New Buzz and Bloom Competition!!

Buzz and Bloom is holding a new contest...Have you checked it out yet?? If not, click here to see what all the excitement is about!!

BIG NEWS!!

I am pretty excited today! And I gotta say, it comes at a good time. This weather has about done me in! A while back I posted about submitting a layout I had done for consideration in a tattoo magazine. A friend was writing an article, and needed submissions for layouts for the magazine Skin & Ink, so I sent her a layout of my baby feet tattoo. The magazine finally came out, and they printed my layout! Yippee! I am so excited to get the magazine in the mail and see how the article looks. I have heard that it is stunning! Here is Anam's blog link--Inked Scrapbookers , and here is a link to the magazine... Skin&Ink

And here is the layout!!




Supplies used are:
Purple Onion Designs Ornamentals Stamps
Buzz and Bloom Chipboard Alpha Tubby
Basic Grey patterned paper
Basic Grey Rub Ons
Thanks for looking!! Keri

Card Challenges, and a New Layout!

Good Wednesday morning! Well, the storm produced some snow, but not enough to cancel school. Of course, that is MY fault, not the administrators who actually make the decision! So Cody went off in a huff to school this morning...wondering exactly what strength of snowstorm would actually merit a snow day! I puttered at dishes and laundry for a while, but visiting all these blogs has got my creative juices flowing, so here is what I came up with last night and this morning!
This is something I made last night! It follows SCS SC #144.

Here is the recipe:
SU! Flowers for a Friend, French Script Background
SU! CS Groovy Guava, Soft Sky, Certainly Celery, and Whisper White
Ink: SU! Groovy Guava, Soft Sky, Barely Banana, Certainly Celery and Tim Holtz Distress Pads in Vintage Photo and Antique Linen. *
* I used the Vintage Photo Pad on one card, and the Antique Linen on the other...which one do you like better? I can't decide. Cody likes the Antique Linen...


I did this card this morning. It follows two challenges! SCS SC #151, and SCS CC # 155.

Here is the recipe:
SU! Avian Toile and French Script Stamps
SU! Cardstock in Basic Black, River Rock, and Whisper White
Black Ink: Versafine
Sentiment is white SAB Rub On


The next card follows SCS SC #165.

Here is the recipe:
SU! Bronc Buster Stamps, Bronc Wheel, and Purple Onion Designs Wanted Set.
SU! Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla Cardstock.
Patterned Paper is Cosmo Cricket
SU! Chocolate Chip Ink, Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distress Ink Pad
Ribbon--Who knows??


And last but certainly not least.....a new layout!!


This is my niece Beatrice. Could she BE any CUTER?? My mom took this photo back in December...When I was half done the layout, I noticed the print on her little shirt. It matches the paper! Anyway, here are the product details:
Patterned Paper: Dulce
Cardstock: Doodlebug Orange Bazzill, SU! Yo Yo Yellow, Old Olive, Real Red.
Ink: SU! Old Olive
Rub Ons- SU! Love and Happiness
Stamps: SU! Friendship Blooms
Tools: SU! Spiral notebook, scalloped circle, 1 1/4 and 1 3/8 circle punches.
Chipboard letters from Target $1.00 spot.
*I have had this layout in my head for a few weeks, I am glad to finally have it out on display!

A surprise for ME!!

You can imagine my surprise when the mail lady pulled into my driveway and honked the horn yesterday! That means a package! I wasn't expecting a thing, so I could not imagine what it was. It turned out to be a big ol' priority package from Judy B! Her blog link is on the right margin. I met Judy through SCS and we have been email buddies for 2 years now. Anyway, apparently she sensed my winter blahs, and decided to brighten up my day with a surprise package. Here is what she sent me!!

A John Deere thermometer, (is there a hidden message here?) A SU! SAB Set that I had missed out on called Friendship Blossoms, and the cutest card!! She could not have sent it at a better time! I was just getting ready to start a new scrapbook layout of Beatrice using some cute patterned papers, and the SAB Rubons that match this SAB stamp set. Now I can use the stamps, too!

On a side note, say hello to the newest resident of Pete's Wildlife Museum. He arrived on Saturday afternoon, and I must say, he is quite a different beast!

I will be buried in snow if anyone can't find me. We are expecting another whopper-it went from 6-12 inches last night to 12-15 inches when I turned on the news this morning. Just another day in paradise. Have a Great Tuesday! Keri

Birthday Cake

Happy Monday morning! Vacation is OVER, I am STILL SICK, and back to work first thing this morning. Reanna is eating her blueberries and pancake and fruit loops next to me here in the kitchen, so I thought I would start out my week with a little blogging.


Okay, so here it is, in all it's glory. I told you that I wasn't a professional! But the taste completely outweighs the looks! My friends were pleased with it, and that is all that matters! It took me a while as I still did not feel great, and my hand hurt from all the stars, but boy, did it look good! I made a batch of cupcakes to keep here at home, cause the natives were a bit restless at the thought that there was nothing here at home for them to eat!
It is a beautiful morning, expected to be in the 30's today! We are expecting a snowstorm Tuesday night into Wednesday, with 6-12 inches coming our way....I just keep telling myself that March is just around the corner, and these storms will be fewer and farther between. And the days are getting longer! We push the clocks forward in just 2 weeks!
Have a great day! Keri

New Stamps, New Colors!

Good Friday Morning!! I have been busy this morning! The cakes are in the oven, and I have already made a set of 4 cards! I MUST have a fever! I got an SU! order last Saturday, with all the new In Colors of Cardstock and Ink. Because it is Sell a bration time, I also got the SAB Rub Ons, and SAB So Many Scallops stamp set.

SO! On this thank you note, I used some background paper from Fontwerks, (which goes with the stamp perfectly!) SU! Purely Pomegranate Ink and CS, and Blue Bayou Cardstock. I used the So Many Scallops set, and the scallop circle punch. White ribbon is from Making Memories. This card follows sketch #29 from the SplitCoastStampers Sketch Challenges. Wish me luck on the cake decorating! Have a blessed Friday! Keri

A birthday card and some final renovation photos...

Hello! Hope everyone had a good Thursday! I finally got Cody back home! Since we have been on vacation this week, Cody has been off visiting and "hanging out" with friends and cousins all week! I picked him up from a friend's house today, and we went to Pa and Nana Brooks' for the afternoon. By the time we got home, Peter was right behind us! But one good thing is this: It is still daylight until almost 6 pm these days! We had a great view of the lunar eclipse last night...It was a very clear, and therefore, very cold!


I have been asked to make my first birthday cake for someone-semi professionally, I would say! I can hold my own, and the cakes are awesome tasting, but I am almost completely self taught...So that is what tomorrow holds for me. I will be making a birthday cake! You can watch for the results tomorrow! Speaking of birthdays, I made a card today, geared towards the male persuasion..I am always trying to keep up with my stash of more "manly man" birthday cards. This one uses a stamp set that I had gotten off the retiring list from SU! a couple years ago. I *think* this is the first time I had stamped with it! I used SCS Sketch Challenge #19 ( I think!). The set is Wild Fowl, the cardstock is SU! True Thyme, Handsome Hunter and Very Vanilla. Ink is

SU! Handsome Hunter and True Thyme. Twine is from an unknown source. I also used the SU! Sanded background stamp on the front, but it is hard to see in the photo. I also added a cool watermark to my photo, using Kurtis's (scs)tutorial and my very overwhelming PSE 6 software! Now if I could just remember to add the watermark to my photos!
Now, after much procrastinating, I am finally showing you the finished product of our new family room...***If you do not like dead animal heads and they freak you out, do NOT click on the photos and make them larger!!*** That is the official disclaimer!!
The first two photos are of the back wall, the "wall of fame" so to speak. One is from the landing, one is from floor level looking up. Peter's pride and joy! You can also see the barn beams, the chandelier, and the textured ceiling Peter did!




This is a close up of the border I stamped on two of the walls, using the SU! DD set Pines. It was a bit of a trial/error process, but it looks great now that it is done!
One photo is of the new stairway Peter put in, using antique barn beams as treads. It was a lot of work and figuring, but it was worth it! They are awesome!


The rest of the photos are just different angles of the room, either from the floor, or from the landing coming out of the kitchen . I apologize for the disarray of the photos...I was too lazy to fix them. You can click on them to make them larger, I think! Talk later! keri

My brother, the writer....

This is something that I wanted to share with you all...The time never seemed right until now, but something is telling me to post it for all of you to read!

Most of you probably don't know that I grew up on a dairy farm. Yup, a farm girl! The farm had been in my family since 1865, when my Great Great Grandfather came here from Nova Scotia. We have a lot of information about our ancestry, including a variety of photographs from when the farm began over 100 years ago. In 2001, we lost the farm to fire, and although I know that it was a "material" thing and the health of my father was the most important thing, it didn't make it hurt any less when it was gone. We had a wonderful childhood on the farm...ya know, back when you didnt' have to worry about being snatched off the side of the road, and it seemed like the world ended at the end of your driveway! I will always have those memories, the sounds, smells and visions of how I grew up. I will always thank the Lord and my parents for my childhood. My brother wrote this article commemorating the first anniversary of the fire. He is a minister, and wrote this for the religioun section of our newspaper. Please, if you get a few minutes, take the time to sit and read it through...there is a good lesson in it, and it will give you a little glimpse into how I grew up! Keri

New Buzz and Bloom project is up!

Here it is! My newest addition to the Buzz and Bloom Blog. Go check it out! There are a TON of great posts over there, the Design Team has been very busy, and the results are fantastic! Run, don't walk! Go! Go!! Happy Wednesday! Kerilou

A New Layout!!

Here is a layout that has been sitting around in my craft room half done for well over a month now!! Cody had my camera one day, and snapped this picture of Brodie..We laughed and thought that she looked like those dogs you see on the greeting cards with the big heads and the tiny bodies! All sorts of captions came to mind, but I liked "Bring It" the best...She looks like she is just waiting to take someone on! The patterned paper is retired from Stampin' Up, and the cardstock is Stampin'Up, also. I used the round tab punch for the tabs. The chipboard letters are from Walmart. I used green staples from the Dollar Tree. The caption is a verse from a Billy Joel song...(don't know the title)...cause she IS a LUNATIC! I am very pleased with how it turned out!
On a different note, can I tell you how much easier it is to stick my SC card into the side of this laptop and have the photos pop up?? It is going to be so much easier to get my blogging done! Have a happy Tuesday! *Keri*

Monday Layouts!!

Thought I would dig deep into the files and share a few more projects that I have done in the past, since I have been busy putting the finishing touches on my Buzz and Bloom project for the month.

This is a layout I did for Buzz and Bloom some months ago. It is my Great Great Aunt and her husband. She was Cora Brooks, marrying Fred Gibson. It was not a family photo, either, as my next door neighbor had it for the Gibson side! What a treasure I found. I was so glad she let me copy it!




This second one I did for my father many years ago. Growing up on the farm, this ribbon, article, and photo were always on display...When Mom and Daddy moved off the farm, I took the goodies to preserve them in a way that could be displayed in their new home. In the article, it describes how my father won the ribbon and beat out his older brother. It was a memorable occasion! When I was originally doing the layout, I asked Daddy if he remembered what the cow's name was, and he immediately blurted it right out! "Maple Grove Sylvia"!! After 50+ years, he remembered that name! A memory like a steel trap!


Happy Monday, and if anyone is off like us, have a great vacation! Keri

My Baby Boy!!

This is a layout I did a while ago for Buzz and Bloom. Hard to believe this photo was taken almost 13 years ago! Where does the time disappear to? I loved the large chipboard tokens, and had been saving this large photo for something special. Paper is Basic Grey. Chipboard is Buzz and Bloom. Have a blessed Sunday! xo Kerilou

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! I know it has been a while, I have been hibernating! I decided to come out just for today! I have two very special people in my life that I made special valentines for this year. One is my best friend, Judy. She is Cody's busdriver of sorts...she picks him up for school every morning when she brings her boys, and drops him off every afternoon. She is such a blessing to us! She refuses to take any money for gas, so I get her with treats instead! The second person is actually Judy's sister in law, Julie. She is the school nurse, and takes special care of Cody at school. HE thinks she is his personal assistant..I feel to much better knowing she is there if he needs anything...She calls home for him, lets him use her bathroom, she even helped him with his locker the first day of 6th grade last year...She is my angel!! So, I put together a couple of goodie bags for my two gals...
I made a batch of "Aunt Sandy's Cookies" with Valentine M&M's. I put them in really cute bakery bags I found at the Dollar Tree.


Next, I made them each a Valentine Card, and a matching altered frap bottle filled with candy. I hope they like their treats! I sent them to school with Cody this morning!


On a side note: I am now the new owner of a laptop! It is going to take some getting used to-so who knows what the photos in my blog posts will look like for a while. I am dealing with all new photo editing software, so resizing is anyone's guess. Bet a little extra patient with me for now! Have a great day! Keri

Proof Positive!!

Here is my proof! Not saying that any of YOU would doubt me, but when I tell anyone how high my 8 month old Australian Cattle Dog pup can jump, they look at me like I was sniffing something...Cody recently entered a contest at school to get something of the "cool" variety published in this year's yearbook...They had to enter a paragraph stating what they wanted to submit-and the yearbook committee thought the prospect of a dog jumping 5 feet in the air was a worthwhile submission-without even knowing if it was true! So here is Brodie Blue, jumping 5 feet, straight up!
Happy Tuesday!! xo Kerilou

Comic Relief....

We are sitting here in anticipation of another big storm! We are expecting a half inch of ice, and several inches-at least 9, of snow. After the ice storm of 98, I am making sure to be prepared..Oil lamps will be filled, I will fill the washing machine and several pails of water, and gather up the flashlights and candles. If it was just snow, it would not be a big deal. 9 inches is nothing. It is the ice that is concerning. School was cancelled, and Cody and I have already gone to town to gas up the truck. Now we wait, and hope that Peter comes home early from work so he is safe at home!

I found this in a file that I was cleaning out, and thougth I would share it with you. It is one of those lame emails that travels around more often than not. It does ring very true, however, and thought some of you could relate...I added my own comments on the ends of the statements.


Jeff Foxworthy on Upstate New York

If you consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling through 36 inches of ice and sitting there all day hoping that the food will swim by you might live in Upstate New York.

If you're proud that your region makes the national news 96 nights a year because Saranac Lake is the coldest spot in the nation and Syracuse gets more snow than any other major city in the US, you might live in Upstate, NY. (Saranac Lake/Lake Placid is where Peter has been working ALL WINTER~)

If your local Dairy Queen is closed from October through May, you might live in Upstate New York.

If you instinctively walk like a penguin for six months out of the year, you might live in Upstate New York.

If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance, and they don't work there, you might live in Upstate NY. (nothing wrong with helping out!! )

If your dad's suntan stops at a line curving around the middle of his forehead, you might live in Upstate New York. (Daddy has a farmer tan...Peter has the forehead tan line!!)

If you have worn shorts and a parka at the same time , you might live in Upstate New York. YUP

If your town has more bars than churches, you might live in Upstate New York.

If you have had a lengthy phone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you might live in Upstate New York. (All the time!!)

YOU KNOW YOU ARE A TRUE UPSTATE NEW YORKER WHEN:

"Vacation" means going South past Syracuse for the weekend.

You measure distance in hours. Uh-huh

You know several people who have hit a deer more than once. ME, ME!!

You often switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day and back again. In the car, yes..

You can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a
raging blizzard, without flinching. (Bring it on, baby!)

You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked.

You carry jumper cables in your car and your girlfriend/wife knows how to use them.

You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit. (Our halloween costume WAS our snowsuit!!)

Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.

You know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still
winter, and road construction. Yup

You can identify a southern or eastern accent. Always!

Down South to you means Corning.

A brat is something you eat.

Your neighbor throws a party to celebrate his new shed. Well, yeah!!

You go out for a fish fry every Friday.

Your 4th of July picnic was moved indoors due to frost.

You have more miles on your snow blower than your car. (We don't have a snowblower...we have a redneck plow..see below...been working great for 3 years now! 2x4 framework, and wide boards for the plow...a swingset chain hooked to the front to lift the plow while you back up! Works like a charm!! )



You find 10 degrees "a little chilly." 10 degrees is heaven!!

You actually understand these jokes, and you forward them to all your Upstate New York friends and to those who've seen your license plate!!


Here is hoping that everyone is having a safe day in the bad weather that is crossing the country, and I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!! Kerilou