Creative Underground

I went to the most fantastic store yesterday. It is called the Creative Underground at Timeless Creations. You can go to their website to check them out or you can go to Fort Collins and see their store. I had so much fun looking around at all of the wonderful papers, embellishments, tags, cards, artful journals. If you like Stampington & Co. magazines (Artful Journals, Artful Blogging, Memories, etc.) you would like this store. What you see in those magazines is exactly what you will see. I highly recommend going to check it out. I definitely will be back to stock up on some new playthings. I would very much like to go and take a class there some time. Maybe after the first of the year.

Happy Birthday

Today is my wonderful husband's birthday. He and I are going to Ft Collins to spend the day together. Happy Birthday Honey!!

I completed some cards for the craft fair. Here are the some of the cards that will go into sets.

Hope you have a great day!

We have 4 little,baby trees. We planted them last year thanks to a very good friend who gave them to us. The two in the front yard are maples. One of them didn't come back this year but the other one is doing great. Here is a pic of how bright red the leaves have gotten this fall. Just thought I'd share our fall with you.

I'll have more pics of cards and such soon. I'm trying to get ready for this fall craft fair next month. I'm getting a little nervous about it. I'm just not sure exactly what to do for it. I would like to have a give away but I'm not sure of how many to make. I think I'll try to make 50 little notepads and give them out. When they are gone, well they are gone. I'll try to have a pic of that soon too. I hope you have a great weekend

You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! Galatians 4:10

Reflections of a Mother's Heart

I have begun to write in this little book here. It is a book that ask you questions like, "Tell about a canning or harvesting experience." or, "Where did you go to grade school? Junior High? High School? Write about your best childhood friend(s)." Questions that spur your thinking. The concept is to write about your family, your childhood and then pass this book along to your children so that they will better know you and what your life was like. So often we don't talk about these kinds of things with our children and this book helps you do this. Plus in writing in the book your children will be able to see your own handwriting which I think is so important.

Journaling has become so important in the scrapbook world that even some don't even place importance on the art of the page, but more on the, on your, story. If you are interested in something like this little book, I'm sure you can find all kinds of variations in your local bookstore. This one was published by Word Publishing. I'm not sure where we actually bought it. Don got it for me quite some time ago as a present.

I hope you enjoy and happy journaling!

What I've Been Doing In My Basement Studio

I've some new things to show you today!
I signed up to host a table at a local craft fair along with showcasing my scrapbooks in a showcase at our local community center. It all starts next month so I need to get busy and get some things done. After we got back from vacation it seemed like we hit the ground running and there hasn't been much time for getting the little extras done.




These first pics are of just 2 of the cards I completed. The stamps are from Stampin' Up. I actually got 4 cards done and how many more to go?, I'm not sure. The tag is just something I was playing around with. I thought I'd make some Christmas present tags for the show too.





These next pics are from my October book. Every October for the past 4 years I have put together an October Scrap book. It is just filled with the scraps that you would normally throw away on a daily basis. But these record what were some of the things you were doing on a day to day basis. I got the idea from Rebecca Sower. I saw her version in her book Life's Little Treasures. So I used numbered file cards, punch holes to put jump rings through. Ink the edges and then just put whatever I may have collected on that particular day. The book itself is just made with scraps from my scrap pile.

I have also posted the tag and the Christmas cards up on Two Peas In A Bucket. I'll post the October mini album after I have completed it. I hope you go on over there and check it out
Hope you enjoyed.
Now I need to call my mother to see how she is doing. She just got out of the hospital yesterday. She has a viral infection in her lungs. Please keep her in your prayers. Thank you.
Until next time....

We Are Back

We have returned home, we're back in Colorado. I miss the beautiful trees and hills of the Smokies, but the dampness mixed with the cooler temps made it feel even colder. It was nice to come back to warmer temps. We are all pretty tired since we got in at 11:30pm last night. Don came into church today to try to get some work done and to look over his emails.

I took Sam down to the DMV to get his permit. He got his certificate in the mail while we were gone showing that he had completed his online Driver's Ed Course. So here is our son holding his permit. He took the test and he didn't miss any questions. The girl said that was the first time that had ever happened. We are so proud of him.

Johnson Bible College

We visited Johnson Bible College today. It is near Knoxville, TN. We really enjoyed the campus, it is a beautiful campus. It sits way back in the country with beautiful green rolling hills. The buildings, although some of them are new, they have kept that old big, brick, statly feel. We met Kristin who helped us with our tour, and we met Mark who actually led us on the tour. He is from Zimbabwe. Very interesting to meet him. Sam was able to stay all night with his cousin Carl. Carl is attending JBC and working on a degree in education. That is him in the picture with my husband and son. Carl is the one with the longest hair. It was good to see him again.

While driving today I looked through my new Stampington Magazine, Take Ten. It has so many wonderful cards. I can't wait to get home and start making some.



We're on the road again. We probably will get home late tomorrow night.

national storytelling weekend is over

I had such high hopes to document this weekend in pictures and journal. I journaled this weekend but the pictures didn't get taken. I had 2 cameras in my backpack all weekend long. What people don't understand is that the National Storytelling Festival is intense. You arrive at 8:00am even though the first hour of storytelling doesn't begin until 10:00am. In the last 16 years the crowds have grown so much. There is limited seating in each tent and you know that the most favorite tellers will cause the tents to fill fast. So you arrive early, you find the tent you want to attend (there are 5 tents to choose from.) I heard someone say that there were 61,000 people there this weekend. So when you find a seat you stay there, you save your seats for your family, even tho there are several people who get upset with you for "saving" seats. If you choose to move to another tent you only have a 1/2 hour in between sets, so you have to hurry. Stories are told from 10:00am until 10:00 at night. You are kept busy all day. So stopping to take pictures just isn't in the time frame. So I'll just put some "scraps" in my October book and that will have to do to document this weekend.
This weekend is the only weekend in the whole year that time actually flies. It is the best weekend. The best storytellers from around the world are there to capture your imaginations. These are not your local librarians sitting there reading a book to you, no these are people who actually 'tell' you stories of folklore or a story from their childhood, or a story that is so crazy you know it's not true but you just keep listening and asking for more. Some stories make you laugh so hard that you don't want the story to end but other stories can make you cry that you wish the story wouldn't end just because you love the way the story makes you feel.
If you want to know more about this weekend go to the website for the National Storytelling Festival, Jonesborough TN and I highly recommend this weekend for your whole family.
We have now drove back to Knoxville to get a hotel and get some rest. We have been sleeping in a tent the last 4 days in 50 degree weather and it was damp. We decided to get a more comfortable bed and a warmer room.
My mom had met us in Jonesborough and went to the Festival with us. She stayed there tonight and will leave tomorrow for Indiana. It was a hard goodbye. I'm hoping to be able to see her at Christmas time.
Well I better put this down and get some rest. Sam goes tomorrow to tour Johnson Bible College. Maybe I'll get some pictures tomorrow. I didn't even get pictures of him at Milligan. I really was worried I'd embarrass him.
Okay I really do need to go.