Cuttlebug Be Inspired #16

Are you all ready for this week's Be Inspired Challenge at Cuttlebug Challenges? Well, take out your distressing tool & some ephemera! This week's challenge involves distressing! One of my very favorite things to do. There is some GORGEOUS work at CB Challenge Blog, so go check it out! I know, I'm going to be playing with some paper today! Such inspiring work!

Here's my take on this week's challenge:



My dear faraway friend, Chimene also inspired me this week. Her comment about taking everyday patterns from around you led me to scan a robe that my mom bought for me. This was Mom's birthday card for last week, and I just LOVE the floral pattern on this robe, so it became the bottom of my card. Thanks, Chimene!

Red & white damask paper~ jenni bowlin
I used the damask embossing folder for the top half.
The vintage chicken image & ledger paper are from The Vintage Moth. See the graphic to your right.
Amy Butler rosette.
Tim Holtz distressing ink.
Making Memories "mother" embellishment.


The rest is from my craft supply.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Today we went to a lion dance. Tonight we are dining with friends, enjoying good company, and the great hopes for a wonderful new year. Yes, we have already celebrated the western new year, but tomorrow we celebrate the Lunar/Chinese New Year! Happy Year of the Ox!

CPS: Sketch 64

This week we were challenged to pick a past CPS sketch. It was a lot of fun going back & looking at the sketches. I've only recently started doing cards from CPS's sketches, so I was so inspired by past sketches & DT samples and reader submissions.



Thanks so much for taking a look!

Pink Paisley scalloped paper
Vintage postcard
Michael's ribbon
Flower, button & jute from stash
Amy Butler sentiment
gingham paper is a digital scrapbook paper. (I'll have to come back with the name).

2S4Y: Kazan's Sketch #18

Here's my take on this week's sketch.
Thanks for taking the time to take a look.





Melissa Frances paper.
Amy Butler die cut.
Photo turns by Heidi Grace.
Lace, flowers, buttons, sentiment are from my stash. :)

Cuttlebug Be Inspired #15

Becky Fleck created this amazing sketch that we used this week at Cuttlebug Challenges.



Looks fun, huh? Head on over to Cuttlebug Challenges & give it a go. You know you want to. There is serious talent over there to get your creative juices flowing.

Here's my version of the sketch:




I used a cuttlebug embossing folder on Amy Butler paper.
I used a Fiskars circle cutter to make all these circles (a girl can't do it alone).
The hot pink circles are Amy Butler, the rest are Jenni Bowlin & Asian newspaper (Chinese New Year is this coming week, I had to make my ma proud). Eyelets are K & Co. Felt flower was cut out with a Quickkutz die on my CB. Font is Love Letter TW from DaFont.com Buttons are from Jesse James. Thanks for taking a look!

Go play with some paper!

Brave

It's a song by Nichole Nordeman that I absolutely love! It's words ring so true to me. I might just have to grab a playlist player & put it on here.

I originally starte this as a card for Cuttlebug Challenge Blog. Then, it just kind of morphed into it's own thing. When I started with the vintage flashcard (that I got free at Two Peas in a Bucket), Bella said to me, "I wish I could touch the stars so I could get one for you." Aw, the things a child says that can make a heart melt. I think this will be hanging in my workspace in Texas

Thanks for taking a bit of your time to look.

Have it your way

This is a really cool idea! At Craft Sassy you can take a design of your own & make it into paper. I might just have to try this.

I've been SO blessed....

Never in a million years did I think starting a blog on blogger would upside down my world! Never! My best friend, Megan, encouraged me to do it. So I reluctantly crawled out of my shell and did so. It's only been an incredible ride since then. :)

I've met an incredible sisterhood of homeschoolers. →. They've blessed me continuously!

This past summer, I was crazy enough to take on a hobby of scrapbooking. This quickly led to an addiction. The paper addiction. There are so many amazing papercrafters out there!

Among them, Chimene. Chimene lives the Netherlands & I see her as a catalyst for my creative side. Everytime I see her pages, I get inspired.

Another is Lori. Lori is a new friend, but we share the bond of paper love & homeschooling. I have been blessed to be on Cuttlebug Challenges with her!


These two amazing women have gifted me with these awards. In the spirit of another beautiful friend, Alisa, "we all know everyone in this fabulous community deserves them!", Amen!!!!

2S4Y: Laura's Sketch 17

Here's my take on Laura's sketch this week. I used polka dot Martha Stewart paper, Cosmo Cricket aqua & pink paper, and Elsie music print paper. The tag is digi scrap from Pixels and Ice Cream. Ribbon, flower, jute & faux pearls are Michaels. Vintage buttons.

I just had to post these...

This is the outfit that my Bella picked out this morning. Normally, I try to help her color coordinate, but since we're not going anywhere & she had such creative flair, I let it go. The leopard tights are courtesy of Auntie Mei Mei, who always finds her fun stuff. We did her hair in top knots in preparation for Chinese New Year this month. I just wanted to see if I could do it.



Here's C, just taking it all in :D

Very Exciting!!!

I was told this past week that I (along with some SERIOUSLY talented women) was selected to be a designer for Cuttlebug Challenges. There are weekly challenges to stretch your Cuttlebug creativity. Also, we have a lot of really fun things planned for Valentine's Day, so be sure to check it out.

CPS Sketch 99

I painted the edges of Amy Butler paper. I stitched on fabric that I had purchased & bleached. I added gingham daisy d's paper. I then added flowers & buttons & jute. Thanks for taking a look.

Guilty. I've been bloghopping. I'm not ashamed. So, while hopping, I came across this beautiful blog. I saw this post & had to bite. If you do it, too, let me know so I can check out your answers. :)
Things you've already done: bold
Things you want to do: italicize
Things you haven't done and don't want to - leave in plain font

1. started your own blog
2. slept under the stars
3. played in a band
4. visited hawaii
5. watched a meteor shower
6. given more than you can afford to charity
7. been to disneyland/world
8. climbed a mountain
9. held a praying mantis
10. sang a solo
11. bungee jumped
12. visited paris
13. watched a lightning storm at sea
14. taught yourself an art from scratch
15. adopted a child
16. had food poisoning
17. walked to the top of the statue of liberty
18. grown your own vegetables
19. seen the mona lisa in france
20. slept on an overnight train
21. had a pillow fight
22. hitch hiked
23. taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. built a snow fort
25. held a lamb
26. gone skinny dipping
27. run a marathon
28. ridden a gondola in venice
29. seen a total eclipse
30. watched a sunrise or sunset
31. hit a home run
32. been on a cruise
33. seen niagara falls in person
34. visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. seen an amish community
36. taught yourself a new language
37. had enough money to be truly satisfied.
38. seen the leaning tower of pisa in person
39. gone rock climbing
40. seen michelangelo's david in person
41. sung karaoke
42. seen old faithful geyser erupt
43. bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. visited africa
45. walked on a beach by moonlight
46. been transported in an ambulance
47. had your portrait painted
48. gone deep sea fishing
49. seen the sistene chapel in person
50. been to the top of the eiffel tower in paris
51. gone scuba diving or snorkelling
52. kissed in the rain
53. played in the mud
54. gone to a drive-in theatre
55. been in a movie
56. visited the great wall of china
57. started a business
58. taken a martial arts class
59. visited russia
60. served at a soup kitchen
61. sold girl scout cookies.
62. gone whale watching
63. gotten flowers for no reason
64. donated blood
65. gone sky diving
66. visited a nazi concentration camp
67. bounced a cheque
68. flown in a helicopter
69. saved a favorite childhood toy
70. visited the lincoln memorial
71. eaten caviar
72. pieced a quilt
73. stood in times square
74. toured the everglades
75. been fired from a job
76. seen the changing of the guard in london
77. broken a bone
78. been on a speeding motorcycle
79. seen the grand canyon in person
80. published a book
81. visited the vatican
82. bought a brand new car
83. walked in jerusalem
84. had your picture in the newspaper
85. read the entire bible
86. visited the white house
87. killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. had chickenpox
89. saved someone’s life
90. sat on a jury
91. met someone famous
92. joined a book club
93. lost a loved one
94. had a baby
95. seen the alamo in person.
96. swum in the great salt lake.
97. been involved in a law suit
98. owned a cell phone
99. been stung by a bee

Our Week in Review: 1/5-1/9

I feel like I have adult onset ADHD. My mind is spinning in ten thousand directions. LOL. Just the same we were able to homeschool this week without as much chaos as I had thought after 2 weeks off.

We are just about done with All About Spelling. We did compound words this week, which went very well.

We reviewed months and ordinal numbers for MathUSee. We'll be moving on to Gamma here in a couple weeks. Yay!!!

We're continuing on with Pathway Readers and the workbook. This week we reviewed when, where, what. We also put words in alphabetical order. This is something we've not done before, but it went smoothly.

We're studying the Middle East. We started with Iraq. For those of you studying with My Father's World, you might be thinking, "huh?" We're studying more countries than Saudi Arabia for our Middle East studies. So, we'll be doing Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Israel. There may be more. I have to go check out my book basket. There is so much history in this part of the world, as well as history in the making that I just wanted to concentrate on this area a bit more.

For Bella, I ordered Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading. She's revved up and ready to go. She keeps asking, "Is my book here yet?" :)

So, that's the jist of our week homeschooling-wise. We're excited to be hooking up with homeschool groups in Texas, even if it's via the Internet. Texas is an uber homeschool friendly state, so that is a blessing as well.

I feel an urge from the Holy Spirit to request prayer for my homeschool sister, Kysha. Her link is to the right under "Love's School." Please just pray that God be with her and comfort her and her family right now. Thanks.

Homeschool Memoirs: Happy New Year

This year we spent New Years with friends of ours that are like family. When we moved here 2.5 years ago and we met this family, I had no idea what lessons God would teach me through their friendship. It's always amazing when God gives you a glimpse of his mercy and grace. You're never the same afterward.

We've spent the past 2.5 years as a recruiting family. I remember prior to taking this assignment, I would tell people what Ron was going to do. They had pretty much the same response, "I'm sorry." When we arrived here and sat around a table with everyone from Ron's station, the wives of recruiters who were leaving celebrated. Sonia and I were lone newcomers, unsure of what would happen.

We became close friends. We were bonded by being Army wives far from an Army base. We are sisters in Christ. We started Bible studies together. We went trick or treating together. She helped me to fix a fence.

A myriad of issues led to her divorce from her husband. I remember listening to her, crying and praying beforehand. It was hard to see this all fall down. Too, it was hard to see their children, tweens, surely aware of what was happening. Her husband insisted that their children stay here, while Sonia left to Washington to be a flight attendent.

So, now she's here. She's back. They're back together. She's expecting. This Christmas when we exchanged gifts, we gave them a plaque, Matthew 19:24-26 ..." with God all things are possible.” He has shown me this so many times, and yet He's even more patient

2S4Y: Kazan's Sketch 17

Ron got his orders yesterday, so we'll be packing up house here in the next couple weeks. We'll be sad to say good-bye to Colorado, but we're looking forward to what Texas has in store. The kids and I will head south for a few weeks to stay with my folks. We'll be further away in Killeen than we are in Denver, so we will probably see them less. Please pray we can get our house rented in the next couple months.

Here's my card for this week's 2S4Y. I used a vintage Valentine image, vintage dictionary page, Melissa Francis paper, polka paper from Shel Belle Scraps. Ribbon and flower are from Michael's. Rub on from Joanne's. Thanks for taking a look.

A New Perspective
Sunday / November 04, 2007

Imagine going to a job each morning where you can set your own schedule. You arrive when you want, take breaks whenever you want, and leave for an extended lunch hour without anyone breathing down your neck. Answering your phone calls and emails is regulated to a minimum each day, and the work responsibilities and goals you have are varied. There is no dress code or security passes to wear around your neck, and no one cares if you eat at your desk or play your favorite radio station. Your boss is off site, and you can manage your work load however best suits your needs. Your work is rewarding and exciting, and you usually see immediate results from your efforts. Wouldn't we all to have a job that fits this description? YOU DO, homeschooling parent!

Many homeschooling parents get caught up in the fact that they never receive a paycheck like their working counterparts. However, if you look at the God-given task of teaching your children at home from a new perspective, you begin to see what a the career choice of homeschooling is for you. So many drawbacks of the "typical" job do not relate to your world. You have the freedom to pursue your position in ways many working parents never do.

Too many times in my years as a homeschooling mother, I failed to see the bigger picture of what God was doing in my life and in the lives of my children. I needed to have my eyes opened like Elisha's servant who saw the whole army of heaven around him (2 Kings 6:17). From God's perspective, what you are doing as a homeschooling parent has long-lasting and eternal value.

So, go to work tomorrow morning, and picture yourself at the best job you could ever have. The grass is greener on this side of the fence, and your regular paycheck of "hugs and " from your family is more rewarding than what a company can pay you. the freedom that you have as a homeschooling parent and be the successful teacher God intended you to be! "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ." (Colossians 3:23-24)

Oh boy!

Ron's commander's wife had a baby. Can you guess what the baby's gender is? LOL. He was a really little guy, 5 pounds. She had been hospitalized since Christmas because she had placenta previa. Please say a prayer that she heals well(she has two little ones at home) and little Jacob is healthy. He was born a bit early.

Here's my card for the new guy:



Amy Butler blue paper
Hobby Lobby felt
Heidi Grace chipboard frame & ricrac
The Paper Studdio stamps
vintage buttons
jute

Ol' Mr. Webster

I love Alison Krauss. I love this song. Ahhhh!!! So, I did this for the CPS sketch this week. I got it done really early because I had started this card, then didn't like it. Then I saw the CPS sketch & it all kinda came together. Dontcha love when that happens :)

Tomorrow it's back to school for us! We've been off for a couple of weeks for Christmas and New Year's!



I used:

Michael's ribbon (I'm just loving this ribbon right now)
Amy Butler pink & striped paper
Melissa Frances floral paper
Journal tag is a digi element by Glam and Fairy Designs
Pressed Petals chippy heart
Asian newspaper
Fiskar's punch

Thanks for looking!!!!

Great Love

How is your New Year developing? Our's is sure to be full of changes and travel with our upcoming move to Texas.

Today we're going to give my beloved's Christmas present for a whirl. Literally. I got him a Cuisinart Ice Cream Machine. So, we're going to make chocolate ice cream today. Mmmmm.

This is a card I made last night with a quote from Mother Teresa. Thanks for taking a look!





I used:

background paper Mell Caetano (digital designer)
black damask paper The Paper Studio
pink floral, black damask & black polka dot paper Jenni Bowlin
pink polka paper Shel Belle Scraps (digital designer)
journal tag Pixels & Ice Cream (digital designer)
vintage buttons
Target ribbon