Here I am, squeeking this one it at the very end of the year! =)

We currently have Little Ones settling in for some Thomas the Train and Curious George movie time before they drift off to sleep, (unless they actually hold out to see in the new year!).  The Big Ones and I will be doing a Scarlet Pimpernel marathon, 1934 and 1982 versions.  The DH is working....Big Frown!

But, before we move on to those festivities, I've dropped in here to recap the last half of the year 2013.

There doesn't seem to have been many things that happened during that time outside of the normal!

We canned a lot of tomatoes: as sauce, juice, salsa . . . and for the first time ~ ketchup!  I am not a fan of commercially canned anything, won't eat store bought pickles, and have now added ketchup to that list. Well, to be honest, I hardly ever ate store ketchup anyway.  As a matter of fact, I used to say I don't like ketchup!  But I now know it's only commercial ketchup I don't like!  We'll be canning a LOT more of it next year, since we ran out this time after only a couple of months.

DH took a job working night shift, 8pm to 8am, three days on, three off.  That has been a big adjustment for us.

Wow! I think that about sums up the highlights of 2013 . . . and leaves me with a new page to start 2014 on.

Happy New Year!
May Love and Blessings flow to you and your loved pnes in 2014!

In a 'Nutty'shell: 2013 Jan-June

The first half of this year saw some firsts and lasts.

The Little Man had his first birthday in March, which was the last 1st birthday for a baby of ours.  That was the beginning of noting the milestones in his life, and the fact that they are the 'lasts' for this household....until some grandchildren come along!

This was also the last year we had my father-in-law with us.  He passed away in March, and although he is missed, we are glad he has gone to his Heavenly Home and is relieved from the sufferings he was experiencing at the end.

Wow!  March was really a full month!  It also saw DH and I celebrate our 10th Anniversary, two more family birthdays, and my attendance as a vendor at a Bride & Prom Expo.

And now that I think about it, I basically define the first half of the year by those events, or things related to them.  There isn't much else I take note of in those six months, except my father-in-law's memorial service at the beginning of June.

Which is part of the reason for this recap, and my approach to blogging for next year.

Have a blessed weekend!

In a 'Nutty'shell...

Hellooooo!

I don't even know when the last time was that I posted here.  This past year was so full!  I wish I could say it was all joys, but alas, that would not be real life.

I've been inspired by my friend, Lisa, to give a little recap of my year.  I won't be joining the linky party; instead, I plan to use this as a launch for my blogging activities for 2014.

Stay tuned for a first instalment!

EXTRA! EXTRA!...

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Hi there!  Did that get your attention?  I figured the shouting fit the occasion . . . and the phrase!

As of today . . . I am officially a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.  I've used SU! products for years, as you would know if you have seen many of my posts, and have previously considered joining the SU! team as a demonstrator.  I didn't, until now, for various reasons, but the big thing to move me from the 'no' postion to the 'yes' position was the fact that my long-time demonstrator was retiring.  There are no other demonstrators in our very rural location and there are a lot of us around here that use SU! products so they needed a rep and I have a ready made customer base.  Win-Win!

So . . . let me introduce myself . . .

 . . . Hi! I'm Nutty/Elizabeth, your Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.  Please join me for fun projects, techniques and lots of inpiration here on my blog, Nutty's News.  See you soon!

Turning Point

We all reach them at some point...or points...in our lives.

I'm there.

And the first step for me on the other side, (or should it be in the other direction?) is to make a list, so here it is!

Objective: 
Have a bigger - stronger - more frequent presence in the blogging world.

Reason for objective: 
Because there is so much of me I crave to share with others, and this is a fantastic community of like-interested people who can understand and appreciate it/me.

How:
1) Expand this blog.  I'll be including more than just my scrapping endeavors.  You might even find out how I replaced the kitchen sink! lol
2) Visit more of my friends blogs.  I know how much I appreciate the comments and feedback.  Turn around is fair play!  =)

Thanks for hanging with me while I've gone through some of the rough parts of the transformation...like being AWOL! HaHa!  Hope you aren't disappointed with what comes along in the future!

Best Wishes

I know I made this card using some challenge as my inspiration.  But alas...It was done so long ago that I don't remember which one it was.

The pink and black combination was way out of my color comfort zone, but I had been seeing so many lovely cards in these colors, I wanted to try my hand at it.  I'm satisfied with this card, but I can't say I'm pleased.  Guess that means I'll be giving it another go someday.

Thanks for stopping by....and Best Wishes to all of you this week!

CS: SU!
Stamps: SU!, Layers of Color
Punches: SU!
Emboss Folders: Sizzix
Embellishments: My stash

Enjoy the Ride

I actually made this card last week, hoping to join in with the Verve monthly sketch challenge on SCS.  I got all the cards done, and photographed, but not loaded here...... or there!

This one is made with SU! cardstocks, inks and bling.  The stamp set is from Close to My Heart.

And now I'll let you in on the secret!  The top strip of black CS wasn't supposed to be there!  I had some ink on the edge of my acrylic block when I stamped the black dot piece.  The ink transfered to the card front and I had to cover it up! =)
All in all, I'm tickled with this card.  Even the mess up! 

Hope you enjoy your ride for the rest of the week!

Blessings...

Friendship Friday: Beautiful Wishes

Welcome to the first installment of Friendship Friday.

I want to celebrate friends and the relationship we have with them.  Especially the Friend '...who sticks closer than a brother.'

When I think about the friends I have, and how we interact with one another, I become very excited to know that that level of familiarity is what Jesus wants us to have with Him.  As well as my friends may know me......and love me despite!......Jesus knows me even better and loves me even more!

What a beautiful thing!

The Featured Friend for this first post of Friendship Friday is a beautiful lady I met in blogland.  Laura Kirste Campbell is the former owner of Layers of Color who now designs for Penny Black. (Amongst other hats she wears!)  I've been blessed many times over by the Faith Art Friday posts Laura hosted on LOC, as well as wonderful words of encouragement through personal messages.  Laura is an inspirational artist, but more than that, she loves the Lord and shines that through her conversaton as well as her art.

Laura has graciously consented to showcase this card for us to CASE.

Laura's card uses the 'Dahlias' stamp set designed by Nina Bracket and available at Penny Black.

Here is my card made with everything SU! except the seam binding! =)

Now it's your turn!  Create a card that makes you think of friends and just how special they are! You can CASE Laura's card, or use it as inspiration and when you are done, come back here and leave a comment that includes a link to the post or gallery page where you've uploaded your card.

Thanks for joining me for Friendship Friday.  I hope you'll come back next week and tell a friend or two, too!

Blessings!

Two for One

Here is the second card I made from this old Card Patterns sketch.

I decided I was going to make the best of the scrapping time I had the day I made this card, and use up some scraps!  (The first card I made from this sketch that afternoon is found here.)

This card base is, maybe Handsome Hunter...or maybe a green from a variety pack I bought somewhere else.  I'm not sure because it was a half sheet I found amidst one of the various piles of 'stash' that is reinhabiting my stamping room.  The striped DP mat is from an unlabled pack of 8x8 paper I bought at a thrift store.

My SU! supplies include the Real Red DP mat, the Real Red and Garden Green CS for the flower, the Chocolate Chip ribbon and the stamps and ink.
Once again I chalked the Petaloo flowers with Stampin' Pastels and inserted some shiny gold brads.  A few pearls at the points of the sentiment and I was done!  Weeee!  Two for One!  =)

Thanks for stopping by.  I'm always blessed to know you've been here.

No One Like You

Happy Friday Morning!

I've been on a stamping spree here.  I made four cards in three days!  I shared one a few days ago and I have another of them for you today.

I used an old Card Patterns sketch as my jumping off point.

 I wanted the Perfect Plum CS from SU! to be a focus, so I opted not to use the square mat from the sketch.  The yellow CS is So Saffron and the DPs are from the Floral Stack by DCWV.   The scalloped circles are from My Mom's Attic at svgcuts.com and I cut all the shapes with eCal on my Eclipse.  I stamped the SU! flower and sentiment with So Saffron and Perfect Plum inks.  The Petaloo flowers were colored with SU! Stamping Pastels in Perfect Plum.  A few brads and an Old Olive bow and voilá!

Wow!  'Reliving' this card makes me want to go straight to my stamping room and indulge!  But I can't! =(  I have to go to an appointment later this morning.

There's always tomorrow, though! =)

Have a blessed day!  Thanks for stopping in.

I'm Back...with Mojo Monday 281

Hi all!  I've been spending a lot of time in my stamping room lately.  Weee!  Does it ever feel good!

As I've been visiting around to some of the blogs I follow, I've been inspired to try out some new challenges.  The first one I'm taking a stab at is Mojo Monday.  There is a weekly sketch there and I decided to join in the fun this week.

I used SU! Perfect Plum CS for the base and a scrap of a digi paper designed by Trina Clark from DigiScrapKits.com for the Top Note die cut.  The two circles are hand made paper......made by me!! (or one of my daughters! HaHa!)

The top layer of the Petaloo flower was colored with SU! Perfect Plum marker and has an antique gold finished mini brad in the middle.  The sentiment is from SU! and is stamped with SU! Perfect Plum on Very Vanilla CS.

A little distressing with the scissors and Crumb Cake ink on some edges, a scrap of lace, a piece of ribbon and a linen thread bow finish this off.

Fast and fun is what this card was!  And it uses my fave color....purple!  How much better can it get?

Oooo!  I just remembered.....except for the card base, all the CS or DP was scraps!  Weee!  It did get better!  =)


Have a blessed day!  And thanks for stopping by.