Under the Lights

Well, my sweet little one spent the night under the lights.  Let's hope he gets to go home soon. 

In between my physical therapy and meeting the school buses (early dismissal) yesterday, we got in a nice visit with little Joseph.  He made these sweet, little, tiny noises while I held him and kept trying to hold up his little head and look at me.  We're going to be great buddies. 

After the boys got home, we did homework, gathered more clothes for laundry, played outside, had dinner, walked the puppies, and just had a great evening.  I was exhausted, but happy.  We even had time for me to fill the jet tub and give them a luxurious bubble bath, complete with jets on.  Aaron thanked me again, during breakfast, for the bubble bath.  What sweet boys.  I could have done without Aaron telling me that ... no, he guessed his clothes were not in the right place and did not get washed in the first load:)  He did help start another load going.

This week's schedule has been a killer and next week promises to be just about as busy.  I am spending a little time each day getting ready for my big October Retreat (October 17).  I love making Christmas cards.  The one I worked on yesterday came out just gorgeous, but was so complicated that I had to take it off the 'yes' list for the Retreat.  I don't want anyone to go home feeling like they spent the entire day on one card:)  I'll post some sneak peeks very soon.  Keep checking back.

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or look on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Big Day, Big Party, Ending With a Twist

Saturday was a wonderful day.  We helped Olive Jane celebrate her 3rd birthday.  Where did the time go?  With her Very Hungry Caterpillar party theme, we had a wonderful cake and super fun decorations.  Olive Jane charmed everyone, got lots of presents and we all had a great time.  We went to Lincoln first to get Bill's mom and then took her home afterward.

I've been officially without any crutches at all for at least a couple of weeks now, maybe a little longer.  After such a wonderful day and great visit with my MIL, I twisted my knee as I was getting back into the car to come home.  I've spent my time ever since with ice packs and an elevated knee.  Yes, it just had to be the one on which I'd had my surgery.  Geez!!!  I am back on crutches now but, hopefully, not for long.  Putting it up and icing it really does help.

Here are some shots from the party.

Yes, Jen, my DIL made the cake.  She is amazing!!!

... birthday girl, with Aunt Jenn (my daughter)...   page designed by Jenn...

... theme, thanks to Eric Carle...

... all our projects...

... yummy cake...  Note that this photo is in black and white.  For added drama, always try a black and white photo.  There's just something about it that brings out the beautiful features of a child... or anyone:)  I think it also helps to make distractions in the background just kind of go away.  Nice!

... and a sleepy girl at the end of it all...

... and a quick MDS page I made...

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Walking the Chickens

Yesterday was a wonderful day.  I got to spend the entire day with my son and his family.  Have I ever mentioned that I have the most perfect daughter-in-law and granddaughter in the world?  It's true!  While the guys hung out in Bill's office, the girls hung out in my studio.  Olive Jane was super busy playing in the play kitchen and feeding her 'family.'  She walked Toby Joe's chickens and then put them (along with her stuffed bunny that follows her everywhere) in their 'high chairs' and fed them.  How adorable!  I alternated between designing and working on party goodies and playing with my sweet Olive Jane.  Jen and I work so well together.  This will be Olive's 3rd birthday and our 3rd year of working together to create her party goodies.  We've had an owl theme, a Mini Mouse theme and, for this year, we'll have a Very Hungry Caterpillar theme.  Come back soon to see the party invites, treat bags and thank you cards.  We've had fun!  After our busy time in my studio, we all went out for a fabulous dinner at the Main Hangar at our airport.  I've never had such yummy twice-baked potatoes.

... and now ...
Walking the Chickens ...

... and back to the kitchen ...

... and more Walking the Chickens ... 
This part involves one chicken down and one up in the air:)

... and put all your strength and energy into it ... and ... squeak!!!

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Dog Days of Summer, Part 1

Well, my 2-day Holiday Stampin' Party / Open House is over and it was a huge success.  I had a full house yesterday, up to 15 at a time, at one point, and then smaller groups before and after that, giving everyone plenty of time to see everything and enjoy some stamping fun.  If you came, I thank you and want you to know that I enjoyed it as much as you did.  If you were unable to come, you can still enjoy stamping with me through attending my classes or, if you live too far away to attend, you can enjoy what I share with you through this blog each day.  My goal is to try my very best to share a new post each and every day, so be sure to check back a lot.  I do NOT have a set time when I make my post, but it is almost always in the mornings.

Today's post will be a reflection on summer 2013.  It's been a strange summer, because we've been so busy that it flew by and I almost feel like we didn't have one.  I guess I'd take that over boredom any day.  We took care of the boys a lot during the summer, had fun seeing Olive Jane frequently, enjoyed Toby Joe (as always), planted tons of plants - making a container garden on our back deck, did some antiquing, spent a lot of time with my MIL, went to Utah in July (Convention), went to Oklahoma (for my SIL's funeral) in August, and - whenever possible - I did tons of stamping and projects --- for my classes, for my displays, to share with you, and for my Prairie Treasures booth at the Root Cellar.
Today, I will start a short series --- sharing some of these memories with you.  AND... after my little series of posts on summer reflections, I will share with you how I used these photos as color inspiration for several artistic creations.  Check back each day, so you don't miss a thing!!! 

First up:
AARON IN OUR BACK YARD

The boys both love to dig, especially Aaron.  Their favorite spot had been just at the foot of the steps on the side of the deck we use the most.  That wouldn't do, so I decided we should give them a spot where it would be OK to dig.  Bill had some extra potting soil and sand in the garage, so he dumped it at the back edge of the back yard, under the row of pine trees.  There are lots of pine needles to dig, too.

This year, Aaron has turned this area into his gold mine.  I believe it's a pirate gold mine.  He's spent hours here, just digging and designing it.  He loves to wear his cute little green boots, which is fine with us, as it saves on cleaning up dirty shoes.

This is a railroad.  It goes all along the row of pine trees.  Both boys worked on this and I helped, too.

The hole is getting pretty deep.  It's amazing how well you can dig and rake with just sand toys:)

Here, he's explaining to me all about his plans for the pirate gold mine.

Aaron's other favorite activity outdoors, is playing in the storage shed off the deck.  He's using lots of extra Stampin' Up! boxes to build a fort.  He's gotten about 3 years now out of that little pirate hat.  We got it at the Children's Museum gift shop.  Both boys LOVE gift shops:)

Thanks for stopping by.  Enjoy your dog days of summer and come back soon.  I'm off to make the final prep for my class tonight.  I'd also like to try to find a better place to stash all the goodies I've been collecting that I want to use in projects --- but I don't know where that would be:)  I'll share some of that soon, too.  I've gotten cute little chairs, stools, tables, boxes...  So much fun!!!!!

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Hello, Mr. President

This was on the front page of our newspaper yesterday.  My husband, on the right, is playing the part of President U.S. Grant for a ceremony at the Oglesby Mansion.

He participated in presenting plays for the fifth grade students of Decatur to attend, to teach them more about that part of our history.  This afternoon, they are having a Macon County Honor Guard benefit and want the President and the Governor to be there as a part of it.  On the left is the gentleman playing the part of Governor Oglesby.

It's a super rainy Sunday here today, so I will take a little rest, enjoy some family time and spend some creative time in my studio.  Have a great day.

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

The rest of the party...

Here are the rest of the shots from Olive's second birthday party:

Her mom did an awesome job of making the cupcakes!

 

 

You have to love the look of the boots with the birthday dress.  She loves to go get things out and create these unique looks for herself:) 

She didn't realize that her daddy was only trying to remove the paper.  This is the hat I made for her.

Here's a close-up of her hat.  I made the pink circle sparkly, with shimmer spritz.

Here's the thank you card, with treat boxes.

It swivels open.

As always, being at my son and DIL's home, we had wonderful treats to eat.

Somehow, she ended up standing in her new shopping cart.

So, we're officially two now.  I think that, in Olive's case, it will be the terrific two's.

Up next:

Come back to learn more about what this is and get more inspiration.  I have lots more to share with you.  I'm off to get ready for church and then my Left-Overs Class this afternoon.  It will be a super busy day!  I hope you have a day filled with family and fun.  See you soon.

A Pop-Up Posies Banner for Spring

Remember the larger banner I made for Spring?  I decided the tags from our Pop-Up Posies kit would make a cute banner in a slightly smaller size.  I made this for my Prairie Treasures booth (Root Cellar, Wildflour) but I think I might have to make another one for myself.  I really like how it turned out.  If you haven't gotten one of the Pop-Up Posies Designer Kits yet, you really need to get one.  You can make so many beautiful projects with them.

I was going to share some of my new wreaths with you today, but decided I needed to share my new Spring banner now because we still need more Spring here.  Maybe this will help.

We had a wonderful weekend.  Starting Friday night, my daughter and her family took me out to dinner to celebrate that I finished my taxes (I think:)  Then Saturday, my son and family came over and we took them out to dinner.  Sunday morning, we had an absolutely packed church to celebrate Easter.  It was a beautiful service.

Here are a couple of shots from Easter Sunday morning.

My handsome boys on Easter Sunday morning.

My sweet Olive Jane's first taste of a peep.  It was a hit!

 *Please Note:
If you would like to make a Spring wreath, you will need to pay to register at least 2 days prior to the class so that I can have all your materials ready for you.

My Sweet Olive Jane... A Funny Story with Pictures

We're officially snowed in today, so I thought I'd do a for fun post.  Enjoy!

These photos were taken when we had some Spring.  It lasted a few hours, at least.  Now, we seem to be back to Winter.  If pictures tell a story, what about this story?

Hi, I'm Olive Jane.  

I lead a very busy life!
I get up early and log in to plan my day.

My daddy keeps a close watch on me to see if I gather enough wood for the day.

Oh, I work sooooo hard!

We have a big fireplace.  I have to choose the right pieces of wood...

I do a dance to the trees...

I try a little hide and seek...

But then, it's back to work...

What?  You don't work this hard?

OK, more wood...

I'm thinking hard... What shall I plan for dinner?  OK, I know!

There, now that's decided.  How about a little more stick fun?

 Although I work very hard, I still try to plan a little fun into each and every day.

Oh, and I have to let the dogs out.  

While I'm here, I'd better gather some more wood.   Thank goodness, the wheel barrow is almost full!

Even the dog gets a rest time.

Now, I'm off to start the cleaning...

Maybe I can take a break and catch up on my reading...

But not for long... I have a call coming in... Yes, they expect me to take their calls, too!

Hello, Nanna?  Can you come and get me?  I have to work too hard here!


Well, I think I'm finished with my chores now.  It makes me feel like I'm sitting on top of the world!

I'd better get going now.  I suppose they'll expect me to do the laundry, make my own clothes and who know what all else.  Like I said, I lead a very busy life.
 
Now, shouldn't Nanna go and scrapbook these photos for me?