Crafter's Window

New Me - Day 2

2011-10-20T21:13:00.000-04:00

Today was a very trying day. I am trying to stay positive, but hard to do when I screwed up my paycheck so bad. LOL. I do the timekeeping for my division in the office. Guess what I did? Put a day of leave without pay in for myself by mistake and changed my direct deposit to a wrong account number. So, needless to say, I didn't get paid today and when I finally do I will be considerably shorter than normal. Thank goodness my husband gets paid tomorrow!

Anyway, today's positive change was to stop eating lunches, during the week, out and to bring my lunch. Today, being I didn't get paid we went home at lunch time and had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Not great for the diet, but definitely good for the purse! I love a good PB&J sandwich with a glass of milk. Can you believe my husband doesn't like jelly on his sandwiches? How about you, any changes going on in your life?

31 Days to a New Me!

2011-10-19T14:42:00.000-04:00

This is me....

I so need a change in my life. I want to work for myself, lose weight, have a clean house again, be happy. So, I am making a commitment to all of you, as well as myself, that today is a new day and I am making lifestyle changes that will affect my entire family!

Keep checking in to see what I am doing to make a positive change in my life that day. Today was the decision!

Tomorrow is.......

Some History

2011-10-19T14:38:00.000-04:00

When I was younger I was very confrontational and didn't want to listen to anyone about what was right or wrong. See, I was a product of a single mother who enabled my father to drink. Let my father come and go as he pleased and allowed him to exist as a bigomist without ever divorcing him.

My life changed when I met my husband and we had our family. I loved being a mother and housewife. I sold real estate and was able to work around everyone's schedules. I did this really well and was at the top of my game when my mother died in 2002. I really think this was when I started going downhill again.

In 2003, the Navy moved us from New Orleans to New Jersey (yay, not!). We moved in with my Grandmother to help take care of her. My husband was out to sea a lot with this new ship. He was gone 3 weeks out of each month at least. This is not to mention, the 6 month deployments. So, living with my Grandmother should have been a good thing for me. However, we were struggling financially as well as I was struggling emotionally. I found a place I could do my real estate, but real estate in New Jersey was very different from New Orleans and I just couldn't seem to find my niche.

My Grandmother and I were always at odds. I was trying to work around everyone's schedules and not always there to make a hot dinner at night and sometimes, wash wouldn't get done daily. This upset my grandmother. Needless to say, that she didn't like that I was struggling financially and it was affecting her lifestyle.

In 2004 I became pregnant with my youngest son. I let my Grandmother know, and it was obvious she wasn't happy. I have very rough pregnancies in the beginning. I am usually so sick it becomes a health issue for me. This one was a little different in the fact, that I never stopped being sick. I was sick all 9 months!

I will never forget the day! I was roughly 3 months pregnant. I had been sick all morning and trying to get my other two children ready to go on a vacation to New Orleans and we were picking my husband up along the way. So, he wasn't there to help get going. I finally was able to get up and shower. I walked out of the shower and my Grandmother stopped me in the hall and told me "I think you need to find a new place to live while you are gone". Nice, huh?

Anyway, I went on vacation. Apparently, while I was gone, my Uncle decided to move my Grandmother in with him and left the house with whatever my Grandmother hadn't gotten to. So, two weeks later when I got home, this is what I walked into. I came home to a house with dirty moldy dishes in the sink and stinky garbage in the trash cans. All this had obviously been there a while.

I made arrangements to move the family to live on a Naval base in central Jersey. This was the best move that I ever made in my life and thank my Grandmother for being so horrible to me or I would never have made this choice.

I mentioned that my husband was out to sea a lot. Well, he was out a lot more during the process of moving. I had to move everything myself as I couldn't afford to have movers move all the little stuff only the furniture. I had a 5 year old and a 15 year old that I was moving with. Needless to say, this wasn't a fun move.

I guess I didn't leave the house as clean as my Uncle and Grandmother would have liked, and therefore this caused a huge commotion between my Uncle, Grandmother and myself. So much so, that I had left all of our Christmas decorations and treasures behind, by mistake and my Uncle threw them all out.

Now, for some really far-back, background. My Grandmother's will was always set up that my mom would get her house in "the city" and my Uncle would get the house in "the country". Somewhere along the line, my Uncle made my Grandmother change her will so that my Mom and Uncle would divide everything up 50/50. That is fine. However, nothing was ever placed in the will to take care of my Mom's kids on her behalf. Therefore, when I moved in with my Grandmother, my Uncle assured me that he would take care of us in the event that my Grandmother died. He wasn't happy to have to divide up any money between us equally as he didn't like one of my brothers. I said that wasn't right and that I would make sure he got his fair share no matter what my Uncle did.

Well, my Grandmother died after I moved out, roughly about 6 months. My Uncle gave my 3 Brothers equal amounts and me a quarter of what they got. I was pretty upset, but it was just enough to pay off our debt.

During this time, I had made friends with a wonderful Christian named Kelly. I will always be in debt to her. I accepted Jesus when I was young but had really not been living a Christian life, obviously. Kelly kept inviting me to church. I kept saying NO.

Well, let me tell you what. I ended up having my son while my husband was gone out to sea. The women of Kelly's church, whom I had not met, made me dinners for a week after I had Michael. This amazed me that they could be so giving to someone they had never met. About two weeks after Michael was born, we were attending their church and never stopped until we moved to MD. I loved that Church! I loved that Preacher and his family! I loved everyone in that Church!

What a difference my Grandmother and Uncle made in my life without even knowing it.

Now, you are probably wondering why I was blabbing my whole life on here. Well, my Uncle died suddenly this past week. I am devastated over it. Even though we weren't on the best terms, I loved him with all my heart. He took me in during the summer when I was growing up. He taught me so much about photography, pools, gardening, family, parenting, computers, you name it!

I was so upset to not be able to clear up this garbage before he passed. I am still very upset about it. I pray all the time that he knows how much he meant to me and how sorry I was that this all happened.

Please, don't let old arguments go without clearing the air. You aren't promised a tomorrow.

9/11-Where were you?

2011-09-11T14:59:00.000-04:00

We took this picture about a week after my son was born, well after 9/11 as you can see. However, it is very different than I remember it. I was born in NJ, but raised in GA from 3rd grade through college. I moved back to Jersey in 1988, but didn't live there long. However, while there I went into the city several times, many to just walk around and take in the culture. I loved visiting NY and always will.

In 1996, I moved to Boston and then in '97 to Chesapeake, VA. While I lived in Chesapeake, I met my husband and in '99 we were transferred to New Orleans. In November of '99, I had my second child, my first with my husband. I had this wonderful job, working as a real estate assistant for an amazing agent in New Orleans, Charlotte Joint-Rivet. She let me bring my child to work with me and stay in a play pen next to my desk.

The morning of September 11, 2001, I was at work at my desk with my oldest in school and my youngest now at child care. Charlotte was out of town and I wasn't feeling well. I headed home for the day. I was crossing out of the area where Charlotte lived onto 10 when I received a call from my child care center telling me that the base we lived on was going to be closing and that I needed to come pick up my child. I hadn't even heard anything about the attack to the first tower. I was home and in my living room shortly after the second attack, as I was catching replay's on the TV.

I called my mother to check on all of my family. I was concerned about my cousin, whom I thought worked in the towers for Paine Webber. Thankfully, I was incorrect. She worked across the Hudson from it. I did not know anyone personally who was lost in this devastation, but I know people who do. My heart ached for them!

Seeing this all again on TV today, makes me ache all over again. See, a lot of my life has changed since this day. I lost my best friend and boss's friendship, I have lost my mother, my father-in-law, my sister-in-law, my "brother-in-law", my connection with my brothers, my connection with my Uncle and his children, my Grandmother, I broke both of my ankles, had gallbladder surgery, lost my home to foreclosure, declared bankruptcy, my brother has had cancer, his wife (my sister-in-law) has cancer, my other sister-in-law has cancer, I have lived through Hurricane Irene and now the flood of my town. I mention all this to say, I am still alive and remembering that God will never give us more than we can handle even when it feels like we can't handle anymore.

I know those families felt like they couldn't take anymore, but there is a reason for everything, even when we can't see the reason. I am not here to say that I know the reason for this devastation, as I'm sure the reason is different for each of us. For me, I am still trying to find the reason that God has put problem after problem in front of me. But, I'm not giving up on my future. I know God has a reason that I'm here and someday I will find it. Right now, I know I am here to be a mom and wife to my children and husband.

I hope this didn't ramble too much. Where were you on 9/11? What has life since then taught you?

Harford House - Part of the Homeless Solution

2011-07-19T10:57:00.002-04:00

I'm so sorry that I have been absent for a while! I have been doing a lot of soul searching lately. I love re-doing furniture but need to find a purpose as my house was pretty much set for furniture and was becoming an addiction that I needed to stop in the roots.

I am a praying wife and mother and have been praying for guidance on this issue and God answered! I work with a very Godly woman, she radiates love and joy. She started to talk about this organization that her church was beginning to help, Harford House. She went on to explain that this organization helps homeless families get into fully furnished apartments and puts them into a year long project to help them get back on their feet. She thought that I might be able to help them with some of their donated furniture. God was speaking through her to me and letting me know this is what he wanted for me. As she was talking, I was full of joy and goosebumps! Do you get goosebumps when you know that is something God wants for you? I do!

So, she put me in contact with a person at Harford House and I went in to meet them. They have a full basement of supplies and furniture for these apartments. However, keep in mind that when these families graduate out of the program, they get to take everything with them from the apartment. So, then Harford House has to start all over for the next family.

Well, we are ALL excited to say the least! I have already started a couple projects (yes, I will share as I can) that will be going to Harford House.

For now though, they need your help! Please donate whatever you can, $1 from anyone will help put these homeless families into a safe and secure surrounding and out of their vehicles!

Donate Now!

If you live close to me in MD and have furniture or any household items that you are willing to donate, please contact me, I will come and pick it up.

Vanity Project

2011-05-17T20:07:00.007-04:00

OK, so it has been a while since I posted last. It is so hard to fit projects into work, family, t-ball, and life. You know?

Well, some time ago, I bought a beautiful desk off Craigslist thinking it would make the perfect vanity for my bedroom. However, I got it home only to realize it was way too wide from front to back. I would never be able to fit it in between it and the bed.

Please don't pay attention to my living room. Bringing this into the house caused many a thing to be strewn about.

How many of you watch those DIY shows where they just decide to cut furniture in half and make something out of it? Well, I do and I did! I cut this thing right down the middle and am going to mount to my wall in my bedroom with a french cleat.

I then painted it (definitely not a pro with that yet) and mounted the top of my cleat. Went to find out how high I need to put the bottom cleat only to find out it was too long too! Well, that is a project for another day. Here is my (temporarily) finished vanity. Yes, you see another project underneath it. I hate the color of that stool, but love the lines. So, that will be changed too!

Thank you for visiting!

I'm linking up...

Going for Broke! Lose 150 pounds or bust!

2011-05-06T09:51:00.003-04:00

OK, so signed up for my workout program and signed up for my coach. Printed out my food shopping list for my meal plan and ready to start walking tomorrow to at least get moving before my program shows up.

So much to lose! Why did I ever let myself get to this point? Why do we do that? Why don't we stop along the way and say Whoaaaaaa, you need to get moving or cut back on food? I used to run track and dance all the time and then married my husband and all the activity stopped.

Well, no more! I refuse to end up dead at 65 like my mom. I refuse to not see my grandchildren grow up. It will be a long, tough road, but one I must travel.

This is my coach! Can you believe that they coach you for free?

Brenda

Guest Post on Southern Fried Gal's Blog

2011-05-04T18:48:00.003-04:00

I have never been so excited to make a post as I am today. When Southern Fried Gal put out that she was looking for guest posters, I so wanted to post for her blog. However, I never thought I would be chosen. AND here I am! WooHoo!!

For those of you that know my blog, I have been planning a series on vintage windows and the many things that you can make with one. So, here is my first window that I have to add to my series that I actually created.

I already owned the mail/key thing and had it hanging where this family information board now hangs with it attached. I needed a central location for my family to find out where each other is, what is going on that night, or to find out if I can drive them anywhere. This will fill all those needs.

I started out with windows I obtained for free from a Craigslist posting. Just a hint all: When the post states to make offer, be honest. This posting stated he had over 40 windows that he wanted to get rid of and to make an offer. I was honest and responded that they require a lot of work to refurbish and that I would be happy to take them off his hands, but that I wouldn't be willing to pay for them. I drove an hour to get them, but that was a very small price to pay for over 40 of these windows.

Well, ok, now onto how I did this.

Step 1 - Clean the windows as best as you can with cleaner and paper towels.

Step 2 - Either clean the glass, if using, or remove, if not.

Step 3 - Sand the window as much as you can. I recommend wearing a dust mask for this as these windows most likely have lead base paint on them and you don't need to be inhaling this. I used a palm sander for all my larger, flat areas and my Dremel with a sander attachment for around the actual window panes.

Step 4 - Paint - I chose to use spray paint on this window and it required about 3 coats. Still debating on if that was the best type of paint to use or not. Will keep you posted!

Now, at this point, you have to decide what you want to do with the window. I knew I wanted this window for this family message board. So, to accomplish that, these are the directions:

Wipe Board

I cleaned two of the original glass panes and put back in with a light scrap paper behind so that writing will show up clearly. Don't mind my messy work space. This is a makeshift spot that I was using to paint another project earlier today. Sorry

Cork Board

I thought it would be easier to have a piece of cork that went into two of the window panes rather than two separate pieces of cork in each pane. So, I removed the back of one of the cross sections.

I then attached a piece of chip board to the cork using Mod Podge. There has to be an easier way as I found this very messy. But, it worked!

Magnet Board

Almost daily, I check out a website (yes, other than Southern Fried Gal's) by a fellow blogger called Greenbean's Crafterole. Recently, she had a post about some small boards that she makes out of galvanized flashing. Well, I went out and bought a roll at my local Home Depot and it only cost me $8.48 for a 10" x 10' roll. So, I cut out some from that roll and covered with some scrap paper. I used fleur de lis as the hanger that I attached also had a fleur de lis on it (plus, it is one of my favorite things).

Lastly, I attached my key holder to the bottom (really the side, as I turned it to make it fit best) of the window. I keep my Bed Bath & Beyond Coupons as well as take out menus there. Plus, I have always found that it is so much easier to find my keys if I have a designated place to put them. It took me a while to get used to hanging them up, but wow, I would be lost without it now.

I forgot to mention that I used glazing points to hold all items into the individual window panes.

So, there you have it! That is all it took to create this great family message board:

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do and I would love to have you visit me at The Crafter's Window. Thank you so much Southern Fried Gal for having me over for the day.

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T11:23:00.000-04:00

Not much to say, except, I wish you all a very happy Easter. I hope you enjoy this blessed time with your family and friends. Here I am in Hampton, VA with my brothers and their families.

We did have a crafty night last night when we decided to try Martha Stewart's tie dyed eggs. Here are my pics of the process. It was so easy and so mess free! We will definitely be doing this again next year!

Please remember the sacrifice that Christ gave for each of us! God Bless!

Vintage Window Series

2011-04-15T22:48:00.000-04:00

OK, I can't help it. I know I just posted one item, but I have been dying to share with you my new series. I have been trying to wait for Sarah at Modern Country Style to finish her "Define Your Blog" series.

OK, here it is...I plan on putting on a series of how many things can we do with vintage windows. I recently acquired 40 vintage (100 yr old) windows for free! So, now my plans are to see how many different things we can come up with to make out of those windows.

I have to say, ShantyGirl has an amazing project that she shared on French Country Cottage's linky party today!

I love this idea! I can't wait to try it. You all need to check her site out, let her know I sent ya!

Look What You Can Make for FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

2011-04-15T21:18:00.000-04:00

Yes, I said it...FREE!!!

A while ago, while my husband was still active duty, the Post Office advertised to Military wives that we could get shipping boxes delivered to our homes for free. I ordered a lot, as my goal was to ship to my husband every week while he was out to sea for 6 months. Well, I went through those boxes.

Recently, I saw a post that someone did (I'm so sorry, I can't remember who), where they used the Priority Mail boxes for paper boxes. I thought this was just what I needed. So, guess what....the Post Office still sends out Priority Mail and Express Mail shipping boxes to ANYONE that orders them for free! I went out to the USPS.com website and ordered shipping supplies. They have Priority Mail boxes that are 14.375x2.875x15.875, so I ordered a case of them.

They came today! I was so excited when I came home from work today to find a whole box of FREE Priority Mail shipping boxes. My husband almost died of shock to find out they were all free. I think you get something like 25 in a case. I found through trial and error that you can get two paper/magazine holders per box.

So, after I cut them apart, I put them together with the adhesive strip that is already on the boxes from the USPS. Then I just covered the outside of the boxes. Now, don't judge me here!!! I used to sell Leaving Prints scrapbook supplies. I used to buy all the big paper packs that they sold so that I would have samples for customers to look at, etc. There were ALOT of papers in there that I hated or just haven't been able to use. I thought this was a perfect opportunity to use those papers without worrying that I'm using up my "good" paper. So, it might not look pretty, but it is better than a red, white and blue print USPS box.

I just threw in some of the paper that I had around to show you how it would work. I thought I could punch a hole in the spine and add tags to organize the different types of paper. I just haven't gotten that far yet. So, not so shabby for being free, right? What do you think?

Define Your Blog Week

2011-04-11T22:46:00.000-04:00

Well, here it is: Define Your Blog Week! What is that you ask? I really wasn't sure. I joined into this project because a new blog friend was doing it on her blog and I thought it sounded like it could help me build my blog and maybe even guide me to understand what I really want from this blog. So, who is this amazing friend who thought of this unique idea? Why it is Sarah at Modern Country Style of course!

So, Sarah states that she is going to be posting on Inspiration, Renovation, and Creation and then having her linky party on the 14th. So, if it is good enough for Sarah, it is good enough for me! Today Ms. Sarah started with Inspiration....so shall we.....

Inspiration for my projects is usually based on a need or a found item that I just couldn't resist. Recently, I was reading a post by a blogger that I found interesting. She mentioned that she had gone junking with with a fellow blogger and her friend would only pick up items that she could place in her home or knew what project she would do with the item. However, I am so the opposite! If I find a bargain, I will usually try everything I can to get that item and then figure out what to do with it later. Probably why my studio likes like a project from the show "Hoarders".

Like my friend Sarah, once I find a project or item to work on, I search the internet for like items and/or ways to proceed. A perfect example of this was a post I did a while ago on my studio and reorganizing it. Before I ever started my project of my office, I went out to the web and pulled down tons of photos of studios that inspired me for either color, organization, etc.

Color

Color seems to inspire me the most. I love the feel and memories that color inspires. There are certain colors that I feel I am most creative around and I try to pull pictures that show colors.

I LOVE PINK!!!!!

The coolness of these colors makes me feel filled with joy and ready to work.

Style

Style of items gives me inspiration. I love vintage items. I never used to, but I am finding that as I get older and trying to get more in touch with myself, I am a vintage person!

Needs

Lastly, I try to find inspiration by looking at blog postings that show what I need. Ultimately, in this project I need organization ideas.

So, that's how my inspiration works, usually. What inspires you with your projects? Don't forget to check out Ms. Sarah's "Define Your Blog"!

How To Improve Your Blog...

2011-04-08T13:02:00.005-04:00

Let me ask you a question....

When you get someone to finally come to read your blog and you post something that you found on another blog (i.e., a link) do you want that person to leave your blog permanently or temporarily? Personally, I would only want them to leave temporarily and then come back to read the rest of what I was writing.

I am posting this because I have found that most of us put links in that automatically take the reader to the new site on the same window or tab that our blog is in. So, I thought I would share with you a little trick to make sure that when the reader clicks on the link you want them to visit, it opens in a new window.

So, let's say that we want our readers to see what Veronica at "Life In The Thrify Lane" has posted on her blog today. The HTML code that is needed to open in a new window is: target="_blank" Therefore, your link should look like this: <a href="http://lifeinthethriftylane.blogspot.com/ target="_blank" ></a> within your "Edit HTML" tab (for Blogger at least).

I hope that helps. Have fun blogging!!!

Giveaway!!!!!

2011-04-07T11:40:00.005-04:00

My all-time favorite blogger, At Home With K, has reached 500 followers!!! Congratulations! She is giving away the most awesome gift. Check it out!

Cinco de Mayo Baby Shower

2011-04-06T23:29:00.002-04:00

OK, I know it isn't the norm to have a Cinco de Mayo baby shower, but when your baby is due on Cinco de Mayo, you are bound to have a partying kid! Seriously, I have a co-worker that is due on 5 May 2011 and several of us are putting together her shower and went with the Cinco de Mayo theme. So, besides all the normal Mexican decorations I added a paper sour cream container with a cute little rattle, and the cutest ever tricycle diaper cake.

I found directions to create these here: Dawns Stamping Thoughts

Now, I have to be honest, I got the great idea to create this type of diaper cake rather than the normal from Southern Fried Gal who has the greatest tutorial on her blog. When you are there, you need to look at her ENTIRE blog as she has some amazing stuff on there. Wait 'til you see the recipe for her Carrot Cake Cheesecake. YUM!!!!

Anyway, this is my creation using her tutorial. If I can do it, anyone can!

I hope you all enjoy! Thanks for looking!

Conowingo Dam

2011-03-12T15:53:00.000-05:00

Today, I went on a Craigslist excursion. I found a gentleman on Craigslist who was willing to GIVE me something like 20 antique windows that he took out of a building on his property. It actually ended up being closer to 30 windows. Boy do I have my work cut out for me on these. I plan on redoing some for here in my house, but then to do some more to sell finished. You will notice in the pic that there are pallets behind the windows...those are for yet, another project.

Anyway (I digress), it was on this 1 hr trip up to PA, that I stumbled across this awesome beauty. Of course, I had to take my family there after I got home. I just couldn't get over the beauty of this dam. When I got home and before I took my family up there, I looked up some info on it. Conowingo Dam is one of the largest Hydroelectric dams in the US. The original town of Conowingo is located directly under the dam. They relocated the town to build the dam. Can you imagine being told that "I'm sorry, you have to relocate so we don't build on top of your house"? LOL

Apparently, dams are notorious for Bald Eagles. At least this one is.

We had a great fee day!

Happy Late Mardi Gras

2011-03-12T15:34:00.000-05:00

Oh, how I miss New Orleans this time of year. We would normally be out visiting all sorts of festivals and parades. Havre de Grace, MD had what they call a Mardi Gras parade. I really wonder if the people who set this parade up have ever been to a real Mardi Gras Parade. It had about 5 groups in it and no floats. They were barely throwing out any beads at all. Thankfully, my little one, who has never been to a parade, was able to get 3 strands of beads and he was happy with that. However, Melissa, who was born in Kenner LA and has attended too many parades to mention, was extremely disappointed. Glad she was in the parade so she at least had something fun to do. Having such a horrible Mardi Gras this year has prompted us to want to go back to New Orleans to show Michael what it is really supposed to be like. So, next year, you will have pics from a real Mardi Gras. This year, there aren't any pics that are worth sharing. So, I will show my King Cake I made last year for my oldest daughter's birthday cake. Her birthday last year was close enough to Mardi Gras that it was appropriate. I hope you enjoy.

Thank you to Sizzix!!!!!

2011-03-01T10:52:00.003-05:00

I have to tell you all about my misfortune and how it turned out to be amazing! I am a huge Craigslist fan and shop for everything imaginable on there. Recently, I found a Sizzix Big Shot with about 20 texture plates for $55. Well, I jumped at the chance to get it (since I can't afford my Vagabond yet). I even had to drive 2 hours to pick it up...but for $55 for all that, you know I did it!

Anyway, I get the item home and I am so excited I have to try it immediately. Well, the arm won't crank on it. I think I'm doing something wrong as I have never used one before. I try and try and I can only move it a tiny bit.

Now, I have to say...I have NEVER been burned on buying anything on Craigslist until NOW!!!!!!!!!!! I was so upset as it was my last $55 I spent on this until payday. I emailed the older woman I bought it from and no response...Go figure! I tried to see what was wrong with the unit. I took the arm off to find the crankshaft completely bent and twisted.

I called Sizzix about a week later to find out that I can order the crankshaft from them for $5. I was so excited again. I can fix my baby. I wanted it quickly so I gave them my fedex acct number and they shipped it to me and I had it the next day. I immediately put the new crankshaft in and to my dismay, it still wouldn't turn. I couldn't understand what was going on. I called Sizzix again and they said, don't worry about it, I'll send you out a NEW MACHINE!!! I said really? Do I need to send this one back to you? She said no, don't worry about it, throw it out. I almost died right there and then.

This was on Friday, I was home sick yesterday...but guess what came? MY brand new Big Shot! I put the arm on and guess what...it TURNED. WooHoo!!! I am in business again! I sat there finding all sorts of scraps to play with. I was like a little kid in the candy store.

So, I guess I share this to let you know that I will now always be a fan of Sizzix and their customer service is amazing. Of course, at this point, with the shipping, etc. it has cost me more than if I just bought one new. But, what a good feeling I have about Sizzix now.

I have an online business that I am constantly trying to grow and their requirements are so high that I can't buy from Sizzix directly, I have to go to a distributor to buy their items to sell. However, I will be buying more now.

I absolutely recommend Sizzix to anyone!

P.S. I made my first card with my Big Shot last night for my son's basketball coach. I had to texturize the basketball on the card.

Rhonna Farrer's 6 Week Shape Up...

2011-02-23T10:46:00.002-05:00

OK, who is in this with me? I so needed this! Thanks to Rhonna for sharing. I hope all of you will join in on this.

Rhonna Farrer 6 Week Shape Up

Amazing Slow Cooker Taco Soup

2011-02-20T13:51:00.005-05:00

I found this recipe at Red Couch Recipes and tried the stove top version of it. I have to say, my entire family loved it and what a great comfort food for a cold day! Please try this:

Ingredients:

2 lbs ground beef
2 cups diced onion (I forgot to put this into mine and still awesome!)
2 (15 1/2 oz.) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 1/2 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups frozen corn
1 (14 1/4 oz.) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes (I used Rotel)
1 (14 1/2 oz.) jar mild salsa
1 32 oz. beef broth
2 (1 1/4 oz.) package taco seasoning mix
1 (1 oz.) pkg ranch salad dressing mix
1 medium pkg mild Mexican Velveeta cheese, cubed

Garnishes:

Sour Cream
Graded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
Green Onions, sliced
Cilantro
Tortilla Strips - See Below

Baked Tortilla Strips

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut tortillas into strips. Place on baking sheet. Sprinkle with oil and salt and bake for about 10 minutes (I sprayed with a non-stick spray and sprinkled Kosher salt).

Directions for Soup:

Brown the ground beef and onions in a large skillet; drain the excess fat, then transfer to slow cooker or a stock pot. Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, salsa, beef stock, taco seasoning, Velveeta cheese (only if cooking in crock pot), and ranch dressing mix, and cook in a slow cooker on low for 6 to 8 hours (an hour in a stock pot). If cooking on stove, add cheese into soup after finished cooking, stir to melt in. Serve with garnishes on top.

I personally would recommend using tortilla chips from the store as the home made ones were tough to eat in the soup.

I want to make sure I give all the credit to Red Couch Recipes for this amazing soup. You want to check out that blog.

Forgot my Camera today....AND you benefit from it!

2011-02-18T11:40:00.001-05:00

OK, so you would think that as an avid scrapper, I would have my camera on me at all times. I try to at least have my phone on me so I have its camera. However, this morning, my daughter was being honored at an honor roll breakfast for all students in 3rd through 5th grade who made honor roll this past quarter. Now, normal parents remember to bring their cameras. NO, not me! I even left my phone in the car as I didn't want texts, etc. to interrupt the ceremony. So, no camera at all!

So, this got me thinking about creating pages without actual pictures to commemorate the event. I would love to see what all of you have done with this type of circumstance. I do have a program and her certificate from the event that I can use on the page. Please share your ideas. Maybe I will make a little game out of it. I will choose a random post to win a little gift pack from me. I have a Tim Holtz Texture Fade set (see picture) and a Martha Stewart Edge Punch (see picture) to give away. Who knows, maybe I can find some more stuff to add to it as we go along.

Don't you wanna play? Share your ideas! I will give you all until 2/23 to get linked and then announce the winner on 2/25! Have fun!

OK....I'm back

2011-02-17T10:41:00.004-05:00

OK, so I left Blogger for a while, but I'm back. I tried the blog that is associated my storefront, but really didn't like the response I was getting....NONE! So, I am back and trying to get caught up on everything I have been doing since I've been gone. However, I cannot copy and post all the past posts. So, I am going to post pics here with links to my other blog for the how to and such.

Copic Class

OK Don't judge me:

Let’s not forget I just moved here and can’t find a place to put everything. I can organize at work but when it comes to my home…..not sure how to or where to put it all. Let me know what you think on where this stuff should go. My Scraproom

Not done with My scraproom yet, but look....

Awesome Chicken and Dumplings

My take on a Laura Dennison Book

Coffee Filter Wreath

There are others, but I think that will get you caught up enough. From now on, I will be posting both here and there so that I don't miss anyone who might just be reading this.

Tim Holtz take on a brick wall card

2011-02-17T10:23:00.000-05:00

I am in a swap and needed to create a brick card. You can find the directions here: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/brickwall/. I am not one for creating things the way they are supposed to. I love Tim Holtz and try to really try to expand my creative horizons. So, I new I wanted my brick wall card to be different and I decided to be 3D. So, I stamped one of Tim’s stamps onto some paper and colored it in with my Prismacolor colored pencils. I thought it looked a little flat. So, I took the new fall Glimmer Mist colors and spritzed some around the paper and used the technique that Heidi Swapp teaches with the paper towels and the brayer. I then stamped another image of the same stamp onto another piece of paper (the same color). I cut that image up into the “bricks”, inked the edges with Tim Holtz Faded Jeans Distress Ink. At this point, I attached them to the original picture with pop dots. I attached them so that the background image would display through every other brick. I then found some Bazzil cardstock that pulled some of the Dragonfly Glimmer Mist out a little, used a shear orange ribbon that I thought contrasted with it well and attached to a card front.

What do you think of it now?

Happy Halloween

2011-02-17T10:15:00.000-05:00

(Copying posts over here from my Yahoo blog)

Nothing like waiting until the very last minute to buy and carve pumpkins. So, I thought I would share some photos with you. They aren't the best quality as (can you believe this) all I had with me is my cell phone camera! I know, I know...how dare I? OH well, no big deal...at least I have some memories.

New Beginnings

2010-04-21T14:51:00.000-04:00

All, I have been so busy with life it has been starteling! I started a new online venture, really to help me be more creative. However, that hasn't happened.

But, with these changes, I have started a new blog. Please take a look and let me know what you think. CreationsbyNancy

Some More Creations

2010-01-20T14:00:00.000-05:00

OK, I had promised all of you the pictures of my creations over the past month. I am home today with my 5 yr old son who has pink eye in both eyes. I LOVE LIFE!!!!

Anyway, had time to take pics, upload them, crop them, etc. So, hope you like.

First, I created these tags as the start for my tags to go on daily packages in a shoe box swap that I am involved in on cricut.com. I have been studying Tim Holtz lately and really trying out his different techniques. So, that is where the creativity came for these...it is all thanks to Tim. Hey, you definitely need to check out his web. He has an amazing blog and a lot of demo's on his site. www.timholtz.com

Second, in this swap that I mentioned we were given the job of making a tri-fold card for our partners. I found this great tutorial at splitcoast stampers and made the attached card. I am not a busy person when it comes to cards, etc. I really like it simple with some character. So, I hope you like what I created.

Thirdly, as I mentioned yesterday, Monday was my daughter's 21st birthday. I wanted to make her something that she will treasure for the rest of her life as I know she is getting close to moving out from my nest. So, I wanted to find a poem that expressed how I felt about her and create a shadow box to put this in and had some different ideas to begin with. However, I am pretty happy with how it turned out.

Lastly, I also mentioned I had a better picture of my king cake...I have attached that too.

OH...and I couldn't help but to show you, what my daughter thought was the greatest gift ever that she gave me this weekend.....I hope you laugh as much as I did...

Happy 21st Tiffany

2010-01-19T10:32:00.000-05:00

My daughter turned 21 yesterday.

Originally, she wanted to have 3 friends over and have an evening of making sushi at home while listening to Japanese music and then to watch horror movies on the big screen TV. Her friends bailed!

So, instead, I got some family friends over and we went to eat hibachi at a great Japanese rest. nearby.

Now to explain the king cake! I have mentioned to you before that we used to live in New Orleans. Well, Tiffany considers New Orleans home to her as I do as well. Ever since moving she has asked that I make her a king cake for her birthday. Well, this year she didn't ask and I made it for her as a surprise. Everyone at the rest. was intrigued to hear the history of the king cake so I thought I would share it with you this morning.

http://www.mardigrasdigest.com/html/history_of/history_of_the_king_cake.htm

Summary

The history of the king cake starts in 12th century France where the cake would be baked on the eve of January 6th to celebrate the visit of the 3 wise men to the Christ Child. A small token would be placed inside as a surprise.

However, I'm sure you know that there are rituals that included the cake even further back then that. Apparently, back in Western Europe during the pre-Christian religions, it was believed that there needed to be a sacrifice for the harvest to be a good one. Therefore, to choose who would be the sacrifice they would bake a cake and put a bean in the cake. Whomever, selected the piece with the bean would be the sacrifice. He would be treated like a king for a year and then sacrificed and his blood put back into the soil making the harvest bountiful.

Then when Christianity came into play, they put their own spin on it as to not have any sacrifices, they chose to have it symbolize the 3 wise men coming to visit the Christ child. The French brought this tradition with them when they migrated to Louisiana and there it remained as part of the ceremony for the Epiphany.

When the cake was incorporated into Mardi Gras it was used by the 12th night revelers to select who their queen of the ball would be. They still do this to this day, however, now they use a wooden replica of the cake. The women pull out drawers and if you have a silver bean you are in the court and a gold bean means you are the queen of the ball.

However, for us peasants.....we have parties every weekend starting January 6th until Mardi Gras. Whoever gets the baby in the king cake at one party has to have the next party and supplies the king cake for that party.

These cakes are simply a cinnamon roll made into a log formed into a circle or sometimes braided. The fillings can be quite extravagant as well. My family prefers the cream cheese. Others can be cinnamon, apple, strawberry, blueberry, raspberry...you name it!

So, hope you all enjoyed that and have enjoyed sharing in my daughter's 21st birthday.

Happy New Year!!!!

2010-01-13T12:55:00.000-05:00

A little late is still better than never, right?!?

OH well, hope all of you had a great New Year's celebration. This New Year's was full of New Year's Past for me. I really miss the times as kids when we would have New Years Eve at my Aunt and Uncle's home with all my cousins, brothers & sisters-in-laws, etc. there. We would eat all night, watching tv. Of course, all the kids watched Dick Clark's Rockin Eve and all the adults wanted to watch the Guy Lombardo TV show and sing Old Lang Syne. Then, of course, we had to change the channel and watch the ball drop. As soon as it would drop, we all had to kiss each other...even the old great uncles, and then go outside to make noise. Did you do that? I would love to hear how all of you brought in the New Years in years past.

This year, I wasn't even awake for the New Year's coming. I went to a friend's house, got tired and came home early. I'm such a poop-head now that I'm older!

Anyway, what was everyone's New Year's resolution? I decided to try to get, and keep, my life organized this year. However, I am still on this losing weight thing. So, we started "The Biggest Loser" in my office to coincide with the TV show. So, wish me well on my continued journey to lose 150 pounds.

This year is going to be a very good and productive year for me. I have decided to go full force ahead with my Etsy business. Of course, I just finished creating my look of my site..check it out www.watson901.etsy.com Let me know what you think of that too! Now, I need to start uploading pictures of items that I sell. So, that will take some time I think as everything I do is custom work.

Also, this year will be 25 years that I am out of high school, so hopefully there will be a high school reunion for me this year. However, if not, my husband is having his 30'th in September. So, I am so excited...we are off to visit Williamson, WV in September. What is exciting about that is that I am actually going to visit with and scrap with a fellow blogger, WENDY!!!! We are actually staying at her bed & breakfast while there and Wendy and I will be doing some scrapping. YAY!!!! I guess I should be excited about seeing all my husband's family as well, I am too...but I love to scrapbook and don't get to do it with others very often.

Also, I am going to apply to go to Ranger University, pray I get in there too! If I get in there, I can pass on my secrets that I learn about Tim Holtz's products to all of you. Speaking of Tim Holtz, I made my first tag the other night. I have to say, I loved it!!! OH, his work is so me....nothing to be exact about at all. I will post a pic of that as well.

I made my first Tri-fold card the other night. I will post a pic this weekend, if not before, and I will find the link that I followed for the tutorial and post that too. I love the end result, but I wasn't real good at all the measuring, etc. I think I am more a non-exact scrapbooker, card maker, etc. If there is such a thing!

Wow, didn't realize I have been doing so much without posting pics. I will definitely get better about this blogging thing, I promise!

Till next time....

Wendy's Blog Hop

2009-12-30T14:50:00.000-05:00

Hey, I forgot to mention, Wendy is having an amazing Blog hop on 1/1-1/3...here is the invite. Make sure you check it out!

Wow...Am I Embarrassed!

2009-12-30T10:11:00.001-05:00

I can't believe I have ignored this blog for so long!

So much has happened, kids birthdays, Florida trip, Christmas, my new eating plan (NOT), so much to catch up on and so little time.

I will have to post pictures later, but for now, know that my life has been so hectic lately. I'm sure yours has as well. Halloween came and went and no pictures to show for it. Sorry :( November was both Michael and Missy's birthday. Michael got a small shopping trip for his birthday and Missy had a shopping trip as well but she also got to take a friend to the nail salon and get their nails done. That is a big thing for a 10 year old. We didn't do much for their birthdays as we were going to Florida the beginning of December and they were going to Disney for the whole week.

Now, Florida was amazing! We were only there for a week, and it went so fast, but we crammed so much stuff into that week it was wonderful.

We arrived on Sat night, our flight was delayed about an hour and a half because of having to de-ice our plane. We arrived at our house (that we rented site unseen) about midnight. Sean, Ashley & Julia(my husbands son and daughter-in-law and his daughter) arrived at the same time we did. We hadn't had dinner yet, so we all went out to get food. Thank God for IHOP. Sunday, we all woke up at a decent hour, we all went to Cracker Barrell, then we went to Magic Kingdom for the rest of the day. Sean, Ashley & Julia went home that evening and we all slept in a little the next day so we could recuperate from flying, etc. We decided to go see my husband's old college campus on Monday. Knowing we were off for the day, we called an old college buddy of my husbands and met up with him in Lakeland. Lunch and later to his home to go over old times. He called another old friend and we went out to meet him later. What an amazing group of people he had for friends. The rest of the time was spent with family and friends and Disney!

Christmas was wonderful, the kids had a blast.

I promise, I will post pictures!

Today, I started making plans for our family to go to West Virginia in September for my husband's high school reunion. I found this wonderful bed & breakfast, found my husband knew the family, and we are all set with a place to stay. I called the owner, her name is Wendy. She is amazing and a fellow-scrapbooker (check out her blog-link on right). We talked about scrapbooking the entire conversation. I can't wait to meet her. I will have to update all of you with pictures of our meeting as we have decided we will scrapbook while there. YAY!!!!!

Oh well, guess I actually better get to work today so I can afford this trip to W VA.

I promise, I will get better about this blogging thing.

Today Is A New Beginning!

2009-10-01T10:54:00.001-04:00

Believe it or not, today is not about crafting. It is about eating healthy and changing my life-style. I was never overweight until I had kids (20 years now) and I hate it! I recently had blood work done and found that things are starting to go downhill for me healthwise and I need to make some seriuos life-style changes. So, you are along for the ride as well.

I start this new life today and will be making wiser choices from this point out.

Of course, I start this new life with a cold....probably from not eating healthy and keeping my immune system up where it should be.

There are some things I need to do to be successfull:

1. I need to go grocery shopping with a menu plan and a list of needed supplies.

a. Create monthly meal plan with shopping list - This will require research on how to create a monthly plan. I have found some really good and useful information here: http://jennshomework.blogspot.com/search/label/Monthly%20Menus .

2. I need to start an exercise routine and stick to it.

a. I live on a Naval base, how hard can this be? I even have a free gym right here on base!

b. I will contact the health person there and find out if they are available to set me up on an exercise routine.

3. I need to discuss my options with my doctor - This appointment is already set for tomorrow morning. She is what is prompting me to make changes in my life.

4. I need to remain positive about these changes and stop the negativity in the bud! - This one is going to be tough!!!!!!!

I will keep you all posted as I go along this new road in life!

Another Type of Ornament

2009-09-17T21:39:00.000-04:00

Becca at AmazingPaperGrace.com makes the most incredible creations. Well, she created an ornament on her site utilizing the Spellbinders new item with the Fleur de lis. I loved it but finances were tight right now, so I created the same thing in Adobe Illustrator. However, I had some problems with it when trying to move into an SVG for SCAL. So, I went to the CraftEdge boards and someone there was so nice to help me get it to work right and then I cut this out using my SCAL. It is still a little rough...but I think getting there. I didn't have any ribbon spools to use as Becca did so I butted them up to one another. What do you think?

Christmas Ornament

2009-09-17T21:38:00.001-04:00

Here is an ornament that I created. I absolutely love this ornament and will be creating more of these. I can't remember where I found the instructions for this, but I know I didn't come up with this, but it sure is pretty.

Christmas Card Front Swap

2009-09-17T21:34:00.000-04:00

It has been a while since I have posted, but I have been very busy with my daughter starting cheer and dance this year and my oldest going to a new college this year. I joined several swaps on the Cricut message board and here are a couple Christmas card fronts that I created for one of the swaps

Birthday Gifts - Boy and Girl

2009-08-09T13:26:00.000-04:00

I have been keeping my husband's soda bottles in hopes of creating an altered soda bottle. I finally had an excuse to create one. Yesterday, my neighbor had a party for her daughter and son. Daughter was turning 11 and son turned 8. They are both into Pokemon cards. So, easy I bought them each a special pack of Pokemon cards and for the girl I also made her a shirty with a vinyl fairy(sorry, no picture). Here are my bottles with presents already inside. It was so much fun to see them figure out how to get the presents out. The girl asked how...and I said that is part of the surprise, you have to figure it out! LOL They did very easily!

Post-it Holder and Beaded Matching Pen

2009-08-09T13:22:00.000-04:00

I had an order from a co-worker for a friend of hers to make a special gift for a friend. She liked the post-it holder that I made for my desk and asked if I could personalize it....sure I can with vinyl! So, I personalized this cutting with a font in SCAL (sorry, don't remember which one), made a paper rose, and then made a beaded pen with the micro beads in a paper to match the post-it holder. I also created a custom bag to wrap it in and had it matching the paper as well. The entire gift was sold for $12. Hope you enjoy!

Fleur de Lis

2009-08-09T13:09:00.000-04:00

I have been so busy lately with parties and family that I haven't had time to post my projects on here. So, I thought I would try to get caught up today. First, we had a new family move onto the block and I have always wanted to make a housewarming gift for the new families. I am a military spouse and live on a Naval Base. I think it is important we stick together and I try hard to make friends with all military spouses that I can. I was an ombudsman for many years but now that my husband is retired, I miss that comradeship. So, this is my way of trying to keep that feeling alive. Anyway, I decided to make an etched votive and some coasters for this family.

I downloaded an SVG for a fleur de lis and created a cut file in SCAL and then cut it out in vinyl. I like to use the contact paper from the dollar store as my transfer tape. I find it doesn't stick to well but works great for a temp stick like transferring vinyl. I then found this amazing ribbon that has fleur de lis' on it and wrapped it around the glass. I found a votive for $.25. This project cost me about $2 when you consider etching cream.

I didn't want to just stop at the votive so I continued with a set of coasters to match. However, I really didn't like working with the fleur de lis that I found originally and then found another one that I thought was so much prettier. So, I cut that out in a chocolate vinyl and adhered to a 4x4 ceramic tile. I adhered cork onto the back and sealed the front with Mod Podge. I know a lot don't do that, but I find it better especially if the coaster will be coming into contact with water (condensation...duh!!! LOL) .

I wrapped these with the same ribbon. So I hope you enjoy!

A project to be....

2009-07-17T08:51:00.001-04:00

I am thinking of new thigs to do all the time. I want to start making items for craft sales to be held this fall. Years ago, I made christmas ornaments for my family. I bought the glass balls from the craft store and took my moms ceramic paint in the pretty pearl type colors and poured them inside of the balls. I then swirled the balls to make all sorts of designs. I let them dry upside down and then painted their family names on the balls with a gold paint pen. However, I think this time around I am going to create a template in cricut and paint sayings on to the balls...I might try to even etch some and see how that goes...

Anyway, this is a (not so good) picture of the old balls that I made for my family. After my mom passed, I acquired hers.

New Glass Etchig Project

2009-07-17T08:45:00.001-04:00

OK, it has been a while, but I had a large project due and have been quite busy at work. But, here it is...my glass etching project. I started with regular beer glasses that I bought at Home Goods. I found a coat of arms for the client out on the internet, downloaded it and changed its wording, etc. in Adobe Photoshop. Then I converted the image to an SVG so that I can cut it with SCAL. I cut this out on some scrap vinyl that I had around and then put on the glass. Can I say, the biggest problem I had with this was the transfer tape. I just found out about some new transfer tape that is supposed to be better so will keep you posted if I can get my hands on it and it works well. Other than that, these glasses went pretty easily...just time consuming with all the tiny detail! Hope you like.

Paper Cupcake

2009-05-31T17:27:00.000-04:00

Hope you enjoy! I just didn't get to spray it with adhesive to add sparkles.

Ellen Hutson Shoe

2009-05-31T17:24:00.001-04:00

Here is my take on the Elllen Hutson Shoe.

I'm so excited!

2009-05-29T11:45:00.000-04:00

I went to the local thrift store yesterday. I found this huge pack of paper for $2, what a way to reuse, huh? I also found tons of different ribbon.

On a side note, my mom and grandmother always had a favorite cookie cookbook. It was an old Better Homes and Gardens one, Cookies. Anyway, I inherited my moms and in my military moves it lost its cover and has started to become ragged. I found it at the thrift store yesterday as well for 0.50. Can you believe that! I also found this great Hershey chocolate cookbook. I'm so excited!

Going Green!

2009-05-28T15:13:00.000-04:00

I have made a decision that I am going to try to be different than most scrapbook designers in that I will be trying to re-use materials to create exceptionally beautiful scrapbooks and paper piecing products. What do you think about reusing products to create your web pages? I know that most of us are pretty thrifty! Let me know your ideas!