Read This!

Happy Wednesday friends!
It's Wednesday which means I am sharing my latest Lovebug Creations' project.
Today I am sharing a gift I made for my daughter's sweet friend. I found this charm on sale and it happened to be her initial, so I bought it, knowing I could come up with something for her. I made her this bookmark (hence my title!):

 I started with 3 colors of rumple ribbon: Purple People Eater from the Fright Night collection, Green Goddess (which is now retired), and Kisses from the Loves Me...Love Me Knot collection, and braided them together. The charm is tied on the end.
I thought this would be awesome to give her for her birthday along with a gift certificate to the bookstore.
The colors of the ribbons are also bright & cheery which suit me fine right now. After snow & cold temps this winter, I am ready to welcome Spring! Today & yesterday are fabulous, with temperatures in the 70's.

We love to read around here & think it's a fabulous hobby for anyone to enjoy! Hope you can appreciate this.
"There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." -Ray Bradbury
Have a wonderful day!
~Stephanie

Rescue Me!

So I mentioned the other day how the kids couldn't wait to get snow, right? Well, we got snow Tuesday afternoon, but the kicker is, we didn't get much. Maybe 2 inches. Since the temps have been so cold here (we haven't gotten out of the 20's all week), nothing is melting & there is ice under the little bit of snow. So that means, since we live in the south, that the kids have been out of school ALL week! And they are off again tomorrow! And Monday is a pre-scheduled teacher work day, so they won't got to school then! And I may have already gone insane!!!
They are loving every minute of it, though. Yesterday we went to a local middle school & went sledding & snow boarding. Then we went to lunch with my sister & nephew. Today they played outside most of the day with friends. Tonight they are having sleepovers. It's like summer, minus the heat & mosquitoes!  

Even the dogs are enjoying it.
And as for me, well, I am counting down the hours til Tuesday!
Take care y'all!
~Stephanie

U R So Cool

Hey friends! Happy Friday, again!! It's amazing how quickly they come around.
Today I have a quick share of a card I made to celebrate my niece's 14th birthday.

I used Lovebug Creations rumple ribbon in Crazy Coral. I love the bright pop of color it brings to the card! The"delightful"  journal card is from Simple Stories and the foam alphas are Thickers.  The fun popcicle is from Crate Paper. This card was a big hit with my niece & sister in-law. She even mentioned hanging it up in her school locker!

I  know that I haven't done an update about the first days of school and I want to do that soon. Things have been a bit sorrowful here this week. A good friend of Drew's lost his son early Monday morning in a car crash. Mathew was only 20. I haven't been able to shake this tragic news and have been a crying mess since then. Our hearts are breaking for his parents and siblings. I can't imagine the pain they are feeling and wish there was something we could do to help. Flowers, meals are nice gestures but I know there is no way to relieve the loss they are suffering.
I have been loving & hugging my kids even more than usual since we got the phone call.  I don't want to let them out of my sight. Listening to them, trying to laugh and relish in the small joys, just being together. Sometimes it takes a tragedy to make us realize just how uncertain life can be & that every day with the ones you love is a true blessing.
Take care and love the ones you do while you can.
~Stephanie      

A Winner

Hey y'all!

Sorry this post is a little late, but better than never-right?! So the randomly chosen winner of my blog giveaway from the Lovebug Creations' Go Wild This Summer blog hop is #13 (chosen by Ty), Breanna Halterman! Yay Breanna!! Send me your address to dreweaken@comcast.net so I can get your prize sent to you!!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. We took my mom to brunch today to celebrate her 70TH birthday!!! It was very nice & the food was delicious! She had a great time.
See ya' next time,
~Stephanie    

Girl Time

  Hey everybody!
I hope you all had a great 4th of July. Ours was pretty uneventful. We went to a neighbor's for a cook-out & some fireworks on the 3rd & took a road trip to shop for furniture on the 4th. Leah & I left town early Friday morning with her best friend & her mom to head north to Hershey, PA for the One Direction concert. We gave her tickets at the end of the school year as a reward for her straight A's this year. She was so excited & began counting down the days til the concert back in March!!
It was a memory I'll cherish forever! The girls were so enamored with the band & the whole experience had them in awe!

And another way we spend "girl time" together is reading. I LOVE to read & always have a book with me. I was hoping Leah would also find that love but it has been a struggle. There have been some series & books she has enjoyed though. The latest is The City of Ember series. We are currently reading The People of Sparks, the second book in the series.
Here is my latest layout, about her required summer reading for school. I played along with the current challenge at Scraptastic Club which is to use journalling strips.

The first few pictures are dark, I apologize! I loved this paper from Recollections & didn't want to cover a lot of it up. I added the white cardstock & a few embellies from Basic Grey (the badge & flag) & some chipboard pieces from Crate Paper. The alphas are AC Thickers.

What do you like to do for your "girl time"?

Thanks for stopping by tonight!

~Stephanie

           

Leaves & Change

Hey y'all & happy Saturday!
It's another hot one here, so I enjoyed walking the dogs early this morning & staying inside the rest of the day! We are headed to a friend's 40th birthday party tonight. Hope it doesn't storm!!

So the newest challenge is up at Southern Girl Challenges & this time we want to see leaves on your project! Here is the layout I made:

I used my Martha Stewart punch to create the leaves & vines along the edges of the chevron paper.

The other leaves are fussycut from an OLD piece of paper that I had in my scraps box.

I also played along with the MOTM challenge at Memorable Seasons. Sally is the member of the month & I lifted her layout "Awesome Buddies".

We hope you get the chance to play along with us! Link up to enter for a chance at the many prizes!!

I also wanted to let you all know (in case you don't already) that Google is discontinuing their Google Reader feature on July 1st. This is also known as Google Friends Connect. You know, where you click on the blue box to follow a blog you love? (I hope you'll continue following me! I LOVE having you all here!!) This means if you want to continue to follow my blog (along with any others on Blogger), you will now have to use another reader.
Here is how to export your current blogs to Bloglovin':
   

 The first step is to Export Your Feeds. First, log in to your Google account. Then, by using this link, it will immediately download your RSS Feeds. If you’re not sure which reader you’ll be using, it’s nice to have a copy of those feeds on your hard drive.
If you’ve decided to use BlogLovin’ to follow your favorite blogs, there’s a simple step to export your feeds right into Bloglovin‘. Super easy and you won’t miss any of your favorite blogs!
Good Luck!

Thanks to my friend Christine for sharing this news!
I hope to see you all after July 1 too!
~Stephanie

So This Is Summer....

Yep, Summer is in full swing around here! The days have grown hotter & more humid; the mosquitoes are unceasing & the kids have begun fighting!!
If you did not already know, I am rather ambivalent about summer. I enjoy the break from schedules & homework, but I do not like the heat! And I can only handle so much fighting, bickering & yelling. We have been trying to stay busy, which helps keep the incessant boredom-moaning at bay. We went to see "Monsters University" today & the kids enjoyed that. After dinner we took a family bike ride. Last night we played a family game of baseball. We have been to Jumpology, a local trampoline arena-the kids loved that! We've been to the pool; the mall & out to eat with friends. So far, it has been fun. I just worry about the next 11 weeks!
I know I will be sad when September comes, but boy, right now 11 weeks seems like a long time!!
I am making a list of things we would like to do. Here are some of them:

-go to Great Wolf Lodge (kids' request)
-beach day
-bowling
-movies
-visit Mt. Vernon
-go to Luray Caverns
-visit Natural Bridge & the Safari Park
-take a trip to Ticonderoga Farms
-pool
-trip to Denver

Hope you all are enjoying the season. What are some of your favorite summertime activities?
Stay cool!
~Stephanie        

Don't Bug Me....

I'm reading! Ha! Sometimes I wish I could wear this sign around my neck!!

I made a bookmark using Lovebug Creations' rumple ribbons & that is the sentiment I put on it.

I started with a plain piece of scrap cardstock, punched the bottom, punched the scalloped circles from 3 colors of cardstock, punched butterflies & added Liquid Pearls to them, then added a piece of washi  tape at the bottom.

I used Sunset, Green Goddess, and Pink Clouds rumple ribbons & braided them together to make a tassle at the top of the bookmark.

I made this as a gift for my daughter to start off her summer reading. I love the way it turned out & think I will make some more for the kids' teachers & school librarians!

Thanks for stopping by & I hope you enjoy this day!
~Stephanie  

40 Things at "40"

Hey y'all!
So yesterday was my birthday & I wanted to stop by here & share some thoughts. You see, I turned 40 & am having a hard time coming to terms with it!! I started thinking weeks ago about putting together a list of things I want to accomplish and/or work on this upcoming year.
I had a fabulous day on Saturday, filled with lunch out with great friends, followed by a fun-filled pedicure, then dinner out with my husband. After dinner, he placed a blindfold on my eyes & took me to my sister's for a SURPRISE birthday party!! There were close to fifty of our friends & family there. I was surprised, to say the least. It was a wonderful time & briefly made me forget the pangs of turning 40!

Here are the things I came up with for my 40th "bucket list":
1. Visit a new city
2. Lose weight
3. Exercise more
4. Read a book by the following authors-Chris Bohjalian, John Irving, Amy Tann & Margaret Atwood (some of my favorites!)
5. Work at being more patient 
6. Bleach my teeth (petty, I know but this is something I've wanted to do for years!)
7. Take a hotair balloon ride (drew & I were scheduled to do this on our 10th anniversary, but the weather did not cooperate) 
8. Read more with my kids
9. Laugh more
10. Continue exploring my scrapbook adventures
11. Make & give more cards
12. Make time for the people who matter most to me
13. Purge of house of un-needed/unwanted things
14. Get organized
15. Have a kind heart
16. Wear a smile more often (I was actually complimented for my smile today at the store!)
17. Learn something new
18. Play more with my kids
19. Do something that scares me
20. Volunteer
21. Try to be less regimented with our schedule
22. Go to a new music concert
23. Ride a horse again (this was a passion of mine when I was a child & my daughter rides now!)
24. Focus on the positive things
25. Eat at a new restaurant ( I love to eat out!!)
26. Learn to take better pictures ( for my birthday I got a new DSLR camera-the Canon 60D)
27. Follow my heart
28. Love more freely
29. Make healthier choices
30. Give back to our community
31. Say "yes" to more invitations
32. Live simply
33. Be less judgemental
34. Be more spontaneous
35. Spend more alone time with Drew
36. Count my many blessings daily
37. Let go of the "small stuff"
38. Work at letting go of resentments
39. Have lesser expectations of other people
40. Start each day with a positive attitude

I think if I can concentrate hard on the things on this list, 40 will be an awesome year!!!
Cheers to that!!
~Stephanie      

Giveaway Winner!

Hey again y'all.
I wanted to announce the winner of my "75 followers giveaway" as I forgot to earlier  today. Sorry about that! I have been exhausted today.
The winner is commenter #2, Kasey. Kasey please email me at dreweaken@comcast.net your address so I can get your goodies sent to you!
'Night folks!
~Stephanie   

Lou's Blog Candy!

Hey friends!
I wanted to share Lou's blog candy with you: she has a giveaway on her blog for a gift certificate to The Paper Shelter. Go here to check it out & enter!!

I hope you all are having a good Hump Day! I got a much needed hair cut today & she took off more than I wanted, but I like it. And it just means I can go longer before I need to get another one! Ha ha!
Take care all!
~Stephanie  

Lovebug Creations March Holidays Blog Hop!

Welcome to the very first blog hop of the Creative Team of LoveBug Creations. Our theme for this two-day hop is March Holidays as March 2013 has both St. Patrick's Day and Easter as that month's biggie events, BUT there are others as well so get prepared to be amazed as to what's happening in March.  This hop will feature the newest LBC Rumple Ribbon Collection for spring with gorgeous splashes of color to inspire crafties no matter how you use ribbon or for what occasion.

Before I share my project, there are a few things you need to know:
1. All the new colors of Rumple Ribbon will be available for purchase starting February 24 (Sunday) at The LBC Online Store.
2. All these gorgeous colors will be showcased at the various hop spots............so settle back and enjoy the parade of creative minds as you hop this weekend.
3.Just in case you get lost, here's the complete LBC CT line up:

Kimi and Pam http://lovebugcreations3.blogspot.com/ 

Ellen http://cardmonkeyspaperjungle.com/   

Dorcas http://www.craftycardangel.com/

Stephanie http://www.stephanie-eaken.blogspot.com/

Dawn Mercedes http://dawnmercedes.blogspot.com/

Dawn Rene http://designsbydawnrene.com/

Martha http://beautifulcreationsmp.blogspot.com/

Zeni http://www.scrappyzeni.com/

Tanya http://scrappinkymomma.blogspot.com/

Christine http://scarletcalliope.wordpress.com/

Here is the Easter egg that I altered:

The front of the egg

                                                         The back of the egg

I had a lot of fun making this (I first saw this idea on Pintereest). I took a plastic egg & covered it in Modge Podge then starting applying punched circles. This is a great way to use up your paper scraps!!  I used the "Sunflower" rumple ribbon to top the egg. What a cute, simple decoration to welcome Spring!

Next up on the hop is Dawn Mercedes. Hop on over and check out her sweet LBC creation!!
Be sure to hop to all blogs, become a follower(if you aren't already), & leave comments. There is a prize involved!! One lucky, US resident will receive TWO new colors of rumple ribbons of their choice! The winner will be announced Monday morning on the Lovebug Creations blog.

Happy hopping!
~Stephanie

Twas the Night Before Christmas

...and all through this house, the children were sleeping, the dogs dreaming of grouse. Ha-not really! The dog is barking outside of the boy's window & making the boy cry because he is afraid that Santa won't come! And both dogs are probably having stomach issues as they ate Ty's gingerbread house earlier today! I had gone with Leah to my sister's to decorate cookies (Ty is getting over being sick & stayed home w/ Drew) & when we got home I noticed it was gone. Not just some missing, but the entire thing (milk carton base & all) was gone!! Oh what joy!
It's almost 10 p.m. & I just want to go to sleep!!
Merry Christmas from the four of us to all of you!

I hope you all have a very peaceful night & magical day tomorrow!
Sweet visions,
~Stephanie

This is What 10 Looks Like.....

My baby girl turned 10 on Monday! Yes, ten!!!
And after what happened today, I am so very grateful that she is well, healthy & happy. My heart breaks for the innocent lives lost & the tragedy that these poor families are having to endure. It's all so senseless.
Leah had a wonderful birthday! I took her lunch from Panera to school & had lunch with her & after school, Mom-Mom & Aunt Kelli & Trey came over to giver her her gifts! Then she, Drew & Ty went to dinner while I was at my scrap club. A fun-filled day for sure!
Here is a picture of her getting her ears pierced. She was very brave!!

And we are now going to NYC because that is what she wanted to do for her tenth birthday!
I am so proud of the young lady she has become. She is so strong, independent, compassionate & kind. She has made our lives so much better by being in it!

Good night!
~Stephanie

The Sweetest Thing

Hey y'all! I hope you all had a good Tuesday & are getting ready for the fast-approaching holidays!

I went to check on Ty tonight & this is what I found:

I mean come on-how cute is this??! They were both fast asleep. Our dog Nellie sleeps in Ty's bed every night. They are great buddies & he will only sleep alone if she can lay with him. We figured a trip to the laundry mat once a week (to clean the disgusting comforter) was a small price to pay to have him stay in his bed all night!  And Nellie has become quite accustomed to sleeping in his bed too. We will find her up there sometimes in the middle of the day! She really does think she owns this place. And after seeing this tonight, she very well may!

Good night & sleep tight (dogs & all)!
~Stephanie

The Tree-Part Two

Hey ya'll!
So I got more tree lights today & it wasn't as tortuous as I had expected! Michael's had lots!
So as soon as dinner was over Leah insisted that Drew put them on (I don't do lights)!

She is beyond excited this year!! Almost to a fault.

So now the lights are done (& we hope none go out) and we can start adding the ornaments. That is usually a two to three day job! We'll see how it goes this year.
I can't do it tomorrow when the kids are at school because I have lots of scrappy committments that I have to get done. But I know as soon as Leah gets in the door tomorrow afternoon she is going to start! She may be a huge help this year. We'll see...
Good night & sweet dreams!
~Stephanie  

Is It Really December?!

Today was another unseasonably warm day here, 73*!!
I took Ty to the doctor for what looked like red welts on  his lower legs. Turns out to be bug bites. The dr. says they could be from no-see-ums. But Ty says they don't itch! Weird! So after his appt, we went to the mall to return something & had lunch together. It was a fun date & made me realize how much I miss time with  him.
I din't get any more decorating done around the house & now I need to go out & buy more lights for the tree. That's on my to-do list for tomorrow. I did get some more shopping done though! But still have lots to do.
Right now I am off to try to get some scrapping done! Lots of obligations to get checked off my list!
Have a great night ya'll!
~Stephanie

On This Day

....Ty had his very first visit from the Tooth Fairy last night! He lost his bottom tooth yesterday in the car on the way to take Leah to gymnastics! He was so excited! We got home & placed it on the counter so he could show Drew when he got home. A couple of hours later he was looking for it & it was nowhere to be found! And he was in tears! He was so distruaght that the Tooth Fairy would be mad & wouldn't leave him anything. So we wrote her a note that apologized for losing the tooth & he drew her a pic of it instead. He placed it next to his pillow at bed time & this mornig he woke up to a 5 dollar bill!! He was thrilled!

...we got our Christmas tree today. It is a little early for us but things have got to get done in the next 12 days!! No lights yet or ornamants but hopefully that will happen this week.

And as an added bonus, Santa was at Tom Leonard's at the kids got to visit with him (against their wishes)!

....I bought myself a new tablet after months of deliberation! I finally decided on the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 . I am very excited but know that it will take me quite some time to figure it all out!

...it was 65* here today & absolutely beautiful! Hard to believe that it's December when we get spoiled with this weather! The kids are holding out hope for a white Christmas! We will see....

...I got some more decorating done in the house! One more room left to clean & conquer!

I hope you all had a blessed Sunday!
~Stephanie

Flying Unicorn Gives Back!!

Hey ya'll! I wanted to let everyone know about a special event at the Flying Unicorn. You may have noticed the image in my sidebar? Well, each year the Flying Unicorn chooses a foundation to donate to. This year the Anne Carlsen Center was chosen. The Anne Carlsen Center offers a rich tradition of educational, residential, therapeutic, evaluation, and community-based services. Our individualized services include care for individuals — and families — of all ages with cerebral palsy; orthopedic, vision and hearing disabilities; autism, pervasive, and other behavior disorders; and other medical acuities.

The Center’s education program provides students with a safe, secure and loving atmosphere in which they can learn and grow. The Center is approved and accredited through the ND Dept of Public Instruction as a K-12 school.

The Student Council consists of a team of Anne Carlsen students dedicated to helping their fellow peers, classmates and friends. Student Council fund raises throughout the year to help students pay for necessities such as clothing, shoes, winter gear, school supplies or other needs they may not have the funds to cover for themselves. Fundraising also provides a yearbook at no cost to each and every student at the Anne Carlsen Center.

To read more and learn more head on over to their website :

THE ANNE CARLSEN CENTER

 

There is a silent auction taking place now in the forums at the Flying Unicorn. It is running through November 24. All proceeds go to the Anne Carlsen Center. You can check out the fabulous items up for bid here. Just think, you can get some wonderful scrappy goodies while helping out a great cause!! And what a fabulous time of year to give to others & be grateful for all we have.

Thanks for the support!

~Stephanie

Getting Ready

Hey y'all! It's 7 p.m. Monday night & we are preparing for Sandy's wrath. We still have power but are hanging onto each moment with gratefulness. The winds are picking up & they say that overnight could be the worst for us! Let's HOPE & PRAY they're wrong!!
So the kids didn't have school today & they don't have it tomorrow! And Drew was off of work (he is again tomorrow too)! Not so bad when we have power, but if we lose it-UGH!
Today they carved pumpkins & played all afternoon with their best friends!

Friday night we went to a local shopping center to trick-or-treat. I figured that way if things go awry & they can't go on Halloween, they'll atleast have had something! 

Hope you all are safe!

Have a great night!

~Stephanie