Homegrown Hospitality

Traveling Trunk Show is hitting the road

I have my first Prima class approved, and while each stores class will be similar...they will all be a little different! Simply Complicated....right? Is there any other way?  So here is the

"My Family Mini Book Class"

Not only will you go home with this cute little 4 1/2 x 5 1/4 mini book, you will also go home with lots of extra product, maybe even a few cards and enough paper to complete at least two 12x12 layouts....who knows what else... ....there just maybe some of these coordinating beauty's to purchase at the traveling trunk show...

My little Prima Trunk Show will be hitting the road and stopping at

September 12

The Pink Pineapple                                                                                                                                                                       751 Shadowridge Drive                                                                                                                                                              Vista CA  92081             (760) 598-2222                                 

http://www.pinkpineapplescrapbooks.com                                                                                                         

September 19

The Scrappin Table                                                                                                                                                                    1225 East Imperial Hwy                                                                                                                                                           Placentia, CA 92870                                                                                                                                                                             (714) 961-8011         

http://www.thescrappintable.com/

September TBD                                                                                             

Timeless Treasures                                                                                                                                                                        30505 Avenida De Las Flores Suite B                                                                                                                                      Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688                                                                                                                                                    (949) 888-7151       

http://www.timeless-scrapbooking.com/index.htm

now to just simply complicate things...in a good way of course...at each of these stores...I will be doing two different classes....but for today, I am just giving PRIMA the spotlight.....tomorrow...I will tell you about class#2.

oh yeah...and I have been up to my eyeballs in creating, that I totally forgot to tell you that I have a new set of stamps....all ready for Christmas....and while I have not gotten any samples done from them yet, I have decided (just right now) to go ahead and put them up on ETSY (yikes..) I am really trying to work out the bugs, fix the shipments, organize the paperwork and correct/refund a few orders, so hopefully we can run smoothly this time around.  I am thinking, hoping & praying that because Valentine is home now, he can will be my shipping guy.  Thank you all for your extreme patience, understanding & support on the little growing pains I have been experiencing...

My commitment is to you is to do better..so with that said...here is a little look at the stamps..

Click here for a link to the shop....

now, you may be thinking, as I do, that you are not really into stamping....well, I would love to think that I invented the idea of stamping an image onto fabric and then stitching it...so I did!

WARNING- my stitches are a work in progress (& thanks to April/May, they are improving) but check out what I did from the chair on the football field..

okay..I have taken up enough of your time....just one last little funny...Ben was setting the table last night for dinner and wanted to know what I put a "Be-Dazzler" on our forks???

seriously, the fact that he called this gem a "be-dazzler" made my heart smile...and for the record...

I am a "WFHM" which stands for "Work From Home Mom" and that means that at any given time...you may find foam pop dots on the milk carton, glitter in the bathtub or "be-dazzlers" on the silverware....

I love my life.  It IS the little things.....Hope you love your life too....

You..me..& everything inbetween

It's not about you.

or me, for that matter, but at the same time..

it is important to be you, and it is important to be me.

GOD made us individual and unique...{well & with long arms}...and why in the world we {or at least, I} spend half of our lives trying to figure out who, what, why, when, where..and how...is crazy, but it is part of life...and makes us who we are today. It is important to BE you....but it is also important to have a center focus..and without HIM, you will spend alot of time trying to figure things out instead of living.

just remember...

to BE loving...BE kind...BE giving...BE humble...BE honest...BE caring...BE gracious...BE creative...BE aware...BE careful...BE faithful...BE forgiving...

I BELIEVE that as long as live by these things, with HIM in the center...then no matter the circumstance, the situation ...everything will BE okay...you just need to have FAITH

so with all of that said, sitting and listening to Obama & McCain on Saturday night at our church was a bit difficult and completely enlightening.  As you know, I am not a real big Political person, so I will not be giving too many of my thoughts & opinions on ye ol' blog but will say, it is very hard, at least for me, to BELIEVE, or maybe a better way to say it, is to have FAITH in the things they say.  I am just BEING honest. I want to trust & believe them, but sometimes, I feel like people say what we want to hear. This is when it is best to rely on FAITH

...HOPE for the BEST and PRAY... 

I will say though, I was completely pleased with the questions & most of the answers...from both candidates & inspired and reminded by Pastor Rick during the message at Sundays service, that we have to right to CHOOSE...& that because of our FREEDOM, we have those rights & as Americans....the responsibility TO VOTE...If not, he recommends, that we move to another country. p.s. Pastor Rick will be on Larry King Live tonight...

Remember..BE YOU & BELIEVE.

Saturday Evening Post...

Thursday-Got up EARLY....did some work....ran for 52 minutes...

went to the beach... got some RAD pictures...NO PRACTICE...so happy Valentine is home...keep remembering that he is home to stay....

Friday-..got up late...almost 7am...that startled ALL of us...I am staying up too dang late with the Olympics....ran...worked...put ALL OF THE LAUNDRY away...and it was "Team Certification Day" aka "Weigh In Day".  For those of you who have not experienced the Pop Warner Football Life..a team is not a team until they have gone through 2 weeks of HELL..I mean conditioning...and then certification...and well, when we first got the word that Ben had 2 weeks to loose 6 pounds..drastic measures and major changes had to be made...fast.

I have been so extremely proud of the changes we have made to our eating habits, and especially for Ben.  He not only has learned so much about football, commitments & responsibilities....but he has learned to taste food, not just eat it...and he has learned how incredibly SWEET things taste, or how SALTY things taste...and well, I am a very proud mother bird to say that Ben lost a total of 8 pounds....made certification and we are super proud of him!! The really great part, is  he is really proud of himself! Yeah Benny! We celebrated with "Wood Ranch" BBQ last night...and he got ribs,fries & lemonade...he ditched the lemonade...too sweet....DEVOURED the ribs and did not finish the fries....Yeah Ben! 

Throughout the past two weeks, I have journaled alot about what He has learned...and what I have learned about him!

Saturday-worked on this class project..received a big ol box of Making Memories stuff...and went to the Obama McCain Civil Forum..very enlightening..very informative...very good.  I am glad we went. I am glad we listened..even if the Valentine & I do not agree, or I guess I should say, have very clear opinions...

I promise to be better at my blogging this next week.....trying to keep the dang ducks in a row and they keep making a circle....

A Good Day

Starting from the end....I finished washing the Crock pot that had been simmering all day long, got the coffee ready for the auto timer to click on in the morning, turned the light above the stove to low, took off my rubber gloves and put them under the sink, folded up the kitchen towel and turned out the kitchen light.  The end of a good day.

From the beginning....kept on cleaning & organizing theShead-Teau....My little cottage bungalow is almost one year old....seems like just yesterday the yard went from this...to this.  Yes, I know, that after almost one year, I have not gotten flowers in the flower boxes or blinds in the windows...but it has been a very crazy year, not that other years haven't been... but I am now dedicated to creating within the confines of the shead-teau....and dedicating the dinner table...to dinner..not paper....which now happily looks back to normal....and well speaking of normal. after two long months (Ben SWEARS it was one year)

 

the Valentine is in the building.  

Yep, after too many weeks of.." I am coming Home"..."A few More Days"..."a little more dirt to move"...""we are leavin at the end of the week" "Not this week"..."Not coming Home"..."coming home...nope not coming home.." On our way..." "Not coming home yet"...

HE IS REALLY HOME....for good.  The boys just about jumped out of their skin yesterday when asked them to "go get the paper" off the driveway"... and he was out there unloading his things...

WE are soooo happy that he is home, and that things will get back to the way we like them to be...

after football practice, we sat down for dinner at the table...all four of us....and just smiled....ate, cleared the table...I finished washing the Crock pot that had been simmering all day long, got the coffee ready for the auto timer to click on in the morning, turned the light above the stove to low, took off my rubber gloves and put them under the sink, folded up the kitchen towel and turned out the kitchen light.  The end of a good day.

just our our wedding invitation read..."Sometimes right in the middle of an ordinary life....Love gives you a fairy tale..."

(insert big content smile)

Operation Creative Chaos

This morning when I woke up, the kitchen counter was COVERED with ALL of the stuff that it now in this basket

and now the counter looks like this...

I am on my way out to the shed to continue my work...

enough is enough.  Operation Creative Chaos is underway...

I will check in later with updates....

When to speak ..when to listen...when to giggle..

I needed to take the day off yesterday, from blogging that is. 

I need to NOT speak....in fact, I was biting "my lip" if you know what I mean...I just needed to work on my class projects, try to keep organizing and stay focused. My day started off a little on the anxious side as I waited for Ben to wake up and tell me that he hates football and does not want to go to practice....by 6am I was totally waiting and watching the clock for him to wake up and say it...and he woke up..and did not say it....did not even mention it.  At one point during the day he said to me "Mom, I have not even cried about football practice today!"  He was was so proud...it broke my heart and made me smile at the same time.   A total "mom" moment....my little boy is growning up.

Today's post is going to be in a newsletter format.  I have lots of random things to say & and things to show you.....so here we go...

HOLIDAY HOME

Thank you for your emails and posts regarding the new & last (insert pouty lip) issue of Homegrown Hospitality, I mean Heart and Home...no...Holiday Home! 

It has been spotted at Barnes & Noble in Texas & in Irvine, CA...and well, I will tell you, that I personally went on my own little scavenger hunt yesterday....and I found it at Von's/Pavillions here in Rancho.

and

SINCE I HAVE NOT SEEN IT YET...............I bought myself a copy. (insert biting lip)

Although there seems to be a lot of "white space" on the cover and in a few of the first pages, the rest of the magazine is so wonderful & I am not saying that "just because", it really is....so cozy and so how I wanted the cover to reflect.  I sat and read the entire magazine at Ben's practice and it really is lovely and full, I mean FULL of things to do, things to make and hopefully some words of wisdom, from me, on inspiring you.....in fact, here is the opening note from me...

 

 

now, I will say, there is one troubling photo in the magazine that happened to be on a two page layout featuring a "Cookie Exchange" I did....I called it "Stop and smell the cookie dough" and well, it is pretty cute and fun, and I just may do this idea as a class (closer to December) but take a look at these cookies ....um...hello......(insert biting lip...again) apparently they did not use my recipe for the cookie photos, which is okay, but HELLOOOOOOOOOO...we will not have these cookies in my class....

are those the flattest things you HAVE EVER SEEN.......it really lightens things up for me...I am gigglin' as I type this...I need to just stop...as I could go on, but I wont.  I am sure they are really good (insert wink)

moving on....(still a little giggly)

LIVING IN A DIGITAL WORLD

I am a "material" girl.  I like hands on projects.  I LOVE paper (duh) fabric (of course) hand drawings & doodles from pens & markers that you hold in your real hand...you know me....I am not Digital.  For me, it is not only rewarding to create, but therapeutic.  I am not digi, and 99% of me will remain true to paper, but I did play with my photos...just a tiny bit...

Original Photo                                                     Altered Photo

This is a big step for me, because while I LOVE to look at all of the great things you can do to photos these days...I choose to keep mine pretty much the same as the way I took them.  I like the "real-ness" of them.  The real color of the sky, the grass (even if it is dead) the real color of the ocean (even though some days it is not real blue)...That is just me.  The way I played with these photos still stay within my boundaries.  I turned them to black & white and then just focused in (with the original color) on the part of the photo that I wanted to focus on....and I love the look.  Even made two layouts with these using PRIMA!!!!! (no flowers though...there are no flowers in football...only HEART, INTENSITY & DESIRE!)

Coincidence...I don't think so!

I sat down this morning to go through my emails.....and got these two..one right after another....I received one from "Foundation For a Better Life" with my morning quote:

“The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them.”

and anther email from Church....saying that John & I had been selected from the lottery seats for this weekends BIG event....

there were100's of thousand's of requests for tickets.  There are BIG dollars seats...and then there are the "free" seats.  We will be on campus in one of the locations where we will see the live feed.  That is just fine for me. I am not super sure I want to be in the "big Church" with the 2,000 people...oh and Homeland security and the FBI...and the secret service.....I am not even sure that I want to go, but I do.  and I am.  This is a big part of history and while our chances of even getting to get tickets was soooooo slim, we did...coincidence, no.  and even though, as a nation, we are "not supposed" to mix"Religion & Politics"...we do, we will and will continue to.  and even though this is NOT A CHURCH thing, a RELIGION thing...it is a POLITICAL thing, which I tend to stray away from....we got tickets..it is at OUR CHURCH with OUR PASTOR...and we are going....

and we will be praying....

and we will LISTEN.

Hello Sunday

ahhh...Sunday....a slower day, not really, but to me, Sunday's always seem to just go by so nice & slow...& I like it because we have been moving at the speed of sound now since summer started, and well....it is quickly coming to an end...yikes.

I had a WONDERFUL run this morning...I really really enjoy running and if you could only read what goes through my mind, you would crack up.  I cant even really explain what & why I think the things I do.  Alot of  it is prayer & just a recap that I go over with GOD.  Not just a recap of my life, but of lots of things.  It keeps me entertained,focused and n my zone, and I am sure GOD is entertained, confused & baffled at me & my thoughts.....anyways, it was a good run.  except when I decided to take a little side road onto the grass..right into the mud...whoops....who knew there would be puddles of mud in the summer...& I don't know why, but the mud only soaked though my left foot...

anyways, we got home & I started to work....and forgot to blog....and just got on a roll ...organizing that is...and laundry....getting done & put away...and I just finished up a Sept. Fiskars Project and got it in a day early...which is a change for me as Iam a work right up until the lassstttttt minute, so I rewarded myself by opening up a big giant box of Prima Products..

which stopped me on my roll....

wanna see a tiny sneak at a project?? oh...I cant, not until it is "approved"..but look at this... flowers, leaves & gems.. in several tones of my "Life Colors"...I am certain Deena would be proud of me & my goodies....It seems I am turning over a new "leaf" (no pun intended)...either that or just "complicating" my "simple" style...in a good way of course!!!

an last night, after a day of practice, grocery shopping, a soccer game and a bowl-a-thon...I sat down, watched the Olympics and stitched away...I am thinking my new friend April/May might be proud.  I know that my stitch's are a little off, but I am okay with it...

pretty dang cute huh?  Luckily for me, the bowling alley is right next to Michaels so I ran in,, got myself a ring thing, oh HOOP, to put the canvas on and a disappearing ink pen...oh the simple things...you know...I just dang crack myself up at how happy I can get over a 3.99 pen that has disappearing ink...I just doodled on a word and stitched it...and yes, the purple ink disappeared...

Now I need to get more colors of floss...I can stitch myself all the way over to South Africa and back!

okay..must go take a shower...I am stinking up the place...have a great relaxing Sunday....enjoy the day....

Heart Intensity Desire

Thanks for all of the comments and support yesterday regarding my customer service/shipping/receiving dilemma's.  Great thing is I am getting them resolved, and while there are not that many, I sill have a few adjustments,shipments and decisions to make regarding what steps to take or not take.

In the mean time, I am working on some fabulous plans for 2009.  2009?...yes, I have learned that nothing in this business happens overnight and that is a very good thing.  Good things come to those who wait.. right? and since you have waited with me in the past, I hope you will continue to do the same now. 

HEART-INTENSITY-DESIRE..... Our coaches are drilling those words into our boys heads....and they are such good strong effective words...and the great thing is, you can tell that the boys are starting to feel it & live it.. 

whelp, yesterday, out on the football field, it was the first day of full pads! (Insert song "No More Mr. Nice Guy)

   

Yes my friends, we have graduated from the "Slice of Heaven"...to "Burma Road"...with pads....(Not sure what all that means) but I got some great shots....

What is Burma Road, or should I say, where is Burma Road??  All I know is that the whistle blows, the boys take off running and as soon as the whistle blows again, they hit the ground...(remember they have all pads on now) and well the sprinklers have been off  since June for some construction, so the ground is very hard...and well, I betcha they hit the ground at least 20 times....

okay, CHECK OUT THIS SHOT...this is not Ben...Ben is the one on the ground to the right  

and while all of the grunting, falling, running, sacking and yelling was going on out on the field....I tested my non existent stitching skills...doodle style...hmmmmm.......okay, off we go to start another day...football...soccer...bowl-a-thon...and who knows, maybe something a little craty...and p.s.....speaking of crafty....I listed my upcoming classes over on the left side of this blog page. 

TGIF & S.O.S

Yes, I am thankful today is Friday, but I must say, each night I go to bed, I am pretty glad that the day is over and that we are heading to a new one...each day is a blessing and I think we all need to be reminded of that..regardless of what happens...

BUT, this morning, when I woke up at 6:00...whhhaaattttttt????? I was really frustrated to get another email from a very dear blog friend of mine, that she has not received her Homegrown Stamps.  In fact, I have gotten a few of them, and a few missing NAKK orders.  I am so at a loss for what to do or what not to do.  I had a few kinks with ETSY, and well, I ship via US MAIL and 99% of the time...things are fine...so I need to take a little roll call, as well as send out a mass email to EVERYONE who has ordered anything from me to double check...so,   

If anyone has ordered anything from me...and HAS NOT GOTTEN IT...please send me an email with "Missing Order" in the subject line. 

I feel like I apologize for so much, and I appreciate your patience with all of this.  I have gotten my next NAKK ready to go, but I am not real sure on how to release it, or even IF I should release it..  Do I use ETSY or not...do I ship USPS or do I ship UPS (go Brown!) or do I build a website (okay I am cracking up at that...I am not digital girl and do not have digital skills)

the one thing I do know, is I want to correct ALL of the mistakes before I release another kit...are these growing pains....do I just roll with the punches...I would LOVE to hear your suggestions....

Praying for Peace...

two posts in one day...

just got an email from our Church...to pray for Pastor Rick...for strength during the next few weeks as our church heads into the world....it is not about religion...but about relationships.....funny how it goes together with my post from this morning.....

LOVE when this kind of thing happens...it is like seeing things going full circle.

Please pray...for peace & for strength, not just for him, but for everyone.