Very busy, but still thankful

Wow, I really intended to post more than once a week... it is hard to gather blog friends if you aren't blogging...  I do have good reason.  Found out last Monday that I will be moving THIS Friday... doesn't leave much time for blogs... my google reader is overflowing!! However it does give me soo much to be thankful for... MULTITUDES!

57. getting the great news that we are getting the house we have been praying about for over 6 months!!!

58. losing 10 lbs this summer

59. attending an informational meeting for the new school my kids will be attending

60. boxes, boxes, boxes... from Wegmans, from friends, from hubby's work

61. scads of childcare offers so I can pack

62. My friend Sheila

63. Wkids, free childcare option while grocery shopping at Wegmans!!

64. new recipes, that turn out delicious!

65. the opportunity to serve at the Scranton Rescue Mission

66. my local church

67. Psych, that TV show makes me LAUGH!  laughter is always good!!

68. having help in packing... I could NEVER do it alone

69. DOVE Dark Chocolates

70. fuzzy blanket to be wrapped up in!!

this list is a part of Multitude Monday @ holy experience

Short and sweet, no pictures or extras... gotta get some sleep for more packing this week!!

So much to be thankful for...

I had a very busy week visiting family, which left no time for blogging!  So I have lots of gifts to be thankful for this week... here is a recap of my week as I add to my 1000 gifts list!

38. Pasquale's Pizza and Wings (you just can't find pizza and wings like made in WNY)

39. making memories with Nanny and Papa... and the aunts, uncles and cousins!

40. learning a new game (Qwirkle)

41. enjoying my little sister's baking skills (delicious blueberry pie)

42. playground fun with the kids

43. walking through the creek on a hot day

44. watching my kids experience farm animals... milking cows, chickens, sheep, horses, "stinky pigs"

45. re-living my childhood with my kids and a ride on the Arcade/Attica Railroad

46. ring pops and tootsie pops for my kids (from Nanny)

47. going to the Erie County Fair

48. pig races at the Fair

49. Chiavetta's chicken at the Fair

50. a children's "art show"

51. Date night at the drag races!!

52. watching my Brother-in-law WIN at the drag races

53. the colors of farmers market

54. breakfast in the park

55. campfire and S'mores at Nanny and Papa's house

56. sleeping in my own bed again!!

Clean and Simple 101 --enjoy your day!

It has been a week since I was able to sit down and create some cards... I am getting the urge again. But it isn't going to happen anytime soon, so I thought I would blog about another card that I did for a challenge.

This one was for Clean & Simple Sketch 101.

I am always afraid to veer off too far from the original sketch, but I was also using a sample from Creative Memories (did you know they are more than just scrapbooking, now?)
They provide project bundles which can make sets of cards which a bunch of paper and accents leftover.  My favorite bundle (Simply Beautiful Cards) is no longer available as a bundle, but you can still buy all the great supplies to create your own cards... Here is a picture of the HUGE system that can be used.  My favorite parts are the paper ribbon and paper flowers... you can purchase it all individually, too!

So anyway, on to my card...

I do not like to make my cards very heavy with lots of layers of cardstock, but I really wanted to brown base (but I like the inside to be white for easy writing) so I used a brown ink pad directly on the surface of the card to give it a distressed brown look.  Then I used Creative Memories paper... their journal boxes make it easy to line up your stamps!  Then it is Simply Beautiful Paper Ribbon and Paper flowers to add some more color!

My favorite part is that I used the paper ribbon to make a matching envelope!!

I love it so much, we are using it as my mother-in-law's birthday card... hope she likes it too!!

To see all the creativity that comes from a simple sketch, go here!

BlogHop10

Well, I am not sure I am ready for this...  although I have been blogging for 6 years off and on, I don't have a way with words like some do, I am not super inspirational, I have lots of bad days... I am going to stop being so negative now.

Here is what I am...

A daughter, a sister, a wife, a mom of 4
A child of the King (does that make me a princess?)
A crafter, creater, artisan, ...not sure the right word, but I love to make handmade notecards
A friend (I do the best I can, but nobody's perfect)

What you will find here...

posts about my kids
posts about my handmade cards
posts about what God is trying to teach me
posts about great things I read that challenge me
posts with pictures

that's the short, boring version (although that might be the only version there is)

You can follow me on twitter, here
You can see (and buy) my handmade notecards, here
or you can subscribe to my blog (somehow, I don't really know how... let me know if you figure it out)

I am participating in

Go here, to meet other great bloggers!

Silhouette giveaways... to the max

I have just discovered my new favorite item to covet... THE SILHOUTTE!!!  Oh how it looks like soo much fun, oh how it would expand my card making abilities, oh how I could use it to decorate the walls of my hopefully new home next month, oh how I could make wonderful gifts...

It seems to be the hot new craft tool on the market and scads of wonderful bloggers are having giveaways this week....  Check them all out!!!



The Idea Room

Tidy Mom

A Soft Place to Land

U-Create Crafts

V and Co.

Sugardoodle

Infarrantly Creative

Surely I will win ONE of these marvelous giveaways!!!

My dishwasher changed my life

Works For Me Wednesday has a bathroom/kitchen organizing theme today... and because neither of those rooms are very clean or organized in my house, I thought I was just going to skip it today (not that it is a habit, yet, I have only posted re: WFMW once, but I have good intentions), but then I remembered...

I have a DISHWASHER, and with four LITTLE kids, it is a lifesaver.  I am sure that my kids are well into the age that they should start washing some dishes, but I hate messes, and I hate broken dishes, and I hate cleaning up... After # 4 was born and I had four kids under 5, dishes just seemed to pile up, and pile up, and pile up; frustrating me and frustrating my husband, so we finally got a dishwasher.  I haven't even had it for 2 years yet, but it is the most wonderful invention!  Mine even has a timer on it.

So how does this keep my kitchen organized???

Well, if I am on the ball (which I am not, today) after every meal we just load it up and then the kitchen looks clean and beautiful.   Then after dinner, I put some soap in, set the timer and walk away... and then in the middle of the night, when I am sleeping, my dishes are getting washed!!!  Then in the morning, I empty it and we start the process all over again.  I keep thinking that it is time the kids started emptying it in the morning... maybe we will start that tomorrow morning.

On another note, I might have to say good-bye to my dishwasher in one short month... but that is the price I have to pay in order to get another bedroom for my kids, a basement for me to create cards in, a two car garage, bigger bedrooms for everyone, and grass, fields, trees, as far as the eye can see for my kids to run around...  Please pray with me that this housing situation will come to pass, we are getting claustrophobic in our current home!!

So for now, having a dishwasher Works For Me!!!  Go here for many more, probably much better organizing tips!!

Thinking of you...

Just wanted to share another one of my recently created cards... in that one time I had a chance to make a handful of notecards!  This one was FUN!  I only combined two challenges, AND I was able to use some ribbon that has been in my stash for ages!!


I used this sketch from Clean and Simple

and I chose these colors from Color Throwdown

I really like the way it turned out... do you?

my favorite cup!

For Mother's Day this year, my sweet husband bought me a most wonderful invention... Starbucks Venti Cold Cup.  I think every drink tastes better in this... even water! I mostly use it for my homemade iced coffees at home, but I often use it for juice, lemonade or even water!  I try to take it whenever I go to Starbucks to "save the environment" one more disposable cup!  Some Starbucks even give me a 10 cent discount when I use it! :)

This is my original "sweet shot"  ...just a little grape juice yesterday.

but then I had an opportunity to go to Starbucks today... and I ordered my new favorite... Iced Coffee with Dark Cherry flavor added!  So of course I had to try my hand at a much "sweeter" picture!!  YUM!

For more "Sweet Shots" go here!

multiple challenges

FINALLY!!!! It has been over a month since I have sat down with my crafts and card making supplies and I was starting to go insane with the ideas brewing inside my head... I could NOT keep track of them all. I missed a lot of ideas in many of the challenges that came across my Google Reader!! I have bookmarked a lot and hope to go back and create some fun cards, even if I missed out on the challenges.

However, I found a few to work with this weekend that were still opened. So I went to town. I made the mistake of trying to fulfill multiple challenges on one card... it almost made me want to quit completely. I am still not sure I like this card and I am still wondering what I can do to "fix" it, but here it is...


This card reflects the following challenges:

Off the Wall Craftiness Challenge #18 with the colors blue, yellow, and white!

The layout idea was part of 365 Days Day 153-Saturday Sketch

and then I added some bling to participate in CAS-tastic Wednesday Challenges Bling it Up!
(the daisy is sparkly on the edges and I added two silver jewels in the upper left corner)

My most favorite part of the card is ... the envelope. I made it matching and just LOVE it!!

giving thanks

Apparently I only blog on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday... Hopefully, I will get better at that. I do have some handmade card challenges to post later, but I wanted to start off with giving thanks. A positive attitude is always a good thing on a Monday morning! :)

26. My 7 year old son asking me to pick him up

27. pushing my girls on the neighbor's swing set

28. Ice cream sandwiches

29. collecting cookbooks

30. improvised water fun31. hanging clothes outside on the line to dry

32. hearing lawnmowers in the distance

33. the smell of fresh cut grass

34. free hand-me-downs for school uniforms!

35. a chance to make handmade notecards...

36. grilling out

37. using my crockpot


for more, visit Holy Experience