Saturday, November 26, 2011

Baby, it's cold outside

Good Saturday morning friends!  Welcome to Sweet Stop Saturday!

When I saw today's sketch I knew I was going to enjoy creating for it.  I love when I get to have an image large enough to not make a ton of errors in coloring!  Today's image is from The Stamping Boutique.  I thought the image and the sentiment would be perfect together so I went with it.  I just used some paper MME Signature Christmas pack and paired it with Marina Mist cardstock.  In real life this is super sparkly as there is lots of glitter pen on the snow, hearts, and such.

I will be entering this card is The Stamping Boutique's monthly contest as well as Fun With Shapes, Phindy's Place Challenge, and 4 Crafty Chicks.   I haven't really been entering challenges recently but I thought...why not so I will probably start linking more challenges up.

 Alright, here are my design team sisters blogs so make sure you go check them out and give them some love, k?

Please note that since we are moving into December I won't be posting quite as often.  A couple of my design teams are taking a break and when they do I do.  I will still be here just not quite as often.  Also, I plan on getting into digital scrapbooking through MyMemories Suite (see link on the left side bar) so I'll be showing you those pages as well as the cards I make.  I hope you'll enjoy that addition to my craftiness!  And one really neat thing is that I have a very exciting announcement on Dec 1st!

Thought of the day:  Did you know that nothing you do in this life will ever matter, unless it is about loving God and loving the people He has made. ~Francis Chan   In this 'it's all about me' world this can be difficult to hear but Francis is absolutely correct. 



Friday, November 25, 2011

Christmas Puppy

Good morning! For those of you who went out shopping on the crazy day they call black Friday...did you get everything you wanted?  Was it anything crafty?  If so...be sure to scroll up to my Black Friday/Cyber Monday Challenge!

Today is a new Sketches by Carly sketch release day.  This sketch is another super fun sketch that can go so many different ways.  We are sponsored by Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps this week, though, and by playing along you have the chance to win 3 free digis.  Yay!

So, my card features the super cute image called Christmas Puppy.  I always thought getting a puppy for Christmas would be fun but now that I have a puppy...whew, they are a lot of work!  Anyway, my patterned papers are from MME's Lost & Found Christmas paper pack.  I thought the image looked a bit vintage so I tried to have the rest of my card look that way too.  The photo corners are from Doodle Pantry and are SVG files so you can cut them with your Cricut and a version of either SCAL or MTC. 

Alright...here are the links to my design team sisters.  Make sure you go check out what they have done this week!

Thought of the day:  Remember that everyone you meet is afraid of something, loves something, and has lost something. 


Thursday, November 24, 2011

Thanksgiving Pie And Appreciation

Happy Thanksgiving friends!  Pumpkin pie is a favorite on Thanksgiving so I had to play on that a little while making some favors for today.  I originally got the idea from here but ended up purchasing an SVG from SVG cuts as I don't cut straight enough to make the hand cut pie work well for me.  I did, however, use the whipped cream template from her. 
Just a single piece of pie for your viewing pleasure.
And here are how the treats go in.
Heeeyyy...who stole the first piece of pie?  Actually I ran out of pumpkin pie cardstock so I couldn't finish the entire pie.  So disappointing but I still love it!

I am sending Thanksgiving wishes with gratitude and appreciation to all of my blog readers!  Have an amazing day!  Please think about our military members that are serving away from their family today and throughout this entire holiday season.  Love you all!

Make sure you stop by tomorrow for a little Black Friday challenge I'm going to host for you all!

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Mmmm...hot chocolate

Good morning!  So?  Is everyone ready for Thanksgiving tomorrow?  I think we are!  What are you all doing?  Staying home, going to someones house?  Since our Thanksgiving dinner isn't until 1pm I will have a fun little post tomorrow too.

Today I thought I'd show you the beverage holders I was hired to make, yep that is right, hired to make!  Yay!  After I posted this beverage holder I put it on our town's crafter's group on Facebook and actually got an order for two of them.  It is always hard to make something for someone else as you never know what their tastes are like (and I haven't heard from her as to whether or not she likes them) but I think these both turned out great!  The papers are just some that I have in my Christmas stash but one of the things that I like the most is the wreath and that is from SU!  I am also entering this into the Shopping Our Stash challenge this week which is Winter/Christmas.  Easy peasy! 

Thought for the day:  The more anger from your past you carry in your heart, the less capable you are of loving in the present. 

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Quirky Birthday

Good morning friends!  I hope you all had a great weekend!  We ended up with more snow over the last couple of days than I thought we'd get but 'tis the season!

Today I have a clean and simple card to show ya.  I used the sketch from this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge.  Everything (except for the ribbon of course) on this card is from the Quirky Ostrich set from Doodle Pantry. On the inside I wrote I hope you get the chance to shake your tail feathers for your birthday this year!  That sentiment is taken from the set as well. 

For the first time in about 10 years I will not be making Thanksgiving dinner...little known fact about me...I had never cooked a turkey until after Todd and I got married.  Since then (10 years) we have made Thanksgiving as a couple.  I have made some dishes and Todd made some.  Of course, that would depend on his schedule but I digress.  We are going to Grandma Nancy's house for Thanksgiving Dinner and the only thing I will be cooking is mashed potatoes.  And not just any mashed potatoes but a recipe from the Pioneer Woman.  I call these the 'I don't care" mashed potatoes 'cuz you just can't care what is in them!  Yeah, you all know they are going to be good, huh? 

Make sure you hop over to the Doodle Pantry blog so that you can see what challenges we are sponsoring and perhaps win some more of those fabulous DP images for yourself!

Thought of the day:  I am incredibly proud of my infantry solider!"Infantrymen have a pride and arrogance that most Americans don't understand and don't like. Even soldiers who aren't infantrymen don't understand. The pride doesn't exist because we have a job that's physically impressive. It certainly doesn't exist because it takes a higher level of intelligence to perform our duties. It's sad and I hate to admit it, but any college student or high school grad can physically do what we do. It's not THAT demanding and doesn't take a physical anomaly. Nobody will ever be able to compare us to professional athletes or fitness models. And it doesn't take a very high IQ to read off serial numbers, pack bags according to a packing list, or know that incoming bullets have the right of way. The pride of the infantryman comes not from knowing that he's doing a job that others can't, but that he's doing a job that others simply won't. Many infantrymen haven't seen a lot of combat. While that may sound ideal to the civilian or non-infantry soldier, it pains the grunt. We signed up to spit in the face of danger. To walk the line between life and death and live to do it again - or not. To come to terms with our own mortality and let others try to take our life instead of yours. We have raised our hands and said, "Take me, America. I am willing to kill for you. I am willing to sacrifice my limbs for you. I will come back to America scarred and disfigured for you. I will be the first to die for you." That's why the infantryman carries himself with pride and arrogance. He's aware that America has lost respect for him. To many he's a bloodthirsty animal. To others he's too uneducated and stupid to get a regular job or go to college. Only he knows the truth. While there are few in America who claim to have respect for him, the infantryman returns from war with less fanfare than a first down in a high school football game. Yes, people hang up their "Support Our Troops" ribbons and on occasion thank us for our service. But in their eyes the infantryman can detect pity and shame; not respect. Consider this: How excited would you be to meet the average infantryman? Now compare that with how excited you'd be to meet a famous actor or professional sports player and you will find that you, too, are guilty of placing the wrong people on a pedestal. You wouldn't be able to tell me how many soldiers died in the war last month, but you'd damn sure be able to tell me if one of the actors from Twilight died. Yet the infantryman doesn't complain about that. He continues to do his job; to volunteer his life for you, all while being paid less in four years than Tom Brady makes in one game. It's a job most Americans don't understand, don't envy, and don't respect. That is why we have pride for the infantry!"  Author Unknown to me