LEAVING FOR CHA TONIGHT!!!

Hello, friends and family!

Again, congratulations to Joeygirl on winning the blog candy!  And, there's more to come, so be on the look out for another "Game Time"!

Sorry, I've been unavailable the last day or so and not getting all my visiting in; however, I've been trying to clear up some last minute things before leaving for CHA.  I'm so excited to be going!!!!  I think my only regret is my poor Buster, he looked so sad when I dropped him off at his sitter's.

I can't wait to let you guys know of all the interesting things I see, play with, and/or purchase while I'm there!!!  I'm leaving tonight so as to be there early enough in the morning to avoid "hopefully" having to stand in any long lines and I'll be back on Sunday.  Until then you will not hear from me, I decided to not take  my notebook computer with me because often at places like this I'm a bit careless; so when I come back on Sunday, I'll -- again -- be playing catch up to see what you've been up to!  Of course, I'll be a bit slow getting to you all but you know I will!!!

Also, just to let you know in advance, I'll be leaving for vacation on August 6, which is the day following my debut as DT over at She's A Sassy Lady, so I do hope you'll all join me on Thursday, August 5, before I leave.  I hope to have a wonderful project for you, and I'll be looking forward to seeing you!

I'll let you know how everything went at the CHA show on Sunday!!!

I'll be seeing you!

AND THE WINNER IS...!!!

Good afternoon, all!

I have the news you've all been waiting for, the random generator selected:

#18!!!  Joeygirl, you were the 18th commentor, so you have won the RAK -- CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Please leave me a comment letting me know where I can sent your blog candy (for your privacy, your comment containing any personal information will not be published for public viewing).

Now for the rest of you, be on the look out for "Game Time" where there will be another opportunity for blog candy -- coming soon!

Thank you all for your continued support and encouragement.   Love ya!!!

I'll be seeing you!  

200 FOLLOWERS BLOG CANDY POST CLOSED!!!

Good evening, everyone!  Hope all's well.

Sorry, I didn't get to this earlier, however, I had to go out this afternoon, and was out all afternoon and this evening.

The blog candy post for my reaching 200 followers is now closed with 32 participants.  The winning recipient will be determined as before, with the order number dictating the number of the commentor;  i.e., the first commentor will be number 1, the second commentor will be number 2, and so on.  The winning number (between 1 and 32) has already been selected by Random Generator and the winner will be announced tomorrow, Thursday, July 29, after 12 noon.

I'll be back to congratulate the winner, and I hope everyone will join me!

I'll be seeing you!

BLOG CANDY DRAWING TODAY AT 5 P.M. -- HURRY!!!

Good morning, all!  I hope everyone is smiling and on their way to another wonderful day!

Just  little reminder that if you haven't left me a comment for my blog candy, you have until 5 p.m. (CT) to link to the post from my side bar to leave your comment.  Just look for the label for the "200 Followers" and follow the link!

I'll be seeing you!

IT'S BRAND NEW!!! AND I WANT IT!!!

Good day, all!  I hope you had a peaceful night last evening,and that you're having a great day today.

I am sharing a new tool with you that's just been released that you may not have yet seen, and I have to have it!!!  It's a stamp making machine by Teresa Collins and you're suppose to be able to make your own customized stamps (including photo stamps) in about 5 minutes.  IMAGINE the possibilities!

Of course, I'll be looking to grab one of these, if available, at the CHA Supercraft Show this weekend.

Here it is:

Does this look awesome or what?!!!

Gotta go, but I'll be back, so...

I'll be seeing you!

KEYCHAINS, EMBELLISHMENTS, JEWELRY AND MORE!!!

Happy Monday, everyone and I hope you all enjoyed your weekend!  It's gonna be a good-good day!

I noticed I have another new follower and would like to welcome her aboard!!!  I hope you enjoy visiting, come often; and, of course, if I can find you, I'll be around to check on you too!!!

Wow!  The weather here today is great!!!  After all the rain, it's finally cooled down; of course, the predicted temps for tomorrow is back to to 90+ degrees again, but I'm going to enjoy today!  (Who I am kidding, I make the most of every day as often as I can -- LOL!)

And..., I 'm  really excited with all the wonderful things ahead of me:  my debut as a Sassy Designer where I'll be debutting on August 5; I'll be leaving out for the CHA 2010 Craft Show the end of this week -- YEAH!!!; and soon after the DH and I will be heading out for a much needed vacation break!  (Oh-oh!  I'll probably get behind even more; but..., I promise I'll catch up!)

Today I have an interesting little project to share.  I was in a neighborhood Dollar Store yesterday and ran across some Poker Chips.  I don't know why at the time they caught my interest, but some little "bug" in my ear told me I could do something crafty with them, so I bought them.  Yep, plain ole poker chips ( I don't even play poker):

Anyway when I got home, I began trying to figure out what the heck I could do with them and this is what I came up with:

Needless to say, I'm quite pleased because I can now think of about a zillion more things I can do with them  and the list is endless --  keychains, embellies, jewelry and more!!!  A couple of these may end up hanging on a few of my purses!!!

Just think poker chips, small scraps of paper, paint, Stickles, Glimmer Mist, Crystal Lacquer, embellishments, or anything else you can grab within reach, and your imagination!!!

As an aside, my first attempt was to use embossing powder on the chips, but the heat gun melts the chips so you may want to avoid doing that.

Well, that's it for now and I hope you like my project; love you all...

I'll be seeing you!

IF YOU'VE GOT TO READ, DO IT IN STYLE!

Hi, guys!  I'm back with another little project to share!

Do you remember the pretty green cardstock I just used on my notepad and pencil holders?  Well, I think I've just fallen in love with the color I used on that set and wanted to do something else using that same color.  So, I decided this project would be so pretty in that color too!  I really like how this this idea turned out; it's a monogram book cover with a bookmark:

Isn't this pretty?  And here it is with one of my favorite books inserted into the cover using the bookmark as a page holder:

I love this, and it certainly would make a wonderful gift for all my novel-reading friends!!!

Don't you agree it would make a great gift set for all the readers you know?!!

This is such a simple project; you basically construct the book cover the same as when you made covers for your school books (you can remember, right? -- smile!); the book mark is using Inkssentials Memory Frames, some ribbon and your imagination! 

Thanks for stopping in and I hope you like my project!!!

Hugs and smooches, and I'll be seeing you!

ANNOUNCEMENT: I'M A "SASSY" DESIGNER!!!

Haaaaapppy Sunday!!!  I hope everyone is off to a wonderful day!

As you can tell from my header, I have some exciting news!  Sheila of She's A Sassy Lady Blogspot asked me to be a Sassy Designer on her blog and I have most graciously accepted.  What an honor it was for me to be asked, and I'm just so very excited to know I'll be presenting my crafting projects alongside all Sheila's other  wonderfully talented designers!

I will present one (1) crafting project each month, and my debut is Thursday, August 5.  I hope you will all join me and all the Sassy Designers over at http://shesasassylady.blogspot.com/!  All sorts of wonderful things are going on at Sheila's blog, and I hope to have an exciting project prepared for you!  So, come on over and show some love!


I'll be back soon with a project to share with you!

A MOMENT TO ACKNOWLEDGE, AGAIN, THE CHERRY ON TOP BLOG AWARD!

Good day, again, friends and family!!!

I just wanted to come back to acknowledge and thank two (2) lovely friends for passing on to me the "Cherry on Top" Blog Award:  Sheila and  Rhonda:

Ladies, thank you so very much for thinking enough of me to pass this award on to me;  I am very much appreciative!

As I've received this award several times, I hope the ladies won't mind if I forego the rules of listing things I love.  I would, however, love to pass it on to all my wonderful blogging friends who are also so well deserving of this award.  Please grab it if you'd like it!

Please drop in and visit my dear friends; both of them and their blogs will be a special kind of treat!!!

Thank you all for showing me so much love!  I love you back!!!

I'll be seeing you!

200 FOLLOWERS!!! YEAH!!!! THANK YOU-THANK YOU!!!

Happy, happy Saturday to all of you, my wonderful friends!!!

I've finally reached that magic number I've been waiting on for weeks!!!  200 followers!!!  And I'd like to thank all my new followers and my older ones for making this a victory for me.  When I say I love you all, I really do!

To you all, you're always welcome here and what I have is yours to share!  And, as most of you know, I try to locate all my followers who have blogs to follow them as well.  I do love to visit and share!!!

To celebrate, let's go for some blog candy!

Included in this RAK:  Cricut Christmas Noel cart, stamps, stickers, rub-ons, paper, ribbon, , letters, tags, and more!!!

NOTE:  The Christmas Novel cart is unpackaged/open because it came as part of a set, however, it is a brand new cart.

All you have to do is be a follower and leave me a comment on this post -- that's it!   (To be eligible, the comment must be on this post only.)  The drawing will be Wednesday, July 28, after 5 p.m. central time; the winner will be announced sometime after 12 noon on Thursday, July 29.  The winner will be selected by Random Generator.  Good luck to each of you!!!

I will leave a link to this post on my sidebar, in the event it  gets lost in additional postings.  For your comfort, it'll also prevent you from having to scroll through any additional added posts.

To my new followers that I haven't already visited, look for me because I'm coming to see you soon!!!  And, again, thanks so much for making my day!!!

I'll be seeing you!

PILLOW BOX AND CARD GIFT SET

Hello everyone, and a happy Friday to you!!!  I hope all's well and that you're ready for a crafty weekend!!!


Can you believe I'm still just one (1) person away from my 200th follower!!!  I'll post a picture of the blog candy tomorrow; maybe that'll help -- LOL.

Oh, well...  Anyway, I decided to step away from that pesky cut.file for a couple of days until I can come back to it with a "fresh" frame of mind.  So, I've worked on other things instead, including this pillow box and card project I'm going to share with you right now:

Here's a close-up of the box:

And a close-up of the card:

Not too close, the Stickles glue is still wet!!!

This box measures about 8.25" x 3.50", so it can hold more than just candies!  It's a bit larger than the normal pillow boxes to hold a larger gift.  I made this one with a tube of hand lotion in mind.

I have a cut.file for you below using the George cart; however, it will not be available (as with others I've mentioned lately) on my sidebar until I've updated my 4Shared files.  So, for now, you'll have to grab it from this post.

If you're interested, it would be helpful for you to let me know what other carts I can do cut.file for you in, if you don't have the George cart; I frequently do them in Plantin, if this is more useful for you.

Well, gotta go, got lots to do!!!

I'll be seeing you!

Pillow Box 2.cut

"FLOATING HEARTS" NOTEPAD AND PENCIL HOLDERS GIFT SET!

Good evening, all!

I'm back, but disappointed to not have the project I'd hoped to have for you.  For the life of me, I can't get that cut.file right and I know I'm close (but no cigar!), and I feel it's some silly little thing I'm overlooking.  Anyway, in lieu of not having a project to share with you at all today, I pushed myself away from that file --again--and made something else to share with you as I said I would.   It's not a project I would have liked for you but I did put this together with the hope that you'd like it.  I had to do it rather quickly too in order have it ready to present today .  I completed cutting it a couple of hours ago but I did want to embellish it a bit instead of just putting it out looking plain and, as you know, it also takes almost forever for Stickles to dry.  So, here I am posting a bit later than I expected.

It is a simple notepad and pencil holders gift set that I think I want to call "Floating Hearts" and I really hope you like it:

Although I still have not updated my files on 4Shared, I did add the cut.file for this (using the George cart), and you can find it at the bottom of this post.  I will make the cut.file available in other carts and add them also to 4Shared.  Once I've completed updating all my 4Shared files, I'll let you know and you'll be able to access/download this as well as any others I haven't gotten to yet.  You'll be able to select what you'd like from my sidebar selection once I'm done.

I apologize for how long it's taking me but I've had so many interruptions and distractions lately, so please just bear with me.

NOTE:

If you download this file, please use a heavy weight cardstock to cut it.  My first cut was with a lightweight cardstock, and neither the note holder tray or the pencil cup held up.

Until...

I'll be seeing you!

Notepad and Pencil Holder Gift Set.cut

GUESS WHO WON MY RAK!!!

Happy Thursday, everyone!  Hope you're all well.

Before, I begin, I want to say hello and welcome a new follower -- follower number 199!!!  I'm happy you've joined me and I'm thrilled to have you!  Thank you for becoming one of my blogging family members and a friend!

Moving on...  Of course, I'm still fiddling with this cut.file, it's a lot more difficult than it looked it would be.  I was up with it until after 1 a.m. this this morning -- until I get blurry eyed!  So, what I'm going to do, is put it to the side for today and begin a project to share with you sometime later today.

In the meantime, I know everyone is anticipating the winner of the blog candy, so going on with the show...

Random Generator selected the number:

Number 5!!!!  And the fifth commentor to post was Dawn!!!  Congratulations to Dawn!!!!

Dawn has a wonderful blog, she's a very talented lady with a gift to entertain and keep you laughing while displaying her crafty creations.  She's a must to visit!  Just click on her name link, you'll see what I mean.

Dawn, please let me know where I can send your RAK.  If you post your info here to my blog, please know it will be personal and never posted publicly to my blog.  Again, congratulations!

I'm sorry you all couldn't win BUT...  I have 199 followers!!!  You know what that means?!!!  It means that with just one (1) more follower, I'll have another RAK, and you'll have another chance to win.  That's right, we'll be doing this all over again!!!  So stay tuned!  I'll be post a picture again of what included as blog candy for 200 FOLLOWERS!!!

I'll be back later with a project to share, so...  I'll be seeing you!

RAK POST IS NOW CLOSED!

Good Wednesday, evening everyone!  Wow, didn't the middle of the week get here too quick?!!!

I apologize for not being around today.  I was hoping to have a project to share; unfortunately, I have still been working feverously on this cut.file to no avail (and I totally lost track of time).  It is a lot more difficult than I thought it would be but I don't want to abandon it because I feel I'm just too close.  If I don't have it completed and assembled before tomorrow, I'll come up with another project to share with you until I can figure out what I'm doing wrong.

In the meantime, the Post for my RAK is officially closed, and I will announce the winner tomorrow!!!  Yea!!! Again, the lucky recipient will be selected by Random Generator. 

How You Will Be Selected:

The selection will be made according to your comment order (that is, the order in which you commented).  For instance: if you are the first commentor under my RAK post, you will be number "1"; if you are the second commentor, you will be number "2", and so on.  The number that corresponds with the commentor's place number wins the RAK; therefore, if Random Generator selects the number "4", the person who made the 4th comment wins.

I will post a picture/copy of the Random Generator's number selection tomorrow when I announce the winner.  As there are 21 participants commenting for the RAK, the generator will be set beiginning with number 1 to 21.

Until then, I wish you all luck!!!  And thanks so much for all your love, encouragement and support!!!

I'll be seeing you!

DON'T YOU HATE IT WHEN...?!!!!

Hello again, friends and families!!!

I've been frantically working at trying to complete a cut.file to do a project for you today.  However, I am not doing as well as expected with the cut.file!!!  For the life of me, I can't get it right and so it's cutting horribly.  Well, to keep from becoming too frustrated (Inever would get it if that happened), I decided to take a break, and the hubby and I went out to grab a quick bite to eat.  On our way home, I had a particle of food in my tooth which was driving me crazy and not a toothpick anywhere!!!  Don't you just hate it when something you normally wouldn't think about carrying in your your purse, like a toothpick or a cotton swab, is something you may need?!!!  Sooooo..., before I even got out the car and back in the door, I had an idea for this quick project to share with you.  My hubby thought my mad dash from the car was due to an upset stomach!!!  LOL!!!  Silly hubby, he should know me by now!!!

It's a matchbook holder for toothpicks and cotton swabs that you can tuck in your purse.

The outside front:

The inside:

Isn't it cute?!  Handy too!  And, it's definitely going straight in my purse (now I'll probably never have the need for one again!!!)  LOL!!! Sure wish I'd had this with me 2 hours ago!!!

The matchbook inside has double pockets: one for the toothpicks and one for the swabs.  I put it together by hand in about 10 minutes -- took longer for the Stickles to dry!

Okay, now that I've put this together super-fast and shared it with you, I'll use one of the swabs for this pesky inner-ear itch and get  back to working on that stubborn cut.file.

I'll be seeing you!

I'VE GOT THE "CHERRY ON TOP" AWARD!!!

Hello, everyone!!!  Hope all's well  with you.

As a quick reminder, we're nearing the RAK drawing on Wednesday; hope everyone is getting their commenting in.

I wanted to come in today and acknowledge receiving this really cute award from my friend Bridgett:

Thank you Bridgett so much for passing this award on to me; I very much love and appreciate it.

To all my blogland friends and family, please visit my friend Bridgett.  She's a very talented and inspiring crafty lady!  You can click on her name link above to tour her warm and comfortable blog.

The rules in accepting this award are:

1. 
   
   you must thank the person who passed it on to you,
2. 
   
   copy award to your blog.
3. 
   
   list three (3) things you love about yourself,
4. 
   
   post  a picture that you love on your blog, and
5. 
   
   pass award on to five (5) others

Three things I love about myself are:

1. blessed being I'm the person I am
2. I laugh easily
3. I never meet strangers

I'd have to say the picture I love the most, at this particular time, is that of my nieces who recently visited with me.  I love those little rascals and all their silly antics, and although they literally wore both myself and my little Buster to a frazzle, I miss them and all their energy very much:

The five people I am going to pass this award on to (and this is always so very difficult) are:

1. Wendy
2. Dawn
3. Michelle
4. Sandy
5. Jean

Wendy, Dawn, and Michelle are very new talented friends I want to spread love to.  Sandy is a very special friend who shares herself not only through her talent but through the daily journaling of her life which I think this is so very special; and, Jean is  now a very comfortable friend and a truly gifted crafter I had the pleasure of meeting through my previous showcases.

You will not be at all disappointed by clicking on the links and visiting all of my wonderful friends!!!

I'll be seeing you!

"MY CRAFT TIME" RECYCLED DESK CLOCK

Good morning, and I hope you're all off to a marvelous Monday and a happy week!!!

Today I have this little recycled desk clock I wanted to share with you:

I made the top of the clock from a clear cd cover and used the cd holder as the base for the clock; the Cricut cartridge box and the E machine are from pictures I retrieved from the internet, reduced, printed, cut and covered with acetate;  the face on the clock and the inside base cover is paper, I think, from the LA Creme Stack; and the letters were cut from the Plantin cart.  You may not be able to see it but, of course, I just had to use my Stickles -- I used the black color on the letters and on the face of the clock to give it some glitz.

To give you a better idea of the size of the clock, I took this picture next to an actual Cricut cartridge box:

Now, all I have to do is find/make a place on my desk to place it!  LOL!

I hope you like my project.  Thanks for stopping by, I'll be back soon, so...

I'll be seeing you!

WELCOME NEW FOLLOWERS!!!

Great happy Sunday to you all!!!  As always, I wish only wonderful things for you and hope all's well!

So, how is everyone coping with the heat?  LOL!!!  It's trying to take a toll on me but I just refuse to let it wear me down -- got me some crafting to do, hee-hee!

Well, I'm dropping in, in particular, to say hello to some new followers!!!  You are all welcome here and I hope you make yourselves at home.  I tell all my new friends, I love company and love to share; so, help yourselves to anything you see you like to share from me.

Wow, it looks like I might be giving away two (2) raks:  the 'just because" rak Thursday of this week and, possibly, the rak for hitting 200 followers.  I'm only five (5) away and to think I'd been stuck at 190 for months!!!  I'm so excited.

I know I still have a few of you I'm still trying to visit and slowly but surely I am getting to you; so, again, I ask that you just bear with me -- you're not being ignored or neglected!

That's it for now except to mention  I haven't forgotten I have to update my 4Shared files as I'd said I would and I'll be taking care of that too in the next few days -- I'll let you know when.  In the meantime, gotta run and finish working on my next project I have coming up to share with you all.

I'll be seeing you!

A REAL "GIRLY-GIRL" BEDSIDE EYEGLASS HOLDER

Okay, my loves, I'm back again with another project to share.  Unfortunately, it's a quickie; it seems as though since the families have all left, I'm just not getting on the schedule I'd planned in resuming my crafting.  I'm trying but there are just little things that keep cropping up.  Anyway, I hope I'm close to getting back on the right path to where I want to go now.  I say "close" because I know I have a few chores and errands this week which shouldn't take me long to complete.

Like I said, I do have this little quickie project I completed.  It's an eyeglass holder to place on a bedside table (or anywhere).  I call it a real girlie-girl holder because it's all glittery pink with ribbons and pearls:

I hand-formed the holder using Best Occassions Glitter Paper, added some ribbon and bows, some pearls and used 3D Crystal Lacquer on a pair of clipart sunglasses I found on the internet.  And, of course, I added Stickles along the edges.

I hope you like it!

P.S.  I tried recycling an empty toilet tissue roll for this project but it was too small to hold a pair of glasses; however, it would be a perfect size for makeup brushes or as a  fancy pencil holder!

Thanks for stopping by and hugs to you!

I'll be seeing you!

JUST A FEW THINGS TO MENTION

Good morning, friends (those of you anyway still wake this time of morning -- LOL!)  I hope you're weekend is going well so far, and that you're all happily crafting!

I did have a wonderful time with my "long-lost" girlfriend today and she loved her gift; my only regret is that  the interruption did not make it any easier on me trying to play catch-up on all the blogs I've wanted to complete visiting.  I do believe I've gotten around to most of you but I thinkI might have missed a few -- I'm coming!11

I have a few mentions I need to make:

1. I'd like to take a moment to welcome some new following friends!!!  I am always so happy when new friends stop by and decide to stay!  I love company and I love to share, so please help yourselves to anything I have to offer.  Of course, if you have blogs, I'll be around to visit and comment to you too as I also love to check out new talent!  Please stop by often and, by all means, make yourselves right at home -- glad to have you.
2. I'd like to thank my fairy-sister, Flowerdisco, for also passing on the Versatile Blogger Award to me:

Thank you my dear friend, and I'll be certain to add your name to it on my side bar!

Flowerdisco left me this award several days ago and, unfortunately, I'm just getting around to acknowledging it.  Although my response may be late, my appreciation in receiving it is just as thrilling as if I'd gotten it just a second ago -- love you, Flowerdisco!!!

Thanks for taking a moment to stop by and read my mentions, now I've got to run off to get ready to post a little project I have to share with you.

Love you all!!!  And, as always...

I'll be seeing you!!!

A FRIENDSHIP BOX AND MATCHING CARD GIFT SET

Hi, again, everyone!  I hope you all participate and take a chance in winning my RAK!!!  Looking forward to reading all your comments!

Eventhough it's so hot and humid, and making me feel drained enough not to want to craft, my desire to get back to crafting is greater than the humidity -- LOL!!!  So, I  do have a little something I've made to share with you today.  It's a friendship box and matching card set:

The box is 5" x 5" and I cut it on my E using 12"x 24" cardstock, so it's large and deep enough to hold the votive candle, my handmade jar of cream soap and tube of solid body lotion shown on the picture.

While my brother was here, he looked up a friend whose sister happened to be one of my best friends I grew up with in our neighborhood.  As we all grew older and moved on, we lost contact but we never forgot each other.  Anyway, my brother put her in contact with me and she's coming to visit tomorrow.  I put this gift together especially for her -- just have to add the labels to my toiletries.  I'm so glad I had some toiletries left because I haven't made any since, I think, the beginning of the year.  It's pretty basic box and card, so I really hope she really likes it!

As soon as I update my 4Shared files, I'll provide you the cut.file to have if you'd like.  Got lots to do, so I'm off now!

I'll be seeing you!

I'VE GOT A SMALL SURPRISE RAK FOR YOU!!!

Happy Friday, everyone!  I hope you all had a wonderful week and that you're ready to have a happy crafting weekend!!!

I apologize for not getting a chance to complete visiting all your blogs, they are so many of you and you all have created so many wonderful projects while I was AWOL, but I was more exhausted than I realized after all my company left.  Between being really tired and the heat, I slept away a nagging headache most of the day yesterday only managing to get off a few quick emails.  Again, I ask that you please bear with me and I'll get to you all -- I'm excited to see all your projects but it's a bit slow getting to you all with everything you've done.  Two weeks can put you really-really behind.

I do have a project to share with you later today; however, I'd promised you a RAK when I reached 200 followers but as it's taking a considerable amount of time to get there (although close), I'd already decided I wanted to do a RAK anyway.  You have all been so patient with me and have given me so much love that I thought it'd be a nice surprise to have this "just because" RAK.  But, as I promised, I will have a RAK for you when I do reach 200 followers, still.

So, what I have for you is a Doodlecharms Shapes Cartridge, a pack of K&Company Stickers, and a pack of Mini-marks Rub-On  Transfers.   The cart is in a box and is brand new but it came as part of a set, therefore, there is no outer-wrapping on the packaging.

To qualify for the RAK:   YOU MUST BE A FOLLOWER and you must leave me a comment under this post.  If it becomes necessary, I will put a direct link on my sidebar so that you will not have to search through any additional posts to locate this post; however, you mjust post your comment to this post.

I will select the recipient of the RAK on next Wednesday, July 21, after 5 p.m. (central), and I will use Random Generator to make the selection.

Good luck to you all!!!  And, I'll be back later!!!

WOW, I'VE GOT THE "VERSATILE" BLOG AWARD TWICE!!!

Hi, everyone -- again!  It seems I hadn't yet discovered I'd received the Versatile Blog Award twice, so it wasn't mentioned on the post earlier.  So, I'd like to take a moment to thank my dear friend Sheila for sending it to me.  Sheila sent me this award on July 4th but I hadn't yet worked my way that far back in my "catch-up" visiting on her blog to know she'd passed it on to me.

Sheila, thank you so much.  It means so much to me that you passed this award on to me.

I can't imagaine that any one of you isn't familiar with Sheila's blogspot, She's A Sassy Lady.  If you haven't visited her, it's a must and you'll discover why she's gained 500+  followers in just 7 short months.  You can find Sheila and all the wonderful activities going on at her place by clicking on her name above which is highlighted and underscored.

As I've already listed 7 things and passed this award on earlier today, I will take a reprieve on having to pass it on again today; however, I would like anyone who is interested to please accept it from me.

Thanks again, Sheila -- I love you, hon!

Thank you all for being here and giving me love.  Love you all right back!!!

I'll be seeing you!

WHAT A WONDERFUL WELCOME BACK SURPRISE!!! A NEW BLOG AWARD!!!

Hi, all!!!  I think I've already convinced you how happy I am to be back and that I missed you!  I loved spending time with the  families and my nieces, had a really great time, but I really couldn't wait to get back to my crafting.  Family times can be a bit stressful, and now I can do what I love and relaxes me.

I have already visited some of you but I have so many more of you to get to, so please bear with me; I've missed out on quite a bit and I really want to catch up on what you all have been up too.

I was so surprised to come back and find my wonderful friend Jean had left me a cute new blog award:

Jean, thank you so much, my dear friend!

As well as being a special friend, Jean was also a regular winning participant in the recent CuteandSome Showcases.  She does fabulous work, so those of you who haven't visited her, please click on her name above (highlighted and underlined) and check out her amazing talent.

I have to now list 7 things I love: 

1. 
   
   I love crafting
2. 
   
   I love visiting my blogging friends and being visited
3. 
   
   I love sharing my creations and seeing them re-created
4. 
   
   I love quiet times with my wonderful hubby
5. 
   
   I love my little Buster and snuggling with him
6. 
   
   I love craft shopping
7. 
   
   I love being retired to enjoy life, happiness, crafting, family and friends, my God, and having the time to live the life I love

I wasn't sure how many people I had to pass this award on to, so since Jean sent it to me and she only passed it on to three (3) people then I'm going to pass it on to two (2) and every one of you gets the 3rd one:

1. Elizabeth
2. 
   
   Wendy
3. 
   
   All my blogging friends

 You're all wonderful and wonderful crafters, but if you know me by now, I like to spread out some of the awards I receive to different crafters I may not have shared one with before -- that is, those I can remember, LOL!!!  I love to spread the love.  Please visit these talented ladies!!!

Well, got lots of visiting and catching up to do, so I can get to crafting!

Love you all, and...

I'll be seeing you!

I'M BACK AND I'VE MISSED YOU TERRIBLY!!!

OMG, it feels as though I've been away F-O-R-E-V-E-R!!!  I missed you all so much!  And I'm sooooo glad to be back!!!  I have enjoyed my families so much, but so happy to be back!!!  I don't know why it surprises me that entertaining and being hostess to people you love so very much is so exhausting, but it does.

The last of my visiting families, my brother and niece are leaving today, in about an hour or so,  heading back to Philadelphia.  I'm sneaking in while my brother is finishing the last of his packing.  While I have a moment, I thought I'd share pictures of my nieces:

Priscilla on the right is my brother's daughter, she's from Philadelphia;  Jordon, on the left is my great niece and she's from Washington State.  They are both 11 years old.  I'd just flat-ironed their hair and cut their bangs, and they were very excited because they'd never had their hair flat ironed before.

Here is what the little "bushy" headed cousins looked like before:

And, of course, they had to have a picture with the Auntie posted here.  I didn't want to post this picture because I look terrible, I'd just gotten home from running around from family home to family home visiting, picking up some extra groceries, it was hot and I was sweaty, no makeup, and I was just tired but they almost drove me crazy to do it, so I threw a hat on my sweaty head and let the picture be taken.  I don't think kids know what tired is -- LOL!!!:

And lastly, (I had to make them promise me not to want to post any more pictures), because they'd want them all posted and we took hundreds; but I did give in to this last one of them with my little Buster:

Buster and I will really miss these little "rascals".  My house just won't be the same without them!  We got to do so many things together.  I spent almost all my time with them at my side -- day and night -- while they were here.  My brother's daughter Priscilla lost her mom when she was 3 days old and my brother is a wonderful single parent and is doing a commendable job raising her alone!

Well, my brother and Priscilla will be heading out soon (Jordon left yesterday), and I'll be back to my regular routine of crafting.  I'll be catching up on all my visiting too, to see what you've all been up too during my family vacation break.  I may not get to you all immediately because there's so many of you but I will be working my way to you.

Love you all and missed you much.

I'll be seeing you!

HELLO!!! MISS YOU!!!

Hello, all my friends and family!!!

I hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July holiday!!!

I am so sorry I am just getting to you.  I've been soooo busy!!!  But I had to take a minute to sneak in to let you know I've been thinking of you and to let you know you're in my thoughts.  I'd tried to leave you a message several days ago, but got caught up in some other last minute planningss.  I do hope all's been well during my brief absence and that you've been enjoying life, and doing some happy crafting!!!

Between my and my husband's family, we've had five sets of out-of-town families who came in for the holiday.  One group of family was totally unexpected and quite a pleasant surprise!  Between those who stayed at our home and with other famuly members, it's been back and forth visiting and planning family activities.  Most are gone back to their home states, but currently my brother and niece, and my hubby's niece are still here until this Wednesday of this week.

I have enjoyed and am enjoying my family; however, I do miss you all and my crafting terribly!!!  We have some events planned for the nieces over the next several days, so I probably won't be back here again until they leave; after they leave I'll will be back on more of my current blog routine -- and I can hardly wait.  I hope to have something special for you later this week and so I hope you all drop in for a visit.  I'll also be around your blogs to catch up on some of the wonderful things you've done in my absence and to say hello, and that I'm back!!!

It's been really hot here, and between the running back and forth, and family activites, it's all been pretty exhausting -- but fun! Some family members we hadn't seen in over 15 years, so there was a lot of catching up to do there.  But now I'm really looking forward to getting back into my relaxing and stress-relieving crafting activities.

Again, I miss you all terriby, and for those of you who were concerned and checked up on me, thank you so much -- that means so very much to me to know I've been in your thoughts as you've been in mine.

I love you all, and I'll be back to you later doing the week!  Hope you come to visit!!!

YET ANOTHER BOX WITH ONE MY HANDMADE FLOWERS!!!

Happy Thursday evening to all of you still awake at this 11 p.m. hour!!!  It seems as though I'm only finding time in the evening to hurry to get in some crafting.  I've really been enjoying being in and out, enjoying the summer weather while getting in some much needed craft shopping along the way!

I'm noticing a couple of new followers that I'd love to welcome!!!  I hope you'll make yourselves at home and come often.  I love having you, and if I can find you I'll be visiting with you as often as I can too! 

Moving along, I've got another box with one of my handmade flowers to share.  I told you you'd be seeing these flowers and I'm having a great time putting them on these boxes.  Eventually I'll get them all used up (maybe not all on boxes though)! 

This box is an A2 card box and will hold 6 - 8 cards with envelopes.  Now, there's a story behind this box; the cut.file I used was my very FIRSTcut.file!!!  I can't believe I actually stumbled across it after almost 2 years!  I was looking through some of my box cut.files, found this, and had to have some fun with it.  I'll tell you what I mean by that in a moment; first, here's the box:

Doesn't it look soooo pretty?   The paper I used is from the DCWV Luxury Stack and it's sort of platinum colored with gold designs in it.  I added an old earring to the flower, and edged the lip and edges of the flap of the box with gold Stickles to complete it (you know I love my Stickles).  

Okay now, maybe not by looking at it, but this box is really absolutely horrible -- the cut.file, that is!!!  Sure it works, but if you could actually see the cut.file itself, I would be totally embarrassed.  I can't even believe -- now -- that when I finally completed this box almost 2 years ago and put it together I was sooooo happy with it and proud of it!!!  It's not that I'm that great at creating cut.files 2 years later, but I'm a heck of a lot better compared to this one!!!  When I opened this cut.file and looked at it, I thought I'd laugh myself sick it was so bad!!!  But like I said, it worked!  It's hard for me to believe by looking at the cut.file but it does come together.

So, because of the bad cut.file, I have not provided you a cut.file of this one.  However, I am going to redo it and post a cleaner and more user-friendly cut.file of this A4 box for you...  But, like I mentioned earlier, I had to have some fun with it!

Looks can be deceiving can't they!!!  LOL!!!

I'll be seeing you!