Scrap This Kit

Wanted to give a shout out to my friend Tami Taylor, who has started her own kit club. Tami has made her July debut release for her club, Scrap This Kit, with the delicious papers from Basic Grey's Lemonade and June Bug lines:

Main Kit - June Bug


Special Edition Kit - Lemonade


Each kit is loaded with lots of extra goodies and sell for $30 each. Please stop over at Scrap This Kit and check out the other kit add-ons that Tami has available.

Relay For Life

Once again our Relay For Life event is upon us. There are many different reasons I personally relay. I lost my father-in-law to cancer in 2006, my mother, mother-in-law, Butch's Uncle Billy, my brother-n-law Alan, and my daughter are all cancer survivors. I would like see great steps made towards the cure for this terrible disease during my lifetime. We are on the right track, but more research needs to be done.

So far our team has raised $830 working at a golf tournament and we are determined to reach our goal of $1,500. We each set a personal goal of $150 and time is coming up quickly for me to accomplish that. That said, I came up with a creative way, I hope, for a chance to raise my share and repay you for your generosity.

Click here ---> The American Cancer Society <--- and donate $5 or more to any member of my team. (All donations are tax deductible and you will receive a statement immediately for your donation.) I will put you into a drawing for a chance to win a great RAK! It's my way of saying thank you for your time and generosity!

Thanks! Godspeed.....

Summer sweetness from the oven!

With the abundance of fresh fruits showing up in roadside stands and in our grocery stores, I decided it was time to bake! Since apples or peaches aren't ready just yet - no hurry cause summer ends way too soon! - I went ahead and used bing cherries instead. Not your usual staple in a fruit crisp, but the yummy sweetness of this year's crop is just too good to pass up.

Fresh Cherry Crisp
* 1 lb. of cherries
The longest part of this recipe is pitting the cherries. Don't need a pitter, a sharp knife will do! Just cut the cherry in half, twist slightly, one side will come off in your hand, the other will have the pit remain. Cut around the pit and pop it out. Once you have them all finished, pour and spread in a 10x10 baking dish.

* Mix together the following:
1/2 cup quick-cooking oatmeal
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

* Using a pastry cutter, cut in 1/4 cup butter or margarine. The pieces of butter/margarine should be the size of coarse crumbles:


* Spread mixture evenly over the cherries.

* Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, times may vary depending on your oven.

Doesn't this look scrumptious!!


Top it off with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped topping! Since I'm trying to shed 20 lbs by January, I had to skip that step. =)

ENJOY!! Godspeed.......

Recycling Old Maps

Everybody wants to do their part to recycle and go green nowadays, seems to be the newest fad, and I just hope people really realize how important it is to recycle and reuse as much as humanly possible. I believe that we borrow this land from future generations and we must try our very best to keep it that way. Ok, off my soapbox. =)

Which leads me to the reasoning behind my babble today. I received this portion of an old map in a RAK I won and decided it would make great flowers. I'm sure you already have all these supplies on hand of some sort, so give it a shot. Did four of these in five minutes, from start to finish. =)

Gather your materials:


Scrunch and ink the wrinkles of the map:


Using whatever you have on hand, punch the map from your larger punch and the inner circle from the smaller one:


Scrunch up the inner circle, flatten, and ink the wrinkles as well as the edges of both pieces of the flower:


Layer pieces, top with a button, and stitch in place:


And VIOLA! A darling flower for your layout or cards!


So, the next time you want to discard an old map, think scrapbook materials!! Have a great day! Godspeed

How about another sketch!

Notice how I like lots of photos on a layout? Don't get me wrong, I love the occasional one photo layout, but if its all I ever did, I'd have what looks like a law library in my home! That said, here is another sketch for persons like me. Measurements are included, but can be adjusted to fit your needs. =)


And notice that circle? I just ordered the Sizing Template Jumbo Circle Pattern from Creative Memories and I just love the ease of cutting large circles now! We don't have a CM consultant in this area, so I contacted another scrapper friend at Life Preservers and here is her link if you are interested in retiring your exacto knife: Creative Memories It can be mailed directly to your home! Thanks, Joyce!!

Just a note, this sketch is for your personal use only and not to be used for submissions of any kind. Thank you!

Hope you have a pleasant day! Godspeed

Sketch #3

Took some photos this weekend of my favorite little girl and our dog, Maggie, playing together. Decided that I would use a sketch that I had created a few months back. Here is my Sketch #3:



Just a note, this sketch is for your personal use only and not to be used for submissions of any kind. Thank you!

My mid-life crisis!!

I've always tinkered with the idea of being a redhead ever since Butch mentioned it a few years back. I would pick the stuff up in the store, walk around looking at other things for a bit, and always return it to its rightful spot in the store. Yep, I was a bit on the chicken side, but that's a HUGE change to undertake. You know how life is, you get distracted with other 'stuff' and you let it slide.

I think what has had me thinking about my hair color more and more is the description that some pooh-pooh customer had when she/he complained about something I did/said/didn't give it to them for free ...... who the hell knows! Anyways, that description was "the older lady with the long gray hair and glasses"!! I just about DIED!! WOW! Somebody thinks I should just pull out my cane and forever sit in my rocking chair until my day to meet Our Maker comes!! At least that's what my brain was telling me. I was pissed, and then hurt, and then decided I MUST do something about that. =) Nope, I refuse to let anyone keep this "old lady blah, blah, blah" down for long!

So, alas, I went from this........


..... to this!! Short & sassy!!! Oh, and Butch says to add spicey in there, too!! I love it and think its even put a bounce in my step. =)

It's A GIRL!!

I guess we need to really listen to what the little ones around of us have to say. The only one who had it right was Makayla. She kept telling us the new baby was a girl, but we all insisted it was a boy. She was so stoked when the ultra sound technician announced it was a girl! Her eyes widened and she produced the BIGGEST grin ever on her face! So, now we can get down to the business of painting their room in our home. I told Makayla we needed to wait until we knew, so now that we do, it's PINK thru and thru!! Two tone pink for the walls, pink picture frames, pink boxes for their toys, pink this and pink that! Almost sounds like a Dr. Suess rhyme! =)

Welcome to the family, Ruby Jane, can't wait to meet you!!!

AWESOME RAK!!

Been participating in one of the DT's challenges at Life Preserver's and won this AWESOME RAK from Sandra! OMGosh!! It's just gorgeous and I can't wait to start playing with it. All those pinks and feminine colors must be a sign, as we find out tomorrow the sex of our newest grandbaby!


Thanks again, Sandra!!