Favorite Fall Foliage

Fall is easily one of my favorite seasons! I enjoy pulling out my warmer clothes and adding on layers. The cool mornings and evenings are a wonderful reprieve to the muggy heat! For some odd reason I get the biggest kick when it gets cold enough to see your breath when you exhale. Must be the kid in me?!
Fall decorations also hold a big space in my heart! The scarecrows, gourds, cornstalks, straw bales and pumpkins make me want to smile. Fall is a reminder to reflect on our blessings bestowed upon us.
Here is a photo I wanted to share that I snapped sitting in the car waiting for DH yesterday. It was taken through the front windshield. So, there may be some buggy specks.....
Happy Fall to ALL!!

~lori

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GCD Studios Challenge and prizes....

Please stop by GCD STUDIOS....they are hosting a sketch challenge with PRIZES. There is a deadline so you'll want to hop by there asap!

They also are featuring a couple of my never seen before cards. :)

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Moxie Fab World Ruffle Challenge......

I couldn't resist adding one more entry in the MFW ruffle challenge. I'm a girly girl and this challenge is right up my alley!! I have three girls so I am constantly buying hair accessories. Recently, I've decided making them is the least expensive route! Also, I can make them to match an outfit or season. Here's a little gift set I made up.....it consists of a denim pocket, bow clip, tag card and ruffled barrettes.

The regular bow is a hair clip but it could also be clipped on a headband. I created a template for the barrettes to snap on and covered it with sweet melissa frances patterned paper. The barrettes only take a few minutes to create. The supplies are very inexpensive. I but the barrettes and clips at Hobby Lobby when they're half price. You get several smaller ones in each package. So each barrette costs aprox. .30 - .40 cents. or less. I hope to make more and show them on the blog. The card and barrettes fit perfectly inside the pocket......now I need a matching gift bag.

For several years, red has been one of my favorite colors. A lady at the kids school tells me every time she sees me I have red on......so sometimes I make it a point to wear a different color when I see her! lol It's such a rich and vibrant color. My home is also full of shades of red. From the walls and rugs to the decor!
supplies


ribbon: walmart
pocket: cut out of old jeans
hair clip: hobby lobby
barrettes: hobby lobby
buttons: papertrey ink
flowers: walmart
lace: joanne fabric
stamp: stampin up
ink: stampin up
ric-rac: joanne fabric

patterned paper: melissa frances, doodlebug designs
rub-on: melissa frances

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2s4u Monday....

Today is another 2s4u Monday. We were sponsored product from Creative Cuts. Be sure to stop by and check out the prize and sketch for this week.

I used a little bat die-cut card for my card this week. I think it ended up kinda cute. :)
I also used new paper from GCD Studios Artsy Urban Collection. I 'm sooo in love with this new line.

•DT CALL•DT CALL• DT CALL•
Yes that is right, it's that time again for 2 Sketches 4 You to add to their amazing talent of designers! You yourself could be a part of this special sorority of sisters.
We are looking for 4 designers
You can find all the deets here on our
•DT CALL BLOG•
Kazan and Laura are looking forward to all of your fabulous entries!!
Good Luck:) I hope you all have a super week! Thank You for stopping by!! I appreciate every ones comments!

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Matilda Jane....

This post is a little off the beaten path but I just had to share this adorable girls clothing with you.....I would feel selfish if I kept all this goodness to myself. :D
I recently stumbled upon this mom-based company a couple weeks ago.....Matilda Jane. I happily contacted a Trunk Keeper and scheduled a Trunk Show. If anyone is interested in ordering anything feel free to send me an email and I can give you more info.

I'm hopelessly in love with some of these clothing items. I can just see

my girlie's wearing these little dresses and fun bloomers!

Isn't this skirt, bloomer, tights, and clogs ensemble darling!!
I could go broke buying Matilda Jane!! But I'll practice restraint
and buy a little at a time. :D

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2s4u Monday......

I'm happy to bring you another 2s4u Monday! This weeks sponsor is Just Rite stamps. WOW! You gotta love their products! Be sure to stop by 2s4u and see all the other DT's special creations. Also, we'd love to have you play along if you can!

This card has some yummy My Minds Eye patterned paper, May Arts ribbon, and Paper Trey Ink buttons......TSM for stopping by!! I have to run and tackle household tasks and chores! Of course, I would rather be lazy but I'm not going to complain.....I'm thankful I'm able to complete the work I have ahead of me today! I'm blessed to have my health and good senses :)! I wish a happy and blessed day to all of you!!

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2s4u Monday.....

This week at 2s4u we were lucky enough to use Sakura pens again. I used the souffle pens on
this card. I colored in some of the detail on this Just Right cutie pie stamp. The paper is from My Minds Eye (thanks Cath) what an awesome kit this is!!

We would love to have you play along at 2s4u this week! :D

Here's my take on Lauras lovely sketch.....


Have a super evening!!

~lori

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Caardvarks Challenge (ribbon)

OUR SPONSOR for the current challenge is May Arts. It is a leading distributor of high quality ribbon products, serving a wide variety of merchants from large retail outlets to home-based business in the craft and scrapbooking, gift, stationery, quilting, fancy food, floral, interior design and jewelry industries. Since its founding, May Arts has built its business on a foundation of quality products, affordability, and outstanding customer service. To read more about our history, please click here.
In 2008, May Arts responded to customer demand by creating a sophisticated online store to combine personalized service with convenient, anytime ordering. If you have any questions about our new online store, please feel free to contact us directly.
We look forward to serving all of your ribbon needs!To locate a retailer in your area please visit: May Arts Retail Store Locator
And be sure to visit our:
May Arts BlogWhere we have weekly giveaways, contests, a wealth of ribbon techniques and video tutorials!
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THE CHALLENGE
Create a ***NEW*** card using ribbon in a wonderful way! Have it linked to Caardvarks via Mr. Linky by October 17th @ Midnight PST. Please post a direct link to your blog post or gallery.

I loved using May Arts ribbon! The assortment and quality is amazing!

(wording came from Caardvarks blog)

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2sketches4u WCMD Blog Hop.....

Welcome to World Card Making Day and the 2 Sketches 4 You Blog Hop. Each one of the Designers drew inspiration from the special sketch created specifically for this event at 2 Sketches 4 You (the blog hop starts there). As Designers we all worked with a different sponsor to bring you mega inspiration and of course Prizes to be won. Just by leaving a comment on each Designers Blog you will be eligible to win a particular sponsors prize. I was chosen to work with.....Stampbord .
Stampbord™ is an incredible art and craft surface, developed by Ampersand Art Supply, that allows clean, perfect rubber stamp impressions every time. The surface is correctable and erasable, great for jewelry, custom boxes, magnets, altered books, ornaments, embellishments, scrapbooking & more! Stampbord’s ultra-smooth clay finish accepts all types of stamping inks including dye based, alcohol and pigmented. The absorbency of the clay surface lets you apply color without smearing, and no matter how saturated the surface becomes, the material will never buckle
For unbelievable inspiration and ideas on how to use Stampbord visit the Stampbord Idea gallery HERE .

Blog Hop Giveaway
I am giving away this amazing collection of Stampbord goodies including a variety of Stampbord sizes and a special Stampbord etching tool. All you have to do to WIN this entire Kit is leave me a comment here by by Midnight (MST) and I will randomly select the lucky winner. All winners will be announced tomorrow, Sunday Oct 4, on 2 Sketches 4 You.

Here's a card I created using a piece of Stampbord

and the sketch from 2s4u. I hope WCMD is full of

happy and creative memories!!

Now hop over to Sankari's blog for more inspiration. Have a happy day!!

~lori

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tender moments....

I took our puppy Buckeye and youngest daughter outside the other day and snapped a few photos. She wasn't overly thrilled about the idea but I think a few of them turned out ok. Buckeye is 12 wks. old and has blended with our family quite well. He is being a good pup and using his "litter" box (a deep cookie sheet with kitty litter in it) 60-70 percent of the time. He goes to the vet Monday for more shots and I'm guessing he'll be between 2 and 2 1/2 lbs. Since he was close to a pound and a half at his last visit a month ago.

Come back tomorrow for WCMD.....I'll be celebrating with 2s4u and a prize.

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2s4u Monday.......

I love 2s4u Monday! It's something I enjoy doing each week! My fellow designers are fabulous and Laura and Kazan give us such amazing sketches and products to work with!! LOVE you ladies!! Our sponsor this week is Sakura America....I LOVE their pens!! I used the glaze pens on the owl and it really made it pop!
My card for this week is quite "woodsy"! I layered corrugated cardboard over Kraft cardstock and added some slight splashes of color.....

On the inside of this card I added a photo

insert. I took a piece of white cardstock

and folded to create three panels.

I then adhered one side to the card interior

and that created a "mini" album! This weekend was a whirwind of fun and activities.

Grace has a new friend coming over for a play date

tomorrow. She is VERY excited!! She is the only one

not in school now so she gets stir crazy! I hope you all

have a wonderful day! Thanks for stopping by!! ~lori

Supplies

kraft cardstock by Papertrey Ink

red and white cardstock by Stampin Up

brown ink by Stazon

owl stamp by Autumn Leaves

tree stamp by DRS Designs

patterned paper by K & Company (Bailey)

Our Family rub-on by Melissa Frances

ribbon by Offray

buttons by foof-a-la

glaze pens by Sakura America

heart die-cuts by Basic Grey (Mellow)

other: white twine, pinking shears

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GCD Studios new designer to be announced.....

I'm excited to announce GCD Studios will be introducing a new designer this week!
A lot of you will know who it is.....believe me!! You won't be disappointed!!
I've posted a peek of some of the new product they will be releasing with this new designer. I have to tell you...IT'S AMAZING!!

GCD Studios will be showing peeks on their blog through Wednesday of this week.....stop by over there for some fun and eye candy!! :D

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caramel apples and a craft.....

Today dawned early for me....my day started before 5:30 this morning! I honestly enjoy getting up when my body and mind are in agreement!! But that happens on rare occasions...like today!!
Thankfully today seemed to be productive and fulfilling! I lovingly made 25 caramel apples to take to our sons classroom this afternoon....I even squeezed in some crafting time tonight! YAY! I haven't got to sit down and make a card all week! But Tonight was the night!

The apples I used was a brand I'd never had before. The name of them is Grimes. They are VERY tasty and their slight twang mixes perfectly with the caramel! I couldn't resist adding sprinkles and a little bow to the stick. I ended up spending about 3 hrs on them from start to finish. That time included making the bows.

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This little dear is a package that some

buttons I bought had come in. CARDS had

posted a challenge to decorate a package .

In my dallying....I missed the deadline

but wanted to post it for you all. :)

Now I better get myself off to bed! It's LATE! And tomorrow looks like another busy day!

SMILES

~lori

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Delightful cherry jelly........

I decided to go visit a friend from church who was diagnosed with breast cancer last year.
Thankfully, after her double mastectomy they declared her cancer free. As a precaution she has been taking chemo and radiation treatments for the past several months.
I didn't want to go visit her empty handed so I grabbed a jar of my homemade cherry jelly and added a few trimmings to it. I put in down in a brown paper sack and wrapped the top of it with a paper doily. I secured the doily to the top of the bag by punching to small holes and tying it with twine.

Don't forget to stop by GCD Studios blog for a chance to win a $100.00 worth of product!

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GCD Studios/Grafix Blog Party day 4.....

Today is the second day of Fall.....I have been enjoying the colorful sights, hypnotic sounds and scrumptious pleasures this time of the year brings! Fall reminds us to slow down and take in our surroundings after a hot and hectic summer. The night starts gathering upon us earlier and ushers us to bed at a more decent hour. Fall is also a gentle reminder that not only the Earth needs to rest and take a break. But our bodies and minds also need this time of year to become refreshed after a busy Spring and Summer.

Later on today I'm going to go to the apple orchard. I need to get some lucsious apples to make caramel apples for my sons class tomorrow. What a gooey sticky job. But I think they'll look so cute dipped in sprinkles with a little bow tied on top!

Now on to business.....GCD Studios and Grafix has teamed up for a Blog Party. What an awesome combination! I had fun with this challenge. Although, at times it was quite a challenge! :D Don't forget to stop by GCD STudios Blog tomorrow for the BIG $100.00 prize give-away!!!

I have three more things to show you today that I created combining the products from the two companies.....

I used Grafix chipboard and GCD Studios

epoxy stickersand patterned paper from

the Canta Collection on this wall hanging.

This is my "baby". She just turned four this past

summer . It's killing me to thinking about sending

her off to school next year!

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This is a mini photo album I created of

my four children. Using Grafix chipboard

and a mixture of GCD Studios products.

This album mainly features paper from

GCD's Canta Collection.

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This is a l/o featuring Grafix shrink film (the orange buttons).

It's very fun to play with! I will definitely

be using it again! I also used GCD Studios

patterned paper and die cuts. I used GCD'S

Vintage Boy Collection here.

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