saturday's sketch on sunday

I've been enjoying a relaxing Sunday with the kids today while Ryan works. The weather is beautiful and the kids are enjoying all of their new outdoor toys from the garage sales we hit on Friday and Saturday. Around lunch time, we got a surprise call from my brother and he wanted to know if we wanted to meet them for lunch at Red Robin. What a perfect way to break up the afternoon, so we headed that way to spend an hour or so with his family. After we got home and while the kids napped, I got to do a little card making. I couldn't ask for a better way to relax (in quiet) on a Sunday.

I recently found this website called Stamping 411 and on Saturdays they have sketch challenges. I thought this week I would join in! Here is the sketch...


And here is my take on it...

All products listed are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted
Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Regal Rose, Designer Series-Sweet Always (retired), Chocolate Chip
Stamp Sets: Seeing Spots (retiring), One of a Kind
Ink: Regal Rose, Close to Cocoa
Accessories: Chocolate Chip 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, brown brad (non-SU!)
Tools: scalloped circle punch, scalloped edge punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch

Hope you are enjoying your Sunday!

wanted: a new summer hairdo

I'm not a fan of many pictures with me in it, but this one actually turned out really cute!


I kind of feel like I'm taking a mug shot with these next couple of pictures, but oh well!

Here's the before and after of the big cut and color. I wanted something fun and summery, so I asked her to chop it off. And, that she did...

BEFORE

AFTER

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The big neighborhood garage sale was a hit. Ryan, the kids, and I headed out a little before 10:00 and had a great time strolling up and down the streets for the next couple of hours. Where we live there are a couple of big neighborhoods that do annual garage sales all in the same weekend. So, you can literally get out of the car and just walk from house to house. You're almost guaranteed to have at least 2 houses having a garage sale on one street. It's garage sale heaven!!

Here are just a couple of the goodies we found for the kids. They got a little spoiled, but we can't pass up a good deal!

This little girl got herself a new bike today (with training wheels, of course!) She is zooming around everywhere with this thing already. I'm not liking that she all of a sudden looks way too grown up.


And I swore that we would never buy one of these motorized vehicles...oh, but we did. The price was just that good.

And this picture has nothing to do with my new haircut or garage sales, but how cute is this!? Check out that battle wound! We hope to get the stitches out Monday morning.

Hope you're enjoying your weekend!

happy stampers

I had my first Stampin' Up! card making event last night. It turned out to be a pretty small group, but I really enjoyed it! I know that each of the ladies had a lot of fun, too! They were even teaching ME stuff about Stampin' Up products! I hope to make this a monthly event...card making is just so addicting!

Thanks, ladies, for the fun time!



I thought you might like to see the cards we made.

They had their choice of which direction they wanted the card to go. This was made with Seeing Spots stamp set that is retiring from the catalog! I had to get in one last demo using this set.


This is a fun one that reminded me of summer. Wouldn't these make cute summer birthday party invitations!? I didn't come up with the design of this card, by the way. It's all over the internet!


Lastly, I just had to use the Cheep Talk set that you have seen quite a bit already on my blog. I can't get enough of these little birdies. Too cute!



And like I said before, card making is very addicting! In fact, after the ladies left, I wanted to keep creating, so I used up all the leftover supplies and made 10 more cards of the 3 designs we made.

{Not sure why the picture is sideways, but I'm too tired to figure it out.}

Off to hit some garage sales during the weekend, a hair cut and color that is very much needed, and a carnival birthday party for the cousins on Saturday. Busy weekend, but I'm sure it will be lots of fun! Ryan has to work on Sunday, so that day might be a long one.

a little unexpected mishap

Tonight after dinner the kids were playing around and we were having some fun family time. The kids were giggling with daddy and Austin was being silly and putting his blanket over his head and running around. All of the sudden Ryan and I both heard a {smack!} and we looked over and Austin had run into the entertainment unit. Thinking that he had bonked his head really hard, we took the blanket off his head only to see blood pouring from his forehead! We suddenly went into panic mode and applied pressure to it all the while Austin was screaming. We knew it was more serious than a minor cut, so we did the best we could to put gauze over it and wrap his head. He fought us pretty hard, but we finally got him calmed down enough to take him to the hospital.

It was only a little after 7:00 PM, so we headed just down the road to Urgent Care instead of taking him to the ER. They took us in pretty much immediately where they shared that he would definitely have to get stitches. You should have seen this poor little boy's face every time a doctor or nurse would just look at him. He was so sad! I opted not to be in the room while they had to hold down our little guy to give him stitches. Ryan was the brave one. I knew I would just be in tears the whole time seeing my sweet baby in so much pain. Unfortunately, I could even hear him screaming from where I was in the waiting room. It was torture for me! It felt like forever, but in a matter of minutes it was over and my sweet boy wanted his momma to hold him, and of course I did.

Not long after, we headed back home and with a little Motrin, a quick bedtime story, and a kiss, Austin was in bed and ready for some much needed sleep. The little guy had three stitches, lots of tears, and an exhausting evening to say the least. I hope that he is a little happier in the morning!

better late than never, right?

Hi friends! I bet you were wondering when I was going to announce this month's lucky winner from the Monogram Madness craft challenge! The weekend was a blur and my level of energy was waaaaay down after all of the busy-ness. At first I didn't have the time to get something posted, but after I found more time...I just didn't have the energy.

So, my apologies to you for putting it off, but I did draw the winner on Saturday as "witnessed" by random.org.

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

11

Timestamp: 2009-06-20 04:24:57 UTC

The winner from this month's challenge is...

Bobbi @ Casa Camacho
Hi Heidi! I joined the challenge this month! Too bad you're taking the summer off right when I start this. ;) I'll be looking forward to it starting back up. I def know summer is busy for everyone! Have a great weekend Bobbi

Congratulations, Bobbi! As this month's lucky participant, I created a monogrammed "to do list" notebook just for you! E-mail me your mailing address at heidilynneboos@hotmail.com and I'll get this little goodie in the mail!


We'll be taking the next two months off from the challenge, but never fear...we'll be back ready to go starting in September, so be sure to come back to join us. Thanks for those of you have played a long for the last few months. It's been a lot of fun!!

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Father's Day 2009

Father's Day didn't quite go as planned. I wanted it to be extra special for Ryan, but you can't always make the kids cooperate and be on their best behavior. It was a bit of a hard day, but we made the best of it despite all the crabbiness. The night before, I had Ryan fill out a menu for his special day. He woke up to a yummy breakfast of To Die For Blueberry Muffins (the best recipe ever!) with a side of scrambled eggs and a little present from the kids that he could take to work with him to show off his little cuties at his desk.


We then headed to look at patio sets to buy with our garage sale money from the weekend. We made just under $200! (The garage sale was exhausting, and despite the rain that drenched us (3 times!), it was a success.) After looking for just a short bit, we didn't find a patio set we liked in our price range, so we then headed to lunch at Buster's BBQ...Ryan's favorite place to eat. At lunch, we gave Ryan another gift. I had won a Father's Day giveaway a couple of weeks prior (thanks, Jennifer!). It was a $20 gift card to Target. So, after the kids went down for a nap. Ryan headed to Target to find exactly what he wanted. He had already had his eye on something that was $20. I told him he could get whatever he wanted! The rest of the day was spent enjoying being together with a walk around the block, playing outside, and finishing the day off with a German Pancake for dinner made just for Ryan! We did end the day with surprising him with one more gift that he was supposed to get for his birthday in a month, but I knew he already thought he was getting it for his birthday, so I surprised him and get it for him earlier. He definitely was surprised and I pulled it off! It was a Tiger Woods Wii game. Although the day didn't go exactly as planned, it was memorable nonetheless. Babe, maybe it will turn out better for your birthday in July...

I hope you all had a special day celebrating the dads in your life! (Note: I can't believe we didn't get any pictures of the kids and their daddy on Father's Day! What's wrong with me!?)

Here's a fun little video to leave you with while we played for a bit outside on Sunday. Ryan was playing with the kids teaching them hopscotch. Austin couldn't quite get off the ground...

to grandpa, with love

Not only do daddies get to be treated extra special on Father's Day, but Grandpas are on that list, too! I am incredibly lucky to have two of the best grandpas a granddaughter could ask for, and I have been blessed to grow up with them in the same town, so we are extremely close. I also know that Mikayla and Austin have some pretty awesome grandpas, as well! It's really important to me that the kids have many opportunities to spend time with their grandparents. Unfortunately my dad ("PAPA" to the kids) lives far away, and we only get to see him 3 months out of the year. But, when he's here to visit, he's like a celebrity!

To honor the grandpas, they are getting a little something in the mail...hopefully on time! We don't get too complicated around here, but I like to give something fun and creative to let them know we love them!

I Mod Podged paper onto a plain craft box and included a picture of the kids on top. I figure the grandpas can use this to store mementos, loose change, notes, etc.


Inside, I included a few extra treats...


To top it off, Mikayla made her Grandpa Charlie & Papa cards. I think she got a little carried away with the stickers, but I know they will love it! What's not to love about a 3-year old's artwork?

As the kids get older, I know they will be able to help more in creating fun little goodies to give to their grandpas (and grandmas).

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It's garage sale time! I've been busy cleaning out stuff to put in a 6-family garage sale that my friends and I are having this Friday and Saturday. It's hard to imagine that we have so much stuff taking up space and not being used. Today is my day to get the pricing all finished and dig through the kitchen cabinets to see what's back there...probably stuff we haven't used in years! Time to say so long!! So, all that to say, I probably won't be around much with the sale going on all day Friday and Saturday, and Father's Day on Sunday. I might try to pop in in the evening, so maybe I'll see you again. If not, enjoy your time as a family for Father's Day weekend!

**BUT, I will be sure to post the random winner from the Monogram Challenge on Friday morning. Today is the last day to link up, so go do it...quick!

hit me with your BIG SHOT

Woah! Has it really been 5 days since I've blogged last? What's up with that? I never go that long. There's usually something I have to say. I suppose there's just been a lot of other things that have sucked up my time and I'm trying really hard to be better at prioritizing. I think I might have said this once or twice before!

So, while the kids take a {much needed} nap, I wanted to share with you some cards I made over the weekend. I hosted my second Stampin' Up! workshop on Saturday and it was so much fun! Thanks, Angie, for hosting!!

My friend, Andrea, who is also my upline (the person I signed up under) loaned me her BIG SHOT over the weekend. It's a die cut machine you can purchase through SU! Oh, and let me tell you...this bad boy is definitely going on my Christmas list (if I can wait that long!!)

I got to play around a bit with the "top note die" and the "medium scallop die". It was so much fun to use these to make cards. Here are the samples I created below...just for fun!

These two are created with the "top note die". I love the look it gives the card and the way it frames the stamped images. I always make at least 2 of each of the cards I design.


This one I did as a demo at the workshop, so the guests could see the Big Shot in action. The flowers in the top right corner are also created using the Big Shot.


These next two cards I made just for fun using the "medium scalloped die" (blue circle background). I, again, made two of each of these and then just changed out the greeting, so it's a different sentiment on each one...to have a variety of occasions to choose from.

**Sneak peek! This first card is going to be one of three cards that we will be making at my card making night next Thursday.


This next card was actually the "make n take" at the workshop on Saturday. We didn't use the die cutting machine for this one. Can you tell I love this little birdie set!? It's called Cheep Talk. (There are other samples I've created here.) Thank goodness it's sticking around for the next catalog. It's too cute to retire!


These last samples were the hostess gift for my friend Angie, who hosted the workshop. (For each workshop I do, I try to spoil the hostess by giving them some extra goodies, since they are so kind to open their home to let me come in and share about Stampin' Up!)

I made 3 of each of the two small birthday gift tags and then made a matching box to put them inside. These are made with the stamp set Think Happy Thoughts and the Seeing Spots stamp set. Seeing Spots is actually retiring from the catalog. So sad! I loved this one. I'll still use it for my own personal use, but I won't be able to show it off at any of my future workshops or card making nights since it won't be available for purchase any more.

3x3 cards...

...with matching box

Each of the guests at the workshop had these at their table, and then I quickly did a demonstration of how to "whip these out". Check out this tutorial if you want to make your own!


For all of those die hard Stampin' Up gals out there, sorry I didn't go into detail about the colors/DS papers used, but I didn't want to bore all my other readers with a long list of supplies. Please e-mail me if you'd like to know. I find it very helpful when I'm searching out ideas for Stampin' Up! products to know what colors are being used in the project, so I have decided that (because I don't have enough already to do) that I'm going to start another blog (oh goodness!) that will showcase my SU! projects. On that blog, it will post all of the "ingredients" needed to make them. It will be slow in getting up and running, but it will come soon and I will tell you all about it when it happens. In the meantime...I need a name! There are so many play on words with Stampin' in the title, but so many are taken. So far I have Stuck on Stampin'! which I haven't seen used...yet. Any other ideas??

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And in other craftiness...

Don't forget you still have TWO MORE DAYS to showcase your monogram projects! We will be taking July & August off from the monthly craft challenges, so be sure to squeeze this one in! If you haven't yet checked out the fun projects, be sure to visit here. Thanks to everyone who has joined us so far! It's been fun to see what you have come up with.

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I'm working on a Father's Day gift for the grandpas, so I'll see if I can get that finished to show off tomorrow! Hope you are all having a great start to your week!

monogram madness!

WELCOME TO MAY'S CRAFT CHALLENGE!!

Are you ready to be inspired and to take a peek at all the amazing monogram creations!? I can't wait!


As I've said in the previous three challenges (which I'm so sad to say that all of the links to the projects you have all created in the past are now gone!! What's up with Mr. Linky?! I really hope they come back!), my hope for these monthly craft get togethers is for you to be challenged to create something and have fun doing it!

It's simple: Each month, I give you an embellishment, tool, or idea and you get to create something fun to share with the rest of us! You have one month to work on the project (big or small) and then you come back to share your creation on the first Thursday of the month. (By the way, thanks for being patient and letting me postpone this month's challenge by a week!)

However, even with an extra week, I still didn't get mine completely done!! Talk about slacker. Here's the start of what I am envisioning for something to put in Mikayla's bedroom that I'm slowly starting to redecorate. I realized as I went to finish it so I could post it, that I didn't have the right color of ribbon or embellishments, so I'm going to have to do some hunting for the perfect addition. I want to add some sort of butterflies to it, as I'm thinking that will be the new "look" to her room. This is my homemade monogram letter that I cut out of thin cardboard and then Mod Podged paper on top of it. Nothing too complicated...but that's usually how I roll. Simple, simple, simple.


Now, it's YOUR TURN!!

1. Mr. Linky is having issues, so leave me a comment on this post or e-mail me at heidilynneboos@hotmail.com letting me know you would like to link up, and I will add you to this post.
2. In your post, either use the button on the left side bar or a link to my site for others to be able to join in the fun or to come on by to see what everyone has created.
3. Try to visit as many of the participants as you can and comment on their creations.
4. This month's craft challenge will end on Thursday, June 18th.
5. A random winner will be chosen from the participants and be announced next Thursday. The winner will receive...hello!? You should know by now that it's a surprise! It's something monogrammed, so I'll give you that hint.

6. Lastly, I've decided that we will take June-August off from the monthly craft challenges. There's just so much fun happening during the summer that it might be hard to stick with a schedule. Let's come back in September and we'll start again with a big bang!

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My friend, Sarah O., whose blog is set to private, wanted to participate in this month's challenge, so I told her to send me a picture and I'd post it for her! Isn't this adorable? It's a canvas that she painted for her niece. Although from the looks of it, I'm sure if she wanted to change the color scheme to purple, this would look perfect in Mikayla's room. *wink*



Monogram Craft Challenge Participants -
1. Katie @ Katie's Nesting Spot
2. Sarah @ Our Pumpkin & Sweet Pea
3. Lisa @ Mommy Squared
4. Kelli @ Random Thoughts of a Supermom
5. Emily @ Powell Power
6. Katie @ A List Maker's Life
7. Missy @ Simply Red
8. Maridith @ The Procrastinator Crafter
9. Crystal @ The Harris Family
10. Bethany @ A Wednesday Afternoon
11. Bobbi @ Casa Camacho
12. Dawn @ 7 All Together
13. Nicole @ Coley's Corner
14. Heather @ Party in Pink
15. Xazmin @ This is The Year
16. Shaila @ Sweetly Southern
17. Vivienne @ The V Spot
18. Kim @ Caldwell Cuties
19. Kim @ The Wonderful World of Wirfs
20. Sarah @ I Blame My Mother

well, it's about time!

Lately, I've been noticing that Austin has been needing a hair cut...very badly! However, I've been putting it off because he just does not do well with getting his hair cut. The last time we went he screamed and fussed the whole 30 minutes we were there! It was torture! I have been putting it off for awhile now to avoid this experience again. But, today when we went to the park and I took some pictures of the kids playing, I really saw just how out of hand his hair was getting.

BEFORE
(look at all that hair...does he even have ears?)

So, I bit the bullet, called for an appointment and we headed to Little Clippers with a plan ready to be put into action. And, it was a success!!

AFTER

(playing in the car...his new favorite thing to do!)
Isn't he stinkin' adorable!?
I love my blue-eyed clean cut boy!

Check out 5 Minutes for Mom for Tackle it Tuesday...
this was definitely a tackle!

need a little monogrammed inspiration?

Looking for some inspiration for May's craft challenge?

MONOGRAMS!!

Are these not the cutest little monogrammed teacher gifts? I would have LOVED to have gotten this as a gift when I was a teacher!!

Good old Martha Stewart shows us how to make this monogrammed corkboard. How cute!!

B is for Boos...or Birthday, or Baby! Check out these adorable monogrammed cards using the letter B!

For this month's challenge, you don't have to make anything too difficult, just check out this "easy to make" monogrammed tray.

If you have an embroidery machine (I surely don't), you could make some cute things like these.

Looking for a great way to add some decor in a kitchen? These monogrammed plates are to die for! I love the napkins she found to use for the monogram.

I've had my eye on this beautiful monogrammed glass etching tutorial. So, I just had to share!

For all of you list makers out there...this is the cutest monogrammed notepad!

What a great idea to decorate a lunchbox with a monogram!

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Come on back in just a few days for the Monthly Craft Challenge to link up your monogram projects! I can't wait to see what you all have to share! Thanks for letting me postpone it a week...hopefully that gave you (me) just a little more time to get it done!

a trip to the zoo

FUN TIMES AT THE ZOO!
{June 4, 2009}

{click picture to view larger}

congratulations class of 2009

Almost 9 years ago, I stepped into a classroom for the first time as a "real life teacher". The 2000-2001 school year was an incredible year for me! Difficult, but incredible! I had just moved hours and hours away from where I had lived for 22 years of my life to a place that was unknown to me in every way. Thankfully, I was able to live with my aunt and uncle and had at least one place of refuge.

I love these kids!! I was single and had all the time in the world for them. It was a very small Christian school, so my class had only 11 students and most all of them had been together since Kindergarten. Looking back, I am so thankful for the experience with those 7 {very rowdy} boys and 4 {very sweet} girls. One of the mom's of one of my students had said that I was the first teacher that she actually had felt "fit" with these students. Talk about making me cry! It was tough to leave, but by June I was ready to go back home!

I've kept in touch a little with a couple of my students from that first year and one of those students is actually writing and performing music and has a CD (and yes, she is only a senior in high school!) She is a beautiful girl inside and out with so much talent and passion for sharing the message of Jesus. AMAZING! You must check out her music HERE.

Today, June 6, 2009, this class graduated from high school.

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The following year, I taught 5th grade at a new school closer to "home sweet home" where I would continue to teach for the next 4 years. What another incredible experience for me! This school was also a private Christian school, but one that was much larger with 2-3 classes of each grade (not just one). With being able to teach at a smaller, private school I was able to build a strong bond not only with my students, but also their families. Throughout my teaching career at Portland Christian, I was able to have siblings in my class at various years, so some of the families I was really able to get close to. And, even after leaving, I still keep in contact with some of the families and we still exchange Christmas cards. I love it!


Last Saturday, I was able to attend the Class of 2009 Portland Christian graduation. It was such a special thing to be able to witness my first class(es) I had taught graduate. Talk about feeling old!!

For the students that were still a part of Portland Christian, I created and gave each one of them a special little "memory" from me.

{click on picture to view larger}

{Graduation Day - May 30, 2009}

Every now and then, I miss teaching, but staying at home with these little sweethearts is where I'm meant to be at this time in my life.

{Ah, now this is the life.}

what were you doing...

...2 years ago!

That's what my friend Tammy asked when she decided to start a tag on her blog - What were you doing 2 years ago to this very day? (or at least as close as you can get)

Well, I don't know about me personally, but I know my sweet little Mikayla was taking her first steps at just about 13 months. After looking at these pictures taken on June 3, 2007, the memory of that day came flooding back. She had just taken her first few steps the day before, so she was very new to this walking thing. I remember we had just come home from church and decided that we would let her try out her new trick outside. It was a gorgeous day, so I grabbed the camera and just started snapping. It was so fun to capture this new feat on camera and watch her try to master this new skill.

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Now, it's my turn to tag FIVE of my blog readers asking them this same question - What were you doing 2 years ago to this very day? (or at least as close as you can get) Share some photos and your memories of that day 2 years ago. Add it to your blog so all of us can see your answer and then tag FIVE more people to keep the ball rolling.

Mimi @ He & Me + 3
Kelli @ Random Thoughts of a Super Mom
Jen @ Tator Tots & Jello
Xazmin @ This is the Year
Emily @ Powell Power

Can't wait to see what you all were up to!
And, of course whoever else wants to play along, please do! Let me know and I'll come visit to see what you have to share. It's actually kind of fun to look back a little and reminisce. Thanks, Tammy, for stirring up the fun memory!

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My friend Kim and I went to the Zoo yesterday...I can't wait to share some of the pictures of our morning out, but here's one to whet your appetite!

Oh, if only they were always this sweet. *wink*