Free Crafting E-Book

I am ALL about things that are FREE so I was thrilled to find this Free Crafting E-Book.  It is called "The Ultimate Guide to Upcycling" and it looks like there are a ton of cute ideas inside!  Go to http://www.alteredupcycling.com/and request your copy today!!! 

Introducing..... A Scrap Meddler

My Fabulously talented friend Cris has created her own blog! She is SUPER creative...we call her a CRAFTY BEEYOTCH! Stay tuned to her blog for some GREAT ideas! She is a real ROCK STAR!!!

Chaos Reigns!

So I am sad that Halloween has passed me by this year with very little notice! I did not put up one single Halloween decoration in my home. Shocking but true.

This summer has been filled with one catastrophe after another and I am just reeling from all of the madness. In May we had to replace our hot water heater. In June/July we had to have MAJOR electrical work done and that was soooo not in the budget. Then in September we had a flood caused by heavy rain and an incompetent contractor. The same day as the flood, we also had a leaking skylight due to roof damage. So we are in the process of getting our roof replaced, fighting with the contractor's insurance company to pay for the damage to our home from the flood and basically trying to figure out which way is hope. You dream of buying your first home but no ones sits you down to tell you the reality of home ownership. Expense after expense after expense. Add in to all of this madness a half finished painting job in the main part of the house, a kitchen floor that desperately needs to be replaced and off-white carpet that the dogs have ruined and you can begin to see why I feel so overwhelmed.

I realize that I have so much to be grateful for and I do appreciate what I have. I just sometimes feel like we have had enough bad luck for any one family. Word of advice... NEVER buy a house from relatives. No good can come from the event and it will definitely leave you bitter and angry in the end.

Steampunk Digital Stamps

I am a HUGE fan of Tiddly Inks (a digital stamp company) and check often for new releases. I was thrilled to see that Tiddly Inks is joining up with Make It Crafty for a Steampunk/Victorian release on July 14th. Steampunk has been hot for a while and it seems to be becoming more mainstream so I am really looking forward to this release.

Catch up time.....

So I seem to have lost track of time and let my blog sleep for 9 months or so and I am trying to get into the habit of blogging at least a few times a weeks since I know I can't commit to every day yet! The truth is, I am a real technophobe and would prefer to be sitting at my desk with paper and pen than working on a computer. I am an admin and I spend a lot of time on the computer at work so when I am home, I am not at all interested in surfing the internet or playing on facebook.

My real motivation is that I have seen ads to join design teams for numerous stamp sites and one of the requirements is that you have a blog...and they want you to use it. Can you imagine? So I am going to try and be diligent about posting items to my blog and try to keep it up.

~*~ Blog Candy Giveaway ~*~

Tiddly Inks is hosting a blog candy giveaway. You can go here to enter: http://tiddlyinks.blogspot.com/2010/10/blog-candy-continued.html

Completed Card for Challenge

I worked on getting my card finished this weekend because I tend to be a procratinator! So here it is:

Thursday Card Challanege

The girls and I will be doing a weekly challenge.

The above picture is the challenge from http://stampincelebration.blogspot.com/2010/10/stampin-celebration-inspiration_14.html

Cris' Birthday

Today is my friend Cris' birthday! She is turning.....well, we'll leave that part out! This is the card that I made for her birthday! I love this image (from Mo's Digital Pencil!) and I actually used supplies I had on hand! That's right...I did not purchase one single thing to make this card! Yeah for me!!!

Halloween Swap

I hosted a halloween swap on Splitcoaststampers and this is a picture of some of the artwork I got to keep!!!

New Toys for Me!!

While on a shopping trip to Target this weekend, my husband found these for me! I was THRILLED and I am on the hunt for Clawdeen!!! Meet Draculaura and Frankie Stein!!

Art Journal

Here are some pictures of the art journal I am working on. It is for a Round Robin exchange so I will be mailing it out on June 28th so several women can lay there artistic hands on my journal and make it a one of a kind!

Sign up for the Give-away

So there is an awesome give away at Halles Hobbies blog and all you have to do to enter is leave a comment! Go check it out.

Art Journal Round Robin

So I have asked a group of fantastically talented women to participate in an art journal round robin. The premise is that we will each create a journal and then send it through the group for each participant to create a two page spread and an artist page. I am currently working on prepping my journal so it can hopefully begin its journey in a week or so. I am also waiting to hear from two more of the invitees to be sure they are participating. I am so excited to begin this journey. Once I have all of the agreements in place, I will introduce my lovely artistic friends.

Puppy......

Here is the latest addition to the Ark....she actually belongs to my daughter but I think we all love her. Introducing......ABBEY

WTF.....

Okay, so I just realized that I abandoned my blog for over FOUR months!!! WOW! Who knew I could care so little??? So I think I am going to post so craft items and really make this a usable blog. We will see how that actually works out!

Happy New Year's Eve!!

A friend sent me this Optimist's Creed by Christian Larson and I am hoping that I can follow it for the coming year.....

PROMISE MYSELF...

~to be so strong that nothing can disturb my peace of mind.
~to talk health and happiness, and prosperity to every person I meet.
~to make all my friends feel that there is something worthwile in them.
~to look at the sunny side of everything and make my optimism come true.
~to think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best.
~to be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as I am about my own.
~to forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
~to wear a cheerful expression at all times and give a smile to every living creature that I meet. ~to give so much time to improving myself that I have no time to criticize others.
~to be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
~to think well of myself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud words, but in great deeds.
~to live in the faith that the whole world is on my side, so long as I am true to the best that is in me.

To all of my friends and family......

I wish you joy, peace and love in the New Year!!!

Two Weeks in HELL

My daughter and her friend are leaving tomorrow and it can't be soon enough for me! I am sorry that my daughter is leaving but I will be so thrilled to see the last of her friend. They have been here for two weeks and I can honestly say that I cannot remember being more uncomfortable with another human being in my life. I feel like he has actually contaminated my house with his negative energy. As soon as they leave, I plan on cleansing my home....just so all of his negative crap leaves with him.

Tonight I took my daughter out to a bar since it was her last night here and she spent her 21st birthday in the emergency room with him. He pitched a fit because he wanted to go and I said NO. I wanted to have ONE night with just the two of us....a girl's night out if you will. So of course, he spent the evening texting her. I wanted to rip the phone out of her hand and smash it into little pieces. Every time she got another text, it was more bullshit and drama about how much he wanted to go out. Then he started sending out twitters about how much fun he's had on this trip and having won us over. BLEH!!! There is nothing in this universe that could help him win us over. He is so fake and melodramatic. Angel keeps saying that I just don't see what she sees but I do not see anything about him that is attractive, or funny, or intelligent. He is so needy and desperate for attention. All of these messages all over the place and he waited for her to get home so she could pack for him. Seriously?????

On Thursday night, we went to the Steeler bar to watch the first pre-season game and many of our friends were there. When Cris arrived, she engaged him in conversation and he was perfectly fine. As soon as she stopped talking to him, he looked around to find no one paying attention to him. Then the twitching and aches and pains started. He was all over the place with his inhalers and all his little "Back ache" exercises. I thought I was going to SCREAM. Who goes out in PUBLIC with ZERO social graces? Who acts like a complete MORON at a BAR? As long as he is the center of attention, he is medically fine. But as soon as he looses that attention, he falls prey to a myriad of physical ailments. It is utterly and completely RIDICULOUS!!! I've pointed these things out to my daughter and I will pray DAILY that she will see the light SOONER rather than LATER. I want her to be with someone who can bring joy and happiness to her life. I want her to be with someone who doesn't need to be the center of attention ALL the time. Occassionally SHE can be the center of attention. I want her needs and wants to be just as important as his are. I want her to be in a partnership as opposed to a relationship of servitude. Truthfully, I just want him as far away from her as he can possibly get. I will definitely be praying that he moves somewhere FAR away with his Dad and Angel moves back home.

Cleaning = well spent vacation day

So I am on vacation and spent the day working with my daughter and my friend to clean my craft room. It desperately needed organizing and I am happy to say that we got a LOT done...not everything but ALOT!!! I wanted to get it to a point where I can actually WORK in there instead of just using it to store my stuff. (And I have a LOT of stuff!!!) I think it helped to be able to see exactly what I have as far as supplies go (which is a little bit of everything) and what I need (which is actually nothing!) I am feeling pretty good about our accomplishments today and I am hoping that I will have time to work on my room again tomorrow. Then it is on to my office/library which desperately needs soom organization and cleaning....not to mention all of the filing I have to do!!! All in all I feel like this was a vacation day well spent!!!

Mother Knows Best

It is rare that we understand our parent's rules and regulations as we are growing up. As we age, we develop a sense of immunity that only belongs to the young. We feel that nothing can touch us or change the way we look at things. Life is a giant adventure that we are about to tme to suit our own needs and desires. We never stop to listen to the advice of the older, more experienced person who has lived more life than we have. We are sure that whatever they have to say has absolutely NOTHING to do with our lives!!! I say all of this only to say that I am super frustrated with my daughter who just turned 21 yesterday. She is dating someone that I do not like and I do not believe that he makes her happy. Her entire personality changes around him and she becomes someone I don't know and that I don't like. Of course, as soon as I try to talk to her, she is in defense mode and will defend him with her life. Me, I remember having a similar conversation with MY Mother about my daughter's father. He was the end all, be all of my world and I was willing to fight for him to the death. Had my Mom not pushed and prodded so much about him, I probably would have realized that he was not the one for me and ended our relationship. Unfortunately, she kept pushing me until I rebelled and married the man. In retrospect, I know that the person that got hurt the most in that situation was ME. I had to pay for the consequences of my actions....not my Mom. It made everyone involved unhappy and there was a LONG period of time where I didn't really talk to my Mom. She was angry....I was angry.....no one was talking!!! I love my daughter more than anything but I cannot condone or approve of this relationship. Unfortunately, she has dug in her heels and is determined to continue whether I like it or not. And I am firmly in the NOT category!!! I know that I am pushing her away by standing my ground but I refuse to LOWER my standards for her....or rather for him. I refuse to be happy about my daughter being with someone who is so self-centered and egotistical. I refuse to accept someone into my life who is a prissy know-it-all who has seen, heard and done EVERYTHING in the world. Everything about their relationship makes me sick to my stomach and I hate seeing her shackle herself to someone who offers her nothing in return and could care less about her well-being. Even knowing that embracing him would allow me to have a close relationship with my daughter, I refuse to betray my beliefs.