Is it really beginning to look a lot like Christmas

I went into Walmart this week and was surprised by the fact that the register lights were already wrapped to resemble gifts, the shelves were stocked with Christmas goodies, and the seasonal isles were loaded with Christmas housewares. It amazes me how every year the Christmas season always starts just a little earlier than the previous year. Slow down people! Can't I just sit back and enjoy the holiday of Gratitude! Have we all forgotten how far we have come. I for one will be taking the next few weeks to just embrace all that the Lord has given me this past year and I hope to be celebrating this glorious month of Thanksgiving with the ones I love.

Posted below are some santas I made for a lovely costumer. It was a joy to work on these and I hope they will bring much cheer to those that will be receiving them.

Just a few things I am Grateful for this month.....
My family.. whom I adore and love unconditionally
A loving Savior who gave his life for me
My home that keeps us safe and warm
My Talents ...without them I might just be a little psychotic
My friends...because we all need to laugh now and then
My car that seems to transport me and my children to every activity
And today, I am especially grateful for the right to VOTE.
And let me not forget how grateful I am for all the men and women who so
diligently serve this country to help provide the freedoms we do have.


Happy Veterans Week to all of you and I hope you all take time this month to find the things you are Grateful for in your life.
Until next time,
Rhonda

Halloween tree

This is our Halloween tree in progress. My oldest daughter and I have been working on all the ornaments. We are still working on some clay ornaments and a prim witch hat for the topper. I think it is coming along quite well. 

We are on our way to Minnesota tomorrow and will be gone all weekend, so we won't be getting much more done on it this week. I just wanted to post some pics of how it is coming along. The kids and I are actually very excited to be getting away for a few days. We are also stopping in Omaha to see my brother and my niece. My kids are missing their cousin. I'm so happy my brother will have some time to see us. Well, I'm off to pack some bags and get some cleaning done. Hope you enjoy our tree. 

See ya' all next week!

Rhonda

A girls day with a surprise

My oldest daughters birthday was this week and to celebrate we were going to have a girls day on Friday. The plan was to have a Harry Potter marathon while creating some Halloween things. She ran out to check the mail and came in the house with next months issue of Stamper Sampler. There was no better way to kick off this crafty weekend then to find out I had been published in the Oct-Dec issue. We ended up heading to town to get some groceries and then stopped to see my mom. Elizabeth decided to get Snow White and the Huntsman while we were at the store. It was already getting late when we got home, so we changed our plan of action. We ended up watching Snow White and then went to bed. Today we woke up and got to work on our crafts and started  movie 1 of Harry Potter. This banner below is one of the cute things we have been working on. We also spray painted a bunch of things we plan on using in projects. We mostly played with paper crafts today. Liz had some great ideas for a few clay crafts, but we didn't get to those. I think we will need to schedule some more time next week. Hopefully she won't be swamped with homework. I have really enjoyed my weekend with her. It was just the icing on the cake that I was published in next months issue of Stamper Sampler. I adore this magazine and have oohed and awed at many of their publications. It is always an honor to be featured among so much talent.

You can purchase this issue here... http://www.stampington.com/thestamperssampler/index.html

Happy weekend to you all

Rhonda

Altered Halloween Spools

I had so much fun creating these altered thread spools. My oldest daughter even created one. Hers is the one with the candy corn. I found a bag of these vintage wood spools in my closet and thought the Halloween theme would be perfect for them. They are a great addition to our fall decor. My kids must be getting excited for Halloween, because three of them have already mentioned getting out the Haunted Houses and other decorations. I'm thinking they have a great idea, so I will be pulling out the totes tonight when the house is quiet. They will wake up to all our fun Halloween decorations. It really
wouldn't matter what is put on display as long as the Haunted Village is up. All of my kids are obsessed
with miniature things. I'm not sure where they get that from...wink wink! As a kid, I was always a tad bit obsessed with those sort of things myself.
I am still working on lots of other fall creations, so stay tuned. I will share them as soon as they are complete.
Happy Monday to you all!
Rhonda

Christmas Configuration

I started the day spray painting some shelves and cleaning my studio, but it didn't take me long
to get side tracked with a few projects. I guess, I should clean my studio more often, so some of these
unfinished projects will get done. Creativity is easy to find after going through all the piles of junk I
have laying around. This Christmas configuration is one of the things I finished today.
It is nice to have a few hours alone in the morning while my little one is at preschool. It is amazing what 3 hours will do for a mother. Just this week I was able to get laundry caught up, activities for YW finished, lots of cleaning, and of course a few crafts. I better not forget the best part, I have been able to get my workouts completed without having to stop midway to assist a whining 4 yr old.
It's time to get the little ones to bed. I will post more of my projects as soon as I can.
Rhonda

Just a little canning

I just haven't been able to get much crafting done these days. I am certainly eager to get started on some new projects, but my schedule has been filled with lots of time in the kitchen. Canning season is fun in the beginning, but not so fun after 2 weeks of standing on your feet in a hot, messy kitchen. So far, I  have canned 1 case of dill pickles, 2 cases of sweet relish, 1 case of hot pickle relish, 3 cases of corn & a few jars of tomatoes. I also froze 200lbs of potatoes and 6 lg bags of corn on the cob. There is still so much that needs to be done. I hope I can get tomatoes, pears, salsa, and maybe some spaghetti sauce done this week of next. The great thing about all this canning is the fact that my kitchen is well stocked for the winter. It seems like a ton of work, but all this canned yummy goodness is well worth the work. I love knowing that everything we eat is natural with no junk added. 

Thank goodness for Pinterest during this time of year. Let's just say I am an addict. In between every batch of canned goods I am pinning away. I love seeing all the fall pins lately. I definitely have found some fun fall projects I want to give a try. This time of year is my absolute favorite....football games, apple cider, leaves falling, cooler nights, kids in school, oh my list could go on.
I guess my pressure cooker is calling, so I better run.
If you would like to see all the fun fall pins, you can always follow me on Piterest.
Have a great week,
Rhonda

Art Journal Case and a few pages

WOW! It has been a while since my last post...I barely recognized my blog and all the new things going on with blogger. I don't really post about things that are so personal but, I have an excuse for being gone so long. I was not doing so well for a few months (health wise). I am feeling much better now and have a new doctor who has been wonderful. The last 3 months have been rough....lots of Dr. appts., countless tests, and new medications (some worked and some didn't). Let's just say I am finally feeling somewhat like my old self. I have been on a health kick lately....new exercise routine and diet and I am finally losing some of the weight that was put on this year with all the illness. I think this lifestyle might stick. I feel that GREAT! Enough about all that. I am happy to get back to creating and blogging.
Here is what I have been working on lately. I found this sweet little suitcase at a garage sale for
$1 and decided to turn it into a traveling studio.

Before photos

I decoupaged some paper, stickers, and diecuts to decorate the outside.

I cut a piece of fabric to fit the inside of the lid and then stitched down some elastic to hold brushes, pens and anything else my little heart desires.

What is inside: 

paintbrushes

water colors

watercolor crayons

Gel medium

white and black pens

scissors

ink pads

random stamps

spray inks

charcoal pencils

paint pens

gel pens

decorative tapes

decorative papers

paper embellishments

and of course my 

journal

Here are a few pages

So until next time,
Rhonda