A big THANK YOU!!!

A dear friend in Australia has given me the honor of my first blog award!  I couldn't be more tickled! And it's even a Cherry on Top Award - the cutest of the cute awards out there! What fun!

Now, to follow the award rules:

1. Thank the dear person who gave me the award: A kindred spirit,Carolyn, of the famed blog, http://cuttingtime.blogspot.com. I am so honored that you would do this for me! I am amazed at the things you do - way beyond my capacity! 

Please visit her blog - it's outstanding. She puts untold hours into researching the intricacies of Inkscape so we can become better at our art form. Thank you, Carolyn!

2. Display the award on my blog. Done -  and thank you, again!
3. Tell everyone 3 things you love. Alright - I'll share 4: Christ, Family, Sewing and paper crafts.
4. Post a picture you love. 

This was taken yesterday, Sept 23, 2010. Two of the most important people in my world: my dear husband of 30 years, and our first grandchild, affectionately known as "Juju", having a great time at our favorite ice cream shop, Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams. 

5. Pass the award to 5 other blogs. - I'll echo Carolyn here - how do you narrow it down to five? Hope they're all as tickled as I am! (This was extremely hard to do!!!)

Extreme Cards & Papercrafting - "Land sakes alive!" is all I have to say. Check out CPeep's amazing blog!

Allsorts - The blog of Jenny B. Harris - an amazing resource for inspiration. I go to her play pages when little visitors come over - delightful!

MelStampz - Mel is an incredibly talented lady. I go there for inspiration as much as the great downloads she offers.

Paper Pastime - Denise Hill is one very talented lady - I always come away with ideas percolating.

From an Igloo - Northern Canadian blogger, Christine, shares adorable things to sew for the little ones in your life. Tons of cuteness!

SCORE!

c

I know, compared to some others I've seen, this little storage system of mine is paltry, but it is workin' so well for me.  A friend found a box-full of these wire grids at a garage sale, along with the connectors. I made this storage rack, then was able to incorporate shelves into it for every color and theme of paper I have (using zip-ties to hold them in place) - PLUS storage on the bottom for all my stuff...for $buckaroos! Cha-ching! Still have enough grids left over to build more, including hanging some over the paper area using Velcro-straps and for hinges and clasps, so little (sticky) fingers can't get at my colorful stash. Gone are the days of having to leaf through every piece of paper I had to find "the perfect one". Life is good!

Thanks Peeps!

Thanks so much to those sweeties who sent notes wondering if all was well, here, since I haven't posted in a while. I have been taking care of my elderly mom in our home for the past couple of months. She has osteoporosis, and fractured a disk (this is the 5th time this has happened! Her spine is full of cement!) She is back in her own home, now, and is doing fairly well, but I don't think she'll ever be able to walk without a walker again. I appreciate any prayers you feel led to pray for her.

I am working on some things for the blog, but in the meantime, wanted to share this little "Family Album" I created for my granddaughter, using the free, downloadable software from Zoom Album Creator. You can download the software here. It lets you select the photos you want to use, then helps you crop them, and then turns them all the right way, so that when you print them out all on one sheet of 8½x11" piece of paper, they are all turned the right direction. You then make just two slits in the paper (I scored all lines in between the photos first - glad I did), and begin folding to make the book. (The website has complete instructions.) I used semi-glossy photo paper, and I cut my own chipboard pieces, (by hand - I NEED a deep-cutting blade!) and taped the pages together with permanent adhesive, but you can buy a kit with sticky-backed photo paper and the chipboard cutouts already done for you from www.zoomalbum.net.

The outside cover has her picture on it, and the inside consists of pictures of the faces of all her daddy's side of the family. Some family members live far and wide, and hopefully this will not only help to keep them familiar to her until we get to be with them again, but also help her to learn everyone's names. I am making another one for her mommy's side of the family. The books are 3x3" - so cute, and just the right size for a little one's hands (or a grammie's purse as a brag book!)