Stampers' Showcase ~

I have to show you a layout I made of Sydni. It is on the Stampin' Up! Demonstrators web site today. Isn't she a cutie!!

Remodel update ~

I've had two requests this morning for picture updates, so here you are. We are moving right along with the kitchen. We have removed the laminate countertop and backsplash. Removed old moulding from doors and windows. We took out the microwave, do you like how I say "we", actually it was Rod and Brad. (The microwave was just good for softening butter and needed to be replaced so it had to go.) And the biggest thing - we have painted the kitchen walls. I love the new color. Here are a few pictures so you can get an idea of what is going on. We have picked a terracotta tile for the countertops and smaller 4 inch tiles for the backsplash, which will go from countertop to under the cupboards and cover up the last bit of the green. We will be getting a really neat range hood too.

We also have replaced the old light in the living room. Yes, the old gold thing is gone. I don't have pictures of the new one yet, but trust me it looks so much better than before. Kristine said we should take the old one to Antiques Road Show. I don't think so, if it really was an antique it would have matched all of my antique tables and would be staying.

Picture of the week ~

see more puppies

Kitchen Remodel Step 1 ~

I guess this is the official start of the kitchen remodel project. We took down the cupboards above the bar this morning. Doesn't it really open it up? We are still deciding on final plans, but the list is started. This won't be a done in a couple of weeks job. Not al all. This will be a we hope (and will be really pleased if) it is done by Christmas. I didn't really lose a lot of cupboard space, I just made better use of what space I do have. We will get another cabinet to put on the wall on the right. Since we will be redoing the floor and countertops too, we might switch things around and do an island. Of course I need a pot hanger, because they are just really cool. So keep checking back about once a month for further updates. The row of cupboards that came down, will be moved down to the laundry room to replace the little shaky shelves that are in there now.

Picture Time ~

Look at this sweetheart! She is such a good girl. She had just dried off from having a shower and she knew she looked good. So she was ready to pose for a picture. I have tried getting a picture of both puppies together, but it ends up more of a circus than a photo shoot. I'll keep trying. I'll probably have to wait until my assistant is out of school before I try again. BTW ~ she loved the shower. Not a peep or a yelp or any fuss at all. She just stood there in the water and let me scrub her up and rinse her off. You can't tell from the picture, but she smells really good too.

Color Challenge Card ~

This picture really doesn't show off this card too well, but I love these colors together and it is gorgeous in real life. I used Tangerine Tango, So Saffron, Old Olive and Baja Breeze stamp pads from Stampin' Up! And the stamps are from the Friends 24/7 set.

A couple of cute bags ~

I took a bit of time this morning and made a couple of bags for Valentine's Day. This first one uses a bag template from Papertrey Ink. Pretty cute. I think I will put a little Valentine treat in here for Kymber and Sydni. Sorry Michelle, no peeking!

These next two pictures are of another project that we are doing Feb. 12 with the ladies from Church. They are really simple and quick to do. It should be a lot of fun helping all of the Mom's and Grandma's make their valentines. It has been terrible having candy around to make samples with, because I'm not eating any of it. If I splurge on candy, it will be fancy dark chocolate. And I didn't get any of that for this project. But these pink M&Ms are sure cute!

Double Takes ~

They did it again. About 18 months ago Michelle dyed her hair and ended up looking like Jennifer. This time Jennifer dyed her hair and now we have two Michelle's. Jen's glad her hair finally matches her eyebrows. I just think they both look cute, but it sure makes it hard to tell them apart sometimes.

Cute little family ~

Look at this cute family! We went out to see Michelle and Alex on Sunday for Sydni's Blessing Day. It was such a fun day with lots of family time and lots of good food. Kymber was such a sweetheart and so much fun to be with.

Valentine Treats ~

These fun treats are samples for the class I am teaching the ladies at church on February 12th. I love these papers, they are so springy, perfect for valentines and layouts for little girlies.

In case you were wondering ~

It is freezing cold in Idaho today!!! We woke up to -22 degree temperatures. Yes, the kids still have to go to school. Kristine is not happy about that.

Happy Monday ~

Hope all of you had a great weekend. It is freezing cold here, but life just goes on as normal. I guess for this time of year freeaing cold is normal. Here is a picture of a little cutie that will just warm your heart. Yep, she has her grandma wrapped around her tiny little finger all ready.

If you want to see some cute crafty stuff, those pictures are just after the cute grandbaby pictures.

Look at those eyes! Isn't she just precious. I think some days her Mom and Dad have another name for her though. She is just a breath of fresh air when she comes to visit.

Now here are the crafty things. These fun papers are new Raspberry Tart papers from Stampin' Up! This is a little calander cover and the next one is a little treat box. The LOVE stamp is also a new Stampin' Up! one. Did you see the fancy links to the right. Here you can find and link to the new catalog and other brochures. There are so many fun ideas to see. Enjoy your day!

Moving Day ~

Yesterday was a big moving day. Since Jen moved off to College, Kristine got to go down and take over her room in the basement. Since a little flooding problem a couple of months ago we just left Jen with a cement floor and rugs because we knew she would be moving out soon. Kristine plans on staying here a few more years, she is only 13, so we needed to put carpet down. The nice carpet that was in the living room before we did the wood floor has been rolled up in the garage, so the plan was to use that and recarpet the room. First we moved all of Jen's leftover, but still good, don't give away stuff up to the family room. Then we, actually Rod and Brad moved the huge roll of carpet down and we wrestled with it for a while and figured out how it would fit best. Rod did an amazing job. I was just thinking fold under edges or whatever, but Rod did a professional looking wall to wall carpet job. It looks great. We then had to move Kristine's stuff down three sets of stairs, and Jen's stuff up the last two sets of stairs. The upstairs room will be a real guest room. Yes, it will have Jen's stuff in half of the closet, but it will be a guest room. The room is light pink and the bed set is cute brown, pink, green and white large flowers. There is a matching clock, lamp, chair and rug. Really a cute room. I added a new pink and brown flower Scentsy warmer and it is almost done. Kristine is getting her new room all set up, it is painted a nice yellow color and looks great with her new teal polka dot bedset. I was totally worn out when we finally stopped.

In the middle of the day, the mailman delivered my NEW Stampin' Up! catalog. It was so hard to set it aside and finish the moving. But when it was time to sit down, I was glad to have something to look at, at least until I fell asleep from being totally exhausted. The new catalog officially comes out on Monday, so I will show you a couple of my favorite things from the catalog then.

Fun New Fabrics ~

I don't know why, but I have always bounced between so many different crafts and hobbies. One of my favorites that is coming around again is Quilting and Sewing. I found a cute blog that has a lot of fun fabrics and other creative stuff. Stop and see jane run. You'll be glad you did.

Time to be Crafty ~

I keep finding fun blogs that are doing giveaways of cute crafty things. You will want to visit Stamps, Paper, Scissors and Donkey Smiles. Yes, she has pictures of cute little donkeys along with her crafty things. Definately worth the visit.

I made this cute little calendar cover the other day. Love how it turned out. When we finally have warmer spring weather I'll have to do another cover where she isn't wearing a hat and gloves. But for right now this fits.

Here are a few more cards I finished last week. The picture quality isn't the best, but I wanted to post them, so I can remember what I've made.

Can you believe I made it through a whole post without pictures of my grandbabies or my puppies. Enjoy your day!!

Fun Pictures ~

Ok, So I've been playing with my new Photoshop and having fun with some new pictures. This probably isn't a big deal, but I thought they turned out pretty cool. Michelle took this picture with her phone and sent it to my phone so I could see how cute Sydni was. I downloaded it to my computer and went to work. Here is the original picutue. Which is actually pretty good for a cell phone photo.



And here it is with a little Photoshop work.
And look at this one. Not only is she a little sweetie, but I like how the soft colors of the picture turned out.
I can't wait to get these printed out and scrapbook them, actually I will probably do a digital layout before I get prints made. I'll be sure to show you how they turn out.

Digital Layout ~

Just wanted to show you a new picture of cute little Sydni and a new digital layout. It is fun to get back into the digital stuff. There is so much to learn, but I love to escape to my craft room and create.This week I have been organizing my digital stuff and pictures on my craft room laptop. It is so fun to go up and escape to my own space. On my message board Kristine wrote:

"The Craft Room - Where all Creative Things Happen!"

Hope you get some creative time for yourself too.

Look at these cute girls ~

Since Christmas is over I can show you the pictures Michelle and Alex had on their Christmas cards. They are so cute. I love the little dresses Michelle found for them and well, I just love these little girls. Enjoy!

More fun stuff ~

If you get a free minute over the holidays, stop over and visit this blog. She has fun crafty things to see and a fun blog candy up for grabs. Enjoy!

Diggin' out ~

It was lots of work but lots of fun too. Brad and Kristine brushed off cars, shoveled the driveway and moved cars around so they were all off the street. Oh yeah, it was snowing and blowing really hard while they were working, so that just added to the fun. The street crew came during the night and did the street so we can get around today. Since the whole neighborhood drains right in front of our house, our street is a priority and they plow it all to the center and come along with their snow harvester and take it away. It is kind of fun to watch them work. From inside with Hot Cocoa of course.