
Thursday, June 11, 2009
CHF Summer Stamp Star Design Challenge!

Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Scrawny Johnny...
I have the coolest Grandpa! He is my only one with us right now, but I am pretty sure that the others are keeping an eye on things down here. John Baggs is one of those guys that has always lead by example. He can chat with the best of them, but while he is visiting, he is always moving, always. He never would just sit back in the evening and watch tv, nope those hands had things they could still be doing. And I have quite a few of those reminders in my life, one of the most obvious day in and out is the covered dry cleaner hangers that he re-purposed by wrapping a couple of
them together with yarn. Seriously the best hangers ever. He also dried pounds and pounds of fruit and would spend the evenings prepping them to get to the dryer. His garden always abounded with fruit, vegetables and herbs that he would deliver to neighbors who would use them or that he might have noticed a need in his quiet way. He spent hours providing service to his neighbors in many ways, and the only way my mom could ever get he and Grandma to come visit us in Oregon would be to find some large home improvement project that she "had" to have help
with. His nickname from years in the armed service was Scrawny Johnny. All the guys loved him because he could out work and out play all of them and he was usually the shortest and thinnest of the bunch. He can eat his weight anyday of the week and not gain an ounce, I obviously did not inherit that trait, LOL! He never judged anyone, and he didn't take any guff from anyone. Tough with a heart of gold.I wish that I could have spent more time with him growing up, but even though it was just a few golden days ever summer, the moments are precious. I think much of who I am and why has come from this wonderful guy and the fantastic family that he and his beloved wife brought up. He has three boys and four daughters. Those daughters are thick as thieves, they don't have to find trouble, it is pre-programmed in all of their cell phones. They are the shine in his eyes, and they adore and spoil him rotten, as it should be. They are family and when they all get together the husbands have nick-named it a Bagg-a-thon. It really does go for hours and hours with no end in sight, but the food is always delish and when it does eventually end you have a side ache from laughing so hard and enjoying their delightful company. So for those of you who know me too well, this probably explains alot about how I tick. I have a problem holding still, and please don't ever tell me that I can't do something, that is the quickest way to ensure that I promptly do it (just like my mom, LOL!)
I can't just sit and watch tv, I feel like I could be getting something done, so I crochet. Nothing fancy, just row after row of the same stitch. The colors sometimes change as the projects get finished and started, but the simplicity of my effort is always consistent. Do the best you can, with what you have, everyday.
And I have him to thank him for that gift.
B-
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
A little sneak peek!

Oh, I am so excited!! Lisa and I have been working on this art line for many months, and the time for it to debut is almost here!!! So I just wanted to share a little sneak of a few of the pieces from it on a card I made. Inspired by the fortune in my cookie from a dinner Kim and I had from Panda Express, this little card would give any friend that extra little boost of confidence don't you think! I know it would for me...
And the papers from Cosmo Cricket's Ever After collection were such a fun combo, timeless and elegant. It reminds me that sometimes we are not on the schedule we want to be on, but on the schedule that the Lord has for us, and who is to say what soon is then?
B-
Sunday, June 07, 2009
She's Graduated!


Well the start of Summer officially arrived for us on Friday when Carter was picked up from his last day of school at noon. The night before was the big hurrah for Laurel as our family attended her commencement exercises on the University of Utah campus in the Huntsman Center. Fitting as that is where she will begin her journey as an adult this fall as a student there. We are very proud of her growth in the last few years and know that she is on the path to experiencing more at that great institution.After such an exciting evening on Thursday and a short day on Friday, I managed to get a little work done. I feel very blessed to work with such a wonderful team of people and Richard and Liz are the best kind of people to work for. Saturday was my cousin's wedding shower and then an afternoon with Kim crafting, or as she says "scrappin' and yappin'"
hehehe!
We hear from Tyler in an email once a week, it is very expensive for him to send that as he has to go to an internet cafe type of business and pay by the minute so we encourage him to type fast and save his money for his meals. We send him a letter every week from all of us, but he is only able to get his mail about every 6 weeks right now because of where he is located in a town called Sinop that is 8-9 hours north of Cuiaba. Every day the weather is between 30-35 celcius and he walks about 20 miles a day. he has to buy filtered water, and is eating an apple a day as his evening snack. He is so healthy now, wonder how long that will last when he gets home and has all the temptations of fast and junk food in front of him again, LOL!
Chloe is so impressive, she almost pulled off a 4.0 at AMES and just missed by getting a B+ in her Algebra II class. She is attending a Bio-Tech camp on a full scholarship this summer, and is working on her internship plans for next year with the hopes of having it with a medical clinic. She really wants to get into medical school to possibly become an anthesiaologist. She is such a commited student and hard worker that I have no doubt that she will be able to achieve her dreams.
Carter is learning the value of preparing himself for the future and has some great summer experiences scheduled as well. Boy Scout camp is a week long adventure, and he also gets to attend youth conference for the first time, he is really excited about all of it.

The last week has been a little tough on me as I am having reality shoved into my face that my little sweet family is really ready to start on their own paths, and I am not ready for that, gets me really teary and choked up. I know that Dave and I have spent everyday doing the very best with what resources we have had available to develop the talents of these wonderful people we have in our lives. We have had to leave a lot in the Lord's hands and we have had to let a lot of differences pass between us. But as I see our family coming into another chapter, I am happy for their successes and hope that we can help them when and where they may need it. Change isn't necessarily hard, just different, and I am going to try to meet it with enthusiasm and enery if I can.
B-
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
I love fast cars!!!

I love fast cars, from the sleek exotics to the big American muscle, the faster the better! I think one of those things that I would have tried to do if I could go back in time (not that I would because re-doing high school is one of my worst nightmares) but trying to figure out how to get into racing cars would be the coolest thing! Just a few days ago I was at Kim's and we passed one of those old restored Camaros with hot rod red paint and white racing stripes, I have to admit that I gawked and then gushed! Poor Kim having to listen to my crazy talk! My husband wants to strangle me every time I dream of someday buying some slick little exotic that would surely get me into constant trouble with the local law. Probably a good thing we can't afford one, LOL! So in the mean time I am living vicariously through my GM stamps! This Camaro collage just makes me happy to look at, and I love that it is a beach setting, seriously old school cool!!
This image releases today, and I used Ranger Archival Sepia and Rust Antiquities embossing powder for the title. Design tip is to paper piece the car and then for dimension use an embossing pen to fill in the title sprinkle the embossing powder and then heat. It really is a quick card, and with Father's Day just around the corner it will be a tough call on who to give this to, I know all the dads in my life would love to get it!
As for me, pretty sure the real deal isn't in my future anytime soon so I am just going to have to be content busting around town in my huge Yukon XL. I drive it like I stole it, and with just over 200,000 miles on it, you know it has seen some serious road tripping and car pooling days! It is a member of our family and would be sad to know that I was coveting a different style of ride. But it has a BIG block eight, so plenty of get up and go for what I need...
;o)
B-
p.s. It has an engine safety mechanism that governs the engine when it gets to 100 mph. Don't ask how I know, just do...
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Another Lazy Sunday

The pic of this is not so great, bummer dude! But that is how it is around here! Starting to get excited about the lazy days of summer arriving soon, so I started today even though I still have 21 left to go. It is hot with big fluffy clouds, and I wish we could go to the beach, reminded me of all of those fun pics I had from our trip to visit the family in Long Beach and San Clemente, so I put together a layout of Carter. Super fast one with the Fancy Pants paper doing all the heavy lifting. Stamped the distressed grid in sunset orange and then again with embossing ink and Ranger White Picket embossing powder to give a little texture. Some buttons, stitching and Doodlebug letter stickers and call it good.
What are your plans for the summer? Ready to start now? We have a few family things planned, but mostly it is the kids going their different directions for camps, retreats, and vacations from their mom...
;o)
B-
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Just Bee-Cause!
I am so excited to be sharing a sneak peek with you, just Bee-Cause I can!!! This gorgeous stamp was designed by Julia, and it is the June Stamp of the Month, so it will be available on Monday!!
and can I just tell you that I will be forever hoarding it! All of the colors are so me, and the designs are delicious!!! And to top it all off, she has designed some of the most clever little favor boxes evah!!! That little bird is just begging to be filled with coconut flavored jelly bellies or dark chocolate M & M's!!
Have I mentioned recently how much I just love all of this crafty goodness, makes me so happy!
Hope you have a Bee-U-T-ful day!!!
B-
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Shine Brightly

It has kind of been a little of a down day. Tyler emailed (he can email once a week most weeks) and let us know that he will not be able to receive mail for about 6 weeks at a time. This makes us very sad for him because we know that he has really enjoyed getting letters from us, but it is also sad for us because that means that he won't be able to send any either. We have really come to enjoy his almost weekly updates, he is an excellent writer and has done a great job of letting us know where he is and what he is doing. We feel so blessed that he is serving right now at a time when we can use the internet to stay in touch, not even ten years ago that would have been impossible and we would have had to just wait and worry! How this makes me appreciate how we can communicate instantly and give me such compassion for everyone who had to wait months to hear from their loved ones years ago when all they had was the post to communicate by. Those letters must have been very precious, this has given me a very acute appreciation for the days we live in.
I had a chance to make a card (thinking of Tyler, LOL!) with the new "Reach For the Stars" Rummage Bin set and "Astronomy" Scrapblock that Julia designed. This set is so beautiful and very different from the usual stamp art that you might see. And I am seriously in love with Ranger products, they are so easy to use and come in such great colors! For this project the Astronomy Scrapblock was stamped onto plain white paper with Distress embossing ink and then I used Super Fine detail embossing powder and then it was spritzed from a mini mister that had Broken China Distress ink, water and Blue Smoke Perfect Pearls in it. A quick wipe with a baby wipe (or paper towel) to reveal the embossed area and it was good to go. The words background is in Broken China and so is the Shine Brightly. The star was painted with Picket Fence White crackle paint, rubbed with Broken China ink and then some Perfect Pearls in the Blue Smoke were then brushed on. It is very mono-chromatic, but such a soothing combination that I couldn't bring myself to put any pops of color on it.
I have also been stalking my mailman because I am expecting a huge group of stamps from CHF!!!! Some new art lines that I am super excited about and one in particular that has me in a twist because I am so anxious! I can't wait to share more with you!!! Will be sure to share sneaks asap!
hmmmm, that is about it. If you don't mind keeping Tyler in your prayers it would sure be appreciated!
B-
Monday, May 25, 2009
Happy Memorial Day
Just a quick note to wish you all well today! Wanted to share the card that I put together for my dad. Not fancy, but he will appreciate it.Please be sure to stop by the CHF Be Creative blog today and leave a comment, there is a give away, and we want as many people to have a chance to win as possible!
Be safe and take a minute to remember...
B-
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Office/Studio now open for business


It took a couple of weeks, a lot of help from my husband, some serious sorting and pulling of products and organizing of space, but it is done now! I finally am working out of this space. Crafting is still a little harder as I have to think as to where everything is and then track it down, it all used to be in a grab and go semi-circle around the area I worked at. Not that way anymore as the computer had to take the center stage. I do like the way it is set up, will still probably do little shifts of things from here to there, but all in all it is visually appealing and very usable the way it is and that is what I need!I have to tell you, getting a bunch of my most used stamps onto the Clip It Up was a huge help! I tried to get the whole 3 layers filled with them, but it was quite comical as it looked like the leaning tower of Pisa if I didn't have the weight distributed properly every time I even touched it. That lasted about 3 days. Now there are the embellishments that I reach for a lot and then a few baskets of stamps under the table joining the paper that is the most reached for. Originally I had wanted to not have anything under the tall table, but space is such a premium in that little work area that I had to compromise with myself a little. When the budget allows I will find some better looking storage. Buying super cute paper and embellishments is cheaper than shoes, and the dogs won't eat them. How is that for rationalization? LOL!
I also created a new watermark for all of my stuff that isn't using CHF. Kinda goofy and fun, I love it!
Well, I hope your Memorial Day celebrations are going well! It is rainy today and everything is green and beautiful, a perfect day to relax, create and spend time with my darling family. I have a card on the table I am working on for my dad as a thanks for serving in the Navy. Without the sacrifice of all our service people our country would be vastly different. I am very grateful for our liberties and the opportunity to pursue happiness, feel so blessed to be American!
B-
Thursday, May 21, 2009
I do goofy things...

Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Growing, Growing, Gone

The kids are just growing too fast now. It was just yesterday when they were in diapers, making messes and tag teaming us so we were poorly rested and completely out of sorts. Now with Tyler gone two months, and Laurel getting ready to graduate in two weeks, I am really feeling the squeeze that time is putting on me. I am feeling really lucky that she does want to go to school right here at the U, and live with us for a while. It doesn't feel so rushed that way, but I am reminded that I had better cherish every little second that she lets us have with her before she is gone. A few of the things I have tried really hard to do as a parent is to never wish away the time or take shortcuts with how we spend time together. I hope that it will make the difference in our relationship down the road, but for right now it just has to be good enough. As a parent of a teen, we are only allowed inside the hallowed halls of their heads once in a great while, so I try to use those opportunities wisely. All I know is that I couldn't love them more, and as we get closer to having a half-way empty nest it seriously freaks me out!!!
B-
Monday, May 18, 2009
It was HOT today!!

Saturday, May 16, 2009
What a week!

Monday, May 11, 2009
Happy Monday!!!

Oh I had a surprising Mother's Day! My dear husband has creatively put together a get away for just the two of us using his airline miles and chewing gum, LOL! It is going to be a seriously shoe string budget trip as we are the parents of multiple teens and one that is soon to be graduated from high school and moving on to college at the U of U. I am so excited, he found a way for us to get to Jamaica where we originally honeymooned, and he scheduled it over our anniversary in June, so romantic and incredibly thoughtful. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I figured it all out!
Card is a little Graphic 45 Fashionista and the sentiment is from the "Friend Expressions" fussy cut and and use foam squares to give it pop.
Hope you all have wonderful week!
B-
Saturday, May 09, 2009
Happy Mother's Day eve

I won't be posting tomorrow, will be with my mom giving her a hard time about having four rotten kids, LOL! I hope my kids stick around and do the same thing for me!
Laurel is going to her prom tonight, it will be fun to get more pictures of her with her date. Last one was not as formal for her because of the circumstances, but this one is her Senior Prom at Skyline, and she is a little more serious about it this time.
Sharing another layout I made last weekend for NSD. One of my morning shopping deals from Heartland was a few sheets of Webster's Pages, so delish! Since it was so fantastic all by itself, I just stamped a little mat from CHF's Spanish Script backgrounder, stitched around it and slapped that picture of Laurel on it. The flowers were super easy, just gather scalloped ribbon onto some embroidery floss and pull tight. Glue one of those gorgeous Jenni Bowlin buttons into the center and voila, easy peasy matching flowers! The journaling bit is from the Ornamental Beauty set and was embossed with Ranger Antiquities in Rust, looks even cooler IRL. The name of the paper became the title, it was just too perfect (and too easy!) This layout seriously took less than an hour to do, gotta love that!
Anyway, more prom pics to come, and I got a HUGE box of new Ranger goodness that needs tons of love so you will have to put up with me gushing about that as well, LOL!
Hope you have a fantastic weekend, and hugs to your moms for making you, as your friend, I am seriously grateful!!!
B-
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Prom Happiness
It took me forever because of the stitching, but I do like how the it all came together, the green looks so fresh on the yellow. It really lets the flowers Michael gave Chloe steal the show! I used the Fiery Floral Scrapblock with Peach Bellini Adirondack for the frames. Some Prima flowers and Maya Road sheer journal bits. Now if only it hadn't take two hours to stitch by hand, LOL!
the Bad Babies out playing together in the backyard with one of their pieces of rope. They love the game of tug of war, and anything that is wider than two inches will have two sets of teeth on it trying to get it away from the other. They are so cute with each other, playing hard and resting well. We love them so much, and Tyler misses them tons, asks about them in every note he writes.Sunday, May 03, 2009
A FAB Weekend!

I went to Kim's house on Friday evening and we scrapped for a few hours and then we packed it all up and moved the party to my house. We got up super early and went to Heartland first thing, with a 30% off everything for only two hours, we had to go make a dent! Then on to Paper Creations and Roberts to finish up the shopping spree! Roxanne and Julie joined us and we spent the late afternoon and evening cropping more and have loads of giggles, the perfect way to finish up the day!
I have been working on cards for "Clip It Up" to take to the New York Stationary Show, they need to be labeled, but there are some super cute ones! It has been fun to make a bunch of stuff that isn't for pub work and stamp release time.
And here is a little project that is one of those just because cards! I loved this little Imaginesce fox from the twitterpated line. I think my mom is going to love getting it, and she is so super cute, she really is a foxy momma!
Anyway, have a happy Monday!!!
B-
Monday, April 27, 2009
Card Positioning System

Saturday, April 25, 2009
Friday already
Missing my guy, got a great note from him letting us know that he is adjusting really well and is really enjoying Brazil and the people that he has gotten to know there so far.Monday, April 20, 2009
Happy Monday!
Saturday brought us to AMES Prom day. Chloe went with her boyfriend Michael, and they looked adorable! They had a wonderful time, and will have fun memories of the event! Laurel
went with her boyfriend and a group of his friends. Her Sr. Prom at Skyline is in a few weeks, so we get to do this for her again...
Of course we are still really missing Tyler, I have made a few layouts from the pictures I took from the last few days he was here. It really is fun, and lets me look at his pictures for a really long time without feeling like an obsessive mom, LOL! I used the Basic Grey Marakech line for this layout, I love the quilty look of it! And the bright colors make me so very happy!!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Hello Thursday!
Just popping in for a quick hello and to share a little project. I don't have anyone getting married, so don't get the wrong idea, LOL! I just loved the purples in the new Basic Grey Wisteria collection! That big dragonfly is so beautiful, just had to use him somewhere!Spring took a little break this week, so with snow on the ground it is nice to look at the little blooms in this paper!
I also want to wish my dear friend Kim Hughes a very happy birthday today, LOVE ya chica!!!
B-
Monday, April 13, 2009
Spring Winner!
-----Andrea McCulley said...
My favorite things about spring are blooms, bunnies and butterflies! Lovely card!
3:32 PM
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Congratulations Andrea!
Email me or leave me a comment on how to contact you!
A very Happy Easter was had by all here, we ate ourselves silly and the kids collected many eggs, the lawn and flower beds were covered!
Hope you all had a wonderful day too!!!
B-
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Happy Easter Friends


Just a quick little post to wish all of you a Happy Easter, we are going to be celebrating with my family, and I feel very blessed that we can be together and that everyone is healthy. Of course we all miss Tyler, but have heard from him, and he is doing really well, so that makes us all very happy as well.Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Celebrating the arrival of Spring with a blog hop!!!

I love blog hops, they are so fun to follow the links and find what the next person has to share! The CHF Creative Chicks have a blog hop today, and then if you go on to the CHF Creative Blog you can find out who is getting goodies from playing along with the Spring Card Challenge from last week.
The card that I made used images from Sweet Spring and Spring Trees sets from the Kim Hughes collection. Patterned Papers are by Pink Paislee, Basic Grey and Cosmo Cricket. I used the new blender pen from Ranger (very cool, but I need to practice!!!) to color and all of the images were stamped with Ranger inks, Peeled Paint Distress inks and Adirondack Ginger.
Leave me a comment about your favorite thing about Spring, and I will randomly pick someone on Monday at noon to get a Spring Trees stamp set.
Hope that you are having a very hoppy Spring!!!
B-
