Guest Designer ~

 

It's time to share a fun project that I have coming up this summer. I am one of the designers for UStamp. 

UStamp with Dawn and Friends!! "Early Summer Edition 2010"!! will open June 25th (EDT) and will run through July 16th "Early Summer Edition 2010"!! is going to be a fantastic event!! We will be showcasing Stampin' Up! Sneak Peeks from NEW Catalog releasing in July AND you can be sure that the HOT & HIP NEW COLORS that SU! is debuting, will be here there and everywhere on the projects shared!!

For more information or to sign up go to Dawn's Blog. Be sure to leave her a comment too, because she is doing a drawing for FREE PASSES to USTAMP!

It's a Canning Party ~

~ and you're invited!

I had the chance to host a Ball Canning Party to celebrate their 125th Anniversary.  Of course I jumped at the chance and if you are local, I would love to have you join me.  We will be canning Salsa and Jelly. Of course there will be freebies, samples and goodies to take home.  This will be a great way to learn canning if you are a newbie canner, or a good refresher if you are a canning pro.  So if you would like to join us on June 5th at 2 pm. Leave me a comment, or email me to get on the list.

My To Do List for this week ~

* Birthday Party for Rod!!
* Do binding on Baby Quilt
* Sew a purple net slip for Kristine's formal
* Test two new patterns for ~  Kati Cupcake (This will be fun, they will be for Kymber and Sydni. The new patterns will be released at the end of May so  I'll show some pictures then.)
* Kristine's Freshman Formal Dance
* Kristine Honor Society Trip to Lagoon
* Express the Moment Crop on Saturday

Digital Layout Day ~

In the midst of switching computers and software, it has been awhile since I've done any digital layouts, so here is my jump back into the digital world. There is so much to learn and you really have to keep at it, or you forget everything you've learned. It is so much more fun too, if you have sweet little pictures like this to work with.  I love this little girl! She is so busy and so much fun when she comes to visit.

Time to get Creative ~

In case any of you get a sudden urge to get crafty today, here are a few sample cards to get you going.

Celebrating ~

27 Wonderful Years!

27 years ago Rod and I were married in the Logan Temple. And now, 4 kids, and 2 (almost 3) grandchildren later. I can truly say they have been wonderful years.

Stampin' Up! projects ~

I made these cute little projects to teach at an upcoming class. The flowers are freeform cut from Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper. Crinkle them up and then flatten out and ink the edges. Glue together and either add a magnet to the back for a cute fridge or locker accent. Or you can add them to a card or scrapbook page.  The layout I made is a super simple one that can be done quickly at a workshop or for a class for non crafters.  I made the title with My Digital Studio. That is such an amazing and versatile program. There are new downloads being released monthly.  Check out my Stampin' Up! website link to see what is available.

A walk in the park ~

We had so much fun watching Kymber and Sydni last week when Michelle and Alex left for Hawaii. One afternoon we loaded up their amazing two seater stroller, and Gus and went to get Jennifer.  Gus was so excited to see his friends Molly and Roxie.  I got this amazing picture of them before we went to the park.  What was amazing was that they were all sitting still posing for a picture. We figured two little girls and one dog was enough for one walk, so we left Molly and Roxie and just took Gus.  He was so funny on the walk, when we would get to a shady spot on the path, he would stop and sit down.  I think we wore him out. But it was a beautiful day and Jennifer and I loved getting out.

Baby Shower Projects ~

I've wanted to try making one of these diaper cake centerpieces for awhile now, but the occasion never really presented its self, until now.  Michelle and I are giving a baby shower for Jennifer on Saturday and TaDa, Here is the centerpiece.  It was fun to make and even more fun to decorate.  Now I need to get the Brunch Menu put together and we are ready to have a party.

Pictures from the weekend ~

We had a little bit of company this weekend. Leslie and her boys were here on their way to college visits for Spring Break.  Gus loved the boys and didn't seem to mind Kevin playing with his ears. There was lots of basketball watching, eating, piano playing. (Yes he was playing a real song laying on his back at the piano.) These boys are amazing pianists. It was a real treat to listen to them. I think Gus misses them. I should have gotten a picture of the kids standing up, but then Gus would have been too short to get in the picture.

I got to spend Saturday morning at a Dog Breeding Seminar.  It was so interesting and kind of fun to be learning something. I think sometime down the road we will start the Bridge Creek Basset Hound Kennel. It won't be a big thing, but something fun do enjoy as a family. Bassets Hounds are such fun family pets.

Cute Stuff ~

I've found that the best place to get feedback about cute stuff is on my blog.  So here is my latest cute project.  Michelle and I did 7 of these on Saturday for the Relief Society Birthday Social this week. I'm working on another cute thing this afternoon. They are awards for the dinner on Thursday, but I can't share them, because there is a slim chance, well probably none at all, that someone that will be there actually reads my blog. Have a fun and crafty day, hope it is actually sunny and springy where you are!

Totally Random Post ~

Well maybe this post isn't totally random, the pictures all have a common theme.  They are all about our grand daughters. We love it when they come to town.  Our regular routine gets thrown out the window and we just take time to enjoy them.  Saturday it was warm enough, (ok it got up to 39', but that is warm here) for Rod to get some trim painted and Kymber got to "help" a little bit.  Sydni wanted to help too and was headed outside barefoot to play in the gutter. Her Mom quickly got her redirected inside to help us. Isn't she a cutie with her little blond pigtails.

Michelle and I worked on centerpieces for a Relief Society Dinner Thursday night.  I'll get a picture of them to share.  They are pretty cute.

This picture of little Sydni is from a week or so ago. She is such a BUSY little girl and this grandma was so glad she slowed down enough to fall asleep. When they come over their favorite thing to do is play with Gus. And he loves it.  As long as they stand up and are taller than he is they get along just great. He puts up with everything they dish out and comes back for more. Kymber is basicly the boss, she puts him in his kennel when she is done playing with him and she will randomly decide when he needs to go to the backyard and bosses him around until he gets there.  If talking doesn't work, she gets ahold of his collar and pulls him to the door and pushes his little fanny outside. Of course she makes sure he gets plenty of dog treats so all is good.

It's a ~

 ~ Baby Quilt!

Yup, I'm making a baby quilt again.  And this time it is for a new little grandson.  Jennifer and Trever are expecting a little baby boy to join their family. We are thrilled, and I am excited to work on a little boy quilt this time.

An AMAZING Quilt ~

Look at this quilt.  I'm enough of a quilter to appreciate really exquisite quilts even though I don't make them. Mine tend to quite a bit simpler, but I love this one.  The best thing about it is that I (and you too) have a chance to win it. Isn't that neat.  You can read the details here.

With a little help from a friend ~

This beautiful photo of Jennifer was our favorite of her bridal portraits, except we really wanted one of her by herself.  The little niece is a cutie, but was in the wrong place during the photo shoot. After trying for a whole afternnoon to fix the picture, I gave up and emailed the file to a friend and she was able to work her magic and sent me back a beautiful version with no extra little girls, or wall outlets. Isn't it amazing?

Before

After

New Puppy Portrait ~

I got Gus to sit still the other day for a picture.  Actually I had his bowl of dinner sitting there and he had to get his picture taken before he could eat. Maybe that is why he has such a concerned look, or maybe it is that he still has too much extra skin. He is growing so fast, but his skin is growing faster.  No kidding, when he lays down by the fire, which is 90 % of his day, his skin lays in folds on the carpet. Actually Bassets are bred to have baggy skin and long ears, so you can tell he is a quality dog. I think it just makes him cuter. I put together his pedigree chart the other day. It was fun to see how many champions he has in his family. We are still trying to decide if we should breed him or just go ahead and get him fixed.  Isn't this face worth passing on to more cute puppies.

Actually, I have a Great Grandpa Gus. We would go visit them on the numbered streets here in Idaho Falls when I was little.  So it would be kind of fun to have him be a "Grandpa Gus" too.  And no, he wasn't named after my grandpa. Kristine named him and thought He looked like a Gus.  I guess he does.

Homemade Pizza ~

It is Homemade Pizza day on my Cooking From the Heart Blog.

Getting Crafty ~

Wanted to show you a little project I made this morning.  They will either be pins, or hairbows for the little girls.  I wish I had Kymber here to model them.  They would look much cuter in her blond hair that they do sitting on the table. OK, I'm back to work now.  It sounds like Gus is getting into trouble.  Love this puppy stage.

She did it ~

Michelle has started a blog. Yes, I am proud of her, but I am also glad she has a place to share pictures of my sweet little grand daughters. So here is the link to Michelle's Blog. Stop by and say "Hi". Let's give her a great welcome to the blog world.

Scrapbooks ~

Yes, I have a few. Last night I pulled them out of the top of the closet and put them out where we can enjoy them. OK so I only brought out half of them.  There are 27 years worth of memories that are stored in over20 albums. I started scrapbooking in 1989, way before it was the thing to do, so I have pages that range from the very simple to ones that use the latest and greatest products for design team projects. What was interesting was that I didn't look at the older pages with a critical eye. Instead, I just enjoyed the memories that they brought to mind. I especially enjoyed watching the kids grow up.  I still have work to do though. I made notes about what still needs to be added to get them up to date, and I am so glad there are new little grandbabies coming so I can keep scrapbooking.