Agnes Brown is The Mammy!

If you haven't read these books yet, go straight to your local library or book shop and get them!!
I first read them several years ago on a flight to England. Well, I actually read the first one :

The Mammy on my first flight from Boise to Denver. I actually snorted and laughed so much reading it that I know the man sitting beside me thought I was bonkers! I got to Denver and headed straight to a book store and was able to find the second book The Chisellers. Got to England and found the third one to read on my way home.. The Granny. They really are very thin books and can be read in a few hours.. But if you don't want to embarrass yourself with snorting, laughing in public then read them in solitude, because you WILL laugh!! They are written by Brendan O'Carroll and tell of an Irish woman (Agnes Browne)and her children. There is also a movie out that is based on the first book(Anjelica Huston plays Agnes Browne and has a very convincing Irish accent!) My best friend and I watch it together whenever she comes to visit. It tells a tale of true friendship, love of children and perseverance. We have watched the movie together at least five times and I have read the books more than once.

My best friend was here for a visit for a week and has left to go home today. I miss her already and made this little card to send her. We have such a good laugh when she is here. My kids adore her too and Patrick was quite disappointed when he got home today and she was gone!

I used some My Minds Eye, a wooden tag, Daisy D's some felt trim, thickers from American Crafts and primas from my stash. A few buttons and inking and sewing and it was finished!!

Sweet little bundle of fluff!

I had a call yesterday from my daughter's girlfriend. She runs an absolutely wonderful place.
Simply Cats They were in a crisis. They had a set of four little kittens who were about three weeks old and their mama had been run over by a car. They also had a sweet little baby who is 2 weeks old. She had been brought to someones doorstep by a dog! Brenda asked if I could possibly foster them for a few weeks.. Against my better judgement and William's dire warnings, I said yes. We left with five babies, two large containers of Kitten milk replacer, lots of little blankies and five miniscule bottles.
All was great for about two hours. The little siamese baby had been abandoned since just about birth and had been with a foster mom but the mom could no longer keep her, she was able to suck by herself. We fed her and put her right back in her little basket and she drifted off to sleep. Then pandemonium struck! The other four woke up and started mewing. LOULDLY! They have no idea how to suck a bottle and were so frustrated as their little tummies were hungry and they could smell the milk but weren't quite sure how to suck it.. Sarah, William, Patrick and I each had a kitty and tried to feed as best we could. Two hours later they were all back in their little bed curled up, but I was one frazzled mom! I called Brenda and told her I didn't think i could do it! She was great and had found another foster for them. Whew!! Thank Goodness! I could not have gone through that again. It was so frustrating to see them crying and hungry.
So now we just have Maisie (that is what we named her) she is precious and sleeps and eats well. Tucker my HUGE golden retriever has adopted her. He licks her after she has eaten and washes her just like her mama would. We will keep her for a few weeks. She is eating every three hours like a real baby( yes, I got up at 3 am to feed her!) and there is no shortage of willing arms to cuddle and hold her. Our biggest problem will be to not get attached. That shouldn't be too hard though. We already have our four dogs and two cats (who have not shown the slightest bit of interest in her). So here is a picture of our little Maisie and one of Tucker too.

Baking, gardening and Scrapping!

I love to bake.. unfortunately I love to taste it too!! I found a wonderful recipe for a carrot cake that is so easy to make and always turns out perfectly. Since I frequently take treats to the teachers at school, they are well acquainted with my baking. I had made this cake for them and a few weeks ago one of the teachers asked me if I would make one for her for this Saturday. She is giving a 50th wedding anniversary party for her parents. She is having everything else catered but asked if I could make her a one of my carrot cakes. and she would pay me.. I told her I would make it for her, no payment necessary. She wouldn't accept it unless she paid me. I made one this morning and it was baked and cooling nicely on the counter.. and DANG!!! I dribbled a tiny drop ofsome tea onto one of the layers (it is three layers). not much, but I didn't want to take a chance, so I ran to the store and bought another can of pineapple and more cream cheese for the frosting.. I frosted it and it is in the fridge. (looks beautiful!) made another and it is cooling.. so now WE have a carrot cake too..will have to take half over to my mom and dad tonight! This is the one for us. The other one is on a nice bakery board and has the nuts around the outside and a dainty little carrot on top!
Here is another little thing I made. I found "naked bird" houses at a local craft store and I just saw the possibilities.. I hadn't seen the new Basic Grey Sugared paper and it is just so cute!! Love those pink flamings.. So I did the little house in that and then did some inking and modge podged it.. Sending it to my sweet sister.. she just moved into a new house. It will look lovely on her patio. I think pink flamingos are so endearing so his weekend DH and I are making several stained glass flamingos on copper rods to put in my garden.. he is getting the pink glass today.. it is so pretty, pale pink with white swirls throughout!!
And finally, I had to post a picture of my gorgeous mint! I planted it from seed and it has gotten so abundant in this pot..We love homemade mint sauce and I also like to make simple syrup and toss some leaves into it. Yummy to sweeten your iced tea!! Now I am off to rearrange my scrapping room!

Happy, Happy Day

I am feeling pretty happy these days. The weather is just perfect. It is cool out, not too hot yet, the trees all have their leaves, my roses have tons of blooms and we are slowly getting into the "summer" mode of life. William is doing his senior year internship, so he still has to get up early each day, and be at work at 8. Patrick does his sleeping in and while he is doing that I bustle about and get my little housekeeping chores done. By afternoon I am free to do as I please.. Bake, create, or read.. or putter in my garden. Lovely!
Here is one of my creations. Made for a friend who I am so thankful for. I also made her a DVD of our last trip to Disney.. sigh.. I want to go again.. soon!! I just love that place.. but only in the off season.. It just makes me happy to be there. Patrick and I have a giant plastic pepsi bottle that we are slowly filling up with all our extra change and any odd dollars that I find in the laundry (I think whoever does the laundry is entitled to whatever they find there!!). We are planning a trip for early December and I must say that the anticipation is half the fun..
Anyway, this card I made using my new threading water punch, MF papers, flowers, and ginormous rick rack.

Cold and Blustery..

Well, after 98 degree weather over the weekend, today was cold and rainy.. and only 61..
I have to admit, I much prefer this weather. I am not ready for the hot summer days.
There is a wonderful math teacher at my son's high school and he is retiring this year. I searched through all my stash and came up with several things I thought would look good on a card.. I had a clock charm SOMEWHERE!! Oh, well, this will have to do.. I love the vintage feel to it and of course had to ink and stitch it just a little.. Wasn't sure about the flowers, but they just "felt" right..

The Final Countdown..

There are only 9 days of school left and believe me I hear it everyday!! I think the teachers are as anxious as the kids for summer to start.. they are also taking all their days off so I have been so very busy subbing. I love it, but it doesn't leave much time for me to do much crafting..
I made this little baby card for one of my daughter's co workers who had his fifth boy!! Used some K and Company bear paper ( I just loved that and bought a whole pack of it when it came out years ago,, I am still using it!!) some foofala and some chipboard extras..

thankful....

A few weeks ago I was making my Breast Cancer postcards for a swap I was in.. I had extras and had read about Melissa Frances' fight with breast cancer and so I sent one to her.. not ever expecting to receive an acknowledgment. Imagine my surprise today when a large envelope was delivered to me.. It contained a sweet thank you note from her along with her Thankful line of products..What a wonderful treat and I am so very thankful..especially since I am not able to find her products anywhere locally.. So here are a couple cards I made using some of the papers and stickers.. the one with the knotted ribbon is "spring-boarded" from one I saw on another blog.. the other is totally my idea!

Penny for your thoughts..

I have had this stamp for years.. I think it was the first stamp I ever bought.. Used some scraps up to make this card.. Daisy D's and Creative Memories. offray ribbon, a little clear baggy and a penny.

Kindness..and Gratitude

When I think of my children and what I want them to be and how I want them to live, "happy" is what I think and what all parents want for their children. However, more often than not the word that first comes to my mind is "kind". Of all the words I use to describe my four children, Kind is at the top of the list.. I feel so thankful and grateful that I can say without hesitation that each and every one of my children is kind to not just family and friends but to people they meet. This card I made using a piece of velum with clocks on it and behind it was a scrap of MME.. (My all time favorite papers!) USed the metal embellishment I found at the dollar store and a scrap of ribbon..

First Birthday..

A good friend is here with me this weekend and she has twin great grandchildren.. They are celebrating their first birthday next week.. I made a card for each of them .. a boy and a girl.. Still need to tinker with the boy card, but here is the girl.. She has some pictures of them that were taken in a vintage setting.. Thought they were so cute.. so I made the card kind of like that.
Used some old Basic Grey paper from the Jack and Jill line, some hydrangea petals with pearls in the centers and printed the photo onto vellum.. aged some lace with chalk inks and then did a little sewing and inking and .. Voila!! this is Sarah's card.. I used a number one from a set of thickers that I got from American Crafts..