Halloween Fun!

I know, Halloween is long gone, but I just have to share the layout I did for the So Sketchy Blog. I just had to do a layout of the picture of my husband carving the pumpkin with the saw. It had to be a funny layout. I don't usually do funny layouts, so it was a great change of pace. I don't always have to be serious and soul searching. I don't know why I don't think of doing fun layouts more often. They are fun! Imagine that??

Here is the sketch:

and here is what I came up with!
I decided to use Saw 5 as my theme- I just loved the catch phrase! I cut the edges of the layout jagged to give it more of a saw feeling. I had a blast thinking about the little touches in this very simple layout! My family just loves it. The spider web gives it the right effect! I used Making Memories and Theresa Collins papers, Cosmo Cricket and Making Memories alphas, and a Jenni Bowlin ticket.
The journaling states:
Proof there is too much testosterone in this house.


Some extremely sad news!

On a very sad note, a lovely and talented scrapbooking friend of mine passed away yesterday. I will miss her tremendously. Rosie made the most amazing cards and whenever I hear of Christine Adolph stamps, I will always think of Rosie! She was a fixture at my LSS and she will be missed tremendously!! Rosie, you made a lasting impression in many a heart here in the valley and we will miss your smile! Even though your talent was amazing, you still took classes and enjoyed what we had to offer! I should have been learning from you girl!! My heart goes out to her friends and family!! Keepsakes retreats will never be the same!! We will miss you!

May the peace that passes all understanding be yours today,
Kristii

Surprise!!!

What a week! It was full of busyness and lots of work!! I ended up working 52 hours this week, whew!!! I am exhausted! I knew it was going to be a crazy week, and I was all geared up for working and sleeping this weekend. We stayed up pretty late on Friday night and I didn't worry about it because I knew I didn't have to be to work until 10. I usually get up before 5 so sleeping in till 8 or 9 sounded heavenly. Wouldn't you know, about 5:30 am the dogs started barking. I was a little cranky because they bark at the slightest noise. Well, my hubby got up to investigate and the dogs went ballistic. He was going to open up the front door to prove to them there was no one there, and much to his surprise the screen door was open! After adjusting his vision, who did he see on our porch???? Our sweet, wonderful, amazing daughters!!!!! What a surprise!!! We were totally blown away! We had absolutely no idea they had planned this. I got up and I was so surprised I started crying buckets!!! I just couldn't believe they were here!!! We are so blessed!!! Needless to say, I still had to work, but everything else became secondary. I had a fantastic weekend with my girls!!! I am sooooo happy!!! I even did a layout based on the surprise for my DT work for Little Red Scrapbook!! What an awesome weekend!! Here is the picture they took in our driveway just before they came in to surprise us! Aren't they beautiful?!!!
Speaking of Little Red Scrapbook, I have some sneak peeks from my designs for this month.

This month's kit was a lot of fun to work with!!!! Lots of pretty patterns, florals, and ribbons!!!

Thank you to all who particiapted in Color Me Daisy's Blog Hop! I will be checking out everyone's blog as soon as I can. My kids will not be leaving until Tuesday and I just can't spend too much time online while they are here!! It has been a lot of fun to see everyone's transparency projects!!!

I hope you have time this week to check out Scrapping the Music's Challenge Blog!!! This week's song is Video by India Aria! There are a lot of amazing lyrics in that song!!! Here is my take on week #61:

The lyrics I took from the song are:

When I look in the mirror the only one there is me Every freckle on my face is where its supposed to be And I know our creator didn't make no mistakes on me

I switched the words around in the first line to make my title and wrote the next two lines by hand. I used papers and supplies from my Looking Glass kit by Studio Calico. Mostly Basic Grey Offbeat goodies.

I am off to make some cinnamon pull aparts for my kiddos and then get ready for work. I hope you all have a great day!

kristii

Color Me Daisy Blog Hop!!

Welocme to the first ever Color Me Daisy Blog Hop!!! All the daisy girls will be posting projects using transparencies. You never know what we will come up with, you will want to hop from blog to blog to see great tutorials and eye candy. Don't forget to leave a comment, all people who leave a comment get a chance at winning a great prize from Color Me Daisy. We hope you will get into the Blog Hop Spirit and make your own transparency project!! Everyone who participates will get another chance to win a CMD Prize!!! Post something on your blog dealing with transparencies and we'll hop on over to your blog to check out the eye candy and leave you some love! You have Friday through Sunday to join in the fun! Sign in on the Color Me Daisy message board so we know to hop on over to your blog. And make sure you check out everybody else's blog, and who knows? You might win a great CMD prize!! I can't wait to see what you all will create with transparencies!!!

Here is my little project:

The Fancy Pants Glitter Cuts Autumn Frame transparency found in the November Color Me Daisy Kit, Feeling Fall, is perfect for our blog hop! It is beautiful and full of glitter!! However, I decided to use it in a different way.

When putting together my layout, I decided it needed a punch of color. The glitter side of the transparency was pretty, but just didn't give my layout the color it was shouting for. I found that if I turned the transparency around, the backside was a nice bright orange/red color. It was perfect for my layout!

Here is my layout and you can see how the simple act of turning the transparency over gave my layout the punch it needed!
I also did a project with a transparency last month. I don't know if you have ever made cards with transparencies, but they are a blast to make. The dimension you can create by layering your elements on top of the page as well as behind the page is amazing.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you take on this challenge!! . Check out the Color Me Daisy site and see who else is participating in the blog hop. Then hop on over to see their projects! I can't wait to see what you create!!!

Kristii

So Thankful Part II

I am determined to focus on Thankfulness this month. It is such a busy time and I tend to lose sight of what is important if my focus isn't centered in the right direction. There are so many things to be thankful for, I just can't stop at the top ten. So here is the second half of my top twenty. These are not necessarily in order from greatest to least....I am just writing what comes to mind.

I am thankful for:
11. knowing that God is in Control
12. the fact that I live in a free country
13. for each and every breath that I have been given
14. time-even though there doesn't seem to be enough in the day, may I learn to use it more wisely
15. books-what a delicious way to spend some of the free time I have been given!
16. the changing seasons (snow is in the forecast for today)
17. the growth that has taken place in me and my family over the years
18. cell phones-it helps my family stay in touch on a daily basis!
19. Christmas-my kids are coming home!!
20. my children's personalities...they are all so different and special! I am so blessed!

I am also thankful that my daughter Bethany is taking up the craft that I love so much! She sent me a picture on my cell phone of a page she created yesterday! It is beautiful! I am hoping that she will send a picture to me that I can post it here. I can't tell you how much it blesses my heart!

November's kit is now up at Color Me Daisy!!! Whoo hoo!! What a fun kit to work with.

Here are a couple of projects I have finished with this awesome kit.


This project is my favorite. I just love October Afternoon products and these papers are awesome. I decided it would be fun to use color blocks along with this awesome picture of my kids we took while we were on the beach in Washington. The journaling states: My heart is so full of love for you. Stay close to each other, love one another deeply, and always be there to listen. Take care of each other always. I used a Martha Stewart punch to make the decorative edge. You just gotta love her punches!!

November Challenge at Color Me Daisy!!


This card was made for my monthly challenge. I hope you can participate!! It is very easy, just make a card of thankfulness-whether you make a thank you card or a Thanksgiving Card, it's up to you. Post your finshed card to the November Challenge Gallery at Color Me Daisy and also post a link under Kristii's November Card Challenge and you will be elligible to win a prize!

I can't wait to see what you will create!!

Tomorrow I will post some layouts for the Color Me Daisy November Blog Hop! I hope you will check back and play along!!

Have a great day!

kristii

Election Day

Finally! I am so tired of all the campaining-I have another word for the whole process, but I will choose to be positive instead of negative! The bright spot in this 2008 election has to be Tina Fey and her interpretation of Sarah Palin. She is truly a bit of sunshine on a cloudy day.

I will vote after my sweetie gets off work and wait to hear the results. The next 4 years will be very interesting that is for sure!

I am so excited to share my publication news. I was contacted by Stacey Michaud about a layout that I had done this summer that was perfect for an article that she wrote for ScrapStreet.com Magazine this month. You can view the article here. Thank you Stacey for considering my work! What an honor! That is one of my all time favorite layouts and it is so rewarding that someone else liked it too!!!

I am off to work on my projects for Little Red Scrapbook. This month's kit is gorgeous!!

I hope you will be able to play with LRS scrappy goodness this month too!!!

I have to work on my Bible Study this morning too. I hope you all have a great day!

May God Bless the USA!

Kristii

Thank Goodness for an extra hour of sleep!!

Daylight savings time ended this week and it certainly did feel good to wake up Sunday Morning knowing it wouldn't be as late as it seemed. Wouldn't it be nice to add an extra hour of sleep every three months or so. I could certainly use it!

I was able to get a lot done over the weekend, hooray!! I am all caught up on my laundry, I made two dinners for the week-a pot of stew and chicken noodle soup, I cleaned my kitchen and swept and mopped my floors, went to the grocery store, and I cleaned my bathrooms. This week will be a bear as it is Parent Teacher Conferences and Open House/VIP night at Hallmark. I will be working every night but Tuesday and also on Saturday, so I will virtually have no extra time. I am all geared up for the busyness, so hopefully it will all go by quickly!

I also finished a card class I will be teaching at Keepsakes by Design on November 20th.





There are plenty of spots open, so sign up at Keepsakes by Design today!! I always love teaching card classes and these October Afternoon papers are a delight to work with!!

I also finished up my projects from Color Me Daisy, but we have a surprise coming up for you later this week and I will wait until then to post my projects!

I started a new book this weekend and it is one that I think everyone should read!!
Here is a synopsis from Amazon: "Calling The Shack a truly unique piece of literary genius would be an understatement. It would be like calling The Sistine Chapel a simple work of art. But like both masterpieces, you need to delve deeper to truly appreciate what is in front of you. The story's premise is a simple one: the unconditional love God has for us all. It answers the questions we all grew up wondering and the answers just might change your entire outlook on life while changing your preconceived notions of theology. And yet, not everyone may agree with the ideas presented to them within the bindings of this work, they will all agree that this is the most thought provoking read to come out in years. I'll try to be brief with the story so I don't spoil it for the few left who haven't read it. A man loses his daughter in a most horrific fashion and his belief in God is beginning to strain. Suddenly he finds himself at a shack near the scene of his daughters disappearance where he is reminded of the love, truth, and wisdom of God. In short: it is about a man who lost his faith and through the powers of prayer rediscovers God the Almighty. The writing is flawless, the story is refreshing and warming, and the message sheds light on the power and love God has for us all. " It is truly a remarkable book!!

I hope you all have a great week!

May the joy of the Lord be your strength today!

Kristii

Cricut Capers

I am totally loving the Cricut Paper Doll Dress Up cartridge! It has become one of my favorite cartidges this Halloween Season and in honor of a request by a friend of mine, I thought I would post a few projects I have done with that cartridge:

I think that the tree is my favorite of all, but there are so many options!! The pumpkins, the ghost, the cat,the bat and the castle are all cut out of this cartridge. I even had a friend ask if I had a cow on any of my cartridges, and sure enough, there is one on the Paper Doll Dress Up cartridge.

This will be a very busy day, so I am off!

Have a great day!

kristii

It's Official...

There is way too much testosterone in this house!!

And here's the proof:

Like Father, Like Son

We had a great time carving our pumpkins, but I felt like I was in an episode of Tim the Tool Man Taylor, lol! Our pumpkins were pretty big and I have to admit the saw worked quite well, but leave it to a guy to get out the power tools. Thankfully there were no lost limbs or digits in the process and I think our pumpkins turned out fantastic!

I am off to do my study,

I hope you all have a great day!

kristii

Home is a wonderful place to be!!

Tonight is the only night this week all three of us are going to be home at the same time, so we are going to carve our big, beautiful pumpkins!

We found these beauties at Green Bluff while we were visiting Heidi. Of course, I can't do anything small. I have to find positively perfect, pleasing pumpkins with the right amount of personality! lol! Heidi and Travis already carved their masterpieces and I am hoping she will send pictures so I can post them. I am going to make a pot full of chili and some hot apple cider for dinner and we will roast pumpkin seeds while we carve. Benjamin is always a good sport and usually comes up with an amazing creation! I look forward to being home tonight...(insert big sigh of contentment here!)...home truly is a wonderful place to be.

I just have to post my latest creation for the So Sketchy Blog by Alison Cope. She gave me a sketch for a 2 page layout and I had a blast with it. It brings me back to the old days when I thought I could only do 2 page layouts. I haven't visited that train of thought for quite some time. I didn't scrap a major event like Christmas or a birthday, but it was a major event in our family. I decided to use the pictures we took when we moved Heidi into her very first apartment. Doesn't she look happy? She has such a cute apartment and she and her roomates have truly made it into a home! I love the pictures of her daddy and brother giving her hugs. Soooo sweet! We are so proud of you girl!

I used Studio Calico goodies in this layout-October Afternoon papers, Heidi Swapp accents, American Crafts Thickers, Anna Griffin Alphas and Prima Florals and jewels.

My bible study reflected on Israels Feast of Weeks-which was a time for the Israelites to remember their former bondage. In the same light, I was enslaved to sin until I asked the Lord to be my Savior. Through His Grace, God has given us great freedom and generously gives to all who ask. May I have the spirit of giving generously as the Season of Giving approaches, though, not just at Thanksgiving, but all year through. I must have an attitude of Gratitude!

My top ten List:

I am thankful for...

1. My God and King

2. My family-my sweet hubby, my kids, My dad and Carrie, and the rest of our extended family! We are blessed!

3. My home-it is the most wonderful place to be!

4. My two sweet dogs Lily and Charley

5. My jobs-they don't pay alot, but I enjoy them both!

6. The landscape where we live. We are surrounded by God's amazing creation!!

7. My hobby-scrapbooking has become a way of life!

8. My friends, not only the physical, but the virtual too!

9. Music, it fills my soul, and blesses my heart!

10. My memories...I am so thankful that God has allowed us to remember those things that are precious to us!! I love you mom!

May you be thankful for all you have today!

Kristii

What a great weekend!!!

My weekend was filled with family, friends, scrapping, teaching, praying, and celebrating. The weekend started off late Friday afternoon by packing up my scrapping supplies and heading over to our annual Fall Retreat with my LSS, Keepsakes by Design. It was a lot of fun to get together with the girls and scrap again. I will have to say, I didn't get as much done as I hoped to, but we had a lot of fun just the same! Here is a picture of me and my friend Susan Beth.

Saturday morning I opened the birthday present my sweet daughter sent me. I was so excited. She made her very first card and sent me the most awesome present! .

The fact that she made the card brought tears to my eyes and the words on wall hanging, wow!!! I couldn't hold back the tears!! I am so blessed!! I am going to hang it in a place where I will see it every day!!! Thank you sweetie, I will treasure this gift forever!! I taught two classes on Saturday and I was quite exhausted by the time I was finished. Thank you to everyone who took my classes!! I had a blast with all of you!! My back held out until about 10:00 and I tried to get a little more done after that, but I think I was just too tired. I went home at midnight and shared some chocolate birthday cake that was lovingly baked and frosted by my boys. It was delicious!! Sunday was back to the retreat to work on a beautiful make and take!!

It was a great weekend, but now I have a lot of catching up to do!! I am not going to stress over it, because eventually everything will get done!!

I was able to finish a layout for Scrapping the Music. Whoo hoo!! If you get a chance head on over and try out this week's challenge. It is based on the song, I'm Yours, by Jason Mraz. I used a picture from the photo shoot I took for Bethany and Matt's engagement announcement. I just love this picture!! We had so much fun that day and we were able to get several good shots! It is hard to believe these pictures were taken over 2 years ago!

I used KI Sheer Delights and paper from the beautiful Scenic Route Sonoma line. I also added some flowers from Prima and jewels from Creative Imaginations. I used my Cricut to cut out the large butterfly and the doily lace punch and butterfly punch from Martha Stewart.

I am off to do my bible study for today, so I hope you all have a fantastic Monday!!!

Middle-Aged??

As I draw near to the big 4-5, (I just can't bring myself to say it, lol!!), I am being reminded of just how old I really am.
*My kids will all be 23, 21, and 17 respectively-that alone makes me feel ancient!
*those fine lines around my eyes are becoming canyons!
*the body is just not cooperating any more-I hurt my back this week and I am having to take it easy-(I am really too young for back problems aren't I???)
*My mind is still sharp, but it still thinks I am young until my body complains....what's a girl to do?
First of all, I am going to take 2 aspirin, lol! Then I am going to ask for a new computer chair for my birthday. I spend way too much time in this uncomfortable one and I am tired of my back complaining. I am going to carefully stretch and take better care of myself. (ok, I have said that before....but now my back is demanding it!) I have to slow down, end of story!

Not only do I need to take better care of myself physically, but I have to take better care of myself spriritually too! My bible study's session two is entitled, "Our Eyes Look to the Lord". Consider this quote, "...an entire chain reaction begins with our eyes and ultimately affects our hearts, souls and minds. Where we look-where we genuinely fasten our gaze-amid continual life challenges has a tremendous impact on how we feel." Is my gaze on the things of this world, or am I looking to Christ and listening to His words? How differently I see things when I am reading and praying and spending time with the Lord!

I hope you will gaze on the day's events with Christ's perspective! I will be thankful for my aching back because it is causing me to slow down and only do those things which are truly important.

Hope you have a great day filled with joy,
Kristii

Missing my girls!!

As I sit here at my desk this morning, I am feeling very wistful. Having had such a great time with Heidi over the weekend makes me realize just how deeply my heart longs to spend time with my girls! I miss them soooo much! Christmas just can't come soon enough!! I don't know how I am ever going to get through Thanksgiving without them! I am just so happy that they will be together! That does make my sadness seem a little brighter. The best cure for these wistful feelings, though, is scrap therapy!! I am so thankful for this hobby that lets me create and helps me to mend my broken heart at the same time!! Here is a layout I did of my girls from pictures we took over the summer.

This layout is based on a sketch by Allison Cope for the So Sketchy Blog. I used the Scenic Route Sonoma line and a little bit of hand stitching. I just love these papers. I need to do some more creating with them. The colors are gorgeous!!!

I am going to take some time to go and do my bible study. Hopefully that will bring some sonshine into this gray day!!!

Wishing you bright, sunshiny day,

Kristii

It's a beautiful morning!!!

It is going to be 68 degrees today with the promise of 54 degrees and snow tomorrow.
The weather may be fantastic today, however, the best part about this wonderful morning is I get to go through my pictures and my memories of a fantastic weekend spent with my daughter! We had beautiful weather all weekend! I thought we were going to have some rain during our time in Washington, but it didn't materialize! We were truly blessed!

We arrived midday Friday and took Heidi and Travis to dinner and to the movie. If you haven't seen Eagle Eye, I highly recommend it. It is full of action and suspense.

Saturday we had coffee and then we headed to Green Bluff. Green Bluff is a little farming community and Parents weekend is right in the middle of their Apple Festival-"a six week all-out apple frenzy". Besides picking apples and pumpkins, they have live music, hayrides, and the best pies we have ever eaten!! It is truly a family fun event!! Here are a few pictures from our afternoon at Green Bluff:

Eating the best pie ever at Harvest House.

We found a few golden delicious apples on the tree, but the pickings were slim this year. We ended up buying some apples from the store at Walter's Fruit Ranch instead. I have to tell you though, that is still way better than anything we can find here in Montana!

Of course we found a few pumpkins at Knapp's pumpkin patch. They have the best pumpkins around!! As you can see, we had a great time!! One of these days we are going to have to go out in the spring and early summer to pick some cherries and strawberries! Yum!

Later that day, we ate at the Olive Garden and had a very nice and relaxing dinner. We were able to talk and just enjoy one another's company. I treasure that time! After dinner we went back to our hotel and I hemmed Heidi's dress slacks for her upcoming nursing school interview. We were all pretty exhausted and called it an early night. Sunday we had breakfast at our hotel and then we had to take them back to Heidi's apartment. It was hard for us to say goodbye. Heidi is so settled and she is so at home now. It was a lot different having her live in an apartment rather than the dorms. I really don't know how to explain it except to say, we were going back home and leaving her at her own home. I guess it is just another step in the leaving and cleaving process. It is one of those bitter/sweet things that you are happy and sad about at the same time. I guess I will just suffice it to say, we are so proud of our daughter and we had the best time this weekend!!

The drive home was absolutely amazing. The Tamarack trees were in their prime and the forest was ablaze! I don't know if you have ever had the chance to see a forest full of changing Tamarack trees, but if you ever get the chance, it is a sight to see! The pictures just don't do them justice.

I also have to post my layouts from the Little Red Scrapbook October kit. It was one of my favorite LRS kits ever!!

Thanks for looking!! I hope you all have a great day!!

Kristii