Sunday Scrappin'

Has it really been five months since I've posted a Sunday Scrappin'? I didn't realize... Wow!

I have been in and out of the blog world in those five months but I thought I had posted something since September. I have check in with the other Sunday Scrappers even though I haven't posted. So much has been going on... Hurricane Ike came to visit (yes, in western KY) and we were without power for 2 1/2 days, then Christmas and New Year activities, January was busy and ended with "the storm of the decade" which knocked out our power for about a week and our internet for about 3 weeks. And, oh yeah.... I'm a brand new Aunt!!! My sister and brother-in-law had their first child on January 26. If you want to see the most beautiful baby in the world (who me, biased? No way!) you can check out their blog here. BTW, they're missionaries in Africa. He was born in Nairobi, Kenya.

Ok. Now for some Scrappin'! I've got a lot of catching up to do so hang in there....

The Ta Da's...

I joined a Stampin' Up group that meets once a month to learn new techniques and make quick projects. Each member takes a turn hosting a meeting and gets the hostess benefits for their month. Anyway, the first month we made two cards...

In honor of Valentine's day...











And a pretty little card for whenever...

The other ladies used glitter on their cards. I'm not such a glitter person, so I left mine plain. I might add a little bling to them sometime.






The second meeting we made two items. The first was another Valentine project which I'll show and describe in a moment. The other was this "Embrace Life". We used a pretty neat technique to make this marbling effect. I wish I could tell you what we used, but I think I missed that part while I was finishing up the other project.















So I have all these picture albums with no covers because I used them to make scrapbooks for my girls' group at church. You can read about them here and see a picture of one of them here.


I recently came into a small stack of chipboard, much to my friend Kim's dismay (the girl loves her chipboard). I thought I'd try my hand at making a custom cover for the album. I have about 10 coverless albums so I might get pretty good at it by the time I'm done. This is my first attempt. I have one bigger one and I plan to make that one for my mom to use for her pictures of her very first grandson.

Next is the Valentine project I mentioned earlier. It was a 3-dimensional stand up card that was adorable. The one in the top left hand corner is the one we made at Stampin' Up. I didn't have the same stamp set or heart punch so the rest of them are my version of the project. I made 22 of these suckers and gave all but 5 to kids and other folks at church.

I got this stamp set to use for the scrapbook I plan to make of my new nephew. But I think it made a cute valentine day project too. I think this meets last weeks challenge for Valentine's day. It took me the better part of Friday night, most of Saturday and early into Sunday morning to finish them all in time for church. It was quite an undertaking.

The next set of photos are of the scrapbook I'm making for a lady that used to help me with my girl's group at church. She supported the group from the start. Unfortunately, she and her husband have moved to another church and are greatly missed. I wanted to do something for her to thank her for her dedication to the girls. Jan, if you're reading this, look no further.

This first one is the front of the album. The name of the group is God's Girls and the theme is that they are all daughters of the King. They earn "jewels" by their behavior and participation in church activities. This album came like this, complete with little "jewels" on the cover.

The first spread shows all the girls that attended the very first God's Girls event. Every page has gems or jewels to carry the theme. I happened to have a book of paper that goes well with the album cover. I couldn't have planned it any better.

We have several sets of sisters that participate and lots of best friends. I'm trying to leave a little room throughout the book for Jan to write her thoughts and memories about her time with the girls.

During the first event, I set up a pretty pink armchair under a white canopy with a castle scene on the wall next to it. The girls each had their picture taken with a tiara and magic wand. The picture was completed by a frog sitting on a small table nearby. The girls had a blast doing a "photo shoot" in various mixes.

My mother helps with the girls sometimes and is a good friend of Jan's. So these two pages show the three of us. I've left some space on the right hand page to add lines for journaling. I'll probably write something there to Jan to tell her how much I appreciate her help.

Jan did a lot of cooking with the girls. In this spread she was teaching them to make taco salads, complete with homemade quacemole. Not many of the girls ate it. They tried it, which is what I had hoped.

The last spread I completed during the ice storm. I had to do something to keep myself busy and my mind off the cold. This is actually my favorite layout out of the group so far. I still have several more spreads to go, but I hope to have it completed sometime this year.

This last little item I have no use for. I have my friend Kim's Cricut machine and thought I'd make the best of it. I was looking through the book for one of the cartridges and saw this little box and thought it was adorable. I don't know what I'll do with it, but there it is.

I believe the scrapbook pages and this box meet the challenge which is: "This week, let's think outside the box and go round.... rounded corners, circle-shaped cards, a layout in a circular pattern, etc. Be creative!"

Next week's challenge is: "Your challenge for this week: duplicate! Use the same colors/ decorative elements twice, but slightly changed... in a two-page layout, or in two cards, or in two of whatever else you're making."

That's interesting. I'm not sure if I'll have time this week to do any crafting, but here's hoping!

So, To Do's for next week: I don't know! I have a meeting on Thursday which I need to do some more preparation for, so I guess that's my ToDo. I know it's not crafting, but it's something that I need to do.

Well, if you've stuck with me this long... thanks! Hopefully, it won't be so long before the next time I post. BTW, if you like cheesecake, my sister makes the best! I wrote a post about them with pictures which you can see here.

Have a great week and happy scrapping!

Cheesecake!

Are you like me and love cheesecake? Well, do I have a treat for you! My sister makes the best cheesecakes in western Kentucky. (At least I think she does. And I'm not the only one.)

She's made all sorts of cheesecakes. This one is just your basic cheesecake. Simple, but oh, so good. (Don't look too long at the background.)





















Next up is my personal favorite, the Pumpkin Cheesecake. Beautiful. And delicious. Makes Thanksgiving a little more interesting for me.





















And this is her Blueberry Cheesecake. I'm not one for blueberries, but this makes me want to be.





















And there's plenty more where these came from. Brownie Bottom Cheesecake, Butter Pecan Cheesecake, Pineapple Upside Down Cheesecake…just to name a few. She has a whole list of them. All tasty and tempting, I might add.

Is your mouth watering yet? If not, LEAVE MY BLOG!!*** Just kidding. Stay. Don't go. I'll have you converted to Cheesecake in no time. I've got more pictures. But they'll have to wait for another day.

In the meantime, leave me a comment and share your favorite cheesecake flavor. And if you're not a cheesecake person, tell me what your favorite dessert is.

***Please don't be offended. I'm a little cheesecake crazy, so please excuse me for my outburst.

Brief Glimpse

In case you're wondering, I have not fallen off the face of the earth. I've just been....busy....no... can't say that...have to be honest.....lazy! Well, maybe a combination.

Lots of things have been happening lately. Like the "Ice Storm of the Decade!" (Can you name it that even though the decade is not over? What if we get something even worse next year? Hmmm?)

My family has been very blessed throughout this ordeal. We were only without power for four days. We had a generator so were able to have light, run our refrigerators and use the microwave. We are still without cable and internet. But in light of the state of the area, I think it's a luxury we can afford to do without. Here are a few photos around our house.

The ice was pretty thick on all the trees and power lines. It's no wonder there were record numbers who lost power.

















I wish I could have captured the sun through the trees better. It was so beautiful shining on the ice.








I thought this poor tree was going to split down the middle.

It's been nearly three weeks since the storm hit and there are still people without power. This whole experience has been a wake up call. For almost two days, entire cities were nearly shut down because no one had power. It goes to show how dependent on electricity we are.

Well, I have plenty more I could write about and tons of photos to share. Unfortunately, I am running out of lunch time. So until next time, and let's assume there will be a next time, thanks for reading!