The (Hollywood Bowl) Hills Are Live!

Oh my goodness, you won't believe what I did with my friend Vivian the other night. On Friday night, Vivian invited me to go to the Sound Of Music Sing-a-long with a few of her former co-workers. I love musicals, and Rogers and Hammerstein, so I thought it would be fun. I had no idea it would also be hysterical! Evidently, there is a whole "cult following" of people who attend this event every year, and we've been missing out! People arrived in costumes (nuns, Austrian folk dancers, "brown paper packages tied up with string," "musical notes" (Do-Re-Mi, etc.) and my favorite, the TREES full of LITTLE CHILDREN. People must spend all year watching the movie to get ideas.

Once the movie started, it was a full on "contact sport." People in the audience were instructed to not only sing along, but hold up various props, (which we received in goodie bags as we entered the bowl.) make noices, hoot and holler, scream at the bad guys, and even bark like a dog when the character "Rolf" appeared! Vivian and I were cracking up the whole time, because we had no idea what was happening. We LOST it when people whipped out their flashlights and started pointing them at the screen during the scene when the nazi's were searching for the Von Trapps in the graveyard. My favorite part? 15,000 people popping their "New Year's Eve Champaign Bottle Poppers" at the moment that Captain Von Trapp and Maria had their first kiss! Oh my goodness! Next time we'll be more prepared! Thanks Vivian for inviting me!

Over the Top

I needed a bunch of BOY cards for the young boys at church, and since I hadn't used these SU! images in quite a while, I thought they'd be a fun adventure. This the set called "Over the Top." Pretty cool to be able to stamp one image, (chocolate chip craft ink) sprinkle some clear embossing on it, mat it on some cardstock, and call it a day. The DP is from DCWV and the cardstock is Garden Green and Bashful Blue. The TAB is punched from SU and is stamped with the sentiment from PaperTreyInk. (Faux Ribbon Set). The brown tabs at the top and bottom are some leftover scraps I had on my desk from a previous project, and completed with "screw" brads. "Let 'er rip!"

Wild Color Combo

I had this set "Fabulous Flowers" (SU!) out on my desk and had only been playing with the extra large bloom, so I wanted to challenge myself to do something with the smaller stamps in the set. Hanging on my bulletin board is an old post from Jenn Balcer about unique "bright" color combos, which is where I found this color combo: Groovy Guava, Blush Blossom, Pixie Pink, and Saffron. The base of the card is Blush Blossom, and the flowers are stamped on Vanilla cardstock. The sentiment "Thinking of You" is from the hostess set: "For A Friend." The scalloped piece across the middle is made with the Threading Water Stamp (Fiskars) in Blush. I think I should go back and add some sparkles to the centers of the flowers, and do something to the sentiment piece in the middle and maybe add some brads to the corners. Super Simple Card.

This next card is from the "Pun Fun" set. The kitty is colored with a "mustard" marker, and then matted onto mustard and chocolote chip cardstock. The patterned paper is from the DCWV Retro prints pack. Add some mustard ribbon, and the sentiment "Thank You" from Wonderful Words (SU!) across the bottom, and wa-la!

Well, Emily is back in school, and already has huge, heavy textbooks with homework I don't understand at all, and she's already been to the doctor for strep throat. Boy was she sick over the weekend! Antibiotics are amazing! Two days later, and she's a new person again. Next week is her audition for "Thoroughly Modern Millie" at Biola, so we need her healthy and whole! Looks like it's going to be another busy, busy year (with lots of me driving again, since she doesn't have her drivers license yet.) Phooey! Hope the beginning of the new school year has been great for you so far. Have a great week!

Fabulous Pink Flowers

Two cards this morning with the SU set "Fabulous Flowers" I have seen such gorgeous cards with this set and although I wasn't drawn to this set in the catalog, it was a swap card I received last year that sent me over the edge. The card above is Rose Red base, wheeled with the Baroque wheel in versemark ink, then layered with Pretty in Pink and a piece of the pretty in pink DP from last year's hostess awards. The flower is stamped 3 times, in Pretty in Pink, and then Regal Rose is brushed on the edges of some of the petals (before stamping) with a sponge dauber. There is a rhinestone brad in the center. The pink dots on the sides are just hole punches! The sentiment is from a favorite set from a few years ago, "Mixed Greetings."

The next card is also made with Fabulous Flowers, also stamped 3 times, but this time using Regal Rose ink, with Rose Red sponged on the edges. The base of the card is Regal Rose, and the 2 designs of DP are also from the same hostess pack used above. There is a brown strip of cardstock across the middle with 2 rows of paper piercing. The sentiment "Dare to be Fabulous" is stamped in Chocolate Craft ink, (SU) and then embossed with "Detail Clear Embossing Powder." I'm looking forward to playing with this flower set even more and getting a little more creative with it, as well as experimenting with various colors of ink. Thanks for looking. Have a great weekend! Now that all the political speeches are over for a while, it's time to get outside and get some work done around my house!

Change of A-Dress Card for TECC31

I can't believe I have been able to play Taylor's Cupcake Challenge (www.tayloredexpressions.blogspot.com) 2 weeks in a row. Maybe having Fridays as my day off now (instead of Mondays) is not such a bad thing afterall. I can get used to this! Jami let me borrow her new set "Humor in High Heels" this week so I can make SWAP cards for her upcoming new caty swap, so since this set was sitting out on my desk and I've been playing around with different color combinations for the swap (my job is to use the new bella colors, so this card definitely won't be my swap card), here we go....The card base is Basic Gray, then layered with DCWV Textured white, and then the DP of the pink houndstooth is from Creative imaginations; art warehouse; studio barn. It is also used to paper-piece the dress. The main image and the sentiment image are both stamped in SU Basic Gray ink on shimmer white paper. There is a small layer of Pretty in Pink, and then the Scalloped layer is Basic Gray again, but this time, stamped in Versemark with the SU Paisley BG stamp, and heat embossed. Thanks Jami for reminding us this week about that fun technique. The sentiment is layed onto a piece of "coaster" chipboard and popped up with foam tape. The buckle is something I've had in my stash for quite a while, probably from Michael's. The little button brads carry out the "fabric" theme (they are silver and white, even though some of them look black in the picture), as does the pink twill ribbon I bought from Taylored Expressions and a little snip of white organdy ribbon. An extremely fun card to make, and super fun sketch with so many possibilities. The only problem I see would be making "Change of address" cards in mass quantity to send to people if you really WERE moving... LOL... this would definitely not be the card to make. Maybe to congratulate someone on a new job, or something like that. Thanks for looking, and as usual, thanks Taylor for a fantastic challenge!

Being Prepared through Trials

Friends....I have had a difficult few weeks and some very painful circumstances enter my life in recent days (work stuff), causing me to fall on my knees in prayer and in tears on more than one occassion and cry out to God and ask many questions. I was reading Psalm 54 this morning....(I've been studying the life of David through Beth Moore's book "A Heart Like His"..... now you know where I got the name of my blog!) and even though David wrote this Psalm in response to being attacked by his enemies, and that was not the situation in my case, I was still in awe at the application God boldly shouted out to me. Here are the poignent words of Psalm 54.

"Save me O God by your name, vindicate me by your might. Hear my prayer o God; listen to the words of my mouth. Strangers are attacking me; ruthless men seek my life... men without regard for God. Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me. Let evil recoil on those who slander me; in your faithfulness destroy them. I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you; I will praise your name, O Lord, for it is good. For he has delivered me from all my troubles, and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes."

And then this is what Beth Moore's commentary said about this passage: "We often want to be called of God, then ushered painlessly into a position of service and honor, miraculously possessing the character our callings require. God doesn't work that way. Our appointments are not about glamour. They're about glory. God's Glory. God often works the same sequence in us that He worked in David:
1. He calls us.
2. He prepares us.
3. He uses us.
4. He prepares us some more.
5. He uses us some more.

The tricky thing about God's preparation is how He prepares us... even through trials. We find ourselves saying, "I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I never would have expected this." Painless or painful, enjoyable or distasteful, God always works to prepare us to serve Him, but He rarely prepares us in ways we expect. Why must we experience such preparation? Because any work we've grown accustomed to is usually a work completed. As soon as we've learned one lesson, He brings another. He will continue to work in us until we see His face, because that's the ultimate moment for which He's preparing! "

I'm so thankful that God loves me enough to allow trials into my life that cause me to stop and strive to become more like Christ. That He wants my life to reflect His Glory more than my own selfish ambition and nature. I know I'm so far from that place, and I can't wait to see where the journey takes me.

Thank You to My Awesome Day Camp Counselors!

Last Friday was our last day of our 9 week summer program at church... 8 weeks of Day Camp and 1 week of Sports Camp. I had 18 amazing counselors this summer who worked so hard and did such a fantastic job of caring for the sweet children who came. I took some of them out to dinner Friday night (to a fun place called Friscos in Long Beach, where the waitresses wear roller skates!) and for the ones who weren't able to come, I made these gift card holders to send them a thank you (probably Jamba Juice in honor of the hot summer that we had!) The inside says, "Now that summer is over, Go RELAX!"

Set used is "Sparkling Summer" retired from Stampin up!

I hope you are able to squeeze in a LITTLE MORE relaxing this week before the end of summer. Give your kids some extra hugs, extra attention, and have some special one on one time in spite of the busy-ness of shopping and preparation for school! Have a good one!

East Coast Wasabi Cupcake!

I was so excited to finally get to play along with Taylor's http://www.tayloredexpressions.blogspot.com/ Cupcake Challenge this week. (TECCC30) After that small earthquake we had a few weeks ago, I was putting off cleaning up my stamp room and finding my desk, but I finally had some free time last night and today to play along. The color combination is Wasabi, Real Red, and Tempting Turquoise, using shimmer white for the main cupcake image. The bottom layer of the card is Textured Wasabi... I love that stuff, and I've sure been guilty of "hoarding it." The stamp set is "Hey There Cupcake" from Stampendous (bought from eclecticPaperie), and one of the stamps from "Itty Bitty Backgrounds" is used on the Tempting Turquoise layer to tie it into the "dot" theme. The designer paper is "East Coast Prep" just retired from Stampin Up! The cupcake liner is paper pieced, and the Stampin Up word window punch is also used to punch through the DP paper to stamp "Happy Birthday" on the Real Red layer. And finally, a splash of WildWasabi striped ribbon on the bottom, some star dust stickles on the cupcake and stardust pen on the candle flames, some white brads, white pen touch opaque pen for the faux stitching, and there you go! A preppy, simple birthday card fit for a family member, male or female, or a special friend! Hope you have had a relaxing fun weekend. GO USA!!! 110 medals. Oh My Goodness. That's amazing!

Kitchen Shower Set

Here are a few items I made for my neice Lauren for her wedding shower. I was the hostess for the shower so I got to make these fun invitations from Crafty Secrets Kitchen Classics set (borrowed from Jami... thanks!) and the gorgeous "Honey Pie" paper from Cosmo Cricket. The Cardstock is Saffron, Ruby Red, and Mellow Moss from Stampin Up, and the large oval punch, then trimmed with decorative scissors around the Ruby Red oval. I was going for a vintage kitchen look and this paper and this stamp set was just what I was looking for. The shower was decorated with all of my grandmothers old kitchen items (her old cookie jar, coffee grinder, and even all her old fashioned embroidered tea towels. The table is covered with my grandma's old tableclothes. I'm not sure if my 22 year old Neice "got it" or thought it was cool at all, but the rest of us "oldies but goodies" loved it! :)

And finally, here is the recipe tin I made for her. I sent each guest a blank recipe card with their invitation, and they brought them to the shower to put in the tin. This is the first recipe tin I've made and it was much fun!

The little chef guy is stamped with Crafty Secret's "Little Chef" and the paper is from DCWV retro pack, and then wrapped in twill which is stamped with the words "FAVORITE RECIPES" and covered with LOTS of mod podge!

Busy Summer

Well obviously, I haven't been posting much this summer. In spite of time by myself while both kids were in Indiana, I just couldn't find the time to sit at the computer... not only was it too hot in my house, but I also had an unexpected trip to Indiana myself in the middle of summer. I took my nephew Andrew with me to visit Stephen, and also got to visit Emily too. The 4 of us had a great time together for a few days.

Young adults... oh my goodness. When did that happen???
Stephen had summer school during the mornings, and he also has a part time job at a sandwich shop called "Paradise Bakery" so while he was busy, Emily, Andrew and I either went to the movies, went shopping at the new shopping center where Stephen works... gorgeous!.... or drove around and saw the sights. :0 Look how TALL Stephen has gotten! He has caught up with ME, and is almost caught up with Emily. That is amazing to me, due to the fact that because of his birth mother being very tiny, we never quite knew how tall he might get. He is very excited about that as you can imagine.

One more picture of Stephen and Emily NOT KILLING EACH OTHER. We were having ice cream at a yummy place and sitting outside and they were goofing around, and I was trying to get a nice picture of both of them at the same time. Good Luck with That! I call this their "model" picture...

More to come soon.....

Annie Get Your Gun Fun!

Annie Get Your Gun at Biola Youth Theater June 11-21 was a blast. Emily carried such a busy schedule during May and June, we were afraid she wouldn't really be able to enjoy the show, but once that curtain went up, she was the epitome of professionalism and charm. She has such a great smile when she's up on stage. I am always so proud of her. Here are some photo's taken back stage in between scenes and also after the show was over. You can see some tears being shed because of the seniors who graduated out of the BYT program. I spent most of the shows backstage helping with costume changes, but I also got to see both casts perform.

Here are all the dancers (they had 6 or 7 costume changes during the show.... whew! It was crazy back stage! Can you say febreeze!?) along with "Dolly" "Winnie" and "Nellie" some of the main characters.

This is Emily and her good friend Ashley in their ballroom scene gowns. Wow, can my baby girl kick up her heals!
This is Emily with her friend Josh who played "Frank Butler." What a sweetie. He also played Jesus in Godspell. So talented! Since he's one of the Seniors, this was their last show together. Now it's time to shift gears to the fall show, "Thoroughly Modern Millie," which means tap lessons over the summer! Hopefully by then, Emily will have her driver's license so she can driver herself to some of the rehearsals!

Sneaking up to Montrose

I tried to surprise my friend Mike Saturday night with a trip up to Montrose to see our buddies Byron, Darrin and Darrin's wife Kathy, and their 3 kids. (Byron's wife Brenda was out of town.)

I say "Tried" because after getting a little turned around (i.e. lost) with our directions I had to tell Mike where we were going so he could help us get there relatively on time. We were trying to get to Montrose Church in time for the 6:30 service, where Byron leads worship and Darrin is the Associate Pastor, but were were about 10 minutes late, so we missed most of the worship set. Bummer. We still had a wonderful time, and after the service, headed over to Glendale to a very fun outdoor plaza shopping center "extravaganza" place called "Americana." Gorgeous place! Tones of shops and restaurants, all in a big square with fountains, statues, and even a playground for the kids! Dinner, laughing, great conversation, jazz music in the background, beautiful atmosphere... doesn't get much better than that!!!!!

It was so great to see some of my favorite kids in the world, Megan, Kevin and Connor, and love on them for the evening, and get caught up with my sweet friend Kathy. And P.S... it was hysterical to watch Mike giving Byron lighting advice inside their worship center... Mike just can't help himself! I think he does this in his sleep! It was a super fun way to spend a Saturday evening!

Coffee... My Favorite Thing

Wanted to share some cards with you made with "My Favorite Things" set called "Hot Stuff." I have several coffee and/ or tea sets, and I'm always looking for just the right one! I love this one because of the cute cups/ mugs, and the sentiments! The brown polka dot card says "Coffee and Friends" on the outside, and "The Perfect Blend" on the inside. The1 3/8" holes are punched through the DP, and then another set of holes is punched with the smaller punch (1 1/4") is punched through a layer of chocolate paper and then lined up underneath. That was tricky. The mugs are stamped directly onto the vanilla layer, which is also scalloped with scalloped scissors, and watercolored with ink from the lids of stamp pads and the aquapainter, before being attached to the chocolate card base.

Next is a double fold card. It opens UP with the main coffee image, and then it also opens DOWN, to reveal a large writing space. You could also include a coffee gift card very easily. The caramel shadow around the image is made with 4 post it notes attached around the edge of the white layer and then colored with markers. Have a great week!

Stamping Like Crazy

Last week when it was SOOO hot here in SoCal, I took a little table into my own bedroom, where I had an air conditioner, to stamp where it was cool. Well, it's now freezing cold outside, but that table is still in my room! I've been busy with several new stamp sets: Wild About You (Stampin Up!), Hot Stuff ( My Favorite Things) and Small Fruit (Stampendous). Life is Good!

Lakewood High School's Grease

I forgot to post some pictures of Emily in GREASE at Lakewood High School a few weeks ago. It was the last weekend of April and the first weekend of May. In between the first 2 shows and the 2nd 2 shows, I flew to Atlanta for the Orange Conference and BACK, so I was able to squeeze it all in and still see her opening night, and closing night. Of course, she was fabulous and had the best time ever. She really made some good friends through the experience too. Emily had the part of MARTY MARASCHINO.... remember her? The one with all the boyfriends in the Marines? Sang "Freddy My Love"...

She is a born NATURAL on stage... so confident, so happy, so talented!
I love this picture of her Grandma Scheevel and her 2 cousins Jessica and Kayla who came to see her show on opening night! Four Blond Beauties! The four of them have a very special bond, and I'm so glad we all live close enough to each other to spend time together.

Now we're in the all the final rehearsals, set up, costume fittings, load in, etc. for "Annie Get Your Gun" at Biola Youth Theater, which opens June 11 and runs through June 21. She's pretty tired already!

For my Fantastic Mom

Here is the mother's day card I made for my mom... I made it a few weeks ago when I first got this new set from the Occassions Mini, but thought I'd better wait to post it til after she opened it. Don't you just LOVE this Berry Bliss Paper? I know I sure do. And I'm so glad I bought this pomagranate ribbon at Christmas time. The set is "Time for You" and the baskets of flowers are from the bicycle in the set and are popped up with dimentionals. Happy Mother's Day Mom... I'm so lucky to have you as a mom... I don't know what we would do without you.

Georgia on My Mind

Heidi (one of my assistants who leads our KidStuf program at church) and I went to Atlanta a few weeks ago to attend the "Orange" conference, sponsored by ReThink and Northpoint Community Church (Andy Stanley's church). It was an amazing conference. I will have more about it on my other blog: http://www.lakewoodkidconnection.blogspot.com/ But after the conference, I was able to stay a few extra days to visit old friends from when I used to live in Georgia. It was a bitter sweet time. I have such a mix of memories from Georgia. My kids were born there. I was involved in ministry at 3 amazing churches: Piedmont, Woodstock, and Faith Community, and have dear friends from each of those 3 churches to this day. But it is also where my marriage disolved and I began the journey of single mom-hood, and much of my energy during the last 2 years of living there was spent on that journey. But life moves on no matter where we are, and going back to Atlanta occassionally is good for me. It shows me that God is still faithful, that He is on His throne, that He took care of me THEN and continues to take care of me now. All the kids I had in my ministry then are all grown up and getting married and having kids of their own, so it's a great reminder of why I do what I do.

Me and Pam... the most amazing friend in the world. She was also Emily's 4 year old preschool teacher! (We met when we were both teachers at Woodstock Baptist Preschool.) This is taken upstairs in her new house in her CRAFT ROOM/ office, counseling room, quilting room, former home school classroom. It's bigger than my kitchen and FULL of fun stuff. I could live in this room for a long time and be very happy!

This is Connie McLemore, me and Terri Nordine. It's hard to believe that they were among there very first people and friends I ever met in Georgia, way back in 1988, and we continue to be great friends and have such a wonderful time when we get together (every 3 or 4 years!) This is taken at a Lebonese restaurant in Marietta, where Terri likes to hang out, and she also painted the Mediterranean scene behind us! Terri serves on the staff of "Middle East Bible Outreach" (http://www.mebo.org/) and I admire her heart for reaching the lost in an area of the world that is in so much turmoil! We all have teenagers that used to be babies together, so it's so fun to compare notes about our kids when we get together. We had grape leaves, hummus and baklava together... how great is that!?

And finally, this is Jim and Denine Wolden and their daughter Elena. They are actually OLD friends from California (I first met Denine when she was still Denine Plant back in 1982 when I first came to work at FBCOL.) Jim and Denine moved to Acworth Georgia 4 years ago, after I had already moved BACK to California. Small world isn't it... that they would end up just one town over from where I used to live so I could come and visit them whenever I was in town. They always open up their home to me when I'm in town and Elena gets SO excited! Elena, thanks so much for the wonderful saxaphone concert. You are amazing! Keep up the good work. Jim and Denine, thanks for dinner and for taking such good care of me, and making sure that I got back to the airport safely and on time! I love my Georgia family. I only wish they would come to California once in a while to visit us here!

What a Girl Wants

My sweet "baby girl" turned 16 yesterday! It was a special day and a special week for many reasons... not only is she growing into an amazing young woman of God who loves people, cares about integrity, and works very hard at everything she does, but it was also an important day because it was a lightbulb moment for me personally. Emily woke me up at 5:45 a.m. fully dressed, make up and hair done, and asked if she could go out to breakfast with her girlfriends from school! What... who am I... remember me? The woman who gave birth to you...right? The woman who hands you money at every turn, drives you all over southern california at your heart's desire, and comes to every event, every concert, every play, musical, etc. to cheer you on... How did I all of a sudden become "chopped liver?" Emily left for the day to go out to breakfast with her friends, go to school, and then go to Grease rehearsal right after school.... so I didn't see her the whole day until about 9:30 p.m. Very strange birthday. (for me!) She had a fun day with her friends, and I had to come to the cold realization that she is pulling away, that her friends are way more important to her than her family/ parents!

One of the most revealing moments of this wonderful occassion was her birthday list. It gives a humorous, yet enlightening glimpse into the mind, heart, and priorities of a 16 year old girl. It borders on childhood and womanhood at the same time. Here's a little peek:

*Classic Ipod

*Acrylic Nails

*Highlights (for her hair)

*Berret (you know, the hat kind)

*Sun Dresses

*Earrings (big)

*Silver Stiletos

*Hollister jacket

*Lap top (computer)

*purses in general

*mica bella powder

*vans tennis shoes

*new phone/ iphone

*prom dress

*belly button ring

Doesn't that last one just totally crack you up... and take you by surprise!? I love it!

Easter Fun with the Family

Finally figured some things out on my camera... my problem is I am very forgetful, so I have to keep learning the same thing over and over again. Anyway, here are some family Easter pictures. I think there were 35 of us at my sister Dyan's house in Thousand Oaks. So many kids that we had to have TWO Egg Hunts... one for the Little Kids (here's Ellie, Josh, and Grace) .....

And one for the BIG kids (from left to right, staring into the bright sun, are Sammy, Maddie, Jakob, Luis, and Giovani.)
A few more sweet pictures of our "babies" ( I love this picture of Josh with his bag on his head... that was the only one where he was looking into the camera "sort of".... tee hee! )

We also celebrated SEVEN family birthdays while we were all together... here are the "big people"... nephew Giovani, Dawn (who was my flower girl in my wedding in 1986 and now she's 22!!) my sister in law Carolyn, her little boy Josh (the big THREE!), Audrey, my nephew's wife, her little boy Derrik, and.............

Little Katie... my niece Nicole's baby girl, who turned ONE!

Wow, what a wondeful DAY we all had together!

Got Scraps?

Just a few quick cards with some yummy paper called "Two Scoops" by Basic Grey. The shaker card is one of my favorite designs, that I've used several times. The Happy Birthday tag shape stamp is from the original Tag set from SU! (remember how we were all so fanatical about those TAGS and that tag punch when it first came out?) The cardstock is Rose Red and Wild Wasabi and the flower stamped all over the wasabi is from the All about U Set. Ribbon and Rick rack from Michaels. The little dots inside the shaker window are just dots from one of my hole punches in various colors.

The base of the thank you card is Pretty in Pink and it's stamped with white craft ink with the Paisley stamp. The other card stock colors used are Celery, Wasabi, Rose Red, Regal Rose, and White. Wow, I didn't realize I kind of got out of control with all those scraps. There are holes punched in the bottom of the scalloped layer, stitches drawn on both cards with a signo white gel pen, and edges sponged in white on the Thank you card. Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Camera problems. I'm headed out to a funeral today of a high school girlfriend, so I'm hoping to have time later this weekend to post some memories and pictures of my friend CHRIS. Have a good weekend.