Christmas Ornaments..

I found THIS GREAT LINK last week for a really cute Christmas tree ornament.
Would you believe I had everything to make a couple?? Here is my interpretation of the ornament. The more colorful one is more like the original from the link, the blue/black/white/silver one is more "me" with different wire and some beads added to it. I used SU! scalloped circle and circle punches for the inside, and even added some chunky glitter and snowflake punches to the inside!! One photo is printed in black and white, the other one I gave a turquoise tint to. They really were fun to do, and I am anxious to do some more, of our two dogs!




I have been having trouble uploading photos through blogger lately, so I have been using photobucket. Sorry it the photos are too large, or not clear. I guess I need to sit down and figure out what is going on!
Hope you like these ornaments, and thanks for visiting!!
Have a great day!
**Keri**

Finally!!

I would like to think that this means I get my husband back, but that is never the case. Peter got this 5 pointer on Thursday morning. Meat in the freezer!!


Have a Happy and Blessed Sunday!!
**Keri**

A few great links to share, and more!!

Hello!! I have had an overwhelming comment response for the folded stars and the paper pine cones!! I would love to be able to make up a tutorial, but things are really crazy around here, and the tutorials I followed are certainly fine, so I will share those links with you now!!
Here is the tutorial for the german folded stars. CLICK HERE!!
There are several tutorials for these stars out there, but this one seems to be the best for ME. It is the one I actually learned on, after trying many.
I stated in a previous post that I had found a site to purchase the paper strips from. Well, happy to say, the strips arrived today, less than a week from when I ordered, and they are perfect! CLICK HERE to visit the site for the paper strips. They have proven to be a very reputable site, so feel comfort in ordering!
For the paper pine cones, I found a tutorial on a blog. CLICK HERE for that!
Now, for those of you who read this blog strictly to follow my family's adventures in hunting and trapping,(likely!) this is for you!! Peter and Cody got their trapping certification and their licenses recently. And they trapped their first animal on Monday! I was kind and only posted the back end of the animal. They are around here in HUGE numbers and are doing massive damage to property, roadways, etc. So this is strictly a population control mission. It was actually pretty exciting to see one this close-the bottom of it's foot was squishy like a human foot, and the tail was so cool!


Lastly, I am taking a cue from Tanya over at THE SUNDAY BAKER--click here and posting something I LOVE!! I honestly cannot believe how in love I am with this laundry soap. In fact, I recently found it on sale at Price Chopper, until New Years, and I was so excited I called my Mom to tell her! This is the only store I can find that carries All Small and Mighty SNUGGLE BLUE detergent. It smells divine, especially if you use Blue Sparkle Snuggle Detergent. This laundry soap doesnt' contain the softener, just the smell.. So, if you are looking to try a new laundry soap, look no further!!
I think that is it for now, can't believe tomorrow is Thursday already!
Have a good one!
**Keri**

Do you remember??? And other randomness...

Do you remember when you first started blogging? I do. I don't even know what made me start. Probably just to show off my crafting, mostly. I loved the Pioneer Woman and wanted to share what life was like up here in the North, and I love how she presents her way of life. It was off and on at first. I have found that it is definitely something you have to work at. I still have a few dry spells now and again, but I finally feel like I have a pretty good, established blog, heck, I even have 5 followers now! The one thing I always live by is that I have to put in as much as I receive. That being said, my friend and demo Judy has jump started her blog. IF YOU CLICK HERE you can see her blog, her latest creations, and how talented she is. Mosey on over and give her a shout out. Tell her Keri sent you. She is a great gal, friend, and now my demo for SU!. She has some great ideas!
Okay, now, on to more crafting topics. My first craft camp was on Friday night! I have to admit, I had not had a very good afternoon-you know, one of those days where bad news hits you from every angle? That kind of day. But I pulled up my big girl panties and everyone arrived despite the horrible fog we had! We made the reinker/glitter glass ball ornaments, and I taught the Magic Colored Pencil Technique. Both projects were well received, enjoyed, and boy was it crazy with 10 women here all let loose on a Friday night!
So, I am happy to announce another craft camp! For all my faithful readers who are also members of my stamp group, it is scheduled for Nov. the 28th, (black friday) at 6 pm. We will be doing two projects again. The folded German star ornament, and the paper pine cone ornament.
I think many of you will remember this little project of mine from last year!?

I actually found an online source for the paper strips-I have never ordered from them before, but they seemed reliable, quick to respond to my inquiries and I am hoping that this will solve my problem of making my own strips. I will keep you updated on that!

This is the paper pine cone ornament-I made a few of these last year, and had some express an interest in learning how to make them. So two ornaments, using folded paper! So that is that! I hope that the second workshop goes as well as the first one did-everyone seems excited! Have a great Monday everyone-I have a guest here with me today-my dear hunter husband got a layoff-hoping that it is only a short one-and he has a LIST of things to do-so if I am not back in a day or two, come find me? Please??
Have a great day!
**Keri**

Digital Scrapbooking!?

So, I have finally stuck my big ol' toe in the digital scrapbooking waters!! I downloaded a bunch of freebies a while back, and the mood struck me last night to try my hand at it. I have been slowly gathering necessary knowledge of techniques here and there, and finally learned and practiced enough to do my first set of pages!! I will never go to digital 100%, I love the smell of paper and glue too much, but this is a really great idea for getting a lot of photos in albums in a short period of time. As time has gone by, my paper scrapbooking has been more of a way to showcase some of my favorite photographs, instead of a way to just chronicle our events. With the digital, I can scrap all of those years worth of Christmas photos and get them into an album. The photos are scrap worthy, but not faboo, kwim? So here are my first two attempts. I printed them out 6x6 and they are already in an album! My first goal is to see how many Christmas layouts I can get done with my 4 years worth of Christmas photos currently on my computer!! I have always had a hard time scrapping Christmas, so this has been working good so far!! Please, remember, I am very green at this. What do you think???

**Keri**

Workshop Card, and Buzz and Bloom..

Here is a sneak peak at my latest submission over at Buzz and Bloom!! Can you guess what it is? CLICK HERE to see both projects, and the entire post!

I also finally got a photo of my workshop card. This is what we will be making at Friday night's craft camp. The purpose of this card is to teach the Magic Colored Pencil Technique. I got the basic idea over at SCS, and adjusted it for what I wanted to teach. I thought the balloons would be an easy starter image for the coloring technique, and I love all the bright colors! Here is what I used:

Cuttlebug Embossing Folder-squares

Cardstock-white, tempting turquoise, yo yo yellow, pixie pink, only orange, green galore, orchid opulence, and basic black

Ink-Black Staz On

Clear stardust pen, crystal effects,

After the image was stamped and colored, I went over the black lines with the clear stardust pen, then over the whole balloon with the crystal effects. You can see from the picture below that the crystal effects makes them look like real balloons!! I hope all the ladies enjoy making this card!!
Have a great Wednesday!

**Keri**

Cody's Treasure Hunt Birthday

Happy Election Day!! Have you voted yet?? I went already this morning, to my polling station. Three ladies, and TWO machines!! They now have a machine for handicapped people. COOL! Believe it or not, I actually had to wait in line. There were 4 people ahead of me! I bet I waited at least 2 or 3 minutes! Any wait at my polling place is highly unusual!

So, last Saturday, we hosted a Treasure Hunt in honor of the Code-Man's birthday. I wanted to do something fun that the kids had never done before. With his birthday so late in the season, the weather isn't always the greatest. Thankfully, we took the chance and the weather was cool, but calm and sunny!
I made a slideshow of photos from that day. Cody had 6 friends/cousins over to hang out.
I made all the clues for the treasure hunt, and printed them out on red cardstock. Peter and I went out earlier that morning and hid all the clues so the boys would have a bit of a challenge. They were under rocks, hidden in old dead stumps, anywere an everywhere. We gave them the first clue, and they took it from there. It took nearly 2 hours to complete the hunt, but at the end, each boy found a laser pointer/LED flashlight hidden in the crevices of our wood pile. Some of the clues stumped them more than others, but they had a ball! I had fun coming up with the clues-it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. It was a great day. Hope you like the slideshow!

Have a great day!
**Keri**

Duck, Duck, GOOSE!!

The birthday boy got his first goose yesterday!! I was on my way home from the grocery store early yesterday morning when my phone rang...
Cody: "Hey MOM!!"
Me: "Hey, Bud!"
Cody: "Guess what?? I got one!!"
Me: "One WHAT?" (hey, it's a VALID QUESTION!! could've been anything from a chipmunk to a bear!!)
Cody: " A goose mom....one what...like you had to ask...."
Me: " Yeah, yeah, I know...GOOD FOR YOU!!! Mama will be home soon!!! Did you take pictures yet???"
Cody: " Um NO! I want to wait for YOU!!"
Still my baby!! Anyway, here is my big guy with his Daddy and his goose. First kill with his 20 gauge. Boy, was papa proud!!

We did have Cody's birthday party yesterday. I am still recovering! Watch for a post about the treasure hunt this week. Hope everyone had a blessed weekend. We did!
**Keri**

Happy Halloween 2008!!

Happy Halloween everyone!! Hope everyone is having a fine Friday! I have the kiddos here with me today, so everything is a mess!! Before I show you my Trick or Treats, can I just say, that is anyone knows where my brain went (aka my Charlie Brown spiral bound notebook) please let me know! I can't find that thing anywhere and I NEED it! It holds all my lists of things I cannot forget! Okay, now back to business!
These are my 2008 Trick or Treats. We live in a very remote area, so we only get about half a dozen TOTers. All close friends and relatives. So I can "go out" a little bit and make something special.
I made these bat cookies last night, iced them with royal icing, and sugared them with black crystal sugar.

They are SO GOOD! I packaged them in clear sleeves with an adhesive strip. I also found these cool suckers with pumpkins on them. They are on extra long bouncy straw sticks. Cute!!


I also made these cute little tins for my daycare babies. They are sold at Michael's, and they are the perfect size for circle punchouts in the "windows". They hold a good amount of small candy. I used M&M's, but Skittles would work, too!
I taped the edges to make sure they wouldn't pop open.

For my bigger ToTers tonight, I made nugget boxes. You can find instructions and template for many different sized nugget boxes at www.splitcoaststampers.com.
The one I made holds 8, 2 rows of 4. I covered the nuggets with 1x3 inch pieces of halloween patterned paper, and placed them in the box. The cover sleeve I made out of clear report cover material. I embellished with a cute halloween tag using circle punches, and tied it with some funky orange yarn.



I also have popcorn balls to make, but those are best done fresh, so I won't do them until after work this afternoon.


Well, here's hoping you have a festive evening!
Tomorrow is Cody's party, so we are looking for good weather!
**Keri**

What is wrong with this picture??

There is something SERIOUSLY WRONG here!! This was Wednesday. Just took me this long to post it!


Although some of the snow has melted, when you get 6-8 inches, it doesn't melt THAT fast, and we will have snow on Halloween. Unfortunately, this is not a new situation to deal with around here!!



I will be back a bit later with my official Halloween post! Just have to wait for the sun to come up so I can take some more pictures!
Keri

13th Birthday

The day has finally arrived! 13 years ago today, I gave birth to a 7 pound, 12 ounce baby boy! He was 20 3/4 inches long, and had faint blonde fuzz on his head, except for the back of his head, above his neck, where he had a full fringe of blonde hair. He looked like a little old man! Despite both of us being ill and hospitalized for a week after his birth, we got through it, and here we are, 13 years later! It is really hard to believe that it has been 13 years. We are such a blessed little family, and I am such a blessed Mom, to have such a great son. He is smart, tender, kind, compassionate, and funny beyond anything! He is also brave, always willing to try something new. He is never afraid of what others will think of him. He is perfect! I thank the Lord every day for my wonderful husband and beautiful son. This photo really takes me back! Have a great day! **Keri**

Painted Winter Slates...

Hello Everyone! Happy Friday night! Here is what I have been working on these last couple days. My friend Peg commissioned me to do a couple of slates for her. One for her, one for her Grandparents. She wanted snowmen with family names on it. Here is the finished product! They turned out very cute. You can't tell from the less than stellar photo but there is a slight glittery effect on the snow and snowmen. Now that these are done, I can start thinking about Cody's birthday party, and Halloween! Never a dull moment! Thanks for stopping by!
**Keri**

Guess What We Got??

First of all, this is what I woke up to this morning!! We knew it was coming, after all, who likes to go Trick or Treating without their parka encumbering their every step? Here in Northern NY, it is a Mom's job to make sure the costume fits OVER winter clothing. Seriously!! It is only a dusting, but enough for the deer to start moving, and that is all that matters here these days. No matter that my flower beds are still in a mess, and that I am planning a birthday party a week from Saturday that revolved entirely around a treasure hunt!! It will be gone by noon, I am sure, but this is just a precursor of things to come. I want summer back!! Many of you know already how I feel about this. It is a day of mourning. Meanwhile, my friend Judy will pull in this morning to pick up Cody and she will be singing Christmas Carols. I keep telling her that millions of people all over the world sing Christmas Carols without snow, but she says it isn't the same thing. She calls me a SCROOGE!!
Meanwhile,
I found this link a while ago. A lady over at 2peas had put this ringtone on her hubby's phone without telling him. He then went to a meeting at work where his phone rang and this is what everyone heard. Click on the preview button:
**If you are having a bad day, this will definitely turn your frown upside down. If you don't laugh-there is something wrong with you....and I don't want to know about it...**

More from mario820 at Myxer

Have a great Wednesday, everyone!!
**Keri**

It's HEEERRREEE....

Said in my best Carol Ann poltergeist type...it is almost Halloween, right? Well, now I can do my Tricks or Treats (that's what the Peanuts gang calls em) cause the big brown truck brought my SU! stuff yesterday!! This is a pic off all my freebies. Hostess sets, and stuff I picked from the catalog! Most of the stamps are now die cut, and just need assembling. I am becoming spoiled! I was able to get all the new IN Colors, so I will be excited to try them out! The boxes (4) were huge and heavy, and it took Cody and I an hour and a half to sort everyone's orders! I thank you so much, everyone who came, and ordered!!
This is a shot (no pun intended) of Peter and Cody heading out for a late afternoon hunt. All they saw were squirrels and crows. I love to take pictures of them together, walking away. Cody keeps gaining on his dad in the height department! With his big '13' next week, things like this really tug at my heart!!

Have a great day!
**Keri**

Monday, Monday!!

Good Monday Morning!! What a weekend!! I want to thank you all for being such faithful visitors, I know I have been slacking, and I intend to visit all my blogs and catch up in the next day or two, trusting that nothing else pops up to prevent me in doing so!
First, it is my honor to announce that Buzz and Bloom has released their new Fall Line of Products! CLICK HERE to see the album of new goodies! Below is a peek at what you will be checkin out. New acrylic EVERYTHING, and new chipboard. I had the honor of working with these new products this month for my 19th publish date. Below are tidbits of my two newest Buzz and Bloom projects, that you can see HERE. I am very excited about them, and hope you like them, too! It has been hard keeping them a secret these past few weeks. I love to share my layouts with you all! Check em out!!

Last but certainly not least, I would like to share with you an experience I had yesterday and Praise the Lord for his hand of protection. I am not going to give you all the details, but Cody and I were headed home from my sister in law's house yesterday, and were almost in a violent collision with a speeding car. It was a near miss, the other car was traveling at a fast rate of speed, and came out of nowhere, and I was almost hit broadside on my side. The other car was damaged, but no one was hurt in either vehicle, and I thank the Lord for his mercy yesterday. When I think about what could have happened, I could cry, so I am trying to focus on all the ways the Lord was watching out for us. I have alway readily shared the fact that I am a Christian, but try not to force my beliefs on anyone. I am here to tell you that I am here today but for the Grace of God.
Have a great Monday, and I promise, when work is done today, I will be visiting everyone!
**Keri**

Dishcloths and Scrubbers...

Well, a week ago today, I decided to give crocheting a try. This is what I have come up with so far. 4 cloths and two scrubbers. There was a third scrubber but it is already at my kitchen sink! I made the square scrubber last night and it was much easier to maneuver with the netting. SO, whatdya think?? I THINK I will have to get more netting and yarn!!
Have a great weekend,
**Keri**

Happy Thursday!!

Good Morning, everyone! I know, it has been almost a week, and I have not blogged, or visited any of my favorites, either! Things have been super crazy around here, and I have also been trying to teach myself to crochet!
Our Columbus Day weekend was very busy, Peter helping my parents to put on a new roof, both Saturday and Monday. Sunday was devoted to helping Peter's parents put up some wood-like I know how to do THAT! And there was also a lot of hunting thrown in there, as black powder started on Saturday. Rifle starts this weekend, so I can literally kiss that hubby of mine goodbye! He stayed one night over the weekend at his new camp, and it went well! It was weird for me and Cody, though! I did manage to get a few pictures of our fall foliage during the weekend. Then some strong winds came on Tuesday and blew everything off the trees!



I found this little guy outside the camper out in the woods. He was so cute, and very mellow!!


Things will be picking up around here with a certain 13th birthday a couple weeks away, as well as Halloween. That huge SU! order is expected early next week, so let the stalking of the UPS man begin!! Plus, I need a few things in that order to finish my trick or treats! LOL!
I have also been successful in learning the basics of crochet! All I wanted to do was learn the basics to be able to make dishcloths and scrubbies. I have made two dishcloths so far, and two scrubbies from nylon netting. I will post pics very soon!
Have A Great Day!
**Keri**

Fall Has Arrived!

Fall has officially arrived here in Northern New York! We are in peak leaf color right now, and it has been cold enough to start the wood stove!!
Speaking of wood stove, it takes a LOT of wood to get us through the winter. Peter started cutting the wood in the beginning of August. After two months of cutting, loading, hauling, unloading, stacking, splitting, and stacking some more, we are ready!! And none too soon, either! If you even wondered what 20+ cords of wood looks like, this is it! I had trouble getting back far enough to get the whole section but you get the idea!!


Also, here are a couple pics of my mud slingin boy. He is a mud MAGNET!! These are his good clothes. He never gets a speck of mud on him with his everydays... He would also like to share with you that shooting a mouse caught by his foot with a bb gun, inSIDE Mom's bathroom, was not a great idea. Cody's PSA for the day.




Have a great Friday, everyone!!
**Keri**

Mish Mash Wednesday!!

Good Wednesday morning, everyone!! I have quite an array of goodies to share with you today, a little bit of everything!
First off, I neglected to let you know a couple of days ago, that my newest project is up over at Buzz and Bloom! CLICK HERE if you would like to check it out! It is a Halloween Project, complete with treat, card, and bag! Also, the countdown is on over at Buzz and Bloom for the new products release!! CLICK HERE for more info!

This weekend we hit a milestone at our house, Cody got his first hunting license!! He came through the door last Saturday with THE biggest grin from ear to ear! It is a small game license with a trapping endorsement on it. Looks like all of those HOURS of courses he took paid off! He and his Dad took the trapping course back in the spring, and were both able to get their trapping license this fall! Something new for both of them!


I also finally got to visit the final resting place of Peter's hunting camp(er) this weekend. He put shelf liner in the drawers and cupboards!! He was a regular Martha Stewart! All I have to say is this--it is amazing how domesticated he can be when he wants to....So here he is working away while I was freezing-trying to be the good, and interested wife!!
And here the camper is, out in the middle of podunk...it really isn't that far from his Mom's house, just looks really wooded...This is where my other half will be for the next 2 months every chance he gets!
I saved the best for last, I got a secret sister surprise in the mail yesterday!! I gotta say, whoever this sis is, she knows me pretty well, and also knows my love for the word "wicked" cause she sent me an adorable pair of wicked witch socks, a cute pumpkin pouch with a "wicked" rubber stamp in it, and a perfect secret pal halloween card. She really is something, whoever she is!! I love surprises, and you know Moms don't usually get too many, so this was the highlight of my day! If you are reading this, Secret Sister, THANKS!!
Thanks for visiting, and have a great day!
**Keri**

Weekend Stampin' UP! Workshop!

Saturday was my annual Stampin Up workshop! I had about 10 ladies at my home, but I forgot to take a picture until most of them were gone!! By the time I took these first two pics, it looked like a tornado flew over the table, we were all munching, and tired from all the stamping! It's a rough life!! Anyway, when the weekend was all said and done and I collected a couple of outside orders from hubbies doing their Christmas shopping, my party total was $1400.00!! I am still in shock. I went into the day with no expectations, with the economy the way it is. Several people had asked me if I was still going to have my party, so I went on with it, and boy am I glad I did!! Now the hard part starts-waiting for everything to arrive! Can you imagine the mess I will be in when the boxes arrive and I have to sort it all?? I will definitely make sure that my daycare kids are gone before I even open the boxes!!
My thanks to JudyB for being a rockin' demo and helping me so much!! She created awesome projects and made sure everything was perfect for us!!

This is a picture of the first card that JudyB created for my workshop, using SU! Loads of Love. We masked the truck to stamp the tree in the back, used two way glue on the tree, and added Dazzling Diamonds for snow. Very cute card!!
This is the second card we made, also using Loads of Love. This one is a fall one, using Pumpkin Pie, Bordering Blue, Very Vanilla, and Chocolate Chip! We put the pumpkins and the scalloped circle on pop dots. Love that taffeta ribbon!
And last but not least, this is the dessert I made for the occasion. I got the recipe out of "The Cake Mix Doctor" cookbook that was Grandma Omi's. Mom made it for me a few years ago for a workshop, and I decided to try it myself this time. Fall is the perfect time! If you love pumpkin, this recipe is for you!! You will not be sorry for trying this one, gals....everyone FREAKED about it!! I am sad that it is gone!!

Pumpkin Pie Crumble Cake

1 package yellow cake mix
1 stick of butter or margerine
4 eggs
2 cans (15 0z.) pumpkin
1 can (5 oz) evaporated milk
1 1/ 4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
4 tablespoons chilled butter or margerine
1 cup chopped pecans
Grease and flour a 9x13 inch cake pan. Measure out 1 cup of the cake mix and reserve for topping. Place rest of cake mix, butter and 1 egg in a mixing bowl, and blend. Press the batter over the bottom of the prepared pan. For filling, place pumpkin, evaporated milk, 1 cup of sugar, 3 eggs, and cinnamon in a bowl. Blend until combined. Increase mixer speed, and beat until mixture lightens in color and texture. Pour filling over crust in pan. For topping, place remaining 1 /4 cup sugar, chilled butter, and reserved cake mix in a bowl. Combine until crumbly. Stir in pecans. Distribute topping evenly over filling mixture. Bake at
350 for about 60 minutes. It is done when the center of the cake
no longer jiggles and the pecans have browned. Cool and serve
with homemade whipped cream.

Have a great Tuesday!

**Keri**