the view out my window this morning

not an unusual site in late April or May but in February it is unheard of. rain yesterday, joined by thunder and lightening last night and more rain has created a lake in the back yard. This morning that rain switched over to snow and the kids currently have chairs lined up and are watching the snowfall. something they haven't been able to do to often this winter.

some things I've beenworking on...

creating with some new scrapbook products and some not so new products (just had them forever and never truly used them)
I even recruited kevin to help out with one project... feels good to be back in the scrapping/crafting mode...

last tournament of the season

an all day affair.
where they took 5th place.
what a season it has been. loved watching as his skills imporved with each passing week, loved seeing his excitement
with each game played. A bit relieved to be done with this season tho...a tiny pause before the next sport season begins.

Science Fair

Athony brought home the instructions for his science fair project a few weeks ago. He was quite enthusiastic about it. I cringed wondering how it would go. He starts out excited but usually he loses steam quickly and this was not going to be a done in a hour type project. We did some searching online and found a idea that he felt would be fun to explore. This past weekend he researched and studied, and tested, and tested some more, and then did the testing again (little sisters helping does not make for a scientific controlled test area) We assembled his display board and sighed with relief when it was complete. I'm sure he was quite releived to just be done with his mom's constant reminders and such. Keeping him on task is indeed a challenge at times. His topic? Does the shape and size of an ice cube affect the time it takes to melt. He spent much of his weekend watching ice melt (it takes forever by the way) The project is at school awaiting the Science Fair to be held tomorrow.

a scrapbook

The sweet lady who was working on an album like the one above gave no indication the pure torture this album was going to be.
She kindly gave each of us who ooooooed and aaaaaaahhhhed over her beautiful album the instruction sheets. I looked at it and thought
oh I could do this, and then decided why not do two? (gee why not, I hate that over achiever in me some days) I scanned the directions, cut out the paper for two albums and when the next crop rolled around I was ready to finish these two albums.
Then...reality set in.
I read the directions once, and then again, and once more...
Looked at Donna sitting across the table from me and doing the same project and said "did these directions make sense to you?"
"Nope" was her response.
Okay so maybe this wasn't going to be so simple.
next I started to remove the cute little grade cutouts, and after one shredded attempt and a lot of muttering. I took comfort in the fact that Donna was muttering too. I tried the next grade cutout and after that dismal failure I moved onto plan B...stickers. Apparently the deisgn of this cricut cartridge left little tabs on the letters that required snipping and cutting each darn letter...some must find that fun. I find that absolutely torturous.
and so it went, eventually the directions found their way to the floor where I gave them no glance at all, and after two days of working on the album I still had not completed the first album let alone even looked at the second. The material for the second album made it's way to the give away table, one was all this girl was going to make. It truly would be one of a kind.
It was weeks after that crop that I finally pulled the album out and finished it. It had been my intent to give it to one of my daycare moms who was quite thrilled with the completed album.
I am still having nightmares about it.
sigh, I may have to slap that sweet little old lady the next time I see her.

Perhaps

Stamping isn't so difficult.....
I created these cards using a cricut cartridge....
Art Philosophy.  Most of the elements were cut
on the cricut machine including the card form itself.
stamping on the images and the card itself were also
techniques used.  Dare I say it was actually quite fun?
I see a world of crafting potential just waiting to be
discovered.  

Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone

Pink Lemonade....

cupcakes?
I say yes please!

Rick Rack

my mother in law arrived the other day with a bag filled with rick rack. She wondered if I could use it in my scrapbooking projects.
Oh my stars could I use it. So many colors and sizes... and the labels, beautiful, old, and in amazing shape. Some could say vintage.
the prices made me smile, really where does one buy anything these days for .10 cents?

the Big Shot

I have looked at this die cutting machine time and time again. deciding to not purchase it since I had one of the original (but smaller)
machines from this company. Of course most of the dies I look these days will only work on this machine. sigh. Enter the opportunity to purchase it for 1/2 price and I was sold. All of the dies I have gathered over the years work wonderfully in this maching and now I can actually use those larger dies too. Above is the first item made with this new machine...a hungry caterpillar tag (I've had that die forever and never used it) Working on a birthday theme for one of those spring birthday's inching our way.

so many

sweet valentine' gifts....pictures drawn by my little ones, a flower from a daycare child. chocolate from a few other daycare kids.
so sweet, so thoughtful, so made my day.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentin's Day

valentine's party with the daycare kids...