And on to Christmas....

A lady was picking through the frozen turkeys at the grocery store, but couldn’t find one big enough for her family. She asked the stock boy, “Do these turkeys get any bigger?” The stock boy answered, “No ma’am, they’re dead.”

Hahhahaaaaaa......

So I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving. Ours was quiet -- with my husband up north & my grandma in the nursing home, that left me, my mom & my kids. I was talking to a vendor rep at work today, & she said she had to travel 4 hours to get to her parents house. I said I wouldn't mind that drive, if a huge family were there waiting for me. She said there were a total of 45 people at her parents house!! Yikes!! We've never had 45 family members, not even counting the dead ones!! She said they had 2 turkeys, a ham & a turkey breast. We had 6 Cornish Hens. I guess the positive side of that is there wasn't a lot of clean up!

I'm still not in the craftin' mood -- good thing I gave up making my Christmas cards a while ago. The first year I stamped I made 80 to send out. The next year I bought cards. Last year I didn't even send any. I thought since there are no new cards in the house, that I might show one from last year. Yes, it's cheating. But it's my blog & I can cheat if I want to.





This is one of my favoritest ones ever. In fact, I'm pretty sure this one is still sitting on my craft table somewhere. I don't think I ever got around to finishing the inside to sell it. Yep, when I procrastinate I go all out. This card was done for a High Hopes challenge -- the original post is HERE.

And I leave you with a picture of my fur-baby Elwood, thinking he's still a wee one that fits into any box that happens to be lying around the house. Um, Elwood --- you're crushing the sides of our box!

If you can believe it, this cat used to weigh 26 pounds!!! Yes, you read that right -- 26 pounds. Can you imagine what that box would look like if he tried to stuff himself in it before??!? When our other baby Jake was diagnosed with diabetes, we switched both of them to an all-canned diet -- much better for cats. Elwood ended up losing lots of weight & today he is 16 pounds! He's 16 years old & in great health -- & is still quite the baby :)

Thanks for visiting & I wish I could say I'll have a card for you soon -- but in the last 7 days I've stamped one image. I might finish that card by Valentines Day.

Happy Turkey Day to all!

Hello to all my peeps out there!! I know I've been a bit quiet -- but things around here have been all BUT quiet. We've had a lot going on -- my grandma fell & was in the hospital for 2 weeks, then was taken to a nursing home. There are some other issues so she will be there a while. My first Thanksgiving without her in many many years so I'm sad, but the boys & I will go see her tomorrow. I also had a bit of car trouble over the weekend, & of course my husband is up north hunting. What do you do when your car gives you trouble on a Saturday night & you have no one to call?? No garages open. Hubby up north. I think looking into AAA might not be a bad idea!!

There have been some other things as well but I will spare you. My free time lately has been spent just hanging with my boys. We've gone shopping, out to eat, visited my mom, watched some movies that we've wanted to see but hadn't gotten around to (RIO!!! What a cute movie!!), & last night we went to a water park with our 4H club. So. Much. FUN!!! They even got me to go down one of the HUGE water slides -- something I really didn't want to do because I am SOOOO afraid of heights. Going down isn't bad, it's the getting up there that's tough for me. About a gamillion stairs -- & when I got to the top I about had a panic attack. I told the worker he needed to get me in my tube & down QUICKLY before I threw up. And of course, I had to do this twice. Because I have 2 kids. Ahhhhh I should get a gold star for that!

Today we are going to Target to get stuff for the pies I'm making for tomorrow -- I'm making my very first pumpkin pie. My grandma always made the pumpkin pie. Since she can't, I'm taking over. I found what I hope is a good recipe -- if it's a hit I will share it with you :) I'm also making a banana cream pie. And not just the kind where you plop some pudding into a crust. A REAL one! I don't like pumpkin pie so the banana cream is for ME :)

Tonight after pies are made & we've eaten dinner we are going to watch the last Harry Potter movie. We've seen a couple in the theater but we missed this one so we are looking forward to it. I'd really like to go see the Muppets but my KIDS are not INTERESTED! Can you believe it?? No taste in movies at ALL!!!

So..... to sum it up ....I have not been creating. I've just been enjoying my free time with my boys. In spite of all that is going on I'm actually looking forward to this holiday. I've been a Scrooge the last few years so this year I'm making up for it. We are putting up our tree this weekend & I'm going to play Christmas music & we're going to have FUN whether they like it or not!

I have so many blessings in my life. Here is a small list of things for which I am thankful:

1) My kids, who are healthy (most of the time) & happy (well except for the teenager - teenagers are never happy)

2) My family -- they are mostly sane

3) My friends -- the ones I can hug & the ones I can only send cyber hugs to

4) My neighbors. We couldn't live in a better neighborhood. When we win the lottery, we'll have to just knock down our house & build the mansion on the lot we have. I will never move.

5) My house, with all its quirks

6) Deer hunting season, during which my husband is gone for 2 weeks. Only because I'm happy he can go up north & relax & have fun with nature. Not because I enjoy the peace & quiet while he's gone or anything.

7) Peace & quiet :)

8) My job, which I love, & the co-workers that come with it. A great group of people with huge hearts who will do anything for anyone.

9) A car that runs. Most of the time.

10) A great mechanic for when my car *doesn't* run.

11) All the little things that make a "blah" day a GOOD day --- my fur-baby Elwood, French Vanilla coffee, Facebook, Rolos, blurfing, the Stephanie Plum books, Grey's Anatomy, the daily newspaper, & the few radio stations that DON'T start playing Christmas music the day after Halloween.

And of course, I'm also very thankful for all of you who visit me, who email me, who make me laugh, & whose creations I draw inspiration from -- thanks to you all! I hope you have super duper FANTASTIC Thanksgiving!! Don't eat too much!!! On second thought -- eat all you want. Thanksgiving only comes once a year :)

Non-traditional Christmas colors

Hello & happy Sunday to you! I know my posts seem fewer & farther between these days -- lol -- my spare time gets to be less & less each week -- & with the holidays coming -- oh boy -- I don't even want to think about it!

This week's challenge at Sundays with Crissy is to make a Christmas card using non-traditional colors. That wasn't the hard part -- the hard part was trying to pick an image from the HEAPS of Crissy images that I own! I finally decided on Herald Angel from High Hopes. I envisioned her in pink & yellow & I think it turned out ok -- although my photos stink. It was quite rainy & dreary here in Wisconsin this week so getting a picture in natural light was quite a challenge.

She's colored with Copic markers -- papers are K&Company -- lots of Glamour Dust on her wings -- & a big ole cheescloth bow to finish it off. What, no flowers? Nope, I kept it pretty simple this time. And I guess this would be my very first Christmas card of the year. I'm not behind at all. Not at allllll.....

I hope you all have a great Sunday -- a bit windy here but it's supposed to be 60 so I'm not complaining!! Thank you so much for visiting me :)

Sale in my Etsy shop!

Time to clean out the old to make room for the new ---- everything is now 10% off in my Etsy shop --- just use coupon code CARD10 when you check out!!!

MY ETSY SHOP

Autumn Tilda

Happy Thursday-almost-Friday everyone!! Fall is here in Wisconsin -- I think I missed the colors changing on all the leaves when I blinked -- geez they were green, then I looked away for a sec & now they're all on the ground! My son has to leave the house at 6:30 in the morning to catch the bus & it is sooooo dark & soooooo cold -- downright creepy -- I do NOT enjoy sending my child off into the darkness every morning!

Anyway -- on to my card:

In keeping with the fall spirit, I used Standing Fall Tilda -- it will be a while before I am able to buy any of the FAB new Tildas so I'll have to make do with what I have. **gasp** -- did I really just say that?? I still buy all my Magnolias -- among other things -- at 7 Kids College Fund. I find Tab has the best prices & the best service. I colored Tilda with my Copic markers -- & used wayyy more Stickles than I meant to --see the seam binding? Well -- I didn't think about adding that until everything was all glued down -- so not only did I have to *thread* the seam binding through the raffia lace -- but as I was tying it & adjusting it, I felt wet on my finger. Yes, I applied the Stickles to her wings before I started playing with the seam binding -- & I forgot about it. Nothing like dragging my hand through wet Stickles once or 10 times. Let's just say Tilda has glitter in spots that no young girl should have glitter!

Here's a close up -- errant glitter pieces & all --

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

Berry Sweet Challenge -- Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp -- Buttons

Papertake Weekly -- Anything Goes Optional Bling -- do Dew Drops count as bling?)

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend. Mine will not be so great. I opened our pantry the other day & there was a bit of water on the floor -- looked up to find a big ole water spot on our ceiling. Our pantry happens to be under our bathroom so that is not good, & I have no idea how we will find where it's coming from. I'm thinking it might be a pipe -- but even if I call a plumber how are they going to know? Will they have to remove the wall? Ugh -- I smell lots of money going down the pipes -- literally :(