Knave of Hearts and Sweet Shoppe

Knave of Hearts

Sweet Shoppe

Oooooo.....look at all the Collage Press goodness!! Yum!! Have you ever seen anything like it? I haven't! I just had to post the images (next best thing to seein' them in real life!) I absolutely cannot wait to start playing with these pattern papers!! I think these will end up being my favorite lines by far. Look at those journaling tags. Too much fun!!

It's been a very busy weekend and last few days. Our days have been full of basketball, winter carnivals and bunk bed shopping!!

Ah, yes....to bunk or not to bunk. That is the question we have been throwing around for about a year. (the girls would say 2 years for sure!) Have you been in these shoes before?? Do we go with the metal white ones? Do we go with the very sturdy, very expensive wood ones that are way out of our budget right now??? (really not an option.) Or do we go with the wood ones that are maybe not built to last for hundreds of years but are more in our range? My Dad used to tell us growing up 'always go with the middle of the road.' I think this might apply to this situation??? LOL! I know we'll get it all sorted out and when we do, the girls will be so absolutely elated! Kelsey's birthday is near the end of this month so I'm hoping to have something big and white to surprise her with. It's all she wants. A bed?? Strange, but true!! I'll update when ever we figure it out.

I've subbing for seventh graders....'nuf said. I'm having a day of rest today. LOL!! Kelsey's busy painting away right now. The creative juices just never end! Maybe I'll get some crafty time in during the next few days and then I'll actually have a project to share.

Hope the son is shining in on your Wednesday!

Spellbinders and Collage Press (NEW RELEASE TODAY!)

I'm off to work again tomorrow but I had to just share my news real quick. I made the Spellbinders Design Team!! I'm completely beyond thrilled and I can't wait to start playing with some of the new die cuts and templates that they make. Here is a layout that I created with the Butterfly Reflections Template and the Classic Scalloped Heart Template. Fun stuff!!

I also wanted to share the layout I created for the Collage Press this month. I've wanted to scrap this photo of Kelsey for a couple months and I finally had the perfect paper for it!! I used the Citrus line and the Fresh line. Perfect combination for this layout. Some other exciting news, Collage Press is releasing two new lines today! All the images will be posted on the Collage Press site and they are even starting orders starting today. LOVE these new releases!!

Well, I'm off to teach Ashley's class again. That is seriously the most rewarding and favorite place to sub. It's great being her teacher but it's more than that. The class is full of really great kids and I guess because I know them so well, we just really have a lot of fun. Also, first grade is what I used to teach so I think it's just my favorite grade.

We have our big winter carnival this weekend so after basketball, the family will be heading over their for some booth time and fun.

Thanks for letting me share the good news.

I hope and pray you have a fabulous weekend!!

Cards for Heroes and my Jillibean Soup!

I wanted to share a quick layout that I did yesterday using some more of my jillibean soup goodies. Yum!

Also, the photos from our Fiskateer and Cards for Heroes night. These are just a few shots to give you a taste of the great fun we had!! We ended up making quite a stack of cards and there was also some serious inspiration going on for those who were 'newer' to card making. It was a great crop for a great cause.

There were some seriously happy Fiskateers there!!

This is a photo of our 'cheers to fiskateers' glass that we had at our 'mocktail' party in Anaheim. I had forgotten mine but Angela, Lead Fiskateer, was kind enough to send me some (along with a generous amount of goodies to use for our crop!) The fiskateers had a chance to guess the number of buttons where in there for a chance at an awesome prize!!

I'm hoping to have some great things to share tomorrow.

Have a blessed Wednesday!

Yes....I"ve been quiet.

On Sunday, my computer powered down and would not power back on. I'm feeling so disconnected!!! Anyway, I haven't been able to update or get on line because of that until this weekend when I finally got my computer back. It seemed to take them forever to figure out what the problem was. But, we got it all fixed up and I'm back. Yay!!! Sorry you have waited so long for an update. For all those who visit regularly, if you choose to become a 'blog follower' or add yourself to the update list, then you will be notified when there is an update. So, crazy weeks like this one, you don't have to keep checking back!! Hopefully, my 'puter is just like new now and this won't happen again!!

It seems like I've been creating a lot of cards lately and no layouts. The truth is, I was hired to created 25 layouts and that's what I've been working on. Now I'm done....wahoo!!!!

I really do enjoy making cards though. It can be such a quick, rewarding outlet and then you have something to bless someone with!! Here is one I created this week and now that I see it on the screen, I think I might add more to it.

My girls have been busy crafting up a storm with my favorite new punch. Here is their first altered project. Pen holders!!!

I love the rawness of their creations. The pure joy that they expressed from creating their own altered item was priceless. Can you tell we are all having a lot of fun with this new border punch? They've actually since then created Disneyland 'savings' penny banks with Pringle cans to match these. I helped them a bit with those but they just had a blast!!

I just have so much to share from an entire week. I'll try to not make this the longest post in the world. I do have to share this with you though....
I was totally spoiled on Valentine's Day. Thank you honey!!! A.J. and Ashley were so cute too! They both made me a treasure hunt on Valentine's Day. I've done that for them on their birthdays but this is the first time they have made one for me. It was precious!

My sweet friend Christine has some exciting news. I've watched as she put the finishing touches on this amazing retreat house. You have to check it out and if you are looking for a place this spring, there is a great offer for the Grand opening. Click here to take a look!!

I have lots of photos to share from our Fiskateer and Cards for Hereos party so check back tomorrow!!

And now for the winner of the RAK....by Random Generator

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:30

Timestamp: 2009-02-23 07:11:20 UTC

Congrats Juliana!! Send me your addy and I'll get this out to you this week.

Thanks for stopping by my blog and have a fabulous Monday!

Happy Valentine's Day!!! (RAK!!)

I hope you are all having a wonderful Valentine's Day! We have spent the morning at the gym watching the kids play basketball. Love that!!

I have a big Valentine's RAK to give away. It is full of Alphabets (rub-on, cardstock and chipboard,) tags and shapes, beautiful flocked and some foil paper, stickers, raindots, brads, mirrors, flowers, and ribbon. Lots of good stuff! I would love all this to go to someone's home who would enjoy crafting with it. Leave a comment about why you love to scrapbook (paper craft,) and you'll be entired into a random drawing to win. You can click on the photo to make it bigger if you want to see a bigger image of it. This will be open for one week. Until next Saturday, Feb. 21st midnight (PST).

Have a fun weekend! And Happy Valentine's Day!

Are you ready for Valentines Day??

The kiddos are so excited. The anticipation for the sugar filled day is about all they can handle! LOL!

Just a quick card to share. I used CPS sketch 102 to inspire this one. They have lots of wonderful sponsors this week. If you haven't had the chance, check them out!! I used the new Fiskars Effervescence punch for this one. LOVE that punch!

Our party last night was a blast and have lots of photos to share later. I'm off to work today so this won't be a long post.

Have a wonderful Friday! Check back tomorrow for a V-Day give-a-way!

Have you ever been so excited, you just couldn't sleep??

Last night I could not go to sleep. I have several theories of why that might be.

Firstly, I found a very full happy box (actually 2!!) from Create My Keepsakes. Truth be told, I'm splitting the order with my dear friend Lucy but they were both so fun to get!! It honestly felt like Christmas and I can't wait to play.

Secondly, I had a third package on my step and it was my new book from Memory Makers!! This is the one that Jessica Acs put together and wanted to show you what it looks like (so you can keep an eye for it in stores of course. ;) At first, we were told there would be a bio and headshot of each of us in the book. That isn't the case but it's still fun to see my creations and cute lil' fam' between the covers of this book. It's a great book full of some neat ideas. I hope you get a chance to check it out!






















Thirdly, I got the most precious email from my Mother-in-law. It was truly the sweetess 'valentine' anyone could dream of. Her words meant more to me than she will ever know. What an encouragement. I'm so blessed.

Fourthly, I've been planning this big Fiskateer party for Thursday and I'm just so very excited about that I keep running through my mind all the things I want to do.....ah....'go to sleep!!'

And, the most exciting of all was this amazing email that I got. I keep checking my 'inbox' to see if it's really there and then pinching myself to make sure I'm not dreaming!! It was an email saying that I had made it as a finalist for the Spellbinder's Design Team!! They will be sending me some product and I will make something spectacular with it and then they decide who they want to keep for their 2009 team. You can read about it here.

Thanks for lettin me share. ;)

On a quiter note, today will not be filled with so much excitement.

This morning we woke up to find out that our youth leader is very, very ill. Bryce and his wife Kaylee had a baby not too long ago and I blogged about it so you may remember them. Anyway, he is in the hospital and definitely needs prayer. God is good, all the time and I believe that Bryce will pull through this stronger in the end.

Ashley is still quite sick too. She has slept all night and all morning. Waking up once to get sick. She has double ear infections and one has ruptured. She can't seem to kick the fever that she has had since Friday.

Kelsey is off to get her four year old shots today....she has determined that she is not going to attend preschool any more and she will just stay home with me for Kindergarten. THat way she can just avoid the shots all together. Wish me luck on this one!! LOL!

I love that even in the mist of difficult times, we can have the joy of the Lord and trust that He is in control. There is nothing quite like having that kind of peace.

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

A wee bit more of CHA....and some more cards!!

***Blogger does not like me today and is acting very strange. So sorry if the formatting turns out a wonky!!****

I'm still feeling pretty under the weather. Thus....all the cards. I can enjoy releasing some creativeness in the quick satisfaction of putting a card together with much less effort than doing a layout. Just not enough energy yet for that. And who wouldn't want to win this nice lil' pack of ribbon?? Yes, they are still celebrating over at PTInk and I'm still playing along. I don't have a lot of stamps and inks yet but I did stamp the letters. The challenge was to print out a dot to dot which was a sketch. Here is the card that I created.

I thought I'd also try out sketch 101 at Card Position System. These are the two I created using this sketch.

I don't always follow sketches to a 'T' but the idea of a sketch is to inspire you. So, here are the two I came up with using this sketch:

I wanted to share just a few more photos from CHA as well (saved the best for last!!) The Lead Fiskateers had 'Mocktail party' for those of us who were in Anaheim. Cheryl, Ang and Rebecca all had Disco theme and Wendy Jo had a 'sweets' theme. Each room had a fun make'n take and of course snacks, goodies and lots of friends! The leads really got 'into' it as you can see. They know how to make sure we are having a great time!!

Here's a shot of me and Ang. Then a group shot of the Fiskateers hangin' out and buliding make'n takes.

Here is Rebecca and Carmen 'gettin' into the groove.' Yes, Rebecca really dressed the part. The swirls on the sides of her cheek topped it off!!

And there's Steph, getting a sparkly pair of scissors painted on her face in the 'Diva Lounge!'

And Wendy Jo who hooked all us Chocolate lovers up with some Cheesecake from Cheesecake factory. YUM!!!

Did you figure out who this was in my earlier post?? Ha! It's our infamous, Cheryl herself!! You go girl!!

We did get a nice shot together without the 'wig!' I had the priviledge of spending a lot more time together than expected at CHA. What a gift from God!

Here are some more shots from the CHA floor....and some amazing creations from the Design Team that were on display.

And lastly (but not at least!!!) here are some photos of my Cherry girls from A Cherry On Top who got to hang out with the first few days. What a blast we had!!

Dan who??????????????????????? Newman?? Never heard of him!! LOL!! Poor, poor Kristin!!!!

The highlight of my trip was definitely getting to spend time with all my friends new and old alike. Can't wait 'til next year!!