Welcome Fall

Three days in a row!  Woot! I'm trying to work on crafting more, so I hope I can keep it going. :) This time of year starts the rough mental part for me, so crafty therapy is needed in spades. I grabbed my distressing tools and played around with this image I found in my need to do something with stash. Not my favorite card, but it was fun to make. That's the important thing. I wanted to enter it in three challenges: Double D Challenges, Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge, and Crafting by Designs.

I'll leave a couple butterfly pictures from my date last week at the butterfly center. It's humid in there, but it's my favorite place EVER. Butterflies everywhere!!

Happy Bear Mail

Well, we've almost survived Tuesday. Whew. It felt like a long day today for some reason. I hurt my foot and can't do much, so that's probably why. I did get my hair cut and colored. It's very festive. lol She put a lot of purple in it this time. :)  I'm trying to work on adding more just because or blank cards to my stash, so this is one for that. I saw a cute design in the new SU holiday catalog, so my card was inspired by that. I wanted to enter another new challenge, Pammie's Inky Pinkies and also 2 Crafty Critter Crazies.  (and if you haven't checked out Paper Playful or Challenges for Days, you should! Lots of challenges listed.) I love finding new ones to enter.

I was so excited today. My absolute favorite butterfly, the Common Buckeye, finally came by to visit. It was here about this same time last year as well, so it looks like that's the time to pass through. I LOVE them and I was almost late to my appointment because I was out chasing it trying to get a picture. lol I hope more come to visit this week if we can keep the rain away.

Witch Way is the Candy?

Happy October!!  I guess it's time for Halloween stamps and decorations, huh? I was excited to grab this set from MFT as it's one of my favorite images to color. It's just so fun!!  I used it along with the current sketch at MFT Card Challenges. I'd also like to enter A Gem of  Challenge's last challenge (sad) and Dragonfly Journeys, both with a Halloween theme.

My goal for October is to get more creative time in and to get more cards in the mail. I'll also try to actually blog the cards I make, but for some reason that seems to be a HUGE challenge lately. I have mailed out several that I totally forgot to even photograph. Bummer, right?? 

I haven't posted a lot about our butterfly garden, but it's still going. It's been raining so much that I don't get to go out that often. I'm going to have a lot of weeding to do once we do dry up a little. Yikes. 

Have a great week. I'm off to grab a second coffee and check out some challenges for today. (and do laundry of course). 

Precious Teacher

Hi all! Did you survive the week? Can you believe we are in the fall season now? Or pre-Christmas as it is already seeming like. lol We've had a long week here, so I am thankful that it's over. I did manage to make this card at least. I'm trying to start a box of teacher cards so that I always have some on hand. Laila's teacher is amazing, so I feel like I could send her one daily. :) I used the sketch at SugarPea Designs Mix It Up challenge and also wanted to join some new challenges I found, Creative Knockouts and Colour Crazy Craft Challenge.

I hope you have a fabulous weekend! 

Rita

Encouraging Hugs

Two days in a row?! lol I admit, I cheated and scheduled this one yesterday so that I actually got it posted. :) I loved the inspiration picture at Calling All Sistahs, so I used the new set that came in the September card kit to play along. Isn't that spray of flowers gorgeous??? I love it. The sentiments are all gorgeous as well. If you haven't played along with this challenge, it's a great one for making encouraging cards you can send to a friend who might need a pick me up. I also wanted to link up with the Dragonfly Dreams challenge.

I hope each of you has a wonderful week full of kindness and love. As we get closer to the rush of the holiday season, remember to take care of yourselves. I find the last three months of the year particularly challenging, so I'm already thinking of ways to simplify and keep my stress level down. 

Hugs.

Thankful Tree

Sunday. Everyone ready for some football today?? :) We are making chips and queso and Arnold Palmers (the non-alcoholic kind). I've been doing a little stamping and wanted to play along with the Cupcake Inspirations challenge. I love this challenge and try to play when I can. This time it was football related. :) I used espresso paper, but it seems to look black in my pictures. I also used the sketch at Freshly Made Sketches. I was hoping to actually play along with the team, but I didn't get it finished in time.


I had a busy week. Laila's teacher needed help two days, I had my library volunteer shift another day, and then the school garden club had one of the leaders out so I filled in there as well. I think Thursday was the only day I wasn't at the school doing something. This week I'll be there Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It's nice to help out. Laila is still struggling, so that's been hard. It's very mentally exhausting and I've been crying a lot. Send good thoughts that things get better. I do think that she's better overall, but we still have a ways to go. A boy from her class brought her some snails this week, so they are now friends. lol

Fall Rabbit

Happy Sunday! I hope this finds everyone safe. The weather has been awful all over the place lately hasn't it? Goodness!!  I did take some time to stamp during our rainstorm yesterday. It wasn't even supposed to rain, but...  lol I used this cute, and free, digital stamp along with the sketch at Cheerful Sketches, the inspiration at TIME OUT Challenges, and the theme at Creative with Stamps.

   

I got in a distressing mood today and I kinda wish I had left it all clean. Can't undo that, right? lol Oh well. I can always remake it and leave the distressing stuff off. Do you ever do that? Think that might look good? ...and no! Why did I do that???

I won't have much time to craft this week. I have to volunteer at the school for the first three school days and then Jason will be home on Thursday. He is working an extra day on Friday, so I guess that will be my day to play. Or to catch up on chores. Dang laundry...it never ends!!

This past Friday I took the two neighborhood cats and got them spayed/neutered and their vaccinations. I still have the female with me to let her heal more and man! She's a sweetie pie. I'm still raising a few butterflies here and there as well. We didn't have a lot of Monarchs in the spring, but they are around more now.

And just in case anyone is wondering what Laila's into right now. lol

Guacamole Day?

Happy Wednesday. We've made it through half the week. Kinda. lol I hope yours is going better than mine. I did take time to play with this cute new set from Kindred Stamps. They have a Wacky Holiday of the Month club you can join and this is September's set. September 16th is Guacamole Day, so that's this month's wacky holiday. Funny, right? lol I can't wait to mail out some cards for it. I used the current sketch, flipped, from Sketch Saturday and played along with Simon Says Stamp Stamp It challenge for STAMPtember.

I'm off to shower and get ready for my first library volunteer shift. I am now regretting signing up since Laila's back to having issues at school, but I'll deal with my embarrassment and go I guess. She decided to hide her medicine last week instead of taking it, so I think that might be the issue. We talked about it and she took it today, so fingers crossed. It's one that can take weeks to work, so I'm sure we are starting over. This child!