{A quick tag for a dear friend}

I had a gift for a friend, but of course, I hadn't wrapped it up until the last minute. I love wrapping things in bags and adding a tag, so I put together this quick tag combo from pieces I had already die cut. I just keep these extra pieces in an envelope for times like these! I love what dies have done for my craft time.....I can do things so much more quickly now---and since I never seem to have enough time, "quick" is good!

Well, Hannah is on a service trip with Davidson, Caitlin and Carson have a wedding here in Raleigh and I'm headed to a wedding in Greensboro with Joshua---the Dancing King. ;D You can check out two of his dancing debuts here and here! I'm hoping for some more dancing pictures for you soon~Thanks for the visit! Happy Saturday!

4you: (all products Papertrey Ink)
Paper: Pure Poppy, Orange Zest, Stamper's Select White, & Kraft cardstock
Dies: Mat Stack 4 , Limitless Labels, By the Numbers, Wonderful Words
Accessories/Tools: Orange Zest twill, Cuttlebug (Provocraft), 1 3/4"circle punch (EK Success)

{A Birthday party}

Sunday night we went to a party for a favorite four year old boy we know. His mom made this cake---isn't it amazing? I LOVE it! It's Mater from Cars fame.  I have some pictures from the party and of the gift/card we gave.....but I have NO pictures of the birthday boy. HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN? Oh my---I have a few pictures of his parents but none of them are any good---bad photography---it had nothing to do with the subjects! ANYWAY, there is nothing like a child's birthday party to make someone happy! I have had a tough weekend and it was so great to laugh and enjoy the kids at the party.

Hannah with a balloon head---and of course, the thumbs up sign---she has NO idea what this does to a Longhorn. I have failed her..... I must explain it to her......

 Kristin, Sarah Beth, Mary Grace & Hannah--LOVE these girls

We got Ian some Legos---and so did everyone else! Oh well, Legos are amazing and he can build all sorts of things with them long after he takes the original thing apart...trust me---I KNOW this personally.

I made a card and tag to match....I must confess, I used orange and green because I have TONS of orange and green tissue paper left over from the wedding and I really need to use it. I may use it on every gift for the next two years and still have some left---yes, I have that much!

Here's Ian's card. He loves to play video games, so I thought this Boy Basics: Game On set was perfect for his card. This set is so cute and it's only $5! You have to love that! I must say, I totally CASED this card (Copy And Steal Everything) from this post on Nichole Heady's blog. I didn't have much creative energy, so I used her layout almost exactly and just changed up the colors to match my huge supply of tissue paper! 

If you have any questions about the card or tag I'd be happy to answer them, I'm not going to do a detailed list tonight---I'm going to sleep. Joshua isn't feeling well and I may have a long night in front of me. He's already been in my room three times. Thanks for the visit---I have been working on my dining room and will have some posts on that soon---well, I hope I will.

{I heart Harry Potter}

It's here---the end. I saw the final Harry Potter movie today and was thrilled and sad---all at once. This movie and the book it portrays are in the top five on my entertainment list. I am not a reader---there, I said it. I have always admired them, readers that is. I read to my children often when they were young---picture books, chapter books, read alouds---everything. I wanted to produce reading children, but I just never was encouraged to read much as a child. My daughters DEVOUR books and so does their dad---but I have never been a good reader. I have actually learned to love reading through my children---my girl's would talk about a great classic they had read and I would open it up and read it for the first time.

I actually started reading the Harry Potter series when Caitlin was young and she needed some more reading material. Caitlin and I went to a little independent book store that was in Wake Forest at the time and talked to the owner about the books. Some people had said they were "bad" because they were about witchcraft and David and I didn't really see the big deal. Our children had read the Narnia series and as far as we knew they hadn't ended up hiding in wardrobes and playing with Prince Caspian. So we decided we would read the first one and make sure it was appropriate for her before we let her read it---as usual, Caitlin finished the first one before I did....and then, so did Hannah! BUT, I did finish it and I LOVED IT! I was totally hooked after the first book. We went to our first midnight release party when the third book was released---our girls NEVER got to stay up that late---they were in 6th grade and 3rd grade and we just didn't stay out that late WITH our kids! I remember there was a girl dressed as Moaning Myrtle with a toilet cover around her head---it was hysterical! WE WERE HOOKED! The girls would fight over the books when they first got them and thus the tradition began to purchase TWO of each book at the midnight release---they would stay up all night reading and then I would have one to read during the daytime! It worked out beautifully! And so the fun began every book release! My most memorable was the last book release---David and Caitlin were in Thailand and Caitlin bought a copy there. Joshua went to spend the night with my parents and Hannah and I left and headed to Barnes & Noble for the midnight release......we got there at 2:00pm---yes, we are losers! BUT, we were out of there by 12:03 with our TWO books in hand! Hannah had read the book in 7 hours and then slept awhile.....and then started it again!

This past school year, Joshua began reading through the series. I read a lot of it to him--which was SO fun! I was able to read back through the entire series right along with Joshua. We were able to share these characters together and I had yet another bonding experience with my child over a great piece of literature. I'm no literature expert, BUT, any book that gets kids THIS excited about reading is a special book---and J.K.Rowling wrote 7 of them!

SOOOOOOO, enough about that---the last 24 hours we have had a bit of a  Harry Potter fest! We made some Butterbeer. This is a drink in the books and we have made it a few times---There are all sorts of recipes online. We found a few we liked here and adapted them. Here's the recipe we used last night---warning---it's REALLY sweet, so next time we won't use as much cream soda! We doubled this recipe. This makes about 4 -6 servings.

Butterbeer

2- 12oz. bottles IBC Cream Soda

2 T butter

1/3 c. butterscotch chips

10-12 Werther's caramel filled candies

2 c. whipping cream

(1/2 c. whipping cream for recipe

1&1/2 c. whipping cream--whipped up for topping)

dash cinnamon (and nutmeg if you like it)

 Over medium heat, melt butter, butterscotch chips, and candies in a saucepan with whipping cream. When fully combined, add cream soda. Be careful to only cook soda long enough to warm it---you want it to still have some fizz. After warming, pour into a coffee mug and top with whipped cream. Sprinkle with cinnamon & nutmeg-Serve. YUMMMMY!

Then we watched the Deathly Hallows part one together. Hannah went to the midnight showing last night with some friends. This picture was taken with her iPhone and used her Instagram app. SO.WANT.ONE.OF.THOSE!! She took the picture at the very top of this post as well. Joshua had set up the Harry Potter stuff last night and we took pictures of it---it looks pretty cool, don't you think?

Joshua really wanted to dress up today---so he and I did. Hannah wore her time turner, but that's about it. Joshua was full blown Harry Potter and I dressed like Professor Umbridge---everyone HATES Umbridge, but I didn't really have clothes for other characters. All you have to do to dress like Umbridge is wear pink---LOTS of pink and a bow in your hair. I could do that! So, I purchased a horcrux locket at Barnes and Noble and put together lots of pink and I was set!

We had fun----one of Joshua's best friends and his mom came , too.

I'm sorry the glare is so bad on the glasses---I'm sure I could take that off, but I haven't mastered that in my editing software. 

Caitlin and Carson joined us, too--but they had to get home to Eve before we got a picture of them. It was sweet to get to share this with everyone---such a great way to end this fun series in our lives. I was looking at the book series at Barnes and Noble yesterday and thinking it wouldn't be long before I purchased them for my grandbabies and I get to start this all over again! That's the beauty of a good book!

{Summer Card Camp Week 3}

This has been my favorite color combo since the challenge started and I have had NO time to play! WAAAAAAHHHHHH!  I finally had a little time yesterday and put this card together. I hadn't used this stamp set yet---I'm so anxious to use it on some scrapbook pages someday---but for today, a card.

I used the Road Trip stamp set. I really love this set and I see so many possibilities for it---scrapbooking pages on travel and adventure, US geography stuff---I really like it.

I added the key with the word "journey" because it worked for this card---and the "adventure awaits" worked for the recipient, too.

I used Distressed Dots paper  and the Background Basics: Newsprint on the mat behind the focal point. I love this card---I think mainly because I love this color combo---a little less "wild" than the last two!  Details about the card are below---thanks for stopping by---Off to watch Harry Potter 7 in preparation for the final movie tomorrow---butterbeer is waiting! ;D

Adventure Awaits (all PTI products unless noted)
Stamps: Road Trip, Background Basics: Newsprint,
Paper: Kraft, Fine Linen, Dark Chocolate, Pure Poppy.  cardstock, Distressed Dots patterned paper
Ink: Chai & Chamomile Vintage Touch tea dye, Vintage Cream, Dark Chocolate
Accessories/Embellishments/Tools: Word Keys (Tim Holtz), Cuttlebug (Provocraft), Postage, Double Ended Banners Dies, Pure Poppy Baker's twine, Fine Linen twill

{We Love Chick-fil-A}

Yesterday was Chick-fil-A's Cow Appreciation Day. We live just minutes from several Chick-fil-A restaurants. One is so close we can walk to in about 5 minutes, so when we eat fast food this is a definite possibility. I have NO reason to talk about this company other than the fact that I love it---they don't know who I am---they don't give me any incentive to do anything for them---and let's face it....the three readers I have already know about the company! ;D (Photo from Chick-fil-A website)

On Cow Appreciation Day if you dress like a cow, you'll get a free meal or entree. WE GOT FREE MEALS---SERIOUSLY! ALL OF US! So, here are a few pictures of our day---So fun!

I wish I had thought of this idea earlier, I would have made Eve and Caitlin a shirt/onesie, too (the onesie would be for Eve---just in case you were wondering.) BUT, this is typical for me---GREAT IDEAS come to me......but they just come REALLY late in the game---like at 9:30 before you're supposed to be at the restaurant at 11:00am.....LATE. BUT, I did manage to get three shirts made----thanks to Heat 'n Bond.

 I had some felt I used for Joshua's shirt and some black and white polka dotted material for mine and Hannah's. Heat 'n Bond is the NON-SEWER'S dream---and sadly, that would be me---the non-sewer! You iron the heat n bond paper onto  your material, cut it out into cow spot shapes and then peel the paper off and iron it onto your shirt. REALLY simple!

OK--onto the pictures---

(photo from Amazon)

Joshua loves Chick-fil-A---just not having his picture taken!

Me and Caitlin---a friend of hers who works at this location affectionately called Caitlin the "ghetto cow"---she looks beautiful whether she's in a trash bag or a real cow costume.

Eve was so sleepy---so we didn't pull her out of her carseat....there ARE spots under there!

Joshua enjoyed spinning the wheel---you spin and win SOMETHING from Chick-fil-A. EVERY SPIN WINS!!! Whoohoo!

SOOOOOO---keep your eyes peeled for the next Cow Appreciation Day...you could get a free lunch, too....

{Week 2 Card(s) 3}

I have been in the mini card mood this week. I have no idea why. I have not made many of these, but I just love to include them with a gift or in a lunch box or under a pillow. I made a set of 8  3" square minis all using the same stamp set and paper---simple to put together and lots of fun because they are so small it happens very quickly. I was grateful to have some time to finish these up this morning. I used the same color combo from earlier this week. You can see it below. There are six more color combos up for my class now, but I had already started these. I doubt I'll have much time to stamp over the weekend, but if I do---I'll be sure to show you! I'm getting my card stash built up again and I'm so glad.

Here's the other pear card. All of these cards use one of the Fruit Fusion sets designed for Papertrey Ink by Melissa Bickford. I love her stamps!

Cherry Card #1--I used the Limitless Layers Collection on all of these little cards as well. Dies just make cards happen so much faster--

Cherry Cards together. I must not have gotten a picture of the "Sweet on you" card alone.

Here are the two Strawberry cards---I wasn't as crazy about these---but--truth in stamping....you just don't always like the results!

 

Apple card 1---I love how you can make the inside or outside of the apples. I used the inside on this one and added a button to the middle with some twine.

Apple card 2---not a great photo. We've had SO much rain (YIPPEE---I LOVE rain), that I haven't had much natural light to take photos of my cards. Anyway, this is one of my favorites, but you really can't see the details of the stamping on this one. 

Well, that's it for today. I hope your weekend looks bright! I have quite a few  family posts to do---hopefully soon! Enjoy some family time this weekend~ Kathleen

{Week 2 Card 2}

I had some time to play this morning because Joshua was in Rocky Mount with Caitlin and Carson (and Eve). He spend the night with them at Carson's parent's house and they came home tonight and had dinner with us----THUS the later post. I am working on a little card set, but it's not ready to be photographed yet---hopefully in the morning.

I made a little mini card today---it's a 3" x 3" square. I scored it at 1/2" increments vertically and horizontally. Then I added two pieces of patterned paper , a couple stars, a button and a tag---simple, simple!

I hope to be back tomorrow with another post--I also have some family posts to do....so much to talk about, so little time! ;D

Thoughtful mini-card: (All items PTI unless noted)
Stamps: Flower Fusion 2
Paper: Kraft, Pure Poppy, Summer Sunrise, Bitty Box patterned paper in Ripe Avocado &  Spring Moss, SS White
Accessories: Score-pal, Rustic cream button twine, Orange Zest vintage button
Tools: Star punches (EK Success)

{Summer Card Camp Week 2}

I had hoped to get some stamping done before now, but there's this thing called motherhood that sort of took priority over my play time! I did get a card made earlier today---

Here's my card~

I love this stamp set that I used. It's a favorite of mine from Papertrey Ink (surprise!) Friends 'til the End. The flowers are beautiful and it has some of my favorite sentiments. I stamped a bunch of flowers and leaves using versamark ink and then embossed them with white embossing powder. I love to emboss, but I just never do it---I pulled in the second green a little more with the sentiment. I cut them out with scissors.....no die yet....I just keep hoping! I used the dies from Wonderful Words Additions for the "you". That is the greatest die! I love these dies that produce the beautiful cursive words! I've thought of so many words that I'd love to have in "die" form!  I hope to have some time to make another card or two tomorrow, but we'll just see. I have some scrapbooking to do too. I'm trying to figure out how to photograph my Project Life pages....I have kept up with it for half a year now and I'm COMMITTED! Hoping to do that before the school year begins! I need to run--thanks for stopping by....I'm so glad you did!

Grateful for you card (all items PTI unless noted)
Stamps: Friends 'til the End
Paper: Stamper's Select White, Pure Poppy, Summer Sunrise, Orange Zest, Simply Chartreuse, & New Leaf
Ink: Versamark Ink (Tsukineko)
Embellishments: Vintage Buttons in Pure Poppy & Summer Sunrise, White Filigree embossing powder, embroidery thread
Tools: Cuttlebug (Provocraft), Wonderful words additions dies,

{Happy 4th of July}

I hope you are enjoying your day. I hope you don't have to work. I hope you are grateful to live here---even if you don't love everything about America, it's a great place to live and raise a family. I hope you aren't alone today. I hope your surrounded by people you love..........or your family!!! hee! Here are some pictures of my favorite people! Enjoy~these were all taken at beautiful Gulf Shores, AL by my nephew, Jeff Nelson. He is a photographer in the area and I'm sure he'd be happy to take your family photos if you are ever down there. Check out his studio website. He has lots of beautiful photos---not just people!

{One last card from week 1}

I have one more card I made from my week one in the Summer Card Camp. I meant to post this sooner, but just didn't get it done. Not a lot of talk tonight---just a card!

I used the last color combo on the list and there was a sketch to follow as well---that's the easiest way to make a card! Just pick out some papers and go crazy! I'm trying to use up what I have, so I went WAY BACK to some old paper-Basic Gray's Sultry 6x6 paper pack.

Look at my handsome boy! I had to have a picture today---he looked so handsome for church today and he let me take his picture! What a precious gift he is! Thanks for stopping by~

HB2U card
Paper: Smokey Shadow cardstock (PTI), Basic Grey Sultry patterned papers
Accessories: Basic Grey letter stickers, Foo-fa-la buttons, rustic twine, brown rhinestones (PTI)