Thank you Giveaway !!

Good morning gals !! I just popped in to check on my work email and decided to check on the blog........I can't believe we hit 10,000 hits !!! I know it's minor compared to all of the great blogs out there, but it's a milestone to me !

In honor of our 10,000 hit anniversary, I thought it was time for a giveaway !! I have a box full goodies----stamps, ink, ribbon, etc. for this occasion !! All you need to do is leave a comment on this post and we'll select a winner on Monday. Tell us what you like about the blog, what you'd like to see more of, anything you want !!

I just want to say thank you for being a part of this blog with me. You gals are wonderful and I appreciate you taking time to come visit !! Have a great weekend !!

Stacy : )

Time for a getaway..................

Happy Monday gals !! I just wanted to pop in and let ya know I'm taking a week off......I'm getting ready for a trip to Cedar Crest for the weekend with some girlfriends. Scrapbooking, good food & good company !! So, I have some things to finish up before I leave on Friday. Hope everyone has a great week and I can't wait to post some pics next Monday !!

Toodles------Stacy

A little bit of sewing......

My plan for tonight was to finish up the rag tote that I was making for myself.....aren't those fabrics super cute ???


But as it goes, the kids saw me plug in the sewing machine and ran at me like a herd of buffalos !! "Mommy, mommy I want a purse !!" all 3 of them kept shouting....including my little boy lol So, I again had to put myself aside and work on 2 purses and a drawstring tote. This is my oldest with hers:

This is my youngest daughter with hers:

I didn't get a good pic of my son's bag, but I keep trying to tell him it's a bag not a purse !! He's so funny !! All of the fabric were scrap packs I picked up at Joann's. The girls haven't taken them off yet and my son put his in his special spot at bedtime.........

That's all of the creative juice I can squeeze out of myself tonight. Have a great weekend everyone !!

Happy MLK Day !!

First and foremost....happy MLK Day !! It's been a pretty slow day around here, house to clean, kids to bathe. We did have some excitement though !! My baby girl had her first guitar lesson today !! I think I was more excited than she was lol......She looked so grown up carrying that bubble gum pink guitar into her lesson !! I know she'll do great ! She loves music !!

My card I wanted to show tonight is one of many projects that I've done over the past few days. There is an awesome store in KS and they're looking for 4 design team members. I thought I'd give it a try !!

The bottom of the card was being stubborn.....there is a strip of plaid on the inside that just didn't want to show itself : )

Have a great night !!

Take note...............

Friday is finally here and luckily it's a 3 day weekend !! The weather is finally warming up (by warm I mean 30 degrees....lol) and I might actually get some time to work on some projects !!

Tonight I wanted to show you a post-it note holder I made for my office. I actually got the idea from one of the hundreds of blogs I cruised the other day, but unfortunately I forgot which one ! So thank you for the inspiration if you're reading this !!

The base of the holder is a 4x6 clear plastic picture frame that I picked up at the Dollar Tree. With a picture in it, it sits long ways (does that make sense ??) I cut a piece of cs down to the same size and inked the edges. I cut a scrap piece of pp down and inked the edges on it also. I used a SU punch to stamp my sentiment on and stamped and cut the bird to finish it off. After the paper pieces were assembled, I slid them into the picture frame. Since I'm left-handed, I decided to stick the post-it notes on the right side. I finished it off with some orange ribbon. the whole thing cost around 1.50 !! How cool is that ??

Hope you have a great and productive weekend !! Time to bust out some new supplies : )

Stacy

Last of the monograms...I promise!

Hey there! How've you been? I've got a lot going on in the little head of mine so this is going to be a quick post tonight! These are the last of the monograms I made for my sister.

I used Lemon Tart ink and card stock on a cream colored background and Polka Dot Basics Two with the Just Rite Monogram stamper.

Here I used Spring Rain ink and card stock with a cream colored background and Damask Designs with the Just Rite Monogram stamper. I added a few little rhinstones to the middle monogram and really liked the way it turned out!

To give these sets away, I boxed them up, ten cards and ten envelopes, in PTI's clear card box. Super easy and quick!
Have a great night!

Becky

Happy Birthday Hollywood !!!

It's hard to believe that at 10:37 am tomorrow morning, my baby girl is going to turn 5. It feels like she's been with us for many more years than that !! Her nickname, Hollywood fits her to a T.....she's spunky, smart, beautiful and full of life. She's a tomboy/diva and her laughter lights up my day.


After her first of 3 parties (uhhhhh....) we made cupcakes for her class at school:

And no party is complete without goody bags:

We made the little bags out of 2 top note dies that we stitched on 3 sides. We stamped Happy Birthday in pink and put a little stickle dot of purple on the "i". We strung through some hot pink ribbon and filled with goodies !!

Thank you Holly for choosing me and daddy to be your parents !! You mean so much to us and I can't imagine one day without you !! Happy Birthday princess !! I love you !!

Inspiration and a Notebook.....

Hope everyone is staying warm !! I can't believe how cold it's been here in the Midwest the last week.....I'm ready for some sunshine !!

I have 2 things for ya tonight....first off is my basket of ribbon that was inspired by Nichole Heady's ribbon storage. I chose to put mine in a basket to make it a little easier to rummage through and I skipped the straight pins and chose to knot the ends....

I ended up rolling 70 rolls of ribbon.......this basket is huge and barely looks full...lol

The second for tonight is a notepad that I covered to carry in my purse. I found it at the dollar tree along with the clothespins. Nothing too fancy, just some scrap pp, letters cut from the cricut and some glossy accents on the flower "o".....

well gals, I'm freezing down here and I think the girls are ready to watch a movie !! Stay warm and have a great weekend !!

More Monograms!

Good morning! It began snowing yesterday around noon and was still snowing when I went to bed around 10:30 PM. After the snow stopped, the winds started up and we had some drifting, mostly around our front porch. This, of course, is the side of the driveway which I park on. (just like we talked about the other day Stacy:) and no, I'm not going to try and back out into it!) The temperatures are going to drop like crazy the next few days, we're expecting a HIGH of -3 on Saturday but then warm back up next week. Unfortunately, the weathermen are saying they expect a lot more of the white stuff over the next two months before spring hits. I noticed this morning that Atlanta is supposed to get snow, so this crazy winter weather is happening everywhere it seems! Well, on to my project for the day!

Some more monogram cards for my sister! This time using Terracotta Tile ink and card stock, ivory card stock, Damask Designs set and Just Rite Monogram Stamper. Notice the Christmas paper in the background? Yeah, I took these pictures before the holiday and my lazy buns never got them posted! That's it for today, just a quickie little post. I'm off to keep my little family warm! I hope you're all safe and toasty wherever you may be!

Becky

Guess what?

More snow tomorrow! Lucky us! We're having super cold temperatures and the snow just keeps coming! Abie has had school the last two days, not sure if she'll have it tomorrow or not. We'll have to wait and see. Today's post is from the set of monogram gift cards I made for my sister.

I used Polka Dot Basics Two, Raspberry Fizz ink, Raspberry Fizz and ivory card stock. For stamps, I used the Just Rite Monogram Stamper. It really made these note cards a breeze!I hit the grocery store this afternoon, along with everyone else in town, we needed a few things just in case we get snowed in. Hope all is warm and well where you are!

Becky

Mish's Sketch ...........

Happy Monday gals !! Hope everyone is staying warm......it's been so cold here, we have snow that I swear won't melt until July !! The kids are wanting to go out soooo bad, but I can't let them go out in single digits !! We did an experiment this morning---we put a tupperware container with about a 1/2 cup of water out on the deck to see how long it would take to freeze...it only took 18 minutes !! I think that changed their minds lol

Ohhhh Mish !! What a great sketch ! My youngest daughter will be 5 next week and I thought this would be a perfect card for her. It has all the colors she likes and was a lot of fun to make:


The sentiment is a little hard to see, but it says "you're so sweet" (one of these days I'm gonna break down and buy a new camera !!)

Thanks for stopping by---stay warm and have a great day !!

A summer card...

because is so freakin' cold here! It's freeeeeeezing here! Single digits for the lows and teens for the highs. Brr. We're doing our best to stay warm. We've got a fire going and we're all huddled under blankets, except for our youngest who seems to not be bothered one bit by the cold temps! Today's card is the summer card I made to go with the Christmas tea towel set I made. It bears a striking resemblance to the Veteran's Day card I made for my dad.

This card is 4x4 and I rounded the corners. I also added a bit of vintage trim and some thin red ribbon. I really wish it was 4th of July weather right now! Have a nice weekend!

Becky

Mish's Sketch

Happy New Year's Eve! Do you have big plans for tonight? We don't! My mom and dad come over every year and we make lots of snacks, watch movies, play games, try to stay up until midnight and always fall asleep! One of us usually wakes up about ten minutes before the ball drops and wakes up the other three and we ring in the new year threw half opened eyes. Early this morning Mish Mash posted this fun sketch on her blog and invited people to join in. So I did. I'd like to say I sat right down and whipped this card up but I didn't. Abie had a friend over and in between clay bowls, Project Runway, poopy diapers, lunch and phone calls I finished this card.
I used Melon Berry and Enchanted Evening card stock, Bitty Dots Basics patterned paper in Melon Berry, Polka Dots Basics Two and Imaginesence stamps and Martha Stewart glitter in Lapis (I think). I also used my Apron Lace punch, Corner Chomper punch and some place white grosgrain ribbon from Joann's. This sketch was super fun to play along with!
I hope you all have a fun and safe night! See you next year!!

Becky

Goodbye 2009.................

It's hard to believe that another year has passed. This has been a trying year for a lot of people, losing loved ones, money crunches, losing jobs.........I know that 2010 will bring hope and compassion and each of us helping those around us. It's a time to start fresh--try new ideas, get rid of old habits, make our little spots a better place.

I've been thinking a lot the last few weeks of things I want to improve upon. I don't make resolutions.....like diets, they rarely work !! I want to be in a better place this time next year and I have a lot of changes to make in order to get there. I'm one of the lucky ones---I have a wonderful family, a good job & no issues providing for my family. What I want to do for this next year is get back to the simple life. I want to make more homemade products, I want to learn to can, I want to learn how to sew better (lol...this'll be a challenge !!)

I want to teach my children what's really important in life.

Happiness.

Expensive clothes, shoes, cars are not important to me. (confession: I DO have a Dooney fetish !!) I want my children to be themselves and not try to be like others just because of what they have. I feel sorry for some of the children I see that are emotionally wrecked at such a young age because they weren't taught about the really important things in life. Do you think anyone is going to remember the car you drove when you took them to soccer practice? Nope......they'll remember that you TOOK them to practice and watched every game and cheered. That's what's important.

Happiness. It starts with us. We have to do the things that make us happy. That's what I want to do. You may see some crazy posts from me in the upcoming year, but I promise to pass on only the good tips and tricks, not the ones that didn't quite work out !!

So, I hope that all of you can see the positive in the year to come. Do some things that make you happy. Surround yourself with the people YOU want to be around. Experiment, have fun, have faith, have compassion.

Most of all, I hope you find happiness !!

Happy New Year !!

Whirlwind!

Well, did you all survive? We did. We had a big snow storm here. It rained Wednesday and Thursday and changed over to sleet on Thursday afternoon. On Christmas Eve night, it changed over to snow, like something out of a movie, and when we woke up Christmas morning, everything was covered under a thick white blanket! It was perfect! Then it kept snowing, and snowing and snowing. It didn't stop until sometime on Saturday! Mike had to shovel the driveway two different times so we could get out. The kids went sledding on Sunday, we have the perfect hill in our backyard, and then came inside for hot chocolate with marshmallows! It was a great Christmas weekend. But, onward and upward! We're gearing up for New Year's Eve this week. I've already taken down all of the Christmas decorations, minus the main tree in the downstairs living room. And, I have a fun springtime card to share with you today!

This is actually the card I made to go with the spring tea towel I made for the Christmas gift set I made. I stamped Sweet Blush Polka Dot Basics II on Sweet Blush card stock and layered on Spring Rain glittered and punched pieces. On top of that, I layered the Everyday Button Bits birds. I finished off the card with the sentiment, which is very hard to see in the picture....

Here's a bit of a better look....

Hope you all had a nice holiday, wherever you were!

Becky

Time to relax............

Happy Monday !! Can you believe Christmas is almost here ?? The time has flown and I'm already thinking about next year and all of the wonderful things we have planned. Vacation, projects, scrapbook trip.....good thing I'm starting early lol

For the ladies I work with, I decided to make homemade bath salts as gifts for Christmas. I was surprised at how easy it was ! Don't they look yummy ??

There are so many sites that offer recipes that it was hard to choose. I decided to go with a relaxing scent with paper and ribbon to match:

I have one more bit of news !! For all of you in Missouri, there is a new scrapbooking store in Independence called Christine's Corner. I was so tickled to walk in and see Unity stamps !! Next to PTI, they are my faves !! They are having an open house on January 2nd with lots of give aways, make and takes, etc. Check them out if you get a chance !!

Chow for now : )

Front Door Pine Cones

Good afternoon. I don't even want to think about how long it's been since I've posted. My head is hanging low, I'm so sorry friends... I won't bore you with how busy we've been or how stressed I am, blah, blah, blah :) I will instead focus on how excited I am to see my girls faces on Christmas morning and how happy I will be to have almost two full weeks home from work and how hopeful I am that Mike and I have a super duper 2010!

Last year, Abie sold magazines for a fundraiser and I subscribed to Country Living. In the November issue this year, they showed the cutest project and I just fell in love with it. It was so easy to re-create. I cut eight two feet pieces of burgundy ribbon and hot glued them on to the backs of eight different pine cones. Then I gathered all of the ribbons up together, staggering them at different heights and tied all eight ribbons together into one knot. Then I trimmed the excess ribbon off and hung them on the door. I love the way it turned out. A little extra perk was that I used the cinnamon scented pine cones from Joann's so every time you open the front door it spells delicious!

Have a nice weekend friends!

Becky

Cards and a Recipe

Hey gals !! Hope everyone is making it through the week ! It's been so busy at work that I feel like I haven't been there too much......2 days left !

I was sitting here wrapped in a blanket (No dear, I don't need a Snuggie lol) and even though I was fully ready to post, I couldn't stop thinking about food ! So, tonight you get a quick project and one of my favorite cold weather recipes !

The project: Martha made this cute wreath to display cards. It consists of nothing more than an embroidery hoop and clothespins that are hot glued on. How easy and cool is that ?? I jazzed mine up just a little with ribbon, but honestly I was in a rush to get some projects done and this one only took about 10 minutes:

I'm not sure why the pic turned out kinda sideways.....lol on to the recipe !!

Not sure if this is something I came across or made up in my head but this is one awesome casserole !!

Chicken and Stuffing Casserole

3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 box stuffing
2 cans cream of chicken soup
3/4 cup sour cream
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350

Cook chicken and shred (I like to boil the bird....easy to shred !)

Mix all ingredients together, pour in 9x13 pan and bake for 30 minutes

**Super simple and tastes great !! I've not tried throwing in a few veggies, but I think that would make it even heartier. Perfect for a cold Missouri night : )

Cold noses around...........

Hope everyone is staying warm this holiday season !! It's hard to believe that Christmas is next week. geezzzz !! I have to admit that I have hardly started my shopping. I never wait THIS long, but this last few months has gone so fast. I plan to knock it out this weekend ; )

So I was browsing Splitcoast a few weeks ago and saw the cutest idea.....Reindeer Noses !! How adorable are these ???

I purchased the bags from HL, along with the paper. I had another use in mind for the paper, but just didn't get around to using it. I used the top note to cut out the toppers. I used my SU! punch for the labels and used the JustRight Stamper to stamp Reindeer Noses, using PTI Scarlet Jewel ink. The reindeers were cut on the cricut. These were super easy to throw together !! I think they were a bigger hit with the adults lol

Oh !! Candy...........8 Whoppers and 1 Sour Cherry each : )

Have a great week and we'll see ya Wednesday !!

Backwards!

Hey there, remember me? The other half of this blog? Lol! We've been busy here, just like Stacy, getting ready for the holidays. My goal is to try and have everything completed by next weekend. We'll see if that happens! :) I have a little hostess gift to share with you today. I made this for my super sweet sister, Jennie, who had us all over for Thanksgiving.

I started with three little votives and made a simple wrap out of some patterned paper and a a bit of ribbon. The I created an acrylic box to hold them in. I stuffed the box with crinkle paper around the candles and after securing the lid with some ribbon, I attached a little fall tag.

Here's a close up picture of the bottom of the box and you can see the little candle too. Well, we have cleaned the house and made a significant dent in the laundry so I'm off to lay the little one down for a nap and get some crafty things checked off my list! Have a great weekend!

Becky