Roots

I have a simply beautiful image to share with you all today.  It's a brand new release over at McMahon Five Designs called "Roots".  I have to admit, I was completely taken with this image when I first saw it.  I'm a "Plant Lady" by day, so this pretty image seemed to fit me in every way.  I take care of all the lovely greenery you see in commercial businesses all over town.  Its a job I thought I'd do only while my sons were small because of the flexibility.  But here I am almost 16 years later, and I still love caring for plants.  Something about putting my hands in soil everyday is very uplifting for me.  I've used the Spellbinders Foliage and Spellbinders Labels 21, along with touches of Stickles Glitter for this week's card.  Have a wonderful week everyone.  :)

Peony Love

Well, here we are with another new release from McMahon Five Designs.  This one is called Peony Love.  I decided to play with cheerful, bright colors this week.  I'm so eager for the cold dreariness of winter to be over... So if I can't have Springtime in my yard quite yet, I'll have it in my craft room.   The dp is lilybeedesign.  I pulled out several of my heart themed paper punches and die-cuts for this card and look at these pretty little mini ZVA pearl swirlies!  I love them.  Have a fun week everyone.  Thanks for stopping by.   

Thinking of You

Hello, and Happy New Year my friends! Today I'm sharing a new image from McMahon Five Designs called Thinking of You.  I colored this CAS card with my Prisma Pencils and then the snowy area is filled in with MS clear micro-beads I found on special at one of our local closeout stores.  

As with most people at this time of year, I'm working on some New Year Resolutions.  I've got quite a list going that mostly have to do with fixing up the "old homestead".  It's been 11 years since we moved into our current home and its starting to show some wear and tear.   I'm in the process of painting my front door a lovely teal color (my favorite color).  So far, it looks really good, but I still need to finish the trim.  As soon as it warms up above 50 degrees for a day or so again I will be tackling that.  I'll share before and after pics when its finished.  And I've also decided to start running again.  I went on my first run a couple days ago.... and boy I can tell I'm not high school cross-country material anymore!!!  But, hey... I'm trying and that's what really counts right?   Have a wonderful day everyone.  :)

Yarn and Beads... What a Combination :)

I've been teaching myself to crochet.  (Thanks to Youtube videos for lefties, I can now do more than just a single crochet stitch).  It passes the time when I get to school too early to pick up the kids... and it keeps my hands out of the chips.  :)

I just started this ruffle scarf last night.  I LOVE the rich plum color of this yarn.  

I also spent a little time playing with my beads last week and came up with these pretty sparklies.  

Merry Christmas Everyone!  

I Will Sing...

I will Sing

When I first saw this new digi image, I was immediately taken with it.  It reminds me of a song by U2 called "I will Sing, Sing a New Song".  I spend a lot of my day listening to music.  There is nothing that lifts my spirits more than listening to good music with a positive message.  Music feeds my soul and inspires my creativity.  What feeds your creativity?  Now, if only I had more hours in the day to spend crafting instead of the steady load of daily duties and obligations.  Ah well, I will hopefully get a little down time for crafting during the Christmas break. :)

Two New Releases from McMahon Five Designs

Calla JPG and PNG

Silent Night JPG and PNG

Hello friends.  I must say its been very busy around my house and looks to only get busier with each passing day.  I did manage to make these two new cards to share with you from McMahon Five Designs though.  They are both simple and straight forward in design, but pretty nonetheless.  I hope you are all enjoying this holiday season so far.  Please remember to hug your family and friends... and tell them how much you love them.  That is what matters most.  :)

Meowy Christmas Kitty

Meowy Christmas Kitty

This little cutie looks as if it is patiently waiting for a little Christmas Catnip Treat.
Oh, if only my youngest son could be as patient.  He has already informed me that there are only 38 days until Christmas.... and of course I haven't even begun any Christmas shopping.  Not that shopping is what its all about.  Ah well, I'm aiming for simplicity this year.  With that said, I know this coming week, with Thanksgiving and the days leading up to Christmas and the New Year, things will be very busy for everyone.  Be sure to take the time and enjoy your family and friends in the midst of all the hustle and bustle.  It's the people that are important.  Don't worry if things don't happen the way you have it set in your mind to happen.  Everything will fall into place one way or another.  

Hanging Out for the Holidays

"Hanging Out for the Holidays"

Hello friends.  We've suddenly got a chill in the air in my neck of the woods.  Frost on the windshields in the mornings when I'm taking my kids to school...  We even had a scattered snowflake or two fall earlier this week.  I believe Winter is finally headed our way.

This week I'm sharing a card using a happy, whimsical image called "Hanging Out for the Holidays".  I colored it with Prisma Pencils and added shading with a little bit of chalk.  Then I added some Frosted Lace Stickles to give that frosty effect.  Then accented with textured and punched snowflakes.  If you decide to purchase this sweet image, there is a fun freebie image to go along with it.   Have a wonderful day everyone.  

My Reason for Waking Up Each Day...

Just a "quick-share" today.  This is our first family portrait in oh... about 10 years.  Getting a crew of boys to "dress up" is like asking a cat to go for a swim at our house.   Hence the Tux T-Shirts.  They've often joked about wishing they had shirts like this for those special occasions where their normal attire is not appropriate.  So, when we stumbled across these shirts during our back-to-school shopping in August AND we found them in the right size for all of them, we just couldn't pass them by.  Of course the first reason to "dress up" in their "nice clothes" was family picture day LOL!   I think they all clean up pretty nice.  :)

Waves of Beauty and Blessings...

This week I'm sharing two quick and easy projects with you.  The first one (above) is a recycled chocolate box that I altered by adding this Waves of Beauty image.  Now it's a perfect little gift box that will contain a sweet treasure for someone special this holiday season. 

With this Blessings image I made a simple bookmark.  These images are only two of several new releases today over at McMahon Five Designs, so be sure to head on over to the M5D website to see what else is new.  Have a wonderful day everyone.   :)

Water Baby

 Water Baby

It's been a while since I've tried something new.  And I've needed to get out and away from my little box of square cards for the day.  I saw this fun fold on the SCS website a couple weeks ago and decided to give it a try.  It was really very easy... and what lot of fun it was to make.  :)  

The image is called Water Baby. (LOVE IT!!) I colored and sparkled it with Stickles.  Then used my Spellbinder die-cuts to frame it.  

My Balloon Fiesta Pics... As Promised :)

 Dawn Patrol is amazing.

 Especially when they lift off and light up the sky.

 These are the "Save the Ta-Tas Balloons"  They even had a sign hanging off to one side that read "Silicon-Free"  :)

 I liked the hummingbird on this one.

I said I'd share some Balloon Fiesta pictures here if I was able to get any nice ones. We were there bright and early yesterday and it was wonderful! I'm always amazed by the number of balloons in this event and the number of people that come out to see them every year.  I tried to make a slide show, but couldn't seem to get it to work on so little sleep yesterday, so I'll just shared a few here instead.