a message just for me

I often listen to one of the local Christian radio stations when I am in my car. This morning on my way home from the water aerobics class at the Y, I really wasn't in the mood to have any noise, but something inside told me to turn the radio on anyway. As I was taking in the sermon, I couldn't help but feel that the message was being spoken to me, as if it were written for me and the struggle that i am facing within myself. It was a remarkable feeling that washed over me. I just know it was sent to me as a gift from God and I need to find it within myself to make the most of the words and lighten the burden on my heart. Sadly I am not sure if I want to allow those words, this gift, to be opened and used because it just means I will be vulnerable to even more pain and heartache and letdown which is sure to hurt me even more the next time this burden is laid before me. *sigh* I am tired and I know that this message was sent for me to give me some energy and hope, but I am not finding that right now. Maybe tomorrow. Or next week. Who knows when I will find the right time to open it. At least for now I have it to hold onto and ponder how it will be used in the manner it was given. It will be available when I need it most. I find great comfort in that.

Onto scrappy stuff... the frame and birdhouse I created with one of the two gorgeous May kits from Create My Keepsake. I used the Raspberry Limeade kit for them. They will be available first thing tomorrow morning here for non-members and they are sure to go quickly.

This is the card I created with this weeks sketch on Di's blog. As always, the girls on the team outdid themselves and it's pure eye candy to see their takes each week!

I am off to play some Mario Kart with the kids, or should I say get my butt kicked. *giggle*

Sketch This! 48

Gosh, it's already Tuesday! The last few days have flown by. And it's almost May. WOW.
Here's my card for the Sketch This! 48. I used the beautiful papers from the smj Love Shack kit by Shabby Miss Jenn Designs (this kit is fabulous!) as well as some Crate Paper rubons, a Melissa Frances heart, a flower, and some twill and lace. The DT girls totally blow me away with their takes on the sketch, be sure to check them out! :)

I had two nice scrappy emails in my box this weekend! I got a project picked up for the ST Holidays 2008 idea book. yay! I am excited to be a part of this along side so many of my scrappy friends! It's going to be a gorgeous publication full of amazing projects.
The other news I can't share just yet, but I was surprised by this.

I bought Mario Kart for the Wii today. It's such a fun game! The kids are having a blast, including the biggest kid of all, my dh. He who said he'd never play. *giggle* If you have a Wii, this is a great family game.

Snow Day Album

This is my April album for My Acrylic Album. This is using the Mazy Flower Acrylic Album. I have been wanting to scrap these photos for awhile and the floral design on the front cover reminded me enough of a snowflake to just go for it. The details were time consuming but I am happy with the outcome. I inked each of the edges (front and back) and then embossed them. Each of the snowflakes and chipboard swirl are also embossed front and back. Thanks for looking! :)

two cards

Hi! Here are my cards for Di's site and the Sketch This! site.
The "R" card is this weeks sketch (April 23 or #4) over at Di's blog. It's a hybrid card created using smj designs Love Shack kit from Shabby Miss Jenn Designs. (I just love the colors and distressing these digital papers have!)

The "You are the Best" card is for the Sketch This 47. I used the same digi kit for the patterned papers. I even stamped with my VersaMark pad for the first time. I don't know why I haven't before.

I hope you play along with these sketches!

it's a cool Sunday *brrr* and other ramblings

***sorry about the small images. I am new to PSE6 and apparently I didn't copy and so the original files are gone and I had to take a copy from my gallery. I'll figure it out someday.













I cannot believe that it's mid-April and our temp. today is not going to get out of the 30's. It's about 30' right now and I am freezing! My hands are ice cold and the heat is on. So much for cutting back on our energy useage. We are due for several inches of snow today and tomorrow and then hopefully this is it for Winter weather. My kids shouldn't have to be wearing heavy coats and gloves this time of year. My heat shouldn't be on all day. The basement should be a nice comfortable place to be in, not an ice cave. Spring really needs to make an appearance!

I have come to the realization that I should not be drinking Mocha's any more. For about 2 months after my ankle surgery I couldn't handle them, they made me ill. Then one day I was craving one, so I went to Starbucks and picked one up and have been able to drink one every morning for the last 2 months. Until now. The last couple of days that I have had them I haven't felt well. This morning is the worst. I felt great until I had a few sips and now I just feel icky. *sigh* I don't even drink them quickly, I savor them for up to an hour and a half, so it's not like I am chugging it. It's probably for the best that I don't drink them daily anyway, so now I just need to find a substitute. I wish OJ had caffeine in it (maybe it does and I just haven't paid attention?). Just enough to give me a burst of energy.

Enough of the boring stuff. Here are some layouts and a card I have created recently. I decided on Friday morning that I was going to enter the Core'dinations DT call. I was on the fence, but figured I might as well because if I don't at least try then I don't have a chance. The first 3 are my entries. Wish me luck! It would be awesome to be a part of this team!
If you haven't tried this unique cardstock yet, you really need to hunt some down and play! It really is neat stuff. Sit down with a piece and just try something new and you'll find that it's going to be a must have, especially the black stuff. I took a craft knife and carved some wavy lines into the paper and peeled off the top layer to expose the core. That is such a cool thing to be able to do and I am sure you'll be seeing this from me again. I really thought I'd struggle with using cardstock as a focus, but I don't think I did too badly. If I make the team great, if not I have created some layouts that I really like and know that I can do things that I didn't think I could. Personal growth is always positive and uplifting.

I've been playing the Wii a bit more, mostly just the Sports games that came with the system. I like to watch the kids play, but it's also a lot of fun to get in there with them and join in. We still only have 2 games, but we've rented several. Skye sat down and played Mario Galaxy most of the day and she did quite well. It looks like this will be a buy game. :)

Speaking of Skye, the poor girl is just in constant meltdown mode lately. Her hormones are crazy and combined with her ADHD it's been a rough couple of weeks. The slightest thing will set her off and you just don't know from one minute to the next if she's going to be happy or sad or angry. The poor girl. I feel badly for her but there isn't a whole lot I can do other than talk to her and try to figure out how I can help. I have let her play the Wii for hours on end because it keeps her occupied and away from the other kids. She really doesn't want to be around them and is snippy and irritable with them. She's going to have a med check appt. soon and I am going to address this with the doctor. Kara and Meghan were never this bad when they were at this point in their lives. I don't know if having ADHD makes her extra sensitive or if this is not "normal" and we need to do something else to help her.

and back to scrapping... the last layout was created for a challenge over at Scrap-Diner. I only managed to complete 2 of the 8 challenges, but it's still been fun. I cannot believe all the KPS Ashlyn has! And no, I didn't count and sort them, Skylar did. :) She likes that kind of stuff and it was a great way to keep her focused on something that she can control.

Enough of my rambling. I hope you have a wonderful week!

a card

this is created for this weeks sketch over at Di Hickman's blog. I struggled with this sketch, but I also had fun with it. If you decide to try the sketch be sure to link it up on her blog.

That's it for today. I went to water aerobics and now I am off to eat lunch and then scrap for awhile. Hopefully.

Enjoy your day! :)

wohoo!

Check this out~ I am honored to be a part of this team of amazingly talented designers! I admire their work and am excited to be working with them. :)

Other than that nothing else exciting... unless you think snow on April 15th is fun. heehee! We woke up to a dusting and it's been snowing off and on for several hours. It's not sticking, but it's sure chilly outside. I am so ready for some warm and sunny weather.

off to watch Juno and then scrap. Have a great one!

a lonely layout

hi! I thought for sure I'd have more than just one lonely layout to post, but we had beautiful weather this weekend so I was outside enjoying it. :) Too bad today had to be not-so-nice. It was 78' yesterday and it tumbled town to 43' today with rain and wind and gloom. This is how it's going to be the rest of the week too. At least we got a few nice days because it really does refresh the soul after this odd weather we've had this year. The best part is that everything literally turned green overnight which is uplifting and a sign that things will not be "dead" for much longer.

I created this layout for a challenge over at Scrap-Diner. They are hosting a Crop-O-Rama this week with 8 awesome challenges. I have to say that SD has the best challenges. I really get motivated! I just hope I can complete all 8 this time.
This layout is for the first challenge which was to create a 'bare naked' layout. We couldn't use anything patterned which was tough, but really fun! I think i am going to try more cardstock heavy pages.

Have a wonderful week!

another card

I have been cranking out the cards lately! Here's one I created for a challenge on my friend Dani's blog as well as using a fun sketch from Triple The Scraps as a jump start from my friend Patter. :) Thanks for the inspiration girls!
This is a hybrid card using the gorgeous papers from the Flower Stand Collab. kit from ScrapKitchen Designs and Shabby Miss Jenn Designs. I got an email last Saturday advertising this new kit, and as soon as I saw this I just knew I had to have it! I really like the warm colors and pretty patterns, they make me happy. :)

It's going to be a beautiful weekend. I am off to go work in the yard a bit. I'll be back soon with some fun news and some more scrappy stuff!

some challenge cards

I've been busy working on a card challenge over at the Diner, Scrap-Diner that is. :) The card challenge this month was to create 7 different cards using one sheet of paper on all of them. Anything else was fair game, but each card had to include the sheet of paper I selected on them. I selected the green and white polka dot paper as my sheet to use on each card. This was such a fun challenge and I used up some older supplies mixed with some newer supplies.
If you are looking for a fun challenge you should give this a try. :)

Have a great night!

just a card

Hello! All I have is a lonely card to post today, but I am working on some more that I hope to finish this evening. This card is for the April 9 sketch over at Di's blog. I really like this sketch and the DT really showed a wide variety of styles. If you haven't been over there, you should go check it out. :)

Yesterday was Meghan's 17th birthday. These kids sure are growing up quickly! She was 6 when I met her and I still remember her sweet innocence. She still has that which is a good thing. Yesterday was the first time she's ever had a birthday on a school day and she was pretty excited about that. Normally her birthday falls during Spring break.
Kenny and I took her to dinner on Sunday and then took her to the mall to purchase a sweatshirt she wanted for her birthday. Last night we had a yummy cake that Skye made. She said she had a nice day so that's good!

I am really looking forward to the weekend! We are supposed to hit 70+ on Sunday! yay! I am really sick of the 40's and rain/snow/hail stuff we've been getting. It seems like each hour brings something else and we've had a bit of everything each day for over a week now. it's time to get those white legs of mine some color! :)

Happy Wednesday!

It's the weekend!

Where did Spring go? It's snowing once again and even though it's lovely, I am ready for warm sunny days and pretty flowers and green grass. I am sure it's coming. Any day now. :D

I have several scrappy projects to share; My April CMK Kit creations and 3 cards created for Di Hickman's card sketches; April #1 (2nd), March #4 (26th), and March #3 (19th). There are still several kits up for grabs. It's a fun kit with bold, bright colors. I really enjoyed using this kit and my projects came together easily even though I honestly thought I would struggle with the bright colors. That's what I love about kits. I get a different vibe from each one. Sometimes the kits I think I will sail through are the ones I struggle with the most while those that I think are going to be difficult end up being my favorites. I like to be able to stretch my creativity and this is a great way to do so.

I am off for now. We are planning a lazy day at home. I hope to scrap and finish organizing my patterned paper stacks. I'm getting there slowly but surely. Have a wonderful weekend! :)
Rae

It's {finally} Spring!

I am giddy with happiness! Spring has finally decided to make her debut around our little corner of the world. :) Just a few days ago we were getting snow every day and had several inches of of the fluffy white stuff on the ground (the dogs were loving it!), and it appears that is behind us now. Yesterday was the nicest day we've had in a long time, and it's just going to keep getting warmer and warmer! In a little over a week we'll be in the 60's. Yay!
The girls and I spent a bit of time out working in the yard yesterday. I have come to enjoy the process I once dreaded. A little bit of yard work really does go a long way to lift my spirit. We only spent about an hour outside working, but with everyone pitching in a bit it made a noticeable difference. I raked the leaves out of the flower bed in the front and pulled some pesky weeds. It's starting to look alive in there! While I was doing that Meghan and Kara worked in the backyard pruning the roses and grapes and Skye and Ashlyn filled holes that the dogs have dug. I also raked the leaves from the strawberries and I was delighted to find that they are poking their way through the ground.
Once we finished with that we went to Fred Meyer to get some groceries and I couldn't resist going into the garden area. I bought several types of fuschias, geraniums and some trailing plants to add to the fuschia baskets and geranium pots. It's a bit early, but I am hopeful that Spring is here to stay. :)