sweet little owl

While Mason was hanging out with daddy last night I got to make a few cards. I used this cute little owl from Studio G paired with this fun amy butler paper. I colored the owl with my blender pens and ink pads. I love all the different patterns in the paper. Here's the little man relaxing with dad. He had a busy day...his first time going to church, a bouncy ride in the 4-runner exploring some roads by our house, a walk with the dogs, and a bath.
Thanks for stopping by and have a happy Monday friends!

greenhouse

Can I just say I love our greenhouse? Ryan did such an amazing job building it. I didn't take a picture from the front, but it is all clear and that is where the sun comes in. I realized looking at the side of it that it doesn't really look like a typical greenhouse, but I think this part looks cool. It is made mostly of recycled materials! Gotta love that. When we finish our addition, we are going to extend this out and double the space.
When we got home from cutting firewood yesterday we had a salad that was made completely from the greenhouse and garden. Topped with homemade croutons and made from scratch salad dressing. It was such a quick meal, which was nice since we were a little tired from all the wood splitting. It's pretty fun preparing for winter while enjoying our summer bounty:)

I'm planning on posting some pictures of the garden here soon. I hope you all are enjoying your weekend. We got another load of firewood today and I think we are all ready for a nap:)

sweet pears

I love pears! And I love this paper. Another quick post from me while baby Mason is still sleeping. I like this green and brown combo...pretty simple. I used some embossed paper and cheep talk images that I received from wish-rak. I also used my so many scallops stamp set that hasn't seen ink in a while. It's a beautiful day here! I'm planning on taking Mason and the dogs for a walk a little later this morning and then tackling my very long to-do list. I hope you have a happy day!

thinking of you

I made this card before little Mason was born. I actually made a lot of cards while I was sitting around waiting for him to appear:) But, I haven't had any time to sit down and create since I came home from the hospital. Imagine that! But I have been enjoying my time very much with my mom and sister who are here hanging out with me and helping with the baby. I'll be sad to see them go on Saturday.

This card uses a sketch from last month's wish-rak challenge. I recieved the image and corner punches from wish-rak. I really like the color combo from this paper and colored my image to match. That's pretty much it. Thanks for stopping by....I'm off to cuddle some more with my baby.

He's here!!

Here is our little boy, Mason Robert. We are so happy that everything went so well. It still feels a little unreal though...to think that this sweet baby boy is ours:) We are so thankful for this great blessing from God. We are also thankful that he is healthy and we are all home enjoying time together before daddy has to go back to work. He was 7 lbs and 3 oz and 20 inches long. We was born on Monday June 8th at 11:35 am. He is beautiful in every way. Ryan and I couldn't stop looking at him when they first placed him on my belly. So many thoughts and emotions were going through my head and yet everything also seemed sort of blank, like time just stopped. I don't think I will ever forget that feeling.

Like I mentioned, we've been enjoying our time together. We haven't gotten much done except cuddling with little Mason. Oh, and of course all the feedings, changing diapers, baths, and such. We are loving every minute. Thank you so much for all your kind thoughts and prayers as we waited for him to arrive.

getting sketchy

These are the two cards that I made for this week's sketch challenge over at SCS. I can't get enough of this amy butler paper. I love how it looks like wallpaper. This was a fun sketch that really let you show a lot of the paper. I used very vanilla and bashful blue. Pretty easy! I found some bashful blue ribbon in my stash and dusted off my hodgepodge hardware.I don't like this one as much. I had grabbed these scraps a few weeks ago and colored this image to match. I came across them and decided it was time to put the card together. This sketch actually worked pretty well. The papers are whisper white, bashful blue, real red, and apricot appeal.

I do love this little ladybug and sunflower image though! Our sunflowers that we planted in various places around our little home are starting to sprout! Yeah! Next year we are thinking of planting a field of them to help out with the bees that we want to get.

Ryan and I are certainly enjoying our weekend! It's probably our last one before Baby (who still needs a name) is born!

5 years

Happy anniversary Ryan! It's crazy to think that 5 years ago we were walking down the aisle and celebrating with friends and family. I think of all the adventures we've had over the years and it just fills me with joy. God has blessed us in so many ways and I am so thankful for my wonderful husband. It feels so good to be where we are!

This is the card that I made for hubby. I realize that the flowers are probably a little girly, but hopefully the gray and metal will balance it out:)

baby thanks

My mom bought me the cutest pack of paper called Itsy Bitsy by K&Company and I finally had some time to make some cards with it. Aren't these cows the cutest? You can never have too many thank you cards. I love the colors in this paper. I used SU's bordering blue, more mustard, and so saffron. I found some hemp twine that I have had for.ev.er. It was nice to use that too. This button looks really dark, but it actually matches the ribbon pretty well. I have also had those tags (you punch them out of paper) for a long time. I think they retired from SU about 3 years ago...yeah I know, a long time. I actually took three of the bigger tag pieces and made some gift tags with my scraps. I think I ended up using every inch of this cow paper (I made two of each of these cards). I can't wait to use some of the other designs. So cute.

Well, the due date has come and gone. I have a dr. appointment tomorrow, so we'll check out the progress! I'm feeling very ready to meet this guy:)

kiwi riding hood tangerine

Here is my card for this week's color challenge on scs. The colors we had to use were kiwi kiss, riding hood red, and tangerine tango. I love this cute little bird!

Yesterday was such a rainy, lazy day. I did get a lot of cards made though. I didn't even leave the house except to water the greenhouse. I read, made peach blueberry cobbler, made granola, and added to my stash of cards. It was a productive day. I think the sun might actually peek out for a little today so I'm hoping to go for a walk.

Today is officially Baby Stover's due date! It's a little crazy to think that I've been looking at this date on the calender for 9 months and now that it's here it just feels like another day. My bag is packed and ready to go though. Just in case he decides to be punctual:) I'll keep you posted.

croutons

I love baking bread, but I don't really love the ends of the loaf. For awhile they would just sit in the bag and get thrown away when the loaf was gone. But recently I started cutting them into cubes for croutons. I just put them in a bag in the freezer until I have enough to make a big batch. It's kinda fun having a mixture of bread types. And I don't have to do all the cutting at once since it happens as I go along. I start by putting some olive oil and butter in a 9x13 pan with lots of seasonings. For this batch I used garlic powder, basil, and oregano. I set the pan in the oven (preheated to 275) until the butter was melted. Then I tossed in the bread cubes and stirred them until they were coated. Bake for about 1 hour stirring a couple times. Enjoy with your favorite salad!