Easter Joy!

I had such a wonderful Easter! It was a peaceful day with just our small family and we truly enjoyed an unhurried pace and each others company. Even though we don't have any little ones, I still had fun shopping for candy and making Easter baskets! I was even able to make a pink Easter basket as our eldest son had his girlfriend join us for dinner! How delightful!

I also had fun setting our dinner table and trying a few new recipes. I decided to do a more informal table for Easter and I loved the colors and the fun little items I added.

The three little bunnies were made by my Mom over 30 years ago and are one of my most treasured Easter possessions.

I made a yummy Peach Sangria with Strawberries...

and the most delicious Parmesan Knots! (I will post the recipe tomorrow!)

We also made some colorful Deviled Eggs that were as delightful to look at as they were to eat!

All you do is add a little food coloring to water and add your prepared hard boiled egg whites.

Then you wait a few minutes until they are beautifully dyed!

Add your egg yolk filling and a sprinkle of Paprika and you have a gorgeous plate of delicious eggs!

I even found the time to make up some paper Easter carrots. I found the instructions on the BoBunny blog and they were easy and fun to do!

I filled them with jelly beans and everyone had a special treat greeting them at their place for dinner :)

I love being domestic! That is the one thing I miss the most about being employed outside the home. But I am thankful that on special occasions, I can fuss a bit and enjoy a different aspect of creativity!

I hope you had a blessed Easter! Thanks for looking ~

He Is Risen!

I pray that each of you will have a most blessed Easter!

Little Red Wagon #127

Wow - Wednesday already? Where does the time go?

We had an amazing weekend with 70 of our scrapbook friends at the Two Scrapbook Friends Spring Retreat this past weekend! Not only did I have fun hosting the weekend, doing product demos, and enjoying the entertainment of some hilarious games, but I also managed to get two layouts and two cards done! One is the card for this week's challenge at Little Red Wagon.

Judy has asked us to use an umbrella on our creation this week. I had the perfect stamp from Whipper Snapper designs, Sophie, that I decided to work with.

She is all decked out in her rubber boots and umbrella and she paired nicely with some new Jillibean papers! Isn't she a darling?

Now be sure to puddle jump your way over to Little Red Wagon to see what the other Girlfriends created this week! Then be sure to join in the fun with your own creation!

Little Red Wagon #126

Tammy has posted a fun challenge at Little Red Wagon this week! She chose the theme of 'Up in the Clouds' and she wants us to create something with clouds on it.

I love clouds! You know, the pretty, white, fluffy clouds that you see on a nice summer day! Some of my favorite childhood memories are laying in our back yard with my brothers and/or sisters and looking up at the clouds to make shapes out of them! You have to remember my childhood was before computers, cell phones, iPads, video games, etc. So yes, we did spend hours making shapes out of the clouds and it was wonderful!

Anyhoo, back to this week's challenge. I created a card and I used a Die-namics die to cut clouds from white felt.

I also used a chipboard tree, a butterfly pin and lots of buttons (because buttons make me happy!).

So I do hope you will take the challenge this week and create something with clouds on it! See you at Little Red Wagon :)

i.love.sketches!

Wednesdays on the Two Scrapbook Friends Forum is our Sketch Challenge Day! Our Design Team takes turns posting their own sketches to inspire your creativity. We had an open Wednesday this week so I decided to fill in with one of my own sketches. It has been a while since I created a sketch and I have to say it was a lot of fun.

Sketches are one of the best tools that scrapbookers can use. They are the perfect starting point for your layouts or cards. I hope my sketch will inspire you to create something awesome!

This is the layout that I created based on my sketch.

I used BoBunny's Vintage Dots for the background and some pattern papers and stickers from Simple Stories. I also worked with Kraft-Core cardstock and did lots of sanding and distressing!

I am adding this sketch to my long-neglected sketch blog, i.love.sketches. A lot of my scrapbook friends are encouraging me to start creating sketches again, so I will try to create them more often!

In the meantime, why not join in the challenge on the TSF Forum? I can't wait to see what you create!

Little Red Wagon #123

Janice challenged us to create a clean and simple card for Little Red Wagon this week and this is what I made ~

It doesn't get much simpler that that! A row of butterflies and a sentiment!

This was the perfect challenge for my busy week! Thanks Janice!

Do try to join in the fun this week. Anyone can make a clean and simple card and we would love to see what you create! See you at Little Red Wagon ;)

Too Much Cuteness!

Last week when my niece Danielle came for a visit with her little boy, Nolan, we went over to a friend's house who breeds Golden Retrievers. She had four litters of puppies and I was able to get some adorable photos of Nolan with them.

Here are just a few...

Thank you Sue for letting us play with the puppies! It was so much fun watching Nolan interact with them and I can't wait to get some of these photos into a scrapbook!

Little Red Wagon #122

Wow, another week has come and gone and it is time for a brand new challenge at Little Red Wagon! It is my turn to choose the challenge and in honor of St. Patrick's Day this coming weekend, I want to see something with a good luck symbol or the work 'luck' on it :)

I worked with an adorable Lori Boyd image, called Hillie. Isn't she sweet? I colored her with my Copic markers and gave her a wee shamrock to hold.

Then I added the sentiment "I'm so lucky..." to the front of the card but I left the inside blank. This way, depending on what I use the card for, I can add whatever I want to the inside. (...to have you! ...that you are my friend! ...to have a sister like you!)

I would really love if you would join in the fun this week at Little Red Wagon! Show your Irish spirit (even if you are not Irish!) and create something lucky this week. Then link it up for everyone to see ♥

Little Red Wagon #123

It's Wednesday! My favorite day of the week! It is the day that a new challenge is posted at Little Red Wagon :)

Today's challenge is brought to us by Deanna. She is challenging us to do some weaving on our project. I decided to make up a little baby card and to do some paper weaving using thin strips of paper.

Simple and fun! Great challenge Dee!

Do try to join in the fun at Little Red Wagon this week! Show us some awesome weaving - either with paper or ribbons. I can't wait to see what you create!

Being Still

"Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10

Be still. Do you know how hard it is to be still sometimes? To.truly.be.still? In the depths of our being. To be still enough to hear the silence. To be still enough to hear our thoughts. To be still enough to hear His voice.

I am struggling with being still. I am struggling to slow down. I am afraid that if I am still, I will get behind! And so I blindly run through each day and hope that I am somewhat near the right path... that I am doing the right things... that I am not neglecting those things which are most important.

I pray to be still. I pray for that inner peace and quiet that I used to take for granted! I pray for the desire to sit at the feet of Jesus and let everything else wait. I pray to hear. I pray to know that He is God!

My list continues with gratitude for all the blessings that fill my days.

#288. a pretty new scarf that makes me feel cozy on cold, grey days

#289. fresh blueberries

#290. unexpected compliments

#291. scrapbook friends that encourage

#292. sitting in church next to Spencer and feeling deep gratitude that his faith is strong

#293. people that make me laugh

#294. french toast for dinner

#295. productive work days

#296. Mr. B always helping without me having to ask

#297. knowing grey hair and wrinkles are a gift of time

#298. a full moon smiling down on me as I drive home from work

#299. the Italian market near my Mom's house that I love shopping at

#300. a quiet evening after a long day at work

#301. connecting with an old friend

#302. reading a great book for book club

#303. getting 105 points for playing 'ozone' on words with friends (triple 'z' plus triple word!)

#304. Spring being just around the corner

#305. a messy scrapbook space which means I have been creative!