December RAKs

In December for Courtney's Monthly RAK Club, I had just gone to a Stamp A Stack class at my Stampin' Up Demonstrator's house and we made some gorgeous cards!! So, I sent three of those and a previously made thank you card to my partner. Here's a picture of them ~



What I received in December was AMAZING!! My partner, Ilene Murphy, sent me a big package full of goodies!! There was a gorgeous card with a Hanna (I think) stamp on it, a coaster calendar for 2008, a photo frame, 3 Studio G stamps, an embellished pen, 2 rolls of ribbon, a dazzling embellishment, some lovely wide ribbon (not shown in picture) and two chocolate Santas (only one in picture because I devoured the other on the way home from the mailbox!!!!)

Winter Stamp-a-Stack

I went to my SU demo's house a few weeks ago for a stamp-a-stack class. We were going to make some winter themed card. Wow!! They were gorgeous!! And several of them used Lovely as a Tree, which I just happened to have just purchased!! I am soooo excited to reproduce more of these beauties!! Lynne is so creative!! And she also showed us how to mask, which I have been looking forward to!

This is the one we used the mask on. Stamps are Lovely as a Tree. I forgot to put sentiments on this one, so it is a nice, simple blank card.

This one was done with Noble Deer and Lovely as A Tree. Another with no sentiment, but this time it was supposed to be that way. :)

The next set I changed up the sentiment on them, and the matting a little bit, so each one is just a little different. This was the original design ~

Warm Wishes

Warm Wishes

Thinking of You

This next set is similar, in that I changed it up a bit by putting a different sentiment on each one. And, as you can see, this card also used Lovely as a Tree.

Thank You

Best Wishes

Wish Big

Love You

My Favourite Things

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favourite things

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favourite things

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favourite things

When the dog bites
When the bee stings
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favourite things
And then I don't feel so bad
[Repeat all verses]

A Star in Iraq or What the Media Doesn't Tell Us

This was originally posted to my MySpace blog on Jan 13, 2007 but I have recently received it several times via email, so I thought I would put it up here as a more permanent tribute to our troops.

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Please feel free to copy it at any time and pass it on, as the original author states below.

Sheri
proud disabled veteran, USA, USAR, USANG
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Subject: A Star in Iraq
11-21 unknown

Posted on 11/21/2006 8:15:05 AM PST by rawcatslyentist
TOPICS: History; Military/Veterans; Society
KEYWORDS: IRAQ

This, my friends, is worth sharing with the WORLD! Go for it!!

This is something that you'll never see in the news. Please keep this going. Nothing will happen if you don't. The American public need to see pictures like this and needs to realize that what were doing over there is making a difference. Even if it is one little girl at a time.

James Gates U.S. Navy

This, my friends, is what we need to remember. Here is a tough, but heartwarming story and a picture of John Gebhardt in Iraq.

John's wife, Mindy, related that this little girl's entire family was executed. The insurgents intended to execute her also and shot her in the head but they failed to kill her. She was cared for by John's hospital and is healing up, but has been crying and moaning. The nurses said John is the only one who seems to calm her down, so John has spent the last four nights holding her while they both sleep in that chair. The girl is coming along with her healing.

*He is a real Star of the war and is representative of what America is trying to do. End of original story

More pics ~




This one's from John's own article

Air Force Link

Confirmation of story on snopes.com

Merry Tossmass!!!!

I've been tagged!!!

Oh My!! I can hardly believe it!! I feel like I've just been initiated into the world of blogging!! I have been tagged. And by none other that Kim Hughes!! The wonderful, talented artist with her own line of stamps available through Cornish Heritage Farms.

Here's what I'm supposed to do ~
• Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
• Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog, we all want to know them.
• Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
• Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

So, here goes ~

1~ I have 2 cats, 1 dog and a foster cat. :)
2~ My immediate family (parents and siblings) live in 7 different states!
3~ I was a medic and a nurse in the Army.
4~ I have homeschooled my son for all but 1.5 years of his school career. He is in 8th grade now.
5~ I like to eat peanut butter and jelly on my pancakes.
6~ I love the smell of gun oil and carbon.
7~ I bait my own hooks when I go fishing, and I don't complain about it.


Now, I am going to tag ~

1~ Maria of Card Inspired (her stuff is great and she is sooooo helpful!!!!)
2~ My friend and new blogger Erin with Stampin Stuff 4 U (her kids have been in my preschool classes and lived to tell!!)
3~ Sandy of It's a Colourful World (she does amazing things for the heroes in our world!!)
4~ Lorie Ames of Live, Love, Laugh, Create (she's just an all-around wonderful person & talented crafter)
5~ Courtney Fowler of Created by Courtney (she sponsors really great RAKs and stuff!!!)
6~ Wanda Pettijohn of My Creative Corner (who willingly shares her creative genius with us all!!!)
7~ Angel Wilde of Angelosity (she is one of the most generous people I know!!!)

If some of you have been tagged recently, I am sorry. Try to have fun with it, and know you are admired - that's why I picked you!!!

Soldier Cards & Stockings and a Great Give~Away!!!

I know it's been a long time since we made these (Nov 9 to be exact!), I am slow on the posting lately. This is a wonderful time of year but also a very hectic and busy time of year!!


Our 4H club has begun a tradition of making Christmas/Holiday Stockings for Marines who are stuck on base (illness, injury or out-processing) during the holidays. They are not allowed to travel home for the holidays, so the Marine Moms Online group has a great Holiday project every year and we help out by making stockings. This was our second year. Here are some of the stockings.

These were made by Arielle (11) and Breonna (13) Clark and their mom Deanna.

These are the ones I made with a little help from my son Ryan(13).

These were made by Rebecca (15), Cassandra (13) and Victoria (18) Petty and their mom Francie (our 4H club leader).

After we finished 152 stockings, we set to work on making hand stamped cards. One for each stocking! This project is very near and ear to our hearts as we have several people with service members in their family within our club, as well as myself being a veteran.

Here's Ryan starting on his cards.

He really enjoyed my military stamps from Crazy Mountain Stamps .

He used the Marine ones with gusto!! I was sooo proud of him for jumping in with all of us girls!!!
Speaking of crafty sons, Erika over at Stamping Mama Designs is helping to host One of the BIGGEST Give-Aways EVER! This is a 9 x 12 inch work on a canvas wrapped frame done with acrylics and is signed on the back by Zach (her son) himself!!! This is all being done to help promote a great Autism charity - Autism Support Daily . Some of you may know that I was a para professional for an autistic first grader when I first moved to Colorado. I really loved that job!! I love working with differently abled people - they are such a blessing!!! My grandmother who raised me was a foster home for "handicapped" children for 34 years. I was blessed to grow up around some of the most wonderful children anyone could ever know!!

So, get on over there and support Autism Education!!!!

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming :)

The cards we made.........
will have to wait. I have to go return my rental car (yet another story) - I will post the cards later, I promise!!!

Right Between The Eyes

Ever read something that hits you right between the eyes??? Yah....... Well, try this one on for size (came in an email today from my dear friend Mariane)..... and pass the ice pack......

~Something to Ponder at Christmas Time ~
1 Corinthians 13 Christmas Version

If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows,
strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls,
but do not show love to my family,
I'm just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen,
baking dozens of Christmas cookies,
preparing gourmet meals and
arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime,
but do not show love to my family,
I'm just another cook.

If I work at the soup kitchen,
carol in the nursing home,
and give all that I have to charity,
but do not show love to my family,
it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels
and crocheted snowflakes,
attend a myriad of holiday parties and
sing in the choir's cantata,
but do not focus on Christ,
I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child.
Love sets aside decorating to kiss the husband.
Love is kind, though harried and tired.
Love doesn't envy another's home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.
Love doesn't yell at the kids to get out of the way,
but is thankful they are there to be in the way.
Love doesn't give only to those who are able to give in return but
rejoices in giving to those who can't.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails.

Video games will break, pearl necklaces will be lost, golf clubs will rust.
But giving the gift of love will endure.

Merry Christmas!

-- Author Unknown

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And to that may I add Happy HolyDays!!!