hello

I have been working on random projects here and there...mostly while Mason is napping. I borrowed the Mr. Twigster stamp set from my friend Stephanie. I know it's a winter set, but he is just so cute and I decided to make a set of thank you notes while I had him. Come December, I'll be glad to have these...

This weekend we took Mason on his first overnight trip to visit my sister and her husband. We had a wonderful time and Mason did great away from home. We let him explore the grass since we don't have any at our house here in the mountains. I'd say he loves it...

Have a happy day!

birthdays...

I made these birthday cards last week at my friend Hillary's house. And yes, I am just getting around to posting them. Things have been a little quiet here lately on the blog:) I guess you could say I am a little busy doing other things! A little baking, gardening, cutting firewood, and spending time with friends and family.

On both of these cards I used Stampin' Up tea party designer paper. I pulled the colors from there. I used heartfelt thanks (one of my favorites) on the first card and I can't seem to remember the name of the stamp set I used on the second card...it's one I grabbed at Hillary's. The layout on the first card is pulled from a card Stephanie made at her latest SU workshop. I just turned it on its side. It's a fun one:)


Well, I hope you are all enjoying the beginning of your week.

butterflies and flowers

I titled this post butterflies and flowers because those are the two images I used from my perennial favorites stamp set, but after I typed it I realized that those two words also describe this summer. We have had a LOT of rain this summer and that has led to an abundance of wildflowers outside my window. We have lots of different flowers that have not bloomed in past summers...it's really pretty. And of course this leads to lots of butterflies (and hummingbirds and bumblebees..and a crazy amount of ladybugs.) It's been fun.

Well, I got this sketch from an old SU catalog and I liked my first card so much that I made another one while I had all my stuff out. I have had those vellum cirlce tags forever and it was fun to get them out. I think I will also make a few Christmas cards with this sketch and the snowflake image. I like how it uses lots of different patterned papers...because, well... I have a lot of paper to use up:)

Have a happy day, friends.

happy camper

I made this card for today's sketch challenge over on SCS. I am working on adding to my boy card stash. I love this stamp set, but I hardly ever use it, so it was fun to get it out I also got out some SU patterned paper that I had yet to open. I like the brown and yellow combo. This card makes me excited for camping, even though I am more of a tent kind of gal:) Too bad most of our weekends this summer are spent working on building a house and an addition.
Thanks for stopping by. Have a good one!

colored pencils

So yesterday my friend Stephanie came over for a little stamping time and she had all her sharpened colored pencils in a cute bucket and they just looked like fun. So I decided to try my hand at coloring with the pencils and a little OMS. Not too shabby, but I still need some practice I'd say. Either way it was lots of fun and now I'll have to get my colored pencils out more often.
I just love this cute little Flopsey with his nose in a book. I went for a walk on Main Street today after lunch with the hubby and a couple of friends passing through town and I ended up at the library. I just got one book because I didn't want to carry a stack of books and Mason around town:) Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful day friends.

blooming with love

Just a few simple cards I made with my blooming with love stamp set. I love the images in this set, they remind me of summer. Who doesn't love a wheelbarrow full of flowers? I also got out my chalks, which I haven't used in a long while. I used versamark ink on the first card and sponged chalk over the flowers and used my blender pens to color in the images on the second card. I did a little paper piecing too.

I hope you are enjoying your day. Have a fun one:)

one month

Well, I am a couple days late in posting this seeing as you turned one month on July 8th. Life has just been a little busy these days, but I figure better late than never!

At one month, Mason, you:

~sleep in your cradle at night, for 4, 5, or 6 hours at a time (thank you!)

~are starting to smile

~can roll over from your tummy to your back

~love to snuggle

~recognize your mommy's and daddy's voice

~almost always fall alseep in the car

~like to go for walks in your stroller

~are long and thin ( we love your little chicken legs:)

~are starting to coo and make noises other than crying

~are changing so much everyday

This month has flown by. You bring such pure joy to our lives. We love you!!

Love,

mommy

campfire riley

I got some card time in yesterday. Mason took a really good nap and my friend Hillary came over. I must admit that I got more done while Mason was napping than when Hillary was here. We spent most of our time chatting and keeping the babies happy:) It was fun though. I used this campfire riley image that I got from wish-rak to make a boyish birthday card. I never have enough of those on hand. It makes me want to go camping! We have two trips in the works for this summer. Anybody ever take a newborn camping? Any tips? Thanks for stopping by today. I am off to make some biscotti and water the garden. Have a happy Tuesday friends.

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:)