Hearts...

They aren't just for Valentine's Day! I made this card as a "thinking of you" that I sent to someone recently.

 

The little tag on the front says, "I wish I were there to give you a hug."

I used a heart die cut and ran it though my Cuttlebug to emboss it and attached it on the inside. I wrote my note on the right hand flap. I hope it cheered my friend up. What's better to use than a heart when you're thinking of someone and letting them know you care?

So, before you go storing all your cute heart stamps that you used for Valentine's Day, make a few "thinking of you," "hello," or "thank you" cards!

Yummy Treat Recipe!



If you are dieting or on a health food kick, LOOK AWAY! This is a delicious treat that's quite addictive. My husband ate at least 1/2 of it and he doesn't even like cranberries. Yeah, it's that good. The other 1/2 was protected to give as gifts. OK, now that you've been warned...

 

White Chocolate Holiday Crunch

("Holiday" because you just change the colored M&M's on top for the appropriate season!)

 

This yummy stuff is Rice Krispies, white chocolate bark, toasted almonds, dried cranberries, seasonal M&M's and semi-sweet chocolate drizzled on top. It's not healthy. If you want the recipe, you can find it HERE. I found it on Pinterest and tried it- it tastes fantastic, it's easy, and makes a great gift for friends, neighbors and teachers.

I packaged mine in cute, hot pink chevron bags and sealed with a "hug & kiss" sticker. Once it was gone, my husband started begging for more. Sorry, babe, gave up sweets for Lent. ;)

Do you have any yummy recipes to share? I'm always on the hunt for good ones- as long as they are easy! I have tried some crock pot recipes (found on Pinterest) that are really good and my kids will eat them! I'll post those another day. ;) Enjoy!

Happy {Heart} Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! My Valentine's this year also included a picture of the kids, and Walter dog. Look at Walter's face... he's so ticked off that I made him get in the group photo. He wanted a solo shot. Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of my homemade Valentine, but I did remember to photograph the gift I made.

 

I made some really cute lavender filled sachets for gifts.  

 

Each muslin bag was stamped with hearts on the front and back. Then, I filled the bags with dried lavender. I used a tapestry needle to attach the felted balls to the strings of the bags. They turned out really cute and smelled heavenly!

 

Then, I wrapped them up in a pillow box, tied with satin ribbon and attached my own personalized sticker. 

 

I think the gifts were a hit! I love to make stuff, and I think it's even more fun to give the gift when a friend isn't expecting one. How did you spread the love this Valentines Day?

Mr. and Mrs.

Hey there! I made this card last summer and I am just now posting it. That's how busy things have been. This was a simple card I made with leftover scraps of vellum, white, ivory and kraft papers. I punched the edges and adhered them and just stamped "Mr. & Mrs." in chocolate ink.

 

I hope to have my Valentine projects up soon! I have a few! ;) Enjoy your night!

Quick Cards

Good morning! I have been trying to send cards more often... for birthdays, to cheer someone up, sympathy, new house, births, etc. but, with little time, creating something to send can sometimes be daunting, not to mention intimidating. So, I have been trying to send a more simple, streamlined greeting. Here are a couple I just recently made and sent...

 

"Feel Better" was sent to little Miss H who has not only had surgery, but has been sick on top of it. I tucked a fun package of stickers inside in hopes to cheer her up a bit.

Supplies: patterned paper, bright pink envelope, $1 feel better stamp from Michaels, heart stamp from Paper Smooches (colored, cut, applied Glossy Accents).

 

"Congratulations" was sent to a friend that just moved into a new house. This card was so easy to make- a scrap of paper, stamp and a clay house attached that I found on Etsy. 

Supplies: 4bar card and blue envelope, scrap strip of paper, Congratulations stamp (ancient from an Anna Griffin set) and clay house from KittyRobot on Etsy.

 

At this rate and level of ease, maybe I can start sending more cards! Enjoy your day!

Happy Everything!

OK, epic fail on keeping the blog posts going... life has just been busy. End of story. And... I spend a lot of time on Pinterest. So, before the crafty posts begin, I wanted to share a few pictures...

These three cuties are my kiddos. This is the picture I used for my Christmas card.

*Note to self: always take photos at the end of October when the weather is nice, the leaves are gorgeous. Then, bribe kids with candy or ice cream... or in my case, both. Picture gets done, photo card gets picked out and it's ready before December gets here. Genius!

Here's my family on Christmas Eve. My kids are getting so big and time is going so fast that I might throw up. Somehow, I still manage to stay in my twenties. Weird, I know.

 

This was the best "surprised" photo I got on Christmas morning. We all had a fantastic Christmas spent with family, but this picture is a prize! Mac got his favorite soccer player, Renaldo's jersey. He was more that a little thrilled!

So, now that you've been filled in from last post to now, I can start posting some crafty goodness, and maybe a few bad boy Walter stories here and there- that dog is a mess! Enjoy your Sunday...

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.