I'm really having fun with Sketchy Thursdays - I've added the link to the sidebar so if you want to check them out just click there!
this is "build". Braden spent the entire day building - legos, blocks, and tinker-toys. I photographed his plane because I thought it was so inventive of him!
Hailee asked for all of us to go to her Valentine party at school. I, of course, was already going - but she gave Darren the face he can't resist so along he went with Braden right behind. Not sure why she wanted us there, she only said a few words to us LOL. But here's her haul after she got home. Not bad -
Poor Braden - not sure why HE didn't get a box full of love, too! We just keep reminding him "next year" hoping he'll be satisfied with that answer.
I didn't get a photo of the kids with their Valentine lollipops that I "decorated" with my custom wrapping before they tore into them - just know they looked cute! lol but, my roses I did photograph! The pictures don't do the colors justice - the pink, orange, and yellow are just BEAUTIFUL!!! thank you, honey dear!!!!!
Sketchy Thursdays post today revealed the winner of the awesome kit - it wasn't me. BUT my layout was chosen as one of the favorites! How awesome is that? and they had almost 70 entries this week! I'm really honored and flattered.
Thanks girls!!!!
I pulled out the YUMMY papers from Cosmo Cricket today. Early Bird is a gorgeous collection with fun colors and fantastic patterns! I'm not going to put it away yet - I have more plans for it! but I had to get a card done, and here is the one I made.
{Cosmo Cricket papers, Fiskars punches, Vintage seam binding and lace, button and pins, Studio G stamps, Stampin' Up ink, Papertrey Ink twine}I made this layout just because I wanted to. No sketch. No sponsor product. No deadline. and it was FUN! In a magazine or on a blog I saw someone layer paper strips - that's not new to me, but layering paper strips cut from the same paper is....and I have to say, I like it!
This is Markie, Kimmie's son. The picture came in our Christmas card and I knew right away I would scrap it....Less than 2 months later i did it!
I also did the same thing on a card, but for that one I used sponsor product so you won't see it until April 1st!!!! Talk about getting a head start!!!
Happy Tuesday ♥
yes, I did another creative thing today! I finished the layout for the Sketchy Thursday sketch - and rather quickly considering it's only Saturday! lol
and you can tell I used a sketch because I used 3 photos - and I never...repeat NEVER...use that many unless I'm required! lol
{Scrapworks Magpie Paper, Making Memories silver clip, Office Depot white clip, American Crafts chipboard letter, Dymo labeler, lots of Ranger Ink, sharpies, Copic YG97 to color the 'b'}I found a blog that I love - it's for SRM Stickers! Well right now they have a challenge for you to use stickers and the color orange! I have lots of orange to work with, but the stickers limited me - but I used the yummy LYB paper and stickers (photo corner, sentiment, and chipboard are all stickers) and created this card - sorry for the bad image - it's a dreary day!
images from today - ice pictures taken right as the snow started around 10am - then the kids in the snow at about 3 1/2". Last measurement was 5" but it's still falling here at almost midnight! Darren has to go do some snow removal tomorrow so I'll remind him to get a final measurement.
yep, Ollie the Wonder Pug played outside with the kids the entire time....around 45 minutes I believe.
Okay - just so you know...I hardly ever do sketches. But Kimmie pushed me because...well, I needed the push. So I did the sketch for 1/21/10 and this is what I came up with.
{Crate Paper - Zoom Collection; Tim Holtz Grungeboard Star, inked with Ranger ink; Heidi Swapp Acrylic Star; American Crafts Chipboard letters}tomorrow, my friend, Carrie, has a birthday. so I made her this card.
I used all 4 of my Copic Sketch markers! lol I need more colors, obviously, but don't tell Kimmie that - we've had a bit of a heated discussion over these markers and I don't want any more fuel in the fire! BUT - I do need more colors because I can't color my bee holding a flower with just greens and browns! lol but, now this is my opinion, I do think this dragonfly came out rather nicely! I also smeared on some glue and sprinkled a bit of glitter over her to make her *sparkly* for my dear Carrie!! The dashes were done by me and my little 8 year old thought it was the "most awesome part"! LOL
Happy Birthday, Carrie!
okay - I promised pictures so here they are.
We started our vacation at Darren's mom and step-dad's house. We had lots of fun at the Seattle Aquarium and looking around downtown, going to see the lights at the Bellevue Botanical Gardens, and just visiting.
this gal was seriously posing for all the cameras!
Lincoln Logs are a family affair
look! Darren and I did go along for the trip!
Our next stop was at my dad and step mom's - and all of my siblings and their families were there - that made 12 of us under one roof! and it was SO nice. we all got along, got to know more about each other, and had a lot of fun. Christmas Eve was spent with the traditions I remember and love - Great Grandma and Uncle Arne and Jill came, too. Then of course Christmas morning was a blast! I don't know if my kids had more fun passing out presents or opening them! The next day we went bowling at a little, seriously little, hole in the wall bowling alley in Snoqualmie - it was fun - our group pretty much took over! then we went to the falls! I hadn't been there since Hailee was a baby! Too bad it was so cold....
and let's not forget all the fussing, and loving, and cuddling that little baby Addie received! I think Braden was in awe of her cuteness!
does it get ANY cuter than this? Aunt Briana & Uncle Parker bought all the kids matching pj's and I think they looked like little elves!!!
Tyler, the baby of the siblings, Neil and his beautiful, PREGNANT wife Jen (they just found out they are having a BOY!!!)
my chef. He was a bit spoiled. Grandma and Grandpa let him "play" with the oven! So with apron on he "cooked" dinner.
I love the look on Briana's face here - pure excitement! (Tyler next to her, Parker on the right)
She was quite the little helper - she prepared the relish tray for Christmas Eve.
I'm in love. Really. How can you not be? LOOK AT THIS BABY!!!!! My niece, Sigrid...aka Addie.
and here we all our at the end of Christmas Eve. What a great family we have.
okay - I think that's good for now. I'll edit the pictures from the other 2 houses we visited and get those posted here soon. Right now I have a 3 year old boy demanding some attention!
we got home on Sunday the 3rd.......what a WONDERFUL trip and visit.
photo's and more details to come....rest is needed :)
we are IN seattle! got in a few minutes late but we made it safely...even after a CRASH landing! lol kids had fun with my mom and poppy then slept for a few hours before starting all over - I think naps will be in the schedule today! we're with Darren's parents now and are heading to the Seattle Aquarium! not sure who's more excited - me or the kids! lol
yes, the kids and I are bouncing off walls with excitement! wahoo! we leave in a few short hours!!!
Merry Christmas!!!!!
TOMORROW! We fly out tomorrow!!!!! what am I supposed to do until then??? Okay, so I have Hailee's class "holiday" party today at 2pm. then have to take the dogs to my friends' for their 2 week vacation. then have to stop by my neigbor's house because her son, Hailee's good friend, is 7 today and I'm thinking he wants his card. and tomorrow Darren has to go do some work BEFORE we go! so the time should go quickly - but man, oh, man - I'm going nuts!!!
and I guess I need to pack for myself now that I've had the kids done since yesterday! lol
(Briana - you better hold on to Addie or I might steal her away and bring her back to OK!!!)
on another note - I wish Toby Keith didn't sing love ballads that I like. I'm not a fan of his public "image" and how he seems around here. I know - I'm an Okie so that's really bad to say - but it's true. He may be a nice person but from my view, I'm just not impressed. but he has a great voice when singing love songs - if only Alan Jackson sang/wrote these songs!!!!
that's all for now :)
We are so excited around here! Less than 2 weeks until we leave on our trip. Makes me wonder....are our family members whose houses we'll be visiting as excited as we are? it's not quite the adventure for them as it is for us...for our kids. For them it's not the fun of a plane ride, car rides around Washington, visiting family and friends and enjoying their Christmas traditions, meals and decorations. Nope, for them it's more like lock up the breakables, try to hide things from the kids, make an attempt to Braden proof the house (notice I say attempt - nothing is safe from him), hide the fruit from Braden and the candy from them both, prepare for early mornings because my kids think sleeping in is silly, locate the ear plugs so when my kids yell, scream, and fight it's not so unbearable, plan out the meal schedule because my kids like to eat 3 times a day if not more. Nope, I'm thinking that our parents may not see this the same way my kids and I do. :) (Darren doesn't even see it quite the same way yet!).
Either way - we're excited. It's been 3 years since we've had the holidays in Seattle and I'm sure it will be at least 3 more before we do it again - because as fun as it is - it's expensive and a lot of work!
happy holidays!
because it's {technically} Saturday - look at my ticker - exactly 3 weeks from today we'll be on an airplane heading to SEATTLE for the holidays!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
yes, the kids are excited, too. :)
I went a while without doing anything crafty - after finishing my Christmas cards I just had no motivation. Well yesterday morning I decided to kill some time. I didn't have anything big to do for at least an hour so I used the time to create!
for this layout I pulled out my Basic Grey Archaic paper pack - the only thing I added was twine....even the buttons are BG - though they're not from the Archaic set :) I even used my spellbinder label nesties to make my own journaling spot!
then - using the scraps, I made this card - used the ribbon that tied my son's new bedspread together (love when you buy an item and it's packaging is fun to reuse!) and the stamp from TSOL October set.....
after dinner, and baths, and pie, I pulled out Hailee's perfection game - the kids and I played a bit, then the kids tried it without me - all in all we had a very nice day.
so - did you get any free time yesterday? how did you spend it?
I am thankful for so many things this year - and the year isn't over yet! Hopefully you are too!
Have a wonderful holiday - from my family to yours!
tonight I made this. it was SO good - of course Darren thought it needed more sauce because he thinks EVERYTHING needs more sauce! but we loved the flavor and the kids thought I was spoiling them with broccoli...how great is that? and it was EASY to make - definitely will be making it again.
I also made cinnamon rolls this morning - no, not from the PW site, but from the can..the can you pop open and the rolls are already there. yep, I cheated, but my kids are 7 and 3 and could care less as long as you add the glaze before serving! lol but again - they thought they were spoiled and for $3 and 16 minutes it was worth the money and time I put into it! lol
today we need our spring cleaning in the fall. I had some "honey-do's" for Darren and once we started we just didn't stop. He cleaned the windows (he thinks I'm bad at it and who am I to correct him?), changed the felt pads on the bottoms of our dining room chairs, cleaned out the washing machine filter, photographed my tri-fold card for RSC (oh, still need to email that to Jen), helped Braden clean his room, and I'm sure there was more. I mopped & waxed the dining room floor, vacuumed the house, chatted on facebook, read some blogs, cleaned the kitchen, and took care of all the meals - I think I got off easy :) ssshhh!
I think that's it - I hope to have some photos to share soon....
on 10/27 my family went to the Tulsa Historical Society to meet Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman. Her cookbook was released and she was doing a "signing" from 7-9pm.
We got there at 6:30pm, thought we did good by getting there early, and it was standing room only! So many people!!!!
{this was our view - we're standing behind the chairs - and this is only about 1/3 of the people!}
{my camera didn't like how far away she was!}
{Mike is the bald one :) the other man is her husband, Marlboro Man}
{that is Darren's name she's writing - obviously Darren was taking the pictures!}
{the beautiful, Ree with Braden (she asked if he'd sit in her lap and he was more than willing! flirt.), Hailee (wearing the shirt they gave out), and me}if you do - then you'll appreciate and understand my kids on Halloween!!
My family is going to be in Seattle for Christmas. We'll be visiting our entire extended family - 2 weeks and 4 houses. I think every house we go to should serve these because they love us so much.
Stuffed mushrooms with Brie
don't you agree???
sorry it's been so long since I've blogged - I do have camping pictures to share as well as Halloween - give me a few days. I'm sick. AGAIN. and have no energy to do something that requires brain power.
I'm out in the woods, enjoying time with my family with no phone. no computer. no work. no nothing - and I'm sure I'm loving it!
I scheduled this post for today since it's featured on the UYS blog - the challenge is to use scallops, stripes, and hand journal - LOVED this challenge!!!
{Collage Press paper, Core'dination Cardstock, American Crafts thickers, Heidi Swapp hearts, Donna Downey tag, lace, Maya Road pompom ribbon}I love how sometimes a layout comes together so quickly - this one did. Thanks Kimmie for the Autumn Splendor - you knew I wanted it and I loved using it for this layout!
created for a challenge over at SAL - check them out!
the ham of a boy. the picture perfect girl. and the freaky eyed dogs in their camping coats :)
enjoy.
...come again another week!
we're supposed to be going camping Thursday. if it rains tomorrow then we won't get to leave until Friday - if it rains tomorrow AND Wednesday, we won't get to go because Darren won't have his work done! grrr! uggghhh! why THIS week does it have to rain? why is this years weather so out of whack that nothing can be predicted or planned???
but the weekend weather is going to be nice. who cares if we're not camping?????
see that ticker over there <---
yep - that's the one! wahoo! I am counting down the days until my family is in Seattle for the holidays! it will fun. chaotic. crazy. memorable. wonderful. and I can't wait!
but first up - my busy season kicks off on the 15th of this month when we go camping for 3 nights. then I have my 13th wedding anniversary to try to make romantic with a man who really thinks anniversaries and holidays are just a way for retailers to make money LOL. then we have Halloween. next after that we have Thanksgiving and Darren's parents will be here to celebrate with us! THEN I can focus on Christmas!
so yep - busy busy for me for the rest of the year. I love it. now to keep those holiday pounds off at the same time. sigh.
seriously. what do they put in these things? I am addicted to them and bought a 4lb tub from Sam's club. Is there a 12 step program? Is there at least one health benefit to make me feel better? Could this be why I'm at a plateau on the weight loss?
HELP ME I CAN'T STOP EATING THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
lol
