Thanks!

Thanks

for time to be together,

turkey, talk,

and tangy weather.

H for harvest stored away,

home, and hearth, and holiday

A for Autumn's frosty art,

and abundance in the heart

N for neighbors, and November

nice things, new things to remember

K for kitchen, kettles' croon,

kith and kin expected soon.

S for sizzles, sights, and sounds

and something special.

I used this poem to make an album years ago. Every now and then I see the photo while I am digging around in my files and think that I would like to use the poem again.

I finally did!

The labels are all designed, printed, and cut by me. The board shape is something that I made in Illustrator and then cut with my Silhouette. Super simple and I just love the way it turned out:

It's fall themed, but I think the idea of gratitude for all that we have can be carried over into any season :)

Have a thankful Thursday!

Rhoda

Being Nerdy...

Happy Tuesday!

We had a busy weekend. In between running errands, a Zumba-thon, duck hunting, and a volleyball tournament, I still managed some quiet time.

I went all "nerdy" with my blog and redesigned my logos and then the layout. What do you think? Each of the boxes at the top are now links to different parts of my blog. I have more ideas, and other things to work on, but want to make sure I have the time to sit down and do it right.

So much to learn and do, so little time.

The weather has cooled down a little. Unfortunately, the smoke is still hanging on. I'm not sure we will know how to act once the air clears up. We all might go a little wonky!

In anticipation of crisp clean mornings I made following digi stamp to share with you:

You can download this little fellow by clicking "here".

He will be fun to add to all those fall colored cards. I'm looking forward to coloring him myself...and hopefully some of the other designs that I have waiting in my studio. I'll get there eventually :)

Have a great day!

Rhoda

Froggy Fall

Good Morning!

It's another Monday, but it's going to be a different type of week. This morning we are leaving the kids with their Papa and both of us are heading to a conference in Bozeman. About 4 hours from home.
Papa is in charge of all things "household" related, and we get a mini vacation that still counts as work.
Fine with us! We are crossing our fingers that the air is a little cleaner there and we might be able to get outside and smell fresh air again.

I was bumbling around my scrap room today, and decided to participate in a sketch challenge that is being hosted by Designs on Cloud 9 on their fan page.

It's a card that measures 5 1/2 inches square. I used two files: Smell my Feet and Sunflower Sweetie.

I'm super happy with the way it turned out. I pop dotted the top sunflower, and with the other piecings, it has a fair amount of texture.

Bring on Fall :)

Rhoda

Homecoming...

This has been a crazy week. So glad that it's Friday!

Still smoke filled. We all sound like we smoke a pack a day when we wake up in the mornings...and our voices get all scratchy by the middle of the day.

Our outdoor activities have all been postponed or canceled. The Homecoming game will now be away in a different town because their air quality is better.

We have never had a year that was this smokey for this long!

This weekend I worked up another mini album. I have another brewing in my mind, just need a weekend to play :)

I really enjoyed working with this paper. It was a great color combination and just really worked into an album nicely. If you want to see more, it's listed here.

I'm still itching to do another Halloween album...might have to make that my main project this weekend...along with some cards.

Hope you have a great weekend. I'm off to do the Friday Happy Dance :)

Skipping Seasons...

I'm not sure where my brain went this weekend, but it sure wasn't in the direction of fall.

Blossoms. Pinks and greens.

There was nothing fall about any of my choices. Maybe I am in denial about this seasons change. I thought I was looking forward to it...now I am just looking forward to clean air. Rain. Snow. I don't care. Let's just get it cleaned up!

Bunco last night. We have officially gone back into school mode. It's only once a month. My joke is that I pay $10 a month to have friends. I don't win. This is my 3rd year of playing. I've never even been the biggest loser. My score is always really happy being dead center, or one behind something that pays. Oh well. They are good friends for $10 :)

Here's my "Not so Fall" gift to you today:

Fun Blossoms: Digital Stamp

Fun Blossoms: Clip Art and Cutting Files

Click HERE to download.

You can download them both, or just the one that you will use the most :) Your choice. The link will take you to the page you just click the buttons.

Hope you all have a fantastic week!

A Monster Ate My Book:

Happy Sunday.

I made a few little things over the past week, and started a bigger project yesterday. Hoping to finish that up and also get a chance to color and make a few cards today.

But I'm reading a good book. And I'm right at the last few chapters. So I probably won't be productive until that's finished. It's the only thing I can think about this morning.

The only reason this blog is getting an update is that I am waiting for my coffee to brew...then I will be snuggled in a corner until I finish that book :)

Here are the little things I made this week:

These are super fun Monster bookmarks. I created a lesson with them and my Jr. High Art class made them on Monday. My High School kids that saw them all wanted them too...so I was handing out my sample and having to make a new one all day :) My daughter saw the sample too and wanted one, so I came home and made a pile of "pieces". She and Hayden went to my craft room and made a few of their own. They are adorable when they are chewing on the corner of your book!! There is one on my laptop corner at school too. Makes a person giggle :)

And the cupcake wraps were a request. When Kyla made cupcakes I though we should test them out:

Coffee is done brewing. I'm off to finish that book!

Have a great day :)

Let's Just Run Away...

It's times like this that I wish we didn't live in such a secluded area.

For us to go somewhere completely different takes a few hours. It's always a drive to go someplace else...even to other little towns.

Right now we are smothered in smoke from the wild fires. Smothered so much that at 4:00 in the afternoon it looks like 8 at night.

Can't breath.

Can't think.

Don't feel like being productive.

I just want to run away...but where do we go?

I'm craving fresh air. Green trees. Water. Anything but this. One month has been too long. It's time for winter!!

R U ...

Are you chicken?

Heck no!

Well...maybe.

Depends on what it is. Scary movies. I'm a big ol' chicken. Heights on an old mountain logging road. Please don't ask me to look down the slope. My children feeling pain. Just thinking about it sends shivers through my skin.

Halloween ghouls and goblins (in cartoon form)...not so scary. Some of my favorite images actually :)

I created this card using scraps from some of my Halloween projects:

I created an SVG file of the chicken so I can cut it in any size I wish. This image just makes me smile. Can't help it. I look at it and I just get a silly grin on my face. Probably because I can just see this chicken hauling butt for the hen house with images of ghouls and goblins trailing behind.

Hope you enjoy it as well :)

Rhoda

Maybe I Want to Be...

While we were walking home from school the other day, Hayden asked me "What do you think you will come back as someday after you die?".

Hmmm. Curious that we are already thinking about our existence after death at the age of 9. Must be about the age that mortality starts to register in their conscience. So our conversation went something like this:

Me: Well, I have always wanted to be an otter. I think that is what I would choose.

Hayden: Oh. I want to be a tiger or a panther. But I don't want to live where they hunt tigers.

Me: Yeah. That wouldn't be good. I suppose you could always live where there aren't any hunters. You might be safe that way. Or you could be a panther and live in the jungle.

Hayden: I could do that. I promise not to try to eat you Mom. Maybe you could try to remember that it's me as a tiger and remind me so I don't eat you!

Me. That would work. I'll just point at a different otter and tell you to eat them, since I don't know who they used to be.

Silly conversation. But it was fun to be goofy and talk about it while we walked home. He also thinks he will be a super cute tiger cub. I asked what would happen if he wasn't a cute cub and his mom kicked him out of the den. He said he would just go get squished or something so that he could come back as a cute one.

There's a thought process for you!

It's Tuesday. Ready for a treat? I am going to go back to offering them here on my blog. Easier for you and for me, both :)

A sweet digital stamp: Daisy and Duck

Perfect for card making, coloring, scrapbooking, and more!

And for you machine cutters:

Some fun frames to cut out, decorate, and use for tags or cards.

Be sure and post a finished project if you get a chance on my Facebook page. It's a great way to be entered for a chance to win more free stuff!

Happy Tuesday!

Rhoda

Burning Sugar Stinks!

My kids are usually ravenous when we get home after a day at school.

They eat everything they see. Dig things out of the cupboard that I didn't know was there. Scarf up anything in their lunch boxes and then start hounding me for dinner.

Last weekend Kyla and her friend made little mini brownies from scratch. It was a great Sunday afternoon activity. She loves those little tiny cupcake tins so she baked them in that with her cute decorative papers.

Makes a perfect after school snack. Right?

Hayden and I came home together. Chris went to work out. Kyla was at volleyball practice.

Mr. Garbage Gut struck the kitchen with a vengeance and then decided he wanted a mini brownie, but he didn't want it cold. He stuck it in the microwave for 30 seconds and walked away. I was in the living room when I heard this awful whirring sound coming from the microwave. I glance at the kitchen and all I see is a HUGE plume of dirty black smoke.

"Hayden...what the heck did you put in the microwave?! Metal?!"

"No Mom. I swear. It's just a brownie"

I run for the kitchen and the first glance at the window of the microwave shows me that something is definitely on fire. The whole window is glowing yellow and orange.

I slam the stop button and then open the door.

The brownie is going up like a roman candle. There is flame all the way to the top of the microwave and it just keeps on burning. I blow on it like a candle on a cake and it goes out but smokes even more.

I grab a hot pad and take the whole microwave tray to the sink, thinking that I don't want to break the plate with cold water, but I need to put this brownie out! I slide it into the bottom of the sink and then turn the water on. More smoke. Lots of hissing. The thing is as black and charred as a charcoal briquette!

Hayden is watching by now. The smoke alarm is going off so I hand him a towel and ask him to go wave it in front of the alarm to make it stop.

Then it dawns on me. I ran for the kitchen. My son was running for the front door. I ask him "Hayden, were you going to run out the door and leave me in the kitchen?" His reply, "Yeah Mom. I thought the whole kitchen was on fire!!".

Wow. I feel safe and loved. My hero. Not!!

By the way. Burning sugar really smells bad. The house reeked for the rest of the night!

Rhoda

A Little Boo...

Good morning!

I have never really been a morning person, but for some reason this summer I started waking up between 5:30 and 6:00. Coffee calls to me. And then I discovered that it is so peaceful to hang out in my studio, drink my coffee, check my email, and the family just keeps on snoozing.

School has started, but I am trying to still wake up at the same time. Even 10 minutes to myself with my coffee seems to set a great tone for my day :)

A few posts ago, I gave a sneak peek at my "Boo To You" mini album. Figured I would post the entire album this morning.

Lots of photos...here goes:

This is probably one of my favorite creations so far. I'm not sure if I would ever have enough Halloween photos of my kids to fill it (maybe if I put in a couple from each year for their elementary years)...but I still love the way it feels and looks. Makes me smile :)

Have a great Thursday!

Rhoda