so thankful...

with Thanksgiving coming up, i thought i would share some of the people and things i'm thankful for... God has blessed me in so many ways, and i can't be thankful enough! so here goes a completely UN-COMPREHENSIVE list in no particular order:

• music! i really really love listening to music. i think it can change a mood right away. currently i'm totally digging Christmas music (and have been for at least a month), but the current favorite i just bought on iTunes is "Pennies from Heaven." hehe, so fun!
• my family--love them so much. my parents are awesome and supportive, and my brothers are super sweet and they never fail to make me smile. Peter and Joey still live close to me, and getting to see them brightens my day. AND! everyone will be together for this Christmas. Cecelia is coming from D.C., Lincoln will be jetting in from PA, and my grandma and my aunt are coming from NY. who knows when the next time me and my siblings will all be together like that again. it hasn't even happened yet, but i'm already thankful it's going to! :D
• Christmas! i love celebrating the birth of Jesus, and i love everything that it entails. i'm a fan of traditions, but i'm so totally excited to decorate in my own place in just my style. since i have a pink living room and bedroom, i'm thinking of going with a sweet and girly tree and decorations (aka pink and green!)--of course i'll be making some handmade decorations, and i'll have to share them with you :D
  

this one i found HERE was sooo pretty!

friends. this includes so many people. the ones that care about how i'm feeling and how it's been going, the ones who pray for me, the ones i get to meet up with and we don't skip a beat even though it's been ages since we got together, my sister, my daily best friend, my co-teacher, my crafty buddies... they help me in so many ways. i only hope that i'm half as reliable or steadfast as they are. i just seem SO lucky. actually, BLESSED.

sandwich grills. addicted and about ready to give them as Christmas gifts to everyone i know. they make grilled perfection every single time no matter what the contents! *LE SIGH*

scrapbook retreats--i counted up the actual 'completed pages' and even though not all of them are 12x12, i still had a record productive weekend: i completed 82 pages!!!! w00t w00t! :D

bursts of ingenuity when teaching or planning for school--it helps so much! i love doing something that makes students think!

coupons and sales. these make me so happy. good deals MUST be endorphin boosters, would you agree?

diet coke. helplessly addicted.

laughing--i am so thankful for laughter.

water polo with all its challenges and physical demands. i think what others say is 'insane' actually keeps me 'sane.' oh, the irony.

and YOU, my precious blog readers... you are a constant source of encouragement that i feed off of. i am blown away by your support. i love reading your comments!

oh, and you thought i wasn't going to share a card? hehe--nope, i've got one here:

i used tons of Sassafras papers that made me think 'vintage' so i de-hoarded a length of vintage lace trim and then inked up the edges, and finally i added a fun swirl stamp i picked up from Impress a year ago. i also added a few BG felt stickers--they're perfectly wonderful texture-wise on this acetate card. oh, and i used an EK border punch for the inside edges. fun stuff in sort of fall colors--what do you think?

so, what are you thankful for? i'd love to hear what has blessed you lately :D thanks for stopping by!

random teasing...

another quick post today... i have a friend who's moving to a new house soon, and i had the pleasure of taking a mini-vacation with her whole family. my favorite toddler just happens to be her oldest boy of 22 months... so adorable. i taught him how to say 'nom nom nom' whenever he eats something :D

and here's a teaser for you >> these are some of the cards i just finished before i left for the church outreach i'm on. i'm working on some more, and i'll be sure to post some good pictures later.

thanks for checking back again :D

oh, and i just thought i'd share something fun today... it's an email i got from my sister Cecelia, who is hilarious. she tends to be a people watcher, which has led to some great observations/ letters that she's written in her head. i've gotten quite a few of these letter/ emails from her, but i'll just share one:

Dear Man with Mark Twain Hair and Jesus Sandals,

I have to say, you blew my socks off. Normally when I walk into my favorite coffee shop I get a fashion lesson from all the hipsters, but today was special. Today, you were standing in front of me in line. You with your Mark Twain hairstyle, open white collared shirt, bell-bottom khakis and black Jesus sandals. Yes, it might be sacrilege to call them that, but it's all I can think about when I see people with a few flimsy straps of leather covering their feet. And especially if they have tan feet. Like you. I just don't even know where to start. I don't know if I should admire your style or continue shaking my head. No, scratch that, I do know: I will keep shaking my head.

Only other thing to say? I hope you become a regular. I need this much weirdness in my life. And also? I can't wait to see what kind of sunglasses you wear. I'm hoping for cat's eye.

With lots of love and confusion,

- Me

okay, so that's it from me! ta ta! :D

LOVE to a bloggie friend!

hey there... hope you are having a fabulous Sunday!

i'm doing quite well myself (thanks for asking ;) hehe), and especially so to share this card with you. you see, i'm finally doing something i should have done ages ago, and am sending a card to a bloggie friend! *gives self pat on the back*

this one i made at the Impress Stamp Night (you're probably tired of hearing about it... but oh well!) with LOTS of stamps, and just a few extras...

i used a lined background stamp, the medallion stamp i featured on these cards in THIS POST, and then a banner stamp that is sooo cute, along with those subtle open circles on the scalloped circle punch out, and then the "LOVE" sentiment. ALL from Impress. then... lovely buttons, cute rosebuds, like the ones i used HERE, and then some Sassy paper and a bit of lace.

it's funky, but i like it. here's hoping that the girly will too :D

well, that's it, this was a quick one. hope you have a great end to your weekend! i am going to be busy this next week, but i'm hoping to post a few more projects i've made ...so don't forget to stop by and leave your comments every once in a while :D

XOXO!

happy fourth of july!

happy independence day!

(for those in the USA)

hope you have a chance to celebrate with friends and family as we enjoy our freedoms :D

i'll be back soon with some tags that i've been playing with... purely fun creating. i also get to look forward to monday--a friend is coming over to CRAFT. we are going to get inky and snipping. look for some cards later in the week.

go have a wonderful day!

what a weekend!

wow, i've been busy! one of my fellow teachers asked me how my weekend went, and i was like... i can't remember, but it was good. and no, i wasn't blacked out/ hungover for it :D i just had a lot of good times!

first of all, on friday night, i got to have dinner with a dear girlfriend. we talked for a solid 3+ hours at a mexican restaurant... and then we went to coffee (or italian soda for me) and then we talked more. hehe, love how those things work. then i watched a movie until waaay too late with my sweet brothers--fun!

saturday, i was scheduled to meet up with a friend in the morning to give my 'seal of approval' (or something like that :D haha!) for a house that she will be renting with her family soon... i got to see what she meant after she'd done her best to describe the 'farmhouse' feel and the lovely yard, etc. her kids are going to love the tree fort and the awesome grate in the upstairs hallway that looks DIRECTLY into the ceiling of the living room... i predict that some kids spying on parents will occur :D

here's her youngest baby boy... he fell asleep JUST like this not seconds after i snapped the picture with my phone--what a cute little baby :D (hand on the ear, one on the chest... did your kiddos do something funny like this?)

well, i spent the afternoon with my friend and her lovely brood of children (even helped her husband install their AC), and then went off to STAMP NIGHT at the Impress Rubber Stamp shop. i've mentioned these before, and i've really come to love love LOVE them because i get to use the stamps i don't own, and also all sorts of ink colors :D

here's a pretty crummy picture of the THIRTY-TWO cards (finished, mind you!) that i created on saturday night... now that's a new record! never before have i been to one of these and created so many cards (i mean, yes, some were one layer cards, but hey! that's still work, and definitely not my 'normal' style.) what a great night!

here are some pictures of a few of the one-layer cards i made... i'll be posting more as the week goes on.

i can't say that i've ever tried out the black frame around the card edge... it really makes the focal point 'pop,' don't you think?

these would be good for masculine birthday cards, even if i did use flowers instead of something else. speaking of bday cards... my dad will be needing one soon ;)

oh, i don't know if you get lovely sunsets like this, but when i was stamping away, my *other* friend that attended stamp night with me said, 'look at the sky!' and i couldn't resist snapping this with my phone camera. Washington is beautiful when it wants to be (and really saturday was 'the' day to be outside).

ooooh, and if stamping, making 32 cards, and a lovely sunset weren't enough already, get a LOOK at these CUPCAKES! :D hehehe... yes, i got to the carton before more were taken away to meet their owner's stomachs. not sure where these were purchased, but they were just as yummy as they look... which was AMAZING! i had a chocolate one to start, and since no one eating more, i took a pink/ vanilla one... hehe. no rules against 2nds on dessert, right?

sunday was equally busy as well, but one thing i got to do was have an impromptu photo shoot of self portraits. you may have noticed my new blog profile picture... i was wearing a cute outfit for church and decided to make the most of it. what do you think of the massive flower in my hair? it's gotta be one of my favorite accessories. :D

well, thanks for stopping by, and i hope you have a totally awesome week ahead of you! i only have 9 days left of teaching school for the year. needless to say, i'm quite excited. *QUITE* :D

hehe, well, have fun! :D