Sad News and The Heroes Card Drive

Hey everyone.

Today I had planned to share my video about

the Heroes Card Drive that Lawnscaping is hosting,

and I will get to that, but first I have some sad news to share.

If you follow me on Facebook you probably already know

that while we were out celebrating my son's 9th birthday
on Saturday evening, our home was broken into.

The whole place was completely ransacked and all

of our most prized possessions were taken.

All our laptops, my MacBook with all my pictures and writing

on it that I didn't have copies of or have backed up,

our ipods, the kids DS, my camera and all it's accessories,

my purse (we went to an amusement park so I left it behind),

my wallet and all my cards and info, the kids wallets and money,
cash, jewelry... we don't even know what else because
we aren't allowed to touch anything until the scene
has been processed for fingerprints
and due to a high volume of crime in the area,

they can't get here until tomorrow.

Anyway, I just wanted to explain in advance

why I might not be around much.

I had just had a power-crafting week, and had tons of projects

to share with you all, but no way of doing that now.

Luckily I had my phone with me, but I don't even

have editing software to take new pics, and even if I could,

I can't go into my office where all my crafty stuff is
because they ransacked that as well.

They even tore apart the kids' bedroom

and stole all their money and valuables, can you believe that?

The monsters.

I'm just really disheartned and discouraged over it all.

We feel so violated and unsafe in our own home now.

Unsafe in it and unsafe to leave it and have to come back.

I'll be reliving this every time I step in the door for a long while.

It stinks having to live in this mess for going on two days,

too, just a constant reminder of what was done to us.

I can't wait until they allow us to start cleaning up and

going through it all, and disinfecting everything.
They even touched my bedding and my pillows.

We've had to sleep on the livingroom floor and couches so far.

I understand that the high-violence crimes take top priority,

but I'll just be glad when they allow us to start going through
things and try to pick up the pieces.

So much of what was taken, like the pictures of my kids

and my writing... the novel I was working on,
and all my short stories are gone.
The pictures from our last trip to Germany

with my father-in-law who just passed away were on
the SD card in my camera case they took...
all that stuff is irreplacable. :o(

That's what breaks my heart the most.

Anyway, so sorry to go on about that.

I still do want to share this video
because this cause is such a worthy one,
and what happened to us is so light in comparison
to what these brave men and women give up

every day to defend our freedom.

Please watch and consider participating.

Go to The Heroes Card Drive on Lawnscaping

for more information.

Crafty Haul Video

Hey everyone! 

Just thought I'd pop in and share my latest haul.

I actually decided to film it so you could see the product

up close and personal. :o)

I hope you enjoy it!

Let me know if this is something you'd like to see more of.

Click the bottom right corner to watch it in HD on YouTube.

Have a great day!

Lawnscaping Challenge #36

Hello there! Welcome to Lawnscaping Challenge #36!

Our challenge is sponsored by the wonderful,

whimsical, and witty Lawn Fawn!

They have generously donated a FREE stamp set to our glorious winner.

And just in time for Inspiration Week over on their blog!

Be sure to check it out and enter for the chance to win even more prizes!

On to my project for the Color Splash challenge.

I decided to go with gray, white, and a bit of vintage text paper

for my neutrals, with robin's egg blue for my "splash."

I was doing my planting in my container garden,

and ran out of space for this little guy.

So I decided it would be fun to make him a pretty little

home of his own, and painted a terra cotta pot,

altered a clothespin, and stamped a tag with

Harold's ABCs and Blissful Botanicals

so I wouldn't forget his name. Lol.

I guess it should be a HER, since her name is Rosemary. ;o)

Anyway, I wouldn't forget -- she smells wonderful!

But all the same, now she has a happy little place of residence.

Hope you enjoyed it!

Please stop by the Lawnscaping Challenge blog

to see all the other amazing Designer creations,

and say hello to our three newest Design Team members

who were revealed on the blog yesterday.

I am so excited to work with these phenomenally talented ladies!

Have an amazing day, everybody!

Happy crafting!

Happy Birthday, Dear Friend

Hello there!

Today is the birthday of a very dear friend of mine,

and I thought I'd stop in and share the card I made for him.

Now, I admit, I suck at masculine cards, 

but this is a man who loves to be out in nature,

listens to birdsong on his daily walks, plants flowers,

and just appreciates beauty in all forms around him.

He's also an incredibly talented writer,

so I thought these papers from My Mind's Eye

Be Amazing Follow Your Heart collection would be perfect.

Those words definitely describe him.

And I just love the mix of nature and paper,

the graph and ledger in the hexagons, 

the post cards and letters in the print down below.

Even the map, since we were recently road trip buddies

on the way to the Pennwriter's conference.

He and I are both avid readers, and we love many of the same books,

so I made him a little bookmark that slides out and reads,

"Not all those who wander are lost." ~ J.R.R. Tolkien

and I added the sentiment "Enjoy the ride" with

Lawn Fawn's Admit One stamp set.

Because each book is truly an adventure just waiting to be taken.

The "happy birthday" on the card is from Hat's Off To You.

I paired it with a vintage copy of Graham Greene's 

The Heart of the Matter, which is actually set in West Africa,

very near the place where I spent a year of my life living.

I hope he enjoys it, 

and I hope you all did too!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Happy Birthday, Terry! :o)

Teacher Gifts 2012

Hello there, everybody, happy Monday!

Today is our first official weekday of summer vacation.

I thought I'd share a handful of the cards I made

for the teacher's gifts this year.

Due to procrastination and then poor planning

on my part I ended up having to pull an all-nighter

to get them done in time, but at least they GOT done, right?

Each card was different, but here's

a little sample of one of the six sets for the six teachers.

(My boys have a teacher and a teacher's aide per class.)

Sorry the lighting isn't great. 

I took the pics when I finished at 4AM.

All the cards were made with papers from

October Afternoon's Sidewalk collection,

 one sheet of Coordinations black textured cardstock,

Lawn Fawn Just My Type, Just My Type Too,

and My Silly Valentine stamp sets.

Here's a couple samples of the packaging.

Names of each teacher were written on the back of the tag.

I hope they liked them!

Thank you so much for stopping by. :o)

Lawnscaping Challenge #35 (Video Tutorial)

Before I jump in with this week's Lawnscaping Challenge,
I just wanted to give you guys a quick update.
My last post was actually scheduled since I was out of town,
so the last time I actually spoke with you all "in person"
was THIS POST where I shared the six piece card set I'd made
for the writer's conference I was heading to later that day.

Well, I'm back, obviously, ;o) and I had THE BEST time!
It was everything I'd hoped it would be and more.
I got to hang out with fabulous people,
stay in a gorgeous hotel with an incredible shower,
I learned so much about the craft that I am so passionate about,
I freaking WON third place in the Short Story contest
which was judged by industry professionals,
I placed sixth in the contest with the other short story I entered,
I won a "great-opening-lines" game played with my peers,
and most importantly, I came home with the self-confidence
that I've always been sorely lacking.

It was an amazing, amazing weekend, and I can't wait
for next year's conference!

So now, jumping right into the reason you're here:
Welcome to Lawnscaping Challenge #35!

Our challenge is generously sponsored by the

incredible Simon Says Stamp!

Since I've been home, I've been enjoying testing my wings,

trying new things, in particular, mixed-media.

I decided to alter a canvas for my design team project.

using Lawn Fawn's Critters Ever After and

papers from My Mind's Eye Lost & Found collection.

And, I even found time to film a tutorial,
which is a part of our new Lawnscaping Fresh Cuts video series.
I hope you enjoy it!
Watch here or on YouTube.
And please don't forget to rate and subscribe
and leave a comment if you enjoyed it. :o)

Thank you all so much for stopping by today.
Please head over to the Lawnscaping Challenge blog
to see the other amazing design team samples
and to get all the details on how to enter our challenge.

Have an awesome day!