Cranberry Freeze Recipe

Warm Winter Greetings!

We live near Spokane, Washington, and we are in the midst of a 'Blizzard Warning' with arctic temperatures this morning. We have accumulated about 4 inches of very dry snow, with wind speeds around 20 mph, and the drifts are piling high! We are in for negative 10 degree temps tonight, with a possible 4 to 8 addition inches of snow. Fun, huh??

Winter is here!!

So, I thought I would pass along a recipe that I just received from my mom! I have not tryed it yet, but it sounds wonderful, yet cold! LOL! Perfect for the Thanksgiving Feast!

Cranberry Freeze

1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple, in juice

1 (16 oz) can whole cranberry sauce

½ cup chopped pecans (optional)

1 (8 oz) carton fat free sour cream

Instructions:

 

Drain pineapple.

Mash cranberry sauce well.

Combine all ingredients.

Pour into 9×9 inch baking pan and put in freezer.

Once frozen, cut into squares to serve.

Makes 12 portions, 2×3 inches each

YUM!!

If you give it a try, come back and let me know how you enjoyed it! :) And, if I get a chance to squeeze it into my menu, I'll give my full review as well!

Stay warm!

Sherrie



Eat, Sleep, Work, Repeat

Hey!!

Yes, it's me! I know it has been a while, but hey, I've been busy!

~

My job as an in-home care giver has been keeping me on a wonky schedule, and my husband can't seem to stop injuring himself and going to the hospital!

He threw his back out a couple of weeks ago, then when he was on the mend, sprang his ankle. Now that that is healing, he somehow injured his 'private parts'. The crazy thing about that is when he went into the ER yesterday, the female doctor prescribed an antibiotic for a STD!! My husband and I have been together for 10 years now, and I KNOW he has not cheated on me, nor I on him. So we think we need a second opinion! Besides, he was moving our giant dog house when the pain started in his groin. Hhmm....could it be some sort of strain, Doc?? Jeezz!

~

I am putting in my 2 week notice today. And am looking for a new job, again. I need something with a set schedule, like 7 am to 3 pm everyday. I like the in-home care position, but the days and hours are all over the place. I cannot take care of MY family's needs. Plus, I have to drive an hour to get 3 hours work, then an hour's drive home. Sorry...not for me!! I'd rather be with my kids!

~

So, otherwise we have all been healthy, and adjusting to Mom being at work. My house is a disaster, and everyone is hungry all the time! As soon as I walk in the house after work, I am bombarded with whining for food, so I throw out crackers and cheese sticks! I can't seem to just sit down, ever. My 'to-do' list just keeps getting longer, with my hubby adding to it daily. I think he is starting to miss my housekeeping talent!

I know we will survive this, our crazy life, and things will smooth out soon. My fingers are crossed!

~

Today I am going to pig out, take a hot bath, and then tackle some of those to-do's! Or not! We'll see!

I may end up sitting at my stamping station for the better part of the day! Hhmmm....that's the best idea I have had all week! :)

Take care,

Sherrie

There he goes.....

...........................................................................................................

That's my baby...first day of Kindergarten. Look how happy he is! I know he is going to love school!

The house is so quiet. I am at a loss of what I am supposed to do next. It feels so strange to be all alone. I have been close to tears all day. This is definitely going to be harder for me than him!!

What is a small milestone in his life, is a huge, life changing event for me.

I don't have any babies anymore, they are all grown.

And now I've got to figure out what to do with me.

........................................................................

What I've been up to....

Hello!

Thought I'd better add a little note to my blog so you all know I am still alive! I have not been blogging or creating lately, so I wanted to share what's been going on in Sherrie's world.

(It reads like a 'Dear Diary' entry...so beware!)

First of all, we are in a transition back to school. My youngest starts Kindergarten tomorrow, and I have been getting things ready, ie: school supplies, clothing, practicing getting up early, eating breakfast and getting dressed quickly. Also practicing our phone number and address, and such.

I am an emotional mess, which I really should not be. I have sent my two others off to kindergarten already, and even have one who graduated high school, so this should be a breeze. But no, it makes me sad.

Also, since my son is going to school now, I have to get a JOB.

I have been driving around north Spokane, trying to find someone who is willing to hire a gal with no references, no job history for the last 6 years, and no specialized training of any kind.

It is not easy. There are no jobs, and if there are, they are part time, minimum wage, no benefits, and going fast.

My husband has his own ideals of what jobs I should be looking for/applying to, and they do not exist. He wants full time, more than minimum wage, benefits, NO CRAFTS! And YESTERDAY.

So we did have a bout of WW III the other day over these issues, and it was awful. I hate fighting with my husband. It drains me for several days afterward. He is not being very encouraging, helpful, or even nice about it. And it is not helping my confidence or motivation level either.

So today, I am filling out more applications online, and keeping my fingers crossed for anything.

My garden is in full swing, and I have lots to do. Blackberry Jam, blanching and freezing green beans and carrots, weeding, watering, and fertilizing.

Maybe tomorrow.

We are so broke, and so we have been going up in the woods gathering firewood to sell on the weekends. It is hard work, dirty and scary for me. I don't like it, and my husband gets upset with me when I am nervous about driving near the edges of the embankments, or when we are pulling the logs out of the woods. I try to keep my mouth shut and hang on tight, while my heart is racing and I just can't breathe!

But until I get a job, I have to help "to do my part for the family'.

Boo.

I am WAY BEHIND on my Designed2Delight Design Team responsibilities. I have not made any cards lately, and My Mojo is in temporary hiatus. I feel terrible about it. I have half a dozen images printed out, and displayed on my desk. Every time I walk past them, I feel sad that I cannot sit down long enough to create something.

Maybe tomorrow.

I used to work full time, was a single mom to 2 kids, and kept a clean house. Now, I am not sure how I did it! I just can't figure out how it is supposed to work. Our circumstances have changed dramatically in the last 7 years, making these things much more challenging. I may have to settle for a part time job, just for the reference and foot in the door, and my husband is going to be the one who has to suck it up! (feels good to say THAT!)

With all that said, and it feels good to say it, I am trying to keep my chin up. I have been through MUCH harder times in my life, and I am still functioning. So I know I can do this. I just wish my husband knew it too.

Thanks for listening,

Sherrie

Surfing at Newman Lake, WA.

Hello again!

Today I thought I'd share some family photos with everyone! We have been having a lot of fun this summer and one new thing we learned to do was surf! Not on the ocean waves, but behind a boat!

July 24 & 25, 2010

This first picture is my oldest son Josh, almost 19 years old!

Here is my hubby Kevin, 30 years old, getting ready to go!

You can see in this next picture how close to the boat you are when you 'surf'. The goal is to let go of the rope, and ride the wake as if you are on an ocean wave! Cool, huh?

It's not as easy as it looks at first!

But once you get comfortable and let go of that rope, it is smooth sailing!

The boat only goes about 18 mph., but it feels a little faster than that!

Down goes Kevin!!

Josh caught on like a natural! He was smiling ear to ear the entire time!

Look mom, no rope!!

Even after he wiped out...many times!

We had so much fun! We swam, surfed and wakeboarded all day, until it was too dark to see!

This last picture of Josh was taken as the sun was going down. Doesn't the water look beautiful?

We stayed the night at our friend, Shane's lake cabin, sat by a bon fire all night, and in the morning he made us breakfast and took us out surfing again! He is an awesome guy!!

I can't wait to go again!

I hope everyone is having as much fun as possible this summer!!

Enjoy every minute!!

Sherrie

My husbands idea of fun!

Well, today is Thursday, June 3, 2010. I have been super busy and have not had any time to create cards and whatnot. So today I am sharing a slew of photos I took during one of our 'adventures'. My husband has been laid off from work for the past month, and we(he) decided to gather up some firewood to sell and make some money. We generally do this each Fall, but hard times call for hard measures. By the way, my hubby LOVES to get firewood! And chainsaws. And big block motors. And to freak his wife out!

This first photo is of Kevin and our son, Jay.

Kevin had gone up scouting one day, and found this big beautiful dead Tamarak, still standing, about 250 feet up an embankment. Kevin estimates the tree to be about 200 feet tall. In the world of logging in 2010, this is a trophy tree. You just cannot find them like this anymore. Needless to say, he rushed home and grabbed me, I was stamping, and he MADE me go help him get this tree right then, before anyone else could find it!

Here he is after he dropped it. It was so amazingly LOUD when it crashed through the branches of surrounding trees and slammed down to the ground. I was in shock from the ground vibrating and all the crackling and the loud BOOM. Debris was flying everywhere, and there was a huge cloud of dust and dirt. And I was down the embankment, safely by the truck with Jay!! Truly amazing!

To get the tree down the embankment, we used a system of cables and pulleys, with Kevin driving our beefed up 78 Chevy flatbed, and me up on the mountain side with a walky-talky. I was scared out of my mind!! I had to watch the tree as it slid to make sure it did not hang up on any other trees or debris, and watch the cable so it did not snap. I'd call 'hit it!' to Kevin, and he would punch the gas, inching the gigantic tree towards the road. I'd call 'woe, woe, woe!' if the log butted up against a tree or root, or stalled out. Jay sits in the truck with Kevin, buckled up, and loves it.

I was completely nervous, out of breath, and shaking, especially since I had to run after each stump as it went, and stumbled and fell over logs and brush as I went because I was watching the cable - not my path! I had to dig dirt and bark, branches and roots out of the way several times.

We ended up cutting the tree into 3 sections to bring her down, as she was too heavy whole. The tip was rotten, and we left it on top of the hill. The rest of the tree was FANTASTIC.

We actually snapped a cable on the first day, when the tree was whole, and had to go back to Spokane to get a new cable. So the above picture, and all that follow are day 2. We really hussled to get back to our fallen tree before another guy came along, and managed to return at 6am!

Lunch break!

We brought cold pizza and juice, apples, cheese sticks and candy. Jay loves to eat outside, and thought we were having a picnic. He is a funny boy! After all the running and shouting, digging out roots and branches in the way, and climbing up and down that embankment over and over again - I was already pooped!

The above picture is the second section of the tree. I stand back as Kevin slices it into sections, and then I roll them out in the road and space them out so he can split them. Then I load and stack the pieces in the truckbed.

This picture is truly worth a thousand words!

It shows you the hill we climbed up and down all day to get to the tree, some 250 feet back there on the left; and it shows how narrow the road was that Kevin was driving on to pull out the logs. Down the hill to the right there, is a creek! Straight down about 20 yards!

The other thing this picture shows, is that we filled the truck with 3/4 this length of wood, and had to leave it on the road side while we emptied the truck at home, about 45 minutes away. We also had pulled the 3rd length of the tree, the butt end - and most important part, to the edge of the hill up there, and I had covered the end up with bark and branches so no passerby's would see it. My husband wanted me to stay behind and guard the wood, but I said 'hell no!' and he brought me with him. There could be bears!!

We drove carefully home with this load, dumped it, grabbed more food, and returned in minutes flat! My husband drove like a bat out of hell! We all had our fingers crossed as we rounded the curve to the log, and sighed heavy breathes as we saw it still laying there! Can you imagine what another logger would feel if they had found this huge chunk of seasoned Tamarak sitting there? Would have been the score of a lifetime for them! But no - it was OUR lucky day!

We loaded 2 cords this first trip.

My poor husband! He works so hard! I feel for him, splitting all the wood himself. It's the hardest part. But I cannot even pick the mall up over my head! So I pick up the wood and stack it!

Each round produced 16 to 18 large triangles of dry, pitchy, wonderful firewood. The smell was so strong and beautiful. The final log we pulled down was the butt, and the pitch in it was as hard as the wood itself, petrified. We measured the end at 3 feet across. My husband could not even pick up one whole slice of it, it was too heavy. And my husband is a very strong man! We wanted to bring the final slice home whole, the very bottom, but had to split it into quarters. Kevin was very disappointed, as it would have proved his trophy's size and weight, and he loves his 'bragging rights'!

The second, and final load, was another 2 cords.

Here is the pile at home.

 It does not look like much now that it is in a heap, but we know what we have there!

And what a day! My legs were killing me, my back was killing me, and I was dog-ass tired!!

But we were very proud of ourselves, our find, our teamwork, and that we made a lot of money!

All in a days work! :)

~

Sherrie

Thanks a bunch Note Cards!

Hello!

Jumping in with another note card for you! This one features a cute flower bouquet, and one of my favorite SU colors, Razzleberry!

I watercolored the image with dye inks and my aqua brush, and purposely colored outside the lines! It turned out great with this flower stamp. I added Glossy Glaze to each flower, giving them texture and shine! So pretty!

I also found a use for these cute buttons I found at WalMart a while back! They were a great final touch!

I will be selling this card, in a set of three, in my Etsy shop soon.

~

In other news, we have decided not to sell our house and move. We just love it here too much, and the boys are growing up fast. Soon, my oldest son Josh will be moving out, (sigh) and we will have a little more elbow room. And, as soon as my youngest starts Kindergarten in the Fall, I will be getting a real 9 to 5 job. That will help us out quite a bit. So we are staying put. I do miss my family who live inside the city, but I plan to try harder to visit them more.

I am very happy to be able to hang up all of my pictures and decorations again! The walls are so bare! We are also going to rearrange all of the furniture, and sometime soon, buy a new bed for us, and couches! Woo-hoo! :) I am so glad!

So, hope you enjoyed my little creation there, and I wish you all a great day!

Sherrie

~

Thanks a bunch Note Cards

3-1/2 x 4-1/4 inches

stamps: Studio G - flowers; Stampin' Up! - Frames with a Flourish

paper: Razzleberry Lemonade dsp, Old Olive, Whisper White, Razzleberry cardstocks

inks: Old Olive, Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Basic Black

etc: Fiskars edge punch, buttons from WalMart, Old Olive polka dot ribbon, Glossy Glaze,

 thread, dimensional foam dots

Have a wonderful Easter weekend!

Just a little note to send out Easter holiday wishes! I hope everyone has time planned to share with their families and friends. I also hope you will share with your children the true meaning of the Easter holiday, not just chocolate bunnies. :)We are going to have ham and potatoes, steamed veggies, and fruity jello. I am baking strawberry cupcakes with cream cheese frosting today, as well as boiling the traditional eggs for coloring later today. It just would not be Easter without hard boiled eggs. I wonder whoever thought of those to begin with? huh.
After a round of Easter egg hunting, we are going to do some dirtbike riding, and some plain old relaxing. Should be a great day.

Feel free to steal any of these Easter graphics for yourself. Just right click on the images and click on 'save picture as'. They are fun to add to emails!

Well, I hope to get all of my housework done early today, and then still have time for some stamping! :) We will see. I want to enter a couple of blog challenges that I have seen lately, and need to get on them before time runs out. I tend to miss the deadlines or even forget which blog it was for! Yikes!

~

Okay, have a fantastic holiday, and do not forget the sacrifice that has given us all a second chance at forgiveness!

Much love and blessings to you!

Sherrie

Happy Friday!

Hey there everybody!

Just dropping in with a little Easter card and more info about our crazy lives! It seems so busy around here lately, with house fixing and selling, searching for a new landing pad, and the gorgeous weather we are enjoying. Time is certainly flying!

I spent almost all day yesterday outside playing with my youngest son, Jay, and the neighbor kids. We rode bikes, played ball and swung on the swings. It was super sunny but a little chilly still. I do feel like I got a bit of a sunburn on my face, but I do not mind. It was a great day.I had a parade of realestate agents go through my house on Wednesday, and they were all very nice. There were about 10 to 15 of them. I hope they will promote my house to more clients, and help sell this place. I cleaned all day on Tuesday, and the sun was shining through all of the windows. So everything was perfect when they came. I hope my efforts pay off. :)

My truck is still broken, and I have been home all week. My old man still cannot figure out what is wrong with it, and I may end up taking it to a real mechanic. :( One good thing about it is that I have gone for a few walks around the property, which I never do. I have had moments of 'I have got to get out of here before I hurt someone' and just head out the door for a little relief. I should have been doing this for the last 7 years!! I feel really good afterwards, and the kids don't bother me so much. Or my husband either.

I have dug some of my PTI goodness out of boxes, and are going to attempt to make some cards today. I have Blooming Button Bits, some Hibiscus buttons and ribbon, the Friends Till The End paper pad, and the latest cardstock stack on the table ready to go! I need a Get Well card for a neighbor, a Congratulations card for a cousin's Bridal Shower, and a wedding card for her as well. My father in law has a birthday coming up, and I am going to make a funny card for him! He is the only man I know who likes receiving my cards, so I always make a special one just for him.

I am going to start with the Get Well card, and plan on using the Summer Sunrise, Hibiscus Burst, and possibly brown or red. Not sure yet, we will have to see what I end up with!:)

Hope you are all well and enjoying sunshine where you live!

~

Thanks for putting up with me!

Sherrie

HERE I AM !!

Caution!

This blog post contains content that may be unsuitable for people who don't want to hear whining and negativity! Parental Guidance is suggested. ( I posted a few older creations to soften the blow.)

So many things have been going on lately, both positive and negative, that I do not know where to start.

So I will start with the fact that my Tahoe is BROKEN. And my mechanical husband hasn't the foggiest idea of what's wrong. For a while now, it has not wanted to fire up, and once it did, it was choking and jiggling and crazy. Then it would run fine, great actually. Kevin has been trying to figure it out for some time, but now it will not start at all, and is puking up through the manifold and choke. Which means that it is firing at the wrong times and whatever else. (I pay attention to most of the machanic talk, but not all.) So, no car. No wheels. Home bound. Yuk!Which brings me to more negativity from me....We had new linoleum installed last week, and we finished painting the interior and added new molding. Everything looks fantastic! I mean really great! We should have done this 7 years ago! BUT.....My husband has not put the shelves for my stamping station back up. (This is me whining, so look away if you cannot stand it!) All of my stamping supplies and goodies are packed up in boxes and such, stacked in our bedroom on the floor. I reminded my husband several days ago that the shelves needed to be put back up so I could put my stuff back, and make the house look nice if someone comes to view it. He says.....'I am not sure if I want them put back up there. It just does not look good.' WHAT?!?! How do a bunch of boxes and plastic drawers full of punches and paper and ribbons look, all stacked up in our bedroom???? (me angry) It looks all scr*wed up to me! Now, I know I have mentioned before that my stamping hobby does not thrill my husband, and that he does not even want to hear about it. It gets as bad as him telling me to quit. He does not like the time I spend doing it, (which is not enough time to me) and thinks I should find something else to do. He is not supportive at all. That is why I have my Etsy shop, to support my hobby. And that is why I blog and have online galleries, to get support from you all.

So I am thinking about putting the shelves up myself, but I do not want to start a World War. I am just keeping my mouth shut. And, sometimes I misread him. He could be up to something good, right? Like buying nice new shelves or something. He could be planning some nice, thoughtful, completely out of character sweet surprise, right?

So, now that the interior of the house is all spruced up, I am bored! I could be making a ton of cards right now. But no. I keep staring at the boxes, just wanting to tear into them. Maybe I will. Tomorrow. I am stuck home again tomorrow. Yes, I will first thing in the morning, and then I will have it all put away before Mr. Hubby gets home! Sounds like a plan!

~
I certainly hope you are all busy checking out the latest sneek peeks at Nichole Heady's blog, and are filling up your PTI wish lists. I sure am! I cannot wait for the 15th! So many wonderful things happening there. It is unbelievable! Don't forget to comment on the posts, you could win incredible prize packages! My fingers are crossed! I love PTI!
~

Okay, thats enough from me for today. Sorry I am so crabby!
Thanks for putting up with me!

Sherrie

Afternoon Tea Card, and notes....

Good morning!

It has been about one week since my last post, so I thought I'd better keep the blog alive with another card and some moving/selling/buying info!

The card is a standard A2 size with Afternoon Tea dsp from Stampin' Up!.I cut the flowers from the sheet of Soft Sky dsp, and attached them to the card front with liquid glue, glue dots and foam dots, for different levels of dimension.

Below that is layers of Kraft and Chocolate Chip cardstock, and Groovy Guava dsp, which have been sewn with white thread. That is the last little strip of Guava ribbon from my stash! Too pretty! And so sad!

The butterfly is stamped with Guava onto textured Whisper White cardstock and cut out.
This is a pretty any occasion card, which I think will be perfect as a females Birthday card! Don't you?
I love the Guava/Kraft/Choc Chip color combo. So elegant and soft together. I am glad I have more of that paper! :)

~
Okay, so we have our house on the market. There is a big 'For Sale' sign by our mailbox. We have seen the listing on the web. We cleaned and raked the yard this weekend, and the house is super clean inside. I sorted out the toy box when no one was looking. My husband left this morning to work out of town for the week. (great)
Today I have several things to do. Call around to different flooring companies to find out how much they charge for installing linoleum, and their locations, so that tomorrow I can drive around and pick some out for the best price.
Look online to find an acre lot in a great Spokane Valley location with a great price.
Pick out a floor plan for the house I want to build on that acre.
Then paint the bathroom. (right)
~
We had found a big house on an acre that we liked, but the owner is being firm on the price which we think is too high. So we are moving on, and looking around more. Just down the street from that house are several one acre lots for sale, and we can build a house and a shop for less than what this guy wants for his fixer. And it will be customized and brand new. So we may build instead of buying used. Sounds great to me!! I will keep you posted on our search and process!
~
Our realitor seems so positive and reasurring that our place will sell fairly quickly, because it is a rare find out here, and because we have set a reasonable price. I have decided that I will not get my hopes up because he may treat all his clients that way! We all know that the realestate market is very slow, and barely gaining momentum. In my heart I am hoping everything goes smoothly, but in my brain I know that something always comes up. That is the way of life. There are always little bumps and swerves in the road that test our resolve and character. I am ready. Half crazed with antisipation and excitement, the other half laying low and being cool!! :)
~
Thanks for putting up with me!

Go stamp something!

Sherrie

A little update....

Hey there stampers! I thought I'd jump in with a set of cards I made the other day, and add a little update on our moving situation.

These sweet cards are so Springy and bright! They are really making me wish for sunshine and blue skies!The cardstock and patterned papers are SU, as well as the corduroy brads. The stamped sentiment is Verve, and the half pearls are Martha Stewart. I created the flowers by layering die cut flowers from the SU Flower Fusion Sizzlet die, piercing them, and then attaching the brad. So easy and fun to make!
The colors here are Kiwi, Cameo Coral, and Vanilla. I love that combo!

The stamp used inside is from a little StudioG set that I have had forever! So cute and perfect for stamping around the sentiment panel.

~

We have been on a house hunt, and have found one that really stands out to us. It was listed as a 4 bed, 2 bath but once we were inside realized it was a 5 bed, 2.5 bath because it wasn't finished. The price is right and we do not mind finishing it and painting and such so that it is the way we want it. It is situated on 1.2 acres just on the outskirts of Spokane, WA, and has a 2 car garage as well as a very nice shop that my husband is totally in love with. He is very mechanical, and this is perfect for him. He cannot live without his shop and tools, just as I cannot live without my stamp station and supplies!! My husband has promised to give me one of the bedrooms as my craft room, and will be building me lots of shelves too. I am super excited about that! The smallest room in this particular house is pink, and it has my name written all over it! Especially since I am the only female in the place!! Sometimes there are perks being the only girl! :)

We have notified a realitor, and are preparing to sell our home so that we can bid on this other home. We are going to throw out a lowball to see if the seller will budge a little, since the realitor said they were 'really motivated' to sell. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

~

Also, on a positive note, my younger brother Scott has also found a little home to buy in that same area. He is raising his 3 year old daughter by himself, and has been renting forever. This is so exciting for him, as life has not always been so good to him. I am very happy for him!!

~

I am supposed to be prepping and painting my bathroom right now, but I just had to get my PTI order in today! It took me about an hour to figure everything out. Most of the things I wanted were already sold out, so I will have to make another order soon! Poor me! Right?? Yeah!!

I have closed my Etsy shop now since I will be so busy. It was hard to do because I don't want to close it up. I want to stamp! But, soon enough I will be back in business! Plus I will have a bunch of new untouched stamps to use when I get unpacked. I will be fine! *sigh*

Things are moving along pretty well so far, and it is amazing because we have only just begun. I really hope this will be a smooth transition for my family.

Talk to you all soon!

Sherrie

Pretty Cards, Easy Flowers, and a personal note.

Hello stampers!

The weather here in Eastern Washington has been warmer and dryer than usual, but without any sunshine. So please forgive the dreary photos! :)

I worked on these last week, and thought they were worthy to share. Hope you like them! The sentiment is from Verve Stamps, the half pearls are Martha Stewart, and everything else is Stampin' Up! products, tools, and stamps. {Sorry.....Cuttlebug folder too!}
I keep seeing these really pretty, vintage looking flowers popping up all over stamping land, and wondered how I could make some too, with stuff I already own. So, after rifling through my entire stamping station, I came up with this. I used the Flower Fusion Sizzlet die available through SU, and for each flower cut out 2 of the largest flower, and 1 of the medium. I stacked them together and stitched the corduroy button on. Then I rolled all the petals over the button and between my fingers to curl them up. Ba-da-boom! Awesome right? You can also use the corduroy brads for this, by simply piercing the stacked flowers and inserting the prongs through. Curl as desired. Cute huh? You could even sponge some color onto the petals before assembling them for added contrast and dimension. Also, textured cardstock looks fantastic! I attached the flowers to the cards with multiple glue dots for security.

If you make cute flowers similar to these, please tell me about them and leave a link in the comments. I'd love to see and try them too.
~

Now, on a personal note, my husband and I have decided to sell our home and property, and move closer into town. Into the 'burbs'. We have been rolling the idea around for about a year, and have decided it will be best for our family. We live up on a hill on 20 forested acres, about 40 miles from Spokane, WA. Basically in the boonies, which is how I have referred to it since we moved here in 2003. It is beautiful here, and we have the most fantastic view of the surrounding mountains, including the north side of Mt. Spokane. My husband thought he would love it here for the rest of our lives, but has now realized how hard it is physically, financially, and emotionally to be so isolated. I moved here because I love my husband, and truly have tried to love it too. I accepted that we would live here forever. I have been a stay at home mom for almost 6 years, and it has taken a toll on us financially, and me emotionally. I do not like being alone, I need people. And there are no jobs out here for me. I have been selling my handmade cards on etsy and ebay for about 5 years, but it only enables me to buy new stamping supplies and goodies, and Christmas gifts. All of my family lives inside Spokane, and I have hardly seen them for the last 7 years. I am so happy that I will be able to get back into their lives and be a part of 'family' again. My husband is getting excited about a smaller yard to maintain, and having free time with the family! My kids are SO happy it is unbelievable. My 5 year old only knows this place, but even he wants to live in a neighborhood with other kids to play with. And we all want to ride our bikes on concrete!!
We are meeting with a realtor on Friday, and are getting the ball rolling. We have a huge 'to-do' list of things to paint, clean, clear and burn before we will be ready to go. This means that I will not be *heavy sigh* stamping *gulp* very much, and actually have to pack up my stamping station *sigh* very soon so we can finish painting the interior of the house. {lots of tears and heart palpitations} Just the thought of NOT stamping is freaking me out! I get really crabby when I think about it, or think about boxing up all of my stuff. It really weighs heavy in my heart because I love it so much, and have come to depend on it for my sanity here in the wild. I am going to go through some serious withdrawals!! What's more, is that I have to get a 'real' job once we get settled, and probably will not be able to stamp much or even sell cards on etsy anymore. {Major tears} I will miss it so much! And I will miss everyone here in blogging/stamping land too!
I really hope that once things settle down, and we get into a new life routine, I will be able to have time for my passion. My fingers are crossed! And I will keep you posted!
~
Thanks for putting up with me!
~
Sherrie

I cannot sew!

Yes. It's true. I cannot sew. I am needle challenged.

And what's more interesting, is that I am the daughter of a seamstress and a sewing machine repair man! My mother can sew anything, and in any form of needle craft there is. She can make clothing from patterns, and probably without, knit, crochet, cross stitch, needle point, the list goes on and on. When my parents met long ago, she was working at a coat and clothing manufacturer, while my father was the head machine repair man. She would purposely do things to her sewing machine so that Dad would have to come and fix it! So funny! After they started dating, Dad got a job managing a mattress factory, fixing huge quilting machines that stitch the pillow tops we all know and love.

My mom must have been in needle craft heaven after I was born, because I remember that she would make a lot of my clothes. Boy did I hate it! I was the only girl at that time, between two brothers, and I was a really big tom-boy! I wanted to do everything my brothers did. So when Mom would make me wear handmade dresses or plaid pants with knitted sweaters and saddle shoes, I protested! I'd have rather worn my brother's hand-me-downs! I REALLY hated picture day at school too. She would make me wear rollers in my hair all night. You remember those prickly and stiff ones held in place with bobby pins? You just cannot sleep while they are digging into your scalp!

Looking back, I have to say that those clothes were pretty cute, but you do not realize what a good thing you had until you are old enough to look back! LOL!

I do remember my mother trying to teach me to crochet, just the simple loop around the finger chain. And I made a few very small blankets for my dolls, and some very short scarfs. But I just did not take to it, and I think my mom gave up and let me go play outside!

~

Boy, do I wish I had paid attention now! Sewing on cards is a must, and it looks so pretty. But every time I approach my sewing machine with a piece of gorgeous cardstock, or a stamped and water colored image, I get sweaty palms and heart palpitations!! You'd think I was about to give a speech in front of 1,000 people! It is so scary to me! So I have to take a deep breath, and wipe my hands, and just do it. Slowly. Very carefully. And, I must say that I am getting better at it. One card at a time. Just don't ask me to sew a busted seam, or patch a worn knee. That's my husbands job!

Stamps: Echoes of Kindness, SU

Papers: Razzleberry, Orchid, Whisper White cardstocks; Cottage Wall dsp, SU

Inks: Old Olive, Razzleberry, Orchid

Etc: Razzleberry ribbon, Scallop Trim border and ticket corner punches, buttons, and SEWING!

~

Thanks for putting up with me!

~

Sherrie

Another fun fabric card ~ For You

I thought I would share another fabric card with you! It utilizes the same fabric as yesterday's card, but I focused on other colors in the fabric square. Taken With Teal and Rich Razzleberry look fantastic together, don't they?I stitched the fabric to the Teal layer before adding it to the card front so that no stitching shows on the interior of the card. The frame around the sentiment is from SU's 'Gallery' stamp set, which I stamped and sponged with Teal, and then heat embossed the edges with shiny glittery powder! The flower embellishment was made with SU's 'For All You Do' stamp set, and attached with a teal brad from HOTP.

By the way, the threads I use for sewing are from an assortment I found on ebay which included about 50 different mini spools of colorful threads. It was a great buy at about 10 bucks. The spools are pretty little though, but fit on my machine just right. It was worth the money to have all these coordinating colors for my cards!

Well, that's a wrap for now! I am going to play accountant today, and get my father's bills in the mail. He has a mental disability from a head injury in 1986, and I am his Representative Payee for his moneys. It is not a difficult job, but can be time consuming about twice a month. He really made a mess of his finances after a divorce, and I am at the tail end of sorting it all out for him. I am so blessed to have all of my own bills paid and in good standings!! I would hate to deal with all of these collection agencies and bill collectors for my own finances! They are heartless and cold! But, people create their own circumstances, and have to deal with the consequences. I though, am just the representative for the slacker! So be nice!

Have a fantastic day! Stamp something!

Sherrie

Mojo Monday 109 Birthday Card

Hello everybody! I finally took pictures of my first try at a Mojo Monday sketch challenge. this sketch was about a week ago, so you can see how far behind I really am! But it is a great design, and I am glad I tryed it! This card turned out great! The card base is Rose Red, one of my absolute favorite SU colors! The background papers are Basic Grey's Lemonade, which are matted and sewn onto Pink Pirouette. The bear image is from Stampavie, and I watercolored it with dye inks, and added Crystal Effects and Stickles. I cut it out with a Large Label Nestie. The sentiment is from an old set from Impression Obsession, stamped in Rose Red and punched out with circles. I added Pretty in Pink taffeta and Pink Pirouette buttons to finish off the card front!

Inside is similar to the front, with sewing and a cute pink button! I love that paper!!

I hope you have enjoyed reading about this card! I have plenty more to come!

Last night I attended a parent meeting at my son's H.S. It was about applying to college, and all it entails. I REALLY cannot believe we are at this point in our lives, and especially my son's life. He turned 18 about a month ago, and I still have not accepted that, let alone the aspect of college next Fall! But, I could not have asked for a better son. He is so smart, handsome, and responsible. I know he will do well in college, and in his life. And I am not just saying that because I am his mom, he really is an awesome kid! I am just struggling to let go a little more...and a little more....and a little more.....! :) *sigh*

It's funny too, that as he graduates school, my youngest son STARTS kindergarten in the Fall! So I have one finishing, and one starting! wow! That makes me all sentimental too!

Thanks for stopping by! Leave a note to let me know you found your way safely!

Hope you can stamp today!

Sherrie