Here we are at the end of our journey of thankfulness! It has been a real blessing to do this.

To just take a little time each day and count my blessings and reazlie there are so many things 

to be thankful for.

So today I am thankful that I am a crafter and a blogger and that I get to be a part of such 

a cool, amazing, collection of people! Thank you to those who read my blog!

I am thankful for you too!

 Today I am thankful for my school Librarian! She is the most amazing woman! She is so incredibly helpful and so sweet to me! I just love our school library!

 Today I am thankful for Blake my youngest son! He is my cuddle boy!

He is the sweetest thing and is just growing WAY to darn fast!

I love you my Boo!

 I just adore this week's Tuesday Trigger! I LOVE LOVE LOVE snowflakes! Well the crafty kind. The real kind I can do without. I knew I wanted to play when I saw the trigger and it reminded me of a card I had seen on SCS. Here is my version!

I used the CPS sketch but didn't get it done and uploaded in time to enter it - oh well. I do  have time for the Tuesday Trigger and so do you if you hurry! Just create a card and upload and link it HERE by tomorrow (Sunday night).

Today I am thankful for leftovers - this is a rarity in my house so I am very thankful to have leftovers and not have to cook!

 Today I am thankful for my in-laws who are taking the boys for most of the day and overnight! I have already been up and scored my deals for Black Friday so I am hoping to get a nap before going to see Harry Potter this afternoon. I don't know if I will have anything crafty for you later - depends on if I get my nap or not!

Hope you scored some deals!

I love PTI blog hops! They are so inspiring! This challenge is something I do every year with my kids - they love stampin tags for their presents! I though about doing a super special fancy tag but let's be honest most people just throw the tags away! I really didn't want to put that much effort into something someone would throw away! So I decided to make a little box of tags! I started with my large SU tag punch and punched out 10 tags from PTI kraft cs - love love love that stuff! I then went through my PTI sets looking for images to make tags. I had so much fun! The small images from Believe and Holiday Treats were perfect for tags! I also used Merry and Bright, and my new Fillable Frames 8. On some I did a single image, some I created a background, it was so fun finding all these little images and using old sets! I wound up using SEVEN sets! I then added New Leaf and Dark Chocolate Bakers Twine to each one.

 Of course my little tags needed a home! So I made a little box for them using THIS tutorial from Splitcoast. I just didn't make dividers inside. I love PTI's cs and how great it is for making boxes and things like this! It is so sturdy!

 I added an acetate sheet over the top and added some ribbon and another tag! Hee hee! This would make a great little gift!

 Thanks for stopping by everyone - have a wonderful Thanksgiving and drive safe!

Today I am thankful that Franklin Roosevelt had the presence of mind to make Thanksgiving a National Holiday and give us a holiday not about gifts or lighting things on fire, or candy, but a day to think about all we have and to be thankful for it! A time to spend with friends and family!

 I am soooooooooooooo excited to share my project with you today!

I hope you like it!

It's a combination of a couple of ideas!

It is a GREAT way to get ready for all your Black Friday shopping and the rest of your holiday season!

It's .........

 A Christmas Planner!

It was really quite simple to make too! The main part is two sheets of 8 1/2 x 11 cs cut down to 8 x 8 1/2 and glued together. Some scorelines and then decorate! The pockets are just cardstock or designer paper adhered with redline tape. The cover able is SU dp, top note die ran through swiss dots cb folder and then inked and distressed. MTME Secret Santa "Christmas" Stamp and Santa hat with Marvy Liquid Applique (which apparently you CAN burn), old alphas, Making Memories Poinsettia, Stampin Up Twill.

 This is one of the back pages that folds in. It is for cards, sent/recieved etc. Used a little spellbinders mitten die and inked it before popping it out then added some twine. used Basic Grey letters to spell cards.

 This is another of the back pages that folds in. It is lists of menus or baking duties - you could also add the grocery lists for those things. I used red thickers to spell FOOD and a little gingerbread guy from MTME's The Gingersnaps. All the printable sheets are from OrganizedChristmas.com. I hope you like it - and maybe be inspired to make your own! Be sure to share with me if you do!

Today I am Thankful for the fact that my hubby is incredibly handy! The man can fix, re-purpose, build just about ANYTHING! There are many things I wish my husband was but I think he makes up for most of them with his handiness!

 Today is our last full day of school before Thanksgiving break and I am giving a test! Bwahh! We do have a half day tomorrow still unlike my mother and good friend Cheri who don't go at all tomorrow! :( Ok done pouting! I have a cute little card for you today using Lauren Meader's new set Secret Santa. My Time Made Easy is sponsoring the Embellish Holidays Color Challenge so I wanted to use one of her sets - well that and I LOVE them! The challenge was to create a Holiday Themed project using the colors shown. EEEK! I am a very traditional colors girl when it comes to Christmas colors and Red and Pink together give me serious issues! However, I took a deep breath and forged ahead I mean they call it a challenge for a reason right?

 And this is what I came up with. I stamped the long package 3 times each on a piece of 3x1 1/4 inch white cs towards the right side. I then used my waterbrush to color each of them. I matted each stamped piece on a slightly larger piece of colored cs. I added some Dark Chocolate Bakers Twine to some buttons and added them to the empty end of the stamped strips. My card base is just two cardstock panels. I left it like this cause I couldn't decide where to put a sentiment and I figured I could add it inside later then it could be a birthday card OR a holiday card! Thanks for stopping by today! Come back tomorrow for a SUPER cool project that will get you organized for Black Friday and the rest of the holiday season!

Today I am thankful for my two sitters Trina Spoonemore and Cashie Proctor. I seriously do not know what I would do without these two! They take the best care of my boys! Side note I have known Cashie since the 4th grade and had her son in Kindergarten which helps!

 Real quickie little post today!

I needed a November gift for my Secret Pal at School and so I whipped this up.

 In the tradition of last Sunday I have another scripture layout for you! This may be a new tradition for me! (at least till I get these layouts done! And since I am for sure making 3 sets-might be awile) So, I hope you like it!

Today we went to church, and not just our regular church but a NEW church!

One of hubby's fellow officers invited us and he really wanted to try it out, so I said ok.

Let me get this clear here and now - I have NOTHING against the concept of church!

I do however have serious issues with NEW things, NEW people and a general FEAR of the unknown!

Because I had an allergic reaction yesterday afternoon I couldn't take any of my other meds and I really didn't think it was a big deal - until today standing in the foyer of the church! I was a mess! I was literally shaking I was so nervous! Once the other couple showed up and we got the boys where they needed to be and everything I calmed down - a bit. The sermon was excellent and was all about giving thanks!

It really made me feel like my 30 Days of Thankfulness was a good idea! And that my daily scripture projects are a good idea and so I made this page!

This is my favorite of the pages I have made so far! And it's the one I made with stamps I own! The set is Happy Harmony an old old SU hostess set that I LOVE! 

The scripture is one that was used today - In everything, give thanks!

I used an old piece of SU Designer Paper - A scalloped Groovy Guava (oh how I miss thee) circle from some set and I inked them both with Pallette Dark Chocolate. I stamped the bloomy blossmy thing in close to cocoa and creamy carmel on a very vanilla piece also inked. I stamped the scripture in versamark and embossed it with Copper EP - I ordered some new embossing powder (YAY!) and should have it soon!

I added some Jute Twine and Bakers Twine and used stickers to spell Thanks.

Today I am a Thankful that I am a child of god and that I am saved!

 Hello lovely Saturday! I just LOVE Saturdays!

So many possibilities lie ahead on Saturdays! Crafting, shopping, napping, staying up late all because it's Saturday! There just isn't another day quite as perfect!

On to today's "perfect" card! (Man I am starting to sound like my friend Katie! Honestly though that's a good thing! I wish I could be as positive as she is!)

This card is for Gina K's sketch challenge over on Stamp TV.

I wound up using LAST week's color challenge colors. I love Gina K challenges! They are usually pretty easy and you can win a Gina K stamp set! And you don't even have to use her stamps! You get double entries if you do but how cool is that? 

I pulled out one of the very first Gina K sets I ever bought - way back when! It's called Sandy Claws and it's still available! I created a scene with the little penguin and the sign using masking. I also made it snow with the snowflakes from Holiday Hospitality! I had so much fun making this and coloring it!

 The background piece of red I ran through my big kick with the candy cane stripe CB folder layered on Hawaiian shores. I punched the bottom of the focal image matte with my drippy goo punch - I think it looks like icicles don't you? I added some striped real red ribbon and stamped the sentiment on white then punched it out and tucked it up under.

Here's a close up of the coloring (not the best) and the sparkly ice on the sign and ground! I used Martha Stewart Mica Flakes glitter! FUN!
Then I just had to add some Marvy Liquid Applique to the brim and pom of the santa hat!

 Thanks for stopping by today! This is one of the most enjoyable cards I have made in awhile - and that is saying something cause I love being crafty!

Today I am thankful for my Ford Escape! It is the first vehicle that I have picked out and bought on my own and I love it! It is super reliable and hip at the same time!

 Today I have a little card for you using My Time Made Easy by Lauren Meader's new set called The Gingersnaps. This set is jam packed and only $6! When I saw THIS card by Lauren (scroll down it's the last one in the blog post) I knew I would have to recreate it for my family!!!!! 

 How stinkin cute is that?

So there it is the Gingerbread Schweders!

I stamped all the ginger people in close to coca then added the details and sentiment. A little ribbon some brads and there you have it! What a super great easy to personalize card! TFL!

Today I am thankful that it is Friday! - No you don't understand this is the first full week I have gone to school and I am still sick - getting worse if that is possible! If this week was any longer I think it might have done me in! Have a great weekend peeps!

 I know there are some of you out there that already have snow - and you can keep it!

I really only like snow if I am inside by my warm fireplace and have nowhere to go!

Oh and snowflake stamps! 

Today's card is proof of that! 

It has gotten MUCH colder this week - a sure sign winter is on it's way to Missouri!

North of us has even had snow flurries already!

So for my favorite kind of snow here's a snowy card!

This card uses Papertrey Inks Peace Be Still. I am not overly thrilled with how it turned out but oh well. I stamped the background with the different sized small flakes in momento ink that matches cool carribean and PTI's smokey shadow - realizing now I should have stamped the sentiment in black so it would stand out more! I ran a strip of smokey shadow through my big shot with a snowflake cb folder then stamped and die cut some flakes from the set to add. 

Thanks for looking today!

Today I am thankful for my winter coat which we just got out of storage Sunday! I love it! It is chocolate satin with faux fur around the hood and it is SO warm! I really appreciated it today during recess duty!

 Here I am showcasing some more goodies I got at CKC. I have loved PK Glitz every time I see their booth! I finally bit the bullet this year and stocked up! Here are some cards I made to go with the acetates I created. It takes a little practice but They are so much fun! I put WAY too much on the butterfly so he weighs a ton!

 I wanted eagles for my dad who collects them and so I practiced with this one and made a card. I used the embossing powder on the pledge of allegiance background stamp - this card is VERY sparkly! Almost too much! These are not fabulous but I am having so much fun playing with this stuff!

WARNING: Small children will think this stuff is way too fun also and DUMP it all together! It has happened to me now THREE times! GRRRRRRR!

Today I am thankful for my co-worker Sheila Talmadge - in all honesty she was one of the reasons I was terrified of going to 4th grade but I LOVE HER! She is hilarious and an amazing teacher! I am thankful to have such a great co-worker next door!

 Today I have a layout for you! YAY! I really am a scrapbooker first then a card maker - but I really like the immediate satisfaction of finishing a card! I go through spurts of mojo - for awhile it's cards , then layouts, then jewelry I am all over the place! Maybe I have crafty ADD?!?!

 I began this layout at CKC in the class my friend Cheri and I took together. The instructor was supposed to be the incredible Maren Benadict but due to scheduling conflicts and really bad luck on my part - it wasn't :( It was still a pretty cool class though! I am now in LOVE with Core'dnations cardstock! I learned I really love my big shot! So we made this layout which was very simple but has quite a bit of visual interest thanks to the  embossed cardstock that we sanded. I also inked everything. We also made two cards. When I got home I tried to figure out what I could scrap with a butterfly?!?!? I have two boys remember? Then I thought about our amazing butterfly bush! I so love it! My mom is even jealous of it! It will be one of the (few) things I will REALLY miss about this house! So I had the boys pose in front of it snapped some photos and turned them black and white so they wouldn't clash horribly!

Here is a close up of the layered butterfly and the sanded Core'dnations paper.

Thanks for looking!

Today I am thankful to have a nice warm home even though there are MANY MANY things about it that frustrate the heck out of me! I am thankful to have a roof over my head and a place to lay my head at night.

 This was for the Gina K sketch challenge! I used the Gina K set Oh Boy! I just love the sentiment!

I stamped the rocket then punched it out, I masked it and added some stars. I then layered it with a red scalloped layer. I watercolored the rocket and stars. Then put crystal effects on the little window. I stamped the sentiment on white and tried to make it a 3-D banner. I got the moon idea from a card on Splitcoast! I layered two circles and the top one I punched different size circles all over! I love how it turned out! Here's a close up!

 Thanks for looking today!

Today I am Thankful for my son Kaden.

This guy

He is my oldest! He is an incredibly strong willed, determined child! He know exactly what he wants! He has given me most of my grey hairs! He is sweet, funny, charming, incredibly intelligent, and has a way of thinking outside the box that amazes me and his teaches on a regular basis! This was for Career Day at school! He wants to be a police officer just like daddy!

So I got this idea for a little project for Christmas and I figured I better get to work on it. Kaden has the most wonderful kindergarten teacher this year and I wanted to do something really special for her for Christmas. She is very devoted to her faith and church so I got the idea of a daily scripture flip thing of sorts. I set my hubby to work on the frame and I am working on the pages. I need 31 and a cover for an even 32 pages and 16 page protectors.  I will be sure to show you the finished product if and when we get there! But for today I have one of the pages.  When I realized I wanted to do this project I first thought I would have to print off all of my scriptures but I do have some images from PIF and one stamp set with a scripture. I also have some wonderful stamping friends who are sending me images! Thank you Paula, Dana, Katy and Tami! But as I was looking for inspiration on the Our Daily Bread site I decided that scriptures and spiritual stamps were seriously lacking in my stamp collection and placed my very first order from them! So soon I will have more scripture stamps of my own to play with!

So here is one of my first scriptures pages
Not sure exactly what I was going for with this one - just had this image and scripture that went together.
I intented to glimmer mist the background but my glimmer mist and I had a bit of an altercation that ended up with splotches all over the page and half my hand covered! So being a true scrapbooker I did what any true scrapbooker would do - I embellished! I think the circles kinda look like portholes with rope? IDK whatever! The scripture is on a lable I manipulated and cut out with SCAL on my cricut. Stay tuned for more scripture pages as I attempt to finish this project!

Today I am most thankful for Kaden's teacher Mrs. Nickell. She really is an amazing teacher. She totally gets Kaden but doesn't let him get away with anything either! She has known him since he was born well almost about a month old! She has been the most wonderful friend and colleague to me!

This is the card I created for yesterday's Hip Hop Sketch challenge on SCS in the Unity forum. I think you still have time to play so feel free to join in! I couldn't decide which of my new Donna Downey sets so I used a stamp from BOTH Insightful Meadow and Create Today. I just can not get over how HUGE these stamps are! I stamped the branch image on the Creamy Caramel panel in Close to Cocoa and off stamped it and also in Creamy Caramel to give it depth - I know it kinda looks blurry in the picture it's not! I inked all the edges. I die cut very vanilla with Spellbinders labels two and inked the edges and stamped the sentiment layered it with ribbon and a close to cocoa matte. TFL!

Today I am thankful for my dad! He is so patient and kind! He is the hardest working person I know! He's headed out deer hunting this weekend so I pray for his safety! (and my brothers too).

 Today my card and thankfulness go together. Using the Limelight sketch and product focus and the SCS Ways to Use it challenge I created a Veteran's Day Card.

I used patterned paper from my stash for the background. The dog tags are from CTMH's Hero's Pride. I then stamped the words hero and honor on them all in Night of Navy. I used my new Nesties labels two to cut out the image and matte it. I added some white grosgrain ribbon and some stars dangling from the bow.

Today I am thankful for all the men and women past and present who serve our country! I can't even imagine the sacrifices you and your loved ones go through to keep us safe!

Supplies:
CS: Night of Navy, Whisper White, Real Red - SU
PP: Carolee's Adornit
Stamps: Hero's Pride CTMH
Ink: Night of Navy SU
Tools: Star Punch, Spellbinders Nestabilities Label 2
Other: White Grosgrain Ribbon, Floss

 Have you noticed I do a lot of challenge cards? 

Hee hee! They motivate me! Especially ones with prizes!

Today's card is for the Stamp TV Sketch Challenge and the Really Reasonable Ribbon's #11 Challenge

Based on the sketch I needed a circle - so I went with this ornament from Holiday Hospitality. I just love how versatile it is! I stamped it on Night of Navy cs and embossed it with silver EP. I punched it out with my pink marvy circle punch and popped it up on a scalloped circle of silver cs cut with my purple marvy scalloped circle punch. I changed the sketch a bit and moved the squarish panel behind the circle. For this I used my snow fulurries embossing folder and inked up the side that would push into the cs! I love this technique and can't believe I haven't tried it sooner!

To top it off I used some wired silver ribbon and made a layered bow of sorts, and added a bit to the top of the ornament to make it look like it was hanging. Thanks for looking!

Today I am thankful for one of my besties, Natalie! We taught 4th grade together last year but she moved to first this year. I miss her terribly! She is hilarious, says what she thinks and isn't afraid to tell it like it is - oh she's always there with an extra Doctor Pepper when I forget mine!

This is one of my fave pics of us! We were at Joe's Crab Shack celebrating her birthday while at CKC in Des Moines last summer!