{Joshua and our own Catalog Living}

OK---Have you seen Catalog Living? I have had this blog on my reader since the first post---oh. my. gosh--it is laugh out loud funny! The blog is the brainchild of Molly Erdman. She was looking through a catalog one day and thought some of the pictures were ridiculous, so now she blogs about them. Here are a few of my favorite posts: Here, here, and here. There are so many others---you should just look through her archive someday if you need a laugh! They are one sentence and a picture---we all have time for that in a day!

Joshua was dragged along went to the Mall with me today---hey, there's a Lego store AND an Apple store there---he didn't suffer----too much. I still had a significant amount of Pottery Barn money leftover from some teacher gifts I received last year and I wanted some new things for Fall---Pottery Barn has BEAUTIFUL fall decor, so I thought I'd treat myself without having to spend any of my own money! Joshua LOVED this store---he kept picking EVERYTHING up---it was crazy! They have some very odd accessories---like a set of vintage keys that range in length from 4 to 7 inches, or an hour glass that is HUGE and easily is a true "HOUR GLASS", if not longer. Well, I have received Pottery Barn magazines long enough to recognize the pictures and Catalog Living uses their pictures pretty often.

As we were wandering around, Joshua found this  Vintage Wood long Cheese Board. Well, first he tried to figure out what it was and then at the same time, we said, "It's a HUGE Spanking Spoon". Then he decided he needed to pose for pictures---

Here he is "reading the paddle"--aka Vintage Wood Long Cheese Board

 

His crazy parent face----FORTUNATELY he's never seen that at our home---it must have come from TV...

So, in true Catalog Living Style---leave me your best line to capture this photo.....and make it snarky!

This is what we do on a Friday night in Raleigh, NC when no one else is home----do you understand now why we need to move to Winston Salem as soon as possible? My poor son......he needs some other influences in his life!

{A whole month....}

 

...that's how long it will be until I talk to Hannah again....this trip sure seemed more fun when we read this: Zip-lining in Costa Rica.....planting trees in Ecuador....hiking the Inca Trail.....teaching English in China......farming in India.....seeing the Taj Mahal......working with HIV/AIDS patients.....swimming with sharks in South Africa......returning to the states and putting it all together..... and having conversations with congressmen, members of the World Bank....etc. This is what Hannah is doing for the next eight months. 

SOOOOO, she finished orientation in Costa Rica and is presently  in Ecuador. Below you will see some of what she has done since she left on September 8. She flew from Raleigh to Miami and met the group. Notice she's wearing a UNCSA Fighting Pickles shirt! I have a feeling we'll see that shirt in many pictures in the next few months! YES, the mascot of School of the Arts is a Pickle......

They arrived in San Jose and spent the night there. Their orientation took place in the village of Uvita in the Marino Ballena National Park. There are all sorts of things to do there. In the mornings they would have an "adventure" and in the afternoon they would discuss the upcoming months. They read several books this summer in preparation for this trip and they had healthy debates about each. They obviously spent time getting to know one another.

One morning they all had surfing lessons----Hannah really didn't enjoy this---she's just not a water girl---here she is pictured second from the left on the day of the surfing "adventure"! 

Here she is in the green shirt getting ready to zipline---the picture at the top isn't her, but it is someone in their group, so it's the same line she took. She LOVED this! She just had a great time!

They took a very long hike up to this waterfall and Hannah said they were all so happy to see it because they were BURNING UP---and tired!

I think Hannah's favorite activity was kayaking through the mangroves. She was in a kayak with a girl that she just had a blast with and they really enjoyed their time.

The last day there, they went on a boat ride out to see a bunch of sea creatures---whales, dolphins, etc. She really enjoyed it---apparently several people became quite sick on the boat, but Hannah wasn't one of them.

They arrived in Quito on Monday, September  20 and leave tomorrow for Los Naranjos to plant trees along the water's edge near the Equator. This will be a very isolated part of the trip for her. She may not have internet access until they leave there in late October----AGGGGHHHHHHHHH! This will be pretty difficult for me---I think she'll be so busy and tired that the time will fly by. They will plant trees from about 8:30-12:30, then they will have seminars in the afternoon about the culture and development in this area and similar areas. Her  birthday is October 2nd, so when I found out that I might not get to talk to her, I was so sad. She also told me that she wouldn't be receiving any of the mail I sent her until after they return to Quito (LATE OCTOBER!!!). I really couldn't believe that but apparently this is the way it is....so, all that mail will just be waiting for her when she returns. They will be living in host homes. They put at least one Spanish speaker in each home--so she'll have to learn Spanish as quickly as possible---hopefully that Latin will pay off!

SOOOO, this has been Hannah's trip so far. Please pray that she'll be a sweet, godly witness to her host family and all she comes in contact with in the village. Pray for her also to be a kind servant of Christ to her team mates---Pray for her to have a fantastic birthday. She will be on an excursion weekend that weekend to Bahia de Caraquez, an "eco-city" that is a big tourist destination for people in Quito. So, at least she'll be able to take a shower in a bathroom on her birthday (I hope)---and not just bathe in the river---yep, she'll be bathing in a river---WOW! She will leave Ecuador and go to Peru----to hike the Inca trail--but that's for another post!

{Color Couture-again}

Here's another card made with the Color Couture line from Papertrey Ink. Color Couture is a group of color coordinated pre-printed embellishments that you can combine with your supplies to make quick and trendy cards.This is the perfect item to have if you don't have a lot of stamps---or time! I made this card in about 10 mintues---that included cutting the cardstock, die cutting the mat---everything. I was working on some other cards and had a bit of time left, so I made this.One of the nice things about these items is that the color scheme is chosen for you, so if you are in a hurry, you can just follow the  pattern and get to crafting!

I chose the flower and cut the mat out of some patterned paper. I stamped the sentiment in the bottom right hand corner and added the ribbon and button. I have been on a kick with this ribbon treatment lately---I'll try to stop that soon!

I have some pictures to share of Hannah's time in Costa Rica. I'll do that soon! Enjoy your day~I'm ending mine---sleep is calling!

{Girly, You ROCK!}

 I have a friend who is doing a mini Triathalon tomorrow in Wilmington, NC. Even though I'm not an athlete, I REALLY appreciate and respect people who work so hard toward a goal. I especially respect women who are moms, wives, workers and still take the time to prepare their bodies for such events. I wanted to encourage her, so I made her a card---since I couldn't go to Wilmington to cheer her on!

I don't usually love my cards---I'm pretty critical, but I truly love how this card turned out---I matted  the Simply Chartreuse card base with some paper from the It's Official designer paper line. The colors in this paper pad are so great together---that's probably part of the reason I love it so much. I cut the brown mat with the Mat Stack 3 die in brown felt. I used the Fillable Frames #7 die to cut the sentiment block and stamped the frame in Berry Sorbet. The sentiment is actually from Signature Greetings by Dawn McVey---the cursive is actually her handwriting...isn't it great? She has a Signature Christmas set, too. I cut a butterfly from Simply Chartreuse felt and added three rhinestones to the middle. I finished it off with some Berry Sorbet grosgrain ribbon tied in a bow.

I added this to the inside---the little bee is from Baby Button Bits. I thought it was a butterfly until after I stamped it and realized that the wings were wrong! :0 Oh well!

David is home this weekend---it's fall here, even though you wouldn't know it by the weather, and that means College Football! LOVE! The Greek Festival is this weekend, too---I don't know if we'll be able to get there or not, but we do enjoy it. If you don't have anything to do this weekend and you are in the area, go to the Greek Festival at the Exposition Center at the Fairgrounds---good food and fun!

Enjoy your Saturday with your family! I know we will~

Girly, You Rock! card: (all products Papertrey Ink unless noted)
Stamps: Fillable Frames #7, Signature Greetings, Baby Button Bits
Paper: Simply Chartreuse, White cardstock, It's Official designer paper
Ink: Berry Sorbet, Dark Chocolate
Accessories/Tools: Wool Felt in Simply Chartreuse and Dark Chocolate, Clear Rhinestones, Berry Sorbet grosgrain ribbon, Cuttlebug (Provocraft)

ps~I'm currently using Joshua's VERY cheap camera for photos, so please excuse the quality---I know you were all complaining about it....  ; )

{Happy Birthday little monster}

Here's a little birthday card I made with the new tiny treats: Halloween stamp set from Papertrey Ink. I LOVE the tiny treats: Valentines, and I'm just as smitten with this set. I love to give little gifts and this has all sorts of cute images to use on your Halloween treats. I stamped the little monster six times and colored them with Copic markers in the Simply Chartreuse, Orange Zest, and Plum Pudding Copic Trio colors. I punched them out with my old Creative Memories square punch. I added the sentiment on a Fillable Frames #4 label that I die cut with Plum Pudding paper.  The buttons were tied with twine and attached with glue dots.

I hope to finish my bathroom this weekend----we'll see---sconces and mirror to hang, paint touch ups to do---but then I'll be done...and that will be a good thing! David is coming home and we are ALL looking forward to our time with him. Enjoy your weekend~

Kathleen

Little Monster Card~
All products Papertrey Ink unless noted:
Stamps: Tiny Treats: Halloween; Fillable Frames #1
Paper: Simply Chartreuse, Orange Zest, Plum Pudding
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukeniko)
Accessories: Copic Markers, Square Punch (Creative Memories), Cuttlebug (Provocraft), Vintage Buttons in Simply Chartreuse, Orange Zest, and Plum Pudding, Rustic Twine

{Card Set}

I haven't made a set of cards in a LONG time---I finally had some stamping time last week and made a set of cards so I'd have some on hand when I need them. For ALL the cards I have, I NEVER seem to have the one I need, so hopefully these will help! I saw cards similar to these on a blog one day and I CAN NOT find them anymore---I'm so sorry I can't credit the inspiration--

I made them basically the same but with different sentiments---I think I already need them all! So I need to make some more---trust me, it's a need! Here's some information on how I made them.

I started with various colors of cardstock and made A2 card bases. I layered each card with the same color cardstock that I ran through my Cuttlebug with the Woodgrain Impression Plate. Next, I cut the Mat Stack 4 out of Rustic White Cardstock. I layered it with the Kraft order form from the It's Official stamp set cut with the die---that I LOVE---I love that spiral top! The ticket is cut with the Just the Ticket Border die and stamped with the same stamp set  . I added ribbon and a button in the same color as my card. These actually went together very quickly and that's always a bonus for me! Now, I need to get to sleep---enjoy your day! Details are below~

It's Official Card Set~
All products Papertrey Ink unless noted~

Stamps: Just the Ticket, It's Official, Signature Greetings
Paper: Dark Chocolate, Berry Sorbet, Simply Chartreuse, Aqua Mist, Summer Sunrise, Terracotta Tile, Rustic White, Kraft 
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Simply Chartreuse, Berry Sorbet, Aqua Mist, Terracotta Tile
Accessories: Cuttlebug (Provocraft), Mat Stack 4, Just the Ticket & Spiral Page dies, Vintage Buttons and Ribbon/Twill in Dark Chocolate, Berry Sorbet, Simply Chartreuse, Aqua Mist, Summer Sunrise, Terracotta Tile, Rustic Twine

{A card for Hannah}

Edited: OOPS! I had this set up to post and forgot all about it...I hadn't added in the pictures---here they are!!---if you want details about the card---let me know! TOO MUCH IN MY BRAIN!

Well, Hannah is safely in Costa Rica. She's in orientation for her big adventure. She told me that she was having surfing lessons this morning---hee! If you know anything about Hannah, you're giggling right now! She will have SOOOO many experiences on this trip that she would not otherwise have an opportunity to experience! You can keep up with her adventures at her blog. Since Hannah will be out of the country on her birthday, we had a little birthday party for her before she left. She received a Nook for graduation, so one of her gifts was a Barnes and Noble giftcard that she could use to buy books before she left. Here's the card I made for her. I had to use this stamp set All Booked Up---She's such a bookworm---both of my girls are---and their daddy, actually!

{Today is the Day}

I'm having all sorts of Camera issues---serious enough that I'll likely send my camera to Canon for a fix---YIKES! I can't get my computer to recognize Caitlin's camera, so I HAVE NO PICTURES! Since I always have pictures on my posts, it may be awhile before I'm able to post again.

Hannah leaves this morning for her amazing adventure! I'll detail it another time---I need to get moving. She flies to Miami this morning and meets her group and then on to training in Costa Rica----praying for an amazing time---so many emotions today---I'm SOOOO excited for her and so sad for me! Please join me in praying for Hannah~details soon!

Kathleen