Moonflower

Earlier this summer my friend Carolyn gave me a start of a moonflower plant from her garden. At first I was a little worried that it might not survive due to the terribly hot weather that we've been having. I shouldn't have worried, because this plant has not only survived but thrived in the corner flower bed of my back yard! Check it out:

The 3 decorative birdhouses on stakes, the trellis, and one of the golden euonymus plants can't even be seen now! The GORGEOUS white flowers open up each night and then close again in the morning - soooo lovely!

Thanks, Carolyn, for sharing this pretty plant with me - it looks great in the corner of my yard!

Sweet, Simple Summer Joy...

Is there anything better in the summertime than a big bowl of sugared strawberries for breakfast or mid-day snack?? MMMMMM - such a simple summer joy! I haven't been cooking as much lately, due to the temps that continue to stay in the high 90s and even 100s on some days, but I've been eating lots and lots of fresh fruit and veggies. I so enjoy the fresh produce of summer!!

Have a happy day!

Family Scrapbook Page

Above is an example of a VERY easy way to create your own background paper. I started out with a piece of cream colored cardstock, inked up an acrylic block and then random stamped the block pattern on the cardstock. I then random stamped flourishes over the blocks and then "grunged up" the page by swiping an ink pad around the edges and across the top of the page. I "grunged up" a strip of pink textured cardstock and adhered it to the left side of the page; adding crystal bling to the top and bottom of the strip. I mounted the photo on a piece of black cardstock and tore/distressed the edges of the mat before adhereing a piece of ribbon to it. The heart image and the word FAMILY were stamped and cut out of cream colored cardstock and then attached to the page. The black photo corners were created using 2 sizes of square punches. Start by punching out a large square, then center the small square punch inside the large square and punch out the center to form a frame of sorts. Cut the frame diagonally across the center and voila! You now have jumbo photo corners! I used a piece of pink embroidery floss to stitch the corners of each photo corner, and then added crystal bling for a little added pizzaz. A super quick and easy page that can be modified many different ways!

Happy Scrappin'!!

Quote Sunday

"The best portion of a good man's life, his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love."  ~William Wordsworth

Silly Saturday

Have a fun and safe weekend!

A Fun Little Treat...

Today was the first day of school for Broken Arrow, so for fun I made this little treat for my friend and co-worker, Gina. The "frozen drink" is actually a pair of softie socks rolled up and placed into a glass, along with an umbrella straw! (This is actually a spin off of the "softie sock cupcakes" tutorial that I posted last December...click HERE to see it).

To create the lime on the card, I simply punched a 1 7/8" circle out of dark green cardstock and a 1 1/2" circle from a lighter green piece of cardstock. I then cut the light green circle into eighths and attached the pieces to the dark green circle. Easy peasy!

Have a SUPER day!

Stacie's Givin' Away Some Blog Candy...

My blogging buddy, Stacie, over at All Things Crafty is giving away some terrific blog candy to celebrate her 2nd blogaversary and 30th birthday! (HAPPY BIRTHDAY & BLOGAVERSARY, STACIE!!!) Please click HERE to be directed to her site for all of the details to enter your name in the drawing for the prize. The drawing will take place on September 5th. Good luck!!

Recipe of the Week...Poppycock

Here's a fun snack mix that's easy to whip up for scrapbooking workshops, parties, or to scoop into little cellophane bags to give as treats to co-workers or students!

Ingredients:

• 1 - 2.4 oz. bag of light butter microwave popcorn, popped
• 2 1/2 cups Crispex cereal
• 2 1/2 cups Cheerios cereal
• 2 cups salted peanuts
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Method:
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Mix popcorn, cereals and peanuts in a large bowl. Melt butter in a medium saucepan; stir in brown sugar and corn syrup. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Continue to cook on low for an additional 5 minutes without stirring. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla. Pour over cereal/popcorn mixture and lightly toss to evenly coat ingredients. Pour poppycock into a shallow baking pan and bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool and store at room temperature in a tightly covered container, or scoop into individual cellophane bags for gifts.

Have a GREAT day!

Quote Sunday

"The whole difference between construction and creation is exactly this: that a thing constructed can only be loved after it is constructed, but a thing created is loved before it exists." ~ Charles Dickens

Recipe of the Week...Meaty Marinara Sauce with a Kick!

Here's my marinara sauce recipe that I promised to share with you...which is Mike's favorite! I hope that your family enjoys it as much as mine does!

Ingredients:

• 1 - 1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 - 15 oz. cans tomato sauce
• 1 - 14.5 oz. can of petite diced tomatoes
• 1 small can sliced mushrooms, drained (optional)
• 1 Tbsp. crushed red pepper flakes (amount can be reduced for a less spicy sauce)
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 Tbsp. garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp. dried parsley
• 1/2 Tbsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 Tbsp. dried basil
• 1/2 Tbsp. dried thyme
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Brown hamburger meat with onion, drain and place into crockpot. Combine other ingredients and add to meat and onion mixture in crockpot. Cook on low for about 8 hours. Serve with pasta of your choice and additional parmesan cheese if desired...scrumptious!!

Have a fun and safe weekend!

Exciting News!! I'm on the Frosted Designs "Fabulous Friday" Design Team!!

Happy Day! Yesterday I received an email from Barb Craft over at Frosted Designs letting me know that I've been accepted as one of their new design team members for the Fabulous Friday Challenges! (If you haven't ever checked out Frosted Designs, click HERE to link directly to their site.) It's an honor and privilege to be selected to share my crafty projects alongside these talented ladies! I will be a design team member from September through February, and I hope that you'll stop by Frosted Designs often to see the lovely projects, tutorials and prizes. Thanks for letting me share my exciting news with you!

Blessings,

Tags and Tickets Scrapbook Page Challenge

Kimberly over at Scrap-it-Girl is having a 2 page 12" x 12" scrapbook layout challenge in which tags and tickets are incorporated into the design. A prize will be given away to the winner...click on the photo below to find out the details and enter your layout:

Here's the 2-page layout that I'm entering in the challenge...you can click on the photos for a close-up view:

Here are shots of the individual pages:

Since our tickets to the wildlife museum had such pretty artwork on them, I decided to use them as a decorative element on the layout and attached them together with an eyelet and jute:

I attached journaling blocks to a die-cut leaf and incorporated it to the layout along with round journaling tags:

Be sure to link up your tag and ticket layout over at Scrap-it-Girl's challenge! I look forward to seeing your projects!

Happy Scrappin'!!

Prima Flower Birthday Card

Just a quick post today to share with you a birthday card that I made using paper scraps and a beautiful Prima paper flower!

Thanks for looking - have a SUPER day!

Quote Sunday

"It is a good thing to be rich, and a good thing to be strong, but it is a better thing to be loved of many friends." ~ Euripides

Scrapbook Page: Time's Fun...

The Friday Challenge over at Frosted Designs is to create a project using an animal image, photo, etc. (Click HERE for the details and to link up your project as well!) I decided to enter the cute scrapbook page that I made using photos of my adorable great-nephew, Ian, watering the flowers at his Grandy and Poppa Don's house. ("Grandy" is what Ian calls my SIL Sandy, who is his grandmother, and "Poppa Don" is her hubby). You can click on the photo to get a better, close-up view.

Here are a couple of close-up shots of the stamped frog images, which are from the "Fun Times" stamp set by Close to My Heart. I used tiny black brads for the eyes on 2 of the frogs:

I stamped 4 of these frog images, cut out just the bodies on 2 of them, and then layered the bodies with 3-D dots to add dimension. I then stamped little flies around the sentiment:

You have until noon this Thursday to link up your project at Frosted Designs. Thanks for looking!! Happy Scrappin'!!

Recipe of the Week...Pulled Pork

By simply tossing a pork loin top roast into the crockpot before leaving for work in the morning, you'll arrive home to a delicious dinner that will be on the table in a matter of minutes! Here's my recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 lb. pork top loin roast
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/8 cup brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. paprika
• 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tbsp. yellow mustard
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp. Louisiana hot sauce
• Kaiser rolls
• B-B-Q sauce for serving (optional)

Method:
Place pork into crockpot. Combine remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl, whisk together and pour over pork. Cook on low for about 8 hours. Remove pork from crockpot and shred with a fork. Place pork back into sauce in the crockpot and stir well. Serve over Kaiser rolls with B-B-Q sauce, if desired. Refrigerate any leftovers for lunch the next day! Makes about 6 sandwiches.

On a different note...our prayers for cooler temps and rain have been answered! Last night we received a little over 3 inches of rain and the high today has only reached 89 degrees - hooray!!! More rain is expected tomorrow and the temps are only supposed to be in the 90's through the weekend!!

Wishing you a blessed day,

So Hot and Dry...

This summer has been so hot and dry here in Oklahoma...terrible conditions for our farmers and folks that must work outside in the heat. We did receive a little rain on Saturday night and then about a quarter of an inch last night, but haven't had a "good, soaking rain" in a very, very long time. Our highest daytime temperature of 115 degrees last week broke a record! Even though we are trying to keep our plants and grass watered, the sun is drying out and scorching everything - UGH! Thought I'd share a photo with you of the HUGE cracks that are showing up in my parched backyard...

As you can see, poor Hunter isn't quite sure what to make of this drought and the cracks in her backyard- LOL!

Praying that we have cooler temps and more rain soon!!

Happy Anniversary, Dad and Mom!!

Today is my parent's 47th wedding anniversary...they were married on 8-8-1964. (See the mathematical equation?? 8x8=64). Happy anniversary dad and mom...hope you have a wonderful day!

Here's the anniversary card that I made for them:

Thanks for looking! Wishing you a terrific week!!

Blessings,

Quote Sunday

"Love and do what you like." ~ Saint Augustine

Times; They are a Changin'!!

For a little over 5 years now I've worked as the administrative assistant to the director of our school district's Special Services department. This department handles everything pertaining to special education. It is a job where I have learned alot and I have enjoyed the challenges and the people that I work with very much, but I have known in my heart for several months that I needed a change...to return to a school site and work directly with kids and teachers. (Before I transferred to Special Services in May of 2006 I worked as a secretary from 2000 - 2002 at one of our district's elementary schools; and also as the library/media assistant from 2002 - 2006 at one of our district's intermediate high schools.)

With that being said, I am thrilled to announce that on July 15th I will be returning to my previous job as the library/media assistant at the intermediate high school where I used to work!! The position became available again at the end of May, and I've been wrestling with the idea of returning since that time. I knew in my heart that was what I really wanted to do, so I'm "going home" to my former school site to work in a job that I truly love with a teaching staff and students that I adore!! My friend Gina is still the media specialist there, so I am looking forward to working with her again.

Just for fun I thought I'd share a couple of pics from 2005 when I was still working at the library:

Simple joys - shelving and organizing books...a happy task for an organizational freak such as myself - ha! ha! ha!

Here I am with my friend, Gina, the media specialist that I worked with everyday.

I love that I'll be working directly with the kiddos again. There are roughly 1,300 9th and 10th grade students at the site where I'll be at - so much fun!

Thanks for letting me share my excitement and good news with you!! Have a blessed day!