Attention all you Penny Pinchers!

Check out this blog and leave a creative/money saving gift idea and win a chance for a $500 Walmart gift card!

And Peeps, I know you think I have forgotten you out there, but I haven't. I have been so busy working, eating Turkey, scrapbooking, eating Turkey, making Christmas gifts, eating Turkey, taking pictures of my projects and eating Turkey...that I haven't taken time to blog lately. Sorry. Pictures on the camera is scheduled to be downloaded SOON!

Have a good start to your week!

Blog Candy ALERT!

Hello, Peeps! Sorry that I have been away so long. Between life and making Christmas gifts...I haven't had much time! I am planning on taking some photos over the weekend and then posting them. So just a few more days. The closer Christmas gets, the more things there seems to do. (And the higher my pile of projects gets on my desk!)

So I wanted to assure you that I haven't forgotten you out there.

During my daily round of blog hopping I found a great blog that is giving away some candy. Whimsy Stamps, a new stamp company about to debut their new lines of stamps, is giving away some blog candy. Click on over there to check out the details. The stamps are ADORABLE!!!!!
Check it out: Whimsy Stamps blog candy

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great FRIDAY!

I'm evidently not above bragging....

about myself. I guess I am going to go ahead and do it. I have a secret. One I am about to tell you. I work at a scrapbook store in town. I work at Archiver's. (There...now you know!) Recently we had a little healthy competition within our 44 stores for calendar layouts. Each employee could submit and I did my standard 8x8 page. I got my layout back a couple of weeks ago and nothing was said. So I didn't think anything about it. Until we got the pages in for our Holiday Gift Ideas book that is displayed on the counter in the store. And guess what? My layout is in that binder! Yeah!!! Well, since I am also such a well-informed employee, (insert a snort here...) I knew that the ideas and layouts from the pages in the binder were also supposed to be on their website, I checked it out. Well, there was my layout again!!! So if you are all interested in viewing it, here is the link:

http://www.archiversonline.com/ideas/1707

Okay. Now my back is starting to hurt from all that patting I am doing on my own behalf. Also, my arm is starting to cramp...so I will move on!

My husband (accounting student extraordinaire) is about to finish his degree. On Dec. 1 is his last class. We have been working towards this for 2 1/2 years. Not only has he been going to school full-time through the University of Phoenix, but he has been working full-time. If that is not enough, he constantly battles fatigue and other physical ailments due to a rare genetic disease he has. So let me brag him up too, while I am handing out kudos! He is going to graduate with honors! Way to go, Darling Husband!!! But along with the degree is also the stress of finding a new job. One that will help pay for this wonderful degree. And in case ya' all haven't noticed...the economy is in a "bit" of a slump. So he is stressing. So for all you prayer folks out there...we could use a few sent up on our behalf. Thanks so much for that. God is good and even when we don't hear his voice...we know He is there.

That is a lesson that we could probably take to heart concerning the recent election too. Whether your candidate won or lost...God is still sovereign and He is still answering prayer. Whew. I am relieved about that. I remind myself frequently of that also.

So with that, I close. Hope you are having a good week!

Amateur photographer.

Last week we went to the park and took some photos. We had decided that the kiddos needed some "school photos" and since we school at home...we either had to pay someone at a studio or do it ourselves. So, since I am very frugal (translate that to "CHEAP") and since we invested in a nice camera last year when our previous one was dying a sloooowwww death, we did it ourselves.

I have always been a little hooked on photography. I had a very nice 35 mmm SLR in college and had acquired several Nikon lenses for it. (Thanks, Mom and Dad!) So when I looked at a digital camera, I wanted something that would work with the lenses I already had. Okay...back on subject. Sorry.

Anywhooooo....we went and took some photos. Some of them turned out fabulous, some turned out okay, and some were just goofy. Then there we a few that were just, well, bad. I had learned in a college photo class that only about 10% of the photos you shoot will be good ones. That statistic seemed to hold true in this case. So any of you photo buffs looking for the perfect shot...just feel assured that you will get it, but may have to shoot a lot of photos!

So here are a couple that I took. They are okay. I haven't had much time to do much more than go through and look at the pictures. We will be choosing the best ones for "school pictures" and when those are chosen you will probably be subjected to seeing them also!

We also took some photos at Halloween, so I will get some of them posted...or I will get scrapbook pages done and post those. I may not get those done until Valentine's Day...ya' know I am really very prompt! hee-hee!

I continue to work away at those Christmas projects. I guess you all have to take my word for that, since you won't be seeing any sneak peeks for a while yet. Hope you all are progressing on any Christmas gift projects you are working on. I know there are a lot of you out there because we see you in our local scrapbooking store where I work!

Hope you all have a warm and wonderful week. Don't forget to get out there and vote!

Shimmery goodness and Blog Candy!

Hey Peeps! Go on over to the Shimmerz bolg (http://shimmerzpaints.blogspot.com/) and check out the blog candy they are giving away there. Your chance to check it out ends on 11:59 p.m. on October 31st! I have tried Shimmerz (but don't own any yet...boo-hoo!) and they are fab!!! Maybe now is my chance to win some! (and you too!)

Thankful.

Well, Peeps...I know it is a bit early for Thanksgiving...but I am not into Halloween. Yeah...we do the "cutting of the pumpkins" for the kiddos and they dress up and go out trick-or-treating. However, I am not into the Halloween decorations and definitely NOT into Halloween cards. Nothing wrong with all that...I just don't do it. So while I skipped Halloween, I did do this Thanksgiving card. The details? Well, the paper is Bo-Bunny, the stamps are Prickley Pear, and the coloring? Prismacolor pencils. The image is stamped in brown ink and then colored in.

Life is still zooming me by here at the Gem House. Since we school at home, trying to decide about school pictures for our kiddos is always a chore. In the last several years, our Virtual Academy does have a nationwide studio (LifeTouch) take photos of our kids. However, the COST is significant! So me being frugal, (translate that to "CHEAP"!!!!) I decided that we could take our own. Well, 150 shots later....we have done that. We have been experiencing some awesome fall days and on Monday afternoon (since DH doesn't work on Mondays) went and shot a few photos. We also set up the tripod and got a couple of family shots. Most turned out okay. However, that is mostly speculation, since they are still all on the memory card! We also shot a few photos of the pumpkin carving experience at the Gem House. That happened last night. So when I do get them off the memory card...I will be back to post a couple of them. Just what kind of exciting life do we lead?! hee-hee.

The sky is falling!

Okay...maybe it is only the leaves in our backyard. However, it seems that fall is finally here! Beautiful autumn days with nice breezes and falling leaves. Here in the Treasure Valley, Idaho, we are seeing more oranges and reds (vibrant colors) than we typically do.

The card above doesn't have those fall colors...it is much more subtle. I used Twinkling H2O's to color in the leaves on the card. The stamp is a background stamp from Prickley Pear. The tag at the left is from Prickley Pear also. It's a clear transparency and I colored the backside with Twinkling H2O's. They work well, but I found you want them to be more pastey (don't add much water) and you will still want to work in layers...building up layer on layer of colors. It is still a very subtle process. The base of the card is a paper from Basic Grey.

Anyway...besides doing school with the kiddos, we are all about enjoying the fall day. Our kiddos have been out "raking" leaves. Mostly they have been puting them in a big pile so they can jump in and mess them up again. Aahhh...the joys of childhood. Anyway...I hope you all can take time and enjoy the days of fall. Have a great week, Peeps!