OWOH Giveaway Prizes arrived

Wow....is all I can say about the generous gifts that so many people gave away at the OWOH event. I had so much fun taking part in the this event.
While I was gone for a couple of days, the last two giveaway prizes, that I was so lucky to win, arrived. :-) What fun to come home and find them here!!

The first one I opened was the "One World" candle that came from www.thelightifind.blogspot.com/. I have it in my kitchen, although I took the photo in the bathroom...better light ;-)

Isn't it beautiful!!! You should smell it! The fragrance is ever so light so it's not overpowering.

This is how it was described on her blog:

ONE WORLD (inspired by this event!)
scented with Desert Sage and Green tea for meditation on peace for our planet and to energize the spirit to act and connect with others)

Thank you so much!!!!


The other package was from Stampgram's Studio. It is a gorgeous counted cross stitch book,
"Quilt Designs in Cross-Stitch Book" by the Vanessa-Ann Collection.

I tried cross stitching years and years and years ago and didn't get too far but I decided IF I was lucky enough to win this book that I would give it to one of my favorite Cousins who's birthday is Feb 28th and she will be ...well let's just say over 70! She absolutely LOVES to do counted cross stitch!

But, now that it has arrived, I don't know if I can bare to part with it ;-) I mean, it's not like my Cousin actually NEEDS another cross stitch book...(is this called rationalizing?) She probably has 100's already and this is such a lovely book. Well, it will adorn my table for now!!

Thank you so much, for such a wonderful giveaway. It was so much fun to take part and visit 910 blogs. I can't wait to see how many take part next year.

I still plan to go visit the blogs through out the year and if anyone else would like to visit them, they are listed in Special Pages on the OWOH blog. Believe me, if you find yourself with some extra surfing time, some day.....take a few hours and visit these blogs......you will be so glad you did!

Have a wonderful day!!!

Hugs,
Char

Tatting Chic Giveaway has arrived

FUN!!!! David brought in the mail, this afternoon and there was this bright yellow bubble envelope with big hearts all over it from the Tatting Chic

Inside was my Giveaway prize that I won during the One World - One Heart event.

I can't wait to sit down and read the
instruction booklet that came with it. AND, she even sent me a tatted heart (laying on the left side of the booklet) and had no way of knowing that those are my living room colors!!!

I don't know if I'll be able to learn how to do this, but I have always wanted to try my 'hand' at it...so nothing ventured, nothing gained. :-)

I'll be sure to upload my first creation!

Thank you so much!!!!

Hugs,
Char

Toilet Paper Roll Mini Album

This will be my first 'Tutorial'. I have to say, it's not going to be as professional as some you have probably witnessed, but hey.....you work with what you have, right? ;-)

I first learned of this project over at Jules' blog. You can watch her video and probably create one from that. But, I promised my stamp club ladies that I would write up directions and post photos of the process so that they could follow along visually.

Since we had to cancel our stamp club meeting because of freezing fog and snow, this seemed the simplest way to show them how to make these fun albums so they didn't have to wait till next month. Besides, I had them all wondering what on earth we were going to do with TP rolls.

To start with, you will need to find 3 empty toilet paper rolls. If you don't have any, go ahead ask your neighbors, they'll wonder what you are up to? Ask me how I know ;-)

First off, here are a few I have finished already.

The one at the top right is the one I have chosen to do step by step so that you can follow along.

Basically, what you will need for supplies are:

1. 3 empty TP rolls
2. 3 pieces of designer paper (5 3/4 x 5 3/4)
3. Adhesive (I used my ATG dispenser, but you can use double sided tape or YES glue)
4. 3 pieces of card stock cut 2 5/8 x 4
5. Crop A Dile or whatever you use to punch and set eyelets.

 
6. Scissors
7. Binder Rings (3/4" - 1")
8. Ribbon
9. 6 Large Eyelets (and 3 small eyelets if you choose to use those on your tags)
10 Brayer and Bone folder (the brayer is optional but it helps)
11. Pencil or Sharpie
12. Small calendars (if you choose to use them)

Ok, now let's get started!!

I will be showing mostly photos with a little bit of instruction as I feel visual works best.

Start with 3 empty TP rolls.

And, three pieces of designer paper cut to 5 3/4 x 5 3/4

Run your tape along the top and bottom very close to the edges and along the sides. Then
..about 5 or 6 times down between the left and right sides. This will give you the best coverage.

Lay your TP roll at the very top and then begin to roll it down, making sure you adhere it well.

At the bottom, make sure the two ends are secured to the TP roll. Cut several slits at each end and fold the tabs inside. This is where you can add YES glue to the inside edge of your TP roll or if you have used the tape, it will automatically adhere to the roll when you fold it inside.

This is what your rolls should look like when finished.

Next, you will take your brayer and bone folder and flatten them.

Now, take your Crop A Dile or hole punch and punch two holes at one end of your first TP roll. Using that as a pattern, lay it on top of the other two rolls and mark through the holes with a pencil or Sharpie.

Ok, now we are ready to attach the eyelets. You can use your Crop A Dile or an eyelet setting tool.

You will add these to all three TP rolls.

Add your Binder Rings and tie on ribbons and you are done!! Well, except for embellishing and finishing the inside cards.

I didn't add ribbons here as I used smaller binder rings.

Now for the fun part! You can decide what you want to do with the card stock that fits inside each TP roll. You can add photos, stamp on them, make little calendars, add Scripture or verses. It's entirely up to you. The possibilities are endless. You could even add Gift Cards to each slot.

For those that would like to make the calendar pages to fit inside, here are the rest of the instructions.

The Calendars can be found at Red Castle. I just downloaded the free software to be able to print calendars from my computer on card stock.

You are able to make them whatever size you need. You will need follow these guidelines, once you are at the calendar page, if you want them to fit the card stock for your tubes.

Width 2
Height 2
Year on page
Border - None
Year 2009

Print a years worth off (they all fit on one sheet of card stock) and then cut them to fit your tags. I used a Palette Burnt Umber pad to sponge the sides.

If you like, you can also punch holes and add little eyelets to the ends of your tags and add ribbon to make them easier to access.

I sure hope this tutorial makes sense. If you need help, just e-mail me and I will try to get back to you as quickly as I can.

If you do decide to make some, please leave a comment or e-mail me and let me know. I would love to see yours!!

And, if you use my tutorial, please leave a link back to my blog! Thanks!!!!

Have a great day,

Char

"Char needs"

Ok, I am playing along with Julie over at Paper Pleasing Ideas.
This is how this little game works. Go to Google, type (your first name) needs" keep the quotation marks like it shows. Then, list the first ten things that come up.

Here are mine:

1. Char needs work (Well, that is probably true, although I seem to stay busy enough without it)

2. Char needs learn Disab (NO, I don't need any more than I already have)

3. Char needs badly (Well, that pretty much encompasses everything, don't you think?)

4. Char needs 2 days work in Edgemead/Panorama area (Where the heck is Edgemead/Panorama area?) I googled it and it looks like in the BC area??

5. Char needs adapter (Wow...to plug me into electricity and charge my batteries?)

6. Char needs development by primetard (Ok, primetard? Looks like it has something to do
with editing books)

7. Char needs to you know I'm hot. (It would have helped if they had left a name :)

8. Char needs assessment (Well, that's a known fact now isn't it?)

9. Char needs plvl (I Googled this, too and it means Power Level....and once again, they are
right on)

10 Char needs. (YEP, that truly encompasses it all)

Ok, now, it's YOUR turn!!!! If you decide to play, link back to this post so I can see what you need ;-)

Hugs,
Char

OWOH ....I WON...I WON!!!

Now that the OWOH giveaway is over for another year, I am ready to get back to my normal blogging again. But, what a fun couple of weeks browsing blogs and meeting so many wonderful people via the WWW.

I have been working on some fun things to share with you and am going to try my hand at a tutorial, too. Nothing fancy....just photos and directions....but keep your eyes peeled! (Ewwww...that saying always gives me the shivers)

Anyway, it was so much fun visiting each and every blog. Yes....all 911 of them. What a blast!!! I'll go back later and visit some of them again.

I was so shocked, this morning, when I checked my e-mail and found that I had WON some giveaways!! I can't wait to receive my wonderful prizes...so that I can post about them here!!

Here is one that I won......and I LOVE IT!!!! She has already sent them to me, so I am thanking her here and have also e-mailed her.

Go check out her blog!!

http://nannascraps.com/blog Digital scrapbook designs

The others, I will post when I receive the items. I am just so excited!
I'll be sure to take photos. :-)

Hugs,
Char

Today IS the day!!!! OWOH Giveaway winners!!

I am so excited, today!! This is the day we all share who won our giveaways!!

I wish I could make a flip flop album for all those that entered, but I have decided to give away three albums.

I have this one made up for the first giveaway winner, so the second and third entries drawn will have to wait just a little bit to receive theirs.

I just have to thank Lisa Swifka for thinking up this FUN event!!! This was just so much fun and being able to see blogs that you might not otherwise have gotten to see, was fantastic!!! I hope to participate in it next year, too.

So, now....without further ado, here are the three entries I drew.

1. Post #128 Sara from:
http://sharleystudio.blogspot.com/

2. Post #161 Jen

3. Post # 52 Peggy from http://peggyapl.blogspot.com/

Congratulations!!! I have contacted you via e-mail! Please reply with your mailing address by Sunday Feb 15th. If I haven't heard from you by then, I will draw another name from the entries.

A HUGE thank you to everyone that took the time to stop by my blog and leave a comment!

Hugs,
Char

Perpetual Calendar

Happy Monday, everyone!!

We were to get freezing fog today but instead we have clear blue skies. YEAHHHHHHHH!!!!

I can't believe it!! Yesterday, I was browsing blogs and came across this really cool wooden perpetual calendar here.

As a joke, not thinking he would even look at his e-mail for days....I sent the directions to my hubby's e-mail and said, "Please make me this" ;-)

Now, you have to realize he is NOT a finish carpenter. I have been begging him for years to try his hand at woodworking, but it's just not his thing.

This morning, I was up at 1:30am...just couldn't sleep. So, I played games and browsed blogs till about 7:30 am and then, I took a little nap but was awakened a bit later to the sound of a sander and hammering and wondered "What on earth?"

I looked outside and could barely see hubby in the side yard busy doing something so I decided to check my e-mail.

As I was checking my e-mail, in comes hubby with a perpetual calendar for me! Now how cool is that?

He apologized because he didn't have the best wood available...it had some rough spots and he didn't have the right size blocks... but I told him it would be fun just to alter it and see what happens.

The fact that I asked for it and he did it is just AWESOME!!

For those of you that may like to try your hand at it, I have included the directions above. But, if you don't have a hubby or friend that can do this.....you can actually buy it from his Etsy store. Buy one here and alter it yourself

Ok, I am off to see what other stuff I can get into :-)

Hugs,
Char

Yep, still here and overwhelmed with it all! :-)

But, this too shall pass, as they always say!

Some of you have asked me where I have been ;-) Well, if you e-mail me or IM me, very often...you probably already know.

I have been right here, at home, just not blogging. Is that bad or what?

NO......I have decided it's not bad ;-) It's life! Life does have a way of getting "IN" the way at times. And, on top of that, "I" have a way of getting in my own way, most of the time! Figure that one out ;-)

Life has been just moving along with me just moving along with it.

As some of you know, our cat Freckles, had cancer of the third eyelid and we have been giving her drops twice a day for two weeks...and ointment once a day for a week before that.

We took her into our vet (LOVE this VET) and were told that she is coming along GREAT. There is still a tiny bit of haziness in her affected eye....but hopefully, we can keep the cancer at bay by giving her drops for...get this....the REST of her life! Yep, you heard that right...we will have to put drops in her eyes for the rest of her life.

Now, that in itself is not a bad thing. We can do that! But, we decided that AFTER we saw the Vet, this time, we would put her back out in the garage with the other three cats....where they have play things, a condo scratching post....and many other places to explore. They actually LOVE it out there.

Ok, we did that.....but this morning...when it was time to put the drops in her eyes....she wouldn't allow us to catch her. There are also TONS of places for her to hide out there...with two tractors and one Ranchero and other boxes etc.......so catching her is not going to be easy TWICE a day.

So, we have decided that we'll have to catch her and bring her back in the house to stay. It's just so much easier to get her trapped between us in the hallway rather than try to catch her in the garage where she has a lot of hiding places.

What a fun game for her...keep away!! But, we're through playing it, now ;-)

Any cat lovers out there have another solution?

On top of all of that, I seem to be going through my usual winter time blahs! Any of you experience this? Let me know how you get yourself back OUT of it...rather than just allow it to run it's course.

The only thing I am doing with any consistency is reading! I only seem to read at night before going to sleep, but I am still keeping at it. I have finished several books so far this year. My goal is to read at least 50 this year. I read over 100+ last year...see my reading blog but as you will see, I didn't keep up on that blog very well either.

Here are a few fun blogs/websites that I have run across lately, for your blogging pleasure!

Skip to my Lou Printable Valentines

Make and Takes Butterfly Cookies out of Heart shapes

Organized Junkie I am trying to get more organized

Tranquility ....and Turmoil

The Charms of Ordinary Days


Hugs,
Char

I missed my own Blogaversary!!!

Well, is that too funny or what? Feb 1st was my two year Blogaversary and I missed it!! Thank you to Teena in Toronto who left me a Happy Blogaversary post :-)

We had a full day, yesterday!!! Not only was it Super Bowl Sunday but we had errands to run before we went to my Sister's house to watch the game. Now, mind you, we are not normally big Super Bowl fans but we decided that it would be fun to get together and watch it on her TV.

I had originally called her and invited them over to come watch it on our 12" screen...as a joke! So, then we decided we'd make snacks and get together and play games and watch the Super Bowl on her big flat screen TV.

Well, we had numerous errands to run first....but we finally ended up at her house about an hour before the game....so we watched the tennis match for the Australia Open??.

BUT....who could sit and play games during the Super Bowl, THIS YEAR!!! What a nail biter!! I was rooting for the Cardinals.....basically because they were the underdog....and the Steelers had gotten the trophy numerous times, but I don't normally care who wins.

What a fun game...they all did awesome and I was hoarse before the end of it!

But....I missed out on my own Blogaversary! But, the blog is STILL two years old, right? So, here is what I am going to do.

I will send a completely different post, later today, about the Blogaversary celebration! So stay tuned, ok?

In the mean time, here is a really good snack you can make for your next scrapping or card making party. This is what I took to my Sister's house, yesterday and everyone loved it.

VEGGIE BARS

2 tubes of crescent rolls
3/4 C. mayonnaise
1/2 C sour cream
2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 envelope Hidden Valley ranch style dressing mix
3/4 C chopped broccoli
3/4 C chopped cauliflower
3/4 C chopped carrots
3/4 C chopped green onions

1. Grease lightly 11x17 pan. Cover bottom with sheets of dough...patting it to fit.
Bake at 350º for 7-8 minutes.

2. In mixing bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, cream cheese and ranch dressing mix. Spread over cooled crust.

3. Combine veggies, ( I make sure I chop my veggies fairly good...not big huge pieces) tossing to mix. Distribute over cheese mix and push veggies into cheese.

4. Cover and refrigerate 3-4 hours. Be sure to cool at least that amount of time.

5. Cut into bars and ENJOY!!!

Now...after having these...we have been discussing OTHER ingredients we could add on top. How about tomatoes, olives, (green or black) tomatoes, bacon bits or little pieces of chopped ham.

On the way home, we dropped off some at our Son's house and he loved them, too. Our family is going to have a little contest to see who can come up with the most original one using different ingredients.

Have a great day!!!!