OMG!

I had several posts that were saved and pre-scheduled to post this week.  And they didn't.  Huummmm....  Is it program error or programmer error?  obviously the latter...    Have you seen the challenges Cath has happening over at Moxie Fab??  SO many going on.  Too much fun!  This is one I created for the Moxie Fab Shabby & Vintage challenge.  The colors are a bit un-orthodox, but I really liked how it turned out! 

I'll have to give this one to my DH, he's the best!  He has had the last 4 days off and it's been a real joy just hangin' out with him and the girls.  No house projects this week...shocker...

Cherish U
Card Stock: (Riding Hood Red, So Saffron, Certianly Celery, Very Vanilla) SU!

Stamp Set: (Warm Words) SU! - retired
Printed Papers: (Websters Pages) Sweet as Cherry Pie, (Websters Pages) Days of the Week Journaling Cards– Happy Neutrals
Ink: (Soft Suede) SU!
Accessories: (red Glitter) retired SU! – can substitute Martha Stewart red glitter; (scalloped square) Nestabilities; ((aqua blue Hug Snug) Lawrence Schiff Silk Mills; (pink and blue button); (Swiss Dot embossing folder) Cuttlebug; (dots embossing plate) PTI; (chipboard letter)SU!; (vintage green) Tattered Angels glitter spray

Here is another card for some current magazine calls out there.  It was my least favorite I made, but I liked the pannel with the rhinestones. 

Rhinestone Love


Cardstock: (Going Grey, whisper white; real red) SU!
Accessories: (star dust)Stickles; (red rhinestones) Kasier Craft; (corner punch) SU!; (White Hug Snug) Lawrence Schiff Silk Mills; (‘love’ rub-on) American Crafts; (embossing folder) Cuttlebug

Instructions:

1. Make card and set aside
2. Cut panel from Whisper White cardstock; emboss with folder. Punch corners with corner rounder and embellish with Stickles and red rhinestones. Layer on Real Red cardstock.
3. Tie seam binding ribbon along side of card and add rub-on.
4. Adhere panel and bow.

I can't wait...

...to get life back to normal!  I've almost finished tackling the mountain of laundry, cleaning the house and getting ready for our next vacation; between chasing, feeding, cleaning and entertaining the girls.  It's hotter than Hades in central Ohio - 95 and 100% humidity...ick.  Is this the time of the year parents start wishing for school to start....'cause I'm ready.  **sigh**
My only escape is my crafting room, that has long been neglected.  Then only time I can get in there is after the kids get to bed, and then I'm too hot and tired to get creative.  Oh well!  Here is something I created during one of my non-creative moments...

It's Valentine's day in the publication world, hence the theme of this card.  It is my attempt at a masculine card...

Felt Love

Cardstock: (Going Grey, Blushing Bride, whisper white) SU!

Stamp Set: (Damask- sentiment) PTI

Printed Papers: (Oliver and Olivia) Basic Grey
Ink: (Craft White and Classic Going Grey) SU!
Marker: (Going Grey) SU!
Accessories: (heather grey felt)Hobby Lobby; (grey buttons) no vendor; (border punch) Fiskers; (Labels die) Nestabilities; (Pink thread) Coats & Clark; (wood grain embossing plate)PTI

Instructions:
1. Make card and set aside
2. Cut 4 1/8 ” x 5 3/8” panel from Going Grey cardstock; emboss with wood grain plate. Punch bottom edge with border punch. Add strip of Blusing Bride along the bottom from behind.
3. Die cut heather grey felt and white cardstock with labels nestabilities. Stamp with sentiment and trace edge with marker.
4. Sew paper and button to felt. Adhere to card panel.
5. Sew buttons to the bottom of the panel and add to card base

Hello stranger...

It's me....I'm sorry I've neglected you....I've been away....on vacation....at the beach.....and I left my mind buried in the sand...along with about 10 golf balls.  But now I'm back.  Are you glad to see me?  I am heading to my craft room as we speak.  I PROMISE to have many creations here for you very soon. 

Until then, let me bore you with a photo montage of my trip to Petoskey.  The weather was perfection, it almost made me want to move there....almost ;).  We did promise that if we ever won the lottery, we would get a summer place there.  Ahh to dream....

While driving nearly 8 hours up to our golf/family vacation, we spotted this HUGE golf ball being transported somewhere.  We had hoped it would be an omen for a good golf trip...

...but we were wrong.  We played up at Boyne Highlands north of Petoskey. We were able to play 4 times, which is unheard of in our lives... it had been nearly 3 years since I picked up a club.  Golf is like a bike though, even if you haven't ridden in a while, you don't forget the basics.  you won't play well, but you know the basics. This is one of the holes at the Moor, this course was long but not to difficult.  The Ross on the other hand....

was VERY difficult.  Every hole on the front 9 was surrounded by sand bunkers.  On the back nine, it was like Long Boat Key...sand on both sides.  I spent more time in the sand there than when we went to the beach.  Some of the bunkers were like St. Andrews...deep and hard to get out of....5 stokes on one of them...ri-donk-u-lous!  This is a photo of a short par 3 on the course, and there are 2 more bunkers on the other side of the green you can't see here... aren't par 3's supossed to be easy? Crazy.  This is the only hole I made par on the 1st day....I did say it had been 3 years right? 

Surprize!  We found this one hidden in the woods off the course.  We were desperate!

After our fantastic - short - kid free 2 days, we went to the in-laws to hang out with the family.  Here is ny husband teaching my daugher it's ok to put plastic bags on our heads....I was APPAULED when I saw these in the camera.

Then we took the girls to the beach on Little Traverse Bay.  I had never expected to see waves so large there, they were almost as big as the gulf!  We all had tons of fun!

It was a rough 9 hour ride home...very rough.  I'm glad to be home and ready to focus on something new, other than packing and cleaning.  We don't leave for another 2 weeks for our next excursion to Detroit... an exciting vacation spot.

I'll be sure to have things planned this time before I leave so I can have pre-planned posts.  I hope you are all having a fun filled summer like we are!  Filled with sun, fun and the occasional crazy experience!

Back in the saddle again...

WOW it's been a long time since I've created!  Well, actually a little over a week, but it feels like forever!  I received my prizes from my Paper Crafts Magazine Stampin' Royalty win and I've decided to play with them a bit.  I used 3 new things on this card, Tattered Angels Graceful Journey stamps, the matching glimmer screens and their Vintage Pink glimmer mist.  Yes, all these fabulous things came in my prize pack and so much more!  I'm really going to have to get some tutorials on the mist thing, you can't really see it in this photo.  I sprayed it on my Pretty in Pink card stock, which made it look like Regal Rose.  I've seen fabu things with the mist, so I'm not giving up on it!

I made this card for the Play Date Cafe Challenge PDCC36.  It's a color challenge blog that I really love.  This week's challenge was pink, white and red, and add a bird element (not required however), but since I had this new image, I inked it up!  I'm glad I was able to sit and enjoy the sights and sounds of the Cafe'!

FOR SALE!!!

Hello Ladies!!!

Well, I've been cleaning out my crafting supplies and have TONS of things to get rid of! It's amazing how quickly I can accumulate so much stuff. I know I'm a hoarder of paper and ribbon, but I thought I was doing better. I am of the mind that I HATE to run out of anything when I'm in the middle of a project, so it is better to be prepared. With that being said, my over-preparation will pay off for anyone that picks up any of these great things! I'm getting rid of retired SU! papers, inks, refillers, stamp sets and MORE!

Here's the business stuff:

• All items are first-come, first served so act fast!
• I will update the list daily and all items not sold by July 19 will be posted on Ebay.   I will ship with-in 24 hours EXCEPT for items purchased July 12th - 17th.  Those items will be pulled and held to be shipped on July 19th (I'll be out of town during that time).
• Items will be packed into a 12x12x10 box and shipped USPS priority (non-priority box) by weight unless another way is requested. I will add 75 cents for packaging to the shipping cost.  Buyer is responsible for shipping costs.
• This list is also being sent to my old SU! customers and on SPS and PCP.
• After July 16th, any color bundles not sold as a unit will be broken apart and each item will be sold individually
• All purchases will need to got thru PayPal.  I will send an invoice to the e-mail you give with item and shipping totals.
• Contact me at krzykramer@yahoo.com with questions or if you want to purchase anything!

Loose 12x12 cardstock
Pink Passion – 16 - $4
Pixie Pink – 21 - $5.25
Pale Plum – 29 - $7.25
Orchid Opulence – 20 - $5
Lovely Lilac – 24 - $6
Lavender Lace – 4 - $1
Almost Amethyst – 16 - $4
Bordering Blue – 19 - $4.75
Brocade Blue – 13 - $3.25
Ballet Blue – 16 - $4
Brilliant Blue – 10 - $2.50
Taken with Teal – 31 - $7.75
Glorious Green – 16 - $4
Handsome Hunter – 16 - $4
Sage Shadow – 23 - $5.75
Mellow Moss – 21 - $5.25
Green Galore – 21 - $5.25
Gable Green – 29 - $7.25
Barely Banana – 9 - $2.25
YoYo Yellow – 12 - $3
Summer Sun – 9 - $2.25
Apricot Appeal – 19 - $4.75
Only Orange – 14 – $3.50
Really Rust – 12 - $3
Ruby Red – 17 - $4.25
Cameo Coral – 21 – $5.25
Blush Blossom – 19 - $4.75
Creamy Caramel – 12 - $3
Close to Cocoa – 10 - $2.50

Loose 8 ½ x 11 cardstock
Pink Passion – 13 - $3.25
Pixie Pink – 5 - $1.25
Pale Plum – 4 - $1
Orchid Opulence – 11 - $2.75
Lovely Lilac – 4 - $1
Lavender Lace – 7 - $1.75
Bordering Blue – 6 - $1.50
Brocade Blue – 3 – 75 cents
Ballet Blue – 7 - $1.75
Brilliant Blue – 4 - $1
Glorious Green – 12 - $3
Handsome Hunter – 1 – 25 cents
Sage Shadow – 2 – 50 cents
Mellow Moss – 3 – 75 cents
Green Galore – 10 – $2.50
Gable Green – 2 – 50 cents
Barely Banana – 1 – 25 cents
YoYo Yellow – 2 – 50 cents
Summer Sun – 1 – 25 cents
Apricot Appeal – 8 - $2
Only Orange – 3 – 75 cents
Really Rust – 2 – 50 cents
Cameo Coral – 23 – $5.75
Blush Blossom – 1 – 25 cents
Blue Bayou – 6 - $1.50
Cool Caribbean – 17 – $4.25


Ink Pads – all pads are used and recently re-filled fresh - $2.50
Pink Passion
Pixie Pink
Pale Plum
Orchid Opulence PENDING
Lovely Lilac
Lavender Lace
Bordering Blue
Brocade Blue PENDING
Ballet Blue
Brilliant Blue
Glorious Green
Handsome Hunter
Sage Shadow
Mellow Moss
Green Galore
Gable Green
Barely Banana
YoYo Yellow
Summer Sun PENDING
Apricot Appeal PENDING
Only Orange
Really Rust
Cameo Coral PENDING
Blush Blossom
Blue Bayou
Cool Caribbean
Almost Amethyst
Taken with Teal
Ruby Red PENDING
Creamy Caramel
Close to Cocoa
Groovy Guava
Soft Sky – NIP - $4

Re-Inkers all $1 unless stated otherwise
Pink Passion - 5/8 full SOLD
Pixie Pink – NIP - $2 SOLD
Pale Plum - 1/3 full
Orchid Opulence – 1/3 full
Lovely Lilac – 1/3 full
Bordering Blue – 1/8 full – 50 cents
Brocade Blue – 1/3 full
Ballet Blue – 5/8 full
Brilliant Blue – 1/3 full SOLD
Glorious Green – ½ full
Handsome Hunter – ½ full
Mellow Moss – 2 bottles equal 1 full one - $2
Green Galore - ¼ full
YoYo Yellow – 1/3 full
Summer Sun - ½ full
Apricot Appeal - ½ full
Only Orange – ½ full
Really Rust - 5/8 full
Cameo Coral – NIP - $2 SOLD
Blue Bayou – NIP - $2 SOLD
Almost Amethyst – ½ full
Ruby Red – ¼ full
Creamy Caramel – 7/8 full - $1.50 SOLD
Close to Cocoa – NIP - $2 SOLD
Groovy Guava – ½ full SOLD
Purely Pomegranate – NIP - $2 SOLD

12x12 UNOPENED Designer Series Paper $5 each
Petals and Paisleys x2

12x12 UNOPENED Simply Scrappin kits $8 each
Just Delightful
Island Blossoms

Stamp Set Bundles
Tags Bundle: Large and Small tag punches, Terrific Tags (s/6) and Terrific Tags Too (s/6) stamp sets $20
Delight in Life bundle: Delight in Life (s/6) stamp set and Just Delightful Simply Scrappin’ Kit $13
Island Blossoms bundle: Island Blossoms (s/12) stamp set and Island Blossoms Simply Scappin’ Kit $18


$3 sets
Sweet Talk s/6
Sweet Spot s/6
Perfect Endings s/4
Alphabet Soup s/4
Lexicon of Love s/4

$5 sets
Background Basics s/4
Perennial Favorites s/4
Stippled Stencils s/4
Simple Circles s/6
Gently Falling s/4
Happy Hearts s/6
Happy Winter s/4

$7 sets
Polka Dots and Petals s/8
Circle of Friendship s/8
Mixed Greetings s/4
Wonderful Words s/4
Little Pieces s/12
All Natural s/6
Crazy for Christmas s/4
In Full Bloom s/9
Riviting s/8
Taggers Dozen s/12

$10 Sets
Double Line Doodles s/9
Barouque Motifs s/6 PENDING[/size]
Dare to be Fabulous s/6
Love Matters s/12
Olive You s/4
All About U s/12
Simply Said s/11
A Greeting for all Reasons s/14
Tag Time s/14
Big Blossom (background)
Paisley (background)
On the Spot (background)
Doodle This s/5
Solemn Stillness s/6
All Year Cheer 1 s/12

$15 sets
Collage Alphabet s/28
Alpha Dots s/28

Challenging...

What a week it's been, and it's not over yet!  Just to warn you now, this is not a card post.  This is a venting about children post.

I have 2 adorable children - that I have screwed up.  Isn't that the downfall to our job as parents, we do our best, love and cherish them, guide them through life...but somehow, after EVERYTHING we think we have done right; something happens to show us we weren't as great as we thought.  Or perhaps that sweet adorable child becomes more independent, develops a mind of their own, gets influenced by others outside of our control.  Yes...that is what I am blaming this new development on....forces that influenced her beyond my control.

Yesterday, my sweet adorable 6 year old was having a great morning.  She didn't antagonize the baby...not too much anyway...was helpful and loving.  She has had a questionable behavior the last few days, as she is looking forward to her trip with her grandparents, her behavior gets a bit rowdy...to say the least.  But yesterday, my perfect daughter was back.  Ahh the joy....  Around 11:00 she asked if she could go outside and play with the 9 year old neighbor boy and out she went.  I had our sliding glass door open so I could keep my eye on her and they played together well.  Usually when the neighbor boy's sister is home (she is 5), he becomes a pain in the butt older brother, picking on the girls and bothering them.  But this morning, he was sweet and put up with Lily bossing him around.  I fed them lunch and off they went to play some more.  I put the baby down and sat at the kitchen table to take care of some bills.  Taking a break from the calculator, I looked up at Lily and AJ in her playhouse playing with leaves they had picked.  Next thing I knew Lily slapped AJ across the face!!!!  BEYOND shocked and angry, I called both of them down and onto the deck.  Rage engulfed me as Lily began to cry and yell that AJ took one of her leaves.  When she finally made it onto the deck, I asked her "Did you just slap AJ?", "......no".  My blood was now boiling over, as my eyes became larger than softballs and I'm sure blacker than coal.  I turned to AJ, "Did Lily just hit you?", a sheepish nod was my reply, he could tell I was about to explode.

Every fiber of my being wanted to beat the tar out of my child - how could she do this?  Where had she seen such behavior that she would think it was acceptable to show another person such disrespect?  Where had I gone wrong as a parent?  Why did she lie to my face?   I flashed back to when she was a toddler, her hitting another kid for taking a toy in the daycare room at the gym.  That was typical behavior for a child without the words to express themselves, not for a 6 year old going into 1st grade.  I began to ask her the same questions I did when she was 2...'how do you think it makes him feel when you hit him?'...'is it nice to make someone feel that way'...'how would it make you feel if he hit you?'...'what do you think you can do to make him feel better?'  I received the same answers she gave as a child...'sad'...'no'...'sad'...'say I'm sorry'.  She then gave him a sincere apology..thank goodness... and I sent her to her room.  I then apologized to AJ and let him know this will NEVER happen again.

Now, that brilliant bit of parenting I would love to take credit for, but it's not my idea.  It came from my mother and a book she gave me.  Jane Nelson - look her up she is a brilliant coach on parenting skills...so is my mom.  I called my husband to let him know what HIS daughter had just done.  As a fun, loving dad he is great, but as a disciplinarian - he sucks.  We had tickets to take Lily to a fun evening with the players at the ballpark - a rare opportunity for a hitting clinic in the batting cages.  I declared we were canceling this.  His response was, 'just have her stay in her room until the event, then let her go, that will be enough'.  I boiled over...gave him a tongue lashing got off the phone and then calmed myself.  I still need to talk to Lily about her behavior. 

When I was a kid, spanking and grounding was the punishment of choice.  We tried spanking when Lily was younger, just the threat of a spanking was enough to get her in line, for a while.  Then we had to use it.  It is always the last resort and is as heartbreaking to her as it is to me.   We haven't had to spank for nearly a year.  Now that she is 6 and has a younger sister, I try not to use that as her punishment.

As I made the very short trip up the stairs...how did we go from 20 steps to 3?...I began to think about what punishment would make the most impact.  Limit tv? ...yes...no playing outside...oh yes....lock her in her room until she is 20? ...yes, yes, YES!  Grounding was the way to go for the hitting.  Now what to do for the lying?  My anger got the best of me and I decided no trip to grandmas...yes, the ultimate punishment...no spoiling for a full week...a devistating loss. 

I walked into her room, there she sat, red eyed and wet cheeked as I explained her punishment for the hitting.  Stay in her room for the rest of the day and grounded until our weekend trip.  Then I explained that she was also going to be punished for lying to me.  This honestly is what I am most upset about now.  Where did this lying start?  Is it from the little secrets her and Gramma keep?  Is it from kids at school?  I have told her before, I will get more upset about a situation if she lies about it.  When she does something wrong that she knows she will be punished for, don't lie or the punishment will be worse.  Is that the right way to handle this?  I don't know....  We always tell her there is nothing she can ever tell us that would make us not love her anymore.  She is the most precious Lily in the world and we will never love another Lily as much as we love her. 

Well, I didn't say she wasn't going to Gramma's, I told her I had to think about it, she had better be on her BEST behavior.  After I talked to my mom about the situation, she had some great advice.  After dinner, I sat her down with a spiral notebook and had her write 'I will not hit anyone' 27 times (that's how many lines are on the paper).  I must say it made quite an impact.  She spent the rest of the evening in her room writing apology notes to me, AJ and her dad - without any prompting.  And even though they are difficult to read (she just finished Kindergarten and still spells phonetically) they were from the sweet little girl I love, not the stinker from earlier in the day.  Perhaps I am doing something right....only time will tell.