So Blessed!

Love them so much.....

  I know Christmas is over but we just had our Christmas with the kids since they traveled to New York for the holidays to be with Kristin's family. They came back sick and did not want to give the "bug" to us. Love them for that.. So we had to wait to get together. It was a lovely time with them.
  They are expecting their first child, Evelyn, in February. So hard not to buy all baby clothes. There are some wicked cute outfits for baby girls out there.

Wicked cute baby clothes for Evelyn.

  So today I am putting away Christmas and concentrating on the baby shower coming up in a few weeks.
  I am going to make these baby favors that I saw on Pinterest. So much fun to make. I forgot to put the lacy fringe around the head. I will do that on the next one. It is so easy to do. The mouth is a little heart with a punched out circle. I bought Stampin Up's curvy keepsake die cut. You can do so much with that die. I have a board on Pinterest dedicated to what other people have done with it.

So cute.

Happy Birthday!

  I gave Russ a snowcab for his birthday. He got a chance to use it yesterday after a snowstorm left 4 inches for us to remove from the driveway. He said it kept him warm and he could wear his glasses so he could see better when doing the blowing. I am happy he likes his present.
  The snow was quite pretty and the temperature was not too cold, but I hear that is going to change soon.

 

Mickey Shrine

 Russ finished the shelf to hold the receiver and DVD player. But I really like my Mickey collection on this wonderful shelving tower. I think I even have room for a few more.

Another notepad holder

  I love making these notepad holders by Graphic 45. So easy to do and such a practical gift.
  I used Graphic 45's Couture collection to make this one.

The back

  The collection includes so many great pictures of fabulous women. There are great quotes and sayings, too.
  I see they are releasing a new set of collections. Hope I can find them to buy for my next project.

Our living room

  Our living room is done now. The wall is down that separated our space. We love how much more room we have to move around in. We bought new furniture to go with the new design.

More space...

  We can see right through to the kitchen. Love that. And the light is so much better without a wall to cut off the space and light.
  We are starting off the New Year with so much to be thankful for and feel so blessed. Hope you are having a good beginning, too.

I Have Been So Patient!!!

   I have been waiting a little over two week for our living room to be done. I am so happy with the results so far. It has been hard not to have our Christmas tree up. We usually put if up the day after Thanksgiving, but the construction made it impossible to do.
    We had a wall taken down in the living room and a steel beam put up to open up the space. It really makes the living room so much larger. I love it.

Under construction

  There was a lot of dust due to the floor being replaced and sanded and polyurethaned  and the ceiling being mudded and sanded. Ian Smith's crew tried to hold back the mess by hanging plastic sheets and using a fan to blow some of it out the window. Thankfully it only took about a week for this step in the process.
  Yesterday they finished the painting of the ceiling, two coats, and the painting of the walls and molding. They were done. What a great team! I would recommend Ian Smith Carpentry out of Cumberland, Maine. We are very happy with the results.

Waiting for more furniture.

  Our tree is up and the lights are on. Russ is working on finishing the built-ins that go around the fireplace, so we can get the TV up and running.
  It is such an open space. We love it. Still dusting though and figuring out where to put everything.

Olaf, from "Frozen".

  I will share pics of the built-ins when he has everything done.
  This is a Christmas card I made for my niece's little girl in New Jersey. She really like the movie "Frozen". So when I saw this punch art on Pinterest, I couldn't help but make this for her.
  I used my Spellbinders oval die cuts and some of my circle punches to make him come alive. I cut out his arms free hand. I think he is rather cute. Hope she liked it.

Coming to our home

  These are the two pieces of furniture which will come on Friday. We bought them at The Furniture Superstore in South  Portland. I think they will go nicely with our couch. I am hoping the couch does not look bad sitting beside new furniture.

So pretty 

  Wishing everyone a joyous Christmas and a Happy New Year!.
 
 

Christmas preparations !!

Love this decoration at Andrea's Home

 We had a lovely Thanksgiving at my sister, Andrea's home, in Kennebunk.  We had plenty of good food. Always great to be with family during the holidays.
  I made green bean casserole and orange kissed brownies. I was

Ymmy!

so stuffed from the meal that I
could not eat much dessert.
  Andrea did a beautiful job decorating her home for the holidays.
  The family surprised us with a birthday cake to celebrate my twin sister's and my birthday. I was surprised since I try real hard not to think about birthdays anymore. It was really nice of them. I love my new bracelet.

A nice celebration to be thankful for this year.....

Lovely table setting

  I made a birthday card for my Uncle Myron. It is his 80th birthday. We showered him with cards to mark this milestone.  I used Stampin Up's bird punch . The flame is the wing of the bird. I really love how it came out.

Happy Birthday, Myron!

I have been working on my Christmas cards wondering why I don't make them in July to save all the stress of getting them done in time. I really like making them, though.

My Christmas cards this year.

  I bought Stampin
Up's Festival of
Trees and used one of the designs to make this card. I loved how I could change the background to whatever paper looked like snow.
I made 35 which surprisingly did not take that long. I bought my envelopes since I was feeling lazy and did not want to make 35 of them.
  Spend yesterday helping my sister, Chris and her husband, move boxes to their new home. Thankfully, it was not raining. I am so happy for them since they have been looking for the perfect house for over a year now. I believe they have found it. They bought us lunch at Sylvestor's in Topsham.  I was so grateful for the

The U Haul truck that carried the boxes to their new home.

my son, Nathaniel,  and Chris's son-in-law, Rob, for using their young and strong arms and legs to get all the boxes in and out of the truck.
  I still have some shopping to do, so that will be a big part of my plans for the coming week. Hope you are all have a Merry Christmas so far..

Getting Ready for Holidays!!

   Fall is my favorite time of year just because of the weather and all the beautiful colors. I am not a fan of raking leaves, but I consider it good exercise.

Lotta pumpkin pies here....

  We had only 8 kids come to our door for Halloween. I was hoping for a few more, but I had plenty of trick or treat bags.
  I found this idea on Pinterest and thought it was so cute. I changed it a little because I liked the eyes attached to the back of the bags. I used the template the site provided for the cat face and just put orange paper inside the bag to make the face "glow".

Spooky, huh?

Very spooky.... ???

Hobby Lobby in Bangor , Maine

 I got these black bags at Big Al's in Wiscassett last year so I thought this would be a great way to use them.
 I am so excited to hear from a number of people that Hobby Lobby is coming to Auburn, Maine. This is much closer than the one in Bangor. I don't think it is going to open until after Christmas, though. However, I could be wrong.
  I am working with my sister, Rochelle, on a photo album for our friend, Sally. Sally wanted an album of our sister, Terri, who was her best friend.  Terri passed away in 2009.
  It has been hard at times, but working on this album has brought Terri closer to me again.

I would change the paper background, I think.

I could use this idea!

  I plan on starting my Christmas cards soon. I haven't chosen a design yet. Here are a few ideas that I would love to try and case.

Like this one cause it is simple..

  Anyway, I am going to be wicked busy with Christmas and all. I will try and post the Christmas card I make and some pics of the finished photo album.
 Have fun eating turkey!!

It's a Girl!!!

   
   I have not been blogging because I was cleaning house getting ready for the Gender Reveal Party at our
home. I was also putting up decorations and die cutting onesies for a banner. I had so much fun. We were so

Great Cake....

excited to learn whether Nathaniel and Kristin were having a He or a She. They did not even know. The radiologist just wrote the gender down and put it in an envelope for them to give to the baker.
  All eyes were on that cake when they were cutting it. Pink was the icing on the inside layers. So it is Baby Evelyn. I can now go looking at little baby girl clothes. HOLD me back... everything is so cute. ...

A Sizzix die cut for the labeling  food.

Hard to find blue flowers this time of year. 

Loved using my onesie die cut .

    I have not been neglecting my paper crafting . Since my craft room is really clean, due to the party. I have been busy making an album that my sister, Rochelle, taught us at a paper crafting party with Chris, Cathy, Mary Jo, and Lara. We had a ball. We plan on getting together to show how we finished the project. I am going to use mine for pictures of Evie, our  new granddaughter to be.. Can't wait

Love Graphic 45 paper.

  I used the Mother Goose collection by Graphic 45. I fussy cut
the picture 'cause it was a 12 x 12 sheet. Too big of the cover of this portfolio. I decided that crystal effects would be perfect on the moon face.

Inside album

  The inside is so  cute.It is a tri -fold mini album. Plenty of room for pictures. The middle is a waterfall of pictures. So easy to  make. I made a pocket on the left, and tri- folds on the right for more pictures or for journaling.  I haven't decided what I am going to do on the back. I am checking out ideas on Pinterest.

 

For Kate

For Elaine

 I had to make two thank-you cards for people who have been kind to me this past week.
 Kate, a friend of Kristin's, gave me some paper crafting items that she was not using anymore. I really appreciate her thoughtfulness. I can always use free stuff.
   Elaine, my girl friend, gave receiving blankets for our new granddaughter, and some coupons for Carters in Freeport. Wasn't that thoughtful?
  I used my brick wall embossing folder for Kate's card. I stamped the vine and leaves before embossing. I added prima flowers and the sentiment after.
 For Elaine's card I used a stamp that I really love but rarely use. The butterfly and lettering with the word "inspire" is all  on one stamp. I added the extra wing to place on top of the stamped one. I also added the purple flower. I like how it came out. I hope Elaine does, too.

Our fall mantel

 I will end this post with a picture of our fall mantel. I decorated it with indian corn and fake leaves around the swan. I love using the gourds, too.
  Hope you are having a Happy Autumn!   

Love Fall!

  The weather has been gorgeous. I have been working outside around the house mostly. I am on a crusade to get rid of crabgrass in our lawns. It is an up hill battle, but I intend to be the winner in the end. Anyway, my hands are real sore after pulling and raking up the debris. I will take a picture this Spring when I feel like I am in the homestretch.
   Our son's birthday is in September. I found a card I cased from Pinterest that I thought was wicked cute. Nathaniel likes the beach so this worked perfectly.

Perfect for Nathaniel!

 We went to Texas Roadhouse for a lovely celebration. I mentioned to the waitress that it was his birthday... little did I know that they would make him get on a saddle and everyone shouts: Yeee... Hawwww... Kristin his wife was laughing like mad in the corner booth. He was good natured and said he would get me back. I was innocent I tell you.
   The next weekend my husband took my sisters and I to Hobby Lobby in Bangor. It is an hour and 45 minute ride. It went fast because we talked about our latest finds for papercrafting. Rochelle had come across a new die cutter called : Revolution Advanced put out by We R Memory Keepers. It sounds interesting. It has no sandwich method because the bar is moved with a dial to go up and down to "press" the dies. The price is not bad either. I am going to check out reviews to see if it might be something I would buy. I will let you know.
  Anyway, Hobby Lobby was so fun. We spent two hours there.

Gotta get me some knobs.

Wonderful way to organize.

 I just love the variety of items they have in this store. I especially like the home decor section.

Signs

Fans

   The papercrafting section was great, too. They had Tim Holtz , Sizzix,  Martha Stewart and many more companies that I like. I bought a few small things from this section, but I had my eyes on the Thanksgiving couple that I wanted for our table this November. It was on sale, too.

Ready for Thanksgiving

  Well, October is the end of the fair season here in Maine. We went to the Fryeburg Fair this past week. It is the oldest and biggest fair in Maine, I believe. We went with my sister, Rochelle and her husband, Mark. They had never been before. It was the perfect day weather wise.
  We had a great time. The animals are the highlight for me. I couldn't believe how HUGE those draft horses are compared to other animals. I don't like to watch them pull heavy blocks, though.

Handsome horse

Liked having picture taken.

They were having fun.

Old McDonald's Farm

   I am now getting ready for a gender reveal party at our home next weekend. We are so excited to be grandparents for the first time. I have gotten wonderful ideas from Pinterest. I made a poster for people to try and guess the baby's birthday. I have the baby feet stamp so it worked out great. 

What a keepsake....

                            

  I used Stampin Up's "Baby Firsts" stamp set to make a border on the bottom. I don't know the name of the set that the bear came in. I purchased this set online and the name of the container is wrong. I plan on mounting the poster and framing it, too. People will stamp the date with the baby feet and then write their names under the stamp. If baby feet are already on their chosen date, they just add their names under it. I made this calendar free hand with careful measuring. Love this idea.. thank-you Pinterest!

   As you can see the kids have already chosen the name of the baby depending on a girl or boy. I love both of the names. So happy for them. Praying for a lovely warm day in October, so that we can use the deck for lunch seating, too. 

  I am using my onesie die cut from Dynamics to make white onesies for people to guess the weight of the baby. I think I will make a banner of them for the front of the fireplace mantel, too. I will use pink and blue for paper, though. I will post more pictures when I am finished decorating the house. 

I made this!!!!

  I wanted to post this picture of a bundt cake I made

this summer. I love how it came out so pretty. I love

drizzling the white frosting over it. Just the right 

amount to make it tasty. It looks good on my green

cake stand, too. As you can see, I was ready to try

a piece.

 Fall if going too fast. Just like this past summer. We have had alot of fun, though. Not sure how winter is going to be. I heard it is going to be a bad one. We will see. I will just remember all the fun times  at the Fryeburg Fair.