Ok - I am learning

Ds just informed me that I can just put my camera card into the computer slot and it will download - no need for cord!!!! So, here are some promised pics!

First - the pulpit is finished and traveled out to the church for ds's eagle project! Just some landscaping left at this point and he will be finished (with the project part)! The picture is of one of the boy scouts sanding the pulpit after getting it moved to the church. There are others in the picture sanding and adding sealer to benches.

Above are some layouts I worked on this weekend - I did some more, but kind of a lot of pics already.

This is an encouragement album. It started with Scrappingirish's (Happy Birthday to her!!) Inspirational theme 6x6 swap, I have added some verses and am now adding the fruits of the spirit. I have two pages completed (though I may add some more to both). The grapes are from a purple swap hosted by Fia - the paper is wonderful, I need to figure out where to get another sheet! (I am kind of stingy in using it because it is so lovely)

These are some items I have been working on with alcohol inks and experimenting. The plum is perfect for my Inspirational album. It is fun to play! This is an embellishment from a page - sorry the pic isn't very good - I am not good at closeups. Anyway - I used two different pp, a rub-on and skittles! (ok, I found out today that the kind I used are called dew drops, but I only know them by the skittle name)

Poisoned Blackberries Day??? We celebrated something else!

Wow - where did this one come from? I googled and found the following "In the 1700s blackberries were the cause of more deaths than any other form of fruit from a vine or patch. Since then, tens, if not pairs of people take this day to hunt for blackberries that can kill someone instantly when consumed."

Well that may be the day we found, but dd came up with a better one Barlow Girl Monday on Air 1!!! She was so thrilled to hear them - they are her favorite group. She has met them at an autograph signing - was even able to have them sign a fan decoration she had made for her room! Great day for her.

I had a great weekend at the crop - got some stuff done, some stuff progressing, and of course, bought some stuff (who can resist with a 50% off coupon?)

Also - working on my Faithbook layouts that came in Septembers kit - there are some beautiful papers. Will get more of those posted as well.

Pics coming tomorrow!

No new pics today (at least not yet). It is Friday! I am attending an all day crop tomorrow and need to prepare! I have one kit ready to go and that is it! (and really, I guess ready isn't the right word - I wanted to paint the chipboard before going - saw some cool ideas in the latest Creating Keepsakes - just in one of the ads. Gotta give it a shot!

Hopefully I will get more together and have lots of fun things to post come Monday! But first paper sorting, a quick trip to sharpen skates, pick up milk, find some pics, assemble kits (be creative in this time????), dinner (ok - ds is getting everything in the crock pot for me, so other than supervising him, he is 11, this is done), running to hockey practice, and get everything packed into the car. A pretty typical day. Oh yeah, we homeschool as well, so spelling tests, supervising, helping, teaching, etc too.

Have a great weekend!

National Comic Book Day!

Boy are my kids thrilled! Since we homeschool and incorporate some funky holidays in, they have all decided that comic book reading should be a subject today! they are in luck - i have some great comics from the Federal Reserve that cover money and banking, finance, and the gold standard. There is also the comic book Bible, comics relating to physics and then the standard GI Jo, Heathcliff, Garfield and Calvin and Hobbes comics. (I didn't realize how many we had until today :))

I am going to be getting some pics developed to make some pages about kids playing monkey in the middle outside the other day. Dh joined in the game between grilling and they were all having fun (ok - one ds was at camp, but the others were having fun).

After monkey in the middle, my monkeys decided to put each other on their shoulders and start spinning around. They wanted to see how dizzy they could make each other - then I did get a few "posed" shots.

Titles are always a challenge for me, so any ideas are welcome. Have a great Comic Day!

Miss that squirrel day!

I don't really know if this is an official day, but ds was out riding his bike (phy-ed this month for homeschool). However, one of the friendly?, neighborhood squirrels wanted to see what he was up to, so stepped out and into the path of an oncoming bicycle. Well, ds didn't want to run him down (he has a much softer spot in his heart for animals), so over he swerved on the dirt road. He showed up at the house a few minutes later - glasses bent, dirty, scratches around his eye, both arms, dirt ground into his shoulder and blue jeans. I think he now wants to hunt the friendly?, neighborhood squirrel and invite him for dinner! (yes, I have had squirrel before - but it was when I was younger)

Well - we shall see how this saga plays itself out. He cannot use a shotgun or rifle around here, and the pellet gun is not in operating condition. I have a sneaking suspicion that the squirrel will get off :)

On to scrapbooks!

The pages posted are some from a 6x6 religious swap that Scrappingirish hosted over at CKMB. I have them in a book and am trying to add to it on a regular basis. I have not done faithbooking before, but hope this helps me get further.

Oh - if you have any good title ideas for this pic, i would love to hear them. DD and friend at GS camp a few weeks ago - love the glowing glasses!

Shh! :) My thanksgiving card swap - finally figured a design! The tag pulls out and can be used as a bookmark!

Long John Silvers Opens!

Above is ds's dog - she even got in on the fun! They have finally opened a local Long John Silvers. They were always around where I grew up, but after 12 years of no LJS - it was so fun to go and order today! Yes, it still tastes the way I remember - yummy!

I know Talk like a pirate day was the 19th, but couldn't reisist this pic this afternoon!

happy checkers day!

I just realized that I never added more recipe card pics from the breakfast swap hosted by Elizabeth6 at CKMB - so here are some more! Sorry the pictures are pretty bad, not quite sure what I did different (other than move and make them blury)

Happy First Day of Fall

I love the way the sun is behind the cross in the top pic and the rainbow you can just see outlining!

One of our Ds's is working on his Eagle project. This is a pic of him and some boys helping to put up the final cross at the outdoor worship area he is in charge of building. They are doing a rustic looking area - it is really turning out nice. I cannot wait until it is completed!

Our DD was approved to start with her Gold Award project in Girl Scouts over the weeken. She is very happy that she gets to start, now she will be working with her advisor to get her grant proposal done.

It is the first day of fall and has been absolutely beautiful this past week! We have been working on getting the garage cleaned out (btw - the barn is ready to go to a certain young man!). I will be running to Goodwill later this week - it is amazing how much STUFF gets collected over 20+ years of marriage. I found some things unopened; others open, but never used; and then the well used, but no longer wanted group of items. I think my trash can received more than the back of my truck, however it is packed almost to the brim! 8 more containers to go, then we will have cleaned out all rubbermade (and off brand) totes, hockey bags, milk crates, boxes, and shopping bags that were filled in the great exodus from our basement.

My youngest ds's are enjoying having their own rooms. My craft shelf (other than scrapbooking materials) has decreased from one room (small, but a room) to a single, floor to ceiling, 4' wide shelf. Kind of tough, but other than old quilt tops, there were a lot of craft projects I just will not get to for quite some time. Especially the ones still brand new are off to find homes where they can be enjoyed!

I took a lot of pics this past weekend and probably will this next week as well - the leaves are changing. The colors are always so beautiful. I cannot locate my camera cord (this is not good), so none of the newer pics are coming, but the ones posted are some that I really like.

Happy National Chocolate Milkshake Day!

Boy does this day sound yummy! Posted is a pic of some make and takes I have done. The shape on is fun - I have done snowmen, stars, and whatever shape appealed to me. It is simply six of the same shape cut out, folded in 1/2 and then glued together - they look cool for many seasons (sparkly snowflakes are fun). Hardest part -- keeping all six shapes identical size, but the cricut helps with that now!

Another school day - but more fun science things today and it is such a beautiful day out. We will also be processing some more brussel sprouts and peppers - gotta get everything in soon. Some of the apples are ready now too!

Well - I finished my first layered scrapbook page! It isn't as good as some I have seen, but I am really happy with it as a first attempt. I will post later - it is for a challenge from Scrapper Lady. I am also working to finish a challenge I gave her - the colors just aren't working as I hoped. Will see.

Enjoy a chocolate milkshake today!

Happy Rainy Day (At least in our area) :)

It is currently raining, but the fireplace is nice and warm. One of the boys cut his knee open today, so we had to run into the Dr. office to see about stitches. On the phone, the nurse said anything over 1" has to be looked at. Using a ruler, his measured 2 1/2" long, just below the kneecap, so in we went. Steri strips and super glue - wow, who knew! We had to put new stuff on at home - it only lasted about 2 hours. Hopefully by having him sit still for an hour before moving will help.

There is an upcoming crop at an lss - going with my friend Scrapper Lady. I am working on my decorator squares for one of Buster's swaps and some ATC's for one of Kimmo's.

We have our science room changed around for school. Much better lighting and bigger spaces - can't wait to use more now! Science is so fun! Right now we are planning on doing some balance experiments from Robert Krampf's website. One son was wondering why we needed a potato, 2 forks and a toothpicks for this one. Check out his website at http://www.krampf.com/experiments/Science_Experiment77.html

We got back from Girl Scout camp over the weekend where my daughter scored bullseyes during her archery sessions. She was happy because this year all her arrows hit the target. She prefers to use the "old fashioned" bows rather than compound.

My photo makes no sense, but is one with some kids opening up some new Heroscape figures. We really like to play that game - we are always collecting new figures and enhancing our battlegrounds.

Be Late for something day!

This is my kind of day :)

I am working on putting together my breakfast recipe swaps - here are a few of them to get your mouth watering!

I did a bagel recipe, MimsyMarie (CKMB) did Baked Oatmeal, Breakfast Turnovers (not sure who), Aebleskivers by Dueckcowgirl, and Almond Raisin Butter by KMG - more recipes to come!

Happy Newspaper Carrier Day!

Alright - school is back in full swing (beginning of year testing day today) and we have a new computer setup going! Now I can get up to three people on computers for research, typing, etc., and really help our schedule go much more smoothly!

I just finished my layout for tx-nana-scraps challenge over on the AMR boards (well at least one part) . It was to be a layout with 5 pictures, 5 papers, 5 embellishments, and 5 journalling spots! It was quite the challenge for me, but I really enjoyed myself. I used two different patterned papers, two different solids (brown and white), then if you look in the corners, there are two patterns of inchies used (both made from just "plain" old cardstock - so I guess I used 6 papers!); the embellies are fastenator staples, fun black and orange and tan fiber, a chipboard slide, a paperclip with a ribbon, a thanksgiving laser cut (from the AMR continuous RAK), and a flower with a metal star inside; the journalling blocks are self explanatory. The pics are old, but remind me of when we were first married - sometimes I went to a lot more effort to make the appetizers look nice (on a very limited budget) than I do these days - I think I will try to do that again.

I also just finished putting together my Bible verse swaps book from Scrappingirish's swap at CKMB. I sent off others, but never did get mine organized. I found a great little spiral 6x6 album at the dollar store (of all places) to put the layouts in! I have space left over, so my goal is to add special verses/layouts as I feel led. Will post pics of that soon! Thanks again to all the wonderful ladies who participated. I love my book!

School supplies are still being ordered - our schedule is such that the "new" new topics won't start until after the 15th. I can't wait - we haven't done much with hydrodynamics before and it sure looks interesting/fun! I just got a little baggie of shredded cash from the Federal Reserve Bank! Kids think it is pretty cool (totally unusable, but really neat). We have used their materials before for our economics classes, so they sent a survey out and if you answered the questions, they sent you out this cool baggie of destroyed money as a thank you. It may be silly to some people, but it is really fun to look at and try to determine which bills were shredded! (For my scrap pals - this may show up on a future layout!)

Well - time to help someone with school. Have a great day!