...just gathering pieces...

New Goodies to Play With!

2011-02-17T10:42:00.006-05:00

So this Valentine's DH(dearhusband) and I decided to buy our own gifts-love this idea! My DH is a collecter of dictionaries and his fav is the OED-Oxford English Dictionary. He saw this set on ebay and we decided it would be a great gift for him. Happy Valentines's day, honey!

For me, it's not about cut flowers (although unexpected flowers are nice!) and chocolates. I just like to acquire papercrafting paraphenalia! Maybe one day I will get to play with it but in the meantime, I just gather and stash. Some of my goodies include Tim Holtz's MusicNote Mask, some Grungeboard and Adage Tickets,Little Yellow Bicycle's leaf stick pens, October Afternoon's Note Cards, Gary Burlin's Watch Faces and a punch I have been looking for everywhere and STILL didn't find the EXACT one I want=McGill Punch "Starburst" small version. I am coveting the large "Starburst" and can't find it anywhere!!
Regardless, these are my goodies for V's Day and I am excited to start playing!

Today it's going to be over 50 degrees warm in Virginia in February! Crazy, right?!
So I have finished my new morning routine of dog walk, protein shake, treadmill and now on to the laundry pile!

Have a great day!

Family Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T10:34:00.002-05:00

What a crazy filled weekend! Two birthday parties for John,Girl Scout cookie pick-up and sort for Grace, Science projects to be completed, church, visits to both sets of Grandparents(very spontaneous and needed!)and more! Daddy gave us Valentine goodie buckets filled with chocolates-yummy-and tonight we'll have a family dinner after taekwondo and before a Scout committment-gracious! So I took a few minutes this morning and created a quick banner for the fireplace using construction paper, ribbon and old playing cards. John made the 2 origami swans and the mailbox for valentines. Done! Now for some much needed housework then a trip to Costco then Valentine parties at school.....breathe!
Enjoy your day!

Science Projects

2011-02-14T10:23:00.004-05:00

This weekend's focus was 4th grade Science projects (x2 for twin 4th graders) and even though we've been working on this for weeks, the crunch was on to get everything glued into place! Thank goodness for double-sided tape! Whew-glad that's over!!

Happy Early Valentine's Day!

2011-02-09T22:53:00.003-05:00

Wanted to get these cards completed and mailed last week but life got in the way-which can be a good thing! So, 2 cards down, 10 more to go! I just love Close To My Heart's "Cherry-O" paper and use it a lot. This particular card also includes 2 "Pretty Pins" from CTMH, pink twine from www.TheTwinery.com, assorted ribbon, an old playing card and a valentine doily. The sentiment is from a CTMH acrylic stamp set "You're Adored" and the ink is CTMH Chocolate-how appropriate! The polka-dot card's printed paper is something I have had FOREVER and couldn't find out who carries it. All other embellies are already noted.

Happy Early Valentines to you!

Close To My Heart's "WINGS" just flies!

2011-02-07T11:14:00.002-05:00

Can I just say the pictures of CTMH's Wings products do NOT do the papers and patterns enough justice! THe main patterns are beautiful and black is an incredible emphasis, but I just didn't know if I could work with these jewel-tones. Received my club order Friday and just now opened the box. Oh my gracious! I had forgotten that since CTMH's papers are duo-sided, the pattern is reflected in beautiful soft re-interpretations on the back side! And in the Workshop on the Go package that all the club members ordered, we get a Level 2 kit which includes 2 sheets of each pattern plus coordinated cardstock. Plus this fabulous kit includes a mister, beautiful black embellishments and an incredible stamp set. Can I just say I am so glad I chose this kit!

This new Idea Book is fabulous and I am in love with some of the new products like the blue and green sparkles (new to me!), the chipboard banner, the buttons which include some vintage-style choices and the kraft color-ready borders!! What fun ways to embellish my family stories and memories.

PLUS>>>>the January special to get stamp sets at a great discount after ordering "Wings" was a wonderful incentive. And the Jan Stamp of the Month!! So glad I got this as it fits well with the vintage creations I love.

Can't wait to start playing with Wings!
Wanna play too? Just go to my website www.laurabohall.myctmh.com and start shopping on line!

Happy Monday, ya'all!

Crazy Hair Day!

2011-02-02T11:12:00.002-05:00

enough said!

Where Did I GO???

2011-02-01T21:58:00.000-05:00

Yep, it's been a while since I posted anything. Lots going on including family, holidays, new puppies, PTO. Did some re-prioritizing, and some things fell by the wayside. But that's ok. I'm back and at least I did some journaling so it's all good!

So, fresh start.
My "word" for 2011 a la Ali Edwards is LISTEN. I want to Listen more to my children's unasked questions, my mom's gentle reminders, my husbands' verbal nuances. I especially need to Listen to my Art Soul. www.bigpictureclasses.com is hosting the "One Little Word" class that I so want to take. We'll see.

I need to make a path through my creative space. What I need is a PROFESSIONAL!

I want to start taking some technique classes to incorporate into my art. I love going to www.ellenhuston.typepad.com/the_classroom_new and some of my favorite art bloggers are instructors on this site!

I love creating art and scrapbooking and cardmaking and especially teaching. I am still with CLose TO My Heart and have a "virtual club" that is fun. I can't wait to get inky again and distress cardstock and search out vintage goodies to incorporate into some art pieces. This will all come back and fulfill my ART Soul, soon!

We'll see what the future holds.
Happy February!

...and they called it, puppy looooove...

2010-09-12T20:47:00.002-04:00

Seems like it's been forever that I have been asking my husband about bringing dogs into the family. I was raised with cats and dogs, but Brian only had felines in his life, so he didn't understand the undying loyalty, the love licks and the rewards of owning a dog or two. Until now. We brought the pups home on Aug 22 and our lives have changed drastically! Almost as much as when we brought home the twins!! Baby gates and feeding schedules and making sure the floor is immaculate to avoid choking hazards....and then there's housebreaking....omgracious! And it's soooo worth it.

The kids now know (I hope) about the commitment to raising an animal and how much effort is involved. And how much love. Grace and John are truly in love with these pups, and I am so grateful. We decided to name them Bruce and Bella Bohall. Grace took riding lessons this summer and met a beautiful HUGE, gentle clydesdale named Bruce and the name fit this male pup well. He's a big boy compared to his only brother of the litter who is a runt. The girl dog is named after a character in a current movie that Grace and John haven't seen (ahem-and hopefully won't see!)and we like the fact that Bella translates to 'beautiful' in Italian, which this puppy surely is-just beautiful!

Can't wait to scrap some pages of the newest members of our family. Lots of choices of paper and embellishments with the new Idea book! Or, I can do some digital scrapping through my website with Studio J!! I will be sure to share the results soon!

Have a great week~Laura

UNBELIEVABLE SALE AT CLOSE TO MY HEART!

2010-08-02T23:31:00.003-04:00

CTMH announced last week that ALL current paper kits will be retiring on December 31
2, 4, 6, 8, who do we appreciate?

It’s YOU, of course! We are shouting from the rooftops how much we love and appreciate you! It only makes sense to pass along our appreciation with amazing deals. So for 8 days, August 4 through August 11 (while supplies last), you can purchase select My Stickease ® Assortments for only $2 US/CAN, My Reflections® Level 1 kits for only $4, and My Reflections ® Level 2 paper packets for only $6 online. Visit my website today to see these amazing deals for yourself. You’ll want to shout for joy, too!
WWW.LAURABOHALL.MYCTMH.COM

Item Number Name Price
X7045A My Reflections Vintage Travel Level 1 $4.00
X7045C VintageTravel My Stickease $2.00
X7056A My Reflections Discovery Level 1 $4.00
X7060A My Reflections Heirloom Level 1 $4.00
X7060B My Reflections Heirloom Level 2 Paper Packet $6.00
X7061A My Reflections Floral Impressions Level 1 $4.00
X7061B My Reflections Floral Impressions Level 2 Paper Packet $6.00
X7061C Floral Impressions My Stickease $2.00
X7062A My Reflections Laid Back Level 1 $4.00
X7069A My Reflections Just Chillin Level 1 $4.00
X7069C Just Chillin My Stickease $2.00
X7070A My Reflections Simple Pleasure Level 1 $4.00
X7070B My Reflections Simple Pleasure Level 2 Paper Packet $6.00
X7070C Simple Pleasure My Stickease $2.00
X7071A My Reflections Best Friends Forever Level 1 $4.00
X7072A My Reflections School Zone Level 1 $4.00
X7072C School Zone My Stickease $2.00
X7073A My Reflections Abundance Level 1 $4.00
X7073B My Reflections Abundance Level 2 Paper Packet $6.00
X7073C Abundance My Stickease $2.00
X7075A My Reflections More To Adore Level 1 $4.00
X7075B My Reflections More To Adore Level 2 Paper Packet $6.00
X7075C More To Adore My Stickease $2.00
X7076A My Reflections Sonata Level 1 $4.00
X7076C Sonata My Stickease $2.00
X7077C Sweet Harmony My Stickease $2.00
X7078A My Reflections Cutie Pie Level 1 $4.00
X7078C Cutie Pie My Stickease $2.00
X7079B My Reflections Rough n Tumble Level 2 Paper Packet $6.00
X7079C Rough n Tumble My Stickease $2.00
X7080A My Reflections Route 66 Level 1 $4.00
X7080C Route 66 My Stickease $2.00
X7081A My Reflections Majestic Blue Level 1 $4.00
X7081B My Reflections Majestic Blue Level 2 Paper Packet $6.00
X7081C Majestic Blue My Stickease $2.00
X7082A My Reflections Expedition Level 1 $4.00
X7082C Expedition My Stickease $2.00
X7083A My Reflections Let's Get Together Level 1 $4.00
X7084A My Reflections Floral Tapestry Level 1 $4.00
X7085A My Reflections Everlasting Level 1 $4.00
X7085B My Reflections Everlasting Paper Packet $6.00
X7085C Everlasting My Stickease $2.00
X7086A My Reflections Caprice Level 1 $4.00
X7086B My Reflections Caprice Level 2 Paper Packet $6.00
X7086C Caprice My Stickease $2.00
X7087A My Reflections Enchanted Level 1 $4.00
X7087B My Reflections Enchanted Level 2 Paper Packet $6.00
X7087C Enchanted My Stickease $2.00
X7088A My Reflections Free Spirit Level 1 $4.00
X7088B My Reflections Free Spirit Level 2 Paper Packet $6.00
X7088C Free Spirit My Stickease $2.00
X7089A My Reflections Lifes Delights Level 1 $4.00
X7089C Life Delights My Stickease $2.00
X7090A My Reflections Silhouette Level 1 $4.00
X7090B My Reflections Silhouette Level 2 Paper Packet $6.00
X7090C Silhouette My Stickease $2.00
X7091A My Reflections it’s a Guy Thing Level 1 $4.00
X7091B My Reflections it’s a Guy Thing Level 2 Paper Packet $6.00
X7091C it’s a Guy Thing My Stickease $2.00
X7092A My Reflections Good Times Level 1 $4.00
X7092B My Reflections Good Times Level 2 Paper Packet $6.00
X7092C Good Times My Stickease $2.00
X7093A My Reflections Sweet Pea Level 1 $4.00
X7093C Sweet Pea My Stickease $2.00
X7094A My Reflections Paper Garden Level 1 $4.00
X7094C Paper Garden My Stickease $2.00
X7095A My Reflections Boom-Di-Ada Level 1 $4.00
X7095B My Reflections Boom-Di-Ada Level 2 Paper Packet $6.00
X7095C Boom-Di-Ada My Stickease $2.00
X7096A My Reflections Blue Ribbon Level 1 $4.00
X7096B My Reflections Blue Ribbon Level 2 Paper Packet $6.00
X7096C Blue Ribbon My Stickease $2.00
X7097A My Reflections Game On Level 1 Kit $4.00
X7097B My Reflections Game On Level 2 Paper Packet $6.00
X7097C Game On My Stickease $2.00
X7098A My Reflections Sarsaparilla Level 1 Kit $4.00
X7098B My Reflections Sarsaparilla Level 2 Paper Packet $6.00
X7098C Sarsaparilla My Stickease $2.00
X7100A My Reflections Perfect Day Level 1 $4.00
X7100B My Reflections Perfect Day Level 2 Paper Packet $6.00
X7100C Perfect Day My Stickease $2.00
X7101A My Reflections Magic Moments Level 1 $4.00
X7101B My Reflections Magic Moments Level 2 Paper Packet $6.00
X7101C Magic Moments My Stickease $2.00
X7102A My Reflections Notebook Level 1 $4.00
X7102B My Reflections Notebook Paper Packet $6.00
X7102C Notebook My Stickease $2.00
X7103A My Reflections Aspen Level 1 $4.00
X7103B My Reflections Aspen Level 2 Paper Packet $6.00
X7103C Aspen My Stickease $2.00
X7104A My Reflections Evensong Level 1 $4.00
X7104B My Reflections Evensong Level 2 Paper Packet $6.00
X7104C Evensong My Stickease $2.00
X7105A My Reflection sEmporium Level 1 $4.00
X7105B My Reflections Emporium Level 2 Paper Packet $6.00
X7105C Emporium My Stickease $2.00
X7106A My Reflections Unforgettable Level 1 $4.00
X7106B My Reflections Unforgettable Level 2 Paper Packet $6.00
X7106C Unforgettable My Stickease $2.00
X7107A My Reflections That’s Amore Level 1 $4.00
X7107B My Reflections That’s Amore Level 2 Paper Packet $6.00
X7107C That’s Amore My Stickease $2.00
X7108A My Reflections Daydream Level 1 $4.00
X7108B My Reflections Daydream Level 2 Paper Packet $6.00
X7108C Daydream My Stickease $2.00
X7109A My Reflections Stardust Level 1 $4.00
X7109B My Reflections Stardust Level 2 Paper Packet $6.00
X7109C Stardust My Stickease $2.00
X7110A My Reflections Back Country Level 1 $4.00
X7110B My Reflections Back Country Level 2 Paper Packet $6.00
X7110C Back Country My Stickease $2.00
X7111A My Reflections Moon Doggie Level 1 $4.00
X7111B My Reflections Moon Doggie Level 2 Paper Packet $6.00
X7111C Moon Doggie My Stickease $2.00
X7112A My Reflections Animal Cookies Level 1 $4.00
X7112B My Reflections Animal Cookies Level 2 Paper Packet $6.00
X7112C Animal Cookies My Stickease $2.00
X7113A My Reflections Tinkerin Level 1 $4.00
X7113B My Reflections Tinkerin Level 2 Paper Packet $6.00
X7113C Tinkerin My Stickease $2.00
X7114A My Reflections Bella Level 1 $4.00
X7114B My Reflections Bella Level 2 Paper Packet $6.00
X7114C Bella My Stickease $2.00
X7115A My Reflections Jingle Level 1 $4.00
X7115B My Reflections Jingle Level 2 Paper Packet $6.00
X7115C Jingle My Stickease $2.00
X7116A My Reflections Sweet Home Level 1 $4.00
X7116B My Reflections Sweet Home Level 2 Paper Packet $6.00
X7116C Sweet Home My Stickease $2.00
X7117A My Reflections Grace Level 1 $4.00
X7117B My Reflections Grace Level 2 Paper Packet $6.00
X7117C Grace My Stickease $2.00
X7118A My Reflections Twitterpated Level 1 $4.00
X7118B My Reflections Twitterpated Level 2 Paper Packet $6.00
X7118C Twitterpated My Stickease $2.00

*Available August 4-11, 2010; while supplies last

wanted to share........

2010-07-20T15:01:00.002-04:00

Maya Road is doing sneak peeks of new products they will be sharing at CHA-S soon. SSSOOOO many neat, vintage elements. My fav so far has to be the resin flowers and you can seem them by going to http://mayaroad.typepad.com/mayaroad/
enjoy!!

Smoothies!!!!!!!

2010-07-16T14:08:00.003-04:00

ok, I admit, this has been a slow creative month. Spending a LOT of time with family, which is wonderful, but not getting much papercrafting done! That changes tomorrow cause i get to go scrap with friends. Then next week I will introduce a few ladies to Close TO My Heart products and hopefully begin a mini Scrap Camp. THe new Idea book for CTMH comes out soon-very exciting! ANd I am actually becoming interested in THE REMOTE POSSIBILITY of digi-scrapping...more later....

Anyway, we love making smoothies so the kids came up with a name for this one=Peach Passion! THe recipe is simple--V8Fusion (low sugar) Peach/Mango flavor-about a cup, a small low sugar vanilla yogurt then fruit. We used all produce we bought here at Clarke County Farmer's MArket and had cleaned and frozen for this purpose=strawberries, peaches and cantelope in equal thirds. Soooooo Yummy!!!!

All About Me

2010-07-01T10:11:00.004-04:00

I received an email last night and decided to answer it on here. Good place to keep notes for scrapping later, right? Feel free to copy/paste the questions for yourself.
I was looking for a pic of me and came across this from 2008 of my kiddos at Willie's farm....aahhhhh.......anyway......

***Foodology***

What is your salad dressing of choice?

**balsamic vinaigrette

What is your favorite sit-down restaurant?

**Sucilee's Thai in WInchester, VA

What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of?

**vanilla yogurt with fresh fruit

What are your pizza toppings of choice?

**bbq'd chicken and mushrooms

What do you like to put on your toast?

**cream cheese and sweet jalapeno jam

***Technology***

How many televisions are in your house?

**2

What color is your cell phone?

**green

Do you have an iPod?

**Not yet

***Biology***

Are you right handed or left handed?

**Right Handed

Have you ever had anything removed from your body?

**2 babies!

What is the last heavy item you lifted?

**huge bag of trash

Have you ever been knocked unconscious?

**nope

***Bullology***

If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?

**No

If you could change your name, what would you change it to?

**I wouldn't change my first name. My parents gave it to me.

Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1,000.00?

**naw...at my age it would take a WHILE to get it out of my system! LOL!

***Favoritology***

Season?

**Fall

Holiday?

**Easter

Day of the week?

**Thursday

Month?

**June...school gets out, my b'day, time to chillax

***Currentology***

Missing Someone?

**Yes

Mood?

**Tired

What are you listening to?

**my son playing on his DS and baby goats calling for their mama

Current worry?

**unspoken

***Randomology***

First place you went this morning?

**to the fridge for cold water

The last movie you saw?

**"Alice in Wonderland" w/Johnny Depp

***Otherology***

How many pairs of flip flops do you own?

**1-love em but can't use em with orthotics

Last time you had a run-in with the cops?

**About 3 yrs ago-turned out well.

Last person you talked to?

**John

Last person you hugged?

**John

Do you always answer your phone?

**No

It's four in the morning and you get a text message, who it it?

**trish?

If you could change your eye color what would it be?

**Turquoise

What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic?

**only once-mango!

Do you own a digital camera?

**Yep...couldn't use film again unless my PC died.

Have you ever had a pet fish?

**Yes...way back in Jr High...poor fish...

Favorite Christmas Song?

**I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

What's on your wishlist for your birthday?

**paid museum membership

Can you do push ups?

**nope

Can you do the splits?

**Never

Does the future make you more nervous or excited?

**both!

Do you have any saved texts?

**nope

Have you ever been in a car accident?

**Several fender benders

Do you have an accent?

**after a few drinks

What was the last movie to make you cry?

**Cold Mountain

Plans tonight?

**meeting Brian in town

Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom?

**A couple of times

Name 3 things you bought yesterday.

**Popsicles for the kids

Have you ever been given roses?

**Yes...but I think it's a waste of money

Ever met someone who changed your life?

**Several people

How will you ring in the new year?

**giving thanks to God for helping me through another year

What song represents you?

**good question-I'd have to come back to this one

Would you go back in time if given the chance?

**Absolutely

Do you have any tattoos or piercings?

**Just in my ears.

Does anyone love you?

**Yes

Would you be a pirate?

**nope-can't handle the waves!

What songs do you sing in the shower?

**It varies.

Ever had someone sing to you?

**Yes

Do you like to cuddle?

**Yes, sometimes.

Did you hold hands with anyone today?

**not yet-it's early

Who was the last person you took a picture of?

**My daughter grace

Are most of the friends in your life new or old?

**Pretty even mix.

Do you like pulpy orange juice?

**yes-prefer it!!

What is something your friends make fun of you for?

**being so picky, probably! LOL!

hhhmmmmmm........that was interesting. my answers will be different in a few months, I'm sure.

2010-04-07T20:30:00.000-04:00

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Hell of a book.
What did I learn...that ignorance is bliss? That even if one KNOWS that what they are doing is wrong, the ole' sentiment..."we've always done it this way..." can be used as an excuse? This book should be read in our high schools-in history class, in socialogy classes, in general education classes. This isn't dry facts and dates - this is real, documented stories about what was just happening 50 years ago and what is still an underlying current in many pockets of America. But will this shining work of 'historical fiction' even be considered when book boycotts are still happening in our local schools? Books like "The Color Purple" and "A Handmaiden's Tale" have been stripped from our IB programs for our high schoolers and deemed inappropriate. Is that the path that "The Help" will be made to follow-banned?

I will buy each of my children a hardback version and save it for their high school days.

View all my reviews >>

Birthday Girl

2010-03-22T22:29:00.005-04:00

I am blessed to have 2 sisters and 2 brothers. My youngest sister's birthday was in Feb and I had some photos of when she was little, so I decided to create something for her special day. She is a quilter and very precise with her work, so maybe she will be able to relate to this handmade gift. Hope so!
The birthday fairy on the front of the mini album is a Red Lead Stamp and the young lady on the back cover is from the Tim Holtz Collection. The ink and buttons are Close To My Heart and the paper and embellishments are assorted scraps. Thanks for looking!

Paper Roses

2010-02-28T18:52:00.002-05:00

I am in love with paper flowers of all types and now I can make my own mini-roses! I saw this technique on YOUTUBE but didn't get the artist's name written down. Still searching for that info to share. I love making paper roses with Close To My Heart's cardstock. The inner white core allows you to see the different layers of the rose and gives it a bit of a shabby vintage look. The day after I saw this technique a friend told me she was in need of prayer and support for a serious medical situation. I made this card for her and she told me she received it before she had to leave for the hospital. I'm so glad.
Hope you had a nice weekend!
~L

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T19:32:00.004-05:00

I made a few cards to send out on this special holiday and wanted to share one of my favs with you. This card is made with all Close To My Heart products except for the vintage lace and the figure of the little girl-she is "Country Girl" from Oxford Impressions-love their images! I used "That's Amore" paper pak x7107B because it offers so many beautifully coordinated patterns. The card design is a combination of designs offered in CTMH's card design book "Wishes"-one of my favorite tools. Now instead of taking me hours to create a card, I can easily find one in my "Wishes" book and follow the cutting diagrams including the exact measurements! Thank you, CTMH, for speeding up this process for me-love it!
Last night some good friends watched John and Grace so Brian and I could go to dinner with friends from work. What a rare relief to have an adult-only meal! We need to do that much more often! Today we spent a quiet day at home, exchanged Valentines and little goodies between the 4 of us. THe kids got in some good sledding time and we enjoyed watching the Olympics between doing laundry and naps.
I hope you had a peaceful day too.
~L

CTMH Hearts for Haiti

2010-02-05T21:39:00.003-05:00

Textured paper is one of my favorite tools when it comes to creating scrapbook pages and paper art in any form. Close To My Heart has the most beautiful textured paper and I use it all the time. Right now you and I can make an easy and rewarding donation to the crisis in Haiti using some of this gorgeous paper. Please take a moment to read the details below.

Our hearts go out to the victims of the earthquake in Haiti, and like so many of you, we’re eager to help. We’re excited to announce Close To My Heart’s February Constant Campaign, Hearts for Haiti—where you can get a great deal while doing great good for those affected by the devastation in Haiti.

From February 1-28, 2010, our 12” x 12” textured cardstock combo packs are buy one, get one FREE—and with every offer purchased, Close To My Heart will donate $2.00 to Operation Smile’s Haiti relief efforts.

Order any textured cardstock combo pack at full retail price ($14.95) and receive a second textured cardstock combo pack of your choice FREE. The textured cardstock is printed with our signature white core. Each sheet of textured cardstock features a rich Close To My Heart color on one side and a lighter shade on the opposite side. Combo packs include 24 sheets: 4 each of 6 colors.

Note: You may choose a FREE textured combo pack that is the same or different as the full retail combo pack.

For only $14.95, you get two packs of 12” x 12” textured cardstock (a great deal at about $.30 per sheet!) and Operation Smile will receive $2.00 to benefit the urgent, important cause in Haiti. I encourage you to stock up on every color combination: Basic, Spring Harmony, Summer Celebration, Autumn Harvest, and Winter Cozy.

Operation Smile is always a fantastic charitable partner—offering free facial reconstruction surgeries to needy children throughout the world. They’ve currently marshaled their medical teams and resources to provide emergency relief in Haiti, and the donations given as part of Hearts for Haiti will be used exclusively for Operation Smile’s efforts in Haiti. For more information on their on-the-ground response, you can visit www.operationsmile.org/haiti.

To Place Your Order February 1 - 28...Go To My Website
www.laurabohall.myctmh.com

One Little Word 2010

2010-01-06T15:54:00.002-05:00

Scrapbook Artist Ali Edwards has inspired me to chose a word for the new year that I will embed into my life faithfully. That word is commit. I will commit to completeing projects I have set for myself and my family. I will commit to working on tasks whole-heartedly to completion, rather than laying things aside to be finished later, maybe. We all have the best intentions and I want to commit to many that I have considered over the years, including reaching out to friends that have moved out of the area. And creating a healthier lifestyle for me and mine-better food choices and more outside activities! Prioritizing housework ugh is a big must on my commit list. These sound like New Year resolutions but for me the action is to commit .
Working on this blog is another good example of something I will commit to being active on a weekly or more basis! This chance to have an electronic journal of me and my family is a great tool to record happenings in our life that I can come back to and scrap or simply print out to add to a more permanent "storycatcher" like an album.
So there it is.....commit. Easy to say, easy to understand.

Winter 2009

2009-12-28T10:03:00.002-05:00

...brothers and sisters...

2009-12-28T06:15:00.006-05:00

Mom and her sons - Roy and Richard

Mom and her daughters - Susanna, Peggy and Laura

On Christmas Day we only got pictures of the adult siblings as a group-shame on us for fogetting to put all the cousinz together! We were kinda busy trying to fit everything in before the weather turned icy and made driving off mom's mountain treacherous. These pics were in Grammy's kitchen at the farm in Charles Town celebrating mom's 75th birthday. love ya, Mom!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T22:35:00.003-05:00

Well, can't believe today is almost over. Some much anticipation, hard work, baking, shopping, silly secrets, drawing names, wish lists and on and on.

The funniest part of the past week or so was the kids wrapping items from their room or toy boxes for us using actual giftwrap and tags. I thought they were real gifts till Grace told me they were using things they were done with or tired of like old books or toys....omgosh-that cracked me up! Certainly helped fill out the base of the tree with these recycled gifts! John was actually quite serious about his gift giving and told me he DID NOT want his gifts back when I tried to return a toy plane that was sticking out of the top of my stocking (a week ago!!).

Another funny was last night before bed, Grace was helping me write hint tags for gifts which is a tradition from the Bohall-side of the family. So for a set of tennis balls for Dad, Grace thought up "you'll be making a racket with these!" and for a beautiful mug from a local potter Grace came up with "teaheehee-see you in the morning". Yep, she's a Bohall all right!

We have established a few traditions which work well, so far! Christmas morning Grace and John are allowed to open their stockings and any gifts on the fireplace ledge before Mom and Dad are up. Brian buys and wraps the biggest box of their fav cereal he can find (which of course way over-exceeds the family sugar limit) and adds these monster cereal boxes to the Open Now collection. John was up as his usual crack of dawn and Grace managed to struggle out of her room by 730. By 8am I had a fragrant cup of coffee in our bedroom and a little girl whispering Merry Christmas in my ear.....and away we went! Instead of the mass hysterical shredding of giftwrap we used to do when they were itty-bitty, now at age 8 and 3/4 we TRY to observe and enjoy each gift as it's opened. So we kind of do a round robin and everyone gets a turn. Extra-special gifts are wrapped in one certain patterened paper that we can easily identify. This year it was purple penguins in snow suits (thanks, Target) so the morning rule was you couldn't open 2 purple penguin gifts in a row (this was to stretch out the BIG gifts!)and it worked well. The kids didn't complain and we were really happy this worked!
John's big gifts included an electric aquarium w/images of water and fish-about 2 ft long-really cool-looking and a Razor Scooter which shoots real sparks when you ride the brake. Grace got a camera-which we know she'll share with John-and of course tons of books. I love my watch from Brian and the huge stash of dark chocolate which is mine...All Mine! thanks, honey! I also got a beach chair I had been coveting for a few years-too bad it was delivered with a full description and actual picture of the chair on the outside of the box! heehee! I hate surprises so this was fine by me!

The afternoon was spent at my mom's farm in WV with all of my siblings and spouses and children 9 adults and 6 kids!! Celebrated Christmas and mom's 75th birthday-love you, mom! Lots of fun-our first soup and sandwich holiday meal and quite a success so I hope this becomes a tradition-so much less work and still so yummy! Another first was the adult gift exchange. Happy to say I got mom's name so I ordered her a beautiful hand made hoodie from a Close To My Heart consultant (thanks Nona!-ordered one for my m-i-l and me too!!). My brother Richard got my name and gifted me a very generous gift card to Costco-yay! May save this for Spring and see what comes up in their garden area. :) We all did stocking stuffers for each other, sister Susanna made cd's of family pics-many of which we had never seen from my parents stash of negs-lots of work to this gift-thanks Sissy! Finally home to a huge mess which everyone pitched in to hellp straighten out-some dinner and playtime with gifts and finally---bedtime for Brian and the kids.

Tomorrow evening Brian's brother Rob and wife and 4 kids arrive from Ohio to spend the night then we will all drive down to Fairfax Sunday morning after breakfast. Brian's parents are hosting a meal and get-together and his other brother Ken and wife and 2 girls are already there, so that will be one full house! 8 kids and 8 adults-woohoo! It is really special to have the gang from Ohio come back to VA for Christmas. We only see them in Aug at the beach, so it will be great for the cousins to hang out while the rest of us catch up!

THe house is quite again and I have a chance to breathe and realize how blessed I really am. Today is the anniversary of Jesus's birth and my mom's birth. My family is warm and safe in our home near the Blue Ridge Mtns. The only thing I am missing is my Dad - Roy Alexander Fry. He would have been the life of the party at the farm-great sense of humor and a wonderful family first kind of man. I know he was there in Spirit.

Thank you, God.
Merry Christmas, everyone!

Hey, Santa!

2009-12-22T21:16:00.002-05:00

This card was fun to make because it highlights one of my favorite Christmas stamp sets from Close To My Heart - "Santa's Helpers" retired. I don't own a lot of cutsie stamps but I love this one because I use the CTMH waterbrush and inkpads to color in the images. All of the papers are CTMH and I used real sheet music as an embellishment along with some CTMH Prisma glitter. The punches are all SU except the biggest scallop. That is a new one from Marvy Uchida which I adore! The body of the punch is pale green, which I guess is their new size. Worked out perfectly for this card!
Did some last minute shopping for DH with the twins today. Asked for their input, sent them around the corner for specific items and generally included them in the shopping experience instead of the usual dragging them along behind me. They were so busy with their assignments that there was little or no fussing-yay!
Now to get some wrapping done. It's supposed to get down to 15 tonight which will help "firm up" the sledding trail for tomorrow's guests. Hot chocolate will help warm up frosty fingers and we may even light the fire pit -we'll see!
night, all!

Chistmas Card Countdown

2009-12-21T15:07:00.003-05:00

I had a lot of fun making cards this year. I didn't put any restrictions on myself (i.e. using certain products exclusively)and pulled out embellishments I hadn't seen in a long while. Then I realized how hard it would be to send some of the more flamboyant cards so I had to minimize embellies.......so sad!
This card uses "Graphic 45" paper-love the weight of the paper and that it has different but complimenting patterns on both sides. The felt is Martha Stewart and the bird image is "Crafty Secrets" Heartwarming Vintage. The stamped message uses Close To My Heart letters which of course are my fav and SO easy to use-love acrylic!!!!
So, simple card with a simple message - handmade from the heart.
enjoy~L

Blizzard Crash Taters!

2009-12-19T16:32:00.005-05:00

We are in the middle of Blizzard 2009 in VA. It's gonna be a White Christmas!!
Started last night around 9pm and hasn't stopped yet! We are at 16" approx and it's still STEADY coming down. We know this isn't unusual for our friends up North who live with lake effect snow, but this is real rare for Virginia!! The kids have been outside 3x today helping Daddy clear off the vehicles and do some shoveling and rescuing sleds from a previous snow. We are so excited about sledding around here cause we have awesome rolling hills out in the back field. The firepit is full and covered (if we can find it!) for hot chocolate and sledding friends tomorrow!
In the meantime, I have been cooking and Grace was a big help getting our Crashed Taters in the oven for lunch. Found this recipe on www.thepioneerwoman.com -thanks Ree! and they are awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!! To me, the key is the olive oil. You just can't use too much! Wish I had some fresh herbs but Mrs Dash Spicy worked well plus lots of fresh ground Sea Salt-yummy!

CRASH POTATOES

Prep Time: 30 MinutesCook Time: 25 MinutesDifficulty: EasyServings: 6

Ingredients
12 whole New Potatoes (or Other Small Round Potatoes)
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Kosher Salt To Taste
Black Pepper To Taste
Rosemary (or Other Herbs Of Choice) To Taste
Preparation Instructions
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in as many potatoes as you wish to make and cook them until they are fork-tender.
On a sheet pan, generously drizzle olive oil. Place tender potatoes on the cookie sheet leaving plenty of room between each potato.
With a potato masher, gently press down each potato until it slightly mashes, rotate the potato masher 90 degrees and mash again. Brush the tops of each crushed potato generously with more olive oil.
Sprinkle potatoes with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and fresh chopped rosemary (or chives or thyme or whatever herb you have available.)
Bake in a 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Holiday Bazaars.......

2009-10-21T05:27:00.003-04:00

are a way of life and I love em. Especially around here in rural VA. Everything from handmade soaps to sock monkeys to fresh turnips pulled from the cold garden beds to kitchen handtowels with prayers sewn inside. Our church is no different. Along with handmade crafts there are tables GROANING with baked goods including oatmeal pies and double-layer coconut cakes and snickerdoodle cookies and the last of the summer's perserves which will be perfect on the Thanksgiving table. And then there's the homemade soups we sell by the cup or the quart plus turkey and ham sandwiches and more desserts by the slice followed by super sweet home brewed tea. Hungry? Crums Church Bazaar is on Nov 6th at the Enders Fire Hall from 8am-6pm!! I will contribute a few crafty items made using mostly Close To My Heart products. Hope to see you there!

October Stamp of the Month

2009-10-12T15:51:00.003-04:00

This is what we have been waiting for! New program for purchasing the Stamp of the Month-yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stamp of the Month Customer Program FAQ

1. What is the new Stamp of the Month program?
Under the old program, customers were able to earn the right to purchase the Stamp of the Month at a 25% discount by making a qualifying purchase of at least $25. Under the new system they can do that and more-they can actually choose their own discount (including getting the stamp sets for free) as shown in the following charts:

US Dollars
Spend: Qualify:
$0 to $24.99 Full Price $22.95
$25 to $49.99 25% off $17.21
$50 to $74.99 50% off $11.48
$75 to $99.99 75% off $ 5.74
$100 or more FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2. Can a customer buy the Stamp of the Month with no qualifying purchase?
Yes, the new program allows a customer to buy the Stamp of the Month set at full price with no qualifying purchase. The more they buy, however, the bigger their discount gets.

3. Can a customer buy more than one Stamp of the Month set?
Each customer is only allowed one free or discounted Stamp of the Month set per order, but they can buy as many full price sets as they want.

yayayayayayay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All About Me

2009-09-24T18:14:00.002-04:00

I'm afraid to see how long it's been since I've posted to my blog. Life has been soooooo crazy the last few weeks. So this weekend I am leaving town with some friends to get some serious scrapping done. I plan on working on an album "All About Me" for my focus. That's me in the picture. My maternal grandparents were tenant farmers in Clarke and Loudoun counties, so I got to chase calves when we visited, then go home to Fairfax where life was quite different. But no matter where we were, my father took a camera-thank goodness. Must be where I got my love of photography. I wish I could ask my Dad about some of his impressions of country life. He was born and raised in New York City but loved the idea of raising a family as close to rural areas as possible. Miss you, Daddy.

have a great weekend, everyone, and I promise to share some artwork SOON!!

2009-09-07T08:54:00.002-04:00

IT'S HERE...IT'S HERE!!!!!!!!!!!
Go to my website
www.laurabohall.myctmh.com to see inside!!!!!!!
Just click on Products and you will have your hands on the 2009 NEW Autumn/Winter Idea Book. Scavenger Hunt date with great prize to be nnounced soon!

.......something different........

2009-08-24T10:24:00.005-04:00

Today I want to post something different from my usual images.
This card includes stamped images from CornishHeritageFarms.com, assorted vintage ribbon and lace and everything else is CTMH. I dyed the flowers using CTMH reinkers and used our distressing tools on the edge of the stamped image. This card is for a sweet friend that I missed at an event last night so I'm just dropping her a note to say I missed her. Hi, Katie!

We are just getting back from the most wonderful vacation at Rehobeth Beach, DE. You would think it would be extremely chaotic with 8 kids and 8 adults, but this year that didn't happen!! The kids ages range from 13 to 7 with our set of 8 yr old twins and all the cousins got along beautifully. This photo was a lucky shot since it's so rare to get the 8 of them to hold still together!! The weather was incredible at the water's edge all week-temps in the low 80's. Up on the boardwalk was a DIFFERENT story-almost felt like 900 degrees instead of the posted 96 degrees!
Just gotta add this...while we 4 Bohalls from Berryville were packing the van last Sat morning to start our vacation, one of the kids bikes fell off the top of the van and hit daddy in the head! Had to go to Urgent Care in the next town and Brian got 4 stitches! So after a short rest at home we were on the road by 5pm and at the beach by 930pm-yay! The FIRST day on the beach poor daddy burned his feet on the sand! So he was suffering injuries from his head to his toes and he is 6'4" so that's a lot a hurt! :D) The rest of the vacation was smooth sailin' ....cept for me gettin rolled by the waves 3 different times! Thankfully there were lots of helpin hands and nothing popped out of swimsuits unexpectedly -another yay!

(sorry about the pics not sequencing with the messages-still gotta figure that one out!)

anyway...we're home and school starts wednesday and there's tons of laundry to do and the new Close To My Heart Idea Book will be made public on 9/1 and I start subbing again and I can't wait to get back on my bike and on and on and on.........

talk to you soon!

just a glimpse...

2009-08-12T12:16:00.004-04:00

I just wanted to show a quick glimpse of a soon-to-be available stamp set! This is a 6x6 card I created using the Close To My Heart Sept Stamp of the Month "Treasures". I can't begin to tell you how much I love this stamp set. I'm sure it will be in a lot of my work in the near future. The papers used are from "Perfect Day" paper pak although their colors didn't scan very well at all. Let me assure you this is a beautiful collection of patterned coordinated papers! The crocheted ribbon from CTMH is one of my favorite products of theirs as well as the chocolate ribbon, clear buttons and chocolate waxy flax. Creating is so Fast~Simple~Easy when everything is so beautifully coordinated for you. Thanks, Close To My Heart!

more to come later!

Farewell....

2009-08-09T09:43:00.004-04:00

13 years ago Brian and I decided we wanted cats and knew that 2 siblings would suit us fine. When we went to Ellen and Troy's farm to check out Miss Lucy's litter we had plenty of beautiful choices. First we chose Bluemont because he was the only black cat in a basket of stripes! Then we chose Dulcenea because she had the most beautiful huge eyes and tiny, sweet meow. The entire time we were making these choices, this one kitten kept hopping out of the basket and insisting on attention. I remember because I had to put him back in the basket each time. He was so persistent and playful that we knew we NEEDED him as a good offset to the other two kitties. On the way to the vet we came up with names based on a play we had seen "Man of LaMancha" and this kitten ended up with the name Pedro-named after a loyal fellow. It didn't really sink in what we had done until the vet told us we would get a discount for having 3 cats in the family! It didn't matter because Pedro was so worth it! Not only was he the biggest of the three and of course the alpha cat, he had the biggest purr, the biggest heart and was the only lap cat in the family. One of my favorite things about Pedro was that he would love to run the length of the house at full gallup, and with his tremendous size we had to make sure everyone was out of the way!! There were many times he almost knocked me off my feet and we quickly learned to get the kids to move when we heard him coming. I think it was just a fun release for Pedro because at the end of his run he would stop, look around like "what's all the fuss about?" and then find a quiet place for a nap. Yesterday we had to let Heavy P go home because of a severe illness.

Rest in Peace, Pedro.
We will miss you forever, sweet boy.

2nd Peek at Aug Stamp of the Month

2009-07-31T09:36:00.002-04:00

The more I play with this stamp set, the more I like it. I think that's probably true for lots of stamps I own. I either fall madly for a stamp or I "see" something in it that sparks my imagination. Once I take the time to play with it, the ideas just start rolling!

There are actually 26 seperate stamps in this Stamp of the Month-wow! To qualify for this set you simply order $25 worth of product and earn 25% off the retail value. Place an order for $50 and earn 50% off the stamp set. Pretty easy! And the discounts just continue all the way to earning this set for FREE-wheeee! Go to my website for more details or to place your order after Aug 1.
www.laurabohall.myctmh.com

Have a great weekend~L

Aug Stamp of the Month 1st Sneak Peek

2009-07-29T08:16:00.005-04:00

Stamp Set: CTMH It's Your Day
B&T paper: CTMH Paper Garden
Glitter and Ink: CTMH
other...
Punches: Martha Stewart
Ribbon: Assorted
Flower Soft

card measures 4" x 5 1/2"

When I create cards, I try to do multiple cards at one time. The image is never the same but the materials are usually similar. I like to get as much use out of 1 sheet of 12x12 paper as possible-love my paper! So, my card fronts - or at least the first layer - is cut at 4" x 5 1/2" instead of the standard 4 1/4" x 5 1/2". This way I can save paper and no one even notices the 1/4" missing!

It's raining today and we have swim lessons at 10am so the water and air will be chilly-poor kids! But we really need the rain so there is a bright side...for some of us!!
have a great day~Laura

a bit of fun....

2009-07-19T20:03:00.002-04:00

I found this on the very talented Bren Yule's blog www.theinspirationinstitute.com

You can play this too, just copy and paste, delete my answers & add your own response to paste into your blog or an email to friends…

One Word:
you’re feeling: disappointed
to your left: Books
on your mind: my sister's health
last meal included: fried zuchinni
you sometimes find it hard to: focus
something you have a collection of: birds' nests
a smell that cheers you up: rose oil
a smell that can ruin your mood: car exhaust
how long since you last shaved:a day or two
the current state of your hair: needing color!
the largest item on your desk/workspace right now (not computer): assorted paper
your skill with chopsticks: miserable
which section you head to first in the bookstore: Crafts
…and after that?: historical fiction and then southern lit
something you’re craving: dark Chocolate anything
your general thoughts on politics: thank goodness she's not our VP
how many times you’ve been hospitalized this Year: none, thank God
a favorite place to go for quiet time: I forget
you’ve always secretly thought you’d be a good: Master Gardener
something that freaks you out a little: Heights
something you’ve eaten too much of lately: veg lasagna
you have never: Cheated
you never want to: be Helpless

Mini-albums and a Journaling Chat

2009-07-19T17:35:00.004-04:00

Here are some more images from this album I have been working on in between life, children and summer. The cover says "trip to dc" (as in our nation's capitol-yep, we live close!). All products are Close To My Heart-easy choice there! Used "Emporium" paper which works so well with ANY event, any focus like boy, girl, family, etc. If you click on the image, you can read the journaling. I spoke at a local woman's club a few years ago about the "Art of Journaling" and try to apply it to my own life daily. Hence, the art blog, Facebook, personal journals and scrapbook pages. I usually favor 2 different methods of journaling - either the 5 W's - who, what, where, when, why and will write them out in bullet form. Pretty easy and descriptive. The other method I like is called "story telling", as if you were describing the photo to someone who had no idea who or what was in that photo. Easy to use 1st person or third person speech and can be accomplished in a paragraph or two.

For my mini-albums, I start with 1 page of story telling since it's usually a single event and then add in random comments per picture or page. This will change with the album focus or theme. I plan on doing a few albums like "Top 10 Loves" and "Our Cats" and these won't need as much journaling. Well, maybe...we'll see!

I haven't stopped doing the larger size albums like 9x9 (my fav) or 12x12 but the quick reward of completing a mini album in a day is SO worth the small scale version of a scrapbook!!

One more quick note about journaling. This is a tool you can use especially when you don't have PHOTOS to tell a story. I have very few pictures of my father but I have a few vivid memories that I really need to get written down to save the story . Please consider doing this version of scrapbooking without photos too. You can still use all your tools and resources to come up with a permanent keepsake without pictures.

happy Sunday!

a HUGE CONGRATS to....

2009-07-11T14:25:00.002-04:00

my friend Melissa, who met a personal business goal a YEAR early!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WHOA!!!! Melissa just recently promoted to Director level with Close To My Heart and deserves a thunderous round of applause and lots of hugs and notes of congratulations!! Director level with our complany "equates to a lawyer making partner" and Melissa has worked her patootie off to reach this goal. Please take a minute to visit Melissa on her blog www.fancymelissa.blogspot.com and let her know you heard her wonderful news.

You deserve all the accolades and much more, M!!!!
love ya, gurl!

Mini Album

2009-07-08T00:03:00.002-04:00

I have started working on a mini album using my favorite paper from Close To My Heart called "Emporium", the stamp set "April Word Puzzle" and the "My Creations 3-Ring Binder". Love this size as it measures 5 1/2" by 8 1/2" and is a great size to complete quickly. Can't wait to finish this project and share it with you. Just need to work around 2 different swim classes, my son's taekwando, playdates and sleepovers and all the other fun stuff summer brings. Since there's no routine to our days, it's REALLY hard to get some scrappin and stampin time in for me! The title of this album will be "Trip to DC". Hopefully I will finish this before our next adventure downtown!!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY, EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-07-04T18:39:00.000-04:00

aaarrrggghhhhhh!

2009-06-30T09:48:00.003-04:00

I cannot post a link today! what is the problem???!!!!!!!
here are the links I mentioned in my previous post.
I am NOT a good blogger-might as well go out and mow!
sorry, ladies!

Tresa Black - http://www.fabulouslyartsy.blogspot.com
Melissa http://www.famcymelissa.blogspot.com
Debra http://www.memoriesoftheheartbydeb.blogspot.com
Rachel http://www.wonderfullywhimsy.blogspot.com
Mary http://www.mbryt1.blogspot.com
Jean http://stampingspot.com/blog2

later~L

A Lovely Award

2009-06-30T09:09:00.005-04:00

Oh My Gracious! I have received a "Lovely Blog" award from Miss Fabulously Artsy herself - Tresa Black!

You must check out her blog-she is the creator of the most Fabulous papercraft cupcake. Her work is dreamy! I have followed her blog ever since I met her (quite briefly) at last year's Close To My Heart convention in FL. Thank you, Tresa!

I also want to specifically point out another blog I follow DAILY -my friend Melissa. If you want to meet some one ON FIRE this is the girl to go to! Her creativity knows no bounds and she is the most focused business-woman as I have ever met. Melissa graced me with a blog award a while back and I was really lax about following thru, but not today! Check this firebrand out!!

So now I get to post a few more blogs that are new to me and I follow....hope you will too! We really must support women artists - for ourselves and for our children.

much love~L

Debra-my personal tech support and friend!
Rachel-you inspire me, girl!
Mary-you are "VIRTUALLY" a genius!
Jean-you 'Color my World'!

another Sneak Peek - July Stamp of the Month

2009-06-28T21:24:00.003-04:00

Yep, another 6x6 card-really love this size! My inspiration was from the new card design book "Wishes" from Close To My Heart. I liked the look of a design called "Pieced Together" and just flipped the design on it's side to make it work for me. I used paper from the "Moon Doggie" Level 2 paper pak and of course the stamp set is the FABULOUS "You've Got Flair" stamp set. What I like is how easily I can create patterned paper with these stamps as well as an eye-catching focal point. Next I want to work with CTMH's watercolor pencils and blending pen to highlight some of the great detail work in this stamp set.

Hope you will enjoy this stamp set as much as I do. Just hop on over to my website after July 1st to purchase this set at a discounted rate, based on your total purchase! www.laurabohall.myctmh.com

have a great week!

My Dad

2009-06-21T20:44:00.003-04:00

My father, Roy A. Fry, was born in 1928 in New York City to a very Catholic-based family. He had 1 brother and 1 sister and very interesting parents of English and Irish heritage. Roy studied in the Seminary, fought as a Marine in the Korean War and finally realized he wanted to be an educator. While working as a 6th grade teacher and the principal at the same time at Waterford Elem in VA, he met his soon-to-be bride, my mom Barbara Cooper. They married and moved to Fairfax County where they both worked as teachers and started our family. My father and a few others created the Fairfax School Employees Fed Credit Union and he worked there 1/2 days as the Manager/Treasurer and taught Social Studies in the local high school. Roy was very outspoken about the importance of desegregation in the school employee field, and I now understand better one of the attractions between my parents - their strong feelings that everyone was an equal and should be treated as such. This was a difficult stance to take in the 50's and 60's in the education field-especially this close to the South.
Quickly our family grew to include 5 children in 10 years, and my parents were so very happy. We lost my father to an early death when I was 10 and my youngest sister was 3. I have a few wonderful memories, like when he took us kids out on Burke Lake in his rowboat-aptly named for my mom, the "BarbaraAllyn". Or when he would introduce me to his Credit Union cronies at the summer picnics as his "Laurie-Annie". Then there were the few times when he knew I had sipped from his beer while he was mowing (yucky!) but he never scolded me. I remember leaning out of his parents' sky-high apt in NYCity and him holding on to the back of my shirt. My favorite memory is going to the World's Fair in NYC-just me and my dad-and he let me steer the car while we rode through "It's A Small World". Although I have very few memories of my Father I know he left us a wonderful legacy to live up to as a man of conviction in his beliefs of equality for everyone. This is my legacy to my children, and for that, I thank my parents.
I miss you Daddy and love you very much.

Sneak Peek July Stamp of the Month

2009-06-20T01:37:00.002-04:00

This card is designed as a 6x6 sized card, so I can include a nice long message inside. I used the upcoming Stamp of the Month from Close To My Heart called "You've Got Flair #D1351, available July 1-31 only. Lot's of wonderful patterns in this 8-stamps set. I also used a new paper pack for the summer - Moon Doggie Level 2 and I LOVE the colors! All products on this card are CTMH and you can order them thru my website laurabohall.myctmh.com.
Have a great weekend!!

Summer Boy

2009-06-16T08:45:00.003-04:00

Decided to pull out a few stamps I haven't used in a while. The background is by Cornish Heritage Farm and the boy is Artistic Outpost. The sentiment is CTMH and the crewel work is from a stash of mine from years ago. All inks and paper are Close To My Heart which for me are the best on the market-even if I wasn't a consultant! The ink choices for this card are Honey and Chocolate (umm..yummy!) and the paper is White Daisy and Chocolate. Somehow the very top quarter inch of the scan didn't make it in this picture. Sorry! My forte is NOT working with tech equipment-that's for sure!
Can't believe it's summer around here. The temps are still averaging "Springtime in VA" with lots of rain the last few weeks. That's a good thing since our county has been drought-scared the last few years around this time. Just did our first bush-hogging out in the back field because the grass was soooo tall. The advantage to tall grass is that the wild turkey families can move their babies around sight unseen but the tick population increases like crazee.
Anyway, the warming temps reminded me about this stamp set and I'm glad I found it to share with you.
Have a great day!

School's Out!

2009-06-16T08:01:00.005-04:00

WOW-School's Out! Can't believe John and Grace have graduated 2nd grade. It's going so fast...for me. It feels like just yesterday my girlfriend possee and I were planning playdates at the toddler park EARLY in the day so everyone could get home for lunch and naps. Ah, sweet naptime. :D)
So for now, no more reviewing the school lunch menu for choices on packing or buying, no more remembering to wear red on Fridays for school spirit day, no more standing at the end of the driveway waiting for the bus. No more homework, no more field trips, no more calls at 6am asking if I can sub for a sick teacher.
No more puzzling over "new Math", "a different kind of phoenics" or "Listen to what I learned in Music today, mom"!
No more class parties, no more coming up with a potluck dish for the monthly teacher's lunch, no more waiting in the car-rider line catching up with the other moms.
Hey! School's Out??!! What?! 2nd grade went by so fast...how did that happen?
(I still haven't gotten the hang of inserting photos exactly where I want them so some 'splaining will have to do. The pic of the kids without glasses is the first day of 2nd grade 8/25/09 and the other pic is the last day of 2nd grade 9/11/09. See much difference? Grace has gotten a bit taller over the past year, that's for sure!!)

True Happiness Again!

2009-06-10T20:02:00.003-04:00

Here is another card using this cool stamp set! This card reminds me of looking out my kitchen window at the Blue Ridge Mountains and all the lovely trees and fields. Can't wait to start incorporating the clouds into scrapbook layouts. All the details for purchasing this set can be found in the previous post.

enjoy~L

True Happiness

2009-06-07T19:51:00.002-04:00

Just got this stamp set from the Close To My Heart Summer Idea Book and love it already. Called "True Happiness", this stamp set includes 8 images in acrylic for only $22.95 or $17.90 with your consultant/hobbyist discount! You can find this set on page 57 #D1365. If you order through my website you will get a FREE gift in the month of June. Check out my site for more details

This card uses CTMH "Boom-Di-Ada" paper with chocolate and tulip ink. I picked the ribbon up at an outlet in Hagerstown, MD which I hope to visit again soon.
I love this set because it includes scenery stamps like clouds, mountains, waves and grasslands plus 2 different sentiments-yay!
I will post more pics using this stamp set soon-see you then!

Heartfelt Whimsy Die-Cuts

2009-05-31T22:59:00.003-04:00

Heartfelt Whimsy Die-Cuts...is such a great name for this Close To My Heart product! I am TOTALLY enamoured with these felt die-cuts #Z1145 $9.95 You get three 11 1/2" x 11 1/2" sheets, 1 each in Buttercup, Garden Green and Tulip for only $9.95!!!!!!
I know!! Love it-thank you CTMH!! So I challenged myself to come up with something fun using felt and this was the result. Please accept my apology for such bad pics of this layout. If I had a 12" scanner, life would be so much easier!! I will try taking pics again to get the details but I really wanted to share this. I love using brads on this felt (I used Bitty Brads #Z1051 $5.95) and layering with Edge Anchors (I used "Cottage" #Z1035 $5.95) -cute! I found that I really prefer a wet adhesive to insure the felt sticks to a surface like the Bonding Memories Glue Pen #Z553 $4.50
The paper I used is from "Emporium" paper pak-one of my all time favs, mixed with some "Paper Garden" paper. Isn't it great how so many CTMH papers coordinate with each other?! YAY! Love to save $$ this way so I have more to spend on stamps!!
Oh yeah-the title was created using Color-Ready Alphabets #x5749 $3.95 which are actually perfect for chalking, inking, sponging, etc. but for this layout I wanted something simple so this was a good choice for me. Thanks again, ctmh!
If you read about anything you just have to have-check out my website laurabohall.myctmh.com It's kinda fun to shop from home and have your goodies delivered right to your front door. Or, e-me at laura@bohall.org and I will place your order for you!

hope you had a great weekend~L

......a bit of fun......

2009-05-29T22:26:00.003-04:00

I saw this on Karen Pederson's blog www.karenpederson.blogspot.com and had to do it! FUN! If you would like to participate, just copy and paste this list of questions and change to your answers and post it on your blog with a link to mine. (www.justgatheringpieces.blogspot.com) Then be sure to comment here and let me know if you have done it and include your blog address so I can come and learn more about you.

Here's ME:
Age: 50
Bed size: King
Chore you hate: cleaning the cat boxes!
Dad's Name: Roy
Essential start your day item: ice water
Favorite actor(s): Robin Williams, Meryl Streep, Angelica Huston
Gold or Silver: Silver or Platinum
Height: 5’8"
Instruments you play(ed): Flute
Job title: mom, substitute teacher, scout troop leader, Close to My Heart Manager
Kid(s): Grace and John ~ 8 yrs old
Living arrangements: own a home in Berryville, VA in the shadow of the BlueRidge Mtns near the Shenandoah River with my sweet man Brian and the kiddos
Mom's name: Barbara (Grammy)
Nicknames: Shug (only my DH can use this)
Overnight hospital stay other than birth: multiple hernia repairs after the twins were born
Pet peeves: biogtry
Quotes you like: "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle" ~ Plato
Rightie or Leftie: Rightie
Siblings: Peggy, Roy, Richard and Susanna
Time you wake up: 6:30 a.m. can't miss the school bus!
Umbrella: naw, unless I'm waiting at the bus stop
Vegetable you dislike: where do I begin...brussel sprouts!
Ways you run late: browsing art blogs and cat naps
X-rays you've had: both ankles, right wrist
Yummy food you make: baked chimis-shared this on Jeanette's blog-ahhhh!
Zodiac: Gemini

the Lemonade Award!!!!!

2009-05-20T21:30:00.006-04:00

How exciting! I received my first blog award from my sweet friend Melissa. She is such an incredibly creative person and I am always peeking at her blog for inspiration. I would love for you to check her blog out, and tell her I said Hey!

http://fancymelissa.blogspot.com

I am going to list a few blogs here that I peruse almost daily.
However,........it will be a couple of days before I am able to do this! I am in the middle of a marathon substitute teaching gig finished off with a family trip out of town, so most of my life is on H-O-L-D while these things are going on!
more later!!!!!!!!

June Sneak Peek Time!

2009-05-18T22:46:00.004-04:00

Have I mentioned I'm involved in a 'virtual' card swap? I love it! The paper and stamp set are pre-determined and I only have to make one card (as opposed to 8 or 18 or 80!).

For this card we were to use Close To My Heart "Animal Cookies" from the new Summer 2009 Idea Book and the June (a 'la sneak peek) Stamp of the Month "Tender Tags". I wouldn't normally have paired these 2 products together, but since I was committed to the swap, I worked on this for a few hours and this is what I finished with. What do you think? The paper is hysterically fun for doing kid layouts and actually might work on a "cheer you up" kinda card. The tags I adore and you will be seeing a lot of these in future layouts.
Have you received your copy of the new Idea Book from me yet?
Just let me know and I will get one to you. Or, you can view the online version and place an order on my business website www.laurabohall.myctmh.com

Have a great evening!

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T11:29:00.004-04:00

This is a card I made for my mom, Dr. Barbara Allyn Cooper Fry. My mother is the most gentle, patient, giving Southern woman I know. Her family comes first, no matter what. The biggest thing my mom taught me was that we are all equal, no matter what our differences -social, religious, physical or racial, to name just a few. I value this lesson and try to live by it every day.
Mom was born in Loudoun County, Virginia during a time where there wasn't much diversity locally. Her parents were simple tennant farmers who decided they wanted more education for their children then they had received, so mom spent a lot of time studying at the kitchen table by oil lamp in addition to daily farm chores. She was able to attend college by working her way through on-campus jobs and returned to the Loudoun area to pursue her dream of teaching in the local school system. It was here that she met her soon-to-be husband, my father Roy A. Fry, who was also an educator. My parents moved to Fairfax County, Virginia to take advantage of the high-quality schools and to begin their own family. It was in Fairfax, growing up with children from different ethnic backgrounds that I began to learn my mother's valuable life lesson of equality. It was in the way she treated everyone alike-with respect, no matter who they were. And believe me, I had some extremely different type friends! When I was a teen, I attended one of my mom's PTA meetings where she was the elementary principal. She had to make some tough decisions regarding a school matter, and some parents were very angry and disrespectful. My mom never raised her voice back to these adults. She showed so much restraint that eventually everyone calmed down and listened to her reasoning. Once we were home I marveled at how she didn't lose her temper or hold ill will against the parents. She told me that everyone deserved to be treated with respect, equally, even the angry ones! This was just one of the many ways my mom showed me that I should treat everyone the same-no matter what their differences. I hope to instill this same value in my own children and eventually they will pass the lesson to their children.
thank you, mom, for everything.
love ya~L

Sympathy Card

2009-05-07T09:50:00.004-04:00

Sadly, I have had to create some sympathy cards in the past few weeks. I decided to use "Unforgettable" which is a beautiful line of paper from Close To My Heart and 2 stamp sets that are always within reach. I didn't want to create "make a statement" type cards like I usually do, so this card in particular is pretty pared down.

The paper is "Unforgettable" Level 2 #x7106B and the stamp sets are "Faith" #B1201 and "Comforting Thoughts" #C1088. These products can be ordered from my website www.laurabohall.myctmh.com or email me laura@bohall.org

...we will miss you, Georgia.....

Open House!!

2009-05-02T21:44:00.002-04:00

Want your own copy of the NEW 2009 Close To My Heart Summer Idea Book? Want to play with new products and make a cute card or a layout? Want to see samples of upcoming workshops? Come to my Summer Idea Book Open House!!!!!!!!
May 15 - Friday Night - Crums Church 7pm-10pm
2832 Crums Church Rd

See you there!

...just some really cool news....

2009-05-01T22:17:00.001-04:00

Carol Ann Duffy has been named as the new Poet Laureate, the first woman to be appointed in the 341-year history of the post.
Duffy, 53, who takes over immediately from Andrew Motion and will serve 10 years in the position, says she will give the £5,750 annual payment away.
The author, who is best known for her collection The World's Wife, is also the first Scot to be named Laureate.
Duffy said she felt "very honoured and humbled" by her appointment.
'Truly brilliant'
The poet told BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour she had thought "long and hard" about taking the appointment.
"I look on it as a recognition of the great woman poets we have writing now," she said.
"I've decided to accept it for that reason."
She added: "Poetry is all around us, all of the time, whether in song or in speech or on the page, and we turn to it when events, personal or public, matter most.
"In accepting this Laureateship, I hope to contribute to people's understanding of what poetry can do and where it can be found."
She has said she will donate her yearly honorarium for the new post to the Poetry Society to fund a prize for the best collection of the year.
The job also comes with a payment of a "butt of sack" or, in modern terms, about 600 bottles of sherry.

2009-04-29T08:15:00.002-04:00

http://passionforcrafts.blogspot.com/2009/04/blogoversary-candy.html

Check out this link for a fantastic giveaway! Debbie Doncaster of the UK is super excited about her blogoversary and so am I! Her art is meticulous-ridiculous and her blog is full of good tips!

another sneak peek-May Stamp of the Month

2009-04-24T22:10:00.002-04:00

This card was fun to create. I used all CTMH products including a few tools I haven't used in a while like the corner rounder, long reach punch and piercing tool.

Enjoy!

....sweet morning...

2009-04-22T08:12:00.002-04:00

today is the 14th anniversary of the day my DH (dear husband) proposed. Brian mentioned this to the kids today at breakfast and they were a bit wide-eyed about the event. :D) Grace and John kind of looked at us differently for a few minutes while their Daddy went on about how Mommy was speechless when he proposed and how all she could do was cry. And then this special little family moment passed, daddy headed out the door, we cleared up breakfast and the kids left on the bus.

I am still reliving that moment 14 years ago. We had mentioned getting married and finding a home (not a rental) and starting a family (not anytime soon) but I was certainly surprised by his timing and the proposal itself. Me, speechless? Hard to imagine!

What a good reminder to myself that I need to journal about that special day 14 years ago, maybe find a photo of the 2 of us around that time to add to the memories. Ah, thank goodness for the art of scrapbooking, the act of preserving memories and our stories and the ability to save these special family moments forever.

In the meantime, I think I will add a picture of the 3 most important people in my life from last weekends hike.

Have a great day-Record a special memory while you have the chance!

Another Sneak Peek

2009-04-20T12:14:00.002-04:00

This is a 6x6 card made using the Close To My Heart May 2009 Stamp of the Month called "Be Yourself". All products are CTMH and these colors coordinate with a beautiful new paper pak called "Bella". The colors are Smokey Plum, Olive, Hollyhock and White Daisy.
Enjoy!

My First Family (BIG) Hike

2009-04-18T19:15:00.004-04:00

Since we live at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, we have plenty of places to trail hike, quite close to home. Today we went to Sky Meadows State Park in Paris, VA for my first BIG family hike. My 8 yr old twins and DH (dear husband)have done other trails but I always had something to do. Not today! We opted for a "moderate" level of difficulty with one major steep grade and a fantastic view of the surrounding valley. This was really challenging for me but everyone's help, I made it! I am NOT a great outdoors person but love my family and want to do as much as possible with them, so I am quite happy with the outcome. Plus this was a great chance to check out the park and find a good trail for my Brownie Troop. Oh yeah - I'm going back!
I didn't get to take as many pics as I usually do (probably too busy trying to catch my breath at the top of each trail rise!) but I got a few. I can't wait to scrap these using the NEW Close To My Heart paperpak "Back Country". Here's a sneak peek at the papers and embellishments that I can't wait to use on our Family Hike!

Last Night........

2009-04-17T08:55:00.004-04:00

I was lucky enough to get to see a local production of "The Vagina Monologues" with some very dear friends. The lucky part is that this play would never have received local government support or much area acknowledgement as I live in a pretty rural area. Granted, we are only 1 1/2 hrs West of D.C. but come on, in May our kids get a day off from school to attend the Apple Blossom Festival and some of the 'stars' invited to attend include Erik Estrada and Bo Brice. We are the home of Patsy Cline, for gosh sakes! Regardless, a wonderfully progressive local woman formed a theatre company designed to raise funds for the benefit of social causes. Most of the profit from the 3 performances will benefit a local woman and children's shelter-Amen!
I had seen the HBO presentation of "The Vagina Monologues" several years ago and it was so raw and wonderful and eye-opening and soul-lifting. Last night was just as rewarding with the added bonus of attending with friends. We went to a new restaurant first for sushi and asian-fusion inspired dinner-yummy! Drinks afterwards and I had my first chocolatini-whoa!
Last night..........was so memorable.

Happy Spring, Ya'All!

2009-03-30T12:36:00.005-04:00

http://www.papercraftplanet.com is one of my favorite sites to visit daily. It's a fun place to post your artwork, through groups like stamping using specific companies products. 2 of the groups I belong to on this site are (of course) Close To My Heart and Heartwarming Vintage Crafty Secrets.We offer "challenges" to each other to inspire as well as share ideas. Here are a few cards I came up with based on a HVCS challenge called "Shades of Purple". I love Spring so these cards were so rewarding to create. If you click on the photo you should be able to see a bigger image.

I am blessed to have a few days to myself while DH (dear husband) and the kids are out of town visiting cousins.
Enjoy!

Mini Spring Baskets

2009-03-24T14:33:00.004-04:00

Found the pattern for these cute baskets online and wanted to try them immeaditley! Great way to use up scrap paper and embellishments, and what cute packaging to tuck a gift card or note into! I think the kidz teachers will love them. These would make a very easy workshop, too. Interested? I might just have to schedule something one afternoon!

Homemade Giftwrap

2009-03-23T22:15:00.003-04:00

Stamp set is again "Butterfly Wings" from Close To My Heart. THis is a Stamp of the Month and not availlable after March 31, 2009. My children turned 8 on March 16th so I used this set to decorate some birthday gifts. Loved the fact that i could do some boy gifts with swirls. Liked them even better than the butterflies! I used Hydrangea, Amythest and Sweet leaf CTMH ink on plain white tissue paper.
enjoy!

Masterboard Technique Results

2009-03-23T20:49:00.004-04:00

Sorry for the delay-I guess LIFE got in the way once again!

Basically, I took one stamp set "Butterfly Wings" from Close To My Heart and 3 CTMH colors-Bamboo, Creme Brulee and Olive and Dasiy White Cardstock. I filled in space with these products using a Random Stamping method. I like the colors together and decided they would work well with sepia toned photos. Then, I was able to trim sections from the Masterboard to incorporate into my work, starting with cards and then a layout.

a FRESH start!

2009-03-08T00:28:00.001-05:00

Hello All! Well, it has been a WHILE since I posted! I have been super busy with the Close TO My Heart business plus a part time job, family, life, etc. THe latest thing I have been working on is a "Masterboard". Here is a description taken directly from a Stamper's Sampler magazine..."The Masterboard concept was first introduced in the Nov/Dec 2004 issue of Somerset Studio. The artist creates a "master" by layering many elements of color and graphics together on a page. The process should be reckless and random. Once satisfied, the artist makes several copies of the master. The copies are then used as backgrounds, panels or elements in other projects."Well, I twisted this concept a teeny bit by simply Random Stamping stamps from one set using a variety of colors, then creating cards. No copying needed. Tonight I am using the CTMH Stamp of the Month "Butterfly Wings" and lots of similar colors to see what happens. I really need to bump up my card stash so why not learn a new technique at the same time.I will post samples later.Have a great night!

tweet tweet!

2009-02-03T09:14:00.003-05:00

More Bird Basics! Love the printed paper choices from Close To My Heart which adds versatality to my creations.

all products=Close To My Heart

Bird Basics

2009-01-24T16:54:00.003-05:00

A new stamp set from Close To My Heart, "Bird Basics" has 22 stamps in the set and retails for $22.95. Love it! As soon as I saw it I thought about stamping on patterned paper so the wing spot could act as a peek thru to the pattern. Off to create a scrapbook page with a few 'birdies'.
have a great day!

Bird Basics

2009-01-24T16:50:00.002-05:00

National PaperCrafting Month!

2009-01-23T08:57:00.004-05:00

Did I ever mention that January is my favorite month of the year? Besides the chance to start over with new resolutions, this month has been designated National PaperCrafting Month-yay!! My favorite creative company Close To My Heart always has a WONDEFUL paper and stamp offer, and this year beats all offers ever seen! Take a look at the Key to My Heart kit which includes twelve 12" × 12" B&T Duos™ paper and ten 12" × 12" coordinating cardstock in the new colors of Crème Brulee, Tulip, Sorbet, and Juniper as well as a coordinating E-size Key to My Heart stamp set available at a discount or even FREE! See details on my web site www.laurabohall.myctmh.com

Now that I finally have a chance to play with this beautiful paper and amazing stamp set, I plan on ordering more while I have the chance!

Offer expires 1/31/09 so HURRY and contact me or order straight from my website! ENJOY!!

2009-01-14T19:58:00.002-05:00

This is the new My Creations Cube from Close To My Heart which I covered with "Emporium" paper-also new from CTMH! Each side uses a piece of 5x5 cardstock or printed paper, so it's easy to decorate 2 cubes at a time with 12x12 paper. The calendar images are from the CTMH Jan Stamp of the Month which I have used non-stop since I received it. Works great on cards, desktop calendars, photocubes and more-love it! The pic with the F is the top of the cube and that stamp is from CTMH Alpha Solo acrylic set and the frame behind it is from the CTMH Noteworthy acrylic stamp set. Also used chocolate mini-brads, some ctmh hemp and Liquid Glass on the inside to seal the seams-worked beautifully! All of these products mentioned are available on my website (yes, shameless plug!) at www.laurabohall.myctmh.com

Come by the crop this weekend and take a look at this cube plus a raw one that I haven't started yet.
Hope to see you there!

2009-01-10T20:13:00.002-05:00

I found the following post on a wonderful blog, and I wanted to share it with you. Although I have seen this recently, I didn't record it when I had the chance. Now is the time and I give 100% credit to Becca Feeken and her blog www.amazingpapergrace.com
thank you Becca, for bringing this back into my life.......

Tips for an Exceptional, Superb and Powerful Life:

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to.
3. Buy a DVR. Tape your late night shows and get more sleep.
4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, "My purpose is to__________ _ today."
5. Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm, Empathy.
6. Watch more movies, play more games and read more books than you did in 2008.
7. Make time to practice meditation, yoga, tai chi, and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.
8. Spend more time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.
9. Dream more while you are awake.
10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
11. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.
12. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
13. Clear your clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.
14. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
15. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
16. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.
17. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the energy vampires away.
18. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
20. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
21. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
22. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
23. Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
24. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, and wear the fancy lingerie (not you guys.) Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. What other people think of you is none of your business.
29. Time heals almost everything. Give it time, time.
30. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
31. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
32. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
33. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
34. The best is yet to come.
35. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
36. Do the right thing!
37. Call your family often.
38. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: "I am thankful for __________." Today I accomplished _________.
39. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
40. Enjoy the ride. Remember that this is not Disney World and you certainly don’t want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.
May your troubles be less, May your blessings be more. And may nothing but happiness come through your door!

papercraftplanet

2009-01-04T20:11:00.001-05:00

Country Gurl

2009-01-04T14:59:00.008-05:00

stamp set - "Country Girl" by Oxford Impressions, cardstock & ink - Close To My Heart, paper - unknown, fence, ribbon and frame - all JoAnn's

stamp set - "Country Girl" by Oxford Impressions, paper - Daisy D (retired), ink & cardstock - Close To My Heart, frame - Michael's Necessaties, charm & rickrack - source unknown

I have fallen in love with vintage photo reproduction stamps!

www.OxfordImpressions.com has some of my most favorite photo stamps and the owner/creator Suzane is wonderful to work with. I recently purchased "Country Girl" and love it to pieces. I created similar artwork to this one for a dear friend to give her daughters for Christmas. I must give credit to artist Shelly Hickox of Olive Branch, MS as her art inspired my "Baby Chicks" piece. Shelly's art can be seen in Stampers Sampler, Autumn 2008 in Spotlight:Oxford Impressions.