Ever see a smilin' salamander??

No?!?! Well, my friend, this is your lucky day!



I keep saying the wildlife pics are dwindling, then I come back with something else I have found! We were all outside over the weekend, and Cody looked down and under my chair, this little guy was truckin it across the grass!! We have seen salamanders from time to time, but usually they are under piles off wood, somewhere moist and dark. This one was right out in the open! Peter and I saw another one a few years ago that was at least double the size of this one, if not bigger. HUGE!! I wanted to take a few pics, to share with you. This little guy sat right up on Cody's hand and it looked just like he was grinning at my camera! Just another example of the Lord's work! And of course, my cutie patootie had to get his mugg in the shot, too!





I was also the very fortunate recipient of a new stamp set today! A while back, a fellow SCSer, Dini, got in touch with me for some input on a stamp set she was designing for Our Daily Bread Designs. She found me, because I head up a card ministry at my church. I told her that one stamp I had always thought was a great one, but that I could never find, was one for churchgoers who haven't attended church, and were missed by the congregation. She took my suggestion into consideration, and made a stamp in her set that says "You have been missed"!! As a thank you, she had a set of the stamps sent to me. It is a beautiful set, and I am so proud and pleased to have it! Thanks, Dina! You can visit Dina's Blog HERE! Her work is gorgeous, her blog inspiring! Here is a link to the stamps! I think they are great! Check out the retail site, their stamps are beautiful!
That is it from Northern NY! Have a good one!
**Keri**

Notice anything different!?!?

Good morning everyone! Hope everyone had a smashing weekend!! Here, it was great! Just not long enough, ya know? Friday night we laid low and recuped from a busy work week. I had all three of my babies ALL day on Friday which almost never happens, so it was interesting. The are almost 4, almost 3, and almost 2. Oye.
On Saturday, I stayed home and worked around the house, while Peter went to the woods and got his new hunting camp parked. Oh yeah-I forgot to share that..Would you belive that someone actually gave this camper to Peter's sister, and she decided she didn't want it, and passed it along to my hubby for a hunting camp? Granted, it was pretty trashed, and we worked night after night to get it fixed up, but we put no money into it, and it looks pretty good now!




So, he parked that and cut some more wood. We went on a date Saturday night and Cody stayed with is Nana and Pa.
Yesterday we did pretty much the same, I went to church and brought Cody home with me. We stayed home the rest of the day, but we did go for a small ride and I took some of my first fall photos! All in all, it was a good weekend, it just went by to quick!
Here are a couple of cards I made recently, both of them seafood oriented, but I assure you, that was merely a coincidence! This first one uses the retired SU! set, Angler. This has got to be THE hardest stamp I have ever colored. I used Always Artichoke and Mellow Moss Cardstock and Ink, as well as the Weathered Background stamp, Basic Black Cardstock, and Jet Black Staz On ink. I colored the image with Sansodor and Prismacolors. This next card is more kiddo oriented. I used SU! retired stamp set fishy friends. I stamped the image in Jet Black Staz On ink, and colored using blender pens and ink in the lid of the inkpad. The patterned paper is retired SU!, that my bud JudyB managed to find for me. I used Real Red and Only Orange Cardstock, random eyelets, and the Happy Birthday sentiment is from Purple Onion Designs. I feel like that crab needs a pair of maracas or something!


So, as you can see, I did one more thing over the weekend. It was time for a new blog look, for autumn! I got a great landscape photo of some fall foliage yesterday, so I decided to dress it up a bit. I took three of my all time favorite fall photos, and digiscrapped them onto the larger landscape photo. This is my first real experience putting something like this together, with digital patterned paper, brushes, and even a frame! All I can say is, it is a good think I still only have access to dial up here at home, and it takes so long to download the digital components. I really enjoyed putting my new header together! SO, WHAT DO YOU THINK!??
Have a great Monday!!
**Keri**

Happy Belated Birthday Wishes!

Happy Weekend to you all! I have to confess, I have been very bad about birthdays lately. Really, all year! I don't know what has gotten into me! One of the birthdays was last April, and I just got her present to her last week! Fortunately the second birthday was beginning of September, so that one wasn't quite so late!
So, for my buddies, JudyB and Lisa Renea-Happy Birthday MONTH and I am so glad you liked your goodies.
Here is what I sent them-they were guinea pigs for new projects I wanted to try!!
I made this pop top can full of a "remedy" for whatever ails ya! I think this idea is so cool, and recently got the proper can opener, and got to make some! I have to admit, it is hard to find pop top cans with a ridge on the bottom these days. I decorated the can with a cool stamp from Purple Onion Designs that says "Warning--May Be Habit Forming." It was perfect! Background paper is Basic Grey. I embellished the top with some decorative circle punches. I love how puzzled everyone is by these cans!!



Here is the card I made for Lisa. We both share a love for many things redneck, country, tractor, etc. We both love to sport our John Deere baseball caps. I have been wearing my camo JD hat lately, to commemorate the start of hunting season! I decided to "girl it up" a bit and make her a pink tractor card. I embossed the BG with the cuttlebug, and left the top empty for the celebrate sentiment. I divided the two areas with two lines embossed with a bone folder.
This is the square card I made for JudyB. The card base is ready made, and I used matching cardstock colors, and a sketch from SCS to make this card. I hand cut the circle, and did the scallops individually with my corner punch. Where they didn't meet up evenly on the edge, is where I covered it with the postmark. Rooster is SU!, and the postmark stamps are from Purple Onion Designs.
This is one of those nugget tins everyone was freaking out about last fall/Christmas. I was fortunate enough to get my hands on a couple dozen of them. I didn't have any nuggets, though, but I had some Godivas that fit fairly well. I colored the tin with alcohol inks that Lisa sent me some time ago, and it just screamed fall! So, I crafted a kind of "sleeve" and made a chipboard label with a fall sentiment from Purple Onion Designs on it. Fab!
So that is it! I am currently pretty well caught up on stuff-which is good, cause it won't take me long to get behind again!
Enjoy your weekend!
**Keri**

Ghoulishly Good Cookies....

I have an old stand-by chocolate cookie recipe that I adapted last night into a Halloween recipe. I know, a bit early, but I wanted to give it a test run, so I could share it on here, in case anyone else wanted to try it!
I found these great new Halloween M&M's at K-Mart the other night, and their colors are so cool! Much better than the traditional orange and black, these also contain a slime green color, and a great purple color!!

Of course, being the peanut butter lover I am, I also added some Reese's Peanut Butter chips to the recipe!

Ghoulishly Good Cookies
2 cups All-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cups butter or margerine
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
Half bag of peanut butter chips
Half bag of Halloween M&M's

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix flour, cocoa, soda and salt.
Beat butter and sugar in a large bown until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating well. Stir in M&M's and peanut butter chips by hand.
Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-9 minues. (Do not overbake; cookies will be soft. They will puff while baking and flatten while cooling.) Cool slightly and transfer to a cooling rack.

**I placed extra M&M's on the tops of the cookie dough before placing them in the oven!**

Here is how they came out!!

And here is the Code Man taste testing one RIGHT BEFORE SUPPER!! Doing his best to look like a complete goofball!!
Please, try my recipe and let me know what you think!!

**Keri**

Home Grown...

Good Sunday morning, everyone! I would like to show you what I came up with, because of Ike! Yes, Ike even effected us, way up here! The wind picked up on Monday morning, and the power was out for 6 hours! No computer and TV means work can be done! I did everything I possibly could do without electricity! I also was able to do this card: Another fall one, being apple country up here, I thought this was fitting!


Here is what I used:
SU! Cranberry Crisp, Very Vanilla, Kraft Cardstock
K & Co. Patterned Paper
SU! Cranberry Crisp and Basic Brown Inkpads, Tim Holtz Antique Linen inkpad
SU! Retired set, Sun Ripened II
Sentiment-not sure!!
Chipboard is from a giant Joann's generic pack
Brands, ribbon, unknown
Coloring was done with sansodor and Prismacolors.
Also used the paper distresser.

Have a Blessed Day!
**Keri**

Happy Birthday, Buzz and Bloom!

UPDATE::
Buzz and Bloom's birthday celebration was such a success! We had tons of fun with the competitions, challenges, and chats, of course! BUT the fun is not over! CLICK HERE to see how you can still participate in the celebration's festivities and win BIG PRIZES!! Come on, join the fun!!

September 21, 2008 marks the 5th birthday of Buzz and Bloom! They are a scrapbook supply and rubber stamp company out of Australia that I design projects for. It has been almost 3 years, and they have been so good to me. They have sparked my creativity, and enabled me to get "things done" when I otherwise would not have taken the time! They have great stamps, as well as a wonderful line of chipboard elements, among other things. If you have a chance, stop by their site, or the blog, and check out the details of the cyber celebration they are having! It begins tonight at 8pm, eastern time, tomorrow if you are in Australia. We will be chatting, cropping, and there will be challenges and prizes. I will be there, so if you want to chat, stick your head in and say "hey!" Click HERE for a complete run down!
I also have a new project up on the Buzz and Bloom Blog, titled "You Let Him Do WHAT?!" Click here if you would like to check it out. Here is a sneak peak at the finished layout:

Hope everyone has a great weekend, and I hope to see you tonight!!


**Keri**

Guess what we got??

We got hit with our first hard frost last night. We covered the pumpkins and morning glories, but covering a whole patch of sunflowers was kind of difficult. I was so sad walking by them last night after being at the pumpkin patch. There were so many that didn't even get a chance to open! I could just cry!
The morning glories fared quite well, the pumpkins will have to be harvested this afternoon. The frost was so heavy that the sheets couldn't protect them. Have a Happy Friday!



**Keri**

Frogs of New York State

Hello there! I hope things are going well for you this week so far! I don't know about where you live, but here, in Northern NY, we have been OVER RUN with frogs all spring/summer, and now fall! They are everywhere! Cody and I have been spotting and photographing these little critters for a couple of months now, and I have a bunch of them to share with you!
I looked up a spot on the New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation site, that talks about NOT taking frogs, but you are allowed to pick them up, photograph them, and re release them! They also had a great PDF that we looked at, to try to identify the frogs we saw. I am not 100% certain that I have id'd them correctly-one would think that it wouldn't be too difficult, but some of the frogs were the size of a dime, and it was difficult to get a good look!

This first one is a Gray Tree Frog we spotted at my Mom's, during camp. I was driving out of the driveway, and saw something on their plant hanger. It was a little frog, with a bug in his hand!! They change colors, here, he is lime green. We didn't seem to bother him at all, he just sat perfectly still!
This is another Gray Tree Frog, that we spotted on the side of my neighbor's house. He is the same as the one above, just different camo. Here he is green with white patches, black dividing the areas.


Here is the same frog, after Cody picked it up! Look at the drastic change in color! Amazing! I just love to hear these little guys outside the house during the summer!

This one is the tiniest one I found. That is my huge amazon lady hand, and the frog is about the size of a dime. I have identified him as a spring peeper, but he is so tiny, and the photo wasn't great, so I can't be sure!

This is another one we found outside my neighbor's house. I think he is a Spring Peeper, too. You would not believe the HOURS I spent online trying to find photos to compare these frogs to. This one has a very prominent "nose". Again, not sure!!


This is one of two identical frogs that Cody brought home from his cousin's house in soda bottles. I scolded him, we took photos, and let them go. This one is a wood frog. He has the prominent brownish black lines on the sides of his head, and the ridges on his back. Very cute!

So there you have it! Soon, all the summer wildlife will be gone, and fall will be here! There are a few trees already starting to turn, and I have been hearing Canadian geese a few mornings this week. A sure sign! Autumn here in the adirondacks is stunning! Hope you liked our collection of frogs!!

Have a good night,

**Keri**

Splitcoaststampers Sketch Challenge 193

I was in the mood to make a card, the other night, at I just loved the sketch for this week's challenge over at Splitcoaststampers. I have had this old, retired SU! stamp set for a long time, and this one stamp had never even seen ink! So, in honor of fall rolling in, here is my interpretation of the sketch!

Here is what I used!
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Kraft, Very Vanilla
Patterned Paper: Daisy D's
Ink: Basic Brown, Tim Holtz Vintage Photo
Stamps: SU! Country Pleasures, Purple Onion Designs Sentiment
Tools: distresser, circle punches, hole punch.
Colored with prismacolor pencils and Windor and Newton Sansodor
Thanks for stopping by, and have a great weekend!
**Keri**

New Followers Feature & Buzz and Bloom!

FYI- I posted a new Buzz and Bloom project on the blog! In honor of their 5th birthday, I made a birthday card, and a congratulations card. CLICK HERE if you want to see them!!
Here is a sneak peak:

Buzz and Bloom will be having an interactive birthday celebration very soon to celebrate, so check back for details very soon!

Also, Blogger has added a new feature called "Followers" They announced it a few weeks ago, but has finally showed up! So if you want to be one of my followers, click on the link on the right hand margin. If you want to add this gadget to your blog, go to your layout page and click 'add a gadget' and it will add it to your margin for you. Can't wait to be someone's follower!!

Have a great night, everyone!

**Keri**

My Friend Brenna

I thought you all would like to meet my new friend Brenna! I met her at camp working in the snack bar. She is the firecracker that sent me all the great Mooers Camp photos. Brenna lives in Kentucky and is in her last year of college. Oh, how I wish that Kentucky was closer to New York! She is the cutest little red head you will ever see. Sweet and kind, and just an all around wonderful person. I thank the Lord for putting her in my life! Here is a pic of us, on our last day on duty. I used some older Basic Grey paper I had been hording! I never realized it before, but I have a tendancy to use the word "wicked" a lot! It was pointed out to my from my new southern friend that that is not normal. So here's to you, Brenna, my wicked good friend!
Love ya, Keri

There is so much going on here, let me see if I can list it all for you!

PP is Basic Grey Aged and Confused Sublime

Cardstock is SU! Pretty in Pink and Gable Green

Chipboard Letters and scalloped circle are from a jumbo pack-Joann's brand, that I covered with BG paper

Chipboard Arrow is Buzz and Bloom

Ink I used was Tim Holtz Vintage Photo and SU! Chocolate Chip

Stamps are Purple Onion Designs Vintage postmark set, Journaling arrow, and Autumn Leaves alphabet stamps and flourish.

Ribbon is Dots, Dashes and Checks from Michael's

Scalloped circle and regular circles, made from SU! Punches.

More Camp Photos...

Good Sunday evening, fellow bloggers! I thought I would share a few more pictures from camp. Hard to believe it has been a month already. I am feeling kinda melancholy tonight, it is getting dark so much earlier, the temps are dipping down, and Cody is back in school. Not to mention all the wood we are putting up for winter! We are up to about 15 of the 20 needed cords of wood.
I miss camp! I miss the warmer temps, the laid back feeling, the gathering of loved family and friends we see once a year, and the closeness I feel to the Lord on that sacred ground. I wish I could box up that feeling and take it with me all year long. Then it wouldn't feel so special, though, would it? I have been attending this camp since 1975, when I was a newborn. I have not missed one year. My parents, grandparents and great grandparents on both sides attended this camp meeting. It is a very special place to me. So here are some pics that my new bud Brenna sent me-I will tell you more about that firecracker soon!
This is the snack bar where I spent most of my evenings. It opens in the afternoons after VBS and at night after evening service. Mooers Camp is an Interdenominational Holiness Campgrounds, this year was it's 105th year. (I think!) Everyone is welcome. Doesn't matter what church you go to!
Anyway, during the afternoon, they sell candy, chips, sodas, freeze pops.
But in the evening.....we cook!! Besides all that was listed above, we also had hamburgers/cheeseburgers, hot dogs, michigans, (both glazier and regular that is), nachos, cheese fries, french fries, poutine, beaver tails, and ice cream. I was the offical scooper of ice cream for 7 nights. I was recently informed that in those 7 nights, I scooped 31 GALLONS of icecream!! That is like 6 five gallon pails!! That is insane!! It was fun, though. I enjoyed the work.


This is the inside of the tabernacle. When the camp was first started, they had ring meetings, where people would stand on the ground, or up on a platform outside, and people would sit in chairs, stand, or sit on the ground and listen. This building is very old, but very well built. The bats like to hang out up in the rafters, so a week before camp, the local fire department comes in and sprays down the inside, to get rid of all the "guano" before camp starts. Can you tell I watch Animal Planet?? Dirty Jobs?? *smile*
There is also a big old dining hall. It seats at least 100 people. This is Rev. and Rev. Kent and Juanita Brooks. AKA My brother and sister in law! Yup, they are both pastors!! They are also directors of the camp. With them is Zeb wanting some real people food!

Here is my niece Beatrice showing off her spaghetti supper. The cook at the dining hall really knows how to cook good food for large numbers...Isn't she cute??
And last but certainly not least is Meems. Miriam. Mimi. I call her Meems. She is a TORNADO!! You know that Travis Tritt song-T-R-O-U-B-L-E! That is her...she keeps everyone busy!! Look at that adorable face!!

Unfortunately,nothing to share of Rachel and Liz-as they are older and try not to hang around too much with the lame parents or nerdy Auntie with the camera. I hoped you liked my little tour of Mooers Camp Meeting. I have a cute layout almost done and ready to share!!

Have a good night,

Keri

New Beginnings...

Good morning, and happy Wednesday! Today is a day of new beginnings at the LaClair house! Today is the first day of school for my now 8th Grader, Cody! I managed to get a snapshot of him before we got in the truck. He looks so tall! Today is also Peter's first day CLOSER TO HOME! He is officially done in Lake Placid. It has been a long 10 months of long days, long hours, and paying huge amounts of $$ for gas. He is now closer to home, 30 minutes to be exact. Better than 90! We live so remotely, that it is 30 minutes to just about anywhere. He is now working on a new fire department/fireman training facility. I found a few links to share with you.
IF YOU CLICK HERE you can see where Peter was for the last 10 months. The Lake Placid Lodge main building burnt over 2 years ago, and he has been rebuilding it, along with the construction company he works for. There is a virtual tour of the outside of the building, as well as a list of room rates. Needless to say, working on the building is the only way Peter would ever be inside!
There is also some pretty wicked decor inside, handpainted fish on some walls, and some cool rustic furniture. CLICK HERE and HERE to take a look at the artisans's work that is in the lodge.

Here is a little "someone" I got close to the other night! Peter saw him in the driveway, and I got some fabulous pictures of him! He is a Cedar Waxwing-and I was so excited to get to see one up so close! They are beautiful birds, but quite elusive. I had seen a mature one a couple months ago gathering nesting materials, and I guess she was successful with her brood. Isn't he adorable? He looks so soft!

I am also hoping someone can help me identify this very different looking plant I saw on my mother's lot the other day. Her home is in a very wooded lot, and the yard edges up with woods on 3 sides. This plant was right on the edge of the wooded area. I took the pic with leaves and berries-the white berries are what I thought was really strange. Anyone know what it is??

Have a great Wednesday, and thanks for stopping by!
**Keri**

Another layout for ya, and a hello!

Happy Labor Day, everyone! It is Monday morning, and I actually got to sleep for a while! Peter is off, but left early to cut wood, so I got to sleep! I hope everyone's holiday weekend is going well. Yesterday after church, Cody and I braved the crowds and finally did school shopping. We had most supplies, but had to get clothes, shoes, etc. The crowds were enormous, that is what we get for waiting til the last minute! We live right on the border, so we have a LOT of Canadian shoppers, too. We got everything done eventually, and I even went to Michael's and took advantage of their sale and picked up a new 12x12 album. My pages were stacking up with no where to put them! I also got a cute pad of MS paper from Walmart of all places. It is really nice, heavy double sided CS-called the playful blue paper pad. It is blues, greens, and yellows, which is my favorite combo! Other than glue, this is the first Martha item I have purchased!! I do have to thank all of you for the paper and website suggestions. I went through my stash last night and found a lot more paper than I thought I had, so I am good for a while.

So, we got Code some jeans, t shirts, socks, unmentionables, and sneakers. Now that he is in bigger boys/mens sizes, it isn't so cheap! WOW! I am relieved to have that painful task done!

So, here is the other 12x12 layout I did at the end of last week. The colors are a bit washed out, but not too bad. This is a photo we took of Brodie the first day we brought her home. I know a lot of people think it is a waste or don't like it for some reason, but I love to scrapbook one photo pages.



Here is what I used:

SU! Retired Spring Flowers Patterned Paper (I will cry when this is gone!)

SU! Mellow Moss Textured CS, Barely Banana CS, Chocolate Chip CS, Pretty in Pink CS

SU! Chocolate Chip Rubons, from SAB (on photo)

{{Moss colored brads from Lasting Impressions, I love them as they come in solid color packs, reasonably priced, in many SU! colors. These are a moss color, but they are called celery. They match the mellow moss to a tee! They are also matte instead of glossy. I get them at http://www.scrapbookpal.com/. This is also were I get my Mono Multi, and my stardust and glaze pens. They also started carrying Nesties, very reasonably priced. $25.00 or more is free shipping, too!}}

Flower cut outs from Cuttlebug asterisk dies. White dotted line is just strips of CS put through the Xyron X.

Chipboard letters are Heidi Swapp. Thanks to JudyL for the RAK many moons ago. They were perfect!!

Ribbon was from Michael's.



So, there is the second layout for my new album! Thanks for checking the blog out, and have a great holiday Monday!

**Keri**