Love like...

*since after fidgeting with older posts, deleting and shrinking pictures, I am still not able to post a picture, I will post a link to the sign I made.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.381016461950187.106228.180053685379800&type=3#!/photo.php?fbid=381016465283520&set=a.381016461950187.106228.180053685379800&type=3&theater


he deploys tomorrow.

This is going to be another short post.  I got the supplies for this project way back in November of Decmeber of last year.  It was a project I had hoped to do with other ladies in my ward.

It took me until well after we moved into our new house before I finally put it together.  It probably took so long because I couldn't decide what I wanted to pain the wood.  I finally decided not to paint the wood at all but to stain it instead.  It works better with the decor of my house anyway.

The letter is vinyl.  Thankfully a wonderful lady from church has a machine that cuts vinyl.  I so wish I had one.  Someday I will own a silhouette  :)

 

Faith filled book

I know I have mentioned it on here before.  I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  That means I am, as some people label us, Mormon.

There has been a lot going on for me and my church.  Yesterday I attended the funeral of a young single mother.  Just 30 years old and was tragically taken from her 4 children.  It has put me in a very introspective mood.  I have had a difficult time finding real happiness since I heard the news.  Unfortunately I did not take the time to get to know this wonderful lady when I had the chance but in the past week I have learned a lot about her.  I know that given some time we could have been friends.

My ward (congregation) is also holding an open house tomorrow for all the locals who are interested in learning more about our faith without the pressure they may feel in another environment.

I am not sure how all of this ties into the main reason I am writing today.  But it is about this book

Darlene was kind enough to give me an electronic copy to read and ultimately review.  I have had her book for a long time and I am still not finished with it.  Time has not been on my side.  I admit I was a little hesitant when I started and read that she feels women need to submit to their husbands.

Although we are both Christian I don't agree with certain things she has said about religion.  But they have been minimal.

Today, while on the treadmill at the gym, I read a chapter that I needed to read today.

I am not sure if it is because of the funeral I attended yesterday or that, I believe, the funeral has brought me back over 12 years to my car accident when I lost my friend and attended her funeral.

Our Stake (big community of church members) President mentioned that we were at the funeral not out of grief or pain but out of love.  Love of the person that had passed.  I truly believe that.  He also challenged us to take what we have learned and use it to help others.

After my husband got home from work yesterday he was bombarded by myself and our 3 sons.  He had a stressful day and us running up to him did not give him the time he needed to destress from the day.  It ended up being a difficult evening for me although he got over it very quickly.

I find myself upset a lot about things my husband has done or not done lately.  It isn't something he can fix.  It is something I need to fix.  I know that now, thanks to this book.  Darlene has a way of putting everything into perspective.  How to make something make sense when nothing seems to make sense.

I have always been a fan of the 1950s, I would have loved to live during that time frame.  I don't consider myself to be a feminist but there are things that I do agree with as well.  That being said being a wife and mother in the 50s, knowing what I know, would be difficult for me.

Reading the words Darlene has put to print has helped me with these difficulties.  I am not saying that by reading her book I will be a perfect wife and mother tomorrow.  I do know that if I work on myself first everything else will fall into place.  My children will have a better mother and in turn will be better pillars in the community as they grow, my husband will have my respect and support and therefore he will have the strength, courage, love and anything else he would need to be able to complete the tasks that are asked of him in all aspects of his life.

All in all this is a great book, not a self-help book, but a great way to look inside and see what may need to be fixed within yourself and so much more.

Thank you Darlene for allowing me this opportunity.  I look forward to reading more.

Sweet 16

This one is going to be short and sweet.  Since I have been slacking on my crafting time I had a birthday card that was way overdue.

I made this card for my niece.  I can't believe it but she is now 16 years old.  It is just beyond me that 16 years have flown by like they have.

Everytime I think about my niece I think about my HS graduation (yep, it has been that long since I have been out of High School).  I see a picture of myself hold her in my arms in my parents family room and both of us all dressed up and ready for me to end one major chapter in my life.

I have a very strong bond with her, I just wish I could see her more.  A part of me feels like she is my child almost as much as she is my sisters daughter...

Two new homes

I know it has been forever since I have posted on here.  I have been busy with moving.  Still in South Dakota but off the base.  We are now owners of our very own house.  It is so exciting and I am so happy.  We became official owners of our very own house in January and yet it still feels so very strange that the house we live in is OURS.  I couldn't be more happy.  I do have a few photos.

It is a perfect fit for our family.  The back yard is a great size as well.  Now my boys have their very own BIG place to play.  The bonus is that there is a playground just across the street that I can see from my kitchen window.

Also, I have been busy trying to get my etsy store up and running.  I haven't done too much crafting but what better way to jump back into it than to start a store, right?  I hope so anyway.

Here is the link to my store:



http://www.etsy.com/shop/honeybee7896

If you are local and would like an item I am more than happy to waive the shipping fee.  If there is something you would like but not sure how to make it than please let me know and I can work with you.

I also have been thinking about adding some pictures I have taken on my vacations.  If anyone is interested in that please let me know and I will do so.

I am also wanting to get a couple of home decor items up on the shop.  If there is something I have posted in the past that you would like to have please let me know also.  I would be more than happy to either sell you that one or make a new one for you.

Here is a coupld of the cards I do have posted on my shop just to give you an idea of what I have in there.

I have tried to make the prices reasonable.  I would like your opinions on what I can do better with the store and what you would like to see up for sale.

Thank you for your time and I hope to see you around soon.

  

Better late

My days are all mixed up.  I don't know up from down half the time but the good news is that everyday is one day closer to being with my husband again.Last weekend my middle son was sick with some kind of stomach bug.  He woke up with it and by the next morning he was fine again.  A week later I end up feeling sick and was down Friday night through Saturday.  I had hoped that was going to be the end of it.  At about 10:30 last night my big man tells me he had gotten sick.  Needless to say we did not have a good night last night and having a not so hot day today.But with all that said I figured I better get something up before everyone thinks I ditched the blog again. 

I started out making this card as part of the teacher's notecards but then decided to make it as the thank you card for my boys to give their teachers on the first day of school, with the notecards.We got our letters in the mail and both my boys know who their teachers are and hopefully it will be an awesome year.  Good think is that they both have friends in their classes  :)That is it for today I hope to have more for you soon.Have a great week!!!Thanks for stopping by!!! 

Teachers gifts

 

I mentioned yesterday that I had some cards I was making.  I got the idea from two blogs I have been seeing.  One idea was because a lady was making stamps out of the sticky foam sheets she bought from a craft store.  After getting her children involved she had the idea to get the kids to make cards for the teachers they will be having this year. 

I loved the idea of making cards for the teachers.  What a nice way to say hello and start off the school year than to make cards.  These were so easy to make. 

I only made these two but I plan on making about 5 for each teacher.  I will have two in school this year.  My oldest will be in 2nd grade and my middle man is starting kindergarten.  I am so excited for him, myself and so sad to have my middle man gone all day long.

The funny thing they do here in South Dakota (or maybe just our school district) is have the kindergartners only go to school for 2 days the first week.  We start school on a Tuesday and should be getting a letter with teachers names and also telling us if my middle son will be starting school on Tuesday or Wednesday.  If he starts school on Tuesday than both my boys will have the same first day and middle man will only go Tuesday and Thursday.  If the letter says my middle mans first day of school is Wednesday then he will go on Wednesday and Friday.  They call it get to know you week or something like that.  After that it is Monday through Friday like the rest of the grades. 

So, the cards are fairly self-explanatory.  I used PTI's Vintage Cream cardstock.  Stamped the apple image in pure poppy, simply chartruese, and momento ink, rich cocoa.  The image is PTI, except the work, that is imaginisce.

I had the idea for the border thanks to Lorie at Live-Laugh-Love-Create.  I just used a regular black writing pen and a ruler.

I hope their teachers love it and I am so excited to have a paper craft on my blog once again.

Have a great Tuesday!!!

Thanks for stopping by!!!

  

Bronx

Just popping in real quick to share some photos I took while in New York.  We went in to see a Yankee game.  I tell you, it was the most amazing game I could have gone to.  History happened right before my eyes and I couldn't have been more excited...the rest of the game just continued to get better.It was a rushed trip so unfortunately I do not have any pictures of us there but I know there will be a next time.  These pictures I took while trying to get on the freeway back to Connecticut.I also played around with some more filters.  Again, I have so much fun with picnik that I can't decide on a favorite.  My husbands aunt and mother say I should try to sell my photos.  How awesome would that be?  I would love it. 

 Our time here is coming to a close.  We will be driving on first thing Friday morning and although I am excited to get home and my own routine I am sad to leave family.  Leaving family is difficult because you never really know when the next time will be.Thanks for stopping by!!! 

Library

Happy Friday all!!!I decided to sit and share a photograph I took.  Wednesday we headed to New Haven, Connecticut to go to the Yale Peabody Museum.  The nice thing is that they participate in this great program called Blue Star.  For summer there are a bunch of museums around the country that allow military and family to access their museums for free.  I have taken advantage of 2 of those museums so far and it ha been great.While in New Haven I was amazed at all the beautiful buildings.  That is one major thing I LOVE about New England.  There are a bunch of old gorgeous buildings that sill exist.Leaving the museum I was able to snap a shot of this beautiful building.  Afte returning home and looking at the picture I see that it is a library.This is the original shot I got. 

Then I played around with the preset editing on picnik.com (I LOVE that website) 

I can't decide which version I like better.

Have a great weekend!!!

Thanks for stopping by!!!

 

End of another season

Hello everyone!!!I hope you all had a wonderful, happy, and safe 4th of July.  It was so nice to be away, with family. I am here to show you the card I made for my oldest son's baseball coach.  This is the first year he didn't have his dad as, at least, the assistant coach.  It was a difficult transition for him and to be honest me as well. I, of course, waited until the last minute to get something together. I started with spring rain cardstock, to match the team colors.  The main image is a Whimsy stamp and was stamped, once with staz-on and the other with versamark and embossed with clear embossing powder.  I had hoped that would help with the bleeding when I colored the image.  It did with for most part but since it wasn't a clear stamp it was a bit difficult to make sure both images matched up. 

The chevrons were also stamped with versamark and clear embossed. I was done with all of that but after looking at it a bit I knew that it needed something else.  That is when I thought of doubling the buttons.  I think it added just the right finishing touch.Since coaching takes more time than you can imagine I figured it would be nice to give him a gift for the family.My mother in law a while back, gave us some popcorn plastic "bags" to eat our popcorn in at home during family movie night.  I thought that would be nice, who doesn't like movies and popcorn.Of course I added some hot cocoa mix to go along with it.  I know it is summer but if they don't to drink it now that can save it for the winter. I have some wonderful pictures I want to share with you soon as well.Have a great week!!!Thanks for stopping by!!! 

4th of July

 

May freedom forever ring...

Have a wonderful and safe holiday.

  

Mistakes

I set out to make a card last night.  Instead I made the same mistakes I made before when I tried to sit down and make the same card, so I gave up.I recently found a bunch of single sketch copic markers at Hobby Lobby.  As you may know, those markers can get pricey.  BUT I have also realized that they give 40% coupons.  So, I have been buying markers one at a time when I could.  So I had a few new markers I have been wanting to play with.Can't make a card so why not color instead.  I do hope to make these adorable girls into cards before we leave on Friday.The reason I am writing all this is because I wanted to show you what most of you probably already know.The black ink that I use is Staz-On.  I thought that was supposed to be good for copics.  But this is what happened when I colored my images.

Adorable girls, right?  I think so. 

Look at this precious thing.  I think she is so elegant and precious.  But after I was done I saw this... 

Not so pretty.But I pressed on and went to another image. 

 Again, not so pretty.

So, I let the last one dry overnight and figured once it was good and dry it would bleed anymore.This is how it turned out.   

From first glance, again so cute.  BUT...

Yep, more bleeding. I think I need to find some different ink.  I have heard Momento is good but I just haven't went out and got it.  I use Papertrey Ink cardstock and I haven't heard of anyone else having any problems using their copics with it.  I think I just need to go get some black momento and try that.

Vacation

It seems like just yesterday we were hitting the road to move half way accross the country.  Who in their right mind would want to pack up again drive the other half?  Well, we are.  My husband's family, my husband, is from the east coast.  It has been several years since we have been there.  In fact, the last time was when my Father-in-law passed. 

source found here

It is time to go.  None of my husband's family has seen our little man, except in pictures.  Considering he will be 17 months old on Saturday I think it is about time they get to meet their grandson, nephew, cousin.With that being said, I think you may have figured out I won't be sharing much on here, not that I have been anyway.I do hope to have a few things done before we go, I will try my best to be able to schedule some posts and also share some photgraphy with you here as well. 

source found here

We plan on doing some sightseeing, Yankees Stadium, Mystic, Peabody Museum, but mostly just visiting with family. 

source found here

The East Coast is beautiful and I believe even with just some time with family will bring many wonderful photography opporunities worthy of sharing here.  

Embrace the Camera

Thanks to this great blog I watch almost daily I ran across another blog that I love to read.  It is called "The Anderson Crew".  This family is so fun and lives life to the fullest.  Something I strive to do everyday but sometimes let regular life get in the way of.Emily, the writer of the blog, does this great "challenge" for us.  She challenges her readers to "embrace the camera".  That is, take a picture or have someone else take a picture with you in it AND a friend child, spouse, parent, anyone.I wanted to share this picture because I LOVE it so much.I have thought about editing it a few times but just cannot bring myself to do it.  I quit honestly, in my most humble self, think it is the best picture I have taken. 

Just a refresher, we are now living in South Dakota, my husband is in the Air Force.

This is the day we decided to head to Deadwood, South Dakota...where "Wild" Bill Hickok was killed.  We visited the town, where he was killed, where he is buried and took family pictures.  It was an amazing day.  I would relive it again if I could.

I took this picture when we were heading home.  My middle man loves to be the subject in all my pictures.  I don't remember if I had seen this done before or how I even came up with the idea but I LOVE it.  I am so happy to have it.

If you want to join in on the fun get your cameras out and start snapping and then link up to the post linked above.  There are no prices to be won just the reminders of the wonderful times we had.

Thanks for stopping by!!!

AdSense

Has anyone else heard of this?  I was moving things around on my blog yesterday and ran across what blogger is calling AdSense?  It is a way to help earn money just by blogging.I tell you I can use all the extra money I can get.  I didn't have a whole lot of time to look around to completely understand how this works but am interested.If anyone else has done some research or uses it and had opinions please let me know.If I ever find time to do some more research I will and hopefully you will be seeing ads on here soon.  I just don't want them to over power the blog and make it something I didn't intend when I started blogging in the first place. 

Nothing

It is a rainy, dreary day here.  I had planned on visiting a museum here but my little man decided he was going to catch up on some much needed sleep today.  I finally went in to get him around 1pm this afternoon.  He was just about to wake up anyway, from what it looked like but he is very cranky.  I think he is already starting to get in his 2 year molars, and he isn't even 18 months yet.  In fact, he isn't even 17 months yet, that will happen in about 2 weeks. 

Anyway, because I wanted to share something very neat I found while looking through my blog list  Even though it doesn't feel like summer with this rain I can't wait to try this.I am also going to look for some cool glasses like these.  After all, if you are near a Hobby Lobby, they are having some great deals on summer dishes and a 40% coupon on anything in the store.Go check out oopsey daisy here and have a blast.Thanks for stopping by!!! 

SFYTT

Happy Friday everyone!!!  I wish I could say I was super excited that it was Friday but I am  not.  Tomorrow is kinda gonna be just like another work day around here except instead of working the hubby is going on a 4-wheeling trip.  It won't be all day but basically another work day.I am contemplating driving to Deadwood again for the "Wild Bill Days" events that are going on.Anyway, enough of my complaining.  I have a card for you today.  I intended it for my Sisiter-in-law who is celebrating her 22nd birthday today but instead, I think I will save it for one of my nieces.  I like it but I don't think it suits a 22 year old. 

I used the layout that Jen Del Muro holds every month.  It is called "Sketch for you to try" or SFYTT.

 I need to run because I have lots of things to do today.  I need to make a card for my husband since Father's Day snuck up on me, I hope to be able to make a card for a baptism that I hope we get a chance to go to tomorrow and I still need to make my husband's father's day present.Should be loads of fun since I also need to sneak in some outside play time so my boys don't get stir crazy and drive me insane  :) If you haven't seen it be sure to go to this post and enter to win a wonderful book I had the priveldge of receiving for free as well. Thanks for stopping by!!! 

Thank you/Get well

This has got to be a quick post.  I have planned a very busy day for us today.  It actually seems nice again today so we are going to meet up with some new friends at a local park for a few hours before getting lunch.  After that I need to run to the store before getting home so my middle man can get ready for his second game of the week.I wanted to show you a card that I made for a service member.  A friend from church mentioned that her cousin was injured while fighting overseas.  Right after he saw 2 of his men KIA he was injured, a broken leg and the loss of the other among other injuries.She has requested that friends make cards, signs, short notes of encouragement.  I couldn't pass up the opportunity to say thank you to this man for the sacrifice he made for us.  I also included the boys in this but didn't take a picture of their pictures.  I didn't even think about that until just now.  Although I am worried about my older sons picture.  He decided to men in a shootout.  One is the bad guy and is bullets are flying over this soldier's head.  The other guy is the soldier and not only does he have a rifle like the bad guy but he also has a pistol and all of his bullets are hitting the bad guy.  My friend assured me that her cousin is on so much pain medicine that he probably won't even understand it anyway.

 I made it very simple because 1) I didn't have much time and 2) most guys like simple.The cardbase is blueberry sky.  Then on the white cardstock I stamped the trees from PTI's through the trees set in enchanted evening, used a red copic marker to make the border and the sentiment is also from through the trees stamped in pure poppy ink.

 I did want to put some sparkle on this card to push it to the next level, just seemed to ordinary without it.  I used my clear glitter pen to highlight some of the trees branches and some diamond stickles to accent the sentiment.I need to make another card for my sister-in-law.  I can't believe I forgot her birthday was Friday.  So, it will be late but it will get made.