Thankful Thursday...

So much as happened to our family in the past month. Seriously,  I have been focusing on the bad things, and not on our daily blessings. Today I want to "turn my lemons into lemonade!!" ;-)

**I am thankful that Hailey did not need surgery on her elbow. The doctor said everything is healing beautifully.  AND, the cast has not slowed her down much. She can still even write with the cast one. =)

**We have a nice warm home!! We are sheltered from the cold and snow!!

** Hubby found out a couple of weeks ago that he is a diabetic. We have seriously changed our eating habits, and by the Grace of God he is off the meds already. AND, we have both lost some weight- that is a very good thing!! ;-)

** Hailey's ear drum that ruptured just before Christmas is almost completely healed. :-)

** We found out last week that hubby will be working on a HUGE project at work. The good thing about that is there is now more security in his position. :-)

**Hunter can now see better and has less eye strain now that he has glasses. :-) AND, he looks so cute (and older) in them.

** Hubby was able to work on my dryer, and it is working much better now! :-)

** Yesterday marked our 9th Wedding Anniversary. I am thankful God had a plan for our lives and brought us together! :-)

**I am thankful for the girls I get to work with at church. Man, I love those kids!! I am so proud of them!! :-)

I think I need to have "Thankful Thursday" more often, I feel better already!! LOL

So, what are you thankful for today?
Until later~

I love this Owl!!

This is the funniest owl I have ever see, and believe you me I have seen plenty of owls!! After all, several years ago I did collect owls. =) I think he looks like he partayed too hard, was up to late, or maybe he got zap in the power lines... any way, he looks like he has seen better days.
This month we used the "Tattered Rag" technique. This technique helps to give your images the look of having texture.

Can you see the "texture" on the owl? We used the Colorless Blender Solution on fabric to achieve that look.

 I think the googly eyes are perfect for this image.LOL See, isn't he the funniest owl ever?

 

I inked my circle so it looks like the moon.=) The Brown shape under the circle is so cool, it is a pair of brackets and a circle welded together and cut with the Cricut. No googly eyes on this one. The dew drops were customized with Copic Markers.

A tiny Cabbage Rose was added to this card. I love the way the image was cut out on this one. (An oval and rectangle welded together and cut with the Cricut.)

I really hope this cute little guy put a smile on your face,

Thanks for stopping by!!

Until later~

Paper flowers

I was very blessed to have taken a paper flowers class over the weekend. I have been wanting to try some of those beautiful paper flowers I have seen popping up all over the World Wide Web!! =)     Karrie is an excellent teacher, she makes everything look so darn easy!! LOL
Here are my flowers:

We used a variety of materials for our flowers... cardstock, pages from a book, nylon, designer paper, coffee filters and tiny flat paper flowers.

This is my cabbage rose, I am going to be working on this one some more. I think I need a little practice on this one. ;-)

 

Pages from an old book

Nylon fabric

Border punch, paper crimper and designer paper.

Coffee Filter.

Small flat paper flowers turned 3D.

Not only will these make lovely accents on my scrapbook pages and cards, but also on all sorts of handmade items. (Wouldn't the nylon flowers look beautiful on a sweater, or as a hair accessory?)

Thanks for stopping by!!

Until later~

Valentine Banner

Long, long before I started scrapbooking and cardmaking I was a crafter. I have dabbled in a lot of different crafts. I just really enjoy making things... all kinds of things!! :-) For the past couple of years I have stuck to papercrafting, but 2011 is the year I "dabble" into all things crafty again!! LOL
 Not only do I love crafting but I love decorating our home. (Useless info- I took a couple of Interior Design classes. I would like to take some more... one of these days!!) So, this is the year to mix the two. LOL I am starting out with this "Love" banner for Valentine's day. 

 As you can see, it is pretty long, so it is hard to photograph.

Here you can see the pretty papers I used, My Mind's Eye's Love Nest Glittered paper. I used my Gypsy to manipulate all of my layers. (By "unlinking" my images I can adjust the Height and Width separately.) And by using the Gypsy I could size all of my layers perfectly before cutting them out with my Cricut. (I used a bracket shaped for 2 layers, a scalloped oval, plain oval, letters from the Storybook cartridge and a heart in 2 sizes.)
 I used eyelash fiber to tie my "flags" together and and then I used  grosgrain ribbon on the ends. All layers were inked with Vintage Photo and the scalloped ovals and hearts are pop dotted.
Thanks for stopping by!!
Until later~

Bow Hunters

 First off let me apologize for my photo being wonky!! Sorry about that, but if you tilt your head slightly it doesn't look so bad. LOL Can you believe these pictures were taken in July of 2008??!!  My husband was a part of a bow hunting league and one evening we decided to take the kids down to the club gounds for a little shooting. Hunter was bored after shooting the target once!! Hailey missed the target and shot her arrow into the parking lot. LOL  (By the way if you would like to see Hailey in action check out this youtube clip-> HERE) I still laugh every time I see that clip!!

This is another layout using the Max & Whiskers collection from Basic Grey. I love when I can get a lot of pictures on a layout, here I was able to get 7!! The journal is computer generated using a 'typewriter-ish" font.

See that chipboard banner? That is why this kit had been not been used soon. (This was the kit for August!!) The pennants are painted black, for some reason I was nervous to paint them. Crazy, right?! (Okay, now that I know how paint works on chipboard I have no fear!! LOL) I used a black paper twine to string my banner. (I like how the little knots look. After i pulled the twine through the pennant I tied a little knot and then threaded the twine back through the same hole. I guess it is a papercrafting version of the French knot. LOL) Again I used the 'paper hoarders" method of using designer paper, lots of designs but in small amounts. =)

 Thanks for stopping by!!
Until later~

The Crew

Here in Columbus we have a professional Soccer team- the Columbus Crew. Well, can you imagine Hunter's excitement when he found out that his soccer team was "The Crew." Their colors were black and white, those little ones looked so sharp out on the field!! And even though score was not kept for his team (because they are only 4 and 5 years old) The Crew was undefeated!!
This is a layout using his "official" soccer picture and the team picture. (I am only showing Hunter's face because... well, I am his mom, and I say it's okay. LOL)

The papers are from the Basic Grey- Max & Whiskers collection. (This was the August kit of the month from Pizazz It! Scrapbooks. Yes, I had been holding on to it. LOL) The faux scallop along the curved edge of the dotted layer was done using 1" circles punched from various paper scraps from the collection. I used alphabet stickers for the title.
 I made this layout 12x12, I have a ton of photos from soccer season that I plan to put into a mini album.
Hunter was very happy when I showed him this finished page.
 I do have another layout (a double page) using this same collection to share next time.
Thanks for stopping by!!
Until next time~

Flower Soft

I got to use Flower Soft for the first time in December. I will tell you, I am seriously in like with this super cool product. The bottle holds a TON of this stuff. (Well, not really a ton, but don't let the size of the bottle fool you.) I used the Polar White for some "snow."

Here are the cards from the local Copic Card Class in December. 

(I love this class, not only do we learn cool techniques with Copic Markers, but we always use beautiful paper and play with some of the newest products.)

With the Copic markers you can always make coordinating embellishments. The ribbon began as white, but was colored with Copics. (The ribbon had a little more "body" to it after being colored with the Copics. It makes it easier for me to tie into bows. And the maker colors both sides at one time without leaving any streaks or bleeding.)

Two of my favorite things used together- Copics and the Cricut (used to cut the branches.)

A close up of the "snow." 

Did you noticed the tiny little gem eyes? (Yes, you can color those too!!)

Until later~

Happy New Year!!

Blessings to you in 2011!!

Until later~