Longing for you!!!

A quick card I made with an image Sabrina sent to me from Japan. Thanks Sabrina!! This one will be a cute one for my hubby!I used CTMH markers in shades of yellow to color in the giraffe and cranberry for the hearts. Also used our double sided textured cardstock.

RAK!!!!

Ok, so I'm taking a quick break from packing to post this very sweet RAK. OMG, when my hunny came in tonight he had the mail and to my very big surprise was a package from Aimee. She sent me this pretty card and instructions and materials to make this purse album. I was just astounded by her kindness. In the craziness of my day, trying to prepare for our trip to Florida this random act of kindness made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. Aimee, you are such a sweetie!! Those papers are gorgeous and the colors are scrumptious. Be sure to check out Aimee's blog!!!!

I've been tagged!!!!!!!!!!

The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

1. Ten Years Ago
10 years ago I met my husband and I was singing with my band in Las Vegas at Caesars Palace.

2. 5 Things in todays 'To Do List'

1. Read my thru the word
2. finish laundry for our trip
3. get my nails done, go to post office
4. Get food for our last dinner before we leave
5. Pack and clean up the house

3. Snacks I enjoy.
1. Kashi
2. better n butter from Trader Joes with a banana
3. fruit

4. Things I would do If I was a Millionaire
I would do whatever the Lord instructed me to do at the time and pray that I could be a blessing to someone in need.

5. Places I have Lived
1. New Jersey, where I grew up
2. My college years I lived in New Brunswick
3. At 22 I moved to Las Vegas where I have been for the past 13 years

I am now going to pass this fab tag on to some of my blogging pals - hope you haven't already had it!

Cindy
Adrienne
Leslie
Caroline
Sonja
Vicki

Celebrate The Battle

Good morning friends!!! If you are in need of a good devotion and happen to be going through some trials, check out Girlfriends in God on my side bar. I know so often when the going gets tough it's hard to look up, it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel and it's hard to understand what God is doing. Often times we can become downcast and discouraged, we even fail to praise God.

However it is in the midst of these difficult times that God is usually trying to do something amazing. It's then when we must walk by faith and not by sight. We must take our eyes off our circumstances and fix our eyes on God. We must remember that He is the God of all creation, His ways are higher than our ways, He knows the beginning from the end, so does He not know how to handle our circumstance???? Of course He does and much better than we know how to. He wants us to completely trust Him and surrender our will to His so that He can bless us. So while you're going through your trial, remember to praise Him and thank Him for what He is doing in your life even if you don't understand.

Here's an excerpt from the devotion

Praise is not a feeling but a choice, a step of obedience taken without the assurance of a changed circumstance or the elimination of a trial. Praise focuses on God, not the circumstance, and fixes its gaze upon God's truth and God's character instead of the trial at hand or just ahead. That is why we can celebrate the battle before it begins. The outcome is neither our responsibility nor our goal. Praise begins and ends with faith in the very nature, personality and integrity of God...and that never changes.

More from the Girlfriends

Our praises are a gift to God. What an amazing thought! God listens for and longs to hear the praises of His children. Busy schedules, crowded lives and chaotic hearts can keep us from sifting through circumstances to find the seed of victory...to praise Him. What has God done for you, friend? Take the time today to stop and praise Him. He will be pleased and you will be blessed.

Card for a friend!!!

Here's a little cupcake card that I made for a sweet friend! Again I used my stickles for the icing and some ribbon that Sabrina sent me from Japan, which I lOVE!!!! I also used my new 8x8 glitter pads from DCWV, love that blingy paper,although it doesn't seem to be showing up very well in the photo.

Have a great day everyone!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll try to post some more later!!!

Thanks Tina!!!

Here's the award that Tina gave me . Check out Tina's blog!! Thanks Tina, so very kind of you!!!
I thought I would post some pics of where I get scrappy! This is my little pink and brown make shift craft room. It's a retreat off of our master bedroom and overlooks the downstairs of my house as well as the upstairs loft and hallway to their rooms. This works out as I'm able to see and hear the kids while I'm in there. It's slowly closing in on me. I need to add cabinets to the other side still, that should help with storage.




So here it is my scrappy haven!!! I painted some peg board pink and covered the whole wall with it to house my tools and embellishments. I love having things out and in front of me. I used my cricut to cut out the names of my stations, Tools/Embellishments. I still need to hang my storage shelves on the left wall for extra storage and display.


Cubes are from Target. They hold my CTMH cardstock and the files have patterned paper all organized by color.
The right side of the desk top is where I hang my embellishments and my cricut. I have a rolling cart that I altered and that has all my immediate tools - adhesives, stamping/chalk supplies, distressing tools, embossing stuff and stickles
This is the other side of the room. I got the canvas baskets from Walmart and have them labeled. One bookshelf has all of my books (bible study, inspirational etc) The other bookshelf houses my sizzix and cuttlebug tools. The baskets on the top shelf hold fabric and flowers, the bottom shelf holds my punches and some albums and kits.
Here's the french doors that open up to my room. I have a small craft table that I love. My mom bought it for me years ago so it is very special to me.

This other table I got from Sam's Club and I use it for my sizzix station as well as for my daughter when she wants to create too. The book shelf to the right holds inspiration books, and the canvas baskets are from Lowes. They fold flat and were only 4.99 each. They hold embellishments of all sorts.
Here's the inside of my cabinets which I got from Lowes, I think. The first one holds all my old woodies. Got the plastic cases at Joannes for half price.The next cabinet holds some more wood stamps as well as my foam stampls which are in the plastic containers and my Xyron machines and adhesives. The top container holds some ribbon spools.
This cabinet holds some embellishment boxes and some misc. supplies. I need to put this cabinet to better use. The last cabinet holds my CTMH acrylic stamps.I also have extra markers adhesive and envelopes in this cabinet. Below is the bench seat my husband built from scratch for me. It was a gift for Valentines Day a few years ago!!! He's the bomb!


The cabinets under the bench seat hold my albums and photos/memorabilia. These jars line the entire length of my counter top. We eat a lot of Better n butter peanut butter from Trader Joe's and the jars are just perfect for holding flowers and ribbon. I used my coluzzle to cut circles of PP to cover the tops. I used CTMH More to Adore as the inspiration for my room.
This was a pink shelf unit for a baby's room I got from Target 7 years ago. I never took it out of the box. It was meant for my daughter's room but instead it wound up in here!

I use it to hang these little $1 baskets from Target to hold flowers and accessories. The shelf holds my cricut cartridges and my beloved Primas.

Well that's it. I am still working on getting more cabinets put up an my window treatment but for now it works and it makes me happy. Hope that inspires somebody!!!

Happy scrappin,
Melanie

My First Bella Card!!!

I finally got a chance to play with my Bella images that Jenn sent me. Oh what fun!
I used a lot of stickles for the cupcake, prima flowers, CTMH autumn craft buttons, Teen Girl PP (retired CTMH), sunny yellow marker for her hair, bubblegum marker for her dress and shoes, peach whip re-inker with blending pen, chalk with the blending pen for her skin, corner punch to make the round scallop circle and the side scallops, simple stitches for the bubblegum polka dots along the sides, shimmery ric rac attached with liquid glass, and some pink rhinestones for the flower centers.
Thanks again Jenn!!! I just love her!!!