A bit of this and that....

(Click here for the goodie giveaway!)

Good morning!  Just thought I'd give you a peek of what I've been up to lately.  I made a decorated tree and a basket of cards for a cancer fundraiser (which is today).  This week I have been sewing dogs and bones and finishing up my cards.  Whew!  I'm glad I am done for this year...I really enjoy doing it, but am relieved when I am finished and my tree is delivered!

This year the tree is in honor of our puppy Paisley.  She is 5 months now and tips the scales at 50+ pounds...she does not look like a puppy anymore!  The dogs in the picture are gray because she is a charcoal Lab.  A lot of people havn't seen a charcoal before so we get a lot of inquiries as to what she is... she has been called chocolate, blue, silver, and purple!  LOL  We have a blue cream cat, so I get the blue, but I have never seen a purple dog before!

Here are a few more pics of the tree:

Paisley loves to lay on her back and have her tummy scratched, so that's why this dog is belly up!

Here are a couple of pictures of Paisley.  The first is at 7 weeks and the second at 14 weeks; she is much bigger now, but it is hard to get a good photo as she is rarely still!

Thanks for stopping by; I hope you have a fun and safe Labor Day weekend!

Angela

Back to school...and some goodies too!

Hello!  It's been a busy week; I've been making items for a cancer fundraiser, so I havn't gotten much else accomplished.  The kids started back to school, I can't believe we have a freshman and a 6th grader...high school and middle school...yikes!  Here are pictures of their first day.

I also have some goodies to share!  I've been meaning to have a give away for quite some time, but just havn't gotten it done.  Do you ever find that you buy or get multiples of supplies you really love?  I have to confess that it happens to me sometimes!  I am going to pass them on to one of you, along with some other items.  Since it's all about back to school at our house right now, I'm asking you to share your favorite back to school memory.  If you'd like to become a follower that would be great, but it is certainly not required.  If you'd like to post a picture of the goodies, and link back here that would be great as well.  2 weeks from today I will have one of the kids draw a name...all who leave a comment on this post will be entered into the drawing.

Here's a list of what's included:
Cuttlebug Roman Bath Embossing Folder and Border
Prima Madeline 6x6 Pad (Beautiful papers...I had 3 of these!)
Prima Crystal/Pearl Embellishment
Cheery Lynn Designs Small Lace Butterfly with Angel Wings Dies
PTI Botanical Silhouettes 4th Anniversary Set
PTI Think Big Favorites Sentiment Set
PTI Alpha-blocks Die
C.C. Designs Swiss Pixies Nurse Nora (Because I'm a nurse!)
Stamping Bella Microphone by Rheea
Stamping Bella Gwendolyn LuLu
Stampendous Changito Stamper (Because he's my favorite!)
The Cat's Pajamas Feelin' Cupidy
2 Pieces of MFT Felt

Remember, all you have to do is leave a comment and tell me your favorite back to school memory!

Thanks for stopping by; have a great day!

Angela

Do you like brownies?

I've got a yummy recipe to share with you today!  Not too long ago, my daughter and I ate lunch at our favorite deli; the owner is known for her scratch-made goodies...cookies, bars, 5 layer cakes, cheesecakes, etc.  We decided to share an Oreo brownie...it was sooo good!  I told Ivy that she could probably Google a recipe so we could try them at home.  She was able to find a recipe and we tweaked it a bit...here it is:

Ultimate Oreo Brownies

1 box of your favorite brownie mix (for 9x13 pan), prepared per package instructions
12 Oreos, quartered
1 teaspoon vanilla

Add Oreos and vanilla to brownie batter.  Transfer to prepared pan and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.  Check them early, so they don't overbake.  Cool completely.  Prepare frosting.

Buttercream Frosting

6 tablespoons softened butter
3 tablespoons cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon milk
2 cups powdered sugar

Beat with mixer until smooth.  Frost brownies.  Top with crushed Oreos, followed by a drizzle of hot fudge ice cream topping.

Note: The picture is from the first batch that my daughter made.  I made the second batch and crushed the Oreos for the top a bit more.  Also, I warmed up the fudge topping just a bit so I could drizzle it over the top.  If it's cold, you get more of a "blob"...which isn't all bad if you are really into fudge!  LOL

These are amazing!  My husband served one to our contractor yesterday, who is not a huge chocolate fan, and he said they were "more than a brownie" and "the best brownie he ever had".  Pretty high praise for something prepared from a mix with a few quick add-ins!  This recipe is a keeper.

Hope you are having a great day!  I promise to be back soon with blog candy....

Angela

Yippee!

Good morning; I hope your weekend is going great!

I see I now have 100 followers...my gosh, I never thought that would happen!  A heartfelt "thank you" to all who come to visit; it means so much to me that you stop by from time to time.  I want to share something funny with you on this topic....  My husband was telling someone about my blog, and he was telling them I actually have "followers and believers"....  Yes, that is really how he worded it!  Of course, they looked at him like we were both a bit goofy and involved in a cult or something!  LOL  I guess in his own way, even though he gives me a lot of grief about my hobby, he might be just a little bit proud of me too....  It was kind of sweet actually!

So, I am curious...does your significant other support your creative endeavors?  I would love to hear your story....

Next weekend, I will post a give away on my blog; not sure what it will be yet...maybe a fun cardkit since I love to make those...I'm still in the planning phases.  Stay tuned!

Have a great Sunday!

Angela

Cancer Fundraiser Tree

Good morning and happy Labor Day! I want to welcome a couple of new followers...Jan and Terri! True confession time...I am tickled pink to have people interested enough to follow my humble blog, so thanks to you all for stopping by!

I wanted to share a picture of the tree I made for a local fundraiser that was held Saturday. The fundraiser is organized by a family who lost a loved one to pancreatic cancer and the proceeds are donated. The deceased was a sportsman, so it's a walk, run, wag combined with a basket raffle.

Although my tree isn't a basket, it is included in the raffle. I make the ornaments and have done many different themes; this year I decided to go with a dog theme. The bones are made out of felt and the dog is made out of a plush fleece. He is nice and floppy so you can "pose" him if you wish. I added lights, red glitter balls, silver jingle bells, ribbon, and some homespun plaid as a tree skirt. I sent a bag of extra ornaments including a silver beaded garland for the winner. That way, they can keep it simple or jazz it up a bit if that is their taste.

I had a little mishap while searching in the attic for supplies. DH "helped" in the attic by rearranging things and tidying up. I had planned to make a snowangel tree and knew where the pattern was...before DH's help. In my search for my supplies I hit my head on a thick, wooden beam. It's more than a week later and I still have a headache. Thankfully I had 4 days off before I had to go back to work, but when I went back, I found out I likely had a concussion. Good grief! How embarassing to be so clumsy! Anyway, since I couldn't find the snowangel pattern I switched gears and went with the dog theme.

I also made a basket of cards to donate. This year I had 56; next year I would like to have 100. When I mass produce cards, I save one in a special place and let them accumulate throughout the year.

Here's a picture of the decorated tree. The light cord was very short, so I didn't get a great shot. It's a bit hard to see the lights in the daylight too.

Thanks for stopping by today; I hope your Labor Day is a good one!

Angela

15th Wedding Anniversary

Good morning! My post today is not stamp related and contains lots of photos. It's my 15th wedding anniversary and I was looking through the wedding albums this morning and thought I would share some photos with you. They are not good quality, as I just snapped them in their frames or from the albums; the originals are much nicer.

Engagement photo; including my kitty Spot.

This one is a framed 16 x 20.

The wedding party in front of the church.

I wanted to show a photo of the back of my gown; I think the cut-out is so pretty. I loved my gown and still do today. I had some modifications made after it arrived. It had a huge bow on the back with dangling streamers...that was the first to go as soon as I tried it on! Ugh, I really didn't feel I need that on my backside.... I also had the train cut off and didn't wear the beaded lace arm things...they were kind of like gloves. It was August after all....

Zachary and Jennifer; they were so sweet and so good! Their Mom, Christy, was my matron of honor. Of course, they are grown up now!

Marlyn and his brothers; Lyle and Dan.

My "baby brother" Wade walking me down the isle. It was his 21st birthday that day...he looks so young! I had on really high heels; he is a good foot taller than I am.

The kids were all about the cake...it was almond flavored and really good!

Tyler is the best man's son; that is his Mom dancing with Marlyn. He was 2 here and is such a doll! He was so good at the reception; he had some balloons that he was shaking and dancing to the beat of the music. He is now a soccer star and received a scholarship for college.

I am wondering if "dollar dances" are popular in your area? They are big here! I "won" by raking in the most money...yay for me! We spent the money on our honeymoon. Stephanie, maid of honor and my sister, is pictured along with Tony the best man.

I loved my bouquet...my favorite flower is the gardenia..they smell so good! It was supposed to include Dutch baby irises, but they died in transit to the florist. I like how the photographer puts the rings in the flower to include them in the bouquet.

It was really a beautiful day. For August, the weather wasn't too hot and it was sunny. It downpoured shortly after we arrived to the reception, so we got lucky there. I didn't post any photos, but the DJ did something really fun at the dance. At the beginning he has the guests line up in a tunnel and he calls out the entire wedding party, just like they used to call out the players at the Chicago Bulls home games. There is a laser light show and it was so much fun to run down the tunnel and high five the guests. He would include your name/position in the wedding party, your occupation, and where you were from. Good memories for sure! Late at night, we had a sundae bar and baked treats for the guests; that was a big hit...although I missed that. After all the planning and organizing, it was really fun to just kick back and have fun!

I'm glad you stopped by today; thanks for allowing me to share a few good memories....

Angela

Look what I found....

Hello! How is your Sunday going? I hope you get a bit of time to be crafty today.... I have been working on a kit swap and hope to play along with the Verve sketch too.... I was sorting papers the other day and came across an old newspaper. I was wondering why I kept it and found this photo as I was thumbing through it. Inky Antics had a cardmaking contest and I won 2nd place; one of my friends owns the local paper, so they did a story about it. You can't see the card very well; it was a Christmas poem that was colored and then slipped into a "pocket". I made a Santa belt out of some faux black leather. I had forgotten all about this, so it was fun to find the picture and take a walk down memory lane. Thanks for stopping by today! Angela

A Christmas Thank You....

Good morning friends! Well, here we are...the big day has come and gone. I hope you all had a wonderful, safe holiday with your loved ones. I don't know about the rest of you, but now I can relax a bit and just enjoy Christmas break with the kids.... It's nice that the hustle and bustle is over....

I wanted to share the card my 10 year old son made for me last night after we got home. He worked on this for a loooong time! This morning he showed me 6 "re-do" cards too! I was very touched that he spent the time and this is so very special to me; it will go into my box of treasures. Just wanted to share some Christmas cheer through the eyes of a child....

Today I am cleaning up my craft area. It makes me a bit sad to be putting all of the beautiful Christmas papers away; I have decided that I will try to make a couple Christmas cards each month though. I know of some people who do this and then they have a nice collection by the time the next Christmas rolls around. I guess it is time to go to work on the Valentine's! I looove pink!

Holiday blessings to you! Thank you for stopping by!

Angela

A Little "This and That"....

Good Saturday morning! I have some cute packaging to share today...no stamping involved! We found these cute tins at Hobby Lobby and I had the idea of embellishing the handles with ribbon. My daughter had wanted to make some fun tags as well, but that didn't get done. So much to do, so little time....

The assorted ribbons are cut in 4 inch lengths and simply tied on the handle. Super easy and quick to do and it really makes the tin special! First we layed out an assortent of ribbons that matched the tin, next we cut the ribbons and layed them in a pleasing pattern, she tied them on and trimmed the stray threads, last she distributed the ribbons evenly on the handle. I found that the red and white wide grosgrain ribbons needed to be cut at 5 inches, the 4 inch lengths looked too short in comparison to the other ribbons. I was really surprised to find how much ribbon it took....about 60 pieces, so a bit over 20 yards total!

Inside the tin is some green shread and assorted items that young girls like: cute Christmas socks, scented lotion and super sparkly nail polish! She even baked some cookies to include...all by herself! My baby is growing up! That's the third time in a week that she made cookies! I pretty much just let her go to it and stayed out of the way.... Not always easy for a Mom to do...or is that just me?!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Angela