Are you there?

Once again I'm sorry about disappearing on you.  Things got super hectic again and I got caught up in too many things. 

So I slowed down....................well, as much as the kids would let me.

I played LOTS of Christmas music (love my Johnny Mathis) and cooked and shopped and visited and ate way too many goodies.  Way too many.

I hope you were able to enjoy the holiday with your loved ones.

Now a new year is going to start and I'm thinking of what I want to do differently this year.  There is so much room for improvement.  Leave a comment here or shoot me an email and let me know what your 2012 goals are and I'll share mine as soon as I narrow the list down. 

So for today I want to show you a few things I worked on for Christmas.  The Dec. Daily is really behind but I will be showing you that also in the next few days. 

Delicate Doilies.  Garden green, crumb cake and poppy parade cardstock.  Versamark ink.  Whisper white embossing powder, simple letters die, big shot. 


Remember 17 had that Secret Santa thing in yearbook?  Well this was another little gifty for the girl. 

Quick, simple and cute.  I used the Coluzzle to cut out the circle. 

Loads of Love stamps.  Crumb cake, whisper white, old olive and riding hood red cardstock.  Black Stazon ink.  Leaves #2 die, big shot, 1/2" circle punch, cropodile, Brights Patterned DSP, old olive striped ribbon, cherry cobbler bakers twine. 

Teacher gifts.  I had some really old kraft boxes that SU! used to sell and are selling again in the Holiday Mini, to box up some crackers and cookies. 

The tags have a Starbucks gift card in them.  We had the idea to make the leaves look like holly but I kept thinking they look like antlers.  I didn't tell Grace that though :). 

Loads of Love and Woodgrain.  Crumb cake, riding hood red and whisper white cardstock.  Garden green and choc. chip markers, crumb cake ink.  White taffeta, Frostwood lodge DSP, Designer frames embossing folders, big shot, wide oval punch and dimensionals.

Here is THE Christmas card.  I really like them.  They seriously only took me a half hour to design.  That is super fast for me.  I don't send that many out so I got about 18 of them done in a few hours.  WooHoo!

My desk was too messy to take a pic on. 

This was the first time using the Designer Frames embossing folders.  I kinda dig them!  I don't have any Christmas stamps so I searched around for what would work.  The tree from Loads of Love fit perfectly!

I used markers to ink up the tree.  I sponged everything, which I don't normally do.  Too much work.  I've become a lazy stamper. 

Loads of Love and Delicate Doilies.  Crumb cake, riding hood red and garden green cardstock.  Garden green and choc. chip markers, whisper white craft ink.  Frostwood Lodge DSP, wide oval punch, Designer Frames embossing folders, corner rounder and dimensionals.


This is a gift card holder.  Super easy to do!

I made a belly band to go around it to hold it closed. 

And here I am working hard to get things done.  Just keeping it real................

Thanks so much for keeping the blog cozy while I was gone.  I have plans to be much more consistent. 

Blessings, b.

Dec. Daily?

Nope, not yet.  I did get my pics printed out today and started with some journaling but then, 17 needed some help.

She is doing a Secret Santa thing in her yearbook class and needed an idea of what to give tomorrow.  They are supposed to do a little something everytime they meet and then a bigger something on the last day before vacation. 

So I suggested a cute little packet of fruit snacks. 

She didn't like that idea.

What if I make a cute little tag and ribbon, like a present?

Yep, that would do. 

She picked out the bow and so I tried to match the color.  Welcome in Pear Pizzaz! 

Holy Cow!  I thought this would be a cute/fast/easy tag to make. 

HA!  I was wrong.  This sucker took me 2 hours!  I just wasn't feeling it.  Or I should say, I could think of things to use.........things I didn't have. 

So here is what I came up with.

Elements of Style.  Crumb cake, whisper white and pear pizzaz cardstock.  Crumb cake ink.  Big shot,  scallop square duo die, simple letters die, rhinestones, brights patterned DSP, 3/4" circle punch and dimensionals.


It measures 2.5 x 3.75.  I'm happy enough with it.  Considering I don't know a thing about this girl and for all I know she'll chuck it in the trash. 

And here she is all gussied up.  I'd be happy to receive this.  Wouldn't you?

Alrighty then, its past my bedtime.  Everyday I get one step closer to getting the Dec. Daily done.  Tomorrow I should have something to show you. 

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I love it when you do that. 

Blessings, b.

Oh Geez!

Nothing ever goes as planned. 

I have no December Daily pages together........yet.  I do have pics, well, except for one day (ahem....Michele, just when you get around to it ;)) and stories picked out, I just haven't had time to sit down to do it. 

I'm going to "getRdone" tonight........I hope........I think.......I'm going to try.

But, I do have another Christmas card to show you.  This one was fairly quick.  I got 3/4 of it done in about 25 min. while waiting for a buddy to come pic me up last night. 

Now see, I did sit down to work on the Dec. Daily today but, this card was sitting on the desk unfinished so I had to finish it first.  And of course I got nothing else done.

NO STAMPS!!!   Whisper white, old olive, pear pizzaz, wild wasabi, garden green and real red cardstock.  Bird punch, cropadile, hemp, jewelry tag punch, black journaler and misc. button. 

Cute eh?  I saw an idea like this several weeks ago.  I don't remember what they used exactly (because of course I don't remember when or where I saw it) but I thought the wing from the bird punch was perfect. 

With a pencil I lightly drew a circle and used that as a guide.  Then I just went for it.  I used the large hole punch on the cropadile to make the little holly berries.

I decided to wrangle some hemp to do my will.  Hemp is not always user friendly.  It started out looking like a hemp spider on my wreath....but I tamed it.  I found a red button in my stash and used the jewelry tag punch for a little "joy".  I had no joy stamps so I had to wing it. 

After I was done, I decided it needed a little something something.  So I drew the black line around the border.  Now it seems finished. 

Alrighty then, thats it for today.  The Boy just came home on his dinner break and announced that we had to go to Target when he gets home from work because he needs something for school. 

Yeah, great.

So, no, I won't be working on the Dec. Daily tonight.  But, tomorrow is another day....................

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Blessings, b.

today..........

......is the day. 

The first day of the December Daily journal.  Did you get at least 1 picture today?  Have you thought of 1 story to tell?  I will get my page together tomorrow and I'll show you then. 

Tonight though, I have a card to show you.  Can you believe it?  I stamped!

I wanted to make a Christmas card.  I have our family card all sketched out but I need a family pic........that may take an act of God. 

So I got out all my stamps that are Christmas related.  Yeah, I have 2 sets.  Not much to work with here. 

So I started with Tree Trimmings.  I don't like this set.  There, I said it.  I don't like it. 

Stampin' Up! sent it to me to create display samples with a few years ago.  Because I don't really like it, I thought about how I could use it for non-Christmas things. 

When I opened the box tonight I found that I had started a project but didn't finish.  So I decided to finish it.  I did make it Christmasy though.

Tree trimmings and Teeny tiny wishes.  Very vanilla, red riding hood, crumb cake and garden green cardstock.  Riding hood red, garden green, black Stazon, and Versamark inks.  Clear embossing powder, big shot, top note die, stripes embossing folder, antique brads and stampamajig.

I made a poinsetta! 

Nope, this would not make a good production card.  I made the striped flower a few years ago and I remember it was a challenge to get the petals lined up.  I had to use my favorite tool; the Stampamajig.  Love that thing! 

The stripes embossing folder is new to me and I think its pretty groovy.

 HA! Get it? 

Groovy?

I bought these antique brads during the summer and this is my first time using them.  They are so cool!  They are pretty heavy duty and I love how big some of them are.


Alrighty then, I guess thats it.  Unless you want to see what an A+ state report looks like. 

 A big cookie in the shape of New Mexico.  She even labled Grampa's house.  

Okay, thats all.  I be back tomorrow with my Dec. 1 page to show you.  See, you're going to get sick of me now. 

If you are doing the December Daily, I would love for you to link up a pic in the comments section here.  Or you can email it to me since the comments section has been having problems.  I would really like to see your project. 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Blessings, b.

turkey owls

Hey there!  I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We went down to the in-laws house for a yummy turkey dinner.  I'm still full.

I have no Thanksgiving day pics.  I know.........you're disappointed.  Me too. 

There were only 9 of us for dinner.  We decorated gingerbread houses.  That has become a Thanksgiving day tradition.  We leave one for Gramma, one for Uncle Danny and take one home for us.  Grace gave us a little concert on the flute.  So cute!  I wish I had taken a video.  I'll have to learn how to do that. 

I do have something stampy to show you today though.  Can you believe it?  Earlier in the week I had made a couple of Thank You cards.  They should have been received by now so I can show you. 

Woodgrain and A Word for You sets.  Soft suede, more mustard, crumb cake, old olive, cajun craze, early espresso, whisper white, pumpkin pie, basic black and bashful blue cardstock.  Black Stazon and crumb cake inks.  Big shot, top note die, owl punch, fun flowers die and dimensionals. 

Its a turkey owl!  Isn't he cute? 

I sent these as a thank you for a couple of online orders I got.  I think they were friends because they both ordered the owl punch.  I wanted to make a card using the punch so they would have an idea that they could copy and since it was close to Thanksgiving I thought it appropriate to turn him into a turkey.  HA!  I crack myself up.  Its probably been done a million times but humor me here. 

I cut off his little ear tufts and used the Fun Flowers die to make feathers.  I couldn't resist giving him some baby blue eyes.  I think he's adorable.  Gobble...Gobble!

Oh yeah, and the top note?  Just cut out a top note then turn it sideways and run it through the machine again.  You'll get this groovy square.  Gobble.....Gobble!

Alrighty then, thats it for today.  I have some more craftiness up my sleeve to show you later.  I hope you're getting geared up for the December Daily journals.  Come on........get ready. 

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I appreciate it more than you could ever know. 

Blessings, b.

December Daily

I know, I know, I said I was going to be on here more often but, .............. I've learned that once you step away from blogging, its easy to stay away.  Same can be said for stamping..........darn it!

Not that I don't have things to share with you (not much stamping anyway) but when I do get time to sit down and write to you.......I just don't feel like it.  Hmph........

This will rememdy that situation............December Daily. 

And like right now, when I do have things to show you.......the dryer just sang to me.  I'll be right back.........................................................




Okay, December Daily.  Its time to stop thinking about it and start getting ready for it.  I've got a pretty good start:

Grace saw me getting this together and said, "Can I do the cover Momma?" 

I couldn't say no.  Besides, ultimately these books are for the kiddos anyway.  So here is her creation. 

Groovy huh?

I went with a half sheet ( 8.5 x 5.5) of cardstock for the pages.  That way I don't have any waste.  And since I don't have a fancy photoshop program I can just print 3.5 x 5 pics from my regular program. 

The patterned paper I'm using for this is the Frostwood Lodge DSP from the Holiday mini.  The colors are Garden Green, Cherry Cobbler (which I don't have so I'm using riding hood red), Whisper White, and Marina Mist. 

So I made the pages Crumb Cake, Riding Hood Red and  Confetti White.  I chose Conf. White just because its a little more sturdy than Whisper White.  I just rotated them throughout.  Right now I'm thinking of just having one page per day.  But I can always add more for those days when I have more pics.

I used the same binding as last year since that worked pretty swell. 

Here is a running list I've got going of things I could include.  There are always going to be those days where I don't have a story to tell.  Ali Edwards has a great post talking about things you could include check it out here.  That will give you even more ideas. 

So I feel like I'm ready to go.  My other embellishments are going to be very simple; some hemp, Forest Lodge DSP, punches.  I don't really have a stamp set to go with it this year.   I'm keeping it flexible so we'll see what I end up with. 

I hope you decide to do your own Dec. Daily.  You can look here at my 2009 album and 2010 album for some more ideas. 

Everybody has enjoyed going through the old ones.  Funny how quickly we forget little things.  Even The Boy got a kick out of them. 

So I hope you do it with me.  Everybody has a story to tell. 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great Thanksgiving. 

Blessings, b.

10 things

Oh, how I've missed you! 

How I've missed stamping! 

I've been in a funk.  Too many things swimming around in the ol' noggin that were bringing me down.  BUT, I've sorted things out and I'm getting back on track.  So here are 10 things from the past month that I've been doing.


1.  Work

   CELDT   testing is finally over!  (almost half of our student body speaks a language other than English)  This school year has been absolutely stressful.  Lots of drama.  Lots of extra unpaid hours.  But its done now.  We were the first school in our district to turn everything in and everything was perfect.  Yipee!  Yes, I'm sleeping much better now, thank you.

2.  Band

The Boy graduated last year and we are feeling the absence of band.  Our school hosted a competition a few weeks ago and we had to go.  I don't really understand our theme this year but the drumline still rocks!  Grace is taking flute this year with her school and I just kept thinking that maybe in 4 years we'll be back in band again. 


3.  College

17 is applying to colleges.  I want her to broaden her horizons and think of maybe going out of state.  When the market picks up we are planning on moving out of state.  We are thinking Oregon or Idaho.  So she has applied to a few locally here but is also going to apply there.  Although by the time we move she'll be done with college.  The thought of her not living with us just about kills me.  (deep breaths)

4.  Anniversary

We celebrated our 22nd anniversary a few weeks ago.  We did not get to go camping/fishing this summer so we decided to go and stay at the lodge and pull our friend's boat.  Such beautiful weather!  Really, it couldn't have been nicer.  We've never been when all the leaves are changing.  The fishing wasn't all that but, who cares?  I didn't want to come home.

5.  New Microwave

Ours was only 3 years old and the computer died.  It would cost more to fix it than to get a new one.  We got a Samsung.  It had great reviews so lets hope it lasts longer than 3 years. 

6.  Downton Abbey

Did you happen to catch this earlier in the year?  Oh my!  I'm not sure why I love the BBC productions but I do.  When I happen to watch a movie my wonderful family will say, "Is this a another movie where they wear too many clothes and talk funny?"  Aren't they super?  I didn't watch this when it first came on but when they won so many emmys they showed the first episode again and I got hooked.  I can't wait for season 2. 

7.  The Good News Club

My good friend has started a chapter of The Good News Club at my school.  Its a Bible based club for the kiddos.  I'm volunteering to help and its so cool.  We get out of school early on Fridays and I really loved getting that extra hour home alone but, this is worth it. 

8.  The garden

The weather has finally cooled of this last week.  It actually rained a few days ago and today.  The zucchini are hanging on.  The chili peppers are going wild.  Cherry tomatoes are super happy and we pulled our first carrot.  It was really good!  The cucumbers are finally coming around too.  I'm getting ready to start the winter garden soon. 

9. Halloween

Grace wanted to do Halloween "right" this year.  That meant a scary costume.  She is a vampire.  17 went with her friends and dressed as a cowgirl.  The Boy also went with his buds and dressed as a ......a.........I'm not sure what to call it........he wore his old Gi and a bamboo hat.  Old Chinese guy?  Anyway, everyone had fun.  I'm glad its over though.  Bring on the turkey!

10.  December Daily  (Ali's)  December Daily (mine)

I know, I know.......December Daily already Beth?  Yep, time to start thinking about it.  Ali Edwards has a new kit available to make it easier.  But.......when have I ever done things the easy way?  I've been thinking about what supplies I'll be using this year.  Here is what I have going on so far:

• I'm going to do the same size as last year, 8.5 x 5.5
• I might do the same binding.....not sure yet
• I'm going to use the Frostwood Lodge DSP from the Holiday Mini Catalog
• Colors:  crumb cake, cherry cobbler and white or vanilla, twine,

Ali really gets her pages set up beforehand.  I don't usually do that but I might.  Right now my mantra is "Simplifiy, Simplify"



Alrighty then, thats it for now.  Thanks so much for putting up with my absence.  I just had brain overload for awhile and needed to step away from myself and figure things out.  Its so easy to get caught up in the unimportant stuff and lose sight of what is important and what makes me happy.  So, you'll be hearing from me alot more often now.  Because checking in with you makes me happy.

Thanks so much for stopping by and keeping the blog warm while I was away.

Blessings, b.

birthday boy

Hey there!  We had a nice weekend here.  Although its still too hot.  I'm ready for some fall weather.  I hope you had a nice weekend. 

Yesterday, my firstborn, my baby boy, my only son, The Boy, had a birthday.  19.  WOW!  How did this happen? 

I'm at that season in my life when time is literally flying by.  I really need to make a better effort to slow down and soak things in.  You know, don't sweat the small stuff, stop and smell the roses and all that jazz...............I'm trying.

I want to show you the card I made him. 

Do the Hula (retired) and really really really old sentiment.  Whisper white, old olive, crumb cake and watercolor paper.  Poppy parade, black Stazon, soft suede and pacific point inks.  Big shot, leaves #2 die, wood sheets and aquapainter. 

This summer he bought himself a surfboard.  He hasn't really learned how to surf but he now has surf racks on the car.  If nothing else, he looks really cool. 

I thought I was so clever because I used the wood sheets SU! sells for the surfboard.  It actually looks like his board.  They are so thin that they cut really easily with scissors.  I even bent the excess I had and it didn't break.  Tough stuff man!  Well, it is backed with paper. 

I have to explain the tree.  Now picture this, the trunk is off the card.  What you see is just the palm fronds hanging into view.  The Boy understood that but I had to explain it to the hubs.  Just want to cover my bases here. 

Alrighty then.  I have another sympathy card to make.  The husband of one of the ladies I work with died on Friday.  Another cancer victim.  Thats 5 people in the last 7 weeks.  I feel like God is trying to tell me something.  I'm not sure what but, I did make an appointment for a physical. 

Why don't you make an appointment too. 

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I love when you do that. 

Blessings, b.

bacon love

Hidey Ho! 

I'm so ready for fall weather.  Almost 100 again today.  UGH!  I had lots and lots of chores to catch up on this weekend so, no stamping for me :(

But, Grace got some stamping in.  She was checking out my PaperCrafts magazine and found something she liked.  So she decided to recreate it. 

Such a crafty girl.

This is the pic from the magazine.  A cute little Halloween treat by Jamie Hurley. 

Happy Haunting (retired).  Basic black, whisper white and pumpkin pie cardstock.  Elegant eggplant and basic black inks.  White gel pen, misc. buttons, yellow marker, 1 3/8" and 1 1/4" circle punch. 


Is this kid awesome or what?  Who needs fancy supplies and expensive tools?  Not Grace. 

Check out this button detail.  She got in the sewing box to get the black thread and I don't know where she got the idea to stack the buttons.  Whats really funny is that, I had no idea she was doing any of this.  Clever girl!


Okay, before I go tonight, I want to say a big thank you to everyone who sent good thoughts/emails  my way after my last post.   I so appreciate it.  {kisses} 

I wanted to give you a little extra love tonight too.  Some Bacon Love!

I was cooking bacon this weekend and this little piece just made me happy.  I hope it makes you happy too.  No, I didn't eat it.............the hubs did though.  No bacon going to waste around here! 

Alrighty then, thanks so much for stopping by and hanging out.  Love, love, love that you do that.  Have a great night.

Blessings, b.

life is unpredictable

I am a planner.  I like to know what is going to happen and when and how. 

I'm not spontaneous. 

I'm not much for surprises.  Well, unless they include cash or gift cards..........:)

I don't like drama. 

I sound like a ball of fun don't I?  I am........I can be........I try to be.......

The past several weeks have been laden with surprises and drama. 

Accidents, deaths, work drama, kid drama............blech! 

What I'm trying to say is I kinda went into hermit mode.  I do that when things become overwhelming.   But things are looking better again.   

So I wanted to share with you a few things from the last few weeks.  I was still taking pictures and thinking about blogging.  But when I would sit down to blog, I just didn't feel like it.  Sorry, nothing personal. 

The garden is still limping along.  The heat and the aphids are doing a number on the squash and cucumbers.  The sunflowers are super happy and so are the bees.

I think if I ever had any real property, I would like to keep bees.  They just seem so happy to discover all this great pollen.

Simply Soft set and old old old retired word set.  Crumb cake, baja breeze and whisper white cardstock.  Black Stazon, old olive, whisper white and baja breeze inks.  Paper piercer, linen thread, bitty buttons, dimensionals, cutter kit,  and aquapainter.

In the past 4 weeks, I've known 4 people that have died from cancer.  One person I knew very well and that one really got to me.  I cried for days.  

Even as I was crying I was thinking, why am I crying?  I mean, on one hand its sad for her family (and me) that she is gone.  On the other hand, she is with God and out of pain.  Shouldn't that make us feel better? 

Here is something I found in the Bible:

Psalm 30:5  Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. 

Can you see the clear heart Bitty Button?  I just love them.  See those white splotchy spots?  That is another stamp from the set.  Its supposed to be a fill-in for one of the flower stamps but I thought they kind of looked like fluttery butterflies.......if you don't look too close.

Now, I didn't start hitting the booze to console myself.  I did a little celebrating. 

We finished our CELDT (Califorina English Language Development Test), testing on our kinders at school under the deadline, despite all the obstacles we've had. 

We had wanted to go out for margaritas but our schedules didn't work out.  So we made a date to have margaritas at our respective homes at 7:00 that night and texted each other the whole time.  Strange celebration but it was fun. 

Our one and only pumpkin turned orange.  I'm going to pick it tomorrow.  Its been so hot that all the baby pumpkins that try to start, just wither.  The aphids LOVE this plant.  I've been spraying them with soapy water every few days but they just keep multiplying. 

A few weeks ago, I started a new dinner planning system.  Another one....   It just goes along with my desire to plan.  So far its working out pretty well.  Here is what we did:  I gave everyone 10 min. to write down all the meals that they would like to eat on a piece of paper.  I did it too.  Then I took those choices and wrote them down on popsicle sticks.  Some wrote down side dishes.  I guess they think that is a meal. 

Every Sat. night, we pull 6 new sticks.  Some come up side dishes so we have to pull again.  And if we pull 4 different chicken dishes, we'll pull again.  It still doesn't make everyone happy but its made me much happier because I know what I'm making that night.  Try it.

These aren't on the popsicle sticks.

Grace and I went shopping the other day and we spotted these.  Pumpkin Pie Pop Tarts?!  YEAH!  I mean, Pop Tarts!  You gotta love them.  But PUMPKIN PIE POP TARTS?  Bring 'em home! 

Results:  they're okay.  They taste better warmed up.  And I didn't have any whipped cream but I bet that would make them totally delicious.  Must try that.  I'm all about healthy snacks.

Alrighty then.  Thanks so much for stopping by.  And God Bless You if you read all the way down to the bottom here.  You are a rock star!  Regular posting will commence. 

Blessings, b.

here I am

I just wanted to start this post with a happy picture.  My sunflowers are blooming!

Hey there!  I hope everyone enjoyed their Labor Day.  Labor Day is an American holiday celebrating, "the social and economical achievements of the American worker." 

That means we get to take a day off work.  WooHoo!

I am very thankful for an extra day off.  The last few weeks have been pretty cruddy.  I won't bore you with details but I'm emotionally and physically wiped out.  I needed a time out.

So I'm going to be kind of quick tonight. 

Last week Grace had a birthday:

Delicate Doilies stamps and classic numbers (retired).  Crumb cake, whisper white and marina mist cardstock.  Marina mist and whisper white inks.  Lace border punch, scallop circle punch, 1 3/8", 1 1/4", and 3/4" circle punches, tissue paper, 2 way glue pen, dazzling diamonds glitter and dimensionals. 

Can you guess how old she is?  Yeah, I have a problem putting ages on birthday cards. 

This is the first time I've gotten to play with anything new.  I really haven't sat at my desk at all. 

I'm starting to love the lace border punch.  Its kind of a tricky little bugger.  Make sure you remove the little pieces after each punch. 

I wanted it to stand out so I punched some marina mist with the 1" circle punch and added that behind.  Groovy huh?

Lets look at this medallion thingy here: 

I used my scallop circle punch twice.  That means I punched a blue scallop then, took some 2 way glue, (blow on it a little to dry some) and stuck it onto a piece of scratch paper and punched again on the scallops.  You get this cute little flower petal , sun, starburst thing. 

Then I punched a 1 3/8" crumb cake circle and with the 2 way glue, drew a line around the edge and dunked it in the glitter.

I stamped the doily with the marina mist ink and punched it out with a 1 1/4" circle.

I stamped the 11 and then punched out with the 3/4" circle punch.  I ran the glue around the edge again and dunked again. 

I had some tissue paper on my desk and decided that would make a perfect little ruffle.  I thought of making the medallion detachable from the card so she could wear it to school but I knew she wouldn't.

So there ya go.  Here is a picture of my sky tonight:

tonight's sunset

Its been rainy and thunderstormy all day.  Which has been a wonderful break from the 100+ temps we've been having.  Even though it was 94 today with 94% humidity, it was a nice break.  Especially since I stayed inside the air conditioning all day :)  The veggies didn't get all wilty today either.  It was like they got a day off too. 

Alrighty, I hope things are going to be getting to a more normal speed around here.  I miss chatting with you. 

Thanks for stopping by and checking in. 

Blessings, b.

this 'n' that

Hey Hey Hey! 

I have not been able to spend any quality time with my new goodies.  I got some really neat stuff too. 

Designer frames (pg. 218), Beau Chateau fabric (pg. 196 super excited to use this, those chickens are so cute!), Frostwood Lodge DSP (pg. 28 Holiday Mini),  Cellophane bags (pg. 11 Holiday Mini),  Quilted Satin Ribbon (pg. 30 Holiday Mini), and many other things. 

In the meantime, until I can get personal with my new goodies, I have another non-winning Artisan Award project to show you. 

No stamps!  Night of navy ink.  Real red, pumpkin pie, old olive, pacific point, elegant eggplant and whisper white cardstock.  White craft paint and canvas.

This was a really neat project.  It looked so cool hanging on the wall.  I spent hours and hours rolling those wrinkly roses.  (See here for the tutorial)  I lightly mixed the night of navy ink with the white craft paint so that when I brushed it on the canvas it would have lines and look like blowy clouds. 

In fact the white roses/clouds were a total last minute idea.  We were packing up the projects to mail and 17 suggested white clouds.  What a great idea! 

I have some leftover roses and am planning on making another one to keep. 




Okay, the moment you've all been waiting for...............................a garden update!  WooHoo!!

(just humor me..........again)

I took these pics on Sat. and already things are different.

The pumpkin is growing out of the box.  I had wanted to plant it in the ground but ran out of time and good dirt.  The cucumbers are doing well.  Lots of flowers so I hope I'll get some cucumbers this year.

The fallen branch you see behind them is from the neighbor's tree.  It got really windy one day and I got a tree branch in my yard.  Yipee!

This is the one pumpkin that is growing.  I took this pic on Saturday and I swear that it is 3 times bigger tonight.  Crazy!  2 others withered and there is another one that I think will grow.  I'm so excited to have homegrown pumpkins for Halloween! 

The tomatoes are doing great.  Lots of cherry ones but they won't turn red.  The plant I thought had Celebrity tomatoes is actually a Roma.  Oh well.  I like those too.  The green beans are going like gangbusters but aren't putting on any flowers or beans.  What up?

The harvest so far is, 3 zucchini and 2 yellow squash.  I have more of each that will get picked this weekend. 

I'm always in awe in of how you can plant a seed and a month later you can eat what it grows.  Isn't God great? 

Alrighty then, I still have to clean up the dinner dishes.  Where is the maid?  Oh wait........thats me.

Thanks for stopping by.

Blessings, b.