Chaos Complete

Howdy World! Wow... four months of no posting. Life has been crazy here. Six months ago, the military packed up our house and took our goods from Kansas to Alabama. A month later my hubby went, leaving me and our four kids in Kansas. I am glad to say that earlier this month we finally arrived in Alabama!

Today I tackled the big job of getting all of my craft stuff out of the boxes they've resided in. I have a much smaller place to work now (went from a 2060 sq. foot 5 bedroom house to a 1600 sq. foot 3 bedroom house), but it was so nice to see my crafty toys again! I haven't found my Cricut cartridges yet, so I still have some more boxes to go through. I'm hoping to be posting regularly once again come the beginning of the new year!

Help a good cause!

My grandpa was a special person in my life. He had a way of making each of his six grandkids feel like they were his favorite. I'll never forget sitting on his lap while he snuck cheez-its to me. He was a special man, who unfortunately died of a heart attack when I was a senior in highschool. Perhaps that's why I am so excited about what my daughter is participating in.

There's a new post today on her blog explaining it: Help me Celebrate Jump Rope for Heart's 30th Birthday.
Jump Rope for Heart is a nation wide program by the American Heart Association. She's raising funds for the Association and will be Jump Roping for two hours after school on Friday 13th.



So to help her in her efforts, I've put together a small goodies package to give away for any one who's given on her behalf and leaves a comment on her blog entry. I know times are tough, but if you have the ability to help out such a worthy cause, you would make one little girl very happy, and maybe win a few scrapping goodies.

Crafting for a Cause

As if I actually *need* an excuse to do what I do, I think I've found my good cause to create for! If you are a card maker, I'd like to ask you to take a moment to visit Cards for Heroes.

As a military wife, it's easy to see why I'd be drawn to what this organization does. It really does hit home. Most of our men and women that are deployed have regular access to shoppetts where they can get the necessities. Gone are the days where they counted on care packages to get their toilet paper and snacks. But one thing that they seem to not have, cards. This might seem like a very insignificant thing, but when there's family back home having birthdays, going through holidays, it's frustrating when there is no card available. Thankfully my hubby had an internet connection, he ended up ordering cards online whenever a child had a birthday. But these came with his greeting either printed by computer or by someone else's hand. It's just an awkward feeling. How great would it have been if he had cards like these to mail home to wish his little ones a Happy Birthday.

So, I think now I know who I can create a card for when I have time, but no one in mind. Not like I'm going to single handedly create a ton of cards, but every little bit helps. With some time I'll have a decent amount to donate myself.

So, if you're a card maker, and looking for an excuse to do what you do, well, I don't mean to be an enabler, but check out this video. :)

Almost Embarrassed

I have been working on cards, but I can't post any of them yet because they are for submission to other sites. Soon though, soon! My daughter on the other hand decided to make a card tonight. All of her blog stuff has to go through me, I'm not ready to let her loose on the world wide web quite yet, and I am almost embarrassed by her last post. You can tell she's an eight year old girl that isn't too savvy with her words, but I want her to be herself, and not correct every little thing.

However, that's not what bothers me, in her last post she said that I am "really good". It sounds like I put her up to it! I swear that I didn't! I want her to talk about herself, and her crafting, but she keeps pointing at me. Anyway, if there's anyone visiting, and has a heart for children, please visit her and leave a little hello. You should see the big smiles that comments on her first card brought to her face. Kirsten's Kreations

Fabulous

What a fabulous week it has been for me! I know I've been lacking on creations, but with my husband's recent return from a 15 month deployment to Iraq, my attentions have been else where. I was enjoying a lazy Sunday Afternoon when I checked my visiting list just to find I won the last High Hopes Challenge! I'm so thrilled I love the baby Jesus stamp and I'm tickled pink. I might not get it in time to mail out Christmas cards this year, but I'm still thrilled!

All in the family

For the past several months, my daughter has been my shadow, following me around checking out how I do things. She helped me make snowflakes for my craft show items, and it's been so much fun. She's getting older now, she's growing up, and I think it's fabulous that she shares the love for crafting with me.

Just recently I came across the Crafty Monkeys blog. It's a fabulous crafting blog ran by kids for kids. My daughter (and admittedly myself) jumped up and down for joy. She immediately knew she wanted to participate. So over the last week, we've been working on making a blog all her own. It HAD to be pink after all.

Now that she's made her first card for her first challenge, I'd like to present it here. Kirsten's Kreations. It'll be neat to look back at it in the future!

A different kind of art...

I interrupt this card making spree I've been on for a post about a different kind of art. One that has no techniques, cool toys or special color corridnated patterened paper. However, this art is filled with love, smiles and it's definitely hand crafted.



For those who don't know me on a personal level, my husband has been stationed in Iraq since Sept. 3rd, 2007. I got the call a few days ago that we can expect him home between this Saturday and Monday. So while it kinda stinks that he misses Thanksgiving, the kids (and I) enjoyed spending our morning working on his Welcome Home Banner.

Here's another earlier in the morning, we're all still in our PJs just getting started.



You can see my fall table deco pushed back against the wall. Though it's not a typical way to spend Thanksgiving, it is an upbeat and good way to spend the morning. No matter how you celebrate the holiday, or if it's not your country's holiday, I hope you have a fabulous day filled with blessings to be thankful for!