Lost...

It has been much too long since I last blogged. Yes it has been weeks since I've been here. Sometimes life gets in the way of blogging. Family, work, etc; get the picture?! I haven't even had a chance to get into my little craft space to play around. This morning is the first time in weeks that I have actually sat down at my computer and visited all my favorite blogs! Lots of inspiration - can't wait to start. Seems like alot of you are starting your fall projects - fall, halloween and Thanksgiving! I even saw some Christmas - yikes!

I have been doing some work related travelling. My last trip was to Southern California. After a week of training in our California office, my boss, who is a native of southern California, extended an invitation to stay with her over the Labor Day weekend. I met alot of her friends and family along with visiting lots of nice beaches!

A sweet and sticky fingered 2 year old little boy got a hold of my camera so I was not aware of how poor some of my pictures turned out! The above blurry picture is of Huntington Beach. I think you can make out the Pacific Ocean and the people. Besides Hungtinton Beach, we visited Newport Beach and did some shopping and ate dinner in Laguna Beach.

This picture was taken at Canyon Lake. It is a residential subdivision with beautiful homes along this lake. A friend was kind enough to take us on a tour of the lake in her boat.

I took this picture from inside of the car driving to work one morning. I was in awe of the mountains. I kept telling my boss how fasinated I am that in one direction are the mountains, and the opposite direction is the ocean. Can you tell I am from Illinois!

Well peeps, that is it from me this beautiful Sunday morning. My plans today call for some TLC in my flower beds that have been neglected terribly. Enjoy your Sunday!

Nancy

Birthday celebratiions!

...and the August birthday celebrations continue!  Here is a card I made for my late nephew's daughter -

Pattern paper from Bo Bunny, card stock and ribbon from Stampin Up and die cut from Crafty Secrets. Button from my stash.

This next card I made for another niece who loves roosters. I found the cutest metal rooster which is solar and lights up blue at night. She loved it!

Pattern papers are from October Afternoon, another Crafty Secrets die cut and sentiment. Ribbon, button and gems are from my stash.
 A few pictures taken at our annual August Birthday Bash! This is my 2nd year of hosting the celebrations!

My sisters...Chrissy, me, Vonni and Lynne. Lynne also has a birthday in August that we celebrated besides mine.
Here is a pic of a few of the boys that attended our bash:

The two on the left, Matt and Jake (my son) are both engaged to be married next year. Here they are posing with the lucky gals:

Jake, Joanna, Kelly (my niece) and Matt. We have June and August 2013 weddings to be planned next!

This next picture are all the 'over 21' female cousins ...

I love family pictures and poses and just being crazy and fun!
One more picture and I'll stop !! This is a picture of my girlfriends from work - we did a 'girls weekend' in Lake Delavan,WI which is just 10-15 minutes north of Lake Geneva, WI.

Stephanie, me, Mary and Imelda. And of course we had a small celebration for my birthday...

Well, that is it for now. Hope you enjoyed looking through some of my photos as much as I enjoy posting them and having you get to know these special people in my life!
With alot of the kids getting ready to go back to school, we are planning one more trip to the beach next weekend.
Enjoy your Sunday ~
Nancy

South Haven

Hi blogger friends,

Just got back from a short road trip to South Haven, MI with my sisters and some friends. Short, but relaxing. A little bit of rain on Friday but we were able to get in some beach time, a bit of shopping and some great bars and resturants. Even managed an outdoor concert on the pavillion along the Black River!
Here are just a few pictures - along the Black River....

and a great place to grab a sandwich...

some cute stores to shop at.....

Below is a picture of me (far right) and my sister Chris and Lynne...

and finally a beautiful sunset over Lake Michigan...

What a great 3 days of sun, beach, reading, eating and just plain relaxation!
Now I am off to join my son and future daughter-in-law to look at banquet halls for their wedding next year.
Happy Saturday!
Nancy

Rock on!

Today is Aiden's 7th birthday. Not only is he my nephew, but he is my godson and my saviour! My oldest son had passed away in 2003 and I was in a dark place. Then this little guy came along. I was with my sister during her labor and delivery and besides her and his daddy, I was the first to hold him and that is when he and I made this connection and bonded. I am his Aunt Nanshee and he will always hold a special place in my heart.
So Aiden and Michael - my younger nephew and Aiden's brother, both spent the night as we are heading out to the toy store to birthday shop before we go to his party. Last night Aiden discovered my IPod and thought it was so cool to put ear buds in his ears and listen to music. So we picked out all his favorite songs and made his own music list on my IPod - rock on, dude!

Not only Aiden has a birthday in August, but I have another sister, myself, 3 nieces and another nephew with birthdays.I have started making their cards slowly - it's been a very busy summer for me. This firsrt card I made for Aiden -

Pattern papers, die cuts, tags, ribbon and buttons are from the October Afternoon Cakewalk line. Sorry for the bad picture - the lighting in this room is awful and I only took 1 picture!

This next card is for my sister Lynne:

Pattern papers and die cut are from Kaisercraft Sweet Nothings line, stick pin from Prima, ribbons and pearls from my stash and the sentiment is from Crafty Secrets Grand Greetings stamp set.
I have a few more cards to make and will post next time. Enjoy your Sunday! Me and the boys are off to the toy store!
Nancy

Finally engaged!

It's a wonderful day! My son finally proposed to his girlfriend of 7 years! High school and college sweethearts they are! I'm on cloud nine :-) I've known about it for the last week but was sworn to secrecy as he wanted to do it the 'old fashion' way and go to her parents first and ask their permission for her hand in marriage...aww, so sweet! I'm so proud of my boy!
Last night I attended my high school class reunion...40 years! My brother drove up from Louisville, Ky and stayed at my house as he attended the same high school - graduated a few years before me but it happened to be a multi-class reunion so that was fun! Met up with some amazing women I went to school with - love them all!

I am also taking a mini vacation and driving to South Haven, MI with my sister Lynne. Leaving Wednesday morning sometime, mapping out the route and hope to find some scrapbooking stores along the way! I love taking these short road trips to other towns and states and looking for craft stores! My sister Chris, her husband and another couple are already there - can't wait to get there!
So now for the card I have to share - my first order from Pretty Little Studio delivered last week! So of course, I had to play with the pattern papers and stickers that I ordered. I made a masculine birthday card which is a challenge in itself for me!

The pattern papers and the stickers are from the Monsieur collection, button and twine from PTI, sentiment is from It's Your Birthday from  Stampin Up. It was still too plain and needed something. So I took some kraft scrap paper and added some trim at the top of the card.
That is it for me for today. I am off to start packing for my mini vacation with my sisters! Have a great week!
Nancy

Graphic 45

It's going to be another hot, sunny day here in Chicagoland. No plans for me other than staying inside where it is cool and doing what I like to do most - cardmaking!
I just ordered one of the newest paper lines from Graphic 45 - Ladies' Diary. I love the shabby, vintagy feel of this line. Over on their blog, they are having a 10-minute card challenge. This is the card I made -

All pattern papers are from Graphic 45, sentiment from Crafty Secrets, stick pin from Prima, button, ribbon, pearls and trim from my stash.
Actually this trim is from my wedding veil! Not too long ago I was cleaning out closets and came across the box my wedding dress/veil was stored in.  It's been over 30 years that I got married and there was some damage to the veil. So I took it apart and kept the trim!
Now I have to figure out how to post this card on Graphic 45's Facebook page....I thought I did it but when I go back to their page, it doesn't show up. Not sure what I am doing wrong. Any suggestions?
That's all for me. Enjoy your Sunday and the rest of your week!
Nancy

The boss is coming...

Happy Saturday! If your weather is anything like it is here, I hope you are keeping cool! I had my godson Aiden overnight and had plans to take him to a local waterpark today but honestly, it's too darn hot! After we got home from going to our favorite donut shop this morning, he turned to me and said he didn't want to go!
So while he was playing his Star Wars computer game, I started and finished a birthday card for my boss. She lives in California and will be visiting our office at the end of the month so better be prepared early!

The pattern papers are from MME, resin frame is Melissa Frances, pearl bling is Zva, sentiment from a PTI stamp set and the flowers and lace trim from my stash.
That's it from me - enjoy your Saturday and stay cool!
Nancy