Finally Back and Creating...a little.

Howdy!  I'm  back from vacation and finally had a chance to get a little creative.  We had such a fabulous trip!  To  be honest I wasn't as excited about going to Gettysburg as I was about just GOING.  I'm not much into history.  It's not my "thing."  I have to say though that I LOVED it.  I think history class would be so much more exciting if you could have a sense of what it was really all about. What it sounded like, felt like, LOOKED like.   At least for me.  I'm so glad that my husband planned this trip.  It was so beautiful and emotional.  Funny thing....Hershey, PA ended up being the least favorite part of the trip.  Who would have thought, huh?  We did indulge in the MOST divine cookie I have ever eaten.

Chocolate and Peanut Butter!  There is nothing better for me:)  

It took all 4 of us to eat this because it was so big and rich.

Speaking of eating, if you ever are near Ortanna, PA you MUST go eat at this fabulous restaurant.  

It is called Hickory Bridge Farm and it's very close to Gettysburg.  Wow!  The food was so amazing!  It's all home cooked and the ambiance of the place is the perfect touch.  I will tell you it is a bit pricey, but you will leave feeling very full and happy.  When I say full, I mean FULL!

In fact you may look like this....

Just warning you:)  They also have an old fashioned candy counter and a barn full of antiques to check out.  

This place was one of my most favorite parts of our trip. Really, GO to this place.  It is so worth it.

Ok, I guess you came here for a card, right!?  Well, you're in luck.  I have TWO!

My nephew and niece are coming to spend next week with us and it will be the only time I see my niece before her birthday.  So I made her this using a slightly altered version of the SFYTT this week.  I am also entering this into TPE challenge to use Pink and Black.  I do have to point out that my coloring of this image isn't so great.  I got some Prism card stock for Copics and I guess that Bazzill has bought them out or something.  Anyways, it's NOT the same and I find blending to be very difficult.  So, I'm still searching for the Copic  friendly card stock that works for me.  I think I'm going to try PTI.  Anyone have any suggestions?

Because I wasn't overly thrilled with this card I had to make another one with that lovely "Strawberry Jam" paper from Fly A Kite Collection.  Dots!  I love dots!

This card started out using a Twisted Sketch.  Um... it became a bit altered.  I rearranged this thing in so many ways and then realized that I needed that black panel to be crooked.  That was it!  My life is in such chaos lately that perfectly straight and defined was just too much for my brain to grasp.  Chaotic and crazy?  Now, THAT  I'm in touch with. ( As I type this there are 4 kids running around screaming...need I say more?)

Speaking of crazy.  What do you think of the "flower?"  That was just me playing around with crepe paper, ribbon and a glue gun.  I kind of like that wonky thing.  I literally just crumpled and glued, glued and crumpled.  There is no rhyme or reason to it.  Oh, how I love the freedom of crafting:D.

This is also for TPE challenge and Allsorts Embossing Challenge.  At Stamp Something we are to do something vintage and add flowers.  This is a bit vintage, I think. I'm also entering this into the Pile It On Challenge. Do something fancy, cool or extravagant on the top of your card.  I'm thinking that wonky flower may qualify.  I also think I need to try that paper that the challenge is talking about.  One last challenge to enter...the CCEE challenge is a summer card with flowers.

That's it for me today.  I hope to have something else this week, but I honestly won't be posting much in July, I'm afraid.  The next 3 weeks are FULL of a family activities.  I will be back in full force in August.  I have a few exciting announcements that I will share soon.

In the meantime, I hope you are all having a great summer!  I also apologize for not visiting your blogs like I would like.  Summer...it's so busy.  Goes to fast and too slow.  Remembering the sound of silence...ahhh!





What's In It:
Stamps: Jolinne  Birthday Balloon MFT
Ink: black memento
Paper: Strawberry Jam, berry sorbet, black, white 
Other: rub on, berry sorbet satin ribbon, oval punch, horizontal punch, nesties, copics, sewing machine

Stamps: Verve Plain Jane and All About You, Hearts and Hugs by HA, Elegant Flourishes by Clear Dollar Stamps
Ink:  Versafine Black, antique linen, PTI cream
Paper: Strawberry Jam, black textured, vellum
Other: crepe paper, tattered angels postcards, satin ribbon, black pearl, EK success border punch, Copic R22

Making Lemonade Out Of Lemons

Happy Saturday everyone!  I do have a few cards today, but I've got to say that my creativity is struggling this last week.  I literally sat at my craft table for 2 hours yesterday and didn't produce a darn thing.  I have so much on my mind that creativity has been pushed aside I guess.  We are prepping to leave for vacation on Monday and I'm trying to squeeze in a bunch of stuff before go.  I think my card making mind has already left for Gettysburg:)

I did manage a few cards this morning though. (Scroll down to bypass the chit chat:)

First, can I just tell you about my week?  I can laugh about it now, but man has it been rough.

1.Last Sat. we had an impromptu cookout with our friends.  As we were sitting around the outdoor table and chairs chatting, my chair literally fell apart with me IN it?  Me talking away and then WHAM...on the ground.

2.Next day at the 4H meeting the kids planted flowers at the church and I stood around innocently watching and....got stung by a bee.

3.  My very old dog has peed on the carpet FOUR times this week.  She does not tickle.  She pees a LAKE.
Which is the reason I still have orange carpet from the 70's.  She is about 14 now so I try not to get too angry....TRY is the key word.

4. Made Strawberry Jam yesterday while watching 3 boys play in the backyard and 3 kids play in the front yard after spending the morning shopping with kids in tow.  Accidentally read the directions wrong and put the berries and sugar together first.  Do you know what this makes?????  Strawberry syrup  not jam.  I did have one batch turn out.  What do you do with Strawberry Syrup???  Serve it with Ice Cream, Pound Cake, Bananas and Whip Cream for a Strawberry Split Parfait.  Totally made that up:D  I think it sounds good though.

5. Spent Sunday night up with my son.  He had a bellyache.  He ate too much junk food at the 4H meeting.  This is the THIRD time this has happened.  I no longer have sympathy:( grrrrr.  Ended up oversleeping and missed my son's tutoring.  I NEVER oversleep.

6.  Son woke me up in the middle of the night Wednesday to say that he was sleepwalking and opened the front door.  Whether or not this is actually true, I'm not sure.  He does sleep walk so I am a bit nervous now about him actually walking out the door while we sleep.  I think we may need to install a chain....on the front door of course!  Not on him...lol.  Well, not yet at least.

7.Watched the movie Gettysburg with the family (ok, I fell asleep, but the rest of the family watched it)  My hubby wanted the kids to know a little bit about Gettysburg before we go.  My son went up to bed and proceeded to CRY because he was so upset.  Failed parenting????  I ended up sleeping in his twin size bed with him to calm him down.  We're not getting a lot of sleep around here.


8. Dyed my eyebrows and now I look like Groucho Marx.  It's ok...a few days of hibernation is good:)

I know what you are thinking..."Why does she keep dyeing things?" ( See Hair Story Here and Here) I'm a slow learner.  What can I say.  I don't like having ghost brows.  I was really picked on as a child for my hair color.  That kind of trauma stays with you forever.  Which leads me to my last story of the long post.


 My son played his last week of baseball.  On Tuesday,  he asked me why one of the boys gets teary eyed when he strikes out.  I explained that some people are just really sensitive.  I cry at everything anymore so who am I to say.  D then talked to me about himself and his batting and how he has been using 2 other boys' bats.  He said, "Yeah, sometimes I use "so and so's "bat and sometimes I use BLANK'S bat (the boy who tears up)....The FREAK."  I was so appalled that he would call that boy a "freak."  I tore right into him and told him that was awful and mean and he better never say that again.  He was like, "What!  That's what it's called Mom.  His bat is called, "The FREAK."  It says so right on it. Don't you ever look??"

Ummmm....Oh!
Failed parenting again.  This is one of those moments where you realize that you just stink.  Yet, you are so happy to think that your child is not as awful as you just thought he was.  Happy that he is a good kid and disgusted that you thought we was THAT rotten.   ( Heavy sigh)

And so.... that has been my week.  I can not WAIT for vacation.  I'm so looking forward to spending time with my family alone.   I may have changed my mind by next week.  However, I'm choosing to look on the bright side of life.  Do you know that song?  It's a bit "catchy."  If you hear it you will sing it all day.  It's a great way to be.  As my kids' principle always says, "Make it a great day, or not, the choice is yours."  So I'm going to focus on making lemonade out of lemons or Strawberry Split Parfait out of failed strawberry jam, as the case may be.  Regardless, I won't be around next week on the old blog.  Hopefully, when I return my Mojo will be here waiting:)

This is for several challenges:
A Crafty Little Place: One for the boys
Stamptacular Sunday Challenge: A tribute to fathers

Crazy 4 Challenges- Paper Flowers
SCSColor Challenge- yellow, red, green
EBTKS- Sketch
Stamp Something Summer

Blue Birthday Butterfly

Good Morning Peeps!  It's been forever, I know.  I have been so busy around here trying to keep the kids entertained.  I have to say that this summer it has been rough.  They have reached the age where they don't want to do things with each other much.  Yesterday we had a fabulous day of picking strawberries and cleaning them.  I made some strawberry shortcake and tonight we will be making jam.  I swear that in the summer I could live on Strawberry Shortcake and watermelon.  I know I will be gaining a few pounds by the time I have had my fill of it.  Our scale broke last week.  I weighed in at 97 pounds.  HA HA!  I'm thinking I may not replace it for awhile.  I'd like to live in that fantasy for a bit:)  Especially since we leave for vacation next week.  We are eating out a LOT and visiting Chocolate World in Hershey, PA.  Can you say HEAVEN:)  Ok enough yapping!

I haven't felt much like creating this week, but this morning I needed to make a card. I also realized that I still haven't made any Father's Day cards.  I'm so behind.  I made this card for the Playdate Cafe Challenge and last week's Ways to Use It over at Splitcoast.  It also falls into this week's WTUI 275.  That's a bonus:)  I also used my twisted version of Mercy's Sketch.   I get to enter one more card into the Stamp Something Happy Challenge too! 

Now for family I have a few pictures to share of what we have been up to lately.

Making Homemade Ice Cream.

Towards the end of mixing for 15 minutes you start to get a little crazy/angry waiting for it to freeze:)

A tiny glimpse of them playing together and having fun:)

Working on 4H projects.  Chandler sewed this purse.  Nope!  It isn't even the project she needs to make.  Did you know that doing a 4H project is REALLY time consuming?  Not to mention that if you sew you could spend $40+  to make an elastic waist childrens' skirt????  No wonder no one sews anymore.  I could buy FOUR skirts for that price.  She is having fun learning a new trade though.

The NEW version of catching lightning bugs~  in a plastic bag not a glass jar...LOL

Today we are saying goodbye to our nice breezy day and HELLO to humidity.  Hope you are getting some good weather.  I should be back once more with a few other cards.

See you then!

:( deleted my name again:(

What's In It?

Stamps: Great Friend, Elegant Sentiments

Ink: Versafine black, Aegan blue

Paper: TPS black and white, black, white

Other: Wrinkle Ribbon, MM brad, Glitter, glue pen, rhinestones, dimensionals, Nestabilities Labels and Oval

FOR SALE!

 I have the following for sale.  I'm trying to clean out my stamp room.  Please contact me for shipping info.  I like to ship Priority to avoid any problems.  Please email me at nikkischmaltz@gmail.com and I will get back with you on a total and combined shipping if that applies.  THANK YOU!  I accept Paypal only.



Roses in Winter~ $10.00

 
Baroque Motifs~ $7.00

P

Pearl Ex and Watercolor Pencils~ $30.00
(this includes all three collections of Pearl Ex.  All items are hardly used)

Pure and Simple Alphabet Upper and Lower
Pocket Fun and Wishing You the Best

Whole Lot~ $20.00

 

SU Coluzzle Cutter with Extra Template
SU Chalks 
Brayer with spong and rubber attachment

All for $25.00

Soft Sky 8 1/2 x 11

Wild Wasabi 8 1/2 x 11


$3.00 each

 12 x 12 SU cardstock


$3.00 each or whole lot for $20


I have the following: 6 packs of Bold Brights, 1 1/2 packs Soft Subtles (sold together) and 1 Rich Regals pack.  Please specify what you are interested in or buy the whole lot for $20.

 

 Unity Sets and Singles
Little Buggers, Quote Bundle, Tiny Trinity

Whole Lot $15 

 
  Lot of Various Stamps~ acrylic and rubber EZ mount ( Verve, Hero Arts, Little Loud, Whimsy etc)

Whole Lot $25.00

a big bold HEY!

Did I get your attention...lol??  I can't believe how much I have been able to do some crafting in the mornings.  My kids are enjoying just hanging out relaxing when they get up.  We had a fun day yesterday and a pool party later in the day today.  Wish me luck this weekend since I have agreed to a four boy sleepover in the pop up this weekend.  I think I must have been preoccupied when I agreed to that.  So, I've resorted to "Paper Therapy" beforehand.  Hopefully, that will provide me with lots of patience by Sunday:)

I've found a few websites lately that have helped me with summer crafts for the kids and for keeping the challenge blogs organized.  I've found some really fun challenges through The Daily Dare.  My first card uses a sketch from Twisted Sketches.  This site has sketch challenges for scrapbooking and cards.  The problem is that I didn't use any yellow.  Oops.  It was still a really fun sketch.  I used the colors from The Playdate Cafe and I think this is still a CAS card so I'm entering it into the CAS~tastic Wednesday challenge to use buttons.

I have another card that also using The Playdate Cafe colors.  I think this is one of my favorite color combos.

I made this card using a very special image.  You can read about this super sweet digital HERE.  I just LOVE it!  I decided to pair this image with a NEW challenge issued by Claudia and Company.   Lori Boyd is the creator of this and other stamps available through Claudia and Co. I used the sketch with a bit of altering.  I made this card for a little girl that I read about HERE.  I love that I can use an image I bought for a sick child and make a card to send to another sick child.  I hope you will check out both of these links.  The challenge at Stamp Something is HAPPY Something.  I think BOTH my cards are happy.

Feeling blessed that both my kids are healthy today...( even though they are running around screaming and driving me a bit nuts:)







What's In It?
Stamps: PTI Retro Backgrounds
Ink: versamark
Paper: scraps of rasp fizz, soft sky, white, Kraft
Other: crinkle ribbon, tulle, PTI buttons, swiss dots EF, twine, sewing machine

Stamps: Macie digital, PTI Up and Away sentiments
Ink: versafine black,
Paper: soft sky, kraft, white, rose red
Other: oval nestabilities, copics, EK Success border punch, PTI buttons, twine, scalloped scissors, PTI impression plate

The Sky Is The Limit

What a gorgeous morning we have today!  Even better since my hubby is home with us:)  Now he can help entertain the kids.We are working on 4H projects and getting our camper ready for our trip in a few weeks.  I'm trying everything possible to keep my daughter's mind off going to the pool.  I didn't get a pool pass this year because last year we only used it once.  Of course she has asked everyday to go since it opened.  Isn't that the way it works?:)

Well, I finished up a card this morning using Taylor's sketch 116 this week.  This is not exactly how I envisioned it coming out.  It was so much better in my head.  It drives me crazy that my balloons look crooked in the picture, but not enough to take a new one:D  I used some tulle on the side with my buttons.  I just love this Quite Contrary paper by MME.  It's so fun and cheery.  Over at ABC Challenge it's time for W~ Weather.  Looks like clear skies up ahead.  I also found a new challenge blog called Frost Designs.  The challenge is to use buttons!  Love buttons.

  I only needed one Graduation card this year.  Our backyard neighbors from home have a daughter who just graduated.  It's hard to believe that Kayla is that old.  She was only 5 when we moved in.  I have a funny story about her and my first scrapbook party.

  We bought our house after getting engaged.  Yes, we lived "in sin" for a few months.  Anyways, about 4 weeks before we got married I had a Creative Memories party.  I was babysitting our friends little boy and our neighbor asked if she could bring Kayla to the party.  I thought that would be great entertainment for Aaron.  So I set up a little crafting area in the basement for the 2 kids so they could craft while we had our party upstairs.  They were both only 5.  They were so good and QUIET in the basement.  NOW I know that QUIET is never a good thing when kids are in the basement for awhile.  Towards the end of the party both kids came up with NEW hairstyles.  They had given each other HAIRCUTS!  YIKES!  The little boy was our ring bearer and Kayla had basically scalped him.  Oh My Gosh!  I felt so bad.  Aaron had to get all his hair shaved off and Kayla got a new Winona Ryder do' out of it.  I learned a valuable lesson about giving scissors to unattended children that day.  Luckily the mom's took it all with great humor.

  I have to say that my own children NEVER cut their own hair....KNOCK ON WOOD.  I always emphasized that markers, crayons and scissors were for PAPER ONLY:) So far it has worked.

Hope you have a gorgeous day in your area.

What's In It?
Stamps: Up and Away
Ink: Basic Gray, Baja Breeze, Rose Romance, colorbox Dune
Paper: Soft Sky, MME, White, scrap
Other: circle nesties, dimensionals, fiskars border punch, twine, PTI buttons, sponge

Vintage Friend

Good Soggy Morning!  It's very wet here and muggy.  I have a brillo pad for hair again today.  Ponytails are a good thing on days like this:D  I did get to do a little crafting before the family got up.  We are just hanging out playing games and watching movies.  I think we may all go down and craft a bit later in the day.  My son's ball game is questionable at the moment.  I'm pretty sure the fields are too wet to play on.  That just means more time for free play.

 I created a card today using up a bunch of scraps.  Yippee!  The paper is from Studio 313 Exclusive Creations.  It's Sweet Thang Vintage paper.  I love this stuff! (Please note that Studio 313 is closed while Shawne goes through a big move:) I used the backside of a tag and stamped some text and then distressed it with inks.  The doily is the other section from THIS card.  My chipboard is from the dollar spot at Joann's.  I painted it a glossy red and added a button tied with vintage string that I got at the same garage sale as the doily.  I wish I had bought the whole bunch that was there, but I didn't.  My typical motto is, " Buy now, think later."  I didn't do that this time and what a bummer that is:(

  I used the sketch from CPS this week along with the recipe over at The Pink Elephant challenge 70. ( Red, scallops and a bow)  I'm also entering this into the Caardvarks June challenge to emboss.  My sentiment is embossed with brown EP.  I'm also entering this into the 365 Day 95~ It's So You.  This card is so me because it has flowers, buttons, RED, polka dots, ruffly ribbon and it's a bit vintage with a lot of worn edges and wonky stitching.  Totally ME!

I'm also entering this into The Crazy Challenge~ Distress It!

Over at Splitcoast the inspiration challenge (IC235) offers up a GREAT online source called Layla Grace.  I used THIS as my inspiration.  Oh I love aprons.  Too bad I hate to cook.  So I picked a child's apron.  My daughter likes to cook.  I can't wait til she is old enough to do it all:)

Well, that's it for me today.  Have a goodie!

Stamps: Great Friend ,Unity KOTM                 

Ink: antique linen, vintage photo, choc chip craft

Paper: Sweet Thang Vintage, cream                 

Other: tag, chipboard, paint, dimensionals,        

crinkle ribbon, twine, button, sewing machine    

              

School's Out For Summer!

This is my little girl on her last day of Elementary School.  She was so happy!  She talked all the way home, non stop about what an awesome day it was and then when we got home she snuggled in with her daddy and....

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

That's a sure sign of a GREAT day!

I thought I'd share the project that my son's class helped me create for his teacher.  This was her last year.  She taught for 31 years and I am so thankful that both my kids got to have her.  She was very big on making sure that kids had time to PLAY when they got home from school.  Not do hours of homework at the age of 8.  She had them churn butter and brought in many things and shared many experiences about life in the "olden" days.  She was always there to encourage them in the most positive way.  Both of my kids made dioramas from the book Charlotte's Web.  My son said, "Mom, Mrs M read that book every year for 31 years (to the class) and she cried every time Charlotte dies.  That's 31 times she's cried."

D and his rendition of the scene from the fair.

Here is the scrapbook the kid's helped me make for her.....

I used some chipboard from SU, Maya Road and Thickers Stickers to create the front.  The paper is by Imaginisce and I won it last year from Paper Connections.  It's really cute isn't it?  I made a few cards with it, but did not take any pictures.  Duh!

This is the inside cover.  I had to scribble out Mrs M.'s face.  She may not want to be on the internet:)

I took a picture of each child and had them write their favorite memory or thing they liked about Mrs M. and draw a picture.

This was the last page of the book.  I asked the kids to give me 10 adjectives that described Mrs. M.
I had to look up and make sure that "narly" was spelled correctly.  It is such slang.  Gnarly is what kept coming up and that means "hairy."  Hee hee.  I knew that wasn't what they meant.  I also knew that Mrs M wouldn't know what narly meant so I translated.  Kids are too funny.   I hope she enjoyed this.  I thought it was fun to read all the things the kids wrote.

So we made it to the end of another year.  This week we have no plans other than baseball games and tutoring.  I'm looking forward to a relaxing and fun summer with my kids.

Have a great day!

Awesome Day!

Hello my blog friends!  I never meant to be away so long.  Wowzers it's been crazy with all the end of school activities.  I've been volunteering a lot and I've bee working on teacher gifts.  I also helped my son with his diorama that was due this week.  So I've been crafting, but unable to post anything.  I did make a card this am, but first my NEWS!

  I AM THE FEATURED STAMPER ON SPLITCOAST  TODAY!  How rockin' awesome is THAT!?  What a great email to open up on a Sunday morning!  WOOT!  You can check it out here.  I feel bad because I haven't updated my gallery in a few weeks.  It's a no upload Sunday so I'll have to wait til tomorrow.  I've had an amazing few weeks of being honored as a crafter on a few challenge blogs and a bit of news for later in the summer to share....hmmmm...is that a hint or what?

Now onto my card....

 I've been working all weekend at the schools garage sale.  We got poured on yesterday!  A lot of stuff will be sold pretty cheaply today.  My friend noticed this box of doilies.  She gave me the whole box!  You never know what treasure you will find at a garage sale:)  I needed to make her mom a thank you card because she altered my bridesmaid dress and would not let me pay her.  So this is for her.  I made several flowers.  My heart is fabric cut out with a nestabilities.  Isn't that doily pretty?  It's perfectly aged too! 

This is for a few challenges....

The Playdate Cafe.....yellow, pale peach, peach colors
The Shabby Tea Room....Dear to my heart....use a heart
Crazy for Challenges... to use pleats



Sorry!  No time for deets.  Gotta go get the hungry boys and girl some
breakfast.  Have a great day!