Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day Daddy!  I love you :o)

If you are blessed as I am to still have your Father, please remember to tell him Happy Father's Day today!

God Bless You,

CPC Sneak Peak

Good morning!  Today is my turn to share with you my little sneak peak for this month's Design Team Delights Gallery that opens up tomorrow at Christian Paper Crafts!

I made this little scrapbook page of our favorite little "Vacation Church" using PaperTreyInk, October Afternoon, and Ippity Supplies!

I have some more exciting news to share, too!  I have been asked to join the I {heart} ippity creative team!  How cool is that!?  I can't wait to share more of my love of {ippity} with you!

God Bless You,

Just another manic Monday...

Monday mornings are always manic at our house, thanks to lazy weekends, no one wants to get out of the bed! Since I am running behind already, Monday's tend to be a little short...
Here is my Project for the day, a scrapbook page of Abby and I at on the boat.

You can of course see she is getting ready to jump in, while I am the other hand...man the boat lol

Have a great Monday everyone!

God bless you,

Simply saturday

Saturday is perhaps my favorite day of the week... One thing I aim to do is keep Saturday's as simple as possible. I try to have the grocery shopping out of the way, the house cleaning over, homework finished, etc so Saturday can be a family day, whether we decide to spend it at home or out and about. If at home, one of my favorite things to do is of course have some crafty time. Thanks to God for giving me a semi-creative mind every now and again, we incorporate crafty time and learning a lot... For example, we were working on getting some shapes down pat recently, so in order to work on triangles, here is what we made!

I'm loving it, but thats just my little ole country side showing! Abby helped trace and then cut out all the triangles for the project... I am so proud of her. Now, if we could only learn to call a square a square... (she calls them diamonds...what can I say, she is my daughter after all!)
In the world of paper, I wanted to share with you a scrapbook page of ouut most recent trip to the lake. Boy, swimming sure can take it right out of a girl!

{Cardstock & Papers: Papertrey Ink and October Afternoon; Ink: Momento - Tuxedo Black; Other: lace trim, button, twine,p prima flowers, button, stick pin, nestabilities labels dies}

I used the fabulous sketch from sketchabilities and adapted it to fit my one photo.
A couple of cards are on today's agenda as well...

{Cardstock & Papers: PapertreyInk Green Boutique, Kraft, and Basic Black; Stamps: Papertrey Ink Star Prints; Ink: Momento - Tuxedo Black; Other: lace trim, button, twine)

The Fussy and Fancy Challenge Blog is having a DT call, and this little number is for them!  I also used Sketch Tuesday 111 from Christian Paper Crafts.

{Cardstock & Papers: PapertreyInk Distressed Dots, Kraft, Raspberry Fizz, and White; Stamps: Unity - Stamp from KOM ?2010; Ink: Momento - Rich Cocoa, Copics; Other: lace trim, twine, Making Memories Butterfly, Jolees Bling)

Although I really have nothing against pastels, I tend to stay away from them on my cards because it's just not my style.  That's one reason I love challenges like the Color Throwdown, they really get me to thinking outside the box.  Of course, a great sketch from Card Positioning Systems always helps guide things along as well!Hope your Saturday is simply the best!

God bless you,

June Already....

Wow!  I cannot believe that June is already here!  Why, this month is cram packed, with Relay for Life events this weekend, Abby's Dance recital this weekend, our big Relay event and Church picnic next weekend, Father's Day the one after that, then California bound the following week!  Wow!  Just thinking of it all makes me look forward to July already!
A big Happy Birthday goes out to my Father-in-Law today, so today's project is in honor of him :o)

Abby was totally wore out after swimming on Sunday and decided a nap snuggled up to Grandpa on the boat ride back was just what she needed!

Happy Birthday Grandpa, we love you!

God Bless You,

Change is in the Air...

What you may ask?  Oh, just some things I have been praying about ;o)  And you will find out soon!  The announcment will be made on my blog in a few days, and I can't "wait wait wait" (in the words of my 4 year old)!
For now, let's look at some crafty goodness that has happened in this ole house...

Hmmm, do you see what I see?  Lovely little crocheted eggs that were the cutest Easter decorations and oh so easy to make!  I simply googled for a youtube tutorial on crocheted eggs!  I could whip one - two of these up on the way to work of the morning and another one - two on the way home (on days I rode with my hubby, of course)!

Oh, and those pretty ruffles in the other photo you may ask?  That would happen to be my new homemade camera strap color!  Sooo easy and I think I'm in love :o)

So, not your typical paper-crafting post most are accustomed to from this blog...  I think I like it!  :o)

God Bless You,

*CPC Design Team Delights Gallery Sneak Peak*

Hello!  Today I am excited to be sharing a sneak peak from Christian Paper Crafts April Design Team Delights Gallery that will premier tomorrow!!

Whether you are planning a little something to celebrate Mom or gathering the girlfriends for a day of fun, food is such an important part, don't forget to dress it up too! What did I do here that applies to paper you may ask? Oh but look and see, each of the sweets has a tag in front of it (taped to a napkin ring by the way) made out of cardstock with ribbons to let your guest know what bit of goodness lies ahead! The cupcake balls in the jar also have ribbons and little tags with love notes on them as well! Paper-Crafting supplies can be used everywhere!

Supplies: PaperTreyInk cardstock; ribbon; mega scalloped circle marvy punch

And....  if you are looking for a way to step up your participation somewhere, come on over to CPC and see what is going on!  Cindy just made an announcement looking for challenge hostesses!!

God Bless You,
Mary

*Snowy Saturday*

Snow...  I am so over the white stuff!  We have had more than our fair share around here this year.  At least this snow is on the weekend, and I am home with my loves!  Since school has not started back yet, I get to spend the snowy day catching up on housework and playing with paper and material!!  I just wish my mommy lived closer so we could do this together!

My first little creation today is for the Clean and Simple Challenge over at Christian Paper Crafts today, as well as the sketch and color challenge over at SplitCoastStampers.

(Paper: PaperTreyInk; Images & Sentiment: PaperTreyInk; Misc: Cuttlebug Swiss Dots, Cricut shape, gingham ribbon)

And in some happy, scrappy news, I'm now a Scrapbook Specialist at Christian Paper Crafts!  Below is a page a created from our "Christmas Vacation" to the Inn at Christmas Place in Tennessee this past December!

(Paper: PaperTreyInk, My Mind's Eye; Stamps: PaperTreyInk; Lettering: Cricut; Misc: Cuttlebug Swiss Dots, Fskars Treading Water Punch, buttons, jute, Marvy snowflake punch, bling)

God Bless You,

Love Notes

So maybe I'm stuck in the Valentine mode for good!  With snow in the forecast for the end of this week as well as next week, ANYTHING closer to Spring is sounding better and better everyday!

My little project today is a suprise for my hubby...  Shhhh, don't tell!  Instead of aValentine card to get lost in the stack of others, I decided to make a "pocket of love notes"!

I measured the envelope, then cut each of the papers a little smaller and matted another paper on top of there with an image from 2010 Love Tags stamped on each of them.  I plan to take a little time from now until Valentine's to write him some really heartfelt "aka mushy" love notes to tuck inside :) 

Pin It

 (Paper: PaperTreyInk; BoBunny; Images: PaperTreyInk - 2010 Love Tags; Ink - PaperTreyInk - Pure Popp; Misc- Ribbon, cuttlebug swiss dots folder)

Happy Wednesday - Half way through the work week!

God Bless You,

Woot Woot

I received my grade back from my Statistics midterm and found out I scored 95%!  So excited :o)  Now if the rest of the class goes that good I will be all set!
This week's Fun on Friday over at Christian Paper Crafts is to make something with a monogram.  I decided to make this little number for my home office following the sketch from 2Sketches4You this week:

(Paper: PaperTreyInk, Cosmo Cricket - Girl Friday; Ink: Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist, Distress Ink - Tea Stain; Accessories: glitter letter, ribbon, lace)

Next up is a card I made for MOJO Monday and Digi Doodle Shop - just getting some MOJO on with my scraps, LOL!

(Paper: PaperTreyInk, BoBunny - Peacock, Stamps: Ippity - What Matters Most; Ink: Momento - Rich Cocoa, Distress Ink - Tea Stain; Accessories: Copics, ribbon, cuttlebug embossing folder, pearls, jute, button)

And last but not least, I made a scrapbook page for Scrappin' Silhouettes:

(Paper: BoBunny, Misc; Accessories: lace, Cork, Prima Flower)

I just loved our fun time at VBS!  The top pic is me with my Teen Class and the lower one is my hubby and me covered in shaving cream on the day of the VBS Party!

Have a wonderful weekend!

God Bless You,

Monday Already...

As I sit at home typing this, the dreading thought of "Monday already"... pops into my head!  I am very thankful to be alive and well (although I realize it does not sound very evident in that thought), but I am trudging to work today while my hubby and little girl are enjoying the day at home :o(
I am excited to FINALLY be sharing my Scripture Saturday page with you - just a couple of days late!  I had a picture in my mind of how I wanted to do the page and would not stop until I got it that way!

It's my sweet little one on her first trip to the beach - All done in BoBunny Line with some primas, ribbon, lace, and a cork journaling tag (homemade).

Next up is for Color Monday at Christian Paper Crafts!  I love playing along with the colors, even if  I don't get them exactly right, it gives me a springboard to start from!  Today's colors were brown and celery.  Well, since I could not find any green that could be considered "celery", just consider this celery that has been left in the bottom drawer of the fridge for a few days too many!

(Cardstock: PaperTreyInk, Stamp: PaperTreyInk, Ribbon, lace, twine, Cuttle Bug embossing folder, PTI Tag Die)

Have a wonderful Monday!

God Bless You,

Another Hot One...

Well, the weather man is saying that it will be another hot one today...oh boy...  Car with black interior + no air conditioner + heat advisory "hotness" = FREE SAUNA!  Come along all my buddies ;)  No need to complain about it.  I am blessed that the car is still under warranty and the dealership is supposed to check on it for me for free :)  God is good!

Thinking of the hot temperatures took me straight back to the beach, well, in my mind at least!  I was so excited to take these pics while we were there, but non of them had actually made it into a scrapbook yet!  Thanks to Candace's Fun on Friday Challenge over at Christian Paper Crafts, this first one finally is!

The paper is appropriately titled Abbey Road, although we don't use an "e" in Abby, I just had to get it!  Just about everything that sat still got some love from the Glimmer Mist Bottles, and since I totally despise journaling, a tattered angels calling card is all I needed!  This lovely sketch is an adaptation of the challenge over at Scrabooking Supplies R Us.  What is the adaptation?  No journaling block is found on mine, of course!  LOL

Hope this Friday is the beginning to a wonderful weekend!

God Bless You,

Happy Graduation Day!

Yes, that would be today! I am officially a graduate of Indiana Wesleyan University with my Bachelor's of Science in Nursing degree. Although I have been a nurse for years, finishing my Bachelor's degree was the first step in achieving my dream of obtaining my Masters to be a Nurse Practitioner! IWU is a Christian school, which was so cool because the first college I went to also had a Christian emphasis. If you couldn't tell, I'm a little excited!

Being in school, having a family, and working full time was enough to make the blog take a back seat every now and again, but when you coupled that with the fact that I decided to take all accelerated courses to finish quicker (what was I thinking?) and having technical issues, well.... The techno issues won out and I didn't have as much time to fight with them :o( Back now though :o)

Some things that have been going on before we get to the crafty business of it. The church where I attend now has a Prayer Shawl Ministry that I am blessed to be a part of. Here is one of the shawls that I crocheted for the ministry. We present them to those who have a need, whether it is physical sickness, emotional, those suffering loss, etc. This one is made for a special friend's sister-in-law who is fighting breast cancer. She is a courageous Christian and is trusting in God for her healing. Please join me in praying for her, especially as she is only 35 and has three young children as well as a spouse.

And my scrapbook room got an updo! I never really knew what to call it to be honest because it didn't have a door or even a doorway, it was just sort of an extension or bonus space off to the side of our family room that the contractor never finished converting into a bathroom (before we purchased the house), so my sweet hubby decided to build me a wall and buy me some french doors for the place and call it my office! He thinks office is a good term since I am waiting to hear whether or not I am accepted into grad school for the fall! I love the new color and furniture! Finally, everything matches and it is not a messy hodge podge of stuff! (I looked for a "before" picture, but was unable to find one....it was a horrid mess, so I am not sure I would have wanted to post it if I would have found it!) The area is very small as you can tell, I think the room is around 8x8, but it is serving it's purpose :o)

Now, on to the paper-crafty goodness! Today is of course Scripture Saturday and CASE Artist Saturday over at Christian Paper Crafts! If you have not stopped by and become a member, I urge you to do so. If you are unfamiliar with CPC, check it out, you will not regret it!

Our featured artist today is Bernadette. The card of hers that I decided to CASE can be seen by clicking here. When I saw the little squares, I immediately thought of quilting and fell in love! This card also follows along with Cindy's Fun on Friday challenge for yesterday (FOF51). You can read all about that here.

In the picture below, you can see a better close up of some of the detail! I used PTI cardstock along with Cosmo Cricket! Unity Stamps and copic markers.

Next is what I created for Scripture Saturday. I love to keep verse close by whether in my office at work or my new office at home. I find that if I begin to get aggravated, I can grab my ATC holder and look through it... A smile and prayer comes up in no time after that! Today's Scripture is Proverbs 3:13, from any version you chose. I am more familiar with the King James or New King James version, so those are what I use the most. I also decided to use a little Fun on Friday theme on here as well! I hope you enjoy!

Have a wonderfully blessed weekend,

God Bless You,

Oh What A Day...

And it isn't over yet. I apologize for this blog post being so late, but the day has just went nonstop unscheduled!!

This first card is for Fun on Friday over at Christian Paper Crafts yesterday and follows this week's 2 Sketches 4 You sketch!

The scrapbook page, well just imagine there is a picture there. I could not find the one I was looking for at all, but there is going to be a picture of me and my daddy there as soon as I do find it :o)

Supplies used today include My Mind's Eye cardstock, PTI cardstock, CTMH ink, {ippity} stamps, and Unity February Kit of the Month stamps! The scripture under the stamped sentiment on the scrapbook page is Psalms 119:1 from Scripture Saturday today at Christian Paper Crafts!

Have a wonderful day!!

God Bless You,

Mary

Strawberry-Banana Bread Kind of Day...

Winner!! If you are GOCANUCKS go, please send me an email to marycollins.at.windstream.net (sorry, had to type it that way to prevent spam) with your email address and name! You have won a small gift certificate to Lauren Meader's new store, My Time Made Easy!

Yumm.... Last night I baked some homemade strawberry-banana bread... so nice and fresh, we are eating this loaf without the topping :o) I guess that just means we'll have to force ourselves to make another loaf to try the topping!

Today I'm combining some challenges in my projects! First you will see my card!

This card was made with clear cardstock, PTI paper, Unity Stamp, etc... The challenge for DCRU this week is to NOT use DP or Patterned Paper. Even though it was hard, I drug out the cuttlebug and used my new floral screen folder to do a little embossing, The fabulous sketch come from the ever-so talented 2Sketches4You and the glitz and glimmer you see on the church house, well that's part of the challenge over at Christian Paper Crafts today for Fun on Friday! We have a special guest host and you'll want to click over there and find out more!!

Next is a layout that I made of my sweet little girl on Christmas morning! The layout was part of a challenge for our local scrapbook store, and the glitter that is showered about the snowflakes is for Fun on Friday today as well!

I hope you have a wonderful day and blessed weekend. My sweet hubby has minister's conference tonight, so I guess me and the little one are going to have a night to ourselves!

Don't forget to check out {Ippity} Kisses! There are some MAGNIFICENT Grand Opening Sales there and remember, this {ippity} chick does it for charity!!

God Bless You,

So Happy For You...

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day! The little love of my life and I had a date with her daddy last night to McDonald's and a Wal-Mart trip all for her! Anytime I am excited over something, Abby is sure to be the first to tell me, I'm so happy for you, mommy! Now how sweet is that, especially coming from someone not even 3 yet! Abby girl, I am so happy for me that God blessed me to be your mommy!

It's Saturday, so you know what that means here! CASE artist Saturday and Scripture Saturday over at Christian Paper Crafts.

I used today's scripture - very Valentine's appropriate might I add :o) - "I am my beloved's..." (Song of Solomon 2:16). The page is of my wonderful hubby and I on our wedding day, and yes... I am still working on the wedding scrapbook album after all these years...or should I say I am finally working on it!

Today's CASE artist is thumbunny! I really enjoyed cruising through her gallery and making this card from one of the layouts found there!

My sweetie has to work today :o( and I have to file a complaint on eBay...the first time since I have had the account for over 7 years! Not fun at all!

God Bless You,

*Insert Catchy Title Here*

I'm not having too creative of a day (as if you aren't aware of that after seeing the title of today's blog). If the calander wasn't saying Tuesday, I would be more than convinced that today is Monday all over again, expect more Monday-ish, so to speak! I hear the groundhog saw his shadow, which I suppose means 6 more weeks of plowing the snow in the Camry for me...

My little one is even getting tired ofthe snow, which is something I should most definately scrapbook, but chose to scrapbook happy memories of snow for her instead! Check this out!

This whole page is made from nothing but scraps of leftover Basic Grey Figgy Pudding paper from last year! Check out the snowflakes cut out on the Cricut. The middle one is smothered in Martha Stewart glitter!
Check back tomorrow to see if these scraps went just a little bit futher...

God Bless You,