What to do when its a weatherful day??

Why, make cards, build a fire and a cushion fort, of course! Its hard on all of us to be cooped up inside for all of these days with the frigid wind and the driving rain. Coming up with fresh ideas is the way to go, but its not always easy.

Whilst Noah slept, I took advantage of the time and made a card for the second November sketch challenge over on the Cute Critters Club. The image was from a swap I did months ago. Its a Penny Black image, though, I do not know the name. I used Stickles on the bubbles (okay, Lisa...YES, I am addicted too!). (Please excuse the upload. Not sure what is up with that?)

This Changito Thank U card is uber simple and made entirely out of K and Company double sided recycled paper. (go green!) The brads are also K and Company. The glitter glue is G Studios.

After Noah napped this morning, we decided to change his bed to a toddler bed....GULP...I am not convinced this is going to work, but we will never know if we don't try...I see some napless days in our future....but nevertheless, Noah is thrilled and I am sure he can't wait to sneak out of bed. DH figures we will find him curled up by his toys exhausted trying to sleep, lol! We shall see.

Daddy built a fire for us to get warm. He then built a fort out of the couch cusions for Noah. It cured the grumpies for awhile. Gave me time to organize some pics and type this out, anyway!

I made these two cards for another cute critter challenge the other day. The person who posts the most Christmas Cards wins. I am lagging behind, but hoping to catch up this weekend. I made the icecicles from a Dawn tutorial that I adapted for the items that I had available. I had no wax paper, but good ole Heather suggested an old cereal bag. I used Glossy Accents and glitter, let it dry and viola. Icecicles. I beleive that both images are from Stampin Up. They were also from a swap, so I am not sure of names. =0)

Deck the halls with boughs (sp?) of holly...

Thanks a LOT Heather! All I have DONE is think about Christmas for days! lol! The day you posted that Christmas Challenge over in CCC, I found myself humming Christmas songs while doing the dishes and had to chuckle. You did it! I was in the spirit!

First, though...I got the most SWEET RAK the other day from a good friend over on Cafe Mom, Toothy/Heather. All I can say is...THANK YOU! I have been borderline coveting (but not really cause I am a sweet Christian lady...lol) a ticket punch and stickles. Every Stickles order I was poised over the page going...I can order one or two..but never did. Just cause DH says you can does not mean you should. Needless to say, like most of America, money is tight, and not in that cool way, either. SO ANYWAY! Here is some of my AWESOME RAK!

The punch is a Stampin Up! ticket punch. LOVE it! So versitile, and until I had a good quality punch I had NO IDEA what I was missing! Also, a bottle of the most beautiful stickles in the world! I have used them on every card I have made recently! (all...2? lol) Also, beautiful dew drops, baubles...whatever they are. She sent some Riley images and other cute critters as well as some awesome Makin Memories paper. She also made the adorable card! Love that bella, right?

So with this awesome RAK I made this uber simple card the other night with Savvyshoppabella which I received in a splitcoaststampers swap recently. It was late, but I HAD to use some awesomness!

This morning I got cracking on some more simple Christmas cards. The first one is an image I received from a VERY good and VERY talented and VERY good friend of mine who shall remain namless in the name of finances! Just in case anyone flocks, lol! I used Stickles, (duh) and fake stickles on the garland and the ornaments. This paper was ALSO from my RAK.

The second card was also simple. I originally had the same image with stickles, but the ink was not dye based (swap image) and the ink RAN and it looked aweful so I removed it and replaced it. On this one I just used a Gelly Roll glitter pen.

On a final note, Fall is almost over! What happened? Summer to Winter! Hardly any Fall! Noah is finally getting over his fear of the leaves! (about time!) So I took advantage of that and let him run around while I tried to get some shots of him this morning. It was SO cold, though, so we came inside pretty quick. He told me, "hands COLD". Poor guy!

Its been too long!

I can't remember the last time I blogged (I guess I could just read it and find out, lol). To be honest, I let it slide cause I wasn't sure anyone was reading it. BUT I have made a few fun things that I would love to share with you.

I was cruising around on the internet looking for ideas for this CUTE changito image that I received from SammiK as a RAK. I found this super cute hot chocolate pouch. She didn't really give any instructions, so here are mine:

Cut a piece of cardstock to 5 1/2 x 10 (um...now I am not so sure....but I think that's right). Score at 7 1/2 and 3 3/4 inches. I used a plate to mae a curved edge on my flap. I just traced and cut. (ghetto? I think not!) Then I decorated it with some Rak'd cuttled paper and ribbon and such.

I made this card for a challenge over in the Cute Critter's Club the other week and I LOVE this little guy! I got him from Shemaine. It was an ADORABLE set with a hippo, and monkeys and a gater...I LOVE these guys! Its Close To My Heart. The paper is American Craft, which I LOVE because its doublesided and coordinates with itself.

A couple of weeks ago frdtrkgrl from over on Cafe Mom sent me this AWESOME Inkadinkadoo set of cupcakes that I am absolutely IN LOVE with! I have been ITCHING to use it and finally got my chance the other day and made this envelope card. I filled it with cupcake images and sent it to someone. (hope she likes!) I paper pieced the cupcake. I used K and Company paper. I have got to get another one of these stacks. I am in love with the paper and have used almost all of it!

I will leave you on a Fall Note. A couple of Sundays ago we went to the pumpkin patch and Noah had a blast! He asked me last week if we were going when I took him to the store. Poor thing! He wanted to go back! Yesterday, we (I) carved our pumpkin. I went with a non-scary, but kinda spooky theme. Noah would not go anywhere near that pumpkin and its slimy insides, LOL! Poor thing! I have him stickers and let him decorate a little one and he was happy with that. Maybe next year.

I love Fall!!!

Ahhh, what a nice change in the atmosphere! I love fall! Its sad that the plants are dieing, and I know I am going to be bored to death this winter, and am worried about keeping my toddler busy during the cold dreary days, but for now, I will enjoy Autumn. ::deeep breath:: ::exhale:: Ahhh...

Yesterday as my lil man was taking a MUCH needed nap after an overly eventful trip to church, I decided to scrap another page. I did a couple of simple, boring layouts the other day, but I was itching to use an idea that I found on splitcoaststampers. It was a cute little card with a paper pieced tree and some stitched clouds. So, by hand, FREE style, I cut out these clouds, tree and sunshine. The sunshine is cuttelbugged...swiss dots, I think. Heathermom8 sent me that paper. The word, sweet, is a chipboard work by K and Company, as is the blue paper. Anyway, I was not brave enough to pierce or sew, but I still think its a rockin layout!

Anyway, not much to share, but I hope you enjoyed anyway! Most of my posts end up too long due to lack of time...or laziness, whichever, lol! Today we are going to Honey Suckle Hill Pumpkin Farm. I am super excited. This is our second year going! Our first tradition! How fun! I will let you know how it goes!

Christmas and beyond.

Well, I officially started mass production of Christmas cards this week. I only have three...but eh, not bad, right? LOL! Good thing my list is not as long as some of you probably have. I am conserving money this year and just using images that people have sent me, so they will all be similar cards, but different. I received this "mice Star" image from someone in a swap awhile back. SO glad to finally use it. Perfect for a simple Christmas card.

The snowman image was also from a swap. Not sure who sent it or who makes the stamp. Still think hes a handsome snowman.

I bought my VERY FIRST Fluffles stamp this weekend and started on a notecard set. I need to make the other two. I have a feeling a lot of people are going to get notecards from me for Christmas. A mom on a budget, LOL!

This card is for a DEAR friend of mine who has been seriously ill for 3 solid weeks. She ended up in the hospital for gall bladder surgery. =0( So I am sending this to her to hopefully cheer her up. This image is "feelabella" and I received it from a sweetie over on Card Makin Mamas. Hegreene. THANK YOU! The prima flowers were a RAK from Razberrywhine. LOVE THEM!

Well? Not bad for it only being Wednesday. Noah has been a blast this week. He is learning more every day. Things seem to have leveled out here at home for the time being, other than Noahs potty training and toddler attitude, which, are just a normal part of parenting, so we are surviving it.

The weather has been warm on record levels here in TN, so we have been playing outside a lot. Its about to get chilly again. Just in time for the pumpkin farm this Sunday. I can't wait!

I also received a bit of good news on Sunday. A friend of mine from Highschool has been in the marines since he graduated, and he is getting out in 9 or 10 days and moving back here. I am SO glad that he is safe. While we aren't that close anymore, he was never far from my mind as he was in Iraq 3 or 4 tours. God Bless America and all of our young men and women who put aside the pettiness of life and defend our country with their lives.

Can't you just SMELL the cookies?

This has been such a NICE and relaxing week. ::sigh:: Such a nice change from the last couple of weeks. Time to make cards, time to enjoy my sweetie now that he is better, and time to just enjoy the fall.

Today I decided that we were going to make cookies. Noah LOVED it! He was SUCH an awesome helper! He must get his cooking gene from his Daddy. He did a great job dumping ingredients, and mixing. He was not thrilled with the gooey texture, so mommy finished up the cookies and actually baked them. I think his favorite part was a toss up between eating the M & M morsels and eating the finished cookies!

Noah is almost completly back on track with his potty training after being so sick. 3 days running he has stayed dry until around 6:30 pm, which, when he gets tired its hard for him to remember to tell me, but I think that's a HUGE victory for us! YAY!

I have also been uber busy making cards! YAY! I have missed creating. Most of them are pretty simple, but just haveing that outlet is good enough for me!

This card was made for a "Just because" kind of sketch over in the cute critters club on CM. I was inspired, but didn't use a cute critter. I honestly have NO clue where this cupcake image came from. It could be Razberrywhine...I don't really know. The paper is from K and Company.

These cards were made with images that I received from....a lady over on....CMMs....I think. It was either Toothy, or another lady. I submitted the pink one for our challenge this week which required paper piercing (not piecing, lol) and a season theme. I chose fall. Feeling it this week with the cool temps and low humidity. LOVING it!! The blue one was just cause. The paper was from Heathermom8 on CMMs. Not sure of the brand. I loved it, though.

THIS card was made for the Wednesday sketh challenge over on Cute Critters posted by Heathermom8. I received this set of images from Shoegal90045 (Shemaine) and the paper is from Heather (again, lol). I don't think I use anything of my own anymore! How bad is that? HA! I love image swapping! It saves so much time and money and I don't have to drag out as many supplies. YAY! Which means I can craft while little hands are "helping" without too much of a hassel.

Well? There you have it! Just another week in the day of a mama in love with her lil man and obsessed with paper and coloring! HAHAHA!

Busy, busy!

YAY! So we are finally well! Noah was released on Tuesday to return to normal oudoor, hyperactivities. YAY! Freedom! I swear he and I both were about to climb the walls!

The weather here has been bordering on wonderful. A couple of warm days, but for the most part, beautiful! Sunshine, crystal blue skies and a refreshing breeze. Ahhh....still warm enough for shorts and popsicles, though. =0) Noah's fave part of being outside other than swinging.

I had a picture to put in this slot, but apparently Blogger hates it, so just imagine my cutee eating an orange popsicle in his favorite Nemo shirt, lol!

Today we were outside and I thought it was time to start doing some projects with him during the week. He is learning is numbers. He has 1-5 perfect (most of the time, lol) and he is working on 6-10. Almost there~But I thought a learning art project would be fun too. This one started out as doing leaf rubbings, but Noah was unimpressed, so out came the glue and he made this leaf collage for Daddy. See his signature on the top?

I have been working on a few projects myself this week. I was thrilled to learn that I had won CMMs create your own sketch challenge, hosted by my trusty sidekick Razberrywhine (diane). Here is the sketch, and then the card that I created using it. I am not impressed completely...something is off, but eh, not bad for a late-night venture. The bella is called "Merry Bella" and I received her in one of the many swaps that I did recently. I cut the ovals and circles with my trusty cricut.

I made this cute lil Riley moose card with another image I received in the same swap mentioned above. Not sure what this cutee is called, and I know the card is simple but when you are mass producing Christmas Cards, simple is best IMO.

I made this House Mouse envelope card this morning for a swap in Heather's Cute Critter's Club. Hope whoever ends up with it loves it! I have stuffed it with goodies, and then added some papers for the large envie it takes to send these. Enjoy, whoever!! (we have not been assigned names yet). I received this image from a lady in CMMs...I think her name was Tracy...I am SO BAD...I can't rememeber...TOO MANY SWAPS!!!

So this weekend I am going to shoot a Women's Retreat for my conference. I am hoping these new batteries DH bought hold out. We have always used Sony batteries, and we just got some new ones, and the charger does not seem to be working so well...and not much life in the batteries...so cross everything you have for me! Hoping to get some good shots this weekend!!!

Just feelin crafty.

"Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas" (she says in mid September?)

My first crafty moment of the week came out of frustration for being OVER being sick. This has been a terrible cold. Noah has a cold AND walking pneumonia and seems to be hovering about the same still, but is loaded with energy. Mommy, on the other hand...is feeling the same as well as sleep deprived and weak and puny....hmmm....bad combo.

Anyway, Heather over on Cute Critters on Cafe Mom had a "TOP SECRET" challenge and sent the participants paper and images and embellishments, but no one knew what anyone else got. It was so fun! So, I finally broke down and said, "I AM going to make this card, puny or not!" Here was my outcome. It is a shaker card. I used transparency because I do not have acetate. The beads are clear/white and yellow stars to match the bear's stars. Thanks for the challenge Heather!

These next things are Christmas Gifts for my Aunt. She has been a nurse all of her adult life, so I hope she likes Nurse Nellie To The Rescue. (A Bella stamp, image compliments of JSPARA...I think). I made the notecard holder from a tutorial from Score It...Here is the link. The notecards I made as flat as I could to fit four, but really, it holds 2 comfortably. I think that the paper is American Craft. I could be mistaken. The multi colored paper was from Toothy, my last Secret Sis.

I also made this matching notebook for her.

And there you have it! Just a few things! I hope to do more today or this evening, but time will tell!

Trying new things

Well, yesterday I started a MySpace for my photography. I am also going to try and do some advertising on Craigslist. I am hoping to get some business to help pay for DH a new-to-us car. I am also selling my wedding dress if anyone is interested or knows someone who needs a size 2/4 dress! Still in style! Selling it cheap! DH is trying to sell his rappeling and climbing equipment. I am hoping and praying that someone wants it! We are also thinking we can get about 500 out of his car for parts and such. He is also going to cash out part of his PTO hours. Hopefully that will get us a decent vehicle downpayment.

I also have been working on getting to know the manual features on my camera. Until now I have shot strictly with the custom automatic features, but if I ever expect to upgrade and get a DSLR, I need to get to know what I am doing with these features. Here are a couple of practice shots. CC?

Sunday, I made a couple of cards as well as another altered notebook. The cards were made with Bella images that I received in a Splitcoaststampers swap. I LOVE them!

This first card is made with "Cruisahbella". I used Glassy Accents on the windshield and on the side of the car door. I used Crayola glitter glue on the flowers, and watercolor pencils to color the image itself.

The second card was made with "Snowbunny Bella." When I first saw this image the first thing I thought was, GLITTER!!! SHE NEEDS GLITTER! So glitter, I used! The bling-y flowers are from the JoAnns 1 dollar bin! The white fiber, from a long-ago swap.

This notebook was made for me to put my Splitcoaststampers ideas, my Dawn ideas and sketches down all in one place so that I am not at the mercy of a computer! I HATE being glued to this thing if I am trying to make a card. This is stamping bella, also from a splitcoast stampers swap. In this picture the notebook was not complete, just for the record.

I am hoping to get to the challenges over in Card Makin Mamas today. They are looking great. I got RAKd some BEAUTIFUL paper and flowers from Raz yesterday and I am thinking they would be GREAT for her sketch challenge. I am starting to get sick, though, and that usually zaps my crative mojo....::crosses fingers::

Blissfully Distracted

Well? What can I say? Life is FULL of surprises and distractions!

This last week I was in a grumpy mood, so I decided not to make you all suffer with my ramblings. The one thing that I WILL grouch about (okay, well, maybe a few things) is the gas prices. Seriously? The media needs to get ahold of themselves and shut their mouths. If it were not for the media speculating about gas shortages, we would not be in the mess we are in.

Here in Tennessee we went from like a 1 year low on gas prices (3.54 and cheaper in some places) to 4 bucks and up in just a few hours? Tell me that is not price gouging. People panicked and by yesterday evening we were completely out of gas in Hendersonville. The media drives people to be rediculous, and they must be stopped. I am very disappointed in our government officials that they allow that type of thing to happen. Yes, we have freedom of press, but we do NOT have the right to mess with people's heads and LIE...

Okay, that aside...DH's car is on its last leg and I am SO worried about money. We have never been in this position before...We are still paying off my car from 2 years ago when my other car was on the fritz and not worth fixing....still have 1500 to go on that one....at this rate we are never going to get a home of our own...much less a scrapbooking room, LOL~It is very heavy on DHs heart...he works so hard and has nothing to show for it that is his and it makes me sad for him. We are doing everything "right" and actually have NO debt other than my car, which was a loan to build credit, but its SO tempting to just go into debt....but then, not really.

Okay, onto more FUN things! This morning I was the lucky recipiant of a call from Heather (Toothy) from Cafe Mom and she said she was on her way down to my neck of the woods and wanted to meet up. WOOHOO! She and Jack safely arrived and we had so much fun chatting. I wish that I had more room in this stinkin house. It would have been great to get to carding, but we did stamp a bit. She is a sweetie and Noah and Jack actually got along really well. YAY! DH was a big help with the boys and we got to chat all afernoon! (Hope your DH doesn't notice the scratches on his car, Toothy! LOL)

While Toothy was on her way down I worked on this gift card holder for Elizabeth (Noah's little buddy) who is going to turn 2 soon. Since they moved away a gift card was def the way to go. I was not going to use this image, but the fairy was too large and didn't look good. Its simple, but hey! She's TWO, right? LOL! The image is Penny Black and I received it in a swap awhile ago. The paper is American Craft.


Last Thursday I did a photoshoot with a sweet lil man named Ethan. His mom and I (Kelly) are friends, and Noah LOVES Ethan to death. We wanted to do a shoot with them together....yeeeahh...Noah didn't cooperate so much...so here is my fave Ethan shot:

AND...the best of Noah???

Alright, and since I asked SO many stinking questions about the post it holders, here are the two that I did the other day. I am awaiting some images to do some others, but I really like the sunflower one, but not so much the hedgehog. It was not the right image for the colors and paper, but Terrfically Tacky lives up to its name, sooooo...yeah, LOL. Thanks for the advice and tips!