Bonnie's ABC Book

Here's Bonnie's ABC Book I made this morning.

I used note size envelopes (these are the smaller envelopes, not the regular letter size ones).

Each envelope flap is glued shut and the right side edge is trimmed off so things can slide in and out.

The left side has 2 holes punched with the Crop-a-dile and binder rings inserted.

There are 27 envelopes, one for each letter and the cover "page".

All of the envelopes have a cardstock piece of paper slipped inside that hang out just a little. I stapled tabs on each cardstock end.

None of the envelopes are decorated or covered with pretty patterend paper. I left them all blank except for the cover page. And all of the inserts are blank at this time. I figure as we cover each letter, I'll have Bonnie write the letter on the outside of the envelope and then maybe draw or cut and paste a picture of something with that letter on the insert while also writing the word herself on the back of the insert.

I'll let you know how we progress over time. Very simple project. No extra ribbons, frills, or doo-dads. I don't want anything to distract her from what we are trying to learn, which is our alphabet.

Happy Friday!

Are you all doing your Friday dance? We are!

Bonnie has been so very good in the mornings for our walks. Today we walked another 1.51 miles. That brings our weekly total to 5.12 miles!! Yeah!!


This morning she decided to bring along her dog. She has lots of stuffed animals, but 2 that are her favorites and stay on her bed with her at night. One is "dog" that she has on her shoulders here. The other is a lion she calls "King".

Bonnie is so precious. I don't know if I told you or not, but she had a mole removed Wednesday from her foot. It's healing pretty well, but it is bothering her a little today and was a little last night too. Hopefully keeping her socks on will help it to heal faster and keep the temptation away from her to pick at it.

In other news...

I'm still staying within my Weight Watchers points for the day. Very happy I've been able to keep a handle on my eating. I'm even making wiser choices. Although this morning I decided I needed a treat. I haven't had any chocolate or cookies or "junk" food in a couple of weeks (that's a first for me). I bought a cookie at the gas station this morning on our walk. I decided I had the points to use and a treat would be nice today.

I must say... I haven't had sugar in so long (feels like forever), that I couldn't take more than 4 small bites of this cookie. It's good, don't get me wrong, but way sweet. I've also discovered that without adding sugar to my foods for this long, even fresh fruit tastes so much sweeter than I remember. I had pineapple yesterday and couldn't believe how sweet and good it was.

So I put the rest of the cookie (more than half left) in a zippie and maybe have some of it again tomorrow.

Moving on to crafting notes...

I'm going to try to make Bonnie an alphabet mini book. Anyone ever made one of these before? Have any ideas for me? I'd love to see a link to your creation and hear your thoughts.

Have a blessed day!

Janis

Long Lazy Days

Good morning! I told you I just love these Paperbag Greetings!

I made another one this morning to mail to my Mama. I ripped the paper edges instead of using my Provo Craft paper trimmer.



The turtle was made with Cricut Cartridge Walk in My Garden. I added a fun googly eye to him. He's so cute. The orange and pink tabs were made with Cricut Cartridge Plantin Schoolbook.

The screen is a left over scrap from when we screened in our front porch.

I added a ribbon for the insert to pull out the message. Ribbon from Michael's.

Paper from DCWV The Stack 6... I love this pink, brown, and white paper. So soft and pretty.

The bracket was cut with my Cricut also... can't remember which cartridge... sorry. It was in my scrap drawer along with all the other Cricut elements I used today.

The sticker says, "long lazy days". It's from my 3-ring binder where I store all my sticker sheets either in page protectors or negative sleeves. I bought a seasonal pack of stickers from Wal-Mart probably last year and I'm still using them. This sentiment was from the summer page of stickers.

And of course the card base is a brown paper lunch bag with the top cut off enough so that it will fit into a regular card envelope.

I challenge you guys to make a paperbag greeting. Leave a link in the comment section so we
can come check it out!

The pic below shows the back.


In Other News....

Bonnie and I walked 1.51 miles this morning. She's doing so good with cooperating! I'm tracking all my food and drinks for Weight Watchers. I've been a good girl! I'm so happy that Weight Watchers gives me the freedom to make whatever food choices I choose. I only have to commit to stay within my points range. And it's so easy! I love their system.

When I go shopping (which I hate to do), I'll look at an item and the price and say, "Do I want this $10 worth?" Now with Weight Watchers, I look in my food cabinet and say, "Do I want this 4 points worth or would I rather have this for 4 points?" The cool thing is, smarter food choices cost less points. So if you choose wisely, you can still eat your 4 points, but eat a lot more with a wiser, healthier food choice. I love it.

Anyone else following Weight Watchers? I'd love to hear your stories.

If you have a prayer request, please leave me a comment and let me know how to pray for you.

Hugs to everyone this fine Thursday,
Janis

Bug on Walk

Bonnie was so good yesterday! And this morning she understood no Pop Tart with no walk. She walked 1.10 miles with me today.

We saw this interesting bug on the sidewalk during our morning walk. It's a Cicada. It's very large and his wings are so transparent. It was actually a beautiful creature. Good thing it didn't make any sound as I was leaning way over to photograph it within inches of touching it or I would have woken up the whole neighborhood with my screaming. :)

Check out this site to see a cool gif of a cicada bug being "changed" to one with wings that looks just like the one we saw this morning on our walk. And also, click on the sounds from Greece to hear what it sounds like. Very cool.

I was really tickled yesterday with making the Paperbag Greetings. I'm thinking of doing another project along those lines today. Have you created a Paperbag Greeting? If so, please leave a comment with your link so we can all check out your artwork.

I attended my first Weight Watcher's meeting yesterday. Well... the first one in 3 years anyway. It felt so good to be around other men and women who have the same goal, struggles, triumphs, and success stories. There were 4 of us there who were returning members after being absent for several years. I'm looking forward to seeing results.

Have a great morning! I'll check back with you later on with a project hopefully.

Hugs,
Janis

Paperbag Greetings

I was pulling out a blank card and envelope from my overstuffed shelf, when a paper bag fluttered to the floor. Come on, guys, inspirating is fluttering my way... was I just supposed to ignore it?

I decided to make a greeting card from a paperbag. Why not? I have a whole pack of them... might as well use 'em up in some fun, creative way... right?




So I stuck the paper bag into a card envelope to see how much would stick out of the top, and cut that part off. (If you haven't noticed by now, I hate measuring things. I must have missed that day in school, because whenever I use a ruler, it never quite turns out exactly right.)

Then I sponged the entire part I was going to use with Stampin' Up Rose Red. Got some pink paper from My Mind's Eye Everyday Tango paper pack, and some fun "chic" stickers from my 3-ring binder where I store all my stickers in negative sleeves and page protectors.

I covered the front and back of the bag with the pink paper leaving just a smidgen of the bag edge showing. I used rough cuts and not too evenly spaced placement.

I cut one more piece of pink paper and added a ribbon pull tab to the top and stuck it inside the bag.

I plan on sending this card to my friend whom I've known since I was 12 years old. I'm going to remind her of all those sleepovers we had when sleep wasn't really the priority, but gossip and daydreaming was. I hope she likes it.



I added this sticker to the back of the "card". It says, "When sisters stand shoulder to shoulder, who stands a chance against us? - Pam Brown. It doesn't really match the whimsical theme of the front, but it speaks volumes to our friendship.

Why don't you make a paperbag greeting? I'd love to see your ideas! Please leave a comment with a link so we can all go check it out!

Hugs, smiles, and prayers for you,
Janis

Birds are Chirping!

Good morning, all my bloggy friends! I'm so sorry I haven't uploaded any crafts lately. I'm going to try to get a project uploaded a little later on this morning before we hit the road for out-of-town errands. We are probably going to be gone all day! :(

I'm going to start Weight Watchers today and the meeting I chose is in Columbia... 45 minutes away. But everything we do is almost always in Columbia, so no big deal.

While we are there, I'm going to take Bonnie to see my parents who called over the weekend saying they missed us and when were we coming by again.

Then I have to take Kati to sign her new lease for the house she'll be living in this year for college and get her key. She can't move in and live there until this Saturday, but they said she can get the key and paint now and move some stuff if she wants before then.

And then Bonnie has a dermatologist appointment this afternoon at 3:30. All of these things are in Columbia. Which means we'll be gone all day. :( Bonnie usually doesn't do too well with lots of transitions from one place to another, so I'm praying she will cooperate and not get feisty.


Yesterday morning, Bonnie and I walked 0.7 miles around the neighborhood. This morning, she was not wanting to be cooperative and we were only able to go around the block. When we got back home, I sat down and tried to talk to her about obedience, cooperating, safety outside... I don't know how much she understands. But she did understand that she didn't get her Pop Tart for breakfast. Instead she got a banana. She wasn't too happy about that. A Pop Tart is suppose to be her treat for walking with me and being a good girl.

Do any of you guys do Weight Watchers? I'd love to hear what you have to say. And I'd love to share recipes!

You guys are so awesome! I love all your comments and try to visit your blogs too. I will say that a couple of people have left comments and when I go to their profile, I either can't get on their blog, or don't see one. So please leave a link to your blog so I can come visit you too and leave some comment love. Plus, I want to know what's going on in your life. You know, everyone has a story... and I want to hear them all. I love people!

One more thing.... I just want you all to know that I'm praying for you. I don't know who all reads my blog and doesn't leave a comment, but God does. I've asked Him to bless each one who passes by, protect you, and encourage you. You are important. You matter. You are not alone.

Hugs,
Janis

Homeschooling Today

We homeschool our special needs daughter, Bonnie. She's on her own little path in life, and we love having such a major part in her education.

Today is her first day of school! We got up this morning, put on our shoes, and had PE class outside walking 0.7 miles around the neighborhood.

We practiced good road safety by staying on the sidewalk, walking facing traffic, and stopped at all stop signs looking both ways before crossing.

She even practiced her social skills by saying "morning" to two other women out walking this morning. It's was such lovely weather. Cool, dry, the promise of sunshine to come, and the company was precious. :)

When we came home, we practiced good health skills by washing up. Then we had our breakfast. She's looking forward to a visit to the library a little later on today. That's her favorite place to go!

I hope all of you have a blessed day. Remember to pause and think of those in your life. Pray for them. You never know what someone else is going through.

Smiles,
Janis

Table Rock

Hi, guys! I've been away on a little mini-vacation. My husband, Tom, and I went to Table Rock with our daughter, Bonnie. We shared a campsite with Tom's brother and his wife. We camped in tents and our days were great! The nights though... well.... let's just say the Cicada Bugs were LOUD! And it was so cool at night in a tent that was a tad bit too small for our comfort. But overall, we are so glad we went! The above pic is Tom and our special needs daughter, Bonnie. She has a little trouble walking long distances and some issues with balance, so we took just a short hike Saturday morning. She enjoyed watching the river and climbing on the rocks. Tom held her hand the whole time to help with her balance. I think he was more worn out than anyone just from saving Bonnie so many times from falling over tree roots sticking up in the path and walking across stone paths through water. At some points the path was so narrow, we had to stand aside to let others pass us. (We go very slow.) This is Tom's brother, Bill, and his wife Donna. LOVE them!! They are so fun to hang out with! These pictures were taken with my iPhone, so I know the quality is not that great. Above you can sort of see Table Rock in the distance. I wish I could have zoomed in a little. My husband is very active, very fit, very into eating right and taking care of your body. He loves physical challenges, and decided that Saturday he was going to hike up to the top of Table Rock. The rest of us stayed at the campsite and enjoyed pics he'd send as updates. The above pic he took himself with his iPhone. I told him he looked scared like he'd just seen a bear. :) LOL He said he was tired. At one point, there was a rattlesnake crossing his path. He got a pic of that too, but it's on his phone and I haven't uploaded it yet. I'll post it later. I'm glad I didn't see any snakes! My scream would have been heard throughout North Carolina and South Carolina! Overall, the company was great, the food was yummy, the weather was PERFECT, and it was so nice to get away for a while. We didn't have cell phone coverage most of the time, so that was nice too. :) Hopefully, I'll get some pics printed and work on creating some scrapbook pages. And as always, whenever we go camping, I make a family newsletter of our stories and experiences. I need to work on that too tomorrow. Have a great evening. Janis

Sympathy Card

I made this sympathy card this morning. My daughter's boyfriend's granddaddy passed away this week and I thought I'd send them this card. How appropriate that over at 365 Cards today they are asking us to make sympathy cards with no sentiment on the outside.

I used Cricut Cartridge Indie Art to make the butterfly. The card base is DCWV textured cards. Paper and ribbon from scraps.

I hope everyone has a blessed day!

Movie Monday

It's Movie Monday over at 365 Cards! Here are their requirements,

"Let the Twilight movie inspire your card. Use a black card base or black background, patterned paper where the dominant color is red, and embellish with either glitter or rhinestones. Anything else goes."

I love Twilight (yes, I'm in my 40's and still I love it!) LOL

Lately, I've been using stamped images on my cards that I've colored. Today I felt inspired to go another route.

This card was so easy to do!

Card: DCWV black textured card
Paper: DCWV The Stack 6 red, white, black vertical stripes and black patterned paper
Sticker: Mrs. Grossman's apple, medium
Glitter: Martha Stewart glitter applied with Zig 2-Way glue pen
Tag: Paper Crafting Collection #41891

Let's see what you come up with! Post a link below so we can all see your card inspired by Twilight.

Good morning!

Good morning all my bloggy friends! I was away from the computer all weekend, and I missed all you guys! I attended my 25 year high school reunion Saturday. We had a family picnic and everyone brought food. You wouldn't believe all the food that was there! You would have thought we had to feed 400 people. :) It was incredible seeing everyone again and catching up. Some people look exactly the same and some could be in line in front of me at the store and I would not have recognized them. Our graduating class was about 370 students. Over the past 25 years, we've lost 16 classmates. We had a tremendous turnout for the picnic, but even more who didn't attend the picnic I heard met up with everyone that night for the adult's night out. What was really, really great is that everyone mingled and talked to everyone else. Isn't it funny how in high school there are cliques, but as we grow older we just appreciate the differences? I met a wonderful woman... the wife of a schoolmate. I had so much fun talking with her and one of her daughters. They have 7 children! 7! Their youngest is just 6 weeks old. All of their children were just gorgeous and so well mannered. We talked about homeschooling and photography. It was so nice. I also caught up with a classmate who brought her son, Brent, who has Autism. Again, it was nice to talk to someone who had a special needs child like we do - even though the diagnosis are different. She was telling me a lot of info I didn't know about what happens when your special needs child turns 18 and things you need to look into, etc. Very informative. Such a sweet lady. And her son was so friendly and a joy to speak with. I know all this is boring to you, so I'll stop now. Just know that friendships are a blessing. A lot of our classmates are on Facebook and that's how we keep in touch. We also made an Alumni Group there to upload all of our pictures. Many, many of the classmates still get together over the weekends. I haven't met up with them for that, but they always post pics and it's so fun to see everyone having a good time. Hugs, Janis

Beary Hello

Happy Friday to you all!

Here is a very simple, simple card I made this morning.

365 Days asked today for us to make cards with paper piecing. They said it didn't have to be elaborate, so I made this very simple.

I used DCWV textured cards; image from DJ Inkers colored with Crayola markers and crayons; patterned paper from DCWV The Stack 6; flower from stash. The faux stitching was done with an ultra fine tip sharpie.

Have a fun day. Hope your weekend is great. I'll be attending my 25 Year High School Reunion tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be able to post again before Monday, but if not, you guys stay safe and enjoy your families!

Quote Card

Today at 365 Cards we were asked to include a quote on our card.

I've always liked the quote my brother, Eddie, said to me one day. We were raised around family farm land. Most of our family still lives there. So we've shucked a lot of corn, shelled a lot of beans and peas, etc.

I asked Eddie one day how life was going for him. His answer was, "You just keep plowing your rows as straight as you can, and hope that the corn grows."

How awesome is that?!

So when 365 Cards asked us to include a quote on our card today, immediately Eddie's quote came to mind.



I used PrintMaster to combine the DJ Inkers image with the quote box.

The card is from DCWV textured cards.

The paper is from DCWV The Stack 6.

I colored the image with Crayola markers.

I hope everyone has a GREAT Thursday!

Tree Card

Hello all my bloggy friends!

I've been away for a few days, so now I'm trying to catch up on everyone's blog.

This morning I was able to throw together a quick card. I'm going to put some sort of saying at the top, but thought I'd go ahead and post it now anyway.

The image is colored with Crayola markers and crayons. The little girl is a DJ Inkers image.

Card base is from DCWV textured cards.

The beautiful patterned paper is from DCWV The Stack 6. I love this new paper!

Hope everyone has a fun-tastic day!

Wild About You

This picture does not capture the colors used very well at all. I'm not happy with this card, but but I wanted to give it a try for the 365 Cards Challenge.

I hope everyone is having a good day. We are doing house construction in our kitchen, so I'm not available to blog really.

I'll try to catch up with everyone tomorrow.

Square Around

Hello my bloggy friends!

Here is a Square Around mini album I made. I'll try to find the link where I got the idea and instructions. This is such an adorable mini album design, whoever came up with it.


Each section has a diagonal pocket on one of the walls. It will open and be a "round, square" album. It won't STAY open though without adhering a paperclip or something. But that isn't really necessary. You could just flip through the pages as if flipping through a book.


The papers I used came from a summer mini kit from AC Moore I got last year. I think all the papers are gone now. :( Love the colors and patterns!


I'll try to find time tomorrow to search for the link. Sorry I don't have it handy right now.

I hope everyone has had a good Monday.


Sleep tight, my friends!
Janis

Saturday Snips

I hope everyone is having a GREAT weekend! We are busy with relaxing. :) We helped one of our daughters move some things into her new apartment, did some grocery shopping, grilled some burgers and brawts (is that how you spell that?), and watched a movie. It's about that time of day when I just want to curl up and read, read, read. Hopefully I'll get some crafting done at some point this weekend. Have a great night everyone! (This is a pic of me and my mom on my birthday, July 1st. I look a little rough, but that's okay.)

Recycled Toilet Paper Rolls = Mini Album

Inspired by Cardz For U's video tutorial, I made a mini album from recycled toilet paper rolls. You can find her video tutorial by clicking here.

I haven't added any photos yet, but my album is ready for them!

This was really easy to do. I didn't do a lot of decorating on the pages since most of the paper I used was pretty "busy." I love DCWV Green Stack paper! It was hard to decide which pages from the pack to use. All of the paper used in this project are from the Green Stack. As our family gets more empty toilet paper rolls, I'll be adding more "pages".

I cut tags at 4" from Cricut Cartridge Plantin Schoolbook. They fit perfectly in the sleeves.

The ribbon is from my stash. I used brads from K&Comapny on the tags just to give the ribbon a tighter hold on the tags.

I'll probably generate a sentiment on the computer and print it out for the cover... not sure what I want it to say yet.

Oh, I almost forgot, the cute teddy bear on one of the pages is actually ceramic. He came off of something one of our children had a long time ago (a lamp or something), and he was just too cute to throw away. (Pack Rat or Recycle-r? Hmmmm...) He's not very light, so adding him to a card or scrapbook page would just add too much weight. BUT... adding him to this heavy-duty mini album works perfectly! He's not too heavy for the toilet paper roll at all. I used ZOTS small glue dots to adhere him with no problem at all. :)

If you decide to participate and make your own mini album this way, please leave a comment with a link to your creation! Also, leave a comment at the above link so she can see it too!

As always, I love all the comments you guys leave me. It's so fun to meet all of you in cyberspace.

Have a GREAT Friday! I'm doing my Happy Dance! Are you?

Janis

Irrational Fears

What are you paranoid about? This was one of Mama Kat's writing prompts Wednesday. Kisatrtle posted yesterday that one of her irrational fears is drowning. That's twice this week I've remembered the time when I was a little girl and almost drowned. Earlier this week my sister brought up my near drowning story while talking to a friend. I haven't thought about the incident in years. Now twice in one week. Hmmmm, I wonder if that's significant? Nah... When we were little, Mama worked as an RN and Daddy worked in a business who made service calls to other businesses, banks, etc. to repair their typewriters. Yes, I said typewriters. We had a woman who would watch us until Mama or Daddy got home. She was black as night, always wore a black dress with a white apron, and we called her Mae-me. I used to love to sit on her lap and be rocked and sung too. I loved my Mae-me. She took us to the neighborhood pool one afternoon. I was afraid of the water, but at the same time loved the feel of it on my skin. I would hold on to the railing and walk up and down the steps. I couldn't go all the way down the steps because that part was over my head even at the shallow end. I remember walking back up the steps and an older girl was coming down holding the railing. I had to let go for just a moment to go around her. The next thing I remember I was face down in the pool floating. This is very strange, but I had no fear at all. No sense of survival. No panic to try to turn over so I could breath. I just remember looking around and being so amazed because I could see people standing in the pool and their feet actually touched the bottom. For some reason, this little fact surprised me and amazed me that people could stand in the pool and it was not over their head. The next thing I remember, I was laying on my back beside the pool with a circle of faces looking at me. I have no idea what happened. Was I dead for a few seconds? Did someone give me CPR? Did I just pass out? Did I cough up water? I can't remember. Maybe my little brain blocked off any unpleasant memories of this experience. Or maybe I just don't remember. Mama won't talk about it. I know it scared her to death. We weren't allowed to go to the pool anymore with a sitter, although it was not Mae-me's fault at all. I guess Mama just got really, really scared. You would think that I would be terrified of water because of this, but I'm not. I love swimming. Although I will admit that I don't like swimming in the ocean. I have great respect for the tides and pull of the waves. I know I could get swept away very easily. And the fear from childhood that it was trying to suck me in has never quite vanished. Not to mention all those little critters that are always swimming around in there sort of gives me the creeps. No, I would say my most irrational fears as an adult are spiders, snakes, and very small spaces. Spiders because they just look evil and they have so many legs you never know what direction they will take off in. I hate them. Snakes because they are just evil and slippery and they just scare the poop out of me. I hate them too. As far as small spaces, it's not that the space actually has to be small, it's just the idea of a closed off space with no air movement. Even in the car or truck I have the air blowing in my face or the window cracked. Without doing one of those 2 things, I just don't feel I can breathe very easily. When I worked at a doctor's office, I always kept the exam room doors slightly cracked. If someone needed to find me, they always knew which room I was in because of that. :) What are you afraid of? Why? I'd love to hear your comments. This is my husband, Tom, holding the pet snake of the kids' across the street. They were all trying to convince me to hold it or at least touch it. In this picture, Tom was saying, "See, he's a nice snake. He won't hurt you." Yeah, right..... No thanks! I had to go inside the house. I couldn't even stand being that close to a snake and watching Tom and the boys holding it. Ewwwww. Creepy. Gross.

Where You Been Hiding?

You gotta love Mojo Monday! Here's my submission for the week. Glad you stopped in to say hello! Scroll down for additional posting from this morning. Hugs! Paper: DCWV - Animal Crackers Image: Colored with Crayola markers and crayons; background sponged with Stampin Up Brilliant Blue Sentiment: Computer generated using PrintMaster

Altered Card Tin

Before
After
At Christmas time, our extended family usually plays a swap game. We each buy a gift for very little money (usually only spend $1 - $3) and place them all under the tree. Everybody picks a number and then one by one each person grabs a gift to unwrap under the tree going in order of lowest numbers to largest.

It's a fun game. When it's your turn, you can either choose a gift under the tree to unwrap or "steal" someone else's gift. If your gift is stolen, you in turn can choose to unwrap another gift under the tree or steal someone else's. It's a big hoot to see which gifts get passed around the most. And the whole fun in the game is really not the inexpensive gift at all, but the family fun of the game.

Our daughter, Bonnie, received this Card Tin one year. She loves toting it around with her batteries in it or cars etc. (Yes, she has this thing about batteries. Whenever we go somewhere she must have some. And she never throws away the old ones. She has quite a collection. It's just one of her many personality traits.)

Over at Charisma Cardz, they are asking us to alter an item this time - anything but a card. So, I grabbed this plain white tin and decided to add some color to it. I put some flower fairies my Mama made (have I mentioned today that I love fairies?) on the top of it and added some colorful paper from My Mind's Eye - Everyday Tango, and some pink, fluffly crocheting yarn.

What have you altered lately? Leave a comment with your link and don't forget to visit Charisma Cardz and see what the designer's came up with.

Fish Love

I just giggle when I look at this card I made this afternoon. It's for the Spoon Full of Sugar Challenge #59 - Hearts.

I put google eyes on the fishies, a blue button where the water bubble was and colored the image with Crayola markers and crayons. The edges of the image are sponged with Stampin' Up Rose Red. Ribbon from stash. Paper from My Mind's Eye - Everyday Tango.

I hope you guys are having a fun day. It's been raining here with some lightning... that's always fun. I've had a good day catching up on everyone's blogs I follow, taking my daughter to stay with my sister through the rest of the week and the weekend, and laughing at, I mean WITH, my friends on Facebook.

I suppose I really should go do some laundry. I had started a load and my sweet daughter decided she needed the washer/dryer more, so she put my wet clothes from the washer on top of the dryer while she did her clothes. There's something not right about this picture. :)

Have a safe evening! Go watch a movie or something!

Hugs,
Janis

Camping List

Before I get into crafting today, I've been checking out the blogs I follow... yes, I actually do check on them everyday although I may not comment on every single one every single day. :) While visiting Mama Kat's (and if you haven't been over there, you simply must find time to blog things other than crafts once in a while - there are so many personalities out there!) I noticed that she has listed as one of her writing prompt inspirations another blog I follow Kisatrtle. Kisatrtle is camping this week and staying blog and email free for 5 days. She's hoping when she gets back she'll have lots of new followers and comments waiting on her. Why not pop over there really quick and leave her some comment love? Kisatrtle has listed 5 things she likes to do while camping... and it isn't the kind of list you may think. LOL So, being inspired, I've decided with Mama Kat's prompt and Kisatrtle's inspiration to create my own "5 Things I like to do when Camping" list. First of all you must know that I LOVE camping!! It is always an adventure with my family!

1. The first thing I like about camping, is snuggling in the same sleeping bag with my hubby. We zip 2 bags together to make our little nest. And when we camp in the fall there are so many warm reasons not to unzip that bag!
2. Usually when we camp, my husband's oldest brother (and best friend) and his family come camping along with us. However, there have been several camping trips where my extneded family (brother, cousins, aunts, etc) and their younguns have come with us. We'll take up a whole lane at the campground. There is so much laughter and not just from the kids! Our kids are very social and always tend to bring new friends back to our campsite where we'll talk around the campfire and learn about new people from different areas. It's amazing all the different kinds of people from all the different places in the country and all the different backgrounds you can meet. I love it! (Everyone has a story to tell, and I'm fascinated and want to hear them all!)
3. It's always a lot of fun when someone brings out the guitar and / or banjo around the campfire at night. Or when my uncle starts a silly game that goes around like "Poor Uncle Charlie", or word association.
4. You know what I really, really like about camping?! My husband takes over the cooking the entire time! I love the smell of grilled ____________ (fill in the blank). Everything taste better when cooked outdoors!
5. And lastly, but not limited to when we are just camping, I love it when my husband and I sit in our chairs and watch the other activities going on in the campground. The bikers passing. The teenage girls passing while surely gossiping about the cute boys. The elderly couples going by. The golf carts full of everything but the kitchen sink headed to the beach. The birds, the trees, the sunrise, sunset, moon and stars... When I'm camping I don't think about all those things I should be doing like laundry, vaccumming, etc. I'm so at peace and loving being with my family with our only entertainment being ourselves. And the biggest decision I have to make is what I want Tom to grill for the next meal.

I know this post was sort of long. I do tend to be chatty. I hope everyone has a blessed day! I'll post some crafts in a little while. Hugs! Janis P.S. These camping pictures are all from many, many years ago.

Flower Can Shaped Card

Don't you just love finding inspiration all over the blogging world?

Here is my card for Allsorts Week 8 Shaped cards.

I used the Cricut Cartridge Walk in My Garden to cut the flower can. Then I traced it onto the back of designer paper to get the back of the card. I adhered the 2 shapes together with eyelets and ribbon to make the card open and close.

I grabbed some artificial flowers and tied them with silver curling ribbon.

This was really fun, and I found with the shape of the card itself there really wasn't a need for a lot of embellishing.

The outside of the card is made with DCWV All Dressed Up glitter stack, and the inside of the card is made with paper from My Mind's Eye - Everyday Tango.

Hop over to Allsorts Challenge Blog and check out the designers' shaped cards. I think my favorite is the little black dress card.


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