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Check out my Christmas cards! Aren't they fabulous?

You can make your own too, at www.shutterfly.com. Tons of designs to choose from. :)

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View the entire collection of cards.

It's That Time of Year

I'm getting ready for some upcoming holiday craft shows!!!

The bazaars I usually do aren't having theirs this year, so I wasn't really planning on participating - but I've now ended up in 2, possibly 3 new craft shows. :)

I figured I should get busy, so I made something new for this year...bookmarks!

They were fun, and I couldn't stop. Each is laminated, and no 2 are alike!

Thought I'd share a sneak peek. I'm off to start on another project while the kiddos are resting, and Malia is at Taekwondo.

Happy Halloween!

Wow!! It's Halloween already! Boy this month sure zoomed by. It's been a busy a month, lots of family birthdays, pumpkin patch trips, pumpkin carving, etc. Here are the pumpkins we finally carved last night: I'm always ready to carve pumpkins early in the month, but know they will be rotten by the time Halloween rolls around.

Here are a few pictures from the pumpkin patch a couple of weeks ago. The weather was perfect - and there were more people there than I have EVER seen before. I heard it was a record. The kids had lots of fun on the big slides, mazes, cow car barrel rides, and the little playground. I enjoyed the kettle korn. lol.

Ella in one of the hay mazes.The kids again....

And here is a picture from the trip we took with preschool. Weather wasn't quite as nice, but it was at least dry while we were there. :)And.....one last parting shot of all the pretty fall pumpkins, squash, vegetables and dried flowers.

While we're on the Halloween theme, I thought I'd share some little pencil & treat holders I made for our CTMH swap this month. Here is the finished product:

This stripe paper was the given to use in the swap - and we were to make something for Halloween other than a card. Here's another view: Hope you all have a safe and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! We are getting ready to head out....and yes, the weather is dry!!

~Linda

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Look What I Won...

Yippee!! I know it's not a new flat screen tv, or a 7-day cruise, but I won this pretty card (above) from Deena over at BE CREATIVE. You should take a look at her blog. She lives in California and sells beautiful card kits. Hmmm. Maybe I should do that? (make card kits, not live in CA).
Anyway, here are a few samples of her kits:

August Kit:
September Kit:
I hope you are having a great Friday!! I can't wait to get my new card. :) I'm so easy to please.

Linda

Saturday Fun

The kids and I did a little shopping today for Halloween costumes and more urgently, something to wear to Malia's friend's "Hollywood" themed birthday party tomorrow.
The invitation said to wear your "Hollywood Finest". Yikes!
I think we found something perfect.....I hope to have some pictures tomorrow after the party. I'm helping do hair and make up for the 7/8 year old girls. Should be fun!

While we were out, we couldn't resist these fun masks. I couldn't pass them up for the price.

Here is Ella:

I'm thinking of wearing one when I hand out Halloween candy this year. :)

And here are Ella & Malia:

Hope you are enjoying your Saturday!

~Linda

My Little Sweatshop

Here is the secret to my success (lol x10). The kids wanted to help me make tags, so I put them to work punching shapes. Most of Ella's were not fit for much ;), but Malia was a great helper.

Here are a few things "we" made that day.

What a gloomy day it is here today. The most exciting thing we have done is have Malia's soccer pictures taken. Woo hoo!

We are all tired from a busy week, and don't feel like doing a whole heck of a lot. Kids are grouchy, and I'm crossing my fingers for an early bedtime tonight. (for the kids of course!)

They all need it so badly!

Hope you are having a wonderful day!

~Linda

Sunglass Case Holder

So....I had been wanting to try to make one of these for awhile, and I finally did! It's a little different than I originally envisioned, but I think it turned out okay. Ruffle flower with vintage button center. It covers the Velcro flap.Inside is lined with fleece to protect the sunglasses.Back of the case - with the ruffle!Okay, that's all I wanted to share for today. I have 9 cards to make for my CTMH Unit Swap tomorrow. Eek! But first we have soccer and back to school night. Looks like I'll be burning the midnight oil. lol.

~Linda

Back to School for 2

I must be getting old, because back to school week wore me out! We were out of town for Labor Day Weekend. Had family pictures taken on Monday, shopped for a few last minute things for Malia (which were impossible to find on Labor Day!), had Malia's first day of school and first soccer game on Tuesday, and Alex's first day on Wednesday. And, I don't want to forget our 10th wedding anniversary on Thursday (9/9/10). Whew.Here are a few pictures from the first day. Better late than never! Here is Malia:She **LOVES** 1st Grade and thinks she has the best teacher ever! I'm so happy!

Here is Alex:

He loves his class and has made a new friend each day so far. :)

Hope you are all having a great September!

~Linda

Happy Sunday!

I saw this someplace and thought it was funny. I can barely text while sitting in a chair.

Hope you are having a great day wherever you are!!

~Linda

It's September...Time for a NEW Idea Book

Yippeee! It's finally time to launch the new Idea Book!
You can view it online HERE.

~~~~~

And of course a new month means a new Stamp of the Month (SOTM).
The featured SOTM for September is called "Thriller".
Ask me how you can get it at a discount or for FREE with a purchase.

Here is a sample of artwork created with "THRILLER":


And, the actual stamp set:


For more information, to take a look at my artwork, or find out more about CTMH, you can visit my website here: www.lindaw.myctmh.com.


Did you know we also have a great online digital scrapbooking program called Studio J?
You can check it out here: Studio J.

Have a creative weekend!
~Linda

Our First Camping Trip

Whew! We did it! We survived our first camping trip. And, I think it was a success!
So, it wasn't exactly "roughing it", but it was perfect for us. The cabin even had heat and electricity. I was able to bring a little 4 cup coffee maker - ahhhhhhh. Heaven. The kids loved each and every minute of the trip. There were places to ride bikes near the cabins.

We had a campfire in the morning and also at night. (The weather turned a little cool at the start of our trip). The above picture is our first morning campfire. Notice Malia has some 1/2 pajama, 1/2 outfit creation on. :)

There were trails to hike - and I do mean hike. Some were more steep than I was expecting. Good for the legs though! For some reason Ella only seemed to want ME to carry her on the way back UPHILL. I did what I could...but Rourke had to a lot of the uphill shoulder rides with her.

We went to a Ranger talk and then took a field trip to the beaver pond/dam. It was really beautiful. Rourke even spotted a nutria. I didn't even think he was paying attention! I learned that nutria are really destructive animals and can overtake the beaver habitats quickly. Male/female nutria pairs have to be split up FAST!

We even found a playground near the east campground - where the real tent/camper people stay. :)

We had fun cooking over the campstove. We tried to travel light, so I was happy to get home to a bigger selection of ingredients and tools to cook with!

Here is Malia with a few of the friends she and Alex made. It was very kid friendly. The kids were exhausted every night!

After S'mores, we moved on to the Jiffy Pop Popcorn. The kids and "neighbors" from cabin 1 had fun eating and telling spooky stories in the dark (well, next to the campfire and with the porch light on!).

So..........overall it was a great time! I was a little freaked out by the sign that said "You are in bear and cougar country" when we got there. But was almost over it by the time we left...until the guy in the next cabin said he saw a mountain lion on a trail that morning. Great!!

Okay, got to run.

Have a great day!
~Linda