Happy Thanksgiving!

Windy and chilly here in Nebraska but we are thankful for all the blessings that we have.



May all of you and your families have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day today and everyday.

God Bless,

Gail S.

Forever In My Heart

Happy Monday to you all!  I had hunters at my house for the past two weeks and have been busy cooking and visiting with them :) They came up deer hunting and went back with several deer.  We have quite a few deer in our country and they do need "thinned out". Coming home from town the other evening, we even saw a fox in our drive! They are beautiful creatures.

One of the hunters that stayed here needed a birthday card for his wife, whose birthday is on the 21st. He took a hand made card home with him last year that I had made and wanted another hand made card for this year. He said his wife really enjoyed last years! Makes me smile :)

I went on Pinterest and saw this card:




And I went to work and came up this this card:

Paul and his wife have three children so I liked the idea of the three hearts on the front of the card and I loved the softness of the doily. This is the inside image of the card:

The inside sentiment says "Always on my mind - forever in my heart. I added one more heart inside representing him.  Hope you like it!

I have kind of slacked off on my 30 days of thankfulness....bummer...but I am thankful every day of many things.  Somedays may not go as well as I hope but most days are pretty good. I am thankful that I able to craft and make cards and make others happy when they receive a hand made card.

Have a great week this week.

Gail S.

A Little Late Halloween Collage..and a Christmas Sneak Peek

Halloween in long over and we are thinking of Thanksgiving and Christmas but I have to show you the squares of a Halloween Collage Swap that I participated in.

Aren't they sooo cute??? I love them!!!  Now I have to purchase a frame to put them in and it will be all done.  Oh well, I have a whole year to get it done :)

I signed up for the Christmas Swap and we be getting them in the mail sometime next week.  This is a picture of the Christmas Square I made:

This is what the whole bunch looked like:

I made 29 of these wreath's and will get 28 different Christmas themed squares back!  I will share them with you when I receive them!

Now I have to show you some pictures of my sweet little Granddaughter!

She was so excited playing with a potato chip bag!  She loved the "crunch" of the bag and kept crackling it all up!

And here she is with her Grammy!

 

 

I love this little girl sooo much!

 

Gail S.

 

Grateful Day 11 & 12 since I will be gone:

Today, of course, I am grateful for Grandbabies! and Day 12 it is Veteran's Day today but is celebrated on Monday so I am thankful for the men and women that have fought for this wonderful country that we live in. God Bless America!

 

Gail S.



Going to the Chapel....

My son was going to a wedding today and needed a card...quick!!  So I ran into the craft room and got to work!

 

 

I got this idea on Pinterest. It was quick and easy.  This is the inside of the card...

 

 

 

 

I also received my SU! personalized stamp that I purchased last week when SU! had the extra 15% off all stamps!!  I love it.

 

 

I need to post 2 days of gratefulness. Yesterday I was grateful it was Friday! It had been a long week :) Today I am grateful that we are getting a "little" rain.  We need so much rain and it has been sprinkling for about 30 minutes. Hopefully we get a lot more.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Gail S.

 





Day 8 of Thankfulness

Today I am thankful for my drive to work. I saw this idea on Facebook and I agree, I have a beautiful drive to work.  I live 9 miles from my work and I am able to enjoy the countryside.

I see the seasons change from the fields growing crops and then the harvest. I see the snow coming down around me to the flowers sprouting up in the springtime.

I am grateful for my drive to work and also going home.  Life is good.

Thankful Day 7

I am thankful today for a roof over my head. Right now people in America do not have that privilege. Hurricane Sandy has destroyed many homes and left so many people homeless. Then there are people who live in other countries who are also in that situation.  I thank God I will sleep tonight peacefully.

I know I have not posted anything for awhile. I will try to post tomorrow.

Gail S.

Thankful Day 5 & 6

I can see that I may not get to post everyday in November. Life is busy and sometimes the day gets away from me!

Day 5: On day 5 (Sunday) I was thankful that friends called and said "lets go kayaking" so we did and had a wonderful time! The air was chilly but the trip was relaxing and peaceful. Saw plenty of ducks, gulls, and bald eagles. Life in Nebraska is good!

Day 6: I am so thankful that I live in a country that we are free to vote, speak out, and pick our religion.Yes, I voted today and was proud I could do that.

Day 4 - Thirty Days of Thankfulness

Today is day four of the Thirty Days of Thankfulness. 

I am thankful that due to Daylight Savings Time, I got to sleep an extra hour!!  Precious moments of clean sheets, a warm blanket and silence. Yum.  I think of the people that are on the East Coast that still are without electricity and no heat after Hurrican Sandy.  I pray that they will soon be getting electricity and the start of rebuilding and cleaning up the horrible destruction that was left behind.

Thanks for stopping by.  I would love to hear things you are thankful for or if you are starting Thirty Days of Thankfulness!

Gail S.

Thirty Days of Thankful

On facebook, several people are posting, every day for the month of November, things they are thankful for.  I have not participated in it on facebook but decided I would try to post every day in November things I am thankful for.  I know that it is already the 3rd of November so I have some catching up to do!  For today, I will post THREE things that I am thankful for:

Day 1 - my family!  I have such great kids and a wonderful husband that loves me so much (at least he is always telling me!!) My kids all get along sooooo well and they have such a wonderful relationship with each. When they all get together they laugh and tease and have the greatest time! I have the most precious Granddaughter in the whole wide world...can I ask for more??

Day 2 - I am thankful for friends. Right now my real good friend lost her mother on Thursday. She is really hurting right now and I feel that we need to cherish moments that we can be together and enjoy each others company. Life is short, enjoy it!!

Day 3 - A good harvest.  This year has been very tough with the horrible drought that we had.  We had 1/2 inch of rain all summer long. I am thankful that we have irrigation here in Nebraska that helped our crops grow. I am grateful that the harvest went well and we are done for the year.

I will post tomorrow Day 4.

Til then... Gail S.

My Halloween Cards

Boy, where did October go?  I can't believe that next week is November!  We will be setting our clocks back an hour, the nights get longer and days get shorter.  Enough about that...I made some Halloween cards to send to my little nieces, nephews, friends and my sweet baby Granddaughter (I LOVE saying that) Macyn!! 

I decided not to make them all the same but to make each one different. I used some Martha Stewart paper that I got on sale (love those) along with some cute brads that I purchased when the scrapbook store in nearby Broken Bow was going out of business. I miss that store!

The first 3 cards are typical sized cards and

 

 



the next three are a fun 6 1/4" x 3 1/4" size.  I purchased several packages of the long, side opening envelopes from SU! before they discontinued them and I love cards made to fit in them! 

 

 

 

Now I have to decide what card to send to whom! 

 

 



Before I go...I have to share a couple more pictures of my precious Granddaughter. I can't get enough of her!

 

 Here she is a Husker fan with her football leggings and the next one is when she just woke up in the morning.  Mornings she is real happy and ready to go conquer the world!

 

 

 Have a wonderful Halloween and until next time!

 

Gail S.

 

Decorating for Fall

This past weekend, I was able to dig out my fall decoration and get them out for Halloween and Thanksgiving.  I love fall and it is fun to go through the totes to see what I have!

I purchased this little Trick Or Treat mat this year in Broken Bow.  The small pumpkins I had last year and just added them to a bowl I have out all year.

I added just a small candle ring and ceramic pumpkin to this reading nook.

This witchy Poo I put with some fall vine leaves in a nook in my entertainment center.

This is on a table in our family room.

And last, I found a glittery skull for .99 cents at Michael's when I was out in Colorado.  I put it under glass in a cloche, added some gourds and a ring around it and it looks spooky - just for Halloween!

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you are having a great week!

Gail S.

Trick or Treat

 

Living out in the country, we just don't get many Trick-or-Treaters but I do like to make some treats for my co-workers and some special little kiddos in town. I saw this idea on Pinterest.

 

 

 Now I have tried THREE times to post this picture so you can see it right on and not sideways and cannot, for the life of me, get it to come up correctly!  Oh well, just tilt you head to look at it I guess!  The poem is:

 

Pumpkin Poop!

I started to carve my pumpkin

with my carving knife and scoop

but my pumpkin got scared

and took a little poop!

 

It looked too cute & funny

just like a candy treat...

so I am sharing it with you now

because you are so sweet!

 

The thought of "poop" is kind of gross when you think about it but I thought the packages were so cute and who doesn't love candy corn? I thought the kids will get a giggle out of it! 

 

I also made up a few of these easy packs holding snack sized M & M's.

 

 

 



 (took the photo the exact way as the candy corn photo and this ones comes out okay...go figure)

I used Stampin Up! new stamp set Googley Ghouls, scraps and ribbon I purchased last year when it went on sale AFTER Halloween.

Before I go, I have to show you a photo of a 
tree in my folk's back yard.  It is amazing beautiful!

Even after having 60+ mile per hour wind gusts last week, the leaves are still on and as pretty as can be. Dad says it is a red oak.


 I have decorated my house for the fall and will share photos in a day or two.

Thanks for stopping by!

Gail S.

Perfectly Preserved

Happy Thursday!  I found this idea on Pinterest and knew I wanted to make one using scraps laying around on my craft counter. 

I cannot remember who posted this layout but it is a super simple card that is super cute!

If you have those little scraps of decorator paper laying around and they coordinate - lots of stamps set could be used for this!

Enjoy - Gail S.

Perfectly Preserved Cider Pouch

 

 

Hello everyone!  I have been able to grab a few minutes, here and there, to get into my craft room and make a few things. Can't wait to show you! 

 

Work has been busy and my husband and son(s) have been very busy getting harvest all finished up.  We have not had any large rainfalls since MAY and it is super dry here.  The dry weather has helped with getting the corn and soybeans in a lot earlier that usual. My youngest is home from college for Fall Break and has been helping drive a grain cart for the crew.

 

 

Anyway...I wanted to share this with you:

 

 

I got this idea from the fun website Do Stamping with Dawn. Dawn O. made a cider pouch here (you may have to scroll down a bit - it is the 9-19-12 post) and a hot cocoa pouch here. She even has on her site a video and all of the dimensions on how to make one (or more) yourself.

I used the Perfectly Preserved Stamp set and little matching dies for this pouch.  Also, look at my little apple - it is 3-D.

And I also decided to add a little border to the edge of the cider opening.

This was real easy and I think I will get busy and make some more of these for gift giving....Christmas is just around the corner!

Before I finish - I have to share a picture of my sweet little Granddaughter with you.  We got to go out and visit last week and I miss her so much.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you leave a comment - I love reading them :)

Gail S.

Surprise in the mail!

I love getting cards in the mail, don't you?  Last week, I received this beautiful card in the mail and it made my day :)



This was from Sharon Lim.  Her blog is "A little of this, a little of that". She has some wonderfully, creative cards and other crafts and she shares instructions on a lot of them.  This is the inside of the card.

See, it is 3D and it holds a gift card.  When you open the card, the gift card "pops" up.

Great idea for a card and she has measurements and instructions on how to make this card yourself on her blog.

Check out Sharon's blog and try this out for yourself.

Have a wonderful day today. I am off work today due to Columbus Day and I am trying to clean house, do laundry, and hopefully, get in the craft room later one to have fun!!

Later -

Gail S.

Blooming with Kindness

Can you believe, THREE posts in 3 days?  Well, today I want to share a card I made...just because I love this stamp set!  The set is SU! Blooming with Kindness.  I also love the colors: basic black, basic gray, whisper white and so saffron yellow.

 

 

The colors are just so soft and pretty! I also used the new SU! textured empressions embossing folder on the whisper white and the large scallop edgelit.

 

Thanks for stopping by. My sister and I are going to start having a crafting evening once a month and I will share what we craft on my blog each time. This coming first craft I am planning on using the Perfectly Preserved set and come up with some cute ways to use this set. Stayed tuned!

 

Gail S.

Picking Up Pipe

One of the wonderful parts of farming is irrigation!  We had a VERY dry summer and if it wasn't for irrigation in Central Nebraska, we would not have had a crop this year. In the early summer we set out pipe for irrigating the crops and in the fall, we pick up the pipe and stack it to one side of the field until next year. I am now in charge of driving the pickup with the pipe trailer while my husband and youngest did the labor!

 

 

Only found one skunk hiding in the pipe! Phew! We picked up 5 loads and still have one left before we are done. The rest of the fields have center pivots on them that irrigate from "sprinklers".

 

 

 

 

It was another beautful, fall day. I was glad I took my camera with me :)

 

 

 

 

After the pipe was all picked up, I snapped a few photos of the beautiful trees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love fall in Nebraska, God's glory at its finest! Thank you for stopping by!  I will have a card to post for you to see tomorrow!

 

Gail S.

 







Hello! It's Me!

Hello Bloggers!  I know I have been away for awhile but I have been busy and I have had a few moments to craft...just haven't had time to post!

BIG weekend here this past week!  Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday was the Central Nebraska Junk Jaunt!!  Our little town of Sargent was PACKED with out of towners looking for that special "bargain". 

We had vendors all around town and it was so much fun seeing all of the food, traffic, people, bargains, food, unique items for sale, trailers full of treasures, pets, did I mention food? Haha! 

The photo above is just one of the many places to shop for bargains in Sargent. This was at the community building. Notice the the boxes below the tables are FULL of treasures also. The Methodist Church ladies were serving the meal there and boy it was delicious! Dessert was homemade pie!

It was a real fun time and our weather was Fan-Tas-Tic!!  Wonderful chilly mornings and by afternoon it was in the 80's.  Also, the wind always blows in Nebraska but not this time! Yeah!! We had a new business open in town this past weekend "Deer Canyon Coffee" and it was fun trying out the different kinds of coffee. Below is owner Dick having fun at Junk Jaunt.

 

I had to work Thursday and Friday but on Saturday, my Sister and I got to "jaunt for junk".

We got up bright and early and headed north to the small town of Taylor first. There I saw this bargain.

 

 

 

If only I had a horse! After Taylor, we headed west to the little town of Merna. Before we got there we encountered this:

 

 

 

Neighbors moving cattle!  We waited for them to pass and continued on our journey.

 

Now Merna has a cute shop called The Secret Garden. This little shop is full of cute items to fill your home and the outside garden is just beautiful. It is located right next to the owners home and you are allowed to walk all around their yard and enjoy the beauty. I really liked this wagon and wondered if my hubby could make me one!  We have a lot of the "wheels" around our farm!

 

 

 

 

This is a photo of the beautiful gazebo on the property.

 

 

 

 

On our drive over to Merna, the trees were so pretty.

 

 



 

 

Wouldn't this make a beautiful puzzle? After Merna, we headed to Broken Bow and shopped all through the town. I didn't buy any big purchases but had fun looking!

 

 



Next year, plan on visiting Junk Jaunt! It is a whole lot of fun and lots of wonderful Junk!