Richard Scarry & Me

I have always loved books. Some of my earliest memories include me begging for someone to read to me. My mom was a big reader and I get my love of the printed word from her.

One of my very favorite children's author is Richard Scarry. I specifically remember this story about chipmunk's birthday party. How wonderful it would be to have a big bowl of something pink to drink! I think Mr. Scarry also helped to foster my love of all small and furry creatures. Look at how cute that chipmunk is!

I made sure that when my girls were toddlers there were always a load of his books around. Both Jessica and Amanda know who Huckle the Cat and Lowly the Worm are. Now, I have also gotten Aidan and Shea in on the act and although

both their parents are teachers, neither one knew who Richard Scarry was! Oh the calamity!

I found this set of books at an antique store not long ago. It was buried under a bunch of books and was just waiting there for me to discover it.

Some of the books seemed like they had never even been opened. I brought them home and spent the afternoon pouring through them. They are a treasure! Life would not be the same without Richard Scarry and BusyTown!

Blog Hop!

Love is in the air and the Challenge Master Divas are celebrating by having a blog hop! The hop is going to run from Friday January 28th until Sunday January 30th. We have lots of prizes, fun and inspiration for you this weekend!

Week three challenges are up at Challenge Masters. I am hosting the journaling one, which is to make a list. Here's my example.

Please note that my fave things are NOT listed in order of preference! =)

Gratitude

I am grateful for this body because it gets up and goes everyday.

I am grateful for the beauty of the world outside my window. Mother Nature is an awesome artist!

I am grateful for my hard working husband and my smart and beautiful daughters. I am grateful for the abundance of material things in my life. I have all that I need. I am grateful.

October Sketch at Challenge Masters

It's October sketch time!

Here's my sketch.........................

and here's my sample:

The pictures are of me from when I was almost 5. My sister Judy must have told me to make model poses because I don't know how else to explain the strange stances! I love looking at pictures of myself from days gone by because there are so few.

I used all MME patterned paper except for lined background paper, that's BG. Patterned butterflies are spellbinder die cuts, chipboard butterfly is Scenic Route. Fired Brick and Peeled Paint Distress inks, Sizzix flowers, CosmoCricket sticker letters, MM sticker letters, Fontwerks date sticker, Kaiser pearls.

Fall Blog Hop!

Welcome to the Ch{all}enge Masters F{all} into a Ch{all}enge Blog Hop! The challenge Divas have gotten together to create some fantastic Fall themed projects for you to be inspired and enjoy!

You should have arrrived here from //http://lovinglife-liz.blogspot.com/

Liz's blog.

If not, then you need to start back at Tammy's Blog (Stash & Tag Diva) (http://tampatha.wordpress.com/).

We all have a secret word that you need to collect to spell an autumn phrase and to be entered to win one of the grand prizes. All the details are on her blog and you don't want to miss out on any great prizes along the way as we all have something special that you can win!

I hope you are enjoying all the eye candy you have seen so far. My project looks so much better in real life (I swear ;0) Unfortunately, it is storming as I am trying to take photos,and you know how that goes, so I hope you like it!

It is actually really dimensional which is not showing up so well in these photos. I plan on putting it on the mantel as soon as October starts. I used Making Memories cream polka dot pp from a few years ago and JillyBean Orange polka dot pp. The haunted house photo is from Jenni Bowlin's Halloween kit (which is to die for!)

I love hunting through my stash for just the right touch of something and for this project I came up with an old Jolee's (don't judge me) witch hat with spell book, wand and broom. I busted out an old black bottlecap from Lil Davis(remember them?) and topped it with a new sticker from Studio G. A few other Making Memories halloween embellishments from their collection from a couple of years ago add to the fun along with a Pink Paislee rub on and a Jenni Bowlin sticker. Alphabet letters are Basic Grey, American Craft Thickers,and a Heidi Swapp "H" covered with black glitter. All edges have been inked and distressed!

My absolute favorite part of this project is the teeny tiny JB Halloween Bingo cards. It really is part of the packaging that I cut apart. Totally not my own idea yet brilliant!

I was inspired by the Jenni Bowlin designers especially http://www.jbsmercantile.com/page.asp?Page=141 Ranjini Malhatra and http://www.jbsmercantile.com/page.asp?Page=298 Kerry Lynn Yeary.

There a few ways to win during this blog hop:

1. You can leave a comment here (by Sunday, Sept 19th by 11pm EST)telling me your favorite part of fall. If you do this you will be in the running for a cute little RAK from me. (photo coming soon)

2. Create a fall project. Whatever kind of project you come up with(a card, a scrapbook page, or something else ) it must be fall themed. Then go to http://www.challengemastersonline.com/ and upload it to our gallery. If you are new to Challenge Masters, you must register twice (once for the forums and once for the gallery although it can all be the same user names and password) There will also be a thread in our forums dedicated to our blog hop so make sure to post your creation there as well. A great kit could be yours by entering!

3. Visit each blog in order of the hop and write down the secret words. Details on Blog 1 (Tammy) about how to win this prize.

Don't forget while you are at Challenge Masters to check out all our other challenges. We have new ones starting on Sunday that run through the end of the month. Jump right in!

Thanks for visiting my blog. My secret word is

Next stop on the blog hop is Anne. You can visit her here at http://www.annemade-anne.blogspot.com/

Happy Fall!

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Blog Hop!

This weekend, Challenge Masters is having its first blog hop! There are several ways to win and a bunch of great prizes. Check back on Friday for all the details!