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.

hi ho, hi ho

its back to work I go...........

Yesterday was my first day back.  Actually I went to work on Monday for some meetings but only for a few hours. 

My school looks very different.  They changed it into a charter school.  And I have to say, it was a pretty cool first day of school.  These kids get 6 week rotations in art, music, dance, drama and technology.  The 6th and 7th graders get ipads to use.  How cool?  Way cool!

My girls started school last week. 

 Perfunctuary first day of school pic.  Check this out:

She drove herself to school.  What a strange feeling for me.  For her too probably, although she would never admit that.  My big senior girl.......................

Next up........5th grader.  Big girl on campus this year.  I also got the regular picture of her crying in line when I left.  Will she ever stop that?  This girl is never very far from me.  That umbilical cord just keeps on stretching. 

Alrighty then, are you ready for some stampiness? 

I have another losing Artisan Award project to show you. 

Growing green and A Word for You sets.  Early espresso, crumb cake and watercolor paper.  Black Stazon,  old olive and crumb cake inks.  Newsprint DSP, spiral tab punch, round tab punch, neutrals button, hemp, staple and aquapainter.


What do you think?

I struggled with this card.  I knew I wanted to submit a card with watercoloring.  They want you to submit a variety of techniqes and styles.  I was trying to make it look like it was a sketch book or something. 

Looking at all my projects I can understand why I wasn't a winner.  They just aren't up to snuff.  Its because I wait until the last minute and then have to rush.  For some people that works but not for me.  I usually can get something together but then I have to sit on it for a few days and tweak it some. 

So will I plan ahead and start in Jan. next time?  Probably not.  But you never know.

Okie dokie.  You may not hear from me until Sunday.  We are having a yard sale on Saturday.  I hate having yard sales.  Like going to them, hate having them.  I'm hoping to sell a bunch of stamping stuff.  I've got so much DSP, die cut boxes, ribbon, etc to send to new homes.  Come on by if you're in the area. 

Blessings, b.

these hands

Hey!

I've got another losing Artisan Award project to show you.  ( The Boy just read that sentence and said, "Well, thats being positive.") 

Last year I really struggled with my scrap pages but this year, I love them.  I think they each turned out great.  I wish I still had them.  I do have pics although the pictures are horrible.  We actually unpacked the box to take them because I forgot to do it beforehand.  So click on it to make it bigger to see the detail. 

I {heart} Hearts and Wonderful Favorites.  Crumb cake and very vanilla cardstock.  Either Baja Breeze or Marina Mist (not sure which) and crumb cake inks.  Dotted ribbon punch, Springtime Vintage DSP, clearlits rectangle die, big shot, neutrals buttons, hemp or linen thread, dimensionals, naturally serif alpha die, newsprint DSP, neutrals patterned paper pack.

I loved the idea of this page.  We actually took pictures of my hands.  I wanted pictures of my MIL hands but we were running out of time.

Looks like I really need to invest in some good moisturizer. 

I think I'll do this page again but with her hands.  I love looking at hands.  If you think about it, they have such stories to tell.  I would love to create a reminder of what her hands look like.  I still remember what my mom's hands looked like, I wish I had a picture though. 

This is a pretty self explanatory page but let me know if you have any questions. 

In other news, I ordered a whole mess of Stampin' Up! goodies last week and they are on their way here!  Super excited!   Wait until you see the Holiday Mini Catalog!  WOW!  Lots of nifty stuff in there. 

Alrighty then, 17 and I are going to watch last night's Next Food Network Star.  I want Susie to win. 

Thanks for stopping by and hanging out and checking in and looking around and well..........you know.  I love when you stop by. 

Blessings, b.