Here I Am!

I know... It's been a while. A looooong while! Things have been busy and they are just about to get even busier. But, before they do, I wanted to fill you in on what's going on. Get a snack and a cup of coffee or tea... this one is lengthy.

First off, after our beloved yellow lab, Wrigley passed away, I found myself lost without a dog. It was awful. I wondered the house trying to figure out what I was suppose to be doing. Our home just wasn't the same without a dog. So, we got another yellow lab and named him Walter. He was 8 weeks old when we got him and he is 6 months old now.

Walter is the worlds worst dog. Think Marley, but worse. Somehow, he won our hearts over with his funny personality and warm eyes. He has tons of energy and is generally a bad dog. Thank goodness he's so cute. He's growing by leaps and bounds, and quickly! If it's possible, he's even a bigger mama's boy than Wrigley was.

The kids started school in August. Mac is in 4th grade, Anna is in 2nd and Elan started kindergarten. For the most part, they all like school. Elan tried to find excuses to stay home with me for the first month- my tummy hurts, my eye hurts, I'm too tired, we don't learn anything at school, etc. He went anyway...

This past October, I finished my second full marathon. I ran in Columbus, OH and finished 43 minutes faster than last year! I was so excited that I finished in under 4:30 (4:27:45). Two of my brothers surprised me on the course at mile 17. I was so surprised and excited. It definitely gave me the energy to finish the race strong.

 

My sweet Anna made her First Communion a couple of weeks ago. She looked like an angel and we were so proud of her. She has had a rough start to the school year with some emotional ups and downs, but she is getting better and on this special day, she was floating!

Stephen shot his first buck this year with a bow and arrow. We were all so proud of him! The kids were ecstatic! This week, over the Thanksgiving holiday, he took each child out individually to hunt. No one brought home any meat, but they saw plenty of wildlife and had a great time. 

I have been crafting plenty... sorry... no pictures. I will take some soon though. I'm making Christmas gifts this year, so I will share what I can! ;) I hope you all have a very happy Thanksgiving! I am thankful for so much, but mostly for my family, my strong faith and my health. Life is so good.

We say goodbye...

Wrigley

4-26-02 to 7-7-12

Yesterday, we said goodbye to our beloved yellow lab, Wrigley. Wrigley was 10 years old and our first "child." My three brothers gave him to Stephen and I for our wedding gift. He turned out to be the best gift we could have ever hoped for. Wrigley was sweet, gentle, funny, friendly, neurotic, so toerrant, and made our family so happy.

Elan and Wrigley watching a show together.

The big Wrig put up with so much: kids laying on him, dressing him up, poking out his eyes, examining every orifice, fingers in his mouth and ears, the list goes on... and he never minded one second of it if his kids were happy.

Anna snuggling with Wrigley.

Wrigley had many blankies and toys. However he didn't care much for "dog" toys. He loved the homemade blankets and stuffed animals that his kids shared with him. He would carry his current favorites all over the house and even into the back yard.

Mac and Wrigley on the beach.

We took Wrigley for his first and last beach trip last year. He loved it! I loved how he always stayed with one or all three of the kids, almost as a protector. He was always guarding the kids when they were little: next to the crib when they were babies, alongside the stroller and bikes when they got bigger. He loved the kids, everyone was his friend and he never harmed a fly... he may have even been afraid of them!

I'm going to miss my shadow... he was a member of the family and a best friend. He was always something good to come home to, a soft thing to pet, love and cuddle. He always understood when something was wrong or if someone was sick because you would get extra love at those times. I hope he knows how much we loved him and how much he is missed already.

I love you, buddy.

Mini Album/Art Journal Kit

Good morning! I just put together a mini album for myself to create a "pieces of me" book. I choose papers and embellishments that I love that are bright, cheerful and fun. The papers are trendy and full of texture and even a couple flocked transparencies.
Anyway, as I was putting together my mini album, I realized I had enough stuff to do a few more. So, I have 3 kits up for sale in my Etsy shop. The kits are $20 each and come neatly packaged full of papercrafting happiness. This would make a great gift for a papercrafter too!

As you can see, there is a lot of stuff in this kit! There are over 20 pages of decorative paper, pockets, envelopes, transparencies, and cute papers! Vintage buttons, colored twine, felt embellies and more!

Visit my Etsy shop, Crafty Paper Girl for a full description and more photos.

Long Time...

No see! Holy smokes... I've been away waaay too long! Sorry 'bout that! Not that I haven't been crafting, I have, just haven't had any spare moments to post any creations! It's the end of the school year and we have been busy: soccer ended and swim team began, school ends for the year Thursday and summer begins! Yippee! I love summer... no schedules, grilling out, lazy days by the pool, sleeping in past 6:30, and... Marathon training begins.
Before you sign off from pure boredom in my everyday life, I have a couple thank you cards to share:

Love how this one looks so rustic. I used a chipboard "marquis" and punched the PTI sentiment with my large circle punch. Added a little ink, some buttons and twine.

Easy peasy... love this flower stamp from Paper Source! I've used it a ton- very versatile. The sentiment is from Paper Smooches and I used a Copic to color in the loops. Added some blue pearls and voile!

This card literally took me a few minutes. Layer some pretty paper, add a sticker, cut a scrap piece of paper into a flag and stamp it. Sentiment is from a Hero Arts set. Added a pearl and some Lime Twist twine and BAM! Done.

So, I hope you feel inspired! Whip up something crafty today! Enjoy...

Balloons!

I made this birthday card for a friend. I didn't forget her birthday, but I did forget to put the card in the mail. I hat it when that happens! Anyway, I love how it turned out and got to color with my Copic markers! The balloon stamps are from Papertrey Ink and I just cut them out and mounted them on some cute, cloud vellum paper (American Crafts), then embellished with cloud chipboard from Studio Calico.

Enjoy your day, hope it's sunny where you are!

Happy Easter

From our family to yours,

many blessings for a happy Easter!

Happy Birthday...

To me! It's my birthday today! Thought I would share a card I made over a month ago and never posted. I love the felt embellishments from Sassafrass on this one:

Short and sweet! Now I'm off to have my birthday!