Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Merry Christmas to All

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!!  We always get together on Christmas Eve and eat and have family time and the little ones open presents.  We don't buy gifts for the adults, it is just a catching up time for us.  There were 27 people at my house last night and it was so good to see each of them.  I love family get togethers.  I have cooked and cleaned for the past three days but today I am lazy and just relaxing.  My oldest daughter and my ex-mother-in-law came up and had lunch with me (leftovers) today.  It was hard on all of us, especially Ina, with my ex-father-in-law not here with us but with everyone being together it made the first holiday a little easier to get through and she could not be lonesome during the time she was up here because with all the noise you could not even hear yourself think!  The major holidays are the only times during the year that I really cook and have that many people here.  All 3 of my biological children and families were here as well as one of Marc's daughters and her family, my current mother-in-law, my ex-mother-in-law, one of my brothers and his wife, one niece and her husband, and several friends.  I feel so very, very blessed to have my family here.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

snowglobe shaker card using Bird's Card SVG

I made this shaker card using Bird's Card SVG for the globe card and for the cut out front and base.  The image is a digi coloring book page Precious Moments. The shaker snow is made from styrofoam and seed beads.  The styrofoam makes it look like snow and the beads make the shaker sound.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

card copied from Jenny Gropp at OneKraftyKat

This is basically copied from Jenny Gropp's card.  I really needed something fast and when I saw her card I knew I had the dies and the embossing folder.  My card is not as professional looking as her card but I hope she doesn't mind my lifting her idea.
http://onekraftykat.blogspot.com/2013/11/sweet-and-simple-holiday-card.html

Birthday card for WR

This is a card I made for Iva to give to WR for his birthday.  I used a Heartfelt Creations stamp and used Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol to color it.  These are not very great pictures of the card but maybe a little detail will be there.


Step card for Betty Ruth's BD

Iva asked me to make a birthday card for her mother-in-law and this is the card I came up with.

Sunday, December 8, 2013

The loss of my father-in-law (ex)

My ex-father-in-law, James Hill, passed away on December 4th after an extended battle with cancer and was laid to rest today.  He was such an active man and stayed that way up until about May of this year.  He was one of the founders of Sevier County Rescue Squad and still spent every Friday night out there on active duty even after being sick up until late May or the first part of June.  He served in the Rescue Squad for 54 years.  He truly served in sickness and in health and in snow, ice, rain, and blazing sun.  He helped carry injured people out of the mountains as well as spending tireless hours dragging the lakes for people and just helping in every way he possibly could.  He was Santa to so very many kids (and kids at heart).  I can remember when he would be gone on Christmas Eve and was delivering presents to some of the kids in the housing units and other kids around town in Sevierville.  Sometimes that would be the only present those kids would get and they were hand delivered by Santa Claus! He and Ina have always been so good to me and were my "Mom and Dad" especially after mine passed away. Even though I was divorced from their son they gave me land where I live, which is only 400 feet away from their house, and I still live there.  When I married Marc 17 years ago they welcomed him in as a son and treated him as such.  When Marc had surgery on his shoulder Jim mowed our yard every week and he had done that for me while I was divorced (for 10 years).  He and Ina watched after my children while I was at work and if I was working at mealtime they always made sure the kids ate.  The funeral procession was very very heartwarming and so touching it is so hard to put into words.  Several other counties had vehicles in the parade as well as police department, both county and city, and the State Troopers.  People were pulled over beside the road on Highway 66 in respect and some of them were even standing beside the cars with their hands crossed in front of them and a few with their hand over their heart.  I know a lot of people take this courtesy for granted and a lot of people do not pull over or even acknowledge a funeral procession but believe me - this tribute and show of respect touched our family greatly! They retired his call number with the Rescue Squad and also started an Explorer troop and gave them his number.  He and Ina have always been here for all our celebrations at birthdays for all the kids and grandkids, New Years Day dinner, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  This year he was not able to come up for Thanksgiving dinner but we did go down to see him and God blessed us to be able to have one last holiday with him.  Even though they were not my Mom and Dad by birth they have been my Mom and Dad in heart for the last 37 years and we will all miss him and this Christmas.  My ex-husband (my kids dad) has not been involved in their lives at all but Jim has been a Dad to them and they are so heartbroken for him to be gone but they are also relieved that he is not suffering and they know he is in a better place now.  Please keep the family in your prayers and keep them uplifted in the darker moments.

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

My first shaker card/Christmas card of the year

This is my first shaker card using seed beads and also some of Holly's faux FS using sterofoam for the snow inside the frame.  There is actually sparkle on the tree and also on the snowman's scarf and hat and also on the ribbon.  I am entering this into Squigglefly's Challenge #48, SFC#4813, use some sparkle on it.  The image is Snowbirdserenade from Squigglefly. I used a small snowflake from Joann's in the corner with a jewel in the center.



Thursday, October 10, 2013

Penny Duncan's site

This is for anyone who is trying to find Penny Duncan's site now.  I had posted before about her offering all her SVG files for free again and the link I had posted was invalid.  This is the up to date one and I hope you all will go visit and check out all her creations and goodies she has to offer!  Penny is one talented lady and I have emailed and called her about all kinds of crazy questions thru the years and even though I have never met her in person she is so kind and helpful it is like talking to a sister or a best friend.
http://pennyduncancreations.wordpress.com/

Shanna's BD card 2013


This is Shanna's birthday card I made using an older stamp from Clear Dollar Stamps (thank you Laurie).  I had to hand draw the extra trees on the sides and the fence to try to match up because I wanted something on the sides of the step card and this kind of made it look 3D.  I just hand cut the "horse shoes" on the bottom edges from the same holographic paper I used to frame the picture.

Heartfelt Creations Sympathy card for Tonya

This is a sympathy card I made for Tonya at Marc's work.  I used Heartfelt Creations stamp and Stampin' Up tulips embossing folder, gold metallic paper, gold leafing pen for Bible trim, Prismacolor pencils, and Gamsol, and Sakura Stardust pen on the ribbon.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

The Eagles Nest: V-Fold Card

The Eagles Nest: V-Fold Card

This is such a gorgeous card and these directions seem so easy to follow, I cannot wait to give this a try!  If I knew how to post this to my Pinterest page I would definitely do so!

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Sassy Studio Designs, Stephanie's BD card

My daughter Stephanie loves My Fair Lady with Audrey Hepburn.  I found this digi stamp at Sassy Studio Designs and fixed it for her card.  I used a black feather and a white feather from a couple of boas for the feathers in her hat. The dress does have embossing ink on it to emulate the lace dress but it doesn't show up. I used a black Prismacolor pencil to color the stripes and her hat rim and top and also a crimson pencil for the flower.  The black and white stripe ribbon is one I have had a while.  I embossed the white panel with a Darice Damask embossing folder.



Squigglefly Cabin Retreat (Billy's BD card)

This is the card is made for Billy's birthday.  I computer generated the name on the tree.  The image is a Squigglefly digi image called Cabin Retreat.  I used Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol to color it and Stickles for sparkle on the water and also a tiny dot of yellow Stickles in the window and door to look like light shining out.


Monday, August 5, 2013

Janice's BD card 2013

Since I am cannot sleep and am up at this time of the morning I thought it would be as good a time as any to post a card.  This is Janice's BD card for 2013.  Since Janice's BD is in July and she loves birdhouses I thought this card would be perfect for her.  I have had this stamp for years and have never used it.  It is a stamp from Stamps Happen.  I used my normal Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol to color it and stickles for the sparkle in the stars.  

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Snoopys Homemade Fun Blog Candy

Snoopy is giving away some candy to a follower of her blog!!!  For all the details please go to her blog by clicking the link underneath the picture.  I would love to add her blog picture on my list on the side but I really do not know how and I have to spend forever trying to figure out what to do and how to do it and it is just easier for me to do it this way.  I hope you understand Snoopy, but I need blog posting help!!

http://snoopyshomemadefun.blogspot.com/2013/07/snoopys-blog-candy.html


Monday, July 1, 2013

SFC2613 Purple Passion

This is a card I made for Kathy's BD card this year.  It is an image from Squigglefly called Simple Pleasures Birdbath by Maria Shega. The purple, yellow, and green cardstock is coredinations.  It is colored with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol.  The butterflies are from Fred She Said which I printed on yellow cardstock and cut out with scissors and popped them up so they would look kind of 3D.  The vines behind the butterflies on the sides are an SVG from Penny Duncan Creations called vines.  I went over the saying on the card with Clear Star gelly roll pen.  I am entering this into Squigglefly challenge SFC2613 Purple Passion.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Melba's BD card 2013

This is Melba's birthday card I made using gemstones cardstock in pink diamond (I found there are several named this) so the name is GX-GEM180-12 and the white is gemstones pearl both by coredinations and have a shimmer. The larger pearls are from Jolee's boutique and the small pearls are by bridal collections by David Tutera. The lacy design is a free cut file from BirdsCards.com.  I googled center step cards and got this template from Grace Nywening at th-ink-ingofyou.blogspot.com at this post http://th-ink-ingofyou.blogspot.com/2011/05/fathers-day-center-step-and-directions.html.  I then just resized it to fit a 5x7 envelope.  The tulips are from FredSheSaid and were colored with prismacolor pencils and gamsol.  The swirly around the tulips are a Spellbinders die.  I used a hotglue gun to glue the pearls down really good (I hope) because I hate for things to come apart!  A hotglue gun should never be issued to a non-licensed user, I had enough strings that I could have sewn a quilt!!

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Bear sighting in Cades Cove

Last week Marc and I went to Cades Cove for a little while and it was a wonderful day.  This is a mommy bear and two cubs that were right beside the road and then a view from Maloney Point.





Blair's Baby Shower card



This is the card I made for Blair's baby shower.  The template is from Deneen and her blog is
http://www.apathofpaper.blogspot.ca//view/flipcard/search/label/Template#!http://apathofpaper.blogspot.com/2011/02/dresser-stair-step-template-correction.html.  I had to tweak it a little so it would be a 5x7 card.  The bear image and blanket in the drawers are clipart images.  The baby image is from Sweet and Sassy Stamps.  The bottom welcome label is a SVG from Pablo called labels 1 and the oval portion is an inside from another cut because I obviously do not have an oval or a circle template on my computer that I can use with SCAL!  I have bunches of files downloaded but not one single one for an oval or circle, I have scalloped ovals and circles but no plain ones.  The baby image was cut from the file I used and wrangled around to fit and I measured around the picture and then cut on a plain piece of paper and using Penny Duncan's tutorial for cutting pictures on my Cricut I then hit "load paper" and removed the cut and then put the picture under the paper so the picture would show in the opening and pressed it down and then removed the original template and hit "load paper" again and cut it on my Cricut.  I could have never gotten this image cut out without Penny's directions - Thank You bunches Penny!!

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Penny Duncan is offering her cut files for free again!!

Hi to anyone who reads my little sporadic posts!  I just had to pass along some awesome news - Penny Duncan is offering her SVG files free again!!!  She has some of the most awesome files and such a variety a creative person could make items for days and not run out of inspiration (I just wish I were that creative).  Her blog can be found at http://pennyduncancreations.blogspot.com/ so please visit her and check out all her goodies.  Also, she is so helpful and has answered SO many questions I have had over the years.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Prayer request for Jim and Ina and the whole family

Yesterday was a very distressful day for everyone here.  My ex-father in law Jim was diagnosed with metastatic bone disease and it was a shock for all of us.  Please keep him, Ina, my children, his brothers and sister, and everyone whose life he has touched in your prayers.  He had ran a lawnmower in the ditch, did not turn it over or anything, and had a very stiff neck following this to the point of not being able to turn his head so we got an appointment with his doctor and went in yesterday for evaluation and tests, we had almost got home from the x-ray when they called on his cell phone and was told to come back in for a CT because they thought there was a fracture.  We were told he might be transferred to UT for a Halo, plate, or possible fusion if there was a fracture.  After the CT he was sent over to the ER and then was sent for an MRI and after a 12 hour day the doctors came in and told us that there was no fracture but they think it is metastatic bone disease which has metastasized in the spine at the very base of the skull and instead of sending him to UT he could go home.  We were completely in shock!  He is being referred to see Dr. Peters to see if there is anything else to be done.  When Steve and I got a divorce I just divorced him but I kept his family and I love them and they have always been here for me and the kids in any way possible.  They always come up for any celebrations we have and actually gave me the land I live on and they accepted Marc into the family with open arms when we got married.  This is going to be hard for Jim because he has always been the one helping everyone else and he won't ask for help from anyone else.  He has been in the Rescue Squad here since it was first started and has always spent every Friday night at the squad building and was always there for any rescue operation that was called out. I know this is a long post but I guess some of this just needed to come out.  Please keep Jim and the family in your prayers.  Thank you.

Sunday, May 12, 2013

CREATIONS BY AR CUSTOMER BLOG HOP WINNER!

Happy Mother's Day everyone!  It has been such a gorgeous day here, the weather is a little cool but we have sunshine and a slight breeze with beautiful blue skies!  The blogger who was chosen to have the winner of the Creations by AR Customer Blog Hop was Gigi and the winner of the template was DisneyLisa!  Congratulations Lisa!!  Thank you to everyone who visited my site and the kind comments! I had such a wonderful time participating in this hop and hope to contribute more in the future.  I enjoyed looking at everyone's creations and seeing all the various ways the templates can be used and I hope you did too.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Creations by AR Customer Blog Post

SURPRISE PURSE from Creations by AR  http://www.creationsbyar.com/SURPRISE-PURSE_p_115.html




Hi and welcome Creations by AR Customer Blog Hop. I am honored to have you visit my little portion of this blog hop, I should be the 7th post!  If you came from Deb Speijers -http://www.atimetostamp.com/ you are in the right place. If you just happened on this post you may want to go back and start at the very beginning at http://www.creationsbyar.com/.  There will be a prize of a free template on one of our blogs and we don't know who the lucky one is, so if you would like to be entered for a chance to win please leave a comment on each of the blogs and on Adele's facebook page and if you would like to "like" Creations by AR on facebook that would be greatly appreciated. If you have never visited a Creations by AR hop you will be amazed at the variety of templates she has to offer and her instructions are so concise and easy to follow. This is a purse I made in honor of my Mother.  Her favorite color was blue and she loved paisley prints and I honestly think she had a dress like the paisley paper I used.  The template is at http://www.creationsbyar.com/SURPRISE-PURSE_p_115.html and it makes up so beautifully and quickly (and you can easily place a gift card to her favorite place inside or a picture of her favorite person).  I have made these previously for my granddaughters' teachers and put candy in them and they loved them.  Please visit the other ladies in this hop and leave them a some love because we definitely love having you visit (and you might be the lucky winner)!!

Friday, May 3, 2013

Candy Bar Holders from mychicnscratch.com

Here are a few goodies I made for the ladies at Angel's orthodontist office.  The paper is Coredinations and has major glitter in it (see picture of blue purse)! The folders are from instructions at www.mychicnscratch.com.  Instead of leaving the front straight I cut the flap using Spellbinders Classic Scallop Ovals and the decoration is also cut using the smallest oval in the set.  I then put a rhinestone in the center and velcro for the closure and ribbon for the handle and inserted a fun-size Kit Kat and they were done!



Get Well Card for Kathy


I'm not sure why this picture is sideways and don't know how to rotate it on the blog!  Anyway, this is a card I made for Kathy when she was in the hospital using a cut file from Birds Cards, Prismacolor pencils, and Gamsol and some Stickles for the glitter on the butterflies wings.

Sunday, April 14, 2013

A little better pic of Blair's BD card

In this picture you can see the sparkle a little better.  I am going back to my cutter and cut more designs to have on hand in case of inspiration (and I definitely need it!!) or desperation for needed cards.  Anyone have any suggestions for adhesive to glue down these intricate designs?  Thank you Bird for the designs and thank you Penny for leading me to her site.  As I cruise through other blogs such as Penny's, Snoopy's Homemade Fun, BirdsCards, Glenda Brooks, Grace at Th-Inking of You, Jacque's Sunday Sweet Stuff, and several others I see such wonderful creations and am always so amazed.  I just can't seem to get in a creative mode at all even though I need to and make some of my Christmas cards and just cards in general that I need on occasion.  I hate buying cards when I have stuff here to create them with.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Blair's Birthday Card 2013


This is Blair's birthday card for 2013.  The pink paper is Bazzil and the white lace-like background is GP from Walmart cut with a free file from Birds Cards and sized to 5x5 square and the square birthday wishes is also from Birds Cards and even though you can't see it in the picture I used a Clear Star glitter pen on the cut out words.  The ribbon is made kind of like rick rack with glitter threads on each side and it was a pain to get through the ribbon cut outs on the top and bottom and trying to get a bow tied with it.  I made the bow and sewed it onto the card with a needle and thread and used Score-tape underneath the bow near the center to tape it down onto the card.  I also used Stardust Stickles, a paintbrush, and a little water to thin the Stickles down and painted the white lacy background to put some sparkle on it.  I hope Blair likes it.

Marc's Valentine 2012 card

I am running late on getting this posted but this is Marc's valentine card I made for him using a free cut file from Card-I-logy Creations at http://designingwithdiecuts.com/freebies/robert-sabuda/doc_details/34-my-one-true-love.html and it almost exactly like their demo.  The paper I used is Bazzil and the designed paper heart is called Anthology (not sure the producer) that I got off the $.10 rack at Your Scrapbook Superstore Clearance Center in Pigeon Forge and with half off I only paid a nickel for it.


Wednesday, April 10, 2013

some blogs with free (or low cost) cut files

I know some people have MTC or SCAL or other versions to use on cutting machines and there are a few sites that I have found that offer free cutting files or at a very reasonable price and also at times there are links to other sites on these blogs for more cut files.  Penny Duncan Creations has cut files offered for free for a limited time and then she puts them in her Etsy store at a very low cost and these are wonderful files that I have used and they cut beautifully. Birds Cards has some wonderful and intricate files on her site. Imagesbyheatherm also has free cut files which cut great and recently Snoopys Homemade Fun site had a free cut file which I haven't tried out yet but plan to soon. I have also used files from Cardiology Concepts which cut wonderfully.  I know there are several other sites out there that have free files also and at times when most people are being more cost conscious (and would rather use their crafting money for other "needed" items) free and/or low price is always a wonderful thing!  I want to thank all you ladies for taking so much of your time to create these beautiful files and for sharing them with the rest of us who need and use them!!  I wish I knew how to create cut files to share but I have very limited knowledge of this stuff and admire and appreciate those of you who do know how.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Douglas Dam on 02/05/2013

This is one my pictures of Douglas Dam on 02/05/2013, a few days after the heavy rains and flooding. They had five of the spillways open which has only happened once before that I can remember and that was when Stephanie, Shanna, and Christopher were little.  The picnic tables in the camping area below the dam were flooded over and it looked like the river came almost up to the rim of the hill.

Winter wonderland today

We woke up to a winter wonderland this morning.  Not a lot of snow but a blanket of white and it is still snowing.  The kids are out of school so I turned the alarm off and just let everyone sleep.  I let the dogs outside for a little while, but other than that it is a very quiet morning for me.  There is no traffic on the road down below my house - so not even a distant car sound!  It is still snowing and the wind is blowing pretty hard still.  It must have been blowing the snow around really well because I have snow all over my porch and all the way up to my front door. Even though I am ready for spring and some warm weather, I still love the way it looks outside with snow covering everything and I know my granddaughters will be wanting to go out and ride their sleds.  This is a very wet snow, definitely snowman and snowball type of snow, so I hope everyone who has to be out and about will be very careful because it would be very easy to slip and fall.  I would post a pic on here but Amiti still has my camera.

Marc is still asleep for now so I have a quiet house to myself for a bit before he gets up and starts work and I think I will sit back with my cup of coffee and a warm blanket and watch it snow for a little bit!  I pray that everyone can take a moment just to enjoy their surroundings and the wonder God surrounds us with no matter where you are!

Friday, February 22, 2013

Jacque's Sunday Sweet Stuff

I have finally been able to get the banner for Jacque's Sunday Sweet Stuff on my sidebar.  Jacque is such a cool woman, even though I have never met her in person she has answered a lot of questions I have sent her!  She has some of the most gorgeous cards and also offers sweet stuff to enter to win - so please check out her blog at http://jacquesmagnolias.blogspot.com.




Thursday, February 14, 2013

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy valentine's day to all!  My granddaughter, Amiti, is at Disney World in Florida with the band today so I hope she is having a wonderful time.  Below is a picture of the card I made for the ladies at Marc's work.  The cut files are free files from BirdsCards that I cut with my Cricut and SCAL and used red sparkle paper.


Tuesday, January 22, 2013

My Mother's Birthday

Today would have been my Mother's 96th birthday had she still been here on earth with us.  She passed away in 1988, so it has been several years, but I miss her still and sometimes wish she were still here to laugh with or share a hug with.  She was a very special lady and there is no way I could ever hold a candle to her.  She cooked breakfast every single day, worked in the fields, milked cows - by hand, cooked dinner and supper, cleaned the dishes and the house, and kept all us kids and Daddy in clean clothes, and she never complained!!  She was made of very tough stock and compared to her I am a wimp - but my defense is that nowdays we don't have to be that strong and we as women have a different support role to play and most work outside the home and still have to do various things around the home and keep it going.  My Mother and my little Mamaw are two of the strongest women I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.  So, on that note - Happy Birthday to my Mother and you will live in my heart and the hearts of all your family forever!

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Snow for January 17, 2013


After raining for four days and nights and absolutely pouring down today the weather suddenly changed and around 3 o'clock it started snowing big snowflakes and within a few minutes everything was white and within an hour we had over an inch of snow!  We only ended up with a little over 3 inches.  It is absolutely beautiful, unfortunately the roads are slick and they have finally called school off for tomorrow because of the roads having black ice on them.  It is hard to believe that it was 73 degrees Friday and Saturday - what a change until today (Thursday).