Welcome

I'm going to an adoption shower next week for a crafting friend who is adopting a 3 year old girl from Ukraine. She had no idea how old the child would be or the sex of the child or how many children she would get when she left the US. So, she needs everything. This stamp is one of my favorites and I thought it was appropriate for this occasion. I think this may be a Sugar Nellie stamp but I can't remember. I don't label all my stamps - too much work and I'd rather just stamp and not worry so much about the company name etc etc. I've used this stamp many times so you can scroll back and probably find the company that makes it if you wish. I'm a bit short on time this week with my daughter and her husband here for the holidays. They left for the afternoon so I am getting to sneak into my hide-out and play a bit! The papers are Indian Summer by BasicGrey. Hope you have a wonderful week and enjoy your Thanksgiving Celebration!

Snowmen Cards

I found the cutest little snowmen stamps at my favorite local stamp store and I honestly did not need them but HAD to have them! You know how that goes with this hobby. I have all my holiday cards done early early this year....and after I send them out, I will post them and you will see why I have them done early! This is truly not normal for me!!! ANYWAYS...these stamps are by Stampendous and stamp beautifully. I'm really not a clear stamp lover as the stamp images are not always sharp even after sanding. But, these were outstanding! I just stamped and added a bit of color to them with my Copics. A few cards were embossed. They were all cut with circle punches. They went together rather quickly considering I made 24 of them. I will put them in the clear gift boxes with a ribbon. Have a great week! The holidays are creeping up really really fast so watch out!!!

My Birdhouse Quilt

OK...for you stampers...I promise I will get back to some stamped things with my next posting. I've just had so many other projects going on and wanted to put them on here as well since many of you are are sewers and crafters.
SO...this is my quilt that I have been working on since February. It was lots of work but all in all, it really wasn't too bad for a non-quilter. I did lots of applique work in my days of sewing little girls clothes so this was easy peasy. There are quite a few embellishments on it - just like in papercrafting! There are buttons, snaps, and some embroidery. I sent the quilt to my expert longarm quilter to truly make the quilt come alive. It's just so amazing what happens when it is quilted! And she does an awesome job so I am more than happy to send my quilts to her. Let me know if you need an expert to quilt your next project!
Have a great week and I hope to be back tomorrow with a few xmas tags/cards.

Nativity Scene

I made this Nativity scene last night and finished some detail work on it this morning. I saw a class for something similar and couldn't make it to the class so I came up with my own version of it. I had a quilting book for a Nativity Quilt - another project on my list - so I used the applique patterns from it to make this. The chipboard is the 7 Gypsies, Home Sweet Home set. I covered the fronts and the backs of the chipboard with various papers. Then I glued the pieces together. I added some white fuzzies to the sheep for more dimension. I embellished the camel and the angel. The rest was pretty simple cut and glue - yes, it was a bit time consuming too! I punched holes with one of my hole tools and then threaded ribbon to tie them all together. I love how it turned out!
I hope to get pictures of my latest quilt to you tomorrow. It is a work of art. I'm becoming a lover of quilt arts! (thanks to my friend Cathy!!!) I've sewn everything most of my life but never quilts. Almost every stitch of clothing my daughter wore up until about age 10 was handmade. That was the only way we could afford the quality of clothing that I wanted on a military income. She was always the best dressed kid around. Now that my kids are gone and I'm not devoting all my time to them, I can do some things for myself. So, I will show you my latest creation tomorrow!
Have a wonderful weekend!

Thanksgiving Table Favors

Here is a quick and easy table decoration to put on each place setting. I had to have something quick so this worked well. I found these glittery acorns at the "M" store. I also found the felt sticker leaves there. I just glued the acorns together and stuck the leaves on. I added some twine and a bow. The die cut is by Waltzingmouse Stamps and the sentiment is by Stampabilities. I may add a harvest button to the center of each bow. These are pretty big - maybe 6 inches tall!!! Have a great day!

Thanksgiving Recipes

This is a little book I made today with some of my family recipes that I have been using for over 30 years and also a recipe from my Great Great Grandpa. His recipe for Oyster Dressing has been in the family for over 100 years and everyone uses it. It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without his dressing. So, I made this cute book with the history of all my holiday recipes. Tomorrow I will show you my table place settings for Thanksgiving since we won't be going to Colorado this year. It's the first time in over 12 years that we have been able to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas on the actual day! My husband is a pilot so he works EVERY holiday. His broken back is the reason he will be home this year!!! Have a great day!

A Doggie Christmas Gift

It's so good to be back on my blog. It's been a tough tough week. My husband fell 20 feet from a ladder while trimming a palm tree on Saturday and landed flat on his back. He has 5 breaks in his back and a broken finger. All are very serious breaks but no surgery is required so that was good. He has a long road to recovery though and can't do anything for a minimum of 6 weeks. It could be up to 3 months to heal! He is home now and doing extremely well. They brought his new body cast today. He can take it off when he sleeps but otherwise he keeps it on. This is one time when I wish I had a little kid around the house to pick up all the things he drops or forgets to bring with him before he sits down. It's a full-time job just keeping up with the stuff he drops!!! Of course he can't dress himself either so I feel like I have a monster toddler in the house!!!
So...I came upstairs to work on my blog and thought the phone might stop ringing for 5 minutes...well, it didn't. This entry has been in the works for the past 1 1/2 hours and it's something I made months ago!!! My tv show comes on in 15 minutes so I'm running out of time!!! I honestly "planned" to do a card. That hasn't happened and won't happen!!! But, here is a gift set for a doggie. It's just too too cute, isn't it? The jar was purchased at Hobby Lobby and I made the paw prints and lettering with my Silhouette and black vinyl. I honestly can't tell you who makes the papers as I've had this made for a few months and never got it put on my blog because it was supposed to be in a magazine and somehow it never made it. They swapped it out for another of my submissions so that is good but I really like this set better. Oh well!
I hope to be back again soon but my life has been turned upside down for the time being so I just never know what I will be doing next. Have a great week!

A cupcake birthday

Hope you are having a great day! This is a birthday card for my niece. She is a tomboy so it is really difficult to come up with something for her. I think she is 9 years old so hopefully things will change soon for her. I hope she likes this card! I cased it (with lots of changes) from a new book called "Fun Folds". It has lots of great card ideas in it and this just looked like it would be perfect for her. I think the stamps are from Inkadinkado. It's a cupcake set.
If you get "Through the Craftroom Door", check out page 6! I have a gift set published and it's a quick and easy project. Unfortunately I can not put it on my blog for 2 months so you will have to wait awhile to see it.
Have a crafty day!

Sympathy Card

I'm back after a few days off. We had vacation last week and kept busy with projects around the house as well as "dreaming" about another move! We have always wanted to return to Colorado to retire and with Bill's earning years diminishing...we are thinking more seriously about it. So, I've spent way too much time on the computer lately - house hunting.
This was a really hard card to make. My absolute favorite papercrafter's husband died on Halloween evening. I have been following Becca's blog almost from the beginning and am always so amazed at what she comes up with. I feel like I know her so it was so heartbreaking to hear the sad news. My heart and prayers go out to her and her family during this very difficult time.
This is my card for her. It's a navy blue paper that is showing up as black. Everything is navy and white. The stamp is by Hero Arts and I put pearls in the centers of all the flowers. The white background is an embossing folder. The tag is a Spellbinders tag that I have stamped with a sentiment by My Sentiments Exactly. I have also shown the inside of the card with the second half of the verse.
I have so many things I want to get started on for the holidays...and I'm not sure where my time disappears to each day! Hopefully I can get back into the swing of things before the holidays are over!!! Have a great week!