everything which is yes

halloweeny

So I have had a bee in my bonnet lately about doing something crafty and while this project only rates maybe 1 bee out of 5 on the bee bonnet scale of supercreative craftiness (which I totally invented just now)...it was a fast and easy little something extra that was 100% suitable for Bugga's preschool class.  They are cute and fun and the kids loooooved them!  And Bugga loved helping me create them too!

And so today I thought I'd share a these supereasy but tasty and sure-to-win-over-the-kids projects.  I had been thinking of putting together little harevsty halloweeny treat bags for her class and had grand visions of fabulously decorated cookies with fondant or cake pops! and other fun homemadey things...and then I found out that the age of "moms sending homemade goodies to class" has gone the way of the Dodo.  I could only bring and share storebought items.  A policy which I can understand, but also totally took the wind out of my creative cooking sails. So on to plan B: thinking of something creative and fun and still storebought. 

And here's our plan B: Little Lollypop Ghosties and Sweet Little Scarecrows. 

Little Lollypop Ghosties couldn't be easier.  Here's our supplies:

 

Yep, kleenex (you could also use tissue paper, but I kinda like the softness of the tissues and it is something you probably already have around the house..so win-win).  And a sharpie or other pen.  Some raffia, kraft ribbon, string or any something-or-another for tying.  And lollypops.  Any kind.  We used blow pops because they have a fabulous ghosty shape.  And they are yumm-o.

 

Take a few sheets of kleenex and wrap them around the lolly and tie with string.  Fluff the tissues, make a little face, and voila!  Cute, right?

Then we made little "scarecrows".  Which admittedly is not my idea.  The fantastically creative Jacque Larsen mentioned these guys and we gave it a shot. 

Our supplies:

Raisins (the wee little cute boxes) for the "body", tootsie rolls for the "arms", smarties for the "legs" and wrapped taffies for the "heads".  Also, rafia for the "hay", lol.  And a glue gun.  Side note: a low heat setting with your glue gun will work just fine, but you can use whatever setting you like..high is good too.  Only be sure you have an aloe plant handy if you use that setting.  Or be more careful than I.  That would work too.  lol!

I wanted to try to find candies that looked as harvesty as possible.  I'd say the smarties are a "fail" in that department, but tootsies and these cute candy corny taffies worked well.

Here's our little "scarecrow":

It's pretty obvious it's our first try.  LOL!  There's a lot of room in this project to amp up the creativity and make the scarecrows look even more scarecrow-y, but I figured they would be demolished by four year olds in mere minutes and it probably wasn't worth the effort to go all gung ho.  Plus, we like them just the way they are.  :)

Good news is the kids loooved these.  Love loved them.  And we loved making them.  Lots of fun!

Happy Halloweeny! 

CatScrap Fever

We're getting our meow on in all kinds of fun and fabulous ways at CatScrap as we celebrate CatScrap's 4th birthday this week!  The forums have been full of fun (and freebies) all week and the fantasticness continues through the weekend.  There are loads of fabulous challenges and chances to save big.  And of course, we are celebrating with a wonderful Blog Hop!!

You've probably found your way from Tez's blog, but if you've missed a spot or lost your way, you can head over to the CatScrap blog to start fresh.

Here's my little goodie for you...I was inspired to scrap a simple everyday moment shared with Bugga last autumn.  I so hope you enjoy it!!!  You can click on the preview image or the link below to download.

You can download {HERE} or by clicking the preview above.  

Your next stop on the blog hop is Jess's blog Paper Crush Studio. I just know you'll looove what she has to share too!

Hope you have a beautiful day!!

Happy Scrapping!!

meow meow meow meow

Just wanted to share the fun news!  There's lots, tons, oodles, and loads of fun happening this week at CatScrap!  Including (YAYYYYYY!) me joining in on the fun as a guest designer.  Woot!

{arrived} Hands Across the Gulf

Hands Across the Gulf is now available at After Five Designs.  As I mentioned in yesterday's teaser post this project has become something beautifully meaningful to all of us who have participated.  I am SO very grateful for the outpouring of support from the community and everyone who joined me in this endeavor.  We hope you love it as much as we do.  And I want to give sincere thanks in advance for your support of this cause.  

And I have to say, as empirically as possible, I don't think I've ever encountered such a beautiful collection of designs in a charity collaboration before.  I love the range of scrapping styles represented, I love the beautiful artistry and creativity expressed.  I love how GINORMOUS it is (and really, it's huge.).  Here's a peek at the main preview (there are many more detailed previews in the shoppe, so feel free to check those out as well):

And here's a closer look the templates from me that you'll find in the kit:

And I wanted to compile a few inspiration pages to share with you so you can get a closer look at the kit in action:

For more than 90 days, oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico before the leak was finally "capped" in late July. It is estimated that approximately 4.9 million barrels (or 205.8 million gallons) of oil spilled into the waters. It has been one of the biggest environmental disasters in decades. Hundreds of miles of beaches, wetlands, and estuaries along the northern Gulf Coast have been impacted. The spill, though temporarily "capped", continues to cause extensive damage to marine and wildlife habitats as well as the Gulf's fishing and tourism industries. Families are without work and marine and land animals continue to suffer. And there are still many unknowns about the long term effects of the oil and of chemical disbursements used in attempts to curtail the flow and impact upon the regional coastline and waters.

Forty-five designers across the digital scrapbooking community have united with one shared cause: to raise awareness and to support recovery efforts for the environment and those impacted by this tragic disaster.

Participating designers include: Aja Abney, Amy Martin, Biograffiti, Boutique Cute Dolls, Createwings Designs, Deena Rutter, Designs by Cindy Schneider, Designs by Crystal Livesay, Dido Designs, Dunia Designs, Emily Merritt Designs, Fiddle Dee Dee Designs, Fizzy Pop Designs, FruitLoOp Sally Designs, Laurie Ann (Heaven's Gate Designs), Holliewood Studios, Holly Designs, Holly Spring Designs, Jazzmin Designs, Jennifer Barrette Designs, Jacque Larsen, Juliana Kneipp Designs, Kay Miller Designs, Kaye Winiecki, Kitty Designs, Kristin Aagard Designs, Lauren Grier, Leora Sanford, Loreta Labarca, Micheline Martin, Nikki Beaudreau, Paislee Press, One Little Bird Designs, Sabrina Dupre, Sahlin Studio, Sarah Cornish of My 4 Hens Photography, Shabby Miss Jenn, Studio Basic Designs, Sugarplum Paperie, Tickled Pink Studios, Tiny Toes Designs, Tracie Stroud, Vera Lim, Vinnie Pearce, and zinnias and swallowtails.

Hands Across the Gulf is our heartsong for this cause. This gorgeous kit representing the varied styles of the scrapping community, is positively overflowing with beautiful papers, unique elements, templates and Photoshop actions. All told, designers have contributed more than 100 papers and 200 elements, 2 full alphas, 20 templates, and 4 PS actions to Hands Across the Gulf.

Available for sale for one month only, 100% of the proceeds from this kit will be donated to the National Wildlife Federation and to the United Way's Gulf Recovery Fund.

After the sales period we will donate all proceeds from the sales to these organizations and we will share a receipt of our donation here at After Five Designs on our blog, forum and in our newsletter.

Thank you in advance for your support in this cause that is so near to our hearts.

{a heartsong} : Hands Across the Gulf

As some of you may know, our family has called the Gulf Coast "home" for many years now. And we love it so. It is beautiful. It is vibrant. We take our daughter to the beach, we hear the sounds of the waves crashing on the sugar white sands, we smell the air. We get to see dolphins at play, view all manner of beautiful sea birds and sea life, we are blessed to eat some amazing seafood. We have enjoyed the shade of the majestic live oak trees, we have appreciated the vitality and beauty of the wetlands. We get to enjoy the people who live here. They are warm and genuine and kind and totally full of life.

When the Deepwater Horizon disaster happened on April 20, we could not have imagined the heartsickness that would follow. For more than 90 days, oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico before the leak was finally "capped" in late July. It is estimated that approximately 4.9 million barrels (or 205.8 million gallons) of oil spilled into the waters. It has been one of the biggest environmental disasters in decades. Hundreds of miles of beaches, wetlands, and estuaries along the northern Gulf Coast have been impacted. The spill, though temporarily "capped", continues to cause extensive damage to marine and wildlife habitats as well as the Gulf's fishing and tourism industries. Families are without work and marine and land animals continue to suffer. And there are still many unknowns about the long term effects of the oil and of chemical disbursements used in attempts to curtail the flow and impact upon the regional coastline and waters.

And so I just ached. And I felt it on my heart to try to do something, any some small something to try to help raise awareness and support for the region.

I got together some of my most dear and favorite artists in the community who shared the same tug on their hearts for this disaster. In the works for six weeks now, Hands Across the Gulf is our heartsong for this cause. And it arrives tomorrow Sunday 15 August.

Forty-five designers across the digital scrapbooking community have united with one shared cause: to raise awareness and to support recovery efforts for the environment and those impacted by this tragic disaster.

Participating designers include: Aja Abney, Amy Martin, Biograffiti, Boutique Cute Dolls, Createwings Designs, Deena Rutter, Designs by Cindy Schneider, Designs by Crystal Livesay, Dido Designs, Dunia Designs, Emily Merritt Designs, Fiddle Dee Dee Designs, Fizzy Pop Designs, FruitLoOp Sally Designs, Laurie Ann (Heaven's Gate Designs), Holliewood Studios, Holly Designs, Holly Spring Designs, Jazzmin Designs, Jennifer Barrette Designs, Jacque Larsen, Juliana Kneipp Designs, Kay Miller Designs, Kaye Winiecki, Kitty Designs, Kristin Aagard Designs, Lauren Grier, Leora Sanford, Loreta Labarca, Micheline Martin, Nikki Beaudreau, Paislee Press, One Little Bird Designs, Sabrina Dupre, Sahlin Studio, Sarah Cornish of My 4 Hens Photography, Shabby Miss Jenn, Studio Basic Designs, Sugarplum Paperie, Tickled Pink Studios, Tiny Toes Designs, Tracie Stroud, Vera Lim, Vinnie Pearce, and zinnias and swallowtails.

This gorgeous kit representing the varied styles of the scrapping community, is positively overflowing with beautiful papers, unique elements, templates and Photoshop actions. All told, designers have contributed more than 100 papers and 200 elements, 2 full alphas, 18 templates, and 4 PS actions to Hands Across the Gulf.

Available for sale for one month only, 100% of the proceeds from this kit will be donated to the National Wildlife Federation and to the United Way's Gulf Recovery Fund.

Hands Across the Gulf arrives Sunday 15 August 2010 at After Five Designs.

oil spill :: day 64

I think you could fairly say today has been a bad day for our beaches.  It's day 64 since the Deepwater Horizon accident.  Since then oil's been here in spurts and tarballs here and there & just looming off the coast for what seems a long long time. Meanwhile we've seen it's horrible stain elsewhere and watched as it continues to stream into the Gulf despite many efforts to stem the flow. 

We've gone to the beach to enjoy it as we love it.  We've seen booms deployed.  We've seen the hazmat teams at the ready and picking up what little remnant of ick that have thus far tainted our beaches.  We've heard the anecdotal tales of local fisherman and we've heard the whisperings of the odd changes in coastal marine life behavior.  We've prayed and we've hoped.  And still we've all known that if you play the tape through to the end, with the oil still flowing and looming and impacting our seas and the wetlands in Louisiana and all along the coast, it would only be a matter of time before we began to see the larger impacts with our own eyes.  And today was that day.  Today it's here, here. In a horribly ugly awful blanket, kind of "here".  In a health advisory issued kind of "here". And in a dolphin found nearby attempting to beach itself kind of "here".  :(  

 

 

(all images from pnj.com)

Please join me in continued thoughts and prayers for our beautiful land and sea. 

finding the words..

Followed a tweet from Max Lucado this morning to a fabulous bunch of encouragements from a bevvy of people who have their eyes and thoughts on God...in how to respond to the oil spill -- and more importantly -- how to uplift and encourage our little ones, who no doubt have seen and heard things about the spill that may make them ache.  I know that Bugga is completely mindful of what's happened and we have tried to share with her what is happening in an age appropriate way.  She has seen images of birds and of our beaches that I'm sure have made an imprint on her.  She feels the mood in the air.  And since she's such an animal lover and nature lover, her response is in personification of the birds and beaches: "Oh the poor bird.  He is so sad."  or "The beach is crying because it's dirty."  So I've often thought about and prayed for the words to say to her.  And this collection of tidbits from leading authors about responding to disaster was uplifting to read today as we're seeing the worst evidence of impact yet.

Responding to Disaster

oil spill :: day 59

Since my last post about about it, I have been asked about the local goings on and impact in regards to the oil spill.  Thought I would update here and there. 

Today, coming back from taking Bugga to her very first movie we saw the "containment" booms or whatever-they-are-called deployed...still no remarkable levels of visible impact on the beaches.  Just a blob here and a blob there.  Mostly things are the same.  Not too horrible.  Beaches still looking beautiful for the most part.  They really are something.  Fear in the air of course because we see the "forecasts" for the sheen off the coast and we see what's happened elsewhere.  But the mood is also hopeful.  So far the worst thing seems to be impact of lost tourism and fishing.  Even that is still not as bad as it could be, I imagine.  Thank goodness. 

squee

I am so humbly honored today!  The 2010 Scrappers World Awards, which were hosted and conducted over at Scrappers World Online, announced its winners yesterday.  I was so SO inspired by all the pages nominated and submitted...it really was a beautiful representation of the digital scrapbooking community and the talent is just overwhelming (in a good, awe inspiring kind of way).  And so I am so SO very grateful to have been included among the winners this year.  Squeee!

Honorable Mention for Best Overall Layout -- Nominated

Best Use of Journaling -- Submitted

Honorable Mention for Best Layout Without a Photo -- Submitted

Best Use of Elements -- Nominated

Best Multi-Photo Layout -- Nominated

And so today I'm feeling so very full of thanks. Thank you to those who nominated my pages.  And to the judges, thank you so much for this honor!  It really is an honor to me, as cheesy as that sounds.  So humbly, thank you.

just what i needed

You ever have moments when you hear just what you need to hear to throw everything into perspective?  Maybe it's something that someone says in casual conversation, or maybe it's something you hear on the radio, or on tv, or read in a book...but somehow that little snippet falls into place with what you've been thinking about all day, or what you've been feeling?  It's like a piece of advice you never asked for or an answered prayer, but whatever it is, it's like that person or that song or that whatever it is just "fits" right then.  It's just what you need to hear. 

Well anyway...I had one of those moments just now as I was editing photos of our most recent trip to the beach.  We went last Thursday despite the heavy looking clouds because we were feeling that it might just be one of the last times we will be able to take Bugga to the beach and enjoy it for what it is: God's glory painted in white sands and bright emerald and blue seas and on warm breezes.  Because the oil was coming.  It was here.  Our time was running out.

So here I am, editing these photos and smiling at the beauty of them all, but feeling that heavy feeling that I've been feeling when I look out at the sea and think of this beautiful land these days.  Almost like an emerging mourning.  And as I usually do while working in Photoshop, I am listening to my iTunes on shuffle.  And this beautiful song by JJ Heller comes on.  By the way, if you haven't heard of her, you need to.  She's AMAZING.  Anyway, the song is "Save Me" and despite it's almost desperate call, the tune is cheerful and bouncy, like beach music really.  And I find my mood lifting and then I'm struck by the lyrics.  They hit me like a revelation.  I've heard this song dozens of times, I sing along almost absent-mindedly but tonight they sunk in like a balm to soothe my sad beachy soul.

The words reminded me that despite the uncertainty, despite the seemingly inevitable uglyness of this spill's aftermath, despite the sad mood in the air, the helpless feeling...God is in control and to quote JJ "the only source of all the peace I need".

Take a listen (because you so need to hear what I'm talking about.  The video itself is irrelevant, but at least you can hear the song).

"Living
Am I really living
Or am I just existing
Hiding away

Danger
The world is full of danger
But if I never try to go outside
My heart will waste away

Come and save me
You're the only source of all the peace I need
Come and save me

You tell me life will not be pain free
What will be will always be in your control
Darkness is light to you
And all you ask me to do
Is trust what you say is true

You are stronger
Than any terrible possible scenario today
Come and save me
You're the only source of all the peace I need
Come and save me"

p.s I just looked on JJ's website and where, she's listed the lyrics is a painted scene of a beach.  See?  One of those "just what I needed to hear when I needed to hear it" things.