Congrats to My Little Sister!

Way to go Caitlyn!

My sister is a Freshman in high school and recently finished her first year in Winter Guard. Winter Guard is very similar to Color Guard, the main difference is that instead of performing at Football games they actually put together a routine and compete about 4 times in 2 months and then have a state wide competition.

They took SILVER for their division in state!! I was so excited and proud of her!!

She decided to try out for the Color Guard for next year and SHE MADE IT! My sister is going to be on Color Guard this coming year! I am so excited for her!!! I think the hardest thing for me in high school was finding my place and figuring out what I was interested in so I'm SUPER excited that she has found something she enjoys doing and has made many friends in the process.

SO... today's card is a Congrats! card I made for my sister!

I used Basic Grey and Night of Navy for her school colors and an "H" for her school name....

Supply List:
Stamps: Word Play, Broadsheet Alphabet
Ink: VersaMark, Night of Navy
Paper: Night of Navy, Basic Grey, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake
Accessories: Linen Thread, Silver EP, Smooch Spritz, Dimensionals, Toothpick

THANK YOU!

WOW!
I am in such amazement right now! I just realized how many comments I've received these past couple days and my followers have jumped up with more than 20 NEW followers!!

I just want to say thank you all for your interest and I am so happy! I'm going to do my best over the next week to stop and check out everyone's blogs!

In response to MANY of your comments I will be doing a tutorial of the ribbon technique soon. I hope to have it up next weekend but it may be a little later than that as I have SO many things going on right now with a marketplace event coming up in February.

Also in response to SUE... All you have to do to be a follower on both my blog and the GAB challenge blog is go to each blog and in the left top corner of the main page there will be a "follow" button if you're signed in to blogger. Once you follow a blog you have the ability to see updates on your blogger sign in page! It makes it a lot easier to keep up with posts rather than bookmarking. I hope this helps!!

ONCE AGAIN, THANK YOU ALL!

I think this may be the best year ever!

Courtney

Christmas Cards Made With MDS

Hey everyone!

Today I actually have a share!!! I apologize for being so absent lately. With the Holiday season comes a great deal of stress for some of us and our family being 2 years young it has definitely been just that!

Anyhow here are a couple Christmas cards I made up using MDS. We ended up going with the last one as I liked it better! hehe!

Courtney

Yay!!

The man in brown came with my birthday present to myself today!!

MDS has been on my list since it was released but I just couldn't see spending my stamp money on it! When I saw it was half off (mind you I didn't notice the sale until Black Friday) I HAD TO HAVE IT!

They ordered it, shipped it and delivered it just in time for me to enjoy my birthday! Yay!

Courtney

I'm Thankful For...

the love of my life. He has given me the most precious things in the world, his endless love, support, and my boys. I don't know where I would be without my family.

Cullen and I met before we were even able to drive! We were 14 years old when my Dad drove 15 minutes to pick him up and take us to the movies for our first date. = ) It's hard to believe we have known each other for 10 years, going on 11 now. We haven't been together that long but had remained friends the entire time. He has always been there for me through the good times and the bad as I have been for him. Cullen is the most amazing person I've ever met! It wasn't until almost 3 years ago, on Valentine's day that we both grew up enough to realize we had something that was real. We have had our rough patches like any relationship does. Cullen has blessed me with something that I will wear proudly for the rest of my life. Motherhood. Being young parents has definitely proven to be challenging at times but our love for one another and our children is what keeps us holding strong. I am so thankful to have such an amazing person as my best friend, father to my children and love of my life!

Here is the card that I've made for Cullen for Thanksgiving!

Stamps: French Foliage, Because I Care
Paper: Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Tempting Turquoise
Ink: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede
Accessories: Modern Label Punch, Soft Suede Polka Dot Ribbon

Yay!!

I did it again! I got them both to sleep for an hour this time! YES! I made a card but it's for my Thanksgiving Day post so you can't see it yet! But here's my boys and a little peek!

Caiden - 18 months

Calvin - 6 weeks

Come back on Thanksgiving to see more!

I love my babies!

I promise there is a project at the end of all my rambling! I just want to take a moment and share a little LIFE with you. Our son Caiden was born June 6, 2009 and Calvin October 11, 2010. I have not worked in just over 2 years now and have been a SAHM since Caiden was born. I thought I was going to go crazy at first not working and surrounding myself with people who actually TALK (LOL)!
I remember when Caiden was born (8lbs 20 1/2 in) I was so afraid of this fragile life they placed in my hands. He's almost 18 months now and when I look back and think about everything we have been through as a family and even my extended family I realize how much he has brightened my life.
I lost someone on August 28, 2009  to a three year battle against Ovarian Cancer. My grandmother was a very strong and special woman and faught to the end. She was my mother, well second mother but just like my mother. Her and I used to stamp until we couldn't stamp any longer. I found out I was pregnant with Caiden right before I was laid off in October 2008 and up until Caiden was born her and I spent almost everyday stamping, talking, laughing and sharing ideas. She was my best friend. I honestly felt like someone had ripped my heart out of my chest and that I had nothing to live for when she passed. After taking a moment to breathe and rethink how far gone my mind was I knew I had to stay strong for Caiden and my family. I never would have been able to pull through that hard time without him.

On a more positive note! As I looked back I remember the first time Caiden crawled, sat up on his own, ate his first solid (squash, WHAT a MESS!), stood up on his own and took his first steps. Although Calvin is only 6 weeks old he is surprising me more and more everyday. He is holding his head up quite well and already trying to figure out how to crawl! I am so blessed to have these two amazing boys! We have had bad days. And some days are better than others. But overall I must say I love my LIFE!

Now, about that project I mentioned earlier! Since we played the guessing game on formula for Calvin I have about 5 half full cans of formula sitting on our kitchen counter as I didn't want to waste them. Unfortunately, I don't know anyone using these formulas so I finally decided to get rid of them. As I started rounding them up an idea came to me. Why not decorate them and use them for small gifts or candy jars?! I've only done this one so far but I'm sure there will be more to come as the months progress!

Stamps: Occasional Quotes
Paper: Jolly Holiday DP, Very Vanilla,
Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler
Ink: Early Espresso
Accessories Old Olve Ribbon, Rhinestones,
Decorative Label Punch

Walkin' In a Winter Wonderland

Ths SUSTARS blog hop is coming up this weekend! Just want to remind you all to check back on Saturday for some great SU winter/Christmas cards and projects!


To my followers: Thank you all for checking out my blog as usual! With the little guy I have yet to upload my pictures and get them posted but will do so very soon! Thank you again for following! It really means a lot to me and gives me the drive to continue!

It's Been a While

Hey everyone!!

I know it's been quite a while since I've posted so I just wanted to briefly fill everyone in on my crazy October and let you know I'M BACK!!

First of all, as some of you may know I was put on bed restat the end of my pregnancy and went to the hospital to be induced on October 11th! My son joined the world that evening at 7:11 weighing 7lbs 5oz at 20 inches long! I must say I was afraid I was going to hurt him since my first 8lbs when he was born! Amazing what a difference 11oz can make in a newborn! Anyhow, here is a picture of Calvin Joseph Allen shortly after making his debut...

Now that JoJo is 3 weeks old and we've got a pretty good schedule going I've been able to get back on my feet and got everything situated at home so I have my free time to stamp again!! That's pretty much what I've been up to lately!

Last but not least I just wanted to let everyone know what they can look forward to these next couple months!!
(no specific order)

Recipe Cards from SCS Swaps
Holiday Cards & Projects


Blog Hops!!

Operation Write Home's Be My Valentine Hop November 13-14
SU STARS Winter/Holiday Hop November 20-21

I will definitely be offering blog candy for the OWH hop so be sure to check back on the 13th for all the details. Knowing me, I'll probably have Blog Candy for the SU STARS hop too!!

To My Wonderful Followers...

I'm here to apologize for being absent the last couple of days... Unfortunately after an interesting Dr's visit on Tuesday I was unable to get much done and Wednesday brought us some unexpected car issues that took all day to figure out...

I am only 18 days away from my bringing my second son into the world! I have been dealing with some bad back pain and contractions 10 minutes apart, which any moms out there know that if you go to the hospital and they're not a consistent 5 minutes apart they will send you back home... so basically my Dr told me on Tuesday that Im on bed rest and they're going to induce me on Oct. 10th if he isn't here yet! First off, this is NOT possible for me when I have a 15 month old son! LOL BUT, I did get quite a bit of rest on Tuesday as Caiden was being very well behaved and my contractions were driving me nuts SO it was a no stamp Tuesday...

Now today, we got ready to take my wonderful boyfriend to work (who was running about 20 minutes late) and the darn car was not wanting to start! It finally started after about 5 minutes but once it was turned off it wasn't starting again... SO I had to consult with my mechanic (AKA Dad) LOL to see what I needed to do. After driving 30 minutes in traffic to my parents house and spending an hour at Auto Zone we managed to make it back and replace the battery cables allowing my car to function properly again! YAY! By this time it was about 7:30pm and had to drive 30 minutes to pick up boyfriend at 9pm then finally made it home!

ANYWAYS... Just had to share my lovely midweek adventures with you all and let you know I will be posting the following between now and Sunday!!! YAY

• Halloween Recipe Swap Cards (very little SU, but sooo fun!)
• Revised Fang-Tastic Halloween Card
• Birthday Cards (hopefully at least a few)
• 3D project... (still a mystery at this point)