DJ's Sundries

The card I made for Elise's birthday was super simple.

I'm finally getting around to posting about some of my favorite crafting tools.  The first tool I want to talk about is my Martha Stewart Score Board.

No, this post is not about the up-coming round of March Madness.  It is about something far more important and special.  You see, sixteen years ago today God gave Daniel and I a very special gift... Elise.  Today we will be celebrating her 16th birthday.

It all started about 20 years ago for me.  I was a new bride and was introduced to the magic of March Madness.  Back then, brackets were hand drawn on plain white paper.  If you were just following the men's tournament, it took 2 pieces of paper with brackets drawn on the front and back.  If you added the women's bracket it took 4.   We just filled out a round at a time.  Once the round was completed, you would choose your winners for the next round.  That first year, it was just Daniel and I.  Then as we were around other family members, we would compare our brackets and figure out who in the family had won the most games.

I made this card for a friend's baby shower last weekend.  It's taken me a while to post as it's been a crazy busy week.

I've not taken the time to post anything lately as its been a very busy (and interesting) week.  One patient identified me as Barak Obama, a nun, and being from Norway all within about 2 hours  (and those were some of the nicer things said).  Ahhh... life in the ER!  I have some extra hours scheduled at work and have spent much of my time at home sleeping.  I did manage to get muffins made for the kids to take on their trip. This morning the kids left for the RMACS (Rocky Mountain Association of Christian Schools) annual competition.  As homeschoolers, they are allowed to attend.  Elise is competing in vocal solo, flute solo, Bible storytelling, photography, History academic testing, and Spelling Bee.  Heath is competing in vocal solo, photography, crafts (leather making), spelling bee, and an academic test.  They were so excited to go and see their friends.  This is Heath's first fine arts competition.  They will come home exhausted, but happy.

Twelve years ago today God blessed Daniel and I with a very special gift - Heath.  Our lives have never been the same!  He is so full of life, but at the same time has a very tender heart. This year we had to celebrate his birthday a day early as I will spend part of his special day at work.  Grandma and Grandpa Parish, Uncle Philip, Aunt Diane, and Paul all made it over for birthday cake.  He also had a friend, Riley, over to spend the night.  As I type this, they are still up.  I should probably make them go to bed, but you only turn 12 once.  Right?

This was a super simple birthday card that I made for Heath's 12th Birthday. Supplies: Orange Card stock - "Textured Card Stock - Dark" - The Paper Studio 2 Different colors of blue card stock - from my stash Foam Tape and other adhesive 1 Envelope

Several months ago, we rented to movie "Up".  There was one dog in it that was easily distracted.  All someone had to do was say, "Look, A squirrel" and off he would go.  This has become a saying in our household, especially for one member who is easily distracted.

Yesterday, a friend posted on Facebook how she has mommy phrases that she never never thought she would say.  You know, phrases like, "petrified wood does not belong up your nose".  This made me think about a cute project idea.  I called it "Mommy Quotes".  Now my kids are getting old enough that there shouldn't be many more of those phrases in my life (I HOPE!!!).  I'll just have to settle on giving books to my friends whose kids are young.

A few years ago, our ladies Bible study began a study called "What Do I Know About My God" by Mardi Collier ( http://www.bjupress.com/product/239343 ).  I based my personal devotional journal on the format described in this book.  I enjoyed going back and reading through the categories and the verses that I had listed in each.  That was until I lost my book.  I was not happy that I couldn't find it but finally gave up looking for it (after looking in 3 different states). Late last year, I was scrolling through videos on YouTube and ran across one by Yoliebean on making a perpetual calendar ( http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/11275426 ).  That's when I discovered how easy making books can be.  Now I had the perfect way to make my new devotional journal.

 This is a 8 inch X 6 inch card folded to be 4 inches wide by 6 inches tall (I wasn't using an envelope).  I think that K & Company is one of my favorite companies.  They have great papers and accents.  The key and keyhole is my first Tim Holtz embellishment purchase. The front of the card The inside of the card Black card stock was cut at 6X4 and adhered to the inside of the card. The red printed paper is cut at 5 3/4 X 3 3/4 and punched with the Fiskars heart border punch and adhered to the black base.  White faux stitching was made with a gel pen. The opening of the heart - The hand written sentiment is covered by a torn piece of paper. Supplies: Life's a Journey paper pack from K & Company               Cricut cartridge - Home Decor               Fiskars heart border punch               Tim Holtz key and keyhole set               Solid paper and gold cord - from my stash               Microsoft word for printing               Corner