A fun Monday!

My stampin friend Paula (www.prbloom.typepad.com/my_weblog) came over today for coffee - she just bought a bunch of new hanna stamps - and made the most adorable cards (gotta have 'em!). She gave me some "photographing" tips so maybe we'll see a change for the better in my future pictures! It made for a lovely morning! The kids and I spent the afternoon at the waterpark here, which we all love! Happy Birthday to Emma - we celebrated her birthday there and her and Hannah are the best of friends - and so cute together!

Here's a card I made for my daughter's friends birthday. I used the Numbers CB folder, and used dazzling diamonds on the age (5). The set is the new one from MFT - Here's the Scoop. I of course used my copics! I wanted to use some crystal effects, but for the life of me, I can't seem to find it! I ordered some more, so until then I just used some stickles.

Check back for another card I made using this set - I'd post it tonight but there's something I wanted to try that Paula suggested - we'll see what a difference it makes!

Gone Fishin'

Although I'm not a fisher-woman, wouldn't it be nice to just escape for awhile? It seems like it's just crazy all the time. I do love the Rileys and did you see the new Hanna release "things riley would say?" I think I thought that a set like that would be great - and here it is! It's on my big wish list that I have...

And I thought I'd finish with pictures of what I deal with all day! The funny part is, when I look at the pictures, they make me laugh...so I guess for all the craziness, in the end, I wouldn't change it for the world (and yes, Isaac is missing - he's so busy nowadays that he doesn't stay in one place for long!).

Friends

I'm feeling a little low in the energy department today. Maybe it's this heat! Anyways - I'm sharing tonight a wonderful gift from a friend. I remember a quote I read once - "blessed are the children of quiltmakers, as they shall inherit the quilts." The bad thing when you're "crafty" - it doesn't seem like you get the crafty gifts made by others. This bag was made for me by my wonderful friend Gretchen (http://www.in2stamping.blogspot.com/). She used one of my favorite collections 'freshly squeezed' and look at the wonderful bag! LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT! She even started to like the material (she's not a yellow and orange person) - and I think she's making herself one! Isn't it wonderful? I am thrilled to have it! Now what to use it for - I don't want to use it for anything kid related because it's MINE! Thank you Gretchen - you're a dear and wonderful friend!

A Customer at last!

I received an email last week, wanting to know if I could make a Dr. Suess themed birthday invite. I was a little worried about what I'd do, but I started playing, and LOVE LOVE LOVE the results. I used the nestabilities and it really brought the whole thing together. When I first read the email, I immediately thought of a book. So I wanted to make an invite resembling a book. I went looking for a Dr. Suess image - and although copying off of the internet gives poor quality, my handy dandy copics made it all ok. Have I said that I LOVE those copics?! I am proud of the end of result! I hope my "customer" likes them!

My oldest two started a summer camp today. It was the first time my 3 year old has been left like that. Last night we talked about making sure to listen to the teacher, if he has to potty to ask and not go in his pants, etc. etc. I figured it would be good since he'd be there with his older sister who sort of knows the ropes. We got to the school, and Joseph walks in and says "hi teacher, my name is Joe and I'm three." He then put his lunch in a cubby, and said "bye mommy, I love you!" with a big smile on his face as he walked with the teacher inside the room. As I was walking back to the car, I started to cry. I was totally not expecting that, but I guess it shows how much those little people are tied to our hearts. Of course, they both had a fun day!

Thanks for looking!

Friday at last

I'm not sure why I care that it's Friday - my weekends aren't "free time" from a work week. One of those stay-at-home mom things - it's 24/7...ALL THE TIME! I was proud of my two oldest kiddos - they've been timid to go under water. We went in the blow up pool in our backyard today and they were going nuts diving under water. Maybe their next round of swimming lessons will get them real close to swimming.

I'm sharing a bunch of cards using a My Favorite Things stamp set Rain or Shine. These headless gals are growing on me. I love this set, along with the sentiments. I paper pieced the raincoat, boots, and dog's sweater. Adorable! And I used the pin dot cb folder - that always adds the right touch!

Only three days left of my 21 day detox diet...I'm only two pounds away from my wedding day weight. I'm going to have to stop wearing my wedding rings as they are falling off way too easy now! The only bad thing with all this is that all my clothes, even my swim suit, are too big. I can't afford my hobbies, and a new wardrobe! But I guess there are worse things to complain about!

Thanks for looking!

A Notre Dame Scrapbook

I made the Notre Dame themed scrapbook last night and today. I think whoever gets this will be lucky - the end result is great. It's hard to photograph a scrapbook but I thought I'd share a few images.

A little surgical update - Jacob's surgery went well. He did not have to have his adenoids out which makes recovery a breeze. The nurses all fell in love with him and talked about how beautiful he is...and he ate it up!

I'm almost through day 16 of my 21 day detox. It's scarey and amazing how much better you feel by not eating the junk we normally do. I am tired of salad, carots, and apples, but the scale shows I'm only a couple pounds away from my wedding day weight - yeah!!!

Thanks for looking!

Go Irish!

My husband asked if I could make a Notre Dame themed scrapbook and baby quilt for their upcoming Kick-off party. I finished the quilt and I really like the way it turned out. It's hard to come up with retail prices on these things...there's a lot of different materials used, and I used the more expensive stuff. Then there's the thread, batting, and quilting. In the end, a quilt like this is up near 200$ when all is said and done. But I think it's definitely worth it and I hope it makes a lot of money for their scholarship drive. The scrapbook is still a work in progress but will get done in the coming week.

That gets me to thinking - how can you make some extra money doing all these hobbies? I've tried etsy for a few of my items and am debating about doing some cards over there. I wonder if people just don't realize the cost it takes to make things (yes, you can get a quilt in the store for cheaper but the quality isn't near what this is). So, does ebay work, or are people, especially in this day and age, just trying to find a deal? If that's the case, my hobbies are definately not a good idea for making any money!