Yippee!

I won! I haven't had any time to use my limited digital scrapbooking/photoshop skills lately...but I have a prize that might motivate me.

On this amazing blog, which I go to often for inspiration and to see what's happening,
Emily Giovanni is celebrating her blogaversary. I ended up winning one of the prizes- a gift certificate for some digital goodies...what a great Christmas present! Go check out her blog if you have a chance!

Have a great day- I'll see if I can whip something up with my new goodies!

Some Thanksgiving cards

I had a little bit of extra time on my hands so I had to stamp. I cased one layout from the SU! mini that has this stamp set in it, "Season of Friendship", which I had to have because of it's versatility. The other card has the same colors in it, and is basically the same. All supplies are Stampin' Up, except the brown ribbon in the first one- can't remember the brand name, but I purchased it at the LSS.

Stamps: Season of Friendship (holiday mini catalog), Enjoy Every Moment; cardstock: more mustard, really rust, chocolate chip, whisper white; Autumn Vine designer paper; ink: more mustard, really rust, chocolate chip; other accessories: scallop edge punch, gold brad, pumpkin pie grosgrain.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family in the area. Great food and fellowship- I couldn't ask for anything more. Well, maybe another day or two of vacation with the boys and hubby...I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving as well. When I stop and reflect on life, I find I have many things to be thankful for. When I do this, it helps me have a more appreciative attitude which in turn spills over into my outlook on life and how I treat others or react in various situations. So, I want to keep this mindset as I'm out and about during this Christmas season.

Have a nice week, and thanks for stopping in!

Is it really November?

Where, oh where does the time go? Our 4 boys keep growing, and it seems to be going by so fast. This fall has been very busy with school, soccer and not much else. I haven't been taking pictures to document what we've been doing during these last weeks- that needs to change.
As some of you may know, soccer is my FAVORITE sport, so to see the boys doing well and enjoying the game makes me very excited. I should try and get some photos of them in action. Son #1 was playing in a recreational league and did an outstanding job on Saturday in their tournament. His team took first place- it was a very exciting game. The other 3 also had games- one win, one tie and one loss. They all played well, had fun and demonstrated good sportsmanship.

I must add that the kids are doing very well in school. They're all pretty motivated to get their school work done in class when the teacher gives them the opportunity. If not, they finish it shortly after getting home. The evenings have been busy with soccer practice so they know the "work now, play later" mantra is a good thing. When one is at practice, the others come along and can play football or run around, or something else that catches their eye.


Not much time to stamp these days...I did manage to squeak a quick one in for a friend. All SU stuff. This is my therapy!

Family outing

It's been so crazy around here. Our 4 boys are back at it with school and sports. I've been subbing at different schools in the nurse's office, which I really enjoy. It affects us though as my time and energy are spent elsewhere...

We recently drove up to a resevoir named Millerton Lake and had some simple fun. The boys have always loved to dig in and build something in the sand no matter what body of water we're around. It was a gorgeous day, and very relaxing. I had to keep my shoes on because I HATE trying to get my feet clean and dry to put on my socks and shoes. Even with flip flops it's a challenge to get the sand out. I don't like my feet dirty...can anyone relate?

Here's a card from a while ago. The images are from a retired SU! set. I don't remember any of the details regarding supplies except word window punch, kraft cardstock, close to cocoa ink...um, that's all this brain can dig up! I have loved this set for both boy and girl themed cards. And yes, girls can like frogs! ;-)

Thanks for stopping by.

Puppy update

A quick update on "Crumpet". Also known as "Pumpkin", "Biscuit" and "Puppy". After posting signs in the neighborhood with no response, calling the local shelters, vets and SPCA to check if anyone is missing this puppy, we ended up taking her to a shelter. The man who took her in said she looked like a purebred Rottweiler. My question was "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" He responded that being a puppy is always good- they get adopted all the time. And being a purebred is good too. My concern was her well-being, and that's why we decided to give her to the shelter. I needed to be realistic about the time and energy it would take to have another big dog here. The organization was pretty sure she'd get adopted, especially with her great disposition and good behavior. I'll be checking up on her online to see when she gets adopted!

Found: smart, cute puppy. Call to claim

She is really a sweetie! Very smart and well behaved. Where'd she come from you ask? My husband and I walk in the mornings- for our health and our dog's. This morning a college-aged gal was standing in her driveway across the street from where we were walking, talking on her phone with a puppy at her feet. She hollered to us, asking if we'd ever seen this dog before. No sooner than she said that, the pup was on her way over to us, or rather, to our dog. After the initial greeting the dogs gave to each other, seriously about 10 seconds, the girl was gone. Huh? Husband says "C'mon, lets go..." What do I do with this puppy? She has no collar. We're at the beginning of our walk and I only have one poop bag...Do we go back home? Go knock on her door? She obviously is not a dog person! Fast forward to right now. Puppy- whose name is now "Crumpet" is out front in our gated courtyard after a full day of playing with kids and her new 90 lb friend (our dog). She looks like a lab/rottweiler mix and I'm guessing about 3 months old- maybe? We'll be putting signs up around the neighborhood on Tuesday, taking her to a vet that can check for a microchip, and hoping for a happy reunion very soon.

This next picture is a bit blurry, but it reminded me of those toy stuffed dogs with the big noses- do you remember them? They included many of the popular breeds. A retail store where I worked long, long ago carried them, so I bought a few for my kids- using my employee discount of course. She sure is cute, isn't she?
Have a nice day! Peggy

Finally, a card! And some sewing...

It's been busy, busy, busy around here with a "cram the last fun stuff in before school starts" chaos. But I did manage to stamp a bit. This card uses SU stuff- I'll list specifics at the end. I made 2 versions, this one and one with a zig zag stitch- just for variety. A close relative is getting baptized so this card is for the special day.

Stuff I used:

cardstock: whisper white, so saffron, mellow moss

ink: so saffron, mellow moss

stamps: refuge and strength

accessories: mellow moss taffeta, marvy scallop punch, sewing machine

We have some birthdays to celebrate this coming week. My husband has a niece and nephew that are both married and have kids. So the birthdays are for his great-nephew and great-niece. I was inspired by Nichole Heady's post on fabric purse construction on her blog. Since I also look for excuses to sew (just like stamping!) I thought that a book tote would be perfect for these budding readers (ages 3 and 2). I simply changed the measurements to make the totes a bit larger for books (I started with fabric 14" wide by 24" long) and made the straps from the fabric, otherwise it's exactly the same. Nichole's instructions are clear and simple, plus her photos are very helpful. If you have ever wanted to make a simple gift, this is a good choice. Her project is ideal because it combines sewing AND stamping!! It doesn't get any better than that! Here's her blog:

http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/

Look under her list of tutorials for fabric purse construction

She has lots of other very inspiring things to look at too.

The book is one of all the kids' all-time favorites. It was one that my mother-in-law read to my husband when he was a boy- it's a great story for counting, and a few laughs. I recommend it!
Thanks for stopping by!