RAK time!! =)

What a whirlwind week! So I have "resale" duty, which is huge in our city. A big clothing resale that is for one day for kiddos. You can pretty much buy anything for kids that you can think of. They hold it twice a year (once in the spring and once in the fall). We sell and buy for all 4 kids that way and it is so much fun! My husband shops for toys (when he is supposed to be helping me pick out clothes, but oh well!), and I stock up on cute clothes and shoes and goodies. I have found the cutest boutique clothing for reasonable prices here. I volunteer as a committee head for inspection, so I shop Friday with a group of other committee heads. We get to shop before the public, so it's worth it to do the work. ;-) So my living room is an explosion of clothes and shoes and tags right now. . .among other things. So amidst the madness, I receive. . .HAPPY MAIL!! Nothing better than happy mail!

First I received this great deal from Peachy Cheap:

All for $4.99! What a steal. So if you have never checked 'em out before. . .you must! Today they have AC flair!

Second. . .I received my prize package from Sassafras Lass!!

They were wayyy generous! I love what they sent and can't wait until next week when I will have time again to play and create! Thank you Sass Lass!! This is for having their blinkie on my blog. So, just for putting their blinkie on your blog you can win those freebies. . .so what are you waiting for?? Get on over there!

Third - KENNER ROAD! They have some of the best kits (lately they have all been selling out), with exclusive stamps now and this month's kit features exclusive fabric! Aaagghhhh! I was in Heaven when I opened the kit. They picked my lo "Puppy Love" (shown a few posts back) as the gallery winner on flickr for last month's kit, and I received a free add on. I wanted to give a shout out to KL Yeary and say a HUGE thank you!!!

So. . .because of everyone's generosity, I thought it necessary to offer a RAK of my own to pay it forward! So leave a comment about your fave summer dish. . .I know - completely random, but I need some ideas and I am hungry, so food is on the brain. ;-) I will have my dd pick one, and send you this:

close up

You will have until Sunday, then I will be finished with the resale and I can have fun getting ideas for what to cook in the next week. =) Have a good one!

In honor of my friend who passed away last Saturday, I decided to do a "Five for Friday". . .something that she did on her family blog. I'd love to keep her tradition of that alive, and it's a great idea to list five things I am thankful for. So, without further ado:

1. A warm sunny day!

2. Our local UHL hockey team made it to the playoffs and we're going to the game tonight!

3. Garage sale season - YAY!!

4. Quickutz is making these adorable new designs that I can't wait to collect and use on my creations!

5. "Scrap Therapy" Need I say more? =)


(I used glimmer mist, butterfly masks, glitter, stitching, sequins, HS stamps, Hambly, Prima flowers. . .all my faves)

It felt good to sit down and create. I just started keeping an art journal too. Now THAT is fun! No inhibitions, just sit down and whatever techniques you have wanted to try but are too scared to because you don't want to ruin a page. . .I love the messiness and self expression of it. So. . .what are YOU thankful for today? =)

So this week has been a little rough. A friend of mine passed away unexpectedly on Saturday. It is such a heartbreaking situation as she left behind her husband, and three kids (one of whom is 2 weeks old). She is so young and I just spoke with her the day before she had her baby, and I was supposed to take pics of her and the new baby this week and now she is gone. It just blows my mind. My friend Pam (who I think reads my blog from time to time) is very close with her and I know it is hitting them so hard. The habits are the hardest to get beyond I think. Like when the phone rings and you think it is that person, or when something exciting happens and that's the first person you think to call, but can no longer. Those are the things that I can't stop thinking about when I think of her husband and closest friends. So if you think about it, please send up a prayer for her loved ones and close friends left behind. Love you Pam. . .praying for you too throughout this difficult time in losing your bestie! Our time on earth is so short. . .hug those you love just a little tighter today.



Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
2 Corinthians 4:16-15:8 King James Version Bible

Happy Happy JOy Joy!

GOOD NEWS!! I am now part of the Design Team for Scrapping Across the Universe!!! I am so happy to be a part of this team and join in on the fun challenges. =)

It is a gorgeous day today. . .sunny (finally) and 68 degrees. . .and these are in bloom here

So I am off to enjoy the day with my kiddos and continue my ride on cloud nine!
xo

So nothing super exciting to report here, except I was the Friday Blinkie winner at Sassafras Lass - YAY!! I Love their products and check out their new stamps on the blog. . .I want them all! We had a wonderful Easter. The girls got the movie Bolt for an Easter gift, and they each had baskets in front of their doors in the morning. They found peeps, m&m's, bubblegum eggs, chocolate marshmallow eggs, and starburst jellybeans. Momma has the rest of that stash in her closet! Bwahahaha (evil laugh)! ;-) I love me some cadbury eggs. . . I pick some up every time I'm out and about and come home and lock my bedroom door and eat them. Did the easter bunny come to your house? I had intended to have "ugly monsters" for them that I was working on, but didn't finish them in time. I'll be sure to post them when they are finished. I think they'll turn out cute.
I moved my scrapbook area to the family room from the dining room. Not sure if I like it yet. Our dining room was the homeschool/craft area and it was kind of an inspiring place to create. I feel limited in our family room, yet I'll be with the family more and I like that idea. I could not get to sleep last night dreaming of how I could make it more "my area" and what kinds of pretties and storage things I could use in that room. I'd love to see links or pics of those of you who craft in your living/family rooms.
Here are a few crafts I completed over last week. . .
A little Easter egg ornament for Micah's teacher


A lo for the Scrapping Accross the Universe challenge



So now my little secret is out. . .I dream of having #5, and NO. . .I am not pregnant nor do I plan to be. Just a little daydream I have every now and then! Haha. ;-)

Well. . .I'm off to do some more spring cleaning projects. I leave you with my girlies eating their "mustache suckers" !

I am thrilled beyond words!!! I logged onto GCD Studios last night after a busy and stressful day to see how the blog party was going, and I saw this post! So I submitted some work for the DT position and I knew it was completely a long shot, but I really love their papers and I would love to be on a DT. The ladies they picked for the DT are insanely talented. I love to see the styles of other artists, so I enjoyed reading the bios and visiting their blogs. I just could not believe that I was picked to be a product tester! Yay!! Thank you to Heidi Sonboul, who was the coordinator in all of this. She had such kind and encouraging words to say about my work. I appreciate the opportunity so much! Okay. . .enough gushing, but I had to share or I would burst. =)

In other news, my mom and dad caved and gave in to this little sweetie!!

Isn't she the cutest? Her name is "Latte" and we are in love with her! I am babysitting right now. =) She is a cuddle bug and that tiny mushed in face just melts me.


It was the inspiration for this little ditty

close up


Hope the rest of the week is just as lovely! We are finally all healthy! Whew. Looking forward to warmer days and no snow! THis crazy Indiana weather - geesh! Around this time when most places have flowers blooming and 70degree weather with sunshine and I wake up to snow, I ask myself - "Why do I live in Indiana?" Lol! Ah well - at least my uggs get some good useage. =)
xo
Amber

Happy April Fools!!

Woot! Congrats to the new GCD DT! =) What a fun way to find out you've made the team. GCD Studios is having a big party on their blog on Monday the 6th. . .there are going to be some giveaways, so check it out!!




I found some time for crafting this week and had this vintage bobbin in one my Kenner Road kits that I stared at forever trying to figure out what I would do with it. Finally, I decided on a lovely bouquet of paper flowers and buttons. I loved how colorful and cheerful this kit was and have not stopped playing with it. I think I've used every last morsel of paper and embellies! =)




I plan to do a little more crafting today, and remember those mustache candy molds I had posted about in an earlier blog post? They are from Bake It Pretty. Well I thought those would be a fun treat on April Fools. . .so I will have pics of that up later. =)

Anyone have any good April Fools stories or ideas? I'd love to hear them! I'll end my post with this fun pic of my kiddos. . .



I have to share this funny little conversation between Zoe and I while we were driving home from Chik-fil-a. . .
Zoe: "Mommy, don't forget to change your bras when we get home."
Me: "What? Why?"
Zoe: "April fools day!"
Hehheh! =) Kids!

Have a wonderful day. . .we plan to enjoy the beautiful sunshine! =)
xo
Amber