Some Challenge Stuff :)

You know I love this card! Yummy! Entering this card over at Pile It On One Stop Craft Challenge & PaperPlay this week :) Getting back into the swing of some challenges!

Here is my card for SPCC #16 too :)- Did I mention I know the girl who designed this stamp set. Jessica aka The Whimsical Butterfly, It's adorable! Butterfly Wishes from The Greeting Farm!

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Robot Action :)

I hand pieced this little robot the other night and had a lot of fun doing it! I used a bunch of little scraps (see I knew I was saving them for a reason, lol) to make him and outlines him with a white gel pen. The paper is from DCWV All About Boys Paper pack and I embossed the Happy Birthday. So, what do you do with your scraps? Remember that the JuJUBee's Blog Buzz is going on still. Scroll down to see my post for the buzz!

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***Don't forget to enter the free giveaways listed at the top of my blog!!!
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Rubber Romance Stamps Design team

Spooktacular Birthday Banner & Toppers

I had a special order the other day for a set of Halloween themed cupcake toppers for a birthday party. The little girl loves Halloweenand since her birthday is so close they are having a themed birthday party. So, here are the toppers, some with pumpkins, some with her name and this crazy cute banner for her party. I just loved it and loved it hanging in my studio while I worked!

My Etsy Shoppe
***Don't forget to enter the free giveaways listed at the top of my blog!!!
Proud Member of:
Die Cuts R Us Design Team
The Lime Light Creative Team
Rubber Romance Stamps Design Team

Welcome Newbies & PIF Gift

I just realized that I am almost at 200 foloowers. WOW! You guys are awesoem! Thanks for your support! Hello to all the new followers! I will tell you what I tell everyone- leave me a comment with your blog addy so I can come visit you and follow you too! I LOVE reading your blogs and I tryto comment as much as I can!! Now, Just wanted to show you this cute monogrammed card set I made for a special friend I made through the bloggy world. She signed up for my PIF- Pay It Forward Contest and one day reading her blog she wrote about how much she loved dinosaurs. SO when I sat down to make her gift- I knew exactly what to do! Hope you enjoy SB :) Have a happy Saturday everyone! Be back in a little bit with another post! (I'm on a roll!!!)

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Rubber Romance Stamps Design team

New embellies!

I promised a sneak of some new embellies, so here ya go :)

Have a great night!!

My Etsy Shoppe
***Don't forget to enter the free giveaways listed at the top of my blog!!!
Proud Member of:
Die Cuts R Us Design Team
The Lime Light Creative Team
Rubber Romance Stamps Design team

Update on Card & Image Swap

HEY ALL- IF I DON'T HAVE A STATUS OUTSIDE YOUR NAME THE PLEASE EMAIL ME ASAP AND LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE NOT PARTICIPATING OR IF THE ITEMS ARE IN THE MAIL ON THEIR WAY! THANKS!!! I want to get these back out as soon as possible, so I appreciate your cooperation!

Card Swap:

1. Karen - On their way!
2. Yvette -RECEIVED!
3. Amanda- RECEIVED!
4. ME!- RECEIVED :)
5. SaraBeth - RECEIVED!
6. Terria-RECEIVED
7. Dana- RECEIVED
8. Cristina
9. Sherry C.
10. Carole - RECEIVED
11. Vicki- RECEIVED

Stamped Image Swap:

Yvette- RECEIVED

Dana - Got them!

Mary - Got them!

Ms. Cheryl - Had to cancel this time :( We'll miss ya!
Karen- On their way!

Sheryl- Got them!

Amanda - Got them!

SJ - Got them!

Jana - Got them!

Stacie- RECEIVED
Nicole -On their way!
Tanya
Raegan - On their way
Crystal- On their way.

My Etsy Shoppe
***Don't forget to enter the free giveaways listed at the top of my blog!!!
Proud Member of:
Die Cuts R Us Design Team
The Lime Light Creative Team
Rubber Romance Stamps Design team

Day 2: JUJUBEE'S BLOG BUZZ (B/c Bee's Don't Hop :)- Staying at the top 24th-27th! Scroll down for new posts!

Day 2- So I just finished the giveaway embellie set I talk about below in Day 1 and SHEW! they are too cute!!!! Maybe a sneak peek this afternoon if the weather will allow for photography!!!!

DAY1- Greetings ya'll! So happy you stopped by! If this is your first stop, you will want to start here for more great challenges and prizes! I am pleased to be a part of this amazing new kit club at Jujubee's! I was asked to make the handmade embellishments for these awesome kits so that each one is unique and is given a personal touch. I love taking the time to find just the right embellishments for the right projects! Do you like to make your own or would your rather buy them? Make sure you comment to this post and I will be drawing a random name for a set of a brand new, unrealeased embellishment set!!! Become a follower of my blog over on the right and receive another entry! Be sure and tell me you joined! I'm so glad you visited today! One more stop and you have successfully completed Jujubee's first blog buzzin'. Next you will need to go back to Juju's blog and leave Julia a message saying that you completed your journey.

Have a happy scrappy day!

My Etsy Shoppe
***Don't forget to enter the free giveaways listed at the top of my blog!!!
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The Lime Light Creative Team
Rubber Romance Stamps Design team

Mango Luau :)

I am not a 2 page scrapper. I never clamied to be. However, I am trying. I have scrap pages that id do for publication and inspiration, but then I have these. The ones you find my my scrapbooks. Simple. Full of pictures and making the most of the space to fill it with the memories! These pics are from our January cruise and after a week in tropical heaven, there are a LOT of pictures. So, I try my best to get all my favs and not need 5 scrapbook albums for one vacation :) Both these 2 doubles are from the Mango Luau collection from Bo Bunny. I got the papers, flowers, elements from Die Cuts R Us.

My sister came up the 12th and we scrapped some on our vay-cay albums together!

Matthew bummed shoulder rides all week. I probably have 20 pics of him on the shoulders of everyone! Luke, my sisters boyfriend got the brunt of it :)
Grand Cayman was great as always.

A BLOG BUZZ (a hop) starts tomorrow at JuJuBee's! I designed the embellishments for her new line of kits and I am so excited I was invited to join in as one of the stops! So, start HERE tomorrow and work you way back to me! Lots of candy goin' on!!!

My Etsy Shoppe
***Don't forget to enter the free giveaways listed at the top of my blog!!!
Proud Member of:
Die Cuts R Us Design Team
The Lime Light Creative Team
Rubber Romance Stamps Design team

Swap Updates

Hi All! Remember that if you are invloved in the following you need to have your goodies postmarked by the 30th- a week from today! Not too late to join the stamped image swap! Read details below!!!!!

Card Swap- Closed- Send by 9/30- Check status HERE!
Stamped Image Swap- OPEN- Send by 9/30- Check Status & Sign Up HERE!


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***Don't forget to enter the free giveaways listed at the top of my blog!!!
Proud Member of:
Die Cuts R Us Design Team
The Lime Light Creative Team
Rubber Romance Stamps Design team

My roots :)

I prmosied pics from the weekend. So here you go :)

These are the spring summer heifers (think tween in human terms :) after I fed them. The tall white one on the left in the back is one of Matthew's :) (Polka Dot, Daighter of Dottie :) He named them!)

Some tobacco in the barn. It will be stripping time before long!

A sweet one day old. Isn't she precious!!!

Feeding the little guy born on my birthday. He still doesn't take a bottle well, so I had to stablize him and hold it in his mouth so he would

drink. Yes, we were both covered! My little friend. he loved sucking on my hand. If you didn't know, calves are born with a full set of teeth. Crazy huh! I have always let them suck on my hand. They love the salt like taste from our skim. Everyone who tries it for the first time thinks their tongues feel like sandpaper. It's just sweet. I have only been bitten once in 28 years and it was more of a nibble :)

He's camera shy. Afterall it is only like 6:30 am here. We start milking at 3:30, so this was after sun up.

My little birthday friend again.His neighbor in the next stall. She is sweet and cracked me up. She too was born this weekend. Love the milk on her chin :)

"Did someone say milk???"

Note: Holding up a feed sack with command the attention of the room. Promise. Feeding hay and feed after milking. We have about 100 cows on the milk line and a few hundred off (turned dry, think pretty pregnant :) when they calve, they will be added back to the line. It makes for a lot of food. :)

This picture reminded me of the california Cheese commercials. lol

The barn kitties. There are about 15 that run around the farm and wait for dad to give them milk in the mornings.

Marla, the rooster. Long story.

Hope you enjoyed. This is my escape. My roots. Where I grew up.

Our family has been milking for 30 years.

When mom and dad started, I had a playpen in the milk room where I went every morning and night as a baby while they milked.

I am very grateful for my experiences here and love this place. My whole family does. My brother was majoring in Ag and had plans to take it over. Dad's dream too. One of the hardest parts this time of year is knowing that Matt will never get the chance. If you are ever in KY and want to go milk with me, call me up :)
Lots of love!

Challenge Day!

Today is challenge day at DCRU DT Blog!!! Head over to read about ht echallenge and jump in!!!

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HIYA!

ust wanted to say a quick hi to all the new followers and readers! Also, remember that if you ask me a question in the comments sections, please check the little box that asks youif you want to be notified of follow up comments! This way you will get my response :) Got some pics for you in a little bit! Also- don't forget to check out the Saturday Spotlight Giveaway in the post before this!

My Etsy Shoppe
***Don't forget to enter the free giveaways listed at the top of my blog!!!
Proud Member of:
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Rubber Romance Stamps Design team

Saturday Spotlight & 3 Giveaways!!!

Saturaday Spotlight: Sweet Sally Soaps

Name: Sarah Wagner-Ranes

Where are you from: I live in a small college town in central Pennsylvania with my husband, my soon to be 16 year old son, and our husky dog Sitka.

What do specialize in: I make handmade cold process soaps using natural ingredients that are beautiful to look at as well as wonderful for your skin. I also make lotions, bath salts, bath teas, lip balms, and salt scrubs.

Name & URL of store: Sweet Sally’s Soaps http://www.sweetsallyssoaps.etsy.com/

Where did the name come from: My husband actually came up with the name Sweet Sally’s Soaps. We were trying to come up with a name with three S’s. I go by the name Sarah; Sally is a nickname for Sarah, which I went by when I was a little girl. Sweet Sally’s Soaps sounded so much better than anything we tried with Sarah.

How did you get started on etsy?: I started on Etsy a little over a year ago with only a couple of products for sale. I did very little to promote it until the beginning of this year. I had no sales for a long time because I really had no idea how big Etsy was and how much completion there is, particularly in certain categories, Bath and Body being one with very high competition. It took a while to get started but sales are coming fairly regularly now.
Any advice for new etsy sellers that you have learned?: My advice to new sellers would be to get your name out there. Social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and blogs do help tremendously in getting you seen.

What do you want customers to know about you and/or your product: What I want customers to know about my products is that I make high quality soaps and lotion using the finest ingredients available. My soaps are excellent for your skin. Sometimes people look at my soaps and assume that because they are pretty that they just smell good and are decorative. People seem to have in their minds that natural products must be tan or brown, I say natural products can also be beautiful.

Shameless addictions (retail therapy, etc): I would say my only addiction is that I tend to become obsessed with whatever I am doing.Anything else interesting you'd like to share with us? Besides making soap I have been a fine art photographer for over 20 years, I am a III Degree Black Belt in Tai Kwon Do, and I have homeschooled my son since second grade.

GIVEAWAY! Now to win you must 1- Be a follower of my blog 2- Visit Sarah's store and come back here and comment with your favorite product! 3- If you make a purchase, let me know and I will give you 2 more entries!

There are 3 bars of soap up for grabs!!!!! How awesome is that!!

My Etsy Shoppe
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go SHAWTY it's MY birthday :)

YEP. The BIG 2-8. Today. Yep. Just shy of that other number with a zero in it. (No need to remind me!) LOL. Just kidding. I really don't mind getting older. It's just a number. I still feel about 12 most days! I really believe life is what you make of it! I am so blessed and that little boy over there in the picture reminds me of it everytime I look at him! SO, you KNOW I have to celelbrate! LIKE IN 28 WAYS :) So, be a follower by clicking the button on the right, comment on this post, and if you post a link o rblog about my 28th BIRTHDAY BLOG CANDY giiveaway on your blog, then guess what- leave me another comment with the link. I PROMISE when you see what I have in store, you WILL NOT be sorry you played along!!!!!!!!! OHHHH! I forgot to tell you what I want for my birthday.!!!! Ready- UK to Beat UofL Saturday! GO KENTUCKY!!!! Seriously, if anyone can arrange that already, I'll be one happy camper. (I am a HUGE Big Blue fan!! Hubby is a UofL fan, house divided with the score of 1 to 1. As for Matthew, well, I have chocolate, the kid will say whatever I want:) lol) Go shawty, it's my birthday :)!!! (Below my BFF Ashleigh and I at a UK football game last season. I even got Dustin to wear a KY shirt. lol. I even have pictures to prove it. He wasn't happy about it, but I begged since we were in the Cats Endzone!!! :) (yes, the hair was dark this time last year. I like change :)

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Rubber Romance Stamps Design team

Task List :)

WHat I am knee deep into this afternoon: (I have Bible Study at my church on Thursday mornings while Matthew is in the Preschool downstairs :)

--Finishing my PIF gifts from the post I did last month.One is already mailed.
--Finishing my new album kits I have been working on so I can get them to my guest designers. WHEW- they have been a lot more work than I was ready for.
--Trying to shake this upper respiratory crap I can't get to go away.
--Pakcing mailing orders.
--Finishing cards for soldiers.
--Finishing new cards for swap.
--Working on some fab new cards and going to try to sneak a LO in tonight!
SHWEW. Makes me need a nap just looking at it!

REMEBER: There are some great links on the top of my blog to blog candy and details on the stamped image swap if you still want to join in to get some free stamped images. Please know you can send all the same images or different if you'd like. We'd just like you to join!

So, whatcha doin today???

My Etsy Shoppe
***Don't forget to enter the free giveaways listed at the top of my blog!!!
Proud Member of:
Die Cuts R Us Design Team
The Lime Light Creative Team
Rubber Romance Stamps Design team

Jasmine is Having a....

SO I am totally excited to show you this super cute stamp from Rubber Romance Stamps. This is Jasmine is Having A Baby. I stamped the image with my black Momento Ink, coming soon to Die Cuts R Us, and colored with my copics from DCRU. Mind you, I AM NOT a copic pro in any way, so be kind, lol. I am just learning with them and I am slowing building my set a few here and there! After I colored her in, I cut her out and popped her on the front! How adorable is she really! LOVE IT! Head over to Rubber Romance Stamps to pick up her or one of her Non Preggo friends :) Also check out the blog! A sketch challenge is coming soon on there!!!

My Etsy Shoppe
***Don't forget to enter the free giveaways listed at the top of my blog!!!
Proud Member of:
Die Cuts R Us Design Team
The Lime Light Creative Team
Rubber Romance Stamps Design team

My embellies in a new kit club release!

I am so excited to finally be able to tell you guys about a new kit club that I was asked to design and make embellishments for! JuJuBee's! Read about it HERE! The firts month's kit is on it's way to me and I can't wait to show you what I make with it! It's full of yummy goodness! You can see my embellies right in the middle of this picture! Wait until you see what they had me do for October & November! If you buy this kit, let me know and I will post your pics or a link to you on my blog too! Can't wait to what everyone makes!

My Etsy Shoppe
***Don't forget to enter the free giveaways listed at the top of my blog!!!
Proud Member of:
Die Cuts R Us Design Team
The Lime Light Creative Team
Rubber Romance Stamps Design team

DT Call at ABC Challenge Blog!

There is a DT Call over at ABC Challenge's Blog. They ask that you post 3 of your favorite cards, but you know me, I have more fav's than just 3! So, here ya go!