The Paper Variety Challenge

This is the challenge this week over at The Paper Variety.  How fun with banners, kites, butterflies and birds of all sorts being all the rage right now.  Check it out and get your project in for submission before the week is over.

Here's my take on this cute theme.  Do you see that adorable little butterfly stamp...I love this one, it's so petite I think it's just adorable.

Seriously busy...

 So it's not that I haven't been busy working on scrapping projects, it's that I can't share them yet and I'm dying to.  This crafty little project was a bunch of fun and I only wish I could remember the link to the blog where she gives instructions on how to make them...but I can't so apologies now for not giving credit where credit is due.  I'm working on an especially special project that is a gift but it will have to wait...I promise I'll share it once the recipient has a chance to enjoy it first.

Our garden harvest is in full swing so I've been busy making and canning food.  I came home from work on Sunday to a huge basket of tomatillos on the counter.  I looked at my husband and said "what have you done???".  Don't get me wrong, I love that we can eat produce from our very own garden all winter long but the canning process is long and messy.  I did manage to make applesauce (with apples from our trees) and canned tomatillos the other day.  Rumor has it that I have at least two more batches of tomatillos still out there in the garden just waiting to be picked...maybe next week. 

Maybe I'll share some of my October Queen Scraps layout sneak peeks with you soon...I had a blast with this newest kit and I can't wait for you to get your hands on it so you can play too.  Look for it in the store on October 3rd.

I have another basic Grey Oliver layout to share with you all.  This one highlights the beauty that the change in seasons brings.  We have this great store called The Barn and it's really a bunch of stores within a store - individual vendors have areas set up within this old barn selling their wares.  Some really cool stuff from antiques to handmade goodies.  The Barn sits right in the heart of town, directly across from the fire station.  Not sure how long it's been there but it's a littl weird seeing this huge barn in the middle of town. 

This photo was taken during Trick or Treat Street last year.  The boys and I were downtown trick-or-treating at all the little shops and I looked up and saw these huge icicles hanging from the roof of The Barn.  I had to snap a photo and love how the contrast of the red windowframe and white of the building looks.  The Basic Grey Oliver papers were perfect for this and the lovely kit available over at Queen Scraps this month even included these designer half pearls that I made the snowflake out of. 

Snow season is sneaking up on us faster than I'm prepared for.  Wonder if we'll have snow for Trick or Treat Street again this year???

Happy Birthday my Wonderful Son!

In honor of Andrew's 16th (oh my gosh how is that possible?) birthday, I thought I'd share this layout that I recently completed using the Basic Grey Oliver kit available over at the Queen Scraps store.  The Oliver line was perfect for working on this project with it's greys, blues and reds.  Love it! 

So yeah, my oldest is turning 16 today and although parenting a teen has not been easy by any stretch of the imagination, I think we've finally turned a corner.  We truly do enjoy him.  He's talented and funny and all around just a fantastic young man.  We're proud to be his parents that is for sure.  Soon, he'll be driving - YIKES - he recently started his first job and is kicking butt in school.  What more could we ask for???  I think God richly blessed our lives when he was born.  Happy birthday son!

Good Times with Girl Friends

I just got home from an amazing trip to Las Vegas with my girl friends.  Some of us flew in from Colorado, another friend from Arkansas and then some are local to Las Vegas.  Mostly we hung out and did a whole lot of relaxing but we did spend one night enjoying a nice dinner out (complete with an accordian player) a LOT of walking and a little gambling.  It was a blast...so fun to just be with the girls and know that our kiddos were safe and having a blast with their daddies.  My husband took our boys camping - they came back filthy and still needed baths when I walked in the door after my flight but they had so much fun and I was happy to spend time cleaning them up and snuggling them into their PJ's.  Sometimes you need a little break from the responsibilities of family to appreciate how truly amazing it is to be blessed with a wonderful husband and children.  I'm so happy to be home, so happy to have spent such good time with the girls, and so happy to be me!

New RAK winner drawn...

I've tried to track down Marla but I haven't heard anything from her.  It's been over a week so I decided to pick a new winner for my birthday RAK.  The new winner, according to Random.org is...

Kelly Sas said...


"I hope you have a wonderful Birthday week. Thanks for posting on Fiskateers so I could find out about your beautifully talented blog! I will have to check into these felt things. "

Kelly, email me at cat@desertbound.com and I'll get your package out to you.