I love Fridays!

...but then again, doesn't every one!  Today the sun is coming out again and that's such a plus, it's also going to be up in the 50's and tomorrow up in the 60's which is really nice for the little Treat or Treaters.  I still have not put my goodie bags together, but will do that tomorrow morning.  I have not wanted to be tempted to eat any candy, so all the bags have been stored away.

  Today, will be a fun day as I'm off to do a little Christmas Shopping.  I'm going to Bath & Body Works, to pick up my Lambie Blanket that they put on hold for me.  If you want a wonderful comfy cozy gift for a sweet friend or family member, I highly recommend them.  They all super snuggly soft and comfy.   I'm also picked up some goodies for a box I am putting together for a charity called the ShoeboxProject.  One of the gals in my Fibro Group actually runs this project and when I read about it, I knew the I wanted this to be the organization that I donate to this year for the Holidays.  I will be sending her a big box of "Beauty/Skincare" type products that she will then use for some of the shoeboxes that she will put together.  I thought it was such a wonderful idea and I am happy to help out.

  I am also very excited to be trying out to be on a brand new Design Team that is being put together for a wonderful online store called Cutters Creek.   I happen to belong to three Yahoo Crafts groups that a owned by Kim, who is also the owner of Cutters Creek.  When I read her 'call outl looking for crafters  to apply to be a member of a brand new  DT she is putting together, I thought it would be a nice challenge for me to try out.   I'm not sure how far I'll go, but it certainly has been interesting to go through the application process.   I'm now that the point where the FUN begins, because now is time to create my project submission.  

So...today, while I'm in the area of my LSS, I'm going to stop in and see what wonderful papers or things I can find to use on my "Creation".  I am not sure what theme I will choose, so I thought going into the store and finding the perfect paper would be my first start.   I also have a $20 store gift card that is burning a whole in my purse...LOL!  .   Wish me luck, as I have never done anything like this before, but to me it's now a challenge and I simply want to complete the challenge and learn from the experience.

  That's my day...I'm off shortly and hope I find some wonderful goodies.  I also hope to pick up a few Christmas gifts while I'm out and hope I can manage a couple hours of shopping before this Fibro body, gives out!

    Happy Friday! 

Back to the rainy cold weather...!

...and it's NOT at all enjoyable.  I really mind this weather and have been really sore and extra tired since it started raining again.

  The best NEWS of this week was finding out the my friend "Sharon" was chosen as  a New Design Team Member at the new Ch(all)enge Masters Craft Community.  I am so happy for her and know she will do an excellent job.  She is a very talented paper-crafter and I can't wait to see what she comes up with.   I joined the Community to see what it's all about and it sounds kind of fun.  There are several mini groups each of which will offer some time of craft challenge beginning on November 1st.  I think I may try one of the Card Challenges and I really love them.  I also joined Sharon's Group which is called - Book of Him 

 She and her teammate, Robin will offer challenges all about the "man" in your life!  That Special Him.  This is be very unique and cool and I can't wait to see what they come up with!

CONGRATULATIONS to Sharon...!  I am so happy for you and know you'll do an awesome job!!

  Monday,  went okay, I had a lot of packages "Christmas Gifts" that arrived and I took time to open all the boxes and put things into gift bags or boxes with some tissue.  I haven't wrapped anything, but I did make a big start and that was good.  

  Tuesday, was a really quiet day, as Alex as home from school sick.  Luckily, it's a miserable cold and he doesn't have any flu symptoms or fever.  He's been battling it silence the weekend, and actually spent most of the weekend at home...pretty unusual for a 17 year old, so I knew he didn't feel good.  He did catch up on a lot of sleep and by later afternoon was feeling better.  He even went to work for a few hours, so that was a good sign and I knew he was improving.  DH has also been super tired lately from working a lot and we all were in bed very early last night.

  Wednesday (today), I was up early and happy to see Alex up and off to school and sounding better.  I hope he continues to improve and that the cold does NOT spread throughout the house.  I've been using lots of anti-bacterial soap and Lysol and so far so good.  

   This morning I had my nails done which is always nice.  I picked out a new color and really like it.  Now, I'm back and hope to work on some cards...but I'm not overly ambitious and tried.  Hopefully, I can at least color some more images that I started yesterday.  

   I also had a call from Bath & Body to tell me the "Adorable" Lambie Blankets are in.  They will hold one for me and I'll go on Friday to pick it up.  I think I may also do a bit more Christmas Shopping that day and see what else I can get done!   I'm really stuck on what to buy Brian and Alex this year, and they both may end up with money, but at least that way, they'll get what they really want.  Neither of them has any clue what to ask for?  Usually they both give me a wish list, but they are both stumped?   I really miss the days when I could find lots of cute toys and fun things, now it's harder each year!  I guess that because my boys are now adults....!  

Luckily, I'm doing WELL on the rest of my list and have quite a bit done!  I love Christmas and enjoy shopping and wrapping and getting the shopping done early makes it much easier for me and also helps me to make the Holidays so much more FUN !

  Well, that's my week so far...!  What are you up to? 

  

A Sunny Sunday.....

What a difference a day can make and what a difference some SUN and warm temps can make too.  Today has turned out to be a much better day for me.  My Fibro pain is down some and I slept over ten hours last night which is MUCH needed.

I've also spend a lot of the day in my craft room and for me, that's my favorite place to be.  

This card, is one of my most recent are two of my recent cards.  It's was created from a Finally Friday Challenge I found last week on the Two Peas website.  I feel in love with the card, so I ordered the DigiKit from Kristina Werner to cut the card shape on my Circut, and then I also bought the Hero Arts "Snowflake" cling stamp.  I love how nicely the image comes out when it's embossed and I think I may make several of these ornaments.

  Today, I've been doing some re-organizing in my Craft Room and also started on some more Christmas cards.  I remembered that I bought a DCVW "Winter" Card/Scrap Kit from HSN when it was on clearance back in July and I dug that out today to come up with some new ideas.  It was a great deal and has some really cute papers and embellishments in the kit.  I'm working with some of them today and hope to get another couple of cards done before I get too tired.

  DH is out grilling up some burgers for Dinner and they smell fabulous and are just about done.  Yum!!  I made a salad and it'll be a quick and easy dinner for us.  It also may well be on the last few times we are able to grill without it being too cold for too dark...Bummer!!   I'm definitely going to enjoy my burger tonight and hope maybe we still can have them another time before winter really hits!

 ...Oh goodies...burgers are done...I'm off...time to have dinner and then pick up my room and relax!  Bye Bye!!

Argh!!!! What a horrible WEEK!!

Some weeks are JUST miserable and this has been one of those weeks for me!  ALL I can do now and HOPE that happier and better days are coming soon!

I'm super stressed and feeling so much more pain, which is just a vicious circle with Fibro.  So many things have gone wrong this week and it's NOT fun at all.  I really do NOT deal with with upset and feeling so depressed.

I really wish something we could go back and change things, but like simply doesn't work that way.  Thankfully, I have crafts to keep me busy and keep my mind of things that upset me.  I'm going to work on projects all weekend and try and keep my mind on happy thoughts.

In the meantime I will continue to HOPE for better days for all!   

Hugs and thanks to ALL my friends who have been so kind and supportive to me!  You all rock!!

This is a picture of card I made last night for a Two Peas Challenge, but I also want to share it with ALL my friends, and to let you all know that I adore you and that I'm very thankful to have you in my life!

This card is for all my wonderful friends.

   ...With hugs and love....

Two Peas Challenges!

I have really been enjoying trying to participate in more and more Challenges lately. I started last week on the Two Peas "A Year in Cards" challenge and then found there were lot more to try, so I kept going! As it turns out, it's been really fun and it's helping me to learn new techniques and to try different things on my cards and pages.

My son, Alex told me one day last week, that he can always pick my cards out...because they all look alike and I don't' "think out of the box" enough. And he's right. I simply use paper and embellishments or stamped images. Now I'm learning to use inks, paints and embossing more again. I'm also using my Cricut more and more to create all kinds of textures and layers! It'll take time to get things to work for me...but it has been different and enjoyable!

These are some of the recent cards I have made, all for challenges!