It's SNOT allergy season is it?

i feel like crap, i'm so sure you wanna hear ALL about it!!

 a lovely little vignette i've made in our home

 don't judge me, they're everywhere

 sick day must haves: paul frank pj pants (target), socks (i can't sleep without socks, sexy, i know!), tissues (which are NOT puffs and will never enter my home again!), remote (HGTV marathon day).

 ~hello! cute interruption to break up the snot report~

 mother-of-the-year award: cookie dough flurry for breakfast

seriously, could my daughter be the BEST ever? she tapes an allergy pill to my toothbrush every night!

all together now: "awwwwwwwwwwwwwchooooo"

{Please do NOT forget to go to the last post and ENTER my give-away to win your very own copy of my memories suite 2 software

but...if you can't wait use my code (STMMMS83174) for $10 off a copy of software AND $10 off kits in their shop!
use it right here: my memories store}
even if you're not a scrapbooker per say, you want to try this software!
Ok, ok, not you CHRISTINE, i know....

10 Random Summer Things Friday

1. I was contacted by a company about digital scrapbooking... I was given the opportunity to try their software then do a "GIVE AWAY".   I tried it, I LOVED it and I'm gonna give it away... SO please come back next Tuesday for a GREAT give away!  Could I please use the words "Give Away" just 1 more time or 3??

"Give it away, give it away, give it away NOW" ~Red Hot Chili Peppers

Anyway...come back EVEN if you think you're not into scrapbooking, let alone DIGITAL scrapbooking!!!!!!!!

2.  This is my master bedroom now... it's kinda boring.   I haven't known what to do to make it look more "designer like" until...

I found this (the hand painted wallpaper):

 the "how-to" and the template are found here:

Jones Design Company

I'm pretty sure 1/2 way through I'm going to wonder what the *$&% I was thinking, but I also know it's going to be AWESOME!!!... I'll have the "after" pictures to show you in about 10 years...

3. Did I mention I saw the #1 and #2 biggest boars at the Indiana State Fair?

This is #1 (over 1,300 lbs!!!!)

This is #2... and his... let's just say "family Jewels"

4. We have TWINS at our house!!

(and monster mosquitos....hence Darling's face)

5. Super Colon....

the joys of living in a small town... I blurred out this poor girls face and name.  I don't think she wants her 15 minutes of fame feeling a giant polyp in a fake colon.  Don't get me wrong, I get the seriousness of colorectal cancer, but a 20 ft long, 8 ft tall inflatable colon?  You know I couldn't quit laughing!!

6. Darling and I went to the zoo yesterday, we ate these and they were pretty darn tasty!!

7. Anyone else willing to admit they're watching the downfall of our society?

source

8.  Genius!!

source

If you're on pinterest, you can find a lot more photo cheat sheets!  If you're not on pinterest and WANT to be, let me know at chinamommy_04@yahoo.com and I'll send you an invite!

9. It's FRIDAY and I know you do NOT want to miss this!

on IFC

source

10. Please don't forget the hat drive for the kids of China!! I'm collecting new hats for babies thru teens until Oct 31st.  ALL details are in the tab at the top of the blog and you can ALWAYS email me at: chinamommy_04@yahoo.com with any questions!!

Have a GREAT weekend and be sure to check in Tuesday for the Digital Scrapbooking Give-Away!!

The dang fine print...

Don't ya know it, here was my chance at talking the Mister into another little one... All I had to do was collect the $25,000 (all in 1's, of course) and then put them in a huge pile in our living room before he got home!  Trust me, if I could suddenly come up with this chunk of change, I'd be calling my agency....

stupid mustard... contest ended Sept. of 2010.

PS: don't worry "Funny" & Mel, that is NOT an orb, it's only my flash in the dark window!

Off to check my mega millions numbers....

Easy DIY Valentine Banner!!

Oh look what a good girl I am... I said I would show you a DIY and I actually  followed through!  Now, that is progress my friends!

This is pretty easy little project, and takes just a few supplies.  If you are a scrapbooker, you probably have these in your back pocket!

1. scrap booking papers. 

I used 3 different patterns of 12X12 cardstock.

2. hearts.  I cut 3" hearts with my cricut, but you can hand cut or use heart doily's or pre-cut hearts.  You will need 3 hearts per heart...oh, how do I say that? 3 hearts to make 1 little 3-D heart.  Does that make sense?

3. Bone folder.  I used my paper cutter than has a blade that doesn't cut through the paper...

dang, what is that called? SCORING BLADE! Geesh, don't ask how long it took me to find that on google!

the Black one is the scoring blade...

4. Glue. After some trial and error, I found a slower drying glue works best, like a glue stick! You want to be able to move the hearts a bit and line them up before they stick tight!

5. Twine or ribbon or cord...whatever you want to hang it with!

I made my tutorial with some bright pink paper hoping that would be easier to see, here we go...

Grab your hearts and bend them all in 1/2.  If you are using 1 sided patterned paper make sure you fold the pattern IN on itself.

Grab your 1st 2 hearts

See the 2 pink "X's"? Put glue on those sides and glue together.

You'll get this

See the blue "X's"? You're going to glue those together, but 1st, put a bead of glue down the "crack" (a glue like Elmer's is going to be better than a glue stick for this part).  You're going to lay the string in the glue.

To make mine, I decided to put a heart about every 6 inches.  I left the twine on the ball and just pulled off what I needed as I went along.  I knew if I cut it 1st I'd cut it too short... did you know my best grade in math was like a D-?  Numbers are NOT my friend, unless it's 75% off, then I can figure that like an idiot savant!

So there you have it!  And... you don't have to just use hearts, you can use any shape that when folded in 1/2 matches up... I've seen these made with circles cut out of vintage books or sheet music! Very cute!!

 What do you think? Do you like it?  Well, guess what??!! You can WIN this one!  Yep, I'm giving it AWAY!!  You know, 'cause it's MY BIRTHDAY MONTH!!

All you have to do:

1. Leave a comment on THIS post!!  ONLY this post...

Want an extra entry??  Here's how (make sure you leave a SEPARATE comment for EACH entry!!)

• leave a comment
• become a follower
• IF you are a follower, bring someone new on board
• twitter this
• put it as your facebook status
• blog about it

Just make sure you leave me a link to your twitter/blog post.

If you make your own link me to your pictures!

Share the love, I'm almost at 200 followers and you know I'm shooting for 2,000!

We're snowed in again today, so look for more cute papercuts in my store soon

paper cuts are cute!!

Sundays storm = Double Rainbow!

i didn't have any plans to blog today, but i had to post these tonight: a DOUBLE rainbow!!!i just took the dog out to pee before bed, glamorous, i know! Go ahead, picture it: khaki shorts, t-shirt that reads "Barbie dumped Ken" & black rubber boots (not the cute ones with designs printed on them, real kids FARM boots, i call them poop boots) & a small dog on a pink leash... i look to my right & what do i see? a WHOLE 1/2 circle rainbow with another one right above the left side!

so pretty i couldn't quit snappin'...

there is NO way my pictures do it justice.... NO WAY!

I will be announcing the WINNER of the "Cutie~Cupcake" on my blog 1st thing Monday morning!

Yes, it's TRUE... this could be yours! Go back to last Monday's post to get all the details & to enter... go, run now & tell your friends & neighbors!

i was suppose to do my day in pictures yesterday & post them, but let me tell you, my day was SOOOOO boring, i left my camera someplace & forgot about it. So, today is going to be MUCH more exciting & i will post those tomorrow... if i can find my camera!

Sorry this is a short & nothing post but i've got to get on to my adventure for the day.

See these pics below though...

do YOU know what they are? am i the only one just hearing of these?

bento's?! Here is the Wikipedia explanation (LOVE that Wikipedia!).

Bentō (弁当 or べんとう?) is a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine. A traditional bento consists of rice, fish or meat, and one or more pickled or cooked vegetables as a side dish. Containers range from disposable mass produced to hand crafted lacquerware. Although bento is readily available in many places throughout Japan, including convenience stores, bento shops (弁当屋, bentō-ya?), train stations, and department stores, it is still common for Japanese homemakers to spend considerable time and energy producing an appealing boxed lunch.
Bento can be very elaborately arranged in a style called kyaraben. Contests are often held where bento arrangers compete for the most aesthetically pleasing arrangements. Kyaraben is typically decorated to look like people, animals, or characters and items such as flowers and plants.
There are similar forms of boxed lunches in the Philippines (Baon), Korea (Dosirak), Taiwan (Biandang), and India (Tiffin).

these pics are from http://www.bentocorner.com/ and you need to go see these things! Never mind, don't go, i just did & she hasn't been there since 2008! But seriously... would YOU take the time to make these? i mean they are cute & all, but... i have a hard enough time just feeding darling daughter a regular meal let alone make it CUTE! These kill me! Ok, food is NOT my thing. i wish we were like the Jetsons- remember they ate a meal pill!? NOT that i'm a pill popper, i just don't like the work of food. If i could afford a chef to make all my meals i would do that over a housekeeper ANY day! We're still doing the "Skinny B" diet but not the vegan part. We like the milk, we do! Honestly, we are feeling so much better & we're exercising & RIGHT now on the "today" show they're doing "Die Fat or get Tough"... how ironic! Anyway this post is boring me so i'm off like a prom dress!

I'll be back with some NEW ART! Yes, i made it to the studio late last night! Yippeee.... paintings & pendants.

Go enter the cupcake giveaway!

Final Week for Cupcake Contest!

This is the last week to get in on my "Cutie~Cupcake" give away! You need to go to LAST week's "Monday post" & enter there... ONLY enter on that post! I can only check 1 post for entries 'cause i'm simple like that! If you become a "follower" Hallelujah, tell me on that post & if you do a write up on YOUR blog, tell me there too... keep it simple for me people!

Yes, it's true, I have started RUNNING again & let me tell you - at 40 it's not what it was when i was a runner in my 20's! Saturday morning i get up to go for a run (sick, i know!). Darling daughter wants to go, not to run with me, but to be PUSHED in a jogging stroller! I forget i'm not 20 & this is my 1st week back at this, so i agree. To get to the paved road in the subdivision by my home i have to go down our dirt road, past the swarm of deer flies, then onto the other dirt road with the deer flies chasing me, then up a hill, down a hill, around the corner (deer flies in hot pursuit), down another hill & take a right into the subdivision. Darling's stroller is an awesome "Jeep" running stroller with a CD player in it... ever tried to play a CD while running down a bumpy dirt road?- not enjoyable! The constant skipping & occasional note (even by Santana) added to the annoyance of the constant deer fly buzzing around my head! So, i make it to the paved roads & the deer flies go to hide in wait for my return... Now it's paved, but most of it up hill! I run through the development, past every 3rd house that looks alike & head for home... Up the hill onto the dirt where the deer flies have patiently been waiting. Remember the beginning of the run where i was running "down" to get into the sub division? It's all UP now... I get chased all the way back to the house- on dirt, pushing a 32 lb child in a jogging stroller with a SWARM of deer flies after me like i'm a hot young 20 year old. As i'm running, just trying to just GET HOME i notice my butt cheeks now move when i run- as in up & down, up & down... Not the tight hard buns of steel i use to have. i've always loved that line in the movie "Pretty in Pink" when Lona (Annie Potts) is talking to Andie (Molly Ringwald) about her butt: "I used to have a great butt, I DID, I LOVED MY BUTT! I wish I had a photograph!" I remember saying someday i will quote this line & let me tell you friends... that day is here! So, if you are in your ___'s & love your butt- TAKE A PHOTOGRAPH, that is the moral of this here story!Tomorrow i will documenting my day in photo's, so make sure you tune in to see how the uber exciting spend a day on a dirt road in the middle of deer fly country!

Have a great monday & go shop etsy!!

Come on get Healthy... or kinda'

First let me say: WELCOME NEW FOLLOWERS! I'm so excited about all the contest entries: Keep them coming! (Make sure you are going to MONDAYS post to enter- ONLY enter on that post!!) Please pass it on...

So yesterday i have a package in my mailbox- yippeeee! i loves me some mail & especially if it's in a box or large envelope! It was my amazon order... the "Skinny B*$ch" box set & my copy of "the shack" ... quite a combination hun? I've been scanning through my "skinny" book, as i will now refer to it. The language is "rough" to say the least & we (the authors & I) are not on the same page politically AT ALL, but i do think i'll gain some great info out of it without joining peta or giving up milk! My gram just turned 100 & drank whole milk her entire life. If vegan is for you- go for it, but with my Mister in the farming industry (NO- he is not a farmer, don't get me started on what a horrid farmers wife i'd make, think: Green Acres...LOL), it's not for us. I'm not a huge fan of meat, but i just have no desire to give up all animal products regardless of what some say... To each their own, that's what i'm sayin'! I did just turn 40 in Feb. so i WANT to start eating better & have kinda fallin' off the wagon of health & exercise (kinda, but if my cousin is reading this, she's cracking up- she thinks lettuce on your burger is being a "health nut"- love you!!). I've been saying i'm going to start running for ages & so.... TONIGHT, I'm starting again! I was a runner & would really like someone (the Mister...hee, hee) to be able to bounce a quarter off my butt again! Don't worry this blog isn't going to become all about wheat germ & athlete's foot, but it is a place for me to be accountable. If you see me eating a whopper & laying under a booth somewhere, feel free to give me a kick!

Tonight is my darling daughter's 1st golf lesson and i am SO excited & so is she.... aren't you, aren't you?? yes, you ARE!! No, really, she is! I think this is a GREAT sport & something we can do as a family for years & years to come. Plus, i want her to be on the LPGA & be a surgeon on the side... No, i'm not living through her vicariously, i promise!

Sorry this is a photo free post, i personally like some eye candy, i do! I never realized what a TON of work (coming from someone that doesn't have a job- hahahahaha) it is to gather pictures & post them. Oh somebody slap me... TON in capital letters even! TON of work? Seriously, what is wrong with me? hahaha, i kill me! Maybe darling daughter & i will try to do something interesting later to photograph!

Have a great day & don't feel too sorry for me slaving away at the computer gathering photo's for tomorrow's post!

art, giveaways & wedgies at the fair!

FIRST off, i HAVE to mention the Cutie~Cupcake i'm giving away... Go to yesterday's post to ENTER & see the details!! Go, go NOW & tell EVERYONE you know!!!

I don't know if i mentioned we went to the fair last week. A county fair is always a great place to see couture Fashion!

i don't think she's going to lose him... nor will he be shot by a hunter! The local county fair- Once again proving there is someone for everyone!
I'm pretty sure he was with security
is this what they call an oxymoron?
As soon as my book (Skinny B*$ch) comes in the mail, we'll start eating healthy... Until then we had: French Fries with vinegar, ice cream sandwiches and (of course) an ELEPHANT EAR! Darling daughter asked me how they got it off the Elephant- ha!

She's 6 now, but still SO tiny she wasn't allowed on a lot of the rides, but any age can shoot a GUN!

did i mention how awesome the prizes are? who doesn't want an inflatable hammer that says "eat my dust" (perfect for smacking your mom on the bum the rest of the day!). Her outfit cracks me up! Lavender jump suit with a gold metallic cat, makes me wanna break out into "I will survive" by Gloria Gaynor!

I really haven't done much art this summer... It's just too hard with Teddy (the new puppy) and darling daughter. The breeder "puppy-pad" trained him & Grrrrrr.... getting him to STOP peeing on rugs is making me want to pull my hair out. I am constantly watching his water intake & the clock & then yelling for darling to come take him out. Yeah, the work of a puppy... not as much fun as she thought it was going to be! Did i mention she locks herself out of the house every time she takes him out, so no matter what i'm doing at the time (including a shower) i have to run unlock the door!

anyway, i started this several weeks ago & now it's finally hanging!

i usually don't make stuff for our home, so this was a fun project! The little ceramic girl is by Ashley G

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=4187&ga_search_query=ashley&ga_search_type=seller_usernames ... LOVE her stuff!

Happy Tuesday- looks like rain here in W. Michigan! Love to work in the art room when it's raining!
OH... just found this amazing tutorial, a "Frozen Charlotte" tutorial no less! Not sure what this is? Go check it out here on Sandy's Creations:

http://sandy-sandyscreations.blogspot.com/

Sandy's a wonderful artist & will be in Somerset Home magazine soon! WOW! If you love mixed media art & don't know of the Somerset Magazines.... you MUST check them out! Run like a bunny over to Sandy's blog & tell her chinamommy sent you!

enjoy!!