It's Quiet Here....

Travis went home on Monday, it's been quiet here. He won't be up this weekend, since after this week he will be here for the whole summer. I love it when he is here, the house is always a mess and there is always a ton of laundry to do, shoes to find, and a bike on the sidewalk.

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He decided that this summer he and my nephew Mark would go to Canoe camp at Camp Harmony. That should be quite fun! I imagine packing his things in nice little ziploc bags and I figure half will come home in those same bags unworn and the rest of his clothes will not be fit for anything but the trash can. LOL!! All in the name of fun! Hopefully this year his glasses won't be at the bottom of the dam, like they did last year. He is sooooo hard on glasses, about 2 pairs a year since he got his first pair.

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Nothing much else going on here. I have stopped the reorganization of my scrap space, since I am working on a special secret project at the moment and need to be able to work at my desk. I also halted the process until I get my paper racks from my Chicksa. I am not sure how I am going to use them yet, so I have to wait until I get them.

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Looking forward to a little scrapbook field trip in about a week as well! I can't wait to get together with the ladies again and also do a little retail therapy!

Take care my friends!

What a crazy busy weekend!

I hope you all had a great weekend! I had a pretty busy one! We got to pick Travis up early, so I got him on Thursday evening, instead of the usual Friday and because of the holiday he got to stay until Monday as well. It is always so nice to have that extra time with him. Hard to believe that in less than two weeks the school year will be over and he will be here for the summer!

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Friday was cropping at my CMC's crop and we had a great time. I guess because of the holiday weekend there weren't as many in attendance, but that was ok with me! If you did not know it, I am not a fan of noise, crowds, and all that. My husband is in no way a homebody like me and it is funny sometimes, because he will suggest going somewhere and I will wrinkle my nose like a little kid about it. Compromise in all things. I do go sometimes, but I usually get my fill of it rather quickly.

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Saturday was EMS stuff in town. They had the Med-Star helicopter from Conemaugh Hospital land at the ball field and let the kids check it all out and then they had hot dogs, chips and soda. We took Travis and my nephew Tyler(3) to see it. Travis was unimpressed, he has seen it before, and Tyler got all quiet and bashful. I did manage a few pictures though! I always like to see the helicopter, since I got to ride in it once! Thankfully it wasn't a life threatening thing and I am here to tell about it! In the afternoon, Ken and Travis went to pick up the bike that he won. That is a whole blog post of its own, with pictures that I will get to later this week. Needless to say, that was a huge hit with Trav. Saturday evening the EMS sponsored a rollerskating party for the community at the skating rink. They really do have alot of nice kids activities for EMS week in Hooversville.

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Sunday Kenny power washed the porch and sidewalk, worked on the yard and I did some house work. We were going to have our first campfire of the year, however my brother beat us to it, so Kenny went to hang out at his fire pit.

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Monday, Memorial Day there were parades and services that kids needed to be at, fire engines that went to three different ones as well. A visit to the cemetary. Travis wouldn't even get out of the car there. Then we picnicked at my Mom and Dad's place. Then on the road to take Travis home.

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!

Hope you all had a great long weekend!

Remember Someone Today

Today I will remember by Grandfather, L.C. Kinney, Veteran. Hopefully among the parades, cookouts and family events you will take some time to remember the brave men and women who have given their lives for our freedom. It doesn't matter what political party you belong to, how you feel about our President or the current war in Iraq. Our Veterans have earned and deserve our support and respect for doing their duty and protecting our freedom.

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Below are some links for excellent places to learn about how Memorial Day began and how you can participate in remembering our heroes. Go to your local parade and service held by your VFW or American Legion, visit a cemetary and honor the memory of someone you love who gave their life for our country.

http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html

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http://www.vfw.org/

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http://www.legion.org/

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http://uso.org/

Ask not what your country can do for you,

but what you can do for your country.

~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

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I regret that I have but one life to give for my country.

~Nathan Hale

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God bless America, my home sweet home.

~Irving Berlin

Take care and have a blessed Memorial Day.

Crop Time and Blog Stalkers....

I got to crop with my BS #2 last evening and we had a great time catching up... She wants to keep her identity a secret, so she is hiding behind her happy journal! I haven't heard from stalker #1 for a while here, wonder where she disappeared to?

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We made some simple page borders last evening using some really pretty CM stickers, papers and the Cuttlebug embossing folders. Thanks ladies, you were great makentakers!

Remember, Attitude is EVERYTHING!

This is probably one of my favorite pictures of Melanie. She is at times so deep and brooding, stubborn as the day is long... and you work for every smile that you get from her. When the photographer suggested this particular pose I immediately thought how well it conveyed her personality at that age. The photo of this layout really doesn't show the better details like the tiny square green metallic brads and the silver metallic gloss paper that is behind the photo. The title was done with MM letter rub ons. I really like the look of rub ons versus stickers, but boy what a pain they can be to get put in place!

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Mel and I talked briefly today, she did not pass her driver's test yesterday. She was a bit nervous, she said. That is ok, it was good practice and next time she will know what to expect.

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I picked Travis up today and he will be here for the long Memorial Day weekend. I do not have to go back to Wal-mart until Tuesday! YIPPPPPEEEE!!! We got new cash registers and oh dear are they a pain to get used to, been giving me a headache every day! The plan for the weekend is to crop tomorrow, do EMS week activities on Saturday, decorate a cake on Sunday and have our first back yard campfire on Sunday! Monday is the Memorial Day parades in Hooversville and Central City.

Take care!

Life is a reat big canvas and you should throw all the paint on it you can.

~Danny Kaye

She is a little older in this picture, and she really looks so much like her mother. This was my first try at a new technique... painting on my scrapbook page. I am normally a neat and pretty scrapbooker. I like things lined up and straight and orderly. My painting here was nothing extravagant...just got the old sponge brush out and started smearing the paint on to the paper. I also used some chipboard letters, an M for Melanie and the L for the first letter of the quote. Page accents also included three black eyelets and 3 spiral paper clips.

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My dear husband buys raffle tickets from his buddies at work. He doesn't usually win anything, but we always have a raffle ticket for something clipped to the calendar or stuck to the fridge. We got a message on the answering machine Monday evening... If this is Ken Holbrook and you bought a raffle ticket from the Hyndman High Senior Class, you are the proud winner of the top ticket item, a brand new bike. Not just any bike, mind you...look at this.... Chase 4. All I can say is the first time Travis lets it lay in the yard or takes a wrench to it to tear it apart I am going to scream bloody murder!

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That said... have a great day!

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth...

There hasn't been much to blog about lately and I have been working weird shifts at Wal-mart. That said, I am back at it. The layout above is one for Melanie's album for graduation next year. I am not quite sure what I want to put in that little bookplate yet, words don't always describe Mel so well. This was taken back when I could still choose clothing for her and she would like it.

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We are waiting to hear from her today. She is taking her driver's license test, so we have our fingers crossed.

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Friday is my CMC's crop and I will be teaching some page borders with some beautiful CM flower stickers and Cuttlebug embossing plates. I also have another project in the works for our church's district office. Enough to keep me busy!

Happy Mother's Day!

Here is a Mother's Day treat for you!

My Chicksa, Jody sent this to me and I would like to share it with you.

Free Printable Scrapbook Page Designs

How BRIGHT AND CHEERFUL are these TULIPS? I couldn't get over how beautiful they were! It was kind of windy when I snapped this picture but I can attest in person they were stunning!

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Tonight was the Mother Daughter Banquet at our church. It is normally something that we have catered, but this year the men decided that they would like to do the cooking for us. I have to admit that we were all pleasantly surprized! When you were walking up to the building it smelled so yummy! They prepared roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, peas, applesauce, rigatoni, and rolls. We also were treated to cake and ice cream for dessert.

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The tables were decorated with fresh cut LILACS that smelled DIVINE! The theme was purses and Kathy did the cutest object lesson on "What's in your Purse?" We played some games, won some prizes and visited with some dear old friends that we don't see but a few times a year. It was also a time to remember some of the Mom's who are no longer with us. One of the ladies mother's liked to read poems for Sunday church and Sunday school. This week out of the blue on her computer desk there was a poem that her mother had copied out of a book, from who knows when. Linda had no idea where it had come from. It was just one of those things that gave you some goose bumps, like she was keeping watch and wanted us to share the poem tonight.

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Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.... She openeth her mouth with wisdom.

Proverbs 31:10,26

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All I am, or can be, I owe to my angel mother.

~Abraham Lincoln

Butterflies!

There are many things that I love, butterflies included. I must have nearly a dozen butterfly stamps and dies. All sizes, round curvey ones and ones with pointed wings. Ones with lots of spots and some with none at all. This particular one is an Autumn leaves/Rhonna Farrer stamp. (Purchased as a single for $1 at JoAnn's, wish they would get more of them instock!) The inside sentiment of this humble card is from a CTMH set and it goes like this~

I'm wishing you sunshine and smiles to brighten your day!

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I like to keep a stash of cards for all occasions, some fancy, some more everyday like these. When I get scrappers block, I turn to cards. There is something more relaxing about cards. No pictures, no big story to tell, you can make more than one that looks the same. Comfort in the small things I guess.

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I am still working at the big re-do of my scrappin space. Trying to sort through and purge some old stuff and reorganize the rest. I am making progress, ever so slowly. So here is todays survey question... What are your favorite "themes" that you accumulate scrapping stuff? Butterflies are one of mine, so is purple stuff, can't stop buying the purple stuff! I know that my BS#2 is on vacation visiting her son, so she will have some catching up to do when she gets home!

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How is this for something to ponder a bit...

If you don't get everything you want, think of the things you don't get that you don't want.

~Oscar Wilde

Reorganizing...

Not much to post about today. I am in the middle of a huge reorganization of my scrap space, trying to make more room for the rest of the family in this room. I have kind of overtaken the room almost entirely and I have to be a good scrapper and do better at sharing. After the big re-do I will post some pictures.

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What is your most difficult scrapping supply to organize? How do you manage it? Currently mine are pictures and ribbon. I will have to let you know how I do with them! I also seem to be hoarding some things and I want to better at using them up or getting rid of them.

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I found an old page a day calendar that my friend Dee gave me many years ago for Christmas. I like it because it is one of those that you can use over and over again since it has no year on it or days of the week. I thought that I would start sharing some of the quotes and Bible verses that are in it for the day that I post.

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In the house of the righteous is much treasure.

Proverbs 15:6

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Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,

Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.

John Howard Payne

Lilac Buds, Finally!

It is about time that I get to enjoy my lilac bushes. We planted them about 5 years ago and they are at long last going to bloom this season. One of them is a tleast. We started with 4 of them. One died before it even made it into the ground. The other three have survived, this one in particular has outgrown the others by several feet. I was so excited to see that it actually had these buds on it this year and I anxiously check it each day to see if there are blossoms on it. I am sure that I will post pictures of them as soon as they are visible.

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I am so blessed to have wonderful blog stalkers! Just want to say that I read all of your comments and I am so glad that we keep in touch like this. Anything that I post is to share with you and I am flattered that you are inspired by the ideas. Please scraplift whatever you like and make sure to share it with me when it is done!

Take care and be blessed!

Happy National Scrapbook Day!

I had a really great (but busy day today!) First was dropping off the favors and centerpieces that I made for the local Lion's Club banquet at the Catholic church banquet hall. Then a pancake and sausage breakfast at the Lutheran church, a first Saturday of the month ritual for my family. It is really more like a community gathering for a meal! I love small town life, wouldn't trade it for any big city living. Home, to pack up for a wonderful no frills crop at KUMC with some really talented ladies. I was actually a "frill" for the crop, I taught a class on how to make tear bears. Everyone did such a nice job and had such cute little bears! It was great to meet all of you ladies, can't wait to scrap with you again soon!

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I got more done at this crop than I have in a very long time! I started on my step-daughter's album of all the portraits we have taken of her over the years. It is amazing to see how much she has grown and matured. She will be a senior next year, hardly seems possible.

I got six single pages done and I used techinques I have never tried before, a little out of my comfort zone, that's all I'm saying, check back to see the layouts later this week.

The above layout was made using product from Creative Memories 2007 Memoranza gift. Page is CM, Spargo. Stamps and ink(retired color) are Close to My Heart, Small Pleasures. It is so strange how my newly purchased CTMH stamps coordinated so well with the CM produt. Fortunate for me!

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The page below is also CM Memoranza product, Spargo page. Stamps are Autumn Leaves, Swirls. Ink is retired CTMH.

Take Care, Be Blessed and Happy Scrapping!

Happy Scrapping!

Tomorrow is National Scrapbook Day!

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These are some of the pages I made as samples for my CMC's National Scrapbook Day crop. She holds her event a week early, so these are from last week end. I have two more to post tomorrow. All papers used are CM and are from the goodie pack that she gave out. Inks are Close to My Heart. Actual pages are CM refills in Spargo.

On a personal note I had breakfast this morning with some very wonderful friends! We are now planning to make it a priority to get together once a month and I am so happy about that!

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I am off to pot some pansies and then make some candy bars. Going to dinner with DH tonight at the Goal Line Tavern outside of Hooversville. It is under new ownership and they are trying some new menu items that Ken wants to sample.

Take Care, Be Blessed, & Happy Scrapping!

I love this time of year!

While we were cleaning up the yard this past weekend I found this little surprise. They are viola's (mini pansy like posies) that are growing in a pot from last summer that I had put out of the way in the fall. Viola is the name of my dear Aunt Vi, my father's sister. It has been quite a long time since she passed, but I still have the fondest memories of her. I plant little violas every year in honor of her memory. I guess it just struck me that maybe she watched over me and these ones appeared after the long winter to remind me of that.

My memories of Aunt Vi go as far back as I can remember, she loved to have her hair brushed. My cousin Amy and I would sleep over at her house and on the way there we would stop all along the road to pick flowers. Then she would let us have her sheer curtains and sheets and high heels to dress up to play brides with our fresh flower bouquets. I remember her hands, she had long fingers with flat fingernails. Of course you never knew if when you walked into her kitchen whether she would be just hanging out cooking at the stove with her shirt off in just her bra, don't ask, it is a strange family thing. I got my fear of pressure cookers from her, after hers exploded covering her entire kitchen in chicken bits! LOL! That woman could dance a mean POLKA too, in spite of her heart/health problems.

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As I got older she was one of my favorite people to visit with, she always had time to chat. I usually showed up at her house on Sunday morning for coffee, breakfast and the newspaper and of course lots of good conversation. She would tell the funniest stories about her, Aunt Shirl and my Dad when they were growing up. I sure do miss her.

Friendship isn't a big thing,
-it's a million little things.

I just love that sentiment, and I know that it so much more than a sentiment, there is plenty of truth to it. I have friends that are closer than family, some are actually mistaken for my sisters. It is so easy most of the time to take that friendship for granted. I am challenging this week to make an effort to appreciate my friends a bit more. Maybe a phone call, a card or an email.

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Specs on the cards are as follows, paper and cardstock from last years Spring Stack from Die Cuts with a View. The sentiment stamp is from Close to My Heart, Small Pleasures (D1139) & ink is retired CTMH.

What's old is new again!

I really enjoy some of the older scrapbooking techniques and I find myself frequently going back to my old stash of supplies and tools for inspiration. I have always loved the look of mosaics and I had the perfect picture from our trip to Sight and Sound back in January. That 30 foot Christmas tree was so impressive with nearly 100 angels decorating it. It was the perfect photo to cut into 1 inch squares and tile out into a mosaic!
I made a neat little guide from 3 strips of paper to help with the placement of the squares. I love to find ways to make scrapbooking less complicated! We had a great time in class and everyone had the neatest photographs for their mosaics. Any tried and true favorite tools/techniques that you love and go back to time and time again? 'fess up, I wanna know!