them doing stained glass, and Mom creating with silk flowers. And now I'm enjoying passing on that fantastic love of crafting to my own kidlets.

4) Ever since having kidlets, I can tear up over the silliest things! Its like that preggo hormone just never left me. Its ridiculous and drives me batty!!

5) When I was a kidlet, I could not stand mustard! And I would tell anyone who would listen that if you eat mustard, you will get "Mustardania", a horrible, no good, fatal disease and that is simply why I could not eat it, not even one tiny little itty bitty teensy weensy drop. Oh yea. Now, I {heart} mustard. :>

6) One more kidlet tidbit o' me......I played the piano, violin, and flute and sang in choir. And while I do not play or sing (outside of my car or to my kidlets) anymore, I am so thankful that music was such a large part of my life while I was growing up.

7) Little things often make me smile even brighter than the big things.

And here are some fabulously Kreativ Bloggers who I want to share this award with:

Dana at Paper Daydream
Elise at Mamcow Creations
Courtney at One Day at a Time
Cristina at Welcome to my Blog!
Deb at sPaRkLiNg sCrApBoOkS
Traci at {TG}
Tami at Dapple Designs

Fun, inspiration, talent, and tales await you on all of these blogs! I think I've linked seventeen different blogs. So, hopefully, you have a cup o' your favorite in hand and some time to do a little blurfing. Have a marvelous trip!! I'm off to do a little blog traveling of my own and for the first time in a week now, I can hear the whispers in my ear telling me of the fun ride. :>
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