Earrings $5 .. Addicted to Fun .. Sigh ;o)

This project is never ending and fun, fun, fun! I think the baseballs are the most popular, specially around this area! I can't wait for Halloween charms/ideas to arrive - wonder if I can find any little pilgrims .. hmmmm .. and Christmas!!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Now, who do I know that might be able to scroll saw me a 'tree' to display these .. ho hum .. yoooooooooooohoooooooooooo .. are you out there?

Earrings - All Laurie's Fault!!

What am I thinkin'? This is all Laurie's fault for tempting me with new 'stuff' to try! I definitely don't have the hang of it .. but these might work for a time or two! Something fun to do while waiting for brakes to be worked on ..

Knotting and Boondoogle-ing ~ Bracelets!

Boondoggle? What is it? LOL - my grandson said I had to learn how to do this project and he was right! Imagine when he showed me what it was all about and I realized it was a new name for an age old camp project I had learned back in the days of Camp Claire! What fun re-learning with my munchkin!

So, if we can do 'boondoggles' .. can we actually try to knot a bracelet .. or anklet? Hmmmmm ... we gave it our best shot .. this is Hunter's:





He worked very diligently on this and really only took him about an hour and a half once he got started knotting! He wanted something pretty to take home for his Mom -

Well, not to be outdone .. of course I had to make one too - and the fun thing about this string is the colors never come out the same way so each one is unique .. and slightly addictive! Here's my attempt:

We ran out of time to try adding charms, bling, or even trying a necklace length .. but I'm sure we'll get lots of ideas as we continue to practice. ;o)))))

Make the Cut (MTC), Cricut, Hunter, and an Owl

What a lucky duck I am! My grandson Hunter, 8, is visiting for two weeks and he's got a better grasp of the Cricut than I do! LOL - I love it! We've had rain for what seems like days on end .. dreary, drizzly, gray, poopy-droopy .. but when Hunter is here it's nonstop activity! One morning he'd never heard of a Cricut - let him play on the computer .. why not .. and had Make the Cut (MTC) open .. and by suppertime we had an owl all put together .. !

He found the file on the MTC Gallery posted by User 143 - I don't know how to thank this person but my little man had a ball creating this! Next I think his forest requires a branch for the owl .. and something about a monkey! Time goes so quickly .. especially with emergency problems like .. umm .. miniature golf, softball games, sno-cones, playing with the dogs, making boondoggle thingies, string art .. using coupons to shop at Michael's & Joann's .. video games .. playing with new little cousin .. it's rough! ;o)

My Pink Stamper - Cricut Expression Giveaway!

Wow! I'm way behind on blogging .. and projects too .. but this is something too awesome to let pass by!

My Pink Stamper http://www.mypinkstamper.com/ is giving away a Cricut Expression! The generosity of both Pink Stamper and Custom Crops http://www.customcrops.com/ is just amazing! ~ Both of these sites have lots and lots of information and ideas, challenges, and even followers ~ it's fun to just visit and absorb!

Follow the link:


and see for yourself! Aren't they awesome?

Card Making At Beautiful Impressions/Magenta Stamps

A whirlwind trip, I almost missed the plane out of St Louis - seems the elderly shuttle bus driver was running slow .. and after scrambling and checking in, the airline crew said .. well, your baggage might not make the same plane .. my response: I don't care!

LOL ~ get me on that plane! I had signed up for a card making/technique class at Beautiful Impressions in Westbrook CT and was determined to get there! Quick trip directly to the airport, snatch Laurie from her doorstep, and off we went for a class with Nathalie from Magenta (Canada) ..

The first card ~ initially I was so mixed up ~ not used to doublesided paper! After realizing the double sides are to coordinate .. I was still confused but then had to try to put things together straight .. lol .. not happenin' .. along with this card, we made a small insert type mini note too ~ and even with limited village idiot know-how had a ball!

As we assembled this card, we had some of the 'pieces' pre-cut and prestamped (thank goodness) and then came the 'coloring' part. Uh oh .. we didn't have a clue how to use the 'paints' .. kind of like a shimmering watercolor looking palette .. with magical potential! We had a paint brush each .. and our imagination .. now what? Dip the paint brush in clear water .. smoosh around a little bit in the color of choise .. and voila .. when applied to the stamped image it shimmered! Awesome! The 'paint' dried very quickly .. we added in a little bling and on to the next card.
I really liked doing this card .. simple to put together (pre-cut/prestamped) and learned how to color using Prismacolor pencils. I'm still amazed at the results we were able to achieve having never played with these pencils before! Another 'tool' we used were "cat's eye" pigment inks .. the actual stamped image was on a light brown background piece of cardstock .. and we were able to take the "cat's eye" dauber type containers and lightly adjust the background to personal taste .. not damaging the stamped image at all .. ;o)

Once the background was done, the coloring began .. each person had a totally different card in the end and I'm sure none of us could duplicate it if we had to .. unique and very fun to do!

On to the third card .. detailed, layered, and gorgeous when finished .. of course in my humble opinion (LOL)If only I was expert at picture taking - obviously I'm not .. this card is so pretty! Multi-layered using different doublesided coordinating paper, we also used white cardstock stamping an image with kind of a dark red ink for background on one layer, elegant snowflake stickers, and I finished mine off with Stickles on the little angel. None of the cards have any type sentiment on the outside / inside so can be used for any occasion.

All in all I had a great time! Learned how to do different things, enjoyed spending the afternoon 'playing' and would love to take more classes at Beautiful Impressions! The store was so busy that day I didn't even get to shop around much, but did go back a couple days later and get into trouble adventuring! I'm sure Terri (terri@beautiful-impressions.com)has MUCH more detailed information on the products we used and direct access to them as well. Hope to visit again soon ~ and probably spend more money ~sigh ~ such is life ~ LOL

If you're ever in Connecticut .. stop by and browse this store .. plan to spend a good part of the day .. it's jam packed with neat ideas and the best part is having somebody there that actually knows how to do things with all the different gadgets, gizmos, paper, punches, stamps, glitter, nestabilities .. etc. etc. etc .. yeehah!

Blog Hop: The Ring Bearer gets Diverted!

A gorgeous fall day, family and friends all gathered for a much anticipated wedding - my youngest son, Doug .. bride is Heather and the wedding party includes my oldest son, Chris .. as best man .. and his son Hunter, as ring bearer.



The wedding was awesome .. the kids were great ~ little Neveah had a ball strewing out the flowers everywhere .. her Dad was in the wedding party .. and afterwards there was a lot of picture taking, and the kids .. Hunter in particular .. were very motivated to clean up quick so we could get to the reception.

As Grandma, of course I had to help and do Grandma things with Hunter .. and that usually means walk, tell stories, and be sure my little guy is safe and sound. We were in a huge tented area .. and he was being a great helper .. in his tux .. when we heard a shout .. HEY GRANDMA!! OOPS, that would be me! He was on his way to throw away a can for somebody .. and I'm quite sure this critter jumped right out at him and needed to be included in the hoopla! He ran over and posed very nicely ..
We all had a wonderful time .. the fuzzy wuzzy had to stay at the waterfall area as we all gravitated toward the reception .. and my Hunter man was the escort of the evening as he danced away with his Grandma ..
We missed many people who were not able to attend .. particularly the other munchkins .. and their Mom, Jen.