Happy Easter!

Just a quick drive-by posting today - we were away at my Dad's since Thursday evening and I need to get some things unpacked before heading back to work tomorrow morning.

First up, for the Sweet Shoppe FOBTY - a "Which Easter Candy are You?" quiz. Here are my results:

You Are a Chocolate Bunny

A traditionalist, you secretly want to dress up like a bunny. And not just on Easter.

What Easter Candy Are You?

LOL ok..... next up is a layout I did this afternoon. I don't think I ever put together a layout this quick. I only worked on it for about 2 hours. No matter how simple or cluttered I try to make my layouts, they usually take about 4 hours because things have to be "just so"....

I took this photo of my Dad yesterday 4-11-09. It really makes me sad. He's doing well since his surgery two months ago but I am still reminded that he's not getting any younger. He was THRILLED when we decided to go spend Easter with him at his house. We usually have him here for dinner. I didn't have cell phone service there nor did I have any computer or internet. It was fun but it's always nice to come home.



Credits are here - almost everything on this page is by Penny Springmann.

That's about it for me. Hope your Easter was a great one - filled with family and love.

*insert a catchy title here*

Hey, Happy Thursday to you...how are ya?

Last Saturday, we moved my Dad home to his own home. I was so excited for him but nervous all the same. I worry about him being ok living on his own again after the valve replacement surgery, esp. since he's over an hour away but I know he'd never be happy living here with us permanently. It was kinda fun having him here and the evenings just aren't the same without him here. I worry that he'll not take his medications or worse, that he won't take them correctly. But for his happiness, he has to give it a try.

I've been busy creating things for The Daily Scrapper, the Digichick and Hybridchick and also for Penny Springmann. Here are a few things that I've created in the last week or so:

For Penny Springmann - using her newest kit Hard Times and a bunch of her overlays and alphabets from other kits:





credits can be found here

Next up, is just something I literally threw together in like an hour. Really, an hour. It was so easy to do and turned out cute if I do say so myself!! LOL

Using Pamela Donnis' Vegetable Soup element kit:







And lastly for tonight, for the Sweet Shoppe FOBTY (From our blog to yours), we are to blog about 5 TV shows that we have seen EVERY episode of. Mine would be (in no particular order):

1. House
2. Still Standing
3. Reba
4. Who's the Boss (with the yummy Tony Danza who can clean my house anytime! LOL)
5. CSI

I could name a whole lot more like Little House on the Prairie, Full House and Coach. LOL

Well, that's it for now. Got to go work on some work stuff I brought home. *ack* but I need somewhere quiet to work on it and my office just won't work. See you later!!

Hey there - long time no see!!

Dang! I can't believe it's been over a month since I last posted! I haven't had a whole lot of time for the computer - my Dad is still staying with us. He's here alone most of the day so I feel really guilty being on the computer in the evening. He's just about ready to move back home!! I'm so happy for him! It's been fun hanging out together in the evenings even if it's just watching TV or going to the park and walking the dog around the lake.

I have managed to get a few new projects done for some new positions. I've joined the Hybrid team at The Daily Scrapper and also joined the Hybrid Chick team. I can't post the projects that I've done for The Daily Scrapper until 30 days after the release of issue. I do have a few other things that I can share! Sadly, layout-wise - my mojo has gone bye-bye!

First off, a few weeks ago, Kate Hadfield gifted me with a certificate to her store at the Lilypad. Kate has THE best hand drawn doodled elements out there! Her unexpected gift came a few days after my Dad's surgery and on a day that he wasn't doing well! It was also a few days after.... shhhhh.... *whispering* my 40th birthday. So all in all, it was a rough week (not because of the birthday though - that wasn't bothering me at all).

So, I wanted to do something in return for her. So, what better way than to create something using her designs and give it back as a gift??? Now, unfortunately, I can't post the photo of what I created until she receives it because I don't want to spoil her surprise. But I do have a few sneak peeks that I've been teasing her with...



Aren't I being a stinker tormenting sweet Kate like this??? LOL...

I can tell you I am STOKED how it turned out and can't wait to get it in her hands! I am hoping to get it in the mail at the end of the week! And I hope she loves it as much as I do! I usually am VERY critical of anything I make and just LOVE how it all came together and turned out!

And on to some other things that I created in the past few weeks:

For the 3/18 Hybrid challenge at the Digichick - using Dawn Inskip and JanaM's new kit called Jungle Fever:



Doesn't it look like that lion is really RAWR'ing??? LOL

And for my blog post on the Hybrid Chick on 3-16-09 - using Starry Night by Megan Fisher:



I think that's it for today - I have a few other things in the works. Until then, thanks for stopping by!!!

*ack* I've been tagged! LOL

I've been tagged by Gabs (fellow Dawn Inskip CT member - I'm just a guest though LOL). Sometimes I really like getting these because they are fun to read and do. They are almost like the email you get where you have to erase the sender's answers and fill in your own answers then send it on to "everyone you know"

The tag is that I am supposed to list 6 interesting things about myself and than link back to the one who tagged me and tag 6 friends. So, here are 6 things about me....

1. I always wanted to be a nurse but my high school guidance counselor talked me out of going to college for it because my science grades weren't "good enough". I did 2 years of Early Childhood Education (to become a preschool teacher) before quitting college and going to nursing school!!! And, I made mostly A's, got married and had my first baby 4 weeks before graduating!!!

2. I read really fast. A standard novel only takes me about 4 hours to read. I have an excellent memory and usually can turn to almost the exact page to find something that I am looking for (a particular scene/etc.)

3. I was adopted as a baby and have my biological Mom and sister in my life.

4. I was very involved in extracurricular activities in high school. Captain of the majorette squad for 2 years, started as a guard in Varsity basketball for 2 years, and started 1 year in centerfield and 2 years in the catchers position in softball. I was a captain my senior year in Softball.

5. I am a night owl - I think it has to do with having quiet, ME time late at night.

6. I am very competitive and tend to have a green streak when someone is better than me at something. Think it has anything to do with the sports and extracurricular activities that I was involved in??? LOL

So, that's me in a nutshell. Let's see who I shall tag.......

Lena - she's one of those incredibly interesting people!
Kris - I've got to know more about someone who lives so close to me!!
Christine - fellow Maniac that tagged ME last time! LOL
Monique
Nikki
Amy

So, Tag! You're it Ladies!!!

*insert sigh here*

So, a few days ago, I quietly celebrated my birthday. and it was what some consider a milestone birthday. The big one. The big 4-0! Knowing I was turning 40 really wasn't bothering me. It's just a number. But then something happened that jolted me into the realization that I am getting older and that so is my Dad. And it was that chain of events that has led to one of the worst few weeks in my life.

To sum it up, my Dad was admitted to the hospital a few days before my birthday for chest pain. Multiple tests over the course of a few days and labs showed that he had one heart valve that needed replaced and one that needed repaired. Surgery was scheduled for Feb. 4th - the day after my birthday. He was in a hospital that was about 45 minutes away. But that didn't matter - all that mattered was that my Dad was sick and I had to be there with him.

Surgery was done as scheduled and he did well. Luckily he had no blockages which could have complicated the surgery. There are 2 snapshots in time that will never ever be erased from my head. The first is being with my Mom and watching her slip away almost 15 years ago and the second is seeing how frail my Dad looked after surgery hooked up to all those machines. Now you have to understand that I am a nurse and have been there with patients as they slipped away and I've seen patients on breathing machines before but NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING, is worse than seeing someone you love in those situations.

Dad has had a few rough spots over the past week since his surgery and required a pacemaker insertion due to his heart not adjusting to being cut into for the valve repair but he's finally out of the Surgical Intensive Care unit and in a regular room.

To those of you who offered positive thoughts and prayers for him, I thank you with all my heart!! It truly has helped - both him and me!!!

Kate - if you're reading this, you just can't know how your simple gift touched my heart at a time when I needed it most! thanks so much Sweetie!!!

And I leave you with a layout about that milestone birthday titled "No candles for me"



You can read the journaling HERE - I'd love to hear what you have to say about it!

thanks for stopping by!!

Candy Bouquet Instructions

These candy bouquets are so easy and fun to make. My daughter actually made one with my supervision as a class demonstration project when she was in 4th grade. I've made them for Valentine's day, birthdays and baby showers.



Here's my supply list and how I make mine:

Supplies:
-Regular computer paper or sticker paper (I always use sticker paper)
-Bag of Hershey's miniature candy bars
-Bamboo skewers (found in the kitchen supply aisle at Kmart, Walmart, etc near the
spatulas/measuring spoons approx. $2.00)
-Mug or container of your choice (mine is from the dollar store)
-Floral Foam block, cut to fit snug in your mug (purchased mine from a dollar store)
-Low temp Hot Glue
-Shredded paper to cover foam in mug (purchased mine from a dollar store)
-Pre-curled ribbons (Like you attach to gifts - I bought 3 curled gift bows for a $1
at a dollar store), in my baby sample above, I used 19 of them.

Assembling instructions:
1. Start with a 2.57" x 1.51" canvas, 300dpi. Odd size, I know, but trust me, this
is the size of my wrappers. Create your candy wrappers to your liking. I
create some sort of borders on my wrapper and save that one as my "base". Then
I add an alphabet letter to the base and save as wrapper ______ (insert letter
here). Delete that layer and add your next letter to the base. Save as wrapper
_____ (insert next letter here). Do the same with any elements you want on your
wrappers.
2. Open an 8.5 x 11 300dpi canvas. Position as many of your wrappers on here as
you can to create a full page of wrappers for easier printing. I used full
sized label paper to print on.
3. Print and let sit for about 15 minutes. Cut labels and wrap each candy bar.
Center letter or image on front of mini candy bar and then wrap edges to the
back of bar. If using paper, wrap label around candy bar and tape to the back
of bar. Foil edges of mini candy bar will be visible when the candy bar is
wrapped.
4. Working quickly and on one candy bar at a time, apply a stripe of hot glue down
the middle of the back of the candy bar. Start at the top of the backside of
the candy bar and apply the glue to the bottom on the backside of the candy
bar. Lay a wooden skewer in the glue while it's still hot. Position the wooden
skewer so that the tip is very close to the top of the candy bar, but not
showing at the top. This will give it a better hold when it is put in the mug.
Let dry completely.
5. Fit your styrofoam block/shape to your mug/container. You will want a snug
fit. I had to cut additional wedges of foam to make it fit snugly. Apply some
hot glue to the foam and cover the foam with some shredded paper, if you
desire. I did half of the surface, added paper and then did the other half.
But don't use too much or it will be hard to push your wood sticks into the mug.
6. Hot glue your curling ribbons to the bottom of each candy bar in front of the
stick. (Play around a little to see how you want the ribbon to look before hot
gluing it in place) I put curling ribbon on each skewer. Allow to dry.
7. Arrange your candy bars in your mug/container. Start with your middle row and
center. See photo for reference. Some of the skewers for the front of your
arrangement will need shortened for placement. I did not shorten any of the
skewers for the candy bars at the top of my arrangement.

You can download my supply list and instructions HERE

Enjoy! And most of all, if you create a candy bouquet, please drop me a line so I can see yours!!!

I've been tagged!!! and a new layout that I LOVE!!!

So, I get this sweet little PM from my friend and fellow Penny Springmann CT Christine(my4boys) and I get all excited to see what my fellow Steeler lover has to say.... and she TAGS me!!! But this is a fun little game I've been tagged in! I saw this posted on a blog a few days ago but totally forgot about it. Here's the tag:

Go to your photos folder in your computer.
Go to the 6th folder of photos.
Go to the sixth picture in that folder.
Put the picture on your blog and description of it.
Invite six friends to join the challenge.
Link them in your blog and let them know they have been challenged

Here's my photo from this fun little game:



This photo was snapped obviously as my two youngest were decorating the Christmas tree in 2007. I love the little hand signals my Andrew does when he has his picture taken. LOL

So, let's see who I can tag and see what photo is their 6th photo in their 6th folder....I'm tagging:

Kate Hadfield
Kris
Mothermark
Juli
Tracy
Eve

I did this layout last evening for a blog challenge at The Lilypad. The challenge was about white space and a photo of an inanimate object. This was my entry (which didn't win *pout*) but I LOVE LOVE LOVE how it turned out! Mandy (fellow Penny Springmann CT) commented that she loved how it was tree shaped. I didn't even realize it until she pointed it out! and funny how the star ended up on top of the tree shape!!!



Credits are HERE

And that's it for me this chilly PA Monday. Catch you later!

It's been a week??? Really???

I can't believe it's been a week since my last post! Which also means it's been a week since I scrapped or created anything. Where did the time go? I've been working hard at the gym, going almost every evening this past week. I've lost 3 pounds this week. Yay me! But I didn't go last night because I had a project for today for baby shower to work on. I promised my niece that I would make two of my candy bouquets for my nephew's wife's baby shower. I thought I posted my directions for creating the bouquets but I didn't. I'll work on getting these up for anyone that is interested (all 4 of my readers LOL)

I've been eyeing up Kate Hadfield's designs for a while (I actually purchased my first Kate Hadfield kit just before Christmas) and knew exactly which of her designs I wanted to use for my bouquets. Here's the candy bouquet I created:



Here are Kate's designs that I used:







I really wanted to use the polka dotty alphabet but wasn't sure if it would "work" with the pink, white and blue curly ribbon, but I have to say I'm extremely happy how these turned out.

You can be sure I'll be on the look out for black polka dotted curly ribbon to use on my next bouquet - I think it would give it a touch of class!

I have another project in mind using the Baby Girl Doodles, but it's still on the drawing board in my mind.

And last for today, for the Sweet Shoppe's blog challenge posted on 1-22-09, we are to about our favorite cupcakes. I haven't eaten cupcakes in probably 2 years but the last cupcake Taylor and I made were yellow cupcakes with chocolate frosting with sprinkles on top! and boy were they yummy!!! These days, I'm content with seeing all the cupcake digital elements popping up all over the web!

Well, that's it for me for today. Thanks for stopping by!

Sweet Saturday

The Sweet Shoppe's From Our Blog to Yours offered a challenge to find out what kind of shopper you are. Here are my results:

You Are a Reluctant Shopper

You really don't enjoy shopping. For you, it's just another chore. You approach shopping systematically. You research what you're going to buy and come prepared with a list. Of all the types, you are the most likely to not buy things you don't need. You try to de-emphasize stuff in your life. You find shopping and buying things to be a rather empty experience.

What Kind of Shopper Are You?

Yeah, this is me. I've turned into a real frugal shopper - only get what I need and I really have to think hard as to do I really need it?

I have a layout to share today too - it's for the challenge at digidares.com. This week's dare was:
Must use kraft paper somewhere in your layout
Must use at least one b/w photo
Must have the lyrics/part of the lyrics or words from the song/quote/poem somewhere on your layout

and here's what I came up with - uses Penny Springmann's Perfect Pair with Brandy Designs called Sweetest Heart.


The kit can be purchased here and thru the 20th, there is a Free with Purchase gift (after the 20th, you'll have to purchase the add-on):



The layout also uses a bunch of other Penny products.



Credits listed HERE

Well, I'm off - have to go get ready for a wedding this afternoon. It's a cold day in PA for a wedding but it's the daughter of a very close friend getting married and a blizzard would NOT keep me from attending!!!

See you again soon!

Sharing a new project

Today was my day to post on Penny Springmann's blog for Hybrid Hump Day. Now, you have to understand that I'm not your typical Hybrid artist (I don't consider myself an artist LOL) so this is not your typical Hybrid project. I've come up with some really different projects over the past year and love that I'm different from most hybrid people. Hopefully those that I CT for love me anyway!!!! LOL

I think this one takes the cake for my most creative project!

I created these cute little snowmen from Martha Stewart Test tubes (leftover from Halloween), scrap piece of fleece, some thread, a needle, and some other digital hybrid supplies (cardstock, sticker paper, glue dots, etc.)



I hand sewed the little hats. I even taught my 11 year old daughter to make them too - in fact, the hat on the snowman in the middle was the one she made. She then asked a few questions on how to make one her size and went about making this for herself:



Now she's taking orders for these from her friends LOL.... my little entepreneur!!!

On a side note: I have continued my trips to the gym to use the treadmill. I went yesterday morning and did my Prevention walking podcast and then went again last evening for another 30 minutes but listened to regular music instead. I didn't get up and go this morning and I really missed going. Am heading there tonight and will go back in the AM.

Thanks for stopping by!
LuAnn

Monday Monday, it was all I hoped it would be...

Nah, I wasn't hoping it would be anything other than the start of a new week but I wanted a catchy title for today LOL. Just a quick post today with a layout I created for a Sweet Shoppe Designs challenge called "Yourself in Photos".

The challenge rules were a MINIMUM of FIVE photos and describe yourself, your personality, your life..something about you with those photos. Here's what I came up with using Penny Springmann's new release Family Tree




Credits here

On a side note, I've been picked to Guest CT for Dawn Inskip in February and can't wait. Dawn's designs are so PERFECT for hybrid projects!! Can't wait!!!

Update on my gym membership - we went to the gym Saturday evening after our membership went live, got up early Sunday morning and went, and I got up this morning and went myself. I'll go again later with hubby. Maybe give the eliptical machines a try!!!

That's it for today. Catch you on the flip side!!!

today is THE day!!!

Today, hubby and I joined a newly opened health club very close to our house. it literally is a 2 minute walk from my house to the gym. It's a gym that is open 24 hours, 7 days a week. The gym is in a shopping center and is a closed gym. We received our key cards with our membership today. Ken and I are most interested in using the treadmills. Since it was their grand opening, there were no enrollment fees. And I love the fact that there is no contract. It's a month to month auto-pay as you go membership.



It'll be cool to see how this works out because he and I have completely opposite schedules when we're home from work. He's up so early in the morning (like 4am) and is ready for bed at 8pm... can ya blame him??? Me? I'm a genuine night owl. I like to stay up until 1 or 2am. I wouldn't even bat an eye at heading over to the gym at 11pm LOL. I like to stay up late but I still get up at 6:30am to get the kids and myself out to door by 8am.

I know I need to get more sleep. So that I need to work on. Well, time to sign off. Wish me luck as I venture forward - maybe this time will be the time that I get on track and stay on track! Besides, it'll be a great stress reliever for everything that is going on at work as we get ready for our yearly licensing.

Now I got to find something to wear to the gym and find a water bottle!!!!