He's living my dream!

AND................. I couldn't be happier!!!

That's my oldest son on the right.. he's with two of his best buddy's AT LAMBEAU FIELD!  He was at the game last Monday when the Packer's played the Vikings.  He's always been a Vikings fan... but look at this:

Uh huh... there has got to be MAGIC at that field!  ;)  Don't ya just love his smile?  I may be bias.. but he's one good lookin kid with a great smile!! 

It has always been one of my life long dreams to go to Lambeau Field.  Now two of six of our children have been there.  Wonder when they plan to take mom?????  haha! 

Blog Challenge

I haven't gotten the ok to participate in the blog challenge at SB.com yet.. but I couldn't resist grabbing this photo and blogging about it.

Many years ago I visited a friend in TN and sat on a rock overlooking the Smokey Mtns.  I found such peace there.  I, of course, didn't get a photo from this angle, but do have some that are very dear to my heart of that visit.  I had never planned to even scrap about this place (That's how closely I hold it dear to my heart) and one day... I really felt the need to put it onto paper. 

I even find myself choking on my own words trying to describe why the above photo hit me as it did.  I really did gasp when I saw it.  The layout that I created was on a different rock that I used to think through some very difficult things going on in my life at that time.  I made a life altering decision sitting there in that moment.  I didn't even know this photo was being taken until I developed the roll of film after I got back home. 

Later, I received a package as I was dealing with the fall out of the decision I had made on that rock that day.... and inside the package was a small piece of each of the rocks I'd spent time on.  I would find myself carrying those chunks of rock around when things really got tough.  I haven't had the need to do that for some time now, but I do display those rocks in my bookcase... as a reminder of how quickly life can change with one decision.  It also reminds me of where I was.. and where I've come to... and as much peace as I found on that rock... I am living a life of peace in my mind, heart and soul!!!

I'm Starting To Get In The Spirit ~ How About You?

My family is doing a traditional Christmas this year and we are to give each person something with meaning to them.  We cannot spend more than $5.00 per person.  So this really does take some though and I am REALLY enjoying myself.  It's really gotten me in the Christmas spirit.  One of the projects that I made is for my niece.  I found this on Pinterest and just absolutely LOVED the idea.  There was no link to it once I opened it, so I'm sorry I can't share.  But here is a photo of what I created.

 This was so simple to make and I got the frame at the dollar store.  I have less than $2.00 in this gift.  But it will mean more to her than anything I could have purchased.


My next gift is for my sister-in-law of two small boys.  I really don't know her to well but know that she is a fan of homemade gifts.  She gave my mom some gifts last year created by the boys on plates and they were adorable. My gift to her is a memory jar (Idea also found on Pinterest ~http://inchmark.squarespace.com/inchmark/2008/9/9/magical-thinking.html ) I used a mason jar that I had one hand that I'd used for my wedding.  I covered the lid with paper and hand stamped all the tags.  I wrapped the jar in ribbon to decorate it up leaving the jar open to see through. 

Middle School Fun

Do you like a challenge?  I do.. in fact most often I NEED a challenge to keep going.  Or to even get started.  The only thing for decoration in my scraproom right now is a metal sign sitting above the closet door on a ledge that reads "I would be unstoppable if I could just get started"  Oh how true that is!!!

This LO was made for two challenges.  The Spraplift the Person Before You Challenge and the ABC Challenge ~ WXY&Z.  You have to have White space, X marks the spot Yesterday when I was young and Zucchini green.  I had all of the above in this LO... and I got to scraplift Mommaprov My Boy, which you can see by going to this link:

 http://www.scrapbook.com/galleries/530287/view/3291327/-1.html

I had a heck of a time getting the kids to let me take this photo.  They were all hiding their faces and looking away.  I told them all they'd be happy when they were seniors in high school that I took it.  I didn't wait until they were seniors to show it to them again, but I did wait about 3 years and put the photo on facebook.  Everyone of them commented on the photo about how young they looked.  I knew they'd appreciate it someday!  This LO will go in my son's graduation book.  TFL today!

Our Family ~

Hi!!  Hope you are having a fantastic Sunday.  I just love Sundays that I get to be home and doing exactly what I want to be doing.  Today I was able to finally sit down with a creative mind and make a Christmas gift for my Grandmother.  This is the second layout that I've created this way, and my pictures are taken from the first layout that I made stitching beads on my layout.  I've really enjoyed bringing two of my favorite crafts together all into one to create something beautiful. 

I've found it takes a little planning when you are adding stitching and beads to your layout.  You will want to make sure that you have your stitching and your paper layering in the correct order.  On this layout I was able to do the stitching last.  The first time I did it, I had to plan it because of the size of my papers that I was layering.  I have a paper piercer and also the Sew Easy kit.  I find I have to use both of them especially when I am trying to work around things in my layout.

 On this particular layout, when I did my stitching, I did it all first then went back and added my beads later because the beads were to small to go over the needle.  On the layout at the top of this page, the beads were bigger and I was able to put them on as I stitched.  I like the look of that much better.  This will be something you want to consider also before you do your stitching.

I made sure my layers were ready to be applied as soon as I needed them so I did my distressing and inking so I could then keep working right along as I needed the layers.

And here is my finished product.  Don't you love the look those beads add??  I sure do!!

Thank you for stopping by!  Enjoy your day!

Weekend Getaway

My son has loved dirtbikes since before he could walk I believe.. he's had one since he was 5.  He rides for fun.. not in competition.. but it is one of his loves.  Here are two LO's I did using some pictures from a weekend getaway with his uncle and cousin.  The 4 x 6 photo is one of my favorite photos of him.

I'm learning to use the Gesso on paper and I haven't quite got the nack of it yet... I will though.. between that and the stitching, those are really the only techniques I used on these two LO's.  Just alot of paper layering and piecing.  The works and dirt bike pieces were all on a 12 x 12 sheet of paper from Adornit.  It's an older line, but dirtbike stuff is so difficult to find that I snatched it up when I found it and have been saving it.  TFL~

2011 All Conference Team

These pictures bring me alot of pride.  My son is a hard working type of kid and he doesn't always get the credit given to him that is deserved.  I've noticed him shying away from some things because he notices the same thing.  It's a hard lesson in life to learn.  I was very proud when we were out and about the other night when I heard him tell someone that he realized that life isn't always fair, but these things build character.  I'm so happy to know he's learning that at such a young age.  It will save him alot of heartache. 

I had alot of fun making this LO.  I used some stamps that I had purchased at an in home party and I've fallen in love with their products.  Ever heard the saying 'you get what you pay for'?  These stamps prove that right on!  They are Close to my Heart products and I can't wait to get a little money saved so I can purchase the Cricut Cart. that is so full of neat things to cut out.  I believe there are over 700 ways to use that cart. 

I hand stamped on this LO a TON... all but the GO TEAM flag was hand stamped, the letterting on the baseball, the ribbon, the Love this Game embellie, and the small tags.  I also stamped the stars & #1 on the background paper.  The rest of the LO is just layered and the papers are from Bo Bunny's Homerun line.  There are also some My Minds Eye papers in this.  TFL~