Hello!!

Hey, Everyone! I am still here...got coaxed out of hibernation for the afternoon by my best bud Lisa Renea...LR-this is for you!! Glad to know you are still checking in on my poor blog!
Now, what to write? I am COLD! I am sick of being cold! When is 18 degrees a good temp? Today it is! It has been SO COLD and SO WINDY! Those two things are NOT a good combination!
A few announcements to make!
1. I AM COLD RIGHT NOW!!
2. I AM SICK OF BEING COLD!!
3. I am and Auntie again!! My new nephew, Zebulon Russell, arrived on January 18th! Of course, he is THE cutest thing ever, and he has already stated that I am THE BEST auntie in the world. Was there ever a question? He is quite the little cuddlebug, too!


4. Buzz and Bloom has their new Design Team profiles up! Check them out here! We have quite a talented crew!

Now, here is a GREAT new recipe that I have recently discovered. We had a cookie swap at church before Christmas, and my friend Lynne brought these.
Now, I don't know if anyone ever tries any of the recipes I post, but I strongly urge you to try these..they are way simple, and are some of THE BEST cookies I have ever had...They contain no flour, and no eggs, and are so moist and chewy you won't be able to resist! They call for M&M's and Chocolate chips, but I either use ALL M&M's or substitute the chocolate chips for peanut butter chips. I also have used holiday M&M's. They were so cute with Christmas M&M's, and my next project is to make some with Valentine's Day M&M's. I also picked up some bags of all green M&M's, they are marketed for Valentine's Day, but I will use them for St. Patty's Day cookies! I don't have a photo of the cookies, they don't last long enough to take one! So here ya go!

Aunt Sandy's Cookies
From Lynne Hogle

Melt in microwave:
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tsp. Karo Syrup

Add:

1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp baking soda
4 1/2 cups oatmeal
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup M &M's

Mix all together
Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes...
** I use more M&M's and Chocolate Chips..I use half a bag of each...**

So try it, and tell me what you think!! Thanks for sticking with me!!

A Few Kerilou Originals!!

Here are a few cards I have done in the past week, just to prove to you that I am creating something besides a dent in my sofa in front of The Young and the Restless...I had a few birthdays to work with in January, so it was a great opportunity to create a few original cards...I used the sketches over at Splitcoast Stampers for all of these cards..I love those sketches!! There are over 150, so they would keep a person busy for a while! They are all available in PDF format, so I print them out and keep them in a folder to refer to. They also have a great Color Combo challenge over at SCS..Check it out! Gotta love SCS!!
Here is the first card I made, for a little boy's 2nd birthday. He is one of my daycare kids, and he loves anything about farming...Boy after my own heart! I used the SU! retired stamp set "On the Farm" for this card, SCS Sketch Challenge #158-the kickstand card challenge. This was a completely new concept/layout for me..it was fun! I used SU! Real Red, Black Staz On, and Prismacolors and Sansador for the coloring. Greeting is SU! Happy Everything. Oh, and if anyone knows where I put my 3-D glue dots-fill me in!! I was forced to use a really thick dimensional foam thing instead of my glue dots, but it looks okay!



Next was my father's birthday! Happy Birthday, Daddy! I used the SU! stamp set Noble Deer, which I got for Christmas from my mother in law..I used SCS Sketch Challenge #141 for this card. SU! Chocolate Chip and Mellow Moss Cardstock and Ink. Patterned Paper panels are from American Traditions. I also used my new favorite background stamp, SU! Sanded. LOVE THAT STAMP! Ribbon is Offray. Another great sketch!! Love to come up with something good for the men, too.


This one I made with no one in particular in mind, but really lack in the masculine card dept., so I am always working on those. I used SCS Sketch Challenge #51 for this card. I used SU! Stamp Set Bronc Buster, and the Bronco wheel for the background. SU! Buckaroo Blue (how fitting!) Very Vanilla, and Close to Cocoa Cardstock. Buckaroo Blue and Chocolate chip ink. I also used the hostess set-I think it is called "So Many Sayings" along with the Word Window Punch. Patterned Paper is K&Co. Used the edge distresser to fray the edges of the cardstock.


This one would be a great thank you card for a man, but can really be used for any occasion. I used SCS Sketch Challenge #38 for this card. The patterned paper is retired SU!, Cardstock is Chocolate Chip. I used the SU! set Wanted, and used the circle and scalloped circle punches from SU!. Distressed with Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Ink Pad.


Last, but not least, a Happy Birthday card, bursting with spring colors! I used SCS Sketch Challenge #11 for this card. SU! retired stamp set "Sweet Treats" (one of my favorites!!) and Purple Onion Designs sentiment. I used SU! cardstock in Cool Caribbean, Regal Rose, and Lovely Lilac. Punches are from SU!. I used black Staz on for the image, and colored it with blender pens and ink from the ink pad's cover. I then went over all the black image lines with a Clear Stardust Pen. Love the subtle sparkle it adds!


Thanks for visiting! XO Keri

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year, everyone! Pretty uneventful around here. Although, hubby was a year older when he got up yesterday. New Years Eve is his birthday! Happy Birthday, honey! I made some of my super fabulous cupcakes for his birthday, and we had hamburger poutine for supper...with fries cooked in oil!! It is a treat-usually we try not to fry much!
So, here I am, at my much neglected blog-the holidays took over and the blog suffered..I feel bad-I would like to share every single part of our holidays with you, but time is so short, and my computer is on her last leg. We need to baby her until tax time!!
I do have an exciting announcement, however! I have been asked to stay on for another year at Buzz and Bloom! I am very excited to be working with some of the same talented ladies I did last year, along with some new talent that will knock your socks off, as well! Stay tuned for great things!
So here are a few things that I made for gifts for the holidays...
This sign I made for my brother in law for Christmas. He is the assistant fire chief for his volunteer fire department. It is completely weather proofed with spar urethane. He really liked it!


This one I was hired to make by my sister in law for HER in laws. They have horses and she thought it would be perfect. She said they really liked it! I am very rarely commissioned to do a custom sign, so this was kind of fun!

This is a little tin of candies I made for my secret sister. I saw the idea for them on SCS back in the fall. I ordered the tins from Specialty Bottle, and they were on back order for months! They came about 2 weeks before Christmas, and this was the first tin I made. It was worth the wait, they were only 80 cents each. 12 hershey nuggets fit perfectly in the tin, and I stamped on blank white address labels and wrapped them around each nugget. Really an eye pleasing gift!!


This is an altered set I made for two very special people in my life..they each got an address book, a pocket calendar, and a journal. I used my old standby, Roses in Winter from SU!, for the stamps. I also used Barely Banana, Regal Rose, and Certainly Celery Ink and Cardstock. They turned out really pretty!





Here is Cody with his very exciting Christmas present!! No further explanation needed, right??

This is Peter with one of his Christmas presents, a new fishing reel. So he and Cody can go catch some big ones and tell more tales!!

Here is Brodie Blue on her first Christmas! She didn't quite no what to think. Harley, on the other hand, knew exactly what was going on. Wrapping paper equals doggie treats! They each got a new John Deere leash, a pig's ear (yuck, I know,) an indestructable tennis ball-Brodie's lasted all of 10 minutes..indestructable...HA! They obviously didn't test them on a Blue Heeler!! They also each got a box of treats for their Kong toys..
We had a wonderful holiday. But I must admit, I will be glad to get back to my regular schedule...