Another reveal

I wanted to get this post done over the weekend, just never quite got around to it. As I mentioned in one of my recent posts, I participated in another swap with Chaotic Goddess Swaps, this time it was a Halloween theme, or, as they called it, Swapoween!  I was partnered with Kristin. We exchanged a couple of emails to get to know each other a little bit, then we exchanged boxes.  Check out the goodies I received:

Kristin did such a wonderful job with this! She sent more "fall" themed items, so I can enjoy them a little bit longer, and I'm glad she did. I received a welcome sign (the kitten looks like my little Elliott), a kitchen towel, a wicker pumpkin basket, a pumpkin spice candle ( I hadn't even told her that I hoard these candles all fall, so I have them to burn the rest of the year!), and a little ceramic pumpkin candle. By the way Kristin, this little pumpkin perfectly matches two others that I have on my dining room table, yeah! And she sent a bag of pumpkin candy, and miniature twix bars. I have been nice to share the candy pumpkins, but I've kept the Twix in my car, for when I need a quick chocolate fix during the day-I really needed these today, thanks Kristin. There was also a cute Halloween card included. I'm so glad I participated in this swap, this was a lot of fun. 

I sent Kristin a box full of Halloween goodies, but in my typical style, I didn't take a picture before I sent it out. I had a lot of fun shopping for my partner, but you'll have to check out her blog, Hopelessly Ever After, and see her post of goodies I sent. You can also check out Chaotic Goddess Swaps, and see what the other swappers sent each other.

And the night is still early, I've got a little bit of time to stitch before I call it a night. I'm getting close to finishing my current project, so I'm eager to work on it! Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful day

Stitching Update

Last week, I had hoped to post an update on the little bit of stitching I've been doing. There's not a lot to show, but the project is coming along nicely

Of course, it's still a work in progress, so I haven't ironed the wrinkles out yet. I had hoped to have this done by now, but looks like I'll have to adjust, maybe it'll be done by Christmas. I've been pretty determined to get this done, haven't worked on any other WIP at the moment.

Last Saturday, my guys and I did our annual event-hubby, young son and I ran the Spotlight on Nursing 5K in Indianapolis. Since the money raised goes towards nursing scholarships, we run it every year. I had my best run time yet this year, not fast by any means, but my best time. This'll be the last time young son will run this with us, since he'll head off to college next fall. I'm not adjusting well to the thought of my baby growing up and leaving home, but guess it's going to happen whether I want it to or not!


My last bit of fun to share is that I've joined another swap with Chaotic Goddess! I have really enjoyed the swaps I've done, and I think this will be fun too-it's Swapoween! This'll be a perfect excuse to go shopping for all the Halloween items I don't typically buy for myself, but I think are so much fun! Check out my swap partner, Kristin's blog if you get a chance. We'll be shipping our boxes to each other at the end of this week, it's as exciting to ship as it is to receive! Next week I'll post the goodies I receive, so come and back and see how we did for each other!

Thanks for stopping to visit, enjoy the rest of your week

Happy October!

Where do the days go? I can't believe we're this far into October already. With all the rain lately, I really can't decide if it's fall, or if it's Spring again! I have to admit I love the cool nights, great sleeping weather, but I think I'm about ready for the rain to stop now.

Thank you my friends for your nice comments on my previous post. My pretty purple flower has been doing a lot of spinning lately with all of this wind!

This past Saturday was National Cardmaking day, did you know that? So, what's a crafter to do, make cards? Yes, probably, but I did not. It just didn't fit in this weekend. I would like to share a card that I received recently though. My bestest friend that I've known since childhood sent me this card recently

The picture really doesn't do it justice. You can't see online that this was made from papyrus paper, that the little hummingbird's body has miniature jewels that make it sparkle. I was in love when I saw the card, and it carried such sweet words from my friend.

So, what did I do Saturday that I couldn't play with paper? Hubby and I participated in Mallow Run Winery's Wine at the Line 5K race! There was an option to run 5 miles, we just enjoyed the 5K. After the run, you are rewarded with a souvenir glass, with your choice of wine, and music on the grass. The rain held out long enough for us to get through the run, have a bite to eat, and hear a little bit of music. When the sprinkles started, we hurried home! It was a lot of fun.

And as a last note, this is the way our weekend started out:

Youngest son was asked by one of the queen candidates to be her escort for the homecoming game Friday night. How happy we were that he escorted the girl that was chosen to be North Putnam's 2013 Homecoming Queen! They looked so good together. And their photo was on the front page of the local paper Saturday morning, not the whole queen court as we expected to see (of course hubby and I had to go out in search of the paper to have for a scrapbook) This was the first football game we've been to this year, and probably the last, well worth it in our opinion.

That's it for today my friends, must get ready for work! Hoping to get a stitching update on here this week! Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful day

Purple Has Meaning

Well, while I'm sharing my recent purple acquisitions, I want to throw one more out there! If you've surfed my blog a little bit, you've probably read about my new job as a hospice nurse, which I am super excited about. I'm done with the majority of my training, and get my "wings" to start seeing patients on my own next week, finally!

I have to say, I really like the company I work for, they are so supportive of the patients and their families, and so involved in the community. They are also supportive of employees. One of our staff lost her mother to Alzheimer's, a disease that affects so many of our patients. In support of the staff member, the company as a group, participated in the local Walk to End Alzheimer's. In our matching purple t-shirts (which happens to be the designated Alzheimer's color), we walked together, supporting our co-worker, her family members that came together that day, and all of our patients that are affected. It was so touching.

As a participant in the walk, we were each allowed to have a flower. This was my first experience with this event, so I just picked a flower, without knowing the significance of the four color options. Guess what I randomly picked....

During opening ceremonies, they explained the colors. It just so happens my purple flower signified having lost a loved one. My pretty purple flower will stay planted in my flower garden.  I smile as I watch it spin, not only because I love the color, but also because it will reminds me of my grandmother that I lost to Alzheimer's,  just a few years ago. Just one more reason to love purple!

Thanks for stopping by-

Favorite Color

...swap reveal that is!!! Yep, I received a wonderful box of goodies, and I'm excited to share!

I don't know if you've had a chance to look at this blog, but I'm hooked! This is the second swap that I've participated in with Chaotic Goddess, and I'm keeping my eyes open to get in another!

I was assigned a wonderful partner, Kaylee, from A Chair in the Shade. I thought it was funny that we shared the same favorite color, purple! We shared a couple of brief emails about ourselves, and surfed each other's blogs a little bit to learn what we could about each other. Kaylee was right on with everything she sent me, I couldn't have asked for a better box of goodies. Wanna see what I got?

This was a lot packed into one little box! 

 First off, because I like flowers, I received a little purple flower pot, and crocus bulbs. I can't wait to plant these little bulbs!

Since I do love my scrapbooking, I also was the happy recipient of several scrapbooking products:

Pretty ink, Washi tapes, pretty purple sparkles, and embellishments. I have some pictures of my daughter in law at her law school graduation, with purple and black being the dominant colors, these will be perfect to complete the pages!

And last, but not least,

I received handmade items as well! Kaylee sent me ( see bottom picture) a small zipper pouch that she made. This is just the right size to carry in my nurse bag every day, since I don't carry my purse into patient homes with me. I took a second picture of the bag squished, so you can see the pretty fabric inside as well. The bag is laying on a purple dishcloth that Kaylee stitched as well. One can never have too many dishcloths!

There were so many thoughtful items in this box, and I think Kaylee did a wonderful job putting this together for me, thanks Kaylee, and thanks Chaotic Goddess for hosting this swap!

Pages, as Promised!

So, maybe I didn't get this posted over the weekend, but at least I didn't wait a full week! Yes, I finally found the time to take a couple of really lousy pictures of the latest scrapbook pages, hoorah! It makes me feel like I'm starting to have a life again (insert smile)

This first layout is Close To My Heart's new Sarita paper. I created these pages for my group that meets every month. These were the August pages. The colors are soooooo bold on these papers! Lots of pink, purple, dark blue, just so many colors to pull out of the patterned paper! I used the layout instructions that came with the Sarita Workshops on the go kit, but I changed up the papers a little bit from the suggested ones. Personally, I like to have just a little bit of pattern with more solid cardstock for emphasis. For me, too many patterns takes the focus away from the photos.


The next layout is one I did this past weekend, for our 4H group, the Happy Scrappers

This club is a mix of seasoned scrappers, and people just beginning. I didn't want to overwhelm the new girls, and I didn't want to bore the others. I chose what I love, simple elegance! This is the new Huntington paper from Close To My Heart. These colors are wonderful for fall. I love that there is fall paper, without pumpkins and trick or treat. My kids are too old for that, and I know others are in the same boat too, so these flowers were perfect.  I'm not sure if you can read it, the embellishment says "Give Thanks For All You Have".  I hate to put a title on pages I demonstrate, because I want people to actually use the pages. I also included a small label on the left side, made from our Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge. I am starting to use the Cricut cartridges more and more.

I'm so glad I was able to share these pages with you, thanks for stopping by to see them! I've got a gorgeous card I received, that I will be sharing later this week, hope you'll come back to check it out. Thanks for stopping by!